SOUTH OTTERINGTON
Otrintona (xi cent.); Southottryngton (xiv cent.).
This parish consists of a long, narrow strip of land
with an area of about 1,450 acres. It lies almost
entirely between the River Wiske on the west and the
North Eastern railway, which is nearly parallel with
the river, on the east. More than half the total
area is permanent grass. (fn. 1) There is practically no
woodland. About 605 acres are in cultivation, (fn. 2) and
wheat, barley, oats and beans are grown. The subsoil is Keuper Marls.
The high road from Boroughbridge to Northallerton
runs the whole length of the parish beside the Wiske.
The village lies on the low ground near the river,
opposite the village of Newby Wiske. The two are
connected by a road which crosses the river at Otterington Bridge and runs east to the railway station.
St. Andrew's Church and the rectory stand on the
north side of this road; the village street runs southward from this point and ends with the school.
The village is built round a picturesque but
diminutive green with a tree in the centre, the
cottages being mostly of red brick. A short distance
to the south is an early 18th-century farm-house of
the same material, having the initials a. w. in wroughtiron on the east gable; the windows have flush frames
and sliding sashes. West of the village and on the
bank of the river is the site of the old manor-house of
the Talbots.
North-east of the village are the mill and a large
mill-pond fed by a stream called the Hove Beck,
flowing down from the north. A mill in South
Otterington is mentioned in 1349, (fn. 3) and there were
two windmills in the Everingham part of the manor
in 1580. (fn. 4)
Between Hove Beck and the high road is a large
modern mansion, Otterington Hall, the seat of
Mrs. Aikenhead.
Manor
From the earliest date at which SOUTH
OTTERINGTON is mentioned till the
17th century the manor was divided into
moieties with quite distinct descents, which never
developed into separate manors; courts were held
jointly by the lords of both moieties in 1560. (fn. 5)
The first half consisted of 6 carucates of land which
were Crown land held by Egelfride and Altor in 1086,
and at the end of the 11th century were granted to
Robert Brus (fn. 6) ; they were held of his family till the
overlordship fell into abeyance. (fn. 7) In 1242 Peter
Brus granted to the Abbot of Byland the services of
his tenants here, and the abbots held a mesne lordship down to the 16th century. (fn. 8)
The tenants of this moiety in the 12th and 13th
centuries were a family called Fossard, perhaps connected with the Niel Fossard of the Domesday
Survey. In the latter half of the 12th century
Adam Brus granted to Geoffrey Fossard the tenure
in Otterington which Geoffrey his father had held
for half a knight's fee. (fn. 9) It must have passed from
Geoffrey to the Thomas Fossard who held it before
1242. (fn. 10) In 1279 Robert Fossard was in possession. (fn. 11)
Five years later, however, the moiety had passed to
Richard Malebiche. (fn. 12) This part of South Otterington
followed the descent of Hawnby (fn. 13) (q.v.) and was sold
by Christopher Aleyn (fn. 14) in 1556 (fn. 15) to John Talbot,
ancestor of the Talbots of Thornton-le-Street (q.v.),
which it followed in descent, (fn. 16) passing with that
manor to Sir Samuel Crompton (fn. 17) and then to Earl
Cathcart. The latter is now one of the chief landowners in the township, though the manorial rights
have lapsed.
Talbot. Argent three leaping lions purpure.
Cathcart, Earl Cathcart. Azure three crosslets fitchy coming out of crescents argent.
Bishopric of Durham. Azure a cross or between four lions argent.
The second moiety was probably granted to the
Bishop of Durham in the 12th
century along with North
Otterington and Thornton-leStreet. (fn. 18) It is always closely
associated with the latter place,
and followed for the most part
the same descent. Both were
in the 15th century held of
the bishop's manor of Northallerton. (fn. 19)
The family of Wassand
were tenants under the Bishop
of Durham both in Thorntonle-Street (q.v.) and South
Otterington from 1226, when Adam Wassand presented to the church. (fn. 20) This moiety of the manor
passed with Thornton-le-Street from the Wassands
to the Wadesleys before 1349, (fn. 21) and from them by
right of Katherine Wadesley to her husband Sir John
Everingham at the end of the 15th century. (fn. 22) In
1539 it was in the hands of
Henry Everingham, who conveyed it to Sir Thomas Johnson. (fn. 23) There appears to have
been a complicated series of
mortgages on the estate, and
the families of Everingham,
Johnson, Fauconbridge and
Talbot were all interested in
it. (fn. 24) Henry Johnson, son of
Sir Thomas, (fn. 25) made a conveyance to Roger Fauconbridge
in 1567, (fn. 26) and Roger's grandson Roger (fn. 27) Fauconbridge
conveyed the property to the
Talbot family in 1616. (fn. 28) The two moieties of the
manor were in this way united and have followed
the same descent, but there are no manorial rights
in either.
Fauconbridge of Otterington. Argent a lion in a border invecked azure.
John Wassand enjoyed free warren in his share of
the manor in the 14th century. (fn. 29)
Church
The church of ST. ANDREW consists of a chancel measuring internally
22 ft. 8 in. by 18 ft. 1 in., nave 48 ft.
10 in. by 25 ft. 9 in., north aisle 8 ft. 1 in. wide,
west tower 13 ft. square and a south porch. It is an
entirely modern building of stone in the Norman
style and was erected in 1846.
There are three small bells in the tower by
C. & G. Mears, 1847.
The plate consists of a silver cup without marks,
probably of the end of the 17th century, and a
pewter flagon and two pewter plates.
The registers begin in 1689.
Advowson
The rectory of South Otterington,
like the manor, was divided into
independent moieties, one being
called in the 18th century Gamwell House and the
other Weatherel House. (fn. 30) The Gamwell moiety
followed the descent of the Fossard half of the manor
and the Weatherel that of the Wassand half. (fn. 31) Roger
Fauconbridge sold a moiety to Robert Knightley of
Ashtead, Surrey, in 1664. (fn. 32) John Knightley presented in 1704 with Roger Talbot. (fn. 33) The Knightley
moiety passed with the family estates (fn. 34) to Charles
Brown of Mold, Flintshire, (fn. 35) who purchased the
other moiety from Roger Talbot. (fn. 36) He sold the
advowson to the Rev. Joshua Sampson, who held it
in 1831. (fn. 37) It passed by his daughter's marriage
to Mr. T. Darnborough. (fn. 38) From him it passed to
Mr. J. Witham, to whom it belonged in 1908, but
from 1910 the patronage has been vested in Lincoln
College, Oxford.
Charities
Charity of William Hutton.—See
parish of Kirkby Wiske.
The Offertory Charity.—By deed
dated 8 January 1879 (enrolled) a sum of £50
arising from church offertories in excess of the actual
needs of the poor—augmented in 1898 by a further
£50—was directed to be invested and the income
applied for the benefit of deserving poor in the
supply of clothes, food or other articles in kind,
medical relief, &c. The trust fund is represented
by £101 17s. 5d. consols with the official trustees.