S««S^^S^S^^i^^^i^SS^5^^^^^^^'^^!$>SS YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY WORTHIES, FAMILIES, AND CELEBRITIES BARNSLEY AND THE DISTRICT. Worthies, Families, Celebrities BARNSLEY AND THE DISTRICT. JOSEPH WILKINSON Xon^on : BEMROSE & SONS, 23, OLD BAILEY; AND DERBY. Jfreberkk MHIiam S^^omas ^crnoit Wentiwori^, OF WENTWORTH CASTLE, ESQUIRE, GREAT-GRANDSON OF THOMAS WENTWORTH, EARL OF STRAFFORD OF STAINBOROUGH, WHO HAS SO WORTHILY MAINTAINED THE ANCIENT PRESTIGE OF THE DISTINGUISHED FAMILY OF WHICH HE IS THE HEAD, AND SHED A BENIGNANT INFLUENCE OVER THE DISTRICT AROUND BARNSLEY DURING A PERIOD OF MORE THAN EIGHTY YEARS, THIS VOLUME IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED, BY THE AUTHOR, AS A SMALL TRIBUTE TO HIS WORTH, AND IN GRATEFUL ACKNOWLEDGMENT OP MANY FAVOURS RECEIVED AT HIS HANDS. PREFACE Barnsley and the surrounding district are rich in historical associations connected with residences, families, and persons of note. Among the former we may instance the splendid mansions of Wentworth House and Wentworth Castle, and Wortley, Bretton, Woolley, Houghton, and Cannon Halls, which are not to be surpassed in grandeur, if the limited area within which they are situated is taken into account, by mansions in any other part of Yorkshire. Among the latter we have four families which have passed into the Baronet age from the town of Barnsley alone, viz. : — those of Armytage, Beckett, Wombwell, and Wood, the last named having recendy been raised to the peerage, and being repre sented by so distinguished a peer as Viscount Halifax. Among the individuals of note who have sprung from the neighbourhood, not the least conspicuous are Dr. Nicholas Saunderson, the blind mathematician (one of the most distinguished men this country ever produced) ; Robert Holgate, Archbishop of York ; Joseph Bramah, the celebrated inventor ; Sir George Wood, one of the Barons of the Exchequer ; John Charles Brooke, the Herald ; Thomas Witlam Atkinson, the Siberian Traveller; Sir Thomas Hallifax, one of the Lord Mayors of London ; and a host of other celebrities of lesser note. Vlll PREFACE. To briefly delineate the lives and characters of some of these distinguished men the following pages have been written. They are part of an extensive series of papers which were contributed to a local journal during the years 1880-1-2, and were favourably received by the public. At the request of many friends the compiler was induced to revise and re publish them in a more complete form, and the present volume contains the first series of these sketches. The work of compiling the materials was commenced many years ago, and as these enquiries and researches advanced, the subject so rose in interest and importance, and the com piler became so enamoured in the pursuit, that he was led to accumulate a large amount of matter which is now offered to the reader, and which will be found to be of an original and interesting character. Not the least interesting portion of the information contained in this volume is that relating to Stainborough and its lords, in the history of which the compiler has ever felt deeply interested, and for which he made large collections. He, however, scarcely ever anticipated being able to give so full an account of the Earls of Strafford, of the second creation, and their princely seat as is here presented — an account which embodies some interesting details, and has been compiled from every avail able source — not the least important being the voluminous Strafford Papers in the Library of the British Museum, which have been laid largely under contribution for this purpose. No little labour has been entailed upon the writer, but he makes no great pretensions to authorship, and all the merit he claims for the work is that of some degree of industry and application in the researches he has made. The undertak-. ing has been to him a labour of love, and if it affords only a PREFACE. IX part of the pleasure to the reader it has done to the com piler, the latter will be satisfied. He has, however, the gratification of knowing that he has done some little to trace out and. elucidate the biographical history of families and persons who have been associated with and shed a halo over a town and district of which he claims to be very proud. The work is illustrated with original portraits and views of some of the characters and their residences. Among the former are portraits of Sir Francis Wood, of Barnsley, and Sir Francis Lindley Wood, of Hemsworth, from oil paintings at Hickleton ; and Sir Thomas Hallifax, from a painting in the Guildhall, London ; while those of Baron Wood, Arch bishop Holgate, John Charles Brooke, the Earls of Strafford, and others are from rare and scarce prints. Among the views, those representing the ruins of Houghton Hall, and what remains were to be found forty years ago of Womb- well Hall, the ancient seat of the Wombwell family, and Monk Bretton Priory, will doubtless be looked on with interest. Materials have been sought for, not only in innumerable costly and scarce books, and in the collections of private individuals, but the manuscript treasures of the British Museum, the Public Record Office, the Lambeth Library, and other sources have been also sedulously searched, so that all the information possible could be brought together for future reference and preservation. The compiler's thanks are due to a number of gentle men for the kind interest they have been pleased to take in the work, and for the friendly assistance they have rendered in various ways. Among these are Lord Hali fax and Mr. Vernon Wentworth, the late Mr. Charles X PREFACE. Jackson, of Doncaster, for valuable information supplied from his own collections, and for much friendly counsel ; the Rev. W. Consitt Boulter for information relating to Archbishop Holgate ; and the Rev. J. Wood Bayldon for similar contributions respecting his ancestor. Baron Wood ; while Dr. Sykes, of Doncaster, Mr. Charles New man, and Mr. Alexander Paterson, of Barnsley, have also rendered assistance in various ways. In conclusion, the compiler returns his warmest thanks to the numerous subscribers who have favoured him with their support. He would venture to add that he has done his best so to arrange and send out the volume as to make it worthy of public appreciation, his principal ambition having been a desire to record whatever can render the town and district of Barnsley more interesting to his fellow townsmen and to strangers. He may further add that it is intended at no distant date to publish a second series of these Worthies, for which much information remains. CONTENTS CHAPTER I'AGE I. — The Family of Wood of Monk Bretton, Barnsley, and Hickleton 1-28 II. — Sir George Wood, Baron of the Exchequer, and the Family of Wood, of Smithies .. 29-62 III. — Sir John Beckett, Bart., and the Family of Beckett of Barnsley and Leeds . . . . 63-86 IV. — Sir George Wombwell and the Family of Wombwell of Wombwell and Barnsley 87-123 V. — Sir Samuel Armytage and the Family of Armytage, of Keresforth, Barnsley, and KiRKLEES 124-136 VI. — Sir Edward Rodes and the Family of Rodes of Great Houghton 137-164 VII. — Sir Thomas Hallifax, Lord Mayor of Lon don, and the Hallifax Family .. .. 165-189 VIII. — John Charles Brooke, the Herald, and the Family of Brooke, of Dodworth . . . . 190-224 IX. — Joseph Bramah, the Inventor 225-251 X. — Sir William and Lady Mary Armyne.. .. 252-267 XI. — Robert Holgate, Archbishop of York . . 268-308 XII. — The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough 309-480 Index 481-502 List of Subscribers S°3-S'2 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. page Houghton Old Hall Frontispiece. Sir Francis Wood, Bart., of Barnsley i Sir Francis Lindley Wood, Bart., of Hemsworth .. i8 The Hon. Sir George Wood, Baron of the Exchequer 29 Remains of Wombwell Hall in 1820, from S.W. . . 105 Sir Thomas Hallifax, Knt., Lord Mayor of London 165 John .Charles Brooke, F.S.A., Somerset Herald .. 190 Lady Mary Armyne 252 Ruins of Monk Bretton Priory, in 1840 254 Robert Holgate, Archbishop of York „ . . . . 268 His Excellency Thomas, Earl of Strafford, Viscount Wentworth, Baron Stainborough, etc 309 Miniature Castle in the Wilderness, at Stain borough 406 Temple in the Park, at Stainborough 406 The Right Hon. William, Earl of Strafford, of Stainborough 446 South View of Wentworth Castle 456 Sm Francis Wood, Eakt., of Barn.sley. No. I. ^be family of Moot) of flDonk Bretton ant) Barnslei?. HE family of Wood, the present head of which is Lord Halifax, is one which, in former times, was largely connected with Monk Bretton, Barnsley, and the district. Its ancestors were living at Monk Bretton, or Burton, as the village was then more generally called, in the middle of the sixteenth century (and probably long before), and were of considerable account. George Wood, of Burton, who was buried at Roystone in 1589, had a lease of Smithies from the Crown, uth April, 1579, which was renewed 21st May, 1585. His son, George Wood, who is stated to have been of the " Manor House in Burton," was collector of the revenues of the dissolved monastery of Monk Bretton in 1609, and one of the trustees for the grant of the Manor of Burton. This grant was made by letters patent under the Great Seal, on the 28th February, 1610, by James I., to George Wood and John Broadhead, principal free holders of Burton, in trust for the freeholders at large, and 2 2 Worthies of Barnsley, they assigned the rights thus conveyed to them by separate grants to each freeholder of the Manor. Through this grant there has not been since that time any Lord of the Manor of Burton, and hence arose the term, " Burton Lords," which is applied to the freeholders of that township. In a Subsidy Roll, dated 1598, occur the following names under " Munk- bretton " : — " Georgius Wood, in bo., v/. xiijj-. iiij^. " Joannes Scamadon, in bo., iij/. viiji'. " Henricus Broadhead, in bo., iij/. viiJ5. " Cusworth, in bo., iij/. viijj." From this it will be seen that the family of Wood was the principal one in the township at that period. The name also occurs in the following roll of 1663 : — " MuNCK Bretton. ^6 .2.8. " Robert Wood in land 3.0.0 George Cowper 1.0.0 John Crookes i.o.o Jonathan Broadhead i.o.o Gamaliel Milner 1.6.8 William Milner in goods 3.0.0 Widow Johnson 3.0.0 Dame Mary Armyne in land 4.0.0'' George Wood purchased Smithies of the Crown, 13th November, 1625. This would appear to have been a place of greater importance in former times than it is at the present day. Before the dissolution of the monasteries. Monk Bretton Priory had iron works there, and in the reign of Elizabeth these iron works were the subject of litigation. In the Chancery proceedings of that reign, Elizabeth Vallyance, The Family of Wood. 3 plaintiff, brought an action against Gilbert, Earl of Shrews bury, defendant, to enforce the performance of a contract in the purchase of some iron works at Monk Bretton, (no doubt those at Burton Smithies, which is in the township), by the Earl, who was a large purchaser, in this district, of land which had belonged to the Priory. Dodsworth, the York shire antiquary, was at Roystone in 162 1, and he states that the iron works at Burton Smithies, which had belonged to Monk Bretton Priory, were then working. It has been stated that they were discontinued in the reign of .Charles the First; but before this they had been carried on by the family of Wortley, of Wortley, along with some corn mills which were there situated. There were also paper works carried on at Smithies, at least 150 years ago, for we find in the year 1729 that "Sarah daughter of John Rhodes, of Burton Smithies, paper maker," was baptized in that year; andin 1768, "John son of John Wood, of Burton Smithies, paper maker," was also baptized. George Wood, who died in 1638, was succeeded at Burton by his son, Robert Wood. Smithies was left to the second son, John, who had settled there, and from whom descended the eminent judge. Baron Wood, who died in 1824, and who will form the subject of a sketch in a future paper. Peter Wood, the third son, went abroad, and according to Dr. Johnston, the antiquary, was a soldier under Gustavus Adolphus, and was slain at the siege of Leipsic. He is said to have been held in high esteem for his valour. The eldest son, Robert Wood, was one of the trustees of the Shaw Lands, in 1631. He was also, in 1646, appointed by Mr. Edmund Rogers, who bequeathed the Thorp Audlin estate to the poor of Barnsley, and conferred other benefits 4 Worthies of Barnsley. upon that town, as one of his trustees, with a legacy of ;^2o; whilst Thomas Wood was appointed one of the supervisors of his will, with a legacy of ;^3o. Araong the members of the family who were associated with the parish in the 17th century are the following, which we give from the " Old Town's Books " at Roy stone : — " 1620. — George Wood, Churchwarden. 1623. — Robert Wood, Ditto. 1628. — George Wood, Ditto. 163 7 . — Robert Wood, Ditto. 1663. — John Wood, Smithies, Ditto. ^' \ Mr. John Wood, Ditto. 1665.^ 1670. — Wm. Wood, Burton, Ditto. 1660. — Robert Wood, Overseer of the Highways. f William Wood, and 1662. J x^. • I Jas Rimington. Ditto. 1868.— Mr. John Wood, Ditto. 1669. — Mr. Wood, Burton, Ditto. f Henry Wood, and 1629. \ (George Elhs, Ditto. 1592. — Mr. Robert Wood, Provider (Overseer) for ye Poor." Robert Wood had a family of at least thirteen children. John, his eldest son, died young. William, the second son and heir apparent, who was settled at Masborough, and was Clerk of the Peace for the West Riding, died before his father on Dec. 22, 1668, and was buried at Rotherham, having married Isabel, daughter of Nathaniel Eyre, of Bramley, and widow of John Rayney, of Tyers Hill, in The Family of Wood. 5 Darfield, and their eldest son, Robert, succeeded his grand father at Monk Bretton. John, the fifth son, was of Roystone. James, the sixth, and Henry, the seventh sons, both settled at Barnsley, and the latter founded a family there, which is now represented by Lord Halifax, to which we shall shortly allude. Dorothy, a daughter, married on the 14th February, 1653, Robert Ashton, Esq., of Stoney Middleton, as the following curious entry in the Roystone parish register will show :—¦ " 1653. Publication was made within the parish church [of Roystone] three severall Lord's Dayes (viz.) the ist, the 8th, and the 15th of January betwixt Robert Ashton, sonne of Robert Ashton, of Stone Midleton, in the county of Derby, gent., of the one parte, and Dorothie Wood, daughter of Robert Wood, of Munck Bretton, in this parish, gent., of the other parte, and with consent of parents, on both sides, according to the late act. " Robert Ashton and Dorothie, in the above mentioned pubUcation were marryed the fowerteenth day of February, according to the late act, before and by Darcy Wentworth [a Justice of the Peace]." Robert Ashton and Dorothy Wood lived together 62 or 63 years. They had twelve children, and in the latter part of their lives this venerable couple seem to have removed to Middlewood Hall, in the parish of Darfield, where the former died on the 9th February, 17 16, in the 8sth year of his age, and the latter on March 21, 1721, aged 86. They were buried in Darfield Church, where on a plain but handsome stone affixed against one of the pillars of the south aisle is an inscription, said to be from the pen of their son, Dr. Charles Ashton, Master of Jesus 6 Worthies of Barnsley. College in 1701, and one of the most learned men of the age. ''^ The family seem to have been blessed with the patriarchal blessing, as will be seen from the following curious account of the baptism of one of their descendants : — " On the 1 2th of July, 1744, was christened at Whitting- ton, near Chesterfield, a son of Mr. Arthur Bulkley, of that place, and of Jane, his wife, when the following persons by their representatives were sponsors : "Edward Downes, of Worth, in Cheshire, Esq., the infant's great, great, great, great uncle. " Dr. Ashton, master of Jesus College, Cambridge, and his brother, Mr. Joseph Ashton, of Surrey-street, in the Strand, the infant's great, great, great uncles. "Mrs. Elizabeth Wood, of Barnsley, in Yorkshire, the infant's great, great, great, great aunt. * " The Reverend and Worthy Dr. Charles Ashton, Master of Jesus College in 1701, and Prebendary of Ely the same year. He was one of the most learned men of the age ; his great knowledge in ecclesiastical antiquities was excelled by none, and equalled by few ; as by his MS. remarks upon the Fathers, and corrections of the mistakes of translators will sufficiently appear. His critical skill in the writers of the classicks is welf known to many persons now living. There were many valuable pieces of his but without his name." — NichoPs Literary Anecdotes, vol. 4, published in his lifetime, pp. 226. Ibid, vol. 8, pp. 226 : " Dr. Charles Ashton. Of this distinguished scholar, whose name occurs so frequently, and who seems to have been too much neglected by our biographers, the following statement of the birth, family connections, &c., &c. , may probably not be unacceptable : — " Dr. Ashton was born at Brad way, a small hamlet in the parish of Norton, in Derbyshire, where his father resided many years. His baptism is recorded in the parish register of Norton, 25th May, 1665. He was respectably descended. His grandfather, Robert Ashton, of Stoney Middleton, Esq., was High Sheriff of the county of Derby in The Family of Wood. 7 " Mrs. Jane Wainwright, of Middlewood Hall, in Darfield, the infant's great, great grandmother.* " Mrs. Dorothy Green, of the same place, the infant's great grandmother. The infant has a mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and great, great grandmother, all now living." Robert Wood, of Monk Bretton, the grandson of Robert, previously named, had, like his grandfather, a large family, having no fewer than eleven children. His eldest son, William, born in 1679, married Rebecca, daughter of John Rooke, of Barnsley ; a daughter, Hephzibah, also marrying Daniel Rooke, of the same place. John, afterwards of Leeds, married Grace, the daughter of Ralph Thoresby, the distinguished antiquary, and had a son, called after his grandfather, who died unmarried. William, the eldest son, who died in 1735, was succeeded by another Robert Wood, of Monk Bretton, who married Frances, daughter of Gamaliel Milner, of Burton Grange, and had three sons and three daughters. William, the eldest son, his successor the year in which his grandson was born. His father was an esquire at a time when that title was not so indiscriminately applied as at present ; and it is thought was in the commission of the peace. His mother was Dorothy Wood, daughter of Robert Wood, of Monk Bretton, in the county of York, gent. ; a family represented by Sir Francis Lindley Wood, of Hemsworth, Bart., and by Sir George Wood, Knt., one of the Barons of the Exchequer." * ' ' Mrs. Jane Wainwright, of Middlewood, in the ninetieth year of her age, bur. March 31, 1745." — Darfield Parish Register. "Robert Wainwright, of Middlewood, gent., in his will, mentions his father-in-law — Robert Ashton — uncle, Mr. Henry Wood— three daughters, Dorothy, Jane, and Sarah — sister, Ann Usher — nephew, Thos. Ludlam— sister, OUve Rook [Rooke]. Dated Sep. I, 1683."— Add. MSS. 24586,//. 68. 8 Worthies of Barnsley. at Monk-Bretton, died in 1776, unmarried; whilst Robert, a lieutenant in the 23rd Foot, and Gamaliel, also died without issue. The three daughters who survived were co-heiresses, of whom Rebecca, the eldest, married in 1774, John Bingley, Esq., a captain of his Majesty's 65th and 93rd Regiment of Foot. He was in the engagement at Bunker's Hill, and died in 1807. Another married Mr. Thomas Gun ning, a merchant, at Sheffield; and the third died unmarried. Mrs. Gunning, who had no issue, left her third part of the estate to her husband, in whose family it still remains. The unmarried daughter's share went to Mrs. Bingley, who on her death on the 7th March, 1829, bequeathed her two- thirds of the estate to her kinsman. Sir Francis Lindley Wood, of the Barnsley branch, who had become the head of the family. To return to the two sons of Robert Wood, of Monk Bretton, who settled at Barnsley. They were both brought up to the law. James* married Grisseld, daughter of Willoughby Godfrey, Esq., of Edderthorpe. Godfrey, who was a person highly connected, attracted the attention of Dugdale, the antiquary, who in his almanack was found to have made a MS. note to the effect that "he was one skilled in arms and genealogies," a distinction which would apply to but few persons at that period. t In Darfield Church is a remarkable monument, having twelve shields of the arms of Willoughby, and their * "Mr. James Wood was buried ye 21st day of August, 1662." — Barnsley Parish Register. t " Grizzella, daughter of Mr. Willoughby Godfrey, bap. Sep. 23, 1641." — Darfield Parish Register. The Family of Wood. 9 connections, surrounding the following inscription : — "Here lyeth buried the body of Katherine, the daughter of William Willoughby, Esquire, eldest son of Charles Lord Willoughby, of Parham, wife to Joseph Godfrey, of Thonock, in the county of Lincoln, Esquire, 27 years one month and 21 days old; his widow 28 years and 2 days; died the 15th of August, An. Domini. 1658, aged about 75. Willoughby Godfrey, of Edderthorpe, son to her, having decently seen her interred, did erect this, as his last duty, with her due armories." James Wood purchased on the loth July, 1660, of John Waterhouse, Vicar of Darton, one moiety of the tithe of Barnsley, and in 1662, the year of his death, settled it on his younger son, George Wood. From him these tithes passed to the eldest branch of the family of Wood, and were enjoyed by Robert Wood, of Monk Bretton, gent., at the time of his death in 1761 ; and in 1768 the trustees under his will sold them to Mr. William Marsden, attorney, of Barnsley and Burntwood. James Wood died at Barnsley, and is mentioned by Torre in his Testamentary Burials as having made his will on the 23rd July, 1662, " giving his soul to God and his body to be buried in the quire of Barnsley Church." His widow, for her second husband married, on the 24th May, 1664, John Dutton, Vicar of Roystone. Henry Wood, the other son of Robert Wood, who settled at Barnsley, was a Justice of the Peace for the West Riding, and the direct lineal ancestor of Lord Halifax. His family and descendants became intimately associated with Barnsley, and for more than a century were among its principal residents, and took an active part in the local events of their time. I o Worthies of Barnsley. Henry Wood married three times, his third wife being Elizabeth, daughter of William Simpson, Esq., of Babworth Hall, by whom he had a large family. He bought lands in conjunction with Mr. Simpson, and also an estate in the Levels of Hatfield Chase. Mr. Wood was one of those who exerted themselves in getting the Quarter Sessions restored to Barnsley at the close of the seventeenth century. These sessions had been held there from an early period, but from some cause or other they would appear to have been lost to the town, probably on ac count of a want of adequate accommodation. On the erection of a " Sessions Hall," which would very likely be the " Old Moot Hall," Mr. Wood, along with others, memorialised the West Riding Justices with a view to the Sessions being re stored. Their efforts were successful, and Sessions continued to be held in Barnsley until the close of the last century.* * Mr. Wood practised in Barnsley as an attorney. We find that he was employed by the parish of Roystone, as the following items in the churchwarden's accounts of that parish will show : — £ s. d. "1689. Paid in charges at sealing of the Feoffee deeds ) , • , , , > 00 03 06 ior ye parish land ) Paid to Mr. Wood of Barnsley for drawing of ) ¦' '^ J 02 00 00 ye said Feoffee deeds 1693. Paid Mr. Henry Wood for ye suit charges be tween ye parish and Mr. Dutton 1715. Paid in charges with Mr. Wood when he met f 05 00 00 the heads of the Parish i On the ceiling of the North Chancel of Old St. Mary's Church was the following : — " H. W., 1714; " no doubt the initials of Henry Wood. Jane, daughter of Henry Wood, married Richard Mawhood, a proctor of the Arches Court, and had Colonel Charles Mawhood of the 2nd Regiment of Foot. Eleanor, another daughter, married Colonel Wheatley, of Woolley. The Family of Wood. ii Mr. Henry Wood was one of the trustees of the Shaw Land Estate, and from an old lease we find that he was a party to letting to John Shippen, in 1716, a coal pit which belonged to the trust, and which was part of the estate, and situate in the Shaw lands. It is little more we can add of this notable townsman than that, in 17 18, he, along with others, settled upon the Chapel of St. Mary lands yielding ;£i5 per annum, at a time when ;^2oo was granted by the Govenors of Queen Anne's Bounty; another ;^2oo was grant ed in 1737 to meet a like benefaction from his brother, Francis Wood, and Joseph Croft. Mr. Wood died in 1720, and was buried in St. Mary's Church, where a monument of black marble bordered with grey, with the arms and crest of the family, was erected to his memory, with the following inscription : — " Near this place lies the body of Henry Wood, of this town, who married Elizabeth, daughter of William Simpson, of Babworth, Esquire ; by whom he had issue 6 sons and 7 daughters, four of whom are here interred. He died May ye 4th, 1720, aged 75." "Here also lies the body of Henry Wood, Esq., his eldest son. He died April i8th, 1 741. The above Elizabeth died 31st December, 1748, aged 81." The parish register of burials at Barnsley has the following entries : — " Mrs. Wood, ye wife of Mr. Hen. Wood, bur. May 7, 1686. [Dorothy Woodhead, of Woodseats, Mr. Hen. Wood's second wife.] "Mrs. Ehzabeth Wood, widow, bur. Jan. 5, 1748. [Mr. Hen. Wood's third wife.) " Mr. Henry Wood, buried May 6, 1720. " Mr. Henry Wood, bur. May 2, 1741." 1 2 Worthies of Barnsley. The fourth son of the first Henry Wood, of Barnsley, was Simpson Wood, a lieutenant in the Foot Guards, who died in April, 1746. , The second Henry Wood was also an attorney. In the Journal of Mr. John Hobson, of Dodworth Green, are the following entries relating to him : — "1726, April 20. — At Barnsley, in company with Mr. Wood, of Barnsley, who showed me a copy of a decree out of Chancery, made in the time of Queen Elizabeth, for the payment of certain sums of money to the Vicar of Silkston, Curate of Cawthorn, and Curate of Barnsley, issuing out of one moiety of the tithe corn of Dodworth, then farmed of the Crown by John Hobson. " 1728, September 18.— At Barnsley with Mr. Henry Wood, lately made Justice of the Peace, and Clerk of Assize." Mr. Wood, who had a large practice and was highly re spected, died, as stated in his monumental inscription, on the 28th April, 1741, in the 50th year of his age, and was in terred in Barnsley Church. His younger brother, Francis, now became the head of the family at Barnsley, and he was perhaps more useful, active, and influential than any of his predecessors. He was a Deputy Lieutenant for Yorkshire ; was well Known in his day as " Justice Wood ; " and occupied the family residence, which formed part of the present King's Head Hotel when Barnsley was a very unimportant and unattractive town, and when the Sough Dyke ran its open course across the bottom of Market Hill, and almost close past his residence. Its water was then of a more pellucid character — there were none of the polluting influences at work by which it is characterised The Family of Wood. 13 at the present day, and Mr. Wood's residence at that day had some of the attractions of a country seat. It is described by Mr. Burland as having on the north side a private car riage road leading from Market Hill into what is usually designated the Back Lane, and terminating at a point between the present railway station and Beckett Square. This was called Justice Wood's Passage. An old cottage standing at the terminus had the dignified title of Justice Wood's Lodge. On the south, was an ornamental lawn, separated from Market Hill by a low stone wall. In 1723, Francis Wood, of Barnsley, and Robert Wood, of Monk Bretton, and William Wood, his son and heir, were included among the Shaw Lands Trustees. In 1736, Francis Wood was one of the persons who took steps for the erection of the first workhouse in Barnsley, which was " at the public expense for the employment and mainte nance of the poor," in accordance with a plan and estimates furnished by a John Brewer ; and Mr. Francis Wood, Mr. John Deykin, Mr. Thomas Taylor, Mr. WilUam Marsden, Mr. Joseph Clarke, Mr. Gervase Beckett, Mr. John Wilson, and Mr. William Wagstaffe, were desired to assist the over seers of the poor in carrying out their work ; the meetings to be public and free for the admission of the inhabitants of the town. In fact, Mr. Wood might be said to be the leading business spirit in the town, taking the initiative in the management of the Shaw Trust — which at that day formed a fund which was drawn on for the maintenance of the poor in times of distress, the repair of the highways, and every other public movement connected with the town of Barnsley. On the election of Registrar of Deeds for the West Riding in 1734, Mr. Francis Wood was one of the 14 Worthies of Barnsley. candidates ; the other candidates were Mr. Matthew Went worth, Mr. Stanhope, and Mr. Yarborough, on which occasion Mr. Wentworth was elected, the other three retiring. When the Pretender was putting forth his claim to the Enghsh throne, there was a subscription set on foot in Barnsley, when the following amounts were subscribed by the family of Wood : — Elizabeth Wood £s 5 ° Francis Wood 5 5° Robert Wood 5 5° The other principal subscribers being : John Cutler, £6 6s.; Elizabeth Leatham, £$ 5s.; Wm. Marsden, ;^S SS. ; Richard Pickering, £$ S^- '> Thos. Taylor, ^s 5S- ; John Wilson, ;£'-, ss. ; the smaller items amounting to £?>T, 13s. 8d. At the County Election in 1741, when Cholmley Turner and George Fox were the candidates for Parliamentary representation, Francis Wood, who is de scribed as " gentleman," voted for Cholmley Turner. The following account which has come into our hands will show that Mr. Francis Wood's charges, as an attorney, were of a very moderate character : — " The Overseers of the Poor of Barnsley. " To Fran: Wood. "To attendance at Pontefract Sessions, \ on acct. of Mr. Rooke's appeal, and 013 4 Joseph Batty's daughter's child ... " Paid Mr. Burton's Clerk for order to'^ remove Hannah Morton and family !¦ 040 to Dodworth ' The Family of Wood. 15 ¦ My attendance at Doncaster Sessions, being out all night o 13 4 "April 12, 1748, Received J[,\ 10 8 the Same by me. '^ "Fran: Wood." Francis Wood married firstly, Mary Dorothy, daughter of the Rev. Charles Palmer, D.D., Prebendary of York; and secondly, Rebecca, daughter of William Ellison, a member of an old and respected Barnsley family. t He died in 1775, in the 79th year of his age, and his second wife died on the ist Nov., 1784, aged 72 years, to whose memory, on a brass plate in St. Mary's Church, is the following inscription : — " Here lieth interred the body of Rebecca Wood, relict of the late Francis Wood, of Barnsley, Esq., and daughter of the late William Ellison, gent. She departed this life 4th Nov., 1784, in the 72nd year of her age." There are also * " 1773- — Justice Wood, for examining E. Fletcher £o i o 1767. — Going to Justice Wood with Eliz. Lyddall. Warrant, examination, and my charge ... o 3 o 1 75 1, Dec. 25. — Pd. Mr. Wood for signing my book 006 1739. — To going to Justice Wood's and J. Wright- son's o 3 6" — Worsborough Toivn's Accounts. t " 1761. — Francis Wood, Esq., of the psh of Silkstone, and Rebekah Ellison, of the psh aforesaid, married Dec. i. Witnesses, Henry Cutler, William Clarke. 1775. — Sep. I., Francis Wood, Esq., bur., aged 79. 1784. — Mrs. Rebekah Wood, widow, died 4th bur. 7th Nov., aged 72. 1780. — Charles Palmer, Esq., of Thurnsco HaU, died 28th, bur. 31st August." — Barnsley Parish Register. 1 6 Worthies of Barnsley. other memorials of the family, including one to " Mary Dorothea, Daughter of Francis Wood, Esq. , who was interred here Sep. 2, 1759, lamented by her friends, aged 34 years and 2 months," also to John, her younger brother. John was the youngest of the four sons of Francis Wood. He had entered the army under the patronage of General Wolfe. He had the coraraand of a detached body of his Majesty's forces in North America under General Amherst, was slain there June S, 1760, and closed a brilliant career at the early age of 25. Henry, the eldest son, was of Jesus College, Cambridge. In eariy life he was chaplain to the English factory at Oporto. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Charles Gore, Esq., of Horkstow, and sister of the wife of the third Earl Cowper. He was afterwards rector of Hemsworth, and purchased, in 1769, the manor and estate there, including Hemsworth Hall, which had belonged to the Bradshaw family. He was also vicar of Halifax, to which living he was inducted in 1776, and was an active magistrate of the West Riding. He died leaving no children in October, 1790, and was buried at Barnsley.* Francis, the second son, who was baptized at * " 1790. — Rev. Henry Wood, D.D., died Oct. 27th, bur. Nov. 4, aged 64." — BarTisley Parish Register. On the enclosure of the Barnsley Commons in 1777, Henry Wood, D.D., had awarded to him three allotments on Harbro' Hill and Pog- moor Common, amounting to 20a. 3r. 29p. Rebecca Wood, widow of Francis Wood, of Barnsley 8 3 27 And in the Common Field AUotments Henry Wood, D.D., had in Church Field and Old MiU Field. r - 2 2° Rebecca Wood, her intake in Church Field, lately | enclosed ( And three more allotments in Church Field, making... 9 I 29 The Family of Wood. 17 Barn.sley, Jan. 2, 1729, passed many years in the service of the East India Company at Canton. He married EHzabeth, daughter and heiress of Anthony Ewer, Esq., of the Lea, Hertford. The third son, Charles, was an eminent naval officer. Having passed the ordeal of his duties with in creasing reputation, he became successively captain of the Terror Bomb, San Carlos, Hero, and Worcester, in all of which ships he highly distinguished himself by his conduct and gallantry, particularly in the Terror at St. Jago, in the San Carlos at Saldanha Bay, and the Hero and Worcester under Sir Edward Hughes, It was his fate to be frequently and severely wounded in action, and after having spent thirty- five years of his life in the naval service of his country, he terminated his career October 9, 1782, dying of the wounds he received in the engagement with Mons. Suffrein,the French Adrairal, in the East Indies, the 3rd Sept. preceding, and was buried with military honours at Madras. As some recognition of his services, his elder brother, Francis, was on the 22nd January, 1784, created a Baronet as Sir Francis Wood, of Barnsley, with remainder to the sons of his deceased brother, who were then young children. Charles Wood married Caroline, daughter and heiress of Thomas Lacon Barker, Esq., of Otley. Bowling Hall, his seat, near Bradford, had been bequeathed to him by Thomas Pigot, Esq., whose ancestor, Elizabeth Simpson, had raarried Charles Wood's grandfather, Henry Wood, of Barnsley. Captain Wood had a family of five children. His eldest son, Francis Lindley Wood,* then a minor, * Bowling Hall was purchased of Henry Savile by Francis Lindley, in 1668. He was the son of Wm. Lindley, a merchant at Hull. Francis was a barrister at Gray's Inn, and Vice Chamberlain of 3 1 8 Worthies of Barnsley. succeeded to the Bowling estate on his father's death, and to the baronetcy and the ancestral estates of the Wood family, at Barnsley, on the death of his uncle, the first Sir Francis Wood, without issue. Sir Francis Wood died at his house on Richmond Green, Surrey, on the 9th July, 179s, in the 65th year of his age. His lady died at the age of 64, in the following year, and both were buried in Barnsley Church.* Sir Francis and Lady Wood were the last of the numerous members of the family who were gathered to their fathers in Barnsley Church ; and from this time the residential connection of the family with Barnsley ceased, and their residence on Market Hill was converted into an hostelry, under the sign of the King's Head Hotel, which, after various alteradons, it still remains. Sir Francis Lindley Wood was of Emanuel College, Cambridge, where he graduated as B.A. in 1793, and M.A. in 1796. He married Ann, eldest daughter and coheiress of Samuel Buck, Esq., Recorder of Leeds, and took up his residence at Hemsworth Hall, which had been the seat of his uncle, Dr. Wood. The estate of Bowling, which has been described as a stately pile of buildings, in a very elevated Chester. Bowling HaU went to his relations, the Pigots, and on the death of Thomas Pigot without issue, he devised the estate to Charles Wood, a distant relation. His great grandmother had married for her second husband a Wood. From Charles Wood the manor of Bowline , descended to Sir Francis Lindley Wood, his son, who sold the estate to John Sturges, Thomas Mason, and John Green Paley. * " I79S- — Sir Francis Wood, Baronet, died 9th, bur. 27th July, aged 65. " 1796. — Lady Eliz : Wood, relict of Sir Francis Wood, Baronet, died Nov, — bur. Dec. 7, age d^."— Barnsley Parish Register. -^=r Sir Fra.'jcis Lindley Wood, Bart., ot Hemswdrth. The Family of Wood. 19 position, and overlooking an extensive tract of country, having become disfigured by ironworks and collieries, was sold by Sir Francis for upwards of ^^20,000, he having previously sold the minerals underneath the estate to the proprietors of the Bowling Iron Works, for more than that sum. The bankruptcy of Messrs. Went worth, Chaloner, and Co., the eminent bankers, of Wake field, necessitated the sale of the beautiful estate belonging to Godfrey Wentworth, E?q., at Hickleton, and this Sir Francis purchased in 1828, and went to reside there in 1830. It was reported that he gave ;^6o,ooo for the estate, and ^4,000 for the timber thereon. Hickleton had been in the family of Wentworth of Woolley for many years, and was preferred by some of them to Woolley as a place of residence, on account of its situation and pure air. This estate has since been largely increased by judicious acquisitions purchased in the adjoining townships of Bolton and Barnborough. Hickleton has been almost entirely rebuilt, and is now a model and picturesque village. Sir Francis Lindley Wood, although his residence was at Hemsworth, and afterwards at Hickleton, was bound to Barnsley by many ties, and took part in every movement which had the promotion of the interests of the town in view ; attended public meetings and as a magistrate ; and in other capacities, rendered great services to the town with which his ancestors had been so long associated. The Staincross Regiraent of Volunteers was commanded by Walter Spencer Stanhope, Esq., and Sir Francis Wood was his lieutenant-colonel. One memorable event in the history of this regiment will not soon be forgotten. A 20 Worthies of Barnsley. false alarm of invasion was raised on the 5th August, 1805. The beacons were fired, and the men proceeded to Hemsworth, the seat of Sir Francis. Before they arrived there it had been discovered that the alarm was a false one. They were sumptuously entertained by Sir Francis, after which they returned home ; each man, however, afterwards receiving a bounty of ;£2 and the thanks of thet Ministers and Commons for their services. After some tirae the volunteeifs were replaced by local militia, and Sir Francis Wood was appointed lieutenant- colonel of the Staincross and Osgoldcross Regiment. He was held in high regard by the men ; and when the regiment was discontinued at the peace, they presented him with a very handsome sword. The colours of the regiment are deposited at Hickleton. Sir Francis Lindley Wood was High Sheriff of York shire in 18 14. He was the Vice- Lieutenant of the West Riding in 1819, during the period when discontent pre vailed so largely in the manufacturing districts, and many breaches of the peace occurred. It was at this time that the attempt of the Yeomanry at Manchester to force their way, by order of the magistrates, through the dense mass of persons assembled in front of the hustings, from which they were addressed by the agitators and delegates, led to such laraentable results. A sirailar raeeting was held at Wakefield, but \^¦as dealt with in a very different manner by Sir Francis Wood. He arranged with Sir John Byng, then the general officer commanding in the northern district, that an adequate mihtary force should be assembled at Wakefield. The troops were kept out of sight, but were placed in different large premises in the town, from The Family of Wood. 21 whence they might at any moment be brought on to the ground if their services were required. The meeting passed off" quietly, no disturbance took place, and the crowds peaceably dispersed to their homes. Sir Francis Wood, however, had received information that the delegates were to meet soon after at a house on Thornhill Lees, and he determined to arrest them there. It was, of course, essential to success that nothing should appear which could give warning of this intention, and that persons in the neighbourhood should have no knowledge of it. Thorn hill Lees is a considerable distance from Barnsley, and in a different neighbourhood. It so happened that Mr. Ofifley Edmunds, an intimate personal friend of Sir F. Wood's, was captain of the Barnsley troop of Yeomanry ; and Sir F. Wood asked him if he could find a sufficient number of the men of his troop who would assist in effecting the arrest. This was soon arranged, and a number of the troop volunteered for the purpose. On the appointed day. Sir Francis Wood, Mr. Edmunds, and the yeomen in plain clothes rode over to the place of meeting, unobserved, and surrounded the house where the delegates were assembled. They were completely surprised, offered no resistance, were arrested, put into post chaises, and sent off to York. The first intimation to the public of what had occurred, also announced that they were all safely lodged in York Casde. A numerous meeting of the freeholders of the county was held at York, in consequence of a requisition to the High Sheriff", signed by the Duke of Norfolk, by Earl Fitzwilliam, the Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding, and many other noblemen and gentlemen of the first importance, at which resolutions were passed demanding an inquiry into the 22 Worthies of Barnsley. proceedings at Manchester. In consequence of the part which he took at this meeting. Lord Fitzwilliam was dismissed from the Lord Lieutenancy of the West Riding ; and Sir Francis took an active part at a meeting held at Wakefield to present to the noble Earl an address of sympathy and approbation. This meeting, which was most decided and unanimous in its proceedings, was attended by Lord Althorp, Lord Stourton, and a large body of gentry. After the great Reform Bill had passed the Commons, and the struggle had been renewed in the Lords and the Bill negatived by 199 to is8 votes, a great meeting was held at York, under the presidency of Sir Francis, as a demonstration in favour of the Bill, on which occasion Lord Milton and Mr. Fawkes, the leaders, were supported by the county members and a large body of influential persons from all parts of the county. Sir Francis, indeed, was justly considered the father of reform in the West Riding of Yorkshire ; and although he never aspired to a seat in Parliament, yet during a period of forty years he took a leading part in carrying out the principles of constitutional freedora, with a degree of sincerity, consistency, and faithfulness which can rarely find an equal. In the repeal of the Corporation and Test Acts, and in the Abolition of Negro Slavery, he toojc a most prominent part. In 1822, Sir Francis Wood, along with his eldest son, Charles Wood (now Lord Halifax), was appointed- a Com missioner on the first Improvement Act being obtained for Barnsley. Sir Francis was a fine specimen of the English country gentleman. His kindness, his courtesy, his frankness, his warmheartedness, his cheerfulness, and his generosity The Family of Wood. 23 evinced the goodness of his heart. He passed his time on his estates, attentive to the progress of agricultural improvement, and to the promotion of the comfort and prosperity of his numerous tenantry ; he participated in the pleasures of the chase with that cheerfulness and buoyancy of feeling which threw a peculiar charra over every scene in which he participated. His dress was noted for its simplicity and freedom from ostentation, and seemed, as it were, to speak of the country life in which he was wont to participate ; yet there shone through this plainness of costume the accomplished gentleman. Sir Francis died at Hickleton on the 31st December, 1846, and was buried there. By his will, which was dated 1843, his eldest son, Charles Wood, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Sir W. B. Cooke, were appointed executors. To his eldest son he left all his furniture, plate, pictures, diamonds, carriages, horses, cattle, and farming stock absolutely, as well as the residue of his property, after providing for annuities and other bequests, and directed an annuity of ;£^48 to be paid during the lives of James Murgatroyd, the schoolmaster at Hemsworth, and of his wife and son James, and to the survivor ; and he left legacies to each of his servants. Araong his relatives and acquaintances to whom he left remembrances by will were the following : — His daughter, Ann Childers, his brother, Henry Wood, his brother-in-law, W. Busfield, his nephew, Charles Armstrong, and niece, Juliet Armstrong, and Admiral Sir Charles Richardson. To his friend John Parker, Esq., M.P. for Sheffield, he left a bequest of £200, and mourning rings to his nearest relatives. Sir Francis was succeeded in the baronetcy by his eldest son, Charles Wood, who has 24 Worthies of Barnsley. become one of the most distinguished .men of the day. He was raised to the peerage as Viscount Halifax of Monk Bretton, in 1866, and has throughout his career filled many of the principal offices in the State. He was born December 20, 1800, and graduated as a Double First Class at Oriel College, Oxford, in 182 1. He was first returned to Parliament in 1826 for the borough of Great Grimsby, and exchanged that seat for Wareham in 1831. After the passing of the Reform Bill, he was elected by the newly- created borough of Halifax, which he represented for many years. His first introduction to official life was in 1830, when he was appointed private secretary to Earl Grey, whose daughter, Lady Mary, he had married the previous year. He was shortly after nominated one of the Secretaries of the Treasury, but went out of office with his party in 1834. On the return of Lord Melbourne to power, he was appointed to the post of Secretary to the Admiralty, which he held for four years ; but in 1839, following the lead of his brother-in-law. Lord Howick, he resigned his office, and quitted the ministry. Mr. Grant, in his Random Recollections of the House of Commons, 1835, pp. 233-5, says : — " Mr. Charles Wood, member for Halifax, and Secretary to the Board of Admiralty, took a very active part in the beginning of last session in opposing the government of Sir Robert Peel ; since then he has spoken but litde He is a young man, being only in his thirty- fifth year. He is married to a daughter of Earl Grey, which circumstance, and his being Secretary to the Treasury from 1832 to 1834 gave him a good deal of importance during that period in the house. . . . Mr. Wood is a good speaker. He has a fine, deep-toned, musical voice. The Family of Wood. 25 but he sometimes mismanages its intonations. He speaks with great fluency, and never hesitates or is at a loss either for ideas or for words wherewith to express them. His language is elegant, but is evidently highly laboured when he makes a set speech. He is happy in reply, and is unquestionably a man of considerable talents He is about the middle height, and well made, though somewhat slender. His face is angular, his features are regular, and his complexion of a rather darkish hue. The colour of his hair is of a deep brown." Charles Wood, however, continued to give a general sup port to Lord Melbourne's Government, and when Lord John Russell was appointed Premier in 1846, he was made Chan cellor of the Exchequer. He retired from office with his party in March, 1852, but on the formation of Lord Aberdeen's Ministry ten months later. Sir Charles (for he had now succeeded to the baronetcy) was appointed Presi dent of the Board of Control, and continued to hold this important post in the administration of Lord Palmerston till early in 1855, when he was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty, which office he held till 1858, when he resigned along with his chief, but returned to power with him in the following year, and filled the office of Secretary of State for India and President of the Indian Council until, from the effects of a serious accident,* he was compelled to resign * Sir Charles Wood met with an accident whilst hunting with Lord Hawke's hounds just before Christmas, 1865, which had well-nigh proved fatal. Sir Charles, on the occasion, was one of the foremost in the field, and was in the act of leaning forward to open a gate, when his hat fell off ; his horse being frightened, plunged violently, when its rider was thrown off, and fell against a stone wall. His head was 26 Worthies of Barnsley. in February, i866. At this period The Times, in an eulo gistic article on what might be considered the close of his long and distinguished political and official career, says : " The best proof of the solid merits of Sir Charles Wood's Administration will be found when we come to look for a successor. Where is the man possessed of that extent and variety of knowledge ; that quickness, industry, and versa tility; that acquaintance with matters financial, military, naval, judicial, and political, which will enable him to rule with a firm and unfaltering hand the mighty destinies of 150 millions of the human race. It is perhaps the weightiest trust that an English statesman can be charged with, and if it has attracted less notice than it deserved, it is mainly on account of the sterling ability and integrity with which it has been discharged. We know no one in the ranks of the present Government who can present himself with any con fidence as a worthy successor to Sir Charles Wood in the Governraent of India. His character and influence are more deeply impressed on the destiny of that country than any of his predecessors, and the new era which he has founded in the East will entitle him, probably, to a more durable place in history than will be allotted to any man of more brilliant but less solid acquirements." Sir Charles Wood was in this year elevated to the peerage under the title of Vicount Halifax, of Monk Bretton, the place from which his ancestors had sprung. On the formation of Mr. Gladstone's Governraent in 1868, his lordship was offered the Vice- injured and bled profusely, and his arm was also much hurt. He was at once removed from the field, and after comparative recovery from the shock to the system, it became necessary for him to resign the weighty and responsible office of Secretary for India. The Family of Wood. . 27 royalty of Ireland, which he declined, but in 1870 was appointed Lord Privy Seal. Of late years Lord Halifax, on account of his advanced age, has not taken so prominent a part in political life, but he has always been hstened to with attention in the House, on account of the breadth and comprehensiveness of his views, and the perfect mastery of his subject. His lordship's eldest son, the Hon. Charles Lindley Wood, is a man of considerable note. After passing through Eton, he entered Christ Church, Oxford, where he graduated with distinguished honours. At the outset of his more public life he was made Groom of the Bedchamber to the Prince of Wales, which post, however, from a high sense of honour, he resigned, on being appointed President of the English Church Union. He was born in 1839, and in 1869, married Lady Agnes Elizabeth Courteney, only daughter of the Earl of Devon. The second son, the Hon. Francis Lindley, a captain in the Royal Navy, died in 1873. The third son, the Hon. John Lindley, was aide-de-camp to Sir Garnet Wolseley in the Ashantee War, and also with Sir Garnet during his governorship of Cyprus, and served in the Zulu War in 1879. The Hon. Frederick George Lindley, the fourth son, a barrister-at-law, married in 1878, Lady Mary Susan FeUcie Lindsay, daughter of the late Earl of Crawford and Balcarres. Of his lordship's daughters, the Hon. Emily Charlotte, in 1863 married the late Hugo Francis Meynell Ingram, of Temple Newsam, near Leeds, and Hoar Cross, in Stafford shire ; the Hon. Alice Louisa, in 1870, married the Hon. John Charies Dundas, brother to the Earl of Zetland, while the Hon. Blanche Edith, in 1876, married Captain the 28 Worthies of Barnsley. Hon. Henry William Corry, M.P., ofthe Coldstreani Guards, third son of Lord Belmore. The motto of Lord Halifax is a most appropriate one — Perseverando. Speaking at a civic banquet held at the King's Head Hotel a few years ago. Lord Halifax, referring to his family connection with Barnsley, said — " It is true I have a long and hereditary connection with the town of Barnsley. In Barnsley and its neighbourhood my family rose to the position which enabled me to take my place in the House of Commons, and ultimately to take my place in the House of Lords. I have heard an old and honoured friend of mine, the late Mr. Shepherd, talk of the days when old Justice Wood was no inconsiderable person in the town of Barnsley." The Hon. Sir Ceorge Wood, Baron of the Exchequer. 29 No. IL Sir (BeorQC Moob, Baron of tbe jeycbequer, AND ^be family of Moob, of Smitbies. AVING given a brief sketch of the family of Wood, and its connection with this immediate district, we will now proceed to give the information we have been able to glean respecting Sir George Wood, a distinguished scion of that house, who was well known in the district as " Judge Wood," and who is remembered by persons still living. He descended from a younger branch of the Woods of Monk Bretton, which settled at Smithies at the beginning of the seventeenth century, the first of the family living there being John, the second son of George Wood, of " Burton Manor House." Burton was the appellation more generally applied to the township of Monk Bretton in early times ; and Smithies also invariably appeared with the prefix " Burton " Smithies. The residence of the family at Sraithies was the house close by the Old Corn Mill there — of late years converted 30 Worthies of Barnsley. into a paper mill — now belonging to the Barnsley Corpora tion, and which still shows some signs of having been a decent house in days gone by, though refronted and altered. This was the house on the estate which Sir George Wood left by will to his nephew, William Bayldon, a Quaker, formerly of Barnsley, and which was sold by his executors ; and was Sir George Wood's ancestral estate, inherited from his father. On various parts of this property were formerly initials and dates relating to various members of the faraily by whom it had been erected, as for instance over the mill door was — I 6 I 7 . W. G. I. Over the malthouse door — I 6 3 I . G. W. (George Wood). Over the garden door — I. 1699. W. (John Wood). And on another of the outbuildings — J S W 17— (John and Susannah Wood). In the Roystone parish register we find a curious entry in i6s4, in the time of the Commonwealth, relating to the family, in one of the marriages of that period, when John Wood was raarried in accordance with the formula of the Act of Pariiament then in vogue. The extract relating to this marriage will be interesting, not only from its connection with the family, but as showing the manner in which these The Family of Wood. 31 Commonwealth marriages were solemnised. It is as follows : — " i6S4. — John Wood, of Burton Smythes, and Susanna Pitt, hath been published three severall Lords Dayes in the P'sh. Church [of Roystone], according to the late Act of Parliament, and afterwards marrayage was soloraynized the xxth day of February, before Richard Tolson, Esq. [of Wath], a Justice of the Peace, in the presence of Robert Pitt and George Warren, two credible witnesses, according to the said Act of Parliament in that case made and provided. — (Signed) Rich : Tolson." " According to the Act," marriages at this period had to be published on three successive Sundays in the parish church : or in the Market Place on three successive market days, as the parties might choose. Some preferred one and some the other of these modes of procedure ; and many were the publications of banns raade from the market cross at Barnsley, of which the following is an illustration : — " i6s7. — Thomas Stringer and Elizabeth Wilson were three severall markett dayes published at the public markett crosse, in Barnsley, according to the late Act of Parliament, and marriage was afterwards solemnized betwixt the said Thomas and Elizabeth the xxvi day of November, according to ye Act." And again — " 1654. — John Wood, of Burton, and Mary Leadbeater, of Cudworth, in ye Parish of Roystone, were published by ye Register of Barnesley [Richard Wylde] upon three severall markitt dayes, and were maryed ye 29th day of June, by Darcy Wentworth." In the same year we find, " George Wood, of Smythes, being slain, was buried the 7th day of November, 1654." 32 Worthies of Barnsley. This George Wood came to his death through violence, at St. Helen's Well, in the parish of Cariton. John Hobson, in his Diary {Yorkshire Diaries, Surtees Society,* Ixv., p. 283) gives a traditionary account of the affair; and the Vicar of Roystone, in a letter to his son, Baron Wood, giving some genealogical information respecting his family, also alludes to this occurrence in the following manner : — •" I look upon George Wood to be my father's uncle, and consequently my great uncle ; and ye traditionary account, which I heard 64 years ago, in my infancy, confirms it, for I was frequently told that my uncle George was ye stoutest, well-built raan in ye country, and he would challenge any one at wrestling, pitching the iron, &c., &c. ; that he was caressed by all ye nobility and gentry round about, and had liberty to hunt, shoot, and fish wherever he pleased ; that he was an alert and eager sportsraan ; and as he was pursuing ye hounds on foot, through Sir Francis Wortley's gardens at St. Helen's Well, ye gardener struck him with a spade and fractured his skull, of which he immediately died; and (according to ye superstition of these times) * Hobson gives a different version of this affair. After stating, under date 19th August, 1728, that Mr. Northall, who had been 60 years in the employ of the Wortley family, and lived at St. Helen's Well, as gamekeeper, he continues : "At the same time there lived there a young woman, mother to Dame Walker, of Pilley. One Wood, of Burton Smithies, made love to her, whereupon two of Sir Francis Wortley's servants (one of them called Lapish) quarrelled with him, and one of them clove Wood's head with a spade in the court at St. Helen's. They were sent to York, and at the intercession of Sir Francis, came off. It was said that they pretended Wood was attempting to ravish her, so they cleared themselves by saying that what they did was in defence of the young woman." The Family of Wood. 33 they said ye house was haunted, and no one durst live in it for years. I could tell you, too, what has been seen and heard, but strength of iraagination can raise wonders.'' In 1667, "John Wood, of Burton Sraithies, was buried ."Xpril ye 27th."* In 1692, George Wood, his successor, "was buried March ye ix." In 1690, George, the son of George Wood, of Smithies, was buried Deceraber ye xxi ;" " Anne Wainwright, of Sraithies, made oath ye 23rd day of December, before Williara Denton, curate of Barnsley, that he was buried onely in woollen, according to ye Act of Parliament. " t In 1687, James, son of George Wood, of " Smithys," was also buried in woollen. There are many other entries of members of the faraily, but we pass on to the year 1704, when we find that George, the son of Mr. John ¦\\'ood, of Burton Smithies, was bap tized. This was the father of Baron Wood, afterwards Vicar of Roystone, a living which he enjoyed for a period of S2 years. The father and mother of the vicar, and grandfather and grandmother of the Baron, we find died in 1707 and 1720 respectively, as will be seen from the following extracts : — " 1707. — Susanna, ye wife of Mr. John Wood, of Burton Smithies, was buryed ye ist day of June." " 1720. — Mr. John Wood, of Burton Smithies, was buried May ye 29th." The Vicar of Roystone, it will be seen, lost his mother * In the Roystone Churchwardens' Accounts there is tlie entiy — " 1667. Received for ye buriall of John Wood, of Burton Smithies, in ye Church, oil. 03J. 041/." t William Wood, of Hemsworth. clerk, Master of the Grammar School there, in his will, dated 1689, mentions his uncle, Thomas Wood, of Hemsworth, deceased, and George Wood, son of George Wood, of Smithies, his nephew. 4 34 Worthies of Barnsley. when only three years of age, and his father also, when he was comparatively young. He, however, received a good education, and was presented to the Vicarage of Roystone, which is in the gift of the Archbishop of York, when about 25 years of age. On the 17th June, 1740, he married Jane, daughter of John Matson, Esq., of the Manor House, Roystone, one of the principal families of gentry in the district, and they lived together happily for a period of 38 years.* His wife's mother, who was buried at Roystone, and to whose memory a tablet is erected in the church, was a daughter of Thomas Birkhead, of Wakefield, who appears on the Newland Court Rolls for at least 40 years as a juror, usually as first man on the panel. He was a most useful and active man in his time. The Manor House at Roy stone was built by John Matson, who owned lands in Roystone which, in after years, were purchased, along with the Manor House, by Baron Wood. The vicar had a large family— 21 or 22 children — only six of whoni grew up — George, Thomas, and John, and three daughters — and after living to a good old age, in peace and harraony with his parishioners, he died in 1781, as the following extracts will show : — "The Rev. George Wood, upwards of 52 years vicar of * "1718. — Paid to Mr. Wm. Matson for renewing the deeds for Billingley and Cudworth, Sexton's Rents, and . other business done by him for the parishioners 03/. ooj. ood. " — Roystone Townes Book. "Mr, John Matson, of Roystone, and Mrs. Elizabeth Wordsworth, of the New Laithes, were married Dec. 14, 1735." — Roystone Parish Register. At the election for the county of York in 1741, George Wood, vicar of Roystone, and John Matson, his father-in-law, voted for Cholmley Turner. The Family of Wood. 35 Royston, died June Sth, in his 77th year, was buried June 19th." His wife had predeceased him three years. " 1778, Jane, wife of George Wood, vicar of Royston, died of a complication of disorders, Oct. 19th, and was buried Oct. 20th." In Roystone Church is a tablet, with the following inscription : — "In memory of George Wood, A.B., who died 17th June, 1781, aged 76. Also Jane, his wife, who died 19th Oct., 1778, aged s6; also of four children, John, Francis, Joel, and William, who all died in their infancy." A second John among the vicar's sons eraigrated to America, and became a merchant in East Florida. The day before his departure from Roystone he planted a tree in the grounds adjoining the vicarage, but now (1883) forming part of the churchyard, which is still growing there. He settled in America and had a son, George, who came to England, and whom Baron Wood, his uncle, sent to Cambridge University, and would have adopted, but he shortened his days by dissipation. John Wood married a daughter of Mr. Johnson, of Savannah, in Georgia, and had also a daughter, who married a Mr. Pratt, some of whose descendants are still living in America. Thomas, another of the vicar's sons, was of Moor Grange, in the East Riding of Yorkshire. He was at one time a merchant, and took out cargoes of goods for sale to China and other countries. He was afterwards in the East India Company's service, and having a sunstroke, came home incapacitated for business. George, the judge, who forms the principal feature in this sketch, was the vicar's eldest son. The date of his birth, as 36 Worthies of Barnsley. given in Foss's Lives of the Judges, 1740, is incorrect, as will be seen from the following extract from the parish register at Roystone : — " 1 743.4. George, the son of Mr. George Wood, vicar of Royston, was born the 13th of February, and bap. March the 14th." Instead of being 81 years of age, as stated by Foss, the Baron would be only 78 at the time of his death. George Wood was educated at the Roystone Grammar School, and at the usual age was articled to Mr. West, of Cawthorne, a noted lawyer of his day, who had a large country practice, and had among his clients some of the principal families of gentry in his district.* George Wood had for fellow-clerks, Wra. Elrahirst, Esq., of Ouslethwaite, who died in 1821, and Mr. Jonas Clarke, of Barnsley. It has been said that the Baron was articled to Mr. West, of Barnsley, but this is incorrect. Nevertheless there was a Mr. Jonathan West, an * "April 29th, 1795. Jonathan West, of Cawthorne, gentleman, and barrister-at-law, died. He was the son of Jonathan and Dorothy West, of Norcroft, and his remains were interred in Cawthorne Churchyard, in a spot of his own selection. On the 15th June, 1793, died Jonathan West, of Barnsley, aged 42. He was the son of Thomas and Ann West, of Norcroft. In that part of Barnsley now known as Beckett- square stood his residence. This house still exists, and may be known by its large size. A family named Hirst afterwards lived many years in part of it. In Lawyer West's time it had a grass lawn in front, walled round, and a kitchen-garden behind. The house was approached by an old-fashioned bridge, which crossed the small river Sough, better known now as " Sough Dyke," which was then a clear and picturesque stream. When Lawyer West left this residence he occupied the house vacated by Mr^ Leatham (now occupied by Mr. Bamforth), at the top of Old MiU Lane. The remains of Lawyer West were interred af Cawthorne." — Burland's Notes. The Family of Wood. 37 attorney, at Barnsley, who resided and had his offices in Beckett-square. This Jonathan West, of Barnsley, was a relation of the Jonathan West of Cawthorne, and itis possible that there might be transactions and communicadons between the two offices, which might often bring George Wood to Barnsley to this establishment, and thus give rise to the re port. While at Cawthorne, George Wood seeras to have got into high favour with Mr. West, who uniformly bore the most flattering testiraony to his abilities and industry, frequently holding him .up, in the latter respect, as an example worthy the imitation of his fellow-clerks. His attention to the duties of his office was most assiduous, and his propensity to close study, at this period, gave strong indications that his charac ter was by no means of an ordinary cast. Mr. West seems to have possessed a considerable share of discernment ; for he is said to have frequently prognosticated that ' ' George Wood would one day be a judge;" and it was at his urgent request that his pupil was at length induced to exchange the monotonous drudgery of a provincial solicitor's office for the metropolis, where his prospects would be brighter, and his talents more congenially exerted and better appreciated, and with what success our readers will learn. On his arrival in London he pursued the usual course of preparation at the Middle Temple, and afterwards comraenced as a special pleader on his own account. He eventually got into full practice, and established such a reputation that pupils flocked to him. In the latter part of the last century a student in tended for the comraon law courts was expected to work at least two years in the office of a special pleader, copying precedents, drawing declarations and pleas, and having an opportunity of seeing the run of his raaster's business, 38 Worthies of Barnsley. paying two or three hundred guineas for the course of study. The labours of "Pupils in Charabers" are thus noticed in the Pleader's Guide, 1796 : — " And, better to improve your taste. Are by your parents' fondness plac'd Araongst the blest, the chosen few (Blest if their happiness they knew). Who for three hundred guineas paid To some great master of the trade. Have at his rooms by special favour His leave to use their best endeavour. By drawing pleas from nine till four. To earn him twice three hundred more ; And after dinner may repair To foresaid rooms, and then and there Have ' foresaid leave, from five till ten. To draw th' aforesaid pleas again.' " George Wood was afterwards designated by Campbell, in his Lives of the Chief Justices, " the great master of special pleading, who had initiated into his art the most eminent lawyers of that generation. Among these was Mr. Law, after wards Lord Ellenborough, who by great interest obtained a desk with Wood, and he could," says Campbell, " soon recite the ' money counts ' as readily as his favourite poem. He continued working very hard as a special pleading pupil for two years. During this period he not only grew to be a great favourite with his instructor, but the attorneys who frequented Mr. Wood's chambers became acquainted with his assiduity and skill. The pleadings settled by Mr. Wood, and the opinions signed by him, were generally written in a very large, bold, pot hook hand, which they discovered to be Mr. Law's; and although he was too independent and honourable to resort to any evil arts for the purpose of ingratiating The Family of Wood. 39 himself, and he was chargeable rather with hauteur than with buggery, he sometiraes got into conversation with the attorneys, and he raised in their minds a very high opinion of his proficiency as well as of his industry." "He studied the mysteries of special pleading for two years, and we may form a lively opinion of his habits and his sen timents at this period from a letter which, at the conclusion of a sitting of many hours in Mr. Wood's charabers he wrote to his friend Coxe, then a private tutor to a young nobleraan, in which his untiring industry and ambition are evinced. "Another distinguished pupil of George Wood's was Charles Abbot, afterwards Lord Tenterden, who, resolved to carry away a good pennyworth for the fee which he paid, worked night and day ; he seeraed intuitively to catch an accurate knowledge of all the raost abstruse mysteries of the Doctrina Placitandi, and he was supposed more rapidly to have qualified himself to practise than any man before or since. The great model of perfection in this line, in giving an account of his status pupillaris under the eminent special pleader, Tom Tewksbury, sings : ' Three years I sat his smoky room in. Pens, paper, ink and pounce consuming.' " But at the end of one year Abbot was told that he could gain nothing more by quill driving under an instructor. He commenced special pleading on his own account, and soon became famous." The Hon. Thomas Erskine, afterwards Lord Erskine, whom Lord Brougham calls the greatest advocate, as well as the first forensic orator who ever appeared in any age, was a pupil of Mr. Wood's, and was ever mentioned by him with strong expressions of a very natural pride. 40 Worthies of Barnsley. "John Williams, afterwards the eminent Serjeant at Law, annotator of Saunders's Reports, and leader of the Oxford Circuit, was early initiated into the mysteries of George Wood's office. In the love of precedents both master and pupil luxuriated. What the master might have done on this score we can only conjecture. It must have been on a large scale. But we are told that Williams collected twelve folio volumes of these forms, which he wrote in an excellent and clear hand, and which are still in the possession of his descendants. To these he added conveyancing pre cedents. They were the more valuable as there were no Chittys nor Bythewoods in those days. Every practitioner depended on his own MS. resources. It is not to be wondered at that these men of raany pleadings amalgamated. Wood treated the promising student with much regard, and Williams' sagacity enabled him to reverence one who could deal easily with so many tangled webs." "These more than Eleusinian mysteries have since been rauch unravelled through the labours of such raen as Brougham ; but still forensic history is bound to the state ment, that whilst there might not have been more than from four to six special pleaders when Wood flourished, a number quite equal to fifty now annually avail themselves of the Government certificate, and several of them earn a lucrative income with an eye to future prosperity at the bar. So strong was the intimacy between the ' Doctor and Student,' that it became a rule and habit for the latter to dine every Easter Monday with Baron Wood."*" * Lives of Eminent Serjeants at I.aw, by H. W. Woolrych. Vol. ii., pp. 682-3. The Family of Wood. 41 The distinguished Mr. Scarlett, afterwards Lord Abinger, the friend of Romilly, in 1790 entered Mr. Wood's chambers, and in his autobiography thus speaks of his fellow pupils and Mr. Wood : — "Among his pupils at that time were Mr. Lushington, an intimate friend of mine, who was afterwards a judge at Ceylon, and having resigned that office, was appointed Master of the Crown Office, under his uncle Lord Ellenborough ; Mr. Trench, since Lord Clancarty, who had been a fellow commoner of St. John's, and one of my acquaintance in the University ; and Mr. Sturges Bourne, who was afterwards Secretary of State for the Horae Departraent, under Mr. Canning's adrainistra tion, a gentleman of distinguished talent and polished manners. I had not been long in the office before Mr. Wood discovered that I had some proficiency, and under stood more of the business than a mere tyro. He did not take much trouble with his pupils, but left thera to learn, by the alterations he made in their drafts, the rules and principles of the science. I soon found, however, that he had acquired some confidence in me. He sent me the difficult cases to deal with, and occasionally, when I had no precedent exactly in point, and took my own course, he would send for me into his own chamber, and explain why he made certain alterations, and refer me to cases where I might find a principle, though not an exact precedent. The facility and confidence I had acquired by my previous reading enabled me to despatch the business put into my hands more rapidly than my colleagues ; and I believe I may say with truth that, after I had been three months in the office, the greater part of the whole business was done by myself I was called to the bar in the month of June, 42 Worthies of Barnsley. 1 79 1, some months before the year of my pupilage expired. Frora that time, though I continued to do all the work sent to me by Mr. Wood, I ceased to visit his office, and sur rendered my place to George Canning, with whom I then formed a slight acquaintance, little imagining that I should one day become his intimate friend and zealous sup porter. I did not know an attorney by sight, with the exception of two or three whom I had seen occasionally in Wood's office, but whose naraes were altogether unknown to me. I took the Northern Circuit. My first circuit produced nothing but two or three accidental briefs, which fell to me as the junior, and one other which was due to my industry in Wood's office. It was a very complicated case, in which I had been trusted to draw the pleadings. As soon as I arrived in Carlisle, a brief was brought to me, with a statement that the agent had been instructed to seek some special pleader on the circuit who could give assis tance to Mr. Wood in the cause, and that he had returned for answer that no one could do it better than the gentle man who had prepared the pleadings under Mr. Wood's inspection. I entertained some doubts ¦yvhether this was a legitimate mode of acquiring business, but these were soon removed by my old master. Wood, who, upon my represent ing them to him, said that nothing could be more honourable to me." In fact, so great was Mr. Wood's celebrity as a master of the science, that when he was called to the Bar he was engaged on the part of the Crown in all the State prosecu tions, commencing in December, 1792. He joined the Northern Circuit, and was as successful in his practice in the country as he was in Westminster Hall. Campbell, The Family of Wood. 43 in his Lives of the Chief Justices, vol. 6, p. 100, says of him, " The most distinguished instructor in this line at that time, 1773-5, '"'as George Wood, on whom Lord Mansfield made the celebrated special pleading joke about his horse demurring when he should have gone to the country." In a note to this, Carapbell adds, "George, though a subtle pleader, was very ignorant of horse flesh, and had been cruelly cheated in the purchase of a horse which he intended to ride the circuit. He brought an action on the warranty that the horse was a good roadster and free from vice.'' At the trial before Lord Mansfield, it appeared that when the plaintiff mounted at the stables in London, with the intention of proceeding to Barnet, nothing could induce the animal to move forward a single step. On hearing this evidence, the Chief Justice, with much gravity, exclaimed, " Who would have supposed that Mr. Wood's horse would have demurred when he ought to have gone to the country V " Any attempt to explain this excellent joke to lay gents,'' says Campbell, " would be vain, and to lawyers would be superfluous." Upon the Northern Circuit in former days, there was nothing more remarkable than the terms of intimacy in which the counsel who went it, lived together. Mr. Wood and Mr. Holroyd (both of whora were afterwards raised to the Bench) when crossing Finchley Common on their way to join the Northern Circuit, were stopped by a " gentleman " of fashionable appearance, who rode up to the side of the carriage and begged to know "what o'clock it was." Favourably impressed by the stranger's appearance and tone of voice. Wood pulled out his valuable gold repeater, when the highwayman, presenting a pistol and putting it on the cock, 44 Worthies of Barnsley. said coolly, "As you have a watch, be kind enough to give it rae. so that I raay not have occasion to trouble you again about the time." To demur was impossible ; the lawyer, therefore, who had met his disaster by going to the country, meekly subraitted to circumstances and surrendered the watch. For the loss of an excellent gold repeater he cared little, but he winced under the banter of his professional brethren, who, long after the occurrence, used to smile with malicious significance as they accosted him with, " What's the time. Wood ? " At a subsequent period of the same assizes, some articles were produced in court that had been taken on some thief or other. Amongst them was a very large silver watch — a regular " turnip." One of the counsel raised great laughter by leaning over to Mr. _Wood and remarking audibly, " By the way, brother Wood, you lost a watch, did you not ? Is this yours, do you think ? " handing him over for inspection the great silver one. The reader may imagine the amusement the sally provoked. This anecdote is a true one; and so annoyed was Mr. Wood at being robbed that he would never again have a gold watch. To the day of his death, we are told by a relation of his, he wore a pinchbeck one. " No thief should ever get a gold watch from him again," he said. Alluding to his friendship with Mr. Holroyd, Mr. Greenwood, in a poem entitled The Bar, with Sketches of Eminent Judges, Barristers, &-c., S-f., 1826, p. 118, has the following : — " In solid worth, and learning near akin. Rough as two pines without, as sweet within, Holroyd with mind like glass without a flaw, And Wood a ' neat compendium ' of the law. The Family of Wood. 45 (A compound image he, like that of old,* Fashioned with feet of clay — but head of gold !) True as the season came ' pair'd off' from town, And here in friendly union posted down. So, as is sung or said in verse or prose, Brentford's two kings march'd smelling at one rose." Mr. Bayldon, who died not long ago at the advanced age of 94, at Horbury, for many years a solicitor in York, who knew Baron Wood personally, and has often seen him in court, tells a good story about his being determined to have a case finished before the court rose (for he wanted to go on to Durhara to open the assize there next day), and not only sitting himself, but keeping all the trumpet men and halberdiers in court also ; for, as the representative of His Majesty, he would not dispense with any due state and ceremony. It was a famous Yorkshire will case, and it was long past raid night before the jury could agree. At last they did agree, and the court broke up about three o'clock in the morning. The good citizens of York, awoke out of their sleep by the trumpeters as the Baron's procession carae through the streets at this unearthly hour, for the moment thought that a judgment day of a far more fearful character had come upon them ! Mr. Bayldon says the Baron's frightening the people of York was laughed about for long afterwards. Baron Wood, though a grave, stern man, could be jocular on occasions. Once, when as a barrister attending York Assizes, he was terribly bitten at his lodgings by bugs. He captured some to show to the landlady next morning. Of * Feet of clay — but head of gold ! refers to the gout with which the baron was much afflicted. 46 Worthies of Barnsley. course she avowed there were no such things in her house. However, Mr. Wood showed her those he had caught. " Well," she exclaimed, " I am sure I did not know I had a single one about the place." " Indeed ma'am," replied Mr. Wood, " and I fancy you are right, for I fully believe they are all married, and have very large families." The Baron amassed a large fortune ; the bulk of his money he made while a barrister, and especially from his " opinions " and Chamber practice generally (especially in questions of tithes, which in those days were very litigious matters), for the Baron was no speaker ; he was essentially a lawyer, and his epitaph in the triforium of the Temple Church, which we give, is a very appropriate one ; yet he had a good deal of property which came to him by inheritance. Amongst others, a relative of his mother's, a Rev. Thomas Matson, vicar of Hunmanby, near Filey, left him several thousand pounds. This Mr. Matson once in his lifetime ^yanted a few hundred pounds. He went among his relatives, including the Baron's father, and asked thera to lend it him. They declined. Mr. George Wood, then a rising young barrister, taking a more hopeful view of the case than his father and other relatives did, lent him the money ; and when the Vicar of Hunmanby died he left nearly the whole of his property to the future Baron ; stating that he did so because he was the only one who would help him when he needed help. A character so distinguished for legal erudition was not likely to remain long neglected by those whose duty it was to supply the vacancies on the bench ; but it has been said that Mr. Wood would have been made a judge years before he was, but that his political opinions were " not The Family of Wood. 47 quite satisfactory" to Lord Eldon, who in those days " ruled the roost," and when at last his long-deferred promotion came, it was solely owing to his ability and merit as a lawyer. He was made a Baron of the Exchequer in April, 1807, and knighted soon after. He performed his judicial functions for nearly sixteen years, with great advantage to the com munity, and with all the credit to himself which was anticipated from his previous career.* Baron Wood always selected (and as he was a Yorkshire- man the other judges who had a prior right of choice by seniority, kindly gave way to him in this matter) the Northern Circuit when the Judges went on the summer assize. When the circuit was concluded, Lancaster being the last place, the Baron always came and spent about two months araongst his Yorkshire relatives and tenants. Four or five weeks of this time were always spent by him and Lady Wood at Roystone, at the Manor House, where his favourite sister, Susannah, who had married Mr. Richard Bayldon, lived. From thence he used to visit and dine with Earl Fitzwilliam, Sir Francis Wood, of Hemsworth (his kinsman), and other grandees of the neighbourhood. His stay in Roystone was the event of the year for that village, where he was held in wonderful reverence and awe. He " put them all to rights," as the saying is, when he came amongst them, and settled many a dispute "out of court!" His word was " law,'' and no mistake ! Persons still living remeraber the * Mr. Heath Bennett, in his Select Sketches from the Note Books ofa Law Reporter, p. 5, gives among the more prominent judges the names of Barons Graham. Hobart, Thompson, and Wood, called at the Bar "The Four Boxes." These four were "Chatter-box," "Snuff-box," " Band-box," and " Tinder-box." 48 Worthies of Barnsley. Baron, who was an eminently social and agreeable man, and fondly cherished early recollections of his native village.* One old lady now living tells us that she still retains a most vivid recollection of the Baron as he appeared during his visits to the Manor House. There he sat in a recess in the roora gazing with interest on the lively scene after dancing commenced, and when it was drawing late he would pull out his watch — the famous "pinch beck " — and exclaim, " What's the clock ? " which was a hint that it was time for the proceedings to terminate. Araong some relics of the Baron's which came to Roystone after his death were his cocked hat, wig, and robes, which were long regarded as articles of great curiosity. That the Baron was a man of kind heart and fine feelings is evidenced by the following fact, well known in the family. He could not sleep at all on the night after he had, for the first time, as judge, to pass sentence of death on a criminal. His mind was so affected by it that he was all the night long restless and sleepless, thinking of the poor wretch he had had to "sentence." The Baron had by no means a pre possessing appearance or address. A diminutive stature, dark complexion, and uncommonly flat features, were what nature had assigned him. He retained much of the characteristic bluntness, as well as honesty, of the York- shireman. As to intellectual peculiarities, his judgment was more perfect than his perception. In taking notes he was * "Oct. 9, 1819. Baron Wood and his lady arrived at Roystone, the place of his Lordship's nativity, where they spent a few days. His Lordship was in much better health than he had been for some time back. On leaving Roystone his Lordship proceeded to town, prepara tory tothe duties of the ensuing Michaelmas te-n-m." —Local paper. The Family of Wood. 49 rather slow, and did not, at least very soon, evince that he was in possession of the clue to an abstruse question. His studies were well directed and perseveringly pursued. He was always considered a very sound judge, and his decisions were always treated with the utmost respect by the whole judicial bench. Baron Wood was not, like Mr. Justice Best, and Mr. Justice Parke, shorn of a dazzling attribute by a removal from the Bar. He was never an orator, and his dialect was strongly provincial. Until the period of his elevation to the Bench, he practised nearly altogether as Junior Counsel, and in arguing special matters before the Courts. He had for several years laboured under repeated attacks of the gout, and the infirmities of age advanced rapidly upon hira. He did not, however, sink under the burden which he began to feel so oppressive, but generally afforded to all parties a patient hearing, and always an irapartial trial. The Baron, who had gained for himself amongst his brethren the honourable appellation of The Father of the English Bar, was a sound lawyer, and had many judicial virtues, araong which were great patience and attention to the cases that came under his review, and an inflexible determination to resist any contagion from the prejudices of others. It was this eminently useful quality which saved the life of a man convicted capitally at Durham for a robbery and murder, of which it was afterwards proved that he was not guilty. The prejudice, as well as the apparent proof, ran strong against him ; but Baron Wood was not satisfied with the evidence, and (though he stood almost alone in that opinion, of all who had heard the trial, so strong was .the prejudice of the proof) he, happily for the cause of justice, 5 50 Worthies of Barnsley. saved the innocent man from execution, to the scarcely disguised dissatisfaction of some of the most distinguished individuals in that part of the country, who were naturally inflamed by the enormity of the crime alleged against the supposed criminal. Leigh Hunt, the editor of the Examiner newspaper, was on one occasion tried before Lord Ellenborough on a charge of libel, which was based on an article against flogging in the army, which had appeared in the Examiner. He was ac- quittefl, the acquittal having been mainly brought about by the eloquence of Mr. Brougham ; but in spite of Mr. Brougham's efforts, another client was convicted at Lincoln, before Baron Wood, for publishing the same libel in a coun try newspaper.* Samuel Bamford, who was tried along with a number of other Radicals, at the Lancaster Assizes, in September, 1819, before Baron Wood, thus describes him in his Passages in the Life of a Radical : — " Before us, and somewhat elevated, sat the judge, a man of venerable years, clothed in a long robe of bright scarlet and ermine, with a flowing white wig, and a countenance of rough, blunt mould, and with a look like that of a surly old lion, at once stern, wilful, and magnani mous ; this was the venerable Baron Wood." Henry Crabb Robinson, in his Reminiscences, vol. ii., pp. 40-41, thus alludes to the Baron : — "At the Spring Assizes we had Baron Wood, a judge who was remarkable for his popular feelings. He was praised by some of our Radicals for being always against the Church and King. In one case he exhibited a very strong moral feeUng, which, perhaps, * Lives ofthe Chief Justices, Campbell, vol. iii., p. 201. The Family of Wood. 51 betrayed him to an excess. He had a very honourable dislike to prosecutions or actions on the Game Laws, and this led him to make use of a strong expedient to defeat two actions. A and B had gone out sporting together. The plaintiff brought two actions, and in the action against B called A to prove the sporting by B, and raeant to call B to prove the case against A. This was apparent— indeed avowed. But the Baron interposed, when the witness objected to answer a question that tended to convict himself. A squabble arising between the counsel, the Baron said to the witness, ' I do not ask you whether you ever went out sporting with the defen dant, because, if I did, you would very properly refuse to answer. But I ask you this : Except at a tirae when you might have been sporting with the defendant, did you ever see him sport?' ' Certainly not, my Lord.' ' Of course you did not' Then the Baron laughed heartily, and non-suited the plaintiff. No motion was made to set this nonsuit aside.'' At the July Assizes, at York, in 1820, Baron Wood earned for himself the title of " The Righteous Judge," and it is to his credit that the manner in which he conducted the trials of the " State prisoners," as they were pompously called, con tributed not a little to the settlement of disturbed minds, and to disabuse ill-informed persons of the prejudices they had entertained against the tribunals of the country. The effect was that Baron Wood was on this occasion the object of general admiration, and his conduct was highly applauded. x\t this time the law would appear to have been strained, and every effort made by the authorities to get a conviction. An overdrawn account of some disturbances had appeared in a local paper, and this was copied into the Treasury journals 5 2 Worthies of Barnsley. on the eve of the assizes, and under these circumstances well might his lordship caution the jury to not allow their minds to be influenced by anything they had read or heard. The evidence previously taken was produced but tardily, and the penetrating eye of Baron Wood soon discovered that one witness — Sarauel Wimpenny — had sworn one thing before the magistrates and another before the court, and this con tradiction on a point of essential iraportance was very pro perly deemed by his lordship fatal to the witness's testimony. The trials excited great interest throughout the country ; the court was densely crowded. Lord Fitzwilliam, the lord-lieu tenant of the West Riding, being present during the pro ceedings. Out of twenty-four persons prosecuted eleven were discharged, no bills being found against them ; ten were found not guilty, one liberated on bail, leaving only two of the whole number in confinement, and these had been de tained without trial by authority of State warrants under the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act. The jury, after a quarter of an hour's deliberation, found the prisoners not guilty, and his lordship, in discharging them, cautioned them as to their future conduct ; and the result showed that what ever might have been the disposition of any of the accused be fore they were sent to York, it was evident'they had availed themselves ofthe advice of " The Righteous Judge," for when set at liberty, on their return to Huddersfield there was no indication of tumult and excess, although they were met by imraense numbers of persons. To show the judicial changes which have taken place since 1820, we may state tliat at the assizes at York in that year, Baron Wood passed sentence of death on eleven persons, including one for rape, five for burglary, two for The Family of Wood. 53 highway robbery, one for horse stealing, and one for robbery in a dwelling-house. How many, or whether any of these persons were really executed, we cannot say. In 1823 Baron Wood retired frora the Bench, and was succeeded by Mr. Serjeant HuUock. He died on the 7th July, 1824, seventeen months after his retirement, leaving behind him a fortune which the newspapers of the day estimated at nearly ^^300,000, acquired by great exertion and labour in his profession, the bulk of which devolved upon his relatives in the neighbourhood of Roystone, comprising chiefly his sisters, and nephews, and nieces. The remains of his lordship were removed from his house in Bedford Square for interment in the vault belonging to the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, in the Temple Church. In the triforium of that edifice, among many memorials to distinguished worth, is a marble tablet, with the following inscription to his memory : — " Sacred to the memory of SIR GEORGE WOOD, KNIGHT, late one of the Barons of His Majesty's Court of Exchequer, who died on the 7th day of July, in the year of our Lord, 1824, Having, during the course of a long professional life been particularly distinguished for his profound knowledge of the principles and practice of the law of England." The burial register of the Temple Church also contains the following entry : — 54 Worthies of Barnsley. " Wood. — Sir George Wood Knt : heretofore one of the Barons of His Majesty's Court of Exchequer, and formerly one of the Masters of the Bench of the Honble Society of the Middle Temple, died 6th July, 1824, and was buried in the Middle Temple vault on the 14th ofthe same month, aged 81 years, by W. H. Rowlett, reader." The above is a true copy made this ^ist day of May, 1872, by me, Chas. J. Vaughan, D.D., Master of the Temple. To his widow he bequeathed the dividends of ^^5°)°°° three per cent. Consolidated Bank Annuities for life, with his house in Bedford Square, and with the use of all his furniture, plate, china, pictures, and books (except law books, State Trials, Domesday Book, Dugdales' Monasticon, Grose's Antiquities, and other books of antiquities, and these he bequeathed to Mr. Wm. Allen, of Malton, who had married one of his nieces), hoping his widow would throughout continue her usual kindness td her sister Reeve. In the event of the death or marriage of his widow, he bequeathed to Mrs. Reeve ;^3,5oo Bank Annuities for life. To his brother, John Wood, the Baron left an annuity of j^soo, to be charged upon his estate at Mowthorpe, and in the event of John's death, ^£"200 a year to his (John's) widow, and ;^2oo to his daughter. To hi§ sister, Susannah Bayldon, ;^ioo a year, to be paid out of the estate devised to her son, John Bayldon ; after her death the said annuity to go to Mr. William Allen, who had married testator's late niece, Susannah Bayldon. On the death of his brother John, testator leaves to his The Family of Wood. 55 nephew, Daniel Bayldon, and Mr. Thos. Cook (the latter of whom had married his (testator's) niece, (Frances or Fanny Bayldon), ;^ioo each per annum, for life. And, subject to the said annuities, testator bequeathed all his messuages, lands, tenements, tithes, and heredita ments at Mowthorpe, Duggleby, Kirkby, Grindalyth, etc., unto his nephews, Thomas Bayldon and John Bayldon, and their heirs for ever, to be equally divided between them as tenants in common. All testator's messuages, cottages, mills, lands, tenements, and hereditaments at Monk Bretton, otherwise Burton, and Barnsley, and all leasehold property he held under the trustees of the Sheffield Hospital, and all his shares in the Barnsley Canal Navigation, he left to William Bayldon absolutely, subject to a rent charge of ^100 a year to George Bayldon (Williara's brother). The Manor of Roystone, and other land and property there situate, including the allotment lately purchased of the Duchy of Lancaster (excepting the land which his brother- in-law, John Stocks, occupied), testator left to his brother- in-law, Richard Bayldon, and Susannah, his wife, and the longer Uver of them, and after their death to their son, John Bayldon, for ever, subject to ;^i,ooo, which he gives to his (John's) brother, Richard. The land in Roystone, occupied by his brother-in-law, John Stocks, testator bequeathed to hira and his wife, and the longer liver, afterwards to their son, Joseph Bayldon. His estates in Cudworth, as well as those purchased of Mr. Wentworth, and the Coramissioners of his Majesty's Woods and Forests, and land revenues, testator bequeathed to John Guest, and Jane, his wife. 56 Worthies of Barnsley. To his nephew, John Stocks (who had managed the Baron's farm at Moor Grange), he left his estates there, chargeable with an annuity of ;^2oo to his (John's) mother, and ;^2oo a year to Joseph Stocks, and his wife ; to the above John Stocks he also left all his household goods, stock, farming utensils, etc., at Moor Grange. The Baron also left the large sum of ^60,000 three per cent. Bank Annuities for the payment of the following legacies : — ;^io,ooo to his niece, Louisa Bayldon ; ;^5,ooo to his brother John's daughter; ^^5,000 to his nephew, Daniel Bayldon; ^^5,000 to his niece, Fanny Cook; ;^S'°oo to his niece, CaroUne Baker ; ;^Sj°°° to his niece, Elizabeth Bayldon; ;^s,ooo to the children of his late niece, Susannah AUen ; ^6,000 to his niece, Abigail Stocks; ^5,000 to his nephew, Joseph Stocks ; and ^4,000 residue to his niece, Elizabeth Hawkins. To his servants testator left the following annuities : — Thomas Day, ;^4S a year for life; John Hadrell, ^^25 a year ; Sarah Taylor, ;!^3o a year ; Sarah Goaler, ^30 a year ; to the undermaid, who should be living with him at the time of his death, a legacy. of £,ig 19s. od. ; to Mary Arksey, who cooked for him at Moor Grange, ;^io a year ; all his servants to be furnished with mourning. Baron Wood also left the following additional legacies : — To his brother, John Wood, ;^i,ooo ; to his sister Bayldon, ;^5oo ; sister Stocks, ;^S°° '> Thomas Cook, £s°° > William Allen, J^S°° > nephew John Bayldon, ;^Soo ; nephew Joseph Stocks, £s°° '> nephew Thomas Bayldon, ;£2oo ; Godfrey Sykes, Esq., ;^2oo ; and to James Under bill Raynold, ;^2oo. He also released his brother, John Wood, from the payment of any money owing from him The Family of Wood. 57 to the Estate on his (testator's) death; a sirailar release from debts being given in several other cases. To deserving objects of charity in Roystone the testator bequeathed a sum which was not specified, but was to be of such amount and proportion as Richard Bayldon, and his wife, and the future owners of the house where they resided — the Manor House — should think fit. All the residue and remainder of the personal estate which should fall in on the death of his wife, or others, to be applied as follows : — ;^ioo each to his executors, and then equally among his nephews and nieces as follows : — His brother John's daughter — Frances or Fanny Cook, and Daniel Bayldon (daughter and son of testator's sister Jane) ; Louisa Bayldon, Caroline Baker, Elizabeth and Richard Bayldon (daughters and son of his sister, Susannah Bayldon) ; Elizabeth Hawkins, Abigail Stocks, and Joseph Stocks (daughters and son of his sister, Elizabeth Stocks), or such of them as might be living at testator's death. If testator died in London, or its neighbourhood, he wished to be buried in the Temple Church, and that a monument or tablet should be erected therein to his memory, if the Treasurer and Benchers of the Teraple so pleased; but if he died in the country, it was his desire to be buried in the Church at Roystone, where a handsome monument was to be erected to his memory, and in that case he gave to the Vicar of Roystone £,20, and to the Clerk ;^io. In conclusion, testator appointed his nephews, Thomas Bayldon and Williara Bayldon, and Mr. WilUara Allen, his executors. The will was dated Nov. 29th, 1823, and 58 Worthies of Barnsley. signed in the presence of J. Bailey, James Burrough, and J. Raynolds, the last-named being described as clerk to the Honourable Justice Parke. In a codicil, dated 8th Deceraber in the same year, testator revokes the appointment of William Allen as one of his executors, and cancels the legacy bequeathed to him, leaving it to Allen's children. Another codicil, dated loth May, 1824, is added. In this, testator thinking his two sisters would be too scantily provided for, left them a further sum of ;£^2oo a year, to be charged upon the interest or dividends of the stock left to his wife. Revokes the legacy to Sarah Taylor, who had ceased to be his servant, and increases Sarah Coaler's to £40 a year. In another codicil, dated July i6th, 1824, he gives to John Alexander Wallace, if he should marry his (testator's) niece, Louisa Bayldon (and he thinks they are engaged), all his books of Precedent Cases and Special Pleadings, and all his Law Library and books of Antiquities. The Baron's faculties would appear to have failed seriously before his retirement, as will be seen from the following reraarks made in the speech of Mr. Scarlett, his former pupil, afterwards Lord Abinger, in a debate upon the amount of the judges' salaries, especiaUy their retiring aUowance: — "The late Baron Wood," he said, " who was an exceUent judge, a profound lawyer, and a person of great sagacity, at a very advanced age retired from the Northern Circuit, and, instead of quitting the profession altogether, was offered a seat in the Court of Exchequer, which he could not, under the circumstances, well refuse. The con sequence was, however, ultimately painful, for the Baron's The Family of Wood. 59 infirmities grewupon him so fa.stas to render it mostun pleasant to hiraself, to the Bar, and to the putilic to h,ive the civil administration of justice conducted by him, he having at length lost one eye, and the use of both ears."* Baron Wood printed for private circulation some valuable "Observations on Tithes and Tithe Law," discussing the subject with great shrewdness and ability. This treatise was afterwards published, and the principle he recomraended for the arrangement of the change was partially adopted in the BiU for the Commutation of Tithes. In the Life of Sir Samuel Romilly, vol. 2, pp. 461-2 and pp. 487-8 are the following references to Baron Wood and the Tithes BiU :— '¦'¦June i<)th, 1817. Curwen moved for leave to bring in a bill to amend the law with respect to tithes. He under stands little of the matter himself; and what he is doing is at the suggestion of Baron Wood, who has already drawn for him the bill which he intends to bring in. The principal objects of it are, as I understand them, to authorise the receiving usage as evidence of a real coraposition, where the deed itself cannot be produced, and as evidence of exemptions or discharges from tithes claimed under dissolved monasteries ; and to allow of presumptions of grants and conveyances of tithes from long usage as against lay impropriators. I spoke in support of the bill as far as I understood these to be its objects. I- Sir WiUiam Scott, * Hansard, New Series, vol. 13, p. 802. t " A few days after this, Baron Wood sent me a little tract he has printed, entitled, Obse-rvations on Tithes and Tithe Law, with a note, in which he told me that he hoped I should support the bill in all its future stages," — Life of Sir Samuel Romilly, vol. 2, pp. 461-2. 6o Worthies of Barnsley. who, as member for the University of Oxford, conceives himself bound to watch with great jealousy every innovation with respect to ecclesiastical property, expressed great doubt about the bill, and reserved to himself a right to oppose it in its future stages, though he acquiesced in its being brought in. - "March i6th, 1818. On the motion for the second reading of the biU for the amendment of the law relating to tithes, which has been drawn by Baron Wood, and has been brought into the House of Commons by Mr. Curwen, I spoke in support of the biU. I expressed my approbation of the general objects of the bUl, though I stated that I objected to the clause respecting the trying of issues upon moduses, and that I thought there were other clauses which might require alteration. The only speakers against the biU were Sir Wm. Scott and Mr. Peel, the two members for the University of Oxford; Mr. Smyth, one of the members for the University of Cambridge ; and Mr. Wetherell. The Attorney and Solicitor-General, however, and all the Ministerial members voted against the bill, and accordingly it was lost. It was a very thin House, there being only 15 for the bill, and 44 against it." The bill was, however, subsequently passed. Lord Brougham, in his Sketches of Statesmen, alludes to Baron Wood's publication on tithes, and says it would be difficult to name any composition superior in conciseness and felicity of diction to this work, which appeared in the shape of two tracts. '•' The original portrait of the Baron, by Lonsdale, a very good one, seems to have been lost sight of. Mr. Hailstone * Sketches of Statesmen, Third Series, vol. 3, p. 225. The Family of Wood. 6i tried to get it for the Leeds Exhibition of Yorkshire Worthies, but could not find it. It was, however, engraved by Hodgetts, and published in 1824 ; and copies of the portrait may occasionally be met with. There is also an admirable likeness of the Baron from a sketch by Mr. John Hardy, barrister, of Heath, near Wakefield, who, to beguile the tedium of the court was in the habit of "hitting off" sketches of the judges, or other notable persons present. Two of these done with a pen were picked up in court — viz.. Baron Wood and Mr. Justice Bayley, and etched by an artist at York. On the first Improvement Act being obtained for Barnsley, in 1822, Sir George Wood was appointed one of the Comraissioners. Baron Wood's three surviving sisters, we may state, were Jane, born 13th June, 1749, who married Mr. John Bayldon, of Applehaigh and HoUinghurst ; Susannah, born 29th June, I7S4, married Mr. Richard Bayldon, of Roy stone; and Elizabeth, born 1759, married Mr. John Stocks, of Roystone. It was to these sisters and their immediate descendants to whom the bulk of the wealth of the Baron devolved, and his estates were situated at Roystone, Cudworth, Smithies, and other places. He had a consider able estate of some 2200 acres of land at Mowthorpe, on the Wolds of Yorkshire, on which the family of Kirby, ancestors on the mother's side of Mr. F. W. Addey, of Cudworth, lived for a considerable time. What is not a little notable is the fact that of all this large property the only portion remaining in the families to whom it was bequeathed is the house and land at Cudworth, long occu pied by the late Mr. F. W. Addey. This is the property of 62 Worthies of Barnsley. Miss Edith Guest, of Barnsley, to whose grandmother, his niece. Sir George Wood left it. One of the Baron's nieces, and she the one that knew him best, having lived with him many years in London — Mrs. Wallace — died lately at Col chester ; a very clever woman, although between 80 and 90 years of age. The following is a notice of the Baron's last surviving sister, which appeared at the time of her death in 1843 :— "Died, on Jany. 17th, 1843, at Roystone, near Barnsley, in her 89th year, Susannah, relict of the late Richd. Bayldon, and sister to the late Sir George Wood, one of the Barons of the Exchequer. Possessed of a large share of that mental energy which characterised her distinguished brother, and endowed with those excellencies which stiU adorn many of the representatives of departed generations, her family and kindred have to deplore the loss of a revered relative, while the poor must long cherish her memory with grateful recollection." Mrs. Bayldon gave a silver salver, to be used at the communion table in Roystone Church. 63 No. III. Sir 3obn Beckett, Bart, anb tbe Becftett ifamili?* jERHAPS no existing family has been longer, more closely, or more influentiaUy connected with Barnsley than that of Beckett. For more than a century and a half its members have been among the leading men, and mixed up with all the principal local events of their time. If any iraproveraent wanted making, if trustees were to be appointed to any of our local charities, or any inquiry had to be made into their adminis tration ; if any movement was set on foot with a view to relieve the poor in times of distress, or the promotion of any other public object was taken in hand, we always find the name of Beckett associated with it. The inhabitants of Barnsley seem to have reposed the greatest confidence in anything with which any of its merabers had to do. The Becketts were for a long period araong the principal local bankers to the coramunity, and at all tiraes, particularly in times of panic and commercial distress, were ready to afford 64 Worthies of Barnsley. aid on the most liberal scale, if they could do so with any degree of safety.* From a humble beginning its representatives have risen to be amongst the most wealthy and influential in the county of York, and for high commercial worth and integrity are surpassed by none. If we go back to the year 1660 or 1670, we find Daniel Beckett living as a humble tradesman in the town of Barnsley, and he is the lineal ancestor of the opulent family of later generations. That he was a highly respect able tradesman we have every reason to believe. He married Margaret, daughter of Mr. Francis Usher, mercer, of Barnsley, a member of a contemporary family of local note. Daniel died, and was buried on the 26th March, 1682 ; and his wife was buried on the uth December, 1696. They left behind them Gervase, who was baptized on the 8th July, 1669, and married on the 30th December, r7oi, to Eleanor, daughter of Jonas Clarke, of Barnsley. The results of this * Most of the country banks were first established about the latter end of the last or the earlier portion of the present century. Before that time, few, if any, with regularly constituted partnerships and places of business, existed. Generally, the principal innholders, drapers, grocers, or other tradesmen, performed such functions ofthe banker as were then required, or at least were available. They would take in money on deposit at interest from those who could trust them, and these funds they employed in their own business, or in discounting bills of exchange for others. Transactions of this character increasing by degrees with gradual advancement of trade, induced the operators in them to devote their attention to the more systematic mode of conducting the business of bankers ; and from such like beginnings as these have arisen the various establishments we have seen, and continue to see, flourishing throughout the country. The date of 1750 is on the notes of the Leeds Bank of Beckett and Co., but that was many years anterior to the time when John Beckett became a partner in that establishment. The Family of Beckett. 65 union were the following children, whose names we give from the parish register : — "Gervas, son of Gervas Beckit, bap. Dec. 25, 1702. John, son of Gervas Beckitt, bap. Nov. 4,. 1704. DanieU, son of Gervase Beckitt, bap. Sep. 26, 1706. Joseph, son of Gervas Becket, bap. July 29, 1708. Mary, daughter of Gervase Becket, bap. April 2, 1711. Samuel, son of Gervas Becket, bap. — 1713. Jonas, son of Gervas Becket, bap. Nov. 29, 17 16. Eleanor, dau. of Gervas Becket, bap. Feb. 12, 1718-19." Gervase the father,* whose will was proved at York, Nov. 24, 1718, and who is therein called a wire drawer, t was buried a fortnight after the baptism of his last child, and at a time when his family were all young, as we find from the following entry, in the burial register : — " Gervase Becket, housholder, buried Feb. 26, 1718-19."! Gervase Beckett * WiU of Gervas Beckett, of Barnsley, wire-drawer, dated March 6, 1715 : — My wife, Eleanor — eldest son, Gervas Beckett — ^John Beckett, second son — Daniel Beckett, third son — Joseph Beckett, fourth son — Mary Beckett, daughter — ^Jonas Beckett, youngest son — wife, executrix — mentions her mother, Mary Clarke. Signed, Gervis Beckett. Proved at York. + The wire trade was of some antiquity at Barnsley, which town, we are told, upwards of two centuries ago, excelled every other place in the kingdom for the manufacture of this article, which was mainly attribut able to the ingenuity of the workmen, combined with the materials used. Richard Ashton, Simon Parker, WUliam Bower, 1653 ; Thomas Booth, Godfrey Ashton, Leonard Bower, Richard Cooper, 1654; Godfrey Windle, 1655, Samuel Senior, 1777; John Frudd, 1785; and John Fostard, 1796, are names severally occurring under the description of wire-drawers. X Mr. W. Beckett Denison has in his possession a large two-handled earthenware jar, on which is inscribed : — " Gervis Beckett, 17 14." 6 66 Worthies of Barnsley. was a "housholder," and a small freeholder, for we find him taking part in a movement, in 17 14, which had for its object the augmenting of the living of St. Mary's Church. The provision for the maintenance of a minister at Barnsley at that period amounted to the small sum of ;^2i i8s. per annum. Gervase Beckett, and a great number of other free holders, supported a memorial to give the minister, whose name was Thomas Peighen, power to enclose from the com mons thirty acres of land with a view to increasing the sti pend, and in this they were successful, and what is called the Church land, on the south side of Park Road, was then set apart for that purpose. But that Gervase Beckett was only a small freeholder, we may be assured from the place which his name occupies in the Ust, and from the way in which it is entered in the parish register, for the social standing of persons in former generations was very carefully taken into account, and indicated in these entries with "Yeoman," "Mr." "Gentleman," "Esquire," etc., and the laws of society in this respect were very different and far more reliable than those of modern times. The widow of Gervase Beckett survived him thirty-nine years, and was buried on the 28th April, 1756. Their eldest son, the second Gervase, was married by license, at St. Mary's Church, to Sarah Ellison, 9th April, 1729. He seems to have been properous in business, and raised himself considerably inihe social scale. He was one of the Trustees of the Shaw Lands, and along with his brother John, took an active part in their adminis tration. When some rather extensive improvements were made to St. Mary's Church in 1 747, Mr. Gervase Beckett was one of the churchwardens. In a list of trustees of the Shaw Lands, dated 1723, he is' described as of Barnsley, The Family of Beckett. 6"] yeoman, and at the time of his decease he seems to have so grown in social position that he is honoured with the following entry in the register of burials : — ' " Gervase Beckett, gent, buried Jan. 12, 1766." He left two daughters, his only issue, one of whora, Eleanor, it maybe worthy to note, in 1750 married Henry Cutler, one of the numerous poor and dispersed descendants of the dis tinguished Sir Gervase Cutler, of Stainborough HaU, who died in Pontefract Castle during the siege^ Henry Cutler settled in Barnsley, Uved in the House in Shambles Street long occupied by the late Mr. William Beckett, had a family there, and for many years performed the duties of a good citizen in Barnsley. Daniel Beckett, the third son of Gervase Beckett, was an apothecary and medical practitioner. " Dr. Beckett," as he was caUed, was the " Town's doctor '' in 1738, and the writer has seen sorae accounts for his atten dance on, and medicine supplied to the poor, which are given in items in detail at considerable length. In 1748, he bad entered into partnership with Mr. John Hall, and they carried on business under the firm of Beckett and Hall. Daniel Beckett, in 1748, married Ann, daughter of Joseph WeUs, of Shafton, gent.* (who was a benefactor to the parish of Felkirk), and afterwards went to reside at * Joseph Wells, of Shafton, gent. Will dated June 7, 1749. Wife, two daughters — Ann, wdfe of Mr. Daniel Beckett, and Elizabeth, wife of David Stephenson, gent. — my brother, John Marshall — my sister, Martha Wells, etc. Proved at York, 7th December, I750' " 1748. Mr. Beckit and Mrs. Ann Wells, married. 1749. Nov. 27, Sarah, wife of Mr. Joseph Wells, bur. 1750. Oct. I, Mr. Joseph Wells, bur. 1751. Dec. 13 Mr. Daniel Beckit, bur.'' — Felkirk Parish Register. 68 Worthies of Barnsley. Shafton, where he died on the 13th Dec, 1751, in the 46th year of his age. * In his raonuraental inscription, at Felkirk, it is said, " His eminent abilities in the practice of physic, joined with a benevolent and humane disposition, rendered him highly valuable in life, and greatly lamented at death." But the perpetuator of the Beckett family was John Beckett, the second son of Gervase. He was father to two worthy sons, John, afterwards Sir John Beckett, of Leeds, and Joseph Beckett, of Barnsley; and grandfather to three other baronets. Sir John, Sir Thomas, and Sir Edmund Beckett, and also to Mr. Staniforth Beckett. John Beckett, the progenitor of these distinguished men, started out in life in the very humble capacity of porter to a grocers' company which was established in Barnsley, and occupied premises where the Corn Exchange now stands, and transacted a large business. " He was gifted with industry, thrift, and foresight,'' says Mr. Burland ; and when the company of grocers vacated the premises, John Beckett took them. The goods with which he opened the shop — he used to say — came in a hogshead, so that his original stock was extremely small. After carrying on the grocery business for a few years, he purchased the premises he had entered upon with some difficulty as tenant, and * Daniel Beckett, of Shafton, apothecary. Will dated, Nov. 23, 1 75 1 — appoints wife Ann, Executrix — Sarah Beckett, and Ellen, wife of Henry Cutler (late Ellen Beckett), daughters of my brother Gervase. Brothers Samuel and Joseph. Proved i6th Oct., 1752. In 1 74 1, at the county election, when Cholmley Turner and George Fox were candidates, John Beckett voted for Cholmley Turner, and Daniel Beckett and Gervase Beckett for George Fox. The Family of Beckett. 69 acquired the dignity of a freeholder, and wealth flowed into his coffers until he was fairiy satisfied, and he bethought him of retiring from business, and buUt the house in Church Street so long occupied by the family, and there lived in privacy during the remainder of his days. The masons' wages he paid, it is said, for the most part in copper ; and the edifice was popularly known as " Copper HaU."* John Beckett would appear to have been married twice, although in the pedigrees of the family which have been compiled and published, only one of his marriages is given. His first marriage took place in 173 1-2, but he had soon to mouin the loss of his wife, as we shaU see from the foUowing extracts from a journal kept by Mr. John Hobson, of Dodworth Green — a journal which contains many interesting entries relating to the men and custoras of that day.f " 1 73 1-2, Feb. 26. Mr. Beckett, the grocer, was married on Thursday, to Mary, the sister of Mr. Crookes, of Burton." "1732, July II. This morning died Mary, sister of the late Mr. George Crookes, and wife of Mr. Beckett, of Barnsley, of a consumption ; and is to be buried at Roystone. It is observable that she, her brother George, and another brother, at Sheffield, are all dead in ten weeks tirae." In the Roystone Register, confirraatory of the entry in this journal, is the following : — * In the Overseers' Accounts for Barnsley, in 1745-6, occurs the item : " In copper from John Beckett for Shaw rents £af i6s. lod." t The original MS. is in the possession of Mr. J. W. Pashley, of Morton Hall, near Gainsborough, and it was printed by the Surtees Society in 1877, forming vol. 65 of their publications, Yorkshire Diaries, pp. 244-330. It was edited by Mr. Charles Jackson, of Doncaster, assisted by Mr. Wilkinson, of Barnsley. JO Worthies of Barnsley. " 1732. Mary, the wife of Mr. John Becket, of Barnsley, was buried July ye 13th." Mr. Beckett, after continuing a widower for eight years, married Elizabeth WUson. The marriage licence was dated uth December, 1740, and was granted to John Beckett, of Barnsley, grocer, aged 36, and Elizabeth Wilson, of Barnsley, spinster, aged 23, to marry in the chapel of Hoyland, or the church of Wath or Eccles- field. The family of Wilson was contemporary with that of Beckett, but was, we are told, at that time in a much better position in life. Elizabeth Wilson was the sister of WiUiam Wilson, the founder of the linen trade at Barnsley. The Wilsons were Quakers, and it was contrary to the wishes of her family that Elizabeth should bestow her hand upon John Beckett, who did not belong to their faith, and she for a time became to some extent alienated from her ¦ family. The two, however, were suitably mated, and what ever they took in hand prospered exceedingly. John Beckett rose rapidly in wealth and importance in his native town, and he and his brother Gervase became two of its leading rnen. Whatever had to be done these two brothers took a part in doing ; and they were mixed up in all the local affairs of their day. John Beckett and Elizabeth WUson had a family of seven children ; and these chUdren were trained with great care in habits of perseverance and industry. Whatever John Beckett did he strove to do well ; he buUt on the soundest foundations, and on these in succeeding generations the Beckett's superstructure has been raised until it has culminated in what it is, The foUowing are the baptisms of their children : — The Family of Beckett. 7 1 " Elizabeth, daughter of John Beckett, bap. Dec. 4th, 1741. "John, son of John Beckett, bap. June 2nd, 1743. [Afterwards Sir John Beckett, Bart.] Mary, dau. of John Beckett, bap. April 3rd, 1745. William, son of John Beckett, bap. Jan. 29th, 1748. Joseph, son of John Beckett, bap. Oct. 6th. 1751. HeUen, dau.of Mr. John Beckett, bap. March 19th, 1755." Besides the above there was another son, Gervase, who died young. William and Elizabeth also died in their infancy. The year after his brother Gervase's death we find the foUowing: — "Mr. John Beckett, buried July 3, 1767." John Beckett in his will, which is dated 29th September, 1762, describes himself as "grocer." It was made by Jonathan West, attorney, of Cawthorne, and witnessed by him (Jonathan West) and George Wood, jun., afterwards Baron of the Exchequer. He leaves his wife for her life, "All that newly-erected dwellinghouse standing at the north end of Kirkgate (now Church Street) with the messuage and croft at the east side thereof." This is the house previously referred to as built by Mr. Beckett (now inhabited by Mr. Craik), and popularly designated " Copper Hall." It was afterwards occupied by Mr. Joseph Beckett, son of John Beckett, and subsequently by Mr. Staniforth Beckett, son of Mr. Joseph Beckett, until coraparatively modern times. Mr. John Beckett left his widow ;^iSo to be paid immediately after his death, and ;^2oo to be paid after the expiration of one year, and an annuity to be charged upon his estates in Barnsley. He charged the house above named with a sum not exceeding ;£^Soo, which his widow might devise to one or more of his four surviving children. 72 Worthies of Barnsley. and in the event of her making no such devise, ;^2So of such amount to go to Mary and ;!£'2So to Eleanor his daughters, and further legacies of ^5°° each to Mary and Eleanor to be paid out of the estates bequeathed to his son, Joseph Beckett, in Barnsley, and his estate in Great Berring- ton, purchased of his brother-in-law, Mr. Matthew Wilson. He also leaves to his son, Joseph Beckett, all his lands and tenements at Upton, North Elrasall, South Kirkby, and Badsworth, and aU the " rest, residue, and reraainder " to his son, John Beckett, whom he makes sole executor. Of his surviving chUdren " Miss Hellen [Eleanor] Beckett, spinster, was buried July i8th, 1773." His widow survived him 36 years, dying on the i8th of Janiiary, 1803.* The only survivors of Mr. Beckett's famUy were now John, Joseph, and Mary. John, the eldest son, settled in business at Leeds, where he soon became one of its most distinguished inhabitants, and laid the foundation of a family which has ever been closely identified with the interests of that prosperous borough, having, without any great advantages of birth, risen by the force of his own talents, and his sound commercial principles to an elevated rank in society, and become allied to some of the first families in the kingdom. In corporate offices he was chosen an assistant 29th September, 1773, Alderman, 6th February, 1775, and Mayor, 29th September, 1775 ; and both as chief magistrate of the borough, and one of the Justices of the Peace for the West Riding of Yorkshire, was distinguished for his legal knowledge, his firm but impartial administration of the laws, and his successful exertions in * " On Monday, i8th Jan., 1803, in the 88th year of her age, much respected, Mrs. Beckett, of Barnsley, mother to John Beckett, of this town, banker." — Leeds Mercury, Jan. 30th, 1803. The Family of Beckett. 73 times of difficulty in preserving tranquiUity, and enforcing the duties of good subjects to the Government of the country. During a long course of years John Beckett was principal partner in the Leeds Bank, and in that capacity rendered at all times the most essential services to the trade and in habitants of Leeds and its vicinity. However sudden or trying the vicissitudes of the commercial world, the stability of " Beckett's Bank" was never suspected ; but it was always in such emergencies the refuge of honest men, and the liberal supporter of the mercantUe and manufacturing interests. The active part taken by Mr. Beckett in putting down the Luddite riots won for him golden opinions, and led to his being rewarded with the dignity of Baronet, which was conferred upon him the 2nd March, 1813.* Fof some years in the latter part of his life. Sir John did not take an active part in business, but lived in retirement at his seat at Gledhow, where he died on the i8th Septeraber, 1826, at the advanced age of 84 years, and was buried on the 23rd of the sarae month in the family vault in the Parish Church of St. John's, Leeds, attended thither by a long and mournful * For the purpose of guarding against error, it may not be inoppor tune here to direct cautionary attention to a certain pubUcation in 1876, styled. Sketches of Hull Celebrities, at page 286 of which a. gross attempt is made, on the part of the writer, or compiler, to pass off an account of one "Sir John Beckett, 1695," whois there stated to have come from Meanwood, near Leeds, on an electioneering adventure to HuU. To those who are, or can otherwise become, well acquainted with the genealogical history of the family of Beckett, of Yorkshire, it may be hardly needful to say that the whole paragraph is a pure fabrication, and nothing else, and that no such person ever existed. There never was a Sir John Beckett prior to the Baronet so created in 1813, and Meanwood was the property or residence of that gentleman's son, Mr. William Beckett, long after that date. 74 Worthies of Barnsley. cavalcade, including some of the members ofthe Corporation of Leeds, and their chief magistrate. As the funeral ap proached its destination, great crowds of people of aU classes joined it, as a mark of respect to the memory of the honourable Baronet, who, when living, had been the object of their highest esteem. On entering the church yard the coffin was followed by the Right Hon. Sir John Beckett, the successor to the Baronetcy, and five other of deceased's sons as chief mourners ; his brother, Joseph Beckett, Esq., of Barnsley; his son-in-law. General Marriott, Richard Fountayne Wilson, Esq., M.P. ; Christopher Wilson, Esq., and a long train of gentlemen of the first respectabiUty. Sir John married, March 3rd, 1774, Mary, third daughter of Dr. Christopher WUson, Lord Bishop of Bristol, and aunt to Richard Fountayne Wilson, Esq., and left a large famUy of children, to whom we shall shortly allude. There is a fine portrait of Sir John Beckett in the Leeds Bank. Joseph Beckett, the younger son of John Beckett, suc ceeded to his father's business at Barnsley. In 1789 he was a linen manufacturer and grocer, and afterwards became owner of extensive bleach works, which are still known as "Beckett's Bleach Works." He was a man of extra ordinary energy and enterprise, and has been justly styled the father of the Barnsley linen trade, which he did much to concentrate and localise in the district. In the award on the Enclosure of Barnsley Commons in 1777:— A. R. P. " Joseph Beckett, gent., had 6 allotments \ at Harbro' Hill, Warren Common, and > 6 3 26 Old Town Green, amounting to ' The Family of Beckett. 75 A. R. p. John Beckett, Esq., 3 allotments on Warren \ Common and Race Common J ^ ^ 3° Joseph Beckett, gent., the intake lately -. enclosed from Old MiU Field and Far I 11 2 6" Field j Mr. John Hugh Burland, in his Social and Scenic Pictures of Barnsley in the Eighteenth Century, gives the following anecdote of Mr. Joseph Beckett : — " On a certain occasion, Joseph Beckett was advised, by a correspondent in his interest, that a cargo of yarn from Hamburg had entered Kingston-upon-HuU. This news he communicated to Edward Taylor. No time being to be lost, the two confederates agreed to start by the first coach, and purchase it. By some means William Wilson got a wind of their intention. What he thought of the matter he kept entirely to himself, and his deportment betrayed neither hurry nor excitement. He went about his business just for all the world as though nothing was the matter. About his usual time, he went down to the croft. He threw his saddle across his back, and took it with him. But his horse was kept down at the croft, and he invariably did the same thing when he intended to have a ride. His conduct denoted nothing particular. Taylor and Beckett arrived safely at HuU, and took lodgings for the night at the head inn, fully expecting to effect their purchase in the morning. Having taken at their ease a defe4ner a la fourchette, they stepped into a hair-dresser's shop to get their heads dressed and powdered, in order, as it was thought, to appear of some consequence to the merchant. WhUe the hair-dresser was combing, and J 6 Worthies of Barnsley. brushing, and curUng, and expatiating on the latest acci dents and offences, who should pass the shop but BUly Wilson. Had the two Barnsley gendemen been stung by an adder, or had they sat each on a hot cinder, or had they seen a ghost, they could not have been more dis concerted. They could neither hide their emotion, nor conceal their chagrin. Their fidgets were so violent, they resembled spasms. Had they been galvanised, they could scarcely have been more ill at ease. The talkative hair dresser might havfe taken them for sharpers, who had unexpectedly seen a Bow Street runner, had not their appearance been every way respectable. They were now in a desperate hurry to be gone. They would neither allow the hair-dresser to give the last finish to their locks, nor conclude his story about the last murder. In a rather abrupt and feverish state, they rushed into the presence of the merchant. After the usual bowings and salutations which supervene when gentlemen meet, Mr. Beckett interposed : — " ' You have a cargo of yarn to dispose of? ' " ' I had within the last hour,' quoth the merchant. " ' Is it indeed sold ? ' demanded Taylor. " ' Sold ! ' echoed the merchant. " There was now a pause, and each of the disappointed buyers felt an inclination to twist a waistcoat button off; but such a procedure being clownish, each contented himself with stroking his chin, and uttering the interjection — ' Humph ! ' " ' If it be not a state secret, ' said Beckett, ' you will, perhaps, be kind enough to name the purchaser ? ' " ' An old Quaker, ' replied the merchant, ' named William WUson, from a place caUed Black Barnsley.' The Family of Beckett. jy " ' Did he really purchase all ? ' inquired Taylor. " ' Every hank,' rejoined the merchant, ' and paid down solid gold and silver, and received a liberal dis count. ' " ' I'm astonished,' said Taylor. " ' So am I,' exclaimed Beckett. " ' Believe me, gentlemen,' said the merchant, ' I was astonished too, for, judging from his appearance, I should have thought him scarcely able to raise a guinea to save himself from the tread-mill.' " ' Ah, for that matter,' said Beckett, ' he is rich enough. But we are astonished at the manner in which he has contrived to slip in before us.' " ' I am extremely sorry, gentlemen, you havQ met with a disappointment so annoying,' condoled the mer chant, 'but I shall be glad to accommodate you, next time.' " How William WUson got to Hull, we have not been able to ascertain. Likely enough nobody knew but himself He never told his business to anybody. He was not the man to ride his horse aU the way, without drawing rein, in the manner of Dick Turpin. He probably rode his nag the first stage, and caught a fast coach. After he returned, he did not so rauch as condescend to say what he had been about. Nobody would judge from his demeanour that he had done anything clever. " The ruse made a sensation in the town, and it was talked about amongst old people when I was a youth." Mr. Joseph Beckett was not only brother to the first Sir John Beckett, and uncle to the second Sir John, but he was also uncle and father-in-law to Sir Thomas Beckett. 78 Worthies of Barnsley. He married Mary, daughter of John Staniforth, Esq., of Hull, and had the foUowing issue which we give from the Church Register : — " Eleanor, daughter of Mr. Joseph and Mrs. Mary Beckett, born May 17th, bap. 26th, 1786. Caroline, daughter of Mr. Joseph and Mrs. Mary Beckett, born Oct. 5th, bap. Nov. 2nd, 1788. Mary Ann, daughter of Mr. Joseph and Mary Beckett, born Oct. 4th, bap. Oct. 19th, 1789. Eliz'a, dau. of Mr. Jo : and Mary Beckett, born April 14th, bap. July 7th, 1 79 1. Augusta, dau. of Joseph Beckett, Esquire, and Mary, his wife, born 20th August, bap. Oct. i6th, 1798. John Staniforth, son of Mr. Jo : Beckett, born AprU 5, bap. June i6th, 1794." At the close of the last and the beginning of the present century, Mr. Joseph Beckett carried on the banking business at Barnsley, in partnership with Mr. Clarke, under the firm of Beckett and Clarke ; and subsequently with Mr. John Birks, as Beckett, Birks, and Co. The business of this bank was afterwards transferred to that of the Wakefield and Barnsley Union Bank. As a banker, Mr. Beckett was public-spirited and liberal. He was a deputy-lieutenant for the West Riding, and for many years an active and useful magistrate. On the Improvement Act being obtained for Barnsley in 1822, Mr. Beckett and his only son, John Staniforth Beckett, were appointed Commissioners ; the former was chairman of the same for many years prior to his death, and was succeeded in that capacity by his son. Mr. Beckett's life throughout was one of inflexible integrity, which won for him the respect and esteem of his fellow-townsmen. His old age The Family of Beckett. 79 and infirmity were cheered by their genuine reverence, and his death, which took place on the uth February, 1840, at the age of 88 years, cast a gloom over his native town. Two days afterwards, on the 13th of February, his wife died also, after a long and painful illness, at the age of 79. They had been united in the bonds of matrimony for a period of 5 5 years. Both were interred in one grave on the 22 nd February, when the principal shops in the town were closed, and several thousand persons assembled to witness the mournful ceremony and pay a last token of respect to two aged and exemplary persons, who were universally regretted. On a neat marble monument in the south chancel of St. Mary's Church, on which is pourtrayed the arms of Beckett, is the following inscription : — " To the memory of Joseph Beckett, Esq., merchant and banker, born in this town, August 31, a.d. 1751, who died Feb. II, A.D. 1840, aged 88. Also in memory of Mary, his wife, daughter of the late John Staniforth, Esq., of Hull, who, surviving her husband but two days, died February 13, a.d. 1840, aged 79 years. After being united SS years, they were interred together on the same day in one grave." The arms granted to the family on the memorial of John Beckett, of Leeds, when about to be created a Baronet, in 1813, yfex&— Gules, a fesse between three boars' heads couped, erminois. Crest, on a wreath, a boar's head couped or, pierced by a cross patt^e fitchde, erect sable. Joseph and Mary Beckett left only one son (and the daughters above-named), John Staniforth Beckett, ' whose connection continued more or less with his native town until 8o Worthies of Barnsley. his death in 1868.* The foUowing notice of Mr. John Staniforth Beckett appeared at the time of his decease, which took place at WombweU, near Barnsley, on the 9th Novem ber, 1868. " Mr. Beckett was weU known in Barnsley and the surrounding district, where his demise will be greatly regretted ; and in the town of Barnsley his name wiU be for generations associated with what is good and praise worthy, he having built and endowed the Beckett Dispensary,t an institution to which, through his further munificence, will shortly be added a ward for the treatment of surgical cases. The Dispensary, which bears Mr. Beckett's name, was erected by him in 1864, and endowed with a sum of ;!^S'°°°- On presenting it to the town, the pubUc were so impressed with the liberality of the generous donor, that a public meeting was held, at which the thanks of the *Aug. 21, 1821, John Staniforth Beckett laid the foundation stone of Barnsley Gas Works. The following were the Barnsley Freeholders, with a qualification of ;^ioo a year from freehold property, who voted for the election of Re gistrar, at Wakefield, in 1809 : — ^Joseph Beckett, George Cadwell, John Cawood, Henry Clarke, John Cordeux, William Denton, Samuel Dunn, John Greenwood, Joseph Hall, John Hopwood, Wm. Horsfall, Wm. Jackson, John Leadman, John Naylor, George Pitt, William Rich, Robt. Richardson, John Roper, John Rowley, James Spurr (Yews), John Stocks, Richard Taylor (Park House), Edward Taylor, John Taylor, Benj. Taylor (Birk House), John West (Barnsley), John Fox, Wm. Haxworth, Joseph Rhodes (Ward Green). t "And whereas the said John Staniforth Beckett, with a view to providing efficient drugs and medicines and medical advice for such of the inhabitants of the town of Barnsley aforesaid as are or for the time being in future may be unable by reason of poverty otherwise to obtain the same, has determined to found an institution to be called ' The Beckett Dispensary,' and to grant and convey the said land and The Family of Beckett. 8i inhabitants were accorded to Mr. Beckett for his munificence. The Beckett Dispensary proved a great boon to the town, but the necessity was pressing for an hospital where surgical cases, which unfortunately are so frequent in colliery districts, might be treated. The committee, therefore, set on foot a movement to provide accommodation for that purpose on the existing premises, and circulars were issued soliciting subscriptions. No sooner did this come to Mr. Beckett's knowledge than he communicated with the secretary, requesting him to make known to the committee that he had in contemplation the erection, at his own expense, of a wing to the existing building, capable of holding twenty beds, and was also anxious to present _;£'2,ooo to assist the endowment fund ; and this he fully carried out. Mr. Beckett had an intimate business con nection with Barnsley, having been largely interested in the Wakefield and Barnsley Union Bank ; and it is only a few years since he retired, having amassed a considerable hereditaments specified in the schedule hereunder written, with the appurtenances, so that the same, and also a dispensary and buildings, which the said John Staniforth Beckett intends forthwith at his own cost to build on the said land or some part thereof, may become vested in fee simple in the several persons and parties hereto of the third part upon the trusts hereafter declared. And whereas for the purpose of endowing the said Dispensary the said John Staniforth Beckett intends, when such Dispensary and buildings shall be erected and completed, but not sooner, .to invest the sum of ;,f5,ooo in the names of the several parties, to be held by them upon the trusts named. The persons appointed as trustees were : F. W. T. V. Went worth, Esq., W. S. Stanhope, Esq., Rev. H. R. Alder (incumbent of St. Mary's), William Newman (Darley Hall), Henry Jackson (Darfield), Thomas Edward Taylor, and Robert Coldwell Clarke." — Extract from Trust Deed. 7 82 Worthies of Barnsley. fortune by patient industry and careful business habits. On retiring from active business, Mr. Beckett took up his residence at Torquay, where he lived till within a short time of his death ; but his recollections of, and visits to the scenes where he spent his boyhood days were frequent, and the pleasure he took in benefiting the town is sufficiently proved by the above facts.'' Mr. Beckett's personal estate was sworn under ;^3So,ooo, and this he bequeathed to the younger children of his niece. Lady Bacon, as they came of age ; the eldest son. Sir Hickman Bacon (born in 1855), succeeding to Sir Thomas Beckett's property after the death of his aunt. Miss Beckett, and his mother. Lady Bacon, which two ladies are, in succession, heiresses to Sir Thomas Beckett. In addition to erecting the Dispensary and Hospital, he also left to the National Lifeboat Institution ,^£600 for providing a lifeboat, to be called the Gertrude (the name of his wife), and to be stationed on such part of the York shire coast as that institution may- think fit. To the Ragged School at Barnsley, ;j^20o; to the churchwardens for the time being of St. Mary's Church, Barnsley, ;!^3oo, the income to be applied to the repair of the said church ; to the churchwardens of St. John's Church, Barnsley, ;^2oo, the incorae to be applied in like manner ; to the church wardens of St. George's Church, Barnsley, ;^2oo, the income to be applied in like manner ; to the Beckett Dispensary, at Barnsley, ;£^S,ooo; to the Society for promoting Christian Knowledge, _;£'i,2So ; to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, ;^7So; and from and after the decease of his wife, to the Trustees of the National Gallery, for the use of the nation, the following five pictures, viz. : — The Family of Beckett. 83 The portrait, by Murillo, of a " Peasant Boy ;" a " Painter's Gallery," by Breughel, fiUed with a great many other paintings, curiosities, and various figures ; a landscape, by R. Wilson, caUed "The Bathers;" "Early Morning," by A. Cuyp; and "Frost Scene on River at Daylight," with figures, by Panderneer. To return to our early townsman. Sir John Beckett, the first Baronet. He had a large family — eight sons and three daughters. First, John, the second Baronet ; second, Christopher, born 1777 ; third, Thomas, the third Baronet; foufth, Richard, a captain in the Guards, kUled at Talavera, 28th July, 1809, and honourably mentioned by the Duke of Wellington in his despatch of the following day. Of him there is the following memorial in the south chancel of St. Mary's Church, Barnsley : — "S. M. Of Richard Beckett, captain in the Coldstream Regiraent of Guards, and brigade-major of the British Guards in Spain, who gloriously fell in the victorious battle of Talavera de la Reyna, the 28th July, 1809. Aged 28." The fifth son was WilUam, M.P., a banker in Leeds, born in 1784, and who married Frances Adelina, sister of Mr. Meynell Ingram, of Temple Newsam ; sixth, Edraund, who assumed the name of Denison, was born in 1787, and on the death of his brother. Sir Thomas, in 1872, succeeded to the Baronetcy. Henry, the seventh son, born in 1791, was a merchant in America, and died uth Sept., 1871, having twice married and left issue. George, the eighth son, born in 1793, was in holy orders, and became Rector of Epworth and Vicar of Gainsborough, also a prebendary of Lincoln, died unmarried, 13th April, 1843. 84 Worthies of Barnsley. Of the daughters, Mary, Elizabeth, and Ann, the last- named married Colonel, afterwards General Marriott. In Leeds Parish Church there is a tablet erected to the memory of Sir John Beckett, the first Baronet, and that of Lady Beckett, and monuments of William and of Richard Beckett. Sir John Beckett, the second Baronet, died in 1847,* and was succeeded by his next surviving brother, Thomas, the third Baronet, who died at his seat, Soraerby Park, Gains borough, on the 17th November, 1872. He was the oldest of living Baronets at the time of his death, and was lord of eight parts of the manor of Leeds, Mrs. Meynell Ingram possessing the ninth and reraaining part. Edraund Denison, of Doncaster, formerly member of Parliament for the West Riding, the sixth son of Sir John Beckett, succeeded to the title on the death of his brother, Sir Thoraas, in 1872. Although approaching his 8sth year at the tirae, he was hale and hearty. He married, 14th Dec, 1814, Maria, daughter of Wm. Beverley, Esq., of Beverley, and great niece of the wife of Sir Thomas Denison, Knt., a judge of the Comraon Pleas, on which occasion, or sooii after, he assumed the surname of Denison only, by Royal Ucense, on inheriting the property of his wife's great aunt; but although Mr. Edmund Beckett was enjoined to take the name ©f Denison only, he was generaUy called by others Mr. E. Beckett Denison; and indeed for some years * The Right Hon. Sir John Beckett, Bart., F.R.S., Judge Advocate General in Lord Liverpool's Administration ; he was for many years M.P., first for Hazlemere, and afterwards for Leeds; born 17th May, 1775 ; married, 20th Jan., 1817, Lady Anne Lowther, daughter of WUliam, Earl of Lonsdale, K.G., and died, s.p., 31st May, 1847. The Family of Beckett. 85 generally signed his name so. On succeeding to the Baronetcy, however, he discontinued the name of Denison, and became styled Sir Edraund Beckett, Baronet. After his marriage he resided for a while at Carlton, near Newark, where his eldest son, the present Baronet, was born. About the year 181 8 he setUed in Doncaster. He died 24th May, 1874, in the 87th year of his age, and with him expired the last of a generation of brothers (sons of a native of Barnsley) who have held a high place in the estimation of Yorkshiremen, and whose lives have been identified with the varied interests of the West Riding during the present century. His three sons are well known. The eldest is Mr. E. B. Denison, Q.C., now Sir Edraund Beckett, Chancellor of the diocese of York. He married Fanny, daughter of Bishop Lonsdale, formerly of Lichfield. The second son is Mr. C. B. Denison, formerly M.P. for the Eastern Division of the West Riding, who is unraarried; and the third son is Mr. W. B Denison, the raanaging partner of the banking firm at Leeds and other places, formerly member for East Retford and Bassetlaw, and who married Helen Duncombe, daughter of the second Baron Feversham, and sister of the present (the first) Earl, and has three sons and four daughters. The Becketts are evidently a hardy and long lived race, as will be seen from the advanced ages to which many of them have lived. Sir Thomas, who attained the advanced age of 93 years, married, in 1825, CaroUne, daughter of his uncle, Joseph Beckett, of Barnsley. Sir Thomas and Lady Beckett left issue two daughters only, Mary and Elizabeth, the latter of whom married in 1853, Sir Henry Hickman Bacon, Bart., the premier Baronet of England, 86 Worthies of Barnsley. and who numbers among his family connections Friar Bacon, Sir Nicholas Bacon, Knt, Lord Keeper in the time of Elizabeth ; and the celebrated Francis Bacon, Lord Verulam. Byjthis alliance of the famiUes of Beckett and Bacon was exemplified, says a recent writer, the unique coincidence of the senior Baronet being father-in-law to the premier Baronet of England. By the law of chances it is scarcely possible for such a strange fact to occur again in this sense. The Beckett Baronetcy is well known to be one of the most wealthUy-endowed in the long list of baronetcies of the United Kingdom. The eldest brother, Christopher Beckett, who died suddenly in 1847, unmarried, and without a will, left personalty araounting to nearly one million sterling, which was divided among his brothers and sisters. Mr. William Beckett, the then head of Beckett's Bank, who died in 1856, left personal property amounting to ,5^700,000, and his great wealth descended to the sons, in tail male, of his brother, the late Sir Edmund Beckett, whose eldest son, the present Sir Edmund Beckett, Q.C. (who was independently a man of great wealth), is the tenant for life. John Staniforth Beckett, of Barnsley, the only son of Joseph Beckett, and cousin to Sir John and Sir Thomas Beckett, of Leeds, on his death in 1868, as we have said, left personal estate (in addition to his real estate) amounting to about ;^3So,ooo, which centres in the chUdren of Sir Henry Hickman Bacon. Thus the wealth accumulated by the two brothers. Sir John Beckett, of Leeds, and Joseph Beckett, of Barnsley, appears destined, like the riches of the Rothschilds, to agglomerate for the benefit of their descendants. 87 No. IV. Sir (3C0VQC Mombwell anb tbe Jfamili? of Mombwell, of Mombwell anb Barnslei?. HE family of Wombwell, another of the families that passed into the Baronetage from Barnsley, is of high antiquity. Its descent was the subject of controversy amongst genealogists so far back as the reign of Queen Elizabeth. The pedigree confirmed by Flower, Norroy King of Arms, at the Visitation in 1563, not being satisfactory, the family employed Dethick, a celebrated herald, in 1593, to compUe for them another and more satisfactory one, in which their descent was traced through a regular succession of Wombwells to a Robert WombweU, who was aUeged to have been living in the second year of the reign of King Stephen (113 7). Of this pedigree the account given in Thoresby's Ducatus is said to be for the most part a copy; but about 1775, when the first Sir George Wombwell was created a baronet, John Charies Brooke, the Somerset Herald, was employed to 88 ¦ Worthies of Barnsley. compare this pedigree with existing evidence, and to com pile an authentic one of the family, but he could not reconcile it with evidences, or raise a more satisfactory one on its basis.* The family have, however, been connected with the township of WombweU from a very early period. In 1277, when what is called Kirkby's Inquest was taken, John de WombweU is returned as holding lands in Womb weU. In 1316, the ninth year of the reign of Edward the Second, a Robert de Wombwell appears as Lord of Womb well. In 133s, Hugh, son of Ralph de WombweU was slain by Richard, son of John D'EyvUe, of Hemingfield.t D'EyvUe was in gaol at York, in that year, when a pardon • was granted from the King, as it appeared that he had slain WombweU in his own defence. In 1372, a Richard de WorabweU, on the death of Thomas de Darfield, was elected Prior of Nostel, and he presided over that house until his death in 138s. He was, we are told, a man of a very different stamp from his predecessor ; had a great affection for " Choice Falerian" and " Nostel October," and was very fond of hunting and liked jovial society. When he wished to unbend, he would say to his companions, " The Prior is fast asleep." Then he would make merry, and, we suspect, give a colour of truth to the quaint song * Hunter's South Yorkshire. Vol. ii., p. 123. + On the 9th Oct., 1366, there was a Commission to absolve Adam de Wordelworth, chaplain, for killing John de Staynton, at Bernesley, in self-defence. On 26th Feb., 1362, there was a Commission to absolve Sir Adam de Everingham, Knight, who had been excommunicated for laying violent hands on Richard de Halghton, rector, of a moiety of the church of Derfield. 28th Ed. I. The Family of Wombwell. 89 in which the monks of old are pictured as a jovial crew, laughing and quaffing to their hearts' content. Neverthe less he was no idle Prior. He added considerably to the buUdings of the monastery by the erection of new cells for the canon's dormitory, a new infirmary, a guest chamber, a bakehouse, and a stable near the pool, for the use of strangers. He also built a new bell tower, and sank a well where the coal pits of the priory were. Returning from Pontefract, he was seized with a paralysis that deprived him of the use of his limbs and speech. In this state he remained eight or nine days, and then he died, and was buried in the middle of the new Chapter House.* A deed of Thomas de Wombwell, of the date 6th Henry IV. (140s), was in the Museum of Thoresby, the antiquary, and afterwards was in the possession of Mr. Wilson, of Broomhead, which contained a beautiful impres sion of his seal, exhibiting the arms at present borne by the family, with the inscription — " SIGILLVM THOMAE DE W0MBEWELL."t * Nostel Priory, Batty. Pages 19-20. t In a Poll-tax in 1379, reign of Richard II., among a great number of names under Wombwell, are the foUowing : — " Johannes de Wodhall, ad valorem, militis xxr. Hugo de Wombewell, eodem nomine, and Elena vx" j ejus , 1 Elena Seruiens Johannis de Wodhall iiijii Ricardus de Merkesburgh and Cecilia vx" ejus .^ iiiji/. Johannes de Feronlowe and Auicia vx" ejus, jffleshewer vid. Willelmus Cok and Cecilia vx" ejus, Bakester „ iiiji/. Willelmus Bakester and Elizabetha vx" ejus iiij<^. Alicia Shepshank, Chapman xiji^. ' —See Public Record Office. Lay Subsidies, West Riding of York, No. 206-49. go Worthies of Barnsley. In pre-Reformation times, if persons who were about to marry were related to each other in even a remote degree, they had to obtain a licence or dispensation from the Pope or one of his Cardinals in order to be aUowed to do so. One of these dispensations was granted by Jordan, Bishop of Alba, on the 12th of June, 1430, to Thomas WombweU, Esq., and Joan Bosvile to marry. This permission was required as " Elizabeth, WombweU's first wife, was related to Joan in the fourth degree." On Dec. i8th, 1470, there was a dispensation from the Pope for John Hall and Margarey WombweU, who were married and had chUdren. This would appear to have been required in those times, on account of "John Wombwell, Esq., the father of Margarey, being Hall's godfather." Thomas Wombwell died in 1452, and in his wiU, proved 14th March, 14S2-3, he directs that he shall be buried in the church of Darfield."" To the chapel of St. John and St. James at Darfield he leaves three marks. A missal, which he had received under the will of John Rockley, he leaves to the church of Darfield for the use of the priest of the aforesaid chapel. To Joan Wombwell, his wife, J^i^o, together with all the cattle and furniture, which were bestowed upon her before their marriage. He also bequeathed to her eight buUs, and twelve cows, together with two hanging bedsteads, and all the apparel, curtains, sheets, and pillows in the two rooms usually occupied, viz., the public room and new room. To his son, Thomas WombweU, 100 marks, of which part is let out on mortgage to one Thomas Preston ; one hanging bedstead, together "" Testamenta Eboracensia (Surtees Soe. Pub.), Vol. xxx. 163-4. The Family of Wombwell. 91 with the piUows, sheets, and curtains, which were in the empty parlour, and aU the other furniture and things in the room which he occupies. Grand-daughter, Agnes Womb- ¦"'ell' -^20. WiUiara Carter, testator's chaplain, 40s. To the poor and needy of the townships of Wombwell and Darfield, 20s.; to the Chapel of the Blessed Mary of WombweU, 13s. 4d. ; to the houses of St. Augustine, at TickhUl, the Minor Brethren and the CarmeUtes of Don caster, and the Friar Preachers of Pontefract, 13s. 4d. each ; the sum of five marks to be distributed among the poor people seven days after his funeral ; to five of the needy without distinction living near his chapel, 6s. 8d. in alras ; to his illegitimate son, John Wombwell, 13s. 4d. ; to each of his servants, 13s. 4d. ; to his son, John WorabweU, four yoke of oxen, with all the ornaments of his chapel, including chalice, books, and vestments, and all the sheets, hangings, etc., of his couch, with half of all his vases or jars, and utensils of his pantry, his own bed, with all the apparel in his own room, together with his hanging bed and all the sheets and bed clothes in the parlour. His son John, John Bosvile, and Thomas WorabweU, executors.* Thomas Wombwell was allowed to enclose a certain part of the king's highway, from the " greene lane in Wombwell towards the south, as far as Tunstall Cross." On the 27th Feb., 1452, there was a commission from Richard Tone, Vicar General, to the Bishop of the Isles, to * "14th July, 1452. Tho: Wombewell, of Wombwell, Esq., made his will (proved 14th March, 1453), giving his soul to God Almighty his Creator, to St. Mary and all Saints, and his body to be buried in ye Church of All-hallows of Darfield." — Torre's Testamentary Burials. 92 Worthies of Barnsley. veU Joan, widow of Thomas Wombwell* This custom was common in early times. Many ladies took vows of chastity, particularly widows on the death of their husbands. A kind of investiture, says Canon Raine, took place gene raUy before or during the celebration of mass, when the ofSciator gave the vowess a pall or mantle, a veU and a ring, and then she made a vow of chastity. She was not neces sarUy severed from the world through this ceremony, but could live in it, and did so, generally living a retired sort of Ufe, and near to some monastery. The widow of Thomas WombweU, who was a daughter of Sir WiUiam FitzwiUiara, of Sprotborough, did not long survive her husband. By her wiU, which was dated July lo, i4S4,t she left for the erection of beUs at Whitkirk 40s. od.; for a quarterly service of the Blessed Mary at Darfield, * " 1484-5, Jan. 5. Commission to William, Bishop of Dromore, to veil Margaret Simms, of Barnsley, widow.'' " '399) Nov. 17. In the chapel within the Manor of Newstead, near the priory of St. Oswald of Nostel, WiUiam, Bishop of Pharos, the suffragan of the Archbishop, received the vow of chastity of Isabell, widow of Sir John Savile [of Thornhill and Tankersley], Kjit., and gave her the ring and mantle." — Reg. Scrope, 21a. " 1474. Commission to William, Bishop of Dromore, to veil Joan Marton, of Hemsworth, widow. '' " 1482, July 3. Commission to WiUiam, Bishop of Dromore, to veil AUce, widow of Sir John Savile, Knt. [of Thornhill and Tankersley]." " 1491-2, Feb. I. Commission to William, Bishop of Dromore, to veil Isabel, widow ofThomas Fletcher, of Calthorne (Cawthorne)." " 1456, June 11. Commission to Roger Spencer, rector of Barn- burgh, to receive the oath of Joan, wife of John Wentworth, of North Elmsal, who is charged by her husband with adultery. " "1383. The vow of chastity of Elizabeth Fitzwilliam received." — Testamenta Ebor {Surtees Soe. ) Vol. xxx. t Testamenta Eboracensia {Surtees Society Pub.) Vol. xxx. ; 163-4. The Family of Wombwell. 93 13s. 4d. ; and the same amount for similar services at Wombwell, Roystone, Sandal, and Pontefract ; to each brother and priest at these places, is. ; to WiUiam ScargiU, of Thorpe, shield bearer, one pair of ... . with the golden ornaments, one pair of blankets, and ten marks in money ; to "William Mirfield, her brother, one silver funnel with hanging cover, one feather bed with bolster and down pil lows, and ten marks ; to Elizabeth Arundall one mantle of linen ; to the Church of Batley a quantity of linen for vest ments, and 13s. 4d. ; to John Fitzwilliam, her small cross ; to Margaret Popilwell one black gown ; to Alice Mirfield, her sister, her black belt ; to Margaret SaUey, one belt of green ; to Cecelia Bemond, one belt ; to Sir John Boswell, of the rectory of the Church of Darfield, one black belt ; to John ScargiU, of Deyn, 40s. ; to John ScargUl, of Roche, 13s. 4d. ; to Agnes Amyas, one dress, one green waterproof, and seven marks ; to Oliver Mirfield, eight silver spoons ; to Lady Jane Lacy, one bracelet, one cap, and one hand kerchief, and aU her hair; to William Salley, junr., one silver funnel with a hanging cover ; to Elizabeth Burgoyen, one black linen dress. She also bequeathed eight marks to the chapel of Lord Henry Northorpe for the celebration of masses or other divine things for one year for the good of her soul; Ambrose Holmes, 13s. 4d. ; to Jane ScargiU, her servant, two coverlets, two bodices, and aU her old Unen, and three marks in silver. Residue to WiUiam ScargiU, of Thorp, and William Mirfield, for the good of her soul. Proved at York, i4S4- John Wombwell, Esq., the son and heir of Thoraas Wombwell, married Elizabeth, daughter of John BosvUe, of Ardsley. John WombweU's name is mixed up in a very 94 Worthies of Barnsley. curious case which occurred at Wombwell in the year 1467. A William Byg, alias Lech, for sorae years drove a lucrative trade at that place as a magician, and by pretending to dis cover stolen property through the aid of a magic crystal. The Vicar-General of the Archbishop of York laid hands on him on a charge of heresy. In his evidence Byg implicates several persons of rank and consideration, including John Wombwell and a Fitzwilliam. The punishment inflicted upon the culprit was to march at the head of a procession, carrying a lighted torch and his books on magic, and he was to make a full recantation and burn the books. This recan tation was to be repeated in the parish churches of Ponte fract, Barnsley, Doncaster, and Rotherham.* * Canon Raine, in a communication to the Archceological Journal, Vol. xiii., p. 373, says : — " The culprit, one WiUiam Byg, alias Lech, came to Wombwell about the year 1465. For the next two or three years he earned a livelihood by recovering stolen property through the aid of a crystal. His fame for good and evil began to spread abroad, and he soon found himself in the hands of the Vicar-General of the Archbishop of York, upon a charge of heresy. The fear of the heavy pains and penalties which could be inflicted for so serious an offence drew a full confession from the culprit. In it he gives an account of the manner in which he practised his art, of his e.xperiments and their success. " The following punishment was to be inflicted on him :— He was ordered to walk at the head of a procession in the Cathedral Church of York, holding a lighted torch in his right hand, and a rod with his books hanging to it by a string in his left. A paper inscribed with the words ecce sortilegus was to be affixed to his head. On his breast and back were to be inscribed the words invocaiur spirituum, whilst his shoulders were to be decorated with similar ornaments, charged with the appalling title of sortilegus. Thus attired, he was ordered to make a full recantation of his misdemeanours, and to seal it by committing his books to the flames. A similar repudiation of his errors was to be made in the parish churches of Pontefract, Barnsley, Doncaster, andRotherham. "Byg's confession before the Commissary Poteman was made on the 22nd of August, 1467. He did not, however, make his full submission The Family of Wombwell. 95 John Wombwell, by his will dated the isth of June, 1487, and proved at York on the 31st July, the same year, desired to be buried in the Church of Darfield.* To Roger Womb well he leaves a raissal, a chalice of silver gilt, with all the other ornaments of his chapel. John Wombwell, his son, to be his residuary legatee, and among the witnesses of his will occur the names of Hugh Wombwell, gent., Oliver Crofte Vicar of Darfield, and Richard Hopkynson, Vicar of Bolton.t before the 23rd March the following year, when he was released from the pains of excommunication and received his sentence. The punishment for such an offender, was but slight. This apparent lenity may, per haps, be accounted for. It is very probable that some persons of con sequence had required ^ Byg's assistance, and thus the deceiver was rescued by the dupe. With great adroitness he implicates with himself several persons of rank and consideration. By doing so he probably saved himself. The Wombwells were even then rising into importance, and the Archbishop of York, with the princely blood of Neville flowing in his veins, would be loth to lay his hands upon a Fitzwilliam [who is mentioned in Byg's evidence.]" * Testamenta Ebor. {Surtees Socielfs Pub. ) Vol. xxv. pp. 163-64. + " 15th June, 1487. John Wombwell of Wombwell, in ye Parish of Darfield, made his will, giving his soul {ut supra) and his body to be buried in the Parish Church, Darfield. I Jan. 1475. Thomas Wombwell, of Darfield, made his wiU (proved 23 Jan., 1475) giving his soul to God Almighty, St. Mary, and all saints, and his body to be buried in ye Parish Church of Darfield. 4 July, 1555. Hugh Wombwell, of ye Parish of Darfield, gent., made his wUl (proved 10 Oct., 1556), giving his soul to God Almighty, St. Mary, and all saints, and his body to be buried in ye Church of AUhallowes before our Lady at Darfield. 7 April, 1622. Will WombweU, of WombweU, Esq. , made his will (proved 25 June, 1622), giving his soul to God Almighty, his Creator, and his body to be buried in ye Parish Church of Darfield. 15 June, 1637. -Cotton Wombwell, of WombweU, gent., made his will (proved 2 Aug., 1638), giving his soul to God, and his body to Le buried in ye Church or Churchyard of Darfield."— Tir^-e'j Testamentary Burials. 96 Worthies of Barnsley. Roger Wombwell, in 1507, founded and endowed in the chapel of St. Mary, at WombweU, a chantry dedicated to our Lady of Pity, to Pray for his soul, and aU Christian souls, the clear value at the time of King Henry's Valor being J^4 us. 3d., issuing out of lands at Bolton, Newhall, and Darfield. Robert Curtis was then the Chantry priest. Another Rogfer Wombwell, of Wombwell, entered the monastery of Mount Grace. His will is dated 26th May, 1520; and a Richard, son of Richard de WombweU (says Burton, in his Monasticon), gave all his lands at Smithley to the prior and monks of Bretton. The Wombwells came into possession of the estate of Thundercliffe, through the marriage of Hugh Wombwell, second son of Thomas WorabweU, of WorabweU, with the only daughter of Thomas Rokeby (brother of the Arch bishop of that narae), of Thundercliffe, and this estate remained in the family of Wombwell for three generations.* * At Glover's Visitation of Yorkshire, in 1584, we find the following families of Wombwell entered their arms and pedigrees : — Thomas Wombwell, of Wombwell, Esq. Thomas Wombwell, at Synocliffe Grange, gent. Ralph Wombwell, of Dalton, gent. While at the Visitation of 1612, by Richard St. George, Norroy King of Arms, the arms and pedigrees of Wombwell, of Wombwell, were entered and signed by "John Wombwell andAppleton Wombwell." Branches of the Wombwell family have resided at different periods at Hemingfield, Great Houghton, and Darfield. According to the Darfield Parish Registers, a — Mr. Appleton Wombwell, of Darfield, was bur. ye 2nd of June, 1629. WUliam Wombwell, son of John Wombwell, of Great Houghton, bur. 13th Jan., 1640. Mr. Fuljamb Wombwell, of Hemingfield, bur. Feb. 13, 1654. Mrs. Wombwell, widow, Hemingfield (in Wombwell), bur. 27th July, 1690. William Wombwell, eldest son of Thomas Wombwell, was living at Blacker in 1612. The Family of Wombwell. 97 We pass over several generations of the family until we come to the time of John WombweU, of WorabweU, who was a Justice of the Peace in the reign of Elizabeth, and who married Frances, daughter of Sir John Wentworth, of Elrasall. He had a large famUy, including William, his eldest son, John, Cotton, Woodruffe, Wentworth, Francis, Darcy, Appleton, and at least one daughter. The eldest son and successor, WiUiam, who was born about 1S65, was married three times; to his second wife, Mary, daughter and heiress of William Rockley, of Rockley, he had no issue, but to his third wife, Olivia, daughter of William Burnel, of Brinkburn, CO. Notts., he had a large family, including Williara (who succeeded him), Thomas, a Fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge, and Vicar of Wath, and Roger, who was the direct ancestor of the family of WorabweU of Leeds and Barnsley. Thomas was instituted to the Vicarage of Wath, on the 24th July, i6s2, and was ejected from a Fellowship of his college for refusing to take the engagement. He was, however, restored in 1660, and died in 1661.* William, the * " There was ejected from this College, on account of the engage ments (St. John's CoUege, Cambridge), Thomas Wombwell, B.D. He, however, lived to be restored in 1660." — Walker's Sufferings of the Clergy, p. 15. " The date of his institution is not found in Torre's list ; but in the records of the First Fruits Office, he is said to have en tered into the possession of the benefice 24th July, 1652. Perhaps he had no regular presentation or institution. In his time ;^5o a year was ordered to be paid out of the rectory to the Vicar of Pontefract. He died Vicar of Wath." — South Yorkshire, vol. ii. pp. 72. "Mr. Thomas Wombwell, Vicar of Wath, bur. Oct. 28, 1661."— Darfield Parish Register. "The sum of ;^30 which was given in 1633, by the Rev. Thomas Wombwell, for building a School at Wath, was laid out in purchasing a ;mall field, and erecting a school thereon." — Charity Commissioners' Reports, 1826. 8 98 Worthies of Barnsley. eldest son, was captain of a company of Foot in the trained bands of the West Riding, under the command of Sir George Wentworth, of WooUey, whose sister, Margaret, he had married. He was succeeded at WombweU by his eldest son, Thomas, who was born i8th May, 1632, and on the 26th June, i6ss. raarried Martha, daughter of Sir Thomas Wentworth, of Elrasall, Knt. The following record of their marriage may be found in the Darfield Parish Register : — " Thomas Wombwell, Esq., of Wombwell, within this parish of Darfield, and Mrs. Martha Wentworth, of the parish of Badsworth, were married by Thomas Westby, Esquire, a Justice of the Peace, the 26th day of June, i6s5. The publication being, made three severall Lord's dayes in ye parish church of Darfield, that is May 13th, May 20th, and May 27th, at the close of the morning exercise, according to an Act of Parliament, and nothing objected against their marriage." In 1 66 1 we have a copy of an order issued by Thomas WombweU, Esq., of Wombwell, calling upon the militia to assemble for training at Darfield Shroggs, a place in front of Middlewood HaU, and at a short distance from the Roman earthworks, where they assembled for drill up to the early part of the present century. The document runs as follows : — " These are to will and require you, the constables of the townes hereunder written, that you give notis to all the private and comraon men within your severall constabularies that they bee and appeare com pletely armed at Darfield Shroggs, upon Tuesday, the twenty-fourth day of September, by tenne of the clocke in the morninge, and that you the constables doe provide and sende with each musketer one halfe pounde of powder and The Family of Wombwell. 99 twoe yards and a halfe of match, and that you give notis to all privat men that doe make the same provisson of ammunicion for three days of this provisson to be made. You are not to faUe, or any soldier of their appearance, as you tender his Ma'ties servis. Given under my hand the nineteenth day of September, 1661. " Tho : Wombwell. "To the ConstabeUs of Carieton, Royston, Notton, Woolley, Darton, Cumberworth, and Bretton." Thomas Wombwell died August 7th, i66s, in his 33rd year,* leaving one surviving son, WUliam, who died i8th * "Mr. Thomas Wombwell, of Wombwell, Esq.; bur., Aug. 19, 1665." — Darfield Parish Register. There is also the following inscription, in Latin, in Darfield Church, to his memory : — " Here, where the cast-off' vesture of mortality is laid aside, sharing the society of so many of his ancestors, lies one to whom they bequeathed alike their virtues and' their honours. He survived a prudent father to inherit both the ancient worth and enhanced dignity of his house. " Amid bright examples displayed in purity erf" morals, in uprightness of heart, in a charming sweetness of disposition, in unsullied honour, in tenderest affection to a wife then perfectly happy, and in devotion to the God of all grace and power, whilst enduring with unwonted fortitude the agonies of acute gout and other maladies (for already in his life there was the sharp savour of pain and sickness), he was taken away in the very flower of his age — taken from our sight, not from our remembrance — leaving to his friends a perpetual sorrow, to his wife unutterable anguish, and to aU, on account of clearest indications of noble qualities ever developing, whereby he had excited the hopes of his house, a deep sense of the loss they had sustained. " The rest, reader, you will learn from living witnesses, now that you have been apprised that here are laid the remains of Tho. Wombwell, of Wombwell, esquire, son of W. Wombwell, esquire, and Margaret his wife, daughter of Michael Wentworth, of Wolley, esquire, born May 18, 1632, died Aug. 7, 1663 ; who by Martha, daughter of Th. IOO Worthies of Barnsley. Feb., 169s, at the early age of 38, leaving a widow, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Godfrey Copley, of Sprotborough, who survived her husband 47 years, dying in July, 1742, in the 80th year of her age.* Having no issue, WUliam Wombwell left his estates to his cousin, WiUiam WombweU, son of George WombweU, of Leeds. He, too, diedt comparatively young, on the 2 sth Sept., 1716, aged 45 years, and was buried at Darfield. | In his will, which was dated 30th August, 1708, he mentions his eldest son, William WorabweU, and his only brother, John WombweU, of Leeds ; to his mother, Mrs. Hannah Stanley, ;£^io a year; his "ancient grandfather," Mr. WiUiara Waugh, _;^io a year ; had made a jointure before his marriage upon his Wentworth, of Elmsal, knight, and of Martha, daughter of Tho. Hayes, of London, knight, had two sons, Th. and Th., and a daughter unnamed, whom he saw die in infancy, and left a son, WiUiam, born Aug. 25, 1658, the only solace of his mother. " In perpetual remembrance of so noble a husband, his sorrowing wife, fulfilling this painful office, erected and now dedicates this monument, watered by tears of unending affection and afBiction, a.d. 1665." * Here lies the body of WiUiam Wombwell, of Wombwell, in the county of York, Esq., who departed this life the 18th February, Anno Dom. 1695-6, aged 38. In memory of her most dear husband, Elizabeth Wombwell, his sorrowful widow, daughter of Sir Godfrey Copley, of Sprotborough, baronet, hath placed this monument. Under which she was likewise interred, July the 15th, 1742, aged 80. t " Here lieth the body of William Wombwell, of W^ombwell, who departed this life the 25th Sep., 1716, aged 46 years. He married Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of Sir Michael Wentworth, of Woolley, Knight, and left issue by her William, George, Michael, Dorothea, Margaret, and Catherine. Elizabeth and Ann deceased lie near this place." — Mon. Inscriptions in Darfield Church. X Dr. Oxley, of Bristol, a native of Barnsley, who had been much connected with Wombwell in his early years, writing from Bristol, The Family of Wombwell. loi wife, Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Sir Michael Wentworth, of WooUey. Mr. Godfrey Wentworth, of Brodsworth, his brother-in-law, and Elizabeth WombweU are appointed executors. WilUam Wombwell, as wUl be seen above, married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Michael Wentworth, of WooUey, Kt., and left issue, William, his eldest son, who succeeded to the estates, and died at Scarborough on the 2ist October, 1733, in the 33rd year of his age; George, Vicar of Norton, in Derbyshire, who died unmarried in I7S6; Michael, of Wakefield, attorney, who was kUled by a faU from his horse, at Sandal, Feb. 24, 1742 ; Catherine, the last survivor of the main line of the family, who died at York, unmarried, sth May, 1794, aged 89 years, and was buried at Darfield ; and several other daughters who also died unmarried. It will be seen that the heads of the family had for three or four generations gone off" in quick where he had settled, to Mr. Wainwright, the author of " Strafforth and TickhiU," in 1823, says : — "The family arms and monuments of thei» Wombwells are scattered all over the east end of the Church of Darfield, and their names are entered in our oldest parish documents. It would seem that, having buried and covered their remains with monumental stones sufficient to pave the north-east eiid of the aisle, they commenced their operations in the south aisle, where all the latter branches He interred. The ceiling of several yards in the north aisle is painted blue, chequered with clouds, the arms and crest in small square compartments, and gilded to cover and ornament the angles ; three-fourths of the south aisle, is ceiled in this way, although it does not seem that either the present tenants or purchasers have any pews or burial place on this side. In the other (N. ) there are several unoccupied, or rather unclaimed pews, and the old Wombwell stall is adjoining the reading desk. On the north side there are some ancient ornamental oak pews, upon the doors of which are devices in alto relievo and carved work." 102 Worthies of Barnsley. succession at early ages. The last WiUiam Wombwell left a widow and two daughters,* who became his co-heiresses. The widow of WiUiam Wombwell, who was a daughter of Sir Thomas Standish, of Duxbury, in the County of Lan caster, continued to reside at Wombwell HaU, and married, secondly, Anthony HaU, Esq. She would appear to have died at York in 1764, and was brought to be interred at Darfield. + Dr. Oxley, writing to Mr. Wainwright in 1825, says: "She feU in love with Mr. Anthony HaU, of Kirkleatham, a sporting companion of her first husband, and who, it would seem, had some hold of the estate, either for his own life or that of his wife, as he lived in great splendour at Wombwell Hall. By him she had sons and daughters ; of the former — Anthony and Jonathan — one lived at or near Durham, and, I think, the other at Kirk leatham. Cf the daughters, I personally knew, more than 30 years ago, Catherine Hall. She appeared at the time to be near 60 years of age. She resided a short time at iirWorabwell, and on her first visiting the scenes of her childhood and the seat of her ancestors she wept, probably at the recollection of fallen greatness. Whether she died at Wombwell, or Durham, or London, I cannot say, but she (as well as her mother) vs^as buried at Darfield, and, you will perceive, was never married ; and if her brothers left no * Dr. Oxley makes the following allusion to the last WiUiam Wombwell : — " He appears to have been a wealthy, rough, country squire ; a noted Nimrod, who kept much shooting company. My father once saw him, perhaps more than 70 years ago, perhaps 80. He lies buried under a black marble altar tomb, I think on the south side of the chancel in Darfield Church, with some of his family. I recollect when a boy having often seen his tomb." + Wainwright's MS. Collections. The Family of Wombwell. 103 issue, the family is extinct." William WombweU's sister Catherine survived her brother above 60 years, dying in 1795, at the age of 89. In the south quire of Darfield Church, among the monuments in memory of the different members of the family of Wombwell is the following : — " In memory of Catherine Wombwell, spinster, the daughter of William Wombwell, of Wombwell, Esq., and Elizabeth his wife, the daughter of Sir Michael Wentworth; of Woolley, knight. She became the sole representative of the eldest branch of the Wombwell family, and closed an exemplary life sth of May, a.d. 1795, aet. 89. Her remains are deposited in the family burial place in this church ; and this memorial is gratefully inscribed to her virtues by her cousin, Peregrine Wentworth." The estates went eventually to the two daughters of William Wombwell, one of whom would be the Miss Wombwell, of Wombwell, who subscribed ;£^S° towards the defence of the country at the rebellion of i74S- Margaret married Anthony St. Leger, nephew to the first Viscount DoneraUe, in 1761. He was the Lieut.-General Anthony St. Leger from whora the Doncaster St. Leger race took its name, and he resided at Park HiU, Doncaster. She died without issue, Dec. 20th, 1776, and the General in 1786, when he was succeeded at Park HUl by his nephew, Major-General John St. Leger, commonly called "Handsome Jack" St. Leger, the friend and companion of George, Prince of Wales. The other daughter, Elizabeth, married Sir Charles Turner, of Kirkleatham. Dr. Oxley, alluding to these co-heiresses, says, " Elizabeth was a cele brated beauty; the other daughter, Margaret, died within my recollection, and was splendidly interred at Darfield. I04 Worthies of Barnsley. One of these ladies was a noted horsewoman, and by a fall from her horse at the corner of WombweU Park injured her back. They were co-heiresses, and after their marriage the Manor of WombweU and the famUy estates were sold in large or small portions, and partly pur chased by a speculator whose name was, I think. Marsh, and who, in borrowing money of his neighbours, ruined almost half the township. A fragment of the estate, which was purchased by Colonel St. Leger in 1774, is in possession of my family." Sir Charles Turner is said by Brooke in his MSS. to have bought Colonel St. Leger's share for ^^40,000, and then to have sold the whole estate to the same Colonel St. Leger and Thoraas EUiot, of Freamington, in the North Riding, gentleman, for ^105,000. The estate was then sold off" in parcels, when Sir George Wombwell (who had returned from India), a son of Roger Wombwell, of Barnsley, and grandson of John Wombwell, of Barnsley, .and who belonged to a younger branch of the family, was the prin cipal purchaser, and obtained possession of the manor and such part of the estate as was still unsold, and thus the family connection with the township was to some extent restored, although no part of the family has had any resi dence there since. The old hall of Wombwell — which was not included in these purchases — went into other hands, and was let to tenants, since which time its glory has graduaUy departed from it. Dr. Oxley, who well remem bered this edifice, writing to Mr. Wainwright, Aug. 2nd, 1823, S7 years ago — and Mr. Oxley was then not a young man — says : — " The family of Wombwell not more than a century ago lived at Wombwell in baronial splendour. They had their The Family of Wombwell. 105 hounds, their park of deer (these last were kiUed off" within my own recollection), their fishponds and gardens, and they fared sumptuously every day; they kept a vast retinue of servants, and appeared to have maintained all the grandeur and authority of feudal times." Again, June 17, 182s, he writes: "Your account of the venerable feudal mansion of the Wombwells I read with an interest of no ordinary kind ; many of the details were not less novel than interesting. Of the canopy, corbels, and fretted windows I have no recollection, and their existence afforded me a satisfaction which I cannot express, and led me to the conclusion that this imposing relic of antiquity possessed an importance of a far higher character than I had previously conceived. I hope that you exarained the structure with the closest attention and minuteness. In reference to that venerable pile, there is. I fancy, sufficient proof arising out of the difference of style, of its having undergone, in coraparatively modern times, considerable enlargeraent and alteration. The south front, so far as I recollect, appears of an earlier date than the eastern and western wings. But part of the latter next the road, and which in ray childhood was called the ' Tower,' appears to me to be the earliest part of the structure. In a lower story of this was what, a century ago, was called the 'drawing room.' One of my family recollected its being used as such. Fully 40 years ago, I was present when it was fiUed with rustics engaged in their midnight revel, and so far as I can remember, at this distance of time, it was a lofty room, and I fancy had a massive, if not ornamental moulding and ceiling, and I perfectly recoUect a border of gilded leather. From a window in an upper room, I recollect an inner io6 Worthies of Barnsley. court, covered with grass, which gave me an imposing idea of the sombre grandeur and extent of the mansion. On the north side was a leaden pipe with a stop cock, where, when a boy, I often quenched my thirst with delicious water. Near this pipe was a pointed window, not many feet from the ground. Whether thjs last be an illusion of memory, or a fact, I cannot say ; but if the latter, what may be the history of that window? Was it to enlighten a prison, or cell, or a cellar?" " There is a tradition," says Mr. Hunter, " (for it can be called no more), that Wombwell is connected with the Monarchy of Deira. I find it in the papers both of Dods worth and Thoresby. ' ^^ombwell,' says the former, ' was a prison of the kings of Northumberland, as saith Mr. Burdet, and that Mr. WombweU hath such deeds to prove it.' Charters belonging to the affairs of Northumberland, or even referring to them, would be a curiosity indeed. But Thoresby, when he was at Wombwell, was introduced to the very chamber in which a king had been confined."* Dr. Oxley, referring to the distribution of the Wombwell estates, says: "The farm at Low Laiths was purchased * Thoresby alludes to this curious tradition in his diary under date May 28, 1684 : " At Rotherham. Went thence to WombweU, a seat of an ancient family of that name, who have a tradition that one of the Saxon kings (I presume during the Heptarchy, when there were plenty of them) was starved to death in that house, where they show a kind of an old vault near the cellar, supposed to be the place ; but I could not learn the king's name. . . ." On another occasion Thoresby, along with Mr. Bland, called at Wombwell, — " Were most kindly received by Mr. Wombwell. After dinner perused the pedigree of that ancient famUy, and having seen the dungeon where tradition says a Saxon king was imprisoned, rode thence to the extent of my destined journey, Wentworth Woodhouse." The Family of Wombwell. 107 out of the WombweU property, and left by Dr. Wood, of Hemsworth. There are two or three good farms in Hemingfield, which were purchased out of the Wombwell estates by Messrs. Swift and Allen ; and another, a large estate, by Mr. Hemingway, but sold to Mr. Swift also; others to Messrs. Sanderson, Clark, &c. There are many small freeholds also which have reduced that ancient pro perty considerably. This noble estate comprised nearly the whole township ; but one large wood of considerable extent and a few small farms remain to the family. There is an excellent farmhouse, beautifully situated at Hemingfield, and tenanted by Mr. Birks, attorney-at-law, whose father was agent to the WombweUs. There was a map of the township, I think, in his possession, by which the estate was divided and arranged into lots for sale. The old hall is now divided and subdivided into tenements for the Worab weU poor, being in a very dUapidated state. It belongs to the estate purchased by Mr. Swift, but nevertheless there is a sufficiency of walls, &c., to denote the extensive posses sions of that ancient family." The younger branch of the family, who re-purchased part of their ancestral estate, and to which were added consider able purchases during the minority of the second Baronet, had settled in Barnsley, the first Baronet being a native of that town. They shot off from the parent stock of the family in the person of Roger Wombwell, a younger son of WUliam Wombwell, of WombweU.* Roger had at least one son, * Margaret Wombwell, baptized at Darfield 28th of Nov., 1646, married Robert Cliffe, of Matlock. He died 1696, aged 76. In the Harl MSS. Brit. Mus. 6212, is the following inscription copied from a headstone in Bunhill Fields burial ground : — " Here lyeth the body of Mr. Nathaniel Cliff, of London, bookseUer, io8 Worthies of Barnsley. George WombweU, attorney, of Leeds, who married Hannah,* daughter of WiUiam Waugh, Esq., and died in 1682. George WombweU, of Leeds, had two sons, William, of Wombwell and Leeds, to whom his cousin (dying without male issue) left the Wombwell estates ; and John Wentworth WombweU, of Leeds, afterwards of Barnsley, who was born at Leeds 15th October, 1672, and buried at Barnsley on the 2 ISt February, 1 733. Mr. Hobson thus records his death : — "i733-4>Feb. 17. Mr. WombweU, the attorney, of Barnsley, dead ; " and in the Barnsley Church Register his burial is thus entered: — "1733-4, Feb. 21st, Mr John Wombwell, attorney, buried;" and that of his widow; "174s, Mrs. Wombwell, widow, buried May 29th." There is also a' monument in St. Mary's Church, Barnsley, " In memory of Mr. John Wombwell, who was interred near this place the 2 ISt of February, 1733, aged 63 years, and of Elizabeth, his wife, who was also here interred ye 29th day of May. 174s. This monument was erected by their most affectionate son, Mr. George WorabweU, merchant in London.'' Mr. John WombweU married Elizabeth, daughter of Mr. Richard who died August the 13th, 1714, in the 34th year of his age. He was the 2nd son of Robert CUff, of Cliff, in the County of Derby, gent., by the third wife, Margaret, daughter of Roger Wombwell, of WombweU, in the county of York, Esq." * Within the altar rails of St. Peter's Church, Leeds, is the following inscription: — "George Wombwell, attorney-at-law, descended from the ancient Family of Wombwell, of WombweU, dyd 17th May, 1682. Aged 36. .(Erumnarum Requies Mors." — Gents' Rippon, to which is added ajournev into some parts of Yorkshire. George Wombwell, of Leeds, gent. Will dated 4th May, 1682. Mentions his two sons, WilUam and John, under age ; William Fenton, his clerk ; wife, Hannah. The Family of Wombwell. 109 Nottingham, of Leeds, and had issue George Wombwell, born at Leeds, in 1701, sometime consul at AUcante in Spain, and afterwards merchant in Crutched Friars, London. He erected the raonuraent in raemory of his parents in Barnsley Church, and died October Sth, 1763, leaving a son, John WombweU, who died unmarried, and a daughter, Anne, who married, in 1770, John Strachey, LL.D., Archdeacon of Suffolk, and F.S.A., one of the chaplains in ordinary to his Majesty George IIL, and had ten children by him. Dr. Strachey was a man of great note, and was selected in 1777 to superintend the printing of the Rolls of Parliament. He died at Ramsgate, in 1818, in the 82nd year of his age,* and his widow, in 1826, inthe 86th year of her age. William, the second son of John WombweU, of Barnsley, died at Wakefield, unmarried. Thomas, another son, born at Barnsley 4th of January, 1709, was an attorney at Leeds. and Barnsley. He died unmarried, and was buried at Wakefield in 1740 ;t and Roger, | the youngest son, who * On the 14th of November, 1770, Dr. Strachey was married at the Church of St. Dunstan in the West, London, to Anne, the only dau. of George Wombwell, of Crutched Friars, London, Esq., a merchant of the highest respectability. By this lady the Archdeacon had issue ten chUdren. The Archdeacon's eldest brother, Henry Strachey, was created a Baronet on the 6th of June, 1 801. + " 1740, Sep. 21, Mr. Thomas WombweU, hvcn^d.." —Wakefield Parish Register. X ThefoUowingincident is given in A''tffoi7»'j7i!Kr«a/.- — "1733, Aug. 6.— Mr. WombweU's son, of Barnsley (I think his name is Roger), stabbed Mr. Richard Oates, the noted leaper, with a penknife into the breast, as they were quarrelling in an alehouse at Horbury. Mr. William Wentworth happened to be by, who prevented Mr. Wombwell from doing any more harm. It was thought the stabb had been mortal, and Mr. Wombwell was secured ; but there being hopes of Mr. Oates' recovery, he is admitted lo bail." IIO Worthies of Barnsley. was born 31st May, 1708, and married Mary, daughter of Francis Chadwick, Esq. Roger Wombwell is said in the pedigree of the family to have died at sea on a voyage to Gibraltar. This may have been the case, but Dr. Oxley says that he was a grocer, and carried on business at Barnsley, in the shop at the top of Market-hill, occupied in 1823 by Mr. Samuel Dunn, who was in the same line of business, this shop being on the site of the premises lately rebuilt by Mr. Alfred Squire. This piece of information. Dr. Oxley states that he had, about 1780, from an old man at Wombwell, who knew the first Sir George Wombwell when a chUd. The eldest son of Roger WombweU, George, the future Baronet,* was born at Barnsley in 1734, and John, his second son, in 1737. Both sons entered the East India Company's service, and went out to India, where they amassed great wealth. Dr. Oxley, in one of his letters, says he well recollected Sir George Wombwell, who died in the vigour of his age, and that he knew personally the younger son, John, a most respectable and gentlemanly man, who resided at Heath Hall, near Wakefield, in 1791. He had been in India at least twelve years. While Mr. Wombwell was residing at Heath Hall, Mr. Oxley occasionally had conversation with him, from which he found that he was a great sufferer from the climate of India, and that his health had become much impaired thereby. In a paper on Heath Hall, read before the Yorkshire Archceological Society, at Wakefield, 25th August, 1869, by Mr. Fairless Barber, is the following : — " It is probable that the Italian windows and doorways * " 1734, June nth, George, son of R. Wombwell, bap. 1737, June I Sth, John the son of Mr. Roger Wombwell, bap." — Barnsley Parish Register. The Family of Wombwell. iii were introduced by Mr. John Wombwell, an East Indian Nabob, whom I learnt from an old person recently dead, had possession of the place as tenant, between ioo and 1 20 years ago, and who was stated to have spent large sums in alterations. The panelling in the drawing-room of the time of Horace Walpole was no doubt placed there in his occupancy, and other extensive innovations made, such as the dividing the banqueting chamber, and hiding of the ' Jezebel ' sculpture, which was accidentaUy discovered in taking down a false or hollow ceiling." Mr. John WombweU, whUe at Heath, held a com mission in the ist West York Regiment of MUitia, and sat in Parliament at the beginning of the present century. Sir George, the eldest son of Roger Wombwell, married Susannah, only daughter of Sir Thomas Rawlinson, Knt., Alderman of London, and Lord Mayor in 1746.* Sir George was an extensive merchant and director, and after wards Chairman of the East India Company, and M.P. for Huntingdon from 1774 to 1780. He was created a baronet 25th July, 1778, and died of consumption, at Beckenham, in Kent, on the 2nd Noveraber, 1780, when only about 46 years of age. He , had issue one son, George, his successor to the Baronetcy, and three daughters ; Susannah, who * Sir Thomas Rawlinson, Knt., was nephew of Thomas Rawlinson, of Gray's Inn, the " Tom Folio " of Addison's Taller ; also of Richard Rawlinson, D.C.L., Oxon., F.R.S., F.S.A., author of the Rawlinson MSS., Oxon., son of Sir Thomas Rawlinson, Lord Mayor of London, 1706, descended from Rawlinson, of Greenhead, co. Lancaster, ancestor of Major-General Sir Henry Creswicke Rawlinson, K.C.B., F.R.S., D.C.L., LL.D. 1 1 2 Worthies of Barnsley. married at an early age* (as will be seen from an extract from the Gentleman's Magazine given below) Edward Roche, in 1781 ; Caroline Frances, to Richard Clay, Esq. ; and Eraraa, who died before her father. " Some time previous to his death. Sir George," says Dr. Oxley, "had determined to build a seat in Yorkshire, and had fixed on the highest ridge of Blacker Coraraon, close to a pyramid erected by the late WilUam, Earl of Strafford (which you reraember seeing on your way to Barnsley). Here he planted forest trees, and sorae preparations were made for building. Whilst in conversation with a relative of mine, and descanting on the beauty and extent of the scenery and prospect, the latter remarked, ' Why, Sir George, I would walk for a prospect.' The hint was taken, and the plan abandoned, very unwisely in ray opinion. At this distance of tirae, I have not forgotten the feelings of my youth, when I have stood on the site of the intended mansion, on the outskirts of the plantation. It has still a hold on my imagination, which all the beauties of the West of England could never produce." But to return to the family. Lady WorabweU died on the 29th Sept., 1816, having become sole heir of her brother. Sir Walter Rawlinson, of Stowlangtoft, and of London, banker, who had died without issue, in i8os. Sir George Wombwell was succeeded by his eldest son, * "Married in September in this year (1781), at Ostend, Capt. Edward Roche, aged 40, to Miss Wombwell, eldest daughter of the late Sir George WombweU, Bart., aged 16. Just come from Mrs. Stevenson's Boarding School, with an independent fortune of ;^i2,ooo in possession, and as much in reversion on the death of her mother." — Gentleman's Magazine, Oct., 1781, p. 441. The Family of Wombwell. \ \ 3 Sir George Wombwell, the second baronet (born 1769), who was only about eleven years of age at his father's death. During his minority, the estates were in the hands of trustees for ten years, who largely added to them by the purchase of land in the district, including the site of the priory of Bretton, with the large estate adjoining, in or about 178s, for upwards of ^^30,000, and part of this stiU remains in the family. Sir George's education was completed at Trinity CoUege, Cambridge, where the degree of- M.A. was conferred upon him in 1790. In public life Sir George was chiefly distinguished as a man of fashion, and was the owner of a large racing stud. He was married twice — viz., first, on the 19th July, 1791, to Lady Anne Belasysse, daughter of Henry, second Eari of Fauconberg, by Charlotte, sister to Peniston Lamb, first Viscount Melbourne, and by this marriage he succeeded to the estates of New burgh — the residence there being a marvel of antiquity, many parts of it dating from the Plantagenets.* Sir George WombweU had issue by his first wife. Lady * " Henry, the last Earl of Fauconberg, who had married Charlotte daughter of Sir Matthew Lamb, Bart., of Brockett Hall, in the county of Herts., had issue four daughters. Charlotte, the eldest, was married to Thomas Edward Wynn, a younger branch of the Newburgh family in Wales, who, on the death of Earl Fauconberg, in 1802, succeeded to the Newburgh estates, and assumed the name of Belasysse. Anne, the second daughter, was married to Sir George Wombwell, Bart., of WombweU, and by her had issue three sons, of whom the eldest, the present Baronet, on the death of Lady Charlotte Wynn Belasysse, in 1825, succeeded to all the Fauconberg estates. The third. Lady Elizabeth Belasysse, married the late Duke of Norfolk, and was mother of the present Duke and of Earl Lucan, in Ireland. The fourth. Lady Harriet, died young."— Cz/Z'j Hislory of Easingwold, p. 174. 9 1 14 Worthies of Barnsley. Belasysse, George Wombwell, so well known in fashionable circles, born in 1792 ; Henry William, born in 1795, died in 183s ; and Frederick Richard. By his second wife, Eliza, daughter of T. E. Little, Esq., of Hampstead, Sir George had, amongst other chUdren, Charles, born in 1813, who married an elder sister of the wife of his half-brother. Sir George Wombwell, a daughter of Thomas Orby Hunter, Esq., of Crowland Abbey, , Lincolnshire. Sir George died on the 28th Oct., 1847, in Eaton Square, London, in the 77th year of his age. The third Baronet, George Womb well, as he was famUiarly called, was born on the 13th of April, 1792. At an early age he entered the loth, or Prince of Wales' Own, Hussars, "and few men of that gaUant corps,'' we are tqld by Lord William Lennox, one of his contemporaries, in his Celebrities T have Known, " kept the game more alive than he did. He was a neat horseman, possessed a remarkably fine hand, and could ride well to hounds. Although a constant attendant at Epsom, Goodwood, and Doncaster, he was never on the turf. He served with the loth in the Peninsula, and like his brother officers, all dashing young men, was ever foreraost in the fray." " George WorabweU," says Lord Lennox, " being heir to a large estate, very good looking, having the finest black curly head of hair ever seen, and possessing the neatest figure,* with conversational powers of no raean extent, it is not to be wondered at, especially after his return from the wars, that he was f^ted by all the 'elite of London society, and soon became an established favourite." He was chiefly known afterwards as a leader of fashion, and took no part in public business. He married, June 23, 1824, Georgian^, the second daughter of the late Thomas Orby The Family of Wombwell. 115 Hunter, and had issue, George Orby Wombwell, his successor, and three other sons. ^ Sir George's death took place in George-street, Hanover Square, on the 14th January, i8ss, very suddenly. He had retu-ed to bed in apparently good health and spirits, and in the moming was found dead. At a coroner's inquest his death was found to have resulted from disease of the heart. His body was deposited in the family vault in Coxwold Church on the 24th January, there being present at the funeral Mr. Henry Herbert Wom'bwell, the deceased's third son, as chief mourner, Mr. Charles WorabweU, Mr. John WorabweU, Lord Adolphus Fitz-Clarence, etc. The Rev. G. Scott performed the burial service, and not less than 2000 persons were present during the ceremony. There is a very characteristic portrait of Sir George by the late Count d'Orsay, The World newspaper, in an article on Sir George Wombwell, in the Celebrities at Home series, September u, 1878, says : — " There are no such gentlemen in our time as the late Sir George Wombwell; and, indeed, there is no place for them in modern society. They were a very fine kind of gentlemen, too, rauch better in many respects than those who have succeeded them. Probably the George WombweU who ' travelled away with death 'in 1855 had never cast up an account, or perplexed that handsome curly head of his with any business in the whole course of his agreeable and well-spent life. He seemed to pass most of his mornings in dressing himself — for he was wonderfully well dressed — and most of his afternoons in walking about with Dolly Fitz- clarence. Sometimes Twisleton Fiennes joined the party. When he did so, a more flourishing and potent triumvirate II 6 Worthies of Barnsley. were never seen in St. James' Street. Mr. Richard Doyle once caught Sir George in the bay window at White's, and he has given us a delightful characteristic portrait of him ; but the Yorkshire magnate had long before immortalised himself as the most elegant and genial man of his age. When the memoirs of the fine folk who illustrate the first half of the present century come to be pubhshed, all sorts of pleasant anecdotes wiU be told of George Wombwell. He was a kinder man than Selwyn, a, better man than Jekyll, and altogether of purer clay than any of the companions of the Regent. He ranked with the late Dukes of Beaufort and Buckinghara, but yet he was not of their set. He had the best horses in London, gave the best dinners, wore the best clothes, but was never on the turf or in the cabinet. He seemed to disdain everything that related to money, or which was likely to give trouble. He lived on the surface of life, and was either too wise or too indolent to go beneath it. One cannot even imagine George Wombwell writing a book, or directing a railway, or contesting a seat in Parliament. He left such nonsense to the vulgar, and looked supremely down upon a fussj world from the heights of a fair fortune set off by an unblemished honour. People who saw that consummate dandy strut over the street from White's to Crockford's, with his wonderful horse and cab grandly pacing after him, and who looked only at his rosy cheeks, his curls, and the hothouse flower in his button hole, would hardly be lieve how much of stern chivalry there was in him, or how princely a generosity warmed that gallant heart. It was this exquisite beau who helped to call his colonel to account for some backwardness in facing danger at Waterloo ; it was this fine fellow, often called so selfish, who sent a thousand pounds The Family of Wombwell. n; to a friend at the first news of a ruin on which the friend's kindred looked quite calmly. He was so good a landlord that the peasantry and tenant farmers in Yorkshire, where his estates were situated, fondly called him •' ower Sur Jarge." A raan can afford to be called a dandy and an exquisite and a trifler, when he is so brave and munificent, so honest and true, as George Wombwell. A very ancient and honourable stock these Wombwells of Yorkshire, having no connection whatever with forfeited pledges raade haughtily. They raust have refused a peerage over and over again as something very far beneath them, or they would have been raade earis at least long ago. They have been settled, with brief inter ruption, on an estate which bears their own narae, since the reign of King Stephen. They have intermarried with the stately line of Fauconberg, and some of the best blood in England flows through their veins." Sir George Orby Wombwell, the present Baronet, and head of the family, served in the Crimea, and was promoted for his gallantry in the memorable cavalry charge at the battle of Balaclava. "At the moment,'' says the World, "when the gallant Nolan rode up to Lord Cardigan, who was writhing under the imputation of slackness earUer in the day, George Orby Wombwell — not yet a Baronet — was apart from his regiment, acting as extra aide-de-camp to the leader of the historic charge. He had not advanced far up the VaUey of Death before his charger was shot under him. Quick and active, he caught one of the riderless horses — they were numerous already — and, joining the 4th Light Dragoons (now Hussars), advanced with them to the guns. Here his newly-caught horse was killed under him, and before he could catch another he was surrounded by some twenty or 1 1 8 Worthies of Barnsley. thirty Russian Lancers, who took his sword and pistol and made him a prisoner. Presently that beau sabreur, Morris, a captain in the same regiment with Wombwell, was brought a prisoner to the spot where he stood. Badly hurt with sabre and lance, and streaming with blood from head to foot, Captain Morris, unheeding his own condition, was keenly alive to his cornet's chances of escape, and cried to him, 'Look out, WombweU ! Look out, and catch a horse 1' The scene was now one mad confusion of galloping horses, empty saddles, and smoke clouds. Of the loose horses two or three instinctively came towards the English uniforms worn by Morris and WombweU. Seizing his opportunity, the latter raade a dash at the nearest horse, and vaulted into the saddle — 'vaulted so heartUy,' he confesses, 'that only the carbine kept me from going over on the other side.' Taken by surprise, the Russian custodians had hardly time to start in pursuit before the shattered squadrons of England rode back from the goal they had reached at such tremen* dous cost. Riding for life, Wombwell got within sight of them before he was caught by his pursuers, who sheered off" when they saw the scant but still redoubtable array break through the smoke. Curiously enough, he came back with the 4th Light Dragoons, the regiment with which he charged the battery." " Nearly fifteen years later. Sir George Wombwell, having then succeeded his father^ — a celebrated dandy of the Regency type, said to have been the Only companion of George IV. whom the example and companionship of that monarch did not bring to ruin — and having, moreover, married Lady Julia ViUiers, sister of the present Earl of Jersey, and grand-daughter, on the one side, of the ' Tragedy The Family of Wombwell. 119 Queen,' and, on the other, of that Lady Peel who supplied Sir Thomas Lawrence with the model for his pendant to Rubens' ' Chapeau de Paille,' met with another hairbreadth 'scape from a worse position, if possible, than that of the Light Brigade. On the sth of February, 1869, the York and Ainsty were in, as the ' hard ' men thought, for a genuine good thing. After a smart run it occurred to the fox to cross the river Ure, not a considerable stream at ordinary times, but then swollen by rains to a width of sixty yards, turbid, and running at a great pace. The field made haste towards the ferry opposite Newby Hall, and men and horses crowded into the ferry boat, a capacious vessel worked by a chain. Some mistake was made with the chain, and the boat was loaded with eleven men and thir teen horses, just twice as many as it could safely carry. It is barely possible that the overladen boat might have reached the opposite bank of the Ure in safety had not the late Sir Charles Slingsby's favourite hunter. Old Saltfish, become suddenly irritable, and lashed out at Sir George WombweU's horse. The latter returned the kick with interest ; where upon Old Saltfish jumped or fell overboard, carf-ying his rider with him. It is probable that the bridle of Old Salt fish, twisted round his arm, dragged him into the water. Be this as it may, the danger ofthe M.F.H. caused an awkward and thoughtless rush towards the side of the boat from which he disappeared; the overladen craft capsized, and horses and men were mingled in a wild struggle for life underneath the boat. Sir Charles Slingsby, who was clear of the boat, and an exceUent swimmer, made for the shore, but, either from the intense cold of the water or a kick from a horse, sank before he could reach the bank ; while Old Saltfish, 1 20 Worthies of Barnsley. the proximate cause of the disaster, after swirnming in vain after his raaster, escaped with his life. With Sir Charles perished Mr. Edward Lloyd, Mr. Ediilund Robinson, the kennel huntsman, and the two gardeners at Newby Hall. Out of the wild chaos of kicking horses and drowning men rose Mr. Clare Vyner, who at once climbed on to the bottom of the overturned ferry-boat. A moment later Sir George WorabweU was flung up against the boat side in an almost senseless condition. He had, however, strength enough left to grasp one of the iron rings used either for working the chain or tethering cattle, and was at once seized by Mr. Vyner and hauled on to the bottom of the boat, blinded and choked with mud and slime, and, having cleared his throat, expressed his gratitude at his escape in his usual hearty off-hand manner. For three seasons after the acci dent at Newby Ferry, Sir George Wombwell hunted the York ahd Ainsty, and has left a brilliant record of a reign during which neither slackness nor short days were heard of" The second son of the late Sir George Wombwell, Lieu tenant Adolphus Ulick Wombwell, also served in the Crimea, and is now major in the 12th Lancers. Newburgh Park, the residence of the Wombwell family, has many interesting associations, not the least being those connected with Laurence Sterne. Shandy HaU, where Sterne resided for seven years, is a picturesque old house at Coxwold, near Sir George WombweU's seat ; but hitherto there has been nothing about the outward appearance of the old house to identify it with the author of the immortal "Tristram." Sir George has, however, recently had the following suitable inscription beautifully cut in stone over The Family of Wombwell. 121 the doorway : — " Shandy HaU. Here dwelt Laurence Sterne, many years incumbent of Coxwold. Here he wrote ' Tristram Shandy ' and ' The Sentimental Journey.' Died in London, 1768, aged ss years." But there are other memories associated with Newburgh which the WombweU family highly treasure. In the long gaUery is a glass case containing the saddle, holster, pistols, bit, and bridle of Cromwell. The saddle and holster cases are by no means of Puritan simplicity, being of crimson velvet, heavUy embroidered in gold. Near these relics hangs the portrait of Mary Cromwell, wife of the second Lord Fauconberg. It was she who, with keen womanly instinct, sharpened yet more by fiUal affection, foresaw that, the Restoration once achieved, the men who had fled before Oliver at Naseby and Worcester would not allow his bones to rest in Westminster. At dead of night his corpse was removed from the vault in the Abbey, and that of some member of the undistinguished crowd substituted for it. In solemn secrecy Cromwell's remains were conveyed to Newburgh, where they yet repose, the Royalists, who hung the supposed body of CromweU, as well as that of Ireton, on the gallows at Tyburn, having thus been cheated of their prey. The tomb of Cromwell occupies the end of a narrow charaber at the head of a flight of steep stairs, and is an enormous mass of stonework, built and cemented into the walls, apparently with the object of making it impenetrable. " There is no reason," says The World " to doubt the truth of this story, preserved in the Belasysse family for two centuries and a quarter. It is not a legend, but a genuine piece of family history, and implicitly believed on the spot. It is needless to say that the over-curious have again and again begged 122 Worthies of Barnsley. the lords of Newburgh to have the tomb opened ; but this request has met with invariable refusal, even when preferred by the most illustrious personages. ' No, no,' observed Sir George WombweU, heartily as ever, but quite firmly, ' we do not make a show of our great relative's tomb, and it shall not be opened. The Protector's bones shall rest in peace at least for my time.' "* There are many objects of interest at Newburgh. In the dining-room the fire screens are the ends of the 17th Lancers' Shabracque, with the silver death's head on them; over the sideboard hangs a portrait of the late Baronet, the bosora friend of " Dolly " Fitzclarence, who lies hard by in Coxwold Church ; on the folding screen beneath are portraits, caricatures, and sketches accumulated during the last three generations, one of these representing the late Sir George WombweU and Lord Adolphus side by side, dressed in high-collared coats, George IV. wigs, and curly brimmed hats ; whUe the picture gaUery is hung with portraits of the houses of Wombwell and Fauconberg. f * The World, Sep. 11, 1878. + "Sir George Wombwell is in possession of some curiosities which have been handed down in succession by the Fauconbergs to the present owner. Amongst these are a sabre used by Oliver Cromwell, and having his head engraved upon the blade, with this inscription : ' Oliver Cromwell, General for the English Parlement : 1652 ;' above it, 'Soli Deo Glorior ;' below it, 'Fide sed cui vide.' On the other side of the blade are the same head and inscription as above, and a man on horseback, with the inscriptions, ' Spes mea est Deo ; ' and, ' Vincere aut Mori;' a broad sword also of Oliver's, with the same head and inscription, except that the ' Spes mea est Deo ' is omitted, and in its stead is ' Pro aris et focis ; ' also a gold watch, said to have been worn by the Protector, in a shagreen case richly studded, with a viscount's coronet upon the back, which would intimate that it had The Family of Wombwell. 123 In 1877, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales stayed a week with Sir George Wombwell to enjoy the excellent partridge shooting for which the estate is so celebrated ; and on that occasion, 3,000 loyal people from Newburgh and the adjoining estates received him at Coxwold station in the most enthusiastic manner. been presented to his son-in-law, and a heart transfixed with two arrows. Appendant to it is a seal with a lion rampant, double tailed, also given by Oliver In the same apartment, called Cromwell's room, is preserved Cromwell's saddle, bridle, and a pair of horse pistols, with pockets for them in the saddle. The saddle is a curious piece of elaborate workmanship, and the pistols are of superior make. Cromwell's room also contains an ancient British circular shield, the construction of which must convince us that our rude forefather? had devoted their energies to 'he beautiful and ornamental, if not the useful arts of life " Cromwell's vault, in a concealed part of the upper apartments of the priory, is shown to visitors of this antiquated spot. The current report at Newburgh is, that the bones of Cromwell were secretly conveyed to the priory, where they were interred in the place now shown as his tomb. It is very possible that this may have been accomplished through the influence of his daughter and son-in-law, who appear to have been in the secret of the Restoration, and would naturally be apprehensive of the indignities which might be heaped upon his remains, from which their conveyance to Newburgh would be a likely expedient to secure them "The arms of Sir George WombweU are ¦.—Gules, a bend between six unicorns heads, couped, argent.''' — GiU's History of Easingwold, pp. 174-184. 124 No. V. Sir Samuel armytage, anb tbe family? of armytage, of Ikeresfortb anb Barn0le^. IR SAMUEL ARMYTAGE, of Barnsley, belongs to the first of the four families which passed into the Baronetage from the town of Barnsley. He descended from a younger branch of the family of Arraytage, of Kirklees, his ancestor being Edward Army tage, third son of John Armytage, of Kirklees, Esq., by Eraraa, daughter of John Gregory, of Kingston- upon-HuU. Francis Armytage, of Kirklees, his relation, was created a baronet isth December, 1641, and on the death of his (Francis's) grandson. Sir George Armytage, the last of three brothers, who successively held the title, but who all died un married, the baronetcy devolved upon his cousin, who became Sir Thomas Armytage, of South Kirkby, at whose decease, unmarried, in 1737, the title became extinct. The estates The Family of Armytage. 125 of the famUy, however, having passed under the wUl of Sir John Armytage,* the fourth Baronet, to his cousin, Samuel Armytage (who was baptized at Barnsley, sth May, 1695), he was created a baronet on the 4th of July, 1738; and from him lineally descends Sir George Armytage, the fifth and present Baronet of the second creation. From Sir Samuel, of Barnsley, also descends the present family of Wentworth, of Woolley, Godfrey Armytage, grandson of Sir Samuel, assuming the name of Wentworth in compliance with the will of his maternal grandfather, Godfrey Went worth, on coming into possession of the Woolley and Hickleton estates. The descent of the family of Armytage, according to a curious pedigree attested by Sir Henry St. George, Norroy King of Arms, February 2nd, 1637, and an ancient parchment, with arms painted, etc., both of which documents were seen and are mentioned, by Thoresby, in his History of Leeds, are deduced from John Armytage, of Wrigbowls, living in the loth year of the reign of King Stephen, which place and his arms he is said to have had by the gift of Roger Omfynes, steward to Remigius, bishop of Dorchester, and founder of Elsam Abbey, in Lincoln shire, In descent from this John Armytage. of Wrigbowls, we have WUliam Armytage, of Kirklees, living in the tirae * "Sir John Armitage, of Kirklees, was through life an active enemy of the Non-conformists, in his character of magistrate, and as having command of the trained bands, or mUitia. Lady Armitage was a daughter of Thornhill, of Fixby, in the parish of Halifax. She brought him eight sons, none of whom left issue to inherit his title of baronet. On their death the estates went to a distant relation, in whom the title was revived in 1738." — Note in Hunter's Life of Oliver Heywood, p. 152. 126 Worthies of Barnsley. of Edward VI., and who married Catherine, daughter of Henry Beaumont, of Crosland. John Armytage, his grand son, was in the Commission of the Peace, and treasurer for lame soldiers, in the 41st and 42nd years of the reign of Elizabeth. He was the father of Edward Armytage, of Keresforth Hill, who married, firstly, Elizabeth, sole daughter and heiress of Edward Hanson, of Little Royd, on the 22nd October, 1607 (and who was buried 26th March, 1616, at Barnsley) ; and secondly, Jane, daughter of John Popley, of Woolley Morehouse, and widow of Thomas Cuder, of Fieldhead. Edward Armytage, of Keres forth Hill, attended before Richard St. George, the herald, at his visitation at Barnsley in 161 2, and proved his arms and pedigree ; and fifty years later, when Sir William Dugdale, Norroy King of Arms, was making his Visitation of the county of York, the then head of the family of Armytage, of Keresforth, also appeared before him with proof of arms and pedigree, and had them certified. This was done at the sitting at Leeds, on the loth August, 1665. At Sir WiUiam's sittings at Barnsley, on the s'h August and the ISth September, in the same year, representatives of the families of Keresforth, of Puel Hill ; Burdet, of Birthwaite ; Edmunds, of Worsborough ; Wentworth, of Woolley ; Cutler, of Stainborough ; and Monckton, of Hodroyd, also appeared before him for the same purpose. Edward Armytage had,' by his first wife, among other children, John, his eldest son and heir, who was baptized at Barnsley, 1 2th May, 1 610, and died 7th, and was buried loth May, 1664, in Barnsley Church. John was succeeded by his eldest son, Edward, who was also of Keresforth HiU, who died The Family of Armytage. 127 Sth March, 1673, unmarried.* He had many other children, among whom were John, his second son, who was baptized at Barnsley, 4th March, 1646, and died with out issue, his wiU being dated 24th December, i68i.t William, his third son, who was buried at Barnsley, Sth April, 1680 ; his widow afterwards marrying WillUam CoUier, of Barnsley. Cornelius, the fourth son, died young. George, of Keresforth Hill, gent., was the fifth son. fie was baptized at Barnsley, 14th AprU, 1661, and * "John Armytage, of Keresforth Hill, in the township of Barnsley, made his will, 27th April, 1664, giving his soul to God and his body to be buried in the Church of Barnsley. Edward Armytage, of Keres forth Hill, gent., made his will 22nd February, 1673, giving his soul to God Almighty his Creator, hoping through Jesus Christ for salvation, and his body to be buried in the south Quire of the chapel of Barnsley." — Torre's Testamentary Burials. " Mr. Edward Armytage and Elizabeth Hanson were married the xxii. day of October, Anno Dni. 1607, Anno Regni vii. " Elizabeth Annytage, wife of Mr. Edwarde Armytage, was buried the 26th day of March, 1616. "Edward Armytage, Gent., buried ye 3rd August, 1643. Mr. Edward Armytage was bur. ye 12 March, 1673. Roger Armytage bur. the 3rd October, 1633. Misteris Armaitage, of Kesforth Hall, died 30th Dec, 1654. Mr. Francis Armitage, bur. Oct. 24, 1656. Mrs. Elizabeth Armitage, bur. Mar. 15, 1686. Mrs. Eliz. Armitage, bur. May 2, 1694. Mr. Edward Armitage, bur. Mar. 13, 1697. Mr. John Armitage, bur. June 30, 1700." — Barnsley Parish Register. \ " John Armytage, of Keresforth HaU, gent. , in his will mentions his brother Edward, and father, John Armytage, deceased ; friend, Ralph Eaton, of Darfield, clerk ; brother, George Armytage ; leaves lands in Barnsley and Dodworth in trust for his sister Elizabeth A., spinster ; nephew, John A. ; brother, Gervase A. Dated 24th Dec, 1681."— Addi. MSS. Hunteriana, No. 24,586, p. 72. Mr. John Armitage, of Keresforth Hill, was bur. 9th Nov., 1683. 128 Worthies of Barnsley. was buried there, iSth April, 1709, having married Magdalen, daughter of" Francis Usher, of Barnsley, on 9th September, 1690.* The sixth son, Gervase Armytage, of Keresforth HiU, baptized at Barnsley, 15th November, 1662, was married at Cawthorne on the 21st March, 16S7, to PrisciUa BosvUe, daughter of William Bosvile, Esq., of Gunthwaite.t She survived her husband (he dying 1691), and married secondly Richard Hartley, Esq., of Cannon HaU. The above Gervase Armytage had been a consider able traveUer in his day. George Armytage, of Keresforth HiU, and Magdalen Usher had issue, Samuel, the future Baronet, who was a twin, and was baptized on the sth * "Francis Usher, of Barnsley, mercer, baptized at Barnsley-, Oct. 3, 1618 ; buried there Oct. 15th, 1685. The family of Usher was long and respectably connected with Barnsley, and was allied with those of Beckett and Clarke. In the seventeenth century, one of the numerous cupper tokens which were issued by tradesmen on account of the scarcity of coin, belonged to Francis U.-.her, mercer, and was as follows : — "0[bverse] FRANCIS VSHER OF = A. Talbot passant. R [everse] BARNSLYE. MERCER = F. H. V. Mr. V/illiam Armitage, bur. April ye Sth, 1680. Cornelius, son of Mr. John Armitage, born April 2 ist, 1657, bur. June 22nd, 1657. Mr. George Armitage, bur. April i8th, 1709. Mr. Geo. Armitage and Mrs. Magdalene Usher, married Sept. 9th, 1690. Mrs. Magdalene Armitage, widow, bur. Oct. 23rd, 1724. Mrs. Liddy Armitage, bur. May 6th, 1743." — Barnsley Parish Register. + "Mr. Gervis Armatidg and Prissilla Bosville married March 21st, 1687." — Cawthorne Parish Register. "Mr. Gervase Armitage buried July nth, 1691." — Barnsley Parish Register. The Family of Armytage. 129 May, 1695, as the following extract from the Barnsley Parish Register will show : — " 1695, May S- Samuel and Hannah, chUdren of Mr. George Armitage, baptized." Sir Samuel's succession to the Kirklees estates was brought about through the male issue from the eldest son, and from the second son of John Armytage, of Kirklees, having become exhausted, when Samuel became heir to the Kirklees and other estates by the will of Sir John Armytage, and was thus raised at once from compara tive poverty to affluence, and soon afterwards created a Baronet.* The following scraps of contemporary information re lating to the family of Armytage wUl be interesting. We give them from the Journal of John Hobson, of Dodworth Green : — "1732, September. Some time this month died of the small pox Mr. Armitage, of Kirklees, son of Mr. Armitage, late minister of Bramham-biggin, nigh Wetherby. Sr. John Armitage design'd him for his heir, who now being at a loss * Three brothers and a cousin succeeded to the title in rapid suc cession. The first was Sir Thomas Armytage, who died unmarried in 1693, and was succeeded by his brother Sir John Armytage, who died, likewise unmarried, nth Dec, 1732, aged about 80. He was succeeded by his only surviving brother. Sir George Armytage, who also died un married, when the title devolved upon his cousin. Sir Thomas Army tage, at whose decease in 1737 th^ ti'ls became extinct, the estates passing under the will of Sir John Armytage, the fourth Baronet, to his cousin Samuel Armytage, of Barnsley. A full and comprehensive view of this family will be found in the tabular pedigree in Whitaker's Thoresby's Ducatus Leodiensis, p. 86, 10 130 Worthies of Barnsley. for one to succeed him, sends for Mr. Armitage, of Barnsley, apothecary."* "1732, Dec. 4. It is reported that Sir John Armitage, of Kirklees, is dead, in the Soth year of his age." "1733, Aug. 22. Mr. Samuel Armitage, supervisor in the Excise, in Wales, having occasion to buy a horse in order to carry hira back, as he was riding upon one of Henry Rimington's in the Back-lane, behind Mr. Roper's, in order to see how he liked him, spurr'd him into a gaUop. The bitts being faulty brooke in the side joynt, and he feU off", and is very much hurt. The late Sir John Armitage left his estate to him and his heirs male at the decease of his bro' Sir George Armitage." The last of the old line of Baronets, of Kirklees, Sir Thomas Armytage, died a bachelor on the 12th October, 1737. He was the last surviving son of Francis Armytage, of South Kirkby, and was in the 64th year of his age. He was buried at South Kirkby, and by his death the titie became extinct. Mr. Samuel Armytage, of Barnsley, who succeeded to the estates, must have been a man of parts and abUity, for in the following year the Baronetcy was con ferred upon him, and he was also High Sheriff" of the county of York in 1740, only two years afterwards. Sir Samuel had married Anne, daughter of Thomas Griffiths, of LlanvyUan, * John Armytage, of Barnsley, apothecary. Will dated April 15, 1748. Mentions his sister, Elizabeth, wife of Mr. Fryer; sister, Mag dalen, wife of Francis Naylor ; nephew. Sir John Armytage ; children of my late sister, Hannah, wife of Francis Roper ; George Naylor, son of my late sister, Magdalen. Proved June i , 1 748. " Mr. John Armitage buried April 25, 1748." — Barnsley Parish Register. The Family of Armytage. 131 in Montgomeryshire, but she did not live long to enjoy her accession of fortune, for she was buried on the 27th Nov., 1738, only four months after her husband was created a Baronet, in the family vault in the Church of Hartshead.* On the fly-leaf of a book which had belonged to Lady Armytage — the first volume of the fifth edition of Dr. Watts' Sermons, published 1734 — is the foUowing births of her children, which we give from Miscellanea Genealogica et Heraldica, N.S., March, 187s, pp. 116-11S: " Anne Armytage Book 1735- Rachel Armytage, born June 2, 1724. Mary Armytage, born Sept. 17, 172s. John Armytage, born July 13, 1732. Anna Maria Armytage, born Sep. 29, 1733. George Armytage, born Dec. 2 s, 1734. Samuel Armytage, born May 24, 1736." Of the above, Rachel, the eldest daughter, married James Farrer, Esq., of Ewood and Barnborough Grange, in 1 743. Mary, the second daughter, who was born twelve years before her father succeeded to the Kirklees estate, married Francis Hall, of Swaithe, rector of Tankersley, in 1749. She died May 3rd, 1786, and was buried in Doncaster Church.f Anna Maria married Thomas Carter, an Irish gentleman. * " 1738, Nov. 27. The Honoured Ann Armytage, lady to Sir Samuel Armytage, Bart., of Kirklees, buried." — Hartshead Parish Register. t " Mary, widow of Francis Hall, Rector of Tankersley, second daughter of Sir Samuel Armitage, of Kirklees, Bart., born 17th Sept., 1725, died 3rd May, 1786." — Mon : Inscription in Doncaster Church. 132 Worthies of Barnsley. Samuel, the youngest son, died unmarried when about 22 years of age.* Sir Samuel Armytage died on the 19th of August, 1747, and was succeeded by his eldest son, John, who became the second Baronet of the second creation. He was M.P. for York. At the time Lord Howe meditated an attack on St. Malo, in September, 17S8, Sir John Armytage was with the ex pedition as a volunteer, under General Blythe, when an endeavour was made to re-embark some troops in the Bay of St. Cas, which had been landed a few days before, and in the fight which ensued Sir John Armytage was killed. His melancholy fate appears to have excited a great deal of com miseration at the tirae, and several short poems composed on it StiU exist, araong which is an elegy from the pen of the * "Mar. 23, 1758-9. Samuel Armytage, youngest son of the late Sir Samuel Armytage, of Kirklees, bart., bur." — Hartshead Parish Register. Inscriptions on the end stones of the niches in the family vault in the chancel of the Parish Church of Hartshead-cum-Clifton, in the county of York :— "Sir Samuel Armytage, Barrt., Died August 19th, 1747. Sir George Armytage, Barrt., Died 2lst January, 1783. Aged 50 years. The Honourable Lady, Late wife of Sir George Armytage, Barrt., Who died August 13th, 1790, Aged 28 years." Many other later members of the family are also given in Miscellanea Genealogica et Heraldica, for March, 1875, contributed by G. J. Army tage, Esq., F.S.A. The Family of Armytage. 133 weU-known Eugene Aram, from which we give the following extract : — * Thou stood'st, like Scseva, in the dangerous breach. Slain, but not vanquished ; faUen, but not fled ! That ground thou kept alive, thou kept when dead. Hast thou obtained thy laurels with the paU? Didst thou more bravely dare, or greatly fall ? Calder with sadder murmurs rolls her floods. And deeper gloom invests thy Kirklees woods. France, too, deplores thee little less than we. And Britain's genius gave a sigh for thee. The following elegy on the same subject is from the York Courant of 3 Oct., 17S8 : — " To every Briton Whose breasts know what it is to glow With Honor's generous warmth. For ever dear, for ever sacred Must the reraerabrance be Of that much lamented youth. Sir John Armytage, Baronet, With whom Rank, condition, fortune, * "An elegy on the death of Sir John Armytage, Bart., of Kirklees, M.P. for York, who died gloriously in the service of his country on the nth Sep., 1758, near St. Cas, on the coast of France, in the 27th year of his age. Humbly inscribed to the remainder of that ancient and respectable family by Eugene Aram. " Walpole {LetterSj'Fol. III., pp. 297-8) says : — "In our loss are included some of our volunteers, a Sir John Armytage, a young man of fortune, just come much into the world, and engaged to the sister of the hot headed and cool-tongued Lord Howe. " 1 34 Worthies of Barnsley. With e?ch advantage besides (And he had many). All weighed as nothing Against that love of his country Which sent him into the field. The volunteer of active patriotism. In the senate uncorrupt. In war intrepid. To others he left to prove Their zeal by speeches. He fought ; And, alas ! fighting, died In the behalf of Britain On the Gallic shore, by him pressed with hostile foot : But not with him can die his fame. No! Not death, not tombs, nor graves were ever made To claim the whole of him, StiU, still he lives In friendship's mournful memory ; WhUst added to the splendid list of heroes, Gracefully fallen in their country's cause, His title to patriot virtue Stands written with his blood, In characters indelible, On the records of immortality. G. T." After the untimely death of Sir John Armytage, an election for the city of York, for which he had been member from I7S4, took place on Dec. i, 17S8, when Mr. William Thorn ton, of ThornviUe, was returned in opposition to Robert The Family of Armytage. 135 Lane, Esq., son of George Lane Fox, Esq., of Bramham Park. Sir John Armytage dying unmarried, he was succeeded by his younger brother George, who also became Member for York a few years later. He was High Sheriff of York shire in I77S. He married Anna Maria, eldest daughter and co-heir of Godfrey Wentworth, Esq., of Woolley and Hickleton, and died 21st March, 1783, and was buried at Hickleton. He left issue. Sir George Armytage, of Kirk lees, Bart., who married for his first wife a daughter of Lord Suffield; John Armytage, of Northampton; and Godfrey, of Woolley and Hickleton, the youngest son. The last-named was baptized at Hartshead Church by the surnarae of Army tage, uth June, 1773, took the surname and arms of Went worth, instead of those of Armytage, in corapliance with the will of his maternal grandfather, Godfrey Wentworth, Esq. (who died without male issue), by virtue of the King's sign manual bearing date March 10, 1789. He married Amelia, daughter of W. R. B. Fawkes, Esq., of Farnley, and they had, among other children, the late Godfrey Wentworth, Esq., of Woolley Hall, who would be a great-grandson, whilst the present Sir George Armytage, of Kirklees, is great-great-grandson of Sir Samuel Armytage, to whom, as a native, Barnsley lays claim. The Armytages resided at Keresforth until the early part of the last century, when some litigation took place in the famUy. About the year 1720, after an expensive lawsuit of 22 years' duration, the estate was divided between John Arm)^age, of Barnsley, and WiUiam Collier, of the same place. Collier had married the widow of Wm. Armytage, of Keresforth. John Armytage subsequently sold his share 1 36 Worthies of Barnsley. to the Earl of Strafford, who afterwards also becamt possessed of CoUier's moiety, and the whole is now tht property of F. W. T. V. Wentworth, Esq.* The following appeared in a local paper: "Died on Friday last (Oct., i860) at Barnsley, aged 78, Anne, daughter of the late Mr. John Armytage, of Hickleton, a member of the ancient family of the same name, deceased's grandfather (Richard Armytage) being a nephew of Sir Samuel Armytage of that place, and of Kirklees, in this county." A Rev. Dr. Thomas Armytage, of New York, claims to be descended from the family of Armytage, of Barnsley. He was, when young, noted for his Christian zeal, and licensed to preach, and at the age of 20 left his native land, went to the United States, settied in New York, where at this day few stand higher, we are told, among the American clergy than the Rev. Dr. Thomas Armytage. *¦ The wife of William Collier died on the 27th May, 1 707, when administration of her goods was granted to her husband on the 14th March, 1707-8. He, however, lived only two years after, dying in 1709, 137 No. VL Sir lebwarb IRobee, anb tbe family of IRobes of (Breat Ibougbton. jHE first member of this family who resided at Great Houghton, was Sir Godfrey Rodes, son of Francis Rodes, of Staveley Woodthorpe, in the County of Derby, who was one of the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas in the reign of Elizabeth. The Judge was married twice and had issue by both wives. The eldest son was Sir John Rodes, of Barlborough. The second son was Sir Peter Rodes, of Hickleton. Sir Godfrey Rodes, the fourth son, was placed by his father upon his manor of Great Houghton, having built for him there a large and handsome mansion, and in his will he gives both Houghton and Billingley to Godfrey, with lands at Darfield, subject to a rent charge for the benefit of two younger children. His purchases there had been consider able, including the manor with the appurtenances, and 20 messuages, 16 cottages, 20 tofts, one water-mUl, one wind mill, 30 dove-cotes, 30 gardens, 30 orchards, 700 acres of 138 Worthies of Barnsley. land, 300 acres of meadow, s°° acres of pasture, 300 acres of wood, 200 of moor, and S3S. 4d. rent, with appur tenances in Great Houghton, Little Houghton, BiUingley, and Darfield. Much of the mansion at Great Houghton stiU remains, and, disfigured and dilapidated as it now is, there is still sufficient left to give a tolerably correct idea of its former extent and magnificence. The great haU, the easy winding staircase, and cheerless though healthy lodging rooms, with their plaster floors, are yet in being, together with the low and wide windows and confined quadrangular court, the whole of which have been degraded to the uses of a village alehouse. It is not much we know of Sir Godfrey Rodes during his residence at Great Houghton, but the foUowing curious license which connects him with that place will be interesting to our readers : " Anno 1632. " Memorandum. That upon the certificate of Mr. Joseph Micklethwaite practitioner in physique,* Sir Godfrey Rodes, of Great Houghton, in the parish of Darfield, knight, and Mrs. Ann Rodes, his daughter, are subject to, and greatly afflicted with such diseases as yt ye eating of fish would be very prejudicial to their healths. We the parson and vicar of the severall medieties of the sayd church of Darfield have given them our license (so far as in us lyeth) to eat flesh in the time of Lent, and other Fast days wch severall licenses were dated the uth day of this present January, and we doe * Mr. Joseph Micklethwaite, practitioner in " physique," was son of Elias Micklethwaite, of York, and grandson of John Micklethwaite, of Ingbirchworth. Elias Micklethwaite was lord Mayor of York in 1615, and again in the year 1627. The Family of Rodes. 139 here register according to the statute in that case provided this 2ist day of ye sayd January 1632. Walter Stonehouse, Rect. Rich : Townend, Vicar. John Storre, Churchwarden." Sir Edward Rodes, the son of Sir Godfrey, however, was a man of greater note than his father. He stood out con spicuously as a Parliamentarian on the commencement of the Civil Wars, notwithstanding that the great Royalist Strafford was his brother-in-law. Few persons entered more eagerly into the views taken by Parliament when affairs were advancing to a crisis than Sir Edward, and it was for the most part to him and his friends, the two Hothams, that the scheme for maintaining the peace of Yorkshire, arranged by the two great parties at Rothwell before the war begun, was frustrated. But he had already suffered from the effects of civil strife, for his residence at Great Houghton had been attacked by a party of royalists under Capt. Grey, in which his outhouses were burnt ; his goods plundered to the amount of ^£^600 ; his lady uncivilly treated ; some of his servants wounded, and one slain. This took place as early as the beginning of September, 1642, and is said to have been the first conflict between the opposing forces. " Here," says G. W. Johnson {Fairfax Correspondence, vol. ii., pp. 413), " begun the first breach; in lieu of opposing foreigners, a regiment of Northumberland horse is permitted to pass the very length of the county ; who upon intimation given that Sir Edward Rodes did affect the miUtia by commission from his Majesty, fall upon him to take the arms ; and after a short defence, his barn was burnt for so doing ; the horror whereof stirred up divers good subjects. 140 Worthies of Barnsley. his neighbours, to the advance of the quenching of the said fire. But within two days a Quo Warranto issues from York (from the council of war there) against them; to answer which they are glad to plead the horror for their excuse, whereof as yet they know of no acceptance.'' One of the stipulations at the treaty of Rothwell was that reparation should be made to Sir Edward Rodes, for the injury done him. This act of hostility caused great consternation and alarm in the district, and the people of Rotherham immedi ately proceeded to throw up works, and a garrison was settled there by- Lord Fairfax. Lord Newcastle published a list of gentlemen of Yorkshire whom he called traitors, which contains the name of Sir Edward Rodes.* " Of all the gentry of Yorkshire," says Clarendon, " there were only two Dissenters on the Parliament side to that engagement of neutraUty, young Hotham and Sir Edward Rodes, who, though of the better quality, was not so much known or considered as the other. But they quickly found seconds enough, when the Parliament refused to ratify the treaty, and declare it to be injurious to the common cause.'' They further gave power to Sir Edward Rodes and Mr. Hotham to enforce the observance of all orders of Parliament, and to apprehend all delinquents. The proceedings of Parliament, published on the sth of Oct., 1642, which we have now before us, contain the " Declaration and votes of the Lords and Commons assembled in Parliament concerning the late Treaty of Peace in Yorkshire, wherein they renounce the said agreement as prejudiciaU and dangerous to the whole king- dome, that any one county should stand as neuters, and * Markham's Fairfax, p. 93. The Family of Rodes. 141 withdraw themselves from the assistance of the rest. To gether with the fourth article of the Lord General's instruc tions sent to Mr. Hotham and Sir Ed. Rodes, with power to them to publish it, and to pardon all those that shall subrait within 10 dayes.'' " Oct. 4th, 1642. Resolved upon the question by the . Lords and Commons assembled in ParUament, That Master Hotham and Sir Edward Rodes, and others the committees for raysing of money, plate, and horse, for the defence of the King and kingdome in the County of Yorke ; and such as they or any two of them shall nominate, shall be Commissioners for the advancing and raysing of monies, horse, and plate upon the propositions, and shall have power to appoynt Commissioners to value the horse, and treasurers to receive the monies and plate." " Resolved, upon the Question, dr-^c. That Master Hotham and Sir Edward Rodes shall have the like instructions as other counties, with this addition that they shall have power to seize and apprehend all delinquents that are so voted by the Parliament, and all such others as delinquents as have, or doe show themselves, opposite and disobedient to the orders and proceedings of Parliament." "Resolved, That the 4 articles of the Lord General's Instructions shall be extracted and sent to Master Hotham and Sir Edward Rodes, with power to them to publish them." * * The following is the title of a Civil war tract, dated 1643 : " More plots found out and plotters apprehended. A true Relation for a most desperate and dangerous plot for the delivering up and surprisall of the Townes of Hull and Beverley ; with the manner of the apprehension of Sir John Hotham, Sir Edward Rodes, and Captain Hotham, who are 142 * Worthies of Barnsley. Among the Commissioners for the West Riding, under an Ordinance for the speedy raising and levying money, dated 7th May, 1643, are the names of Sir Edward Rodes, Sir Gervase Cutler, Sir John Savile, Thomas Bosvile, and Godfrey Bosvile. Among those named under an Act of Parliament of the same year "forthe punishment of men dacious clergymen," are — Sir Edward Rodes, Sir Gervase Cutler, and Godfrey Bosvile.* The conduct of Sir Edward Rodes became afterwards ambiguous. Many of the first and most honourable of those who had engaged in the Parliament cause would gladly have retraced their steps, when they saw new principles avouched and new men rise above themselves, and restored now bringing up to the Parliament. With the present security of thirty thousand pound already found out ; and other particulars ; being sent in a letter from Hull, dated the first of this instant moneth of July, 1643. London : Printed for Henry Oberton in Pipes Head Alley, 8pp. 1643." * "Names of a Special Jury in a cause between Thomas, Earl of Arundel and Surrey, and Richard Bacon, of persons from this district : — Jarvasius, Cutler de Stainbrough, mil. Georgius Wentworth de Wolley. Ed. Rodes de Houghton, mil. Will Wombwell de Wombwell. Henricus Savile de Wath, arm. Jacobus Field de Thurnscoe, gent. Franciscus Nevile de Chevite, arm. Tho: Jobson de Cudworth, arm. Tho: Barnby de Cawthorn, arm. Geo. Burdett de Denby, arm. Matt: Wentworth de West Bretton, arm. WiU: Cudworth de Worsbrough, gen." Addi. MSS., 24,470, p 220. The Family of Rodes. 143 the Commonwealth to the state in which it was at the beginning of the troubles, awaiting the slow but sure operation of time in correcting all that was eventually wrong in the terms of the social compact. The fate of the two Hothams* is weU known; and with them Sir Edward Rodes was arrested at Hull, and sent, together with them, to the Tower. Parliament, however, did not bring him to trial, and it may be presuraed that they were satisfied of his innocency, as he was set at liberty ; an order was made for restoring his money and plate, and he was afterwards employed in the military operations against the castle at Pontefract.t This would be in 1648, when the troops of the Parliament were principally under the command of General Lambert, who had been sent to watch the motions and check the progress of Sir PhUip Musgrave and Sir Marmaduke Langdale in the north. Sir Edward Rodes and Mr. Henry Cholmley were appointed by the Committee of the Militia in Yorkshire to levy troops, with orders to * " Sir John Hotham married for one of his wives, Catherine, daughter of Sir John Rodes, of Barlborough. In the year 1643, Sir John, while governor of Hull, was found holding correspondence with the Royalists for the object of handing over that town to the King. Colonel Boynton having been made acquainted with the plot, was ordered to apprehend Sir John and also Sir Edwd. Rodes, who had a company there, and was suspected of a design to yield up the town, too, but nothing was proved against him. On Sir John soon after coming into Beverley, Colonel Boynton took him prisoner ; and presently Sir Edward Rodes was also seized, and both sent to HuU, and put on board the Hercules, which soon after conveyed them and Captain John Hotham to London, where they were committed to the Tower. The two Hothams were executed, but Sir Edward Rodes was acquitted." — Burkes Baronetage, vol. i., pp. 474-5- t South Yorkshire, vol. ii., p. 138. 144 Worthies of Barnsley. draw near to Pontefract ; and if they found themselves not sufficiently strong to force the siege of the castle, then to endeavour to keep in the garrison, and preserve the surrounding country frora being plundered. Sir Edward Rodes served under Cromwell at the battie of Preston, and was sent in pursuit of the Duke of HamUton. On the occasion of a meeting of Presbyterians in Leeds, CromweU, then before Pontefract, charged Sir Edward, who was then High Sheriff" of Yorkshire, that whUst he allowed them to worship, if offensive, he should take care that disaffected persons should not plot against his Government. Sir Edward had a colonel's commission from Cromwell in i6s4, and was one of the Privy Council. It would seem that he was much in Scotland during the Protectorate ; for he was returned to one of Cromwell's Parliaments for the shire of Perth, at the same time that his eldest son was returned for Linlithgow, Stirling, and Clackmannan. On the dismantling of Pontefract Casde, Sir Edward purchased lead to the amount of ^^940. He lived tiU after the Restoration, and in the second year of the reign of Charles II. was again High Sheriff of Yorkshire.* As he continued a Dissenter, it is probable that his connection with the Earl of Strafford, whose attainder was reversed at the Restoration, was the reason why he was permitted to fiU the office. He was living at Sir William Dugdale's visitation of the county of York, in 1665, and recorded his arms and pedigree, but died on the 19th February, 1666. He was buried at Darfield, as wiU be seen from the following extract from the burial register there: — "Sir * South Yorkshire, vol. ii., p. 138. The Family of Rodes. 145 Edward Rodes, of Great Houghton, buried February ye 20th, 1666." In Darfield Church there is also the foUowing raemorial of him : — " Here lyeth interred the body of Sir Edward Rodes, Knight, of Great Houghton, who died the 19th day of February, 1666, aged 66 years." Sir Edward Rodes had by his wife Margaret, daughter of Sir Hammond Whichcote, of Harpswell, in the county of Lincoln, a famUy of thirteen children, araong whom were Godfrey Rodes, of Great Houghton, baptized October s, 163 1 ; Edward, a barrister, of Gray's Inn, died before Godfrey; William Rodes, heir to Godfrey, baptized July II, 1639, made a cornet of Horse, 1660, married Mary, daughter of Richard Wilson, merchant, of Leeds (who was great grandfather to the Rev. Christopher WUson, Bishop of Llandaff", and father of Christopher WUson, of Elrasall Lodge). She survived him, and married secondly, in 170s Joshua Rayner.* Hammond Rodes, chaplain to the Dowager Countess of Strafford at Hooton Roberts (who was his aunt), relict of the ill-fated Earl, died at Wombwell HaU, unmarried, on the sth June, 1688 ;t Mary married * Mr. Joshua Rayner and Madam Rhodes, of Long Houghton Hall, married July, 1705. ' ' Madam Rayner, of Great Houghton, died at Rhodes Hall, July 22, 1726. A person of great Knowledge, Piety, Worth, and Usefulness. Having been about a month under a Palsie." — The Northouram Register, Edited by J. Horsfall Turner. t " Mr. Hammond Rodes dyed at Wombwell Hall, and buried June 7, 1688." — Darfield parish Register. " Mr. Hammond Rodes walk't on foot to Esq. Woombels, of Woombel, felt himself not well, would lye down, they thought he had been asleep, found him dead, Aug., 1688, he was a Conformist preacher," — Obituary and Register of Oliver Heywood. 146 Worthies of Barnsley. John Wordsworth, gent., of Swaithe Hall; Ann married George EUis, of Brampton, the benefactor ; MiUcent married firstiy, Charles Hutton, gent., and secondly Robert Banks, Vicar of Hull ; Elizabeth died at Wakefield, unmarried, in 1714. Lady Rodes died April 20, 1681, in the 72nd year of her age ; and Godfrey, the eldest son, within six days of his mother, unmarried, aged S°- Oliver Heywood has the entry in his obituary under 1681, "Lady Rodes, of Houghton, a great upholder of meetings, buried at Darfield, April 21, at 12 in the night, aged 72;" and it is followed by "Mr. Godfrey Rodes, her son, buried April 27th, aged 50; both at Darfield;" and in Darfield Church is the following memorial : — " Here lieth the body of Lady Rodes, late wife and relict of Sir Edward Rodes, and daughter of Sir Hammond Whichcote, of Harpswell, in the county of Lincoln, Knight ; who departed this life the 20th of April, 1681." It will be observed that the interment of Sir Edward and Lady Rodes took place on the day following their decease, which was customary at the period in which they lived. Lady Rodes, it will also be observed from Oliver Heywood's diary, was buried at midnight. Sir Edward's sister, the Dowager Countess of Strafford, was also buried at night. These nocturnal funerals were then common among the gentry, and more wealthy yeomanry. They took place by torchlight, and during the progress of the funeral procession the householders illuminated their windows with lighted candles. The loss of Lady Rodes, and her son Godfrey, who was then the head of the house at Houghton, was much deplored in the district, and a funeral elegy upon the death of these The Family of Rodes. 147 two worthies published the same year contained the follow ing lines : — " Now Houghton Hall with double mourning's clad. The noble lady and the squire's dead. " She hath her crown and he his coronet. " Let Houghton Hall their memory revive. Keep up religion you that do survive. Let's meet and pray and preach till we be fit As blissful peers with them in heaven to sit. I dare not attempt their virtue's fame,* Their graces and their gifts but once to name." In the same volume there is another piece, entitled, " A spiritual conflict, in which the spiritual mind obtains the victory over the soul," dedicated to the virtuous and truly pious Lady Mary Rodes. The family of Rodes were eminent for their noncon- formity,+ and their house at Great Houghton long formed an asylum for the ejected and persecuted clergy of that * Addi. MSS., Brit. Museum, 4460. t " On one occasion, Mr. Birks and his father accompanied Mr. Trem- bath from Thorpe to Long Houghton. The school-room which was provided proved too strait for the congregation, in consequence of which the preacher took his stand out of doors. But such was the rudeness of the mob, that he was prevented from proceeding. The gentleman who occupied Houghton Hall saw Mr. Birks in the crowd, and invited him, together with the preacher, and as many of the people as were disposed to worship God peaceably, to follow him to the Hall. While his countenance awed the rude in humbler stations, an enclosure in his own grounds afforded perfect security to the more serious part of the audience. The chapel itself now affords shelter to a Methodist preacher and his congregation." — Everett's Historical Sketches of Wesleyai Methodism in Sheffield, p. 37. 148 Worthies of Barnsley. period. In the year i6so. Sir Edward Rodes erected near his mansion a building for the performance of religious worship by his family and tenantry. It was the year of his shrievalty, and he is said to have brought Mr. Edward Bowles, of York, one of the most eminent Presbyterian clergy, the intimate friend and adviser of the Fairfaxes, to perform the first religious ordinance in this chapel by the baptism of one of his younger sons. The patronage of this chapel was kept entirely in the hands of the family, and it had no endowment but what they settied upon it, so that it never became united to the Establishment ; the descendants of Sir Edward Rodes classing themselves with that denomi nation of EngUsh Dissenters caUed Presbyterians. The elder branch of the family seated at Barlborough, who were advanced into the order of Baronets, deviated stiU more widely from the system of faith and discipline established at the Reformation, and became Quakers. In- the time of Sir Edward Rodes, Richard Taylor was for sorae time the officiating rainister at Houghton chapel. He had been prevented by the Act of Uniformity frora exercising his ministry in public, and found shelter as chap lain under the famUy at Great Houghton, and afterwards lived with Mr. Wordsworth, at Swaithe Hall. Dr. Calamy, who used great diligence in collecting for the history of the ministers who did not comply with the terms of the Act of Uniformity, has left biographical notices of several of those ministers who resided at Great Houghton, and in its imme diate neighbourhood.* When there was some relaxation in * Mr. Jonathan Grant, who was of Trinity College, Cambridge, and js described as an active man of fruitful abilities and good learning, fit for any company or discourse, and an acceptable and useful preacher, The Family of Rodes. 149 favour of the Nonconformists, in 1672, Jeremiah MUner, another non-conforming minister, of St. John's College, in Cambridge, and who is described as " a man of good parts and competent learning," became the constant rainister at Houghton. He died in 1681 ; when Nathan Denton,* who was living at Bolton-upon-Dearne when the Act passed, became the minister. He lived tiU the year 1720, andat his death was perhaps the only survivor of the ministers who were uncomplying with the terras offered in 1662. Oliver Heywood preached here occasionaUy, and we find mention of Houghton in his diary under different dates : — "On Saturday (Dec. 8, i66s), reached the house of Sir Edward Rodes, of Great Houghton," who had invited him. He spent the Sunday there " with much comfort.'' " Nov. 3, 1668. — Having been two Lord's Days at home, I and who had been a prisoner in four different castles during the war for his nonconformity, on being ejected from his living reared to Thurnscoe, from whence he much frequented the meetings at the Lady Rodes's, at Houghton. Mr. Mark Trickett, of Magdalen College, another of the silenced ministers, for a time resided at Thurnscoe. "He was," says Calamy, "a man of holy life, and his pulpit performances were much applauded. He used to preach at Houghton, but was afterwards a great while in York Castle for his nonconformity. " Grant and Trickett resided at Thurnscoe, with Mr. William Aspinall, B.A., of Magdalen College, Cambridge, who was a connection of the family of Rodes, and who on being ejected from his living, took a farm at Thurnscoe and foUowed farming. Oliver Heywood has the following entry in his Register of Mr. Grant's death : "Mr. Graunt, of Thurnsco, a N. C. Minister of admirable parts, seized on with a. palsy, lay half a year, died, was buryd Dec. I, 1 68 1, a sad breach, aged 63." * " Mr. Nathan Denton, of Bolton, near Haughton, aged about 87, buried Oct. 13, 1720, being the last (that I've heard of) of the Dissenting Min'=- ejected in 1662." — Northowram Register. 150 Worthies of Barnsley. went to Houghton to my Lady Rodes', where we had a solemn fast on Wednesday ; Mr. Clayton, of Rotherham, and I, preached and prayed, and Mr. Kirby closed the work with prayer. The day after, being the 5th of November, my Lady prevailed with us to stay and spend some time in thankfulness. Mr. Grant began, and I preached and prayed, and Mr. Kirby concluded." "August, 1669. — Preached again at Lady Rodes'; lodged at John Scurr's, at Hague Hall." "June 30, 1674. — Preached in Lady Rodes' chapel, at Great Houghton, in corapany with Mr. Richardson. I began concerning ' The Root of the Matter ;' went on from Colossians i. 20, on ' Fruitfulness in every Good Work.' God ordered our subjects as if we had purposely cast them into the same mould." "AprU 2S, 1678, Thursday. — To Wakefield; thence to Houghton, to preach at Lady Rodes', but it not being the day, I went to prayer ; rode to Mr. Wadsworth's (Words worth's), of Swaithe Hall, and lodged there. God made me of use." "July 2, 1679. — Rode with Mr. Hancock to Swaithe Hall. Next day to Houghton, where we prayed and preached four or five hours to a full assembly ; lodged there that night." "Oct. 6, 1681. — Rode with Mr. JoUey, and Mrs. and Mr. Jackson, to visit our friends the Wordsworths, at Swaithe, who had gone to a sermon at Esquire Rodes', at Houghton HaU." Ralph Thoresby, the Leeds antiquary, author of Loides and Elmete and other works, occasionally visited Houghton HaU, as will be seen from the following : — The Family of Rodes. 151 " 1686. — This summer, accorapanied by Father Sykes, went to visit relations. The first night we lodged at cousin Rodes's, at Great Houghton ; was pleased with the pictures of some eminent statesraen in Queen Elizabeth's time, and family pieces, originals of the Earl of Strafford and Sir Edward Rodes ; and was glad of some letters of that nobleman to the Countess [Sir Edward's sister, daughter of Sir Godfrey] ; visited Dr. EUis, another relation, who has built two or three almshouses, at Brampton, but by will bequeathed to ten viUages in that neighbourhood ;^io each per annura to pious uses. The next day we returned to cousin Rodes's, only caUing to visit Dr. Eaton, of Darfield, and Squire Wombwell, of WombweU." Elizabeth, one of the daughters of Sir Edward and Lady Rodes, suffered from a singular disorder, which is thus referred to by Oliver Heywood in Reliques Heywoodiance : — " In my travels in and out of Nottingharashire, Oct. 18 and 26, A.D. 1681, I had a sad object, Mrs. Elizab. Rodes (ray Lady Rodes' daughter) distracted by a feavor of phrenzy seizing on her. She spoke rauch, yet in due time the Lord heard prayers for her recovery — a gracious gentlewoman. But her cousen. Lady Margaret (the Countess of Strafford's only daughter, at Hooton) beginning, Oct. 15, the day Mrs. Rodes went ill from thence to be in like manner, yet more raging, and in a fortnight's time died, to the great grief of relations."* * " Mrs. Elizabeth Rodes, eldest daughter of Sir Edward Rodes, was seized with a distemper that deprived her of her speech, as appears by her letter to her aunt, the Countess of Strafford ; and though, by the assistance of Dr. Nathaniel Johnston, of Pontefract, she was recovered for the present, yet it frequently returned, especially upon 152 Worthies of Barnsley. What, however, throws a further halo over Great Houghton is the fact that Elizabeth, one of the sisters of Sir Edward Rodes, was the third wife of Sir Thomas Wentworth, the great Lord Strafford. They were married privately, in October, 1632, a year after the death of Wentworth's second wife. He concealed his alliance for some time, and is said to have scarcely had such an elevated love for her as that which inspired him towards his second and favourite wife. Wentworth had been so successful as Lord President of the any sudden accident. But the wonder is, not that a woman should lose her tongue, but during the height of the distemper, when in common conversation, she could not speak one word, yet if a bible was opened to her she could read audibly, but as soon as it was closed she was mute as before. She is yet living at Morley, a truly pious lady, far from any design to impose upon any, but perhaps not wholly void of the Flatus Hypochondriacus. In the Rev. O. Heywood's MS. of remarkable providences, I find it attested by the Rev. Mr. Chr. Richardson, who was an eye and ear witness, with this additional circumstance, that she could write sermons and repeat them audibly and distinctly, as well as chapters. Bat what was of secular concerns she replied to by writing the answers she could not pronounce." — Loides and Elmete, p. 151, appendix. A similar case occurred to a Miss Martha Hatfield, the daughter of a highly respectable family, at Laughton in le Morthing, in 1652, which formed the subject of a publication by James Fisher, a, minister, of Sheflield, entitled, "The Wise Virgin," which ran through five editions between 1653 and 1664. The case excited great interest, and many, we are told, resorted to Laughton to hear this extraordinary person. Among them were persons of the first quaUty ; two sons of Sir Edward Rodes, the wife of General Lambert, Sir John Bright, besides the numerous family connections of the unfortunate patient. After a short time it was thought that such precious discourses as she delivered ought not to be lost, and the two Mr. Rodes' and others employed themselves in writing down the sentences as they fell from her lips. They were afterwards collected together, and were published in the volume which relates to this singular case. The Family of Rodes. 153 North, that the King was induced to offer to hira the office of Lord Deputy of Ireland. This office he accepted, and received his commission early in 1632. Armed with extraordinary powers, for which he had carefully stipulated, and retaining still his presidency of the North, he proceeded to Dublin in July, 1632. His wife he sent over to Ireland before him, and publicly acknowledged her on his arrival ; and she remained with him during his seven years' govern ment of Ireland. He there entered upon his duties with great state, ordered the ceremonial of the English court to be observed at the castle, and surrounded himself with a guard, which was at the tirae a great novelty in Dublin.* Elizabeth Rodes has been described by one author as a pretty but rather commonplace woman ; but Lord Strafford loved her dearly, there is no doubt, and she long deeply revered his memory. When trouble fell upon this distinguished man, he lingered in the country with his wife and family till late in the year 1640. On the Sth of Nov. he was still at Wentworth, but he was then on the eve of his departure to attend to his great concerns in * "I saw the Earl of Strafford in Dublin (June 1639) when he was then Lord Deputy, in far greater state (in some respects) than the King of England. The Earl of Ormond (now Marquis) was pointed out to me as riding in the Deputy's own troop. I saw one princely stable of the Deputy's, wherein I judged the worst of sixty horses for the great saddle to be worth ^30. His lordship's paternal estate was ^^4,000 to ;^5,ooo per annum, which he lived to double, but dying in about ;^8o,ooo debt, his son had sold a moiety of the said estate to pay the aforesaid debt. ;^20,ooo of this debt was incurred by being surety for the King, or by taking' up the like sum for his Majesty, at the beginning of the war in Yorkshire." A Cavalier's Note Book. Being notes, anecdotes, etc., of William Blundell, of Crosby, Lancashire, Captain of Dragoons, 1642, p. 104. 1 54 Worthies of Barnsley. London. With what feelings he took his last fareweU of these peaceful and happy scenes of his less ambitious ancestry we may coUect from an expression in one of his letters to his ever faithful servant. Sir George Radcliffe, and about the end of May following he returned, not to the house, but the sepulchre of his ancestors. His wife, we are told,* remained in Ireland during aU his period of extreme suffering; and there is no evidence of any eff"ort made by her to save him from the executioner. A few letters from the Earl to his lady are in the possession of Lord Houghton, and preserved at Fryston HaU, with many interesting relics of the Rodes family, of which his lordship is the representative. The letters, which are chiefly of a private nature, have been printed by his lordship. One of them is as follows : — " Sweete Hartte, — I shaU doe more for you this morning then I could have dun since I was your husbande, write you a letter frora Woodhouse ; whither now I am cum in healthe I humbly praise God, and to the abode of my fathers. My businesse here is much and intricate, yet that does not affright me. I have begun and a little paines and patience wUl sett aU right I trust Heare is the hudgest abundance of fruite I ever saw, and venison in abundance ; wee keepe excellent cheare, and have passing good wine, and that finds Southworth, faithe, he banges it soundly. God AUraighty take vs all into his blessed protection, and send me and this company well at Dublin againe. " Your very loving husbande, " Wentworth." • Fairfax Correspondence, Johnson, vol, i., p. 50. The Family of Rodes. r 5 5 Lord Houghton thus brings this interesting little collection of Wentworth papers to a conclusion : — "There is a letter extant, dated from the Tower, February 4th, 1 640-1, in which the Eari informs his wife that ' the charge is now cum inn, and I am now able I prayse God to tell you, that I conceave there is nothing capitall ; and for the rest I now at the worste, his Ma'ty wiU pardon all, without hurting my fortune, and then we shall be happy by God's grace.' And in another, dated April 19th, he writes that his trial as to fact is near at an end, and there remained only matter of law to be spoken to ; that the King continued very gracious to him, and his friends in creased rather than lessened ; he concludes by trusting aU wiU end well, and bidding her be of good cheer. On the 1 2th of May he was no more ; but the day before his execu tion he solemnly enjoined his son, 'be sure you give all respect to my wife, that hath ever bore a great love unto you, and therefore will be well becoming you.' " * In the Rawden Papers are three letters from this daugh ter of the house of Rodes. The first is addressed to her brother. Sir Edward Rodes, at his house at Great Hough ton, and the other two to the Lord Bishop of Derry. Two of them have neither place nor date, and the third has only the month and year.t The one to her brother is as follows : — " Good Brother, "I am sure you are not ignorant how rauch I and my * Chapters in Yorkshire History. J. J. Cartwright, M.A., pp. 255-6. t The Rawden Papers, consisting of Letters on various subjects to and from Archbishop John Bramhall, pp. Ill, etc. 156 Worthies of Barnsley. brother Godfrey was obliged to the Bishop of Derry, there fore I make my suit to you with all earnestness imaginable, that you will show what favour lies in your power to his daughter, Mrs. IsabeUa Bramhall [married to Sir James Graham, youngest son of William, Earl of Menteith, of Scotland] in her business that she and her friend has in Scotland. It would be too long for a letter to tell you what brotherly care the Bishop took of my brother, both for his encouragement and preferment; therefore if we could requite it to any of his, it would be a very great satisfaction to me, in which I am confident you will join with "Your most entirely " Loving sister, "The iSth July." "E. Straff"orde. "To the Lord Bishop of Derry.* "My Lord, — I was very angry at myself as soon as you was gone from hence that I had forgot to mention Mrs. Tinsley's condition to you, and beg some advice for her. I must leave it to her to tell you her own story, but truly I have great experience of her piety and all other virtues suitable to her sex and sufferings. If there be any way for the relief of such as are in her case, I beseech you put her into it, and you * John Bramhall, D.D., Archbishop of Armagh, in his Life, is said to have been related to the family of Keresforth, of Keresforth, near Barnsley. He went to Ireland as chaplain to Lord Strafford, and was much employed there in reforming ecclesiastical abuses. He was raised to the Bishopric of Derry. During the Civil War he resided chiefly abroad ; and at the Treaty of Uxbridge in 1644, the English- Parliament made it a preliminary article, that he, along with Archbishop Laud, and others, should be excepted from the general pardon. At the Restoration he was appointed Archbishop of Armagh, Primate, and Metropolitan of Ireland, and was chosen Speaker of the House of Lords. The Family of Rodes. 157 wUl have the blessings and prayers of the widow and the fatherless and as many thanks as is possible to be rendered to you by my Lord " Your most humble servant, "E. Straff"orde." From the same to the same. " My Lord, — The person that brings you this scribble of mine is Mr. Robert Bunynd ; he hath been known to me this long tirae, having lived diverse years at Woodhouse [Wentworth Woodhouse] as chaplain. There to us all de meaning himself very discreetly, soberly, and piously, and very conformable to the antient discipline and doctrine of the Church of England ; and really I am particularly obliged to him for the huge care and kindness he showed to me and my child. Since the famUy at Woodhouse was dissolved he has lived as chaplain to my late Lord of Sussex and tutor to this Lord where I know his deportment hath been very good. Now my lord I hear that your commendation hath great in fluence upon my Lord Chancellor ; my hurable suit is, that you will speak a good word in the behalf of Mr. Bunynd who hath delivered a petition to him for a small living in his gift, and therein you will very much add to the great obligation of your " Most humble servant "August the first,— 60." " E. Strafforde." After the death of her lord the Countess of Strafford re tired to a jointure house of the noble faraUy of Wentworth, situate at Hooton Roberts,* and there she lived in a state of "* It was at this time that I had commenced a suit 'against the Countess Dowager of Strafford (who Uved then at Hooton Roberts), for planting a warren and opening a quarry upon the common (which I opposed as a freeholder of Hooton Roberts and Lord of Denaby). But 158 Worthies of Barnsley. retirement for a period of more than 40 years, in the com pany of her only daughter, the Lady Margaret Wentworth.* There Lady Strafford died on the 9th April, 1688, and was buried by torchlight at midnight on the uth. In her wiU she expressly ordered that no stone monument, nor escutcheon, should be placed to her memory. Her daughter, the Lady Margaret, died unmarried in 1681. The instruc tions given in the Countess's will were carried out to the letter, for on the restoration ofthe church in 1877, not even a slab was found to mark the place of her interment. Mr. ^Vain- wright, author of Strafforth and TickhiU, in a note in his MSS., says that Mr. Eyre, the rector of Hooton, sent him a transcript from the Journal of the Countess's chaplain (Mr. Hammond Rodes, her nephew) which is among the papers he has preserved. WiUiam Rodes, after the death of his brother Godfrey, became heir and successor to the estates at Houghton. He had amongst other issue, Godfrey, t who died in 17 10, and Richard Rodes (in whom the families of Rodes and Riche, of BuUhouse, became united), who married Martha, daughter of Elkanah Riche, of BuUhouse, in the parish of Penistone, and only sister of the whole blood of Aymer it went no further, my Lord of Strafford and her ladyship, both con senting that the warren should be destroyed and the quarry filled up." — Memoirs of Sir John Reresby, p. 85. * Hunter, in his Itinerary, in 1807, on visiting Wentworth House, mentions the family paintings, and says, there is " one of the daughter of the first Earl, by Rodes, his last wife. There is something mysteri ous in her history — she is supposed to have had in early life a disap pointment in love." t "Mr. Godfrey Rodes, of Long Houghton HaU, bur. Mar. 1, 1709-10, about 22 years of age. Heir to a great estate." — Northowram Register. The Family of Rodes. 159 Riche, of the same place. The said Richard died Feb. 14, 1720-1, and was buried at Darfield on the 17th of the same month.* WUliam,t his son, died unmarried in 1740, and the only *" Richard Roades, Esq., of Long Houghton, bur. Feb. 17, 1720-1." — Darfield Parish Register. "Mr. Richard Rodes, of Great Houghton, died Feb. 14, 1720-1." — Northowram Register. t " WiUiam Rodes of Great Houghton, third son, and at length heir of Sir Edward, who by Frances, his wife, dau. of Richard Wilson of Leeds, merchant (whicb Richard was great grandfather to Christopher Wilson, Bishop of Bristol), had issue Richard Rodes, of Great Houghton. The said Richd. Rodes, married Martha, dau. of Elkanah Riche. He died the 4th Feb., 1 720-1, and had issue, by the said Martha (who survived him, and afterwards married Samuel Crompton, of Derby, gent.), two daughters, co-heiresses, of whom Mary, the eldest, died unmarried March 14, 1789, aged 76, and was bur. at Darfield ; and Martha, the younger (who died June 29, 1802, aged 84, and was bur. at Darfield), was married to Hans Busk, of Leeds, merchant, and by him (who died in Feb. 1792, aged 74, and was bur. in St. John's Church, Leeds) had three daughters ; viz., Mary Anne, born Feb. 10, 1755, married to James Milnes, Esq. , of Thornes-house ; Martha, who died unmarried ; and Rachel, born Jan. 31, 1760, married to Richard Slater Milnes." — Playfair's Baronetage Appendix. "In the middle aisle, near this place, are interred the remains of William Rodes, Esquire, of Great Houghton, who departed this life March 29, 1740, in the 25th year of his age : only son of Richard Rodes, Esquire, by Mary his wife, the daughter of Elkanah Rich, Esquire, of BuUhouse, in this County, who are both interred in the same place." — Memorial in Darfield Church. " William Rodes, of Houghton, Esq , died at London, bur. at Dar field, near Houghton, beginning of AprU, 1740." — Northowram Register. " Edward, son of Mr. Will. Rhodes, Esq., of Great Houghton, bur. May 24, 1690. WUliam Rhodes, Esq., of Great Houghton, was bur. Dec. 17, 1694. Godfrey Rhodes, of Great Houghton, Esq., bur. March 2, 1709. William Rhodes, of Great Houghton, Esq., bur. April 9, 1740."— Darfield Parish Register. i6o Worthies of Barnsley. surviving issue of Richard Rodes were two daughters, his co-heirs, of whom, Mary, the elder, died unmarried March 14, 1789, and was buried at Darfield.* Martha, the younger daughter, married Hans Busk, Esq., of Leeds (son of Jacob Hans Busk, of Gottenburg in Sweden, who married Rachel, a near relation of Mr. Wordsworth, of Swaithe Hall, and died Oct. 21, i7S5)! who was a member of the firm of Busk, Bischenout, and Bischoff", woollen mer chants, Leeds, and who after commencing business soon be came the head of the trade. Wadsworth [Wordsworth] Busk ofthe Middle Temple, Barrister-at-Law, knighted, and living in 1S12, was the youngest brother of Hans Busk ; andhe had a son, Hans Busk, Esq., of London, who died as recently as 1862, in the 90th year of his age.t Hans Busk *" Mrs. Mary Rhodes of Great Houghton bur. March 20th, 1789." — Darfield Parish Register. A memorial in Darfield Church has this inscription: "Near this place are interred the remains of Mary Rodes, of Great Houghton, who departed this life March 14th, 1789, in the 76th year of her age ; sister and co-heir of WilUam Rodes, Esquire. Also near this place are in terred the remains of Martha Busk, who departed this life May I7lh, 1777, in the 21st year of her age ; second daughter of Hans Busk, Esq., by Martha his wife, sister of William and Mary Rodes.'' t " On the Sth inst. (Feb., 1862), at his residence. Great Cumberiand Street, Hyde Park, Hans Busk, Esq., J.P. for the county of Radnor, the youngest son of Sir Wadsworth Busk, aged ^."-Gentleman's Magazine, 1862. The Busk family is now represented by Edward Thomas Busk, of Ford's Grove, Enfield — See Burke's Landed Gentry, article Busk. " One of the Busk family intermarried with the Wads worth family, of Swaithe Hall. Sir Wadsworth Busk says his mother was the daughter of a Mr. Wadsworth, of Leeds, a near relation to the family at Swaithe, and descended maternally from Joshua Kirkby, the ejected minister at Wakefield. Sir Wadsworth and his son went to see the grave of this worthy confessor, who, as you must recollect, was The Family of Rodes. i6i and Martha Rodes had issue three children; Mary Ann, married to James Milnes, of Thornes House, near Wake field, Esquire, High Sheriff of Yorkshire in the year 1800, and some tirae member for Bletchingley ; Martha, who died unmarried ; and Rachel, married to Richard Slater Milnes, of Wakefield and Fryston, M.P. for York.* excommunicated, and buried in a garden at Wakefield. I shall make diligent inquiry about this singular fact, and endeavour to find out the identical spot where the grave is to be seen. " — Letter from R. Moult to Rev. J. Hunter {no date).— Add. MSS. Vol. 24,871, p. 418. * " Robert Milnes, an eminent merchant at Wakefield (who died about 1734), married twice, his second wife being Sarah, daughter of William Rawden, and widow of William Sykes, of Leeds, merchant. She had by Wm. Sykes, her first husband, two sons ; Ist, Samuel, a merchant at Hull, who married Mary, daughter of John Wordsworth, Esq., of Swaithe Hall, near Barnsley, which estate, through an intermarriage between the families of Wordsworth and Rodes, eventually came to Mary, the wife of James Milnes, and Rachel, the wife of Richard .Slater Milnes, mentioned in the text as the representatives ofthe family of Rodes, of Great Houghton James Milnes, of Thomes House, in the parish of Wakefield, Esq. , third and only surviving son and heir of James Milnes, of Wakefield, merchant, was born nth Oct., 1755, at Wakefield. He married, 24 February, 1778, at Penistone, Mary Anne, eldest daughter and co-heir of Hans Busk, Esq., of Leeds and Bull-house, and granddaughter and co-heiress of Richard Rodes, Esq., and of Martha his wife, the sister of Aymer Riche, Esq. The said James Milnes was Sheriff" of Yorkshire in 1800, and on the 17th of August, 1802, he and his lady had the King's royal license, by Sign Manual, to take and use the surname of Riche, in compliance with the will of Aymer Riche. The same year he was elected to represent the borough of Bletchingley in Parliament ; and his lady dying without issue, the loth Nov. 1802, he had another royal license, the 13th of January, 1803, to re-assume the name and arms of Milnes. He was in the Commission of the Peace and Deputy-Lieutenant for the West Riding of Yorkshire Richard Slater MUnes, only sur viving son and heir of Robert Milnes, had a considerable fortune from 12 1 62 Worthies of Barnsley. Mr. Milnes had at one tirae intended to have made 'Houghton HaU his residence. It had been occupied by the Rodes family fro"m the time of Sir Godfrey tUl the death of Mrs. Mary Rodes, or, according to the usual phraseology of the time and the country, of " Madam Rodes," in 1789. Not only the walls, but rauch of the original furniture remained. Some of the rooms were hung with tapestry ; and in others were portraits of Queen Elizabeth, and many of the dis tinguished persons of her court. Mr. Richard Slater MUnes his father ; and was seated at Great Houghton, in right of his wife, and at Fryston, near Ferrybridge, by purchase. In the year 1784 he was elected to represent the city of York in Parliament, and continued its representative until the General Election in 1802. He was also in the Commission of the Peace, and Deputy-Lieutenant for the West Riding, and married, 30th May, 1801, at Darfield, Rachel, youngest daughter and co-heir, and afterwards only surviving daughter and sole heiress, of Hans Busk, Esq., above named, and grand-daughter and co-heiress of Richard Rodes, Esq., and of Martha, his wife, the sister of Aymer Riche. The said Richard Slater Milnes, and Rachel, his wife, obtained his Majesty's royal license, by Sign Manual, dated 13th January, 1803, to take the surname of Riche ; and the said Richard Slater Milnes died 2nd June, 1804, at Egremont House, London, the town residence of his cousin and brother-in-law, Mr. James Milnes. He left issue two sons and seven daughters, the sons being, Robert Pemberton Milnes, of Fryston Hall, Esq., eldest son and heir ; and Richard Rodes Milnes, on whom the estates of the Rodes family were settled." — Playfair's Baronetage, MilHes, Appendix, p. xlv. > Mary, daughter of John Milnes, married Benjamin Gaskell, of Clifton HaU, Manchester. Her brother James, who married Rachel Busk, having no issue, and all the issue of her grandfather, John Milnes, being exhausted, the grandchildren of Mary Gaskell inherited the estates (including Swaithe Hall), which are now enjoyed by her representative, Charles Milnes Gaskell, Esq., of Thornes House. "Richard Slater Milnes, ofthe par. of Wakefield, Esquier, and Rachel Busk, of this parish, spinster, married 30th August, 1781." Darfield Parish Register. The Family of Rodes. 163 found the hall in a state of some decay, and he found also that the houses of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth, however striking as picturesque objects, and however curious as illus trative of the manners of an age long passed away, are little adapted to afford those conveniences and comforts which, in the improved state of society, are becorae requisite. He expended a thousand pounds in alterations and repairs, but after a residence of ten weeks he abandoned it to tenants. The furniture and tapestry were reraoved. Many of the windows were blocked up. Dilapidations followed, and what reraains of the hall has, as we have said, been licensed as a public-house.* * "Lord FitzwiUiam is in treaty for Houghton. The Milnes' family made a great show forty years since, at Wakefield ; and there were the Busks and Madame Rodes, who never moved without four horses, and now where are they ? If it was not that I hear of the benevolence and urbanity of the Dowager Lady Galway, the Milnes' family would be forgotten. Mr. R. MUnes took the old furniture from Houghton to Frystone, burnt the most of it, and the pictures may be somewhere in the garrets, perhaps." — Extract of a letter from Mr, Woodcock, Hems worth, to Rev. J. Hunter, dated September 13th, 1823. Add. MSS., British Museum, Vol. 2,487, pp. 313. " The Rodes's, of Great Houghton, have been a family of consider able distinction in that village for centuries. The last of that family I personally knew 40 years ago. The old mansion, with its chapel, still exists. I well remember how my imagination was affected when a school boy, on crossing the large court yard and passing along the sombre entrance to the servants' hall, where everything, from the furniture to the servants, bore the impress of antiquity. The mansion is worth visiting as a specimen of the architecture of the time of James I." — Extract from letter dated Dec, 5, 1822, from Edward Oxley to Mr. Wainwright, author of Strafforth and TickhiU. Hunter, in his Itinerary, in July, 1807, says :— " At Long Houghton, about 14 miles from Thurnscoe, we saw the chapel built by the Rodes's, and the Old Hall, now completely deprived of its furniture, and looking 164 Worthies of Barnsley. Mr. MUnes had, however, purchased, some time before, Fryston HaU, which he enlarged, and took up his residence there in 1790. His son was " Orator" or "Single speech " Milnes, as he was variously caUed in his time, and who, after his retirement from public life, lived a good deal on the continent, where the youth of the present Lord Houghton, the wearer of the title which his father refused, was chiefly spent. Mr. MUnes returned to Fryston in 183s, where he remained tiU his death. He had married Henrietta Maria Monckton, the third daughter of Lord Galway, which •united the houses of Monckton and Milnes. Richard Monckton Milnes, his only son, is too well known as the present Lord Houghton to need any mention. He was born in 1809, and graduated M.A. at Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1831, was returned for Pontefract in 1857, and represented that borough for many years. very forlorn. It can never again be inhabited. The rooms are not ex traordinarily good. In the middle of the court yard there grows a fine tree. The chapel is close by the house. Mr. Hodgson, the minister of Doncaster, goes over to preach there once a month, and has a good con gregation. Mrs. Milnes, of Fryston, is the only supporter of the minister. This estate is said to be settled on the second son." Sir Thomas Hai.ufax, Knight, Lord Mayor of London. i6s No. VII. Sir ^bomas Iballifay, Xorb ni>ai5or of Xonbon, anb tbe IbalUfay jfamili?. I HERE are many persons in the district who are not aware that one of the Lord Mayors of London — and not one of the least notable of them — was a native of Barnsley, and spent his early years in that town. The name of this distinguished individual was Thomas Hallifax, son of John Hallifax, a person of a mechanical turn of mind and of some substance and respectabUity, who carried on the business of a clock-maker, with great credit to himself and satisfaction to the community in which he resided. The family to which he belonged were originally of the town of Halifax, and descended from the ancient family of Waterhouse, of that place. These Waterhouses were connected with, and held the tithes of Barnsley. In 1609 Isaac Waterhouse, of Woodhouse, in the parish of HaUfax, bequeathed to two of his sons his lease of the Priory Manor of Barnsley. Edmund Rogers, who left the Thorp Audlin benefaction to Barnsley, had a 1 66 Worthies of Barnsley, lease of the tithes under the family of Waterhouse, which was unexpired at the time of his death, in 1646. In 1660, one moiety of the tithe was in the possession of John Waterhouse, "Vicar of Darton, who in that year sold it to James Wood, of Barnsley, gentleman. The other moiety was possessed, in 1672, by Isaac Waterhouse, a mercer, in Barnsley, and it continued in the family till 1683. Robert, the second son of Robert Waterhouse, of Halifax, was educated at University CoUege, Oxford, and inducted into the "Vicarage of Springthorpe, in Lincolnshire, in 1621, where his benefice was sequestered for his adherence to the royal cause, but afterwards restored. His only son, Thomas, born in 1626, dropped the name of Waterhouse. and used that of Hallifax only. This Thomas had three sons — William, born i6ss; * Thomas, i6s8; and Robert, 1662 (the last named being grandfather to Samuel Hallifax, Bishop of St. Asaph and Gloucester, and Dr. Robert Hallifax, physician to the Prince of Wales). t The eldest * "William Hallifax, a minister of God's Word, was born at Spring thorpe, in Lincolnshire, admitted servitor of Brasenose Coll. ; became scholar of C. C. in April, 1675 ; Bac. of Arts, 22nd Feb., 1678 ; Fellow of C. C. C. in Dec, 1682 ; Bach, of Div., 24th Nov., 1687. He translated from French into English The Elements of Euclid explain' d in a new but most easy Method. Oxon., 1685, Oct. Written by F. Claud Francis de Chales, of the Society of Jesus." — Wood's Ath. {Bliss), vol. iv., p. 621. t "Bishop Hallifax was the eldest son of Mr. Samuel Hallifax, apothecary, at Chesterfield, by Hannah, youngest daughter of Richard Jebb, maltster, by whom he was first cousin to Sir Richard and Dr. John Jebb. He continued at Jesus College till after he had taken his Master's degree ; and then removed to Trinity Hall, and there obtained LL.D., 1764 ; was appointed Regius Professor of Civil Law, in 1770 ; became D.D. (by Royal Mandate) in 1775; and was elected F.S.A. The Family of Hallifax. 167 son, who was created D.D. in 169s, traveUed in Syria, Palestine, and Egypt, and was chaplain to William III. The second son, Thomas, succeeded to the living of Spring thorpe, which he held 25 years, dying in 171 1. He left three sons — Thomas, born 16SS; John, 1694; and William, 1696. Bishop HaUifax was born at Chesterfield. He was partly educated at the Grammar School there. There is a tablet in Chesterfield Church, on which is the foUowing inscription : — " To parents, of the greatest worth, Robert and Hannah Hallifax, who having fulfilled all human duties faithfully and properly, migrated (departed) from this life. He, A.D., 1759, aged 63. She, a.d., 1787, aged 78. This monument, their dearest son, Robert Hallifax, physician to the Prince of Wales, desired to erect in testimony of his love and affection, in 1796." The second son, John Hallifax, came and settled in Barnsley in the early part of the eighteenth century ; and there we find him carrying on the business of a clock-maker for many years. He married Anna Archdale, of Pilley, a member of a highly respectable faraily of that place, daughter of George Archdale, related to a branch of the faraily of Burdett, seated at Tankersley. The following is the record of the marriage : — " 1717, Johannes Hallifax de Barnesley in par. de Silkston, faber Horolog., and Anna Archdale de Pilley, Spinster. in 1787. Bishop Hallifax was a prelate of extensive learning and knowledge, and of great ability. His brother Robert, F. A.S., 1776, and F.R.S., 1785, was many years an apothecary in St. James's-street, London, and afterwards physician to the Prince of Wales." — Literary .Amcdotes, vol. iv., p. 660. 1 68 Worthies of Barnsley. Matrimonio juncti Licentii prius in hac parte concessa. Octobris 31. " Rev. Viro Joh. Clarkson, Sur."* "Anna filia Georgii Archdale bap. 10 Obris., 1686." Our information respecting John Hallifax's connection with Barnsley is very meagre. The parish register suppUes us with the following baptisms and burials : — "1718, Aug. 24. — William, son of Mr. John Hallifax, bapt. " 1 72 1-2. — Thomas, son of John Hallifax, bap. [After wards Sir Thomas Hallifax, Knight, and Lord Mayor of London]. "1724, Mar. 27. — Elizabeth, dau. of John Hallifax, bap. " 172s, Nov. 19. — George, son of John Hallifax, bap " 1728, May II. — Joseph, son of John Hallifax, bap. " 1731, Dec. 21. — Ben, son of John Hallifax, bap. " 1750, Sept. 27. — Mr. John Hallifax, bur. " I7S7, June 6.- — George, son of Jo : Hallifax, bap. " i7S8, Oct. 6. — Thos., son of Jo : Hallifax, bap. " 1761, May 30. — Eliza., dau. of Joseph Hallifax, bap. " I7S7, Oct. 8. — George, son of Jo : Hallifax, bur. " 1762, Oct. 11. — Mr. Joseph Hallifax, Post-master, bur." John HaUifax was contemporary at Barnsley with John Beckett, Francis Wood, William Wilson, and others of our * Luke Burdett, of Tankersley, gentleman, made his will 6t'h March, 1679. He mentions his cousin, Elizabeth, daughter of George Arch dale, of Pilley, etc. Francis Burdett, of Flanshaw (Tankersley), will made Sth Nov., 1697, mentions his sister, Elizabeth, wife of Thomas Archdale. John, George, Elizabeth, Mary, and Hannah, the children of her aunt Archdale, leaves something to the poor of Barnsley, Penistone, etc. The Family of Hallifax. 169 local notables, and left behind him several sons, who made their mark in the world. John Hallifax died on the 2 sth September, 1750, and the inscription on his tombstone, which is stUl to be seen in St. Mary's Church-yard, pays a high compUment to his character : — " In memory of Mr. John Hallifax, of this town, whose abiUties and virtue few in these times have attained. His art and industry were such as his ingenious inventions will be a lasting monument of his merit — such as recommended him to the favour and esteem of all good men that knew him. He departed this Ufe Septeraber 2Sth, 1750." It will be seen that his genius was raechanical, and that he acquired celebrity for the construction of delicate pieces of mechanism, but what these were, and whether they only referred to his clocks or not, we cannot say ; but certainly for these he acquired much fame, for the clocks of John Hallifax always bore a high reputation, not only in the town of Barnsley, but throughout the whole of the district, and several are still in existence, which are worthy specimens of his genius. One of these, in the steward's room at Went worth House, • which bears the name " John HaUifax, Barnsley," still records the correct time, and is unique in its workraanship, although probably nearly iso years old; whilst there is also a handsome timepiece, another fine speciraen of his craft, in good condition, in the possession of the representatives of an old Barnsley family. The late Mr. Joseph Beckett, who used to speak from his own knowledge of the HaUifax family, and knew Sir Thoraas and his brothers, had one of the clocks of " John HaUifax " fitted up in a handsome case. Another specimen was I/O Worthies of Barnsley. owned by the late Mr. Richard Thorp, and others may stUl be met with in the district. As John Hallifax lived at a time when we had no local newspapers and no local chronicler, we can say nothing of his ingenious inventions, his abilities and virtues, which are mentioned in his monumental inscription ; but that he was a man of high moral character, and of great ability and ingenuity there can be no doubt, and if Barnsley had been at that day a corporate town, he would probably have been one of its chief magistrates, but as there was no such dignity within his reach, he was obliged to remain contented with his lot. In his day he had few compeers, and was a_ man of whom, taking him for all in all, Barnsley has reason to be proud, and of his family after him. It will be seen from the above extracts that he had a pretty numerous progeny. His son Thomas we may justly consider to have been one of the most eminent men this town has produced ; another son was John Hallifax, of Kenilworth, in Warwickshire, Esquire; Benjamin, D.D., of Clapton, in Middlesex ; * George, of Doncaster, alderman and Justice of the Peace, filled the office of Mayor there in 177s and 1792, dying in 181 1 at the advanced age of eighty-five years. Joseph carried on his father's business, and filled the office of postmaster at Barnsley, and died and was buried there on the nth Oct., 1762, leaving several children. * " Benjamin Hallifax entered at Manchester School 19th May, 1747 ; of Brasenose College, Oxford, B.A., Oct. 25th, 1752; Fellow of Lincoln CoUege, 28th Feb., 1753 ; M.A. May 28th, 1755 5 B.D. March 21st, 1764; D.D. Feb. 20th, 1768. Resident in Lincoln College, 29 years. Rector of Cublington, Bucks." — Manchester School Register, Chetham Soe, pub. 1866, p. 30. The Family of Hallifax. 171 Thomas Hallifax, the third son, received his education in Barnsley, and at the usual age was apprenticed to a grocer in that town, but not liking the business, or having more ambitious views^ he left his situation before his indentures of apprenticeship expired, and went to London, where, by un remitting industry, he soon laid the foundation of his future fortune, and paved the way to those high dignities which he afterwards obtained. We have not been able to recover the name of the grocer to whom he was apprenticed, nor to ob tain any incidents connected with his early years; and much of what little is given of his career has only been recovered after much research. In what capacity Thomas Hallifax was engaged after he first settled in the metropolis we are not aware, but it was probably as a clerk in a banking establishment, in which he would appear to have had a rapid rise, for in 17s 3, when little more than 30 years of age, we find him presented with the Freedom of the City of London, and becoming a partner, or in fact, we should say, one of the originators of the eminent banking firm of Glyn and Hallifax, afterwards Glyn, Mills, Hallifax, and Co., a firm which has continued to the present time, and which has long had the reputation of having a larger business than any other private banking house in the city of London. It was formerly the custom in banking houses for clerks to become partners in order of seniority, and it is very probable that it was through this custom, coupled with the fact of his being a man of more than ordinary inteUigence and ability, that Thomas HaUifax owes his rapid promotion. The only bank in London in which this custom is now continued is that of Child and Co., and there the clerks aU become 172 Worthies of Barnsley. partners in order of seniority ; which custom, probably, says Mr. HUton Price, in his Handbook of London Bankers, p. 28, originated in the apprentice, after serving hisfuU articles, being taken into the firm in partnership with his master. When bankers discontinued having apprentices, their clerks who had risen from being juniors became head clerks and eventuaUy partners. This practice, as far as Messrs. Child and Co. are concerned, has been continued ever since the latter end of the 17 th century. In the early part of the iSth century, and even later, it was a common occurrence for London bankers to take their clerks into the firm; the custom has now, however, faUen into disuse. Joseph "Vere, the senior partner, and one of the founders of the firm of Vere, Glyn, and Hallifax, was thirty years before only a clerk in the banking house of Thomas Martin and Co. The only surviving granddaughter of Sir Thomas Hallifax, who is now residing at Boxted Hall, Bury St. Edmunds, has many interesting papers in her possession relating to Sir Thomas. Among these is the parchment deed conferring the freedom of the city of London on Thomas Hallifax, who is described as a goldsmith, and son of John Hallifax, of Barnsley. It is dated i7S3) and is signed by Sir Crisp Gascoyne, Lord Mayor, and Sir Thoraas Harrison, Knt., Chamberlain. She has also several deeds of partnership, the first of which is dated January 5, 1753, between Joseph Vere, Sir Richard Glyn, and Thomas HaUifax (the latter of whom is described as a goldsmith and a banker), who are about to carry on " the art, trade, and business of bankers " in Lombard-street. This would probably be Thomas Hallifax's first partnership. The Family of Hallifax. 173 Mr. Hilton Price, speaking of this firm, says it " appears to have commenced in Lombard -street (so far as can be told by the London Directory) between the year 1740 and i7S4, the precise date being difficult to ascertain in consequence of no list of bankers being forthcoming for the interval between those two dates. The style of the firm in 17S4 was Vere, Glyn, and Hallifax." " There is little doubt but that the firms of Vere, Glyn, and Co , and Vere, Asgill, and Co., had a common origin, and were started by Joseph Vere, and that between 17s 2 and I7S4 a dissolution took place in the partnership, as we find upon a cash note of Messrs. Child and Co., September, 1752, the following endorsement: 'J. Meredith,' witness T. Huck, for Messrs. Vere, AsgiU, and Co.; and upon a similar note of Child and Backwell's, in Feb., 17S4, 'Robert Carr,' witness, T. Huck, for Messrs. Vere, Glyn, and Co. The latter firm moved to Birchin-lane, whereas Asgill and Co. remained in Lombard-street. In 17S4, Henry Mitton witnessed signatures for the firm, and he was subsequently admitted into the partnership. " In 1770, their house in Birchin-lane was numbered 18 ; and the firm consisted of Sir Richard Glyn, Knight and Baronet, M.P. for the City of London, Alderman of Dowgate Ward, and a Colonel of the City MUitia; and Thomas HaUifax, who was Alderman of Aldersgate Ward. About 1773, Sir Richard Glyn retired, and Sir Thomas HaUifax assumed three partners, the firm in that year consisting of Thomas Hallifax, MiUs, R. C. Glynn, and Mitton. The next change to be noted was in 1777, when Mr. Charles Mills came into the firm as fourth partner. In 1783 or 1784, Mr. MiUs senior's name disappeared from 174 Worthies of Barnsley. the firra, which became Sir Thomas Hallifax, Richard Carr Glyn, Charles Mills, and Henry Mitton. In 1789 the name of Sir Thomas Hallifax is not seen, and the business was conducted at 12, Birchin-lane, by R. C. Glyn, Mills, and Mitton. About 1790, according to the Directory, Richard Carr Glyn was knighted. In 1797, the firm was Glyn, MiUs, Hallifax, and Co., and so it continued until 181 1, when the style of the firm became Glyn, MiUs, HaUifax, Glyn and Co. ; so continuing until 1S23, when another Mr. Mills came into it. "In 1826 they moved to their present premises. No. 67, Lombard-street, which house belongs to the Goldsmiths' Company, having been left to them by Sir Martin Bowes, the eminent goldsmith, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. "The style of the firm was again altered, in 1S30, to R. C. Glyn, Hallifax, Mills, and Co., consisting of Thomas Hallifax, Charles MiUs, Sir Richard P. Glyn, Bart., George Carr Glyn, Thomas Hallifax, jun., and Edward Wheeler Mills. In 1 8s I it became Glyn, Mills, and Co., which it continued to be until 1864, when they amalgamated with the old firm of Curries and Co., of Cornhill, since which tirae the style of the firra has been Glyn, Mills, Currie, and Co. " In 1869, Sir George Carr Glyn was created a Peer, under the title of Baron Wolverton. The present Lord Wolverton succeeded to the title in 1873. " The firra now consists of the following partners : — Raikes Currie. Rt. Hon. George Grenfell Glyn, Lord Wolverton. Sir Charies Henry Mills, Bart., M.P. Bertram Wodehouse Currie. The Hon. Pascoe Charles Glyn." The Family of Hallifax. 175 In 1762, Thomas HaUifax was married at EweU, to Penelope, daughter of Richard Thomson, Esq., of Lincoln's Inn, whose loss he had unfortunately to mourn the same year. He afterwards married for his second wife, Margaret, daughter and co-heir of John Savile, Esq., of ClayhUl, in the parish of Enfield, in Middlesex. In 1766, Thomas HaUifax was elected an Alderman of Aldersgate Ward. He must have been already a man of note, for at that time the Corporation of London was a great political power, which ministers had to take into account, and sovereigns had to propitiate. Wealthy merchants and bankers concerned themselves in municipal elections, and gladly filled municipal offices. Their doings were watched with great interest, and the Lord Mayor of London was then nearly as important a personage as the Prime Minister of Great Britain. Hallifax served the office of Sheriff" in 176S-9; rose in wealth, power, and influence to a degree which culminated in his being elected Lord Mayor, in 1776, which bespeaks his being a man of the first rank in public life. We have recovered from the LLondon Chro?iicle, 1776, vol. xl.. No. 3,092, p. 14, the following account of the election : — * " On Saturday a common hall was held at GuUdhall for the election of a Sheriff" in the room of Alderman Wooldridge, who is excused from serving the office ; and for the choice * ' ' Sawbridge, the Lord Mayor, now quitted at the end of his year, having done nothing in his mayoralty remarkable, but not permitting the press-gangs at this time to enter the city. Sir Thomas Hallifax succeeded him, and invited the ministers to his feast, lo which they had not been asked for sev.en years. Thus Wilkes, by his imprudence, and by the folly of the opposition, lost the city." — Last Joumals of Horace Walpole, Dr. Doran, vol. I, p. 163. 176 Worthies of Barnsley. of a Lord Mayor for the year ensuing, at which the foUowing Aldermen were present, besides the Lord Mayor — viz., Alsop, Crosby, Bull, HaUifax, EsdaUe, Plumbe, Kennett, Kirkman, Plomer, Thomas, Peckham, Hayley, Newnham, Wooldridge, Lee, Smith, and Clarke, when Alderman Thomas was unanimously elected Sheriff" in the room of Mr. Wooldridge. " The election for a Lord Mayor then came on, when the Aldermen eUgible for that office were put up ; the show of hands appeared in favour of Sir Thomas Hallifax and Sir James EsdaUe. George Hayley had also a very respectable appearance. The Sheriffs returned Sir Thomas Hallifax and Sir James EsdaUe to the Court of Aldermen, who made choice of the former of those gentlemen to be Lord Mayor for the year ensuing. " Sir Thomas then came forward, and addressed his fellow-citizens in the following words : — " Gentlemen of the Livery, — " As I have the honour of being raised by your fjree and unbiassed suffrages to the highest dignity which my fellow-citizens can bestow, I desire to express my most warm and grateful acknowledgments for this distinguished mark of your regard. The trust you have committed to me I will never betray ; the confidence you may at any time repose in me I will never abuse. It shall always be my study, as chief magistrate, with unremitting perseverance to impartially administer justice, and resolutely to maintain the liberties, independence, and good order of this great city. " May I presume, gentlemen, without vanity, to remind you, that when, by your favour, I was caUed to the office of The Family of Hallifax. 177 Sheriff", I stood undaunted in support of the violated rights of election, and the constitution as by law established. The same spirit which animated my conduct at that conjuncture will, I trust, on no occasion desert me in the discharge of my duty. I have only to add that when I took upon me the office of an Alderman, I was invited and unanimously chosen by the Ward of Aldersgate. Being called upon in so honourable a manner, I thought it a duty incumbent upon me to serve my fellow-citizens in return for the many favours I had received from them, and it will be the height of my ambition if I can now discharge this great trust to your satisfaction." This firm, decided declaration in favour of the rights and liberties of the people was received with great approbation by the friends of freedom. The business was conducted with great regularity and decorum, and when over, the Lord Mayor elect returned in the coach with the then Lord Mayor to the Mansion House, where he and some other aldermen, etc., were elegantly entertained ; and the rest dined with Mr. Sheriff" Plurabe at Goldsmiths' Hall. The number of Liverymen present was judged to be 3,000. The unanimity prevaiUng had been unexampled of late years. No hooting, no insults, very Uttle wit indeed. But one good thing was said— "The flock of Michaelmas geese had done hissing since Wilkes ceased to be feeder." "The entertainment given at the GuUdhall," says the Annual Register, " on Lord Mayor's Day, when Sir Thomas Hallifax was sworn into that office, was honoured with the presence of the Lord ChanceUor, Lord North, four of the Judges, several of the principal officers of State, many of 13 178 Worthies of Barnsley. the nobUity, and an extraordinary number of other persons of distinction, for the first time since the spirit of party took place in the city." Some insinuations having been thrown out against Sir Thomas HaUifax that he would not support the dignity of his office with proper splendour and spirit, he soon began to disabuse the minds of the public, and, as a leading step, he ordered the State coach to be new gilt and lined. This had not been done since the Mayoralty of Mr. Alderman Townsend, who was at the expense of completely fitting up the said coach by entirely new gilding it, new lining it with a rich blue cut velvet, and purchasing a superb new hammer cloth, and an entirely new set of harness. Since that tirae it had had very little done to it ; but Sir Thomas Hallifax, willing to retrieve the almost lost dignity of the Lord Mayor, was determined not to let the paltry sum of one or two hundred pounds prevail with him to ride about in state in a dirty and tarnished coach. The Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress (Sir Thomas and Lady Hallifax) went to Court on Saturday, Jan. 18, 1777, on the occasion of a grand ball at St. James's Palace in honour of Her Majesty's birthday, to pay their compliments to their Majesties. At night, the portico of the Mansion House was brilliantly illuminated. During Sir Thomas Hallifax's year of office, an Act was passed, to which he lent his support, for the more effectuaUy improving the navigation of the river Thames, and for which he received great encomiums. The Freedom of the City was presented to the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Right Honourable Sir Fletcher Norton, by the Corporation of London, through Sir Thomas — in a The Family of Hallifax. 179 gold box which he was desired to provide — for having declared in manly terms the real state of the nation to His Majesty on the throne, when he presented to him for his royal assent the bUl, entitled, " An Act for the better support of His Majesty's household, and of the honour and dignity of the Crown of Great Britain." Press-gangs were exciting great indignation both in London and the country at this time, and on several occasions Sir Thomas Hallifax had to protect the rights of citizenship. Although opposed to press-gangs interfering with the rights of citizenship, he, according to the Gentleman's Magazine of 1776, p. S29, gave orders to the city marshals to search the public-houses throughout the city and its liberties, and to take into custody all suspected persons, that such as could give no account of themselves might be sent to serve His Majesty ; and this was judged to be more effectual than the ordinary mode of pressing. With such approval was the conduct of the Lord Mayor regarded, that at the close of the poll for Common Council- men in the ward of Aldersgate, the following motion was made and carried with the most expressive marks of approbation ; — " That the thanks of the Wardmote be given to the Right Hon. Sir Thomas Hallifax, Knight, Lord Mayor of this city, and Alderman of the ward of Aldersgate, for his noble and humane conduct in endeavouring to secure safety to the persons of his fellow-citizens from the rapacious violence of a lawless banditti, by refusing to back press warrants." The above was presented to his lordship, when he returned the following answer : — i8o Worthies of Barnsley. "I think myself extremely obliged to you for this additional mark of your approbation. I shall on all occasions be ready to give my assistance to promote the interests, and preserve the peace of my Ward. And, as chief rnagistrate of this city, I wiU diligently attend to the duties of ray office, and to the utmost of my power preserve the rights and liberties of my fellow-ciUzens." At a meeting of the Free and United Livery of London, held at the Half Moon Tavern, on the 12th December, 1776, it was resolved, "That the thanks of this Society be given to the Right Hon. Sir Thomas HaUifax, Knight, Lord Mayor of this city, for his having discountenanced and refused to back press warrants;" and on the 22nd of the following raonth, at a Court of Aldermen, the Lord Mayor presiding. Sir Watkin Lewes made a motion relative to pressing men in the City, which was carried unanimously, and was as follows : — " That the Court do request the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor to order the City Marshals to patrol the streets, and to take to their assistance a sufficient nuraber of constables to apprehend such people as they may find depriving persons of their liberty and detaining them under colour of press warrants, or committing any other breach of the peace." Other resolutions from the above and other public bodies to Sir Thoraas are in the possession of Mrs. WeUer Poley, and some official letters from the heads of the Govemment of that day, entreating him to permit pressing, to which he would in no way comply. During his year of office. Sir Thomas performed the duties pertaining thereto, and comported himself in the most noble and dignified manner, and at its close, at a meeting of the The Family of Hallifax. i8i Common CouncU, held at the Guildhall, it was unaniraously resolved that the thanks of the Court be given to him for his application to, and faithful performance of, the duties of his office ; for supporting the same with splendour and hospitality, for his diligent attendance to the administration of justice, which he discharged in every instance with candour and im partiality ; for his cheerful and ready compliance with the request of his fellow-citizens, whenever they desired to be assembled ; for the very able vindication of the Constitutional rights of the subject, by refusing to back press warrants; and for his humanity in relieving the distresses of the poor, and thereby enabling them to enjoy the blessings of a plentiful harvest." On resigning the civic chair. Sir Thomas received the honour of knighthood, but what cast a deep gloora upon the affair, and upon the family at that time, was the death of his second wife on the 17th November, only a fortnight after the close of the year of his Mayoralty, which had brought such honour to his family and friends. It is little raore we can add to the above few particulars of this distinguished man. We find a mention of him in 1781 at a meeting of the Court of Common CouncU, held at the Guildhall, on the 29th March in that year, when a motion for defraying the expenses of a suit depending between Alderman Sir Thomas Hallifax and the parish of Bury St. Edmunds, for refusing to serve the office of churchwarden, was debated, when it was ordered, that no further expense attending that suit should be incurred, and that aU suits of a simUar nature should be defrayed by the par ties interested. Sir Thomas was a member of the Goldsmiths' Company, in whose haU his arms are set up. From the 1 82 Worthies of Barnsley, foUowing entry in the court books it will be seen that he became a member in 17S3 : — "Sept. 27, I7S3. — Thomas HaUifax was sworn and made free by Redemption. — A Banker." The records of the Corporation of London furnish the following dates of his election to the various municipal offices, but nothing more: — " 1766, 26th November (Wednesday). — Thomas Hallifax elected Aldermen of the Ward of Aldersgate. "1766, 9th December. — Sworn into the above office at the Court of Aldermen. " 1768, 24th June, Sth Geo. IIL— Thoraas Hallifax, Esq. and Alderman, elected Sheriff". " 1776, 29th September, i6th Geo. III. — Sir Thomas Hallifax, Knt. and Alderman, elected Mayor." Sir Thomas does not figure in the list of eminent members and Lord Mayors which Herbert gives in his History ofthe Goldsmiths' Company ; and he does not seem to have left any bequests behind him (probably on account of dying suddenly and intestate), and so to have found a place in the Report of the Charity Commissioners. His residence at Enfiel d, which was on the Chase side (says Robinson, in his History of Enfield), had forraerly belonged to the Pettiward famUy, and was sold by the late Roger Pettiward, D.D., to William Cosmo, Duke of Gordon. It is said the celebrated Lord George Gordon was born in this house. Here also died Dr. WiUiam Saunders, a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, a gentleman profoundly skiUed in his pro fession, and remarkable for wit and pleasantry in con versation. Sir Thomas Hallifax was also M.P. for Aylesbury, and The Family of Hallifax. 183 discharged his Parliamentary duties in the most satisfactory manner. His death took place unexpectedly and suddenly on the 7th February, 1789, in Birchin Lane, where he died after four days' illness, and as supposed worth ;^ 100, 000. He was buried on the 17th of February, araid much funeral pomp, in the family vault of the Saviles in Enfield Church yard, nearly opposite to the south entrance of the church. The hearse was decorated with escutcheons, and attended by seven mourning and eight private coaches, besides the family chariot. The pall was supported by Aldermen Lewes, Beckett, Clarke, Wright, and Hopkins. Deputy Harding, a relation by marriage, walked as chief mourner, followed by Sir Thomas's two sons. On a plain altar monument of white stone, enclosed with iron rails, is the following inscription : — " In the vault under this tomb are deposited the remairis, of Dame Margaret Hallifax, wife of the Right Honourable Sir Thomas Hallifax, late Lord Mayor of the City of London, who departed this life the 17th of November, 1777, aged twenty-eight years. She was eldest daughter of John Savile, Esq., of this parish, and has left two sons, Thomas, born on the 9th of February, 1774, and the youngest named SavUe, born the 6th November, 1777. Also of Sir Thomas Hallifax, Knight, meraber of Parliaraent for the Borough of Alesbury, in Buckinghamshire, Alderman of London, and of Gordon House, in this parish, who departed from us on the 7th day of February, in the year of our Lord 17S9, in the s^th year of his age." The age given in the inscription, s8, is evidently a mistake for 68, as will be seen from his baptismal register. 1 84 Worthies of Barnsley. In the parish register of Enfield are the foUowing entries of the burial of Sir Thoraas and his lady : " 1777 (HaUifax) Nov. 24th, Dame Margaret HaUifax, buried. " 1789 (HaUifax) Feb. 17th, Sir Thos. Hallifax, Kt., buried. Sir Thomas HaUifax left two sons, who at the time of his death were respectively of the ages of is and 11 years, and they were then at school at Cheam. The youngest of these sons, Savile HaUifax, of Waltham Lodge, Essex, we are told, wasted his substance and died unmarried. The elder, Thomas, was presented with the Freedom of the City of London, in 179S, when quite young, and is then described as the son of Sir Thomas HaUifax, citizen and goldsmith ; and in 1797, he was admitted a partner in the banking firm, which then consisted of Sir Richard Carr Glyn, Knight, Charles Mills, and Thomas Hallifax, and continued a member of the firm up to the tirae of his death, above half a century afterwards, on the 7th March, 1850, in the 76th year of his age. He was of Chadacre Hall, Suffolk, an estate which he purchased, along with the manor, in 1823, and on which he erected a splendid faraily mansion. He was High Sheriff" of Suffolk, in 1837. During his shrievalty. Lord Abinger and Mr. Justice Patteson dined with him at Chadacre ; and it was on the day following that Lord Abinger was seized with paralysis, from which he died a few days afterwards. Mr. Thomas Hallifax married Anna Maria, daughter of John Staunton, Esq., of Longbridge, and had issue two sons and three daughters. The eldest son was Thomas HaUifax, of Berkeley-square, London, who died, unmarried, before his The Family of Hallifax. 185 father, on the 5th October, 1849, aged 49. The second son, the Rev. John Savile HaUifax, of Edwardstone House, Suffolk, married Catherine, daughter of the Rev. Thomas Godfrey, of Bury St. Edmunds. He died in 1S72, leaving three daughters. Diana, who raarried on the 3rd October, 1854, Walter Johnson Weller Poley, Esq., of Sudbury; Ellen, born 1797, died 1S78, aged 81; and Maria, who died in 1863, aged 66. The Rev. John Hallifax died about i8s2. Maria and Ellen Hallifax succeeded their father at Chad- acre Hall, and died unmarried ; whUst Diana (Mrs. Poley), is'now (1S83) the only surviving one. Ellen, the second daughter, died on the isth Nov., 1S78, at Chadacre Hall, possessed of imraense wealth, the personalty alone amounting to nearly ^^300,000. By her will, which was proved by Sir Charles Henry Mills, Bart., Mrs. Diana WeUer Poley, her sister, and Alexander Pratt Barlow, the testatrix devised the Chadacre estate to her nephew, John George WeUer Poley ; and the Wicken Hall and Staunton Park estates to Mrs. Catherine WeUer Poley for life, and then in default of issue to Thomas WeUer Poley. As to her personal estate, the testatrix bequeathed _;^s°j°°° Consols to her said nephew, John George Weller Poley ; ;!^s°)°°° and ;^7,ooo Bank Stock to her said nephew, Thomas Weller Poley ; ;^3S,ooo Reduced Stock to the said Mrs. Catherine Weller Poley ; _5^3S,ooo Reduced Stock to Louisa Ann Fitzgerald ; ;!^3oo per annum for life to Mrs. Catherine Hallifax, the widow of her late brother, John Hallifax ; ;^32,ooo New Threes, and ;^5,ooo London and North Western Stock to her sister, Mrs. Diana Weller Poley ; ;^2oo each to her executors for their trouble, and the 1 86 Worthies of Barnsley. residue of her property to her nephew, John George WeUer Poley. There is a small but indifferent portrait of Sir Thomas Hallifax at Chadacre Hall ; and there is also a fine painting, by Miller, in the Guildhall, London, from which a curious and rare print has been engraved by Mr. Facius, a copy of which may be also seen in the GuUdhall. It contains above one hundred portraits of civic celebrities, including Sir Thomas and his contemporaries. The subject is the swearing in of Alderman Newnham, as Lord Mayor, Nov. 8, 17S2. To return to the other members of the family. George Hallifax, a younger son of John Hallifax, of Barnsley, and brother of Sir Thomas, settled at Doncaster, and was also a raan of whom his native town had reason to be proud. " He was," we are told in Historical Notices of Doncaster, " far in advance of his age in the manufacture of clocks- He understood their mechanism, and was not asharaed to handle the tools with the best of workmen. George Hallifax was eminent in his death. Although he did not write for the world's fame, he was famUiar with the true principles of the craft. His plainness of speech was characteristic ; and if he scorned to praise his clocks at the expense of cheap ness, he did not hesitate to speak his mind. Alderraan Hallifax did not confine his attention to one branch of trade ; and if he had a fault, it consisted in the too abundant use of materials. His clocks are not yet out of date ; and old-fashioned people maintain that HaUifax keeps good time, and that his chimes, quarter chimes, and dials are capital specimens of workmanship. Doncaster has acquired a reputation for its clocks ; and if the old race The Family of Hallijax. 187 of makers is dying out — and there are none to succeed — the town stUl contains tradesmen of practical experience, with a thorough knowledge of the mechanism of both clocks and watches. Nor are we aware that Hallifax has been eclipsed by his successors." On the 2Sth Sept., 174S, Mr. George HaUifax, of Doncaster, married Mrs. Ann Heron, of Darton; and on the s'h September, 17S0, he was made a Freeman of the borough of Doncaster, " upon his providing and setting a watch, of the value of seven guineas, in such part of the Mansion House as the Corpora tion shall direct, and upholding and maintaining the same during so long as he shall continue to live in Doncaster, and upon payment of the usual fees." The watch so called is the time-piece in the vestibule of the Mansion House.* Again, on the ist June, 1770, itwas "Ordered that Mr. George Hallifax make a Dial Clock, the sarae as at Mr. Broadhead's, of the price of seven guineas, to be put up in the kitchen of the Mansion House." Another of these clocks, made by Mr. Geo. Hallifax, is in the possession of Mr. Charles Jackson, J. P., Doncaster. Mr. George Hallifax was Mayor of Doncaster in 177s and 1792, and for several years fulfilled the responsibilities of a justice of the peace, and was recognised as the senior * " The Corporation had no regular charge for admission to the freedom of the borough, but exercised a discretion in proportion to the probable advantages that might accrue to the applicant. Towards the close of the l8th century, it manifested its dislike to Nonconformists, and fixed such a monied barrier as to be tantamount to their exclusion. It limited within its limited circle persons of distinction, or those identified with the legal or medical profession. It also delighted to acknowledge genius or meritorious conduct, of which Mr. Hallifax is a specimen. " — Historical Accou-nt of Doncaster. 2nd Series, p. 94. 1 88 Worthies of Barnsley. member of the Corporation. He was famous for his business tactics, and studied the progress of public opinion. On the 2 ISt May, 1792, he read in stentorian voice in the CouncU Chamber, at the Town Hall, the king's proclamation against seditious works, more particularly referring to those of Thomas Paine. At the close, Mr. Hallifax said he thought the proclamation opportune. He believed that the superstructure of the British Constitution was capable of improvement, but he objected to the mode adopted by the reformers to be inimical to the good order of society. He did not apprehend that Tom Paine and his associates would be popular ; still he regarded their works as pregnant with danger. On the nth June, an address of confidence and loyalty was adopted to the King in answer to the proclamation. Mr. Alderman Hallifax died January 9th, 181 1, at the advanced age of 8s years, full of honour, and highly esteemed. His widow survived him 2 s years, dying Jan. 28th, 1836, aged 82. Their descendants eraigrated to America ; his son, George William, died at Lockport, near New York, leaving a son also named George William. Of Joseph Hallifax, the youngest son of John Hallifax, of Barnsley, we know nothing further than that he was postmaster at Barnsley, and that he was baptized at Barnsley, on the 4th May, 17 28, and buried at St. Mary's, Oct. II, 1762, when comparatively young. He was married, and had four children, one of whom, Thomas, was baptized at Barnsley, Oct. 6, 1758. Joseph also carried on business as a clock-maker, and occasionally, at this day, an old- fashioned clock may be met with, bearing the name of Joseph Hallifax, Barnsley, as maker. TJte Family of Hallifax. 189 The following appeared in the Gentleman's Magazine, March 7th, 1789 : — " Died at Kenilworth, county of Warwick, Mrs. HaUifax, wife of John Hallifax, Esq., brother to the late Sir Thomas Hallifax, of Birchin Lane.'' 190 No. VIII. 3obn Cbarles JSroofte, tbe Iberalt), anb tbe ifamili? of Broofie, ot Bobwortb. JOHN CHARLES BROOKE, the distinguished Herald, was born at Fieldhead, in the township of Dodworth, in 17 48. In the Silkstone parish register is the foUowing entry: "Aug. 27th, 17 48, John Charles, son of Dr. Brooke, of Fieldhead, baptized." The house in which he was born is still standing, and is situated on an eminence commanding a fine prospect near the road leading from Dodworth to Silkstone. The family was the principal one in Dodworth for nearly two centuries. One of their first residences there was the substantial buUding situate in the town street, commonly designated the Old Hall, a three gabled edifice, which was erected by William Brooke, the first of the name who resided there. Over one of the doorways is inscribed W. B., 1624, and over a second W. B. 1641. To his second son, John Brooke, his father gave the estate in Dodworth called Pond House Farra, upon which he had built a house in 1648 — the date of its erection, and his initials being over the doorway. John Charles Brooke, F.S.A., Somerset Herald. The Family of Brooke. 191 This estate 130 years afterwards came into the possession of John Charles Brooke, the Herald, who in a letter dated frora Heralds' CoUege, Dec. 12th, 1779, to Mr. Richard Gough, the antiquary, makes the following allusion to it : "I have got an excellent old stone house [at Dodworth] built by my great, great, great, grandfather Brooke, in the year 1648, as by the date and his initials over the door, who gave it with the estate to a younger son, the last of whose branch entailed it upon me, in faUure of issue of his heir-at-law, who died in May last." The family of Brooke had settled at Dodworth in the early part of the seventeenth century. One of their ancestors is said to have been Robert Brooke, Esq., raercer, citizen. Alderman, and Lord Mayor of York in the years 1583 and IS9S, and to whom there is, orwas, an inscription in the Church of All Saints. Of these York Brookes was James, a raerchant and Lord Mayor of that city in i6si ; and again in 166 1 he was Lord Mayor by express mandate from his Majesty Charles II. Of this branch were the two celebrated brothers, Samuel, D.D., Master of Trinity CoUege, Oxford, and Archdeacon of Coventry, author of the Armenian Treatise on Predestination, which Prynne says he presented to Archbishop Laud in 1630; and Christopher Brooke, who, leaving one of our Universities, studied at Lincoln's Inn, where he was disringuished by his great abiUties, especially in his elegy consecrated to the memory of Henry, Prince of Wales, published in 16 13. From a bencher he became Summer Reader and was a benefactor to the chapel. Few could boast a more learned acquaintance. Among his friends were Mr. Selden, Ben Jonson, Michael Drayton, George Withers, John Davies, of Hereford, and 192 Worthies of Barnsley. WiUiam Browne, gent., of the Inner Temple, to whom he dedicated his Eclogues, in 1614, and gave him verses to prefix to his Britannia's Pastorals. He also gave Drayton other verses for his Legend of Great Cromwell, and he contributed to the Odcombian Banquet, printed in 161 1. He represented York in the iSth and 21st of James I., and in the two first Parliaments of Charles I. The learned Christopher Brooke, the mathematician, patronised by that great philosopher Dr. Wilkins, Bishop of Chester, was of this family. One of the more immediate ancestors of the herald was the Rev. John Brooke, Fellow of Univer sity College, Oxford, who became D.D. in 161 2. He was rector of Emley and vicar of Silkstone, and in 1615, became precentor and Canon Residentiary of York, where he died March 23rd, 1616, aged 49 years. He was buried in York Minster, and a raonuraent with an elaborate inscription was placed there to his memory.* John Hobson, of Dodworth Green, in his Journal, under date May 2, 1727, says: — "Saw the tombs in the Cathedral at York, one for Mr. Brooke, forraerly minister of Emley and Silkston." The vicarage of Silkstone he resigned the * In the Church of Emley is the following memorial: — "Here resteth the Body of Mrs. Dorothy Brooke, wife to the R. W. John Brooke, Dr. of Divinity, and preceptor of the Metropolitan Church of St. Peter's of Yorke, descended of worshipfuU parentage, born at Northampton, lived here x yeares out of her country, but is now ascended in her better part to that cittie which hath a foundation. In wisdome,' modesty, knowledge, gravity, rare sobriety she surpassed most of her sex. She lived in all virtue and died in the faith and now resteth full of Immortality. Changed this life the 6th of Feb., beeing her birthday, A"- Dni. 1614 of her age 38." (Some lines {oi\ow.)—Dodsworth's Notes {Abrigg) Arch. Journal, part xxv. p. 129. The Family oJ Brooke. 193 year before his death, and he was succeeded there by the Rev. Wm. Bardon, B.A. WUliam Brooke, second son of Thomas Brooke, of New- house, in the parish of Huddersfield, was the first of the famUy who settled at Dodworth. He purchased a consider able estate there in 162 1, and built a good house upon it in 1624. He had afterwards lands and property in Carlton, Roystone, and Adwick-upon-Dearne, left hira by his father.' In 1630 he paid a fine for decUning to receive the honour of knighthood on the coronation of Charles I., and he also refused to answer the suraraons of Sir Wra. Cugdale to re cord his arms, at the Visitation of 1665.''= He died at Dod worth, and was buried in the chancel of Silkstone church on * Francis Popely, of Woolley Morehouse, in the township of Woolley, was also fined for refusing the honour of knighthood in 1630. Among the persons who declined to answer the summons of Sir WiUiam Dug dale to attend his visitation in this district to record proof of their arms, are the following : — " Barnsley Robert Daniel and Richard Taylor. Ardsley Richard Mawhood. Brierley George Holgate. Dodworth Mr. Senior and Mr. Brooke. Hemsworth ... Mr. Wrightson and Thomas Ramsden. Gunthwaite ... Mr. Sedascue. Penistone Josiah Wordsworth. Woolley Edward Prince. Monk-Bretton.. John Crooks, Robert Wood, and George Cooper." See Dugdale's Visitation of Yorkshire, 1665. On this subject a Herald of long standing, writing to Notes and Queries, Fourth Series, vol. vii., in reply to a query, says: — "The way in which coat armour was assigned, it must be remembered, was by the Heralds in their visitations, when each gentleman of a very small freehold estate was summoned and made to pay for the proper entry of his Arms 14 194 Worthies of Barnsley. , the 22ad May, i6SS, in the S8th year of his age. His sister. Jennet, who had married Henry Walker, of Rockley Old HaU, lord ofthe Manor there, died 6th Oct., 1652. William Brooke had a large family. The eldest son was Thomas, who died in 1687; William; John, of Pond House, in Dodworth, died 1671 ; Jonathan, died at sea; Joshua, a merchant, of London, died 1696; Timothy, a citizen of London; and two daughters. On the death of the above WUUam, in 1672, he was succeeded by Thomas, who left issue, WUUam, of Dodworth, gent., born 1643, died 1680; Thomas, of Woodhouse, in Dodworth ; and John, M .A., rector of High Hoyland, who died without issue in 172s. In Sir Michael Wentworth's regiment of Militia, in 1680, there was a Thomas Brooke, of Dodworth, pikeman, and William Brooke, of the same place, musketeer. The above Rev. John Brooke, rector of High Hoyland, was instituted to the benefice on the 20th Jan., 1687, on the presentation of Sir Mathew Wentworth, of Bretton. He held the two medieties of this good living, which was the first time they were both held by the same person. He died possessed and Crest, or his coat armour only. But oftentimes the heads of families, to use a slang expression, ' squared ' the matter with the Heralds, and conveyed themselves away, not being willing to have the honour then thrust upon them. Nor was it alone as regards the bearing of coat armour that the retiring nature of Englishmen was shown. In the first pages of Evelyn's Memoirs it will be found that gentleman's father paid a fine rather than be made a Knight ; and it is well known that Knights were not then much thought of. Honour was valued very cheaply, and King James's notion of making a batch of Baronets was no new idea, only he held out the bait and added novelty to it. Before his time gentlemen were called up to be honoured, and fined heavily if they did not submit to be honoured." The Family of Brooke. 195 of these November 27, 172s, and was buried at Silkstone.* Mr. Brooke distinguished himself as an antiquarian, and made large collections for the History of the County of York. Thoresby, in his Diary, May 13, 1720, says : — "Visited Parson Brooke, of High Hoyland, to consult some manuscripts." In a note to this entry in the Diary, it is said : — " This clergyman was another of the not sraall band of persons who collected the materials for ' The History and Topography of the West Riding of Yorkshire. What he collected passed into the hands of his great nephew, John Charles Brooke, the Somerset Herald, "t William, % the eldest son of Thomas Brooke, married * "Dec I, 1725. — Mr. John Brooke, of Fieldhead, parson of High Hoyland, buried." — Silkstone Parish Register. "Mr. Brooke, the Parson of Hoyland-o'th-Hill, buried Dec. 2, 1725." — Northowram Register. t " Mr. John Binns, a noted bookseller at Leeds, published a catalogue there, and bought in his time many good libraries, among which were those of the Rev. Mr. Brooke, rector of High Hoyland, Rev. Mr. Whitaker, &c. He died in 1796." — Nichol's Literary Anecdotes. X In the Subsidy Roll of 1663, it will be seen from the following extract that WiUiam Brooke was the largest landowner in Dodworth : — W^illiam Brooke in ter . ij/. Thomas Senior, gener. ... , John Atkinson John Hobson , XXXJ. xxijj-. viija?. XXXJ. XXJ. Thomas Keresforth, gener. , John Wordsworth , Thomas Pigott , Lawrence Champney , Edward Rawson , XXJ. XXXJ. . xxviijj. XXJ. viij^. Ralph Foster , XXJ. 196 Worthies of Barnsley. Mary, daughter of William Oates, of Nether Denby, and they had issue, Thomas Brooke, M.A., rector of Richmond ; WiUiarn, who died in Virginia ; and several daughters.* The rector, who was born at Dodworth, in 1669, and died at Richmond, in 1739, married Mary, second daughter of Thomas Comber, D.D., chaplain in ordinary to their Majesties, William and Mary, and Dean of Durham. He had only one son and one daughter. The latter married Richard Fenton, Esq., of Bank Top,+ barrister-at-law, and Clerk of the Peace for the West Riding. The son was William Brooke, of Fieldhead and Dodworth, M.D., and M.A. of St. John's College, Cambridge, who was born 29th August, 1706, and died 24th August, i7SS- He was in the Commission of the Peace, and inherited the Fieldhead estate, as heir-at-law to his uncle, the Rev. John Brooke, rector of High Hoyland. On a panel over the fireplace in one of the rooms at Fieldhead is a portrait of Dr. Brooke, who was kiUed by a fall from his horse on what is called " Doctor's-hUl," the * The Rector of Richmond often preached at Silkstone Church. In Hobson's Journal there are many entries such as the following : — " 1727, Feb. 19, Sunday.— At [Silkstone] Church. Mr. Brooke, of Richmond, preached. 1728, June 7. — At the funeraU of Mrs. Brooke, of Fieldhead, who died the Tuesday before at noon." [This was the widow of the Rev. John Brooke, rector of High Hoyland, and daughter of WUliam Oates, of Nether Denby]. In the Parish Register of the same date we find the entry, " Mrs. Brooke, of Fieldhead, buried." + Anne Brooke married Richard Fenton, of Bank Top, by whom she had issue several children, one only of whom left issue — viz., Mary, who married Sir WiUiam Wake, of Courteen Hall, in the county of Northampton, baronet. The Family of Brooke. 197 road leading from Fieldhead into the turnpike. In the correspondence of Dr. Richardson, of Bierley, the botanist and antiquary, there is an anecdote told of Dr. Brooke. It is in the postscript of a letter from Mr. Thomas Wilson to Dr. Richardson, which is dated Oct. 31, 17S1, and says : — " The question whether the manuscripts were returned puts me in mind of a dispute with Dr. Brooke, of Fieldhead, of whom I borrowed a copy of Doomsday Book, which he gave me leave to copy for myself, as well as for Dr. Burton, and which I finished in six months, and returned hira his copy. Soon after he fell into a melancholy disorder, which continued about three years ; afterwards he sent a person to ask me if I returned his manuscript, which obliged me to send to him the very person I returned it by — viz., Mr. Lee, a painter, then painting for him, when I returned it, who, I presume, gave him satisfaction, for I have not heard from him since." * Among the subscribers for the defence * " Mr. Frank, of Pontefract, informed the Society of Antiquaries, in 1755, of an unnoticed copy of Doomsday for Yorkshire, in the hands of the Marquis of Rockingham, into whose family it came from William, Earl of Strafford, for whom it was transcribed in 1666, under the direction of Sir Wm. Dugdale, and at the desire of Dr. Johnston, of which Dr. Richard Goodwin, rector of Tankersley, while chaplain to the late Lord Rockingham, took a fac simile copy, which was after wards in the hands of James Walker, Esq., of Springhead, in York shire, who married Dr. Goodwin's daughter. Another copy, supposed from Lord Rockingham's, was in the possession of William Brooke, of Dodworth, near Barnsley, Esq., now in the hands of his son, John Charles Brooke, Esq., Somerset Herald, from which two other copies were taken in 1745, by Thomas Wilson, schoolmaster, at Leeds, one for Dr. Burton, the other for Richard Richardson, of North Bierley, Esq., now in his possession (1780)." — Gough's British Topography, vol. ii., p. 404 198 Worthies of Barnsley. of the country at the threatened rebellion of 1745, we find under Dodworth : "Dr. Brooke, ;£$ s^- ; William Fenton, ;^5 ; Wm. Hobson, ;^5 ; and Mrs. Thompson, £\. is." Dr. Brooke married Alice, daughter and one of the coheirs of WiUiara Mawhood, Alderman and Mayor of Doncaster (of an old Ardsley family, and doubly related on her mother's side to Alexander Pope),* and had issue, William Brooke, of Fieldhead and Dodworth, a deputy- lieutenant of the West Riding, who was an attorney, and in the latter years of his life lived at Wakefield, where he died in 182 1 ; and John Charles, the eminent Herald. Mary Brooke, the eldest daughter, married, in 1763, her cousin, Thomas Comber, LL.D., grandson of Dr. Comber, dean of Durham. John Charles Brooke, writing from Heralds' College to Mr. Gough, AprU 21, 1778, gives the following account of Dr. Coraber's death : — " I received a letter to-day with the account of the death of my brother. Dr. Comber, at Buckworth, of a paralytic stroke. He was a man of much learning and industry, but too fond of the things of this world. He wrote several things, but nothing of any consequence. I shall send a smaU account of him to Dr. Kippis, which may do for a note in his grandfather's article in the Biographica Britannica." -\- * The Micklethwaits made considerable purchases at Ardsley, including the Manor, of Col. Charles Mawhood, who was gentleman usher to George III. . t "Thomas Comber, eldest son of Thomas Comber, Esq., of East Newton, in the North Riding, and grandson of the pious and learned Dr. Comber, Dean of Durham, married his cousin, Mary, eldest daughter of Wm. Brooke, of Dodworth, Esq., by whom he had five children. He possessed a noble collection of letters addressed to his grandfather, the Dean, from Tillotson, Sharp, Burnet, Hickes, Cave, The Family of Brooke. 199 Margaret, the second daughter, married the Rev. Thomas Zouch, D.D., rector of Sandal, a man of great note, who declined the bishopric of Carlisle in iSoS. Robert Southey (L^ife and Correspondence) says of him : " One day I dined with Dr. Zouch, who wrote the ' Life of Sir PhUip Sydney.' I never saw a gentler minded man." Dr. Zouch, who was the author of several other works, died Dec. 17, iSis, in the 78th year of his age. John Charies Brooke, the second son of Dr. Brooke, inherited the tastes of his ancestors, and frora his youth evinced a warm interest in genealogical and antiquarian pursuits. The collections of his uncle, the Rev. John Brooke, rector of High Hoyland, descended to him, and in the course of a few years he had greatly enlarged them by his own industry, and by copying the manuscripts of Dodsworth, relating to Yorkshire. He lost his father when only about seven years of age, and his guardians having decided to send him to London, he was apprenticed to Mr. James Kirby, a chemist, in Bartlett's BuUdings, Holborn ; but his taste for literature ill-suited with trade. History, Lake, and other eminent divines of the 17th century. The late Archdeacon Blackburne had seen and perused most of them, and often regretted that so many curious particulars relative to the times in which they were written should be lost to the public. Writing to Dr. Kippis, in 1 783, the Archdeacon says : 'They are yet preserved ; but perhaps greatly injured by damp and other accidents, in the uninhabited and ruinous mansion house, appertaining to the family at East Newton.' Comber was a man of considerable parts and learning, and author of several controversial tracts. He was of Jesus College, Cambridge ; B.A., 1744 ; M.A., 1770 ; and LL.D., 1777, Rector of Kirkby Misperton, Yorkshire ; and afterwards Rector of Morborne, in Huntingdonshire." — Nichol's Literary Anecdotes, vol. i., pp. 601-2. 200 Worthies of Barnsley. biography, genealogy, and heraldry, were more pleasant studies to the youthful apprentice than attending the laboratory. He indulged in his favourite pursuits when he had the leisure and opportunity. Having drawn a pedigree of the Howard family in a masterly manner, it procured him the patronage of the then Duke of Norfolk, who obtained him admission into the CoUege. of Arms. He was afterwards desired by the Duke to write a Latin preface to Doomsday Book, then about to be issued. He was in 1773 appointed Rouge Croix Pursuivant in the College, and four years afterwards was made Somerset Herald. He was elected a member of the Society of Antiquaries in 1775, and but for his unfortunate and premature death in 1794, there is little doubt but that he would have reached the highest point in his profession. Mr. Brooke, in 17 78, began making collections for a work which he proposed should accompany the Doomsday Book when published, and which was to comprise " A History of all the tenants in Capite raentioned therein, with their pedigrees, and an account of their families, as long as the estates continued in possession of the male line ; and to notice those farailies, who, as heirs general, still inherited property by descent from them. To be Ulustrated with deeds in the time of the Conqueror, seals, and other monuments. Likewise an account of such Saxons as held under them as vavasors ; and to notice their descendants where he could meet with them. To notice such churches as are mentioned in Doomsday, and which, by their present remains, showed their existence in the time of the Saxons, with views of such Saxon fragments.'' Such a work it was stated would throw much greater light on the state of the Saxons at the Conquest than any that The Family of Brooke. 201 had previously appeared, but he did not finish it. Mr. Brooke was made free of the Ironmongers' Company, in the City of London, on the 29th April, 1772, and was appointed by his patron, the 'Duke of Norfolk, at a later period, one of the Lieutenants of the Militia of the West Riding of his native county.* His engagements at the Heralds' College brought him to pay attention to other famUies and other parts of the king dom. But his favourite subject was ever the Yorkshire genealogies and the topography of Yorkshire ; and few men did more than he did both in transcribing the labours of former antiquaries, and in adding to them information, which he sought in all quarters with great assiduity. He has many original pedigrees ; and there is much information nowhere else to be found in the volumes of his Yorkshire collections. He meditated to have published a History of the County, but it does not appear that he ever formally issued proposals for such a work, or that he ever wrote any part of it ; but there is no teUing what he might have done if his life had been prolonged, for from the time of Dr. Nathaniel Johnston, the antiquary, who died in 1727, the Rev. Joseph Hunter has said : " there was no one whose ambition reached to the Ulustration of the whole of that great county, and who brought as much enthusiasm, and knowledge, and more taste to the office than did John Charles Brooke. The best additions which have been made to Hopkinson's pedigrees are those by the Rev. John Brooke, Rector of High Hoyland, and John Charies Brooke, Esq., the Somerset Herald. The latter was the genrieraan * History of the College of Arms, by the Rev. Mark Noble, p. 428. 202 Worthies of Barnsley. to whom, of aU her sons, the county might have looked for an ample display of her history and topography. " The continuation of Hopkinson by the two Brookes is now in the library of the Heralds' CoUege. But what Brooke did for the illustration of his native county is not to be looked upon as a continuation of Hopkinson. In other voluraes of his collections we have many original pedigrees of families who stepped into the rank of gentry and became possessed of lands and manors, after the time of Hopkinson. These I have found of signal use, as well as many remarks of his on points not genealogical." In 1778, Mr. Brooke made a tour through his native dis trict, and in a letter to Mr. Gough, dated from Northgate, Wakefield, on October 31, he says : " I received the favour of your letter, and am extremely sorry it has not been in my power to finish your Yorkshire Topography, nor can I till my return to town, which I hope will be within a fort night, and then it shall be my first business. I have been extremely happy in making antiquarian surveys of this county since my arrival, and have collected large materials. The Churches in these parts afford many more curiosities than those in the Southern Counties, which may be ac counted for from the more people of wealth which, by reason of the manufactories, have resided here. I have collected such a variety of crosses, that I propose havirig a portfolio on purpose for them ; and I think such a collection may hereafter be of much use. Crosses are often found over incumbents in Churches, where there is nothing else worth observation ; and by comparing the forms of those without dates with those that have them, their ages may be nearly ascertained, and then the dates of the erection of The Family of Brooke. 203 Churches and different parts of them, may be the better discovered."* In a letter to Mr. Wilson, of Broomhead {South York shire, Vol. II. p. 263), on this subject, Mr. Brooke says : " I have made large collections for composing the History of the West Riding of Yorkshire; as to the antiquities, descent of property, families, etc., which, perhaps, at some future period, when I have more leisure than at present, I may digest for the press. I first began with the Wapentake of Staincross, as being my native district, and made con siderable progress in it, but Mr. Currer having made large collections for Staincliflfe, and obligingly communicated them to me, I have of late chiefly attended to that tract, and have nearly completed it. I propose proceeding in the way of an Itinerary, and have enclosed you a draft of what I intend saying about Pilley. I must observe to you that, in families of greater eminence, such as the Wortleys, Bosviles,- etc., or those which are now in being, I shall give a more copious history ; but were each trifling transaction or conveyance of land to be noticed in those which are now extinct, and were of small account, though they pos sessed a manor, it would swell a work to an enormous size, and render it dry and unentertaining to the generality of readers." At a later period, we are told, Mr. Brooke was intimately acquainted with Mr. Hatfield Kaye, of Hatfield House, and for some time of Wentworth Castle, near Barnsley, a person of literary tastes, whose bias was more particularly for * Nichol's Literary Illustrations, Vol. vi., p. 379. 204 Worthies of Barnsley. topographical and historical enquiries.* Nor was he a mere admirer of these interesting and useful pursuits, for he undertook along with Richard Henry Beaumont, of Whitley Hall, Esq., Mr. WUson of Broomhead, and Mr. Brooke, to assist in writing a History of the West Riding of the County of York. In this stupendous undertaking Mr. Beaumont was to undertake Agbrigg; Mr. Hatfield Kaye, Morley; Mr. Wilson, the western part of Strafford ; and Mr. Brooke, the remainder of Strafford with Staincross and Osgold cross. But from causes not probably known, unless by the sudden and unexpected death of Mr. Brooke, it was never published, and perhaps never compiled. Mr. Brooke, in one of his letters, speaks of Mr. Beaumont as a most ingenious young gentleman, and as having the largest collection of deeds which he ever saw in private hands, from which he would be able to elucidate many things with regard to the descent of property, etc. ; and he also compliments Mr. WUson, of Broomhead, on his great knowledge of the- antiquities that surround him." Mr. Brooke's heraldic merit was best known to those within the College, and to those out of it who were masters of the science. His collections, made during many excursions in his own country, and one to the Continent, were considerable ; * Mr. Hatfield Kaye married — 30th May, 1772 — Miss Wentworth, of Henbury, in Dorsetshire, whose brother afterwards became Earl of Strafford, of Wentworth Castle. He dying without issue, Mr. Hatfield Kaye came into possession of that estate in right of his wife ; which, however, neither of them lived long to enjoy. Mrs. Hatfield Kaye died at Wentworth Castle, 25th October, 1802, and Mr. Hatfield Kaye died in 1804 at Hatfield House, near Wakefield, in the 73rd year of his age, and on his death the Wentworth Castle estates descended to the Vernon family. The Family of Brooke. 205 and his application to his studies indefatigable. His few publications are confined to the Archceologia of the Society of Antiquaries,* and some communications to the Gentleman's Magazine, signed J. B. He assisted Dr. Nash in the early part of his Worcestershire collections, and Mr. Gough in the account of Yorkshire in his edition of Camden's Britannia. He also contributed to Bigland's Gloucestershire, Worsley's Lsle of Wight, and King's Castles. He furnished the Memoirs of the Neviles to Pegge's Forme of Cury ; and several of the descriptions in Hearne and Byrne's 'Views. To the Archceologia he contributed " Con jectures on a Seal of Sir Francis Worsley," "The * Archaologia. Vol. iv. p. 182 ; v. pp. 183, 211, 367 ; vii. p. 416. WiUiam Cole, in his MSS. (Cole's Athe Cantab., Addi. MSS. Brit: Museum, 5,864 fol. -313) has recorded the following note respecting Brooke : "Dr. Lort coming from Lambeth last night and dining with me this Sunday, July 30, 1780, told me that Mr. Brooke, who had called upon me some four or five years ago, with Mr. Gough, had been detected in cutting out some leaves, etc., in a manuscript in the British Museum, the consequence of which was that he was discharged from ever coming there again, and made his company avoided by other people. It had been agreed at a meeting of the Antiquaries" Society that some of the members should be deputed to visit St. Faith's Church, under St. Paul's Cathedral, to see what discoveries could be there made. Dr. Lort was one of them, to whom Mr. Gough wrote, desiring to know whether he might bring Mr. Brooke with him, to whom an answer was sent in the negative. He is now at Brussels, whither he lately went with a Roman Catholic gentleman, to enter his daughter at the Dames Angloises Augustines, from whence he wrote very lately to Mr. Gough, desiring him to direct to Monsier le Chevalier Brooke k Brusselles. If Mr. Gough complies with his request, I think he will be an accomplice, and answerable in some degree for any imposture or knavery he may be guilty of under that title. He is a Yorkshire or northern man, as I think he told me, thin and well shaped, pert, and a coxcomb, and has a thing 2o6 Worthies of Barnsley. Ceremonial of Making the King's Bed," " Illustration of a Saxon Inscription in the Church of Kirkdale, in the North Riding of Yorkshire ; " " Account of an Ancient Seal of Robert Baron Fitz Walter ; " " Description of the Great Seal of Queen Catherine Parr, and Mary d'Este, second wife of James II.;" " Illustration of a Saxon Inscription in Aldborough Church, in Holderness ; " "A Deed be longing to the Manor of Nether Sitlington, County York." It was hoped, says a writer of that period, that he would have given us the great seals of our sovereigns, their consorts, and those of the Royal FamUy, the nobUity, prelates, re ligious houses, and other public bodies. None, it was said by those who knew him intimately, could so well have done what was so much wanted ; and for which he had made coUections. He had also collected materials for a new edition of Thoroton's Nottinghamshire ; of Sandford' s or two in the ArchcEologia." The above extract from Cole's MSS. having been published in Notes and Queries, Second Series, vol. xvi. p. 130, Mr. John Gough Nichols wrote the following reply : "No time should be lost in contradicting the slander copied from Cole's MSS., for it was surely wholly unfounded, as Mr. Brooke continued to enjoy the esteem of a large circle of friends throughout the year 1780, and until his unfortunate death, nearly fourteen years after ; when his funeral was attended not only by his brother Heralds, but by the Earl Marshal (Duke of Norfolk), the Presidents of the Societies of Antiquaries -and Royal Society (the Earl of Leicester, and Sir Joseph Banks), by John Topham, Craven Ord, and Edmund Turner, Fellows of the Royal and Antiquarian Societies ; the Rev. John Brand, John Caley, James Moore, an'd John Lambert, Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries — most of them still very generaUy known for their eminence and high character. His epitaph in St. Benets', Paul's Wharf (which is printed ibid p. 358), was written by the late Norroy, Mr. Lodge. — John Gough Nichols." — Notes and Queries, 2nd Series 86, p. 160. The Family of Brooke. 207 Genealogical History — great desiderata to the antiquary. A descriptive list of the pictures at Worksop Manor by Mr. Brooke, 17 84, is at the British Museum, in the Musgrave Collection {Add. MSS., 5,726) ; and a list of those at Cowdray, with additions by Mr. Brooke, is printed in Dallaway' s Sussex. Mr. Brooke was a constant attender of the meetings of the Society of Antiquaries, as will appear by his reports to Mr. Gough in his correspondence in Vol. VI. of Nichol's Literary Illustrations, from which we give the following extracts : — In a letter to Mr. Gough, dated Heralds' College, April i2th, 1777, Mr. Brooke says: "I spent yesterday at Mr. Brander's, with Mr. Pegge, Sir Joseph Aylofife, Grose, etc. . . . Dr. Nash is in town ; he spent the evening with us on Thursday, and inquired much after you ; he stays about a month. He does not seem to have the least design of laying aside his work (the History of Worcestershire), but appears very sanguine about it. Sir Edward Blackett was at the Society on Thursday ; spoke to him about the Durham sword, which is now in his possession as Lord of the Manor of Sockburne. He says that when the present Bishop took possession of his Diocese, his steward, who performed the ceremony, imprudently cleaned it up, and had the blade new ground. Mr. Bigland desires his compli ments to you, with many thanks for the prints of the Duke of Clarence's tomb at Tewkesbury, which he had not got.'' "Aug. 2oth, 1777. — I am quite in raptures with the Ald- brough inscription. I have found so much curious matter relating to it as I hope will make it a most interesting dish for the Society. If Mr. Dade's letter to me on the subject 2o8 Worthies of Barnsley. is not sufficiently satisfactory, I do not know but that I may go seventy mUes, when in Yorkshire, on purpose to see it. Messrs. Brander, Topham, Currer, and self rise at six to morrow morning, breakfast at Highbury Barn, and go to sur vey Jack Straw's Castle, dine together, and finish the day at the Museum. You think, while basking on the sunny banks of Forty HiU, that we Cits can have no pleasures in town in summer, but you are much mistaken ; we have many agreeable antiquarian parties, and manage to pass our time extremely well. We have already passed judgment on the fortification near Copenhagen House ; and have unanimously exploded your conjecture, which I hinted to them, that it was raised in the Civil Wars." "Sept. 19, 1777. — I have been little interrupted of late, which has enabled me to do much business ; and I have particularly employed myself about Sandford's Genealogical History, a. new edition of which I much wish to see, and find that I have near twenty ceremonials (funerals, baptisms, etc.), as many monuments, and near as many royal seals, besides other curious anecdotes, not inserted in that work. I have lately discovered the procession to the funeral of Anne of Cleves, which I think would do well to accompany her monument when produced at the Society." "Heralds' CoUege, Oct. 14, 1777. — As we have now deposited the Earl Marshal in the chantry, founded by his ancestors, in the church at Arundel (the funeral of the late Edward Duke of Norfolk had taken place on the ist ofthe month), I shaU be soon more at liberty, and propose, before the expiration of the raonth, spending a few days with you. Are the two royal seals to be in the next volume of Archceologia 2 because I shall make some additions to the The Family of Brooke. 209 account of Queen Katherine Parr. I have found the ceremonial of her funeral at Sudley, not yet printed that I can find, with an abstract of the Protestant sermon preached by Dr. Coverdale on the occasion, ' which was verie goode and godlie, and did much profitte the auditours, tho' not the dede.' I have begun arranging my Sigilla Magnatum in portfolios ; where I propose giving some account of the parties, with reference to Dugdale's Baronetage, and numbered. It is my intention of collecting drawings of seals, so as to prove the arms of every family treated on in Dugdale thereby. If you have any duplicates which are engraved, I make no scruple of asking you for them, because I shall give you other prints in return ; and I propose collecting all that are published before I have any drawn." "Friday, December, 1777. We had a very agreeable meeting last night; present, the Dean, King, Bartlett, Brander, Topham, Barrington, Drs. Hunter, Layard, d' Argent, etc., and much entertaining matter. A curious MS., on vellum, communicated by Sir John Hawkins, containing curses pronounced by some religious house against delin quents, and some antient music. Mr. King produced a most exquisite drawing of the elevation of the east end of Henry the Seventh's Chapel ; Mr Strong a fine seal ; read a paper from Pegge to Brander on stone coffins found at Christ Church ; a Roman inscription found at Whitby, like wise produced, with an explanation in a letter from Dr. Percy. Bartlett will subscribe to Thetford; or, as he says, anything you are concerned in. Brander says he is desirous of being sociable these dark days before Christmas; and therefore the Crown and Anchor Club wUl soon meet." IS 210 Worthies of Barnsley. " May 22, 1778. In pursuance of a note from the Lord Chamberlain, we had yesterday a Chapter at his oflSce to consider of a proper ceremonial for Lord Chatham's funeral ; to-day our report was made to him, and to-morrow is to be laid before the king in Council for his approbation or alteration. It will be chiefly the same as that of Monk, Duke of Albemarle, with the omission of military trophies, to which Lord Chatham can have no right." "June 5, 1778. Lord Exeter caUed on me this week ; has promised me drawings of several abbey seals in his possession, belonging to dissolved houses, of which he is owner, as likewise to bring up several ancient deeds, etc., for my in spection. What treasures may we not expect from the archives of a family which began to flourish so soon after the dissolution ! " "Nov. 2S, 1778. Attended the King to the House to day ; approaching wars and tumults.'' " Herald's College, Nov. 20, 177S. I am returned from the country, after one of the most agreeable tours I ever yet had, loaded with antiquities ; and (to use Christie's expressive phrase) ready to burst with health. I shall be glad to know what you have done with your Yorkshire Topography ; whether the press is yet standing, or you defer my observations till the appendix, as I am ready to give you any assistance." Mr. Gough to Mr. Brooke. — "Enfield, Nov. 21, 1778. I am glad to find you are at last returned, so able and willing to assist your friends. I was going to have renewed my ex- postiUations, but you have disarmed me. The Topography is all in your room ; and you will oblige me by dispatching it altogether to Mr. Nichol's as soon as you have done with it ; The Family of Brooke. 211 you have fuU power over it. Dr. Nash has a demand on you for pedigrees. Walsh's has awaited your return ; and if not on your table may be at Nichol's. Pray God send that neither war nor instaUation may interrupt your lucubrations on this side Christmas. Whenever you want a mouthful of country air, you will find a well-aired bed here." Mr. Brooke to Mr. Gough. — "Wakefield, Oct. 27, 1780. A few days ago I paid a visit to Mr. Waterton, of Walton HaU, nephew to my good friend Mrs. Mary Augustina More, Prioress of the Convent of Augustine Dames at Bruges, and delivered to him and his lady the presents I brought from Mrs. More to them. I raention this visit to you on two accounts, first to describe to you the beautiful situation of Walton Hall, which is extremely romantic and singular ; though I think hitherto unnoticed, except by Leland, who in his Itinerary mentions Maister Waterton, of Walton, as an antient gentleman of fair lands, or the like. The house is built on a rock in a large lake, near a mile over, and of considerable depth, to which you have admittance over a drawbridge, leading into an exceedingly antient postern. Having passed this gate, you enter a court, one square of which is a modern house, elegantly fitted up, where the family reside, another the offices, and a third is open to the lake, and beautifully laid out in walks, the whole surface of the rock having been levelled for the convenience of the house. The lake is surrounded with hUls, laid out in pasture and woods, the whole forming a view most agreeably striking. Such objects we often see in Italian and Dutch pictures, but are rarely met with in this country. Mr. Waterton is a CathoUc, of antient famUy and good estate. ... I have coUected for you, since my arrival, some beautiful crosses 2 1 2 Worthies of Barnsley. from tombstones, with inscriptions and dates, and for people of note, of whom I can furnish some little history, which will render them more interesting than mere blanks, if heareafter you choose to send them forth to the world." Mr. Brooke to Mr. Gough. — " Heralds' College, Dec. 14, 1780. — On Tuesday last I dined at the Duke of Norfolk's, and your Topographical Anecdotes made a part of the conversation. Lord Surrey had seen it, and pronounces it one of the most laborious, curious, and useful works the English press has produced of late years. He recommended it to the Duke, who sent for it while I was there from Payne, and is now busy going through it. Lord Surrey has given me an invitation to spend a few days with him these Christmas holidays at Arundel Castle, which I probably may accept ; and in that case shall also see Cowdray, Lord Montagu having given me a like invitation. I expect much pleasure from visiting these two peers in the houses which have so long been the seats of their noble famiUes.'' Mr. Brooke to Mr. Gough. — " Heralds' CoUege, June 9, 1780. — I return you thanks for the favour of your kind letter of inquiries, and answer it by return of post to inform you that we are here, thank God ! all safe ; which in some measure has been owing to a party of Guards placed in St. Paul's Church, sent there upon the joint petition of our body and the Coraraons, both places having been threatened with destruction for no other reason than that they contained records of value. The choicest of our books we piled up in an arched vault in the buUding, and covered over with stones and tUes, as the safest defence against fire, not knowing of any place of security to which to send them. The Family of Brooke. 2 1 3 Since martial law has been proclaimed we have been pretty quiet ; but people are so terrified that few stir abroad. It is said preparation is making on Tower HUl for the execution, this evening, of a number of the ring-leaders. The Kirbys called upon me this morning, having suffered nothing on the occasion. I had the good fortune to save the house of my relation, Mr. Mawhood, an erainent wooUen draper, in Sraithfield, from ruin. He was among the proscribed ; and with aU his faraily had secreted themselves in town, having reraoved the most valuable part of his goods. A party was detached from Holborn bridge on purpose to destroy his house ; but by expostuladon, entreaty, producing an old Prayer Book, and a gratuity to a man who seemed to be a ringleader, they were diverted from their purpose tUl some guards arrived, and he has hitherto escaped ; but his house at Finchley is said to have suffered severely.* .... This will be attended with worse consequences than we are at present aware of; many of the principal Catholics have been so terrified that they talk of disposing of all their property, and leaving the * These riots took place in London a hundred years ago. At least 50,000 persons from one meeting took their route over London Bridge, bearing flags inscribed, " No Popery," headed by Lord George Gordon. They burnt the furniture, ornaments, and altars of two Roman Catholic Chapels, set fire to the house of the keeper of Newgate, also to the prison, which was soon entered and destroyed, and the prisoners were liberated. The King's Bench prison, and the New Bridewell, together with some adjoining houses, were set on fire and nearly consumed. Attempts were twice made on the Bank of England on the same day. The rioters were repulsed after many of them had fallen by the fire of the military. The total of killed and wounded was 285. Several of the prisoners were afterwards executed. Lord George Gordon was tried for high treason, but acquitted. 214 Worthies of Barnsley. kingdom, which will much impoverish us. Among these is my friend above mentioned, who hopes to have" no concern in the kingdom two months hence." Unhappily, Mr. Brooke's life was brought to a premature close ; he fell a victim in the melancholy accident which occurred at the Haymarket Theatre, on the evening of Feb. 3rd, 1794, at which their Majesties had signified their intention of being present at the performance. The fatal catastrophe, by which Mr. Brooke and fifteen other persons lost their lives, was brought about in the following manner : — In the crush which took place, some persons were thrown down and trampled upon by the crowd, who passed over their bodies into the house. The pit to which they were going was lower than the threshold of the door leading into it. Here it was that the mischief happened, for the people who were the unfortunate sufferers either not knowing any thing of the steps, or being hurried on by the pressure of the crowd behind, fell down, while those who followed immediately after were, by the same irresistible force, hurried over them. The scene that ensued may be more easily conceived than described ; the shouts and screams of the dying and the injured were reported to be fearful, whUe those who were literally trampling their fellow creatures to death had it not in their power to avoid the mischief they were doing. Seven bodies completely lifeless were carried into the shop of' Mr. Wynch, druggist, next door to the theatre, while others were carried to other places, and the remainder to St. Martin's bone house, to be owned. The gentlemen sent to own the bodies of Mr. Brooke and his friend Mr, Pingo, of York, who was with him at the time, said it was the most melancholy office they were ever The Family of Brooke. 215 called upon to perform. The countenance of Mr. Brooke had the appearance of sleep, and it was evident that he had been suffocated as he stood, as were many others. The colour on his cheeks reraained. Mr. Pingo, who was a more corpulent man, had apparently been thrown down, trampled upon, and much disfigured. The remains of Mr. Brooke were removed to his apart ments in the College, and on February 6th, buried in a vault under the Heralds' pew in the Church of St. Benet, Paul's Wharf, attended not only by the Heralds and his relations, but by the Duke of Norfolk, Earl Marshal of England ; George, Earl of Leicester, President of the Society of Antiquaries ; Sir Joseph Banks, Bart., President of the Royal Society; John Topham, Esq., F.R.S. and F.S.A.; Craven Ord, Esq., F.R.S. and F.S.A. ; Edmund Turner, F.R.S. and F.S.A. ; the Rev. John Brand, Secretary of the Society of Antiquaries ; John Cayley, Esq., F.A.S. ; James Moore, Esq., F.A.S. ; and John Lambert, Esq., F.A.S., who paid this last tribute of regard to this accom plished man. Edmund Lodge, Esq., to honour the memory of him whom living he loved, placed a mural monument by Ashton over his remains, with the arms * of his family, t * "The arms are Ermine, on a Bend, Sable, a Hawk's Lure, Or ; the Line and Ring, Argent : a Crescent in chief for the difference of a second son. Crest : A Goat's Head erased. Sable, homed and bearded. Or. The Shield enclosed in a coUar of SS, Argent. He bore the above arms in his seal, but quartered his mother's with thera."— History of the College of Arms, Rev. Mark Noble, p. 432. t In the Genfs. Mag., Vol. 64 (i794). P- 275, appears the following :— "The unfortunate death of Mr. Brooke excites particular regret. His manners were highly amiable ; his disposition peculiarly 2i6 Worthies of Barnsley. The inscription, elegantly expressive of the deceased's merit, is — "Sacred to the memory of John Charles Brooke, Esq., Somerset Herald, Secretary to the Earl Marshal of England, and FeUow of the Society of Antiquaries ; Descended from the respectable family of Brooke, of Dodworth, in the county of York, and a person of unrivalled eminence in his ancient and useful profession. When we were told that this valuable man, placid and mild, and his whole conduct marked by a willingness to oblige. With an active mind, enriched with general knowledge, and particularly attached to antiquarian researches, he was a valuable member of the Society of Antiquaries, and he made many collections in different parts of the kingdom. The History of Yorkshire, his native . county, towards which he had (as we have already noticed) contributed a rich accumulation of original collections, was, perhaps, one of the principal objects of his attention ; and it is trusted that such progress has been made in that work as to leave little wanting to its completion. The abilities of Mr. Brooke were so peculiarly adapted to an undertaking of this kind that a general interest in its appearance, at a proper period, cannot fail to be excited. In a word, the death of this gentleman has occasioned a loss to his friends, to society, and to literature, which will not easily be repaired or forgotten. Such is the tribute paid to Mr. Brooke by a writer in a Hereford paper immediately after his death. If anything like an History of Yorkshire, fit to meet the public eye, is bequeathed, with his other collections and manu scripts, to the College of Arms, we cannot help expressing our fears that it will remain for ever within the College walls, as the still more voluminous collections of Mr. Torre within those of York Chapter House, or of Dr. Burton with the representatives of Mr. Constable, unless the supposed writer of this character (to whom, if we mistake not, our friend was secretary) exerts his influence to draw it forth." The Family of Brooke. 2 1 7 to a moral and pious disposition, united a most cheerful and lively humour : that with a mind to comprehend, a judgment to select, and a raeraory to retain every sort of useful and agreeable information, he was blessed with a temper, calm, unassuming, and inoffensive : that he lived in a strict intimacy with persons of the highest rank, and of the first literary character, without the smallest tincture of vanity ; above all, that he enjoyed, with a happy constitution of body, an uncommon prosperity in worldly affairs ; let us, instead of envying the possession, reflect on the awful uncertainty, of these sublunary blessings. For, alas ! he was in a moment bereaved of them in the dreadful calamity which happened at the Theatre in the Haymarket, on the 3rd of February, 1794, in the forty-sixth year of his age." In the burial register of the Parish Church of St. Benet is the following entry : — "John Charies Brooke Esq: in the vault under the Heralds' Pew, buried Feb. 6, 1794^" Mr. Brooke's extensive knowledge in heraldry and antiquity, the kind and ready communication of that knowledge to his friends, and the uniform mUdness of his 2x8 Worthies of Barnsley. manners, made his death not only sincerely lamented by his numerous acquaintance, but a great loss to those sciences to the cultivation of which his natural genius was peculiarly adapted. " I have never known any gentleman," says the Rev. Mark Noble, in his Lives of the Heralds, p. 431, " so much and so deservedly beloved, nor anyone's death so deeply deplored. No one could have been more highly esteemed or respected. His elegant and refined manners adorned the drawing-rooms of the great ; from him they learnt to know and to appreciate the actions of their illustrious progenitors. To men of science he was equally dear, gracefully giving and patiently receiving information ; to his inferiors ever kind and attentive. The author favoured with his friendship never thinks of his death but with the most poignant grief. He may with the utmost truth declare, in the language of the late Mr. Pennant, of this amiable genealogist, ' I find daily reason to deplore his untimely end.' " Mr. Brooke had acquired a fortune of about ^14,000. By his will, which was dated 22nd Nov., 1790, he ap pointed his two sisters, Jane, wife of Richard Horton Brisco, Esq., and Margaret, afterwards married to Dr. Zouch, his executrixes and residuary legatees. He mentions his great-great-uncle, Mr. Joshua Brooke, whose monument is in Bunhill Fields Burial-ground; his brother, WiUiam Brooke, of Wakefield ; the five children of his sister Mary Comber, of Wakefield, by her late husband, Thomas Comber, LL.D. ; his cousin-german. Lady Wake. Devises Pond House and Lane-head Farras, Dodworth, and Little Pepper Farm, Ashurst, Surrey. A small legacy he left The Family of Brooke. 219 which perpetuates his memory in his native township. This was a sum of ;^5o, which he bequeathed to be applied for the benefit of the poor of Dodworth, without signifying in what particular mode it was to be applied ; but it was judged the most appropriate to invest the same in the purchase of Three per Cent. Consols, and, as most con sonant with the testator's wishes, to apply it in the same way as that of John Brooke, his ancestor, who had left _;£'2oo for the benefit of a charity school in Dodworth in i7S°- The early registers of Silkstone, his native parish, were rebound and repaired at the expense of Mr. Brooke in the year 17S0, as an entry in them sets forth. The herald's valuable raanuscript collections were be queathed to the College of Arms, where they now remain. According to Gough's British Topography, vol. ii., p. 400, they consist of the following : — " No. I. — A large folio volume of pedigrees, church notes, and extracts from deeds. " No. 2. — Domesday Book for Yorkshire, a fac-simUe copy, with the interpretation of the names of places. 4to. "No. 3.-^-Copy of the Nomina Villarum for Yorkshire. Made Edw. IL, 1316. " No. 4. — Names of manors, with their lords, extracted from the deputations for the preservation of game, lodged in the office of the Clerk of the Peace, from the first of their being registered to the present time. " No. 5. — An account of Skipton Castle, with a descrip tion of the pictures and their inscriptions, and an account and pedigree of the Clifford family. 4to. 220 Worthies of Barnsley. " No. 6.— Extracts of the entries in parish registers of families of note, chiefly in the city of York. 4to. ¦"No. 7.— Copy of Bernard's Survey of all the Lands belonging to the Duchy of Lancaster in the County of York. Made iS77. 19 Eliz. "No. 8.— Description of the Parish of Keighley, by MUes Gale, the rector. "No. g.— Church Notes in the County of York, contain ing a copy of those by Glover, St. George, Dodsworth, and Dugdale, and continued to the present time. "No. 10. — -Etymologia nominum familiarum et locorum in provincia Maximce Ccesariensis Summi in agro Ebora censia. 3 vols., 4to. " No. II — 21. — Miscellaneous Collections, in 11 vols., fol., for the antiquities of the West Riding of Yorkshire ; a volume for each Wapentake — viz., Agbridge Ainsty, Bark- eston, Claro, Ewcross, Morley, Osgoldcross, Skirack, Stain cliflfe, Staincross, and Strafford ; containing the descent of property, endowments of livings, presentations, church notes, extracts from deeds, etc., alphabetically arranged under the names of places in each Wapentake, with indexes. "No. 22. — A volume of the like for the North Riding; fol. " No. 23. — A volume for the East Riding ; fol. " No. 24. — Quarto volume of the like for the North Riding. " No. 2S. — Quarto volume for the East Riding. "No. 26 — 37. — Pedigrees of families in the West Riding of Yorkshire, 11 vols, in folio : one for each wapen take as above. Collected from the evidences in the Heralds' College, and continued to the present time. The Family of Brooke. 221 " No. 38. — Pedigrees of famiUes in the North Riding. "No. 39. — Pedigrees of famiUes in the East Riding. "No. 40. — Collections relating to the town, borough, and parish of Richmond, in the North Riding of Yorkshire, account of schools, hospitals, etc., there. " No. 41. — Anecdotes and other collections for the lives of erainent men who have flourished in the county of York. " No. 42. — Drawings and prints relating to the county of York — viz., antiquities, views, monuments, effigies, and arms in windows, etc. ; in portfolios." The bequest was accompanied by a legacy of ;^ioo to arrange, and ;^io to bind these manuscripts. Mr. Brooke left rings to all the members of the college. His books, with those of his fellow sufferer, Mr. Pingo, were sold by Leigh and Sotheby, in 1794. A portrait of Mr. Brooke is honoured with a place in the gallery at Arundel Castle. 'A quarto plate, by T. Milton, from a painting by T. Maynard, is the frontispiece to Noble's History of the College of Arms. The male line of the family of Brooke became extinct on the death of the elder brother of the Herald, William Brooke, Esq., attorney, of Wakefield and Fieldhead, in 182 1, in the Soth year of his age. His daughter, Margaret, who was born at Fieldhead, on the 28th Jan., 1776, lived at Dodworth up to comparatively modern times. She was married at St. John's, Wakefield, on the 20th January, I Sog, to BuUer RoUe Langford, Esq,, of Wakefield and Dodworth, captain in the army. They had issue only one son, Adolphus, who was drowned whUst skating on the Serpentine, Regent's Park. He was of Trinity College, and in the 21st year of his age at the time of the fataUty. Mr. and Mrs. Langford Uved many years at Dodworth, 222 Worthies of Barnsley. Mr. Langford died after a long illness, and his wiU, dated 4th March, 1832, was proved by his widow, in 1S3S. ^''S- Langford survived nearly 30 years, and died in i860, at the advanced age of 85 years, at the house of Archdeacon Glover, South Repps, North Walsham, Norfolk, the arch deacon having married a friend, if not a relation of Mrs. Langford's, in the person of Charlotte, second daughter of Sir Robert Affleck, vicar of Silkstone. Mrs. Langford was well known in the neighbourhood of Barnsley for her peculiarities and eccentricities. She highly revered the memory of her uncle, the Herald, and had many relics which had belonged to him, and of which she was very proud. She was particularly friendly with the late Miss Eleanor Beckett ; and both these ladies displayed financial tastes of a very pronounced type. A gentleman who was on friendly terms with them, and had sometimes the honour of joining them at dinner, at the Royal Hotel, as Mrs. Langford's guest, declared that in knowledge of national finance, these two ladies were equal to half a dozen Chancellors of the Exchequer. Mrs. Langford. having survived her son and husband, disposed of a considerable pordon of the Brooke estate, at Dodworth, with the proceeds of which she purchased a life annuity ; and so great was her desire to possess a large income, that she re-invested her savings for that purpose almost to the close of her life. An amusing story was long current, as to how adroitly she had contrived to dispose of some dUapidated house property, at Dodworth, so as to secure a large life annuity for it. It was judiciously announced, in a quiet way, that the good lady's health had become very precarious, and that she wished to bring her The Family of Brooke. 223 worldly affairs into a settled state, and was possessed with a foolish whim to exchange this tumble-down and spacious property for a life rent. Enquiries made by a careful and well-to-do resident satisfied him that the poor invalid was bent on a bad bargain for herself, and a good one for him, so he soon had the business settled on her ovvn terms. Soon after the lady appeared out of doors in renewed health, and survived many years to receive punctual pay ment of the annuity. The outwitted purchaser did not see the force of the joke when asked how Mrs. L. was ; and anyone asking the question had to exercise some caution. Mrs. Langford's only son was buried in Highgate Cemetery, as was also her husband when he died. Some years after, she had the bodies of her son and husband exhumed, and re-interred in a vault in the churchyard of Hoyland. She caused the lead coffins to be taken out of the outer coffins, and disposed of, which disagreeable task, it has always been said, nearly cost the life of the late Mr. John Fletcher, plumber, Barnsley. In character with her decided ways, she had no other inscription than the following initials placed on the tomb there : — B R L AL Son of B R L Mrs. Langford's remains were interred in the same vault, but there is no inscription to her memory. Although residing in Norfolk, Mrs. Langford continued to make periodical visits to her native district, on which occasions she took up her quarters at the Royal Hotel, Barnsley, then kept by Mrs. Hawksworth. On the latter retiring from that hostelry, Mrs. Langford subscribed ^^50 towards a fund 224 Worthies of Barnsley. ' for purchasing her a life annuity. Mrs. Langford published a Treatise on the Funds and National Finance ; and was also the author of A Short Discourse on the Evidence in favour of Christianity, from Reason, a copy of which she presented to the Silkstone parish library. A small volume of sermons, preached at Dodworth Church, and published by the Rev. Samuel Hadfield, in 1S47, is dedicated to Mrs. Langford, as a token of the author's gratitude for her humane sympathies, and real kindness in his affliction. 225 No. IX. 3o0epb Bramab, tbe Jnventor, AS born in the township of Stainborough, near Barnsley, on the 2nd of AprU, 1749, and was baptized, according to an entry in the register of baptisras in the parish church of Slikstone, about six weeks afterwards. The following is the entry : — " 1749 : Joseph, son of Joseph Bramma, of Stainbrough, baptized. May 12.'' He was the second son of Joseph Bramah, or Bramma, as the name was sometimes spelled, and Mary Denton, who were both of Stainborough, and who were married at Silk stone Church, by license, on the i6th September, 1743. They had five children, four of whom appear in the register in the following order : — " Richard, son of Joseph and Mary Bramah, bap. Dec. 2, 1746." Joseph, the second son, as above named. "Thomas, son of Joseph Bramma, Stainbrough, bap. Aug. 2S, I7S4- " Hannah, daughter of Joseph Brammah, of Stainbrough, bap. Aug. 29, 1755." 16 226 Worthies of Barnsley. There was another daughter, Ann, of whom we find no entry. Joseph Bramah, the father, was servant, coachman it is said, of Lord Strafford — the Lord Strafford who went through and distinguished hiraself in the Marlborough campaigns, and was a favourite of Queen Anne, and who was afterwards impeached with Bolingbroke, Oxford, and other ministers, on the death of the Queen ; after which he settled at Stainborough, which he had purchased of the family of Cutler, and spent much of the remainder of his life in im proving his estates. On his death, in 1739, Bramah con tinued with his son William, the young Lord Strafford, by whora he was held in high regard, and who let him a farm in Stainborough Lanes, about half-a-mile frora Wentworth Castle. In 1 746, Braraah's narae appears for the first time in the rent-roll of Lord Strafford as the occupier of this farra, at a rental of ;^24 per annum ; and in 1768, Ann Bramah, one of his daughters, was living as a servant with the Earl at Wentworth Castle. On this farm the locksmith was born. His parents, who were in moderate circumstances, gave him such an education as qualified hira to conduct an agricultural business, and after he left school Joseph began to work about the farm, but at the age of 16 he got h\jrt with jumping at the annual feast of Bolton-on-Dearne, and an incurable lameness of his right ankle having disqualified him for the active life of a farmer, he was bound apprentice to Thomas AUott, of Stainborough Fold, to be a joiner and cabinet maker. This suited his genius better than agricultural labour, for he was of a mechanical turn of mind, and had, previously to his being apprenticed, evinced a strong natural bias for mechanics, as is obvious from his having been in the Joseph Bramah, the Inventor. 227 habit of devoting his entire leisure to various pieces of handi work, which displayed no small ingenuity.* In proof of which, and of his early perseverance, when a mere boy he commenced and finished the construction of two violoncellos and a violin ; one of the former was then purchased at the price of three guineas, and among connoisseurs was long after reckoned to be a very correct intruraent, and is still, we beUeve, in the possession of a person in this district. This circumstance is mentioned to show at how early a period that perseverance manifested itself which became so prorainent a trait in his character in after life ; for it was prepared by him frora a solid block of wood, after the incessant labour of many months, merely with the help of an axe and such edge tools as he contrived to get formed from razor blades by a neighbouring smith, who, it may be worthy of remark, after wards became useful to hiin in quality of principal workman at his extensive manufactories in different parts of the metropoUs. He also constructed a tea chest and caddy. The tea chest, which was neatly inlaid, consisted of three compartments, and was made of plum-tree wood which had grown in the garden at the farm ; and some of these articles remained at the place of his birth, and were shown to visitors so long as the Bramahs remained in possession, which was until coraparatively raodern times. John Bramah, a nephew of the engineer, died there unmarried on the 23rd February, i8s2, at the advanced age of 88 years, while a niece, Elizabeth Bramah, who was a spinster, occupied the farm until her death in i8s6, when it went out of the family, and was let to strangers. The relics of the locksmith's early * New Monthly Magazine (1815), voL iii., p. 209. 228 Worthies of Barnsley. genius, which had been kept together up to this time, were distributed among other descendants of the family, who stiU reside in the neighbourhood. When Joseph Braraah's apprenticeship had expired, he resolved to seek work in London, whither he made the journey on foot. He soon found work at a cabinet maker's, and remained with him for some time, after which he set up in business, in a smaU way, on his own account. He had not been long in London before he had to mourn the loss of his mother, through an accident on returning from the Barnsley market. She was riding on horseback, down Keresforth HiU, behind John Craney, of Stainborough Inn — for pUlions were then in vogue — when she was thrown to the ground, and received such injuries that she died from their effects. We do not know the exact date on which the accident occurred, but we find frora the parish register of Silkstone that " Mary, wife of Joseph Bramah, of Stainborough, was buried July 4, 1774." In this manner the locksmith lost his mother when about twenty-five years of age, and when he had fairly made his start in life in London. Soon afterwards Bramah himself met with an accident in the course of his daily work, which incapacitated him for a time, but afforded him a degree of leisure which he at once proceeded to turn to some useful account. " Part of his business at this time," says Mr. Smiles,* '• consisted in putting up water-closets, after a method in vented or iraproved by a Mr. Allen ; but the article was StiU very imperfect, and Bramah had long resolved that, if he could only secure some leisure for the purpose, * Industrial Biography, pp. 185-6, Joseph Bramah, the Inventor. 229 he would contrive something that should supersede it altogether. This accident afforded him the opportunity he desired. His invention being matured, he took out a patent for his water-closet in 1778, describing himself in the specification as of ' Cross Court, Carnaby Market, Golden Square, Middlesex, cabinet-maker.' He afterwards removed to a shop in Denraark Street, St. Giles's ; and whUe there he raade a further improvement in his invention by the addition ofa water-cock, which he patented in 17S3. The merits of the raachine were generally recognised, and before long it came into extensive use, continuing to be employed ; and it is in the highest degree creditable to him as a mechanic, and a proof of the simplicity and perfection of this invaluable domestic apparatus that, in spite of a host of pretended improvers upon it, allured by his unpre cedented success and consequent patronage, it has con tinued to be employed with but few alterations until the present day. His circurastances iraproving with the increased use of his invention, Bramah proceeded to undertake the manufacture of the pumps, pipes, etc., re quired for its construction, and, remembering his friend, the vUlage blacksmith, who had made his first tools for him out of the old files and razor blades, he sent for him to London to take charge of his blacksmith's department, in which he proved a most useful assistant." Who this useful assistant was we have not been able to make out. The Beardshalls, of Baggerwood, in Stainborough, have been the village blacksmiths for generations, and old Jacky Beardshall is said, by viUage tradition, to have been the individual who fabricated Braraah's early tools, but we are not aware that he was ever in Braraah's employ in London. 230 Worthies of Barnsley. A George Rich, who was at one time a scholar in Stain borough School, was working for Bramah at Pimlico in 1799, but in what capacity we are not told. Possibly he might be the " smith " alluded to ; but he, however, left Bramah, and was in the West Indies in 1807, and New South Wales in iSio. He returned to England, and in his old age lived in Rich Lane, Barnsley. As usual, Braraah's patent was attacked by pirates as soon as it became productive, and he was under the necessity, on more than one occasion, of defending his property in the invention, in which he was completely successful. We next find Bramah turning his attention to the in vention of a lock that should surpass all others then known. The locks then in use were of a very imperfect character, easily picked by dexterous thieves, against whom they afforded little protection. After much study and many experiments he succeeded, and produced a lock which still holds its ground. For a long time, indeed, Bramah's lock was regarded as absolutely inviolable, and it remained unpicked for sixty-seven years, until Hobbs, the American, mastered it in iSsi. A notice had long been exhibited in Bramah's shop window, in Piccadilly, offering ;^200 to anyone who should succeed in picking the patent lock. Many tried, and all failed until Hobbs succeeded, after sixteen days' manipulation of it with various elaborate instruments. But the difficulty with which the lock was picked showed that, for all ordinary purposes, it might be pronounced impregnable. The lock invented by Bramah was patented in 17 84. Mr. Bramah himself fully set forth the specific merits of the invention in his Dissertation on the Construction of Locks, which he published. Joseph Bram,ah, the Inventor. 231 In an article on the " Bramah Lock," in Encyclopcedia Brit, Vol. XIIL, p. S33. it is said :— " Mr. Chubb, the well-known lock-maker, has shown us a wooden Chinese lock, which is very superior to the Egyptian, and, in fact, founded on exactly the same principle as the Bramah lock, which long enjoyed the reputation of being the most secure lock ever invented ; for it has sliders or tumblers of different lengths, and cannot be opened unless they are all raised to the proper heights, and no higher. Until about eighty years ago we had no lock so good as this in England. Barron's lock, patented in 1778, was the first lock of note. The next lock of any importance was the celebrated lock originally patented, just ten years after Barron's, by the late Mr. Joseph Bramah, who carae up to London from Barnsley as a joiner, and raised himself to eminence by the invention of this lock." After a very careful description of the lock, the writer proceeds : — " This was the construction of the lock for a good many years, and Mr. Bramah pronounced it in that state ' not to be within the range of art to produce a key, or other instrument, by which a lock on this principle can be opened.' It was found, however, long before the defeat of the improved challenge Bramah lock by Mr. Hobbs in iSsi, that the inventor had made the common mistake of pronouncing that to be impossible which he only did not see how to do hiraself ... Mr. Hobbs opened the chaUenge lock with eighteen sliders, or guards, which had hung in Messrs. Bramah's window for many years. He after wards repeated the operation three times within the hour, in the presence of the arbitrators; and we have seen him open a more recent one, with eight sUders, in four minutes, by means 232 Worthies of Barnsley. of an instrument which is equivalent to a Braraah key with adjustable slits, which are set to the sliders as he goes on feeling them and getting their depths. It has been stated as an advantage of the Braraah lock that an impression cannot be taken from it. This is a great mistake. It may be convenient to observe that when we use the term Bramah lock we mean a lock of that construction ; for, the patent having long ago expired, they may be made by any body, just as Chubb's lock may, though nobody but the representatives of the original patentees have a right to apply the name 'Braraah' or 'Chubb' to them."* The construction of the lock is raore particularly detailed in the specification of the patent {Repertory of Arts, vol v., p. 217), as well as in the inventor's Dissertation on Locks, * " At a later period of life, when the term of this patent had expired, having ascertained that the immense expense of the machinery employed in the manufacture of the lock, notwithstanding the very general demand for it, had greatly exceeded the profits derived from its sale, Bramah petitioned Parliament for a renewal of the patent ; but the manufacturers of Birmingham, Wolverhampton, and elsewhere, actuated by the sordid principles of gain, opposed it with their utmost efforts, and, unfortunately for him and his family, too successfully." — Dr. Cullen Brown in New Monthly Magazine, Vol. III., p. 210. " It is not easy to say why the application for an Act of Parliament to prolong the privilege proved unsuccessful, unless it was supposed that the inventor had been already sufficiently remunerated for the share of ingenuity which his contrivance exhibited ; but the report that one of these locks had been readily opened before a Committee of the House of Commons by means of a common quill, was a gross misrepre sentation of the fact ; the quill having in reality been previously cut into the required shape from the true key. The experiment, in fact, only served to show the perfection of the workmanship, so little force being required to overcome the resistance when properly applied." — Encyclopcedia Brit., Art. Bramah, Vol. V., p. 273. Joseph Bramah, the Inventor. 233 Svo. ; and some additional modifications, allowing the key to be varied at pleasure, are described in a patent dated 179S. " The merits of the invention being generally admitted," says Mr. Smiles, " there was a considerable demand for the locks, and the necessity thus arose for inventing a series of machine tools to enable them to be manufactured in sufficient quantities to meet the deraand. It is probable, indeed, that, but for the contrivance of such tools, the lock could never have corae into general use, as the skill of hand-workmen, no matter how experienced, could not have been relied upon for turning out the article with that degree of accuracy and finish in all the parts which was indispensable for its proper action. In conducting the manufacture throughout, Bramah was greatly assisted by Henry Maudslay, his foreman, to whom he was in no small degree indebted for the contrivance of those tool machines which enabled him to carry on the business of lock-making with advantage and profit.* Maudslay was for a long time Bramah's ' right hand man,' and the most difficult and delicate work was entrusted to him ; and notwithstanding his youth, he was soon established in the post of head foreman of the works. Maudslay was found especially useful by his master in devising the tools for making his patent locks. In further proof of his manual dexterity, it may be mentioned that he constructed, with his own hands, the identical padlock which so severely tested the powers of Mr. Hobbs, in 1851. And when it is considered that the lock had been made for more than half a century, and * Smiles' Industrial Biography : London, 1863, p. 187. 234 Worthies of Barnsley. did not embody any of the raodern improvements, it will, perhaps, be regarded not only as creditable to the principles on which it was constructed, but to the workman ship of its maker that it should so long have withstood the mechanical dexterity to which it was exposed. "Bramah's indefatigable spirit of invention was only stimulated to fresh efforts by the success of his lock ; and in the course of a few years we find him entering upon a more important and original line of action than he had yet ventured on. His patent of 178s shows the direction of his studies. Watt had invented his steam-engine, which was coming into general use ; and the creation of motive power in various other forms became a favourite subject of inquiry with inventors. Bramah's first invention with this object was his Hydrostatic Machine, founded on the doctrine of the equilibrium of pressure in fluids, as exhibited in the well-known ' hydrostatic paradox.' In his patent of 178s, in which he no longer describes hiraself as ' cabinet maker,' but ' engine maker,' of Piccadilly, he indicated many inventions. For different modifications of pumps and fire- engines, Mr. Bramah took out two successive patents, the two last being dated in 1790 and 1798.* But in the year 179s he produced and patented the most important of all his inventions — namely, ' The Hydraulic Press,' a machine which gives to a child the strength of a giant, enabling him to bend a bar of iron as if it were wax. In the Museum of the Comraissioners, at South Kensington, is deposited what is described, by an inscription upon it, as the ' First Hydraulic Press ever made. Joseph Bramah. Letters * Repertory of Arts, vol. ii. , 3. Joseph Bramah, the Inventor. 235 Patent, a.d., 1795, March 31. No. 2,045.'" Like aU inventions of the first class, it has received little, if any iraproveraent, since it left Bramah's hands. The machine has been employed on many extraordinary occasions, in preference to other methods of employing power. Thus Robert Stephenson used it to hoist the gigantic tubes of the Britannia bridge into their bed, when the weight raised by a single press was 1,144 tons. Brunei also used it to launch the Great Eastern steamship frora her cradle ; whUst it has also been used to cut bars of iron ; to draw the piles . driven in forming coffer dams, and to wrench up trees by the roots, all of which feats it accomplishes with comparative ease. After giving an Ulustrated description of the Bramah Press, Encyclopedia Brit., xu., 178, says : — ^"The Bramah Press is perhaps the most perfect hydraulic machine with which we are acquainted. It is used in almost every departraent of industry ; for throwing Ught articles into small bulk ; for extracting oil from hides previous to tanning ; for pressing cloth ; for extracting moisture from paper. It is used in the raanufacture of gunpowder, sugar, wax, candles, verraicelli, etc. It is peculiarly adapted for testing the strength of cables and masses of metals ; for extracting old pUes ; uprooting trees ; for raising or sustaining a building that has sunk a little ; and also for quarrying purposes. The printer and chemist know its value. Besides the immense power thereby procured, the labour of pressing is much lessened. No improvements that have taken place in calendering can exceed the power and facUity of the water press ; one of these presses is generally wrought by two men, who can, with great ease, work the press so as to produce a pressure of four hundred 236 Worthies of Barnsley. tons ; and thereby the appearance and finish of the goods in consequence of such an immense weight acting upon them, are materiaUy improved. Not only this, but the Bramah Press is also used for the purpose of packing,, which has increased the , method of packing in bales considerably. The bale is commonly packed, roped, etc., whUe in a compressed state ; the diraensions are thereby greatly diminished from what they would otherwise be by any other method ; for instance, the same quantity of goods packed in a bale would be one-third less in size than if they were packed in a box." Bramah's study of the principles of hydraulics, in the course of his invention of the Hydraulic Press, enabled him to introduce raany valuable iraproveraents in pumping machinery. By varying the form of the piston and cylinder, he was enabled to obtain a rotary motion, which he advantageously applied to raany purposes. Thus he adopted it in the well-known fire engine, the use of which has becorae alraost universal.* Another popular raachine of his is the Beer Pump, patented in 1787, by which the publican is enabled to raise frora the casks in the cellar beneath, the various liquors sold by hira over the counter. He prefaces his specification with some general observations on the right of an inventor to a property, both in the objects which he selects for his improvements, and in the means * " 1806— £ s. d. July 19. Carriage of Fire Engines from London . . 6 14 o Oct. 24. Navigation Freight of Engines, etc 7 19 o Nov. 12. Messrs. J. Bramah and Son, in full for Engines, etc 286 15 o" Wakefield Constable's Accounts. Joseph Bramah, the Inventor. 237 which he employs for the attainment of thera ; and demands of the pubUc justice, and an ample security for both these rights, grounding this claim on his resolution to make a clear and unreserved disclosure of all his inventions. Besides the method of pumping up the Uquors from the various casks through flexible pipes, without the necessity of entering the cellar, he describes a mode of converting every cask into a forcing purap, excluding the air, and raising the liquor to any part of the house, by a load on its head, which is to be converted into a piston. He raentions also a filtering machine, a vent-peg, a method of making pipes, and a new form of stop-cock. He also took out several patents for the improvement of the steam engine, in which, however. Watt left little room for other inventors ; and hence Bramah seems to have entertained a grudge against Watt, which broke out fiercely in the evidence given by him in the case of Boulton and Watt versus Hornblower and Maberly, tried in December, 1796. On that occasion, Bramah's teraper seems to have got the better of his judgment, and he was cut short by the judge in the attempt which he then made to subrait the contents of the paraphlet subsequently published by hira in the forra of a letter, to the judge before whora the case was tried, and entitled, "A Letter to the Right Hon. Sir James Eyre, Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, on the subject of the cause, Boulton and Watt v. Hornblower and Afaberly, for Infringement on Mr. Watt's Patent for an Improvement of the Steam Engine, 1797." "On the expiry of Boulton and Watt's patent," say Mr. Srailes, " Braraah introduced several valuable improvements in the details of the condensing engine, which had by that time 238 Worthies of Barnsley. become an estabUshed power ; and in the same patent by which he secured this invention in iSoi, he also proposed sundry improvements in the boilers, as well as modifications in various parts of the engine, with the object of effecting greater simplicity and directness of action. " In his patent of 1S02, we find Braraah making another great stride in mechanical invention, in his tools ' for producing straight, smooth, and parallel surfaces on wood and other materials requiring truth, in a manner much more expeditious and perfect than can be performed by the use of axes, saws, planes, and other cutting instruraents used by hand in the ordinary way.' The specification describes the object of the invention to be the saving of manual labour, the reduction in the cost of production, and the superior character of the work executed. The tools were fixed on frames driven by machinery; sorae raoving in a rotary direction round an upright shaft, some with the shaft horizontal like an ordinary wood turning lathe, while in others the tools were fixed on frames sliding in stationary grooves. A wood planing machine, on a large scale, was constructed on the principle of this invention at Woolwich Arsenal, where it stiU continues in efficient use. Although the machinery described in the patent was first applied to working on wood, it was equally applicable to working on metals; and in his own shops, at PimUco, Bramah employed a machine, with revolving cutters, to plane metaUic surfaces for his patent locks and other articles " Bramah's inventive genius displayed itself alike in smaU thiugs as in great — in a tap wherewith to draw a glass of beer, and in a hydraulic machine capable of tearing up a Joseph Bramah, the Inventor. 239 tree by the roots. His powers of contrivance seemed inexhaustible, and were exercised on the most varied subjects. When any difficulty occurred which mechanical ingenuity was calculated to reraove, recourse was usually had to Bramah, and he was rarely found at a loss for a contrivance to overcome it.* Thus, when applied to by the Bank of England, in 1806, to construct a machine for more accurately and expeditiously printing the numbers and date lines on bank notes, he at once proceeded to invent the requisite raodel, which he completed in the course of a month. He subsequently brought it to great perfection — the figures in numerical succession being changed by the action of the machine itself — and it still * "Mr. Bramah came to state and explain the evils of the accumulated drainage from the upper part of London through West minster, by Tothill Fields and Millbank, into the Thames. The probable cause of the higher rise of tides within the last three years — namely, the removal of the many tiers of shipping out of the river below the bridge into the new docks (the London, the West India, and the East India Docks), whereby the obstructions to the flowing of the tide being removed, it necessarily flowed higher than formerly. He proposed also certain remedies by new cuts of drainage, etc., all which I referred to Lord Grosvenor, whose estates these drains intersected." — Diary of Charles Abbot, Lord Colchester, June 17, 1808. March 22, 1813 : Went to see Bramah's experiment of taking up trees by the roots, in Hyde Park, with an hydrauhc engine. The Duke of York and many other persons were present. The machine consisted of an iron cylinder, about four feet long, with a movable piston, which was applied to the side of a tree, and by a small fire engine, containing not more than two gallons of water, a sufficient quantity was forced into the cylinder below the bottom of the piston, to raise it upwards against the trunk of the tree till it forced it out of the ground by the roots. The tackle was not well managed, but when applied the force quickly acted, and the tree was prostrated."— Ibid., vol. ii., p. 442. 240 Worthies of Barnsley. continues in regular use. Its eraployment in the Bank of England, during the issue of one pound notes, alone saved the labour of ioo clerks ; but its chief value consisted in its greater accuracy, the perfect legibility of the figures printed by it, and the greatly improved check which it afforded. An improvement in the processes of making paper, with the assistance of new machinery, in large sheets, was secured to the inventor by a patent in 1805.* The description is accompanied by that of a mode of drying the paper on sliding frames, hung on lines like sashes, and of keeping it in a state of compression by retainers adapted to the hydrostatic press ; but Mr. Bramah had not leisure to introduce these arrangements into actual practice, although he had been at considerable expense in preparing the apparatus ; but his patent for making paper by machinery, though ingenious, does not seem to have been adopted, the inventions of Fourdrinier and Donkin in this direction having superseded all others." Mr. Bramah procured a patent in 1809 for a mode of making and holding pens for vs^riting, calculated to save the substance of the quill, by cutting a number of pens out of it, instead of a single one ; and those who were not in the habit of making their own pens found a convenience in the portable form in which they were arranged. In 1S12 he brought forward his patent for the construction of main pipes, to be carried through the principal streets of the Metropolis, of sufficient thickness to withstand great force, and to which the water within thera was intended to be subjected, by proper pumps, furnished with air vessels; so that the water Repertory of Arts, Second Series, vol. viii., p. 1. Joseph Bramah, the Inventor. 241 might not only be ready for the immediate extinction of fires, without the necessity of bringing an engine to the spot, but might also furnish a convenient moving power for various mechanical purposes, such as raising weights, by means of tubes sliding out of each other like those of a telescope. He observes in his patent that he has frequently had occasion to employ a hydrostatic pressure in many of his operations equivalent to that of a column of water 20,000 feet high, which is about four tons to every square inch. He also asserts that he can form 500 tubes, each five feet long, cap able of sliding within each other, and of being extended in a few seconds by the pressure of air forced into them to a length of 2,500 feet, and with a power of this kind he seems to have imagined that he could raise wrecks and regulate the descent of weights of various descrip tions.* His improveraents in wheel carriages, for which he obtained a patent in 1814, consisted in fixing each wheel to a separate movable axis, having its bearings at two distinct points of its length, but loosely enclosed between these points in a cylinder filled with oil ; and, in some cases, he proposed to fix the opposite wheels to the sarae axis, though with a power of turning very stiffly round it, in order to lessen the lateral motion of the shafts in very rough roads. He also suggested the use of pneumatic springs, formed by pistons, sliding in cylinders, as a substitute for comraon springs of metal. The purpose of Mr. Bramah's last patent was the pre vention of the dry rot, by laying on the timber meant to be * Enc-yclopadia Britannica, vol. v., p. 274. 17 242 Worthies of Barnsley. preserved from it a thin coat of Parker's Roman Ceraent, much dUuted with water, but he does not appear to have pursued this experiraent, having transferred his rights in the invention to other hands. In some of his inventions, Bramah shot ahead of the mechanical necessities of the times, and hence many of his patents (of which he held at one time raore than 20) proved altogether profitless. Besides his various mechanical pursuits, Bramah also. followed, to a certain extent, the profession of a civil engineer, though his more urgent engagements rendered it necessary for him to refuse many advantageous offers of employraent in this line. He was, however, led to carry out , the new water-works at Norwich, between the years 1790 and 1793, in consequence of his having been called upon to give evidence in a dispute between the Corporation of that city and the lessees, in the course of which he pro pounded plans which, it was alleged, could not be carried out. To prove that they could be carried out, and that his evidence was correct, he undertook the new works, and executed them with coraplete success ; besides demonstra ting in a spirited publication, elicited by the controversy, the insufficiency and incongruity of the plans which ha4 been submitted by the rival engineer. For some tirae prior to his death, Bramah had been employed in the erection of several large machines in his works at Pimlico for sawing stones and timber, to which he applied his hydraulic power with great success. New methods of building bridges and canal locks, with a variety of other matters, were in an embryo state in his mind, but he did not live to complete them. The period of his Joseph Bramah, the Inventor. 243 labours, unhappUy, too soon for the interests of his surviving family and for the good of the country at large, began to draw to a close. That the intensity and duration of his exertions, mental and corporeal together, had in fact greatly abridged the natural span of his existence, and induced premature old age and death, the whole tenour of his life compels us to conclude. The iraraediate cause of his death, however, appears to have been a severe cold, brought on by over-exertion while superintending the action of his hydrostatic press at Holt Forest, in Hants, where upwards of 300 trees of the largest diraensions were in a very short time torn up by the roots. The cold settled upon his lungs, and his life was suddenly brought to a close on the 9th of December, 1814, in his 66th year. " With regard to Mr. Bramah's moral character," says Dr. Cullen Brown, in an article on Braraah, in the New Monthly Magazine for 1815, p- 212, "it will be found to have been as intrinsically valuable and simple as the mass of his inventions. He possessed a heart which teemed with benevolence, and made him keenly participate in the sufferings of his fellow-creatures. Such a disposition, highly creditable to him as a man, on many occasions retarded the advancement of his fortune; for at various periods of stagnation of trade, by which the labouring classes were reduced to the utmost dis tress, he was known to retain in his service numbers of his workmen for whom, though he literally had no employ ment, he always contrived to find something to do, however trivial, as if he conceived he were in duty bound tp justify himself in his own opinion for opposing the practice of the rest of the world in such cases. Respecting his 244 Worthies of Barnsley. opinions on the subject of religion, he was of a pious turn of mind, and intimately versed in both the Old and New Testaments, which he considered as being the only infallible exemplars by which the conduct of our life ought to be guided.'* He was, however, of a cheerful disposition, and with respect to the religious tenets of others, perfectly liberal and untinctured with the slightest degree of morose- ness. Many tracts in manuscript on the subject of religion, which he left in the possession of his family, would, if published, afford a subject of adrairation, and be a fresh proof of the astonishing native powers and versatility of his mind. Indeed, at what period of his life, necessarUy engaged as he was, he acquired the facility and excellence of English composition which he evinced is a matter of wonder. In his domestic economy he was exemplary in the extreme. To his children he necessarily preached up * "Notwithstanding his well-known religious character, Bramah seems to have fallen under the grievous displeasure of William Hunting ton, S.S. (Sinner Saved), described by Macaulay in his youth as 'a worthless, ugly lad, of the name of Hunter,' and in his manhood as 'that remarkable impostor.' It seems that Huntington sought the professional services of Bramah when re-edifying his chapel in 1 793 ; and at the conclusion of the work the engineer generously sent the preacher a cheque for ;^8, towards defraying the necessary expenses. Whether the sum was less than Huntington expected, or from what ever cause, the S.S. contemptuously flung back the gift, as proceeding from an Arian whose religion was 'unsavoury,' at the same time hurling at the giver a number of texts conveying epithets of an offensive character. Bramah replied to the farrago of nonsense, which he characterised as unmannerly, absurd, and illiterate ; ' that it must have been composed when the writer was intoxicated, mad, or under the influence of Lucifer,' and he threatened that unless Huntington apologised for his gratuitous insults, he (Bramah) would surely expose Joseph Bramah, the Inventor. 245 the wholesorae doctrine of raethod, without the strict observance of which he alleged that exceUence was not to be attained in anything. In his own person he was cleanly almost to fastidiousness, and continually inculcating the same disposition in others. He was temperate in his habits ; so cheerful a corapanion as to be the life of the nuraerous corapanies of friends by whom he was equally respected and admired ; a respectful and affectionate husband, and tender and anxious father. Unfortunately, Mr. Bramah had an invincible dislike to sitting for his portrait, and there consequently exists no likeness of this distinguished man; for, although a cast of his face was taken after death by Sir Francis Chantrey, this, together with many others, was destroyed by Lady Chantrey after the death of her husband." The Gentleman' s Magazine of December, 1814, vol. 84, him. The mechanician, nevertheless, proceeded gravely to explain and defend his ' profession of faith,' which was altogether unnecessary. On this Huntington returned to the charge, and directed against the mechanic a fresh volley of Scriptural texts and phraseology, not without humour, if profanity be allowable in controversy, as where he says : ' Poor man ! he makes a good patent lock, but cuts a bad figure with the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven ! ' ' What Mr. Bramah is,' says S.S., ' in respect to his character or conduct in life as a man, a trades man, a neighbour, a gentleman, a husband, friend, master, or subject, I know not. In all these characters he may shine as a comet for aught I know ; but he appears to me to be as far away from any resemblance to a poor penitent or broken-hearted sinner as Jannes, Jambres, or Alexander the coppersmith.' Bramah rejoined by threatening to publish his assailant's letters ; but Huntington anticipated him in A Feeble Dispute with a Wise and Learned Man, 8vo., London, 1793, in which, whether justly or not, Huntington makes Bramah appear to murder the King's English in the most barbarous manner."— 5'/«z/,fj'j Industrial Biography, note, p. 196. 246 Worthies of Barnsley. pt. 2, says : — " It is always a most gratifying task to have to place upon record the merits of those who have been in any degree distinguished for their useful talents or moral worth ; but how to draw a just picture of his deserts, whose whole career (whether as regards his public or private actions) has been marked by an overflowing and laudable desire to be useful to his fellow-creatures, we confess our selves to be at some loss. The narae of Mr. Bramah, as an engineer and mechanist, is so well-known to the whole world, as to render it almost a matter of supererogation to offer any comment upon the profound abilities which he has displayed in the line of his profession ; suffice it to say, that the productions of his genius are duly appreciated, and will ever remain a theme for unqualified admiration and unbounded applause while the arts and sciences are patronised and sought after. Intuitive talent in the way of invention and discovery, however, was not the sole distinguishing trait which belonged to Mr. Bramah : he had an acute, comprehensive, and discerning mind, which made him almost iramediately master of the most difficult subjects ; and he had a peculiar facility and force of expression, which gave him a vast superiority in all matters under discussion, however diffuse. Thus gifted, his arguments seldom faUed to convince ; and his mode of reasoning being always liberal and unsophisticated, served to starap them with a character of uncommon value. His integrity and love of principle were, perhaps, the strongest features which marked all his actions ; and hence it foUowed that his society was courted by persons of the highest talent, and all conditions. Of his religious habits we will briefly observe that his practical piety and morality, his Joseph Bramah, the Inventor. 247 humanity and active benevolence, will always entitle hira to a place in the hearts of good men, who must regard his loss as a public calamity. The deep affiiction of his amiable widow and children wiU of itself speak for him as a husband, and a father ; and it is at once pleasing and consolatory to know that his death was as easy as his life had been exemplary, and that he sunk into eternity serene and happy, loving and beloved, surrounded by his whole family, and sincerely lamented by a large and respectable circle of friends and acquaintances.'' The parish to which Braraah belonged was naturally proud of the distinction he had achieved in the world, and commemorated his life and career by a marble tablet (although he was interred in Paddlngton Churchyard, where no memorial of him exists), erected, by subscription, to his raeraory in the Parish Church of Silkstone, on which is the following inscription : — "This stone is inscribed to the memory of Mr. Joseph Bramah, late of Piccadilly and Pimlico, London, and forraerly of this parish, who died 9th December, 1S14, in the 66th year of his age. By rare genius and eminent perseverance, he advanced hiraself to considerable eminence as an engineer and machinist, and matured several inventions of the greatest public utility. " He was not less remarkable for his benevolent disposition and a steadfast faith in the founder of our holy religion." 248 Worthies of Barnsley. The locksmith, we may state, married Mary, daughter of Francis Lawton, of MappleweU. It is littie we know about her. Her father used to say — and no doubt others of the family echoed the sentiment — that it was a good job that Joseph had met with the accident in his early years, or he would not have been the man he was. She occasionally visited Yorkshire with her husband, and on the last occasion of her doing so she had her arm fractured by the upsetting of a post-chaise almost immediately after starting on her return journey to London, from Mr. Thomas West's, of Cawthorne, where she had been on a visit, and was detained there. Bramah had five children^four sons and one daughter— Tiraothy, Francis, Edward, John, and Hannah. On his death, it is stated his works at Pimlico were under the superintendence of his chief draughtsman, Joseph Clement. The three eldest sons were taken into the business one after the other on leaving school, whilst the youngest son, John, served his time with Mr. Wilkins, M.A., of CaiUs College, Carabridge, etc., architect of several public buildings at Carabridge, the London University, in Gower Street, National Gallery, etc. He served his full tirae with him, after which (and some ten years after his father's death) he entered as a student at Christ's College, Cambridge, with a view to ordination, but died whilst a student, about the year 1825. Timothy, the eldest of Bramah's sons, married Anne, daughter and heiress of Thomas West, of Cawthorne,* and through this marriage eventually succeeded to land and * " 1808 3, April. Timothy Bramah, of the parish of St. George's, Hanover Square, London, and Ann West, of this parish, married. [He died, October 21, 1838.] ' — Cawthorne Parish Register. Joseph Bramah, tlie Inventor. 249 property in that and adjoining townships, sorae of which is StUl in the possession of his sons— two of whom are still living (1883), being grandsons of the locksmith — viz., Thomas Joseph Bramah, Esq., of Hariey Gardens, South Kensington, and the Rev. Joseph West Bramah, of Daving- ton Priory, Faversham, Kent. Joseph Bramah, the locksmith's father, lived to a good old age, and was exceedingly proud of his distinguished son. He lived to see hira become a man of eminence, and was never raore happy than when conversing about his numerous inventions. He died in the year iSoo, at his farm, at Stainborough, at the advanced age of 87 years. Bramah's sister, Hannah, Uved many years with Sir John St. Aubyn, of Clowance, CornwaU, and spent the closing years of her life at Thomas AUott's, of Stainborough, one of the family with whom her brother, Joseph, had served his apprenticeship, and died there at a good old age. Richard Bramah, the eldest brother of the inventor, was afterwards the chief representative of the family, in the place of his birth, and continued to reside there until the time of his death, in 1820.* In Silkstone Churchyard the following memorials are to be seen of the family : — " Here lieth the body of Joseph Bramah, of Stainborough, who departed this life, Jan. 23, iSoo, aged 87 years. Also, Mary, his wife, who departed this life, July 2, 1774, aged 64 years. Richard Bramah, son of the above, died July 27, 1820, aged 73 years. * "Jan. 31, 1775. Richard Bramah, of this parish, and Mary Pearson, of Monk Bretton, married." — Silkstone Parish Register. 250 Worthies of Barnsley. Mary, his wife, died 1829. Susannah, their daughter, died 1823, aged 36 years. Sarah, do. 1820, do. 25 do. Frances, do. 182 1, do. 23 do." Lord Strafford always took great interest in the success of Bramah, the son of his old servant and tenant, and patronised him on various occasions, not only in the purchasing of his locks, but other matters. On his patenting the fire engine, his lordship gave an order for one, and had inscribed upon it, " Earl of Strafford, Went worth Castle, 1791." This engine is stiU to be seen at Stainborough, and would appear to have been most substantially raade, for, although nearly a century old, it has recently been repaired, and is in good working order. At the farra, at Stainborough, there was forraerly a picture of the Braraah fire engine (which is now in the possession of Mr. J. Askham, of Barnsley), on which is the following : — " A view of the patent fire engine, invented by Joseph Braraah, engine maker, Piccadilly, near Hyde Park corner, London, inventor of the original patent water closets, which act with valves, so rauch esteeraed for their superior utiUty ; and also pf the patent locks, without wards, which cannot possibly be picked or opened by false keys, etc. Likewise, the inventor of the patent rotary pump, which raises water to any given height, with a constant uniform stream, with out cylinder, piston, or air vessel ; also the patent cocks, for brewers, distillers, etc., on a principle free from all imperfections, and can be made to open and shut water ways of very large dimensions with perfect ease and conveniency, and at an expense which bears no proportion to those on the usual principle.'' Joseph Bramah, the Inventor. 251 We may state that Bramah's works, in Belgrave Place, Pimlico, were described, in 1S17, by a home tourist, as "the manufactory of the ingenious Bramah, whose locks baffle knavery, and whose condensing engines promise such important results to philosophy and the mechanic arts.'' These works, which were 180 feet in length, and amongst the raost unique in Europe, were the scene of a most destructive fire in November, 1843, when in less than half-an-hour the whole of the building was in flames, the damage d!one being very great. It is also deserving of record that the house in Belgrave Place, South Piralico, in which the engineer lived and died, and the large factory behind it, which had been carried on by his descendants until comparatively modern times, were lately leveUed to the ground for the purpose of improvements on the Marquis of Westminster's estate. 252 No X. Sir MilUam anb Xab^' flDari^ arnt^ne. i 1 ||ADY MARY ARMYNE, so distinguished for her piety and charity, was one of the two daughters of Henry Talbot, a younger brother of Gilbert, Earl of Shrewsbury. Her family for some time resided at Monk Bretton Priory, a suitable residence having been prepared out of the buildings of the suppressed Priory. Johnston adds that there was an addition to the buildings of a large staircase and gaUery made by the Earl. To Lady Mary the poor of the district owe the erection and endowment of the almshouses near the ruins ofthe Priory, for six poor widows ; while other parts of the country have also felt the benefit of her charities.* * "Among the benefactors of this period may be honourably distinguished the Lady Mary Armyne. She was a granddaughter of the 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, and a friend of Richard Baxter. As patroness of Rothwell, once forming part of Nostel Priory, she founded almshouses at Monk Bretton, and left a rent charge of ;^44, for 99 years, to be employed in the counties of Derby, Huntingdon, and York. Of this charity, the Rev. Richard Stretton, of Leeds, after wards minister of Haberdashers' Hall, London, was the administrator. Lady JMary Armyne. Sir William and Lady Mary Armyne. 253 The first connection between the Earls of Shrewsbury and Monk Bretton carae about in 1578, when George, the sixth Earl, purchased of Jasper Blythraan, of New Laithes, the site of the Abbey, with the buildings thereon, and about IOO acres of land. This the Earl settled upon his fourth son, Henry Talbot, on his marriage with a daughter of Sir William Rayner.* The youthful pair came to reside and Thoresby, the Yorkshire correspondent." — Congregationalism in Yorkshire, p. 97. Thoresby, in his Diary, June 13, 1695, says : "Afternoon with Mr. H. ; paying Lady Armyne's gift." A note adds, " The money which Thoresby was employed in distributing was probably part of a rent charge of ,^40, for 99 years, which she directed to be appropriated to charitable purposes." In Hunter's Life of Oliver Heywood, p. 392, is the following' allusion to this benefaction : ' ' Lady Mary Armyne, a. daughter of Henry Talbot, brother of Gilbert, Earl of Shrewsbury, a religious and benevolent lady, had bequeathed certain sums of money to be distributed among poor ministers, in the counties, of Huntingdon, Derby, and York, where her estates lay. Mr. Stretton had the chief management of the distribution, and the money for Yorkshire passed through the hands of his friend, Ralph Thoresby, of Leeds, and Thoresby employed the Rev. Oliver Heywood to make the distribution." " Armyne Lady Mary, the wife of Sir William Armyne, was the daughter of Henry Talbot, the fourth son of George, Earl of Shrews bury. She was celebrated for the extent of her theological and historical knowledge, for her liberality to the poor, and for her patronage of North American Missions. She endowed several hospitals, and died in 1674. T.J." — Imperial Dictionary of Biography. * In West's Smyboleography it is stated that a bill in Chancery was filed by Gilbert, Earl of Shrewsbury, against Sir Wm. Raynor, of Overton LongvUe, for ;^l,ooo remaining due of ;^4,ooo which he had promised as a marriage portion with his daughter, whom Henry Talbot had taken to wife. The Earl had settled lands to a large amount on his son, out of which the lady had a right of dower. Sir Wm. Rayner, of Overton LongvUe. WiU dated 27th Oct., 1606, 254 Worthies of Barnsley. here, but their residence, so far as Henry Talbot was con cerned, was a comparatively brief one, for he died in iS9S, at the early age of 33 yearSj leaving a widow and two daughters. Henry Talbot's widow married, for her second husband, Thomas Holcroft, Esq. One of the two daughters married Robert Pierrepont, Earl of Kingston, and the other Sir WUliam Armyne, of Osgodby, Bart. In the partition of the estates of Henry Talbot, Burton Priory became the property of Lady Armyne (who was only an infant at the time of her father's death), whUe the site and possessions of the Priory of St. John's at Pontefract appear to have been a portion of the estate of the Duchess of Kingston."* left lands, etc. at Burton, alias Bretton, alias Burton Monastery to his daughter, dame Elizabeth Holcroft, and the heirs male and female of her body ; in default to his grandchild Mary Talbot and the heirs male of her . body ; and in default to the' right heirs of Henry Talbot, now deceased, late husband to my said daughter; in default to my nephew, Wm. Rayner ; in default to Gertrude Pierrepont. * " When the great Property in this part of the Kingdom which was collected in the house of Talbot became dispersed, the rectory of Cantley passed to the co-heirs of Henry Talbot, a younger son of Earl George. Lady Armyne, one of the daughters of Henry Talbot, presented to the living once. She had no issue. The next presentation was by the Lady Grace Pierrepont, a granddaughter of Gertrude, the other daughter and co-heir of Plenry Talbot, and heiress of Henry, Marquess of Dorchester. She died in 1703." — South Yorkshire, vol. I, p. 83. On the north side of the Church of Holme Pierrepoint is a monument to Lady Armyne's sister, upon which is inscribed — " Here lyeth the illustrious Princess Gertrude, Countess of Kingston, daughter to Henry Talbot, Esq., son to George, late Earl of Shrewsbury. She was married to the most noble and excellent Lord Robert, Earl of Kingston, one of the generals to King Charies the First, in the late unhappy differences, who in that service lost his life. She had by KuiNs OF Monk Bretton Priory, in 1840. Sir William and Lady Mary Armyne. 255 Lady Mary Armyne stood out amongst the foreraost woraen of the age in which she lived, and in an old and scarce book — The Lives of Sundry Eminent Persons in this later age, by the Rev. Samuel Clark, Published in 1683— we find a por trait, and an interesting memoir of her, from which we extract the following : — "This honourable and excellent lady was a branch of one of the most ancient, noble, and illustrious families in England, whether we look to descent, degree, or actions. The famUy of the Talbots, for a long tract of tirae. Earls of Shrewsbury, whose heroic performances, both in civU and miUtary affairs, done by them in their native country, are upon record to the perpetuating of their naraes and renown. . . . . As to her beauty, it was more considerable, even unto old age, than inmost of her date in the world, by which we may judge what it was in the spring of her life. And, ' ' That virtue is of greater grace, That shineth through a beauteous face. "She was ofa lively and active spirit; and herein she was him many children, most dead. There are living, Henry, Marquess of Dorchester ; Wm. and Gervase Pierrepont, Esquires ; and one daughter, the Lady Elizabeth Pierrepont. She was a lady replete with all qualities that adorn her sex ; and more eminent in them than in the greatness of her birth. She was most devout in her duties to God ; most observant in these to her neighbour ; an incomparable wife ; a most indulgent mother ; and most charitable to those in want. In a word, her life was one continued act of virtue : she has left a memory which will never die ; and an example that may be imitated, but not easily equalled. She died in the 6ist year of her age, a.d. 1649, and this riionument was erected to her by her son, Gervase Pierrepont." — " Thoroton's Notts, vol. I, p. 180. 256 Worthies of Barnsley. above ordinary; for even to the close of her days, she was very active and stirring ; able to walk with agiUty and con tinuance, without help of hand or staff". As to her natural parts she was quick, vivacious, and comprehensive in judging of things, even to the last hour of her life. Tho' she was considerably above fourscore years old, yet could she dis course as rationaUy, the very day she died, as others can in the very flourish of their age and life. She had attained to a great skiU and dexterity in the knowledge of all those things which belonged to her sex, degree, and place, which were very numerous, and therefore required such attainments as she had in a high measure arrived at. " She was not without some competent skill in more languages than her native tongue ; particularly in the French and Latin. " She was considerably skilled in divinity and history. In divinity, not only knowing practical things, but was very intelligent in raatters national and polemical or controversial. In history she was well versed, not only in the Jewish and Roman histories ; but especially in the historical part of the sacred scriptures, and ecclesiastical afifairs. " She was one who well understood how to manage her affairs and concerns —whether at a distance or near at hand — to the best advantage, to the last of her days, and that without so much as small miscarriages. " She was of a very obliging deportraent and carriage to the utmost date of her life. In this she was a critic; few could excel or go beyond her. With her humble and courteous carriage and speeches, she obliged all with whom she conversed or had to do. For, as she was the owner of an active body, so of pertinent and pleasing speech; and Sir William and Lady Mary Armyne. 257 this she used to eraploy in the entertainraent of her faraily and visitors, both in health and sickness This honourable lady was of a holy and exeraplary life. She used to affirm that a holy life, and graces of the gospel, did far excel, and were more dignifying than birth, estate, and than all the great and shining titles which the world could bestow. Through God's goodness this pious and ex cellent lady was not Uke a fair house with an Ul inhabitant, but had a noble soul, which dignified aU her other ex cellencies. These and raany other things raised her to a high pitch of greatness, yet none did so much honour and beautify her as her religion. And that which made it the more orient and splendid, was its regularity, universality, and perseverance. " She loved holiness, not only in those of her famUy (choosing her servants by this standard), but also in strangers, which was a good evidence that she loved it for its own sake. She endeavoured to promote and advance religion in others, not only by counsel, conference, admonition, exhortation, etc., but also by many gracious letters, written with her own hands. She used to give good books to sorae, and raoney to others, to draw on and encourage them in their progress towards the kingdom of heaven. She gave large yearly con tributions to promote the carrying on of the work begun in New England for the conversion of the poor Indians in those parts, and this she continued, even to her dying day ; and of the success of that undertaking she had an annual account, to her rejoicing. "When that fatal Bartholomew Day came, wherein so many hundreds of godly, able and painful ministers were ejected, to the undoing of themselves, their wives, and children, and 258 Worthies of Barnsley. aU other ways being prohibited whereby they might get a subsistence, out of sympathy, and coramiseration of their sad and deplorable condition, some few days after she came to Mr. Edmund Calamy, and brought him five hundred pounds (at which time I also was with him), to be distributed amongst the most indigent and necessitous familes of them. " She did highly reverence and esteera godly ministers ; yea, she had great respect to such of thera as were of the lower form, and of raeaner gifts, if she observed thera to be serious and industrious. She demeaned herself with very much gravity and humUity in God's house of prayer, and never mentioned the naraes of God or of Christ but with a reverential awe upon her spirit. " She was frequent and constant in giving to charitable uses. She in her life time erected and endowed some alms houses in three several counties ; and upon special occasions gave away many large sums of money upon charitable ac counts. She was not weary in well doing whilst she lived, and at her death left forty pounds per annum for four score and nineteen years for the like uses. "A learned and experienced minister, who lived not far from her, was sometiraes with her. The occasion of his going and his business with her, cannot be better expressed than in his own words, which I will therefore here set down. " ' Though (saith he) I was seldom with her myself, yet these fifteen years I lived so near unto her, as that I might easily have heard the noise of fame, if she had laid under any manner of scandal ; but such was her holy and blaraeless life, that obtrectation itself durst not so much as nibble at it. Sir William and Lady Mary Armyne. 259 " 'That little converse I had with her gave me opportunity to know her more intimately than many that did but hear her blameless and pious conversation. For her business with me was no other than to open the state of her soul, and to confess her infirmities, and to produce her evidence for heaven, and to desire my judgment, together with my •counsel for her further strength and corafort ; and to ask my advice concerning such works of public good, which she charitably intended, and did afterwards liberally perform. After this, those about her had some hopes of her recovery, but she, hearing of Mr. Baxter's troubles, sent her servant to him to hear of his case, before whose return to her she was dead. " ' Though she sprang from an ancient and honourable family, inclined to the Romish sect, yet God was her teacher, and did confirm her, not only in the Protestant religion, but also in the true love of practice and seriousness in that religion which she professed. Though according to her rank, she lived in the decency of a plentiful estate, it was accompanied with humility and lowliness of mind. Her prudence, sobriety, and gravity were very exemplary ; and her impartiality in loving all that were truly Christians was signal. Yet she much disliked their divisions and con tentious wranglings. She took it to be no countenancing of schism (as some do) to relieve such servants of Christ in their distress, as men accuse and afflict as schismaticks, though she was an adversary to schism. When she first heard of above eighteen hundred ministers ejected and silenced. Anno Christi 1662, and deprived Of all ways and ineans of subsistence for themselves and farailies, she gave freely a considerable sum of money towards the relieving of 26o Worthies of Barnsley. the most necessitous of them (as I have stated before), and the good works which she did before her death, we hope, will live, and declare themselves, and be an encouragement to others, that are entrusted by God with riches, to follow her example, and not to make themselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness.' " The Monk Bretton almshouses were founded in 1654. On a tablet surmounted by the arms of Lady Mary, is the following inscription : — ¦ " Dame Mary Talbot, widow to Sir William Armyne, baronet, 2nd daughter and co-heire of Henry Talbot, son of the illustrious George Talbot, Earle of Shrewsbury, and Elizabeth, daughter and heir of Sir William Rayner, of Overton LongvUe, in the county of Huntingdon, Knt., who out of her pious charitie hath erected this house for the relief and comfort of six poore widowes of this parish of Burton, with allowance of forty shillings and a gowne every year. Anno Domini i6s4- Soli Laus Dei." * These almshouses consist of six cottages, occupied by six poor widows, each of whom receives 40s. a year (which forms a rent charge upon the estate), and ten shillings a year in lieu of a gown. Lady Mary Armyne died in 1675, * "August 10, 1 68 1. Copied an inscription upon an hospital of the virtuous Lady Armyne at Burton Grange. "May 30th, 1684. Passed by Burton Grange, where is an hospital founded (with two others in different counties) by the religious and charitable Lady Mary Armyne."— Diary of Ralph Thoresby, vol. i. P- 97- Sir William and Lady Mary Armyjie. 261 at the advanced age of upwards of So years, having be queathed Burton Grange estate to Sir Gervase Pierrepont, the fourth son of her sister, the Countess of Kingston Lady Mary was the second wife of Sir WiUiam Armyne ; his first wife being Elizabeth, only daughter of Sir Michael Hickes, Knt., by whom he had issue a son, Sir WUliam Arrayne, his successor, and at least two daughters. One of these, it wUl be seen frora the subjoined note, married Sir Henry Bel lasis, K.B. Susanna* — for that was her name — is said to have intrigued with the Duke of York. She 'was a person of very high connections, and was created in 1674, Baroness Bellasis, of Osgodby, for life. On some question being raised as to the legality of the birth of the son of James IL, Lady Bellasis was one of the witnesses called to depose to the fact, along with the Queen Dowager and others.t * " Sir Henry Bellasis having made some wastein his estate, his father, my Lord Bellasis, advised him of thinking to repair it by getting a rich wife, he having now continued a young widower three years. This counsel and his circumstances made him marry a young lady, daughter to my Lady Annyne, worth ;^i,ooo per annum ; but his inclinations were so extremely set on another lady. Miss Gertrude Pierrepont (her cousin), that he could never remove them from thence all the time that he lived, though he married the other, and used to say that since he could not marry her nobody else should ; for he could not think of any man enjoying her but himself." — Memoirs of Sir John Reresby, p. 60. " Susanna, daughter and co-heiress of Sir WiUiam Armyne, of Osgod by, Bart. She married Sir Henry Bellasis, K.B., eldest son of John, Lord Bellasis, who was killed during his father's lifetime. She is said to have intrigued with James II. , who created her in consequence, in 1674, Baroness Bellasis, of Osgodby, for life. She subsequently married — Fortrey, of Chequers, Esq., whom she survived. She died March 6, 1713." — The Ellis Correspondence, vol. n., p. 257. t After the death of the Duchess of York, the Duke in the following year, 1673, began to look out for another wife. Lady Bellasis, Sir WilUam Armyne's daughter, being now a widow, the Duke made his 262 Worthies of Barnsley. In the " Character of Sir Wra. Arrayne, Bart., by Christopher Shute, B. D., given in Meraorials and Characters, together with the lives of divers erainent and worthy persons, 1741," it is said that he was an affable, friendly, and obliging gentleraan, winning and gaining upon all that came near hira. He died in January, 1657, and was buried on the I Sth of the sarae month in the church of Lenton, in Lincolnshire. His funeral sermon was preached and de dicated to Sir Michael Armyne, Bart., his brother, and printed in London in i6s8. addresses to her. Burnet tells us that she so much gained on the Duke of York that he gave her a promise under his hand to marry her. The King heard of this engagement, and " sent for the Duke, and told him it was too much ; that he had played the fool once ; that was not to be done a second time, and at such an age. The lady was also so threat ened that she gave up the promise, but kept an attested copy of it, as she herself told me." — Bishop Burnet, in " History of his O-wn Times,'' The Earl of Kimberley, writing to the Times in January, 1880, refer ring to the statement of Bishop Burnet, that Lady Bellasis had kept a copy of the promise of the Duke of York (James II.) to marry her says : — "A gentleman, now dead, long solicitor to my family, told me that this copy was in the possession of my great grandfather, the first Lord Wodehouse, and that he had frequently seen it. It has since dis appeared, and is believed to have been burnt with other papers of interest. The patent creating her a peeress is in my possession. She was daughter and co-heiress of Sir WiUiam Armyne. Her other sister married Sir Thomas Wodehouse, from whom I am descended." As a reward. Lady Bellasis received a peerage for life, and from the above letter it would seem clear that she also received a handsome pecuniary reward. It would also seem as if, despite the ill-favour of her father-in-law, whom, Burnet tells us, reported her engagement with the Duke to the King, she was received into great favour at the Court of King James, for, in the correspondence of the Princess Anne of Denmark (July 24, Sir William and Lady Mary Armyne. 263 There is the following notice of Sir William in Noble's Lives of the English Regicides, p. 67 : — " Sir William Armyne was created a Baronet by King Jaraes I., Nov. 2Sth, 1619, in the Ufetime of his father. Sir WiUiam Armyne, of Osgodby, knight. He early declared for the cause of Parliaraent, who placed the greatest confidence in him, naming him one of their Commissioners to attend the King when his Majesty went towards the Scots ; but his real office was that of a spy upon the actions of his sovereign, whilst the 1688), we find in answer to one of the queries of the Princess of Orange, it mentioned "that among the women that were present at the birth of the Prince of Wales (June lo, l688) were Lady Peterborough, Lady Bellasis, Lady Arran, etc. , etc. ; all these stood as near as they could. " Lady Bellasis assisting the midwife. There were some in those times who, probably, if they had known all, or even as much as Bishop Burnet did, would have said that she might safely have been trusted in by the King. The following account of an affair in which Sir Henry Bellasis was mixed up is abridged from the Mercurius Publicus of the day (Feb., 1661-2): — Charles Lord Buckhurst, Edward Sackville, Esq., his brother; Sir Henry Belasyses, K. B., eldest son of Lord Belasyses ; John Belasyses, brother to Lord Fauconberg; and Thomas Wentworth, Esq., only son of Sir George Wentworth, whilst in pursuit of thieves near Waltham Cross, mortaUy wounded an innocent tanner naraed Hoppy, whom they had endeavoured to secure, suspecting him to have been one of the robbers ; and as they took away the money found on his person, under the idea that it was stolen property, they were soon after apprehended on the charge of robbery and murder, but the grand jury found a bill for manslaughter only. They were acquitted."— /"f/j/' J Diary, vol. i. p. 328. Sir Henry was, however, killed in a duel with a Groom of the Chamber to Charles II., in 1667, when Lady Bellasis was left a widow. The time of her ladyship's birth seems uncertain, but she lived to a good old age, and she seems in part to have verified the prophecy of her medical men, as Dr. Fraser quoted from a letter of Dean Swift's to Mrs. Dingley, referring to her death late in the reign of Queen Anne. 264 Worthies of Barnsley. royal army lay before Newark in 1645 ; and upon the news of Lord Fairfax having been defeated in the north, the ParUament in great fear sent him, with Sir Henry Vane, junior, and two others, Mr. MarshaU and Mr. Nye," puritan divines, to desire that the brethren of Scotland would instandy corae to their assistance. It was an office the Earl of Rutland avoided sharing, by pleading indisposition, and Lord Grey of Wark resolutely declined, though he was im prisoned in the Tower for his disobedience to their raan date. Sir William Armyne also assisted at some of the con ferences for peace as one of the Parliament Commissioners ; he was appointed, with others, in 1646, to receive the king at Holdenby, but this he declined. He was also named one of the Comraittee for the parts about Kesteven, the South west division of Lincolnshire.* Obedient as he had been to the Parliament, and though he had taken the Protestation, yet he avoided coraraitting himself in the king's death, never attending any of the sit tings in the High Court of Justice, though named one of the judges. This, however, did not make him forfeit the good opinion of the usurping powers, who knew his conse quence with all around hira, and his sincere aversion to the * "Parliament solicited a Commission of each house to attend the King to Scotland. Tne King decUned to grant such Commission, but gave the members appointed leave to attend upon him. Accordingly, Lord Howard, of Escrick, from the Lords, and Hampden, Fiennes, Sir Philip Stapleton, and Sir WiUiam Armyne, from the Commons, followed the King into Scotland, and kept up a correspondence with the Par liament during the greater part of his stay there. — loth Aug. 1641." — J^erney Papers, p. 1 16. Sir William and Lady Mary Armyne. 265 royal cause. For these reasons he was elected a raember ofthe CouncU of State in the years 1649-so and 1651. By Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Michael Hickes, of Beverton, in Co. of Gloucester, Knt., he had Colonel WUliam Armyne, a Parliament officer, and equally averse to the royal cause as his father ; he succeeded to the tide, but leaving only daughters, it became extinct." Sir William Armyne would appear at one tirae to have had possession of the Coucher Book of Monk Bretton Priory, as will be seen from the following curious record from Mr. Le Neve's collections : — " Sir Francis Wortiey, Bart., and Sir WiUiam Armyne, Knt. and Bart., were caUed upon to deliver up the books of the monastery in a public office of record, where every man might have free access to come unto them at their liberties and pleasure, which said books are conceyved raeerely and properly to be the king's records and evidences, and not of anie private subjects, of what estate or condition soever. These are, therefore, to will and require you to deliver unto the said John Rawson such Coucher book or books of the said monasteries and abbies aforesaid as shall remayne in your custodyes betwixt this and the feast of the birth of our Lord God next coraing, to reraayne in the said house of evidences amongst the rest of his Majestie's records, as well for the use and benefitt of his Majestie as of his subjects, as occasion shall require. Hereof fail not, as you will answer the contrarie at your perills, and that you and every of you respectively take notice of this our current warrant being shown unto you and a true coppie thereof being left with you. — From FuUam House, the 28th day of July, 1627." In a note in Dodsworth's MSS. it is stated that Sir 266 Worthies of Barnsley. Williara Arrayne hath this book, and that Sir Francis Bur det, of Birthwaite, has transcribed some charters therefrom.* The following is inserted in it : — " In this book are noted or transcribed all the charters of feoffments, confirmations, and quit clayraes of whatsoever condition, which belong, or by any title may belong, to the house of St. Mary Magdalen, of Bretton, and to the prior and convent of the same place, of St. Benet's order, of the diocese of York, there serving God." This is now among the Lansdowne MSS. iti the British Museum, and has at the end the foUowing : — " IO small pages. 90 greater pages. May 6, 1633. W. Armyne." On the opposite leaf in pencil is — "In 1704, Peter le Neve saw this MSS. in the hands of the heir of Millington, bookseller, of London." {See MS. Harl., 4757, p. 98). At the beginning of the MS. is the following : In 1633 this MS. belonged to Sir WiUiam Armyne, knt. ; it was sold in 1 709 to Walter Clavel, Esq., and at his auction was sold to James Wert, Esq., the present owner, 1763. The Burton Grange estate remained in the family untU * Sir Francis Burdet, who lived at Birthwaite Hall in the early part of the 17th century, wouldv appear to have had antiquarian tastes. In the Lansdowne MSS. in the British Museum, are many pages of notes in manuscript by Sir Francis. There is little that is now valuable in these notes, but they show* Burdet to have been a reader of charters and chartularies, amongst others, Nostel, Pontefract, and Monk Bretton. Dodsworth says that old Mr. Rockley, of Rockley, had a hand in the compilation of Vincent's Discovery of Errors, which is given in the first edition of the Catalogue of Nobility, published by Ralph Brooke, York Herald, in 1619. At this early period we appear to have had men of taste and learning in the district around Barnsley. Sir William and Lady Mary Armyne. 267 178s, when the site of the monastery, with the estate attached, was bought by the guardians of Sir George Womb well for upwards of _;^3o,ooo. When Lady Armyne came to Burton Grange she was accorapanied by a family of gentry named Milner, ancestors of the MUners of Meersbrook and Thurlstone, and there they resided for many generations, and were much connected with the early afifairs of the dis trict. They were previously of Heclocton, in the county of Nottingham, of which place George MUner married a sister of Sir William Rayner, of Overton-Longvile, whose daughter Henry Talbot married. 268 No. XI. IRobert Ibolgate, Hrcbbisbop of l^orF?. N the short notices published of this distinguished prelate, it has always been stated that he was a native of Hemsworth, and that he was born about the year 1500. That he was a native of Hemsworth there is little doubt, and a house in the village, which tradition pointed to as the house in which he was born — a very poor one — was pulled down about the year 1808 ; but it is remarkable that so little should have come down to us respecting one that attained such eminence, and conferred such great benefits upon the district. Of his early life and connections very little is known beyond the fact that he was of good faraUy and brought up a monk. We know that Holgates were living at Stapleton, South Kirkby, Clayton- cum-Frickley, Grimethorpe, and Brierley, all in the immediate district of Hemsworth, in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries; and that they were of the same family there is little reason to doubt. Henry Holgate, a brother of the prelate, was of Clayton, and Thomas, a son Robert Holgate, Archbishop of York. Robert Holgate, Archbishop of York. 269 of this Henry, was, on the inquisition taken at the Arch bishop's death, declared to be his next heir. Hopkinson, in his Genealogical Collections, gives a pedigree of the faraily of Holgate of Stapleton, in which Robert, the prelate, occurs as third son of Thomas Holgate, by Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Champernowne. The eldest brother of the Arch bishop, according to this authority, was John, who married Annabella, daughter of Richard Beaumont, of Whitiey; the next brother, Edward, would appear to have been unmarried, while the one sister which is given, married Thoraas Nettieton, of ThornhiU. John Holgate had a son Henry, who married a Jackson of Snydale, and had a son, Thomas (described as of Stapleton), who married Catherine, daughter of Bartholomew Trigott, of South Kirkby. A Robert Holgate, of South Kirkby — and this place is not more than two miles from Hemsworth — made his wiU on the 2nd December, 1523, and left his body to be buried in the bell- house of the Church at South Kirkby. He mentions his sons, Christopher and WiUiam, and leaves to his niece Jennett Holgate (daughter of the said Christopher), 3s. 4d. He gives to his son John, all his goods, and makes him executor, and he is " to find Margaret, my wief, one farme- hold, and honestly mete and drynk for her lief." '" A Thomas Holgate was Mayor of Pontefract in iS53; and in 1619, a William Holgate, of Pontefract, gent., made his will, giving his soul to God, and his body to be buried in the Parish Church of All Hallows, in Pontefract. t There was a George Holgate of Stapleton in the time of * Dodsworth's MSS. 99, fol. 187b. t BoothroyiPs Pontefract, pp. 358, 453. 270 Worthies of Barnsley. James I. A George Holgate of Brierley was assessed to the amount of J,2 under that township in the Subsidy Roll of 1663 ; and at the time of Dugdale's "Visitation, in i66s, this George Holgate was returned as being contumacious, that is for not having appeared before the Herald to register his arms and pedigree,* and a little later George Holgate, and Anne, his wife, Robert Holgate, and Anne and Mary Holgate, the two latter being described as spinsters, and all of Brierley, were charged with being recusants, and with not attending Church, and punished accordingly. The family of Morris, of North Elrasall, was connected with that of Holgate by marriage. Matthias Morris of North Elrasall was married twice ; by his first wife he had, among other children, John Morris, who was governor of Pontefract Castle in 1648; and to his second wife," Jane, daughter of George Holgate, of Grimethorpe, he had Matthias, Wentworth, Richard, and Sarah. A John Holgate, who would no doubt belong to Grimethorpe, married " Helin Seaton, on 3rd December, 1666." A family bearing the same name, and claiming a descent from, or a relationship to Holgate, is now living in Lincoln shire, several raerabers thereof having been during the last ISO years, English clergyraen. With regard to the prelate's age — that he was born about the year isoo, as has been invariably stated, is an error, as shown by the articles and petition he submitted to the Queen in 15SS, wherein he gives his age at 68, which makes the year of his birth 1487. He would therefore be older than has generally been supposed. Another point on * Sie Dugdale's Visitation, (Surtees Soe. Pub),, vol. xv. Robert Holgate, Archbishop of York. 271 which there has always been great raystery, has be^n his death and burial. The popular tradition has always been, that on his fall the prelate retired to Herasworth, and that there, after living a short time in retirement, he died, and was buried, and a large white marble slab, without inscription, found imbedded under the altar table in Hemsworth Church many years since, during some alterations, was believed to have covered his reraains. But the fact is he died— and it is to a MS. note of Mr. Hunter's, that we are indebted for this inforraation — in London, in the parish of St. Sepulchre, on the isth Noveraber, 1S55, as wiU shortiy be seen, and no doubt he would, according to his wish, be buried in the parish in which he died. Of Holgate's early life littie is known. He became, we are told, a Canon of the order of St. GUbert of Sempring- ham, in Lincolnshire, and was probably educated in the house of that Order, within the University of Carabridge, though it has been said he was of St. John's CoUege. He at one time held the benefice of Cadney, in Lincolnshire, where Sir Francis Ayscough, one of his parishioners, proved very troublesome to him, by coramencing a vexatious lawsuit against him, which caused him to quit his living and go to London.* He there found means to be introduced to * There is a story told by Sir John Harrington, of Holgate, when Lord President of the Council, which, if true, shows him to have been of a more forgiving temper than his predecessor, Wolsey, in a case some what parallel. " Sir Francis Ayscough, the knight before mentioned, who had given Holgate trouble, and been the means of his resigning his benefice at Cadney, happened to have a suit depending in that court. Doubting much of hard measure from the Lord President, whose adver sary he had been, he gave up his cause for lost. Contrary, however, to his expectations, he found Holgate, according to justice, to stand up in 272 Worthies of Barnsley. court ; and " as he was a man of merit according to the taste of those times," he was made one of the King's chap lains.* He was constituted one of the preachers to the University in is 24, and was afterwards made Master ofthe Order of Sempringham, and Prior of the house of Watton in Yorkshire. In 1536-7 he was elected Bishop of Llandaff, to which he was consecrated in the chapel of St. Mary, in the Conventual Church of Friar preachers of the City of London, by John, Bishop of Rochester, by virtue of letters comraissional from the Archbishop ; John, Bishop of Bangor, and Nicholas, Bishop of Sarum assisting.t His election vi^as confirmed by the Crown, 19th March, 1536-7, at which time he was empowered by royal licence to retain the mastership of Sempringham, and the priory of Watton in commendem. He obtained the degree of D.D., by special grace in 1537, and with the sub-prior, and seven canons, the prioress, sub- prioress, and eleven nuns, surrendered the house of Watton to the King on the 9th Dec, 1539. Whether Holgate con nived at the suppression of his house, and played into the hands of the King, we cannot say, but it has been said that he did, for he was at once preferred to the see of Llandaff ; favour of him, by which means he gained his cause ; the prelate saying merrily to some of his friends that he was more obliged to Sir Francis than any man in England ¦; for had it not been for his pushing him to London he had lived a poor priest all his days." This Sir Francis Ayscough was High Sheriff of Lincolnshire in 1545, 1549, and 1554. He was buried in Stallingborough Church, Lincoln shire. (Anne Ayscough, or Askew, burnt in 1546 for denying the transubstantiation, was of the same family. ) — See Gentleman's Magazine, 1830., ii., 592-5, by the Rev. George Oliver, D.D. * Dodd's Cliurch History, vol. i. p. 373. t Drake's Eboracum, pp. 452-3. Athence Cantab. Robert Holgate, Archbishop of York. 273 at the same time no fewer than ten other abbots and priors being preferred to other bishoprics.* There is an original letter (Harl. MSS., 37, B. 2) from Cuthbert Tunstall, Bishop of Durham, to Thomas Cromwell, Lord Privy Seal, desiring his lordship's favour to Robert Holgate, Bishop of Llandaff", in the cause between him and William Griffyth, some time Prior reraovable of St. Katharine's besides Lincoln. This letter is dated frora York on the first day of March, 1536-7. There is also a letter to Bishop Holgate (Cotton MSS. Cleopatra E. W.f. i) from Crorawell, vicar general, dated Jan. 7, 153S-9, with the King's letters, in which the bishop is enjoined " to the intent that the people raay be taught the truth, and yet not charged at the beginning with over many novelties. "t There is another * " Ifthe abbot or prior was refractory, the difficulty was got over by displacing him, and substituting one who would be pliant enough for the visitors' purpose, as in the case of the Monastery of Evesham, from which Abbot Lichfield was thrust out to make room for Abbot Harford, a young monk, who surrendered the house directly, and thus obtained a pension of £2\o a year, and was afterwards made Dean of Worcester. Sometimes pliant bishops were made abbots for the same object, or abbots rewarded with bishoprics on their engagement to surrender, as it is plain from the dates was the case with [Holgate, Bishop of Llandaff, and four other who are named]. If they did not show any of this pliant spirit, and where any disloyalty could be proved, they were made short work of." — Blunt's Reformation, pp. 338. t ' ' After my reight hartey comendations to yor lordshipp ye shall herew* receive the Kings hieghnes Ires addressed vnto you to put you in remembraunce of his hieghnes travaell and yo' dieutey tochinge ordre to be taken for preachinge to thintente the people male be taught the truthe & yet not charged at the begynynge w' ower manney novelties the publication wherof onles the same be tempered & quallified w< moche wisdome do rather brede contention (Devision) and contrariety in opinion in the vnlerned multitude than either edifie or remove from 19 274 Worthies of Barnsley. letter {Burnet, Part i., Coll. p. 183) from Lord CromweU to the Bishop, giving him instructions as to how he should pro ceed in the Reformation. them and out of their hartes such abuses as by the corrupte & vnsauery teaching ofthe bishoppe of Rome & his disciples have crept in the same the effecte of which Ires albeit I doubte not but as well for the honestie of the matter as for yo' owne discharge ye will so considre ande put in execution as shalbe to his graceis satisfactione in that behalf yet fforasmoche as it hathe pleased his majestie tappdinte & constitute me in the rome and place of his supreme & principaU mynestre in all matiers that male toche aneythinge his clergie or their doing I thought it allso my parte for the exoneracion of my dieutey towarde his hieghnes. & rather to aunswer to his graces expectacon opinion and truste con ceived in me and in that amonge other committed to my fidellitie to desire & praie you in suche substanciall sorte and manner to traveU in thexecution of the contentes of his graces saied Ires namelifor avoidinge of contrarietie in preachinge (of) the pronunciation of Novelties withoute wise & discrite qualification and the repression of the temerites of those that eyther prively or apertly dyrectly or indirectli wold advaunce the pretendyd authoritie of the bishop of Rome As I be nott for my dis charge both enforced to complaine further and to declare what I have now writton vnto you for that purpose (and for ?) to charge you w' your owne faulte & to devise such remedy for the same as shall appteigne Desiringe yor lordship to accepte my meanynge herein tendinge onli to an honest freendli and Chren reformation for avoidinge of further in convenience and to think no unkindness though in this matier wherin it is all mooste moore then to speake I write frankli compelled and en forced therunto bothe inrespecte of my private Dieutie and otherwise for my discharge forasmuche as it pleasithe his majestie to use me in the lieu of a counsaiUor whose office is (as) an eye to the prince to forsee and in tyme to provyde remedy for suche abuses enormyties and incon veniencies as myeghts ells wythe a litle sufferaunce engendre moore yvell in his publique weal than could be after redoubled w' moche labor study Diligence and travaill And thus most hartely fare youe well ffrom the RouUes the vij of January " Yo' lordshipps ffrend "Thorns Crumwell." Robert Holgate, Archbishop of York. 275 Holgate, in 1537, was one ofa Commission, consisting of 46 persons, including all the bishops, eight archdeacons, and seventeen doctors of divinity, appointed " for the pur pose of searching and perusing Holy Scripture, and setting forth a plain and sincere doctrine concerning the whole sum of these things which appertain unto the profession of a Christian man, that errors and superstitions might be re moved," and their labours resulted in a work entitled, " The Institution of a Christian Man," a work intended to promote unity, and to instruct the people in Church doctrine.* There is also a letter from Holgate, as Bishop of Llandaff", to the Lord Privy Seal, dated Watton, nth January, 1538, informing his lordship as to the state of the officers of the borders, " who be meete and well deserving, and who be unfitt for their places," and signed (i^ao^^f1 10. o ; Tho : Wood, ;^r5 o. o ; John Bell, ;^3 6. o ; Lawrence Kenidy, £1 3. o ; Mrs. Hargrave, £ii, 10. o; Robert Downing, £<) 4. o; Stainburgh Law and Woods, ;^7o o. o ; Mrs. Hacket, ^4 o. o ; Cottages— John Wood, ;^o 15. o ; Andrew Rawdrey, £0 lo. o ; Tho. Smith, ;^o 10 o ; Richard Turton, ;fo 5. o ; Sum Total ;^66i. 6. 9. "The Right Honble. Lord Raby's Bill upon his Lord ship's Purchase of Staynbrough :— £ '¦ d. " Drawing a long abstract of the Title for Mr. P. WiUiam's perusall ; and after the Deeds of Purchase were Executed, severall other deeds relating to the Title were sent me by Mr. Gilbert and Mr. Carrington, some whereof I had not till 4 or 5 months after my Lord left England, wch put me to the trouble of making a new abstract longer than the other, which new abstract I copyed fair to be kept with ye title deeds. (Weeke's time) 02 10 00 " Drawing the severall Draughts 01 10 00 "ffor Ingrossing the Lease for a year, and the Release from Henry and John Cutler to the Lord Raby 03 00 00 " ffor Ingrossing the Bargaine and Sale to be Inrolled in Chancery to the Lord Raby from Henry and John Cutler - 01 00 00 " Acknowledging of it before the Master 00 05 00 " Paid for InroUing of it 01 10 06 " ffee in examining and attending - 00 03 04 " ffor Ingrossing the Bargaine and Sale to be Inrolled in Yorkshire 00 lo 00 330 Worthies of Barnsley. of his obnoxious relative, Mr. Watson Wentworth, only sorae five raUes distant. It wUl be seen frora the following letter, which contains some interesting particulars, that Lord Raby was not satisfied with his position abroad. It is addressed to General Cadogan from Berlin, i6th February, 1709.* "... I need not remind you of my misfortune of growing old in a foreign country, being in inaction when aU the world are in arms and seeking honour; and that I have served constantly from 16 years of age in the army, and have lost 3 brothers I need not either tell you that my coming hither was at the Duke of Marl borough's request, nor that his Grace did not only promise, but swore to me he would take care it should be to my ' ' ffor Ingrossing the Assignment of ye 500 years to Cap tain Ellison, in trust for my Lord OI 10 00 " ffor making attested Copyes of severall Deeds, WiUs, and Writings, the original remaining in Mr. Cutler's hands 02 00 00 ' ' Payd for Searching at ye Chappell of ye Rolls for an antient Deed _ 00 01 00 " ffee for same 00 03 04 " ffor Stamp Duty and Parchment 01 12 06 "Attending Mr. Gilbert and Mr. Silvester at their houses severall times 00 13 04 " Coach hire to ye Cockpit with ye Writings 00 oi 00 ;^i6 10 00 " 16 Feb., 1708. " Received of Mr. Ellison, ye summe of Sixteen Pounds Ten Shillings in full of the Contents of this Bill. "P. W. Williams." Indorsed — " Ye i8th Feb., 1708. Lord Raby paid Mr. WiUiams for making Deeds, &c., relating to Mr. Cutler's Estate, ^16 los. ood." * " Tlie Wentworth Papers," pp. 20-3. The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 331 advantage ; and if after I had been here three years I desired it, I might return again to the army. . . . This he told me in the House of Lords, and gave me a week's time to consider whether I would come hither or no, and pressed me again to it, before I took the resolution. He presented me to the Queen, saying more in ray favour than I deserved I need not repeat what passed when I was two years ago in the array, nor how my staying there with his Grace's approbation had Uke to turn to my greatest misfortune. You know aU the intrigues that passed at that time concerning me, and tho' great pains had been taken here as well as in England, to show me that my Lord Duke was entirely for removing me from this Court, yet I can protest to you I was so far from taking it iU, that con sidering the information he had from hence and from Holland, that I thought him extremely in the right had things been as they were represented to him Since I returned from England I have complained to him (the Duke) that I could not obtain one distinguishing mark of Her Majesty's approbation of ray services, though she received me the kindliest imaginable, and gave me all the assurances I could desire of her satisfaction and inclination to recompense me. The two things I desired were indeed but feathers, and one a sort of right, which was to be a Privy Councillor, which no Ambassador was ever refused ; and tho' both the Queen and Lord Treasurer promised it me when the Embassy was ended, yet I own I had much rather it had been done then, which was all I writ to the Duke about that matter but the other, of being made Earl of Strafford, is what a word's speaking may get done for me now, and with being the head of the 332 Worthies of Barnsley. Wentworth family, who has so much deserved the keeping of that title in it, I have a very good pretension to ask it ; since the Duke's only objection formerly was that I had not estate eno' to support it, and that I have now ^4000 a year of my own, I think this is no more an objection. Nay, I have bought a pretty estate very nigh him who the late Lord Strafford made his heir, which with what I had before in that county, I have almost as rauch land in Yorkshire as he has, and ara sure I have a much better interest in that county ; nor can I think the consideration of him can be any bar to me, since he can have no pretensions like mine, and is one that has been and ever will be against the court and the rainistry, let them do what they can for him . . . " I know 'tis thought by many that I have a fine post here, but I am weary of it. I grow old in a strange country, and am forgot by my friends in England ; besides, I lose my interest in the House of Lords, where I might say, without vanity, I had more interest when I came away than any young lord in England. And what do I get here ? I spend more than the Queen's pay, and see no prospect of getting out honourably. My Lord Duke takes no notice of designing me one of the Plenipotentiaries at the general peace to which I have aU the right imaginable. In England all the good places are given as soon as they fall, that an absent man can get nothing; and in the Army the Duke seems not inclined to let me come again, tho' I would subscribe to anything he should propose, if he would let me serve again. Here I want aU your friendship, for God's sake, counsel me what I shall do. I would not be importunate to my Lord Duke, and I would not live in despair. Let my Lord but say whether he ever thinks of me, or what he designs to do The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 333 for me, how long he would have me continue here, and if he thinks me so arrantly good for nothing that I never could be able to make any figure in my own country, and whether amongst so many servants so great a man as he raust have, I raay not be thought capable to be one. England is upon such a foot that the greatest and best raen can't have too many friends. My great-uncle, my Lord Strafford, left it as a maxim to our family, that an Englishman can't have too many friends, and that people in power should not disoblige the least groom, since no man can tell how things may turn, for, said he, at the time of his trial. Lord, how many do I see who I thought most insignificant, who now sits the heaviest upon me ... I must conclude with protesting that if I am so unfortunate as that at last I must find myself baulked of all ray hopes, after spending ray youth, hazarding daily my life, losing my brothers and not bettering my fortune by the service, I can retire contentedly, and live upon what my birth gave me, even if I should lose what the late King, my great and glorious master, gave me ; and, pray believe me, the uncertainty of my circumstances now makes ine more uneasy than the being reduced to live at last upon what I have can make me then, since I am satisfied I have not raerited either distrust or neglect from any one, especially from my Lord Duke of Marlborough, whom I have ever truly loved and honoured." Although always in such high favour with the Queen, Lord Raby had raany eneraies. He was a bitter political opponent of the Duke of Mariborough, and we are told by Coxe, in his Life of Marlborough, that his Grace " had long lamented the violence and indiscretion of his lordship, whose 334 Worthies of Barnsley. captious spirit had been to him a perpetual source of disquietude." In a letter from the Duke of Marlborough to his Duchess, dated June 13th, 1709, he says : " As to what you write as to 74 (Lord Raby) being impertinent is very true, but if he were not named it would be unjust, and I think there will be very little honour since he must continue where he is, and not sign. I know him to be impertinent and insignificant ; but if he should be left out it would look like malice, and that should be avoided." * " Mariborough paid a visit to the King of Prussia, where his presence, it is said, was peculiarly necessary, to counter act the petty intrigues of Lord Raby, who not only endeavoured to sway the Prussian Court, but imprudently threw reflections on the conduct of the ministers attached to England, by representing them as sacrificing the interests of Prussia to gratify the Duke of Marlborough. It would have been easy to procure the recall of a minister who was personally disagreeable to the King, and disliked by the Court, but it was difficult to fill his place, as well from his connections and interest with the Grand Chamberlain, as from the rank and diplomatic abUities and favour with his Sovereign." .... " But Marlborough overlooked his own complaints, and laboured to restore Lord Raby to such * "The Duke of Marlborough to Lord Godolphin. May 31, 1709. ' Mr. de Cardonnel tells me that Lord Raby is so very desirous of having his name in the treaty of peace that he will be contented to stay in Berlin, and consequently have no equipage raoney. I have bid hira (de Cardonnell) write to him, so that he may explain himself, and if it cost the Queen nothing, he being the only ambassador, I think his name should be inserted, though he is a very coxcomb.'" — Bolingbroke' s Correspondence, Vol. ii., pp. 322-3. The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 335 a cordiality with those whom he had offended, as might enable him to fulfil the object of his mission ; and although he could not obliterate, he suspended the effects of their mutual jealousies. He also, we are told, prevailed on the King to desist from his instances for the removal of so obnoxious a minister."* " The interference of Marlborough," the same writer continues, " could alone obviate the mischiefs arising from this combination of jarring interests, and his interposition was attended with the usual effect. A single letter from him appeared to pacify the King of Prussia ; while the Chamber lain and his lady either obtained a partial gratification, or yielded to the change of sentiment which they perceived in their Sovereign. Lord Raby was awed by that raaster spirit which habit had taught him to respect, and we find his letters soon resuming the language of compliraent and adulation." Lord Raby's embassy at Berlin terminated in March, 1 7 1 1 , on his appointment as Lord Townshend's successor in the simUar but much more important capacity at the Hague. Bolingbroke, writing to Mr. Drummond, February gth, in that year, says : — " My Lord Raby raust succeed him. The Queen had promised to call that minister to this employ raent ; and she does not think fit to give hira the mortifica tion of a disappointment. The warmth which you apprehend in hira, we will take care to cool ; and upon the whole matter, you will find him to be the best we could at present send you." A letter from Bolingbroke to the sarae person a little later says : — "I hope my Lord Raby will succeed * Coxe' s Life of Marlborough, Vol. in., p. 189. 336 Worthies of Barnsley. very well amongst you ; for though I enter into the objec tions made to his character, yet, he will find, that to please here, he must please on your side, and he is no bad courtier. Some cases may happen where it will be reasonable and even necessary for him to take a little more upon him than has usuaUy been practised by our ministers at the Hague, but the cases wiU be few, and he wiU have strict orders in them."* R.eferring to the differences between the Duke of Marl borough and Lord Raby, Bolingbroke, writing to Lord Raby, on the 23rd March, i^ 10 {Bolingbroke' s Correspondence, p. 127), says : — "Your Excellency was pleased to mention in one of your forraer letters, as I remember, your conduct towards the Duke of Marlborough, upon which I will presume to acquaint you that my opinion is that you should live with him in the most friendly manner, and in the best concert. He has taken the ply of submitting with the utmost resignation to the Queen, and of re-establishing a confidence with those who are now in her service. Your Excellency and he will necessarily act in several matters jointly, and her Majesty's service will require a constant correspondence between you ; after all this, whatever caution is proper to be observed, I am sure your Excellency will not be wanting in." Again, AprU 27th, 17 10, Bolingbroke writes : " I am neither surprised at your Excellency's wading through the difficulties which you met with on your first entrance upon business at the Hague, nor at the endeavours of the Duke of Marlborough and my Lord Townshend to * Letters and Correspondence, Public and Pr'r.-atc, of Henry St. John, "iscount Bolingbroke, Vol. i,, pp. S5-9. The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 337 expose you to as many as they could. You have in this, my Lord, met with no other fate than the Queen our mistress has ; and her administration would never have supported itself against aU the industry, and all the malice which has been put in practice, without that resolution and firmness of mind which she has shown, and her servants too by her example."* The Treaty of Peace being in agitation. Lord Raby was sent for to England to concert measures relating thereto ; t and on his arrival, was sworn in the Privy CouncU, on June 14th, 17 1 1. And Her Majesty taking into consideration his great merits and services, was pleased to advance him to the dignities of Earl and "Viscount, by the style and title of Earl of Strafford,! Viscount Wentworth, of Wentworth Wood- house, and of Stainborough, with remainder to his brother, * Bolingbroki^ s Correspondence, Vol. i., p. 177. Bolingbroke, writing to Mr. Drummond, May 15, 1711 {Correspon dence; Vol. i., pp. 206-7), says : " My Lord Ambassador Raby is a very good man, but he has the misfortune of being a little too apt to take umbrage and to be punctilious. I hope, however, the cross accident you speak of sticks no longer with him.'' Writing a little later, he says : " I will not fail to observe the caution you gave me as to Lord Raby, whose faiUngs I know, as well as his good qualities. " t " March 3rd, 1710- 1 1. Letters from the Hague state that the Duke of Marlborough and Lord Orrery arrived there the 4th ; and the Lord Townshend was preparing to return home, the Lord Raby being to succeed him. — 1711. Mail advices from Berlin on the 24th March states that the Lord Raby was gone thence for Holland, having been first presented with a sword from the King of Prussia, set with diamonds, worth 15,000 crowns." — LuttrelVs Diary. X His raother. Lady Wentworth, writing to him February ist, 1710, says : — " I was told that Wentworth Watson was endevoring to bye the Earldom of Strafforde, sure her Majesty wiU not grant it to any but 23 338 Worthies of Barnsley. Peter Wentworth, Esq.,* and his issue male, by letters patent, bearing date September 4th, 1711. The preamble to the patent reciting his services is as follows : — "When we consider what a great incitement it is to men, truly noble, to pursue virtue, that the memory of their good actions should be honoured with the splendor of titles, we could not but give these testimonies of our approbation to the merits of our very faithful and beloved counsellor Thomas Lord Raby, which from the equity of a Prince, who is the favourer of good men, might seem agreeable to the bright ness of the approved loyalty of his ancestors, and his own you." Again January l6th, 1711 : — " Sure now you will gett sombody to speak to the Queen to make you Earl of Strafford ; I would have it to bender Watson from it — God forgive me — now thear syde is out will be the time to get it." — Wentworth Papers, pp. 106-7. * Peter Wentworth to Lord Raby, May 29, 1711. "In a week or ten days I hope I may wish you joy of the Earldome of Strafford, and as you have more goodness than most brothers usuaUy have, I shall venture to put you in mind that if you continue in the mind you some time ago sent me word you were, that in default of your issue; you would have me and my heirs inserted in the patent if I desired it ; I then answer'd you tho' 'twas an affair of that nature wch was not decent for me to solicite you in, yet when offer'd by you, not to be refused by me, but accepted of with all due gratitude for so perticular a mark of your esteem, and that I ought to be far from repining at my fate of being a younger brother, but to rejoice to be preceded by one who has so great and noble a soul as to think of his family and posterity in its largest extent. May you be remembered with veneration by late pos terity, who has retrieved an honour, and estate to support it, when the late Earle shall be held in detestation by them. My Lord Berkley told me a Sunday he wou'd write to you this post that you might not be guilty thro' advertancy of the like omission of the great Earle of Strafford, who by not procuring the Earldome to descend as well as the Barony to his collateral line, has occation'd you the trouble of a solicitation for it. I told his lordship you had the goodness to think of this yourself. The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 339 peculiar glory, which he hath acquired both at home and abroad ; we gratefully call to mind his renowned great uncle, the noble Earl of Strafford, who, being of a lively genius in council, and courageous in arms, and as it were the strongest support to the royal dignity of our grandfather, of most glorious memory, was taken off" by the false and unjust accusations of wicked men, but afterwards restored to the glory and immortal nobleness of his name, by a very honourable vote of the English Parliament, when by a soleran order they acquitted that very deserving gentleraan of the crimes preferred against him, without precedent, in a manner never heard of before ; and justly thought, that whatever was so injuriously proceeded against him ought to be erased and obliterated out of the public records. Since and mention'd it some time ago to rae, but however he said now was the time for you to have it mov'd to the Queen, or else when the patent was drawn 'twou'd be too late. But to-day I saw my Lord Berkley and he told me he heard you was coming over so wou'd not trouble you with a letter, but advised me to tell you as his opinion you shou'd by no means neglect this opportunity of perpetuating the honour to your family. I know 'tis not every age that can produce so great a man as yourself, as to extricate a family out of difficultys, an omission and a capricious humour had laid them under, therefore it behoves me not to neglect to remind you to write by the first post to Mr. St. John or the Duke of Shrewsbury that you desire the title may be intail'd upon your collateral line. I am the more instant in desiring this, because the Queen by that request may see you have a perticular esteem and friend ship for me, and by that means I may be more regarded by her, and I do assure you I have greater views and hopes from thence than from any prospect of succeeding you in your honours." — The Wentworth Papers, by J. J. Cartwright, Esq., M.A.,-p. 202. On the death of William Earl of Strafford in 1 791, Peter's grandson, Frederick Wentworth, of Henbury, in Dorsetshire, succeeded to the title, which became extinct on his death, without issue, in 1799. 340 Worthies of Barnsley. the male issue of that excellent man has been extinguished, it was pleasing to us, notwithstanding, to see his virtue revive in one of the sarae blood. And therefore we have thought fit to advance the Lord Raby, who is not more allied in blood than in like merit, to the same dignity of titles ; for if we consider hira as one experienced in the arts of peace and war, he will be thought, by no means, undeserving of so great an honour ; bred up a soldier, almost from his very childhood, he has gained the reputation of an extraordinary courage, through all the scenes of the fatigues and dangers in the camp ; and being now placed in the high station of lieutenant-general of our forces, seeras to have made an easy step to the height of preUminary preferment ; but since we have called him thence to the raanageraent of affairs of State, we have found him, by experience, no less ready for his high abiUty in civil em ployment, than for his valour in arms. First, at the desire of the King of Prussia, we sent him to the Court of BerUn, with the character of our envoy-extraordinary; in which station he behaved hiraself for several years with such signal applause that we thought fit to honour hira with the title of our Arabassador-Extraordinary to the same king. We had also determined him to take care of our affairs in the august court of the King of the Romans ; but the King of Prussia a second time requesting his presence, we were un willing to call him from thence, where he was so very useful to us, and peculiarly acceptable to the said Prince : but since, for eight years past, he has happily devoted himself to the common interest of us, and all the confederates, with the utraost fidelity and dexterity ; the raost important con cerns of the armies, and difficult aff"airs of the Christian The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 341 world, required us to send to the Hague a gentleraan so well qualified for so great a province : Wherefore we ordered him to go to the High and Mighty Lords the States-General of the United Provinces, in the quality of our Ambassador- Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, which post he has begun to raanage with double penetration and prudence ; and especially after the death of Joseph, at that tirae Emperor,- he entered upon such measures, according to his usual sagacity, with the said States -General, as were very suitable to the present posture of affairs, and agreeable to our raind. Therefore, that he raay enjoy sorae raonuraents of our royal favour, as the reward of a life employed for the good of his country, and all Europe, and which may be an incentive to his future race of glory : " Know ye, &c."* During the visit of his lordship to England, and irame diately after being created Earl of Strafford, he raarried, on the 6th Septeraber, Anne, daughter and heiress of Sir Henry Johnson, of Bradenham, in the county of Bucks, Knt., also of Toddington, in Bedfordshire, and of Frestone Hall, in * "May 22, 1 7 1 2. Thomas Lord Raby being, by Letters Patent, created Viscount Wentworth and Earl of Strafford, was this day, in his robes, introduced, between the Lord Treasurer and the Lord Steward (also in their robes) ; the Lord Great Chamberlain, the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod, and Clarencieux, officiating for Garter King at Arms, carrying the said Letters Patent, preceding. " His Lordship presented the same to the Lord Keeper, on his knee, at the woolsack, who delivered them to the Clerk, and the same were read at the table. "His Writ of Summons was also read. " Then his lordship was placed on the lower end of the Earls' Bench, and came to the table, and took the Oaths, and made and subscribed the Oath of Abjuration, pursuant to the Statutes. "^Journal of the House of Lords, vol. xix. p. 457. 342 Worthies of Barnsley. Suffolk.* She was an only daughter, and by this marriage his lordship acquired great wealth. Dean Swift has a notice ofthe marriage in his Journal to Stella:—" Sept. 3rd, 1711. Lord Raby, who is Earl of Strafford, is on Thursday to marry a namesake of SteUa, the daughter of Sir H. Johnson * " It is curious to notice that although many letters of his mother, and of other relatives and friends, are filled with schemes for an advantageous marriage of Lord Strafford, no reference is found in any of them to the particular match he made. So quietly was the matter settled, that his niece. Lady Bellew, writing her congratulations on his Earldom, on July 16, adds : 'I hear you are going to be married to Lady Betty Hastings, a great fortune. I wish it were true, and all the happiness this world can afford.' Of Lady Strafford's amiable and engaging qualities few could doubt who had had the opportunity to read through her numerous letters to her husband, which have been so carefully preserved ; for Lord Strafford's diplomatic labours compeUed him and his wife to be much apart in the early years of their married life, and a regular correspondence between them was a necessary consequence.." — The Wentworth Papers, pp. 27 — 30. "There would at one time seem to have been some prospect of a match between Lord Strafford's sister, Betty, and Sir William Went worth, of Bretton. Writing from St. James's Square, AprU 15, 1712, Lady Strafford says : — ' I'm sure you would be much diverted if you did but see how earnest Lady Wentworth is about getting Sir William Wentworth for Sister Betty ; and Lady W call'd me up in a corner to beg of me to commend him to sister Betty, and she says she makes no doubt but 'twill doe, for his eyes she says sparkled mightly at the sight of sister Betty ; and she is as grave when she speakes of hira, and in her thoughts the match is already made up.' Lady Strafford, on the same subject. April 25, says : ' Sir W. Wentworth I hear made a great Ball at his lodgings last Monday. I think Lady W has don think ing of him for sis. Betty.' And, on May 2nd : ' Sir Williara Went worth brought his sister to me ; she is the head taller than sis. Betty and the awkwardest creature I ever see. . . . I am now at the Cock Pitt at cards, and Lady Wentworth is the happyest creature in the world, for Sir W. Wentworth is here and played at cards with sis. Betty and brother W. and 1." "—Ibid., p. 285. The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 343 in the City ; he has three score thousand pounds with her, ready money, beside the rest at her father's death." She certainly brought him, on her father's death, some valuable estates, including Freston, Suffolk, and the borough of Aldborough in that county, which had been represented in ParUament by the Johnsons for many years. Sir Henry Johnson, who is described as a rich ship builder, of Poplar, was twice married. His first wife was Anne, daughter of Sir Hugh Smithson, of Stanwick, in Yorkshire, by whom he had the above daughter, who married Lord Strafford. Sir Henry married, secondly, Martha, only daughter of Lord Lovelace, who afterwards became Baroness Wentworth, of Nettlestead. She was pre sent at the coronation of Queen Anne, and was grand daughter of Lord Wentworth, son of the Earl of Cleveland, whose title had becorae extinct. On the 2nd April, 1702, Lady Johnson, it is stated in LuttreWs Diary, was heard by her counsel in the House of Peers as to her right to the Barony of Wentworth, when her claim was allowed, and she was declared a Baroness of England.* One of her irarae diate predecessors in the Barony was Henrietta Wentworth, * Henrietta Maria Baro ness Wentworth was succeeded in the Barony of Wentworth by her aunt, Anne Wentworth, who had married John, second Lord Lovelace. Their only son, John, Lord Lovelace, died before his mother ; but their daughter, Martha Lovelace, succeeded her grandmother as Baroness Wentworth in 1 702. She became the second wife of Sir Henry Johnson, and on her death, in 1745, the Barony of Wentworth passed to her first cousin twice removed. Sir Edward Noel, whose descendant, Anna Isabella, only daughter of Sir Ralph MUbanke, and widow of Lord Byron, the poet, succeeded to the Barony, and died in i860. The poet's only daughter, Augusta Ada Byron, married, in 1825, William, Lord Lovelace. 344 Worthies of Barnsley. granddaughter of the last Earl of Cleveland, and mistress to the ill-fated Duke of Monmouth, with whom she resided in the mansion at Toddington, and where two rooms were long afterwards pointed out as "the Duke's and my lady's parlour." * It will thus be seen that Sir Henry Johnson allied himself by his second marriage with the representative of the family of Wentworth, Earls of Cleveland, the most highly ennobled branch of the Wentworth famUy, whilst Sir Henry's only daughter raarried Lord Strafford, the direct representative of the male line of Wentworth Woodhouse ; and by this aUiance Lord Strafford eventually became possessed of the * Macaulay ('iKj^ry of England, vol. i., pp. 531-2) says: — "The Duke of Monmouth retired to Brussels, accompanied by Henrietta Wentworth, Baroness Wentworth, of Nettlestead, a damsel of high rank and ample fortune, who loved him passionately, who had sacrificed for his sake her raaiden honour and the hope of a splendid alliance, who had followed him into exile, and whom he believed to be his wife in the sight of heaven. Under the soothing influence of female friendship his lacerated mind healed fast. . . . It is said, too, that he was induced to quit his retirement by the same powerful influence which had made that retirement delightful. Lady Wentworth wished to see him a king. Her rents, her diamonds, her credit, were put at his disposal. Monmouth's judgment was not convinced, but he had not firmness to resist such solicitations.'' "Yet a few months," continues Macaulay, " and the quiet village of Toddington witnessed a still sadder funeral. Near that village stood an ancient and stately haU, the seat of the Wentworths. The transept of the church had long been their burial place. To that burial place, in the spring that followed the death of Monmouth, was borne the coffin of the young Baroness Wentworth of Nettlestead. Her family reared a sumptuous raausoleura over her remains ; but a less costly raemorial of her was long contemplated with far deeper interest. Her name, carved by the liand of him whom she loved too well, was, a few years ago, still discernible on a tree in the adjoining park." The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 345 Toddington and other estates ; and Toddington Church, a handsome Gothic structure, which contains some rich memorials of the famUy o'f Wentworth, he chose as the place of sepulture for his family. Among the memorials in the church is a costly monument to the memory of Lady Henrietta Wentworth, mentioned above, who died in 1686, and which was erected at a cost of ;^2,ooo ; and another, equaUy magnificent, to the raeraory of Lady Maria Went worth, who died at the early age of eighteen, in the year 1632.* * J. P., writing to the Topographer, 30th June, 1790 (Vol. iii. pp. 59-63) says : "A farm-house is the only remains of a noble mansion built in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, by Lord Cheyne, of Toddington. The manor now belongs to the Earl of Strafford. The house which Lord Strafford had in right of his mother, the heiress of Sir Henry Johnson, he has lately pulled down and carried part of the materials to the repair of his house, at Boughton, in Northamptonshire. In the church are some curious monuments almost in ruins, the remains of exquisite workmanship. " The following are the inscriptious on the coffins in the vault at Tod dington, taken Feb. 25, 1785, when it was last opened : — " ' Lady Maria Wentworth, daughter of Thomas, Earl of Cleveland, died January, 1632, aged 18 years.' " ' Here heth the body of the Right Honourable Thomas, Lord Went worth, Knight of the Bath, son and heir apparent to Thomas, Earl of Cleveland. He was in his lifetime Colonel of His Majesty's Guards, King Charles the Second, and Gentleman of his said Majesty's Bed chamber, and one of his said Majesty's most honourable Privy Council.' " ' Lady Lucy Wentworth, wife of Thomas, Earl of Cleveland, who deceased November 23, 1652.' " ' Thomas Lord Wentworth, Baron of Nettlested, Earl of Cleveland, Lord-Lieutenant of the County of Bedford, Captain of His Majesty's Band of Pensioners, Colonel of horse, and coraraander of a brigade of horse. He lived honourably and died piously, March the 4th, Ao. Di . 1667, aged 76.' '"The Right Honourable Lady Henrietta Maria Baroness Went worth, of Nettlested, died April 23, 1686.' 346 Worthies of Barnsley. The Duke of Marlborough congratulated Lord Strafford on his marriage and accession of honours in the following letter*: — "Camp, loth Oct.,- 1711. My Lord, — The " 'Ann, wife of Thomas, Earl of Cleveland, who died January the l6th, 1637.' '' ' The Right Honourable Lady Philadelphia, Viscountess Wentworth, relict of Thomas Lord Viscount Wentworth, died May the 4th, Ao. Di. 1696.' " ' Sir Henry Johnson, Knight, died September the 29th, 1719, aged 60.' " ' The Right Honourable Thomas, Earl of Strafford, Viscount Went worth, died November 15th, 1739.' " ' The Right Honourable Anne, Countess Dowager of Strafford, wife of. Thomas, Earl of Strafford, mother to William, Earl of Strafford, died September 19th, 1754, aged 70 years.' " ' Lady Anne Campbell, Countess of Strafford, died February the 7th, 1785, aged 65 years.' " These inscriptions would be copied, on the interment of Lady Anne Campbell, Countess of Strafford, in 1785. To these, however, will have to be added at least the foUowing, if not more : — Williara Earl of Strafford, 1791, and Lady Anne Conolly (Lord Strafford's sister), who was buried there Feb. 28, I797-" Toddington went to Lord Strafford's sister. Lady Anne, who raar ried the Right Hon. Williara Conolly, whose son sold it in 1S06 ; and thus the manor of Toddington, which had been held by the famUy of Wentworth for generations, and connected with which were so many interesting associations, passed entirely out of the family. The pur chaser was John Cooper, Esq., whose descendant. Major Cooper, is now (1880) the owner. * Letters and Dispatches of the Earl of Marlborough, vol. v., p. 529. " My Lord Strafford is married, honeymoon is, I suppose, over, and as a proof of my friendship to him, I will now endeavour in a few days to send him back." — Bolingbroke' s Correspondence (Letter to Mr, Harrison, Lord Strafford's secretary), vol. i. p. 364. "Armed with the preliminaries of peace, the Earl of Strafford, who had come over to England to be married, was within a few days sent back to his post at the Hague." — England in Queen Anne's Reign, by Earl Stanhope, p. 493. The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 347 account we have had for some time past from England, of your hastening back, has prevented my troubUng your lord ship with my letters on that side. I send this now to the Hague, in hopes it may meet you there, and not to defer any longer my hearty congratulations, upon the accession of honour her Majesty has been pleased to favour you with. I must at the same time wish your lordship, and my Lady Strafford, a long continuance of joy and happiness together, and pray you will believe I shall always take a friendly part in whatever may tend to your lordship's satisfaction, being with truth, &c., Marlborough." On his return to the Hague, Lord Strafford was supplied with voluminous instructions on the subject of the peace negotiations which were in progress, and in a letter to his lordship on the 17th Nov., 171 1, BoUngbroke says: "It is impossible to do better than you have done, my lord, in every part of the difificult negotiation, and I heartily con gratulate your Excellency on the success of your labours. The Queen commands me to say she is extremely satisfied with your Excellency's conduct." And again a few days afterwards he writes : " To tell you that the Queen is ex tremely satisfied with your conduct is no compliment, but strictly the truth. In the midst of clamour, as well as artifice, you have pursued her Majesty's instructions with that steadiness and vigour which only could have produced the compliance we now meet with." Lord Strafford having complained that confidence and information had been with held from him, Bolingbroke replied, Dec. 4, 171 1 : "For God's sake, my lord, lay aside these jealousies, little omis sions would be made sometimes by the greatest men, if they were involved in as much business as the Queen thinks 348 Worthies of Barnsley. fit to entrust to me, much more may I be allowed to mis take. The tenor of my conduct shaU be always right ; and as to your ExceUency in particular, I am not conscious to myself that in the least article I have ever departed from the strictest friendship and the most unlimited confidence." . . . . " Now my pen is in my hand, I cannot forbear saying that I sincerely think this is the most important con juncture that any prince has been in since the time that your ExceUency's ancestor [the Earl of Strafford, beheaded in 1 641] was attacked by the faction which begun with him, and did not conclude their tragedy even with his master.^ That king sealed the warrant of his own execution when he gave up his servant, and our mistress has no way of se curing herself but exerting her power to protect her ministers who have rescued her from domestic bondage, and are going on to relieve her from foreign- oppression. I will never deceive you, my Lord, I would not do it, even in the most pardonable, the most agreeable manner, by concealing real dangers, and giving false hopes." . . . "I wish your Excellency a long c6urse of happy years ; nature will allow you time, your fortune will afford you some ingredients, and your good understanding more ; but nothing can complete the blessing except that peace which you are labouring to advance."* Lord Strafford was not long at the Hague before he was again summoned to England, where he arrived on the 15th May, 1 7 12, after which, having received instructions to go to the Army (though ambassador-extraordinary) he left * Letters and Correspondence of Bolingbroke, vol. ii., pp. 74, 129, 130- The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 349 London on June 23rd foUowing, being ordered by the Queen, first to the Hague, to invite the States-General to join with Her Majesty in a cessation of arms, on the French giving up Dunkirk to the EngUsh. On their refusing to coraply with the Queen's measures, he went, pursuant to his instructions, with a very few attendants (not staying for an escort) up to the Duke of Ormond, then encaraped at Chateau Cambresis, and on his way thither was in some danger, being stopped and exarained by several parties, as well French and Spaniards, as Dutch, Iraperialists, etc.* Having executed his commission, by seeing the cessation of arras declared between the French and English, on Dun kirk being put into the Queen's hands, he returned to Utrecht, through Lisle, Tournay, Ostend, Bruges, Ghent, and Brussels, and had all the honours paid hira as to a * " About this time another circumstance happened at Utrecht, which was like to prove a new obstruction to the negotiation of peace. The Earl of Strafford had, by his lofty carriage, made himself very obnoxious to the Dutch, and it being given out that the Duke of Savoy had abandoned the Allies and agreed to a suspension of arms, some of the common people, in the night time, broke the windows both of the Marquis del Borgo, one of the Duke's Plenipotentiaries, and the Earl of Strafford ; and as a further indignity to the Earl, they set up a wheel on the rails before his house, with a paper on it, on which was written the Dutch word Straff-art, alluding to the Earl's name, and implying that he deserved the punishment denoted by the wheel ; the word ' Straffen ' in Dutch signifying to punish, or chastise. This insult was highly resented by the British plenipotentiaries ; but the magistrates of Utrecht having published a, reward of 400 guilders to any one who should discover the authors of it, and that the name of the informer should be concealed, the British Court thought fit not to take any notice of the affront at this juncture, the rather because it was by many suspected that the French emissaries were at the bottom of this insult, in order to irritate the British nation against the Dutch." — Tindal's Rapin, 1733, vol. iv., p. 290. 350 Worthies of Barnsley. crowned head, as weU by the Dutch as the' others, being saluted by a triple discharge of cannon round the town as he passed, and by part of the several garrisons under arms to receive him. After having stayed two days at Brussels to give the necessary orders (the Catholic Netherlands being then equally under the administration of the Queen and States-General), he passed through Antwerp, where, on his arrival, he was saluted by discharges of cannon, and was met by the governor of the town, and carried to his palace, where he was most magnificentiy entertained. The magistrates waited on him in their formalities, made him a handsorae speech, and presented hira with several large flagons of wine, and other things, brought in by the burghers of the town and their under officers, in great num bers ; and the next morning, on his departure, he was again saluted with a triple discharge of cannon round the town and ramparts, as at his entrance. On his arrival at Utrecht, the negotiations for the treaty of peace were continued by his lordship, and the Lord Privy Seal (Dr. Robinson, then Bishop of Bristol, after wards Bishop of London), with the several ministers of all the foreign powers of Europe, and being again sent for to England, he was, at a chapter held at Windsor, on October 26, 1712, elected a Knight-companion of the most noble Order of the Garter ; but being again sent on her Majesty's service beyond the seas, was installed by proxy at Windsor, on August 4, following.* Whilst he was abroad he was * Sir Jacob Banks, member for Minehead, u zealous Tory, acted as Lord Strafford's proxy on his installation as Knight of the Garter, and i n one of Lady Strafford's letters she alludes to the matter, and said that ' if you had given Sir Jacob ten thousand pounds it would not have made him half so happy as being your proxy.' " The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 351 highly esteemed by several foreign princes, and also by the Princess Sophia, Electress of Hanover, and mother of George the First, who often, with the Queen of Prussia, dined with his lordship at Berlin, and when absent kept up an almost continual correspondence with him by letters.* The Kings of Denmark and Poland, having an interview with the King of Prussia, those three Kings, with the Queen of Prussia, dined together at his lordship's, and made him a present of their portraits at full length, in one group, in commemoration of his having entertained three Kings and one Queen at the same time. This painting may be seen in the grand hall at Wentworth Castle. It bears an old legend : — " Given by these Kings to Thos. Earl of Strafford on their having aU three dined together with him, when Lord Raby Ambassador Exn. at BerUn." They are depicted standing hand in hand, after the fashion of the Graces, in royal robes — ponderous figures standing among unlimited royal upholstery. In this life they were Frederick IV. of Denmark, Augustus of Poland, and Frederick WiUiam I. of Prussia. There union here is ominous, especially was it so for the second of these hard-featured royalties. * " The death of the Electress Sophia, of Hanover, made a consider able alteration in the state of parties in England, as well as in the situa tion of the Duke of Marlborough . Notwithstanding her advanced age of 84, she possessed, till the time of her death, an unusual degree of spirit and energy, saying that if she could but live to have ' Sophia, Queen of England,' engraven on her tomb she would die contented. She was more inclined to the Tories than the Whigs, held a confidential correspondence with the Earl of Strafford, and implicitly confided in the Duke of Marlborough, to whom she readily entrusted the fullest powers for the furtherance of her accession." — Coxe's Marlborough, vol. iii., p. 361. 352 Worthies of Barnsley. The Treaty of Peace was signed between two and three o'clock on Tuesday, the 31st March, 1713, the Lord Bishop of Bristol and the Earl of Strafford, ambassadors-extra ordinary, being present. The ministers of the Duke of Savoy signed an hour afterwards. Then the asserably ad journed to the Earl of Strafford's house, where they all went to dinner ; and about nine at night it was signed by the ministers of Portugal, by those of Prussia at eleven, and when it was near midnight by the States-General. On the sth May the peace was proclaimed in the usual manner, but with louder acclamations and more extraordinary re joicings of the people than had ever been remembered on a like occasion.* The terms of the treaty were at once sent to the Secretary of State in England (Lord Bolingbroke), who, in his reply to the Earl of Strafford, said : " You will easily imagine how very welcome my brother was, since he brought the peace for which every friend of the Queen and country was under the most eager expectation. I cannot express all I think of that indefatigable zeal and eminent sufficiency with which your lordship has carried on a negotiation, of which you first laid the foundation ; may you long live and enjoy the honours which are your due and the blessings of a grateful people, "f Lord Strafford, although so much involved in affairs of State, paid several visits to England to look after his private affairs, and to the progress of his new buUding at Stainborough he looked forward with great interest. * History of the Last Four Years of Queen Anne. Swift's Works, vol. v., p. 229. t Bolingbroke to Strafford, Correspondence, vol. ii. p, 357. The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough, 353 As early as February, 17 10, we find him writing the fol lowing letter to his relative. Sir WUliam Wentworth, of Bretton, who had a little time before, when on his travels, paid hira a short visit at Berlin * : — " Berlin, 2Sth February, 1 7 10. — I ara going on as hard as I can drive with my buUd ing [at Stainborough], and am at last persuaded to make it of brick and stone, as Hampton Court is, and which I am assured will look better than all stone, especially since ray quarrys affords but little ones, tho' the ornamental ones for the face work is brought three miles, and I ara assured is extream white and good ; so the new front will be some thing like that of the Duke of Leeds at Keton [Kiveton], in our country. We talk much of peace ; if it is made I shall soon see you in Yorkshire, or be there before you. I have already brew'd very good aile wch. is in my cellars, so they are not erapty ; and I ara resolved to tum arrant country gentleman, and try to gain my neighbours by looking up ray great dogs, opening my cellars, and having no inn by my house." Speaking of his pictures, at a later date, he says : " I have great credit by them, and find I have not thrown ray money away ; they are all designed, I do assure you, for Yorkshire, and I hope to have a better coUection than Mr. Watson [Wentworth] has.t Lord Raby, however, * The Strafford Papers, Add. MSS,, 22,229, fol- 91- + Writing to his aunt. Lady Bathurst, in 1709, Lord Raby says : — " I set out for Italy, and overran all that glorious agreeable country in two months' time. I was above six weeks sick in bed in Rome of a violent fever I got by the excessive heats in travelling thither in the dog days." He bought there a great number of pictures, "which, though it cost me a great deal, yet it is a furniture for me and my posterity. I have about 30 pictures, most part originals by the best hands or the copies by good painters after the best pictures in Rome, and had I had time there 24 354 Worthies of Barnsley. changed his mind with respect to his new building, and had it built aU of stone, and not brick and stone, as he at first contemplated. A love of the fine arts was not, however, a prominent trait in Sir William's character ; indeed, he writes he has no raoney to buy thera with, and " I shall be weU content with the walls of Bretton just as they are, so that I have but a good glass of ale or beer to make my friends welcorae with when they honour me with their company." Lady Strafford, on her marriage, accompanied her lord to the Hague, and there, with her great charms and many accomplishments, ably presided over his large establishment. She had many virtues, and won the love of all with whom she came in contact. The following extracts from a letter addressed by her ladyship from the Hague on the 21st Nov., 1 7 13, to Lord Strafford, who was then absent in I should have ruined myself with buying up such sort of curiosities." — Peter Wentworth to Lord Raby, London, March 15, 1709. . " I went t'other day to make a visset to Lady Bathurst, where I mett my mother and she desir'd I wou'd show your Plans. She stood amased at it, & said the least such a building cou'd cost inside and out wou'd be ten thousand pounds. There was Mr. Lang the Parson who is her Oracle said he was sure 'twould come to a great deal more. I confest my ignorance that I cou'd make no computation of the matter, & I had heard of people that thought they had been pritty nice in these affairs found themselves drawn in to double what they first thought of. . We wish you mony enough to finish such another wing, & long to enjoy it, tho' for some years shou'd it have no more than one, it might overlook little London for its statelyness, and make his Great Honour [Mr. Watson Wentworth] burst with envy & his Little Honour pine & die. Serious I think it will make as fine a show as any house in Yorkshire, I won't say as any in the North, for they say Lord Carliles has already cost him above ;^40,ooo." — IVcntivorth Papers, P-79- The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 355 England, on the death of her grandraother. Lady Rawstorne,* shows the goodness of her heart : — " As to Lady Raw- storne's Jewells, sorae of them I doe believe doe belong to Mr. Rawstorne," but which they be I cannot tell, but I fancy if you showed them to him, I can't think he would say in so inconsiderable a thing that more belonged to him than really did, and what is his right I beg he may have, for I like diamonds very weU, provid'd I can have thera with justice and equity, but otherwise I had rathere be without thera, for as God aUraighty has bless'd us with plenty, I should think if I desired more than was just it would never thrive, and I might expect the same thing might happen to my children when I am dead, and I hope the longer you know me, the more you'll be convinced, that as near as I can I will do to others as I would they should do to me ; but when you are satisfied about the diamonds, what you desire is at your service. As to the locket of your hair when I came here I desired her to lay it by for me. I fancy till you saw sister Donolan, you thought I talked raore than anybody else, but now you have found soraebody that out-dos me. Pray wou'd you not have harness for eaght horses put in mourning, for there is for six already don, and I think they have don my coach very handsom ; would you not have your charriote don. If you buy rae the snuff box pray let it be all gold tho' tis the less. I conclude Lady Wentworth (Lord S.'s raother) is extremely happy in having the whole management of ray girl but I hope if she * Rawstorne Alice, Lady Rawstorne, widow of Sir H. Smithson, wife of W. Rawstorne, and grandmother to Lady Strafford. See paper re lating to her funeral in .S'/r«_^?-fl'/'a/(;;-j,^ay/.j?/.S'.S'. 22,230, fol. 135-141. 3S6 Worthies of Barnsley, is to keep her you'll augraent her Pinn money. Lady Portiand says she allways had J^i^o a year for every won of her children. I hope to God it will not be long before you corae back. I ara my Dear Life yours entirely and from the Bottom of my heart. Adieue.* "A. Strafforde." Lord Strafford was at this period the owner of large * Additional MSS., 22,226, fol. 368. Peter Wentworth to Lord S., June 12, 1712. — "The Whigs are pleased to give out that there was but very odd figures at Court of the Birthday, and that there was no women fitt to look at but my Lady Strafford, Lady Lansdown, and Lady North. '' "On January 15th, this year. Lady Wentworth wrote that she was sure it would be much to her daughter's advantage to be a good deal with her sister-in-law, "for I think Betty a very fyne woman, only wants a little polishing to make her compleat & Lady Straffords sweet & easy temper & gentle meen will take ofe the rufness of the other, for Betty has a great deal of wit & very good natured." Lady Strafford to Lord S., March 21, 1712. — " I have been at Mr. Jervises to see our picktures ; I think he has mended them both extremly and has made yours a good deal taller & the robes are well of them both. The Queen has a Drawing room to-night, so I goe as soon as I have dined to the Cock Pitt to wait on Lady W & then I goe to Court ; and I have made sister Betty goe, for I think there is nothing will improve her so much as keeping the best company." On February 28, Lady Wentworth wrote : — " Sir Godferry has made a good picture of Neic Hanbury & is drawing Peter Bathurst wife — pray let Sir Godferry Nelloe draw your Lady's picture, whoe is the best panter we have, nether of her picturs dus her justiss." In January, it appears, ten guineas were paid to Benjamin Arland for a portrait of Lady Strafford, about which she writes to her husband : — "I believe you'll think this raan has made me as much to handsom as Gervise did to ugley, tho' you know I never want for vanity about my own person, so I must confess I think it something like." Later in the year, the artist " De Garr" was at work on a " picture on horseback." — The Wentworth Papers, pp. 278-9. The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 357 estates, and was in receipt of what would at that day be considered the large income of ^^14,000 a year. We give the following from a paper in his lordship's own hand writing :— " A particular of the Eari of Strafford's Estate in Land and Money, with his other incomes, aU of which is cleare without portions or anything else charged upon it : — Per annum. £ " His Estate in Wakefield and Stainborough, &c., in Yorkshire, and at Ashby, Puerorum, Greetam, Wainfleet, &c., in Lincolnshire, with his house at Twittenhara * 1,500 The Post Fines, granted to hira by King WUliam IIL, one year with another 2,000 In the fund of the 99 years payd quarterly without Deduction or Taxes Soo In the 32 years 103 blank tickets is 72 Two Prizes in the said Lottery 10 4,082 * Lord Berkeley, of Stratton, writing to Lord Strafford, March 14, 1712 : "I was very happy lately in finding my Lady Strafford at home, and seeing you master of so good a house in town [St. James's Square], and was much entertained with a sight of fine pictures you have sent over." Lord Raby purchased the house in St. James's Square, London, which was long occupied by his family, of Sir Richard Child, atter- wards Lord Castleraaine. To this house Lord Raby made some considerable improvements. He was also building or rebuilding his house, at Twickenham, at the same time he was building Wentworth Castle. 3 5 8 Worthies of Barnsley. In ready money i4)7°° Tallies in cash 3)°45 In assignments, &c 6,335 In Plate and Jewels at least 1 2,000 The First Regt. of Dragoons, ;£'i,Soo per ann., for which is offered, ;^i 0,000, but in time of peace raay be sold for rauch more 10,000 In money, &c 46,080 Besides pictures, very rich furniture, and Equipage in Holland to a considerable value ; the regular pay of Arabassador-Extraordinary and Plenipo tentiary to the States is * 6,Soo Which added to the estate as above makes per annum 10,882 The interest of _;^46,ooo at Si per cent, is t 2,530 Total annual Revenue ;^i3,4i2 * 3rd Nov., 1713. Lady Strafford in a letter to Lady Rawstorne on the recall of Lord Strafford, says : " His Lordship quits an employ ment of above ;^6,ooo a year." t " Interest received 1772-3. William, Earl of Strafford. 1772 Mr. Watsons Representatives on ;^l, 0004 per cent. 40 o o WiUiam Sothern, Esq 2,000 ,, 80 o o The Rev. Mr. Henry Wood 1,000 ,, 40 o o John Hay, Esq 2,000 ,, 80 o o Mr. John Kent 1,000. ,, 40 o o Lord Rockingham 10,000 ,, 400 o o 1773 John Hay, Esq 1,000 ,, 40 o o Mr. Butler Lucas 2,000 4J per cent. 85 o o SavUe Finch, Esq 1,000 4 per cent. 40 o o Sir Wm. Wake, Bart 1,000 „ 40 o o The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 359 " Besides an estate in the Fens of Lincolnshire, wch, if iraproved, raay be of very great value, and several pretentions on the late Lord Strafford's estate, &c., .... to which, if added the interest of the ;^2o ra. (;^2o,ooo), his lady's portion which wUl amount to a thousand pounds a year, the immediate income yearly wUl be together ^^14,41 2 per annum." * Another paper of a later date gives Lord Strafford's estates as being at Stainborough, Rockley, SavUe HaU, Keresforth-hill, Barnsley, Crigglestone, Wakefield, Richraond, and Swaledale, in Yorkshire; Colston Basset, in Nottinghara shire ; Pisford and Boughton, in Northamptonshire ; Toddington, in Bedfordshire ; houses and land at Colney Hatch ; house and gardens at Twickenhara ; houses in London ; Frestone Hall and Snape Lordship, and a house and Meadows, at Bury, in Suffolk ; property at Horncastle, and tolls in the raarket at Ashby, in Lincolnshire ; and property at Leeraing, out of which issued ;^3o a year for the minister of Stainborough. The Whig party looked upon the Treaty of Peace which had been entered into as involving the " sacrifice of public honour," while the Tory and Jacobite parties hailed it with exultation and delight. On the outlines of the Treaty being 1773 Sir Wm. Wake, Bart ;^I, 000 4 per cent. 40 o o Lord Rockingham 2,000 ,, So o o In 1778 Lord Rockingham had borrowed ^27,000 o o Interest half year 540 o o 1778 Total amount at Interest 43,00° o o Interest 2,081 16 6" — Addi. MSS., 22 240. * Addi. MSS., 22,230, fol. 125, 127. 360 Worthies of Barnsley. published, an address was carried in the House of Commons by acclamation. In the Lords, however, notwithstanding the recent creations, the Peers in opposition made a vigorous stand. The arrangement which provided for the ¦ Protestant interest was received with approbation, while other portions of the Treaty were denounced. Marlborough declared that the measures pursued in England for the last year were directly contrary to Her Majesty's engagements with her allies ; that they sullied the triumphs and glories of her reign ; and would render the English name odious to all other nations. It is certain that Marlborough had, of all men, the most right to complain ; for the Treaty " foUed his plans, frustrated his hopes, and rendered all his victories vain." The Earl of Strafford foUowed in debate. " Some of the allies (the Dutch)," said his lordship, "would not show such backwardness to a peace as they had hitherto done, but for a rafember of that illustrious house (the Duke of Marlborough), who had maintained a secret correspondence with them, and endeavoured to persuade them to carry on the war, feeding thera with hopes that they should be supported by a strong party here." This was answered by Lord Cowper ; and because Lord Strafford had not expressed hiraself with all the purity of the English tongue, his lordship took occasion thence to say, " "The noble lord has been so long abroad, that he has almost forgot, not only the language, but the very constitution of his own country."* * This was not the first time that Lord Strafford had been twitted on his bad English. In sorae remarks on the characters of the Court of Queen Anne, Lord Strafford, then Lord Raby, is included. These remarks were ' ' touched up " by Dean Swift, and some observations of The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 361 The duke's observations were supported by several exceUent speeches from Lords Nottingham, Cowper, and others ; yet they had, at that time, no effect. The address was carried by 81 votes against 35. Marlborough and other peers, it is true, signed protests; but they were afterwards expunged from the journals ; and this was the last public act of the Duke of Marlborough during the Queen's reign. his ovm included are to be found in his works, vol. xii., p. 248. Swift's remarks are in parenthesis : ' ' Lord Raby. He is a young gentleman de bon naturel, handsome, of fine understanding [very bad and cannot spell], and with application raay prove a man of business ; he is of low stature [he is tall], well shaped, with a good face, fair complexioned, not 30 years old." The author of these characters, however, it may be stated, drew thera according to their politics rather than their qualifications. " Lord Strafford's pride was also the subject of some remark. Dean Swift, in his Journal to Stella, under date Nov. 17, 1711, says : 'I hear Prior's commission is passed to be Ambassador-Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary for the peace ; ray Lord Privy Seal, who you' know is Bishop of Bristol, is the other ; and Lord Strafford, already ambassador to the Hague, the third. . . Lord Strafford is as proud as hell, and how he will bear one of Prior's raean birth on an equal character with him I know not.' Again under date Feb. 9, 1711-12, Swift, in the sarae journal, writes to Stella : ' There is a foolish story got about the town that Lord Strafford, one of our plenipotentiaries, is in the interest of France ; and it has been a good while said that Lord Privy Seal (Bishop of Bristol) and he do not agree very well ; they are both long practised in business, but neither of them of much parts. Strafford has sorae life and spirit, but is infinitely proud and iUiterate.' A note to the above adds : ' It proved as Swift prophesied ; for Lord Strafford absolutely refused to be joined in commission with a person of such low birth, so that the department of trade with which Prior was to have been entrusted was necessarily comraitted to the Bishop of Bristol, a change which added greatly to the difficulties of the negotiations.' "—Journal to Stella, Swift's Works, vol. i., 224. But Lord Strafford lived in an age when little attention was paid to 362 Worthies of Barnsley. At the time of the death of Queen Anne, August i, 17 14, Lord Strafford was Plenipotentiary for the Treaty of Utrecht ; and by a distinct appointment. Ambassador- Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the States-General, Lieutenant- General of Her Majesty's forces, Colonel of the first regi ment of foot-guards, First Lord of the Admiralty, as appointed August 29, 17 12, and of her Cabinet and Privy CouncU. His lordship was, by Act of Parliament, appointed one of the Lords Justices for the administration of the kingdom, till the arrival of the King frora Hanover, who, on his the minor departments of gramraar ; and it raay be said of him as it had been said of Marlborough, that " he wrote with the carelessness of a soldier, not with the precision of a man of letters ." To have given literal transcripts of his epistles would have afforded little gratification to those who look rather to things than to words, and who are raore anxious to be acquainted with his thoughts than with his orthography. Besides, in point 'of taste, it would be useless to urge how much the pages of an historical narrative would have been disfigured by variations in spelling, arising from haste and inattention, from the careless habit of the times, or from long residence abroad. Frederick Von Raumer, in England in 1835, vol. ii., p. 59, speaking of the Stepney papers, says : " Two of these volumes contain letters of Lord Raby from Berlin, and though I did not expect any important political facts, I thought I should find amusing matter respecting manners, customs, &c., but I was disappointed. There was a, great deal indeed about hunting, fishing, weddings and funerals, quarrels for precedence, distribution of orders, etc. ; but when these things are described neither with psychological acuteness, nor with wit and pleasantry, nor with reference to their deeper and more serious bearings, they soon lose all significance and interest, and history has not the slightest concern with them. I therefore lost patience, and went away from the British Museum before three o'clock to hear Mr. Faraday." In the Harleian MSS., 4741, fol. 49, &c., may be found a great many letters from Lord Raby from Berlin, etc. The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 363 coming to the Hague, to embark for England, we are told, showed his lordship particular marks of his esteera, even so far as to come publicly with the Prince of Wales, to the Earl's house, where he played at ombre with his lady, araongst a great many foreign ministers and other persons of distinction. And when the King was stepping into the boat to erabark for England, it was observed he took leave of the Earl in a raost kind and raarked raanner. But after his Majesty's arrival in England, on Septeraber iSth, 1714, things took another turn, and on October nth his lordship was superseded at the Admiralty-board by the Earl of Orford. However, he continued at the Hague in his public character till December 20th ensuing, when, in a public audience, taking leave of the States-General, he was, before his de parture, presented with a gold medal and chain, valued at 6,000 guilders, and landed in England on January ist following. The storm, however, which had been gathering, now burst in all its fury, and there was soon a change of both men and measures. Lord Bolingbroke was one of the first to feel how deeply ,he had offended, and he found himself sumraarily disraissed frora his oflfice of Secretary of State. Lord Strafford, on his landing in England, on being recalled from the Hague, was requested to give up all his instructions and papers.* The Lord Townsend was sent , * In a letter from Lord Strafford to Lord HaUfax, written in Novem ber, 1 7 14, asking for a settlement of the accounts connected with his embassy, and pointing out the great expenses he was led into by the necessary celebrations for the peace and the King's coronation, he says : " I assure you I had above 500 people whom I entertained both in eating and drinking from ten o'clock at night till five in the morning. . . . 'Tis hard, after having served the Crown constantly, either in 364 Worthies of Barnsley.. to his lordship's house to demand the same. The Earl having made some difficulty to comply with that demand, unless he had an express order from the Council in writing, was summoned before the CouncU on the nth January, and after he had been examined, his Majesty was pleased to give orders accordingly to Lord Townshend and Mr. Secretary Stanhope, the Secretaries of State, who went immediately to the Earl of Strafford's house, and received from him two trunks, said by him to contain what was required. At the same time orders were sent for sealing up his lordship's papers that were yet on ship-board, or at the custom-house, coming from Holland.* Prior was ordered to return from France, and his correspondence was also seized, and, in fact, all the agents of the late Government were in the greatest alarm. A committee of secresy, con sisting of 21 members, was appointed. Walpole was chairraan, and took the lead in the whole business. He drew up the raasterly report which was produced in about two raonths, which was a most elaborate document, and an able commentary on the whole series of negotiations relating the array or ministry, ever since the Revolution till this time, to think that, being recalled without any previous notice, I should be obliged either to leiive a clamour of debts behind rae, or else to pawn or sell some of my things to pay them, which can't be done secretly here. I don't pretend to plead poverty, for I thank God my estate and revenues are more than sufficient to maintain me at the full height I wish to live, but it is all so tied by marriage settleraents that I can't dispose of one farthing of my capital, tho' I should suffer the dishonour to the Crown and myself of having my baggage stopped for debt, and tho' I have lost already £?i,ooo a-year by the Queen's death, yet I do assure your lordship I am several ;^i,ooo the worse in ray own fortune by my embassy." — The Wentworth Papers, pp. 33-4. * Parliamentary History, vol. vii., p. 155. TJte Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 365 to the Peace of Utrecht. It was the composition of Walpole himself, and shows how much energy and hatred he had brought to the task of prosecuting his forraer rivals ; for though the conduct of Strafford, Orraond, and Oxford was sternly coraraented upon, it was upon Bolingbroke that the principal weight of eonderanation was made to fall. The impeachment of BoUngbroke did not caU for a single dissenting vote.t That of Oxford, Mortimer, and Ormond followed, and on the 22nd of June, the Earl of Strafford was impeached, for high crimes and misdemeanours, for having advised the fatal suspension of arms, and the seizing of Ghent and Bruges, as weU as for having treated the Most Serene House of Hanover with insolence and con tempt. Mr. Aislaby, in moving the Earl's impeachment, took notice of the general concern that had appeared the day before in the House for the noble person who was im peached, because they were persuaded it was rather through weakness than malice that he had followed pernicious counsels. But that, in his opinion, few, if any, would speak in favour of the noble lord whom he was to impeach. The person he meant was Thoraas, Earl of Strafford, one of the plenipotentiaries of Great Britain at the Congress of Utrecht, whose conduct had been vastly different from that of his colleague, the Bishop of London. That good and pious prelate seemed to have been put at the head of that negotiation only to paUiate the iniquity of it, under the sacredness of his character, but he was little more than a t Parliamentary History, vol. vii., p. 246-265. Rapin' s (Tindal's) Hist, of England, vol. xviii., p. 383. Journals of the House of Lords, vol. XX., p. 192-7, 244, 380, 634. HowelVs State Trials, vol. xv., p. 1,043. 366 Worthies of Barnsley. cypher in the absence of the Earl of Strafford. That the Bishop, not being in the secret, had acted with reserve and caution, and would do nothing without the Queen's special commands, whereas the Earl of Strafford, not only was for ward to venture and undertake anything (as he expresses himself in one of his letters), to be the tool of a Frenchified ministry, but in many instances had gone beyond his in structions, and advised the most pernicious measures. That having impartially weighed the different conduct of these two ministers, he was glad that nothing could be charged upon the Bishop, which gave them an opportunity to con vince the world that the Church was not in danger ; he moved that Thomas, Earl of Strafford, be impeached of high crimes and misdemeanours. Mr. Aislaby enlarged upon this charge, which he reduced to three principal heads — i. The Earl of Strafford advising the fatal suspension of arms, which was soon afterwards attended with several misfortunes which befel the aUies, and at last forced them to the neces sity of subraitting to the terms of an unsafe, dishonourable peace. 2. Advising the seizing of Ghent and Bruges, in order to distress the allies and favour the enemy; and 3. The insolence and contempt with which he had treated the raost serene house of Hanover and their generals and ministers. Mr. BaiUie having seconded Mr. Aislaby's motion. Sir WiUiam Wyndham endeavoured to justify the Earl of Strafford as to the first head, by saying that the peace, which was but the sequel and necessary consequence of the suspension of arms, had been approved as such by two successive Parliaments, and declared advantageous, safe, and honourable. Mr. Shippen, Mr. Ward, and Mr. Snell also spoke in favour of the Earl of Strafford, as did The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 367 likewise Mr. Hungerford, who, among other things, said that though the Bishop of London had an equal share with the Earl of Strafford in the negotiation of peace, he was, it seems, to have the benefit of the clergy. General Ross having likewise said something to excuse the suspension of arms. General Cadogan answered him, and showed that, considering the situation of both armies, the confederates lost the fairest opportunity they had ever had in Flanders to destroy the eneray's array, and to penetrate into the very heart of France ; but added that nothing less could be expected frora a princess and a ministry who had entirely delivered themselves into the hands of France. Sir John CarapbeU spoke also against the Earl of Strafford ; but the raember who distinguished himself most in the debate was Sir Jaraes Dalryraple, who, with great clearness and solidity, suraraed up what had been said on both sides ; and having illustrated the present case by parallel instances and proper observations, showed that, both by the civil and statute laws, the Earl of Strafford was, at least, guUty of high criraes and raisderaeanours. Hereupon the question was put, and by 26S votes against 100, it was resolved, "That the House wiU irapeach Thomas Earl of Strafford of high crimes and misdemeanours," and ordered that it be referred to the Committee of Secrecy, to draw up articles of im peachment and prepare evidence against the said Earl. These articles having been prepared, were presented and read to the House on September ist. They were six in nuraber, the heads of which were as foUows : — I. His Lordship is charged with promoting a separate negotiation. 2. With making scurrUous reflections on the Elector of 368 Worthies of Barnsley. Hanover, and of creating misunderstandings between her Majesty and the Electoral House. 3. Advising her Majesty to treat with the French Ministers before she was acknowledged by France. 4. Treating with France and not insisting upon the restitution of the Spanish Monarchy. 5. Advising a cessation and separation. 6. Advising the seizure of Ghent and Bruges. The articles having been agreed to by the Commons, were carried by Mr. Aislaby to the Lords, and, having been read to that assembly, the Earl of Strafford made a long speech, wherein, among other things, he complained of the hardship which had been put upon him by seizing his papers in an unprecedented manner ; that he desired to have drawn up and printed an account of all his negotia tions, whereby, he did not doubt, he should have made it appear to all the world that he had done nothing but in discharge of his duty and of the trust reposed in him. That if, either in his letters or discourses, while he had the honour to represent the Crown of Great Britain, he had dropped any unguarded expressions against Foreign Ministers, he hoped the same would not be accounted a crime by a British House of Peers. He concluded by desiring that a competent time might be allowed him to answer the articles brought against him, and that he might have duplicates of all the papers that either had been laid before the Committee of Secrecy, or were stiU in the hands of the Government, which raight be for his justification. The Lord Townshend said that his lordship's complaint about the taking his papers from him was altogether ground less and unjust ; that infinite instances of the like proceed- The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 369 ings might be adduced : that no State could be safe without it ; and, in short, that extraordinary cases justify extraordinary methods. As to the Earl's demand to have duplicates of all his papers that had been laid before the Coraraons, he (Lord Townshend) thought it unreasonable, and made with no other design than to gain time and make the Commons lose the opportunity of bringing him to his trial. That those papers were so voluminous (consisting of thirteen or fourteen volumes in folio) that they could not be copied out in many weeks ; and as the Earl might have had access to them ever since they were laid before Parlia ment, so he was stiU at liberty to peruse them, and extract out of them what he thought proper for his own defence. The Duke of Devonshire and the Lord Chancellor Cowper supported the Lord Townshend ; on the other, hand, the Lord Chancellor Harcourt and the Bishop of Rochester spoke for the Earl of Strafford ; but what availed the latter most was said by the Earl of Ilay, who urged that all civilised nations, all courts of judicature, except the In quisition, allowed the persons arraigned all that was neces sary for their justification ; and that the House of Peers of Great Britain ought not in this case to do anything contrary to that honour and equity for which they are so justly renowned throughout all Europe. Upon this it was resolved " that the Earl of Strafford should have copies of all such papers as were in the secretary's and other offices which he should think proper for his defence ; that he should have free access to the papers that had been laid before the Commons, and that a month's time be allowed him to answer the articles of impeachment preferred against him. 25 370 Worthies of Barnsley, On the 2oth Septeraber, Lord Strafford acquainted the House that he had employed several clerks to take copies of documents, but the same were so voluminous that they had only so far been able to make small progress therein, and his lordship therefore asked for an extension of time to prepare his defence. In response to the application, the time was prolonged to the first day of November ; but it was not untU the 9th January, 1715-16, that his lordship presented to the House his answers to the articles. These answers were of great length ; and the Earl, in conclusion, hoped he had fully answered the several charges made against him. He could not but think hiraself extremely unfortunate in falling under the displeasure of the honour able House of Commons, nor could he receive the first intimation of it witliout the greatest surprise, not being conscious to himself that he had transgressed any known law. He was not without hope — having spent the best and greatest part of his life abroad in the army and in several erabassies, always endeavouring to promote the welfare of his country — that he might on his return have met with its approbation, as a recompense for his long and faithful services. However, he comforted himself with this re flection, that every step of his proceedings in the late negotiations was laid before her Majesty, and received her royal approbation. Nor would it, he conceived, be judged improper, if he observed to their lordships that the States General, in their letter to her Majesty a little before tlie signing the peace, acknowledged that they could not enough comraend her plenipotentiaries for the assistance they had given them in their treaty with France ; and that all the allies gave frequent marks of their esteem for the Earl and The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 371 his colleagues, on account of the many services they had received from them. The Earl was confident it wbuld appear to their lordships that, although he did witii the utmost application pursue the good of his own country pre ferably to that of any other whatsoever, yet he was never wanting to promote the advantages of the allies, particularly of the States-General, where it did not interfere with the interests of Great Britain. A separate treaty of peace was so far from his thoughts that, on the contrary, he was truly zealous to make it general ; and he had the happiness to succeed therein, in as great a degree as was ever known when so many confederates were concerned. Nor was he less zealous in supporting, to the utmost of his abilities, the honour and reputation of his Royal mistress, which was so far from being prostituted or suffering any diminution by his negotiations, that her Majesty did, through the whole course of those negotiations, and to the very hour of her death, maintain as great and glorious a character as any of her royal predecessors, or as she herself had done in any former part of her reign. On the ISth June, 17 16, the Commons, having in the raeantime considered Lord Strafford's answer to the articles of impeachment exhibited against him, brought in their report, which averred their " charges against him for high crimes and misdemeanours to be true ; and that the said Earl is guilty of all the articles and charges herein re spectively contained, in such manner as he stands im peached ; and that the Commons wUl be ready to prove their charges against hira at such convenient time as shall be appointed for that purpose." After this there is no mention of further proceedings, and 372 Worthies of Barnsley. the pi-osecution would appear to have dropped. But it is observable that on August i8, 1715, Lord Strafford had protested against the rejection of the motion to inquire whether Lord Bolingbroke had been summoned, and in what manner, and against the passing of the BiUs for attainder of Bolingbroke and Ormond. In the debates in the House of Lords upon the BiU against Atterbury, Strafford spoke on behalf of the Bishop, and in opposition to the Bill. Lord Strafford, during the time these proceedings were going on, although greatly harassed, spent much of his time at Stainborough, superintending the great improve ments he was there making. His magnificent buUding was approaching completion. He appears to have purchased materials and employed his own workmen in its erection. Joseph Bower was for many years his principal mason, and Bower's descendants continued to be masons at Wentworth Castle untU within a few years ago. The wages at that day were very small, and materials cheap, and large works could be completed at comparatively small cost. The wages of Joseph Bower and other masons, at that time, it will be seen from the subjoined note, did not exceed is. a day,* and the foUowing memorandum gives some of the items for * " A BiU of Work don for the Right Honble. the Earl of Strafford, at Stainborough, by Joseph Bower, senr., since Nov. 19th, 1726, to AprU ye 15, 1727. £ s. d. Nov. ye 26. Joseph Bower, waUing at ye Pond-head at the bottom of the avenew, 4 days 040 Joseph Bower, junr., 5 days at ye same 050 John Bower, 4 days at ye same 040 John Wade, 4 days at ye same 040 The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 373 the different work connected with the building. This memorandum is endorsed " 1714. Money paid for the BuUding at Stainbrough," and contains the following items : — £ s. d. Pd. to Joseph Bower 215 14 11 Pd. to Wm. BuUacke for worke 712 i 11 Pd. to Sam Senyor ye carpenter and his work men IOI 3 8 Pd. to Bricklayor oSS 11 5 Pd. to Mr. Hamoke ye carver, &c 054 15 10 Pd. for Lyrae to Sow'all in all 125 i 6 Pd. for raakeinge 600,00 Bricks and for ye coales to burn ym with 195 3 4 Pd. for ye Quarey man for great stone 150 o o Pd. for ye leadinge stone from ye Quarey 262 3 6 Decb. ye 3. Joseph Bower, I day working at Lord Wintworth's tower, and working and setting ye stone steps out of ye Ivas wood in ye woke to ye Round green, and letting ye hors pond low I o o Other similar items follow at the above wages, which makeatotalof 21 10 2\ In Joseph Bower's bill, for May ye iSth, 1730, occur the items : — April 22. Joseph Bower, senr., 2 days lying the founda tion for Wentworth Castle o 2 o Joseph Bower, junr., 2 days and a half at ye same work 020 Jno. Bower, 3 days do o 3 o Thom. Bower, 3 days do., at IS. 2d o 3 6 Jonathan Bower, 3 days do., at lod 026 John Swift, 3 days do. , at lod o 2 6 Joseph HolUnworth, 3 days do. , at 6d o I 6 Similar iteras are continued. o 374 Worthies of Barnsley. £ s. d. Pd. for 1561 poules for scafold, &c 121 3 o Pd. for 792 yds. Oake Bordes 012 2 o Pd. ye Roape maker for Roapes 041 16 Pd. for Timber for ye buildinge 259 3 6 Pd. for ye CeUars and ye Sow diging oSo 14 3 Pd. to Mr. Fell for 35 ffoder of lead 328 11 o Pd. to Tho: Stainton for Nayles in pte 13 9 6 Pd. ye Smyth in pte for cramp irons* * " Staneborrow, Sep. 10, 1716. — Agreement made between the Earl of Strafford and Robert Bakewell, for making a pair of iron gates and pallosading, for ye front of his Lordship's house at Staneborrow, for ^£"200, to be completed and set up by ye ist of March following : and an agreement also to furnish iron rails, according to a model given in, to separate ye garden frora ye terrace, on ye south end of the house, with gates to open of ye sarae work ID feet wide, the pilasters to have the arms and garter upon them, to be made six feet high. — Robert Bakewell, Iron Gate Maker, Darby." Thos. Booker agrees with the Earl to make a ' ' Bowlen green '' for £6 sterling. " Agreement between the Earl and Daniel Hervey, of York, for 4 capetals, after ye Corinthian order, which are to be fitted in just pro portion to 4 marble columns, which have been shown to the said Daniel ; also 4 other capetals for 4 marble pilasters which are designed to be erected in the gallery of the said Earl's house of Stainborough Hall — to be worked out of Roche Abbey stone, in masterly workman like manner, Daniel to find the stone, and deliver the capetals finished, before the last day of June ensuing for the sum of ;^5o for the eight capetals. — Dated 29th May, 1720." The gallery at Stainborough for which these were designed is said to be one of the finest in England. It is one hundred and eighty feet long, twenty-six broad, and thirty high, and is in three divisions, formed by four marble pillars with gilt capitals, and richly ornamented marble entablatures. The spaces between are occupied by four full-sized statues of Bacchus, Ceres, Apollo, and an Egyptian Priestess. A long detailed account for painting the interior and exterior of the hall, dated September 28th, 1720, including the gates and ironwork The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 375 While " His Honour Wentworth," of Wentworth Wood- house, and his son. Lord Malton, distinguished themselves in their support of the Hanoverian succession. Lord Strafford would appear to have secretly favoured the claims of the Pretender, and been mixed up in some of the Jacobite intrigues of the times,* for on the 9th March, 1722-3, in some proceedings in the House of Lords, Lord Strafford and Lord Kinnoul are mentioned in the depositions of Andrew Pancier, "that he had been told by one Skeene (then in custody) that the said Lords knew of an invasion intended by forces from abroad, and were concerned in the management of the conspiracy here,'' and a motion was made in the House that the said Andrew Pancier and — Skeene should be coraraanded to attend at the Bar of the House, and negatived.* outside, was rendered by William Addinell, and amounted to ;^I78 3s. 9)^d. The items include 24 chairs and 42 buckets with my lord's arms painted on them. — Strafford Papers, Addi. MSS., 22,241, fol. 7, 8, II, 13. At the Barnsley Races, held on Wednesday and Thursday, July 30th and 31st, 1717, a piece of plate of £\o value, given by the Right Hon. the Earl of Strafford, was to be run for on Barnsley Moor by any horse, &c., not, exceeding 13 hands 3 inches, &c. * "After the failure of the attempt to impeach Lord Strafford for his share in the Utrecht Treaty, the ex-ambassador seems to have quitted public affairs in disgust, and to have devoted himself to the completion of his great house, and to the improvement of his estates in Yorkshire. The number of letters addressed to him for many years after his return from the Hague is very small, and it is probable that it was not thought politic to preserve many of them ; for there can be no doubt that the dissatisfied earl was in occasional correspondence with the Pretender ; the extracts from the Stuart Papers, in Windsor Castle, printed by Lord Stanhope in his history, prove this clearly enough." — The Wentworth Papers, p. 135. '^Journal ofthe House of Lords, vol. xxii., pp. no, in. Ibid, vol. xxn., p. 128. 1722-3. 376 Worthies of Barnsley. On the 23rd March, the Weekly Journal and British Gazetteer inserted the name of the Earl of Strafford in a " List of the Conspirators concerned in the late plot formed against the King and Government for setting the Pretender on the British Throne."* Dr. Doran, in London and the Jacobite Times, vol. i., p. 403, writing of this affair, says : — " Lords Strafford, Kinnoul, and Grey, with Atterbury, were comproraised, so far as the evidence of the Captain — Lieutenant Pancier, of Cobhara's Dragoons — went. He deposed that he had been told by one Skeene that the above Peers were concerned in the plot. This took place when a committee of the House of * "On the 15th Jan., 1722-3, the House of Commons appointed a committee to examine Layer and his papers, in the Tower, in order to get a deeper knowledge of the plot to dispose of the king, than they yet possessed. In the subsequent report of this committee, it was stated that the horrible and execrable design had long been entertained by " persons of figure and distinction " at home, as well as by traitors abroad. Of those at home were Lords Orrery, North and Grey, Lord Kinnoul, Lord Strafford, Sir Henry Goring, and with these. Bishop Atterbury, and others. Actively or passively these were all concerned in a conspiracy for an invasion of the kingdom by a force that was to leave Spain under the Duke of Ormond, to be joined by a Jacobite force on the coast and in the capital, and by their united power to destroy the existing state of things, the royal family included." — London a-nd the Jacobite Times, vel. i., pp. 397-9. " When Bishop Atterbury was attainted for being mixed up in the Jacobite plot. Lord Strafford spoke vigorously against the bill. .... " The Peers, who had been arrested, were now admitted to bail, in ;^2o,ooo each themselves, and four sureties in ;^io,ooo. These included Lords North and Grey, and the Duke of Norfolk. For Thomas Cochran and Captain Dennis Kelly, who were also involved in the plot, bail was taken of ;^4,ooo each, and four sureties in ;^2,ooo ; and for the latter, the Earl of Strafford, Lords Arundel and Bathurst, " with downright Shippen," were bail — rank Jacobites most of them are said to have been." — London and the Jacobite Times, vol. I, p. 438. The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 377 Commons visited Layer, under sentence df death, in the Tower. Plunkett deposed that . he had heard Layer say the same of the Earis Scarsdale, Strafford, Cowper [and other noblemen], all of whom were said to belong to a seditious company caUed Barford's Club. Motions to get Pancier, Skeene, and Plunkett before the House of Peers were made and lost. Lord Cowper was the only Peer who denied the alleged facts by a formal declaration. It was on this occasion that the Earl of Strafford declared his feelings in a very lofty manner. ' I have the honour,' he said, ' to have more ancient noble blood running in my veins than some others; so I hope I may be allowed to express more than ordinary resentment against insults offered to the Peerage.' " Lady Wentworth, Lord Strafford's mother, also appears to have been mixed up in these plottings, for at p. 367 Dr. Doran says : " In 1722, treason seemed to lurk in the least likely places. Why had the Chamberlain so summarily ordered I>ady Wentworth to vacate the lodgings she had been permitted to occupy at the Cockpit ? Siraply because she had allowed disaffected persons to meet there. There had been a mysterious vessel lying off the Tower, and a going to and fro between it and Lady Wentworth's lodgings.* The poUce visited both. They seized treasonable papers aboard the ship, and they swept the lodgings clear of aU its inraates, including the servants. The former included the famous * " In the latter part of her life, Lady Wentworth appears to have lived almost entirely at Twickenham, receiving an annuity of ;rf20O from her son. Her quarterly, acknowledgments of the amount have been carefully preserved along with many other vouchers for the Earl's disbursements, including receipts frora grocers, bootraakers, tailors, lawyers, the Sun Fire Office, the Governor and Company of Under takers for raising the Thames water at York Buildings, &c. One 378 Worthies of Barnsley. Captain Dennis Kelly, his wife, her mother. Lady Bellew * (sister of the Earl of Strafford), and some persons of less note. They were all about to ship for France, in furtherance of the conspiracy. The ladies were allowed to go free, but the Captain, with some co-mates in misery, were fast locked in the Tower." After this we hear of no further troubles in which Lord Strafford was implicated. He now went on living the life which he had shadowed forth some years before, in a letter receipt in Lord Strafford's hand-writing, and signed only by Lady Wentworth, runs thus : — "June ye loth, 1728. Received of my son, Strafford, ten pounds in part of my quarter due next midsummer. I hope God will forgive him for paying me before it is due, and breaking his resolution, but it is because he is going into the country, and I promise to be a better manager for the future, and never to ask him before my quarter is due, only this time my son Peter took advantage of my good nature, and weedled me out of six and twenty shillings, which I fear he will never pay me. Isabella Wentworth. "The Twickenham Parish Register records her burial there on August IOth, 1733." — Ibid, p. 480. * " Frances Arabella, second daughter of Sir William Wentworth (maid of honour to Queen Mary, wife of Jaraes II. ), raarried Walter Lord Bellew, of the Kingdom of Ireland. " Collins Peerage. "Sir William Wentworth was evidently in high favour with James II. , for a news letter of September, i686, records that, on the marriage of his daughter to Lord Bellew, ' an Irish Papist,' the King made her a present of ^^3,000. Lord Bellew, we may note, remained faithful to the king after his flight, and fought for his cause in Ireland at the battle of Aughrim, where he was severely wounded and taken prisoner ; his wounds, indeed, were so serious, that they brought about his death within a few months after his release. It does not appear that Sir William Wentworth's attachment to his Catholic master was so stead fast ; for, after the Revolution, we are told a cornet's comraission was bought for his son, Thomas, in the regiment of horse commanded by Lord Colchester, afterwards Earl Rivers." — The Wentworth Papers, J.J. Cartwright, M.A., pp. 3, 4. The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 379 to Sir WiUiam Wentworth, of Bretton, of " a country gentl,e- man trying to gain my neighbours by looking up my great dogs, opening my cellars, and having no inn by my house," and this kind of life he continued to lead up to the tirae of his'death ; paying periodical visits to his other seats, and to his town house during the London season.* About 1723, he purchased all that was left of the Rockley estate, which formed a fine adjunct to his Stainborough property ; and in doing this, he by his cleverness forestalled his rival, his Honour Wentworth, who had a raortgage on it, and was also desirous of being the purchaser. Serjeant Darnallt * Lord Bathurst, in a letter to Lord Strafford, dated Oct. 26, 1725, writes : — "I should have thought myself very happy if I cou'd have had the pleasure of waiting on your lordship and my Lady Strafford, at Stainborough ; but indeed I had great satisfaction in seeing that place so much improv'd since I was there last. The gallery is a very magnificent room, now the pillars are up, and the gardens are extreraely improv'd by laying them open to the Park. I thought the cascade in the Court very handsome till I saw that in the Menagerie, which exceeds ' it very much, and is indeed as handsome and as agreeable as any I ever saw. It was the more surprising to me because I did not expect it, and did not think your lordship had such a comraand ot water there, or that there was so large a fall." + " I hereby consent that Mr. John Knutton, and all the rest of the tenants of the estate late of Lewis Westcombe, and his wife, in Rockley and Worsborough, which was raortgaged to me, on sight of hereof, attorn and become tenants for the same to John DarnaU, Esq., Serjt.-at-law, and pay their arrears and growing rents to him or his order, as witness my hand this loth day of August, 1723. " Witnesses hereunto— " TH : WENTWORTH. " Ben : Sheppard, Svt. to the sd. Mr. Wentworth. " John Rose, of Northampton. " Hen : Horton, Clerk to Mr. Rose."— Strafford Papers, 22,243, fol. 27. [All the mortgages redeemed by Serjt. DarnaU, and the rights of the estate bought up, were conveyed to him, and then re-conveyed to Lord Strafford, in 1723.] 38o Worthies of Barnsley. acted as his lordship's agent in this transaction, and it was not known until the purchase was finally corapleted that he was acting On behalf of his lordship.* The following memorandums wiU show what was about the extent and value of the Manor of Rockley at that period : — " The Manor of Rockley. £ s. d. Containing about 350 acres of Pasture and Arable land, let formerly one with an other at IIS. per acre, araounted to per ann. £1-^2) ^S^- od-j ^t 22 years' pur chase, is worth 4042 10 o A Corn MiU at ;^ii o o 220 o o .^194 IS o 4262 10 o The Furnace and Ironstone was lately let to Mr. Green, for 21 years, at ;^i 60 o o 2000 o o 6262 10 o 200 acres of Wood land, about 10 years' growth one with another, all thinning wood, worth 2000 o o In all ^£"8262 10 o * " Mr. Silvester, of Birthwaite Hall, was also mixed up in money matters with the Rockley estate and was desirous of being the purchaser ; and in one of Mr. Bromley's letters it is stated that he (Mr. Silvester) was in a great rage at being forestalled in the purchase. The following is a key to the writing in cypher between Mr. CdUins and Lord Strafford during the negotiations for the purchase of the Rockley estate : — Hacket, Johnson ; Heme, Hawksworth ; Watson Wentworth, Vermin'; Serjt. Darnal, Wortley ; Arther, Richards ; CoUens, Ramond ; Strafford, York ; Asleby, Trickster ; Rockley, Holditch ; Worspur, Clifdon ; Westcomb, Randal ; the terme. Season ; the Master in Chancery, Finall; Chancellour, Judge." — Addi. MSS., 31,152, foh 105. The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 381 Note. — There is about £'^ in the Chief and Cottage Rents, and a great quantity of Coale, and a good deal of Common ground, all of which is valuable, tho' nothing charged for it. All these lands are in Mortgage to Mr. Watson Went worth for about _;^2,4oo, which is the prior encumbrance on the Estate. " Moneys Lent on Rockley. £ s. d. First a bond from Mr. Hackett to Serjt. DarnaU , 300 o o Interest of the same 90 o o A note of Mr. Collins, dated iSth Dec, 1718 30 o o A receipt of Serjt. Darnall's of April ye 19th, 1722, for a bill of Charges pay'd Mr. Ashton 76 o o Dec. ye 17th, 1720, a Release from Nathaniel Home to Serjt. DarnaU 3211 17 ro The Interest to Dec, 1723 331 10 o ^4039 7 10 Reported due to Wentworth ISt August, 1723 4S01 i 7 Paid him tiU i6th August 11 16 6 A BiU to Aslaby 10 o o ;^8862 5 II Further Interest 120 i o * ;^S982 6 II" * Addi. MSS., 22243, fols- 4, 38- 382 Worthies of Barnsley. There was, however, considerable litigation afterwards with regard to this purchase. A claira was made to the estate by Robert Rockley, son of Richard Rockley, the heir male of the family,* by virtue of certain deeds of • The foUowing letters are from Mr. Robert Rockley to Lord Strafford : — "Lees, February 21, 1726. "My Lord,— " As your Lordship was pleased to say att Stainborough that you would be glad to see my sonn att London, I have been so bold as to order him to wayt upon your Lordship with this letter and the en closed copy of verses which I was speaking of when I had the honour to bee with you, and indeed my Lord I was then sorry I could not send you my book, but I have now gott it home, and when your Lordship returns into the country you shall be attended with it. As I was for merly desiring your favour in the behalf of my dear sonn the bearer hereof, I make bold to do the same again now, and if your Lordship will be pleased to do him any service it shall bee acknowledged by me and him and all my family with the greatest gratitude in the world, and I have the vanity- to believe that a great many of my old neighbours and countrymen would bee pleased with your Lordship's favour to him, because my family have been antient thereabouts, and I live in hopes it may agayn bee raysed by your favour. I am sensible your Lordship is not a minister in this court, but I flatter myself you have friends that are, and that your recommendation may do my sonn good service. ' ' And now my Lord it is high time to beg your Lordship's pardon for the trouble of this, and most humbly to assure your Lordship that none of your friendeS does or can wish your Lordship and your whole noble family more health and prosperity than "Your Lordship's " Most obliged and ever most obedient servant, " Ro : Rockley. " The Right Hon. the Earl of Strafford." " Lees, 15th of Noveraber, 1 730. "My Lord, — " Tho' I did order an appearance by Mr. Carrington's clerk in Court that I might be att no charge in taking out a copy of your Lord ship's bill, yet it was always my firm resolution to put in a full, just, and honest answer, as I told your lordship I would doe, when I had TIte Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 383 entail; and also by Henry Carrington, of the Yews, an attorney, who had been much eraployed in the Rockley suits under assignraent alleged to have been raade to hira previously to the grants under which the Earl of Strafford clairaed. After this litigation had been going on for sorae time, Carrington applied to the Earl to have the affair com promised, and on the Sth November, 1726, it was agreed the honour to wayt upon you at Stainburrough, and I send this to assure your Lordship that if you will please to send me a copy of your Lord ship's bill, or att least what concerns me, I will draw a sort of a rough draught of my answer, and send it to your Lordship to be put into a proper form, and I shall be very glad to doe it, that all the world raay knowe how much I abhorred to clayme the equity of redemption of Rockley, which I knowe was never bought nor intended to bee bought, and should Mr. Edmunds or his friends blarae me for it, I shall never concern or trouble myself about that, where truth and justice is con cerned, but if ever I should be told that he did I shall not stick to tell him that hee is a base raan for so doing. Neither I nor my family was ever beholden to the Carringtons or the Edmundes's, but the first had his greatest rise from mine — his father had even his very bread from them, and the latter now enjoys an estate of the Rockleys worth more by ;^3,ooo than ever was paid for it, so that I have room to speake out. I shall speak upon a proper occasion, and never joyne with them upon any account whatsoever ; but I do solemnly declare, that as I cannot have my ancestors' estate myself, I rather wish to see it in your Lord ship's hands than in any other, because it lyes conligious to your estate, and I know is a beauty to it, and I truly wish your Lordship your healthe long to enjoy it, and am with strict truth and great respect, " Your Lordshipp's most obedient humble servant, " Ro : Rockley. " I did not in the least doubt but Mr. Edmunds would have agreed with your Lordship upon reasonable terms, and wonder that hee does not." " Lees, Sth of Dec, 1730. "My Lord— " Herewith your Lordship receives a rough draught of my answer, which I hope will give you satisfaction ; it is the Gospel truth, 384 Worthies of Barnsley. among all the parties that legal proceedings should cease, that the Earl should pay Carrington ;^2oo, in consideration of which he and Rockley should convey the equity of re demption of the Manor of Worsborough, and of all estates and lands at Rockley, in the tenure of the Earl or his and that I will stand by whilst I live, and I do assure your Lordship that if I had answered with the other defendants I would have answered the very same thing, for it should not have been in their power to have led rae either one way or another : it is true I owne I was led too rauch by Mr. Carrington, but I thank God it was not out of any weaknesse, but in hopes of a match that my dear sonn might have been again Settled in some part of the estate of his ancestors, for as Mr. C — n. several tiraes hinted his designe to me, it was impossible for me to knowe whether hee was in good earnest or not, and I was truly sensible that if hee did me and ray faraily justice, he should have marryed her to my sonn before any other person, and I am very glad I cannot re proach myself with anything that caused his baseness to me." After the death of Mr. Carrington, in 1730, and after the marriage of his daughter with Mr. Edmunds, Mr. Rockley addressed a letter to the Earl of Strafford, soliciting his interference with Mr. Edmunds in his behalf. The Earl enclosed it, describing the writer as " a poor gentle man, an honest raan, who has had hard usage." The following is an ex tract from it : — " It is well known to all the neighbourhood of Worspor {sic) how rauch Mr. Carrington hath been concerned in and about that estate, and what great sums he hath got by it ; and your Lordship is truly sensible that he had never got the purchase of that estate from my cozen Wescombe, but that I told them that there was a match designed betwixt my son and his daughter ; and whilst I breathe I raust and wUl say that Mr. Carrington, before that time, and all that time, and since that tirae, gave rae hopes of it, both by word of raouth and by letter ; and, if he had lived, whether he would have performed his promise, I know not, but as she has married another, the case is hard upon me, and I beg some reliefe ; and my request is that Mr. Edmunds would allow me, for my natural life, the Balk Farra, wherein I was born, which, I think, is ;^27 los. per ann. ; and I may truly say it may be well afforded, considering the many good bargains Mr. Carrington got of my relations, and particularly this last by ray sole means ; and, as I am in the 60th year of my age, &c., if this be granted, I will freely give him a release The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 385 tenants, and that the Earl should convey to Carrington all lands in Worsborough and Worsborough Dale (except the Manor) then in Carrington's possession. This agreement had not been carried out on the death of Carrington in and confirmation of every thing, and, indeed, I would sometimes come and table with the tenant at Baulk Farm, and so lay my bones among my ancestors, and by so doing I hope God will give a greater blessing to his estate,'' &c. "Ro. Rockley." "Lees, Oct. 27, 1731. "My Lord,— " Being told that your Lordship expects I should seal releases to such agreements as your Lordship and Mr. Edmundes make con cerning the Rockley estate, I send this most humbly to represent to your Lordship that I wiU never do it unless Mr. Edmundes will allow me ;^20 per annum for my life, which I ara satisfied he ought to doo, because I knowe that hee actually enjoys an estate which belonged to my faraily worth about ;^3,ooo, more than ever his father, Carrington, paid for it, or cost him, to aU persons whatever, and in a great measure by my owne very monies, but to make an end of all clayms and pre tences whatsoever if he wUl do that ; att the same time I send to your Lordship, I will send to him, and to show my just intent I will not desire that ;^20 per annum untili he be reirabursed all damages and costs that hee hath, or may sustain by My Dear Sonn, and this, I think, is very fair in your Lorships most obedient and humble servant, "Ro. Rockley. "To the Right Honble. Thos. Eari of Strafford." How Mr. Rockley's request was received by Mr. Edmundes we cannot say. He continued to reside in the family of Sir Arthur Kaye, at Woodsome Lees, as a confidential steward, having married a distant relation of Lady Kaye. His desire to lay his bones among those of his ancestors does not appear to have been gratified, for he was buried in the Parish Church at Almonbury, near Huddersfield. He left one son, who died a bachelor, and who wrote a history of his faraily, in which occur the following words : — " He is now within three months of seventy ; at whose death, which raust be soon, there wiU be an end of this once ancient and opulent family." —Addi. MSS , 22,236, fol. 63, 64, 74. Mr. Bower's Notes ofthe Worsborough Evidences. 26 386 Worthies of Barnsley. 1730, and we find Lord Strafford again moving in the matter, and seeking that the arrangement may be set aside for certain reasons shown, and he be permitted to prosecute his stiit against the widow and daughter of Carrington, not withstanding the agreement that all suits should cease. They, however, eventually yielded to the powerful influence of the Earl's station and purse by an arrangement which was simUar to that of 1726. Lord Strafford, soon after his purchase of Stainborough, would appear to have had an eye to the Rockley estate, as will appear from the foUowing letter, addressed to him by Lewis Wescombe, who had married Catherine, the only daughter and heiress of Francis Rockley : — " June 26th, 1 7 1 1 . My Lord, — I have sent your lordship a short par ticular of the Manor of Rockley, and also a particular of lands in Worsbrough. Mr. Watson Wentworth has a mortgage of ^2,700, and he having of late shown some civility to me, I beg the favour of your Lordship that it may be kept private, my treating with you anyways. I wUl wait on your lordship soon and shall then intimate my mind more freely. In the meantime I am with all regard, my lord, your lordship's most obedient humble servant, L. Wescombe." Writing to Lord Strafford thirteen years later, from- "Paris, 7th Feb., 1724," Mr. Wescombe says; " It was no surprise to me to hear your lordship had paid off Mr. Wentworth's mortgage in Serjeant Darnall's narae, I having been informed of all that transaction long before, and that the serjeant acted in that matter for your lordship ; but it seems odd to me that a person of your good sense and caution should be prevaUed upon to hearken to Mr. Hacket [Mr. H. had raarried Francis Rockley's widow] or The Earls of Straffofd of Stainborough. 387 any of his people, that he had any reall security upon my wife's and my estate in Rockley frora us, assuring your lordship the deeds we gave Hacket were for no valuable consideration, and that will be seen in its proper time, so that if your lordship has advanced Hacket any money on that security (as I hear you have) your lordship wUl be a sufferer in it. That estate lyes convenient for your lord ship, and if you desire to purchase it, and to enjoy it without trouble, I desire to know at once the utmost you will give for my wife's and ray right therein, before I pro ceed in another method, which I am advised to do out of hand, so I thought fit to give your lordship this notice that you should have no reason to complain of him who is, with all respect, &c., Lewis Wescombe." Writing on the Sth March in the same year to his lordship, Wescorabe says : " I am surprised to hear by yours that your lordship should make purchase of an estate without agreeing with us, the true proprietors of it, and especially when your lordship was told by me at Utrecht how unjustly Mr. Hacket had dealt with us, who had always the right of redeeming it ; and further I am concerned your lordship should have advanced more money upon the estate than 'tis worth, by reason of the great regard I had always for your lordship ; but at the same time you must give me leave to tell you that if you have made any agreement with Mr. Hacket, or advanced any money to him, or to any person under him upon the security of the deeds of mortgage from us, it will not be found valid, for those writings to him were given for sorae reasons we had then, not proper to be mentioned, and not upon any valuable consideration ; and 'tis only by the mortgages that were assigned to Mr. Wentworth (which 388 Worthies' of Barnsley. your lordship has paid off), that you have any right to hold our estate, till they be redeemed. Therefore, if your lord ship thinks fit to purchase my wife's right in what we have a claim to, of the equity of redemption, and whereby you may have a good title, and sit at ease, be pleased to make such an offer to us as we can accept of, that no time may be lost on either side." By a letter from Mr. Wescombe to Lord Strafford, dated frora London, 27th January, 1729-30, it would appear that Wescombe's claim was in a fair way for being compromised. In it occurs the following : — " The honour your lordship did me last night with so early an answer to my proposal, deserves an equal return. And, whereas there is nothing designed by my wife and me but to do your lordship all the good we can, the matter does not require any consideration, as there is not the least thought of circumvention ; and though my spouse never had any intention of giving up our right under ^500, nor did we ever recede from that amount to Mr. Draycott, when he was last with us, yet I will venture to say now one word farther : that if your lord ship thinks fit to pay either at Paris or Calais, on the perfecting of your writings £2,°°! rny spouse and I will leave to your generosity the other ;^2oo, and then your lordship may have a blessing with the estate as we desire." * A month later, Catherine Wescombe, in a letter from Calais to Lord Strafford, dated Feb. 23, announces the death of her husband, and says : — " All I am capable to assist your lordship in I will, that you may punish them for their past baseness ; but though Carrington would cheat aU * Addi. MSS,, 22,236, fol. 113, 138-I40. The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 389 mankind, the devill will cheat him at last. My poor advise is to keep what your lordship and I have done still private ; but alas as God toke my dear spouse from me, he has at the same time taken from me all ye bread I had to depend upon ; for I assure your lordship I have nothing sure to myself for bread now but yt little you sent me by Mr. Hamilton which I must be careful not to spend, but to support myself by it, tUl God puts me in a way, or gives me thoughts where to get more. I do believe you pitty me, that after living well so long, I should now be exposed to every wind of fortune to shake me. O hard fate 1 The Jesuits have robed me of my son — barbarously seduced him from me, whilst his dear father was absent ; who else might now have honorably been put into some business to have given me bread. Unhappy as I am, I assure yor lordship all I am capable of to yor good I will do with pleasure, having nothing more left me in this world that I value." Writing from Calais, April 4th, she says: — "I ara con tinually ill, by the great uneasiness of ray raind ; and unless Providence obliges ye Duke of Newcastle to hearken to what yor. Lordsp. will say in my favour when you give him my letter, and it makes hira procure for me from our Court what I so much want, and desire of thera, I shall not know which way to turn to for bread for the future ; and pray judge what a sad prospect that is for me. . . . As I cannot yet comraand the many letters Mr. Rockley did write to us just after he had corapleted ye bargain with us for the Manner of Worsbrough, whereby he did treat with us anew for the Manner of Rockley, I think ye few lines I have now wrott to hira will draw again frora him his treating with me for that manner, wch. he pretends to yor. Lordsp. 390 Worthies of Barnsley. he has already bought of us, wch. is false : and so soon as we receive his answer to mine you will better be able to have such strong questions put by yr. Lordsp. to Rockley as then will confound him ; for if Carrington has, by roguish and sinister means, put such words into the deeds we signed at Paris, for Worsbrough, as he hoped would include the manor of Rockley too, it is not impossible by the contrivance of such a roguish deed, but that deed may by this Chan cellor be wholly made void, on repaying back to Mr. Rockley ye twelve hundred pounds yt was paid us for ye Manner of Worsbrough alone designed ; and at that time we did make Mr. Rockley sensible that what we toke from him for it, was not half its value, even of the arrears that was due to me from yt estate by Carrington, as by a Cora- mission several years before was found due to me, besides the value of the Lands. But he said in letters yt. as his son was to marry Carrington's daughter, so what I forgave Carrington was given to his son, and by that means all differences were made up ; as I then valued Mr. Rockley, my next relation, and wished he might have had the ancient estate to keep up our family, I did condescend to his proposall, which by severall of his letters he explained was only for the manner of Worsbrough ; the point is, if them deeds we signed here abroad, which they drew and sent to us, was contrary to our real bargain (as by his letters may be shown), and they by sinester means put raore in them deeds than ought to have been, I believe the whole bargain is void. If that could be, that Rogue yt is dead, Carrington* * " March l8, 1729-30. — Yesterday, Mr. Henry Carrington, of Views, was buried at Worsborough. This day fortnight he was at Mr. Hawksworth 's, in Barnsley, at the eating of a barrell of oysters, where The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 391 has done a fine worke for Mr. Rockley, Carrington having left effects enough to make good my demand on hira, and yr Lordsp by yt means may have both ye manners. Pray let it be well considered what I herein mention ; and if yr lordship approves of my letter to Mr. Rockley, pray send it to hira, that we may forthwith get his answer and draw afresh frora him that he does treat with me for Rockley, &c." * perhaps he might get too much liquor. He fell into a fit of the stone and strangury, and a feaver, and died on Saturday last, about 7 a clock at night. He has left an only daughter." — Yorkshire Diaries, Surtees Soe. Pub. vol. 65, p. 294. "June 30, 1730. — This day Mr: Edmunds was married at Wors borough to Mis : Carrington ; she is in the sixteenth year of her age. " — Ibid, p. 297. " May 17, 1729. — Toby Holland, of Worsborough Dale, aged 75, informs me that he knew most of the Rockleys. The old squire (who was father to them) had a glass eye. His eldest son married her who afterwards married Mr. Hackette, and had an only daughter married to Wescombe. Jervase Rockley owned the Blacker ; he mortgaged it to some gentlemen of London, Sir Newman, and Sir Christopher Wren, the architect, and — Rayney. Mr. Wilcox, who went from Worsborough, was their steward, or agent, and retumed the rents. The present Mr. Carrington purchased it of their widdows (or executors) for a little money, at an underworth. The said Mr. Carrington's father was a poor vagrant boy ; came into the family of the Rockley's, where he was brought up. Was first the spit-turner ; at length he farmed some land of them at Blacker, where this Mr. Carrington was born, and brought up an attorney." — Ibid, vol. 65, p. 290. * " Catherine Wescombe to Robert Rockley. " London, Feby. 24, 1727. " Sir, — I am inform'd by a person I can depend upon, that you and Carrington had told the Earl of Strafford, that my spouse and I had sold the equity of redemption of Rockley to you and him ; this report has much surprised me, it being so false in itself, as appears plainly by many of your letters, which I have by me, both before and after we 392 Worthies of Barnsley. In another letter Mrs. Wescombe refers again to her only son having joined the Jesuits, and he is, she states, "as good as dead to her," and begs of his lordship to assist her in some way to obtain a pension to support "a poor unfortunate gentlewoman," for which purpose she is sending a memorial to the Duke of Newcastle. " I am," she continues, "left without anything for my bread for the future — a poor help less woman that has not been used to want ;" hopes to get some little assistance from Court for the small remainder of her life. " I should then be ready, and have it in my power on all occasions, to render your Lordship service, against those that would oppose you to have ye estate of Rockley treated with you (at your aunt my dr mother's instance), for the lands of Worsborough, which Carrington so long unjustly kept possession off from me. " When you acquainted me that yr son was to marry Carrington's daughter, it raade rae hope that Carrington's conscience began to prick him for the wrongs he had done to our family, so was wiUing to make some restitution at last, which indeed inclined me to treat with you, I being willing you shou'd possess at least some part of the estate of our ancestors ; and since I had that consideration for you, it is very base to act, or say anything derogatory from a gentleman and the antient family you are descended off; so I should be glad to hear by first post from you the truth of this report, that you may justify yourself, or I shall be obliged to expose the villainy. " I ara, sir, your humble servant, " Cat ¦ Wescombe. " You may send your answer to your son here, and let him give it to Mr. Herbert, whom he knows, and does lodge at the blew ball, in Fisher-street, near Red Lyon-square. ' ' To Robert Rockley, Esq. , At Lees, near Wakefield." Robert Rockley to Lord Strafford, on the 4th Dec, 1730 : — " I am resolved to make everything as you can desire, and to bee as private as possible. Last week Mr. Edmunds sent Mr. Marsden to me to desire The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 393 with advantage, as I did ought to have possessed it ; and the many contrivances unravelled whUst I live, and perhaps it may be thought best to act against them rogues in my name, tho' I have now given your lordship my right." She hopes his lordship will do the best he can to relieve her, and let her know her fate, that she may act accordingly. Writing from Calais a little later, she says : — " I just reed, ye honr. of jTTs. of the 14th inst., O.S.. and have signed your deeds that Mr. Hamilton carys you, and leave him to tell your lordsp. how very unhappy I am. My best hope is that I may not live long, for life is burthensome to one so miserable as I am. I am so out of order that I can't yet take no journey anywhere ; and as my spouse is dead, I have no business to live in Paris, a dear place, but must contrive to get my things from thence, if I do not go for them. I have troubled yr. Lordsp. with the enclosed papers, and beg you wUl peruse them wth. corapassion, and I would join with them in my answer, but I told him I would answer by myself, and tell the truth, the whole truth, and yet nothing but the truth, and did not own that I had any concern with your Lordship. . . . I doubt not but your Lordship and Cozen Wescomb will be fully convinced that I endeavoured to act an honest part about the equity of redemption of Rockley before, and if my advice had been taken a great deal of trouble and charge might have been saved to your Lordship. And now it is high lime to return your Lordship my hearty and sincere thanks for your kind intentions and good wishes to me, and as your Lordship may depend upon itt that I will not take one stepp in this affair without acquainting your lordshipp, so do I most safely rely upon your Lordship's letting me know if any overtures of an agreement bee made." [Answer of Robert Rockley, Esq., to the bUl of complaint of Thomas Earl of Strafford follows at some length .]—^fl'i^/. MSS., 22,236, fol. 68, 148. 394 Worthies of Barnsley. if you can do anything for me, be pleased to let me know it by a line to me sealed, &c." * Referring to sorae goods which had been left behind on their leaving Rockley, she says : " The goods and coach (the latter being a new one) were taken out of Rockley-house yt. summer before ye agreement was made with Mr. Rock ley, by Mrs. Shippen of Barnsley, and my dear mother did order that they be sold to the best advantage. Mrs. Shippen not returning them, my dear mother did order Mr. Rockley to bring Mrs. Shippen to account for ye goods. Rockley pretended to my mother and me, yt. he could not get Mrs. Shippen to account with him for the things she had in her possession, without a suite-at-law, and would have had a power sent him to that end, but as I began to see he was too much governed by Carrington, I thought ye money for those things would be no safer in his hands than in Ship- pen's, so the matter was left as I have herein told yr. L'dship, still hoping our affairs would change for the better, and we might be able to bring Shippen and his wife to account for what they had of ours in their hands. My dear mother dyed three years past, and I am her heire ; so I beg ye favor of yr. L'dship to put this matter in a way yt. I raay * " October 7, 1730. About a fortnight ago, I dined with Mr. Hamil ton, gentleman to the Earl of Strafford, who told me that he had been at Paris, sometirae before Christmas last, where he had bought for his lordship, of Madame Wescomb, the equity of redemption of Rockley estate, and that Mr. Wescomb, her husband, was lately dead ; and that the Jesuits had persuaded her son to go to the English coUege of St. Omer's, which troubled her very much. She was the daughter and only child of Mr. Rockley, of Rockley. Mr. Hacket married her mother." — Yorkshire Diaries, Vol. 65,301. The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 395 get ye moneys, ye goods might have been disposed of for." * Again, May 5th, 1730, she writes : — "The situation I am in is to be pittyed, and is worse than can be expressed, and unless God thro' yor Lordsp assists me I ara for ever miser able, nor do I know where I had best goe to for to settle." t Catherine Hacket, Francis Rockley's widow, and mother of Catherine Wescombe, also wrote to Lord Strafford on the same subject, as follows : — "Paris, Nov. 24th, 1723. " My Lord, — I am informed from Yorkshire, that your lordship has ordered my maid Martha, who I left at Rockley to take care of my things, that she should remove them for that you wanted the house. I cannot give any credit to that information, first, because I know those ordinary people about us to be very guilty to say what is not true ; and secondly that I am ignorant that you have any title to my daughter's estate. I have been told that one Serjeant DarnaU was to pay off Mr. Wentworth's mortgage ; which if you have done I cannot believe you will refuse leaving the house at Rockley and my things in it, in the sarae situation as Mr. Wentworth did, which I desire of you, if you have the power now ; and for my own sake you may be sure I shall not be long before I put order to my concerns there in the country. I ara sorry, I am obliged in- conscience to acquaint you, that my husband Mr. Hacket's title to my daughter's concerns in Yorkshire, wUl not be found when scrutinized to be either a just or cleare title, and my daughter * Addi. MSS., 22,236, fol. 150, 166. + Addi. MSS., 22,236, fol. 160, 162. 39^ Worthies of Barnsley. has too great a reguard for her famUy to pass allways over these injustices she has raet with. " My Lord, " Your Lordsps most humble servant, " Catherine Hacket. * " My Lord Strafford." Mrs. Hacket died about 1727, but her daughter, Mrs. Wescombe, was Uving in 1747, when she was visited at Evreux, in France, where she was then residing, by her cousin, Mr. Robert Rockley, who gives this account of her ; " that she had raany whiras, but was a woraan of great spirit and wit, full of politics and projects, by which she ruined herself and her son." She was still a widow, and both she and her son were known by the narae of Rockley. The son was at that time, as she thought, at Brussels, but very wUd, and without fortune. Brooke says that he was concerned in the rebellion of 1745. In addition to the Manor of Rockley, Lord Strafford had also purchased Savile Hall, in Dodworth, f of the family of Savile, and the Keresforth Hill estate, which still form * Addi. MSS., 22,221, fol. 377. t Mr. William Fenton, who resided at Savile Hall,' in Dodworth, was land agent to Lord Strafford, and steward for his lordship's manor of Worsborough and Worsborough Dale. Mr. William Fenton was succeeded by his son, Mr. Richard Fenton, of Bank Top, who was a raan of note, and Clerk of the Peace for the West Riding. He con tinued to be employed as law agent and steward to Lord Strafford up to the time of his death, in 1788, at the advanced age of 80 years. He was succeeded in 1789 by Mr. William Elmhirst, who was followed in the year 1800 by Mr. John Birks, of Hemingfield, who performed the duties for a period of 60 years. The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 397 part of the family property. The following is the " Stain borough rental for half-year to Martinmas, 17 28 " — The Stainborough & Savile Hall tenants 21S 14 10^ Wra. Cotton and Mr. Shore for Stainborough Mill and Rockley Smithies for half a year ... 20 o o Wra. Cotton and Mr. Shore for Rockley Furnace 30 o o Mr. Hanson for privy tithes o 13 4 The Keresforth-hUl tenants 91 11 3 The Rockley rentals 69 18 i £m^ 17 6i His Lordship went on with his iraproveraents, which he himself superintended when at Stainborough; and during his absence he left or forwarded instructions as to what had to be carried out, of which the following is a speciraen :— "Wentworth Castle, 27th of Noveraber, 173S. Instruc tions for Wardman. In the first place the Ice House must be filled the first hard frost, the day after Ld. Malton's is begun to be fiU'd, & Wardman must settle an intelligence to know when they begin to fill my Ld. Malton's, tho' he pays a man or boy 8d. or i2d. for bringing him word ; and then he must ride over to Wentworth, tho' he leaves aU other business undone, to see in what manner they work ; being what he has not been used to, and the very next day he must set about mine. And as he will find Ld. Malton wUl have a great many men to fill his Ice-house, Wardman must get as many men as he can to fiU mine — not only my own labourers but in short the two Taylors, Wm. Downing, John Brown and others, even though as far as Barnsley, and tho' he gives an extraordinary price — tUl he has sufiScient to fill 398 Worthies of Barnsley. it in a day. . . . Wardman must go on with finishing the Pondhead by Constantine well, and when the raines or floods have raade that place too soft to work att, he must carry the men away to work at the two Ha ha's. which I design to have dun this winter — the first is between the Avenue and Town Ing in the manner I have begun it, and if it proves gravel towards the bottora, he must dispose of it before the gates of the Menagerie, to make good the way for coaches to the gravel walk in the Avenue, which at pre sent is but loose clay, & when that is done sufficiently if there is any gravel to spare he must lay it along the Avenue where it is most wanted. "The next Ha ha I design is yt between the Park and WUderness up to the Ewe (Yew) Seat to the place I have mark't. . . . The next the stones must be taken from round the trees and the Elm walks. . . . Wardman is to do as I order'd him in ye year 1736, to pick up aU the padlocks and the keys belonging to them, and to keep them so as the keys may be found to the proper locks, & when it is necessary to have ye places open that has been padlocked, the padlocks shaU be taken away and laid up, and not left open upon the staples to be taken away by the country people as they please. Likewise as in 1736, that carts, waines, wheelbarrows, aU necessary things should be preserved as much as possible, and when the wheelbarrows are worne and uneven they should be rounded by the carpenter, and the way to preserve them is to shoe them round with iron, as I will have the wheels both of my carts & wheelbarrows done, & if the wheels break in other parts the iron will serve again for new ones "Wardman to remember to caU upon the joyner of The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 399 Dodworth, first, to lay the boards loose in the Chinee bed chamber — to lay them down fine and compleat in the Springe, that there be no cracks between them nor no nails seen ; — this joyner has agreed to do them at lod. per yard which is the price I gave Thornton & Jonathan Goodyer, & other joyners ; — he should be shown the pattern of a green chair, to know what he will do them for a piece, for Bill Bashford promised to make one dozen of thera at i2d. a piece, tho' he was but to have lod. a piece for the last he made. . . . The great ash tree at the upper end of the garden, sho* be cut down when it freezes so hard as it may be carried away without spoiling ye grass. The Wilderness Pond should be filled this winter when the Castle pond is full enough, to see if it wUl hold. When the hurdles is dun to fence the Wilderness and the Hermitage by the Castle, the sheep must be watched for two or three days, to see they do not spoile the new planted firs, and if they do they must be taken away iraediately. "The glass of the skylights over the two stone back stairs in the new house should be raended that it may not rain in as it does, and sorae invention should be thought of to cover the top of the stairs up to the Castle tower, or else the snow may do prejudice to ye sajd tower. Care should be taken to turn the water off the roads in the Law-wood, or the water running . down the cart rutts will this winter make very deep gutters Two puppys of the Spanish Pointer must be given away, one to Ben Wads worth, & the other to Tomey Beckitt to be bred up ; the two bitches — one must be kept by the Keeper, and the other by BUl Sheppard, and not at my charge. . . . All boards and planks (excepting those of the house) shou'd be 40O Worthies of Barnsley. laid edgeway and hollow, for if they are laid flat they wiU rott. The great ladders should be laid dry in the barne, or somewhere where they will not rot as they have done ; there shold be a long roUer made, and an invention upon it like a great wheelbarrow, or trough for the gardiners to carry off the grass they mow w*- a horse, and not to spend their whole days work in carrying it off upon their heads in littie basketts Mrs. Wardman is desired to see w'. beding is wanted for the stableraen and footmen's rooms and to send my Lady Strafford an account. Mr. Wardman is desired, when the family is gone, to look particularly in the stables, and the stablemen's room w'- saddles, harness & straps are left, & to lay them up with such care that the ratts may not eat them as they have done hitherto. .... [Long instructions with respect to the repairs of different houses follow, and then], — "It is the park-keepers business, after he has taken particular care of the deer, to see the trees are well dab'd, that I have no more of them spoilt, for I have counted every one, that has been bit already ; those that are waU'd round he must • take care to lay up their stones properly on ye tops of their walls, & to pick up all stones that are tumbled against the trees, because by the motion of the wind those stones cut the barke as much as if the deear bit them. He must have the school children one day in a week to pick up all the loose stones in ye parke, especially those places that have been new plow'd, which they must lye up in Uttle heaps to be carried away either by ye ass & a cart, or a horse and cart ; — he and his boy must traine up a littie ass to draw the daubing sledge about as the old one did, and he must take care to sprede and throw about aU ye mole hills fresh thrown up, that they may not look Ul in ye The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 401 springe. ... In foddering ye deer he must take par ticular care not to waste any hay, there being but a little stock of it. TiU he bys a horse of his owne, which he must do in the spring, he may make use of mumper to carry the venison I shall order, but must not make use of ye mare but upon ray particular service, and even then he is to ask Wardman before he rides her, and not to ride any of my horses upon any pretence whatever, but when he gets a horse of his own he may ride it as he pleases : — ^When he returns from his journey he must send of by the Stairfoot carrier to London half a doe, the other half to be given away as I shall order him ; he is my gamekeeper & has my warrant for the same." In purchasing the Keresforth-hill estate. Lord Strafford obtained a vested interest in St. Mary's Church, Barnsley, becoming possessed of what was called the Keresforth quire or chapel, which had been founded in early tiraes by the Keresforths. This carae to be called the Strafford Chapel, and the windows looking into it Lord Strafford always repaired.* This and sorae pews continued to belong to the successive owners of the Stainborough estate until the restoration of St. Mary's Church sorae ten years ago, when on free seats being introduced throughout the church, all interest in thera was kindly waived by Mr. Wentworth. The following rhyraing epistle was written by a nephew * 1727, Oct. 26. Mr. Blackburn (to Lord Strafford) for glass for Barnsley Church windows o n 5J A Bill of ironwork for the windows of your Lordship's quire in Barnsley Church o 17 2 1745. Elizabeth Pearson repaired windows in Strafford Chapel in Barnsley Church. 27 402 Worthies of Barnsley. of Lord Strafford's (probably WiUiam, son of Peter Went worth, of Henbury)* while on a visit to Stainborough, about 1728. It gives an insight into domestic life in the early part of last century, and is addressed — "From the Region of Despair, Stainborough, Dec. 5." " Dear Brother, Whilst you sit deliberating o'er Law, In estates, this man's title, others flaw, * " Peter Wentworth, one of the raost regular of letter-writers to his brother, was in early life equerry to the Duke of Gloucester, Queen Anne's son, and afterwards to Prince George of Denmark, upon whose death he seems to have obtained a similar position about the person of the Queen. In June, 1 709, when his brother, Thomas, was our ambassador at Berlin, he offered Peter a post under him, which he declined. . . . Peter married Juliana, daughter of Thomas Horde, of Cote, Oxfordshire, and his country house was Henbury, in Dorsetshire. It is only too evident from many letters that have been preserved, that his advancement in life was much checked by a fatal attachment to the bottle. His own letters, indeed, are incoherent enough at times to justify the suspicion of it. The circumstances of his death, not long before that of his more famous brother, were very distressing. "On January 13, 1739, Lady Strafford, after writing that she will be going to Court as soon as her brother, meaning Peter, is buried, continues in a later part of the letter : — ' My nephew [Williara] has just been here ; I really pitty him, but can't in the least wonder at his not going to the mews, when he gave me his reasons, for I fear his fatheres affairs are in a very bad way, and he is advised by his friends not to goe into the house, and also to make a voluntary declaration in Doctors Commons that he will have nothing to doe with any of his late fathere's effects. ... He had ordered the funeral to be just the same as his mothere's, and he is to be burye'd to-morrow night. He said to besure he had a naturale feeling for the loss of a fathere, but own'd he lived in such dayly agony of something even worse than death befalling him . . , 'twas a mercy it pleased God to take him.' " — Wentioorth Papers, pp, 3, 4, 533, The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 403 Tumbling o'er mighty Records and old Books, Studying your Littletons and your Cokes ; In hopes of being at least hereafter ; Above or below Lord Chancellor ; Here I saunter jolely away my time, Do nothing but sleep, eat, and sometimes Rhime ; If I tell you what's done to-day the same. To-morrow and to-morrow's done again : At morn to my good Lady I go down. Who at eleven has huddled on her gown ; We sit an hour sometimes over coffee. And sometimes trifle with our spoon o'er tea. Here's alone our trifling variety. Then in comes Charles and takes away the things. My Lady's toilet, and work Becky brings ; And Lady Anne does some work or other, But Clarendon alone reads your brother : The great historian with wondrous art. Does not from impartiality depart. Gives characters alike to friend or foe. And speaks truth whether it is liked or no : When we read Hampdens, Pirns, and Hothams fate. We moralise and of Providence prate, And a tear we shed at great Strafford's fall : But when on the greater lord of this hall. Our melancholy then pleased thoughts we cast : His safety, with joy made them flow as fast ; Thus so with chatt between on I do read. Till for dinner at two the cloth is laid. And without formality we fall to. Says ray Lady, help me or I'U help you : I seldom call for wine, but never fail Of drinking glasses three or four of ale. We always remember our absent friends. They take away and so the dinner ends ; Then up I get, after a hem and cough. Take the book, and begin where I left off ; So till the candles come I read away. Lady Anne impatient of delay, 404 Worthies of Barnsley. Says, come cousin, let us at Ombre play. Then for cards, counter and table she calls. If they don't hear her she screams and brawls ; Then Lady Strafford, Lady Anne and I, Soon the triangular table draw nigh ; Out of manners to the ladies I deal, Have a game with Matadors, lose Codill, Such luck I have ray kings go seldora free. Once I was very mad they trumpt me three. Thus from great, to trifles my fortunes bad ; When Lady Anne's lost, like Bristol she's sad. As wise Minerva with disdain looks down. From trifling nymphs, to her that wears ye crown ; So the wise Strafford sitts, and smiles with scorn, To see mee fret, and her pretty firstborn ; Tho' not like Orkneys, or Harveys we play. Neither do we scold, or jangle as they ; After a while when clear the board we've made. Without form, on the same, the cloth is laid ; We sup upon an ^g, or something light. That will not hinder, our resting at night. Then Lady Strafford and I sit and chatt. Till we depart to bed, of this and that ; Sometimes I dissent from her, she frora mee, Tho' not in trifles, in main we agree ; Thus runs our Hfe insippidly away. Acting the very same from day to day : Unless post-days, we thus our tirae eraploy. Writing to friends, life indeed we enjoy : Sundays too, we've some alteration. The parson gives a wise oration : He begins, the people prick up their ears. With Latin and Greek, fill 'em with sad fears. Thus I think the life we lead I have told, To tempt it in verse I've been wondrous bold ; That coudn't of Kings and Courts my story tell, And besides ourselves, see not beaux nor belle ; Should I Lady Strafford's goodness relate. My bold attempt would meet with some sad fate. The Earls of Strafford of Stainboj'ough. 405 As young Phjeton, or an Exeon, Should be punish'd for my presumption : Therefore those heights I dare not try to soar Lest so low I fall I can rise no more ; Nor dare I venture to describe this place — 'Tis paradise, each prospect heavenly fair. But now 'tis call'd, the region of despair. By this long scrawl you may easily see. How the dull hours pass heavily with me ; Or I should never thus have past my time, In troubling myself, and you with dull rhime ; But as it is, take it as I intend, * From yr loving brother and your friend." t * Addi. MSS., 31,152, fob 84-5. + The following extracts from letters will be read with interest. Lord Wentworth to Lord Strafford — "March 29th, 1733. — Dear papa, — I hope by this time you are in good health at Suffolk. We was last night at the Duke of Devonshire's, it was a ball, thier was 8 couple, viz.. Lady CaroUne Cavendish & Lord Sunbury, Lord Heartington & Lady Mary Montague, Lord Conoway & Lady Harriet (the writer's sister), Mr. Walpole & Lady Lucy (another sister), Mr. Conoway & Miss Wortley, a Mr. Webster & Lady Dorothy, Mr. Whitworth & Lady Betty Cavendish, me & Lady Betty Montague ; & we had a very handsome supper, viz., at the upper end cold chickens, next to that a dish of cake, parch'd almonds, sapp biskets, next to that a dish of tarts and cheesecakes, next to that a great custerd, and next to that another dish of biskets, parch'd almonds, & preserved apricocks, and next a quarter of lamb. I hope Ody and Haly is very well. — Wentwoi th Papers, p. 279. Lady Strafford to Lord Strafford, January 8, 1734. — "We were yesterday at Court ; they thought in the morning they shou'd have had no hazard for want of players, but at last they got the D. of Graffton, Lord Harrington, Mr. Shutzes & Lady Betty Garmain, which was all besides the K. Q., Prince & Princess RoyaU. There was a ball, but 'twas sad company in the great drawing room, but there was a room keept for the Prince & his company, & when he was going to dance he cam up & said he hoped he shou'd have Lady Lucy's company in 4o6 Worthies of Barnsley. Lord Strafford erected the castle, the menagerie, tlie obeUsk to the memory of Queen Anne, the buUding at the Constantine Well in Rockley Wood, and other interesting structures about this time. The turnpike which had run through the park and close past the hall and gardens he diverted outside the park walls, and made the Stainbro' Law road in its stead, by which he obtained more privacy to his park. The miniature castle he built about 17 28, naming the towers after his children as Lord Wentworth's Tower, his set, & he was sorry Lady Anne Conolly was not there too, for he had a great deal of pleasure in the company of me & my famely ; & he asked Lucy if she had got a partner, for if .she had not he would get her one, but Mr. John Bosscowin had asked her. The Prince danced with Lady BabMancell." Lady Strafford, in writing to the Earl in 1735, gives a quaint descrip tion of his son's (Lord Wentworth) attendance at St. James's, on the birthday of the Duke of Cumberland. — "My love," commences her ladyship, "is perfectly well & vastly delighted with his Court ball. I must begin to tell you all our proceedings. I took him to Court in the morning, and the Queen cried out, ' Oh, Lord Wentworth, how do you do ? You've mightily grown. My Lady, he is most prodigiously well dressed. I hope you'll let him come to our ball to-night.' After the drawing room was over, the Duke had a levee in his own room, so I desired my brother to take him there, & the Duke told him he hoped he would do him the favour to come at night. . . . Princess Emily asked Lord Wentworth to dance one with her, & afterwards the Duke gave him Lady Caroline Fitzroy for his partner . . . The King was to see them dance but not the Queen. The ball ended about half an hour after ten ; the Duke was quite free & easy & extremely civil, as Lord Wentworth danced with the Princess Emily. I thought it civil to carry him yesterday to know how she did, so the Queen carae directly up to rae and said, ' My Lady Strafford, all my children are quite charmed with Lord Wentworth ; he is civil and well-bred, & not like a child.' " '-- "•- l-.^---^ Temple in the Park, at Wentworth Castle. Miniature Castle in the Wilderness, at Wentworth Castle. TIte Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 407 Lady Anne's Tower, Lady Lucy's Tower, and Lady Harriet's Tower.'*' Dodsworth, the antiquary, who lived in the eariy part of the seventeeth century, writes that Stainborough was the site of an " ancient fortress," of which some considerable earth works, simUar to those of Conisborough and Mexborough, then existed, and the fact of Lord Strafford causing to be in scribed on the castle, " RebuUt in 1730," would also give us to understand that there had been some previous erection there ; and another discovery which was made when tlie next Lord Strafford was erecting his new front in 1762, wUl strengthen this supposition. This we give in the foUowing record, which was preserved by Mr. Wilson, of Broomhead : " When WiUiam, Earl of Strafford, was making the south front of his house, the workmen, in digging the foundation, in 1762, found a square place walled round like a grave, in which lay a raan in arraour, which, being touched, fell to ashes. My Lord sent some of the armour to the Royal Society, and to Mr. Walpole, who judged by the forra that it was of the age of the Conquest. Mv Lord showed me two * The castle having become dilapidated through the giving way of the foundation, Mr. John Platts, of Rotherham, was called in to ex amine it, and on the 19th February, l7SSi ^^ addressed the foUowing letter to William, Earl of Strafford : — " I was at Stainborough on Thurs day last, and on examining the castle find the whole to be in a very bad condition, for since the falling of the tower there has several fresh shakes and cracks appeared in different parts of the building, so that when the other tower falls, or is taken down, for I do not see there is any probability of supporting it, the whole will be in some danger, for the keystones of the windows and doors are settled, and have broken large pieces out of the adjoining arch stones." Agrees to make the necessary repairs for eighty guineas. A large part of the towers to be rebuUt. 408 Worthies of Barnsley. pieces of the armour, which was made of wire, and studded with silver, one of which he gave me, with two pieces of the cloth, one darker than the other, and some ofthe bones." While Lord Strafford was engaged in improving Stain borough, His Honour Wentworth, and his son, the Lord Malton, '" was similarly employed at Wentworth Woodhouse, * " His Honour Wentworth,'' as he was popularly called, admirably fulfilled his eminent position. Though distinguished rather for his private virtues than his political interest and influence, he nevertheless sat in Parliament during the greater part of his life, but never for his own county. His true character was that of a high minded country gentleman and conscientious landowner. He married the daughter and heiress of Sir Thomas Proby, of Elton ; and one son, the survivor of three children, was carefuUy reared by these excellent parents. His Honour left a special mark upon the property by increasing the religious and educational provision for his tenants ; and when his son attained the age of manhood, and married Lady Mary Finch, in 1716, he modestly retired with his wife to Hooton Roberts, and placed the young couple in the family raansion. This, however, had undergone considerable alterations ; for the garden front, as we now see it, composed of red brick and stone quoins, was built by his Honour, and it formed a casing to the old courts and chambers of the Tudor structure which still re main. His Honour died in 1723, and his son, who was created Baron Malton, in 1728, and in 1746 had the higher title of Marquis of Rock ingham conferred upon him, especially distinguished himself as a prominent and loyal supporter of the Hanoverian succession. Itwas for this very decided and consistent course of policy, that he was raised through several steps of rank to the Marquisate, after having already succeeded to the Barony of Rockingham in his own family, on the elder branch becoming extinct It was the first Marquis of Rock ingham who took down the old park front of Wentworth Woodhouse, and erected the present exterior, which is a grand facade 600 feet long, forming one of the largest and most imposing mansions in England ; and it was from this time called "Wentworth 'iiovse."— Wentworth Wood- house and its Owners, by Dr. Gatty, in Yorkshire Archceological foui nal, parts xxiii. and xxiv. pp. 359-60. The Earli of Strafford of Stainborough. 409 and a spirit of rivalry seems to have existed between them, and these two mansions, situated upon adjoining estates, were maintained in great state and dignity. The Lord Strafford and theLord Malton were both men of great influence, and the feeUng which existed between them was not of the happiest kind. A local tradition has been handed down to us which we give for what it is worth, to the effect that when the Earl of Strafford was rebuUding Stainborough, he caused to be inscribed on the foundation stone the lines " Tommy of Malton, I'll let thee see I can build as fine a house as thee.'' That a feeling of this kind prevailed there is no doubt, for at the time it was a coramontopicof conversation throughout the district. The following extract from a letter dated the 7th January, 1732, and written by Richard Wardman, steward at Wentworth Castle, to his noble master, will show that not much neighbourly feeling existed between these two noblemen. He says, "Jo. Bower is now a working steps for the greenhouse and for the Castle. He thinks the price of 4-pence pr foot two little for the Obboliss and to fill it in the middle ; for that he did not make any objection at all ; but I think he will do it at that price, if he do it but well to please yr Ldship. Last Thursday night we had a great wind, which blowed down our Castle gates, and tumbled them all to pieces, but the Castle itself is founded upon a rock, it is safe and never will fale I hope ; but it has blown down all the new planted trees on one side and rar. Arnold kitchen door, the wood palice adese at the gate going in to the new gardin by the orchard, and blown out the old windows in the clock charaber, and one in the old house. That is all the damage it has dun. Next Tuesday my Lord Malton 4IO Worthies of Barnsley^. is to have a great dinner for aU his tenants, and some other of his loving gentleraen, that is parsons and doctors, and pothecaries, and none is to be admitted but what has tickets. I am told that they have killed iS Does, Barons and Spondones. His lordship has got a man to make hira 300 dozen of wood trenchers ; he finds him wood and the man makes them, and when the day is over the raan is to have thera for his labour ; and besides, his lordship has taken a great deal of pains to make a nice calculation how they are to sit and dine, for it is thought at least there will be above Soo men that day — and a great piece of folly I say." This sort of gossip would not have been allowed in a dependent, but that he knew it would be acceptable to his master. The following is extracted from a letter on the same subject from Mr. Phipps to Lord Strafford. It is dated Jan. 23rd, 1732: — "As to Lord Ma's [Malton's] entertain ment, I was there and dined att the table with my Lord, att which dined Sir John Bland, Mr. Wentworth, of Wooley, and Mr. Matt. Wentworth [of Bretton], and 5 or 6 parsons with some others at the lower end, being tenants. There was six tables raade of deals with benches such as in the tents at Boughton fair. . . . Our dishes stood single the table allowing no more : first dish, roost porke ; 2nd, turkey; 3rd, venison pasty ; 4th, cold beefe, roast ; sth, fruit pud ding ; 6th, goose ; 7th, apple pie ; Sth, a hogg's head in sause ; then the course began again and kept in this form to every table. We eate upon trenchers and wood dishes, and drunk in horns ; my lord did the same. The horns held near pints and the punch was made strong, and the- com raon people drunk full horns just after dinner that 2 or 3 TIte Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 411 horns would raake them drunk or sick. . . . My Lord would have me sitt next to Mr. Wentworth, of Wooley. Severall staid the night and some lay ruff. There was one man found dead, supposed to be choaked with punch. . . I did not think much of it after I saw it. We had no sauce but the women had with the Lady. There was severall women drunk with punch who behaved themselves in a very beastly manner." Mr. Phipps, writing about the County Election, Dec. 4, 1733, says: — "I think if Mr. Wortley wou'd sett up itt wou'd be one way to secure Sir MUes, by breaking Lord Malton's interest in our quarter. . . . Lady London derry has the command of severall votes both att Cudworth and att Bolton, if your lordship would please to secure them, & I will speake the freeholds." .... May 6, 1734. " Mr. Wortley is very hott for Sir MUes, and has nott rested one day but Saturday last. On Thursday we went to Barnsley & was mett by Mr. Wentworth of Wooley, Mr. Nevile of Chevett, Mr. Beaumont of Darton, Mr. Fenton and severall others, & we had great success. Sir Rowland carae to Barnsley on Saturday, upon which a great part of the voters left the town. . . . This day we are at Shfifieeld with Mr. Wentworth and the sarae gentleraen who dined with Mr. Wortley yesterday The gentlemen wish that your lordship's affairs would allow your lordship so much time as to take a step into Yorkshire belore the Election. It is supposed that either Turner or Winn will give up before the election. . . . Lord Malton went to York yesterday to meet gentlemen upon Turner's & Winn's account to settle the time of their men's coming into York. I find by reports in the country 412 Worthies of Barnsley. that person is affraid of being mobbed ; he has put all his own servants into new liveries, & the old ones he has put upon farraer's sons, so he is double maned. Sheffield mob huzza'd Mr. Jessop out of the town last night, ' Sir MUes for ever & no Excise,' but cou'd nott quiet thera but fol lowed to the end of the town." * Wardman, the steward at Stainborough, was held in high regard by Lady Strafford. In a letter to Lord Strafford, dated 1732, she says: — "Wardman is reaUy a favourite with me for I think him a very alert, clever servant, and in general a good brewer. I hope he will come to London ; if he does he shaU see an opera and all the Royal family. I wish you would ask Wardman, if we shou'd want Molly Wood in Town, if he knows of any maid Mrs. Wardman cou'd get, that would be fitt for Wentworth Castle, for Nanny Downing is such a nasty — I must be as bad as Mother Needham to keep her." The following are extracts frora letters written by Wardman to Lord and Lady Strafford during their absence from Stainborough. Writing to his lordship on the 20th April, 1 734, and referring to the election contest of that year, he says : " I was sent for to 'Silkston yesterday by Mr. Fenton and Mr. Walker to give a small treat to som freeholders, and we spent five shiUings apiece, and Mr. Fenton said yt if we had a meeting at Barnsley before Lord Malton comes * "Oct. 1733. Sir John Stapylton fell off. his horse near Aberforth & died presently, was making interest to be a Knight of the County of York. His seat is My ton. Horse was frighted & threw him." — Northouram Register. His son Sir Miles became candidate in his place, and, as will be seen above, was returned at the head of the poll. The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 413 down, that with spending yr Lordship a ginney or to, we might spirret them up again, for since the Post Office is not got my Lord Malton is not much looked upon amongst them, but they are aU riding about and does not leave a stone untmrned, for we do think hear that their hearts faUes them, and if due care be taken of Sir MUes [Stapylton's] men Sir Rowland [Winn] must lose it. Your Lordship and Mr. Wortley have been expected in Yorkshire very much about this election. If Mr. Wordey had known of the meeting at York very likely he wou'd have gon ; if he does not com down our interest about Shetffeld will sink for Mr. Bamforth is not able to support the charge, and what advice to give yr Ldsp. about spending yr mony I ara not wise enough to judge, but a littie at Barnsley and at Wake field wd look well, and the world wou'd see yr Ldsp did doe great things and stirr about ; it is thought Mr. Spencer does not spend his money freely, nor does not take rauch pains, and indeed if your Lordship do joyne with Mr. Wortley, they will expect you to joyne your purse with hira, for that is the chief thing our country gentlemen want your Lordship and Mr. Wortley to bee at. If your Lordship would have me go over to York, or Mr. Travasse, you cannot neglect one post, for it will be next Fryday ; so your letter must come out of Monday night and will be hear of Thursday night. '" Mr. Addinell has done all the painting * The polling commenced at York on the 15th May, 1734, and to York all the freeholders from every part of Yorkshire — as they had for a century afterwards — had to repair to register their votes. Mr. Wortley had also unexpectedly becorae a candidate for the suffrages of the elec tors, and the candidates were Sir Miles Stapylton, Sir Rowland Winn, Mr. Cholmondley Turner, and Mr. Edward Wortley. Sir Miles Sta pylton and Mr. Turner were returned. The parish clerk of Silkstone 414 Worthies of Barnsley. in the haU ready for gilding, when it is dry, and he teUs me he has writ to your Lordship, and will do everything as the York painter did. Mr. Thorp has sent one of his raen to saw the marble tables; as soon as they are sawn he will send another man to work them, if your Lordship desires them done soon. . . . We have sunk the foundation for Constantine's weU ; and of Munday, Jo. Bower wiU begin and go on with it. That I hope wUl almost finish this great building, and Guest is almost ready with stones for their house ; and when this is dune, I hope to God your Lordship will give over everything but just repairing your tenants' houses." On May 5, 1734, he writes to his lordship: "Last Thursday we had a great meeting at Barnsley, the great Mr. Wortiey, Mr. Wentworth, of Wooley, & some gentie- raen from Sheffield & Darfield. Mr. Wentworth sent for me & Mr. Travis, and we went all over the town of Barnsley, & I hope we got the better half of the voters. We had a good diner, and everyone pay'd their shares & then parted ; & to-morrow Mr. Wortiey & Mr. Wentworth goes to Sheffield, & lay'd their commands of Mr. Travis & me to raeet them there. So Mr. Travis & I have considered that he shall go & I stay at home, for died through fatigue on the occasion, as will be seen from the following extract from Hobson's Journal: — "June 4, 1734. This day died Francis Goddard, our parish clerk. On Munday sevenight, the election being then at York, he was overpersuaded by M.C, Dr. B., and Coll. Foley, to go thither to ' vote for Mr. Turner and Sir Rowland Winn. He rid in a chair to Tadcaster, where Coll. Foley had promised to send his chaise to carry him forward, but, being disappointed, he went no further." — See Yorkshire Diaries (Surtees Soe. Pub.) vol. 65, p. 362. The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 41 5 it's of a Munday, & a good excuse for me, it being our sale day in the woods. " The time of election will soon bee hear, and I cannot write to your lordship above once or twise before it begins, and shud be glad to have your orders about the tenents, and other people that is for your lordship interest. Abraham Rock, he will want a horse, & two raore at Barnsley will want horses. It will bee of great expence if your lordship was to treat those people yourself, and yet more I doubt if you was to make a purs with Mr. Wortley or Mr. Wentworth. Mr. Travis will go with all your tenents and friends, about Wentworth Castle & Barnsley, at the time when Mr. Wortley & Mr. Wentworth goes, & that will be of the 15th instant. Mr. Travis I doubt will want raony, but he is modest, and dus not say anything ; I am afraid his tenent dus but pay him badly. We both appear for your lordship, and is as sparing and as carefuU as we can, & what orders your lordship gives us we shall take care not to exceed. "Yesterday after the other party had heard so many gentiemen had been for Sir MUes, carae Sir Rowland Winn & all his crue of people too Barnsley, and a great dinner at Tora Hacksworth's, but we had ours at your lordship's inn at Roper's ; but we had a great dale of better gentle men, but they was more freer of their mony, & spent a great dale more mony than we did ; and I doubt got one or two of our men that had promised us. Mr. Wortley takes a great dale of paines about this affair, and this day a great many gentlemen is to dine with him at the Lodge. Just now Mr. Wentworth of Wolly cald hear to know how your lordship did, & with his humble servis to your 41 6 Worthies of Barnsley. lordship. So he is gon to dine at Mr. Wortley's ; & so goes to Sheffield toraorrow to make what interest they can for Sir Miles; but I doubt my Lord MaUon purs strings opens raore easily than theirs will do; & he has sent & been at Sheffield before them, for he dus not spaire his mony, & I think he will bring in Sir Rowland at last, for it is thought they begin to get men of us now — so much for elections." Wentworth Castie, May 24, 1734.'" — "I got home last Wednesday night, God be thankt, and ara aUve, and my poor mare ; I doubt I have allmost kil'd her ; and two horsiss we borrowed, one of John Crawshaw, one of Tomey Walker, and they have broke both their backs, and I doubt will both die. Sir Miles has had the honer of being the very first man chose at this great election, & was carried in the chare about York. . . . My charges will come to about four or five pounds ; & if these two horsiss die, it will make the journey so much dearer. I cannot tell what Mr. Travis has spent, but he has lost his horse ; he was stole, I believe, out of the stable the first night, and I left him at York in a sad freat. Their was three horsis kil'd or died one night at York. Mr. Wortley tenents has two horsiss by us that is almost dead, but this is owing too carelessness. I lent two of your lordship's old horsis, and saw them to grass at Streethouses, whear they was well taken care off, and is no worse at all. I have found your * "May 16, 1734. The election began yesterday at York. Mr. Wortley put up for candidate unexpectedly. May 23. At York. Voted for Sr. Miles Stapylton & Mr. Edward Wortley."— The Journal of John Hobson, of Dodworth Green. Yorkshire Diaries, p. 326. The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 417 lordship's letter, dated the 14th instant, and you raention that if Sir Miles looses the election you will be raU'd at, and if he caryes it your lordshjp expects no great thanks ; but I cannot think no such thing, for Sir Miles was pleased to see us, both Mr. Travis and rae, and I ara sure I took as much paines as any man, and rid to Wakefield all night and fetcht up all the old men I cud git ; and, indeed, so did everybody that was consern'd, and if we had not been so very active as we wear we had lost the day. Mr. Phipps he hopt about & told everybody Mr. Wortley wou'd come in before Sir Rowland; and I wiU do him justice that if anybody axt what number your lordship sent in, he crackt & lyed well enough, and so did Mr. Travis, so that nobody did know how meney or fue we had. I cannot say but your lordship will come pretty well of; and, if you had joyn'd any of them mor mony had gone, & wou'd not have lookt no better then what your lordship did by sending Travis & me ; and as we have got in Sir Miles, their is no danger but he will return his thanks to everybody at his proper time, and so farewell elec- . tions."'* * Rev. David Traviss, vraiting to Lord Strafford, May 24, 1734, says : "Mr. Wortley has done singular service to the cause ; and indeed all gentlemen in the interest of their respective candidates have exerted their best endeavours. Messengers were continually sent into every quarter, who brought the halt & the blind in coaches, chairs, & waggons. Mr. Wortley, my lord, insinuates as if there wo'd be no scrutiny, & that Sir Miles must indisputably be a sitting member, which is the sincere wish of all true patriots, & particulariy of your lordship's most humble chaplain.'' .... June I, 1734. "Sir Miles's success is certainly to be attributed to Mr. Wortley as acting in conjunction with him. Mr. Wortley is vastly 28 41 8 Worthies of Barnsley. On the sale of the Manor of Barnsley cum Dodworth, as the Manor used to be styled, in 1735, Lord Strafford was one of the competitors, and had nearly been the purchaser.'*^ If he had been successful we should have carest by the gentlemen. My Lord Malton has been impos'd upon by his agents ; his lordship was made to believe that he wo'd have 1,500 voters, but the number did not answer the calculation. His lordship had only about 400. " * The following letter was written to Lord Strafford on this subject : — " My Lord, — Mr. Fenton sett out for London on Wednesday last, and has, I believe, a design to purchase the Mannor of Mr. Cooke (Dr. Thorold's representative), and I am apt to think that the Duke of Leeds has the same design. What the issue will be thereof I cannot tell. " JOHN SMITH. "Barnsley, December 3rd, 1735." — Addi. MSS., 22,222, fol. 347. Another letter on the sarae subject, by the same writer, gives the '' Lands belonging to the scite of the Mannor & Grange of Barnsley : Enclosed land 72 acres, at 25s. per acre £<^ o o ffield land — In the ffar field 24 acres Church ffield 7 Old MiU field 2 Swinehill field 2 35 acres at i8s 31 10 o The Mannor House, Barn, Kiln-house, Croft, Yard, &c.... 12 o o Two Uttle houses adjoining thereto 3 o o ;^I36 10 o Mr. Wortleys Lease of Severall Cottages, and alsoe of the Coal Mines on Barnsley More. The Coney Warrens late Carrington. With Thorolds lease of the Mannor of Barnsley with Keeping Courts, the tolls, & several houses. And alsoe of the Cheife rents & Cottage rents built upon the Waste, Valine of upwards of Twenty Pounds per ann. The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 419 had a resident, instead of a non-resident. Lord of the Manor of Barnsley. This Manor, which was then of sraall value, had belonged to the Crown frora the dissolution of Monk Bretton Priory to the reign of Williara IIL, when it was presented by that raonarch, along with other Manors, to WiUiam Bentinck, Earl of Portland, who enjoyed a large share of the King's favour. The grant was, however, not raade without great remonstrance on the part of Parliament, a great aversion being entertained against the Earl, as he was stated to have made use of his interest and inteUigence to injure the trade of England, so that the coraraerce of his own country might flourish without competition. The Manor of Barnsley, which was offered for sale by the second Earl of Portland was, however, purchased by Thomas Osborne, the fourth Duke of Leeds, in whose faraily what littie of these lands and rights are unsold still reraain. Lord Strafford, a short tirae before his death, coraraenced building at Stainborough the circular temple which Horace Walpole says is after the model of the temple of Tivoli at Rome, and which is situated on an eminence a short distance from the hall. It stands on an elevated basement. The dome or canopy is supported by a colonnade of fourteen pillars, and the waUs are adorned by wreaths of fruit and flowers most exquisitely chiselled in stone ; the floor is of marble.'" It was finished by WUUara, Earl of Strafford, and £ s. d. * June 30, 1 739— 6 days dressing deals for Temple and help ing to take down the goulden vase and set it up again at the Temple. Working seven days at it (Henry Ellis, Joiner) o 7 o 420 Worthies of Barnsley. it is said to have been intended for a mausoleum, but if so, it has never served the purpose for which it was intended. £ ^ &. June 23, 1739— Laying- the foundation of the steps at Temple, 6 days. (Bower) O 6 o August 24, 1739 — Rob. Robinson, Plumber, 25st. Slbs. lead for ye Temple 2 10 10 Mending of Vase and putting it up o 4 o Sep. 29— 24st. 4lbs. sheet lead 2 8 8 Jos. Bower, 220 feet and a half in the diamond floor at the Temple 313 6 In 1744, Joseph Bower was engaged in erecting Temple in the Park, for which there are two accounts, one dated Nov. 3, 1744 — ;^53 17s. 8d., and one later, ^35 5s. 5d. £ s. d. 1727 — ^Joseph Bower, for the Cascade in the Menagerie 92 2 oJ Benj. Swift, the quarryman, for stone for the Cascade 14 13 5 I734> AprU 26— Joseph Bower sent in a plan for a building at Con stantine Well. , 1739, May 19 — Joseph Bower, jun., 3 days working at the bottom of the Cascade at Constantine Well o 4 0 An item in Mr. Addinell's biU is — To Painting CeUing at Constantine Well, worth 2 guineas, content with I j g 1736, Feb. 15— To Painting the Sighn of the Strafford Arms at Wosperah 2 2 o —Addi. MSS. 22,241, fols. 34,36, 37, 40. The Strafford Arms, now the Edmunds Arms, at Worsbro', formerly belonged to Lord Strafford, and the inn near the Rockley gates, at Bird- well, belonged to Mr. Edmunds. An exchange was made between the respective owners of these properties. "At the back of Rockley Woodhouse is Park Spring Wood, and in the heart of the wood, reached by a pleasant walk, is another of these tower-like structures, known as ' Park Spring,' and as ' Park Well Spa,' by old people, who remember it as being at one time a place of great resort by the inhabitants of the neighbouring villages. The water was said The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 421 The following letter written by Lord Strafford to his lady in 1729, will be read with interest. It is dated from Freston to possess some medicinal properties, and at one time of the year large gatherings of persons of both sexes congregated. People carae from a considerable distance, and refreshments were displayed in the avenues of the wood, after the fashion of our feasts and fairs ; bands of music were also present, and dancing and revelry were kept up for several days. What was the object of such a gathering, or what it was held in celebration of, we have not been able to ascertain. " — History of Wors borough, p. 104. "This would no doubt be the Constantine Well, the erection ofthe building of which is mentioned in a previous paragraph. " " March 23, 1 726 . Abra. Hawksworth bought a pair of fat oxen of my Lord Strafford for £i(>, who had worked them 17 years, ever since his lordship came to Stainborough." — Yorkshire Dia-ries, p. 250. Among the " Stainborough Bills," Oct. 22, 1725, is the following : — £ s- d. "James Bearchshall, for Blacksmith's work, from April 29th to Oct. 21, 1725 6 5 5 Allowed him half a year's rent 618 o ;^o 7 5 It is worthy of note that this family have continued to be tenants on the Stainborough estate to the present time, and have carried on the trade of blacksmiths, being successively employed by the different owners ofthe estate. Mr. Kenny, for making 103 thousand, and 800 Bricks at Wakefield, and 28 II o 60 thousand at Stainborough 16 10 o £Ai I o Jonathan Goodyear, for Joiners' work 33 2 4 There is the foUowing entry relating to this person in Hobson's fournal :—" June 2, 1732, Jonathan 'Godier,' the joyner, died about a fortnight ago, at Doncaster ; he kUl'd himself with drinking. He did most of the joyner work at Stainborough-haU, being then servant to Mr. Thornton ; as also the best staircase at the Banks [Banks HaU]. 422 Worthies of Barnsley. Hall, one of his lordship's seats, 23rd May, 1729.* He says : " I cannot imagine my Dear why you do not like this place as well as Stainborough, for I think at this time of the year it is the garden of the world ; it is true the house and garden^ at Stainborough are more magnificent, though there is something very pleasant in this house, wch. is extremely £ =. d. Mr. HaU, of Swaithe, for Malt to July 5, 1725 79 o i Do. July 30, 1726 28 14 o Do. Oct. 28, 1728 18 4 o 125 18 I Paid him in part by Mr. Shore 40 o o Do. at Wakefield 50 o o 90 o 0 Due to Mr. Hall ^35 ig i "A Mr. Robert Hall, who belonged to the family of Hall, of Swaithe, was chaplain to Lord Strafford. There is a tradition that one of his lordship's chaplains was found dead in the cellar at Stainborough, his death having been caused by excessive drinking. It is not unlikely, judging from the following entry, that Robert HaU was the person to whom this tradition alludes :— April 7, 1731. Mr. Robert Hall, curate of Stainborough, buried at Worsborough ; he had contracted a habit of drinking which kiUed him at last. ( Yorkshire Diaries, p. 303.) He was married at Barnsley, to Mrs. Sarah Deykin, on the 26th Nov. 1722." Paid Mr. Deykin, of Barnsley, for Charity Children's Clothes ^ 4 o Mr. Deykin's BiU 23 16 4 Paid him by a Bill on Edward Rock 10 o o £i.Z i6 4 dward Rock, of Barnsley, Addi. MSS., 22,239, fol 427. Lord Strafford often drew on Edward Rock, of Barnsley, who acted as a local banker. The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 423 well fitted up, and the gardens and the groves very delight ful, besides the vast extent of land I have here, which makes it almost a principality, seven or eight mUes in length, and four in breadth, all my own, and with five copyhold manors, lying all together, that gives me a great jurisdiction ; and for pheasants, partridges, and hares, I have them in vast quantity ; besides my decoy which is extremely beautiful ; and besides the rent the tenant pays for it, you know the reserved wild fowl I have from it, would almost keep a moderate table, and for all sorts of fish we have it almost for nothing, that my servants begin to be alraost cloyed already, with lobsters and soles. This is bounded by the ocean, wch. runs in a straight line, and as it is but four railes from my house, if I had not layed out so much at Stainborough I should be terapted to make a strait walk hither, for you know we can see the ships saU, out of my parlour window. Amber you know we find in plenty on the beach, and my nephew walking with me picked up a garnet, which he had polished, and makes a very fine ring ; and since Sir Henry's death I have had two wrecks on my Royalty. I have 3 livings to dispose of on this estate, yet with all these advantages I can't raake you like it so well as I could wish ; tho' certainly we ought to live here soraetiraes, since it is the most improveable estate in England, for I have at this tirae several hundred acres layd dry, by ray great sluse, wch. you reraember a great sea, and is now of itself a pretty estate, were it improved as it ought to be, tho' now I make nothing of it ; as likewise several large manors, out of which I have bought the freeholders, and I reaUy believe were I to live but three years, I might double this estate at little or no expense., Were I to teU this to anybody but to you, they 424 Worthies of Barnsley. would think me a fool or a madman to neglect my own interest so much ; but as I have so much to do in improving my other estates, I can't spare time and money to do all at once, and to trust to a steward to do it, one is sure to be cheated. This puts me in raind of a raatch you talked of as I came out of town for Lady Anne [Lord Strafford's eldest ' daughter], and were my Lord Portmore as rich as the world says he is, this wou'd be the fittest thing for him imagin able ; and were he and his son to see this, they would not grudge staying till the death of Lady Wentworth [Lord Strafford's raother] for the rest of my daughters fortune, since I could immediately put them in possession of this House and Estate, for you must consider, tho' Lord Port- more is a Scotchman, he has no land there, and tho' rich, he has no land in England, for what he has at Waybridge, tho' a good house and fine gardens, it can't be cal'd a seat that can give him any interest in the country ; whereas with this, he or his son, leaps at once into a good house compleatly furnished, and a large and plenti ful estate, with a raorall assurance of being constantly chose a raeraber of Parliaraent ; as well as any friend Lord Milsinton should set up with him for Aldeburg,* for you know your father and his brother were constantly chose for that place tUl their death, and it cost Low and Plumer * The manor and advowson becarae by purchase the property of Sir Henry Johnson, Knt., and by the marriage of his daughter with Thomas Wentworth, first Earl of Strafford of the second creation, were carried into that family, and are now vested in F. W. T. V. Wentworth, Esq." — Suffolk Traveller, by Augustine Page, 1844, p. 165. "The grand feature of the place (about l8io) is Mr. Vernon's gardens ; the exquisite taste of which is not surpassed by the vaunted The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 425 ;i^9,ooo to break into ray interest, when I set up Mr. Harvey on Sir Henry's death, and he was a stranger to the town ; nor cou'd that raoney have cary'd it had they not got a copy of Sir Henry's will, to show the town his estate was left to my daughters, and not to rae ; besides you know there are two poor Boroughs, within six railes of this place, in both wch. I cou'd have great influence, wou'd I but give rayself any trouble about it, for those who are chose there have not any estate neigh those corporations as I have. I hate the trouble of Elections, but I know there is no man in England more adroit at them than Lord Milsinton. This wou'd make him so considered at Court, that with the kind proraises the Queen has made you, and the interest he has, with haveing been her Page, I doubt not, but on marrying our Daughter, he might easily be made an English Peer during his father's life. I own that incapacity of the Scolth lords deadens ray thoughts of the match, tho' I shou'd like the alliance, for I love the young man, and find him esteemed by everybody ; and ray Lord Portraore is one that has made a great figour in the world, and is esteemed a good gen""- and a man of thorough bravery and honour ; but you know what was told us of a declaration of an EngUsh lord, with a very great estate, that designs to propose himself, and has declared he will not inquire wt. Lady Anne's fortune is ; he likes her person so weU, he scenery of those near Rarasgate, which it resembles in its prospects, but far excels in the rich beauty of its flowers. Mr. Vernon is Lord of the Manor, andthe proprietor ofa considerable estate in this and the- adjoining parishes, which he inherited, in right' of his mother, from the late Earl of Strafford. — Gentle-man' s Magazine, vol. 74, pt. 2, 875. A Description of Aldborough, p. 16. 426 Worthies of Barnsley. wou'd leave it to us to make what settlements we pleased ; wherefore I beg of you, dear child, tho' you and I like Lord MUsinton's character and teraper so well, that you wou'd not be too hasty in listening to propositions about him, for tho' you say you are sure, tho' it shou'd not take effect, it wou'd not be spoke off; but believe me, those things always take wind, and as she has not been named for any one yet, I wou'd not for the world have her talked on as comraon news. But as I always write you freely what I think, this estate haveing put it in my thoughts how desirable a thing it would be for that faraily, I could not help teUing it you, for tho' for the sake of disposing well of my Daughter, I would sell what I bought here, yet other wise I protest to you, I wou'd not sell it for forty years purchase; but as the house and that part of the estate wch. was your father's must go to one of my daughters, it wou'd be better for my son to have what I leave him altogether, where his chief seats are, and wt. wou'd it be for Lord Portraore to lay out about eleven or ;^ 12,000, which is about what I would sell him the estate I bought here for, to see his only son in his lifetirae settled in such an estate as this, with such advantages, and considering the state of their affairs, there would not be such a fortune in England for thera, and as our other two girles are not marriageable yet, and there is so good a house on the estate in Oxford shire, I can with ease secure this to their family in speight of all events, having such hold as I have on this estate, and as I hope with wt. Lord Milsinton has of his own, Lord Portmore cou'd make it up to ;^3,ooo a year for the young couple to live upon. They might with patience waitt for the rest till after the death of Lord Portmore or Lady The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 427 Wentworth. I have tired myself with writing, and I doubt not you have with reading my phanceys, but in the country one must have some amusement, besides looking over stewards' accounts, and this is my njost agreeable one while absent from you. So adieu, I can't give a day, but hope to see you next week. — Yours, Strafforde. Lady Anne, for whom Lord Strafford would appear to have been looking out for a suitable match, was his first born and favourite daughter. She was born in 171*, and had Queen Anne for her godmother.* Lord Bolingbroke congratulated his lordship on her birth in the foUowing terms : — " Give me leave to wish your lordship most heartUy joy of Lady Strafford's happy delivery. I hope the next addition to your faraily will be a son, and that he may prove such an one as will follow the exaraple of his father, and carry down without interruption your name to posterity." Lady Anne, however, did not marry Lord Milsinton, but four years afterwards, in April, 1733, she was married to * "A letter was written by Lord Strafford to Dr. Chamberlain, a noted physician, who attended the Queen of James II., at the birth of the Prince, afterwards known as the Pretender. Lady Wentworth was very anxious to secure his attendance on Lady Strafford on an approaching event of family interest, but, writes she to her son, ' he is so proud, he won't go to anybody except the husband writes to him ; and he won't take less than ioo guineas to be always ready to come.' In another letter we read that Dr. Chamberlain ' keeps his coach & two footraen, & is very much courted.' " On April loth, 1713, Lady Wentworth wrote that she had sent to Ireland for a wolfs tooth, for her granddaughter. Lady Anne — ' none ever breeds their teeth ill that has a wolf's tooth. I had one for all of you.'" — The Wentworth Papers, J. J. Cartwright, M.A., pp. 262, 278, 332. Vr 3 2. >, 3 2-J- 428 Worthies of Barnsley. the Right Honourable WiUiam Conolly, one of his Majesty's Privy CouncU of the Kingdom of Ireland, and a member of Parliament as well in England, as Ireland. She lived to a good old age, dying in February, 1797, when she was buried in the family vault at Toddington. Lord Strafford was staying at his seat at Freston, in 1737, when George II. returned to England, after a seven months' absence in Hanover. The King, it was feared, had been lost in a great storm which overtook him on his voyage, but he, however, landed safely at Lowestoft, on the 14th January, and borrowing six horses of Lord Strafford, drove to's^rds London, until met by his own coach. At a drawing-room held by the. King the day after, on Lady Strafford being presented by the Duchess of Manchester, the King made a full stop, and said, " My Lady Strafford, I can tell you I left my Lord Strafford in health, and he was good enough to lend me six horses.'' Lady Strafford, in giving these particulars in a letter to his lordship, says : " As soon as the Queen could squeeze into the drawing- room. Lady Charlotte told me she said to somebody, ' Pray is my Lady Strafford here?' so somebody said yes, & pointed to the upper part of the room, where I stood ; and the Queen called out aloud, ' My Lady Strafford, come, come to me, for I must speak with you!' I was a good whUe before I could possibly get to her, but begged people's pardon & crowded away as fast as I could. So she said, ' My Lady Strafford, I am as well as the King, prodigiously obliged to my Lord Strafford for being so good as to lend the King his horses.' I was sure you were extremely happy that you happened to be in the country, if you could be of any service to the King. I wished her joy of His The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 429 Majesty's safe arrival, and said I was very agreeably waked by the going off of the guns." As Lord Strafford has given us a pretty good description of his Freston estate, we will give a more recent one of his estate at Boughton, in Northamptonshire, from the Topo grapher for 1789, vol. I, pp. 349-50. It is given in a " Tour Through the Midland Counties " : " We presently saw an obelisk before us belonging to the grounds of Lord Strafford, at Boughton, which we approached. The house fronts the road on our right, and is but a sraall distance from it, tho' it is only seen at the bottom of two or three vistas, thro' which its white battleraents have a very picturesque effect. We entered the gates beyond, to exaraine the inside of this antient seat and were much gratified." * * Lord Bathurst, writing to Lord Strafford, Aug. 31, 1717, says; " I am sorry to flnd that your house at Boughton is so indifferent ; as to the gardens being a little run to ruin, I think that of no consequence, they raay be soon brought into some order. Fine groves & large rows of old Elms with a fine country are invaluable things, besides in my opinion to be within a reasonable distance of London is no small consideration. I have almost a raind to make a journey on purpose to see this place, to try if I can't devise a scheme of making itt convenient & habitable for a sraall sum of money. I think you need not propose to go any further, for since you have laid out so much money att Stain borough that shou'd still be your main seat ; and indeed itt is a very fine place to talk of in town, which I have heard say is the right use ofa seat in the country, and since you design'd itt for your monument, I wou'd (if itt were my case) make no other use of itt. Pardon me if I show some spleen to a place that keeps you so far from me. But raillerie apart I really think Boughton shou'd not be neglected if itt can be made habitable for a moderate sum of money. There may be times when you may enjoy that, and you might not care to remove your family so far as Stainborough. I'll say nothing of Colston Bassett, but only that I wish itt stood in Boughton Park, or if you could spare itt I shou'd 430 Worthies of Barnsley. Mr. Gough, in his additions to Camden, says : "At Bough' ton is a small ancient seat belonging to Lord Strafford, who purchased the manor of Lord Ashbumham. From our inspection of the house, which is small, we found it built in the form of an half H, with gables, which the present possessor. Lord Strafford, has carried up into battlements, and turrets, so as to have a very picturesque effect. We entered at the side through a passage into an antient haU, with a screen. This respectable old room is lofty, and the windows high, quite in the ancient style. Here hung a picture of the famous Lord Strafford and his dog, probably a copy of that at Stainborough, the principal seat of the family in Yorkshire. We next entered the area of the stair case ; on the right of which is a small dining room and billiard room. The staircase, which is of massy wooden rails, led us to the drawing room, and a few other comfort able apartments. The study we saw in the opposite wing. The whole house is indeed but small, but exhibits sufficient to convey ideas of happy retirement. The luxurious ivy which covers altogether the back of the hous6, and spreads have thank'd you to have lett me have had itt att Richkings; but I don't know how you can call itt a seat, unless you mean that itt is a proper place to sit down att in the way to Stainborough. My notion of a good seat is where there is great parks, fine woods, & plantations, & an extensive command of all kinds of country sports with a dry soil. I think any house good enough to sleep in, & the only magnificence the country neighbours have a notion off is your strong beer & beef." Lord Strafford purchased the manor of Boughton, Northampton shire, of Lord Ashbumham, in July, 1717. The house, gardens, bowl ing green, and spinny, park, &c., for ;^2,i5o; the manor ;£'9,ooo. The present owner holds it by descent from, Lady Lucy Wentworth." Wentworth Papers, pp. 243-4. The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 431 over one tower of the front ; the perfect union of the whole. both in size and ornaraent ; the broken grounds ; the rich trees and pleasing vistas, afforded us a short visit of soothing delight. Yet we were told his lordship makes no further use of it than as a resting place on his way to and from London." Lord Strafford's health had began seriously to fail and Lord Bathurst, writing from Cirencester, July 17, 1736, says: — " Your Lordship has the pleasure of seeing things almost in perfection in your own time, a noble building & plantations well grown about it, but the most agreeable sight you can see there is that fine youth who is one tirae or other to succeed you in it. Without any corapliraent, I like hira better the more I see of hira & I reaUy think he proraises everything that can be desir'd." . . On Sep. 6, the sarae year. Lord Bathurst writes : "I ara in great hopes those waters the bathing in the sea [at Scarborough] and the exercise raay have totally re-established your health. I think all the three have an equal chance to be of service in your case ; but if these Rheumatick coraplaints and want of sleep shou'd StiU reraain, I hope your Lordship wiU resolve to go to London for advice without delay. I ara persuaded Dr. Burton wou'd cure you. It is plain that your Lordship's disorder is frora the Blood & Juices, that is to be rectified by proper medicines. Your Lordship ought not to be reckon'd above 50 years old. I seriously think you are as young as I am considering the difference of Natural Strength ; and if I had the same complaints as you have, I shou'd make no doubt of getting rid of them by a Course of Medicine under Dr. Burton's care in 6 weeks time ; I rjame that period, because I have heard hira • and other 432 Worthies of Barnsley. Phisitians say that in such a space they can entirely change the habit of the Body in respect to the Blood & Juices. . . . I know you hate Phisick & Phisitians, and love Quacks, but I shou'd think that you have suffer'd enough by them to grow wiser for the future ; I am satisfied that Ward poison'd you, and if the effects of it are not yet quite re- couver'd it is high time to consult with those who can remove them. I am very serious upon this affair & there fore write with that freedora which becoraes a friend, a relation, and an hurable servant upon a serious occasion.'' His lordship died on the isth Nov, 1739, in the 68th year of his age, and was buried in the family vault at Toddington. An anonymous defender of his lordship thus writes of him at the tirae of his irapeachment.* " In his youth I find him struggling with many difficulties, being under age & without a guardian at the time of his father's death, who dropping off very suddenly left his affairs in so perplext and confused a manner, that without serious appUcation & very prudent conduct, it would have been utterly irapossible for him to have disengaged himself. To which might be added his being capriciously, not to say un justly, disinherited of a great estate, yet his industry in serving his faraily at home, and his gaUant behaviour in serving his country abroad, broke through these obstacles, & together with his marriage have made him very easy in his fortune— without the least imputation of corruption or any indirect practice. How far his Lordship's Education in Courts & the array has aUowed hira to improve by books I know not, but those great affairs which he has undertaken. The Wentworth Papers, pp. 34-5. The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 433 & successfully accoraplished prove him to be blessed with very wonderful endowments of nature, & to have a clear, & withal as Extensive a Knowledge of business as any one his age can boast of But what I think should confirra hira in the good opinion of all true EngUshraen, & for ever sUence all reasonable scandals are those raany raarks of favour by that most nice discerner of merit. King WiUiam, & if the late King of Prussia had not been thoroughly sensible of his Lordship's great abilities & firm integrity it is hardly credible that he would have left (as he in a manner did) all his affairs to be modelled by his Lordship's more descerning judg ment. " The late Electress of Hanover, mother to His present Majesty, had a most particular affection for hira, which is sufficiently known by all that ever heard her speak of him . . . and it is certain that before vehemence, un founded jealousy, & the prejudice of party incited some men, whose interest it was to sully his reputation, to do him iU offices, he was very weU esteemed by his present Majesty, as appears by his reception of him at the Hague, & the very gracious letters which I ara assured the Earl had from him before & since the Queen's death." In the centre of the area in the Castle-yard, at Stain borough, is a fine raarble statue of the Earl, by Rysbrack. The expression of his features is open and dignified ; he is attired in a long flowing robe, with his elbow resting upon a pillar, forming upon the whole a good representa tion of that distinguished nobleraan. This statue was placed there by WiUiara, Earl of Strafford, in 1743. In three com partments of the base are the foUowing inscriptions : — " Sacred to the Memory of the Most Honourable 29 434 Worthies of Barnsley. Thomas, Earl of Strafford, Viscount Wentworth, of Went worth Woodhouse, and Baron of Stainborough, Raby, Newmarch and Oversley, a Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter. " Previous to the death of Queen Anne, our Most Serene Sovereign Lady, he was sent as Special Ambassador, vested with fuU power, to the Confederate States of the United Provinces, and to the Convention which was held at Utrecht. He was the Commander of the troop of Cavalry called ' The Queen's Own,' and of aU Her Majesty's forces, and in the General's office was made Lord High Admiral- elect of the Navy of Great Britain. He was also the Governor of Ireland, and is ascertained so to have been by the Queen's own private despatches. " How deservedly he was elevated to these honours, his pubUc acts must testify. " He died the isth day of November, in the year of our Lord 1739, in the 68th year of his age, and was buried at the village of Toddington, in the county of Bedford." * Near what is caUed Green Lodge, or Queen Anne's Lodge, which forms one of the entrances to the park at Stainborough, is an obelisk, in commemoration of Queen Anne, with the following inscription : — t " " In the year of our Lord, 1739, the Right Hon. Thoraas, Earl of Strafford, Buryed Dec. 2." — Toddington Parish Register. £ ^. d. + " 1733, May ye26. — Joseph Bower, junr., 6 days, Laying the foundation of Oblisk o 7 o" (Other items follow.) " Nov. ye 29, Joseph Bower, sen., for 532 foot and a half of Ashlar measered in ye Obylisk from ye bottom of the seat to the top ofthe cap, at 4d. per foot 817 6 The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 435 " To the pious, glorious, and immortal raeraory of QUEEN ANNE, " This ObeUsk was erected, by her faithful rainister, Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford, Viscount Wentworth, of Wentworth-Woodhouse and of Stainborough, Baron of Raby, Newmarch and Oversley, and Knight of the raost noble Order of the Garter ; which said EARL, at the death of that most exceUent PRINCESS, was one of the seven appointed by the Act of Parliament to be Regents of the Kingdome during the absence of the Successor, as first Lord of the Admiralty of Great Britain and Ireland, was likewise Lieut.-General of all her Majesty's Forces, Colonel of the First and Royal Regiment of Dragoons, was one of the Cabinet and Privy Council, Ambassador Extraordinary to the States General, and likewise Plenipotentiary for the Congress and Peace of Utrecht." Lord Strafford left issue, as we are .already aware, an only son. Lord Wentworth, who succeeded to the earldom and estates, and three daughters. The eldest daughter was Lady Anne, of whom we have spoken as 1734, May ye 4. — 1202 feet of Ashlar in the Obylisk from the top of the cap of the pedistole to the top of the ObyHsk, at 5d. per foot 25 o 8 For fiUing the Obylisk with ruff stones 310 o'' ' In the account of Mr. Wra. Addinell is the following : — Wrighting the [inscription on the] Obelisk first time O 10 O 1734, May 21. — To Blacking the Letters of the Obelisk after being cut o 5 o 436 Worthies of Barnsley. having married the Right Hon. Wm. Conolly ; Lucy married, in 1747, George Howard, afterwards created Knight of the Bath ; and Harriet * married, in December, 1743, Henry Vernon, Esq., son of James Vernon, Esq., Clerk of the CouncU, nephew of Admiral Vernon, and grandfather to Mr. Vernon Wentworth, who has succeeded to the Wentworth Castle and other estates. The following are extracts from letters written by Richard Wardman to the Dowager Lady Strafford during the two years following her lord's death. This was during the minority and travels of the young Earl, during which period she would appear to have taken upon herself some part of the raanageraent of the estates. It will be seen * Horace Walpole, in a letter dated Nov. 17, 1743, thus alludes to Lady Harriet Vernon's marriage : — "Do you remember a tall Mr. Vernon, who travelled with Mr. Cotton. He is going to be married to a sister of Lord Strafford's "; and again, after her marriage, Walpole in his Correspondence, Vol. iv. , p. 493, in a letter to the Earl of Hert ford, tells the following story : — " Apropos, my Lady Hertford's friend. Lady Harriet Vernon (who is stated in a note to be sister of Lord Straf ford, wife of Henry Vernon, Esq., and mother of Lady Grosvenor, whose intrigue with the Duke of Cumberland made so much noise), has quarrelled with rae for smiling at the enormous head gear of her daughter, Lady Grosvenor. She came one night to Northumberland- house, with such display of friz, that it literally spread beyond her shoulders. I happened to say, it looked as if her parents had stinted her of hair before marriage, and that she was determined to indulge her fancy now. This amongst ten thousand other things, said by all the world, was reported to Lady Harriet, and has occasioned my disgrace. As she has never found fault with anybody herself I excuse her !" Died, April 12, 1786. In Grafton-street, Lady Harriet Vernon, relict of Henry Vernon, Esq., of HUton Park, Co. Stafford, and one ofthe ladies of the Bedchamber to her Royal Highness the Princess Amelia. Her ladyship was the youngest daughter of the late, and sister to the present. Earl of Strafford. The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 437 that the farailies of Lord Strafford and Lord Malton were now on better terras: "Wentworth Castle, June 22nd, 1740. My Lady, — Last week I went over to Lord Malton's with your Ladyship, my Lord and young Lady's compli ments, and my Lord and Lady -Malton gives both their service to your Ladyship, Lady Lucy, and Lady Harriett, and wishes Lord Strafford a good journey. I did not see them, but Mr. Eliot went to the farm house, where my Lord and Lady, and some Duke, and one Mr. Vane was there, who is at Wentworth House. I think it is the Duke and Duchess of Cleveland, but I did not think they were coming over to Wentworth Castle, for I heard they were going away in a day or two. I likewise got Mr. EUot to ask my Lord Malton if his lordship would take sorae sums of money in Yorkshire, and that your ladyship raight receive it at London, but ray lord sent vvord to rae that he was very sorry, for he had drawn his banker at London very low, and that he could not take it now, but that if your ladyship thought it proper he would get bills for a raonth's date, and I said I would write to your ladyship first by this post. I could a got Mr. Handcock, the Doncaster waggoner, to have brought it for eight shillings the hundred, and it would be paid to your ladyship in a week's time ; and it is safe send ing by them, for they are men that are able to make it good, and is obliged to do it, if they are robbed by the way ; but it is a deal of money to give, and I would not do it without your ladyship's orders. Last night Mr. Traviss brought Mrs. Traviss to Wentworth Castle.* I believe they were raarried * The Rev. David Traviss was chaplain to Lord Strafford, & Curate of Stainborough,—" 1755. To a treat to Mr. Traviss who preached, ;^o 2s. 6d." — Worsborough Churchwardens' Accounts. 438 Worthies of Barnsley, at Doncaster last Thursday. Mr. O'Bryan brought Mrs. Traviss frora Doncaster, in a four-wheeled chaise, and a pair of mares. They both ly in my Lady Wentworth's apart ment, and get their raeat drest in the kitchen, and they have one of the white cows ray lord ordered them, to milk, so they wiU be quite happy." Writing again to Lady Strafford from Wentworth Castie, on July 7, 1740, he says : " Last Thursday I went over to my Lord Malton's, with yr. Ladyship's corapliments, and the young Lady's, and my Lady Malton sent for me into her roome, whear her Lady ship was drinking tea. There was with her, some Lady Jenkins, Mrs. Wooger, and Lady Ann Wentworth. but ray Lady Malton told mee she had been very iU for this week past, but is now something better, and gives your Ladyship many thanks for sending me over to inquire after them. " This day I went over to Sir William Wentworth's [of Bretton] and he sent for rae into his roorae, and I asked him for two or three franks, and he very willingly gave me five, and they are very glad to heare yr Ladyship, Lady Lucy, and Lady Hariott is well, and wishes Lord Strafford a good journey, and safe home again, for Sir WiUiam told me he did not hear before, yt my Lord was gone abroad. This day the 7th of July I paid to one Mr. Hide, of Wakefield,;^ 2 75 os. od. for which sume of money he will give Mr. Ingram a good London BiU, but Mr. Hide cannot give the BUl tiU this day se'nnight ; but Mr. Ingram knows him to be a very safe gentleman, and the raoney will be justly paid, and at the time Mr. Ingram wUl give yr Lady ship notice when it is to be paid. The £2^^ is Wentworth The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 439 Castle, Kerresforth, and Rockley rents to Martinraas. Last Monday I sold Mr. Hobson of Dodworth 900 fathoras of Barke, at 16 pence per fathora, but he is not to pay for it tiU 24th June, 1741. Last Monday I see Mr. Cotton, and we took up his Cordwood, which is 127 cords and 12 foot, at IS. od. the cord, coraes to ;^63 12s. 6d. ; so Mr. Cotton will at Michaelraas both pay his rent and this raoney, and not tUl after Mich. day. I think it wiU be rauch better for rae to stay tiU then before I come to London for it is a very throng time, and we are aU burnt up, and we have no grass left, nor water. I am forced to lead the water every day in a cart for the Castle. I shaU be five days of going to Ashby and staying and coming home, so what money I get there, I must send by Horncastle waggon, for their wool bill is not to depend on, for they are a pack of cheats." On the i6th he writes again : " I have sent the Lincoln shire rents by one Thos. Friskney, of Horncastle. I paid him the nth July the sum of ;£^ioo 3s. 6d., which sum wUl be paid to yr. Ladyship, or order, at the Red Lyon Inn, in Aldersgate-street, on the 26th of this July, and the carriage I have paid : The money comes by the Horn- castie waggon.* Again writing on July 19, 1740: " My Lady Wentworth from Brittan came to Wentworth Castle last week, and Mrs. BoseU [Bosvile], her daughter f ; they brought some cold * Addi. MSS., Strafford Papers, 22,226, fol. 422. 22,239, fol. 305. 309- + Lady Diana Wentworth, seventh daughter of Sir William Blacket, of Wallington, and wife of Sir Wm. Wentworth, of Bretton. She died at York, in April, 1742, and was buried in the church of St. Martin, Coney-street. Her daughter married Godfrey Bosvile, Esq., of Gunth waite. 440 Worthies of Barnsley. meat, and wanted to dine at ye Castle, but my wife told them that my Lord had forbid it, that nobody should dine there, so they dined in the Uttie round place in the wUder ness, where the lorell hedge is round about it." The following letter is from the Gamekeeper at Stain borough : — " Wentworth Castle, 21 June, 1740. — May it please your Ladyship, I've made bold to send you an account of what deer are in the park at Wentworth Castle which is as below. Theres a great loss amongst the deer in your Ladyships park but not half so rauch as the rest of the parks in this part of the country ; it is occasioned by the severe season in winter and the great scarcity of grass in the spring. The deer which are in the park are very well and healthful, & I hope towards the latter end of July there will be ten brace of exceeding good bucks fit for your ladyship's use. The park begins to flourish very much & I hope we shall have plenty of grass. My Lords horses in the park are weU and all the spotted sheep are alive and all the trees about the park are safe and everything about Wentworth Castle. I humbly beg your ladyship will be pleased to consider my clothing for with walking about the park and woods I am got as ragged as a sheep ; its upwards of two years since I had any and my Lord was pleased to be so good as tell me I should have a frock every year and a plush coat every tow years, and a laced hatt as other noblemen's keepers had. I shall every day pray for my Lord Strafford's safe return that health and prosperity may attend him, your Ladyship, and the young Lady's which is the hearty wish of your Ladyships most dutyfuU and obedient humble servant, William Richardson. Old deer in the park 274, Dyed last Winter The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 441 & spring 36, total 310, which makes up the account I gave your Ladyship the second of December last ; the fawns are not all dropt so can't send a particular account of them." The Dowager Countess of Strafford died oh September 19th, 1754, at her house at Twickenham, in the 70th year of her age,* and was buried in the family vault at ToddingtOn,t and her will was dated January 26th, 1739-40. * "Old Lady Strafford — that is the Dowager Countess — had a villa at Twickenham, at which many other ladies met on Saturdays." — Walpole's Letters, vol. ii. , p. 49. " Here we picked up Lord Granby, arrived very drunk frora Jenny Whim ; where, instead of going to old Strafford's catacombs to make honourable love, he had dined with Lady Fanny [Seymour], and left her and eight other women playing at brag." — Walpole's Letters, vol. "•, P- 339- + The following paper is indorsed, "List of the Countess Dowager of Strafford's plate, July, 1749": — I Tureen and I Dish for it; 14 Wrought Dishes, of different sizes ; 4 Sallad Dishes ; i Fish Dish ; 10 Soop Plates ; 2 dozen and 2 other Plates ; 4 Sauce Boates ; 4 Salts and 4 Shovels, in a case ; i Soop Spoon ; 2 Prague Spoons, 4 Fish Slices ; 2 Sauce Boat Spoons ; i Epargne compleat ; I large Cup and Cover ; i Bread Basket ; I Cheese Plate and Cover ; 2 Waiters ; 2 Casters ; 2 Cruets with tops, a Cruet Ring, and Pepper Box ; i Mustard Pot and Spoon ; 2 dozens of Knives, Forks, and Spoons, in cases ; 2 Marrow Spoons ; 1 case with a dozen Knives and Forks, and II Spoons; l Orange Strainer and I Toasting Fork ; 6 aggite-handle Knives and Forks and 6 Spoons ; l Tea Kettle and Lamp, and i Coffee Pot and Stand ; 8 wrought Tea Spoons, 10 ditto plain ; 2 Saucepans, 4 Lark Spits ; l Writing Standish compleat ; 4 Tickets for bottles ; i pair of very large wrought Candlesticks, and a pair of double wrought Branches for ditto ; I ditto for ye hand ; i large plain cup and I smaU one ; 2 large Carving Knives ; 1 Creara Pott. Plate of my Lord's my Lady has : — 5 pairs of Candlesticks; I large Salver; i Ring for ye Table; 2 Sallad Dishes; 2 Salts. My Lady's French Plate : — 4 pair of Candlesticks ; I pair of Girandoles, 2 candles each ; I Coffee Pot ; I Plate Rack ; I Mazareen for ye Fish Dish ; I Stand for ye Heater ; 2 pairs of Candlesticks, new ; 2 pairs of French Snuffers ; 5 pairs of Brass Girandoles. 442 Worthies of Barnsley. In it she desires to be decently and privately buried in the family vault at Toddington, near her deceased lord and husband ; and leaves aU her jewels and the furniture of her house, at Twickenham, to her son WiUiam, then earl ; ;^i,ooo to each daughter ; and all else to her son. Lord Bathurst was made sole executor. Two codicils to this were executed in March and August, 1754. by which she leaves to her daughter. Lady Anne Conolly, " my late lord's picture (drawn by Lens), set with diamonds, and aU my Dresden China " ; there were other legacies to daughters, and grand-daughters. In erecting the splendid east front of the mansion, on the design of the Prussian architect, Bott, and introducing raany rare and valuable paintings and relics which he had purchased whUe abroad. Lord Strafford had done much towards making Stainborough one of the finest seats in the county. He had, as we have seen, built temples, columns, and other objects in different parts of his domain, and also a miniature castle on the site of what is believed to have been an ancient fortification ; and he now changed the name of Stainborough Hall to Wentworth Castle. The park he had extended, and the gardens and grounds, which he had re-formed, had come in also for a large share of his attention.* King William had brought with him into * ' ' The following lines on Stainborough were written by John Arnold, who was head gardener at Stainborough from the time of Lord Strafford's coming to reside there up to about the year 1740. He became old, and almost blind, in his lordship's service. A good deal of the planting and the formation of the grounds took place under Arnold's superintendence, and he was held in much regard by Lord and Lady Strafford : — Of all the places I can name, Wentworth Castle bears the farae. The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 443 England a new style of gardening, which has been called the georaetric, regular, or architectural, and with this Lord Strafford had become enamoured, and Stainborough in his hands soon presented one of the most perfect specimens of the kind. As up the towers you gently rise The prospect none can partic'larise ; Woods, groves, and bowers on every side For miles, I may say dozens, wide ; Fine little closes round I see. Appear like gardens unto rae ; Corn and green grass from them proceed. On which both us and cattle feed The Uttle coneys on the hill. With pleasure skipping at their will ; Brave herds of deer near to the hall. Are ready at the keeper's call ; Pleasant cascades below the hill. Whose flowing streams each bason fill ; From thence with pleasure you may see Strange birds at the menagerie. Some squeak, some cry — some sing, some squall. Whose echo sounds unto the hall ; The gardens are most rare to see, There's not one plant, nay, scarce one tree. But what has in short time been raised. Just where and as his Lordship pleased ; A spacious house there's to behold. Which has cost unknown weight of gold. Where many tradesmen laboured hard. And ne'er were from their wages barr'd May Strafford, who did all compleat. Long live to grace this noble seat. Under the Providence of God, May his for ever keep the sod." Addi. MSS., 31,152, fol. 38. 444 Worthies of Barnsley. In this state the gardens and grounds continued for more than half a century, comprising sloped terraces of grass, regular shapes of land and water formed by art, and quaintly adorned with trees, planted alternately, and clipped to preserve the most perfect regularity of shape. Large gates and iron palisades enclosed these geometric designs, in which the greatest formality and precision were to be found, and where " Grove nods at grove each alley has a brother. And half the platform just reflects the other. " Imraediately in front of the edifice was a terrace, which by means of a bold flight of steps, led to an enclosure, containing an octagonal pool and waterfall, with fancifully shaped trees, and statuary interspersed in every direction. On the south side of the mansion was a beautifully laid out flower garden, and at the back and sides trees were planted in geometric patterns, which forraed bowers, alcoves, and walks of the most interesting kind, the castle at the top of the hill giving a finish to the whole. A fine old engraving of the place as it was, about 1730, is to be found among the views of noblemen's seats in Britannica Illustrata. * But this style of gardening had its day, and a new fashion came into vogue, called the natural, irregular, or landscape style. Quite a rage set in, and in a few years many of the gardens * Stainborough Hall. The seat of Thomas, Earl of Strafford, &c., 1730. C. Holzendorf, del., D. Caster, sc. ; large engraving. The same re-published, with alterations, by R. Wilkinson, 1800. Two views of Stainborough or Wentworth Castle, one of the seats of Lord Strafford, by Badesdale and Harris. Plans and elevation. See Britannica Illustrata, I, 92-3. Large view, 1730. For a view of Wentworth Castle at this period see History of Worsborough, p. 100. The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 445 of our nobUity underwent quite a transformation, the terraces, avenues, and geometric figures being superseded by greater variety of landscape, in which the natural beauties of the situation were made to play a prominent part. WiUiam, Earl of Strafford, in the next generation, becarae a convert to this idea, and called in the aid of Launcelot Brown, the raost eminent landscape gardener of the day, and under his superintendence the grounds at Stainborough were re-formed and entirely changed. The terraces and gardens as then existing were altered, — the approaches which were then straight, regular, and exact, were removed, and others introduced, in which winding walks, easy and graceful slopes, and other changes were made, in which nature and ease were consulted, and they were altered as we see them at the present day. Water was made to play a more prominent part, and the beauties of the landscape, as forming a part of the whole, brought into requisition. The serpentine canal and the other sheets of water, so judiciously disposed, were introduced, and with what success those of our readers who know the place may judge. At the time Brown — CapabUity Brown* — who possessed that force of genius which rendered him, according to Mason, "The living leader of thy powers. Great nature,'' was making these improveraents, the elegant south front of the mansion had been erected by Lord Strafford from his own designs, and such was the completeness and character * "The ingenious Mr. Brown, distinguished by the name of ' CapabiUty Brown,' the celebrated landscape gardener, who acquired the cognomen from his habit of saying that the place he came to advise upon had capabilities." — Note in BasweWs fohnson. 446 Worthies of Barnsley. of its architectural detaUs as a whole, that the Hon. Horace Walpole says in his work " On Modern Gardening," " If a model is sought of the most perfect taste in architecture, where grace softens dignity, and lightness attempers magnificence ; where proportion removes every part from peculiar observation, and delicacy of execution recaUs every part to notice ; where the position is the most happy, and even the colour of the stone most harmonious ; * the virtuoso should be directed to the new front of Wentworth Castle ; the result of the same elegant judgment that had before distributed so many beauties over that domain, and caUed from wood, water, hUls, prospects, and buUdings, a compendiura of picturesque nature, iraproved by the chastity of art. Such an aera wiU demand a better historian." But we are anticipating. The year after his father's death, William, Earl of Strafford, who viras then a minor, married Anne, second daughter of * The stone of which Wentworth Castle is built, and which attracted the admiring attention of Horace Walpole, has always been spoken of as of superior quality ; and tradition has pointed to the Oaks quarries as being the source from which it was obtained. That such was the case the following item from an account rendered by Richard Fenton, attorney, of Bank Top, to Lord Strafford will show : — " 1757. Drawing agreement between your Lordship and Mr. Micklethwait for stone quarry on Ardsley Common, and two office copies to sign, and attending execution o 13 6 The year above given (1757) was just prior to his lordship's commencing the magnificent south front of his mansion. Lord Strafford employed his own workmen to get the stone, and paid an annual rent of ;^5 los. for the quarry which he occupied and worked for many years. " 1762, Dec. 19. Mr. Micklethwaite, a year's Rent for Quarry 5 10 o The Right Hon. William, Earl of Strafford, of Staikeorouch. The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 447 John, Duke of ArgyU and Greenwich. In order to do this and make a settlement upon her, he had to obtain the con sent of Parliament. In 'Ca& Journal of the House of Lords, Vol. xxv., pp. 568,583, are the foUowing entries : — " Jan. 15, 1740. Upon reading the pertition of Anne, Countess of Strafford, mother and guardian of WiUiam, Earl of Strafford, an infant, about the age of 19 years ; praying leave to bring in a BUl, to enable the said Earl to make a settlement upon his intended marriage with the Lady Anne Campbell, second daughter of the Duke of Argyll and Green wich, notwithstanding his infancy ; it is ordered that the consideration of the said petition be, and is hereby referred ; and on the 19th of March following, the Lord Delawarr reported from the Lords' Coraraittee, That they had con sidered the said Bill, and exarained the allegations thereof, which they found to be true ; that the parties concerned had given their consent ; and that the Committee had gone through the BUl and made some amendments thereto." Which being read by the Clerk was agreed to by the House. After his lordship's marriage, he spent a lengthened honeymoon on the Continent, visiting many foreign cities, and we get a glimpse of him in the correspondence of Lady Mary Wortley Montague, during his absence. Lady Mary, writing from Rome on the 13th January, 1740-1, says: — "Here are some young, English traveUers, among them Lord Strafford, who behaves himself very modestly and genteeUy, and has lost the pertness he acquired in his mother's asserably."* In a letter to Lady Porafret, dated * A note adds that " he built the south front of Wentworth Castle, in Yorkshire, and was eminently skilled in architecture and vertu." — Letters bf Lady Mary Wortley Montague (Lord Wharncliffe's Edition), Voh ii., pp. 255, 297,329. 448 Worthies of Barnsley. Leghorn, March 3rd, in the same year. Lady Mary writes : — "I am extremely sorry, dear madam, that things have turned out so unluckily, to hinder me the pleasure of your conversation ; I really believed Lord Strafford intended tO' go straight to Florence, instead of which he has been at Leg horn, Pisa, and Lucca, which has occasioned these mistakes." Writing in October, 1743, she says : — "Lady Oxford wrote to me last post, that Lord Strafford was then with her ; she informs me that the Duke of Argyll is in a very bad state of health." Lord Strafford returned to England, and having attained his majority, took his seat in the House of Lords on the 21st March, 1742. There is the following entry under this date in the Journal of the House of Lords : — " WiUiam, Earl of Strafford, sat first in Parliament after the death of his father, Thomas, Earl of Strafford ; having at the table taken the oaths, and made and subscribed the declaration, and also taken and subscribed the oath of abjuration, pursuant to the statutes." Lord Strafford was proud of his wife, and of his alliance with the Carapbells, and the death of his father-in-law, the Duke of ArgyU, in 1743, he rauch deplored.* The Duke * On the death of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll, Lord Straf ford became possessed, in right of his wife, of one fourth of their family plate, which is given in the foUowing list : — "List of Plate, the property of the Right Hon. the Earl of Strafford, being one-fourth part of the late Duchess of Argyll's : oz. dwts. per oz. ^ s. d. I pr of candlesticks, square bottoms . . 48 5 at 5s. 6d. 13 5 4 I pr. chased do., round sockets S3 15 ,, I? o o I do., square feet 47 IO ,, 13 5 2 6 doz. of plates 1360 10 „ 39319 6 The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 449 had been a warm friend and contemporary of the late Lord Strafford, with whom he had gone through the Marlborough oz. dwts. per oz. £ s. d. I doz. plates, with Duke's Arms 163 o ,, 45 10 i 4 sauce boats 78 10 ,, 22 1 1 4J 2 setts of casters 71 o ,, 20 2 4 2 dish rings 25 10 ,, 7 4 6 I coffee pot i8 o ,, 5 o 6 6 large sconces 935 o ,, 261 o 5 I chocolate pot 43 10 ,, 915 9 2 oval dishes & 2 strainers 66 o ,, 18 8 6 6 sconces 237 o ,, S6 5 9 2 poringers and covers 42 o ,, 1118 o 2 saucepans 38 o ,, 10 15 4 9 scoUopt dishes 127 10 ,, 36 18 5 I chamber pot 26 o , , 7 7 4 I small cup and cover 17 IS ,, 5 o 7 I inkstand 62 5 ,, 17 17 11 I pr. figured candlesticks 123 5 ,, 33 17 10^ I do. of large do 185 15 ,, 51 i 7J 4 soop spoons 23 10 ,, 6 14 i I orange strainer 3 8 ,, o 18 10 2 soop spoons 15 8 ,, 4 6 o I egg coffee pot 38 o ,, 10 12 2 10 tea spoons 4 12 ,, i 5 8 4 salts and spoons 9 o ,, 2 9 6 I pair of candlesticks 35 S ,, 9 16 10 Teapot and stand 26 o ,, 7 7 o 2 soop spoons IS 12 ,, 3 18 o 5 bottle tickets 2 4 „ 013 o Gilt Plate. Teapot 21 o ,, 6 o 9 8 dishes 80 5 ,, 19 i 2 I doz. of plates 23210 ,, 67163 1 197 15 64 Note. — The total amount of the whole was £i!,1?& IS 4 ipart 1197 31°-" 30 45 o Worthies of Barnsley. campaigns ; * and to mark the high esteem in which he held his grace, WiUiam Earl of Strafford, in a conspicuous part of the park at Wentworth Castie, towering high " mid tufted trees," erected a magnificent Corinthian column,t which was dedicated to the memory of Argyll, whose great merits Pope sums up in the following couplet : " Argyll the State's whole thunder born to wield. And shake alike the senate and the field." The duke's daughters % were amongst the most beautiful women of that period, and Lady Strafford in particular was highly extolled and adraired. She is one of the * Writing on the 21st February, 1 711, to congratulate the Duke of ArgyU on the command of the Queen's forces in Spain, Lord Strafford, then Lord Raby, adds : " As I have the honour of knowing you long I must take the liberty to say there is nothing I have longed for more than the ambition of that command ; since naturaUy it had fallen to my share, had I not been sent (with show of friendship) hither, to this scribbling trade, from my command in Flanders, for ray regiment to be sent over into Spain to make way for others to corae in their roora to Flanders. . . and I do protest that I came here with reluctance, & continued every year since soliciting with importunity my return, as promised, to my post in the army, but as your grace sees, in vain. I beg you to believe me that there is no man in Great Britain (since I have lost all hopes myself) that I had rather had that command than your grace.'' t The Argyll column erected in 1743. In December of that year there is a detailed account for mason work for coluran, pedestal, plinth, etc. , done by Joseph Bower, araounting to ;^27 12s. 6d. X Caroline, married first to Francis, Earl of Dalkeith, eldest son of Francis, Duke of Buccleuch ; and secondly to Charles Townshend, Esq. second brother of the Lord Townshend, and her ladyship was created Baroness Greenwich. Anne married WUliam, Earl of Strafford. Betty married Jaraes Stuart Mackenzie, brother to John, Earl of Bute Mary, the youngest, raarried Edward, Viscount Coke, heir apparent to Thomas, Earl of Leicester, and to his mother, Margaret, Baroness Clif ford, who left her a widow without issue. The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 45 1 constellation of beauties, described by Horace Walpole in his epistle to Eckhardt, the painter : — • " The Crescent on her brow display'd In curls of loveliest brown inlaid. With every charra to rule the night, Like Dian, Strafford wooes the sight ; The easy shape, the piercing eye. The snowy bosom's purity. The unaffected gentle phrase Of native wit in all she says ; Eckhardt, for these thy art's too faint. You may admire but cannot paint." Lady Strafford was present at the coronation of George IIL, and Walpole speaks of her in one of his epistles as being " the perfectest Uttle figure of all ;" — in fact, the Carapbell sisters were so noted for, and so long preserved, their beauty — that the sarae authority called them " hucka back beauties " — that is, beauties that never wear out.* The following acrostic was addressed " To the Right Honourable the Countess of Strafford, at Boughton, in Northamptonshire." " Strafford : Illustrious Peeress, truly Great, Time shall Her shining character Compleat ; Rich in her Virtues in her conduct Bright, All that is worthy Praise in Her Unite ; * ' ¦ I passed all the last week at Park Place, where one of the bravest men in the world, who is not perraitted to contribute to our con quests, was indulged in being the happiest, by being with one of the most deserving women — for Campbell goodness no more wears out than CampbeU beauty — all their good qualities are huckaback. You see the Duchess has imbibed so much of their durableness (Lady Strafford's mother), that she is good humoured enough to dine at a Tavern at 76. —Walpole to Lord Strafford, Oct. 30, 1759. 452 Worthies of Barnsley. Form'd hy kind Nature with a Stately Mien, Features that please and show a mind Serene ; Oraitting nothing that Her Life can Grace, Regarding Wisdom's Rules in ev'ry Place ; Deathless Her Love to Strafford and His Race." Lord Strafford was no statesman, and took little part in the affairs of the nation. As a magistrate, however, he evinced an interest in county and local matters, and, inheriting the tastes of his predecessor, he went on improving his estate at Stainborough, where, in a dignified retireraent, he spent much of his time. He was a member of the Royal Society, and cultivated the acquaintance of a large circle of raen of letters. * He was a lover of architecture, * In an article on Gibbon's carving, which appeared in Notes and Queries, 4th Series, iii., 573, it is stated that Mrs. Oldfield, the actress, had the Earl of Strafford, a whole length figure, finely carved in ivory by Gibbon. " His Lordship, in a letter dated March 27, 1746, calendered in Royal Commission on Historical Manusc-ripts, second report, raentions the first appearance of the new dancer, Violetti, afterwards Mrs. Garrick. He says : ' She surprised the audience at her first appearance on the stage ; for at her beginning to caper she showed a neat pair of black velvet breeches, with roU'd stockings ; but finding they were unusual in England, she changed them the next time for a pair of white drawers." — C. Notes and Queries, .^th Series, vol. viii., p. 242. "The Earl of Strafford.— The late Dr. Taylor, residentiary of St. Paul's, who died April 4, 1766, as he was a raost excellent Grecian, put upon a silver cup, in Greek, ' I hate a guest that remembers all that passes ;' and on another, a tumbler for malt liquor, ' To Ceres, the furnisher of wine ; ' and on his tobacco box, ' I waste whilst I give pleasure.' An acquaintance of his, observing this, said to him one day, ' Doctor, you are so fond of your Greek, you put me in mind of the late Earl of The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 453 as has been said, and, along with his most intimate friend, Horace Walpole, spent much time and raoney in the gratification of his taste. We often get a pefep of his home life in Walpole's correspondence. Walpole visited Wentworth Castle in 1756, before the erection ofthe south front, and from that place, in company with Lord Strafford, visited Wortley, Wharncliffe, Pomfret, Ledstone, KirkstaU Abbey, Worksop, Kiveton, Welbeck, Wentworth, and other places, and wrote descriptions of thera to Richard Bentley, which wiU be found in Walpole's Correspondence, vol. Ui., p. 234, etc.* Of Wentworth Castle he says : " This place is one of the very few that I really like ; the situation, woods, views, and the improveraents are perfect in their kind ; nobody has a truer taste than Lord Strafford. . ¦ . The house is a pompous front screening an old house ; it was built by the last Lord, on a design of the Prussian Architect Bott, who is mentioned in the King's Meraoires de Brandenburg, and is not ugly ; the only pair of stairs is engrossed entirely by a gallery of Strafford, who, after he was made Knight of the Garter, put the Garter on all his shovels, wheelbarrows, and pickaxes ; ' and the doctor was vastly pleased with the remark." — Pegge's Anonyiana, v. xc. * Horace Walpole to the Earl of Strafford : — " Strawberry Hill, June 6th, 1756. — My Dear Lord, — I am not sorry to be paving my way to Wentworth Castle by a letter, where I suppose you are by this time, and for which I waited. Tylney has but one pair of gold pheasants, but promises my Lady Strafford the first fruits of their love. He gave me hopes of some pied peacocks sooner, for which I asked directly, as one must wait for the lying-in of the pheasants." Asks Lord Strafford for the route to Wentworth Castle. Walpole, in a later letter, complains of the state of the roads in Yorkshire. " They are insufferable," he says, "they mend them— I should say spoil them — with large pieces of stone." 454 Worthies of Barnsley. I So feet, on the plan of that of the Colonna Palace at Rome ; it has nothing but four modern statues, and some bad portraits,* but on my proposal is going to have books at each end. The haU is pretty, but low; the drawing- room handsome; there wants a good eating room and staircase ; but I have formed a design for both, and I believe they will be executed — that my plans should be obeyed when yours are not ! I shaU bring you a grand plan for a gothic buUding, which I have proposed you shall draw for a little wood, but in the manner of an ancient market cross. Without doors all is pleasing ; there is a beautiful (artificial) river, with a fine semi-circular wood overlooking it, and the Teraple of Tivoli placed happily on a rising towards the end. There are obelisks, columns, and other buildings, and above all, a handsome castle in the true style, on a rude mountain, with a court and towers ; in the castle yard a statue of the late earl who built it. Without the park is a lake on each side, buried in noble woods." In 1757, when Lord Strafford was erecting his temple in the grounds at the Menagerie, Walpole writes, July 4 : " I hoped to have had a few bricks from Prague to send you towards buUding Mr. Bentley's design, but I fear none will come from thence this suraraer. Thank God, the happiness of the raenagerie does not depend upon administrations or victories. . . . Are your charraing lawns burnt up like our humble hills ? Is your sweet river as low as . our * "Walpole, in saying the portraits were ' bad,' appraised them at a much lower rate than they deserved. Besides this, many of these works have gained historic value during the century that has elapsed since he wrote." — Athenceum. The Earls of Strafford of Stainborough. 455 deserted Tharaes ? I am wishing for a handful or two of those floods that drowned me all the way last year from Wentworth Castle. I beg ray best corapliments to my Lady Strafford, and my best wishes that every pheasant and peacock's egg may produce as many colours as a harlequin jacket." At a later date, writing from Wentworth Castle to the Countess of Ailesbury, Walpole says : "I arrived here last night, and found only the Duke of Devonshire, who went to Hardwicke this morning ; they were down at the menagerie, and there was a clean little pullet, with which I thought his Grace looked as if he should be glad to eat a slice of Whichnover bacon. We follow hira to Chatsworth to-morrow, and make our entry to the public dinner, to the disagreeableness of which I fear even Lady M wiU not reconcile me. ... My Gothic building, which my Lord Strafford has executed in the raenagerie, has a charming effect. There are two bridges built besides ; but the new front is little advanced." Writing to George Montague, Esq., Sep. i, 1760, he says : "Lord Strafford has erected the littie Gothic buUding which I got Mr. Bentley to draw. I took the idea from Chichester Cross. It stands on a high bank in the menagerie between a pond and a vale, totally bowered over with oaks.* I went with * "Within the. menagerie, at the bottom of the park, is a most pleasing shrubbery, extreraely sequestered, cool, shady, and agreeably contrasted to that by the house, from which so much distant prospect is beheld ; the latter is what may be called fine, and the former is pleasingly agreeable. We proceeded through the menagerie (which is pretty well stocked with pheasants, &c. ) to the bottom of the shrubbery, where is an alcove in a sequestered situation ; in front of it the body of a large oak is seen at the end of a walk, in a pleasing style. This shrubbery, or rather plantation, is spread over two fine 45 6 Worthies of Barnsley. the Straffords to Chatsworth, and staid there four days ; there were Lady Mary Coke (sister to Lady Strafford), Lord Besborough and his daughters. Lord Thomond, Mr. Boufoy, the Duke,* the old Duchess, and two of his brothers. Would you believe that nothing was ever better humoured than the ancient grace. She staid every evening till it was dusk in the skittle ground keeping the score, and one night when the servants had a baU for Lady Dorothy's birthday, we fetched the fiddler into the drawing-room, and the Dowager herself danced with us." When William, Earl of Strafford, commenced the erection of his south front at Wentworth Castle, it was from his own designs, assisted by Horace Walpole, who was deeply slopes, the valley between which is a long winding hollow dale, exquisitely beautiful ; the banks are thickly covered with great numbers of very fine oaks, whose noble branches, in some places-, almost join over the grass lawn, which winds through the elegant valley ; at the upper end is a Gothic temple, over a little grot, which forms an arch, and together have a most pleasing effect ; on a near view this temple is found a light, airy, and elegant building. Behind it is a sheet of water surrounded by hanging wood in a beautiful manner ; an island in it prettily planted ; and the bank on the left side rising elegantly from the water, and scattered with fine oaks. From the seat of the river God the view into the park is pretty, congenial with the spot, and the temple caught in a proper style." — Tour of Mr. Arthur Young, 1773. * Walpole to the Earl of Hertford, April 5, 1764 . "In the evening the Duke of Devonshire came with the Straffords from t'other end of Twickenham, and drank tea with us ; they had none of them seen the gaUery since it was finished [at Walpole's villa] ; even the chapel was new to the Duke, and he was so struck with it, that he desired to offer at the shrine an incense pot of silver filagree." The Duke of Devonshire, who was a gr^at friend of Lord Strafford's, died the same year, and left his lordship a legacy of £2 348 — congratulates him on the birth of a daughter, 427. Boughton, Lord Strafford's seat at, description of, 429-30. BowUng Hall, the seat of Captain Charles Wood, 19. Bramah Lock, The, 230-3. Bramah, Joseph, father of the in ventor, a coachman in the em ploy of Lord Strafford — after wards a farmer on his Lord ship's estate, 225-6. Bramah, Joseph, the inventor, born at Stainborough, near Barnsley, in 1749 — intended for a farmer — meets with an acci dent which disqualifies him for that business — apprenticed to Thomas AUott, of Stainborough Fold, to be a joiner, 225-6 — of a mechanical turn of mind, and evinces a bias for mechanics — executes various pieces of handi work, which display no small ingenuity, 226-7 — o" the expi ration of his apprenticeship goes to London on foot, 228 — suc ceeds in business — takes out a 484 Index. patent for a water closet in 1778, which has continued tobe employed with but few altera tions until the present day — sends for the blacksraith at Stainborough who had made him his tools when a boy, 229 — patents his celebrated lock in 1784, 230 — account and descrip tion of it, 231 — the challenge lock picked by Hobbs in 1851, 231-2 — the locks manufactured on a large scale, 233 — invents the hydrostatic machine in 1785, 234 — the hydraulic press in 1795, 236 — description of it, 235 — the beer pump in 1787, 236 — the fire-engine, 236 — several patents for the improve ment of the steam engine, 237 Bramah and Watt, 237 — applied to by the Bank of England in 1806 to construct a machine for more accurately printing the- numbers and date lines on bank notes — succeeds — an important invention, 239 — other inven tions, 239-42 — his death caused by a severe cold in 1814, 243 — buried in Paddlngton church yard, 247 — Dr. Cullen Brown's article on Bramah in the New Monthly Magazine, 243-45 — account of in Gentleman's Magazine, 245-7 — marble tablet placed to his memory in Silk stone church, 247 — the lock smith's family, 248-50. Bramah, Timothy, the locksmith's eldest son, marries Anne, daugh ter of Thomas West, of Caw thorne, 248. Bramah, Thomas Joseph, 249. Bramah, Rev. Joseph West, 249. Bramah's works at Pimlico, the scene of a destructive fire in 1843, 251. Bramhall, Archbishop, related to the family of Keresforth of Keresforth, 156». — letters from to the Countess of Strafford, 157-8. Bretton HaU, King Henry VIII. said to have visited during his northern progress in 1541, 277. Brooke Family, tke principal one in Dodworth for nearly two cen turies, 190 — their residences in Dodworth, the Old Hall, Field- head, and Pond House farm, 190-r — family history, 191-3. Brooke, John Charles, the Herald employed to compile a pedigree of the WorabweU family, 87 — inherits the tastes of his ances tors and evinces a warm interest in genealogical and antiquarina pursuits, 199 — succeeds to the MS. collections of his uncle, the Rev. John Brooke, which he greatly enlarges by his own in dustry, 199 — draws a pedigree of the Howard family, which procures for him the patronage of the then Duke of Norfolk, 200 — obtains admission into the College of Arms — raade Rouge Croix Pursuivant in the College in 1773 — a member of the Society of Antiquaries in 1775, 200 — his collections for a His tory of the County of York, 201 — contributes to the Archceologia of the Society of Antiquaries, and the Gentleman's Magazine, 205 — assists in other works, 205-6 — a constant attender of the meetings of the Society of Antiquaries, 207 — extracts from his letters to Mr. Gough, the antiquary, 208-13 — his melan choly death in the catastrophe at the Haymarket theatre in 1794, 214 — his funeral attended by the Duke of Norfolk and many distinguished men, 215 his monumental inscription, 216-17 — notice of him in the Gentleman's Magazine, 215-16 — his will — list of his manuscript In dex. 485 collections bequeathed to the CoUege of Arras, 219-21. Brooke, Rev. John, D.D., rector of Emley and vicar of Silkstone, 192. Brooke, Rev. John, M.A., rector of High Hoyland, distinguishes hiraself as an antiquarian — makes collections towards a History of the County of York, 195- Brooke, Margaret, marries BuUer RoUe Langford, Esq., of Wake field, lived many years at Dod worth, anecdotes relating to, 221-3. Brooke, Thomas, of Dodworth, pays a fine for decUning to receive the honour of knight hood, 193 — refuses to attend the summons of Sir WiUiam Dugdale to record his arms and pedigree at the visitation of 1665, 193. Brooke, Rev. Thoraas, rector of Richraond, 196. Brooke, William, a. musketeer in Sir Michael Wentworth's regi raent of militia, 194. Brooke, WUliam, M.D., of Field- head — in the commission of the peace, 196 — in possession of a copy of Doomsday Book for Yorkshire, 197 — killed by a fall from- his horse, 196. Brooke, William, an attorney, 198. Brown, Capability, the eminent landscape gardener — lays out the grounds at Stainborough, 442-6 — Brown, Dr. Cullen, his account of Bramah in the New Monthly Magazine, 243-5. Burdett, Sir JTrancis, of Birth waite, transcribes some charters from the Coucher Book of Monk Bretton Priory, 266 — notes made by him in the Lansdowne MSS. in the British Museura, 266. Burials in woollen, 33. Burnet, Bishop, his account of Archbishop Holgate, 288. Burton "Lords," 2 — Smithies, ironworks at in early times, 2 — Utigation concerning in the i6th century, 2 — paper works at in 1729, 3- Byg, William, alias Lech, a ma gician at Wombwell — carried on a lucrative trade — his recan tation, 94. Byng, George, Esq., M.P. for Middlesex, succeeds to the es tates of his uncle, the Right Hon. Thomas Conolly, 473. Byng, General Sir John, created Eari of Strafford in 1847, 473- Canning, George, a pupil of Baron Wood's, 41. Carrington, Henry, of the Yews, mixed up much in the affairs of the Rockley family, 382-6, 390-3 — account of his death from Hobson's Journal, 390- ik. Charles I., the trial of— Sir Wil liam Armyne appointed one of the Judges, 264. College of Arms, the collections of John Charles Brooke, the Herald, bequeathed to, 221. Commons, House of, debate in respecting Lord Strafford's im- peathment, 366-7. Commonwealth marriages, 32, 33, 98. Conolly, the Right Hon. William marries Lady Anne Wentworth, 427-8 — their daughter Anne marries George Byng, M.P. for Middlesex, who succeeds to a portion of the Strafford estates, 473- Constantine Well in Rockley Wood, building of by Lord Strafford, 420. Cromwell, Thomas, Vicar General, letters from to Archbishop Hol gate, 273. 486 Index. Cranmer, Archbishop, the supe rior, conteraporary, and inti mate friend of Archbishop Hol gate, 277-8. Crookes, Mary, of Monk Bretton, marries Mr. John Beckett, gro cer, 69. Cutler, Henry, marries Eleanor Beckett, 67. Darfield Church, longinscriptionin to the memory of Thomas Wombwell and other raembers of the Wombwell family, 98. Darfield Shroggs, the militia called to assemble on, in l66i — copy of the order, 98. Deira, Monarchy of — Wombwell connected with — tradition re specting, 106. Denison, Edmund Beckett, 84-5 —William Beckett, 85— Chris topher Beckett, 85. Denton, Mary, mother of Joseph Bramah the locksmith, 225 — accident to on Keresforth-hill, which caused her death, 228. Denton, Nathan, an ejected clergy man, rainister at Houghton Chapel, 149. Dethick, a celebrated herald, employed to compile a pedigree of the family of Wombwell, 87. Dodsworth, the Yorkshire Anti quary, at Roystone, in 1621, 3. Dodworth, the birth-place of John Charles Brooke, the herald, 190 — Old Hall, the residence of the Brooke faraily in the 17th century, 190-1. Doncaster, Alderman George Hallifax, twice mayor of, 187. East India Company, Sir George Wombwell, Chairman of, in. Edmunds, Mr., and the Rockley family, 383-5. Enfield, the residence of Sir Thomas Hallifax at, 182. Erskine, the Hon. Thomas, after wards Lord Erskine, a pupil of Baron Wood's, 39. Everingham, Adam de, Knt., ex coraraunicated, 88. Fenton, Richard, of Bank Top, Clerk of the Peace for the West Riding — marries a daughter of the Rev. Thomas Brooke, and sister to Dr. Brooke, of Field- head^ 196 — law agent to Lord Strafford, 3^6k. William, of Savile Hall, law agent to Lord Strafford, 396^. Fitzwilliam, Earl, his dismissal from the lord lieutenancy of the West Riding — large meeting at Wakefield, under the presidency of Sir Francis Lindley Wood, to present an address of sympathy to him, 21-2. Fletcher, Isabel, of Cawthorne, takes the veil, 92K. Gascoigne MSS., the wholesale destruction of, by Lord Malton, 316-17. Gaskell, Charles Milnes, of Thornes House, i62«. George II. borrows six horses of Lord Strafford on his landing at Lowestoft, on his return from Hanover, 428 — a probability of his visiting Stainborough in 1731, 469-70. George IV., when Prince of Wales, pays a morning visit to Lord Strafford at Stainborough in 1789 — present at a magnificent fete at Wentworth House, 468- 9- Goddard, Francis, parish clerk of Silkstone, dies through fatigue at the election of 1734, 414^. Gough, Mr., his correspondence with John Charles Brooke, the herald, 207-12. Glyn, MiUs, HaUifax & Co., the London bankers. Sir Thomas Index. 487 HaUifax one of the originators of the firm of, 173-4. Gray, the poet, visits Wentvforth Castle in 1762, 467. Hacket, Catherine, (Francis Rockley's widow), her letter to Lord Strafford, 395-6. Halifax, Lord, see Wood Family, Sir Charles Wood, 24-27. Hallifax, Ellen, died, 1873, possessed of great wealth — her will, 185. Hallifax, George, of Doncaster, clock-maker — marries Mrs. Ann Heron, of Darton— twice mayor of Doncaster, 186-8 — George, of Lockport, near New York, 188. Hallifax, John, settled in Barnsley in the early part of the 1 8th century as a clock-maker, 169 — noted for the superiority of his clocks, specimens of which are still to be met with, 169 — dies in 1750, and buried in the parish church-yard at Barnsley, 169. Hallifax, Rev. John Savile, of Edwardstone House — dies in 1872, 184. Hallifax, Joseph, of Barnsley, clock-maker and postmaster, 188. Hallifax, Thomas, of Chadacre Hall (eldest son of Sir Thomas), presented with the freedom of the city of London in 1795, 184 — citizen and goldsmith — admitted a partner in the firm of Glyn, Mills, Hallifax, & Co., 184. Hallifax, Sir Thomas, Lord Mayor of London — descended from the family of Waterhouse, of Hali fax, 165 — born, 1721-2, at Barnsley — apprenticed to a grocer in Barnsley — goes to London — becomes a banker and one of the originators ' of the banking firm of Glyn, Mills, HaUifax, & Co., 171 — obtains the freedom of the city of Lon don in 1752 — described as a goldsmith and banker, 172 — account of the firm of Glyn and Co. from Mr. Hilton Price's book on London bankers, 172- 4— elected Alderman of Aiders- gate Ward in 1766 — sheriff in 1768-9 — Lord Mayor of Lon don in 1776, 176 — his address on his election — his entertain ment at the Guildhall, 177 — upholds the office with dignity and splendour, 178 — goes to court wilh the Lady Mayoress on the occasion of a grand ball on January 18, 1777, 178 — his op position to press-gangs, 179-80 — thanks to by the common council for supporting the office with splendour and hospitality, 181 — receives the honour of knighthood, 181— extracts from court-books relating to — his residence at Enfield — M.P. for Aylesbury, 182 — his sudden death in 1789, 183 — buried in Enfield church-yard — monu mental inscription, 183 — his portrait, 186. Haselden HaU, Wakefield, the seat of Sir William Wentworth, 309- Heath Hall, the residence of John WombweU, a native of Barnsley no. Herasworth, the birthplace uf Archbishop Holgate, 268. Heywood, Oliver, the nonconfor mist divine — his visits to Hough ton, 149-50. Hobbs, the American, picks the Bramah lock in 1851, 230-1. Holgate, Robert, Archbishop of York, a native of Herasworth — the house in which he was born pulled down about 1808, 268 — Holgates of Stapleton, South- 488 Index. Kirkby, Clayton, Grimethorpe and Brierley, some account of 268-270 — born about 1487, 270 — brought up a monk — becomes a canon of the order of St. Gilbert of Sempringham in Lincolnshire — holds the benefice of Cadney— quits his living and goes to London — law suit with Sir Francis Ayscough, 271 — con stituted one of the preachers to the University in 1524 — prior of the house of Watton — elected Bishop of Llandaff in 1536-7 — obtains the degree of D.D., in 1537 — surrenders the house of Watton to the king in 1539, 272 — letters to, from Thomas CromweU, vicar general, 273 — one of a commission including all the bishops, etc., 275 — ap pointed to the important office of Lord President ofthe North — takes an active part in quelling two commotions, one at Wake field, and the other at Seamer, when from 10,000 to i2,opo rebels assembled and 23 were executed, 275 — assists in a new version of the Scriptures, 276 — • King Henry VIII. visits York during his lord presidency, 276 — sits upon the trial of Queen Catherine Howard at Doncaster — translated to the See of York in 1544-5, 277 — never enters in to religious controversies, 278 — takes a new form of oath re nouncing the Pope's supremacy, 278-9-80— " Sets about reform ing things in his province" — said to be proraoted to the See to assist in bringing about' the Reformation, 281 — passes over to the king many manors be longing to the See of York, 281 — founds, in 1546, free schools at York, Malton, and Hems worth, and liberally endows them — commission to make a survey of the chantries, hos pitals, colleges, etc., within the county of York, 282 — takes part in the celebration of the obse quies ofthe French king, Francis, at St. Paul's Cathedral, in 1547 — sent for to wait upon Prince Edward, and to receive him at Hampton Court — went up from York with a cavalcade of 7° horse — one of a committee of selected bishops and divines to reform the " offices " and pre pare a new Liturgy — his infir mities begin to come upon him, 283 — writes to the Earl of Shrewsbury asking to be excused from attending Parliament in 1548 — his request refused, 284 — presents the manor of Scroby to the See of York, 285 — his marriage with Barbara Went worth, 285 — account of the marriage, 286-7 — 3. heinous of fence, 287 — committed to the Tower, 287-9 — account of by Bishop Burnet, 288 — his houses at Cawood and Battersea seized upon, and his goods, plate, jewels, etc., confiscated, 290 — inventory of the sarae, 290-1 — petitions for his liberty — copy of petition from State Paper Office, 292-5 — restored to his Uberty iii jfan., 1554-5, after having lain a year-and-a-half in the Tower, 295 — gives security for his good behaviour in a bond of twenty thousand marks, 296 — lives in retirement — dies in London in 1556, 298— inquisi tion taken after his death, 298 — his will — his charitable foun- dations^-founds an hospital at Hemsworth — his grammar schools, 299-308 — his arms, 302 — portrait of, 303. Holroyd, Mr., an intimate friend of Baron Wood's, 43. Hooton Roberts, the residence of Index. 489 Lady Strafford after the execu tion of her lord, 158. Houghton Hall, the seat of Sir Edward Rodes, attacked by a party of Royalists in the Civil War, 139 — Presbyterian Chapel at, erected by Sir Edward Rodes — the hall now in a state of decay, 163 — notice of in Hun ter's Itinerary, 164. Houghton, Lord, the representa tive of the family of Rodes, of Great Houghton, 154. Howard, Queen Catherine, Arch bishop Holgate sits on the trial of, at Doncaster, as Lord Presi dent of the north, 277. Hunter, Rev. Joseph, on John Charles Brooke, the Herald, 201. Huntington, William, S.S. (sinner saved), and Joseph Bramah, the locksmith, 244. Impeachraent of Lords Strafford, Bolingbroke, Oxford, Ormond, and Mortimer of high crimes and misdemeanours, 367. Iron works at Burton Smithies, said to be carried on by the family of Wortley, of Wonley, in the l6th century — discon tinued in the time of Charles I., 3- Jackson, William, rector of Dar field, deprived of his living for being a married priest, in the reign of Queen Mary, 297. Johnson, Sir Henry, a rich ship builder of Poplar, marries Mar tha, only daughter of Lord Lovelace, who afterwards be carae Baroness Wentworth, of Nettlestead, 343 — his only daughter marries Thomas, Earl ,of Strafford, of Stainborough, 342. Kaye, Mrs. Hatfield, succeeds to the Wentworth Castle estates on the death of her brother, Frederick, Earl of Strafford, without issue, 477. Kaye, John Hatfield, of Hatfield HaU and Wentworth Castle, undertakes along with Richard Henry Beaumont, of Whitley HaU, Mr. Wilson, of Broom head, and John Charles Brooke, to assist in compiling a history of the West Riding of the County of York, 477. Kimberley, the Earl of, descended from a daughter of Sir WUHam Armyne's, 262. King's Head Hotel, Barnsley, the ancestral residence of the family of Wood, now represented by Lord Halifax, 12. Knighthood, order of, list of per sons in the district around Barnsley who declined the honour of, on the coronation of King Charles I., 193. Langford, Mrs., of Dodworth, anecdotes relating to, 221-4 — Adolphus, drowned whilst skating on the Serpentine in Regent's Park, 221. Law, Mr., afterwards Lord EUen- borounh, a pupil of Baron Wood, 38. Lawton, Mary, of MappleweU, wife of Joseph Bramah, the inventor, 248 — accident to on visiting Mr. West's, of Caw thorne. Leeds, the Duke of, purchases the manor of Barnsley cum Dodworth in 1735, 419. Liturgy, New, Archbishop Hol gate one of a committee of selected Bishops and Divines to prepare, 283. Lord Mayor of London, Thomas Hallifax, a native of Barnsley, elected to the office of, in 1776, 'i7S-7. 49° Index. Luddite riots, John Beckett made a Baronet for his activity in, 73- Lushington, Mr., afterwards a judge in Ceylon, trained in Baron Wood's chambers, 41. Marlborough, Duke of. Lord Strafford a bitter political op ponent of, 334 — congratulates Lord Strafford on his marriage and accession of honours, 346-7. ' Malton, Lord, a supporter of the Hanoverian succession, 375 — is forestalled by Lord Strafford in the purchase of the Rockley estate, 379 — ^jealousy and rivalry between him and Lord Straf ford, 409-10 — account of from the Y orkshire Archseological Journal by Dr. Gatty, 408 — gives a great dinner to his ten antry — Richard Wardman and Mr. Phipps' letters relating to, 409-10 — takes great interest in the county election of 1734, 411-16. Mason, Williara, the poet, a friend of Lord Strafford, 465 — his visits to Wentworth Castle, 466 — his letters to Horace Walpole, 465-6. Matson, Rev. Thomas, vicar of Hunmanby, leaves Baron Wood several thousand pounds, 46. Maudslay, Henry, an assistant of Joseph Bramah, the inventor, 233- Micklethwaite, Dr. , grants a cer tificate to Sir Godfrey Rodes and his daughter to eat meat during Lent, 138. Milner Family, The, of Burton Grange, 267. Milner, Jeremiah, an ejected rainister, officiates at Houghton chapel, 149. Milnes Family, letter from Mr. Woodcock, of Hemsworth, res pecting, 163K. — James, of Thornes House, i6i«. — Richard Slater, succeeds to Great Hougliton, 162. Monk Bretton Priory had iron works at Smithies in early times, 2. Newby Ferry catastrophe. Sir George WombweU's narrow escape from drowning, 117. Nocturnal Funerals, 146. Norfolk, the Duke of, a friend and patron of John Charles Brooke, the Herald, 200. Oaks Quarry stone, Wentworth Castle built of, 446. Oldys, William, the antiquary, his account of the destruction of the Gascoigne MSS. by Lord Malton, 3i6-l7«. — believed to have assisted Dr. Knowler in the editorship of the great Lord Strafford's letters and des patches, 316. Pingo, Mr., of York, falls a vic tim with John Charles Brooke in the catastrophe at the Hay market Theatre, 214. Platt, Mr. John, of Rotherham, employed by Lord Strafford to execute the superior work at Wentv^rth Castle — his ac counts, 457-8. Poll tax for Wombwell in 1379, 89. Press gangs. Sir Thomas Hallifax's opposition to, 179-80. Pretender, The, Lord Strafford favours the designs of — raixed up in some of the intrigues of, 375-8— subscription at Barnsley to oppose the claims of, 14. Quarter Sessions restored to Barnsley at the close of the 17th century, 10. Rawlinson, Sir Thomas, Lord Index. 491 Mayor of London in 1746, father-in-law of the first Sir George Wombwell, in. Riche, Aymer, of BuUhouse, i62« — George of Stainborough working for Joseph Bramah, at Piralico, in 1799, 231. Robinson, Henry Crabb, refe rences in his diary to Baron Wood, 51. Rockley Estate, The, sold to Lord Strafford about 1723 — valuation of, 379-81. Rockley Family, extracts from Hobson's Journal relating to, 391 — Rockley House, 394 — Rockley, Mr., of Rockley, assisted in the compilation of Vincent's Discovery of Errors, in 1619, 266 — Rockley, Robert, the last of the male line of the family — original letters of, 382-S. Romilly, Sir Sarauel, Life of — references to Baron Wood in, 59-60. Ross, Charles, an architect em ployed by Lord Strafford when erecting the south front of Wentworth Castle, 457. Rodes, Sir Edward, and the family of Rodes of Great Houghton, 137 — Sir Edward, son of Sir Godfrey Rodes, of Great Houghton — the former a man of note as a Parliamen tarian during the Common wealth, 139 — his residence at Great Houghton attacked by a party of Royalists, 139 — repara tion to be made for the injury done him — published as a traitor by Lord Newcastle — a commis sioner for raising of money, plate, and horse, for the defence of the king and kingdom in 1642, 140 — power given to hira, along with Mr. Hotham, to apprehend all delinquents, 140 — appointed a Commissioner for the punishment of menda cious clergymen, 142 — arrested at Hull, along with the two Hothams, and sent to the Tower — acquitted, 143 — the two Hothams executed — em ployed in the military opera tions before Pontefract during the siege, 143 — appointed to levy troops — served under Crom well at the battle of Preston — sent in pursuit of the Duke of Hamilton, 144 — had a colonel's commission from Cromwell in 1654, and was one of the Privy Council — much in Scotland during the Protectorate — re turned to one of Cromwell's Parliaraents for the shire of Perth — twice High Sheriff of Yorkshire, 144 — the great Lord Strafford's brother-in-law, 144 — records his arms and pedigree at Sir William Dugdale's Visita tion in 1665 — dies in 1666, 144 — buried in Darfield Church — hismonumental inscription, 145, Rodes, Elizabeth (sister to Sir Edward) the third wife of the great Lord Strafford, 152-7 — accompanies her lord to Ireland when Lord Deputy, 153 — let ters of at Fryston Hall in the possession of Lord Houghton, 154 — letters of in the Rawden Papers, 155-7 — retires to Hoo ton Roberts, near Wentworth, after the execution of the Earl, and there lives in a state of retirement for a period of 40 years — dies in i688, 158. Rodes, the family of, eminent for their nonconformity — friends of the ejected clergy, 147 — fre quently visited by the Rev. Oliver Heywood, 149-50 — by Ralph Thoresby, of Leeds, the antiquary, 150 — letter from Dr. Oxley respecting, i63». — me morials of in Darfield Church — 492 Index. parish register of Darfield, ex tracts from, relating to, 146, 159, 1 62^011 ver Heywood and Ralph Thoresby's diaries, ex tracts from, 146, 150, 151, 158. Rodes, Sir Godfrey, seated by his father on the estate at Great Houghton, 137 — description of the mansion there, 138 — cer tificate for Sir Godfrey and his daughter Anne to eat meat dur ing Lent, 138 — Rodes, Ham mond, chaplain to the Countess Dowager of Strafford, 145 — Rodes, Madam, 162 — Rodes, Martha, marries Hans Busk, of Leeds, merchant, 159 — Rodes, Richard, marries Martha Riche, of BuUhouse, 158-9 — Rodes, WiUiam, of Great Houghton, 158. Rodes, Lady, a great upholder of meetings — buried at night at Darfield, 146 — funeral elegy upon the death of — her piety and nonconformity, 147. St. Leger, Lieut. - General An thony, from whom the Doncas ter St. Leger takes its name, marries Margaret Wombwell, of WombweU, 103. Savile, Sir Henry, of Tankersley, destroys valuable manuscripts relating to the Fitzwilliam family, 317-18 — Isabel, of Tan kersley, takes the vow of chas tity, 92«. Scarlett, Mr., afterwards Lord Abinger, a pupil of Baron Wood, 41. Scrooby, Manor of, presented to the See of York loy Archbishop Holgate, 285. Sentence of death passed upon i r persons at York Assizes in 1820, by Baron Wood, 52. Sessions Hall built at Barnsley at the close of the 17th century, 10 — Sessions (Quarter) held at Barnsley till the close of the I 8th century, 10. Shaw Land Trust, coal pit be longing to let to John Shippen in 1716, n. Shrewsbury, Earl of, a large pur chaser of land wliich had be longed to Monk Bretton Priory, 3 — Chancery proceedings against, relating to — settles this estate upon his fourth son, Henry Talbot, who resides at Burton Grange, 253. Silvester, Mr., of Birthwaite Hall, his rage at being forestaUed in the purchase of the Rockley estate by Lord Strafford, 380K. Simms, Margaret, of Barnsley, takes the veil, 92«. Smithies, ironworks at in early times, 2 — litigation concerning in the l6th century, 2 — paper works there in 1729, 3. Staincross Regiraent of Volun teers — false alarm of invasion — their march to Hemsworth, 20. Stainborough, the birthplace of Joseph Braraah, the inventor of the celebrated Bramah lock, 225. Stainborough, description of by Horace Walpole, 446 — by Arthur Young, in his Northern Tour, 445-6, 462-3 — by- Roger Dodsworth, the antiquary — the hall built on the site of an ancient fortress — sorae bones and armour found in digging the foundations of, said to be of the age of the Conquest, 407 — the gardens and grounds at, 442-6 — rentals in 1728, 397 — rhyming epistle written from, by Lord Strafford's nephew, describing the domestic life there in the early part of the 1 8th century, 402-5 — view of in Britannica Illustrata — pay ments on account of the build ing of by Lord Strafford, 372-4. Index. 493 State Trials, The — pompously so- called — Baron Wood earns for himself the title of the "Righ teous Judge," 51-2. Strafford, the Countess of— daugh ter of Sir Henry Johnson, of Bradenham — marries Thomas, Earl of Strafford — accompanies Lord .Strafford to the Plague, 354 — letter to Lord Strafford about Lady Rawstorne's jewels, 354 — letter about their portraits, 356 — the King and the Prince of Wales play at ombre with, 363 — her letters about being at Court, 405-6«., 428 — -letters to, from Richard Wardman after her lord's death, 436-41 — letter to frora WilUam Richardson, gamekeeper at Stainborough, 440 — dies at her house at Twickenham, 1739-40, 441 — her will — list of her plate, 441-2. Strafford, Countess of (Lady Anne Campbell)— her marriage with William, Earl of Strafford, in 1740, 447 — one of the constel lation of beauties described by Horace Walpole in his epistle to Eckhardt, 451 — acrostic addressed to — Campbell beauty and goodness, 451 — sad accident to, in 1784, which resulted in her death, 467-8 — buried at Toddington, 468. Strafford, Thomas Wentworth, Earl of — first Earl of the second creation, 309 — born at Stanley Hall, near Wakefield, 310 — becomes on the death of his brother the eldest son and heir — inherits the dignity of baronet by descent on the death of his father, and on the death of his cousin, William, Earl of Straf ford, succeeds to the Barony of Raby — the family estates aUen ated from him — causes much bitterness of feeling between the two houses — Chancery pro ceedings instituted against the representatives of his cousin, William, Earl of Strafford, to recover money advanced by his father, 313— contests the legality of the disposition by his cousin of the Wentworth estates, 313 — statement of money advanced by his father to Lord Strafford, 314 — petitions and appeals in the House of Lords, 315 — his early career, 317 — appears in the list of pages to Mary, the queen of James II., when only 14 years of age, 317 — appointed a cornet in Lord Colchester's regiment of horse — sent into the Highlands, where he suf fered great fatigue, 318 — served afterwards in every campaign with King WiUiam in Flanders, 318— at the battle of Steinkirk, where he distinguished himself — sent for by the king, who promises to advance him in the army, and makes him his aide- de-camp, 319 — rat the battle of Landen, in 1693 — the king makes hira cornet-raajor in the first troop of horse guards, and a Groom' of his Bed-chamber, 319 — succeeds to the title of Lord Raby in 1695, 319 — intro duced into the House of Peers — the king gives him the royal regiment of dragoons — "Raby's Dragoons " — one of the king's escort in 1698 when he goes tc meet the Duke of Zell at the Goor — has a narrow escape — becomes acquainted with the Princess Sophia, Electress of Hanover, and her grandson afterwards George II., 320. — sent by King William in 1701 to congratulate Frederick I., King of Prussia, 321 — attends King WilUam every day after his accident up to the time of his death on the 8th March, 494 Index. 1701-2 — serves with his regi raent in Flanders in 1702 — made brigadier-general of her majesty's forces, 321 — appointed envoy extraordinary to the King of Prussia, 321 — waits on the Duke of Marlborough, 322 — made major-general Jan. I, 1703-4 — gives an entertainment to the Duke of Marlborough after the battle of Hockset, at which the king, with the mar grave, his brother, were present — his mission to Poland — am bassador extraordinary to the King of Prussia in 1705, never theless served in the campaign under the Duke of Marlborough — constituted lieutenant-general of her majesty's forces, Jan. I, 1706-7, 322 — the King of Prussia, with the Prince and Princess Royal, dine with his lordship at Berlin, 323 — his lordship's establishment at Ber lin, 323-4 — makes flying visits to England and to his Yorkshire estates, 325 — his desire to settle near Wentworth, the seat of his illustrious ancestor — purchases the Stainborough estate of Henry Cutler, for ;^l4,ooo, 325 — letters and copy of the agree ment relating to the purchase, 325-27 — law bill for the same — list of tenants on the estate — rentals of the same, 329 — letter to General Cadogan — dissatisfied with his position abroad, 331-3 has many enemies, 333 — a bitter political opponent of the Duke of Marlborough, 334 — allusions to, 334 "S — succeeds Lord Townshend at the Hague, 336 — letters and instructions frora Lord Bolingbroke, 336-7 — sworn in of the Privy Council in 1711 — advanced to the dignities of earl and viscount by the style and title of Earl of Strafford, etc., 337 — preamble to the patent, 338-341 — letters from his mother and his brother, Peter Wentworth, respecting the earldom, 337-9«. — marries Anne, daughter of Sir Henry Johnson, of Bradenham, Bucks., 341 — acquires great wealth by his marriage — Dean Swift's reference to in his journal to Stella, 342 — returns to the Hague — letters from Lord Bolingbroke, 347-8 — ap pointed ambassador extraor dinary, 348-9 — has all the honours paid to him as to a crowned head, 349-50 — con tinues the negotiations for the treaty of peace, 350 — elected a knight companion of the order of the Garter in 1712, 350 — highly esteemed by Sophia, Electress of Hanover, mother of George I., 351 — the Kings of Denmark, Poland, and Prussia, with the Queen of Prussia, dine with his lordship, and after wards present him with their portraits, 351 — these portraits to be seen at Wentworth Castle, 351 — the treaty of peace signed at his lordship's house — great rejoicings — letter from Lord Bolingbroke, 352 — his new building at Stainborough — anxious about the progress of — letters describing it to Sir William Wentworth of Bretton, 353-4 — his pictures purchased in Rome, 353-4K. — accom panied by Lady Strafford to the Hague, 354 — letter from Lady Strafford about Lady Raw storne's jewels, 355 — a par ticular of his lordship's estate in land and money, 357-8 — money out at interest, 358 — takes part in a debate on the Treaty of Peace in the House of Lords, 360 — his pride— Dean Index. 495 Swift on, 361 — appointed one of the lords justices on the death of Queen Anne for the administration of the kingdom till the arrival of the king from Hanover, 362 — the new king shows him particular marks of his esteem — presented with a "gold medal and chain, valued at 6,000 guilders, on leaving the Hague, 363 — the storm bursts — his recall — his instructions and papers seized, 363-4 — his impeachment along with Boling broke, Oxford, Ormond, and Mortimer, of high crimes and raisderaeanours — debate in the House of Commons relating to, 365-9 — his answers to the articles of impeachment, 369-72 spends much time at Stain borough — his new building there — payments on account of, 372-4 — quits public life in dis gust, 375«. — secretly favours the claims of the Pretender — mixed up in sorae of the Jacobite intrigues of the times, 375-8 — letter from Lord Bathurst res pecting Stainborough, 379 — purchases the Rockley estate — forestalls his rival, his Honour Wentworth, of Wentworth Woodhouse, 379 — interesting original correspondence relating to the purchase of, 382 — litiga tion respecting, 382-6 — original letters to his lordship from Robert Rockley, the last of the male line of the family, 382-5 — from Lewis Wescombe, Catherine Wescombe, and Catherine Hacket, 386-95 — purchases Savile Hall of the family of SavUe, and the Keres forth Hill estate — Stainborough rentals, 396-7 — minute instruc tions written out for his steward, 397-401 — the Strafford chapel in Barnsley parish church, 401 — erects the castle, the mena gerie, the obelisk to the raemory of Queen Anne, and other interesting structures, 406 — his jealousy and rivalry with Lord Malton, 409-10 — letters to, from his steward, Richard Wardman, on current events — more particularly relating to the election of 1734, 409.i7_let. ters from Mr. Phipps on ditto, 410-11 — takes great interest in the election — letter from his chaplain, Rev. David Traviss, 417 — builds the circular temple in Stainborough park — said to have been intended for a mauso leum, 419-20 — letter to Lady Strafford from Freston on the value of his estate there — pro jected raarriage of his eldest daughter with Lord Milsinton, 423-7 — lends George II. six horses on his landing at Lowes toft on his return from Hanover, 428 — desdription of his estate at Boughton, in Northampton shire, 429-30 — his health begins seriously to fail in 1736 — letter from Lord Bathurst on, 431-2 — his death in 1739 — burial at Toddington, 432 — an anony mous defender of his lordship writes of him at the time of his impeachment, 432-3 — marble statue by Rysbrack erected to his memory in the castle yard at Stainborough, 433. Strafford, Thomas Wentworth, Earl of (the great Lord) marries for his third wife Elizabeth Rodes, of Great Houghton, 152. Strafford, WiUiam Wentworth, Earl of, marries Anne, second daughter of John Duke of Argyll — being a minor has to obtain the consent of Parlia ment to make a settlement up on her — extracts from journals of the House of Lords relating 496 Index. thereto, 447 — spends his honey moon on the continent, — meets with Lady Mary Wortley Montague at Rorae, 447-8 — returns to England — takes his seat in the House of Lords in 1742 — proud of his wife and his alliance with the Campbells, 448 — list of plate belonging to, 448-50 — erects a column to the memory of the Duke of ArgyU, 450 — visited by Horace Walpole at Wentworth Castle, in 1756 ¦ — accompanies him to Wortley, Wharncliffe, Wentw-orth, and other places in the district, 453 — commences to build thesouth- front of Wentworth Castle in 1759, from his own designs, assisted by Walpole, 456-7 — the Prince of Wales (afterwards George IV), pays him a morn ing visit at Wentworth Castle in 1789, 468 — his failing health — death of in 1791 — the oldest peer in the kingdom — Walpole on the death of — his remains laid in state at Wentworth Castle — interred at Toddington, 470 — particulars and cost of the funeral, 471-2 — estates descend to his cousin Frederick Thomas Wentworth, of Henbury, in Dorsetshire, 472 — property held in his own right bequeathed to his daughters, 572-3. Strafford, Frederick Thoraas, Earl of — succeeds his cousin in the earldom of Strafford — grandson of Peter Wentworth, of Hen bury, brother to the first earl of the second creation, 474-5 — in the first regiment of the guards, 475 — came to reside at Went worth castle — a FeUow of the Royal Society — "the short- armed lord " — died suddenly at Nottingham in 1799 — his estates devolve upon his sister Augusta Anne, wife of John Hatfield Kaye, of Hatfield Hall, 476. Swaithe Hall inherited by the family of MUnes of Wakefield, 161K. Swift, Dean, on Lord Strafford's pride, 361. Talbot, Henry, fourth son of the Earl of Shrewsbury, owner of, and resides at Monk Bretton Priory, 254. Taylor, Edward, William Wilson, and Joseph Beckett, anecdote relating to, 75-7 — Richard, an ejected minister, officiates for some time at the chapel at Great Houghton, 148. Temple Church, Baron Wood buried in, 53. Thoresby, Ralph, of Leeds, the antiquary, visits the Rodes family at Great Houghton, 151 — distriljutes Lady Armyne's benefaction, 253. Thornhill Lees, capture of dele gates at a meeting there, by Sir Francis Lindley Wood and Mr. Offley Edmunds, of Wors borough, 21. Tithes and tithe law, observa tions on by Baron Wood, 59- . Toddington Church, the burial place of the family of Went worth — inscriptions from the coffin~ plates in the vault there, taken in 1785,, 345-6. Utrecht, The Peace of, signed at Lord Strafford's house in 1713 — great rejoicing on its pro claraation, 352 — Lord BoUng broke on — how received in England by different parties, 352, 360 — debate on in the Lords and Commons, 360. Vallyance, Elizabeth, brings an action against the Earl of Index. 497 Shrewsbury concerning iron works at Burton Smithies, 3. Vernon, Admiral, uncle to Mr. Vernon Wentworth, of Went worth Castle, near Barnsley, 436 — Henry, Esq., grandfather of Mr. Vernon Wentworth, marries Harriet, daughter of Thomas, Earl of Strafford, of Stainborough, in 1743, 436 — Vernon, Frederick William Thomas, succeeds to the Went worth Castle estates — great grandson of Thomas, Earl of Strafford of the second creation, 477 — assumes the surname and arms of Wentworth — been the worthy owner of the estates and shed a benignant influence over Stainborough for a period of 80 years, 477-8. Vernon, tlie faraily of, of Hilton Park — some particulars of, 477-8. Walpole, Horace, his descriptions of and references to Wentworth Castle, 446, 453-5, 465-7— the temple in the menagerie, 454-5 — assists in the erection of the south front of Wentworth Cas tle, 456-7 — letter to Miss Berry, 467. Wardman, Richard, steward at Wentworth Castle, letters to Lord Strafford, 409-17 — to Lady Strafford, 436-41. Wath - upon - Dearne, Thomas Wombwell, vicar of — builds a school there, 97. Wentworth, Lady, of Bretton, her visit to Wentworth Castle, 439-40. Wentworth, Lord, letter to his father. Lord Strafford, about the Duke of Devonshire's ball, 405 — his attendance at Court — the queen vastly pleased with him. Wentworth, Mr., of Woolley, 33 takes great interest in the county election of 1734, 410-n. Wentworth, Lady Anne (Lord Strafford's eldest daughter), had Queen Anne for her godmother, 427 — marries the Right Hon. ¦WUliam Conolly, 428. Wentworth, AUen, brother to Lord Strafford, page of honour to King William III., and a cornet in his brother's, then Lord Raby's, regiment of. dragoons — killed in mounting the breach in the attack on the citadel of Liege, in 1702, 312. Wentworth, Barbara, marries Archbishop Holgate, 285-8. . Wentworth Castle, descriptions of by Horace Walpole, 446, 453-5 — in Mr. Arthur Young's Northern Tour, 462-3 — east front of designed by the Prussian architect, Bott, 442 — built of Oaks Quarry stone, 446. Wentworth family, of Woolley, descended from Sir Samuel Armytage, of Barnsley, 125. Wentworth, Frances Arabella, maid of lionour to Queen Mary (queen of James II.) — marries Walter, Lord Bellew, 313. Wentworth, Henrietta, Baroness of England — mistress to the ill- fated Duke of Monmouth, 343-5- Wentworth, His Honour, of Went worth Woodhouse, a supporter of the Hanoverian succession, 37S- Wentworth, Lady Isabella (mo ther of Thomas, Earl of Straf ford, of Stainborough), lady of the bedchamber of the Queen of James II. , at the time of the birth of the Prince of Wales, afterwards known as the Pre tender — gives evidence respect ing his birth, 3io«. — letter to Lord Strafford on her visit to Wakefield and Stainborough, 498 Index. 31 1«. — favours the claim ofthe Pretender — mixed up in some of the Jacobite intrigues, 377 — dies at Twickenham, 377-8». Wentworth, Paul, the fourth son of Sir WilUam Wentworth, and brother to Lord Strafford, killed at the siege of Namur in 1695, 312. Wentworth, Peter, third son of Sir William Wentworth, and brother to Lord Strafford, equerry to Prince George of Denmark, 3i2^became seated at Henbury, in Dorsetshire, 312 — his letter to Lord Strafford about the new building at Stainborough, 354 — the dis tressing circumstances connec ted with his death, 402^. Wentworth, WiUiam, eldest son of Sir William Wentworth, served in Flanders up to the time of his death in 1693, 312. Wentworth, Sir WiUiam, Icilled at Marston Moor — brother to the great Earl — grandfather to Thomas, Earl of Strafford, of Stainborough, 309. Wentworth, Sir WiUiara, of Bretton — likely to raarry Betty, sister of Thomas, Earl of Straf ford, 342 — letters to frora Lord Strafford, 353-4 — Richard Wardman's allusions to, 438. Wentworth, Sir WiUiam, of Haselden Hall, Wakefield, father of Thomas, Earl of Straf ford — inherits the greater part of the Savile estates at Wake field in right of his mother — serves the office of High Sheriff for Yorkshire in 1672, 310 — M.P. for Thirsk — removes to London — his sudden death, in 1693, from apoplexy, 311. Wescombe, Catherine, the heiress of the main line of tlie Rockleys — her distressed circumstances — letters to Lord Strafford relating to the Rockley estate, 388-94. Wescombe, Lewis, marries Cathe rine, the only daughter and heiress of Francis Rockley, of Rockley — his letters to Lord Strafford about the Rockley estate, 386-8. West, Jonathan, of Cawthorne, a. lawyer in large practice — Baron Wood articled to, 37. WiUiams, John, the eminent ser jeant-at-law, a pupil of Baron Wood, 40. Wilson, Mr. John, of Broomhead, undertakes to assist in compil ing a history of the County of York, 204. Wilson, William, the founder of the Barnsley linen trade, 70 — anecdote of, 75-77. Winn, Sir Rowland, a candidate in the election of 1734, 411, 413. Wombwell, connected with the ^ monarchy of Deira, tradition respecting, 106. Wombwell, Mr., attorney, of Barnsley, 108-10. Wombwell, Catherine, the last survivor of the main line of the family died in 1794, aged 87, IOO. WorabweU Estates, the, sold off in parcels, when Sir George Wombwell, the representative of a younger branch of the family, became the purchaser of the manor and other portions of, 104. WorabweU Family, early history and pedigree of — connected with the township of Womb well from the 12th century, 87 — the younger branch, repre sented by Sir George Womb well, settled in Barnsley, 107 — description of the feudal mansion of, 105-6 — extracts from Glover's Visitation of 1584, and that of Richard St. Index. 499 George in 1612 relating to, 96» — Dr. Oxley's account of their burial place and tombs in Dar field Church, IOI — his personal recollections of the family, 102-7. WorabweU, Sir George, the first baronet — born at Barnsley in 1734 — son of Roger WombweU, of Barnsley — enters the East India Company's service and goes out to India — amasses great wealth — Dr. Oxley's re collections of him — repurchases part of the family estates — chairman of the East India Company and M.P. for Hun tingdon — created a Baronet in 1778 — dies of consumption in 1780, ni — at one tirae con templated building a seat on Blacker Common, near Womb well — planted forest trees and raade preparations for doing so — abandons the project, 112. Wombwell, Sir George, the second baronet — a minor at his father's death — the trustees purchase the Burton Grange estate during his minority for ^30,000 — dis tinguished as a man of fashion, and owner of a large racing stud — marries a daughter of the second Earl of Fauconberg — succeeds to the estate of New burgh — account of his family — dies in 1847, 113-14. Wombwell, Sir George, the third baronet, born 1792 — served in the Peninsula — Lord WiUiam Lennox's recollections of him — his death in 1855 — his funeral — account of him in the " Cele brities at Home " series in the f^?-/a? newspaper, 114-17. Wombwell, Sir George Orby, the present baronet — his career — promoted for his gallantry in the memorable cavalry charge at the battle of Balaclava — his narrow escape from drowning in the Newby Ferry catastrophe — interesting account of him from the "Celebrities at Home " series in the World newspaper, 117-19 — his residence, New burgh Park, and its associations — Laurence Sterne — Shandy Hall — relics of Oliver Crom well, 119-22. Wombwell, Hugh de, slain by John D'EyvUe, of Hemingfield, in 1335, 88. Wombwell, Joan, widow of Thomas Wombwell, takes the veil, 92. Wombwell, John, of Wombwell — his name mixed up in the case of William Byg, alias Lech, a magician at Wombwell in 1467, 94-95 — John de, returned in Kirkby's inquest as holding lands in WombweU in 1277, 88 — ^John, a Justice of the IPeace, temp Elizabeth, 97 — John, second son of Roger WombweU, of Barnsley, goes out to India — on his return settles at Heath HaU, near Wakefield, no — John Wentworth, of Leeds and Barnsley, 108. Wombwell, Margaret, marries Lieut. - General Anthony St. Leger, from whom the Doncas ter St. Leger race takes its name, 103. Wombwell, Michael, of Wake field, attorney, kUled by a fall from his horse in 1742, 100. Wombwell, Richard de. Prior of Nostel in 1372, 88 — Richard gave all his lauds to the Prior and monks of Bretton, 96. Wombwell, Roger, founds a chantry at Wombwell in 1507, 96 — Roger carries on business as a grocer on Market HiU, Barnsley, no — his eldest son, George, afterwards Sir George, born at Barnsley, no. 500 Index. WombweU, Thomas de, deed of, dated 1405, 89— seal of, 89— dispensation from the Pope to marry Joan Bosvile, 90 — dies in 1452 — buried in Darfield church — his will, 90. Wombwell, Thomas, Vicar of Wath — ejected from his college for refusing to take the engage ment in 1652 — restored in 1660 — buUt a school at Wath, 97. Wombwell township, poll tax in, in 1379, 89. Wombwell, WUliam, captain ofa company of foot in the trained bands — married by Thomas Westby, a Justice of the Peace, during the Commonwealth, 98 — order signed by him calling upon the militia to asserable for training at Darfield Shroggs, in 1661 — ^dies in 1665 — long in scription to his memory, in Latin, in Darfield church, 99. Wombwell, William, of Leeds, succeeds to the Wombwell es tates on the death of his cousin William Wombwell, of Womb well, IOO. Wood, Charles, an eminent naval officer — killed in the East Indies and buried with military honours at Madras — as >i recognition of his great services a baronetcy was conferred upon his brother. Sir Francis Wood, of Barnsley, 17- Wood, Sir Charles, afterwards Lord Halifax, one of the most distinguished men of the day — born 1800 — returned for the borough of Great Grimsby in 1826 — for Wareham in 1831 — many years member for the borough of Halifax — appointed secretary to Earl Grey in 1830 — marries the youngest daughter of Earl Grey — one of the Sec retaries to the Treasury — Sec- Vetary to the Admiralty — Mr. Grant's sketch of " Mr. Charles Wood," 24— Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1846 — President ofthe Board of Control— First Lord of the Admiralty — Secre tary of State for India and Pre sident of the Indian Council — serious accident to whilst hunt ing — resigns his post in the ministry, 25 — elevated to the peerage under the title of Vis count Halifax, of Monk Bretton —The Times on " Sir Charles Wood," 26 — appointed Lord Privy Seal in 1870— the Hon. Charles Lindley Wood, and other members of the family, 27. Wood, of Monk Bretton and Barnsley, the family of, account of, 1-28. Wood, Francis, a lawyer, well known as Justice Wood — occu pied the family residence in Barnsley now known as the King's Head Hotel — descrip tion of his residence — an in fluential man in the district around Barnsley, 12 — one of the persons who took steps for the erection of the first work house in Barnsley — the leading business man in the town — a candidate for the office of Regis trar of Deeds for the West Riding, 13 — dies in 1775, in the 79th year of his age — his monumental inscription — some items of charges from his law bills. Wood, Sir Francis, of Barnsley — raany years in the service of the East IndiaCompany — baronetcy conferred upon him as a recog nition of the services rendered to his country by his brother. Captain Charles Wood, who was killed in action, 17 — dies in 1795, i" 'I'S ^S'l^ ys" ''f his age, 18, Index. SOI Wood, Sir Francis Lindley, of Hemsworth Hall — purchases Hickleton in 1828, and goes to reside there, 19 — was much as sociated with Barnsley — lieu tenant-colonel of the Staincross Volunteers, and also of the Staincross and Osgoldcross militia, 19 — presented with a very handsome sword on peace being declared — the colours of the regiment deposited with Sir Francis at Hickleton, 20 — high sheriff of Yorkshire in 1814 — -vice-lieutenant of the West Riding in 1819, 20 — anecdotes — his clever capture of delegates at a meeting at ThornhiU Lees, 21^— takes an active part in a meeting held at Wakefield to present Earl FitzwiUiam with an address of sympathy on his dismissal from the lord-lieu tenancy of the West Riding — presides at a great meeting held at York in favour of the Reform Bill — designated the father of reform in the West Riding — appointed a commissioner on the first Improvement Act being obtained for Barnsley — a fine specimen of the English country gentleman, 22 — dies in 1846 — his will, 33. Wood, George, of Smithies, slain at St. Helen's well, 32- Wood, George, of Burton, buried 1589 — had a lease of Smithies from the Crown in 1579 — des cribed as of the Manor House, in Burton — coUector of the revenues ofthe dissolved monas tery of Monk Bretton in 1609 — grant made to, along with John Broadhead, of the manor of Burton, in trust for the free holders at large, i — his name under " Munk Bretton " in the Subsidy RoU of 1598 — pur chases Smithies of the Crowli, 2 — dies in 1638, 3. Wood family, of Smithies, 29-62 — settled at Smithies at the beginning of the 17th century, 29 — their residence at Smithies — initials on different parts of the buildings, 30 — extracts from the Roystone parish regis ters relating to, 30-3. Wood, Rev. George, vicar of Roy stone, father of Baron Wood, 33 — his marriage — his family, 34. Wood, Sir George, Baron of the Exchequer, born at Roystone in 1744 — son of the vicar of Roystone, 36 — educated at Roy stone Grammar School — articled to Lawyer West, of Cawthorne, 36 — Mr. West prognosticates that George Wood would one day be a Judge, 37 — goes to London — pursues the usual course of preparation at the Middle Temple — commences business as a special pleader — obtains a large practice, 37 — his distinguished pupils — Mr. Law, afterwards Lord Ellen borough, 38 — Charles Abbot, afterwards Lord Tenterden, 39 — the Hon. Thomas Erskine, afterwards Lord Erskine, 39 — John Williams, 40 — Mr. Scar lett, afterwards Lord Abinger, 41 — Mr. Lushington — Mr. Trench, afterwards Lord Clan carty — Mr. Sturges Bourne, 41 — George Canning, 42 — Mr. Wood's celebrity as a special pleader, 42 — called to the Bar — engaged on the part of the Crown in State prosecutions — joins the Northern Circuit, 42 — special pleading joke about his horse demurring — robbed of his watch by a highwayman on Finchley Common — " What's the time. Wood ? " 43 — anec dotes, 44-5 — made a Baron of 502 Index. the Exchequer in 1807 — amasses a large fortune, 46 — his per sonal appearance, 48 — " Father ofthe English Bar," 49— "The Righteous Judge," 51 — retires from the Bench in 1823 — dies in 1824 — leaves a fortune of ^'300,000 — buried in the Tem ple church — his monumental inscription, copy of, 53 — ex tracts from his will, 54-58 — prints some valuable " Obser vations on Tithes and Tithe Law," 59 — his portrait, 61 — appointed one of the Commis sioners on the first Improve ment Act being obtained for Barnsley, 61. Wood, Henry, settled at Barnsley in the 17th century, and founded a family there which is now represented by Lord Halifax, 5 — a Justice of the Peace, 9 — assisted in getting the Quarter Sessions restored to Barnsley at the close of the 17th century, 10 — an attorney — his charges — a benefactor to Barnsley church, 10 — leases a coal pit belonging to the Shaw Lands Trust — dies in 1720 — memorial to in Barns ley church, II. Wood, Henry, of Barnsley, (the second Henry), extracts relating to from Hobson's Journal — dies in 1741, n. Wood, Henry, rector of Hems worth and vicar of Halifax, 16. Wood, James, purchases a moiety of the tithes of Barnsley in 1660 — dies at Barnsley in 1662, 9. Wood, John, enters the army under the patronage of General Wolfe — killed while in com mand of a body of forces in North America in 1760, 16. Wood, Robert, named in Subsidy Roll of 1663 — a churchwarden for Roystone in 1623, 2 — one of the trustees of the Shaw Lands in 1631, 3. Wood, Robert, succeeds to the estates at Monk Bretton in 1735 — marries Frances, daughter of Gamaliel Milner, of Burton Grange, 7- Wood, Simpson, a lieutenant in the foot guards, dies 1746, 12. Wood, William, clerk of the peace for the West Riding, dies in 1668, 4. Wordsworth, Adam de, chaplain, absolved for killing John de Staynton at Barnsley in 1366, 88. Workhouse, the first erected in Barnsley, in 1736, 13. Worsborough Comraon, artificial ruins on, erected by the Earl of Strafford, of Stainborough, 464-5. Wortley, Sir Francis, and Sir Williara Armyne, called upon to give up books relating to the Priory of Bretton, 265. Wortley, Mr., of Wortley, a can didate in the county election of 1734, 411-16. Yorkshire, coUections for a His tory of, made by John Charles Brooke, the Herald, 201 — by Mr. John Wilson, of Broom head, 203-4 — election for the county of, 1734, interesting correspondence relating thereto, 409-17. Young, Arthur, his description of Wentworth Castle, 462-3. Zouch, Rev. Thomas, D.D., marries Margaret Brooke, of Dodworth, 199. 503 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. Sir George Armytage, Bart., Kirklees Park, Brighouse. Mr. Wm. Aldam, J. P., Frickley HaU, Doncaster (2 copies). Mr. George J. Armytage, F.S.A., Clifton Woodhead, Brighouse. Captain Godfrey Armytage, Ackworth. Mr. Thomas Andrews, Wortley Iron Works. Mrs. Arnold, Notton, Wakefield. Mr. G. W. Atkinson, Regent Street, Barnsley. Mr. John Asquith, Mus. Bac. , Victoria Road, Barnsley. Mr. C. Alexander, Springfield Place, Barnsley. Mr. Wm. AUott, White Lane Cottage, Chapeltown. Mr. Joel Askham, May Day Green, Barnsley. Mr. Alderman Brady, Mayor of Barnsley (4 copies). Sir Hickman Beckett Bacon, Bart., Thonock, Gainsborough. Sir Theodore Henry Lavington Brinckman, Bart., St. Leonards, Windsor (2 copies). The Hon. Mrs. Bosville, Thorp Hall, Bridlington. Mr. Edmund Chivers Bower, J. P., Broxholme, Scarborough. Mrs. Beckett, The Knoll, Torquay (2 copies). Miss Bingley, EUersley Lodge, Hazlehead Bridge, near Sheffield. Mr. C. W. Bingley, Ph.D., Whitley Hall, Grenoside, Sheffield. Rev. Joseph West Bramah, Davington Priory, Faversham (6 copies). Mr. T. J. Bramah, 4, Harley Gardens, South Kensington (3 copies). Rev. W. Consitt Boulter, F.S.A., Seaford, Malvern Link. Mr. F. A. Blaydes, Hockliffe Lodge, Leighton Buzzard. Mr. Sarauel Bruce, Warrene House, Wakefield. Mr. John E. Bailey, F.S.A., Egerton Villa, Stretford, Manchester. Mr. J. H. Barber, 4, Broomhall Park, Sheffield. Mr. WiUiam Birks, Welham Hall, Retford (4 copies). Mr. William Batty, Darley Grove, near Barnsley (3 copies). Rev. W. J. Binder, Leadenham Rectory, Grantham. 504 List of Subscribers. Rev. George Brewin, Wortley, near Sheffield. Rev. J. W. Bayldon, Partney Rectory, Spilsby, Lincolnshire. Mrs. Bridgford, Hilton House, Prestwich, Manchester. Mr. James W. Baker, 31, Belsize Park, London. Mr. Reginald Bury, Victoria Road, Barnsley. Mr. James Battison, the late, Greenbank, Scarborough. Mr. Councillor Booth, Sandal Bank House, Wakefield. Mr. A. Badger, Swinhill House, Barnsley. Mr. A. Briggs, Craggs Royd, Rawdon, Leeds. Mr. Wm. Brigg, Far Headingley, Leeds. Mr. W. R. Bamforth, Hill House, Barnsley. Dr. Blackburn, Barnsley (2 copies). Mr. E. Boshell, Gawber Road, Barnsley. Mr. Henry Briggs, Brampton (2 copies). Mr. J. C. E. Broughton, Wortley, Sheffield. Mr. John Blackburn, Hemingfield. Mr. George Beckett, Wath-upon-Dearne. Mr. James Batley, The Gardens, Wentworth Castle. Mr. Joseph Bennett, Elsecar. Mr. Frederick Billington, .Silkstone. Mr. Thomas Braithwaite, Darton. Baptist Library, Barnsley. The Hon. Mrs. Henry Corry. Mrs. Clarke, Noblethorpe Hall, near Barnsley (3 copies). Miss Corbett, Huthwaite Hall, Sheffield. Mr. S. Joshua Cooper, Mount Vernon, Barnsley (6 copies). Mr. John Farrar Crookes, 45, Augusta Gardens, Folkestone. Major Cadman, F.R.H.S., 78, FeUows Road, South Hampstead, London. Mr. Henry Clarkson, Alverthorpe Hall, Wakefield. Mr. J. J. Cartwright, M.A., Rolls House, London. Rev. Henry Pennant Cooke, The Rectory, Darfield. Mrs. Bowen Cooke, 4, York Place, Dumfries. Mr. J. E. F. Chambers, The Hurst, Alfreton. Mr. A. M. Chambers, Belmont, Chapeltown, Sheffield. Mr. Richard Carter, Spring Bank, Harrogate. Rev. G. P. Cordeux, The Vicarage, Brierley, Barnsley. Mr. W. W. Clapham, Crumpsall House, near Manchester. Mr. Richard Ecroyd Clark, Rutland House, Doncaster. List of Subscribers. 5iD5 Mr. Thomas Comber, Leighton Park Gate, Chester. Mr. William Carrington, Magistrates' Clerk, Barnsley (2 copies). Mr. Charies F. G. Clark, Carr Villa, Dudley, Worcestershire. Mr. Rowland Childe, Calder Grove, Wakefield. Mr. J. W. Clay, Rastrick House, Brighhouse. Mr. T. S. Carter, 26, Park Square, Leeds. Dr. Carnelley, Firth College, Sheffield. Mr. W. Carnelley, Fern Lea, Fallowfield, Manchester. Mr. Joseph Corker, Victoria Road, Barnsley. Mr. S. Clarkson, Longcar, Barnsley. Cheetham Library, Manchester (R. Hanby, Librarian). Mr. John Cass, Sackville Street, Barnsley. Mr. Edward Cooke, Peel Square, Barnsley. The Right Hon. the Earl of Devon, Powderham Castle, Exeter. The Right Hon. J. G. Dodson, M.P., President of the Local Govern raent Board. The Hon. Mrs. J. C. Dundas. Sir Charles Dodsworth, Bart., Thornton Watlass, Bedale. Mr. WiUiam Beckett Denison, J. P., D.L., Nun Appleton, Bolton Percy, York (2 copies). The Dean and Chapter of York (Rev. Canon Raine). Mr. John Dyson, J. P., Thurgoland. Mr. Thomas Dymond, Burntwood HaU, near Barnsley (6 copies). Messrs. Dibb and Clegg, Barnsley (6 copies). Mr. John Daly, Ivy House, Hemel Hempstead, Herts. Mr. George Dawes, Hoyland, Barnsley. Rev. H. J. Day, The Vicarage, Cheshunt, Herts. Mr. J. N. Dransfield, Green House, Penistone. Mr. Thomas Dunderdale, Bellomonte, Lepton, Huddersfield. Mr. George Dawson, Thorncliffe, Sheffield. Mr. William Downing, Olton, Acocks Green, near Birm.ingham. Mr. W. J. Dandison, Hall-balk, Barnsley. Mr. Richard Day, Hodroyd Hall, near Barnsley. Mrs. Dickinson, Thunder Bridge, near Holmfirth. Mr. Joseph Dodgson, I, New Briggate, Leeds (12 copies). Mr. William Dodgson, Monk Bretton Priory, Barnsley. Mr. Josiah Drake, Sheffield Road, Barnsley. Mr. Robert Dixon, Eastgate, Barnsley. Doncaster Borough Library (Mr. John Ballinger, Librarian). 5o6 List of Subscribers. The Right Hon. Viscount Enfield, 34, Wilton Place, London, S.W. Mr. W. H. Martin Edmunds, 24, Great Curaberland Place, London (3 copies). Rev. W. Elmhirst, Elrahirst, near Barnsley (2 copies). Mr. George Eastwood, Birdwell. The Right Hon. Earl Fitzwilliam, K.G., Wentworth Woodhouse, Rotherham (2 copies). Rev. C. Garth FuUerton, The Rectory, Thrybergh, Rotherham. Mr. WiUiarn Fenton de Wend, Eardington House, near Bridgewater, Salop. Mrs. C. B. L. Fernandez, Egremont House, Wakefield. Rev. W. M. Fenn, the Rectory, Tankersley. Mr. James Fox, Harbro' Hills, Barnsley (2 copies). Mr. Joseph Fountain, Haigh HaU, near Barnsley. Mr. Henry Fountain, Birthwaite Hall, near Barnsley. Mr. Joseph Firth, White Rock, New Barnsley, near Belfast. Mr. Samuel Foster, Wood View, Doncaster Road, Barnsley. Mr. John King Fox, Beechfield, Barnsley. Mr. William Foster, Swinhills, Barnsley. Mr. John Ford, Silkstone, Barnsley. Mr. W. J. Frankland, 20, Huddersfield Road, Barnsley. Mr. Fisher, Wentworth Castle. Mr. Fairclough, Regent Street, Barnsley. Mr. C. Milnes Gaskell, J.P., Thornes House, Wakefield. Mr. Gerald Milnes Gaskell, J.P., Lupset Hall, Wakefield. Rev. A. Gatty, D.D., The Vicarage, Ecclesfield. Mr. Richard Green, J. P., The Whitton, Kington, Herefordshire (2 copies). Rev. Sydney Greenwood, Wortley Vicarage, Sheffield. Mr. William Grainge, Harrogate (2 copies). Mrs. Greaves, Alma Villa, Headingley. Mr. John Greaves, The Priory, Portland Street, Southport. Miss Guest, Victoria Road, Barnsley (2 copies). Mr. Henry Gray, 25, Cathedral Yard, Manchester (6 copies). Mr. George Guest, Market HUl, Barnsley. Mr. John Greaves, Penistone, Sheffield. Mr. Benjamin Gaunt, Huddersfield Road, Barnsley. Mr. John Guest, Victoria Road, Barnsley. List of Subscribers. .507 Mr. James H. Gration, Bank House, Barnsley. Mr. Arthur Gration, Union Bank, Barnsley. Mr. J. G. Gradwell, Cheapside, Barnsley. Mr. Edwin Gelder, Regent Street, Barnsley. Mr. R. E. Griffiths, Church Street, Barnsley. The Right Hon. Viscount Halifax, G.C.B., Hickleton, Doncaster (6 copies). The Right Hon. Lord Houghton, D.C.L., F.S.A., Frystone HaU, Ferrybridge (6 copies). Mr. E. HaUstone, F.S.A., Walton Hall, Wakefield. Mr. Charles Harvey, Park House, Barnsley (3 copies). Mr. Thomas Harvey, Ashwood, Headingley, Leeds. Mr. WiUiam Harvey, West View, Headingley, Leeds. Rev. C. Hudson, Marton Hall, Sewerby, HuU. Mr. Richard Holdsworth, Castle Lodge, Sandal, Wakefield. Rev. Henry C. Holmes, Birkby Rectory, Northallerton. Mr. Henry Horsfield, Town Clerk, Barnsley (2 copies). Miss Hattersley, Western Street, Barnsley. Mr. W. J. Hindle, Regent Street, Barnsley. Dr. Home, The Poplars, Dodworth Road, Barnsley. Mr. J. Hague, C.E., Rose Cottage, Mexborough. Mr. G. W. Horsfield, Huddersfield Road, Barnsley. Mr. John Hinchliffe, BuUhouse HaU, Penistone. Mr. John Hutchinson, Gas Works, Barnsley. Mr. David Heald, Kirkgate, Wakefield. Mr. John Hanlon, Holyrood Cottage, Barnsley. Mr. Richard Holmes, Pontefract. Mr. J. J. Hinchliffe, Princess Street, Barnsley. EUzabeth Haxworth, Ackworth. Mr. William Hoey, The Cemetery, Barnsley. Mr. G. E. Hoey, Regent Street, Barnsley. Mr. William Hornby, Cheapside, Barnsley. Mr. John Hornby, Victoria Crescent, Barnsley. Mr. Isaac Hardcastle, Church Field Terrace, Barnsley. Mr. Robert Horner, Hopwood Street, Barnsley. The Hon. Mrs. Meynell Ingram, Hoar Cross, Stafford. Mr. Richard Inns, J. P., Barnsley. Mr. J. W. Innes, Rotherham. 5o8 List of Subscribers. Rev. J. T. Jeffcock, F.S.A., The Vicarage, Wolverhampton (2 copies). Mr. Charles Jackson, F.S.A., Doncaster (2 copies). Mr. Arthur Jackson, 17, Wilkinson Street, Sheffield. Mr. Samuel Johnson, Cliffe Cottage, Horbury. Mr. Joshua Jubb, Cheapside, Barnsley. Mr. Robert Jenkins, Masbro' BoUer Works, Rotherham. Mr. John Kaye, J.P., Clayton West (2 copies). Rev. W. W. Kirby, R.D., The Rectory, Barnsley. Mrs. Martha Knowles, Greenfield House, Hoyland. Mr. James Knight, 122, Dodworth Road, Barnsley (2 copies). Mr. W. H. Leatham, M.P., Hemsworth HaU, Pontefract (3 copies). Rev. J. S. Lawson, St. George's Vicarage, Barnsley. Mr. J. D. Leader, F.S.A., Sheffield. Mr. Edward Lancaster, Keresforth HaU, Barnsley. Mr. Thoraas Lister, Victoria Crescent, Barnsley. Mr. John Lowrance, Victoria Road, Barnsley. Mr. C. Lingard, Cockerham Hall, Barnsley (12 copies). Mr. S. H. Linley, Bank House, Barnsley. Mr. Wm. Longbottom, Princess Street, Barnsley. Mr. T. Ledger, Huddersfield Road, Barnsley. Mr. Isaac Longley, Dove Cottage, Worsbro' Dale. Mr. Joseph Latham, Dodworth Road, Barnsley. Leeds Library (J. Y. W. Macalister, Librarian). Mr. Jabez Lodge, New Street, Barnsley (2 copies). Mr. R. B. Mackie, M.P., St. John's, Wakefield. Mrs. Mills, Penley Grove, York (3 copies). Mr. W. P. Milner, J. P., Meersbrook, Sheffield. Mr. J. C. Milner, J.P., Thuristone, Sheffield. Mr. R. Micklethwait, J. P., Ardsley House, Barnsley (3 copies). , Mr. J. P. Micklethwait, Penheira, Caerwent, Chepstow. Mr. W. T. Marriott, Sandal Grange, Wakefield. Mr. Joseph Mitchell, Bolton Hall (2 copies,). Rev. J. Mason, Pindar Oaks, Barnsley. Mr. Thoraas Marsden, Cliffe House, Monk Bretton. Miss Micklethwait, Portledge House, Newbridge HiU, Bath. , Mr. W. Morton, Sandown Park, Wavertree, Liverpool. Mr. T. A. Mann, Round Green, near Barnsley. List of Subscribers. cog Mr. Richard Massey, Scholes, Rotherham. Mr. Robert McLintock, Bell Vue, Barnsley (2 copies). Mr. Edward McLintock, i. Beech Grove, Barnsley. Mr. Henry J. Moorhouse, M.D., F.S.A., Stoneybank, Holmfirth. Mr. John Massie, 1 10, Peckham Rye, London. Mr. WiUiam Moore, 28, Lord Street, Southport. Mr. W. G. Mallinson, Westgate, Barnsley (2 copies). Mr. E. McClement, Western Street, Barnsley. ' Mr. George MiUs, Hopwood Street, Barnsley. Mr. Charles Marsh, High Street, Wombwell. Mr. WUliam Magee, Midland Bleach Works, Cudworth. Mr. Thomas Mitchell, Worsborough. Manchester Free Library (Mr. C. D. Sutton, Librarian). Mr. Walter Norton, J. P., Rookwood House, Denby Dale. Mr. Benjamin Norton, Nortonthorpe Hall, Huddersfield. Mr. C. Newman, Barnsley (6 copies). Rev. J. Newman, The Vicarage, Worsborough. Mr. T. J. Newman, HoUowgates, Barnsley. Mr. Edward Nixon, Savile House, Methley. Mr. T. C. Newton, Thorncliffe, Sheffield. Mr. Wra. Naylor, Milford Villa, South Milford. Mrs. Ollivant, Bishop's Court, Llandaff. Mr. C. G. Oates, Meanwoodside, Leeds (3 copies). Rev. Canon Ornsby, M.A., F.S.A., Fishlake Vicarage, Doncaster. Mr. T. D. Ownsworth, Billingley. Mr. Edward Oxley, Newraillerdam, Wakefield. Sir Lionel M. S. Pilkington, Bart., Chevet Park, Wakefield. Mrs. Poley, Boxted Hall, Bury St. Edmund's. Rev. G. H. Philips, The Vicarage, Brodsworth, Doncaster, Mr. J. W. Pashley, Morton Hall, Gainsborough. Rev. C. T. Pratt, The Vicarage, Cawthorne. Mr. W. Pickard, Registry House, Wakefield (2 copies), Mr. James Parker, Harbro' House, Barnsley. Mr. Alexander Paterson, Victoria Crescent, Barnsley, Mr. J. T. Pick, Cemetery Road, Barnsley. Mr. George Parkin, Avenue Villa, Wortley, Sheffield. Sir John Ramsden, Bart., M.P., Byram, Ferrybridge. Rev. Canon Roberts, Richmond, Yorkshire. 5IO List of Subscribers. Rev. T. F. Rudston Read, Withyhara Rectory, Tunbridge Wells. Mr. Richard Raywood, Woodhead House, Wombwell (2 copies). Mr. Fredk. Ross, 4, Tinsley Terrace, Staraford H-ill, London. Mr. Jaraes Raper, Linden Terrace, Tanshelf, Pontefract. Mr. Godfrey M. Richardson, Bore Spring Works, Barnsley. Mr. John Rycroft, 3, Portland Street, Manchester. Mr. Thomas Reeder, Wath-upon-Dearne. Mr. C. O. Rowley, Church Street, Barnsley. Mr. C. Robinson, Alma House, Dodworth Road, Barnsley. Mr, John Reynolds, Market Hill, Barnsley. Mr. Sarauel Rushforth, Huddersfield Road, Barnsley. The Right Hon. the Earl of Strafford, St. James' Square, London. Mr. W. T. S. Stanhope, J. P., Cannon Hall, near Barnsley. Rev. Howard St. George, Billinge Vicarage, Wigan. Mr. H. J. Spencer, Keresforth, Barnsley (3 copies). Mr. G. E. Swithinbank, LL.D., F.S.A., Anerley Park, Surrey. Dr. Sykes, F.S.A., Doncaster (2 copies). Dr. Sadler, Church Street, Barnsley. Dr. Stewart, Highfield House, Barnsley (2 copies). Mr. William Stewart, York House, Wakefield (2 copies). Rev. H. C. Stuart, Wragby Vicarage, Wakefield. Rev. A. Willan, Copmanthorpe, York. Mr. WUliara Smith, Barnes HaU, Sheffield. Mr. William Senior, Solicitor, Wakefield. Mrs. Stanley, Wath-upon-Dearne. Mr. H. Eckroyd Smith, F.S.A., Saffron Walden (2 copies). Mr. M. Carrington Sykes, Beckett Hospital, Barnsley. Mrs. .Schofield, Alma VUla, Headingley, Leeds. Mr. William Sraith, F.S.A.S., Osborne House, Morley. Mr. William Smith, BuUhouse Grange, Penistone. Mr. Arthur Senior, Mount Osborne, Barnsley. Mr. Stephen Seal, Darfield, Barnsley. Mr. John Swift, Sira Hill, Thurgoland. Mr. William Saville, Swaithe House, Barnsley. Mr. George Sykes, Superintendent of Police, Barnsley. Mr. W. T. Senior, Low Laithes, near Barnsley. Mr. Henry Swift, 40, Hallfield Place, Wombwell. Mr. Benjamin Smith, Church Street, Barnsley. Mr. C. F. Seward, Keresforth Cottage, Barnsley. List of Subscribers. 5 1 1 Mr. George Shaw, 4, Peel Square, Barnsley. Mr. WiUiam Senior, Regent Street, Barnsley. Mr. James Swift, Victoria Road, Barnsley. Mr. J. A. Smith, 19, Sheffield Road, Barnsley. Mr. Joseph Sykes, Cudworth, Barnsley. Mr. Leonard Sedgwick, Wombwell. Mr. John Sansby, Birdwell, Barnsley. The Sheffield Library (Miss A. Manlove, Librarian). The Stainborough Library (per Mr. Wills). Mr. T. Speight, Newborough, Barnsley. Mr. T. E. Taylor, J.P., Dodworth Hall, Barnsley (3 copies). Mr. F. H. Taylor, Middlewood HaU, Barnsley. Mr. J. H. Taylor, Borough Surveyor, Barnsley. Mr. John Tyas, Upperwood Hall, Barnsley (2 copies). Rev. R. V. Taylor, B.A., Melbecks Vicarage, Richmond. Mr. W. H. B. Tomlinson, Calder House, Wakefield. Mr. R. C. Thorp, Staincross, Barnsley. Miss Thorp, Bolsterstone, Sheffield. Mr. Alfred Thorp, Burley Grange, Leeds. Mr. H. W. Thorp, Burley Grange, Leeds. Mr. J. Horsfall Turner, CoUege House, Idle (2 copies). Mr. G. W. Tomlinson, F.S.A., Huddersfield. Mr. John Tomlinson, Doncaster. Mr. Amos Taylor, Victoria Crescent, Barnsley. Mr. Edwin Teasdale, Silkstone, Barnsley. Mr. J. Thorneley, Bolsover. Mr. W. F. Vernon, Harefield Park, Middlesex. Captain Vincent, J. P., Hemsworth. Rev. Dr. Van Cauwenberghe, Holyrood, Barnsley. The Right Hon. the Earl of Wharncliffe, Wortley Hall, Sheffield. Sir George Wombwell, Bart., Newburgh Park, Easingwold. Mr. Henry PI. Wombwell, 4, Charles Street, St. James' Square, London. Mr. F. W. T. V. Wentworth, Wentworth Castle, Barnsley (6 copies). Mr. T. F. C. V. Wentworth, Wentworth Castle, Barnsley (3 copies). Miss Wentworth, Woolley Park, Wakefield (2 copies). Mr. John Cawood Wordsworth, 20, Harley Street, Cavendish Square, London. 512 List of Subscribers. Mrs. W. Wordsworth, TankerviUe, Kingston Hill, Surrey (2 copies). Rev. W. Reginald Wilson, M.A., The Vicarage, Bolsterstone. Mr. Charles Macro Wilson, Waldershagh, Bolsterstone. Mr. Edmund Wilson, F.S.A., Beech Grove, Leeds. Mr. George Archibald Wilson, Butterthwaite, Ecclesfield. Mr. Charies WUkin, St. John's Terrace, Wakefield. Mr. G. Blake Walker, Tankersley. Mr. W. Wake, Osgathorpe House, Sheffield. Mr. J. W. Waterhouse, 288, Pitsraoor, Sheffield. Mr. Wra. White, Hoole Chambers, Sheffield. Mr. J. Hunter Watson, the late, Victoria Road, Barnsley. Mr. James Wordsworth, Hoyland, Barnsley. Mr. Eugene Wood, Britannia Street, Barnsley. Mr . Joseph Wood, Independent Office, Barnsley. Mr. John Wilcock, Dodworth Road, Barnsley. Mr. Joseph Wilkinson, DiUington House, Worsbro' Comraon, Barnsley. Mr. Benjamin Wilson, Swaithe Villa, Barnsley. Mr. J. W. Wilson, Victoria Road, Barnsley. Mr. John Wainwright, Thuristone, Sheffield. Mr. Wilson Wainwright, Market Hill, Barnsley. Mr. J. M. Wood, Church Street, Barnsley. Mr. Wm. Watson, Beckett House, Barnsley. Mr. Alphonse Wood, Osborne House, Barnsley. Mr. R. Wilkinson, High Street, Doncaster. Mr. Henry Wilkinson, Saville House, Worsborough. Mr. B. J. Young, Richmond Park, Handsworth, Sheffield. Mr. James Yates, Public Librarian, Leeds. Bemrose & Sons, Pkinters, 23, Old Bailey, London ; and Derh YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 3 9002 04078 5033