OW DA b40 We? (nV IS View CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY In compliance with current copyright law, Cornell University Library produced this replacement volume on paper that meets the ANSI Standard Z39.48-1992 to replace the irreparably deteriorated original. 2003 Guruell Mninersity Mibracy Ithaca, Nem Burk SAGE, ENDOWMENT FUND. HENRY W SAGE 1891 58:59" SS SSS eee > a qa i I ¢ é f f t 4 t, € i I t * t ; e = 53: 58’ 57 ‘ 53 53°56" 53.55 53:54 54.0" 153" 52" V5y 150’ 1:49' £48' ay’ L4G" 45" 44 143" 174-2” Lav’ 1.40" 139" (38 137’ Sd LN | SSS SS ea a Corea ce ree re Sl rn pee ! | 1 PATELEY BRIDGE cH ie) oN 2 Bronhanv Rocks = a. te. GreenhowHAl S an yor! ? Cross na) gro 4 \ geo f Sag 7 Tate i REPT NG \ é >, / ; e4 — / flatty Whites U1. Y ‘ \. 7 22 i e AgNO {gp Zope ee a On WN i KH yer 4 ! xo te) 7 SCALES Pas ‘ a y ee ee c ‘s, ‘ ES Mer & \, POCK “stexKE moor Ne j sw, Ot ‘ S FY ww res, / 4 aw a Bank Se fl / Pa ee cH “sy wP Ma gy ue MAL As wey He oye Se Zi: rhe OSE ih Kw RS Ke Tee, = Be lep PE a Stack, o * ie . Ae NN Fi | aA Boor i \ ere eye \ Org 5 USE . | ' R Re) a7 ce \ ioe aa ae Gave % \ Gypead & Rs aH ez Rocuine Stone ke a Sigington Ho \ \ Crahes he \ % i “ea ity 1 4 i] 1 ‘ 4 BPLUBBE e : ROUSE S LIF ‘ vis Se. weet t as nett ao Z Ae ‘ — ~ ae Lo Came, ps i Bett my Ll ‘ 4 H R= * Sn VENSTON ye top BRAM AR sec he . Veraraga/ Beay) éX PAR) i Lgl. ‘swat, oon f : . “Ghee mat fo, Read Hoah Le ee 2 : ieee” ‘ ~ DBrane Hall ‘, See spe Hee oat Reo Ss, “ne wet gy fig ‘ Cote prown Ban, N ee s Be Eh E50" —paED" Lis’ 140° PUBLISHED 139" ; BY THOMAS THORPE, PATELEY 136" i358 133" 1:32 rar «'30" £29" 128" 127" 1:26’ T25 Pee con Tae : he Ohne ORES Tw KNARESBOR x | Fe Ne as etic 00S * GOLDSBOROUCH AS 288 8S:E9 - 82389 {99 .8¢ OSS Ses Oa78S Armitage & lbbetson Sleanr Litho! Bradford. = a SE SSS Ee SSS SSS —_—EL—ESSSSSS ESS 7 T36 1°35 To 133 Se! Pol E30" eo P23 7 Hey Lis Lat 1:23" E22 ATELEY BRIDGE, 4e7!. THE HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF HARROGATE, AND THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH, Bp VAT illiam Grainge, AUTHOR GF ‘'THE BATTLES AND BATTLE FIELDS OF YORKSHIRD;” ‘‘ VALE OF MOWBRAY ;” ‘‘NIDDERDALE;” ETC. LONDON: JOHN RUSSELL SMITH, 86, SOHO SQUARE. PATELEY BRIDGE: THOS. THORPE. 1871. t PRINTED BY THOS. THORPE, PUBLISHER, PATELEY BRIDGE. PREPAC E. Tue district of which this volume treats was-formerly known as the Royal Forest of Knaresborough, and of which no previous history can be said to exist. In this work a detailed account is given of each place, from the earliest known times to the present day, chiefly derived from materials never before published. Pedigrees are given of the principal landowners in the district— both ancient and modern; and pains have been taken to collect notices of eminent individuals and families connected with the district, some of which have been little known to the public. Besides what may be termed the political, civil, and ecclesias- tical history of the district, sketches of the physical history and geology are given, principally derived from the author's personal observations, made during the last ten years. To those who have ever undertaken the task of writing a local history, no apology is needed to explain the delay which has taken place in the production of this volume, as they well know the great variety of sources whence the materials must be drawn, and the difficulty of bringing together such a number of minute facts as are necessary to the making of local history. By the residents within the Forest of Knaresborough, and also by those, in other places, connected with it by birth or association, I presume this book will be kindly received as the iv. PREFACE. first attempt to give a regular and authentic history of the district. Along with its companion volume ‘‘Nidderdale”’ it forms a history and topography of more than three-fourths of the valley of the Nidd. To the clergy and landowners my grateful acknowledgments are due, for the opportunities afforded me for the examination of their registers and other records, and for the information supplied from their private documents, not otherwise accessible. More particularly to the Messrs. Powell, of Knaresborough, for permission to inspect the Rolls of the Honour Court, deposited under their charge. To the kindness of my esteemed friend, R. H. Skaife, Esq., of the Mount, York, I am indebted for many and great favours—some of which are acknowledged, but many are not—so I here tender my sincere thanks for assistance which I can never expect to return. A preface (always the last written portion of a book) perhaps cannot be better employed than by adding to the information which the book contains to which it is affixed, therefore I shall introduce here the census of the district taken in 1871, and a short account of the new baths at Harrogate, built in the same year, both of which events occurred too late to be introduced in their proper places. POPULATION IN 1871. Mis. | Fms.| Total Mis. | Fms.|Total Bilton-with-Harrogate .. poe 8686 |6765 GUNG seis ios ace siciod iste oc 212 | 184 | 896 Pannall o.6:556ccccee oss si 973 |1893 Hampsthwaite ........ 207 | 241 | 448 Plumpton 3 85 | 173 Felliscliffe ............ 164 | 157 | 321 Little Ribston 95 | 188 Birstwith .............. 266 | 304 | 570 Dunkeswick 83 | 163 Menwith-with-Darley ..| 807 | 268 | 575 Weeton.......... saa 165 | 313 Thornthwaite-with- Castley .......... cate 36 | 73 Padside ............ 187 | 272 Rigton ..... : 218 | 480 Fewston ..... See 168 | 899 Stainburn... i 95 | 197 Norwood ..... 192 | 496 Lindley..... | 3 116 | 442 Great Timble . 78 | 187 Haverah Par é 58] 84 Blubberhouses ---| 40] 29] 62 illingh 330 | 654 Thruscross ............ 147 | 302 PREFACE, v. POPULATION OF THE HARROGATE IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT. In Bilton-with-Harrogate 1.0.0... cc: cccce cece cnet eee tetecerseene 5568 Tar Darina bei sisenala:sempiers aerdentsiaters a Sais atgighes Sobeuaee on eaee Hace esas In Knaresborough and Scriven ........ eee ese ee eee eeenecn tenes Ecclesiastical Division of Christ’s Church ..............cccccceeececseeuee a 3 St. John’s, Bilton ............ ” ay St. Peter’s, Central Harrogate 7 as St. Mary’s, Low Harrogate .. i ” Pannal, Pavieh Church 2 j4c0 4+. ceeneee seis dace The New Victoria Baths adjoin the old baths of the same name, and extend eastward from Promenade Terrace to Cheltenham Square. The foundation stone was laid Feb. 4th, and the building formally opened to the public Aug. 24th, 1871. The water intended for the use of these baths is the surplus water of the Bog Wells, conveyed from them by means of glass tubes, and stored iu five large underground reservoirs at the upper end of the building, so that the water can gravitate to the heating apparatus and the baths. The capacity of these reservoirs is upwards of 200,000 gallons. The building partakes largely of the Italian style, and is at once substantial, massive, and elegant. It consists of a centre and two wings; the former being two stories in height, the latter only one; while at each end is a swimming bath, which rises higher and projects further in front than the other parts of the wings, and adds much to the pictorial appearance of the building. Along the front, with the exception of the portions occupied by the swimming baths, extends a verandah of ornamental ironwork. That part of it in front of the centre and grand entrance projects across the carriage road, so that parties can drive up and enter the rooms under its shelter. On the upper part of this front is cut the name and date of the building—“ Victoria Baths, 1871.” Above the cornice of this front rises a colossal shield, on which is sculptured, in bold relief, the arms of the town, surmounted by a crown, The windows have circular heads and columns at the sides. The swimming bath at the west vi. PREFACE. end is twenty feet in height; lighted at each end by a window of three lights, and on the front by two similar windows, each of three lights. The east end swimming bath, owing to the slope of the ground, is thirty-three feet in height; lighted at each end by a window of three lights, and in the front by one of four lights. On the top of a massive cornice, around the roofs of the three elevated portions, runs a stone balustrade, relieved at each corner by a square pedestal bearing a carved urn; a pierced battlement runs along the front of the lower portions of the wings. The roof and ridge are adorned with ornamental ironwork. The grand entrance leads directly to the manager’s office, the front of which is circular, and built in such a manner as to command a full view of each corridor. On each side are waiting rooms; one for ladies the other for gentlemen. The corridors run east and west, and are each two hundred feet in length by eight feet in width, and lighted from above by windows of stained glass. On each side are arranged the bath rooms, eighteen in number, each measuring ten feet. by eleven, and sixteen in height. On one side of the corridor one dressing room is attached to each bath room, and on the other, two; in each of which is a water closet and lavatory. In each wing provision is made for four shower and as many vapour baths. The floors of the bath-rooms, dressing-rooms, and corridors are boarded, and covered with linoleum. The sides of the walls, to a certain height, are lined with Minton’s tiles. Some of the baths are also lined with tiles, and entered by white marble steps; others are made of porcelain. The swimming bath at the east end is 47 feet in length by 17 feet in width, and the height from the floor line to the ceiling is 28 feet. The bath is so arranged that the water at each end will be three feet six inches deep, and the centre five feet deep. The bottom is lined with white tiles, and also the sides up to the height PREFACE, vil. of five feet six inches, above which is a very pretty border in blue tiles. The roof is open, with moulded wall plates, boarded and stained. The west end swimming bath is similar in its arrangements, but larger, being 68 feet long by 18 feet wide. There is an ample supply of water closets, lavatories, and dressing-rooms, provided in all parts of the building. The plans were prepared by Mr. John Richardson, surveyor to the Local Board; and the following were the contractors, with the amount of each contract— £ 8. d. Construction of Reservoirs...... W. Newsome, Leeds.............. 1297 0 0 Masons’ work ..............06-- J. Stephenson, Harrogate ........ 4700 0 0 Joiners’ work ................0. R. Raworth, Harrogate........... 1586 0 0 Slaters’ work ................4. Heavysides, Leeds ............... 216 10 0 Plumbers’ work ................ J. Marshall, Harrogate ........... 760 0 0 TRONIMOTIES ie gi ws seaeeds Bearded Za BE we Heaps & Robinson, Leeds ........ 62410 0 Plasterers’ work. ..............5 R. Fortune, Harrogate............ 209 0 0 This does not include the tiling and fitting of the baths, nor the cost of the heating apparatus. With these remarks and additions this volume is consigned to the judgment of an impartial public. W. GRAINGE. Harrogate, Oct., 1871. CONTENTS. SITUATION, PHYSICAL ASPECT, RIVERS AND STREAMS, The Nidd; Wharfe; Crimple; Oak-beck; Tang-beck ; ee -beck; Washburn. Heights of mountains and hills... BOUNDARIES. Perambulations of 1767, 1577, and 1770. ae es a ss GEOLOGY. ROADS. British trackways; Roman roads; Packhorse roads; encunle roads; and Railroads. ate 5 Ar KNARESBOROUGH FOREST.—HISTORIOAL SKETCH. British, Roman, Saxon, and Norman periods. Domesday survey. . Lords of the forest,—Giselbert Tyson; Eustace Fitz-John; William de Stutevill; Brian de l'Isle; Richard, Earl of Cornwall; Edmund, Earl of Cornwall; Peter de Gaveston. Invasion of the Scots. Queen Philippa. John of Gaunt. Sir William Plumpton. Fight between the Foresters and the Men of the Archbishop of York. Warsofthe Roses. Sir Robert Plumpton. Disputes respecting Mines on the Forest. Grant of the Forest to Charles, Prince of Wales; to Queen Henrietta Maria; to Queen Catherine. Lease to Sir Robert Howard; to Richard, Earl of Burlington; to William, Duke of Devonshire. ENCLOSURE OF THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. Survey of 1613. Agreement of 1651. Acts of Parliament and Enclosure of 1770. Award, 1778 .. i a ata i COURTS AND COURT ROLLS. Sheriff Torne. Grand Inquest. Early Rolls. Pains, &. .. a ANCIENT CUSTOMS OF THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH: PAGE. 22 31 44 82 91 97 CONTENTS. HARROGATE, Situation. Early state. Etymology. Sir William Slingsby. Discovery of first Mineral Spring. Visit of John Ray, the Naturalist, 1661. Presbyterian Plot, 1668. Visit of Marmaduke Rawdon, 1664; of Ralph Thoresby, the Leeds Antiquary, 1679; the Author of John Buncle, 1731; of Alexander Carlyle, 1768. Award of the Stray. Visit of Thomas Pennant, the Antiquary, 1777, The Theatre. Great Lawsuit. Improvement Act. Building of Pump Rooms. Gas Works. Water Works. Victoria Park. West End Park, &., &c. ae ax ete WATERS OF HARROGATE. The Tewhit Well. John’s Well, or the Sweet Spa. Sulphur Springs, Old Sulphur Wells. The Crescent Wells. The Royal Chaly- beate Spa. The Montpellier Springs. The Bog Springs. Analyses, &., &c. .. a te ee ise on ite BATHS. The Victoria Baths. ‘The Montpellier Baths. The Cold Bath. .. PUBLIC BUILDINGS. The Royal Chalybeate Spa and Concert Room. Royal Pump Room. . Town Hall. Victoria Hall. The Bath Hospital. Christ Church, ° St. John’s Church, Bilton. St. Peter’s Church. Wesleyan: Methodist Chapels. Congregational Church. United Methodist Free Church. Primitive Methodist Chapel. Friends’ Meeting House. Catholic Chapel. National School. British School. Infants’ School. St. Peter’s School. The Cemetery. .. . THE STRAY. STATISTICS, Parochial Affoirs. Population. Rainfall, &c. ve ss TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. The Cemetery. Grove House. Dragon Hotel. Westmorland Street. Devonshire Place. Granby Hotel. Christ Church. Wedderburn House. Regent Parade. Family of Sheepshanks. Queen Hotel. Oatlands. York Place. Prince of Wales Hotel. West End Park. The Obelisk. Brunswick Terrace. The Belvidere. Almshouses. Congregational Church. Prozpect Hotel. James Street. Post Office. Railway Station. Belle Vue. St. Peter’s School and Church. Prospect Cottage. Parliament Street. Swan Hotel. Cornwall House. The Bogs. Quarries. Royal Pump Room. Crescent Hotel. Royal Parade. White Hart Hotel. Crown Hotel. Montpellier Gardens. Stonefall. Crimple. Bachelor Gardens School. Harrogate Hall. Bilton Park. Family of Stockdale. Pedigree of the family of Watson. Bilton Sulphur Spring, Hall, &&. .. a os ae a ns ix. PAGE. 107 127 184 x. CONTENTS. PANNAL. Situation. Early History. Pannal Hall. Families of Tankerd, Dougill, Herbert, and Bentley. Village. School. Church. Inscriptions. Vicars. Charities. Rosset. Burn Bridge. High Ash. Families of Man and Torre. Beckwith House. Family of Wright. Beckwithshaw. Moor Park. Low Harrogate. St. Mary's Church. Harlow Hill Tower. All Saints’ Mission _Church, Harlow Car. Statistics, &c. Fi of is KNARESBOROUGH AND SCRIVEN. The Long Walk. The Dropping Well. Mother Shipton. Spittle- croft. Belmont. Starbeck Spaw. Baths. ae BO we PLUMPTON. Situation. Early History. Family of Plumpton. Plumpton Towers. Plumpton Hall. Pleasure Grounds, Rocks, &c. Rougharlington. St. Hile’s Nook. St. Robert. Brame. Family of Paver. Hell Hole Rock. Grimbald Crag. Birkham Wood. Statistics, &c. LITTLE RIBSTON. ‘Sikiiation, Early Owners. Tumuli. Village. School. Statistics, &. +3 oe . SWINDEN. Situation. Family of Bethell. Swinden Hall. Low Sneap House. DUNKESWICK. Situation. Early History. Family of Insula, or de l’Isle, of Rouge- .-mont. Site of Rougemont. Healthwaite Hill. Village of Dunkeswick. Harewood Bridge. Statistics, &c. a ie WEETON. Situation. Early Owners. Church of St. Barnabas. School. Charities. Chapel. Wescoe Hill. Huby. Statistics. ro te CASTLEY. Situation. Early History. Grants of land by the family of ania i Village. Railway. Riffa Wood. Charities. Statistics. . RIGTON;*. & Situation. Early Owners. Village of Rigton.-- Chapel Hill. The Moat. Chapel. School. Almes Cliff. Druidical Rocks. Fairy Parlour. Rock Basins. Lover’s Leap.” Horn Bank Ee: thwaite. Tatefield Hall. Statistics. PAGE. 216 253 263 287 291 294 303 309 R12 CONTENTS. STAINBURN. Situation. Grants to the Abbey of Fountains. Chapel. Inscriptions. Tombstones. Charities. School. Chapel, Burscough Rig. Little Almes Cliff. Statistics. .. : a6 i i LINDLEY. Families of Lindley and Palmes. Lindley Hall. Statistics, &¢ HAVERAH PARK. . Etymology. Early state and uses of. Present state. John of Gaunt’s Castle. Visit of King Edward II. Description of the Ruin. Pippin Castle. Large Tumuli. Aerial Army. Remark- able Rocks. Statistics, .. et oe a a3 as KILLINGHALL, Situation. Early Owners. Family of Pulleine. Family of Strother. Village. Hazelcroft. Mills. Leavens Hall. Will of Captain Leavens. The Hollins. Sprusty Hill. The Warren. Roman Camp. Charities. Statistics. es ~- " CLINT. Situation. Family of Beckwith. Owners of Clint. The Hall. Village of Clint. Ancient Cross. Singular Murder. Burnt Yates. School. Admiral Long. William Mountaine. School Estate. Buildings. Library. Charities. Statistics. .. ae HAMPSTHWAITE, Situation. Early History. Church. Value of Living. Chantries. Fabric. Inscriptions. Registers. Vicars. Charities. Village. Families of Bilton and Wilson. Peter Barker, the Blind Joiner. Family of Thackerey. School. Chapel. Rowdon. Will of John Parker. Saltergate Hill. Statistics. a tite FELLISCLIFFE. Situation. Roman Road. Swincliffe. Smith, the Archer. Inscrip- tion at Cote Sike. Family of Smith. West Sike Green. School. Kettlesing. Chapel. Statistics, &c. ~ BIRSTWITH. Situation. Early Owners. Swarcliffe Hall. Family of Greenwood. Village of Birstwith. Church. Charities. Chapels. Coalpits. Coins. Elton. Hirst Grove. Families of Smith and Jowett. Birstwith Hall. Tang House. Longscales. Crow Trees. Statistics. xi. PAGE. 324 364 336 416 421 xii. CONTENTS. MENWITH-WITH-DARLEY. Ancient State. Holme. Family of Leuty. Cinder Hills. Darley Village. Chapels. Menwith Hill. Day Ash. Hanes of oe Hookstones School. Charities. Statistics. THORNTHWAITE-WITH-PADSIDE. Physialt. Aspect. Rocking Stone. Church. Curates. Inscriptions. Ancient Celt. Civil War Tradition, Padside Hall. Hey! of Wigglesworth. Traditional Stories. Statistics, &c. .. FEWSTON. Situation. Ancient State. Church. Living. Fabric. Registers. List of Vicars. Charities. Chapel. Cragg Hall. Families of Frankland, Fairfax, and Parkirson. Busky Dike. Hopper Lane Hotel. MHardisty Hill. Westhouses Mill. Statistics. GREAT TIMBLE. Situation. Early Owners. Family of Hardisty. Village. Statistics. NORWOOD. Early State and Names. Perambulation. Bank Slack. Roman a Coins. East End Houses. Family of Bramley. Chapel. Brame Lane. Fox Crag. Gill Bottom. Families of Moorhouse and Smithson. School. Scough Hall. Family of Fairfax. Jack Hill. Family of Hardisty. Charities. Statistics. ae ee BLUBBERHOUSES. Situation. arly Owners. Grants to the Priory of Bridlington. Grant to the Family of Frankland. Church. Manor House. Hall. Family of Wardman. Kexgill Moor. Brandrith Crags. Rey. Robert Collyer. Statistics. .. aye oe oth THRUSCROSS. Situation. Etymology. Manufactories. Chapels. Charities. John Demaine. Allotments. Roggan Hall. Druidical Rock. Pox- stones Moor. Simon’s Seat. The Washburn. Statistics. PAGE. 488 422 462 485 487 599 Ghe Forest of Rnareshorongh. SITUATION, PHYSICAL ASPECT, RIVERS, AND STREAMS. Tue Forest of Knaresborough is situate between the rivers Nidd and Wharfe, in the Wapontake of Claro, and West Riding of the County of York; and is about twenty miles in length, by eight in average breadth, comprising 100,000 acres of land, divided into twenty-four townships or places, of which three are ancient parish towns. The physical aspect of this district is generally that of a region of undulations, a series of hills and valleys, none of them remarkably high or deep; both of them rounded and smoothed by the action of water. Here and there appear masses of rock which have resisted the action of the smoothing element—as in Great and Little Almes Cliff, Birk Crag, Swin- cliffe, Kexgill, and a few other places, where the masses of gritstone have been of too great bulk and hardness to yield to the torrent, but hard as they are they have not escaped— their softer parts have been washed away, and countless crannies and crevices cut into their flinty sides; they have evidently formed cliffs exposed to the action of sea waves, until at length, either the elevation of the land on which they stood, or the draining of the waters into some deeper sea bed, left them high and dry as we now behold them. The millstone grit is the B 2, THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. only rock which has survived the action of the watery element; all the softer beds have melted before it, and all their ridges and angles have been rounded down into gentle acclivities. The highest land is on the western boundary, and approaches closely to 1,600 feet above the sea level, while the lowest at Harewood bridge is only 98. The high lands are for miles upon miles, bleak and desolate—an undulating forest of ling, rushes and brackens ; these heights form the watershed between the valleys of the Nidd and the Wharfe, into which two rivers all the surplus water of the Forest of Knaresborough eventually finds its way. The Nidd first touches our district by its junction with Darley Beck, near the village of that name, and flows alongside of it until a short distance below Newbridge, when it runs entirely within it, dividing Clint from Birstwith and Hampsthwaite. On reaching the township of Ripley, it again forms the Forest boundary; after passing Killinghall bridge it touches a patch of yellow, marly, magnesian limestone on the left, while on the right is a quarry of strong gritstone. Near the railway viaduct it receives the waters of Oakbeck, and thence to the dam at Scotton mill it is a full quiet stream, the woods on both sides sloping grandly down to the water, the bordering rocks being gritstone and shale, until it reaches Gateshill, when it again meets the magnesian limestone. The scenery along its banks in passing Knaresborough is exceedingly varied and beautiful, as it winds along mid rocks, woods, fields and gardens, until it has passed Goldsborough mill, when the panks subside and the scenery becomes tamer; and in this manner it continues to form the boundary of our district until its junction with the Crimyple, near Walshford bridge. The Wharfe is a longer and larger stream than the Nidd, and first touches the Forest of Knaresborough at Castley, and forms its southern boundary down to Harewood bridge. The SITUATION AND PHYSICAL ASPECT. 3 most interesting place upon its banks is Rougemont, the site of the mansion of the family of the Lords D V’Isle. Among the hills and valleys of the high land between these rivers many fine streams have their origin; none of them, how- ever, attain to any great magnitude or length of course before they are swallowed by the bounding rivers. On the southern side is the Crimple, which rises from many small runnels on the high land west of Beckwithshaw and north of Rigton. At Beckwith it falls into somewhat of a deep valley, and flows downward to Pannal amid some pretty scenery. Near Burn-bridge mill it receives a small stream from the right called Buttersike, and for the remainder of its course forms the boundary of the Forest, dividing it from Follifoot, Spofforth, and North Deighton. Passing Crimple hamlet and bleach works, and almost close to Spofforth village, it loses itself in the Nidd a short distance above Walshford bridge. Oakbeck rises at the top of Haverah Park, down which it flows in a shallow thickly-wooded valley, receiving many small tributaries from the same district on either side. Quitting the park a short distance below Pot bridge, it receives a stall affluent from Harlow Car, flows through the romantic glen of Birk Crag, and after receiving a small stream from the right, partly derived from the sulphur springs of Harrogate, it empties itself into the Nidd, a short distance above the North Eastern Railway viaduct of that name. A small stream called Cockhill beck empties itself into the Nidd on the eastern side of the village of Hampsthwaite, which draws its waters from Graystone Plain and the high lands in that neighbourhood. At Rowden Lane, one of its tributaries has cut a deep gully into the shale and ironstone formation, which bears the name of Hell-hole. Tang beck derives its waters from Kettlesing Head, and the slopes of Felliscliffe and Birstwith. These waters form a i THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. junction near the Kettlesing Wesleyan Chapel, and thence flowing eastward divide the townships of Birstwith and Fellis- cliffe; after passing Birstwith Hall and Hurst Grove, this stream enters the Nidd near Hampsthwaite Church. Padside beck, or Darley beck, is another stream of the Forest, deriving some of its waters from Redlish and the southern slopes of Greenhow. Near Padside Hall it becomes the boundary of the Forest, dividing it from the township of Dacre; thence flowing downward past Thornthwaite Church and Darley village, it also enters the Nidd. Kexbeck is another stream which has its origin on forest soil, on the high lands of Poxstones and Kexgill Moor. Unlike every other stream in the district, it flows towards the west, past Hazelwood and Beamsley Hall, and empties itself into the Wharfe a short distance below Bolton Bridge. The largest, longest, and most important of all the Forest- born streams is the Waghburn, which draws its first supplies from many different springs in the high region which extends from Greenhow Hill to Beamsley Beacon, generally in the parish of Fewston. These springs supply small runnels in the moorland hollows, their sides fringed with rushes, heath, and ferns; where the red grouse haunt and the black-faced sheep graze; in a region rarely trod except by the sportsman and the shepherd. The convergence of these small brooklets form larger, until at length they are all swallowed up by one master stream. These shallow valleys are not at all picturesque until they leave the moorlands, when they become wider and deeper, and their sides are in some places furrowed by rugged gills and in others improved by cultivation. At Bramley Head one of the tributaries is first interrupted for manufacturing purposes to turn the spindles of a flax mill. Four or five factories down the valley derive their motive power from this stream or its ausiliaries. Many murmuring streams during the summer SITUATION AND PHYSICAL ASPECT. 5 season creep down their gully-like courses hidden by native foliage; in winter they are loud brawling torrents, dashing over stony beds, and pouring their muddy waters into the main stream. In a narrow part of the valley stands the parochial chapel of Thruscross, almost close to the stream, and always within hearing of its music. Descending the valley, many a choice piece of scenery worthy the artist’s pencil may be found. Near the hamlet of Blubberhouses is a large manufac- tory known as Westhouse mill, the machinery of which is driven by two gigantic water wheels. A small affluent here enters from the right, which rises on Kexgill moor, and thence tumbles down the wild, romantic, rugged glen through which the turnpike road to Skipton passes. In its downward course it next receives Gill beck and Thackerey beck from’ the right, leaves Crag Hall and Fewston on the left, passes close to Newhall, once the residence of Edward Fairfax the poet, when it receives the waters of Whidrah beck, or Gill beck, from the left; when turning south, it leaves Swinsty Hall on the right, and Scough Hall and Jack hill on the left. Viewed from either side, the valley at this point presents some fine pictures of natural scenery—fields, farms, and cottages studding the slopes as they rise from the wood-fringed banks of the stream to the gorse and heath-clad hills above. A considerable stream enters on the right from the hills of Snowdon, and the moors of Askwith; after receiving this addition to its waters the main stream bends easterly, enclosing a wooded island, a short distance below which is Dog, or Dobb Park mill, a lonely spot surrounded by woods and hills. On the southern side of the valley, overtopping a large plantation of larches, stand the ruins of Dobb Park’ Lodge, a lofty building of Tudor architecture, four stories in height. It does not appear to have been destroyed by time or tempest, but to, have been carefully pulled down in such a manner as to leave 6 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. a portion standing, but uninhabitable. There appears to have been four rooms in each storey, to which a winding stair in a projecting turret in the rear has formed the only means of access. One half of the south front yet remains, presenting square windows of two lights, each divided by a transom ; over the lower is a cornice, supported by brackets, which are orna- mented with armorial shields, each charged with two quoits or circular discs. In the centre has been a projecting semi- circular window, a part of which yet remains. When complete it has been a lofty and elegant building, and even yet, though ruinous and deserted, it forms a highly interesting feature in the sylvan landscape around. Of its history we know nothing. Below Dobb Park mill} the valley becomes in many places thickly wooded, interspersed with cultivated fields and farm houses. On the eastern skirt of a large patch of woodland stands Lindley Hall (now a farm house), overlooking a scene of exquisite natural beauty. Below this house the course of the Washburn bends to the southward, the banks sloping gently down to the level of the Wharfe, and finally between the pleasant sylvan villages of Farnley and Leathley, the two streams become united in one; or, as Polyolbion Drayton singeth— “ Washbrook with her wealth her mistress doth supply.” The next stream which flows from our district is Stainburn beck, which has but a short course. From the high ground *In the parish register of Fewston is the following entry.— 1658. April. Mr. John Vavasour, of Dog Park, was buried the first day.” This was probably one of the Weston family of that name who resided here at that time, when it was probably complete and inhabitable. + This river is subject to sudden floods. On the 4th of August, 1767, there were great floods in the Aire, the Wharfe, and the Washburn; about three o’clock in the morning the water rose upwards of two yards in the space of an hour. At Beamsley two houses were swept away, and the Dob Park and Lindley bridges on the Washburn destroyed ; great numbers of cattle, horses, and sheep were carried down the streams, and much damage done to the corn lands.”—Annual Register, 1767. SITUATION AND PHYSICAL ASPECT. 7 south of Little Almes Cliff, and the moors of Stainburn, it runs southward to the Wharfe, which it enters near Castley. In the lower part of its course it bears the name of Riffa beck. Another small stream, called Weeton beck, enters the Wharfe near Rougemont. Swindon Sike is but a small stream, worthy of notice only because it forms the boundary of the Forest on that side. It rises from a spring called Wareholes Well, near Walton Head, and flows into the Wharfe a short distance below Harewood bridge. The following tabulated view of the height of different places in the Forest of Knaresborough above the average level of the sea is from Professor Phillips and the Ordnance Survey. feet. Simon’s Seat .............. 1593 Lord’s Seat ......... seeee 1585 Poxstones Moor............ 1517 Greenhow Hill ............ 1441 Black Fell .......... sahesars 1341 Roggan Hall ........... .«. 1318 Gaukhall Ridge...... . Lippersley Pike...... Jack Hill—Fox Crag Little Almes Cliff .......... Rocking Stone, in Thorn- thwaite ............e ee 810 Timble Great.............. 753 Lindley Bents............6. 750 Burscough Rigg...........- 743 Great Almes Cliff .......... 716 Kettlesing Head............ 715 Dangerous Corner.......... 688 Hopper Lane Hotel ........ 673 John O’Gaunt’s Castle ...... 625 Harlow Hill............00. 600 Thornthwaite Church....... 600 Castle Hill, in Pannal ...... 594 feet Fewston Church............ 564 Beckwith Head ............ 562 Birk Crag...........0- see. 550 Rigton...... sco kGee Guta Raceates 550 Brackenthwaite ............ 540 Burnt Yates ......... 520 Horn Bank..... 500 Saltergate Hill... 481 Swincliffe Top. ..........65 450 Queen Hotel, Harrogate..... 406 The Bogs, Harrogate....... 400 Clint Hall.........0.eeeees 400 Bilton Church ............ 339 Concert Room, Harrogate.... 329 Bilton Hall............ eee. 300 Knox Hill, Harrogate Starbeck Pannal Church Hampsthwaite Bridge....... 200 Plumpton Lake............ 175 Dropping Well, Knaresboro’.. 150 Harewood Bridge ...... wes 98 8 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. BOUNDARIES. As the most recent and authentic account of the Boundaries of the Forest, we give “‘A Return to a Commission for taking the general Boundaries of the Forest of Knaresborough, in the year 1767,” “In obedience to His Majesty’s Commission, under the seal of his Duchy of Lancaster, bearing date the 15th day of July, in the seventh year of the king’s Majesty's reign, and in the year of our Lord 1767; hereunto annexed, to us and others the commissioners therein named, directed; for perambulating and ascertaining the metes and boundaries of his majesty’s Forest of Knaresborough, parcel of the possessions of the said Duchy of Lancaster, in the County of York; and for other the purposes in the said Commission mentioned :—We, Joseph Tullie, Receiver General of the revenues of his majesty’s said duchy; Robert Roper, auditor for the north parts of the said duchy; William Henry Ashurst, auditor for the south parts of the said duchy; William Masterman, Clerk of the Council of the said duchy; William Marsden, surveyor of the lands for the north parts of the said duchy; and Francis Russell, Deputy Surveyor cf the woods of the north parts of the said duchy; being six of the Commissioners named in the said Commission, do hereby humbly certify that on the 8rd day of September, now last past, We, the said Commissioners, did repair to his majesty’s said Forest of Knaresborough, at a certain BOUNDARIES. 9 place within the said forest, where the water of Crimple runs into the river Nidd, being the place where our perambulation of the forest was proposed and appointed to be begun. Having previously given fourteen days’ public notice that we should, at that time and place, begin our perambulation; and from thence proceed in executing the powers and authorities to us given by the said commission, in the several towns of Knaresborough, Ripon, Boroughbridge, Wetherby, Shipley, Harwood, Otley, Pateley- Bridge, Leeds, Skipton in Craven, Grassington, Settle, Bradford, and Ripley; by causing to be affixed printed notices, signed with the proper names of four of us, the said acting com- missioners, in the public market-places, or upon the church doors, or some other notorious place or places within the said several towns, as by the commission we were directed. And we do further humbly certify, that we did, on the same third day of September, at the place aforesaid, cause his majesty’s said commission to be proclaimed and read in an open public manner, in the presence of the Deputy Constable, Deputy Steward, and Bailiff of his majesty’s Castle, Honor, and Forest of Knaresborough, and divers other officers of the said forest, and a great concourse of his majesty’s copyhold tenants of the said honor and forest, and other persons, then and there met and assembled:—And thereupon, we did proceed from thence forward in perambulating and ascertaining the metes and boundaries of the said forest, and in due execution of all other, the powers and authorities to us given by the said commission, and continued therein from day to day, until the 27th day of the same month of September, when we completed the same; having called to our aid and assistance, and been attended in such service by divers of the officers and tenants of his majesty’s said honor and forest, and other ancient persons conversant therein, and residing in the neighbourhood of the said forest. 10 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. And we do find, as well by divers ancient Inquisitions, Decrees, and other evidence remaining on record, in the office of the Clerk of the Council of the said Duchy, and in the said Castle of Knaresborough, as by the information of divers ancient credible persons, and by general reputation, that the metes and boundaries of his majesty’s said Forest of Knares- borough begin at the stream of the river Nidd, where the rivulet called Crimple runs into the said river; at which place the said Crimple is bounded, on or towards the south, by a parcel of enclosed land, in the manor of North Deighton, belonging to Sir John Ingilby, Bart., called Tomling-Ing; and on or towards the north, by part of the enclosed land belonging to Henry Pullein, called Blackstones, lying in the township of Little Ribston, (which said little Ribston, is within the boundary of the said forest); and from thence ascending up the stream of Crimple to Blackstone-Wath, over which the road from Ribston to Ingmanthorp leadeth; and so along the stream of Crimple to the south-east corner of Ribston moor, commonly called Ribston-Green; and from thence, up the stream of Crimple, to a piece or parcel of ground, formerly an Islind, in the Lordship of North Deighton, called Mill-Green and Mill-paddock, being the place where the North Deighton mill formerly stood; and so along the north side of the said Mill-Green and Mill-paddock, being the ancient course of Crimple, to the south-west corner of the same; and from thence along the stream of Crimple, to a bridge, called Crimple bridge, over which the road from Ribston to Wetherby leadeth ; and from thence along the stream of Crimple, which still divides the lordship of North Deighton, on or towards the south, from the said Ribston-Green, lying within the boundary of the said forest, on or towards the north, to the south-west corner of the said Ribston Green; thence along the stream of Crimple, where it divides the said lordship of North Deigh- BOUNDARIES. 11 ton, on or towards the south, from the enclosed lands, within the township of Ribston aforesaid, on or towards the north, to Stock-bridge, otherwise, Newsam-bridge, over which the road from Spofforth to North Deighton leadeth ; and from thence, along the stream of Crimple, where it leads by the east, south, and west sides of a certain parcel of enclosed land, called Newsam, belonging to the said Sir John Ingilby, and lying within the boundary of the said forest, to Point- bridge, over which the turnpike road from Wetherby, through Spofforth, to Knaresborough, leadeth; and from thence along the stream of Crimple, to Oxen-bridge, near Spofforth mill; and thence along the stream of Crimple to Guildhouse-bridge, over which a road from Plumpton to Follifoot leads; and from thence along the stream of Crimple to Follyfoot wath, over which the carriage road from Plumpton to Follyfoot leadeth; when the open forest begins; and from thence proceeding up the stream of Crimple to a bridge called Collin-bridge, formerly a horse bridge, but lately made a carriage bridge; and from thence along the stream of Crimple, the said open forest lying on or towards the north, and the township of Follyfoot on or towards the south, to a certain hill or island, whereon a mill for smelting iron ore formerly stood, and now called Mill Hill;* and from thence along the stream of Crimple, by Fulwith mill to Almsford wath, where a bridge is now built, over which the turnpike road from Leeds to Ripley leadeth; and from thence still along the stream of Crimple, by Pannal- mill, to the foot of a certain syke which runs into Crimple, *Mill Hill consists of many hundred loads of scoria, slag, or refuse of iron smelting works. It lies between the brook Crimple and the railway, near the lower viaduct; it is now planted with larches. It is not men- tioned in a perambulation made in 1577; hence we would infer that the smelting works here were carried on after that period. 12 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. called Buttersyke;* and from thence turning southward and following the said syke, where it divides the township of Rigton, lying within the boundary of the said forest, on or towards the west, from the lands of Walton Head,+ on or towards the east, to a small bridge or drain, through which the water in the same syke runneth; and along the said syke to the north- east corner of Buttersyke Intake, belonging to Daniel Lascelles, Esquire; and from thence to the head of Buttersyke, where the four stones mentioned in the ancient boundary formerly stood;+ and thence again cross the said turnpike road leading from Leeds to Ripley, southwards to Dry-dyke, dividing the ’ lands of Swindon, belonging to — Bethel, Esq., on or towards the west, from the open common of Walton Head, on or towards the east; and from thence to a syke, sometimes called Double Dike, coming from Walton Head; and so up the same syke to a place in Walton Head Lane, being the church way from Rigton to Kirkby Overblow; at which place two stones, men- tioned in the ancient boundary, formerly stood;§ and from thence directly through a close, called Wareholes, to a well called Wareholes well, out of which Swindon syke springeth ; and so down Swindon syke to Bowhill yate, standing in the high road which leads out of the West country to Wetherby, which Swindon syke divides the lordship of Swindon on the +At the junction of this watercourse with the Crimple, the three town- ships of Pannal, Rigton, and Follifoot meet each other, and that of Kirkby Overblow comes to within four hundred yards of the same point. +Walton Head is that mass of high land on the right of the turnpike road from Harewood bridge to Harrogate, near Buttersyke toll-bar; the highest point is 400 feet above the sea level. Though there is only one dwelling there at present, it is styled a manor in Domesday survey, and belonged to William Percy. {So upp Butter-sike to fower stones, standing in the head of Butter- sike.”— Perambulation of 1577. g‘‘And up the same sike to two stones standing in Walton Head layne.” —1577. This place is now marked by one stone, bearing the letters K. F., 1767, BOUNDARIES. 18 west, being within the boundary of the said forest, and the lordship of Kirkby Overblow, on or towards the east; and from the said Bowhill-yate, following the same syke to the middle stream of the river Wharfe, dividing the lands on or towards the west, in the township of Dun-Keswick, being within the boundary of the said forest, from lands on or towards the east, in the township of Keerby-cum-Netherby ; and from thence turning westward, and ascending up the middle stream of Wharfe to Harwood Bridge, over which the said turnpike road, from Leeds to Ripley, leadeth; the lands in the township of the said Dun-Keswick adjoining upon the north side of the said river; and from thence still ascending up the middle stream of Wharfe, where the lands in the townships of Dun- Keswick, Weeton, and Casly, likewise adjoin on the north side of the said river, to the west side of Casly Ings; and so along the lane, across which a small rill of water, called Dead-water, runneth; and out of the said lane, into and over the westward side of Dead-water close, and several other closes, which form the west side of Casly township, and join upon a part of Leathly lordship to Riffoe-wood, and so by the eastward side of the said Riffoe-wood to Riffoe-yate; and from thence, into and over a close in Stainburn lordship, called Buck-roods,* to Riffoe-beck, which is the boundary between Stainburn and Leathley moor; and from thence along the said beck, to a breach in the ground called Crammock Hole;} and from thence up the said beck, there called Thrispen-syke, otherwise called Thrisfen-syke, which said syke divides Stainburn field and Leathley moor, to the south-west corner of the same field, (now enclosed and divided,) by which corner the turnpike road from Bradford to Ripley leads, and near which, on Leathley moor (now enclosed), is a boggy place called Thrispen, other- ** Buckrodds,” in 1577. This is now the name of a detached farm. + Cramock,” in 1577. 14 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. wise Thrisfen Head,* out of which the syke, there called Thrisfen syke, and afterwards Riffoe beck, springeth; and from thence to Swankin well,+ otherwise Swanrood Keld, which springeth a little south from a great stone with three holes in it; and from thence by the syke coming from the said well (where was formerly a road, but changed at the enclosing of the said Stainburn field), to Holbeck, and so down Holbeck to the stream of Washburn,t and so up Washburn to Lipley- wath,§ otherwise Lipersey-wath. The township of Lindley, within the boundary of the said forest, being on or towards the north, and the township of Farnley on or towards the south; and from thence up Washburn to Dog Park Bridge; and from thence to the foot of Rigeman Beck;|| and so up the same beck to the foot of Timble Gill beck, and so ascending up a branch of the said beck, to the south end of Sewerbarge lane, and following the said branch, there called a syke, to the south-west corner of Sewerbarge field, which field is in the township of Timble; and from thence turning southward by an old syke (upon which syke part of a cottage standeth, and some encroachments have been made by the owners of a township called Askwith), to a parcel of rocks upon the open common called Millstones: and so by the same syke to a place *Now called ‘ Trispin Head.” + Swankell-well,” in 1577. Rood is the old term for cross; keld is the spring or well heal. {Holbeck falls into Washburn a short distance below Lindley mill. §“ Lethley wath” in 1577; now “ Lippers wath.” {|This boundary includes the whole of Little Timble, which is not within the Forest. The perambulation of 1770 gives this part of the boundary much fuller and clearer than this, as below—‘ thence following Washburn by Dobb Park Bridge (the lordship of Weston lying on or towards the south), to the foot of Ridgeman beck; and so following Washburn to Wroughten Wath, over which the road from Knaresboro’ to Timble leadeth; and still following Washburn by Fewston mill and Fewston bridge, to a place where the old mill stood; where leaving Washburn, and proceeding southward by Mill Syke House, and following the boundary between Little and Great Timble to Timble Gill beck.” BOUNDARIES. 15 called Standing Stone, upon the Crossridge; and so up the same ridge to Dannock-bower,* sometimes called Elleker-dike, (the said forest being on or towards the north, and the open commons of Askwith and Denton on or towards the south), and so to Lipersley Pike;+ and from thence to Gaukhall Ridge, and so up Gaukhall Ridge to the rock called Gauk-Hall, where the open commons of Denton and Middleton, on the south divide; and where those parts of the forest called Timble moor and Blubber-house moor, on or towards the north also divide; and up Middlegill-head,t and by the upper end of Lostshaw gill to Fewber Pike,§ being @ pile of stones upon a high hill above Beamsley; and from thence turning northwards to a scar above Ingengill,|| alias Inkhorngillx house, on the west part of the Queen’s Fold, and so to Pacehouse beck; and so following Pacehouse beck eastwards to the Black syke, and following the Black syke to a hill called Carlhow; and so from thence directly to another hill called Harden-Head; and so to th south side of the Dry Tarn; and so to the rocks called Lord’s Seat; and so by the south side of a hollow place called Gowland Maw, to Esp gill; and so by the same gill unto the lower end of Middletongue, towards Appletreewick; and then up Armshaw gill to Lyard Yate; and so following the said gill, now called Lyard gill, to the head thereof; and from thence to the top of a hill called Rear Clouts, and so over Munga gill to a place where Craven Cross formerly stood,+ which is over against the end of Munga gill; and so from thence to Craven Keld, by the +“ Dunocksboure,” in 1577. +‘ Lepsley Pike.” { ‘‘ Mekellgill.” § ‘*Fawsber Pike.” || ‘‘ Farkehowgill.” *This should be Ickeringill house, the name of a detached farmstead, near Kexbeck, just outside the boundary of the forest of Knaresborough; the original home of the Franklands of Thirkleby, near Thirsk, and yet belonging to that family. +The words are the same in the perambulation of 1577; hence it is evident that Craven Cross had been removed before that time. 16 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. highway which leadeth from Hebden to Pateley Bridge, now a turnpike road, to the place where Craven Cross and the turnpike house now stand; and from thence proceeding along the said highway to Greenhow Hill, and turning by the skirt of the south side of the said hill, by a certain way which leadeth towards Ripley; and so by the same way to the end or head of Greenhow sike, between Cawdstones and Redlish; and so descending down the same syke to Plumpton Gate; and so following the same gate to Pallas-Stone,+ commonly called the Abbot’s Hand; and thence up to a certain old dike, dividing that part of Hayshaw Moor called Braithwaite Side, on or towards the north and north-west, from his majesty’s said forest, on or towards the south and south-east to the head of the Monk wall, where the aforesaid syke entering the enclosed lands of Padside, takes the name of Padside beck;t and from thence to Harrogate,§ following the said wall, which stands on the north and north-west sides of the said beck, till it falls into Darley beck; and still following the said wall, standing on the north and north-west sides of the said Darley beck, to the river Nidd, on the south side thereof; and so diréctly across the said river, unto the said Monk wall on the north side of the same; and so as the same Monk wall leadeth, in some places by the edge of the said river, and in others at some distance from the same, to Haxby bridge, otherwise +The 1770 perambulation has the following addition here— where stands a large stone at which the manors of Dacre-with-Bewerley and the Forest are said to divide.” +‘ Pallice stones.”” +The 1770 has this addition—‘‘then down the fence to the close of Edward Yates, in which are three bounder stones marked F on the south for Forest, and I. for Ingilby on the north; and then through the house of the said Edward Yates, and by four encroachments taken from Hay- shaw moor to Harrow gap, where the Monk wall begins.” Here is a slight discrepancy between the two accounts as to where the Monk wall com- mences; the first is probably the correct one. gA refinement for ‘“‘ Harry-gap,” the name it now bears. BOUNDARIES. 17 New Bridge; and from the said New Bridge, proceeding on the north side of the river, to the now apparent remains of the said Monk wall, to a dwelling-house, commonly called New- bridge house, belonging to Samuel Moorhouse, (part of which house is built upon his majesty’s said forest, and the other part upon the lands in the township of Hartwith-with- Winsley,) and thence following the said Monk wall, by the north side of a certain parcel of land, near the said house, called Wreck- holm, to a corner of the said Monk wall, bearing on or towards the south-east, and following the said wall as it there turneth northward, to Burnt Yates, through which the turnpike road from Ripley by Brimham, to Pateley Bridge leadeth: and from thence, still following the said wall, to Cow Yate, standing near a corner of the said Monk wall, which beareth on or towards tke north-east; and so to Bishop Thornton beck, which beck divideth Bishop Thornton liberty on the north from the township of Clint, part of his majesty’s said forest, on or towards the south; and following the same beck to Askwin Wath, otherwise Scaro Wath, (being the boundary between the said forest, the lands of the Lord Archbishop of York, and the lordship of Ripley), and still descending down the said beck, to Godwin bridge, otherwise called Scaro bridge; where leaving the said beck, and turning westward up a little syke, called Black syke, which runneth on the north, or outside of a hedge or fence, where Ripley Park pale formerly stood ; and so ascending up the same syke (in this part thereof now called Godwin syke), to a place where a certain tree called Godwin Oak* formerly stood; and so pursuing the said * This oak appears to have been standing in 1577, as the words in'’that perambulation are—‘‘and uppe a lytle syke called Black syke running upon the out syde of Ripley pke payle unto Gawdewane oke.” Godwin’s name in connection with this place appears now to be forgotten, but it is of very early occurrence, as we find that ‘‘ William de Goldburgh, the king’s servant, with the consent of Avice his wife, and William his heir, Qo 18 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. syke up to the head thereof, being at the north-west corner of a parcel of enclosed land, parcel of the said Ripley Park, called Dob, otherwise Dob Croft; near which corner is a well, out of which the said Godwin sike springeth ; and from thence turning southward, by the westward side of the said Dob, or Dob Croft, to a stone cross called Monk Cross, otherwise Monkhead Cross, standing in Whipley lane end; and still pro- ceeding southward, down a lane called Dob lane, otherwise Dog lane, otherwise Ash lane, otherwise Whipley lane, leading by the west side of an enclosure called High Rails, formerly parcel of the said park, to a place near Ripley Park gate, near which a large stone, called Corps Cross, otherwise Cap Cross, formerly stood; which gate is placed in the bridle way leading from Ripley to Clint; and so down a syke which runs by the west side of a wood, formerly called Robter, otherwise Robert's wood, and now called Holly-bank wood, into the water of Nidd; and so following the north side of the said river, into certain enclosed lands, part thereof called Ladylaw Croft, and another part thereof called Fat Pasture, being within the lordship of Ripley, and heretofore the inheritance of Sir William Ingilby, Knight, and now of Sir John Ingilby, Baronet; where leaving the present course of the said river, and following the apparent ancient course thereof, commonly called Old Nidd, which leadeth by the east, north, and westward sides of a certain parcel of land called Round Fleets, within the boun- daries of the said forest, into the said river again, and so to Killinghall bridge; and from thence descending down the said river to Knaresborough Low bridge, to Grimbald bridge; and from thence, still descending down the said river by Little gave all his land in Godwin-scales, in Ripley, as is described by the boundaries, to the abbot and convent of Fountains’.—Burton’s Mon. Ebor.” The 1770 has—‘‘ formerly a park fence, in which are the remains of an old oak tree known by the name of Godwin oak, where stands the bounder stone marked 43 K.F, 1767,” BOUNDARIES. 19 Ribston, to a place where Crimple runneth into Nidd, the place before mentioned, and where the said boundary was begun. All which we humbly certify and submit. In witness whereof, we, the said acting Commissioners, have unto this our return, contained in five skins of parchment, at the foot of each of the first four of the said skins, set and subscribed our respective hands; and have also unto this fifth or last of the said skins, set our several and respective hands and seals; and have also unto the said schedule hereunto annexed, contained on four skins of parchment, to each of the said skins, and also to the said plan, set and subscribed our respective names, the twenty-second day of January, in the eighth year of the reign of his majesty, king George the Third, and in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and sixty eight. JOSEPH TULLIE, WILLIAM MASTERMAN, ROBERT ROPER, WILLIAM MARSDEN, WILLIAM H. ASHURST, FRANCIS RUSSELL. The following perambulation of what may be called the Copyhold Forest was made by the Enclosure Commissioners in 1770. We only give the boundaries where they are different from those already given. ‘‘ Beginning at the river Nidd, at the south-east corner of the said forest, commonly called Thistle Hill, and from thence proceeding along such open parts of the said forest, by St. Ives’s, alias Iles’s corner, as joins upon Plumpton and Rough Farlington, the estate of Daniel Lascelles, Esq., to the water of Crimple; where encompassing an encroachment, occupied by James Collins, Esq., or his assigns, the said boundary extends westward up Crimple aforesaid; the township of Folly- 20 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. foot lying on or towards the south side thereof to a certain hill, commonly called Mill Hill, whereon a mill for smelting iron ore is said to have stood; and from thence along Crimple aforesaid to Foulwith mill, (the property of Oliver Coghill, Esq.) and from thence along Crimple to Almsford Wath, where a bridge was lately built, over which the turnpike road from Leeds to Ripley leadeth, (the township of Follyfoot still on or towards the south thereof); and from thence along Crimple to Pannal church and Pannal mill, and by the foot of a certain syke called Buttersyke, to Burnt bridge, over which the ancient road from Leeds to Newcastle leadeth; and from thence along Crimple to the lane called Shaw lane, through which is a road leading from the forest on the north to Rigton on the south, and from thence following Crimple to a bounder stone, marked on the south-eastward side E,L, denoting Edward Lascelles, and with T,F, denoting Thomas Fawkes, on the opposite side; which stone shows the division of the township of Rigton on the east, from that of Stainburn on the west; from thence to Beckwithshaw bridge, over which the turnpike road from Knaresboro’ to Bradford leadeth; and from thence following Crimple to the head thereof (the township of Stainburn being on or towards the south); and from thence along a syke called Mansty syke, to a stone at the head thereof marked F on the south side; then in a direct line by three bounder stones marked F on that part of the boundary called Casten dike, and by the said dike which appears in different places, to another bounder stone marked F; from thence by five bounder stones also marked F to an earth-fast stone, lying north-east of Little Almes Cliff, marked also with Fs from thence by other four bounder stones marked F to Sandwith Wath; from thence following Sandwith syke by five bounder stones, marked also with F to Sandwith Brigstone (where the townships of BOUNDARIES- 21 Stainburn towards the east, and that of Lindley towards the west, are divided); from thence up White Marsh, by four bounder stones marked as before, to an earth-fast stone, called Black stone, marked with F upon it; thence toa large stone called Hunter stone, marked with a K and W but part of the W defaced; from thence by another bounder marked F to Akey Bank Well ; thence proceeding southward by an earth- fast stone with P upon it, to another earth-fast stone marked with W,P, at Blaw Syke Head; and following the said syke to Sunderland Beck Head; and so following the said beck through a wood belonging to Francis Fawkes, Esq., to Lippers- worth bridge, and from thence to the foot of the said beck, where it formerly discharged itself into Washburn; then by four stones marked F standing in the ancient course of Wash- burn, to the present course thereof.” The old boundary of the forest is then followed up Washburn and Great Timble until the boundary of Timble moor and Blubberhouse moor is reached. ‘Then turning northward to Gauk Hall Gill, and so following the said gill eastward by Blay Scar to Stainforth Gill; and from thence by Beck-meetings, the top of Blubber- house enclosure, down Gill beck and Thackwray beck, to Washburn ; then turning westward up Washburn to Blubber- house bridge; from thence following Washburn to the foot of Redshaw beck; thence following Redshaw beck, Redshaw gill and Ramsgill, by Willow bog to Black syke—(all of which last mentioned places, from Gauk Hall Gill aforesaid, are said to be the boundaries between Blubberhouses and the Forest).” From this point the old boundary is followed to the starting point on the Nidd at Thistle hill. 22 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. GEOLOGY. The geological formation of the Forest of Knaresborough is, generally speaking, that of the millstone grit; at the same time it includes small portions of the carboniferous or mountain limestone, as well as the Permian or magnesian limestone. A person travelling from Craven Cross, its most north-westerly extremity, to the junction of the brook Crimple with the river Nidd, its most easterly point, will pass from the middle of the great mass of mountain limestone on Greenhow, across regions of shale and gritstone, alternating with thin beds of coal, ironstone, and a kind of impure or transition limestone, until at Bilton and Rudfarlington he would come upon the magnesian limestone, which would accompany him during the remainder of his journey, especially if he kept close to the right bank of the Nidd; if he kept near the Crimple he would probably miss the magnesian limestone altogether, and pass entirely along the millstone grit formation, which last named rock is prominently developed at Plumpton and near Brame hall. The thickness of this mass of matter, without counting either of the limestones, is probably 800 or 1000 feet. The rocks are all sedimentary, or owe their origin to the deposition of matter under water. In order of deposition they range from west to east, the oldest rocks being those on the highest GEOLOGY. 28 ground, the most recent coming on the last; so that they might be arranged in something like the following order— Mountain limestone..............-205 Greenhow Hill. Millstone grit (similar to Brimham)....Plumpton and Brame. Coal; cama tesayciedavs s0 cesses ates. Thornthwaite, Birstwith, Bilton. Gritstone (lower bed) ............ ....Fox Crag, Poxstones, Little Almes Cliff, Haverah Park, Birk Crag, Hookstones, Sandy Bank, Great Almes Cliff. Impure limestone (containing fossils) .. Thornthwaite, Saltergate-hill, Clint, The Bank, Beckwithshaw.—A deeper bed at Harrogate. Tronstone siswisesie eas Pee rewwedia 404% Rowden Lane, Darley Bank. Grits, shale, and Plates................ Harrogate, Bilton, Birstwith.— Common nearly all over the forest. Magnesian limestone ...... 2.060020 e0 Bilton, Rudfarlington, Grimbald Crag; along the river side to Little Ribstone. The great mass of mountain limestone is of unknown depth. It has never yet been pierced through by any of the mining operations carried on within it. Its culminating point in our district is at Greenhow Hill, where it attains an elevation of 1400 feet above the -sea level. It forms, when burnt, an excellent lime for agricultural purposes. It is rich in veins of lead ore ; and mines have been worked in it from very early times. Next to the mountain limestone, the gritstones are the most prominent series of our district. These are seen to best ad- vantage in Great Almes Cliff, and at Plumpton, which apparently all belong to one formation. The Birk Crag, Knox, Hook- stones, Haverah Park, Little Almes Cliff, and Fox Crag, quarries and cliffs, are parts of a lower bed. The fine edge of gritstone in Thornthwaite probably belongs to the same formation. These beds yield durable building stone, and soma of them have been extensively quarried for that purpose. 24 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. The coal is generally found in a seam about a foot in thick- ness. It comes near the surface, or has been worked at West End, in Thornthwaite, (where it crops out on both sides of an anticlinal), in Birstwith, near Wreaks, where many partially successful attempts have been made to win it, but none of them finally proved profitable; at Bilton the rapid dip of the seam soon drowned out the miners. It is probably the same bed of coal which is reached at all these places, thrown down or up by the undulations of the rock beneath it. At Thorn- thwaite and Birstwith it rests upon a hard, compact bed of stone, of a gritty texture certainly, but the particles are so small as to be almost confluent. The rounded pebbles of the surface soil appear to be formed from the destruction of this rock. The Ironstone occurs in nodules in thin beds in the shales. At Rowden lane, above Hampsthwaite, it has been cut through by a deep gully called Hell-hole; at some period it has been worked along the edge of the hill on the eastern side of Cock- hill beck; and also in Darley bank, on the road to Otley. On widening the road there a few years ago the old galleries of the workmen were found in the side of the hill. The first mention we have seen of iron mines in this forest is during the reign of Edward I. That the iron ore has been extensively smelted in this district is evident from the masses of scoria yet remaining. In the valley of the Crimple, at Mill Hill, is an immense mound of refuse, containing several hundred cart loads; and in the same valley, above Burn-bridge, heaps of refuse may be seen in two or three places. Cinder-hills, between Birstwith and Darley, has been the site of another bloomery ; another heap of refuse was at Whitewall Nook, in Felliscliffe. This smelting of iron is said to have been the GEOLOGY. 25 eause of the destruction of the timber on the forest.* Thoresby, the Leeds antiquary, observed the refuse of the smelting works, and thus mentions it in his diary,} in the year 1703—‘ This forest was once so woody, that I have heard of an old writing, said to be reserved in the chest at Knaresborough church, which obliged them to cut down so much yearly, as to make a convenient passage for the wool carriers from Newcastle to Leeds, &. Now, it is so naked, that there is not so much as one left for a way-mark, such a consumption did the blasts make; of which I have seen great heaps of slag or cinders, overgrown with moss, &c., now often dug into for mending the highways.” The impure, or transition limestone, appears in many places ; whether it is one bed that comes to the surface in different places, or different beds which intersect the forest in bands, running across it in irregular lines, we will not undertake to say. It appears in Clint, Thornthwaite, Norwood, at Salter- gate hill, and lower down near the brook called Cow-dike, and at Beckwithshaw on the right of the road leading to Rig- ton, and also below Beckwith House, where in the quarry belonging to the Harrogate Improvement Commissioners it is seen in a most singular form,—the bed has been lifted up on both sides from its original stratification, and doubled up upon itself, so that the fragment remaining presents the appearance of the letter LU exhibiting in the most unmistakeable manner the violent convulsions which have broken up the surface of «Dr. Michael Stanhope, writing on the Harrogate waters, in 1632, saya —‘ The whole soil where the water rises is full of ironstone, and the former ironworks here have occasioned the total consumption of wood on the forest. Within a mile of the Spaw are still to be seen the ruins of a great ironwork; and by digging a little you may still find plenty of ironstone in most places, even exposed to the day in broken banks on the earth’s surface.” +Vol. I., p. 424. 26 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. this district. The most remarkable appearance of it is at Harrogate, but that is evidently part of a deeper, thicker, and more compact bed than the other. The breakage of the strata here, and upheaval of the lower rock is one of the most singular phenomena we have to record in the physical history of our district, as it has given egress to the saline and sulphur springs of Harrogate, which have done so much for the health and consequently for the happiness of mankind. Judging from appearances, the upheaval of this rock has been caused by the eruption of a body of steam or gas from a great depth below the surface, which has found vent where the Harrogate Bogs now are; forcing its way violently upwards through thick beds of rock, leaving them partly standing on edge, and partly splintered into fragments round the point of dislocation, bring- ing to the surface rocks whose proper place is deep below it, and cleaving a way for the fountains of sulphur and saline water to rise to daylight. This bed of rock is about 40 feet in thickness, regularly stratified, with three thin bands of black matter, like impure coal, at irregular intervals in its substance. It crops out in a singular manner, forming two sides of a triangle, the apex of which is on the spot where the Royal Pump Room covers the old sulphur wells; one of the sides is formed by the quarry behind Coldbath road, the other ascends the hill to behind Cornwall house. The rock on the base or western side of the triangle, near the Bath hospital, does not appear to have been forced upwards in the same violent manner, as the dislocation is nowhere visible. Within the orifice formed by this breakage and upheaval, are the Bogs, a triangular piece of marshy ground, on a part of which, about an acre in extent, are sixteen springs of mineral water, walled round and protected by doors on the top. Near as they are to each other, these springs are all GEOLOGY. 27 different in their mineral impregnation. The real cause of their difference is the beds of shale in which they come to the surface, here standing in an almost perpendicular position, and each spring rises independently of the others, charged with its own proper load of saline matter, or gaseous impregnation, Being hard and well adapted for the making of roads, this stone has been extensively quarried, -so much so as to be almost exhausted, the rapid dip of the beds rendering the cost of removing the superincumbent matter too great to be profit- able. Lead ore is occasionally found in this rock, not in regular veins, but in lumps, composed of about an equal bulk of crystals of ore and sandy fragments of the rock. On the 23rd of June, 1866, whilst engaged quarrying the stone, the workmen came upon an old level or drift way, from four to five feet in height, and about three feet six inches wide, roughly hewn through the rock, leading from the level of the Bogs, and entering this bed of stone immediately in the rear of Binns’ Hotel. This opening was explored for some short distance, and several pieces of candle were found, which had evidently been left by the miners when the drift way was formed. This had doubtless been the work of some bold adventurer, searching for lead ore, in a place where he would obtain little beyond his labour for his pains. A mineral peculiarity, to which, we believe, the decomposition of this stone contributes, is small pieces of lucent stone, hard enough to scratch glass, and locally known as Harrogate dia- monds. The field in which they are most commonly found has been under cultivation, and when recently ploughed, or after a shower of rain, the diamonds were found twinkling like little stars among the soil. Dr. Short,* speaking of the petrifactions generated by mineral * History of Mineral Waters, p. 104, 28 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. waters, says—‘‘ There is yet a fifth kind of petrifactions, which as it is the beautifullest of all, so we are intire strangers to their manner of generation, and that is, these transparent brilliant, solid, hard, hexagonal gems, found like small mar- casites, in the middle of limestone in Cornwall, and Broughton near Settle, in Yorkshire, and sometimes near Castleton, in Derbyshire, which are called diamonds—every whit as fine as Bristol stone, and will cut glass. They are found on the earth’s surface after a sharp shower of rain near Buxton and Harrogate. . . . Those found in the plowed field near Harrogate are not of one certain figure, neither at the ends nor middle, being sometimes triagonal, tetragonal, pentagonal, and hexagonal, in the last, and each almost differing from another in the first.” Wherever this rock comes to the surface, the soil is of superior fertility to that which immediately adjoins it, the latter having been formed from the decomposition of the shale or millstone grit rocks. Shale and gritstone, of various degrees of fineness, are the upper rocks until we come within a short distance of Bilton, when we meet with a patch of the magnesian limestone. A detached portion of this rock has been worked for lime and exhausted. It was harder, darker in colour, and more compact in structure than the generality of rocks of this class. On the east of Bilton is a quarry, yet open, though it has not been worked for the last twenty years. This stone (upwards of twenty feet in thickness) shows the magnesian character- istics, being yellow in colour, porous in the mass, almost non-stratified, and full of crystallized cavities. This patch of rock appears to be almost isolated—at any rate its connection with the main bulk is covered by a thick mass of diluvial matter. It appears again in the wood west GEOLOGY. 29 of Bilton hall, and then again to the eastward, above Knares- borough High bridge; thence it ranges all along the right bank of the Nidd to Little Ribstone, where it sinks beneath masses of diluvial matter; an outlying portion spreads out as far as Rougharlington. Over all this region (except the limestones) in the regular order of geological formation, the coal measures ought to be found, as they are at some distance both on the north and south—but they are not. Instead of the coal-bearing strata, we have nothing but the millstone grit and its attendant shales. Why is it so? Have the coal-bearing beds of rock never existed? Or, have they been upheaved after their deposition above the surrounding district, and swept away by the action of water? The whole country round about bears marks of violent disruption and breakage; the dislocation of the strata near the Harrogate Bogs has been already mentioned; the grand fracture forming the valley of the Nidd is owing to a similar cause; besides these, a grand anticlinal axis extends from the Nidd, near Bilton hall westward, crosses the railway a short distance north of Starbeck, passes to the south of Harrogate, thence by way of Harlow Car, Little Almes Cliff, and Fox Crag, to the Washburn. The central ridge being elevated like the roof of a house, the strata dipping north and south on each side of it; the thick bed of gritstone has been broken, and the edges thrown at least two miles apart, where they are left standing balf on edge. This broken and rugged surface has been scoured or planed down by immense floods of water—at first in rapid motion, and afterwards a mass of clayey shale has been deposited in still water. After this period of repose, violent currents have rushed across the latter deposits, cutting through them in many places, and leaving their traces in gulleys and shallow valleys. Did this elevation 30 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. of land take place before the formation of the coal measures? Or was this district a mountain ridge, or region of high land, and were the coal measures deposited in basins on each side of it? If the latter was the case, we need not expect to find any fragments of them on the central or highest part, but they ought to approach regularly on each side. If they were deposited all over our district on an equal plane, and sub- sequently elevated into a lofty ridge, exposed to the rushing waves of a tempestuous sea, and finally washed away by its waters,—then we might hope to find some traces of their existence on our highest hills, or at the points where, under ordinary circumstances, the coal measures dip beneath the mag- nesian limestone formation. This is not the case; as the coarse millstone grit is the stone which underlies the limestone, as may be easily seen in the Castle cliff at Knaresborough, and further down the course of the Nidd as far as Golds- borough mill, where the limestone is ent through by the river and the coarse gritstone appears. In Follifoot, where the railway cuts deep into the hill, after passing the Crimple viaduct, is a rock of gritstone, of firm compact structure, rich in fossil sigillaria, which has much the appearance of a rock belonging to the coal measures. Careful research, and attention to facts can alone determine this question ; a dogmatic decision either way at present would be worse than useless. ROADS. 31 ROADS. Nortsine can better represent the state of the trade and commerce of a country than its roads; where these are wanting, or of an inferior quality, those can not be of great extent or importance. The roads intersecting our district divide them- selves in the order of time into British trackways, Roman roads, Pack-horse roads, Turnpike roads, and Railroads. Remains of British trackways can only be expected to be found where the country is in its natural uncultivated state, and consequently the progress of agriculture has nearly ob- literated them; yet, slight traces may be seen near ‘‘tho Bank,’ in Norwood, and at Fox Crag, on the confines of Norwood and Stainburn; and also in a few other places which the plough has spared. The probability is that the main lines of trackway were afterwards occupied by the military roads of the Romans. Of Roman roads, two at least crossed the forest, one from north t6 south, the other from north-east to south-west. The first of these passed from Catterick to Adel, two well-known Roman stations, and ran along the western side of the great vale of York, just where the mountain ridges decline to the plain. This road is not mentioned in any of the Itineraries; yet, we have not the least doubt of its existence, as there is sufficient evidence remaining in old entrenchments, and the 2, THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. do names of places, to convince the most sceptical; it is sufficient for our purpose to trace it in our own district, which it entered near Ripley, then passed across Killinghall moor, where, near the Warren house, is a camp of the undoubted Roman type; thence, passing southward, we have the significant names of Harlow (the soldier’s hill), and Harrogate (the military way). Near Pannal High Ash is Castle hill, equally significant of a castra or camp; where tradition says Pendragon encamped with his army. Further south, at Horn bank, on a point of land which overlooks the valleys of the Wharfe and the Crimple, are the remains of three camps—two of a square, and one of a circular form. At Castley, close to the river Wharfe, was a castra, camp, or fort, to protect the pass across the river; a short distance beyond was Burgadunum, now Adel. The other road from the eastward ran between Isurium (Aldborough) and Olicana (Ilkley), passing by way of Ripley ; in the wood to the west of which the strata can yet be distinctly seen, about ten feet in breadth, formed of native boulders. It next entered the township of Clint, across a corner of which it passed, fording the river Nidd near Hamps- thwaite church; thence up that village, not far from the track of the present road. At Swincliffe Top it entered the township of Felliscliffe, which it traversed from east to west; and, with trifling exceptions, along none of the present carriage roads; passing through the fields to the southward of the present line of road, keeping along high ground, and nearly in a straight line to Whitewall Nook, to which place it can yet be used as a ‘‘bridle road.” Formerly it was enclosed on both sides, forming a narrow lane, yet known by the name of ‘‘the Long lane;” but the fences have been removed—sometimes from one side, sometimes the other, rarely on both, and it now forms part of the adjoining fields. At Whitewall Nook a small portion ROADS. 83 yet remains fenced on both sides; it is only about nine feet wide, and therefore would not be well adapted for wheel carriages. A few yards west of this point, about the year 1812, a weaver undertook to enclose and cultivate a small plot of ground in front of his cottage. On digging into it, about six inches below the surface, he came upon a compact pave- ment of stones, set in a kind of brown or rusty-coloured cement, as if it had formed the floor of some building for the accom- modation of wayfarers along the road in the old Roman day. The stratum of the road itself was taken up here about the year 1848; it was composed of native boulders, forming a kind of coarse pavement. From this point westward, the line of road is perpetuated by a footpath only, generally distinguish- able by a slight ridge in the fields across which it passes. The stratum may also be occasionally detected in the fences; and this state of things continues as far as the Kettlesing toll- bar, when it falls into the Knaresborough and Skipton turnpike road, along which its course is parallel, past Dangerous Corner and Spinksburn, to where the modern road bends to the right, a few hundred yards east of the Hopper Lane Hotel. The ancient road then descended the hill on the left, passed Crag Hall, forded the Washburn, and thence ascended the hill on the opposite side, where it is distinctly visible, and so across the moors to Ilkley. These roads have generally been formed of a pavement of rounded pebbles, gathered from the land in the immediate neighbourhood, the sides being formed of larger stones. Where entire they are generally five or six inches below the surface. The Pack-horse roads are next in the order of time; but between the Roman roads and them a long period of time elapsed—ages of anarchy, war, and bloodshed rolled away ; some of the ancient roads were swallowed up by swamp and D 34 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. morass ; others were overgrown by heath and brushwood, and their very courses forgotten. These roads are narrower than the Roman ones, seldom exceeding four feet in breadth, some- times formed of pebbles, sometimes formed of large flagstones, sometimes merely tracks along the natural ground. Of this kind of roads many traces can yet be found in the Forest of Knaresborough ; the principal ones were those leading from the north to Leeds, and from Knaresborough to Skipton. The first of these eatered our district at Harewood bridge, passed along the present line of turnpike to Buttersike, thence across the Crimple brook at Burn-bridge, and ascended the slope to Pannal High Ash (the old trackway is yet visible), thence it passed along the eastern skirt of Harlow Hill to Irongate Bridge, by which it crossed Oakbeck, thence across Killinghall Moor, through the village of the same name, thence crossed the river Nidd by a bridge, which Leland says was ‘‘ one greate arche of stone.” A road of much importance entered the forest from the nor- thern side, and then passed through it to Bolton bridge. This road was surveyed by Ogilby some time previous to 1674. We give his survey from Knaresborough to Bolton bridge, published in the above year, with corrections from the editions of 1711 and 1736. M. F, from York. M. F. 17 6 Knaresburgh vulgo Knasburgh. Nyd flo: near left, for 8 miles. Beeton Hall on left, (Bilton Hall). By Skooten. (Scotton)..........ccceeeee ese ccee en ceesencs 17 Also Nyd Ch: and Hall, 4 f. right. (a church) .............., 176 Some lime pits on both sides ...... cc cece cece ee eee eee ee 05 Killinghall br: and brook, leit. 22.6 Ripley (a-church). cc. cs .dasaeemwaa 0e es 64 ONE Es wea ves 06 Dark Hail* at the end, right. * Dark Hall does not exist at present, but has been removed within living memory. Something like a moat yet remains in the wood, about a quarter of a mile west of Ripley Castle. ROADS, 35 By Clynet (Clint) a village, 2 f. right. (a church).* : 25 0 Hamsworth br: on Nyd flo: ........ 0. cece cc cece ee eee eee 03 Hempsthwaite or Hamsworth, a long village (a church). ...... 02 26 0 By Grafes—Plain moor, + left. And several houses on both sides. Over Keskin moor} ncaiaweswosan wwe aes ve easy os os aneans 33 East End Houses village and Straling village,§ left. 29 0 & two large posts:|| near right ......... cece eee ee eee eens 05 Crosa:ativulet(@) csisis csi aasiaaminneneeee neice tae iin 07 Descent and ascent. 31 0 By Foyston, 2 f. left, eer eae a ret} Binal ae) sss seek 13 Cross Washburn flo: ccs ccaeeavdeadaacts seca see eie mcigs 06 32 2 By Blew-borrow-houses, near left. 34 0 Way still, over Keskin moor (2). By a pool near left ...........0 iPM Nes aes eee aAR 32 A rivulet and cottage, right Somer-sca@les .... 6. sca c ccs ceeeee Crosse brook <.sssse2eddseeswiade ss nee esse o 35 ceaetenies Hessel (¢) saviss ga sedyeows By Derriston,(d) 2 f. left ..... Sturry,(e) 3 f. right and some Almes-houses,(f) near right ............ce eee eee 02 39 0 Boulton siiseica¢ o's sa tacsmawwweader cys cases sees hase 05 Pass Wharf flo: The road from Knaresborough to Otley ran to the south- ward of the present line of road, by way of Rigton(g) and * There is no church or chapel at Clint, nor any evidence to show that one ever existed. Clint Hall, the residence of the Beckwith family, probably contained a chapel, as hardly any of the old manor houses,were without. + Now Greystone-plain. } Kettlesing moor. § East End Houses yet exist in the township of Norwood, but Straling appears to be forgotten. It seems to have been somewhere near the ruined hostelry called Penny-pot house. || These posts appear to have given name to Long Stoup farm. (a) Whidrah beck. (b) Now Kexgill, an unenclosed moor. (c) Hazelwood. (d) Deerstones. (e) Storriths. (/) Founded by Margaret, countess of Cumberland, in 1592. (g) The following extract from an old civil war tract of 1643 has reference to this road.—‘* The Earl of Newcastle’s army do now range all over the south-west parts of this country, pillaging and cruelly using the well- affected party; and the last week there is a garrison of horse and foot layd at Knaresbro, where they began to fortify the town, and pillage and utterly ruin all the religious people in those parts and round about them. On Friday seven-night last, three troops and some other forces, of which 36 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. Stainburn. Westward of the latter place, a deep, old, narrow road yet exists, winding between high hedges down the slope to Stainburn beck, which it now crosses by a bridge, and then in a similar deep-worn track ascends the hill towards Lindley. It would be along this road that the beaten royalist garrison of York marched on their way to Otley and Skipton in July, 1644. ‘‘ Upon Knasborough Forest we made a hand- some show with those Troops of our guard, for we march’d with their Colours, but not with above 6 or 7 score men . . but they soon left their colours, and would take ye nearest way to go to ye prince. Our guards we discharg’d at Otley and so march’d on to Skipton.”’* On a gate-post in the top of a field a little below the north- west corner of Rudding park is yet legible—‘‘ Roade to Spofforth 2 miles,”’—‘‘ Roade to Leeds, 9 miles,’’—‘‘ Road to Harrogat, 1 mile,’—‘‘ Roade to Knaresbrough, 2 miles.”’ This stone was evidently a guide-post before the enclosure of the forest.+ Another road passed over Knaresborough High bridge, by way of Bilton, which must be the road mentioned in the Stuteville charter, about the year 1200, as ‘‘magnum viam many were French, came from that garrison and pillaged Otley, and there barbarously used some honest women of that town; and in their retreat to Knaresbro’, upon the open forest (Rigton), they took a man and a woman—the man they wounded and beat cruelly, and before his eyes ravished the woman.” : * Diary of Sir Henry Slingsby, p. 123. +Many other singular stone guide-posts are yet to be seen in different , parts of the forest. They are generally defaced, but where readable they give miles of great length. One of these yet stands unmutilated, just within the northern boundary of Haverah park, about 2} miles west of Harrogate. It is a dressed stone, about 10 inches square, and about 6 fect in height above the surface. On the north side is cut the figure of a hand pointing easterly, on the palm of which is inscribed M:IIIz. Knaresbrovgh : —implying that the distance to Knaresborough is 33 miles, whereas it is at least 6 of our present miles. Below is another hand, pointing westward, similarly inscribed, M:XIz. Skipton. Below is I:W. W:B. Svrvaors. On the west side, fairly cut, is—‘t Here endith the Constabilre of Killinghall; T:B. Con! 1738.” ROADS: 87 usque ad Biltonam.” The same road is also mentioned in the foundation charter of the house of St. Robert of Knares- borough, granted by Richard, earl of Cornwall, in 1256, as “the road which turns from Knaresborough towards Hey- wray.”’ It was the stratum of this road which ‘Blind Jack of Knaresborough” plundered in 1754, when he made the present turnpike road between Harrogate and Knaresborough. From the High bridge this road ascended the hill, on the track of the present one; then it deviated to the right towards Bilton Hall, from which an ancient paved road is yet visible, and can be traced as far as Bilton village, when it turned into the fields to the right, by way of Harrogate Hall and Bachelor Gardens school, crossed Oakbeck at Knox bridge, the narrow arch of which yet remains; after which it fell into -the main road from Ripon to Leeds, though there cannot be any doubt but a continuation of it led by way of Lund lane’ to Hampsthwaite. The northern side of the forest was intersected by another road, which as the popular voice phrases it, went ‘up Swin- cliffe, down Swarcliffe, an’ ower th’ New brig into Hartwith.” It was towards the repair of this road, on the northern side of the Nidd, that Francis Ellis and his ‘‘ concubine” Elizabeth Thruscrosse, in 1594, were enjoined, after penances done in the churches of Kirkby Malzeard and Masham, “ to repair the king’s highway, called Newbrig lane, in Winsley, and to bestow 20s. thereon.” A road led from Summer-bridge, on the Nidd, in a southerly direction, by way of Dacre and Darley, to Fewston, where it bent towards the left into Norwood, by Scough hall, Jack hill, and Dog Park mill, where it crossed the Washburn,* thence by way of Clifton to Otley. * This bridge is maintained at the cost of the parish of Fewston. It existed in 1560. In 1658 the parishes of Weston and Fewston were pre- 38 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. From the same Summer-bridge a road led across Dacre pasture to Thornthwaite; thence to West End, in Thruscross, where it crossed the Washburn at Mill bridge,* and then over the moor to Bolton bridge. The said ‘‘Somerbrige’’ was a bridge when the monastery of Fountains was in the zenith of its greatness. It is highly probable that it was built at the cost of that house. In 1586 it needed repair, when ‘Robert Beckwith, of Dacre, in Nyder- dall,” being of ‘“‘hoole mind and good memorie,” made his will, and gave two shillings towards the mending of the same. Of the bridges which carried these narrow roads across the sented at the Quarter Sessions, held at Wetherby by the grand jury, for the non-repair of Dog Park bridge. They are ordered to repair the same before Pontefract Sessions, upon pain of £20. At Skipton, July 12th, 1659, there was an indictment against the inhabitants of Weston and Fewston for not repairing Dog Park bridge, and upon the travish jury Fewston was found guilty to the indictment. It was therefore ordered that Fewston repair the same between and Michaelmas, upon pain of £20. It was accordingly repaired by the township of Clifton-with-Norwood, when several parties in the other townships refused to pay their propor- tion, until compelled to do so by an Order of Session, held at Knares- borough, Oct. 5th, 1665. In 1738 this bridge was ruinous and irreparable, when it was rebuilé by the parish at wu cost of £50, towards which the Justices in Quarter Sessions, at Pontefract, on April 11th, in the same year, granted £16 13s. 4d., as a gratuity. In 1822 the sides of the bridge were thrown off, and it was again repaired at a cost of £20. *This bridge is kept in repair by the inhabitants of the township of Thruscross, and has been a frequent source of litigation. On July 8th 1658, the Constable of Thruscross was ordered to levy 46s. 8d. upon the inhabitants, equally, for repairing this bridge. In January, 1659, an order of the Justices in Quarter Sessions was given to repair the same bridge before the Easter Sessions, upon pain of £10. In July, 1680, the inhabit- ants of Thruscross were again indicted for non-repair of this bridge. In 1682, the inhabitants presented a petition to the Justices in Quarter Sessions at Knaresborough, stating that the Mill bridge was in ruin and they were not able to repair it. On July 26th, 1684, « fine of 30s. was ordered to be levied upon the inhabitants for not repairing this bridge. In the same year, Thomas Gill and George Taylor undertook to repair the said bridge; and it was referred to Henry, Lord Fairfax, and Sir Jonathan Jennings, to order and direct who ought to be at the charge of the said repairs, and in what manner. At the Skipton Sessions, July 13th 1686, Twelve pounds were ordered to be estreated upon the inhabitants of Thruscross, for repairing of Mill bridge; 40s. thereof Thomas Gill and George Taylor are to have for their charges and pains about the said bridge. ROADS. 39 brooks only three remain: one, called Irongate bridge, over Oakbeck, near Harrogate, a high, narrow arch, without battle- ments; now entirely disused—not even a footpath passing over it. Another across the same stream, lower down, at Knox, which has been modernised by the addition of battlements, and is yet used as a foot and horse bridge; the last is the New bridge, in Birstwith, across the Nidd, which has been rebuilt, but of its original size. All the others have either been rebuilt or widened. During this period the trade of the country was carried on by means of pack-horses, and nearly all travelling was performed on horseback. The Turnpike roads intersecting our district are from east to west, and north and south. The first of these starting from Knaresborough runs to Harrogate, where it divides into two branches. One, diverging slightly to the right, proceeds through the heart of the forest, by way of Saltergate hill, Kettlesing Head, Blubber houses, Kexgill moor, Hazelwood-with-Storriths, and Beamsley, to Bolton bridge, where it crosses the Wharfe and proceeds to Skipton. The greatest part of this road was laid out and made on the enclosure of the forest, in 1776; and though it is, comparatively speaking, a level and useful road, it passes through the most barren and uninteresting part of the forest, and is also distant from the seats of popu- lation. The other branch proceeds westward, until it reaches Beckwithshaw, when it bends towards the left over Burscough Rig, Stainburn moor, and Lindley, to Otley. Great part of this road also passes through a high and sterile country, avoiding the villages, which the old crooked roads appeared to take a pleasure in visiting. Easier access to Otley has since been given, by the formation of a new line of road from Buttersike toll-bar to Pool. 40 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH, The most important and busy line of turnpike road passed from south to north, entering our district at Harewood bridge, passing by way of Spacey houses and Harrogate, to Killinghall bridge, thence to Ripley. Along this road rumbled the stage waggons and rattled the stage coaches,* producing a state of things such as made Byron exclaim— “What a delightful thing’s a turnpike road ! So smooth, so level, such a mode of shaving The earth, as scarce the eagle in the broad Air can accomplish, with his wide wings waving. Had such been cut in Pheton’s time, the god Had told his son to satisfy his craving With the York mail.” In the summer of 1848, the Royal Mail and fourteen other coaches, either passed through, or to and from Harrogate daily ; but the steam revolution was at hand, which was destined to drive them from the roads, and supply their places with ponderous giants of iron and brass, and whose food is fire and water. The next great step in locomotion was from Turnpike roads to Railroads; level lines were indispensible, and we at once * Hargrove, in his History of Knaresborough, 2nd Ed., 1775, says— “The fly from Carlisle to London goes and “returns through Harrogate twice a week, takes in passengers at the White Hart, in Low Harrogate. A waggon from London to Newcastle goes through Knaresborough on Tuesdays, and a waggon from Newcastle ‘to London goes through Knares- borough on Thursdays ; takes in goods at the Blue Bell, in High street. A waggon comes from Leeds to Harrogate and Knaresborough, and returns the same day. The Fish Machines from Stockton to Leeds, pass through Knaresbro’ and Harrogate every Wednesday, and return on Fridays.” In 1822, writes Edward Baines, in his Directory of the county of York of that date—' Besides a great number of post carriages, three stage coaches pass through the place daily; the Telegraph, between Leeds and Newcastle; the Union and the Tally-ho, between Leeds and Ripon. A coach also comes from York on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and returns the same days.” At the present time (1868) upwards of seventy trains arrive at and depart from the Harrogate station daily. ROADS. 41 behold a series of tunnels and deep cuttings diving through the hills, and lofty viaducts bestriding the valleys with their multitudinous arches. The first iron railway which invaded our district was the Harrogate and Church Fenton, a branch of the North Midland Company, which was completed and opened in 1848. After passing through a short tunnel under Follifoot Rigg, it enters the Forest of Knaresborough by a stupendous viaduct of thirty arches, each of fifty-two feet span; the centre being one hundred and thirty feet above the waters of the brook Crimple, The piers are of rustic stone, in large blocks; the arches are turned in brickwork, faced with hewn stone. The length of this magnificent piece of work is 1,850 feet. Although apparently slender, when viewed at a distance, it is really a massive and substantial work. This railway terminated in a station near the Bruns- wick hotel (now the Prince of Wales), Harrogate, and gave access to London and the south of England. The Leeds and Thirsk railway was the next line finished; indeed it was in progress during the formation of the last mentioned. It enters our district at Castley; crossing the valley of the Wharfe by a lofty embankment and viaduct, the latter consisting of twenty-one arches, each sixty feet in span and ninety feet high in the middle, containing upwards of 50,000 tons of stone. A short tunnel and deep cutting carries the line through Wescoe hill, a mass of clay and shale; thence it curves onward by way of Pannal, passes through one of the arches of the Crimple viaduct, and then crosses the brook Crimple by a viaduct of ten arches, each of fifty feet span and fifty feet high; thence to Starbeck, about midway between Knaresborough and Harrogate; thence, by way of Bilton, to the river Nidd, which it crosses by a viaduct of seven arches, each of 50 feet span and 104 feet in height; thence proceeds 42 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. to Ripon and Thirsk. It was finished and opened in 1849. The stations in our district are Weeton, Pannal, and Starbeck. In connection with the last named line was formed the East and West Yorkshire Junction railway, which extended between Starbeck and York. It was begun in 1847, and is carried under part of the town of Knaresborough by a tunnel, and then over the river Nidd by a viaduct of four arches, three hundred feet in length, and ninety feet in height. The foundation stone was laid in April, 1847, and the work was rapidly approaching completion, when, on the 11th of March, 1848, about noon, the whole mass of stonework and scaffolding fell down with a tre- mendous crash into the river below. This accident was caused by some deficiency in the construction of the piers. The dam- age was estimated at £10,000. It was afterwards built in a more substantial manner, and is now one of the most interesting objects in the town of Knaresborough. On whatever side the railways enter the Forest of Knaresborough they have to do it by means of lofty viaducts. The above mentioned railways, though projected and made by distinct companies, became amalgamated, along with many others into a great system or union, called the North Eastern Railway Company. This Company having obtained the requisite powers, formed a branch railway to Pateley Bridge up the valley of the Nidd. This is but a single line, 114 miles in length from its junction with the main line near the Nidd viaduct to Pateley Bridge. The cost was about £8000 a mile. It was finished and opened May 1st, 1862. The stations upon the Forest are Hampsthwaite, Birstwith, and Darley. The next piece of railway made in our district was for the ac- commodation of Harrogate. The nearest station from which the inhabitants and visitors of that town could obtain access to the populous districts of Yorkshire and Lancashive was at Starbeck, ROADS. 43 two miles from the centre of the town. To remedy this incon- venience the Company obtained powers for connecting the Leeds and Thirsk line with the Church Fenton, near the southern end of the Crimple viaduct, thence crossing the Stray, and passing through the centre of the town, forming a junction with the old line near Bilton Gate, and with the York line at Star- beck; thus making Harrogate a central station, and the terminus of the Church Fenton, York and Harrogate, and Nidd Valley Railways. The works in connection with this extension were opened August 2nd, 1862.* * This line is only about 4% miles in length, yet it cost upwards of £100,000. The cost of the land was a considerable item in this amount; 5a. 1r. 7p., out of one estate, cost £4,850. Being generally on elevated ground, a great part of the line is a cutting. Over and under it there are fifteen bridges. W.Mc.Cormack, Esq., M.P., was the contractor. > CS 44 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. KNARESBOROUGH FOREST. “It was a salvage wood of ancient growth, With dreary paths, and caves, and thick-set trees, And darkened miles of land from north to south. —Spenser. What a train of depen is awakened by the word Forest! We pass at once in thought to the remote days when our British ancestors dwelt in the wild oak woods, and their priests cut the mistletoe with their golden knives, and taught the doctrine of the immortality of the soul beneath the solemn shades. We also picture to ourselves groves of lofty oaks where the axe of the woodman has never been heard, and groups of wild deer sweep- ing down the glades, or cropping the herbage at their ease. Then again we see them peopled by the stalwart forms of out- laws, desperate men, at war with all the world, but yet we do not fear them—they are the followers of some Robin Hood, ter- rible only to the proud and tyrannical, kind and courteous to the poor and humble. Such associations are pleasing to the mental vision, and the forests of our native land are full of them. THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. 45 ‘Dreams that the soul of youth engage, Ere fancy has been quelled ; Old legends of the monkish page, Traditions of the saint and sage, Tales that have the rime of age, And chronicles of eld.” There can be little doubt but that at an early period the whole of our island, from sea to sea, was covered with forests and marshes, and that up to the time of the first Roman invasion. Julius Cesar found by experience what British trees and forests were, and he has described them with forcible truth. | 3-39 October -| 1:98 | 4°95 | 455 | 4:75 | 5-79 | 2°52 | 2:31 | 3-31 November ..}. 3:43 “89 | 3:35 | 2°35 | 38-43 | 1:70 | 1:29 | 2:59 [December ..| 1:59 | 1:83 | 2°54 | 2°88 | 1:21 | 2°88 | 2-47 | 7-78 Total... 32:58 |34.76 |26-48 127-74 139-44 |39-33 [32-83 184 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. During the year 1862, rain, more or less, fell on 204 days; in 1868, on 183 days; in 1864, on 162 days; in 1865, on 145 days; in 1866, on 210 days; in 1867, on 172 days; and in 1868, on 160 days. The greatest quantity recorded as having fallen in one day was on October 11th, 1865, when 2°16 inches fell. Thunderstorms are recorded as having occurred six times in 1862, eight times in 1863, six times in 1864, thirteen times in 1865, three times in 1866, and three times in 1867. The prevailing winds are the N.E., §8.H., S.W., W., and N.W. The strongest winds, or gales, are from the 8.W. and §.8.W. TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. A walk round the town of Harrogate and its immediate neighbourhood will enable the reader better to comprehend the different localities, and also give an opportunity for the introduction of matter not admissable by any other method. Commencing our survey at the northern extremity, the cemetery is the first object deserving of attention. The two small elegant chapels, with their slender spires, are observable at a consider- able distance. From its recent formation, this place has not yet become so interesting as it will do in the course of time; for the places where the dead are buried are always regarded with veneration by the living; while the monuments—sometimes by their elegance—sometimes by the inscriptions they bear, recording the talents or virtues of those sleeping below—demand our veneration; while the plain grassy hillocks preach a sermon whose moral is memento mori. A short distance east of the cemetery is the Harrogate National School; opposite is Grove House, a large lofty building, surrounded by a grove of sycamore trees, the property of John Greenwood, Esq., of Swarcliffe Hall, and now occupied HARROGATE. 185 by Mrs. Dury, widow of the Rev. Theodore Dury, rector of West Mill, in Hertfordshire. This building has had a some- what eventful history; it was originally built for an inn, and was known as ‘‘The World’s End,” by which name it is frequently mentioned in the Forest Award; afterwards it was used as a boarding school; about the year 1805, Mrs. Hofland, then Barbara Hoole, a well-known authoress, resided here, and kept a ladies’ school. Here she wrote her poem, in imitation of Anstey’s Bath Guide, which she styled ‘“‘A Season in Harrogate,” and some others of her works. On her marriage with Mr. Christopher Hofland, the artist, they removed to London. In 1822, it was occupied as a school by the Rev. T. B. Wildsmith; afterwards, for a while, it was unoccupied, and had the reputation of being haunted.* After crossing the railway, a short distance on the right, we see what was the Dragon hotel, now converted into a school, known as High Harrogate College. It is an old, irregular, weather-stained building, like half-a-dozen small houses thrown into one. In early times it was the most noted place in Harrogate for high class society; the tide of popular favour afterwards ebbed away, and left it somewhat neglected. Could its old walls relate their history, what a chronicle of the past they would give us! One episode in its domestic life isa pleasant one; it was kept by a Mr. and Mrs. Liddle, who on the 25th. of June, 1764, took the oath at Dunmow, in Essex, and obtained the flitch of bacon. The gentlemen of the neighbourhood, to celebrate so unusual an instance of conjugal *This ghost was said to have the appearance of a woman without a head, and which only made its appearance at certain times. It was subsequently found to be the moonlight shining through one window, thrown back by another, upon an opposite wall. Captain Chesney—since distinguished for the part he took in forwarding the East Indian mails by way of the Persian Gulf—lodged for some time here, in 1821. 186 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. felicity, sent in each some elegant or plentiful dish, and: all dined together at the house of the happy couple.* Within these old walls was also reared the celebrated artist, William Powell Frith, A.R.A.; his birth-place was the village of Aldfield, near Ripon. A short distance further south, also on the right hand, is Westmorland street, principally built in 1842, On the left is Devonshire House, seat of John James Harrison, Esq. This house formerly belonged to the family of Thackwray, which at that time had also considerable estates in the neighbourhood. The Post Office was situate here for many years, until removed in 1865. The green area of the Stray here expands before us, and the lines of buildings diverge on each hand ;— Devonshire Place, at one time called Silver Street, on the left, and Regent Parade on the right; the last consisting of a range of substantial lodging houses and well-furnished shops; near the middle, on the premises now occupied by Mr. Stokes, the draper, resided for many years Mr. George Wright, the artist, a Royal Academician, distinguished for his miniature portraits. He was a native of Littlethorpe, near Ripon, but settled, in Harrogate, where he died, May 9th, 1854, aged 68 years. Passing along Devonshire Place, we soon reach Gascoigne’s Hotel, a good commercial house. It was formerly known as the ‘Salutation Boarding House;” in 1822, it bore the name of ‘‘Hope Tavern.” A little further, close to the pathway, is the ‘‘Black Spring,’’ a well of remarkably pure water. The next object of interest is the Granby Hotel, one of the largest of its class in the town, containing upwards of one hundred and fifty bedrooms, and other accommodations in proportion. It arose in some shape (not its present one) previous to the year «Annual Register, for 1764, Preohirreg asia lesienetugasceste 1 j 1 HARROGATE. 187 1700, and was first known as the ‘Sinking Ship,” afterwards it bore the name of the ‘Royal Oak,” and finally assumed its present aristocratic title. It has often been improved and enlarged, and now is of gigantié proportions. It was styled by Dr. Granville, in his ‘Spas of England,” ‘‘the truly aristocratic hotel of the Spa, with the best aspect on this wide expanse of ground.’”’ In the barn behind, the first plays acted in Harrogate were performed; traces of its fittings up at that time yet remain. The cluster of houses opposite the Granby, surrounded by the Stray, are known as Church Square. Here stood the theatre, now converted into a lodging house, called Mansfield House. Here is also situate the Harrogate Infant School, built and maintained by William Sheepshanks, Esq. Immedi- ately to the westward is Christ Church, surrounded by its grove of trees and crowded burial ground— “Fraught with the relics of mortality.” Close to the right of the road leading to Knaresborough, is the parsonage belonging to the incumbency of Christ’s Church ; a picturesque building in the early English style, erected in 1859. In the same direction, just outside the verge of the Stray, are the villas, ‘‘Elmwood House, ” Willaston House,” (both built since 1861), and ‘‘The Hollies,” the last on a plot of ground, which projects into the Stray, where formerly stood the ‘‘New Cold Bath.” Close adjacent is John’s Well, or the Sweet Chalybeate Spa, known by its octagonal pump room. Directly south is Wedderburn House, so named from its builder, Alexander Wedderburn, Lord Loughborough, who purchased the estate, built the house, and laid out the plantations, and otherwise greatly improved the domain about the year 1786. The Karl of Rosslyn, his nephew, to whom 188 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. he bequeathed it by will, in 1805, sold it afterwards to John Jaques, M.D., after whose decease it came into possession of John Jaques Willis, Esq., the present owner. Returning past Christ Church to the top of Regent Parade, the premises now occupied by the Misses Langdale, booksellers, known as Library House, was once the property of Ely Hargrove, author of a ‘‘History of Knaresborough,” and many other valuable local tracts. He died in 1818. The mansion on the right, surrounded by trees, is the seat of William Sheepshanks, Esq., of Leeds and Harrogate, one of the largest landowners in the township, and who has been the most liberal benefactor to Harrogate, that it ever had. The building and maintenance of the Infant School, in Church Square, and the erection and endowment of St. John’s Church, Bilton, need only be mentioned to prove the above assertion. His estates in Harrogate have been purchased and this house built since 1834. The family of Sheepshanks, now of great wealth and im- portance, originated with Richard Sheepshanks, of Linton, in Craven, yeoman, who was born March 26th, 1711, and died December 22nd, 1779. He married Sushaunah Garside, of Stainland, by whom he had issue— William, born at Linton, March 18th, 1741, M.A., prebendary of Carlisle, rector of Ovington, Norfolk, and curate of St. John’s, Leeds. Whittel, born 14th Nov., 1748, who afterwards assumed the name of York, died August, 1817. His descendants reside at Wighill Park, near Tadcaster. Richard, born September 14th, 1727, of Leeds and Phila- delphia, merchant, died in America, in 1797. Thomas, born December 21st, 1752, M.A., rector of Hanpole and Aspenden, in Cambridgeshire. HARROGATE. 189 Joseph, born May 8th, 1755, of Leeds, merchant—of whom hereafter. James, of Leeds, merchant, died s.p. 1789. John, born May 4th, 1765, M.A., Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, vicar of Wymeswould, and curate of Trinity Church, Leeds. : Joseph married Ann, daughter of Mr. Richard Wilson, of Kendall, by whom he had issue—Thomas. William, of Leeds and Harrogate—of whom presently. John, born in 1787, died October 5th, 1863. THe collected the famous ‘‘ Sheepshanks’ Gallery” of pictures, which on his decease he bequeathed to the nation. Richard, A.B., of Trinity College, Cambridge, and a noted astronomer. Anne and Susanna. William Sheepshanks married Sarah Nicholson, of Roundhay, near Leeds, by whom he has issue—Thomas, present incumbent of Arthington; and two daughters. Arms—Azure, a chevron, erminois, between three roses in chief, and a sheep passant in base argent. Crest—On a wreath of the colours, a mount vert, whereon a sheep passant, as in the arms. A short distance further, in a westerly direction, is ‘‘ The Queen,” the largest as well as the oldest of the Harrogate hotels. It was first built in 1687, and named the ‘ Queen’s Head.’ It has undergone frequent renewals and enlargements; the centre was rebuilt, and the western wing added in 1855; and in 1861 the eastern portion was renovated and enlarged; and the whole has now an elegant modern appearance. The gardens and grounds around are kept in the neatest order, while the tall sycamores in front point it out as a spot which has long been enclosed and inhabited. Queen Street and the range of villas fronting the Stray have all been built since 1855. 190 THE FOREST OF KNAKESBOROUGH. On the southern side of the Stray is Oatlands, the seat of Miss Ann Paley, a comfortable looking house, situate in a grove of trees. The house, with the farm and lands adjoining, were purchased by the late John Green Paley, Esq., about the year 1886. On his decease, October 9th, 1860, he bequeathed the same to his daughter, the present owner, for her lifes. On the enclosure of the forest, this plot of land was awarded to John Coates; afterwards it was possessed by Mr. John Dearlove, who disposed of the same to Captain Thackwray, who built the present mansion, and afterwards sold it to Mr. Paley. Passing westerly, on the right is the long line of houses known as ‘“ York Place’; on the left, the wide level grassy expanse of the Stray, across which runs the railway, spanned by three bridges, and enters the town by a deep cutting, on the east side of which a new street, called Park Road, winds among the villas in the Victoria Park; on the western side is another street, called South Station Parade, which runs in a straight line from the Royal Hotel to the railway station. The Royal Hotel was built in 1847, and enlarged in 1864. At a short distance southward, on the same side, is the Roman Catholic School of St. Robert, with the house for the officiating priest, erected A.D. 1864. A short distance further are Albert and Alexandra Terraces, both on the same side; the opposite side presents a range of detached houses and villas. Returning to the Royal Hotel, and looking southward to the angle formed by the railway and the boundary of the Stray, we see the pillared dome which covers the Tewhit Well, the first known of all the mineral waters of Harrogate. At the corner formed by the intersection of the roads from Leeds to Ripon, and from Knaresborough to Otley, stands the Prince of Wales Hotel, a large and handsome building fronting the south and west. It was built by Michael Hattersley, about HARROGATE. 191 the year 1820, and was for some time known as Hattersley’s Hotel; it afterwards received the name of ‘‘The Brunswick,” which it retained until 1866, when it assumed its present title. It was rebuilt in 1860-1, on a much more extensive scale than before. At the corner on the opposite side of the road stood the Low Harrogate railway station; it was the terminus of the Church Fenton and Harrogate railway, and was used until the opening of the present one, in 1862, when a portion of the railway was abandoned, the station cleared away, and the land on which it had stood thrown to the Stray, as compensation for the ground taken in passing across it by the same company’s line lower down. In 1867, about seventy acres of land, situate at this corner, were sold by the Railway Company to a Joint Stock Company, who laid it out in building lots, upon a most comprehensive and elegant scale, which, when realized, will form a new and beautiful suburb, under the name of ‘The West End Park.’’* Turning to the right, and proceeding northward, we next pass the Clarendon Hotel, which was enlarged and adapted to its present use in 1847. The large, rough, upright boulder on the left hand, about nine feet in height and two feet square, has been mistaken by a clever antiquary} for a Druidical stone; it is merely the boundary of two Turnpike Trusts, which meet here. It was erected on the enclosure of the forest, about -*On the enclosure of the Forest, in 1778, this plot of ground was awarded to Dorothy Wilks and Ann Bainbridge, who held a fourth part of the appropriate rectory of Pannal, in lieu of tithe; afterwards it came into possession of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, with whom it continued until 1846, when it was purchased by the North Midland Railway Company, for their Harrogate and Church Fenton line. After the amalgamation, it formed part of the North Eastern system. Such was the commingling of lands produced by the Forest enclosure, that this plot of ground is in the three townships of Pannal, Scriven, and Knaresborough. +Mr. Thomas Wright, in his ‘Celt, Roman, and Saxon.” 192 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. 1778, and in the ‘‘Award” then made it is styled ‘the great stone pillar erected at Harrogate corner.’’ On the east side is inscribed, ‘‘The boundary of Leeds and Ripon Turnpike Road.” In 1870 it was enclosed with an iron paling, to protect it from desecration. On the opposite side of the Stray (here called West Park,) is a line of elegant villas, called Beech Grove, which have all been built since 1848. On the enclosure this land was awarded to the king, as Duke of Lancaster, and it yet belongs to that duchy. Considerable plantations of beech trees have been made upon it—hence its present name. The Commercial Hotel is next passed, which was rebuilt in 1888, on the site of an earlier place of rest for travellers, which was known by the sign of ‘‘The Obelisk.” Tower Street opens on the right—so named from its direct view of the tower on Harlow Hill. At the end of Brunswick Terrace is ‘‘The Belvidere,” an elegant mansion in the Tudor style, erected by the late Mr. John Smith, banker, in 1861; one front faces the Victoria Avenue, the other the West Park. On the opposite side is the Congregational Church, with its tall and graceful spire. Passing along the Avenue, some distance on the right, is the group of almshouses, built in 1868. These houses are twelve in number, and form three sides of a square, with a grass plot in the centre, and a raised terrace on each side. The buildings are two stories in height, constructed externally of stone, roofed with Coniston slate, surmounted with ornamental chimney stacks, and a red ridge. The sitting rooms are 14 feet by 15, and 9 feet 6 inches in height, neatly corniced, and lighted by a mullioned window of two lights. On the ground floor there is also a pantry, scullery, and coal place. The bedrooms, 15 feet by 14, are lighted by dormer windows of two lights. All the windows are made to open, and the comfort and HARROGATE, 193 convenience of the inmates have been attended to throughout. In the centre of the eastern side is a handsome clock tower, 65 feet in height, the angles of which are ornamented with gurgoyles, above which rise gables with gilt finials. The roof is a slated spire, ending in a finial, which serves both as weather-cock and lightning conductor. At the western base of the tower, above a sculptured bee-hive (emblematical of industry) is inscribed, “ €{erorge TRogers, 1868,” The two western gables present buttresses, and ornamental windows, of five circular lights each. The doorways are protected by sloping stone pediments. At the two corners, on the eastern side, are ash pits and wash houses. The whole block is enclosed on three sides by a wall, and on the other by a neat iron palisade. The style partakes largely of the early English. The architects were Messrs. Andrews and Pepper, of Bradford. The total cost was upwards of £4,000; in addition to which, a much larger sum is invested in trustees, for the purpose of paying £20 a-year to each pensioner, with a margin for incidental expenses. Nine of these almshouses are intended for women, either widows or spinsters, who have moved in a respectable position in life, but who have been reduced to poverty by circumstances over which they had no control, and who have lived within three miles of Bradford Parish Church for three years immediately preceding their application, and have attained the age of sixty years. The other three houses are for similar persons, who have resided for three years within three miles of Christ's Church, Harrogate. The funds for the support of this trust consist of £2,500, Great Western Railway Six per cent. Stock, and £2,000, Great Western Irredeemable Stock, 1866; producing a present income of £270 per annum. The affairs of this charity are under the management of a N 194 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. committee, consisting of the vicar of Bradford, the mayor, the two senior aldermen, the minister of Horton Lane Independent Chapel, and the incumbents of St. Peter’s and Christ Churches, Harrogate. The whole cost was defrayed by Mr. George Rogers, formerly a merchant and manufacturer in Bradford, who, after a career of successful industry, retired to Harrogate, and employed his fortune in doing good to his fellow-creatures—not for his lifetime alone—for this foundation will remain a monument of his charity and munificence long after the head which conceived, and the hand which so freely gave, have departed hence, and will send down his name to future generations as a benefactor of his species.* The Avenue, opened in 1860, intersects the Victoria Park from west to east, passing from the West Park to Queen Street; the space between, on both sides, is laid out in building lots, and a considerable portion of it already occupied. Resuming our survey at the Congregational Church, the next opening on the right is Raglan Street, in which is situate the Police Station, a neat brick building, erected in 1866. “Passing along Prospect Place—a pleasantly situated range of lodging houses, all of them built since 1814—the next opening is Albert Street. In the house on the left, now used as offices by the Harrogate Improvement Commissioners, died, August *My. Rogers died at his residence, Claro Villas, High Harrogate, July 5th, 1870, aged 65. By his will, he bequeathed £250 to the Bradford Infirmary, £250 to the Leeds Infirmary, £250 to the Harrogate Bath Hospital, £250 to the Ilkley Wells Hospital, £250 to the Bradford Mechanics’ Institute, £250 to the Bradford Tradesman’s Benevolent Institution, £250 to the Bradford Town Mission, £250 to the Church Missionary Society, £250 to the London Missionary Society, £250 to the British and Foreign Bible Society, and £250 to the Religious Tract Society. He also left an additional sum of £2,000 towards the further endowment of the almshouses erected by him at Harrogate, so as to enable the trustees to pay ten shillings a week to each of the inmates. HARROGATE. 195 22nd, 1861, Mr. Richard Oastler, a noted character in his day, generally known as ‘‘The Factory King.” On the right of this street is the Methodist Free Church. The Albion Hotel at the corner was built in 1840; it has since been enlarged. At the lower end of Prospect Place stands the Prospect House Hotel, the most trim and ornate of all the Harrogate hotels. It was rebuilt, in 1859, on the site of a smaller hotel of the same name, and enlarged to double its former size in 1870. The ‘delightful little pleausance, used as a croquet ground, on the opposite side of the street, belongs to it. Immediately behind the Prospect Hotel is the Victoria Hall, and drill ground of the Harrogate Volunteer Rifle Corps. Passing along James Street, on the right is the Post Office,* easily distinguishable by the royal arms on the pediment, and the arcade at the entrance. The situation is central, and the building an ornament to the town. It was built, in 1864, by the Victoria Park Company; and forms part of a range of buildings, in a similar style, fronting James Street and Princes street. At the end of this street is the Railway Station, a long range of buildings of red brick, with a square water-tower at each extremity—between which is the array of refreshment rooms, booking offices, waiting rooms, and all the adjuncts of a first-class station. Turning down North Station Parade, in front of Beulah Terrace and Place, we pass Mr. Hardy's galvanic bath establishment and enter Chapel Street, in which is situate the old Wesleyan Chapel—now Beulah House; on * Hargrove, in 1775, wrote in his History of Knaresborough, ‘A letter carrier is constantly employed betwixt the inns at Harrogate and the post office at Wetherby, who is paid for every letter he carries there one penny, and for each he brings from thence twopence, over and above the postage.” Now there are three deliveries of letters a day; and the staff of the office consists of the postmaster, clerk, and eight letier carriers,—whilst three more are employed in the telegraphic department. 196 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH, the same side are the British School and St. Peter's Infant School, and Belle Vue, the parsonage belonging to the new district of St. Peter’s. This house was built by Captain Thos. Thrush, R.N.,* and occupied by him until his decease, in 1848, and afterwards by his widow. After her decease, in 1848, the house was purchased by the Rev. Edward Fielde, M.A., who had been incumbent of the parish of Rock and Rennington, in Northumberland, which having resigned on account of failing health, he settled here, and occupied this house until his death, in 1851; after which it was occupied by his widow until her death, in 1867, when she gave the same to be used as a parsonage for the district of St. Peter. She also gave the land on which St. Peter’s Church and School are built, which immediately adjoin it towards the south. *He was born at Stockton-on-Tees, in 1761. During his youth and manhood he served in the Royal Navy; and, in 1809, was promoted to the rank of post-captain. His health having become somewhat impaired, he was recommended to invalide, which he did in the same year, and never after engaged in service. In his sixticth year he applied himself to the study of the Greek language, that he might read the new testament in the original. When searching the scriptures he was struck with the contrast between the precepts of Christ and the practice of Christians, especially as regards war. On studying the subject carefully he came to the conclusion that war was a crime, and that he was not justified in continuing a naval officer. His half-pay formed nearly the half of his limited income; and his naval rank he had always highly prized as the honourable reward of years of painful watching, labour and exertion. Yet, notwithstanding these things, on his sixty-fifth birthday, he resigned his commission, and addressed a letter to the king, stating in a respectful but firm manner the grounds upon which he had adopted so unprecedented a measure. For taking this step, all his friends abandoned him, as a senseless visionary and dangerous schismatic. This was in 1825; and he lived eighteen years afterwards. His body was crippled by rheumatism; but his mind was active and vigorous, and his manners cheerful and amiable. He employed his old age in writing—giving to the world many productions, which he thought calculated to promote the cause of truth. These he latterly printed himself—sitting in hig arm-chair—with a press of his own contriving, characterised by its cheapness and simplicity; and which he had made by a joiner and blacksmith of Harrogate, at a cost of less than £2. When eighty years of age, he published ‘‘ Last Thoughts of a Naval Officer on the Unlawfulness of War.” HARROGATE. 197 On the right is the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel; and nearly adjoining it is the Friends’ Meeting House. On the hill, on the southern side, stands Prospect Cottage, an old and respectable building, of considerable size. Within living memory, it was the only substantial house between Spring Bank and Harrogate Corner. In early times, with the lands adjoining, it belonged to the family of Burnand; from whom it passed to that of Trappes, of Nidd; afterwards it came into possession of the Ingilbys, of Ripley Castle, by whom it was held until 1810; when Sir John Ingilby, Bart., sold the same to James Franklin, Esq,, who, owing to some litigation with regard to title, did not enter into possession until 1814. After that period he occasionally resided here, until his death, in 1826, when the estate passed to his only child, Elizabeth, married to James Bayley, Esq., of Willaston Hall, Cheshire. She died Sep- tember 30th, 1867, leaving two daughters only surviving—a son having died during his mother’s lifetime, who also left two daughters. In 1859, this house, and much of the land adjoining, were purchased by the Victoria Park Company; and the increase of buildings around has almost hidden this venerable fabric from view. Passing along St. Peter’s Place, we enter Parliament Street, nearly opposite the Somerset Hotel (recently rebuilt). This is one of the principal streets in. the town; near the bottom, on the left, are the Montpellier Gardens, and a little lower the open green called Cheltenham Square. On the right is the Royal Chalybeate Spa, concert room, and pleasure grounds. On the left is the George Hotel, rebuilt in 1850, on the site of an old public house, called ‘‘The Chequers;” and on the right, Spring Bank Villa. Further along the Ripon road are the Springfield Villas and Harrogate College; the 198 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. latter erected in 1864. About a mile distant along this road are the Gasworks. Retracing our steps, we pass in front of the Springfield Villas to the Swan Hotel; a large establishment, on an old site. Tt stands in a pleasant situation, and commands a fine view of the town and country; attached to it is one of the prettiest pieces of pleasure ground in Harrogate. Promenade Terrace is on the right, the Victoria Baths and Town Hall on the left, and immediately in front of it is the Royal Pump Room. Turning to the right, and ascending the hill, we reach Pittville, a dwelling-house built in the hollow of an old quarry; the stone is the transition mountain limestone, which at this place, and on the corresponding side of the valley, has been upheaved from some unknown depth by volcanic action, brought to the surface, and there left standing half on edge; while the orifice between these edges of upcast rock gives birth to the saline and sulphur springs. Behind Cornwall House, which stands — on the hill immediately above, the rock may be seen in situ. A short distance south-west is the Bath Hospital, and that singular piece of ground called ‘‘ The Bogs’’—one of the greatest natural curiosities in the kingdom, with its many springs of mineral water. It is as obvious to the eye of the observer as any evidence can make a fact, that these springs rise trom the crater of an ancient volcano. Returning down the footpath we reach the town, close to the Royal Pump Room. In Crescent Place is the Crescent Hotel, first known as ‘The Half Moon,” the oldest unchanged hotel in Harrogate; belonging to it is the Leamington Spring, which contains the greatest quantity of salt of any of the Harrogate waters, without being either sulphurious or chalybeate. Passing from the Royal Pump Room, on the right is Royal HARROGATE, 193 Parade—a range of houses and shops, built since 1846; and the White Hart Hotel, rebuilt in 1846, in a style at once elegant and substantial. On the left is the Crown, the oldest and most noted of the Low Harrogate hotels. Some parts of it are very old—a type of its younger day; the centre was rebuilt in 1847, and the eastern portion re-edified in 1870. For several generations it was kept by the family of Thackwray, who raised it to high distinction.* How suggestive of thought and reflection are these old hotels, with their myriad scenes and associations! The history of old baronial halls and feudal castles has often been written, and found interesting. Yet few of them can equal in variety of scene and interest an old watering place hotel. Collected from all quarters, the characters are the most diversified that can be imagined, and their actions correspond. Within these walls the historian might pass ‘‘from grave to gay, from gentle to severe,”’ without doing violence to truth. In one room might be witnessed beings ‘‘fairer than feigned of old, or fabled since,” gaily and gladly threading the mazes of the merry dance; while beneath the same roof might be seen the heart-sick parent, seated beside the bed of some favourite child, only to see tho feebly flickering lamp of life expire; and whose remains must be stolen, as it were, away by night, that the other inmates, «The first of the family was Joseph Thackerey, who, in his rhyming epitaph (said to have been his own composition) in Pannal churchyard, says— ; “Tn the year of our Lord 1740 I came to the Crown; In 1791 they laid me down.” Death ‘laid him down,’’ November 26th, 1791; when he was succeeded by his nephew, William Thackerey, who died March 29th, 1814; when his son, Joseph Thackwray—who altered the spelling of his name—succeeded to the Crown, and died April 10th, 1837, in the 49th year of lis age. 200 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. sleeping less soundly beneath the same roof may not be alarmed at the sight.* In the autumn of 1806, Lord Byron, the poet, with his friend Miss Pigot, and his dogs, Nelson and Boatswain, took up their abode at the Crown. The shy poet and his com- panion always dined in the public room, but returned very soon to their private one. They lived retired, and made few acquaintance. While here his lordship met with Professor Hailstone, of Cambridge, called on him one evening, and took him to the theatre; and sent his carriage for him another time to the Granby. The dogs of the poet had a mortal antipathy to each other, and whenever they met a battle was the consequence, and they were only parted by thrusting poker and tongs into the mouths of each. One day Nelson escaped out of the room without his muzzle, and going into the stable yard, fastened on the throat of a horse, from which he could not be disengaged. The stable boys ran in alarm to find Frank, the valet, who, taking one of hig lordship’s pistols, shot Nelson through the head, to the great regret of the poet. Byron wrote here his poem, entitled ‘To a Beautiful Quaker.” “Here the learned Surtees, the historian of Durham, met the more learned Tate, of Richmond, whom he thus describes in an epistle to their friend, the learned Dr. Raine— ‘‘Doctus Tatius bic residet, Ad Coronam prandit, ridet, Spargit sales cum cachinno, Lepido ore et concinno, Ubique caras inter bonos Rubei Montis proesens honos.”’ «Stone walls, they say, have ears.—’Twere scarcely wrong To wish that these walls likewise had a tongue: How many gracious words would then be said,— How many precious counsels uttered! What terse quotations—fresh applied and fit,— What gay retorts, and summer-lightning wit! What sweet and deep affections would find vent,— What hourly invocations upwards sent!” HARROGATE, 201 Sir Alan Chambre, Knight, one of the judges of the Court of Common Pleas, died here September 20th, 1823. Adjoining the Crown Hotel, on the east, are the Montpellier Gardens—a most delightful piece of ground, in which are situate the springs and baths of that name. This highly favoured spot forms a complete watering place within itself, containing the strong sulphur, the mild sulphur, and the Kissingen, or saline chalybeate—the three waters most in request—and a suite of baths, where the waters can be applied in any form required. The garden has been laid out with great skill, and is kept in the neatest order. During the season a fountain plays in front of the baths; and a band of musicians play in the grounds during the times for drinking the water in the mornings and afternoons. Amongst the trees in the garden is a large and venerable thorn—a genuine relic of the old forest. To fix its exact age may be impossible; yet, we have no hesitation in saying, that it was a tree when the Wars of the Roses were fought. It rises from the ground by one massive stem, and at 18 inches high is 10 feet 8 inches in circumference ; it then divides into half-a-dozen main branches, above which rise a mass of close inwoven boughs and foliage, in summer, impervious alike to sunshine and shower. It yet vegetates vigorously, blossoms, and bears fruit in abundance. Such was its state and appearance until a great storm of wind, in February, 1869, ‘laid half its honours low.” The footpath leading from near the gate of the Montpellier Gardens into Parliament Street, is called ‘“‘The Ginnill”—a north country word, signifying a narrow passage. The range of shops and houses forming the lower part of Montpellier Parade, Montpellier Street, and Crescy Lodge, have all been built since 1863, with the exception of one house (now in two) called Ashfield House, and it has been renovated. On 202 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. the Stray, nearly opposite Crescy Lodge, is St. Ann’s Well—a spring of pure water, protected by a stone dome, said to make the best tea of any in Harrogate. On the opposite side of the green is the Esplanade, behind which are St. Mary’s Church, School, and Parsonage, which will be described when treating of the Low Harrogate District Parish. Passing up Cold Bath Road, on the right are three large hotels, known as the Wellington, Binns’, and the Adelphi; further up, on the left, is St. Magnus’ Well—sometime used as a cold bath—whence this street derives its name. On the back of this street, towards the west, is a quarry of the transition limestone, which dips so rapidly that only the upper edge of it can be worked. On the same side is the field in which the Harrogate diamonds are found. On the south-eastern side of the township is Stonefall, late the seat of Mrs. Penelope Osborne, who died at York, December 28rd, 1869, aged 98. This place was the residence, for some years, of Mrs. Maria Stevens, a lady of a most christian spirit, who devoted much of her time and fortune to promote the temporal and spiritual welfare of her neighbours. She wrote and published ‘‘ Devotional Comments on the Scriptures,’ which extended to twenty volumes. Her style is clear and luminous; often grand and poetical. She died July 8th, 1840, and was buried in Knaresborough Church. A plot of land here (158 acres in extent) belongs to the vicarage of Knaresborough, to which it was awarded on the enclosure of the Forest, in lieu of tithes. Further south is Bilton Court, the residence of Mr. Hanson Freeman. This mansion was much enlarged and the grounds improved in 1865. The hamlet of Crimple, which comprises the bleach works of Messrs. Walton and Co., a few farm houses, and a number of HARROGATE. 203 cottages, is situate near the brook of that name. On the opposite side of the stream in Follifoot, in a piece of marshy ground, is a spring of sulphur water, now neglected and disused. Further up the stream is a fine substantial viaduct of ten arches, which carries the Leeds and Thirsk railway across the valley; near which is Mill Hill, now covered with a clump of larches, the site of an iron smelting furnace; large masses of the slag and refuse yet remain. On the verge of the hill are the Hookstone quarries, where the upper bed of millstone grit has been worked for building purposes. This bed of stone is the southern side of a great anticlinal upheaval, the corresponding side of which is found at Birk Crag. A copious spring of water rising here was, many years ago, enclosed in a small building, for bathing purposes, but is now neglected and disused. On the north-eastern side of the township is Bachelors’ Garden School, which was founded in 1798, by the brothers Richard and Francis Taylor, bachelors—hence its name—who vested in seven trustees upwards of seventeen and a half acres of land, as an endowment, for the education of thirty children, residents of the township of Bilton-with-Harrogate, who were to be taught reading, writing, arithmetic, and the church catechism; previous to admission they must be able to read the new testament. The term of education is for two years, or longer, at the option of the trustees. This school is situate in the most fertile part of the township. The master’s house and school is a substantial building of stone. On a slab over the door is inscribed, ‘‘Tuis ScHoon was EnpowEep py Mr. Francis anp Mr. Ricnarp Taytor, Two Brotuers, wHo Dweit Here, anp Burnt in THe year 1793.” In a fence near the school is a mulberry tree, the only one we know of growing exposed in the neighbourhood. 204 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. Harrogate Hatt, situate near the school, is a farm house, rebuilt about the year 1820, and now, with a considerable estate around, the property of John Greenwood, Esq., of Swarcliffe Hall. At what time the original hall was built we have no direct information. In 1558, John Burnand, of the family of that name located at Knaresborough and Nidd, was owner of an estate here,* which extended to where the town of Harrogate now stands. John Burnand was succeeded by his son, Robert Burnand, whose only daughter, Anne, married Francis Trappes,t of London, Esq., who, in right of his wife, became seized of lands in Knaresborough, Harrogate, and Nidd. The estate continued in this family until Robert Trappes Byrnand, Esq. (aged 20 years, in December, 1619) being a catholic recusant, in order to avoid forfeiture of this estate, conveyed it upon trust to Sir William Ingilby, Bart., of Ripley Castle, with whose descendants it continued until the year 1809, when it was purchased from Sir John Ingilby, Bart., by John Greenwood, Esq., of Swarcliffe Hall, grandfather of the present owner. Bilton is a small old-fashioned hamlet, situate on the outside of’ the park pale, and consists of half-a-dozen farm houses, a few cottages, and a public-house. At this place the geologist will find a patch of magnesian limestone, the upper part of which was quarried for lime, and exhausted about thirty years ago; the railway passes over it near the Bilton-gate house; the eastern part yet remains in *In 1558, Thomas Bellingham, Gent., occurs on the Knaresborough Court Rolls, as holding lands, called ‘‘Crokesnabbe”’ and ‘‘ Jennyfield,” in the ‘hamlet of Harlogait,” of John Burnand, senr. Crooksnabb is the land lying between Parliament Street and Strawberry Dale; Jennyfield, now Jenny Plain, is situate on both sides of the turnpike road between Harrogate and the Gasworks. +The family of Trappes was settled at Theydenboys, in Essex,, from the time of Henry V.; previously they were of Juppille, in the province of Luxembourgh. HARROGATE. 205 position, occupying an, area of nearly half-a-mile square, and has been quarried to about forty feet in depth. The upper beds are soft, and of a yellowish colour, imperfectly stratified, and full of hard nodules, crystallized in the inside. A thin seam of coal was also worked here, as is evident from the remains of a dozen old shafts. The coal was only of poor quality, and chiefly used in the burning of lime. A tramway was laid down for its conveyance from the pit to the kilns, which were little more than a quarter of a mile apart. The limestone offers a field for profitable speculation; though probably no advantage could be derived from the coal. A short distance north of Bilton the railway crosses the river Nidd—which here runs in a deep, narrow valley—by a viaduct of seven lofty arches. From this point to Knares- borough the banks of the river are steep, and generally thickly wooded; the river, from Scotton flax mill, where it is crossed by a dam, fora considerable distance upward, is a fine full stream, like a canal winding between woods; lower down it is frequently shallow and rapid. The Bilton woods being possessed of much variety of soil and situation, present a favourable field to the botanist. BILTON PARK. Of the formation of this park we have no direct information. In the 81st year of Edward I., Henry de Scriven, of Scriven, petitioned the king, stating that his ancestors had enjoyed the office of foresters of the Forest of Knaresborough, and had for the same sixpence per day, and common pasture in the said forest, and the parks of Hay and Bilton, before the said parks were enclosed, and after the enclosure of these parks, for all beasts of their own breed, except sheep and goats; that they were now interrupted in the enjoyment of the above 206 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. privileges by Sir Miles Stapleton, the steward of Knaresborough. In answer to this petition, it was decreed that the petitioner should continue to enjoy, without interruption, all the said privileges; and, also should take from the king’s woods there, all reasonable housebote, haybote, &c., for which he may have occasion; so that he do not cut down any oak, ash, hazel, or any tree growing or bearing fruit. It was also granted that he should have pasture in Bilton, for his oxen used in the plough, and for his milk kine.* Sometime previous to the year 1472, a mill was built at Bilton,+ and on the 29th of February in that year it was leased by Richard, Duke of Gloucester, seneschal to the duchy of Lancaster, to Sir William Plumpton, Knight, along with the corn mills of Knaresborough, and the burgh of Knaresborough, for the space of twelve years; he rendering for the first 20 marks, for the second 46s. 8d,, and for the office of bailiff 46s. 8d. In 1502, Peter Ardern, deputy of William de la Poole, Earl of Suffolk, chief steward of the duchy of Lancaster, let to farm to Johanna, widow of Sir William Ingilby, Knight, deceased, the herbage and agistment of the park of Bilton. “So long as it continued a royal park, the timber growing * Sixteenth Edward III.: John de Dacre was fined sixpence for not repairing ‘“‘hayam suam circa parcum de Bilton.”—Knaresborough Court Rolls. + This mill has entirely disappeared. On the right bank of the river Nidd, almost opposite to Gateshill, is yet to be seen a mill-race, conveying water, as if to a mill; and at the place where the water runs again into the river, appears the site of a building, where a mill may have stood. On enquiring what had been the use of this artificial water course, we were gravely told that it was made on purpose to turn a wheel for pumping the water from the coal pits above. {About the year 1543, there were deer both in the parks of Bilton and Hay, as is evident from the following extract from a letter written by John Doddington to William Plompton, Esq.:—''Pleaseth yt you to under- stand my master hath written his letter to Mr. Goldsbrough, for a do for your mastership, in Bilton Park, or the park of Heay, at your pleasur.”— Plumpton Cor., p. 243, HARROGATE, 207 in a place called Bilton Banks, or Blancks, was reserved for the repairs of the castle mills at Knaresborough, and other necessary works within the manor.* Dr. Dean, writing in 1626, styles this “a large impaled park of His Majesty’s, called Bilton Park, well stocked with fallow deer.” Bilton Hall probably stands on the site of the park-keeper’s lodge, in which, about the year 1500, Peter Slingsby, keeper of Knaresborough Castle, resided. In the beginning of the sixteenth century, Bilton was dis- parked, and came into possession of the family of Stockdale;+ of whom——William Stockdale, of Green Hammerton, was living in 1586, who, by his second wife, Dorothy, daughter of Thomas Mill, had a numerous family, amongst whom was Thomas, of Bilton Hall, born in 1598, who married Margaret, daughter of Sir William Parsons, by whom he had one son and two daughters. During the troublous times of Charles I., Thomas Stockdale was a magistrate and member of parliament, and took an active part in politics, with a strong leaning towards the patriotic or country party. Many of his letters are yet extant, in which strong and decided opinions are expressed. Writing to Lord Fairfax, with whom he appears to have been in close intimacy, he thus expresses himself, in reference to the trial of Lord Strafford:—‘ April 10th, 1641. And I assure your lordship, it will be no small encouragement to the subject to see justice done upon that great engine, the Lord Strafford, who hath in a roanner battered down their laws and liberties, and levelled *In the forty-first Elizabeth, the Attorney-General prosecuted, in the Duchy Court, Thomas Matthew, Robert Matthew, John Benson, and others, for intrusion thereon, and for the felling and destruction of timber.—Cal. of Pleadings in Duchy Court. 4 Arms—Ermine, on a bend sable three pheons argent, in the sinister chief an escallop gules; a crescent for difference. 208 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. them with the most servile nations. His friends are all hopeful and almost confident of his deliverance; yet methinks it is impossible that good language and elocution can wipe off the guilt off his crimes. Rich apparel makes not beauty—it only dazzles weak sights. Injustice and corruption have been punished in this land with death; and certainly oppression and tyranny in such a high strain as they are charged on him, are offences of a transcendant nature, and deserve punishment (if any there were,) greater than death, and confiscation of estate. The country generally, and especially those well affected in religion, are sensible that to bring him to trial for his offences hath already cost them £600,000; and now (your lordship will conceive), if he should by any artifice escape a deserved censure of the crimes proved against him, the people will be extremely discontent, and murmur against it; and besides, it is hoped that the confiscation of his estate, and others that are delin- quents, will either pay the Scots, or stop some other gap made by these turbulent times.* In 1642, when Sir Henry Slingsby was voted “unfit for Parliament, because he neglected his duties, and had signed an offensive petition,” Mr. Stockdale was elected in his place, as burgess for Knaresborough, which town he continued to represent until his death, in December, 1653. He was buried in the chancel of Knaresborough Church, where an inscription upon a marble slab yet remains to his memory. He was succeeded by his eldest son, William Stockdale, who was elected representative of Knaresborough in 1660; he was again returned in 1678; and sat for that borough until his death, in March, 1692 or 1693, when he was succeeded by his nephew, * Fairfax Correspondence, vol ii., p. 104. HARROGATE. 209 Christopher Walter, or Watter, son of Robert Watter, of Cundall, and Lettice Stockdale, who, on his accession to the estate, assumed the name of Stockdale. He represented Knares- borough in parliament from 1695, until his death, in September, 1718. He was succeeded by William Stockdale, who resided here until 1742, when, having suffered great losses in the South Sea scheme, he sold the estate, in that year, to John Watson, Esq., son of George Watson, Esq., of Old Malton Abbey. As no accurate account of this family exists in print, except a meagre pedigree in one of the older editions of ‘‘ Burkes’ Landed Gentry;” and, as the family is extinct in the male line, the following sketch, compiled from original materials, may be worth perusing. The family came originally from the Hast Riding; and had it not been for the ‘‘contumacy”’ of the head of the house, in 1665, a full and accurate pedigree of the family would have been handed down to his descendants; for in that year Sir William Dugdale issued his summons to all the Yorkshire gentry, to furnish him with copies of their pedigrees and arms. One-third of them, however, he tells us, treated the summons with neglect, and amongst the offenders we find— ‘© WAaprENTAKE OF RypaLE, OLD Matron...Mr. Watson.’’* Incidental notices of the family, however, occur in the Visitation,” so that with the help of the parish registers, tombstones, and monumental inscriptions, the following account has been compiled— I. The first of the name of whom any mention occurs is William Watson, of Scagglethorpe, in the parish of Rillington, who, at the age of thirty years, was married, before Sir William *“Dugdale’s Visitation of Yorkshire,” Surtees’ Soc. Preface, p. 13. oO 210 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. Strickland, in his capacity of justice of the peace, to Jane Watson, of Knapton. This must have been in the times of the Parliament. From this William descended (probably his son), II. George Watson, of Old Malton, born about the beginning of the seventeenth century. This is probably the ““Mr. Watson” who treated Sir William Dugdale’s summons so “eontumaciously,”’ to the great loss of his descendants. He and his wife, in 1671, gave ten shillings each for the restoration of Old Malton Church, which had been much injured in the Parliamentary wars. He died February 2nd, 16—, and is buried in the chancel of the church; aged 87 years. He was father of George, who succeeded; and Ruth, who, about 1650, married John Barton, of Cawton, from whom the Cawton family descended.* TI. George was of Old Malton Abbey. This property, known as the Abbey Grange (the dwelling-house called the Abbey being built over the crypt of the old Priory; for the building was really a priory of Gilbertines, not an abbey), though never held in fee by the Watson family, was yet held by them, for at least four generations, at a nominal rent from Hemsworth Hospital. The freehold property of the family consisted of about 400 acres, in the manors of Scaggle- thorpe, Rillington, and Thorpebasset, all on the borders of the North and East Ridings, and the estate of Bilton Park, acquired as stated above, in 1742. He married and left several sons and daughters— Elizabeth, born 26th September, 1686 (registered at Old Malton); married the Rev. Joseph Kerr; died 10th October, 1791, and is buried in Old Malton churchyard. * See ‘‘Dugdale’s Visitation,” p. 124, HARROGATE. 211 Mary, born 24th January, 1689. Pleasance, born 15th September, 1691; succeeded. Guy, born 1st March, 1693. John, born ——, 169—; purchased Bilton Park, in 1742. Jane, born 3 married, in 1706, James Baird, of Chesterhall, in Midlothian; one of whose representatives was the late Rev. Dr. George Smith, of Edinburgh. In the Edinburgh register of births, under date 22nd June, 1718, is an entry of the baptism of George, second son of this James Baird and Jane Watson; one of the witnesses being “George Watson, of Old Malton Abbey.” George Watson, died in 1782. Before tracing the Bilton Park branch, it may be as well to show how the Malton branch terminated. IV. Pleasance; succeeded, and married, leaving one son and several daughters. He died 20th March, 1756. The children were— George, born 1782; succeeded. Mary, born 15th August, 1735; and two other daughters. V. George; succeeded to Malton Abbey, and was the last of the family, the succession going to his sister's children. He was a magistrate, and was generally known as ‘Justice Watson ;’’ and was, moreover, a sportsman of the true English type. He died, unmarried, 9th April, 1808, and is buried in the chancel of Old Malton Church. The following inscription is on a marble tablet-— Bure tubellam memorie Georgeit Watson, Armiger, Sacrum Pietatis ergo sposuit 212 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. Gulielimus Wood Watson, Armiger, Aepos ejus ex sorore, Ral. April, obiit Octoginta Arnos watus Anna Domini mocccilt. As he left no issue, the succession to his freehold property went to his sister’s children. The first married Wood, Esq., and left William Wood, who succeeded in 1808, and, in 1813, assumed the name of Watson. He also died without issue. The second married Baker Esq., of Ebberston, and left Richard, who succeeded his cousin above, and, by license, dated 15th August, 1817, also assumed the name of Watson. He too died without issue. The third married Newton, Esq,, who had a son, William, who succeeded, and, as both his cousins had done, assumed the name of Watson. He left three daughters, co-heiresses, amongst whom the property was divided. To return to the Bilton Park branch. IV. John Watson, who purchased this estate, was a solicitor, and married Hannah Bagwith, of Whitby—said to have been a co-heiress, of a good Yorkshire stock. Her father was a lawyer, and his portrait was, and probably still is, at Bilton Park. He died in 17—, and was buried at Malton, leaving two sons and four daughters— George, who succeeeded. John, who died, unmarried, in 1758, and was buried at Knaresborough; in the church there is a monument to his memory. Elizabeth, born in 1709, died 1798. She married the Rev. W. Ward,}M.A., rector of Scanby, and perpetual curate of HARROGATE. 213 Yeddingham, and master of the grammar school of Beverley; author of ‘‘Essay on Grammar, as it may be applied to the English Language,’ ‘‘Translations from Terence,’’ and other works; who died in 1772, in the 68rd year of his age, and -was buried in St. Mary’s Church, Beverley. They left several children, of whom the eldest representative is Charles Ward, Esq., of Chapel Street, London. Jane, married Dixon, Esq., of Beverley. Hannah, married Wingfield, of Hull, and left issue. Mary, married John Farsyde, of Fylingdale, in Whitby Strand, who died in 1755, leaving a son, John, who succeeded, as heir of provesion, to Bilton Park. V. George, of Bilton Park, married Clementina Kennedy, daughter of Sir John Kennedy, of Colzean, by his wife, Jean Douglass, of the family of Mains. Her brother ultimately succeeded ag ninth Earl of Cassilis.* By her he left no issue, and died in 1755, and is buried at Knaresborough. By his will, he devised his estate to his nephew, John Farsyde. VI. John Farsyde, son of John Farsyde, of Fylingdale, and Mary Watson above, was born at Whitby, in 1749. By royal license, dated 27th April, 1755, he assumed the name of Watson, and bore the arms of Watson and Farsyde, quarterly. A pedigree of the Farsydes will be found in various histories of the landed gentry. They claim to be cadets of the ancient Scottish family of Fawside, of that Ik, of which, however, there appears to be no direct evidence. John Farsyde Watson died in 1810, leaving VII. John Farsyde Watson, eldest son, who succeeded to Bilton Park, and by his wife, Hannah, daughter of the Rev. James Hartley, rector of Staveley, had two sons and one * “See Douglas’s Peerage of Scotland,” by Wood, vol.i., p. 387. 214 THE FOREST OF KNAKESBOROUGH. daughter—John Farsyde Watson, who succeeded; George James, of Fylingdale; and Mary. He died in 1810. VIII. John Farsyde Watson, born at Bilton, July 2nd, 1803. He was of Christ Church College, Cambridge. He married, in 1880, Miss Georgiana Watson White, and died in London, April 20th, 1831, leaving an only daughter. IX. Georgiana Farsyde Watson, born April 18th, 1831; present owner and occupier of Bilton Hall. The arms of the family are, quarterly, first and fourth, Watson. Argent, on a chevron engrailed azure, between three martlets sable, as many crescents or. Second and third, Farsyde. Gules a feu between three bezants or. This latter being the arms of the Fawside, of that Tk. Bilton Hall is a brick-built house, in the Tudor style of architecture, partly rebuilt and much enlarged in 1853. It stands, most pleasantly, on a hill, and commands a prospect of great extent and beauty. The woods on the north side slope grandly down to the river Nidd, in all the wildness and majesty of nature; whilst the ancient camp of Gateshill, marked by a few solitary firs, crowns the opposite height; and immediately in front rises the town of Knaresborough—singular and various —enclosed on each side by the woods of Scriven and Belmond; the whole forming a picture of exquisite beauty and variety. “There along the dale— With woods o’erhung, and shage’d with mossy rocks, Whence, on each hand, the gushing waters play And down the rough cascade white dashing fall, Or gleam in lengthened vista through the trees— You silent steal: or sit beneath the shade Of solemn oaks—that tuft the swelling mounts, Thrown graceful round by nature’s careless hand— And pensive listen to the various voice Of rural peace: the herds and flocks, the birds, The hollow-whispering breeze, the plaint of rills, That—purling down amid the twisted roots Which creep around—their dewy murmurs shake On the sooth’d ear.” HARROGATE. 215 Near the hall is a sulphur spring, the water of which rises into 9, stone basin, and is protected by a dome of masonry, bearing on its front, J, W., 1778, The water is beautifully transparent, and bubbles of gas, every two or three minutes, rise to the surface of the water; and the stream, as it flows down the hill, shows its petrific quality, by turning the leaves, sticks, and mosses, in its track, into stone, This spring was noticed by Dr. Dean, in 1626; speaking of the sulphur springs, he says, ‘‘One of them that has the greatest stream of water is in Bilton Park.’ He also suggested, at that early date, that baths might be most easily constructed here. It is again mentioned, in 1784, by Dr. Short, in his ‘History of Mineral Waters.’’ The generality of the modern writers on the waters of Harrogate have not even mentioned it, though its situation is the most romantically beautiful of any of them. 216 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. PANNAL. Pannau is a village and parish adjoining Harrogate on the south-west; and includes within its limits, Pannal, Low- Harrogate, Rosset, Beckwith, and Beckwithshaw. It is bounded, on the east, by Harrogate; on the south, by the brook Crimple, which divides it from the townships of Follifoot and Rigton; westward, it touches Stainburn and Norwood;* while on the north it is bounded by Haverah Park and Killinghall. The name of Pannal} does not occur in Domesday survey, but Beckwith and Rosset are both mentioned. Among the lands of the king, we find— ‘In Roserte, Ulf had one carucate and a half to be taxed. Land to one plough. Waste.’’t “Again’among the lands of Giselbert Tyson, we find— “TJ, Manors. In Rosert, Gamelbar and Ulf had two carucates to be taxed. ‘Land to one plough. Waste.’’§ Beckwith was also parcel of the lands of Giselbert Tyson. ‘‘Manor. In Becvi, Gamelbar had three carucates to be taxed. Land to two ploughs. Waste.’’ || + At Broad-dub—now a running stream, though the name and situation show it to have been the site of a small lake—the townships of Pannal, €tainburn,; Norwood, and Haverah Park, almost touch each other. +'[his name is probably derived from the Pan, or timber-built hall, of its early owners. + Bawdwen’s Dom. Boc.,” p. 37. § Ibid, p. 194. || Zbid, p. 194. PANNAL. 217 These lands were afterwards included in the Forest of Knaresborough, and always passed along with that fee; and subsequently came to be divided among many small proprietors. In the inquisition, post mortem, held 8th Edward II., on the death of Henry de Percy, it was found that he died seized of four oxgangs of land in Pathenall. The canons of Newburgh were owners of a tenement in Pannal, about the year 1448, the annual rent of which was twenty-four shillings. In 1539, on the dissolution of their house, the brethren of St. Robert’s of Knaresborough held divers tenements and farms in Pannal, of the annual value of £2 16s. 6d. Some, if not the whole, of these last named possessions are now merged in the Pannal Hall estate,* belonging to the family of Bentley. The old hall at Pannal was built by the family of Tankred, or Tancred, as was evident from their arms being cut upon a stone above the principal entrance. It was in the shape of the letter L., and in the Tudor style of architecture; but was entirely removed on the erection of the new one, in 1860. Of the family of Tankred, during their ownership of the hall here, we have very slender information. By inquisition, post mortem, held July 31st, 37th Elizabeth, 1594, we learn that Francis Tankard, gentleman, deceased June 22nd, last past, was seized, at the time of his death, of a grange or capital messuage in Pannal, and divers lands there; and that William, his son and heir, was then of the age of thirty-three years. *In a deed, dated June 9th, 8th James I., from Thomas Hall and Robert Longe, to John Taylor, conveying divers cottages and premises in Pannal, recital is made of a grant from the crown of the same premises, which had late belonged to the brethren of St. Robert’s, near Knares- borough. The said premises are said to be of the manor of East Greenwich, by fealty, under the yearly rent of 3s. 4d. 918 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. In the 40th of Queen Elizabeth (1597), William Tankerd granted divers long leases of lands in Pannal (subject to smal? rent charges), to divers persons; one of which was to Richard Allan, of Harrogate, clothier, of the Pasture Close, for the term of 1,000 years, under a yearly reserved rent of 12d., if demanded; the others were of a similar kind. Richard Tankerd, of Pannal, had a son, named Francis, who married Dorothy, daughter of Thomas Slingsby, of Scriven, Esq., and a daughter, named Elizabeth, who married, for her second husband, Christopher, second son of the same Thomas Slingsby, Esq. The Tankerds were succeeded in this estate by the family of Dougill, who held it for two generations—that of Henry and, William Dougill. On the 2nd of August, 1638, Mr. William Dougill* conveyed to Thomas Herbert, Philip Herbert, Charles Herbert, and James Herbert, the capital messuage or grange called Pannal Hall, with all appurtenances;+ and the reversion of a close, called Pasture Close, and the rent of one shilling reserved upon a lease of 1,000 years thereof, made by William Tankerd to one Richard Alline; and also the reversion of a tenement and a close, called Woodcock Hill, and the rent of 2d. yearly, * This family does not appear on the parish register before 1608, in which year occurs—‘ Burials: A child of William Donugill, 6th of June.” ‘1609. Christenings: Martha, the daughter of William Dougill, the 7th of July.” ‘1611. Christenings: Christopher, the son of William Dou- gill, the 6th of October.” They were, however, resident in the township at a much earlier date, as in 5 and 6, Phillip and Mary (1558), the following entry occurs on the Knaresborough Court Rolls—‘‘ Robert Bentlaye, of Rosshirste, surrendered one acre of land, in Beckwith and Rosshyrste, to the use of William Dougill, of Rossehurste, his heirs and assigns. + The parcels are described minutely: some of the names are expressive of their uses—as, the kiln, and kilngarth or orchard, the garden, two barns, one oxhouse, one garth, called Dove Cote Garth, with a dove cote builded thereupon, one stable, sometime used as a messuage, and now standing in a mease-stead; Kirke Inge, Kirke Leas, Well Inge, and the Elder Spring thereto adjoining. PANNAL. 919 reserved upon a lease of 2,000 years thereof, formerly made by the said William Tankerd to John Poppleton and Elizabeth, his wife; and the yearly rent of 16d. reserved upon a lease of 2,000 years, made by Henry Dougill to Thomas Dougill, of a messuage and divers closes of land; with all tithes, &., common of pasture for all manner of cattle upon the moor of Follyfait and Follyfait Rigg; and also common of pasture for all manner of cattle, and common of turbary within the Forest of Knaresbureh. The hall is described as ‘‘ All that capitall messuage or grange of Pannall aforesaid, commonly called Pannall Hall, wherein the said William Dougill now dwelleth, and all the doors, windows, floors, seilinge, wanscot, and glasse in the said house, and all the courts, courtylays, gardens, and backsydes, to the same house belonginge.” The new owners of Pannal Hall were descended from the ancient and noble family of Herbert; the two first named were sons of Evan Herbert,* of the city of York, who died in 1582, and was buried in Christ’s Church, in that city. Philip, the second son, was sheriff of York in 1633; he married, first, Elizabeth, daughter and co-heir of Thomas Thackley, a merchant in Hull, by whom he had two sons, Philip and Thomas; secondly, he married Ellen, daughter of Charles Tankard, of Whixley, Esquire, by whom he had a son, named Jacob. He died in 1639; and his will was proved on the 28th of October, in the same year, when administration of his goods and chattels was granted to his brother, Thomas Herbert, merchant, of the city of York. * Probably the whole of them; though their names do not appear in the pedigree of that family given in ‘‘Dugdale’s Visitation.” (Ed. Surtees’ Soc., p. 148). Many particulars relative to the family of Herbert were supplied by Mr. R. H. Skaife. The documents consulted are in possession of Miss Bentley, of Pannal Hall. 220 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. The next dealing with the Pannal Hall estate was on November 19th, 1648; when Thomas Herbert—in consideration of the love to his sister, Elizabeth Pecke, and his nephew, Thomas Herbert—appointed Mark Metcalfe and Thomas Thompson to stand seized of Pannal estate and Pannal Banks, to the use of the said Thomas, for life, and after his decease to Jacob Herbert, son of Philip, and his heirs. This Jacob Herbert made his will, July 4th, 1661, in which he describes himself as late of Leeds, now of the city of York, cloth dresser; and desires his body to be decently buried in the Church of All Hallows, on the pavement, within the city of York, near the bodies of his late dear father and mother. Having previously given Pannal Hall, or his interest therein, by deed, to his brother Philip Herbert, he now, by his will, ratifies the same. He furthers say, ‘‘Whereas Sir Richard Tanckred, Knight, my uncle, was nominated, by my said late dear mother, to be my tutor or guardian, in my minority, by reason whereof he entered to all, or most part of, my said mother’s estate, and has not yet accompt rendered of the same, my humble suit and desire is, that the said Sir Richard, my loving uncle, will be pleased to make accompt to my executor, hereinafter named.” He gives to his cousin, Mrs. Thornton, five pounds, and a gold ring, with the posie, Never looke, but remember. He also gives unto his loving uncle the sum of one hundred pounds, to be paid when he has rendered a true accompt to his executors. The ‘loving uncle” did not think proper to comply with the above modest request, without the costs of a chancery suit, in which Philip Herbert was complainant, and Sir Richard Tanckred, Knight, defendant. We do not know the result. Philip Herbert, brother of the above mentioned Jacob, was born in 1627, and was lord mayor of the city of York, in 1675. He married, in 1654, Mary, daughter of Ralph Bell, PANNAL, 221 of Thirsk, by whom he had three sons, Philip, Thomas, and John, and two daughters, Elizabeth and Mary. The two elder sons died before their father, whose death took place in 1697. On the 12th of June, 1694, Philip Herbert and his wife mortgaged the Pannal Hall estate to Robert Bell; and on the 4th of November, 1698, for a further consideration, and reciting an annuity of £20 per annum to Philip Herbert and his wife, Dame Mary Herbert, widow, released the premises to Robert Bell, her brother. Robert Bell died in 1707, when the estate came into possesion of his son, Ralph Bell, of Sowerby, Esq., who sold the same to William Pullan, who appears not to have been able to procure the whole of the purchase money, but mortgaged the same to Ralph Bell, at the time of the purchase; and for a further sum on the Ist of November, 1718, Six years afterwards, on November 10th, 1724, Ralph Bell and Samuel Pullan sold the Pannal Hall estate to Mr. George Bentley, by whose descendants it is yet held. George Bentley, born in 1680, was the son of William Bentley, of Great Rosset, in the parish of Pannal. His wife’s name was Mary Godfrey, by whom he had issue— Mary, born June 6th, 1727. Anna, born December 20th, 1728. William, born September 4th, 1780. George, born May 20th, 1782. Robert, born August 10th, 1784, died February 15th, 1816. Thomas, born April 2nd, 1787, died August 15th, 1762. Penelope, born January 16th, 1789, died January 8th, 1742. Penelope, born August 23rd, 1744, married to Mr. William Clark, of Ribston; she died May 28rd, 1763. George Bentley died March 8th, 1765 (his wife died August 1st, 1778), and was succeeded by his eldest son, 222 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. William Bentley, who, in August, 1778, married Christiana Bradley, by whom he had— William, bapt. February 10th, 1779. Thomas, bapt. May 9th, 1782. William Bentley died December 28rd, 1813 (Christiana, his wife, died August 31st, 1819), and was succeeded in the Pannal Hall estate by his eldest son, William Bentley, who, in 1802, married Mary, daughter of Bryan Procter, of Pannal, by whom he had issue— Thomas, bapt, June 1st, 1802. Mary Godfrey, bapt. July 8th, 1808, married Mr, William Wright, of Beckwith House; she died July 4th, 1862. Eliza Penelope, bapt. April 2nd, 1805. Anabella, bapt. July 16th, 1806, died May 21st, 1855. William Bentley, died July 13th, 1843 (his wife died October 7th, 1846), and was succeeded by his only son, Thomas Bentley, who married Mary Ann, eldest daughter of William Wright, of Beckwith House, by whom he had issue— Ann Elizabeth, bapt. October 15th, 1837, married to Mr. David Wilson, of Pannal. “William George, bapt. November 18th, 1889. Thomas Bentley died May 6th, 1863, and was succeeded by his only son, William George Bentley, who married Henrietta, daughter of Henry James Lesley, of Sinnington Lodge, by whom he had one daughter— Henrietta Maria, bapt. July 10th, 1864, died February 9th, 1866. William George Bentley died August 2nd, 1866, and, by his will, devised the estate of Pannal Hall to his aunt, Miss Eliza Penelope Bentley, the present owner. Pannal Hall, rebuilt by the late Thomas Bentley, in 1860, is PANNAL, 223 a modern mansion, situate in a warm sheltered situation, near the brook Crimple, on the western side of the village street. The Pannal Hall estate extends along the valley, down the northern side of the Crimple, from Burn Bridge to Almsford Bridge. The village of Pannal is situate on the southern verge of the parish, close to the brook Crimple. The houses are scattered irregularly along the sides of a narrow street or road, running north and south. Near the top of the village is Rose- hurst, a delightfully situated mansion, the name of which is beantifully appropriate, for the house is literally situate in ‘fa grove of roses.” It wag built by the late Mr. James Dickinson, about the year 1838, and is now the property of his son, Mr. Edward Dickinson, of Hill Top Hall. The school, a spacious and substantial building of stone, which will accommodate upwards of one hundred scholars, with master’s house adjacent, situate at the upper end of the village, was erected in 1817, by a public subscription, originated and largely assisted by the late Mr. John Bainbridge, of Crimple Villa ; and on his decease the school and premises were vested in trustees for the benefit of the parish. An inscription, painted on a panel at the upper end of the school, thus describes its foundation and object— PANNAL VILLAGE SCHOOL. This school, with the cottages and garden adjoining, were devised by the will of the late Captain John Bain- bridge, dated the 26th day of June, 1855, and who died on the 19th of August, 1856, unto James Bray, Samuel Bateman, Joseph William Thackwray, Joshua Hardisty Wilkinson, and David Wilson, gentlemen, their heirs and assigns for ever, for the education of the children of the poor of the parish of Pannal, and adjoining town- ships, with a recommendation to them to collect sub- scriptions for the maintenance of the school. 224 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. Amongst the contributors to the original building fund appeared the names of their majesties Kings George III. and IV., the Archbishop of York, and the Bishop of Durham, Earls Harewood and Rosslyn, Baronets Sir Thomas Slingsby, of Scriven, and Sir William A. Ingilby, of Ripley, Richard F. Wilson, Esq., and many others, men of high station at the time. The church (dedicated to St. Robert,) is situate on the east side of the village street, and consists of a tower, nave, and chancel; the first and last ancient—probably of coeval datée— in the decorated style; the nave was rebuilt in 1772, in the style of that period, with wide, round-headed windows, glazed with large squares, and does not present any feature of interest. The eastern window is of three lights, with quatrefoils in the sweep of the arch. The principal entrance is through the basement story of the tower. The belfry contains three bells, which are said to have been brought from Fountains Abbey, a tradition of which the bells themselves bear the refutation, unless they have been recast. On the first is inscribed, ‘Te Dewn Lauda- mus, 1708;” on the second, ‘‘Gloria Deo in Excelsis, 1669;” the other bears, ‘‘ Honorandus Deus super omnia, 1669, B.B., 1.C,, Churchwardens.” These two old ones have a very elegant appearance ; and on fillets round the upper part is a small shield, bearing S$. S, EBOR.,”™ frequently repeated amid inter- lacing foliage. Opposite the entrance is the font, an elegant oval basin of dark- veined marble, said by the doubtful voice of tradition to have been brought from Fountains Abbey. *These are the initials of Samuel Smith, bell founder, of York. He lived in Micklegate; and on his decease, in 1710, bequeathed his bell house, on Toft Green, to his sons Samuel and James. Samuel, the younger, was also famous as a bell founder. He was sheriff of York in 1723; and on his death, in 1731, bequeathed his bell house to his brother James.—R, H. 8. PANNAL, 225 In the gallery, which runs across the west end, is a small organ, which was given to the vicar and churchwardens by the will of William Smith Dickinson, Noy. 22nd, 18538. The whole of the nave is fitted up with pews—some of them cushioned and comfortable. On one side of the chancel arch is the pulpit; on the other, the reading desk and clerk’s desk. On the south side of the nave, on a large slab of white marble, is the following inscription—‘“‘ Sacred to the memory of Thomas Symeson, of Beckwith, in this parish, gentleman, who died in the year 1553, and was here interred. Thomas Symeson was the second son of Thomas Symeson, of Wipley, gentleman, and of Agnes his wife, daughter of John Atkinson, of Clynte, gentleman ; and the sixteenth in lineal descent from Archil, a Saxon Thane, residing at Wipley, in the township of Clint, in the reign of Edward the Confessor, king of England. Also to the memory of Rossamund, the wife and widow of the above-named Thomas Symeson. She died about the year 1559. Also to the memory of William Symeson, of Lund House, in Beckwith, and captain of the West York Militia. He was the second son of William Simpson, Esq., of Felliscliffe, and a lineal descendant of the above-named Thomas and Rossa- mund Symeson. He died 1786, and was interred in the burial ground of this church.” The chancel is ancient—yet retaining its piscina and sedilia —and is entirely open, without either pews or stalls. In the first window on the south side, filling the quatrefoil above the double light, is the representation, in stained glass, of an erobatiled castle, or some ancient building, showing three sides; the entrance arch has a circular head, and apparently a portcullis, sable, before it; three towers rise above, or; on the sides are oak trees, leaved and acorned, vere ‘This was supposed by Hargrove to be intended for the gateway of St. P ’ 226 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. Robert’s priory, Knaresborough, to which house the church was appropriated. Others, with equal probability, suppose it to be intended for the Castle of Knaresborough itself. Below this has been on a shield, azure, a cross pateé, gules and azure—the upright being gules, the transom, azure; part of the latter is now wanting. Against the walls, on marble tablets, are the following inscriptions,—on the north side— “In memory of William Bentley, Esq., of Pannal Hall, who departed this life July 13th, 1843, aged 63 years. Also, Mary, his wife, who departed this life October 7th, 1846, aged 65 years.” “Sacred to the memory of Thomas Bentley, of Pannal Hall, who departed this life May 6th, 1868, aged 60 years. Also, Ann, wife of the above Thomas Bentley, who died November 7th, 1845, aged 39 years,” “Sacred to the memory of Annabella, youngest daughter of Wiliam and Mary Bentley, of Pannal Hall, who died May 21st, 1855, aged 48 years.” On the south side— “Tn memory of William Bentley, Esq., of Pannal Hall, who departed this life December 23rd, 1818, aged 83 years. Also of Christiana, wife of the above William Bentley, who departed this life August 31st, 1819, aged 75 years.” “In memory of ‘William George Bentley, of Pannal Hall, who died August 2nd, 1866, in the 27th year of his age. Also of Henrietta Maria, the beloved and only child of the above William George Bentley and Henrietta, his wife, who died February 9th, 1866, aged one year and seven months.” Upon the floor, on a narrow slab of gritstone, is inscribed— ‘‘Listerius, filius maximus Anne et Listerii. Simondson, hujus Ecclesie minister. Obit Octob. 19, ZEtatis 11. An, Salut. 1722.” * PANNAL, 2207 ‘‘Here lies interred the body of George Bentley, of Pannal Hall; he departed this life the 8th day of March, in the year of our Lord 1765, in the 84th year of his age.”’ ‘Here lyeth interred the body of Thomas, the son of Mr. George Bentley, of Pannal Hall, who departed this life the 15th day of August, A.D. 1762, and in the 24th year of his age.” ‘‘Here lies the body of Mary, the wife of George Bentley, of Pannal Hall; she departed this life the first day of August, in the year of our Lord 1773, aged 74 years.” “In memory of Robert, son of George and Mary Bentley, of Pannal Hall, who departed this life February 15th, 1816, aged 81 years.” ‘Here lies the body of Penelope Clark, of Great Ribstone; she departed this life August the 8rd, 1788, aged 39 years.” “Here lies interred the body of Anne, the wife of Jeremiah Wright, of Pannal; she departed this life the 14th day of May, 1764, in the 71st year of her age.” ‘‘Here lieth the body of Jeremiah Wright, of Pannal, who departed this life ye 22nd day of January, 1776, aged 91.” “In memory of Henry Wright, of Pannal, who departed this life the 24th day of April, in 1799, aged 82 years. May his soul rest in peace! Also, here lieth interred the body of Mary, the wife of Henry Wright, of Pannal, who departed this life the 9th day of March, in the year of our Lord 1790, aged 71 years.” “In memory of Richard Wright, of Pannal, who departed this life the 30th day of November, in the year 1813, aged 89 years.” “In memory of Henry, son of Richard and Frances Wright, who departed this life the 24th day of June, 1805, aged 30 years.” ; 228 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. The first legible registers of baptisms and burials are in 1585; marriages commence in 1607. There are a few deficiencies in the books, at different periods. During the Commonwealth, when certificates of marriage were signed by the magistrates, Thomas Stockdale, Henry Arthington, and Jo. Bourchier, performed that office for Pannal. A family of the name of Cheldray appears on the second page of the register, in 1585, and continues down far into the eighteenth century. At one time there were five families of the name of Bentley, all living, increasing, and multiplying in this parish, as the following extracts will show— 1655. Baptisms. Francis, son of George Bentley, 4 December.” “1655. Fi Alice, daughter of Thomas Bentley, 3 March.” 1656. 93 Sara, daughter of William Bentley, son of Leonard, 21st April.” © 1656. 55 Samuel, son of Henry Bentley, 8th December.” “©1656. 9 Wiliam, son of William Bentley, of Great Rosset, 1st January.” Next to Bentley, Winterburn is the most frequent name in the early registers; and in the later ones more abundant than any other. * In 1655, the name of Kent first appears; they yet exist, as a wealthy yeoman family, at Tatefield Hall, in Rigton, but are possessed of lands in this parish, in which they resided until about forty years ago. Their tombstones are in the churchyard, south-east of the chancel. “1607. Weddings. Marmaduke Boulton and Clare Plompton, 28th August.” Was not this the Clare Plompton, of Plompton, whose marriage is not given in the usual pedigrees of that family? The following most singular name occurs twice— “Weddings. 1610. Adam Crokebane, alias Bickerdike, and Jane Leyming, 22nd of Avril.” PANNAL, 229 “Christenings. 1610, Thomas, son of Adam Crockbane, 31st May.” . “Christenings. 1768. John, a child born at ye Sulphur Well, of parents unknown, August ye 27th.” “Burials. 1843. August 25th, Elizabeth Lupton, alias ‘Old Betty, Queen of the Wells,’ aged 83.” Many instances of more than ordinary longevity have occurred in this parish. The following are cither from the register, or from stones in the churchyard— “Stephen Shann, of Beckwithshaw, buried December 8th, 1806, aged 98.” ‘“‘Thomasine Shutt, of Harrogate, died March 16th, 1807, aged 94.” “Burials. 1791. April 14th, William Bradley, a pauper from the workhouse, in the 90th year of his age.” “1796. June 16th, Ann Barber, aged 90.” “1846. Matthew Pearson, Knaresbro’, aged 112, Nov. 8th.” ‘°1854, Thomas Noble, Jan. 8rd, aged 97.” “Bryan Procter, of Pannal, died January 26th, 1827, aged 93.” “Thomas Grimshaw, of Pannal, died Jan. 12th, 1828, aged 92.” “Mary, wife of Isaac Forrest, died July 8th, 1849, aged 98,” In the churchyard are many tombstones and inscriptions. The oldest is near the south entrance of the church, and is as follows— “Tn hope of a glorious resurrection resteth the body of John Bourne, of Pannal, who blessedly expired this life ye 17th day of February, Anno Domini 1683. Dum vixi vigne jaceo nunc vermibus esca, Munde vale serviis Christe recumbotuus.”’ 230 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. The most singular is on a large altar tomb— Ryere Leth the body JOSEPH THACKREY by name, Who, by the help of God, Brought Sulphur Wells to fame. In the year of our Lord 1740 I came to the Crown, 1n 1791 they laid me down. When I shall rise again No man can surely tell; But in the hopes of Heaven I’m not afraid of Hell. To friends I bid farewell, And part without a frown, In hopes to rise again, And have a better Crown. He departed this life the 26th November, in the 79th year of his age. Sarah, his wife, died 29th October, 1775, in the 67th year of her age.” The Sulphur Wells and Crown above mentioned, are the Wells and Crown Hotel in Low Harrogate. In 1868, the burial ground was enlarged by the addition of half an acre on the south side, purchased from Miss Bentley. The living is a discharged vicarage, at present in the incumbent's own gift. In 1296, it was returned as worth £5 per annum. In 13818, the fabric was completely destroyed by the invading Scots, who spread desolation over this district ; made the church their head-quarters; and, on their departure, burnt it to the ground, and rendered the living valueless. Having come into possession of Edmund, Harl of Cornwall, by exchange for the manor of Roweliff, it was, by him, given to the brethren of the house of St. Robert of Knaresborough, who appropriated the same to their house, and ordained a vicarage therein, May 19th, 1848. They held possession PANNAL. 231 of it until the dissolution of their house, in 1589, when it was valued as below— £ os. d. House, with rectorial glebe ............0005 3.0 8 Tithes of corn and hay, per annum.......... 26 8 Lambs and wool........ese sees cece eceeee 2 010 Plax‘and HEMP: ison eee dis ganisinelsindaise eee 01 8 ODA ONS wy arc. srsinieiie eye es'a'e 3 have Srvgeaaleien 08 0 Small and private tithes, as in Easter book .. 2 5 4 £10 3 2 The Vicarage, at the same time, was returned as— £8 d Money annually paid to vicar ...........04- 5 0 0 Site of Vicarage house, per annum .......... 05 0 £5 5 0 There was also a chantry in this church, dedicated to St. James, and of which at that time Robert Catton was incumbent; the return of which was— Rents of lands and tenements belonging to the same ........ £3 138. 4d. These lands and tenements were situate in Beckwith, Rosset, Rosehurst, and Killinghall. In 1705, the following curious statement occurs relative to this living*—“ Tithes are holden from the church; but whether impropriated is doubted and questioned by ancient men in the parish. They are holden by Richard and John Hill, of Shad- well, near London. The church hath no part of tithe, but is reported to have had a vicarage close and house, which close still goes by the name of ‘Vicarage Close,’ and the house was sold by the farmers of the tithes in 1654, or thereabouts. Augmented with £3 per annum by Thomas Hill, and 30s. per annum by William Kent. Total value, about £20 per annum. Tithes were paid before the late times of confusion. John Wright, Vic.” *" Notitia Parochialis,” No. 892. 232 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. In 1711, Mr. John Moon left a close near the Sulphur Well to the vicar of Pannal for ever, subject to the payment of 5s. a-year to the poor of the parish. The following entry is copied from the parish register,— “The waste land for the vicar of Pannal was set out in 1718-14. Between the Colde Bath and Sulphur Well, 11 acres, called Nettle Cliff; on the sunside of Hardesty’s house, 12 acres; Lead Hall Inclosure, 7a. 8r.; parcel opposite to Shepherd’s farm, 7a. 2r.; over against Mr. Wescoe’s, 8a. 3r.; Birk Crag, 12 acres ;—total, 59 acres.” In 1715, the living was augmented with £200, from Queen Anne’s Bounty fund, to meet benefactiods of lands worth £320, from Mr. John Wescoe and Mr. William Maunby.* On the enclosure of the forest, in 1778, the impropriators had awarded to them, in lieu of tithes, the following quantities of land— ar. Dp To Porahy Wilkes and Ann Bainbridge, who held one-fourth PALE: vais os he eg a nies oe ea oes eaAN ERODE SE LNs OSes 58 1 34 To William Bentley—one-fourth ......... ccc ccc eee e eens 33 3 15 To William Roundell—one-fourth ..........c0ccencceeeeue 47 2 8 To Henry and Richard Wright—one-fourth deoasiine See eee ss 80 1 8 With money payments for encroachments, amounting in the £ s. d. Whole tO. sis suuaninieceds ovees sas o@ aaneaedediau's Tes 210 4 As far as the church is concerned, Miss Bentley, of Pannal Hall, is now the sole impropriator, who, as a charge attached thereto, maintains the fabric of the chancel. In 1831, the vicarage was returned as worth £235 per annum. The landed estate belonging thereto consists of 76a. 3r. 28p. The patronage of late years has been in the gift of the incumbent. It was held by the Rev. Ralph Bates Hunter *The families of Wescoe and Maunby were both resident in Pannal; of the former some account will be found hereafter. The Maunbys appear in the register in 1720, and do not occur after 1735. PANNAL, 233° until 1835, when he sold it to James Simpson, Esq., of Fox Hill Bank, near Blackburn, Lancashire, for the sum of £2,800, who presented it to his son, the Rev. Thomas Simpson. The latter disposed of his interest therein, in 1862, to the Rev. William 5S. Vawdrey, present vicar. The following is the most complete list of the rectors, vicars, and curates, we have been able to obtain. A CLOSE CATALOGUE OF THE RECTORS OF PANNAL. (Torre’s Archdeaconry of York, p. 201.) : W. A. Diaconus Roffensis* ........ p. resig. In crast. 5. Clemtes, 1271. Mr. Martyn de Lege, cler., Rex Alemannie. 5 Id. Jan., 1311. Mr. Tho. de Skelelthorp, cler., minr. et fratr. dom. St. Robt. A CLOSE CATALOGUE OF THE VICARS OF PANNHALE. 5 Nov., 1348. Fr. Johannes Broun, confr. domus, minr. et fratr. dom. St. Robt. juxta Knaresburgh..pr. mort. 18 Nov., 1349. Fr. Will. de Kent, confr. ibidem....iidem....pr. resig. 12 April, 1364. Fr. Will. de Pudsey, pbr. confr.ibd. ,, ....pr.resig. "5 Jan., 1369. Fr. Ric. de Wakefield, fr. ibidem .. ,, ....p. resig. 13 Maii, 1370. Fr. Will. de Berkes, fr. ibidem .... ,, ....p. resig. Fr. Will. Brott ...... ison tevaavereiaatis yy eee DP. Tesig. 19 Dec., 1421. Fr. Joh. Strensall, pbsb. ibidem.... ,, ....p. resig. 5 Oct., 1454. Fr. Will. Wyndus, fr. ibidem ...... 4) «+p. mortem. 20 April, 1459. Fr. Petr. Patrington, fr. ibidem.... ,, ..p. mortem. 27 Maii, 1474. Fr. Laur. Screwton .............. + «+P, mortem. 8 Aug., 1475. Fr. Christoph. Craven............ » +P, mortem. 8 Jan., 1493. Fr. Will. Yorke, confr.ibidem .... ,, ..p. mortem. 19 Sep., 1511. Fr. Henv. Bell, presb............. ty) eee Pe resig. 18 Dec., 1515. Fr. Joh. Godbehere, frat., etc. .... ,, ..p. mortem. 6 Oct., 1524. Fr. Percivall Dibbis, presb......... +) «+P. mortem. 8 Oct., 1535. Dom. Will. Lambert.............. i << ———— Torre’s catalogue ends here. The two following names are from the parish register— 1677. William Cheldrey, minister. 1683. William Parsons, 3 *W. Archdeacon of Rochester, who resigned the rectory of Pannal, Nov. 24, 1271, appears to be identical with William de Sancto Martino, who, according to ‘‘Le Neve” (p. 253), was Archdeacon of Rochester in 1267, and died in 1274. 984 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. ARCHBISHOP SHARPE'S M.S.S., p. 80. I find no mention of any vicar instituted here. 6 May, 1694. Tho. Green, curate. 7 June, 1696. Christ. Jackson, curate. 1699. John Wright, curate; died 1707. 6 Sep., 1728. Lister Simondson, curate. 7 Oct., 1745. Lister Simondson,* instituted vicar of Pannal on the presentation of the king. 17 Dec., 1750. William Loup, B.A., pres. Geo. Loup, of Ripon, Gent. 1756. Robert Midgeley............000. ieteeains veeeeD. resig. 29 Dec., 1758. William Raper, pres..John Raper, Coxwold......p. mort. 2 Oct., 1789. John Umpleby, pres. John Raper, Easingwold ....résig. 20 Feb., 1816. Ralph Bates Hunter, pres. John Hunter, Bilton Park, Esq. wsceceees itwhorsene see ee om aeatewwis oes x TOSS. 17 July, 1835. Thomas Simpson.......... Se Raw a wR ee ..-resig. 1862, William S. Vawdrey .. ... One ee present vicar. The following curates have also officiated at Pannal, under the vicars— 21 Aug., 1730. Thomas Bolland appointed curate at £13 per ann. 25 Sep., 1743. John Riley, B.A., 4 » at £15 3 20 Dec., 1747. Gregory Perkins 33 » at £20 6 18 June, 1753. John Harker, ‘‘a literate person,” at £20 3 17 June, 1764. Beaumont Broadbelt, ‘‘a literate person,” at £25 per ann. 21 Feb., 1815. Henry William Powell—at £40 per ann.—to reside at Knaresborough, where he was master of the free school. 18 July, 1824. Thos. Hellier Madge, at £100 per ann. 5 Sep., 1827. James Holme—to curacy of Pannal and chapel of Low Harrogate, at £100 per ann. 18 July, 1830. Joshua Fawcett, B.A., at £80 per ann. 4 Aug., 1833. James Heyworth, B.A., at £80 per ann., “there being no vicarage house—to be resident near.” The charities consist of—a donation of 5s., left by the will of John Clark, in 1746, to be paid on the 27th of July, *In the Pannal register he makes the following entry—‘‘Sep. 20th, 1702. I entered on the curacy of Stainburn. The first time I came to officiate at Pannall Church was upon the fifth Sunday after Easter, being May the 18th, 1707, a fortnight, or thereabouts, after the decease of Mr. John Wright. Witness my hand, Lister Simondson.”’ He was buried at Kirkby Overblow, where a headstone of white limestone, against the outside wall of the chancel, yet bears the following inscription to his memory—‘Here lieth the body of the Rev. Lyster Simondson, vicar of Pannal and curate of Kirkby Overblow, who departed this life the 9th day of November, Anno Domini 1750, aged 72. He was an affectionate husband, an indulgent father, and a sincere friend.” PANNAL, 935 annually, for ever; two small fields on Harlow Hill, set out by the commissioners on the enclosure of the forest; two small allotments at Lund’s Green—one of 9 perches, the other of 30 perches—on which now stands the building called the Poorhouse; £3 per annum, payable out of a field near Low Harrogate; 7s. 6d. a-year out of Benjamin Winterburn’s land; £1 2s. 6d. out of a field near Low Harrogate, belonging to Joseph Thackrey; and 2s. 6d. out of a piece of land at Beck- withshaw, awarded to Elizabeth Swan. Mr. Richard Wright, by his will dated June 5th, 1813, left £3 per annum, payable out of a close at Storey Head, in Pannal, called Holm Close, to the poor of the parish for ever, to be laid out in provisions and clothing; and £1 a-year to the school, for teaching poor children to read the scriptures. John Moon, who left a close near the Sulphur Well to the vicar, in 1811, charged it with the payment of 5s. annually to the poor for ever. A considerable portion of land at the south-eastern corner of the parish belongs to the Duchy of Lancaster, now held on lease by Sir Joseph Radcliffe, Bart., of Rudding Park. Previously it was held by the respectable family of Bainbridge, who resided at Crimple House, a mansion pleasantly situate on an eminence, overlooking the valley of the Crimple, and the magnificent viaduct of that name, which here spans the valley. The first who resided here was John Bainbridge, who, in 1789, was appointed a commissioner for the completion of the inclosure of the forest. By his wife, Grace, he had a family of six children, of whom John, his successor, was the eldest. He took an active part in the foundation of Pannal School, in 1818; and died August 19th, 1856, aged 75. He was the last of the family who held lands in this parish. Crimple House is now occupied by Joseph P. P. Radcliffe, Esq., and Crimple Villa by Mr. Charles Sowray. 236 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. Fullwith Mill, which is situate close to the brook Crimple, from which it derives its motive power; along with eight acres of land in Beckwith-with-Rosset, and twenty-six acres in Pannal, in 1785, belonged to John Coghill, Esq., of Coghill Hall, near Knaresborough, who bequeathed the same to his grand- nephew, Oliver Cramer Coghill, Esq. It is now the property of Mr. William Stables, of Kirkby Overblow. Pannal House, now used as a boarding school, is a large building, in an open, airy situation, overlooking the valley of the Crimple, and the country beyond. In early times the house situate here bore the name of Wescoe Hall, and was owned and occupied by the old and respectable yeoman family of Wescoe. Their names occur in the parish register from 1599 to about 1735, as resident here, though not in any great number; and, as if to show their consequence, the ‘‘Mr.”’ is generally prefixed to the name. Afterwards the estate was held by the family of Crosby, who came from Spofforth. After the decease of the last William Crosby, it was purchased by the late Edwin Casson, Esq., after whose demise, in 1863, it was purchased by Mr. Thomas Watson, the present owner. Rosset, an important district at the time of the Domesday survey, appears to have lost its ancient importance, as it is now only applied to Rosset House, Rosset Green, and Rosset Moor. It is also used to designate a constabulary, called Beckwith-with-Rosset. At Burn Bridge, the old road from Leeds to Ripon crosses the Crimple, where is a cluster of cottages—some of them in Rigton—some in Pannal. About five hundred yards north of this bridge, in 1646, King Charles I., when passing along this road in his journey from Newcastle to London, had his high-crowned hat struck from his head, by riding too near the boughs of a large ash tree. The owner, an enthusiastic PANNAL. 237 loyalist, immediately caused it to be felled, to avenge this unintentional insult to royalty. Such is the locality given by Hargrove in his history of Knaresborough; but the voice of popular tradition says that the accident happened at Pannal High Ash, about a mile further northward. Pannal High Ash is a hamlet, or cluster of houses, near the junction of four roads, on elevated ground, commanding extensive views of the surrounding country. The name is said to be derived from five gigantic ash trees, which grew here until about the year 1810, when they were felled, and sold for common timber, to the great regret of the neighbourhood. They stood between the farm house and the row of cottages on the right of the road. Springfield House (Mr. Joshua Wright) was built in 1828, and Ashville (Mr. Benjamin Wainman) in 1861. A short distance south of this place is Castle Hill, a name suggestive of the site of some camp, or castra; though no traces of any kind of fortification are now visible, yet, from its high and commanding position, it is well adapted for such purposes. Further south are the Lund House and Lund House Green; names evidently derived from the Laund, or Lund, of the old forest day. Here was formerly a school for the parish of Pannal, which was of considerable note about the beginning of the present century. As distinguished names confer honour on the places where their owners reside, or with which they are associated, it will afford pleasure to many to know that a descendant of James Torre, the celebrated antiquary, was a land owner here. Previous to coming into possession of the family of Torre, this small estate was held by that of Mann, of Thorpe Underwoods. On October 18th, 1658, William Mann, the elder, of Thorpe Underwoods, surrendered the reversion of two messuages and 238 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. thirteen acres of land, in Beckwith and Rosset, to the use of Isabella Coghill, for life, and after her death to the heirs of her body by the said William Mann. Dec. 2nd, 1662. Isabella Mann, late wife of William Mann, senr., late of Thorpe Underwoods, deceased, was admitted to three messuages and twenty-two and a half acres of land, in Beckwith and Rosset, pro et nomine dote sue. On August 25th, 1686, Robert Mann was admitted as brother and next heir of Thomas Mann, late of Thorpe Underwoods, to two messuages and thirteen acres of land, in Pannal. On October 17th, 1694, Richard Mann, Gent., surrendered two messuages and thirteen acres of land, and one other messuage and fifteen acres of land, in Beckwith and Rosset, to trustees, for the use of Dinah Kirkby, his intended wife, and their heirs. Dinah Kirkby was eldest daughter of Mark Kirkby, a merchant of Hull; and the issue of this marriage was two daughters—Sarah, married to Jeremiah Horsfield, of Thorpe Green; and Jane, married, in 1720, to Nicholas Torre, of Cawood, afterwards of Snydale, son and heir of James Torre, the antiquary, who became in consequence owner of lands in Pannal. On the 22nd of March, 1720, Pethuel Fish, Gent., Dinah Mann, widow, Sarah Mann, spinster, Nicholas Torre, Esq., and Jane, his wife, surrendered one messuage and fifteen acres of land, in Beckwith and Rosset, to the use of the said Dinah Mann, for life. The same parties, at the same time, surrendered two messuages and thirtesn acres of land, in the same district, to the use of the said Dinah Mann, for life, and after her death to the use of Sarah Mann, spinster, her heirs and assigns. On the decease of Nicholas Torre, Esq., in March, 1749, hig second son, also named Nicholas, succeeded to the Pannal PANNAL, 239 estate,* who, by his will, proved Oct. 12th, 1796, bequeathed the same to his eldest son, Christopher Mann Torre. The Wesleyan Methodist Chapel is situate close to the road leading from Daw Cross to Beckwith. Wesleyanism appears to have quickly, taken root in Pannal, as the chapel was built in 1784, and John Wesley himself preached within it. Near the chapel is Hillfoot House, a newly erected comfortable abode, belonging to Mr. Robert Taylor. There was an old house of the same name, which, in the seventeenth century, was occupied by a family named Broadbelt. Hilltop Hall, as its name implies, stands on the top of a hill, commanding a fine view of the windings of the valley of the Crimple. The building is of considerable age; and modern improvements have not destroyed the peculiarities of the old architecture and arrangements. In houses such as this, wealthy and hospitable yeomen dwelt centuries ago. It formerly belonged, with the lands adjacent, to a family of the name of Coore; afterwards to that of Loup, from whom it was purchased by Mr. James Smith, who gave or bequeathed the same to his nephew, Mr. Edward Dickinson, the present owner. BECKWITH. Beckwith+ (Becvi) is one of the ancient manors men- tioned in the Domesday survey, as having belonged to Gamelbar, and at that time to Gilbert Tyson. More recently it gave name to the old and distinguished family of Beckwith; and *On the enclosure of the Forest of Knaresborough, in 1778, six allotments were awarded to Nicholas Torre, Esquire, in Pannal, near Lund Green, bounded eastward by the school land, near Pannal Ash and near Harlow Hill; the last, bounded westward by Birch Crag Road, contained 23a. Or. 36p. +From Beck, a brook, and with, a wood; a name indicative of Danish origin. 240 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. now forms part of an indefinable district, in the parish of Pannal, known as Beckwith-with-Rosset. At present it is a hamlet comprising some half-dozen farm houses and cottages, From the antique appearance of some of the houses and buildings around, it is quite evident that this was an early centre of population. It was for many years in possession of the family of Beckwith, whose principal residence was at Clint Hall, near Ripley. Beckwith House, a seat of the family of Wright, is a modern house, built in 1821; situate on a hill, in a pleasant spot, surrounded by fertile fields and fine timber trees, commanding a prospect varied and beautiful. The home view is delightful— over the ancient lands of Beckwith and the windings of the Crimple valley. The old house yet remains converted into stables and other offices; and over the door, upon a sun dial, is the date of its erection, 1661. The first of the family who resided here was Jeremiah Wright, who, with his son Henry, came from Brackenthwaite, and purchased this estate. . Jeremiah Wright died Jan. 22nd, 1776, at the advanced age of 91. Ann, his wife, died May 14th, 1764, aged 71. Henry Wright, son of the above, succeeded to the estate. His wife’s name was Mary, who died March 9th, 1790, aged 71; and Henry Wright himself departed this life April 24th, 1799, aged 82; leaving a son, Richard Wright, who married Frances Lawson, of Pannal, by whom he had issue— William, born in 1770. Henry, bapt. March 80th, 1772; buried June 24th, 1805. Mary, bapt. Oct. 2nd, 1779; married to Mr. Stephen Parkinson, of Fewston. PANNAL. 241 Richard Wright died Nov. 30th, 1818 (Frances, his wife, in March, 1823), and was succeeded by his son, William Wright, who, on June 14th, 1805, married Elizabeth, daughter of Joshua Collett, of Pannal (she died March 6th, 1831), by whom he had issue— Mary Ann, bapt. April 2nd, 1806; she married Mr. Thomas Bentley, of Pannal Hall, and was buried Nov. 7th, 1845. Sarah Priscilla, bapt. July 24, 1808; buried March 23, 1809. Joshua Collett, bapt. March 15th, 1810—of Springfield House, in Pannal—who married Elizabeth Foster, by whom he has issue, two daughters. Henry, bapt. Oct. 6th, 1811; buried Oct. 21st, 1853. Priscilla, bapt. March 80th, 1818; buried May Ist, 1838. William, bapt. March 19th, 1815. (See below ). Ann Elizabeth, bapt. May 20th, 1816; buried July 7th, 1816. Richard John Mallorie, bapt. April 19th, 1817; buried April 28rd, 1851. William Wright died Nov. 26th, 1842, and was succeeded, in his estate at Beckwith, by his third son, William Wright, who married, first, Mary Godfrey, eldest daughter of Mr. William Bentley, of Pannal Hall; she died July 4th, 1862. He married, secondly, Eleanor, danghter of Brian John Procter, Esq., of Gateshead, in the county of Durham, who died Nov. 14th, 1866. William Wright died April 30th, 1868, and, leaving no issue, he bequeathed the estate at Beckwith to his eldest and only surviving brother, Joshua Collett Wright, the present owner. BECK WITHSHAW.* This name is given to a district in the parish of Pannal which stretches across it to the west of Beckwith and Harlow * Shaw is from the Anglo-Saxon, and means a little wood or place shaded by trees. It is seldom in popular parlance that we hear a native 9 242 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. Car; from the Crimple, on the south, to Oakbeck, on the north; the western limit appears to be indefinite, and hardly to reach to the parish boundary. From the head of the Crimple to Broaddub, is sometimes called Sandwith; a heathy moorland district-—the highest and wildest part of the parish. A large quantity of land in this quarter—upwards of six hundred acres— belongs to the Rev. Sir Henry Ingilby, Bart., of Ripley Castle, who is the largest landowner in the parish. A large area of ground—upwards of eighty acres—on the north of Moor Park, is planted with trees, which have now grown up, and form ‘‘a broad contiguity of shade;’’ amidst which, on a piece of cultivated ground about six acres in extent, stands a game- keeper’s cottage, like an oasis in the middle of a wilderness. William Sheepshanks, Esq., of Leeds and Harrogate, is also an extensive landowner here, by purchase, within the last few years, from the family of Wright, and others. Amongst which is the large section lying between the Otley turnpike road and Oakbeck, and Harlow Car and the Beckwithshaw and Killinghall road; near the middle of which, a few years ago, stood a corn windmill, now demolished. The steep slope descending to Oakbeck, is a large plantation of firs and larches, known as the Great. Wood; at the north-west corner of which formerly stood a water mill for grinding corn and rolling lead into sheets; which mill was built by Mr. Heap, of Leeds, and derived its motive power from the Oakbeck stream. A of the parish give this place its full name; it is spoken of as Shaw, or the Shaw. ‘When shaws beene sheene and shraddes full fayre, And leaves both large and longe, It’s merrye walkyng in the fayre forrest To heare the small birdes songe.” —Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne. In the 16th Edward II. (1322), Henry de Boys held the manor of Usburn Magna, and certain assarts, or cultivated enclosures in the Forest of Knaresborough, called ‘‘ Beckwithershagh.”—Inquisitiones post mortem, PANNAL. 243 dispute with Sir John Ingilby, Bart,, the owner of Haverah Park, was the cause of diverting the water, and the mill consequently became useless; when the machinery was taken out, the roof and all the woodwork removed, and the deserted shell put on the appearance of a lonely ruin. About the year 1864, it was pulled down to the foundation, and the materials removed; the site is however yet clearly marked. This district consists entirely of detached farms, unless a small cluster of houses, at the junction of the roads from Harrogate to Otley, and from Killinghall to Rigton, may assume the name of the village of Beckwithshaw. Here is the National School, a substantial and neat building of stone, erected at the cost of Mr. James Bray, of Moor Park, in 1865. It consists of schoolroom, classroom, and master’s house, all well adapted to their purpose. The land on which it stands was given by Messrs. John and Benjamin Kent, of Tatefield Hall. A small Wesleyan Methodist Chapel was built here in the year 1845. It will accommodate about one hundred hearers, Amongst the notabilities of Beckwithshaw must be counted *©Old Harry Buck,” the wiseman of Knaresborough Forest. In his younger days—about sixty years ago—he resided in a small hut, on the Rigton side of the Crimple; afterwards he was schoolmaster at Lund House Green; next money-taker at the Beckwithshaw toll-bar; during which time he was accounted a learned magician—could tell fortunes by tea leaves at the bottom of a cup, and see as far into the future as an ordinary man can into a millstone. He was remarkably clever in cases ‘When brass and pewter hap to stray, And linen slinks out of the way; When geese and pullen are seduced, And sows of sucking pigs are chous’d; 244 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. When yeast and outward means do fail, And have no power to work on ale; When butter does refuse to come, And love proves cross and humoursome.” MOOR PARK. This estate and mansion are situate close to Beckwithshaw, of which indeed they form a part. The whole domain—upwards of 227 acres—is surrounded by a lofty stone wall, built by Mr. James Bray, at a cost of about £2,000. The house was also rebuilt by the same owner, in 1859, at a cost of upwards of £8,000. The ground plan is an oblong square, 90 feet in front by 46 in depth. The entrance is in the centre, above which rises an elegant square tower, 75 feet high. It is now a, large and commodious mansion. The style is Elizabethan; and the architects were Messrs. Andrews and De Launay, of Bradford. The whole estate is a remarkable instance of what capital liberally applied can do in improving and adorning a soil and situation possessing but few natural advantages. It is well sheltered by plantations, disposed in clumps and masses, and has become a desirable and picturesque spot. At the enclosure of the forest, this domain was a tract of heathy moorland; a large portion of which was set out in sale lots (that is lots which were to be sold to pay the cost of enclosure); a number of these were purchased, and subsequently awarded to ‘Richard Wilson, Esq., Robert Stockdale, and Co.” This was in 1778, and since that time it has frequently changed owners;—passing into the hands of Mr. James Bradbury, then to Mr. William Hirst, of Leeds, distinguished as a cloth manufacturer, who held it until 1838, when it was purchased by Mr. Thomas Jemison. In 1846, it came into possession of Mr. John Bainbridge, of Crimple PANNAL. 245 (commonly called Captain. Bainbridge), from whom it was purchased by Mr. James Bray, in 1848. Mr. Bray was eminent as a railway contractor; and, on obtaining possession, carried out a series of spirited and costly improvements over the whole estate, so much so that it may be said that he created itanew. He retained possession of it until 1869, when it was purchased by Mr. Joseph Nussey, the present owner. LOW HARROGATE. Low Harrogate occupies the north-eastern corner of the parish of Pannal, and is included within the Harrogate Improvement Act District. That part of the town known as Cold Bath Road, the Esplanade, Royal Parade, Promenade Square, part of Promenade Terrace, Crescent Place, with the Crown, White Hart, Wellington, Binns’s, and Adelphi Hotels; also the Bogs, and Bath Hospital, are all in this district and parish; but as we have previously described them under the head of Harrogate we shall not notice them further. ST. MARY’S CHURCH. The great influx of visitors to Low Harrogate, and its distance from the parish church, rendered some place of public worship here absolutely necessary; so the building of this church was determined on. The foundation stone was laid September 4th, 1822, and the finished building consecrated by the Archbishop of York, August 7th, 1825. The design was by Mr. 8. Chap- man, of Leeds, and partakes of the early English style of architecture. It consists of a nave, chancel (recently added), and a square tower at the west end—through which is the principal entrance. There is accommodation for 800 hearers; and 500 of the sittings are free. The chancel was added in 246 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. 1865, when upwards of 100 additional sittings were obtained. The whole church was seated anew in 1868, at the cost of Miss Smith, of the Belvidere. The stained glass window was inserted in 1862, as a memorial of the late Prince Consort; the subject is the ascension of our Saviour; and at the base of the window is inscribed, ‘‘These three windows were erected by private subscription to the memory of His Royal Highness Francis Albert Augustus Charles Emanuel, Prince Consort, Duke of Saxe Coburg and Gotha, A.D. 1862.” In the summer of 1866, a peal of six bells was placed in the tower, at a cost of about £450, raised by public subserip- tion. They were first rung on September 10th; previously there was only one bell. The funds for the erection of the building were raised by voluntary subscription, aided by a grant from the Commissioners of the Million Act. The king, as Duke of Lancaster, gave the land for the site and burial ground,* which last is not adapted for its purpose, and has never been used; he also endowed it with £50 per annum, from the revenues of the duchy. The subscriptions fell £1,600 short of the amount required, which sum was supplied by the vicar of Pannal, the patron. The living is a perpetual curacy, valued, in 1831, at £90 per annum; augmented in 1834 with £200, and £200, to meet benefactions of £400, by subscriptions. CURATES OF ST. MARY’S. July 18, 1824. Rev. Thomas Hilling Madge.........caesseeee resigned. Sep. 5, 1827. Rev. James Holme...........ec cece eee cee een resigned. Aug. 4, 1833. Rev. James Heyworth ...........0.c0eceaees Rev. George Digby .......... cece cece ee present curate. This church was constituted the head of a district parish, under the provisions of the act 59, George III., cap. 184; * The land now occupied by the church, parsonage, and national school, is 2a, 3r. 5p. in extent. PANNAL. 247 and by an order in council, dated July 19th, 1880, a district was assigned to it comprising a large portion of the northern side of the parish of Pannal, the boundary commencing at the Cold Well, and running along the boundary of the parishes of Pannal and Harrogate, down Hookstones beck, to the Lime Road; there turning westward, along the said road and Lead Hall Lane to Rosset Green; thence north-westerly, up the centre of the Grass Lane to Pannal High Ash; from thence south-westerly to Lund’s Green; from thence following the road in a north-westerly direction to the Otley and Knaresborough turnpike road, and along the said road to Beckwithshaw; there turning northward, along the road to Pot Bridge; thence down Oakbeck, past Irongate Bridge, to the boundary of the parishes of Pannal and Harrogate, along which it passes to the Cold Well, where it commenced. The Parsonage is situate in the same valley, a short distance south of the church. St. Mary’s National School was established in 1837. The present building was erected in 1851, at a cost of £400, raised by voluntary subscription. It was altered so as to make a dwelling for the master in 1866. HARLOW HILL. This eminence is about a mile west of Harrogate, yet in a state of nature, and exhibits the vegetation of the forest as it existed twenty centuries ago. Though the name is in- dicative of military occupation,“ we have sought in vain for traces of entrenchment said to exist upon it, and history is silent as to any battle having ever taken place here; yet tradition murmurs that the army of Uter Pendragon encamped * Here-low, the soldiers’ hill. 248 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. upon this hill, about the year 460; and the humble cottage of a husbandman bore the name of Pendragon’s Castle until quite a recent period. In the year 1200, Herelow is mentioned as one of the boundaries of William de Stuteville’s gift of forest land to Nigel de Plumpton; but the term at that time applied strictly to the township of Harrogate. In 1769, a plot of about six acres in extent was planted with fir trees,* at which time many querns, or ancient hand-mills, were dug up. This plantation formed a nucleus for a future forest—for within the last thirty years, from the scattering of the seeds by the winds and birds, a great deal of the adjoining waste has become a wood of firs. The plants may be seen in all stages of developement—from those of a few inches in height, struggling for life with the heath, to those of older growth, three or four yards in height, which have smothered the heath, and are forming a new soil around them of their own dead leaves. In some places they stand so close together that they exclude the sunshine, choke each other’s growth, and die. This con- tinued until 1864, when the present pleasure grounds were first designed by John Senior, a landscape gardener, in the middle of the thicket of firs. On July 10th, 1868, while sinking a well here to obtain water for household purposes, at a depth of eleven yards a copious spring of mild sulphur water was struck, similar in quality to that of Harlow Car. Like nearly all the sulphur waters, it rises from a bed of black contorted shale. The Harlow Hill Tower is a plain square building, without any pretence to ornament—strong, substantial, and of easy ascent; 90 feet in height, and 18 feet 4 inches square, within, * This is called the ‘King’s Plantation,” and is retained in the hands of Her Majesty, who also holds other plantations in this parish, to the extent of 22a. 2. 36p. PANNAL. 949 at the top. It was built in 1829, by Mr. John Thompson, of Harrogate, at a cost of £500. The ground on which it stands is about 600 feet above the sea level. Inconsiderable as this may appear to the height of many mountains, its situ- ation gives it a prospect excelled by few of them; standing on the verge of the great plain of York, it overlooks the whole of that extensive, fertile, and interesting region, extending from the Tees to the Humber; bounded eastward, at various distances, by the Hambleton, Howardian, and Wold hills; while on the south, west, and north, it commands a magnificent view of mountains, hills, and valleys. Two cities, York and Ripon, with their cathedrals, are distinctly visible; and at times Lincoln is seen, like a small dark cloud on the distant horizon. Seven of the great battle fields of England, and the scenes of at least twenty minor skirmishes, may be seen from hence; twenty market towns, seventeen castles, twenty-three abbeys, and other religious houses, more than seventy gentlemen’s seats, and nearly two hundred churches are within the range of vision. In 1870, a small church, called the All Saints Mission Church, was erected here, with a burial ground attached, for the use of the parishioners of the district of St. Mary’s parish, Low Harrogate. The Harl of Harewood gave the land for the site of the church and cemetery; and the ground was fenced and laid out, and the church built, by a rate on the inhabitants of the district, and voluntary subscriptions. The church consists of porch, nave, chancel, transepts, tower, and spire. The whole length is 65 feet, the breadth 24 feet; the transepts project 8 feet 6 inches on each side; and the height of the tower and spire is 62 feet. The foundation stone was laid April 19th, and the finished fabric was opened for public worship in April, 1871. It will accommodate 217 hearers. 250 THE FOREST Of KNARESBOROUGH. Harlow Car is situate in a shallow valley, to the westward of Harlow Hill. It forms within itself a small watering place, possessing four springs of mild sulphur water, a chalybeate, a suite of baths, and a comfortable hotel (now used as a private residence), situate in a piece of ground neatly laid out and adorned with a variety of shrubs and trees, sheltered from the winds, and forming altogether a quiet pleasing retreat. The springs here are mentioned in 1740 by Dr. Short, in his ‘History of Mineral Waters’’;* they were not however cleaned out and protected until 1840, The baths and hotel were built in 1844, at the cost of Mr. Henry Wright, who was then owner of the estate. Birk Crag, a short distance north of Harlow Car, is a piece of genuine mountain scenery, consisting of a narrow valley or glen, about half a mile in length, through which run the waters of Oakbeck. The southern side is steep, rugged, and, in some places, precipitous; grey crags peer out of its sides the whole length, but it is only for about two hundred yards in the highest part that they assume their proper majesty—grim and lofty, covered with lichens, the growth of centuries, and perched in such a random manner on the edge of the hill, that apparently a slight force would send them crashing to the bottom. The half vertical position of these rocks is another proof of the grand dislocation which has taken place here. The valley is *“ About a mile and a quarter west of Harrogate, on the brook side, is a small outbreak of a strong saline, sulphurious spring, which blackens the water of the brook, and makes the earth of a deep ink-black colour. A mile east of this bog, above the village, we find several more of those springs.” —Page 285. This is sufficiently explicit to identify the outbreak as at Harlow Cer. In 1785, it is again mentioned by the Bishop of Landaff, in the following terms—‘‘On the other side of the hill above the bog, and to the west of it, there is another sulphur well on the side of a brook, and it has been thought that the wells, both at Harrogate and in the bog, aye supplied from this well.” PANNAL. 951 clothed with vegetation of the coarsest kind; ferns in abundance, heath, gorse, and whortleberry plants, above which rise the graceful forms of the mountain ash, the thick masses of the white thorn, the sable holly, the ash, and the hazel—while the alder overhangs the brook below. Here we have nature in her primitive form—man has done nothing to mend or mar her originality, except to delve a paltry stone quarry, thereby display- ing his lack of judgment and want of taste. This is the grandest piece of scenery in the neighbourhood of Harrogate; and great is the surprise of the stranger looking down from the top of the crag, to see such a scene in such a situation. On a fine day—when the heath is in bloom, with the sunshine streaming over it; thick woods rising darkly on the west; the brook stealing into view from under an arcade of foliage, and winding along the bottom in graceful curves—it forms a picture at once wild, grand, and beautiful. Here the botanist and geologist will find objects to them highly interesting. About the year 1256, Richard, Earl of Cornwall, granted to the brethren of the house of St. Robert of Knaresborough, pasturage in Okeden for three hundred sheep and forty pigs, without paying any acknowledgement. Okeden, or Oakdale, at that time must have included the whole of the valley, from the outfall of the brook into the Nidd to the bounds of Haverah Park, as a lesser districs would hardly suffice to graze so many sheep and pigs. It is hardly necessary to say that the oaks which gave name to this den, or dale, have disappeared, and pigs at present would find but scanty pasturage here. Trongate Bridge is the name borne by a narrow arch of stone, without battlements, which has only been intended for foot passengers or pack horses. It is now entirely disused, not even a footpath passing over it. The name is probably derived from 252 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. its being formerly on the gate, or road, by which iron was carried from the mine to the smelting furnace. Traces of trackways may yet be seen winding up the sides of the valley. The population of Pannal in 1801 was 789; in 1811, 914; in 1821, 1,814; in 1881, 1,261; in 1841, 1,418; in 1851, 1,370; and in 1861, 1,587. The annual value of this township as assessed to the county rate in 1849 was £9,570; in 1859, £11,885; in 1866, 418,392; and in 1869, £13,481. The valuation to income tax in 1858 was £138,025. an ENARESBOROUGH AND SCRIVEN. 253 KNARESBOROUGH AND SCRIVEN. TueEse townships, though the main bulk of them are on the north-eastern bank of the river Nidd, project a large wedge- shaped piece of land into the forest,* between the townships of Bilton-with-Harrogate and Plumpton, on which are some places of interest, as well as much beautiful scenery. Close to the right bank of the Nidd is the Long Walk, which was laid out and some of the trees planted by Sir Henry Slingsby, Bart., in the year 1739. In summer this is a delightful place; on the right rises the steep bank, clothed with tall forest trees, with here and there a rocky precipice, clothed with shrubs, ferns, and mosses; on the other is the river, full to the brim; lower down it dashes over a dam, and then runs onward, rippling over rocks. Beyond the river, on the sides of a steep precipice of rugged limestone rock, rises the town of Knaresborough— the houses clinging to the steep sides of the hill in almost every variety of position, interspersed with rocks and gardens; the venerable parish church and the ruined castle forming prominent *Many small detached portions of land on the forest belong to these townships, which were awarded on the enclosure of the forest. The limits of these two townships and that of Harrogate, are so intermixed, that we have not attempted to disentangle them. Some pieces of land, even in the town of Harrogate, belong to the townships of Knaresborough and Scriven, while detached portions of Harrogate are to be met with at Thistle Hill, south of Knaresborough. The windmill, small chapel, and many of the cottages at Forest Lane Head, belong to Harrogate. 254 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. objects in the picture; and then, as if to add to the variety of the scene, the lofty and massive railway viaduct spans the valley, far above our heads; the whole forming a picture of almost unique variety and beauty. In summer the whole of this plot of ground is full of wild flowers—some of them of the rarest kinds; and is a choice spot for the botanist and the lover of natural beauty. Passing along this walk, nearly to the Low Bridge, we reach THE DROPPING WELL. This is one of the strongest and most celebrated petrifying springs in the kingdom; it is also distinguished as being the place where the renowned Yorkshire prophetess, Mother Shipton, was born. Leland, the father of English topography, gives the following account of this spring—‘‘A little above March Bridge, but on the farther ripe of Nidde, as I cam, is a well of a wonderful nature, caullid Droping Welle, for out of the great rokkes by it distilleth water continually into it. This water is so could, and of such a nature, that what thing soever faullith oute of the rokkes ynto this pitte, or ys caste in, or growith about the rokke and is touched of this water, growith ynto stone; or else sum sand, or other fine ground that is about the rokkes cummith doune with the continualle droping of the springes in the rokkes, and clevith on such thinges as it takith, and so clevith aboute it, and giveth it by continuance the shape of a stone. There was ons, as I hard say, a conduct of stone made to convey water from this Welle, over Nid, to the priory of Knaresburgh; but this was decayed afore the dissolu- tion of the house.”’* Dr. Dean, in his Spandarine Anglica, published in 1626, thus describes this spring—‘“TIt is called the Dropping Well *“Ttinerary,” vol. ii., p. 95. KNARESBOROUGH AND SORIVEN. 255 because it drops, distils, and trickles down from the rock above; the water whereof is of a petrifying nature—turns everything to a stony substance in a short time. At first it rises up not far from the said rock, and running a little way in one intire current till it comes almost to the brim of the cragg, where being opposed by a dam (as it were artificial) of certain spongy stones, it afterwards is divided into many smaller branches, and falls from on high. It’s said to be very effectual in staying any flux of the body.” A much fuller description is given by Dr. Short, in his ‘‘History of Mineral Waters,” 1734. He says, ‘‘The most noted of the petrifying waters in Yorkshire is the Dropping Well at Knaresborough, which rises up about fourteen yards below the top of a small mountain of marlstone (properly limestone of a very coarse grain) on the west side of the town and river, and about twenty-six yards from the bank of the Nid, where it falls down in the same contracted rapid stream; about a yard, and, at a second fall, at two yards distance it comes two foot lower, then three or four, and so falls upon an easy ascent; divides, and spreads itself upon the top of an isthmus of a petrified rock, generated out of the water, there falls down round it; about four or five yards from the river, the top of this isthmus or rock hangs over its bottom four yards. This rock is ten yards high, sixteen yards long, and from thirteen to sixteen vards broad, but on the backside it is twelve yards high. This little island slipt down and started from the common bank about thirty years ago, and leaves a chasm between them from a yard and a half to three yards wide; in this chasm, on the back and lower side of the part that is fallen down, are petrified twigs of trees, shrubs, and grass roots, hanging in most beautiful pillars, all interwoven and forming a great many charming figures. On 256 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. the other, or common bank side of the chasm, are whole banks or coverings, like stalactites—very hard, and inseparable (with- out breaking) from the rock, where the water trickles down from the opposite side. This spring sends out about twenty gallons in a minute, of the sweetest water I ever tasted. From its rise till its fall down the common bank are several patrifactions upon the stones, but none on the grass, &c., till it come within two yards of the bank top. It springs out of a small hole like a little sough, in the middle of a thick set of shrubs. This little isthmus is beautifully cloathed with ash, osier, elm, ivy, sambucus cervicaria major, geraniums, wood mercury, hart’s- tongue, ladies’ mantle, scabious, cowslips, wild angelica, meadow-sweet, hypericon, &e. This water, both at the spring and from the rocks, is of equal weight, and each twenty-four grains in a pint heavier than common water.” Dr. Hunter, in 1880, gave the following analysis of this water, per imperial gallon— Carbonate of soda ...... ccc cece cee ee eee 6. Sulphate of lime ....°° t+... eee 132. Sulphate of magnesia ............ 0... 20008 11. Carbonate of lime ........ cece eee e eae 23. Solid contents on evaporation ....... ....5- 172. “When the water is exposed by slowly trickling over any surface, the carbonic acid gas flies off, and the carbonate of lime, which by its means was held in solution in the water, is deposited in a solid form. The sulphate of lime, a salt of little solubility, and easily separated from water, also assists in the effect. The concretions, on analysis, furnish carbonate of lime, sulphate of lime, carbonate of magnesia, and a trace of the muriates,* «‘Treatize on the Waters of Harrogate,” p. 75. KNARESBOROUGH AND SCRIVEN. 257 Michael Drayton, who so sweetly chanted ‘Polyolbion,” in song the twenty-eighth thus describes the Dropping Well— ‘‘ And near the stream of Nyde, another spring have I, As well as that, which may a wonder’s place supply, Which of the form it bears, men Dropping Well do call, Because out of a rock it still in drops doth fall; Near to the foot whereof it makes a little pon, Which, in as little space, converteth wood to stone.” He also bestows a few lines on the river Nidd and Knares- borough Forest. ‘‘From Wharnside Hill not far outflows the nimble Nyde, Through Nythersdale, along as sweetly she doth glide Tow’rds Knaresburgh on her way— Where that brave forest stands Entitled by the town, who, with upreared hands, Makes signs to her of joy, and doth with garlands crown The river passing by.” The greatest seeming anomaly about this rack and spring is that the water makes the stone over which it flows, which stone is continually on the increase; and, owing to the dispropor- tionate weight on the upper part, it has frequently slipped down, and most certainly will do the like again. The first . known fall was in 1704; it sunk again in 1816, and in 1823. The scenery around is particularly interesting and beautiful. Something ought to be said of Mother Shipton, who, according to the unchanging voice of popular tradition, was born near this Dropping Well. She is the most distinguished of all the natives of the Forest of Knaresborough, and her reputation is one that is not likely to die. This is more due to her extra- ordinary abilities than to her personal comeliness—for, if we can believe that the sign of the adjoining public-house is a true portrait, she was the embodiment of ugliness itself. She is said to have been born early in the reign of King Henry VIT.; the daughter of Agatha Sonthiel and the Prince of the air; to have delivered her prophecies to the abbot of Beverley; married R 258 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. a man named Shipton; done many most extraordinary acts ;— in short played the part of a prophetess. Finally she died, and was buried at Clifton, near York, where a stone was erected to her memory, bearing the following inscription— “Here lies she who never ly’d, Whose skill often has been try’d; Her prophecies shall still survive, And ever keep her name alive.”” As specimens of her talents, we give three of her unfulfilled prophecies. I. “The Fiery Year as soon as o’er, Peace shall then be as before: Plenty everywhere is found, And men with swords shall plow the ground.” IL. “‘The time shall come when seas of blood Shall mingle with a greater flood.” ‘Great noise shall be eed. great shouts and cries, And seas shall thunder louder than the skies; Then shall three lions fight with three, and bring Joy to a people, honour to their king.” _On the same side of the river as the Dropping Well, but lower down, is a piece of ground—now used as a garden and orchard—open towards the water, but enclosed on the other three sides by a high wall, which bears the name of “ Spittle- croft’; a name expressive of its former use, and which it has borne at least six hundred years, as it is mentioned in the Earl of Cornwall’s charter, in 1257, when it was given, along with other lands, to the brethren of the house of St. Robert of Knaresborough; the name showing that an hospital had ex- isted here long before that time. The most probable supposition is that it was an hospital for lepers, founded, in very early times, by some one whose name is forgotten, and endowed with this and other lands—some of which were situate at Scotton, From KNARESBOROUGH AND SCRIVEN. 259 the Hundred Rolls (1275), we find that the minister and brethren of the house of St. Robert, held in that village fifteen oxgangs and two tofts, which had belonged to the lepers. An hospital at Knaresborough is mentioned in the Patent Rolls, 18 Edward II. (1819). From these facts we infer that an hospital for lepers formerly existed here. Further westward, on the slope of the hill, are the fields, wood, and house of Belmond; a piece of finely undulating land, situate between the river Nidd and Forest Lane Head. It was given by the charter of Richard, Earl of Cornwall, in 1256, to the brethren of the house of St. Robert of Knaresborough, and is there described as, ‘‘all that land which is called Belmond, between the forest and the little park of Knaresborough.” In 1817, the king, by letters patent, gave the minister and brethren of the house of St. Robert, license to enclose three acres of land in the field of Belmond, within the bounds of the forest of Knaresborough. It is now the property of Captain Slingsby, of Scriven Park. Belmond House was for many years the residence of David Lewis, who was author of many pieces of poetry—some of them of considerable merit. They are chiefly of a comic and de- scriptive kind. ‘‘The Sweeper and Thieves,” in the Yorkshire dialect, has found its way into many collections. Another is entitled ‘‘A Week at Harrogate, in a Series of Letters.” “The Landscape,” descriptive of the scenery of his native town, written in 1814, is probably the best; from which we give a few lines as a specimen of his abilities— ‘Knaresborough! mountain mantling town, On field and flood both looking down; From its north and eastern brows, We see beyond the Vale of Ouse; Yellow crops and meadows green, Trees, and towns, and woods, between.” 260 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. Like many others of the poetical race, Lewis, in his old age, was the prey of poverty. He died about the year 1846. Nearly adjoining Belmond House is the hamlet of Forest Lane Head, consisting of a windmill (now destroyed), a few farm houses, cottages, and a small Wesleyan Methodist Chapel —the last built in 1860. About midway between Knaresborough and Harrogate is Starbeck, where the railways from York and Harrogate, and Leeds and Ripon, intersect each other. Though Starbeck is mentioned as the name of the brook flowing past this place, as early as the year 1200, until a few years ago it was of comparatively little importance. When the Leeds and Thirsk railway was completed, in 1849, the station for Harrogate and its neighbourhood was made here; and the hitherto quiet, lonely place became a centre of bustle and traffic. The hotel, the large steam corn mill, and brewery, were built by Mr. Charles Faivell, soon after the completion of the railway. Since then many good houses have been built around; and the lonely swamp of the old forest has put on an appearance of respectability and progress. THE STARBECK SPAW. Here is situate the Starbeck Spaw, one of the earliest known, and used, of the sulphur waters of this district. It is mentioned by Dr. Dean, in 1626; and it was much resorted to—especially by the country people—until the enclosure of the forest, after which it was entirely neglected; the dome which had covered it was removed, the basin into which it flowed taken away, the current drained into the adjoining rivulet, and the site subjected to the plough; so-that it was in danger of being entirely lost. It continued much in this state until the year 1822, when, ENARESBOROUGH AND SCRIVEN. 261 chiefly through the praiseworthy exertions of the late Mr. Michael Calvert,* a public meeting of the inhabitants of Knaresborough was held, to consider the best means of restoring to the public this cheap and salutary medicine. A subscription was entered into for raising the requisite funds; and, on the 28rd of May, in the above mentioned year, the foundation of the present pump room was laid amid much rejoicing. In 1828, the baths were erected by a company of proprietors; these com- prised a suite of nine rooms, with every requisite for warm, cold, and shower bathing; they have since been increased to fourteen, with comfortable waiting rooms attached. These were the first public sulphur water baths erected in the neighbourhood. The quantity of water discharged by this spring is about one gallon in a minute, without any considerable variation, except in excessively rainy or droughty seasons. The temperature is about 48 degrees in severe frost, and 58 degrees in summer, according to Farenheit’s thermometer. It never freezes at the fountain, or in the cold bath; in the latter place the water assumes a pale blue colour. An analysis of the water of this spring, by Professor Hofmann, is given among those of the Harrogate waters. Many remarkable cures are recorded by the use of this water. Dr. Hunter says, “It is more suitable to some delicate con- stitutions, or where there is greater irritability, than the more powerful waters of the same kind; and is therefore particularly indicated for tender females, and for children.” + Here were formerly three chalybeate springs; but only one of them remains at present, which is about eighteen yards distant *In his younger days he was a druggist in the town of Knaresborough; possessed an extensive knowledge of botany; and wrote a history of Knaresborough, and a tract on Knaresborough Spaw. He died December 8rd, 1862, in the 92nd year of his age. +‘ Treatise on the Harrogate Waters,” p. 46. 262 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. from the sulphur well. ‘In general properties it coincides with other chalybeates; but the neat state in which it is now kept, and the perfect brightness of its waters, convey an idea of purity and cleanliness to the mind, and make it frequently be preferred to the others, though the weakest of any.” * The neat cottage of the attendant, with the garden and shrubbery, all kept in nice order, two kinds of water, and a suite of baths, render this an attractive and pleasing spot. The spring of mild sulphur water in the adjoining field, possessed of similar qualities to the original spaw, was discovered in 1868; the suite of baths attached thereto were built in 1869, and first opened to the public in April, 1870. The swimming bath was the first of its kind constructed in this neighbourhood; it is eighteen yards in length, eight yards in breadth, and varies in depth from three to nine feet. * Treatise on the Harrogate Waters,” p. 71. PLUMPTON. 263 PLUMPTON. Piumeton* is a township in the parish of Spofforth; bounded towards the east by Little Ribston, on the north by the river Nidd, on the south by the brook Crimple, and on the west by Bilton-with-Harrogate and part of Scriven, It is chiefly memorable in ancient times as the residence of a family to which it gave name; and now remarkable for its beautiful pleasure grounds. It includes the ancient manors of Plumpton, Roudferlington, and Brame, or Micklebram; the first of which is thus described in Domesday survey— “Land of William de Percy, in Borgescire Wapentake. Manor. In Plontone, Gamelbar had two carucates of land to be taxed, and there may be one plough there. Eldred has it of William. ‘There are eight villanes and ten bordars there, with three ploughs, and two acres of meadow. Value in King Edward’s time, twenty shillings ; the same now.”’} ‘Land of Giselbert Tyson. Manor. In Pluntone, Gamelbar had two carucates to be taxed. There is land to one plough. Half-a-mile long, and three quarentens broad. It is now culti- vated, and pays five shillings. Value in King Edward's time, twenty shillings.’’t *From Plump, a woody place—a clump of trees is yet called a plump in Yorkshire and the north—and ton, a town; that is the town in the plump or grove of trees. +‘Bawdwen’s Dom. Boe.,” p. 166. + Ibid, p. 194. 264 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. The Anglo-Saxon Eldred, who held the manor of the Percy fee in 1086, is supposed by some to have been the ancestor of the family, for many ages resident here, and highly dis- tinguished under the name of Plumpton; but this cannot be proved from existing evidence. The first of the name mentioned is Nigellus de Pluntona, about the year 1168; and from that time till the year 1760, his descendants held possession of the estate. To give their history in detail would far exceed our limits, as they fought on nearly every English battle field, and took part in every political movement of their times. In the year 1184, the name of Plumpton acquired a melan- choly notoriety from an event of a most singular kind. Gilbert de Plumpton, brother of Nigel, having married the daughter of Roger de Guilvast, a ward in the gift of the king, without the proper consent for so doing, was charged by Ralph de Glanvill with taking her away from her father’s house by force, and stealing thence many articles along with her. Glanvill, wishing to give the maiden, with her inheritance, to Reiner, a creature of his own, persuaded those who were to try Gilbert to adjudge him to death; which was done accordingly. Whilst he’ was being led to the place of execution, intelligence of the case was brought to Baldwin, Bishop of Worcester; whose attendants exhorted him to rescue the youth from death. The bishop, moved to compassion, rode to the executioners, who had already bound a green band before their victim’s eyes and fastened an iron chain about his neck, and were then preparing to hoist him to the gibbet. The bishop running up to them exclaimed (it being Sunday), ‘‘I forbid you, on the part of God and blessed Mary Magdalen, and under sentence of excom- munication, to hang this man on this day; because to-day is the day of our Lord, and the feast of the blessed Mary Magdalen.” After some altercation, divine authority prevailed, PLUMPTON. 265 and the youth was respited for that day, and delivered over to the keeper of the king’s castle for safety. The story coming to the ears of the king (Henry II.), he enquired further into it, and the youth was finally set at liberty; and, at the same time, those who had thus perverted the course of justice were compelled to pay a fine of a thousand marks to the king. Sometime previous to the year 1200, William de Stutevill, lord of Knaresborough, granted to Nigel de Plumpton, and his heirs, for the usual services, and one horse of the value of one hundred shillings, all that part of the Forest of Knares- borough which included Little Ribston, Plumpton, and Rudfar- lington; along with the right of chasing the fox and hare throughout the whole forest—reserving to the superior lord the deer, the hind, and the roebuck. This Nigel died in the reign of King John, leaving Juliana de Warewick, his wife, surviving—between whom and Peter de Plumpton, his son and heir by his first wife, Maria, a fine was passed of the third parts of the vills of Plumpton, Gersing- ton, Idell, and Ribstaine, which she claimed as her dower.* Peter de Plumpton was of the party of the barons against King John, and had his lands seized; but after the death of that monarch he did fealty to his son, and was restored to possession. Robert, brother of the above Peter, was the next owner of Plumpton; who was succeeded by Nigel, who died sometime during the reign of Henry III. Sir Robert de Plumpton, his son and successor, was only four years and six months old on the decease of his father.t *14 et 15 Johannis. +“ When Kirkby’s Inquest was made (A.D. 1284), Robert de Plumpton held a mediety of the village of Plumpton, of the heirs of Percy, and the other mediety of John de Vescy—and the same heirs and John held of the king, in capite, for the half of one knight’s fee..—Ed. Surtees’ Soc., p. 45. 266 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. He died about the year 1295, and was succeeded by his eldest son, also named Sir Robert, who married Lucy, daughter of Sir William de Ros, to whom Sir Robert gave, in frank marriage, land to the value of one hundred shillings, in Middleton and Langbar, with common of turbary and right of stray in the pasture and wood of Nessfield, under a quit rent of a root of ginger to Sir Patrick de Westwick, in lieu of all suit and secular service, save that the tenants were to grind at the mill of Nessfield. Sir Robert died in 1824, and was succeeded by his second son, Sir William de Plumpton (Robert, the eldest, having died of consumption during his father’s lifetime), who married Alice, daughter and heiress of Sir Henry Beaufiz. After her decease he married Christiana, widow of Richard de Emildon, mayor of Newcastle. He was founder of a chantry at the altar of the Holy Trinity, behind the high altar, in the collegiate church of Ripon. He died in 1362, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Sir Robert Plumpton, who was a deponent in the Scrope and Grosvenor controversy, on the 17th day of September, 1885; being then of the age of forty-five years. From this deposition he appears to have repeatedly served in the wars of his time. He married Isabella, daughter of Henry, first Lord Scrope, of Masham and Upsall. His eldest son, named Robert, was beheaded at York, in 1405, for the part which he took in the insurrection stirred up by his uncle, Richard Scrope, Archbishop of York. Sir Robert himself obtained a pardon for “In an enumeration of the knights’ fees in Yorkshire, made 31st of Edward I., is entered, as of two fees,—of the fee of Percy, two carucates of land; and of the fee of Vescy, two carucates of land;—where fourteen carucates make a knight's fee.”—Ibid, p. 203. ‘To the aid granted to the same king, on the marriage of his daughter, Aa panei 11s. 6d.—that is 5s. 9d. for each portion.”— “In Nomina Villarum, 1815, Robert de Plumpton and Henry Beaufix are entered as lords of Plumpton.”—Ibid, p. 349. PLUMPTON, 267 all treasons and felonies; after which he lived two years, and died on the 19th of April, 1407. He was succeeded by Robert de Plumpton, his grandson and heir, who was twenty- four years old at the time of his grandfather's death, and yet an esquire. By intermarrying with the heiress of Sir Godfrey Foljambe, he added greatly to the wealth and importance of his family, by the acquisition of large estates in the counties of Nottingham and Derby. He was knighted before the year 1410, and chosen representative of the county of York in 1411. In 1414, he was seneschal of the Honour of Knares- borough, and also one of the council of the king of his Duchy of Lancaster. In 1415, he was retained to serve the Duke of Bedford for life, in peace and in war—having twenty marks as his fee in time of peace, and the usual wages suitable to his degree in time of war; together with bouche dw courte for himself and esquire, and his two valets, when at the hostelry of the prince, or in his company. In 1418, he served in France, under King Henry V. In 1420, he was again serving the king in France; and in the following year he died, and was buried in Spofforth church. William de Plumpton, his eldest son and heir, was in the eighteenth year of his age when his father died. As soon as he attained his majority, he set out for the wars in France, where he received the honour of knighthood, and did not return till 1480. In 1435-6, he was a commissioner, along with others, to array men-at-arms, hoblers, and archers, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, and send them to the sea coast to repel a threatened invasion; also to make muster of the said troops, and to place signals, called Bekyns, in accustomed and con- venient places, to warn the people of the approach of an enemy. He was seneschal and master forester of the Honour and Forest, and constable of the Castle of Knaresborough, from 268 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. 1439 to the end of the reign of King Henry VI.; during which time the feud and fight with the men of the Archbishop of York, already related, took place. Sir William was twice married—first to Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Bryan Stapleton, of Carlton; and secondly to Joan, daughter of Thos. Wintringham, of Wintringham Hall, Knares- borough, by whom he had a numerous family. In 1448, he was sheriff of the county of York, and in 1452, of the counties of Nottingham and Derby. When the Wars of the Roses broke out, he espoused the cause of Henry VI., and fought with his foresters at the battle of Towton, in 1461, in which his eldest son, William, was slain; and he was obliged to throw himself on the mercy of his enemies. He, however, received a full pardon in 1462, and was restored to his offices in the following year, He obtained from King Edward IV. a license to embattle his manor house at Plumpton, and to enclose a park there, with liberty of warren and chase. He died May 1st, 1478, and was succeeded by * Sir Robert Plumpton, his eldest son by his second wife, to the prejudice of the heirs of his son William, who had died fighting at Towton Field; the consequence of which was a series of lawsuits, which reduced the head of the family to beggary. In 1482, Sir Robert Plumpton was serving with the Harl of Northumberland in the Scottish wars, and was knighted by Richard, Duke of Gloucester, in Hoton Field, near Berwick. He attended the coronation of Elizabeth, queen of Henry VIL., in 1487. In 1489, he was actively engaged in suppressing the insurrection of the commons, which began with the massacre of the Harl of Northumberland, at Topeliffe, and was finally PLUMPTON, 269 subdued at the battle of Ackworth. For his services herein he received a letter of thanks from the king.* The lawsuits above mentioned now came with disastrous weight upon Sir Robert; until at length he was arrested for debt, and committed a prisoner to the Compter. What a fall was here! from the warrior knight receiving the thanks of a king, to a prisoner in jail for debt. This ruin of a noble family was the work of that arch-villain, Sir Richard Empson ; and it would probably be some slight consolation to Sir Robert Plumpton to know that his wily and deceitful enemy was beheaded on Tower Hill, while he was a prisoner.+ A final award was made in 1514, by which the manor of Plumpton, and all lands and messuages within the parish of *Copy of letter from King Henry VII. to Sir Robert Plumpton.— “Trusty and well-beloved, we greet you well. And whereas, we under- stand, by our squire, Nicholas Kinston, one of the ushers of our chamber, your true mind and faithful liegance towards us, with your diligent acquitall for the reducing of our people there to our subjection and obedience, to our singular pleasure and your great deserts; wee hartily thanke you for the same, praying for your persevering continuance therein. Assuring you, that by this your demeaning, you have ministered unto us cause as gaged to remember you in time to come, in anything that may be to your preferment and advancement; as ever did any of our progenitors to our nobles, in those parties. And as any office of our gift there falls voyd, we shall reserve them unto such time as wee may bee informed of such men as, in the said parties, may be meet and able for the same; praying you that, if there shall happen anie indisposition of our said people, ye will, as ye have begun, endeavour you from time to time for the speedy repression thereof. And furthermore, to give credence to our squire aforesaid, on such things as we have commanded him, at this time, to shew unto you on our behalfe. Given under our signet at our mannor of Sheene, the thirtieth day of October.” +In the year 1499, the plague was sore in England, and carried off some of the domestics of the Plumptons. Robert Leventhorpe writes to Sir Robert Plumpton the following prescription for its removal—‘‘I hard say that a servant of yours was decesed of the sicknes which had been to your disease, I am right sory therefore. Wherefore I wold advise your mastership, my lady, and all your household many, from henceforth to make promise, and keepe yt, to fast the even of St. Oswald, kyng and marter, yerely; and that promise truly entended to be performed, I trust verely ye shal be no more vexed with that sicknes.”—Plumpton Correspondence, p. 138. 270 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. Spofforth, were td be held and enjoyed by Sir Robert, his son William, and their heirs. He married Isabel, daughter of Ralph, Lord Neville, by whom he had a numerous family. He died in 1523, and was buried at Spofforth.* Sir William Plumpton, his eldest son, and heir, married Isabel, daughter of Robert Babthorpe, of Babthorpe, Esq., by whom he acquired considerable wealth. He died on the 11th of July, 1547. Robert Plumpton, his eldest son, died during his father’s lifetime, at the age of thirty-one, leaving by his wife, Anne, daughter of John Norton, of Norton Conyers, Esq., three daughters, and a son, named William, who succeeded to his grandfather's estates, on attaining his majority, in 1564. He married, first, Mary, daughter of Sir William Vavasour, of Hazlewood, by. whom he had one son, Robert, who died, unmarried, before his father, and two daughters; by his second wife, Anne, daughter of Edward Griffin, of Dingley, he had Edward, who succeeded him, and a large family besides. Firm in their attachment to the Catholic faith, the family of Plumpton suffered severely during the reign of Elizabeth. Sir William died in January, 1601 or 1602, and was buried in Spofforth church. Sir Edward Plumpton married Frances, daughter of William Arthington, Esq., of Arthington, by whom he had eleven sons and four daughters. The civil wars between King Charles and * By his will, he gives £10 to be distributed, on the day of his sepulture, unto priests, clerks, and poor persons; to the house of St. Robert 8d. per annum, for ever, out of Blaky Farm, in Knaresburgh; to the church of Spofforth 6s. 8d.; to the house of St. Robert all the right he had in Thorp Garths, in Scotton. +In the commission of array for the county of York, A.D. 1545, during the war with France and Scotland, William Plumpton was commanded to send thirty men for the king’s service. PLUMPTON. 271 the Parliament now began, in which the family of Plumpton espoused the royalist cause. John, eldest son of Sir Edward, a captain in the king’s army, was mortally wounded at the battle - of Marston Moor, July 2nd, 1644; he was conveyed to Knares- borough, where he died, after lingering a few days. Sir Edward died about the year 1654. John, eldest son of Sir Edward (slain in battle as above related), married Anne, daughter of Richard Townley, Eszq., of Townley, in Lancashire, by whom he had a family of four sons and six daughters, the eldest of whom, Robert Plumpton, Esq., succeeded to the estate, on attaining his majority, after the decease of his grandfather. He married Anne, daughter of William Middleton, Esq., of Stockeld, by whom he had two sons and one daughter. John, the eldest son, died in 1676, without leaving issue, when Robert, his brother, succeeded to the estate. He was three times married; first, to Anne, daughter of Nathaniel West, by whom he had two sons and one daughter; secondly, to Juliana, daughter of Thomas Appleby, Esq., of Linton-upon- Ouse, by whom he had three daughters; and thirdly, to Isabel, daughter of William Anderton, Esq., of Euxton, by whom he had four daughters. John Plumpton, Esq., eldest son and heir, succeeded to the estate. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Gascoigne, of Parlington, Bart., by whom he had one son, Robert, who was born April 28rd, 1721, and who was the last heir male of the renowned line of Plumpton, of Plumpton. He forsook the faith of his fathers and conformed to Protest- anism; but having gone to Cambray, in France, to confer with his aunt Anne, a Benedictine nun, she recovered him to the ancient faith; and he died at Cambray, August 8th, 1749, without leaving issue, and the family became extinct. 272 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. After the decease of the last heir, the estate of Plumpton, then reckoned worth about £700 a-year, was sold by Mrs. Anne Plumpton, and her coparceners, to Daniel Lascelles, Esq., for the sum of £28,000. Since that time it has continued in his posterity, and now belongs to the Earl of Harewood. Of the dwelling of this long-lived family we have no know- ledge, as not a vestige of it remains. In some places we find extensive remains of the works of man, of which no scrap of record remains to tell us who their builders were; their very names have perished. Here, on the contrary, we have a long and interesting family history, and no trace of the home in which that family dwelt. Not one stone remains upon another of the embattled mansion erected by Sir William Plumpton, during the reign of Edward IV. Leland, the antiquary, who saw it when complete, styles it ‘‘a faire house of stone, with two toures, longging to the same.” ‘This is all we know of its external appearance. In the interior was a chapel,* adorned with shields of arms,—Plumpton impaling Clifford; Darell impaling Plumpton; Hamerton impaling Plumpton; and ‘Argent, a fess between three wolves’ heads erased, gules;’’ perhaps the arms of office of the master forester of Knaresborough Forest.+ In the hall was a shield, quarterly Plumpton (azure, five fusils in fess, or, each charged with an escallop, gules), and Foljambe impaling Stapleton with the mullet; the armorial bearings of Sir Wiliam Plumpton and his first wife, Elizabeth Stapleton. When the estate was purchased, in 1760, by Daniel Lascelles, Esq., he pulled down the old mansion, intending to build a new * This chapel was dedicated to the Holy Trinity; and in it, in 1468, Joan, daughter of Sir William Plumpton, was married to Thomas Medleton, Esq., of Stockeld; as had previously been, in 1460, her sister Agnes and Richard Aldburgh, Esy. At present their is neither church, nor chapel, nor place of religious worship of any kind within the township of Plumpton. +‘ Visitation, Ric. St. George, Norroy.” PLUMPTON. 273 one, which he actually commenced, and carried up several stories high; but happening to purchase the Goldsborough estate, he took up his residence there, and the unfinished building at Plumpton was taken down to the ground. It stood to the south-west of the present farm house, and the site is yet marked by two pillars of limestone, about eighty yards apart. On the same spot probably stood the Plumpton towers. The clock now in Harewood Church was carried thither from Plumpton Hall. All the buildings now existing are modern, and if the old material was used, it has been redressed. The pleasure grounds were laid out by Daniel Lascelles, Esq., who, taking advantage of a small stream of water, and a piece of rocky, rugged ground, formed a pleausance, almost unique for its beauty and variety. These grounds comprise about twenty-three acres, and are disposed with much taste and skill; the huge grey rocks are pleasingly diversified with shrubs, flowers, and evergreens. At the foot of the rocks is a lake, covering about seven acres, which adds greatly to the beauty of the scenery. The rocks rise around in masses, or in single blocks, worn and crannied by the restless waters of a shallow sea, which, at some remote period, has moulded their fantastic forms, and ebbed and flowed through the openings between them. They are of the coarse millstone grit, situate on the verge of the formation, just before it dips beneath the magnesian limestone. One rock, near the water, is a solid mass, fifty feet in length, without a joint; from which, conjecture says, the monoliths, called ‘‘the Devil’s Arrows,”’ at Boroughbridge, were taken, Few places combine, within such a narrow compass, so many natural beauties as are to be found in this highly favoured spot of ground. The Plumptons, of Plumpton, are gone, 8 274 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. but their rocks and woods remain as fresh and beautiful as when they first looked upon them. “ Ages on ages slowly pass away, And nature marks their progress by decay: The plant, which decks the mountain with its bloom, Finds in the earth, ere long, a damp, dark tomb ; And man, earth’s monarch, howe’er great and brave, Toils on to find at last a silent grave.” ROUGHARLINGTON. Rougharlington* is a hamlet, or part of the township of Plumpton—situate on the western side. In early times it was a distinct manor, and is thus recorded in Domesday survey— “Tand of William de Percy. Manor. In Rofellington, Gam- elbar had two carucates and two oxgangs to be taxed, and there may be one plough there. Eldred now has it of William. There are three villanes and four bordars with two ploughs. Wood pasture, one mile long and nine quarentens broad. Value in King Edward’s time, twenty shillings; the same now.’’+ “Land of Giselbert Tyson. Manor. In Rofellington, Gamelbar had fourteen oxgangs to be taxed. There is land to one plough. It is at present cultivated, and pays five shillings. Wood pasture, one mile long and a half, and nine quarentens broad. The whole two miles long, and eleven quarentens broad, Value in King Edward’s time, eight shillings.’ This manor became part of the estate of the Plumptons, of Plumpton, as it is now that of the Earls of Harewood. *Sometimes written Rudferlington, Roudferlington, &c., evidently a compound term, and probably derived from some rood or cross erected here in Saxon times; ing, a meadow; and ton, a town,—that is, the town in the meadow of the holy cross. ’ +**Bawdwen’s Dom. Boc.,” p. 166. t Ibid, p. 194. PLUMPTON. 275 There was here, in early times, a “‘capital messuage,”’ or dwelling-house, which is often mentioned in the wills of the Plumptons. It has been rebuilt, as no ancient building now remains, and the whole district is comprised in about three farms. Near the western side of this district, almost close to the brook, called Starbeck, is St. Hile’s, or St. Hilda’s Nook, where it is believed the chapel and hermitage of St. Robert stood. From the legendary lives of this saint we must infer that a chapel, dedicated to St. Hilda, stood here in the middle of the twelfth century, and that it was given by the lady of the fee— a Plumpton, or a Percy (more probably the latter)—to St. Robert. A M.S. rhyming life of the saint thus describes the event— ‘«Wyst on a time, Robert gan hie Unto a widdow that wonned yare by, ‘Dame,’ he said, ‘to give me this day Of thy almose I thee pray.’ Then said that wife, mody and mild, ‘The chapel I grant thee of St. Hylde, With all the land that lies partyll That thee like, through this my will, To thee and thy poormen all ay; Against my gift sal no man say.’” At this place the saint abode with his poormen a whole year; until it befel upon a night foul thieves came with main and might, his bower they broke, and bore away his bread, hig cheese, and all his sustenance, when Robert rose, and ran away, and sped him unto Spofforth town. Afterwards he went to regide in a cell of white canons, at Hedley, but, not liking their lax discipline and dissolute life, he returned to his chapel here, deeming it «Better to beld with beastes wild, Than with merred men, and unmyld. When he was comen to his chapelle, In deep devotion for to dwell; 276 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. Poormen that were penniless, He sent them food of fish and flesh. I wis this widow was full fain, When she wist he had come again. Men of craft swithe gart she call To bigg Saint Robert a honest hall, And mansiones for his men gart make, And a laith for Robert’s sake; His swine, his cattle, into bring.” This time he had four servants; two to attend to husbandry, one to travel through the country collecting alms for the poor, and one was the personal attendant of the saint. While residing here, his mother, who had been dead some time, appeared to him. ‘A time as Saint Robert lay In a meadow—time of May, In flowers, slepand in a stede, Appeared his mother that was dead, Pale and wan of hide and hue.” She informs her son that she was put to pain ‘For metts and measures made unleil,” but that through the intercession of her son she hoped to be redeemed ‘from bale.’’ Robert prayed earnestly for the soul of his mother, and at the end of the year she again appeared to him, ‘‘ And blissid her bairn that made her blithe: ‘Go! and, my son, now shall I swithe; Wend to wealth that never shall wane! Farewell! I bless thee, blood and bain!’” Robert continued here, until one day William de Stuteville, ‘‘Lord of that land, both east and west, Of frith, and field, and of forest,’’ coming past, saw the buildings, and asked to whom they belonged; his servants answered— ‘Ane hermit that is full perfyte, Robert, that is no rebellour, A servant of our Savioure.” William, in great anger, said Robert was a teacher and PLUMPTON. oT7 entertainer of thieves, and swore by ‘‘God’s eyes’’ that he should be expelled the forest, and ordered his servants at once to ‘‘ding down his biggins.’’ The servants were loath to do their master’s bidding, and that time to Robert's buildings “did nea skaithe.”’ A few days after, Stuteville came again, and in a most furious fit of anger again gave the order of destruction; the servants were obliged to comply.— ‘ “Then they durst na langer byde, But unto Robert housying hyed, And dang them doune, baith less and mair; Nathing left they standand there.” * On this destruction of his home, St. Robert wandered for awhile through the forest, and afterwards returned to his ‘‘ Chapel of St. Gyle,”’ among the rocks, near Knaresborough. The proud castle of the lords of Knaresborough became a ruin—the Plumptons, of Plumpton, passed away from the lands they held so long—the site of the ruined hermitage remained on a lonely corner of their domains, bearing the significant name of “St. Hile’s Nook,” on, or close adjoining, a piece of uncul- tivated forest soil—bearing the oak, stunted and old; thickets of holly, briar, gorse, and thorn, rough with masses of native rock—called ‘‘ the Wood.” In this state it continued until the year 1826, when the timber trees were felled, and the greatest part of the thickets destroyed. In 1843, the catholic chapel at Knaresborough was built, the stone for which was obtained at this place; and the foundations of a building, believed to have been the chapel of St. Hilda, were carefully dug up by Mr. Swale, tenant of the farm, carried to Knaresborough, and placed in the foundation of the Chapel of St. Mary there. The land yet remains uncultivated ; rough with crags, or the places *These extracts, in rhyme, are from a M.S. life of St. Robert, entitled, De Vita et Confessione Sancti Roberti, juxta Knaresburge; kindly lent by Mr. Charles Forrest, of Lofthouse, near Wakefield. 278 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. whence they have been taken; a few oaks yet stand—memorials of the past; a few bushes of holly yet survive; the brook still curves and murmurs along its self-made course; a spring of water oozes from the foot of a small scarp of rock—which might supply the hermit with his daily drink; and though little but the name of the place, the old legend, and the undying tradition remain to indicate the spot, they are sufficient to make us believe, that when musing there, we are upon the soil where once St. Robert dwelt and prayed. BRAME, OR BRAHAM. Brame,* or Braham Hall, is situate on the southern side of the township, adjoining the brook Crimple, and is now merely a farm-house, with no traces of antiquity about it. At the time of the Domesday survey, the term appears to have been applied to a greater quantity of land than at present, divided into Mickle-brame and Little-brame. Among the lands of William de Percy we find— ‘“¢Manor. In Michelbram, Gamelbar had four carucates of land to be taxed, where there may be two ploughs. William has now there one plough and eight villanes, and three bordars with two ploughs, and one mill of five shillings and fourpence. + Godefrid holds it. Value in King Edward’s time, forty shillings, now thirty shillings.”’t Again, among the lands of Giselbert Tyson— “Manor. In Michelbram, Gamelbar had four carucates of land to be taxed. There is land to two ploughs. It is waste. *From Brae, « steep bank, and ham, a dwelling—that is the dwelling on the steep bank—a descriptive epithet. Sometimes called Braim, Breame, the Brame. In the summons to the Visitation of 1584, Willus Paver de le Brame, Gent., is named. + This mill was probably turned by the water of the brook Crimple, and no vestige of it now remains. The only mill at present in the township of Plumpton is on the Nidd, near Grimbald Bridge. +“ Bawdwen’s Dom. Boc.,” p. 166. PLUMPTON. 279 Value in King Edward’s time, twenty shillings. Wood pasture, five quarentens long and five broad. The whole manor, eleven quarentens long and eleven broad.”* Yet again, among the lands of Ernegis de Burun— ‘Manor. In Litelbram, Gospatrick had four carucates of land to be taxed. There is land to two ploughs. Ernegis has there one plough, and three villanes, with one plough. Halfa mile long and half broad. Value in King Edward’s time, twenty shillings; the same now. Picot holds it of Ernegis. Berewick. One carucate to be taxed, in Michelbram, belongs to this manor. It is waste, but pays sixteen pence.’’} In early times this was the residence of a family to whom it gave a surname. Matthew de Bram, living about 1186, was witness to two Plumpton charters. Nicholas, son of Hugh, son of Hypolitus de Braam, gave to Gilbert, son of Thomas Oysel de Plumpton, one toft in Folyfait, which the said Gilbert gave to the Abbey of Fountains. In 1810, the heirs of Bram held two carucates of land in Bram. When Kirkby’s Inquest was made (1284), William de Hartlington held Braham of William de Ros, of the fee of Trussbut, and the same William of Robert de Ros, and the same Robert of the king, in capite, for the half of a knight's fee, with a third part of Dunsford-Brampton, and a fourth part of Follifoot.t In the enumeration of the knights’ fees, 31st Edward I., in Brame, of the fee of Ros, was one carucate of land, where ten earucates make a knight’s fee.§ * “ Bawdwen’s Dom. Boc.,” p. 195. + Ibid, p. 207. +“ Kirkby’s Inquest, Surtees’ Soc.,” p. 45, § Ibid, p. 205. 280 THE FOREST OF KNARESLOROUGH. Towards the aid for marrying the same king’s eldest daughter Brame contributed 4s.* In Nomina Villarum (1815), Henry de Hertlington was returned as lord of the manor of Braham. In 1864, King Edward III. appointed Thomas de Spaigne custodian of the manor of Braham, one messuage and forty acres of land in Follyfoot, one oxgang of land in Spofforth, one messuage and two oxgangs of land in Braham, and all other lands and tenements in Brampton-in-Thorns and Parva Duns- ford, which had belonged to William de Hertlington. + The family of Paver were owners and resident here for five generations, Richard Paver, Esq., of Braham Hall, who had a grant from Henry VIII. of the manor of Collingham Grange, and also possessed lands in fourteen townships, died in 1546. His eldest son, Bernard Paver, Esq., of Branton and Collingham, had two daughters, one of whom married into the family of Beilby, of Micklethwaite, and the other into that of Tancred, of Branton.t His third son, Nicholas, was rector of Burnsall. The second son, and heir male, John Paver, Esq., of Braham Hall, married Catherine, daughter and heiress of John Woodburne, of Glanton, in Northumberland, bailiff of the manor of Spofforth, under the Percys, Earls of Northumberland, by whom he had William Paver, Esq., of Braham Hall and Lund House, who, for some time, was confined in Durham gaol, on suspicion of being concerned in the rebellion of 1569; and died in 1601. +“ Kirkby’s Inquest, Surtees’ Soc.,” p. 294. +Rot. Origin, 39 Ed. IIT. {Thomas Tankard, of Boroughbridge, Esq., living in 1585, married Jane, daughter of Barnard Paver, of Micklethwaite, and one of his heirs, by whom he had six sons, of whom William was the eldest, from whom descended Sir W. Tankard, of Branton. Aug. 14, 1665.”—Dugdale. PLUMPTON. 281 He married, in 1561, Margery, second daughter of William Hungate, Esq., of Saxton, and had issue— Richard Paver, Esq., of Braham Hall, who had a lease from James I. of many lands in Yorkshire.* He married Jane, daughter of Robert Oglethorpe, Esq., of Rawden, and was buried at Spofforth, in 1622 or 1624. From Richard Paver, their second son, descend the brothers Richard and Henry Paver, now both resident in South Africa. William Paver, Esq., of Braham Hall, the eldest son, married Margaret, daughter of Thomas Denton, Esq., of Warnell- Denton Hall, in Cumberland. (The present representative of the Dentons is the Rev. Charles Jones Denton, M.A., now rector of Askham Richard, near York.) «In this document the grantee is described as ‘‘Ricm. Paver de Braeham, in com. Ebor. Armigum.” The consideration given for the lease was £140 3s. 4d. The premises consisted of a messuage and three oxgangs of land in Folefaite, in the occupation of John Luyte, of the annual value of 22s.; another tenement and four oxgangs of land, also in Folefaite, in the occupation of Laurence Danby—annual value 30s.; another messuage and tenement, also in Folefaite, in the occupation of John Galias—annual value 18s.; another tenement and oxgang of land, alzo in Folefaite, in the occupation of Robert Swayle—annual value 7s. ; also a cottage and garden in Folefaite, in the occupation of John Scoles— annual value 3s. 6d.; another cottage and garden in Folefaite, in the occupation of John Allyn—annual value 2s. 8d.; another cottage and garden in Folefaite, in the occupation of Richard Marshall—annual value 2s.; also an acre of meadow, called Cellerer-acre, lying and being in Aykcton, in the occupation of Thomas Midleton—annual value 16d.; also a capital messuage, called Ayketon Hall, in Ayketon aforesaid, in the occupation of Michael Bycardick—annual value 29s. 4d.; also a cottage and oxgang of land in Ayketon, in the occupation of John Dighton; also a cottage and garden in Ayketon, in the occupation of James Tenaunte— annual value 5s.; another cottage and garden in Ayketon, in the occupation of Thomas Baylton—annual value 5s.; also a cottage and garden in Pannal, in the occupation of Miles Sikesworth—annual value 2s. The whole of the above premises formed part of the possessions of the late dissolved monastery of Newburgh. The lands to be held of the manor of East Greenwich, in free socage, and not in capite, or by knight’s service, at the annual rent of £4 7s. 6d. for the premises in Folefaite; 55s. 8d. for those in Ayketon; and 2s. for those in Pannal. Tested in Westminster, October 20th, in the second year of King James. 282 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. Richard Paver, the eldest son of William, had by Mary Parker, his wife, John Paver, Esq., of St. Nicholas House, near York, who— by Milliana Woodroffe, his wife, great grand-daughter of Lady Elizabeth, eldest daughter and co-heiress of Thomas Percy, seventh Earl of Northumberland—was lineal ancestor of William Paver, of York, A.M., &c., and of his only surviving son, Perey Woodroffe Paver, of Wakefield. A branch of the family of Cholmley afterwards resided here, of which Edward and Thomas Cholmley were living in 1650. Richard Cholmley resided here in 1658, and Henry Cholmley in 1685. It now belongs to the Earl of Harewood. All around the hill on which the hall stands are many rocks of coarse gritstone projecting from the surface of the soil, in some places forming steep water-worn cliffs. On the right of the road leading from Plumpton to Spofforth, near a farm-house, called Crosper, is a most singular rock, completely insulated, standing in a low sitnation, which bears the name of Hell Hole. It rises in an irregular circular mass to the height of 24 feet, while the circumference is upwards of 90 feet; the top is crowned with a mass of mountain heather (Caluna vulgaris) growing in peat; through one side is a large perforation, in which is a rock basin, about two feet deep by four feet in diameter; the whole apparently of natural formation, though some antiquaries have supposed that this rock has had some connection with the rites of Druidical worship. On the southern side of this township, adjoining the river Nidd, are some pieces of remarkable fine scenery; one of these is where a footpath crosses the river, near the dam at Golds- borough Mill; there are steps fixed in the rock in the river’s bed; one end of the passage terminates at the mill wheel, the PLUMPTON. 288 other at the foot of a precipice of rock, up which a road has been cut into steps, which is pleasingly shaded by overhanging foliage. Along the river from this point, by the Halves Farm, Grimbald Bridge, the lime-kilns, Grimbald Crag, and Birkham Wood, is a choice resort for the botanist, from the many rare and curious plants here found. The turnpike road from Knaresborough to Wetherby passes through this township. Grimbald Bridge, the point at which it enters, is a substantial fabric of two arches; in Leland’s time. (about 1536) it was only of one, and he calls it ‘‘one very greate bridge for one bowe.’”’ It was on this ground, in 1405, that the men of Yorkshire, under Sir Thomas Rokeby, their sheriff, took position against the forces of the Earl of North- umberland, as old Hollingshead relates—‘‘Sir Rafe Rokesby, Sheriff of Yorkshire, assembled the forces of the county to resist the earl and his power, comming to Grimbathbrigs, besides Knaresborough, to stop the passage; but they retourning aside, got to Wetherbie, and so to Tadcaster, and finally came forward to Bramham Moor.” The earl shewed prudence in turning aside, for to attempt the passage of the river here, when strongly guarded, would have been akin to madness, and ended in sure destruction. A short distance above the bridge rises the mass of magnesian limestone rock, called Grimbald Crag; the north and west sides present bold precipices towards the river, which bends round its foot, in a channel of gritstone; the other sides are of easy slope, and covered with grass. From the top a fine view of the valley and windings of the river is obtained, while, if required, it would afford a fine site for a feudal fortress; lofty, and almost impregnable—one half being protected by the river and the rock, while the other might be easily fortified. On the north sido is a 284 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. cavern, which appears to have been inhabited at some period; whether by a hermit of Grimbald, or forest outlaw, is not known. Birkham Wood, a steep slope, yet ‘‘clad in ancient salvage dress,’ occupies the river's bank for some- distance above Grimbald Crag. The voice of the nightingale is said to have been frequently heard in this wood— ‘Past the near meadows, over the hill-stream, Up the hill-side; and now ‘tis buried deep In the next valley’s glades: Was it a vision or a waking dream?” Passing upward, among pictures of natural scenery of the most romantic and beautiful kind, we come to Thistle Hill, where the magnesian limestone has been extensively quarried and burnt; so much so that it is exhausted at that particular place. This is chiefly remarkable as being the spot where the skeleton was found, which led to the discovery of the murder of Daniel Clark, by Eugene Aram and others, in 1745. A person who was employed in clearing the earth from the top of the quarry, found a human skeleton, which popular rumour asserted to be that of Clark; when Richard Houseman, happening to take up one of the bones, made the assertion—“ This is no more one of Dan Clark’s bones than it is mine!” which created a suspicion which led to the discovery of the body in St. Robert's Cave, and the apprehension, trial, and execution of Aram, nearly fourteen years after the crime was committed. A most singular discovery was also made here in October, 1853; when some quarrymen were at work behind the Union Inn, about 27 feet below the surface of the ground, they came upon a considerable accumulation of water-worn boulders, mixed with fine clay. On removing these, they discovered the skeletons of six or seven human beings, which had been covered by the stones, and embedded in the clay. The skulls were of various sizes, and the teeth in some of them in perfect PLUMPTON. 285 preservation. One pair of jaws were of rather a diminutive size, the teeth small, white, and regular, seeming as though they had belonged to a young adult female. The right upper jaw of one of the skulls was broken, as if by a blow. No traces of armour were found near the skeletons. Amongst the bones were found the skull of a dog, and the jawbone of an ox. An examination of the place shewed that it was a natural cavern in the limestone rock, about seven feet wide, five feet high, and of considerable length, communicating with the surface above by an irregular fissure, just wide enough to allow a full-grown man to enter. It seems quite clear that this had been the abode, or the refuge, of some family in very lawless times, when the caves and dens of the forest afforded an asylum, and that, most probably, some landslip had happened to block up the entrance, and leave the unfortunate beings within to perish. On the hill, on the right of the road leading to Plumpton toll-bar, stood the gibbet of Eugene Aram. A conspicuous place, whence it could be seen from the castle yard and many parts of the town of Knaresborough.* *The gibbet did not stand in the township of Plumpton, but either in Scriven or Harrogate. The body of Aram was the last, though not the first, that was hung in chains in Knaresborough Forest. ‘‘On Monday, March 30th, 1594, Richard Craw, aged 28, was executed at the Tyburn, without Micklegate Bar, and the next day hung in chains in Knares- borough Forest, for the wilful murder of Mr. James Giles, of Knaresborough. On Monday, July 27th, 1598, Thomas Henry de Alting, aged 45, a native of Beverley, and Robert Thomas Swedier, aged 33, a native of Sheffield, were executed at the Tyburn, without Micklegate Bar, for housebreaking, and taking twenty-four guineas from Mr. William Boucham, with intent to murdér him and his wife, at Knaresborough. After the execution, their bodies were conveyed to Knaresborough Forest, and there hung in chains. On Friday, May 13th, 1668, George Habbishaw, aged 37, and Benjamin Ambrose, aged 29, were executed at the Tyburn, without Micklegate Bar, for the wilful murder of George Lumley, Esq., at Knaresborough, on the 10th day of January, 1666. The body of Habbishaw was hung in chains, early next morning, in Knaresborough Forest, and the body of Ambrose was given to the surgeons of York for dissection.”—Criminal Chronology of York Castle. 286 THE FOREST OF KNAKESBOROUGH. The charities belonging to this township consist of a rent- charge of 8s. 4d. per annum, given by Thomas Bigland, in 1658 (none received since 1768), and a proportion of bread, purchased with the interest of £20, given by Dr. Hutton and Dr. Talbot, for the poor of the parish of Spofforth. The whole township contains 2,870 acres, of nearly every variety of soil; some of which appears to be particularly well adapted for the growth of the oak and beech, while near the hall the ash attains to a large size. In 1801, the population was 191; in 1881, 221; and in 1861, 219. The annual value, as assessed to the county rate in 1849, was £2,092; in 1859, £2,385; and in 1866, £2,850. The amount assessed to property tax in 1858 was £2,617. LITTLE RIBSTON, 287 LITTLE RIBSTON. Lirriz Rissron* is a township in the parish of Spofforth, and is of a triangular form; the south-easterly side being bounded by the brook Crimple; the north-easterly by the river Nidd; thus occupying the land between them to their point of junction; the township of Plumpton forms the boundary towards the west. At the time of the Domesday survey, this township formed part of the fee of William de Percy, and is thus entered— ‘“‘Manor. In Ripesten, Turber had one carucate of land and a half to be taxed, where there may be one plough. Godefrid now has it of William; himself one plough there. Value in King Edward’s time, twenty shillings; now ten shillings.” } The Plumpions, of Plumpton, held lands in this township, of the Percy fee, as early as the year 1168; for in, or about that year, Nigel de Plumpton granted to Robert, son of Huckman, his seneschal, along with other lands in Plumpton * Written, at different times, Ripesten, Ribbestain, Ribstain, Ribstone, and Ribston. The first syllable is from Ripe, the bank of a river; stain or stone—that is the stone on the river’s bank, which would be descriptive, as the magnesian limestone appears on both sides of the river Nidd at this place. Or it may, with equal probability, be derived from Ripa and ton— that is the town on the river’s bank;—though we prefer the former. The epithet Little is to distinguish this village from Ribston Great, which is situate on the opposite side of the river Nidd, + Bawdwen’s Dom. Boc.,” p. 105. 288 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. and Scotton, one oxgang and six and a half acres of land, with a toft and an orchard belonging thereto, in Ribstain; where ten carucates of land make one knight's fee; at the same time changing the rent, which had been annually paid for the same, from four shillings, two gilded spurs, and two barbed arrows, to an engagement by the said Robert to serve the said Nigel in foreign parts, or elsewhere. Amongst the boundaries mentioned in this charter, are places bearing the names of Frodisberi and Godwinsridding; and amongst the inhabitants of Ribston, at that time, were Walter de Ribston,* Richard de Butiller, Ailine, William Straungald, Robert, son of Hulkil, and Richard, son of Bencilum. By inquisition, post mortem, in the year 1814, the lands of Lord Henry de Percy, in Ribston, were returned as one carucate, and in the enumeration of knights’ fees, 31st Edward I., as two carucates. To the aid granted to King Edward I,, on the marriage of his daughter, Ribston contributed 6s. 9d. In Nomina Villarum (1815), Henry Beaufiz is returned as lord of Parva Ribston. Sir William de Plumpton married Alice, daughter and heiress of Sir Henry Beaufiz, in 13822, and Sir Henry died in 1825, whereupon the manor of Brackenthwaite, together with lands in Plumpton, Follifoot, Braham, Kirkby, and Little Ribston, which had been held by the courtesy of England, of the inheritance of his wife, Cecilia, daughter of William de Plumpton (descended from Robert, son of Huckman, seneschal of the manor of Plumpton), was settled—by fine, levied in Hilary term, 19th Edward II., 1825-6—upon Sir William Plumpton and Alice, his wife; with remainder to Thomas, son of Peter de Middleton. «In 1274, Robert de Ribbestain was one of the witnesses to a charter, by which Henry Prior, of Helaugh Park, released to Sir Robert de Plumpton all claim to the church of Cowthorpe. LITTLE RIBSTON. 289 At this period the possessions of the Plumptons in Ribston were one messuage, twenty-two tofts, twenty oxgangs, and one hundred and forty-six acres of land, seventeen acres of meadow, and twenty acres of wood. Sir William Plumpton having no issue by his wife, Alice— who died about the year 1341—the lands in Ribston, and elsewhere, reverted to Thomas de Middleton, and continued with that family until 1468, when, on the marriage of Thomas Middleton, Esq., of Stockeld, with Jane, daughter of Sir William Plumpton, it was agreed that William Middleton, Esq., father of the said Thomas Middleton, should settle an estate, in jointure, of lands and tenements in Ribston. The Plumptons held lands in this township in 1527, as in that year William Plumpton is warned by the Earl of Northumberland, in a letter, not to fell the wood ‘‘of one Spring, liing within the township of Litle Ribston, within my lordship of Spoforth, which, as I perceive, you have bought of Georg Fulbarne, and so entendeth to fell it to your los. I desire, and also chargeth you, that ye sufer the saving of it, unto the time the better we may know to whom the right of the same belongeth.’’* The principal landowners now in the township are the Earl of Harewood and Joseph Dent, Esq., of Ribston Hall. On Ribston Moor, previous to its enclosure, were two small barrows, or tumuli, one of them called How Hill, the other Breckon Hill. In 1853, the former of them was opened to the depth of about four feet from its summit, which was its height from the original surface of the ground. In the centre was found a kind of coffin or cist of hardened clay, of a « “Plumpton Correspondence,” p. 227. The Earl of Egremont, Lord of Spofforth, used to assert his royalty over Ribston, by his agent annually cutting two sods on Ribston Moor. m + 290 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. circular form, about two feet in diameter, which was partly filled with charcoal of oak-wood, and calcined bones. No traces of iron, or other metal were found. All the appearances served to indicate that it had been the burial place of some British hunter, or warrior, in a very remote age—probably before the christian era. The village of Little Ribston is located on the southern side of the river Nidd; and the turnpike road from Knaresborough to Wetherby passes through it. The school, a large and substantial building of stone, was erected at the cost of Joseph Dent, Esq., in 1845. Divine service, after the manner of the Church of England, is performed within it every Sunday. The charities belonging to this township consist of a rent- charge of 8s. 4d, per annum, given by Thomas Bigland, by deed, in 1658, and 20s., being tke interest of £20, given by Dr. Hutton and Dr. Talbot, to be expended in bread, to be given to the poor of the parish of Spofforth—a proportion of which is due to the poor of this township. . The Wesleyan Methodists have a small chapel here. This township contains 855 acres of land; and, in 1858, was assessed to income tax at £1,123. The population, in 1801, was 181; in 1831, 222; and in 1851, 242. The annual value of this township as assessed to the county rate, in 1849, was £1,062; and in 1859, £1,199. SWINDEN, 291 SWINDEN. SwINDEN is a township or district belonging to the parish of Kirkby Overblow, bounded by Dunkeswick on the west, the townships of Kirkby Overblow and Kearby-cum-Netherby on the north and east, and the river Wharfe on the south. In the Domesday survey Swinden is merely mentioned as a berewick, belonging to William de Percy, and no quantity or value given. Swinden is evidently the dene or valley of swine; indicating that it was the place where the oak trees grew, which yielded the mast for the fattening of swine—hence the significance of the following grants— Alice de Romillé, the foundress of Bolton Priory, gave to the nuns of Arthington the liberty of fattening forty hogs in her wood of Swinden, during harvest. For this donation, and the gift of half her lands in Helthwaite, she was permitted to nominate a nun. These gifts were confirmed and rendered perpetual by the subsequent confirmations of William de Curcy, her son, and of Warine Fitzgerald. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries Swinden belonged to the family of Bethell, who occasionally resided at the hall. Of this family was Sir Walter Bethell, who married 292 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. Mary, daughter of Sir Henry Slingsby, of Scriven, by whom he had issue— Sir Hugh Bethell, Knight.* Sir Slingsby Bethell, sheriff of London, in 1680.} William Bethell, D.D., rector of Kirkby Overblow. Walter Bethell, who died November Ist, 1686, aged 73; and Frances, who married George Marwood, Esq., of Little Busby, in Cleveland, afterwards Sir George Marwood. While the last named gentleman resided here, in 1644, the hall was totally demolished, and the personal property therein plundered or destroyed, by a marauding party from the royalist garrison of Knaresborough Castle. The hall at that time was surroundéd by a moat; traces of which yet remain. Outside of this was an area of about one hundred yards in length, by eighty yards in breadth, enclosed by a rampire, consisting’ of a mound of earth with a trench outside—similar to that at Rougemont, but not so large. Enclosures of this kind were probably intended for the protection of cattle from wolves and robbers, in the old forest day. *In the parish register of Great Ouseburn are the following entries— ‘Lady Mary Bethell, of Alne, died Decem. 18th, and was buried Decem. 20th, 1662." ‘Sir Hugh Bethell, Knight, her eldest son, was buried Jan. 31st, 1662, aged 50.” : +This gentleman wrote—‘‘The Interest of the Princes and States of Europe,” ‘‘ Observations on a Letter written by the Duke of Bucking- ham to Sir Thomas Osborne; and ‘‘The World’s Mistake in Oliver Cromwell,’ which were published with a general title page, in 1694. He was an Independent in religion, and a republican in principle, and was one of the most active and zealous of the party which strove to exclude the Duke of York from the throne. He was of parsimonious habits, and was censured for being too frugal in his entertainments, when sheriff of London. ‘¢ Chaste were his cellars, and his shrieval board The grossness of a city feast abhorred ; His cooks with long disuse their trade forgot; Cool was his kitchen—though his brains were hot.” —Dryden. SWINDEN. 298 The hall was afterwards rebuilt, but in an inferior style to its predecessor. This building subsequently acquired some slight military reputation, from a troop of cavalry: being quartered here during the Scottish rebellion. The room in which their commander slept was afterwards called the captain’s chamber.* ' After the lapse of hardly two hundred years the second hall had become ruinous, when it was pulled down, and the present good substantial farm-house, yet bearing the name of Swinden Hall, was built about the year 18380. The hall is surrounded by groves of fine timber, and seated in a fair and fertile spot; and now, with the whole of the district, belongs to the Earl of Harewood. At Low Sneap House, a farm adjoining the road over Walton Head to Kirkby Overblow, are the remains of another forest peel, or fortress, consisting of moated enclosures. The smaller area, where, we suppose, some building has stood, is about forty-five yards in length, by thirty in breadth; the moat may have been twelve feet wide, within which is a mound formed of the earth thrown out of it. The outer enclosure is about one hundred yards by eighty yards, surrounded also by a trench and mound, similar to the other, which it encloses. At the time of its formation it [has evidently been intended for defensive purposes. The situation is a commanding one, immediately on the verge of the forest, and overlooking the country to a considerable distance north, west, and south. We can easily imagine a time «When ‘neath the peel’s rude battlement The trembling flocks and herds were pent, And maids and matrons dropped the tear— While ready warriors seized the spear.” *“ Jones’ Harewood.” 294 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. DUNKESWICK. Tars township for a long time has formed part of the great manor or fee of Harewood; until recently it also formed a part of that parish; now it belongs to the district church of Weeton. The river Wharfe forms its southern boundary; on the east and north it adjoins the parish of Kirkby Overblow, and the township of Weeton on the west, comprising an area of 1,467 acres, the whole of which belongs to the Earl of Harewood. In the Domesday survey (A.D. 1086), this township is entered as two manors, among the lands of the king’s thanes. -©In Chesvic, Ulchel had four carucates of land to be taxed. Land to two ploughs. The same and his wife have now there one plough and one villane, and two acres of meadow. Value in King Edward’s time, eight shillings; now five shillings.”* This township is chiefly memorable as the place of residence of the family of De I’Isle, or Insula, a family of great importance and distinction, in very early times; owners of the manor of Harewood, and of great influence in the country around. Of their first settlement at Rougemont} we have no direct informa- *Bawdwen's Dom. Boc.,” p. 228. +In the Latin Rubeo Monte, in French Rougemont; both meaning the Red Hill, and derived, we suppose, from its situation upon a cliff or hill of reddish clay. The present name is Ridgeman Scar. DUNKESWICK. 295 tion. The following brief sketch will give some idea of their antiquity and importance— About the year 1180, Prior John of Hexham witnessed a grant of the manor of Gosforth, from Walter Fitzwilliam to Robert de Insula. In or about the year 1189, Thomas Insula was witness to a charter of Kirkstall Abbey. In 1205, Brian de l'Isle, or Insula, was appointed by King John constable of the Castle of Knaresborough, which office he held in 1211, when he victualled and manned that fortress by an order from the king. In 1222, he paid to the king £50, as the rent of the lordships of Knaresborough and Boroughbridge. The commonly received pedigrees of the family state that Robert, Lord Lisle of Rougemont, inherited the manor of Harewood on the demise of William de Fortibus, in 1260,* and that he married Alicia Fitzgerald, grand-daughter of Warine Fitzgerald, by whom he had issue— Robert, Lord Lisle of Rougemont, who married Albreda, Lady of Settringham, in the county of York, and had issue— Warine, eldest son and heir. Baldwin de Lisle, who had lands in Chatteris, by gift of his brother. By Inquisition post mortem, 47th Henry III. (1262), we learn that Baldwin de Insula, of the county of Devon, held, in the county of York, the manor of Harewood and «The Inquisition post mortem of William de Fortibus, Earl of Albemarle, was taken in the 44th of Henry III., his next heir being his son Thomas, then seven years old, who was the last earl, and died, without leaving issue, before the 21st of Edward I. The widow of the above William de Fortibus, Isabella, Countess of Albemarle and Devon, and Lady De I’'Isle, died November 10th, 1293. 296 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. the village of Lofthouse.* He was succeeded by his sister, Isabella de Fortibus, widow of William, Earl of Albemarle. Warine, Lord Lisle of Rougemont, was living 18th Edward I. (1285). He married Matilda, daughter and co-heiress of Robert de Mucegros, and had issue— Robert, eldest son and heir. His other children were Margery, Warine, Gerald, John, Mary, and Joanne. , By Inquisition post mortem, 8rd Edward IT. (1309), Warinus de Insula and Hugo de Courtenay, heirs of Isabella de Fortibus, Countess of Albemarle, held the manor of Harewood, the manor of Kirkby Oerblower, Lofthouse, parcel of the manor of Hare- wood, one messuage, and one carucate of land. In Nomina Villarum (1815), Keswick and Kearby are entered together, of which Robert de Lisle was the lord. Robert, Lord Lisle of Rougemont, son and heir of Warine, born in 1292, was summoned to Parliament in 1312, and again in 1316. He married Margaret Peverill, after whose death he took upon him the habit of a monk. He had issue—Robert, John, Peter, and others. ~ Robert de Insula, Lord of Rougemont, in the 18th year of Edward ITI. (1845), released all his manorial rights to his brother, John de Insula, who became in consequence Lord of Rouge- mont. He was the most distinguished of his race. His father being disposed to give him one hundred marks, per annum, of land, to enable him to serve the king in his wars, with six men-at-arms. The king granted the said John license to give «31st Edward I., two and ahalf carucates in Kesewyk were of the fee of Baldwin de Insula, where ten carucates make a knight’s fee. Knights’ Fees, Surtees’ Soc., p. 206. a Towards the aid granted to King Edward I. on the marriage of his eldest daughter, Kesewick contributed 10s, "—Ibid, p. 295. LDUNEESWICE. 297 to his son the manor of Harewood, with other lands, to the annual value of four hundred marks, during his life, but afterwards to return to the heirs of the said Robert. His brother Robert, as above related, released to. him and his heirs the said manor, and the advowson of the church there.* Being thus provided for, he attended the king in his first voyage into France, by way of Flanders, in 1340, and took part in the battle fought near Vironfosse. Two years afterwards he served the king in Aquitaine, and, in 1848, he attended the king in Bretagne, when they ravaged the country, and laid siege to Dinant. For his good services the king granted him a pension of £200 per annum for his life, to support his dignity of banneret; of which sum £120 was assigned from the Priory of St. Neots, at Stoke, and £80 out of that of Eye; these were afterwards changed for other benefits. He was one of the Knights of the Garter, on the first foundation of that order. In 18352, the king made made him sheriff of the countics of Cambridge and Huntingdon, and granted him the custody of the Castle of Cambridge, for life. In the expedition of Edward, the Black Prince, into Gas- coigne, in 1355, John de Insula accompanied him, and had command of the main body of the army; but in the three days’ march into the enemy’s country he was wounded by a bolt, shot from a eross-bow, from the effects of which he died on the 11th of October, in the same year. * “The figure of John, Lord Lisle, one of the first knights of the Garter, was remaining entire in the east window of the north chapel of Harewood Church, distinguished by the arms of his family—a fess between‘ two chevronels on his tabard—till the church was repaired in 1793. This nobleman, however, from the style of the building, appears to have been the restorer of the church.”— Whitaker. 298 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. From Inquisition post mortem, 80th Edward ITI., we learn that John de Insula, of Rougemont (de Rubeo Monte), died seized in the county of York of the manor of Harewood, with its members, and lands in Carlton, Stokton, Helthway and Douteswyke (Healthwaite and Dunkeswick), the manor of Kirkby Orblawere, and Sec of Court in Spofforth. During his lifetime, in 1353, he obtained letters apostolic, to appropriate the advowson of the church of Harewood to the priory of Bolton, on condition that the convent should grant to him and his heirs a rent-charge of £100 per annum, out of lands in Rowden, Wigton, and other places; and that a chantry of six priests should be founded at Harewood, or one of seven priests in the church of Bolton, to sing masses daily for the souls of his father, his mother, brothers and sisters, besides a special collect for the souls of himself and children. It is however doubtful whether this was carried into effect. His wife was Matilda de Ferrars, by whom he had two sons and one daughter; the sons were Sir Robert Insula, or De Lisle, Lord of Rougemont and Wilbraham, in Cambridgeshire; and Sir William Insula, Lord of Cameldon and Shelford, who died without issue; the daughter was Elizabeth, who married William de Aldburgh, to whom conjointly, Robert, Lord Lisle of Rougemont, in the year 1865, granted for the sum of £1,000, the manor of Harewood, with the appurtenances; and the said Robert paid £70 for license to do the same. After this event, which transferred the manor of Harewood from the family of Insula to that of Aldburgh, we hear no more of the Lords of Rougemont; and as William de Aldburgh built the Castle of Harewood, and made it the residence of the lords of the fee, the probability is that Rougemont was abandoned DUNKESWICK. 299 by its noble owners, and quickly went to ruin and decay. From the appearance of the site, we suppose that the buildings were entirely of timber; and in that manner only can we account for the absence of all remains of any buildings. Had it been a fabric of stone, like the adjoining Castle of Harewood, and had it been pulled down and the stones taken away, large mounds of lime and rubbish would have been left to mark the site. Although abandoned and neglected for the space of five hundred years, the site of the home of the De Lisles is yet strikingly obvious to all who come near it; situate at the south- west corner of the township, near the confluence of Weeton beck with the river Wharfe. The latter stream, after wandering among flat alluvial meadows (of its own formation), forms a sharp curve, and rushes against a lofty cliff of reddish clay, which as suddenly repels it, and again sends it winding among level meadows. The top of this cliff is elevated about thirty feet. above the ordinary level of the river, and presents a naked precipice to its waters--save where the water has undermined the bank, and large patches have slid down, with all their trees and brushwood. This is the only cliff of earth for many miles along the river’s course. The water in front is apparently of great depth, but it is only for about one hundred yards that it can be said to defend the position, and that just at the bend of the stream. The buildings have stood directly upon the highest part of this cliff, overlooking the river and valley; and a pleasant situation it has been, com- manding fine, though not extensive, views. Eastward, the ridge of land on which the village of Kirkby Overblow stands bounds the prospect in that direction; south-east are to be seen the windings of the Wharfe, and the Castle and Park of Harewood; in front, the hamlet of Weardley, the site of 800 THE FOREST OF KNARESBOROUGH. Arthington Priory—the dwellers in Rougemont might hear the music of its bells—the fine wooded knoll, called Rawdon Hill, and the ridge of land on which Ecup, Adel, and Bramhope stand; westward, the view embraces the valley as far as the summit of Rumbald’s Moor; and northward are Healthwaite Hill, Great Almes Cliff, and the Forest of Knaresborough. The area which the buildings have occupied, as indicated by the hollows of the moat, is about eighty yards in length, along the river front, by sixty yards in depth. A moat has enclosed the whole, but the site is now so overgrown with trees, bushes, brambles, nettles, and all the rank undergrowth of a fat soil—not to mention a thicket of privet, which has been planted to form a fox cover—that any attempt at correct measurement is out of the question. In summer it will be completely impervious to man; in winter it is possible to creep through it, and trace the nearly filled hollows of the moat. “Change hath swept With wave on wave the feudal times away, And from their mightiest fabrics plucked the pride.” * Outside the first is a second enclosure about 320 yards across, from east to west, and something less from north to south, surrounded on three sides by a moat anda mound. The mound in many places is forty feet across, and about ten feet in height; outside is the moat from which the soil has been thrown; at some time this mound has been covered with oak trees of a large size, the roots of which yet remain; a proof (if any were needed) of the great antiquity of the work. The ancient name is yet partly preserved in the modern popular one—Ridgeman’s, or Ridgeyman Scar.