WEST TANFIELD
Tanefeld (xi cent.); Westanfeld (xiii cent.).
Marmion Tower and Church, West Tanfield, from the South-east
The ecclesiastical parish of West Tanfield is coextensive with the civil parish. It lies on the north
bank of the River Ure (which here forms the boundary
of the riding), and includes the hamlets of Binsoe,
Nosterfield and Thornbrough. The acreage of the
whole is rather over 3,285, 1,404 acres of these being
arable land and 1,552 permanent grass. (fn. 1) The
upper soil varies between clay, gravel and limestone,
on a subsoil of Magnesian Limestone with alluvium
by the river. The chief crops are barley, oats,
turnips and seeds. The land is nowhere less than
150 ft. above ordnance datum, and, rising towards
the west, it reaches its highest point of 400 ft. in the
north-west corner.
'The tounlet of West Tanfelde,' wrote Leland,
'standeth on a cliving ground hard by Ure, a river
of a colour for the most part of soden water, by
reason of the colour and the morisch nature of the
soile of Wencedale from whens it cummith.' (fn. 2) The
river has an important influence on the place, as the
Tanfield Angling Club preserves the fishing and has
a large hatchery here, with the result that there is
excellent trout fishing. Leland crossed the river on
his way north from Ripon by a ferry here, but this
had been replaced before 1725 by a bridge 'raised
upon 3 noble arches.' (fn. 3) The bridge was probably
then old, for in 1733 it had fallen into decay, (fn. 4) and
it was being rebuilt in 1737, when the contractors
'set forth the great loss and damage they had sustained by a sudden and rapped flood.' (fn. 5) The river
is now crossed by a stone bridge, close to which is a
ford. It is probably to this ford that the place owed
its early importance.
The village straggles over some extent of ground
close to the point at which the main road from Ripon
crosses the River Ure. The present church of St.
Nicholas lies a little to the west of the bridge, beyond
a few houses and gardens. Close to it is the gatehouse, probably part of the manor-house which the
widowed Maud Marmion received licence to crenellate in 1348. (fn. 6) Leland describes how 'the castelle
of Tanfeld, or rather as it is nowe, a meane manor
Place, stondith hard on the ripe of Ure, wher I saw
no notable building but a fair toured Gateway and a
Haule of squarid stone.' (fn. 7)
This three-story gate-house known as the Marmion
Tower is nearly square, measuring 31 ft. 2 in. by
33 ft. 9 in., the longer dimension being from north
to south. At the north-western angle is a square projection containing a newel stair. Except on the
lower parts of the north and south walls the building is faced with wrought stone, and the gateway
is roofed with a barrel vault of stone, higher at
the east end to allow for the inward opening of
the pair of doors which are hung in the outer archway. The passage is 10 ft. 4 in. wide, the arches at
either end being of two hollow-chamfered orders with
moulded labels. There is no provision for a portcullis. On the south of the gateway passage is a room
20 ft. by 8 ft. with a stone vault, probably a guard
room or porter's lodge, having a small square-headed
window in the east wall, a fireplace, a cupboard, and
a latrine in the south, and a small opening on the
north commanding the gateway. This latter is set
considerably to the north of the centre line of the
gate-house, so that to the north of it there is only
room for the stair, which is entered by a door at the
north-west end of the passage. It runs up the full
height of the building and is finished with an embattled
turret which projects above the battlements of the
gate-house. On the first floor there is a single room,
lighted on the east by a very pretty oriel window of six
lights with tracery and a pyramidal stone roof. On the
west is a wide two-light window with a square head and
large stops to its label, much weathered but apparently
meant for dogs. There is a fireplace in the north
wall, and a single trefoiled light and a rectangular
recess on the south. The room on the second floor
has its fireplace and a large projecting latrine on the
south and is lighted by a square headed two-light
window with a transom on the east, a window of two
trefoiled lights with an
arched head on the west,
and a like window on
the south; all three
have shallow stone seats
in their sills. The building is now roofless, but
seems to be little altered
from its condition in
1780 or thereabout,
when Grose drew it for
the fourth volume of
his Antiquities of England
and Wales.
Plan of Marmion Tower, West Tanfield
Of other buildings
contemporary with the
gate-house there are
practically no traces.
The vaulted well-house
about 60 ft. to the west
may perhaps have supplied the house to which the gate-house served as
an approach, but there is no reason to assign an early
date to it. The remains of a thin wall which is
bonded into the gate-house at the south-west corner
and extends westward along the edge of the steep bank
above the river, making at one point a semicircular
projection, may perhaps represent the external wall
of the inclosure on that side. The chantry-house
'buylded aioyned to the church-yarde' for the priests
of Maud's foundation (fn. 8) still exists as the present
Chantry Cottage, lately the residence of Mr. P. Stevenson. From the road several steps descend through a
porch to a plain arched doorway of 15th-century date
opening to a passage through the house to a similar
doorway, which gives on to a row of pleasant gardens
sloping down to the river. On the east side of the
passage are two blocked doors with shouldered heads,
originally opening into a rather small room which
forms the basement of the adjoining house. On the
west side of the passage a doorway of the same type
opens into a kitchen with a large recessed fireplace in
the same wall as the door and a mullioned window in
the south wall. In the wall on each side of the south
doorway are traces of mullioned windows of various
dates. The arrangement is clearly that of a small
hall with 'screens' to the east opening to the kitchen
and offices; the upper story appears to be a later
addition. The hall was evidently open to the roof
and the kitchen block was of two stories. The
existing remains might well represent the kitchen
and larders on the ground floor of a larger house,
the upper part of which has been replaced; if, however, it was the dwelling-place of a single priest,
the present kitchen might have served as kitchen and
parlour, the larder and cellar being on the opposite
side of the passage.
The school, enlarged in 1895, lies at the eastern
and higher end of the village street, midway down
which a lane leads north to the Wesleyan chapel and
to Tanfield station on the Ripon and Masham branch
of the North Eastern railway. At the eastern end
of the street and close to the river bank is Tanfield
House, the residence of Mrs. Crompton; the Grange,
which once belonged to Fountains Abbey, (fn. 9) lies back
from the road on its northern side.
West of the village the Ure makes a great loop south
and then north inclosing a large tract of hilly country.
The woodland one 'league' long by half a 'league'
broad mentioned in 1086 (fn. 10) probably lay in this direction, as do the 258 acres of wood now in the parish.
John Marmion received licence to crenellate his house
'called Lermitage' in his wood of Tanfield in 1314, (fn. 11)
and in 1331 and 1332 (fn. 12) he complained of poaching in
his park here. North and South Park Woods lie close
round the present Tanfield Hall, and the little walks
in the park as well as the terrace and wall by the
cascade are specially mentioned in an agreement relating to the house in 1727, when it was a residence
of Lord Bruce. (fn. 13) Tanfield Lodge, the residence of
Mr. William Denby Arton, lies further south and
near the river. The park seems to have extended
almost to the northern boundary of the parish whence
Park Lane leads from Tanfield to the little hamlet
of Binsoe, where the lane makes a loop round a
curious tree-covered mound.
Nosterfield, another and larger hamlet with a
Wesleyan chapel and a Church of England mission
room, is built round a triangular green and lies in a
more easterly direction, while south and east of it is
Thornbrough Moor, inclosed under an award of 1799.
The moor is dotted with tumuli, and on it are three
large circular camps lying almost equidistant from each
other in a north-westerly line between West Tanfield
and Thornbrough.
Thornbrough is interesting in that it was evidently
originally built along a portion of the road from West
Tanfield to Sinderby; the eastern end of this is now,
however, blocked and the way passes along the Back
Lane. There are Wesleyan and Primitive Methodist
chapels here.
Manors
Eight carucates at WEST TANFIELD
were held in demesne in 1086 by Count
Alan, (fn. 14) whose successors retained the overlordship. (fn. 15) At an earlier date Torchil had had a
'manor' there.
Marmion. Vair a fesse gules.
Fitz Hugh. Azure fretty or and a chief or.
Parr. Argent two bars azure and a border engrailed sable.
Hugh son of Gernegan, a contemporary of Torphin
de Manfield, held two and a half fees in Tanfield and
its appurtenances. (fn. 16) He married Maud de Morvill,
one of the heirs of Torphin de Manfield, who
survived him and was lady of Tanfield in 1204. (fn. 17)
Her son Gernegan (by her husband Hugh) (fn. 18) was her
successor, (fn. 19) and in 1243 his daughter and heir
Avis was holding Tanfield. (fn. 20) She married Robert
Marmion, (fn. 21) to whom her custody had been granted, (fn. 22)
and in 1286–7 she was said to be in possession of
the vill, which then consisted of 11 carucates. (fn. 23)
Avis had a son William Marmion (fn. 24) ; his son John (fn. 25)
was seised of the manor at his death in 1322. (fn. 26) This
John had a son John, who with his wife Maud
settled the manor on themselves and their heirs in
1327. (fn. 27) At the death of John in 1335 he was
succeeded by his son Robert, whose heir was his sister
Avis. (fn. 28) Avis held West Tanfield conjointly with
her husband John de Grey of Rotherfield and their
son, who was called John Marmion. (fn. 29) After the death
of John Marmion in 1387 the manor came to his
niece Elizabeth, daughter of his brother Robert and
wife of Sir Henry Fitz Hugh, kt. She died in 1427,
leaving a son and heir Sir William Fitz Hugh, (fn. 30) who
died in 1452 seised of this manor, and was succeeded
by his son Henry, (fn. 31) the father of Richard Lord Fitz
Hugh. (fn. 32) His son George Lord Fitz Hugh succeeded
him in 1487, (fn. 33) and died without children in 1512–13,
leaving the manor of West Tanfield to his wife
Katherine for life. At her death it reverted to the
Parrs, descendants of Elizabeth, a sister of Richard
Lord Fitz Hugh. (fn. 34) Her grandson William Parr
Marquess of Northampton, brother to Katharine Parr,
sixth wife of Henry VIII, (fn. 35) died without children in
1570 (fn. 36) seised of the manor of West Tanfield, (fn. 37) which
then passed to the Crown, and was granted in the
following year to William Cecil Lord Burghley, (fn. 38)
Queen Elizabeth's celebrated minister. His son and
heir Thomas, created Earl of Exeter, (fn. 39) died in 1622
seised of the manor, (fn. 40) which was inherited by his son
William Earl of Exeter (fn. 41) ; on the death of the latter
his lands were divided among his three daughters, his
only son having died before him. (fn. 42) The manor of West
Tanfield formed part of the inheritance of his second
daughter Diana, (fn. 43) who married first the Earl of
Oxford and secondly Thomas Bruce Earl of Elgin. (fn. 44)
Robert Bruce, second Earl of Elgin and first Earl of
Ailesbury, was in possession of the manor in 1676, (fn. 45)
and his grandson Charles, afterwards third Earl of
Ailesbury, dealt with it in 1703. (fn. 46) Charles's second
son Robert was in possession in 1729. (fn. 47) He died
without children in 1738, before the death of his
father, and the manor went to his cousin Thomas
Bruce Brudenell, who in 1747 succeeded to the
barony of Bruce and the vast estates of his uncle,
under a special settlement which excluded his uncle's
daughters. In 1767 he took the additional surname
of Bruce and in 1776 was created Earl of Ailesbury. (fn. 48)
His grandson George William Frederick BrudenellBruce, first Marquess of Ailesbury, held West Tanfield
Manor in 1826, (fn. 49) and it continued in his family until
1886, when it was purchased from the third Marquess
by Mr. Arton, father of the present owner. (fn. 50)
Bruce. Or a saltire and a chief gules and a quarter argent with a lion azure therein.
Brudenell. Argent a cheveron azure between three hats gules turned up with ermine.
Land was held here by the abbey of Fountains
at the Dissolution and was granted in 1540 to
Sir Richard Gresham in fee, (fn. 51) but no further details
of its history are known.
Avis daughter of Gernegan obtained a grant of
free warren in her demesne lands here in 1243, (fn. 52)
and early in the reign of Edward I was called on to
show reason why her tenants did not pay suit at the
county court. (fn. 53)
Scrope of Masham. Azure a bend or with a label argent.
No mention of NOSTERFIELD (Nosterfeld, xiii
cent.) occurs in the Domesday Survey, and its history
is obscure until the end of the 13th century, when it
was included in the honour of Richmond and was
held of the earl. (fn. 54) At that time it was divided into
two parts. The first of these had descended with
Well (q.v.), of which it was a member, to Ralph son
of Ranulf, whose son-in-law Robert de Tateshall held
it in 1286–7. (fn. 55) With the other lands of that fee
it reverted to Mary Nevill, the elder daughter of
Ralph son of Ranulf, who held
these lands in 1316 (fn. 56) and was
succeeded by her son Ralph. (fn. 57)
Sir Geoffrey le Scrope of
Masham (q.v.), kt., acquired
the manor before 1339, and
was seised of it at his death
in 1340. (fn. 58) From him it descended to Henry Lord Scrope,
who was attainted and beheaded in 1415, (fn. 59) when his
lands in Nosterfield were
among those granted by
Henry V to Sir Henry Fitz
Hugh, kt. (fn. 60) Sir John le
Scrope, younger brother of Henry, appears to have
obtained a restoration of the latter's honours and
inheritance in 1421. (fn. 61) In 1424 he petitioned for
his rights concerning the lands that had been granted
to Sir Henry Fitz Hugh. (fn. 62) Sir William Fitz Hugh,
the son of Sir Henry, released his claim on the
manor to John le Scrope in 1442. (fn. 63) It remained in
the possession of the Scropes (fn. 64) and was, like Constable
Burton (q.v.), ultimately divided among the five coheirs of Elizabeth Fitz Randall, the third daughter of
Thomas fifth Lord Scrope. The later descent of the
manor is lost.
The second fee in Nosterfield was held by Avis
Marmion in or about 1282, (fn. 65) and by her grandson
John Marmion in 1316. (fn. 66) From this date it has
followed the descent of West Tanfield (q.v.).
There appears to be no mention of THORNBROUGH (Thornebergh, xiii cent.; Thornbargh,
xvi cent.) until the end of the 13th century.
In 1286–7 it consisted of 2 carucates of land, parcel
of the honour of Richmond, held by Avis Marmion.
Under her the heirs of Ralph or Ranulph de Middleton, son of William, were the tenants in demesne. (fn. 66a)
The manor of Thornbrough was the subject of
the same dispute between Roger de Middleton
and James de Meynell as that of Middleton Quernhow (fn. 67) in 1348, but as in Middleton Quernhow
the interest of the under-tenants does not seem
to have survived and the manor went with that
of West Tanfield (fn. 68) (q.v.) until the middle of the
15th century, when it passed to the Scropes of
Bolton, evidently as part of the dowry of Joan
daughter of William fourth Lord Fitz Hugh, who
married Sir John Scrope, kt. (fn. 69) The latter was seised
of the manor at his death in 1498, (fn. 70) and it followed
the descent of the Scropes of Bolton (fn. 71) (q.v.) till
1576, when it was sold by Henry Lord Scrope to
William Cecil Lord Burghley. (fn. 72) Since that time it has
descended with the manor of West Tanfield (q.v.),
and no separate manorial rights are now exercised
for Thornbrough.
Tenements in the hamlet of BINSOE are mentioned
in connexion with West Tanfield (q.v.) in documents
of the 15th century, and afterwards follow the descent
of the manor. It appears to have no separate history.
Church
The church of ST. NICHOLAS
consists of a chancel 38 ft. 9 in. by
15 ft. 10 in., a nave 50 ft. 4 in. by
21 ft. 6 in., a north aisle and chapel 71 ft. 4 in. by
19 ft. 4 in., a west tower 11 ft. 4 in. by 11 ft., north
vestry and south porch. These measurements are
all internal.
The drastic restoration which the church underwent in 1859 has rendered the history of the building
difficult to read. The 12th-century chancel arch
was then removed and the present arch substituted,
while the walls of the chancel and nave were refaced
and the details generally repaired and renewed. It
seems probable, however, that the south nave wall
and the western half of the chancel are contemporary
with the original chancel arch. About 1350 a north
aisle was added to the nave and the present arcade
pierced in the north nave wall. Towards the middle
of the succeeding century the aisle was widened and
rebuilt. It is probable that the original aisle extended
eastwards to its present extent, the east wall showing
a slight difference in the masonry. In the absence
of earlier detail it may be presumed that the chancel
was at the same time lengthened. The tower is an
addition of the same century.
The east window of the chancel is of three uncusped
lights under a pointed head. The north wall is blank
except for a small modern shouldered doorway and a
plain 15th-century arch to the north chapel. In the
south wall are two three-light windows, partly of 15thcentury date, and a plain doorway between them.
The most interesting feature is, however, a small stone
chamber entered from the north chapel and projecting
into the north-west angle of the chancel. In its south
and east walls are windows of two trefoiled lights with
small spandrels, and above that in the east wall is a
single trefoiled light. In its west wall is a squint from
the nave commanding the position of the altar formerly
in the north chapel, while the openings in its east
wall command that of the high altar. It has on the
north face a label like that of the arch to the north
chapel and must be about contemporary with it, but
its precise use is still a matter of uncertainty. All the
chancel fittings and its roof are modern. The chancel
arch is also modern and has continuous mouldings.
The nave has a north arcade of four bays with drop
arches of two chamfered orders with a label towards
the nave resting on octagonal shafts with moulded
bases and capitals of 14th-century type. In the south
wall is a small recess at its east angle with a two-light
window, probably designed to accommodate a chantry
altar. In the south wall of the nave are two squareheaded windows of three cinquefoiled lights with
15th-century tracery, which are partly old, and to
the west a round-headed doorway of uncertain date
in two continuous chamfered orders and another
window like the others but of two lights.
Plan of West Tanfield Church
The east window of the north chapel, which is
continuous with the north aisle, is of five lights, and,
like the three windows in the north wall common
to both chapel and aisle, is of the 15th century.
The latter are each of three cinquefoiled lights with
tracery. The doorway at the north-west of the aisle
is probably of the same period and now opens to the
modern vestry. The west window is of three cinquefoiled lights, with vertical tracery above an embattled
transom.
The tower is of the 15th century, in three stages,
with diagonal angle buttresses terminating halfway up
it, and has an embattled parapet and moulded plinth.
The belfry windows are each of two trefoiled lights
under a four-centred head and the intermediate story is
lighted on the north and south by single trefoiled
lights. The west window of the ground stage is of
three lights with tracery, and the tower arch is of
two chamfered orders with moulded capitals at the
springing.
The south porch is a good piece of 15th-century
work, with a stone gabled roof barrel-vaulted beneath
and a continuously moulded outer archway, which
like the chamfered inner doorway is semicircular.
There are narrow stone seats on either side.
In the first window of the north aisle is some old
glass which has been in part restored. In the first
light is the kneeling figure of a saint in a vaulted
canopy clasping a book and below it a damaged shield
of Marmion, in the middle light the figure of the
Virgin under a canopy holding a lily with the shield
of John of Gaunt beneath, and in the third light the
Crucifixion, below which is a shield of St. Quintin.
None of the fittings of the church are old, except a
plain octagonal font under the tower, which is probably of the 15th century, but in the north aisle and
chapel are a splendid series of monuments of the
Marmions. The most remarkable is a stone altar
tomb of late 14th-century detail, on which are two
exceedingly fine alabaster effigies. The larger is that
of a man with a pointed bascinet and camail, an orle of
roses on the bascinet and round his neck a collar of
SS. He wears a tight-fitting tunic with the Marmion
arms on it, and his head rests on a tilting helm with
a large bush of feathers for a crest; the second effigy,
that of his wife, wears a simple close-fitting headdress, a long mantle thrown open and a close-fitting
gown, also covered with the Marmion vair parted
with three cheverons and a vairy chief. These are the
effigies of Sir John Marmion, who died in 1387, and
of his wife Elizabeth St. Quintin. A very remarkable
survival here is the large wrought-iron hearse over
the tomb, with prickets for candles at the four corners
and three on a central bar over the tomb.
Against the north wall of the aisle are five effigies,
all of stone. The easternmost is of a knight in complete
mail with surcoat and shield; his legs are crossed, and
the details, though much worn, are exceedingly good;
the date is c. 1250. Next to him westward is a very
tall effigy of a lady, much damaged and of rather poor
style. The work is apparently of mid-14th-century
date, and she wears the usual mantle and cote-hardi,
with a broad jewelled band down the front of the
dress; the head is a mere shapeless mass. Next to
her is another large female effigy, very much defaced,
possibly that which Leland mentions as that of a vowess.
On the altar tomb which carries this effigy are five
shields: (1) Courtenay, (2) Clifford, (3) Grey of
Rotherfield, (4) Le Despenser, (5) Stafford. The
remaining two effigies are those of a knight in mail
with crossed legs, shield and long surcoat, and that
of a lady wearing mantle and tight-fitting gown, veil
and wimple, with a coronet, both effigies being a
good deal mutilated. The former lies in a very fine
late 14th-century cinquefoiled recess under a gabled
and crocketed canopy flanked by tall crocketed pinnacles rising to a cornice ornamented with pellets.
In the floor, west of the first described monument,
is a much-worn cross slab with a marginal inscription
to Thomas—dated 1483. A small but wellpreserved brass in the chancel commemorates Thomas
Sutton, rector of the church, who died about 1492.
There are six bells: the first, second and third by
Warner, 1879; the fourth inscribed 'Gloria in altissimis deo 1685 S S Ebor'; the fifth, 'Beatus est
populus qui exaudiunt clangorem'; and the sixth
1695, recast 1873.
The plate consists of a cup with the London date
mark 1637 and maker's mark W.C., a small foot
paten of the time of George III with no date letter,
a flagon presented in 1783,
and a modern paten.
The registers begin in
1653.
Advowson
The advowson (fn. 73) is
first found in
the possession of Avis Marmion in the latter part of
the 13th century, (fn. 74) and has
always followed the descent
of the manor (q.v.).
A chantry dedicated to St.
Mary was established in the
parish church by Avis Marmion in 1281 and augmented
by Sir Henry Fitz Hugh in
1413. (fn. 75) It was still in existence in 1546, (fn. 76) and land
which had belonged to it was
granted to Hugh Ley and
William Courte and their
heirs in 1607. (fn. 77)
The three 'Mawde Marmeon' chantries mentioned
in 1546 were evidently
founded in honour of the
wife of the John Marmion who died in 1335. (fn. 78)
The licence for their foundation was given in 1363,
when they were said to be established 'according to
the ordinance of Avice late the wife of John de Grey
of Rotherfield.' (fn. 78a) Three chantry priests, one master
and two brethren, were to be maintained to pray for
the soul of the founder and to help to do divine service
in the church; they were bound to resort for meat,
drink and lodging to the Chantry House which the
master was to keep, and they were to have one servant
to attend on them. (fn. 79) There was also one more
priest at the finding of the parson there. (fn. 80) In 1607
part of the possessions of this chantry were granted to
George Warde and Robert Morgan and their heirs, (fn. 81)
and in 1614 Marmaduke Wilson died seised of land
and tenements which had belonged to it. (fn. 82)
Charities
In 1614 Marmaduke Wilson by
deed charged a close known as Magdalen Close with £4 a year for four
poor widows. The close became vested in William
Beckwith, sen., and William Beckwith his son, who in
1709 conveyed the land in trust for ever for the poor
of the parish. In 1793, on the inclosure of the common lands, the close was exchanged for 15 a. 2 r. 38 p.,
of which 2 r. 25 p. was in 1878 sold to the North
Eastern Railway Company and the proceeds invested
in £158 6s. 2d. consols with the official trustees.
The land is let for £20 a year. The income in
1904, inclusive of the letting of the shooting rights,
amounted to £25 1s. 6d. The sum of 12s. was paid
each quarter to ten annuitants.
The poor also receive 20s. a year from the charity
of Francis Allen, 1737.
West Tanfield Church: Chamber in the Chancel
In 1743 the Rev. John More gave £10 and in
1784 the Rev. Charles Francis gave £10 for the use
of the poor. These gifts are now represented by
£52 3s. 5d. consols with the official trustees, producing £1 6s. a year. These charities are administered together by means of tickets on tradesmen for
groceries, flour and coals, valued at 2s. 6d. or 5s.
each ticket.
The Wesleyan chapel at West Tanfield, conveyed
by deed, 1798, is regulated by a scheme of the Charity
Commissioners of 1866.
The Wesleyan chapel at Nosterfield, conveyed by
deed in 1813, is regulated by a scheme of 1897.