North Ferriby Parish information from Bulmers' 1892.

NORTH FERRIBY:
Geographical and Historical information from the year 1892.

Wapentake of Harthill (South Hunsley Beacon Division) - County Council Electoral Division of Welton - Petty Sessional Division of South Hunsley Beacon - Poor Law Union of Sculcoates - County Court District of Hull - Rural Deanery of Howden - Archdeaconry of the East Riding - Diocese of York.

North Ferriby is situated on the north bank of the river Humber, and is one of the three parishes which formerly constituted Hullshire. It comprises the township of North Ferriby and the greater part of that of Swanland. The Wolds extend into the parish, where the great chalk bed dips and passes under the river. The soil and subsoil are, consequently, of a chalky nature. The chief crops are wheat, barley, and oats. In the township of North Ferriby there are 1,974 acres, inclusive of water and foreshore; the rateable value is £4,776, and the population 446. Mrs. Turner is lady of the manor and principal landowner.

At the time of the Domesday Survey, the manor was held by Ralph de Mortimer. It subsequently passed to the De la Poles, one of whom was created Earl of Suffolk. In the reign of Charles I., the lordship belonged to Robert Bacon, who resided on his estate here, and had lands in Hessle and Swanland. This gentleman was a zealous catholic and a devoted royalist, and, in consequence, all his estates were confiscated during the Cromwellian regime. The manor subsequently passed through several hands to the Turners, with whom it still remains.

Baron Eustace de Vesci, of Bromflete, about the year 1200, founded a priory here for the knights of St. John of Jerusalem, or as they were more familiarly known, Knights Templars. After the suppression of that order of military monks in the early part of the 14th century, this priory was transferred to the Augustinian canons who flourished here till the Reformation. The last prior was John Bawdewyne, who surrendered the priory to the Commissioners of Henry VIII., in 1636. The gross yearly income at that time was £95 11s. 7½d., or £60 is. 2d. net. The site was granted the following year to Thomas Culpepper. Not a vestige of the buildings remains to mark the place where the priory stood.

The village of Ferriby is pleasantly situated on the bank of the Humber, seven miles west from Hull, with a station on the Hull and Selby branch of the North-Eastern railway. It contains some very fine residences. Aston Hall is the seat of Sir Frederick A. Talbot Clifford Constable, Bart.; Ferriby House is the property and residence of Mrs. Turner, and Nelholme is occupied by W. R. King, Esq., J.P.

The church of All Saints was rebuilt on the site of an ancient edifice, in 1848, by subscription. The Incorporated Society for promoting the enlargement, building, and repairing of churches, contributed £400 on condition that 194 seats be free for ever. It is a handsome structure of stone in the Early Decorated Gothic style, consisting of chancel, nave, aisles, north and south porches, and a western tower surmounted by a graceful octagonal spire, containing five bells. The east window consisting of five lights, is a memorial of the late Ralph Turner, Esq., who died in 1823, aged 70. There are six other windows filled with stained glass, and the remainder have coloured glass borders. In the chancel are two life-sized figures in marble, representing a soldier and his wife, both kneeling. On the monument is inscribed "Here lye the Bodyes of Brigadier Luke Lillingston, son of Colonel Henry Lillingston, late of Bottisford, in the County of Lincoln, who departed this life April 6th, 1713, in the 60th year of his age. And of Elizabeth, his wife, daughter of Robert Saunderson, late of Brommel, in the Province of Guelderland, who dyed October 18th, 1699, aged 58." On the wall of the north aisle is a monument to the memory of the Etherington family, who were resident in the parish for several generations. Henry Etherington, merchant, was twice mayor of Kingston-upon-Hull, and died in 1760. Another of the family also named Henry, was created a baronet in 1773, and died without issue, in 1819, at the age of 88. The pulpit and internal fittings are all of oak. The font is a beautiful piece of work, octagonal in shape, with a massive central shaft surrounded by eight granite columns. Around it is inscribed "Go ye and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Ghost." The register dates from the year 1658. The living was anciently a rectory belonging to the Lords Vesci, who save it to the preceptory of Knights Templars, which they had founded here, and in 1332, a perpetual vicarage was ordained. At the dissolution of religious houses, the patronage reverted to the Crown, and was granted to the Haldenbys, of Swanland, by James I. It subsequently passed through various hands and is now vested in the lady of the manor. The living is worth £250 per annum, net, including 87 acres of glebe, and has been held since 1880 by the Rev. Thomas Maylin Theed, LL.B., of St. John's College, Cambridge.

The Primitive Methodist chapel is a building of white and red brick, erected in 1877, to supersede one built in 1828. The National school was founded in 1713, by Luke Lillington, Esq., who endowed it with £10 a year; and an annuity of the same amount was left by Sir Henry Etherington. The present school premises were built in 1878, by Mrs. Turner, in memory of her husband, the late Charles Turner, Esq., and she increased the endowment to £28 per annum.

SWANLAND township is partly in this parish and partly in that of Kirk Ella. Its total area, exclusive of foreshore, is 2,871 acres, rateable value, £6,128, and population 453. The principal landowners are John Todd, Esq., Swanland Hall; James Reckitt, Esq., J.P., Swanland Manor; Colonel HarrisonBroadley, Welton Hall; H. J. R. Pease, Esq., J.P., Beverley; and Robert Ringrose, Esq., London.

The village is situated on the east side of the Wolds, in the midst of some beautiful scenery. It stands on an acclivity, one mile north from Ferriby, and seven miles west from Hull. The Haldenbys were resident here as early as the 15th century. Their mansion occupied the site of the present Swanland Hall. Swanland Manor is a modern building surrounded by picturesque grounds.

The Congregational chapel was erected in 1803, on the site of an earlier one, built in 1693. Little is known of the origin of the congregation. Tradition has it, that for many years antecedent to the erection of a chapel, the worshippers had met in a ruined chantry or other monastic building, all trace of which is now lost, except a small mound covering part of the foundations in a paddock at the west end of the village. The chapel built for their accomodation appears to have been larger than the present one, for in a record, dated 1715, the congregation is entered as "consisting of 450, of whom 20 have votes for the county." At that period, the worshippers gathered from very distant places. The present chapel, altered and renovated in 1881, will accommodate 250. The solid silver cups used in the communion services form interesting historic links with the past. One of them is inscribed, "The gift of Thomas Watson, of ye Dissenting chapel in Swanland, 1723," and the other "The bequest of Jeremiah Turner, 1789." During the entire history of the chapel, its pastor has been the sole minister resident in the village. The present occupant of the parsonage is the Rev. John Edward Whitehead, who undertook the pastorate in 1872.

For a long period of years, the schoolroom attached to the chapel, was used for day and Sunday school purposes, and it is worthy of note, that, as a Sunday school, it is the oldest in the East Riding. It was established in 1798 (only nine years after Robert Raikes founded the first Sunday school in Gloucester) and was followed the same year by one at Beverley. As a day school it dates from the close of the 17th century.

The present handsome school was erected in 1876, at the sole cost of John Todd, Esq., J .P., of Swanland Hall, who conveyed the building to trustees. There is accommodation for 120 children, and an average attendance of 80.

The Primitive Methodists have a small chapel in the village, built in 1828, on ground given by H. Sykes, Esq. It is served by circuit ministers from Hull.

BRAFFORDS, is a hamlet in this township, belonging chiefly to Col. Harrison-Broadley.

[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.