Parishes: Guisborough

GUISBOROUGH

Gighesborc, Ghigesburg (xi cent.); Gyseburne (xii–xiv cent.).

To this parish belong the hamlet of Barnaby and the townships of Guisborough, Commondale, Hutton Lowcross, Pinchingthorpe and Tocketts.

The soil is in some parts rich loam and clay, in others very poor and light with a subsoil generally of lias, but on Barnaby, Guisborough and Commondale Moors of inferior oolite.

The township of Guisborough lies between the township of Tocketts on the north, those of Hutton Lowcross and Commondale on the west and south, and the parish of Skelton on the east; including Barnaby it contains over 7,033 acres, of which about 2,100 acres are arable land, 3,600 acres grass, and 1,300 acres woods and plantations. (fn. 1)

The town of Guisborough, which is south of the road from Stokesley to Skelton, is built principally along Westgate, a broad street running from west to east. It was no doubt here that in 1413 the fire occurred which destroyed sixty-nine chimneyed houses. (fn. 2)

The church of St. Nicholas is situated on the east, and adjoining it on the south are the ruins of Guisborough Priory: the conventual church seems indeed to have overshadowed that of the parish literally (fn. 3) as well as metaphorically. The Prior and convent of the wealthy Augustinian priory of St. Mary in 1344 had leave to crenellate their dwelling-place. (fn. 4) Here, according to a writer in the 16th century, 'the Pryor of Gisbroughe . . . kepte a most pompous house, insomuch that the towne, consystinge of 500 householdes and odde, had noe lande, but lyved all on the Abbey. Twoe gatehouses had lodgings, and all houses of offyces aperteyninge to a dwelleinge house, whereof twoe of the Bulmers, knights, within the memory of man, were porters.' (fn. 5) Feeling in the district was strongly against the religious changes made by Henry VIII. When the Archdeacon of Cleveland was at the priory on 1 July 1535, evidently to arrange for the formal repudiation of the papal authority by the clergy, four curates came to tell him that they had been threatened in case they published the king's articles. (fn. 6) On 11 July, as the parish priest of Guisborough was making the required declaration of the royal supremacy, a man called John Atkynson or Brotton snatched the book out of his hands and tore it to pieces. (fn. 7) At the height of the Bigod rising a man came from Stokesley to Guisborough with a letter which he wanted the bailiff to proclaim at the Cross, but the prior refused to let the bailiff act, and the commons got the messenger to read it himself. (fn. 8) Prior Pursglove, Cromwell's nominee, managed to steer a safe course for himself and his convent, but the ex-Prior Cokerell and Sir John Bulmer paid with their lives for their inclination to the popular side.

The ruins of the priory while exceedingly scanty (fn. 9) give ample evidence of the former extent and magnificence of the conventual buildings. The existing remains consist of the east end of the priory church, the foundations of the west end, a vaulted undercroft lying to the south of the claustral block and the gatehouse. The precinct wall was originally entered by two gates, but only one of these is now standing with those portions of the boundary wall immediately adjoining it. The site, which is practically level, is now included within the gardens of Guisborough Hall. The priory church was a cruciform building with a total internal length of 350 ft. consisting of an aisled nave and quire, transepts, two western and probably a central tower. The north wall formed the southern boundary of the parish churchyard, which now includes the site of the north transept. The church was accidentally burnt down in 1289 and the rebuilding was apparently at once undertaken, starting as usual from the east end. The nave was evidently not completed until a century later, while the west front, as having suffered less from the fire, was never rebuilt from the foundations. The quire is now represented only by the east end, which with the exception of the window tracery is practically intact and is one of the finest specimens of the period in the county. It had an internal width of 30 ft. 8 in. with side aisles each 15 ft. 7 in. wide, the whole arm being 70 ft. 2 in. within the outer walls. The main east gable, flanked by massive crocketed pinnacles, is almost filled by an acutely pointed window-opening some 50 ft. high by 23 ft. wide, and formerly filled with geometrical tracery, of which the most noticeable feature was a large cusped wheel in the head. The jambs of this window are finished internally with slender attached shafts with foliated capitals and a deep hollow filled with carved foliage carried right round the arch. On either side are fixed two shields bearing the arms on the north of Brus of Skelton, Argent a lion azure, and Thweng, Argent a fesse gules between three popinjays vert, and on the south of Brus again and another shield of arms unidentified. The wall below the east window has been entirely destroyed between the jambs, but, from the portions remaining at either end, it was enriched with an elaborate wall arcade which was also carried across the ends of the aisles and probably completely round the eastern arm of the church. Each arch contains two sub-arches with a circle of eight cusps above them and springing from a series of light shafts with foliated capitals. The whole of the eastern arm was vaulted in stone and the springers still remain against the east wall, the shafts of the main vault being carried up some 3 ft. or 4 ft. above the base of the clearstory. The space between the vaulting and the roof was lit by a five-light traceried window in the gable which is still intact. The ends of the aisles are of similar character, but the three-light eastern windows have lost their geometrical tracery. In the outer angles are two large vices, that on the north being still accessible, communicating with a passage in the thickness of the wall and carried across the sills of the three east windows. The openings on either side of the central window where it enters and leaves the wall are ornamented with small crocketed gables. Of the lateral walls of the quire only the eastern responds of the two arcades and the fragmentary remains above them are left. They were divided vertically into two almost equal portions, the lower being occupied by the main arcade. The piers, cylindrical in form, were composed of eight engaged shafts keeled on the outer edges with foliated capitals supporting richly moulded arches. The triforium, which was combined with the clearstory, had an open panelled front and each division was furnished with a narrow passage in the wall. Externally the east end has a somewhat heavy effect, produced by the number and massiveness of the buttresses. The outer angles of the aisles have four each, two diagonal and two rectangular, and all are finished with gabled pediments. Above the newel staircases rise heavy octagonal crocketed pinnacles and the eastern aisle walls are finished with a horizontal parapet and coping. The eastern buttresses are ornamented with blind tracery and a deep moulded plinth course is carried round the base. The whole of the rest of the church was razed to the ground probably soon after the Dissolution, but a part of the foundations of the west front and towers, together with the bases of three of the nave piers on the north side, were uncovered by Admiral Chaloner in 1867. The nave piers of late 14th or early 15th-century date are cylindrical with twelve attached shafts with octagonal bases, the whole measuring 7 ft. 5 in. across. The junction of the new work with the old is apparent in the western bay, which was rather narrower than the adjacent bays to the east. The two western tower piers and the west front are portions of the earlier church and still exhibit traces of discolouration caused by the fire which consumed the fabric in 1289. The piers are square on plan with four responds of semicircular form attached to the faces and consisting of five clustered and keeled shafts with 'hold-water' bases of mid13th-century character. Of the west front only the south wall of the south-west tower and a portion of the west wall of the north-west tower remain. Both fragments belong to the 13th century and the former retains the bases of two vaulting shafts in the angles and traces of a vice in the south-east angle. The nave appears to have had a total internal width of about 73 ft. 2 in., which was increased under the western towers to 82 ft. 2 in. The position of the south transept is readily traceable on the turf after a prolonged drought and is approximately marked by two lines of hedge running north and south. The western wall stood some 144 ft. east of the west wall of the nave, so that the latter was probably eight bays long. Allowing a reasonable width for the transept an approximate length of 170 ft. is arrived at for the quire.

The domestic buildings lay to the south of the church. The cloister was about 114 ft. from east to west and the bases of the canons' entrance into the church still remain at the north-west angle, the doorway being 5 ft. wide with two nook shafts to each jamb. Against the south-west tower are some remains of a building projecting some 10 ft. further west, but the portions uncovered are too incomplete to determine its use. About 165 ft. to the south of this building stands a portion of a 13th-century vaulted undercroft. Three bays remain intact and there are traces of a fourth to the east. The vaulting springs from moulded bell-shaped corbels, but the external walls have been so much buttressed and repaired that all trace of the adjoining buildings has been lost. Within this building are preserved the legs and feet of a freestone effigy of a knight circa 1300 with surcoat and rowel spurs. The feet rest on a lion and basilisk fighting.

In a line with the north arcade of the nave and about 170 ft. away from that building stands the gate-house, opening on to a large square in front of the parish church. It is the earliest existing portion of the priory buildings, dating from the latter half of the 12th century. A single arch of semicircular form deeply moulded opens on to the street, and two arches, a greater and less, also semicircular, appear on the convent side. The space between the two walls (24 ft. by 10 ft.) has the springers of a stone vault. Buildings adjoined the gate-house on both the east and west sides, but their remains are largely obscured by modern buttressing. There are, however, remains of fireplaces in the western and also the eastern building, and opening from the latter are two small chambers in the thickness of the north wall, the larger lit by a small window.

A short distance south of this building is an ancient octagonal stone dovecote long standing in ruins but now roofed in.

The house and site of the priory were let by Henry VIII in November 1540 to Thomas Leigh for twenty-one years (fn. 10) and sold in 1550 to Sir Thomas Chaloner by Edward VI. (fn. 11) The Chaloners, who succeeded the canons as lords of the manor, established themselves in the old hall which formerly stood to the south-west of the priory buildings facing west. It is shown in Knyff's drawing (c. 1708) to have been a large plain three-story house with square-headed sash windows, probably then not long erected or else newly fronted and enlarged. The formal gardens lay behind the house to the east and north-east, including the octagonal dovecote referred to above. In front of the house was a courtyard separated by the beck from an ornamental sheet of water with a fountain (fn. 12) in the centre. The hall was pulled down about 1825, the only part now remaining being the brewhouse, which is used as the estate office.

The present residence of the Chaloner family, Longhull, half a mile to the east of the town, was erected in 1857.

Close to the church on the north is the grammar school, a modern building. (fn. 13) The school was founded in 1561 as the hospital of Jesus by Robert Pursglove, (fn. 14) the former prior. A little to the west is the marketplace where must have stood the pillory on which was fixed the head of Sir John Fauconberg, executed for rebellion in 1405. (fn. 15)

An engraving of the 17th or 18th century, described by Ord, (fn. 16) showed the town for the most part thatched, and in the market an old cross with circular stone steps and the tollbooth of 'most antique and primitive appearance,' in front of which stood stalls and shambles for fish. (fn. 17) The place now presents an entirely modern aspect: the cross has been rebuilt and on the site of the tollbooth is the town hall erected in 1821 and enlarged fifty years later. (fn. 18) A writer in 1769 specially commended the inhabitants of Guisborough as 'courteous, well-bred and obliging and very neat and cleanly in their houses.' (fn. 19) John Wesley's experience of the town on his second visit, 22 June 1761, (fn. 20) was not so pleasant. He preached in the market-place and was not only almost suffocated by the stench of stinking fish, but was at first shouted down by the people, who 'roared like the waves of the sea.' However, they soon became quiet, and many were sufficiently impressed to listen to another address at 5 o'clock the next morning. He came to Guisborough seven times subsequently (fn. 21) and had never to complain again of rudeness or inattention. The Wesleyans had a chapel here in 1811 (fn. 22) and the Primitive Methodists in 1857, (fn. 23) probably shortly before. (fn. 24) The Quakers had a meeting-house in Guisborough in 1689, (fn. 25) as they have at present; the Congregationalist chapel was built in 1811, (fn. 26) but in 1705 a house had been set apart for the worship of Protestant Dissenters. (fn. 27) At the beginning of the 17th century Roman Catholicism was fairly strong in the parish: fourteen persons were presented for recusancy at the quarter sessions in April 1609, (fn. 28) sixteen in 1611, (fn. 29) and seventeen, not counting four children, in July 1614. (fn. 30) After this date the number presented declined, until in 1627 it dwindled to one, (fn. 31) but in 1690 four persons were presented as recusants. (fn. 32)

The theatre and the public elementary schools (fn. 33) are situated in Northgate, a street running north from Westgate into the Skelton road opposite Wilton Lane, at the corner of which lies the union workhouse. From this point the Skelton road leads eastnorth-east to the cemetery, which was laid out in 1871–3 and has since been enlarged. Parallel to Westgate on the south is Fountain Street, which runs into Rectory Lane where stands the rectory, built about 1859 and restored a few years later after a fire. (fn. 34) The glebe-house in 1818 was returned as unfit for residence, and in 1834 there was none. (fn. 35)

The hospital called after Admiral Chaloner, who founded it in 1865, is situated also on the south of the town at the beginning of the road to Whitby. The station of the Middlesbrough and Guisborough railway, opened in 1854, lies near the hospital on the other side of Belman Gate, a road mentioned at the end of the 12th century as Belmundgate and the Street of Belmund, (fn. 36) and in 1396 by its present name. (fn. 37) This runs south-east past Belmont Farm to Belman Bank, where in the 17th century alum was worked. The presence of alum-stone here seems to have been discovered by the second Sir Thomas Chaloner, (fn. 38) and in January 1606–7 he, with Lord Sheffield, Sir David Foulis and Sir John Bourchier, was given a monopoly of alum manufacture for thirty-one years. (fn. 39) The next month they let their rights to William Turner and others in return for part of the profits from the alum worked on their grounds, (fn. 40) and their shares in 1609 were bought up by the king. The whole interest in these mines for what remained of the thirty-one years thus belonged to the Crown (fn. 41) and was leased in 1625 by Charles I to Sir Paul Pindar and William Turner. (fn. 42) There is a good deal, however, that the Patent of 1625 does not make clear. Sir Thomas Chaloner by his will (fn. 43) left to his children by his first wife two-thirds of the profits (fn. 44) accruing from the alum mines which he had conveyed in trust to his brother-in-law, Sir William Fleetwood, and the remaining third to his children by his second wife. The Patent of 1625 relates that Chaloner in 1608 sold two-thirds of his share of profits to Fleetwood, (fn. 45) but gives the impression that the Crown in 1609 had acquired the interests of both Fleetwood and Chaloner. The profits mentioned in Chaloner's will must therefore have been his share of an annuity of £6,000 payable to the four patentees after seven years. (fn. 46) Thomas Chaloner, one of Sir Thomas's younger sons, was in receipt of a pension or allowance from the mines of £26 13s. 4d. in 1625, and this was to be paid to him in future by Pindar and Turner. (fn. 47) As far as can be seen, therefore, it is not true that Sir Thomas Chaloner was deprived of his mines by the Crown. (fn. 48) But of course it is not impossible that the arrangement was unfair to Chaloner's heirs or was regarded by them as such, and that James and Thomas Chaloner were induced by a personal grudge against the king to become regicides. One important landowner in the parish took the other side in the Civil War, as appears by the king's order in 1643 for the restoration to William Lee of Pinchingthorpe, for his loyalty, of a horse stolen by the royal army, (fn. 49) evidently at the time of the engagement fought at Guisborough and won by the Parliamentary force at the beginning of that year. (fn. 50)

Alum-making declined very much towards the end of the 18th century, (fn. 51) and at the beginning of the 19th century was extinct. (fn. 52) About 1850 an attempt was made to revive it, but this ended in failure. (fn. 53)

Guisborough owes the prosperity it has enjoyed for the last fifty years to the iron mines here. Of these (fn. 54) the Chaloner Pit is to the north-west of the town, the Belmont on the south; a third, the Spa Wood, in the east of the township near the Skelton border, is situated not far from a spa which had for a time some small reputation, but in Ord's day was already neglected. (fn. 55)

Among place-names at the end of the 12th century are Scharth and Adelwaldslet (fn. 56); Waterfall, (fn. 57) to the east of Longhull, and Waterfall Bridge, (fn. 58) are mentioned in the 13th century, as are Kerlinghou (fn. 59) (in 1540 'Carlyngehode,' (fn. 60) now Carling Howe), in the north-west, 'Ravensdale,' near Howl Beck, (fn. 61) 'Foxoles,' (fn. 62) possibly near Foxdale Farm east of Belmont Farm, 'Kempclive,' (fn. 63) now Kemplah, west of Belman Bank, 'the Fountain of St. Hilda,' (fn. 64) and 'Roulandic.' (fn. 65) In 1540 (fn. 66) occur 'Rounde Close,' where there is now a farm near Skelton Beck, 'Cony Garthe,' probably in the direction of the Rabbit Hills south of Westworth Plantation, 'Dereclose,' (fn. 67) 'Lyvery Gresse,' 'Seggerstone Grasse,' a house called 'the Gylde,' no doubt connected with the gild of St. Mary, and 'Snelisgrave,' surviving in Snails Griff Plantation close to Chaloner Pit.

The hamlet of Barnaby occupies the north-west portion of the parish. The country is chiefly moorland, but on the east there is a belt of wood beginning at Moordale Wood on the north and extending to Park Wood in Scugdale, where there was woodland in the 13th century. (fn. 68) Barnaby Grange probably marks the site of the Grange belonging to Guisborough Priory at the Dissolution, (fn. 69) and possibly that of the capital messuage owned by the convent three centuries earlier. (fn. 70) Since 1871 there has been a public elementary school in the hamlet.

Among place-names of the 13th century are 'Briggedale' and 'Windhyl,' (fn. 71) apparently Windy Hill in the south-east near Hutton Lowcross, 'Hovedlandes,' 'Scortbuttes' (fn. 72) and 'Keldfelde.' (fn. 73) Sweet Hills, north of Barnaby Side, 'Banke Close,' (fn. 74) now Bank Field further to the north-east, 'Sandwaite' (fn. 75) or Sandwathe in the south-east of the district, and 'Whynnye Close,' (fn. 76) obviously near Whinny Wood in the north-east, are all mentioned in the 16th century.

In the south of the parish is the township of Commondale with an extent of 3,032 acres, the greater part of which is moorland. The ground is high throughout, but especially on the north-west, where it rises on Wayworth Moor to 925 ft. and on North Ings Moor to over 1,000 ft.

The township is well watered by tributaries of the Esk, Sleddale Beck, Raven Gill, Whiteley Beck in part of its course known as Commondale Beck, and Hobhole Beck.

The village lies chiefly on the east side of Raven Gill at its junction with Whiteley Beck near a ford. There is a Wesleyan chapel which dates from about 1878. The school appears to date from 1873–4, when a School Board was established here. (fn. 77)

Skelderskew Grange, which lay to the north-west of the village, belonged originally to Guisborough Priory, (fn. 78) and may have been the scene of the attack on Nicholas Cokerell, (fn. 79) brother of the ex-Prior of Guisborough, during Bigod's rising. (fn. 80) After the Dissolution the grange was granted, with some other lands in Commondale, by Henry VIII to Sir Ralph Bulmer, (fn. 81) and on his death in 1558 descended to his eight daughters, (fn. 82) two of whom in 1564 sold their shares to Robert Yoward. (fn. 83) In the end Robert's youngest son Ralph, who had inherited his father's property here in 1577, (fn. 84) must have bought the rest of the Bulmer interest, (fn. 85) for in 1589 he made over the capital messuage of Skelderskew to Thomas Pylley, sen., and Thomas Pylley, jun. (fn. 86) The name of Thomas Pylley of Skelderskew, gent., occurs in 1627, (fn. 87) but before Ord wrote in 1846 the house had disappeared. (fn. 88)

Skelderskew is mentioned early in the 12th century as 'Schelderscoh' (fn. 89); other names which occur at this time are 'Colemanergas,' now Coldman Hargos, east of the village, 'Depehil' Ford, in 1302 'Depilbrigge,' (fn. 90) the present Dibble Bridge, 'Hinderscoh' and 'Golstandale.' The following places are noted in the Subsidy Roll of 1301–2 (fn. 91) : 'Wayewathe,' now Wayworth, south of that moor, 'Hullersbusk' or Thunderbush, south of Whiteley Beck near the village, Thornhill, on Commondale Moor, 'Sleddal Cote' and 'Schalingthanyte,' that is Scale Foot in the south of the township. Here at 'Scalthwayte' in 1578 a house was sold by a certain John Wilson to William Marshall, (fn. 92) from whom it passed in 1587 to Thomas Lascelles alias Jackson. (fn. 93) Henry his son (fn. 94) settled it in 1639 on himself and his son Robert with remainder to Robert's son Robert, who held it in 1644 when he died. (fn. 95) In 1540 there is mention of 'Mady,' (fn. 96) or Maddy, House near Dibble Bridge, and in 1550 of 'Wheteley,' (fn. 97) obviously Whiteley, Close.

Commondale station on the North Yorks. and Cleveland branch of the North Eastern railway (fn. 98) is south of the village, near the junction of Raven Gill and Sleddale Beck.

The township of Hutton Lowcross is about 1,569 acres in extent. Lowcross, which at the beginning of the 14th century did not form part of Hutton, (fn. 99) seems to have occupied the northern portion of the present township, for the hospital of St. Leonard Lowcross was said to be situated on the border of Barnaby and Hutton. (fn. 100) The site of the leper hospital, which had probably disappeared before the Dissolution, is unknown. (fn. 101)

The main road from Stokesley to Guisborough runs west and east along the north of the township, and from it a lane leads south past Hutton Field Farm to Hutton village, where there is a station of the Middlesbrough and Guisborough branch of the North Eastern railway. Here there is a mission hall, erected by Sir Joseph Pease, bart., who lived for some years at Hutton Hall, now the residence of Mr. James Warley Pickering. The hall, which lies to the southeast of the village in a large park, was built by Sir Joseph Pease in 1866–7, apparently on or near the site of the former manor-house, (fn. 102) which was sold by Edward VI in 1550 to Sir Thomas Chaloner. (fn. 103) The old hall was destroyed when the new one was built.

The school, established in 1857, is situated south of the hall. To the west is the Home Farm, probably the 'Hoton Howse' bought by Chaloner with the hall in 1550; in its walls can still be seen pieces of worked stone, (fn. 104) the remains either of the Lowcross lazar-house or of a Cistercian nunnery founded in Hutton before 1167, but very soon removed to Nunthorpe. (fn. 105)

South and south-east of the Home Farm there is a belt of high woodland, Hall Head Farm being succeeded on the south-east by Sawmill Wood, and the latter on the east by Hutton Wood, which is mentioned in 1231 in conjunction with 'Rethergate,' (fn. 106) known in 1550 also as Coddale, (fn. 107) now Codhill. Beyond the woods to the south the ground still rises, attaining a height of 1,000 ft. on Hutton Moor. On the west of the township is Bousdale, where lived the Yowards who for a long period leased Hutton Manor of the Crown; but in 1846 their house had quite disappeared. (fn. 108) In 1691 a place was set apart in Bousdale for the worship of Protestant Dissenters. (fn. 109)

Pinchingthorpe, a township in the west of the parish, contains about 859 acres. A little to the south-east of the village is Pinchingthorpe Hall, where formerly lived the Lees, the lords of the manor, whose name is preserved in Lee's Wood, due east of the hall. It is now occupied by Colonel Penry Williams, J.P. The moor which Christopher Conyers was anxious to inclose at the beginning of the 16th century, to the annoyance of some of the freeholders, (fn. 110) probably lay here where the ground is the highest in the township. At some distance from the village on the west is Spite Hall, (fn. 111) which appears to have been built by Roger Lee after he had assigned the old hall and part of the manorial estates to his son in 1727, (fn. 112) but was probably never of much importance, and in 1844–5 was described as a miserable hovel. (fn. 113) Pinchingthorpe House, the residence of Sir Alfred Edward Pease, bart., is situated on the west of the main road and north of the village in a place formerly occupied by a farm. (fn. 114)

A capital messuage in Pinchingthorpe was bought in 1562 (fn. 115) of Cuthbert Chilton (fn. 116) by George Conyers, and sold 'with its wainescote, glasse windowes, leades, furnices and cestournes' by the Carlells (fn. 117) in 1611 for £400 to Clement Colmore, (fn. 118) from whom it was inherited in 1622 by his grandson Abraham Colmore. (fn. 119)

Among place-names of the 12th and 13th centuries are Keldesic, (fn. 120) Pulaynbrigge, (fn. 121) Wandayle, Wathebrig, (fn. 122) Assefole (fn. 123) and Pinzuncroft (fn. 124); in 1515 there is mention of 'Lyng Close,' (fn. 125) and in 1570 of 'Bushopp Garthes,' 'the Law Ynges' and 'the Marre.' (fn. 126)

Pinchingthorpe station, on the Middlesbrough and Guisborough branch of the North Eastern railway, is just outside the township on the north.

The township of Tocketts, north of Guisborough, is nearly 668 acres in extent, 196 acres being arable land, 256 acres pasture and 74 acres woods and plantations. (fn. 127) Dunsdale Beck, which forms the western and north-western boundary, runs between wooded banks to its junction with Skelton Beck. On the south it is joined by Howl Beck, which in its course northwards divides the township into two almost equal portions. South of Tocketts Mill in Hall Pasture formerly stood the Tocketts' manorhouse mentioned in 1536 in the will of Roger Tocketts. (fn. 128) It became in 1764 the property and residence of General Hale on his marriage with Mary Chaloner, (fn. 129) was bought by Robert Chaloner in 1809 soon after the general's death, and a few years later was pulled down. (fn. 130) To the east of Hall Pasture is the road from Guisborough to Skelton, from which further south a road, forming the boundary of the township on this side, leads north-west over Tocketts Bridge, past some disused brick and tile works to Thornton Fields, where there is an iron mine. (fn. 131) The other ironstone mine of the township, Waterfall Mine, lies east of the Guisborough road, not far from Skelton Beck.

The house in Tocketts certified in 1705 as a meeting-place for Protestant Dissenters (fn. 132) does not seem to have been replaced by any chapel here.

Among place-names Scalestedes, Herteflath and Waynedales occur in the 12th or 13th century, (fn. 133) Adam Park in 1534, (fn. 134) 'Swarthey Hedde,' near Waterfall Mine, in 1540, (fn. 135) and Thornton Field in 1539 (fn. 136) and 1630. (fn. 137)

Manors

Shortly before the Conquest Copsi, one of Tosti's followers, gave to the priory of Durham a carucate in GUISBOROUGH. (fn. 138) In 1086, however, Durham had nothing in Guisborough. At that time the king held 1 carucate, (fn. 139) Earl Hugh 6 oxgangs, (fn. 140) soke of North Lofthouse, Robert Malet 3 carucates and 2 oxgangs, before the holding of Leisinc, (fn. 141) and the Count of Mortain 25 carucates in Guisborough, Middleton and Hutton, formerly held by Uctred. (fn. 142) Soon after the compilation of Domesday Book Robert de Brus had a carucate in Guisborough, (fn. 143) doubtless that which the king had had, but a few years later he seems to have secured everything here, and he gave in frankalmoign to Guisborough Priory on its foundation about 1119–24 all Guisborough, extended at 20 carucates and 2 oxgangs, corresponding roughly to the modern townships of Guisborough and Commondale. (fn. 144) The manor remained with the convent until the dissolution of the priory in 1538, when it fell to the Crown. In 1550 Edward VI sold the house and site of the late priory and some of the demesne lands for £998 13s. 4d. to Sir Thomas Chaloner, kt., and his wife Joan, (fn. 145) and in 1558 Queen Mary granted to Chaloner the manor and township of Guisborough and the reversion of the rest of the demesne lands at a rent of £135 15s. 4¼d. a year. (fn. 146) Chaloner died in 1565, (fn. 147) leaving by his second wife Ethelreda Frodsham (fn. 148) a son and heir Thomas, who subsequently discovered the alum-stone at Belman Bank. The manor was settled by Sir Thomas Chaloner (fn. 149) in 1604 on his sons in tail-male, (fn. 150) and at his death in 1615 it descended to his eldest son William, (fn. 151) in 1620 created a baronet. (fn. 152) William dying childless in Turkey about 1641, (fn. 153) the manor went to his nephew Edward, his brother Edward's son. (fn. 154) From Edward Chaloner, knighted in 1672, (fn. 155) the manor was inherited in 1680 (fn. 156) by his son William. (fn. 157) At Easter 1713 it seems to have belonged to William's son Edward, (fn. 158) who was succeeded in 1737 by his son William, (fn. 159) and the latter, apparently in 1756, (fn. 160) by his son of the same name. Robert Chaloner who inherited the manor in 1793 from William his father (fn. 161) was returned to Parliament in 1820 for York. (fn. 162) He died in 1842 (fn. 163) and the manor passed to his two sons in turn, first to Robert and afterwards to Thomas. (fn. 164)

Admiral Thomas Chaloner left no children on his death in 1884, and the manor, after his widow had died, became the property of his grand-nephew, the younger son of Charlotte Anna wife of Richard Long of Rood Ashton, Wilts., and only child of Margaret Chaloner, the admiral's sister, and William Wentworth Fitzwilliam Hume-Dick. (fn. 165) Colonel Richard Godolphin Walmesley Long, who assumed the name of Chaloner in 1888, is the present lord of the manor.

A grant of free warren in their demesne lands in Guisborough, Barnaby, Lounsdale and Skelderskew was made to the Prior and convent of Guisborough in 1263. (fn. 166) They were also given at the same date the right to hold a weekly market on Monday in Guisborough, and a yearly fair there on the vigil, feast and morrow of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. (fn. 167)

Additional fairs must afterwards have been granted, for in 1696 it was stated that the Chaloners had not only always had the weekly market and the fair in August, (fn. 168) but also one on the vigil, feast and morrow of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and a third on the Monday and Tuesday following Whit Sunday. William Chaloner then received the royal licence to hold two more, one on the third Monday in April and the Tuesday following, and the other on the first Monday in November and the Tuesday following. (fn. 169) The weekly market was discontinued for a time, but was reopened in 1855 (fn. 170) and is now held on Tuesday.

In February 1409–10 the prior and convent obtained view of frankpledge in the town and parish of Guisborough. (fn. 171)

There was probably a mill here in 1086 (fn. 172); there were certainly in 1119–24 at least two which were given by Robert de Brus to the priory, with soke and multure. (fn. 173) The mill of Ravenesdale (fn. 174) and the West mill (fn. 175) are mentioned, the one in the 12th century, the other a little later. In 1539–40 there were two water-mills for corn and a windmill belonging to the manor. (fn. 176) Two water-mills still existed in 1767, (fn. 177) but in 1794 one only was left. (fn. 178)

The common bake-house with its ovens was sold with the manor in 1558 to Sir Thomas Chaloner. (fn. 179)

BARNABY (Bernaldby, Bernoteby, xiii cent.; Barnalby, xvi cent.) does not seem to be mentioned before the beginning of the 13th century; but part of it was probably included in Hutton, for Scugdale appears to have been in the Brus fee (fn. 180) about 1230. Part of a knight's fee in Barnaby was held in 1314 of Henry de Percy, (fn. 181) but nothing more is heard of this overlordship.

Gregory son of Walter de Barnaby in 1230 gave to Guisborough Priory 15 oxgangs in Barnaby to be held of him and his heirs for foreign service and 22 acres in frankalmoign. (fn. 182) The convent also received a carucate from Richard son of Philip de Barnaby in 1251 (fn. 183) and various smaller grants, (fn. 184) so that in about 1300 they had 40 oxgangs here. (fn. 185) Their property in Barnaby seems to have gone with Guisborough Manor to Sir Thomas Chaloner. (fn. 186) The hamlet, however, in 1872 belonged to Mr. John Greenwood, who died in 1874, and it is at present owned by his son Captain Charles Staniforth Greenwood.

COMMONDALE (Colmondale, xvi cent.) is not mentioned by name in Domesday Book, but was probably included in Guisborough, as most of it certainly was in the grant made to Guisborough Priory about 1119–24 by Robert de Brus, who gave to the canons the moor to the entrance of Skelderskew and thence all the moor and wood on the west side as the water led to 'Colemanergas,' and thence everything as the water led as far as the Esk to 'Dephil.' (fn. 187)

The whole district was presumably comprised in the grant to Sir Thomas Chaloner. (fn. 188) A manor of Commondale, late possession of Guisborough Priory, was certainly sold by the queen for £172 in 1573 to Percival Gunson, (fn. 189) but whether it is the same as the lordship or manor of Commondale of which Robert Yoward in 1577 and Ralph Yoward in 1583 (fn. 190) held nineteen twenty-fourths it is impossible to say, and after the last date neither is mentioned again. Either the Gunson and Yoward holdings were never true manors or they were soon absorbed in the Chaloner possessions.

In 1535 the priory had here a water-mill, (fn. 191) and in 1540 there was a water-mill and also a fullingmill. (fn. 192)

Part of the large fee held by the Count of Mortain in 1086 was in HUTTON LOWCROSS (Hotun, xi cent.; Hoton, xiii-xvi cent.; Loucross, xiii cent.; Lokkerhousse, xvi cent.), which was probably one of the three 'manors' before held by Uctred. (fn. 193) From the Count of Mortain Hutton appears to have passed to Brus, 7 carucates there in 1279 being in the Brus fee. (fn. 194) The overlordship went at the death of the third Peter de Brus to his sister Lucy (fn. 195) de Thweng, and from her descended to her granddaughter Lucy, (fn. 196) who, however, in January 1337–8 resigned the customs and services due from the manor, which was henceforth to be held by Guisborough Priory in frankalmoign. (fn. 197) The Huttons (Hoton), who are later found as tenants in demesne, can be traced back to Sir Humphrey de Hutton, who in the middle of the 12th century gave a house in Hutton to Whitby Abbey. (fn. 198) Another toft in Hutton was given to the abbey by Humphrey's son Hugh. (fn. 199) Richard son of Hugh de Hutton had a mill, and was clearly lord of the manor, as he had complete rights over the common pasture, moor and turbary of Hutton, and speaks in a grant of 'his men of Hutton.' (fn. 200) Two settlements as to turbary were made in 1231 (fn. 201) and 1237 (fn. 202) between him and his brother Humphrey on one side and Guisborough Priory on the other. It is impossible to establish the relationship of the previous holders to Richard de Hutton, who in 1279 held 7 carucates in Hutton. (fn. 203) The manor passed from Richard to Hugh de Hutton, and in 1290 from the latter to his son John, (fn. 204) who held it in 1303, (fn. 205) 1316 (fn. 206) and 1319, (fn. 207) and in 1335 made it over to Guisborough Priory. (fn. 208) At the Dissolution (fn. 209) it fell to the king, and has since remained Crown property.

A water-mill belonged to the manor in 1290 (fn. 210) and before. (fn. 211)

In PINCHINGTHORPE (Torp, xi cent.; Thorp, xii cent.; Pynchunthorp, xiii and xiv cent.) in 1086 there were two 'manors,' each consisting of 3 carucates and each worth 10s. before the Conquest; one had been held by Ulchil and was then the king's, (fn. 212) the other which had before been a certain Edmund's was in the holding of Robert Malet (fn. 213) but was waste.

A quarter of a knight's fee in Pinchingthorpe was held in February 1282–3 of Randle de Nevill as it had been before of his grandfather Robert. (fn. 214) The Nevill overlordship here in 1388 belonged to John Lord Nevill of Raby, (fn. 215) but is not mentioned later.

The Pinciuns or Pinchuns who ultimately gave their name to the township can be traced back to William I inciun in the middle of the 12th century. (fn. 216) It is impossible, however, to find the extent of William's holding or that of his son John, (fn. 217) or to say whether they were related to Walter son of John de Pinchingthorpe who held the manor in February 1282–3 (fn. 218) and sold it in January 1300–1 to Adam de Thorp. (fn. 219) The manor was settled by Adam in 1319–20 on John de Bradley for life with remainder to Walter son of John de Thorp and Margaret his wife and their heirs. (fn. 220) The heirs of Walter de Thorp, who is mentioned in connexion with Pinchingthorpe in 1332 (fn. 221) and 1347, (fn. 222) held here in 1389 some land by knight service, (fn. 223) evidently the 2 carucates which had belonged in 1302 to Adam de Thorp, (fn. 224) and in 1428 were said to be in the possession of Walter de Thorp. (fn. 225) In 1459 the manor was in the hands of Christopher Conyers of Hornby and Sir John Conyers and his wife Margery, who seem then to have made it over to trustees, (fn. 226) for in 1473 Sir John Conyers, who had lately acquired it, (fn. 227) settled it on his brother Brian and Elizabeth Nelson Brian's wife. (fn. 228) Brian died in 1478 (fn. 229) leaving a son and heir Christopher, (fn. 230) whose two sons inherited the manor in turn, John in 1543 (fn. 231) and George nine years afterwards. (fn. 232) On George's death in 1570 (fn. 233) it passed under a settlement of February 1569–70 (fn. 234) to Leonard Conyers, brother of Lord Conyers of Skelton, a distant cousin, (fn. 235) and on his decease without male heirs in 1576 to Roger Lee, M.D., (fn. 236) the son of Christopher Conyers's daughter Agnes. (fn. 237) Roger Lee was living in 1593, (fn. 238) but was apparently succeeded before 1611 by his son William (fn. 239) and he about 1650 by his son Roger. (fn. 240) The manor descended in 1718–19 to Roger's son, also called Roger, (fn. 241) who had married Mary daughter of George Rokeby in 1710 (fn. 242); he was still living in 1741, (fn. 243) but in 1727 had made over part of his estate to his son James (fn. 244) who died in 1762. His son and heir James Lee succeeded and died in 1817. James his son died in 1828 leaving a son John Roscliffe Lee, who by his second wife Catherine daughter of William Hayes of Birmingham had a son Richard Gervase William Lee; he succeeded to the family estates in 1872 and is the present lord of the manor. (fn. 245)

The other Domesday 'manor' of Pinchingthorpe afterwards fell to Robert de Brus. (fn. 246) The Brus fee here is mentioned in about 1239, (fn. 247) and 3 carucates in 1290 were held of Lucy de Thweng, (fn. 248) granddaughter of one of the Brus co-heirs. (fn. 249) By her the overlordship was transferred in 1346 to John Darcy le Fitz, (fn. 250) but after 1398 (fn. 251) it is heard of no more.

These 3 carucates were held in 1290 by Hugh de Hutton, (fn. 252) and were given in 1335 with the manor of Hutton to Guisborough Priory. (fn. 253) The prior and convent held them in 1428, (fn. 254) but must afterwards have granted them to the Bulmers, for Sir William Bulmer in 1515 had lands here (fn. 255) described in 1531 as the manor of Pinchingthorpe held of the Prior of Guisborough. (fn. 256) It was from these lands that Christopher Conyers demanded suit, a claim over which in 1515 he and Sir John Bulmer came to blows. (fn. 257) The Bulmer manor passed under a settlement to William's son John, (fn. 258) and ultimately to John's son Ralph, who owned it when he died in 1558, (fn. 259) but after that date it is not mentioned again. The land that Ralph Bulmer had had seems to have been given by the Crown in 1588 as an appurtenance of Wilton Manor to Sir Thomas Cornwallis, (fn. 260) whose grandson had it in 1627 (fn. 261); the possessions of Sir John Bulmer's younger son John here seem to have been sold by him to Roger Lee, (fn. 262) and to have been added to the other manor of Pinchingthorpe.

Before the Conquest Copsi had given 10 oxgangs of land in TOCKETTS (Toscotun, xi cent.; Theoscota, xii cent.; Tocotts, xvi cent.) to Durham Priory, (fn. 263) which, however, held nothing here when Domesday Book was compiled. At that time the Count of Mortain had here 2 carucates, then waste, Richard holding of the count a 'manor' before held by Uctred. (fn. 264) This afterwards came into the possession of the Brus whose fee there is mentioned in about 1239 (fn. 265) and 1279, (fn. 266) and was divided on the death of the third Peter de Brus between two of his sisters, Lucy de Thweng and Margaret de Roos. (fn. 267) Lucy's fee descended to her granddaughter Lucy de Thweng, (fn. 268) was conveyed by her in 1346 to John Darcy 'le Fitz,' (fn. 269) and in the 15th century passed by marriage (fn. 270) to the Conyers. (fn. 271) The fee of Margaret de Roos assigned by her to Marmaduke de Thweng (fn. 272) was inherited by Marmaduke's sons (fn. 273) and ultimately came to the Lumleys. (fn. 274) One carucate was said in 1303 to be in the fee of Meynell (fn. 275) and in 1428 in that of Nevill. (fn. 276)

The family of Tocketts, subsequently found in possession of the manor, probably derived their origin from William son of Roger de Caratil, (fn. 277) who lived at the end of the 12th century, (fn. 278) and had four sons, Roger, Robert, Michael and William called Magnus. (fn. 279) In 1279 William de Tocketts had half a knight's fee in Tocketts and elsewhere. (fn. 280) In 1281 a moiety of a fee in Seaton and Tocketts was held by Adam de Seaton and John de Tocketts and half a fee by Matthew de Glaphou and Adam de Tocketts, (fn. 281) in all probability the Adam son and heir of Roger de Tocketts who is said to have had land in Tocketts in 1269. (fn. 282) In 1302–3 John's heir, who was then in the king's custody, and Adam held Tocketts between them, (fn. 283) as John and Adam de Tocketts did also in 1316. (fn. 284) Part of Adam's holding in 1338 (fn. 285) and 1340 (fn. 286) was in the hands of Richard de Tocketts, and in 1428 James Tocketts had all that John had had and much that Adam had formerly held. (fn. 287) James died in 1430, (fn. 288) and his successor, who bore the same name, died in 1461, (fn. 289) when the manor (fn. 290) was inherited by his grandson John. (fn. 291) From John it passed in 1519 (fn. 292) to his brother William, (fn. 293) and in 1526 to another brother Roger. (fn. 294) It descended in 1538 to Roger's son Roger, (fn. 295) who died in 1586 leaving a son and heir George. (fn. 296) The Tocketts were possibly already involved in difficulties owing to their religious belief. A priest examined in 1593 (fn. 297) owned that he had said mass at the manor-house to the servants. Mr. Tocketts's wife now dead, he said, had been a Roman Catholic, and certain of the servants never went to church, but Tocketts had sent some of them away since the Commission for Jesuits came, and he himself conformed. These measures of defence, however, were unavailing. The manor of Tocketts was leased in December 1599 by the queen's commissioners for twenty-one years at a rent of £18 to pay the fines incurred for recusancy by the late owner Roger Tocketts. (fn. 298) George Tocketts, afterwards an avowed Roman Catholic, was presented for recusancy from 1609 to 1616. (fn. 299) He was succeeded before 1624 (fn. 300) by his son Roger Tocketts, (fn. 301) who with his brother William made in 1630 a settlement of the manor. (fn. 302) William, who inherited the manor from Roger in about 1650, (fn. 303) was also a Roman Catholic, and had two-thirds of his estates sequestered in consequence. (fn. 304) They appear, however, to have been restored to his son and heir Roger in 1653 on a declaration that he was a Protestant. (fn. 305)

The manor was held in 1656 (fn. 306) and 1666 (fn. 307) by Roger and in 1688 by his son George, (fn. 308) and was finally sold by George Tocketts in 1715 to James Pearce and James Close, (fn. 309) perhaps trustees for the sale in 1716 to Edward Chaloner. (fn. 310) It has since had the same descent as Guisborough Manor, the present owner being Colonel Richard Chaloner of Guisborough Hall.

Churches

The church of ST. NICHOLAS consists of chancel 52 ft. 6 in. by 25 ft., with north vestry and organ chamber, nave 90 ft. by 25 ft. (fn. 311) with north and south aisle, and west tower standing partly within the western bay of the nave and forming externally the entrance porch. The building has but little ancient work (fn. 312) except in the chancel, nave arcades and tower, having been almost entirely rebuilt or restored at the close of the 18th century and again in 1903–8. The older parts just named are of late 15th or early 16th-century date and are of no great architectural interest, though the design of the tower with its lofty external arch and recessed entrance is unusual.

Graves writing about 1808 describes the building as 'a plain but neat edifice rather of a modern construction with some late repairs.' (fn. 313) It had then but recently undergone a rather drastic reconstruction, probably about 1796, (fn. 314) when the aisle walls appear to have been taken down and rebuilt and a new wide roof of low pitch erected over the entire body of the church. Some work was also apparently done about the chancel at this time, as the tops of the angle buttresses seem to be of that period and the arches of the nave arcade were mutilated in accordance with the then prevailing idea of restoration. (fn. 315) The vestry and organ chamber were added in 1889, and the later reconstruction, which began in 1903, comprised the erection of new roofs to chancel, nave, and aisles, a new east window, new windows to both aisles, and a general restoration of the chancel, (fn. 316) nave and tower.

Externally the chancel is divided into three bays by buttresses of three stages, and has a string-course at sill level and diagonal buttresses at the angles. There are three old windows each of three lights with perpendicular tracery on the south side, the westernmost, however, being a restoration. On the north are two similar windows, the one to the west now opening into the vestry. The windows are all of late 15th-century type, but the pointed heads are set within a flatter external arch with wide splayed jambs, and it is possible that the windows were brought from the priory buildings after the Dissolution and inserted in their present position, (fn. 317) the external appearance scarcely suggesting their having been set up in this fashion along with the wall. The whole of the upper part of the east gable is new. The wide four-centred chancel arch is of two chamfered orders, both going down to the ground on the nave side, the inner dying into the wall towards the chancel. Above the arch towards the nave the line of the wide 18th-century roof still remains.

The nave is of six bays with north and south arcades of flat four-centred arches of two chamfered orders, without hood moulds, springing from slender octagonal piers with moulded capitals and bases. The detail is all poor and late in date and shows the effects of the 18th-century restoration. The north aisle is 14 ft. in width, but that on the south is only 12 ft. 6 in. and both have flat oak roofs.

The west window of the south aisle is the old east window reset, and is of three trefoiled lights with perpendicular tracery. It retains some fragments of mediaeval stained glass and some of 18th-century date. (fn. 318) The aisle walls are divided externally into six bays by buttresses and finish with straight parapets.

The tower stands engaged to the extent of about 9 ft. and is open to the nave by a tall pointed arch of two chamfered orders, a feature which is repeated on the outside, the west doorway and window being recessed in line with the west wall of the nave. The external arch is of three hollow-chamfered orders with a boldly projecting hood mould and goes up the full height of the lower stage of the tower above the aisle walls, forming a not unimpressive western portal. The door and window are modern. The tower is of three stages marked by string-courses, the middle stage being very short with a clock dial towards the town on the west side. The belfry windows are tall pointed openings of two lights with quatrefoil in the head, transom, and hood mould. There is a vice in the middle of the south wall going up to the height of the belfry floor and entered from the end of the aisle. The tower finishes with an embattled parapet.

The stalls, pulpit, and all the fittings of the chancel and nave are modern. The font dates from 1872. The Chaloner pew at the east end of the south aisle is of plain deal without architectural treatment of any kind, and is entered through an external doorway on the south side. It measures 16 ft. 6 in. by 15 ft. 6 in. and is raised 2 ft. 3 in. above the floor of the church.

In the floor of the nave at the east end in front of the chancel arch is a brass with rhyming inscription to Susanna Pickering, who died in 1641, (fn. 319) and at the west end of the south aisle is the Brus monument from the priory church. (fn. 320) The occurrence of the Tudor rose at the north-east corner has suggested that the monument was erected by Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VII and wife of King James IV of Scotland. Other details also point to the first half of the 16th century as the date of its erection, the device of a cock standing upon a reel, which occurs in three places, being doubtless the rebus of James Cokerell, who was prior in 1519–34; and a shell, which occurs on the north side, probably has reference to the prior's patron saint (St. James).

The monument, which is a cenotaph in the form of a table tomb, 9 ft. long by 3 ft. 8 in. wide, was removed from the priory to the parish church some time after the Dissolution, and in 1661 it was engraved by Hollar in the second volume of Dugdale's Monasticon. The engraving shows the south side and west end, and is a 'fairly accurate though somewhat conventional representation'; in matter of detail, however, the accuracy is far from perfect. John Warburton, the herald, c. 1718, gives a rough drawing of the north side, and states that the tomb stood 'near to the entrance or the west door,' and that the churchwardens' seat was fixed upon it so that 'no inscription' could be seen. It is probable, however, that only the two sides were then in the porch, and that the tomb had originally been placed in the south-west corner of the chancel, where the base remained till quite recently. Some time early in the 18th century the monument appears to have been removed, the sides fixed in the porch, and the top used for the communion table. The ends, however, seem to have been differently treated, that facing east being afterwards taken to Hardwick Hall, near Sedgefield, co. Durham, where about 1754 John Burdon was embellishing the park with sham ruins and other ornamental buildings, and where it remained till it was removed about 1865 by Admiral Chaloner, who placed it in the priory ruins. The west end has been lost, but it is quite possible that it also was taken to Hardwick, and that it may still be there. At the time of the last restoration of the church the various parts of the monument were brought together and the tomb re-erected in its present position. It is composed of six slabs of carboniferous limestone, the sides being 11 in. in thickness and the moulded portion of the top 9 in. The sides are ornamented by a series of shallow niches with trefoiled heads, five on each side, and between them in both cases four smaller niches with semicircular heads and trefoil cusping. Above each of these smaller niches is a shield of square pointed form. The larger niches contain statuettes of knights in armour, those on the south representing the Bruses of the Scotch or Annandale branch, and the others the English Bruses of the Danby and Skelton line. The English knights hold shields with the lion of Brus on their breasts with both hands, while the figures on the Scotch side carry heraldic shields on their left arms. The figures on the English side represent Adam I, Adam II, Peter I, Peter II and Peter III (fn. 321) (d. 1272), and those on the Scotch side Robert I, William, Robert III, Robert IV (the competitor) and Robert V. On the English side the four small niches are filled with figures of the four doctors of the church, St. Augustine, St. Gregory, St. Jerome and St. Ambrose, standing on pedestals of semi-octagonal form representing carved capitals. The four shields above are carved with (1) the arms of the priory, (2) a mitre transfixed by a crozier, (3) a cock standing on a reel and (4) a falcon or eagle with wings displayed, holding in its claws a gimmel ring. The spandrels contain representations of the full moon and stars, the sun in splendour, a paten, a chalice, a pilgrim's shell and three scrolls. On the south, or Scotch, side the small niches contain figures of the four Evangelists, the shields above bearing their respective symbols. The carvings in the spandrels chiefly have reference to the Passion, the sacred foot, the sacred hand pierced by an awl, a purse or bag of money and a chalice being represented. There is also a shield charged with three castles or possibly dice boxes, and the device of the cock and reel which here occurs may in this case have reference to the Passion. Two of the spandrels are carved with human figures (or angels); one is obliterated and the other has an object like a lantern. The backs of the niches in which the knights stand are decorated with blind tracery, and the recesses are more deeply cut on the south side. At the north-east angle the end slab overlaps the side and is carved on the return end with a figure of the Virgin crowned standing on a pedestal within a long and narrow niche, above which is a shield with the Tudor rose, the whole forming a feature distinct from the other work on the north side. The east end of the monument has an arcade of three niches supported by small corbels, the whole of the space below being occupied by a group of figures representing the prior seated, habited in cassock and cloak and holding on his knee with both hands a shield with the arms of the priory. On either side kneel groups of canons, six to the left and ten to the right, the latter being partly carved on the return end of the south slab. The spandrels of the arcade contain a figure bearing a staff (probably a pilgrim), the Virgin crowned with our Lord in her arms and surrounded by rays of glory, and the cock and reel again. The lost west end is now replaced by a plain slab. The drawing in Dugdale shows it to have been carved with the figure of a king standing attired in a long robe and cloak and wearing a crown. His right hand holds a sceptre, while his left supports a shield charged with the royal arms of Scotland. He is supported on either side by smaller figures wearing crowns but clad in armour, the three probably representing Robert Brus, his father and grandfather.

In the tower is a ring of six bells cast by T. Mears of London in 1824. (fn. 322)

The plate consists of a silver-gilt cup of 1604, tazza shaped, with cover surmounted by a triangular steeple, and the bowl and cover ornamented with a reticulated repoussé design; a cup of 1641 made by Robert Harrington of York, similar in design but plain, and bearing the inscription, 'Tho. Pickering, Henry Lyell, Tho. Proddy and Robert Browne churchwardens 1640'; a cup of 1652 inscribed, 'The guift of William Wicklife Cittizen of London To the Parish of Gisbrough in Yorkeshire 1652'; a paten of 1679, with the maker's mark W.H.; a paten of 1680, similar in design but with the mark T.A.; and a flagon of 1730. (fn. 323)

The registers begin in 1661.

The mission church of ST. PETER, to which a cemetery is attached, is in connexion with the parish church, and was built in 1898. It consists of chancel with vestry, nave and south porch.

Advowson

Domesday Book records that in the Count of Mortain's holding at Guisborough, Middleton and Hutton there was a church with a priest. (fn. 324) Not until 1426, however, is the church of St. Nicholas (fn. 325) mentioned. The church was presumably included, though it is not named, in the grant of Guisborough made about 1119–24 by Robert de Brus to the priory of St. Mary. It was appropriated to that house before 1291, (fn. 326) but no vicarage was ordained, and in 1309 it was found that the prior and convent had the right of serving the church by a stipendiary priest. (fn. 327) After the dissolution of the priory the presentation to the curacy fell to the king, and was granted by him in 1545 to the Archbishop of York and his successors, (fn. 328) who have held it from that time.

The rectory has had the same history as the advowson.

In 1426 there was an altar of St. Mary here, (fn. 329) and in 1536 Roger Tocketts bequeathed to the high altar 'a purse of velvet . . . to bere the sacrament in to seke folkes,' and 4s. 'to the lyghtes of Oure Ladie.' (fn. 330) Reference is made in 1508 to an image of the Holy Trinity. (fn. 331) A fraternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary existed in Guisborough in 1478, (fn. 332) but was probably connected with the priory rather than with the parish church.

In the early part of the 16th century a preacher or lecturer in Guisborough received 100 marks a year, which after 1625 was to be paid by the farmers of the alum works. (fn. 333)

In the priory church there were altars of St. Nicholas and St. Katharine mentioned in the 13th century, (fn. 334) one of Holy Cross mentioned in the 14th, (fn. 335) and another of 'Jesus Christ Crucified' early in the 16th century. (fn. 336) The chapel of St. Hilda, described as by the new hall of Guisborough Priory, had no doubt first been built in 1302, when Thomas Bishop of Whithorn offered an indulgence for its benefit. (fn. 337) It seems doubtful whether the chapel of the Blessed Mary within the priory of Guisborough, to which a chantry was to be transferred from Stokesley in 1375, (fn. 338) was not the conventual church itself.

A chapel at Barnaby is mentioned several times at the end of the 12th or beginning of the 13th century, (fn. 339) and may possibly be the 'Holmeswath (fn. 340) chapel,' to the priest of which Dame Helen Gilson in 1451 bequeathed 3s. 4d. (fn. 341); but no more is known of it and no vestige remains. There was at one time at Tocketts a chapel of St. James about which an agreement was made by the prior and convent with William and John. Tocketts, (fn. 342) apparently early in the 16th century. (fn. 343) The sacrist of the priory was to find a chaplain to celebrate mass there on Monday, Wednesday and Friday of each week, but on Sundays and festivals William and John and their heirs were to attend the parish church; the chapel was to be maintained by the Tocketts, who were also to provide all necessary furniture. John Tocketts in 1519 made a bequest of 6s. 8d. to the chapel of Tocketts for a priest's vestment, (fn. 344) and in 1536 Roger Tocketts left 3s. 4d. 'to the payntinge of St. James.' (fn. 345) Nothing more is heard of it, and it has long since disappeared leaving no trace.

Charities

The school or hospital of Jesus, founded by Robert Pursglove, clerk, by Letters Patent of Queen Elizabeth dated 25 June 1561, is regulated by a scheme under the Endowed Schools Acts, approved 24 June 1885.

The income from endowments, consisting of a farm and public-house at Bolam and a farm at Little Smeaton and certain quit-rents, amounts to about £450 a year. The proportion of the endowment applicable towards the support and maintenance of the twelve poor pensioners originally on the foundation was by an order dated 22 July 1904, made under the Board of Education Act 1899, determined to be £216 a year. The twelve pensioners are likewise entitled to the sum of £24 a year as income of £600 North Eastern Railway 4 per cent. guaranteed stock held by the official trustees, representing the investment of proceeds of the sale in 1875 of a house in Stonegate Street, York, demised for their better support by will of the Rev. Richard Lumley, dated in or about 1694.

The said Richard Lumley demised an estate at Carlton Miniott, near Thirsk, containing about 67 acres producing about £100 a year, for the incumbent, upon condition that (among other things) he should every Sunday catechize the children of the parish.

The school known as the Providence School was established by public subscriptions in 1790, and the trusts thereof declared by deed dated 22 September 1804. It is regulated by a scheme under the Endowed Schools Acts, approved 6 November 1877, whereby the old premises were authorized to be sold, and the endowment funds applied towards the furtherance of education. The endowment fund formerly consisted of £3,200 consols, out of which a sum of £1,683 was in 1878 provided for the latter purpose. It now consists of £2,422 7s. 4d. consols with the official trustees, which includes a sum of £936 10s. 8d. consols, representing proceeds of sale in 1869 of land and fee-farm rents then applied for the purposes of the charity, and a sum of £52 15s. 3d. consols, formerly known as Poor's Money.

A sum of 9s. a year issuing out of land at Pinchingthorpe belonging to Mr. R. G. W. Lee in respect of Matthew Sanderson's charity is also received by the urban district council, who by an order of 18 November 1905 were appointed by the Charity Commissioners to be the trustees of the charity.

In 1865 the late Admiral Chaloner, C.B., established a hospital for men meeting with accidents in the mines, and the same donor gave the site for the temperance hall in Chaloner Street.

Mrs. Puncher's Charity.—In 1867 Mr. William Puncher, in memory of his deceased wife, settled a sum of £1,000 consols, upon trust, the income thereof to be expended in keeping in repair the marble tablet in the chancel of the church, the residue to be distributed yearly on Christmas Day equally among six poor widows of good repute above sixty years of age, resident householders, christened in the parish church and members of the Church of England. The stock is held by the official trustees, and the income is duly applied by the administering trustees, the lord of the manor and incumbent and churchwardens.

In 1875 Charles Attwood, by will proved 31 March, bequeathed ten annuities of £25 a year each for the benefit of poor people in physical need, without distinction of religious sect, in this parish, in eight parishes in the county of Durham, and in Alston in Cumberland. The annuities are provided from the dividends of certain colonial securities, transferred in 1888 to the official trustees, who also hold a sum of £146 14s. consols, representing arrears of annuity applicable in Guisborough.

The Wesleyan chapel, founded by deed 1811, is regulated by a scheme of Charity Commissioners of 1880, whereby the trust property was directed to be held upon the trusts of the Skircoat model deed dated in 1832.

In 1867 John Small, by will proved 6 February in this year, bequeathed a legacy represented by £624 18s. consols with the official trustees; the income thereof, amounting to £15 12s. 4d., is applicable for the benefit of poor members of the Methodist society resident in Guisborough.

Township of Commondale.—Joseph Dunn, as appears from the inscription on his tombstone in the churchyard at Kildale, 1716, left, among other charitable gifts, 20s. a year for the poor of this township. The annuity is paid by the Commondale Brick and Pipe Company.