BULMER with HENDERSKELFE
Bolemere (xi cent.).
The parish of Bulmer contains the townships of
Bulmer, Henderskelfe and Welburn and consists of
4,261 acres lying near the west bank of the River
Derwent, 14 miles north-east of York. The country
is well wooded and undulating, rising from 75 ft.
above ordnance datum near the Derwent to over
300 ft. at various points in the south of the parish,
while in the west it again drops in the valley of Bulmer
Beck. The soil is various and the subsoil Inferior
Oolite and Upper Lias. Of the total acreage 773
acres are arable land, wheat, oats and barley being
grown; the greater amount of the land is laid down
to pasture and 447 acres are covered by woods and
plantations. (fn. 1) The village of Bulmer lies along a road
connecting Sheriff Hutton with the main road from
York to Malton. The church of St. Martin lies close
to the road on the south side of the village street.
Here once stood the manor place of the Bulmers,
which had been held by them for nearly 500 years,
when it was forfeited to the Crown on the execution
of Sir John Bulmer. 'The manor place,' ran a
report, 'stands on a plain high ground in the midst
of the town and is a very old house covered with slate
and greatly in decay. There is an orchard of about
an acre growing no fruit. Also an old kylne house
at the back and a gate-house at the entry, ready to
fall down. Also two stables much in need of repair.' (fn. 2)
'Southwodde,' 'Brandreth' and 'Storff' woods also
belonged to the manor, while in the demesne were
meadows called Whytehyll, Valle Close and Shakehill;
the lord had also land in the 'old car' in the south
field of the vill. (fn. 3) The open fields here were inclosed
in 1777. (fn. 4)
From the high ground hereabouts there are wide
views of the Howardian Hills and of the country
stretching towards the plain of York. At one of the
highest points in the corner of Bulmer Hag Wood is
a Grecian column 110 ft. in height surmounted by a
bronze tripod erected in 1869 to the memory of
George seventh Earl of Carlisle. It was designed
by F. P. Cockrell and is a landmark for the countryside.
Further east along the Sheriff Hutton road is
Welburn, which is a clean and well-kept village,
comprising a few 18th-century and modern houses,
the church and a Wesleyan chapel. Beyond the
village the road runs to Castle Howard station on
the York and Scarborough branch of the North
Eastern railway. The station lies close to the
Derwent, and just north of it is a rectangular camp,
while still further north is a tumulus. Close to this
is the Castle Howard Reformatory with a small
chapel attached, built in 1855 and supported chiefly
by voluntary effort. On the Cram Beck to the north
of the school is a disused corn-mill, on the site of a
mill which belonged to the Bulmers in 1537, (fn. 5) and
was itself the successor of a mill valued at 2s. in 1086. (fn. 6)
North of the hamlet of Welburn is the township of
Henderskelfe, nearly all of which (about 1,500 acres)
forms the park of Castle Howard, the seat of the
Dowager Countess of Carlisle. Castle Howard is
amongst the most magnificent and imposing mansions
in the country. Well placed on a wooded rise, the
buildings with their central dome are visible for a considerable distance on all sides and have an appearance
of scale which is hardly borne out by the dimensions
and must be ascribed to the success of the architect's
design. The house was built between 1701 and 1731
for Charles the third Earl of Carlisle on the site of the
castle and chapel of Henderskelfe, the architect being
Sir John Vanbrugh. The west front was rebuilt by
Carr of York soon after the middle of the 18th century.
The buildings consist of a central square pavilion with
two projecting wings inclosing a courtyard on the
north and two further wings flanking the garden front.
In addition to this there is extensive stabling and
several subsidiary buildings—the 'Guest House,' mausoleum and temple—disposed about the park. The
approach from Welburn passes under the guest-house,
which is used as an hotel and is a long, low building
of two stories with a round archway in the centre surmounted by a stone pyramid. It bears the Howard
arms and the inscription 'Carolus Howard comes
Carliolensis hoc condidit anno dni mdccxix.' Between
this structure and the house is a stone obelisk erected
in 1714 to commemorate the victories of John Duke
of Marlborough, and recording by a tablet inserted
on the opposite side the completion of the castle and
grounds in 1731. The main or north front of the
house was formerly masked by a stone screen and gates,
all now removed. The central pavilion is a two-storied
structure of the Doric order with coupled pilasters
rising the full height of the building, which is finished
with an entablature and balustraded parapet supporting
vases and statues. The windows on this side are all
round-headed and between each pair of pilasters are
two niches filled with statuary. The main entrance in
the centre is flanked by Ionic columns and gives access
to a handsome hall with Composite pilasters supporting four arches. The octagonal lantern above is
pierced in each face with a round-headed window and
on each external angle of the parapet is a male bust in
stone. It supports a timber and lead-covered dome
and cupola. Internally the dome and pendentives
are painted, the former with the fall of Phaeton, the
latter with the four elements, the work of Pellegrini.
The south or garden front is enriched with fluted
Corinthian pilasters supporting an entablature with
a handsome pediment to the centre bay. The
tympanum has a large shield bearing a coat of arms,
quarterly of six: (1) Howard, (2) Brotherton, (3)
Warren, (4) Mowbray, (5) Dacre, (6) Greystock.
Each of the side wings of this front projects nine bays
from the central block with square pavilions at the
outer angles. They are of one story only with
a basement under, and the bays are divided by
Corinthian pilasters. The west side forms the long
gallery, and the rain-water heads here bearing the
Howard arms are dated 1753. The north-west
wing has been largely altered from the original
design shown in Campbell's Vitruvius Britannicus.
It contains the private chapel, a rectangular apartment divided into three unequal portions by wide
trabeations, supported by eight fluted Corinthian
columns, grouped in fours on either side of the
building. The central portion of the chapel is square
with a coved ceiling. The decoration, which is very
rich, is quite modern and includes a marble reredos
inclosing a picture of Christ at the pillar, an oak and
brass screen and a painted decoration on the south
wall representing the Salutation, Prophets, &c. The
house contains numerous important pictures, including
examples of the Italian, Dutch, French, Spanish and
English schools, a fine collection of miniatures and
a number of beautiful antique marbles. In the
centre of the west front is a low dome resting on an
octagonal drum, and in front of it is a projecting
central bay with a pediment filled with the Howard
arms. The stable block stands immediately to the
east of the main building, but a corresponding block
on the west has been removed and its place taken by
gardens. The latter also extend for some distance to
the south of the house. In the centre on this side is
a handsome circular basin and fountain with a large
figure of Atlas surrounded by tritons blowing upon
horns. Numerous other groups of statuary, mostly
executed in lead, are disposed about the grounds, some
of them raised on elaborate stone pedestals. In the
park to the north of the house is a large artificial lake.
The mausoleum is a circular building standing
about three-quarters of a mile south-east of the house.
It was built between 1727 and 1742 by Charles the
third earl, the architect being Nicholas Hawksmoor,
and stands on a substructure containing sixty-four catacombs. The structure itself has a peristyle of twenty
columns of the Doric order supporting an entablature. The chapel within, 30 ft. in diameter, is surrounded by eight Corinthian columns supporting a
drum on which rests an elaborately coffered stone
dome. The vaults below are groined and the chapel
is approached by a handsome double flight of stone
steps, the whole being placed in the centre of a raised
mount of geometrical form.
On the same side but nearer the house is the temple,
another detached building square on plan and having
projecting porticoes on each side. The latter are
tetrastyle of the Ionic order, the pediments being each
surmounted by three vases. The main building is
finished with a stone cornice and has large vases at
the angles. It is roofed with a circular dome surmounted by a square cupola.
Lady Oxford, who visited Castle Howard in 1745,
describes how 'the front of the park (which is 6 miles
round) has a fine stone wall with battlements and
towers, and you enter it under a pyramidical stone
arch which leads to the grand avenue, in which is
an obelisk with an inscription to the Duke of Marlborough.' (fn. 7) Horace Walpole wrote to George Selwyn
in 1772 that
I had heard of Vanbrugh, and how Sir Thomas Robinson and
he stood spitting and swearing at one another; nay, I had heard
of glorious views; and Lord Strafford had told me that I should
see one of the finest places in Yorkshire; but nobody, no, not
votre partialité, as Louis Quatorze would have called you, had
informed me that I should at once see a palace, a town, a fortified city, temples in high places, woods worthy of being each a
metropolis of the Druids, vales connected to other hills by other
woods, the noblest lawn in the world fenced by half the horizon,
and a mausoleum that would tempt one to be buried alive. (fn. 8)
Nothing remains of the mediaeval castle of Henderskelfe which the barons of Greystock held by a yearly
rent of a garland of roses. (fn. 9) It was in ruins in 1359, (fn. 10)
but must have been rebuilt, for Leland described it
as 'a fine quadrant of stone having a 4-toures buildid
castelle like,' though 'no ample thing' (fn. 11) ; it is mentioned in 1565. (fn. 12) It was burnt down early in the
18th century, but is known to have stood in what is
now the formal garden of Castle Howard.
Just east of the castle is Ray Wood, which Lord
Harley in 1723 thought 'the main curiosity that
belongs to this place.' 'This is all upon a hill,' he
says, 'and consists of one hundred acres. . . . There
are in it the noblest beech trees, which I believe, are
to be met with in England.' (fn. 13) Its 'wide spreading
lawns, large and long avenues of beech and oak,
beautiful sheets of water and extensive park, all make
up a brilliant picture of the softer scenery of England,'
and Sydney Smith christened as 'Exclamation Point'
a hill towards Welburn, whence a full view of Castle
Howard and its demesne comes into sight.
Mauley. Or a bend sable.
Manors
At the time of the Domesday Survey (fn. 14)
BULMER and Stittenham were in the
hands of the Count of Mortain, who
held there two 'manors' and 15 carucates, the former
tenants having been Ligulf and Norman. In 1086
Niel held both 'manors' of the count; he was
evidently that Niel Fossard, (fn. 15) one of the chief
tenants of the Count of Mortain in the north, whose
son Robert became a tenant in chief after the rebellion
of 1106, when the lands of
the count escheated. On
the extinction of the family
of Fossard the overlordship
passed through the female line
to the Mauleys, remaining (fn. 16)
in their family till it fell into
abeyance.
It has been assumed that
Aschetil de Bulmer was one
of the chief tenants of Niel
Fossard (fn. 17) ; he was followed
by a son Bertram, (fn. 18) who in
the reign of King Stephen
founded Marton Priory, (fn. 19) and was mentioned in
1140–1. (fn. 20) He was hereditary Sheriff of Yorkshire
in 1129 and 1154 (fn. 21) and was dead in 1166–7.
Whether he had any sons is doubtful, but his lands
and heritage passed to his daughter Emma. (fn. 22) Before
1175–6 (fn. 23) she had married Geoffrey de Nevill, and
the lordship of their descendants followed the descent
of their manor of Sheriff Hutton (q.v.).
It is not known at what date the fee was granted
to under-tenants, but in 1166 it was held by Roger
de Millier. (fn. 24) John de Bulmer was holding the
manor in 1227. (fn. 25) Part of his lands were assigned to
his wife Alice, (fn. 26) who held them in dower after his
death, the manor, however, passing to their son John
de Bulmer, who received a grant of free warren in
1251. (fn. 27) He was dead before 1268, when his widow
Katherine renounced her right to certain dower lands
which he had settled on her in favour of John de
Bulmer, her son, Katherine receiving in exchange
the lands formerly settled on Alice her mother-inlaw. (fn. 28)
Bulmer. Gules billety and a lion or.
John de Bulmer was holding the manor in 1279, (fn. 29)
1285 (fn. 30) and 1293. (fn. 31) His wife Theophania was left
a widow before 1299, (fn. 32) and was followed by a son
Ralph, who was holding the
fee in 1301 (fn. 33) and received a
grant of free warren in 1310. (fn. 34)
He held 6 carucates in 1316, (fn. 35)
and with his wife Alice was
still living in 1342. (fn. 36) He
was followed in 1357 (fn. 37) by
a son Ralph who died in
1366, (fn. 38) when this manor was
held in dower by his wife
Margaret, (fn. 39) the heir being his
son Ralph, only a year old at
the death of his father. Margaret married Edmund de
Frethby, who died seised by courtesy of the manor
in 1375. (fn. 40) Margaret died in or about 1379 (fn. 41) and
was succeeded by her son Ralph de Bulmer, who held
the manor conjointly with Agnes his wife. (fn. 42) After
the death of Ralph in 1406 (fn. 43) Agnes granted it to
their son Ralph for life, but it reverted to her on his
death in 1409. (fn. 44) She married Sir Edmund Hastings
and died in 1436, (fn. 45) when her grandson Ralph Bulmer
was her heir. He died in 1461 (fn. 46) and his son of
the same name died in 1486, (fn. 47) being followed by a
son William, one of the commanders at the battle of
Flodden Field. (fn. 48)
Sir William died in 1531 and his son John succeeded to his estates. (fn. 49) John Bulmer married as his
first wife Anne daughter of Sir Ralph Bigod, and
after her death Margaret, illegitimate daughter of
Edward Stafford Duke of Buckingham. (fn. 50)
Sir John Bulmer and his second wife became
implicated in Aske's rebellion, influenced, no doubt,
by Sir Francis Bigod, who took such a prominent
part in it. In 1537 the Bulmers were found
guilty of treason and condemned to death, Sir John
being hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn and
his wife burnt at Smithfield. Sir John's eldest son
Ralph was also suspected, but succeeded in proving his
innocence. Although at his death in 1558 (fn. 51) Ralph
was said to be seised of Bulmer Manor under a settlement made by his grandfather Sir William, he apparently never recovered the forfeited lands, (fn. 52) for in
1538 (fn. 53) they were leased for twenty-one years to
Robert Bulmer, the bailiff, perhaps as compensation
for the wages which he evidently had little hope of
ever receiving. (fn. 54) After various leases (fn. 55) the manor
was sold by Queen Elizabeth in 1583 (fn. 56) to John
Fawether, another John Fawether and John son of
John Fawether. In 1611 (fn. 57) it was conveyed by
Philip Smith and Katharine his wife to Josiah
Fawether 'of Howlesworth,' who in 1613 (fn. 58) agreed
to its purchase by John Wilson, clerk, trustee for
the real purchasers. The sale was not, however,
completed; litigation followed and in 1623–4 Wilson
was in prison at the suit of Fawether. (fn. 59)
The manor seems to have been still in the hands
of the Fawether family in 1675, when Elizabeth
wife of Henry Reeve and Bridget wife of Robert
Gooch, with their husbands and Anne Fawether,
widow, conveyed the manor to William Fairfax. (fn. 60)
This was, perhaps, merely in trust, for it was divided
into thirds in 1697, when Samuel Skelton and Sarah
his wife conveyed her portion to Forster Pleasaunte. (fn. 61)
In 1745 rent from the manors of Bulmer and Welburn
was in the possession of William Northey, (fn. 62) but before
1777 the manor had been acquired by the Earls of
Carlisle (fn. 63) ; it has followed the descent of Henderskelfe to the present day.
Bigod. Or a cross gules.
At the time of the Domesday Survey HENDERSKELFE (Hildreschelf, xi cent.; Hinderscogh, xiii
cent.) was in the hands of
Berengar de Toni, (fn. 64) who had
a 'manor' and 4 carucates
and three rentpayers (censarios),
the former tenant having been
Torbrant. Berengar died without issue, and his lands here
evidently passed to his sister
Adeliza, who married Roger
Bigod. (fn. 65) The overlordship remained (fn. 66) in the Bigod family
till 1306, when on the death
of Roger Bigod all his honours
passed to the Crown. (fn. 67)
Henderskelfe was afterwards held of the king as of
the honour of Chester by the serjeanty of carrying a
sword before the Earl of Chester. (fn. 68)
In 1166–7 Peter Basset was tenant here, (fn. 69) and in
1207 Walter Basset granted 2 oxgangs to Reginald
Basset. (fn. 70) Nicholas Basset, a prominent official in this
part of Yorkshire in the second decade of the century, (fn. 71)
seems also to have been a tenant here and to have
been succeeded by William son of Nicholas, who in
1240 held land here in right of Beatrice his wife. (fn. 72)
In that year land was granted to William Mauleverer
and Margery his wife, (fn. 73) perhaps that Margery Basset
whose lands in 1251 were conveyed by Nicholas de
Den' and Robert de Leicester to William son of Ralph. (fn. 74)
His son Ralph son of William in 1306 succeeded to the
Greystock lands under a settlement of 1299 (fn. 75) and died
in 1315. (fn. 76) Robert his son and heir died in 1317,
and was succeeded by his son Ralph, (fn. 77) who assumed
the name of Greystock. (fn. 78) He died from poison in
1323, leaving a son William, then only two years of
age, (fn. 79) during whose minority the manor was in the
king's hands. (fn. 80)
Greystock. Barry argent and azure three garlands gules.
Dacre. Gules three scallops or.
In 1344 William was in possession of his father's
lands; he died in 1359, (fn. 81) when his son and heir
Ralph was only seven years old. Ralph died in
1418, (fn. 82) and was succeeded by a son John, who died
in or about 1435. (fn. 83) His son Ralph died in 1487,
four years after the death of his eldest son Robert,
when the manor of Henderskelfe passed to Elizabeth (fn. 84)
the only daughter and heir of Robert. Elizabeth
married Thomas Lord Dacre of Gillesland and died
in 1516, (fn. 85) leaving a son and heir William, who died
in 1563, and was followed by a son Thomas (fn. 86) Lord
Dacre of Gillesland and Greystock. He held the
manor in 1565 and died in the following year. (fn. 87)
His only son George died in 1569, (fn. 88) and his estates
were divided among his three daughters.
The castle and manor of Henderskelfe fell to the
share of the youngest daughter, Elizabeth, (fn. 89) who
married Lord William Howard. (fn. 90) They continued
in possession of the manor (fn. 91) until 1640, when Lord
William Howard died. (fn. 92) His son Philip died in the
lifetime of his father, (fn. 93) and the estates came to a
grandson, Sir William Howard, on whom a settlement
was made in 1621 on his marriage with Mary daughter
of William Lord Eure. (fn. 94) Sir
William Howard died in
1642, (fn. 95) leaving two sons.
William the elder died in
1644, (fn. 96) and was followed by
his brother Charles. (fn. 97) He was
created Viscount Howard of
Morpeth in 1657, (fn. 98) receiving
the additional title of Earl of
Carlisle in 1661. He made
a settlement of the castle and
manor in 1677 (fn. 99) and died in
1684–5. (fn. 100) His son and heir
Edward married Elizabeth
Berkeley, on whom a settlement was made in 1688, (fn. 101) and
on his death in 1692 (fn. 102) was
succeeded by his son Charles. He made a settlement
of the castle and manor in 1717 (fn. 103) and died in 1738,
when his lands passed to his son Henry. (fn. 104) He died
in 1758, having survived his two eldest sons, Charles
and Robert, and was succeeded by his third son
Frederick, (fn. 105) who in 1794
made a settlement of the
manor on his son George
Viscount Morpeth. (fn. 106) Frederick died in 1825, and his
son George, who succeeded
to the estates, died in 1848,
leaving six sons and six
daughters. The eldest son,
George William Frederick,
succeeded his father, and was
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
1855–8 and again from 1859
until his death in 1864. (fn. 107)
He never married, and consequently the family honours
devolved on his brother the
Rev. William George
Howard; he likewise died
unmarried, and was succeeded by his nephew George
James Howard. On his death in 1911 the latter was
succeeded in the title by his eldest son Charles James
Stanley tenth Earl of Carlisle, who himself died in
1912. His son George Josslyn L'Estrange is the
present earl. All the family estates in Yorkshire
were, however, left by the ninth Earl to his widow,
Rosalind Countess of Carlisle, the present lady of the
manor.
Howard, Earl of Carlisle. Gules a bend between six crosslets fitchy argent with the Flodden augmentation and a molet sable upon the bend.
In 1219 (fn. 108) Simon son of William quitclaimed
2 oxgangs of land in Henderskelfe to William, Prior
of Kirkham.
In 1086 5 carucates at WELBURN (Wellebrune,
xi cent.) formed a berewick to the 'manor' of
Bulmer (fn. 109) (q.v.), to which it has always been appurtenant.
In 1166 Emma Fossard was holding land here (fn. 110)
which was perhaps identical with the 10 librates of
land granted by John de Bulmer in 1286–7 to
Thomas de Clervaux to hold by the service of one
knight's fee. (fn. 111) No further record of this holding
has been found. (fn. 112)
Churches
The church of ST. MARTIN consists of a chancel 30 ft. by 15 ft.,
aisleless nave 49 ft. by 16½ ft., western
tower 9½ ft. square and a south porch.
Plan of Bulmer Church
The walls of the existing nave date apparently
from the 11th century, and may be either before or
after the Conquest. The chancel was rebuilt during
the first half of the succeeding century, and to this
period belong the north and part of the east walls.
The south nave door is an insertion of late 12thcentury date. Late in the 14th or early in the 15th
century a chapel was built out on the north side of
the nave at its eastern end, and shortly afterwards the
quire was largely rebuilt, the nave walls raised and
various windows inserted and the west tower rebuilt.
In 1637 the upper part of the tower was reconstructed
and the buttresses added, and in the following century
the chapel was pulled down, windows being inserted
under the arches and three windows pierced in the
south nave wall. The modern alterations to the
church include the rebuilding of the south and most
of the east walls of the chancel and the addition of
the south porch.
The three-light east window and the two windows
of two lights in the south wall of the chancel are
modern restorations on 15th-century lines. The
priest's door between the two latter is also modern.
The north wall is unpierced by windows, and the
lower portion dates from the 12th century. The
15th-century chancel arch has poor mouldings and
springs from semi-octagonal responds.
In the north wall of the nave are the two arches
of the destroyed chapel. They are of two chamfered
orders, both pier and responds being concealed.
Under the heads of these arches are two early 18thcentury windows of two lights. The start of the east
and west chapel walls is discernible, and the latter
of these must have blocked a narrow 11th-century
window of one light which is deeply splayed and has
a small bead round the head. Further west is a
blocked doorway of similar date. The flat lintel
across the head is perhaps a later insertion, but the
round arch, with a plain chamfered label above it, is
original. Two 11th-century windows remain on
either side of the south door, similar to that remaining on the north, but quite plain. To the east of
them is a square-headed three-light window of 15thcentury date, and still further east a plain squareheaded light of 18th-century date. A similar opening
pierces the western end of the same wall. The south
wall was heightened in the 15th century, and in it
were inserted two square-headed clearstory windows
of that date, to which an 18th-century rectangular
window was added further east. The south door,
now covered by a modern porch, is late 12thcentury work with a round arch recessed in two
orders, the outer resting on side shafts (now lost)
with voluted capitals. The external masonry of the
nave presents a curious patchwork. Herring-bone
work appears in patches in both the north and south
walls, and the rest of the early work is of that rude
and wide-jointed character which is exemplified in
two other churches of the neighbourhood, Crambe
and Terrington. Another interesting feature is the
comparative height at which the early windows are
placed above the floor, which in conjunction with
the height of the early walls themselves is rather
indicative of a Saxon origin.
Bulmer Church: The West Tower
The western tower is three stages high and has a
two-light 15th-century west window. The embattled
parapet with angle pinnacles is dated 1637 on the
western face, and this is probably also the date of the
belfry windows, each of two pointed lights, and of
the diagonal buttresses, of four offsets, which just miss
the western angles of the tower. Below the belfry
windows are small loops in
the centre of each face.
The tower arch is of two
orders and rough construction with square responds.
It is now whitewashed, and
may be partially of 18thcentury date. The tower
contains three bells, only
accessible by ladder. The
13th-century font has a circular bowl with an octagonal
stem and base. Across the
chancel arch is a wooden
rood screen, the beam and
uprights against the walls
being ancient, as are also the
pierced traceried panels under
the heads of its divisions.
The work is of the 15th
century and very rough. The
modern south door retains
the old iron hinges.
The church contains
several interesting monuments. In the quire is a
slab with incised marginal
inscription to Ralph Bulmer,
kt. (died 1461), with incised
shields of his arms at the
angles. Built into the wall
under the eastern arch of
the chapel is a freestone recumbent effigy of circa 1280
in chain mail with a shield
of the Bulmer arms. The
legs have been cut away to
make room for the pulpit.
Below the effigy is a slab
bearing a floreated cross and
sword in low relief. In the
centre of the nave is a slab
to Elizabeth wife of Jeremiah
Idle, 1659. Under the tower is the head of a stone
cross of the wheel type.
The plate consists of a cup and cover paten, unmarked, but of early 17th-century date, a modern
flagon of electro, a large pewter flagon and three
pewter plates.
The registers before 1812 are as follows: (i) baptisms 1589 to 1633 (1601 to 1610 missing), marriages
1572 to 1643, burials 1571 to 1600 (1585 to 1589
missing); (ii) baptisms 1656 to 1701, marriages 1653
to 1701, burials 1653 to 1658 and 1698 to 1699;
(iii) baptisms, marriages and burials 1718 to 1738;
(iv) baptisms, marriages and burials 1739 to 1762;
(v) marriages 1754 to 1812; (vi) baptisms and burials
1763 to 1786; (vii) baptisms and burials 1787 to 1812.
The church of ST. JOHN, at Welburn, was built
in 1858 by the seventh Earl of Carlisle in memory
of his mother Georgiana (Cavendish). It stands on
the rising ground to the south of the village, and
is a stone-faced building in the 14th-century Gothic
style. It consists of an aisleless nave and chancel,
north and south transepts, a tower on the north side
of the nave surmounted by a stone spire, and a
vestry south of the chancel. The four-light east
window is filled with stained glass erected by public
subscription to the above-named lady.
There are two sets of communion vessels, both of
electro-plate. The older set probably came from
Castle Howard, and consists of cup, flagon and plate.
Advowson
There was a church and a priest
in Bulmer in 1086. (fn. 113) From early
times the church was endowed with
5 oxgangs of land. (fn. 114) The rectory followed the descent
of the manor (fn. 115) (q.v.), and in 1611 was in the gift of
Josiah Fawether. It was sold by him in 1618 (fn. 116) to
Thomas Hassell, who presented to it in 1622 and
1637. (fn. 117) In 1693 (fn. 118) the patronage belonged to Talbot
Laybourne, but it had passed to Thomas Laybourne,
clerk, in 1711. It continued in his hands until
1718, (fn. 119) and was sold the following year by Talbot
Laybourne, clerk, to Thomas Wentworth. (fn. 120) He afterwards became Earl of Rockingham, (fn. 121) and the advowson
remained in his family until the beginning of the 19th
century. (fn. 122) It is now in the gift of Rosalind Countess
of Carlisle.
The chapel of our Lady at Welburn is mentioned
in 1567–8 (fn. 123) and again in 1586–7. (fn. 124) It apparently
fell into disuse in the reign of Elizabeth, and all
trace of it has disappeared. The modern church of
St. John is a chapel of ease to Bulmer.
Charities
The sum of £123, the amount of
certain old benefactions for the poor
and a gift of £100 by Ann Dade, is
held by the Countess of Carlisle, in respect of which
interest at £5 per cent. is paid. In 1905 £6 3s.
was expended in the purchase of flour, which was
distributed to twenty-eight recipients.
Henry William Bolckow, by will proved 1878,
bequeathed £200 to the Castle Howard Reformatory
School. The legacy was invested in £199 15s.
consols with the official trustees.
The Protestant Dissenting chapel conveyed by
deed, 1824, was by an order of the Charity Commissioners, 1877, sold and the proceeds applied for the
benefit of a chapel at New Malton.