NORTH DIVISION
ATWICK
THE village of Atwick lies 24 km. NNE. of Hull,
3 km. NNW. of the resort of Hornsea, and c.
500 m. from the coast, which forms the eastern
parish boundary. (fn. 1) The ancient parish also included the hamlets of Arram, c. 3 km. south-west
of the village, and Skirlington, c. 2 km. north.
The name Atwick, 'Atta's dairy farm', is Anglian
but was not recorded until the 12th century.
Arram is a Scandinavian name meaning 'at the
shielings', presumably an allusion to pasture
there. Skirlington, which may mean 'Scirela's
farm', is an Anglian and Scandinavian hybrid.
The suffix 'in Holderness' was sometimes used,
presumably to distinguish Atwick from Adwick
le Street and Adwick upon Dearne (both Yorks.
W.R.) and Arram from Arram in Leconfield. (fn. 2)
In 1852 the ancient parish contained 2,298 a.
(930 ha.), comprising 1,430 a. (579 ha.) in
Atwick, 539 a. (218 ha.) in Arram, and 329 a.
(133 ha.) in Skirlington. (fn. 3) During the 19th century the sea consumed on average 2–3 yd. of the
parish each year. By 1911 its area had been
reduced to 2,244 a. (908 ha.) and by 1991 to
2,189 a. (886 ha.). (fn. 4)
In 1377 there were 103 poll-tax payers in
Atwick. Arram was then and later assessed
jointly with Bewholme, in Nunkeeling. (fn. 5) By 1517
inclosure had resulted in the ejection of 17
people in Atwick. (fn. 6) In 1672 there were 25 houses
listed in the hearth-tax return for the parish,
excluding Arram. (fn. 7) There were 35 families in the
parish in 1743 and 33 in 1764. (fn. 8) From 368 in 1801
the population fell to 286 in 1811 and thereafter
fluctuated around 300, standing at 284 in 1901.
It was almost the same in 1971 but 360 were
counted in 1991, of whom 323 were usually
resident. (fn. 9)
The parish is largely on boulder clay and
much of the ground exceeds 15 m. above sea
level. Along the coast the higher ground ends in
an unbroken line of steep cliffs, and at Arram,
where the land rises to 24 m., it provided the
site of the hamlet. Lower land in the west is
partly alluvial, and small deposits of lacustrine
clay mark the sites of former meres. (fn. 10) At Atwick
the higher ground north and south of the village
was mostly occupied by the open fields and the
lower ground in the west by common meadows
and pastures; the commonable lands there were
inclosed in 1772.
The parish is drained by Stream dike, which
flows northwards along the western boundary
towards the Skipsea and Barmston drains and
eventual outfall into the North Sea. It was evidently Stream dike which was in disrepair in
1367. (fn. 11) Tributary streams form part of the
southern boundary of Atwick and Arram's eastern boundary. Lesser drains include that which
flows west along part of the southern boundary
of Arram into Catfoss drain. (fn. 12)
The principal road in the parish, from Hornsea to Skipsea, has been upgraded and improved
as part of the main Holderness coast road. From
the village a minor road leads west to Bewholme,
whence others run south and east through
Arram to Seaton and Hornsea respectively.
ATWICK village has a linear plan extending
across the centre of the parish. The plan was
evidently determined by a stream which rises
close to the sea and flows through the village
to Stream dike. The main village street is that
leading west to the church, now comprising Cliff
Road and Church Lane. Cross lanes connected
it with northern and southern back lanes, the
southern one continuing as the Bewholme road.
A large irregular green in the centre of the village
is crossed both by the main street and one of the
side lanes, which forms part of the Hornsea to
Skipsea road. The shaft of a medieval cross with
a stepped base stands on the green, and there is a
pond, named Holy Well, by the Bewholme road.
Four council houses were built on Bewholme Road after 1937 and a dozen more,
together with a dozen bungalows, in Church
Lane in the 1950s and 1960s. Those served to
end the isolation of the church and former vicarage house at the west end of the village. The district council also built and subsequently operated
a sewage disposal works on Church Lane for the
bungalows. (fn. 13) In the earlier 20th century the village was also extended by the building on the
cliffs of a dozen bungalows and chalets. A caravan site, opened there c. 1945, accommodated c.
30 static caravans in 1992, when there were two
smaller sites nearer the village. (fn. 14) Most of the village buildings date from the 19th century and
are of brick. Boulder construction co-exists with
brick in several buildings, among them The
Cottage, on Bewholme Road, the former Primitive Methodist chapel, and the outbuildings of
Cliff Farm. Atwick Hall, overlooking the green,
is a large farmhouse of the 19th century. Conservation areas were designated in Atwick in 1991. (fn. 15)
HOLDERNESS WAPENTAKE
Up to three houses were licensed at Atwick
in the later 18th century, and the Black Horse,
named in 1822, (fn. 16) still traded in 1991. The
school, closed in 1960, was later used as a village hall. (fn. 17)
Atwick parish c. 1850
ARRAM.
At Arram there is thought to have
been a medieval settlement, of unknown size,
lying north of Arram Hall, which was built in
the 17th century and by the mid 18th was the
only remaining building. (fn. 18) Little Arram Farm,
added between 1828 and 1852, (fn. 19) was rebuilt c.
1990.
SKIRLINGTON hamlet comprises two farms.
High Skirlington Farm, known as Skirlington
Hill in 1922, had been built by 1772 and Low
Skirlington Farm by 1828. (fn. 20) Low Skirlington
leisure park, which includes a golf course, was
opened in 1965; a caravan park and most of the
present buildings date from 1973, and in 1986
a swimming pool was added. About 1990 a
Sunday market began to be held on the site, and
later large car boot sales were started there. In
1992 the site accommodated c. 800 static
caravans. (fn. 21)
OUTLYING HOUSES include Little Atwick,
also known as Moor House by 1852, and Atwick
Mill Farm, both built by 1828 on ground inclosed in 1772. (fn. 22) A beacon stood on high ground
close to the sea in the late 18th and early 19th
century. (fn. 23) Land at Atwick was used by the military authorities during both World Wars, and
several military buildings put up c. 1940 remain
on the cliffs. (fn. 24) A gas terminal between Atwick
and Skirlington was constructed in 1973–5 and
extended in 1983. (fn. 25)
MANORS AND OTHER ESTATES
Land at
Atwick and Arram was evidently included in
Morkar's manor of Hornsea in 1066 and had
passed with it to Drew de Bevrere by 1086; (fn. 26) it
was later part of the Aumale fee. In the mid
13th century William de Ros held 12 carucates
at Atwick, which holding descended in the Ros
family, later Barons Ros of Helmsley (Yorks.
N.R.), and their successors. (fn. 27) Robert de Ros was
named as undertenant in 1284–5. (fn. 28)
In 1300 John of Barton and his wife Joan held
4 carucates at Atwick of Nicholas de Meynell as
"⅓" knight's fee, (fn. 29) and in 1316 Joan Barton was
named as lord of Atwick, together with Richard
and Stephen Thorpe, Simon of Goxhill, and
Alice of Bushby. (fn. 30) In 1318 Joan sold ATWICK
manor to Sir John Sutton, later Lord Sutton,
who held it as ¼ knight's fee from William de
Ros, Lord Ros. John (d. by 1338) was succeeded
in turn by his sons, John Sutton, Lord Sutton
(d. 1356) and Thomas Sutton, Lord Sutton (d.
by 1395). (fn. 31)
The estate was later divided between Thomas's
three daughters. Constance Sutton's second husband, Sir John Godard, held "⅓" of the manor at
his death in 1420, (fn. 32) and her share passed to the
Ughtreds by the marriage of the Godards'
daughter Margaret to Thomas Ughtred. That
share then descended in the Ughtreds to Sir
Robert Ughtred, who in 1527 sold it, as Atwick
manor, to Cardinal Wolsey. (fn. 33) After Wolsey's
attainder the estate was granted to Sir
Marmaduke Constable in 1535. (fn. 34) It descended in
the Constables of Everingham to Sir Philip
Constable, Bt., who in 1653 sold the estate, containing c. 120 a., to John Rushworth. (fn. 35) That share
of the manor has not been traced further.
Another "⅓" share descended to Thomas Sutton's daughter Margery (d. 1391), who married
Peter de Mauley. (fn. 36) The Mauleys' daughters Constance and Elizabeth married Sir John Bigod (d.
1427) and George Salvan (d. 1418), whose sons
Ralph Bigod and John Salvan later held 2/9 and
1/9 shares of the manor respectively. (fn. 37) The Bigod
share had evidently passed by 1491 to William
Babthorp, who sold it to John Pickering that
year. In 1510 Pickering's son William sold the
estate to John Wensley and Robert White, later
the sole owner. It was bought in 1525 by
William Longford and others, who conveyed it
to St. John's college, Cambridge, in 1527. The
college acquired other land in Atwick township
as part of Marfleet manor in 1530. (fn. 38) It had 238 a.
there at inclosure in 1772 and 216 a. in 1910. (fn. 39)
In 1979 it sold College farm to the Hornby
family, the owners in 1991. (fn. 40)
From Thomas Sutton's daughter Agnes, wife
of Sir Ralph Bulmer (d. 1406) and Sir Edmund
Hastings (d. 1448), "⅓" of Atwick manor descended to the Bulmers. (fn. 41) Sir Ralph had also
inherited 2 carucates and 2 bovates, part of the
Ros fee at Atwick, from his father Ralph (d.
1366). (fn. 42) John Bulmer (d. 1537) forfeited the
estate for his part in the Pilgrimage of Grace,
but it was restored to his son Sir Ralph (d. 1558).
The "⅓" share was divided between his daughters,
one of whom, Anne Welbury, sold her interest
to George Creswell in 1575. (fn. 43) Creswell had
bought the shares of the other daughters,
Frances Constable, Joan Cholmeley, and Millicent Grey by 1585. (fn. 44) At his death in 1592 Creswell's estate at Atwick included 15 houses and
evidently comprised land of both the Ros and
Aumale fees. (fn. 45) In 1613 the estate was divided
and sold by George's son Ralph Creswell and
Ralph's son George. (fn. 46) Part bought by Thomas
Acklam may have descended to Jonathan
Acklam, who was awarded 140 a. at inclosure in
1772. (fn. 47) The Bulmers' share of the manor has not
been traced further.
A modern estate at Atwick originated in purchases made by Robert and George Gale (both
d. 1824). (fn. 48) It comprised c. 180 a. in 1856 when
it belonged to G. M. Gale. He (d. 1887) was
succeeded by his son, also G. M. Gale. (fn. 49) The
son already had land in Atwick. In 1863 a half
share in a 111-a. farm there had been settled on
him, as G. M. Gale the younger, and George
Ogle's coheir Mary Ogle shortly before their
marriage, and in 1877 the other heir sold her
moiety to Gale. (fn. 50) He bought 63 a. more in 1903
and at his death in 1916 held c. 350 a. at
Atwick. (fn. 51) In 1926 the estate was divided and sold
in several lots. The 130-a. Cliff farm was conveyed to E. A. Williams and Susannah Gale, (fn. 52)
and Church farm, of 217 a., was sold to Tom
Catton (d. 1950) and Charles Catton (d. 1957). (fn. 53)
Charles was succeeded by J. B. Catton and his
mother Isabella (d. c. 1975), and in 1991 Church
farm was owned by J. B. Catton and Son. (fn. 54)
In 1066 Thorkil held ARRAM, comprising 1
carucate. It had passed by 1086 to Drew de
Bevrere, whose tenant Rayner then occupied
part of it. (fn. 55) Other land at Arram was probably
included in Hornsea manor in 1086, (fn. 56) and in the
mid 13th century 2 carucates at Arram were held
by Ralph of Sherburn. (fn. 57)
About 1200 donors including Sir Stephen of
Arram and Richard son of Peter gave Meaux
abbey an estate in ARRAM, which was described as a grange by 1202. (fn. 58) Comprising 1 carucate and other land, it was granted to Sir
Nicholas de Stuteville soon afterwards; Stuteville gave it to John of Meaux and it later passed
to his son Peter, who had granted it back to the
abbey by 1235. (fn. 59) Members of the Skirlington
family and others made further gifts during the
13th century, and by 1269 the abbey had more
than 1 carucate and 3 bovates in desmesne and
4 bovates held by tenants. (fn. 60) After the Dissolution Meaux abbey's manor, then comprising
two houses, 1 carucate and 6 bovates, and other
land, was granted to Sir Christopher Hatton in
1586. It was bought the same year by Ralph
Creswell, who succeeded on his father George's
death in 1592 to other land at Arram. (fn. 61) In 1618
Creswell sold his estate to Nicholas Waller. (fn. 62)
Waller's daughter or granddaughter Susan married Gervase Bosville (d. 1621), and their son
Thomas sold the manor in 1654 to William
Dobson (d. 1666). (fn. 63) Dobson's daughter Esther
(d. 1716) married Christopher Hildyard (d. by
1685) and the manor later descended in the
Hildyards. (fn. 64) In 1804 Sir Robert D'Arcy Hildyard, Bt., sold the Arram Hall estate, of c. 490
a., to Thomas Bainton (d. 1842). Bainton was
succeeded by his son John (d. 1891) and John
by his son Thomas. (fn. 65) The mortgagees sold the
estate to Thomas Reed in 1899. After Reed's
death in 1942, it was bought by Stanley Rhodes
in 1944, by Harold Carbutt in 1947, and by
George Walton in 1951. (fn. 66) In 1954 Walton
sold Arram to Lady (Ernestine) StricklandConstable and it remained part of the
Strickland-Constable estate in 1990. (fn. 67)
Arram Hall was built in the early 17th century, possibly by Nicholas Waller. (fn. 68) It is of red
brick with black brick diapering to the upper
storey and has shaped end-gables and a twostoried porch with a broken segmental brick
pediment to the doorway. The house was enlarged in the 19th or 20th century with two
lower wings and bay windows, and the interior
has been remodelled. It retains an 18th-century
staircase.
In 1066 Morkar held 5 carucates at
SKIRLINGTON as soke of his manor of Hornsea. The sokeland had passed with the manor to
Drew de Bevrere by 1086. (fn. 69) Much of Skirlington
was granted to Bridlington priory. Simon father
of Emma (Emeline) of Skirlington had given 1
carucate there by the mid 12th century, Emma's
son Ralph of Skirlington 1 carucate and 2 bovates by 1232, and Ralph's neices 2 bovates by
1229. (fn. 70) By the earlier 13th century the priory
had also been given land at Skirlington by
William d'Oyry and an estate in Arram by
Henry le Nayre. It added other land at Skirlington by purchase from Newburgh priory
(Yorks. N.R.) and appropriated Atwick rectory. (fn. 71) The priory had 5 carucates in Skirlington
and Arram by 1285, and in 1290 it was granted
free warren in Skirlington. (fn. 72) In 1537 the prior
was attainted for his role in the Pilgrimage of
Grace and the manor was forfeited to the
Crown. (fn. 73)
The Crown sold Skirlington manor in 1609
to George Salter and John Williams, who then
resold it to (Sir) George Etherington (d. 1627).
His son George sold the manor in 1631 to
Robert Crompton (d. 1646). (fn. 74) Crompton devised it to Walter Crompton, possibly his son,
who was succeeded in turn by his nephews
Walter Crompton (fl. 1742) and William
Crompton. William left the estate to Miles
Smith, whose son, also Miles, sold it to John
Etherington in 1799. (fn. 75) The estate was later held
by George Etherington (d. 1854), his son
Thomas (d. 1868), and then by another Thomas
Etherington, possibly the son of Thomas (d.
1868). (fn. 76) G. B. Tonge bought Skirlington in 1879
and held it until his death in 1922, when it
passed to his daughter Ruth Danby (d. April
1957). (fn. 77) Marion Clements (d. Feb. 1957) had
also had an interest in the estate, and in 1973
her trustees sold High Skirlington farm to the
British Gas Corporation. (fn. 78)
The RECTORY belonged to Bridlington
priory by 1228, when the vicar agreed that the
priory should have some of the hay tithes. The
rectory evidently also included the 6 bovates
given with the church c. 1130. (fn. 79) By another
agreement, made in 1277, the hay tithes due
from Meaux abbey's estate at Arram were compounded for 16d. a year. (fn. 80) The rectory was
valued at £6 13s. 4d. in 1291 and c. £10 in the
early 16th century. (fn. 81)
The rectory passed by the priory's forfeiture
to the Crown, (fn. 82) which granted it to Henry Best
and Thomas Holland in 1600. By 1605 it had
evidently been bought by William Green. (fn. 83)
Green's daughter Elizabeth, wife of Sir John
Buck (d. 1648), was named as impropriatrix in
1650; the rectory was then valued at £46 net. (fn. 84)
It later descended to Robert Buck, whose widow
Mary and eldest son John sold the rectory in
1692 to a younger son Robert (d. 1731). Robert's
daughter Elizabeth sold the estate in 1768 to
Fountayne Osbaldeston (d. 1770). (fn. 85) At inclosure
in 1772 Osbaldeston's great-nephew Humphrey
Osbaldeston received 165 a. for his commonable
land and 34 a. for tithes. He (d. 1835) left the
estate to Bertram Osbaldeston-Mitford (d.
1842), (fn. 86) whose brother Robert and trustees
under the Mitford Estate Act of 1854 sold the
rectory to J. T. and George Dickinson in 1855. (fn. 87)
They sold it in 1869 to John Holmes, from
whom Harriet Brigham bought it in 1871. (fn. 88) It
was sold again in 1889 to H. W. Bainton and
then passed to Edward Bainton (d. 1945) and to
Edward's sister Sybil Bainton. (fn. 89) She sold it, as
Grange farm, in 1952 to the Vickerton family,
the owner in 1991. (fn. 90)
There were several small ecclesiastical estates
in the parish in the Middle Ages. At Skirlington,
Newburgh priory had land in the 12th century
and Swine priory was given 2 bovates; both
holdings later passed to Bridlington priory. (fn. 91)
Robert de Scures gave the Knights Templar
70 a. and pasturage there in 1286, and St. Leonard's hospital, York, had 2s. rent at Skirlington
in 1535. (fn. 92) At the Dissolution the Knights Hospitaller had land at Arram rented for 3s. a year,
and in 1558 the refounded order briefly regained
that estate. (fn. 93)
Trinity House, Hull, bought c. 230 a. at
Atwick in 1868–9; (fn. 94) sales and coastal erosion had
reduced its estate to c. 100 a. by 1991. (fn. 95)
ECONOMIC HISTORY
COMMON LANDS AND INCLOSURE.
Atwick. Atwick village had
open fields called North and South fields in
1653. (fn. 96) Lord's field, named from 1546, may have
been a third field or merely part of North field. (fn. 97)
The tillage had been reduced by inclosure by
1517. (fn. 98) The common meadows lay away from
the village on the edge of the open fields in 1653,
possibly in North and South moors, which were
later regarded as parts of North and South fields
respectively. (fn. 99) Low-lying land west of the village
called Mask, perhaps meaning 'marsh', may also
have been used for meadow, and part of it was
called Ing Mask in 1525. (fn. 1) Mask was, however,
probably used mostly as rough grazing, stinted
pasture there being recorded in 1546, and in the
mid 17th century there was another common
pasture at Criftins, sometimes regarded as part
of South field. (fn. 2) Haw croft, called Hawe field in
1546 and known also as Hall croft in the mid
19th century, may once have been part of the
tillage but by 1546 it was evidently a common
pasture and was then described as containing 2
bovates of tethering ground. (fn. 3) In 1653 the appurtenances of a holding of c. 120 a. in Atwick
included 27 beast gates in Mask and 3½ in
Criftins; the occupier also enjoyed 14 beast gates
in Ing Mask, presumably after the taking of the
hay, and 11 in the common fields. Early inclosures in Atwick may have included Haver, East,
and House fields, all recorded in 1607. (fn. 4)
The commonable lands of Atwick village were
inclosed by an award of 1772 under an Act of
1769. (fn. 5) There were 1,436 a. to be dealt with.
Allotments made totalled 1,405 a., and 3 a. of
old inclosures were involved in exchanges.
Allotments amounting to 472 a. were made from
South field, 169 a. from North field, 144 a. from
Mask, and 26 a. from Criftins. St. John's college, Cambridge, received 238 a., Humphrey
Osbaldeston 199 a., and the Revd. William
Mason 163 a. There were also three allotments
of 100–149 a., three of 50–99 a., five of 15–49
a., and four of 1 a. each.
Skirlington. Skirlington's West field was named
in the 13th century, and there was then stinted
pasture for at least 180 sheep. (fn. 6) The common
lands there were evidently inclosed early, largely
perhaps by Bridlington priory for pasture. The
priory's estate included a great close by the early
13th century and pastures named Ing close and
West field in the 16th century, when grazing
worth £5 a year was let. (fn. 7)
Arram. The ploughland at Arram was being
worked by a plough in 1086. (fn. 8) East field was
named in 1367 and South field in 1519. (fn. 9) The
common lands, which still included stinted pasture in the 17th century, were evidently inclosed
piecemeal. (fn. 10)
LATER AGRICULTURE.
In 1801 there was
reckoned to be 844 a. under crops in the parish. (fn. 11)
In the smaller area of Atwick township, 568 a.
were arable and 284 a. grassland in 1841; (fn. 12) in
the parish as a whole, there was roughly the same
proportion of arable to grassland in the earlier
20th century, when the grassland lay mostly
around the village and close to the farms at
Skirlington and Arram. Small plantations of
woodland also stood close to Arram Hall. (fn. 13) In
1987 some 683 ha. (1,688 a.) were returned as
arable land in Atwick parish, 144 ha. (356 a.) as
grassland, and 6 ha. (15 a.) as woodland. (fn. 14)
In the 19th and earlier 20th century there
were usually a dozen farmers in the parish, of
whom 6 in 1851 and up to 4 in the 1920s and
1930s had 150 a. or more. From the late 19th
century one or two men were also described as
cowkeepers. (fn. 15) In 1987 of 16 holdings returned
for Atwick, one was of 100–200 ha. (247–494
a.), seven were of 50–99 ha. (124–245 a.), and
eight were of under 30 ha. (74 a.); more than
3,000 pigs and over 400 sheep were then kept. (fn. 16)
INDUSTRY
There has been little non-agricultural employment in Atwick. Lime-burning
was carried on around the village in the mid 19th
century, and then and later sand and gravel was
extracted from the shore. A gravel merchant was
recorded at Atwick c. 1920, but in 1925 extraction was prohibited to avoid worsening coastal
erosion. (fn. 17)
MILLS.
A windmill was built at Atwick on
former common land between 1772 and 1828; it
was assisted by steam by 1889, ceased to be used
c. 1900, (fn. 18) and was later demolished. At Arram a
windmill was recorded on Meaux abbey's estate
in the 13th century. (fn. 19)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
In the 15th century
breaches of the assize of ale at Atwick were presented in Roos manor court. (fn. 20) Constables'
accounts for Atwick survive for 1782–1847 and
churchwardens' accounts for 1684. (fn. 21) An almshouse recorded in 1764 may have been a poorhouse. (fn. 22) Regular poor relief was given to 7–10
people in the early 19th century and occasional
relief to 1 person in 1803–4 and 29 in 1812–15. (fn. 23)
The parish joined Skirlaugh poor-law union in
1837. (fn. 24) It remained in Skirlaugh rural district
until 1935 and then in Holderness rural district
until 1974, when it became part of the Holder
ness district of Humberside. (fn. 25) In 1996 Atwick
parish became part of a new East Riding unitary area. (fn. 26)
CHURCH
Everard de Ros gave Atwick church
to Bridlington priory c. 1130. It was evidently
then served by a chaplain. By 1228 the priory
had appropriated the rectory and a vicarage had
been ordained. (fn. 27) The advowson of the vicarage
remained with the priory until its forfeiture in
1537. (fn. 28) The Crown granted the advowson to the
archbishop of York in 1558 but that grant was
evidently ineffective. (fn. 29) The patronage remained
with the Crown until 1937, when Atwick vicarage and that of Nunkeeling with Bewholme were
united; the Crown and the archbishop of York,
the former patron of Nunkeeling, then had the
right to present alternately until 1958, when the
archbishop gave up his right. (fn. 30) In 1972 Atwick
was united instead with Hornsea, the Crown
becoming the sole patron of the new benefice. (fn. 31)
The vicarage was worth £4 6s. 8d. in 1291 and
£4 7s. 10d. net in 1535, when the income included an augmentation of £2 from the priory. (fn. 32)
In 1650 the improved annual value was £30, and
in 1829–31 the average net income was £149 a
year. (fn. 33) The living was augmented in 1837 with
£200 from Queen Anne's Bounty to meet
benefactions totalling £200 from the vicar and
Mrs. Pyncombe's trustees. In 1883 the annual
net value was £145. (fn. 34)
The vicar had no glebe in the Middle Ages.
After dispute with Bridlington priory, it was
agreed in 1228 that he should have hay tithes
from those parts of the parish where he already
enjoyed corn tithes. (fn. 35) The vicar also enjoyed
wool, lamb, and small tithes from Atwick township. Hay and other tithes were compounded for
by the 18th century. (fn. 36) At the inclosure of Atwick
township in 1772 the vicar received 27 a. and an
annual rent charge of £15 for his tithes there. (fn. 37)
Nearly all of the allotment was sold in 1911. (fn. 38)
In 1930 the 17-a. Atwick Mill farm was devised
to the living, but it was sold later that year and
in 1978 less than 2 a. of glebe remained. (fn. 39)
In Arram and Skirlington the vicar had all the
tithes, except for those from the former estate
of Meaux abbey in Arram. The tithes of the
hamlets were compounded for only £22 8s. a
year in the mid 18th century, but c. 1820 the
vicar successfully claimed payment in kind. The
tithes of Skirlington and Arram, except for the
exempt 490 a. in Arram, were commuted for a
rent charge of £210 11s. in 1841. (fn. 40)
A vicarage house at Atwick, recorded from
1685, (fn. 41) was rebuilt in 1837 to designs by Cresser
Hebb of Leven. (fn. 42) The house was sold in 1911,
and later incumbents lived at Bewholme or
Hornsea. (fn. 43)
Atwick was frequently served with neighbouring parishes from the 18th century and
vicars were often non-resident. (fn. 44) Complicated
arrangements for doing the duty of the pluralist
incumbent of Hornsea, Riston, and Rise involved the curate at Hornsea and Long Riston
serving Atwick and the vicar of Atwick taking
the services at Long Riston and Rise in 1743. (fn. 45)
An increase from one to two Sunday services in
the 1750s was reversed when the vicar also
became curate of Hornsea and a resident there.
Communion was celebrated four times a year in
the mid 18th century with c. 35 recipients in
1743 and up to 20 in 1764. (fn. 46) There were again
two Sunday services in the mid and late 19th
century; communion was then monthly, with up
to a dozen recipients. (fn. 47) The former school was
used as a mission room c. 1900, presumably in
part because of the church's position at the end
of the village. (fn. 48)
The church of ST. LAWRENCE was rebuilt
in the 19th century. The earlier building was
dedicated to St. Peter in 1295, but the modern
dedication was in use by 1461. (fn. 49) Before the 19th
century, the church comprised chancel, nave
with south porch, and west tower. (fn. 50) The chancel
was in disrepair in 1575. (fn. 51) The tower was rebuilt
in brick in 1829 and other parts of the building
then repaired. The church was rebuilt in 1876
to designs by Hugh Roumieu Gough of London.
It is of bright red brick with a red-tile roof, is
13th-century in style, and has an urban character. It comprises chancel, north-east tower with
saddleback roof, north vestry, and nave with
south porch. (fn. 52) Gothic windows at Grebe House
(no. 27 Westgate), Hornsea, are said to have
come from the old church. (fn. 53)
The fittings include a drum-shaped medieval
font and a lectern formerly belonging to a Hull
church and given in 1959. (fn. 54) There were two bells
in 1552 and later; by 1910 there was one. (fn. 55) The
plate includes a cup made in 1784, two patens,
one of 1763, and a flagon of 1848. (fn. 56) The registers
of baptisms, marriages, and burials date from
1538 and have been printed to 1728. Those of
baptisms are complete, marriages largely so, and
burials lack only a few years in the mid 17th
century and early 18th. (fn. 57) Part of the churchyard
was closed for burial in 1931. (fn. 58)
NONCONFORMITY
Up to 18 Roman Catholics were recorded in Atwick in the early and
mid 17th century but very few later. Prominent
among them were members of the Constable and
Caley families, whose estates were sequestered
in the mid 17th century. (fn. 59)
The protestant dissenters who registered a
house at Atwick in 1802 and a house or chapel
there in 1812 (fn. 60) were presumably Wesleyan
Methodists, for they built a chapel in the village
in 1821. (fn. 61) The Primitive Methodists had a room
at Atwick by 1851, and in 1856 they also built
a chapel there. (fn. 62) It was said in 1865 that almost
half of the families in the parish were nonconformist and in 1877 that most of the farmers
and all of the labourers were dissenters. (fn. 63) The
Primitive Methodist chapel had been closed by
1932, when the building was sold; (fn. 64) it was later
used as a house but was derelict in 1991. The
former Wesleyan Methodist chapel was closed
in 1987; it stood empty in 1991 but was later
converted into a house. (fn. 65)
EDUCATION
In 1689 Edward Fenwick gave
1 bovate in Beeford partly for the schooling and
apprenticing of a poor boy of Atwick. (fn. 66) About
1715 a school was built by subscription beside
the village green. (fn. 67) Ralph Burton (d. c. 1725)
devised ½ bovate in Hornsea partly for teaching
poor children and repairing the school. (fn. 68) After
inclosure, Fenwick's endowment comprised
33 a. and Burton's 14 a. (fn. 69)
Atwick school had c. 20 pupils in 1743. (fn. 70)
About 1820 it was attended by some 35 boys
and girls, 22 of whom were taught reading, writ
ing, and arithmetic by the master in return for
c. £25 a year from the two charities. The charities then also subscribed to the Sunday school,
and Fenwick's provided apprenticeship premiums of about £15 for one or two boys a year. (fn. 71)
On inspection day in 1871 there were 34
pupils. (fn. 72)
A school board was formed in 1876, and a new
school on another site was opened in 1877. (fn. 73) The
board, later council, school was named Etherington school, presumably after Thomas Etherington, the first chairman. (fn. 74) It was enlarged in
1910, when the mission room and the Primitive
Methodist schoolroom were used as temporary
accommodation. (fn. 75) Average attendance rose from
43 in 1906–7 to 60 in 1911–12 but later fell
steadily to 32 in 1937–8. (fn. 76) In 1946 there were
43 on the roll, 18 of them infants and 25 boys
and girls of up to fourteen years old, but from
1948 pupils were transferred at eleven to
Hornsea primary school. (fn. 77) Atwick school was
closed in 1961, when most of its 25 pupils were
transferred to Bewholme school. (fn. 78)
Fenwick's and Burton's charities had been
amalgamated by a Charity Commission Scheme
of 1878, which assigned "2/3 of the net income to
the promotion of the elementary education of
the children of Atwick. (fn. 79) The old school, and a
master's house built in 1822, were sold in 1880; (fn. 80)
the premises were later used as a church mission
room, before being converted to a house, called
Bewholme Cottage in 1991. (fn. 81) The proceeds of
the sale, c. £70, were invested for the Old School
and Schoolmaster's House Foundation, created
by Scheme of 1879. That charity and the
Fenwick and Burton Educational Foundation,
established by Order of the Charity Commissioners in 1904, were united under the latter title
by Scheme of the Board of Education in 1923.
Assisting pupils from Atwick to receive secondary education was made an object of the
Foundation, which then had an income of £40
a year. (fn. 82) In the earlier 20th century money was
spent on fees, prizes, and other benefits for children at Atwick school, on the Sunday school, on
grants for secondary education, and the provision of evening classes. (fn. 83) The farm at Beeford
was sold in 1921 and the land at Hornsea in
1930, (fn. 84) and more stock was bought. In 1985–6,
when the educational branch's share of the net
income was £152, twelve grants of £15 each
were made. (fn. 85)
A Charity Commission Scheme of 1981 established the Atwick Educational Charity to maintain the buildings of the recently-closed school
and provide amenities for schools serving
Atwick parish. It was to be administered by the
Fenwick and Burton trustees. (fn. 86) The former
school was let for use by a play-group in the
1970s and later as a village hall. (fn. 87) The charity
had an income of nearly £550, mostly comprising rents, in 1985–6. (fn. 88) The master's house was
sold in 1991. (fn. 89)
A dame school was also recorded in Atwick
in 1877. (fn. 90)
CHARITIES FOR THE POOR
The charities
of Edward Fenwick and Ralph Burton were primarily for education, but Fenwick's might be
used to relieve widows and nearly £8 a year of
the income of Burton's charity was spent on
bread for widows c. 1820. The Poor's Stock, a
sum of £10 held by the overseers, was spent
about 1810 on inclosing the allotment made for
Burton's endowment. (fn. 91) The Scheme of 1878
assigned "⅓" of the joint income of Fenwick's and
Burton's charities to the poor of Atwick, (fn. 92) and
another Charity Commission Scheme, of 1921,
separated the eleemosynary branch as Fenwick's
and Burton's Charities for the Poor. (fn. 93) The
income was spent in the earlier 20th century on
coal, clothing, food, nursing, and Christmas
doles. (fn. 94) The poor's share of the income was
nearly £77 in 1985–6, when nothing was spent. (fn. 95)