HART
Hert (xiv to xvi cent.).
The parish of Hart is bounded by the sea on the
north-east. It contains the townships of Hart on the
north, Elwick on the west, Dalton Piercy on the south
and Throston on the east, also Thorpe Bulmer and
Nesbit Hall. Under the provisions of the Local
Government Act of 1894, (fn. 1) Throston was divided
into two parts, the eastern half forming the district of
Throston in the borough of Hartlepool, while the
western half is known as Throston Rural. Rather
less than half the total area is under cultivation.
There are 2,400 acres of pasture land and 24 of
plantation. (fn. 2) The soil is clay, subsoil Magnesian
Limestone. The coast of the parish is composed of
sandhills, forming a break between the rocks of
Hartlepool and those of Monk Hesleden. The sea
is slowly encroaching. Behind the sandhills are open
links called Hart Warren, where there is a rifle
range. There are village greens at Dalton Piercy
and Elwick.
The road from Durham, which runs east and west
through the village of Hart, divides into two branches,
one leading to West Hartlepool, the other to Hartlepool. The road from Wolviston to Easington passes
through the villages of Elwick and Dalton Piercy,
running north and south.
As early as 1832 a railway for minerals was constructed which passed through the parish of Hart, and
in 1851 the Hartlepool Railway line was opened.
The latter has since been taken over by the London
and North Eastern railway. (fn. 3)
The principal occupation of the inhabitants is
agriculture.
There is a Wesleyan chapel in Elwick village.
There are earthworks at Low Throston. (fn. 4)
On the south of the parish of Hart is the township
of Dalton Piercy (Dalton in Hertness xiii cent.; later
Dalton Percy). A branch from the Sunderland and
Stockton road runs north-east to the little village of
Dalton Piercy. Dalton Beck flows north and south
on the east of the village, and immediately to the
north of it passes through a wooded valley called the
Howls. The addition of Piercy is derived from the
Percys of Alnwick, who held the manor in the 13th
and 14th centuries.
Its near neighbourhood to the port of Hartlepool
produced in Hart an unenviable number of witches
and women of immoral life. In 1454 'Helena de
Inferno, alias morans in inferno, alias Meldrome,'
seems to have been as bad as her name implied. (fn. 5) On
28 July 1582 Alison Lawe of Hart was prosecuted for
being 'a notorious sorcerer and enchanter.' Two
women of the neighbourhood had consulted her and
asked her for cures for the sick. Fortunately this was
before the outbreak of the witch superstition in the
17th century, and Alison was condemned only to
stand with a paper on her head once in Durham
market, once in Hart Church and once in Norton
Church. She was peacefully buried at Hart six years
later on 5 August 1588. (fn. 6) In 1596 Ellen Thompson
'fornicatrix and excommunicated' 'was buried of ye
people in ye chaer at ye entrance unto ye yeate or
stile of ye church-yard on ye East thereof.' On
12 February 1641 Old Mother Midnight of Elwick
was buried, but it does not appear how she earned
her name. (fn. 7)
Seflat in Elwick is referred to about 1150. (fn. 8) At
the beginning of the 13th century Kirtel in the field
of Nelson and Caldewelleflat are mentioned. (fn. 9)
Thruscross in Hart occurs in 1539. (fn. 10) Thick Meadows
and Temple Garth are mentioned in 1633. (fn. 11) Qualimour, or Qualimour Close, occurs in 1725. (fn. 12) There
are still remains of 16th and 17th-century houses in
the village of Elwick. (fn. 13) Place-names of the village
in 1653 were the Town Street, Thrum's Lane, the
Town Wyde, North Horne, and Three Nooke Close. (fn. 14)
The Anglo-Saxon crosses and sundial in the church
of Hart show that the vill existed before the Conquest. (fn. 15) The late D. H. Haigh in his work on The
Anglo-Saxon Sagas (1861) elaborated the theory that
Hart was the site of Heort or Heorot, the hall of
Hrothgar in the Beowulf Saga. He identified the
mere and hill-stream of the Saga with a large pool
now drained called Bottomless Carr and the How
Beck which used to flow from it. (fn. 16) The identification,
however, has not been generally accepted.
Thomas Ellerker (1738–95), a Jesuit, who was
'one of the ablest professors of theology that the
English province ever produced,' was born at Hart. (fn. 17)
In the Rising of the North in 1569 seventeen
men from Hart joined the rebels, and four were
executed. (fn. 18) In 1587 the parish suffered severely
from the plague, and it was noted in the parish register
that '89 corses were buried, whereof tenne were
strangers.' In 1652 it was noted that John Pasmore
was buried 'On Black Monday 29 March. There
was a star appeared in the South-east, ye sun
eclipsed.'
In 1666, on the alarm of a Dutch invasion, Hart
was one of the places where beacons were erected. (fn. 19)
A windmill at Hart is mentioned in 1314, (fn. 20) 1361, (fn. 21)
and later. (fn. 22) Elwick mill, which is still standing, is
mentioned in 1606. (fn. 23) A mill at Dalton Piercy is
mentioned in a charter of c. 1270. (fn. 24)
MANORS, &c.
A deed of about 1150 sets forth
that in DALTON there were 265
acres in demesne held by the
Bruses. (fn. 25) Hence it appears that at that time Dalton
was held by Robert de Brus, but later it seems to
have passed to the Balliols of Barnard Castle. (fn. 26)
Ingram de Balliol, a member of a younger branch,
was apparently enfeoffed by the main branch of the
family, and held the manor early in the 13th century
for four parts of a knight's fee. (fn. 27) The overlordship
of the lords of Barnard Castle continued till the
16th century. (fn. 28) Ingram's daughter Ellen was the
second wife of William de Percy, and brought as her
dowry Dalton in Hartness. (fn. 29) After her husband's
death in 1245 she granted the vill to her second son
Ingram and his issue, with remainder to her sons
Walter and William Percy. Ingram died childless
in 1262, (fn. 30) and the manor was divided between
William and Walter Percy.
William Percy was a canon of York. He granted
£4 rent from certain lands in Dalton Piercy for
life to Master Richard de St. Lawrence. (fn. 31) Later he
made over his half of the manor to his brother
Walter, to be held by the service of a pair of
white gloves at the Nativity of St. John Baptist,
with reversion to William if Walter died childless. (fn. 32)
Walter evidently died without issue, and his own
moiety of the manor came again into the possession of
his mother, who granted it to her nephew Henry de
Balliol in trust for the heir of her eldest son Henry
Percy. (fn. 33) Henry Balliol transferred the trust to
William Percy the canon, who already held the half
of the manor which he had previously granted to
Walter. He conveyed the whole to Henry son of
Henry de Percy, probably on his coming of age. (fn. 34)
Dalton was thus united again to the honour of Percy,
to which the younger Henry succeeded in 1284.
After the death of his son Henry de Percy in
1352, Dalton Piercy was held in dower by his
widow Idonia, who granted it to her younger son
Roger, her eldest son Henry confirming the grant on
7 September 1354. (fn. 35) Roger, however, died childless, and the manor reverted to Henry.
In 1370 it was stated that Sir Henry de Percy, lord of
Alnwick, son of Henry above mentioned, had granted
the manor of Dalton Piercy to John de Neville, lord of
Raby, who appointed attorneys to receive seisin of
it. (fn. 36) In June 1371 John de Nevill granted the
manor of Dalton Piercy with rents from free tenants
and bondmen and the mills to feoffees (fn. 37) whom in 1372
he authorized to deliver seisin of the manor to John
D'Ogle and Margaret his wife for their lives. (fn. 38)
The manor descended to Ralph son of John de
Nevill, created Earl of Westmorland in 1397. (fn. 39) On
12 January 1440–1, after the death of Joan
Countess of Westmorland, widow, it was found that
the late earl had demised Dalton next Elwick and
other manors for the term of his life to William
Tunstall and others. (fn. 39) It descended in the Earls of
Westmorland until the forfeiture of 1569. (fn. 40) The
lands late of the Earl of Westmorland in Dalton
Piercy and elsewhere were granted in 1605 to
Thomas Lord Ellesmere and others for 500 years,
evidently in trust for Charles Duke of York, (fn. 41) to
whom as Prince of Wales they were granted in
1616. (fn. 42) They were granted in 1628 to Edward
Ditchfield and others trustees for the Corporation
of London. (fn. 43) In 1645 Dr. Christopher Potter had
an estate here with a rental of £62 16s. which was
sequestered and let to William Chilton. (fn. 44) Chilton
possibly purchased it, for Robert Chilton, sen., and
Robert Chilton, jun., were among the freeholders in
1684. (fn. 45) William Chilton had land here and in
Seaton Carew in 1731. (fn. 46) No manorial rights in
Dalton Piercy are mentioned after 1569, when the
manor appears to have been reckoned a member of
Brancepeth.
The early history of the manor of HART is not
distinguishable from that of the whole district of
HARTNESS (Heorternesse, ix cent.; Heortternisse,
xi cent.; Hertenes, xii cent.; Herternesse, xiii cent.;
Herternes, xiv cent.; Hertnes, xvi cent.). The
boundaries of this district are not exactly known, but
it seems to have included Billingham in the 9th
century. In the 12th century Hartness extended
into the parishes of Hart and Stranton, and the township of Thorp Bulmer, and later that of Elton.
Hartness lay within the wapentake of Sadberge, but the
services for this district were not mentioned in the
grant of the wapentake to Bishop Hugh Pudsey in
1190. (fn. 47) Consequently the position of the district with
respect to the county was uncertain, and the inhabitants until quite a late period maintained that
they were not within the county of Durham. (fn. 48)
The churches of Hartness and Tynemouth are
said to have been spoiled by the Danes in the year
800. (fn. 49) Bishop Ecgred, who lived c. 830–46, gave to
St. Cuthbert's church his vill of Billingham (q.v.) in
Hartness. (fn. 50) Regenwald the Dane invaded Durham
c. 923, and gave to one of his followers, Scula, lands
which extended from Eden to Billingham—that is,
perhaps, the district of Hartness. (fn. 51) When Malcolm
of Scotland invaded England in 1070 he occupied
Hartness and thence ravaged the lands of St.
Cuthbert. (fn. 52)
Hart and Hartness became part of the Brus fee
by about 1119. (fn. 53) Robert de Brus I died about
1141 and was buried at Guisborough. (fn. 54)
Between 1146 and 1151 a list of the vills in
Hartness, with the amount of demesne land in each,
was drawn up. In Hart there were 141½ acres of
demesne, and 108 acres which Roger de Camera
held of the demesne. The other vills mentioned
are Thorp (Bulmer), Elwick, Dalton (Piercy),
Stranton, Tunstall, Seaton (Carew) and Owton. (fn. 55)
Robert de Brus had two sons, Adam, his heir, and
Robert, his second son, to whom he gave his lordship
of Annandale in Scotland. In the battle of the
Standard (1138) Robert the elder and Adam his
son fought on the English side, but Robert the
younger (called Le Meschin) was with the Scots
and was taken prisoner. King Stephen, however,
gave him into his father's custody. According to
tradition he complained on this occasion that he
could not get wheaten bread
in Annandale, whereupon his
father gave him the lordship of
Hart and Hartness in Durham
to be held of the elder branch
of the family, the lords of
Skelton in Yorkshire. (fn. 56) This
story is probably not authentic,
though it is certain that Hart
was held of the elder by the
younger line, who largely endowed the monastery of Guisborough with property there. (fn. 57)
Brus. Argent a lion azure.
The overlordship of Hart was inherited by Robert's
eldest son, Adam, lord of Skelton, who married
Ivetta, daughter of William de Arches, and died in
1143. (fn. 58) He was succeeded by his son Adam, who
married Agnes daughter of Stephen Earl of Albemarle.
The date of his death is uncertain, but it was before
the end of 1198, when his son Peter paid a fine for
his father's lands. (fn. 59)
In 1200 it was agreed between William de Brus
of Hart (see below) and Peter de Brus, lord of
Skelton, that William should hold the manors of
Hart, Stranton, and Hartlepool of Peter for the
service of two knight's fees. (fn. 60) Peter son of Peter de
Brus of Skelton, (fn. 61) while the manor was in his hands
as guardian of Robert de Brus, a minor, disputed
the Bishop of Durham's right to wreck upon the
shores of Hartness, but lost his case (1228–37). (fn. 62)
After the death of the last Peter de Brus, lord of
Skelton in 1272, (fn. 63) the overlordship was claimed by
the representatives of his sister Lucy, wife of Marmaduke de Thweng, to whom the fee in Hartness was
assigned in 1281, and also by Walter de Fauconberg,
who married Agnes the eldest sister and co-heir, who
succeeded to Skelton. The king, in asserting the
rights of these claimants to the custody of the manor
after the death of Robert de Clifford in 1314, came
into conflict with the Bishop of Durham. (fn. 64)
Robert de Brus II, lord of Hart, otherwise called
Robert le Meschin, married Euphemia, and died
about 1194. (fn. 65) His son, Robert de Brus III, (fn. 66) had
died before 1191, (fn. 67) and Robert II was succeeded by
his younger son William de Brus. (fn. 68) In 1198 William
de Brus made an exchange of land in Northumberland
with Adam de Carlisle, and pledged his land in
Hartness. (fn. 69) He married Christina and was dead in
1215. (fn. 70) William's son Robert de Brus IV, (fn. 71) called
the Noble, married Isabel, second daughter of David,
Earl of Huntingdon, the younger brother of Malcolm IV of Scotland, and thus brought into the
family the royal blood which gave his descendants a
claim to the throne of Scotland. (fn. 72) Robert the Noble
died apparently before 1230, and was succeeded by
his son Robert de Brus V, the first competitor for
the throne of Scotland. (fn. 73)
Robert de Brus V is mentioned as the tenant of
Hartness under Peter de Brus in 1272, (fn. 74) and dated
a charter at Hart in 1288. (fn. 75) He died 31 March 1295,
and was succeeded by his son, Robert de Brus VI, (fn. 76) the
second competitor, who married Marjory, daughter
and heir of Niel Earl of Carrick, and thus brought
this title into the family. (fn. 77) Robert de Brus VI died
in 1304, and was succeeded by his son Robert, Earl
of Carrick, afterwards King of Scotland. (fn. 78)
In 1306 Robert Brus VII murdered John Comyn
in the church of the Grey Friars at Dumfries, and
was accordingly outlawed by Edward I, who declared
his lands forfeit. (fn. 79) At this time the king was in
the midst of a quarrel with Bishop Bek, and had
seized the temporalities of Durham into his own
hand. He took possession of Brus's forfeited lands,
although the bishop claimed forfeitures of war within
his liberty. (fn. 80)
Edward I granted Hart to Robert de Clifford in
May 1306. (fn. 81) Bishop Bek appears to have acquiesced
in this, but subsequent bishops of Durham carried on
a long and almost fruitless struggle to regain possession
of the forfeitures. The king, Parliament, and the
law courts were always ready to acknowledge the
bishop's theoretical rights, but practically the lands
remained in the hands of the king's grantees and the
king exercised rights of overlordship. (fn. 82)
Robert, first Lord Clifford, was killed in the battle
of Bannockburn, 24 June 1314. (fn. 83) Bishop Kellaw
appointed a bailiff on 19 August to administer his
lands, the custody of which was also claimed by the
mesne lords. (fn. 84) On 2 May 1315 the royal escheator
seized the manor into the king's hands and the custody
was afterwards granted to Humphry de Bohun, Earl
of Hereford, during the minority of the heir Roger. (fn. 85)
Roger, second Lord Clifford, took part in Lancaster's insurrection; his lands were seized by the
king in 1322 and granted to John of Brittany, Earl
of Richmond. (fn. 86) The manor of Hart, with the rest
of the Clifford lands, was restored to his brother and
heir Robert in 1327. (fn. 87)
Robert died in 1344 seised of the manors of Hart
and Hartness which had formerly been held by Peter
de Brus, Robert de Clifford,
aged fourteen, being his son
and heir. The manor was
worth £100 and was held of
the Bishop of Durham by the
service of two knights' fees and
suit at the court of Sadberge
every three weeks. (fn. 88) Bishop
Bury at once appointed a
keeper of the manor of Hart, (fn. 89)
but as before the king granted
out the custody of the minor's
lands there, which he bestowed
upon Maurice de Berkeley, (fn. 90)
the brother of Robert de Clifford's widow. (fn. 91) The
young Lord Clifford died before 17 March 1346,
when the custody of his lands was granted to Thomas de
Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, during the minority of
his brother and heir Roger, (fn. 92) to whom the earl married
his daughter Maud. This grant was extended to
Hart in October 1346. (fn. 93)
Clifford. Checky or and azure a fesse gules.
Isabel, widow of Robert, third Lord Clifford,
received a third of Hart as dower. (fn. 94) In 1357
Roger, fifth Lord Clifford, received licence to settle
his manors of Hart and Hartlepool upon himself and
his wife Maud. (fn. 95) He died on 13 July 1389; after
his death it was found that he held the manor of Hart
of the king, and that his son and heir was Thomas,
aged twenty-six. (fn. 96) Thomas, sixth Lord Clifford,
survived his father for only two years. He died on
4 October 1391, leaving a son and heir John, aged
two. (fn. 97) John's grandmother Maud, widow of Roger,
fifth Lord Clifford, died on 28 February 1402–3,
and John, now aged thirteen, inherited the lands
of which she was enfeoffed at Hart. (fn. 98)
John, seventh Lord Clifford, married Elizabeth
daughter of Henry Percy (Hotspur), (fn. 99) and the manor
of Hart was settled upon them and their heirs on
20 October 1414. (fn. 100) John was killed at the siege of
Meaux in March 1421–2. (fn. 101) His widow died on
16 October 1436, when Hart passed to their son
Thomas, eighth Lord Clifford, aged twenty-two. (fn. 102)
He married Joan daughter of Thomas Lord Dacre of
Gilsland, and was killed at the battle of St. Albans
22 May 1455. (fn. 103) His heir was his son John, ninth
Lord Clifford, (fn. 104) Clifford the Butcher who appears in
Shakespeare's Henry VI, part 3. He was killed
28 March 1461 on the eve of the battle of Towton.
His wife Margaret, called Lady de Vesci, fled with
her infant children, the heir being Henry, aged seven,
and for many years they lived in concealment in
Yorkshire and Cumberland. (fn. 105)
John, ninth Lord Clifford, was attainted in the first
year of Edward IV (4 November 1461), and his lands
forfeited to the king. Hart does not seem to have been
granted out again, and in 1485 the attainder was
reversed and Henry, tenth Lord Clifford, was restored. (fn. 106)
He married as his first wife Anne daughter of Sir John
St. John of Bletso (co. Bedford). (fn. 107) On the restoration
of the Cliffords the Bishop of Durham's struggle to
reassert his right over Hart and Hartlepool began again.
According to the Durham historian, Bishop Foxe was
translated from Durham to Winchester in 1501 on
account of his quarrel with the Earl of Cumberland
[Lord Clifford] over Hartlepool. (fn. 108)
Henry, tenth Lord Clifford, died in 1523, when
he was succeeded by his son Henry, created first Earl
of Cumberland in 1525. (fn. 109) In 1528 Cardinal Wolsey,
then Bishop of Durham, received a grant of the
manor of Hart and town of Hartlepool on surrender
by Henry Lord Clifford of the patents granted to his
ancestors by Edward I, with an acknowledgment of
the bishop's royal rights there. (fn. 110) This triumph did
not last long, as it soon became part of the king's
policy to weaken the church as much as possible, particularly in the north, where the Roman Catholics
were strong. In 1533, a year before the attempted
abolition of the bishop's palatine power, a bill was
brought in providing that whereas the Bishop of
Durham claimed that the lordship of Hartlepool
lay within the bishopric of Durham, while the people
of the lordship claimed that it lay in Northumberland,
henceforward it should form part of the North Riding
of Yorkshire. (fn. 111)
Henry, first Earl of Cumberland, died in 1542, and
was succeeded by his son Henry, (fn. 112) but Hart and
Hartlepool were left for life to his second son, Sir
Ingram Clifford, kt., (fn. 113) who was ordered by the Privy
Council in 1555 to cause his tenants of Hart and
Hartlepool to make contribution to the repairing of
Sunderland bridges, as the rest of the inhabitants of
Durham had done. (fn. 114) About 1560 the Earl of
Cumberland petitioned the queen to grant him
certain lands in exchange for Hart and Hartlepool;
this, however, was not done. (fn. 115) In 1569 the inhabitants of those places refused to attend the Durham
musters, alleging that they belonged to the county of
Northumberland. (fn. 116)
Henry, second Earl of Cumberland, died in
January 1569–70, leaving a son and heir George,
aged twelve. (fn. 117) This was the famous third Earl of
Cumberland, who 'performed nine viages by sea in
his own person, most of them to the West Indies.' (fn. 118)
The first of these expeditions was undertaken in 1580
to recoup his fortunes. Early in that year he conveyed his manors of Hart, Hartness, Hartlepool,
Throston, Over Throston, Nether Throston, and
Nelston to Robert Petre and John Morley, who on
16 May 1587 transferred them to John Lord Lumley. (fn. 119)
As he had no children surviving, Lord Lumley
settled his estates in 1607 on Richard Lumley, (fn. 120) a
distant cousin. (fn. 121) Lord Lumley died on 11 April
1609. (fn. 122) Richard Lumley was made Viscount Lumley
of Waterford in 1628. His lands at Hart were seized
by the sequestrators before 20 August 1644, and the
rectory of Hart was leased to Richard Malam. (fn. 123) After
the Restoration the manor followed the descent of
Lumley Castle until 1770, when it was sold by
Richard fourth Earl of Scarbrough to Sir George
Pocock, a distinguished admiral. (fn. 124) Sir George died
in 1792, (fn. 125) and was succeeded by his son George
Pocock, created a baronet in 1821, (fn. 126) who about 1830
sold the estates to William Henry, then Marquess
and afterwards Duke of Cleveland. (fn. 127)
By will dated 15 June 1836 the Duke of Cleveland
left his lands at Hart and Hartlepool upon trust for
Frederick Aclom Milbank, the second son of his
daughter Lady Augusta Henrietta Milbank. The
duke died on 29 January 1842, and was succeeded at
Hart by Frederick Aclom Milbank. (fn. 128) The latter was
created a baronet in 1882 and died in 1898. (fn. 129) He
was succeeded by his eldest surviving son, Sir Powlett
Charles John Milbank, bart., who died on 30 January
1918, and his son Sir Frederick Richard Powlett
Milbank is the present owner.
A letter from Thomas Lord Clifford to the Bishop
of Durham, written about 1438 was dated at Hart. (fn. 130)
There was a chapel attached
to the manor in 1344, which
points to a residence at that
date. In 1436 an 'aula' with
4 rooms, 2 barns, and a chapel
is mentioned in an extent of
the manor. (fn. 131)
Milbank, baronet. Gules a saltire azure sprinkled with drops sable between two lions' heads cut off at the neck in the chief and the foot and as many roses in the flanks all argent.
In the confirmation of
Henry I to the priory of
Guisborough, 12 bovates of
land are included with the
churches of Hartness. (fn. 132) Robert
de Brus the Noble granted
5 oxgangs in Stranton and one
in Hart to the monastery. (fn. 133)
The priory's lands in Hartlepool, Hart, Stranton, Eden,
and Elton were confirmed by
Robert son of Robert Brus IV. (fn. 134) In 1344 the Prior
of Guisborough held 4 oxgangs and seven cottages in
Hart by knight service. (fn. 135)
After the Dissolution in 1539–40 the monastery
was found to possess lands worth 115s. 4d. yearly in
Hart. (fn. 136) The premises in Hart belonging to Guisborough Monastery were acquired by the Earl of
Cumberland, and in 1587 were bought with the
manor of Hart by Lord Lumley. (fn. 137)
Sir John de Eppleton was said to hold a carucate
of land in Hart of Robert de Clifford in 1344. (fn. 138)
In February 1358–9 it was found that Joan widow
of Robert de Eppleton had died seised of 1 carucate
of land in Hart held of Lord Clifford. Her grandson
Robert, son of her son Thomas de Eppleton, was
her heir. (fn. 139) This land, called NORTH HART,
together with the rest of the Eppleton lands, was
bought by the Herons with whom it descended until
1409. (fn. 140) Probably it was bought up by the Lord of
Hart, who in 1436 held 4 messuages and land at
North Hart, which is then called a parcel of the
Manor of Hart.
On the north of Hart village, near the northern
boundary of the parish, lie the farm and estate of
NELSON (Nelleston, Nelestune, xii cent.; Neliston,
xiii cent.; Nelston, xv cent.). This estate seems to
have been granted by Robert de Brus II (le Meschin)
to his cupbearer Niel, who also held land in Castle
Eden (fn. 141) and probably it received its name (Niel's-tun)
from him. In the time of William de Brus, son of
Robert II, Robert son of Niel granted to the church of
Hart all his land called Kirtel in the field of Nelson,
and 1 acre in Caldewelleflat, as an obit for himself
and his lords, Robert de Brus, senior and junior.
Among the witnesses were Robert's brothers William,
Geoffrey, and Walter. (fn. 142) At some time after 1194
Henry de Pudsey gave to the monks of Finchale the
land in Nelson which William de Nelson had previously given to him. (fn. 143) In the time of Robert de
Brus IV (the Noble), c. 1215–45, Geoffrey son of
Niel granted to the monks of Finchale a rent of 3s.
from his vill of Nelson to maintain a light before St.
Godric's body. (fn. 144) The debts of the lord of Nelson in
connexion with this rent are entered in the Finchale
account rolls of 1354–5. (fn. 145)
In 1344 Stephen de Nelson held a carucate here of
the Brus fee by knight service. (fn. 146) In 1389 it was
found that Richard de Nelson was a free tenant of
Sir Roger de Clifford, holding land in Nelson by
fealty and homage. (fn. 147) Richard de Nelson held the
vill of Nelson of Maud, the widow of Sir Roger de
Clifford, (fn. 148) in 1403, but by 1436 the vill of Nelson had
apparently been acquired by the Cliffords, (fn. 149) who held
2 messuages, 4 gardens, and 200 acres of arable land
there as parcel of the manor of Hart. From that time
forward it remained in the hands of the lord of Hart.
Another member of the fee of Hart was THROSTON (Thurston, xiv cent.; Thorston, Thirston, and
Thruston, xv cent.; Thurston, xvii cent.). In 1344
6 bovates of land and 2 salterns here were held of
the lord of Hart like Morleston in Stranton (q.v.) by
Richard de Aldeburg for life. This estate in Nether
Throston subsequently followed the descent of
Morleston and after 1403 of Tunstall in Stranton.
The lords of Hart held lands in Over and Nether
Throston as parcel of the Manor of Hart. (fn. 150)
CHURCH
The church of ST. MARY MAGDALENE stands on rising ground on
the north side of the village and consists
of a chancel 25 ft. 6 in. by 18 ft., nave 49 ft. 3 in. by
23 ft. 8 in., north aisle 44 ft. 6 in. by 10 ft. 6 in.,
south aisle 50 ft. 6 in. by 11 ft. 4 in., south porch, and
west tower 13 ft. 8 in. square, all these measurements
being internal. The total width across nave and
aisles is 49 ft. 9 in.
The nave represents the body of a pre-Conquest
aisleless church 22 ft. wide with walls 3 ft. thick, the
small square-ended chancel of which has vanished.
The east, west and north walls remain in great part,
the north arcade and the chancel and tower arches
having been broken through the original masonry,
but the south wall has been entirely removed and the
nave slightly increased in width on that side. The
four angles of the pre-Conquest nave, however, are
still in position, the quoins showing more or less
distinctly outside in each case. The great antiquity
of the building was unsuspected till 1884–5, when a
restoration took place and the walls were stripped of
their plaster. (fn. 151) Six fragments of pre-Conquest crosses
carved with interlaced patterns were also discovered
at the same time, together with an early sundial. (fn. 152)
Two lathe-turned baluster shafts, similar in type to
those at Jarrow and Monkwearmouth, have also
been found. All these fragments are now preserved in the church at the west end of the south
aisle.
The tower is an addition of the 12th century, and
a south aisle appears to have been added in the 13th
century, the west window and the piscina being of
that date, though the arcade has disappeared. Originally the arcade would no doubt be pierced through
the older wall, but it has been replaced by later work
of poor and thin detail which may belong to the end
of the 16th or beginning of the 17th century. The
round arches of the north arcade and the chancel are
apparently of 12th-century date, but the piers and
responds are considerably later, and appear to be reconstructions of the 15th century. Probably the north
aisle was added a little later than the tower and the
chancel rebuilt on a larger scale at the same time, the
arches being broken through the north wall and
the old chancel arch reconstructed. The present
chancel is a rebuilding of 1806. The porch is of
uncertain date, but may have been erected when the
south arcade was reconstructed. Sir Stephen Glynne,
who visited the church in 1843, described the windows
as then having nearly all lost their tracery and the
interior as being spoiled by 'hideous coats of whitewash alternating with lampblack' which barbarously
disfigured the arches and walls. (fn. 153) The church was
restored in 1884–5 and again in 1889–91, when all
the old wooden windows were removed, the floor
lowered 3 ft. to its original level and the nave reseated.
In 1898 the chancel was restored and the ancient
altar stone replaced.
Plan of Hart Church
The chancel is built of square coursed stones, and
without buttresses or other architectural features. The
east window is a recent one of three trefoiled lights,
and there is a three-light segmental-headed window
in each of the side walls. The roof is covered with
green slates with iron gutters and is lower, but of
steeper pitch, than that over the nave and aisles. In
the middle of the south wall outside is built an old
carved stone with the figure of St. George and the
dragon. It is now partly obscured by the ivy with
which the wall is almost entirely covered.
The aisle walls are of rubble masonry and the
tower is faced with square coursed stones averaging
15 in. by 9 in., some of the quoins, however, being
of much larger size, two measuring 5 ft. 9 in. in length
and a third 6 ft. The nave and aisles are under one
wide low-pitched leaded roof, the walls terminating
in straight parapets. The porch has a gabled roof
covered with red pantiles.
The masonry of the pre-Conquest nave has been
left bare inside and several original features remain.
In the east wall the archivolt of the chancel arch
is still in position immediately above the later
opening. Ten voussoirs
remain in position, the
arch showing on both
sides to nave and chancel.
Above this again is a
triangular-headed opening similar in type to
those in the tower at
Norton Church, the head
formed of two slabs laid
against each other in the
usual manner and the
jambs consisting of four
stones on each side. A
length of about 8 ft. of
the original walling remains at each end of the
north arcade, the aisle
not being carried westward the full length of the
nave, and the eastern end
having a long respond. Above the arcade in the
portion of wall between the arches a narrow window
opening, not quite 9 in. wide externally, was discovered when the plaster was stripped off. Its head
and internal splay had been destroyed when the arcade
was inserted, and the opening is now built up and
shows only from the aisle. The sill and the west
jamb and one stone of the east jamb alone are in
position. In the west wall a portion of a chamfered
string-course of early section consisting of three stones
remains on the north side of the tower arch, and
another portion of a similar string occurs at the east
end of the north wall, but is now hidden by the
organ.
The semicircular chancel arch consists of three
chamfered orders springing from half-octagonal responds with moulded capitals and bases. The two
arches of the north arcade are similar and spring from
an octagonal pier and half-octagonal responds with
moulded capitals and bases, the outer order projecting
in front of the pier on each side, giving it the
appearance of a hood mould. The south arcade
consists of four badly-shaped pointed arches of two
hollow-chamfered orders springing from octagonal
piers and from corresponding responds, all with
moulded capitals and bases. The wall above was
reduced to 20 in. in thickness at the time of the
reconstruction of the arcade, thus giving a slightly
increased width to the nave, and the detail is all poor
and thin. The position of the original wall, 3 ft.
thick, is visible at the west end, where it has been
cut away.
A series of nine stone corbels carved with heads, of
12th-century date, runs along the wall of the north
arcade facing the aisle, but the old roof has gone and
the aisle walls probably retain little of the original
masonry except perhaps at the west end, where a
small square-headed window remains high up in the
wall. The two north windows are of the same date
as the chancel, but at the east end is a three-light
square-headed 15th-century opening. The east end
of the aisle is now used as a vestry. Above the south
arcade facing the aisle is another series of plain corbels
below the present roof, perhaps of 13th-century date,
and in the south wall, in the usual position, is an
early piscina with pointed recess, the bowl being in
the thickness of the wall. The west window is a
13th-century lancet with head in two stones. The
hood mould has a large nail-head ornament and
flower terminations, and the sill is 8 ft. above the
floor inside. Below the window are portions of two
mediaeval grave slabs built into the wall, and, higher
up, a stone found in 1884–5, bearing a portion of an
inscription in incised Lombardic letters: 'Hic jacet
… jacet in tu … fai . . . .'
The porch is built of rubble masonry, but is
almost entirely covered with ivy. There is a descent
of three steps to the nave, and the outer archway is a
segmental one of two hollow-chamfered orders continued to the ground. The inner doorway is of
similar section, but the arch is pointed. There is a
stone seat on each side, and built into the walls are
six early corbels with carved heads, three on each
side.
The tower is externally of two stages marked by a
chamfered set-back, and terminates in a straight
moulded parapet, probably of 18th or early 19th-century date, with nondescript corner ornaments.
The lower stage is lighted on the south and west by
two narrow lancet openings, the jambs and heads
chamfered externally. The north side is blank, and
on the east the tower is open to the nave by a semicircular arch of a single order with a roll moulding
on each angle and flat soffit. The arch springs at a
height of 10 ft. from chamfered imposts and angle
shafts with cushion capitals and moulded bases. The
opening is an insertion in the west wall of the ancient
nave. The lofty upper stage has a lancet on the
south side in the lower part, the belfry window above
being a small square-headed opening not centrally
placed, and the whole of the north side is blank. The
west belfry window is a tall narrow square-headed
opening, and that on the east a lancet. The tower
is without buttresses or vice, and the floor is 18 in.
above that of the nave.
There are two fonts; the older one, which is no
longer used and stands at the west end of the south
aisle, is of 12th-century date, cut from a single block
of stone, with a shaft at each angle with cushion
capital. The four sides are quite plain. This font
stood in the churchyard till a comparatively recent
date. The other is a very beautiful example of
15th-century work, and consists of an octagonal bowl
2 ft. 6 in. in diameter standing on a shaft and pedestal
of the same form, all elaborately carved. The carving
on the eight sides of the bowl is as follows: east
side, two figures, one holding a book in his right
hand and a club in his left, and the other a book
and three loaves or stones (? SS. Philip and James);
south, two figures, one, much mutilated, holding a
staff (?) in his right hand and a book in his left, and
the other a book in the right hand and in the left
a boat (?); west, the Resurrection, with the emblems
of the Passion on either side; north, two figures, one
with a spear and a book, and the other a book and a
saw (? SS. Simon and Jude). The other sides bear the
emblems of the four Evangelists. The carvings on
the shaft are: east, a crowned queen holding a book
and palm branch in her hands, and through the
breast, from right to left, a sword (? St. Euphemia);
south-east, a pope with the triple crown and double
patriarchal cross in his left hand (St. Gregory the
Great); south, a crowned queen holding a book and
a pair of pincers (St. Lucy); south-west, an abbot
with pastoral staff and book, and over his arm a
maniple; west, an abbess in coif and wimple, holding
crozier and book standing upon a dragon (St.
Elizabeth); north-west, a bishop in pontificals with
crozier and chain and fetter-lock (St. Leonard);
north, a crowned queen, sitting, with a book in her
left hand and the model of a church in her right
(St. Barbara); and, north-east, an abbess, holding book
and key (St. Petronilla). Round the bottom of the
bowl are eight demi-angels holding shields, and round
the base of the shaft, at the angles, four tonsured and
four untonsured heads, between which are four-leaved
flowers of various patterns. (fn. 154)
The pulpit dates from 1889, and all the fittings
are modern.
A stained-glass window and oak tablet form a
memorial to the twenty-one men from this parish
who fell in the Great War.
There is a ring of three bells, inscribed 'R. Watson,
plumber, Newcastle, 1826.'
The plate consists of a chalice of 1571 with the
maker's mark HW between a pellet and star; a paten,
without date letter, but with the Newcastle mark and
initials DL, inscribed 'Hart Church 29 Novr 1813';
a paten of 1784–5, made by John Huitson, London,
inscribed 'Presented to Hart Church by the Revd
Edward Moises, A.M. Vicar. Easter 1844'; and a
chalice of 1842–3 with the same inscription. There
is also a plated flagon. (fn. 155)
The registers begin in 1577.
ADVOWSON
In the foundation charters of Guisborough Priory, granted by Robert
de Brus, the earliest probably belonging to the year 1119, the church of Hart is
mentioned among other endowments. (fn. 156) In the later
confirmations of these charters Hart is regularly named.
The invocation of the church is first mentioned in a
charter of c. 1194, in which it is called the church
of the Blessed Mary at Hart. (fn. 157) Nevertheless the
church is now, and long has been, under the
invocation of St. Mary Magdalene.
In 1288 Bishop Bek granted a licence to Prior
William de Middlesburg and the canons of Guisborough to impropriate the vicarage of Hart during
Prior William's life, so long as the vicarage was duly
served by two honest and discreet canons. (fn. 158) On the
death of William the vicarage was to be regarded as
vacant, and if the monastery did not present to it the
power to do so lapsed to the bishop. (fn. 159) In 1308
Bishop Bek further granted to the monastery the
permanent right to the impropriation. The church
of Hart and chapel of Hartlepool were to be
served by a canon, with an allowance from the
revenues of the church, and not by a secular priest,
as had been hitherto the case. (fn. 160) In 1311 Bishop
Kellaw confirmed the grants of Bishop Bek so long
as the vicarage was served by two canons. (fn. 161)
To the west of Hart churchyard are the remains
of a building of the late 14th or early 15th century,
which is believed to have been the residence of the
canons. (fn. 162)
On the dissolution of Guisborough Monastery in
1539 the patronage of the living passed to the Crown,
with which it remained till 1888, when Bishop
Lightfoot received it in exchange for Satley church. (fn. 163)
The present patron is the Bishop of Durham.
In 1291 the church of Hart, with the vicarage,
was valued at £40. (fn. 164) In 1535 the total value of the
vicarage of Hart was estimated at £12. (fn. 165) In 1539–40
the rectory of Hart, with the chapelry of Hartlepool
and the tithe of fish, brought in £22. (fn. 166) In 1577–88
the vicarage of Hart was worth £11 17s., but a 17th-century note states that its value had risen to
£60. (fn. 167)
Robert de Brus I seems to have granted to the
monastery of Tynemouth two tithe sheaves from the
demesne lands of Hartness. He granted the church
of Hart to the monastery of Guisborough (see
above), and these two contradictory grants caused a
long dispute between the two monasteries. In 1146–51
an agreement was made that Tynemouth should have
the two tithe sheaves from the ancient demesne land
and from any new land that might be taken into the
demesne, while Guisborough should have all the
tithes from lands which were or in future should be
held in bondage. (fn. 168) This agreement was superseded by
another in 1212, which gave to Tynemouth the tithes
of Hart and Stranton, the tithes of Owton in
Stranton parish (q.v.), the corn tithes of Elwick
township, and the small tithes of the demesne lands
of Elwick. All the other tithes in the two parishes
belonged to Guisborough. (fn. 169) In 1291 the portion
of the monks of Tynemouth in the church of Hart
was £10. (fn. 170) In February 1573–4 the tithe sheaves
of Elwick belonging to the monastery of Tynemouth
were leased to Thomas Pearson, (fn. 171) and in 1627 Sir
Ralph Delavale kt. paid £4 for ½ year's rent to the
Crown for the tithes of Elwick. (fn. 172) The tithes of
corn of Elwick were in lease, apart from the other
tithes of Hart, to William Tunstall for £29 in
1644, (fn. 173) and they were sold on 29 April 1664 by
Susan Luling of London, niece and heir of William
Fisher, deceased, to Margaret Barker of London. (fn. 174)
They cannot be traced further.
In 1541 part of the tithes of Hart were leased to
Thomas Legh. (fn. 175) In 1587 the great tithes of Hart
were leased for twenty-one years to Christopher Freeman, (fn. 176) and in 1605 they were granted to Henry
Stanley and others, who conveyed them in January
1605–6 to John Lord Lumley. The rectory has
since descended with the manor of Hart. (fn. 177) The
tithes of hay from the 'Broad Meadows' and small
tithes called brevings were paid to the vicar. (fn. 178)
The annual Crown rent of £22 from the rectory of
Hart formed part of the provision for Queen Henrietta
Maria on 14 March 1626. (fn. 179)
In 1644 all the tithes of Hart were leased to
Richard Malam for £200 per annum. (fn. 180) In 1770 the
manor of Hart was free from all tithes except a third
of the lamb and wool tithes, which were paid to the
vicar. (fn. 181) In 1857 the vicar received tithes from the
farms called the Three Thorps. (fn. 182)
The chapel of St. Helen lay on the outskirts of the
town of Hartlepool, in the north-west corner of one
of the common fields called Farwell Field; the chapel
itself was built upon Hart Warren. In 1816 the
only traces of it were the name of a well in the field,
St. Helen's Well, and a mound where hewn stones
were sometimes found. (fn. 183) In 1845 the place was
excavated, not by antiquaries, but by builders in
search of stones. The remains of a tiny chapel were
discovered, the architecture of which, as far as it
could be traced, indicated that it was built in the
12th century. A large stone coffin containing a
skeleton was also found, but no attempt was made to
preserve these remains. (fn. 184)
The chapel was probably built by William de
Brus (c. 1194–1215), who gave to the monastery of
Guisborough his chapel of St. Helen, Hartlepool, on
the warren at Hart for the support of a light on the
high altar. (fn. 185) Two charters to Fountains Abbey,
apparently belonging to the 13th century, mention
land in Hartlepool near St. Helen's Church. (fn. 186) The
'vicus Sanctae Helenae' is mentioned in 1299. (fn. 187) In
1314 a general sentence of excommunication was
pronounced against those who detained legacies and
other things bequeathed to the chapel of St. Helen in
the vill of Hartlepool. (fn. 188)
Ralph de Whitewell, a bastard, left instructions in
his will that his messuage in Hartlepool should be
sold and the money used as long as it lasted for a
stipend to a chaplain in St. Helen's chapel to pray
for him. This bequest was ignored by Bishop
Beaumont, but recognized by Bishop Bury on 3 April
1336. (fn. 189) In 1548 the chapel had one bell and a
silver chalice. (fn. 190)
There was a chapel in the manor of Hart in which
Robert de Clifford founded a chantry before 1344,
with an endowment of £6 yearly. (fn. 191) In 1436 this
chapel is mentioned among the appurtenances of the
manor of Hart. (fn. 192)
CHARITIES
For the Fulthorpe educational
charity, founded in 1707 by will of
the Rev. Christopher Fulthorpe, see
article on schools. (fn. 193)
John Farmer, by his will proved at Durham,
3 January 1879, bequeathed £100, the income to be
divided among the widows and orphans of fishermen
lately residing in the township of Seaton. The legacy,
with accumulations, is represented by £199 6s. 10d.
India 3 per cent. stock, with the official trustees,
producing £5 19s. 4d. yearly.
Thomas Barraclough, by his will, 27 May 1916,
bequeathed £300, the income to be divided among
deserving widows and spinsters over 60 years of age,
resident in the parish of Holy Trinity, Seaton Carew.
The legacy was invested in £315 15s. 10d. 5 per
cent. War Stock, with the official trustees, producing
£15 15s. 10d. yearly.