UPLEATHAM
Upelider (xi cent.); Uplium and Uplithum (xiii
cent.).
The parish of Upleatham, which lies south of
Marske, contains about 1,402 acres, of which 276
acres are arable land, 784 acres pasture and 215
acres woods and plantations. (fn. 1)
The soil is clay or fertile loam upon lias and, in the
north, on inferior oolite, and wheat, barley, oats and
beans are grown. There is abundance of free-stone, and
iron-stone has been worked for some years. In the
north of the parish on Beacon Moor the ground attains
a height of 550 ft., but declines towards the south,
rising again, however, in the south-west to over 500 ft.
It was here that Sir Thomas Dundas, bart., in the
latter part of the 18th century made his experiments
in stock breeding, effecting a decided improvement in
sheep. (fn. 2) The road from Guisborough runs from the
south-east in a north-westerly direction to the centre
of the parish, where it turns abruptly to the east and
proceeds north-east to Marske and Saltburn, and it is
along the portion of the road running west and east
that the village of Upleatham is situated.
Upleatham Hall had a fine position on high ground
at the west end of the village. It was a plain classic
stone building of three stories, built in the early years
of the 19th century from the designs of Sir Robert
Smirke. In 1897 the walls giving way owing to the
subsidence of the ground caused by the iron-stone
mining, the house was dismantled and afterwards
pulled down.
Further to the west on the north side of the road
to Saltburn is the church, erected in 1835, (fn. 3) the
vicarage, however, lying at some little distance to the
south-west. Opposite the church on the south are
the schools built by the Earl of Zetland, (fn. 4) and on
the same side of the road is the Wesleyan chapel;
the Primitive Methodists in 1849 already had a place
of worship here, (fn. 5) but this has been demolished on
account of the subsidence of the ground. (fn. 6) On the
east of the village a lane branching south-east from
the main road leads to the old church, now used only
as a mortuary chapel, which lies on the slope of the
hill-side overlooking the Skelton Beck. Just beyond
the junction of the road and the lane is Capon Hall
Farm, possibly on the site of the dwelling-place of
the Capons, an important family of Upleatham in
the Middle Ages. The name survives also in Capon
Wood, which skirts the left bank of Skelton Beck at
the south-east corner of the parish.
An almost continuous belt of woodland extends
from the village wood on the north-east of the parish,
through Errington Wood on the north, Soap Well
Wood and Fir Rigg Wood on the west to Raisbeck, and
Tocketts Dump Woods on the south, while to the
south-east of the site of the hall there is a stretch of
wood called The Dale.
Among place-names which occur in Upleatham in
1206 are 'Wulgarestan,' 'Carebrigge,' 'Felebrigge at
Benhil,' 'Grucros,' 'Grenwal,' 'Catteflat,' 'Felebrigge at Brokes' and 'Rabec.' (fn. 7) Of these the last
may perhaps be represented in Raisbeck Wood; Cat
Flats, north, and Fell Briggs, west of New Marske,
'Grucros' (evidently Grewgrass Farm) and Brocks,
further north, are all now in the parish of Marske, a
proof that the boundary between the two parishes
was not always clearly defined. A detached portion
of the parish near the sea in 1867 was included in
the parish of Redcar then formed. (fn. 8)
The station nearest to Upleatham is Marske on the
North Eastern railway, about 2 miles to the north.
Manor
In 1086 Earl Hugh of Chester held in
UPLEATHAM 10 carucates of land as
soke of Loftus, but it was then all waste. (fn. 9)
Soon afterwards the earl's lordship here must have
fallen to Robert de Brus, to whom about 1119–24
the church belonged. (fn. 10) On the death of the third
Peter de Brus in 1272 Upleatham was assigned,
apparently as an appendage of Marske Manor, which
it follows in descent, to Agnes and Walter de Fauconberg. (fn. 11) Most of the property now belongs to the
Marquess of Zetland.
Shortly after 1086 William de Percy had a mesne
lordship in Upleatham, for in the reign of William
Rufus he gave to Whitby Abbey a portion of the tithe
of his demesne here. (fn. 12) Upleatham is also included
among his lordships in the more definite grant made
by his grandson the second William de Percy. (fn. 13)
Henry de Percy, lord of Topcliffe, at his death in 1314
was overlord of 2 carucates of land in Upleatham held
by knight service, (fn. 14) and in 1442 homage and fealty
were due to Henry Percy Earl of Northumberland
for lands in Marske and Upleatham. (fn. 15) The descent of
the overlordship is the same as that of Topcliffe (q.v.).
In the 12th century this manor was in the holding
of a family named Argentein. William de Argentein
in 1166 held a knight's fee of William de Percy, (fn. 16)
who, no doubt as overlord, confirmed a grant of land
in Upleatham made to Whitby Abbey by Robert de
Argentein, William's father. (fn. 17) William de Argentein's heir was his daughter Agnes, (fn. 18) and Roger de
Argentein who lived early in the 13th century was
probably her son. (fn. 19) Roger had two daughters, Agnes
and Elizabeth, (fn. 20) of whom the former made over
all her property in Upleatham and Marske to her
relative John Herbald. (fn. 21) The services then ceded
comprised those due from Peter de Brus for a carucate of land, from Albert de Craster (Craucestria) (fn. 22) for
6 tofts and 13 oxgangs, from Roald son of Roald for a
carucate, (fn. 23) from the Abbot of Jervaulx for 3 oxgangs
and from Agnes's sister Elizabeth for 3 tofts and
4 oxgangs of land. The heirs of William de Argentein in 1284–5 held a lordship in Upleatham, (fn. 24) and
in 1308 Thomas de Kirkby-Wiske and Agatha de
Carlton his wife received rent for land in Upleatham
and Marske of the fee of William de Argentein. (fn. 25)
Upleatham Old Church from the South-west
In 1314, however, the land in Upleatham held
of the Percys was in the hands of John de Fountains
and Robert Capon, who each had 1 carucate. (fn. 26)
The connexion of the Capons with Upleatham dated
before Robert's time: Geoffrey Capon and his son
William had witnessed the charter of Agnes de
Argentein to John Herbald, (fn. 27) and Cuthbert Capon,
who in 1284–5 had land in Upleatham (fn. 28) apparently
inherited from William, (fn. 29) seems in 1301–2 to have
been the richest man in the parish. (fn. 30) Sir Robert
Capon, kt., probably Cuthbert's son, was appointed
in 1322 one of the two commissioners of array for
Langbaurgh Wapentake, (fn. 31) and as a reward for his
military services he was exempted in 1333 from
serving on juries and assizes, &c., against his will. (fn. 32)
He died towards the end of 1346, (fn. 33) leaving five sons, of
whom Robert was possibly the eldest, while another
may have been Cuthbert Capon mentioned in 1386
as of Upleatham. (fn. 34) In the Lay Subsidy Roll of 1428 (fn. 35)
there is another record of the holdings, here said to
be in Marske in which Upleatham was evidently included: Robert Capon then had the carucate held
by an earlier Robert Capon, and John Fountains that
formerly held by John his father. From this time
nothing more is heard of the Capons or Fountains.
An estate in Upleatham which belonged to William
Burgh, and was settled in 1518 by his daughter
Anne on her sister and co-heir Elizabeth, wife of
Sir Thomas Tempest, (fn. 36) is sometimes called a manor.
It was inherited in 1545 by
Tempest's daughter Anne,
wife of Sir Ralph Bulmer, kt. (fn. 37)
She died in 1555 and her
husband in 1558, and the
land was then divided among
their eight daughters and coheirs. (fn. 38) The parts of Frances,
Joan, Millicent, Dorothy,
Bridget, Barbara and Mary
were all the subject of fines
between 1564 and 1574, (fn. 39)
but no trace of them is subsequently found. If this 'manor'
was really held of the queen, as
the inquisition of 1559–60 (fn. 40)
states, it was of the Percy fee,
and therefore probably either
the Capon or the Fountains
holding or both of them. Unfortunately the overlordship
is uncertain, for in 1545 the
land was said to be held of
Lord Conyers, (fn. 41) and in that
case must originally have been
in the fee of Brus.
In the 17th century the
Colthursts and Smalwoods
appear to have had considerable standing in the parish.
Robert Colthurst, freeman of
the Merchant Taylors' Company of London, died in
1631, (fn. 42) leaving a son and
heir Robert, (fn. 43) of whose three
daughters, Anne married
Robert Cooke, and Dorothy,
George Smalwood, both of
Upleatham. (fn. 44) To judge from
a Subsidy Roll, (fn. 45) George Smalwood about 1666 must have been the most important
resident here.
Churches
All that remains of the old church
is a portion of the west end, including a small embattled tower, and some
fragments of masonry further east. The original
building, which appears to have been of late 12thcentury date, (fn. 46) consisted of chancel and nave with
south aisle, with a bellcote over the west gable. An
aisle seems to have been added to the chancel at a
later date. (fn. 47)
From the existing portions now above ground
the nave seems to have been about 36 ft. in length
by 18 ft. 9 in. wide and to have been separated from
the aisle by a low arcade of four semicircular arches.
Two of these arches built up are still standing in
what is now the south wall of the building, the later
filling-in being pierced by a doorway and window.
The aisle has entirely disappeared and a wall has
been built across the middle of the nave forming the
east wall of the building as now standing, the internal
dimensions of which are 18 ft. by 18 ft. 9 in. The
tower was built in 1664, (fn. 48) the stones of the old bellcote
being used in its erection. There are buttresses at
the west end, and on the north side about 14 ft.
from the west end is an original pointed doorway
with hood mould and plain chamfered jambs and
head. The roof is now covered with modern red
pantiles, but on the north side the original 12thcentury corbel table exists below the eaves, consisting
of ten carved stones and one at the angle with the
representation of a beast; the others have human
heads. (fn. 49) Two mediaeval grave slabs with floreated
crosses, and the head of a third, remain. (fn. 50)
The new church of ST. ANDREW was erected
in the village in 1835. It is built in the Norman
style (fn. 51) and is in plan a plain rectangle measuring
internally 42 ft. 6 in. by 25 ft. 6 in. with a western
tower and recess at the east end for the altar 10 ft. 6 in.
wide by 3 ft. 6 in. deep. The interior was restored
and a vestry built on the north side of the tower in
1877.
The only object of antiquarian interest is the unmounted rectangular font, which is a relic of the old
church, of 12th-century date similar in type to that
at Marske. It is 2 ft. 3 in. square by 2 ft. 1 in.
high, and has a shaft at each angle with scalloped
capital and moulded base, each of the four sides
being carved with diaper or star ornament of various
forms. The top edge is chamfered on the underside
and the font stands on a modern plinth. The tower
contains one bell, formerly in the old church.
The plate consists of a cup of 1750, made at
Newcastle by Isaac Cookson, and a modern paten
and flagon each inscribed, 'Presented to the Parish
Church of Upleatham in memory of Thomas Dundas
2nd Earl of Zetland K.G. Born 5th February
1795. Died 6th May 1873.' (fn. 52)
The registers begin in 1654.
Advowson
The church is first mentioned
about 1119–24 when Robert de Brus
gave it to Guisborough Priory, (fn. 53)
and it figures in the list of the property of this house
in 1535 (fn. 54) as a chapel annexed to the rectory of Guisborough. At the dissolution of the priory in 1539
the right of appointing the curate of Upleatham
Chapel passed to the Crown, and was given by
Henry VIII in 1545 to the Archbishop of York and
his successors, (fn. 55) with whom it has since remained.
Charities
In 1864 Thomas Earl of Zetland
by deed gave £1,874 3s. 4d. consols
for the benefit of the schools.
The parish is in possession of 3 r. 23 p. known as
the Poor Folks' Close, let at £2 a year, and a sum of
£334 9s. 8d. consols arising from the sale of ironstone is held by the official trustees. The charity is
regulated by a scheme of the Charity Commissioners,
1875.