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Bugthorpe Parish information from Bulmers' 1892.

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BUGTHORPE:
Geographical and Historical information from the year 1892.

Wapentake of Buckrose - County Council Electoral Division of Bishop Wilton - Petty Sessional Division of Wilton Beacon - Poor Law Union, County Court District, and Rural Deanery of Pocklington - Archdeaconry of the East Riding - Diocese of York.

This parish, the total extent of which is 1,990 acres, is bounded by the parishes of Acklam, Kirby Underdale, Bishop Wilton, and Skirpenbeck. The soil is a mixture of clay and gravel, and the chief crops are wheat, barley, oats, seeds, and beans. The rateable value is £1,808, and the population in 1891 was 232. Viscount Halifax is lord of the manor and owner of all the land except the glebe.

Bugthorpe, or Buckthorpe, is a place of considerable antiquity, and had its church in Saxon times. It is thus entered in Domesday Book :- " ii. Land of the Archbishop of York. In Bughetorp are four carucates and a half to be taxed; there may be two ploughs there. Clibert had there one manor. St. Peter has now there two farmers (censarios), who pay twenty shillings and four pence. There are eight acres of meadow, value, in King Edward's time, five shillings." And again :- " Land of Odo Arbalistarius, East Riding manor. In Buchetorp, Forne had four carucates of land and a half to be taxed. There is land to as many ploughs. Odo Arbalistarius has there one plough and three villanes with one plough, and eight acres of meadow, value, in King Edward's time, twenty shillings, now ten shillings." Soon after the Conquest the church was made prebendal, and the prebendaries, who were also rectors of the parish, became lords of the manor. They had 722 acres of demesne and increased jurisdiction over the whole town. Torre, from whom we quote, further states that "The prebendary of Bugthorpe, hath in Stockton, a manor place, wasted, and eight oxgangs of demesne land * * also eighteen tenements, eleven oxgangs and three acres of land farmed by tenants; likewise the tithe of hay and corn and all manner of jurisdiction in the place. Moreover, he hath there one chapell and its chapell yard." Stockton, now a distinct parish, was then included in that of Bugthorpe. Bugthorpe remained in the possession of the rectors and prebendaries till the passing of the Cathedral Act, 1838, whereby capitular establishments were much reduced in extent, and the endowments applied to the augmentation of poor benefices, and for other church purposes. The church lands and manor of Bugthorpe were sold by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners to Sir Francis Wood, of Garraby, grandfather of the present Viscount Halifax.

There is some uncertainty as to the origin of the name. In Saxon phraseology it was Buche-torp, but the Normans having no equivalent sound in their language for the guttural "ch," pronounced it Bugtorp, or, as written in Domesday Book, Buge-torp. Subsequently Bugthorpe became the fixed pronunciation and spelling of the name, and so remained until the middle of the present century, when the lord of the manor (Viscount Halifax) adopted Bugthorpe, as being a near approach in form and sound to the old Saxon Buchetorpe. The author of "Yorkshire Past and Present" derives the name from the Norse word boeg, or beyki (Saxon bece or hoc), the beech tree, and thorpe, a field or clearing, but the Rev. J. W. Appleford, in his "Short History of the parish of Bugthorpe," says there is no evidence that the beech ever grew in this particular district in such numbers as to account for its name being given to the parish. The Saxon word boc signified book as well as beech, and in the opinion of the reverend author just quoted "it is quite possible, if not probable, that, in Saxon times, this village might have been the residence of certain monks, and, as a consequence, a sort of centre of what little learning existed in those early days, and that from this circumstance it acquired the name of Buche-torp, or "book-village." But why the Saxons should have appended the Norse torp, or thorpe, instead of the word tun, or ton, from their own language, to the prefix, the author does not explain. Others assert that both portions of the name are derived from the Norsemen, among whom both Buck and Bugg were personal names.

The village is pleasantly situated about a mile from the York and Bridlington road, seven miles north-by-west of Pocklington, and three-and-a-half east of Stamford Bridge. The church, which is dedicated to St. Andrew, is an ancient stone edifice, consisting of chancel, choir, nave, and an embattled western tower. It was originally founded in Saxon times, and re-built in the Norman style soon after the Conquest. In this re-construction the original tower appears to have been retained, as shown by certain indications of Saxon work in the west wall. About the beginning of the 13th century the tower was re-built, the old Saxon piers or walling being retained, upon which an Early English arch was placed. At the same time the east wall of the Norman chancel, now the choir, was taken down, and a new chancel in the style of the period added, with a lady chapel on the north side. The eastern portion of this chapel remains, and is used as a vestry. The piscina belonging to the lady altar may still be seen in good preservation, in the outer wall. The arch at the entrance of the choir (the old chancel arch) is a curious specimen of Norman architecture. The capitals have the appearance of being those of the pre-existing Saxon arch, the Norman architect contenting himself with enriching the square sides with plain dog-tooth moulding before replacing them as the capital of his own arch. Beneath these, on either side, are two slender pillars, enlarged at the top, and having sculpture of a rude kind. Among the figures are our Blessed Lord with a nimbus round His head, kneeling penitents, St. Peter with the keys, some interlacing knot-work, and a figure, half man and half serpent, probably intended to represent the sting of the flesh, to which St. Paul alludes. The chancel retains its piscina and two sedilia in the south wall. At the north-east corner is a turret with a circular stone staircase leading to the roof, and capped by a spirelet. Separating the choir from the chancel is a carved oak screen. The font is circular without ornament of any kind, except a narrow dog-tooth moulding, and is supposed to belong to the 11th century. The Norman nave was re-built on a somewhat larger scale in 1859, and windows inserted corresponding with those of the chancel. The upper stage of the tower was re-built and leaded in 1878; at the same time the chancel and choir were re-roofed, and covered with lead, and the windows re-glazed with cathedral glass. There are three bells in the tower, one of which dates from pre-reformation times. It bears the inscription Chrystus, itur, vita, veretas, which can only be translated, "Christ, the Way, the Life, the Truth." "An old pre-reformation custom," say the vicar, in his "Brief Account of the Parish and Church of St. Andrew, Bugthorpe," from which much of the above information is taken, "survives in this parish, having been maintained through the centuries, probably without any intermission, though unfortunately its survival is now limited to the season of Lent only, during which the Matins bell is rung daily, at six in the morning, and the Angelus bell at six in the evening. After the falling of the bell, the number of the day of the month is tolled, but this is of comparatively modern date, and is merely an addition to the ancient custom, which, of all the parishes in the county, is possibly confined to this one alone." The nave is seated with open benches of oak, plain but substantial, and the choir, with stalls, having handsome finials with open work carving on the front.

There are a few ancient monuments in the church. On the floor of the chancel - south side - is a sarcophagus-shaped tomb, supposed to belong to the 11th or 12th century, but without inscription to show whose ashes repose beneath. On the north side is a flat stone with an incised floriated cross, also without inscription, which probably covers the remains of William Halomshire. He was vicar of the church of Bugthorpe, and according to Torre's Testamentary Burials "made his will (proved 4th November, 1449), giving his soul to God and St. Mary, and his body to be buried in the quire of the said church, under a stone." Against the north wall is a fine marble monument, with profile bust, to the memory of Miss Mary Payler, the last of her race, who died in 1756. Near this is a mural tablet in the Corinthian style. On either side are two slender pillars, with floriated capitals, supporting an ornamental entablature, with a shield in the centre carrying the arms of the Watkinson and Payler families. Between the pillars is the following inscription :- " Here lyeth the body of Sir Edward Payler, of Thoraldby, Baronet, late Justice of Peace and Qvorvm, in the East Rydeing of the Covnty of Yorke, who married 2 wives. The first, Anne Watkinson, sole davghter and heire of William Watkinson, Sqvir. Ye 2d, ye Lady Aston, Relict of Sir Thomas Aston, of Aston, Cheshire, Kt. By his first wife he had issve 2 sons and one davghter, and by his 2d wife he had issve 2 davghters. He departed this life AO. Ætatis LXV., AO. DOM. MDCXLVII." On the opposite wall of the chancel is a monumental brass to the memory of William Watkinson, whose figure, kneeling at a Prie Dieu, is engraved thereon, with those of his two wives and daughter in like attitude behind him. Beneath is inscribed "Here lyeth the body of Williä Watkinson, Esqr., late Clerk of Assizes, and Jvstice of Oyer and Determyner, within the Northern Circuit, who dyed the xiith day of Avgust, in the yeare of ovr Lord God 1614. He maryed two wives, the first was Mary Pvlleyne, of ye Citty of Yorke; the second, Jane Payler, davghter of Williä Payler, Esq., Queene Elizabeth's Attorney in ye North. By his first wife he had yssue only Anne Watkinson, and by his second wife he had no yssue at all. Afterwards ye sayd Anne Watkiuson, beinge sole davghter and heire of ye said Williä Watkinson, was maryed to Edward Payler, second son of ye sayd Williä Payler, who (together with ye sayd Edward Payler),in token of ther trve and faythfvll love, and in memory of hir late hvsband, cavsed this inscription. Anno Ætatis svoe." The registers date from the year 1661. The living is a discharged vicarage, gross yearly value £210, including 77 acres of glebe, in the gift of the Archbishop of York, and held by the Rev. John William Appleford, of Downing College, Cambridge. Previous to 1272, the living was rectorial, but about that year a vicarage was ordained; and it was probably about this time that the rectors became prebendaries of York Cathedral. The list of vicars is complete from 1349, and of prebendaries and rectors from 1279. Among the latter was Thomas Wolsey, afterwards Archbishop of York and a cardinal. Since 1846, the occupants of the prebendal stall have not been rectors. The

Vicarage House is a handsome buildng of white brick, relieved by bands of red, standing in its own grounds near the church. It was erected in 1865, at a cost of £1,600, given by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners.

There are chapels in the village for the Wesleyans and Primitive Methodists. The Parochial School (mixed), with master's residence attached, is a large brick building, erected in 1872, by Viscount Halifax. It will accommodate 63 scholars, and is attended by about 50. The two schools (boys' and girls'), which the present one superseded, have been converted into the dissenting chapels above mentioned. The earliest record of a schoolmaster here occurs in the register of baptisms for 1752, when John, the son of Richard Chapman, schoolmaster, was baptised; and from Baines' Directory for 1823 we learn that William Banks was then schoolmaster and victualler.

About a quarter of a mile north of the village once stood Thorolby Hall, long in the occupation of the Payler family, as tenants-in-chief of the rectors of Bugthorpe. Sir Edward Payler was created a baronet in 1641, but the family became extinct on the death of Mary Payler, grand-daughter and heiress of Sir Watkinson Payler, in 1756. A farmhouse now occupies the site. It is said that a subterranean passage led from the hall to the church, but this is probably a fiction like the similar ones attaching to all the ruined abbeys and castles in the country. The Manor House, now in the occupation of Mr. S. Flint, farmer, was formerly surrounded by a moat.

[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.


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