Rowley Parish information from Bulmers' 1892.

ROWLEY:
Geographical and Historical information from the year 1892.

Wapentake of Harthill - Petty Sessional Division of South Hunsley Beacon - County Council Electoral Division of Rowley - Poor Law Union and County Court District of Beverley - Rural Deanery of Howden - Archdeaconry of the East Riding - Diocese of York.

This parish comprises 6,423 acres, stretching along the base and on the southern slopes of the Wolds. It includes the following hamlets, each of which forms a distinct manor :- Rowley, Bentley, Hunsley, Riplingham, Risby, and Little Weighton. The rateable value is £7,788, and the population in 1891 was 512. The principal landowners are W. H. Harrison-Broadley, Esq., Welton Hall; C. P. Sykes, Esq.; Arthur Wilson, Esq., J.P., D.L., of Tranby Croft; J. D. F. Fawsitt; Miss Holt; and the Rev. H. C. Thoroton-Hildyard.

Rowley hamlet consists of the parish church, rectory house, and two cottages, situated on the Wolds, four miles east-north-east of South Cave, 10 miles northwest from Hull, and about half-a-mile from Little Weeton station, on the Hull, Barnsley, and West Riding Junction railway. The church of St. Peter is an edifice of brick, faced with cement, in the Early English style, consisting of chancel, nave, aisles, south porch, and western tower, containing one bell. It is pleasantly situated in a park, and surrounded by a small cemetery. It was restored and refitted with open benches in 1852. The east window is filled with stained glass, representing the Baptism, Crucifixion, and Resurrection of Christ. A window in the north wall, representing St. Mary and St. Anna, was erected at the cost of Miss Holt. The font is square and ancient, and the old piscina still remains in the chancel. The walls of the vestry are covered with tablets to the memory of the Ellerker family. One is inscribed "To perpetuate the memory of this ancient family, this Mausoleum was built by Ellerker Bradshaw, of Risby, Esq., 1730." There are slabs in the floor of the chancel to Catherine Chamberline, of Hull, who died in 1697, and Leonard Chamberline, who died in 1716; others to the Hilyards and Fawsitts, bearing 18th century dates; and one to the Rev. Thomas Wakefield, A.M., who died in 1786, after having been 52 years resident rector of this parish. The register dates from 1565. The living is a rectory, valued in the Liber Regis at £20 1s. 8d., and now worth £1,000 net, in the gift of Mrs. Hildyard, and held by the Rev. H. C. Thoroton-Hildyard, B.A., of Merton College, Oxford, since 1852. The tithe rent-charge is £602; there are 145 acres of ancient glebe, and 42 acres of the common were allotted in 1801 in lieu of certain tithes. Col. W. H. Harrison-Broadley, J.P., D.L., of Welton, is lord of the manor.

BENTLEY, is a hamlet containing 1,037 acres, situated on the Hessle and Beverley road, two-and-a-half miles from the latter, and four miles from the parish church of Rowley. The soil is partly clay and gravel. Arthur Wilson, Esq., of Tranby Croft, is lord of the manor and chief landowner. There are eight houses in the hamlet. A small chapel-of-ease was erected in 1855, in which service is held once a month. In a hedge on the east side of the village stands part of an ancient cross, which formerly marked the boundary of Sanctuary of Beverley Minster. The portion of the shaft remaining measures about 27 inches. an eminence here was formerly a beacon, which has given its name to the largest division of the Wapentake of Harthill. It fell to pieces about 60 years ago, and was shortly afterwards removed. The soil is of a light nature, and the subsoil chalk. Col. W. H. Harrison-Broadley and C. P. Sykes, Esq., are owners of the land, and the trustees of the late Mrs. Fawsitt are lords of the manor.

RIPLINGHAM, is a hamlet about one mile south-west of Rowley. It contains 1,250 acres of land, belonging chiefly to C. P. Sykes, Esq., who is lord of the manor, and Col. Harrison-Broadley.

RISBY, is a hamlet situated about three miles south-by-west from Beverley. It consists of two farms and seven cottages, and contains about 963 acres of land. Arthur Wilson, Esq. is lord of the manor and principal landowner. The estate formerly belonged to a family that took their name from the place, and in 1401 it passed by the marriage of the daughter and heiress of William Risby, Esq., to John Ellerker, Esq., and Risby became the residence of the family. Sir Ralph Ellerker, grandson of the above, was buried in Rowley Church. He and his three sons Ralph, William, and Robert, for their gallant behaviour at Flodden, were made knights on the field of battle. He died in 1540. The estate remained in the possession of this family until a few years ago. The park is a romantic spot. The mansion was burnt to the ground upwards of a century ago, and not a vestige of it now remains, but the terraces on which it stood have been left undisturbed.

LITTLE WEIGHTON, or Weeton is a township containing 1,625 acres, belonging chiefly to the trustees of the late Mrs. Fawsitt and C. P. Sykes, Esq. Col. W. H. Harrison-Broadley is lord of the manor. The soil is loamy and the subsoil chalk. The village occupies a romantic situation in a secluded valley, four-and-a-half miles south-west of Beverley. There is a station here on the Hull, Barnsley, and West Riding Junction railway. The Wesleyans have a chapel in the village, built in 1827. The National school is situated here. It is a good building of brick, erected in 1873, for the accommodation of 70 children. It is partly supported by a voluntary rate. Little Weeton is supposed by some to have been the site of the famous battle of Brunanburh.

[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.