LYTHE
Li (xi-xii cent.); Liz, Lihz (xii cent.); Lithe
(xiii–xiv cent.); Lieth, Lyeth (xiii–xvii cent.);
Leith (xvi cent.).
This parish was composed in 1831 of the townships of Barnby, Borrowby, Ellerby, Hutton Mulgrave, Lythe, Mickleby, Newton Mulgrave and
Ugthorpe. (fn. 1) The last three with Ellerby and Hutton
Mulgrave were in 1868 formed into the district
chapelry of Christ Church, Ugthorpe. (fn. 2) Egton (fn. 3) was
also formerly in this parish, but had been separated
before 1831. The parish as it was at that date
stretched 6 miles inland from the most easterly point
of the coast, and was 5¼ miles in length from north to
south. The boundary coincided with that of Whitby
Strand from East Row, (fn. 4) a hamlet at the mouth of
East Row Beck, for nearly 2 miles inland; then,
from just south of Swart Howe (fn. 5) Cross, it proceeded
very nearly with the high road from Whitby to
Ugthorpe Rails, thence to Stonegate, due north to
Dale House and north-east to Runswick Bay. The
inland area was 14,624 acres of land, of which
5 acres were covered with water, and there were
270 acres of foreshore (fn. 6) ; 3,561 acres in the parish
were arable land, 6,640 acres permanent grass and
930 acres woods and plantations. (fn. 7) The two becks,
which flow into the sea through deep ravines at
Sandsend and East Row, are bordered by thick woods,
the Mulgrave Woods being noted for their old trees.
The wood of Briscoe (fn. 8) was given by Joan de Turnham
in about 1200 (fn. 9) to Grosmont Priory. (fn. 10) An Inclosure
Act was passed for Lythe in 1776. (fn. 11)
The subsoil is inferior oolite and upper lias with a
little Oxford clay at Ugthorpe; the soil is various.
The chief crops raised are barley, oats and turnips.
Alum mines at Mulgrave (probably Kettleness) and
Sandsend were leased by the Crown with those of
Guisborough (q.v.) to Sir Paul Pindar and others in
1625, (fn. 12) but all rents from the lessees of the alum
and all mines and quarries were in 1634 granted to
the Earl of Mulgrave with Mulgrave Manor. (fn. 13) In
1660 information was given that for sixteen years
the Earl of Mulgrave had 'concealed' an annual
rent from these mines of £11,600. (fn. 14) In 1831 there
were 120 men employed in these alum works, (fn. 15) but
this manufacture, almost disused in 1874, (fn. 16) is now
abandoned. Jet, the great object of Whitby industry,
is found all along the coast, and there are cement
works and a cement mill at Sandsend and near East
Row Bridge.
The parish lies very high, the greater part varying
from 450 ft. to 725 ft. above ordnance datum. The
village of Lythe, which has a station on the Whitby
and Saltburn branch of the North Eastern railway, is
about a mile inland on the High Street, a road from
Guisborough to Sandsend. The king granted Peter
de Mauley the second in February 1253–4 a weekly
market on Wednesday at his manor of Lythe and a
yearly fair there on the eve and feast of St. Oswald
and for six days following. (fn. 17) St. Oswald's Church
stands nearly a quarter of a mile to the east; Lythe
Hall, made the vicarage in 1903 by exchange with
the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, is on the south, and
still further south are Mulgrave Castle (fn. 18) and its park.
Sandsend Beck rises in the west of the parish south of
Newton Mulgrave, a cluster of dwellings with the site
of the hall. It flows south-west as Dale Beck, then,
as Mickleby Beck, passes Mickleby Low Grange, north
of which the hamlet of Mickleby lies on both sides
of the High Street, with Mickleby High Grange
known locally as the Land of Nod. Further on
the stream passes Barnby Sleights; Barnby Howe,
a tumulus and the site of a beacon stand north of
the High Street. The beck turns Foss Mill, (fn. 19) skirts
Mulgrave Park and passes Normanby House and the
church of St. Mary, Sandsend, before arriving at the
little watering-place of Sandsend, (fn. 20) which is built at
its mouth. Sandsend water-mill belonged to Mulgrave Manor in March 1633–4. (fn. 21)
Near the source of East Row Beck is the village of
Ugthorpe, on the road from the southern moors to
Lythe. It is built mainly on the north side of this
road, with the hall on the south; still further south
are Ugthorpe Grange, the church, vicarage and the
farm called the Lawns at the east end. In 1254 the
priories of Grendale and Guisborough divided this
part of the waste of the manor of Ugthorpe which
used to be common to both by these boundaries:
'from the dale called Risumsyc south to Thorinrigsyc (fn. 22)
and in breadth from Hulverheved to the east to the
public street (publica strata) from Ugthorpe to the
moor.' (fn. 23) The miller of Ugthorpe is mentioned in
the 13th century. (fn. 24) The hall is said to date from
1586, (fn. 25) but in 1558–9 Christopher Bagshawe had
licence to alienate a capital tenement called the
Newhall in the park of Ugthorpe. (fn. 26) On Ugthorpe
Moor is Wood Dale Houses, by Green Houses Beck.
Cucket Nook, (fn. 27) in the extreme south-west of the
parish, recalls the ancient manor of Cocket.
Hutton Mulgrave is composed of a cluster of houses
south of Mulgrave Park. A lane running north from
Lythe to Runswick Bay passes through the hamlet of
Goldsborough and of Kettleness, which lies at the
mouth of Cat Beck and has a station on the Whitby
and Saltburn branch of the North Eastern railway.
The Ness, which gives its name to this place, forms
the right arm of the bay.
Ellerby stands 1½ miles south-west of the bay.
Through it a road leads south to Ellerby Bank Top
(628 ft.) on the High Street. West is Newton
Mulgrave Moor (700 ft.), from which Birk (fn. 28) Dale
Beck descends northwards to Low Borrowby, the
water-mill of which is mentioned in 1703, (fn. 29) and then
to Dale House. Borrowby with High House is west
of the beck. On Tranmire Moor in the west of the
parish are Low Tranmire hamlet and Old Castle
Farm.
There are Wesleyan Methodist chapels at Lythe
(rebuilt 1882), Mickleby and Sandsend, and a Congregational chapel at Mickleby. Ugthorpe, like
Egton, is a Roman Catholic centre. It was at
Biggin Houses, (fn. 30) about a mile south of Ugthorpe,
that the priest Nicholas Postgate was taken during
the reign of Charles II, (fn. 31) and in 1690 there were
twenty-seven recusants in Lythe and Hutton Mulgrave. (fn. 32) The church of St. Ann, founded in 1679,
was built in 1855 to replace an older chapel built
in 1812. (fn. 33) There are public elementary schools at
Lythe (1849), Ugthorpe (1860) and Ellerby (1882).

Ugthorpe Old Hall
There are howes or tumuli on Newton Mulgrave,
Hutton Mulgrave and Ugthorpe moors, at Barnby
and near Runswick Bay; pit dwellings can be traced
on Ugthorpe Moor, and there are monoliths near
Ugthorpe Mill and the Traveller's Rest Farm at
Ugthorpe, another east of Goldsborough and a
fourth—'Wade's stone'—east of East Barnby. A
prehistoric road runs along the ridge from Lythe
westward over Danby Moor, and, according to Professor Boyd Dawkins, 'was one of the most important
roads in the district.' (fn. 34) This older road is joined by
the Roman road from Cawthorn known as Wade's
Causeway at Lease Rigg, whence it proceeds to
Grosmont and eastwards to Whitby. (fn. 35) Newton is
called 'Understreet' in 1654. (fn. 36) Roman coins were
turned up in a field near Ugthorpe Mill in 1792. (fn. 37)
This field and the mill, now disused, are the property of Mr. Robert Dobson of Ugthorpe House.
The home of the Wade myth, whoever Wade may
have been, seems certainly to have been Mulgrave. (fn. 38)
There was a mediaeval romance, now lost, on this
subject, and Chaucer's commentator, referring to
allusions of the poet, (fn. 39) merely states that he omits the
story of 'Wade and his bote called Guingelot, because
the matter is so long and fabulous.' (fn. 40) William de
Wadhow was a tenant in Barnby in 1348, (fn. 41) but this
form seems to have been a variant of the earlier
Warthou, (fn. 42) and the earliest written mention of Wade
here is probably that of Leland in his description of
Mulgrave Castle, which he says 'stondith on apon a
craggy hille: and on ech side of it is an hille far
higher then that whereon the castelle stondith on.
The north hille on the toppe of it hath certen stones
communely caullid Waddes Grave, whom the people
there say to have bene a gigant and owner of
Mougreve.' (fn. 43) Camden (fn. 44) confuses the Saxon general
Wada with this hero, relating that after forming an
alliance with the murderers of King Ethelred he was
routed and fled to Mulgrave, and 'was buried in the
hill here between two solid stones near seven feet
high, which being 11 feet asunder, people do not
scruple to affirm that he was of gigantic size.' About
a century ago country people still repeated legends
of Wade and his wife Bell.
The remains of earthworks near the Foss Mill
possibly represent the Fossard castle of Mulgrave. (fn. 45)
Old Mulgrave Castle, described by Leland, lies a mile
south-west of the present castle, and is said to have
been fortified by the first Peter de Mauley (fn. 46) who
acquired Mulgrave before 1220. (fn. 47) The Meaux
Chronicler (fn. 48) says it was called 'Multgrefe that is
multum grave' by a knight of those parts who had
never loved Peter; but part of the name is older
than Peter's time. (fn. 49) The castle was said to be
ruinous in 1309, (fn. 50) but in 1326 Peter de Mauley
was ordered to retire here for the defence of this
part of the country. (fn. 51) Garrisoned for the king
during the Civil War, it was finally surrendered by
Capt. Zachary Steward (fn. 52) before 1645, (fn. 53) and dismantled in 1647, (fn. 54) £1,000 being paid to the Earl
of Mulgrave as compensation. (fn. 55)
The old castle of Mulgrave stands on a narrow
wooded ridge between the two parallel valleys formed
by the East Row and Sandsend Becks. The site,
which is not particularly strong by nature, has been
improved by the cutting of two deep ditches across
the ridge, above and below the castle, to a certain
extent isolating it. The fortress was approached on
the west side and formed an irregular polygonal
inclosure encircled by a curtain wall with towers at
intervals. Near the centre of the site rises a square
tower or keep, now the only building standing within
the circuit, which formerly included numerous other
structures. The level of the ground within the castle
is considerably above that immediately without and
the curtains, which thus became retaining walls, have
suffered much in consequence. They now present a
patchwork of many periods, heavily buttressed on the
outward side to counteract the bulging tendency due
to the weight of the earth within. Under these
circumstances it is exceedingly difficult definitely to
date the various portions. The inclosure of the walls
measures approximately 300 ft. from east to west by
200 ft. from north to south and the curtain remains
tolerably perfect except for its battlements on the
west, north and east sides; on the south, however,
the remains are very fragmentary. The wall on the
south-west side appears to be the earliest in construction and may date from the late 12th or early
13th century. It is finished with a plain chamfered
plinth and is supported at irregular intervals by 16thcentury buttresses of varying form and projection.
At a point about 80 ft. south of the gate-house is a
stone stair within the walls leading up to the alure
and from here the character of the wall alters, the
distinguishing feature of the later work being the flat
pilaster buttresses regularly spaced and brought out to
the face of the plinth. The moulded tabling to these
projections indicates that they are of comparatively
late date, probably the 14th century. This wall also
has given outwards and a massive pier, which is almost
a tower, has been added near its southern end, while
a modern buttress masks the junction between the
earlier and later work just south of the gate-house.
This building, which must be assigned to the 13th
century, is placed slightly askew to the line of the
curtain, the foundations of which are continued right
across it. From this circumstance it would appear
that this was not the original entrance. The building
consists only of two circular flanking towers each
about 15 ft. in diameter and built solid at the base.
They were apparently both ruined to the inner or
castle ground level, but that on the north has been
restored to some height. Connecting the two is a
retaining wall or sill from which sprang the drawbridge, the abutment on the opposite side of the ditch
(now used as a roadway) being still observable. The
curtain to the north of the gate-house is in the same
patched and repaired condition as that already
described. Forty-one feet away are the remains of a
hollow projection, some 23 ft. wide, probably a garderobe tower, and 18 ft. further north the base of a
circular turret. The northern front also was heavily
buttressed in the 16th century and at the north-east
angle are signs of extensive alterations. The original
wall at this point evidently embraced a larger area,
but apparently the ground at this point slipped into
the valley, carrying the wall with it and necessitating
the building of the later line across the angle. Near
the point where this joins the eastern face is a small
rectangular tower, two stages high and of the 14th
century. It measures internally 14 ft. by 8½ ft. with
walls 2½ ft. thick pierced with small single-light
windows and loops alternately. On the north side
is a small door which must once have opened on to a
wooden gallery on the outer face of the adjoining
curtain. The floor above is provided with a small
fireplace and a garderobe. Adjacent to this tower on
the south is a postern cut through the eastern curtain
and somewhat altered in modern times. The curtain
itself is here some 9 ft. thick with two loops in the
length with broad embrasures. At the south-east
angle are remains of another tower, in which the base
of a stone vice still exists. The line of the curtain on
the southern face is traceable only by the difference
in ground level within and without the inclosure and
by a few fragments of foundations. As has been said,
the only building still standing within the circuit is
the keep, but during the desultory excavations made
by the present Marquess of Normanby on the site
the foundations of buildings were everywhere met
with. Some of these are yet apparent, but much
overgrown and difficult to trace. There was, however,
a large building against the southern curtain, between
it and the keep, and another block was discovered to
the west of the north-east tower. North of the keep
also are remains of a structure once standing within a
few feet of the existing building. The base court
may be presumed to have occupied the space to the
east of the gate-house and in the centre of it is the
great well of the castle. The keep tower is considerably nearer the southern than the northern
curtain. It is a rectangular building 49 ft. from
north to south by 48 ft. from east to west externally
with circular projections 24 ft. in diameter at the
angles. It is of various dates, presenting numerous
problems, which in its present ruined condition are
by no means easy to solve, especially as a heavy growth
of ivy on one side conceals some of the available
evidence. It is, however, probable that the original
building was a simple rectangular tower, apparently
of the early 13th century, and of this portions of the
north and south walls remain, including a passage on
the north side in the thickness of the wall, blocked up
with herring-bone brickwork and used as a fireplace
in the 16th century. The first alteration appears to
have been the erection of the angle towers and the
general refacing of the building, about the end of the
13th century. The whole of the west wall was then
rebuilt and the wall passage on the south side added.
The entrance porch on the south to the upper floor
was constructed during the 15th century and the
final alterations to the building, including the insertion
of the large mullioned window openings, are of mid16th-century date. The building as it stands is much
ruined, the angle towers rising a few feet only above
the floor level. There are remains of two stories of
the main building each containing one large apartment
only. The ground floor is entered by a door on the
west with a short corridor, from which a gallery
(having a barrel roof of stone) branches off communicating with the angle towers. The main apartment
(28 ft. by 22½ ft.) is lit by a large seven-light
transomed window of 16th-century date in the east
wall, which remains intact, and a similar window of
four lights in the centre of the north side, of which
the sill only remains. In the west wall is a large
fireplace, the external face of the wall immediately
behind it being occupied by two 16th-century fourlight windows side by side, which appear never to
have been cut through. Externally a deep tabled
plinth is carried completely round the building and
towers. Of the latter, the south-western has a small
fireplace, the north-western the remains of an external
door and the north-eastern a large 16th-century
window of many lights, carried round on the curve.
Of this last, however, only one jamb and part of the
sill remain.

Plan of Mulgrave Castle
The first floor was approached by a porch and
staircase built on to the south side in the 15th
century. One jamb of the porch door remains
standing with a short flight of steps outside it. The
main apartment on the first floor has a fireplace
flanked by two large pointed openings in the west
wall. There is no evidence that these were ever
fitted with windows and their use is quite obscure.
It is likewise uncertain if the angle towers were ever
carried up beyond the first stage; if they were, they
must have partially blocked these two openings, but
there is little or no trace of their junction with the
main walls at this level. A 16th-century chimney
stack is carried up in the centre of this side. The
whole of the east wall of the apartment is occupied
by a large seven-light window, similar to and
immediately above the one in the floor below. The
north and south walls have almost entirely gone at
this level and the south-east angle is so obscured by
ivy as to provide little evidence of the former arrangement at this point.
The modern castle, which has fine views over sea
and moor, was built about 1735 by Catherine Duchess
of Buckingham, natural daughter of James II and wife
of John Duke of Buckingham. She frequently made
it her residence. It is a castellated building of stone
with a high tower, and has been greatly improved in
the 19th century. (fn. 56)
The old castle in 1309 had an orchard and a park
of 2 leagues (leagae) in circuit. (fn. 57) The present deer
park contains 200 acres. The late Marchioness of
Normanby built a summer-house in the Mulgrave
Woods by the beck on the supposed site of the
hermitage founded by William de Percy of Dunsley (fn. 58)
in the 12th century. This hermitage lay, however,
in Whitby parish. (fn. 59)
Thirteenth-century names in Ugthorpe are Pincroft,
Roucegrift, Withwayt super Wlvedale and the moor
called Kalange (fn. 60) ; and in 1539 occur: le Park, Yngedale, Netherwood, Store Park, Bigging Field,
Woodalle House, Broome Leeze, Sely Croke, le
Howe Close, Mersigale Field, New Park, le Brome
Dike, le Volse, Nun Side, Chapel Croft, Coke Close,
Arthur Bank, le Maye Gates, le Hall Croft. (fn. 61) A
place called Grimesbi, now lost, was in 1086 assessed
between Newton Mulgrave and Borrowby. (fn. 62)
Manors
The 'manor' and 2 carucates at
LYTHE belonged to Swen before the
Conquest, and were in 1086 held of the
Count of Mortain (fn. 63) by Niel Fossard, (fn. 64) who is said
to have been a tenant 'before the Conquest.' (fn. 65) Niel
was succeeded by his son Robert, father of William,
who left a son and heir William, (fn. 66) a minor. Henry II
gave the heir's wardship to William Earl of Albemarle, (fn. 67) who was thus tenant of Lythe in 1179, (fn. 68) the
year of his death. (fn. 69) For the betrayal of the earl's
sister the heir was obliged to flee the country. (fn. 70) He
returned after his guardian's death and is said to have
recovered his inheritance, (fn. 71) but from 1180 to 1197
Lythe and its soke seems to have remained in the
king's hands, paying tallage with other royal demesnes. (fn. 72)
William left a daughter and heir Joan, a minor in
custody of the king, who gave her in marriage to
Robert de Turnham, (fn. 73) Beatrice widow of William
suing for dower in 1199. (fn. 74) Joan was perhaps dead
in 1210–12 when Robert de Turnham held thirtyone and a half knights' fees in chief in Yorkshire. (fn. 75)
Isabel daughter and heir of Robert and Joan married
the Poitevin esquire of King John, Peter de Mauley
to whom the king gave her marriage, nominally for
the payment of 7,000 marks, (fn. 76) but really, it was
afterwards said, (fn. 77) as the price for the murder of the
king's nephew Arthur. With the beginning of the
Mauley lordship the manor of Lythe (fn. 78) seems to have
been merged in the manor of Mulgrave, Mulgrave
Castle being the head of the Mauley barony.
At BARNBY (Barnebi, xi-xii cent.; Bernby,
xiv cent.) the king in 1086 (fn. 79) held 4 carucates of land
which William de Wardehow, (fn. 80) the heir of Matthew
Sturmy and Alice le Breton, held of Peter de Mauley
in 1302–3. (fn. 81) Peter de Mauley was sole lord in
1316. (fn. 82) Barnby afterwards followed the descent of
Mulgrave.
With the 'manor' of BORROWBY (Bergebi,
Bergesbi, xi cent.; Berkby, xiv cent.; Borowby,
xv-xvi cent.; Boroby, Borabie alias Burrowby alias
Lowe Burrowbie, Upperborobye, Over Borobye, xvi
cent.) and its berewick Roxby (fn. 83) 6 (or 5) carucates were
held by Swen before the Conquest, and these had
passed by 1086 to the Count of Mortain and his undertenant Niel Fossard. (fn. 84) From Niel the manor descended
to the Mauleys, the fifth Peter holding it in demesne
in 1316. (fn. 85) The Mauleys subsequently alienated the
manor, and were afterwards merely overlords. (fn. 86)
In 1348 a Henry de Borrowby held 4 carucates
of land here, (fn. 87) which were held by John de Borrowby
in 1428. (fn. 88) Thomas Redmayne of Bossall (fn. 89) died
seised in 1514 of the manors of Borrowby and
Newton Mulgrave, which he had previously settled
on his younger daughter and co-heir Anne and her
husband Thomas (fn. 90) son and heir of Guy Wilsthorpe (fn. 91)
of Wilsthorpe in the East Riding. Anne, then a
widow, in 1577 conveyed these manors to Cuthbert
Redmayne, a younger son of the Redmaynes of Harewood Castle and husband of her daughter Elizabeth, (fn. 92)
and John Walton. (fn. 93) Wilsthorpe Redmayne conveyed
the manor of 'Borrowby or Low Borrowby' to Henry
Bellasis early in 1596–7, (fn. 94) and Henry Bellasis, Ursula
his wife and Conyers Darcy joined in 1602 in conveying
it to Sir John Hart, kt., (fn. 95) of Scampton, Lincs., son of
Ralph Hart of Sproston Court, Yorks., and Lord Mayor
of London in 1590. (fn. 96) Sir John died in January
1602–3 seised of the manor-house, grange or capital
messuage of Low Borrowby, leaving daughters and
co-heirs Joan wife of George Bolles and Judith wife
of Edward Cage or Gage. He had, however, left
Borrowby by will to John son of George and Joan. (fn. 97)
George Bolles received a quitclaim of this manor from
George Hart and Joan his wife in 1611. (fn. 98) George
Bolles, who was of an old Lincolnshire family, was
Lord Mayor of London in 1617–18 (being knighted
in 1618), (fn. 99) and belonged to the Puritan party. (fn. 100) He
died in 1621; his son and heir John was created a
baronet in 1628 and died in March 1647–8, leaving
a son and heir Sir Robert Bolles, M.P. for Lincoln
from 1661 till his death in March 1663–4. (fn. 101) His
son and heir John was succeeded in March 1685–6
by his son Sir John Bolles, the last baronet, M.P. for
Lincoln 1690–1702, who died unmarried in 1714
leaving a sister and heir Sarah. (fn. 102) Sarah died unmarried in 1746, (fn. 103) and these manors descended to
her co-heirs Sir Cyril Wych, bart., son and heir of
John son and heir of Sir Peter Wych by Isabel one
of the daughters of Sir Robert
Bolles, the second baronet,
John Washer of Lincoln's
Inn, son and heir of Thomas
Washer and Katharine his
wife, another daughter of Sir
Robert, and Mary wife of
John Turton, M.D., of Birmingham, daughter of John
Hayes of Ashby de la Zouch
and Mary his wife, daughter
and heir of George Antrobus
and Ann his wife the third
daughter and co-heir of Sir
Robert. (fn. 104) John Washer left an
only child Elizabeth, married
to William Wilson in 1750. (fn. 105) In 1751 an order of
partition was obtained and the manor of Newton
Mulgrave and tenements in Borrowby fell to the
share of John and Mary Turton, (fn. 106) but in accordance
with the will of Sir John Hart the township of
Newton Mulgrave was charged with the yearly payment of £42 to Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge,
for ever, John Coppinger and Joseph Turton being
made trustees for this purpose. (fn. 107) It is now the
property of the Marquess of Normanby.

Bolles, baronet. Azure three cups or with boars' heads argent coming out of the bowls.
When first mentioned in the 13th century,
COCKET (Cuktwald, xiii cent.; Cokewald, xiv
cent.; Cockthwaite, xvi cent.; Cockwith muke,
xvii cent.) was in the hands of the Mauleys, finally
becoming a parcel of Egton Manor. (fn. 108) It is called a
'ruined manor' in 1383, (fn. 109) but the site (placea) was
worth £10 in 1438–9. (fn. 110) Stephen de Mauley claimed
to have a park here. (fn. 111)
Siward and Swen held 6 carucates in ELLERBY
(Elwordebi, xi cent.; Alwardebi, xi-xii cent.;
Elerbi, Elerdeby, Elwerdeby, xiii cent.; Elredeby,
xiv cent.; Eldredeby, xv cent.) as two 'manors'
before the Conquest, after which they passed to the
Count of Mortain and his under-tenant Niel Fossard. (fn. 112)
Lands here were part of a knight's fee in Wilton and
elsewhere held by Ranulph de Nevill of Peter de
Mauley in 1284–5, (fn. 113) but Peter de Mauley was
returned as sole lord in 1316. (fn. 114)
Hugh Coatham (Cottom) conveyed the manor to
George Conyers (of Boulby) in 1546, (fn. 115) and in 1564
George Conyers conveyed tenements here to Robert
Pursglove, clerk. (fn. 116) There seems to be no further
mention of the manor.
At GOLDESBOROUGH (Golborg, xi cent.; Goldburg, xi-xiv cent.; Goldeburc, xii cent.; Golde
burgh, Goldesburgh, xiii cent.) 2 carucates formed a
'manor' of Swen's before the Conquest, when they
passed to the Count of Mortain and his under-tenant
Niel Fossard. (fn. 117) Peter de Mauley was assessed at
24s. 10d. in 1301–2 (fn. 118) for this manor, of which this
is the only mention found.
Swen held a 'manor' and 3 carucates at HUTTON
MULGRAVE (Hotune, Hotone, xi cent.; Hotton,
xvi cent.) before the Conquest, when it passed to
the Count of Mortain and his under-tenant Niel
Fossard. (fn. 119) From Niel these lands descended to the
Mauleys. (fn. 120)
Four carucates of land at MICKLEBY (Michelbi,
xi-xii cent.; Micchelby, xiii cent.; Mikelby, xiiixvi cent.) were held before the Conquest by Swen as
a 'manor' and then passed to the Count of Mortain
and his under-tenant Niel Fossard. (fn. 121) Mickleby has
descended with Mulgrave (q.v.) to the present
Marquess of Normanby. (fn. 122)
The pre-Conquest 'manor' of Swen at MULGRAVE (Grif, xi cent.; Mulegrive, Mulgreve,
Mulgrave, xiii cent.; Mulgref, Multgreve, Molgrave,
xiv cent.; Mougreve, Muwgrave, xvi cent.), where
6 carucates of land were at geld, had passed by 1086
to Niel Fossard, who held them of the Count of
Mortain. (fn. 123)

Mauley. Or a bend sable.

Bigod. Or a cross gules charged with five scallops argent.
The first Peter de Mauley, successor of the
Fossards, died in 1221 leaving a son and heir Peter,
who in 1241 sailed for the
Holy Land. (fn. 124) In the same
year the sheriff took his lands
into the king's custody during
the minority of his son. (fn. 125)
This son, the third Peter,
did homage in 1247, (fn. 126) and
received in 1254 a grant of
free warren in his demesnes
of Lythe, Great and Little
Barnby, Cocket, Ellerby, Hutton Mulgrave, Mickleby and
Sandsend, provided they were
not within the bounds of the
forest. (fn. 127) He died in or before 1279, when his son
and heir was Peter, (fn. 128) who in 1284–5 held four
knights' fees in Cleveland as the barony of Mulgrave, (fn. 129) and was summoned to Parliament as a baron
from 1295. (fn. 130) He died in or before August 1309, (fn. 131)
leaving a son and heir Peter, who was born at Mulgrave Castle, and, as one of the heirs of Gilbert de
Gant, made proof of age in 1303. (fn. 132) The fifth Peter
was pardoned in 1313 as one of the adherents of
Thomas Earl of Lancaster. (fn. 133) He died in 1355,
leaving a son and heir Peter (fn. 134) 'le syme' (sixième),
whose mother took the veil and granted him her
dower for payment of 800 marks yearly to her
trustees. (fn. 135) The sixth Peter died in March 1382–3,
leaving a grandson and heir Peter, aged five, (fn. 136) who
was made a K.B. at the coronation of Henry IV. (fn. 137)
He died childless in 1415, (fn. 138) the castle and manor
having been settled on himself and Maud his wife,
who died in 1428, when the Mulgrave inheritance
reverted to Constance wife of
Sir John Bigod of Settrington,
kt., one of the sisters of Peter,
and to Sir John Salvin, kt., (fn. 139)
son of Elizabeth, another
sister. (fn. 140) The division was disputed in 1439, (fn. 141) but eventually the Salvins had Egton
(q.v.) and the old Fossard
lordship of Doncaster, and the
Bigods Mulgrave. Constance
died seised in 1450, leaving a
son and heir Ralph, a knight. (fn. 142)
Sir Ralph's son Sir John died
in his father's lifetime, and in March 1461–2 Sir
Ralph Bigod was succeeded by John's son Ralph, (fn. 143)
who proved his age in 1479–80, (fn. 144) was knighted in
1482, (fn. 145) and died in 1515 leaving a grandson and
heir Francis, son of his son John and aged seven. (fn. 146)
This is the Sir Francis Bigod of Settrington whose
rising in the Pilgrimage of Grace (fn. 147) led to his execution and attainder. (fn. 148) His widow Katharine wrote in
1537 from Mulgrave Castle to the Bishop of Worcester thanking him for his intercession with the king
for her feoffment and begging him to continue his
efforts for herself and children. (fn. 149) Katharine died
seised of the Bigod manors of Mulgrave and Seaton
in 1566, when her grandson Francis Radcliffe, son of
her daughter Dorothy wife of Roger Radcliffe (still
living), was her heir. (fn. 150) The Radcliffes continued for
some time to hold Mulgrave, perhaps by grant from
the Crown for the life of Francis, who died in
February 1591–2 leaving a son and heir Roger Radcliffe. (fn. 151) Roger was born at Mulgrave Castle in 1579
and made proof of age in January 1600–1. (fn. 152) In 1592,
however, the manor, castle, park, and advowson of
the church of Lythe, possessions of Sir Francis Bigod
attainted, were granted in fee farm to Edmund Lord
Sheffield of Butterwick, Lincolnshire, and his heirs
male, (fn. 153) at the ancient rent of £410 18s. 3d. (fn. 154) Lord
Sheffield, who had taken an active part against the
Spanish Armada, was Lord-Lieutenant of Yorkshire
and Lord President of the North (from 1603 to 1619);
he was, in February 1625–6, created Earl of Mulgrave. (fn. 155) He joined with his grandson and heir
Edmund (fn. 156) and Roger Radcliffe early in 1633–4 in
surrendering the Mulgrave lordship and the advowson
of Lythe Church to the Crown, (fn. 157) and received a regrant in tail-male and confirmation of a lease he had
made for ninety-nine years of the same with appurtenances in East and West Barnby, Briscoe, Cocket,
Hutton, Mickleby, Lythe and Sandsend. (fn. 158) On his
death in 1646 (fn. 159) he was succeeded by his grandson
Edmund, who was councillor of state to Cromwell and
one of the nine peers of the old régime in Cromwell's
House of Lords. (fn. 160) He died in 1658 and was succeeded by his only son John,
created Marquess of Normanby, co. Lincoln, in 1694
and in March 1702–3 'Duke
of the County of Buckingham
and of Normanby'; he died
in February 1720–1, leaving
an only surviving son Edmund
who died unmarried in 1735,
when these honours became
extinct. (fn. 161) His father had married as his third wife (in March
1705–6) Katharine Dowager
Countess of Anglesey, illegitimate daughter of James II by
the Countess of Dorchester, (fn. 162)
and to her he devised his estates. (fn. 163) Her daughter and
heir Katharine by James Annesley, third Earl of
Anglesey, married William Phipps son of Sir Constantine Phipps, Lord Chancellor 1710–14, and had a
son and heir Constantine, who succeeded by lease of
George II to the Mulgrave estate on the death of his
grandmother in March 1742–3. (fn. 164) He was created
Lord Mulgrave of New Ross, co. Wexford, in 1767,
and died in 1775, (fn. 165) having in 1774 purchased this
estate in fee-tail from the Crown for £30,000 and
an annual payment of £1,200. (fn. 166) His son and heir
Constantine John succeeded (fn. 167) and was in 1790
created Lord Mulgrave of Mulgrave, Yorks., (fn. 168) an
honour which became extinct in 1792 when he died
childless and was succeeded by his brother and heir
Henry. A fresh creation of the barony was made in
favour of this brother in 1794. (fn. 169) Henry was
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 1804–5, First
Lord of the Admiralty 1807–10 and Lord-Lieutenant of the East Riding 1807. In 1812 he was
created Viscount Normanby of Normanby, co. York,
and Earl of Mulgrave in Yorks. (fn. 170) He died in 1831,
leaving a son and heir Constantine Henry, born at
Mulgrave Castle, who was Viceroy of Ireland 1835–9,
created Marquess of Normanby in 1838, (fn. 171) was
Colonial Secretary and a foreign ambassador and died
in 1863, leaving a son and heir George Augustus
Constantine, Governor of Queensland 1871–4, of
New Zealand 1874–8, and of Victoria 1879–84.
He died in 1890 and was succeeded by his son Constantine Charles Henry Phipps,
who took holy orders in 1870, (fn. 172)
and is now resident at Mulgrave Castle.

Sheffield, Duke of Buckingham and Normanby. Argent a cheveron between three sheaves gules.

Phipps, Marquess of Normanby. Sable a trefoil in an orle of molets argent.
Complaint was made in
1431 that the lord of Mulgrave claimed a whale cast
upon the shore at Lythe, by
'jus regale.' (fn. 173) Wreck of sea
was included in the grant to
the Earl of Mulgrave in March
1633–4 and at that date mention is made of a rent from
the inhabitants of Sandsend to
the lord of Mulgrave of seventy
couples of salt fish yearly. (fn. 174)
Peter de Mauley was said in 1284–5 to have set
up a claim to gallows. (fn. 175)
Three carucates of land in NEWTON MULGRAVE (Newetune, Neutone, xi cent.; Niweton,
xii cent.; Neuton in Whitby Strand, xiii-xiv cent.)
were soke of Borrowby in 1086, (fn. 176) and the manor
was held of Ralph Bigod in 1514. (fn. 177)
Richard de Thweng and Robert son of Nicholas
de Acklam received a grant of free warren in this
manor in 1261, (fn. 178) and Ralph de Thweng and Robert
de Acklam were joint under-tenants in 1284–5, (fn. 179) as
were Richard de Thweng and Robert in 1302–3. (fn. 180)
The Thwengs seem afterwards (fn. 181) to have only held
services here, and by 1428 had been replaced by the
Wilsthorpes. (fn. 182) An inquisition was held at the suit of the
Prior of Guisborough in 1342 to discover if Nicholas
de Clyf, Peter son of William de Acklam and William
Bell of Newton were lords of this vil, (fn. 183) although
in 1348 Robert Acklam and Richard de Thweng
were still returned as joint-tenants. (fn. 184) In 1428 John
Wilsthorpe, William Wilsthorpe and Margery Acklam
held separately in Newton and Ellerby the 4 carucates
'that Richard Thweng and Robert Acklam formerly
held.' (fn. 185) In 1514 this manor was in the hands of the
owner of Borrowby (q.v.), with which it afterwards
descended (fn. 186) until it was adjudged to the Turtons.
It has since descended with the Turtons' manor of
Upsall, (fn. 187) and is now in the possession of Mr. Edmund
Russborough Turton.
In 1278–81 Robert de Acklam claimed that the
manor had always been quit of suit at wapentake or
trithing. (fn. 188)
Before the Conquest Ligulf and Game each held
2 carucates of land at UGTHORPE (Vghetorp,
Vgetorp, xi cent.; Uggethorpe, xii–xvi cent.;
Uggelthorpe, 1276); this was land of the king in
1086. (fn. 189) Ugthorpe does not seem to have formed
part of the Fossard fee, (fn. 190) though Peter de Mauley
strengthened the position of Guisborough Priory by
a fictitious suit and quitclaim of the manor in
1280. (fn. 191)
In 1202 William Wirfauc of Hinderwell, (fn. 192) perhaps
as overlord, granted or confirmed the grant of Robert
de Everingham of 3 carucates of land here to the
priory. (fn. 193)
The families of Argentein and Munceaux were
probably joint mesne lords. (fn. 194) In the 12th century
Alan de Monceaux and Gilbert and Ingram his sons
granted the priory 1 carucate of land here, and
Robert son and heir of Ingram confirmed it. (fn. 195) Robert
de Everingham with consent of Hawise his wife gave
2 carucates which they held of William de Argentein;
and Peter Cordevill gave 1 of that fee of which
William de Hamby was mesne lord, a grant confirmed by Henry II in 1182. (fn. 196)
Henry III in 1263 granted the priory free warren
in all their demesnes here, (fn. 197) and the prior was the
only tenant returned for this place in 1284–5 and
sole lord in 1316. (fn. 198)
The priory held the manor until the Dissolution, (fn. 199)
after which, in 1541, it was granted to William
Stafford, esquire of the body, in fee in exchange for
the manor of Henden near Hever, Kent, (fn. 200) and in the
same year William granted it to Roland Shakerley,
citizen of London. (fn. 201) Roland Shakerley and Ann his
wife in 1552 conveyed the manor to Robert Pursglove,
suffragan Bishop of Hull (fn. 202) and founder of the hospital
at Guisborough (q.v.). He in February 1564–5
alienated the manor to Roger Radcliffe (fn. 203) of Mulgrave.
Roger, who died in 1588, settled it on his daughter
Katharine and her heirs with reversion to his son
and heir Francis. (fn. 204) Katharine lived here and died
a spinster in February 1614–15, when the manor
reverted to her nephew Roger son of Francis, aged
thirty. It had, however, been previously settled on
Katharine's brother William Radcliffe for life with
remainder to his seven sons in turn, then to his
daughters, and then to Charles Radcliffe and Ralph
Harding. (fn. 205) Roger Radcliffe had livery in February
1629–30 (fn. 206) ; early in 1635–6 the manor was conveyed by William Radcliffe, jun., and Jane his wife
to Francis Thornhill, jun., and his heirs and James
Coates. (fn. 207) The manor is now in the possession of the
Marquess of Normanby.
The priory in 1284–5 claimed toll and team, soc
and sac and infangentheof by charter of Henry III. (fn. 208)
Grendale Priory held tenements in the 13th century (fn. 209)
and granted permission to the Prior of Guisborough
to move his vaccary from Wood Dale (Wlvedale) and
construct another in Wythewayth (fn. 210) ; in 1262 an
agreement was made between the two Houses by
which Grendale quitclaimed all its land here to Guisborough in return for a yearly rent of 28 quarters
of wheat reasonably well threshed. (fn. 211) By a similar
agreement in 1269 Guisborough Priory was to pay
26 quarters of wheat yearly for the lands of Grendale at Biggin Houses (Percy Biggin). (fn. 212) A payment
representing 58 quarters of corn was still made at
the Dissolution. (fn. 213)
Churches
The church of ST. OSWALD
stands at a little distance to the
east of the village about 350 ft. above
sea level on the edge of the high ground, where it
begins to fall rapidly towards the coast. It consists
of a chancel 28 ft. 6 in. by 14 ft. 9 in. with a vestry on
the north and chapel on the south side, nave 55 ft. by
15 ft. 6 in., north and south aisles, south porch and
west tower 15 ft. 6 in. square, all these measurements being internal. The tower is surmounted by
a short stone spire 32 ft. in height. With the exception of the north wall and the east end of the chancel
the church was entirely rebuilt in 1910–11, (fn. 214) previous to which it stood pretty much as it had been
left at the end of the 18th century after undergoing
extensive alterations and rebuildings, which had made
the recovery of its original plan difficult. In the
demolition of the building in the summer of 1910 a
large number of pre-Conquest fragments were found
built into the walls, chiefly in the tower, which had
been reconstructed in 1769. These fragments, which
consist mainly of portions of cross heads and shafts
and of hog-back stones, are apparently of 10th and
11th-century date, and are over thirty in number, (fn. 215)
one of them being a recumbent monument in the
form of a double-edged stone with cable moulding
along the ridges. A few fragments of later date were
also found, one being part of a carved tympanum and
two others of less size showing sculptured forms. A
stone coffin was also discovered. These fragments
point to a building or buildings older than any part
of the existing church, all the original architectural
features of which were preserved in the recent rebuilding.
The east end of the chancel is of 13th-century
date, together possibly with some portions of the
north aisle wall. (fn. 216) Two small buttresses near the
east end of the aisle proper may be the same age as
the oldest part of the wall, but others of greater size
have been added at a not very distant date, those at
the angles being of large size and diagonal in plan.
An addition, probably the sacristy, was made on the
north side of the chancel, perhaps in the late 14th
century, with diagonal angle buttresses, leaving a
space to the west between it and the aisle of about
12 ft., which was afterwards thrown into the church,
the wall being built flush with the others. An
enormous buttress nearly 7 ft. in width was later built
against the sacristy (now the vestry) wall, which,
together with other smaller ones of similar type along
the north wall, gives the building a rather strange
and irregular appearance on that side. A two-light
square-headed window with hood mould and the
fragment of a second are apparently of 15th-century
date, but they may be insertions. The north doorway, which is about 20 ft. from the west end, has a
rather flat pointed chamfered head and is also of late
date.

Lythe Church from the South-west (after Restoration)
In 1742 a faculty was obtained to remove two
small arches and to erect one large arch instead, (fn. 217)
which seems to indicate some tampering with the
arcade at that date. In 1768 'the top of the steeple
was taken down for fear of its falling upon the
church,' (fn. 218) and in the year following the remaining
part was 'taken down to the foundation and rebuilt.' (fn. 219)
The tower then built stood till 1910, and was of two
stages with an embattled parapet and angle pinnacles.
A gallery was erected in 1788, (fn. 220) and in 1818 the
pews were renewed and the roof covered with slates
instead of lead. (fn. 221) The whole of the south wall of
the nave, which stood only very slightly in front of
the tower, had been entirely modernized, and was of
the same height as and in line with that of the
chancel. The south porch was an addition between
two older buttresses. The building was covered by
a roof of single span, probably of 18th-century date,
which threw the ridge to the north of the centre line
of the chancel, nave and tower, and produced an
awkward lop-sided effect externally at the east end by
throwing the apex of the gable to the north of the
chancel window. The walls terminated in a straight
parapet the full length of the building, and such of
the old windows as remained had been modernized
by the insertion of barred wooden frames. Separate
new stone slated roofs of different height have now
been erected over the chancel and nave, the east gable
rebuilt in its proper form, and the walls of the vestry
reduced in height. A south aisle has been added,
the west wall taken down and rebuilt and a new
tower erected.
The chancel is lighted in the east end by two
original lancet lights high up in the wall, with
external hood moulds, and has three buttresses of
two stages, one at each angle and one between the
windows, all with gabled heads and tall plinths, the
ground falling rapidly to the east. On the north side
the chancel wall is blank except for the doorway to the
vestry for about half its length, beyond which it is
open to the old organ chamber. On the south side
there is a short length of
original walling at the east
end containing a trefoilheaded piscina with two
floreated bowls and a mutilated credence recess with
angle shafts and trefoiled
head. Above the piscina is a
modern window, and further
west the chancel is open to
the chapel, which is a continuation of the south aisle,
by two moulded arches in
the style of the 13th century, filled in with a richly
carved screen. The chapel
is 19 ft. 6 in. long by 20 ft.
6 in. wide and has a vaulted
stone roof in two compartments. The chancel arch is
modern, and the organ is
now placed in a gallery over
the chancel screen in front
of the arch. The new south
aisle is 10 ft. 6 in. wide, but
that on the north retains its
original width of 8 ft. 6 in., though the arcade has
been rebuilt.
The rest of the building being modern is of no
antiquarian interest. It is faced inside with ashlar,
and the nave consists of five bays with alternate circular and octagonal pillars carrying pointed arches.
The tower is open to the nave by a lofty pointed arch
springing from corbels and contains a gallery. The
font and all the fittings are modern. There are a
number of mural tablets from the old church in
memory of the Sheffields and others.
The tower contains two bells, one inscribed 'Gloria
in Altissimis Deo, 1682,' and the other 'Sanctus
Oswel Deo.'
The plate consists of a cup of 1634 with cover
paten of the same date, the bowl inscribed, 'Belongeing to the Parish of Lythe in Yorke: shier 1635,' and
on the bottom of the cover, 'Lythe Church in Yorkeshier 1635'; a chalice of 1872, silver gilt, of mediaeval
design, inscribed, 'Ad majorem Dei Gloriam et in
usum ecclesiae St. Oswaldi de Lythe a.d. mdccclxxii,'
with paten of the same date; and a chalice and paten
of 1869. There is also a pewter chalice and paten. (fn. 222)
The registers begin in 1637.
The churchyard was enlarged in 1887 at the west
end and a lych-gate erected on the south side.
CHRIST CHURCH, Ugthorpe, consecrated in
1857, is built of stone in 13th-century style, and
consists of chancel, nave, transepts, north porch and
small spire containing one bell. The living is a
vicarage in the gift of the Archbishop of York.
The church of ST. MARY, Sandsend, built in
1869, is of stone in early 14th-century style, and
consists of chancel, nave and vestry. It is worked as
a mission in connexion with Lythe Church.
The mission church of ST. JOHN BAPTIST,
Kettleness, was built in 1872. There are also mission
chapels at East Barnby and Ellerby, the latter being
dependent on Ugthorpe.
Advowson
In the 12th century Robert Fossard and William his son gave the
church and 10 oxgangs in Lythe to
the priory of St. Oswald, Nostell. These lands were
afterwards made a prebend in York Cathedral, and
confirmed to the priory by Henry I, Henry II,
Richard I, John, Henry III and Edward I. (fn. 223)
In March 1344–5 the Prior of Nostell was cited
to the court of Rome at the suit of the parson of
Lythe as to the 36 marks rent he claimed from this
church, but the king, 'not being able to tolerate this,'
ordered all parties to appear before him. (fn. 224) The
priory had £24 pension at the Dissolution. (fn. 225)
In 1202 Robert de Turnham sued the prior, who
claimed the advowson by charters of the Fossards, (fn. 226) and
the advowson subsequently descended with the manor
of Mulgrave (fn. 227) until the attainder of Sir Francis
Bigod. (fn. 228) The advowson and rectory were granted
to the Archbishop of York in 1543, with licence to
appropriate, (fn. 229) and are still held by the archbishop. (fn. 230)
The parson, Thomas de Thweng, had licence to
found a chantry in 1352–3. (fn. 231)
'Chapels' appurtenant to this church are mentioned in 1291. (fn. 232) There seems to have been a
chapel at Newton from the 12th century at least (fn. 233) ;
it was granted by the Crown in 1572–3 to Edward
Forth and others, (fn. 234) in 1613–14 to James Cook and
others. (fn. 235)
Charities
A customary payment of £3 per
annum for the poor of Lythe was
formerly paid by the lessee of the
tithes from the Archbishop of York. The annual sum
of £2 is now received from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners in respect of this charity, which, with £1
received from Michael Hill's charity, mentioned below,
is carried to the poor and sick and needy fund.
By a scheme of the Charity Commissioners of
24 May 1898 the following charities for the benefit
of Ugthorpe were consolidated under the title of the
Charities of Belwood and others, namely:—Jane
Belwood, 1700, £42 19s. 9d. consols with the official
trustees; Michael Hill, by will 1657, yearly sum of
£1, part of rent-charge of £2 on Poor Folks' Close;
Cuthbert Hodgson, 1688, yearly sum of 18s., part of
rent-charge of £1 7s. on land in Mickleby, the remaining 9s. being for the poor of Mickleby; John
Hudson, 1672, a yearly sum of 10s. payable out of
land called Arthur Banks; William Marshall, by deed
1640, a yearly sum of 2s. payable out of a rent-charge
of £2 on lands in the township of Glaisdale (see
under Egton). By the scheme the vicar and two
representatives nominated by the parish meeting were
appointed trustees, by whom the aggregate income of
the charities, amounting to £3 11s. 4d., is distributed
in money to poor people, chiefly women, in sums
varying from 9s. to 18s.
For the charity of Thomas Woodill see under
Loftus. £2, a moiety of the rent, is duly distributed.