Threlkeld, and bore him three daughters. She survived her first
husband thirty years, and the restitution seven years, dying in 1491,
at Londesborough. She was buried in the church there, near the altar,
under a slab, with an inlaid brass plate bearing the following
inscription:--"Orate pro anima Margarete, D'ne Clifford et Vescy, olim
spouse nobilissimi viri joh'is D'm Clifford et Westmoreland, filie et
hereditis Henrici Bromflet, quondam D'ni Vescy, etc. ... Matris
Henrici Domini Clifford, Westmoreland et Vescy, quae obiit 15 die mens
Aprilis, Anno Domini 1491, cujus corpus sub hoc marmore est humatum."
The Felons of Ilkley.
The town of Ilkley, on the Wharfe, now so well known to tourists for
the beauty of its situation and the grandeur of the natural scenery
surrounding it, and to invalids for the invigorating and restorative
qualities of its waters, is a place of very ancient date. It was built
and fortified by the proprætor, Virius Lupus, in the time of the
Emperor Severus, the fortress being situated on a precipitous bank of
the Wharfe, and a cohort stationed there. Remains of the intrenchments
are still to be seen, and altars, sepulchral stones, and other
memorials of the Roman Olicaria have frequently been disinterred.
Under the Saxons, too, it was a place of some importance, with a
church and priest. In the churchyard there are some remarkable relics
of this age, consisting of three stone crosses, with curiously
convoluted knots and scroll work. Afterwards it sank into a mere
village, but with a grammar school, founded in 1601 by the
parishioners, and so remained until recent times, when the fame of its
salubrious springs went forth over the land and attracted crowds of
fashionable invalids and hypochondriacs.
It was in the latter half of the seventeenth century, when the reign
of the Puritans had come to an end, and the "Merry Monarch" had been
restored to the throne of the Stuarts, bringing with him the
profligate, licentious, and profane manners of the Court of
Versailles, that one fine summer's afternoon a party of roysterers,
who had been at a cock-fight, burst into the kitchen of the mud-built
and thatched alehouse of Ilkley, calling upon Mistress Laycock, the
alewife, for sundry flagons of ale wherewith to moisten their throats,
parched and dry with halloaing and shouting out bets at the cocking
match. The twenty years' rule of the Puritans, with the suppression of
sports, theatres, and other amusements, and the substitution of long
sermons and long prayers, had produced the natural reaction, and now
the people of Ilkley, as in other places, returned with renewed zest
to their bull-baiting, dog fights, cudgel matches, and their more
innocent amusements of dancing round the maypole, holding yule-feasts
and village fairs, and mumming in grotesque masquerade on Plough
Monday.
The roysterers who thus boisterously invaded Dame Laycock's kitchen
were Tom Heber, a young scapegrace, son of Reginald Heber, a
barrister-at-law of the Middle Temple, and an offshoot of the ancient
family of Heebeare, who had been settled in Craven for some centuries.
He had been brought up in the old gabled and cross-timbered house of
his father in Ilkley, had been well educated, and was a clever and
accomplished young fellow; moreover, his father had taken him once or
twice to London, and he had been a witness of the revels and
immoralities of Whitehall, which struck his fancy as being the
perfection of human bliss. His companions this afternoon were Will
Hudson, the village cobbler, who infinitely preferred swaggering at a
bull-baiting to hammering at the lapstone; Walter Pollard, a shoeing
smith, whose feats at tossing off the contents of a blackjack were the
admiration of his comrades; Jack Smithers, a journeyman flesher, whose
dog was the pride of the village for his pluck in tackling any animal
of his size or more than his size; and two or three other
rapscallions of the village, who were ever foremost in a brawl, and
more frequently seen in the purlieus of the alehouse than in pursuit
of their proper vocations.
These worthies had now seated themselves on the long-settle which
faced a fire of wood on the hearth-stone, over which swung a large
cauldron, and called out vociferously for the ale. "Now then, Mother
Laycock," shouted Heber, "when is this ale coming?" "The old score's
not paid yet, Master Thomas," replied she, from another room, "and I
told you that I would not draw another pint until that was paid." "Oh!
you won't, won't you; then your crockery shall suffer for your
obstinacy; so here goes," and down he dashed an earthenware jug on the
floor, upon which she rushed in, and opening a cupboard door, showed a
long score chalked against him. "Oh! hang the score," said he, "you
know I shall pay you some day; my father cannot be so hard as to keep
me entirely without money." "But, Master Thomas, I cannot afford to
give such long trust." "Now, Mistress Laycock, you know I am a good
customer, and always pay in the long run; is this ale forthcoming?"
and down he threw another piece of crockery, adding, "It shall all go
if you do not bring the ale." The old dame, terrified at the breakage
of her pots, then gave in and produced the ale, adding it to the score
on the cupboard door.
The ale jug passed merrily round, and the conversation turned first
upon the points of the cock-fight they had been witnessing, and then
upon the merits of the competitors in a wrestling match which was
coming off the following Sunday. They then began to complain of their
scant fortunes, not attributing it at all to their lack of industry in
business. "I'll tell you what it is," said Heber, "it's a parlous
shame that my father keeps me so short of money." "It is! it is!"
echoed his companions. "He has brought me up as a gentleman, and given
me a good education, but does not allow me the means to support that
position, and I say again that it is cursed shame; but never mind,
boys, the time is coming when I shall have plenty of gold to scatter
about amongst you, my jolly companions." "Brayvo! brayvo! three cheers
for Squire Heber." "Meanwhile," continued he, "it is the best
philosophy to make the best of what we have, to enjoy life as much as
we can, to dance, and drink, and sing, and fling dull care to the
winds. So drink, boys! drink! and I will sing you one of Cowley's new
songs which I picked up in London." And he trolled forth--
"Fill the bowl with rosy wine;
Around our temples roses twine;
And let us cheerfully awhile,
Like the vine and roses smile,
Crown'd with roses we contemn
Gyges' wealthy diadem.
To-day is ours; what do we fear?
To-day is ours; we have it here.
Let's treat it kindly, that it may
Wish, at least, with us to stay.
Let's banish business; banish sorrow;
To the gods belongs to morrow."
Of course, the song was rapturously applauded by the listeners, who
caught the general sentiment, but were unable to understand the
allusions or appreciate the refinement of the language. Suddenly Heber
exclaimed--"Lads! a bright thought has flashed across my mind. We want
money, and money we must have. Old Alic Squire is well to do, and
always has a considerable sum of money by him, and it would be a
charity to relieve him of the care and anxiety of keeping it in that
lonely house of his. The thing could be easily done. We have but to
disguise ourselves, break into his house, take what we require, and
leave him to attribute the appropriation, I won't call it theft, to
professional burglars." The confederates highly approved of the
scheme, and gave a ready assent, after which they arranged a plan of
operation, and agreed to carry it into execution three nights hence.
On the appointed evening they assembled at the house of Will, the
cobbler, where they donned sundry disguises, armed themselves with
cudgels, an axe, a crowbar, and a wooden wedge, and sallied forth into
the moonlight. Squire's farmhouse lay at a little distance from the
village, shrouded in trees. It was occupied by himself, a widower, and
his married daughter, Elizabeth Beecroft; whilst in the barn, on that
night, slept one Jane Beanland. The moon was nearly at full, but
masses of clouds drifted across its face, obscuring its beams, so that
it only shone out at intervals. As they approached the house at
midnight a profound silence prevailed; not a dog barked, and it was
only broken occasionally by the distant hooting of an owl. A minute or
two were only required to force open the door by the application of
the wedge and three or four blows of the axe, and Heber, Hudson, and
Pollard entered the house, the others remaining outside. The old man
had been awakened by the noise of forcing the door open, and he came
from his bedroom half-dressed, demanding what they wanted by thus
breaking into his house. "Money," was the reply, "and if you do not
give it up we shall take it." "I have got no money for you," he
answered, and, seizing upon a poker, he stood upon his defence, but
was overpowered by a blow on the head, and the robbers then prized
open his desk, but found in it not more than fifty shillings, and
broke open a cupboard, taking from it a piece of beef, after which
they went away, much disappointed at the smallness of their booty.
Notwithstanding their disguise, they had been identified, Squire, in
his deposition, stating that he recognised Tom Heber by his stature
and the softness of his hand, which he felt when struggling with him;
Elizabeth, his daughter, whose room they had entered and "nearly
smothered her in the bed clothes," also recognised "Mr. Thos. Heber,"
as one of the party; and Jane Beanland deposed that, as she lay in the
barn, she heard the voices of Mr. Thos. Heber, of Holling, and William
Hudson, of Ilkley, when they were breaking open the door. Moreover,
Elizabeth Longfellow gave evidence that going into the alehouse of
Josias Laycock, where Walter Pollard was drinking, she overheard him
say, "I am now making Bess Squire's half-crowns fly." They had left
behind them also an iron gavelock, a staff, and a wedge, which were
identified as having been in their possession a day or two before the
crime was committed.
These facts having come to light, warrants were issued for the
apprehension of the offenders, and they were brought before Walter
Hawkesworth, of Hawkesworth, the nearest magistrate. This gentlemen
was a friend of Serjeant Heber, and, knowing Tom well, he expressed
his regret at seeing him placed in that situation, who, however,
laughingly replied that it was only done for a lark, but the
magistrate, after hearing the depositions, with a grave countenance,
said "It might be a lark, but at the same time it was a felony, and a
serious outrage of the law, and he had no alternative but to commit
them to York for trial at the assizes."
They were consequently arraigned at the assizes on a charge of
burglary, but escaped the usual severe punishment, partly on the
ground that the crime was committed as a frolic, which was the line
of defence, partly through family influence, and partly through the
powerful agency of money.
It is a remarkable fact that there were then resident in Ilkley two
families--the Hebers, of whom was the criminal, and the Longfellows, a
member of whom was a witness on the trial against him, and that from
them are descended two of the most charming poets of modern
times--Reginald Heber, Bishop of Calcutta, author of "Palestine," and
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, whose writings are as much admired in
England as in his native America.
The Ingilby Boar's Head.
The crest of the Ingilbys of Ripley is "A boar's head couped and erect
arg., tusked or," which was obtained by an early knight of the family,
in a romantic fashion, and as the reward for a valiant achievement.
In the reign of Edward the Confessor the manor of Ripley was held by
Merlesweyn, a powerful Danish lord, and owner of many another manor
and estate in the same district. He joined in the Gospatric
insurrection against William the Conqueror, in favour of Edgar the
Atheling, for which rebellion his lands were confiscated, and granted
to Ralph de Paganel, a Norman noble who had fought at Hastings, and
who besides became Lord of Leeds, Headingley, and extensive estates on
the Ouse, the Aire, and the Nidd; holding the Merlesweyn estates _in
capite_ from the King; Leeds, etc., by the service of a knight's fee
and a half, under the Lacies of Pontefract; whilst lands at Adel,
Arthington, etc., devolved on him in right of his wife, Matilda,
daughter of Richard de Surdeval. He was the founder of the Priory of
the Holy Trinity, York, upon which, in 1080, he bestowed the churches
of Leeds and Adel.
From the Paganels, Ripley passed to the Trusbut family, how does not
appear, and from them, by the marriage of the heiress, to the family
of de Ros of Ingmanthorpe, a branch of the de Ros's of Hamlake and
Holderness, who became the superior lords, under whom the manor was
held for half a knight's fee, early in the twelfth century, by a
family whose previous name is not recorded, but who adopted that of de
Ripley from their possessions. From this family descended the famous
Canon of Bridlington, Sir George de Ripley, in the fifteenth century,
the alchymist and "discoverer" of the philosopher's stone, as he
professed, in 1470, and who contributed annually vast sums of money to
the Knights of Rhodes for maintaining their warfare against the
Mussulmans.
The Ingilbys are of Scandinavian origin, seated for a long period at
Engelby, in Lincolnshire, whence they derived their surname, who, at
the time of Domesday Book held three manors in Lincolnshire, two in
the North Riding of Yorkshire, under the Bishop of Durham and William
of Poictou, and one in Derbyshire. In 1350, or thereabouts, Sir Thomas
de Ingilby, Justice of the Common Pleas, married Catherine of Luerne,
daughter and heiress of Bernard (?) de Ripley, and came into
possession of the Ripley estates, where he settled, and, seven years
afterwards, obtained a charter for an annual fair and weekly market at
Ripley.
The Ingilbys, still extant, have held a distinguished place among the
families of Yorkshire, and many members of the family have been
entrusted with high offices in Church and State, and become eminent in
the field.
John Ingilby (_temp._ Richard II.), was the second founder of and
benefactor to the Carthusian Monastery of Mount Grace, in Cleveland.
John, born at Ripley in 1434, "did wondrously flourish in the reign of
Henry VI." Sir William, his son, was knighted by "Lord Gloucester on
Milton Field, in Holland, in 1482," for valour. A John de Ingilby was
Prior of Sheen and Bishop of Llandaff, 1496-1500. Sir William, born
1515, was High Sheriff of Yorkshire and Treasurer of Berwick, _temp._
Elizabeth. David, his second son, married Anne Nevile, daughter of
Charles, sixth Earl of Westmoreland, by which marriage his
representatives, with those of Nicholas Pudsey, are co-heirs of the
abeyant Barony of Nevile of Raby. Francis, third son of Sir William,
was a Roman Catholic priest, and was executed at York, in 1586, for
performing the functions of his office in the realm. John, fifth son
of Sir William, was presented in the list of recusants in 1604.
William, eldest son of Sampson of Spofforth, fourth son of Sir
William, was created baronet in 1642, and fought on the King's side at
Marston Moor. His castle at Ripley was garrisoned for the King, and
Cromwell, after the battle of Marston Moor, passing through Ripley,
demanded lodgings for the night, which was at first refused by Lady
Ingilby, but he was, after a parley, admitted, on the promise that his
followers should not be guilty of any impropriety. She received him
with a couple of pistols stuck in her apron string, and on leaving in
the morning, he inquired the meaning of the two weapons. "I'll tell
you," she replied, "why I had two; it was that the second might be
ready in case the first missed fire, for if you had behaved otherwise
than peaceably I should have pistolled you without the least remorse."
Sir William rebuilt Ripley Castle. In one of the towers is the
following inscription:--"In the yiere of owre Ld. M.D.L.V. was this
towre buyldyd by Sir Willyam Ingilby, Knight; Philip and Mary reigning
that time." In the great staircase window is a series of escutcheons
on stained glass, containing the arms of Ingilby and of the families
with whom they had inter-married. Sir William, the second baronet,
purchased the manor of Armley from the Mauliverers. Sir John, the
fourth baronet died 1772, when the baronetcy expired. The baronetcy
was revived in 1781, in the person of John Ingilby, an illegitimate
son of the fourth baronet of the previous creation. Sir William
Amcotts, his fourth son, succeeded to the baronetcy of his maternal
grandfather, Sir Wharton Amcotts, by special remainder, and to that of
his father in 1815, but died S.P., in 1854, when the baronetcy
expired.
In 1866 the baronetcy was again restored, in the person of the Rev.
Henry John, nephew of the above Sir John, in his succession by will to
the Ripley estates, whose son, Sir Henry Day is the present holder,
with (according to the new Domesday Book, of 1876) an acreage in the
West Riding of 10,000, producing a rental of £11,149 per annum.
In Ripley Castle there is, or was, a full-length portrait of a knight
of the Ingilby family, attired in the hunting costume of the
Plantagenet times, with the head of a wild boar at his feet. This is
the presentment of Sir William Ingilby, a doughty warrior and a hunter
of renown, who lived in the troublous reign of Edward II. Although the
representative of the family still lived in Lincolnshire, not having
yet acquired the Ripley estates, this Sir William resided on one of
the Yorkshire estates not far distant from Ripley, and would be on
terms of intimacy with the family of de Ripley, whose heiress was won
by Sir Thomas Ingilby, the Justice of the Common Pleas, and who
possibly might have been the son of Sir William. Sir William had
gained some renown in the Scottish wars of King Edward I. against
William Wallace, and had been an ardent and loyal supporter of the
weak and unfortunate second Edward on his accession to the throne,
from the fact of his being the son of the great and glorious King, the
first of that name.
He remained loyal until the King gave himself up into the hands of his
favourite, Piers Gaveston, who humoured his naturally depraved
inclinations, and led him into acts of malgovernment, which estranged
the hearts of the people. He loaded him with benefits, bestowing on
him great estates and much treasure. Amongst other grants he gave him
the Lordship of Knaresborough Castle and forest, with divers
liberties, franchises, and privileges, which led him to assume a high
and dictatorial tone to the nobles of the realm, who expostulated with
the King, and compelled him to banish the insolent foreigner. But the
King, not able to learn wisdom in the school of experience, recalled
him and bestowed fresh benefits upon him, which so exasperated the
Barons that they rose in arms, with Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, at
their head, captured the favourite in Scarborough Castle, and beheaded
him. The King then took the Spensers into his favour, who became more
intolerably oppressive than their predecessor, upon which the Barons
again rose in arms, but were defeated in a battle at Boroughbridge,
and nearly a hundred barons, knights, and other prisoners put to
death, the Earl of Lancaster being beheaded at Pontefract. In the
sequel, however, the Spensers met the same fate as Gaveston, the elder
being executed at Bristol, and the younger at Hereford.
Notwithstanding his personal loyalty, Sir William became so disgusted
at the imbecile conduct of the King, and the arrogance of his
favourites, that he took up arms with the Barons for the purpose of
removing them from the Royal councils. A bloody revenge was taken by
the King on the leaders and more prominent members of the conspiracy,
but those of lesser degree were permitted to escape capital
punishment, being punished by fines, confiscations, etc., and lay
under a cloud of disgrace until the barbarous murder of the King in
Berkley Castle, and the accession of Edward III., removed the stigma.
In this latter category was included Sir William Ingilby, who would
most probably have remained alienated from the good graces of the King
had not a fortunate circumstance occurred, which restored him to
favour, and which had an influence in enhancing the dignity of the
family.
Sir William's residence was in the valley of the Nidd, "one of the
most romantic, picturesque, and wealthy vales in England." Spreading
around for a distance of several miles lay the magnificent Forest of
Knaresborough, the home of wild cattle, wolves, wild boars, the
roebuck, and other ferocious animals of the chase. To the east stood,
on its craggy and almost inaccessible rock, overhanging the Nidd and
the then small village of Knaresborough, the formidable fortress of
Serlo de Burgh, whilst on the verge of the forest stood the splendid
monastic establishments of Fountains, Bolton, Ripon, and other lesser
houses. The forest has the reputation of having been one of the haunts
of Robin Hood, one portion bearing traditionally the name of "Robin
Hood's Park," whence he issued to pay his visits to the Abbey of
Fountains, as recorded in ballad lore. In the western portion of the
forest lay the Royal chase of Haverah Park (Hey-wra, the park of the
wra or roe), consisting of 2,000 acres, densely wooded, and inhabited
by beasts of chase, which were kept together and preserved by an oak
paling, which encircled the park. The road thither from Knaresborough
ran through the forest south of the Nidd, and across an upland, since
famous for its chalybeate springs, and where there were then a few
scattered cottages, forming a small hamlet, which came to be
designated Heynragate--the road to Heynra Park--which has since been
corrupted into Harrogate, and has become one of the most fashionable
inland watering places in the kingdom.
The Castle and forest of Knaresborough were granted to Serlo de Burgh,
who built the castle, after whom they were alternately in the hands of
the Crown, or of some Royal favourite on whom they had been bestowed.
Edward II. made a grant of them to Piers Gaveston, on whose death they
reverted to the Crown. It was during this period that the King came to
Knaresborough Castle to relax himself from the cares and anxieties of
Royalty, by three or four days' hunting in Haverah Park. He was not
attended by a large retinue, being only accompanied by three or four
friends, and a few body servants; huntsmen, beaters, and other
attendants of the chase being permanently retained there, as well as
hounds and all the requisite hunting gear and weapons; this was
because of his unpopularity with the people, on account of his
governing the realm upon the advice of unworthy favourites. Hence he
came down with some degree of secrecy, in a species of incognito, and
it was not known generally to the residents of the valley who the
hunter was, the supposition being that he was some friend of the
King's, who had been given permission to hunt in Haverah chase.