Ingleby Arncliffe Parish information from Bulmers' 1890.

INGLEBY ARNCLIFFE:
Geographical and Historical information from the year 1890.

Wapentake of Langbaurgh (West Division) - Petty Sessional Division of Langbaurgh West - Poor Law Union, County Court District, and Electoral Division of Stokesley - Rural Deanery of Northallerton - Archdeaconry of Cleveland - Diocese of York.

This parish is situated on the north side of the Cleveland hills, westward of Whorlton, and possesses a diversified surface, rising into numerous richly-wooded eminences, commanding from their summits many beautiful and extensive prospects. Arncliffe Wood is a lofty ridge, the sides of which in some places fall away almost perpendicularly. The whole ridge, about two miles in length, is densely covered with oak trees, through which may be seen, peeping out here and there, masses of the solid rock. Ironstone and veins of jet are said to exist among the hills, but neither mineral has been wrought here.

The parish contains 1,893 acres, including 450 acres of woodland, of which the gross estimated rental is £2,288, and the rateable value £2,083. The inhabitants in 1881 numbered 306, most of whom are employed in field labour. The soil is clayey, and wheat, oats, and barley are the principal crops.

At the time of the Conquest, as appears from the Domesday book, Englebi (the by or town of the Angles), and Ernclive (the eagle's cliff), were two distinct manors, held by the king. Subsequently both estates were granted to Robert de Brus, as parcel of the Barony of Skelton; later they were held as one manor under the Brus family by the Inglerams or Ingrams, one of whom, Walter Ingram, some time in the twelfth century, gave the churches of Arncliffe and Welbury, with certain lands in both parishes, to the priory of Guisborough. This family were possessed of considerable estates in the county, and in 1255, Robert Ingram had a grant of free warren in all his lands in Arncliffe, Heslerton, and Dale, The original grant is still preserved at Arncliffe Hall. Engeliza or Ingalis, daughter and heiress of this Robert, married Sir Philip Colville, and the estates were thus conveyed to that family. Sir Robert Colville, her son, in 1317 obtained the royal license to empark his woods at Arncliffe. Sir John Colville was the last of the direct male line, and at his death in 1440, the estates were divided among his sisters and co-heiresses. In the partition, Arncliffe was allotted to Joan, wife of Sir William Mauleverer, of Wothersome, whose ancestor, Sir Richard Mauleverer, accompanied the Conqueror to England, and was made Master of the Forests, Chases, and Parks, north of the Trent. Another Sir William Mauleverer was High Sheriff of Yorkshire in 1522; and James Mauleverer, Esq., was fined £2,000 by the commissioners of Charles I. for refusing to take up his knighthood. The late William Mauleverer, Esq., son of Anne, wife of Clotworthy Gowan, Esq., of Bessingby, and daughter of Thomas Mauleverer, Esq., succeeded to the estate in 1833, by the devise of his aunt, Miss Mauleverer, and assumed the name and arms of Mauleverer. He died in 1857, leaving the estate to his two daughters and co-heiresses, Mrs. Meynell, wife of Thomas Meynell, Esq., of the Fryerage, Yarm, and Mrs. Brown, wife of Douglas Brown, Esq., Q.C. The latter gentleman purchased Mrs. Meynell's moiety after the death of her husband, and is now sole owner of the estate, and lord of the manor. Mr. Charles Weighell and Joseph Richardson, Esq., have also land in the township.

Arncliffe Hall, the residence of Douglas Brown, Esq., is a spacious stone mansion, near the foot of Arncliffe wood, and about one mile from the ruins of Mount Grace Priory. It was rebuilt in 1753 by Thomas Mauleverer, who left four of the rooms in the rough unfinished state, each successive owner being required to complete one. One still remains to be finished.

The village of Ingleby Arncliffe is situated on the summit of a gentle ridge, a little distance from the Thirsk and Stokesley road, and is about seven miles from the latter town. Not far from the village, on the Yarm and Thirsk road, is the Cleveland Tontine Inn, a large and prosperous hotel in coaching days, but converted into a farmhouse after the opening of the railway. It was built in 1804, at a cost of £2,500.

The Church (St. Andrew) is a plain Gothic edifice, consisting of nave, chancel, and tower, rebuilt by subscription in 1821. Two stone effigies of knights in armour, and some ancient stained glass, have been preserved from the old edifice. The former are supposed to represent Sir William and Sir Robert Colville, two brothers who lived in the early part of the 14th century. On the glass are depicted the arms of De Brus and St. Quintin, said to have been painted by order of Lady Joan Colville, who died in 1390, and was the sister of Anthony St. Quintin. There are also several tablets and monuments in the church and churchyard to the memory of members of the Mauleverer family. The Living is a new Vicarage, worth about £50 a year, and held by the Rev. Richard Jackson Steele, incumbent of East Harlsey, The Rev. G. C. Abbes is the patron and impropriator. The register dates from the year 1657.

The School, built in 1846, by the late William Mauleverer, Esq., and enlarged in 1869, is the property of D. Brown, Esq., by whom it is chiefly supported. The Wesleyans have a chapel in the village, erected in 1863, but there is no resident minister.

Ingleby Cross is another small village in the parish.

[Description(s) from Bulmer's History and Directory of North Yorkshire (1890)]

Directories

• Transcript of the entry for the Post Office, professions and trades in Bulmer's Directory of 1890.

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