NUNKEELING
The parish lies 22 km. NNE. of Hull, extending
east–west for about 5 km. over some of the highest ground in Holderness. (fn. 21) It focuses on two
distinct settlements. At the west end was the
parish church and the priory founded in the mid
12th century, which gave parish and settlement
the first element of their name. The earlier name
Keeling was Anglian, meaning the place of
'Cylla and his people'. (fn. 22) Since the Dissolution
the settlement of Nunkeeling seems to have been
very small, and in the 17th century it was called
Little Keeling. (fn. 23) Larger, but still not large, is
the hamlet of Bewholme, 2 km. east, where a
mission church became the parish church in
1928. (fn. 24) The name Bewholme is Scandanavian
and is believed to refer to bends in a river, (fn. 25)
presumably Stream dike which forms the eastern parish boundary.
In 1851 the ancient parish contained 2,315 a.
(937 ha.). (fn. 26) The civil parish, called Bewholme
and Nunkeeling, had the same area. In 1935 the
civil parish was united with those of Dunnington, in Beeford, and Bonwick, in Skipsea, to
form the new civil parish of Bewholme, with a
total area of 3,934 a. (1,592 ha.). (fn. 27) In 1984 c. 28 ha. (70 a.) were transferred to Bewholme
from Brandesburton civil parish and about 1 ha.
(3 a.) lost to Seaton civil parish. (fn. 28) In 1991
Bewholme comprised 1,619 ha. (4,001 a.). (fn. 29)
In 1377 there were 130 poll-tax payers in
Nunkeeling, Bewholme, and Arram, in Atwick.
At the Dissolution the priory housed 12 nuns,
and c. 25 other people lived or worked there. (fn. 30)
In 1672 Bewholme, Arram, and presumably also
Nunkeeling, had 40 houses assessed for hearth
tax. (fn. 31) The parish had 26 families in 1743 and 22
in 1764. (fn. 32) From 173 in 1801 the population rose
to 291 in 1841, but had fallen to 217 by 1911
and stood at 224 in 1931, when the area later
included in the new civil parish of Bewholme
had 303 inhabitants. The population was 267 in
1951 and 235 in 1991, when 246 were usually
resident. (fn. 33)
The parish is largely on boulder clay. Scattered alluvial deposits occur on the lower land,
and there is a pocket of sand and gravel near the
southern boundary. (fn. 34) The land lies mostly more
than 15 m. above sea level, rising in the middle
and north of the parish to over 23 m. and to
30 m. north of the priory site. The parish is
drained chiefly by Stream dike which flows
north 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. 35) Lesser streams carry water from the
middle of the parish into a sewer in Dunnington,
and others bounded the ancient parish on the
west and south. (fn. 36) At Nunkeeling the tillage lay
north and south of the settlement and was
evidently inclosed early, along with the other
commonable lands. In Bewholme township the
tillage apparently occupied the ground on either
side of the settlement, with common meadows
and pastures on lower ground in the east and
south-west of the parish; Bewholme's commonable lands were inclosed in 1740.
The principal road is that crossing the parish
between Brandesburton in the west and Atwick
in the east. Other minor roads from Bewholme
lead north to Skipsea and south to Seaton, in
Sigglesthorne, and Hornsea. From Nunkeeling
roads lead north to Dunnington, west to
Brandesburton, and south and south-east to the
principal road. The road south was made in 1796
to replace a way which evidently ran along the
western parish boundary. (fn. 37)
NUNKEELING. Since the mid 19th century
Nunkeeling has comprised only a dozen scattered houses, half of them farmhouses. The
manor house, called Nunkeeling Priory, dates
from c. 1700. (fn. 38) In front of Magdalen Cottage,
formerly Nunkeeling Cottage Farm, is the shaft
of a stone cross inscribed 1718.
Nunkeeling c. 1850
BEWHOLME. At Bewholme the settlement
lies in two distinct groups, one near the junction
of the Brandesburton-Atwick and SkipseaSeaton roads, the other a group of farmhouses
to the north known as North End. The buildings
near the junction lie along the two intersecting
roads and in side lanes running west from the
Skipsea road. The 18th-century manor house (fn. 39)
was built on the north side of the Brandesburton
road. In the 19th century new buildings on the
Skipsea-Seaton road, close to the junction,
included the vicarage house, dissenting chapel,
and school. Later building included the mission
church of 1900 and 14 council houses. (fn. 40) Most of
the buildings are of brick, but on one of the side
lanes and beside the Brandesburton and Seaton
roads there are several with boulder walls. Numbers 3 and 4 Front Row comprise a boulderbuilt, lobby-entry cottage, probably of the 18th
century, which was extended and divided in the
19th. Two conservation areas in Bewholme were
designated in 1991. (fn. 41) A 19th-century water
pump survives opposite the school.
One or two houses at Bewholme were licensed
in the later 18th century, and there was a beerhouse there in the mid 19th century. (fn. 42) A former
chapel-of-ease at Bewholme was used c. 1920 as
a reading room and general parish meeting
place, and a hut north of the church has been
used as a recreation room since 1921. (fn. 43)
OUTLYING BUILDINGS include Moor Cottage in the north-west corner of the parish; it
was run as a private lunatic asylum by the Beal
family from 1821 to 1851, housing up to 29 private and pauper inmates. (fn. 44) Billings Hill Farm,
north-east of the settlement of Nunkeeling, and
Bewholme Grange, part of North End, existed
by 1772, and Bewholme Hall from c. 1800. (fn. 45)
Between 1938 and 1949 the Air Ministry
bought or obtained rights over c. 120 a. in the
south-west corner of the parish for use as part
of Catfoss airfield, which was mostly in Sigglesthorne. (fn. 46) The airfield was closed to flying in
1945 and completely in 1963; (fn. 47) the land in Nunkeeling was sold in the 1960s and has since been
returned to agriculture or used industrially. (fn. 48)
MANORS AND OTHER ESTATES
In 1066
two manors of Keeling, comprising 4 carucates,
were held by two men called Ketilfrith, and 5
carucates and 6 bovates in three manors of
Bewholme by Norman, Ketilfrith, and Thorkil.
All of the land had passed by 1086 to Drew de
Bevrère and was later part of the Aumale fee.
Drew's undertenants were then Baldwin in
Keeling and Manbodo in Bewholme. In 1066
Ulf held 2 carucates in Keeling as soke of
Beeford manor, and they too had passed to Drew
by 1086. (fn. 49)
Herbert de St. Quintin (fl. early 12th century)
evidently held a large part of the Aumale fee in
the parish. Herbert's relict Agnes de Arches, or
of Catfoss, used much of the estate to found
Nunkeeling priory c. 1150. Agnes's gift, which
was confirmed by her stepson Richard de St.
Quintin, comprised Nunkeeling church, 3 carucates at Nunkeeling, and land and rights in
Bewholme wood. (fn. 50) Other donors included her
sons William and Hugh Foliot, her daughter
Alice de St. Quintin, and her son Walter de
Fauconberg. (fn. 51) In the mid 13th century the
priory held half of Bewholme, comprising 3
carucates, and by 1276 it had 5 carucates at
Nunkeeling and Bewholme together. In 1316
the prioress was named sole lord of Nunkeeling;
at Bewholme one of the lords was then given as
the prior of Bridlington, evidently in error for
the prioress of Nunkeeling. (fn. 52) The priory was
surrendered in 1540, and its site and the lands
at Nunkeeling and Bewholme were granted that
year to Sir Richard Gresham. (fn. 53)
Gresham (d. 1549) gave a moiety of NUNKEELING manor to his daughter Christine and
her husband Sir John Thynne (d. 1580). That
share descended from father to son, being held
in turn by Sir John Thynne (fn. 54) (d. 1604), Sir
Thomas Thynne (d. 1639), Sir Thomas Thynne
(d. by 1671), and Thomas Thynne (d. 1682),
before being sold in 1683 and 1684 to Edward
Howard, later viscount Morpeth. (fn. 55) Edward's
son Charles Howard, earl of Carlisle, sold his
half of the manor to John Hudson in 1707.
Hudson was succeeded by his brother William
(d. 1734), who devised the share of Nunkeeling
to his son Benjamin. (fn. 56) At the inclosure of Bewholme in 1740 Benjamin Hudson was awarded
279 a. jointly with the proprietor of the other
half of Nunkeeling for the commonable lands of
the manor. (fn. 57) Hudson (d. 1761) left the estate to
his son John, who later reunited the manor by
purchase. (fn. 58)
The other half of Nunkeeling manor evidently
descended in turn to Sir Richard Gresham's
sons Sir John (d. by 1563) and Sir Thomas (d.
1579). (fn. 59) In 1586–7 Thomas's widow Anne
settled it on her son Sir William Read's son Sir
Thomas (d. 1595), with remainder to Anne (d.
1596). Sir William Read (d. 1621) succeeded his
mother. (fn. 60) Read's estate was shared after his
death between his granddaughters, Jane Withypoole, Elizabeth Berkeley, Lady Berkeley, and
Bridget Feilding, countess of Desmond. (fn. 61) Jane's
share had descended by 1646 to her daughter
Elizabeth, wife of Leicester Devereux, later
viscount Hereford (d. 1676), and he bought the
other shares in 1660. (fn. 62) In 1681 Devereux's
executors sold his half of the manor to Arthur
Thornton (d. after 1683). From Thornton the
estate descended in turn to his son Sir William
(d. by 1715) and grandson William Thornton.
At the inclosure of Bewholme in 1740 Thornton
was awarded 279 a. jointly with Benjamin Hudson, the owner of the other half of the manor,
and in 1761 he sold his half to Benjamin's son
and successor, John Hudson. (fn. 63)
Figure 25:
Nunkeeling Church In 1784
Hudson died in 1772 and his Nunkeeling
estate was sold in several lots between 1773 and
1775. Thomas Carter bought c. 350 a. in a farm,
later known alternatively as Church or Manor
farm, from Hudson's trustees in 1774 and c.
140 a. more the following year from John
Burrill. (fn. 64) The manorial rights were, however,
retained by Hudson's trustees and c. 1840 they
belonged to Henry Hudson. (fn. 65) Carter (d. 1795)
was succeeded by his daughter Rosamond (d.
1837), wife of Robert Dixon (d. by 1827), and
they in turn by their son Thomas (d. 1850) and
grandson T. C. Dixon. (fn. 66) The estate was enlarged
in 1894 with c. 70 a. in Moor House and Cottage
farms at Nunkeeling. (fn. 67) It passed after Dixon's
death in 1899 to his son T. C. B. Dixon, who
had previously bought c. 110 a. in Laburnum
farm, Bewholme, and in 1906 added Bewholme
Manor farm, later Bewholme Manor House
farm, of c. 200 a. (fn. 68)
T. C. B. Dixon (d. 1906) was succeeded by
his brother Robert Dixon, who had c. 880 a. in
the parish in 1910. (fn. 69) After Dixon's death in
1937, most of the estate was partitioned between
two of his daughters. In 1939 Elizabeth Ken
nedy received Bewholme House farm, comprising c. 210 a., and Muriel Dixon c. 300 a., mostly
in Church and Nunkeeling Cottage farms. (fn. 70)
Elizabeth Kennedy (d. 1952) was succeeded in
Bewholme House farm by her children, the
Revd. Francis Kennedy and Kathleen Molz, and
Kathleen and Mr. Kennedy's son Andrew were
the joint owners in 1992. (fn. 71) Muriel Dixon died
in 1968, and in 1973 her farms, together with
Manor House and Laburnum farms at
Bewholme, were vested in the Revd. Francis
Kennedy and Kathleen Molz who later sold
much of the estate in separate lots. (fn. 72) Laburnum
farm was bought by R. L. Kirkwood in 1983, (fn. 73)
Church and Nunkeeling Cottage farms, then
comprising c. 260 a., by the Arnott family in
1987, (fn. 74) and c. 85 a., formerly part of Bewholme
Manor House farm, by R. W. Elliott c. 1990.
The Dixon heirs retained c. 125 a. in 1992. (fn. 75)
The chief house at Nunkeeling, formerly
Manor House, (fn. 76) was built in the later 17th or
early 18th century, although it incorporated
some fragments of medieval walling from the
nunnery. It served as the farmhouse for Church
farm until 1967, when the house was separated
from the land by sale; it has since been remodelled and renamed Nunkeeling Priory. (fn. 77)
After the appropriation of the church in 1409
the RECTORY also belonged to Nunkeeling
priory. It was valued at £8 at the Dissolution. (fn. 78)
In 1544 the Crown granted the rectory to Sir
Richard Gresham, who had previously obtained
the priory's landed estate, Nunkeeling manor.
The rectory descended with the manor and was
held in the same shares. (fn. 79) In 1650 the impropriators were given as George Feilding, earl of
Desmond, husband of Bridget Feilding, presumably representing Read's heirs, and Sir
Thomas Thynne. The rectory was then valued
at £71. (fn. 80) At the inclosure of Bewholme in 1740
the two impropriators, Benjamin Hudson and
William Thornton, were awarded a rent charge
of £36 for the rectorial tithes; 9 bovates of their
land were then tithe-free, (fn. 81) presumably as
former demesne of the priory.
Much of the Aumale fee at Nunkeeling was
held in the mid 13th century by Simon Whittick,
who had 3 carucates there, and in 1284–5 by William Whittick. (fn. 82) No more is known of the estate.
It was probably part of the St. Quintin estate
at Nunkeeling which Anne Fiennes, Lady Dacre
(d. 1595), devised to Emanuel hospital, London.
Comprising c. 50 a. in 1910, it descended with
a larger estate in Brandesburton. (fn. 83)
The St. Quintins' estate at BEWHOLME had
by 1278 descended to Herbert de St. Quintin,
who then partitioned 2 carucates and 5 bovates
and other land there with Walter de Fauconberg,
later Lord Fauconberg. (fn. 84) In 1287 Herbert held
1 carucate and 2 bovates of the Aumale fee in
demesne at Bewholme, and he was granted free
warren there in 1286. (fn. 85) The St. Quintins' estate
had evidently been granted away by the mid
14th century. John Moore, named as a lord of
Bewholme in 1316, was presumably a tenant of
the St. Quintins, and on the death of Herbert
de St. Quintin in 1347 his only estate at
Bewholme was apparently the 4 bovates held of
him by Roger Moore. (fn. 86) The purchaser from the
St. Quintins may have been Sir William de la
Pole (d. 1366), who held 1 carucate and 6½ bovates at Bewholme under Burstwick, the chief
manor of the Aumale fee. (fn. 87) From William's
widow Catherine (d. 1382) the estate, later called
Bewholme manor, descended to Edmund de la
Pole, earl of Suffolk (d. 1513). (fn. 88)
Bewholme manor was evidently held of the de
la Poles by the Butlers and Plessingtons, probably as heirs of Sir Walter Fauconberg. In 1391
a half share of Bewholme manor and those of
Bilton, in Swine, and Catwick was settled on
Richard Butler and his wife Catherine, evidently
in her right. (fn. 89) Like Bilton, that share of Bewholme manor seems to have passed to Isabel
Holme (fl. 1463), while the other moiety descended in the Plessingtons and their heirs, the
Francises, Staveleys, and Flowers. (fn. 90) The whole
or part of a manor of Bewholme being dealt with
by Alexander Balam in 1510 and 1527 belonged
to the same estate. (fn. 91)
Much of Bewholme was held by the Fauconbergs. In 1202 Parnel, widow of Stephen de
Fauconberg (d. 1199), released to Stephen's
brother Walter and his wife Agnes, her sister,
land of the Fauconbergs at Bewholme which she
presumably held in dower. (fn. 92) Walter and Agnes
were succeeded by William de Fauconberg, who
held half of Bewholme, comprising 3 carucates,
in the mid 13th century. (fn. 93) His successor, Walter
de Fauconberg, later Lord Fauconberg, who
partitioned land at Bewholme with Herbert de
St. Quintin in 1278, held 1 carucate and 2 bovates of the Aumale fee there in 1287. (fn. 94) The
estate, held by free tenants and said to comprise
6 carucates in the 14th and 15th centuries, descended as an appurtenance of the Fauconbergs'
manor of Rise to their successors, the Nevilles
and later the Crown. (fn. 95)
Bewholme was evidently settled on descendents of Stephen de Fauconberg. William de
Fauconberg (d. 1294) held a wood in Nunkeeling, perhaps at Bewholme, of Walter de
Fauconberg, Lord Fauconberg, and it was presumably William's grandson who, as Walter son
of John de Fauconberg, was named as a lord of
Bewholme in 1316. (fn. 96) John de Fauconberg (d.
1366) was succeeded in 1 carucate at Bewholme,
held of Lady Isabel de Fauconberg's manor of
Rise, by his son (Sir) Walter. That estate probably descended with Walter's other land in
Bewholme, (fn. 97) and it seems to have been the same
which Hilary Constable (d. 1571) held. (fn. 98)
It was presumably all or part of Walter de
Fauconberg's estate which the Hopper family
held under Rise manor in the early 17th century.
A manor house, and evidently also land, descended from William Hopper to his son Walter
(d. 1658) (fn. 99) and from Walter to his daughter
Susanna, who married Robert Johnson in 1659. (fn. 1)
The manor was later shared between the
Johnsons' daughters, of whom Susanna married
Simon Grindall. The Grindalls' son Simon
bought another 1/5 share from William Piper in
1728 and was awarded 58 a. at inclosure in 1740. (fn. 2)
He was dead by 1742, when his widow Priscilla
bought another 1/5 from Elizabeth Burton,
granddaughter of Robert Johnson. (fn. 3) Priscilla was
dead by 1748, and in 1761 her daughter Priscilla
Grindall sold the estate to William Acklam (d.
1789). (fn. 4) It then descended from father to son,
being held by William Acklam (d. 1804),
Thomas Acklam (d. 1811), and William Acklam
(d. 1865). (fn. 5) The executors of William's widow
Ann (d. 1873) sold the estate, of 205 a., in 1875
to John Bainton (d. 1891). (fn. 6) Bainton's son John
sold it, as Bewholme Manor farm, in 1906 to
T. C. B. Dixon and it later descended with the
Dixon family's larger estate in the parish. (fn. 7)
Bewholme Manor House is an early 18th
century building which was enlarged and remodelled in the mid 19th century. It has extensive farm buildings of the 18th and 19th
centuries.
Another manor of Bewholme was sold by
Edmund Lloyd in 1709 to John Hudson, who
also bought part of Nunkeeling manor and rectory. (fn. 8) Hudson devised it to his brother William
(d. 1734) and he to his son Thomas, who was
awarded 358 a. at inclosure in 1740. (fn. 9) Thomas
Hudson (d. by 1764) left the manor to his
nephew William Hudson (d. by 1810), (fn. 10) and
William's wife and daughter sold most of the
estate in 1810–16. (fn. 11) The largest part, comprising
c. 315 a. and including shares previously sold to
others, passed to Thomas Ward (d. by 1830). (fn. 12)
He was succeeded by his son Thomas (d. by
1868), who enlarged the estate at Bewholme to c.
370 a. (fn. 13) Ward's trustees sold it in several lots in
1891, 220 a. going to Samuel Haldane (d. 1910). (fn. 14)
As Bewholme Hall farm, it was sold in 1910 to
W. S. Hoe and in 1911 first to Walter Stickney
and then to Edmond Richardson (d. 1915) and
Francis Richardson. (fn. 15) In 1938 the farm was
vested in Francis (d. 1955) and F. W. O. Richardson, and it still belonged to the Richardsons
in 1992. (fn. 16)
ECONOMIC HISTORY
Agriculture
before 1800. Nunkeeling and Bewholme probably each had their own fields and commons.
Nunkeeling. At Nunkeeling in 1086 there was
land for 4 ploughteams and 16 a. of meadow
land. (fn. 17) Part of the tillage there lay north and
south of the priory, where ridge-and-furrow
survived in 1992. The commonable lands of the
settlement were presumably inclosed early by
the priory. The house and its tenants evidently
also enjoyed grazing rights on Brandesburton
moor, a funnel-shaped outgang followed by the
parish boundary linking the village and the
moor. (fn. 18)
Bewholme. At Bewholme in 1086 there was 1
ploughland and 20 a. of meadow. (fn. 19) The open
fields there were recorded as East and West
fields in 1562, (fn. 20) and ridge-and-furrow survived
on either side of the village in 1992. The fields
were said to include meadow land and pasture,
some of the grassland in East field probably
lying in Mask. (fn. 21) On the eve of inclosure in 1740,
East field contained 37 and West field 35 narrow
bovates, and each field had 12 broad bovates.
Rough grazing was then also provided by New
pasture, which adjoined West field. When West
field was fallow, it was grazed in summer with
New pasture, 10 beast gates being enjoyed in the
field and pasture for each broad bovate in West
field and 4 gates for each narrow bovate. When
East field was fallow, New pasture was grazed
in summer at the rate of 20 gates for each broad
and 2 gates for each narrow bovate in East field;
the stint in East field itself was 2 gates for each
of the 49 bovates from March to May, and 4
gates in summer. After harvest, the pasture in
West field was stinted at the rate of 10 gates for
each broad bovate and 6 gates for each narrow
one there; in East field the rate was 8 gates a
bovate, broad or narrow. Householders and
cottagers also enjoyed beast, sheep, and geese
gates in the fallow and harvested fields.
The commonable lands of Bewholme were
inclosed by an award of 1740 under an Act of
that year. Allotments made totalled 1,043 a.
They comprised 491 a. in East field, 418 a. in
West field, and 134 a. in New pasture. Thomas
Hudson received 358 a., and William Thornton
and Benjamin Hudson 279 a. jointly. There was
also one allotment of 114 a., three of 50–79 a.,
four of 10–29 a., and two of under 5 a. (fn. 22)
Woodland. Much of the parish was formerly
wooded. In 1086 woodland 3 furlongs long and
1 furlong broad was recorded at Bewholme, (fn. 23)
and c. 1150 Agnes de Arches gave Nunkeeling
priory the use of her wood at Bewholme for the
repairing of its ploughs and harrows. (fn. 24) Later it
was stipulated that the timber be taken on four
days each year under the supervision of a
forester. (fn. 25) The woodland evidently lay mostly
south of the priory, where later field-names have
included Acorn hill, Wood nook, Woodnook
closes, and Nunkeeling wood. It was reduced by
assarting, which probably created New pasture,
Wood leys, and Lumbert leys. (fn. 26) By 1851 the only
woodland was that in several small plantations,
and in 1987 no more than 12 a. (5 ha.) of woodland were returned for Bewholme civil parish. (fn. 27)
LATER AGRICULTURE. In 1801 there was
said to be 645 a. under crops in the parish. (fn. 28) In
1905 there were 1,499 a. of arable land and 824 a.
of grassland, and the proportion of arable to
grass was much the same in the 1930s, when the
grassland lay mostly around Bewholme village
and the settlement of Nunkeeling. (fn. 29) In Bew
holme civil parish 1,231 ha. (3,042 a.) were
returned as arable land and 190 ha. (469 a.) as
grassland in 1987, when more than 8,000 pigs
and 1,200 sheep were kept. (fn. 30)
In the 19th and earlier 20th century there
were usually a dozen farmers in Nunkeeling
parish, half of whom had 150 a. or more. Two
men also worked as cowkeepers from the late
19th century. (fn. 31) In 1987 of 23 holdings returned
for the civil parish, one was of 200–299 ha.
(494–739 a.), four of 100–199 ha. (247–492 a.),
six of 50–99 ha. (124–245 a.), and twelve of
under 50 ha. (fn. 32)
MILLS. Nunkeeling priory had a mill at
Bewholme, (fn. 33) and former mill sites are commemorated by Mill hill and Mill close.
INDUSTRY. There has been little nonagricultural employment in Nunkeeling parish.
Bricks were made in the south-west of the parish
before 1852. (fn. 34) In 1968 Belmont Caravan Co.
bought c. 40 a. of the former Catfoss airfield,
mostly in Nunkeeling, and in 1992 its successor,
A. B. I. Caravans Ltd., maintained a storage site
for c. 3,000 vehicles there. (fn. 35) A light engineering
workshop was established at Bewholme in 1973,
moved to Nunkeeling in 1984, and was still
operated in 1992. (fn. 36)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Regular poor relief
was given to 7 people in 1802–3 and to c. 20 in
1812–15, when about 10 were helped occasionally. (fn. 37) Bewholme and Nunkeeling joined Skirlaugh poor-law union in 1837 (fn. 38) and remained in
Skirlaugh rural district until 1935, when, as part
of Bewholme civil parish, they were incorporated into the new rural district of Holderness.
In 1974 Bewholme civil parish became part of
the Holderness district of Humberside. (fn. 39) In
1996 Bewholme parish became part of a new
East Riding unitary area. (fn. 40)
CHURCHES
Agnes de Arches gave Nunkeeling church c. 1150 to the priory which she then
founded there. The priory appropriated the
church in 1409; (fn. 41) no vicarage was ordained, and
the cure was later served by stipendary chaplains
supplied by the priory. (fn. 42) After the Dissolution
the living was styled a perpetual or donative
curacy until it became a vicarage following augmentation in the 19th century. A chapel-of-ease
was then provided at Bewholme. (fn. 43) The benefice,
later called Nunkeeling with Bewholme, was
united with Atwick in 1937, with Sigglesthorne
instead in 1972, and also with Rise in 1974. (fn. 44)
The advowson was granted in 1544, with the
rectory, to Sir Richard Gresham. The patronage
later belonged to the proprietors of the halves
of Nunkeeling manor and rectory until 1761 and
thereafter descended with the reunited estate. (fn. 45)
In 1935 Robert Dixon transferred the advowson
to the archbishop of York. (fn. 46) From 1937 the archbishop had the right to present alternately to
the united benefice until 1958, when he ceded
his right to the other patron, the Crown. The
Crown remained the sole patron after the further
unions of 1972 and 1974. (fn. 47)
From the 17th to the 19th century the sole
income was the curate's stipend of c. £20 a year
paid from the rectory. (fn. 48) The living was augmented from Queen Anne's Bounty with grants
of £200 in 1807, 1811, and 1825, and a parliamentary grant of £200 was received in 1817. (fn. 49)
In 1829–31 the average net income was £55 a
year. (fn. 50) A further augmentation of £100 from
Queen Anne's Bounty was made in 1859 to meet
a like benefaction from Mrs. Pyncombe's trustees, (fn. 51) and in 1889 the net value was said to be
£80 a year. (fn. 52)
The augmentations were used to buy 7 a. at
Great Cowden, in Mappleton, in 1810, 5 a. in
Aldbrough in 1812, and 5 a. in Atwick in 1821. (fn. 53)
The land at Aldbrough was sold in 1968, that at
Atwick c. 1975, and the holding at Great Cowden by 1978. (fn. 54) The monies granted in 1859 were
used that year to build a parsonage house on
land at Bewholme given by Thomas Ward. The
house, too grand for the poor living, was designed by William Burges, but probably built
under the supervision of William Foale, who was
also recorded as its architect; it is of red brick
with prominent, slate roofs and has two storeys
with attics, a seven-bayed front, and a projecting
stair tower. The deep, overhanging eaves with
bargeboards are supported by large, flying
brackets, of painted wood, and the windows
have decorative stone heads. (fn. 55) The house was
sold in 1961, and the incumbents later lived at
Hornsea or Sigglesthorne. (fn. 56)
Nunkeeling was served with other Holderness
parishes from the 18th century and curates were
usually non-resident; in 1743 the curate lived at
Sproatley, where he was rector. In the mid 18th
century service was weekly in summer and fortnightly in winter; communion was celebrated
three times a year, with up to 26 recipients in
1743 and 1764. (fn. 57) At the parish church, which
was remote from most of the houses, a Sunday
service was held only in summer by 1865.
Bewholme school had been licensed for services
in 1857, and in 1865 weekly services were being
held there throughout the year. (fn. 58) In the later
19th century up to 10 people usually received at
the monthly celebrations of communion, which
were presumably held in the parish church. (fn. 59)
William Burges designed a church for Bewholme in 1860, (fn. 60) but it was not built and c. 1875
the vicarage coach house there was converted to
serve as a chapel-of-ease. (fn. 61) In 1895 adjacent land
was consecrated as a burial ground, and on it a
mission church, dedicated in 1900, was built to
replace the chapel-of-ease and licensed for all
services, except marriage. (fn. 62) In 1928 services
were discontinued at Nunkeeling and the mission church became the parish church, receiving
a licence for marriages in 1929. (fn. 63)
NUNKEELING. The parish church was evidently dedicated to ST. MARY MAGDALEN
AND ST. HELEN at the foundation of the
priory c. 1150. (fn. 64) Unusually, but as at Swine, (fn. 65)
the parish church later stood east of, and adjoining, the priory church, which was removed after
the Dissolution. The medieval parish church
comprised chancel and nave with north aisle.
The aisle was added in the 13th century, and a
remodelling of the chancel then is evident from
its former windows. Presumably after the Dissolution, the aisle was removed and its windows
refixed in the blocked arcade. The building fell
into disrepair, and by the end of the 18th century
the chancel was roofless. (fn. 66) The church was
rebuilt in 1810 at the expense of Robert Dixon. (fn. 67)
The new church, of boulders and brick with
stone dressings, comprised chancel and nave
with west bell turret. (fn. 68) Some materials from the
medieval building were reused, principally the
north arcade which was rebuilt as a triple chancel arch. Nunkeeling church ceased to be used
in 1928 and fell into disrepair; the walls of the
unroofed building were consolidated by the
parish council in 1987. (fn. 69) In 1992 it was unused.
The medieval church evidently had a Norman
font and stone effigies thought to commemorate
the Fauconberg family, all of which were refixed
after rebuilding in the 19th-century church. The
font was removed to a Hull church in 1939 (fn. 70)
and the memorials to Hornsea church in 1948. (fn. 71)
Since 1552 there has been one bell, which was
rehung in 1908 and later removed to Bewholme.
The plate formerly included a cup, perhaps
made in 1765. (fn. 72)
BEWHOLME. The small, mission church of
ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST at Bewholme was
built in or soon before 1900 to designs by W.
S. Walker. (fn. 73) It is of red brick and comprises
undivided chancel and nave with south porch
and west bell turret. The pitch-pine fittings
include benches and chancel and vestry screens.
It has one bell, formerly in Nunkeeling church,
and a modern service of silver-gilt. (fn. 74)
The registers of baptisms date from 1607, of
marriages from 1656, and of burials from 1559.
They are complete, except for marriages from
1689–94. (fn. 75)
NONCONFORMITY
Up to 33 Roman Catholics were recorded in Nunkeeling in the 17th
century, but there were very few later. (fn. 76) Prominent among them were Ralph Creswell, who
employed a papist tutor in 1604, and George
Acklam, who compounded for his estate in
1653. (fn. 77)
One protestant dissenter was recorded in
1676. (fn. 78) In the mid 18th century two families in
the parish were Presbyterian, and in 1764 a few
Presbyterians were said to meet monthly in a
house licensed for worship. (fn. 79) The Independents
registered a house at Bewholme in 1805, and it
seems to have been the same congregation which
obtained a licence for another house there in
1812. (fn. 80) The Wesleyan Methodists built a chapel
there in 1831. (fn. 81) The chapel was disused by 1893,
was reopened c. 1905, but was closed finally and
sold in 1924. (fn. 82) It was later a house. (fn. 83) The
Primitive Methodists built a chapel at Bewholme in 1839. (fn. 84) It was largely rebuilt in 1863, (fn. 85)
and in 1868 almost all of the labourers were said
to be members of that congregation. (fn. 86) That
chapel became the Methodist church and was
still used for services in 1992.
EDUCATION
A school opened at Bewholme
in 1824 had 6 pupils in 1833, and another, begun
there in 1832, had 14 pupils; both were supported by the parents. (fn. 87) A school was built at
Bewholme in 1848. (fn. 88) At inspection in 1871 the
Church school had 27 children in attendance,
including some from Dunnington, in Beeford. (fn. 89)
The building was enlarged in 1875. (fn. 90) The school
was transferred in 1910 to the county council, (fn. 91)
which enlarged the premises the next year; the
children were taught temporarily in the parish
room during the alterations. (fn. 92) From 1906 until
1938 the average attendance was usually
40–50. (fn. 93) Senior pupils were removed to Hornsea
County Secondary School in 1958. (fn. 94) Pupils from
Atwick were received by the primary school in
1961, and in 1990 there were 31 on the roll at
Bewholme. (fn. 95)
CHARITIES FOR THE POOR
In 1630
George Acklam gave £5 as a town stock and
directed that the annual income of 6s. 8d. be
distributed to the poor of the parish. He, or
another George Acklam, apparently replaced the
gift later with 5s. a year charged on a house at
Bewholme. Payment was refused after 1812 and
the charity was lost. (fn. 96)
Ann Acklam (d. 1873) devised £100, the
income to be distributed at Christmas. The
income was £5 in the earlier 20th century but
had fallen to c. £2 by 1992, when the charity had
been inactive for many years. (fn. 97)