_The Forest and Vale in the Time of the Plantagenets_
A.D. 1154 to 1485
The story of these three centuries is told to a most remarkable extent in
the numerous records of the Duchy of Lancaster relating to the maintenance
of the royal Forest of Pickering. They throw a clear light on many aspects
of life at Pickering, and by picking out some of the more picturesque
incidents recorded we may see to what extent the severe forest laws kept
in check the poaching element in the neighbourhood. We can also discover
some incidents in connection with the visits of some of the English kings
to the royal forest of Pickering, as well as matters relating to the
repair of the castle.
In the Parliament of 1295, in Edward I.'s reign, Pickering, for the first
and only occasion, sent representatives to the national assembly. The
parliamentary return states[1] that the persons returned on that occasion
were
Robertus Turcock
Robertus Turcock,
but whether this is a mistake by the recorder or whether two men of the
same name were returned is uncertain.
[Footnote 1: G.R. Park, "The Parliamentary Representation of Yorkshire,
1886," pp. 266 and 283.]
Among the High Sheriffs of Yorkshire in the fourteenth and fifteenth
Centuries were
1390 Richard II. Jacobus de Pykering.
1394 " " "
1398 " " "
1432 Henry VI. Sir Richard de Pykering.
1450 " Sir James de Pykering knt.
In 1311 Johannes de Cropton was one of the members for Scarborough in
Edward II.'s Parliament of that year.
Pickering was held as royal property by William the Conqueror, and with a
few short intervals it has remained crown property until the present day.
It is therefore no matter for surprise to find that several of the
Plantagenet kings came to hunt in the forest. It appears to have been a
royal possession in the time of Henry I., and also in February 1201, when
King John visited the castle,[1] for a charter granted by him to the nuns
of Wykeham is dated at Pickering. In 1248 William Lord d'Acre was made
keeper of the castle, but towards the close of his reign Henry III.
(1216-1272) gave the castle, manor, and forest of Pickering to his son
Edmund Crouchback, and from him the property has descended through the
Lancastrian branch of the royal family, so that it now forms part of the
possessions of the Duchy of Lancaster.
[Footnote 1: Young's "History of Whitby," vol. ii. p. 733.]
From other records we find that King John was also at Pickering for at
least a day in August 1208 and in March 1210.
In 1261 Pickering Castle was held against Henry III. by Hugh le Bigod, and
some of the wardrobe accounts of the reign of Edward II. have reference to
a visit to Pickering. The place must have had painful memories for the
king in connection with the capture of his favourite Piers Gaveston at
Scarborough Castle in 1312. This visit was, however, separated from that
fateful event by eleven years.
"3 August 1323, at Pickering. Paid to William Hunt, the King's huntsman,
by way of gift at the direction of Harsike--£1; to Agnes, wife of Roger de
Mar, porter of the chamber, gift--10s.: to Guillot de la Pittere, groom of
the Queen's chamber, gift--£1; to Dighton Wawayn, valet of Robert Wawayn,
carrying letters from his master to the king, gift--2s. To John, son of
Ibote of Pickering, who followed the king a whole day when he hunted the
stag in Pickering chase, gift by order--10s.; to Walter de Seamer,
Mariner, keeper of the ship called the Magdalen, of which Cook atte Wose
was master, a gift, the money being given to John Harsike to give him--
£1.
"23 August, at Egginton, on Blakey Moor. Paid to Sir Roger de Felton,
Knight of the King's Chamber, for his ransom at the time when he was taken
by the Scots at Rievaulx in company with the Earl of Richmond, in October,
1322, a gift by the hands of John Harsike, who delivered the money to Sir
Roger in the King's presence, £100.
"To Edmund Dorney, the King's palfrey man, who always followed the King
when he hunted--£1.
"31 August, at Glascowollehouse. Paid to Ernest, running footman of Sir
Robert del Idle, who carried letters to the King, a gift 6s. 8d.; to Dan
Thomas de Broghton, monk of Rievaulx, to buy him a coat, a gift--10s."
The entries show that the king journeyed to Whorlton Castle to stay with
Nicholas de Meynell. He seems to have gone by way of Lockton and Spaunton
Moor, and appears to have stayed a night at Danby. The accounts mention an
amount paid on September 1st to certain foresters' servants who set the
king's nets to take roe-deer in Whorlton Park, and we also discover that
the day's sport was varied by the singing of Alice the red-haired and
Alice de Whorlton, who gave "Simon de Montfort" and other songs before the
king, and received a gift of 4s.
The poor of Pickering profited by the royal visits. Here are two items in
the accounts.
"26 September [1323] at Skipton. Paid, by order of the King, to Lorchon
Sewer alms distributed by the King at Pickering--3d."
In 1334 Edward III. was more generous than his predecessor, for we find
"26 May. Alms--to Sir Walter de London, King's Almoner, for food for 100
poor on the feast of Corpus Christi at Pickering, at the hands of his
clerk Henry--12s. 6d." During the hunting in the forest a hound was lost
and recovered as follows:--
"June, (at Beverley), given to Robert de Bridgegate, leading to the King a
hound lost at Pickering, a gift the same day 6s. 8d."
The reference to the Scottish raid as far south as Rievaulx Abbey touches
an event of great interest. In 1322 the Scots, led by Robert Bruce, had
entered England and plundered many places, including the splendid
Cistercian monastery just mentioned, and the following record shows that
the Vale of Pickering purchased immunity for 300 marks.
"John Topcliffe Rector of Semer Wm. Wyern & John Wickham with others of
Pickering with the assent of the whole community, on Tuesday 13th Oct.
1322 purchased from Robert Bruce through the Earl of Moray for 300 marks,
to be paid at Berwick, half at Candlemas next & the other half at Trinity
next, the immunity of the Vale of Pickering from the River Seven on the
west to the sea on the east. Further they say that Nich's Haldane, Wm.
Hastings and John Manneser, at the request of the men of the whole
community, surrendered at Rievaulx to Robert Bruce on Saturday the 17th of
Oct. following, to sojourn as hostages in Scotland until the 300 marks
were paid. Further they say that the 300 marks are still unpaid, for
afterwards the men of the community refused payment and once for all.
Further they said that the said Nicholas William and John are still in
prison in Scotland, and all the men and all townships, manors, hamlets,
lands and tenements of the said Vale within the bounds aforesaid were
preserved from all damage and injury whatsoever through the
above-mentioned ransom."
From the Chronicle of John Hardyng we find that Richard II. was imprisoned
at Pickering before being taken to Knaresborough, and finally to
Pontefract. The lines in his quaint verse must have been written between
1436 and 1465.
"The Kyng the[n] sent Kyng Richard to Ledis,
There to be kepte surely in previtee,
Fro the[n]s after to Pykeryng we[n]t he nedes,
And to Knauesburgh after led was he,
But to Pountfrete last where he did die." [1]
[Footnote 1: The Chronicle of John Hardyng, edited by Henry Ellis, 1812,
p. 356.]
There seems little doubt that the story of the murder of the king at
Pontefract Castle by Sir Piers Exton is untrue, but "nothing is certainly
known of the time, place, or manner of his death."
The records of the Coucher Book contain a mass of interesting and often
entertaining information concerning the illicit removals of oak trees from
the forest, hunting and killing the royal deer and other animals, as well
as many other offences.
At the forest Eyre, a sort of assizes, held at Pickering in 1334 to deal
with a great accumulated mass of infringements on the rights of the
forest, the first case is against Sir John de Melsa, Lord of Levisham, who
was, according to the jury, "in the habit of employing men to make and
burn charcoal out of browsewood and dry sticks in his woods at Levisham,
which are now within the bounds of the forest, and he exposes the charcoal
for sale, injuring the lord and annoying the deer, by what right they know
not. Sir John is summoned, appears, and pleads that he and his ancestors
and the tenants of the Manor of Levisham have from ancient time taken the
browsewood and dry sticks in the said woods and burnt them into charcoal,
and afterwards exposed them for sale, and given them away at pleasure as
part of his and their manorial rights. He asks that the officers of the
forest may try the question. As it clearly appears to the Court by the
answer of Sir John that he is making a claim to take a profit in the
forest which he did not claim on the first day of the Eyre, as the custom
is, and as proclamation was made, judgment is given that the liberty be
seized into the Lord's hands, and Sir John is to answer for its value in
the meantime. Afterwards Sir John appears, and prays that he may be
allowed to pay a composition for making his claim, and a composition of
6s. 8d. is fixed. Surety, Richard de Naulton. The jury also present that a
bridge called Friar Bridge, beyond the Costa, across which people are wont
to pass on horseback and on foot going from Pickering to Malton, is in
such bad repair that people cannot pass over, but have to make a
divergence of about a mile and a half in the forest, treading down and
injuring the pasturage of the deer. The Abbot of Rievaulx and all Abbots
of that place are bound to repair it. He is summoned, appears, and does
not deny that he and they are bound to repair it, but he says that the
bridge is not in such bad repair that people cannot pass over it as they
are wont and ought to do without doing harm to any one. He asks that an
inquiry may be made by the officers of the forest. An inquiry is directed.
The foresters, verderers, and regarders, sworn and charged, say on their
oaths, that after the summons for the Eyre was issued, the bridge was in
such bad repair that people being unable to pass over it made a divergence
into the forest, annoying the Lord's deer and treading down their
pasturage. Afterwards the Abbot repaired it so that it requires nothing
further, and people can quite well pass over it. Therefore as to the
present repair of the bridge the Abbot is acquitted, but he is to be
amerced because he did not repair it before.
"The jury also present that the present Prior of Bridlington erected a
sheepfold at Newland in the forest, 100 feet long and 12 feet broad,
injuring thereby the Lord's deer, notwithstanding that on another occasion
at the last Eyre of the Justices the sheepfold was ordered to be taken
down. By what right they know not. The Prior appears and prays to be
allowed to compound with the Lord, and that he and his successors may rent
the sheepfold in perpetuity, inasmuch as it no longer injures the deer.
Since the foresters, verderers, and regarders prove that it is so the
Prior is permitted to compound by the payment of 13s. 4d. (surety Ralph de
Morton), and he is likewise given a grant for ever of the sheepfold at a
yearly rent of 6d. at Michaelmas. The Prior is to hold it for ever quit of
regard. The jury also present that the bridge and road of Pul within the
forest, which are common highways for carriages, carts, drifts, and
packsaddles are in such bad repair that none can pass over them. The Prior
of the Hospital of St John, by reason of his tenure of lands which
formerly belonged to the Knights Templars, and the Prioress of Yedingham,
are bound to repair and maintain them. They are summoned. The Prioress
appears in person, the Prior by his attorney, Walter de Trusseley. The
Prioress says that neither she nor any of her predecessors ever from
ancient time repaired or ought to repair it, because she says that the
Prior, by reason of his tenure of the lands which belonged to the
Templars, is bound to repair and maintain the bridge and road as often as
need requires, in the same way that the Templars, before the abolition of
their Order, from ancient time, by reason of their tenure of their lands
at Foulbridge, which the Prior now holds, repaired and maintained the
bridge and road. She asks that an inquiry may be directed." The Prior, by
his attorney, denies most of the charges seriatim, but the judgment of the
Court is that "the Prior be distrained to compel him to repair and make
good the bridge and road to the east, and is to be amerced because he has
not done it sooner, and the Prioress is to be acquitted because the road
to the west of the bridge is not at present out of repair."
[Illustration: Some of the Wall Paintings on the South Side of the Nave of
Pickering Church.
The upper left-hand corner shows what is apparently the funeral of the
Virgin Mary with the miserable Prince astride the coffin. On the long
strip and on the two spandrels are scenes from the Death and Resurrection
of Our Lord.
The last of seven acts of corporal mercy is shown here.
[Copyright reserved by Dr John L. Kirk.]
]
This is a typical example of the manner of recording these quarrels over
responsibilities and delinquencies in connection with the forest, each
side seeming to deny in detail most of the charges brought forward. Most
of the cases relating to the stealing of oaks and brushwood and to
poaching matters generally are compounded for.
The following is a case of officers of the forest making themselves a
nuisance with the local people. "The jury also present that whereas John
de Monmouth has 20s [? a year], a toft and two oxgangs of land, with the
appurtenances in Pickering, John Scot 30s a year, and William Courtman 5s
at the Earl's expense for being fosterers in the West Ward [of Pickering
Forest], yet they surcharge all the inhabitants with their living and that
of their servants, annoying the country. They are summoned, appear, and
compound.... The jury also present that Richard Cockard of Helmsley, John
de Harlay, and William Gower, forester, of Scalby, Langdale, and Fullwood,
under colour of their office, collect sheaves in autumn and wool and keep
servants on board in the country. They are summoned, appear, and make
composition...." "The jury also present that John de Shirburn drew the
timber of a house in Pickering within the forest of Shirburn without the
forest, and John Beal of West Heslerton drew the timber of a barn in
Pickering within the boundery of the forest to West Heslerton without the
forest, and John de Shirburn and Thomas Bret likewise drew the timber of a
house at Pickering within the boundaries of the forest to Shirburn without
the forest, injuring the Earl and contrary to the assize of the forest.
They are summoned, appear, and each makes composition."
"Henry the Fowler, of Barugh, Adam the Fowler, of Ayton, William Hare and
William Fox, catch birds in the forest by means of birdlime-nets and other
contrivances." The Clergy were frequently involved in the taking of timber
from the forest. "Robert de Hampton, Rector of Middleton, took at
different times three green oaks below Cropton Castle, and on a third
occasion took there a green oak, without the demesne, without livery of
the foresters or warrant.--
"In mercy:--
"The Abbot of Whitby took a green oak in Goathland within the demesne,
value 3d, and was let out on bail. He has not surrendered and does not
appear to judgment with his bail, and he is responsible for the value and
a fine of 3s. Afterwards it appears that his bail are dead, so proceedings
against them are stayed.
"Eldred of Ellerburne, deceased, carried off a green oak within the
demesne, value 7d. His successor, Edmund de Hastings, is responsible for
its value, a fine of 7d and also 7d, the value of vert likewise taken in
the Hay.
"Hugh, Vicar of Ebberston, deceased, took a green oak without the demesne
without livery of the foresters or warrant; John, son of Geoffrey, and
John de la Chymyne, his executors, are responsible.--
"The Lady Beatrice of Farmanby, deceased, took a green oak without the
demesne, without livery of the foresters or warrant. Her successor,
William Hastings, is responsible.
"The Rector of Brompton, deceased, felled two green oaks without the
demesne, without livery of foresters or warrant. The same persons
responsible.
"The Preceptor of Foulbridge felled and carried away four green oaks in
fence month. The Prior of the Hospital of St John is responsible.
"The Prioress of Wykeham claims for herself and her tenants in Wykeham and
Ruston to receive and take housebote and hedgebote in the woods of North
Cave heads and Barley, according to the assize of the forest, and common
of pasture for all animals except goats in the same woods and the wastes
and moors adjoining, that is to say, northwards from Yarlesike.... The
Justices consider that before allowing her claims an inqury should be made
as to how the Prioress and her predecessors have exercised their rights."
"Sir John de Meaux claims to have housebote and hedgebote for himself, his
men and tenants of Levisham in his woods of Levisham, in accordance with
the assize of the forest, and reasonable estovers of turves in his
demesnes of Levisham, for himself, his men and his tenants, and ironstone
and a smelting-place in his woods of Levisham, paying to the Earl an
annual rent of 2s and aeries of falcons, merlins and sparrow-hawk, and
whatever honey is found in his woods at Levisham, and he claims to have a
woodward in such woods. He is ready to prove that all these rights having
been exercised by himself and his ancestors from ancient time, the
housebote and hedgebote being appurtenant to his free tenement in
Levisham, and brousewood and dry wood being taken to feed his furnaces. An
inquiry is directed, and it is found that Sir John and his ancestors have
from ancient time enjoyed the rights so claimed without interruption.
Judgment is given in accordance with the verdict."
"Ralph de Bulmer claims to have a free park at Thornton Riseborough, and
to keep hounds to hunt there. He claims that King John by deed granted to
one Alan de Winton, then holder of the park, and his heirs, liberty to
inclose and make a free park, and to keep his hounds to hunt there; by
virtue whereof Alan, whose estate he now holds, exercised the rights. He
says that Edward II. inspected the grant of John, and granted to Ralph,
that he and his heirs might hold the park with its appurtenances as Alan
held it, without let or hindrance on the part of the King or his Justices,
Escheators, Sheriffs, or other bailiffs, or officers whatsoever.
"Thomas de Pickering and Margaret, his wife, claim to have a woodward to
keep their demesne wood at Lockton, and that no one may lop branches
therein or fell any tree without their consent, and that they may fell and
give away at pleasure green trees and dry, and give and sell dry trees at
pleasure without view of the foresters." In the following claim a mention
is made of the "wildcat." "Thomas Wake of Liddell claims to have a free
chase for fox, hare, wildcat, and badger, within the boundaries of his
barony of Middleton, namely, from the place called Alda on the Costa to
the standing stone above the Spital Myre of Pickering, etc."
"Hugh de Nevill is indicted, for that whilst he was bailiff of Pickering,
under colour of his office, he arrested one Robert the Dyer, lately
residing in Ebberston, bound his hands as if he were a felon, though he
had not been indicted, and took from him a horse, harness, and other goods
and chattels to the value of 20s. Afterwards he entrusted him to the care
of his servant to take to York, but when they reached Malton, the servant
let his prisoner escape.
"Henry de Rippley, sub-bailiff of Pickering, fined for having seized goods
and chattels of Sir Robert de Scarborough, at Ebberston, for which he was
indicted and found guilty on his own confession, 3s 4d."
A case in which the poachers showed their total disregard for the officers
of the forest is given as follows.
"Stephen son of Richard of Eskdale, Nicholas the Taylor of Whitby, and
John de Moorsholm of Sneaton Thorpe, were indicted for having, on
Wednesday 23rd March 1334, at Blakey Moor [near Saltersgate], within the
forest, hunted with bows, arrows and greyhounds, and taken sixty-six harts
and hinds, of which they cut off the heads of nine and fixed them upon
stakes in the Moor."
"As regards those who caught hares and wandered in the forest with bows
and arrows contrary to the assize of the forest, Mathilda de Bruys is
accustomed to hunt and catch hares." She compounded for 5s, Robert Bruce
and John Perot being sureties.
The Coucher Book mentions that Henry I. issued a writ dated at Pickering.
This would suggest that Pickering Castle was standing between 1100 and
1135, for the king would scarcely have visited the place unless he had had
proper quarters for himself and his suite, and the castle alone could have
afforded this. A record of 1347 mentions the pillory at Pickering, and
suggests a lively scene that took place in the august presence of the Earl
of Lancaster. "William de Kirkby and others conspired amongst themselves
to indict John de Buckton, Hugh de Neville, John de Barton, and others for
that they on Monday, 25th June 1347, took six harts in Pickering Forest
and set up the head of one in the sight of the Earl of Lancaster upon the
pillory in Pickering town, in consequence of which John de Buckton, Hugh
de Neville and John de Barton were taken and imprisoned in Pickering
Castle and suffered great loss of their goods. Afterwards, in the same
town, William appeared in the King's Bench and asked to be allowed to
compound for the offences presented against him, as well as those to which
he had already pleaded as the rest. The request was granted, and he paid
the fine entered in the rolls."
"The jurors of the several wappentakes of Yorkshire presented that David
de Wigan and others on Wednesday, 11th July 1347, violently entered by
night the house of Thomas, Vicar of Ebberston, seized him and led him to
Pickering Castle until he compounded with them for £2, though," adds the
record, "he had never been indicted for any offence" (!) This David de
Wigan must have terrorised the neighbourhood at this time, for he and
others scarcely a week later "seized Adam del Selley Bridge at Selley
Bridge [near Marishes Road Station] and led him with them until he
compounded with them for £4." On the same Tuesday they violently seized
Robert de Sunley at Calvecote and led him to Pickering Castle until he
paid £2. On the 30th July Thomas Oliver of Sawdon was taken in the same
manner and detained for five days. After all this David was summoned and
he pleaded guilty. By trustworthy witnesses, however, it was proved that
he was penniless and had nothing wherewith to satisfy the king for his
offences, and "having regard to the state of his health and condition he
was let off." We wonder what the Vicar of Ebberston thought of this
lenient treatment of such a Barabbas. Geoffrey de Wrightington, a late
bailiff of Pickering, seems to have taken part in these offences, and he
was also responsible for having seized Hugh de Neville in Pickering
Church, and for having imprisoned him "in the depths of the gaol in iron
fetters for seven weeks, though Hugh had never been indicted." John Scott
of Pickering also spent nine weeks in prison at the pleasure of this
desperate fellow. On the 30th August 1346 he took £4 by force from Henry
de Acaster, the vicar of Pickering, when he was journeying between
Coneysthorpe and Appleton le Street. His methods are well shown by the
following. "Geoffrey also on Sunday, 17th September 1346, seized Adam de
Selley Bridge by force at Pickering and imprisoned him until he had
compounded with him for 6 [? £] and when Adam paid the fine Geoffrey made
him swear on the Book that he would tell no one how he came to pay the
fine or to be imprisoned." After all this Geoffrey was let off with a fine
when called to account three years later.
In the minister's accounts for 1322 appear the "wages of a forester to
keep Pickering Forest, a door-keeper and a watchman in the castle, each 2d
a day for 34 weeks." There are references to thatch for the porter's
lodge, the brewhouse, the kitchen, and small upper apartment within the
castle. This thatching took a man three days with two women to help him
all the time; the man received 9d and the women 2d each for the work.
The chaplain of the castle chapel received a yearly salary of £3; repairs
by contract to the seven glass windows in the chapel cost 10d, and wine
and lights 2s. Under the heading of Small Expenses comes "making 14
hurdles to lie on the draw bridge and other bridges to preserve them from
the cart-wheels 1s; making a hedge round the fishpond, cutting and
carrying boughs, wages of the hedger--4s 6d; making a long cord of hemp 20
ells long weighing 6 stone of hemp for the Castle well--4s 9d; burning
after Feb. 2 old grass in Castle Ings that new grass may grow--8d; 8 men
cutting holly, ivy and oak boughs in different parts of the forest for the
deer in a time of snow and ice, 9 days at 2d a day--12s 2-1/2d; wages of a
man sent to the king [Edward II.] with a letter from the bailiff to
acquaint the king with certain secrets by letters of privy seal, going,
residing there and returning, 9 days at 3d a day for food and wages--3s
9d."
In the Close Rolls of 1324, there is an order to "John de Kelvington,
keeper of the Castle and honor of Pickering, to cause to be newly
constructed a barbican before the Castle gate with a stone wall and a gate
with a drawbridge in the same, and beyond the gate a new chamber, a new
postern gate by the King's Tower and a roof to a chamber near the small
hall; to cover with thin flags that roof and the roof of the small
kitchen, to remove the old roof of the King's prison and to make an
entirely new roof covered with lead, and to thoroughly point, both within
and without, the walls of the castle and tower, and to clean out and
enlarge the Castle ditch. All this to be done out of the issues of the
honor as the King has enjoined him by word of mouth, and the expense
incurred therein when duly proved will be allowed him in his accounts.
Pickering, 10th August, 1323."
About the year 1314 there is an item in the accounts of eighty planks
bought at Easingwold and carried to the castle and laid in the gangway
leading from the chamber of the Countess to the chapel. The nails for this
work cost 5s. 6d.
[Illustration: The Devil's or Dyet Tower on the South-East side of
Pickering Castle. This is often called the Rosamund Tower, but the records
call it the Dyet Tower.]
Soon after this comes the cost of the new hall in the castle. "Clearing,
digging and levelling the place within the castle where the bakehouse was
burnt to build there a hall with a chamber 14s 1-1/2d, building the stone
wall of the hall and chamber, getting and carrying 400 cartloads of stone,
digging and carrying soil for mortar, buying 27 quarters of lime--£5 19s
11d; contract for joiners' work, wages for those employed to saw planks
and joists, 152 planks for doors and windows, 80 large spikes, 600 spike
nails, 1000 broad headed nails and 20,000 tacks, 22 hinges for the doors,
28 hinges for the windows and 2600 laths with carriage for the same--£9 0s
1-1/2d; roofing the buildings with thin flags by piece-work, collecting
moss for the same [to stop up the crannies] plastering the floor of the
upper room and several walls within the chamber, making a chimney piece of
plaster of Paris (plastro parisiensi), together with the wages of the
chaplain who was present at the building--£5 1s 10-1/2d." A few years
later came some more repairs to the castle: "a carpenter 4 days mending
the wind battered roof of the old hall with old shingles 1s, 300 nails for
that purpose 9d; a man 10 days roofing with tin the small kitchen, the
garderobe at the corner of the kitchen, the cellar, outside the new hall,
within the tower and porter's lodge--2s 6d." Hay and straw for the roofs
was brought "from the Marsh to Pickering"; two men were employed to clean
out the castle well which had been so blocked up as to become quite dry
that year and another charge 1s for a new rope and for repairing the
bucket of the well.
In 1326 there is a reference to the King's patent writ, dated 7th
December, by which the Castle was committed by Edward II. "to his beloved
cousin Henry, Earl of Lancaster," and the keeper, John de Kilvington, was
"to deliver the Castle and Honour to the Earl together with its military
stores, victuals and other things."
From a small green-covered foolscap volume lent me by Mr Arthur Hill of
Thorton-le-dale, I have taken the following description of the "Bounds of
the Forest of Pickering, as far as the waters are concerned."
"From How Bridge along the Rye to where the Seven falls into the Rye, the
whole length of the Seven.
"Wheeldale Beck to
"Mirke Esk to
"The Eske and along the Eske to where Lythe Beck falls into the Eske
"Where the Derwent springs and along the Derwent to where Tillabeck falls
into the Derwent.
"Along Tillabeck to King's Bridge.
"Along the Harford to the Derwent.
"Along the Derwent to where the Rye falls into the Derwent.
"Along the Rye to Howe Bridge."
The records relating to Pickering are all so accessible since their
publication by the North Riding Record Society that those who want to read
more details of these picturesque mediæval days can do so with very little
trouble, but from the extracts that I have made, a general idea of the
class of information contained in the Duchy Records may be obtained. In
this period many additions and alterations were made to Pickering church.
The Transitional Norman tower was largely rebuilt, and the spire was added
in the Decorated style of Gothic prevalent in the fourteenth century.
Below the battlements of the tower there are shields, but the details have
almost entirely weathered away. The reticulated windows of the church
belong to the same period. They are very fine examples of the work of that
time. The north aisle, the chancel, and probably the north window of the
north transept also belong to this period, so that work of an extensive
nature must have been progressing on the church as well as the castle at
the same time. The walls of the nave and chancel appear to have been
raised in the latter half of the fifteenth century, and this would be
shortly before the remarkable series of wall paintings came into
existence. The date of these pictures can be brought down to fairly narrow
limits, for the arms carried by the four knights who are shown about to
murder St Thomas à Becket belong to the years between 1450 and 1460,
according to Mr J.G. Waller. The Rev. G.H. Lightfoot, a former vicar of
Pickering, mentions[1] the discovery of traces of earlier paintings of
superior execution when the present ones were being restored, but of these
indications no sign is now visible.
[Footnote 1: Yorkshire Archæological Journal, 1895.]
[Illustration: One of the Wall Paintings in Pickering Church.
St Christopher, the patron saint of travellers with the Infant Christ on
his shoulder. The saint is shown treading upon the serpent and grasping
his staff, which is growing at the edge of the stream.
[The copyright is reserved by Dr John L. Kirk]
When the church was re-opened after the restoration in 1879, the walls of
the nave were covered with a thick coat of yellow wash, but there were
many living who remembered the accidental discovery of the strange
pictures that were for a time exposed to the wondering gaze of the
congregation. The distraction caused by this novelty led to the coat of
yellow wash that undoubtedly did infinite harm to the paintings. At the
subsequent restoration, which was carried out by degrees as the necessary
funds were forthcoming, it was found that portions of some of the figures
had perished, and it is a most regrettable fact that the restoration
included the painting in of certain missing parts whose details could only
be supplied by analogy. From Mr Lightfoot's description it seems that in
the large picture of St George and the Dragon a considerable part of the
St George's body was missing; that the representation of Herod's Feast and
the lowest scene of the life of St Katherine of Alexandria were very badly
damaged by the attachments of mural tablets. On the whole, however, the
paintings when uncovered were in a good state of preservation, and the
colours were more vivid than they were left after the re-touching by Mr
Jewitt.
[Illustration: Some of the Wall Paintings in Pickering Church.
THE SEVEN CORPORAL ACTS OF MERCY.
They are, from left to right:--(1) Feeding the hungry (partly missing in
photograph)[A]; (2) Giving drink to the thirsty; (3) Compelling the
stranger to come in; (4) Clothing the naked; (5) Visiting those in prison;
(6) Visiting the sick; (7) Burying the dead.
[Footnote A: This appears in another photograph showing scenes from the
life of our Lord.]
The martyrdom of St Edmund.
[_The Copyright is reserved by Dr John L. Kirk._] ]
Taking the pictures along the north wall in order, the first is the huge
representation of St George, then facing the porch entrance on a still
larger scale is the figure of St Christopher, bearing on his left shoulder
the infant Christ. This position, facing these who enter the church, is
the usual one for St Christopher, for he was the patron-saint of
travellers, and the size is in keeping with the tradition which speaks of
the saint as standing twelve cubits high. He is shown using a tree as his
staff, and the Evil One is being trampled underfoot in the form of a
serpent.
Adjoining St Christopher is the curious painting showing Herod's Feast, a
very rare subject to be chosen for wall paintings. Although this picture
has been so much restored the figures were very carefully traced out where
only faint indications could be seen, so that it now presents the original
work where it was not totally destroyed with considerable accuracy. It is
really three scenes, although it appears as one. Herod's daughter is on
the right performing a mediæval tumble dance before the king and queen and
their two guests, and on the left St John the Baptist is shown, still
kneeling, although his head lies on the pavement. Salome is holding the
charger against her breast. In the central portion of the picture she
appears carrying the head of St John in the dish. The picture above this
shows the coronation of the Virgin Mary, and the wall of heaven is higher
still.
The martyrdom of St Edmund in the next spandrel is a most realistic
picture. The saint is tied to a tree and is pierced by fourteen arrows.
The black-letter inscriptions read "Edmund Prync and martyr."
"Heven blys to hes mede
Hem sall have for hys gud ded"
Above this picture is the painting already mentioned of St Thomas à Becket
being approached by the four knights who are about to murder him.
On the south side of the nave the chief part of the wall is given up to
the legend of St Katherine of Alexandria. She was said to be the daughter
of Costus, King of Alexandria, and was married to a son of Constantine
Chlorius, the Roman Governor of York.
The upper panel shows the temple of Serapis, and St Katherine endeavouring
to convert the Emperor Maximin to Christianity. Further to the right she
is shown entering the prison into which she was cast. The emperor,
impressed both by her beauty and her arguments, endeavours with the help
of several philosophers to persuade her to give up her belief in
Christianity; they are, however, all converted by her, and soon after they
are executed at the emperor's command. St Katherine is then stripped to
the waist and beaten in the presence of the emperor, who is shown on the
extreme right as well as the left of the second panel. After further
imprisonment the saint is joined by the Empress Faustina, a new convert,
who comforts the prisoner, and is shown joining with her in prayer.
Further on, the emperor is shown testing the saint's faith by the wheel,
but two angels appear, and having broken the wheels the attendants are
overthrown. The last scene, in which St Katherine is kneeling, is so much
"restored" that its interest is very much impaired.
[Illustration: SOME OF THE WALL PAINTINGS ON THE NORTH WALL OF THE NAVE OF
PICKERING CHURCH.
THE MARTYRDOM OF ST THOMAS À BECKET.
The Four Knights are seen approaching the "Turbulent Priest."]
HEROD'S FEAST.
It is composed of three pictures. On the right, Salome is performing a
"Tumble" dance before Herod, his queen, and two guests, while St John the
Baptist is holding up a warning hand: In the centre, Salome has the head
of St John in a charger, and on the left the execution is shown.
[_The Copyright is reserved by Dr John L. Kirk._]
]
The long and narrow series of pictures over the arches represents the
seven corporal acts of mercy, namely, feeding the hungry, giving drink to
the thirsty, compelling a stranger to come in, clothing the naked,
visiting those in prison, visiting the sick, and burying the dead.
Continuing in the same line appear representations of Christ in the Garden
of Gethsemane, healing the ear of Malchus, Christ before Pilate, the
scourging of our Lord, and then follow scenes of the Crucifixion, followed
by the burial and resurrection. In the spandrel over the third pillar from
the west the descent of Christ into Hades, represented by a great dragon's
jaw, is shown. Adam holding an apple, and followed by Eve and many other
spirits, is shown coming to meet our Lord. Between the clerestory windows
there are three paintings which seem to belong to a series associated with
the Virgin Mary. The first, which may represent the Assumption, has not
been restored, and very little remains to be seen. The second, according
to Mr Keyser, shows the burial, and on the coffin appears the Jewish
Prince Belzeray, who is said to have interfered with the funeral by
raising himself astride the coffin. The legend says that he became fixed
to the pall, and only escaped after repentance and the united prayers of
the apostles.
Of the third picture only a portion remains, the upper part being new
plaster, but the figures of some of the apostles who are shown may have
been standing by the deathbed of the Virgin. The coronation scene already
mentioned on the north side of the nave would thus complete a series of
four pictures.
Just by the lectern at the north-east corner of the nave is a recumbent
effigy of a knight wearing armour of the period when chain-mail was being
exchanged for plate armour. This was during the fourteenth century. The
arms on the shield are those of Bruce, and belonging to this period there
has been discovered a license to Sir William Bruce to have a chantry in
Pickering Church. There can therefore be little doubt that this nameless
effigy is that of Sir William Bruce. The deed is dated "Saturday, the
feast of St John the Evangelist, 1337," and it states that a license was
given in consideration of one messuage and two bovates of land in the
village of Middleton near Pickering for a certain chaplain to celebrate
"Divine (mysteries) daily in the Church of St Peter, Pickering (the full
dedication is to God, St Peter, and St Paul), for the souls of the
masters, William and Robert of Pickering, Adam de Bruce and Mathilda his
wife." The two beautifully carved figures of a knight and his lady that
lie in the Bruce Chapel are not Bruces for the surcoat of the man is
adorned with the arms of the Rockcliffes--an heraldic chess-rook and three
lions' heads. Both the knight and his lady wear the collar of SS, the
origin of which is still wrapped in obscurity. Traces of gilding are
visible in several places on the wings of the angels that support the
heads of both figures, as well as in other parts of the carving where the
detail is not obliterated. The date of these monuments is believed to have
been either the end of the fourteenth or the very beginning of the
fifteenth centuries. In the south-east corner of the north transept,
almost hidden by deep shadows, there lies a truncated effigy of a man in
armour of about the same period as that of Sir William Bruce, but there is
nothing to identify these mutilated remains. The sedilia in the chancel
seem to be coeval with that part of the church. They are ornamented with
some curious carving and some heads, one of them, very much restored,
representing apparently a bishop, priest, and deacon; the fourth head is a
doubtful quantity.
[Illustration: The Effigy of Sir Willeam Bruce in Pickering Church.
The arms on the shield are drawn separately on the right.]
[Illustration: The richly carved Effigies in the Bruce Chapel of Pickering
Church.
The man bears the arms of Rockcliffe on his surcoat. Both figures wear the
collar of SS.]
[Illustration: The holy-water stoup in Pickering Church.]
Close to the sedilia is a piscina decorated in a similar manner.
Near the porch, in the usual position, is a holy-water stoup that has the
front part of the basin broken off. This may possibly have happened at the
same time as the smashing of the font in Puritan days mentioned in a later
chapter. The curious little recess in the west wall of the Bruce Chapel
might have been utilised for more than one purpose, but it is difficult to
say whether it was for holding a lamp, whether it may at one time have
been a low side window, or whether it was at any time used as an opening
for a bell rope to be pulled from within.
[Illustration: The Sanctus Bell, formerly used by the Town Crier of
Pickering. It bears the name "Vilyame Stokeslai," and probably dates from
the fourteenth century.]
A hospital of St Nicholas at Pickering is often mentioned among the
records of this time, but I am unable to discover the site, unless it was
near to where there was a burying-ground in Westgate. The castle chapel
was also dedicated to St Nicholas, and some confusion may thus have
arisen.
Up to about the year 1880 the town-crier of Pickering was using a small
mediæval bell that has since been handed over to the authorities of the
British Museum by the Registrar of the Duchy of Lancaster. The bell is
engraved with four figures--a crucifix, St George and the Dragon, the
Virgin and Child, and St John the Baptist, and round the haunch runs the
inscription "Vilyame Stokeslai." As nothing at all is known of the history
of the bell it is difficult to say much as to its origin, but it appears
to belong to the fourteenth century, and _may_ be associated with a
William Stokesley of Whitby whose name appears at that date.
Much more could be written about this period from many standpoints, but
from what has been given some of the salient facts of these centuries
stand out clearly. It is plain that the people--rich and poor--drew
largely upon the forest for free supplies of timber and venison, despite
the severity of the laws. It also appears that the officers of the forest
frequently abused their power to the damage and often at the expense of
the personal security of the townsfolk and villagers., The importance of
Pickering at this time is emphasised by many royal visits and to some
extent by the sending of members to Parliament on one occasion. Much
building at the church and castle took place in the period described, and
it is quite possible that some of the oldest cottages with fork framework
date from Plantagenet times, and that the fallen beams we see lying among
the nettles of the ruined cottages were taken from the forest without
payment or permission.