KIRKBY HILL or KIRKBY-ON-THE-MOOR.
Chirchebi (xi cent.).
The ecclesiastical parish of Kirkby Hill comprised
in 1831 the townships of Kirkby-on-the-Moor, Langthorpe and part of Humburton with Milby. It
now includes the civil parishes of Langthorpe (with
the hamlet of Brampton) and Kirkby Hill and parts
of those of Humburton and Marton le Moor. The
townships of Ellingthorpe and Milby (with part of
Humburton) belong to the ecclesiastical parish of
Aldborough (West Riding).
The parish of Kirkby Hill is situated between the
River Ure, which forms the southern boundary of
Langthorpe, Milby and Ellingthorpe, and the River
Swale, which forms the eastern boundary of Humburton. The land is not more than from 50 ft. to
100 ft. above ordnance datum, rising in a few places
to 125 ft.
The subsoil of the parish is Keuper Marl with
alluvium in the river valleys; the top soil is sandy.
The area of Kirkby Hill civil parish is rather over
1,213 acres, that of Ellingthorpe 610, Humburton
1,060, Langthorpe 1,025, and Milby 758. Agriculture is the main industry, the chief crops being
wheat, oats, barley and turnips.
Kirkby Hill and Langthorpe Commons and other
waste grounds were inclosed under an award of
1812. (fn. 1)
The Knaresborough, Boroughbridge and Pilmoor
section of the North Eastern railway passes through
the parish, Boroughbridge station being partly in
Langthorpe and partly in Milby.
From Boroughbridge two roads run northward
side by side through this parish. The most westerly
of these is Leeming Lane, and it is along this road
that the greater part of the village of Kirkby Hill is
built, though some of the houses lie along the green
which ends in Milling Lane, joining Leeming Lane
to the other main road. The Wesleyan chapel lies on
Leeming Lane. The church of All Saints stands
where Milling Lane forks north-east and south-east,
this last branch leading to the hamlet of Milby.
Humburton consists of a few houses grouped round a
green. It lies near the Ure, as does the scattered
hamlet of Ellingthorpe. Also near the Ure, and
built along the road to Ripon, is Langthorpe, the
largest of this group of villages, where there is a
Baptist chapel. Some of the low-lying fields by the
river suffer from floods, the land in this part of the
parish being for the most part only 50 ft. above
ordnance datum.
Among the place-names in the parish of Kirkby
Hill are Fairy Hill, Cover Beggar Field, Hill Hole
and The Barughs.
Newburgh Priory. Gules a lion or with a pilgrim's crutch or bend sinisterwise athwart him.
Manors
At the time of the Domesday Survey
a 'manor' and 6 carucates at KIRKBY
HILL belonged to Gospatric. (fn. 2) The overlordship was afterwards held by the Mowbrays, (fn. 3) who
acquired it probably from Henry I, (fn. 4) and certainly before
1145, as the church and 1
carucate of land were included
in their foundation charter to
Newburgh Priory. (fn. 5) In 1253
John de Curtenay transferred
the mesne lordship of a third
part of one knight's fee in
Kirkby Hill to the Prior of
Newburgh. (fn. 6) Under this grant
the prior became the mesne
lord of the whole vill, which
consisted in 1286–7 of 5
carucates, 2 of which he held
in demesne, the remaining 3
being held of him by Alexander de Leeds, who had been
the tenant of John de Curtenay. (fn. 7) The priory retained
its rights until the Dissolution. (fn. 8) In 1334 Boniface
de Leeds settled the manor of Kirkby Hill on his son
Alexander and his issue. (fn. 9)
From this date this manor followed the descent of
the manor of Thornton Bridge (q.v.) until 1522, when
Ralph Nevill of Thornton Bridge died, leaving three
daughters and co-heirs. (fn. 10) Kirkby Hill fell to the
share (fn. 11) of the third daughter Clara, who married
Thomas Nevill of Holt, and followed the descent of
her manor at Leckby (fn. 12) (q.v.) until 1672, when
Sir Thomas Nevill, bart., Thomas Nevill and Samuel
Hinton sold it to Sir Robert Long, (fn. 13) who had been
created a baronet in 1662. (fn. 14) In 1775 it was in the
possession of Sir James Long, (fn. 15) seventh baronet,
whose only son Sir James succeeded him in 1794,
and died while still a child in 1805. (fn. 16) His estates
passed to his eldest sister Catherine; she married
William Wellesley-Pole, who in 1812 assumed the
additional names of Tylney-Long and was afterwards
fourth Earl of Mornington. (fn. 17) He dissipated the
greater part of his wife's estates, this manor being
purchased in about the middle of the 19th century
by Thomas Rawson of Nidd Hall, (fn. 18) whose only
daughter Frances Penelope married Henry Edmund
thirteenth Viscount Mountgarret in 1844. (fn. 19) Their
grandson Viscount Mountgarret is the present lord of
the manor.
Rawson of Nidd. Party fessewise azure and sable a castle with four towers argent.
Butler, Viscount Mountgarret. Or a chief indented azure with the difference of a crescent.
In the reign of Edward I the Prior of Newburgh
claimed free warren in his demesne lands here by
charter of Henry III, (fn. 20) and Alexander de Leeds
obtained a similar grant in 1305. (fn. 21)
The soke of 6 carucates in ELLINGTHORPE
(Adelingestorp, xi cent.; Edelingthorpe, xii cent.;
Ellyngthorpe, xvi cent.; Ellinthorpe, Ellenthorpe,
present day) belonged to the king's manor of Aldborough at the time of the Domesday Survey. (fn. 22) At
an early date it seems to have been subinfeudated to
Wymar the Steward, (fn. 23) who in or about the year 1100
granted 4 carucates of land here with the chapel of
St. Martin, Richmond, to the abbey of St. Mary,
York. (fn. 24) By 1286–7 the whole vill was in the possession of the abbey, under which land here was
then held by Richard de Butterwick, Goram, John
Steynley and Michael Crokedayke. (fn. 25) The manor of
Ellingthorpe came into the hands of the king at the
Dissolution, (fn. 26) and is still Crown property.
Richard Aldborough was seised at his death in
1476 (fn. 27) of a capital messuage and tenements in
Ellingthorpe, held of the Abbot of St. Mary's, York.
This holding, afterwards called Ellingthorpe Hall, (fn. 28)
followed the descent of Humburton (fn. 29) (q.v.).
In 1086 HUMBURTON (Burtone, Burton, xi
cent.; Hundeburton, xiii cent.) belonged to Gospatric, and 4 out of the 6 carucates there were soke
of the king's manor of Aldborough, (fn. 30) which was
afterwards included in the honour of Knaresborough.
The remaining 2 carucates were probably also Crown
land. (fn. 31) By the reign of Henry III, and probably
from the time of Henry I, the lordship of this portion
was held by the Mowbrays, who retained it until
the 16th century. (fn. 32)
The tenant under the Mowbrays in the reign of
Henry III was Hugh de Arderne, (fn. 33) and in or before
1275 Alan son of John de Walkingham held land
in Humburton of the Knaresborough fee. (fn. 34) In
1276 William de Arderne, the elder son of Hugh,
died without children. His brother Richard should
have succeeded him, but was an idiot, and as Roger
de Mowbray was then a minor the Arderne lands in
Humburton came into the king's wardship, (fn. 35) and
their custody was granted by him during pleasure to
Alan de Walkingham in 1279. (fn. 36) The actual lands
were committed during the king's pleasure to Queen
Eleanor, of whom Alan de Walkingham held them at
farm. (fn. 37) In the mean time Henry son of Thomas de
Woodhall had either acquired or usurped rights in
Humburton, and in 1278 he granted his own lands
there to Alan de Walkingham as well as the mesne
lordship of both the Walkingham and Arderne fees. (fn. 38)
Although Alan, in return, promised a yearly rent to
Henry, the justice of the latter's claims seems questionable, and no mention of him occurs in the king's
grant of custody to Alan de Walkingham in the
following year. Alan died in or before 1284, leaving
a son who was a minor. (fn. 39) After the death of Richard
de Arderne, evidently about the same time, (fn. 40) the
inheritance of all the Arderne lands reverted to the
descendants of the two sisters of Hugh de Arderne,
Olive wife of Robert de Megre, and Hawise wife of
Richard Pecche. (fn. 41) Humburton Manor formed part
of Olive's share, and her granddaughter Margery,
with her husband Philip le Lou, received a direct
grant of it from Queen Eleanor in 1285 for the
service of a fourth part of a knight's fee. (fn. 42) In spite
of this, John Pecche, the descendant of Hawise,
was in possession of the lands in 1301, (fn. 43) and there
may have been some dispute about them, as in 1313
Margery le Lou quitclaimed the manor of Humburton to John Pecche. (fn. 44) In 1316 that part of
Humburton which is entered under the liberty of
Richmond was held by John Pecche, and that part
within the liberty of Knaresborough by the king, (fn. 45)
under whom the Walkinghams were tenants. (fn. 46) After
this date the Pecches lost their interest in Humburton,
and appear to have been succeeded by John Moryn,
who held land there of John de Mowbray in 1327. (fn. 47)
In 1325 John son of Alan de Walkingham conveyed
the 'manor' of Humburton to Richard Aldborough. (fn. 48)
This evidently represented the Walkinghams' original
property only, as it is said to
have been held of Knaresborough. Richard Aldborough
probably acquired the rest of
Humburton from John
Moryn. (fn. 49) In 1334 Richard
Aldborough granted one messuage and 2 oxgangs of land
in Humburton, held of John
Moryn, to a chaplain to celebrate divine service in the
church of St. Andrew, Aldborough. (fn. 50) He entailed the
manor upon himself and his
heirs (fn. 51) in 1336. In 1480
John Aldborough died seised of two messuages and
2 carucates of land here, and was succeeded by his
son Sir Richard Aldborough, kt., (fn. 52) who was seised of
the manor at his death in 1514, and left a son and
heir Richard. (fn. 53) He died in 1537, leaving a son and
heir another Richard, then a child, (fn. 54) who at his
death in 1614 is said to have been seised of a capital
messuage and land in Humburton. (fn. 55) This property,
however, was still called the manor in 1650, when
William Aldborough, his great - great - grandson,
begged for its discharge from sequestration for the
delinquency of his father Richard, at whose death
William had become responsible for the debts of his
grandfather Arthur Aldborough. (fn. 56) After this date
there seems to be no material for the history of
Humburton, which now consists of three farms, and
is a Crown estate.
Aldborough. Azure a fesse argent between three crosslets or.
The township of Humburton includes MILBY
(Mildebi, xi cent.; Milneby, xvi cent.), which was
called a manor in the 18th century. In 1086
6 carucates in Milby were soke of Aldborough. (fn. 57)
With Humburton it was in 1316 divided into two
portions, (fn. 58) and the overlordship of one was in the
hands of the Mowbrays. (fn. 59) Milby was early split up
into several small holdings. In 1275 Alan de Walkingham acquired land there, (fn. 60) which passed with
Humburton to Richard Aldborough in 1325. (fn. 61) In
1286–7 John de Breton was holding 2½ carucates of
Roger de Mowbray, (fn. 62) and his heir was a tenant in
1327. (fn. 63) In 1309 the priory of Newburgh obtained
some land from Simon de Stutevill, who held of the
Mowbrays, (fn. 64) and the priory's possessions there were
confirmed by John de Mowbray in 1389. (fn. 65) The
Mowbrays also confirmed land in Milby to the abbey
of Fountains. (fn. 66) Both these religious houses, as well
as the monasteries of St. Leonard and Jervaulx, held
tenements in Milby at the Dissolution. (fn. 67) Land here
which had belonged to Newburgh and St. Leonard
was granted by the king to
William Ramsden, Ralph
Wyse and his sons John and
Roger Wyse in 1545. (fn. 68)
Vyner of Gautby. Azure a bend or and a chief or with two Cornish choughs therein.
Early in the 18th century
the 'manor' of Milby was
held by Henry Viscount Lonsdale, (fn. 69) by whom it was sold to
Miles Smith (fn. 70) ; it was in the
possession of Miles Smith in
1745. (fn. 71) Lord Grantham, afterwards Lord De Grey of Wrest,
held it in 1804, (fn. 72) and his
grandson Mr. Robert Charles
De Grey Vyner is now the
sole proprietor.
Other lands in Milby, formerly held by the abbey of
Jervaulx, were conveyed in 1544 to Mathew Earl of
Lenox and Margaret his wife, whose property went
to the Crown with their grandson James I. (fn. 73) This
part of Milby was granted by Charles II to William
Stanley, Sir John Monson, kt., and Henry Wilkinson
for twenty-one years in 1661. (fn. 74)
No mention of LANGTHORPE (Langlythorp,
xiii cent.; Langethorn, xiv cent.), which was apparently never a manor, occurs in the Domesday
Survey. (fn. 75) In the reign of Henry III Langthorpe
formed part of the fief of Niel de Mowbray, lord of
Thirsk, (fn. 76) of which this place was held. (fn. 77)
John de Selford is said to have held 3 carucates
here in the reign of Henry III, (fn. 78) but early in the
reign of Edward I the Prior of Newburgh held
2 carucates, (fn. 79) presumably granted by the Mowbrays, (fn. 80)
and had free warren in his demesne lands here. (fn. 81)
In 1286–7 Langthorpe consisted of 3 carucates, of
which 2 were held by the prior and I by Thomas
de Weston. (fn. 82) The successor of the latter was probably Simon de Stutevill, who held a quarter of a
knight's fee in Langthorpe of Roger de Mowbray in
1301, (fn. 83) and in 1309 obtained licence to alienate land
there to the Prior of Newburgh, who seems to have
held the whole of Langthorpe in 1316, (fn. 84) as at the
Dissolution. (fn. 85)
In 1545 this land in Langthorpe with the land of
the priory at Milby was granted to William Ramsden
of Longley, Ralph Wyse and his sons John and Roger
Wyse. (fn. 86) It seems to have followed the descent of
Milby. Lord Grantham was the chief landowner in
1806 (fn. 87) and Lady Mary Vyner, the second daughter
of Lord De Grey, in 1861; her son Mr. Robert
Charles De Grey Vyner (fn. 88) is now the principal proprietor.
Church
The church of ALL SAINTS consists
of a chancel 25 ft. 6 in. by 13 ft. 4 in.,
nave 24 ft. 3 in. by 15 ft., north chapel
22 ft. 5 in. by 12 ft. 6 in., north aisle 37 ft. by
13 ft. 10 in., west tower 10 ft. 5 in. by 10 ft. 7 in.
and south porch; these measurements are all internal.
Plan of Kirkby Hill Church
The nave is that of a little early church built with
large irregular stones, some of which are parts of early
carved slabs and cross shafts. It may date from the
latter part of the 11th century, and the west tower
before its recent rebuilding (1870) was of little later
date. The chancel of this church has been destroyed,
except, perhaps, a little of its north wall. A north
aisle was added about 1160, and late in the 13th
century a north chapel. In the 15th century the
chancel was lengthened and widened southwards to
the line of the south wall of the nave, and in modern
times the north aisle has been rebuilt. The porch is
also modern, and the roofs have been renewed.
The east window of the chancel is of the 15th
century, of three cinquefoiled lights under a threecentred arch. In the north wall is a squint from the
chapel into the chancel; it is a rather wide rectangular
opening, and west of it, near the floor, is the socket
stone of a cross built into the wall. The archway
into the chapel is of good late 13th-century detail,
the jambs being of three engaged shafts with a fillet
in the middle shaft. The bases are of two rounds,
the capitals are moulded, and the arch is a pointed one
of two chamfered orders; the stonework of the archway is reddened as by fire. The chancel arch is
a modern copy of this, but has a few old stones.
The first window on the south side of the chancel is
flush with the east wall and is a plain rectangular
light of a single chamfered order; its stonework is
old but of uncertain date. Adjoining it, but set
lower in the wall, its sill serving as a seat, is a squareheaded window of two trefoiled lights with modern
tracery. The priest's doorway is of the 15th century,
and has a four-centred external head with a flat internal
lintel. The third window, west of the doorway,
is an old rectangular light like the first, and set low
enough to be a low-side window. The walling of the
south wall of the chancel is of coursed squared rubble,
but it is more irregular in the east wall and has large
quoins at the angles. The parapets are embattled and
modern. A band of large stones marks the rebuilding of the upper part of this wall; one of these
stones is carved with an interlacing pattern.
The north chapel has a modern east window of
14th-century character; the north window is similar,
but retains an old stone or two in the inner jambs.
A modern arch spans the west end of the chapel, but
in its south jamb is a carved 12th-century impost
with hatched and sunk star ornament and a cable
mould in the hollow chamfer on its under side. It
is, perhaps, taken from the former chancel arch.
The arcade between the nave and aisle is of two
bays; the responds are semicircular with small shafts,
which have been renewed, against the inner face.
The middle pier is of unusual section, being a round
column with engaged semi-octagonal shafts on its
east and west faces. The base moulds are modern,
but the capitals are original, though restored in
parts; those of the circular columns are scalloped,
but those of the smaller shafts are hollow chamfered or fluted in rather a rough manner. The
arches are round, and of two square orders; the
eastern one has been much restored, the other is
old and retains traces of painting of 13th and
14th-century dates, one over the other. The
stone here is very red, as in the north arch of
the chancel.
The south window of the nave is of three
trefoiled ogee-headed lights of 14th-century
date; the east jamb inside has several new
stones, and the rear arch is modern. The south
doorway has a plain round head of a single
chamfered order; it occupies the position of a
larger and earlier doorway of which the east
jamb and a few stones of the outer arch remain
in position. In this jamb is a large stone carved
in low relief with circular interlacing patterns.
The wood door is an old one of plain detail but carefully restored, and has fine wrought-iron hinges which
may be of considerable age. In the wall above the
doorway are two stones carved with interlacing
patterns, parts of the head and shaft of a cross. The
arch from the nave into the tower is a plain round
one with chamfered abaci. The porch, which is a
modern rebuilding, has a pointed outer archway and
two side lights. It contains several ancient worked
stones in its walling; one is a part of a small octagonal
shaft, another is a small early moulded capital, a third
a base, a fourth a piece of edge roll mould, a fifth a
Saxon stone with interlacing pattern, while the sixth
and largest is a 13th-century coffin slab.
The north aisle of the nave is all of modern date;
it is lighted by three north windows of two lights
and a west one of three.
The tower was reconstructed in 1870, but the old
stones were re-used and the lower part was undisturbed. The west window is modern. No external
break or string-course divides the lowest story from
the second, which is lighted by small lancets, but a
moulded string divides the second from the third or
bell-chamber. This is lighted by modern two-light
windows. The plain projecting parapet, carried on a
corbel table, is modern. The plinth on the west
side of the tower is of unusually large projection,
and there are some large stones in the lower walling;
one of these at the south-west angle is clearly Roman
and has a sunk panel which once contained an inscription. The south wall of the nave also contains some
very large stones, particularly in the former southeast angle where it now forms a straight joint with
the chancel. One of the largest stones in the body
of the wall looks like the inverted head of a small
round-headed light.
The open-timber roofs are of modern date; those
of the nave and chancel are of very low pitch, while
those of the north chapel and aisle are high pitched.
The font is a round one of 13th-century date; the
bowl has sloping sides and the base a plain mould.
There are some 15th-century bench ends with carved
poppy heads in the nave mixed with others of modern
workmanship. In the aisle at the west end stands a
cupboard made up of 17th-century panelling; on its
doors are the initials and date 'ec wc 1699.' The
altar table is probably of the 18th century and the altar
rails of the 17th. The other furniture is modern.
There are no monuments in the church earlier than
the 18th century. In the churchyard are parts of
two Saxon crosses used as headstones to modern graves.
There are six bells: the treble, second and third
by Warner, 1869; the fourth by Samuel Smith of
York, 1713; the fifth by the same founder, 1718.
The tenor is inscribed in black letter 'Scā trinitas
unus deus,' and bears the maker's mark, a shield
charged with a cinquefoil on a saltire.
The plate consists of a silver cup and paten, both
of 1709, and a modern base metal chalice.
The registers begin in 1740.
Advowson
In 1145 Roger de Mowbray
granted this church to the priory of
Newburgh, which held it until the
Dissolution. (fn. 89) The rectory was appropriated by
1292, and a vicarage seems to have been ordained
before 1318. (fn. 90) In the reign of Mary the rectory
was held by Cardinal Pole, and was leased by him to
William Knyvett (fn. 91) ; in 1558 the queen granted the
advowson of the vicarage and all her rights in the
church to the see of York, (fn. 92) but they were in the
hands of the Crown in Elizabeth's reign. Leases of
the rectory for twenty-one years were granted in
1567 to Roland Clarke and in 1589 to Richard
Aldborough. (fn. 93) Richard Aldborough surrendered his
Letters Patent in 1595, when the queen granted the
rectory and church to William Mauleverer, William
Aldborough and Oswald Diconson for their lives,
reserving to herself the advowson. (fn. 94) The rectory
and church came again into the hands of Richard
Aldborough in 1610, (fn. 95) but the advowson remained
in the Crown (fn. 96) until 1874, when the patronage
was transferred by the Lord Chancellor to the see of
Ripon, (fn. 97) to which it now belongs.
In the reign of Henry VIII mention is made of
'one cottage, lately a chapel, with one small garden
adjoining' in Milby. (fn. 98)
Charities
The site of the present elementary
school was conveyed by deed, 1867.
The erection of the school buildings
was aided by the proceeds of the sale of the old
school under order of the Charity Commissioners in
1868.
Priscilla Brooke, by will dated 11 December 1691,
proved at York, left £500 upon trust for investment,
the income to be paid to the Nonconformist minister
at Ellingthorpe chapel preaching every Sabbath Day,
with a trust over for other charitable purposes in
certain contingencies. In 1821 a sum of £20 a
year was paid to the minister of the chapel by the
then Lord Grantley, presumably as interest on this
legacy. (fn. 99) Apparently no payment has been made
for many years.