EASINGWOLD
Eisicewalt, Eisinceuuald (xi cent.); Hesingwald
(xii cent.); Esingewald, Easingwaud (xiii cent.);
Esyngwold, Easingwould (xvi cent.).
The parish of Easingwold is beautifully situated in
the Vale of York and extends into the ancient forest
of Galtres. It originally included the chapelry of
Raskelf, which was constituted a separate ecclesiastical
parish between 1881 and 1891. The soil of this
district is light sand or clay, on a subsoil of Upper,
Middle and Lower Lias and alluvium. The elevation is low, seldom reaching more than 100 ft. above
ordnance datum, but is undulating in parts and in a
high state of cultivation.
The present parish of Easingwold covers an area
of nearly 6,997 acres, of which 3,593 are arable,
2,424 permanent grass and 134 woods and plantations. (fn. 1) Easingwold is connected with Alne on the
main line of the North Eastern railway by a light
railway opened in 1891.
Easingwold is a small market town, (fn. 2) and was one
of the three towns where the swainmote courts for
the forest of Galtres were held. (fn. 3) It is well built and
open, several of the streets, such as Long Street and
Uppleby, being of unusual width and planted with
trees. The market-place has a modern red brick
town hall in the centre, built by a company in 1864
and having accommodation for 600 persons. There
is also in the market-place a modern stone cross
with a square wooden roof. The pedestal of the
ancient cross formerly stood on the site. (fn. 4) The
ducking-stool stood on the north and the stocks on
the north-east. (fn. 5) On the north side is a good early
18th-century house with a deep wooden eaves cornice
and flush window frames. Near it are other 18thcentury houses fronting the square. In Long Street
is the modern Roman Catholic chapel of St. John the
Evangelist, opened in 1833. It is five bays long in
the style of 13th-century Gothic, with lancet windows
and a western bellcote. Near it is a good black and
white cottage, three bays long and with brick filling
to the ground floor. Several other half-timber
cottages, one thatched, remain in the High Street,
and another retains an old oak beam inscribed 'God
with us 1664,' but the great majority of the houses
are quite modern buildings of brick.
The church of All Saints and St. John the Baptist
and the vicarage are in the north part of the town.
The old rectory-house or manor-house of the Archdeacons of Richmond known as Easingwold Hall
stood at the foot of a hill to the east of the church.
In the time of Edward I there were here a manorhouse and divers offices with 4 oxgangs of arable in
demesne; later archdeacons allowed it to fall into
disrepair, and at the beginning of the 14th century
the buildings were ruinous. There was evidently at
this later date great friction between the tenants of
the rectory manor and the men of Easingwold on
the one side and the forest officials on the other.
One complaint was that when Adam Ballaster was
beheaded the men of the vill made the tenants 'do
geld' with them, 'and thus are these tenants impoverished and destroyed so that they can scarce live
for want of defence by the Lord Archdeacon.' (fn. 6)
The rectory manor-house was pulled down in the
beginning of the 19th century; its site is now occupied by a farm. The only remains are the garden
walls, the fish-ponds and a few very old Weymouth
pines. Over 300 years ago the hall was surrounded
by these trees, the approach to it being through a
long winding avenue. The house itself was of irregular shape, having several wings supported by buttresses and surrounded by a parapet. On the principal
gateway were two lions couchant, and the front door
opened into a large and spacious hall, the dining
room, panelled with black oak, occupying the whole
of the south wing. (fn. 7)
The Galtres is the residence of Mr. F. J. Haxby
Robinson, Hawkhills that of Mr. Joseph H. Love,
and Burn Hall of Mrs. William Benson Richardson.
There is a Secondary School for boys under the
county council rebuilt in 1911, and three elementary schools, a Church of England, a Wesleyan and
a Roman Catholic. There is a Wesleyan chapel,
built in 1815, and a Primitive Methodist chapel built
in 1840.
The Victoria Institute was erected in 1897 to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria.
The Cottage Hospital was built by Mrs. Love of
Hawkhills in 1893.
Remains of a Roman villa and a tessellated pavement, now in the York Museum, were found near
the town in 1854.
The best known of the chalybeate springs near
Easingwold are Spring Head Well and a medicinal
spring in a field near the fish-pond said to resemble
the Cheltenham waters. Spa Well, which is chalybeate and sulphurous, is about half a mile to the west
of the town. A small vein of bitumen or vegetable
jet was discovered in October 1851 while a well was
being sunk near the church.
The modern parish of Raskelf lies to the northwest of Easingwold and comprises a little over 4,281
acres, of which more than half is arable land, and
rather less than one-third is pasture; there are 83
acres of woods and plantations. (fn. 8) The small River
Kyle flows through the parish from north to south.
The village is built on cross roads and lies in the
centre of the township north of the site of Raskelf
Hall. There is a station about half a mile south
of the village on the main line of the North Eastern
railway. Boscar Grange, north-east of Raskelf village,
is doubtless to be identified with the Baskaa (Balschagh)
Grange granted to Byland Abbey (fn. 9) by Bertram de
Bulmer and confirmed by his descendants the Nevill
family. The Boscar estate belonged in 1852 to the see
of York. (fn. 10) Spring House is a large farm over a mile
south of Raskelf village, occupied by Mr. Thomas
Daniel. In a field near it is a very fine old oak,
one of the few survivors of Galtres Forest. Among
the possessions of Sir Thomas Webb in 1746 was a
cottage in Raskelf let to the parish overseers, who
had converted it into a school for the benefit of the
whole parish. (fn. 11) There is now a public elementary
school, erected in 1856. A Wesleyan chapel was
opened at Raskelf in 1894.
An Inclosure Act for Easingwold was passed in
1808 and one for Raskelf in 1834. (fn. 12)
Among old place-names are land called 'Westbek,' (fn. 13)
a meadow called 'Paytfinclose,' (fn. 14) another called
Pyllemore Close, (fn. 15) a wood called 'Lanage Wale'
and a meadow called 'Halleker' in Raskelf. (fn. 16)
Paulinus, who was Archbishop or Bishop of York
in the early 7th century, is supposed to have preached
at Easingwold, (fn. 17) and the tradition is strengthened by
the mention of the 'meadow of Paulinus' and the
'cross of Paulinus' in the immediate neighbourhood
in the reign of Edward I. (fn. 18)
Frederick Apthorp Paley, the distinguished classical
scholar, was the son of a rector of Easingwold, where
he was born in 1815. (fn. 19)
Brick making is carried on in both parishes.
Earls of Lancaster. ENGLAND differenced with a label of FRANCE.
Manors
In the reign of Edward the Confessor the 'manor' of EASINGWOLD
was held by Earl Morcar, and had even
at that period a certain importance, being valued at
£32. In 1086 it was held by the king and was
assessed at 12 carucates. (fn. 20) Soke of the 'manor'
lay in Huby, Moxby, Murton, Thorp, Sutton, Kelset
Grange, Cold Kirby, Thormanby, Sand Hutton and
Sowerby. By 1086 the value of the 'manor' had
fallen to 20s. (fn. 21) Easingwold continued in the hands
of the Crown until 1219, (fn. 22) when it was granted by
Henry III to Robert, sometime Abbot of Tournay,
to be held by him until his
promotion (fn. 23) to a bishopric. A
grant at fee farm was made to
Henry de Helyon in 1230. (fn. 24)
In 1259 King Henry
granted the manor to Simon de
Montfort Earl of Leicester, (fn. 25)
who had married Eleanor, the
king's sister. Shortly after the
death of Simon at the battle
of Evesham in 1265 the manor
was granted by King Henry
to his youngest son Edmund
first Earl of Lancaster, (fn. 26) who
mortgaged it in 1271 to Sir
John de Oketon, kt. (fn. 27) In 1296 Edmund died seised
of this manor, (fn. 28) which passed to his son Thomas
second Earl of Lancaster, (fn. 29) executed in 1322. By
1327 the estate had come into the possession of
Henry third Earl of Lancaster, the younger brother
and heir of Thomas. (fn. 30) Henry died in 1345, leaving
a son Henry, created Duke of Lancaster in 1351.
This Henry died without male issue in 1361; the
moiety (and in the following year the entirety) of his
estates descended to his daughter Blanche, who at the
age of twelve had married John of Gaunt, fourth son
of Edward III. John of Gaunt was created Duke of
Lancaster in 1362, and became seised of the Lancastrian estates, including the manor of Easingwold. (fn. 31)
Although Blanche left a son and heir Henry, afterwards Duke of Lancaster, who ascended the throne
as Henry IV in 1399, the manor of Easingwold was
bequeathed by John of Gaunt to his daughter Joan
by his third wife Katherine Swinford, to be held by
her as parcel of the duchy of Lancaster, (fn. 32) which
merged in the Crown on the accession of Henry IV.
Joan became the second wife of Ralph Nevill, first
Earl of Westmorland, who with his wife held the
manor. He died in 1425, (fn. 33) and was survived by
Joan, who died seised in 1440. (fn. 34) In the same year
the king granted the manor to their son Richard
Earl of Salisbury for twenty years. (fn. 35)
Beaufort. FRANCE quartered with ENGLAND in a border gobony argent and azure.
Nevill, Earl of Westmorland. Gules a saltire argent.
Nevill, Earl of Salisbury. Gules a saltire argent with a label gobony argent and azure.
Easingwold remained a royal manor (fn. 36) until the
reign of James I, who granted it in 1616 to his son
Charles, Prince of Wales, to be held by fealty in free
and common socage. (fn. 37) Charles continued to hold
the manor after his accession, and in 1628 granted
it to Edward Ditchfield and others, trustees for the
City of London. (fn. 38) In the following year he repudiated the grant on the ground that the manor
was within the forest of Galtres, which had been sold
to Sir Allen Apsley. The conveyance of Easingwold
already made by the city to George Clay and William
Driffield was declared null and void, and the trustees
were ordered to assure the manor to Sir Allen Apsley. (fn. 39)
In 1633, however, Easingwold was said to have been
lately purchased by the tenants of the manor, who
had nominated Thomas Lord Fauconberg as their representative for the allotment of forest lands. (fn. 40) Lord
Fauconberg was said to be seised of the 'royalties'
of Easingwold during the Commonwealth, (fn. 41) and his
descendants have since been regarded as lords of the
manor, which has followed the descent of Coxwold
(q.v.). Sir George Orby Wombwell, bart., is the
present lord.
Charles, Prince of Wales. FRANCE and ENGLAND quartered with SCOTLAND and IRELAND and differenced with a label argent.
City of London. Argent a cross gules with the sword of St. Paul gules set upright in the quarter.
In 1221 the men of Easingwold owed a palfrey for
having a market every Saturday in the manor of
Easingwold until the king's majority. (fn. 42) In 1291
Edmund, the king's brother, obtained a yearly fair at
his manor of Easingwold on the vigil and the feast
of the Nativity of St. Mary. (fn. 43) Charles I granted to
George Hall and his heirs in 1639 (fn. 44) a weekly market
on Fridays and two annual fairs, one on the feast of
St. John the Baptist and the other on the Invention
of the Holy Cross, and also a market for animals on
Friday in each alternate week from the feast of
St. Matthew until the feast of St. Thomas. The
owners of the market in 1887 were Jane Haxby,
Mary Skaife, Hannah Smith, Charles Johnson, William
Leadley, Thomas Jones and John Rookledge. (fn. 45) Mr.
F. J. Haxby Robinson and others are now the proprietors of the market tolls. The market day is
still Friday, but the fair which was held on 5 July in
1792 (fn. 46) is no longer in existence.
Mention of a free fishery in Easingwold occurs in
several documents of the 18th century. (fn. 47)
The RECTORY MANOR possibly originated in
the endowment of assarted land made to the church
by King Stephen, (fn. 48) and may have been enlarged
by additional grants of parts of the Crown manor
during succeeding reigns. In the reign of Edward I
the Archdeacons of Richmond held the rectory
manor, (fn. 49) and it is probable that it had then been in
their possession for a considerable time.
Bishopric of Chester. Gules three mitres with their labels or.
In 1541 Henry VIII transferred the archdeaconry of
Richmond from the see of York to the see of Chester. (fn. 50)
The Bishops of Chester then
became lords of this manor. (fn. 51)
In 1651 it was conveyed by
the Parliamentary commissioners for the sale of church
lands to Christopher Driffield
and George Potts, and mention occurs in the same record
of its having been demised in
1620 by the late Bishop of
Chester to William Driffield
on a lease for certain lives. (fn. 52)
In 1655 the archdeacon's
house with 2 oxgangs of land
belonging to the messuage was
conveyed by the commissioners to George Potts, his
heirs and assigns. (fn. 53) At the Restoration the manor
reverted to the see, which retained it until 1860,
when it became vested in the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. (fn. 54)
In 1688 it was held on lease by Thomas Raynes,
Mayor of York, who granted it on sub-leases for
short periods. (fn. 55) In 1704 or 1705 William Salvin
of Newbiggin Hall married Anne niece of Thomas
Raynes, thus becoming lessee of the rectory manor
and its appendages in Easingwold. Thomas Salvin,
only son and heir of Thomas Salvin, deceased,
appears among the parties to an indenture concerning the rectory and manor in 1790. (fn. 56) His daughter
Mary married Peter Bell, who made a lease of lands
here, apparently including the manor-house, to Sir
William Vavasour. (fn. 57)
In the time of Edward the Confessor a 'manor'
and 8 carucates at RASKELF (Raschel, xi cent.;
Raskell, Raskyll, Raskells, xv cent.; Rascall, xvi
cent.) were held by Cnut, but in 1086 these were
returned as land of the king. (fn. 58) They afterwards
formed part of the fee of Bulmer, (fn. 59) and the manor
followed the descent of that of Sheriff Hutton (fn. 60)
(q.v.), coming into the hands of the Crown in 1471.
Various leases of the manor were made by Henry VIII
and Elizabeth. (fn. 61) Robert Earl of Leicester, the tenant
in 1569, (fn. 62) seems to have had a grant in fee from
Elizabeth and to have regranted the manor to her
in exchange for other lands. (fn. 63) After his death in
1588 (fn. 64) Raskelf was again leased for short periods,
and towards the latter part of
Elizabeth's reign the manorhouse with part at least of the
adjoining lands was in the
possession of William Lawson
of Cramlington (fn. 65) (co. Northumb.). Mary Lawson, the
daughter and heir of William,
married Ralph Tancred, (fn. 66) who
on his death in 1602 held the
mansion - house and lands,
which in 1592 had been
settled on him and Mary his
wife, and then on his fourth
son Richard and his heirs
male, with remainder in default to the right heirs of Ralph. (fn. 67) The Tancreds
possessed large estates in this neighbourhood, and
their mansion in Raskelf was known by the name of
Tancred Hall. A well there still bears the name
of Tancred's Well. (fn. 68)
Tancred. Argent a cheveron between three scallops gules with three rings argent upon the cheveron.
In 1604 James I granted the manor of Raskelf to
Sir James Hay and Honor Denny his wife and their
heirs. (fn. 69) James Hay was created Earl of Carlisle in
1622 (fn. 70) and died seised of the manor of Raskelf in
1636, when it devolved on his son and heir James
second Earl of Carlisle. (fn. 71) In 1650–1 the manor was
sold by the earl to John Lord Belasyse of Worlaby (fn. 72)
(co. Linc.), second son of Thomas first Viscount
Fauconberg, created Baron Belasyse of Worlaby in
1645. Lord Belasyse was married three times and
died in 1689, his only son by his first marriage, Sir
Henry Belasyse, K.B., having predeceased him in
1668, leaving a son Henry, second baron, who died
without issue in 1691, when the barony became
extinct. (fn. 73) By his third marriage with Anne daughter
of John fifth Marquess of Winchester the first Lord
Belasyse left four daughters, among whom the manor
of Raskelf was divided. (fn. 74) They were: Honora wife
of George Lord Abergavenny, Barbara wife of Sir
John Webb of Odstock (co. Wilts.), Katherine, who
married John Talbot of Longford (co. Salop), and
Isabella wife of Thomas Stonor of Stonor (co. Oxon.). (fn. 75)
Webb of Odstock, baronet. Gules a cross between four falcons or.
Honora, Katherine and Isabella all died without
issue and Barbara Lady Webb became the sole heiress
of her father's estates. She and her husband appear
to have settled the manor on John Webb, their son. (fn. 76)
John Webb died without heirs in 1745 in the lifetime of his father, who, however, only survived him a
few months, dying in October 1745. (fn. 77) The manor
then passed to Thomas, the younger and next surviving brother of John, who succeeded as fourth baronet
and held the manor until his death in 1763, when it
passed to his eldest son Sir John Webb of Odstock,
fifth baronet. (fn. 78) This Sir John Webb, one of the
greatest landowners in England, married Mary the
eldest daughter of Thomas Salvin of Easingwold, but
had no legitimate male issue,
and being displeased with the
marriage of his only brother
Joseph Webb of Welford (co.
Northampton) he cut the
entail of the family estates.
Sir John Webb had a number
of illegitimate children, and
though he bequeathed the
more important of his possessions to his only legitimate
daughter Barbara, afterwards
Countess of Shaftesbury, he
devised Raskelf Manor and
his other Yorkshire estates to
a natural son, James Webb. (fn. 79) James Webb dealt
with Raskelf Manor by fine in 1818. (fn. 80) He died unmarried, and the manor descended to his nephew
Colonel William Frederick Webb, D.L., of Newstead
Abbey, Sheriff of Nottinghamshire in 1865, eldest
son of Frederick Webb. (fn. 81) Colonel William Frederick
Webb was lord of Raskelf Manor in 1872, and between this date and 1879 he sold it to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, the present lords of Raskelf, who
in the latter year assigned about 3,000 acres to the
see of Chester. (fn. 82)
In 1331 Ralph de Nevill and his heirs obtained
a grant of free warren in their demesne lands of
Raskelf. (fn. 83) About the year 1388 his grandson Ralph
de Nevill obtained licence to inclose his wood in
Raskelf called Raskelfwode, and to make thereof a
park and three deer-leaps (saltatoria) adjoining the
same park, the height of each deer-leap to be 100 ft. (fn. 84)
Herbage of the park is mentioned among the appurtenances of the manor in 1590. (fn. 85)
The FOREST OF GALTRES extended into
Easingwold and is frequently mentioned in connexion
with the parish. In 1217 Henry III granted a
hunting lodge in Easingwold belonging to the forest
to John Marshall, (fn. 86) and in 1230 Henry de Helyon
received a grant of 300 acres of wood near the manor
which were to continue part of the forest. (fn. 87) Numerous
purprestures were from time to time made in the
forest. In the reign of Edward I the men of Easingwold held a purpresture of 14½ acres made in the
time of Robert de Roos, for which they paid yearly
7s. 3d. (fn. 88) This Robert was a descendant of Everard
de Roos, who is frequently mentioned as the owner
of a purpresture in records of the reign of Henry II. (fn. 89)
William Paytfyn held a purpresture in Easingwold
consisting of 10 acres called 'Paytfinclos,' near the
Cross of Paulinus and worth 4s. yearly. This land
was inclosed from the king's manor during the reign
of Edward I. (fn. 90) From William it evidently descended
to Richard Paytfyn and was from him acquired in fee
by Hugh Gryvel. The next owner was Thomas de
Berewyk, who in 1345 obtained licence to enfeoff
Sir Thomas Ughtred, kt. (fn. 91)
Robert de Nevill held a purpresture in Raskelf in
the reign of Edward I, (fn. 92) probably to be identified
with that held by his ancestor Bertram de Bulmer in
the reign of Henry II. (fn. 93)
Galtres was disafforested in 1630 and lands were
assigned in lieu of common to fifteen townships
including Easingwold. (fn. 94)
Churches
The church of ST. JOHN BAPTIST stands on an eminence on the
north side of the town and consists
of a chancel 37 ft. by 19¾ ft., nave with north and
south aisles 70 ft. by 43 ft., west tower, north vestry
and south porch. The total length is 126½ ft., all
measurements being internal.
The north door is evidence of the existence of a
church here in the 13th century, but it is not now in
situ, and with the possible exception of the west end
the church appears to have been completely rebuilt
in the 15th century. A western tower was probably
then contemplated, but not actually built until the
beginning of the next century, when the present
structure was erected against the old west wall. A
large arch was left in the west tower wall, it being
evidently intended to remove the old west window
and door to that position. This, however, was never
done, and the arch was filled in and a window inserted
in the 17th century. In 1667 the chancel roof was
reconstructed, only to be again renewed in modern
times. Other modern alterations include a new vestry
on the north side of the chancel and a south porch to
the nave.
The chancel has a debased Gothic three-light
pointed window, probably of 17th-century date and
having 'decorated' tracery. In the south wall are
three uniform square-headed two-light windows of the
15th century, and between the second and third is a
pointed priest's door. In the same wall is an aumbry.
The modern roof retains one old beam dated 1667.
It was formerly low pitched, and down to some fifty
years ago was ceiled below the tie-beams, as was also
the roof of the nave. The plain 15th-century
chancel arch dies into the side walls without responds.
Adjoining the chancel on the north-east is a 15thcentury vestry with a modern building between it and
the north nave aisle. The nave is five bays long
with pointed arches resting on octagonal columns with
moulded capitals. The arcades have no responds,
the arches dying into the walls at either end. The
clearstory is pierced by one small two-light squareheaded window over the centre of each arch. The
stone lintel of one of these on the north side is a
floreated cross slab. The nave roof is low pitched
with heavy tie-beams and short king-posts and an
embattled cornice against the walls. All the aisle
windows are uniform and similar to those in the
chancel. They are of two-lights, square-headed and
of 15th-century date. The north door, known as the
'Raskelfe door,' is a relic of the 13th-century church,
reset in its present position in the 15th century.
The aisles have the original pent roofs. The west
front still retains its buttresses and west window as
before the erection of the tower outside it. The
west window still remaining in this wall is of three
lights and apparently of 14th-century date with a
pointed traceried head. Below it is the original west
door. The west tower, three stages high, was built
against the west end with a straight joint, probably in
the early 16th century. In the west face of the
ground stage is a lofty pointed arch, now filled in with
a small three-light window and door of the 17th
century. The tower is supported by diagonal buttresses of five offsets at the western angles and is
finished with an embattled parapet.
The fittings of the church include an early 17thcentury communion table with 'gouty' legs and a
curious 'parish coffin' preserved in the tower, and
formerly used to convey bodies to the graveside, the
interment being in a shroud only. The font has an
octagonal bowl, recut, and a circular moulded stem,
and probably dates from the 13th century. Externally the church is ashlar faced without parapets, the
roofs being lead covered. The south porch is modern,
and both aisles and chancel have diagonal buttresses
with gabled heads.
The bell-chamber has a square-headed two-light
window in each face and contains six bells, all cast by
Dalton of York in 1788 except the fourth, which is
dated 1887.
The plate consists of two large cups (York, 1782),
both inscribed 'I.H.S. Sursum corda,' a paten
(London, 1715), inscribed 'Deo sacrum et ecclesiae
Sti. Johannis Baptistae de Easingwould I.H.S.' and
dated 1719, a small cup (York, 1795) given by Miss
Margaret Whytehead in 1812, two small patens given
respectively in 1878 and 1880, a plated flagon, and
small plated cup.
The registers before 1812 are as follows: (i) mixed
entries 1599 to 1703; (ii) mixed entries 1704 to
1762; (iii) marriages 1754 to 1812; (iv) baptisms
and burials 1763 to 1780; (v) baptisms and burials
1780 to 1812.
The church of ST. MARY THE VIRGIN at
Raskelf consists of a chancel 24 ft. by 17 ft., with
north chapel, making a total width of 27 ft., nave
27½ ft. by 19 ft., with north and south aisles and
timber tower at the west end.
At the end of the 12th century the church consisted
of a chancel and a nave with north aisle, and of this
the north arcade and perhaps the west wall remain.
The chancel was probably rebuilt in the 14th
and the north aisle in the succeeding century and the
timber belfry and north chapel were added at a
rather later period. The church was drastically
restored and largely rebuilt in 1879, when the south
nave aisle was added. The chancel has a three-light
east window with modern 'decorated' tracery. In
the north wall are two timber arches opening into
the north chapel. They are formed of three uprights supporting a plate, the centre one having a
moulded capital from which spring curved struts
forming the sides of the two arches. On the capital
is a shield carved with the Nevill saltire. In the
south wall are two two-light modern windows in the
'decorated' style and a plain piscina. The timber
chancel arch is also modern. The north chapel has
a modern three-light east window of 15th-century
character and a modern single-light opening in the
north wall.
The north arcade of the nave dates from the end
of the 12th century and consists of two pointed
arches springing from a cylindrical pier and half-round
responds. All have square abaci and moulded bases
with spur ornament, and the capital of the centre pier
has volutes at the angles. The south arcade and aisle
are entirely modern, and the north aisle has been
rebuilt with 15th-century windows. In the main
west wall is an ancient window, now filled with
modern tracery and opening into the tower. The
nave roofs are all modern.
The communion rails have turned balusters of the
early 17th century, and in the chancel are some old
benches with rudely carved poppy-heads. In the
chancel windows are a number of coats of arms in
old stained glass. In the east window is Scrope with
a label of five points, Dacre and Greystock. In the
eastern window on the south side is a shield—'Plumté
or and purpure'—a coat assigned to Mydlam in
Coverdale. In the east window of the north chapel
are the arms of Percy, Nevill and Nevill with a
golden label.
The circular moulded font dates from the late 12th
century and is surmounted by a 17th-century wooden
cover.
The wooden belfry at the west end was built
against the old west wall, probably late in the 15th
century. It is supported on four massive angle posts
inclining inwards, and most of the timbering in the
upper part is original. The ground stage, though
now closed in, was formerly open to give light to the
west window. It contains three bells, the tenor being
mediaeval and inscribed in Lombardic capitals 'Sancte
Jacobe ora pro nobis'; the second, which is cracked,
bears the inscription 'Remember thy end and flie
prid 1593 R.W. God save this NAVEL AH'; and
the third 'Soli deo gloria pax hominibus AS et WC
1653.'
The plate includes only one ancient piece, the
rest being modern electro-plate. It is a cup inscribed
'St. Marys Raskelfe 1718' without hall mark.
The registers before 1812 are as follows: (i)
baptisms and burials 1747 to 1792, marriages 1747 to
1754; (ii) marriages 1754 to 1812. The baptisms
and burials from 1792 to 1812 are apparently lost.
Advowsons
There was a church with a priest
at Easingwold at the time of the
Domesday Survey, (fn. 95) and the advowson appears to have continued with the Crown until
at least the reign of Stephen, who presented to the
living, granting the church, with its lands and tithes
and other appurtenances, to Master Mainard, chaplain,
who was to possess it in peace as the chaplain of the
king. (fn. 96) Stephen also gave to the church 12 acres of
assarts quit of all secular exactions. (fn. 97) The Crown
presented in 1266. (fn. 98) Before 1269 the church of
Easingwold was given to the archdeaconry of Richmond, (fn. 99) and a vicarage was ordained about 1293, (fn. 100)
the archdeacons remaining the patrons until the Dissolution. In 1541 the archdeaconry of Richmond
was annexed to the see of Chester, (fn. 101) and from that
date to the present time the Bishops of Chester have
been the patrons of Easingwold Church. (fn. 102)
The church of Raskelf was originally a chapel
dependent on the parish church of Easingwold. In
1541 the chapel or chantry of Raskelf was granted
with Easingwold and other churches to the Bishop of
Chester, (fn. 103) and his successors presented the vicar of
Easingwold, who found a curate for Raskelf. It is stated
by Gill that as late as 1770 the Rev. J. Armitstead
was licensed to the cure of Raskelf on his own
petition, 'being patron thereof in full right by reason
of his vicarage of Easingwold.' Since his death in
1812 the right of presentation has been claimed and
exercised by the Bishops of Chester. (fn. 104)
The living of Raskelf was formerly a perpetual
curacy, (fn. 105) but is now styled a vicarage under the Act
of 1868. (fn. 106)
Charities
Parochial Charities.—Under the
provisions of the Local Government
Act, 1894, the following charities for
the benefit of the poor, irrespective of creed, are
administered by four trustees appointed by the parish
council in the place of the churchwardens and overseers, in some cases jointly with the vicar, viz.:
Charity of the Rev. Ralph Stringer, will, 1599,
formerly consisting of a house called Fossbridge House,
now four cottages in Long Street, occupied by four
persons;
The Rev. George Wilson's charity, will, 1666, 5 acres
of land let at £5 10s., one moiety for inmates of the
said alms cottages, the other moiety for the poor
generally;
John Foster's charity, will, 1640, annuity of 10s.,
part of an annuity of £8, out of land situated at High
Thorne in the hamlet of Husthwaite, claimed to be
a voluntary payment;
Francis Driffield's charity, will, 1676, one moiety
of the rent of 12 acres, known as Blakeswell Closes, let
at £12 a year for apprenticing. For the other moiety
see under ecclesiastical charities below;
Alice Smith's charity, will, 1698, annuity of 40s.
payable out of Thinklane Closes for apprenticing;
Poor's estates, consisting of two closes known as the
Toft Ings, containing 7 acres purchased in 1712 and
1713 with a fund then existing, including J. Berryman's
charity (1691), Richard Driffield's (1712), Andrew
Wilson's and John Lindsley's bequests, and a close in
the Craike Field of 4 acres allotted on the inclosure
of the common fields, producing £13 10s. a year;
Nathaniel Wilson's charity, will, 1726, annuity of
20s. for poor, and of 10s. for sermon;
Thomas Wray's charity, will, 1738, formerly £20
invested on turnpike security, now £6 5s. consols,
income for poor widows;
William Hitchin alias Kitchin's charity, will, 1761,
annuity of 10s. payable out of the Tofts in Church
Field, for teaching a poor boy;
William Driffield's charity, will, 1788, £50 18s. 11d.
consols, interest for teaching four poor children;
Thomas Raine's charity, annuity of £2 a year,
payable out of School Close, for educational purposes;
John Raper's charity for the poor, will, 1798,
£66 13s. 4d. consols, dividends for poor housekeepers;
see also ecclesiastical charities below;
Martha Atkinson's charity, will, 1852, £20 5s. 8d.
consols, income for the poor;
The Rev. William Comber, will, 1807, £52 10s.
consols, income for widows and poor housekeepers.
The Victoria Buildings, erected on the site of an
old almshouse known as the Spring Head Almshouses
(deed, 1769), are regulated by a scheme of the
Charity Commissioners whereby the parish council
were appointed trustees.
In 1905 the sum of £10 was applied in apprenticing in respect of Francis Driffield and Alice Smith's
charities, £2 15s. in coals for tenants of Fossbridge
Houses, and £1 15s. 4d. for education in respect of
William Driffield and William Hitchin's charities,
the sum of £3 2s. 4d. in groceries and money to
tenants of Spring Head and Fossbridge Houses in
respect of Wray's, Raper's and Comber's charities,
and the sum of £24 5s. in general doles of coal,
groceries and money in respect of the other parochial
charities. The several sums of stock are held by the
official trustees of charitable funds.
Ecclesiastical charities administered by the vicar
and churchwardens:—
Charity of Ann Cobb, will, 1728, endowment
consisting of 4 a. 3 r. 25 p., known as the Whitebread Closes, let at £9 a year, rent, subject to the
payment of £2 to the poor of Sutton-on-the-Forest,
applicable in the distribution of bread to the poor
attending church;
George Westerman's charity, will, 1783, £200
consols, income to be distributed in bread, subject to
the repair of his tomb and inscription in the church.
Ann Driffield's charity, will, 1834, £101 7s. 10d.
consols, income in the distribution of bread;
John Haxby's charity, will, 1876, £95 2s. consols,
income distributable in articles in kind;
William Raisbeck's charity, will, 1811, £111 17s. 9d.
consols, income for Sunday schools;
Margaret Whytehead's charity, will, 1840, £150
consols, for educational purposes;
Rachel Whytehead's charity, will, 1855, £184
2s. 10d. consols, for Sunday schools;
Charity of John Raper for sermon, £33 6s. 8d.
consols, see parochial charities above;
Francis Driffield's charity, one moiety of rent of
12 acres known as Blakeswell Closes, let at £12 a year,
and £12 12s. 6d. consols, arising from the sale of
old almshouses (see parochial charities above). By
scheme of Charity Commissioners of 15 July 1902,
income to be applied as a pension to a deserving
necessitous widow or spinster of the Church of England;
Eleanor Westerman's charity for sermons, will,
1781, £80 consols;
Dorothy Gibson's charity, will, proved 1904,
£51 0s. 2d. India £3 per cents., dividends to be
applied in coals for church poor.
The several sums of stock are held by the official
trustees of charitable funds, and the dividends are
applied in accordance with the respective trusts of the
charities.
For the Westerman foundation, 1781, see article
on schools. (fn. 107)
Chapelry of Raskelf.—Charity of John Foster (see
under Easingwold).
Poor's Land consists of 5 acres known as Land Lees,
let at £8 a year, which was purchased in or about
1767 with £100 bequeathed by William Jackson
(1767), one moiety of rents to be applied in the
distribution of bread and the other moiety for
education. It is regulated by a scheme of 2 March
1897; also 2 acres formerly known as Stocking Lees,
let at £4 a year, purchased in 1741 with £36 township money.
Unknown donor's, being an ancient annual payment of 5s. issuing out of the Barrowby estate,
Dishforth, now paid by Mr. F. Clarke, the owner.
The Poor's Money consists of £42 5 per cent.
guaranteed stock of the Manchester, Sheffield and
Lincolnshire Railway, including a legacy of £10 by
will of Isabel Jackson, and moneys arising from the sale
of timber. There is also a sum of £10 deposited in a
bank. These charities are administered together. In
1905 the net income was applied in gifts of 7s. 6d.
to each of nine widows at Midsummer and Christmas,
17s. in bread, and 17s. 6d. to the poor generally. In
respect of the educational foundation £4 5s. was
applied by way of prizes for attendance at schools, &c.