MENTHORPE WITH BOWTHORPE
The hamlets of Menthorpe and Bowthorpe lie
respectively 3 and 2 miles north-east of Hemingbrough, the former beside the Derwent, the latter ¼
mile from the river and close to the stream that
separates the township from South Duffield. Both
were probably Scandinavian settlements. Bowthorpe township covered 457 a. and Menthorpe
638 a., but 197 a. of Menthorpe formed a detached
part of Skipwith parish. (fn. 75)
The two townships nowhere reach 25 ft. above
sea-level. They are crossed by a single road, linking
Brackenholme with North Duffield, from which side
lanes lead to the hamlets. The railway from Selby to
Market Weighton, opened in 1848, crossed Menthorpe; a small station there was closed for passengers in 1953 and for goods in 1964, and the line
was closed in 1965. (fn. 76) The remaining houses of
Menthorpe stand around a small common, part of
which beside the river had recently been inclosed in
1973. A ferry, mentioned in the 14th century, (fn. 77)
crossed the river at this point to Breighton but was
last used before the Second World War. (fn. 78) There
were half-a-dozen houses at Menthorpe in the mid
19th century, along with a smithy, (fn. 79) but only three
were occupied in 1973. Bowthorpe consists only of
the Hall (fn. 80) and a few cottages. There was a licensed
alehouse at Menthorpe c. 1750-70 (fn. 81) and the Board
inn was mentioned in 1823, (fn. 82) but there has never
since been a public house there. Both hamlets had
landing-places beside the Derwent. (fn. 83)
There were 32 poll-tax payers at Bowthorpe in
1379. (fn. 84) Ten men were mustered in the two hamlets
in 1539, (fn. 85) and eleven households were included in
the hearth-tax return in 1672, two of them exempt.
Of those chargeable 5 had one or 2 hearths and 4 had
3 or four. (fn. 86) The population in 1801 was 61; it
reached a maximum of 82 in 1841 and was only 51 in
1901. (fn. 87) After falling to 44 in 1911 numbers rose to
about 70 in 1921-31 before the civil parish was
joined to North Duffield. (fn. 88)
MANOR AND OTHER ESTATES.
In 1086
Bowthorpe consisted of 4 carucates which were soke
of the bishop of Durham's manor of Howden. (fn. 89)
The bishop's overlordship was still mentioned in
1284-5. (fn. 90) In 1200 the bishop granted the estate to
Richard d'Avranches, (fn. 91) whose family still had it in
1346. (fn. 92) By 1400-1 it had passed to the Skipwiths by
the marriage of Catherine d'Avranches and William
Skipwith, (fn. 93) but in 1428 it belonged to the Methams. (fn. 94)
Property in Bowthorpe was conveyed by John Grendon and his wife Iseult, formerly wife of Richard de
Metham, to John Portington and others in 1442. (fn. 95)
The manor of BOWTHORPE was sold by Roger
Portington to Sir William Babthorpe in 1576 (fn. 96) and
by the Babthorpes to Thomas Walmesley in 1604. (fn. 97)
The Walmesleys conveyed the manor to Sir Godfrey
Copley in 1678. (fn. 98)
In 1738 the Copleys sold the manor to Bacon
Morritt, (fn. 99) and in 1777 J. S. Morritt sold it to Sir
William Lowther; it comprised Bowthorpe Hall
and 446 a. (fn. 1) It passed to Edward Weddall in 1807, to
G. E. Dinsdale in 1810, and to Sir Thomas Plumer
in 1812. (fn. 2) Plumer sold the manor to Richard Waterworth in 1820 and his devisees conveyed it to James
Walker in 1833. (fn. 3) The Walkers retained it until 1924,
when Sir Robert Walker sold it, with 452 a., to A. H.
Blakey. (fn. 4) In 1969 T. O. Blakey sold the estate to the
Flint Co. Ltd. (fn. 5) Bowthorpe Hall is a large greybrick house, built by Richard Waterworth. (fn. 6)
That part of Menthorpe lying in Hemingbrough
parish belonged to the bishops of Durham and, like
Barlby, (fn. 7) was held under them by the Atons and their
descendants. (fn. 8) The demesne owners of some of the
land, perhaps from as early as the 13th century,
were the Freeman family. (fn. 9) On the death of Robert
Freeman in 1717 (fn. 10) the estate passed to his daughters
Margaret, who married Thomas Champney, and
Anne, later the wife of William Wilberfoss. In 1763
they conveyed it to Anne's son Robert, (fn. 11) whose son
Thomas sold it in 1804 to William Chaplin: it then
comprised a house, 105 a., and a share of the commons. (fn. 12) William's father Robert had acquired the
rest of the former Aton fee from James Blanshard in
1752, when it consisted of a house and 117 a. (fn. 13) The
Chaplins retained the estate until 1921, when Robert
Chaplin sold 266 a. and common rights to Ernest
and Palmer Holman. (fn. 14) Known as Hall farm, it was
sold in 1938 to T. O. Blakey, and in 1969 to the
Flint Co. Ltd. (fn. 15)
The rectorial tithes of Bowthorpe and of that part
of Menthorpe lying in Hemingbrough parish descended, like those of Hemingbrough township,
with Hemingbrough manor. (fn. 16) In 1650 the tithes of
half of Menthorpe and those of Bowthorpe were
worth £20. (fn. 17) The Menthorpe tithes were sold to
John Chaplin in 1810, (fn. 18) and at commutation in 1839
he was awarded rent-charges of £66 for great tithes
and £19 12s. 6d. for small. (fn. 19) The Bowthorpe tithes
were sold to James Walker in 1838 (fn. 20) and so were
apparently merged with the manorial estate.
ECONOMIC HISTORY.
There is little evidence
of how the two hamlets were farmed before the 19th
century. They were then entirely inclosed except for
some 20 a. of common forming a 'green' near the
river at Menthorpe and a strip called the Gale
alongside the road leading to it. (fn. 21) The tithable land
at Menthorpe comprised 465 a. of arable and 152 a.
of meadow and pasture in 1839. (fn. 22) Grassland was predominant at both places in the 20th century. (fn. 23) There
have usually been 2 or 3 farmers at Menthorpe and
one at Bowthorpe in the 19th and 20th centuries, all
of them having 150 a. or more in the 1930s. (fn. 24)
The lord of Menthorpe had a weir there for fishing in the 14th century, (fn. 25) and a fishery was mentioned in the 17th and 18th centuries. (fn. 26)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT.
No manorial records
are known. Menthorpe with Bowthorpe joined
Howden poor-law union in 1837; (fn. 27) it became part of
Howden rural district in 1894, Derwent rural district in 1935, (fn. 28) and the Selby district of North
Yorkshire in 1974.
NONCONFORMITY.
A house at Menthorpe was
registered for dissenting worship in 1793. (fn. 29)