THE LIBRARY
OF
THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA
LOS ANGELES
in
' I ]. :
1
THE
PAROCHIAL HISTORY
OF
ACKWORTH,
YORKS.,
WITH ARCHAEOLOGICAL, ANTIQUARIAN, AND BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES & KECOEDS,
BY THE
REV, J. L. SAYWELL,
FKLLGW OF THE ROYAL HISTORICAL SOCIETY, AND AUTHOR OF THE
" HiSTOBY AND ANNALS OF NoRTHALLERTON, YoRKS.," &C.,
WITH AN
INTRODUCTION
BY THE
REV. R. Y. TAYLOR, B.A.,
AUTHOR OF "YORKSHIRE ANECDOTES," " WORTHIES AND CHURCHES OF
LEEDS," &c.
" Rom omnem a principio audies." Tcr.
" Res fortasse vfrae, certe grftves." Cic.
PONTEFRACT:
JAMES ATKINSON & SON, PRINTERS & PUBLISHERS, 5, MARKET PLACE.
LONDON:
SIUPKIN, MARSHALL, HAMILTON, KENT & Co., PATERNOSTER Row.
1894.
TO
ROWLAND, BARON ST. OSWALD,
OF
NOSTEL PRIORY,
WITH WHOSE FAMILY MUCH OF THE EARLY HISTORY OF
ACKWORTH IS INTERWOVEN,
AND TO THE
LORDS OF THE MANOR OF ACKWORTH,
THIS VOLUME IS, BY KIND PERMISSION,
DEDICATED
BY THE COMPILER.
AUTHOR'S PREFACE.
EVERY parish in England ought to have upon the shelves of
its village library an attractive, reliable, and inexpensive
volume of its own history. Until now Ackworth has not ;
but here it is. Let those who like it, read it, and those who
don't, produce a better. It is not by any means complete,
but it will form a good foundation upon which someone else
can, if they think fit, rear an ornate superstructure. What
has been built, however, cannot be pulled down. J. L. S.
I N T K D U C T ION.
HAVING been requested by my friend, the Rev. J. L. Saywell,
to write an introduction to his " Parochial History of
Ackworth," I do so with peculiar pleasure, because it will
afford me an opportunity of saying a few words on Parochial
Histories in general, and on the " History of Ackworth " in
particular. It is pleasing to observe that much greater atten-
tion is now paid to Parochial Histories and subjects of research
than formerly. Parochial Histories seem to be very much
wanted at the present time, as there is a growing demand for
them ; several having been recently published, including those
of Askrigg, Hemingboro', Northallerton, Ingleton, Morley,
Pudsey, etc. It is not an easy thing to write the history of a
parish, from the earliest times to the present, with the Roman
remains, Saxon earthworks, Danish antiquities, Norman
architecture, Domesday extracts, ancient wills and fines, or
transfers of land, etc. In order to make a Parochial History
as complete as possible, it is very desirable that it should be
well indexed, not only as regards persons and places, but also
the principal subjects. It should also contain as many
engravings as possible of the principal persons, places, and
subjects, with pedigrees of the most important families.
It is also desirable that biographical sketches of the principal
people in each parish should be included. The clergy, as a
rule, from their position and education, are best qualified for
preparing these Parochial Histories, as each one ought to be
as familiar as possible with his own parish, having the registers,
with lists of clergy and patrons, etc., in his own possession,
with a certain amount of the requisite leisure. It is almost
the work of a lifetimo to become fully conversant even with
the principal events in our Parochial Histories, and then one
ought to have a general knowledge of those in the immediate
VI. INTRODUCTION.
neighbourhood.. Many clergymen are now issuing Parish
Magazines, with a page or two of local history each month,
but, unfortunately, there are comparatively few people in our
country parishes who care sufficiently about the ancient his-
tory of their native places even to spend a penny in purchas-
ing a parish magazine, much less subscribe 2/6 or 5/- for a
history of their parish. Very often the outsiders, and those
who have gone away, care more for it than those living in the
place. These local histories seem to be much more apprecia-
ted in America than they are in this country. Even a small,
or poor history is better than none at all; being not so difficult
to compile, less expensive, and much easier to enlarge. Now
that the Bishop of Carlisle has followed the example of the
Archbishop of Canterbury, and the late Bishop of Durham, in
recommending the clergy to write the history of their parishes,
it is most desirable that the Archbishop of York and the
Bishop of Ripon should do the same with respect to the
numerous parishes in Yorkshire, and then a complete and
comprehensive " History of Yorkshire " would be speedily
accomplished, an undertaking which would be of great service
to the Church generally and especially agreeable to the princi-
pal people in each of the respective parishes. Many of the
clergy have already published a considerable amount of local
history in their parish magazines, which might be utilised, and
reference might also be made to the various Directories,
Diocesan Calendars, Lawton's " Ecclesiastical Collections," to
the different histories already published, to Bawdwen's " Domes-
day Book," to Kirkby's "Inquest," the "Nonce Rolls," the
" Liber Regis," the Surtees Society's Publications, Langdale's
"Topographical Dictionary," the Yorkshire Archasological
Journals, and the Record Series ; Allen's, Baines's, Bigland's,
Black's and Murray's "Yorkshire," and also to Torre's and
Archbishop Sharp's MSS. at York, and the Diocesan Registers,
etc. In order to prove that Parochial Histories are very much
wanted, I might quote the following extracts from a letter by the
INTRODUCTION. vii.
Rev. Charles A. Wells, Organising Secretary of the Church
Defence Institution. "At the recent Church Congress at
Wakefield, the question of the best means of instructing the
classes, as well as the masses, in the origin, history, revenues,
and work of the Church was proposed, but does not seem to
have received any very definite reply. You will perhaps,
therefore, allow me to make one or two practical suggestions,
as to the best way of attaining the object in hand : 1. A his-
tory of the Parish Church, its architecture, registers, and en-
dowments, written by one of the clergy, or some other well
qualified person, should be circulated in pamphlet form
throughout every parish. This is the first step towards arousing
interest in Church history and Church work. 2. A list of
rectors or vicars, from the foundation of the Church and
formation of the parish, should be placed within or without
every Church ; and, where possible, the names of patrons,
curates, and churchwardens should be added. If the parochial
chest will not furnish requisite information, a visit to the
diocesan registry generally will. 3. Local biographies are also
most interesting, of which each parish might easily furnish one
or more. 4. Interest should also be secured in the local press,
mis-statements should be at once corrected, and sound informa-
tion given ; short articles and notes on Church questions, with
local sketches, should be offered to the different editors. 5.
Historical and instructive leaflets should be widely circulated,
and lectures on Church history, illustrated by the magic
lantern, should be arranged for in every parish during the
winter months. Both illustrated lectures and leaflets can be
obtained on application to the offices of the Church Defence
Institution." It is, therefore, most desirable that the clergy
should be encouraged to do what they can towards writing a
history of their own parishes. The Rev. J. L. Say well, who
has written the " History of Northallerton," and who was
formerly curate of Ackworth, is well qualified to write the
"Parochial History of Ackworth," and it is hoped that the
Till. INTRODUCTION.
book will have an extensive sale, so as not only to pay the expen-
ses of the press, but also to leave the compiler a margin of profit
for his trouble ; otherwise there is no encouragement for others
to copy his example, m writing and publishing the histories of
their parishes, etc. Ackworth is a place well known for its
Foundling Hospital, and Quakers' School ; the benevolent
John Fothergill, M.D., F.R.S., and John Gully, the sporting
M.P., etc. Mr. Saywell has set a praiseworthy example to his
brother clergymen, who, having exceptional opportunities for
becoming acquainted with the history, past and present, and
the local traditions and customs of the parishes under their
charge, can render immense service to antiquaries, archaeolo-
gists, and county historians, by preserving, for the information
of future generations, matter of much general interest, whu-h
would otherwise lie hidden, or be forgotten.
R. V. TAYLOR, B.A.
Melbecks Vicarage,
Nr. Richmond, Yorks.
INDEX.
Personal names are necessarily omitted.
A.
Ackworth, Foundling Hospital, viii., 8, 32.
Quakers' School, viii.
Church Tower, 1.
High, 2.
Low, 2.
Middle, 2.
Parish of, 2.
derivation of, 3.
William, 4.
Church, 818, 252.
Manor of, 17, 44, 139144.
Charities, 16, 17, 108, 163-203.
Eeversion of, 44.
battle at, 47.
Rev. George, 52.
mortgaged, 54.
military rendezvous, 57.
Park, 77, 87, 88, 144.
Gazette, 84.
Review, 89.
Telegraph, 91.
Spa, 89.
Feast, 89.
morality of, 99.
Railway Station, 112.
College, 145-147.
Accidents, 89, 94, 104.
Acworthe, John de, 46.
Akeworth, Henry de, 43.
Alban, St., 29.
Alfred, King, sonnet by, 17.
Anne, Queen, 54.
Arson and Sacrilege, 107.
Augustine, St., 28, 29, 30, 52.
B.
Badswoiih, 1, 41.
Badswoith Hunt, Past Masters of, 246.
Banns, forbidden, 68, 72, 73, 74.
Bargain, a curious, 68.
Bath, old Chalybeate, 162.
Bedstead, antique, 61.
Belfry rules, 11, 12.
Bells, Church, 10, 11, 12, 119.
Benefactions to Poor, 16, 17.
Birth, a quadruple, 72.
Boisil, Monk of Melrose, 29.
Boot and Shoe, Hostelry, 2, 61.
Boroughbridge, Battle of, 44.
Boundary bridge, 69.
Brackenhill, 2, 59.
Bradley's Almshouses, 203.
Bright, John, 91.
British School, 94.
Burial ground, Friends', 63.
c.
Calcutta, Bishop of, 92.
Calf, a wonderful, 89.
Calverley's Dole, 187.
Carr Bridge, 4.
Castle Syke, 1, 155.
| Cawood's old Chapel, 57.
j Celebrities, 203-239.
j Centenary celebrations, 114-119.
! Charities, 16, 17, 108, 163-203.
Charter, free warren, 43.
Chantry of St. Mary, 38.
Priests, 38.
Close, 38.
Cholera, 96.
Church Porch, 12.
Plate, 18, 19, 20.
,, confiscated, 18.
Church Schools, 151.
Church rates, 96.
Churchyard, new, 113.
Civil Wars, 56.
Clergy, loyal, 56.
Clock, Church, 119.
Coincidence, singular, 60.
Conscription, 79.
Constitution Hill, 3.
Coronation Festivities, 91.
Court Leet, 81.
Cowpasture, 128-132.
Cromwell, 60.
Cross, Village, 158.
Curious Nomenclature, 37.
Cuthbert, St., 12, 28.
D.
Dame's School. 87.
Danish Antiquities, v.
INDEX.
Dearth, 76.
Derby, the, 90, 94 97.
Destitution, Spiritual, 82.
Dictionary, Topographical, Langdale's, vi
Diocesan Calendars, vi.
Diocesan Eegisters, vi.
Document, curious, 62.
Domesday Book, Bawden's, vi.
Domesday Book, 3, 41.
Domesday Extracts, v.
Don, Eiver, 4.
E.
Ebba, St.. 29.
Ecclesiastical Collection, Lawton's, vi.
Ecclesiastical Discipline, 35, 66, 67.
Edmund, St., 28.
Edulph, 8.
Elm, Village, 98, 120, 156.
Encroachments, 101.
Enthusiast, a religious, 90.
Epitaphs, 75, 92, 250.
Ethelfrid, King, 29.
" Eulogium Historiarum," 1.
Execution, 77.
Explosion, Colliery, 97.
F.
Farmer, a model, 109.
Featherstone, 53.
Ferrar, Eobert, Prior of Nostel, 49, 51.
Fires, 59, 107.
Fines, Yorkshire, 44, 48, 51, 52, 53, 54.
Flood, a great, 105.
Folk-lore, 120.
Font, 14.
Formulas, Latin, 68.
Fossils, 7,123.
Foundling Hospital, 69, 72, 73.
Fountain, village, 108.
Friends' Burial Ground, 63.
Friends' School, 73, 113, 147-151, 245.
Funeral, a unique, 70, 71.
G.
Gas, introduction of, 92.
Gas meeting, 122.
Geological Characteristics, 5, 6, 7.
Gift, deed of, 47.
Gloucester, Duke of, 26.
Goldsmith's Hall, 20.
Grace, Pilgrimage of, 48.
Grammar School, Abp. Holgate's, 49.
Grange, the, 2.
Great Eebellion. 8.
Grotto, the, 159.
Gully, Eobert, shipwrecked and murdered,-
23.
Gwethin street, 2.
H.
Hailstone storm, 97.
Hall, the old, 159.
Hardwick, East, 1, 54, 57, 59, 108, 109.
Hardwick, West, 2.
Harriers, Dr. Lee's, 70.
Harsley East, Church, 18.
Hearse, Parish, 79.
Hessle, 38, 47, 55, 239, 240.
Hemsworth, 1.
Herbert's " Church Porch," 13, 14.
Hilda, St., 29.
Hook's, Dean, memorable sermon, 102^
Hopton Monumental Slab, 22.
Horticultural Show, 93.
Hospital, Watkinson's, 73, 199.
House, old, 61.
Howard, Luke, works of, 247, 248.
Huudfridus, 42.
Huudhill, 2, 85.
I.
Ikeneld street, 1.
" Inquest," Kirkby's, vi.
Interments, in Friends' Burial Ground,
64-66.
Interments in Low Ackworth Burial
Ground, 94-95.
Irvingism, 91.
J.
Jubilee Celebrations, 124-126.
K.
Killingbeck, paintings by, 39
L.
Lacy, family of, 38, 43, 44.
Lacy, Ilbert de, 1-42
Lady-well, 156.
Lambe's Charity, 185.
Lectern, 15.
Leger, St, the, 90.
" Leline," i
Leprosy, 75.
" Liber Eegis," vi.
Lindsay's Legacy, 197.
Link, a missing, 66.
Literature, 112.
Livingstone's, Dr., visit, 102.
Local Meteorology, 7.
Longevity, interesting record of, 70-71.
INDEX.
XI.
Long Lane, 6.
Lowther's Charity, 198.
Lowther's Hospital, 17.
Loyalty, 102.
Lych-gate, 9.
M.
Manifesto, a Eector's, 110
Manor, Lords of, 38, 41, 42, 83, 100, 243.
Marriage festivities, 102, 103.
Marriage, frustrated, 72.
Marriages before Justices, 33.
Mechanic's Library, 91.
Melton's Register, 45
Methodists. Primitive, 155.
Midland Railway, 3.
Military rendezvous, 57.
Military service, 54.
Militia, Local, 79.
Monumental Inscriptions, 20-8.
Moor Top, 2.
Monica, St., 30
Murders, 73, 77.
N.
Nevison, the highwayman, 160
Nomenclature, curious, 37.
" Nonce Rolls," vi.
Norman, Architecture, v.
Norman Chapel, 8.
Northallerton, History of, vii
North Eastern Railway, 3.
Nostel, 38, 59, 67.
Priory, 39, 49, 67.
Arms, 40.
Nostel pool, 4, 67.
0.
Obelisks, 162.
Organ, Church, 109, 110.
Osalf, 8, 43.
Osgoldcross, Wapentake of, 1, 3.
Oswald's Cross, 1,
Oswald, St., 28, 29.
P.
Palsy, 75.
Parliament, Rump, 57.
Parochial Histories, v.
Parish Magazines, vi.
Parish Register, 31-37.
Paulinus, St., 28, 30.
Petyt family, 87.
Pilgrimage of Grace, 48.
Plague, The, 34, 57.
Plague stone, 57, 161.
Plymouth Brethren, 94.
Poll, a parish, 106.
Poll-tax, returns, 45.
Pontefract, 41.
Pontnfract, Boothroyd's History of, 1.
Poutefract, Castle, 1, 43.
Pontefract, Deanery of, 2.
Fox's History of, 2.
Pontefract, St. Clement's Chapel, 42.
Poor's Estate, Ackworth, 168.
Population, 84, 94.
Prints and engravings, local, 249.
Publications, Surtees Society's, vi.
Pudding Bush, 17.
Puritan intolerance, 57.
Purbton, 1.
R.
Rectors and Curates, List of, 241,242.
Rectory, the, 38, 39.
Reform Bill, the, 88.
" Regina v. Johnson," 101.
Register, Skeltou's, 45.
Restoration Services, 97.
Returns, Poll-tax, 45.
Richmond, Yorks., viii.
Rikeneld street, 1.
Pi ish worth's Charity, 192.
Roman Road, 1, 67.
Royal visit, 85.
s.
Sacrilege, 93.
Savile Arms, 20.
Saxon Earthworks, v.
School, Mrs. Howard's, 152.
Beaton's Bequest, 197.
Sharlston Car, 4.
Skelton Castle, 16.
Slavery Emancipation commemoration,91
Sporting Curate, a, 84.
Stage Coaches, 83.
Stained Glass, 28-31.
Stamford Bridge, 1, 41.
Standing Flat Bridge, 1.
Statistics, interesting, 81.
Stead Lane, 17.
Stocks, the Village, 104.
Stone, Style Acre, 38.
Storm, great, 121.
Streethouse Bar, 4.
Suffocation, 76.
Survey, the great, 42.
Sykehouse, 4.
Sykes, the family of, 76.
T.
Taxes, curious, 251.
Tempest family, 2, 48.
Xll.
INDEX.
Terriers, Ecclesiastical, 133-139.
Thomas, a foundling, 32.
Tongues in trees. 98.
Topham's Grant, 197.
Torres' M.S.S., vi.
Townsman, a worthy, 123.
Townsley's Estate, the, 197.
Trees, commemoration, 103.
V.
Veronica, St., 30.
"Vessels of pewter," 18
Vestments, 53.
Vestry screen, 15.
w.
<l Walks about Yorkshire," Banks', 2, 4.
Wand, the official, 95.
Warren, free, 44.
Watchmen, last of, 121.
Watling street, 2.
Water, analysis of, 5.
Water, boring for, 97.
"Weather, phenomenal, 89.
Went, river, 3.
Wentbridge, 1.
Wesleyan Chapel, 100, 153.
Wesley's Visits, 73, 74.
West Eiding, garden of, 1.
Whitby Abbey, 29.
Windfall, a, 80.
Windmill, 16.
Workhouse, the old, 111.
Wormald's Charity, 163.
Wragby, 1.
Yorkshire, Archaeological Journal, vi.
Allen's, vi.
Baines,' vi.
Bigland's vi.
Black's, vi.
History of, vi.
Murray's, vi.
records, 48,
Eecord, series, vi.
fines, 44, 48, 51, 52, 53, 54.
ACKWORTH,
YORKSHIRE :
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS.
Situation.
" Sweet Auburn ! loveliest village of the plain." *
LEAS ANT for situation, the ancient f and charming village
of Ackworth, which has sometimes been called the
" garden of the West Riding," is not seen by the traveller
until almost within a stone's-throw of the Church tower, which
is the first object to attract notice on reaching the summit of
Castle Syke Hill, from the north. It is bounded on the north
by Pontefract, of historic renown, Standing Flat Bridge, the
scene of the battle of Stamford Bridge, being the boundary
mark between the parishes of Ackworth, Bads worth, and
Pontefract, J on the south by Hems worth, on the east by
East Hardwick and Wentbridge, and on the west by Purston
and Wragby. Its present position is in the upper division of
the hundred (kwndredum centuria) or wapentake (wcepontac)
of Osgoldcross (Oswald's Cross). The Roman road from Don-
caster to Castleford called Ikeneld or Rikeneld street, which
the author of the "Eulogium Historiarum" styles the "Leline,"
* " Seen from a distance, as from the top of 'Kobinson Close,' Ackworth is
always a picture, especially towards sunset on a summer's evening."
t In 1080, Ilbert de Lacy built Pontefract Castle. At that time Ackworth
had only just passed out of Saxon proprietorship.
J Vide " Boothroyd's Hist. Pont." The statement, however, that Standing
Flat Bridge is the scene of the Battle of Stamford Bridge is sufficiently hypo-
thetical and unauthenticated to be untrustworthy. J. L. S.
Wcepon, arms ; and tac, take or touch.
2 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
crossed the Gwethin (Watling) street at Pontefract near the
park, and thence through Ackworth on the ridge called Castle
Syke to Hemsworth and Worcester.* Ackworth is a large
village, and one of the best in the district, -f- It was originally
a Saxon hamlet, which is proved by the derivation of its name,
and by the names of its first proprietors. As to ecclesiastical
jurisdiction, Ackworth is situated in the Deanery of Pontefract
and Archdeaconry of the West Riding and Diocese of York.
The parish consists of three parts, High,J Low, and Middle
Ackworth, with the newly sprung up and increasing settlement
of Moor Top, and the little hamlet of Brackenhill. Bracken-
hill is almost entirely inhabited by stoneworkers. Less than a
century ago it was a sweetly pretty dell, the abode of a reputed
witch, whose tenement is still pointed out. Moor Top consists
of several good houses, the rest are the cottages of miners and
quarryworkers. Its most interesting feature is unquestionably
the old " Boot and Shoe " hostelry, where the last of the old
coaches of the district stopped to convey passengers the first
stages of their journey home. Middle Ackworth is chiefly in-
habited by members of the Society of Friends, who possess a
large school and college in the vicinity. Hundill, or Hundhill,
which gives its name to a mansion and a few servants' cottages
around it, formed a part of the parish of Ackworth prior to
1876, as also did the Grange, the seat of the Tempest family,
but both hamlets are now in the parish of East Hardwick.
The Tempests are an old Roman Catholic family of County
standing, and maintain a domestic chaplain, chapel and school
for the use of the household and retainers. The school is
under government inspection, and invariably secures an excel-
lent report. The parish of Ackworth is within the magisterial
division of Pontefract, the Poor Law Union of Hemsworth, and
* Vide "Fox's Hist. Pont.," p. 83.
t Banks' " Walks about Yorkshire," p. 287.
I So called because it stands upon a higher level.
It is more than probable that both East and West Hardwick were at one
time incorporated with Pontefract.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 3
the newly formed Parliamentary division of Osgoldcross. The
new branch of the Midland and North Eastern Railway from
Sheffield to York is the boundary between the parishes of
Ackworth and East Hardwick. The ecclesiastical jurisdiction
of the parish of Ackworth formerly included High. Low,* and
Middle Ackworth, Moor Top, Brackenhill, Hundill, Constitution
Hill, and East Hardwick, but in 1876 East Hardwick was
separated from the mother parish, and constituted a distinct
benefice, the gift being vested in trustees. Moor Top has ot
late years become so populous that at no distant period a divi-
sion must of necessity take place. The new parish would
include Brackenhill and Constitution Hill, and the gift would
be vested in the Rector of Ackworth for the time being.f The
acreage of the parish is said to be 2,270.
Name.
The etymology of the name Ackworth is interesting. It is
generally supposed to be derived from A.S., Ake or Aken, oak ;
and Uurt, worth, which is more than probable, for very often
places took their names from the kind of wood or timber which
flourished in the neighbourhood. In Domesday Book, the
parish is called Aceuurde, which seems to strengthen the con-
jecture, for the prefix ac in acorn is plainly equivalent to ace
hi Aceuurde. Oaks certainly flourish at Ackworth now, but
they may have been more plentiful when forest hunting was
the chief pastime of the nobility. The affix " worth " is gene-
rally supposed to mean a hamlet or village, a term which seems
almost entirely confined to the West Riding of Yorkshire, just
as thorpe (farm) and ton (town) abound in the east and north
ridings respectively. The name Ackworth is therefore Anglo-
Saxon or Scandinavian from its root upwards. The Rev.
N. Greenwell says Ackworth properly means, the estate of the
oak, from /Ec., O.E., an oak, and worth, (from wyrth or weorthig,
* Formerly noted for its " sumptuous growth of roses arid sheaves of white
lilies."
f The river Went would be the division line between the two parishes.
4 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
O.E., an estate or manor,) a close or farm, usually one well
watered. It denotes a place warded or protected, and is
derived from the old English word ^varian, to ward or defend.*
Brackenhill takes its name from the large quantity of bracken
or eagle fern (eupteris aquilina} which flourishes on the ad-
joining common. The prefix Hund in Hundill comes from
Hund, O.E., a hound, hence Hound-hill or Hundhill. Ackworth
like many other ancient places, gave its name to families
resident therein. The Rector of Plumstead in 1853 was a
William Ackworth, whose ancestors, there can be no doubt,
sprung from Ackworth, and bore the then common appellation
of de Ackworth. Families of this name are still numerous,
but its etymology is various. Ackworth is the only place-name
in England, although there are three others with the prefix
Ack, and several which enjoy the uncorrupted prefix Ac.
Waters.
The river Went flows through Ackworth, indeed the village
may be said to stand upon it. Camden gives the Nostel pool
as the source of the river ; but the ordnance survey appropri-
ates the name Went beck to the stream which rises on Sharlston
Car, near Streethouse Bar, flows across Went lane, parallel to
Ackworth, and thence under Ackworth Car Bridge.-f- There
are other smaller streams, by which the lands are well irrigated,
and rendered wood productive. The pretty little hamlet of
Wentbridge takes its name from the river Went, and the bridge
which there crosses it. From this point the Went deepens and
widens, until it empties itself into the river Don, about three
miles below Sykehouse, and six or seven below Goole.
The quality of the spring water at Ackworth is uniformly
excellent, that of the lower springs being a little softer than
that of the upper. The following is an analysis of spring
* Vide " Old Yorkshire," vol. 1, p. 170.
t Banks' " Walks about Yorkshire," p. 273.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. O
water, taken at a depth of 100 feet, by Joseph Spence,of York.
" 50 grains of solid matter to the gallon, 44 of which could be
dissolved in distilled water, the remainder being clay, with a
trace of organic matter. Of the 44 grains nearly 10 were
common salt, and 34 carbonate of soda, with a little sulphate
and oxide of iron. The water proved perfectly sweet at every
stage of the process of evaporation. It is obviously suitable
for domestic use, and particularly so for washing. On account
of the absence of the sulphate of iron, lead would be acted
upon by it, and therefore pipes and cisterns of that metal
should be avoided." The above analysis will be found a
generally accurate description of Ackvvorth water, but the
following -analysis, taken at a depth of 140 feet, is, perhaps,
nearer the mark. " 51 grains of solid matter to the gallon,
viz.: carbonate of soda, 47 ; potash, traces; lime, 1'5 ; magnesia,
0'2 ; iron, traces ; common salt, 2 ; silica, alumina, and iron
(clay), 0'3. Slight traces of nitrates appeared, but no iodides
or bromides."* It will be seen, therefore, that Ackworth water
is " of very uncommon occurrence, since carbonate of soda is
very rarely found in well water, and, in the few cases known, in
much smaller quantities." Such, too, is the opinion of Richard
Reynolds, F.C.S., of Leeds.
Geological Characteristics.
The soil of Ackworth may be described as a rich clay.
Reference to a geological map of the district will shew that
there is a substratum of stone underlying nearly the whole
area of the parish, but, unfortunately, not thick enough for
quarrying, except towards the south and south-west, where
extensive quarrying operations are carried on. In many
places it runs very near the surface. The Ackworth stone, as
a rule, is good, but in places it is exceptionally soft, and unfit
for building purposes, which accounts for so many " faults."
* Vide " Hist. Ackworth School," pp. 258-9.
6 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
Coal abounds in the vicinity, and, it is thought, might be found
at greater depths within the boundaries of the parish. An
experimental bore of 153 feet was made in a field in Long lane,
in 1860, but coal was not reached, although there were indica-
tions of its existence at a still lower level. Rich veins of iron
ore are known to exist at certain points, especially in Low
Ackworth, inasmuch as many of the natural water springs are
strongly oxidised. It will therefore be seen that there is much
hidden wealth lying beneath Ackworth, and it is not a too
great stretch of imagination to predict that in fifty years' time,
or even less, the picturesque village of Ackworth will have be-
come one of the busiest mining centres of the West Riding
of Yorkshire. Some account of the upper strata will be
interesting to the reader. A boring made in 1851 revealed the
following layers :
Clay 12ft. 6 in.
Sandstone ... ... ... 14 ft. in.
Shale 2 ft. in.
Sandstone ... ... ... 5 ft. in.
Clay 7ft. in.
Sandstone ... ... ... 3 ft. hi.
Clay 14ft. in.
Sandstone ... ... ... 18 ft. in.
Shale 6ft. in.
Sandstone ... ... ... 46 ft in.
Clay 7ft. in.
Shale 2 ft. in.
Sandstone
Total depth, 136 feet. In 1861, another bore was made at
some distance from the first, with the following result :
Clay and Sandstone ... ... 14 ft. in.
Light Shale 1 ft. 4 in.
Sandstone ... ... ... 14 ft. 8 in.
Black boss 9 ft. in.
Pottery Clay 18 ft. in.
Ironstone ... ... ... 8 ft. in.
Light Shale ft. 6 in.
Sandstone ... ... ... 9 ft. in.
Light Shale 9 ft. 6 in.
Sandstone 32 ft. in.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 7
Total depth, 116 feet. Coal probably, indeed doubtless, lies
still deeper.* Fossils of different periods and species have been
found in the strata of the stone beds, the most common being
that of the Equiseta, or gigantic horsetail of the secondary
period, scaled like the cones of the fir.
Local Meteorology.
The climate and temperature of Ackworth are such as to
make the village and its neighbourhood a most desirable place
of residence, and accordingly we find a goodly number of
country houses and neat villas adorning the landscape in all
directions. In 1842, Luke Howard, Esq., F.R.S., published a
brochure, entitled, " A cycle of eighteen years in the seasons
of Great Britain ; deduced from meteorological observations
made at Ackworth, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, from 1824
to 1841 ; compared with others before made for a like period
(ending with 1823) in the vicinity of London." The work is em-
bellished with five diagramic plates, together with elaborate and
exhaustive tables, shewing the mean heights of the barometer,
yearly mean temperatures, cycle of rain, total depths of rain
for each month of the year, supplemented by many useful
notes on the seasons. The book is dedicated to the Right Hon.
the Earl Fitzwilliam, and published in London. From it the
following facts are deduced. Both the climate and temperature
of Ackworth are singularly even, both in cold and warm
periods ; if, however, an exceedingly dry season should inter-
vene (which is of rare occurrence), it is quickly compensated
for by an exceedingly wet one ; and an exceedingly cold winter
by an exceedingly hot summer. At Ackworth, Mr. Howard
has observed, that upon the whole October is the wettest month
in the year, the rain, however, falling mostly by night, verifying
a remark which has nearly become proverbial, that " there are
always twenty fine days in October." As a rule, April is (un-
* The stone strata at Ackworth is undoubtedly a large " throw " extending
east and west, the Hemsworth coal seam dipping at Ackworth, and appearing
again at Pontefract. J. L. S.
8 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
fortunately for the farmers) a comparitively dry month, but, as
Mr. Howard observes, "it is the arrangement of the All- Wise
Creator, and ordered, no doubt, for the best on the great scale
of things." In other respects it is shewn that the climate of
Ackworth is especially suitable for invalids, a fact no doubt
discovered by the promoters of the Foundling Hospital, a little
too relaxing, but, on the whole, helpful to weak constitutions,
and Mr. Howard advises his readers to make a trial of it, before
resorting to other skies more favoured by natural position.
Agriculturists may also derive considerable comfort and use-
ful information from Mr. Howard's little book. The death-rate
at Ackworth is very low, the mean average for the last twenty
years being 207. The per centage for 1884-5 was Tl, with a
population of nearly 2,300.
The Church.
The original Church of Ackworth, like the village itself, was
undoubtedly Saxon, founded, probably, either by the first Saxon
proprietors of the parish Edulph and Osalf or their imme-
diate predecessors.* This is conclusively proved by the words
" Iba Ecclesia et Presbyter " in the Domesday Survey ; and the
Church itself would of course share the fortunes and experience
the same vicissitudes as the village. Of these demolitions, re-
buildings, additions, and alterations, there is, unfortunately, no
record, but an impression generally prevails that the nave of
the Church was desecrated during the Great Rebellion (bellum
fanaticorum), by being transformed into a vast stable and
military inn, at which time the edifice sustained very severe
damage, both internally and externally, notably the font, which
was pulled down and buried in the churchyard. When the
Church was completely renovated and restored (?) by public
subscription, in the year 1852, the remains of an ancient
Norman Chapel, occupying the site of the present nave, were
distinctly traceable, especially on the south side, where one of
* Vide " Hist. Pont.," pp. 58-104. The living has remained in the patronage
of the Crown, as Dukes of Lancaster, from the time of the Lacys,
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 9
the arches was nearly entire, but whatever relics of the past
remained, or were brought to light during the operations, were
either destroyed by the workmen, or confiscated to the private
use of the contractor, or other persons of a scientific turn of
mind who happened to visit the scene. It is said that barrow
loads of old carving, both in stone and wood, were removed
wholesale by private persons, wherewith to ornament their
gardens and to give the rooms of their houses an antique
appearance ! And this was done without one word of expostu-
lation from the architect, contractor, or building committee !
The Society for the Preservation of Ancient Buildings and
Monuments was, unfortunately, not in existence at that time,
but it is marvellous how persons with any idea of propriety
could tolerate such vandalism and spoliation. Be that as it
may, there is abundance of evidence to confirm the statement,
for wherever the eye is turned, ecclesiastical relics abound, and
that not on sacred ground.
Interesting Features.
Situated near the centre of the village, the Church and
Rectory, although standing back from the road in rural seclu-
sion, occupy a somewhat elevated position. The first object, on
approaching the Church, to attract the visitor's notice is the
Lych-gate,
which presents a rustic and pretty appearance. It is built of
Norwegian Oak, and is now nearly black, although quite
modern. It bears the following inscription, engraved upon a
brass plate.
In Memory of
The Rev. Joseph Kenworthy.
He was 31 yean Rector of this
-^ w _ Pariah, and carried out the
1 O I O Restoration of this Church.
DIED A.D. 1875.
Passing through the lych-gate, the tower and south porch of
10 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
the Church are the principal external features which strike
the eye. The
Tower
is the oldest part of the Church, indeed, it is the only portion
of it which remains in its entirety after the restoration of
1852. It is solid and well built, and dates from about the
fourteenth century. It contains a peal of six bells, each
bearing a legend or inscription. Height : 68 feet, 9 inches.
The Bells.
An authority on Campanology says : " the bells at Ackworth
appear to be of three dates, two of pre-reformation times, one
of the seventeenth century, and one of the eighteenth cen-
tury, with all the self-glorification and self-assertion thereto
belonging."^
No. 1 is in the key of C sharp, and bears the following
inscription :
TIMOTHY : LEE : D.D. : RECTOR : 1760.
No. 2. The note of this bell is B, and the inscription :
W : WAGNER : I : GARLICK : CHURCHWARDENS : 1760.
No. 3. Key of A. This bell bears the common legend of
* IESVS * BE * OVR * SPEED * A.S. * W.C. FECIT. *
1662. *
Where the asterisks are placed there is a coat of arms, repeated
eight times, very difficult to decipher, except this much :
party per pale, 1, a chevron between three bells, two and one ;
2, three bougets, also two and one.
t This enumeration is incorrect ; there are three eighteenth century bells ;
the two oldest are not dated,
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 11
No. 4. This bell is probably older than No. 3. It bears no
date, and its note is G sharp. " The inscription upon it," says
Mr. Holmes, " is probably a rhyming couplet."
K Cuutmmus [Fleur de lis] <% jt-tis * tampana * fit *
bite *& ftrimtutts. *
The initial coat of arms has the following bearings : party per
pale 1 and 2, a bend, with a cross crosdet for difference.
No. 5. Key of F sharp, No date, and no legend, only
^ [Fleur de lis] I. H. S. *
Armorial bearings same as No. 4.
No. 6. The note of this tenor bell is E. It was founded in
17 GO, and recast in 1880. Inscription :
: CAST : BY : IOHN : WARNER : AND : SONS :
: LONDON : 1880 :
: ALL : MEN : WHO : HEAR : MY : MOVRNFVL : SOVND :
: REPENT : BEFORE : YOV : LIE : IN : GROVND :
: W : WAGNER : I : GARLICK :
: CHYRCHWARDENS :
: I : LYDLYM : ROTHERHAM : FOYNDER : 1760 :
This is the bell upon which the clock strikes the hours, and
upon which the passing and funeral dirges are tolled. The
original bell was very imperfectly founded, and had a piece cut
out, as if in partial remedy.* Its weight is nearly 6 cwts., and
the key of the peal is C sharp, minor.
The following excellent rules are supposed to be observed
by the ringers.
ACKWORTH PARISH CHURCH. BELFRY RULES.
o
(1) It is to be understood that the Church Tower and Bells are
altogether under the control of the Rector and Churchwardens ; and that
no one can ring the bells without their permission ; or be entered upon the
list of Ringers, without their appointment.
(2) That the Ringers be members of the Church of England and of
known good character : that they be appointed by the Rector : that they
shall be regular in their attendance at Church, and conduct themselves
reverently and quietly in their duties.
* Vide " Old Yorkshire," vol. 1, p. 80,
12 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
(3) That one of their number be appointed Leader, who will be re-
sponsible for good order in the Belfry ; who will give directions to the
Iliugers and keep a Belfry book. That the Leader be appointed by the
Rector annually.
(4) That no one, except the Ringers and those of the Parish who are
learning to ring, shall be iu the Belfry at ringing or practising time. The
introduction of a Friend to the Belfry at a practice, by any Ringer, need
not be regarded as a breach of this rule.
(5) That no drinking or smoking be allowed in the Belfry at any time :
that if any Ringer break this rule or be quarrelsome or use bad language,
the Leader shall at once stop the ringing for that occasion and shall report
the same to the Rector.
(6) That the duty of the Ringers be to ring on Sundays for both
Services : also on Christmas Day, New Year's Day, and oh the Queen's Birth-
day : also on any other occasion, with the distinct consent of the Rector
and one of the Churchwardens, but not without it.
(7) That the Ringers assemble for regular practice on one evening, at
least, in the week, as may be arranged ; or more frequently, if they desire
it : that the ringing on such occasions shall cease, at the latest, at 9 o'clock
p.m. Any Ringer absent from the Belfry for four weeks in succession,
without giving due notice to the Leader, and satisfactory reasons for his
absence, shall be considered to have resigned and his name shall be at once
removed from the List of Ringers.
(8) That, in case of ringing the Bells by request, and with the Rector's
express permission, on the occasion of weddings or any other joyous
occasion, money only shall be taken as payment, which shall be divided at
once amongst the Ringers, in equal portions by the Leader.
(9) That any subject of dispute or misunderstanding arising amongst
the Ringers shall be immediately referred to the Rector and Churchwardens,
and their decision shall be considered final.
(10) That no one be appointed Ringer without consenting first to these
rules, and signing them : and all Ringers are to understand that these rules
are only intended for the comfort and good ordering of all concerned ; and
it is hoped that they will all cordially assist in observing and maintaining
them.
" Let all things be done decently and in order."
W. M. FALLOON, RECTOK.
JOSEPH NELSTROP, ) n
J. HEATON CADMAN, } CHURCHWARDENS.
In a niche over the outside of the
Porch
is an effigy of St. Cuthbert, the patron saint, holding in his
dexter hand a crozier. Inside the porch on both sides of the
wall are inscribed appropriate stanzas, selected from Herbert's
Church Porch, as follows :
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 13
On the right hand side above the foramen is the first verse
of the " Supcrliminare" thus
" Thou, whom the former precepts have
Sprinkled, and taught how to behave
Thyself in Church ; approach, and taste
The Church's mystical repast."
On the right beneath are two verses from the " Perirkan-
terium "
" Sum up, at night, what thou hast done by day ;
And, in the morning, what thou hast to do.
Dress and undress thy soul, mark the decay
And growth of it. If, with thy watch, that too
Be down, then wind up both. Since we shall be
Most surely judged, make thy accounts agree.
In brief, acquit thee bravely : play the man.
Look not on pleasures as they come, but go.
Defer not the least virtue. Life's poor span
Make not an ell, by trifling in thy woe.
If thou do ill, the joy fades, not the pains :
If well, the pain doth fade, the joy remains."
On the left
" Judge not the preacher ; for he is thy judge.
If thou mislike him, thou conceiv'st him not.
God calleth preaching, folly. Do not grudge
To pick out treasures from an earthen pot.
The worst speak something good. If all want sense,
God takes a text, and preacheth patience.
He that gets patience, and the blessing which
Preachers conclude with, hath not lost his pains.
He that by being at Church, escapes the ditch
Which he might fall in by companions, gains.
He that loves God's abode, and to combine
With saints on earth, shall one day with them shine.
Above the foramen on the left hand side is the remaining
verse of the " Superliminare."-
" Avoid profaneness ; come not near.
Nothing but holy, pure, and clear,
Or that which groaneth to be so,
May, at his peril, further go."
On the left below, a continuation of the Perirkanterium."
" Sundays observe. Think, when the bells do chime,
'Tis angels' music ; therefore come not late.
God then deals blessings : if a king did so,
Who would not haste, nay, give, to see the show ?
Eesort to sermons, but to prayers most :
Praying's the end of preaching.
When once thy foot enters the church, be bare.
God is more there than thou : for thou art there
Only by His permission. Then beware ;
And make thyself all reverence and fear.
Kneeling ne'er spoil'd silk stocking. Quit thy state.
All equal are within the church's gate."
14 ACK WORTH, YORKS.,
And on the right
" In time of service seal up both thine eyes,
And send them to thy heart ; that, spying sin,
They may weep cnt the stains by them did rise.
Those doors being shut, all by the ear comes in.
Who marks in church-time others' symmetry,
Makes all their beauty his deformity.
Let vain or busy thoughts have there no part,
Bring not thy plough, thy plots, thy pleasures thither.
Christ purged His Temple ; so must thou, thy heart.
All worldly thoughts are but thieves met together
To cozen thee. Look to thy actions well ;
For churches either are our heaven, or hell."
Over the inner door upon a scroll are the Latin words
|)ortir Cccli*
Unfortunately, the restoration was carried out almost entirely
with Ackworth stone, which is, as a rule, of a soft and perishable
nature, consequently portions of the exterior of the church are
much weather-worn and decayed, although not forty years
old.
The next object of interest is the
Font,
which is well worth the notice of the Archaeologist and Anti-
quarian. It is octagonal in shape, and running around it is
the following inscription : " Thomas Bradley, D.D., Rectore,
H.A., T.C. Gardianis, Baptitterium Bello Phanaticorum
Dirutum Deuno Erectum, 1663." That is: "Thomas Bradley,
Doctor in Divinity, being Rector, H.A. and T.C., Churchwardens.
f '
This font thrown down in the war of the Fanatics, was set up
again in the year 1663." It is probable that Ackworth Church
suffered greatly during the civil wars, not only from its proxi-
mity to Pontefract, but also from the circumstance of one ot
the King's chaplains being its rector. We know for certain
that the ancient font was broken down. The first baptism, in
the font newly set up, was 24th November, 1663. When the
Church was restored in 1852, the basin of an ancient Norman
font was discovered under one of the north aisle pillars, of
which, indeed, it formed the foundation. The erection of this
* The House of God, the gate of Heaven.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 15
aisle having been subsequent to the civil wars, it is exceedingly
probable that this was the bowl of the ancient church font,
which had been placed there, on the erection of the aisle in
question, to prevent its being desecrated. During the progress
of the works, and whilst the Rector was absent from home, it
disappeared, and was supposed by the workmen to have been
broken up, and used in the building of the new chancel wall.
In the course of a year or two, however, this ancient relic re-
appeared as a flower-vase in a garden, which was then the
property of one of the sub-contractors. Unfortunately, by the
builder's contract, it was provided that all refuse materials
which could not be used in the re-erection of the church were
to be the property of the contractor. But, surely, the removal
of so sacred an object as the bowl of the ancient church font
was never contemplated by that clause, and its present sacrilegi-
ous exhibition in the centre of the village can be regarded by
no right-minded person in any other light than as an offence
against public decorum. Dr. Bradley (during whose incumbency
the present font was set up) had been Chaplain to Charles I.,
and Prebendary of York, and had married Lady Frances,
daughter of John Baron Saville,* of Pontefract, and he seems
to have been proud of his relationship and antecedents. His
grand-child, Charles, son of Mr. Danyell Godfrey, was the first
to be baptized in the new font. This is recorded at full length
in the parish register, as having occurred 24th November, 1663.
The Brass Lectern is a handsome one, and was presented to
the Church by J. Heaton Cadman, Esq., Recorder of Pontefract.
The Vestry Screen, consisting of two parts, and enclosing
the north-east corner of the Church, is a fine specimen of carved
oak, the work of A. Hayball, Sheffield, Sc., and bears the
following inscription. " These tivo screens are the gift of Joseph
and Caroline Nelstrop, of Ackivortk Lodge. Erected A.D. 1874-
The organ case is intended to be en suite, and the inscription
upon it is as follows : "Organ Case. Donor : C. M. Kenicortliy,
* Vide Monumental Epitaphs, and Biography of Dr. Bradley.
16 AOKWORTH, YORKS.,
Ackworth Rectory, A.D. 1874" The choir stall finials are also
worthy of notice.* On the west wall of the north aisle is
painted the following:
Benefactions to the Poor of the Parish of Ackworth.
1692. Elizabeth, relict of Sir John Lowther,Bart.\
A ~
gave
1717. Robert Lowther, of Ackworth, Esq. ... 50
1718. Margaret, wife of William Norton, of Saw-
ley, Esq. ... ... ... 20
1722. Ralph Lowther, of Ackworth Park, Esq. ... 20
1724. Ann, daughter of Ralph Lowther, Esq. ... 50
1724. Elizabeth, daughter of Lawson Trotter, of
Skelton Castle, Esq. ... ... 10
1729. John Lowther, of Ackworth Park, Esq. ... 50
1739. Thomas Bright, of "Badsworth, Esq. ... 20
1744. The Rev. William Key ... ... 20
1703. Robert Mason, Gent. ... ... ... 10
Ann, Relict of the Rev. J. Bolton ... 10
By Cash from a Stock of Cows ... ... 20
N.B. The above Benefactions are
laid out in House and Land upon
Lease to Anthony Surtees, Esq., for
12 Os. Od. per year, which Lease
expires in the year of our Lord
1862.f
Yearly Payments.
1701. Ann, Relict of Robert Calverley ... 10 OJ
Matthew Lambe, Yeoman ... ... 10
For the Land on which the Windmill is
erected ... ... ... ... 050
Jervas Seaton, of East Hardwick, for one
acre in Thorpleys ... ... 068
John Wormald, to the poor ... ... 080
And for putting out poor children ... 1
* These stalls were inserted in 1852.
t Ackworth House was subsequently sold to J. M. Hepworth, Esq., for 2,316,
which sum is now invested in the 3 per cent. Annuities.
t This is an error on the board. The payment is only ten shillings a year.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 17
Stephen Cawood, to the poor ... ... 100
And for repairing house, Stead lane ... 10
John Rusbforth, to the poor ... ... 100
John Topham, for one acre of land on the
Common ... ... ... 048
1803. Sarah and Francis Townsley, died intestate,
and in possession of a house, malt-
kiln, etc., and 7 acres of land adjoining
the Rectory on the East, and 4 acres
of land called Pudding Bush, which
Estate for want of heirs went to the
Trustees of the Manor of Ackworth,
for the benefit of the Freeholders.
1810. Henry Mitton, of Ackworth, left 20 (Duty
deducted), the interest to be paid to
20 poor widows, yearly, on New-Year's
Day, by the Churchwardens and Over-
seers.
1873. David Lindsay,* of Leeds, invested for
inmates of Lowther's Hospital -f- ... 150
Inside the Church, near the South door, on the right-hand
side going in, painted on a sheet of zinc may be seen the
sublime prayer of King Alfred, as follows :
' Forgive now, ever Good ! and give to us
That in our minds we soar up to Thee,
Maker of all things ! Through these troublous ways ;
And from amongst these busy things of life,
tender Father ! wielder of the world !
Come unto Thee, and through Thy good speed
With the mind's eyes well opened we may see
The welling spring of Good, that Good Thyself,
Lord, tbe King of Glory ! Then make whole
The eyes of our understandings, so that we
Father of angels, fasten them on Thee !
Drive away this tliick mist, which long while now
Hath hung before our mind's eyes heavy and dark ;
Enlighten now the mind's eyes with Thy light.
Master of Life ! for Thou, O tender Father,
Art very brightness of the True Light Thyself ;
* Buried at the east side of the Church. Died Oct. 7, 1874, aged 77.
f Vide Charities.
B
18 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
Thyself Almighty Father ! the sure rest
Of all Thy fast and true ones ; winningly
Thou orderest it, that we may see Thyself ;
Thou art of all things origin and end,
O Lord of all men ! Father of angels ! Thou
Easily bearest all things without toil ;
Thou art Thyself the way and leader too
Of everyone that lives, and the pure place
That the way leads to ; all men from this soil
Throughout the breadth of being, yearn to Thee."
KING ALFRED THE GREAT AND GOOD.
The seats in the Church are partly free, and partly appro-
priated. In 1852, the Incorporated Society for the building of
Churches, granted 120 towards the re-building of Ackworth
Church, upon condition that 1 73 seats* numbered 1 to 34 be
reserved therein for the use of the poorer inhabitants of the
parish. This fact is recorded upon a small board hung up in
the vestry. Accommodation is provided for five hundred and
six people, which, compared with the population, is certainly
insufficient.
The nave is three bays in length, the arches of which rest
upon piers of three-quarter cylindrical shafts, with circular
moulded capitals. The corbels are all carved with symbolical
figures. The tower and chancel arches are lofty and elegant,
with lightly foliaged capitals, the whole effect of which would
undoubtedly be improved by the additional height and light
imparted by a clerestorie. The entire length of the Church is
70 feet, and the entire width 50 feet.
CHURCH PLATE.
There can be no doubt that the original Church plate of
Ackworth was confiscated by the Duke of Northumberland, in
common with nearly all the plate of the Yorkshire Churches,
to the personal use of the " Royal Harry," in May, 1553. How
long the Holy Communion was consecrated and administered
at Ackworth in " vessels of pewter " we do not know, but the
oldest silver chalice is dated 1631,f and bears the following
* A clerical error. The word "seats" ought to be "sittings."
t There is a silver paten at East Harlsey Church, near Northallerton, which
bears date 1571.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 19
inscription : "This cup belonyeth to Ackwith prih." It is plain-
ly chased, and the cover, which is tightly fitting, is thus
inscribed : " wt. 16 les. 2 dt. Ao : Dni : 1631." The hall marks
are the same, both on cup and lid. On a shield the letters
in a circle a combination of three ostrich feathers, crown, rose,
and thistle ; and in a third shield a device too obliterated to
be intelligible. The second chalice is more elaborately chased,
and is, perhaps, older than the first, the chasing being less dis-
tinct, and the inscription indicative of an earlier existence than
that of the date which appears upon it. " This old cup was
given by the Rector to Ackworth parish, A.D. 1829." The
cover evidently dates from the period of the gift, and seems to
have been made and fitted to the old chalice to supply the
place of the original lid, which had been probably lost. This
conjecture is strengthened by the dissimilarity of the hall
marks which appear on the lid and cup, and the freshness of
the chasing on the lid compared with that upon the chalice.
The following is engraved upon the knop of the lid: "Ao:Dni:
1829 ;" and the hall mark, which is quite distinct, is
J.H.
on a square, a bust in a circle, a lion passant guardant, and the
letter " n," both on squares. The hall mark on the cup is much
less distinct, but appears to be the letter " " on a shield, a lion
statant (?), a device resembling a stag's head with antlers or
coronet, and the letters E) (R D) combined. The two flagons
are alike in every particular, and are therefore contemporary.
On the breast of each there is a floriated circle, in the centre
of which are six lozenges arranged in the form of a triangle,
graduating in size downwards, with a star for difference. The
hall marks are the letters " G.A." coronetted, two devices
resembling griffins, followed by the letter C on a shield. In
other respects they are plain and tasteless. The larger paten
20 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
is also very plain, the hall marks, which are nearly obliterated,
being the only marks to attract attention. The first mark is
H
the next is unintelligible, then comes a lion passant guardant,and
the letter fl. The pedestal, which is probably older than the
paten, looks as if it had been fixed on at a comparatively recent
period. The smaller paten is much more ancient, the chasing
being nearly invisible, and the coat of arms much defaced.
The field of the shield is uncertain, but it is emblazoned with
two bars fesse, and chief indented. The supporters are feathers.
but that is all that can be made out. The hah 1 marks are H,
with a star below, a lion's head ensigned with an imperial
crown, a lion passant guardant, and the letter {. The above
description, although crude and imperfect, will nevertheless be
interesting to archaeologists, antiquarians, and students of
heraldry. It is, however, quite certain that the Ackworth
Church plate was not manufactured in London, nor assayed at
Goldsmiths' Hall, but that it is of provincial manufacture, and
assayed at one of the provincial assay offices.
MONUMENTAL INSCRIPTIONS.
The monuments in Ackworth Church are few, and of simple
construction, but in one or two instances the inscriptions
thereon are extremely interesting. In the vestry, against the
east wall, there are two stone slabs, one broader than the other.
The left-hand slab bears the following inscription :
A cherub partially veiled, holding a wreath of immortelles, inside which is
an heraldic shield. Anns Per pale argent and gules Bradley. Gules, a fess
or, charged with three buckles or, arid a crescent for difference. Savile. Argent
on a bent sable three owls of the field.
FRANCIS . THE . DAUGHTER . OF . THE . RIGHT . HONBLE. . JOHN
SAVILE . BARON . OF . PONTEFRACT . AND . WIFE . TO . THOMAS
BRADLEY . DOCTOR . IN . DIVINITY . PREBEND . OF . YORKE .
RECTOR . OF . THIS . CHURCH . AND . CHAPLAYNE . TO . HIS
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 21
SACRED . MATY. . KING . CHARLES . THE . FIRST . ON . THE . 30
OF . JANUARY . 1663 . FELL . ASLEEPE . EXPECTING . THE
RES(S)URRECTION .
SHE . WAS . NOBLY . BORNE .
SHE . WAS . VERTVOVSLY . BRED .
SHE . LIVED . PIOVSLY .
SHE . DIED . PEACEABLY .
SHE . CARRIED . A . GOOD . CONSCIENCE . WITH . HER .
AND . HATH . LEFT . A . GOOD . NAME . BEHIND . HER .
SIC . SIC . IVVAT . IRE . SVB . VMBRAS .
FOR . PITY . AND . FOR . PIETY .
FOR . CHASTITIE . AND . FOR . CHARITIE .
FOR . PATIENCE . AND . HUMILITIE .
SHE . WAS . RARELIE . EXEMPLARY .
HIC . TENDIMUS . OMNES .
On the narrow right hand slab adjoining, the inscription is :
Arms Same, without cherub and wreath.
VXOREM . SEQVITVR .
THOMAS . BRADL^EVS .
AD . VRNAM . C(ELVM .
ANIMAS . CINERES .
H2EC . HABET . VRNAM .
SVOS.
I : KINGS : 19 : 4 :
I . AM . NO . BETTER
THEN . MY . FATHERS .
OBIT .
HOMO . ZTIO . DIE .
IOBRIS . AN . DOM .
1073,
22 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
The floor of the vestry, nave, and aisles of the Church are
covered with memorial slabs, bearing inscriptions for the most
part nearly obliterated, or unimportant, except perhaps as name
indicators. I have noted the following names and dates :
Burford, 1781. Daniel Hepworth (no date). Austwick,
1778. Howitt, 1755. Parker, 1769. Ann Ramsden,
(aged 90), 1763. Ann Sly (aged 87), 1611. Samuel
Anthron, 1789. Wise (?) Rishforth, 1732. Baynes, etc.
There are others, but they are covered by the organ and other
fittings.
Sir Roger Hopton's tombstone, which was discovered under
the seats now allotted to the occupiers of Ackworth Park, when
the Church was restored in 1852, is in excellent preservation,
is by far the most interesting and important relic of its kind in
Ackworth Church, and may now be seen in the south aisle.
In the centre is a large floriated cross, flanked by the arms of
Hopton and Savile, the whole surrounded by the following
inscription : " Orate pro animabus, Rogeri Hoptonis, militis,
et Annce uxoris suce, qui obierunt, Anno Domini 1506." It is,
therefore, the oldest tombstone in Ackworth Church. A sketch
is here inserted. Coat of Arms. Hopton two bars, each
charged with three mullets, in dexter chief a mullet for differ-
ence. Savile on a bend three owls. The name Roger is
common in the Hopton family. This Roger was probably the
same who, in 1492, was nominated by William Scargill as
trustee of a charity founded by the latter at Roth well, and who
in 3 Henry VII. (1487), was gentleman usher of the King's
chamber.
In the vestry, there is another slab, the inscription upon
which, so far as it is legible, is interesting :
Hoc sub marmore Reponuntur
Mortales Reliquce,
Matronoe Nobilis & Lectissimce
DME. ELIZAB, LOWTHER,
<==>
ITombslab.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 23
Quce Filice quondam Joh Hare
de Stow Bardolph in Comitat.
Norfolcice Equit Aurati
Primum Woolley Leigh Armig Nupta
Demum Honorabili Viro.
DNO. JOH LOWTHER de Lowther in
Agro Westmort Baronetto :
Multum Natalib : plus virtulib : inclaruit
Honorificas Nuptias,
hinc una nide sena sobole beavit :
tribus nempe Fillis totidenq Filiabus
Families LOWTHERINCE Additis
Venultum speciem mente plane divin&
Decora vit :
sas deniq Faculates Effusissima
assitate, charitate, munificentia,
um impendit magis honorifice
an audauxit.
ihter Beatam vitam utpote.
The remainder is hidden beneath the masonry which encloses
the vestry. The following names also appear on the vestry
floor.
Jonathan Seaton, 1762, Mary Lowther,
1753, and Margt. Baynes.
The mural monuments are few and unimportant. In the
south aisle, upon a fine slab of white marble :
.Arms of Gully.
Motto Vix ea nostra voco.
Sacred
to the memory of ROBERT GULLY, son of John Gully, Esq.,
of Ack worth Park, who, after suffering the horrors
and privations of shipwreck on the island
of Formosa, in the Brig, " Ann" on the
night of the 10th of March, 184-2,
24 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
in which vessel he was a passenger,
was, together with the rest of the crew, taken
prisoner by the Chinese, and suffered the greatest
privations and hardships, which he bore
with the most exemplary fortitude,
manly and cheerful resignation
to about the loth August,
when he, together with about 300 British subjects, was
most barbarously murdered in cold
blood by the Chinese authorities in the
town of Ty-wan-foo. He was endeared to a
large circle of friends for his manly
virtues and kindness of heart.
This tablet is erected by a bereaved and afflicted father.
Know thou, O stranger, to the fame
Of this much loved, much honoured name,
For none that knew him need be told
A warmer heart death ne'er made cold.
Under the tower, on white marble and grey granite:
Robert Heptinstall,
Died June 1st, 1726. Aged 43 years.
Upon a white marble slab, flanked with columns with
floriated capitals, supported by flying cherubim, and surmount-
ed with the Lowther coat of arms :
RALPH AND ROBERT LOWTHER, of Ackworth Park, Esqrs.,
Sons of Sir John Lowther, of Lowther, in
Westmorland, Bart., by Elizh. daughter
of Sir Ralph Hare, Bart. Issue of Ralph
Lowther, by Mary his wife, daughter of Godfrey
Lawson, of Leeds, Esq., one son and eight daughters.
Died 1724. Aged 69.
ROBERT LOWTHER, died without issue, 1720. Aged 57.
John, only son of Ralph, Died without issue
1729, 45. Dorothy Norton, Grand-daughter
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 25
of Ralph Lowther, and daughter of William Norton,
of Sawley, Esq., Died 1729. Aged 12.
Monument erected by Mary, only surviving of
eight daughters, 1735.
On a stone slab :
Near this place lieth the Body of the Revd.
Charles Pearse, of Ackworth, who died July
8th, 1776. Aged 80.
On a white marble slab :
Richard Mason, died 22nd July, 1760,
Aged 67 years.
George Mason, his son, died 22nd Novr., 1747,
Aged 28 years.
Rebecca, wife of Richard Mason, died June 19,
1769, Aged 72 years.
On white marble and granite :
Anthony Surtees, Esq., J.P., Lieut. CoL 2nd W. Y. M.
Died Jan. 12, 1807: Aged 65 years.
In same vault :
Frances Dorothea Surtees, wife of the above,
Died March 27, 1802. Aged 64 years.
She was daughter of Penelope, wife of John
Price, Esq., who afterwards married
Timothy Lee, D.D., Rector of
this Parish.
Before the restoration on the south side of the altar rails:
Here lyeth interred the body of the Lady
Margt. Aubrey, wife of St. John
Aubrey, Bart, of Lantrithidge,
in Glamorganshire in South Wales, who departed
this Life the 13th June, 1868 aged 31 years.
26 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
Underneath on the same stone :
Also of Robert Lovvther, Esq., youngest
Son of the Honble. St. John Lovvther,
of Lowther, Bart.
Who departed this Life the 24th day of
August, 1720, in the 56 year of
his age.
The following inscriptions appear in the Churchyard : *
Henry Mitton, died Nov. 20, 1791, 81 years.
Elizabeth, wife of above, died March 22, 1802,
76 years.
John Beaumont, died June 19, 1798, aged 76.
Mary, wife of Joseph White, died Feb. 5th, 1776,
aged 65.
Mary, wife of John Burford, died Feb. 2, 1795,
aged 67.
William, son of John and Mary Burford, died April
30, 1781, aged 20.
Catherine, wife of Wm. Sikes, died 4th August,
1742, aged 48.
Robert Sikes, son of above, died 4th January,
1746, aged 2 years.
William Sikes, husband of Catherine, died
June 25th, 1764, aged 55.
Major John Goldsworthy ,-J- of Hon. East India
Co.'s Madras Army. Died June 1, 1884, aged 80.
(Skull and Crossbones.)
Samuel, son of Mr. Samuel Turner, A.M., late Vicar
of Blyth, by Frances, his wife, daughter of
Mr. Hacksup, of Finniley, afterwards
* Facts only are here given, such as names, dates, and ages.
t Major Goldsworthy was a very pronounced Conservative, and declined the
use of his pew to the Duke of Gloucester, when that nobleman attended Ack-
worth Church, because he was a Liberal,
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 27
wife to Robert Mason, of Ackworth,
Gent, died 26th December, 1706 *
aged 18.
John, son of Wm. Heptinstall, died 4th Sept. 1726,
aged 21.
William, second son of above William, died
27th Feb., 1735-6, aged 29.
And as an early token of his pious inclinations and the true
honour he bore to God's house, did (with the consent of his
dear mother) give ten pounds towards the building of a vestry
to this Church.
Rev. Thos. Bell, late of East Hardwick,
Died Nov. 18 aged 77 years.f
On the west side of the Churchyard, near the Church
William Robert Hay, M.A.,
Rector of this Parish
37 years;
Died
10th December, 1839, aged
78.
On the other side of the tomb
Mary Hay,
Wife of the Rector
of this Parish,
Died
18th Feb., 1832,
aged 71.
Further north
Here lies the Body of Ann, Relict
of the Rev. Kingsman Baskett,
of Pocklington,
She died 26 March, 1826, aged
81 Years.
* Vide sub datum, Ann : 1712. The young man's wish was probably only
carried out six years after his death.
t Date obliterated.
28 ACKWORTH, YOKES.,
On the north-east side, separated by a high wall from the
Churchyard, there is the mausoleum of the Gully family,
formerly of Ackworth Park. It stands in its own grounds,
which are kept in beautiful order.
John Gully,* Died at Durham, March 9th, 1863,
79 years.
There are also two daughters of Mr. Gully buried here,
both of whom died in infancy.
East end
Captain R. S. Adams (14th Foot), Died August 5,
1837, aged 47.
Wm. Clark, Surgeon, Died July 22, 1861,
55 years.
North side
Ann Clareborough, Died April 19, 1832,
60 years.
John Petty, Esq., of Ackworth Park, Died Oct. 4,
1826, 68 years.
East end
Lucy, wife of Wm. Peel, of Ackworth Park,
Died April 14, 1869.
STAINED GLASS.
Ackworth Church is rich in memorial windows, all of them,
except two, being filled with stained glass of elegant tints and
appropriate designs. The east .window is a fine specimen of
decorative art. Five figures are depicted therein, three are
designed to represent ecclesiastical saints, and two regal;
emblematical of the union and co-operation which should
exist between the Church and the Throne. S.S. Cuthbert,
Augustine of Canterbury, and Paulinus, were Bishops, and S.S.
Edmund and Oswald, were Kings. The ancient prediction of
* A memoir of John Gully will be found herein, under the head of Biographi-
cal Sketches,
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 29
Isaiah : " and Kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their
Queens thy nursing mothers," is no contradiction of the more
recent saying of our Divine Head, " My Kingdom is not of this
world." St. Edmund is represented in the first light as holding
in his hand the instrument of his martyrdom. The second
light contains a figure of St. Augustine of Canterbury, vested
in episcopal habits, and holding in his left hand a banner, upon
which is inscribed an emblem, or picture, of the Crucifixion of
our Lord. The centre figure is a representation of St. Cuthbert
(to whom the Parish Church of Ackworth is dedicated), with
the head of St. Oswald in his hand. Above is St. Cuthbert's
cross. In the cinque-foil on the north side is depicted the in-
cident of the young Cuthbert keeping watch over his flock by
the river Leder. On the other side is portrayed St. Cuthbert
administering the Holy Communion to the dying Boisil, monk
of Melrose. In the next light is the figure of St. Paulinus,
attired in archiepiscopal vestments, and the figure in the fifth
light represents St. Oswald, King and Martyr, crowned, and
holding in one hand a sceptre, and in the other a cross. Along
the bottom of the window appears the following inscription :
" In memory of Elizabeth Harriet (Kenworthy), the wife of the
Rector of this parish, who departed this life March 2nd, 1853,
aged 32 years."
There are four other windows in the Chancel, all filled with
stained glass. The first on the south side is a two-light, con-
taining full length figures of S.S. Hilda and Ebba ; and the
other is a single light representation of S. Alban. The first
of these saints was the virgin founder of Whitby Abbey ; the
second was the daughter of Ethelfrid, King of Northumberland,
sister of S. Oswald, and abbess of Coldingham, in Scotland ;
and the third is known as the proto-martyr of Britain, all three,
however, were martyrs. On the north side of the Chancel,
which at Ackworth is a continuation of the north aisle, the
windows are both two-light memorial ones. In the first
window are representations of Christ bearing His Cross, and
SO ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
the legendary incident in the life of St. Veronica ; below is the
following inscription : " In memory of Clara, the beloved wife
of John Hardy Thursby. Born 24 March, 1839, Died 21
March, 1867. ^Etat 27." The other window depicts Monica's
visit to S. Augustine, and S. Paulinus baptizing in the Swale.
It was inserted to the memory of " Henry Cockerill Leatham,
Deceased 6 Aug. 1852 aged 75 years," and " Lucy Leatham,
his wife, Deceased 18 Feb. 1866, aged 78 years."
East end of South Aisle.
Three-light window representing the Crucifixion, Resurrec-
tion, and Ascension of Christ, and underneath the following
inscription : "In memory of John Pearson, who deceased May
9th, 1843, aged 63 years ; also of Emma his wife, who departed
this life May llth, 1842, aged 54. They rest on the east side
of this window."
South Aisle.
Two double-light windows. The former contains a repre-
sentation of Christ in Gethsemane, and on the road to Calvary.
The inscriptions below are as follows : " In memory of William
Grubb, who departed this life April 2nd, 1854, aged 79 years."
"In memory of Hannah Grubb, who departed this life 3rd Augt.
] 876, in her 92 year." The latter depicts Christ being crowned
with thorns, and scourged. This window was put in to the
" memory of Mary Plowes, of this parish, who departed this
life on the 14th day of December, 1857, aged 84."
West end of South Aisle.
Two-light window, representing Christ being baptized, and
blessing little children. Inscription : >Ji Basil Anthony Ken-
worthy 1% Born F : of the Epiphany >J< Deceased Eve of All
Saints, 1854 %* Aged 9 months. >& " The Lord gave and the
Lord hath taken away ; blessed be the name of the Lord." >J<
The upper or tracery portion of the large west window only
is stained, the rest is tinted.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 1
West end of North Aisle.
Two-light window, corresponding with west end of south
aisle, one light depicting the annunciation to the Shepherds,
and the other the Presentation of Christ in the Temple. In-
scription : " In memory of Jane Yates Wilson, who deceased
13th December, 1842, aged 28 ; also Anna Maria Wilson, who
departed this life May 25th, 1846, aged 24."
North Aisle.
Three double-light windows. (1) Mercy and Charity.
Inscription : " Mary Munkhouse Barnett, Deceased 2nd May,
18G4, aged 78 years." (2) Manifestation to the Shepherds and
Magi. Inscription : " Francis Augusta Bland, Deceased Dec.
26, 1855, aged 75 years." (3) The flight into Egypt and the
Herodian massacre. Inscription: "Judith Selina Bland,
Departed this life July 16, 1847, aged 66 years."
The window at the east end of the north aisle is like the
west window in the nave, stained ih the upper portion and
tinted in the lower.
It will easily be imagined that so much stained glass creates
a " dim religious light," which in itself is both depressing and
undesirable, making the use of artificial light frequently
necessary in the winter months, during the greater part ot the
day. In this instance convenience must give way to art, for
it would be difficult to obtain a faculty for their removal, and
the only way to obtain "more light" would be either to restore
the clerestorie, or insert Dormer windows in the roof.
THE PARISH REGISTERS.
These valuable records, which begin 10th February, 1558,
are in a good state of preservation from the first, with the
exception of a few places in the earliest book, where the entries
have almost disappeared ; but this defect is remedied to a great
32 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
extent by a page for page paper copy on interleaves bound with
the original parchment. During the rectorate of Dr. Timothy
Lee (1744-77), more than ordinary care was shewn in keeping
the books. It was the Doctor who caused the copy to be made
of the first book ; and in his time the numbers of births and
deaths, ages at death, and causes of death, are tabulated yearly,
males being distinguished from females, and the entries being
signed by him and the Churchwardens periodically. The
death tables are interesting as shewing the disorders most
prevalent in the village. Consumption appears to have been
peculiarly fatal. In one year, out of twelve burials of children
from the Foundling Hospital, eleven are stated to have died
from this cause. In the second volume, which extends from
August, 1687, to March, 1732, entries are made of the fact of
pregnancy of women at the time of marriage, " being with
child." Sometimes, when a birth occurred too soon after
marriage, the words " begotten in fornication " are added to
the entry of its baptism. We also perceive evidence of the
existence of the Foundling Hospital* in the following entry :
"June, 1705, Thomas, a child brought to the parish in the
night, (was) baptised." The prevalence of the plague is shewn
in this register, as well as at Wakefield and others, thus
"Richard Pickeringe and Frances Ledsome, married June 25th,
1645, in which year there dyed of the plague in Ackworth 153
persons ; Richard Pickeringe being then Constable." The
following surnames, which still exist here, or in the neighbour-
hood, or have, in a few instances, lately disappeared, are found
in the registers from 1558 to 1717. The earliest are : Pearson,
Austwicke, Heptonstall, Simson, Wormald, Becket, Roberts,
Newell, Broadlaye, Huntingdon, Briggs, Scolaye (now Scholey),
Roades, Hepworth, Horncastle, Grenfield 1579, Heaton, Shillito,
Fernlaye, Brears,Tompson,Thacker, Warde,Rish worth, Newsam,
Jackson, Lightfoote, Howitt 1618, Turner, Beamond, Collett,
Patrick 1641, Ryder after 1652, Warde, Sayll, Battye, Crossley
* Probably a small building in connection with London.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 33
about 1710, Spink, Wrath, Nelstrope, Towning after 1726,
Birkett, Haggar, Wofendale, Townend, Hollins, Hattersall, Duf-
fins. Marriages in 1654 (only) took place before "Jo Warde" and
" John Ramsden." The following is a descriptive list of the
Parish Registers, extracted from the Parochial Magazine of
December, 1859, and brought down to the present time.
The Registers of this Parish consist of 15 volumes up to
the present time.
VOL I.
Vol. 1 is a parchment book, interleaved with paper. It
would appear to consist of two parts, and, considering its
antiquity, is in excellent repair. The writing is, however, in
some instances, nearly illegible. Dr. Timothy Lee, who was
instituted to the Rectory of Ackworth in 1744, employed an
expert in writing to copy each page. That copy is interleaved
with the original. The volume is bound in calf with brass
clasps.
The 1st part is from 1558 to 1648.
The 2nd part 1648 to 1687.
The first Baptism is February 10th, 1558.
Marriage October, 1558.
Burial January 8th, 1561.
The last Baptism May 5th, 1686.
Marriage January 5th, 1686.
Burial March 20th, 1685.
On the first page of parchment is this entry, " Thomas
Hartyndon, Rector, presented to this living by Queen Mary,
April, 1554."
Amongst the Baptisms for 1558 and 1559, are to be found
the still familiar names of " Austwicke " and " Heptinstall."
In this volume are many entries worth transcribing. We
can only find space, however, for the following : " Richard
Pickeringe and Ffrances Ledsome, Married June 25th, 1645, in
34 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
which year there dyed of the Plague in Ackworth,153 persons
Richard Pickeringe being then Constable."
"Baptismesl663."
" Charles the Sonne of Mr. Danyell Godfrey, By Barberry
the Daughter of Dr. Thomas Bradley, Rector of Ackworth,
Chaplayne to His Majesty King Charles the First, and Preben-
dary of Yorke, and the Lady Ffrances his wife, daughter to
the Right Honourable John Lord Saville, Baron of Pontefract,
&c., was baptized the 24th of November, Anno 1663 : being
the first that was baptized in the ffont newly sett up after the
antient ffont was destroyed and broken downe in the late Civill
Warrs. On Candlemas Day imediatly followinge, was The
Honourable the Lady Ffrances above-mentioned here, honour-
ably inter'd, who died the Saturday before, being the 30th Day
of January, the day wherein his late Majesty, of blessed memory,
was put to death, and the very same hour (as neere as may be
conjectured) wherein His Majesty suffered, did she breath her
last, and returnd her Spirit unto God that gave it."
VOL. II.
Is a folio parchment Book, bound in calf, with brass clasps.
Here also two volumes appear to have been bound up into one.
The first part is from 28th August, 1687 to 1732.
The second 25th March, 1732 to 1754.
In the first part the first Baptism is 28th August, 1687.
Burial 28th May, 1688.
Marriage,, 16th Nov. 1687.
the last Baptism 9th March, 1732.
In the first part Burial 22nd Feb., 1732.
Marriage 20th Dec., 1731.
In the second part the first Baptism 24th May, 1732.
Burial 21st April, 1732.
Marriage 10th April, 1732.
the last Baptism 13th Feb., 1754.
Burial 9th March, 1754.
Marriage,, 12th Feb., 1754.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 35
In the beginning of this volume, it is worthy of note, that
in marriages, where the woman is in the family way, the fact
is recorded both in the entry of marriage and also in that of
the baptism. Thus, in 1695, " William Simpson and Grace
Howitt were Marryed Nov. 21, being with child" " Abraham
Walker and Mary Usher were marry ed Feb. the 25th, being
with child"
In 1696, we find this entry: "Wm. ye Son of Wm. Simpson
and Grace his wife, begotten in fornicacion, born March ye 20,
baptized eodem Die."
We do not remember ever to have met with, or heard of, an
instance of similar discipline.
VOL. III.
Is a bound parchment folio. It contains the entries to the
end of 1788. Into this Dr. Lee (who was inducted 4th Dec.
1744) seems to have brought forward the entries from the time
of his induction.
From June, 1754, the publication of banns is entered. From
24 Nov. 1754 to 6th Feb. 1759, (both inclusive,) the entries of
the marriages are made in the form prescribed by 26th George
II. From thence to the end of 1788, the marriages are enter-
ed agreeably to the substance of it, but not in the exact form.
On the 18th March, 1753, Births as well as Baptisms begin to
be registered.
VOL. IV.
A parchment folio. Bound in Calf.
Births, Baptisms, Deaths, Burials ) are entered to the
and the publication of Banns / end of 1812.
The marriages are entered" to the end of 1802.
VOL. V.
Is a paper Book, bound in Calf. It contains the entries of
Marriages from 1802 to the end of 1812.
VOL. VI.
Is a parchment volume, bound in calf, with clasps. It con-
tains the entries of Baptisms from 1812 to Dec. 21st., 1834. All
36 ACKWORTH, YOKKS.,
the entries from 1812 are made in accordance with the Act
52nd George III, cap. 146.
VOL. VII.
Is also a parchment folio, bound in calf, with clasps. It
contains the entries of Baptisms from 21st Dec., 1834, to the
present time.
VOL. VIII.
Is a parchment folio, bound in calf, with clasps. It contains
the entries of Burials from 1812 to 27th May, 1851.
VOL. IX.
Is a paper book, ruled agreeably to the directions of the
Marriage Act of 52 George III., cap. 146. It contains the
entries of Marriages from 1812 to June, 1837.
VOL. X.
Is also a paper book, bound in boards, and ruled in accordance
with the Act 6th and 7th Guelelmi IV., cap. 86. It contains
the entries of Marriages from June, 1837, to present time.
VOL. XI.
Duplicate of above.
VOL. XII.
Contains the Burials at Ack worth from June, 1851, to Novr.,
1882. Parchment leaves. Bound in leather, with brass clasps.
It records 778 Burials, but contains no title-page.
VOL. XIII.
Register of Baptisms, from June, 1868, to March, 1885.
Paper leaves, bound in leather. It records 800 Baptisms, and
from the year 1875 the date of birth is also generally recorded.
The words, " By whom the ceremony was performed," in the
last column, are altered into " By whom the Sacrament was
administered."
VOL. XIV.
Register of Burials from Jan., 1883. Paper leaves, bound
in leather. The word " ceremony " in the last column is altered
to " service."
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 37
VOL. XV.
Register of Baptisms from March, 1885. Paper leaves,
bound in vellum. Date of birth recorded, and words in last
column altered as in Vol. XIII. The last four volumes are
neatly and carefully kept.
The name "Austwicke," spelt differently, occurs one hun-
dred times in eighty-three years ; and "Howett," eighty-seven
times in a hundred years. After these, " Wormald " and
" Scholey" appear more frequently than any other name. Some
very curious Christian names also occur, instance the following :
"Beersheba Burton," baptized in 1794 ; and" Sindonia Belcher,"
mother of Mary, baptized in 1796. The former was meant by
the parents to have been christened Bathsheba. " Hephzibah
Heptinstall," baptized in 1751, only survived her baptism
two months ; "Septima Asquith," baptized in 1752 ; "Gamaliel
Patrick," in 1762 ; "Hezekiah Parsons, a foundling," buried hi
1762; "Cassandra Waller," buried in 1763; "Magdalen
Foundling" buried from the Foundling Hospital in 1764. She
is described as an " orphan," and her surname was evidently
given to indicate her original condition. The son of William
and Elizabeth Freeman, (the father being described as a
"labourer,") was actually baptized in 1765 by the name of
" Doctor Willia ! " shall we say as a compliment to the medi-
cal man who assisted to bring him into the world ? " Debora
Blackboard, Lucretia Drake, Amor Baker, Bona Crew, Camilla
Grove, Samuetta Sykes, Silvester Harrison, Benedict Hall," all
foundlings, were buried in Ackworth Churchyard between the
years 1765 and 1772. " Epaphroditus Hattersley," yeoman,
was buried in the latter year. The Registers are well worth
perusal*
* The earlier portion (1558-1648) is reproduced verbatim in " Yorkthire Note*
and Queries," Parts II.-X.
38
ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
The Chantry.
There was in the Chapel of St. Mary, in Ackworth Church,
before the Keformation, a Chantry of our Lady, founded by
Isabel de Castleforth, value at the dissolution, 4> 16s. 4d. per
annum.
Mr. Torre gives the following catalogue of the Chantry
Priests : *
Temp. Inst.
Capellan.
Patrons.
Vacat.
1407. 18 Aug.
1420. 19 July.
1433. 28 Aug.
1480. 26 May.
1521. 2 Oct.
Willm. Eltham
Robertus Briggs, Pbr.
Tho. Handrys, Pbr.
Tho. Hoderode, Pbr.
Tho. Pond, alias Jonet
Tho. Reynolds, Chaplin
Jno. Thompson, Pbr.
Tho. De Whiston, Rector Eccles.
Act.
Tho. Balne, Rector de Ackworth
Prior and Convt.of Monk Bretton
John Winter, Rector of Ackworth
Assignee of Rector of Ackworth
Resig.
Death.
Death.
This account of the Chantry will remind the reader of the
field and croft adjoining, on the north, a portion of glebe called
the Stone Style Acre, traversed by the footpath from Ackworth
to Hessle. This piece of ground was, and is still, called the
" Chantry Close," and there can be no doubt that it formed
part of the endowment of the Chantry above-named. Indeed,
this is almost certain, from the fact that about one hundred
and forty years ago this field was the property of Sir Rowland
Winn, of Nostel, in whom seems to have centered all the
estates of which the Church in this neighbourhood was robbed
at the Dissolution,
The Rectory.
The Church, having had the good fortune to escape being
appropriated, remains a Rectory, heretofore appendant to the
manor, and in the patronage of the several Lords thereof the
Laceys, and Dukes of Lancaster but not passing in the grant
to the City of London, is now become an advowson in gross
* Extracted from Mr. Torre's Books in the Library of the Dean and Chapter
of York.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 39
remaining to the Duchy of Lancaster, the several Chancellors,
for the time being, being patrons. In Henry VIII. a payment
was made in exchange with the Archbishop of York for other
lands, but for all that the King presented to the living, and not
the Archbishop.*
Value and taxation of Ackworth Rectory hi the King's
Book: s. d.
First Fruits
9,9,
1
81
Tenths
2
4
1-
L
Procurations
7
6
Subsidies
1
18
Synodols
6
6
4
Ifi
-, i
*
26
17
9f
The present value of the living, according to Crockford, is
Glebe 152 acres, let for 258 ; T. R C. 150 ; Consols from
Glebe, 19 ; Gross Income, 447 and house.
Soon after the foundation of Nostel Priory, the brethren of
that monastery acquired the advowson of various livings in the
neighbourhood, including Ackworth, which, at the dissolution,
revolved to the Crown. Many of the early Rectors of Ack-
worth were brethren of Nostel.-f
The present Rectory was built upon the site of an older
edifice, in 1842. It would seem from the relics which still
remain, and which were used in the construction of the modern
building, that the fittings of the old Rectory were of an elabo-
rate and durable character, notably the carved oak mantle-
piece in the dining room, and the en suite mouldings which
surround the doors and windows. There are also two interest-
ing bust portraits in oil of two former Rectors the Rev. Dr.
Bradley, and the Rev. Dr. Timothy Lee. They are in good con-
dition, the latter is painted by Killingbeck, but by whom the
former is not known.
* Vide Torre's MSS. York.
t Vide Boothroyd's Hist. Pont., p. 82.
Hrms ot IRostel priory.
A.D. 1087.
The earliest mention of Ackworth to be found in ancient
documents is probably that contained in the Domesday survey,
to which reference has already been made. A verbatim extract
of the entry will, therefore, be both interesting and valuable.
[DOMESDAY, 316, col. 2.]
In ACEVVRDE. Erdulf & Osulf habuer'. vi. car' t'rse Surrey!* 7
II ad g'ld'. ubi poss'. e'e'. v. car'. N'c h't Hunfrid, de Ilb'to.
Ipse ibi. i. car' & dimid'. & xiiii. uill'. & ii. bord'. cu'. vi.
M, car'. Ibi eccl'a & p'b'r'. un' mold', xvi. denarior'. T.R.E. val'
iiii. lib'. m. iii. lib'. D.B. 107. Terr. Ilb'ti d' Lac'.
The following is a translation, for the benefit of those who
are not versed in old documentary Latin :
" Manor in Ackworth. Erdulf & Osulf have six carucates
of land to be taxed, where there might be five ploughs.
Humphry now holds it of Ilbert. [Humphry] himself
has there one plough and a half, and fourteen villains,
and two boors. There is a Church there, and priest ;
one mill, of sixteen pence. Value in King Edward's
tune four pounds, now three pounds. Domesday Book
107. Land of Ilbert de Lacy.*
There is a local tradition that Standing Flat Bridge, the 1066.
northern boundary mark between the parishes of Ackworth, Stamford
Badsworth, and Pontefract, was the scene of an encounter be-
tween a fugitive soldier from the battle of Stamford Bridge,
and one of the victorious Norwegian army, who had relent-
lessly pursued his victim up to this place. Whether, by feigning
flight, the wary Saxon had purposely drawn his enemy away
* Vide Ackworth Manor.
42 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
A.D. 1C66. from the main body of the army, we do not know, but it is said
that, having gained the bridge, he turned like a stag at bay,
and, after a fierce encounter, succeeded, like the heroic Horatius,
"Who kept the bridge in the brave days of old,"
in slaying his antagonist, but only to be himself overcome and
slain, after a most desperate struggle, by a body of Normans in
search of fugitives. From this incident the bridge is said to
have derived its name ; but Boothroyd, one of the historians
of Pontefract, has taken upon himself the responsibility of
giving the tradition a semblance of truth, by saying that
Standing Flat Bridge actually was the scene of the battle of
Stamford Bridge (Pans belli). But, of course, he has no ground
whatever for the statement, except the tradition above alluded
to.
losi. We learn from Domesday that in Saxon times there were
Surve two M anors in Ackworth, now perhaps represented by High
Ackworth and Low Ackworth, but these had been united be-
fore the Conquest, when, out of 2,643 acres, the taxable area
was six carucates, capable of employing five ploughs. At the
time oi the Great Survey, the Manor was in the hands of
Ilbert de Lacy, whose tenant was one Hunfrid or Humphrey,
He held 1| carucates, that is, a quarter of the whole Manor, in
his own hands, as demesne, employing 14 villains in its culti-
vation, while the rest of the Manor was apportioned between
two borderers, or farmers, as his under-tenants, who employed
six ploughs. There was a mill paying xviijd., but the town-
ship was so purely arable, that there was neither taxable
meadow nor taxable wood.*
Circa. Hundfridus (a name more familiar in the form of Hutn-
Huidfddus phrey) was a vassal of Ilbert de Laci, holding manors and lands in
Snidal, N e wton, and two in A ckworth. As " Umfredus de Villeio,"
we find him not long afterwards (i.e., before 1100) giving two
garbs (from the harvest yearly) at the first two places, towards
the endowment of the Chapel of St. Clement, in Pontefract
* Vide Arch, and Top. Journal, Part XXXVIII., p. 256.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS.
43
Castle,* founded by Ilbert de Lacy. He must have come from A.D. 1100.
one of the places called Villy, in the department of Calvados,
in which Lassy also is situated.-f-
Osulf (a contemporary of Hundfridus), who held a manor Osuif.
in (High) Hoyland, and now holds it of Ilbert de Laci, was
perhaps, the same Osulf, whose manors in Methley and Ack-
worth, Ilbert also had, but retained in his own hands. To Roger
de Busli were given the lands of Osul(f), in Barnborough,
Bolton-upon-Dearne, and other places near Doncaster.;J:
Ex Rotulo pl'itar in dorso ter Pascha, II. John Roll 7. 1209.
EE. 20. Between Roger Constable, of Chester, plf. &
[Vol. 124.] Guilbert de Aquila & Isabell his wife, of one Kts.
fee in the wood of Roinhay (Roundhay). Isabella
disponsata fuit in Hoiland in alio Com. Robto. de Lascy filio
Henrico de Lascy quern p. fuit dos huius Isabelloa het in dotem
in Warmetield, Croston (Crofton) in Akeworth & in Roindhay
quo Robtus habuit.
About this time a Charter was granted to Margaret, Countess 1216-72.
of Lincoln, free warren in the demsne lands of Wrangle, Riby, A charter -
Scarthro, Wayth, in Lincolnshire ; Bradenham, in Norfolk ;
Halton, Thoresby, Sedgebrook, in Lincoln ; Kneesall, in Notts. ;
Beaghall, Ackworth, Cridling Stubbs, and Warmfielu, in
Yorkshire.
" Henry de Akeworth, clerk, who had a pension of xls. (in 122 6
the name of the parson) from the Ch. of Akeworth, being- dead, institu-
tion.
at the presentation of the King, as guardian of the land and
* Vide Old Mon., Vol. I., p. 160.
t For Yorkshire Tenants named in Domesday Book, see Ellis's " Biographi-
cal Notes."
J Vide Ellis's "Biographical Notes."
" This is," says Mr. Holmes, "an exceedingly important deed. The child-
less widow of Robert de Lacy, by her marriage with Gilbert de Aquila, became
the mother of a daughter, Alice, who ultimately became the first wife of John
the Constable, son of the present plaintiff." Vide Arch & Top. Journal. Part
XXXVIII, page 256, foot-note.
44
ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
A.D. 1226. heir of the late Earl of Lincoln, we institute Th. de Noketon,
clerk, to it.*
1294. Pl'ita de quo warranto, A 22 E. 1, for Pascha.
D.D. 50. For free warren in Rockesden (als Ridlesden)
[Vol. 122.] Keswicke, Ackworth, & Hagen worth, comonly
Haworth, in the County of York.-f-
1310.
Reversion
of
Ackworth.
1315.
1318.
A fine.
1321.
Out of the Register of Thos : Corbrigg, Archbp. of Y.
1301.
Presenta-
tion, g [Vol. 28] 37. Henry de Lascy, E. of Lincolne, p'sents to the
29. E. 1. Church of Ackworth.\
1323.
Fourth, Edward II., Henry de Lacy, Baron of Pontefract,
Earl of Lincoln, etc., died seized of this manor, with the ad-
vowson of the Church there. Upon the death of Henry de
Lacy, Ackworth, as part of the Barony of Pontefract, passed,
with other great estates and honours, by the marriage of Alice,
his only daughter and heiress, to Thomas (son of Edmund
Crouchback, brother of Edward I.), Earl of Lancaster.
Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, was returned as Lord of the
Manor of Ackworth, in the ninth year of Edward II.
Twelfth, Edwaid II. There was a fine levied to the manor
of Monk Bretton of a mess ; and sixty acres of land at
Ackworth.
In 1321, Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, took up arms against
his cousin, Edward II., and was defeated at Boroughbridge, in
the fifteenth year of Edward the Second, brought back to his
Castle of Pontefract, tried, condemned, and beheaded there,
and his estate (including the Manor of Ackworth) seized into
the King's hands as forfeited.
Sixteenth Edward II. Joan, widow of Henry de Lacy,
released to the King her rights in this manor (of Ackworth)
and the park there.
* Vide Alp. Gray's Register, 1215-55, and Surtees Soc., 1470, col. 56.
t Vide Dodsworth's MSS.
| Vide Dodsworth's MSS., and Harl MS., 800.
Vide luquis. post mortem.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 45
At the Revolution, Henry (brother of Thomas), Duke of A . D . 1327.
Lancaster, recovered all his estates. These passed again, by
the marriage of Maud, heiress general of the first family of
Lancasters, to John of Gaunt, third son of Edward III., and
founder of the second family of Lancasters, and created by his
father Duke of Lancaster.
Out of Melton's Register, fo. 197. 1333.
B [Vol. 28] 95. Phillippa the Queen p'sentes to the Church of
7. E. 3. Ackworth. 1333.*
Poll Tax, 2 Ric. II. At this date there was a taxable popu-
lation in Ackworth of 83, of whom 77 paid fonrpence, and 6
paid sixpence. These last were 3 tailours, 2 wrights, and 1
smith. The remainder were villains (labourers) and borderers
(farmers).-f-
Wappentagium de Osgodcrosse. Vitiate de Ackeivorth.
Richard Brande and Matilda his wife, Taylou* vj.d.
Johanna his daughter iiij.d.
Robert del Hill and Isabella his wife, Smyth ... ... vj.d.
John Horner and Johanna his wife, Taylour ...
Wm. Carter and Magota his wife, Wright
Edmund Amyas and Isabella his wife, Taylour ... ...
Rich, de Thornehill and Johanna his wife, Wright
John Nurre and Agnes ... ... ... ... ... iiij.d.
Robt. del More and Cecilia ... ... ... ...
John Paileben (?) and Agnes
Johanna his daughter ... ... ... ... ...
John de Wollay ... ... . . ... ... ... '
Robert Cooke
John Fay the and Alicia ...
John his son
Thos. Maundrell and Elenor
John his servant ... ... ... ... ... ...
* Vide Dodsworth's Yorkshire Notes, and Harl MS.
t Vide Poll Tax Returns.
46 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
A.D. 1379. John Bakester and Johanna ... ... ... ... vj.d.
Adam Raynald and Magota
John Rylle and Avicia . ... ... ... ...
John Johnson and Agnes ... ... ... ...
John Couper and Elenor ... ... ... ...
Peter Gange and Avicia ... ... ... ... ...
Robert atte Hole and Alicia ... ... ... ...
Win. Raynald and Johanna ... ... ... ...
Matilda their servant ... ... ... ... ...
Adam Darkyn and Alicia ... ... ... ...
John Waleys and Johanna ... ... ... ...
Thos. Harman and Agnes ... ... ... ...
Thos. Shephird and Johanna ... ... ... ...
Henry Crofton and Magaret ... ... ... ...
Wm. Taylour and Matilda
Robt. Shephird and Katherine ... ... ... ...
John Marre and Constance ... ... ... ...
John Shephird and Alicia ... ... ... ...
Thos. Carter and Magota ... ... ... ...
Wm. Waleys and Alicia
Robt. Smyth and Johanna ... ... ... ...
John de Wodhous and Alicia ... ... ... ...
John Smyth and Johanna ... ... ... ...
Adam Why tehead and Clara ... ... ... ...
Hugo de Fetherstan and Emma ...
John Long and Johanna
Rich, de Fenton and Emma
John Wryght and Alicia * ... ... ... ...
John de Acworthe, mercer, and Idonia his wife paid the tax of
vj.d., in the ville of Wake field and Wapentake of Agbrigg.
1399. Henry, the son of John of Gaunt, coming to the Crown, on
the deposition of Richard II., brought Ackworth in the honour
of Pontefract, and other great estates into it, as parcel of the
* !3ee " Yorkshire Arclitcolog. Journal." Part XXI., p. 36.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS.
47
Duchy of Lancaster, in which it continued until the time of A . D . 1399.
James I.
Henry Forrester had the manor of "Hesill," near Ackworth
and Pontefract, to him and the heirs male of his body, the re-
mainder belonging to the King, which manor first came to the
hands of the King after the death of Edmond de Flockton.*
Twenty-fourth Henry VI. John Swillington, of Swillington,
Esqr., devised lands at Ackworth (inter alia) to trustees, to the
use of Jennet, his wife, for life, with a remainder in fee to
Margery, his sister, wife of Henry Hunt, of Carlton, near
Roth well.
Wapentake of Agbrigg. In the writing of Richard Beau-
mont, of VVhitley, Knt. and Bart., 20 Aug. 1629. John Hopton,
of Armley, Esq., gave to Wm. Scargill, of Thorp ; Roger
Hopton,-f- of Ackworth ; John Scargill, of Roche, Esq.; and
William Talbot, his chaplain ; his messuage of Gawkethorp in
Sefton, in the parish of Heton, with Stages and Arkilcroft, to-
gether with 2s. rent going out of one messuage called Nickhouse,
in Mirefielde, etc. Witness, Sir John Savile, Knt., etc. Dated
at Armley, nr. Leeds 27th May, 16th Edw. IV., 1477.}
Fourth Henry VII. In this year there was a great insurrec-
tion in this County, occasioned by a large subsidy then granted
by Parliament for carrying on the war with France. This tax
the people said they neither could nor would pay. The Earl
of Northumberland, then Lord Lieutenant, enforcing the pay-
ment of it in a harsh manner, they attacked him in his house
at Cocklege (?), near Thirsk, and killed him. Upon this,
Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey, was sent down with forces to
subdue them, which he did, and caused Jon. a Chambre, and
others, to be hanged. But it seems that this did not wholly
end the disturbance, for, the next year, the insurgents gathered
* Vide Dodsworth's Yorkshire MSS., in the Duchy Office ; 4th Henry IV.
t Buried in Ackworth Church. Vide p. 22.
J Vide Dodsworth's Yorkshire MSS.
1402.
Manor of
Hessle.
1446.
1477.
Deed of
Gift.
1488.
Battle at
Ackworth.
48 AGKWORTH, YORKS.,
A.D. 1488. together again in the western parts of the County. The Earl
of Surrey marched against them a second time, fought, and
subdued them at Ackworth, took and hanged their leaders,
obtaining the King's mercy for the rest, which greatly endeared
him to them.
151 - Second Henry VIII. Roger Ward died, seized (inter alia) of
a messuage and eight oxgangs of land at Ackworth, held of
the King as of his Castle of Pontefract, and Roger Ward, his
son, heir.
1532. Fines were very generally used in former days as a means
of transferring property, and from the many details which they
give, both of genealogy and topography, and from the long
period which they cover, they may be well said to be among
the most valuable of all the public records. The plaintiff was
the new possessor, and the deforciant the old one.
Twenty-fourth Henry VIII. Easter Term. John Rawson,
Plaintiff, John Segutpole and Ann his wife, deforciants, for
land in Ackworth, called Burnell Houses.*
It is generally supposed that the rebel forces, headed by
" Pilgrim- Robert Aske, styling themselves " The Pilgrimage of Grace,"
Grace " passed through Ackworth on their way to Pontefract, the
, Castle of which they afterwards captured. Several inhabitants
of the village were compelled to join the expedition, " as they
would answer for it at the day of judgment." The insurgents
were subsequently defeated, and the instigators executed,
notably, Nicholas Tempest, of Ackworth.-f-
1545. 1545, Easter Term. 37 Henry VIII. The King, plaintiff;
Yorkshire &n ^ Robert, Archbishop of York, deforciant, for the Church of
Ackworth, in Ackworthe, etc.}
* Vide Yorkshire Records, Vol. II., p. 241.
t Vide Cassell's Hist. Eng., pp. 236-7.
} Vide Yorkshire Records, Vol. II,
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS.
49
The Priory of St. Oswald, at Nostel, founded by Robert de
Laci, son of Ilbert de Laci, first Nornian Lord of the Castle
and honour of Pontefract, surrendered to Dr. Thos. Leigh and
others, the Royal Sequestration Commissioners, by Robert
Ferrar, the last Prior, who afterwards became Bishop of St.
David's, and Avas burned at the stake at Carmarthen, in 1555.
Archbishop Holgate's Grammar School, at Hemsworth, was
founded by Robert Holgate, 59th Archbishop of York. On
October 24th, 1546, Letters Patent were granted to him by
Henry VIII., authorising him to found three Grammar Schools,
in York, Hemsworth, and Old Malton. Hemsworth is supposed
to have been the Archbishop's native place. On May 24th,
1548, the Archbishop by deed poll prescribed rules and ordi-
nances for the school at Hemsworth. He endowed it with
property of the value of twenty-four pounds a year (which
amount he afterwards increased), appointed John Thurleston
to be first master, and reserved the patronage to himself and
his successors in the see of York ; providing that if the Arch-
bishop failed to appoint within 20 days of a vacancy, the
appointment should lapse to the Dean and Chapter of York,
and if they failed to appoint within another 20 days, to the
householders of Hemsworth with the Curate. The master was
ordered to pay ten pounds a year to each of six "poore scollers,"
between the ages of 8 and 18 ; but a scholar born in the parish
of Hemsworth might, if he were then fatherless, retain " ye
same anuitie until! he shall be xxii. yeares of aige." These
scholars were to be chosen of "poore men's childeren being
husbandmen or men of occupac'ons inhabitinge in the p'ishes
of Hymseworthe, Felkirke, Southekirkebye, Ackworthe, Roy-
ston, and Wragbie." Provision was made for the removal of
these scholars, after two public monitions in Church, " if anye
of them be not studious to learne, or be not apte to take learn-
ing, or doe not kepe the scole and lerninge there, but absent
A.D. 1540.
Nostel
Priory.*
1546.
Archbishp.
Holgate's
Grammar
School,
Hemsworth.
* For detailed history of the Priory, see Paper read by Eev. B. E. Batty to
Yorkshire Architectural Society, in August, 1855.
50 ACKWOBTH, YORKS.,
A.D.1546. themselves by the space of one fortnighte in a quarter of a
year w th out lysence of the Scolm r > or be a comon drunkard, or
a comon player at unlawful! games, or do use or exercise
anye notable offences or crimes."
In 1861, a new scheme was made by order of the Court of
Chancery. The Trustees of Archbishop Holgate's Hospital in
Hemsworth were constituted Trustees of the Grammar School.
A grant of 300 a year was made to the School from the
Hospital, for a period of 36 years, from 1857 ; if, at the end of
that period the school was not, in the opinion of the Trustees,
in an efficient state, they might apply to the Court of Chancery
for leave to discontinue the grant. The School was to be divi-
ded into an Upper and Lower School. New buildings were
erected for both, and the Lower School, or Parish School, is
now a Boys' Public Elementary School under Government
Inspection.
In January, 1868, the New Grammar School was occupied
by the Head-master (Rev. C. Andrew), and his boarders.
Accommodation was provided for 20 boarders and 20 day
scholars. The highest number of boys in that year was 36.
Mr. Andrew died in the following year, and the Revd. S. W.
Earnshaw was appointed master. In 1875, the numbers were
found to have fallen off considerably, and in 1877 there were
10 boys in the School, including the free-scholars. During the
negotiations for the appointment of a new Head-master (Rev.
C. S. Butler), the Charity Commissioners became aware of this
state of affairs, and announced their intention to make a new
scheme. In July, 1878, an Assistant Commissioner met the
Trustees, and made enquiries. In March, 1879, the Commis-
sioners suggested to the Trustees that the School should be
removed, but they did not fall in with the suggestion. Eventu-
ally, in 1881, they being under the impression that the
Commissioners had absolute power to remove the School, gave
a qualified assent to its being removed to Pontefract, under
certain conditions. These conditions Pontefract failed to com-
ply with, but Barnsley was successful in raising the required
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS.
51
sum of money. In 1883, the Commissioners published a
scheme for removing the School to Barnsley: the Trustees
having taken legal opinion as to the powers of the Commis-
sioners, and having regard to the improved state of the School,
and the rapid increase of population in the neighbourhood,
resolved to oppose the scheme for removal.
In 1885, there were 36 boys in the School. In 1886, the
Trustees appealed to Her Majesty on certain legal points, but
the decision of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
given in March, 1887, was unfavourable to the appeal. The
scheme was, on March 18th (according to the provisions of the
Endowed Schools Acts), placed upon the table in the House of
Lords and the House of Commons. Unless within two months
of that date an address to Her Majesty is carried in either
House, praying her to withhold her consent from this scheme,
the scheme will receive Her Majesty's assent in due course,
and the School will be removed to Barnsley as soon as
practicable.*
1550. Mich. Term, 4 Edw. VI. Thos. Reynolde, Esq.,
plaintiff; & Wm. Halyday, gent., & Alice his wife, deforciants ;
for lands in Pontefract & Ackworthe.-f-
" Thomas Hartyndon, Rector, Presented to this Living by
Queen Mary, Apr., 1554."^:
1554 Mich. Term, 1 & 2 Philip & Mary. James Crofte,
plaintiff, John Brayton & Agnes his wife, with Richd. & Roger
Brayton, deforciants ; for messuage with lands in Hessyle,
Wragbye, & Ackeworthe.
Robert Ferrar, D.D., Bishop of St. David's, was born at
Ewood, near Midgeley, in 1505. He was the last Prior of
Nostel, and the first English monk who became tainted with
Lutheran opinions. He was arrested on the most frivolous
* I am indebted to the Rev. C. S. Butler for the above particulars. The
scheme of removal has now been carried out.
t Vide Yorkshire Records, Vol. II.
{ Vide Parish Register, Vol. I.
Vide Yorkshire Records. Vol. II.
A.D. 1546.
1550.
Yorkshire
Fine.
1554.
Yorkshire
Fines.
1555.
Martyr dm.
of St.
Robert of
Nostel.
52
ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
1559.
A.D.1555. charges, fifty-six in number,* and condemned by Gardiner,
Bishop of Winchester, and Morgan, of St. David's, to be burnt
alive on March 30, 1555. On the day appointed, the Saturday
before Passion Week, he was brought out of prison to the
market place, near Carmarthen Castle, and there, on the south
side of the market cross, he was bound to a stake, and
heroically endured the martyrdom of fire.-j- Monuments are
erected to his memory in Carmarthen and Halifax Parish
Churches, and also at St. Florence's Church, near Tenby.
The Rev. George Ackworth, D.D., Public Orator to the Uni-
versity of Cambridge in 1559, was most probably a native of
Ackworth, near Pontefract. He was incorporated L.L.D., at
Oxford, in 1568 ; became Rector of Ellington and Prebendary
of Southwell ; and was author of the " Life of St. Augustine,
the first Archbishop of Canterbury," the MS. of which is in
the possession of Mr. Wharton, by whom it was prepared for
the press.|
1560. Mich. Term, 2 & 3 Elizth. Margaret Wilcock, plain-
tiff : George Wilcocke, gent, and Elizth. his wife, deforciants ;
for land in Ackworthe.
Nicholas Levett, gent., plaintiff, George & Richd. Talinsall,
gents., deforciants, for two messuages with lands in Hutton,
Morehouse, Ackworth and Auston.S
1560.
Yorkshire
Fines.
1561.
Edward
Rustbie.
In the first volume of the Ackworth Parish Registers, the
following entry appears under the head of marriages celebrated
at the Parish Church, in 1561.||
" Edwarde Rustbie and Grace Alline (?)
Julie 5."
This refers without doubt to the marriage of Edward Rusby,
who was Mayor of Pontefract in 1582.1T It is most likely that
* Vide Harleian MSS. Brit. Mus. f For full account of him, see Biographi-
cal Sketch by J. W. Conway Hughes, 1884.
I Vide Tanner's " Bibliography," p. 3 ; and Wilson's Historical MS.
Vide Yorkshire Records, Vol. II.
|| Vide " Yorkshire Parish Registers," in " Yorkshire Archaeological Journal,"
Part VI., p. 109.
If Vide Civic Roll.
ITS HISTOEY AND ANNALS. 53
he was, both before and after his marriage, an influential resi- A.D. 1561.
dent of Ackworth. He certainly resided at Hundhill in 1 570.
In the Subsidy Roll for Pontefract, in 1543, his name occurs
as "Edwardus Rusbye,"a,nd two years later (l54>5)aa"Edwardu8
Rusby in terr. xxijs . . ijd" Later on we find him being dis-
possessed of land. "Fine. Hilary, 6 Eliz : (1563). Jonathan
Grant Guest, & Edward Eustbie & Grace uxor deforct. of 4
acres of land in Balne," and in 1570 we find him acquiring land
by Royal Patent. "13 Eliz. (1570) one acre in Hundall in the
parish of Ackworth in tenure of Edwd. Rusby." Thus we
have a short, but very interesting family history, capable of
considerable expansion by those who are fond of genealogical
research. There can be no doubt that Edward Rustbie was a
man whom the people of Pontefract delighted to honour, and
of whom the people of Ackworth ought to be justly proud.
1562. Mich. Term, 4 & 5 Elizth. John Kaye de Okenshawe, 1562.
gent., plaintiff, Robert Bradford, deforciant, for Manor of l^ 8 "
Preston Jaclyn, & five messuages and four cottages with lands
in the same, & in Ayeton, Fetherstone, Ackworthe, Warmneld,
Heathe, and Kyrkethorpe.*
1563. Easter Term, 5 Elizth. Richard Thorpe, plaintiff, 1563
Wm. Wentworth, Edwd. Clytherawe, gent., & Thos. Wentworth,
Esq., deforciants, for land in Burnel houses & Akeworth. Wm.
Broke, plaintiff; & Robert Walker, deforciant, for messuage
and three cottages with lands in Pontfrett, Preston Jacklyn,
Derryngton, Feytherstone, Ackeworth, Carleton, Hardwyke, &
Hundell.*
1564. Hilary Term, 6 Elizth. Thos. Smythe, plaintiff, 1564.
Henry Wyathbotharne, & Johanna his wife, deforciants, for a
messuage with lands in Wragby & Ackworth.*
Ralph Snaith, by his will dated sixth Elizabeth, leaves to
the Church of Ackworth a vestment that wants an alb, and
vjs. viijd to buy an alb with.f
* Vide Yorkshire Records, Vol. II.
t Vide Test Ebor III. 45.
ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
1566. Easter Term, 8 Elizth. Edwd. Wright, plaintiff, and
A.D. 1566.
Yorkshire
Fines. Henry Halley, gent., deforciant, for a messuage with lands in
Baddysworth, & Ackvvorth.*
1568.
1578.
1585.
1589.
1594.
1599.
1600.
1603.
Ackworth
Mortgaged
1568. Easter Term, 10 Elizth. Edwd. Wright, plaintiff,
Chas. Jackson, gent, & Dorothy his wife, deforciants ; for two
messuages & a cottage with lands in East Hardwycke, Ponte-
frett, Tanshelff, Carleton, Hundell, & Acworthe.*
" Barnab. Shepheard, Rector ; presented to this Living by
Abp. York, Jany. 1578."f
"Simon Buck, Rector; Abp. York, Patron, January 158o."-f-
Thirty-first Elizabeth. Thomas Wentworth, Esq., was found
to hold divers lands and tenements here, of the Queen, as of
her honour of Pontefract, for military service. James Wilcocks
was found to hold three pasture closes here, called Burnell
Houses, of the Queen, for service unknown.
" Will: Lamb, Rectr: presented to this Living by Queen
Eliz. in January 1594>."-f-
Henry Huntingdon and Ann Smithson, both of Ackworth,
were married in the Parish Church of Ackworth. J
Roger, son of Richard Pickering, of Ackworth, was married
to Grace Midgley, of Addle, at the Parish Church of Addle.
Also, Richard Ransley, of Wakefield, to Mary Park hurst, of
Ackworth, in the Parish Church of Ackworth.^:
About this time, Ackworth, together with the greater part
of the Honour of Pontefract, was mortgaged to the City of
London.
1611. This building was renovated in 1846, at which time the
Hardwick original stone lintel over the front entrance, bearing date 1611,
Manor was rem oved. The house is now used as a ladies' school.
House.
* Vide Yorkshire Records, Vol. II.
f Vide Parish Register, Vol. I.
I Vide Paver's Marriage Licenses.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 55
Aggbrigg Wapentake, 1 7th James. Out of Queen Anne's A - D - 1619-.
joynture, the King granted # ^ all our
Manor of Pontefract, in the County of Yorke, and other
Counties wheresoever that Honor extendeth, and all the
demesnes, castles, manors, &c., being part of the said Honor of
Pontefract, or to the said Honor of Pontefract any way belong-
ing, with the appurtenances in the said County of Yorke, viz.,
all those our towns of Pontefract, and all those our manors
of Tanshelfe, Carleton, Alckworth, Allerton, Altofts, Kipax,
Warnefield, Banvicke, Scoles, Roundhay, Elmershall, Camsall
Ouston, Knottingley, Credling, Beghall, Rothwell, Leedes,
Marshden, and Almonbury, &c. Dated at Westminster, llth
Oct., 17th James.*
On June 14th in this year, Ackworth was granted outright 1627.
to Ditchfield, Highlord.and others, their trustees or committees,
under the reservation of an annual fee farm rent of 39 2s. 2d.
On February 24th, 1628, Ditchfield, and other original 1628.
grantees, assigned the Manor of Ackworth, in the honour of
Pontefract, to Mark Pickering, of York, Robert Claphamson, of
York, and John Redman, of Water Fulford.
" Dan : Fawkner, M.A., presented by K. Charles ye first ye 1634
14 Aprill 1634; and ye 25th of September following he was
succeeded by Samuel Carter, M.A., being presented thereto by
K. Charles ye lst."f
Hessle is a hamlet of a dozen houses, lying at the extreme 1641
north of the parish of Wragby, and within its ecclesiastical Old houpe -
boundary. It is evident that this northern boundary between
the parishes of Wragby and Ackworth is the ancient one de-
fined by the Domesday Survey, and confirmed in later years by
the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, on the recommendation of
H. M. Ordnance Surveyors in 1859. A delimitation is, however,
necessary, whereby the hamlet of Hessle would come within
* Vide Dodsworth's Yorkshire MS., and Yorkshire Arch. Journal, Part XXIII,
p. 426.
f Vide Parish Register, Vol. I.
56 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
A.D. 1641. the boundaries of the parish of Ackworth, and the village of
Brackenhill within the parish of Wragby. In the 17th cen-
tury, Hessle would probably be a village of some forty or fifty
houses, boasting of its squire's residence in the midst. This
edifice still exists, and is undoubtedly the only remnant of the
17th century village. It is in the Elizabethan style of archi-
tecture, and is still known as " Hessle Hall." Over the front
entrance may be seen the figures and letters, 1641, S.P. The
house was either built, or passed very soon after its erection,
into the hands of the Whins, of Nostel, in whose possession it
has since remained. The old Hall at Ackworth was most
probably built about the same time.
When Charles I. was deserted by nearly all the kingdom,
the castle of Pontefract remained faithful, and was garrisoned
by the nobility and gentry of the town and adjoining villages,
amongst which Ackworth is conspicuous. Their names are
handed down to us in a MS. of the Rev. Dr. Samuel Drake,
at that time Rector of Hemsworth and Vicar of Pontefract.
These gentlemen volunteers were enlisted into four divisions,
commanded by (1) Col. Grey, (2) Sir Richard Hutton, (3) Sir
John Ramsden, (4) Sir G. Wentworth ; the whole being
manoeuvred by Colonel Lowther. Among the volunteers in
Sir John Ramsden's division we find Mr. Pickering, the parson
of Ackworth, and father of Mr. Alderman Pickering, of Leeds,
acting probably as one of the chaplains of the division ; and
in Sir G. Wentworth's division we find the Rev. Thos. Bradley,
.D.D., parson of Ackworth and Castleford, who warmly
espoused the cause of royalty. He lived a long time after the
restoration.*
1643 " Thos. Bradley, Rector. His Patron K. Charles 1st. He
died & was buried at Ackw. Deer. 17th, 1672."f
1645. I n or about this year, there was a severe skirmish between
vil Wars
* Fox's Hist. Pont., p. 173.
t Vide Parish Register, Vol. I.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS.
57
the royalists and roundheads, at the top of the large field A .D. 1645.
crossed by the footpath from Ackworth to Hundhill. This
pasture is still called " Burial Field," because, as some think,
those who fell in the battle were buried on the spot.
The following entry occurs in one of the Parish Books :
" In the year 1645 there died of the plague in Ackworth
153 persons, Richard Pickering being then Constable. 30, May."
The Plague Stone, on Castle Syke Hill, dates from this period.
Food for the inhabitants of Ackworth, who were not allowed
to travel beyond the precincts of their own parish, was brought
by their neighbours and placed on the stone above-named in
return for their value in money, previously placed in a cavity
full of water, to prevent infection. Those who died during
this plague were buried, some say, in the "Burial Field,"
which is very likely, especially as it was already strewn with
the bodies of the slain."
On St. Bartholomew's Day, August 24th, 1G45, the Rump
remaining of the Parliament passed an ordinance, subjecting
to a year's imprisonment those who should dare to use the
Book of Common Prayer, even in a private house, or at family
prayers. They had just martyred the Archbishop of Canter-
bury on a public scaffold, and proceeded to turn eight thousand
Church of England Clergy out of their homes, consigning them
to beggary and ruin. Those treated most leniently were told
to get a pension from their Puritan successors, if they could.
Dr. Bradley, Rector of Ackworth, was one of these unfortunate
eight thousand.*
On the 9th October, the Parliamentary troops, under Sir
H. Cholmley, entered Pontefract, having previously occupied
the villages of Ackworth, Featherstone, and Ferrybridge. -f
Cawood's Old Chapel is supposed to have been built about
this time. An entry in the Pontefract Church Books states
* Vide " Walker's Sufferings of the Clergy."
t Fox's Hist. Pont., p. 246.
The
Plague.
Plague
Stone.
Puritan in-
tolerance.
1648.
Ackworth
a military
rendezvous.
1653.
EastHard-
wick old
Chapel.
58 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
A.D.1653. that on February 19th, 1653-4, "Stephen Cawood, of East
Hardwicke, within this parish, yeoman, departed this life, and
his corps was interred in his owne ground in East Hardwicke,
aforesaid, the twentieth day of the same moneth." This
Stephen Cawood had in the previous month executed a deed
of gift, vesting his property, after his decease, in trustees, for
the erection and endowment of a Chapel and Free School in
East Hardwick, a dole to the poor there, and a contribution of
an equal amount towards the repair of a road in Ackworth.
The latter place as well as East Hardwick is benefitted by this
Charity, and by the Foundation Deed, the Free School is open
alike to children of the two townships. From the fact that
Stephen Cawood is said to have been buried " in his owne
ground." it is evident that the Chapel was not then built, but
it is probable that its erection took place as soon as the
necessary arrangements could be made, for the building bears
evident signs of the Cromwellian decade. Thirteen years after
Mr. Cawood's death the building certainly existed, for in 1667,
the Pontefract Church Books contain another entry, recording
that on " Oct. 26th, Mr. Lawrence Addam was buried in ye
Church of East Hardwick." There is unfortunately no record
of its Consecration or Dedication, but from the fact that at the
time of Stephen Cawood's death the See of York had been
vacant nearly four years, and that the vacancy was not filled
up until 1660, it is probable that the Chapel erected in the
interval was never consecrated at all. About the year 1845,
efforts were made to obtain Consecration for the building, but
Archbishop Musgrave saw some impassable barrier to it, and
no further attempts were afterwards made. A description of
the building will be found in a pamphlet published in 1871,
from which the above particulars have been obtained.
According to an entry in the Parish Registers, marriages in
in 1654 (only) took place before "Jo. Warde" and "John
Ramsden," who would probably be Royal Commissioners
appointed for the purpose, or Justices of the Peace.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS.
59
This large house known as East Hardwicke Hall was built
about the middle of the 17th century. Its style and the
" banker-marks " on the surface of the ashlar both inside and
outside of the building are sufficient evidence of its antiquity.
It was formerly the seat of W. Lam be, Esq., whose monument
may be seen inside Pontefract Parish Church. In his time four
powdered servants were kept, and it is said that one of them,
a footman, was accidentally killed by falling down stairs.
On Brackenhill common there stands a small house which
was formerly a lodge at the southern end of Nostel Park. It
is an interesting structure, and dates probably from the 17th
century. Its exterior walls are about two feet thick, the small
lancet-shaped windows being deeply pierced. Access to the
upper story was originally obtained by means of a trap door and
ladder. The rafters are of old oak, and the general arrange-
ment of the interior indicates an ancient origin. At the south
end of the house, is an old pear tree, which has long since
ceased to bear. The old coach road from Doncaster to Wake-
field may still be traced, and altogether the site is one which,
as an ancient land-mark, is worth observation.
Barnsley, xyi. January, Anno xiiii. Caroli Regis. Present :
Sir Francis Wortley, Knt. & Bart., Sir Geo. Went worth, Knt.,
William West, Robt. Rockley, and Thos. Jobson, Esquires.
On certificate that Thomas Clift'e, of Ackworth, being a man
of honest life and conversation, and painful in his vocation and
calling, by a sudden, vehement, and fearful fire, happening in
one Anthony Birlison his neighbour's house, adjoining upon
the said Thomas Cliffe his dwelling-house, upon Wednesday,
the nineteenth day of December last past, about nine o'clock
in the forenoon of the said day, the said house was suddenly
burnt, three kyne of good value, corn threshed and unthreshed,
and all other his household goods to the value of three score
pounds and upwards ; and the said Anthony Birlison, and like-
wise all his goods and household stuff burned. The Court
A.D. 1660.
East Hard-
wick Hall.
circa
1660.
1662.
A fire.
60 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
A.D. 1662. desires ministers and curates in the Wapentake of Osgoldcross
to read, order, and make a collection towards relief. Mary
Blagburne, widow, owner of the houses, to have some allow-
ance out of the moneys collected, as Sir Thos. Wentworth and
Sir Edw. Rodes, or either of them, shall think fitting, towards
the re-building of the said houses.*
1663. Charles, the sonne of Mr. Danyell Godfrey, By Barberry
the daughter of Doctor Thomas Bradley (Rector of Ackworth,
Chaplayne to his Maty. King Charles the first, and prebendary
of Yorke) and the Lady Ffrances his wife, daughter to the
right Honble. John Lord Savile, Bar of Pontefract, &c., was
baptized the 24th November, Anno: 1663: beinge the first
that was baptized in the ffont newly sett up after the antient
ffont was destroyed, and broken downe in the late civill warrs;
On Candlemas day imediatly followinge was the Honble. the
Lady Ffrancis afour mentioned here Honourably inter'd, who
dyed the Satturday before beinge the 30th day of January, the
day wherein his late Maty, of blessed memory was put to deathe
and the very same houre (as neere as may be conjectured)
wherein his Maty, suffered, did she breathe her last, and
returned her spirit unto God that gave it. ""I*
1664. " This Doctor Bradley being instituted and inducted into
this Ackworth, Anno 1643, was driven hence by the trouble-
some tymes caused by the Civih 1 Warrs 1664 (margin suppose
this 1664 should be 1644) and so remayned till this yeare, and
at the Kings returne he returned to his liveinge agayne, beinge
one of the Chaplaynes to the Kings Majtye."-f-
1665. An appeal was made on behalf of the sufferers to the
clemency of Cromwell, who was then firmly established in the
Protectorship, and had just issued his famous but most inhuman
Declaration, depriving them of all possible means of obtaining
a livelihood. This appeal stated that " above half of the
* Vide West Riding Session Rolls,
t Vide Parish Register, Vol. I.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS.
61
Ministers and Scholars of England and Wales had been, upon
one account or other, sequestered from their livings, besides
fellowships and free schools ;" and that many others also had
been wholly deprived of their prebendaries, deaneries, bishop-
rics, and highest dignities in the Church ; in all amounting to
at least six or seven thousand persons. Truly it was a fearful
spoliation. A more grinding and intolerable tyranny than
that of the Puritans was never set up. They stifled freedom
of thought, waged war upon opinion, persecuted conscience,
confiscated private property, and rigorously abolished all
amusements.
A.D. 1665.
30 May : 1673.
K. Char:2d.*
Jeremiah Bolton, M.A., was presented by 1673.
In the house occupied by James Findlay, Esq., of High 1674.
Ackworth, there is a very handsomely carved oaken bedstead, bedstead.
very massive and evidently very antique. The oak is nearly
black, and the date on the footboard is 1674. The canopy,
which is elegantly carved, is attached to four disconnected
massive posts, on the foot of which is carved the coat of arms
of the Butler family. The whole piece is well worth the
inspection of the antiquarian. It belongs to the family of the
late John Hepworth.
The most ancient existing house
in Ackworth next to the
Old Hall (circa 1641), is the building now known as the
" Mason's Arms " Inn. The following inscription may still be
seen upon the lintel of the front door :
LA.
1682.
The letters I. A. are supposed to stand for " John Askew," who
it is said, opened out the first stone-quarry in the parish of
Ackworth. The " Boot and Shoe " Inn and posting house is
also of considerable antiquity.
1632.
Old house.
Vide Parish Register, Vol. I.
62 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
A.D. 1694. "In 1694, Jordan Tancred was presented to ye Living by
ye Duke of Leeds, Chancellr. of ye Duchy of Lancaster."*
1695. "In 1695, Benj. Rentmore, M.A., was presented by D. of
Lancaster."
" Wm. Simson & Grace Howitt marryed Nov. 21, beinge
with child."
" Abraham Walker & Mary Usher marryed feb. (?) ye 25th,
being with child."*
1696. "Elizabeth the Daughter of Benjamin Wrentmore, D.D., &
Rector of Ackworth, and Elizabeth his wife borne March the
first on a monday morning about ten of the clocke and baptized
March the 14th, 169f "f
1698. "Aprillye 10th, 1698. Whereas Thomas Howitt, late of
document. Ackworth, deced. did (upon leave given him by William Lambe,
Esq., late owner of the Mannour House and demeasnes of
Ackworth aforesaid) erect and build one seat or pew in ye north
quire in Ackworth Church, ye said quire belonging then to ye
said William Lambe, and since then sold with ye aforesaid
Manner house and demesnes to Robert Lowther of Ackworth
aforesaid, Esq., which said seat or pew is yet standing, and con-
tinued in ye said quire. And whereas Robert Mason of Ack-
worth aforesaid, having bought an estate in Ackworth aforesaid
and living in ye said parish is desirous to have loan of ye said
Mr. Robert Lowther for himself and family to sitt in ye said
seat or pew soe built in ye north quire of ye said Church on
Sundays and other dayes of divine service. Ys is therefore
entered in ys booke as a memorandum betwixt ye said Robert
Lowther and Robert Mason that ye said Robert Lowther doth
give ye said Robert Mason and his family leave to sitt in ye
said pew or seat aforesaid during ye pleasure of him ye said
Robert Lowther, and ye said Robert Mason doth hereby
* Vide Parish Register, Vol. II.
t Vide Register of Baptisms, Vol. II.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 63
acknowledge that he hath not or claims to have any right i698.
in ye said seat or pew but only to sitt there by ye leave of ye
said Robert Lowther and not otherwise. In witness whereof
ye said Robert Lowther & Robert Mason have sett their hands
to ys memorand. and agreement in ye presence of ye witnesses
following.
Witnesses.
B. Wrentmore, Rector. Robert Lowther.
Edm : Abbott. Robert Mason.*
" In 1700 Ph. Rollings, M.A., was presented by Ld. Gower."* noo.
" Epaphroditus, ye sonn of John Hattersall & Prudence his 1703.
wife was baptiz'd Novr. 2d."-f-
"In June, 1705, "Thomas," a child brought to the parish 1705.
in the night, baptized. "I
There is in Low Ackworth, at the bottom of Lea Lane, a ^ 1707.
square enclosure surrounded by a high wall, which has been Burial
used for nearly two hundred years by the Society of Friends as Ground -
their place of interment. Inside, the smoothly cut sward, the
parallel rows of small uniform slabs, and the neatly trimmed
shrubs and beds, impress the visitor with a transient desira to
select it as his last resting place. On the north side of the
entrance gate inside is the following inscription :
" Philip Austwick gave for a Buriall place to the People
called Quakers in 1707, 12 yards square of this ground."
And on the south :
" 228 square yards of this ground was purchased of John
Barffin, 1780."
The tomb of the original donor has been carefully preserved.
* Vide Parish Register, Vol. II.
t Vide Register of Baptisms, Vol. II. Another son, "Paul," was baptized
on September 26th, 1705, aud " Amram, their sonne," July 6, 1707.
J Probably a foundling. The Hospital was not then erected, but foundling
cottages existed.
64 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
A.D. 1707. It is situated near the centre of the ground, and is in shape a
large " table tomb," the inscription thereon being quite legible :
" Here lyeth the body of Philip AVSTWICK, who died April 21,
1710."
A considerable period elapses between this and the next
earliest slab, which in common with all the rest is a small square
slab laid down in a slightly inclined position.
The following is an excerpt from the Register of inter-
ments. James Harrison 1828, Jane Peacock 1843, Mary Rous
1843, John Pilmor 1845, Mary Pilmor 1852, William Sykes 1857,
Mary Sykes 1863, Elizabeth Sykes 1839, Rachel Sykes 1834,
Richard Sykes 1825, Mary Sykes 1866, Mark Blake (a scholar)*
1841, Jane Simpson (a scholar) 1837, Mary Dumbleton 1828,
Mary Heptinstall 1845, Elizabeth Armstrong 1837, Rachel
Pumphrey f 1842, Thomas Pumphrey 1862, Leonard Thistle-
thwaite 1837, Benjamin Donbavand 1833, Caroline Smith (a
scholar) 1854, Bernard Knowles 1835, Hannah Knowles 1841,
Anne Cooper 1826, Joseph Donbavand 1831, Sarah Reid 1824,
Joseph Donbavand Junior 1825, John Donbavand 1824, Sarah
Donbavand 1824,Elizabeth Donbavand 1825, Robert Donbavand
1858, Isaac Levitt 1862, Mary Levitt 1875, Robert Whitaker J
1848, James Morley 1848, Henry Beaumont Fryer 1875, William
Wilson 1875, James Fisher 1871, Jane Fisher 1881, Hannah
Thorehill 1847, Henry Brady 1828, Ann Linney 1862, Hannah
Linney 1872, Esther Linney (infant) 1854, Elizabeth Linney
1882, George Linney 1867, Elizabeth Linney 1834, Mary Linney
1875, Leonard West 1830, Joseph Cowell 1843, George Hask-
hurst 1835, Joseph Johnson 1830, Jane Oakes 1824, Mary
Thistlethwaite 1833, Samuel Thistlethwaite (infant) 1839, Agnes
Thistlethwaite 1857, Thomas Robinson 1878, Thomas Atkins
1847, Lydia Donbavand 1821, William Donbavand 1821, Ann
* From the Friends' School. No ages are inscribed upon the slabs.
f Wife of Thomas Pumphrey, the then Superintendent.
J Superintendent.
An old tomb dated 1844 was removed to make room for this interment,
vide plan.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 65
Ranson * 1847, Elizabeth Martha Peacock 1848, Rebecca Brown A ' D - 1707 '
1849, Elizabeth Briggs 1879, Ann Marshall 1854, George Dawson
Peacock 1848, Michael Pilmor 1828, Elizabeth Pilmor 1829,
Lydia Burley (a scholar) 1845, Jane Bennell (a scholar) 1845,
Sarah Adlington (a scholar) 1842, Henry Snowdon 1842, Sarah
Ann Watson 1834, Eleanor Dickenson (a scholar) 1839, Joseph
Benson 1831, 3 infants of James Wood James 1831, George
1831, Thomas 1833 ; Margaret Binns (a scholar) 1830, Richard
Weatherall (a scholar) 1831, Mary Hannah Drewitt (a scholar)
1828, Mary Clemesha (a scholar) 1828, Mary Baynes (a scholar)
1828, Hannah Farrer (a scholar) 1828, Charles Hustler (a scholar)
1824, Mary lanson (a scholar) 1825, Occupied, name not known,
Occupied, name not known, James lanson (a scholar) 1 866,
Thomas Thistlethwaite 1879, Mary Thistlethwaite 1867, Mary
Fryer 1886, Arthur Stacey Fletcher 1875, William Boardrnan
(a scholar) 1848, Constance Reckitt (a scholar) 1847, Ann Newby
1847, Marianna Cooper (a child) 1846, Mennel Stickney (a scho-
lar) 1845, Samuel Stanfield Holmes (a scholar) 1840, Alfred
Bracher (a scholar) 1841, William Wh alley (a scholar) 1835,
Thomas Wood (a scholar) 1839, Jane Stickney (a scholar) 1831,
Cuthbert Watson (a scholar) 1831, Ellen Webster (a scholar)
1829, Lucy Stevens (a scholar) 1830, Samuel Graham (infant)
1845, Richard Oddie 1835, Hannah Baker (a scholar) 1825,
Joseph Gray (a scholar) 1827, Elizabeth Jacobs (a scholar) 1827,
John Farden (a scholar) 1824, Thompson Pumphrey (a scholar)
1823, Richard Shipley Dix (a scholar) 1823, Joseph Thompson
(a scholar) 1822, Isabella Brown (a scholar) 1822, Arthur
Sketton (a scholar) 1876, Mary F. Jackson (a scholar) 1877,
Samuel Satterthwaite 1865, William Marsland 1850, Mary
Doubleday 1854, Eliza Gulielma Taylor (a scholar) 1859, Arthur
L. Harrison (a scholar) 1863, James Chapman (a scholar) 1863,
Emily Brightwen (a scholar) 1862, Louisa Wallis (a scholar)
1860, Lucy Pumphrey (a scholar) 1859, Charlotte Morley (a
scholar) 1863, Mary Williamson 1867, Sarah Wadham 1870,
* Another old tomb, dated 1844, removed, vide Plan.
66 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
i.D.1707. Ann West Brown (a scholar) 1877, John Newby 1877, Maria
Newby 1869, Elizabeth Bennington 1857, Elizabeth Yeardley
1854, Robert Graham 1857, Mary Graham 1864, Ann J. Kaye
1875, John Walker 1877, Alfred J. Greenwood 1880, Frederick
William Kitchen 1873, Harold Kitchen 1878, Martha Thornhill
1856,Joseph Wright 1858,Martha Hodgson 1859,Lydia Sparker
1860, Henry Wright 1861, Henry R. NeavO 1864, Arthur L.
Leicester 1871, Herbert J. Evans 1877, William Cammage 1878,
William Douthwaite 1867, Ellen Pollard 1858, Sarah Pearson
1853, Joseph Storrs 1850, Isaac Brigga (an infant) 1853, Sarah
Pilmor 1864, Michael Pilmor 1863,Guilelma Mason, Lucy Mason,
Eliza Mason 1864, Harriet Smith 1875, Elizabeth Forth 1876,
S. Radford (no date), John N. Airey 1872, Leonard A. Airoy
1872, Sarah Wood 1870, James Wood 1861, Elmira Wood 1863,
Jane Clemes 1850, Betsy Willis 1865, Susan Clcmes 1850, Mary
Hoskin (an infant) 1861. There are spaces for fifty more graves,
in which a hundred and fifty persons could be interred. The
ground was last enlarged in 1848, by the purchase from John
BarfF or Barffin of 270 square yards. The total contents of the
ground is 642 square yards.
1712. Over the door of the old vestry before the restoration of
A missing ^ ne p ar i sn Church, a small stone slab was inserted bcarinof the
link.
following inscription :
Samuel Turner
with the consent of his mother F. M.
erected this Vestry, Anno. Dni.
1712.
The above slab was removed from the ground by Mr. J. Hep worth
of Ackworth House, where it may still be seen !
1721. " Anne yo Daughter of William Addy labr, July ye 9th,
begotton in ffornicacion." *
1724 " Ralph Lowther, Esq. (of Ackworth Park) buried August
15th."f
* Vide Register of Baptisms, Vol. II. This crime was punishable by excom-
munication. Vide Canons 26,109, Homily XI., and Article XXXIII,
f Vide Register of Burials. Vol. II,
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 67
Illegitimacy of birth, when not expressly stated in the A .D.i727.
register of baptisms in use at this time, is frequently indicated
by an index finger, and occasionally by both, thus :
i3P" " Prudence (?), the Bastard child of Mary Nelstrope,
was baptiz'd May ye 4th."*
" Margarett the wife of Phil : Hollins, Cler : Rector of this
Parish was Buried March the 20th."-f
Defoe, writing in 1727, in his account of the Roman Roads Roman
of Yorkshire, says : " I must go back to Pontefract, to take
notice that here again the great Roman highway, which I men-
tioned at Doncaster, and which is visible from thence in several
places on the way to Pontefract, though not in the open road,
is apparent again ; and from Castleford Bridge it goes on to
Aberforth, a small market town famous for pin-making, and so
to Tadcaster and York." This Roman road cuts across the
north-eastern corner of the parish of Ackworth, near Rigg
Farm, so called from ridge = raised, the Roman roads always
being raised above the level of the surrounding country.
" In 1728, Will. Key, M.A., was presented to this Living by 1728.
ye D. of Rutland."!
" John Lowther, Esqr. (of Ackworth Park) buried July ve 1729.
12."f
" The Revd. Mr. Fleeming, Vicar de Thornor, and Mrs. 1732.
Martha Barman, married (at Ackworth Church) with license
granted by Mr. Drake, Vicar of Pontefract."
New mansion built at Nostel, by Sir Rowland Winn, and a 1740.
new bridge over the lake erected. The Architect was James
Paine.
" July 26, Doctor Winteringham, York, widower, and Mrs. 1742.
Catherine Bright, Badsworth, spinster (?)."
" Tim : Lee, Rec.tor. Instituted Deer. 8th, 1744. Presented 1744.
to this Living by Ld. Edgcumb."^:
* Vide Register of Baptisms, Vol. II.
t Vide Register of Burials, Vol. II.
{ Vide Parish Register, Vol. II.
Vide Register of Marriages*, Vol. Et,
68
ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
A.D. 1749.
Curious
Bargain.
1754.
Latin
Formulas.
1758.
Forbidden
Banns.
By Indenture dated July 6th, 1749 (23 Geo. II.), between
Ann Beaumont,* of Brackenhill Quarry, in the parish of Ack-
worth, and Abstrupus Danby,of Kingston-upon-Hull, merchant,
it was agreed that in consideration of the sum of five shillings,
the said Ann Beaumond would sell to the said Abstrupus
Danby, a cottage at Brackenhill Quarry for the term of one
year, and the said Abstrupus Danby agreed to yield and pay to
the said Ann Beaumond therefor the " rent of one Red Rose
in the time of Roses (if the same were lawfully demanded) etc."
The witnesses to the signing and sealing of the above
document were Thomas Slater and Wm. Kirkby, and the deed
was duly registered at Wakefield, on July 10th, 1749, by J. B.
Leng, Deputy Registrar.
Upon the front cover inside the Register of Banns for the
years 1754-84, are two quaint Latin formulas, both of them
being certificates of publication of Banns. The phraseology
employed is an official Latin which is generally used in all early
legal documents, and so easy to discipher, that there is no
necessity to append a translation.
" Mem. Banna matrimonialia ter publicata fuere in Ecclesia
nostra parochiali de Ackworth inter Clement Cryer do Ack-
worth et Annam Oldfield de Featherston et nihil objicitur quo
minus sancto matrimonij vinculo conjungantur. Ita Tester.
T. Lee, July 3, 1754."
" Scias per certo (Vir Reverende) Banna matrimonialia inter
Gulielmum Wager et Mariam Crawshaw de Pontefract ter
pronunciata fuisse secundum Leges ecclesiasticas in Ecclesia
Parochiali de Ackworth, nimine contradicente, in cujus hie
testimonium subscribitur nomen. T. Lee. Ex musceo nostro,
10 mo. Die Novembris, 1754."
The Banns of marriage were published between "John
Longstaff, of Ackworth, and Elizabeth Littlewood, of Snaith,
* Daughter of Thomas Beamond, of Ackworth, yeoman, and grand-daughter
of Thomas Beamond, of Ackworth, labourer. Vid'e Indenture.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS.
69
on ye llth of June, but discontinued because she was his wife's
sister's Daughter. T. Lee."*
A.D. 1758.
The Boundary Bridge which marks the place where the 1759.
parishes of Hemsworth and Ackworth meet on the Hemsworth Bridge*" 7
Road, bears an inscription which informs the traveller that the
bridge was erected in 1759 and enlarged in 1770.
This hospital (now the National School of the Society of Foundling
Friends; was built in 1757-59, at a cost of 13,000, partly Hos P itaL
by voluntary subscriptions, and partly by Parliamentary
Grant, as an appendage to the Central Institution, which had
a few years previously risen in London, a third house being
opened in Shropshire, and both the secondary establishments
being supplied with children from London. The register, cash,
and other books, relating to this hospital, are* still kept at
Ackworth School, as also are several interesting documents of
an earlier date concerning foundlings sent into the country
several years before the house was built. Captain Coram
started his benevolent schemes about 1739 ;-f* and there is a
book headed " Accounts with the Foundling Hospital, begun
Mar. 30th, 1741," containing particulars of receipts and pay-
ments in respect of children, six in number at first, shewing
that a return was made to the London institution once a
quarter. At this time infants were lodged in the villages of
Ackworth, Kippax, Empsal, Hemsworth, Hoyland, Midgley, and
Crigglestone. * * * It seems, too, that originally nurses
and infants were sent down by stage waggon ; but after that a
" hospital caravan" was provided, a minute being made that no
more were to be sent by waggon. All this was prior to the
erection of a hospital. On the hospital books is a stamp bear-
ing the representation of the finding of Moses ; and on a circle
the words, "Hospitium Infantum Expositorum." The full style
of the Corporation was, " The Governors and Guardians of the
Hospital for the maintenance and education of exposed and
* Vide Register of Banns, Vol. III.
t The Royal Charter is dated 17th October, 1739.
70 , ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
A.D. 1759. deserted young children." The hospital at Ack worth was open
for sixteen years, namely, from 19th August, 1757, to 25th July,
1773, and in that time 2,665 children were received into it ;
and of these 169, or 6J per cent., died there. The causes of
death are summarised at the end of the hospital register, and
their burials recorded in the parish registers of Ackworth
Church. The first master of the hospital appears to have been
Richard Hargrcaves, and the first money he received was from
Dr. Timothy Lee, the Rector of Ackworth, amounting to 49
14s. 4^d. The obstacles, however, to the hospital's success were
so great as to cause Parliament to interfere.* Reference is
made elsewhere to the mortality of the Institution.
1701. By an Indenture of purchase dated 1761, certain lands at
Flempton, in Suffolk, were sold by Dr. Timothy Lee, Rector of
Ackworth, in the County of York, and others, to Sir William
Gage, of Bury St. Edmunds, in the County of Suffolk, Bart.
1765 Indenture of lease and release between the Rev. Timothy
Lee, D.D.,-f- on the one part, and William Sykes, Gentleman, on
the other, made the 28th and 29th May, 3765. Extract from
schedule referring to the Ackworth Park Estate.
1766. The following is an extract from Dr. Lee's papers :
Interest- A APPEW,
ing record.
Daughter of Zachariah. Baptized at Ackworth, 22nd May,
1683, and, being a spinster, was buried at Ackworth, 28th
December, 1776. .
There were at the Funeral the following persons, all at
Ackworth.
Mary Burgess . . . aged 89. Mary Atheron . . . aged 70.
Mrs. Minton .-.. 82. Fanny Cryer ... 70.
Susn. Smith ... 81. Nanny Slack ... 64.
Mary Wilson ... 78. Molly Beetham ... 66.
* Bauks's " Walks aboiit Yorkshire," pp. 291-8.
t It is said that Dr. Lcc kept a pack of hounds (probably harriers) for the
amusement of his parishioners.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 71
Jane Moor ... aged 77.
Mrs. Pearson
Fanny Wager ... 76.
Dolly Grice
Mary Himsworth... 75.
Molly Addy
Jane Standish ... 73.
Betty Harrison
Widow Heptinstall 72.
Betty Smith
Ages of 18
aged 64. A.D.1766.
64.
73.
71.
68.
1313.
The Rector was at the Funeral, and, considering the great
ages ol the Parishioners, on the llth of January, 1767, he in-
vited the above 18 to Dinner, and, it being the great snow, only
13 were present, whose ages equall'd 958, 5 absent, Total, 1313.
Richard Woodhead, aged 88. Robert Heptinstall, aged 78.
Wm. Heptinstall ... 79. Francis Howitt ... 65.
Wm. Nclstrup ... 79. Thos. Lock wood ... 64.
Jon. Thompson ... 75. Benjn. Clark ... 64.
Richard Briggs ... 75. Mr. Swan 67.
Wm. Wager 71. Mr. Furniss 66.
Richard Nelstrup... 71. Thomas Slater ... 65.
Rev. M. Pearsc ... 71. Richard Hepworth 65.
Mr. Benj. Turton... 71. Wm. Scratcher ... 64.
John Wainwright 71. Wm. Wood 64.
John Beetham ... 68.
Ages of 21 1471.
On the 8th of February, 1767, the Rector invited the above
21 men to dine with him, and there were present 19, whose
ages = 1328, and 2 absent = 143. Total, 1471. The ages of
the 32 who dined, 2,286. The ages of the 39 invited = 2,784.
And all the above are now alive at Ackworth, this 12th Sep.,
1767. Besides the above, there were at this time living at
Ackworth, but not thought of for the funeral, Dr. Watkinson,
aged 74, and Mrs. Watkinson, aged 68."
Dr. Lee says that "the corpse was carried to the Church by
eight young women, who were all clothed in white, and two of
them carried a garland in the old style."
72
ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
A.D. 1767.
Marriage
frustrated.
1769.
Banns for-
bidden.
Foundling
Hospital.
1771.
Quadruple
Birth.
" N.B. Thos. Burton & Margaret Backhouse, both of Ack-
worth, pubd. 10 & 17 May, but Margt. was transported for
Felony before Mar : T. Lee."*
The Banns of Marriage were published between James Hey,
of Ackworth, and Mary Lightowler, of Pontefract, " on ye 9th,
but stopt by M. Lightowler in Person, ye loth July, 1769.
T. Lee, Rector." Mary Lightowler was evidently a very pru-
dent young woman.
This Institution was closed by order of Parliament, after a
comparatively useless existence of 12 years. It is said that a
majority of the children admitted to the house at Ackworth,
died before they were at an age to be put out as apprentices,
which was usually at about eight years of age. This mortality,
the difficulty of obtaining proper nurses, and of providing
humane masters, with the frequent contests from the opposition
of parishes, and the cruelty of masters where they were appren-
ticed, proved such insurmountable obstacles to the well-con-
ducting of the Charity, that the house at Ackworth was finally
abandoned as a Foundling Hospital, and remained unoccupied
and on sale for eight years.-f- An excerpt from the Parish
Registers will throw some light upon the internal management
of the Hospital :
1765, Buried. Inhabitants, Males 8, Females, 8. Found-
lings, Males 27, Females 25. The disproportion is seen at once.
Analysis of cause of death. Inhabitants : Dysentery, 1 ;
Small Pox, 3 ; Fever, 2 ; Consumption, 3 ; other causes, 7.
Foundlings : Dysentery, 23 ; Small Pox, 18 ; Fever, 4 ; Con-
sumption, 2 ; other causes, 5.
The year 1771 will ever be a remarkable one in the annals
of Ackworth, on account of a quadruple birth which occurred
there. A poor woman, whose name cannot be ascertained, was
safely delivered of four children.:]:
* Vide Register of Banns, Vol. III. t Vide Baines' Hist. York. p. 441.
J Vide Boss' Topographical Index of the "Annual Register." There is no
mention of the incident in the Ackworth Parish Registers.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS.
73
From the "Annual Register" we learn that a woman named
Elizabeth Rainbow, of Ackworth, was murdered by her master,
Lieut. N. Bolton.*
The Banns of Marriage were published between William
Atick, of Crofton,and Elizabeth Crossley, of Ackworth, on the
3rd of November, but forbid by Elizabeth Crossley on the 4th.
J. Beevor, Curate."-f- It would seem that the youths of that
time were too often in the habit of taking "silence for consent,"
or else the maidens were pressed against their will, and, natu-
rally, took the earliest opportunity of revoking their promise.
In this instance, however, Elizabeth Crossley could not summon
up courage to forbid the banns publicly, but went privately to
the Curate on the following day, and we are not surprised to
find the reverend gentleman willing to accept the girl's protest,
although the course he saw fit to adopt was somewhat out of
order.
A . D . 1774.
1776.
Foundling Hospital purchased by Dr. Fothergill and three Friends'
others for 7000. SchooL
The following are extracts from the diary of "the late Mr. 1778.
N - , of Ackworth :
" Wednesday, August 5th, went to Leeds, to the Conference,
was not so lively in the meeting as I could wish. I heard Mr.
Wesley preach from Luke 13, verses 23-4, and was found
wanting under his sermon.
" Thursday, 6th. I had the pleasure of hearing Mr. Wesley
preach at five o'clock this morning, from these words: 'And to
him that ordereth his conversation aright will I show the salva-
tion of God.' I was found wanting, yet glory be to God, I got
fresh desires, and I trust, through grace, to be made more and
more like unto the Lord."
This Hospital was erected in Northgate, Pontefract, in 1778, Watkin-
soli's
out of the personal estate of the late Edward Watkinson, Esq., Hospital.
* Vide Ross' Topographical Index,
recorded at Ackworth.
t Vide Register of Banns, Vol. III.
Elizabeth Rainbow's Burial is not
74 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
A.D.1778. M.D., of Ackworth.* The Rector of Ackworth for the time
being is one of the Trustees of the Hospital.
1779. The following extracts from Mrs. N 's diary are inter-
esting :
" January 28th, 1779. Went to Badsworth to-day to my
brothers, they had company, all carnal people, I found an awful
sense of the Lord and fear of offending him. Before I came
away I thought if I did not take up my cross, and go to prayer
with them, I should go home in distress. I asked for the hymn
book, and as soon as I began to give out the hymn I found the
Lord was with us, and for ever blessed be His Holy Name, He
enabled me to go to prayer, and it was a blessing to my soul,
and may the Lord grant it may be a blessing to all the souls
that were present, and glory shall be given to Him."
"April 28th. Much afraid of sinning to-day, and much
drawn out in prayer, heard Mr. Wesley preach at Wakefield,^
the word was a feast to my soul, may I never more grieve His
Spirit."
1780. Between " Joseph Bayldon, Ackworth, and Hannah Field,
dden f r " Womersle y> on tne 23rd > 80tn January, 1780, but forbid by
Joseph Bayldon and John Bayldon." This looks as if the girl
or her friends, had put up the banns, which were forbidden by
the young man and his brother, or perhaps his father.
1784 Between " George Hattersley and Mary Wood, both of Ack-
worth, on the 2nd, 9th, and 16th of September, 1784, but forbid
in the Church, on ye 16th, by Thos. Wood," probably the girl's
father.
1788 _ Between " John Hargrave, Leeds, and Mary Issott, Ackworth,
on the 15th, 22nd of June, and were forbid on the 29th of the
same month, by Mary Hargrave, who says she is the wife of the
above John Hargrave, 1778, by P. Heaton, Curate.''^
* For Dr. Watkinson's Will in extenso, sec Fox's Hist. Pont., p. 344.
t Mr. Wesley never seems to have honoured Ackworth with a visit.
J Vide Register of Banns, Vol. III.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS.
75
Leprosy.
Two persons, both males, aged respectively 81 and 48, died A . D . 1790.
of this disease, at Ack worth, in 1790, and a woman, aged 49, in Palsv -
1793. It is probable, however, that this " Palsy " was what is
now known as paralysis.
A very bad case of Leprosy occurred at Ackworth School r 1791.
in this year, a disease which seldom appears in this country.
As soon as its real character was known, the boy was removed
into the village, until he could be suitably sent home.* Lep-
rosy was very common in England in the 10th century, imported
principally no doubt by itinerant Jews ; and for the special
treatment of such cases, Lazar Hospitals were erected in several
of the large towns. The frequency of leprous and other loath-
some diseases, is referred to by Spenser, " The Sunrise of English
poetry," in his " Faery Queen," (Book I, Canto IV. 3.) " Like
loathsome lazars, by the hedges lay."x
The following entry appears in the Parish Register of Bap-
tisms : " Mary, daughter of Joshua Bryer, Soldier, born at sea,
Oct. 20th, baptised Nov. 24th."f
A characteristic epitaph of the old time may be read upon
a slab on the north side of the Parish Church. It would seem
the Resurrection had
1793.
1795.
Epitaph.
as
though
the glorious doctrine of
entirely been lost sight of, so dolorous is the tone of the epitaph.
"Hark : from the Tombs a doleful sound,
My friends, attend the Cry :
Ye Living men, come view the Ground
Where you must shortly Lye.
this clay must be your Bed
The Spire of all your Tow'rs
Must fall : the Wise the Bev'rend head :
Must lye as Low as ours.
The inscription above, informs us that William Burford's re-
mains arc deposited beneath the stone.J He was born June
25, 1760, and died April 30, 1781. Mary, his wife, died Feb.
2nd, 1795.
* Vide " Hist : Ackworth School," p. 75.
t Vol. IV.
\ Some of the grave-stones were brought out of the church-yard into the
Church, when it was restored, for the purpose of pavement.
76
ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
A.D.1796.
Dearth.
1798.
1803.
Sykes
Family.
Suffoca-
tion.
" This was a year of dear bread, and we find it raising the
wages of the chief shoemaker at Ackworth School, (Samuel
Whalley) to eighteen shillings a week, in consequence of " the
high price of the necessaries of life." Wheat sold from 96/-
to 112/- per quarter, and Henry Hipsley records in his journal,
that it was " doubtful whether corn would be found in the
country at any price," and that when he went to Pontefract to
buy corn, he had to place his hand in the farmer's sack, in
order to secure the wheat, the moment the bell rang for the
market to begin.*
Charles Butter, Curate of Ackworth, died Jan. 5th, 1798,
aged 74, and was buried at Ackworth. He was suceeded by
George Hendwick.
Indenture made the 10th August, 1803, between Francis
Sykes, as Sir Francis Sykes, Bart., and Dame Elizabeth, his
wife on the one part, and Thomas Taylor, Gentleman, on the
other part. Francis Sykes, Esq., of Ackworth Park, was born
in 1732, and amassed a considerable fortune in India, whilst
Governor of Cossumbazar, in Bengal. He was created a
Baronet on the 24th March, 1781, and married first, Feb. 7th,
1766, Catherine, daughter of John Ridley, Esq., and had issue,
two sons, 1, Francis William, who succeeded, and 2, John, R.N.,
who died on board the Grampus, Sir Francis married secondly,
Sep. 2nd, 1774, Henrietta Elizabeth Monckton, eldest daughter
of William, second Viscount Galway.
Under date May 7th, the " Gentleman's Magazine " for 1803,
records the following : "At Ackworth, near Pontefract, Mrs.
Townley and her son, who resided at that place, had removed
to a new house,-f- and. in order to dry their bedrooms, which
had been newly plastered, they burnt in them during the night,
a chafing dish with charcoal. In the morning they were both
found dead. Both were illegitimate, and both died intestate, in
* Vide " Hist : Ackworth School," p.p. 86, 96.
f The house formerly occupied by the late Mr. John Haigh.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 77
consequence of which a house, maltkiln. and seven acres of A .
land, lately purchased by one or both of them, near the Rec-
tory, resolved to the King as Duke of Lancaster, and from him
to the Trustees of the Manor of Ackvvorth, to whom the manor
and its privileges had been granted in the reign of Charles I.
Martha Chapel, of Ackworth, aged 19, says the " Annual
Register," was executed at York in this year, for the murder of
her illegitimate child.*
ACKWORTH PARK. Old sale
bill.
TO BE
SOLD BY AUCTION
TOGETHER, OK IN THE FOLLOWING LOTS,
AT THE HOUSE OF
MR. ROBERTS, THE ELEPHANT AND CASTLE, IN PONTEFRACT,
ON THE ELEVENTH DAY OF APRIL NEXT,
Between the Hours of Two and Six in the Afternoon,
Unless previously disposed of by private Contract, of which dne notice will be
given ;
Subject to such conditions as icill be then and there produced.
LOT I.
Consisting of Two Closes, Tithe-free, in Ackworth, containing Eight Acres, One
Rood, Six Perches, and now in the Occupation of James Waite.
LOT II.
A Good House, Dove-Cot, Barns, Stables, Coach-House, &c., together with
Five Pieces or Parcels of Land adjoining thereto, called the Hemp Yard, the
Hall Close and Garden, the Larger Hemp Yard, the Plantation, and the New
Close, containing together Fifteen Acres, Three Perches, and now in the occu-
pation of John Gill.
LOT III.
Five Closes, Pieces, or Parcels of Laud, in Ackworth aforesaid, called the New
Close, the Plantation, the East End of Smithy Butts, containing together Five
Acres, Two Roods, Six Perches ; the Near Lodge Hill, and the Lodge Hill,
containing together Twenty Acres, Two Roods, and now in the Possession of
the said James Waite and John Gill.
LOT IV.
Three Closes, Pieces, or Parcels of Land, in Ackworth aforesaid, called the
Farr Lodge Hill, the Fourteen Acres, and Two Acres at the West End of Smithy
Butts, containing together Twenty-five Acres, One Rood, Nineteen Perches, and
now in the Possession of the said James Waite and John Gill.
LOT v.
Three other Closes of Land, in Ackworth and Purston, called the Lower
Wood Slack, the Broom Close, and the Upper Wood Slack, containing together
Twenty Acres, Three Roods, Fourteen Perches, and now in the Possession of
the said James Waite and John Gill.
* Vide Ross' Topographical Index. There is no record of this at Ackworth.
78 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
A.D. 1803. LOT VI -
The Coal Hill Close, Tithe-free, containing Forty Acres, Thirty Perches, in
Ackworth aforesaid, and now in the Possession of the said John Gill.
The Park Close, containing Eleven Acres, Ten Perches, in Ackworth aforesaid,
and now in the possession of Michael Cuttle.
LOT VIII.
A Good House, Barns, Stables, and Outbuildings ; together with Nine Closes,
Pieces, or Parcels of Land adjoining thereto, called the Twelve Acres, the Six-
teen Acres, with Plantation, the Far Four Acres, the Six Acres, the Under Close,
tlje Two Castle Syke Closes, the Jackson Close, and the Near Four Acres, in
Ackworth aforesaid, containing together Seventy-three Acres, Two Roods, Two
Perches, and now in the Occupation of the said Michael Cuttle.
Two Closes of Land, in Ackworth aforesaid, called the Castlo Syke and the
Jeffry Close, containing together Fourteen Acres, Three Roods, Six Perches,
also in the Possession of the said Michael Cuttle.
Two other Closes of Land, in Ackworth aforesaid, called the Three Acres and
the Near Close, containing together Twelve Acres, Twelve Perches, and also in
the Possesssion of the said Michael Cuttle.
The Mansion-House, Good Gardens, well stocked with Fruit Trees ; Barns,
Stables, with Fifteen Stands for Horses ; Coach-Houses, Dove-Cot, and other
convenient Outbuildings, all in Good Repair ; with Three Pews in the Church,
and about One Hundred Acres of Land, lying in a Ring Fence adjoining to the
said Mansion-House, and now in the occupation of Lady Dowager Mexbro',
Michael Cuttle, John Gill, and John Thompson.
The Whole of the Estate is supposed to be full of Coal. Ackworth Park is
situated in the most desirable Part of the West Riding of the County of York.
The Mansion is modern -built, in good Repair, and fit for the Reception of a
large Family. It is within Two Miles of Pontefract, Four from Ferrj'bridge,
Seven from Waken" eld, and Fourteen from Doncaster.
Mr. Michael Cuttle of Ackworth will shew the Premises, and further
Particulars may be had of Mr. Richard Mitton, Pontefract ; or of Messrs. Sykes
and Knowles, Solicitors, Boswell-Court, London.
The Estate in Ackworth is subject to a Fee Farm Rent of 111. 3s. 5d. Is
exonerated from the Land Tax ; and such Part thereof as is not Tithe-free, is
subject only to 2s. per Annum, in Lieu thereof ; but the Lands in Purston arc
subject to Tithe in Kind. There is some fine thriving Wood on the Estate,
which must be taken by the Purchaser or Purchasers at a fair Valuation.
Pontefract . Printed by John Fox, Market-Place.
ITS HISTORV AND ANNALS. 79
This old Sale bill is preserved in the Main-Guard Historical A . D . isos
Museum, Pontefract. ^ 8ale
SALE
OF VALUABLE FURNITUEE,
BY AUCTION,
AT ACKWOETH GEOVE,
The Residence of JAMES BUCK, on THUESDAY, the 21st of FEBEUARY,
1805, and the following days till all be sold, the Sale to commence (each day)
at 10 o'clock in the forenoon.
Consisting of a great variety of elegant Mahogany Sideboard, Dining and
Card Tables, Chairs, Chests of Drawers, Wardrobe, Feather Beds of the best
Quality, Mahogany and other Bedsteads and Bedding, Pier and Swing Glasses,
Floor and other Carpets, Kitchen, Brewing, and Dairy Utensils, a Capital
Mangle, Melon & Cucumber Frames, Hand Glasses, &c.
Horses, Cows, Haystack, a neat Tax'd Cart and Harness, a Curious Amcri
can Sledge, Carts, Plow-rollers, Harrows, a great variety of Farming Utensils
and Husbandry gear, also a stout modern built Whiskey Vat on curricle spindles
and patent axlctree.
N.B. The live Stock and Husbandry gear to be sold the first day.
Feb. 12th, 1805.
Pontefract : Printed by J. Fox, Market Place.
John Donbavand, one of the masters of the Friends' School, isio.
when in his twenty-first year, suffered a month's imprisonment
in the Wakefield House of Correction, for refusing to serve,
after having been " drawn " on the local Militia ! Four years
later he was " drawn " a second time, and, with two others, was
imprisoned at Wakefield for twenty-four days.* This must
have been an unmitigated hardship to one whose principles
were essentially those of peace, the very idea of war being
odious to the Quaker mind. Members of the Society of Friends
were, however, not legally exempt from military service, so that
Donbavand's conduct was, in reality, contumacious, and he was
punished accordingly.
Henry Mitton, of Ackworth, yeoman, by his Will, dated Parish
10th October, 1809, and proved at York, 16th February, 1810, Hearse>
ordered and directed his Executors to lay out 20 in building
a Hearse for the conveyance of corpses from the confines of
the Parish to inter at Ackworth Church. The Hearse was
afterwards to be placed under the management and direction
* Vide Hist. Ackworth School, p. 129,
80 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
A.D. 1810. of the Churchwardens. A Hearse was accordingly built, and
the present Hearse-house, at the corner of the Pinfold, erected
to keep it in. For many years this Hearse was very useful,
and served the ends intended by the Testator. In 1872, how-
ever, it was worn out, and could no longer be used. Subscrip-
tions were therefore raised, amounting to over 40, to procure
the Hearse at present in use, which is let out by the Church-
wardens for the interment of any bona-fide parishioner, whether
buried at Ackworth or any other Church.
1811. In the month of March in this year, a young man came to
A windfall. the Brown Cow j nnj at Ackworth, then kept by a Mrs.
Howitt, and took up his abode there. He declined to give any
account of himself, except that his name was W. Wilson.
Whilst staying at the " Brown Cow," he died, and property Avas
found upon him amounting to nearly 100, which, after the
payment of funeral and other expenses, was reduced to 85
14s. 9d. Subsequent enquiries elicited the information that
he was a felon, who had escaped from Lincoln Castle in the
month of December preceding, whilst lying under condemnation
for burglary, and that his name was Robert Warff. According
to custom, the money was appropriated by the Lords of the
Manor of Ackworth, for the benefit of the freeholders, to be
invested where and how the said Lords for the time being should
think fit.* Every effort, however, was made by the Rector (Mr.
Hay) and the Churchwardens to discover the friends of the
young man, as the following entries testify .-f-
1872, Oct. 1st. By the Rev Mr. Hay, p. Acct. for s. d.
advertizg. for Warff's Friends, etc. ... ... 548
Bya letter 11
By George Fairburn, two journeys to Wakefield to
speak to Mr. Carr about Warff s property, as
Mr. Hodgson claimed it ... ... ... 60
By a letter to Mr. Hay from old Warff ... ... 10
* Vide Manor Minute Book, p. 4.
f Vide Manor Accounts.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS.
81
By Hardin to pack the young man's cloths in to s. d. A . D . isn
oldWarff 1 6
By Mr. Pearson, journey to York to Mr. Carr, for
him to inspect the Deed of the Grant of the
Manor, and Mr. Hodgson gave up his claim... 14 1
1813, May 1st. By balance in hand of George
Fairbarn 84 10 9
From the above statement it will be seen that all was done,
that could be done under the circumstances, and that in a most
satisfactory and straightforward manner.
During the year, no less than 47 18s. 3d. was recovered by 1813.
. Interest-
the Lords of the Manor from various persons in A ck worth as ing statis-
compensation for encroachments upon lands belonging to the
Manor. A Mr. Pearson paid 18s. 9d.; Geo. Fairbarn, for an
encroachment upon Long Lane, 2 15s.; Richd. Smith, do.
against his garden, 6 15s.; Ackworth School, 6 11s. 3d.;
Nelly Heptinstall, 2 10s.; James Camplin, 8 12s. 6d.; Thomas
Howitt, 8 Os. Od.; and John Heaton, 11 16s. 3d.*
There can be no doubt that the Trustees of the Manor, for
the time being, can legally claim any amount they may think
fit, from any person, who may so encroach.
This Court, which is really the only method recognized by The Court
law of bringing together the Lords of the Manor and Free-
holders of Ackworth for the transaction of business, has not
been convened for many years, but the little business to be
transacted is now disposed of by an informal meeting, attended
by the Rector and two or three " lords in waiting," called to-
gether by the Clerk of the Manor, or rather Secretary, whose
duties, I am informed, are peculiarly onerous. One reason why
these Ancient Courts Leet and Baron have not been holden
was probably the expense connected with such Sessions, the
jurymen and officials of which seemed to enjoy, according to
the accounts, an extraordinarily good time of it. Such Courts
were not held at stated times, but were called only when
* Vide Manor Accounts.
82 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
A.D. 1813. occasion required, generally by a public notice given out by the
parish clerk in the Church.* The last Court was held in 1862.
Spiritual From a small faded memorandum book which has come
condition. .
into the compiler s possession, some idea may be formed of the
spiritual condition of Ackworth in the year 1813. The contents
of the book purport to be the result of a house to house can-
vass of two members of the Ackworth Branch of the British
and Foreign Bible Society. The record is a most interesting
one. Out of 112 poor families visited in the parish, 65 were
destitute of Bibles, and 75 of New Testaments. Out of an
aggregate of 430 individuals, 200 were reported as unable to
read. Some of the entries are worth re-producing. One
family possessed a piece of a Bible, and another a piece of the
New Testament. One Bible was in parts, seven of which, how-
ever, were wanting ; another was destitute of beginning and
end ; and the inhabitants of one cottage stated that when they
wanted a Bible, which was not very often, they borrowed one !
A sixth family produced "a small tattered piece of a Bible ; and
two doors further on it was said that there was a small piece of
a Testament in the house, which they were unable to find. A
lady who has resided for many years at Ackworth says she has
a distinct recollection of her father saying that when he, in
company with the Rev. Geo. Maddison, made a canvass on
behalf of the Bible Society in the hamlet of Brackenhill, they
found the inhabitants in a very uncivilized state, and that the
canvassers were really alarmed when they were met at the door
of a cottage by a woman holding a carving knife menacingly
in her hand.
1817. Oct. 27. By R Patrick, for giving notice in the Church for
6 years Court Day, 3s.
1819. On Sunday, May 9th, 1819, the following notice was publicly
given out in the Parish Church : " This is to give notice. The
Trustees of the Manor desire the attendance of the Freeholders
in the Vestry immediately after Divine Service." The Free-
* Vide sub datum, 1817.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 83
holders accordingly attended (how many is not known) and it A - D - 18 1
was agreed that the business which had called them together
so extraordinarily should be left to the Overseers of Highways.
The business, it appears, was this. The Lords of the Manor by
their Clerk had, in the first instance, considered it their duty
to serve the following notice upon Miss Hannah Mary Horton :
" We the undersigned being Trustees for the Manor of Ack-
worth do hereby discharge (sic) you from diging up or leading
away the earth or soil, from the waste land upon the said
Manor, otherwise an Action at Law will be immediately com-
menced against you." (Signatures.)* This notice was read
by the Clerk, and a subsequent meeting was held in the vestry
on the following Thursday at 11 o'clock in the forenoon, to
take into consideration the most effectual means to put a stop
to Miss Horton's proceedings upon the waste land in Houndhill
Lane. There is no record as to what course the Lords adopted;
probably Miss Horton had wisely obeyed the injunction, or the
Lords ultimately decided that the matter was of too trivial
a nature to be further prosecuted. The unbiassed reader will,
however, at once perceive in what a " cart-before-the-horse "
fashion the business of the Trust in this instance was transacted.
Stage coaches ran daily from Ackworth to Scarborough at 1822.
at nine o'clock in the morning ; to Sheffield at five in the coaches,
evening ; to Lincoln on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, at ten
in the morning ; and to Wakefield every Tuesday, Thursday,
and Saturday at three in the afternoon.j- Children, as a rule,
were not favourite " fares " with the drivers and guards of the
old stage-coach. They were not au fait in " tips," or clever
in providing the little warming treats which were so highly
esteemed. It is related that on one occasion, three children
were being escorted from Ackworth to Wentbridge, by a
wide-awake matronly Friend, who overheard the coachman
describing the young travellers to a companion on the box, as
nothing better than " tag-rag and bobtail." On appearing at
* Vide List of Lords, in Appendix,
t Vide Baine's Hist ; York :, p. 442.
ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
A.D. 1822.
A Sporting
Curate.
Popula-
tion.
1823.
Ackworth
Gazette.
the door of the coach on its arrival at Wentbridge, to solicit
his douceur, the humorous lady presented him with three
small coins, which she described as being one from " Tag,"
another from " Rag," and the third from " Bobtail."*
H-
-, Curate of Ackworth, is said to have been
passionately fond of fox-hunting, which in those days was
considered in society an essential accomplishment for a clergy-
man. The pastime, however, was eyed askance by " Hodge,"
because of the rough-shod manner in which the huntsmen
rode across country, taking not only hedges and ditches, but
crops and gardens in their mad career. To the rustic daysman
it is well known that in Yorkshire the " hunting parson " is an
odious and despicable personage. One Sunday morning the
Curate in question was accosted during an impressive pause in
his sermon, by one T W d loudly vociferating " Thou's
preachin' ta day, an be fox-hunting to-morrow !" The truth of
this statement did not prevent the man from being summoned
for brawling, and fined 10/- and costs.-f-
The population of Ackworth this year according to a recent
census, was (including Low Ackworth,) 1575. The chief resi-
dents were Ackworth Park, John Petyt, Esq.; Ackworth
House, John Goldsworthy,Esq.; Ackworth Villa (now the Court),
Thomas St. Quintin, Esq.; Ackworth Lodge, The Rev. George
Maddison ; Ackworth Moor-Top, Thomas Gee, Esq.; Ackworth
Grange, Richard Wilson, Esq.; and at Ackworth, D'Oyley
Saunders, Esq.
Mr. Thomas Wilkinson, of Ackworth, was at this time
Chief Constable and Subdivision Clerk for the Osgoldcross
Division of the West Riding of Yorkshire.^
A little newspaper promoted and circulated by the Society
of Friends in Ackworth. The first number appeared on the
9th September, 1823. " It was," says Thompson, " a current
* Vide "Hist: Ackworth School," p. 34. f Communicated by G S ,
} Vide Langdale's Top. Diet. 1822, p. 465.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 85
register of events, chiefly in the great world outside," although A . D . 1323.
from time to time local events of interest were duly chronicled.*
During the month of November in this year, Ackworth was Royal visit
honoured by the visit of a noble of royal blood, viz.: His Grace
the Duke of Gloucester. The event is thus celebrated in rhyme
by a lady who was resident in the village at the time :
" I trust my muse will not refuse
To celebrate the happy day
When Gloucester's duke his Court forsook,
And to the country sped his way.
'Twas Cantley^ Hall which first of all
Received this most illustrious guest ;
What there befel I cannot tell,
I must proceed to speak the rest.
All in the dark to Kippax\ Park
The royal stranger sped amain ;
Perchance that he disliked to see
On Pomfret's wall the bloody stain.]|
All dangers past, arrived at last,
H finds a noble party there,
The welcome said, the board is spread
With fish, and soup, and viands rare.
And fowl and game, both wild and tame,
Were all in tasteful plenty given,
And fruit so fine, and choicest wine,
From every country under heaven.
Each day and night, with rapid flight
In gay succession sunk and rose ;
The time is flown, the Duke is gone,
I must pursue him as he goes.
A friendly call at Houndhill Hall,
Impedes him in his hasty course ;
He there would stay the Sabbath day,
That day of rest for man and horse.
Soon in the morn to Church [ he's borne,
But not in car of royal state ;
To lay aside all thoughts of pride,
Full well becomes the rich and great.
* Vide " Hist, of Ackworth School," p. 165.
f Norfolkshire.
I The object of the Duke's visit was to stand sponsor for the twelfth child of
Thomas Davidson Bland, Esq., of Kippax.
|| Pontefract Castle thrice beseiged, and the scene of civil discord and blood-
shed.
At Houndhill Hall lived Mrs. Bland, mother of T. D. Bland, Esq., and two
or three unmarried daughters. It was said that she had been kind to the Duke
when he was a young officer in the army, hence his intimacy with the family.
If Ackworth Parish Church.
86 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
A.D. 1823. The Rector's* seat, as his most meet,
Receives him with a train of friends,
The bells have rung, the hymn is sung,
The congregation, mute, attends.
" God save the King,"f or some such thing
Is sung with ready glee and art ;
Then out they pour forth from the door
And for the Quaker's school depart. J
All in amaze with steady gaze,
The assembled crowd astonished stare ;
Take a last look at Gloucester's Duke,
Then to their several homes repair.
The school is seen, so neat and clean,
The boys and girls prepare to eat,
The dinner brought, the grace is thought, ]|
Who would not relish such a treat ?
The meal is done, the clock strikes one,
The noble party onward passed ;
'Twas pleasure all at Houndhill Hall
That even, 11 but it was the last.
The noble guest awakes from rest,
And takes his leave with grief so true ;
The coach and four are at the door,
Adieu, Adieu, Adieu, Adieu ! "
Although several hiati are apparent, the rhyme is a tolerably
good specimen of the Yorkshire Ballad.**
* The Rev. W. R. Hay, M.A. Tradition says that a very eccentric member
of the congregation, into whose pew the Duke was first shewn, refused his
Grace admittance, not knowing who the illustrious stranger was.
f The " National Anthem," says an old inhabitant, was sung on the occasion.
I There is an error in Chronology here. The visit to Ackworth School, took
place on Monday morning. Vide " Ackworth Gazette," December, 1823.
|| After the manner of the Quakers.
" On the 30th November, 1823, at half past twelve o'clock at noon, the
Duke of Gloucester and his suite, arrived in two carriages at the entrance of the
Friends' School. His Grace was conducted through the various buildings, and
shewn everything calculated to interest him. Then, having seen as much of
the establishment as time and weather would permit, the day being very wet,
the Duke at half-past one o'clock returned to his carriage, expressing himself
highly gratified with his visit, and hoping that the Institution would long con-
tinue to prove a blessing to the Society." Vide " Ackworth Gazette," December,
1823.
f Monday evening. A ball was held in honour of the Duke, with other
festivities.
** Vide "Yorkshire Notes and Queries," Jan. 1886. I am indebted for the
MS. of the above lines to Miss M. Whittaker, of Ackworth. J. L. S.
ITS HISTORY" AND ANNALS. 87
The following extract is taken from a published letter of p^g 82
the late R - H , to a friend at T . " Our Sch o1 -
attention has been very much occupied * with the subject
of Dame Schools, and the means of improving them. * *
The Moor-Top School is my favourite object of attention. The
Mistress I found in great repute, surrounded by nearly forty
children : and seeing that she had some talent, I thought it
best to direct my views to that school, on account of the
number. When I first looked in upon them, last year, it was
quite a problem to me to discover how they learnt anything ;
scarcely any books to be seen, except a few spelling books,
which had lost their first pages some loose leaves of what
seemed to have been a Geography, and some Children's Tales :
but I afterwards found that the Tracts from the [Lending]
Library were in great request. Still, I pitied the Mistress,
condemned to sit for three hours incessantly engaged in hear-
ing lessons, and obliged, at the same time, to attend to sewing,
marking, and writing : it was almost enough to distract her.
And then the poor children are obliged to sit still most of the
day, doing nothing ; unless they invent some amusement, by
pulling their clothes to pieces, or tying and twisting a few
coloured threads : and so packed that they could hardly sit
down altogether in fact, learning to be dunces ! Well, I
immediately thought, what an advantage the Lancasterian
system would be here! The Mistress fell in with the proposal."
The system was ultimately introduced, and the school carried
on for many years, until superseded by a school more in accord-
ance with the requirements of the times.
John Petyt (formerly John Petty), Esq., of Brunswick
Square, in the County of Middlesex, and Ackworth Park, died
4th October, 1826. His will bears date 7th August, 1826. The
Petyt family have a vault in Ackworth Churchyard.
To some, the following old Sale Bill, copied from the 1828.
" Doncaster, Nottingham, and Lincoln Gazette," of Friday, Sale ^
88 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
A.D.1828. March 24, 1828, will doubtless be interesting.
ACKWORTH PARK.
Shortly will be exposed for SALE by PUBLIC AUCTION, unless previously disposed
of by PRIVATE CONTRACT,
ALL that capital MANSION HOUSE and ESTATE called ACKWORTH PARK, situate
in the Parish of Ackworth, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, comprising an
excellent Dwellinghouse, with all requisite conveniences, for the residence of a
Nobleman or Gentleman, and 355 acres of LAND or thereabouts, with suitable
Farm Houses, all lying in a ring fence.
The above Estate is freehold and tithe-free, (being subject as to part, however,
to a perpetual annual payment of 2s. an acre, in lieu of tithes, settled by Act
of Parliament,) and the land-tax is redeemed. Ackworth Park is distant two
miles from Pontefract, eight from Wakefield, ** and is
delightfully situated in a remarkably fine part of the country, and in the centre
of the Badsworth Hunt. The Glasgow mail coach passes within a mile of it.
For further particulars, and for tickets to view the place, (without which it
will not be shewn,) apply if by letter, post paid, to Messrs. Smithson and
Ramskill, Solicitors, Pontefract.
Pontefract, March 17, 1828.
The price of the " Doncaster, Nottingham, and Lincoln
Gazette" was 7d.
Reform' ^ ^ e ^ me ^ ^ e di stur kances in London respecting the
Bill Reform Bill, the late E H , of Ackworth, whose
correspondence was published after her death, in a letter dated
Nov. 4th, 1830, writes as follows " J. was to have come home
at half-past four, and it is now nearly six, and I am still alone ;
and I feel that, if I stitch, stitch, all the evening, I shall be
very nervous before he comes, for really I do not like mobs and
tricoloured flags* You will hear as much from the papers,
and more, probably, of what is going on, than we could tell you.
Tis strange work, and were I to waste all the evening about it,
I could neither tell you what the mob wants, nor what those
above them are afraid of. One cannot but look with some
eagerness to see the end of it, though very probably it may,
. after all, end in nothing."
Wonder- On the 3rd of October, 1830, a cow belonging to Mr. Sud-
bury, of Pontefract, brought forth a full grown calf with two
heads, two breasts, two necks, four fore-legs, two hearts, two
* Pontefract has always been the arena of political animus and very often
tumult and strife. The Reform Bill although passed in 1831, did not operate
'until 1832.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS.
89
livers and lights, two back bones, which are separated as far A . D . 1830.
as the sixth rib from the issuing bone, where they became
joined into one back, two tails, and only two bind legs, each
body possessing separate intestines quite perfect.* Mr.
Sudbury was well known at Ackworth, and the story is still
related at the fireside of farm house kitchens, x
Boy killed at Ackworth School, by the fall of some cart-
shelvings, whilst he was assisting the farmer.-f
This periodical was published at Ackworth School, and
circulated chiefly amongst the Masters and pupils, although a
few copies found their way into the village, j
Writing from the " Villa " (now known as the " Court"), on
May 1st, the late R H , in her published correspon-
dence says " A shower of cherryblossoms brought over the
house by the north wind, from the two great trees in the yard,
has twice deceived me, to-day (May 5th), into the apprehension
that we were going to have a snow-storm. Very little surprise
would be felt if the phenomenon should occur, so very cold is
the season. Yet vegetation comes on very well; and we
understand the farmers have no fear for their crops."
May 3rd. "I have begun to drink the Spa || before breakfast,
and generally step in at the Grices', where there is sure to be
some business about the School."
On June 21, she thus writes to a friend, "Our High
Ackworth neighbours have just been having their " feast."
It was a sad time a scene of dancing and riot, all night, I
believe ! # # # # We were seriously threatened with
bull-baiting, which was put a stop to by a good deal being said
about it. My father went to the " Boot and Shoe," and Capt.
W., and others, to the Beer-shop in the Quarry, to speak
* Vide " Wonders of Nature and Art," pp. 114-15.
t Vide " History of Ackworth School," p. 248.
J Vide " Hist : Ackworth School," p. 214.
|| Tan-house Lane.
Beginning May 31, and lasting about four days.
1831.
Fatal
Accident.
Ackworth
Review.
1832.
Interest-
ing records
Ackworth
Feast.
90 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
A.D. 1832. against it. We have set our faces against the children's having
" holidays " at the Schools, and seeing all these things ; for
which, I expect, we shall get plenty of ill-will ; but I am
convinced that it is quite right so to do. I wish we had carried
opposition a little further. I do want a good tract against
" Feasts " for circulation."*
The Derby Both these famous races were both won this year by a horse,
1 <J1 / V
Leger. the joint property of Mr. Gully, of Ackworth Park, and a Mr.
Ridsdale.-f-
1834. In a published letter to her sister, dated June 15th, 1834,
A religious , rr , TT . TIT r i
enthusiast Mrs. R H writes " 1 had an entertainment [this
evening at Low Ackworth] which I did not expect a sermon
on the Millenium ! It was from a middle aged man, with a
serious countenance and a long beard, who had taken his station
on the top of a wall opposite Farmer Lee's ; from whose garden
I heard great part of it. People call him a Joannaite, and set
him down for a deceiver. I neither saw nor heard anything
deceptive, but, on the contrary, much evidence of sincerity.
He appeared to be sound in the faith, and to have a remark-
ably compehensive knowledge of Holy Scripture, especially on
the subject of Redemption. His allusions to the Atonement
were particularly satisfactory ; his declarations of the Scripture
doctrine of the resurrection of the body remarkably clear ; and
his anticipations of the Redemption completed, by the
glorification of the Saints at the Last Day, to me, quite anima-
ting. But when he proceeded to proclaim the near approach
of that day, and told us we were no longer to prepare for death,
but for life eternal, I felt as if I could not go along with him.
. . . His facility in quoting Scripture by memory (chapter
and verse), and the seriousness yet friendliness of his manner,
impressed me very agreeably, though he spoke too rapidly for
[the comprehension] of the ignorant. From the theological
* " Memoranda of Rachel Howard." Part III. p. 274.
j- Vide Memoir of John Gully, in Appendix.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS.
01
terms he used, he must be a well read man.
jectures him to be a] Seventh-day Baptist*
My father con- A . D . i 8 34.
This historical event was commemorated at Ackworth by Slavery
Emancipa-
tion Com-
memora-
tion.
a display of bunting, and the ringing of the Church bells. At
Ackworth School, the 18th of August was observed as a gala-day,
and the children were stimulated to write verses appropriate to
the occasion, for the best of which prizes were offered. A large
meeting of all the children, and numerous visitors was held in
the Meeting House in the evening, presided over by Luke
Howard, F.RS. Various congratulatory resolutions were passed,
one of which, proposed by William Fisher Sim, and seconded
by John Bright,-)- was " That this meeting unites in the feeling
of humble gratitude to the Author of all Good, who has
condescended so to bless the efforts of all Christians of every
denomination in this Country, that the curse of slavery through-
out the British Empire is this day ended, and that all the
slaves are free."
The " Telegraph " succeeded the defunct "Ackworth 1835.
The
Review" but, like its predecessor, had but a short existence. Telegraph.
It died in 1838.J
Ackworth Mechanics' Library established Nov. loth, 1836. 1836.
In addition to the festivities at the Friends' School, a
sumptuous dinner was provided for the working poor of
Ackworth, by Mr. Gully of Ackworth Park, and other gentlemen.
It was laid out in a large tent in a field at the rear of the Post
Office Buildings, and was followed in the evening by an equally
substantial tea. Merry peals were rung all day, and the ringers
liberally supplied with refreshments from the neighbouring
public house.
* More probably an itinerant separatist from Irvingism, who, in common
with many others, had adopted the more advanced views of Joanna Southcote,
respecting the Millenium and second Coming of Christ, afterwards promulgated
by Dr. Cumming.
f John Bright, Esq., M.P., was educated at Ackworth School.
J Vide Hist. Ackworth School, p. 214,
1837.
Corona-
tion.
92 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
A.D. 1837. The Committee of Ackworth School were the first to sub-
Introduc- .
tion of gas stitute for the dismal oil-lamp and the glimmering dip, the
then suspicious illumination of gas; and it was not for several
years afterwards that gas was introduced into their houses by
a few of the more venturesome inhabitants of the village. Even
now the primitive obscurity of the dark ages lingers tenaciously
in the lanes of the village, and strange to say the people love
to have it so.
Epitaph.
1839.
Hannah Camplin must have been a most estimable young
person, if the following epitaph upon her gravestone in Ack-
worth Churchyard accurately describes her qualities :
" Her manners mild, her temper such,
Her language good, and not too much."
She died August 18th, 1837, aged 27. She was evidently too
good for this world ; had she lived, the manners, temper and
language of Ackworthians might have been leavened into some-
thing very differently ; but " Those whom the Gods love, die
young."
Died at Ackworth, Elizabeth, relict of the Right Rev. T.
Middleton, first Bishop of Calcutta, aged 64.* Mrs. Middleton
(nee Miss Maddison) was buried at Wragby, and formerly
resided at Ackworth, in what was once the residence of the
Plowes family, additions to which were made for Miss Maddison's
reception in 1827.
Mrs. Middleton was the sister of the Rev. Geo. Maddison,
who resided at Ackworth Lodge, and came to Ackworth
because the district in which his Lincolnshire living was
situated did not suit his health. Mr. Maddison occasionally
did duty for Mr. Hay, the Rector ; and Miss Maddison before
her marriage with Dr. Middleton, was deservedly beloved by
the people of Ackworth.
* Vide Boss' Topographical Index of the "Annual Register."
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 93
Ackworth was certainly one of the pioneers of Horticulture. 1840.
It is said that prior to the year 1833, horticultural shows were ^^shov*
encouraged and held, but the oldest record in existence of such
a show, is dated 1840, from which time horticultural shows
were held annually for three years. From 1843 to 1863, the
Ackworth Horticultural Show was in abeyance, but was revived
in the latter year, and continued to be held regularly until 1867,
Avhen it again ceased, and no effort was made to recusitate it
until 1880, since which time a show has taken place annually,
and is much appreciated by the inhabitants and district.
During the vacancy which occured between the death of 184 -
Sacrilege.
the Rev. W. R. Hay, and the induction of the Rev. E. G.
Bailey, in February of this year, a most daring and desperate
attempt was made to rob the Church. The miscreants were
partially successful, but did not secure what they evidently
wanted, viz.: the silver Communion plate, which at the time
was fortunately lying in safety beneath the bed of the sexton's
wife (Mrs. Greenfield). In their search for the hidden treasure,
they forced open the Parish chest, and burnt the contents ;
endeavoured to break into the iron safe, evidence of which was
afterwards found in broken shovels, and bent pokers ; smashed
off the lid of the wine chest and drank the contents of the one
bottle remaining ; scattered over the vestry floors a quantity of
Queen Anne coppers which they found in the drawer of the
vestry table, but which were too cumbersome to carry away ;
maliciously gashed the pulpit cushion?, and altar cloth ;
smashed chairs and benches ; and carried away all the keys,
the hearse driver's cloak, two surplices, a B. A. hood, and black
preaching gown. In addition to all this, they collected a large
quantity of the service books lying about in the pews, barricaded
the vestry door, and carried the books into Topham's close,
where they emptied them down in a heap under an oak tree.
No trace of the delinquents could afterwards be found, although
two neighbouring churches experienced the same fate in the
same week.*
* The above details were elicited from the Sexton's wife herself, who was an
eye-witness of the depredation.
ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
AJ>. 1841.
Popula-
tion.
1844.
British
School.
1845.
Fatal
accident.
1846.
The Derby
Race.
1848.
Low Ack-
worth
Burial
Ground.
The population of Ackworth according to the census of
1841, was 1,828.
July 30. " The body of a newly born male child, name
unknown, buried by order of Coroner. "f
The school in the old Wesleyan Chapel ceased to exist,
when the latter was taken down to make room for the new
Chapel which stands on the site of the old one. The insufficient
accomodation thus produced was met by the establishment
in 1844 of a British School on the Lancasterian system, for
boys, in a room below the Public Assembly Room, which was
erected in the same year. The school is supported by voluntary
contributions, and accommodates about 70 boys.
Magnificent oak felled in Bell Close, and sold for 22 12/-J
A most melancholy accident occurred this year at Ackworth
School. One of the girls, it is supposed, was playing with the
fire in a room by herself, when her dress caught fire. She
immediately rushed out into the passage, enveloped in flames,
which were extinguished by counterpanes, but not before she
was so fearfully scorched that she died within eight hours.||
This year a horse named " Pyrrhus the First," the property
of Mr. Gully, of Ackworth Bark, won for his owner this
celebrated race. Sam Day was the rider, and the race was won
in two minutes and fifty five seconds. Another horse of Mr.
Gully's won the Oaks race shortly afterwards.
About forty year's ago the Plymouth brethren* sect was some-
what numerous in Ackworth. At the rear of Mrs. Howard's
School in Low Ackworth, there is a small burial ground, within
iron railings, provided by Miss Howard's brother, Mr. Luke
Howard, for poor persons of the above sect to which Mr. Howard,
originally a Friend, belonged in the latter part of his life. The
t Vide Register of Burials. Vol. VIII.
I Vide Hibt. Ackworth School, p. 350.
|| Vide Hist. Ackworth School, p. 248.
Vide Memoir of John Gully, in Appendix.
* I am informed on good authority that on account of the diminution of
Plymouth Brethren at Ackworth, aged and deserving poor people of other
persuasions were allowed to be interred in this ground with their own rites. J.L.S.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 95
register of burials in the ground is unfortunately missing, but A . D . 1948.
it appears from the fourteen monumental slabs now standing,
that at least a score of persons were interred within this little
burial ground during a period of nearly thirty years. Of course
there were other burials which are only indicated by raised
mounds, but it is hoped that the names of those who lie beneath,
are all written in the Book of Life. The following names, ages,
and dates, found recorded upon the tomb-stones, may be inter-
esting and useful to the curious in years to come. In 1848,
Elizabeth Barker, 70, Martha Jackson, 55 ; 1850, Martha Mason,
72; 1851, Sarah Bowling, 39, Hannah Briggs, 74, William
Briggs, 51 ; 1852, Mary Booth, 56 ; 1854, Maria Fletcher, 50,
Ann Norton, 87 ; 1855, Jane Middleton, 50, Isabella Donbavand,
42 ; 1856, Ann Levitt, 90 ; 1861, Allan Mason, 84 ; 1865, Albert
Simpson, 3 ; 1867, Ellen Allott, 37 ; 1869, Thomas Allott, 41 ;
1870, Ann Haggas,71; 1877, Simeon Haggas,79; 1879, Sarah
Grice, 81.
In Cathedrals and Collegiate Churches the verger's wand 1849.
is a very imposing one of ebony and silver. In some churches -^ & ^
it used to be carried, not only before the Bishop when he
visited the church, but also before the Rector or Yicar, in his
passage from the vestry to the reading desk, Communion table,
or pulpit. "Where this custom prevails, as at the Parish Church
of Stockton-on-Tees, the duty falls to one of the vergers. But
with the introduction of surpliced choirs, and the disappearance
of " three deckers," the verger's wand also disappeared, and are
now looked upon as relics of antiquity. There can be no doubt
that the long " tip-staff" of the gaily caparisoned beadle, was
the earliest form of these wands, and where, as at Ackworth,
this important functionary's dignity was at one time further
enhanced by the combined offices of village constable, and
night watch-man, the " tip-staff " was supplemented or super-
seded by the short, but more widely mace-like wand, which
served the double purpose of truncheon and wand. The ancient
wand, a short staff" painted green and white, still exists at
96
ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
A.D.1849. Ackworth, but it is not used. In 1849 it was superseded by a
longer one, painted black, with a gilt knob, below which is
inscribed in gilt letters, the following words : " V.R. ] st (time
used), 1849, (crown), J. JONES, W. BEECROFT, CHURCH-
WARDENS." Although erected in the Churchwardens' pew,
it is never used, two plain white wands being carried on special
occasions, by the Churchwardens. Sometimes these wands are
respectively surmounted by a crown and mitre, symbolising
State and Church, as at Thornaby Church, Yorks.
Church
rate.
The following is a copy of a notice posted upon the Church
door at Ackworth in 1849 : "A Rate or Assessment of two
Pence in the Pound upon all Occupiers of land and Tenements,
within the Parish of Ackworth, in the County of York, for the
repairs and other expenses of the Parish Church of Ackworth
aforesaid for the Present year, maid (sic) this 8th day of
November, 1849."
JAS. JONES,
WM. BEECROFT.
^Churchwardens.
Cholera. The village did not quite escape the cholera scourge which
visited many of our large towns in the summer of 1849. The
disease was brought into Ackworth in September, by a plas-
terer from Leeds, who was seized with the malady soon after
his arrival, and whilst engaged at his work in a new house in
Purston Lane. He was quickly conveyed to his lodgings, but
died at four o'clock the next morning, notwithstanding the
immediate application of hot baths, and blankets, mustard
poultices and rum, and was buried at 9 o'clock. After this
there were many cases, both mild and violent ; as many as five
deaths occurred in one week, the corpses being quickly buried
whilst yet warm, with a very short service. It is said that in
one case a coffin was ordered for a child supposed to be dead,
but which ultimately recovered.*
* The above particulars were related to the compiler by a survivor,
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS.
Towards the end of May in this year, a most destructive
storm of hail-stones visited Ackworth and district. The stones
were as large as pieces of lump sugar. The sails of the
Ackworth wind-mill were much damaged, and an extensive
destruction of conservatory and window glass took place. So
violent and prolonged was the storm, that the cottagers, in great
alarm, betook themselves to prayer.*
This year, also, the inside of the Ackworth Church tower
was restored, at a cost of 116, defrayed by private subscriptions.
The place selected for the experiment, was " Washing Mill
Field." On reaching a depth of 100 feet, a spring was tapped
which projected its waters to within a few feet of the surface.
The boring was continued to a total depth of 140 feet.
The coveted distinction of the " blue ribband," was this year
once more secured by Mr. Gully's " Andover," the rider on this
occasion being Andrew Day. The race was run in the short
time of two minutes and fifty-two seconds.
The Parish Church was re-opened for Divine worship, after
restoration, on Thursday morning, August 2nd, 1855. The
preacher on the occasion was the Rev. Mr. Eden, Vicar of
Aberford. The service was fully choral, including an anthem,
very creditably rendered by the village choir, assisted by J.
Spark, Esq., Choir-master of Bury Parish Church, who brought
with him two of his choristers, and a bass songsman. Dr. Spark,
of Leeds Parish Church, presided at the organ. The choir was
surpliced on this occasion for the first time. The cost of the
restoration up to this time, had been 2,629, towards which the
Church Building Society had made a grant of 120, and the
Yorkshire Architectural Society a grant of 10, the remainder
had been raised by private subscription.
On February 19, an explosion occurred in the Lundhill
coalpit, near \Vombwell, in which four brothers, named respec-
tively, Richard, Thomas, Charles, and Joseph Kellett, and three
* Description of one who witnessed it.
A.D. 1850.
Hailstone
storm.
Inside of
Tower
restored.
1851.
Boring for
water.
1854.
The Derby
1855.
Restora-
tion
Services.
185'/.
Explosion.
98
ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
A.D. 1857. sons of the two former, of Brackenhill, were all killed. It is
said that Charles, on the evening previous to his death, had a
melancholy foreboding of something of an awful nature about
to occur. Joseph was very fond of animals, and the night before
his death, fed his favourite cat, which after his death went to
the door mat, where she moaned piteously, refusing all food
until hunger terminated her existence. The Kellett family
were all steady and moral people, and much respected. Richard
and Thomas both left widows, but Charles and Joseph were
single, aged respectively 29 and 30.
The Government Inspector's Report of the work done in the
Ackworth Church Schools, during 1858-9, and of the examina-
tion results, is as follows :
"The present master* came in November, 1858. He has made a
good beginning. The reading of the lower classes is indistinct. The
writing deserves commendation. The composition exercise of the
First Class was intelligently done.
The Mistress teaches gently and sensibly. A " Form and Colour
box " is wanted.
Thomas Sharp, an apprenticed Pupil Teacher iu these schools,
passed so good an examination, that the Lord President of the Council
has given him one year of his apprenticeship."
1858.
School
.Report.
" Tongues
in Trees."
The following lament appeared in the weekly issue of a
local paper :
Sir, Your columns are, I dare say, open to the complaint of a
distressed tree, as well as to the grievances of your own countrymen.
Well, Sir, I must tell you that for many scores of years past I have
looked upon the inhabitants of Ackworth, and have been looked at
and admired by the fathers, and grandfathers, and great-grandfathers
of the present people of Ackworth. I hardly know how old I am,
but I think I may safely say that I was here when Anne became
Queen, March 8th, 1702. Not that I care so very much for those
who have not seen me, it is solely on account of the good people of
Ackworth, that I am now in distress. Sir, I must tell you that I
had hoped to have grown old, and died in peace, of natural decay
in fact, to which trees are subject, no less than men. But I am, I
fear, doomed to disappointment. The parish surveyors of the high-
ways have been and cut off some of my principle roots, and I comsider
myself much damaged by this cruel treatment. I certainly should
Mr. E, Spencer.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 99
have liked to have flourished as long as possible ; I moan for myself ; A.D. 1858.
but chiefly am I stricken with sadness at the thought that with the
loss of so much of the principle of life, 1 cannot expect to grow and
look smilingly upon my Ackworth friends so long as I otherwise
might have done. I have one consolation, however. I hear the
sighs of those who come beneath my shade, and I thank them for
their sympathy with me in the loss of my roots. No good can arise
from this cruel treatment of me. Where there is mischief in the
heart, and a knife in the hand, ancient village trees, like myself, may
sing out, "Woodman, spare that tree;" but to little use if our
friends among mankind won't come and protect us.
I am, Sir, with great respect and sadness at heart,
Your humble servant,
THE TREE ON ACKWORTH GREEN.
The following interesting statement is extracted from the 1859.
' : Ackworth Parish Magazine": Ackworth.
" In the ten years, ending 25th March, 1759, five bastard children
were baptized, that is, one in twenty-eight.
In the ten years, ending 25th March, 1859, thirty-two bastard
children were baptized, or one in 10.875.
In a recently published history of the Quaker's School, it is sneer-
ingly remarked that " Catechisms of religious faith are not much in
vogue at Ackworth."
A comparision of the morality of the religious practice of the periods
under review, will tend, perhaps to make one wish that they were
at any rate for a return to the good old custom of our forefathers,
when the head of every household enployed a portion of the evening
of every Lord's day. at the least, in teaching his children and servants
the Church Catechism.
We question very much whether that plan would not be mori>
effectual towards the keeping of the Seventh Commandment, than the
system which has been subsituted for it, evening meetings for religious
(so called) preachings and scientific lectures.
Such meetings, we believe, are not unfrequently either places of
assignation for young men and women, or they serve as pretexts fo.-
young people getting out at night, free from parental control.
All experience proves that, what are called religious revivals ami
practical moral evils, not unfrequently go hand in hand."
From January 1865, to January 1875, the number of
illegitimate children baptized in Ackworth Church, was sevt-n.
or one in forty-six ; and from January 1875, to January 18S>.
twenty, being one in 34.1. It will therefore be seen that
100 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
A.D. 1859. immorality in Ackworth is decidedly on the wane, especially
when we remember that the population of the village has more
than doubled itself since 1875.
Lords of The following letter, which appeared in the Ackworth
Parish Magazine, is worthy of re-production as a parochial
record.
Sir, On the 7th of April last, three of the Trustees of the Manor,
Messrs. Fairbarn, W. Nelstrop, and R. Nelstrop, if I understood them
correctly, gave a large number of the Freeholders and Ratepayers,
then assembled in Public Meeting, to understand that the Accounts
and present state of their Trust should shortly be submitted to the
Public.
Finding that promise no nearer realization, I venture to ask you
to print a Resolution on the subject, which was passed at a Yestry
Meeting on the 3rd May, 1818 : " That the Accounts of the Lords
of the Manor be in future Audited in Yestry every year on the Sunday
next after Saint Mark's day."
If the Lords of the Manor were not as ignorant of the nature of
their Trust as they, confessedly, are of its duties, this very reasonable
direction would not have been allowed to become obsolete.
A perusal of the Yestry Meetings, held on the subject of the
Manor Trust from May 1813, to May 1818, will probably lead the
reader to the conclusion that there existed at that time peculiar
reasons for the Lords of the Manor not being anxious to court
publicity.
/do not charge the present Lords with similar conduct, but their
evident reluctance to " give an account of their stewardship," might
cause a less charitable judge to infer that there is something behind
the scenes which they are ashamed of.
I am, Sir, with grateful respect,
Ackworth, Your obedient Servant,
May 14^,1859. A FREEHOLDER OF A.CKWORTH.
Opening Qn Sunday, the 8th of August, 1859, sermons were preached
in the new Wesleyan Chapel, by the Rev. S. D. Waddy, of
Sheffield, when the collections amounted to 75. On the
following Tuesday, the Rev. Dr. Guthrie preached, afternoon
and evening, the evening sermon on Rev. xiv. 13. The
following extract from Dr. Guthrie's autobiography, bearing
upon his visit to Ackworth, has special interest : " The Chapel
in whose opening services I was called to take a part, is a
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 101
perfect delight to preach in. Wonderful to see, in the after- A-D . 1359.
noon of a busy harvest day, it was filled, and in the evening,
crowded and overflowing. I never preached with more pleasure,
seldom with so much, (to) a fine intelligent looking people ;
they had a deal of lively methodist feeling in their faces, and
seemed ready often to burst out into an audible assent or
expression of sympathy. I could not but envy the state of
mind of one man especially, who was right before me. He
sang the hymns with a face luminous as Stephen's, and as I
preached, every feeling that passed over his heart was expressed
on his countenance.* I was much gratified by not a few men
and women coming up to shake hands with me, and thank me
when the services were over."-f-
In July of this year, an indictment was entered and tried Encroach -
against certain members of the Society of Friends, for Regina v.
encroachment upon a highway, near Carr Bridge, in the parish Johnson.
of Ackworth, by enclosing a portion thereof.
Mr. Macauley, Q.C., and Mr. Field, were counsel for the prosecu-
tion ; Mr. Sergeant Hayes appeared for the defendant.
There was little in the case, of general interest, beyond this, that
it elicited the opinion of the Chief-Justice upon a mis-apprehension
very widely entertained, that the owner of the soil of land, adjoining
a highway, may enclose such a portion on the side adjoining as will
leave fifteen feet clear on either side of the middle thread of the way.
This notion, Mr. Macauley said, had arisen from a misconception of
the effect of sections 64 and 69 of the Highway Act (5th and 6th
William IV., cap. 50). The effect of this section was to give the
justices at petty sessions, the power to convict and fine summarily
persons enclosing or obstructing the road within those limits, and to
compel the removal of obstructions.
The Chief -Justice, in summing-up, said that "when once a road
had been set out and dedicated to the public, and had been occupied
by the public, the owner of the soil of the road had no right to enclose
any part of that road ; it remained a road for ever, unless it be
enclosed, or stopped, or diverted by law that is, by putting into
operation the provisions of the Highway Act for that purpose. The
* This man was a Mr. Ross, of Selby.
t Vide Pontefract and Castleford "Wesleyan Methodist Circuit Record,"
August, 1882.
102
ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
A.D. 1859. lessening of the traffic along the road made no difference. When it
was once a road, it was always a road, excepting it ceased to be so
by act of law."
This would seem to settle, not only the Quakers', but the question
of encroachments in general.
Dean Hook
Dr.Living-
st inc.
On the second Sunday morning in November of this year,
the pulpit of Ackworth Church, was occupied by the popular
Vicar of Leeds, Dr. Hook, who had been asked by the Rector
of Ackworth (Rev. J. Kenworthy,) to preach on behalf of a
fund to complete the debt upon the church, consequent on its
restoration. Dr. Hook's visit was a memorable one for two
reasons : (1) He pointed out with considerable warmth, the
absence of much that was needed to make Divine worship what
it ought to be, viz : reverent and decent ; and (2) his sermon,
which dealt with almsgiving as an act of worship, was
considered by those competent to judge of such matters, a
masterpiece of oratory and rhetoric.
This eminent medical missionary and explorer paid a visit
to Ackworth during his last furlough to England in the summer
of 1859. The Dr. lectured at the Friends' School on his travels
in Africa, and was much appreciated. Soon afterwards he
returned to the scene of his labours, where he died.
1BR3. Jan. 28. Miss Neilson, of Hundhill was this day married at
Ackworth Church to Arthur Pemberton Lonsdale, Esq., of
London. The Right Revd. Dr. Lonsdale, Bishop of Lichfield,
Uncle of the bridegroom, officiated, and signed the marriage
register with his episcopal signature " G. Lichfield."
Loyalty.
There are none more loyal than the people of Ackworth.
On the occasion of the marriage of the Prince of Wales, the
10th of March, 1863, was observed in Ackworth as a general
holiday. Banners were displayed ; merry peals rung on the
Church bells ; and commemoration trees planted at Ackworth
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 103
School. The following formula was pronounced on the A.D. 1863.
occasion :
" May the earth nourish their roots ;
May the dews cherish their branches ;
And may the sun ripen their fruits.
May the union this day commemorated,
be blessed with the fatness of the earth,
the dew of heaven, and the refreshing
beams of the Sun of Righteousness."*
March 10. Holiday. Marriage of Prince of Wales. Children ._, !863.
assembled in the afternoon for buns, oranges, and medals.
March 11. Tea and cake in the afternoon.
March 27. The attendance this week has been unusally thin
in consequence of more than half the children having the
measles.
March 30. The visit of a Government Vaccination Officer
to Ackworth, who examined each child's arm in the schools,
caused quite a scare in the village.*
In common with the rest of the nation, Ackworth was en
fete on the occasion of the marriage of H. R. H. Albert Edward,
Prince of Wales, and heir apparent to the English Throne, to
the Princess Alexandra C. M. C. L. Julia, eldest daughter of the
King of Denmark, March 10, 1863. Mrs. William Hepworth
of the Lodge gave a dinner to all the aged people of the parish,
from seventy years old and upwards, and the Church choir.
A meat tea was enjoyed under canvas in Hague's Croft by the
inhabitants of High Ackworth, and there were dinners at the
" Boot and Shoe " and " Angel " Inns for the people of Moor
Top ; whilst the villagers of Low Ackworth were regaled with
a meat tea in the Public Rooms. The cost of the festival was
raised by subscription.
* These words were originally composed to be said at the planting of two
trees, to commemorate the marriage of Robert and Hannah Whitaker, in 1812.
\ Vide Log Book, National School.
104
ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
A.D. 1863.
The village
Stocks.
1864.
Fatal
accident.
The primitive method of punishment by exposure in the
stocks, ceased at Ackworth in or about the year quoted in the
margin. They were placed originally near the pinfold which
is itself in good condition but never used. They were subse-
quently removed to the vacant corner near the Church gates,
and there stood until they were taken up and burnt. The last
man confined therein was E d T m who was in
the habit of imbibing a little too freely, and having allowed his
whilom enemy to steal away his senses, he was consigned to
"durance vile" to await their return. It is said that the
sympathizing inhabitants of Vinegar Hill supplied him with
an umbrella to shield him from the evening dew, and brought
him beer and tobacco, wherewith to beguile his weary hours.
But another instance is still remembered, and much oftener
commented upon, viz., that of W m P r who it was
said had three children christened, and was himself married
and put into the stocks all in one day ! It appears that the
Rector had promised that if he would come to Church, have
his three natural children baptised, and marry the woman with
whom he had been living, no fee would be charged, and that a
joint of beef from the Rectory would grace the marriage
festivities. The neighbours unwisely but good-humouredly
backed up this generous offer with a barrel of beer, which " Will "
caused to be tapped before starting to Church. The consequence
was that his courage was not only screwed up to sticking point,
but his limbs were rendered very limp. The service concluded,
Will, in stooping to pick up his hat, stumbled, and was quickly
placed in the stocks by the Churchwardens, aided by the village
constable. There he remained whilst the wedding party issued
from the Church, and until his fond spouse returned with a
substantial repast. All this occurred in March, 1849.
Henry Reynolds Neave, a pupil at Ackworth School, fatally
injured by the breakage of a leaping pole, whilst vaulting over
the horizontal bar. He lived twenty-eight hours after the
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 105
accident, which took place in August, 1864.* A.c.1864.
The Rev. A. S. Teutschil, Ph. D., appointed Chaplain and 1866.
Schoolmaster of East Hardwick.
All the rivers of Yorkshire rising in mountainous or hilly ^ rea *
districts, are subject to great floods, after heavy rains. The
greatest flood in the Yorkshire rivers within recollection occured
on Friday, November 16th, 1866, after a continuous rain of
nearly twenty-four hours duration. In this great flood every
stream overflowed its banks, and all the valleys were inundated.
On the river Calder, near Dewsbury, a cart with three persons
in it, was carried oft' the road into the river, and all three
perished. At Wakefield, property to the value of 50,000 was
destroyed. The number of persons drowned at Dewsbury by
the overflow of the Calder, was ascertained to have been seven.-f-
The river Went,J which flows through Ack worth, rose to an
unprecedented height, and all the low-lying ground was sub-
merged, both game and fish being drowned. Only the upper
rooms of the houses at Carr Bridge were habitable, whilst all
communication between Moor Top and the village was entirely
cut off; even heavily built drays not venturing to stem the
flood. The view of the surrounding country from the Church
tower, presented the aspect of an extensive sea dotted with
islands.
The Charity Commissioners having been requested by the 1867.
All
late Mr. Henry Hill, of Ackworth Park, to enquire into the important
condition of the Manor Trust, reported as follows : " The rents opin
of the estate, which came to the Lords of the Manor by escheat,
were applied for some time towards paying oft' a mortgage of
* Vide " Hist, of Ackworth School," p. 248.
t Vide Barnes' "Yorkshire," Vol. I, p. 268.
} Baines says this river rises near Wentworth, but its actual source is at
Syndale, near Normanton. It is about 20 miles long, and empties itself into
the Don.
Forfeiture.
106 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
A.D.1867. 400,* to which the estate was subject, and they are now paid
partly to the Surveyors of the highways and partly to the
Overseers of the Poor.
The Manor appears to have been purchased for the use of
the parishioners, and the rents and profits have accordingly
been always applied for the public occasions of the parish, in
the manner above-mentioned, and not as a charity for indi-
viduals of a particular class or description."
1868. March 26th, 1868. At a public meeting of the inhabitants
Parish Q Ackworth, rated and contributing to the Highway Rates
thereof, in vestry assembled an'd convened by notice ; it was
moved by Mr. Brown, and seconded by Mr. Wade, that a
person of skill and experience be appointed as paid Surveyor,
at a salary of Twenty pounds per annum. Mr. Barratt proposed
an amendment, which was seconded by Mr. Mason, that Mr.
Brown's motion be negatived. The amendment, on being put,
was carried by a considerable majority. Mr. Brown then
demanded a poll, which was granted by the Chairman (Rev. J.
Kenworthy), and fixed for the following Monday and Tuesday,
March 30th and 31st, in Mr. Lowther's School Room, from 10
o'clock to 12, in the morning, and from 7 to 9 in the evening
of each day. The following is an analysis of the result of poll.
For Mr. Barratt. For Mr. Brown.
On Monday morning. 2 76
On Monday evening. 50
On Tuesday morning. 4
On Tuesday evening. 58
Total number of votes 114 185
The poll was declared on Tuesday evening, at 9 o'clock. Majori-
ty for Mr. Brown, 71. The Rev. J. Kenworthy acted as
Returning Officer, and Messrs. Atha and Spencer as Scrutators.
At a subsequent meeting of ratepayers held on the 2nd of
April, " in order to settle all disputes and produce peace in the
* Vide List of Charities.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS.
107
parish," the following compromise was made: "That Mr. A .D. 1868.
Fearnley be appointed Surveyor of the parish for the ensuing
year at a salary of 20, which amount is guaranteed by Messrs.
Brown, J. Nelstrop, R. Nelstrop, Waide, Simpson, Tempest and
Satterthwaite, and the Rector.*
The Church was in danger of destruction by fire on 2nd Arson and
May, 1868, wilfully caused by a malicious, if not insane, man, '
who in a short time in the afternoon, ran from stack to out-
buildings, and Church, and set all on fire to revenge some
fancied slight about a gravestone. The pulpit and some stalls
were first heaped together, the former filled with music books
and other combustible materials, and ignited. Marks of the
fire may still be seen inside the pulpit. Fortunately the fire
was discovered before much damage was done. The offender
was found in the Church and secured, and, at the ensuing
assize at Leeds, was sentenced to twelve months' imprisonment.
The following is another account :
The Parish Church at Ackworth, near Pontefract, which
was restored a few years ago at great expense, was set on fire
May 1st, 1868, by a man named Wm. Chas. Wilson. He had
removed into the pulpit various articles of an inflammable
character, and had then deliberately ignited them. Fortunate-
ly the flames were observed by Mr. J. Fearnley and Mr. R.
Nelstrop, who resided near, and who had been aroused by a
stack-fire in the neighbourhood, also believed to have been
caused by Wilson, who conducted himself very violently, kick-
ing and striking the gentlemen named on their interfering with
him. He was afterwards examined before the magistrates, and
a medical certificate was produced showing that the prisoner
had previously been in an asylum. He was committed to the
West Riding Assizes for trial.f
* In the following year Mr. Fearnley was elected without opposition, but in
1873 an attempt was made to eject him, in favour of Mr. Roberts. The result
of the poll was : for Mr. Fearnley, 208 ; for Mr. Roberts, 76. Another attempt
was made in 1874, with the following result : Mr. Fearnley, 156 ; Mr. Haigh.
137. In 1875 : Fearnley, 208 ; Haigh, 154.
f " Annals of Yorkshire," Vol. III.
Fire at the
Church.
108
ACK WORTH, YORKS.,
A.D. 1869.
Cawood's
Charity.
1870.
Fountain.
1872
Hardwick
By an order from the Charity Commissioners dated July 6th,
1869, the following gentlemen were appointed the legal trustees
and administrators of the Cawood Charity :
Rev. J. Kenworthy, Rector of Ackworth,
E. C. Waide, 1 , A ,
mi -r> V oi Ackworth.
1 hos. Pearson, J
Peter Watson, ^
Jervis Winn, J> of East Hardwick.
Robert Bailey, J
John Hope Barton, of Stapleton Park, Pontefract.
Joseph Nelstrop, of the Lodge, Ackworth.
Edmund Ernest Leatham. of Hemsworth Hall, and
Thomas William Tew, of Carleton.
One of the felt wants of Ackworth is good water. The late
Henry Hill, Esq., out of the munificence of his kindly heart,
caused a high level boring to be made upon his estate, and
piped water from thence to the entrance of the village.
The parish was then asked to do its part, and the result was
that subscriptions were quickly raised to purchase the appli-
ances wherewith to bring the water into the centre of the
village. The work was completed, and a handsome fountain
erected at a cost of 90, but a very short time sufficed to prove
the futility of the scheme. The water, which was little
better than tincture of iron, quickly oxidised the filter, pipe,
and nozzle of the fountain, and the fountain itself soon became
what it has since continued to be, a useless ornament. Soon
afterwards, Mr. Hill being convinced that the water of Ack-
worth contained chemical properties of considerable value,
decided to pipe another stream from a field in Low Ackworth,
known as " Assax," into the Tan House Lane, for the use of the
Low Ackworth people. This fountain has since been known
as the "Spa."
The foundation stone of this Church, dedicated to Saint
Stephen, was laid by the Marquis of Ripon, October 23, 1872.
The site selected whereon to erect the new building was only
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 109
a few yards from the site of the old chapel, but on the opposite A .i.. 1872.
side of the road. Geologically the site is on the edge of the
Pontefract Rock of Smith and Sedgewick. overlapping the Coal
measures, the Stanley Main seam of Coal lying about 155
yards beneath.
Mr. Thomas Baines, in his " Yorkshire, Past and Present," A model
published in 1872, quoting from Mr. Charnock's report on the farmer -
subject of the reclamation of waste lands in the West Riding,
says, " I heard an intelligent farmer state that, since he entered
on his occupation, the whole has been thoroughly drained ; that
on his first coming he found his neighbour's crops, on the
higher ground around him, reached maturity a full fortnight
before those on his farm ; but that since the drainage has been
completed his crops are invariably a week or two earlier than
those in the immediately adjoining district. I refer " says Mr.
Charnock, " to Mr. John Moore,* of Ackworth, near Pontefract,
whose farming is an example to that locality."
March 15. First Diocesan Inspection of Church Schools 1873.
in Religious Knowledge, by Rev G. W. Kennion.
On Nov. 25th, the village of East Hardwick was en fete, on 1874.
< i /> ft- /-^ii T-. Hardwick
the occasion of the Consecration 01 their new Church, by Dr. church.
Thomson, Archbishop of York. It is a pretty cruciform
building in the Early English style of Architecture, the turret
of which contains three melodious steel bells. The Parsonage
was built and presented to the parish by Mr. T. W. Tew, J.P.,
of Carleton. The foundation stone was laid with masonic
honours, and several emblems of the craft are carved outside
the building.
The old organ having become dilapidated, the Rector and New Organ
Churchwardens decided to have a new one built, and the work
was entrusted to the late Mr. Booth, of Wakefield. The old
* Mr. Moore died at Ackworth in 1887, after a long and painful indisposition,
and was buried in Badswortk Churchyard.
110 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
A.D. 1874. organ was sold for 10. The new instrument cost 322, and
was inaugurated in 1874, by Mr. Rogers, the Organist of Don-
caster Parish Church. The new instrument, although small,
contains some remarkably sweet pipes, and several stops, con-
tained only in continental organs, the tones of which Mr.
Rogers exhibited with considerable skill and taste.
187g After the death of the Rev. J. Kenworthy, the Rectory of
New Ackworth did not long remain vacant, for, in October, it was
Manifesto, offered to. and accepted by, the Rev. W. M. Falloon, M.A., Vicar
of St. Bride's, Liverpool, and Hon. Canon of Chester. Before
coming into residence, the new Rector put forth the following
manifesto :
To THE PARISHIONERS OF ACKWORTH.
My dear Parishioners,
In God's good Providence, I have been appointed
Rector of your Parish : the offer of it came to me from the Chancellor
of the Duchy of Lancaster, unsought, and, by me, entirely unexpected:
I am, therefore, comforted in the acceptance of it, by regarding it
as a Divine ordering, for me and for you, and, in no respect, an
accident for either of us.
It is my earnest desire and Prayer to God, that I may come unto
you in the fulness of the blessing of the Gospel of Christ : that, if
spared, I may work amongst you, usefully; dwell in your midst
lovingly ; and, as far as lieth in me, live peaceably with all. I do
not appear amongst you, altogether, as a young man, but as one who
has had many years of opportunity, for learning something of the
revealed will and Word of God ; and for doing something in the work
of God; on these grounds, therefore, I may fairly claim your confi-
dence and forbearance ; and I respectfully ask for these, at your
hearts and hands.
Believing the Church of England to be Catholic as regards truth ;
Evangelical as regards doctrine ; Apostolic as regards order ; and
Trotestant as regards error ; it has ever been, and will continue to be,
my effort, by God's assistance, to minister in accordance \vith such
principles ; and to serve, with fidelity and cordial obedience, in the
safe and sure old paths, marked out by our honored Reformers.
I invite your kind co-operation as Parishioners in all that may
really concern the interests of our Church and Parish : and trust, that
whilst thus duly mindful of our own things we may not selfishly
forget the interests of others: "None of us liveth to himself, and
no man dieth to himself." Let regular attendance at the House of
God, and reverent worship there, each and all taking their part
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS.
Ill
therein, according to the intention and instruction of the Church of A n 1875.
England, furnish one of the best evidences of the reality of our
convictions and of the sincerity of our devotions.
I have learnt long since, that, without the blessing of God, nothing
is holy, : I therefore earnestly and aifectionately ask your prayers,
yon'r sympathy and your support : all these you can give : of these,
prayer is the best, so, I ask it firxt ; and, if you are led, by God's
grace, to pray for him who is appointed to watch for your souls, I
can have no doubt, that the other two will speedily follow.
I hope soon to be resident amongst you, and to do what I can to
serve you, in ministering to you the glorious Gospel of the Blessed
God ; in lifting up Christ as the sinner's only refuge ; trusting alto-
gether to the present power of the Holy Spirit to apply the message
savingly to your souls ; and, in caring for the sick and the afflicted,
according to the ability which God may give me ; and this, without
any preference or partiality as regards rich or poor, there being no
respect of persons with God. Meanwhile, allow me to subscribe
myself, with all good will.
Yours very faithfully,
W. M. FALLOON, M.A.,
October, 1875. RECTOR (ELECT) OF ACKWORTH.
This small, but at one time very important building, now
converted into cottages, known as the " High Terrace," stands
on a somewhat elevated position on the Ackworth Moor Top,
at the right hand side of the road leading to Hemsvvorth. When
first erected it stood some distance out of the village, but now
it is almost surrounded by houses. After the passing of the
Poor Law Amendment Act*in 1847, the old workhouse remained
untenanted. At length it was bought by Mr. Jno. Simpson, of
Ackworth, who soon afterwards sold it to Mr. Graham, formerly
of Ackworth, by whom it was converted into four cottages, and
mortgaged by him to Joseph Allbright, of Lancaster, in 1884.
On Sunday morning, December 5th, the Rev. W. M. Falloon,
M.A., Honorary Canon of Chester, the newly-appointed Rector New
of Ackworth, admitted himself to the benefice, according to
the usage, by reading the 39 articles of the Church of England,
instead of preaching a sermon. In the evening Canon Falloon
preached his inaugural sermon, to a crowded congregation, from
* 10 & 11 Viet., c. 109.
The old
workhouse
Rector.
112
ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
1876.
1879.
New
Railway
Opening.
X.D. 1875. Hebrews xiii, 8 : " Jesus Christ, the same, yesterday, to-day, and
for ever." The new Rector came to Ackworth from his late
sphere at St. Bride's, Liverpool, well reported of, both for
eloquence and good works.
Mr. Fearnley resigned his position as Parish Surveyor, after
eight years faithful discharge of duty, during which time he
had encountered much opposition and unkind treatment from
village agitators. Messrs. Cuttle, Child, Roberts, and Haigh
were put forward as men of " skill and experience " to succeed
him. The voting was as follows : Cuttle, ; Roberts, 7 ; Child,
8 ; Haigh, 10. In the second show of hands the numbers were
Child, 8 ; Haigh, 13. Mr. Haigh was therefore duly elected
Surveyor for the ensuing year.
A new line of railway from Swinton to York was formally
opened for general traffic on July 1st, 1879, although the
Company ran trains from York and Sheffield to the new station
at Ackworth four days earlier, for the convenience of those who
wished to attend the Centenary Celebration at Ackworth School.
These were the first passenger trains which had ever reached
the village. The first sod of this railway was cut on Octr. 12th,
1875.
Literature Towards the close of this year, the following works, all con-
nected with the Centenary Celebrations at the Friends' School,
Ackworth, were published :
1. List of Boys and Girls admitted into Ackworth School
during the 100 years, 17791879. Published by the Centenary
Committee, Ackworth School, 1879, pp. xxxix., 211, 8vo. There
are nearly 9,500 names, or 1,300 surnames ;* an invaluable
record for Quaker genealogy, with an amusing ' Nominal '
History by Thomas Pumphrey, a play on the surnames.
Printed at Gloucester.
* With the Friends, the first or baptismal name is really the sur or added
name, being added to the patronymic when the child is registered according to
law. J, L. S.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 113
2. A narrative of the proceedings at the celebration of the A -- 1879,
Centenary of Ackworth School, Gth month, 1879 ; edited by
James Henry Barber (of Sheffield). Also a sketch of the Life
of Dr. Fothergill, by James Hach Take, and a short sketch of
the History of Ackworth School, by John S. Rowntree, with a
nearly verbatim report of the speeches delivered at the two
meetings. Published by the Centenary Committee, Ackworth
School, 1879, pp. iv., 212, Svo. Frontispiece, Ackworth School,
from a sketch by Mary Hodgson ; Portrait of John Fothergill,
from the cameo of Wedgwood ; Car-end, near Semerwater, the
birthplace of Fothergill, from a sketch by the late John Fother-
gill, of Darlington.
3. History of Ackworth School, during its first hundred
years; preceded by a brief account of the fortunes of the house
whilst occupied as a Foundling Hospital. By Henry Thompson
(of Arnside, near Carnforth), with twelve illustrations from the
pencil of Mary Hodgson, engraved on wood by Edmund Evans.
Published by the Centenary Committee, Ackworth School, 1879,
(Printed by Bellows, Gloucester,)" pp. xxiv., 355, Svo. Views
Ackworth School; Ackworth Village Green, shewing the Church,
Lychgate, Village Cross, and Elm; Ackworth School Seed House;
Great Garden; Car Bridge, lliver Went ; Went Vale; Pontefract
Castle ; Ackworth School Temperance Inn ; Brackenhill ; Ack-
worth Mill Dam ; Hems worth Mill Dam ; Nostell Priory and
Lake ; and the old Chalybeate Bath at Ackworth.*
The old Churchyard being found insufficient for the purposes M CW
of interment, steps were at once taken by the Rector to secure ^"d ch
additional land wherewith to enlarge the old burial ground.
Very soon he was able to issue a pastoral on the subject, from
which I have gathered the following particulars : " The Rector
and Churchwardens, entirely convinced of the necessity of
moving speedily in the matter, entered into communication
* Vide " Yorkshire Notes and queries," Part I., pp. 8, 9, where also a Complete
list of Educational and other works connected with Ackworth School are given,
extracted from Smith's Catalogue of Friends' Books.
114
ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
A.D. 1879.
Centenary
of
Ackworth
School.
with Mr. Henry Hill, the owner of the land adjoining the Church,
asking him to be good enough to arrange for the allocation of
a certain portion of the field at the north side of the Church,
for the purpose of adding to the present graveyard. Mr. Hill
at once acknowledged the need there was for enlargement ; said
he had foreseen it for some time, and consented to take the
matter into his immediate consideration. Accordingly, having
fixed the day and hour, he met the Rector and Wardens on the
ground proposed, a plan of which had previously been forwarded
to him ; the extent of land asked for is half an acre, along with
about 200 yards of the Rectory garden, which the Rector is
prepared to give to the Parish, in order to make the addition
square. After consultation together, Mr. Hill declared himself
prepared to sell the land required, for the sum of 2QO, and he
undertakes to build a substantial wall around the New Grave
Ground, to serve as a suitable fence to the same." Mr. Hill's
offer was accepted and subscriptions quickly raised towards the
amount required as purchase money, and on the 14th of March,
1879, the ground, levelled and walled round, was consecrated
by the Right Rev. Rowley Hill, Bishop of Soder and Man, acting
for His Grace the Archbishop of York.
The Centenary of an Institution is in itself at once a guar-
antee of its utility and vitality, and of the public estimation in
which it is held. When a person or institution attains the
hundredth year of its existence, it is immediately crowned with
an halo of awful veneration which has been chastely described
as the " Majesty of time." Unlike the person however, we look
upon the Institution as having arrived at the meridian of its
greatness, and are apt to accord to it Divine honours, exultingly
exclaiming
Quod semper movetur ceternum est !
The Centenary of Ackworth School therefore was an event which
all Ackworth joined to celebrate, consequently to use the
language of the historian of the Centenary Celebration " the
26th and 27th of Sixth month, 1879, were joyful and memorable
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 115
days in the Annals of Ackworth School !" A - D - 18 ?9.
With Mr. Barber's kind permission I propose to abstract
from his comprehensive work a concise narrative of the
proceedings, for the benefit of those who are not fortunate
enough' to possess the book itself. "Ackworth," says Mr. Barber,
"had collected around her her sons and daughters from far and
near to keep holiday, and commemorate her hundredth Anni-
versary. # # And truly they were of almost every age,
from the venerable old man in his ninth decade, to the young
scholar not yet emerged from the first. Joyous youth, active
manhood, womanhood, and grey-headed age were there all
claiming the kindred tie of Ackworth scholarship."
In the afternoon of the 24th the General Meeting was held,
which," despite its formal examinations, is at all times a lively
anniversary." This year "it was larger than usual," and "there
was a Centenary atmosphere around it manifest from the first."
The proceedings included an afternoon meeting of the Directors
of the Friends' Provident Institution, a " somewhat elderly
staid looking set of men, evidently full of facts." The capital
of the Assurance Institution in 1879, according to the report,
was 1,400,000, with 5,330 policies amounting to 4,237,914,
and a yearly income of 151,927. In the evening, whilst the
younger Friends mingle with the boys and girls in their sports,
the " older ones, once scholars, wander to every familiar nook
and recall their youthful days," moralising perhaps
-' On the decay
Of Ackworth boys in modern day ;
and then " turn in for the night." Thus ended the doings of
Third-day.
The morning of Fourth-day (25th) opened brightly and the
proceedings of the General Meeting proper began at 10 a. in.,
with the meeting for worship ; it was large, and an impressive
and interesting occasion, partaking Very much of a national
character, being attended by ministers from various parts of the
kingdom, and one from the United States of America,
116 ACK WORTH, YORKS.,
A.D. 1879. th e presence of the large number of children in a solid phalanx
in the midst of the congregation, fitly symbolizing the care of
the Church extended towards and around them. The General
Report was then read, followed by a spirited discussion thereon,
and then the Report of the Centenary Committee Was read.
The Meeting then adjourned until 2-30 p.m. the next day. The
afternoon of the 25th and morning of the 26th was occupied
with the Annual Examination. At 5 p.m., a meeting of a very
enjoyable kind to the children, was held to hear the report of the
Friends' Public Schools' Industrial Association, and to award the
prizes to the successful exhibitors, and the day's proceedings
were brought to a close by the Annual Meeting of the First-
day School Association.
The morning of Fifth-day was inaugurated by a " meeting
of an interesting character, for communion and united prayer
at 6 a.m. There was something in the hour, the freshness of
the morning, and in the feeling that those who had thus early
assembled had come with an earnest desire after good, which
contributed to the life of the meeting. The special subject for
prayer was the work of the First-day Schools. The first
meeting, however, in celebration of the Centenary was held at
6-30 p.m., at which, probably more than 1,000 persons were
present. The meeting was presided over by Thomas Harvey,
of Leeds, who opened the proceedings by slowly reading a few
appropriate verses from the Psalms, followed by a short devo-
tional pause. Letters of apology were then read, including one
from the Right Honourable John Bright, who was educated at
Ackworth, followed by an address by the Chairman, after which
James Hack Tuke, of Hitchin, read a paper which he had
prepared at the request of the Centenary Committee, being a
sketch of the life of Dr. Fothergill, the originator, and at least
the most active and liberal founder of Ackworth School.*
Before the lecturer was placed, in view of the whole meeting,
the beautiful Wedgwood bust of Dr. Fothergill, executed from
* Vide Biographical sketch of Dr. Fothergill, in Appendix.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 117
a model by Flaxman. There were present at this meeting A - D -
three collateral descendants of Dr. Fothergill, lineal descendants
of Alexander Fothergill, one of his brothers. One of these,
Samuel Fothergill, an old Ackworth Scholar, then addressed the
meeting ; after which Walter Wilson, the elder brother of the
late Right Hon. James Wilson, Finance Minister of British
India, who was educated at Ackworth, spoke. The remaining
speakers were Henry E. Clark, the devoted missionary to
Madagascar ; and Joseph Simpson, a member of the Centenary
Committee. The meeting then concluded, and it was felt to
have been worthy of the occasion."
The devotional meeting on Sixth-day morning at 7 o'clock,
was a much larger one than that on Fifth-day. It was a solemn
prayerful time. Dr. Dougan Clark, Richmond, Indiana, opened
the meeting by reading and commenting upon the 72nd Psalm.
Soon after breakfast the Great Meeting took place in a monster
marquee which had been erected specially to meet the require-
ments of the concourse of people which had been expected.
At one end was the platform, close under which, sat the happy
looking School children, and altogether it was a pretty and
impressive sight. It is computed that there were about 1,600
persons present. The Chairman of the meeting was JAMES
HENRY BARBER, of Sheffield, who took his place at ten o'clock,
and opened the meeting by reading a few verses from the forty-
eighth chapter of Genesis, being the account of Jacob blessing
the sons of Joseph. His subsequent speech was a most felicitous
one, bristling with history and narrative. ALFRED SIMPSON, of
Manchester, one of the Secretaries, then read the Centenary
Report, after which JOHN STEPHENSON ROWNTREE, was called
upon to read his paper, entitled, " A sketch of the History of
Ackworth School,"* the reading of which took up about an
hour and a quarter, and was repeatedly and warmly applauded.
The proposal of the reader to leave out a portion, at one period,
was met by energetic cries of " No, no ; go on." The whole
* Vide Ackworth Institutions,
118 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
A.D. 1879. company then rose to their feet and remained standing whilst
the scholars sang the hymn
" Abide with me, fast falls the eventide."
The next speaker was WILLIAM COOR PARKER, of Darlington,
one of the Secretaries to the Centenary Committee, after which
a number of old Ackworth scholars gave speeches of ten minutes'
duration, the Chairman unflinchingly touching the bell at the
expiration of nine minutes, so that the speaker might have one
minute's warning in which to wind up his remarks. The names
of the speakers were Henry Thompson, of Kendal ; Henry
Asworth, of Bolton ; Thomas Puplett, of Ackworth ; Robert
Henry Marsh, of London ; George Frederick Linney, of Croydon ;
J. S. Hodgson, of Manchester ; J. F. Bottomley Firth ; William
Taylor, of Middlesborough ; George Satterthwaite, for eleven
years Superintendent of the School ; William Jones, of Middles-
borough ; and lastly, by Frederick Andrews, the Superinten-
dent, or " The Young Captain," as he was styled in a quotation
by a previous speaker. Edward Gripper, of Nottingham, pro-
posed a vote of thanks to the Centenary Committee and its two
Secretaries, which was seconded by George William Binns, of
Croydon. The motion was carried, with three cheers. William
Coor Parker returned thanks, and the meeting was brought to
O O
a close.
After dinner, there was an interesting ceremony, viz.: the
planting of two purple beech trees at the bottom of the Green,
in commemoration of the Centenary, the one by the youngest
child in the school, the infant daughter of the Superintendent,
the other by one of the youngest boys in the school, Herbert
Clark, of Manchester. The little girl's hand was guided by her
mother, and a silver trowel provided for the purpose by Joseph
Simpson, of Ashbourne, an old scholar, was presented to the
little planter, and a commemorative inscription has since been
engraved upon it. Both trees were presented by Robert E.
Giles, of Derby, another old scholar. Commemorative medals
wore then presented to each boy and girl, the gift of Smith
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS.
119
Harrison, of London ; George Stacey Gibson, of Saffron Walden ;
and James Reckitt, of Hull. Medals in bronze, given by James
Hack Tuke, were presented to each teacher in the School.
This was followed by an aquatic entertainment in the large
swimming bath, the sides of which were thronged with spec-
tators. A number of prizes for skill in swimming and diving,
were offered by visitors and received by the- successful
competitors. Robert B. Oddie, of Ackworth, was master of
the Ceremonies.
The conclusion of the festivities consisted of an entertain-
ment given by the children of the school to the Visitors, a
detailed account of which, together with a verbatim report of
the various speeches will be found in Mr. Barber's narrative of
the Centenary proceedings.
A Church tower is scarcely complete without a clock,
but it was not until 1879 that subscriptions were raised to
purchase one. The present clock was supplied by Messrs. Potts
and Son, of Leeds, and inserted by them in 1879. Its cost was
100, and the works were first set in motion by Miss Falloon,
the Rector's daughter.
On Friday morning, March 14, Dr. Rowley Hill, late Bishop
of Soder and Man, held a Confirmation in Ackworth Church,
for His Grace the Archbishop of York, and afterwards
consecrated the new burial ground, as an addition to the old
Churchyard, which had for many centuries been the only place
of interment for the inhabitants of Ackworth.
The old tenor bell had long been very much worn by
constant and faithful service, so it was resolved to have it recast,
the other bells tuned, and the whole peal re-hung on a perfectly
new principle. The work was skilfully and speedily carried out
under the direction of the late Mr. Mallaby, of Ripon, at the
expense of Mrs. Peel, of Ackworth Park. The opening peals
were rung on Sunday, December 19th, 1880, by eight gentleman
ringers, on which occasion special collections were made on
behalf of the National Schools.
Church
Clock.
Confirma-
tion and
Consecra-
tion.
1880.
Ee-open-
ing of
bells.
120 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
A very beautiful custom, distinctly Norwegian in its origin,*
lias been observed for many years at Ackworth at Christmas.
The following lines by " J. W." chastely describe it.
At Ackworth Church, on Christmas Eve,
Outside the porch is hung
A sheaf of corn, to feast the birds
That all the summer sung
Around the Church their Maker's praise
In many a joyous stave,
And make them on Christ's birthday morn
As blithesome and as brave.
And is't not meet that we should keep
Our Saviour's natal day
In peace with all man, beabt and bird
That come across our way ?
Not making glad ourselves alone
Beneath our sprigs of holly,
But striving hard to make all else
Around us, just as jolly.
J.W. Written in 1880.
The custom, however, has long been observed both at
Christmastide and harvest, f
The New Burials Act came into operation in 1880, but it
was not until March, 1882, that its privileges were taken
advantage of in Ackworth, and even then, the friends of the
person interred were not, strictly speaking, Dissenters, but
Roman Catholics. The burial was carried out in accordance
with the provisions of the Act, that is to say, no bell was rung,
the Church door was closed, and the name and address of the
person certifying or having charge of the funeral, entered in
the Parish Register of Burials. Since tjien, three burials have
taken place under the provisions of the Act, viz : two Roman
Catholics and a Wesleyan, and in each instance, the require-
ments of the Act have been carefully complied with.
1883. At a public meeting of the Freeholders of Ackworth, held
on the 3rd of April, it was resolved that the Lords of the Manor
be requested to take steps for the planting of a tree somewhere
on the Village Green, to succeed in due time the Grand Old
Tree ; and to be duly fenced for protection.
* Vide " Antiquarian Gossip of the Months" iu ' Leisure Hour " of 1879.
t I am informed that the custom was introduced into Ackworth by the Eev.
Mr. Kenworthy, the late Rector.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 121
In December of this year, a most unwelcome hurricane A . D .
caused extensive damage in and around Ackworth. The Church
suffered most severely. The pinnacles were blown down, one
of them in its fall breaking through the roof in two places, and
the battlements of the tower were shattered and displaced so
seriously, that on two sides they required almost entire renewal,
and general repair all round. A peculiar feature of this storm
was that it brought with it a sleety brine from the north east,
which left a sediment upon the windows resembling hoar-frost
and which was distinctly saline to the taste.
Paul Lindlev was a familiar figure at Ackworth, and a great
favourite with the market people who resorted every Saturday an old
to the town of Pontefract, where he died in October of this
year, aged 71. Notwithstanding the hurry and bustle of modern
life, with its scientific progress, business activity, and political
zeal, it is surprising how near we are still to a past in which
existence was the reverse of feverish. For 22 years Lindley
was honourably connected with the Borough police force in
Pontefract, and for eleven years before he donned the
constable's uniform he acted as night watchman and went,
about no doubt many-caped, and with his lantern, shouting
the hour, " Two o'clock, wet morn," unless fastened in his
watch-box by the young dandies of the Jime. .He was for
2G years Superintendent of the Fire Brigade, and at two
fires at Fryston Hall rendered services such as to receive the
thanks of the late Lord Houghton. On the occasion of the
first fire at Fryston, the deceased recommended the late Lord
Houghton to construct a receptacle for water supply in case of
fire near the Hall. But the suggestion, unfortunately, was not
carried out, and the mansion afterwards fell a prey to another
fire. The deceased, who was an expert officer, was obliged
through indisposition to resign his post about five years ago, and
the Corporation granted him a pension of 1 Is. per week for
life. Whatever his adventures, he did his duty faithfully, and
died much respected.*
* Local Papers,
122 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
A.D. 1886. On the evening of Friday, October 1st, a meeting of the
Tenebne
in luce. ratepayers of the parish of Ackworth was held in the Public
Rooms, " to take into consideration the desirability of lighting
the village with gas." The Rev. Canon Falloon took the chair,
on the motion of Mr. F. Andrews, B.A., seconded by Mr. W. F.
Tempest, J.P.
The Chairman read the notice convening the meeting, after
which he said that the meeting had not been called in a formal
and legal manner, but simply to ascertain the opinion of the
people on this important question. He had in this matter no
private or individual interest to serve, and he was willing and
anxious to carry out the wishes of the inhabitants whatever
they might be. However, it was for the meeting to discuss the
matter, and it was now open for any gentleman to state his
opinions with regard to the question of lighting the village
with gas.
Mr. Andrews said that the meeting had been called by no .
" ring " or clique, and he was there as the representative of no
.one but himself. He thought that in order to throw the
question formally before the meeting he would move the
following resolution : " That this meeting of the ratepayers of
the parish of Ackworth approves of the adoption of the
provisions of the Lighting Act for the said parish, and appoints
the following gentlemen as a Committee to take the necessary
steps for carrying this resolution into effect." Mr. Jonah Barratt
seconded the motion.
Mr. Tempest then proposed the following amendment :
" That this meeting of the ratepayers and inhabitants of Ack-
worth fails to see the necessity or expediency of lighting the
village with gas, and thus adding to the burden of the existing
rates." On being put to the meeting the amendment was
carried by an overwhelming majority, the people of Ackworth
thus deciding to remain in darkness,
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 123
During the summer of this year the compiler of this work
has secured several very fine specimens of fragmentary fossil
plants from the Aekworth quarries. They consist chiefly of
large pieces of the trunk tiigillaria, and its root the Stigmaria,
found in the quiet deposit of ragged stone above and below
the stratas known as the Yorkshire Flag. The tuberous appen-
dages of this flora denote it to be a mud plant. There are
several pieces of deposit perforated with the tracks of Annclides,
or as they are locally termed, the earthworm ; one or two
specimens of the scaly Lepidodendron, and one of the Coniferce
tribe having some faint traces of annual rings. The collection
also contains a specimen of the red sandstone Catamite, and
we may safely say that not a single piece in the collection had
seen the light for at least six thousand years, and probably for
a much longer period, as animal traces are altogether absent.
>C Whatever links the present with the past is worthy of rever- 1887.
ence, especially in the case of one who, having served his genera- townsman
tion well and faithfully, has been gathered to his fathers in a
good old age. Thomas Tin-ton, commonly known as " Old Dr.
Turton," died on Sunday evening, March 20, at the ripe old age
of 93. With the exception of a little deafness, he enjoyed the
full possession of his faculties up to the last, and, in many other
respects, he was a wonderful old man. His memory was
unimpaired, but, unfortunately, his disposition was reserved and
taciturn. He was one of the vej'y few remaining who prac-
tised the profession of Medicine before the year 1815, and was
therefore a duly registered medical practitioner, although he
had never gone through any regular course of training, or
passed any qualifying examination. For many years he
enjoyed considerable local reputation in the " bleeding " and
" tapping " line, being known by many as the " Water-doctor !"
He was supposed to possess the secret of many wonderful cures, x,
The very Rev. Canon Scruton died earl y on Monday morning:, Canon
J J J Scruton.
September 12th, at the Presbytery of St. Patrick's Roman
Catholic Church at Bradford, in the 58th year of his age. He
124 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
A.D. 1887. W as born at York in July, 1830, educated at York Grammar
School and at St. Cuthbort's College, Durham. He was
ordained in 1856, and was consecrated by Bishop Briggs to the
priesthood at Doncaster. He next went to Ackworth Grange
as Chaplain to Mr. Roger Tempest. In 1862 he took charge,
by the appointment of Bishop Cornthwaite, of St. Patrick's,
at Bradford, and his devotion and energy since that time have
been conspicuous.*
Festivities ^ brief account of the rejoicings at Ackworth in commem-
oration of Her Majesty's Jubilee, will form a fitting conclusion
to this section of the work. The initiatory steps were taken
by the Rector, who called a representative meeting to devise
the best means of celebrating the event, and it was decided
that all denominations should join hands in doing honour to the
Queen, on the completion of fift} 7 years of her most illustrious
reign. Canon Falloon was appointed Chairman of Committees ;
the Rev. J. L. Say well, and Mr. Joseph Nelstrop, Secretaries ;
and Mr. Lean, Treasurer. A sum of over 60 was soon collected
in the village, and before the auspicious day arrived, all was in
readiness for the occasion. The money had been well and
judiciously expended, as will be seen from the following account
of the proceedings. The 20th and 21st of June were brilliant
days of veritable " Queen's weather," and the inhabitants did
their duty right loyally and well; indeed all were joined in hand
and heart to do honour to her to whom honour is due. Scarcely
a house failed to hang out its symbol of affection for the Queen.
Flags, banners, festoons, arches, and all kinds of decorations
were visible in every direction, those of the cottages being
sweetly touching tributes of loving loyalty. Early on Monday,
the 20th, the bells of the Parish Church (from the tower of
which floated a handsome Royal Ensign,) rang out a merry
* Yorkshire Post, September 14th, 1887.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 125
peal of gladness, which was continued at intervals throughout A .D. 1887.
the day. In the evening a hundred old people sat down
together in the Public Rooms, Low Ackworth, to supper, and
happiness reigned supreme. Their united ages amounted to
6,512 years, being an average of 65 years each. The oldest
lady present was attired in Quaker costume, and gave her age
as 92. She said she remembered the declaration of peace with
France, and very much enjoyed herself at the rejoicings on the
occasion of George III.'s Jubilee. The oldest gentleman was
81. After the tables had been cleared, a number of loyal and
facetious speeches were delivered, interspersed with appropriate
glees and recitations. The cheering and singing of the old
people, though feeble, was hearty, and a most enjoyable even-
ing was brought to a close with a resolution of congratulation
to Her Majesty, proposed by Mr. Cadinan, and seconded by Mr.
Lean, the terms of which were telegraphed to the Queen as
follows : " The aged people of Ackworth respectfully tender
their sincere congratulations to Her Gracious Majesty on the
auspicious completion of the 50th year of her glorious reign."
Shortly afterwards the following reply was received by the
Chairman (Canon Falloon) : " The Queen thanks the senders
of your telegram for their good wishes. PCXXSONBY." Tuesday,
the 21st, was observed as a general holiday. At eleven o'clock,
a special thanksgiving service was held in the Parish Church,
and it was a goodly sight to see Christian brethren of different
denominations worshipping together in unity. The prayers
were read by the Rev. J. L. Say well, Curate, and the sermon
was preached by the Rev. Canon Falloon, Rector, from the
words "God save the King ! * let us rejoice and give thanks."
At one o'clock the children mustered at their respective schools,
where Jubilee medals were distributed, after which they proces-
sioned the village, headed by the Wragby Brass Band, gaily
decorated waggons, containing the infants, heading their
respective schools. Prizes were given for the best turn out of
waggons and horses, and were awarded as follows: (1) British
School ; (2) Church School ; (3) Howard's School. After a
126 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
substantial tea had been enjoyed by the youngsters, a field
kindly lent for the occasion by Mr. Easton, was thrown open to
the public, and a scene of hearty merriment ensued. Dancing,
grotesque sports, and other amusements were kept up until
dusk, by which time the field had been prettily illuminated.
The bursting forth of the lurid flames of Upton Beacon was
the signal for a grand display of fireworks, which lasted nearly
two hours, the finale piece being a magnificent portrait of
Her Majesty.
LONG MAY SHE REIGN !
APPENDIX.
ACKWORTH COWPASTURE.
The following document is both interesting and worthy of
preservation
Quodcungue facitis in nomine Jesu Christi facite.
Be it known unto all Christian people now present and for
to come, to whom this present indented composition of confirm-
ation shall be read, heard, or understood, that in the time of
King Henry the 8th, there was a stock of cows raised within
the parish of Ackworth by the donation of divers and sundry
persons, some of them now being departed, some are yet living,
and part of the names, both of them that be departed and that
be living, are as follow, that is to say, Thomas Hartyndon, priest
and parson of Ackworth, John Thompson, priest there, John
Hambleton the elder, Thomas Raynold, Lionel Pearcy, Isabel
his wife, and Isabel his daughter, Jane Monitha Rawcliff, John
Huntingdon the elder, John Brook, Richard Harrison, Richard
Pickering the elder, Robert Padget, Roger Jackson, John
Austwicke, George Austwicke, John Horner, John Wormald,
John Hill, Thomas Brook, William Bradley, Robert Bell, John
Ranold, George AVorrnald, John Whitely, Henry Holder, Wra.
Ellis, James Huntingdon, Edmond * Thomas Campanet,
George, Hewitt, Richard Cliff, Henry Cliff, John Jenkinson, alias
Green, Thomas Smith, Lionel Smith aliter Robinson, Percival
Reynolds, Thomas Greenfield, Robert Milner aliter Biggleskirk,
William Anthony, with many others all too long here to be
rehearsed and written, whose names God grant may be written
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 129
in the Book of Life. These, with others, the donors of the
said stock, with the consent of the whole inhabitants of the
parish of Ackworth, did make one composition wherein were
expressed certain ordinances, to be continually observed and
kept without alteration in manner and form following ; that is
to say, first it was ordained by the wills of the donors and by
the consent of the whole body of the parish of Ackworth, that
there should be four honest men chosen every year new by the
consent of the parson or curate there for the time being, and
the whole body of the said parish which four men should
govern the stock and have authority to let and set the cows to
the use and performance of these present ordinances, and to
receive the rent for them, and to make their accompts to the
said parson or curate, and to the whole body of the said parish
yearly at their year's end ; and this ordinance to be kept con-
tinually, and observed without alteration. Also it was ordained
by the wills of the donors, and consent of the said parish, that
these cows, nor any one of them, nor any part of the said stock,
should never at any time hereafter be let to or for any time (?)
of usury, that is to say, that none that took any of them should
be bound to uphold the stock, nor any money that should be
taken for the rent, revenues, or profits- of them should be let
to usury, that is to say, that no money should be given for the
lending the same money, or any part thereof; nevertheless it
may be lawful for the Governors of the said stock, to take good
assurance for the well meatingand using of the cows committed
to their charge, and for the yearly rent due to be paid for the
same cows ; and this ordinance likewise to be observed and kept
without alteration. And it was ordained by the wills of the
donors, and consent of the said parish, that the cows of the
said stock, nor any one of them, should be let for any more
yearly rent than two shillings and eightpence, and that those
honest poor men that dwelled in the said parish, shoidd have
the cows in farm before any other dwelling without the said
parish, making good assurance to the Governors of the said
stock, for the yearly rent paying, and for the well using and
130 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
rneating of the said cows. And this ordinance likewise to be
continually observed and kept without alteration. Also it was
ordained by the wills of the donors, and consent of the said
parish, that there should no penny be taken of the yearly rent
and profit of the said stock unto the yearly profit thereof, and
amount to the value of three pounds de claro over and above
all charges and reprises, and when it came to this clear value,
then twenty shillings to be taken out of the said profit and to
be paid yearly to the Clark towards his wages, and the rest to
go forward to the maintenance upholding and increasing of the
said stock ; and when the profit of the said stock amounted to
the yearly value of four pounds de claro, then forty shillings
to be taken yearly of that sum, and to be paid towards the
Clark's wages ; and when the yearly profit of the said stock
shall amount to the yearly value of eight pounds de claro, then
three pounds thereof to be paid towards the Clark's wages ; and
when the yearly rent and profit of the said stock shall amount
to the yearly value of ten pounds de claro, then four pounds
thereof to be paid for the Clark's wages yearly, and there to
stay, and the rest of the yearly profits over and above the four
pounds aforesaid, to go forward to the maintenance upholding
and increasing of the said stock. And this ordinance likewise
to be observed and kept without alteration. And it was
ordained by the wills of the donors, and consent of the said
parish, that if it fortune the said stock of cows should be dimin-
ished by the death of the said cows, so that the yearly value
of the said cows shall not amount to the yearly value of three
pounds de claro over and above all charges and reprises, then
the money which was due to the Clark, and every part and
parcel thereof to stay, and not to be paid until the said stock
shall increase, so that the yearly profits of the said stock do
amount to the yearly value of three pounds de claro over and
above all charges and reprises, and when it doth amount to the
yearly value of three pounds aforesaid, then the said twenty
shillings to be paid again towards the Clark's wages, and the
said Clark's wages to increase and diminish as the yearly profits
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 131
of the said stock do increase and diminish orderly as is afore
declared. And this ordinance likewise to be continually
observed, and kept without alteration. Also it was ordained
by the wills of the donors, and consent of the said parish, that all
all the stock of cows shall be burned (branded), and so kept burned
from time to time with one burn, and the said burn (brand) to
be in the keeping of the Governors of the said stock yearly for
their time being, and this ordinance likewise to be continually
observed, and kept without alteration. Therefore be it known
further, the said composition wherein these present ordinances
were plainly expressed, being lost, that we, Thomas Huntingdon,
priest and parson of Ackworth, John Hambleton the elder,
William Thorp, John Standeven, John Huntingdon the elder,
Richard Pickering the son of Richard deceased, John Brook,
George Austwick, Edward Rusby, Anthony Walker, Henry
Huntingdon the son of James deceased, William Wormal the
son of John deceased, John Bradley the son of William deceased,
Thomas Austwick the son of John deceased, John Bell the son
of Robert deceased, Thomas Homer the son of the aforesaid
John Homer, John Howitt the son of George deceased, Robert
Brook, William Symson aliter Manser, Thomas the son of
Thomas deceased, aliter Green, Lionel Wormall the son of
George deceased, Lionel Greenfield the son of Thomas deceased,
Richard Ranold the son of John deceased, Thomas Jackson,
the son of Roger deceased, Robert Biggleskirk aliter Milner,
having full notice and perfect knowledge of these present
ordinances, by the consent, assent, and full agreement of the
whole parish aforesaid, do confirm, ratify, and grant by this
our indented composition of confirmation, that all these ordi-
nances afore rehearsed shall be continually observed, and kept
from time to time without any alteration according to the wills
and ordinances of the donors heretofore declared at large. In
witness whereof all we last before named by the consent, assent,
and full agreement of all the whole body of the said parish to
this our indented composition of confirmation, have set to our
hands and seals the 2nd day of February, being the day of
132 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
A.D.1568. the Purification of the blessed Mary, Christ's blessed mother,
and in the year of our Lord one thousand five hundred and
sixty eight.
There is also a Memorandum accompanying the above which
directs that one part of the above composition should remain
in the possession of the parson of Ack worth, and the other
part with the Governors of the Stock, the latter to be kept
under lock in the Parish Church of Ackworth, with the Inven-
tory of Cows, and other papers. The Clerk is also directed to
read the composition, or cause it to be read audibly twice a
year, at the account meeting, and the meeting for the appoint-
ment of Governors.
Under the head of " Advice of the Writer," the following
curious entry appears : " Stand constantly, firmly, and
perseverantly to this your foundation without alteration, least
coveteousness with and dissimilation do bring your stock to
destruction."
Then follow three "Articles for the better preservation of
the Stock of Kine," drawn up and confirmed by the inhabitants
of Ackworth on " May 5th, 1581, being Ascension Day." All
payments are due to the parson and cowmaster on or before the
feast of John the Baptist, and in default, to be proceeded
against by law ; and a footnote says that all documents and
papers relative to the above " belongeth to the keeping of the
parson or curate of Ackworth, as hath been the custom without
(sic) the memory of man."
In case of an outbreak of " contagious distemper," another
memorandum directs certain rules and regulations to be
observed, and then follow the signatures of nineteen persons
who assembled at a parish meeting held on the 18th April, 1749,
to confirm the foregoing Articles of Agreement.
The whole concludes with an extenso list of the " Proprietors
of Beast Gates in Ackworth Pasture in ye year 1G86," " Propri-
etors of Cow Gates and to whom let if any in 1749, when ye
Distemper was raging," and " Proprietors of Ackworth Cowgates
in 1769-70."
ITS HISTORY Attl) ANtfALS. 133
ACKWORTH TERRIERS.
A particular account of all the lands belonging to the
Rectory of Ackwortk*
Acrs. Rds.
Imprimis. In a field called Parkinleyes two roods
lying between the lands of Philip Austwick east and
west, other two roods lying between the lands of Leonard
Finder west, and Richard Twigg's close, east ... ... 1
In Houstead field two acres lying between the lands
of Mr. George Abbott north, and Mr. William Shillitoe
south ; three roods Mr. John Lambe close, lying north,
and the lands of John Ellis south ... ... ... 2 3
In Burial fieldftwo acres lying between the field called
Bennitings, north, and Sandygate Quarry south ; other
two acres lying between the lands of John Ash east,
and Mr. John Lambe west ; one acre lying between the
lands of Mr. Robert Hewitt north, and John Ellis south ;
two roods lying between the lands of Matthew Pearson
east, and Mr. Lambe west. One acre between the lands
of Philip Austwicke north, and Mr. Hewitt south ;
one acre Burial Gate, lying on the south side, and the
lands of Philip Austwicke north ... ... ... 7 2
In Little Castle Syke, two roods between John
Huntingdon's close east, and the lands of Mr. William
Shillitoe west 2
In Great Castle Syke, two roods between the lands
of Thomas Pickering east, and Mr. Robert Hewitt west ;
one acre between the lands of Philip Austwicke and
Mr. Robert Hewitt east ; two roods between the lane
east, and Thomas Pickering west ... ... ... 2
In the Middle Field, one acre between the Stony
Pits north, Mr. George Abbot's land south ; one acre
and two roods lying between Mr. Pickering north and
* There is no date to this document, but by the signatures at the foot, the
approximate date would be 1680.
f The scene of the skirmish referred to on pp. 56-7.
134 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
south ; one acre between the lands of Henry Cavvood
west, and John Huntington east ; two roods between
Arthur Chambers south, and Mr. Pickering north ... 4
In old Taile Field, two roods lying between the
lands of Kobert Cawood north, and Anthony Crowhey
south; other two roods lying between the lands of
Matt. Pearson south, and Robert Hewitt north ... 1
In Lambcroft, one rood lying between the lands of
Samuel Lambe to the north and south ... ...
In Colehill Field, four acres between the lands of
Ralph Lowther, Esq., on the north, and Mr. Hewitt
south ; two roods Mr. Hewitt south, and Thomas Hewitt
north ; one acre Mr. Lowther north, and Mrs. Austwicke
south ; two roods Mr. Lambe Lawning north ; one acre
Mr. Bradley north and Philip Austwicke south ; one
acre Mr. Lambe's close called Wentlands west, and the
land of Mr. Pickering east ; one rood and a half be-
tween the lands of Matt. Pearson north, and John
Huntingdon south ... ... ... ... ... 8
One other rood and a half more in Burial, one acre
in close called Hollin Knowl, now in the Park field, one
rood more in Hundhill Syke, three roods of meadows 2
In enclosure, one close called Stanbecks close, four
acres ; one close called Meardyke close, containing four
acres; one close called Barley close, containing five acres;
one close called Church croft, containing two acres ; one
close called Kirkecroft, containing two and a half acres ;
one close called Stone Steel acre ; one close called Ten-
tering, containing one acre ; one close called Pond Garth,
with the orchard and garden, one acre... ... ... 20
Belonging in all to the Rectory of Ackworth, fifty
acres and one rood, with one dwellinghouse, two barnes,
one stable, and another outhouse. And as for all the
Tyth's of corn, hay, and other privy Tyth's, we suppose
them to be worth two hundred pounds per annum.
JOHN ASH,
ROBERT CAWOOD.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 135
Ackworth ACKWORTH TERRIER, 1716.
Com Ebor
West A true and iust account of all the houses, edifices.
Riding.
orchards, gardens, glebe lands, tyths, augmentations,
pensions, salaries, stipendarys, payments, offerings, and
all other ecclesiastical dues belonging to the Rectory of
Ackworth in the diocese of York.
Imprimis. One dwellinghouse, being 19 yards 1 foot in
length, and 6 yards in breadth. One corn barn, with a swine
coat at the end of it, 24 yards in length, and 6 yards in breadth.
One other barn, 16 yards long and 6 yards broad. One cow-
house and fodder-room, 8-f yards in length, and 4 yards in
breadth new built. One stable, being a square building, contain-
5 1 yards each Avay. One privy or house of office, 3f yards in
length, and 2 yards in breadth. One flower garden, 19 yards
in length, and 9i in breadth. One kitchen garden, 27 yards in
length, and 20 yards 1 foot in breadth. One other kitchen
garden, 44 yards in length, and 13 yards 1 foot in breadth.
One orchard, 44 yards in length, and I7i yards in breadth.
FIELD LAND.
Acrs. Rds.
Imprimis. In a field called Parkin Lee's, two roods
between the lands of Richard Austwicke east and west;
other two roods lying between the land of Leonard
Finder west, and John Heptinstall east ... ... 1
[The remainder of the above consists of extracts
from the first inventory which has already been
given in extenso.]
Total Field Land ... 27
IN INCLOSURES.
Imprimis. One close called Barley Close contain-
ing 5 acres.
Item. One close called Stanbecks, containing ... 4 acres.
Item. One close called Meardyke, containing ... 4 acres.
Item. One close called Wentcroft, containing ... 2 acres.
136 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
Item. One close called Kirkcroft. containing ... 2i acres.
Item. One close called Stonestyle, containing ... 1 acre.
Item. One close called Tenter Ing, containing ... 1 acre.
Item. One close called Potwells, containing ... 2 acres.
Item. One close called Hollin Knowl, containing. . . 1 acre.
Item. One close called Pond Garth, containing with
the Fouldstead and backside 3 roods.
Total Inclosures, 21 acres 1 rood.
TYTHE OF CORN.
Tythe Corn in this parish is paid in kind by the owner of
the corn ; the manner of tything is after the owner has
proportioned it into equal parts, and upon sufficient warning to
the minister or his servant appointed for that business, is to
take the tenth stack, kiver or sheaf, and if there remain any
odd shares, and the owner has more of the same grain in
another place, then to count to that other till the whole be
tythed. There is one part of our parish called Ryddings, now
in the tenure of Sir Rowland Winn, Bart., that pays only six
shillings per year for all tyths of corn, hay, and pasture, but if
pastured with sheep or other goods, and those sheep, etc., are
turned to the common, then they pay half tythe, or proportion-
ally for the time they have so been pastured. If the houses be
inhabited, the inhabitants pay Easter dues* as the other part
of the parish do, and at the same time. John Symmons, of
the Lodge, (Parol de Himsworth) pays for another part of the
Riddings now in his tenure, and only for the hay and herbage
thereof, one shilling and eight pence per year. Another part
of the Ryddings, now in the tenure of Joseph Walker, tenant
to John Bright, of Badsworth, Esq., pays five shillings for the
hay and herbage of the same. One other part of the Ryddings
now in the tenure and occupation of Christopher Heptinstall,
commonly known by the name of Berry's Land, pays for the
hay and herbage thereof, eight pence per annum. One Moiety
These Easter dues are now either extinct, or absorbed into the Eectorial tithes.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 137
of the Walton Royds, now in the tenure of Michael Mitton,
tenant to Frances Mason, widow, for the hay and herbage pays
one shilling yearly. Another moiety of the said Walton Royds,
belonging to Henry Cawood, of Lanes, (Parol de Himsworth)
pays also for the hay and herbage thereof one shilling yearly.
A little piece of ground called Warren, belonging to Sir Rowd.
Winn, Bart., pays yearly for the hay and herbage thereof, 6d.;
being this year (1716) in the tenure of Henry Taylor, (Parol
de Wragby). Sir John Went worth, of Elmeshall, in the parish
of South Kirkby, Bart., or his tenants, for Burling Houses hay
and herbage, pays yearly the sum of one pound seventeen
shillings for the hay and herbage of the said Burling Houses.
Note that the above mentioned custom ground (excepting Sir
Rowland Winn's moiety of the Ryddings, [and Quere if that
ought not]) pays tythe of corn as the other parts of the parish
do ; and the usual custom for the hay and herbage thereof, and
of all and every part and parcel of the above-named custom
ground is usually paid and discharged upon or before the 29th
day of September yearly, and altho' it be corn. And further
note that if any part or parcel of custom ground be sown with
hemp, flax, rape, or turnips, it shall pay as the law directs for
the two first, and for the third according to the use of the
County, if not the tenth part, and for the last, four shillings
per acre, according to the old custom established in this parish.
The Ryddings and Walton Royds are full south from the
Church, Burling Houses east, and the Warren west. There are
several crofts or garths pay custom for hay and herbage, some
more and some less, in considerable sums for the most part, an
account of which is hereunto annexed.
TYTHE HAY.
Hay pays ten pence per acre thro'out this whole parish,
excepting where there is a modus or prescription to the contrary,
and excepting in a field or meadow called Hundell Syke, in
which field or meadow every acre of hay pays two shillings
per acre ; but those acres are what they call computation acres,
which generally are two good acres or more each.
138 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
EASTER DUES.
Every person above the age of sixteen years, being inhabit-
ant of this parish, pays two pence obtacon, and every master
or mistress of a family pays one penny halfpenny for his or her
house, five pence for his or her hen (!) whether any or none,
one penny for his or her plough, one penny halfpenny for every
cow and calf, one penny for every stript milk cow, one penny
for every foal, and one penny for every swarm of bees. Note
that the custom for the Garths is usually paid at Easter.
WOOL AND LAMB.
These are tythable in kind, the owner to choose two, and
then the tyther a third at ten ; if they fall short at ten, then
the number to be considered, and if there are but five, then
the one of the parties is to take or give one penny halfpenny
except it be a fat one, then more according to discretion. If
under five, then the owner is to pay the minister for every one,
a penny, if above five the minister pays two pence a piece to
ten, and takes the lamb.
Wool (as was said before,) is paid in kind, upon the sheet
or clipping day by the tenth fleece, or by weight, as both parties
concerned shall agree. The custom ground afore mentioned
pays neither wool nor lamb, without the sheep have been
summered or wintered upon the common, or at least have
pastured there some time, and then but half tythe of either
kind. Lamb is usually paid at Lammas, when it may be
supposed to live as well without the dam as with her.
An Account of the Custom Garths with their respective
sums, varying from 3d. to 2/2d., are next given, amounting in
all to 9/6d., which it is stated " are, or should be paid at Easter,
when the inhabitants pay their other Easter dues.
AUGMENTATIONS, ETC.
We have no augmentations, pensions, salaries, or stipendiary
payments, belonging to this Rectory.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 139
MORTUARIES, ETC.
Mortuaries are paid according to the statute the 21st of
Henry the Eight, chapter the 6th
EASTER OFFERINGS as mentioned before.
MARRIAGES.
Every person married by license pays ten shillings; by
Banns publishing, eighteen pence.
CHRISTENINGS pay nothing at all, Sacraments being free.
Every woman churched pays eightpence to the Minister.
Every burial in the Churchyard pays one shilling.
Every burial in the body of the Church pays five shillings ;
if in the Chancell then more or less as the parties concerned
can agree with the Incumbent.
WITNESS our hands, this 28th day of June, Anno Domini,
1716.
MATTHEW PEARSON,
RICHARD MASON,
THOMAS CALVERLEY.
PHILIP HOLLINS, Rector.
RICHD. J. BROOK, 1 ,,,, -, -,
THOMAS PEARSON,} Churchwardens.
Another Terrier was made in 1727, and a third in 1743, the
former during the incumbency of Philip Hollins, and the latter
during that of Dr. Timothy Lee. They are, with few exceptions,
similar to the first.
ACKWORTH MANOR.
In common with many surrounding Manors, the Manor of
Ackworth is of Saxon origin, and consisted of nearly the whole
of the parish of Ackworth, including the Church, Park, and
Manor House. As has already been intimated, Erdulf and
Osulf were the first Saxon proprietors of Ackworth. It is
mentioned in the Domesday Survey, from which it will be seen
that at the Conquest, the Manor of Ackworth became part of
the possessions of the great Lacy family, as Lords of the Honour
of Pontefract. The following is a transcript of the record :
" Man : in Acewrde, Edulf et Osulf habuerimt vi carucat : terroa
" ad Geldum, ubi possuit esse v. caruca. Nunc habet Humfri-
140
ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
; dus de Ilberto. Ipse ibi et Car : et dimid : et xiiii. villanos et
ii. Bordarios cum vi. Car : Ibi Ecclesia et Presbyter, 2 Molen-
dina xvi. Denar : T. R. E. Yalebat iiii. libras modo iii. libras.
: D. B. 107. Terra Ilberti de Lacy " i.e. " One Manor in
Ackworth, Erdulf and Osulf, had six Carucates of land to be
taxed, where there might be five ploughs. Humphrey now
holds it of Ilbert. (Humphrey) himself (has) there one plough
and a half, and fourteen villains (i.e. persons of servile
condition), and two boors (i.e., persons who were allowed a
cottage and a small piece of land, on condition that they should
supply the lord with poultry and eggs for his board or table).
There is a Church there, and a priest, one mill of sixteen
pence, value in King Edward's time, four pounds, now three
pounds. Domesday Book, 107. The land of Ilbert de Lacy."*
After this, the Manor of Ackworth is not mentioned in any
public record until the fourth year of Edward II. (1311), in
which year it reverted from the Lacys to the House of Lan-
caster, and so remained until the execution of Thomas, Earl of
Lancaster, when it was forfeited to the Crown. On the accession
of Edward III., it went back to the House of Lancaster. In
the early part of this reign, the King's Park, is mentioned in a
list of the Honour of Pontefract in the Duchy Office, and is
said to embrace a circuit of two miles, with a keeper for the
King and a lodge. In the extent per contra, taken in the
fifteenth year of Edward III., the Manor House is called a
* Vide sub datum, 1310.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 141
capital Messuage, with a garden adjacent, and one hundred and
four acres of land. By an original Extent, remaining in the
Duchy Office, the park is said to be two leagues in circum-
ference, with a keeper, on wages. Afterwards, when Henry
(brother of Thomas, who was beheaded), Duke of Lancaster,
became Henry IV. (1327), it passed again to the Crown. It
continued in the ownership of the Crown until in 1603, when
the Lordship of Ackworth, as parcel of the Honour of Ponte-
fract, was granted by James I. to his Queen, with power to
grant Leases for twenty one years, reserving the old rents, etc.
The Queen died in 1619. In 1628 Charles I. sold the Lordship
of Ackworth to Commissioners for the City of London, by
whom the Park was sold to Mark Pickering, and the Manor
and Manor House to T. Harlaken and others.. The latter
afterwards came by purchase or marriage into the possession of
- Lambe, from whom it was purchased in 1690, by Robert
Lowther. From this time the Manor and Park became historic-
ally separate, and the subsequent fortunes of the Manor alone
will now be traced. When Mr. Robert Lowther made this
purchase, he took the conveyance from Lambe as heir of
the survivor of the four original grantees of the City of London.
It was sold about 1673 by the heirs of Mr. Robert Lowther, to
Dr. Edward Watkinson. By a Deed of 1770, it appears that
the ancient gateway of the Manor House was then standing.
After the decease of Dr. Watkinson, it became the property of
Mr. Joseph Sykes, by whom it was pulled down and the
materials converted into cottages. In the course of demolition,
Benjamin Sykes, son of the said Joseph, who was employed as
mason to do the work, is said to have found under an ancient
brick oven a considerable treasure in silver coins, though, from
his concealment of the matter, neither their date nor value were
ever correctly ascertained. From Sykes, the site of the Manor
House passed to Mr. Turton, who pulled down the cottages
above named, and built upon it the house, now, or lately in the
occupation of Mr. Richard Lee. The house was subsequently
142 ACK WORTH, YORKS.,
purchased by Henry Hill, Esq., and thus it will be seen by the
continued history of the Park which follows, the Manor House
and the Park Hall, after a period of some two hundred and thirty
years, become united for the second time under one proprietor.
The interests of the Manor itself, which consist chiefly of the
village of Ackworth, are now watched by four gentlemen, who
constitute and call themselves Lords of the Manor. Whether
they perform their arduous (?) duties with complete satisfaction
to themselves and the people of Ackworth, is another matter,
and a question which perhaps had better be left open.
It would seem from one of the Parish books, that the Lords
of the Manor, assembled in Court Leet and Baron, formerly
possessed considerable powers in the infliction of fines and
penalties. On the 21st October 1G86, fines of various amounts
were enacted and levied upon certain persons for neglecting to
erect gates and fences round their fields ; for lodging or
harbouring wandering people without consent of the constable ;
for neglecting to ring their swine ; upon the old constable, for
not making up his accounts before Midsummer day ; for not
setting up stiles ;* for neglecting to serve on Juries when
summoned ; for encroachments on common or waste grounds ;
for leaving hedges unswi.tcb.ed ; for removing stones from the
highway ; on the constable for failing to erect a pinfold ;-f- for
not repairing bridges, banks, and dykes ; for not cleaning
sewers, and roads, etc.
At a Court Leet and Baron held on the 26th October, 1726,
no less than thirty persons were presented and fined in sums
varying from fourpence to ten shillings, for " Encroachments
upon the Waste." Among those presented, we find the names
of Turnill, Pindar, Heptinstall, Crosland, Baumbrough, Catte} T ,
Oates, Mangle, Shillitoe, Lamb, Stanfield. Earnshaw, Wood,
Winn, Sharp, Booth, Seaton, Nelstrap, Walker, Harrison,
Scatchard, Balgie, Addy, and Burgess. The names of those
* Ackworth abounds in stiles.
f This still exists in good condition, and adjoins the parish hearse-house.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 143
by whom the presentments were made are Mitton, Heptonstall,
Kiplin, Norton, Calverley, Waller, Nelstrop, Walker, Atkinson,
Howitt, Waller, Wager, and Wilson. By this presentment it
does not appear in whose names the Court was held. The
following minute also appears amongst the Court papers :
" Ackworth, the 24th of June, 1766.
" We whose names are hereunder set Do on the behalf of
ourselves and others duly authorized agree to meet at the Sign
of the Blue Bell in this Town on Monday the 15th day of
September next at two o'clock in the afternoon to fix a time
for keeping a Court Baron for the Manor of Ackworth aforesaid
also upon the person in whose name such Court shall be kept
in order to remove and prevent encroachments within the said
Manor and concerning other matters prejudicial to the Rights
and privileges of the several Freeholders on the Wastes and
Commons within the Royalty of Ackworth.
T. Lee* for self, Anthy. Surtees, Esq., & Mr. Joseph White.
W. Sykes for his Brother Frs. Sykes, by virtue of a Warrt.
of Attorney.
R. Hargreaves for self & James Beetham.
John North. Henry Mitton.
Thos. Hirst. Win. Earnshaw.
James Townend. Matthew Burton.
Edward Gates, a Devisee in trust in Mr. Richard
Pickering's Will.
Robert Calverley.
John Collett. Thos. Austwick.
Benjamin Turton. Wm. Scatcher.
Thomas Pearson. Thomas Wager.
Sufficient has now been quoted from Court papers of the
Manor of Ackworth, to show how the affairs of the Manor and
Court Leet were conducted in the "good old days," compared
with the modern method.
* Dr. Lee, the then Rector of Ackworth.
144 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
ACKWORTH PARK.
Up to 1628, when the Park was sold by the City Commis-
sioners of London to Mark Pickering, Ackworth Manor and
Park continued in the possession of the same proprietors ; after
which the Park was again sold by Michael Pickering, the son
of the above Mark, to the Trustees of William Rokeby. In
this Deed "The Hall" is so called, as lately rebuilt from "The
Lodg." About 1650 this portion of the estate was purchased by
Elizabeth, widow of Wooley Leigh, Esq., of Adlington, in the
County of Chester. She was the daughter of Sir John Hare,
of Norfolk, Baronet. In 1650 she married Sir John Lowther,
of Lowther Hall, Westmoreland, by whom she had Ralph and
Robert Lowther, both of whom resided at Ackworth Park.
She died in 1699, and was buried in Ackworth Church.*
William Rokeby, Esq., resided at Ackworth Park in 1671, but
this could only have been as tenant. About the period of their
mother's death, the Hall became the residence of Ralph and
Robert Lowther. Robert died unmarried in 1720; and on the
death of Ralph in 1724, it became the inheritance of his son
John (M.P. for Pontefract in 1722), who died in 1729 without
issue, leaving the whole estate to his sister, Mary Lowther, who
inhabited the house till her death in 1753. This Mary Lowther
endowed the School and Hospital at Ackworth. The estate
was now inherited by Margaret, the daughter of William Norton,
of Sawley, Esq. This William Norton had married Margaret,
the sister of the above-named John and Mary Lowther. Their
mother was Mary, the daughter of Godfrey Lawson, of Leeds,
Esq. Margaret Norton married, 1st, J ohn Bright, of Bads worth,
Esq., and 2ndly, Sir John Ramsden, of Byram, Bart., by whom
in 1763, the estate was sold to Francis Sykes, Esq. In 1 803,
Mr. Sykes or his representatives disposed of the Hall, and part
of the Estate, to Grosvenor Perfect, of Pontefract, Esq. In
1804, it was purchased by Frances, widow of Solly, Esq., of
London. Mrs. Solly afterwards married J. H. Jessop, Esq., and
* Vide Monumental Epitaphs.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 145
in 1810 the estate was sold to John Petyt, Esq., of London. In
1831, it was purchased by Mr. Gully, who was said to have given
21,500 for it, exclusive of the land in Purston. About twenty
years later, the Park became the property of Henry Hill, Esq.,
whose family are the present proprietors.
Knstituttcms.
L ACKWORTH COLLEGE.
This large and handsome building, commonly known as the
Flounders' Institute, was established by the late Benjamin
Flounders, Esq., J.P., of Yarm, with an endowment of 40,000,
for training young men to be teachers in the Society of Friends.
The building was opened for students in the summer of 1848.
The instruction, according to the trust deed, includes ancient
and modern languages, mathematics, and philosophy in all its
parts ; to which have been added other subjects to meet recent
requirements of education, or having more immediate reference
to the Society. The Institution is intended to accommodate
twelve pupils.*
I am indebted to William S. Lean, Esq., M.A., for the
following additional information :
" It appears that Mr. Flounders was very much influenced
in his decision to place 40,000 Three per cent. Consols, in the
hands of Trustees, for certain educational purposes in the
Society of Friends, by the known wishes of his uncle, Gideon
Bickcrdyke, Esq., from whom he had inherited a considerable
portion of his property, including a landed estate at Culmington,
near Ludlow, in Shropshire. This estate was sold during
Benjamin Flounders' lifetime, and the deed of trust directing
the mode in which the 40,000 above mentioned was to be
applied, was signed by himself on November 25th, 1S45. Mr.
* Bank's Walks about Yorkshire, pp. 299-300.
146 ACK WORTH, YORKS.,
Flounders died April 4th, 1846, and the Institute was opened
with nine students August 28th, 1848. Mr. Bickerdyke's views,
expressed to his nephew in a letter dated as far back as 1807,
but particularly stated to be in no way binding upon Mr.
Flounders, appear to have included the founding of a larger
establishment than the present, to include boys as well as young
men, and also a larger staff of instructors. Ack worth is
specially named in the same letter as a suitable locality for the
new institution. No doubt the fact of the then comparatively
recent establishment (the Friends' Public School,) influenced
Mr. Flounders, as well as his uncle, in concluding that students
under training for teaching would be likely to profit by living
in its neighbourhood, even if they should not find opportunities
for pursuing their studies within its walls."
"The Deed of Trust leaves it to the discretion of the
Trustees (generally from eight to ten in number,) to determine
on the number of students to be admitted to the Institute ;
also to provide, either wholly or partially, the expense of their
education, board, books, etc. The appointment of the Principal
and his assistants is in their hands, and the determination of
the course of study to be pursued, also rests ultimately Avith
them."
" From the opening of the Institute in August, 1848, to the
present time, 216 students have passed through it."
" Five acres of land on Avhich ' the College ' stands were
purchased by two or three gentlemen from the ' Ackworth
School Estate,' and presented to the Trustees, about two years
before the date of opening. Most of the stone used in the
building was quarried from this land."
" The name of the first Principal, Mr. Isaac Brown, will
always be associated with the work of laying out the planta-
tions, etc., on the recreation grounds, and with the zeal which
he shewed in encouraging the first students,"
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 147
" Another acre of land on which a chvellinghouse has since
been erected, was added in 1864."
" The Institute possesses a spacious astronomical observa-
tory, furnished with a four and a quarter inch refracting telescope
by Cooke, equatorially mounted."
" Mr. Isaac Brown held the office of Principal from 1848 to
1870, when he was succeeded by Mr. William S. Lean, M.A.
(Lond.), who still retains the office, and regularly shares his
duties with one or two tutors."
" With the exception of a few hours a week devoted to
outlying subjects, the curriculum is now arranged with special
reference to the requirements of the London B.A. degree, but
the limited staff of instructors militates necessarily against the
prosecution of any beyond elementary studies in Science."
II. FRIENDS' SCHOOL.
Next to the College, this school (commonly known as the
Quaker School,) is entitled to the highest place amongst the
institutions of Ack worth, both socially and structurally. " It is,"
says a member of the Society of Friends, " dear to the memories
of most Friends, and is one of the eight original public board-
ing schools provided by the Society for the education of Quaker
children in England, between the years 1779 and 1842." The
building was originally a branch of the London Foundling
Hospital, and to Dr. John Fothergill, a London physician, is
due its conversion to its present use. It was opened for the
" education, maintenance, and clothing of children whose
parents are not in affluence," on Oct. 18, 1779 ; the first scholars
being " Barton and Ann Gates, of Poole, Dorset," and since
that time, scholars have come from all parts of the country to
Ackworth. In the lists are to be found some names that are
well known. In the year 1822, we find a " John Bright, of
Rochdale," was entered ; also a " James Wilson," in neither of
which names, could any indication be found of the then future
148 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
prefix, " Right Honourable." Generations of Howitts, too, have
gone to Ackworth, from the old home at Heanor, in Derbyshire.
A description of the building, inside and out, will here be both
interesting and useful. Entering the gates from the road, the
School itself is in front, on the right is the Meeting-house, and
on the left, offices for the shoemaker, tailor, carpenter, and
others. A colonnade of severely plain pillars forms the fa<;ade,
and from this the entrance hall leads into the " Great Passage."
From this, right and left, are dining rooms, library, lecture-room,
store-rooms, kitchens, housekeeper's rooms, etc. At each end
of the passage, stairs of stone lead to the bed-rooms above,
and to bath-rooms, etc. The class rooms, in common with all
the rooms, are lofty, well ventilated and warmed, scrupulously
clean and plain, and are fitted up with abundance of maps,
diagrams, designs, aquaria, cabinets of shells, ores, clocks,
galvanic-batteries and other apparatus. Play has its sheds,
courts, and cricket-field, with all the necessary appliances.
Each scholar has a little plot of ground, for the practical study
of botany and horticulture. For the sick there are nurseries,
and for the convalescent, reading rooms. A house not
far distant is utilised and fitted up as a Sanatorium. There
are spacious swimming baths, gas-works, steam-laundries, and
other appliances; the whole being surrounded by vast gardens,
farm yard, and macadamised play ground.* The School pos-
sesses its own Temperance Hotel. The discipline is firm, but
kind. There is no corporal punishment. The management of
the School is vested in a Committee appointed at the General
Annual Meeting in June, at which time, Friends from all parts
of the country visit the dear old spot, to renew the associations,
and revive the recollections of their happy school-da t ys.
Periodical examinations are made by the Committee, and by
examiners from the Universities. By gift and subscription,
the School has accumulated in land, buildings, etc., a surplus
* The " flags " is a footpath dividing the boys' from the girls' playground.
Here brothers and sisters, and cousins of both sexes, are privileged to meet,
and converse, having of course iirst obtained permission.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 149
capital of nearly 40,000, which enables it to give to the little
Friends a good, and comparatively cheap, education. The
payments made for each child vary according to the position
and means of the parents or guardian, but the balance may be
considered as the Society's contribution to the education of the
poorer of its members' children.* The full number which may
be accomodated is 290. Since the establishment of this School,
eleven others in different parts of the kingdom have been
opened, the first in 1785, and the last in 1842.f The following
additional information has been extracted from Mr. William
Smith's " Old Yorkshire,"! and Mr. Thompson's " History of
Ackworth School."!! "The whole property covers an area of
270 acres, and originally cost about 12,000. In the Report
for 1884, it is estimated to be worth 40,000. In July, 1773,
the Institution was closed, and remained empty for some years,
part of the estate was sold, and the turret clock and bells
disposed of to the Marquis of Rockingham. Tradition says
that the grounds were allowed to become a wilderness, the foxes
roaming freely through the deserted halls. Amongst those
who took a great interest in the Foundling Hospital were Dr.
Lee, Rector of Ackworth, who planned the central building,
Sir Rowland Winn, of Nostell Priory, and Sir Charles Whit-
worth, of London. The following is a description of the dress
of the children in 1781, two years after the School was opened :
' In the early days of the School, its juvenile groups might
have reminded us of the pictures of olden time, when the cocked
hat, the long-tailed coat, the leather breeches, and the buckled
shoes, were the dress even of boys. The girls figured in white
caps, the hair turned back over them, or combed straight down
on the forehead, checked aprons with bibs, and white neck
handkerchiefs folded neatly over their stuff gowns in front.
* Vide " Quiver," March, 1885. Much, however, of the foregoing information
has been obtained by the compiler after a personal inspection.
t Bank's Walks about Yorkshire, p. 300.
t Vide " Yorkshire Educational Establishments," pp. 164-73.
II Published in 1879.
150 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
Their walking costume was a kind of hat, the pattern of which
we are unable to indicate, and a long cloth coat, with coloured
mits reaching to the elbows.'* In 1816, the visit of Joseph
John Gurney gave such an impetus to Biblical study at Ack-
worth School, that ' they took their Bibles to bed with them,
read them by the early morning light, pored over them at
leisure hours during the day, and especially on First Day,' so
that twelve months afterwards ' the whole aspect of affairs was
changed.' " A tabulated list of Masters will be found at the end
of this volume. The following men and women of renown
were educated at Ackworth School : The Right Hon. John
Bright, M.P.; The Right Hon. James Wilson, M.P., of the
"Economist ;" Henry Ashworth ; J. F. B. Firth, M.P.; William
Allen Miller, author of the " Elements of Chemistry," formerly
Professor of Chemistry in University College, London ; Dr.
George S. Brady, F.G.S., Sunderland ; Henry Bowman Brady,
F.R.S., Newcastle ; John Gilbert Baker, F.R.S., F.L.S, of Kew,
an eminent botanist ; Sarah Ellis, nee Stickney, authoress of
"Women of England," etc.; Jeremiah H. Wiffen, F.R.S.L.,
poet and translator; Benj. B. Wiffen; William Howitt, author
of " Homes and Haunts of British Poets," etc. ; Henry Thomp-
son, author of " History of Ackworth School." The following-
additional particulars have been extracted from " A sketch of
the History of Ackworth School," by John S. Rowntree,
published in the " Proceedings of the Centenary Celebration "
in 1879. " The earliest notices of the School are very favour-
able. "Sir Rowland Winn, of Nostell Priory, is said to have
been affected to tears when he saw the healthy happy faces,
and recurred to the unhappy experience of the foundlings
who before occupied the building." Offenders, it appears, were
punished at meal times, by being placed at a table which was
called " the table of disgrace," and which was distinguished
from the rest, by having no cloth upon it. It is said that Robert
Whitaker once entered the dining room, and finding two
* Vide Purnphrcy's Diary, written at Ackworth School.
ITS HISTORY AND ANXALS. 151
monitors sitting at this table, he lifted up his arms, and his
voice, exclaiming " Fallen ! fallen ! " Speaking of ancient
customs, Mr. Rowntree says " the Committee Friends " at one
time " closed the day's labour over glasses of spirits and water,
whilst fragrant fumes sped upwards from their long clay tobacco
pipes !" Amidst the grave debates of the Committee many
quaint or ludicrous passages occurred. For example, when the
wooden trenchers were abolished, a venerable Friend, with much
emphasis, expressed a hope that they would be carefully
preserved, as he was assured that they would at no distant date
be again wanted for use ! " Ackworth School," says William
Howitt in his work, entitled," The Boy's Country Book,"* "differs
remarkably from all other public schools, in the complete isola-
tion of the children. They have ample and airy playgrounds,
but they are as perfectly separate from the world as if they
were not in it. ^ ^ It is impossible that evil communications
from without can corrupt their good manners; and within, they
are free from the distinctions of wealth and rank which torment
the world, and excite many keen heart-burnings in public
schools." At Ackworth School " not a sense of them exists.
The utmost equality, the most cordial harmony prevail. One
child is distinguished from another only by the difference of
person, talents, disposition, and proficiency in learning. Happy
estate ! admirable foundation for a noble and erect carriage ;
for establishing in the mind a habit of valuing men, not by
wealth and artificial rank, but by the everlasting distinctions
of virtue and talent."
CHURCH SCHOOLS.
These very commodious school-rooms were erected in 184G,
and conveyed to Trustees for the education of the children of
the poor. The estate was purchased for 200, and at the cost
of about 100 more, the buildings thereon were renovated and
converted into schools and class-rooms. Since then, however,
* Vide Chapter xvi., pp. 260-1.
152 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
they have been considerably enlarged and improved, in accord-
ance with the requirements of the Education Department.
The Trustees are the Rectors of Ackworth and Badsworth, and
the Vicar of Featherstone, for the time being; the sole
management of the school being reserved to the Rector of
Ackworth. It is a mixed school. The Title-Deed is in posses-
sion of the Rector of Ackworth for the time being.
MRS. HOWARD'S SCHOOL.
This School is situate at Low Ackworth, and consists of two
rooms, the one for girls, and the other for infants, and a
mistress's house, neatly built, bearing the following inscription:
" Rachael Howard bought this ground, and built thereon a
school-room and tenement for a mistress, 1833. She died in
the Lord, 24th Sept., 1837, aged 33. Rev. vii., 13, 1 7 ; xiv, 13."
The following extracts from the published correspondence of
the late Mrs. Howard, respecting the building of the school, arc
historically valuable. Writing to a friend on January 25th,
1833, she says, "The estimate for T. Rickman's plan for a
cottUge school-room, amounted to very nearly 500 ; much of
which, he assurred me, was bestowed in mere ornament and
finish. These two considerations have brought me to the
conclusion, to build a smaller and plainer school-room, and I
have given directions to the Wakefield builder accordingly ;
but he is not to have anything to do with the contract. I
expect the reduced plans and specifications home in a few days."
On the 8th of April following, she writes," This has been a
very busy day with me, and as I have now made all needful
arrangements with B., I transmit the particulars." [Here follow
the amounts of her several contracts with mason, slater, plasterer,
joiner, plumber, and painter ; the total being 362 6s. 3d.]
" When I tell thee that the rejected estimates taken together,
would have amounted to the sum of 456 10s. 6d., I think
thou wilt agree with me, that the difference is sufficient to repay
a o-ood deal of trouble." On the 5th December, she writes to
o
her sister-in-law R. R. H., saying, " What to call my school 1
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 153
really cannot tell. It is not, certainly, a Lancasterian or British
School ; for we exhibit, pictures, and teach natural history, and
a little geography and singing. Nor can it be called an Infants'
School ; for in the gallery a stranger might happen to see a top
row of girls almost as tall as women. Some of them are new
scholars, and contrast rather awkwardly in the classes with the
little ones who scarcely reach their shoulders. Poor things I
really feel an affection for them, they show so much zeal, coming
from West- Hard wick and Purston, in a little troop, for the sake
of the superior instruction they, or their parents expect at the
' new school.' About twenty scholars, out of the fifty who are
on the list, are from the adjacent villages. Ackworth does not
yet shew its sense of the advantage offered." Miss Sarah Grice
was the first mistress, and was succeeded, at her resignation,
by Miss Moore.* The School has recently been transferred to
a Church of England Board of Management and control, subject
to certain conditions, and is now under Government Inspection.
For particulars respecting the little Burial Ground adjoining
the School, see under date 1848.
THE WESLEYAN CHAPEL.
" The rise of Methodism in Ackworth is somewhat obscure.
Originally this village formed part of the Wakefield Circuit,
and became part of the Pontefract Circuit, when the division
took place in 1700. The first Chapel was built in 1701, and
opened by John Nelson ; it had at first a front gallery, which
was subsequently extended along the sides of the chapel, and
contained 00 sittings in the gallery, four pews in the body, and
about 100 free seats. In 1701, Mr. Robert Hanson, of Ackworth,
conveyed a plot of ground containing 433 square yards with
the Methodist Chapel thereon for the amount of 22, to the
following trustees : Messrs. William Nelstrop, and P. Thwaites,
* Miss Moore was succeeded by Miss Moseley, who resigned in 18(56. Miss
Moseley was succeeded by Miss Spink, who resigned in 1H69. Miss Spink was
succeeded by Miss Murray, of Archingoule, near Huntley, in Aberdeenshire, who
has held the position ever since. Miss Murray has invariably succeeded in
obtaining the excellent merit grant. J. L. S.
154 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
of Ackworth ; John Elwell. Joseph Holdsworth, and John
Newhouse, of Wakefield ; John Ranson, of Warm field ; Thomas
Bamford, of Cudworth ; William Nicholson, of Carleton ; and
William Scott, of Wakefield. In 1821 the chapel was re-con-
veyed to the following : Messrs. James Ranson, Thomas Legg,
Richard Smith, and Joseph Wilson, of Ackworth ; and Messrs.
Wm. Moxon, James Robinson, Joseph Watson, William Dawson,
and John Brice, of Pontefract. Over the door of the Chapel,
a stone, two feet by one and a half, was placed by Mrs. Nelstrop,
which bore the following words :
' Sinners obey the Gospel word,
Haste to the Supper of my Lord ;
Be wise to know your gracious day,
All things are ready, come away.'
1790.
Upon the building of the new chapel, this stone was placed in
the back wall of the vestry where it may still be seen. ^ %
The foundation stone of the present beautiful Chapel was laid
on Good Friday, April 2nd, 1858, by William Peel, Esq., of
Ackworth Park. There was a large company present on the
occasion. % % The Architect was Mr. Wilson, of Bath ; and
the builders were Messrs. Simpson and Wilson, of Ackworth.
The Chapel with the schools attached, cost about 1,500. Mr.
Peel headed the subscription list with 300, and presented the
Organ. ^ % The following inscription was placed in a bottle
under the stone : ' The foundation stone of this Wesleyan
Methodist Chapel was laid by W. Peel, Esq., of Ackworth Park,
on Good Friday, April 2nd, 1858.' " ^ The scroll also bore
the names of the President of the Wesleyan Conference (Rev.
F. A. West), the Secretary of the Conference (Dr. Hannah), four
ministers of the Pontefract Circuit, the Circuit Stewards, and
the Trustees of the Chapel. " The Chapel was opened in the
following year, when eminent ministers conducted the services."
Notices of these will be found under the head of " Annals."
The Chapel has been recently renovated at a cost of over a
hundred pounds.*
* Vide " Wesleyan Methodist Circuit llccord," August, 1882.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 155
THE PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHAPEL & SCHOOLS.
These buildings owe tbeir existence to the munificence of
Mr. Field, an American gentleman, who temporarily resided
here. The population of Ackworth had so rapidly increased
at the Moor-Top, that it was deemed absolutely necessary that a
place of worship, with schools attached, should be erected to
supply the spiritual needs of the people. It is well known that
an attempt to do this was first made by the Rector of Ackworth,
but the difficulties in the way of procuring a suitable site, etc.,
were found to be so great, that the attempt was temporarily
abandoned until a more convenient opportunity presented
itself. Mr. Fields then stepped in and enabled the Primitive
Methodists to erect the present commodious chapel and schools,
which have admirably served their purpose up to the present
time. The foundation stone was laid by Mr. William Fields,
son of the above, and the chapel was formally opened for
public worship on May 10th, 1863. The school was opened in
October, 1877, and in December, 1878, there were 62 infant
children on the books. The following extract is from the
examiner's Report on his visit to the School in June, 1878 :
" The School which has been very recently set on foot, already
gives excellent promise of future usefulness. The children are
taught in a kindly and sympathetic manner, which evidently
wins their confidence, and quiets their attention." Miss Fanny
Jones, of Ackworth, was the first mistress appointed by the
Trustees, and she held the position until her marriage in 1885.
The Government Grant earned by this school in 1878, was
18 8s. 8d.
Antiquities.
I. CASTLE SYKE.
The name " Castle Syke " certainly indicates the existence
of a Castle at Ackworth at some remote period, and the natural
["position and surroundings of Castle Syke Farm, would seem to
156 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
favour the supposition. The farm itself stands high, the ground
undulating towards the west, and culminating in what has
evidently been a dyke or moat of considerable dimensions.
This dyke is now a lane, and might probably be worth
excavating. The name and moat however, are all that remain
of byegone times. The Castle would most likely be the residence
of the first Saxon lords of Ack worth, as indicated by the Saxon
word Syke or fountain ; and it is not at all improbable that the
building was levelled to the ground when William, the Norman
Conqueror, laid waste these parts of Yorkshire.
II. LADY-WELL.
This very ancient well is one of the several public wells,
which has in recent years somehow become enclosed. From
what it derived its name is not known, but from the fact of its
being the oldest, it is not unlikely that it was originally set
apart by some religious service, and dedicated to "Our Lady"
for the use of the inhabitants of the village. In pre-reforma-
tion times this custom was common, some wells having
O
miraculous powers ascribed to their waters by the superstitious,
like the well of St. Keyne, and in modern times, the " Holy
Wells " in Ireland ; but nothing of the sort attaches to the
well of " Our Lady " at Ackworth. As the population increased
it was found necessary to sink other wells. One in the centre
of the village, near the " Brown Cow Inn," was constructed in
1791, but the approach to it was so dangerous, that, after a
child had been drowned in it, it was altered into a pump.
There is an old well at Brackenhill.
III. THE VILLAGE ELM.
Of the great tree on the village green we have no certain
particulars. We may. however, easily draw for ourselves the
picture of its being planted and nurtured from generation to
generation, until it became the pride, not only of Ackworth,
but of the surrounding neighbourhood 1 But the ravages of
time, fire, wind, tempest, and barbarous usage, have ruthlessly
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 157
deprived the old trunk of many of its largest branches, and
now it stands in mournful majesty like a dethroned monarch
weeping over the past. It is described by Thompson* as a
" grand old giant elm, with its iron-bound cavernous trunk, its
great naked arms telling of generations of seasons and storms,
yet interspersed witli luxuriant foliage, testifying to the yet
unquenchable vigour of its constitution." Mrs. Harriet Beecher
Stosve's word picture of an aged elm is so tine, that its insertion
here will be at once appropriate, and descriptive of the elm at
Ackwortli. It is " a great rugged elm, with all its lacings and
archings of boughs and twigs, which has stood cold and frozen
against the metallic blue of winter sky, forgetful of leaves, and
patient in its bareness, calmly content in its naked strength,
and crystalline definiteness of outline. But in April, there is
a rising and stirring within the grand old monster. a
whispering of knotted buds, a mounting of sap, coursing ethere-
ally from bough to bough with a warm and gentle life ; and
though the old elm knows it not, a new creation is at hand."-f-
It is said that, within the recollection of some still living, a pair
of venerable owls took up their abode in one of the great
hollow fissures of the tree, but their appearance was greeted
with so many superstitious head -shakings, that they were soon
dislodged from their retreat by the pungent fumes of burning
cotton and cayenne pepper, a proceeding, however, which might
have proved disastrous to the tree itself. The elm has
frequently been struck by lightning, as its many zinc patches
testify. There it has stood and still stands like a mighty
sentinel drawing down, as it were, by its faithful stability, the
indignation of the elements upon its devoted head. Under its
branches many a village may-queen has been enthroned : many
an open-mouthed rustic beguiled by the village politician ;
village tittle-tattle retailed ; village synods, for the discussion
of great national events, convened and held ; and village scenes
of all shades and descriptions, both sombre and gay, enacted;
* Vide " History of Ackworth School."
t Vide " Literature of all Countries," Vol. xvii., p. 53.
158 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
in short, if the venerable old monarch could only have been
endowed with the faculty of speech for a single day, what an
incalculable service it might have rendered to the compiler of
the " Parochial History of Ackworth ! "
IY.THE TILLAGE CROSS.
Tradition says that this cross was erected to commemorate
a plague which carried off great numbers of the inhabitants.*
The date of this sickness has not been preserved, but that it
occurred before the Reformation is certain from the cause of it,
which has also been handed down by the same channel.
Previous to the Reformation, there was in the Chapel of St.
Mary, in the Church of Ackworth, a Chantry, of our Lady,
founded by Isabel de Castleford. There is no reason to suppose
that this Chantry was supplied from the Priory of Nostel, as
some have thought, but we may naturally conclude that the
existence of the Chantry would cause frequent communication
between the two places ; nor is it unlikely that some of the
Brethren of Nostel might occasionally minister at Ackworth,
during the absence of the Chantry Priest. Assuming this to
have been so, the tradition as to the origin of the plague in
question is much strengthened. It is said that a Monk of
Nostel, who, probably from the cause just suggested, Avas held
in affectionate remembrance by the people of Ackworth, dying
abroad, his body was brought back to be interred at Nostel.
As it passed through Ackworth, the people wished the proces-
sion to halt, and the corpse to be uncovered. This being done,
the infectious complaint which was the cause of death, a kind
of putrid fever, was communicated to the bystanders. The
Cross is said to have been erected on the exact spot where the
body rested, to commemorate at once that event, and also the
dire consequences which were permitted by God to flow from
it. The date of its mutilation, the removal of the Cross, and
the substitution of a ball, (the emblem of the world,) is
generally ascribed to the time of the Great Rebellion.
* Thompson says " three or four hundred."
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 159
V. THE GROTTO.
This is a modern name given to a small ruin at the north
east corner of the Rectory garden. In 1852, the outer walls
only were standing, but soon afterwards, it was roofed and made
water-tight with some of the refuse material left from the
Church restoration. What it has been, it is difficult to say, as
there is no record of its history. Some say it is a pre-Reform-
ation Oratory ; and others, the Sanctum of the Chantry Priest.
wf /
Of its antiquity there can be no doubt, lor the three old yew
trees which surround the ruin, are at least three centuries old.
The adjacent pond also confirms this theory. It is not a
modern pond, as its enormous lilies testify. The piece of land
upon which the ruin stands is triangular in shape, and belongs,
in reality, to no one in particular. All that is known about it
is that, previous to 1777, it was part and parcel of the Ackworth
Park Estate, and was bought by the then Rector (Dr. Timothy
Lee), and (according to the terms of his will,) presented by him
to the " Rector of Ackworth for the time being and his
successors for ever." Dr. Lee's will is dated March 30, 1777,
and the terms of the bequest run as follows : " I give and
devise unto Anthony Surtees, of Ackworth, Esq., and his heirs
all that small parcel of land as it is now fenced off from the
hempyards in Ackworth aforesaid wherein the Grotto stands
not now belonging to the Rectory, but I request that the said
Anthony Surtees and his heirs [will for ever hereafter permit
the Rector of Ackworth for the time being to enjoy and occupy
the said parcel of ground without paying anything for the
same. And I also request that the said Anthony Surtees or
his heirs will do any lawful act for conveying and assigning
the same parcel of ground to my successors the Rectors of
Ackworth for ever."
YL THE OLD HALL.
At the west end of the parish, " looking across the valley of
the infant Went," stands an interesting old building called the
" Old Hall." Tradition says it was one of the places of conceal-
160 ACK WORTH, YORKS.,
ment selected by John William Xevison, the great robber and
highwayman of Yorkshire, better known in history as the
confederate of the celebrated "Dick Turpin." The story runs
thus : Towards the close of the year 1683, a gang of masked
ruffians commenced a series of depredations in the neighbour-
hood of Ack worth and Pontefract, and for some time remained
unmolested and unrecognized. Suspicion, however, fell upon
Nevison, a native of Pontefract, who, it was known, had " taken
to the road " as a profession, and who, it was supposed, was
leader of the band. About Christmastide in the year 1684,
their nocturnal visits became so frequent and daring, that the
district was alarmed, and a number of parish constables,
watchmen, and beadles were induced to pursue, and if possible,
capture the robbers. For a long time the miscreants eluded
their pursuers, Nevison actually hiding himself in a small
compartment over the front door of Ackworth Hall in Purston
Lane, access into which he gained by a secret trap door, and
there he remained undiscovered, whilst the officers who had
seen him enter the house, were busily engaged in searching
everv corner of the building. The trap door and compartment
Avhich is now known as " Nevison's room," are still shewn to
the visitor. In the following year Nevison gave his persecutors
a chance, and a hot pursuit resulted in his capture by Captain
Hardcastle,* in a public house called the " Magpie," at Sandal,
and one of the then three Inns known as " Magna Sandal
Three Houses," between Pontefract and Ferrybridge. A steep
declivity near Sandal is pointed out and known as " Nevison's
leap." He was subsequently tried, and executed on the Tyburn
gallows, outside Micklegate Bar, at York, May 4th, 1685.
Nevison was born at Pontefract in 1639, and educated there.-f-
"Dick Turpin's " ride from London to York in 16 hours, is
ascribed by Lord Maculay to Nevison.J "The Old Hall has"
* In reality, a valiant tailor who went by the sobriquet of " Captain Hardcastle."
f Vide Johnson's "Life of Nevison."
J Mr. Harrison Ainsworth's graphic description of Turpin's ride is therefore
fabulous.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 161
says Thompson, the historian of Ackworth School, " long been
haunted, but I have not been able to trace the existence of
this superstition in the village; probably the extensive improve-
ments which have recently been made in and around the
building, have banished, for a time, all ghostly spectres, both
from the scene, and memory of the villagers." In 1879, " this
once handsome Tudor dwelling, with its lines of mullioned
windows, and its elegant gables, some of the latter toppling to
their fall, its roof in holes, and its accessory buildings a heap
of ruins, had just reached that hoary quality and suggestive
wieniness, which would have rejoiced the author of the ' Castle
of Otranto.' In its old crumbling walls, the white and the
brown owl reared their broods, and furnished appropriate music
in the gloaming."* But thanks to the care of Lord St. Oswald,
this monument of antiquity has been substantially and
judiciously restored, and is now in a condition to weather the
storms of at least another century.
'< VIII. THE PLAGUE STONE.
Thompson, in his " History of Ackworth School," makes
this interesting relic contemporary with the Tillage Cross, but
it is more probable that it dates from a second and more recent
epidemic of the Plague which occurred in 1645. He is correct,
however, in saying that it was " for many months the only point
of contact between the people of Ackworth and the outer
world;" and that upon it "the Ackworth purchaser dropped
his money into a vessel of water,*f-for which, a few hours after,
he found his return in merchandise." A careful observer will
still perceive a trough -like construction upon the inside of the
stone. It is most desirable that the stone, or what little remains
of it, should be removed to a place of security ere it entirely
disappears, lor it is certainly worthy of preservation as a relic
of antiquity.
* Vide " History of Ackworth School," p. 304.
t A very wise precaution under the circumstances.
162 ACKWORTH, YOKES.,
OLD CHALYBEATE BATH.
The site of this old bath is still pointed out at A ck worth
Moor-Top, about a quarter of a mile north of Ackvvorth School,
the pupils of which, before the new swimming baths were
constructed, made a practice of bathing at six o'clock in the
morning, and often when the ground was covered with hoar
frost ! The water of this bath was a strong Chalybeate, and
excessively cold. In 1861, the old bath-house was changed
into a dwelling. An engraving of the bath, as it then appeared,
is given in Thompson's "History of Ackworth School," published
in 1879. )
OBELISKS.
There are two fine obelisks in the village, both of them
large, but comparatively modern. To a stranger, they possess
a commemorative or memorial appearance, but in reality, they
were erected by the Lords of the Manor, as combination guide
and distance stones. 1. At the junction of- the Ackworth and
Pontefract roads. Erected in 1827. Hexagonal shaft, triangu-
lar cap, surmounted by a globe. Height about ten feet. From
this point, East Hard wick is distant 2| miles, Darrington 3,
Pontefract 2, York 27, Sheffield 13, and Barnsley 10. 2.
Opposite the Friend's School. Erected in 1805. Its height
and description are the same as the foregoing, which was
evidently copied from this one. Pontefract is distant from it
3 miles, Hemsworth 3, Snaith 15, Wentbridge 3, and Uoncaster
13. A lamp surmounts the globe
Scarcely any parish in England is endowed with so many
Charities as Ackworth, indeed it is pauperised by them. The
original deeds are quoted where available.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 163
WORMALL'S CHARITY.
By Deed, dated 18th May, 1660. This Indenture, made the
18th May, in the year of our Lord 1660, between William
Child, of Button, in the Parish of Campsall, and County of
York, yeoman, and Dorothy his wife, on the one part, and
Thomas Hewitt, of Ackworth, in the county aforesaid, yeoman,
on the other part, witnesseth that the said William Child, and
Dorothy, his wife, for divers good causes and considerations
them thereunto moving, and more especially for and in consider-
ation of the sum of sixty pounds of good and lawful money of
England, to them or the one of them in hand paid by the said
Thomas Hewitt, at and before the sealing and delivery thereof,
the receipt whereof they, the said William Child and Dorothy,
his wife, do hereby acknowledge and confess themselves there-
with fully content, satisfied, and paid, and thereof and of every
part and parcel thereof do clearly acquit, exonerate, and
discharge the said Thomas Hewitt, his heirs, executors, admin-
istrators, and assigns, and every of them, for ever by these
presents, have given, granted, bargained, aliend, sold, enfeoffed,
and confirmed, and by these presents do from them, their heirs
and assigns, fully, clearly, and absolutely give, grant, bargain,
alien, enfeoffe, and confirm unto the said Thomas Hewitt his
heirs and assigns for ever, all those three acres of arable land
(by estimation, be the same more or less) lying and being in a
certain field called Berriall Field, in twelve selions (? sections),
commonly called Cock Platte, between a Baulk on the east and
the Fur shot adjoining to Berrial Balke west, abbutting on the
Hobheadland, north, and two acres of arable land (by estimation
more or less) lying and being in a certain field called Middle-
field, near the High Ashes, the one of them whereof lyeth
between lands of William Lambe, gentleman, north, and Phillip
Austwick, south. And also, one other half acre of arable land
(by estimation more or less) lying and being in the said
Middlefield, on a Fur Shot called Long Longlands between the
164 ACKWOKTH, YOEKS.,
lands of Thomas Huntington, north, and Matthew Lambe,
south, with all ways, easements, profits, commons, commodities,
advantages, and appurtenances, whatsoever, to the same belong-
ing, or in anywise appertaining. All which said lands are lying
and being within the precinct, liberties, and territories of
Ackworth aforesaid, in the said County of York, and are now
in the tenure and occupation of the said William Child, his
assignee, or assignees, to have and to hold the said live acres
and a half of arable land and all other the before granted
premises with all and of them, by these presents, that he the
said Thomas Hewitt, his heirs, and assigns, and every of them,
shall and may by force and virtue of these presents, from time
to time, and at all times hereafter for ever, lawfully, peaceably,
and quietly, have, hold, use, and occupy, possess, and enjoy the
said five acres and a half of arable land and all and singular
the before granted premises, with their and every of their rights,
members, and appurtenances, and have, receive, and take, the
rents, issues and profits thereof to his and their own proper use
and behoof for ever, without any lawful let, suit, trouble, denial,
interruption, molestation, or disturbance of them, the said
William Child and Dorothy, his wife, their heirs, or assigns, or
any of them, or of Nathaniel Baine, his executors, administrators,
or assigns, or any of them, or of any other person or persons
whatsoever, lawfully claiming the same by, from, or under them,
or any of them. And that free and clear, and freely and clearly
acquitted, exonerated, and discharged, or otherwise from time
to time and at all times hereafter well and sufficiently saved
and kept harmless and indemnified by the said William Child
and Dorothy, his wife, their heirs, executors, administrators,
or some of them ; of and from all and all manner of former and
other bargains, sales, gifts, grants, leases, mortgages, jointures,
dowers, titles of dower, statutes, merchant, and of the staple
recognizances, extents, judgments, executions, uses, entails,
rents, arrearages of rents, forfeitures, fines, issues, and arnercia-
ments, and of and from all and singular other titles, troubles,
charges, and incumbrances whatsoever, had, made, committed,
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 165
suffered, omitted, or done by the said William Child and Dorothy,
his wife, or either of them, their heirs, or assigns, or Georgre
O ' O
Child, father of the said William Child, his heirs, or assigns, or
the said Nathaniel Baine, his executors, administrators, or
assigns, or by any other person or persons whatsoever lawfully
claiming the same from or under them, or by from or under
their or any of their means, acts, title, consent, interest, privity,
or procurement (the said yearly rent of two shillings and nine-
pence and one rent charge of twenty-eight shillings of lawful
money of England due and payable to John Wormall, his heirs
and assigns and the Minister and Churchwardens of the
Parish of Ackivorth aforesaid for the use of the said parish
only excepted and foreprized.
And further, the said William Child and Dorothy, his wife,
do, for themselves, their heirs, executors, and administrators,
and every of them, covenant, promise, and grant to and with the
said Thomas Hewitt, his heirs and assigns, and to and with all
and every of them singular their and every of their appurte-
nances, and every part and parcel thereof, unto the said Thomas
Hewitt, his heirs and assignees for ever. To be holden of our
Sovereign Lord the King, his heirs and successors, in fee favour
as of His Highness Manor of Enfield, in the County of
Middlesex, in fee and common socage and not in capite nor by
knight service, yielding and paying yearly to the hands of the
receiver or receivers of the Fee Farm Rent thereof for the time
being, the yearly rent of two shillings and ninepence of lawful
money of England, at such days and times as the same is
appointed and accustomedly paid. And the said William Child
and Dorothy Child, his wife, for themselves, their heirs, executors,
and administrators, and every of them, do covenant, promise,
and grant to and with the said Thomas Hewitt, his heirs and
assigns, and to and with all and every by these presents, that
they, the said William Child and Dorothy, his wife, their heirs,
and assigns, and all and every other person or persons, and
their heirs, lawfully having or claiming, or rightfully pretending
166 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
to have or claim any estate, right, title, interest, or demand, in
to or out of the said premises or any part or parcel of them,
shall and will, from time to time, and at all times hereafter
upon the reasonable request and at the costs and charges in the
law of the said Thomas Hewitt his heirs or assigns make, do,
perform, acknowledge, levy, execute and suffer or cause to be
made, done, performed, acknowledged, levied, executed, and
suffered all and every such further lawful and reasonable act,
thing and things devise or devises in the law assurance and
conveyances whatsover for the further, better, and more peaceful
and perfect assuring and conveying of all and singular the
before hereby granted premises, with their and every of their
rights, members, appurtenances, unto the said Thomas Hewitt,
his heirs, and assigns, for ever. Be it by fine or fines, feoftinent
or feoffments, deed or deeds, enrolled or not enrolled, the
enrolment of these presents, recovery or recoveries, with the
single or double voucher or vouchers, release or confirmation,
or by all and every or any the ways and means aforesaid, or by
any other ways or lawful means whatsoever as by the said
Thomas Hewitt, his heirs, or assigns, or his or their Counsel,
learned in the laws of this nation, shall be reasonably devised,
advised, or required, so as the said William Child, and Dorothy,
his wife, their heirs, and assigns, or such other person or persons
who shall be required to make such further assurance be not
compelled to travaile forth of the County of York, nor farther
than the City of York, for the doing and executing thereof.
And further it is covenanted, concluded, condescended unto
and fully agreed upon by and between the said parties to these
presents, that all fines, feoffments, recoveries, and assurances
in the law whatsoever so had made, acknowledged, levied,
suffered, or done by or between the said parties or any of them
after touching or concerning the said land, and all and singular
the before hereby granted premises, with their and every of
their rights, members and appurtenances, and every and any
part thereof shall be and inure, and shall be construed, esteemed,
adjudged, and taken to be and inure to the only purpose and
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 167
behoof of the said Thomas Hewitt, his heirs, and assigns, for
ever, and to no other use and purpose whatsoever. In witness
whereof the parties above named to these present indentures
interchangably have set their hands and seals the day and year
above written (16GO).
WILLIAM CHILD (Seal.)
DOROTHY CHILD (Seal)
Sealed and delivered and also full and peaceable possession.
Liverie and seizin was given and delivered the day and year
within written by the within named William Child, and Dorothy,
his wife, to the within named Thomas Hewitt, in their proper
persons, of, in, and upon the half acre of land within mentioned
lying on Long Longland, in the name of all the lands and
premises within granted, with the appurtenances to the use
within specified according to the tenor, effect, and true meaning
of these presents, in the presence of us, Robert Hewitt, Thomas
Thwaites, Philip Austwicke, Matthew Lambe, Richard
Pickeringe.
Dr. Lee says that the original Deed was in possession of
Mr. Vaux, but where it is now, no one knows.
Upon the list of Charities painted up in the Parish Church,
this charity is described as folloAvs :
s. d.
John Wormald to the Poor 8
And for putting out poor children 100
but there is no evidence remaining to show how this sum ot
1 8s. comes to be thus apportioned. Reference is made to it
in the above quoted deed of May, 1660, wherein certain lands
in Ackworth are conveyed by WiUiam Child and his wife
to Thomas Hewitt; this sum of 1 8s. being reserved as
payable to the Minister and Churchwardens of Ackworth,
for the use of the poor.
168 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
THE POOR'S ESTATE, ACKWORTH.
This estate, originally called the Paddock, and containing
five acres and sixteen perches, was purchased in 1703, for the
poor of Ackworth. It \vas the property of Mr. Barvvell,
Gentleman, and was conveyed, in trust for the benefit of the
poor of Ackworth, to Sir Rowland Whin, of Nostel, Bart, the
Rev. Timothy Lee, Rector of Ackworth, and Doctor in Divinity,
and Francis Sykes, of Ackworth Park, Esq., in whose represen-
tatives the legal estate is, of course, still vested. The title deeds
of the estate are in the parish chest, in the custody of the
Rector. The price was 400. Of this sum 300 was derived
from the following benefactions :
s. d.
1692 Elizabeth, Relict of Sir John Lowther,
Baronet 20
1703. Robert Mason, Gentleman 10
Ann, Relict of the Rev. J. Bolton 10
Cash from a Stock of Cows 20
1717. Robert Lowther, of Ackworth, Esq.... 50
1718. Margaret, wife of William Norton, of
Sawley, Esq 20
1722. Ralph Lowther, of Ackworth Park,Esq. 20
1724. Ann, daughter of Ralph Lowther, Esq. 50
1724. Elizabeth, daughter of Lawson Trotter,
of Skelton Castle, Esq 10
1729. John Lowther, of Ackworth Park, Esq. 50
1739. Thomas Bright, of Bads worth, Esq.... 20
1764. The Rev. Win. Key 20
300
To this sum of 300, 40 was added, either by accumulation
of interest, or from some donations, the particulars of which
are not now known. The amount, therefore, available for the
purchase was 340. The remaining 60 had to be borrowed.
Some difficulty occurring as to the security of this latter sum,
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 169
Dr. Lee got over it by advancing to the parish the amount
required, in consideration of a lease of the estate being granted
to him for 99 years, at a reserved annual rent of 12. To the
original quantity of land, viz., 5a. 16p., the Enclosure Commis-
sioners, in 1774, allotted 2a. 2r. 28p., making the whole estate
7a. 3r. 4p. Dr. Lee's lease expired in February, 1863. The
rent of 12 per annum, is regularly paid to the Rector,
Churchwardens, and Overseers of the Poor, and is distributed
by them on St. Thomas's Day.
The following is a copy of the conveyance from Sir John
Ramsden, Bart., and his Lady, to Sir Rowland Winn, Bart.:
THIS INDENTURE, made the 20th day of October, in the
year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and sixty-three,
between Sir John Ramsden, of Byram, in the County of York,
Baronet, and Darne Margaret his wife, one of the nieces of
Mary Lowther, late of Ackworth Park, in the said county,
Spinster, deceased, the devisee of all her real estate not
specifically devised by her last Will and Testament, on the one
part, and Sir Rowland Winn, of Xostell, in the said county,
Baronet, the Reverend Timothy Lee, Rector of Ackworth, in
the said county, and Doctor in Divinity, and Francis Sykes, of
Ackworth Park aforesaid, Esquire, on the other part.
Whereas, Robert Lowther, late of Pontefract, in the said
county, deceased, by his last Will and Testament in writing,
bearing date on or about the 10th day of August, which was
in the year of our Lord 1717, did, amongst other things therein
contained, give to the Poor of Ackworth Fifty Pounds, to be
laid out in the purchase of land, and the rents thereof to be
distributed yearly by the Minister and Overseers of the Poor
of Ackworth for the time being.
And whereas, Ralph Lowther, late of Ackworth Park, afore-
said, Esquire, by his last Will in writing, bearing date on or
about the llth day of June, in the year of our Lord 1722, did,
amongst many other things therein contained, give to the Poor
170 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
of the Parish of Ackworth Twenty Pounds, to be laid out in
lands, and the produce thereof to be distributed yearly by the
Ministers and Churchwardens of the said Parish.
And whereas, John Lowther, late of Ackworth Park afore-
said, Esquire, did, by his last Will and Testament, bearing date
on or about the 3rd day of February, in the year of our Lord
1728, amongst other things therein specified, give to the Poor
of the said Parish of Ackworth, the sum of Fifty Pounds, and
did direct that the same should be laid out in the purchase of
lands, and that the rents thereof should be annually distributed
by the Minister and Churchwardens of the said Parish to such
Poor within their said Parish as they, in their discretion, should
think proper objects of the said charity, as in and by the said
recited Wills, reference being thereto had, may more fully
appear. And whereas, the said Sir John Ramsden and Dame
Margaret his wife, as the legal representatives of the said Robert
Lowther, and John Lowther, have in their hands the said two
several legacies of Fifty Pounds each and Twenty Pounds,
making together the said sum of One Hundred and Twenty
Pounds, and have duly paid the interest thereof to the Minister
and Churchwardens of the said Parish for the time being, at
Christmas yearly. And whereas, divers other persons [see
Parochial Magazine, March, 1859,] have at many different
times left divers legacies and sums of money to the Poor of
the said Parish, the whole of which amounts to Two Hundred
and Twenty Pounds, and which said Two Hundred and Twenty
Pounds is now in the hands of the said Timothy Lee, as Rector
of the said Parish, and for which he hath duly paid the interest,
and the same has been distributed yearly, at Christmas, amongst
the Poor of the said Parish, by the Minister and Churchwardens
there.
And whereas, the said Sir John Ramsden, and Dame
Margaret, his wife, are now seized in fee simple of the Messuage,
Closes, and Hereditaments hereinafter mentioned to be hereby
granted, which are of the full value of Four Hundred Pounds,
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 171
and they are desirous that the said One Hundred and Twenty
Pounds should be laid out in the purchase of lands for the
benefit of the said Poor, according to the intention of the said
several Testators, and the said Timothy Lee is also desirous
that the said Two Hundred and Twenty Pounds in his hands
should be laid out in the purchase of lands for the benefit of
the said Poor. And therefore, at a Public Vestry Meeting of
the inhabitants of the said Parish lately had, after due notice
was given for that purpose, it was unanimously agreed that
application should be made to the said John Ramsden to
purchase of him the said Messuage and Premises for the sum
of Four Hundred Pounds, out of which the said sum of One
Hundred .and Twenty Pounds so given by the said Robert
Lowther, Ralph Lowther, and John Lowther, as aforesaid, should
be deemed as part of the said purchase-money. And the said
Sir John Ramsden upon such application hath agreed to sell
the said Messuage and Premises for the said sum of Four
Hundred Pounds, for the benefit of the said Poor, and that the
said sum of One Hundred and Twenty Pounds so given as
aforesaid, shall be in part thereof, in order to satisfy and
discharge the said three several Legacies, so that he will have
to receive only the sum of Two Hundred and Eighty Pounds,
the residue of the said purchase-money, and towards payment
thereof the said Two Hundred and Twenty Pounds now in the
hands of the said Timothy Lee, is to be paid and applied. And
in regard there will be a deficiency of Sixty Pounds towards
completing the said purchase, the said Sir Rowland Winn,
Timothy Lee, and Francis Sykes, having agreed to advance and
lend the same for the benefit of the said Poor, until they can
be repaid the same out of the said Hereditaments and Premises,
in such manner as is hereinafter specified.
Now, therefore, this Indenture witnesseth, that in pursuance
of the said recited agreements, and in consideration of the
said One Hundred and Twenty Pounds so given by the said
Robert Lowther, Ralph Lowther, and John Lowther, as aforesaid,
172 ACK WORTH, YORKS.,
and in satisfaction and discharge of the same, and to the intent
that the said One Hundred and Twenty Pounds may be vested
in land for the use of the said Poor of Ackworth for ever,
according to the intentions of the said three several Donors,
and that the rents and profits of the said lands may be distri-
buted, yearly, for ever, by the Minister, Churchwardens, and
Overseers of the Poor of the said parish, to and amongst such
of the said Poor, and in such manner as they, in their discretion,
shall think fit and proper. Also, in consideration of the said
sum of Two Hundred and Twenty Pounds in the hands of the
said Timothy Lee, belonging to the Poor of the said Parish,
and by him paid to the said Sir John Ramsden, at or before
the executing hereof. And also in consideration of the said
sum of Sixty Pounds by the said Sir Rowland Winn, Timothy
Lee, and Francis Sykes, now advanced and lent, and by them
paid to the said Sir John Ramsden, at or before the executing
hereof, the receipt of which said several sums of Two Hundred
and Twenty Pounds and Sixty Pounds, making together the
said Two Hundred and Eighty Pounds, the said Sir John
Ramsden doth hereby acknowledge, and thereof, and of every
part thereof, doth hereby acquit and discharge the said Sir
Rowland Winn, Timothy Lee, and Francis Sykes, severally and
respectively, their several Heirs, Executors, and Administrators ;
and which said sums of One Hundred and Twenty Pounds,
Two Hundred and Twenty Pounds, and Sixty Pounds, make
together the said sum of Four Hundred Pounds, the purchase-
money agreed to be paid and allowed for the said Hereditaments
and Premises.
They, the said Sir John Ramsden and Dame Margaret his
wife, have bargained, sold, released, and confirmed, and by these
presents do grant, bargain, release, and confirm, unto the said
Sir Rowland Winn and Francis Sykes (in their actual possession
now being by virtue of a bargain and sale to them thereof made
by the said Sir John Ramsden and Dame Margaret, his wife,
for one whole year by Indenture, bearing date the day next
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 173
before the day of the date hereof, and by force of the Statute
made for transferring of uses into possession) and to the Heirs
and Assigns of the said Sir Rowland Winn and Francis Sykes
for ever, all that Messuage or Tenement, situate and being in
Ackworth aforesaid, wherein Nathaniel Barwell, Gentleman,
now deceased, formerly dwelt, and all the Barns, Stables, and
other Outbuildings, Court yards, Foldsteads, Gardens, Orchards,
Hereditaments, and Appurtenances thereto belonging. And
also all those three Closes of Meadow and Pasture Ground
thereto adjoining and belonging, commonly called or known by
the names of the Lower Croft, the Upper Croft, and Barn Croft,
or by what other name or names soever the same are now
called or known ; and also two Cow Gates, or Pasture for two
Beasts in Ackworth Common Pasture, and which said Messuage,
Closes, and Premises were late the Estate of the said Mary
Lowther, and are now in the tenures or occupations of John
Aneley and Jonathan Thompson, and are all situate and being
in Ackworth aforesaid, together with all Ways, Waters, Water-
courses, Privileges, Advantages, Commons, Common of Pasture,
Hereditaments, and Appurtenances, whatsoever to the said
Messuage, Closes, and Premises belonging, or in any wise
appertaining, except the Pew in Ackworth Church, lately enjoyed
by Mrs. Barwell deceased, and the reversion and reversions,
remainder and remainders, rents, issues, and profits of the said
Messuage, Hereditaments, and Premises, and every of them.
And also all the Estate, right, title, and interest of them the
said Sir John Ramsden and Dame Margaret, his wife, and of
either of them, into and out of the said Messuage, Hereditaments,
and Premises, and every part thereof, together with all deeds,
writings, and evidences whatsoever, touching or concerning the
said hereditaments and premises, or any of them, and now in
the custody or power of the said Sir John Rarnsden, and which
he can come at without suit at law or in equity.
To have and to hold the said Messuage, Closes, Heredita-
ments, and Premises above mentioned, to be hereby granted
174 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
and released, with their Appurtenances, unto the said Sir
Rowland Winn and Francis Sykes, and their Heirs, to the only
use and behoof of them and their Heirs for ever. In Trust,
nevertheless, for the Poor of the Parish of Ackworth aforesaid,
for the time being for ever, and to the intent that the rents,
issues, and profits of the said Messuage, Closes, and Premises
may at all times hereafter be had, received, and taken by the
Minister, Churchwardens, and Overseers of the Poor of the said
Parish of Ackworth, for the time being, or may be paid over
into their hands or distributed by them at Christmas and
Whitsuntide yearly for ever, to and amongst the said Poor, in
such manner as the said Minister, Churchwardens, and Overseers
of the Poor for the time being shall, in their discretion, think
fit and proper, and to no other use, and upon no other Trust
whatsoever, but subject, nevertheless, to the proviso hereinafter
mentioned.
And the said Sir John Ramsden hereby for himself, his
Heirs, Executors, and Aministrators covenant and agree with
the said Sir Rowland Winn and Francis Sykes, their Heirs and
Assigns, that he, the said Sir John Ramsden, and the said Dame
Margaret his wife, and their respective Heirs, shall, and will at,
any time hereafter, upon the request and at the cost and charge
of the said Sir Rowland Winn and Francis Sykes, their Heirs
or Assigns, acknowledge and levy in his Majesty's Court of
Common Pleas, at Westminster, in due form of law, unto the
said Sir Rowland Winn and Francis Sykes, and to the Heirs of
one of them, one fine sur conuzance de droit come coe, &c.,
with proclamations to be thereupon had, according to the form
of the Statute in that case made and provided, of the said
Messuage, Closes, and Premises above-mentioned, to be hereby
granted and released, with their appurtenances, by such names
and descriptions as shall be thought requisite to describe and
ascertain the same, which said fine so or in any other manner
to be levied ; and all and every other fine and fines heretofore
or hereafter to be levied, of the said Hereditaments and Premises
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 17-5
above-mentioned or any of them, by or between the said parties
hereto or any of them, or whereunto they or any of them are,
is, or shall or may be a party or parties, shall be and enune,
and is and are hereby agreed and declared to be and enune to
the said only use and behoof of the said Sir Rowland Winn
and Francis Sykes, their Heirs and Assigns for ever, and to no
other use whatsoever. And the said Sir John Ramsden doth
hereby also for himself, his Heirs, Executors, Administrators,
and Assigns, further covenant and agree with the said Sir
Rowland Winn and Francis Sykes, and their Heirs in manner
following, that is to say, that for and notwithstanding any act,
matter, or thing whatsoever by them, the said Sir John Ramsden
and Dame Margaret his wife, or either of them, or by the said
Mary Lowther, made, done, committed, or suffered to the con-
trary, they, the said Sir John Ramsden and Dame Margaret,
his wife, now at the executing of these presents are and stand
or one of them is and standeth, lawfully and absolutely seized
of the said Messuage, Closes, and Premises above-mentioned,
of a good, sure, absolute, and indefeasible Estate of Inheritance
in fee simple, without any manner of trust, condition, power of
revocation, or any other restraint, matter or thing to alter,
change, charge, incumber, or make void the same Estate. And
also, that for and notwithstanding any such act, matter, or thing
as aforesaid, they, the said Sir John Ramsden and Dame
Margaret his wife now have in themselves good rightful power
and absolute authority to grant, release, and convey the said
Messuage, Closes, and Premises, and every of them to the said
Sir Rowland Winn and Francis Sykes, their Heirs and Assigns,
in manner aforesaid.
And further, that the said Messuage, Closes, and Premises
are, and every of them are, clear and free, and for ever here-
after shall be clearly and freely acquitted and discharged of
and from all incumbrances whatsoever, in title, charge, estate,
or otherwise, howsoever committed, done, or suffered by them,
the said Sir John Ramsden and Margaret his wife, and Mary
Lowther, or any of them. And moreover, that they the said
176 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
Sir John Ramsden and Dame Margaret his wife and th ir
respective Heirs, and all persons whatsoever, having, or lawfully
claiming any Estate, right, title, or interest into or out of the
said Messuage, Hereditaments, and Premises above-mentioned,
or any of them, by, from, or under the said Sir John Ramsden
and Dame Margaret his wife, or either of them ; or by, from, or
under the said Mary Lowther, shall, and will from time to time,
and at all times hereafter, within the space of ten years no\v
next ensuing, upon the request and at the cost and charge of
the said Sir Rowland Wirin and Francis Sykes, their Heirs or
Assigns well and truly make, do, and execute any further or
other lawful and reasonable act, deed,conveyance, and assurance
in the law whatsoever, for the better and more perfect convey-
ing and assuring of the said Messuage, Closes, and Premises, or
any of them, unto the said Sir Rowland Winn and Francis
Sykes, their Heirs and Assigns for ever. So as such further or
other assurance contain or imply no further or other warranty
or covenants than against the respective acts of the party or
parties who shall make the same ; and so as such party or
parties be not compellable to go from his, her, or their respec-
tive abode for or about the doing and executing the same.
Provided always, nevertheless, and it is hereby agreed and de-
clared that it shall and may be lawful for the said Sir Rowland
Winn and Francis Sykes, their Heirs and Assigns, at any time
hereafter to levy or raise by mortgage of a competent part of
the said Premises the said sum of Sixty Pounds so advanced
and lent by them, the said Sir Rowland Winn, Timothy Lee,
and Francis Sykes, as aforesaid, and in the meantime to deduct
and retain out of the rents or profits of the said Hereditaments
and Premises interest for the said Sixty Pounds at the rate of
Four Pounds per centum per annum. And also that in case
the said Sir Rowland Winn and Francis Sykes, their Heirs or
Assigns, shall think fit and proper at any time hereafter to
raise the said Sixty Pounds so lent by them, and the said
Timothy Lee as aforesaid, by taking any fine or foregift for the
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 177
making of any lease or demise of the said Hereditaments and
Premises above-mentioned, for any term of years as is hereinafter
mentioned, that then it shall and may be lawful to and for
them the said Sir Rowland Winn and Francis Sykes, their
Heirs or Assigns, to demise the said Messuage, Closes, and
Premises, to any person or persons whatsoever for any term or
number of years not exceeding ninety-nine years, and to take
any fine or foregift for the making of any such demise or lease,
so as such fine or foregift be not less than the said sum of
Sixty Pounds, and so as the rent to be thereby reserved be
made payable at Whitsuntide and Christmas yearly, and be not
less than the annual sum or rent of Twelve Pounds over and
above all taxes, charges, assessments, and other out-payments
whatsoever affecting the said Messuage, Closes, and Premises,
during the said term. To the intent that the income and
produce to arise from the several charities and donations above-
mentioned may not be lessened, and may be certain and
permanent so far as the nature of such things will admit of,
and according to the true intent and meaning of the parties to
these presents. In witness whereof the parties to these presents
interchangeably have set their hands and seals the day and
year first above written.
JOHN (Seal) RAMSDEN. MARGARET (Seal) RAMSDEN.
Sealed and delivered in the presence of us, the several
erasures being first made, and the said Timothy being first
interlined.
THOS. RAMSDEN. II. WILKINSON (Sworn;.
Received the day and year first within written, of the said
Timothy Lee, the sum of Two Hundred and Twenty Pounds
in full discharge of the consideration money within mentioned,
to be paid bv him to me. I say, received the same by me,
L t/ / ' .
JOHN RAMSDEX.
Witnesses: THOS. RAMSDEN. RICHD. WILKINSON. 220.
178 ACK WORTH, YORKS.,
A similar receipt to Dr. Lee and Francis Sykes for Sixty
Pounds, witnessed by the same.
A memorial of the within-written Deed was registered at
Wakefield, the Tenth day of December, Seventeen hundred and
sixty-three, at eleven in the forenoon, in Book A Y, page 725,
and number 896.
JOXATH. WARD, Depy. Regr.
Counterpart of Lease from Sir Rowland Winn, and Mr. Sykes
to Dr. Lee, of the Estate belonging to the Poor of Ackworth,
This Indenture, made the twenty-fourth day of November,
in the year of Our Lord one thousand seven hundred and
sixty-three, between Sir Rowland Winn, of Nostel, in the
County of York, Baronet, and Francis Sykes of Ackworth Park,
in the Parish of Ackworth, in the said County, Esquire, on the
one part, and the Rev. Timothy Lee, Rector of Ackworth,
aforesaid, and Doctor in Divinity, on the other part.
Whereas by Indenture of lease and release bearing date
respectively the nineteenth and twentieth days of October last,
the lease made between Sir John Ramsden, of Byram, in the
said County, Baronet, and Dame Margaret, his wife, with such
addition and description as is therein mentioned on the one
part, and the said Sir Rowland Winn, and Francis Sykes on the
other part. And the release made between the said Sir John
Ramsden and Dame Margaret, his wife, on the one part,
and the said Sir Rowland Winn, Timothy Lee, and Francis
Sykes on the other part, after divers recitals therein contained,
and for the considerations therein mentioned, the said Sir John
Ramsden and Dame Margaret, his wife, did grant, release, and
convey unto the said Sir Rowland Winn, and Francis Sykes,
and their heirs, all that Messuage or Tenement, situate and
being in Ackworth aforesaid, wherein Nathaniel Barwell, gentle-
man, deceased, formerly dwelt, and all the barns, stables, and
other out -buildings, courtyards, foulsteads, gardens, orchards,
hereditaments and appurtenances thereunto belonging. And,
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 179
also, all those Three Closes of Meadow and Pasture Ground
thereto adjoining and belonging, commonly called or known by
the names of the Lower Croft, the Upper Croft, and Barn Croft,
or by what other name or names soever the same were then
called or known. And, also, two Cowgates, or Pasture for Two
Beasts in Ackworth Common Pasture, and which said messuage,
closes, and premises were late the Estate of Mary Lowther,
spinster, deceased, and are now in the tenures or occupations
of John Aneley and Jonathan Thompson, and are all situate
and being in Ackworth aforesaid, together with all ways,
hereditaments and appurtenances to the said premises belong-
ing, except the pew in Ackworth Church, lately enjoyed by
Mrs. Barwell, deceased.
To Hold the said messuages, closes, hereditaments, and
premises unto the said Sir Rowland Winn and Francis Sykes,
and their heirs, to the use of them and their heirs.
In Trust, nevertheless for the poor of the said Parish of
Ackworth, for the time being for ever, and to the intent that
the rents, issues, and profits, might at all times thereafter, be
had, received, and taken by the -minister, churchwardens, and
overseers of the poor of the said Parish of Ackworth, for the
time being, or might be paid over into their hands, and distri-
buted by them at Christmas and Whitsuntide, yearly, for ever,
to and amongst the said poor in such manner as the said
minister, churchwardens, and overseers for the time being
should in their discretion think fit and proper. But subject,
nevertheless, to a proviso thereinafter mentioned. And it is
therein provided, agreed, and declared that it should and might
be lawful for the said Sir Rowland Winn and Francis Sykes,
their heirs and assigns, at any time thereafter to levy or raise,
by mortgage of a competent part of the said premises, the sum
of sixty pounds therein specified to be advanced and lent to
them by the said Timothy Lee, towards purchasing the said
hereditaments and premises of the said Sir John Ramsden and
Dame Margaret, his wife, and in the meantime to deduct and
180 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
retain out of the rents and profits of the said hereditament
premises interest for the said sixty pounds, at the rate of four
pounds per centum per annum.
And, also, that in case the said Sir Rowland Winn and
Francis Sykes, their heirs and assigns, should think fit and
proper, at any time, to raise the said sixty pounds so lent by
them and the said Timothy Lee aforesaid, by taking any fine
or foregift for the making of any lease or demise of the said
hereditaments and premises for any term of years, as is therein
after mentioned, that then it should and might be lawful to
and for them, the said Sir Rowland Winn and Francis Sykes,
their heirs or assigns, to demise the said messuages, closes, and
premises to any person or persons whatsoever for any term or
number of years not exceeding ninety-nine years, and to take
any fine or foregift for the making of any such demise or lease
so as such fine or foregift be not less than the said sixty pounds,
and so as the rent thereby to be reserved be made payable at
Whitsuntide and Christmas yearly, and be not less than the
annual sum or rent of twelve pounds over and above all taxes,
charges, assessments, and other out-payments whatsoever,
affecting the said messuage, closes, and premises during the
said term, as in and by the said in part recited Indentures,
reference being thereto had, may more fully appear.
And Whereas the said Sir Rowland Winn and Francis Sykes
think it will not be for the benefit and advantage of the said
poor to raise the said sum of sixty pounds by mortgage of any
part of the said premises, but that it will be the best for them
for the said sixty pounds to be raised by making a lease of the
said premises and taking a fine or foregift of sixty pounds for
the making thereof, according to the power given to them, the
said Sir Rowland Winn, and Francis Sykes, in and by the said
Indenture of Release. And, therefore, they have agreed to
take the said foregift of sixty pounds of the said Timothy Lee,
and to demise to him the said hereditaments and premises in
such manner as is hereinafter mentioned. Now this Indenture
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 181
Witnesseth that in consideration of the said sum of sixty
pounds of lawful money of Great Britian by the said Timothy
Lee to the said Sir Rowland Winn and Francis Sykes, in hand,
paid at or before the executing hereof, as a fine or foregift for
the making of this present demise, and which said sixty pounds
they, the said Sir Rowland Winn and Francis Sykes, have
thought tit and proper to raise in full payment and satisfaction,
and discharge of the said sixty pounds so advanced and lent
by them and the said Timothy Lee, towards purchasing of the
said premises as aforesaid, the receipt of which said sixty
pounds they do hereby acknowledge ; and, also, in consideration
of the yearly rent of the covenants and agreements, hereinafter
mentioned, to be paid and performed by the said Timothy Lee,
his executors, administrators, and assigns, they, the said Sir
Rowland Winn and Francis Sykes, have demised, leased, and
to farm, let unto the said Timothy Lee, his executors, adminis-
trator, and assigns, all the said messuages, closes, hereditaments,
and premises above mentioned and recited, to have been
granted and conveyed to the said Sir Rowland Winn and Francis
Sykes, and their heirs as aforesaid. To have and to hold the
same unto the said Timothy Lee, his executors, administrators,
and assigns, from the thirteenth day of February next, for,
during, and until the full end and term of 99 years from thence
next ensuing, and fully to be complete and ended. Yielding
and paying, therefore, yearly and every year during the said
term, unto the said Sir Rowland Winn and Francis Sykes, their
heirs or assigns, the sum of twelve pounds of lawful money of
Great Britain, at the feasts of Whitsuntide and Christmas in
every year during the said term by even and equal portions,
over and above all taxes, charges, assessments, and other out-
payrnents whatsoever, affecting the said premises during the
said term, and without any deduction whatsoever. In trust
for the said poor of the said Parish of Ackworth, and according
to the true intent and meaning of the said recited Indentures.
Provided always nevertheless that if the said yearly rent or
182 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
sum of twelve pounds or any part thereof shall be behind and
unpaid by the space of twenty days next after the same or any
part thereof shall become due as aforesaid, that then it shall
and may be lawful to and for the said Sir Rowland Winn and
Francis Sykes, their heirs or assigns, into the said demised
premises, or any part thereof in the name of the whole, to re-
enter and the same to have again, re-possess, and enjoy as in
their or any of their former estate, anything herein contained
to the contrary notwithstanding. And the said Timothy Lee
doth hereby, for himself, his executors, and administrators,
covenant and agree with the said Sir Rowland Winn and Francis
Sykes, their heirs and assigns, in manner following (that is to
say), that he, the said Timothy Lee, his executors and admin-
istrators, shall and will well and truly pay unto the said Sir
Rowland Winn and Francis Sykes, their heirs or assigns, the
said yearly rent or sum of twelve pounds, at the days and
times, and in the manner above mentioned for payment thereof,
over and above all taxes, charges, assessments, and other out-
payments whatsoever, affecting the said premises during the
said term, and without any deduction whatsoever. And, also,
shall and will, from time to time, and at all times hereafter,
during the said term, pay and discharge all lays, taxes, and
assessments whatsoever, which are, shall, or may be laid, taxed,
or assessed upon, or for, or in respect of the said demised
premises, or any part thereof. And, also, shall and will, from
time to time, during the said term, when and so often as need
shall require, well and sufficiently amend, repair, and keep the
said messuage, and buildings with all needful and proper
reparations and amendments whatsoever. And, also, well and
sufficiently amend repair, scour, and cleanse the hedges, fences,
ditches, gates, styles, and watercourses belonging the said
premises, and shall and will, at the expiration of the said term,
leave and yield up to the said Sir Rowland Winn and Francis
Sykes, their heirs or assigns, the said messuage and buildings,
/ o o o '
and, also, all the gates, styles, hedges, ditches, and fences,
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 183
belonging to the said premises, in good and sufficient repair
and order. And, also, that he, the said Timothy Lee, his
executors, administrators, or assigns, or any of them, shall not,
nor will, within the last seven years of the said term, dig or
plough up any part of the said closes of ground hereby demised
(except such part thereof as shall be then used as garden
ground), without the license and consent of the said Sir Row-
land Winn and Francis Sykes, their heirs or assigns, in writing
first had and obtained. And the said Sir Rowland Winn and
Francis Sykes, for themselves and their heirs, covenant and
agree with the said Timothy Lee, his executors, administrators,
and assigns, that he and they, paying the said yearly rent, and
performing the covenants and agreements above written, shall
and may peaceably and quietly have, hold, use, occupy, possess,
and enjoy the said messuage, closes, and premises above men-
tioned, to be hereby demised,\vithout any molestation, hindrance,
or disturbance of or by them, the said Sir Rowland Winn and
Francis Sykes, their heirs or assigns, or any of them.
In witness whereof the parties to these presents interchange-
ably have set their hands and seals the day and year first above
written.
Signed, T. LEE.
Sealed and delivered in the presence of us, John Watson,
R. Wilkinson. Sworn.
A Memorial of the Avithiu- written deed was registered at
Waketield the twenty-second day of March 17G4-, at Eleven in
the Forenoon, in Book A Z, page 274, and number 36.
JONATHAN WARD, Deputy Registrar.
N.B. In the iron chest belonging to the parish, but in the
custody of the Rector, there are the purchase deeds of the
above house and crofts, with the fine annexed. They are dated
6th and 7th March, 1733, and are thereby conveyed by Mr.
Barwell to Mrs. Mary Lowther.
184 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
There is, also, a Lease for a year from Sir John and Lady
Rainsden to Sir Rowland Winn and Francis Sykes, dated 19th
October, 1763. It is registered at Waken" eld, in Book A Y,
page 725, and number 896.
There is, also, a counterpart of a Mortgage upon Mr. Bar-
well's Estate, dated 30th April, 1681.
EXTRACT FROM THE AWARD, 1774.
No. V. of the Stinted Pasture, allotted to Dr. Lee for the
term of his lease, which expires in February, one thousand
eight hundred and sixty-three, and then to the poor.
the ' ^rs^eT e foi f And we do also assign, set out, allot, and
tiiTstintrd^isture 1 ! award unto the said Timothy Lee, to be held in
A. K. p. severalty by him, his heirs, and assigns, during
2 2 28 J J
the continuance of his lease, and from immedi-
ately after the determination thereof, to be held in severalty
by the said Sir Rowland Winn and Francis Sykes, and their
successors, Trustees for the time being of the Poor of Ackworth
aforesaid, one parcel of land, being part of the said Stinted
Pasture, within the Parish of Ackworth aforesaid, marked in
the said map hereunto annexed with the No. v., containing two
acres, two roods, and twenty-eight perches, statute measure.
An allotment, No. iv., herein made to Ann Hatterslcy, being on
the east, the Rector's allotment, No. vi., on the west, a private
road and the Rectors' allotment, No. xxviii., in Parkin Leys
Field on the north, and the River Went on the south, and do
order and award that the ow r ner and proprietor of the said last
mentioned allotment, No. v., for the time being shall make and
for ever maintain a good and sufficient fence and ditch on the
west side or boundary thereof.
At the expiration of Colonel Anthony Surtee's lease in 1863,
the house and land were sold to the late J. M. Hepworth, Esq.,
for 2316, which was subsequently invested in the 3 per cent.
Consols, the interest of which, amounting to 12, is given away
in the shape of casual relief and dole.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 185
LAMBE'S CHARITY.
This small charity is secured by deed dated 18th August,
14th Charles I., by which thirty square yards of land was
granted to William Lambe, for erecting a windmill upon Ack-
worth Moor, at the rent of five shillings yearly, payable to the
Lords of the Manor for the use of the poor of Ackworth, and
upon the feast days of the Annunciation of the Blessed Mary
the Virgin, and St. Michael the Archangel, by even and equal
portions for ever. A copy of the original deed is in possession
of the Rector. In 1859, Mr. Rish worth was the owner of the
land charged by the above deed. The original deed is supposed
to be lost, but perhaps it is in the hands of the Lords of the
Manor, who, in number, remind one of the seven wise men of
Greece ; but who, in their management of the parish property,
act more like the wise men of Gotham, who went to sea in a
bowl, and of whom the old rhyme says :
" If the bowl had been stronger,
My story had been longer."
Copy of the Deed by which thirty yards square of land is
granted to William Lambe for erecting a Windmill upon
Ackivorth Moor, at the rent of Five Shillings yearly, pay able
for the use of the Poor of Ackworth. Dated 14th diaries I.
" This Indenture made the Eighteenth daie of August
in the year of the raigne of our Soveraigne Lord Charles by
the Grace of God of England, Scotland, France and Ireland
King Defender of the Faith, &c., the fourteenth
Between Samuel Carter of Ackworth . . . Rober Abbott
of Ackworth Henry Bannister of Ackworth
aforesaid gent . . . John Huntington of Ackworth . . .
Richard Adams of East Ardwicke in the County of ....
Witnesseth that the said Samuel Carter Robert Abbott Henry
Huntington for and in consideration of five
shillings . . . granted bargained sould released and con-
186 ACK WORTH, YORKS.,
firmed and by these p'sents doe grant bargain sell release and
confirm unto the said William his heirs & assigns for ever all
O
the estate right title interest property claim and demand what-
soever of the said Samuel Carter Robert Abbott Henry Hunt-
ingtori .... Adams Thomas Horncastle John Goody eare
Henry Wilkinson and John Wright their heirs and assigns of
and in all that .... piece of grounde .... one
Windmill of .... the Manner of Ackworth aforesaid .
To have and to hold the said piece of square Ground containing
thirtie yards with the appurtenances to the said William Lambe
his heirs and assigns for ever to the sole and proper use and
behoofe of the said William Lambe his heirs and assigns for
ever Yielding and Paying therefor yearly and every year for
ever unto the said Samuel Carter Robert Abbott Henry Bannister
John Huntington Edward (or Richarde) Adams Thomas Horn-
castle John Goodyeare William Wilkinson John Wright and
their Heirs and successors Lords of the said Manner of Ackworth
the sum of five shillings of lawful money of England for the
use and bereft of the Poor of the Parish of Ackworth and upon
the Feast Days of the Annuncicon of the Blessed Mary the
Virgin and St. Michael the Archangel by even and equal porcons
for ever.
In Witness Avhereof the parties first above-named to this
p'sent Indenture interchangeably have put their hands and
seals.
Signed and Delivered in the presence of us
HASTINGS RASBY
JOHN" KlLLINGBECKE.
A true Copy of the Original."
The original Mill was erected of wood, and being burnt
down, the land was not built on for a considerable time. It
eventually came into the possession of Sir John Ramsden, of
Byram, Bart., through his marriage with Margaret, the widow
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 187
of John Bright, of Badsworth, Esq., whose maiden name was
Norton. This Margaret Norton was the niece of Mrs. Mary
Lowther, of Ack worth Park. In February, 1758, Sir John
Ramsden, and Margaret, his wife, leased and released the site
of the above Windmill, then lately standing, together with a
Water-mill, to John Pearson. In November, 1765, John Pear-
son leased and re-leased the property to Joseph White. Joseph
White, by will bearing date November, 1799, bequeathed it to
Samuel Thorp, his son-in-law. Samuel Thorp, by an agreement
of bargain and sale, dated March, 1808, assigned it over to
Thomas Rishworth ; and it was afterwards conveyed to him,
probably about 10th October, 1808. The Rishworths were
owners of the property in 1859.
CALVERLEY'S DOLE.
This consists of ten shillings per annum to the poor of
Ackworth, charged on a portion of the estate of the late Mr.
Hill. The money is regularly paid and distributed to the poor
on St. Thomas' Day. The following is a copy of the will ot
Ann Calverley, the donor.
Copies of Ann Calverley' s Will and of the Deed by lukich, in
1777, the original security ivas transferred to other lands.
Axx CALVERLEY'S WILL.
" In the name of God, Amen. In the eleventh year of the
reign of our Sovereign Lord William the Third, over England,
&c., Defender of the Faith, and in the year of our Lord 1699.
I, Anne Calverley, of Ackworth, in the County of York, widow,
being weak in body but in good and perfect memory, praised
be God, do make and ordain this my last will and testament in
manner and form following : First, I give and bequeath my
soul into the hands of Almighty God, my Maker, hoping
through the merits and satisfaction of Jesus Christ, my Saviour,
to receive full remission and forgivenesss of my sins, with a
joyful resurrection of the blessed, and my body to the ground
from whence it came, to be buried at the discretion, decently,
of my executor hereafter named.
188 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
" As for that worldly estate Almighty God hath endowed
me with, my will is to dispose of it in manner and form
following, that is to say ; I give unto John Petty one pound ;
I give unto William Petty one pound ; I give unto Elizabeth
Abbott one pound ; and as for wearing clothes, I give unto my
sisters Ann Petty and Elizabeth Abbott.
" I give unto the poor of Ackworth ten shilling every year
for ever, to be paid upon Good Friday. And as for security
thereof, I appoint one acre of land which lyeth in Colehill, in
two places, which is three roods and one rood ; that if any
default be in payment hereof, according to the day abovenamed,
then to enter to the three roods and one rood above mentioned.
I give unto the poor twenty shillings to be disposed of at my
burial. I make my beloved son, Thomas Calverley, sole
executor of this my last will and testament. Witness my hand
and seal the 29th day of September, Anno Domini 1699.
"ANNE CALVERLEY,
"Signed and sealed in the presence of us her -f mark.
"Jane Bradley,
"Savile Bradley,
"Fra. Bradley."
DEED BY WHICH SECURITY WAS TRANSFERRED
TO OTHER LANDS.
" Mr. John Thistlewood to the Rev. Dr. Lee. This Indenture,
made the fourth day of August, in the tenth year of the reign
of our Sovereign Lord George the Third, by the Grace of God,
of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, Defender of the
Faith, and so forth ; and in the year of our Lord one thousand
seven hundred and seventy, between John Thistle wood, of
Tupholm, in the County of Lincoln, grazier, on the one part,
and Timothy Lee, of Ackworth, in the County of York. Doctor
in Divinity, Rector of Ackworth, on the other part. Whereas
Anne Calverley, formerly of Ackworth aforesaid, widow, did, in
and by her last will and testament, in writing, bearing date the
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 189
29th day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand
six hundred and ninety-nine, give unto the poor of Ackworth,
ten shillings every year for ever, to be paid upon every Good
Friday, and for security thereof, the said testatrix appointed
one acre of land, which lieth in Colehill, in two places, which
is three roods and one rood that, if any default be in payment
thereof, according to the day above-named, then to enter to
the three roods and one rood above-mentioned, as in and by
the said Will, reference being thereto had, will more fully
appear. And whereas the said John Thistlewood is now
become entitled to the said lands and premises, out of which
the said sum of ten shillings, above mentioned, is secured to
be paid, and hath lately contracted and agreed to sell and convey
the same, together with other lands and hereditaments freed
and discharged of and from the said yearly payment, the said
John Thistlewood did thereupon consent and agree to charge
the tenements and hereditaments, hereinafter mentioned, for
ever hereafter with the due payment thereof. Now, this Inden-
ture witnesseth that the said John Thistlewood, in consideration
of the premises and to the intent that the said yearly sum of
ten shillings may be continued to be paid to the poor of
Ackworth aforesaid, in pursuance of the said, in part recited,
Will, doth hereby for himself and his heirs, covenant and agree,
to and with the said Timothy Lee and his successors, as Rectors
of Ackworth for the time being, that all that messuage or
tenement, situate, standing, and being in Ackworth aforesaid,
late in the possession of Mr. Joseph Haddon, with the malt-
kiln, malt-house, barns, stables, foldstead, and garden thereto
belonging, and also all that close of meadow or pasture ground
adjoining, on the back side of the said messuage, called by the
name of the Home Close, containing by estimation three acres,
more or less, now belonging to him, the said John Thistlewood,
with their appurtenances, shall from time to time for ever here-
after be subject to and chargeable with the due payment of the
said sum of ten shillings yearly, to the poor of Ackworth
190 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
aforesaid, on Good Friday, according to the purport, true intent,
and meaning of the said recited will. And also that he, the
said John Thistlewood, his heirs, executors, and administrators,
shall and will, for ever hereafter, save harmless and indemnify
the purchaser of the said lands and premises so charged by the
said Anne Calverley with the payment of the said annual sum
of ten shillings, and also the said lands and premises of and
from the payment of the same and every part thereof, and also
of and from all costs, charges, and expenses which shall or may
be had or occasioned by non-payment thereof. In witness the
parties to these presents interchangeably have set their hands
and seals the day and year first above written.
"JOHN THISTLEWOOD. +
" Sealed and delivered in the presence of us
R Wilkinson, I g
" \\ m. feugden, J
" A memorial of the within-written deed was registered at
Wakefield, the seventh day of August seventeen hundred and
seventy, near eleven in the forenoon, in Book B. L. page 556,
and number 799.
" TIM TOPHAM, Dep. Kegr."
A comparison of the above Deeds with the Table of Bene-
factions, set up in the Church, will lead us to the conclusion
that the Table is not to be depended on. It is there stated
that Ann Calverley's gift to the poor is ten pounds, and this
error alone fully justifies the remark of the late W. R. Hay,
that " the Table was painted and put up in the Church very
unadvisedly, and it is in many respects inaccurate."
Calverley's Dole is regularly paid by Henry Hill, Esq., the
present owner of the estate charged by the Deed of 1777, and
is distributed to the poor on St. Thomas's Day. It may also be
remarked that the lands originally charged, as well as those to
which the charge was transferred by the Deed of 1777, are
again, as in Thistlewood's time, united under one proprietor.
The originals, both of Anne Calverley's Will, and the Deed
of 1777, are in the parish chest and in excellent preservation.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 191
LAMBE'S DOLE.
This also consists of ten shillings per annum. It was left
by Matthew Lambe in the 14th year of Charles I., and was
charged on certain lands now belonging to Joseph Nelstrop,
Esq. The following is an extract from the title deeds :
" Matthew Lamb, of Ackworth, on the 5th September 1080,
did give and bequeath unto the poor of the Parish of Ackworth
yearly to be paid upon St. Thomas's Day, being the 21st
December, the sum of Ten Shillings, which should be paid
unto the Minister and Overseers of the Poor by the hands of
Samuel Leake, his heirs and assigns for ever, out of the yearly
value or profit of one acre of arable land, lying in a field called
Berrial, between the lands of George Abbott, Gent., North, and
the lands of \Yilliam Austwick, South, which said acre he then
purchased of Ellen Wright. For want of such true yearly
payment of 10 shillings, it was his will and desire that the said
Minister and Overseers of the Poor should enter and have
power to let the said acre for the use of the poor of the parish
of Ackworth, so long as the world should continue."
MITTON'S CHARITY.
Henry Mitton, of Ackworth, in the County of Fork, Yeo-
man, by his will dated 10th October, 1809, and proved at York,
16th February, 1810, ordered and directed his Trustees and
Executors, after the decease of his wife, to pay Twenty Pounds
into the hands of the Churchwardens and Overseers of the
Poor of Ackworth, aforesaid, in order that they place the same
out at interest, upon good security, and apply the interest
thereof to twenty poor widows, or so many as may attend,
belonging to Ackworth, on New Year's Day, for ever, after it
became due. This was reduced by the legacy duty to 18,
which is invested on the note of hand of the Trustees of the
Public Rooms in Ackworth. and the interest regularly distributed
according to the donors' wishes. Also on the decease of his
wife, Henry Mitton ordered and directed his said Trustees to
192 ACK WORTH, YOKES.,
lay out 20 in the construction of a Hearse, for the conveyance
of corpses from the outside of the Parish to inter at Ackworth
Church ; to be under the management and direction of the
Churchwardens of Ackworth aforesaid.
RISHWORTH'S CHARITY.
The Board of benefactions says :
" John Rishworth to the poor, 1."
It should have been " 1 per annum." This sum was given by
John Rishworth, by will dated 22nd October, 1660. The
original is preserved in the parish chest. It is scarcely legible
in the inside, but is endorsed : " Deed by which a piece or
parcel of ground, called the ' Outgangs,' is granted for payment
of 20s. yearly to the poor of Ackworth for ever, payable 5th
December yearly, and to be distributed by the Rector, Church-
wardens, and Overseers of the Poor on St. Thomas's Day, in
the sight and at the discretion of the inhabiters of the Park
Hall, George Abbott's House, at Hundhill, and T. Calverley's
House, in Ackworth." The following is a copy of the original
Deed :
"To all good people to whom this present writing shall
come to, be read, seen, or heard, John Rishworth, of Visit, in
the Parish of Hemsworth and County of York, Yeoman, send-
eth greeting in our Lord God Everlasting.
Know ye, that the said John Rishworth, for the continuing
and perpetuating of the Yearly Rent hereafter expressed due
and issuing out of the lands and premises hereafter
mentioned unto the Poor in the Parish of Ackworth in the said
County of York, that the same may hereafter be duly paid and
distributed amongst the most needful Poor of the said Parish
of Ackworth as is hereafter mentioned, and for divers other
causes and valuable considerations, him, the said John Rish-
worth, hereunto especially moving, hath given, granted, and
confirmed, and by these presents doth fully and absolutely give,
grant, and confirm unto Thomas Birkbecke, Clerk, the present
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 193
Rector of the Rectory of Ackworth aforesaid, Thomas Wilkinson
and Robert Lamb, the present Churchwardens, and Robert
Hewitt and Leonard Finder, the present Overseers of the Poor
of the said Parish of Ackworth, and the successive Minister,
Churchwardens, and Overseers of the said Parish of Ackworth
for the time being for ever, one annuity or Yearly Rent Charge
of Twenty Shillings of lawful money of England yearly to be
had, taken, provided, and received to be issuing and going out
and in all that parcel of ground or waste commonly called the
Outgang, containing by estimation fifteen Acres more or less
lying and being within the Manor of Ackworth aforesaid, to be
paid to the Minister, Churchwardens, and Overseers, and their
successors for ever at or upon every fifth day of December
yearly. To have and to hold, receive, preserve, and enjoy the
Annuity or Yearly Rent Charge of Twenty Shillings aforesaid
unto the said Thomas Birkbecke and the said Churchwardens
and Overseers of the Poor of the said Parish of Ackworth and
their successors, Minister, Churchwardens, and Overseers of the
Poor of the Parish of Ackworth, for the time being and for
ever in manner and form before declared. To the end that the
said Twenty Shillings may yearly and every year upon St.
Thomas's Day next following after the receipt thereof at the
sight, judgment, and discretion of the several Inhabitants,
Possessors, and Occupiers of the several Mansions and now
Dwellinghouse of William Rokeley, Esq., of Ackworth Park,
George Abbott, of Hundell, in the parish of Ackworth, afore-
said, gentlemen, Richard Pickering, of Ackworth, aforesaid,
yeoman, and Thomas Calverley, of Ackworth, to be disbursed,
distributed, and disposed of to the most needful Poor and
impotent people of the said Parish of Ackworth. And if it
happen the said Annuity or yearly Rent Charge of Twenty
Shillings be behind or * by the space
of six days after the time of payment thereof aforesaid, in
which it is by those presents appointed to be paid, that then
* So faded as not to be legible.
194 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
and so often as any such default shall be made at any time or
times hereafter, it shall and may be lawful to and for the said
Thomas Birkbecke, and the Churchwardens, and Overseers of
the Poor of the said Parish of Ack worth, or any of them and
their successors, Ministers, Churchwardens, and Overseers of
the Poor of the said Parish for the time being, or any of them
at his or their pleasure to enter into and upon the said parcel
of Ground or Waste, called the Outgang, or into such part or
parcel thereof as they shall think meet and there to distrain
for all the Arrearages of the said Annuity or Yearly Rent of
twenty shillings then behind and unpaid, and the distress or
distresses there so had and taken lawfully, to bear, lead, drive,
carry away, impound, and retain, and keep without restraint or
replevin for the space of four days, and if the said Arrearages
of the said Annuity shall not within the space of four days be
paid to the said Minister, Churchwardens, and Overseers of the
said Parish of Ack worth for the time being, or unto some of
them according to the intent of these presents then at his or
their pleasure, to bargain or sell the corn, goods, and chattels
so taken by way of distress at such price or prices as they or
any of them may or can get, and with the money coming of
the sale thereof, to satisfy, pay and allow themselves not only
all Arrearages of the said Annuity or Yearly Rent being behind
and unpaid, but also his and their reasonable costs, charges,
and disbursements sustained in that behalf. And the residue
of the same (if any be) to render and pay unto the said John
Rishworth, his Heirs, and Assigns, and that from time to time
as often as any such distress or distresses shall be so had or
taken. But if no sufficient distress can be found in and upon
the said parcel of ground called the Outgang whereupon to
distrain, that then it shall and may be lawful to and for the
said Thomas Birkbecke, and the said Churchwardens, and
Overseers of the Poor of the Parish of Ackworth and their
successors for the time being, or any of them into the said
parcel of Ground or Waste, called the Outgang with the
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 195
appurtenances, to enter and the same to enjoy without let,
trouble, or hindrance of the said John Rishworth, his Heirs, or
Assigns, and the issues and profits thereof to receive and take.
To the end that the said sum of Twenty Shillings may be
disposed of in manner and form above said without any account
thereof to be made unto him the said John Rishworth, his
Heirs, or Assigns. And the said John Rishworth hath put the
aforesaid Thomas Birkbecke, and the said Churchwardens, and
Overseers of the said Parish of Ackworth, in full possession of
the said Annuity or Yearly Rent of Twenty Shillings in form
as aforesaid (to be had, received, and taken) by the delivery and
payment of the sum of Twelve-pence, which the said John
Rishworth hath at the sealing and delivery of these presents
given and delivered unto the said Thomas Birkbecke, and the
Churchwardens, and Overseers aforesaid in the name of posses-
sion of the said Annuity.
In witness whereof, the said John Rishworth hath hereunto
set his hand and seal the two and twentieth day of October, in
the twelfth year of the reign of our Sovereign lord Charles II.,
by the grace of God king of England, Scotland, France, and
Ireland, Defender of the Faith, and so forth. (1660.)
JOHN RISHWORTH. x
Sealed and delivered, and also twelve-pence given by the
\vithin-named John Rishworth, in the name of a possession and
seizin of the annuity within-mentioned, according to the tenor,
effect, and true meaning of these presents, in the presence of us,
James Wood, Michael Pickering,
George Abbott, John Bramount,
Thomas Birkett, Richard Pickering."
CA WOOD'S CHARITY.
Bv an indenture, dated 9th January, 1653, Stephen Cawood*
gave an estate consisting of 69 acres of land in East Hardwicke,
in the Parish of Pontefract, for the erection and endowment of
* Entry in Pontefract Church Books : Feb. 19th, 1653 (4), " Stephen Cawood,
of East Hardwick, within this parish, yeoinau, departed this life, and his corps
was interred in his o\viie ground in East Hardwick, aforesaid, the twentieth day
196 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
a Chapel and Free School in East Hardwick. The Minister
was to have " 20 per annum in respect of his preaching the
Word of God on every Lord's Day, and keeping a Free School
there for all such children whomsoever as shall desire to be
taught there." The sum of 20s. per annum was to be paid to
the poor of Ackworth, 10s. per annum to the poor of East
Hardwick, and 10s. per annum to the repair of Housestead Lane.
This estate has been, from time to time, let at an increased rent,
the annual payments to the several charities being proportion-
ately increased. The charity is managed by six feoffees, three
of whom are chosen from Ackworth, and three from East
Hardwick. The trustees of this charity are the patrons of the
Vicarage of East Hardwick. In 1871, when the chapelry was
constituted a separate benefice, the offices of Minister and
Schoolmaster f were divided, the sum of 40 a year being
allotted to the former, and 50 to the latter; the advowson to
be sold, and the profits invested in augmentation of the school
endowment. ;{: The sum now annually paid by the Trustees of
this Charity is to the Incumbent, 70 (which has since been
increased by the interest of invested subscriptions, and grant
from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, to 140); to the Poor
of Ackworth, 4 10s.; to the Poor of East Hardwick, 2 5s.;
and towards the repair of Housestead Lane, 2 5s. Scholars
are sent from Ackworth to the Free School at East Hardwick,
which, however, is not now free, the uniform charge per head
for all children being two pence.
of tbe same moneth." It will be seen that Cawood died only a little more than
a month after he had executed his deed of gift. The words " in his own ground,"
are supposed to mean his own private burial ground, (probably a family mausoleum
in his own grounds,) and it is also very likely from the entry, that the Chapel
provided for in the deed was not built at the time of Mr. CawooU's death, but
soon afterwards, " October 2(5th, 1667, Mr. Lawrence Addam was buried in ye
Church of East Hardwicke." The building was never consecrated, at least, there'
is no record of it.
t Of the order of " Preaching Schoolmasters." The Rev. Anthony Sigi-mmnd
Teutschel, Ph.D., was the last of these, and the first Incumbent of East
Hardwick.
I Vide Pontefract Telegraph, June 10th, 1871. For further particulars
concerning the Church and Parish, see brochure published by Holmes, Pontefract,
1871.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 197
SEATON'S BEQUEST.
Jervas Seaton, of East Hardwick, left, for the use of the
poor of Ack worth, 6s. 8d. per annum, for ever, charged on an
acre of land in Thorpleys. It is received by the Overseers of
the Poor, but there are no documents to show whence the
payment arises.
THE TOWNSLEY ESTATE.
In 1803, Surah and Francis Townsley died intestate, and in
possession of a house, maltkiln, and seven acres of land adjoin-
ing the Rectory, on the east, and four acres of land, called
" Pudding Bush." This estate, for want of heirs, went to the
Trustees of the Manor of Ackworth (to whom, in the reign of
Charles I, the Duchy of Lancaster had granted away the Manor
of Ackworth with all its privileges), for the benefit of the free-
holders. The rents and profits of this estate, which now rents
for 40, are paid to the Trustees of the Manor.
LINDSAY'S LEGACY.
In 1873, David Lindsay, an Ackworth man, who had amassed
considerable wealth in commercial transactions, died at Leeds,
and left by his will, 150 to be invested for the benefit of the
Lowther's Hospital, at Ackworth. The benefaction is duly
recorded upon the Charity board in the Parish Church, and the
interest of the money, which is invested in the 3 per cent.
Consols, is regularly distributed by the Churchwardens for the
time being.
GRANT TO JOHN TOPHAM.
" John Topham, for one acre of land on the Common, 4s. 8d."
There can be no doubt that this was a grant from the Parish of
a portion of the Common, or Ackworth Moor, at this reserved
rent. The acre of land in question is set out in the map
attached to the award of 1774, and is the eastern portion of
the field which forms one of the angles where the Barnsley
Road and the Turnpike Road cross each other at the Moor-Top.
198 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
It measures la. Or. 4p. In 1859, the payment had been with-
held for many years, and I am informed that it is lapsed, and
cannot now be recovered by law.*
LOWTHER'S CHARITY.
In 1741, Mrs. Mary Lowther endowed an Hospital for six
poor women of Parishes of Ack worth, Badsworth, and Feather-
stone ; and a school for twenty children of the parish of
Ackworth. The income of this charity, which is variable, in
1885, was 81 11s. 5d., arising from money invested in the
Funds, in the names of the Charity Commissioners, and from
700 invested on mortgage of the Tolls of the Doncaster and
Tadcaster Turnpike Road. The master receives from the Trust
16 per annum, and each of the poor women about 7 15s.
The funds of Mrs. Lowther's Charity have twice sustained
pecuniary loss to the extent of 700, once, by the failure of its
bankers in 1809, and again, in 1843, to the amount of 50,
through the mismanagement of its accountant. The following
inscription appears above the doorway of the Lowther School :--
"1741.
" MARY LOWTHER
ERECTED AND ENDOWED THIS HOSPITAL FOR A SCHOOLMASTER
AND SIX POOR WOMEN."
The Governors of the Hospital are the Rectors of Ackworth,
Badsworth, and the Vicar of Featherstone for the time being-.
o
The Master receives his 16 per year, on the understanding
that twenty poor children are taught by him free of expense ;
but for some cause or other, although the money is still received,
the children are not now taught in accordance with the
conditions of the Trust. The same remark applies to East
Hard wick School, the master of which, for the time beiner,
O'
receives a specified sum, according to the terms of the trust deed
for the free education of ten boys of the parish of Ackworth.
The ten boys, however, are neither received nor educated.
* The total annual income from five of the principal charities at Ackworth,
in 1885, was 83 7s. lOd.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 199
WATKINSON'S HOSPITAL.
The following is the Report of the Charity Commissioners
of 1826, on this Hospital :
"Edward Watkinson, M.D., by will dated 17th April, 1765,
after bequeathing several legacies, gave to Samuel Saltonstall,
whom he appointed his executor, all the residue of his personal
estate upon trust, to pay to the testator's wife the annual
produce thereof, and after her death to pay the said residue
and the produce thereof to such persons as should for the time
being be the Rector of Ackworth, the Rector of Hemsworth,
the Vicar of Pontefract, and the Mayor, Recorder, and two
Senior Aldermen of the Borough of Pontefract, or the major
part of them, in trust that the said Samuel Saltonstall and such
persons for the time being as aforesaid, or the major part of
them, should place at interest or otherwise dispose of the money
they should receive, and apply the interest and dividends
thereof for the benefit of the persons therein named and
subject thereto, for the maintenance of nine poor unmarried
persons of the Protestant Religion to be elected in the manner
therein mentioned ; and the testator directed that the said
Trustees or the major part of them should, after the death of
his wife, meet in the Moot Hall, at Pontefract, and choose two
poor men and two poor women, who should then live in
Ackworth, and two poor men and two poor women who should
then live in Pontefract, as eight of the said nine persons ; and
also one woman, who should live in either of the said townships,
to be the servant of the said eight poor persons, and to wait
and attend on them as such ; and that such eight persons and
their servant should have the same interest and dividends paid
equally amongst them at such times and in such manner as
the Trustees should think proper ; and he thereby willed and
declared that no married person should be capable of being
elected one of the nine persons ; and that if any of the nine
persons should after election marry, such person should cease
to have any share of the said interest or dividends and be dis-
200 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
placed from having any benefit under the will. And he directed
that the Trustees or the major part of them might from time
to time displace any of the persons for immorality or bad
behaviour according to the discretion and judgment of the
Trustees or the major part of them. And that whenever there
should be any vacancy of any of the eight persons by death or
removal, the Trustees or the major part of them should choose
in the Moot Hall other poor persons, so as always to make up
two poor men and two poor women, belonging to Ackworth,
and two poor men and two poor women, belonging to Pontefract;
and that when the maid servant should die or be displaced,
another proper person living in Ackworth or Pontefract, should
be nominated by the Trustees, or the major part of them, in her
place. And he directed that a book should be kept for making
entries touching the trust estate and the income and application
thereof, and all elections and orders relative to the trust and
the execution thereof, and that the Trustees might appoint a
proper person to be their Clerk for making all entries and
orders, and keeping all accounts relating to the trust, and allow
him yearly a sum of money not exceeding 5 for his trouble."
Like Dr. Fothergill,* Dr. Watkinson reserved a life
interest for his wife in the property he was about to give in
charity. His will, which being in full in Fox's History, renders
it unnecessary that it should be here reproduced, is dated 17th
April, 1765, but did not become operative till after the death
of his wife in 1778.
On 9th Feb., 1778, the Trustees, the Rectors of Ackworth
and Hemsworth, the Vicar of Pontefract, the two senior Alder-
men, and Aid. Samuel Saltonstall, Dr. Watkinson's executor,
held their first meeting under the presidency of Mr. Lawrence
Fox, Mayor, and the week following purchased a plot in
Northgate for their building. The Mayor died during his year
of office, and Mr. Saltonstall succeeding for the remainder of
* Vide " Pontefract Charities," p. 132.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 201
his year, had the gratification of seeing the buildings progress.
It was, however, not till 25th October, 1779, that the first
appointments were made.
" The residue of the testator's estate applicable to the
purposes of the Charity amounted to 1803 16s. 8d,, and by
an order of the Trustees, made in 1778, it was ordered that
such sum of money should be laid out in the purchase of lands
for the benefit of the Trust, and that the sum of 200, being
the amount of savings which had accumulated from the yearly
income of the testator's estate, should be applied for or towards
the expense of building an Hospital.
" By a further order of the Trustees in October, 1779, it was
ordered that the sum of 80 should be retained by Samuel
Saltonstall, the executor, as the purchase money of land in
Northgate, upon part of which the hospital was then built, and
that such land should be conveyed to the Trustees for the term
of 999 years, at the yearly rent of Is., which was done accord-
ingly by indenture of demise, dated 31st October, 1779.
" The clear residue of the testator's estate after payment of
all expenses relating to the building of .the Hospital, etc.,
received previous to 1778, being 1,590, was laid out in the
purchase of 2,650 South Sea Annuities, and in 1783 a further
sum of 205 being received as the purchase money arising from
the sale of a house, which had belonged to the testator, the sum
of 180, part thereof, was laid out in the purchase of the
further sum of 274 6s., South Sea Annuities, the residue being
carried to the General Account of the Charity. And the
property held in trust for the support of the Hospital consists
of 2,924 6s., Old South Sea Annuities, being the amount of
the Stock purchased as aforesaid, producing an annual dividend
of 87 14s. 6d.
" The Hospital contains apartments for eight poor persons
and the servant, and there is a small garden and forecourt used
by the poor persons. The Almspeople are chosen according to
202 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
the directions of the will from the parishes of Ackworth and
Pontefract, and they and the maid servant receive each of
them a monthly stipend, which varies according to the state of
the income remaining after the payment of the expenses of the
repairs of the hospital, and amounts in general to about 15s. a
piece.
" The other expenses of the trust, besides that of repairs,
consist of the salary of the Clerk, 5 per annum, and the postage
and charges attending the receipt of the dividends, amounting
in general to 15s. or thereabouts.
6
" The accounts are kept by the Clerk and Treasurer and
made up yearly. In 1819 there was a balance of 51 4s. 8d.
in the hands of the late Treasurer, and, to enforce payment
thereof, an action was brought by the Trustees in 1823, but the
defendant in the action having gone to prison and taken the
benefit of the Insolvent Act, the money was lost."
The mode of investment was changed about twenty-five
years ago, and the property of the Charity now consists of
3,086 10s. 4d. in Consols, producing 91 12s. 8d., which
allows of an income of 15s. each per month to the nine inmates ;
the salary of the Clerk being 5 as before.
It will be seen that the Commissioners of 1826 made no
complaint as to the accounts of the Charity, but in 1854 the
the Corporation Committee alleged that they could get no
accounts except for the previous t\velve years.
In 1865, a subscription was raised in the town to give a
slight entertainment to the inmates, under the impression,
nurtured by a tablet on the face of the building, that the
Hospital was established in 17-65 ; but as shown above, the real
centenary was on 25th October, 1879, the first inmates being
elected on 25th October, 1779. The year 1865 was only the
year in which the will had been signed.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 203
BRADLEY'S ALMSHOUSES.
There are in Ackworth, two tenements built by Dr. Bradley
in 1666, " for two poor ancient widows, and two others that
might assist them in washing, making their beds, etc." On the
front wall outside are Dr. Bradley 's Coat of Arms, and an
inscription nearly obliterated. The inmates are put in by the
Rector, though the Overseers of the Poor have occasionally
repaired the houses. Before the restoration of the Church, the
following epitaph might have been seen upon a monumental
slab inside the Church :
t; Here resteth the Body of Doctor Thomas Bradley,
Rector of this Parish.
E. T. R.
His Almeshouse built here shews in part his Goodness
to the poor, his pious Books
And Learned Works in print will tell you more, by which
He being dead yet Speaketh.
Obiit October 10, An. D., 1673.
Celebrities of
?V L JOHN FOTHERGILL, M.D., F.R.S.
The name of John Fothergill will always be cherished by
the Friends of Ackworth. He was a London Physician, and an
ardent member of the Society of Friends. He was the founder,
or rather originator of the Ackworth Quaker School, and is
mentioned by Mr. J. G. Baker, F.L.S., of the Royal Herbarium,
Kew, in his presidential address at Barnsle}^ in 1884*, as one of
" The fathers of Yorkshire Botany."
The following particulars concerning him have been
extracted from a biographical sketch written by James Hack
Tuke, and read by him at the Ackworth Centenary Commem-
oration :
204 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
"For three or four centuries," says Mr. Tuke, "families of
this name (Fothergill) have resided in the wild and secluded
valleys of Ravenstonedale and Mallerstang, in Westmoreland,
which adjoin upon 'Sedber and Wensleydale.' Sufficient for
us, # is the fact, that a John Fothergill migrated thence to
Counterset, in Wensleydale, and afterwards to Carr End, soon
after the year 1600. ^ % On the banks of the small
and quiet lake of ' Semer Water,' there dwelt Alexander and
Ann Fothergill, who were probably convinced by George Fox
(about the year 1652), as 'he passed up the Dales, warning
people to fear God, and preaching the everlasting Gospel to
them.'* Here, in 1676, John Fothergill the elder was born,
and, after the death of his father in 1695, he inherited the
little estate at Carr End. A year after his father's death, when
about twenty-five years of age, he began his ministerial work,
and gave up housekeeping, the house at Carr End, and, soon
afterwards, even the land, in order to be more ' completely at
liberty ' for his journeys in the ministry. % # When
about thirty-four, he married Margaret Hough, of Sutton, in
Cheshire, a woman likeminded with himself, and settled down
for some years in the old family house at Carr End. Here
seven children were born to him, brought up with a 'zealous
concern that they might have an inward experience of a holy
living principle operating in their hearts ' in order to ' lead
them from error and unrighteousness into all truth and the
practice of every Christian virtue.' Two of these children
the second son, John Fothergill, the future doctor, who was
born on the 8th of March, I712,f and Samuel Fothergill, the
sixth son, the most distinguished Quaker preacher of the
middle of the last century, were striking instances of the
value of this teaching." After leaving the elementary day
* Vide George Fox's Journal, folio, p. 72.
f A small pocket Bible belonging to Dr. Fothergill, was exhibited at Ackworth
during the Centenary. It belonged to his mother before her marriage. On the
last fly-leaf is the following inscription : " Margaret Hough, Her Book, and she
was born ye 30th day of ye 3rd Month. 1679. On the first page of the New
Testament: "John Fothergill was born the 8th of 1st mo. (o.s.), 1712. Joseph
Fothergill was bom 16th of 12th mo., 1712-13.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 205
school at Frodsham, in Cheshire, he was sent (at twelve) to
the old-established Grammar School at Sedbergh, where he
remained for four years, leaving in 1728, to be apprenticed for
seven years to Benjamin Bartlett. an eminent apothecary at
Bradford, and a Minister in the Society of Friends known to
young Fothergill's father, with whom he travelled extensively.*
# It was probably as some recognition of the fidelity of
these services that he was liberated before the expiration of his
term of apprenticeship, to pursue his medical studies in Edin-
burgh. # In 1736, young Fothergill wrote his Latin Thesis;
took his degree of M.D., and left Edinburgh, proceeding to
London, where he entered himself as a pupil in St. Thomas's
Hospital. Four years later he took a house in White Hart
Court, Gracechurch Street, and fairly established himself in
practice. Here he laboured unremittingly for forty years,
attaining to the highest rank in his profession, and numbering
among his patients some of the most worthy and distinguished
characters of the century. * # In 1754, Dr. Fothergill
was elected a Fellow of the College of Physicians of Edinburgh,
and during this time John Wesley was one of his patients, but,
ill as he was, his earnest spirit did not allow him to carry out
the Doctor's advice to rest and repair to the Hot Wells at
Bristol for change. Probably, like his comrade W T hitfield, he
thought ' that perpetual preaching was a better remedy than
a perpetual blister.'
In 1760, the year in which George III. came to the throne,
Dr. Fothergill wrote the address of congratulation sent by the
Society of Friends to the King on his accession to the Crown,
and shortly afterwards presented a report of a Committee of
the Friends' Meeting for Sufferings, to the Yearly Meeting on
Education.
His leisure moments were occupied in the study of chemistry,
conchology, entomology, corallines, and especially botany ; and
* Vide " Memoirs of the Life and a view of the Character of the late Dr.
John Fothergill," by Gilbert Thompson, M.D., 1782.
206 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
in 1762 he purchased the gardens at Upton, so well known in
after days as the hospital residence and grounds of the late
Samuel Gurne}'. Here he employed no less than fifteen
gardeners ; and so well known were his grounds, that foreigners
of all ranks came to visit it. Several plants perpetuate his
memory. The French botanist, Aublet, named a genus
" Fothergilla," after him, now called Miconia Fothergilli, and
the younger Linseus, an American shrub. Three other plants
are named after him, viz : " Fothergill's Lily " (Nerine Fother-
gilli); the Calceolaria Fothergilli; and the Pelargonium
Fothergilli. The Doctor also took a great interest in the
artistic working of North American and Cornish clays, and
often corresponded with Josiah Wedgewood. The black bust
(an engraving of which is here given), from a model taken by
Flaxman, after the death of Dr. Fothergill, is of Wedgewood
ware. The munificent assistance which he rendered to Anthony
Purver, in the translation and publication of his version of the
Old and New Testaments must not be overlooked. Not only
did he give the translator pecuniary assistance to the extent of
two thousand pounds, but, it is said, revised the whole of the
sheets as they passed through the press.
But the most eventful year in the Doctor's life, so far as
Ackworth is concerned, is the year 1777, in which year Ackworth
School was established, and which Luke Howard styled " The
Era of a Reformation in our Religious Society.' 1 * A full
account of the preliminary proceedings, and final transactions
connected with the purchase of Ackworth School, will be found
in the " Centenary Proceedings " of 1879.
" Dr. Fothergill paid three visits to Ackworth, and died on
the 26th of December, 1780, at the age of sixty eight." Thus
ended the eventful career of " Ackworth 's Benefactor," and
truly it was a magnificent sunset. His remains were interred
in the burial ground of Winchmore Hill, about seven miles
* Vide " The Yorkshireman," bv Luke Howard.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 207
from London, where, side by side, may be seen two small head-
stones which record the names of a devoted brother and sister,
" J. and A. Fothergill."
Dr. Fothergill was a prolific writer, especially on medical
subjects. His " Key to the New Testament" is still in use at
Ack worth School.
" The following graphic description of him, as he probably
appeared at the time of his last visit to York, written by a
great-nephew, cannot fail to be of interest :
" Dr. Fothergill was pious, generous, and benevolent, rather
above the middle age ; very delicate and slender, of a sanguine
temperament ; his forehead finely proportioned ; his eyes light-
coloured, brilliant, acute, and deeply penetrating; his nose
rather aquiline ; his mouth betokened delicacy of feeling ; his
whole countenance expressed liability to irritation, great
sensibility, clear understanding, and exalted virtue."*
Besides the very beautiful black basalt bust, Wedgewood
also executed one or more very fine cameo portraits in white-
ware, and from one of these the portrait here inserted is copied.
There are also many paintings and engraved likenesses extant,
the most valuable of which is a portrait in oils, painted by
Hogarth in 1764, now in the possession of the Royal College
of Physicians, London.
Dr. Fothergill contributed the following papers to the
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society :
1744. Upon the origin of Amber, xliii, 20.
1744. Observations on the Manna Persicum, xliii, 86.
1745. Observations on a case published in the last volume
of the " Medical Essays," of recovering a man dead
in appearance, by distending the lungs with air;
printed at Edinburgh, 1774. By John Fothergill,
Licen. Col. Med., London, xliii, 275.
* Vide " Eecords of John Fotbergill," York, 1793.
208 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
1746. De Diaphragmate sisso et mutatis quorundum
viscerum sedibus, in Cadavere Puella decem
mensium observatus, Epistola xliv, 11.* ^
II SIR ROGER HOPTON.
Sir Roger Hopton, of Armley, near Leeds, had a lease of
the manor and demesnes of Ackworth, and probably resided
there. He had served in the wars in France, where he was
knighted. He married Annie, daughter of Savile, by whom
he had two daughters ; one, married to Kiddal, and the
other to Usleet. He died in 1506 (21st Henry VII.), and,
with his wife, was buried in the south aisle of Ackworth
Church.f
III. REV. THOMAS BRADLEY, D.D.
Dr. Bradley was presented to the livings of Castleford and
Ackworth, 5th March, 1831, and was at that time also Prebend-
ary of North NewbaTcT, uu "in York Minster. He was driven
thence by the troubles of the Civil Wars, and so remained
until 1660, when, with the return of the King (Charles II.),
whose Chaplain he subsequently became, he returned to the
living again. From Walker's " Sufferings of the Clergy," we
gather the following particulars concerning Dr. Bradley :
" He was first Chaplain to the old Duke of Buckingham,
and went with him to the Isle of Rhea, and the siege of
Rochelle. After his return, he was made Chaplain to King
Charles I., and had the livings of Castleford and Ackworth
given him (both in the King's gift), and was made Prebendary
of York. On the 5th March, 1631, he married Frances, the
youngest daughter of the Right Hon. John Lord Savile, Baron
of Pontefract, by whom he had several children. In the year
1642, he writes himself ' Sacrce Theologice Professor et
serenissimo Regi Carolo a Sacris.' He was a person of most
* " Old Yorkshire," Vol. I., p. 47.
f Vide Monumental Inscriptions.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 209
incomparable parts and learning, an excellent preacher, a ready
and acute wit, and of a generous and genteel temper. He was
sequestered of his living of Ackworth, and thrust out by one
Mr. Burbeck, a stiff'-rumped Presbyterian. He was sequestered
of Castleford also, which living was usurped by Mr. H. Moor-
house, an army chaplain. Dr. Bradley was a very great sufferer.
Twice sequestered, and plundered of all that he had, his lady
and all his children turned out of doors, to seek their bread in
desolate places ; and that which most of all he complained of,
was the pertidiousness of one John Lake, of Castleford, with
whom he trusted his library, who betrayed it into the hands
of his enemies. I heard a gentleman say, he once went to see
Dr. Bradley, and that he was so poor that he was forced to eat
puddings made of boar's blood, and he found him with this
diet,"*
It is generally supposed that Dr. Bradley attended Charles
I. to the scaffold.f In one of the Parish Registers (1663), the
Doctor records that on the following Candlemas Day, Lady
Frances, his wife, who had died 30th Jannary, at the " very
same hour (as neere as may be conjectured) wherein his [late]
Majesty suffered," was "honourably inter'd." In all probability,
therefore, the Dr. would not accompany Charles Stuart on the
scaffold, but, as is more natural to suppose, was at his proper
place by the deathbed of his wife. He remained faithful to the
house of Stuart until his death,J and was a man of mark in his
time. " He published," says Walker, " some sermons, in the
dedication of which, as I am informed, is to be found more of
his sufferings ; but I have not yet seen it." An oil portrait of
Dr. Bradley, in good condition, is preserved at Ackworth
Rectory.
IV. WILLIAM BUCHAN, M.D.
In the west cloister of Westminster Abbey lie the remains
of one who was considered a man of mark in his day. He
* Vide Walker's " Sufferings of the Clergy," II., p. 85.
f Only a tradition.
Vide sub datum, 1642.
210 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
was born at Ancrum, near Jedburgh, in Scotland, in 1729. Dr.
Buchan was educated at Edinburgh, and first began to practise
his profession as Physician to the Foundling Hospital at
Ackworth. Afterwards he practised at Sheffield, but, eventually,
returned to Edinburgh, became a Fellow of the Royal College
of Physicians, and remained there for some years, having
married a lady named Miss Peter. Ultimately, he removed to
London, where he enjoyed a lucrative practice. He died,
according to the journals of the day, at his son's house in Percy
Street, Rathbone Place, Feb. 25th, 1805, aged 76. His will,
dated 30th January, 1805, was not proved until 7th August,
1806. To his son, Dr. Alexander Peter Buchan, he bequeathed
all his literary property and M.S.S., and the residue of his estate
equally to him and his sister, Helen Buchan, spinster, both of
whom proved the will. Dr. Buchan is best known as the
author of " Domestic Medicine, or, The Family Plrysician,"
which was first published in 1769.* From " Bellchamber's
Biographical Dictionary," we get some additional information,
as follows : "This popular medical writer was born in 1729, at
Ancrum, in Roxburghshire. Being destined by his friends for
the Church, he repaired to Edinburgh to study divinity. At the
University he spent nine years, studying anything rather than
theology. At this period of his life, mathematics and botany
were among his favourite pursuits. Finally, he devoted himself
wholly to medicine. He enjoyed, at this time, the friendship
of the illustrious Gregory, whose liberal maxims are believed to
have had a great influence over his future life. Before taking
his degree, he was induced by the invitation of a fellow student,
to settle in practice for some time in Yorkshire. While estab-
lished in that district, he became physician to the Ackworth
Foundling Hospital, in which situation he laid the foundation
of that knowledge of the diseases of children, which afterwards
appeared so conspicious in his writings. He subsequently
* Vide "Old Yorkshire," vol. iii., p. 88; Chester's "Westminster Abbey
Registers;" and Dean Stanley's " Memorials of Westminster Abbey."
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 211
removed to Sheffield, where he appears to have spent the years
between 1762 and 1766. He then commenced practice at
Edinburgh, and for several years was very well employed,
though it was allowed that he might have enjoyed much more
success, if his convivial habits had not distracted so much of
his attention. Having for a considerable time directed his
attention to a digest of popular medical knowledge, he published,
in 1769, his work, entitled, " Domestic Medicine, or the Family
Physician ; being an attempt to render the Medical Art more
generally useful, by showing people what is in their own power,
both with respect to the prevention and cure of certain diseases;
chiefly calculated to recommend a proper attention to regimen
and simple medicines." He died in 1805 X
V. LUKE HOWARD, F.R.S.,
was born in London, Novr. 28th, 1772. He was the son of
Robert Howard, and of Elizabeth Leatham, of Pontefract. He
was educated at Burford, near Oxford, at a school kept by a
member of the Society of Friends, to which body his parents
belonged. Here he received a good classical education, especially
in Latin. During his apprenticeship, he diligently pursued his
studies, Chemistry, Natural History, and Meteorology, specially
occupying his attention. He traced his interest in the latter
science to the extraordinary fog, and northern lights of 1783.
From quite a schoolboy he was a great observer of nature, and
about the year 1820, he published the result of his researches
in a book, entitled, " The Climate of London," in two volumes.
His nomenclature of the clouds (which was adopted by scientific
men,) led to a correspondence with the celebrated German poet
Goethe, and in a letter addressed to him in February, 1822,
Luke Howard writes, that after leaving school he studied
"French, Chemistry, etc. The works of Labaisiere and his
fellow labourers " he adds " produced an effect upon many of
us like that of the rising sun after morning moonlight."
In 1796, Luke Howard married Mariabella Eliot, a lady of
a remarkably benevolent disposition and superior judgment.
212 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
who aided him materially in carrying out his plans and efforts,
especially those of a benevolent character. The education of
the poor was to Mrs. Howard and her two daughters, a deeply
interesting object. In 1823, Mr. Howard purchased the estate
of Ackworth Villa, which, from that time, became the family
home for the greater part of the year. Finding there the need
of education, the two Miss Howards commenced a school for
the farmers' daughters in the neighbourhood, this being hold
in a room on the premises, and taught by the ladies themselves
on three mornings in the week. The Boys' British School in
the village was also set on foot by Mr. and Mrs. Howard. The
school was a great blessing, but soon became too large for the
arrangement ; and the younger sister planned and bnilt the
jieat school-room and mistress's house, opposite the Villa gates.
Her name, Rachel Howard, is engraved over the front entrance.
Her father partially endowed the school, which is still carried
on with much satisfaction.
For many years Luke Howard successfully carried on the
business of a manufacturing chemist at Stratford, in Essex.
In this he was succeeded by his two sons, Robert and John
Eliot, and the firm still continues under the name of Howard
and Sons.
The latter years of his life were very much spent at
Tottenham, where, under the roof of his eldest son, he enjoyed
all the care and comfort that could be bestowed on an honoured
old age. He died in 1864, at the advanced age of ninety-two,
in the true faith and trust of the Saviour whom he had loved
and served. Since his death, the family have not resided at
Ackworth, though the estate remains in their possession. It is
now the residence of Captain Armytage, known as " The Court."
In 1823, he invited a number of them to drink tea with him, at
the "Villa," and in 1829, he most "kindly rendered assistance
in the 'Apothecary's shop' in dispensing medicine," during a
visitation of fever, " acquiring thereby, from one of the nurses,
the designation of ' the old Potecary.' " The following anecdote
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 213
is told of him: "I recollect" says Thomas Hunton, "on one
occasion, Luke Howard, with his characteristic disregard of
conventionalities, breaking up the week-day meeting after
about half-an-hour, remarking, much in unision with our
feelings, that, under the present circumstances, he thought
the children ought to have shorter meetings and a more
generous diet." He was an author of some repute, and was
deeply read in the science of meteorology.
VI REV. TIMOTHY LEE, D.D.
This worthy divine was the revered Rector of Ackworth
from 174-4 to 1777. A faithful biographer would not shrink
from recording the vices as well as the virtues of his subject,
but in this instance, nothing but good is left upon record. Dr.
Lee was a model pastor from whichever direction he is viewed,
one over which even Herbert himself would have waxed warm
with enthusiasm. That he was a charitable man may be
gathered from his will. In one of the parish books Dr. Lee is
called " Rector and benefactor of Ackworth." In Mr. Thomp-
son's " Centenary History of Ackworth School," it is said that
" the Architect was a Mr. Watson, though Dr. Timothy Lee,
the Vicar (sic) of Ackworth, planned the centre." St. Cuthberts
Cottage, near the Church, was built by Dr. Lee for the use of
his wife in case she survived him; but the Rector survived,
Mrs. Lee dying before the building was finished, and which
was afterwards occupied by two maiden ladies named Walker,
sisters of George Clark Walker, Esq., of Doncaster, who was
three times Mayor of that town.
Copy of Clause in the Will of the Rev. Timothy Lee, D.D.,
Rector of Ackworth, dated 30th March, 1777.
" I give and devise unto Anthony Surtees, of Ackworth,
Esquire, and his heirs, all that small parcel of land as it is now
fenced off from the Hempyards, in Ackworth aforesaid, wherein
the grotto stands not now belonging to the Rectory; but I
request that the said Anthony Surtees and his heirs will for
214 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
ever hereafter permit the Rector of Ackworth for the time
being to enjoy and occupy the said parcel of ground, without
paying anything for the same. And I also request that the
said Anthony Surtees, or his heirs, will do any lawful act for
conveying and assuring the same parcel of ground to my
successors, Rectors of Ackworth, aforesaid, for ever."
Exception of the piece of land in the Hempyards, above
referred to, out of the conveyance from Dr. Lee to the
Trustees of Mr. Francis Sykes.
" By Indenture bearing date the 29th day of May, 1765,
made between the Rev. Timothy Lee, Doctor in Divinity, of
the one part, and William Sykes and William Willock, in trust
for Francis Sykes, Esq., of the other part, for the considerations
therein mentioned, the said Timothy Lee hath conveyed, from
and after his decease, unto the said William Sykes and William
Willock, amongst other lands and tenements, all that parcel of
land called the Hempyard, in Ackworth, except one part of the
said Hempyard, about the middle of the west side thereof,
then and for a long time used and occupied with the plantation,
or Brick-kiln Croft, belonging to the Rectory of Ackworth,
upon part of which is built a grotto and the rest is a plantation,
and is now separated from the said Hempyard by a stone wall ;
and which piece of ground is 23 yards, or thereabouts, from
east to west, and 35 yards, or upwards, from north to south."
There is an oil portrait of Dr. Lee at the Rectory, which is
well worth the inspection of connoiseurs. On the back of the
picture is fastened a faded sheet of paper bearing the following
inscription :
"TIMOTHY LEE, S.T.P.,
WAS PRESENTED TO THE RECTORY OF ACKWORTH,
DECR., 1744.
HE DIED THERE APRIL 19TH, 1777, AGED 63 YEARS.
UNIVERSALLY LAMENTED,
AS BEFORE HE HAD BEEN BELOVED AND HONOURED BY HIS
PARISHIONERS.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 215
This portrait, painted by the elder Killingbeck, of Pontefract,
a few years before Dr. Lee's death, and esteemed to be a strong
likeness, is presented by one of his successors (Rev. R. Hay) to
the Rectors and Churchwardens of Ackworth for the time
being, for the use of the Parish, in the hope that it may be
allowed to remain in the Rectory House, as a mark of respect
to the memory of the original."
VIL THE EARL OF DARLINGTON.
The Bedale Hunt, now so called, originally formed part of
the immense reach of country hunted by the Raby hounds, the
property of the Earl of Darlington, who resided for some time
at Ackworth.
William Henry, 3rd Earl of Darlington, and 1st Duke of
Cleveland, hunted the Raby and Badsworth countries; he
rented Belham House, near Ferrybridge, and established a
hunting club there. During his Badsworth reign, a celebrated
run from Howell Wood was commemorated in verse, the
following stanza applying to the Master :
" Then first in the burst, see dashing away,
Taking all in his stroke, on Kalpho the grey ;
With persuaders in flank, comes Darlington's peer
With his chin sticking out, and his cap on one ear."
The horse Ralpho, here mentioned, no doubt was a great
favourite, as the noble Earl was painted on him, with a few
celebrated hounds. Somewhere about 1794, the Earl gave up
the Badsworth country, and hunted the Raby and Bedale
countries. When hunting the Bedale country, he resided at
Newton House, near Bedale, now the residence of Captain
Rassell, R.N., a good friend to foxes. The Earl of Darlington
seems to have kept a large pack of hounds, probably seventy
couple, and they are described as big, strong hounds, with
remarkably short cupped ears. Failing health compelled Lord
Darlington to give up the Bedale country at the end of the
season 1831-32, and in 1839 he gave up the Raby country,
having been Master of Hounds for fifty-three years. From old
hunting diaries of the Earl of Darlington, now in possession
216 ACKWOETH, YORKS.,
of Captain Russell, of Newton House, it appears tbat the Earl
hunted the most days in 1811, having been out 192 days. In
1807, he was out 106 days, aad killed 103 foxes, beginning on
the 3rd of October, and ending on the 16th of April. On Lord
Darlington, afterwards 1st Duke of Cleveland, giving up the
country, Mr. Mark Milbank, of Thorpe Penow, near Bedale,
was requested to hunt the Bedale country, which he undertook
in 1832, originating ' the Bedale Hunt, the present Master of
which is Mr. Geo. Wm. Elliot, M.P. for the Richrnondshire
Division. William Henry, 3rd Earl of Darlington, K.G., who
was born in 1766, was created Marquess of Cleveland in 1827,
and elevated to the Dukedom in January, 1833, and died on
January 29th, 1842, when the honours devolved on his eldest
son, Henry, the 2nd Duke of Cleveland.*
VIII. MR GULLY, M.P.
John Gully, late of Ackworth Park, and M.P. for Pontefract,
and the well-known sportsman, died at Durham, on Monday,
March 9th, 1863, in the 80th year of his age. In all the crowd
of " characters that have ever made up the ring on a race-course,
there were few more famous, and no one whose career has been
so much of a romance, as tbat of John Gully. He was indeed
essentially one of the men of his time, and the tyro or stranger
would crave for a look at him long before his hero-worship
would centre on the jockey-lord, etc." And yet Mr. Gully was
by no means a remarkable man in his appearance, or, rather,
in no way noticeable for the mere emphasis of his tone or the
quaint cut of his coat. With a mien singularly quiet and
almost subdued, he associated the air and presence of a gentle-
man, while his fine irame and commanding figure gave an
innate dignity to his deportment that none who knew him
would care to question. In fact, as your gaze rested on him, it
was almost impossible to identify the man with the earlier
stages of his history, the butcher's boy, the prize-fighter, the
* I am indebted to the Rev. E. V. Taylor, B.A., for this and the following
sketch. %J.L. B.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 21?
public-house landlord, or the outside betting man. It was
easier far to recognise him as a country squire of good estate,
the owner of a long string of racehorses, or the- honourable
member of a reformed Parliament. In a new country like
America or Australia, we can readily imagine that the fighting
butcher might in due time develop into the stately Senator ;
but here, in Old England, Mr. Gully's success was unparalleled.
And he owed this, not merely to his great wealth, but far more
to his keen judgment, his good sense, and a certain straight-
forward respectability about everything he did." The gentlemen
of the turf from the very first, took kindly to Gully, for they felt
they could do so without any of the danger or disgust but too
often resulting from the society of a self-made man. Mr. Gully
was born at Bristol, sometime in the year 1783. He was brought
up to the trade of a butcher, but very soon evinced a handiness
in taking care of himself, in sundry fistic tourneys with his
comrades about home. On leaving the ring, Mr. Gully, like
most successful pugilists, inclined to the public life of a Boni-
face, and was for many years landlord of " The Plough," in
Carey Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields. But another ring found
attractions for him, and he very soon devoted himself to the
business of a betting man. In Ittl2. he had horses of his own,
and in 1827 he purchased the winner of the Derby, Mameluke,
from Lord Jersey, for 4000 guineas. In 1832 he, along with a
partner, Mr. Ridsdale, won both the Derby and the Leger.
Shortly after this, he assaulted Mr. Ridsdale in the hunting-
field, and had 500 to pay as damages. He also fought a duel
with Mr. Osbaldeston, who sent a ball through his hat. As Mr.
Gully examined the course of the ball, he jokingly remarked,
"It is better through my hat than through my head." He
must have been very successful, for he purchased Upper Hare
Park, near Newmarket, from Lord Rivers, where he for some
time resided ; but he sold this to Sir Mark Wood, and bought
in 1831, for 21,000, Ackworth Park, near Pontefract; an
accession which somewhat unexpectedly led to his representing
218 ACKWORTH, YOEKS.,
that Borough in the Radical interest for some sessions in
Parliament. He was twice returned, and on the first occasion
without a contest. During his long sojourn there, he also
figured as a good man over a country, and as one of the chief
supporters of the Badsworth Foxhounds. But the turf, after
all, was his ruling passion ; his horses won both the Oaks and
the Derby in 1846, the famous Sam Day being his jockey.
Rarely has any man enjoyed more signal success in his favourite
pursuit ; but, as we have said before, Gully owed much of this
to his tine judgment, especially in the way in which he could
reckon up a race-horse, or pick out a young one. Latterly, what
with increasing years and failing strength, he had gradually
declined, and having sold Ackworth to Mr. Hill, had lived some
years at Harwell Hall, near Winchester, though he had still
property in the North, including, we believe, some coal mines
and hence his death occurring at Durham. He left a family
of five sons and five daughters, and his funeral took place at
Ackworth Park, being attended by the Mayor and Corporation,
etc. His will was proved under 70,000 personality, the execu-
tors being Mrs. Mary Gully, his relict, and Mr. Thos. Belk, of
Hartlepool, his son-in-law, etc., the dispositions being confined
to members of his family. Among the specific bequests is one
of a piece of plate presented to the testator by the burgesses
of the borough of Pontefract, which he bequeathed to his son
Richard, etc. Mr. Gully was also for some time a Unitarian
preacher, and kept a Chapel somewhere (on his own estate, I
think), in which he himself used to officiate.
James Smith, in his " Rejected Addresses," gives the
following epigrammatic reason for the election of John Gully,
the pugilist, for Pontefract :
" You ask me the cause that made Pontefract sully,
Her fame, by returning to Parliament Gully ?
The etymological cause, I suppose, is
His breaking the bridges of so many noses."
The word " Pontefract " means " broken bridge."
Mr. John Gully is said to have bought Ackworth Park,
containing about 200 acres, with its large house and buildings,
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 219
for 21,500, in 1831. Mr. Gully was buried in his own grounds,
against the Churchyard wall; and about 1851, the property
was again sold. There is an engraved portrait of him, as
"Champion," with an autograph letter, signed 1833. For a
portrait and memoir of him see Baily's " Magazine," etc.
The following sad memorial of a member of the Gully
family appears, in the shape of a marble tablet, on the south
wall of Ackworth Church :
"SACRED TO THE MEMORY
OF
ROBERT GULLY, SON OF JOHN GULLY, ESQ.,
Of Ackworth Park,
Who, after suffering the horrors and privations of shipwreck
on the Island of Formosa, in the brig ^717?, on the night of
the 10th of March, 1842, in which vessel he was a passenger,
he was, together with the rest of the crew, taken prisoner by
the Chinese, and suffered the greatest privations and hardships,
which he bore with the most exemplary fortitude, manly and
cheerful resignation, to about the 13th of August, when he,
together with about 300 other British subjects, was most bar-
barously murdered in cold blood by the Chinese authorities, in
the town of Tywan Foo, aged 28 years. He was endeared to
a large circle of friends for his manly virtues and kindness of
heart. This tablet is erected by a bereaved and afflicted father."
IX. ROBERT WHITAKER,
who was a native of Rossendale, in Lancashire, was bom in
the year 1766, and was the only child of pious parents of the
Baptist persuasion. He was considered to be a boy of superior
intelligence, and he made rapid progress in the best schools
which the district afforded, his studies being completed under
a clergyman of the Church of England. Before he bad attained
the age of 21 years, he became acquainted with several mem-
bers of the Society of Friends, whose intellectual tastes had
great attractions for him ; their religious principles he carefully
220 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
examined and adopted as his own, continuing to be warmly
attached to them to the close of his long life. Whilst still a
young man, he took charge of a Boarding School at Llanidlass,
in Montgomeryshire, established, in great measure, by the well-
known Quaker philanthrophist, Richard Reynolds, for the
education of children of the Society of Friends, resident in
Wales. Here he remained four years, during which he became
much interested in the Welsh people, whose language he
learnt to speak and read with considerable facility, and, when
circumstances, not entirely under his own control, induced him
to leave his Cambrian home, he did so with great regret. In
the year 1805 he was appointed to the superintendence of the
Friends' School, in Ackworth, which proved to be a most
arduous undertaking, in consequence of the finances of the
Institution not then being, by any means, adequate to its
requirements, so that for many years he had a constant struggle
in order that expenses might be kept within the limits of
income. To effect this most desirable object, he cheerfully
made great personal sacrifices. Robert Whitaker's extraordinary
intuitive perception of character, his strong sense of justice,
and his delicate tact, secured for him the hearty co-operation
of those who laboured tinder him, and, although his numerous
duties did not allow of his spending much time in the schools,
the Teachers well knew that he possessed a tolerably accurate
acquaintance with what was passing in them, whilst the warm
interest he took in their own private studies was an incentive
to diligence in this direction, which, in not a few instances, led
to very creditable results. Of the individual characters of the
pupils in the School, he was able to form a singularly correct
estimate, and it is scarcely too much to add that he possessed
the love and respect of a large number of them, both on the
boys' and the girls' sides of the house. The charge of so large
a number of young people was felt by Robert Whitaker to
involve great responsibility, and, as he was sensitively alive to
the sufferings of his fellow creatures, it was a great distress to
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 221
him when illness prevailed in the family. He studied the
treatment of diseases incident to children, and was able to
prescribe remedies and to devise plans which were found to be
of great use, more especially so, as the Medical attendants of
the Institution were then resident at a distance of three miles
from it.
Though a practical agriculturist was engaged to have charge
of the Farm attached to the establishment, its financial concerns
were in the hands of Robert Whitaker, who also took great
interest in the general management of it ; and as his sympathies
were by no means confined to his fellow creatures of the human
family, but extended to all beings endowed with life arid feeling,
his concern was often manifested for the animals on the farm.
He studied the diseases of cattle to some extent, and the writer
of this sketch has a lively recollection of the sorrow depicted
on his countenance as he stood by an invalid cow, whose
sufferings he was anxious to relieve.
Very keen was his appreciation of the beauties of nature,
both in its grander and softer aspects. Fine trees he greatly
admired, and was very particular about the timber on the
School estate, which could then boast of some splendid oaks,
such indeed as are scarcely to be seen in the district now. The
large garden also had a share of his attention, and with great
pains he supplied it with a capital stock of fruit trees, which
he lived to see produce abundant crops. Of flowers he was
exceedingly fond, and would have taken great pleasure in the
culture of them, could he have found leisure for it.
Whilst closely occupied by duties of a rather heterogeneous
nature, he fully maintained Ids position as the head of an
educational establishment, and he corresponded extensively
with persons in various parts of the island who were interested
in the subject of education. Strangers who visited the School
were greatly attracted by his genial manners, and pleasing
conversational powers; and if he had not leisure to mingle
222 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
extensively with his fellow-residents in Ackworth and its
vicinity, it was fully understood by them that the high standard
of Christian character was a true guarantee that, under all
circumstances, he would pursue an honourable course where
their interests were concerned, and in him the poor felt they
had a true friend.
In this feeling of general respect, Robert Whitaker's excellent
wife, who was a true helper in his labours and cares, had a full
share. She died, after a short illness, when on a journey, in
the year 1833, and it was abundantly proved that the event
which prostrated her husband, was a sorrow in which Friends
and neighbours feelingly participated.
If Robert Whitaker was what may be termed a "strict
Friend," it may truly be written of him, that he loved all, of
whatsoever denomination, who loved the Lord Jesus Christ in
sincerity.
This sketch will scarcely be complete without alluding to
the fact that Robert Whitaker took great interest in various
philanthrophic movements of the day, amongst which the
British and Foreign Bible Society, and the Anti-Slavery Society
may be especially mentioned.
The following letter from John Hattersley, how was equally
famous as a Linguist, as a Mathematician, is inserted on account
of the testimony it bears to the soundness of the elementary
instruction given at Ackworth School during his superintend-
ence of it :
Dear and respected Friend,
I cannot but write to tell thee of the favourable completion of my
studies at Cambridge, on the 22nd inst. I learnt my place in the Mathematical
List, 8th _ Wrangler. This is a much better degree than I had ventured to hope
for; it is, in all human probability, the introduction to a course of occupation of
of a character the most consonant to my tastes and pursuits, the teaching of
young men of a high order of intellect, the picked men of England, I might
say, under circumstances the most favourable for success. At Ackworth School,
and under thy government, I began that court e of study which has issued in this
success : to the sound elementary instruction I received there, I am quite sure, I
have been indebted for my best habits, such as have done much to antagonize the
almost inevitable evils of an after course of self-instruction. As the first Ack-
worth scholar, I believe, whose name has been published on the door of our
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 223
Senate House, I feel a pride and pleasure in making here acknowledgment of the
benefits received from my first Alma Mater, and will not affect to doubt that the
acknowledgment of it will gratify all whom I have so much reason to love and
respect.
Believe me, dear Friend,
Most affectionately thine,
Jan. 21st, 1847. JOHN HATTERSLEY.
X. REV. W. R. HAY, M.A.,
thirty-fifth Rector of Ackworth, was the third and youngest
son of the Hon. Edward Hay, sometime Governor of Barbadoes,
by Mary, daughter of Peter Flower, merchant, of London. His
father was the fourth son of George Henry, seventh Earl of
Kinnoul, by Lady Abigail Harley, daughter of the Lord
Treasurer Oxford ; and younger brother to Robert, Lord
Archbishop of York. Mr. Hay received his education at Christ
Church, Oxford, where he took the degree of M.A., on Oct. 24,
1783, and during the early period of his life devoted his talents
to the study and practice of the Law. He was brought into
connexion with Lancashire in his capacity as a barrister on the
circuit, where, in 1793, he married Mary, widow of John Astley,
Esq., of Dukinfield, the beautiful and accomplished daughter
of William Wagstaffe, Esq., of Manchester. In 1797, he took
Holy Orders, and soon afterwards, was presented to the Rectory
of Ackworth by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
In the year 1803, he succeeded Thos. Butterworth Bayley, Esq.,
as Chairman of Quarter Sessions for the Hundred of Salford,
which office he held till the year 1823, when he retired into
private life. It is understood that the strong recommendations
made in his favour to Lord Sidmouth, by the municipal
authorities and other respectable inhabitants of Manchester,
with regard to his conduct as a Magistrate during the riots of
1818, induced the government to ask and obtain from the
Archbishop of Canterbury, his presentation to the valuable
Vicarage of Rochdale, net yearly value 1730, which was con-
ferred upon him in 1819. For several years he held both
livings, ultimately resigning the Vicarage of Rochdale, and
with it the Chairmanship of the Salford Hundred Quarter
224 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
Sessions, the duties of which he had performed -with great
ability for more than twenty years. On this occasion, he was
presented with a splendid vase, as a token of his people's
affection. His character and talents were greatly admired by
all those who came within the sphere of his acquaintance, and
cause him to be remembered by his friends with affection, and
by his political enemies (for personal enemies he had none) with
a feeling of deep respect. Early introduced into the most
polished circles, and the best literary society of his own time,
he constantly bore about him the marks of that refined sphere
in which he had been nurtured, and never forgot what was due
to himself or others in his intercourse with men of every class
and station ; of a cast of mind and frame of body almost alike
herculean, he could grapple with the greatest legal difficulties,
and undergo the most continued bodily exertion with a perse-
verance and ease which it astonished his feebler associates to
contemplate. No threat of personal danger could shake a
nerve of his frame; no sudden mental difficulty find his intellect
unprepared ; no rudeness of personal insult disturb the
equanamity of his temper. His conduct as a magistrate is
confessed, even by those who feel no great affection for his
acknowledged opinions, to have been beyond all praise. Five
minutes before the opening of the court, always found him
seated in the chair; and while he occupied it, the mingled
dignity and suavity of his deportment, the knowledge even of
the nicest technicalities, as well as of the general principles of
law which he exhibited, the unbiassed impartiality with which
he formed his decisions, and, the concise, dignified, and perspi-
cuous language with which those decisions were enunciated,
all tended to vindicate the majesty of the law, and secure
admiration and regard towards him who so admirably dispensed
it.
It is painful to look back to the melancholy scenes which
were enacted on the celebrated 16th of August, 1818. But we
believe that all right-thinking men, and real patriots of what-
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 225
ever shade of political opinion, are now ready to confess that
Manchester owed then as much to the firmness and admirable
coolness and decision of Mr. Hay, as Newport has more recently
done to the patriotic conduct of Sir Thomas Phillips. From
the time he quitted the chair of the Quarter Sessions, Mr. Hay
resigned, in a great measure, the duties of a magistrate, and
devoted himself exclusively to those of his sacred profession.
In that profession, he maintained the same love of order and
adherence to principle, the same contempt of mere popularity
at the expense of right, which distinguished his legal career.
This rigid adherence to the line of strict duty brought upon
him much public obloquy and personal disquiet, which a less
precise line of conduct would have escaped; but he grappled
with all the difficulties of such a situation with the intellect
of a giant, encountered his bitterest opponents with the unvary-
ing manners of a gentleman, and submitted to evils which he
could not overcome, with the philosophy and piety of a Christian.
In the intercourse of private life, the playful brilliance of his
imagination, as well as the almost infantile simplicity of his
fancy, his well stored fund of historical and political knowledge
which from a long and accurate observation of men and things
had brought, his pleasing reminiscences of great men and great
events in the last generation, united with a perfect knowledge
of, and unfailing interest in the men and events of the present,
his kind consideration for the wants and wishes of all around
him, from the highest to the lowest, his unchanging good
humour, his faithful attachment, his sober and unaffected piety,
will justify his personal friends in saying what has often been
said before, but never with more truth : " We ne'er shall look
upon his like again."
The remainder of his life at Ackvvorth was marked only by
a faithful and earnest discharge of his ministerial duties. There
are still living a few very old inhabitants of Ackworth who
remember him with affection, and cherish his portrait with
pride, because it was given to them by "Old Mr. Hay." He died
226 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
on the 10th December, 1839, aged 78 years, and was buried
N.W. of the Churchyard,* by the side of his wife. "In my
early days," says Miss Whittaker, an old resident of Ackworth,
" the society in the village was considered to be of a decidedly
superior order, the Rector (the Rev. W. R. Hay) being a relative
of the Earl of Kinnard, and his marriage with the widow of a
wealthy gentleman of Dukinfield, near Manchester, named
Astley, probably secured for him a good position in the district."
Miss Mary Hay, his only daughter, was a lady of a peculiarly
kind and genial disposition, and, like her mother, was greatly
beloved by the villagers. Dr. Hay's only son (The Rev. Edward
Hay) was born in 1800.
XI. ALEXANDER PETER BUCHAN, M.D.
This " physician of no mean repute " was the only son of
the celebrated Dr. William Buchan, and was born at Ackworth
in 1763. He died at Weston Street, Somers Town, December
5th, 1824, aged 61, and was laid to rest " among the illustrious
and the brave," by the side of his father in the west cloister of
J , <
Westminster Abbey. His will, dated 3rd June, 1824, was
proved 28th January, 1825. He bequeathed 70 per annum
for the maintenance and education of his only child, Helen
Anna Buchan, during her minority, and the residue of his
estate to his wife and sister, except 100, which he gave to his
cousin, Alexander Peter Buchan. In an affidavit, he was
described as late of Percy Street, St. Marylebone, Doctor of
Medicine.-f-
XII. WILLIAM HOWITT,
Better known as the popular writer of " Books for Boys," and
whose name is a "Household Word" in every home, was
born at Heanor, " on the borders of the Peak of Derbyshire," J
Deer. 18th, 1792. and educated at Ackworth. He gives a
* Vide Monuments.
t Vide " Old Yorkshire," Vol. III., p. 89.
J Vide " Boys' Country Book," p. 2.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 227
lengthy and graphic description of his school life, which
extended from 1802 to 1806, in one of his works, under the
chapter heads of " School-Days," and " In the School."* Under
the latter, he refers to four contemporary school fellows, as
follows: "Boxall, the chanter of Homer and Ossian ; Stack-
house, the satirist, and engraver on wood ; Wiffen, the translator
of Tasso ; and Sams, who has since trod the deserts of Egypt,
and explored Jerusalem for ancient MSS." " One lad," says
Mr. Howitt, " Jemmy Ward by name, a rough Lancashire lad,
with a strong dialect," who was repeatedly convicted of pilfering,
ultimately "became a butcher by trade, and was actually hanged
in his native county for sheep-stealing !" Mr. Howitt was a
prolific writer. Besides the " Boys' Country Book," he wrote
" The Rural Life of England," " Visits to Remarkable Places,"
etc. His first work, a volume of poems, was published in 1808.
He married in his 28th year, Miss Botham, of Uttoxeter, so
\vellknownafterwardsasMaryHowitt. The "Forest Minstrel,"
published in 1823, was the united production of these two
writers. The remainder of his works were : " The Book of
Seasons," " The History of Priestcraft in all Ages," a romance
entitled " Pantilla," " Student Life of Germany " (1841), " Rural
and Domestic Life in Germany" (1842), "German Experiences"
(1844), "Homes and Haunts of the British Poets 5 '' (1847), two
novels entitled respectively, " The Hall and the Hamlet," and
" Madam Donnington," " History of the Literature of Scandina-
via," " History of Discovery in Australia," " Land, Labour, and
Gold," " Letters on Transportation," " Illustrated History of
England " (9 vols.X and many others. William Howitt died at
Rome, on the 3rd of March, 1879, and was interred in the
Protestant Cemetery there.
XIII. EDWARD WATKINSON, M.D.
The late Edward Watkinson, of Ackworth, M.D., by his will
dated April, 1765, gave (after payment of some small legacies)
all the residue of his personal estate, after the death of his
* Ibid, xvi., xvi,, pp. 237-276.
228 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
wife, unto the Rector of Ackworth, the Rector of Hemsworth,
and the Vicar of Pontefract, for the time being, the Mayor,
Recorder, and two senior Aldermen of the Borough of Ponte-
fract for the time being, upon trust that they and his friend
Mr. Alderman Samuel Saltonstall should put the same out at
interest, and pay and apply the produce thereof (after payment
of some annuities) for the maintenance, support, and comfortable
living and subsistence of nine poor unmarried persons of the
Protestant religion, for ever ; to be nominated, chosen, and
elected as follows, viz. : the said trustees to nominate and choose
two poor men and two poor women who should live in Ackworth,
and two poor men and two poor women who should live in
Pontefract, and also one other woman who should live in either
of the said townships, to be the servant of the said eight poor
persons, and to wait and attend upon them as such ; and which
said eight poor persons and their servant should from time to
time have the said interest, produce, and dividends paid equally
amongst them, share and share alike. And the said testator
wills and declares that no married person shall be capable of
being elected one of the said nine persons, and that if any of
them do afterwards marry, that such person shall cease to have
any share in the said produce and dividends, and be displaced
from having any benefits or advantage. And he also gives the
said trustees power to displace any of the said persons guilty
of any immorality, misconduct, or bad behaviour. And also
to fill up vacancies, so as there shall always be therein two poor
men and two poor women, belonging to each of the said town-
ships of Ackworth and Pontefract, and a maid servant. And
he gives the said trustees a discretionary power as to the best
method of perpetuating and performing the trusts of his will,
and all matters and things relating thereto.
On February 9th, 1778, the trustees held their first meeting
to put the said will in execution, and soon afterwards purchased
a piece of ground in Northgate, and built a handsome house
thereon under the directions of the said Mr. Saltonstall. On
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 220
October 25th, 1779, the said hospital being ready for the
reception of its intended inhabitants, the trustees 'nominated
eight poor persons and a servant to dwell therein according to
the said will, and ordered them to be paid ten shillings each
every calendar month.
The vacancies arising by death or otherwise have been
regularly filled up from time to time, and the trustees have
laid out the testator's estate in the purchase of South Sea
Annuities, the dividends of which are paid monthly to the
poor people of this hospital, now amounting to fifteen shillings
each person ; and the trustees take care to keep their respective
apartments clean and in good repair, rendering this place a
desirable and comfortable retreat to old age and infirmity.
XIV. DR. JOHN FOTHERGILL.
John Fothergill, M.D., F.R.S., and founder of Ackworth
School, was born at Carr End, Semerwater, between Askrigg
and Hawes, in Wensleydale, on the 8th of March, 1712. He was
educated at Sedbergh School, and apprenticed to Benjamin
Bartlett, an eminent apothecary at Bradford, and afterwards
studied at Edinburgh and London. Here, during the succeeding
forty years (from 1740,) he laboured unremittingly, attaining to
the highest rank in his profession, and numbering among his
patients some of the most worthy and distinguished characters
of the century. But in estimating his character, it would be a
great mistake to regard him simply as a great physician ; it was
in its highest and widest meaning, as a friend to man, that he
has a claim upon our regard and admiration. There is scarcely
a point which affects the physical, moral, and religious interest
of the race, which did not attract his attention, and receive
benefit from his judicious and untiring labours.
Notwithstanding the intense pressure of his varied engage-
ments, we find that he was an Elder, and became a member of
the Yearly Meeting's Committee, appointed to visit the Meetings
of Friends in the various counties of England. He was thus
230 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
engaged for many weeks, chiefly in Yorkshire, Lancashire, and
Westmoreland, and it was whilst thus engaged that he paid
his last visit to Carr End, in 1777. It may have been that
these visits, and the ignorance he found in many quarters, gave
additional force to his long-cherished desire to see a sound and
Christian education more generally valued, and made accessible
to all classes in the Society of Friends. Be this as it may, it
was in this year that he succeeded in giving a practical shape
to his long-cherished wish ; and we now come to that point in
our narrative which, extending over the three remaining years
of Dr. Fothergill's life, gives the history of the establishment
of Ackworth School, which was, as Luke Howard justly called
it, " the Era of a Reformation in our Religious Society." Nor
does it render him less entitled to have his name handed down
to the latest posterity, as the founder of Ackworth School, that
he did not, as has often been stated, purchase it wholly, and
present it to the Society. And jointly with his name, and
entitled to our gratitude and remembrance, we must not omit
to mention that of his warm and devoted friend, David Barclay,
of London ; and in Yorkshire, those of his friends, John Hustle,
of Bradford, and Wm. Tuke, of York.
In the summer of 1780 (the last of his life), Dr. Fothergill
paid his second, and subsequently a third, visit to Ackworth
School.
One of the most important objects of Dr. Fothergill's life
was now accomplished, and we can only devote a few words to
the account of its close. Before doing so, however, the following
graphic description of Dr. Fothergill, as he appeared probably
at the time of his last visit to York, written by a great nephew,
cannot fail to be of interest :
Extract from Records of John Fothergill, of York (1743) :
"Dr. Fothergill was pious, generous, and benevolent, rather
above the middle size ; very delicate and slender, of a sanguine
temperament ; his forehead finely proportioned ; his eyes light-
coloured, brilliant, acute, and deeply penetrating; his nose
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 231
rather aquiline ; his mouth betokened delicacy of feeling, his
whole countenance expressed liability to initiation, great sensi-
bility, clear understanding, and exalted virtue."
Two months after his return from his last visit to Ackworth,
he was again seized with illness, which terminated his useful,
busy life in about a fortnight. His death took place on the
26th of December, 1780, at the age of 68. Thus died the
distinguished Yorkshireman, John Fothergill, who in life had
so thoroughly exemplified his own saying, " that the great
business of man as a member of Society is to be as useful to
it as possible, in whatsoever department he may be stationed."
The above is chiefly an abridgement from an article on "Dr.
John Fothergill, F.R.S.," by James Hack Take, in "Old York-
shire," vol. iv,, pp. 133-141, illustrated with a medallion portrait
of Dr. Fothergill, and a fac-simile of his autograph ; with
engravings of Ackworth School, and Carr End, Semenvater.
For several anecdotes of Dr. Fothergill's beneficence
humanity, and generosity, see " Yorkshire Anecdotes," pp. 175-
179 ; and " Sketch of the Life of John Fothergill, M.D., F.R.S,"
by James H. Tuke, 1880, with a cameo-portrait of the Doctor.
For an engraving of a medal of John Fothergill, M.D., see the
"Gentleman's Magazine," vol. 65, p. 474, etc. His "works,"
consisting chiefly of medical pieces, have been printed in three
volumes, 8vo., with his " Life " prefixed ; also in 4to., 1785, with
portraits. See the " Life of Dr. Fothergill," by Lettsorn ; also,
a " Tribute to the Memory of Dr. Fothergill," by Dr. Hird, of
Leeds ; " Gentleman's Magazine," from 1780-87 ; Hartley
Coleridge's " Northern Worthies," pp. 694-720 ; and Cunning-
ham's "Lives of Illustrious Men," vol. vi., p. 113, etc. There
are several portraits of this celebrated doctor.
XV. BENJAMIN FLOUNDERS.
Benjamin Flounders, Esq., a most munificent benefactor
at Yarrn, in the North Riding of Yorkshire, died there about
the year 1847. He also established an Institute or School at
232 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
Ack worth (since called by his name), with 40,000 for training
young men to be teachers in the Society of Friends. The
building was opened for students in the summer of 1848. The
instruction, according to the trust deed, includes ancient and
modern languages, mathematics, and natural philosophy in all
its parts, to which have been added other subjects to meet
recent requirements of education, or having more immediate
reference to the Society. The Institution was intended to
accommodate twelve pupils (see also the " History of Ack worth
School," and Whellan's " North Riding," vol. ii., p. 175, etc.).
He also bequeathed 500 to the Grammer School at Yarm,
and 1000, in the Three Per Cents., to the Yarm National
School, for which 50 children are taught free ; and 500 for
the founding and endowing of an Infant School there. This
munificent benefactor also left 20 a year to the poor of that
parish. A scheme has just been passed for establishing, on a
large scale, a boarding school of the second grade, for the
counties of Northumberland, Durham, and the North Riding
of Yorkshire ; and it affords an interesting example of the
combination of the older endowed system, with the simple
country school. The foundation consists of about 50,000 ;
10,000 the property of an old foundation, St. John's Hospital
at Barnard Castle, where the School is to be situated ; of about
30,000 bequeathed some thirty years ago by Benj. Flounders,
of Yarm, in North Yorkshire, for the promotion of education
of any class in any part of Her Majesty's dominions ; and of
10,000 raised by voluntary subscriptions, for a building fund.
The North-Eastern County School is said in the scheme, to be
intended mainly for the sons of farmers and tradesmen, of
eleven years old and upwards, whose education is supposed to
terminate at sixteen; with accommodation for about 350
boarders, at 31 a year.
XVI JOHN BRIGHT.
Reference has been made elsewhere to this illustrious name,
but the following additional information will no doubt be read
ITS HISTOKY AND ANNALS. 233
with interest by those who delight to honour the memory of
our departed friend John Bright.
The "Liverpool Courier" of May 24th, 1888, in one of its
leaders, contributes the following testimony : " The Bright
family, John Bright in particular, have always been regarded
as model Quakers. He is related to families whose names are
amongst the most venerated in the history of the denomination.
He is connected by marriage with the M'Larens, a name
honoured in the capital of Scotland ; his second wife was a
sister of that scholarly eloquent Quaker, the Wakefield banker,
Edward A. Leatham, and he was related to such well-known
and respected Friends as Gurney, Lucas, and others. Whether
it is in the secluded Quaker colony of agriculturists of Ack-
worth a charming spot between Wakefield and Pontefract
where Mr. Bright received his early education, and where he
was afterwards a frequent and welcome visitor to his brother-
in-law at Hemsworth Hall, and at the village of Ackworth ; in
the great manufacturing towns of Lancashire, or in the Friends'
meeting-house in this city, where he was sometimes to be seen
when he came to Liverpool, Mr. Bright has always been honoured
for his high personal character, and is a model member of that
religious body with which he and his family have so long been
prominently identified."
From the " Rock " of a more recent date, I cull the following
extract :
The Quakers' " Testimony " to John Bright is now being
privately circulated. It has the quaint old phraseology adopted
generations ago. It is a testimony from the Lancashire
Monthly Meeting, which sends it " to the power and goodness
of God as shown in the life and services of John Bright, M.P."
After stating in a sentence his birth and death, it says that
"Divine grace enabled our friend John Bright to be a true
minister of Jesus Christ in the remarkable line of service to
which he was called." It details his taste for study, his " deep
sense of responsibility in the sight of God, and his intense
234 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
human sympathy," his love and reverence for the Scriptures,
and his simple habits, diligent attendance of Quaker meetings,
and loyalty to the Society of Friends. Without flattery of the
dead statesman, it testifies fully to his worth among his own
people.
Another phase in John Bright's life is revealed by the
"Liverpool Evening Echo," of December 1st, 1889, as follows:
"By accidental conversation in a railway compartment
during a journey last June to Ackworth for the Old Scholars'
Meeting, Mr. Hodgson (the author of some remarks on John
Bright's schooldays, in the Ackworth Old Scholars' Magazine)
learned that Joshua Sutcliffe, of Todmorden, was at Newton
School with Bright, his bedfellow and close companion ; and
there was a damsel there, Alice Wilkinson, of Slaidburn, who
attracted the fancy of both boys. Bright's love of arbitration
would almost appear to have shown incipient budding even
thus early, for we are told that, instead of becoming deadly
rivals as per the fashion of fiction, ' so close was the friendship
of the two boys, that they entered into the school-boy compact
that John was to marry Alice ; and Joshua, John's sister.' How
this little romance worked itself out history sayeth not, but we
learn that when Joshua, in due time, went to Slaidburn to
propose to Alice, his bosom friend John accompanied him, and
' she was married to Joshua Sutcliffe in 1836.' By all the rules
of love-telling this should terminate the tale.. But Joshua
Sutcliffe died, in 1873, and Alice, his widow, during the present
year. Amongst her most treasured possessions, after her
decease, this letter was found :
Rochdale, January 17th, 1873.
My Dear Mrs. Sutcliffe, I will venture to address you,
although it is so many years since we met. I was grieved and
shocked to hear of your great bereavement, and I wish, even
at the risk of seeming intrusion at this sad time, to tell you
how deep is my sympathy for you. This event carries my
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 235
mind back to pleasant times, and to scenes in which you, in
your girlhood, were always a pleasant picture. You know how
intimate was the friendship in those days between him you
have so lately lost, and me an intimacy which, unfortunately,
has not been continued, owing-mainly to the fact that our paths
in life have been so very different, and our engagements have
seldom brought us together. But I cannot, and do not wish
to forget the past, although it is so long past. I am very sorry
I can see my old schoolfellow and friend no more, and I feel
much for your family in the affliction which has befallen you.
Pray forgive my freedom in writing you this letter ; I wish I
could send you any word of comfort; but comfort in these
troubles can only come from a higher source, as I doubt not
you have already discovered. Believe me always very sincerely
yours, JOHN BRIGHT.
To Mrs. Sutcliffe, Fur Grove, Burnley."
From the same source I reproduce " John Bright's letter to
a School-girl."
" In 1879, Miss Mabel Tangye was at school at Weston-
super-Mare, and, indignant at the remarks of the ' Tory ' young
ladies in the school, she wrote to Mr. John Bright, telling him
her troubles. Mr. Bright promptly replied : ' My dear Mabel,
May I thus address you, though I do not know you, and
have never seen you ? I am very much amused at your
pleasant and interesting letter, which I have read over several
times ; and I can, in some degree, imagine the enthusiasm and
the daring which led you, or induced you, to write it. You
think I have endeavoured to do some good things in my public
life which have been useful for our people, and especially for
the poor among them, and your sympathy for them has made
you think kindly of me. I like to think of this, and to think
that many who are strangers to me, and whom I have never
seen, and perhaps may never see, can approve of some things
I have wished to do, or have done. I am glad you liked the
great meeting at Birmingham. I hope it was useful to many
236 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
there, and to some who were not there. If our people knew
more of what is good for them, they might be much happier
than they are ; they would have more comfortable homes, and
they would be able to secure for themselves a better govern-
ment ; we should have less of war, and ignorance, and poverty,
and crime. I have always wished for this, and have spoken
earnestly for it. When you grow up, and have more influence
than you have now, I hope it will always be used in favour of
justice and mercy, and goodness ; and now, even among your
schoolfellows, you can do some good if you wish to do it, which
I do not for a moment doubt.' "
XVII. JOHN GRAHAM.
Another name which deserves a place in the " Annals of
Ackworth," is that of John Graham. The " Leeds Mercury,"
of September 26th, 1889, in an obituary of him. says:
" Yesterday the remains of this gentleman were interred in
the Friends' Burial Ground, LOAV Ackworth. For many years
prior to 1878, he was proprietor of the Temperance and School
Hotel and Posting House attached to the famous Friends'
School at Ackworth. He died a few days ago at the age of 76
years. He was a member of the Society of Friends, and in
connection with the large educational establishment and
Flounders' College at Ackworth, was well-known throughout
England by members of the Society of Friends. He had
resided in Ireland for about eleven years past. A few months
ago he had a desire to return to his native " village of flowers "
at Ackworth to end his days, and this was granted him, his
death occurring at his sister's residence Mrs. Knight's. A
number of the inhabitants of Ackworth were present at the
funeral, and at the grave, after a brief silence, Mr. G. Satter-
thwaite offered up a prayer. There were present at the graveside
Mr. John Graham, Mr. Thomas Graham (sons), from Ireland ;
Mr. Alfred Graham and Mrs. Graham (Preston); Mr. and Mrs.
Wood (Holmfirth) ; Mr. F. Andrews, B.A. (Ackworth School) ;
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 237
Mr. and Mrs. Taylor (Pontefract) ; Mr. G. Satterthwaite, Mr.
Jonah Barratt, Mr. Ransome, Mr. J. Simpson (Ackworth) ; and
many others. After the coffin had been lowered, the sorrowing
relatives and friends adjourned to the Friends' Meeting-house,
where words of consolation were given by several present.
XVIIL- WILLIAM MARCUS FALLOON, M.A.
The Rev. W. M. Falloon, M.A., was born near Belfast, in the
north of Ireland, and graduated at Trinity College, Dublin, in
the year 1837. He took honors in Hebrew and in Classics, and
was a scholar of his college. He was ordained in April, 1838,
by the then Bishop of Down and Connor, Dr. Mant ; and had
both Deacon's and Priest's Orders within the same year. His
first Curacy was at Ballinderry, on the borders of Lough Neah,
the parish in which the distinguished Dr. Jeremy Taylor
once lived and ministered. The ruins of the Church in which
Dr. Taylor served may still be seen on the borders of the lake.
The stumps of old pear trees, said to have been planted by the
same Bishop, used also to be found in the Parish, close to a
bowling green, where the saintly man was wont to play for
exercise and health. Mr. Falloon remained there as Curate
only for one year, long enough for him to become greatly
attached to the Parish and people, and by them to be highly
esteemed. Being invited, by the then well known Incumbent
of St. Jude's, Liverpool, Dr. Hugh Mc.Neile, afterwards Canon
of Chester, and, subsequently, Dean of Ripon, to become his
Curate, he left Ballinderry, and came to Liverpool in the May
of 1839. To be associated so nearly with a man so distinguished,
was a serious trial to one so young, both in years, and in the
ministry ; and, at first, Mr. Falloon feared he had made a mis-
take in coming to a Church and Ministry, at that time attracting
so very much attention and public interest. His early fears,
however, were soon dispersed by the very affectionate treatment
and sympathy he received from the Incumbent ; and by the
warmth of the welcome given to him and his young wife, on
238 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
the part of the people. Mr. Falloon ever spoke of that time
as one of the brightest and happiest in his ministerial life. He
remained there, as Curate of St. Jude's, till the October of the
year 1843, when, being offered by Dr. Mc.Neile the Incumbency
of St. John's, Liverpool, he accepted it, and passed to a scene
of earnest labour and singular success, and remained there till
the Autumn of 1851, when, through over-pressure, and the
ever increasing urgency of the work at St. John's, his health
began to give way, and he was advised to seek a less laborious
sphere. The Incumbency of St. Bride's, Liverpool, becoming
vacant at the time, he was pressed by many friends to remove
to it, on offering advantages of various sorts most likely to
contribute to the restoration of his health. Though very
reluctant to part from a people so loving and beloved as those
at " dear St. John's," he was finally persuaded to accept the
Incumbency of St. Bride's. There he remained and ministered
for twenty-six years, carrying out a Ministry upon strict evan-
gelical lines, and surrounded by a very large and influential
congregation, who proved quite a power in the great town, by
reason of the largeness of their liberality, contributing to
every good work, at home and abroad ; by the spirit of unity
and love existing amongst them ; as well as by their unvarying
loyalty to their Pastor and Friend. Many live, to whom St.
Bride's is a name most dear, and the sweet memories of its
services, its communion, its meetings for prayer, and its other
agencies, cannot be easily forgotten. When the great Lord and
Master writeth up His people, there will be this record
concerning St. Bride's, " this and that man was born there."
In 1871, the late Bishop of Chester, Dr. Jacobson, appointed
Mr. Falloon an Honorary Canon of Chester Cathedral, as an
acknowlegrnent of the services rendered by him to the town
and Diocese; and when he left Liverpool in 1875, amidst
universal expressions of regret, not only did his brethren of
the clergy present him with an Address of affection, and a case
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 239
of valuable books, but his congregation and friends added
another address, and a gift of one thousand guineas.
Finding increasing work in Liverpool too heavy for increas-
ing years, and being offered by a late Chancellor of the Duchy,
Colonel Taylor, the Rectory of Ackworth, Yorkshire, he left
Liverpool, after a ministry there of thirty-six years, in Novr.,
1875, and entered upon his work amidst strangers, in a country
village and parish, where he ministered for sixteen years, true
as ever to the principles of the Reformation, and to the disci-
pline and doctrines of the Protestant Church of England. Here
he preached the everlasting Gospel with burning eloquence and
fervour, and with much acceptance ; " ruling prudently with
all his power," and administering parochial affairs with singular
wisdom and tact. A handsome Chapel-of-Ease at Moor-Top,
dedicated to All Saints', and consecrated by the Bishop of
Beverley, on July 17th, 1891, only two days before Canon
Falloon's death, will be the principal visible monument of his
pastorate. He was buried at Liverpool, where his name and
memory are fondly cherished.
fcssU.
The following notes respecting this hamlet, will no doubt
be interesting to Ackworth readers.
The name Hessle is of Danish derivation, and indicates that
its origin was probably due to Danish settlers,* and if so, its
existence may be traced to a period or decade later than Saxon
times, but sufficiently remote to entitle it to the claim of being
very ancient. In 1402, we know the name was spelt " Hesill,"
which may have been derived from the Danish Has = water,
and ille = a village ; there is certainly an abundance of good
water still in the hamlet. Or, it may have taken its name from
* Stewart, in his MS. History of Wragby, says these settlers afterwards
migrated to Ackworth.
240 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
the Anglo-Saxon hasel = the modern hazel, a word common to
all the Aryan languages. It is generally supposed that a small
church existed here, in connection with Nostel Priory, but
there is no trace remaining. Tradition says there used to be
in one of the old houses an oblong stone trough, in which
baptisms by immersion took place.
The hamlet was certainly at one time larger than it is now.
The leather, or fell-mongering trade was its chief industry, but
in 1740,* when the old coach-road from Wakefield to Doncaster,
through Nostel, was diverted, the leather trade was principally
carried on at the top of Constitution Hill. The water for
tanning purposes was pumped by wind power from the valley
at Hessle. In later years, nearly every farm house in the
hamlet had its malt-house and kiln for brewing purposes.
An old milestone stands near Nostel Avenue, bearing the
date 1722.
The old coach road appears to have entered the Nostel
domain at Foul by, on thro' the Park, north of Nostel up the
east avenue, crossing Brackenhill Common down to Kinsley
Green, where the ' brook or watercourse was ford,' forward to
Moor Top on to the main road. Although overgrown with
grass, it is easily traced. About a quarter of a mile north of the
said ford is a county bridge, which is the boundary between
Ackworth and Wragby parishes.
In this year the bridge over Nostel lake \vas built.
THK MKXBOROCGH ARMS.
[Argent, in a bend, sable, three owls of the field.]
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 241
fists.
RECTORS AND CURATES.
DATE. SECTORS. CURATES.
1212. Henry de Ackworth (Habuit pensionem). No record.
1302. Will, de Wirminstead (Sub-diac) ....
1333. Robt. de Creyks (Cler)
1349. Will, de Fenton (Tonsuram habeus) . .
1352. Johannes de Barton ,,
1359. Alan de Waynflet
1361. Johannes de Leedes ,,
1366. Thomas de Amcote (Cler.)
1367. Johannes Amcotes (Presb.) . . . . . . ,
1381. Johannes Broughton (Presb.)
1402. Tho. de Whiston (Cler.)
1422. Thos. Balne (Frat. Can. de Nostel)
1427. Kichardus Rishton (Cler.)
T. Gilberthorpe (Presb.)
1453. Joannes Wynton (Presb.) . . . . . .
1498. Jacobus Forman (Presb.) . . . . . . ,,
1504. Johannes Carnabel (Cler.)
1534. Riche. Deane (Preab.)
1554. Thos. Hartyndon (Cler.) ,,
1578. Barnab. Shepherd (Cler.)
1585. Simon Buck (Cler.) ,,
1588. Robert Usher (Cler.)
Johnes Wilson (Cler.) . . . . . .
1594. Will. Lamb (Cler.)
April,
1634. Dan Faulkner (Cler.), M.A
Sept.,
1634. Sam Carter, M.A., (Cler.)
1643. Thos. Bradley, D.D.*
* Dr. Bradley was dispossessed of his house and pulpit at the usurpation by
one " Anthony Burbeck, a stiff-rumped Presbyterian."
242
ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
DATE.
BECTOE.
CURATE.
1673.
Jeremiah Bolton, M.A
No record
1694.
Jordan Tancred . .
1695.
Benjamin Eentmore, M.A.
>
1700.
Phil Rollings, M.A
>
1728.
Wil. Kay, M.A
>
1744.
Tim. Lee, D.D.
1776.
J. Beevor.
1777.
Ashbnrnham Toll Newman, M.A. . .
. . Peter Heaton.
1778.
..
1789.
. . Charles Butter.*
1798.
i
. . George -Hendrick.
1802.
Will. Robt. Hay, M.A
n
1813.
>i ....
. . John Morville.
1820.
W. R. Hay, M.A.
. . W. T. Farrington.
1821.
....
. . J. Hope.
1823.
R. Bassnett
1825.
M ....
. . J. W. Inchbald.
1828.
M ....
. . T. F. P. Hankins.
1840.
Edmund G. Bayley, M.A
i.
1844.
Jos. Kenworthy, M.A.
Nil.
1867.
. . James Taylor, B.D.
1868.
i) ....
. . W. L. B. Cator.
1869.
,, ....
. . J. Magrath.
1872.
. . C. J. Perry-Keene
1873.
)> ....
. . Wm. H. Robinson.
1874.
....
. . Arthur Mays.
1875.
Wm. Marcus Falloon, M.A. . .
.1
1876.
,, . . . .
. . H. C. Harrison.
1878.
)i
. . H. M. Kennedy.
1879.
,, ....
. . C. Elrington.
1880.
I? ....
. . George Dart.
1883.
,, . . . .
. . R. C. Atkinson.
1884.
>
. . J. L. Saywcll.
1887.
....
. . B. L. Parkin.
1891.
Henry Hewlett, M.A.
1892.
. . E. D. Cree.
* Mr. Butter died at Ackworth, January 5th, 1798, aged 74. "Old age" is
inserted as the cause of death. He was buried in Ackworth Churchyard, Jan. 10.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS.
243
LIST OF THE LORDS OF THE MANOR OF
ACKWORTH.
DATE. NAMES.
John Lamb, Gent.
Robert Hewitt, Gent...
Thomas Howit
John Pickering
James Croft, Gent. . .
Thomas Pickering
William Horncastle . .
Samuel Cawood
1681 Ralph Lowther, Esq. . .
to George Abbott, Gent.
William Adams, Gent.
1692. Hastings Pickering, Clerk
1700 Ralph Lowther, Esq. . .
to Robert Lowther, Gent.
Robert Mason, Gent. . .
1706. Hastings Pickering, Clerk
1711 Ralph Lowther, Esq. . .
Robert Lowther, Gent,
to Lamb
1722. Richard Pickering, Clerk
1728 John Lowther, Esq. . .
Richard Mason, Gent.
Richard Pickering, Clerk
1819. Thomas Anstwick
Thomas Bargh
John Pearson
Peter Wilson
Thomas Pearson
1853. John Gully, Esq.
Luke Howard
William Hepworth . .
William Nelstrop
REMARKS.
These, it appears from the Court papers,
were the ancient Lords of the Manor.
They were succeeded by
There is no record until 1700.
No Court holden until 1711.
No Court holden until 1728.
No record until 1819.
No record until 1853.
These Lords were appointed in Sept.
1853, and the property of the Manor
conveyed to them by Indentures of
Conveyance made the 13th day of
244
ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
DATE. NAMES.
Robert Nelstrop
George Fairbarn
John Simpson
1860. Same as above.
1875. William Nelstrop
Robert Nelstrop
Thomas Pearson
Thomas Tait
1878. Thomas Tait, Clerk . .
Henry Hill
Robert Nelstrop
I. M. Hepworth
Thomas Pearson
Joseph Nelstrop
1881. Henry Beetham, Clerk
Thomas Pearson
Thomas Tait ..
Joseph Nelstrop
Richard Lee
J. H. Cadman, Esq. . .
George Waide
Edward Micklethwaite
REMABKS.
August, and 10th day of September,
1853. All the deeds, books and papers
were then placed in the hands of Henry
J. Colemau, Solicitor, Pontefract.*
The Reitor of Ackworth for the time
being is an ex-oflicio Lord of the
Manor.
These gentlemen were appointed by the
Charity Commissioners in lieu of the
Freeholders of Ackworth, although the
appointment properly rests with the
Freeholders themselves, but they are
now satisfied with the privilege of
recommendation. It is much to be
regretted that a complete record of the
Trustees has not been kept.
* Vide Memorandum in Manor Minute Book.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS.
245
LIST OF ACKWORTH SCHOOL TEACHERS.
Date.
1779
1781
1790
1795
1796
1801
1803
1805
Superintendents.
Joseph Donbavand
John Hill
Thomas Hodgkin Temp
John Hipsley, senr.
Jonathan Binns
Robert and Hannah
Whittaker
Assistant Masters.
George Lomas
Thomas Hodgkin
Thomas Binns
Principal Governesses.
Hannah Reay
Robert Whittaker
Mary Martin
Isabella Harris
1806
1807
1809
1811
1814
1817
1823
1826
1830
11
1834
1836
1839
1841
1844
1846
1848
1850
ii
1862
1866
Thomas and Rachel
Pumphrey
George and Rachel
Satterthwaite
Joseph Birkbeck ,,
John Hipsley, junr.,
Joseph Sams ,,
Joseph Doubavand, j unr . , ,
William Singleton ,,
John Donbavand
Samuel Evens
Thomas Bradshawe Temp
Henry Brady
William Hayward
Thomas Brown
William Doeg ,,
Lydia Palmer
,, Catherine Naish Temp
Robert Doeg Priscilla Kincey
,, Hannah Richardson
Charles Barnard
William Sewell
Joseph S. Sewell ,,
Wm. Thistlethwaite
John Newby Jane Oddie
Henry Wilson
Thomas Haslam Temp
Thomas Puplett Mary Ann Speciall
John W. Watson
Albert Linney
246 ACKWOETH, YORKS.,
Date. Superintendents. Assistant Masters. Principal Governesses.
1867 George and Bachel
Satterthwaite Albert Linney Eachel Stone
1873 Josiah & Mary Hannah
Evans ,,
,, Benjamin Gooch, B.A. ,,
1877 Frederick & Anna Maria
Andrews, B.A.
Albert Linney ,,
1879 ,, Maria King
PAST MASTERS OF THE BADSWORTH HUNT.
Established 1730.
1730. John Bright, of Badsworth.
Godfrey Wentworth, of Wentworth.
1780. William Wrightson, of Cusworth.
Sir E. Smith.
Sir T. Pilkington, of Chevet.
Sir Rowland Wynn, of Nostel.
1805. Earl of Darlington.
1811. Sir W. Gerrard. (Mr. Scarisbriclc, Deputy Master.)
1814. Chaworth.
1815. Sir B. Graham.
1821. Hon. E. Petra, of Stapleton.
Thomas B. Hodgson.
1826. Lord Hawke, of Womersley.
1868. J. Hope-Barton, of Stapleton.
1876. Charles B. E. Wright, of Bolton.
1892. Colonel W. J. F. Ramsden, of Rogerthorpe Manor, near
Pontefract.
ITS HIST011Y AND ANNALS. 247
The following list of Luke Howard's works was recently
contributed by Fred Ross, of London, to the Notes and Queries
column of the " Leeds Weekly Mercury."
"Luke Howard, F.R.S., of Ackworth, originally of Plaistow,
in Essex, and afterwards of Tottenham, in Middlesex, was born
in 1722, the son of Robert Howard, of London, author of ' A
few words on Corn and Quakers, 4th edition, 1800,' who died
in 1812 : and died at Bruce Grove, Tottenham, 800 years ago
the residence of Waltheof, the great Earl of Northuinbria, and
some half century ago the school house of Rowland Hill, the
Postal Reformer. He married Mariabella , and had issue
Joseph, who died in 1833, set. 22; Rachael, who died in 1837,
jet. 34 ; and John Eliot. He was a member of the Society of
Friends, from whom he seceded in 1837, when resident at
Ackworth, and joined a Baptist Church, in consequence of a
divergence of opinion in reference to meetings for silent worship.
He was a man of considerable scientific attainments, and a
Fellow of the Royal Society, directing his attention chiefly to
meteorology. When at Ackworth he projected and edited
' The Yorkshireman ; a Religious and Literary Journal. By a
Friend. Pontefract, 1832-1836,' which was published fortnightly
until his secession from the Society, and consists of 5 volumes.
The following is a list of his works :
On the Modification of Clouds, arid ou the Principle of their Construction,
Suspension, and Destruction. London, 1804-1832.' Edited by W. D. and E.
Howard, 1865. Reproduced also in several Cyclopedias.
' A Few Notes on a Letter to the Archbishops and Bisliops of the Church of
England . . . relative to Joseph Lancaster's Plan for the education of the
Community. By Eclectus. London, 1800.' This work is attribute I to him on
the authority of a MS. note on the title-page of the copy in the British Museum
Library.
' A Brief Apology for Quakerism. Inscribed to the Edinburgh Reviewers.
Anon. London, 1808.'
' Memoir of John Woolrnan, etc.' No. 15. Tracts of the Tract Association,
London, 1815.
1 Memoir of Thomas Chalkley. No. 23. Ibid. 1817.
248 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
' The Climate of London,' deduced from meteorological observations, &c. 2
vols. London, 1818. Second and third editions, 1820. Enlarged edition, with
engravings, 1833.
1 An Address to Friends, on a proposal made by a member of our society to
instruct some African negroes, with a view to the future translation and dis-
persion of the Scriptures, or some portion of them, in the languages of Africa.'
Anon. London, 1820. See also " The Yorkshireman," vol. I. p. 162.
'A Companion to the Thermometer for the Climate of London.' 1820.
' Confessions of a drunkard.' Anon. 1821.
1 Thoughts on Cruelty to Animals, &c.' Anon. 1821.
' On the Proper Treatment of Animals, &c.' Anon. 1821.
' A Word to the Sons of Africa.' Anon. 1822. Translated into Arabic for
distribution in Eastern Africa.
' A Letter from Luke Howard, of Tottenham, to a friend in America, contain-
ing observations on a Treatise by Job Scott, entitled ' Salvation of Christ.' ' N. p.
ord. (1825.)
' My Ledger ; or, a Compromise with Prudence,' written in 1808. Printed
for private circulation, 1856.
' The Average Barometer, showing by a scale the daily means of heights, cal-
culated upon 18 years, from 1813 to 1830, in the climate of London.'
' The Climate of London, &c.' New and enlarged edition, continued to 1830,
with engravings and addenda ; 3 vols., 1830.
' A Proposal for Open Communion in the Society of Friends, rejected-by the
Pontefract Monthly Meeting, Ackworth, 12th month, llth day, 1836.' Pohtefract,
1836. Reprinted in ' The Yorkshireman,' vol. v., p. 287.
'Seven Lectures on Meteorology.' By Luke Howard, gent. Dedicated to
John Dalton, in token of forty years' friendship. Pontefract, 1837.
' An Appeal to the Christian Public against a sentence of Disownment passed
upon a member (L. H.) by the Society of Friends, for Absenting himself from
their Silent Meetings and Submitting to the Ordinances of Christ.' 1838.
Second edition, revised, the same year.
' A cycle of 18 years in the seasons of Britain, deduced from meteorological
observations made at Ackworth, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, from 1824 to
1841, compared with others made for a like period, ending with 1823, in the
vicinity of London. 1842.'
' A Barometographic : Twenty years' variation of the barometer in the climate
of Britain, exhibited in autographic curves ; with the attendant winds and
weather. 1847.'
Papers on Meteorology, &c. 1854.
Translations. " Liber Ecclesiasticus," <fec., from the Latin vulgate. 1827.
" Liber Sapientia," commonly called " The Wisdom of Solomon," from the Latin
vulgate. 1827. " The Book of Tobias," &c., from the Latin vulgate. 1828.
" The Apocrypha of the Book of Daniel," Ac. 1829.
Edited. John Kendall's (of the Society of Friends) " Gleaning, Moral and
Religious," &c. 182f5. Cowper's English version of the " Odyssey of Homer,"
with a Commentary, &c., 2 vols., n.d. " Memoranda of the last illness and
death of Joseph Howard (his son) ;" by the brother of J. H. 1836.
MEBIABELLE, his wife, was authoress of " Hints on the Improvement of Day
Schools," 1827; 2nd edition 1828. " The Young Servant's Own Book," 4th
edition 1850. " The Boy's own Book."
JOHN ELIOT HOWARD, his son, was author of " The Doctrine of Inward Light
considered in relation to the Written Word," 1836. " Justification by faith."
1838.. " An Address to the Christians of Tottenham." 1839.
RACHEL HOWARD, his daughter, was authoress of " Lessons on Scripture
History, &c.," 1834; 6th edition 1851. " Memoranda of Rachel Howard," edited
by Luke Howard, 1839.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 249
LIST OF LOCAL PRINTS AND ENGRAVINGS.
1. Ackworth Church. View by W. Bowman. E. Pulleyn,
lith.
2. Ackworth Park Hall, large view by Chatelin.
3. Plan and elevation of Foundling Hospital, inserted in
8vo. pamphlet. London : 1778.
4. Elevation plan of Ackworth (Friends') School, in 8vo.
pamphlet. London 1790. Reprinted 1795, and 1816. York,
1837.
5-11. Six illustrations from sketches by Pumphry, inserted
in a History of the School, 56 pages, by G. F. Linney, publish-
ed at York in 1853.
12. Map of School Estate. 1787.
13. Small view of the School, engraved by W. Darton
Junr., 1803, for watch cases.
14. View taken near the Bath, by T. Stackhouse, 1813.
15. Plan of Estate. Lith. 1820.
16. View of the School, drawn by W. Doeg, engraved by
W. Melville.
17-31. Fourteen wood Engravings, (vide sub datum 1879).
250 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
In tlie North Aisle
Elibh., wife of Robert Hewitt. Died August, 1671.
The above Robert Hewitt, Died 16th June, 1707,
In the 102nd (?)* year of his age.
Under the Pulpit,
Thomas and John Harrison, Bros. Thos. died
Feb. 10th, 1762, aged 69. John died
Dec. loth, 1769, aged 65.
" Whosoever sees these two brothers,
Lying here by one another ;
Let them think that naught can save
his Friends from ye grave."f
In the stoke-hole, face downwards, there is a slab, the letter-
ing upon which is really splendid workmanship :
Thomas Calverley, died Septr. 7, 1685.
Ann, wife of the above, died Deer. 28, 1701.
Thos., son of above, died Jan. 21, 1718, aged 48.
Susannah, wife of Thos., Junr., died May 11, 1740, aged 63.
Also Robert +
Ann Pearson, daughter of Thos. & Susannah Calverley,
died Deer. 20, 1768, aged 66.
Ann Haddon, granddaughter of above, died
May 5th, 1770, aged 48.
Nicholas Calverley, son of the above, died
April 3, 1771, aged 50.
* There are three figures, but the third figure is very indistinct,
t A censor of epitaphs was sadly needed at this time,
i Remainder hidden beneath brick- work.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 251
It is notorious that in the 23rd George III. (1783), an Act
was passed by which it was enacted that from the then ensuing
October, ' a stamp duty of 3d. should be paid for every entry
of burial, marriage, birth, or christening, under a penalty of
5L, and that within two years, (on petition of their own body)
its operation was extended to Dissenting Chapels. This lawful
tax to say the least was inexpedient ; for it proved so unjust
in its working, and so objectionable in its principle, that is was
repealed ten years afterwards. Notwithstanding this iniquit-
ous ' Infant Duty Act,' the people of England, like the perse-
cuted Hebrews in Egypt ' grew and multiplied.' The pages of
the parish register for baptisms and Burials at Ackworth from
1782 to 1795 are ruled with a special column for "Duty " (in
some parishes "Tax"), from which we learn that upon 146
infants born between the above dates, a tax of 3d. per head
was levied, but in six instances the parents, being paupers, were
exempted, the words ' Pauper, excused,' in each instance being
written after the entry. During the same period 71 corpses
were taxed with a similar sum, so that it will be seen that in
the ' good old days ' it was considered a privilege both to come
into the world, and to go out of it. It appears that the Rector
possessed the power of remitting the tax, and from the register
we find him exercising his prerogative eleven times. It is
somewhat strange that although the duty was imposed in 1783,
no mention of it is found in the registers until 1789, and that
although the Act was repealed in 1793, the Rector should have
continued to levy the tax until 1795. No record of marriages
being taxed can be found.
252 ACKWORTH, YORKS.,
The following statement was printed and circulated by Mr.
Kenworthy the then Vicar, and is worthy of preservation
as an interesting historical document.
PARISH OF ACKWORTH, YORKSHIRE:
CHURCH OF ST. CUTHBERT.
Erected about A.D. 1242 ; contains 438 Free and, of these, 173
are unappropriated Seats. No seats are held by Faculty ;
No seats are let at an Annual Rental.
Sums of ANY AMOUNT Expended in Building, Enlarging,
Restoring, or Improving this Church, at various times, since
January 1st, 1841, (excluding ordinary repairs.)
1850... Inside of Tower restored, 116, by private Subscriptions.
1852... Nave, North and South Aisles re-built, 1170, by pri-
vate Subscriptions and special Donations ; and 120 Grant
from Church Building Society.
1854-5. Chancel re-built, Chancel Aisle built, 1343, by private
Subscriptions and special Donations, and 10 from York-
shire Architectural Society.
1856-7... Stained Windows (2), Organ enlarged, 90, by special
Donation and private Subscriptions.
1858... Stained Window, Heating Apparatus, 133, by special
Donations and private Subscriptions.
1864... Stained Window, 15, by Special Donation.
1867... Stained Windows (2), 30, by Special Donation.
1870-2. . .Coronse, Door Hangings, &c., 76, private Subscriptions.
1872-3... Organ Chamber built, 280, by private Subscriptions.
1874... New Organ, Carved Oak Screens (2), 579, by private
Subscriptions for Organ, Special Donation for Screens.
The present state of the Building is good. To complete
the work, The outside of Tower requires restoration,* Bells
re-casting,* New Clock,* and New Gates to the Churchyard.*
* All these have been completed since 1875.
ITS HISTORY AND ANNALS. 253
The Rector, in 1845, gave a small piece of ground which
was added to the Churchyard. Additional Burial ground is
now required.
1846. A New School and Class Room were built at a cost
of 400 by the Rector.
1842. The present Rectory House was built, at a cost of
1000, derived from the following sources, 850 borrowed from
Queen Ann's Bounty (all paid off), and old materials.
The Rector having been asked, by the Archbishop of York,
to fill up a return shewing the Amount of Church Building,
Restoration, and other work connected with the Church, done
in the Parish since the year 1840, has taken the opportunity
of having several copies of the same printed.
He thinks these particulars will be interesting to many who
attend the church, shewing how the present Church has been
made what it is, and also pointing out what still remains to be
done.
J. KENWORTHY, RECTOR.
ACKWORTH,
May 1st, 1875.
POXTEFRACT I J. ATKIX8ON AND SON, PRINTERS.
THE LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
LOS ANGELES
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY
Los Angeles
This book is DUE on the last date stamped below.
UJG5 1957
Form L9-10m-3,'48(A7920)444
UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY T/jC LITY