NOSELEY
The civil parish of Noseley is situated ten miles
south-east of Leicester. That it was previously
regarded as extra-parochial (fn. 1) is probably explained
by the replacement of the parish church by the
chapel at Noseley Hall in the 14th century. (fn. 2) The
area of the civil parish is about 1,304 a.
The parish is situated in the valley of a tributary of
the Welland, the river forming the parish boundary
on the east and south-east. The boundary follows
a stream on the south-west, a road on the west, and
another stream and field boundaries on the north.
A third small stream lies within the parish. The
ground rises from below 400 ft. in the valley to over
600 ft. on a hill in the north-west of the parish-one
of the highest points in the district. The soil is heavy
loam over a clay subsoil, and there are several small
disused gravel pits near the streams.
The road from Melton Mowbray to Market Harborough runs along the western parish boundary and
is crossed by the chief road within Noseley-that
from Goadby in the east to Illston on the Hill and
eventually Leicester on the west. Two minor roads
cross the angles between these two main ones. The
south-eastern part of the parish is crossed only by
a footpath leading to Glooston; its course marks a
westward diversion from a bridle way which in 1743
crossed the park and passed close by Noseley Hall. (fn. 3)
The village of Noseley was depopulated in the
16th century (fn. 4) and the parish is now dominated by
the hall and its park. Prominent earthworks marking
the village site were to be seen in 1960 in the fields,
north-west of the park, called Gunpowder Close, and
Big and Little Churchyard. By the 20th century the
park covered about 75 a., together with over 100 a.
of woodland, (fn. 5) and included two ornamental ponds.
A string of ponds lies in the fields to the south of the
park; the field name 'Woolpits' in this area suggests
that these may have been connected with the extension of sheep farming by the Hazleriggs after the
inclosure in the 16th century. (fn. 6) Most of the buildings
in the parish, apart from the hall, were built in the
mid-19th century; they include Cotton's Field Farm,
the Home Farm, and the Garden House, and the park
lodges and gates are also of this period. A cottage at
the north-east corner of the park is dated 1937.
There was a recorded population of 28 at Noseley
in 1086, (fn. 7) and 44 people paid the poll tax in 1381. (fn. 8)
The village was partially depopulated by the inclosure of the early 16th century, (fn. 9) but there were
still 8 households in 1563. In 1603 there were 41
communicants in Noseley and part of Illston. Only
Noseley Hall was assessed for the hearth tax in 1670,
and 20 communicants were recorded in 1676. The
population was only 4 in 1801 and 2 in 1811. It then
rose slowly to a peak of 70 in 1881 but had fallen to
51 by 1951. (fn. 10)
Noseley Hall is a large two-storied brick building
with attics and hipped slate roofs. Most of the elevations are now cement rendered. The hall was rebuilt
early in the 18th century and dated rainwater heads
of 1723 suggest that the rebuilding was undertaken
by Sir Robert Hazlerigg (d. 1721) and completed
after his death by his widow Dorothy (d. 1748).
There are no visible structural remains of an earlier
house. The principal front, which faces south, is
eleven bays wide, the central three set forward to
form a feature which was originally surmounted
by a large triangular pediment topped with urns. (fn. 11)
There were once similar urns to the parapets along
the front and side walls, while the large angle
pilasters appear to have had Corinthian capitals. Most
of the original windows still retain their raised keyblocks but only a few, confined to the rear elevation
where the early brickwork is exposed, preserve their
glazing bars. The erasure of many of the 18th-century decorative features was the result of a general
modernization which probably occurred late in the
19th century. Work then put in hand included the
removal of the central pediment and consequently
the re-arrangement of the garrets; the replacement
of the solid parapet by balusters; the rebuilding or
re-facing of the west wing; the provision of threesided bay windows on the principal front; and a new
entrance on the west side of the house. At the rear
a three-story service stair was added together with
a lean-to corridor between the east and west wings,
while the courtyard formed by the U-shaped plan of
the house was completed by a stable range on its
north side. The present east wing, with the exception
of side additions, is the original kitchen wing of 1723.
The plan of the house, including the east wing,
has changed little since the early 18th century. The
west wing, illustrated by Nichols in 1792 as part of
a general view of the hall and chapel from the southwest, was a lower structure roofed separately from
the main block. (fn. 12) It may have served as a coachhouse and stable range. The 1743 plan includes a
gatehouse, placed on the east-west axis of the chapel
and joined to the west wing at its north end by a
narrow building or covered way. This same gatehouse is shown in 1792 with a first floor slightly
jettied out above the entrance (fn. 13) and its position
suggests that it may have been a remnant of the pre18th-century lay-out. Brick garden walls, in which
were set gate and angle piers topped by urns, formerly enclosed ground to the west of the hall and
date from the early 18th century. One wall aligned
with the south front of the house returned at a right
angle to join the west end of the chapel. There were
other garden piers, apparently free-standing, further
south. (fn. 14) It is probable that the ground to the south
of the house was levelled for the construction of
formal gardens at this period.
The great hall occupies the central three bays of
the south front and is entered from that side by a
stone-framed doorway with a pedimented head; the
tympanum contains the Hazlerigg arms. The hall
rises through two stories to a painted ceiling and the
three windows above the central entrance serve as
clerestory lights. This is the original arrangement.
The decoration of the hall consists of heavy Corinthian pilasters supporting a large cornice above which
shorter pilasters, each finished with a shell motif as
a capital, extend to the ceiling. Two carved marble
fire-places in the north wall of the hall form part of
the same scheme. The shell motif occurs again in
the plaster ceiling above the central staircase. The
broad stair is a typical example of the early 18th
century and has a moulded handrail, string, and
turned balusters. In the west wing a drawing room
and a servants' hall were altered to form a new
entrance hall c. 1890-5. (fn. 15)
An inventory of the paintings and furniture contained in the hall was made in 1797 by a Mr. Tailby
(probably from Welham) and Nichols. (fn. 16) At this date
part of the hall was let to a farmer. (fn. 17) Many of the
listed items survived in 1960; two large paintings of
Ringtail, a favourite mare of Sir Arthur Hazlerigg
(d. 1763), one at each end of the great hall, are noteworthy. Of the several rooms mentioned in the
inventory, the dining room may be identified by the
subject matter of its painted canvas panels as
'the room at the east end of the hall block that adjoins
the east wing'. The paintings and panelling are in situ.
The 'best' and 'brown parlours' also mentioned are
probably those rooms to the east and west of the
great hall; panelling in both rooms is still mainly of
18th-century date but modern work is present in the
bay window additions. A 'laced room' or 'third bedroom' was described as containing 'curious needle
work' by Frances, wife of Sir Thomas Hazlerigg
(d. 1629). (fn. 18)
MANOR.
In 1086 12 carucates of land in Noseley
were held in chief by Hugh de Grentemesnil, (fn. 19) and
descended from him to the earls of Leicester and
Lancaster and finally to the Duchy of Lancaster. (fn. 20)
The early mesne tenants of the manor are unknown, but by the early 13th century the Martival
family were the lords of the manor. About 1220
William Martival was given permission to have a
chapel in his manor of NOSELEY, (fn. 21) and in that
year an action for novel disseisin was brought against
him. Richard Martival had held land in the neighbouring parish of Goadby in 1166-7. (fn. 22) It seems
probable that the Martivals, who were closely connected with the earls of Leicester, (fn. 23) had held Noseley
for a considerable time before 1220. In 1130 William
Martival appears as the tenant of the earls of Leicester in Humberstone, a manor which the family continued to hold for many years. (fn. 24) William Martival,
who held Noseley about 1220, was succeeded by his
son Anketil, who in 1274 made the first endowment
to the chapel of Noseley and died some weeks later.
His son Roger died in 1329; he was a clerk, and
became Chancellor of Oxford University in 1293 and
Bishop of Salisbury in 1315. He is chiefly important
in Noseley for his foundation of the collegiate chapel
in its final form. His estates passed to Joyce, usually
said to be his sister but possibly his niece, after being
held for a short time by his nephew Anketil. Joyce's
husband was Robert de Saddington, who was made
Chancellor of England in 1343. They were succeeded
by their daughter Isabel and her husband Ralph
Hastings, whose property passed to their only child
Margaret. She married twice, first Sir Roger Heron
and secondly Sir John Blaket, and her heir was her
eldest daughter Isabel Heron.
About 1435, after the death of Sir John Blaket,
who held the manor for life after his wife's death,
Thomas Hazlerigg of Fawdon (Northumb.), the son
of Isabel, succeeded to the manor of Noseley. (fn. 25) From
that time the manor has been held in unbroken
succession by the Hazlerigg family. In 1622 Thomas
Hazlerigg was created a baronet, (fn. 26) and in 1630 he
was succeeded by his son Sir Arthur, the parliamentarian. (fn. 27) The manor was temporarily granted to
Henry Guildford and John Horton in 1663 after
being forfeited to the Crown by Sir Arthur. (fn. 28) In
1945 Sir Arthur Grey Hazlerigg, 13th Bt., was
created a baron, and in 1949 was succeeded by his
son, the 2nd Baron Hazlerigg of Noseley.
ECONOMIC HISTORY.
Hugh de Grentemesnil's
12 carucates supported 8 ploughs in 1086. He had
2 ploughs in demesne with 2 serfs, and 16 villeins,
the priest, and 8 bordars had 6 ploughs. There were
20 a. of brushwood. The estate was then worth 60s.,
having been valued at only 30s. before the Conquest. (fn. 29)
Very little is known about the economic condition
of Noseley in the Middle Ages. The Martival family
continued to hold some part of the estate in demesne,
and in 1251 Anketil Martival received a grant of free
warren in his demesne. (fn. 30) The arrangements made
for the holding of services in the church and the
chapel in 1306 give a picture, perhaps idealized, of
the servants of the manorial household. (fn. 31) In 1291
the estate was reckoned at 6 carucates: Roger Martival had 4 in demesne, his villeins held 2, and the
Abbot of Leicester held half a carucate; Roger also
had an anciently-inclosed park. (fn. 32) The arable land may
have been cultivated by a rotation based upon three
fields, for in 1341-2 the lord of the manor claimed
common over the open fields after harvest for two
years and throughout the year in each third year. (fn. 33)
There were no free tenants in Noseley in 1381,
when 44 persons contributed to the poll tax; there
were 13 villeins, 6 cottagers, and 6 servants. (fn. 34) The
unfree nature of the community no doubt facilitated
the inclosure of the parish in the early 16th century.
In 1517 and 1518 Thomas Hazlerigg was presented
for inclosure. (fn. 35) It was alleged in 1517 that in 1504 he
had destroyed 5 messuages, turned 6 others into
cottages, and converted 440 a. of arable land to
pasture. Twelve ploughs were put down, 52 persons
evicted, and only one farm and the chantry house
continued to maintain husbandry in the village. A
second inclosure of 7 messuages and 500 a. was said
in 1518 to have taken place in 1508-9. The capital messuage was the only farm remaining; all others had been
either destroyed or turned into cottages for Hazlerigg's own husbandmen and labourers, and it was
said that all cultivation had ceased since 1509. Hazlerigg maintained that the two alleged inclosures were
one and the same, but the ecclesiastical visitation of
1518 reported that there were no churchwardens as
the whole parish was inclosed. In 1530 Hazlerigg
received a royal pardon for his inclosing activities.
The names of the former open fields are suggested
in an inquisition of 1584 which stated that there
were then three fields called Cotton's, Mill, and
Nether Fields, all described as closes formerly under
tillage. Cotton's Field was of over 300 a. and was then
grazed by 700 sheep and 100 cattle. (fn. 36) A late-17thcentury survey mentions two closes called the 'further
part' and the 'hither part' of the South Field. (fn. 37) The
names Cotton's, Mill, South, Nether, and Upper (or
Over) Fields all survived in 1743 and 1924. (fn. 38)
The depopulation of the village was not immediately complete. There had been 19 households of
villeins and cottagers in 1381. (fn. 39) In 1517 it was said
that 52 people (perhaps a dozen households) were
evicted in 1504. In 1563 there were still 8 households, and in 1584, 5 houses besides the hall and
parsonage; of those 5 houses, one was empty, one
occupied by a labourer, and 2 by widows. The parsonage was then partially ruined and no husbandry
was practised. (fn. 40) Despite the conversion to pasture,
the windmill was still standing in 1545. (fn. 41) Some of
the pasture closes were then leased out by Hazlerigg.
By 1601 some of them had been restored to tillage. (fn. 42)
The hall appears to have been the only house in
Noseley in 1670. (fn. 43)
The estate remained mostly under pasture in the
18th century but some cultivation is suggested by
the name Wheat Close, which was recorded in 1743.
The closes in Noseley then totalled 1,284 a., with
24 a. of woodland. Many of the closes lying near
the streams forming the southern and eastern parish
boundaries were meadowland. Deer were kept in the
park, which covered a slightly smaller area than it was
to do in the 20th century. (fn. 44) During the late 18th and
early 19th centuries the Hazleriggs let most of the
parish; (fn. 45) for a long period they did not live at the hall
which was in part occupied by a farmer. (fn. 46)
Topographical changes which had taken place by
1924 (fn. 47) were for the most part confined to the area
around the hall; elsewhere, however, most of the
larger closes of 1743 had been sub-divided. The
park had been increased in size and ponds and formal
gardens modified. Noseley Wood, south-west of the
hall, remained, but large new plantations had been
made, especially to the north and east of the park.
The names New Park and Old Park occur in 1924,
both within the park area of 1743; they suggest that
the park may have been extended after the inclosure
of the parish, and Old Park may indicate the park
that already existed in the late 13th century. By 1924
there was, in addition to the home farm, one outlying
farm-house-Cotton's Field Farm in the south-west
of the parish. The land remained mostly under
pasture in the 20th century but there were about
80 a. of arable in 1928, (fn. 48) and about 300 a. in 1956. (fn. 49)
A windmill was in existence in 1545 (fn. 50) but there is
no later reference to it. It probably stood in Mill
Field and its site was marked by a small circle of
trees in 1743; (fn. 51) the trees were standing on a slight
mound in 1960.
CHURCH.
Before 1081 Hugh de Grentemesnil
granted the church of Noseley, with its tithes and
2 yardlands, to the abbey of St. Evroul (Orne). His
grant was confirmed in 1081 by William I, (fn. 52) and by
Robert FitzParnell, Earl of Leicester, at the end
of the 12th century. (fn. 53) About 1220 the rector of the
parish church, the dedication of which is not known,
granted to William Martival permission to have a
chaplain in his manor. In 1304 St. Evroul Abbey,
as patron of the parish church, agreed that Roger
Martival should have a free chapel, provided that
the rights of the parish church were maintained. (fn. 54)
The subsequent history of the chapel, which was
collegiate in character, is dealt with elsewhere. (fn. 55) In
1306 Roger gave a messuage and a virgate of land to
the church, (fn. 56) and a complicated agreement was made
between the rector and the patron of the chapel, and
ratified by St. Evroul, as to the services to be performed in church and chapel. (fn. 57) The agreement laid
down that the lord of the manor, his household, and
any itinerant servants or craftsmen should attend the
chapel, except for funerals which were the prerogative of the church; outdoor servants, and other
parishioners of Noseley who were not directly servants of the lord, were to attend the church. The
chaplain was to take an oath to the rector to uphold
the agreement, and the rector gave up all claim to the
advowson of the chapel. In 1335 St. Evroul confirmed the advowson of Noseley church to the collegiate chapel; it had probably been purchased from
the abbey by Robert de Saddington, who in 1336
petitioned for the appropriation of the church to the
chapel. (fn. 58) It was then stated that the church was
in decay, that it was inconveniently placed outside
the village, and that the congregation was too small
and too poor to contemplate its repair. The petition
added that if it were to be granted to the chapel the
revenues would be of equal benefit to the parish. In
1338 the bishop ordered that on the resignation or
death of the then rector, who had been presented in
1337 (fn. 59) by the warden of the college, the chapel should
take upon itself the cure of all souls in the parish. (fn. 60)
For the rest of the Middle Ages the warden of the
chapel was also the rector of the parish. (fn. 61) On the
dissolution of the college in 1547 the cure of souls
remained, and the living became a donative, held at
the pleasure of the patrons of the former chapel, the
Hazlerigg family. (fn. 62) According to an inquisition taken
in 1584, Denis Morison, the last warden of the
college, was appointed as rector by Bertin Hazlerigg,
and held services in the chapel for some years after
1547. His successor was appointed in 1555. (fn. 63) The
right of presentation to the cure at Noseley-and
it clearly was not understood in the 16th century
whether it should be a vicarage or a rectory-should
have passed to the Crown at the dissolution of the
chapel, but it was claimed and exercised by the
Hazlerigg family, which made two presentations in
1555, and presented again in 1557, 1572, and 1577.
The presentee in 1577 refused to take the oath and
his institution was cancelled. As a result of this
incident, which brought the anomalous position of
the chapel to light, the queen granted it to John
Farnham of Quorndon in 1578. He transferred it
in 1583 to John Annable of London, but Thomas
Hazlerigg had already challenged the right of Farnham and Annable, who must have had an interest in
the chapel before it was formally conveyed to him.
An action at law was begun, and in 1581 a judgement was given against Hazlerigg, who appealed
against it. Once more he failed, even with the support
of such of the parishioners as remained, and at the
end of 1584 Annable conveyed the chapel to William
Raven of London. At his death in 1600 Thomas
Hazlerigg was said to be in debt to the queen for
£3,601 3s. for the profits of the college concealed by
his family between 1547 and 1584. (fn. 64) In 1591, however, William Raven's mortgagee, Robert Taylor,
conveyed the chapel to the lessees of the manor of
Noseley, Thomas Andrew of Winwick (Northumb.)
and Edward Hazlerigg of Arthingworth (Northants.),
respectively father-in-law and brother of Thomas
Hazlerigg. The free chapel thus passed back into the
hands of the Hazlerigg family who thenceforth, as
lay rectors, appointed to the donative. In 1633 the
chapel was said to be appropriated to Sir Arthur
Hazlerigg, who kept the tithes but provided no
curate and kept a Puritan chaplain in his own house. (fn. 65)
Services were still held in the chapel in 1956.
The fabric of the parish church, stated to have
been in decay in 1336, seems to have remained until
the middle of the 16th century. It is probable that
throughout the late Middle Ages the church was
used solely for mortuary purposes. The church was
still apparently standing in 1547, (fn. 66) but it was said to
be in ruins in 1517 and the ecclesiastical visitation
of 1518 makes it clear that all organized church life
had come to an end. In 1510 the churchwarden had
stated that all was well and gave no hint of the
damage caused by the inclosure. (fn. 67) In 1584 Thomas
Hazlerigg claimed that the fabric had been demolished about 1549 by John Beaumont, then acting as
a commissioner under the Chantry Act, but John
Annable maintained that Bertin Hazlerigg had
demolished the church, converting the materials to
his own use, and his very definite assertion seems
likely to be correct. (fn. 68) The site of the church was still
known in 1960 by the field name, Churchyard. (fn. 69)
The chapelry of Illston on the Hill was connected
with the parish of Noseley from before 1220 until
the early 18th century. In 1220 the chapel was served
three days a week from Noseley church in alternate
years, (fn. 70) and the obligation presumably passed to the
college in 1338. The other parish responsible for
Illston was Carlton Curlieu, and the two parishes
were still acting jointly in the early 18th century. By
1763 the chapelry had become the sole responsibility
of Carlton Curlieu.
Noseley chapel (fn. 71) was built in the late 13th century; it was probably begun in the lifetime of Anketil
Martival (d. 1274) and completed by his son Roger
(d. 1329). In the later 15th century the side walls
were raised and a crenellated parapet added; a new
roof of flatter pitch replaced that of the original
chapel and both east and west windows were rebuilt
in the Perpendicular style. Some of the interior
fittings date from this period. The chapel was
restored and partly refitted by Sir Arthur Hazlerigg,
Bt. (d. 1763), who redecorated the tombs. (fn. 72) In 1797
a tower which adjoined the north side of the chapel
was in poor condition and in the 19th century it was
demolished together with the rooms between it and
the chapel. (fn. 73) The chapel was restored under the
supervision of Charles Kirk of Sleaford (Lincs.) in
1894, (fn. 74) and some further alterations were made in
the present century by the 1st Baron Hazlerigg.
In plan the chapel reflects its original collegiate
character. It is a long and spacious building of nine
bays, marked on the outside by buttresses, but without any structural division between chancel and nave.
There are two-light pointed windows, of very simple
design with forking tracery, in each bay except the
westernmost, which is blank in both north and
south walls, and the second and third bays from the
east, against which, on the north side, the tower
originally stood. There are three doorways in the
westernmost bay: the north doorway, now blocked,
has a two-centred arch and the corresponding
entrance in the south wall was rebuilt with a round
arch in the late 16th century. A pointed hoodmould
remains above this. A sculptured relief of the Martival arms is set above the door, which is heavily
studded and has rectangular battening. The west
doorway, an original feature, has inner doors consisting of two portions of a wooden screen. A blocked
doorway in the second bay from the east led to the
tower through a small two-storied annexe, and high
above it in the same bay is a circular window, also
blocked. An opposite door in the south wall with
a segmental rear arch was probably blocked as early
as the 17th century. The east and west windows,
each of five cinquefoiled lights with four-centred
heads, retain internally roll-moulded jambs of the
early-14th-century openings. Similarly moulded
stones have been re-used in the window heads-the
result of depressing the arches to accommodate the
flat-pitched roof in the 15th century. The east window is distinguished by an embattled transom and
a number of reset stained-glass fragments of 14thand 15th-century date. More stained glass was
apparently in existence in the 18th century. (fn. 75) The
west end retains two pointed niches with cusped
heads, one on each side of the large central window.
They are of early-14th-century date and may originally have contained statues. Coursed stonework,
consisting mainly of squared rubble, under the window sills of the four westerly bays on the north wall,
may represent the completion at a slightly later date
of the chapel begun by Anketil Martival (d. 1274).
The considerable ashlar patching externally is of
various periods ranging from the late 15th to the 19th
centuries, and most of the buttresses have been
restored.
The former tower, as shown by Nichols in 1792, (fn. 76)
had a belfry stage of stone ashlar, having two-light
openings with square hoodmoulds and being surmounted by an embattled parapet and angle pinnacles. It housed a single bell, given by Thomas
Hazlerigg in 1596. The statement that this upper
stage was 'modern' may indicate that the belfry was
built in 1596. Alternatively it may have been an 18thcentury restoration. That the tower was originally
lower is borne out by the fact that its angle buttresses
terminated at the first stage. Both the doorway and
the circular window between the chapel and the twostoried tower annexe were already blocked when
Nichols was writing.
The chapel was divided in the Middle Ages by
a screen and the fifth bay was occupied by two altars
placed to the west of the screen. Their piscinae
remain in the walls beneath the windows, whose
sills are not lowered like those of the other windows.
The wooden credence shelves of the piscinae were
still in existence in 1863. (fn. 77) A large blocked rectangular light is visible both externally and internally
in the south wall. This is set beneath the window
immediately to the east of the screen site and retains
a chamfered sill. In 1797 the nave and chancel were
separated by a screen, but this had been erected by
Sir Arthur Hazlerigg (d. 1763) and was probably
further east. (fn. 78) In the south wall of the chancel is a
double piscina and three sedilia. They form one
distinct piece of work, the arches of the piscina
trefoiled and those of the sedilia plain. The shafts of
the latter openings are reeded with narrow fillets; all
the capitals and bases have typical 13th-century
mouldings, one capital to the piscina having cable
and nail-head ornamentation.
The octagonal font which stands at the west end
of the chapel has a wooden base of 18th-century date.
The font itself is rather later than the main part of
the building and it has been suggested that it may
have been Roger Martival's gift to the completed
chapel. (fn. 79) Each face is carved with elaborate and
deeply-recessed tracery and crocketted canopies, and
the font is by far the most intricate of the original
fittings which are otherwise of a noticeable simplicity. The flat wooden font-cover was installed by the
1st Baron Hazlerigg in 1929. (fn. 80)
In the chancel are four 15th-century oak desks and
stalls. The stalls have been restored but much
original work remains in the desks. Each desk-end
has an elaborate poppy-head, and a carved wooden
cock stands on each of the ledges formed by the inward curve of the sides. The two western desk-ends
have carved panels, one representing a burial, the other
a group of three birds round a pot of lilies. The other
desk-ends are carved with tracery. The cocks may represent the crest of the Staunton family, which would
date the stalls, and possibly the rest of the 15th-century alterations, to the lifetime of Elizabeth Staunton,
who married William Hazlerigg about 1458 and who
lived on into the 16th century. (fn. 81)
When the chapel was refitted in the 18th century,
a new pulpit and sounding-board were provided and
the chancel was panelled, concealing the sedilia and
piscina. The reredos of the same date was painted to
represent marble and incorporated Commandment
boards. (fn. 82) These boards and a large painted figure of
Moses, one of two such figures which formerly hung
above the altar, are still preserved in the chapel. (fn. 83)
During the 1894 restoration most of these fittings
were removed, while the 18th-century pews, which
had been painted white, (fn. 84) were stripped and reset.
The medieval stalls were moved further east. At this
time also the walls were stripped of plaster and new
corbels were inserted to support the roof. The
present Jacobean altar table and panelling are 20thcentury insertions by the 1st Baron Hazlerigg. (fn. 85) The
stone slab of a medieval altar bearing three consecration crosses has been set in the floor of the chapel.
The roof, which is of the late 15th century, has
a flattened pitch; each truss has a slightly cambered
tie beam on which stands a short king post supporting
a ridge piece. The tie beam, which is embattled, is
secured to side wall posts by shallow curved arch
braces and the spandrils have vertical cusped infilling. The angels, now fixed to the wall posts above
modern corbels, carry shields bearing the emblems
of the Passion and the Martival arms.
The chapel has lost some of its memorial slabs and
not all of those mentioned by Nichols can now be
seen. (fn. 86) The altar tomb of Sir Thomas Hazlerigg (d.
1629) bears recumbent effigies of himself and his wife
Frances Gorges, with their fourteen children kneeling on both sides of the inscription above the figures.
Frances did not die until 1668, but the monument
was probably executed in her husband's lifetime or
shortly after his death. Her inscription records that
'she adorned her family with fine cloth of her own
spinning'. The classical monument of Sir Arthur
Hazlerigg (d. 1660), son of Sir Thomas, has alabaster
effigies of himself and his two wives lying on a table
of black marble. His children by both wives kneel at
the base, and Arthur, the eldest son by the second
marriage (d. 1649, aged 12), has a special inscription.
The main inscription is on a cartouche flanked by
Ionic columns and topped by a broken pediment.
This work and the propped-up figure of Dame
Dorothea Hazlerigg (d. 1650) are contemporary additions to the earlier table tomb.
Wall tablets include those to Sir Arthur Hazlerigg
(d. 1763), who was responsible for redecorating the
chapel in his lifetime, and to Sir Robert Hazlerigg
(d. 1721) and his wife Dorothy (d. 1748). On the
opposite wall an ornate monument to Sir Thomas
Hazlerigg, Bt. (d. 1680), and his wife Elizabeth (d.
1673) is placed across a blocked doorway. The cartouche, in which only the wife's inscription has
survived, is flanked by angels drawing back curtains
and is surmounted by a broken pediment.
The incised slabs on the floor of the chancel
include those of Margaret Heron (d. 1406), Thomas
(d. 1647) and Elizabeth Hazlerigg, Bertin Hazlerigg
(d. 1565), and Thomas Hazlerigg (d. 1600). The
last two slabs are probably the work of the same
mason. There are numerous wall monuments to other
members of the family in the nave. The family vault
extends beneath the sanctuary. Stained-glass windows on the south side of the chapel are to Isabel
Hazlerigg (d. 1870) and Arthur Corey Hazlerigg (d.
1880). On the north side a window over the pulpit is
to Sir Arthur Grey Hazlerigg (d. 1890) and the west
window is a memorial to his wife Henrietta (d. 1883).
One bell, dated 1596, remains in the chancel. Of
the four bells said to have existed before 1797, three
were sold before Nichols's survey (fn. 87) and the fourth
served as a striking bell for the clock. The plate
includes a silver cup, paten, and dish, all dated 1835,
given by Sir Arthur Grey Hazlerigg. (fn. 88)
NONCONFORMITY.
None known.
SCHOOLS.
None known.
CHARITIES.
None known.