ROMALDKIRK
Rumoldescherce (xi cent.); Rumbaldekirk, Villa
Sancti Reginaldi, Villa Sancto Romaldo, vill of
St. Rumald, vill of St. Rinald (1286–7); Rumbaldkirk (xiii–xiv cent.).
Romaldkirk parish, one of the largest in England,
comprised in 1831 over a quarter of the whole
wapentake of Gilling West, the area being 53,302
acres of land, 318 acres covered by water. Of this
nearly all is open moorland, scattered over which are
several small lakes and rocky scars or rugged masses of
rock which rise often very steeply from the usually
unbroken slopes of grass and heather. In the present
parish, composed of the townships of Romaldkirk,
Lartington, Cotherstone and Hunderthwaite, there
are 15,686 acres of permanent grass, 878 acres of
woods and plantations, and 182 acres arable land (fn. 1) ;
while Mickleton, Holwick and the extensive township of Lunedale, which were formed in 1844
into the district chapelry of Lune and into the
separate ecclesiastical parish of Laithkirk in 1845, are
entirely pasture land. In the whole there were in
1546 only 1,400 'houseling people.' (fn. 2) The entire
population in 1901 was 2,584. Under the Act of
1811 6,840 acres were inclosed in Holwick, Lune (fn. 3)
and Romaldkirk, (fn. 4) the awards for Holwick and Lune
being in 1826 and 1827 respectively. (fn. 5) An award
for the inclosure of Hunderthwaite Moor was made
in 1858 (fn. 6) and for Cotherstone Moor in 1867. (fn. 7) The
subsoil is eruptive basalt in the north, then Yoredale
Rocks with tracts of Coal Measures and Millstone
Grit. There were iron forges and smelting furnaces in
the forest of Lune in 1235, when Ranulf son of Henry
subenfeoffed Thomas son of William of half the iron, (fn. 8)
but iron has not been recently worked. In the same
district lead was worked throughout the 18th century. (fn. 9)
Veins of coal and slate at Cotherstone belonging to
the manor were described as of no value in the
16th century (fn. 10) ; there are now slate quarries and
pencil works on the banks of the Tees. Barium is
obtained from the mines of Lunehead and Mickleton,
of which Mr. John G. Reynoldson is owner. (fn. 11)
Romaldkirk parish is the Alpine district of Yorkshire.
Mickle Fell, the highest peak in the county, rises to a
height of 2,550 ft., and around Mickle Fell there are
no less than thirty summits which rise to a height of
over 2,000 ft. above sea level. (fn. 12) The River Tees,
here called Maize Beck, forms the whole northern
boundary. It descends from the Westmorland hills
into Yorkshire in the north-west of the parish at a
height of 1,644 ft., and for 8 miles its bed is over
1,000 ft. above sea level. It is joined by numerous
becks from the hills on either side. Cronkley Bridge,
the first bridge over the Tees, is about 2 miles above
the High Force, a waterfall formed by the river
plunging sheer over 50 ft. into a deep pool shut in by
wooded cliffs. The rock here is of greenstone and
limestone, but round the fall is much blackened and
contrasts well with the white spray and the rich
brown colour of the water. Usually the greater
volume of water falls on the left or western side of
the great buttress of rock which rises in the middle of
the fall, but in times of flood another cascade is formed
on the right side and sometimes the whole of the
central rock is hidden in a sheet of water. The next
bridge is Wynch Bridge, said to be the first suspension bridge of its kind and to have been designed and
built by the miners in 1704. The original suspension bridge spanned the river a few yards eastward
and at a higher level than the present structure. (fn. 13)
To the east of Wynch Bridge is Scoberry Bridge and
some miles lower down the bridge of Middleton in
Teesdale, Durham. West of Middleton the Tees
receives the Lune, which rises far away among the
Westmorland hills and traverses under various names
the wildest and most solitary tracts of country before
joining the Tees. Further on is Egglestone Bridge,
in Durham, which was standing in Leland's time, (fn. 14)
by means of which Romaldkirk village is connected
with the County Palatine. South of Romaldkirk
the river passes a farm-house called Woden Croft,
formerly a well-known school at which Richard
Cobden was a pupil. (fn. 15) Just below Woden Croft is
Balder Beck, which runs through Baldersdale to the
Tees. (fn. 16) Baldersdale, a valley well wooded though not
so picturesque as Deepdale further south, has two
large reservoirs for supplying water to Stockton-onTees, Thornaby and Middlesbrough. Below the
junction of its waters with the Tees is Cotherstone.
Before the Tees leaves the parish it is crossed by
the Tees Viaduct of the Barnard Castle and South
Durham railway, which has a station at Lartington.
The Tees Valley line of railway that runs through
this parish has stations at Cotherstone, Romaldkirk
and Mickleton.
A road leads from Cotherstone to Romaldkirk and
through Romaldkirk to Mickleton and north-west of
Mickleton crosses the Lune by Lune Bridge, a county
bridge in 1678. (fn. 17) Laithkirk Bridge, mentioned in
Holinshed's Chronicle in 1577, (fn. 18) was probably that
now called Lune Bridge.
Upper Teesdale was laid waste by the Scots in
1070: An 'infinite multitude' under King Malcolm
entered Yorkshire from Cumberland and may have
saved William I the trouble of devastating Romaldkirk village, which was waste in 1086, for they
slew in battle several English nobles at a place in
Teesdale 'called in English Hundredeskelde, in Latin
Centum fontes.' This was probably Hunderthwaite, a
hamlet half a mile south-west of Romaldkirk, that still
might be called the Hundred Springs. (fn. 19) King
Malcolm, retaining part of his army, sent the other
part home 'with countless booty.' (fn. 20) Romaldkirk
parish naturally suffered considerably in border warfare, and in 1340–1 40 carucates were said to have
been wasted by the Scots. (fn. 21) The boundaries between
Yorkshire and Westmorland at this point were probably
placed in the middle of the 14th century, following a
perambulation made in consequence of cross cattle
raids and assizes of novel disseisin made by the lords
of Mickleton in Teesdale, Yorkshire, and of Brough
and Stainmore in Westmorland in 1335–8. (fn. 22)
The village of Romaldkirk is small, with a pretty
green at the east round which its houses are grouped,
the church and rectory being on the north side. To
the west of the green more houses line the wide road
and form three sides of a square on the west of the
churchyard. The rectory is close to the church on
the east and has a north gable with two 16th-century
windows, the lower of the two being square headed
and of four lights with a hollow chamfer on the jambs
and mullions and a square label with a curious terminal
in the form of a tapered stop. The upper window is
of two lights with plain jambs and no label, and above
it in the top of the gable is a small trefoiled opening
in a square frame. There are also other squareheaded windows in this part of the house, but some
have been altered.
At Grains o' the Beck is an oval socket stone with
the stump of a cross. By the side of the road opposite
to the church is a house, formerly an inn, with the
inscription:—
'If by you go
And dry you be
The fault's in you
And not in me.'
South of the village is the small hamlet of
Hunderthwaite with some cottages provided with
high-pitched thatched roofs intended to prevent the
snow lying.
Two miles south-west is Cotherstone village, a long
line of houses on either side of the winding road with
the new church of St. Cuthbert at the east. The houses
are all stone built, but are of no particular interest.
Several have 18th-century dates on their door-heads,
and there are several of the older style with very steep
pitched thatched roofs. The village is mostly inhabited by Quaker families who are occupied with
dairy farming, Cotherstone cheese being well known.
At the north end of the village is a steep descent to
the wooded bed of Balder Beck, which flows down
from Baldersdale, forming an artificial lake at the
waterworks and joining the Tees at a point half a mile
east of the village. At this point the wooded banks
rise very steeply to a considerable height and form an
effective natural moat and escarpment to Cotherstone
Castle, which lies at the angle south of this junction
of the streams. This fortress was apparently fortified,
if not erected, under a licence of King John in 1200–1
by Henry son of Hervey, (fn. 23) and continued with his
descendants the Fitz Hughs, passing like the manor of
Cotherstone (q.v.). Nothing is known of its history
nor when it became a ruin. There seems to have been
a 'motte,' with evidence possibly of a masonry keep
on it and some lower defensive works. Apparently
the original approach follows a track which leads east
from the village and as it enters the outworks becomes
a mere causeway defended on the north by a very
steep escarpment where the natural fall of the ground
has evidently been increased by artificial work. On
the south side there is also a considerable fall.
Romaldkirk: Church and Green
The chief traces of the castle buildings lie in a
field to the north of the track, and consist of grasscovered mounds forming the foundation of two concentric lines of defence, and on the summit of the
hill a large flat-topped mound still retains a short
length of wall, of which nothing can be said except
that it is an external wall. West of the keep a well
constructed with good masonry supplies water for the
neighbouring cottages, and was evidently the original
source of supply for the castle. Of the large quantity
of masonry which composed the castle few traces are
now to be seen, though doubtless much of it passes
unrecognized in the building and walls of the neighbourhood. A cottage on the north side of the track
to the village has some fragments of worked stone
built into its south wall. These include the double
head of a small two-light round-headed window, a
single head, a portion of the cusped head of a small
window, a portion of a thin octagonal shaft and
capital, a section of a string-course and some other
smaller fragments. Some pieces of worked stone
which came from the site of the castle are now in the
rectory garden. Amongst them is a rudely cut
grotesque head, probably the terminal of a label; two
of a similar type are in position on the north door of
Hutton Magna Church.
A mile south-west of Cotherstone is the small village
of Lartington, situated on a bend of the road with
the hall at the west end. The hall, now unoccupied,
contained until recently a large museum, chiefly of
minerals and geological specimens collected by Mr.
Henry Thomas Witham. Near the hall is the chapel
of St. Lawrence, opened in 1700 for Roman Catholic
service, the lords of Lartington having been Roman
Catholics since the middle of the 17th century.
William Maire, fifth son of Thomas Maire of
Lartington, was professor at Douay from 1742–67,
served the Durham Mission, was appointed coadjutor
to Francis Petre, vicar-apostolic of the northern
district of England in 1767, and was consecrated
Bishop of Cinna in partibus infidelium. He was
buried in 1769 in the family vault at Lartington. (fn. 24)
The owner of Lartington from 1847 to 1897 was a
Roman Catholic prelate, the Right Rev. Monsignor
T. E. Witham. (fn. 25)
There is a Friends' meeting-house at Cotherstone;
a Presbyterian conventicle at Lartington was licensed
in 1672, (fn. 26) and there are now Wesleyan Methodist
chapels at Romaldkirk, Cotherstone, Mickleton and
Lunedale, Primitive Methodist at Holwick and
Mickleton, and a Congregational chapel (1748) at
Cotherstone.
In the reign of Edward VI there was a grammar
school in the parish, the master of which received a
yearly stipend of £2 6s. 8d. from a stock in the
hands of the parishioners. (fn. 27) No further reference to
it has been found. There are now public elementary
schools at Romaldkirk, Lartington, Cotherstone,
Hunderthwaite, Mickleton, Holwick and Lunedale.
Hagwormehall in Baldersdale is mentioned in 1539–
40, (fn. 28) and a deed of 1693 gives the following names:
Girsegarth, Riddings, Longgarth, Low-Ings, Coatflatt, Brunt Walls, Cross-of-Hill, Bryer-flat, Terne
flat, Burtry Stubb, Stong Bottom, Dike Reane, Collingworth Bank. (fn. 29)
There are now seven mills in the parish: one at
Cotherstone on the Tees, Hury Mill at Hunderthwaite, an old smelting-mill at Lunedale, Grassholme Mill on the Lune, a saw-mill at Lonton,
a mill at Mickleton, and Low Mill near Mickleton.
At Mickleton and Holwick there were two watermills in the 16th century (fn. 30) ; at Crossthwaite a watermill was in ruins in 1359 (fn. 31) ; from 1639 (fn. 32) to 1811 a
water corn-mill is mentioned as belonging to the lord
of the manor at Lartington. There were also twenty
dove-houses at Lartington in 1811. (fn. 33)
Manors
ROMALDKIRK belonged, like all
other places in this parish mentioned in
Domesday Book, to the fee of Torphin
before the Conquest, (fn. 34) and became a member of the
honour of Richmond. In 1086 Mickleton, Lonton,
Romaldkirk, Hunderthwaite, Lartington, and Cotherstone were all held of Count Alan by Bodin, (fn. 35) and
the mesne lordships descended either to the Fitz
Alans or to the Fitz Hughs. (fn. 36) The only exception to
this was the RECTORY MANOR of Romaldkirk.
One carucate was returned as the endowment of the
church in 1286–7. (fn. 37) The customary tenants of this
manor owed various suits and services, including the
carriage of eighty horse-loads of pit coal to the
rectory. (fn. 38)
The carucate held by Bodin at the time of the
Domesday Survey was held in 1286–7 by Brian
Fitz Alan, (fn. 39) from whom tenements in the vill descended to the lords of Bedale (fn. 40) (q.v.), and passed
during the 15th century to the Fitz Hughs, George
Fitz Hugh being said to have died seised of the
manor. (fn. 41) This land followed the usual descent of
the Fitz Hugh lands, (fn. 42) and was quitclaimed by the
Dacres to the Crown in 1583. (fn. 43)
Possibly it afterwards passed into the hands of the
lords of Cotherstone (q.v.), but all manorial rights
appear to have lapsed. (fn. 44)
BALDERSDALE (Bardersdale, (fn. 45) xvii cent.).—
There was formerly a vill here, (fn. 46) which was presumably
a member of the neighbouring manor of Hunderthwaite, of the lord of which the family of Appleby
held land in Baldersdale valued at £20 yearly in
1584. (fn. 47) In 1526 Sir Ranulph Piggot, kt., settled
tenements called the 'manor' of Baldersdale to uses
under his will (fn. 48) ; and in 1546–7 the messuage
called Baldersdale fell to the share of Sir Charles
Brandon and Elizabeth his wife, daughter and co-heir
of Thomas Piggot. (fn. 49)
Henry son of Ranulf obtained in 1251 a grant
of free warren in his demesne lands in BRISCOE
(Birscou, xiii cent.; Buscogh, xiv cent.; Briscoughe,
xvi and xvii cent.) (fn. 50) ; his descendant Henry Fitz
Hugh was mesne lord in 1326–7, but by the close
of that century the mesne lordship had passed to the
descendants of the Fitz Alans. (fn. 51) Briscoe is now a
hamlet of Cotherstone. The Eures had a vaccary
here in the 14th century, (fn. 52) and in 1577–8 William
Lord Eure held a capital messuage and lands 'in
Briscoughe in the vill of Baldersdall,' and settled it
with other lands on Mary Dawney, the betrothed of
his son (fn. 53) and successor Ralph, who died seised in
1617. (fn. 54) Perhaps these were the lands in Romaldkirk
said in 1576–7 to be parcel of the duchy of Lancaster, (fn. 55) as the Eures were elsewhere tenants of the
duchy. (fn. 56)
COTHERSTONE (Cuthbertestun, Codreston,
xi cent.; Cuderstone, Cothereston, xiii–xv cent.;
Coderston alias Cotherston alias Goderston, xvi–xviii
cent.) was, with Barforth and Lartington, pledged by
Bishop Aldhun of Durham to Ughtred 'Eorl' of
Northumbria between 990 and 1020. (fn. 57)
Bowes. Ermine three long-bows gules.
Lyon. Argent a lion azure in a double tressure counter flowered gules.
There have been from the Conquest two manors of
Cotherstone, one of which descended from Bodin to
the Fitz Hughs (fn. 58) : Henry son of Hervey had licence
in 1200–1 to fortify his house here, which became
Cotherstone Castle, (fn. 59) and in 1251 Henry his grandson (fn. 60) was granted free warren in his demesne lands
of Thringarth, Mickleton, Cotherstone, Briscoe, and
Holwick. (fn. 61) Hugh son of Henry (from whom the
Fitz Hughs take their name) was summoned in
1278–81 to substantiate his claim to have free chase
in Teesdale, free warren and park at Cotherstone, and
gallows in his lands. Hugh pleaded his ancestors'
right to chase from the first grant of their lands,
warren he claimed by a charter of Henry III, and
gallows he only claimed at 'Barwick on Tees and
Stanck.' (fn. 62) This manor followed the descent of
Ravensworth (fn. 63) until the 16th century, when it
escheated to the Crown. (fn. 64) In 1600 the queen
granted the manors of Cotherstone and Lartington
in fee to Alexander Edward and Richard Prescott, (fn. 65)
who in 1602 conveyed them to Elizabeth Countess
of Shrewsbury, (fn. 66) then in her third widowhood.
'Building Bess of Hardwick,' as this lady was called
from the series of marriages by which she raised her
status, settled them the same year on her son (fn. 67) Lord
William Cavendish in tail-male. (fn. 68) Her descendants
the Earls of Devon and Dukes of Devonshire were
lords of Cotherstone until 1841, when the Duke of
Devonshire sold it to John Bowes, from whom it has
descended to the present Earl of Strathmore. (fn. 69)
COTHERSTONE with HUNDERTHWAITE (fn. 70)
was the other manor of Cotherstone and held by the
Fitz Alans. In 1278–81 Brian Fitz Alan alleged that
he had free warren at Cotherstone by grant of King
John to Brian son of Alan his ancestor in all his
demesne lands outside the king's forest, and that
Brian had his private woods in his manors and had
inclosed them and made the park (fn. 71) in which he had
warren. (fn. 72) After the death of Brian Fitz Alan without male issue early in the 14th century his daughters
and their descendants the Stapletons and the Greys
of Rotherfield held some of his manors jointly, (fn. 73) but
Cotherstone was held by the Stapletons in severalty. (fn. 74)
In 1354 Miles Stapleton settled the manor of
Cotherstone and his moiety of Bedale on his heirs
male by Joan his wife and in default on the heirs
male of his brother Brian. (fn. 75) When, however, Sir
Miles Stapleton died without male issue in 1466,
although there still existed male descendants of Brian,
the manor passed to Joan younger daughter of Sir
Miles, married first to Christopher Harcourt, and
secondly to Sir John Huddleston of Millom Castle,
Cumberland. (fn. 76) In 1470 Brian Stapleton, descendant
of Brian, sued Richard Harcourt, son of Sir Christopher and Joan, (fn. 77) for this manor, basing his claim
on the settlement of 1354. (fn. 78) He recovered Bedale,
but not Cotherstone, of which Sir John Huddleston,
kt., second husband of Joan, died seised in right of
his wife in the reign of Henry VII. (fn. 79) The Huddlestons of Millom Castle continued in possession until
1741–2, when William Huddleston sold the manor
of Cotherstone with Hunderthwaite to George Bowes
of Streatlam, (fn. 80) ancestor of the present owner, the Earl
of Strathmore.
CROSSTHWAITE (Crostwayte, xiii–xv cent.) is
not mentioned in Domesday Book, but it was apparently
part of Bodin's fee, as it was held of Ranulf son of
Henry in 1235 (fn. 81) and the Fitz Hughs were still
mesne lords in 1497. (fn. 82)
Under the Fitz Hughs the manor was held from
early times by the lords of Greystock. (fn. 83) Thomas son
of William held it in 1235 under Ranulf as above.
In 1278–81 William his son, summoned to show his
right to free chase at Crossthwaite, said all his ancestors
had had it from the Conquest, (fn. 84) and in 1285 he
obtained a grant of free warren in his demesne lands
here. (fn. 85) On his death about 1289 he was succeeded
by John his son and heir, (fn. 86) who in 1299–1300 settled
Crossthwaite with his barony of Greystock on himself
for life with remainder to Ralph son of William
and his heirs. (fn. 87) From John's death in 1305–6 (fn. 88)
Crossthwaite followed the descent of the manor of
Henderskelfe, (fn. 89) the chief Yorkshire seat of his descendants, until 1766, when the Earl of Carlisle conveyed it with the moiety of Holwick Manor in this
parish to Mrs. Mary Bowes, widow of George
Bowes, (fn. 90) and from her it has descended with the
other possessions of the Bowes in this parish to the
Earl of Strathmore.
HOLWICK, again, is not mentioned in Domesday Book, but seems to have been part of the fee of
Bodin. Holwick—apparently the moiety—was
granted by Ranulf son of Henry to Thomas son of
William in 1235 to hold with his lands in Crossthwaite. (fn. 91) This moiety descended with the manor of
Crossthwaite.
The Fitz Hughs retained a moiety of the manor,
which was sold with Mickleton and Lune by the
Marquess of Northampton, who had been re-enfeoffed
by the Crown in fee simple, to Sir George Bowes
in 1561, (fn. 92) and so descended to the present Earl of
Strathmore. (fn. 93) Henry son of Ranulf received a grant
of free warren in Holwick in 1251. (fn. 94)
HUNDERTHWAITE (Hundredestoit, xi cent.;
Hunderthwayt, Hundredesthwayt, xiii cent.), like
the Fitz Alan manor of Cotherstone, seems to have
belonged to that family in the reign of John, for in
1246 Alan son of Brian complained that Henry
son of Ranulf entered his free warren of Hunderthwaite and captured hares and wild goats there,
although Alan had free warren by the charter of
King John; Henry quitclaimed his right. (fn. 95) The
Abbot of St. Agatha's claimed the manor in 1251–2
in right of his church, which, he said, was seised in
the time of Henry II, (fn. 96) but in the same year he quitclaimed the manor to Alan son of Brian in return
for lands in Scruton. (fn. 97) The immediate history of
Hunderthwaite is slightly obscure. In 1286–7 it
was coupled with Romaldkirk as Romaldkirk cum
Hunderthwaite, the Hunderthwaite part being held
by Brian Fitz Alan, (fn. 98) and a return of the time of
Henry VII couples them in the same way as belonging to the Fitz Hughs. (fn. 99) The latter return,
however, probably only referred to services, as
Hunderthwaite seems always to have belonged to the
descendants of the Fitz Alans. It was held by the
dowager Maud of Bedale in 1316, (fn. 100) and the Grays
of Rotherfield held it at the end of this century. (fn. 101)
The Grays and Stapletons seem to have shared it,
for it passed ultimately to the Huddlestons, (fn. 102) being
held in 1677–8 with Cotherstone by Ferdinand
Huddleston (fn. 103) as one manor, and these two estates
have continued to be manorially united.
LARTINGTON (Lertinton, xi cent.; Lertingeton, Lyrtyngton, xiii cent.; Lirtington, xiii–xv
cent.), between 990 and 1020, was pledged with
Barforth (fn. 104) by the Bishop of Durham to 'Eorl' Ughtred
of Northumbria and two Danes. (fn. 105)
It was one of the manors of the Richmond fee
that in the middle of the 15th century became part
of the fee of Middleham (q.v.), and ceased to be a
member of the honour of Richmond. (fn. 106)
Maire of Hardwick. Argent a ship with three masts sable on waves of the sea in their proper colours.
Witham of Cliffe. Or a bend gules between three eagles close sable.
The mesne lordship descended from Bodin to the
Fitz Hughs, though in 1286–7 Brian Fitz Alan held
half a carucate of the earl. (fn. 107) The Fitz Hughs at first
held Lartington in demesne, and it ultimately
returned to them after having been granted to a
succession of under-tenants. Some time at the close
of the 12th or beginning of the 13th century
Henry son of Hervey, lord of Ravensworth, gave to
Robert de Lascelles and his heirs the whole vill
with its demesnes, services and all appurtenances,
saving to himself and his heirs hunting rights in
the forest; Robert and his family dwelling at
Lartington might hunt, but they must send a servant
to the door of Cotherstone to notify their intention, so
that Henry's forester might accompany them. Moreover, if they were ever impleaded for hunting without the view of the forester they might be cleared by
the oath of this servant in Henry's court of Cotherstone. (fn. 108) Robert de Lascelles was lord in 1208. (fn. 109) He
or a successor of the same name enfeoffed Henry
Spring of Houghton le Spring, Durham, and the
manor was still held by Henry Spring in 1291–2. (fn. 110)
Henry left a son and heir Humphrey, (fn. 111) presumably
a minor, for John Spring had a grant of free warren
in Lartington in 1301. (fn. 112) Humphrey was lord in
1313, (fn. 113) and was dead by 1328, when he left a
widow Elizabeth and sons Henry and John, both
under age. Henry's brother, still a minor, had
succeeded by 1340. (fn. 114) From the Springs the right
in Lartington descended by an heiress Elizabeth to
Henry Headlam. Henry and Elizabeth were seised
in 1403, (fn. 115) and in 1414 they made a settlement (fn. 116)
which seems to have been a conveyance to the
Fitz Hughs, for in 1427 Elizabeth widow of Henry
Fitz Hugh died seised of two parts of the manor, (fn. 117)
and the Fitz Hughs and their descendants continued
to hold Lartington until the death of the Marquess
of Northampton in 1571. (fn. 118) After this Lartington
followed the descent of the manor of Cotherstone
(q.v.) until 1639, when William Earl of Devon sold
it to Francis Appleby. (fn. 119) In 1648 Francis Appleby
of Lartington begged for a discharge of or leave to
compound for the estate of his uncle Francis Appleby,
who died during his appeal from sequestration, (fn. 120) and
in 1654 Mary Appleby widow
appealed in the same way. (fn. 121)
Margaret daughter and sole
heir of Francis Appleby
married Thomas Maire of
Hardwick, and died in 1672
in giving birth to her son
Thomas, (fn. 122) who succeeded his
father in 1685 and himself
died in 1752. (fn. 123) Francis
eldest son of Thomas (fn. 124) died
in his father's lifetime, and he
was succeeded by his second
son Thomas, who in 1762
was succeeded by his brother
John. John had no children,
and his remaining brother and two sisters having died
without issue (fn. 125) he in 1764 conveyed his estate to the
husband of his sister Anastasia, (fn. 126) Sir Henry Lawson
of Brough Hall, bart., and John Lawson, (fn. 127) his son,
presumably in trust for Sir
Henry's younger son Henry,
who succeeded his uncle at
Lartington in 1771 and took
the name of Maire, but resumed his patronymic on
succeeding, in 1811, to the
baronetcy, his brother John
dying without male issue.
Sir Henry died childless in
1834, when this manor passed
to his sister Katharine, widow
of John Silvertop. On her
death it descended to her
second son Henry Thomas
Maire Lawson, who married Eliza daughter of
Thomas Witham of Headlam, Durham, and niece
and heir of William Witham of Cliffe, (fn. 128) Yorks.
Henry subsequently assumed the name of Witham.
He died in 1844. His elder sons Henry and
William had died in his lifetime, and he was succeeded
by his third son George, who died unmarried in
1847, and then by his fourth son the Rt. Rev.
Monsignor Thomas Edward Witham. This prelate
died in 1897 and was succeeded by his great-grandnephew Francis Somerled Silvertop of Minster
Acres, Northumberland. (fn. 129) He sold it in 1912 to
Mr. M. D. Spence of Shotley Bridge.
LONTON belonged to Torphin before the Conquest, afterwards to Bodin. (fn. 130) Like Crossthwaite, it
was held in 1235 by the ancestors of the barons of
Greystock, and the manor was granted by William son
of Thomas de Greystock in 1262 to Henry son of
Ranulf, (fn. 131) whose descendants were afterwards mesne
lords. (fn. 132) The lords of Rokeby (q.v.) were undertenants in 1286–7, (fn. 133) and continued in possession (fn. 134)
until 1571, when Robert Rokeby sold the manor to
Sir George Bowes. (fn. 135) After this Lonton followed the
descent of the manor of Mickleton, and is now in
the possession of the Earl of Strathmore.
LUNEDALE.—In 1201 the king confirmed to
Henry son of Hervey the lands against the valley of
the Lune granted him by Robert de Rokeby and
Agnes his wife. (fn. 136) It is not until the 16th century
that a manor of Lune is referred to, but after that
time it always passed with Mickleton. In 1235
Thomas son of William de Greystock granted to
Ranulf son of Henry common of pasture and mast in
the valley of the Lune, chase in the forest of Lune,
the cowshed on Horresate, half the iron coming from
the forges and half the smelting furnaces in the
forest, and cow and pig shelters in the valley. (fn. 137) Lune
Forest was granted by the Marquess of Northampton
to George Bowes with the manors of Mickleton and
Lune. (fn. 138)
MICKLETON (Micleton, xi cent.; Mikelton,
xiii–xv cent.) descended from Bodin to the Fitz
Hughs. In 1251 Henry son of Ranulf had a grant
of free warren here (fn. 139) ; in 1262 William son of
Thomas de Greystock, whom he had probably subenfeoffed, granted him the manors of Mickleton,
Thringarth and Lonton. (fn. 140) Hugh son of Henry held
Mickleton in demesne in 1286–7, (fn. 141) and the Fitz
Hughs continued so to hold it (fn. 142) until the attainder
of the Marquess of Northampton. Regranted to the
marquess in 1558 in fee simple, unlike his other
estates, the manors of Mickleton and Lune, the forest
and parks and tenements in Holwick were sold by him
in 1561 to Sir George Bowes and Robert Bowes. (fn. 143)
Sir George Bowes died in 1580, and in 1583–4
Gregory Fiennes Lord Dacre and Anne his wife (fn. 144)
quitclaimed these manors to Jane widow of Sir
George (fn. 145) and Talbot Bowes her son. (fn. 146) Sir George
was succeeded in the family estates by his eldest son
William, knighted in 1586, (fn. 147) who died at Walton
near Chesterfield in 1611. By an entail made in
1569 the estates were divided between Sir Talbot
Bowes above mentioned, eldest son of Sir George by
his second marriage, and his nephew Sir George
Bowes of Biddick, son of George third son of Sir
George Bowes. Sir Talbot Bowes, who received the
Lunedale estates, died without issue, and was buried
at Barnard Castle in February 1637–8; his share in
the estates passed to his younger brother Thomas,
whose widow purchased the share of Sir George
Bowes of Biddick from his assigns. Talbot eldest
son of Thomas Bowes died in 1654; his brother and
heir Thomas succeeded him and died in 1661. He
was succeeded by his son William, (fn. 148) who represented
the county of Durham in various Parliaments (fn. 149)
between the years 1679 and 1705, and was knighted
by James II in 1684. (fn. 150) He died in 1706, leaving
three sons—William Blakiston, who died without
issue in 1721, Thomas, who died without issue in
1722, and George, who died in 1760, leaving an only
daughter and co-heir Mary Eleanor. (fn. 151) In 1767 she
married the Earl of Strathmore, (fn. 152) and from that time
these lands have remained in the hands of her
descendants, the successive Earls of Strathmore, and
are now held by the present owner of the title.
THRINGARTH (Thirngarth, xiii–xvi cent.), when
it is first mentioned, belonged to the ancestors of the
Fitz Hughs. In 1251 Henry son of Ranulf received
a grant of free warren here. (fn. 153) The place seems to
have been only a hunting-lodge, (fn. 154) though in 1287 (fn. 155)
and 1424–5 (fn. 156) it is called a manor. It always
belonged to the Fitz Hughs. In 1424–5 there were
two parks here, called West Park and Thringarth
Park, each stocked with game. (fn. 157) Thringarth Park
descended to the Marquess of Northampton, and was
granted by him in 1561 to George Bowes of Streatlam,
Durham, (fn. 158) to whose descendant the Earl of Strathmore it now belongs.
Churches
The church of ST. ROMALD
consists of a chancel 41 ft. by 17 ft.,
with a vestry on the north side 18 ft.
by 9 ft., a nave 43 ft. by 14 ft., with north and
south aisles 11 ft. wide, a north transept 14 ft. by
28 ft., south transept 18 ft. by 26 ft., and west tower
13 ft. square, all measurements being internal.
Plan of Romaldkirk Church
The earliest part of the building is to be seen in
the masonry at the north-west angle of the chancel,
and shows the heavy north-east quoins of what was
probably a pre-Conquest nave, aisleless and of the
same width as the present nave, its internal dimensions having perhaps been 30 ft. by 14 ft., with a
chancel about 12 ft. square. The line of the north
eaves of the steep-pitched roof of this chancel is yet
to be seen on the upper part of the wall. The nave
walls are unusually high in proportion to the span,
and some of the early walling may still remain
behind the plaster above the present arcades. In the
latter end of the 12th century this nave received the
addition of a north aisle, an arcade of three bays
being set up, and the nave was probably lengthened
at the same time. The south arcade appears to be a
13th-century copy of that on the north, and the
south aisle and transept date from c. 1280. The
windows at least, which do not seem to be insertions,
are of this date, and, although the south doorway and
arcade look a good deal earlier than this, it is possible
that they are not so, but owe their early look to an
idea of harmonizing with the 12th-century detail.
About 1330 the north aisle was rebuilt and the north
transept added, and in 1360–70 the chancel was
entirely rebuilt, with a north-east vestry. The early
chancel had doubtless given way to another, built
round it after the usual fashion, at some time between
the 12th and 14th centuries, and this in its turn was
succeeded by that which now exists. Its south wall is
on the same line as that of the south arcade of the
nave, but its north wall is just outside the corresponding line on the north, thus exposing the north-east
angle of the early aisleless nave. The south wall also
is 3 ft. 1 in thick, and the north 2 ft. 9 in., and if
an explanation of these irregularities is to be deduced
from existing evidence it may be that while the south
wall retains the line and thickness, and perhaps part
of the masonry, of its predecessor, the north wall was
set out on new foundations outside the line of the
former north wall.
In the 15th century the west tower was added and
new windows inserted in the north transept, and
perhaps in the 16th century the north wall of the
vestry was rebuilt. This latter has evidently suffered
a good deal of alteration, but still preserves the
evidence of having had two stories when first built.
The chancel is faced externally with wrought
stone, and has a large east window of five cinquefoiled ogee lights with curious, awkwardly designed
tracery in the head, which may be in part the result
of some later repair. There are four windows on
the south side, set rather close together with stepped
buttresses between. Three of them are each of two
ogee cinquefoiled lights with cusped openings over,
and contemporary with the last rebuilding of the
chancel, but the fourth, in the east bay, is of three
trefoiled lights with net tracery, dating from c. 1320,
and may be a relic of the former chancel. Below
the west window on this side is a small square-headed
low-side window, the external masonry of which is
now modern, but enough remains to show that the
old window was an insertion and not contemporary
with the wall. It has a wide westward splay internally and a square jamb on the east side. The
eastern half of the north wall is blank on account of
the vestry, save for a small square-headed opening
from the former upper story of the vestry. It is
unevenly splayed within the vestry, with a very wide
angle on the west side, so that a person at the west
end of the upper room could command the east end
of the chancel. In the west half of the north wall
are two square-headed windows of cinquefoiled ogee
lights of very plain detail, set very high in the wall
as if to avoid the roof of some low building set
against the outer face of the wall. Under the most
western of these two windows is a wide blocked fourcentred opening, its head and jambs in modern
masonry, showing on both faces of the wall. The
chancel has a low-pitched roof with an embattled
parapet, the buttresses ending in weathered heads
from which spring small crocketed pinnacles. The
parapet and plinth details are the same on both sides,
but the south windows, as being the more conspicuous,
are more carefully treated, with double-chamfered
mullions and a 'casement' moulding in the jambs
and head. On the east gable is a modern cross
copied from part of an old one. The south doorway of the chancel, below the second window from
the east, has a square head with a shallow arched
sinking in its outer face, with chamfered abaci which
look like 12th-century work re-used. The vestry has
a square-headed east window of two lights, and above
it a single square-headed light with the returned ends
of a label like those of the chancel. In the north
wall is another window with two cinquefoiled lights,
clumsy work which is probably of no great age, and
in the west wall is a plain arched doorway, of which
the same may be said. The plinth on the east and
north walls, with the two north buttresses, is of a
different section from that on the west wall. Perhaps
the former existence of a low building against the
north wall of the chancel to the west of the vestry
is the reason for this. The lower part of the chancel
wall, where covered by the vestry, is thickened to make
a set-off for the floor of the now destroyed upper
chamber, the opening from which towards the chancel
has been already noted. The vestry has been, in part
at least, rebuilt since the 14th century.
The chancel arch, which dies out at the springing,
is of the date of the chancel, of two moulded orders,
and shows the marks of the fittings of the rood
screen, the mutilated base of which still remains
nearly hidden by pews. The nave is of three bays,
both arcades having semicircular arches of two square
orders with a label, all covered with plaster. The
columns are circular, but the abaci are octagonal, as
are the upper members of the capitals. The responds
have keeled engaged shafts with moulded capitals and
bases, and the first column of the north arcade has
plain foliage of the 'water-leaf' kind on the bell. In
the south arcade the capitals of both columns have
an undercut member above the bell of 13th-century
character, quite unlike any 12th-century detail.
The north transept, which contains the organ, has
two inserted three-light windows at the east with
square heads and septfoiled lights with a late form of
net tracery over. They are curious but effective
work of the 15th century. The north window,
which seems to retain its 14th-century jambs, has an
arched head, but is filled with tracery like that in the
other windows, the square head becoming an embattled transom and the space over it being awkwardly
filled in with repetitions of the same form of tracery.
At the south-east is a 13th-century piscina, a projecting conical bowl with fluted sides; the small
pointed recess over it has been mutilated.
The north aisle has a blocked doorway c. 1320,
with a moulded two-centred head below a square
outer order. Its north windows are both modern, one
a copy of the 13th-century work opposite, and the
other a lancet head put in at some time to light a
west gallery. The west window is of two lights, of
15th-century style. The south transept has two east
windows, each of two uncusped lights with an uncusped piercing in the head, and the south and west
windows of the south aisle are of the same character.
They belong to the latter part of the 13th century,
and contrast with the fine south window of the
transept, which is of the same date. It is of five
trefoiled lights with geometrical tracery of two cusped
circles and a trefoil under a broad three-centred arch.
At the south-east is an arched piscina recess almost
hidden by the pews. The south doorway of the aisle
is a good specimen of two orders with nook shafts,
having moulded bases and capitals. Above it is a
modern lancet window like that in the north aisle,
and the south porch, which has no south wall, is
probably a 15th-century addition and has a lowpitched roof with a leaded barge-board. Externally
the transept and aisle have buttresses with gabled
heads, and plain plinths and parapets with low-pitched
roofs.
The west tower is of three stages in plain 15thcentury style. It has diagonal angle buttresses and a
tall plinth, and is finished with an embattled parapet;
the stair is in the south-west angle. The belfry
windows are of two cinquefoiled lights with transoms
and a blank quatrefoil in the head; and on the
ground stage is a large three-light west window with
tracery under a segmental head. The tower arch is
of two chamfered orders, and the ground stage has a
ribbed stone vault with a central bellway, the ribs
springing from small human heads. In addition to
the piscinae already noted in the transepts there is, at
the south-east of the chancel, an interesting specimen
with two cinquefoiled openings under a crocketed
hood with a finial, and flanked by pinnacles. It
is contemporary with the rebuilding, and has a
drain in a projecting carved and moulded bowl in the
east opening but none in the other. The work is in
part unfinished, some of the crockets being merely
blocked out, and the pinnacles are almost without
detail. In the east wall is a small square recess on
the south of the altar, rebated for a door. The roofs
of the church are of flat pitch and modern, and
beyond the remains of the screen there is no ancient
woodwork. The pulpit at the south-east of the nave
is, however, a fine specimen of 18th-century woodwork with its canopy and panelled front and clerk's
and reading desk below. The body of the church
is full of high pews of early 19th-century Gothic
style. In the vestry is a 17th-century altar table.
The font stands under the tower and has a circular
bowl carved with three bands of reversed leaf pattern,
like that at Bowes, but on a larger scale, and stands
on a stem with four engaged shafts with moulded
capitals and bases, with a hollow between two fillets
alternating with the shafts. It is good 13th-century
work and very effective.
The second pair of columns in the nave arcades
have remains of paintings on a white ground on
their southern sides. That in the north arcade
represents the lion of St. Mark, and is probably of
14th-century date, while that in the south arcade is
more damaged and has the remains of a figure with
long hair and a nimbus, too indistinct to be identified.
In the north transept is a raised tomb with the
effigy of a knight in complete mail, with cap,
hauberk and arm and leg defences with gloves and
shoes of mail; at the knees are leather knee-cops.
He wears a long surcoat reaching below the knee
and an ornamental sword-belt. He draws his
sword and carries a large shield on which the arms
of Fitz Henry appear. The effigy is said to be that
of Hugh son of Henry, 1303–4.
At the east end of the nave is a coffin slab in the
floor about 6 ft. by 3 ft. with two crosses, a pair of
shears and a sword, and in the tower are fragments
of other slabs. In the north wall of the chancel is
set a blue marble slab, which seems to have been on
a raised tomb, about half of the slab having a
moulded edge, while the other half is square. It
has the matrix of a brass half-figure (of a former
rector) and of part of the marginal inscription. In
the south aisle is a slab to John Raine 'vintiner,'
1689, in fine Roman capitals.
There are three bells: the treble of 1711 by
a York founder, inscribed 'Voco veni precare,' the
second of 1630, and bearing merely the initials
rh. tw. tt. vb. and ts., and the tenor, also by a
York founder, inscribed 'Robert Rodham parson
Gloria in altissimis deo 1688.'
The plate consists of an ancient silver-gilt continental chalice, recently acquired, with fine pierced
and repoussé work and a plain modern silver-gilt paten.
The registers begin in 1578.
The church of LAITHKIRK, of unknown dedication, stands in a lonely position on high ground to
the north of the River Lune and about a mile from
its confluence with the Tees and is a plain rectangular
building 60 ft. by 20 ft., with a small south vestry
and porch.
It is probable from the character of the masonry
that the walling of the present building is of considerable antiquity, but all the architectural details
(except perhaps the east doorway of the vestry which
may be old work re-used) are modern and poor in
character, probably dating from 1826, when the
church was repaired.
The east window is a single round-headed light
and in either side wall are four pointed single lights,
the doorway from church to vestry being also pointed.
The south entrance doorway is square-headed and
absolutely plain and the south porch has a pointed
doorway and in its east wall a small lancet head,
apparently ancient, re-used as the head of a holy
water stoup. The vestry has a small round-headed
south window and on the east a pointed doorway
apparently older than the rest, but probably of no
great age. The west wall of the church is unpierced,
but upon it is a square bellcote with a small bell.
The font is modern, with an octagonal bowl on a
round stem surrounded by four marble shafts. About
15 ft. from the east wall is a modern wooden screen
inclosing a space for a chancel; all the fittings of the
church are likewise modern. The roof is gabled and
of low pitch, put on in 1826 in place of a lead roof.
The plate consists of a cup and a flat paten
inscribed 1809; the latter formerly had a stem, but
this was removed and fixed to the cup, which was
originally beaker-shaped.
The registers begin in 1845.
Advowson
The church is not mentioned in
Domesday Book, but the name
Romaldkirk points to an early foundation. The place was often called the vill of Romald,
whose identity is doubtful. (fn. 159) Between 1154 and
1181 the chapter of Gilling certified that Hervey
son of Acharis, an ancestor of the Fitz Hughs, was
the true patron and that none but he and his
ancestors had ever had any right in this church. (fn. 160)
Some time in the lifetime of Henry son of Hervey—
that is, late in the 12th or early in the 13th century—
a vicar was presented by Henry, (fn. 161) and the advowson
descended with the Fitz Hugh manor of Cotherstone (fn. 162)
until both escheated to the Crown in 1571. The
advowson was granted by Queen Elizabeth in 1575–6
to John Dudley and others, (fn. 163) but she afterwards gave
it to Lord Burghley, who died seised in 1598. (fn. 164) His
grandson William Earl of Exeter granted it in 1635
to Francis Appleby. (fn. 165) From this time the advowson
followed the descent of the manor of Lartington, (fn. 166)
and it now belongs to the Earl of Strathmore.
There was in the reign of Edward VI a chantry
of St. Thomas the Apostle in the parish church. (fn. 167)
In 1349 Miles de Stapleton had licence to grant
5 marks rent to a chaplain to celebrate divine service
daily in the chapel of his manor of Cotherstone. (fn. 168)
Henry Headlam and Elizabeth his wife obtained
permission in 1414 to found a chantry of one chaplain
to celebrate divine service daily in the chapel of
St. Mary, Lartington, for their good estates and
souls after death and the souls of Elizabeth's ancestors,
and also for trustees to grant the chaplain a messuage
in Lartington called Presteplace and 8 marks rent
from the manor. (fn. 169) The advowson of the chantry
descended like the manor to the Fitz Hughs, (fn. 170) but
the Applebys obtained the chapel before they held
the manor. Thomas Appleby in 1619 conveyed
the 'free chapel' to Gabriel Appleby, his heirs and
others, (fn. 171) but a Thomas Appleby died seised in 1623,
leaving a son and heir Ambrose. (fn. 172) The 'chapelgarth' was mentioned in 1728. (fn. 173)
There was a chaplain of Thringarth in the late
12th or early 13th century, and Whitaker (1824)
remarks that the Fitz Hughs had a chapel here
'which had probably dilapidated when they gave the
barn or laith for public worship, which denominates
the present chapel of Laithkirk.' (fn. 174)
The chapel of Laithkirk is the parish church of
the new ecclesiastical parish of Laithkirk. The living
is a vicarage in the gift of the rector of Romaldkirk.
Charities
The almshouse and school were
founded by the will of William
Hutchinson, dated 30 September
1693. (See parish of Bowes.) Two-fifths of the rents
of lands belonging to the Bowes and Romaldkirk
Charity are applicable to this branch of the charity.
In 1906 this proportion amounted to £210, of which
£121 is applicable for the purpose of the almshouse.
The official trustees also hold a sum of £173 2s. 7d.
consols in trust for this foundation. (fn. 175)
The Cotherstone and Three Chimneys Charity,
founded by Abraham Hilton by deed poll dated
2 May 1898, consists of about 90 acres in Cotherstone,
producing a rental of about £130 a year. The charity
is regulated by a scheme of the Charity Commissioners
of 24 March 1899, whereby the net yearly income
is applicable in the granting of twelve pensions or
annuities for the benefit of deserving and necessitous
resident inhabitants of the parishes of Romaldkirk and
Bowes in this county, and of the parishes of Kirkby
Stephen and Brough, and the township of Hilton in
Appleby St. Michael (otherwise Bongate), in the
county of Westmorland, who are unable to maintain
themselves by their own exertions.
Township of Cotherstone.—The Poor's money,
formerly £30 in hands of parish officers, has been
lost sight of for many years.
Poor's allotments.—On the inclosure of Cotherstone
Moor in 1867, 8 acres were allotted for the use of the
poor. In 1897 the land, being unsuitable, was sold,
and the proceeds invested with the official trustees.
In 1898 the stock, with accumulations, was sold for
£131 2s. 3d., and applied towards the purchase of
1 acre, part of a field in the township, which is let
at £6 a year to twelve allotment holders; 5 acres
were also awarded as a recreation ground.
Church of England school.—The original site and
school, conveyed by deed 1834, were sold and the proceeds laid out towards the erection of school buildings
on a site conveyed by deed of 1893. In 1853 John
Bourne by deed conveyed 5 a. 2 r. 34 p., the rents to
be applied for the benefit of such school. The land
was let at £18 a year.
This township is entitled to participate in the
Bowes Cross Charity, founded in 1878 by Abraham
Hilton. (See parish of Bowes.)
Township of Holwick. The Poor's money.—Two
sums of £13 and £4, benefactions by persons unknown, in respect of which 17s. was formerly distributed annually among the poor, have been lost
sight of for some years.
Township of Hunderthwaite.—The Poor's money,
formerly consisting of £10, donor unknown, has
been lost sight of.
The township is in possession of 4 acres near to
Hury, allotted for the purposes of a recreation ground,
and 8 acres for the school, producing about £12 a
year. By an order made under the Board of Education Act, 1899, the portion applicable for educational
purposes was determined to be the rent of two parcels
of land containing respectively 7 a. 2 r. 16 p. and
1 r. 24 p., to be called the Allotments Educational
Foundation.
Township of Lartington.—The school was for
many years carried on at the expense of the Right
Rev. Monsignor Witham of Lartington Hall. (fn. 176)
The returns to Parliament of charitable donations
in 1786 mention that a benefaction of £10 was
given by Thomas Bowran, in respect of which 10s.
a year was distributed among the poor. The charity
has for many years been lost sight of.
Township of Lunedale.—Carlbeck School was
founded in 1822. The lord of the manor paid
voluntarily £10 a year towards the expenses.
The Poor's money now consists of £27 13s. 4d.
India 3 per cent. stock held by the official trustees,
the annual dividends of which, amounting to 16s. 4d.,
are distributed amongst the poor of the township.
In 1905 three widows and one old man participated
in the benefits of the charity.
Township of Mickleton.—John Dent the elder,
1728, and John Dent the younger. The official
trustees hold the sum of £5 9s. 8d. consols in trust
for these charities. The dividends are accumulated.
John Blarton, by will dated 23 April 1725, devised
a house and premises at Middleton in Teesdale for
the benefit of the poor of this township. The property now consists of three houses and shops let at
£38 5s. a year, the net rents of which are, under a
scheme established by the County Court of Durham
of 25 October 1860, distributed among the poor.
Township of Romaldkirk.—The Free School. (fn. 177)