Blacktoft Parish information from Bulmers' 1892.

BLACKTOFT:
Geographical and Historical information from the year 1892.

Wapentake and Petty Sessional Division of Howdenshire - County Council Electorial Division of Laxton - Poor Law Union and County Court District of Howden - Rural Deanery of Howden - Archdeaconry of the East Riding - Diocese of York.

This parish lies on the northern bank of the Ouse, immediately above its confluence with the Trent and the Humber. It comprises the townships of Blacktoft, Sealby, and Cheapsides, and part of Gilberdyke, embracing, according to the Ordnance Survey, an area of 3,508 acres, including water. The surface is flat, and the soil alluvium and clay, resting upon clay. Wheat, beans, potatoes, mustard, and flax are grown. In the township of Blacktoft there are 1,682 acres of land under assessment, which is rated at £4,152; and a population of 308, a decrease of 17 since 1881. The principal landowners are C. W. Empson, Esq., lord of the manor; E. B. Latham, Blacktoft; Wm. Oliver, Staddlethorpe; T. G. Jacques, Staddlethorpe House; John Freeman and Wm. Martin, Staddlethorpe. The N.E.R. Co., have 1,585 yards of railway in the township, assessed at £1,693.

The village stands on the river hank, eight miles east-by-south from Howden, 20 miles west from Hull, and three-and-a-quarter miles south from Staddlethorpe station, on the Hull and Selby branch of the North-Eastern railway. A wooden pier, 470 feet long by 22 feet wide, was erected here by the Aire and Calder Navigation Co., about 15 years ago. There is a depth of 12 or 13 feet at low water, and vessels moor here in their outward and inward passages between Hull and Goole, when there is not a sufficient depth of water in the river.

The church, variously said to be dedicated to St. Clement and the Holy Trinity, was rebuilt on the site of the old edifice in 1841, at a cost of £1,600, raised by subscription and a small parish rate. It is a small edifice of stone, consisting of chancel, nave, embattled western tower, with pinnacles, containing three bells. There is a stained glass window in memory of Mrs. Empson, erected, in 1869, by her hushand, J. W. Empson. Esq., J.P., Yokefleet Hall. The living is a new vicarage, gross yearly value £274, in the gift of the Dean and Chapter of Durham, and held by the Rev. John Smeddle, M.A., of Durham University. There are 29 acres of glebe, and a parsonage house, built in 1841. The Dean and Chapter of Durham, as successors of the ancient priory of that city, are the impropriators of the tithes.

The Wesleyan chapel is a small mean edifice, built in 1839, and is the only place of worship in the parish belonging to the Nonconformists. The National school was erected in 1851, by the Rev. W. H. Empson, and it was enlarged in 1873. It will accommodate 60 children, and has an average attendance of 40. The Manor House is an ancient building of brick, with a fine old black oak staircase, and an oak-panelled drawing room. It is said to have been erected 300 or 400 years ago, and is now occupied by F. H. Riggall, farmer.

STADDLETHORPE is a hamlet in this township consisting of a few farmhouses and cottages, and gives name to a station on the Hull and Selby railway, which passes through the north part of the township, where it is joined by the line from Doncaster. Staddlethorpe House is the residence of Mr. Thos. Geo. Jacques, County Councillor for Laxton Division.

SCALBY is a township abutting on the river, and extending northward to Wallingfen. Its estimated extent, in the overseer's returns, is 1,295 acres, and its rateable value £2,935. The inhabitants in 1891 numbered 164. The soil is warp and clay, and the subsoil clay. Wheat, beans, and potatoes are the chief crops. The principal landowners are G. E. and W. Weddall, Esq. (lords of the manor), Thornton Manor House; Mrs. Jane Kirkpatrick, Scalby Grange; Mrs. Akers, and the trustees of Robt. Plummer Weddall, late of Goole. The tithes of Blacktoft and Scalby belong to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners.

There is no village; the place consists of five scattered farmhouses and a number of cottages, situated about seven miles east-south-east of Howden, and one mile from Staddlethorpe station, on the Hull and Selby branch of the North-Eastern railway. There is a school chapel, which was erected by the Rev Canon Dunnington-Jefferson in 1854 Divine service is held on Sundays by the Rev. Wm. Rose. It is conveniently situated for the neighbouring villages.

Scalby Grange was rebuilt on the site of an ancient house in 1823, by Mr. John Seaton, father of Mrs. J. Kirkpatrick, the present owner and occupier.

Thornton estate, partly in this township and partly in Faxfleet, was formerly one of the possessions of Thornton Abbey, Lincolnshire. After the dissolution of monasteries, it came into the hands of the Methams, of Metham. The last of the family, Sir Geo. Montgomery Metham, was M.P. for Hull from 1757 to 1766, when he was made patent clerk of his Majesty's wardrobe. He was a very improvident gentlemen, sold and mortgaged all his lands, and died in poverty. This estate is now the property of Messrs. Geo. E. and W. Weddall. The present Manor House was erected in 1810, and near it are the remains of an old moated building.

CHEAPSIDES, formerly an extra parochial place, containing six acres, was transferred to, and merged in the township of Scalby, by Order of the County Council of the East Riding, dated July 27th, 1891.

GILBERDIKE is a township, partly in this parish and partly in that of Eastrington, under which it will be found.

[Description(s) from Bulmer's History and Directory of East Yorkshire (1892)]

Directories

• Transcript of the entry for the Post Office, professions and trades in Bulmer's Directory of 1892.

Scan, OCR and html by Colin Hinson. Checking and correction by Peter Nelson.