Hemingbrough: Cliffe with Lund

CLIFFE WITH LUND

The village of Cliffe, lying a mile north-west of Hemingbrough, is strung out for about a mile along a single main street and was consequently sometimes known as Long Cliffe. At its southern end the village street runs from east to west along a ridge of elevated ground overlooking the former course of the river Ouse, and it was presumably the slope down to the river which gave the Anglian village its name. (fn. 1) Cliffe, like Hemingbrough, lost its riverside location in the early Middle Ages when the Ouse abandoned a circuitous meander for a new course further south. It was perhaps after that time that the village was extended northwards for the more convenient exploitation of the land in the township. The ground within the old meander of the river belonged to Newhay, a grange of Drax priory on the West Riding bank. The new course left Newhay on the north side of the river, but it was not until 1883 that Newhay was transferred from Drax to Cliffe civil parish ; (fn. 2) it contained 403 a. (fn. 3) The hamlet of Lund, a Scandinavian settlement, lies a mile northwest of Cliffe and almost as far from the river. The area of Cliffe with Lund, excluding Newhay, was 2,740 a. in 1850. (fn. 4)

The ridge of ground near the old course of the Ouse and large areas further north reach a little over 25 ft. above sea-level. Nevertheless, much of the eastern side of the civil parish as well as the flat land bordering the river are below that level. The open fields lay around Cliffe and Lund villages, not entirely on the higher ground. The riverside land included common meadows but also extensive early inclosures, many of them belonging to the manor of Turnham Hall, which stood on the banks of the Ouse. There were also extensive assarts north of the open-field land, including the medieval Whitemoor farm, but much of the northern part of Cliffe was occupied by commons. The open fields, meadows, and commons were inclosed only in 1863. The township boundaries apparently make little use of natural features apart from the river Ouse, but at several points they follow some of the many streams and drainage dikes on the lower ground.

At the southern end of Cliffe the village street continues eastwards to Hemingbrough and westwards as a minor road to the river at Turnham Hall. Northwards the street runs on towards Skipwith. Another road leads westwards from Cliffe village to Lund and on towards Barlby. The village street of Lund continues as a minor road along the parish boundary and joins another lane striking across the parish from Osgodby to South Dufneld. The turnpike road from Selby to Market Weighton crosses the northern end of Cliffe. In the 20th century the Barlby and Hemingbrough roads became part of the Selby-Hull trunk road, and in the late 1920s they were straightened and the southern part of Cliffe village was bypassed. (fn. 5) The only ferry across the Ouse was that over the new course of the river at Newhay; it was mentioned in 1538 (fn. 6) and last used c. 1930. (fn. 7)

The Selby-Hull railway line, opened in 1840, (fn. 8) crosses the parish, with a now disused station at Cliffe. The station was renamed 'Hemingbrough' in 1874; it was dosed for goods traffic in 1964 and for passengers in 1967. (fn. 9) The line from Selby to Market Weighton, opened in 1848, (fn. 10) also crossed Cliffe, with a station called Cliffe Common north of the village. It was closed in 1965 (fn. 11) and the line has been lifted. The Derwent Valley Light Railway, opened in 1912, ended beside the Market Weighton line at Cliffe Common, with its own station. It was closed for passengers in 1926 (fn. 12) and goods in 1965, (fn. 13) and the line has been lifted.

The village street of Cliffe is more closely built up at its south end than elsewhere, but in general the 18th-century and later houses are loosely grouped along it. The buildings include several farm-houses with large barns and one with a dovecot. Recent buildings include nearly 30 council houses. A village institute was erected in 1923 (fn. 14) to replace a hut acquired about five years earlier. (fn. 15) The hamlet of Lund contains farm-houses with a dovecot and a wheelhouse. (fn. 16) Newhay consists of two farms, both with wheelhouses, and two other houses, one of them at the former ferry; all the houses are close to the river bank. A stone at one farm is inscribed '1747 IFM', perhaps referring to John Middleton. (fn. 17) The extensive civil parish includes several outlying farm-houses. In addition to Turnham Hall, which originated in the Middle Ages, (fn. 18) they include four more standing beside the Ouse: Newland House, Cleek Hall, Barlow Lane Ends Farm, and Goole Hall. All probably had an early origin and at least three of them were mentioned in the 17th century, along with the later-demolished Micklehurst. (fn. 19) Farms to the north of the village include Whitemoor, which is medieval in origin. (fn. 20) In the extreme north of Cliffe there were still in 1973 numerous buildings connected with the former airfield at Riccall. (fn. 21)

There were 2-4 licensed alehouses at Cliffe with Lund in the later 18th century. (fn. 22) In 1823 the two inns were called the Queen's Head and the Plough and Ship, both standing in the south end of Cliffe village. (fn. 23) The Queen's Head, which was presumably the house called the Queen Charlotte in 1840, (fn. 24) was last mentioned in 1879. The Plough and Ship may have closed by the 1870s, though beer retailers were mentioned at that time. By 1879 the New Inn had been opened near the Selby-Hull railway line, and by 1889 the Station Inn had appeared at Cliffe Common. The latter, sometimes called the Railway Inn, apparently closed in the 1930s. (fn. 25)

There is no poll-tax return for Cliffe with Lund. In 1672 72 households were included in the hearthtax return, 17 of them exempt. Of those chargeable 33 had only one hearth each, 15 had 2, 6 had 3-4, and one had seven. (fn. 26) The population in 1801 was 424. It fluctuated during the 19th century, reaching a maximum of 641 in 1881 and standing at 593 in 1901. (fn. 27) Numbers rose to 667 in 1921 but fell to 615 in 1931. After South Dufneld was transferred to Cliffe civil parish in 1935 their combined population exceeded 700; in 1971 it was 718. (fn. 28)

MANORS AND OTHER ESTATES.

After the Conquest 3 carucates in Cliffe belonged to William Malet, but by 1086 they were in the possession of the count of Mortain and held of him by Niel Fossard; the whole estate was then soke of the bishop of Durham's manor of Howden. (fn. 29) The bishop's overlordship of Cliffe was still mentioned in 1415. (fn. 30)

Half the manor of CLIFFE was kept in demesne by the bishops of Durham (fn. 31) and passed in 1836, along with Howden, to the newly-created bishopric of Ripon. (fn. 32) At inclosure in 1863 the bishop received an allotment for his share of the ownership of the soil of the commons. (fn. 33) Much of the land was copyhold, eventually enfranchised. (fn. 34)

The rest of the manor passed from the Fossards to Joan, daughter of William Fossard, and her husband Robert of Turnham by 1199. (fn. 35) It descended c. 1220 from Robert's son, another Robert, to the latter's daughter Isabel, who married Peter de Mauley. (fn. 36) It was subsequently held like Turnham Hall (fn. 37) by the Mauley and Ros families. (fn. 38) At some time it was apparently held as under-tenants by the Malbis family and hence became known as the MALVIS manor. The estate was later subdivided. Part of it was held in the early 16th century by Thomas Beverley, and his son John bought a third of the manor from James Chaice in 1559 and other land from Anthony Mark in 1564. (fn. 39) John Beverley sold the manor to Brian Stapleton in 1589. (fn. 40) By 1658 it belonged to the Williamsons (fn. 41) and it subsequently descended with Turnham Hall.

A large part of the Turnham family's estate in the township was separate from Cliffe manor and was known as the manor of TURNHAM HALL. It was conveyed by Eleanor de Mauley, along with her half of Cliffe manor, to Hugh Despenser in 1323, (fn. 42) but the Despensers' estates were confiscated by the Crown in 1326 (fn. 43) and the manor was granted to John de Ros in 1327. (fn. 44) It descended like Storwood until shortly before the death of William Cecil, Lord Ros, in 1618. (fn. 45) It was conveyed to William Ward in 1617 and sold in 1639 to Thomas Williamson. (fn. 46) The Williamsons sold it in 1689 to Cuthbert Harrison (d. 1699), whose daughter Lennox married George Smith. (fn. 47) The manor passed in 1706 to their son Jeremiah (d. 1714) and then to his widow Mary (d. 1743), who devised it to her sisters Anne, Elizabeth, and Jane Skinner. (fn. 48) The sisters were all dead by 1753 and the manor passed by a settlement made in 1750 to Elizabeth Bachelor (d. 1759), who devised it to her sister Mary. In 1769 it was sold to James Keighley. (fn. 49)

At Keighley's death in 1790 the estate passed to his daughter Elizabeth, wife of William Burton, and William was succeeded by his son Thomas (d. 1883), author of The History and Antiquities of the Parish of Hemingbrough. (fn. 50) The Burtons held Turnham Hall until 1919, when 763 a. were sold to the Olympia Agricultural Co. Ltd. (fn. 51) Most of this land comprised Newland House, Cottage, Cleek Hall, and Barlow Lane End farms. The estate was bought in 1923 by the Olympia Oil and Cake Co. Ltd., (fn. 52) which in 1940 acquired the 126-acre Cherry Orchard farm, (fn. 53) part of which lay in Barlby. In 1951 the company sold all 878 a. of its estate to Mr. J. I. C. Dickinson. (fn. 54) In 1954 511 a., comprising Barlow Lane End, Cherry Orchard, and Cleek Hall farms, were sold to the University of Nottingham, (fn. 55) but the 94-acre Goole Hall farm was acquired by Mr. Dickinson in 1970. (fn. 56)

The manor-house of Turnham Hall was mentioned as early as 1327 (fn. 57) and the 14th-century house included a chapel. (fn. 58) The present house is said to have been built by William Burton c. 1800. (fn. 59) It is a large square house of two storeys with contemporary outbuildings including a modest coach-house and stable block.

Of the freehold estates in Cliffe that which became known as Whitemoor may be traced back to the 13th century. It was granted to Emery de Eyville by the bishop of Durham in 1277, when it formed part of the waste called Blackwood. (fn. 60) It eventually passed to the Salvins and in 1580 Gerard Salvin sold it to Marmaduke Fawkes. (fn. 61) From Fawkes it passed to Maurice Blunt in 1594 and from Blunt to John Bewe in 1598. At the death of Josias Bewe in 1620 his heirs were William Bracebridge, son of his sister Mary, and Barbara, wife of Marmaduke Prickett. (fn. 62) A farm of 88 a. at Whitemoor was sold by Robert Prickett to Richard Seaton in 1678, (fn. 63) and by the Seatons to John Owram in 1700. (fn. 64) In 1792 Stephen Owram sold it to Richard Willbor, (fn. 65) who died by 1800 leaving as coheirs his daughters Anne, who married Thomas Tireman, and Mary, who married George Ellin. (fn. 66) It evidently passed to the Tiremans, who retained it until 1903, when Jemima Tireman sold it to A. F. Burton. (fn. 67) Another farm, of 79 a., was alternatively known as Swindlehurst. It was acquired by Burton from Annie Orr in 1912. (fn. 68) In 1945 Burton's executors sold the 211-acre Whitemoor farm to G. H. Johnson, and he sold it to Mr. Wilfred Sails in 1947. (fn. 69) Beside the modern farmhouse there are traces of the moat which surrounded an earlier house.

In 1086 1½ carucate in Lund was soke of Wressle manor and belonged to Gilbert Tison. (fn. 70) Shortly before 1100 Gilbert gave a carucate of it to Selby abbey, and 7 bovates were subsequently held of the abbey by the Gunby family. (fn. 71) The descent of this land has not been traced. (fn. 72) Another religious house with land in the township was Thicket priory, which had a small estate in Cliffe. (fn. 73)

In 1086 Newhay belonged to Ralph Paynel, as lord of the manor of Drax (Yorks. W.R.), (fn. 74) and from the Paynels it was subsequently held by the Stanegrave family. (fn. 75) William Paynel founded Drax priory in the early 12th century, (fn. 76) and various gifts of land in Newhay were made to the priory by the Stanegraves and others. (fn. 77) In Edward I's time Drax had 2 carucates there of the Stanegrave fee (fn. 78) and it retained the estate until the Dissolution, when it was worth over £11. (fn. 79)

In 1543 the manor of NEWHAY, or Newhay Grange, was granted to William Babthorpe, (fn. 80) but soon afterwards it passed to the Salvins. (fn. 81) John Salvin apparently conveyed it to Edmund Latham in 1576, (fn. 82) but the Salvins still had property in Newhay in the early 17th century. (fn. 83)

The manor and estate were in 1738 sold by members of the Crowle family to John Middleton. (fn. 84) In 1806 they were bought by William Phillips, and c. 1820 by Thomas Preston. (fn. 85) Henry Preston had 196 a. there in 1837. (fn. 86) Newhay belonged to the Prestons, of Moreby, (fn. 87) until 1925, when Beatrice Preston sold it to A. H. and T. P. Jacques. (fn. 88) It was sold to William Higham in 1937 and to R. H. Falkingham in 1947, (fn. 89) and the Falkinghams still owned it in 1973.

The rectorial tithes of Cliffe with Lund descended like those of Barlby, most of them with Hemingbrough manor but those of pigs and poultry with Babthorpe manor. (fn. 90) The former were worth £80 and the latter, together with similar tithes in Barlby and Osgodby, £3 in 1650. (fn. 91) When they were commuted in 1841 rent-charges of £580 were awarded to Wilson's devisees, Tweedy, and Smith, and of £4 12s. to C. T. Heathcote. (fn. 92)

The tithes of Newhay belonged to John Morley in 1600. (fn. 93) They were sold by the Morleys to John Twisleton in 1612 and by Twisleton to Hugh Taylor in 1621. (fn. 94) Taylor still had them in 1650, when they were worth £10. (fn. 95) In 1838 the tithes belonged to Moffatt Palmer; those on his own estate were then merged, and the rest were commuted for £105. (fn. 96)

ECONOMIC HISTORY.

There was land for two ploughs at Cliffe in 1086. (fn. 97) A large area was under cultivation in the 13th and 14th centuries, when there were also extensive low-lying meadows and pastures near the Ouse which were sometimes subject to flooding. It was probably part of the low ground, within a bend of the river, that was known as Ness in the 13th century. (fn. 98) In the north of the township was waste land that formed part of the woodland and moor of Blackwood, stretching into North and South Duffield; before 1280 the bishop of Durham granted 120 a. there to Emery de Eyvile, with licence to ditch, inclose, and sow it. (fn. 99)

The demesne arable land of the Mauley manor of Cliffe amounted to 172 a. in 1279 ; (fn. 100) Turnham Hall manor included 62 a. sown with corn and 140 a. of fallow arable in 1327; (fn. 101) and in 1349, (fn. 102) 1352, (fn. 103) and 1372 (fn. 104) the Turnham Hall demesne included 4 carucates, said to contain 240 a., of arable land. Demesne meadow amounted to 24 a. in 1327 and 45 a. in 1349, and it was described in 1352 as lying in Swynale and the Haggs. Pasture covered 114 a. in 1349, and in 1352 it included the Carr, the Dayles when not flooded, and the Brend. Arable land was also said in 1352 to be frequently flooded, and an alder wood was worth nothing beyond the cost of repairing the river banks in 1327. The total value of the manor (probably always including Turnham Hall and half of Cliffe, as explicitly stated in 1372) was £20-30. To this the rents of unfree tenants contributed about £10, but both rents and court profits were said in 1349 and 1352 to have been reduced by poverty and 'the mortality'. Flooding was again mentioned in 1441, when the value of Turnham Hall manor was allegedly reduced following the destruction of the river banks. (fn. 105) In 1421-2 there was reference to Outer and Inner Newland, beside the river, (fn. 106) where Newland House still stands.

Newhay was first mentioned in the 12th century, (fn. 107) and it may have been colonized only after the Ouse had changed its course. In the early 14th century arable land, the 'utgang', and the Marsh all lay south of the old course of the river, and several dikes were mentioned. (fn. 108)

The low grounds towards the river may have been inclosed from an early date, but in 1773 'Cliffe ings and fields' adjoined the closes of Goole Hall farm and the 'old river Ouse warped up'. (fn. 109) Ings and Brocks there remained in common until the final inclosure of 1863. The long curving closes in which the former Ings still lie suggest that this land may indeed once have been in cultivation. The rest of the open-field land lay around Cliffe and Lund villages, some of it on the slightly higher ground. South field and 'Welecroke' field were mentioned in 1421-2 (fn. 110) and Cadcroft field in 1776. (fn. 111) At inclosure in 1863 the open fields included 28¼ bovates and it was thought that the owners of those lands enjoyed rights of turbary in the common called Oxgangs, adjoining Skipwith. Another extensive common occupied much of the north of the township, and 91½ common rights were extinguished at inclosure. South of Lund village the Great (or Far) and Little Pastures were interlocked with land called Furlongs and they may represent open-field ground laid to grass. (fn. 112)

The remaining common lands were inclosed in 1863 under the general Inclosure Act of 1843. (fn. 113) Allotments were made totalling 1,180 a. The northern waste grounds accounted for 491 a. from Low common, 144 a. from Oxgangs, and 31 a. from Whitemoor common. Furlongs and Pastures, near Lund, made up 66 a., and Ings and Brocks, near the river, 94 a. Other allotments were made from Carr field (100 a.), Chantry field (77 a.), Cadcroft field (60 a.), Longland field (53 a.), Old Mill field (53 a), and Holmes field (11 a.). There were 55 allotments of under 10 a., 21 of 10-19 a., and 13 of 20-89 a. Only the Burtons, lords of Turnham Hall and Malvis manors, with 176 a. received more.

Before inclosure, in 1841, there had been 1,661 a. of arable land in the township, 325 a. of meadow or pasture, 66 a. of woodland, 24 a. of orchards and gardens, and 543 a. of commons, buildings, and roads. (fn. 114) In 1905 there were 2,049 a. of arable, 801 a. of grassland, and 53 a. of woodland. (fn. 115) Arable farming still predominated in the 1930s and later, though there was still a good deal of grassland in the north of the township and a notable development of market-gardening by the 1960s. (fn. 116) About 50 a. of woodland survived on the former commons. (fn. 117) In the later 19th century there were 30-40 farmers in Cliffe, and few of them had large farms; only 5 had more than 100 a. each in 1851. (fn. 118) By the 1920s there were fewer than 30 farmers, 5 or 6 having more than 150 a., but there had been 10-20 market-gardeners since the 1880s. (fn. 119)

Fishing in the Ouse, to the hindrance of navigation, was frequently mentioned in the 14th century. (fn. 120) There was still a fishery at Newhay in the 16th century (fn. 121) and later, and a fisherman was mentioned into the late 19th century. (fn. 122) Timber was used for staiths in the river at Turnham Hall in the 15th century, (fn. 123) and there was a common landingplace beside the Ouse near Goole Hall in the 18th and 19th centuries. (fn. 124) In the earlier 19th century clay was dug near Common End Farm to make bricks for the foundations of the road from Cliffe to Cliffe Common. (fn. 125)

A mill at Cliffe was mentioned in 1365 (fn. 126) and the bishop of Durham's windmill was described as long totally waste in 1477-8. (fn. 127) There were windmills at both Cliffe and Lund in the early 19th century; (fn. 128) by 1841 a steam mill had been built near the Cliffe windmill and it had become a seed-crushing as well as a corn-milling business. (fn. 129) Besides the millers four men were occupied with flax, linseed, or oil in 1851. (fn. 130) All three mills still existed in 1863, (fn. 131) but the seedcrushing mill was up for sale in 1865-71 (fn. 132) and neither of the Cliffe mills was mentioned again. There is no record of a miller after 1872, (fn. 133) though the Lund corn mill was still named as such in 1907. (fn. 134) All the mills have been demolished. By 1889 two large makings had been built in the township, one beside the Hull-Selby railway line near Cliffe village and the other close to the line from Selby to Market Weighton at Cliffe Common station. (fn. 135) They were in use until c. 1960 and both still stood in 1973. (fn. 136)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT.

The bishop of Durham's tenants at Cliffe owed suit to his court at Howden; as many as 68 tenants paid chevage there in 1609. (fn. 137) There are surviving court books for the manor of Turnham Hall for 1706-80 (fn. 138) and 1885- 1925, (fn. 139) and for the manor of Malvis for 1853-1925 ; (fn. 140) the courts were concerned solely with surrenders and admissions. John de Stanegrave claimed to enjoy the assize of ale in Newhay in 1293. (fn. 141)

No parochial records before 1835 are known. Cliffe joined Selby poor-law union in 1837, (fn. 142) and in 1841 nine parish poorhouses were sold. (fn. 143) The township became part of Riccall rural district in 1894, Derwent rural district in 1935, (fn. 144) and the Selby district of North Yorkshire in 1974.

NONCONFORMITY.

Houses in Cliffe were registered for dissenting worship in 1787 and 1818. (fn. 145) A Wesleyan Methodist chapel on the Heming brough road was built in 1825. (fn. 146) It was closed in 1968 (fn. 147) and had been demolished by 1973, though the adjoining Sunday school still stood. A Primitive Methodist chapel in the main street was built in 1842 (fn. 148) and rebuilt in 1864. (fn. 149) It was deregistered in 1942 (fn. 150) and was used as a storehouse in 1973.

EDUCATION.

There was an unlicensed teacher at Cliffe in 1619. (fn. 151) By will proved in 1708 Mary Waud left £200 to establish a school and £20 to build a school-house. The house was duly built and £180 of the endowment was used to buy 15 a. at Knedlington. (fn. 152) The income was about £10 in 1743 and 1764, and at the latter date 20 children were taught free. (fn. 153) Benjamin Whittall bequeathed £100 to the school in 1791 and John Robinson £100 in 1832. (fn. 154) In 1819 the income was £25, in 1823 £41, and in 1835 £30, and there were 16, 30, and 29 free pupils respectively in those years. The total number of pupils in 1835 was 44. (fn. 155) The school-house was enlarged that year. (fn. 156)

The attendance was 80 in 1871, (fn. 157) when a new school was built on the same site. In 1873, when the average attendance was 58, the income included £35 from endowments. (fn. 158) An annual government grant was first received in 1875-6. (fn. 159) Elizabeth Burton, by will dated 1878, left £200 to the school. (fn. 160) The attendance was about 100 in 1908-14, but it fell thereafter and was 73 in 1938. (fn. 161) Senior pupils were transferred to Barlby secondary school in 1960, (fn. 162) but there were still 65 on the roll in September 1973. (fn. 163) In 1969-70 the endowment income from Waud's and Burton's charities was £106; nothing more is known of the Whittall and Robinson bequests. (fn. 164)

CHARITIES FOR THE POOR.

The Poor's Lands included 3 a. at Cliffe, devised at an unknown date and producing £9 10s. rent in 1823, and 4 a. there, also of unknown origin, producing £11 19s. in 1823. (fn. 165) Until the late 1920s the charity trustees also had another 3-acre field on which stood two widows' cottages, but the land was sold in separate lots between then and 1966. (fn. 166) In 1973 the endowments were represented by 7 a. and £1,784 stock. (fn. 167)

Thomas Burton, by will proved in 1883, left an endowment for poor widows which was represented in 1973 by £90 stock. William Jacques, by will proved in 1919, provided for the distribution of coal in Cliffe and in 1973 the principal consisted of £429 stock. William Pickup, by will proved in 1931, bequeathed £100 for the benefit of twelve inhabitants of the township. In 1972 £100 stock produced over £3 income, distributed in seven doles of 50p each. (fn. 168)

All the above-mentioned charities were brought together as the Cliffe Relief in Need Charity by a Scheme of 1973. The income was to be used to provide money, goods, and services for the needy. The Scheme also regulated the Cliffe Parish Charity, which comprised an allotment of 3 a. made at inclosure in 1863 for the repair of roads. The income was to be used for the general benefit of the inhabitants. (fn. 169) The total income of both charities in 1973 was £55, excluding Pickup's bequest since the stock was not transferred to the charity trustees until 1974. Doles of £2-3 were given to 19 people and coal was distributed to 5 others. (fn. 170)