MIDDLETON ST. GEORGE
Mideltone, 1200; Middeltone, 1230.
This parish contains but one township. It lies
on the left bank of the Tees, which here flows east
and south-east; the adjacent parishes are Low Dinsdale on the west, Haughton le Skerne and Long
Newton on the north, and Egglescliffe on the east.
The area is 2,516 acres, of which 15 acres are
covered by inland water. The principal industry is
agriculture, the land being thus occupied: arable,
986½ acres; permanent grass, 1,181½ woods and
plantations, 23. (fn. 1) The plantations are chiefly placed
along the northern border. The soil is clay. The
cereals grown are wheat, barley and oats; beans and
turnips are also grown. At Fighting Cocks there
are ironworks; also the gasworks for Middleton
and Dinsdale. The surface is chiefly an undulating
tableland between 100 ft. and 140 ft. above ordnance
datum, sloping steeply to the river, except in the
south-east corner, where there is some low-lying
land. (fn. 2) Here stands Lower Middleton Hall, close
to the left bank of the Tees. It is an old threestoried building with red brick front having barred
sash windows. The front appears to have been
erected in 1721, the heads of the lead spouts bearing that date along with the initials RKI (R[obert]
and I. Killinghall). Not far from the house is an
octagonal pigeon-house of red brick with pantiled
roof containing over 1,500 cells. (fn. 3) The site is probably an ancient one. On the lawn in front of the
house is a 13th-century cross of red sandstone set up
with the lower end of the shaft in the earth. The
design is in the shape of a large quatrefoil with
spreading arms, the upper one of which is missing.
On the north side is a representation of the Crucifixion with the figures of St. Mary and St. John,
and on the south our Lord seated in majesty, with
the evangelistic symbols on the arms. (fn. 4)
To the north of the hall is the old parish church,
in a lonely situation on the verge of the higher land.
Over a mile westward is the village of Middleton
One Row, (fn. 5) standing along the edge of the cliff over-looking the river. Here is a United Methodist
chapel. This village is resorted to by visitors to the
Dinsdale Spa, and contains the Ropner Convalescent
Home, originally founded about 1894. To the
west of it is the Tower Hill, the site of an ancient
earthwork of the mount and bailey type. (fn. 6) To the
north is the hamlet of Fighting Cocks, partly in
Dinsdale, which contains a Wesleyan chapel and an
undenominational mission hall. To the east of it,
occupying the north end of the parish on both sides
of the brook formerly known as Hart Burn, are West
Hartburn, Goosepool and Oak Tree; this last takes
its name from a public-house. Between these and
the village named is Middleton St. George Hall.
At the extreme west of the parish there is a ford
across the Tees into Over Dinsdale. Here stood
Ponteyse, the bridge of Tees; it has long been
destroyed, but in 1823 the foundations could still
be discerned. (fn. 7) County Lane, the road from the
bridge, led north below Tower Hill, and appears to
be part of an ancient Roman road. Pieces of land
near the bridge called County Flat and County Acre
belonged to the manor of Trafford. (fn. 8) There is another
ford near Low Middleton, and a ferry close by.
The principal road on which the village stands turns
north to Fighting Cocks, where it divides; one branch
goes on along the old Roman road to Sadberge and the
other turns west to Darlington. There are also
eastern branches to Stockton and to Long Newton.
From the village a road goes east and south past the
church to Low Middleton and Newsham. The
Stockton and Darlington railway runs west across
the centre of the parish, having a station about a
mile north of the village; this is named Dinsdale.
There is a mineral line branching off to Darlington.
Hartburn is mentioned in Reginald's account of
the miracles of St. Cuthbert. In King Stephen's
time William the Sergeant had a house there, and
fled thence to Sadberge churchyard to escape a raid by
Roger Pavie, the constable of Thirsk, but he was
captured and imprisoned. St. Cuthbert threatened
the captor and struck him with disease, and on the
return of Robert de Eivil, master of the castle,
William was set at liberty. (fn. 9)
Sir William Walworth, famous for the killing of
Wat Tyler in 1381, was once a partner in the
manor, but it is not known that he was a native;
he was Lord Mayor of London in 1374 and 1380,
and died in 1381. (fn. 10) Three men of Middleton
St. George joined the rising of 1569, and one of
them was executed, as was also the man from Middleton One Row who joined it. (fn. 11) The Protestation of
1641 was signed in the parish, (fn. 12) but the chief land-owners appear to have been Royalists and had to
compound for their estates under the Common-wealth.
The township's affairs are administered by a parish
council.
MANORS
The first occurrence of MIDDLETON is in the return of 1166, when it
was held in two moieties by William
son of Siward, who stated in that year that he held
one knight's fee in Gosforth and the moiety of
'Milleton' or 'Mileton.' (fn. 13) Gosforth by itself was
later stated to be held as two-thirds of a knight's
fee, so that the service for Middleton would be the
remaining third. (fn. 14) This estate, which was called
OVER MIDDLETON or MIDDLETON ONE
ROW, descended with the adjoining Dinsdale (q.v.)
in the Surtees family until the partition made in 1552,
when Marmaduke son and heir of Thomas Surtees, of
the half-blood, received it and held it until his death
in 1573. (fn. 15) His son John recorded a pedigree in
1575, (fn. 16) and John's son, Thomas Surtees, sold the
property in 1598 to Anthony Felton of Jarrow, (fn. 17)
by whom in 1608 it was transferred to Arthur Aldbrough (fn. 18) ; he and Elizabeth his wife in 1612
sold it to Christopher Ayscough and Alan his son. (fn. 19)
Alan succeeded his father in 1626 and was living at
Skewsby, Yorks, in 1666, as appears by a pedigree he
recorded in the Yorkshire Visitation of that year. (fn. 20)
He was a Royalist in the Civil War and his estates
were sequestered; his son James, 'a Papist,' appears
to have been seated at Middleton One Row, and his
goods were sequestered by the Parliament in 1644, (fn. 21)
and the estate put in the third Act for Sale in 1652. (fn. 22)
In the following year the manor was discharged
from sequestration, having been purchased from the
Treason Trustees in 1654 by Gilbert Crouch. (fn. 23) It was
recovered in part at least, and Francis Ayscough
seems to have succeeded his brother James, being
named as a freeholder in 1684. (fn. 24) Alan Ayscough
and Katherine his wife with Thomas Ayscough and
Susan his wife conveyed the manor and lands here
to Thomas Maynard in 1702. (fn. 25) Alan Ayscough, son
of Alan and great-nephew of Francis, had two messuages, &c., in Middleton St. George, which as a
'Papist' he registered in 1717 (fn. 26) ; in 1720 a conveyance of the manor was made by him and by Katherine
Ayscough, Thomas Ayscough and other members of
the family to William Denton. (fn. 27) It afterwards disappears from view, and the estate was probably sold
in parcels.
The land sold to Anthony Felton did not include
the whole of the Surtees estate, for in 1566 Marmaduke Surtees conveyed two messuages and nine oxgangs of land here held of the bishop by knight service
to John Hedworth of Harraton for the purposes of a
settlement on John and Anne his wife, daughter of
George and Jane Hall. (fn. 28) John Hedworth died in
1603, and on the death of Anne in March 1617–8
the land passed to Ralph their son, then a middleaged man. (fn. 29) Ralph and Eleanor his wife conveyed
the property to William Allanson and James Dale in
1619. (fn. 30)
The second moiety called NETHER MIDDLETON or MIDDLETON ST. GEORGE was answered
for in 1166 by Godfrey Baiard or Baard, who stated
in answer to the king's writ that he held the third
part of a knight's fee in Northumberland; he had
half the inheritance of two sisters, the other half
being held by Roland Baard with one of the sisters. (fn. 31)
Godfrey occurs in the Pipe Rolls from 1160, (fn. 32) and in
1165 paid 33s. 4d. for relief of his lands. (fn. 33) He was
dead in 1186, when his land was in custody. Ralph
Baard, his heir, rendered scutage in the next year. (fn. 34)
When Richard I granted the wapentake of Sadberge to
Bishop Hugh in 1189 he stated that he included
therein the service of the son of Godfrey Baard,
evidently Ralph, for two-thirds of a knight's fee in
Middleton and Hartburn. (fn. 35) The service is that of
Surtees and Baard together, so that either the former
name has been omitted, or else Baard was then responsible to the king for the whole service. In 1197 the
son of Roland Baard answered for part of the bishop's
debt. (fn. 36) It seems probable that he also was a Ralph. (fn. 37)
One of the Baard shares descended in the family
till the 14th century. There is little evidence to
indicate which this was, but the succession of Ralphs
and Rolands suggests that it was Roland's descendants who continued in the male line. Ralph
Baard was holding a sixth part of a knight's fee in
Nether Middleton about 1210, (fn. 38) and in 1235–6 a local
jury returned that Ralph son of Roland Baard was a
minor who ought to be in the bishop's custody, but
that the wardship had been granted by the bishop to
Richard de Wykes; Roland's land was worth £4. (fn. 39)
In 1240 Roland Baard presented to a moiety of the
church. (fn. 40) His estate descended to Ralph Baard, who
presented to his moiety of the rectory some time before
1312, (fn. 41) and was living in 1313. (fn. 42) Roland Baard
died in or before 1320 holding a moiety of the
'manor' of Nether Middleton and Hartburn by
fealty and a rent of 2s. 3d., doing suit at the wapentake court of Sadberge. His heir was his son Ralph,
aged twenty-seven. (fn. 43) In 1345 the king ordered an
inquiry as to the age of Roland son and heir of
Ralph Baard, and it was proved that he was of full
age. He had been baptized at Middleton. The
moiety of the manor of Middleton St. George and a
moiety of the church were held of the bishop by
suit at Sadberge Wapentake and 13d. rent at the
exchequer of Durham; two messuages and 4 oxgangs
of land in West Hartburn were held by 13d. rent. (fn. 44)
Livery was granted to the heir. (fn. 45) In 1352–3 the
wardship and marriage of Ralph son and heir of
Ralph Baard were granted to John de Birland and
Margery his wife. (fn. 46) The heir seems to have died
without issue, for in 1364 Roland Baard was found
to have held the above moieties by fealty and a rent
of 2s. 2½d. at the exchequer; Ralph his son and heir
was twenty years of age. (fn. 47) Ralph was in possession
in 1367, but had been succeeded by William
Walworth before 1378. (fn. 48) This is believed to be
the Sir William already mentioned, whose brother
Thomas Walworth calls Thomas Baard his cousin in
1409. (fn. 49)
The next step is uncertain. John Killinghall in
1416 was recorded to hold the manor of Nether
Middleton of the bishop in socage by 9½d. rent and
also four messuages and 8 oxgangs of land in Over
Middleton of Sir Thomas Surtees; his son John
was twenty-two years old. (fn. 50) The rent is only a third
of the old rent, but possibly dower or the portions of
younger children account for this; West Hartburn
is not mentioned. Livery was granted to the heir,
after an inquiry in which the
tenure was found to be socage. (fn. 51) John died in 1442
holding the manor and leaving
a son of the same name, aged
thirty, (fn. 52) who in 1453 conveyed his lands in Middleton
to his son Thomas and Isabel
his wife. (fn. 53) He died in 1485,
leaving an augmented estate,
his son Thomas being forty-eight years of age. (fn. 54) Thomas
died in February 1493–4,
leaving a son Hugh as heir;
his wife Isabel survived him. (fn. 55)
Hugh in 1509 was found to
have held two-thirds of the manor of Nether Middleton, and the advowson of the church for a rent of
3s. 3d., lands in Middleton One Row, Somercloses and
Fogcloses in West Hartburn, and various other lands.
His heir was his son William, aged fifteen. (fn. 56) Elizabeth, his widow, had dower assigned to her, and
married Edward Oglethorp. (fn. 57) William Killinghall
died in 1526, leaving by his wife Eleanor a son
Francis, aged eight. He had held two-thirds of the
manor of Nether Middleton of the bishop by a rent
of 2s. 4d. for the whole, the advowson of the church,
lands in Middleton One Row of the heirs of
Thomas Surtees, the manor of West Hartburn of
the bishop by knight's service, and other lands. (fn. 58)
Eleanor had dower assigned out of the manors. (fn. 59)
Killinghall of Middleton St. George. Gules a ragged bend argent between three sheaves or.
Francis Killinghall, who was a captain in the
garrison of Berwick, died in 1587, having sold his
estate. (fn. 60) Ralph Tailbois of Thornton acquired the
manor of Nether Middleton from him in 1569, (fn. 61) and
in 1573 sold it to Roland Johnson. (fn. 62) Roland Johnson
at his death in 1583 was seised of two-thirds of
the manor. (fn. 63) His son Cuthbert (fn. 64) appears to have
sold his estate in parcels to Ninian Girlington,
Richard Maddock and John Gaines. Girlington
acquired the 'Grange' and the manorial rights, (fn. 65)
Maddock the 'Red House,' (fn. 66) and Gaines a capital
messuage and various closes. (fn. 67) In 1599 John Girlington, (fn. 68) while retaining the Grange, sold the manor
and advowson to Richard Heighington. (fn. 69) Heighington seems to have sold them to Henry Killinghall, on whom, with Anne his wife, Richard
Maddock settled the manor in 1606, with remainder
in tail to their son William. (fn. 70) Henry died in 1620 (fn. 71)
and William in 1644; John son of William Killinghall, as a Royalist, had his lands sequestered in
that year and compounded, taking the Negative
Oath. He died in 1652, his widow Margaret
taking the Engagement in the same year. (fn. 72) His
son William recorded a pedigree in 1666, when
he was twenty-seven years of age. (fn. 73) He died in
1695 (fn. 74) and his eldest son William in 1703, leaving
a sister and heir Margaret (d. 1706); the estates on
her death passed to her cousin, Robert Killinghall,
son of John, and he held them until his death in
1758. (fn. 75) His son John (fn. 76) died unmarried in 1762, (fn. 77)
having bequeathed his estates to a cousin, William
Pemberton, son of William, son of Elizabeth, sister
of Robert Killinghall. He died in 1778 and his
son William in 1801. (fn. 78) This last William bequeathed
his estates to his maternal aunts, of the family of
Cocks of Plymouth, and, though the Killinghall heir
(George Allan of Blackwell Grange) claimed, the bequest was held valid. (fn. 79) From the parish registers it
appears that Elizabeth and Sally, daughters of Elisha
Cocks of Plymouth Dock, changed their name to
Pemberton on inheriting in 1801; they were buried
at Middleton in 1809 and 1811 respectively. (fn. 80)
Henry Cocks was proprietor in 1833 (fn. 81) and H. A. W.
Cocks in 1848 and until about 1898. The hall was
sold in 1895. Since 1902 the principal landowners
have been Mr. A. G. Rudd of Stockton-on-Tees and
Dr. Robert Smith.
The estate sold to Richard Maddock was by him
conveyed in 1596 to Thomas Bank, (fn. 82) who sold it
ten years later to William Allanson. (fn. 83) Its later
history is not known. The Grange was sold by
John Girlington in 1610 to Christopher Wyvill
and William Carr. (fn. 84) They conveyed it in 1614
to Sir Conyers Darcy of Hornby Castle, Yorks., (fn. 85)
who in 1618 sold a messuage and 320 acres here to
John Lord Darcy, with whom was associated Sir
Thomas Bellasis and Sir William Lister. (fn. 86)
The sixth part of a knight's fee which had been
held by Godfrey Baard and his son seems to have
come before 1193 to Walter and Robert de Cambe
(de Cadomo, de Caen, de Kam, de Cham). (fn. 87) They
were the nephews of Simon the chamberlain of
Bishop Hugh Pudsey and acquired land in Cornsay
and Hedley (fn. 88) (q.v.). The nature of their interest in
Middleton is uncertain, but in 1240 Muriel and
Alice Baard were said to have presented to that part
of the advowson which the Cambes subsequently
held. (fn. 89) It seems probable, therefore, that they were
the heirs of Ralph son of Godfrey Baard, and that
they had married Walter and Robert de Cambe. (fn. 90)
Walter de Cambe seems to have been succeeded
by Hugh called de Middleton. (fn. 91) His heir is not
certainly known, but may have been the John de
Cambe who before 1312 presented his son John to
the vicarage. (fn. 92)
Robert de Cambe was in 1337 found to have
held of the bishop the moiety of a messuage and
30 acres in Nether Middleton by 13d. for castle ward
and suit at the court of Sadberge; John his son and
heir was twenty-two years of age. (fn. 93) In 1341 John
de Cambe of Nether Middleton entered into various
recognizances, (fn. 94) and in 1353 John son and heir of
John de Cambe proved his age. (fn. 95) Gocelin Surtees
in 1367 was said to have held 6 oxgangs of land in
Nether Middleton of the heirs of John de Cambe
by a rent of 1 lb. of cummin and 2¼d. (fn. 96) ; Alexander
Surtees in 1380 also held of the heirs of John de
Cambe. (fn. 97) A later Gocelin Surtees (1383) held three
messuages and 6 oxgangs of land of the same heirs
by 1 1b. of cummin. (fn. 98) Matania de Cambe, sister of
John, in 1385 held her messuage and 12 oxgangs of
land of the bishop by knight's service, a rent of 13d.
and suit of court; Walter de Cambe, aged thirty,
was the heir, but his kinship is not recorded. (fn. 99)
Walter de Cambe succeeded, (fn. 100) but was dead in June
1397, when it was found that he had held a
capital messuage and 10 oxgangs of land, &c.,
in Nether Middleton in fee tail and a messuage and 2
oxgangs in fee simple; all were held of the bishop by
knight's service, suit of court at Sadberge and 13d.
rent. His heir was a son John, aged twenty-six. (fn. 101)
Robert Cambe, perhaps a brother of John, held the
estate in 1408, when his son William, aged seven,
was found to be the heir. (fn. 102) He proved his age
in February 1422–3 (fn. 103) and died shortly before
1430–1, (fn. 104) leaving a widow Katherine, who soon
afterwards married John Seman. (fn. 105) The next to
appear is William Cambe, after whose death in
1511 it was found that his son Thomas was
heir of his lands in Middleton St. George. (fn. 106) Being
twenty-four years of age Thomas had livery, (fn. 107)
and in 1519 he sold his estate in Shildon to Elizabeth Killinghall. (fn. 108) She was then described as of
Middleton St. George, and had probably already
purchased his land here.
Elizabeth was the widow of Robert Killinghall,
who in 1508 had held lands in Sadberge and elsewhere, (fn. 109) and Robert may have been the son of John
Killinghall who acquired lands in Bishopton (? Newbiggin) in 1482. (fn. 110) She died in 1541 holding her
husband's estate and a third part of the manor of
Middleton St. George, with lands and tenements
therein, the advowson of the rectory, and a fishery in
the Tees, all held of the bishop by knight's service. (fn. 111)
William, her son and heir, then thirty-six years of
age, died in 1559, (fn. 112) when his brother John succeeded, and he dying in 1574 was followed by his
son Henry, (fn. 113) who, as related above, afterwards
acquired the Baard Manor and the advowson of the
sinecure rectory. It seems probable that the greater
part of the manor followed the descent in his family
which is given above. In 1607, however, Henry
Killinghall made a settlement of all his manor of
Middleton St. George on himself and Anne his wife
for their lives, with remainder to William Killinghall
and his issue. (fn. 114) At Henry's death in 1620 he was said
to hold only a third part, (fn. 115) but these fractional expressions are very loosely used.
The twelfth part of a knight's fee in Middleton
which was held about 1210 by Robert de Cambe or
Middleton (fn. 116) is not subsequently treated as part of
the manor, and cannot be traced with certainty. It
may possibly be identified with Goosepool. (fn. 117)
WEST HARTBURN
WEST HARTBURN (Hartburn, Hertburn,
c. 1200; West Hertburn, xiv cent.) was held with
Nether Middleton as one estate, and part of it
consequently descended in the Baard and Cambe
families. The Baard share
was sold in 1548 by Francis
Killinghall to William Wrenn, (fn. 118)
who died in 1559, leaving a
son and heir Anthony. (fn. 119) Anthony died in 1595 seised of
half of a messuage and 400
acres in West Hartburn. (fn. 120) His
son Sir Charles Wrenn of
Binchester (fn. 121) was succeeded in
March 1620–1 by a son and
heir Lindley Wrenn, who
sold the estate in 1628 to
Francis Forster and George
his son. (fn. 122) John Forster, son of
Francis, held it in 1694, (fn. 123) and
in 1717 registered his freehold
in West Hartburn as worth
£71 10s. a year. (fn. 124) It was sold by — Bowlby in 1763 to
— Masterman, whose granddaughter, Miss Glanville,
sold it before 1823 to the Rev. W. Fountaine Addison,
rector of the parish. (fn. 125) The trustees of the Rev. W. F.
Addison, who died in 1893, are still landowners.
Wrenn. Argent a cheveron sable between three lions' heads razed sable with three wrens argent on the cheveron
and a chief gules charged with three crosslets or.
The holding of the Cambes passed into the possession of the younger line of Killinghall, and in
1595 Henry Killinghall and William his son and
heir conveyed their 'manor' and land there to
Edward Blakiston, (fn. 126) who in 1607 granted the
same amount of land and what was said to be a
fourth part of the manor to Margaret Pinkney. (fn. 127)
Christopher Hall of West Hartburn, having been
adjudged a delinquent, asked leave to compound in
1650, but it is not clear what land he had in this
township. He died in August 1650 without issue,
and his executors were his brother Thomas Hall
and Margery Pinkney; she died in 1651, and one
Lawrence Pinkney seems to have claimed. It was
alleged that Margery's name was being used to protect Hall's estate. (fn. 128)
GOOSEPOOL
GOOSEPOOL, or the part of Hartburn within
Long Newton, seems to have been acquired by the
Balliols, for in 1306 it was recorded that the service
of the twelfth part of a knight's fee was due from
Hartburn, formerly John de Balliol's land. (fn. 129) About
1348–60 John de Meynill obtained licence to
acquire a fourth part of the manor of Goosepool
(Gespoll) from Hugh Galon. (fn. 130) Thus it is probable
that the estate was broken up into small parcels.
Thomas Ashby of Sadberge was in 1421 found to
have held lands in Hartburn of Sir Robert Conyers
on the east side of the brook, and of John Killinghall
on the west side; part of it had been purchased
from Robert Fulthorp. John, the son and heir
of Thomas, being dead, the Hartburn lands were to
descend to Thomas Garmondway, aged forty, as son
of Joan sister of Thomas Coke, father of Alice, mother
of John Ashby. (fn. 131) Though from this Conyers appears
to have been lord of the Goosepool part of Hartburn, it is not named in the inquisitions of the family.
Ralph Paul died seised of land here held of the
manor of Dinsdale in 1568. (fn. 132) His son William (fn. 133)
settled it on himself and his issue, with remainder to
Robert, Richard, Christopher and Henry Paul.
William died without issue, and the manor passed
from Robert to his son Francis, who died without
issue in 1615 seised of a capital messuage called
PAUL HARTBURN (Pawle Hartburne, xvi cent.),
and was followed by Henry son of Christopher, (fn. 134)
who granted the estate in 1621 to Robert Ellis,
the transfer being completed in 1630. (fn. 135) Robert Ellis
died in possession in 1622, leaving a son and heir
also called Robert, (fn. 136) who as Captain Robert Ellis
incurred sequestration of his lands in West Hartburn
and elsewhere. (fn. 137) This estate had descended to three
co-heirs by 1729; they sold to Elizabeth Hall, who
in 1733 devised it to her son William Sleigh, and
his trustees in 1778 sold to trustees under the will
of Ralph Carr. (fn. 138)
The freeholders in the parish in 1684 were
Francis Ayscough, — Bearman, Thomas Cunningham, Cuthbert Garth, William Killinghall, Thomas
Thoroton, Christopher Ward, Jane Wilson, and the
heirs of Robert Yong.
CHURCHES
The church of ST. GEORGE
(fn. 139)
consists of a chancel with north
vestry, nave, south porch, and small
west tower. Divine service is now held only in the
church in the afternoons of the third Sunday in each
month.
The site is an ancient one, but no portion of the
existing structure is older than the latter half of the
13th century. The only parts of this date now
standing are the chancel arch and the south and west
walls of the nave. Towards the end of the 18th
century, when the spa was established, the nave was
widened by pushing out the north wall, the chancel
was rebuilt, and nearly all the original architectural
features of the building destroyed. New roofs were
erected covered with blue slates and with flat plaster
ceilings inside, the old mullioned windows were
destroyed, the tops of the openings renewed in brick,
and wooden frames inserted. The vestry was built
at the same time. In 1888 the tower was added by
Henry A. W. Cocks, patron and lord of the manor,
in place of a former west bellcote, and in the same year
the building was repointed, the flat ceilings removed,
open benches inserted in place of the old pews, new
wooden windows put in and a general restoration
effected. (fn. 140)
The chancel has a window of three lights at the
east end and one on the south side. There is also a
priest's doorway, the square head of which is old,
probably belonging to a former and narrower doorway in the same position. The chancel arch is of two
orders, the outer plastered and of square section and
the inner one chamfered, springing on either side
from semi-octagonal corbels supported by human
heads, a man's on the north side, and a woman's
with protruding tongue on the south.
The nave is lighted by two windows on the north
and one on the south side. The latter has an
original square head, but the opening is filled with a
modern wooden frame. All the other windows in
the building have pointed brick heads and wooden
frames of three pointed lights. The porch has a
plain coped gable and semicircular brick arch, but
the original jamb stones remain below the springing.
The inner doorway has a square head and there is a
seat on either side.
The tower, of a nondescript Gothic character,
detracts in no small measure from the appearance of
the building. It was built up against the west gable,
but is now leaving the building and leaning westward.
It contains an old bell without inscription.
The font is ancient and consists of a circular tublike sandstone bowl on a stepped base and high
octagonal plinth. The bowl may be of late 12th-century date. (fn. 141) The pulpit is modern.
The plate consists of a small chalice and paten
of 1868; a flagon of 1829 given in 1836 by the
Rev. William Addison Fountain, rector; and a
set of two chalices, two patens, a flagon and an
almsdish of 1888, presented in 1889 under the
will of Robert Henry Allan of Blackwall Hall,
Darlington.
The registers of marriages and burials begin in
1616; that of baptisms in 1652. They have been
printed down to 1812. (fn. 142)
The church of ST. LAWRENCE at Middleton
One Row was built in 1871, and is a stone building
in the 13th-century style, consisting of a chancel,
nave, vestry, south porch and bell-turret with spire.
In it are preserved a Saxon sundial (fn. 143) and two
mediaeval grave covers, (fn. 144) one of elaborate design, all
of which had formerly been built into the walls of
the old church.
ADVOWSON
It has been related above that
the Baard fee in Middleton had
been divided into two before
1166, and this division extended to the rectory, for
about 1200 two rectors, John and William, attested
a charter. (fn. 145) In 1240, on the death of a rector, the
Archbishop of York ordained that one moiety
should be held as a rectory, the other as a vicarage;
the patronage belonged to the tenants of the two
moieties of the Baard fee. (fn. 146) In 1291 the portion
of Peter de Cerecy was taxed as worth £9 6s. 8d.,
and that of Geoffrey de Schilvede as worth £4. (fn. 147)
In 1312 the bishop confirmed the ancient division
of the church into two parts; the sinecure moiety
was held by William de London, who had been
presented by Ralph Baard, and the working moiety
was held by John de Cambe, with the title of vicar
only, on the presentation of John de Cambe, his
father. (fn. 148) The Scottish devastations here, as elsewhere, necessitated a reduction in the valuations, and
in 1318 these were £4 13s. 4d. and £2 6s. 8d.
respectively. (fn. 149) In the returns of 1545 the rector's
income was estimated at £4 a year, out of which he
paid 5s. to the rector of Egglescliffe and 2s. to the
archdeacon. (fn. 150)
The rights of patronage descended with the Baard
and Cambe portions of the manor, and, as has been
shown above, were both acquired by the second line
of Killinghall early in the 17th century. (fn. 151) The
last presentation to the sinecure rectory appears to
have been made in 1625. (fn. 152) Probably the Civil
War made a breach in old custom sufficiently long
to enable the patron to keep the sinecure moiety in
his own hands from that time. A terrier of 1792
printed by Surtees records that a moiety of the
tithes, &c., went to the rector, the patron having
the other moiety. (fn. 153) In succession to Killinghall and
Pemberton, Elisha Cocks was patron in or about 1820,
Henry Cocks in 1833, H. A. W. Cocks in 1848–98.
More recently the Bishop of Durham has acquired
the patronage.
There is a tradition that a chapel formerly existed
in Goosepool for the ancient 'vill of West Hartburn.' (fn. 154) A chapel at Ponteys Bridge, subject to the
church of Dinsdale, was in existence in or about 1200,
when benefactions were made to it by Cecily daughter
of Gilbert de Heworth. (fn. 155) It was dedicated to St.
John, and existed as late as 1501. (fn. 156)
CHARITIES
The schools have been dealt with
elsewhere. (fn. 157)