SWINE
The ancient parish of Swine was the largest in
Holderness, even after the probable early loss of
land to Sutton parish and the separation in the
17th century of Drypool chapelry. (fn. 16) In 1852-3 it
still had 14,695 a. (5,947 ha.), and at its greatest
extent it was above 5 miles (8 km.) long and
broad; (fn. 17) in 1867, however, the chapelries of
Bilton and Skirlaugh were made separate parishes, leaving Swine ecclesiastical parish with
just over 7,000 a. (2,833 ha.). (fn. 18) The parish was
situated in the centre of the Middle division of
Holderness wapentake, and most of its land was
in that division. Its northern end extended into
the North division across Lambwath stream,
which, as well as forming much of the parish
boundary there, also separated the two divisions.
Apart from Swine village, the ancient parish
included almost twenty villages or hamlets, half
a dozen of which are now represented by isolated
farmhouses and may always have been very
small. By contrast, the former hamlet of Bilton,
at the southern end of the parish, has grown into
a virtual suburb of Hull, the built-up area of
which lies c. 3 km. south-west of Swine village.
The boulder clay which covers most of the
parish produces a gently-rolling landscape in the
eastern half, where the ground is over 15 m.
above sea level, reaching 27 m. at Ellerby. Along
the northern parish boundary the higher ground
falls sharply into the valley of Lambwath
stream, but in the west and south it shelves
down into the Hull and Old fleet valleys to less
than 8 m. above sea level, falling as low as 3 m.
at Swine village. Scattered sand and gravel deposits include those chosen as sites for Coniston
and Thirtleby. (fn. 19)
The parish was drained by Lambwath stream,
which continued south-westwards across the
parish towards the river Hull, and by southern
boundary streams carrying water into Old fleet
and eventual outfall into the Humber. Lambwath, perhaps meaning 'lamb ford', is an AngloScandinavian hybrid name. (fn. 20) Early in the 13th
century Meaux abbey made a drain from Lamb
wath stream across Benningholme to the abbey
mill; it was later called Monk dike and part of
its course may be followed by Bull Dike drain.
Other drains made or improved by the abbey
probably included those along the western
boundary called Moor dike and Forge, later
Forth or Fore, dike. (fn. 21) Poor drainage is evident
from the names Benningholme, Fairholme, and
Marton, (fn. 22) where 'mere' field-names were common in 1322. (fn. 23) There were permanent pools at
Swine, Wyton, and Bilton in 1367, (fn. 24) and two
remained at Swine in 1735, after the failure of
the plan of Joseph Micklethwaite, Viscount
Micklethwaite, to drain c. 140 a. of low grounds
there with windmills. (fn. 25) Inadequate drains
caused flooding, and low ground in the south of
the parish was also vulnerable to inundation
from the river Humber; in the mid 17th century
lands in the parish were rated to the maintenance of protective banks at Drypool. (fn. 26) A drain
awarded in 1778 to drain Long Riston and
Arnold carrs had evidently still to be made in
1783, when a revised award extended it through
the existing Cowdike drain in Benningholme. (fn. 27)
As elsewhere in the Hull valley, (fn. 28) effective drainage of the marshy, low grounds, or carrs, only
began after the formation in 1764 of the
Holderness Drainage Board, notably by the cutting of a new outfall to the Humber in the 1830s.
Other new drains included Swine, Benningholme, and Arnold ings drain, which was made
in the earlier 19th century. (fn. 29) Just over 1,720 a.
of low grounds in the west of the parish were
rated to the drainage in 1775 (fn. 30) and some 2,000 a.
in the 1830s. (fn. 31) Nevertheless, flooding remained
a problem, particularly on the higher ground
in the narrow Lambwath valley between Aldbrough and Rise parishes. Attempts to enlarge
the Lambwath drain were blocked repeatedly by
the Holderness Drainage Board, which feared
the overloading of its system. About 1830 the
Lambwath proprietors petitioned unsuccessfully to have their 'unhappy valley' included in
a new Holderness Drainage Bill, claiming that
normal rainfall resulted in 400 a. being flooded
for two or three weeks, and that heavier falls
covered all 600 a. or more to the east of Rise
with 2-3 ft. of water, besides overflowing to the
west. (fn. 32) The Holderness Board's responsibilities
were later exercized by the Yorkshire Ouse and
Hull River Authority, which widened Swine
Church drain c. 1970, (fn. 33) by the National Rivers
Authority, and in 1998 by the Environment
Agency. (fn. 34)
Swine parish c. 1860
The ancient parish had more than 3,275 a.
under crops in 1801, when much of the land in
the south was occupied by pastures. (fn. 35) In the mid
19th and early 20th century there was generally
almost twice as much arable land as grassland,
9,935 a. and 5,360 a. respectively being recorded
in 1905. (fn. 36) Grassland and woods were, however,
relatively predominant in and around Burton
Constable, where in 1963 the Chichester-
Constables had a compact estate of c. 5,000 a. (fn. 37)
Otherwise the grassland was generally dispersed
among the arable land, with slightly larger areas
in the low-lying parts of Benningholme, Bilton,
Ganstead, and Swine. (fn. 38) Proximity to Hull and
Beverley has encouraged dairying and, perhaps
to a lesser extent, market gardening and nurserying, (fn. 39) but in 1994 the area was overwhelmingly
arable.
The main roads of the parish are those from
Hull leading north to Bridlington by way of
Ganstead, Coniston, and South Skirlaugh, and
north-eastwards through Bilton and Wyton to
Aldbrough. Minor roads connect the other
settlements, including Swine village, with the
main routes. The Bridlington road crosses
Lambwath stream by a bridge, for which Swine
priory was responsible in 1367. (fn. 40) The road was
much improved after designation as a main road
in 1921. (fn. 41) The Lambwath stream bridge was
rebuilt by the county council in 1926, (fn. 42) and the
road was widened and straightened in the later
20th century; much work was done in Skirlaugh
village, by-passes were made for Coniston and
Ganstead, (fn. 43) and another bridge, carrying the
road over a drain in Ganstead, was widened in
1954. (fn. 44) The Aldbrough road was carried over
Old fleet and a tributory stream respectively by
Wyton Holmes bridge, recorded in 1367, and
Bilton bridge, mentioned from the 13th or 14th
century. (fn. 45) In 1745 the Aldbrough road as far as
Wyton and a side road thence leading south to
Preston and Hedon were turnpiked, and in 1767
the rest of the Aldbrough road in the parish was
included in the Hull-Hedon trust, which was
discontinued in 1878. (fn. 46) Wyton Holmes toll
house stood in the junction of the Aldbrough
and Preston roads until its demolition c. 1950. (fn. 47)
Mile stones remain beside both the Aldbrough
and Preston roads. The Aldbrough road was
staightened at Wyton c. 1850, (fn. 48) and in 1884 the
part between Hull and the western boundary of
Wyton was declared a main road. (fn. 49)
The Hull-Hornsea railway line, opened in
1864, (fn. 50) crossed the parish. Swine station was
built between the village and Coniston, Skirlaugh station beside the Bridlington road between Coniston and South Skirlaugh, Ellerby
station north-west of that hamlet, and Marton
or Burton Constable station west of Marton. (fn. 51)
Ellerby station was closed for passengers in 1902
but continued as a goods depot until its closure
in 1959; Burton Constable station was renamed
Ellerby in 1922. Skirlaugh station was closed to
passengers in 1957 and entirely in 1963, and
Swine and Ellerby to goods in 1963 and entirely
in 1964. (fn. 52) The line was closed in 1965; (fn. 53) the track
has been lifted and its course designated a footpath. Station and other buildings were used as
houses in 1994.
In the mid 19th century Swine parish lay, for
the purposes of civil government, in thirteen
townships, later civil parishes, of which Arnold
and West Newton also contained parts of neighbouring ancient parishes. The number of civil
parishes was later reduced by amalgamation,
mainly in 1935, and there was further adjustment in 1952. Those changes are detailed below,
where treatment is according to the earlier
arrangement of townships, beginning with the
history of Swine village itself.
The small village of Swine, formerly the site
of a Cistercian priory and in the 19th century
mostly rebuilt by the Crown, lies near the western boundary of the extensive parish, only 3 km.
north and north-east of the built-up area of
Hull. Its name is Anglian and alludes to a creek,
possibly of the river Humber. (fn. 54)
There were 2,286 a. (925 ha.) in Swine township. (fn. 55) In 1935 Swine civil parish was combined
with that of Benningholme and Grange as the
new civil parish of Swine, with an area of
3,792 a. (1,535 ha.). (fn. 56) There were 240 poll-tax
payers at Swine in 1377, (fn. 57) the village had at least
40 houses in 1536, (fn. 58) and 30 were assessed for
hearth tax in 1672. (fn. 59) Of the 171 families recorded under the parish in 1743 and 144 in
1764, (fn. 60) a substantial minority presumably lived
in Swine township, but during the 19th century
its population of c. 200 was overtaken by other
places in the parish. The population, 204 in
1801, rose to 231 in 1831, fell to 180 in 1871,
recovered to 212 in 1921, and fell again to 176
in 1931. Swine and Benningholme together had
269 inhabitants in 1931. That population continued to decline after their union in 1935, to
222 in 1961, 185 in 1971, and 167 in 1981. In
1991 the usual population was 182, of whom 173
were present. (fn. 61)
Early roads in Swine included Skirlaugh gate
and West Carr gate, both recorded in 1454-5,
when wine was carried to the village from Hull
along navigable drains by way of 'Fishhouse'. (fn. 62)
There was evidently a road to Wawne in 1618
but that to Benningholme seems to have been
made in the earlier 19th century. (fn. 63)
Swine village formerly stood on a long street
leading south-eastwards to Coniston. On the
south side of the street the buildings, which
included the church, the manor house, and the
priory, extended for only about ½ km. but on
the north side houses were spaced all the way to
the Coniston boundary. A few more stood in
northern side lanes, (fn. 64) one of which, leading
towards the main road and Benningholme, was
called Dancing Lane in the 1850s. (fn. 65) Many cottages were said to have been demolished at
Swine in the earlier 17th century, (fn. 66) and the
priory buildings (fn. 67) had been removed by 1700,
when the village was described as 'very mean
and inconsiderable'. (fn. 68) The priory site was
marked in 1994 by traces of fishponds and other
earthworks, some in the misnamed Abbey
Garths. In 1994 the village comprised a dozen
houses set back behind the grass verges of its
street; most of the buildings, one or two with
tile-hung walls, dated from the Crown's rebuilding of the village and outlying farms in the
1860s. (fn. 69) The Crown sold half a dozen houses c.
1965, (fn. 70) and in 1967 a sewage disposal works
which the Crown Estate Commissioners had
built for the village was adopted by Holderness
rural district council. (fn. 71) Swine village was designated a conservation area in 1991. (fn. 72) Part of a
village cross survived in Coniston Lane. (fn. 73)
There were up to three licensed houses at
Swine in the later 18th century but only one in
the 1820s, then called the White Lion or the
Black Bull, its later name. (fn. 74) The Black Bull was
evidently closed c. 1870. (fn. 75)
OUTLYING BUILDINGS
The reduction of
the village in the 17th century was in part compensated for by the building of outlying farmhouses following inclosure in the 1650s. By 1735
the Micklethwaites had put up Kelwell, Hill,
Carr House, Woodhouse, Great Stanks, and
Bridge House Farms, Sleightings Farm, beside
the Ellerby road, and possibly other outlying
houses. (fn. 76) Like those in the village, the outlying
farmhouses were rebuilt by the Crown in the
19th century, and a few cottages have been
added since then.
Roman coin hoards have been found in the
township. (fn. 77) The origins of an embanked enclosure on the northern boundary, described in the
early 19th century, (fn. 78) are unknown.
MANORS AND OTHER ESTATES
In 1066
and 1086 the archbishop of York had SWINE
manor, comprising 7 carucates and 7 bovates
there and berewicks at Danthorpe, in Humbleton, Marfleet, Skirlaugh, and Sproatley. (fn. 79) Swine
was evidently held of the archbishop with
Winestead by the Verlis. (fn. 80) The first known tenants were Richard de Verli (fl. 1115) and Hugh
(fl. later 12th cent.). (fn. 81) The same or another
Hugh de Verli (d. by 1227) left as heirs two sisters, one of whom, Agnes de Verli, wife of Sir
Alexander of Hilton (d. 1242), was succeeded by
her son (Sir) Robert of Hilton. Robert, who was
granted free warren in Swine in 1256, (fn. 82) was then
co-tenant with Nicholas de Piselegh, who had
married Verli's other sister Amabel. (fn. 83) He evidently later succeeded to the whole manor, and
entailed it on a younger son Sir William of
Hilton (d. c. 1290) and William's wife Maud. (fn. 84)
Maud married secondly Sir Robert de Tilliol, (fn. 85)
who in her right was named joint lord of Swine
in 1316. (fn. 86) She died in 1343 and was succeeded
in the manor by her son Sir Robert Hilton. (fn. 87) He
was followed about 1351 by his son Sir Robert,
whose widow Maud held the manor in 1363. (fn. 88)
The manor then descended from father to son
to two further Sir Robert Hiltons, (fl. 1393) (fn. 89)
and died c. 1430. (fn. 90) After the death in 1459 of
the last Sir Robert's brother, Sir Godfrey
Hilton, who seems to have held Swine manor
for life, it fell to the share of one of Robert's
daughters and coheirs, (fn. 91) Elizabeth wife of (Sir)
John Melton, Lord Lucy. (fn. 92) In 1472 Melton (d.
1474) settled more than 2 carucates at Swine on
his grandson and heir John and John's wife. (fn. 93)
The latter John, later Sir John Melton, Lord
Lucy (d. 1510), (fn. 94) was succeeded by his son Sir
John, Lord Lucy (d. 1544), whose heir was his
daughter Dorothy (d. 1557), wife of Sir George
Darcy, Lord Darcy. (fn. 95) Swine later descended in
the Darcys. (fn. 96) In 1639 Anne Savile, sister and
heir of John Darcy (d. 1635), Lord Darcy, sold
Joseph Micklethwaite the manor, (fn. 97) in which
Lord Darcy's widow and her husband Sir
Francis Fane had an interest for her life. (fn. 98) In
1653 Joseph (d. 1658) and his son John (d. 1660)
acquired the former priory's manor of Swine,
and in 1681 John's son Joseph bought the rectorial estate there and at Ganstead. (fn. 99) From the
last Joseph the estate descended in turn to his
sons Thomas (d. 1718) and Joseph Micklethwaite, later Viscount Micklethwaite. (fn. 1) Lord
Micklethwaite, who enlarged the estate by purchase in 1720, (fn. 2) died in 1734, leaving nearly
2,200 a. in Swine to Ann Ewer. (fn. 3) She (d. 1739
or 1740) devised it to her nephew Anthony Ewer
(d. by 1756), (fn. 4) who was succeeded by his
daughter Elizabeth, later wife of Sir Francis
Wood, Bt. (fn. 5) From Lady Wood (d. 1796), the
estate descended to an Ewer relative, Cropley
Cooper, later earl of Shaftesbury (d. 1851). (fn. 6) In
1866 Cropley's son Anthony Cooper, earl of
Shaftesbury, sold Swine manor with 2,165 a. in
ten farms to the Crown, (fn. 7) which had bought
Benningholme manor and 1,578 a. in 1859 and
in 1870 added just over 600 a. more at Oubrough
and Dowthorpe. (fn. 8) In 1995 the Crown's Swine
estate comprised 1,869 ha. (4,618 a.), of which
933 ha. (2,306 a.) belonged to farms in the
former township of Swine but evidently included a small area elsewhere. (fn. 9)
Hugh de Verli's house at Swine was recorded
in the later 12th century. (fn. 10) In the mid 15th century the manor house of the Meltons included
a hall, outer hall, great chamber, and 'knight
chamber'; (fn. 11) it seems to have stood on the east
side of the church. (fn. 12) The amalgamation of the
chief manor of Swine and the former priory's
estate in 1653 makes later identification of the
manor house uncertain. The 'mansion house of
Swine' whose contents were sold by John
Micklethwaite to John Dalton in 1660 (fn. 13) was perhaps the manor house, and it may have been the
same house, the largest in Swine, which had 13
hearths in 1672. (fn. 14) By the mid 19th century
Swine Hall, standing near the church, was regarded as the 'old manor house'; it was probably
demolished in or soon before 1868, when a vicarage house was built on the site. (fn. 15)
In the late 13th century deer were taken from
Robert of Hilton's park at Swine. (fn. 16) The park,
which had evidently been disparked by the mid
15th century, (fn. 17) may have lain south and west of
the church around Giant hill, an artificial mound
thought to date from the 14th or 15th century
and possibly made as a look-out for hunting and
fowling; (fn. 18) in 1618 the mound stood in a large
close called the Pighill and Appleyard which
adjoined Park close. (fn. 19)
Swine manor evidently included land held of
the Hiltons by the Sutton family and later
reckoned part of Sutton parish. Saer of Sutton
(d. by 1290) was succeeded in Bransholme and
other land by his son John, Lord Sutton (d. by
1338), (fn. 20) and John's daughter-in-law Aline (d.
1363) was said to have c. 400 a. in Swine, including the site of the Suttons' house, Bransholme
castle. (fn. 21) Bransholme descended, with Sutton
manor, to Thomas Sutton, Lord Sutton, (fn. 22) and
then to his heirs. (fn. 23) The formerly moated Castle
hill (fn. 24) remained in 1994.
Besides the church, Swine priory received
gifts of land at Swine from Nicholas de Chevincourt and Thomas Riston. (fn. 25) The house was surrendered in 1539, (fn. 26) and much of its landed estate
in the parish, including the priory site, was
granted to Sir Richard Gresham in 1540 and
returned to the Crown by exchange in 1544. (fn. 27)
In 1557 Sir John Constable and his son Henry
bought the priory site with 572 a. of demesne
land in Swine, 297 a. in Oubrough grange, and
land called Ganstead Inholmes, all of which was
to be held in chief as 1/40; knight's fee. (fn. 28)
Henry Constable sold the priory estate at
Swine in 1583 to Robert Dalton (d. 1626), who
was succeeded in turn by his son Thomas (d.
1639) and grandson John. (fn. 29) John exchanged it
in 1653 with Joseph Micklethwaite (d. 1658) and
his son John (d. 1660); the PRIORY manor then
included the priory site, a chief house, and c.
3½ carucates. (fn. 30) The estate later descended with
Swine manor. (fn. 31)
Thornton abbey (Lincs.) was named as joint
lord of Swine and its members in 1316, (fn. 32) and
premises in Swine, appurtenant to the abbey's
manor of Woodhouse, in Arnold, were granted
after Thornton's dissolution to its short-lived
successor, Thornton college, in 1542. (fn. 33) It may
have been the abbey's estate at Swine which
belonged to William Whitmore and then to
Francis and Samuel Barlow. The Barlows sold
it in 1718 to Joseph Banks and Michael Pierrepoint, from whom Joseph Micklethwaite,
Viscount Micklethwaite, bought it in 1720. (fn. 34) It
evidently later descended with Swine manor. (fn. 35)
The RECTORY belonged to Swine priory
until its dissolution. In 1546 the Crown granted
it to Sir Richard Gresham. (fn. 36) He (d. 1549)
devised it to his daughter Elizabeth (d. 1552)
and then in turn to his sons Sir John (d. by 1563)
and Sir Thomas (d. 1579). (fn. 37) It later descended
with Sir Thomas's share of Nunkeeling manor, (fn. 38)
George Feilding, earl of Desmond, and Leices
ter Devereux, viscount Hereford, being named
as impropriators for the co-heirs in 1650, (fn. 39) and
Lord Hereford's executors selling the rectory in
lots in 1681.
Much of Swine rectory was bought in 1681
by Arthur Thornton, the purchaser at Nunkeeling, and descended with that estate to
William Thornton, (fn. 40) who sold many of the tithes
in the mid 18th century. The parsonage house,
glebe lands, and all the tithes and dues of Swine
township were, however, sold as another lot in
1681, to Joseph Micklethwaite. (fn. 41) His title descended with Swine manor to Cropley Cooper,
earl of Shaftesbury, who in 1848 was awarded a
rent charge of £13 6s. for the few unmerged
tithes in Swine. (fn. 42)
ECONOMIC HISTORY
Common lands and inclosure
The open fields of Swine
township were called North, South, East, and
West fields in the mid 15th century. East field,
which included land at North croft, was by 1618
part of North field, and South field was known
by the mid 16th century as Mill field. The
boundary between North and East fields would
seem to have been the Skirlaugh road, on either
side of which a different rotation was followed
in the 15th century. West field had an outlying
part south of the village in 1618, when other
ground, called Gildums Arable, may have been
a detached part of Mill field. (fn. 43) The commonable
lands also included meadow land in Town ings
and stinted pasture in West and North carrs, and
perhaps also in a cow pasture called the Firth or
Frithes in the 15th century. (fn. 44) Town ings presumably lay south of the village, where 'meadow
doles' were recorded in 1618 and later Ings
closes, and the Firth to its north, where land
which may then have been tilled was named
'common pasture' and 'cow gate' in 1618. (fn. 45)
Swine priory may have been engaged in the
wool trade c. 1200, (fn. 46) wool was stored in the
church c. 1300, (fn. 47) and before 1517 the house was
said to have inclosed arable land for pasture with
the loss of one plough. (fn. 48) The remaining commonable lands in Swine were mostly inclosed
by agreement between Joseph Micklethwaite
and the other proprietors in or soon after
the Micklethwaites' acquisition of the former
priory's estate in 1653. (fn. 49) Great ings, comprising
c. 130 a., remained commonable, however; (fn. 50)
after mowing, the meadows were grazed, from
August to November in 1729 and from May
until Christmas in 1760, at the rate of a gate for
each 2 a. held there. (fn. 51)
Swine 1618
THE MANOR
The income from Swine
manor in 1447-8 was c. £60 gross. (fn. 52) Tenants'
rents totalled £44. The cottagers also owed a
small sum as 'boonsilver' in lieu of works, and
they and the tenants at will rendered fowls,
'lakehens' and 'tethering' hens, the latter paid
for the right to tether horses in the lord's
meadow, perhaps Hall croft, after mowing.
Wood sales were worth £6 and leases of pasturage c. £4. The rest of the income came mostly
from sales of meadow, hay, rushes, hides, and
fleeces, and from fines for infringments of the
ale assize and other court perquisites. The
demesne was then farmed directly under the
supervision of a manorial reeve, a hayward, a
forester, a mill- and wood-reeve, and two supervisors of pasturage (agistati), whose responsibilty presumably extended to the manor as a
whole. A small, permanent staff was enforced by
casual labourers, of whom as many as 410 were
hired for the harvest of 1448. The demesne had
been leased by 1544. (fn. 53)
At the end of the 15th century 16 tenants at
will on Swine manor held nearly 2 carucates
between them, and 44 cottagers occupied 13 a. of
meadow and pasture gates. (fn. 54) In 1735 the manor,
then of c. 2,200 a. and comprising practically the
whole township, lay in 14 holdings, of which
three farms were of just over 200 a. each, six of
150-199 a., three of 100-149 a., and two of
under 30 a. (fn. 55)
WOODLAND
The manorial demesne included extensive woodlands north of the village,
part of them named in the 15th century as the
Stanks. (fn. 56) Much of the woodland had been
cleared and divided into closes by 1618, when
field names included the Stank, Stank Lane,
High Wood, and Far Wood. There then
remained a large wood, called Sir Christopher
Hildyard's wood, and nearby the smaller Sir
Christopher's 'cuniegree'. (fn. 57) In 1735 the 'woodground remaining unstubbed called Swine wood'
comprised 14 a.; it was felled between 1781 and
the early 19th century. (fn. 58) Other old inclosures at
Swine included Thirty Acres pasture, which was
part of the priory's demesne. (fn. 59)
FISHERIES
The fishing of a stream between
Fairholme and Swine mere, presumably part of
Lambwath stream, was released to Swine priory
in 1236, (fn. 60) in the 14th century fisheries at Swine
belonging to the priory and to the Crown were
said to have been trespassed upon, (fn. 61) and a fishery
on Swine manor was let in the 1440s. (fn. 62)
LATER AGRICULTURE
Of 1,373 ha. (3,393
a.) returned under Swine civil parish in 1987,
1,240 ha. (3,064 a.) were arable land, 107 ha.
(264 a.) grassland, and 12. 1 ha. (30 a.) woodland;
more than 14,000 pigs, 300 sheep, and 200 cattle,
and nearly 30,000 poultry, were then kept. (fn. 63) One
or two market gardeners and a cowkeeper
worked at Swine in the later 19th and earlier
20th century, (fn. 64) and in 1987 vegetables were
grown on 20.3 ha. (50 a.) of Swine civil parish. (fn. 65)
In the mid 19th century there were a dozen
farmers at Swine, and later that century and in
the earlier 20th usually 7-8; most of the farms
were of 150 a. or more. (fn. 66) In 1995 there were
eight holdings on the Crown's estate at Swine;
the largest was of 170 ha. (420 a.), three were of
121-162 ha. (300-399 a.), three of 81-121 ha.
(200-299 a.), and one of 28 ha. (69 a.). (fn. 67)
INDUSTRY
Gravel has been dug at Swine, (fn. 68)
the Swine estate included a brick kiln in 1866, (fn. 69)
and there was a small engineering concern in the
village in 1993.
MILLS
Swine manor included a windmill in
the 1440s, (fn. 70) and there was possibly another on
the priory's estate in 1536, when a millhouse was
recorded. (fn. 71) In 1618 a windmill stood south of
the lane to Coniston in Mill field. (fn. 72) There was
also a water mill on a small stream on the boundary with Benningholme into the 19th century, (fn. 73)
but no more is known of it.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Swine manor court
was held twice a year in the mid 15th century. (fn. 74)
Surviving records include an estreat of 1536, a
record of a session in 1624, (fn. 75) by-laws made in
the court between 1729 and 1764, (fn. 76) and brief
minutes for 1759-64. (fn. 77) The jurisdiction of the
court included the view of frankpledge and the
ale assize, but it was mostly concerned with
drainage and the regulation of common grazing
by the 18th century, and then seems to have met
only once a year. Two affeerors, a constable, and
a pinder were appointed in the court c. 1760,
and a pinder as late as 1866. (fn. 78) Courts were also
held at Swine by the priory. (fn. 79)
A poorhouse was maintained at Swine. (fn. 80) Nine
people were relieved permanently and 5 occasionally in the township in 1802-3, and 8-15
were on permanent and 9-11 on occasional relief
between 1812 and 1815. (fn. 81) Swine joined Skirlaugh poor-law union in 1837, (fn. 82) and the township, later civil parish, remained in Skirlaugh
rural district until 1935. As part of an enlarged
civil parish of Swine, it was then included in
the new Holderness rural district, and at reorganization in 1974 was taken into the Holderness district of Humberside. (fn. 83) In 1996 Swine
parish became part of a new East Riding unitary area. (fn. 84)
CHURCH
There was probably a church at
Swine in 1086, when a priest was recorded on
the manor, (fn. 85) and certainly one c. 1150, when the
Verlis gave it to Swine priory at that house's
foundation. (fn. 86) The priory was cited before the
archbishop for failing to provide a perpetual
vicar for the parish church in 1308-9, (fn. 87) and an
ordination for Swine church, which does not
survive, was made soon afterwards, the first
known vicar being presented in 1323. (fn. 88) Another
ordination was made in 1539, just before the
priory's surrender. (fn. 89) The ancient parish included chapels at Bilton, Drypool, Ganstead,
Marton, Skirlaugh, and Wyton. Ganstead
chapel may have been abandoned before the
16th century and Marton in the 17th; Wyton
chapel was lost c. 1660. Drypool chapelry became a separate parish in or soon after the mid
17th century and those of Bilton and Skirlaugh
in 1867. Thereafter the reduced parish comprised Swine township, Burton Constable,
Coniston, Ellerby, and Thirtleby. A mission
chapel was built at Ellerby in 1889. (fn. 90)
The patronage of Swine vicarage remained
with the priory in the Middle Ages. (fn. 91) After the
Dissolution the Crown granted the advowson to
Sir Richard Gresham in 1546, (fn. 92) and it later
descended with the rectory in the Greshams and
their successors, the Crown presenting in 1625
during the minority of Bridget Stanhope, later
Feilding. (fn. 93) (Sir) William Thornton evidently
sold the advowson c. 1700. In 1705 Ann Tadman
presented John Moorhouse, and he (d. 1740)
and his heirs later had the advowson, it falling
to Sarah Brown at partition in 1791. (fn. 94) The
patronage was bought by William Wilberforce
(d. 1833), the philanthropist, and descended to
his son William. (fn. 95) Later in the mid century it
was vested in G. T. Woodroofe, the family's
lawyer, because of their Roman Catholicism,
and Woodroofe and his successors kept the
patronage until the 1970s, when it was evidently
returned to the Wilberforces. In 1994 the joint
patrons were W. J. A. Wilberforce and Baroness
de Stempel. (fn. 96)
Swine church was valued at £53 6s. 8d. in
1291. (fn. 97) On the eve of the Dissolution the priory
was paying the vicar a stipend of £5 6s. 8d. a
year, besides providing him with board valued
at £2 13s. 4d.; about £8 may also have been
spent on the salaries and board of the parish
priest and a deacon. (fn. 98) By the ordination of 1539
the vicar was to receive £13 6s. 8d. a year from
the rectory, besides his house and grazing or
fodder for two horses. (fn. 99) By 1546 the vicar's stipend had been increased to £14 13s. 4d. and an
allowance of £2 made for providing bread and
wine for services in the parish. (fn. 1) After the loss
of Marton chapel, the share of the tithes there
previously enjoyed by its chaplain passed to the
vicar; they were evidently compounded for £13
6s. 8d. a year by the late 17th century (fn. 2) and in
1849 were commuted for a rent charge of £18. (fn. 3)
That charge was annexed to Skirlaugh benefice
in 1867. (fn. 4) The vicar also received a modus of 3s.
4d. a year for tithes at Ellerby, a rent charge
of that amount being substituted in 1849. (fn. 5) The
vicarage was augmented with £200 from Queen
Anne's Bounty to meet a benefaction of that sum
in 1783, with a Parliamentary grant of £1,200
in 1816, and with another £200 of Bounty
money to meet benefactions totalling £200 in
1842. (fn. 6) Further benefactions, comprising the 4-a.
parsonage site (fn. 7) and £1,050, had been received
by 1867, when £40 a year to meet them was
granted from the Common Fund. (fn. 8) The annual
net income was £102 between 1829 and 1831
and c. £165 in 1882. (fn. 9)
The augmentations were used to buy almost
20 a. at South Skirlaugh in 1785 and the same
at Thorngumbald, in Paull, in 1827. (fn. 10) The land
at South Skirlaugh was sold in 1925. (fn. 11)
At the Dissolution the vicar shared one of the
priory's houses, formerly used for visitors, with
four or five priests serving the parish and priory
churches, and, as the 'Guest Hall', that house
was assigned to him by the ordination of 1539. (fn. 12)
Another house seems to have been used later,
however, when the vicarage house was described
as a small building north of the church. The
house, which was in disrepair in 1567 and again
c. 1700, had evidently been abandoned by the
vicar by 1717, when it was used as an alehouse, (fn. 13)
and was demolished before 1726. There was
later no house, and the vicar was living at Coniston, presumably in a rented house, in 1842-3,
when a vicarage house was built with Bounty
money and benefactions on the glebe land at
South Skirlaugh. (fn. 14) That house was replaced by
another in Swine village, built in 1868 with aid
from the Common Fund on 4 a. granted by the
Crown. (fn. 15) A new vicarage house was built nearby
about 1967, when the redundant house was sold,
as Priory House, with nearly 3½ a. (fn. 16) After 1868
Holyrood House, the former vicarage house at
South Skirlaugh, was used as a farmhouse; it
was sold in 1925. (fn. 17)
In the 14th century Swine priory mostly presented members of its community or of other
religious houses as vicar, but later, presumably
because of the removal of the canons from
Swine, secular priests were appointed. (fn. 18) The
medieval church included a chantry (fn. 19) and a
guild (fn. 20) of St. Mary. A chapel of unknown purpose stood in the churchyard in the 1440s. (fn. 21) One
of the chapels at Swine was endowed with two
houses and an acre in 1548. (fn. 22) At the Dissolution
the vicar was assisted by a parish priest and a
deacon. (fn. 23) Robert Read, vicar from 1540, married
and was deprived in 1554. (fn. 24) Sermons were lacking in the mid 16th and early 18th century. (fn. 25)
In the mid 18th century the incumbent lived at
Sproatley, one of his other livings, and employed a curate to reside and do his duty at
Swine. One Sunday service was then held in the
parish church and Holy Communion was celebrated three or four times a year, with 70-80
recipients. (fn. 26) Curates were again employed in the
earlier 19th century, (fn. 27) but the archbishop
ordered a vicar to reside in 1836 and later
removed him for refusing to comply. (fn. 28) There
was still only one Sunday service in the parish
church in 1865 but two services were provided
by 1868, and celebrations of communion were
monthly by 1871, fortnightly in 1884, and
weekly by the early 20th century; in the later
19th century only a dozen usually received.
Mission services at Coniston and Ellerby and
cottage lectures were adopted in the 1870s and
1880s to meet the problem of a still-large parish
with a marginally-placed church, and a mission
chapel was built at Ellerby in 1889. (fn. 29) William
Cobby was vicar from 1875 to 1930. (fn. 30) In 1994
when the living was vacant there were regular
celebrations of communion but few other
services.
Figure 7:
Swine Church 1784
The church of ST. MARY, so called from
the 12th century, (fn. 31) was formerly a cruciform
building, the eastern arm of which was occupied
by the parish church and the part west of the
crossing tower by the priory church. That unusual disposition of priory and parish churches
is also found, however, at Nunkeeling. (fn. 32) The
nuns' church was evidently demolished soon
after the Dissolution, apart from some fragments which remained in 1784; (fn. 33) its site and that
of the claustral buildings was occupied in 1998
by the large yard and outbuildings of the neighbouring farm.
The parish church comprises a structurallyundivided chancel and clerestoried nave, with
north chapel and south vestry to the chancel, and
aisles, south porch, and west tower to the nave.
It may have been rebuilt late in the 12th century,
following the completion of the priory church
and tower, whose western arch was of slightly
earlier date. (fn. 34) Part of a 13th-century window
head, with nailhead on its former external face,
survives in the chancel, and is evidence for alterations to the east end at that date. In a dispute
with the priory c. 1300 the parishioners made
good their claim to a chapel called the North
Crouch, which was situated in the north transept
and housed St. Andrew's altar. (fn. 35) Both aisles of
the parish church were rebuilt, and presumably
widened, in the 14th century, a monolithic
window head, reused in the south aisle wall, providing evidence for an earlier church on the site.
The north aisle was also then extended eastwards to form the chapel, which was probably
used as a burial place for the lords of the manor
and was later called the 'lord's aisle'. (fn. 36) The tower
was heightened at about the same time. (fn. 37) In the
15th century the east end was remodelled, principally by the insertion of new windows into the
end of both aisles and the east and south sides
of the chancel. The fabric was neglected after
the Dissolution, (fn. 38) and the chancel roof had been
lowered and part of the east window stopped up
by the end of the 18th century. (fn. 39) In 1787 the
truncated tower was rebuilt on a smaller base
but slightly higher using much of the old stone. (fn. 40)
The church was restored in the early 1870s. (fn. 41) A
west gallery built in 1722 was then removed,
the south vestry evidently rebuilt, (fn. 42) and it was
perhaps then that the fittings were rearranged to
bring the easternmost bay of the nave into the
chancel. The north aisle and chapel were restored in the 1980s, (fn. 43) and in 1994 the church
was being repaired by Community Action
volunteers. (fn. 44)
The fittings include eight stalls with misericords of c. 1500; they were evidently moved
from the priory church at its destruction and
were formerly more numerous and canopied. (fn. 45)
The north chapel is divided from the aisle by a
screen put up in 1531 by the Darcys and later
mutilated. The screen bears a now incomplete
inscription referring to St. Mary's chantry,
which was founded by Walter Skirlaw, bishop
of Durham (d. 1406) (fn. 46) and presumably held in
the chapel. Also of the 16th century is the low,
chancel screen, which was cut down in the 18th
century. (fn. 47) A 14th-century chest tomb bearing
effigies of a knight and lady, all of stone, is built
into the south aisle wall. The north chapel, now
called the Hilton chapel, has three similar
tombs, of alabaster and representing three
knights and two ladies of the 14th and 15th centuries; all are believed to commemorate Hiltons,
and they almost certainly include the tomb of
Sir Robert Hilton (d. c. 1430) and his wife. (fn. 48)
The tombs in the chapel have been rebuilt and
renovated in the present century. (fn. 49) The chapel
formerly also contained brasses commemorating
John Melton (d. 1458) and his wife. (fn. 50) Stone
coffins discovered during the 19th-century restoration (fn. 51) were kept in the aisles in 1994. The
church also has a pulpit of 1619, a small font,
comprising a late 18th-century bowl of Coade
stone with Gothick ornament on a possibly medieval shaft, and an iron chest, with the initials
J. M., possibly those of one of the Micklethwaites. (fn. 52)
There were two bells in 1552 and later four,
which were refounded or replaced in 1800 by
James Harrison of Barton upon Humber
(Lincs.). (fn. 53) The plate includes a cup of 1570, (fn. 54) a
paten of 1681, and a flagon and a remade cup,
both of 1819. (fn. 55) The registers begin in 1706 and
are complete; transcripts survive from 1600. (fn. 56)
Land on the south side of the church was
added to the churchyard in 1923 and consecrated in 1924. (fn. 57)
The parish clerk of Swine was entitled to
sheaves of wheat from Arnold, Benningholme,
and Coniston, besides his Easter dues. At inclosure in 1790 an annual rent of £1 12s. was substituted for those from Coniston, and the Benningholme sheaves had been compounded for a rent
of £1 1s. by 1857. (fn. 58)
NONCONFORMITY
The Daltons of Swine
were Roman Catholic, and 25 papists were recorded under the village in the 1660s and 17 in
1735. (fn. 59) Eight protestant dissenters were recorded under Swine in 1676, (fn. 60) when the prominent Quaker John Whitehead lived in the
parish. (fn. 61) In Swine township unidentified prot
estants registered buildings in 1804, 1811, 1816,
and 1827. (fn. 62) They probably included Independents, who fitted up premises there c. 1800,
encouraged by Fish Street chapel, Hull. (fn. 63) A
house at Swine used by that congregation later
passed to Wesleyan Methodists, who were in
turn succeeded in 1846 by the Primitives. The
last mentioned congregation numbered c. 30 in
1851. (fn. 64) The location of the house and further
history of the congregation are unknown. A
Wesleyan chapel being built at Swine in 1892
was probably opened in 1894. (fn. 65) It was closed in
1940, (fn. 66) evidently sold in 1957, (fn. 67) and used as a
house by 1993.
EDUCATION
A schoolroom built at Swine
with the bequest of Ellen Dunn (d. 1691), a servant of the Micklethwaites, (fn. 68) was presumably
that later standing on the north side of the
street. (fn. 69) An unlicensed schoolmaster was teaching in Swine in 1693, (fn. 70) and in 1743 the school
had over 20 pupils and was supported by the
villagers. (fn. 71) The boys' school recorded c. 1820
was probably the same; it then received £6 from
£200 stock given in 1798 by Mrs. Elizabeth
Lamb, a native of Swine, for the teaching of six
children of Swine township and £5 5s. from the
earl of Shaftesbury to support five pupils. (fn. 72) The
school had 25 pupils, including the 11 taught
free, in 1833. Twenty girls were then taught at
their parents' expense in two other schools at
Swine. (fn. 73) Swine school was closed following the
earl of Shaftesbury's sale in 1866, but in 1868
the Crown built a new school with master's
house on another site and opened it as a National
school for boys and girls, including infants. (fn. 74) It
was supported by subscription and from 1869
by an annual government grant. (fn. 75) On inspection
in 1871 there were 28 pupils, among them children from Coniston, Ellerby, Ganstead, and
Thirtleby. (fn. 76) Between 1906 and the early 1930s
average attendance usually exceeded 50, and a
classroom was added in 1934. (fn. 77) Numbers fell
soon after to an average of 38 in 1937-8, (fn. 78) and
in 1954 senior pupils were transferred to South
Holderness County Secondary School. (fn. 79) Swine
school was closed in 1968, the pupils being
transferred to the new school at Skirlaugh at its
opening. (fn. 80) The teacher's house had been sold in
1960; (fn. 81) the school building, which was returned
to the Crown in 1973, was used for a village hall
before being converted into a house. (fn. 82)
Lamb's charity became Lamb's Educational
Foundation by Scheme of 1933, when its area
was redefined as Swine (civil) parish. The
income, then £5 but £9 c. 1980, could be spent
in assisting children in secondary education, and
that object was met after 1933 by grants or payment of pupils' travelling expenses. (fn. 83)