Dunnington Parish information from Bulmers' 1892.

DUNNINGTON:
Geographical and Historical information from the year 1892.

Wapentake and Petty Sessional Division of Ouse and Derwent - County Council Electoral Division of Heslington - Poor Law Union and County Court District of York - Rural Deanery of Bulmer - Archdeaconry of Cleveland - Diocese of York.

This parish, comprising the townships of Dunnington and Grimston, is situated on the south side of the York and Bridlington road, which here forms the line of division between the North and East Ridings, and on the other side it is bounded by the parishes of Catton, Kexby, Wheldrake, and Heslington. Its. total area, according to the Ordnance measurement, is 3,040 acres, and the population in 1881 was 799.

The township of Dunning contains 2,243 acres, the rateable value is £4,334, and the number of inhabitants 741. The common, about 1,000 acres in extent, was enclosed in 1770, and divided subject to certain fines, but made tithe-free by an allotment of 100 acres. The soil is various and the scenery pleasing. Wheat, oats, barley, turnips, and potatoes are the chief crops. Chicory was formerly very largely cultivated here, and a small quantity is still grown and roasted. Sir Charles Edward Smith Dodsworth, Bart., J.P., is lord of the manor. The land is mostly copyhold, and there is a large number of small holders. The largest owners are George Lloyd, Esq., Stockton Hall; the Earl of Londesborough; and Canon E. J. Randolph, in right of the glebe.

The village, which is of considerable extent, with a large green at the north-east corner, is pleasantly situated about a mile north of the York and Hull road, and three miles from Holtby station on the York and Market Weighton branch of the North-Eastern railway. Several of the houses are of a superior class, with gardens in front. At the foot of Church Street stands a stone cross, erected in 1840, on the site of an old plague cross, the stump of which was then removed to the rectory garden. The staple trade is the manufacture of agricultural implements and machines, for which Dunnington once had a widespread reputation.

The church (St. Nicholas) is a stone edifice, chiefly in the Norman style, and consists of chancel, nave with north and south aisles, north porch, and western tower with pinnacles, containing a clock and three bells. The nave and aisles were rebuilt and the chancel and tower repaired in 1840, at a cost of £1,200, of which sum Lady Bridgewater contributed £700. The church was again restored in 1877, when an aisle was added on the south side of the chaucel, containing an organ chamber and a vestry, the total cost being about £1,500. The nave and aisles are separated by arcades of semi-circular arches springing from cylindrical columns. The roof is of dark oak, and at the late restoration the ceiling of the chancel was boarded with the same material. In the south wall of the chancel are the remains of the two stone seats on which the priest and deacon sat during certain portions of the mass, and near it is the ancient piscina. The east window is of three lights, filled with stained glass, representing six scenes in the life of Christ, arranged in two tiers. In the centre of the upper tier is the Crucifixion, with the Resurrection and Ascension on the right and left respectively. In the lower tier the Last Supper fills the centre, with the Birth and Baptism of Our Lord on either side. This window is a memorial of the late rector, the Rev. Thomas Egerton, who died in 1847. The south aisle is lighted by six single light windows, and the north aisle by three single and two double light windows. In one of the latter Christ is depicted as the Good Shepherd, in one light, and as "Knocking at the door of the Heart" in the other. The font is modern and circular, and the pulpit is of oak, and dated 1717. The registers date from the latter part of the 16th century. The living is a rectory, in the patronage of Earl Brownlow, yearly value £350, derived partly from the glebe and partly from tithes, which are commuted for a rent-charge of £320. The Rev. Edward John Randolph, M.A., Christ Church, Oxford, Canon of York and Proctor in Convocation, has held the rectory since 1845. Dunnington was made prebendal at an early period. The present occupant of the stall is the Rev. Canon W. J. Whately, M.A., rector of Rise.

The Wesleyans and Primitive Methodists have also places of worship in the village. The former body built a new chapel in 1868; that belonging to the latter sect was erected in 1852. The National school (mixed) is situated in the centre of the village. It was enlarged a few years ago, and will now accommodate 140, and the average attendance is 120. A Temperance Hall was built in 1889. It is a commodious brick structure, capable of seating 300 persons. It is the property of Mr. George Pattison, and is used for meetings, concerts, &c.

Charities. - The Church Estate, for the repair of the fabric, yields an annual income of about £62. Timothy Overend, by will dated 1728, left to the poor of Dunnington the interest of £10, one-half, thereof, to be distributed in bread at Christmas, and the other on the 7th of March. James Twinam, of Holtby, in 1733, devised a copyhold close containing 4 acres, the rent, thereof, to be divided yearly, in equal moieties, between the poor of Dunnington and those of Holtby. Mrs. Dinah Richardson, of York, who died in 1788, by a codicil of her will, directed her executors and their successors, to give yearly, for ever, the sum of 50s., to be distributed in bread, in the church every Sunday, when there is a sermon amongst the poor attending the service. Thomas Wilson, Esq., her executor, subsequently augmented the charity to £3 15s. per annum, which sum is secured on £75 in the Navy five per cent. annuities.

GRIMSTON is a township in this parish, containing 797 acres, situated on the York and Hull Road, and three miles from the former place. The land is rather high, and of a gravelly nature. The rateable value is £1,196, and the number of inhabitants 58, who reside chiefly in scattered farmhouses. The exors. of the late Samuel Watkinson, Esq., are lords of the manor and principal landowners.* A Mission Chapel was erected here in 1866, at a cost of £72. Service is held in it on Sunday afternoons by the curate of Dunnington.

* Since the foregoing was written the Grimston estate, containing 706 acres, has been submitted to public auction by Messrs. Richardson and Trotter, in their Sale Rooms, Coney Street, York. The highest "bid," £31,150, was made by Mr. Wm. Hotham, of Fulford Park, who consequently became the purchaser.

[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.