Download The Original Hall This house is hinted at in surviving parts of

The Original Hall
This house is hinted at in surviving parts of wgglesworth Hall North by an existing room called `the dairy',
pas of the SW and SE walls, three arched doorways and the archway outside. Beyond this we must rely on
documentary evidence but this suggests a quite imposing buflding.
The estate was accumulated over the years and included Hamerton Hall, 10 kilometres west of
Wigglesworth, and Hellifield Peel known in the 13003 and licensed to be crenellated. Eventual, however,
Wigglesworth Hall became the main residence within its deer park. When Sir Stephen Hamerton was
executed Henry VIB confiscated his land and property and had an inventory taken at Wigglesworthto record
what he had gained thereby, including details of anything valuable such as the furniture, windows, glass,
iron bars etc. This details a large house with two towers, a great hall, 6ghtor more chambers, two pariours
with rooms of; as well as At me domestic places such as ldtchea, pantry, larder, buttery, bake-house,
brew-house and wine cellar. The house had a chapel with a clock and a bell. There was a mill. For the
animals there was a dog house, dove cote, stable and cowshed. The two barns held hay and corn. Details of
the fields and woods cover 100 acres. There were stew ponds, fish being an important resource for food.
There is mention of grazing on the moors for 160 sheep. Altogether all tlatis reported is impressive and
omissions suggest the family had removed what they dare. Eventually Sir Stephen's wife recovered part of
the estate which had been subject of a family settlement.
Extractfi-om a'Sucvey of Wigglesworth 24 Nov 153T per kindness oflan Roberts (Part of Newby Hall
Documents #NH 2099]
NB `y' where it is a `thorn' (originally pronunced `th') a transcribed as `y'.
Superscripts abbreviating words are indicated by a `.' . An attempt at _
Aterpretation of strange words is put in bracket. [7] after a word indicates a Pine!
"The hall haith wt.iniiu[4]sydbourdds and a[2]forms a bencheiii[3] wyndows dt in ye same wyndows
xxiiii[24]fowte ofglasse & cc [200!?] bans of yrne a scoure [square?] & a good doure wt a grete yrne barre
Item a chapelliii[3] quells[?]a bell & a clock an bat ye gee plums YAM =lead weights] iii [3] glasse wyn
dows & cv [105] yrne baires [105 is a lot of iron bars!]
Item ye chapell chambr.a grete presse for close wt. ii [2]lydds & bandds of yrne a grete cofer yrne band
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Item the brew house ii [2] godely tedds well sette in stone iii [3] grete knows [?] one lesse knows a Noghe &
ascope[scoop]ofwode a kelyng [cooling?] fatte[vat] of wodde a wyndow & iiiyrne bans
So we have a picture of thislarge house, the family characteristically eating in the hall below and living on
the first floor where two chimneys can still be seen. The imposing gateway faces SW but the existing walls
give no hint about the orientation of the house. This was superseded by a farm dated, by some, about 1650
which seems to have been built over or amongst it. When this was, and it may have been over a period of
time,is perhaps hinted at by a historian called Johnstone. In 1669 he visited Wigglesworth Hall and records a
coat of arms and a crest over the chimney piece of the dining room and various stained glass shields. Was
this still the `Origins Hall'?
So we can envisage a house characteristic of the manor houses we visit today. It was certainly not a major
fortified building or even a small castle such as film makers like to depict. The barred windows and strong,
ashlar, stone warts and holes in doorjambs for wooden beams acting as bolts for the doors are the only
evidence of the way the house was protected from intruders. The Scots invaded this area in 13 1 9 and 1322
and that memory is still alive. The kings were hesitant about permitting creneuation of houseslike this which
might at some later stage become the fortified centres of oppositiontotheu armed might.
i A. ; No:
Nappa Hall about 17M
Page 13
If we seek a comparable building which survives today then 15th century Nappa Hall (20 miles away, NE, in
Wensleydale) seems the best. (Nappain this case should not be confused with Nappa 4 miles SE of
Wigglesworth.) It is an ancestry home of the Metcalfe clan, who have one of the best researched and largest
One Name Societies. The Hearth Tax in 1693 and an inventory of it taken in 1804 suggess n was a house of
similar, but slightly smaller, size. It is of ashlar stone construction with pointed arches to the doors and
windows. It even has two towers.
Wigglesworth Hall in the 16th century seems a small farm by today's standards. It must be remembered that
this was just one of the Hamerton holdings. It wassaid he could ride on his own land from Slaidburnto York.
More extensive estates were owned by me king and major and more minor lords, and the abbeys had
considerable holdings. Farming as we know it was limited to enclosures of improved land round villages
about which there was common land, wastes, moors and chases for example.
The Tithe Barn
In 1867 a Mr Trethary noted he could find out nothing about the Wigglesworth tithe barn. Some background
may help to inform any tentative conclusions one cares to make. The range of possibilities seems to be that,
supposing the "barn" referred to is the existing "tithe barn," then
I. The barn was built by a local rich farmer such as the inhabitant of
Wigglesworth Manor.
2. The barn was associated with nearby Sawley.
Abbey.
3 The barn was associated with Fountains Abbey.
4 The barn was associated with Bolton Priory.
The Tithe Barn drawn by Cordon Sanderson in 1909
Page 14
This Tithe Barn is typical of the monastic style, the end ventilators grow upwards from a base of ten, a
`perfect number'. One comparatively late date given for it is the sixteenth century. Big barns such as this one
may have been monastic barns holding farm produce for establishments such as Fountains or Sawley Abbey
produced on their own land. They were often built alongside `granges' (a term often used for monastic farms
as well as for barns alone) and there was one such Grange (farm) held by Sawley Abbey at MGM across the
River Abble,a couple of miles from Wigglesworth, at a site tentatively identified.
Fountains was a very extensive estate and produced much farm produce for sale, even as far away as
London. An estimate of its size is that it was about one hundred square miles, including the land they had in
Wigglesworth. Sawley also had some land in Wigglesworth but there is no mention ofany substantial WE#
owned by either Abbey in the documents that survive. Both Sawley and Fountains Abbey were Cistercian
foundations and according to their order were not supposed to depend on tithes and there is no mention
ofthem having such in this area. Although barns of a proved monastic survival are rare and claims of
monastic origin are more common, such a big barn bufitin an early style has all the marks of such an origin.
After the dissolution in the mid 16th century such monastic barns may have become tithe barns, here for
Christ Church, Oxford who acquired the church and its rights at Long Preston.
Bolton Priory (also known as Bolton Abbey) was Augustinian and before the dissolution had the tithes of
Long Preston (and also Broughton and Skipton,the latter including Bolton and Barden). Being this far from
the priory these goods were normally collected and sold locally. They had a tithe barn we know of at
Carleton in 1550 and there may have been ones at Hellifield and Halton. They were apparently well off in
the early 16th century and may have been improving their estate at hat rime. A tower fbrthe Priory was
started and this is one of the estimates of the time the present barn was built.
About1311,inthe "Compotes" of Bolton Priory (which deals with the accounts) there I a WE= `Pro
coopertura grangIeJ de Wykelesword 16 d" which suggests that there was a building belonging to Bolton
Priory in Wigglesworth being roofed This roofing might have been by thatch but in a region with such
plentiful and suitable rock strata was more probably by stone. In the account rolls themselves there is a
refemncein 13 77 `pro graWia decimarum de Wykelsworth 2s 6d". This may well be for rent judging by its
classification, in which case it seems to have been 21/2 tinxsthat pad for the barn at Hellifield. The origin
meaning ofgrangia was barn, lateritexpandedto mean Grange and grangia decimarum here means barn
Page 15
If the existing barn is identified with the tithe barn Bolton Priory documents refer to then it seems to one of
the authors that if one has to offer a conjecture, a Bolton Priory connection seems the most probable. There
is a tradition that monks were called to meals by tolling a bell in'The Bell Tree'. If this is founded in fact
then such famvng would probably be oftheland Fountains Abbey or Sawtey Abbey is documented to have in
Wiggleswonh The monks are more correctly called lay bretheren. The so-called `bell tree' today is large but,
alas, not old enough to be contemporary with the monastic farming.
St Mary the Virgin Church at long Preston
The present Church A on the ate oftwo churches, one Saxon and one Norman. The middle of the 12th
centttryis a date given by some for the start of a Norman church The living was bestowed on the priory of
Embsay near Skipton and later to Bolton Priory. The existing building dates from the late 14th or early 15th
century (but was rebuilt extensively in the middle of the 19th century) and, after the reformation, the
patronage was given to Christ Church, Oxford. An early chapel to St. Mchael was built inthe middle of the
ISth century. A chantry of Our Lady and St. Anne was founded by Sir Richard Hamertonin 1445 (and is
mentioned in na survey in 1546) and this led to the dedication of the Harnerton Chapel.
On the south side of the altar, where an arch is formed between the chapel and the sanctuary, is the tomb of
the Hamerton family. At that time they lived in Hellifietd in the peel towarthare but h was within this parish.
Later they lived at Wigglesworth Hall. The shields help us to understand their origins and is illustrated on
the back cover by an artist's impression ofthis originally red sandstone slab with coloured shields. It might
help here to consuh the tree, (centrefold), where Adam de Hamerton is in the first column, fourth individual.
In order, starring top left and workhtg clockwise we see Wmerton/Tempest, IamertowAsheton,
Hamerton/Radcliffe,Hamerton/Plumpton with Hamerion/Knolle/Archesinthe centre.
The inscription is:
Orate p aiabs Larry Aamarmgilsabebe tar e'Riefrle'nWitEMabtux e' peat c??r omi bnfact'isti aahell siw cams
qfudat eipp diet? lek A0 Do MCCCCM, V11, where `?'is used for letters not deciphered.
Note: Win `peut', `h' in `caheu', `e' in `diet', `k' in `Iek' all seem to be mistakes, for example, of the
stonecutter.
Page 16
In full it appears to be:
Orate pro animabus Laurentii Hamerton ArmigerilsabeAae uxorts eius Ricardi frfieius militis Elizabethae
uxods eiusproutceterorum omnium benefactorum isaus capellae sive cantarfae quaefundata estpro perpetuo
dicta lege Anno Domini millesimo qucufringentesimo quadragesimo quinto
A translation would therefore be [unless someone knows better!] `PS Wforthe xuls of7aurence Wmerton
Esquire of lsabella his wife of Richard his son knight ofElfzabeth his wife as of all other benefactors of this
chapel or cixmtry which wasfoundedinperpetulty on the said obligation in the year of the Lord 1445'
The inner inscription is, starting top left and proceeding anticlockwise,
credo in deuan in de credo credo ofpotete paten credo
with at the bottom credo vita etnt
In full this appears to be:
credo in deum - in deurrt credo - patrem credo - credo omnipotentem - credo vitam eternam
The translation of this corresponds to a version of the creed: I believe in one Gott the Father Almighty, life
everlasting
It is possible that these Credos in the centre were added at a different time because the engraving differs. It
is also to be born in mind that the engraving may be as important as decoration as anything else. Certainly
the priest and lord ofthe manor would know the circumstances and it is doubtful if the mason or much less
me general public, could read the Latin.
Tombstone (about 1350) in Long Preston church, possibly of John wgglesworth
In the churchyard are various tombstones of interest. A table tomb, on the right as you enter by the gale, has
been deciphered as that of Henry Wigglesworth and there
Page 17
are a number of more recent standing headstones to the inhabitants of Wigglesworth Hall such as the
Snowdens, Abbotsons, Woolers and Morphets.
James Knowles chair back in Long Preston Church (1616) incorporating the `Rhythm of Life' symbol.
Surviving hints of times past
In this area the present day holds various hints oftimes past. Features of the landscape may take us back to
early rimes, carvings may reflect the rimes before they were made and such survivals from lives past still
exist.
There are various primitive symbols which are variously used in the area round Wigglesworth. There is
along history of this imagery and an extensive understanding of it. We and readers will no doubt have our
own beliefs, but these objects do add to our feeling for the area and one should remember craftsmen would
not waste labour and materials when they could carve something with significance. "Ars sina scienta
nihilest"(Art without [spiritual knowledge or mystical insight] is nothing). Michael Jennerin "Journeys into
Medieval England" stated "There can be no access to a real understanding of the Middle Ages without a
recognition of the intensity of religious feeling which flowed into almost every act and every creation."
Page 18
Front & back of 4" high lead Goddess from Bankwell, Giggleswick
Goddesses, such as mother nsture,featurein many of the artefacts. A primitive four-techUghlead goddess
was found at Bankwellin Giggleswick. One is ford hi a wall painting in Gisburn. She has arms ending I
leaves and Rowers and is wearing a goatskin. She is supported by snake-Like creatures and a goat features
nearby. Snakes are to be AM at St Mary's Church Long Preston where they top the back to a chair, and on a
carved chair which is in the Golden Lion, Settle. Some ofthe snakes have wings and become Eke dragons
and are to be seen, for example, in the courtyard of Skipton Castle. Goats are symbols of virility. They may
represent Winter as they do on an effigy in St A1keIda's Church Giggleswick where a Non arms for
Summer. Time in the form of night and day can be represented in various ways by balanced circles such as
those at Sawley,Settle and the Old Harts Head at Giggleswick
Oo 0
0
ppO
y
rounQation stone from Lodge Half, Ribblehead,I2th century
Page 19
it
Y
i
'Goddess' chair back at the Golden Lion, Settle
There are two interesting inn signs, at Langcliffe and at Settle (see inside back cover). The one at Langcli$'e
dated 1660, depicts a sky god with a sun for a face and with lightning flashes from his head. The sun is a
welcome sign and used in The Sun and the Rising Sun innsimplying warmth food and drink, respite from the
elements. The one at Sere (1663) also has a round fate but is in sober Puritan clothes splaying the mystic
seven buttons, a number associated with heaven. He is standing on a Tritrity over the ring sun. The person
depicted, JC may have been James Catvert, maybe a non-conformist, even a Quaker, but in that he is holding
a tool for scraphig a ode clean may weu have earned his living as atamier. The question remains why the
sign I known as `the naked man' when palpably he isn't. It maybe an association with a protest 'streak' by
him, identifiable in this sign by his clothes and placard; perhaps it was against the adoption of the 'Directory
of Public Worship' in plate of the Book of Common Prayer by an act of Parliament in 1664. There was, we
know, one such 'streak' in adjacent Giggleswick.
Page 20
0
V' ~ W VJ'.~ W
.l
WaWRMOfRW w
173.
Wall paintings at Gisbum
Sometimes we have an object or a tradition which carries thoughts back to this earlier time. The Maypole,
after which the Long Preston Inn is named, was used by lusty lads and lasses to dance in celebration of the
summer solstice, represented by the ribbons. Stocks, such as those recently renewed at Wigglesworth, were
long a form of punishment. Petty offenders were locked in them by the feet and this form of ridicule lasted
into the 19th century.
In Hellifieldthere are two buildings with obvious Crusader connections. Their buildings were freed from
local taxes, such as those imposed by the local Soke which governed how the manor was organised, and
were so marked. For example the Order of St John of Jerusalem ( which succeeded the Knights Templar)
was signified by an iron cross. There was a soke mill at Wigglesworth Hall where corn wasnequuedto be
ground by Sokelaw.
Door lintels are chosen lnrOek impact on visitors and most notable is the solstice lintel found in
Wigglesworth. Often there is just the shape of the double arch as on one at HAW, but here there are also,
wither the two suns. Yeomen proudly displayed their symbol, a poleaxe, such as is still carried by the
Yeomen of the Guard at the Tower of London. There is an armed yeoman sculpted at Hanfith Hall, near
Kirby Malham, where the front door has the polo-axe symbol on either side. At Rathmeu Old Hall a door
lintel, now incorporated into a barn, celebrated James Moore's legal battle over ownership of land and which
led to his establishment as a Yeoman farmer. It also has the Rhythm of Life symbolPage 21
\
t
Door lintel at wggtesworth
The `Rhythm of Life', represented by intertwining lines, is one of the most widespread symbols and is of
special interest to us in that it appears on the arms used as a cover. It is incorporated in the James Knowles
carving in Long Preston church where it is used for the verticals in 1 and K and in the date 1616 where it
acts for'1'. It is used at 'Halsteads'in Wigglesworth parish and at the church at Slaidburn.
In one house in the area therein a Sheila-na gig, an Irish Gaelic expression for an immodest woman She is
bees described as a naked female figure with legs open. There are about forty in England and a further two
hundred in France, Spain and Ireland. They seem to have appeared in churches in England inthe 12th
Century to portray sin. The same intage was used to represent the Green Woman, the female companion of
the Green Man. He represents the greenness and wildness of nature,
` while she represents the Goddess of life and death, constant renewal,the primal life
force and reflections offeminine power in the land.
Perhaps the features most distant in time, and the least obvious, are the solstice sites in twspan of the lZbble
Valley. The summer solstice site isatthe Lower Tar, alongside Coppy Plantation, at Hall Slack Bridge. (It
can be most easily found opposite the end of the present Wigglesworth Halls' drive.) The land has been
changed, perhaps to improve the fishing or shooting, and is hard to make out now. The soke mill reservoir
with its associated water course was made here centuries ago and therein a square, ditched area. It seemed to
retain a causeway to an island across water fed from a perpetual spring and a clockwise pathway up the
rounded, flat topped island. It was a place used by picnickers in the 20th century. We like to think this
mirrors its use as a festive site when it was for celebration, in earlier rimes, of the long days and looking
forward to the ever important harvest in three months or so.
Page 22
M
The other, near RathmeQ might well have been a winter solstice, stone circle, in which case it is the oldest
artefact in this district. It can be seen from the road as an eccentric single or, perhaps, double ring of
recumbent hones with an upright, sighting done facing Eat. It is to be found WSW ofNew Hall, between
Rathmell and Settle, marked by nearby Maw Mounds on some OS maps, MR3796 4616. There are ten
stones clearly in one circle. It gives a good view of the hills to the East and is wen above the flood plain
which would be difficult of access as well as tree covered These two are on the significant North/South axis
about 4 km apart.
(The'Pivow Mounds' are an ancient, man-made, enclosed warren for breeding rabbits for the luxury of their
meat. The hill is stiff called Coney Garth, coney being an ancient word for rabbit. The warren's date is
vague, perhaps medieval orjust post-medieval. Interestingly two children of William wggleswotth from
Coney Garth were recorded being baptised in I726-8.)
The 'God'and'Quaker'Imsigns in Sere and Langcliffe
Conclusion
We see, therefore, there are afi sons of thugs which tell us about the easier times the area and give us clues
about the Wigglesworth Manor at a time when y England was very much an offshore island. Internally me
Scots were an ever presentconcent, weOern Europe was an ever present threat. This booklet is intended to
allow this small area to befitted in to the larger picture.
In the next IMF& the second miuenium England raised its gaze to encompass the globe. For example
Captain Cook, from the north-east of Yorkshire, went of his voyages of diswery through the antipodes
Michael wgglesworth went with his father across the Atlantic to become a priest in Boston and one of Be
first Americans poets. A new world was being found.
Page 23
Foreword
This book turns its attention to Wigglesworth Hall beforethetime when we have the present two houses to
guide our thoughts and which was dealt within an earlier booklet (Wiglesworth Hall, G
Wigglesworth,1995).In very distant times the area, no doubt, reflected the pre-Christian beliefs of those
living here and even when Christianity became dominant such images persisted. Some were used as
decoration, some had modified the landscape, some continued to influence social habits.
We will try to discover how the Our fkmiliescameto found the fine which culminated in the Hamertons who
dominated this area. Was it the de Arches who built and lived in the original hall now only left as tantalizing
fragments? We will try to record the little that is known about this house from the documentary records.
We know most about the more recent times in the 16th century and have worked back to distant times when
imagination enhances our vision. As always it is intended to record things and to seek correction or
amplification from readers who know differently or better and many things are left unresolved, needing
further researches.
We should at this point mention the way we distinguish the buildings called Wigglesworth Hall. Most
recently there is the double fronted house, called Wiggleswonh Hall South(about1700). Wigglesworth Hall
North preceded it (dated about 1650) and can be referred to as `a farm house'. There is evidence for a
previous building from the three arches, thought by some to be of the 15th century and by others much
earlier. This can be referred to as `the original hall for which we have evidence'. There may have been a
buffding before this as important families lived in this area between the Norman Conquest and the 15th
century but this will not be referred to.
Perhaps the best way of interpreting these three buildings isthatthe stone of the original hall was used for the
building of Wigglesworth Hall South while retaining enough to avow Wigglesworth Hall North to serve as a
farm house.
Diana Kaneps, George Wiggiesworth
Moss Barn House Hatter's III
Wigglesworth Lea Wood, Lea Bridge
Sldpton BD23 4RJ Matlock DE45AA
Acknowledgements Ian Butler for the inventory made of Wigglesworth Hall. Angus Watson. Bill Barker, Dr
Katrina Legg and Prof Ian Kershaw for help with the tithe barn
Page 2
John Trappes-Lomax for his authoritative help with the interpretation of the Hamerton memorial
Introduction
In about 2,000 B.C. the Celts from Europe drove the older inhabitants to the North and West. Eventually
they intermarried. The next invaders are seen by some to be the Goidels from East of the Rhine and the
North of Switzerland, now identified with the inhabitants of the Scottish Ilrghlands and in Ireland. They
were followed by the Gauls, called Brythons, also probably of Celtic origin and identified by their rounder
skulls as opposed to longer ones.'
The Romans were of mixed Mediterranean races and were here from the first to the fifth century A.D.
dureing which time there were raids from Scotland. The Angles, lutes and Saxons from the Northern Europe
including the Baltic were followed by the Scandinavians.
The Norman invasion of 1066 A.D. was by a mercenary army of investors and plunderers from a wide area
of Northern Europe: Britany, Flanders, Maine, Picardy, Poitou, Anjou, Burgundy, but they also ventured to
Southern Italy and Sicily.
The people.
If we are to speculate about the origins of the Wigglesworth nobility then we must contemplate the Norman
Conquest. The invaders were a tribe of Scandinavian Northmen origin, led by William who, with his
suppotters,cameto England, fought Anglo-Saxons and killed off or subjugated their leaders. Both had Celtic
origins. The Norman knights were particular in their dress, delicate with their food, loyal to their lord. They
esteemed strangers who visited them They intermarried with their vassals and they established indigenous
nobility. The Normans built 90 castles across the north to help 2500 rule 2 million Saxons.
The English warriors, like them, had hard won skis with edged weapons. It was however, a time when war
had strict rules, the age of chivahy, of face to face combat. They were more incUnedto revelry than to the
accumulation of wealth, amassing land by seizure. They too `shared their genes' with the female servants!
The notthern English tribe, in an area previously occupied by the Brigantes,rebelled and were dealt with by
William, burning a 60 mile radius round York This was when he settled his tough, reliable Norman
followers across Northern England as a bastion against invasion from the north. This was when the de
Arches came here and why we have a tradition of strong stone houses built of the prevailing
Page 3
vernacular material even when, later, the Tudors were also building wooden framed, `black and white'
buildings.
We are thinking about a time when lives, under the feudal system of the Middle Ages and its subsequent
evolution, were very different from the ones we now live. Life in Wigglesworth was governed by three
institutions, the monarchy, the church and the manor. The former gathered taxes by, for example, the poll
tax, or by the lay subsidy, using the villages as the basis. The church governed the practice of
worship and collected tithes. Religious feeling was intense and flowed into almost.
every act and every creation. The parish was Long Preston, a very early church in the area, and this gave the
area great, early importance. The Manor influenced day to day life, the Lord of the Manor ruling the area
and administering `justice', and at Wigglesworth we know about its existence from the gift oflandto the de
Arches, documents naming the Lord of the Manor in the 14th century, and the 'Soke' mill which was near
the present two Halls. Wigglesworth Hall makes us think of the lordly people who made their home there;
there were others though.
The lowliest were the villeins or serfs. William the Conqueror is thought to have abolished slavery, by
which it is assumed he ended acquisition by capture, the buying and selling of slaves, their close
confinement and much brutality. Slaves were essentially `non-persons' whereas serfs had a legal existence
and rights. Certainly no slaves were recorded in this area in the Domesday survey.
The serf shome was a wattle and daub, windowless hovel. Serfs had a few possessions such as a couple of
sheep, a pig and a few hens (although even these technically belonged to the ford) and their hope was to buy
freedom. As serfs their servitude extended to working a specified time for no payment, being given the land
to produce food, and the Lord of the Manor controlled things such as marriage and migration to or from the
village. In the 13th and 14th centuries unpaid service as a soldier for a month might be called upon by their
lords.
Everyone owed one tenth of their produce from the land to the work of God. These tithes to the church were
gathered and stored in tithe barns such as the one adjacent to Wigglesworth Hall. These had become a legal
obfigationin England as early as the 8th century and continued until they were converted into rent charges in
1836. Any of these which were in the form of annuities ended in 1996. Inhabitants of Wigglesworth owed
tithes to Long Preston parish which became part ofthe Bolton Priory estate from 1304. The costs for Bolton
in appropriating Long Preston parish were £300 but by collecting tithes worth £65 per year they recovered
their outlay in 5 years. They were in fact a very businesslike Priory. They invested between 5 and 10% of
their income in capital development of their estate, in contrast to the much lower allocation by other
religious foundations.
Page 4
Map and inset
As well as locating places mentioned in the text, the map itself illustrates a number of points and shows
places of interest.
* Ancient Churches are shown at Bentham, Kildwick,and Long Preston perhaps from as early as the 11th
century and mentioned in the Domesday Survey.
* Thorpe Arch was the official residence of Osbern de Arches who was given 66 manors by William the
Conqueror including Wigglesworth.
* The Hamertons are known first from Hamerton Hall near Slaidburn, then they moved to Hellifield Peel
which the de Knolls built and finally to Wigglesworth Hall where they added a park.
* The Hamertons owned land from Slaidburnto York. Much land was acquired by marrying heiresses (where
the dowry might be land rather than money) especially those of the de Arches and de Knoll illustrated by
coats of arms on the memorial stone (see inside front cover) in Long Preston Church. Land might also
change hands at the gaming table!
* When the monasteries were dissolved the Manor of Long Preston was alienated to Henry P ercy, Lord of
Northumberland whose official residence was at Spofforth Manor, between Wetherby and Harrogate.
* Lodge Hall is also known as Ingham's Hall (perhaps a corruption of hangman).
* Bolton Priory (also known as Bolton Abbey) was founded in 1120 by Cecily de Rumilly at
Embsaysometwo miles North East of Skipton before being relocated by her daughter Lady Alice at Bolton
six miles east of Skipton.
The serfs' working day paid little attention to the weather, beginning when it was
light and ending when it was dark. Their servitude to the Lord of the Manor is
characterized by the fact that as their children were the lord's property they had to
pa him `merchet'to allow them to marry them off. ,_
V
Lintel from OId Hall, Rathmell, with Yeomen insignia
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Doorway from Ribblehead, with Yeomen insignia
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Such people who could afford their freedom became tenants, freemen, but still owing the duty of work to the
lord. There was a variety of term used, such as franklinimplying an increasing degree of wealth. That term
implied a yeoman who owned his own land but was not of noble birth Husbandmen were small farmer
yeomen bigger ones, often leasing the land they used but sometimes freeholders. Tenancy was more
common than ownership in medieval times. Then there were `gentlemen.' They were superior to yeomen but
inferior to barons for example. The use of such term depended to some extent onlocalstandards ah6ough the
implied order remained. Social status was everything.
In the main this was a land based society where the farming was very poor. The weather was often wet,
sometimes very wet, affecting the whole of farming life as it
does today. In 1315-17t he downpours apparently halved the crops of corn and !,
livestock, judging by the reduction in tithes. This had a devastating effect on the Priory which depended on
the year's production with no reserves. The effect on the general public can only be imagined. In 1189
Matilda de Percy referred to Sawley Abbey, a few miles down the River Ribble, as situated `in a cloudy and
rainy district so that the crops, already white Or the harvest, usually rot in the stalk.' Even in 1965 Raistrick
and vlingworth wrote that a'dales'harvestis a chancy business.' In modern times new techniques and
sophisticated machinery have lessened some problems.
The Black Death and other plagues had a prevailing influence on the manpower available, checking or even
reversing population growth, to such an extent that marginal land reverted to wages and some villages even
ceased to exist. Estimates suggest that we might consider a third to a half ofthe people dying in the black
death. There were also very significant raids by the Scots in 1318, especially affecting Long Preston, even to
the extent that wgglesworthsought relieffrom taxes in order to cope. All was not bleak however. Those rich
families who survived became richer, wage levels rose as demand for labour outran supply, land was more
readily available. In fact while there was a substantial decline in the standard of living in the second half of
the 14th century in time standards rose.
As there were no parish records before the middle of the 16th century and Manorist Rolls don't give explicit
genealogical data, even if they survive in a significant run before then, we can only set our early ancestors in
a context where they may well not be precisely identified and may even have been more mobile thanimphed
above.
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Wigglesworth Halls drawn by Gordon Sanderson in 1909
Surnames, although used in western Europe before this time, came to this island with the Normans and were
used firs by the upper social cusses. It was a common practice for the Norman nobility to adopt the name of
the property they owned. Our ancestors may descend from this nobility for there were fitted people using
Wgglesworth we know of inthel5thcentury but rtisfir,farmorelikety we come from the common people.
When they left the area they may well have been given the place name of their origins as a means of
identification which over time became a surname. That is to say it is atopographicatname. Those named
Wiggtesworth may or may not be related. In the 13th and I 4th century second names were used more
widely, to become widespread in the 15th century. This coincided with the agreement that farm tenancy
might be inherited and surnames enabled the identity of people to be defined. It seems significant that this
was when there writhe creation of many more written records.
The Families .
The Tree [centrefold] for the time up to the middle of the 16th century illustrates a number of points. Firstly
it depends on records from a time before parch registers were kept; thus it largely features surviving, landed
families about whom we can find documentary evidence beforetis date and for whom antecedents have been
recorded and such records kept. Secondly it must be remembered that as time goes back evidence is harder
to find and contains more and more conjecture.
Responsibility is confused by the dates which may apply and the hierarchy of ownership and tenancy. We do
know ownership of 66 manor (including wggtesworth) was given to Guilbert d'Aufay who was married to
William the
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Conqueror's sister. When he returned to Normandy his share was given to Osbern of Arques, the eldest son
having also returned. (Arques is 5 Km inland from Dieppe.) Osbern was High Sheriff of Yorkshire in 1100.
Roger of Poitou was overlord of 398 manors, in Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire,
Lincolnshire, Lancashire as well as in this county, Yorkshire. He gave Bowland (this area) to Robert de
Lacy. He and others such as him sub-let theu manors to those they could trust such as the Tempests,
Hamertons and Knolls.
Agnes and Beatrix de Arches eventually became joint heiresses of this vast estate and both married into the
Knoll and then the Hamerton family. In 1522 we know that Lord Northumberland was the chief lord at Long
Preston, while Stephen Hamerton was the Steward when he was absent. The Arches and their descendants
held Wigglesworth.
The tree shows us one version of the way in which the families involved in Wigglesworth Hall were related.
It is easy to see the social class where the heir married bringing great estates together. The eldest surviving
son writhe heir, otherwise daughters inherited; thus the estate was protected from being split up by the whole
family benefiting from their `share' of the estate. These families had an
enormous influence on the church, endowing Chantries, inakinglarge donations. ii
The Hamertons, Tempests, de Knolls and de Arches all feature andafthem the Hamertons came to play an
important part in Wigglesworth Hall and other manors such as HeIIifield. It is clear how the knights, as
soldiers, fought alongside their more common men in campaigns and battles such as Floddenlrield.
The person who seems to have been the first to adopt the name de Wigglesworthis John de Knoll de
Wigglesworth,laterknown as John de Wigglesworth when he married Agnes (Elinor)de Arches. (He may
even also have been known as John de Waddington.) There is a manor house in Long Preston now called
Cromwell House
which once had a hall with fireplaces at each end. .A priest hole was found in the d.
drawing room. This house later became the Red Cap Inn used by pack teams travelling over the moor to
Settle.
Many of the important families were eventually to become recusants during the fifty years at be end of be
16th century, following the catholic faith, in the face of royal opposition. Such were the Hamertons of our
hall, the Tempests of Broughton,the Talbots ofLong Preston, the PudsaysofBohon by BowIand. They
supported their faith by having theirsons educated on the continent, having and hiding their own priests and
by attending services of their own even when it meant paying onerous fines.
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The Pilgrimage of Grace (153 6) was an extensive movement involving all three
Ridings of Yorkshire, Lancashire and Lincolnshire. Itis thought to have been the
largest protest for a century and a half It was headed by nobles, perhaps unwilling,
expressing their views against the King's policy of dissolution and pleading, for
example, that Abbeys such as nearby Sawley Abbey, be left untouched but Henry
envied and coveted the enormous riches of the church of which he claimed he was
head. There was arumour,if unfounded, that it was intended to seize some parish
churches. The King seems to have taken his extreme action fearing the unity this
opposition showed, and this included families who had shown their allegiance to the
crown in the Wars of the Roses of previous reigns. It can be seen how the high t
families became am example, locally, of religious or social behaviour, even to the
extent ofbeing reprimanded, fined, imprisoned and executed when their actions fell
out of the favoured line.
Locally the 'Pilgrims' led by John Catherallforced Nicholas Tempest to join them
by threatening the life of his son. Two days later he led about 400 men to Sawley
Abbey where the Abbot eventually admitted them and in the end took the Pilgrims'
Oath. Lord Derby wrote making demands of the Abbot and rt was rumoured he
was going to pull down the houses of Richard Tempest and Sir Stephen HameRon.
The latter decided to march on either side of the Ribble towards Whalley and
proclaimed through the churches that all males over sixteen were to assemble.
Before this could happen an agreement was reached with Lord Derby.
The king brutally broke this truce, allegedly because some had continued the
insurrection. Many were filled arbitrarily. This was followed by the trial of about
twenty including Lords, a Lady, Knights and the former Abbott of Fountains
Abbey. All, including Sir Stephen Hamerton, were found guilty, hanged, drawn and
quartered. The Abbotts of Sawley and Whalley were taken to Lancaster, tried and
hanged.
The picture of the populace from which we Wigglesworth's are decended,then,is
one from which we might take satisfaction. They had the qualities fromtheir
Norman forebears as well as of those,the Britons, who were already here and with
whom there was intermarriage. The area saw religious intolerance leading to the
Pilgrimage of Grace. There were 15,000 prosecutions, 450 died in prison. Sawley
Abbey was the scene of enormous destruction. Those with blood ties to this ancient
society can see a genetic as well as a cultural link with the good, courageous,
reliable character of their ancestors who stood up, rightly or wrongly, and were
counted for their beliefs.
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