ROOS
THE village of Roos, lying some 19 km. east of
Hull and 3 km. from the sea, has since the
Second World War become increasingly a commuter settlement. (fn. 70) The parish includes the
hamlet of Owstwick. The name Roos, meaning
marsh or moorland, is possibly British, while
Owstwick may be an Anglian and Scandinavian
hybrid, and perhaps means 'eastern dairy farm',
relative to Elstronwick, in Humbleton. (fn. 71) The
settlement of 'Andrebi', recorded in 1086, may
have lain in Roos, but has not been identified
later. (fn. 72) In 1852 the ancient parish contained
3,623 a. (1,466 ha.), of which 2,528 a. (1,023 ha.)
comprised the township, later civil parish, of
Roos, 886 a. (359 ha.) were in Owstwick township, and 209 a. (85 ha.) lay detached in Garton
with Grimston township. The rest of Owstwick
township, amounting to 450 a. (182 ha.), and
1,614 a. (653 ha.) of Garton with Grimston
township made up the ancient parish of
Garton; (fn. 73) the history of Owstwick township is
dealt with here and that of Garton with Grimston township under Garton. In 1935 Roos civil
parish and all 1,338 a. (542 ha.) of Owstwick
civil parish were united with Hilston and
Tunstall civil parishes to form a new civil parish
of Roos, with a total area of 5,721 a. (2,315 ha.). (fn. 74)
By 1991 the area had been reduced, presumably
by coastal erosion, to 2,283 ha. (5,641 a.). (fn. 75)
There were 149 poll-tax payers at Roos in
1377 and 116 at Owstwick and Hilston together. (fn. 76) In 1589, when Roos was visited by
plague, 45 burials were recorded in three
months. (fn. 77) Roos had 49 houses assessed for
hearth tax and 8 discharged in 1672; at Owstwick 15 houses were assessed and 2 discharged. (fn. 78)
There were 65 families in the parish in 1743 and
c. 63 in 1764. (fn. 79) From 272 in 1801 the population
of Roos township rose to 599 in 1851 but fell to
418 in 1911. Numbers increased to 455 in 1921
but fell again to 404 in 1931. In Owstwick the
population rose from 109 in 1801 to 165 in 1811,
before falling to 103 in 1851 and 80 in 1901. It
rose to 114 in 1911 but fell to 81 in 1931. Housebuilding at Roos largely accounted for the increased population of the enlarged civil parish,
which rose from 631 in 1961 to 769 in 1971 and
907 in 1981. In 1991 there were usually 1,071
residents but only 1,043 were present. (fn. 80)
The parish is mostly on boulder clay (fn. 81) and
much of the ground lies at over 7 m. above sea
level, rising to more than 23 m. at the north end
of Roos township. The higher ground was occupied by the open fields and common pasture of
Roos. Lower ground in the south and west is
alluvial; part of it was used as common meadow
but much was early inclosed. Commonable
lands in Owstwick were inclosed in 1649 and
those remaining at Roos in 1786.
The parish is drained by watercourses which
flow south-west towards the river Humber and
form parts of the boundaries of both Roos and
Owstwick. They were in disrepair in 1367, when
that forming the southern boundary of Roos
township was recorded as part of Keyingham
fleet. (fn. 82) A new drain in Roos which caused flooding c. 1387 was perhaps a realignment of the
fleet. (fn. 83) The grounds drained by the fleet included 400 a. in Roos and 50 a. in Owstwick in
1618. (fn. 84) Roos petitioned in 1623 for the improvement of the fleet, (fn. 85) which by 1719 also served
parts of the parish that formerly drained to
Hedon haven. (fn. 86) The drains in Owstwick and
Roos were improved under the Keyingham
Level Drainage Acts of 1772 and later, and after
1845 low ground assessed to the drainage
included 580 a. in Roos and 63 a. in Owstwick. (fn. 87)
Roads leading from Roos village north to
Garton and east to Withernsea have been upgraded as parts of the main Holderness coast
road. The Withernsea road is known as Pilmar
Lane. Minor roads from the village lead south to
Halsham, west to Owstwick and Burton Pidsea,
east to Tunstall, and north to Hilston. From
Owstwick roads lead east to Hilston, north to
Fitling, west to Danthorpe, and south to Roos
village and Burton Pidsea. The last mentioned
road was straightened c. 1800 and was later
known as New Road; it probably supplemented
a road further west which was stopped up by the
mid 19th century. Another minor road, Longbrough Lane, forms part of the northern boundary of the township. (fn. 88) Licence granted in 1845 to
the surveyors of highways of Roos to take materials from Tunstall beach was then disputed. (fn. 89)
Roos village has a linear plan and two centres
of settlement, known by the 16th century as the
north and south ends, (fn. 90) with the church and
manor house at the southern extremity. Both
location and layout were probably influenced by
the small stream called Roos or Town beck,
which flows south through the village. (fn. 91) Before
inclosure most of the houses stood on the west
side of the main street, in a back lane to the west,
and in several cross lanes. It may have been the
back lane, now called Rectory Road, which was
named as Westgate in 1626. (fn. 92) After inclosure
houses began to be built on the east side of the
main street, and the growth of the village
became more rapid from the mid 20th century
with much infilling and the building of small
estates behind the streets. Many of the more
recent houses are of a 'superior' kind. A dozen
council houses were built on Pilmar Lane c. 1950
and c. 40 more added there in the 1960s, and
eight also built at North End. (fn. 93) A sewage treatment works was built in 1965. (fn. 94) Outlying houses
include Roos Furze and Glebe Farm, both built
between 1786 and 1829; Sunderland Cottage
was added in the later 19th century and Glebe
Farm rebuilt c. 1881. (fn. 95)
Roos township 1784
The village houses, which mostly date from
the 19th and 20th centuries, include several
farmhouses. Among terraced cottages in the
main street are six built in 1827. (fn. 96) Most of the
noteworthy houses, including the former rectory, stand in the back lane. The Elms is an early
19th-century, stuccoed house which was enlarged in the later 19th and mid 20th century. (fn. 97)
Owstwick township 1852
There were one or two licensed houses at Roos
in the later 18th century. The Crooked Billet or
the Board was recorded in the 1820s, (fn. 98) and the
Roos Arms has existed since at least 1840. There
were also one or two unnamed beerhouses in the
19th and earlier 20th century. In 1892 one of
the beerhouses was called the Black Horse and
a house traded under that name in 1990. (fn. 99) A
lodge of the Independent Order of Oddfellows
was founded at Roos in 1839 but had been closed
or had left the order by 1850; a branch of the
National United Order of Free Gardeners had
been moved to Roos from Withernsea by 1885
and was mentioned until 1948. (fn. 1) A reading room
was provided in a cottage belonging to the
church from 1885 until 1899, (fn. 2) and a rifle club
met c. 1910. (fn. 3) A village institute was built in 1915
by Edward Milsom, rector, and his wife. (fn. 4) A
playing field behind Main Street was provided
c. 1980 and a sports pavilion was added in 1990. (fn. 5)
A small wood called the Bog has been managed
as a nature reserve since 1986. (fn. 6)
Owstwick.
The dozen houses in the hamlet
of Owstwick lie along one street, but there was
formerly a back lane to the south. (fn. 7) The hamlet
may also have had 'ends', for the east and west
parts were referred to in the 16th century. (fn. 8) The
buildings include two council houses and several
farmhouses, one or two lying away from the
hamlet. (fn. 9) Owstwick Hall, standing east of the
hamlet, was built in the early 19th century by
Joseph Storr (d. by 1834); it was called the
Cottage in 1829 and Storr Hill later. (fn. 10)
MANORS AND OTHER ESTATES
In 1066
Murdoch and Swarger held 3 carucates and 5
bovates comprising two manors of ROOS and
there were 3⅓ carucates of sokeland belonging
to Morkar's manor of Kilnsea; all had passed to
Drew de Bevrère by 1086, when his man Fulk
occupied land on the manors. (fn. 11) Roos later
became part of the Aumale fee. Four carucates
of that fee in Roos were held as a mesne lordship
by the St. Quintin family in the 13th and earlier
14th century (fn. 12) before descending to Henry FitzHugh, Lord FitzHugh (d. 1425). (fn. 13)
Roos was for long held in demesne by the Ros
or Roos family, which is believed to have been
named from its estate there. The first known
member was Peter de Ros (probably d. by 1130),
whose son Robert succeeded c. 1158 to Helmsley
(Yorks. N.R.); the family took the title Baron
Ros of Helmsley in the late 13th century. (fn. 14) The
estate in Roos was mentioned in 1202, when
another Robert de Ros held land there of Herbert de St. Quintin. (fn. 15) At the death of Robert's
grandson Robert in 1285 it was described as the
manor of ROOS. Part of the manor, including
1 carucate and 3¼ bovates of demesne land and
evidently extending into Burton Pidsea and
Tunstall, was held of the king as successor to
the count of Aumale as 1 knight's fee; the remaining 4 carucates were held of the St.
Quintins. (fn. 16) In 1301 a grant of free warren was
made to William de Ros, who was named as sole
lord of Roos in 1316. (fn. 17) The land held of the St.
Quintins was said to comprise 1/12 knight's fee in
1343. (fn. 18)
The manor was held in dower by Margery
widow of William de Ros from 1343 to 1363 (fn. 19)
and by Beatrice widow of Thomas de Ros from
1384 to 1415. (fn. 20) John de Ros's widow Margery
held ⅓ from 1421 and the remainder was enjoyed from 1430 by Thomas de Ros's widow
Eleanor, later duchess of Somerset. (fn. 21) After the
attainder of Thomas de Ros in 1461 the issues
and reversion of Roos were granted to George
Plantagenet, duke of Clarence, (fn. 22) who succeeded
to Eleanor's 2/3share in 1467. (fn. 23) On the attainder
of Clarence in 1478 that part reverted to the
Crown, (fn. 24) which succeeded to the remaining ⅓
share on the death later that year of Margery,
dowager Lady Ros. (fn. 25) Sir John Constable had the
keeping of 2/3of the manor from 1462 until his
death (fn. 26)
c. 1474, and later in the 1470s prominent
Yorkists were granted parts of the manor, apparently as undertenants of Clarence or the Crown. (fn. 27)
John de la Pole, earl of Lincoln, had a grant
of the manor in 1484 (fn. 28) but that became void in
1485 on Henry VII's accession and the reversal
of the attainder on Thomas de Ros. The Ros
estates nevertheless remained with the Crown (fn. 29)
because of the incapacity of the heir Edmund de
Ros (d. 1508), custody being granted to Sir
Thomas Lovell, husband of Edmund's sister
Isabel. (fn. 30) On the death of Isabel by 1512 George
Manners, son of Edmund's other sister, succeeded as Lord Ros. He evidently also inherited
Roos, his entry being recorded in 1513, when
he died. (fn. 31) George's son and successor Thomas
was made earl of Rutland in 1525. (fn. 32) After
Thomas's death in 1543 his brother Sir Richard
Manners held the manor during the minority of
Thomas's son, Henry Manners, earl of Rutland
(d. 1563), (fn. 33) who left Roos for life to John Manners, his second son who succeeded as earl in
1587 and died in 1588. (fn. 34) John's elder brother
Edward, earl of Rutland (d. 1587), devised the
reversion to his daughter Elizabeth, Lady Ros. (fn. 35)
Elizabeth (d. 1591) was succeeded by her husband William Cecil, later earl of Exeter (fn. 36) (d.
1640), and he in turn by his nephew David
Cecil, earl of Exeter (d. 1643), and David's
widow Elizabeth (d. 1688); John Rastall, recorded as lord between 1649 and 1654, may have
held Roos for the dowager countess. (fn. 37) The
manor descended to John Cecil, earl of Exeter
(d. 1700), (fn. 38) whose son William sold it in 1709 to
Mark Kirkby. (fn. 39)
Kirkby (d. 1718) left Roos to his son Mark (fn. 40)
(d. 1748). At the partition of Kirkby's estates in
1750 it fell to the share of his sister Isabel
Collings, who by will proved in 1764 devised it
to her nephew the Revd. Mark Sykes, later the
first baronet (d. 1783). (fn. 41) Sykes, who was rector
of Roos from 1735 to his death, had bought a
small estate in Roos and Owstwick in 1741. (fn. 42) He
was succeeded by his son Sir Christopher Sykes,
Bt. (d. 1801), who left the manor with 970 a. in
Roos to a younger son, Christopher Sykes, later
also rector of Roos. The estate was enlarged with
65 a. bought by 1824. (fn. 43) The Revd. Christopher
Sykes (d. 1857) was succeeded by his daughters
Lucy, wife of the Revd. Charles Hotham, and
Penelope, wife of Edward York. (fn. 44) Mrs. Hotham
and Mrs. York sold 1,021 a. in Roos to J. T.
Dickinson and his brother George in 1871; the
manor was not included in the sale. (fn. 45) J. T.
Dickinson (d. 1875) left his interest to his
brother, who devised the estate in 1900 (fn. 46) to trustees for his grandson M. W. Dickinson (d.
1943). (fn. 47) A small part of it was sold in 1937. (fn. 48) In
1947 William Grant (Paull) Ltd. bought the
421-a. Elms farm and the 251-a. Sunderland
farm, besides a further 83 a., (fn. 49) and the 223-a.
North farm was bought in 1947 by the trustees
of Ann Watson's charity, Hull; (fn. 50) both estates
were still in the same hands in 1990. (fn. 51)
The manor of Roos was bought in 1871 by
Thomas Crust, who had purchased 75 a. of freehold in 1869 (fn. 52) and between 1871 and 1877 added
copyholds amounting to 182 a. (fn. 53) The estate,
which later comprised c. 290 a. of freehold,
descended like Tickton, in Beverley, to Crust's
daughter Marian Nolloth and her successors, the
Riggs. (fn. 54)
A manor house was recorded in the 13th and
14th centuries. (fn. 55) It was probably disused in
1416, when a new house at its east gate, garths,
and part of the 'great grange' there were let, (fn. 56)
and only its site was mentioned in 1421. (fn. 57) Earthworks marking the site of the so-called castle (fn. 58)
survived near the church in 1990, when one side
of the moat was still wet. The Revd. Christopher
Sykes and his daughter Lucy and her husband
lived at the rectory house. (fn. 59)
In 1066 Murdoch had a manor of OWSTWICK, evidently comprising 2⅓ carucates, and
Morkar had 3 carucates of soke there belonging
to his manor of Kilnsea. Both estates had passed
to Drew de Bevrère by 1086 (fn. 60) and later formed
part of the Aumale fee.
It may have been Morkar's estate which
passed to the Brus family, who held 3 carucates
at Owstwick in the 13th century. The estate was
held of the Bruses by the Merlays and of them
by the St. Quintins. (fn. 61) Herbert de St. Quintin
was confirmed as the tenant of rent and the service of ¼ knight's fee there in 1202 (fn. 62) and the
estate was held by his successors until the 14th
century. (fn. 63)
It was similarly perhaps Murdoch's estate
which was granted to a butler of the count of
Aumale. Amand the butler (d. by 1218) gave
land in Owstwick to Meaux abbey in the early
13th century, (fn. 64) and in 1240 his daughter
Beatrice, widow of Geoffrey de Friboys, held 1
carucate and 1 bovate there of the count of
Aumale. By 1252 the estate was evidently held
jointly by Beatrice and John de Surdeval, presumably the heir to Beatrice's sister Hawise de
Surdeval. (fn. 65) As at Hilston and Tansterne, in
Aldbrough, the butler's fee at Owstwick evidently passed in turn to the Berchauds (fn. 66) and the
Constables, whose tenants were the Rouths.
Amand of Routh was one of the lords named in
1316. (fn. 67) The Rouths' successor Sir Richard
Michelbourne sold the small estate to Nicholas
Kitchen in the early 17th century. (fn. 68) It has not
been traced further.
By the 13th century much of Owstwick
belonged to a family of that name. Stephen of
Owstwick (d. c. 1288) held a chief house and 2
carucates from the Crown by knight service and
1 carucate and 1 bovate more from John of
Aseby. (fn. 69) Stephen's son Stephen sold at least 1
carucate and 1 bovate to John Ughtred c. 1297. (fn. 70)
John was succeeded soon after by his daughter
Joan. (fn. 71) She married (Sir) Thomas de la Rivers,
who was named as a lord of Owstwick in 1316. (fn. 72)
In 1326 and 1328 the Rivers family sold the 1
carucate and 1 bovate to William son of Henry
of Melton, (fn. 73) evidently for William Melton, archbishop of York, who c. 1336 gave (Sir) William
Melton the so-called manor of OWSTWICK. (fn. 74)
It was held as 1/40 knight's fee at Sir William
Melton's death in 1362, when he was succeeded
by his son William. (fn. 75) The estate later belonged
to Sir John Melton (fl. 1455), (fn. 76) Margery Melton
in dower in 1510, (fn. 77) Sir John Melton (d. 1544),
and the latter's daughter Dorothy, wife of
George Darcy, Lord Darcy, before descending
in the Darcy family to John Darcy, Lord Darcy
(d. 1635). (fn. 78)
It was perhaps the same manor of Owstwick, including a chief house, which Charles
Laughton (d. 1638) devised to his son Charles,
and a Mr. Laughton had 263 a. there in 1648. (fn. 79)
Joshua Laughton and his son Charles had the
estate in 1712 but by 1726 part at least had
passed to Christopher Kirkby and presumably
later descended with his other lands in Owstwick. (fn. 80)
Another estate in Owstwick extended into
Hilston and belonged to a cadet branch of the
Ros family. Robert son of Robert de Ros of
Helmsley (Yorks. N.R.) had a grant of free
warren there in 1297 and, as Robert de Ros or
Roos of Gedney (Lincs.), he held 1 carucate and
1 bovate at his death by 1311. (fn. 81) The estate
descended to Robert's grandson Sir James Roos
(fl. 1397) and then to Sir Robert Roos (d. 1441),
who left daughters. (fn. 82) It was evidently the same
which was held in turn by Sir John Paulet (d.
1525) and his son Sir William, who was created
Baron St. John in 1539. (fn. 83) The Paulets had 1 carucate and 1½ bovates, a few acres, and several
houses in Owstwick, held as appurtenances of
Thorpe manor in Aldbrough. The estate passed
by exchange in 1546 from Lord St. John to the
Crown, which sold it to John Eldred and William
Whitmore in 1611. (fn. 84) It has not been traced
further.
Other lay estates at Owstwick in the Middle
Ages included that of William de la Twyer, who
was named as a lord in 1316. (fn. 85)
The largest modern estate in Owstwick was
that which passed from the Towrys to the Sykes
family. A Mr. Towry had 254 a. there in 1648 (fn. 86)
and much of the estate was sold in 1658 by
George Towry to Robert Witty (d. by 1688). (fn. 87)
In 1694 it was sold to Mark Kirkby (fn. 88) (d. 1718),
who left it to his son Christopher (d. c. 1733), (fn. 89)
from whom it evidently passed to his brother
Mark. The estate, which comprised 2 carucates
and 3½ bovates, (fn. 90) descended with Roos manor
until 1801, when Sir Christopher Sykes, Bt., left
it with 26 a. in Roos to a younger son, later Sir
Tatton Sykes, Bt. (d. 1863). (fn. 91) The estate, which
extended into Burton Pidsea, passed to Sir Tatton's second son Christopher Sykes (d. 1898),
and then reverted to Christopher's brother Sir
Tatton Sykes, Bt. (d. 1913), whose son Sir
(Tatton) Mark Sykes, Bt., (fn. 92) sold it. In 1916 one
farm, with 451 a. in Owstwick, was bought by
Thomas Cook, and Grange farm, with 247 a.,
by Thomas Newton; in 1918 the 138-a. Primrose Hill farm was bought by T. E. Kirk. (fn. 93) In
1937 Cook's farm was sold to Thomas Cook the
younger, who with Thomas K. Cook bought the
204-a. Elms farm in 1948. (fn. 94) In 1952 Kenby,
formerly Cook's, and Elms farms, comprising
600 a., were conveyed to T. Cook & Son
(Farmers) Ltd., which added c. 30 a. in 1959.
The company still owned the farms in 1990. (fn. 95)
The great tithes of the part of Owstwick township lying in Garton parish remained with the
Crown after the suppression of Thornton college (Lincs.). (fn. 96) Corn tithes there were granted
to Francis Morrice and Francis Phillips in
1611. (fn. 97) The tithes were valued at £3 a year net
in 1650, when all apparently belonged to George
Towry, (fn. 98) who sold some of them in 1654. (fn. 99) In
1716 the impropriator was not known and the
tithes were said to belong to the landowners by
default. (fn. 1) Those on 428 a. were merged before
the remaining tithes, on 22 a., were commuted
in 1843 for a rent charge of £4 8s. payable to
Hannah Sewell. (fn. 2)
Meaux abbey was given 2 bovates at Owstwick
by Gilbert le Aungell between 1210 and 1220
and 4 bovates by Hugh of Rysome between 1221
and 1235, and by the mid century it had more
than 1 carucate there. (fn. 3) The abbey was granted
free warren in 1293, (fn. 4) and in 1316 the abbot was
named as a lord of Owstwick. (fn. 5) In 1396 the estate
comprised 6 bovates, 4 houses, and other land,
all then divided between ten tenants who owed
rents amounting to just over £3 a year. (fn. 6) In 1610
the Crown sold the abbey's estate, comprising 4
bovates, closes, and several houses, besides free
rents, to Edward Bates and Henry Elwes. (fn. 7) A
house and 1½ bovate were resold in 1613 and
another house and land in 1629. (fn. 8)
Thornton abbey (Lincs.) had 2 bovates at
Owstwick in 1288. (fn. 9) After the Dissolution its
former estate descended with Garton and was
sold in 1611; (fn. 10) no more is known of it.
Nunkeeling priory briefly had a small estate
at Owstwick by grant of Beatrice de Friboys in
the 13th century. (fn. 11)
Nine freeholdings in Owstwick were in 1702
reputed part of a manor of Fitling formerly
belonging to the Knights Hospitaller. (fn. 12)
Clare college, Cambridge, had an estate in
Owstwick by 1783. (fn. 13) The college sold Willow
Toft farm, of 55 a., in 1901 to Mary Cook (d.
1921), who evidently devised it to Annie Cook
(d. 1943). It was sold in 1943 to J. R. Ellis and
in 1948, when of 76 a., was bought by Henry
James, the owner in 1990. (fn. 14)
Two carucates at 'Andrebi' were soke of
Morkar's manor of Withernsea in 1066; elsewhere the estate is said to have been held as a
manor by Ramkel before passing to William
Malet. By 1086 it belonged to Drew de Bevrère.
No more is known of it. (fn. 15)
ECONOMIC HISTORY
Agriculture
Before 1800. Roos. The open fields of Roos
township were named as East and West fields c.
1640. (fn. 16) They included common meadow land
and comprised 490 a. and 565 a. respectively c.
1750. (fn. 17) The rest of the common meadows were
in West, Burnham, and Langham or Lengham
carrs, which comprised 240 a., 57 a., and 11 a.
respectively. (fn. 18) The carrs also included waste
land called Sunderlands in 1343, and in the 17th
century faggots of furze in Dean Sunderlands
were let with other parts of the demesne. (fn. 19)
Common pasture was provided mostly by the
Furze, 163 a. of which was in East Furze and
107 a. in West Furze. As in neighbouring Tunstall, the pasture may once have been part of the
tillage, and in 1685 'dales', 'lands', and 'falls'
were recorded in East and West Furze, and earlier and later areas there were measured in acres,
'bands', or wands, and paces. (fn. 20) In 1663 West
Furze was, however, said to be stinted at the
rate of 1 beast gate a bovate and 1 'foot', or ¼
gate, for each toft; in East Furze 1 gate was
enjoyed for every 3 a. held, possibly as grassed
strips in that pasture. (fn. 21)
Pasture rights were closely regulated by the
17th century. In 1638 the stint in the fallow field
was 3 gates a bovate from March until May and
6 from May until Michaelmas; horses and cattle
were to be removed on May Day and the
number of sheep in both periods was limited to
4 a gate. It was also ordered that year that no
sheep should be put into the Furze until
Michaelmas. (fn. 22) About 1750 each toft had, besides
¼ beast gate in the Furze in summer, ½ gate in
West carr, and 1 beast gate or 5 sheep gates in
the fields throughout the year. (fn. 23)
By the 1780s there were 873 a. of old inclosures in Roos township, most of them lying near
the southern boundary; one close there con
tained 291 a. and another 78 a. The closes were
often flooded, (fn. 24) and the Furze was also said to
be mostly wet land or covered with whins. (fn. 25) The
remaining commonable lands in Roos were
inclosed by an award of 1786 under an Act of
1783. (fn. 26) There were 1594 a. to be dealt with.
Allotments totalled 1,554 a. and 10 a. of old
inclosures were involved in exchanges. East field
contained more than 395 a., West field over 170
a., the Furze more than 153 a., Burnham carr
51 a., and Lengham carr 8 a. The rector was
allotted 337 a. for tithes and glebe, Sir Christopher Sykes, Bt., lord of the manor, 201 a.,
Benjamin Ganton 173 a., and Edmund Bramston 166 a. There were also four allotments of
50–99 a., ten of 20–49 a., thirteen of 5–19 a.,
and thirteen of under 5 a. each. Apart from the
manorial and rectorial allotments, only 66 a.
were freehold.
At Roos in 1558 the manor included some 40
bovates: the largest holding was of 3½ bovates
and there were three of 3 bovates each, fourteen
of 1 or 2 bovates, and twenty-two of less than a
bovate; ten holdings included no open-field land.
The manor-house site and the demesne were
then let for nearly £23, copyhold rents produced
almost £26, and free rents a few shillings. (fn. 27)
Owstwick. At Owstwick the open fields were
named as North and South fields in 1320. (fn. 28) Both
fields extended to the western boundary of the
township. (fn. 29) An intake (avenam) recorded in
1288, and references later to foreland and odd
land, suggest the enlargement of the cultivated
area there by assarting. (fn. 30)
In 1648 there were 937 a. in the open fields,
140 a. in 'Audills', presumably Old Hills, and
97 a. of old inclosures. Of the 20 owners one
had 263 a. and another 254 a., and there were
five holdings of 50–99 a., ten of 5–49 a., and
three of under 5 a. (fn. 31) An inclosure by agreement
made in 1649 (fn. 32) probably dealt with most of the
remaining commonable lands. The new closes
may have included the 80-a. Carr close mentioned in 1669. (fn. 33) Some land apparently remained
uninclosed, for in 1668 parcels of meadow were
said to lie dispersed in Owstwick carr, (fn. 34) and as
late as the 1720s a close included a strip. (fn. 35)
Meadow land in the carr was consolidated by
purchase in the late 18th century. (fn. 36)
Agriculture After 1800.
The parish
had 949 a. under crops in 1801. (fn. 37) Owstwick
township contained 885 a. of arable and 432 a.
of grassland in 1843, (fn. 38) and there were 2,172 a.
under crops and 1,592 a. of permanent grass in
Roos and Owstwick together in 1905. (fn. 39) Roos
wood was recorded c. 1740, and in the mid 19th
century there was c. 50 a. of woodland in Roos
township, mostly in plantations in the former
carrs, but little remained in 1987. (fn. 40) In the 1930s
grassland was mostly near the settlements and
on the lower ground in the south and south-west
of Roos. (fn. 41) The area returned under Roos in 1987
was slightly larger than the civil parish; there
were then 2,180 ha. (5,387 a.) of arable land and
222.7 ha. (550 a.) of grassland, and over 89,000
poultry, more than 13,000 pigs, and c. 600 each
of cattle and sheep were then kept. (fn. 42)
There were usually a dozen farmers in Roos
township and half a dozen in Owstwick in the
19th and earlier 20th century, (fn. 43) of whom in each
township two in 1851 (fn. 44) and three or four in the
1920s and 1930s had 150 a. or more. In 1987 of
30 holdings returned at Roos, three were of over
200 ha. (494 a.), five of 100–199 ha. (247–492
a.), six of 50–99 ha. (124–245 a.), seven of
10–49 ha. (25–121 a.), and nine of under 10 ha. (fn. 45)
A few men were employed at Roos as cowkeepers and market gardeners in the late 19th and
early 20th century. Two or three cattle dealers
and up to three horsebreakers were also recorded, and a horse show was held c. 1900. (fn. 46)
There was an abbattoir in the north end of the
village in 1990.
Trade And Industry.
A brickworks at
Roos existed by 1823 but was closed c. 1880, and
gravel was extracted at Owstwick in or before
the 1850s. (fn. 47) In the later 19th century James Blenkin, blacksmith, built up a business at Roos
making and hiring agricultural machines, which
employed up to 20 men, but it was in decline by
1913. (fn. 48) In the later 20th century premises at
Owstwick were occupied in turn by an agricultural seed business and a farm machinery
agency. (fn. 49) The numbers of craftsmen and tradesmen in Roos in the 19th and 20th centuries have
reflected the large size of the village, (fn. 50) which still
supported several shops in 1990.
Mills.
A windmill recorded in the 13th
century was probably at Roos, and there was a
mill there in 1403 (fn. 51) and a windmill from the 16th
century. (fn. 52) The windmill stood in West field in
the later 18th century; (fn. 53) it was disused in 1908
and was demolished then or soon after. Milling
continued elsewhere in Roos at a steam mill for
a few years. (fn. 54) At Owstwick two mills were
recorded in the 13th century, (fn. 55) and there was a
windmill there in 1588; (fn. 56) one or more mills were
commemorated in the names Mill Field close,
recorded in 1811, and Mill Field House, later
Primrose Hill Farm, named in 1829. (fn. 57)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Franchises of Roos
manorial court included infangthief, which was
claimed by grant from Henry II and allowed in
1242 by the count of Aumale on condition that
such cases were heard in the presence of his
bailiff of Holderness. Gallows and the assize of
bread and of ale were also claimed c. 1280. (fn. 58)
Court rolls survive for nearly 20 years between 1298 and 1422 (fn. 59) and for 15 years in the
16th and early 17th century, (fn. 60) and the record is
virtually complete from 1635 to 1935. (fn. 61) Other
papers include copies of the roll from 1458. (fn. 62)
The jurisdiction of the court included view of
frankpledge and the assize of bread and of ale,
and chevage was claimed from tenants in the
15th century. In the late 13th and the 14th century the court met about every three weeks but
by the 15th century only two or three sessions
a year were held. Meetings became more frequent in the 18th century, after the sale of the
manor to a local family. Only one meeting a year
was usual from the 1870s and the court last met
in 1887. It was kept in a tenant's house in the
17th century. (fn. 63) Officers regularly appointed included 2 constables, 2 aletasters, 2 affeerors, and
4 bylawmen, and 2 mill-graves were recorded in
the 15th and 16th centuries. A warrener answerable for strays and 2 pig-reeves were employed
in 1416; in the 1630s there were 2 pinders, one
for the sown field and one for the fallow, but
later only one.
Part of Owstwick may have belonged to the
Hospitallers, and testamentary jurisdiction there
was an appurtenance of the order's former
manor of Fitling, in Humbleton, in the 18th
century. (fn. 64)
Churchwardens' accounts survive for 1666–
1755 and 1796–1953. (fn. 65) In the early 19th century
permanent poor relief was given to 11–20 people
in Roos township and 8–11 were relieved occasionally. In Owstwick township, which relieved
its own poor, 9–16 received permanent and 3–4
occasional relief. (fn. 66) There were poorhouses at
Owstwick. (fn. 67) Roos and Owstwick joined Patrington poor-law union in 1836 (fn. 68) and remained in
Patrington rural district until 1935 when they
were taken into Holderness rural district as part
of the new civil parish of Roos, which became
part of the Holderness district of Humberside
in 1974. (fn. 69) In 1996 Roos parish became part of a
new East Riding unitary area. (fn. 70)
CHURCH
There was a church at Roos by
1086. (fn. 71) It was given to Kirkham priory by 1232,
presumably by the Ros family which was related
to the founder of the priory. (fn. 72) Roos, which
remained a rectory, was united with Tunstall in
1927 (fn. 73) and with Garton with Hilston in 1974. (fn. 74)
In the Middle Ages Roos church may have
had chapels at Hilston, which has long been a
separate parish, and at Grimston. The garth of
the chapel of Grimston was claimed to be in
Roos parish in the 15th century. (fn. 75)
The advowson belonged to Kirkham priory
until the Dissolution. (fn. 76) A turn granted to John
of Lockton before his forfeiture in 1385 led to
several apparently unsuccessful attempts by the
Crown to present in his stead. (fn. 77) Assignees of the
priory presented in 1508 and 1539. (fn. 78) In 1541 the
advowson was granted to Thomas Manners, earl
of Rutland, (fn. 79) and it later descended with the
manor until the 19th century. The Crown presented in 1572, apparently by lapse, and in 1588
during the minority of Lady Ros. (fn. 80) At the death
of the Revd. Christopher Sykes in 1857 the
patronage evidently reverted to the senior representative of his family and was transferred by
the Sykes trustees to Edward Milsom, rector,
and his family in 1920. (fn. 81) When Roos was united
with Tunstall in 1927, the former patron of
Tunstall was given a share in the patronage of
Garton with Hilston, united at the same time,
and the patronage of Roos with Tunstall was
declared to belong wholly to the former patrons
of Roos. (fn. 82) The advowson of Roos with Tunstall
passed in, or by, 1928 to an Anglo-Catholic
body, the Society for the Maintenance of the
Faith, (fn. 83) which at the further union of 1974 was
given two turns out of three. (fn. 84)
The church was worth £13 6s. 8d. net in
1291 (fn. 85) and £19 net in 1535. (fn. 86) In 1650 the improved annual value of the rectory, comprising
glebe lands, rents, and tithes in Roos, Owstwick,
and Grimston, was £83 net. (fn. 87) The average net
income was £602 a year in 1829–31 (fn. 88) and the
income was £441 net in 1883. (fn. 89)
In the early 17th century the tithe of hay
growing in the fields of the parish was compounded for at the rate of 3d. a bovate. (fn. 90) In Roos
township the tithes included a modus of 1d. a
bovate for whins growing on the common pasture. (fn. 91) The tithes of Roos were commuted at
inclosure in 1786, when the rector was allotted
214 a. and rents of £43 7s. 2d. for the tithes of
old inclosures. (fn. 92) In Owstwick township a composition of 6s. 8d. a bovate was paid by the 1670s
for the tithes of the tillage when it was fallow. (fn. 93)
In 1843 the tithes of Owstwick were commuted
for a rent charge of £167 13s. 8d. (fn. 94) By the 1670s
the tithes at Grimston were paid by a composition of £1 13s. 4d., presumably charged on Five
Nobles close, just over the boundary in Tunstall. (fn. 95) That composition was still paid in 1843,
when the tithes of 205 a. were commuted for a
rent charge of that amount. (fn. 96) There were four
bovates of glebe, besides several tofts and crofts,
at Roos from the later 17th century, (fn. 97) and at
inclosure in 1786 the rector was allotted 123 a.
for glebe, besides more for tithes. (fn. 98) Two acres
were sold in 1892, the 219-a. Glebe farm in
1918, and 6 a. in 1968. (fn. 99) In 1978 there were still
119 a. of glebe. (fn. 1)
The rectory house had five hearths in 1672. (fn. 2)
Repaired in the 1690s, it was rebuilt between
1784 and 1798, (fn. 3) but was replaced by a 'handsome mansion' in white brick, built in 1820
by Christopher Sykes, who also enlarged the
grounds. (fn. 4) The grounds were further enlarged in
1868 and 1872. (fn. 5) The house was considered too
grand for a rectory and was sold in 1892 to
George Dickinson and renamed Roos Hall. (fn. 6) It
was destroyed by fire in 1937 (fn. 7) and Elm Farm
was later built on the site. A new rectory house,
c. ½km. to the north-west, was built in 1892–3
in a Queen Anne style to designs by Temple
Moore. (fn. 8) In 1968 a new house was built and the
old one sold. (fn. 9)
Rectors were often non-resident in the Middle
Ages and later. Robert Corbridge, rector from
1301, was absent for study for at least 13 years. (fn. 10)
Pluralist incumbents included John Pigot, rector
from 1399, (fn. 11) and John Manners, a member of
the seigneurial family, rector from 1539 until his
death in 1563. (fn. 12) Nicholas Cook was presented
for non-residence in 1567. (fn. 13) Anthony Stevenson,
rector from 1645, was ejected in 1662; he was
'well skilled in physic' and treated the poor
free. (fn. 14) The living was later held by several members of the Sykes family, patrons and lords of
the manor. Dr. Mark Sykes, later Sir Mark
Sykes, Bt., rector 1735–83, often lived elsewhere. (fn. 15) Christopher Sykes presented himself to
the living in 1819 and then nominated as his
successor his son-in-law Charles Hotham, rector
1841–66. (fn. 16) From 1948 the incumbent of Roos
and Tunstall also served Garton with Hilston. (fn. 17)
A curate was recorded in the mid 16th century (fn. 18)
and an assistant curate was employed in the
18th (fn. 19) and 19th centuries. (fn. 20)
Service was weekly in 1743 and 1764. Communion was then celebrated four or five times a
year, usually with c. 30 recipients in 1764. (fn. 21) By
1865 two Sunday services were held and c. 1920
they were daily. Communion was held monthly
in the later 19th century, with c. 25 recipients,
twice each Sunday c. 1920, and weekly in 1931. (fn. 22)
A reading room in Ivy Row was converted in
1899 to a mission chapel and the next year
licensed for services, including Holy Communion. (fn. 23) The chapel was still used occasionally in
1990. (fn. 24)
There was a medieval guild in the church (fn. 25)
and lights there were endowed with houses and
lands in Tunstall and Hollym. (fn. 26) A parochial
library was established by 1840. (fn. 27) A class for
young men was held on Sundays in the mid
1860s and a men's society flourished in 1913. (fn. 28)
In the late 19th and early 20th century a church
dedication festival or fair was held in June or
July. (fn. 29)
The church of ALL SAINTS, so called by
1347, (fn. 30) consists of chancel with two-storeyed
north vestry and transeptal south organ
chamber, aisled and clerestoried nave, and west
tower, flanked by continuations of the aisles,
with west porch. It is built mostly of boulders
with ashlar dressings, except for the clerestory
which is of brick and the chancel and porch
which are of ashlar. The plan accords with an
origin in or before the 11th century but the earliest features are the 13th-century nave arcades,
of three bays. The tower arch also is 13thcentury. The vestry, of the 14th century, has a
prominent round turret containing stairs to the
upper room; it may have been intended for a
chantry chapel and there was apparently a chaplain in the mid 15th century. (fn. 31) Remodelling of
the chancel is shown by a north window of similar date to the vestry and by a 15th-century
piscina. All the other windows, including those
of the tall clerestory, are of the 15th or early
16th century and have been much restored. A
bequest of £1 for the tower in 1442 was presumably for the reconstruction of the upper
part.
A painted screen discovered in the church in
1567 may have stood until 1720. (fn. 32) The church
was reseated in 1803–4 (fn. 33) and a west gallery
rebuilt in 1835–6. (fn. 34) There was an extensive rest
oration by L. N. Cottingham in 1842, (fn. 35) when
the porch was added. Medieval window tracery
in the garden of the Chestnuts, Rectory Road,
in 1990 may have been taken from the church.
The roofs were renewed in the 1860s (fn. 36) and the
organ transept was added in 1881 to designs by
F. S. Brodrick of Hull. (fn. 37) In the late 19th and
early 20th century the church was again remodelled and refitted by Temple Moore, whose fittings include a chancel screen given in 1894, a
wooden Calvary mounted on it c. 1915, and the
reredos in the chancel. (fn. 38) A pulpit of 1615, removed in 1842, was put back in 1885. (fn. 39) Fragments of medieval and later stained glass survive
in the chancel and clerestory windows. (fn. 40)
There were three bells in 1552 and later, but
two more were added in 1911. (fn. 41) The plate
includes a cup made in 1570, a paten made in
1627 and given by Sir Mark Sykes, Bt., rector
1735–83, and a paten given in 1899. (fn. 42) The registers of baptisms and burials begin in 1571 and
of marriages in 1572; they are largely complete. (fn. 43)
A mausoleum for the Sykes family, built on
the chancel in 1784, was taken down and an
entrance to the vault made instead in the churchyard, probably at the restoration of 1842. (fn. 44)
Additions to the churchyard were consecrated
in 1869 and 1952, and about the date of the
earlier enlargement an avenue of yews was
planted alongside the path to the west porch. (fn. 45)
The churchyard includes a stone Calvary, put
up in 1968. (fn. 46)
Benefactions for the fabric were evidently
made by the 17th century, (fn. 47) and the church later
had 9 a. in Roos, Ryhill, in Burstwick, and
Tunstall, besides rent charges in Owstwick, all
known in 1823 as the Church Lands charity.
The annual income rose from c. £5 in 1720 to
over £10 in 1809 and £33 in 1861; it declined
later but stood at c. £40 in 1930. (fn. 48) Cottages
for the poor were built on part of the land at
Roos by 1842. (fn. 49) In 1989 the sums of £371 and
£100 were paid from the charity for the maintenance of Roos and Tunstall churches respectively. (fn. 50)
Figure 6:
Owstwick: Quaker Meeting House.
NONCONFORMITY
Religious conservatism
was apparent at Roos in the 16th century but
there is little evidence of Roman Catholicism. (fn. 51)
There was evidently a Quaker meeting at
Owstwick in the 1650s, when William Dewsbury and James Nayler visited it, (fn. 52) and the 12
recusants recorded under Roos in 1669 and the
16 protestant dissenters in the parish in 1676
were probably all Friends. (fn. 53) A meeting house at
Owstwick was built c. 1670 and a burial ground
provided, (fn. 54) and Owstwick became the usual
venue for the monthly meeting for Holderness
in the late 17th century. (fn. 55) Prominent Friends
included John Whitehead (d. 1696) and Marmaduke Storr (d. 1678), both of Owstwick, and
other members of the Storr family of Owstwick
and Hilston. John Storr of Hilston (d. 1677) (fn. 56)
founded a charity for the poor of the monthly
meeting and in 1745 a cottage at Owstwick was
bought for an almshouse. (fn. 57) A meeting place was
also licensed at Roos in 1716 (fn. 58) and a house registered there in 1782 may have been for the
Friends. (fn. 59) There were six Quaker families in the
parish in 1743, when the Owstwick meeting was
declining, and four in 1764, when there was a
Sunday congregation of c. 15 but no regular
teacher. (fn. 60) Owstwick monthly meeting was
united with that of North Cave in 1784 (fn. 61) and
meetings evidently ceased at Owstwick c. 1790. (fn. 62)
Burials continued until the mid 19th century. (fn. 63)
The former meeting house was later used as a
cottage and a Church Sunday school; it was
ruinous by the mid 20th century (fn. 64) and was later
demolished. A house in Roos was licensed by
an unspecified group of dissenters in 1795. (fn. 65)
Wesleyan Methodists registered houses at Roos
in 1805 and 1806 and a barn there in 1808, (fn. 66) and
they built a chapel in Main Street in 1808. (fn. 67) The
chapel was closed c. 1977 (fn. 68) and later demolished.
It was probably one of the poorhouses at Owstwick which was converted to a chapel by
Wesleyan Methodists by 1892. (fn. 69) It was closed c.
1980 and was derelict in 1990. (fn. 70)
It was evidently Primitive Methodists who
registered a building in Roos for worship in
1821. (fn. 71) They built a chapel in 1826 (fn. 72) which was
replaced by another, in Pilmar Lane, in 1868–
9. (fn. 73) The chapel was enlarged with a schoolroom
in 1897; it was closed c. 1970 and later demolished. (fn. 74)
EDUCATION
An unlicensed schoolmaster
was recorded at Roos in 1604 and another master
was mentioned in 1654. (fn. 75) Jane Hogg (d. 1766)
left £6 a year for a schoolmaster at Roos but the
endowment was evidently lost c. 1800. (fn. 76) Three
schools with an average of 30 pupils each were
recorded in 1818 and there were two schoolmasters in 1823. (fn. 77) In 1833 there were four
schools in the parish at which 77 pupils were
taught at their parents' expense. (fn. 78)
Lucy Hotham had built a girls' school near
the rectory house by 1840, (fn. 79) and about that date
others for boys and infants were provided in
buildings at the junction of Main Street and
Pilmar Lane. (fn. 80) The schools were supported by
Mrs. Hotham and her husband Charles, rector,
by school pence, and by 1848 by an annual
government grant. Average attendance was then
55 boys and 52 girls. (fn. 81) The schools were soon
afterwards united with the National Society. (fn. 82)
In 1866 they were reorganized as one school at
Pilmar Lane, where existing buildings were
remodelled and a new main room built in 1872. (fn. 83)
The former girls' school was later demolished.
Children from outside the parish had attended
schools in Roos since the early 19th century, (fn. 84)
and the National school also served the parishes
of Hilston and Tunstall and was supported by
a voluntary rate levied in those parishes and in
Roos. Owstwick children attended until the
township withdrew from the school district in
1888; (fn. 85) they later went to Grimston and Burton
Pidsea. (fn. 86) There were usually 70 pupils in attendance at Roos Church of England school in
1906–7, more than 90 between 1910 and 1927,
and again c. 70 in the 1930s. (fn. 87) The village institute, built on part of the school site in 1915, was
used by the school. (fn. 88) Senior pupils were transferred to Withernsea County Secondary School
in 1948, and in 1950 the school was granted
Controlled status. (fn. 89) Another classroom was provided c. 1963 but the institute was again used
from 1967. A new school was built in Main
Street and opened c. 1980, (fn. 90) and the old school
was later used as a house. There were 73 pupils
on the roll in 1990. (fn. 91)
CHARITIES FOR THE POOR
George Green
(d. 1672) left 10s. a year for the poor of Roos
parish. (fn. 92) In 1675 Reginald Marriott gave 6s. 8d.
a year and an unknown donor a like amount;
both sums were charged on land in Roos. In
1823 the income from all three charities was distributed by the churchwardens with the sacrament money. A rent charge of £1 8s. from land
in Roos, spent on bread, was believed in 1823
to be the gift of Thomas Dixon. (fn. 93)
By a Scheme of 1911 all those charities were
united, the income to be used for food, fuel,
clothing, and other goods, help in sickness, or
for money payments, and it was spent in doles
of 5s. or 10s. until the mid century. (fn. 94) The income
was later allowed to accumulate and in 1990
there was a balance of nearly £40. (fn. 95)
In 1672 William Gibson gave £1 and that sum
and another gift (fn. 96) later comprised a town stock
of £6, the interest on which was added to the
other charities until the early 1820s, when the
stock was spent. (fn. 97)
By 1842 (fn. 98) six cottages for the poor stood with
gardens on ground at Roos belonging to the
Church Lands charity. Two of the cottages were
later made into one and used successively as a
reading room and a mission chapel. (fn. 99) The others
were occupied until the mid 20th century, and
were later demolished. (fn. 1)