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Victoria County History
Whenby Manor
Eight carucates in Whenby in 1086 were in the king's hands. They were subsequently held of the Crown by the Mauley family, whose lordship followed the descent of their manor of Mulgrave in Lythe parish.
The tenants of the Mauleys were the lords of Sheriff Hutton; the manor was held in 1282 of Roberd de Nevill, the first of his name to appear in connexion with it. Their mesne lordship subsequently followed the descent of their manor of Sheriff Hutton (q.v.) and reverted to the Crown when it ws forfeited among the lands of Richard Earl of Warwich in 1471. Edward IV granted it to Richard Duke of Glouscester, afterwards Richard III, and it subsequently remained in the possession of the Crown.
From a very early date the family of Haget was holding land in Whenby. The William Haget who in 1166 held a sixth part of a knight's fee of the heirs of Bertram de Bulmer was probably tenant of Whenby. In 1202 Robert Haget held an oxgang of land here of Gericus de Gilling, and twenty-three years later William Haget accused the Prioress of Moxby of taking into the 'Court Christian' a plea touching his lay fee in Whenby. Half a carucate of land was held here of Walter Haget in 1235, and in 1240 William Haget was party to a fine which concerned a carucate of land in Whenby. He or another William Haget was enfeofed of 4 oxgangs here by Richarrd le Breton and Roger de Eskyres and their wives in 1271, and in 1282 Robert Haget was holding Whenby of Robert de Nevill for half a knight's fee.
The manor was settled on Robert and Ellen his wife by Stephen de Bolingbroke in 1299-1300. Robert was still in possession in 1301, but died before 1316, when his widow Ellen was holding the manor and 5 carucates. It is not clear whether Ellen Haget had a second husband, or in what way the next lord of the manor, John Moryn, became possessed of it. Ellen was still holding Whenby in 1318, when she complained that William de Haugerive with many others had entered her manor, broken the doors and chests, and carried away her goods. Nine years later this William was quitclaimed to John Moryn all his right in the manor of Whenby, but there is nothing to show what this right was or how he acquired it.
John Moryn entered into possession, and in 1332 the manor was settled on him, with remainder to his son John, by John Wykeham and John Snainton. The younger John Moryn died without male issue. He had two daughters, Isabel and Alice, the one married to John Newland and the other to Thomas Barton. Isabel and her husband succeeded first to the manor of Whenby, which John Newland was holding of Ralph de Nevill in 1367, and of John de Nevill in 1388. William son of John Newland succeeded, and died seised in 1408-09, leaving a sister and heir Ellen wife of William Halgate. Ellen presumably died without heirs, for the manor next passed to the Barton family, descendants of Alice Moryn. Her son and heir was John Barton, who married Christian Aske. He was succeeded by a son and heir Conan, who died in 1436. The will of Conan's son Richard was dated 1455. In it he settled the manor of Whenby and his other lands on his mother for her lifetime, 'for the sustentacion and mareying of his childre.' Of these there were several, the eldest being Christopher, the next lord of the manor. He left his estates to his son John Barton in 1479. John died in possession in or about 1506, when he was succeeded by his son John Barton, jun. This younge John held the manor till his death in 1553; his heir was his brother Thomas, who died in 1564. Four years later Edward Barton, son and heir of Thomas, took possession of his estates, which had been in the hands of the queen during his minority. He was retuend in 1588 as one of the gentlemen of Yorkshire who were able to lend her Majesty ƒ25. In 1610 he was succeeded by his son Thomas, with whom the male line of Barton ended.
Thomas Barton and his wife Alice had a daughter Elizabeth, who was married before 1615 to Sir Edward Radclyffe, bart. of Derwentwater. To this Royalist family the maonr of Whenby now descended it was sequestrated under the Commonwealth for the delinquency of Sir Edward, and bought from the treason trustees by Major John Wildman and Samuel Foxlye. In 1653, however, Sir Edward Radclyffe compounded for the manor, and at his death in 1663 it came into the hands of his son and heir Francis. This Francis was created Earl of Derwentwater in 1688. He was succeeded by his son Edward in 1697, and from Edward the maon descended to the unfortunated James, third earl, in 1705. Ten years later the eal was marching into Lancashire at the head of a Jacobite army. He surrendered, wasattained and executed, and Whenby was forfeited along with his other lands.
The manor was put into the hands of the commissioners for forfeited estates, and was by them put up to auction. It was acquired in 1722 by William Garforth for the sum of ƒ7,240. The Garforth family continued to hold the manor till late in the 19th century, when it followed the descent of their manor of Wigganthorpe into the hands of the present owner, the Hon. W.H. Wentworth-Fitzwilliam.
A close called Foggy Close, late in the possession of Moxby Priory, was leased in 1539-40 to William Harrions of London. Other lands wee granted ot the Archbishop of York. Peter Mauley confirmed 2 oxgangs of land in Whenby to the Prio of Marton, who had a grant of free warren here in 1333.
The Templars also held land in Whenby. In 1328 a return was made that 'the king had no right in ... certain tenements in Whenby which belonged to the master and brothers of the Knights Templars in England at the time of their cessation, whatever any charter of Edward II may say.'
Certain tenements here beloned to the chapel of St. George near York in 1373.
Church: The church of St. Martin consists of a chancel, nave 30 ft. by 14 1/2 ft. with north aisle 13 1/2 ft. south porth, and western tower 6 ft. by 6 3/4 ft. It was apparently entirely reconstructed in the 15th cnetury, and, though the rubble masonry of the north aisle contrasts with the ashlar facing the rest of the building, there is no evidence that it is earlier in date. Though small in actual dimensions, the leaborate south porch and the general proportions take from the building any appearance of insignificance.
The chancel belongs entirely to the 15th century. It is lit by a three-light traceried east window, and two windows with depressed segmental heads and two lights each in the south wall. On the same side is a plain pointed piscina, and in the east wall to the north of the altar is an arched recess in the form of a small doorway. It does not appear on the outside and its use is quite problematical. There isno structural chancel arch, the nave roof being continued over the qire. The north chapel is conterminous with the chancel and is separated from it by a 15th century arcade of two bays somewhat restored. The two-light east window is a modern restoration of 14th-type, but the two-light window in the north wall is original 15th-century work.
The nave, of the same date as the chancel, is divided from the north aisle by an arcade of two bays, the pier and responds being octagonal with mounded capitals and bases of circa 1480. The capital of the western respond is further ornamented with carved heads. The windows of the nave and aisle are all of two lights wieh depresssed heads and of the same date, except the western aisle window, which is a modern restoration similar to that in the east wall fo the chapel. There is a 15th century north door in the aisle wall. The tower arch springs from rudely sculputured corbels and the west window is of two lights.
The western tower is two stages high and finished with an embattled parapet, the belfry being lighted by a single-light square-headed window on the north and similar two-light windows on the other three sides The tower contains three bells. The south porch is unusaully elaborate for so small andremote a church. It projects two bays from the main building, the bays being divided by buttresses and pierced by small two-light windows. The parapet is embattled, and above the outer doorway is a shield bearing the sacred monogram. The exteriof the main building is fced with ashlar and embattled throughout; the buttresses have three offlets, and those to the chancel were formerly carried above the parapet with small pinnacles. The north aisle and chapel are built of rebble with 15th-century buttresses, the roof being eaved.
The ancient fittings of the church include a font with an octagonal moulded 15h-century bowl and two oak screens across the chancel and aisle. The chanecl screen dates from the 15th century, and has a plain base with a doorway in the centre, the sides being divided by moulded mullions into compaments (five on the north and seven on the south) with traceried heads. The work, however, is poor. The screen across the aisle is of Jacobean characte, boarded in bleow the rail, but open above with turned balusters and a doorway in the centre. The roofs through the church are modern. Under the tower is an ancient parish chest and in the nave are a number of massive oak benches probably of 16th-century date. Beneath the chapel altar is a slab with the casement of a brass inscription.
The church plate is of little interest. It includes a cup inscribed 'Whenby Church 1825,' a motern paten and a pewter almsdish inscribed 'C. Warden.'
The ancient registers are bound in two books: (i) mixed entried 1556 to 1812; (ii) marriaged 1757 to 1812.
Advowson: The first recorded presentation to the church of Whenby was made by the Prioress and nuns of Moxby in 1250. In 1269-70, however, it was discovered by an inquisition that the lawful patron was William de Boghale, who accordingly presented on the occasion. Whatever right the Prioress and nuns of Moxby had had in the advowson was established firmly in 1283, when the church was granted to them, presumably by William de Boghale, and appropriated to the priory by the Archbishop of YOrk. The archbishop ordained a vicarage there, the collation to which he reserved for himself and his successors. The nuns were to have 'in the name of the parsonage of the chapel of St. Martin at Wuenby, all the tythe corn to the same belonging, in those lands already reduced, or hereafter to be reduced to tillage, and also 1 oxgang of land out of 3 oxgangs with which the chapel is endowed, with the hay to the same oxgang belonging.' The vicar was to have the rectory-house and the remaining oxgangs of land, and 'tithes of hay, lambs, wool, calves, pigs, pigeons, brood geese, hens, foals, bees, orchards, mills, line and hemp, with all greater and smaller oblations and mortuaries, with the carucate pennies and all othe profits whatsoever.' He was also to have 4 marks a year, and to 'bear all ordinary burdens of the chapel.'
The archbishops accordingly presented to the vicarage till the 16th century. At the Dissolution, however, the advowson seems to have reverted to the Crown as part of the possessions of the prioress, for Elizabeth granted it with lands and tithes in Whenby which had belonged to Moxby Priory to Edward Downing and Peter Ashton, and no mention is made in the grant of the Archbishop of York.
These grantees must have sold the advowson to the lords of the manor, Edward Barton presented in 1602. Thomas Crofts and John Cook, probably lessees of the Radclyffes, were patrons in 1639-40 and 1690-2 respectively. The trustees for the forfeited estates of the Earl of Derwentwater presented in 1720, and two years laer sold the advowson to William Garforth, who exercised his right of presentation in 1724. He came at the same time into possessin of the manor (q.v.) and the two followed the same descent into the hands of the present owner.
Page, William, ed. (1923), The Victoria History of the Counties of England, Yorkshire North Riding, The St. Catherine Press.
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Whenby Parish main page |
Wapentake of Bulmer - Electoral Division of Stillington - Poor Law Union, Petty Sessional Division, County Court District, and Rural Deanery of Easingwold - Archdeaconry of Cleveland - Diocese of York.
Whenby is a township, parish, and small village, lying between Sheriff Hutton and Brandsby, and a little to the east of the Howardian Hills. It has an area of 1,041 acres, and a population of 111 souls. The whole estate is the manor of W. H. Garforth, Esq., of Wiganthorpe. The surface is undulating, and the soil generally a rich clay loam. Whenby is a small village, eight miles east of Easingwold.
The church of St. Martin is an ancient stone building in the Early English style of architecture, and has a chancel, north aisle, porch, nave, mortuary chapel, and a fine, lofty tower, containing three bells. It was restored, at a cost of £700, in 1871, when a north aisle of stone was added. The principal entrance is by the north porch, through a handsome Norman doorway. There is a doorway of ancient date, which is generally supposed to have been used for public access to the church, or in connection with the priest's house. The living is a discharged vicarage valued, in the King's Books, at £4 8s. 4d., and now worth £120 a year. The patron is W. H. Garforth, Esq., and the vicar the Rev. John Lascelles, M.A., of Clare College, Cambridge, who was appointed in 1885. He is vicar of Sheriff Hutton, and resides there. He attends here on Sundays at 2 p.m. for service. Tradition says that the unfortunate Lord Derwentwater lived in a house adjoining the church, which was pulled down in the early part of the present century.
Whenby Church of England schools, attended by 50 children, are kept up by subscriptions, government grants, and school fees. There is a charity of £1 a year, left by a person named Bolton, out of land at Dalby - 10s. to be paid to the vicar for preaching a sermon on the 14th January, and the other 10s. to the poor.
Foulrice is a small hamlet in Whenby and Brandsby parishes, one mile west of the former place.
Scan, OCR and html by Colin Hinson. Checking and correction by Peter Nelson.
[Last updated at 21.31 on Tuesday, 08 January 2002, by Colin
Hinson. ©1999]
Dodsworth's Church Notes.
Whenby Church, 16 of August, 1623.
South quyer.
Hic jacent Conanus de Barton [2], armiger, dominus de Qwenby, et Johanna, uxor ejus. Qui Conanus obiit xj die mensis Aprilis anno Domini MCCCCXXXVJ, quorum animabus propicietur Deus. Amen
In the window.
Per pale erm. on a fess gu. 3 annulets or [Barton], paled with 3 bars az [Aske.]
Per pale a lyon rmapand sa, paley with gu. on a bend ar. cotised gobony ar. and az. 3 lionnels rampant [arg] [Morgan or Moryn.]
Quarterly, gu on a bend cotised and charges, ut supra [Morgan],
2 quarter, erm. on a fess gu 3 annulets or. [Barton].
South windowes.
Erm. on a fesse gu. 3 annulets or [Barton], paled with gu. on a bend cotised and chardged, ut supra [Morgan]
Ar. fess entre 3 crescents gu. [Boynton]
Vaire ar. and gu. a border az. bezanty. [De la River]
Or 3 crowes sa. a little bend [gu.] [Witham]
[2] Conan Barton was son of John Barton, by Christian Aske. His grandfather, Thomas married Alice, daughter and heiress of Sir John Moryn, of Whenby. He married Joan, daughter of Robert Strangewayes, of Skelton (who afterwards married Christopher Boynton, of Sedbury). His will is dated 8 Aril, proved at York 24 April, 1436; printed in Test. Ebor., ii, 216. (See Glover's Visitation, p. 5)
North window.
A man armed kneeling, behind him 5 sonnes, and his wief with 3 daughters. On his shield, ar. a lyon rampant sa with his face to the sinister part of the sheild; the same on her brest. Under writt: Robertus Strangwysh et Matildis, uxor ejus.
Whenby parlor window.
John Moryn of Whenby, knight, 30 Edward 3.
Thomas Barton, of Friton, married the [?] daughter and heire.
In the parlor of Whenby Hall.
Gu. inter 2 cotises gobony ar. and az. 3 lyons rampand a bend or. [Moryn].
Roger Dodsworth, (1904) Yorkshire Church Notes, 1619-1631, Yorkshire Archaeological Society Record Serive, vol. 34., pp. 179-180.