Online Encyclopedia

Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.

I178

Online Encyclopedia
Originally appearing in Volume V28, Page 936 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
» Make a correction to this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Spread the word: del.icio.us del.icio.us it!

I178 ecclesiastical parishes and districts wholly or in See also:

part. It is divided between the dioceses of See also:York, See also:Ripon and See also:Wakefield, with small parts in those of See also:Manchester, See also:Southwell, See also:Durham and See also:Lincoln. York is the seat of the See also:northern archdiocese. See also:History.—The See also:kingdom of See also:Deira (q.v.), which was afterwards to include the whole of the See also:modern See also:Yorkshire, is first known to us in the 6th See also:century, an Anglian tribe having seized the promontory at the mouth of the See also:Humber, named by the invaders Holderness, followed by the See also:gradual subjugation of the whole See also:district now known as the See also:East See also:Riding. The wolds between Weighton and Flamborough See also:Head were then See also:mere See also:sheep-walks, and the earliest settlements were chiefly confined to the See also:rich valley of the See also:lower See also:Derwent, but the district around Weighton became the Deiran sacred ground, and Goodmanham is said to See also:mark the site of a See also:temple. The See also:area computed in the modern See also:West Riding constituted the See also:British kingdom of Elmet, and at this date presented a desolate and unbroken See also:tract of See also:moor-See also:land in the N.; in the central parts about ;See also:Leeds stretched a See also:forest region where the last See also:wolf seen in Yorkshire is said to have been slain by See also:John of Gaunt; while in the S. the forest and fen of See also:Hatfield See also:Chase presented a barrier to invasion broken only by the See also:line of Watling See also:Street, which crossed the See also:Don at See also:Doncaster, the See also:Aire at See also:Castleford and the Wharfe at Tadcaster. The N. continuation of the road from York through Catterick to the See also:Tees opened the way to the fertile See also:plain in the See also:heart of the modern See also:North Riding, the S.E. of which offered an unbroken forest area, later known as the forest of Galtres, which in the See also:middle ages stretched from York N. to Easingwold and Craike and E. to See also:Castle See also:Howard, and as See also:late as the 16th century See also:lay a See also:waste and unfrequented region abounding only in See also:deer. See also:Ella, the first See also:king of Deira, extended his territory N. to the See also:Wear, and his son See also:Edwin completed the See also:conquest of the district which was to become Yorkshire by the subjugation of Elmet, prompted thereto by vengeance on its king, See also:Cerdic, for the See also:murder of his See also:uncle Hereric. Traces of the " burhs " by which Edwin secured his conquests are perhaps visible in the See also:group of earthworks at Barwick and on the site of Cambodunum, but the district See also:long remained scantily populated, and as late as the 17th century deer were said to be as plentiful in Hatfield Chase as " sheep upon a See also:hill," for See also:Prince See also:Henry in 1609 was asserted to have killed 500 in one See also:day's See also:hunting. The defeat of Edwin at Hatfield in 633 was followed by a See also:succession of struggles between See also:Mercia and See also:Northumbria for the supremacy over Deira, during which the boundaries underwent See also:constant changes. After the Danish conquest of Deira, See also:Guthrum in 875 portioned the district among his followers, under whose lordship the See also:English See also:population were for the most part allowed to retain their lands. See also:Cleveland came under Scandinavian See also:influence, and the See also:division into tithings probably originated about this date, the boundaries being arranged to meet at York, which, as the administrative and commercial centre of the district, rapidly increased in importance, and it has been estimated that in A.D.

1000 it had a population of over 30,000.. At the See also:

battle of See also:Stamford See also:Bridge in ro66 Harold Hardrada, who had seized York, and See also:Earl Tosti were both defeated and slain by Harold of See also:England. The merciless harrying with which the Conqueror punished resistance to his claims is proved by the reiterated entries of waste land in the Domesday Survey, and for many years all the towns between York and Durham lay uninhabited. In 1138 the forces of See also:David of See also:Scotland were defeated near See also:Northallerton in the Battle of the See also:Standard. In the barons' See also:wars of the reign of Henry II. See also:Thirsk and Malgeard Castles, which had been garrisoned against the king by See also:Roger de See also:Mowbray, were captured and demolished. In the harrying of the northern counties by the forces of See also:Robert See also:Bruce in 1318, Northallerton, See also:Boroughbridge, See also:Scarborough and See also:Skipton were reduced to ashes. In 1322, at the battle of Boroughbridge, the See also:rebel barons were defeated by the forces of See also:Edward II. In 1399 See also:Richard II. was murdered in See also:Pontefract Castle. In 1405 See also:Archbishop See also:Scrope and See also:Thomas Mowbray joined in the insurrection against Henry IV., and led the citizens of York to Skipton Moor, where, after a defeat by the earl of See also:Westmorland; the leaders were beheaded under the walls of York. In 1408 the rebel forces of the earl of See also:Northumberland were defeated by See also:Sir Thomas Rokesby, high See also:sheriff of Yorkshire, at Bramham Moor near Tadcaster. In 1453 a skirmish between the Percies and the Nevilles at Stamford Bridge was the opening event in the struggle between the houses of York and See also:Lancaster; in 1460 the See also:duke of York was defeated and slain at See also:Wake-See also:field; in 1461 the Lancastrians were defeated at See also:Towton.

The suppression of the monasteries roused deep resentment in Yorkshire, and the inhabitants flocked to join the See also:

Pilgrimage of See also:Grace, Skipton Castle being the only See also:place immediately N. of the Humber which remained loyal to the king. On the outbreak of the See also:Civil See also:War of the 17th century, See also:opinion was divided in York= See also:shire, the See also:chief See also:parliamentary families being the Fairfaxes and the Hothams, while the Puritan clothing-towns of the West Riding also sided with the See also:parliament. Sir See also:William See also:Savile captured Leeds and Wakefield for the king in 1642, and in 1643 See also:Newcastle, having defeated the Fairfaxes at Adwalton Moor, held all Yorkshire except See also:Hull, which the Hothams, moved by See also:jealousy of the Fairfaxes, had already designed to give up. In 1644, however, the Fairfaxes secured the East and West See also:Ridings, while See also:Cromwell's victory at See also:Marston Moor was followed by the See also:capture of York, and in the next See also:year of Pontefract and Scar-See also:borough. On the redistribution of estates after the See also:Norman Conquest, Alan of See also:Brittany, founder of See also:Richmond Castle, received a vast See also:fief which became the See also:honour of Richmond; Ilbert de Laci was rewarded with lands which afterwards constituted the honour of Pontefract. Earl Harold's See also:estate at Coningsburgh passed to William de See also:Warenne, earl of See also:Surrey, together with See also:Sandal Castle, which on the expiration of the Warenne line in the 14th century was bestowed on See also:Edmund See also:Langley, duke of York. Other See also:great Domesday landholders were William de See also:Percy, founder of the See also:abbey of See also:Whitby; Robert de Bruce, ancestor of the royal line of Scotland, the head of whose fief in Cleveland was transferred in the 12th century from See also:Danby Castle to See also:Skelton; Roger de Busli owned a large tract in S. Yorkshire, of which Tickhill was the head; the archbishop of York enjoyed the great lordship of Sherburn, and Howdenshire was a See also:liberty of the See also:bishop of Durham. Among the great lordships of the middle ages for which Yorkshire was distinguished were: Topcliffe, the honour of the Percies; Thirsk, of the Mowbrays; Tanfield, of the Marmions; Skipton, of the Cliffords; Middleham, of the Fitz-See also:Hughes and Nevilles; Helmsley, of the de Roos; See also:Masham and See also:Bolton, of the Scropes; See also:Sheffield, of the Furnivalls and Talbots; Wakefield, of the duke of York. The Fairfaxes were settled in Yorkshire in the 13th century, and in the 16th century See also:Denton became their chief seat. The shire See also:court for Yorkshire was held at York, but extensive privileges were enjoyed by the great landholders. In the 13th century Henry de See also:Lacy, earl of Lincoln, claimed to hold the sheriff's tourn at See also:Bradford and Leeds; his See also:bailiff administered the See also:wapentake of Stainclif in his court at Bacskalf and Slaidburn; and his steward judged cases of See also:felony in his court at See also:Almond-See also:bury.

The archbishop of York held the sheriff's tourn at See also:

Otley, and had his own coroners at York, Hull, See also:Beverley and Ripon. Endo la See also:Zouche held the sheriff's tourn at See also:Bingley, and Thomas de See also:Furnivall in Hallamshire. The bailiffs of Tickhill Castle also held tourns in place of the sheriff. The bishop of Durham had a court at Hoveden, and the king's bailiffs were excluded from executing their See also:office in his estates of Howdenshire and Allertonshire. The See also:abbot of St See also:Mary's York had his own coroners in the wapentake of Ryedale, and the abbot of Bella Landa in See also:Sutton. The See also:prior of Bradenstoke held a court in his See also:manor of See also:Wales. The archbishop of York, Robert de Pos., and the abbot of St Mary's York judged felonies at their courts in Iolderness. The liberty of Ripon (q.v.), See also:city of Ripon, still constitutes a See also:franchise of the archbishops of York. In the 13th century the See also:diocese of York included in this See also:county the archdeaconry of York, comprising the deaneries of York, Pontefract, Doncaster and See also:Craven; the archdeaconry of Cleveland, comprising the deaneries of Balmer, Cleveland and Ryedale; the archdeaconry of East Riding, comprising the deaneries of Harthill (Hull), Buckrose, Dickering and Holderness; and the archdeaconry of Richmond, comprising the deaneries of Richmond, Catterick, Boroughbridge and See also:Lonsdale. In 1541 the deaneries of Richmond were transferred to Henry VIIL's new diocese of See also:Chester. Ripon was created an episcopal see by See also:act of parliament in 1836, and the deaneries of Craven and Pontefract were formed into the archdeaconry of Craven within its See also:jurisdiction, together with the archdeaconry of Richmond. The archdeaconry of Sheffield was created in 1884 to include the deaneries of Sheffield, See also:Rotherham, See also:Ecclesfield and Wath.

In 1888 the area of the diocese of Ripon was reduced by the creation of the see of Wakefield, including the archdeaconry of See also:

Halifax with the deaneries of Birstall, See also:Dewsbury, Halifax, Silkstone and Wakefield, and the archdeaconry and deanery of See also:Huddersfield. The diocese of Ripon now includes in this county the See also:arch-deaconries of Craven with three deaneries, Richmond with three deaneries and Ripon with seven deaneries. The diocese of York includes the archdeaconries of York with six deaneries, Sheffield with four deaneries, East Riding with thirteen deaneries and Cleveland with nine deaneries. The great woollen See also:industry of Yorkshire originated soon after the Conquest, and the further development of this and other characteristic See also:industries may be traced in the articles on the various See also:industrial centres. The See also:time of the 'See also:American War marked the gradual absorption by Yorkshire of the clothing See also:trade from the E. counties. See also:Coal appears to have been used in Yorkshire by the See also:Romans, and was dug at Leeds in the 13th century. The See also:early fame of Sheffield as the centre of the See also:cutlery and See also:iron trade is demonstrated by the line in See also:Chaucer, " a Sheffield whitel See also:bore he in his See also:hose." In the 13th century a forge is mentioned at Rosedale, and the canons of Gisburn had tour " fabricae " in blast in Glaisdale in Cleveland. In the 16th century See also:limestone was dug in many parts of Elmet, and Huddlestone, Hesselwood and Tad-caster had famous quarries; Pontefract was famous for its See also:liquorice, Aherford for its pins, Whitby for its See also:jet. See also:Alum was dug at See also:Guisborough, Sandsend, Dunsley and Whitby in the 17th century, and a See also:statute of 1659 forbade the importation of alum from abroad, in See also:order to encourage its cultivation in this See also:country. Bolton See also:market was an important distributive centre for See also:cotton materials in the 17th century, and in 1787 there were eleven cotton See also:mills in the county. Parliamentary See also:Representation.—The county of York was represented by two knights in the parliament of 1295, and the boroughs of Beverley, See also:Hedon, See also:Malton, See also:Pickering, Pontefract, Ripon, Scar-borough, Thirsk, Tickhill, Yarm and York each by two burgesses. Northallerton acquired representation in 1298, Boroughbridge in 1300, See also:Kingston-on-Hull and Ravensburgh in 1304.

In most of the boroughs the See also:

privilege of representation was allowed to See also:lapse, and from 1328 until 1547 cnly York, Scarborough and Kingston-on-Hull returned members. 1-Iedon, Thirsk, Ripon and Beverley regained the franchise in the 16th century, and Boroughbridge, See also:Knaresborough, See also:Aldborough and Richmond also returned members. Pontefract was represented in 1623, New Malton and Northallerton in 164o. In 1826 two additional knights were returned for the shire of York, and 14 boroughs were represented. Under the Reform Act of 1832 the county returned 6 members in 3 divisions -2 for each riding; Aldborough, Boroughbridge and Hedon were disfranchised; Northallerton and Thirsk lost 1 member each; Bradford, Halifax, Leeds and Sheffield acquired representation by 2 members each, and Wakefield and Whitby by 1 member each. Under the act of 1868 the representation of the West Riding division was increased to 6 members in 3 divisions; Dewsbury and See also:Middlesbrough were enfranchised, returning r member each; Leeds now returned 3 members; Knaresborough, Malton, Richmond and Ripon lost I member each. Beverley was disfranchised in 1870. (For arrangements under the act of 1885 see § See also:Administration.) Antiquities.—Of See also:ancient castles Yorkshire retains many interesting examples. The See also:fine ruins at Knaresborough, Pickering, Pontefract, Richmond, Scarborough and Skipton are described under their respective headings. Barden See also:Tower, picturesquely situated in upper Wharfedale, was built by Henry de See also:Clifford (d. 1523), called the " shepherd See also:lord " from the See also:story that he was brought up as a shepherd. He was a student of See also:astronomy and See also:astrology.

Bolton Castle, which rises majestically above See also:

Wensleydale, was pronounced by See also:Leland " the fairest in Richmondshire." It is a square See also:building with towers at the corners, erected in the reign of Richard II. by Richard Scrope, See also:chancellor of England. It was occupied by See also:Queen Mary while under the See also:charge of Lord Scrope, was besieged during the civil wars, and rendered untenable in 1647. Of Bowes Castle, in the North Riding near See also:Barnard Castle, there remains only the square keep, supposed to have been built by Alan See also:Niger, 1st earl of Richmond, in the 12th century, but the site was occupied by the Romans. Cawood Castle, on the See also:Ouse near See also:Selby, retains its See also:gate-way tower erected in the reign of Henry VI. The castle, said to have been founded by ./Ethelstan in 62o, was the See also:palace of the archbishops of York, and See also:Wolsey resided in it. Conisborough Castle stands by the Don between Rotherham and Doncaster. Its origin is uncertain, but See also:dates probably from Saxon times. The keep and portions of the walls remain; and the ruin possesses additional See also:interest from its treatment in See also:Scott's Ivanhoe. The ruins of Danis)! Castle, which is supposed to have been built shortly after the Conquest by Robert de Bruce or Brus, are of various dates. Harewood Castle in lower Wharfedale was founded soon after the Conquest, but contains no portions earlier than the reign of Edward III. The keep of Helmsley Castle was built late in the 12th century probably by Robert de See also:Ros, surnamed Fursan; the earthworks are apparently of much earlier date.

There are picturesque remains of the quadrangular fortress of Middleham in Wensleydale, built in the 12th century by Robert FitzRanulph, afterwards possessed by the Nevilles, and rendered untenable by order of parliament in 1647. See also:

Mulgrave Castle, near the modern See also:residence of the same name in the Whitby district, is said to have been founded two centuries before the Conquest by a Saxon See also:giant named See also:Wade or Wadda. Parts are clearly Norman, but some of the See also:masonry suggests an earlier date. The castle was dismantled after the civil wars. There are slight remain, of the 15th century, of Ravensworth Castle, near Richmond. This was probably an early See also:foundation of the See also:family of Fitz See also:Hugh. Sheriff See also:Hutton Castle, between York and Malton, was the foundation of See also:Bertram de Bulmer in the reign of See also:Stephen; the remains are of the early part of the 15th century, when the See also:property passed to the Nevilles. Spofforth Castle, near See also:Harrogate, was erected by Henry de Percy in 1309. Its ruins range from the See also:period of foundation to the 15th century. Of Tickhill Castle, near Doncaster, built or enlarged by Roger de Busli in the 11th century, there are See also:foundations of the keep and fragments of the walls. Of Whorlton Castle in, Cleveland, the Perpendicular See also:gatehouse is very fine. One See also:side remains of the great quadrangular fortress of Wressell, E. of Selby, built by Thomas Percy, earl of See also:Worcester, in the reign of Richard II.

Some of the mansions in the county incorporate remains of ancient strongholds, such as those at Gilling, under the Harnbleton Hills in the North Riding, See also:

Ripley near Harrogate, and Skelton in Cleveland. See also:Medieval mansions are numerous, a noteworthy example being the Elizabethan See also:hall of See also:Burton See also:Agnes, in the N. of Holderness. In ecclesiastical See also:architecture Yorkshire is extraordinarily rich. At the time of the See also:Dissolution there were 28 abbeys, 26 priories, 23 nunneries, 30 friaries, 13 cells, 4 commanderics of Knights Hospitallers and 4 preceptories of Knights See also:Templars. The See also:principal monastic ruins are described under See also:separate headings and else-where. These are Bolton Abbey (properly Priory), a foundation of Augustinian canons; Fountains Abbey, a Cistercian foundation, the finest and most See also:complete of the ruined abbeys in England; the Cistercian abbey of Kirkstall near Leeds (q.v.) ; the Cistercian abbey of See also:Rievaulx, and the See also:Benedictine abbey of St Mary, at York. For the plans and buildings of Fountains, Kirkstall and St Mary's, York, see ABBEY. Separate reference is also made to the ruins of Jervaulx (Cistercian) and Coverham (Premonstratensian) in Wensleydale, and to the remains at See also:Bridlington, Guisborough, Malton, Whitby, Easby near Richmond, Kirkham near Malton, See also:Monk Bretton near See also:Barnsley, and See also:Mount Grace near Northallerton. There are fine though scanty remains of Byland Abbey, of Early English date, between Thirsk and Malton; the abbey was founded for Cistercian monks in the 12th century, and was previously established at Old Byland near Rievaulx. There was a See also:house of See also:Premonstratensians at Egglestone above the Tees near Barnard Castle. Other ruins are the Cistercian foundations of the 12th century at See also:Meaux in Holderness, See also:Roche, E. of Rotherham, and Sawley in Ribblesdale; the Benedictine nunneries of Marrick in upper Swaledale, and Rosedale under the high See also:moors of the N.E.; and the Gilbertine house of Watton in Holderness, of the 12th century, converted into a dwelling. Descriptions are given in the articles on the respective cities and towns of the See also:cathedral or See also:minster at York, and of the numerous churches in that city; of the cathedral churches at Ripon and Wakefield; of the minster and the See also:church of St Mary 'at Beverley; and of the fine See also:parish churches at Bradford, Bridlington (the old priory church), Hedon, Hull, Rotherham, Selby.

(abbey church), Sheffield and Thirsk. In Holderness are the splendid churches of Howden and Patrington, both in the See also:

main Decorated; and the fine late Norman building at Kirkburn. A very perfect though small example of a Norman church is seen at Birkin on the Aire below Pontefract. At See also:Nun Monkton near York is a beautiful Early English church, formerly belonging to a Benedictine nunnery. Goodmanham in the S. Wolds is the See also:scene, in all See also:probability, of the See also:conversion by See also:Paulinus of Edwin of Northumbria in 625, who was afterwards baptized at York. At Kirkdale near See also:Kirkby Moorside in the N. Riding is a singular example of an inscribed sundial of pre-Conquest date. At Lastingham in the same district is a very fine and early Norman See also:crypt. See See also:Victoria County History, Yorkshire: T. See also:Allen, History of the County of Yvrk (3 vols., See also:London, 1828–31) ; T. See also:Baines, York-shire Past and See also:Present, including an See also:account of the woollen trade 936 of Yorkshire by E.

Baines (2 vols., London, 1871–77) ; John Burton, Monasticon Eboracense (London, 1758–59) ; W. See also:

Smith, Old Yorkshire (London, 1881) ; G. See also:Frank, Ryedale and North Yorkshire Antiquities (York, 1888) ; G. R. See also:Park, Parliamentary Representation of Yorkshire (Hull, 1886); A. D. H. Leadman, Proelia Eboracensia, Battles fought in Yorkshire (London, 1891); T. D. See also:Whitaker, History of Richmondshire (London, 1823), History of Craven (London, 1878), History of Leeds and Elmet (2 vols., Leeds, 1816); J. Wainwright, Yorkshire; Wapentake of See also:Strafford and Tickhill, vol. i. (Sheffield, 1826); W.

Grainge, Castles and Abbeys of Yorkshire (York, 1855) ; J. See also:

Hunter, See also:South Yorkshire (2 vols., London, 1828–31) ; J. J. Sheahan and T. Whellan, History of the City of York, the Ainsty Wapentake, and the East Riding of York-shire (3 vols., Beverley, 1855–57) ; T. Langdale, Topographical See also:Dictionary of Yorkshire (Northallerton, 1809); G. H. de S. N. See also:Plantagenet See also:Harrison, History of Yorkshire (London, 1879, &C.); see also publications of the Yorkshire Archaeological and Topographical Society.

End of Article: I178

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML.
Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide.
Do not copy, download, transfer, or otherwise replicate the site content in whole or in part.

Links to articles and home page are always encouraged.

[back]
I14 		[next]
I212

Site © 2006 - Net Industries