Castle
Howard before Castle Howard: medieval Hinderskelf
Niall
C.E.J. O’Brien
On 23rd
April 1692 Edward Howard, 2nd Earl of Carlisle, died and was succeed
by his son Charles Howard. In 1689 Charles Howard was M.P. for Morpeth and from
1693 to 1738 he was governor of Carlisle. From 1701 to 1706 Charles Howard was
Deputy Earl Marshal and in December 1701 was made First Lord of the Treasury.
His position at the top of the political establishment was a brief six months.
But before his rise to power the 3rd Earl of Carlisle decided to build a
large country house for himself in Yorkshire. After losing his political power
the building of the house, by architect Sir John Vanbrugh, took on an
importance of personal standing. This house is today known by the name of Castle
Howard, one of the largest country houses in the land. To build the house the
medieval castle and village of Hinderskelf was removed.[1] This
article sets out to capture some information on medieval Hinderskelf.
Domesday
and early accounts
The Hinderskelf appears
to be a Viking place-name meaning a woman’s seat or settlement. Other sources
say that Hinderskelf means meeting place of the hundred on a hill. In the time
of King Edward the Confessor Hinderskelf was held by Torbrant. In 1070 King
Malcolm of Scotland invaded England by way of Cumberland. At Hinderskelf he
killed some English nobles and after returned to Scotland.[2]
It is briefly mentioned
in the Domesday Book but was possibly a rural farm settlement at the time. In
1086 Hinderskelf was in the hands of Berengar de Toni, who had a 'manor'. The manor
consisted of 4 carucates and three rent payers. Berengar de Toni died without
issue, and his lands it seems passed to his sister Adeliza and her husband
Roger Bigod, the ancestor of the Earls of Norfolk. The Earls of Norfolk were
the chief lords of Hinderskelf until 1306 when the manor became directly held
of the king.[3]
From 1087 to 1102 Sir
Humphrey de Lascelles is said to have held the castle and manor of Hinderskelf.
He is reportedly to have died there in 1102.[4]
This assertion has not been confirmed by other sources.
In about 1160 the
priory of Kirkham was founded and the lord of Hinderskelf gave a site to the
priory for a church at Hinderskelf. According to Time Team the village of Hinderskelf
was possibly founded around that time.[5] The
church at Hinderskelf was a chapel rather than a parish church as Hinderskelf
was only one part of the large parish of Bulmer of which the church of St.
Martin at Bulmer was the head church. In 1219 Simon son of William quitclaimed
two ox-gangs of land in Hinderskelf to William, Prior of Kirkham.[6]
In 1166–7 Peter Basset
held Hinderskelf from the Bigod family and in 1207 Walter Basset granted 2 ox-gangs
at Hinderskelf to Reginald Basset.[7] In
about 1234 William Mauleverer held lands at Hinderskelf and Scoreby in
Yorkshire. At some unknown date William Mauleverer had granted some land there to
Brian de Lisle for a certain time which by 1234 had not yet expired. The lands
were taken into the King’s hand by the death of Brian de Lisle. On 17th
September 1234 the sheriff of Yorkshire was instructed to deliver full seisin to
William Mauleverer.[8]
In about 1251 Margarey, widow of William Mauleverer conveyed the lands of
Hinderskelf to William son of Ralph.[9]
Fitz
William family of Hinderskelf
In about 1269 Sir
William Fitz Ralph was described as lord of Grimthorpe and Hinderskelf in
Yorkshire. He was the son and heir of Ralph Fitz William, lord of Grimthorpe,
who in turn was the son of William Fitz Ralph (died 1218) and grandson of Ralph
Fitz Ralph, lord of Grimthorpe (living 1189). Sir William Fitz Ralph married
Joan, daughter of Sir Thomas Fitz William of Greystokes in Cumberland. In 1296 Sir
William Fitz Ralph was succeeded by his son and heir Sir Ralph FitzWilliam as
lord of Grimthorpe and Hinderskelf and was known since 1295 as Lord FitzWilliam.
In 1306 Sir Ralph FitzWilliam succeeded to the estate of Greystoke and died in
1317.[10]
Sir Ralph Fitz William
was succeeded for two months by his second son Robert Fitz Ralph who died
before 15th April 1317. Robert’s widow, Elizabeth, took seisin of
the manors of Hinderskelf and Butterwick as her dower and died in November
1346.[11]
In April 1317 Ralph de
Greystoke succeeded his father Robert Fitz Ralph as lord of Greystoke in
Cumberland and took the place-name as his surname. Ralph de Greystoke married
Alice, daughter of Hugh, Lord Audley by Iseude, daughter of Sir Edmund de
Mortimer of Wigmore. Ralph de Greystoke was poisoned at Gateshead in 1323 and
so never succeeded to Hinderskelf.[12]
In 1323 Sir William de
Greystoke succeeded his father as Lord Greystokes and FitzWilliam. On 20th
August 1347 the King took the homage of Sir William de Greystoke for
Hinderskelf. Sir William de Greystoke fought in the wars in Scotland and France
before dying on 10th July 1359 at Brancepeth.[13]
A
native of Hinderskelf
In this time of great
lords and great plagues we often don’t get to see the common folk but in 1346 a
native of Hinderskelf appeared briefly in the records. In 1346 Simon Wavel of
Hinderskelf along with John Dalby of Brompton and John and Robert Geffray of
Yolvirtoft in Yorkshire received a pardon for their good service in the war in
France as long as they stayed at peace in England.[14]
Greystoke coat of arms
William,
Baron of Greystoke
William, Baron of
Greystoke, died in 1359 while overseas and was succeeded by his son, Ralph, a
minor. The Greystoke estate was taken into the King’s hand and was granted
during the minority to Roger de Mortimer, Earl of March. But Roger de Mortimer
didn’t enjoy the estate for long as he died in February 1360 to be succeeded by
his son, Edmund de Mortimer, a minor.
Because of this
minority the escheator of Yorkshire and Greystoke took the Greystoke lands back
into the king’s hand due to the minority of Edmund de Mortimer. In November
1363 the escheator of Yorkshire and Cumberland was ordered to deliver parts of
the Greystoke estate to the executors of Roger de Mortimer. As part of the
transfer there was a messuage and five bovates of land at Hinderskelf held for
life by William Cook, deceased.[15]
In same month of November
1363 Joan, the widow of William, Baron of Greystoke, received knight’s fees and
part of fees as part of her dower estate. At Hinderskelf she received the eight
part of one fee held by Roger Brett (worth 34s), the twenty-sixth part of one
fee held by Roger son of Nicholas (worth 14s), and the fifty second part of one
fee held by John Jackson (worth 9s).[16]
An inquisition into the
Greystoke estate (taken in June 1376) at the coming of age of Ralph found that
the family held a messuage and six bovates of land at Hinderskelf. This
property was held from Greystoke by the heirs of Roger Brett by the service of
a fourteenth part of a knight’s fee. Also at Hinderskelf the Greystokes had a messuage
and one bovate of land held by John Jackson by the service of a fiftieth part
of a knight’s fee.[17]
Roger
of Hinderskelf
On 2nd June 1363
Roger son of Nicholas Hinderskelf died. Roger held land at Hinderskelf from
William, Baron of Greystoke. Normally Baron Greystoke would collect the death
dues and approve of the heir and we would never see the affairs of Roger. But
at that time the Greystoke estate was in the hands of the King because
William’s heir was a minor. At an inquisition at Malton on 14th March
1364 found that Roger held a messuage and two bovates of land. Roger was
succeeded by his kinswoman, Christiana (aged about 40 years), daughter of
Robert of Hinderskelf.[18]
Ralph
de Greystoke
William de Greystoke
was succeeded by his son, Ralph de Greystoke, by his second wife, Joan,
daughter of Sir Henry Fitz Henry of Ravensworth. On 19th May 1374
Ralph de Greystoke took livery of his father’s lands. Ralph de Greystoke served
in the army of Richard II and held numerous government appointments. In 1399 he
agreed to the imprisonment of Richard II and died on 6th April 1418.[19]
On 27th April 1418 it was found by inquisition post mortem that
Ralph de Greystoke held the manor of Hinderskelf in Yorkshire of the king of
the honour of Chester by the service of carrying a sword in the presence of the
Earl of Chester. The manor was then valued at fifteen pounds.[20]
Sir
John de Greystoke
Sir Ralph de Greystoke
was succeeded by his son, Sir John de Greystoke, by his wife Katherine,
daughter of Roger de Clifford by Maud, daughter of Thomas de Beauchamp, Earl of
Warwick. Sir John de Greystoke, Lord Greystoke and Lord FitzWilliam, served
four years as constable of Roxborough Castle and was on a commission to make a
truce with Scotland. He married Elizabeth, daughter and co-heir of Sir Robert
de Ferrers by Joan de Beaufort, daughter of John, Duke of Lancaster. On 8th
August 1436 John de Greystoke died leaving four sons and one daughter.[21]
Hinderskelf
in 1436
In the earlier records
of Hinderskelf we don’t get a clear picture of the place and its landscape. The
inquisition post mortem following the death of John de Greystoke gives us
therefore a rare view into medieval Hinderskelf. In 1436 there was a hall with four
chambers at Hinderskelf along with a cook house, four granges, a brew house and
two stables which were worth nothing. It seems from this that the manor house
was in ruins or in poor repair. The dovecot and orchard were worth 6s 8d each.
The common oven was worth 3s 4d while the watermill for corn was worth 12s 4d.
There was 12 messages worth 24s yearly, and 4 cottages worth 3s 8d. Around
Hinderskelf there was 27 bovates of land (worth 66s 8d), a park of 60 acres and
40 acres of wood (worth 20s), with another wood of 80 acres (worth 33s 4d). The
manor also had 2 acres of meadow at Fryton (worth 2s) along with a messuage and
some bovates of land at Ampleforth (worth 5s).
Among the rents and
services at Hinderskelf there was 5s service rent from John Wyuell for 2
messuages and 5 bovates of land at Slingsby and a fixed rosary from William
Hollthorp for a messuage and lands in the same place. A person called Hastings,
a knight, paid 14d service rent for a messuage and 2 bovates at Colton.[22] This
could be a descendent of Sir Nicholas de Hastings who in the time of King
Edward III received a grant of Thorp Bassett from Lord Greystoke of
Hinderskelf.[23]
Sir
Ralph de Greystoke
In November 1436 Sir
Ralph de Greystoke succeeded to the Greystoke estate including Hinderskelf. He
supported the Lancastrian cause in the War of the Roses but was sometimes
suspect in his loyalties. Sir Ralph married firstly, be papal dispensation,
Elizabeth or Isabel, daughter of William FitzHugh by Margery, daughter of Sir
William de Willoughby. Shortly after 20th September 1483 Sir Ralph
married secondly, in the chapel at Hinderskelf by the parish chapel, Beatrice,
sister of Richard Hawclyf.
The marriage licence of
the Archbishop of York described the chapel as within the manor house at
Hinderskelf.[24]
When Time Team did their excavations at Hinderskelf (Castle Howard) in 2003
they made strong efforts to locate the church at Hinderskelf. They examined a number
of old maps which seemed to show the church as a separate building to the manor
house. Possibly there could have been a private chapel within the manor house
and a public church nearby – another possibly to add to the many possibilities
and probabilities which Sir Tony Robinson listed in the programme for the
location of Hinderskelf.[25]
On 1st June
1487 Sir Ralph de Greystoke died and was buried at Kirkham priory,[26] Sir
Ralph de Greystoke was predeceased by his son Sir Robert de Greystoke (died June
1483) and was thus succeeded at Hinderskelf by Elizabeth (born 1471). Elizabeth
married Thomas Dacre, 2nd Baron Dacre of Gilsland. In August 1516
Elizabeth died when Hinderskelf and the Baronies of Greystoke and FitzWilliam
devolved to her son William Dacre.[27]
Dacre
family inheritance of Hinderskelf
William Dacre was the
only son and heir. He held a number of government positions in the north until
accused of treason in 1534 and spent sometime in the Tower until acquitted. In January
1539 William Dacre wrote to Thomas Cromwell enclosing the money his owed the
King and that he was staying at Hinderskelf if needed.[28] While
at Hinderskelf William Dacre may have rebuilt the castle as a square structure
with four towers as described by the antiquarian John Leland.[29]
In 1544 William Dacre
maintained one hundred men for the king’s army at Hinderskelf.[30] In
time William Dacre was restored to standing and was one of the twelve mourners
at the funeral of Henry VIII. William Dacre went on to serve under the three
children of Henry VIII until his death in 1563.[31]
William Dacre was
succeeded by his son Thomas Dacre who became Lord Dacre of Gilsland and
Greystoke. Thomas Dacre married firstly Elizabeth, daughter of Ralph Neville, 4th
Earl of Westmoreland, and secondly married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir James
Leyburne and died in July 1566 leaving one son and three daughters.
George Dacre succeeded
his father but only enjoyed his inheritance for three years as he died in May
1569 leaving his sisters as his heirs. Meanwhile in 1566 the second wife of
Thomas Dacre married as his third wife Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk. In June
1569 Thomas Howard contracted the three sisters of George Dacre to his three
sons which speed was good as the Duke was beheaded in 1572.[32]
The eldest sister, Anne
married in 1571 Philip Howard, Earl of Arundel, and brought the manor of
Greystoke to her husband. The second sister, Mary, was contracted to Thomas
Howard, later Earl of Suffolk, but died before the wedding. The youngest
sister, Elizabeth married Lord William Howard and took the manors of Naworth
and Hinderskelf to her husband.[33]
Castle Howard with medieval Hinderskelf to the right
The
Howard inheritance of Hinderskelf
William Howard was
youngest son of Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, and was known as ‘Belted Will’.
He became lord of Naworth castle in Cumberland and inherited the manor of
Hinderskelf from his wife. William Howard was succeeded by his son Sir Philip
Howard who was the father of Sir William Howard of Naworth. This Sir William Howard
married Mary, daughter of William Evers, Baron Evers, and was the father of his
second son, Charles Howard, who in 1661 was created Baron Dacre of Gillesland,
Viscount Howard of Morpeth and 1st Earl of Carlisle. The 1st
Earl died on 24th February 1685 at Hinderskelf, where the castle was
recently rebuilt (1363) and was buried at York Minster. Like in previous generations Hinderskelf was assigned a dower land to Anne, Countess Dowager of Carlisle.[34]
Within twenty years his grandson removed medieval Hinderskelf to make way for
Castle Howard. Some writers say the ancient castle of Hinderskelf was burnt
down by accident in 1693 or maybe it was arranged for it to be destroyed beyond
repair. On 31st October 1698 the third Earl took a life lease on Hinderskelf from his grandmother.[35] The
excavations by Time Team have showed that the destruction of the village,
church and old castle of Hinderskelf was not immediate. Some villagers lived at
Hinderskelf up to about 1720 although maybe not exactly on the site of the old
village. There was about twenty small houses at Hinderskelf in its last days.[36]
=========
See the Time Team
excavations at Castle Howard in 2003 in a search for Hinderskelf at
==============
End of post
================
[1]
George E. Cokayne, The Complete Peerage
(Alan Sutton, 1987), vol. III, p. 35
[2] Rev.
W. Eastmead, Historia rievallensis:
containing the history of Kirby Moorside (London, 1824), p. 365
[8]
Paul Dryburgh & Beth Hartland (eds.), Calendar
of the Fine Rolls of the reign of Henry III, Volume II, 9 to 18 Henry III,
1224-1234 (Boydell Press & National Archives, 2008), no. 18/353
[10] George
E. Cokayne, The Complete Peerage,
vol. V, p. 513, 515, 516
[11]
George E. Cokayne, The Complete Peerage,
vol. V, p. 517
[12]
George E. Cokayne, The Complete Peerage,
vol. VI, p. 190
[13]
George E. Cokayne, The Complete Peerage,
vol. VI, p. 192
[14] Calendar of Patent Rolls, Edward III,
1345-1348, p. 499
[15] Calendar of Close Rolls, Edward III,
1360-1364, p. 505
[16] Calendar of Close Rolls, Edward III,
1360-1364, p. 500
[17]
A.E. Stamp (ed.), Calendar of
Inquisitions Post Mortem, Vol. XIV (Stationery Office, London, 1952), no.
32
[18]
M.C.B. Dawes (ed.), Calendar of
Inquisitions Post Mortem, Vol. XI (Stationery Office, London, 1935), no.
465
[19]
George E. Cokayne, The Complete Peerage,
vol. VI, pp. 195, 196
[20] J.L.
Kirby & Janet H. Stevenson (eds.), Calendar
of Inquisitions Post Mortem, Vol. XXI, 6 to 10 Henry V, 1418-1422 (Boydell
Press & National Archives, 2002), no. 112
[21]
George E. Cokayne, The Complete Peerage,
vol. VI, pp. 196, 197
[22]
M.L. Holford, S.A. Mileson, C.V. Noble & Kate Parkin (eds.), Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem, Vol. XXIV,
11 to 15 Henry VI, 1432-1437 (Boydell Press & National Archives, 2010),
no. 499
[23] Rev.
W. Eastmead, Historia rievallensis:
containing the history of Kirby Moorside, p. 242
[24]
George E. Cokayne, The Complete Peerage,
vol. VI, pp. 197, 198
[26]
George E. Cokayne, The Complete Peerage,
vol. VI, p. 198
[27]
George E. Cokayne, The Complete Peerage,
vol. VI, pp. 199, 200
[28] http://www.british-history.ac.uk/letters-papers-hen8/vol14/no1/pp41-51
accessed on 20 August 2016
[30] http://www.british-history.ac.uk/letters-papers-hen8/vol19/no1/pp318-338
accessed on 20 August 2016
[31]
George E. Cokayne, The Complete Peerage,
vol. IV, pp. 21, 22
[32]
George E. Cokayne, The Complete Peerage,
vol. IV, pp. 23
[33]
George E. Cokayne, The Complete Peerage,
vol. IV, p. 24, note (e)
[34]
George E. Cokayne, The Complete Peerage,
vol. III, pp. 33, 34; http://www.gatehouse-gazetteer.info/English%20sites/2090.html
accessed on 20 August 2016; Charles S. Smith, The Building of Castle Howard (Pimlico, London, 1997), p. 8
[35] Rev.
W. Eastmead, Historia rievallensis:
containing the history of Kirby Moorside, p. 366; http://www.gatehouse-gazetteer.info/English%20sites/2090.html
accessed on 20 August 2016;
[36] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-P4PqTK5Ss
accessed on 20 August 2016;
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