1254Henry de Galdington.Calendar of Papal Registers, vol. 2, p. 294.1290-91William de Kendale.De Banco Rolls, Rev. 86 in 79d. Adam de Ottelay, "capellanus." Levens Rental of Ed. 2 or early Ed. 3.1332Richard "clericus."Lay Subsidy Roll. West., 195/1A.1334June 24Oliver de Welle.Close Rolls and Patent Rolls.8 Ed. 3.1349Edmund de Ursewyk.Patent Rolls.1362Hugo de Middleton. Torre'sArchdeaconry of Richmondshire.Dec. 31401Jan. 13Walter Hoton "parson."Patent Rolls, Henry IV.——Reginald Pulham. Torre; no date given.1443May 24Peter Yrford. Torre.1459Feb. 10George Plompton. Torre.Calendar Patent Rolls.1486James Chamer "capellano."1505-6Hugh Ashton, "clerk," Min. Acc., Henry VII., 877. Resigns Grasmere Rectory in 1512. Rydal Hall MSS.1511John Frost, on resignation of Hugh Ashton. RydalOct. 18Hall MSS.1525William Holgill or Hawgill. Rydal Hall MSS. ChesterMar. 14Diocesan Registry.1548Gabriel Croft, instituted on death of Holgill. ChesterJan. 11Registry. Called Rector at Visitation of Bishop of Chester, 1554, when the following names accompany his.Dns William Jackson. His will was proved Jan. 21, 1569, which calls him "late curat of Gresmer."Dns John Hunter.Dns Hugo Walton. Hugh Watson "preist" bur. March 8, 1577. Grasmere Church Register.1563"Sirre Thomas Benson, curate" witnesses will of John Benson Esq. of Baisbrowne.1569? Master John Benson, rector.?Lancelot Levens. Chester Diocesan Registry.1575[95]John Wilson, instituted on death of Lan. Levens.July 18Chester Diocesan Registry. Bur. May, 13, 1627. Grasmere Church Register.1627Robertus Hogge. Removed following year. Rydal HallJuly 16MSS.1628Henry Wilson, B.A., instituted, according to ChesterMay 24Diocesan Registry, on death of John Wilson, by presentation of Agneta Fleming. Ejected 1644. Died 1647.
CLERGY DOING DUTY DURING THE COMMONWEALTH
1645."Mr. Benson."1646."Sir Christopher Rawling." Probably had served as Curate for some time previously. The Register gives the baptism of his child in 1641 when he is called "Clericus." He likewise joined Parson Wilson in a bill in 1642.1653.John Wallas. Independent. Ejected 1655.1655John Tompson. Probably Presbyterian.
"Sir Christopher Rawling." Probably had served as Curate for some time previously. The Register gives the baptism of his child in 1641 when he is called "Clericus." He likewise joined Parson Wilson in a bill in 1642.
RECTORS AFTER RESTORATION
1660.John Ambrose. Probably nominated on death of Henry Wilson, but not allowed to serve.1684Henry Fleming, B.A. on death of J. Ambrose.1728William Kilner on death of H. Fleming.1728George Fleming, LL.D. (Dean of Carlisle) on session of W. Kilner.1733William Fleming, M.A. on resignation of Geo. Fleming.1743John Craik, B.A. on death of W. Fleming.1806Thomas Jackson on death of J. Craik.1822Sir Richard Fleming, Bart., on death of T. Jackson.
Curates
The curates who officiated under the rectors were a different class of men. Constantly resident, and seemingly holding the post for life, they belonged as a rule to the district—even it might be, to the township—as did William Jackson, who died 1569. A sharp boy, son of a statesman, might attract the notice of the parson, or of the visiting brother from St. Mary's Abbey. After serving an apprenticeship, as attendant or acolyte within the church, he might be passed on from the curate's tuition—for the latter almost always taught school—to Kendal or even to the abbey at York. On being admitted into the order of priesthood, he would return to his native place (should the post be vacant) and minister week by week to the spiritual needs of his fellows and his kinsfolk. Sometimes he even took up land to farm. Adam de Ottelay, "chaplain," is set down in an undated rental of the early fourteenth century, as joining in tenure with John "del bancke."[96]
The "chaplain" James Chamer, who witnessed a Grasmere deed in 1486, was probably the curate there.[97]It must be remembered, however, that the three townships appear to have been, from an early (but unknown) date, furnished with resident curates, acting under rector and abbot. Little Langdale too, if tradition be correct, had its religious needs supplied by a chapel. It is possible, indeed, that this may have been served through the priory of Conishead in Furness, to which William de Lancaster III.—the last baron to rule Kendal as a whole, who died 1246—granted a settlement or grange at Baisbrowne and Elterwater, which was later called a manor. This grange lay within Grasmere parish, as does the field below Bield, where tradition asserts the chapel to have stood. The first express mention of a chapel at Ambleside (within the township of Rydal and Loughrigg) is found in a document of Mr. G. Browne, dated 1584. But in the rental of 1505-6, William Wall, "chaplain," is entered as holding in Ambleside one third of the "pasture of Brigges." There is little doubt, therefore, that he was resident in the town, and uniting husbandry with his clerical office. Of a chapel in Great or Mickle Langdale the first evidence that occurs (after the strong presumptive evidence of the four priests serving the parish to be given immediately) is the indenture of 1571, which expressly mentions it.
The Start of the Reformation
The revolution which Henry VIII. brought about in the ecclesiastical world of England shook our parish, as the rest of England. Not content with the suppression and spoliation of the lesser monasteries, he turned to the greater ones, whose riches in gold and jewels, in land and revenue, excited his cupidity. Remote Grasmere even,by diversion of the pension she had dutifully paid her church superior, might supply something to the royal pocket! So the new supreme Head of the Church is found in 1543, bartering what he could to two of those job-brokers of ecclesiastical property, who were so evil a feature of the Reformation. The parchment at Rydal Hall runs thus:—
A Breuiate of the Kings Grant of GersmireAdvowson to Bell & Broksbye in 35toHen. 8
A Breuiate of the Kings Grant of GersmireAdvowson to Bell & Broksbye in 35toHen. 8
A Breuiate of the Kings Grant of Gersmire
Advowson to Bell & Broksbye in 35toHen. 8
Be it remembered that in the charter of our most illustrious lord Henry the Eight, by the grace of God king of England, France, and Ireland, defender of the faith, and on earth supreme head of the English and Irish church, made to John Bell and Robert Brokelsby within named, among other things it is thus contained:—
The king to all to whom, &c. greeting. We do also give, for the consideration aforesaid, and of our certain knowledge and mere motion for us, our heirs and successors, do grant to the aforesaid John Bell and Robert Brokelsbye, the advowson, donation, denomination, presentation, free disposition, and right of patronage of the Rectory of Gresmere in our county of Westmorland, which, as parcel of the possessions and revenues of the late Monastery of St. Mary near the wall of the City of York, or otherwise or in any other manner or by any reason whatsoever, has or have fallen, or may fall, into our hands. Witness the king at Walden the twenty-first day of October in the thirty-fifth year of our reign.
The king to all to whom, &c. greeting. We do also give, for the consideration aforesaid, and of our certain knowledge and mere motion for us, our heirs and successors, do grant to the aforesaid John Bell and Robert Brokelsbye, the advowson, donation, denomination, presentation, free disposition, and right of patronage of the Rectory of Gresmere in our county of Westmorland, which, as parcel of the possessions and revenues of the late Monastery of St. Mary near the wall of the City of York, or otherwise or in any other manner or by any reason whatsoever, has or have fallen, or may fall, into our hands. Witness the king at Walden the twenty-first day of October in the thirty-fifth year of our reign.
This is clearly a copy of but a part of the original charter, and the "consideration" which Henry received does not transpire; but in the following month the two speculators procured a licence to sell again, and they passed over their purchase of the Grasmere advowson, and of all woods upon the premises—meaning no doubt the old demesne of the Lindesay Fee—to Alan Bellingham, gent., for £30 11s. 51â„2d.[98]Bellingham in the same yearpurchased direct from the Crown that portion of Grasmere known as the Lumley Fee—thus gaining the lordship of some part of the valley.
Henry's sale of the advowson did not touch the tithes, which were left in the hands of the rector; but he reserved for himself the "pension" of 21â„2marks which had been regularly paid out of them to the abbey. It passed down with other Crown property to Charles II., and in his reign was sold, according to an Act of Parliament which was passed permitting the sale of such royal proceeds. Since that time it has been in private hands, and bought and sold in the money market like stocks. It may perhaps be traced by sundry entries in account books, as paid by the tithe-holder: in 1645, "for a pension for Gresmire due at Mich: last" £1 13s. 4d. It was paid in 1729 by Dr. Fleming as "Fee-farm Rent" to the Marquis of Caermarthen; and later by Mr. Craike to the Duke of Leeds; while Sir William Fleming, as owner of the tithes of Windermere, paid the same from them.[99]It is still paid through a London agent, being officially set down as "Net Rent for Grasmere, £1. 6s. 8d.: Land tax, 6s. 8d." This sum represents—not five marks—but five nobles, or half-marks. Thus it may be said that the dead hand of Henry VIII. still controls the tithes of Grasmere.
This tyrant wrought other changes for Grasmere. When creating the new diocese of Chester, he swept our parts of Westmorland within it. The archdeaconry of Richmondshire remained, but the archdeacon was shorn of power. He no longer instituted our parson, as in the days prior to the rule of St. Mary's Abbey, and this empty form fell to the Bishop of Chester; who, on the death of parson Holgill in 1548, appointed to the office one Gabriel Croft, upon nomination by the patron.[100]
Now Croft was seemingly a man of unscrupulous temper. The boy Edward was by this time upon the throne, and spoliation of church revenues was, under his advisers and in the name of Protestantism, the order of the day. The parson of Grasmere was one of those who seized the opportunity offered by the general misrule; and he committed an act for which there could be no legal pretext. Previous rectors had drawn the tithes of the parish, and pocketed the large margin that remained, after the stipends of the worthy curates who did their work had been paid. But Croft went beyond this. In 1549 he sold the tithes on a lease, and not for the period of his life (which he might have claimed as his right) but for ninety-seven years. The purchaser was his patron, Dame Marion Bellingham of Helsington, widow; and she paid him a lump sum of £58 11s. 51â„2d., upon the agreement that she and her heirs would furnish from the tithes a stipend for the rector of £18 11s. 7d.[101]
The bargain, ratified by John, Bishop of Chester, was excellent for both parties; but it was disastrous for the parish. So far, the tithes, however mismanaged, had lain in the hands of the church and the clergy, for whose support they were rendered. The Abbey of St. Mary, while exacting a pension from them, exercised in return a supervision that was doubtless of benefit; for under it, the rector—though he took the bulk of them himself—could hardly escape providing the three priests resident within the parish with sufficient stipends. Moreover, as he was an absentee, it is probable that he made a stable arrangement for their ingetting, that would be convenient to himself and comfortable for the parishioners (such as obtained later), and that he even farmed them to the dalesmen themselves. This method saved him the risks of an annual tithing carried out by a paid agent, and itinsured him a regular (if more moderate) income, in easily transported silver money. The evidence of the lawsuits shows that the system of paying a certain fixed sum instead of the tenth in kind was actually in force for some commodities, while in some cases this composition or prescription extended to the whole of a landed estate.
The change was sharp, from church control to control by a lay improprietor, whose simple business it was to squeeze as large an income as he could out of his investment. He was not likely to leave the tithing on the old easy footing, nor was the parishioner inclined to increase his offering without resistance. Squire William Fleming was a big enough man to front on his own account the common foe. Averring that, in satisfaction of all tithes the customary annual sum of 20s. had been paid for "the demeanes of Rydall," he refused Alan Bellingham's demand for a tenth of hay, wool and lambs taken from the yearly yield. Alan, who denied the custom, sued him in the Consistory Court at York, including in his claim the proceeds of the years 1569 to 1572, for which payment had been made. The spiritual court judged in his favour; whereupon Fleming carried the case to the civil court of King's Bench. Here, after several adjournments, and a trial before justices connected with the county, the final verdict was given in his favour (1575).[102]
Before the case was settled, the contenders struck a bargain, and the ownership of the advowson of Grasmere passed from Alan Bellingham of Fawcet Forrest, executor of Marion Bellingham, to the Rydal squire for the sum of £100, and that of the remainder of the lease of the rectory and tithes for £500.[103]The tenfold increase of the purchase money in twenty-four years time shows the enormous increase in tithe value when in the grasp of lay hands;for a rise of agricultural prosperity would not account for it. Squire William now became in his turn the oppressor; but the tale of the powerful opposition he roused in the parish must be left to another chapter. The advowson remains yet in his family.
To return to the parsons. Croft, with an annuity assured to him, and a small capital in gold, no doubt troubled himself little about his parish. He had defrauded it and crippled its funds for the next hundred years. The curates we suppose stuck to their posts, though where their stipends came from is a problem. Little change in ritual could have been made, before Edward's death and Mary's accession brought a reinstitution of the old form of faith, as well as a hopeless attempt to restore stolen church property. In 1554 the Bishop of Chester held a visitation at Kendal for these parts, and the officials of the parish are set down in the following list:—[104]
Gresmer.Mr. Gabriel Croft, Rector ibm. pt.Dns Willmus Jackson, pt. xh.Dns JohesHunter pt.Dns Hugo Walton pt.pt. JohesBenson}pt. Georgius Mylforth}Guardianipt. Edwardus Benson}pt. Rogerus Gregg}pt. Nicolaus Dicson}InquisitoresThoasGregg}pt. Hugo Gregg}
It is clear from this that three curates then served the parish—"Dominus" being the latinized "sir" of the customary title. Of the third in the list evidence is found in the parish register, where the burial is recorded onMarch 8th, 1577, of "Hugh Watson preist," this no doubt being the correct form of his name. It seems likely that he officiated in Ambleside, which by this time was a thriving little town. Of John Hunter nothing further is known: he may have served the chapel in Langdale.
Record of William Jackson is found in his will:—[105]
Sir William Jacksonlate curet at Gresmer.Jan. 21, 1569. I William Jackson clarke and curat of Grysmer—to be buriede within ye parishe church of Grysmer, near where my IJ brothers was buried—To my parishe church VIs. VIIId. And yt to be payd.... Kendaill for a booke at I bought of (erased) to the betering of the.... To the poor folkes XXXs. to be divided at the sytct of my supervisores. Item I give to every on of my god children, VId.—To every sarvent in my maister's house XIId. Item I geve to Sir Thomas Benson a sernet typet. To my Mr. John Benson a new velvet cap—By me Sir William Jaikson at Grysmer.Inventory, 21 Jan. 1569.—Rament unbequested to be sold be my executores and supervisores. A worsate jaccate, a brod cloth jacate, a brod clothe side goune, a mellay side goune, a shorte goune, a preiste bonate, a velvate cape, a sylke hate, II. pare of hosse, a mellay casseck, a worsat typat, a matras, a great chiste, a ledder dublat. Summa, III li. XIIs.... In wax and sergges, books and parchment, with other small thyngs to be sold within my chamber. I owe to Christofor Wolker's wyff Under Helme XIIs. of newe money to be payed to hyr, whych she dyd bowrere for me in my tyme of nede.
Sir William Jacksonlate curet at Gresmer.
Jan. 21, 1569. I William Jackson clarke and curat of Grysmer—to be buriede within ye parishe church of Grysmer, near where my IJ brothers was buried—To my parishe church VIs. VIIId. And yt to be payd.... Kendaill for a booke at I bought of (erased) to the betering of the.... To the poor folkes XXXs. to be divided at the sytct of my supervisores. Item I give to every on of my god children, VId.—To every sarvent in my maister's house XIId. Item I geve to Sir Thomas Benson a sernet typet. To my Mr. John Benson a new velvet cap—By me Sir William Jaikson at Grysmer.
Inventory, 21 Jan. 1569.—Rament unbequested to be sold be my executores and supervisores. A worsate jaccate, a brod cloth jacate, a brod clothe side goune, a mellay side goune, a shorte goune, a preiste bonate, a velvate cape, a sylke hate, II. pare of hosse, a mellay casseck, a worsat typat, a matras, a great chiste, a ledder dublat. Summa, III li. XIIs.... In wax and sergges, books and parchment, with other small thyngs to be sold within my chamber. I owe to Christofor Wolker's wyff Under Helme XIIs. of newe money to be payed to hyr, whych she dyd bowrere for me in my tyme of nede.
The following extract from the Kendal Corporation MSS. may not be inappropriate here:—
MSS. of the Corporation of Kendal.This MS. commences 10th Report.
MSS. of the Corporation of Kendal.This MS. commences 10th Report.
MSS. of the Corporation of Kendal.
This MS. commences 10th Report.
Sept. 26, 1653. Prov. at election of a Mayor. Order that every Alderman shall providea gownefor the following Sunday, or be fined 40s.Gownsaccording to an ancient order, to be allof one form "of blacke stuffe, to be faced with black plush or velvet,and Mr. Maior himselfe to have one readieagainst Sunday next or else forfeit 40s."(A 13). "Abstract of fines of Leete Courte," Oct. 20, 1612. Various penalties for misdemeanours."Abstracte of Fines for the Bilawes Courte," Dec. 14, 1612. Various injunctions and fines."Offerings and bridehowesallowed by Mr. Alderman" (then head of Corporation) and 4 Burgesses and the Vicar then being. Bidden dinners or "nutcastes, ormerie nightes" for money not to exceed 12 persons. Same for "churching dinner" for monie taking, only 12 wives allowed.
Sept. 26, 1653. Prov. at election of a Mayor. Order that every Alderman shall providea gownefor the following Sunday, or be fined 40s.Gownsaccording to an ancient order, to be allof one form "of blacke stuffe, to be faced with black plush or velvet,and Mr. Maior himselfe to have one readieagainst Sunday next or else forfeit 40s."
(A 13). "Abstract of fines of Leete Courte," Oct. 20, 1612. Various penalties for misdemeanours.
"Abstracte of Fines for the Bilawes Courte," Dec. 14, 1612. Various injunctions and fines.
"Offerings and bridehowesallowed by Mr. Alderman" (then head of Corporation) and 4 Burgesses and the Vicar then being. Bidden dinners or "nutcastes, ormerie nightes" for money not to exceed 12 persons. Same for "churching dinner" for monie taking, only 12 wives allowed.
From this will something may be gathered of the life of the village priest who belongs to the vale, and whose simple wish is to be buried by his two brothers within the church. He has his appointed chamber in his master's house—doubtless the rectory. His possessions are few. There are some books, also parchment and wax, for the making of wills and indentures; there is the mattress on which he slept, and a great "chiste," in which no doubt papers and clothes were stored together. Of clothes he had a goodly stock, in jackets, gowns, tippets, caps, and the stout leather doublet which no doubt he donned for his long tramps through storm and rain and snow to the dying. The sale of all these was to furnish money for his legacies—for coin he had none. His benefactions are characteristic: loyally to his parish church a noble, or half a mark; to every servant of his master 12d.; to each of his godchildren 6d.; and he desires besides that an old debt, incurred in his "tyme of nede," should be paid in new money. Some crisis is suggested here, when the good wife of Under Helm collected money for him.
But other facts may be gathered from this will. Our good curate bequeaths to "Sir Thomas Benson" his sarsnet tippet, clearly from its superior stuff, the best that he had. This, the usual outer dress of the priest, was along garment made with sleeves, reaching to the ankles, and was tied with a girdle.[106]Now a Thomas Benson, "curate," witnessed the will of John Benson of Baisbrowne in 1563; he must then have served the chapel of Langdale for a series of years. Also it seems probable that the curate's master, John Benson, was the rector, succeeding Croft or another.
A spirit of peace and goodwill breathes through this document, and one too that suggests continuity in the order of the church. Yet it must be remembered that it was written in the reign of Elizabeth, when the Protestant religion had been firmly established by law, and written moreover by a man who had undoubtedly followed the Catholic ritual fifteen years before. His fellow curate too of that date, "preist" Watson, was still alive, surviving him by eight years. There is a Protestant odour about the cassock, and Jackson possessed one; but his wardrobe is distinctly of the old-world, priestly type. It is probable indeed that there was little change made for some time even in the services of the church. The people of the north-western mountains were conservative, and it was they who most stoutly resisted the suppression of the monasteries. There is evidence to show that the new tenets were but slowly adopted in these parts. The church at Crosthwaite was found as late as 1571 to be still in possession of the furniture and pictures that had lent a touch of splendour to the former ritual; and they were then most stringently ordered to be destroyed.[107]
The people were not likely to welcome changes that brought in their train not only impoverishment of service, but reduction in the number of the clergy; for with the diversion of the tithes, there ceased to be any provision for the salaries of curates.
Langdale did without a curate, and not until over 200years was the township once more blessed with a resident minister, though the chapel was used for services. Ambleside was in different case. Now a thriving little town, equally distant from the two parish churches that claimed it, with fulling mills bringing in wealth, it was able to maintain a curate independently, and did so.
James Dugdale the cleric, who witnessed a Rydal deed in 1575, might have been supposed to serve at Ambleside, only that Priest Watson was then alive. Certain it is that in 1584 the townsfolk placed their support of chapel and curate on a solid basis, pledging each man his portion of land thereto. This was immediately before the appointment of John Bell as curate. The pledge was repeated in a deed of the year 1597.
The rector of the parish, with no more than £18 odd as stipend, had now to perform the entire duty of the wide parish. Nothing is known of Croft's later dealings with the rectorate, nor of Lancelot Levens, who followed him. But on the latter's death in 1575, John Wilson was instituted, and for fifty-two years he served as rector. From his handwriting, seen in the market-deed, and from the register (most negligently kept during his time of office) an unfavourable impression is created. When he died in 1627, there followed—after a few months interlude, when Robert Hogge served—the Rev. Henry Wilson, B.A., who was to become notorious as a Royalist and High-Churchman. He was nominated by Dame Agnes Fleming, the clever widow of Squire William, who at this time ruled at Rydal Hall for her son John.
The expenses of the tithe gathering were not great. An item of 2s. 0d. is paid to David Harrison, the Rydal inn-keeper, against "tythinge," and "for gathering tith Eggs" 1s. 0d. These last offerings were paid in kind, and we know from subsequent accounts that this persuasive office was somtimes filled by women, "two wiues," being paid in 1643 "for goeing 3 dayes gathering Eggs at Easter."
The later account-sheets kept by Richard Harrison show less completely than Tyson's the income derived from the tithes.
lisdRec. in pt. of Lambe booke of gresmire at seaverall tymes due before this 23 June 1643 due at Easter last1160Rec. more in pt. of lambe booke, for gresmire that was begun at Easter last. Rec. this 10 Aug.3110
The tithes on lambs amounted therefore in 1643 to £14. 7s. 10d. Next year:—
lisdRec. more at before this 16 Julie 1644 in pt. of Easter Reckinings of Gresmire due at Easter last719Rec. more in pt. of Lambe booke then due11126Rec. for Easter Reckininges Lambe silvr and some arreares due before this 26 Julie 1645 for gresmire35120Rec. of Easter booke & Lambe booke due at Easter 1646 for gresmire before this 4 Ap. 16463026
We have no entries discriminating between tithe and demesne wool, which was now selling at a high price; nor do we hear of the tithe corn, except that in 1643 the sum of 10s. 0d. was paid for the hire of a barn for it. In Tyson's accounts the even money received for it—as well as other entries which connect its payment with the holder of Padmire in Grasmere—give an appearance of it having been then farmed, as it was at a later time.
It is clear that the tithes were dropping in value; and this is little to be wondered at when the condition of the country is considered.
War was rife, and the "troubles" that affected every household—high and low, either in actual fighting or in tax-paying—were felt with peculiar poignancy at Rydal Hall. Squire John Fleming, as a rich man, had not stooped to conceal his religion, and had cheerfully paid his fine of £50 a year as a Catholic of the old faith. He died on February 27, 1643, at an unfortunate time for his young children, when warfare was just beginning in the north-west. He was buried the same evening, like many another recusant, in Grasmere Church; and though Parson Henry Wilson was paid a fee for "ouersight of his buriall" it is possible that mass was first said over the body in the "Chapel" chamber at Rydal; for one Salomon Benson, a mysterious member of the group of papists gathered about the Squire, in receipt of a pension of five marks a year, was probably a priest.
The orphaned children—two girls growing to womanhood and a younger boy—were now left with all the wealth that would be eventually theirs, in charge of executors. Chief among these was Richard Harrison, a nephew of the Squire, and a Roman Catholic. He appears to have lived with his wife and son at Rydal Hall, and to have had entire management of the household in the years that followed.
The position was a difficult one, and naturally grew more so as time went on, and success began to attend theParliamentary party. The money-coffers of Squire John were freely dipped into for loans to support the Royal cause, which the young heir joined in person; and the house was the resort of Royalist soldiers and gentlemen of the neighbourhood. As a consequence, it was peculiarly obnoxious to the supporters of the Parliament, and was likewise detested by the Puritans as a hotbed of Papists. Therefore, when the houses of Royalists were sacked up and down the county, there was little probability that it would escape.
A tradition has always existed that Rydal Hall was entered and plundered by the soldiers of the Commonwealth; but it is in the account-sheets of Richard Harrison that explicit evidence of the fact has now, and for the first time, been found. The catastrophe would belong wholly to Rydal history, but for a clause in the accounts which concerns Grasmere church.
Dates are difficult to follow in the sheets, but it is clear that the year 1644 marked the turning-point of the war. The hopes of the Royalists had been high when Prince Rupert marched through Lancashire to meet the enemy; but they were crushed by the terrible defeat of Marston Moor on July 1st. The king's forces in these parts were completely scattered, and there was a tremendous exodus of loyalists, who left to join the king's army in the south. The band was led by Sir Francis Howard, and it included the young heir of Rydal. The exodus is marked in the account-sheets by the numerous sums borrowed from the Rydal chests by various people, beginning with the chief himself. Even the loyal parsons borrowed, and small sums were lent about this time to two of the Cumberland curates, who possibly went off on king's business too. Henry Wilson, the rector of Grasmere, was a noted Royalist, and apparently acted as an emissary in the cause. The following entry records one of the many loans to him, at a time when he too was leaving the country:—
lisdLent parson wilson upon his note by & with the consent of Mr. Phillipson & Mr. Willm. wch. makes that he hath lately lent 8 li wch. he will either repay or els giue satisfaction that it may allow when he comes & serues the cure at Gressmire Church lent him this the 13 July5100
Lent parson wilson upon his note by & with the consent of Mr. Phillipson & Mr. Willm. wch. makes that he hath lately lent 8 li wch. he will either repay or els giue satisfaction that it may allow when he comes & serues the cure at Gressmire Church lent him this the 13 July
It is clear that in this year, 1644, the hall and its inmates shared in the general sufferings. Friendly messengers rode by night to give warning when another hall was sacked. Hostile soldiers were quartered on the premises, and some pillaging of horses and other things was done, for which Harrison tried to obtain restitution. He also sought protection—if it might be granted by wire-pulling and bribery—from Colonels Bellingham and Briggs, who commanded the Scots troops in Westmorland. It is possible that the new glass required both for the hall and for the choir of Grasmere church, "which was broken," may have been the result of some hostile demonstration.
But the actual raid upon the hall was made at Eastertide, 1645. The soldiers of "Captaine Orfer & Collonell Lawson" entered it, searched for money and took all they could find (which was little) and carried off Richard Harrison to prison, where he remained till Pentecost.
Further mischief is recorded in another paragraph of the sheets, when the sum of £2 4s. 8d. is set down at Easter, 1645, as "pd. for bread and wine twice at Gresmire Church in regard it was once plundered by Lawson's souldiers."
Now this provision for the Easter communion, which the tithe-holder was bound to make, was a special provision, always accounted for separately, and probably delivered direct to the church from the wine merchant, whose name is occasionally mentioned. So in this case, the church itself was presumably entered with violence, and by the same troop that visited Rydal Hall.
It was a Cumberland troop that did the mischief, as is evident from the names of the officers. Colonel Wilfred Lawson of the Isell family was an ardent fighter for the Parliament. Captain Orfeur was doubtless a member of the stock of Plumbland Hall.[108]
The troop may have marched from the siege of Carlisle Castle, which had been held for the king through the winter; and nothing is more likely than that, on their march over the Raise, they would halt at Grasmere, and do what despite they could to a sacred building held by an episcopalian parson and a recusant patron, who were of course odious for their so-called "delinquency." The event, however, is inferred rather than actually stated in Harrison's account.[109]
At Whitsuntide, on his release from prison, Richard Harrison returned to his post at Rydal Hall as factotum and financier. The position became steadily worse. Young William Fleming had returned from Bristol, after reverses in the south, only to be captured and imprisoned in Kendal; and his freedom had to be procured by a heavy ransom. In restless mood he declared his intention of going overseas, and considerable sums were paid for his fitting out; but he never got beyond London, where he died shortly after of smallpox. The Parliamentary Committee, then sitting at Kendal, exacted heavy fines from the estate for delinquency. Oppressive taxes too were repeatedly levied for the support of the Parliamentary forces and the Scotch army. This extraordinary outflow of money, as well as the loans made to friends, must have materially reduced the wealth of Squire John, and haveleft less for the suitors who presently appeared to claim the hands of the heiresses.
Not the Rydal estate alone, but the whole country-side groaned under the burden of taxation. It is therefore not surprising that from the hardness of the times, as well as from possible illwill, the tithes began to yield an uncertain return; and that to come by them at all it was sometimes necessary to engage a strong man or a stout party for the business. An item in the account-sheets for 1645 runs:—
lisdspent in 3 dayes when we went to gather the tith woole being ten in company140Spent more when Mr. Mason & I went to gather the Easter dues at severall tymes150Oct. Adam Fisher & young Jarrat for Inning the tith corne at Gresmere this yeare 1645100
spent in 3 dayes when we went to gather the tith woole being ten in company
Spent more when Mr. Mason & I went to gather the Easter dues at severall tymes
Oct. Adam Fisher & young Jarrat for Inning the tith corne at Gresmere this yeare 1645
Adam Fisher was the Rydal blacksmith, and doubtless a strong man. Clearly no farmer could be found to take up a contract for the tithes of corn; and as we have seen, a barn had been hired for its housing.
In 1648 Harrison went into Cumberland, and spent a week getting the "tith-rents" due on St. Mark's Day; and he enters:—
lisdgeaven my cosen Lamplougs man for his paynes in comeinge to meete me there with directions from [parliamentary] comittee to pay there rents unto me, otherwise I had gotten none payd050
geaven my cosen Lamplougs man for his paynes in comeinge to meete me there with directions from [parliamentary] comittee to pay there rents unto me, otherwise I had gotten none payd
Harrison was subjected to another imprisonment, and squeezed by the hostile government of many further sums. His account-sheets close in 1648-9, when the hall—soon to lie under the ban of sequestration—was itself closed.
The year 1645 marked the beginning of a great change in the church government of Grasmere. Already the new system devised by the Presbyterian party (which was now in the ascendant after the success of the Scotch at Newcastle) was being put into force as a substitute for episcopal rule. The division of the country into sections, each called aclassis—to be administered by a committee of laymen empowered to nominate for each parish a minister and four elders—was very rapidly carried out. The following answer was sent to the Parliament's demand, by letter from the Speaker, thatclassesfor South Westmorland should be formed:—[110]
Honourable SirWe received your Honours letter (dated the 22nd September last) the 3d of February last Wherein is required of us with advise of Godly Ministers, to returne to your Honour such Ministers and Elders as are thought fitt for the Presbiteriall way of Government (which wee much desire to be established) and the several classes. After wee received your Honours letter to that purpose (though long after the date) wee speedily had a meeting; and upon due consideration nominated the Ministers and Elders which wee thought fitted (as your Honour may conceive by this enclosed) for the Presbiteriall imployment as is desired and have divided the County of Westmerland into two Classes. Since the expediting of this your Honours direction: Wee have heard of an Ordinance of Parliament directing to the election of such persons: But as yet neither Order or Ordinance hath come unto us; Only your Honours letter, is our Warrant and Instruction;And accordingly we make bould to send (here inclosed) the names both of Ministers and Elders. And if we faile in the Parliaments method in this particuler, Wee shall willingly (upon your Honours next direction) rectify any mistake for the present, and shalbe willing to submitt to your Honours and Parliamentary directions; Which wee shall duly expect, that in wharsoever wee haved missed, wee may amend it. Thus with our Service recommended Wee remaineYours Honours ServantsRic Prissoe, MaiorEdmond GreyThomas GleddallRich BranthwaitGer BensonAllan GilpinRowland DawsonThom SandesJohn ArcherKendall 10 Martii, 1645(Endorsement) 10 Martii, 1645 (1645/46). From the Maior and Committee at Kendal with their Classes.For the Honourable William Lenthall, Esq., Speaker of the Commons House of Parliament. These—[111]
Honourable Sir
We received your Honours letter (dated the 22nd September last) the 3d of February last Wherein is required of us with advise of Godly Ministers, to returne to your Honour such Ministers and Elders as are thought fitt for the Presbiteriall way of Government (which wee much desire to be established) and the several classes. After wee received your Honours letter to that purpose (though long after the date) wee speedily had a meeting; and upon due consideration nominated the Ministers and Elders which wee thought fitted (as your Honour may conceive by this enclosed) for the Presbiteriall imployment as is desired and have divided the County of Westmerland into two Classes. Since the expediting of this your Honours direction: Wee have heard of an Ordinance of Parliament directing to the election of such persons: But as yet neither Order or Ordinance hath come unto us; Only your Honours letter, is our Warrant and Instruction;And accordingly we make bould to send (here inclosed) the names both of Ministers and Elders. And if we faile in the Parliaments method in this particuler, Wee shall willingly (upon your Honours next direction) rectify any mistake for the present, and shalbe willing to submitt to your Honours and Parliamentary directions; Which wee shall duly expect, that in wharsoever wee haved missed, wee may amend it. Thus with our Service recommended Wee remaine
Yours Honours Servants
Ric Prissoe, MaiorEdmond GreyThomas GleddallRich BranthwaitGer BensonAllan GilpinRowland DawsonThom SandesJohn Archer
Kendall 10 Martii, 1645
(Endorsement) 10 Martii, 1645 (1645/46). From the Maior and Committee at Kendal with their Classes.
For the Honourable William Lenthall, Esq., Speaker of the Commons House of Parliament. These—[111]
In the list of the parishes with their church officials which accompany this servile epistle, ours appears thus:
Grasmere
Mr. Henry Wilson, minister of Gressmer a notorious malignant and articled against at Parliament.
Elders.
Mr. Thomas BrathwaitEdward Knotts andMichaell BensonFrancis Benson
The newly-elected elders were men of good position and character. Mr. Brathwaite, son of Gawen, and grandson of James, was soon to become the head of the Ambleside Hall family. The Bensons were the descendants of the rich clothiers of Elizabeth's days. Francis, living at his freehold of the Fold, Loughrigg, was later to display his indomitable will as a disciple of George Fox. Edward Knott was one of a race of Grasmere statesmen whosecourse was a forward one for some hundreds of years, and whose later history belongs to Rydal and Coniston.
But before these men were chosen, or this letter written, the "Committee" in Kendal had already interfered in church matters in Grasmere, and had suspended the parson. The Rev. Henry Wilson had served the king's cause in other ways than by preaching; and it is probable that the sums of money he began to borrow from 1643 from the Rydal Hall estate (whose coffers all the needy Royalists had recourse to) were used upon journeys to and fro as an emissary, or were expended in some other way for the cause.[112]