Weaverthorpe Parish information from Bulmers' 1892.

WEAVERTHORPE:
Geographical and Historical information from the year 1892.

Wapentake and Petty Sessional Division of Buckrose - County Council Electoral Division of Sledmere - Poor Law Union and County Court District of Driffield - Rural Deanery of Buckrose - Archdeaconry of the East Riding - Diocese of York.

This parish is comprised in the township of its own name, containing 2,977 acres of land and 540 inhabitants. Formerly, it included the township of Luttons Ambo, though an intervening parish lay between them; but in 1874 the two Luttons were formed into a separate parish. Sir Tatton Sykes, Bart., who is lord of the manor; H.W. Cholmley, Esq., of Howsham Hall; and Viscountess Downe are the principal landowners. The soil is wold land, and the subsoil chalk. The chief crops are wheat, barley, oats, turnips, and seeds.

This is a place of considerable antiquity, dating from the time of the Norsemen. In Domesday Book it is called Wivetorp and Wifretorp, and, together with Londesborough, made three-and-a-half knights' fees. It was held by the Fitzherberts of the Archbishops of York, by the service of suit of court to the archbishop's manor of Wilton, from three weeks to three weeks.

The village, which is large, and contains many well-built houses, is situated in a valley of the Wolds, through which flows the Gypsy Race, 10 miles north-west of Great Driffield, 12 miles east of Malton, and 5 miles from Weaverthorpe station on the York and Scarborough branch of the North-Eastern railway. The church, which is dedicated to St. Andrew, is an ancient and noble-looking edifice, of stone, in the Norman style, but exhibiting also a few traces of Saxon work. It is delightfully situated on an eminence, and comprises chancel, nave, south porch, and a lofty western tower. The fabric was thoroughly restored at the sole expense of Sir Tatton Sykes, Bart., of Sledmere, from the designs of the late G. E. Street, R.A., and re-opened in April, 1872, by the Archbishop of York. The chancel is separated from the nave by a Norman arch, and a magnificent screen of brass and iron, ten feet high, and surmounted by a cross. Above the altar is a triptych in five panels, painted in gold and colour. The subject represented is the Crucifixion, and on the lower margin is the following verse from the Gloria: - Domine Deus, Agnus Dei, Filius Patris, Qui Tollis peccata mundi: Miserere nobis (0 Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, who takest away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us). This triptych, and also the screen, were the gift of Sir Tatton Sykes. The piscina in the south-east corner is modern, but the ancient aumbry and the priest's door remain in the south wall. The roof is of the waggon type, richly painted; and the floor is paved with encaustic tiles. The nave also has a waggon roof, and, like the chancel, is furnished with oak benches. At the east end, on a Norman bracket, is a new statue, in stone, of St. Andrew with his X shaped cross. The windows are all filled with stained glass; those in the chancel are square headed; those in the nave are Norman, with the exception of one, which is trefoil headed and belongs to the 14th century. The font is very ancient, probably Saxon, and large enough for immersion. It is circular, and medallioned with St. Andrew's crosses in lozenges, alternated with a sunk incised circle. The tower is in two stages, and opens into the nave through a lofty semicircular arch, of Saxon design. There are no buttresses, but at the south-east corner is a turret staircase leading to the belfry, wherein are three bells, the oldest of which is dated 1637. Above the south door of the nave is a sun-dial, bearing the fragments of an inscription in Saxon characters. The inscription is not only incomplete but also much obliterated, and, consequently, cannot be deciphered with undoubted accuracy. Mr. Waller, in "Old Yorkshire" (1881), p. 29, gives the following reading : - " In honore Sancti andre - Herbert William - Hoc Monasterium - Boght in the Time * *" Another antiquary thus renders it in English : - " In honour of St Andrew the Apostle, Herbert of Winchester built this church in the time of * *" Unfortunately, the name of the king, which would have given a clew to the date, has been broken off, probably by the masons when setting the stone. A spacious porch has been built over this south door. Lying outside the church is the effigy of a lady, but nothing is known of its history. The churchyard is surrounded by a good stone wall with a lych gate, and on the south side stands a massive churchyard cross. The church was given by Henry I. to the Metropolitan Church of York, and afterwards became part of the possessions of the monks of Nostel Priory, who transferred it, in 1268, to the Dean and Chapter of York. It was appropriated to them in 1300 and a vicarage ordained, and it still remains in the possession of the capitular body, The tithes were commuted for land at the enclosure in 1801. The gross value of the living is about £260, including 152 acres of glebe, with residence. The present vicar is the Rev. Thomas Bayly, B.A., Hertford College, Oxford, who is also vicar of Butterwick and rural dean of Buckrose.

The Vicarage House is a commodious residence, erected by the Eccliastical Commissioners in 1867, at an expense of £1,700. It stands within its own grounds to the east of the village.

The Wesleyans and the Primitive Methodists have each a chapel in the village, built respectively in 1814 and 1841. The latter was restored in 1888, at a cost of £126.

The National School is a plain brick building, erected by Sir Tatton Sykes in 1848. Attached is an infant-room. There is accommodation for 150 children; number on the books 144.

here is a Clothing Club here, and a branch of the Yorkshire Penny Bank is held in the school-room every Monday night.

A centenarian. - On Wednesday, November 12th, 1890, there was buried in Weaverthorpe churchyard, Mrs. Hannah Williamson, who was born at Sherburn in 1788, and was consequently 102 years of age at the time of her death. She married when she was 23 years of age, and survived her husband 60 years, but never had any children. She worked in the harvest field when nearly 90 years of age.

A tumulus on the Wolds here was opened some years ago, when there were found an armlet, apparently of the late Celtic age, a necklace similar to those found at Arras, in France, several pieces of a drinking cup and an urn, a perforated axe, flint scrapers, and other relics of the Ancient Britons.

[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.