GREAT AYTON
Atun (xi cent.).
This parish covers 6,394 acres on the western
slopes of the Cleveland Hills and to the south-west
of the most notable hill in Cleveland, the coneshaped Roseberry Topping. It included in 1831
the townships of Great Ayton, Little Ayton and
Nunthorpe. In 1880 Easby was added. (fn. 1) The soil
is loamy on a subsoil of Lower Lias; 1,935 acres
are under cultivation, (fn. 2) and wheat, oats, barley and
beans are grown. Woods and plantations occupy
461 acres, and 3,035 acres are laid down to permanent grass. (fn. 3) The population is now for the most
part agricultural, though there are several quarries
and iron ore mines in the parish. At the beginning
of the 19th century Great Ayton was a manufacturing
village containing three tanyards, a comb and horn
manufactory, a common brewery, an oil-mill, a water
corn-mill, a tallow chandlery and a brick and tile kiln. (fn. 4)
The tanneries were still in existence in 1849. (fn. 5)
The village is of considerable size and consists of
one long street, with an open place at the east end
called the High Green. Here, no doubt, was held
the market granted to Robert de Stutevill and his
heirs in 1253. (fn. 6) There are no records of this market,
and probably the near neighbourhood of Stokesley
soon made it unprofitable. One of the small streams
which go to form the Leven flows down the middle
of the street. Here in 1265 William de Stutevill
granted to the monks of Whitby the privilege of
watering their flocks and herds. (fn. 7) In the 18th
century the bridges and roads were found insufficient
and inconvenient for the traffic, and the townspeople
subscribed to build the present good stone bridge
of two arches. (fn. 8) There are also two foot-bridges of
wood.
The church of All Saints at the west end of the
village is no longer in use, but has been superseded
by the new Christ Church. The village has also
Wesleyan, Primitive Methodist and Congregational
chapels. The Society of Friends, whose meetinghouse is on the High Green, has a considerable number of members in this neighbourhood. The Quaker
family of Richardson was settled at Great Ayton, (fn. 9)
and Thomas Richardson with others founded in 1841
the school for the children of Friends which stands at
the east end of the village street. (fn. 10)
The old schoolroom of Great Ayton, now the
parish council room, bears above its doorway the
inscription, 'Michael Postgate built this school house
in the year 1704. Rebuilt 1785.' It was here that
Captain Cook was educated. (fn. 11)
One of the manorial corn-mills is still in existence.
In 1281–2 Baldwin Wake, then lord of the manor,
possessed a water-mill called 'Westmulne,' and a
fourth part of another called 'Estmulne,' (fn. 12) which
has disappeared. In 1696 the mill of Great Ayton,
which was described as very ancient, was in the possession of Ralph Lowther. (fn. 13) A poorly built capital
messuage here is mentioned in 1281–2, (fn. 14) and the
Earls of Westmorland had a dwelling-house here
called Ayton Hall, which in 1570 was held, with a
garden and orchard, by Thomas Tedcastle. (fn. 15) The
hall was granted with the manor to David Foulis. (fn. 16)
A 'common bakehouse' was also included in this
grant.
The small village of Little Ayton lies a short
distance to the east of Great Ayton, higher up the
same stream. On the moors to the east pasture was
granted in the early 13th century to Guisborough
Priory by John Malebiche and Robert de Stutevill,
lords respectively of the two manors. John Malebiche
gave the following boundaries: 'As the edge of the
moor leads from Little Otheneberg and divides the
moor and the grove of Ayton, and so as the descent of
the same edge leads through the middle of the grove
to the common way, which is in the bottom of the
valley, to the head of Golstaindale as far as Etunes
carth, and thence to the boundaries between Kildale
and Aton, and then as the stream flows through the
middle of the valley to the boundaries of the . . .
canons of Guisborough, with the whole moiety of the
grove of Golstaindale which belongs to me, according
to the bounds formerly made between Sir Richard
Malebisse my father and Sir Robert de Stuteville.' (fn. 17)
A farm called Airy Holme, close under Roseberry
Topping, is identified with the 'Ergun' of the
Domesday Survey, where the king had 2 carucates of
land and a 'manor.' (fn. 18) A 'plot called Ergum, which
is sometimes ploughed and worth 6d.,' appears in the
extent of Baldwin Wake's manor of Great Ayton in
1281–2. (fn. 19)
The small hamlet of Langbaurgh, a quarter of a
mile to the north of Great Ayton, is apparently the
place from which the wapentake took its name. It
is not mentioned in the Domesday Survey, however,
and there has never been a manor here. The wapentake courts were formerly held on the high ridge of
moorland to the east of the hamlet and then adjourned
to an inn at Ayton, where constables were sworn
in. (fn. 20)
Nunthorpe, north-west of Langbaurgh, is separated
from Ayton by the little stream called the Tame. In
1461 John Headlam, then lord of the manor, left
6s. 8d. to the bridge between Nunthorpe and Ayton. (fn. 21)
The only important buildings in Nunthorpe are the
church of St. Mary and the Hall. The latter is
generally said to have been built by the Constables
and bears their arms. But there was certainly a
'capital messuage' here in the time of the last
Headlam. (fn. 22) In 1623 Marmaduke Constable was
accused by the rector of Ayton of pulling down
the chapel and terrorizing the villagers into attending services in Nunthorpe Hall, his own residence.
Various witnesses testified, however, that he had only
pulled down part of the chapel to repair it 'better
than it was before.' (fn. 23) In 1717 part of the hall was
let to a farmer, as there was no other house for him
to live in. (fn. 24) It is now the residence of Mr. G. F. S.
Edwards. Grey Towers, a large modern mansion to
the north-west of the village, is the seat of Mr. A. J.
Dorman.
In the north of the township is Nunthorpe Grange,
a farm-house. Here was the old 'Nunhouse' of the
Basedale nuns. Their mill was probably on the Tame.
A tithe suit between the Prioress of Basedale and the
Abbot of Whitby in 1231 ended in an agreement that
the nuns should pay tithe for this mill and 'Gugle
flat,' while the abbot renounced his right to tithe from
'Plumtre flat' and their meadow-land. (fn. 25)
The hamlet of Tunstall, to the south of Nunthorpe, is a detached part of the township of Little
Ayton.
The parish has stations at Great Ayton and Nunthorpe on the Middlesbrough and Battersby branch
of the North Eastern railway.
Manors
There were three 'manors' in GREAT
AYTON at the time of the Domesday
Survey. One was extended at 2 carucates and belonged to the king, having previously
been held by Hawart. (fn. 26) A second manor of 6 carucates, which had been held before the Conquest by
Norman, was in 1086 among the lands of the Count
of Mortain. (fn. 27) It was held of him by Niel Fossard.
A further 'manor' of 2 carucates was held under
Robert Malet by his man Robert. (fn. 28)
Niel Fossard's land in Ayton passed ultimately
with the rest of his estates to the family of Mauley, (fn. 29)
who had the overlordship here during the 13th and
14th centuries. (fn. 30) Great Broughton, Tunstall and
Ayton were held of the Mauleys for one knight's fee
by the Meynells of Whorlton (q.v.) and their heirs. (fn. 31)
The tenants of the manor under the Meynells
were the family of Stutevill, who in all probability
had a grant of that part of the vill which did not
form part of the Mauley fee. This would be in the
king's hands in 1106, when Robert Malet forfeited
his estates. (fn. 32) In 1361 part of the manor was said
to be held in chief and part of the heirs of the
Meynells. (fn. 33)
The Stutevills probably held lands in Ayton from
the early part of the 12th century, but the first
member of the family mentioned in connexion with
the place is William de Stutevill. He confirmed
the grant of the church of Ayton to Whitby Abbey
in the reign of Henry II, (fn. 34) and died in 1203, (fn. 35) when
his lands in Ayton, Hemlington and 'Levinton'
were worth £10 2s. 3½d. (fn. 36) He had a son Robert, (fn. 37)
who died without issue. His lands in Kirkby Moorside and elsewhere were inherited by Nicholas brother
of William. (fn. 38) At least 6 carucates in Ayton, how
ever, passed not to Nicholas, but to another Robert, (fn. 39)
who was probably William's younger brother of that
name. (fn. 40) The latter is generally supposed to have
died without issue, (fn. 41) but Robert de Stutevill of
Ayton had a son Robert, who succeeded him. (fn. 42)
The younger Robert, who was alive in 1265, (fn. 43) must
have died before the end of that year, when his heir
William quitclaimed his right in the advowson of
Ayton to Whitby Abbey. (fn. 44) On William's death
the manor reverted to the descendants of Nicholas
de Stutevill. Baldwin Wake died in possession in
1281–2, when the widow of Robert de Stutevill
was still holding Hemlington in dower, with the
right to 20 wagon loads of wood in the manor of
Ayton. (fn. 45)
Stutevill. Burelly argent and gules.
Wake. Or two bars gules with three roundels gules in the chief.
From this date Ayton followed the descent of
Kirkby Moorside (q.v.) till the 16th century, passing
on the division of the lands of Edmund Earl of Kent
to the Nevills. (fn. 46)
After the forfeiture of Charles Earl of Westmorland in 1571 the manor remained for some time in
the Crown. Finally it was granted in 1610 to
David Foulis, (fn. 47) who acquired at about the same time
the manor of Ingleby in Ingleby Greenhow. (fn. 48) He
conveyed Great Ayton in 1637 to Christopher
Coulson, (fn. 49) a citizen of London, whose family was
resident here for some time. (fn. 50) The son and heir of
Christopher was John Coulson, who died in 1674 (fn. 51)
and had a son Christopher. (fn. 52) The family finally
ended in an heiress, who married a member of the
family of Skottowe. (fn. 53) Thomas Skottowe, (fn. 54) who must
have been the son of this heiress, succeeded to Ayton.
He was holding the manor in 1743 (fn. 55) and died in
possession in 1771. (fn. 56) He seems to have been succeeded by a son Coulson, who died in 1784, leaving
the manor by will to his half-brother Nicholas in
trust for another half-brother Thomas. (fn. 57) On the
death of the latter his son Thomas Briliffe Skottowe
succeeded. (fn. 58) He sold Great Ayton in 1801 to
Henry Richardson, (fn. 59) a member of a well-known
Quaker family which had lands at Langbaurgh. (fn. 60)
Henry Richardson died in 1813 (fn. 61) without issue.
His heir is not known, but the manor passed shortly
afterwards into the possession of the Procter family.
William Procter was lord of the manor in 1842, (fn. 62)
and the trustees of the late Mrs. Procter now hold
the manorial rights.
Coulson. Argent two dolphins rising collared and chained together sable.
Skottowe. Azure a star or.
In 1253 Robert de Stutevill obtained a grant of
free warren here and licence to hold a weekly market
on Monday and a yearly fair on the vigil, feast and
morrow of St. Andrew. (fn. 63)
In LITTLE AYTON there were four 'manors'
at the time of the Domesday Survey. The first was
Crown land and had been held by Ulchil (fn. 64) ; the rest,
with 4 carucates, had been
held before the Conquest by
Aldred, Edmund and Turorne,
but in 1086 were in the
hands of Robert, the tenant
of Robert Malet. (fn. 65)
Malebiche. Argent a cheveron between three hinds' heads razed gules.
The overlordship of Little
Ayton belonged properly to
Robert Malet's honour of
Eye (fn. 66) ; hence in the 13th
century the tenants of the
manor claimed that it was not
geldable and was quit of suit
of court. (fn. 67) Here, as in many
other places under the honour,
the Malebiche family were tenants. Richard Malebiche of Acaster Malbis was lord here at the end of
the 12th century and was succeeded by John. (fn. 68) The
descent of the Malebiche lands is traced under the
manor of Hawnby (fn. 69) (q.v.), with which Little Ayton
passed in the 15th century to the Beckwiths. (fn. 70)
William Beckwith, son of the Thomas Beckwith who
alienated Hawnby, (fn. 71) sold this manor in 1585 to
William Lord Eure. (fn. 72)
Half of Little Ayton was given by Lord Eure to
his younger son Francis, (fn. 73) and followed the descent of
Easby (fn. 74) down to the early 18th century at least. (fn. 75)
In 1808 the whole manor belonged to Henry
Richardson, lord of the manor of Great Ayton, (fn. 76) and
since that date the two seem to have followed the
same descent. Both are now held by the trustees of
the late Mrs. Procter.
The second half of the manor belonged in 1630 to
Thomas Eure, (fn. 77) whose place in the Eure pedigree is
not clear. He conveyed it in that year to Thomas
Bacon and John Brown, (fn. 78) perhaps trustees. George
Markenfield conveyed half the manor of Little Ayton
to Edmund Hall in 1640. (fn. 79) In 1654 the estate
belonged to George Lord Eure and Toby Humphrey. (fn. 80)
As far as Lord Eure's right in it was concerned it
must have been inherited by the heirs of his sisters,
who were also heirs to the second half of the manor. (fn. 81)
It is probable that the two parts were united in this
way and afterwards followed the same descent.
At the close of the 13th century Richard Malebiche claimed right of gallows in Little Ayton. (fn. 82)
In 1086 NUNTHORPE (Torp, xi cent.; Nunthropp, xvii cent.) was in the hands of the king.
Magbanet and Aluret had held here and in Morton
three 'manors' of 9 carucates, of which 6 were in
Nunthorpe. (fn. 83) The vill passed with Kildale (q.v.) to
the Brus fee, and was subsequently held with Kildale
of the Thwengs by the Percy family. (fn. 84)
In the reign of Henry II Ralph de Nevill was
tenant of Nunthorpe. (fn. 85) He granted 2 carucates here
and the mill to some Cistercian nuns who had previously settled at Hutton Low Cross. (fn. 86) They
remained at Thorpe for a short time and then
moved to Basedale, retaining their land here, the
grant of which was confirmed by Arnald de Percy. (fn. 87)
The place was henceforth known as Nunthorpe.
Headlam. Gules a cheveron or between three lambs' heads razed argent.
For some time the descent of the manor is obscure.
In the early part of the 14th century, however, it
was in the hands of the family of Greathead. Robert
Greathead paid 4s. subsidy here in 1333, (fn. 88) and
John Greathead, who seems to have succeeded him,
appointed a chaplain to the manorial chapel in 1358
and was 'of Nunthorpe' in 1360. (fn. 89) A Robert Greathead of Nunthorpe made an agreement about land in
East Harlsey in 1375. (fn. 90) The family perhaps ended
in an heiress. Certainly in 1435 the manor had
passed into the possession of the family of Headlam.
John Headlam, then a minor, was in the custody of
Robert Lambton. (fn. 91) He died
in 1461, (fn. 92) having conveyed
the manor to his son Christopher. (fn. 93) Christopher was the
father of Ralph, (fn. 94) who died in
possession of the manor in
1543–4. (fn. 95) His son and heir
William (fn. 96) was one year old
at the time of his father's
death, (fn. 97) and received livery of
the manor in 1564. (fn. 98) He
died in the following year,
leaving his manor-house of
Nunthorpe to his step-father
Thomas Fulthorpe, (fn. 99) who paid
subsidy in 1568. (fn. 100) William's
daughter and heir was Joan, then an infant, (fn. 101) but
subsequently the wife of Ralph Bowes. (fn. 102) She and
her husband conveyed the manor to Edward Rust,
of the Court of Chancery, in 1600. (fn. 103) In 1613 it
was granted by William Willoughby to Marmaduke
Constable and his heirs. (fn. 104)
Marmaduke Constable died in 1624 and was succeeded by his son and heir John. (fn. 105) The latter died,
leaving no issue, in 1629; his heirs were his sisters,
Anne wife of James Bradshaw, and Elizabeth
Constable. (fn. 106)
Anne's share of the manor included the manorhouse. (fn. 107) Constable Bradshaw of Nunthorpe, a justice
of the peace for the North Riding in 1685, (fn. 108) was
evidently her son. He died in 1702, (fn. 109) leaving a
daughter and heir Anne, who married William
Peirson of Stokesley. (fn. 110) This half of Nunthorpe followed the descent of Stokesley (q.v.) in the Peirson
family, (fn. 111) and was sold with the rest of their estate in
1799. (fn. 112) The purchaser was Thomas Simpson, (fn. 113) who
was lord of the manor till his death in 1848. (fn. 114) He
seems to have been succeeded by William Simpson,
whose trustees were patrons of the living in 1857.
They must have sold this half of the estate to Isaac
Wilson, who held it till 1889 at least. It is now the
property of Mr. Arthur John Dorman.
The second half of the manor seems to have come
by marriage with Elizabeth Constable to Thomas
Faldo, who conveyed it in 1637 to John Rosse. (fn. 115)
By 1654 it had come into the possession of the
Lowther family, then lords of the manor of Marton.
It followed the descent of Marton for the next
century, (fn. 116) and then seems to have passed through the
hands of the Marwood, (fn. 117) Richardson (fn. 118) and Hopkins
families. It now belongs with the other half of the
estate to Mr. A. J. Dorman.
The land in Nunthorpe belonging to Basedale
Priory, with the capital messuage called the NUN
HOUSE, was granted in 1544 to Sir Ralph Bulmer,
junior, and John Thynne. (fn. 119) It was conveyed in
1559 by Thomas Bulmer alias Larke to Francis
Cholmeley, (fn. 120) and by him to Robert and Thomas
Yoward two years later. (fn. 121) Thomas Yoward sold the
estate in 1583 to Ralph Yoward, perhaps a brother
of the lord of Westerdale (fn. 122) (q.v.), which it followed
in descent till the middle of the 17th century. (fn. 123) Its
later history is uncertain.
In 1086 TUNSTALL (Tonnestale, xi cent.) was
in the king's hands, Lesing having formerly held
there a manor with 3 carucates. (fn. 124) The vill subsequently formed with Great Ayton part of the
Mauley fee, of which it was held by the Meynells. (fn. 125)
Meynell. Azure three gimel bars and a chief or.
In the 13th century land here was apparently held
with Ayton by the Stutevills of Ayton. Baldwin
Wake, who inherited their estates, declared in about
1280 that Robert de Stutevill had owed suit of court
for the manor of Tunstall while he held it, but
that it was now in the hands of Thomas Malket. (fn. 126)
Nothing more is heard of
Thomas Malket, and in 1299
and 1300 the tenants of
Nicholas de Meynell were
Hugh Lellum and Gilbert
(succeeded by Robert) and
Hugh de Tunstall. (fn. 127) It seems
that the Meynells kept part of
the vill in their own hands, (fn. 128)
and that it was their holding
which was known as the
manor of Tunstall down to
the 18th century. It descended by inheritance to the
Conyers of Hornby, (fn. 129) and was
among the estates of Christopher Lord Conyers on
his death in 1538. (fn. 130) On the death of his son John
the manor was inherited by John's daughters and
co-heirs, Anne wife of Anthony Kempe, Elizabeth
wife of Thomas Darcy, and Katherine wife of John
Atherton. (fn. 131) Thomas Darcy was in possession of two
of the shares in 1587–8, when he sold them to
Arthur Darcy (fn. 132) of Addington, Northants. The third
part seems to have been sold shortly afterwards to
Thomas Cole and Thomas Stockton. (fn. 133)
Arthur Darcy and his son Henry were recusants,
and their estate here was granted to George Chambers
in 1609–10. (fn. 134) Two years later Henry Darcy conveyed it to William Andrewe, (fn. 135) probably as trustee,
for he joined in the conveyance of two-thirds of the
manor to Robert Stowpe in 1628. (fn. 136)
During the rest of the century no connected history
of the manor has been found. One-sixth was in
1652 the property of Richard Turner, (fn. 137) a younger
son of the Kirkleatham house, who is said to have
resided here. (fn. 138) Most of the shares, however, seem to
have been acquired gradually by the family of Pennyman of Ormesby. James Pennyman held what was
called the manor in 1692, (fn. 139) and his family were still
the principal landowners in 1846. (fn. 140) The manorial
rights had, however, been 'long disused' in 1808. (fn. 141)
Baldwin Wake claimed free warren here by charter
of Henry III. (fn. 142)
Churches
The old church of ALL SAINTS,
since the erection of the new church
on another site in 1876, has been
used only as a mortuary chapel. It is now in a
dilapidated state and its repair is much to be desired.
The building is substantially of 12th-century date,
but three pre-Conquest stones forming two crossheads found in the vicarage garden (fn. 143) suggest that it
replaced an earlier church. The building was much
altered in 1790, when many of its ancient features
perished or were obscured by plaster. It consists of
chancel 19 ft. by 14 ft. 6 in. with north vestry, nave
32 ft. 6 in. by 18 ft. 10 in., and south porch 9 ft. 10 in.
by 11 ft. 4 in., all these measurements being internal.
There was originally a west tower which was rebuilt
in 1788 and stood till about 1880, when it was pulled
down. The vestry is modern, apparently belonging
to the 1790 restoration, and the south porch may be
of 15th-century date. A gallery was erected in 1743,
but it has since been removed, and in 1759 a faculty
was granted to 'remove a loft and build pews.' (fn. 144)
The walls of the chancel are now almost entirely
hidden externally on the east and south sides by ivy
and on the north by the vestry, but they probably
retain much of the ancient masonry. Some old work
is still visible at the lower part of the east wall, but
the upper part has been rebuilt. The east window
is a modern one of three lancets and on the south
side are an 18th-century window and a modern
priest's doorway. In the north wall is a small 12thcentury round-headed window with wide internal
splay, now opening into the vestry. It is now
plastered round the head and jambs and nothing can
be seen of the ancient masonry. The chancel may
originally have been less in length, but this is not
certain.
Ayton: West End of Village
The whole of the interior of the building is
plastered and whitewashed and in an uncared for
condition. The floor of the chancel is level with
that of the nave and the original 12th-century detail
of the chancel arch is partly covered with plaster and
the whole whitewashed. The arch is elliptical in
form and consists of two orders, the outer with a
continuous moulding and the inner chamfered on
the edges and with a half-round moulding on the
soffit. To the chancel the outer order is square.
The width of the opening is 10 ft. 6 in., and the inner
order springs from half-round responds with scalloped
capitals and chamfered abaci. Towards the nave the
outer order is carried on angle shafts, that on the north
side being yet encased in plaster. The capital of the
shafts on the south side is carved with a simple
double volute ornament.
A 12th-century corbel table runs the length of the
north and south walls of the nave outside, above
which is a modern straight parapet, and at the west
end of the north wall is an original built-up doorway
with lintel, plain tympanum and semicircular arch
of ten voussoirs above. Two built-up windows on
the north side are apparently of 18th-century date,
but a third near the east end is a square-headed opening of three rounded lights, apparently a 16th-century
insertion. On the south side the nave is lit by two
round-headed 18th-century windows with barred
frames, and it has a flat plaster ceiling. The roofs
are covered with modern blue slates, and the walls
are without plinth or buttress in any part of the
building. The west wall is blank and has been largely
reconstructed and refaced in the 18th century and
later when the tower was removed. Built into it are
the top and bottom portions of a grave slab with
floreated cross. The bell from the tower is now hung
in a recess in the gable. It is without inscription.
The 12th-century south doorway has a semicircular
arch of three orders, the inner plain and continuous
with the inner jambs and the two outer springing
from angle shafts with cushioned capitals and moulded
bases. (fn. 145) The middle order is continuously moulded
and the outer is carved with zigzag ornament. The
doorway may at some time have been rebuilt or
altered, as there are no impost mouldings, and the
bases stand on a plinth 18 in. above the floor. The
neck of one of the capitals has the cable moulding,
but the others are plain. There is no hood mould,
and the top of the outer order is hidden by the
curved plaster ceiling of the porch, erected probably
in 1790, when the Norman detail seems to have
been covered up.
The porch itself has been very much tampered with,
but its masonry appears to be old.
There is a trefoilheaded window
now made up on
either side and the
stone seats remain.
The outer doorway has a wide
shouldered arch and
there is a sundial
in the gable. Part
of an incised grave
slab is built into
the south wall. (fn. 146)
The font is apparently of the 12th
century and consists
of a circular stone
bowl moulded on
the edge standing
on a circular shaft.
It has a short pyramidal 18th-century
cover.
The fittings belong to the period of the renovation, the chancel
being filled with square pews extending under the
chancel arch. There is a 'three-decker' pulpit in
the south-east corner of the nave. In the chancel is
an elaborate marble tablet to William Watson, who
died in 1795, aged eighty: 'the thanks he received
on different occasions from the Court of Directors of
the Honble East India Company were ample testimonies.' In the churchyard to the east of the chancel is a tombstone to the memory of Grace Cook
(d. 1765), the mother of Captain James Cook, and
to several of his brothers and sisters.
The plate consists of two cups made by Aldridge &
Green of London, one in 1770 and the other in
1773, each inscribed, 'The Gift of Augustine Skottowe to the Church at Ayton 1774,' and engraved
with a crucifix and a shield of his arms; and a
plated paten and flagon, 'Given to the church of
Great Ayton by the Rev. J. Ibbetson and Elizabeth
his wife 1842.' (fn. 147)
The registers begin in 1666.
The new CHRIST CHURCH consists of chancel
with south vestry, nave of five bays with north and
south aisles, south porch and tower and spire in the
angle of the north aisle and chancel. There is also
a western narthex forming a second porch. The
building is of stone in the style of the 14th century
with slated roofs. At the east end of the south aisle
are the three pre-Conquest fragments already mentioned.
The church of ST. MARY, Nunthorpe, formerly
a private chapel, was rebuilt in 1824. It is a small
building of stone in Gothic style, consisting of nave
and western bell-turret. The registers are with those
of Ayton.
Advowson
There was a church at Ayton in
the fee of the Count of Mortain at
the time of the Domesday Survey. (fn. 148)
At the beginning of the 12th century Robert de
Meynell and his wife Gertrude granted the church,
with its chapels of Newton, Nunthorpe, and Little
Ayton, to Whitby Abbey. (fn. 149) The grant was confirmed by their son Stephen (fn. 150) and by Henry I. (fn. 151)
Subsequently various members of the Stutevill family
released to the abbey any right they had in the
advowson. (fn. 152)
At some time the church was appropriated to the
abbey, and at the Dissolution a 'hired curate' was
maintained there. (fn. 153)
During the reign of Elizabeth the rectory and
advowson seem to have been leased to various persons. (fn. 154)
Thomas Yoward had a lease of the rectory in 1572
by grant of William Swayne. (fn. 155) He mortgaged it
to John Marwood, but was able to redeem it.
Shortly afterwards the Marwood family came into
possession of the rectory; they are said to have
acquired it by purchase in 1585–6, (fn. 156) and were certainly the owners by 1603. (fn. 157) The advowson has
followed the descent of their manor of Little Busby (fn. 158)
(q.v.) down to the present day. In 1880, however,
the township of Easby was transferred from Stokesley
to this parish, and the Archbishop of York as patron
of Stokesley has since had the right of alternate presentation to Great Ayton. (fn. 159)
In the latter half of the 13th century Richard de
Towcotts engaged to provide a lamp to burn before
the altar in this church, and at the Dissolution 8d. a
year was chargeable on the 'Lamp Ing' for this
purpose. (fn. 160) The donation was then attributed to
John Lockwood.
The two chapels of Little Ayton and Nunthorpe
were not, as far as the patronage was concerned,
under Whitby Abbey, though the tithes of the townships were paid to the abbey and to the later
impropriators. Each was regarded as a domestic
chapel on the estate of the lord of the manor.
William Malebiche undertook in about 1244 that
the mother church should not be prejudiced by his
chapel of Little Ayton. (fn. 161) This chapel is not again
mentioned, and there are no remains of the building.
Nunthorpe Chapel (fn. 162) is still in existence as a chapel
of ease to Great Ayton. A chantry is said to have
been founded there in the reign of Edward III, (fn. 163)
but there is no record of its existence in 1536.
The lords of the manor have, however, continuously
presented incumbents to the chapel. (fn. 164) The rector
of Great Ayton sued Marmaduke Constable in 1623
for payment of tithes in the township. (fn. 165)
Charities
In 1674 John Coulson by will gave
30s. a year to the poor inhabiting in
Great Ayton and Little Ayton. An
additional sum of 5s. a year came to be paid in
respect of this charity, and the sum of 35s. a year is
now paid by Mr. A. E. Kitching of Ayton Firs,
and is distributed in bread in sixpenny loaves to
seventy persons.
Township of Great Ayton.—In 1678 William
Young by will devised a rent-charge of £6 annually
to be applied as to one moiety for buying clothes for
the poor, and the other moiety for putting a poor
man's child apprentice. The payment is made by
Mr. J. Thistlethwaite, and applied in the distribution
of calico and flannel, and in clothes for an apprentice.
The poor are entitled to the rent of 3 acres in
the township of Falsgrave in Scarborough, supposed
to have been the gift, prior to 1755, of one Elizabeth
Bulson. The land is let at £13 a year, which was
in 1905 distributed in flour to eighty-eight persons.
The school, founded under an agreement of
parishioners in 1785, is endowed with land producing about £12 a year.
The North of England Agricultural School,
created by deed dated 23 November 1841, for the
benefit of members of the Society of Friends, is
situated in this parish. The endowments consist of
the schoolhouse and out-buildings; a water-mill and
out-buildings let at £20 a year; farm buildings and
gas works, and 60 acres of land, let at £60 a year;
seven cottages let at rents amounting to £47 12s.; a
perpetual yearly rent-charge of £35 issuing out of
lands known as the 'Peacock Field,' the 'Sandhole Field' and the 'Ploughing Field'; a sum of
£460 debenture 4½ per cent. stock of the North
Eastern railway; a sum of £200 (representing the
legacy of Mrs. Caroline Armistead by will, proved
in 1883) invested in a debenture of the Colonial
and United States Mortgage Company, Ltd., at
4½ per cent.; and a sum of £320 on mortgage of
the Weardale District Waterworks Company.
Trustees were appointed by an order of the
Charity Commissioners of 7 January 1890, whereby
the lands and hereditaments were vested in the
official trustee of charity lands.
There are also four almshouses, erected in 1859
by Mr. Thomas Richardson, for the benefit of poor
members of the Society of Friends.