NEWTON-UPON-OUSE
Neuuetune (xi cent.).
The parish of Newton-upon-Ouse, including
Beningbrough and Linton-upon-Ouse, covers 5,146
acres, of which 2,353 acres are arable land, 2,548 acres
permanent grass and 85 acres plantation. (fn. 1) It is
bounded on the north by Tollerton, Easingwold and
Youlton, the western and southern boundaries being
formed by the River Ouse. The entire parish is very
flat and well watered. The soil varies, but the
greater part is alluvium; brick and tile works, now
closed, formerly gave employment to many of the
inhabitants.
Nearly the whole of the parish once lay within
the boundaries of the royal forest of Galtres. A
perambulation made in 1316 (fn. 2) gives the boundaries,
from York 'following the wall to the water of
Ouse, thence to Beningbrough and Newton Bridge,
and so by Linton brook, and the midst of Linton
marsh going on to the west of the village of
Tollerton.'
The village of Linton lay outside the forest at the
date of this perambulation, although it had formerly
been included.
As early as 1284 the king's deer had ceased to
frequent this part of the forest, and in this year the
master and brethren of St. Leonard's Hospital were
accordingly given licence (fn. 3) to inclose and impark
56½ acres of wood and their demesne lands adjoining,
containing 100 acres, this land forming what is now
known as the Old Deer Park. The forest-land was
evidently being brought under cultivation at this
time, for the tithes of assarts and land that should be
assarted were especially reserved to Holy Trinity,
York. (fn. 4)
At the close of the 16th century disputes had
arisen (fn. 5) between Sir Ralph Bourchier, lord of the
manor of Beningbrough, and the royal verderers,
owing to Sir Ralph's taking of bough wood from
trees growing on the West Moor. Sir John, Sir
Ralph's successor, continued the practice, sixty loads
of wood being said to be cut yearly. Lord Strafford,
then keeper of the forest of Galtres, determined to
put an end to these depredations, and proceeded
against Sir John Bourchier for encroachment upon
the forest. Sir John defended his right, claiming
common of pasture for 300 sheep and 60 cattle as
part of the perquisites of his grange of Beningbrough,
and in 1632 he received 95 acres of West Moor in
compensation for 'his pretence of title in the forest.' (fn. 6)
His encroachments, however, continued, and he was
summoned with several others before the Star Chamber
and condemned to imprisonment and a heavy fine.
In a letter to Mr. Secretary Coke in 1633 (fn. 7) Strafford
gives his opinion of the case, saying 'as concerning
Sir John Bourchier and his insolent carriage, it is his
daily bread, the man is little better than mad, one
grain more would weigh him down to a direct
Fury. . . . For the title he can pretend to anything in the park he hath long since concluded
himself by an order made here on the Exchequer,
with his own consent, and then judge what he can
expect, and yet he hath been scolding at me these
two years because I would not give him the king's
land, and now finally he plays this May game.' The
'May game' referred to was probably the pulling
down of fences. (fn. 8) Bourchier was, however, revenged
later when his case was brought before the Long
Parliament and formed one of the lesser charges
against Strafford. (fn. 9)
The common fields were inclosed in 1815 under
an Act obtained in 1812. (fn. 10) The main roads in
Newton form a triangle, the base of which is Moor
Lane and the apex close to York Bridge, crossing
the Kyle in the north of the parish. The village of
Newton-on-Ouse lies close to the river bank, the
houses, which are mostly modern, being built on
either side of a broad road shaded with a pleasant
avenue of trees. Back Lane runs parallel with the
main village street, joining Moor Lane close to the
schools. The church and a Methodist chapel are to
the north of the village.
Newton Grange, formerly in the possession of the
master and brethren of St. Leonard's Hospital, stands
in an isolated position in the north of the parish.
Beningbrough lies south of Newton-on-Ouse on
the banks of the river which makes a great curve at
the ferry.
A towing-path skirts the river, a stretch of which
is known as Moulston Reach, and is continued under
the name of Bourchier's Scalp, deriving its name, no
doubt, from the family which for 200 years owned
the manor of Beningbrough. Traces of their old
manor-house can still be seen south of the present
Beningbrough Hall, which stands in the centre of a
beautiful park occupying almost a third of the entire
township; the house is a large 17th-century mansion,
now the residence of Captain Guy Dawnay, D.S.O.
Chapel Garth, otherwise Coney Garth, and Nut
Flat, near the site of the old manor-house, are mentioned in 1544. (fn. 11) Other place-names are Calf Lees,
Birkers, Lambert Close, Ryddynge, Staunderson
Hagge and Mydle Bush. (fn. 12)
Beningbrough Hall, Newton-upon-Ouse
Beningbrough Grange, a modern house, a little to
the north of Beningbrough Lane, is on the site of
the grange that was granted for life to Thomas
Magnus, master of St. Leonard's Hospital, in 1539 (fn. 13)
on the surrender of the hospital, and was leased to
Sir Leonard Beckwith in 1557. (fn. 14)
The hamlet of Beningbrough lies close to the river
at the extreme south-eastern corner of the parish.
It consists of but a few houses built on the north side
of Bellground Lane. Somewhere in the north of
the parish, impossible now to identify, was once 'a
little thicket called "Wythes" (fn. 15) by the road to
Newton,' which William son of Henry de Beningbrough gave to St. Leonard's Hospital in 1294. At
the same date he confirmed gifts previously made by
his father of 'a toft and osier bed, where the house
of the brethren is placed, and three other manses of
land with their crofts and all the land of Nidderminne
in meadow and arable, . . . and from Deneburg
which is the boundary between Newton and Beningburgh, that part of the wood which runs to the East
part of the assart of the hermit, and thence to Lidgete
by the oaks on which the donor's father made crosses
with his own hand, and all the land called "Wra,"
and common pasture of Beningburgh with access in
the wood.' (fn. 16) Other field-names mentioned in the
same charter are Gairbrad, Brianriding, Kirkwites,
Barkestokeheved and Little Barkestokeheved, and
Langelandes 'near the bridge of the church near the
water which is called Ouse.'
Linton-on-Ouse is bounded by the Ouse on the
west and south and by the tributary River Kyle on
the east; hence the whole township is very flat and
low-lying, scantily wooded, and consisting chiefly of
pasture and arable land.
Linton Bridge over the Kyle is in the extreme
south-eastern corner of the parish. The road from
Newton to Aldwark crosses it before reaching the
village, which consists of a few houses built on the
north side of the road and on the banks of the
Ouse.
The brick church or small chapel-school, with
apsidal east end and a bell-turret over the chancel,
stands on the outskirts of the small hamlet close to
the Hall Garth, where are the remains of a moat.
It was built in 1873 by University College, Oxford,
to which the whole of Linton belongs. (fn. 17) Further
along the main road is the site of the old hall or
manor-house, and still further, beyond the West
Field, lies Hunter's Lodge. The Galls, Clough Garth
End and Butchers' Ings, as well as Great Sheep
Rakes, are among modern place-names.
Linton Wood is mentioned in 1388, (fn. 18) when John
Lord Roos of Hamlake obtained licence to impark it.
Harbour Plantation and Fall Gates Woods are in
the northern portion of Linton.
Paynel. Argent a bend sable.
Manors
In the time of Edward the Confessor
NEWTON-ON-OUSE was in the hands
of Merlesuan, Sheriff of Lincolnshire;
he kept his lands until 1069, when they escheated
owing to the part he took in
the rebellion of that year. (fn. 19)
His entire estate, including
ten 'manors' in Yorkshire,
was granted to Ralph Paynel, (fn. 20)
who in 1086 was holding a
'manor' and berewick of 9
carucates in Newton-on-Ouse
and 'Toresbi' in this parish. (fn. 21)
The overlordship remained in
the hands of the Paynel family,
following the descent of Bartonle-Street (q.v.) until the reign
of John, when the heirs of
Paynel of Drax, adhering to Philip of France, lost
their English estates. In the 13th century the overlordship was in the hands of Maurice de Gant. (fn. 22)
Certain lands in Newton were evidently held in
demesne by either Gerbert de Place or John de
Courcy, the one being mesne lord of the other. (fn. 23) In
the 12th century probably Gerbert de Place and
John de Courcy gave all their lands in Newton to the
hospital of St. Leonard, York, the grants being confirmed by Edward I in 1294. (fn. 24) A William de Place
held lands in Newton and the church, which was
also granted to the same religious house. (fn. 25) The
master and brethren of St. Leonard's in 1282 (fn. 26)
obtained licence to hold a market on each Tuesday at
their manor of Newton, as well as a fair on the eve,
day and morrow of the Nativity of St. John the
Baptist and a second fair on the eve, day and morrow
of the feast of All Saints.
The manor was accounted in the Liberty of St.
Leonard and continued (fn. 27) part of the temporalities
of St. Leonard's until the Dissolution, when it came
to the Crown and was granted in 1599 (fn. 28) to William
Allen and Richard Burrell.
Before 1620 (fn. 29) it came into the hands of Sir John
Bourchier of Beningbrough and was leased by him in
that year to Robert Morley for ninety years. In
1647 (fn. 30) Robert Morley compounded for delinquency
in adhering to the king against Parliament, but
having taken the national covenant and negative
oath his forfeited lands were restored to him. After
raising money by various mortgages he died in 1651, (fn. 31)
leaving two sons Cuthbert and James. His eldest son
and heir Cuthbert having that same year been outlawed for felony and murder, James, the second son,
petitioned for the restoration of his brother's lands.
James Morley was registrar accountant to the Revenue
Commissioners in Ireland, and was described as a
'sober gracious Christian, and so useful that business
suffers by his absence.' (fn. 32) A fifty years' lease of the
manor of Newton-on-Ouse was granted to him in
1656 (fn. 33) at a small rent, a settlement being made in
1661. (fn. 34) In 1711, (fn. 35) at the end of the ninety years'
lease originally granted to Robert Morley, the manor
of Newton-on-Ouse was released by William Hawkins
and others to John Bourchier of Beningbrough (q.v.),
and since then has followed the same descent as that
manor, being now in the hands of Captain Guy
Dawnay, D.S.O., elder son of the late Col. the Hon.
L. P. Dawnay.
In the time of Edward the Confessor BENINGBROUGH (Benniburg, xi cent.) was in the hands of
Asford, who held there in demesne a 'manor' and
3 carucates. In 1086 (fn. 36) his right had passed to
Hugh son of Baldric, whose tenant was one Ralph.
It eventually formed part of the Brus fee. (fn. 37)
Brus. Argent a lion azure.
The manor was held probably in the 12th century
by William de Beningbrough. (fn. 38) He granted lands to
the hospital of St. Leonard,
York, the grants being confirmed by his son Henry. (fn. 39)
The hospital received further
grants from William son of
Henry, and these were confirmed by Peter de Brus,
lord of the fee, who further
granted (fn. 40) the master and
brethren a sheaf of corn yearly
for every plough in his demesne lands. William de
Beningbrough died before
1223, when Mary his widow
quitclaimed one-third of 2 carucates to the master
of St. Leonard's, (fn. 41) he in return agreeing to allow her
three measures of wheat and two pigs or 4s. yearly.
Beningbrough continued (fn. 42) in the possession of
St. Leonard's Hospital until 1539, (fn. 43) when the master,
Thomas Magnus, surrendered his house and all its
temporalities to the king, receiving as a pension a
life interest in the grange of Beningbrough. In 1544 (fn. 44)
the reversion of Beningbrough was granted by
Henry VIII to John Banester. He died in 1556, (fn. 45)
his heir being Ralph Bourchier, son of his sister Mary.
Sir Ralph died in 1598, (fn. 46) having in 1586–7 settled
Beningbrough on his son William and his heirs male.
William, described as 'insane' in 1598, (fn. 47) left three
sons—Robert, ten years old, John and Thomas. (fn. 48)
Robert died unmarried, and Beningbrough appears to
have passed to John Bourchier, the second son, (fn. 49) who
held it in 1621 and 1627. (fn. 50) Sir John was a staunch
supporter of the Parliamentarian cause and sat in the
Long Parliament as member for Ripon in 1645. (fn. 51)
Later he was chosen one of the judges at the trial
of Charles I, and signed the death-warrant. At the
Restoration he was attainted and surrendered himself
on 18 June 1660. While his fate was still undecided
he died. (fn. 52) The forfeited lands of Sir John were,
however, restored to his son Sir Barrington Bourchier. (fn. 53)
He had a son Barrington, who married Judith
Milbank, (fn. 54) a settlement being made in 1670. (fn. 55) After
the death of his first wife Sir Barrington married
Margaret Hardwick (fn. 56) and had two sons—John, who
was High Sheriff of Yorkshire in 1719, and Ralph, a
physician in London. (fn. 57) Sir John had one son, John,
who succeeded his father both in the family estates (fn. 58)
and the office of high sheriff, which he held in 1749. (fn. 59)
He died in 1759, (fn. 60) leaving an only child Mildred,
who in 1760 married the Hon. Robert Lane and
died in the same year. (fn. 61) The manor of Beningbrough
passed to her great-uncle Ralph the physician, and
after his death, in 1768, to his daughter Margaret
wife of Giles Earle. (fn. 62) In 1779 Giles Earle and
Margaret leased the manor of Beningbrough to Peter
Johnson. (fn. 63) After her death
in 1827 the manor passed
under her will to the Rev.
the Hon. William Henry
Dawnay, who succeeded his
brother as sixth Viscount
Downe in 1832 and who held
it in 1833. (fn. 64) On his death in
1846 (fn. 65) Beningbrough passed
to his second son the Hon.
Payn Dawnay, who died in
1891. Col. the Hon. Lewis
Payn Dawnay, J.P., second
son of William Henry seventh
Viscount Downe, was lord of
the manor until 1910, when
he was succeeded by his son Captain Guy Dawnay,
D.S.O., the present lord of the manor.
Dawnay, Viscount Downe. Argent a bend cotised sable with three rings argent on the bend.
At LINTON-ON-OUSE (Loletune, Luctone, xi
cent.) Torphin and Tor held two 'manors' and 5
carucates of land before the Conquest; these in
1086 were held by the Count of Mortain. (fn. 66) It
afterwards formed part of the barony of Roos and was
apparently held in demesne by the lords of Helmsley
(q.v.) in the 13th century, following that manor (fn. 67) in
descent until 1626, when Sir Richard Cecil sold the
manor to Ambrose Appleby and his son Thomas, (fn. 68)
who succeeded to the estate on his father's death in
or about 1649. (fn. 69) He was charged with recusancy in
1652, (fn. 70) and made a settlement of the manor in
1661. (fn. 71) By his second marriage he had one son
Thomas, who was holding the manor in 1683, (fn. 72) and
was followed by Hugh, living in 1697. (fn. 73) He appears
to have died without issue, Linton passing to three
co-heirs, probably his sisters Elizabeth the wife of
Francis Trappes, (fn. 74) Juliana, who married first Rowland
White, and as her second husband Robert Plumpton, and
Margaret Ryther. (fn. 75)
University College, Oxford. Azure a cross paty between four martlets or.
In the spring of 1705–6 (fn. 76)
the three co-heirs sold the
manor to Dr. John Radcliffe of
University College, Oxford (fn. 77) ;
the manorial rights now belong to that college.
Robert de Roos received a
grant of free warren in all his
demesne lands here in 1265. (fn. 78)
The Benedictine convent
at Nun Monkton held lands
in Beningbrough, (fn. 79) and in
1224–6 (fn. 80) Mary widow of
William de Beningbrough quitclaimed her dower
lands to the prioress and convent, who also held
lands in Newton of the gift of Gerbert de Place at
a rent of 30s. (fn. 81) In 1403 (fn. 82) Robert Skete, Richard
Jackson, Simon Mason, chaplain, and John Fennell
alienated three messuages and 4 oxgangs in Newtonon-Ouse to the convent. At the Dissolution their
temporalities in Newton-on-Ouse were valued at
38s. 6d. (fn. 83) and were granted together with the priory
in 1538 to John Lord Latimer (fn. 84) ; they continued (fn. 85)
in the Northumberland family until the beginning of
the 17th century.
In 1626 (fn. 86) free fishery in the Ouse was quitclaimed
by Sir Richard Cecil to Ambrose and Thomas
Appleby.
Church
The church of ALL SAINTS was,
with the exception of the tower, rebuilt
in 1839 by Viscount Downe and University College, Oxford, and again by the Hon.
Lydia Dawnay of Beningbrough Hall ten years later
(1849). The base of the tower is of the 12th
century, but the rest of the building, consisting of
an aisled nave of four bays, chancel and spire, is
modern.
The tower arch is semicircular with two shafts to
each respond having cushion capitals and square abaci
of early 12th-century date.
The reredos is a modern carved work erected in
1892, and in the centre of the chancel is a modern
brass to the Rev. William Henry Dawnay, sixth
Viscount Downe, 1846. The rood screen of carved
oak was given in 1911 by Lady Victoria Dawnay
and her children to the memory of her husband,
Col. the Hon. L. P. Dawnay.
The tower contains three bells inscribed (I) 'Jesus
be our speed, 1619'; (2) 'Jesus be our speed, 1621,'
in Lombardic characters; (3) 'Christus est lux vita
et veritas' in the same characters.
The plate consists of a cup (London, 1570), with
an engraved band round, and a cup, paten and flagon
of 1847, given by the Hon. Lydia Dawnay.
Newton-upon-Ouse Church from the South-east
The registers before 1812 are as follows: (i)
mixed entries 1651 to 1747; (ii) baptisms and
burials 1748 to 1812, marriages 1748 to 1753;
(iii) marriages 1754 to 1812.
Advowson
The church at Newton-on-Ouse
was given by Ralph Paynel to
the priory of Holy Trinity, York,
in 1089, (fn. 87) when he restored the service of that
church and gave it as a cell to the French abbey of
Marmoutier, Tours. (fn. 88) This gift was confirmed by
Henry I in 1100–8. (fn. 89) Their rights were quitclaimed to William de Place by the brethren of
Holy Trinity, who, however, reserved to themselves
two parts of the tithes of the demesne lands, afterwards commuted into a pension amounting to 16s.
at the Dissolution. (fn. 90)
William de Place granted the church with all his
lands to the hospital of St. Leonard, to which it
was appropriated in 1314. (fn. 91) The date at which the
vicarage was ordained is not known.
At the Dissolution the rectory and advowson were
granted to John Banester (fn. 92) with Beningbrough (q.v.),
which they have followed in descent, the vicarage
being now in the gift of Captain Guy Dawnay,
D.S.O., of Beningbrough Hall.
In the 13th century (fn. 93) a church at Linton-onOuse was mentioned in a charter of William son
of Henry de Beningbrough, and may have been
the chapel dedicated to St. Mary Magdalene, (fn. 94)
which was probably a domestic chapel to the
house of the Lords Roos of Hamlake. In 1338
William de Roos received licence to alienate one
messuage, 6 oxgangs of land, and 13s. 4d. rent
to the chaplain who was to celebrate mass daily
for the repose of his soul and for his parents. (fn. 95)
In 1343 (fn. 96) the advowson was in the gift of Lord
William de Roos of Hamlake. All trace of
this chapel is now apparently lost, but the
present chapel-school is said to be built on its
site.
Charities
The charities subsisting in
this parish are regulated by a
scheme of the Charity Commissioners dated 7 December 1897 under the
title of 'The United Charities of Thomas
Lund and others.' The trust fund consists of
£539 £3 per cent. consolidated stock of the
Lancashire and York Railway Company held by
the official trustees, representing the benefactions
of Thomas Lund, Barrington Bourchier, Mrs.
Bourchier, Gabriel Priestman, John Robinson
and Benjamin Burton. By the scheme the
yearly income, amounting to £16 3s. 4d., is
divisible into thirty-four equal parts, of which
five parts are applicable in the ancient parish
for the general benefit of the poor in one or more
of the modes therein indicated, fourteen parts in
the township of Beningbrough, five parts in the
township of Linton, and ten parts in the township
of Newton.