The History of the land that would
become known as Farndale
731
CE to 1154
This
page explores the earliest history of the land that would become Farndale before
1154, when the name first appeared in historical records.
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About 731
Bede described the area where Farndale lay as vel bestiae commorari vel hommines
bestialiter vivere conserverant,
a land fit only for wild beasts, and men who live like wild beasts.
1035
Orm
Gamalson of Kirkdale
was the Lord of Chirchebi, later Kirkbymoorside, which included the
lands which would one day be called Farndale.
Both Orm and Gamel are Scandinavian names, so Orm is likely to be
descended from the Scandinavian settlers of North Yorkshire. It is possible
that he benefited from the handing out of English Estates by King Canute
(1016-1035).
The territory of King Cnut
On November 24, 1034, Malcolm II died of natural causes.
One month later, his son, Duncan MacCrinan, was elected king. For six uneasy
years, Duncan ruled Scotland with a thirst for power countermanded by his
incompetence on the battlefield. In 1038, Ealdred, earl of Northumbria,
attacked southern Scotland, but the effort was repelled and Duncan's chiefs
encouraged him to lead a counterattack. Duncan also wanted to invade the
Orkneys Islands to the north. Over the objections of all of his advisers, he chose
to do both. In 1040, Duncan opened up two fronts. The attack on the Orkneys was
led by his nephew, Moddan, and Duncan led a force toward Northumbria. Both
armies were soon routed and reformed only to be pursued by Thorfinn, mormaer of
Orkney. Macbeth joined Thorfinn and, together, they were victorious, killing
Moddan. On August 14, 1040, Macbeth defeated Duncan's army, killing him in the
process. Later that month, Macbeth led his forces to Scone, the Scottish
capital, and, at age 35, he was crowned king of Scotland.
Siward, Orm’s brother in law, is perhaps most famous for
his expedition in 1054 against Macbeth, King of Scotland, an expedition that
cost Siward his eldest son, Osbjorn. The origin of Siward's conflict with the
Scots is unclear. According to the Libellus de Exordio, in 1039 or 1040, the
Scottish king Donnchad mac Crínáin had attacked northern Northumbria and
besieged Durham. Within a year, Macbeth had deposed and killed Donnchad. The
failed siege occurred a year before Siward attacked and killed Earl Eadwulf of
Bamburgh, and though no connection between the two events is clear it is likely
that they were linked.
The Annals of Lindisfarne and Durham, written in the
early 12th century, related under the year 1046 that "Earl Siward with
a great army came to Scotland, and expelled king Macbeth, and appointed
another; but after his departure Mac Bethad recovered his kingdom".
Historian William Kapelle thought that this was a genuine event of the 1040s,
related to the Annals of Tigernach entry for 1045 that reported a "battle
between the Scots" which led to the death of Crínán of Dunkeld,
Donnchad's father; Kapelle thought that Siward had tried to place Crínán's son
and Donnchad's brother Maldred on the Scottish throne. Another historian, Alex
Woolf, argued that the Annals of Lindisfarne and Durham entry was probably
referring to the invasion of Siward in 1054, but misplaced under 1046.
1055
Orm’s
sundial with the inscription, Orm the son of Gamel acquired St Gregory’s
Church when it was completely ruined and collapsed, and he had it built anew
from the ground to Christ and to St Gregory in the days of King Edward and in
the days of Earl Tostig (inscription on the
Sundial at the Saxon Church of St Gregory).
The inscription refers to
Edward the Confessor and to Tostig, the son of Earl Godwin of Wessex and
brother of Harold II, the last Anglo Saxon King of England. Tostig was the Earl
of Northumbria between 1055 and 1065. It was therefore during that last peaceful
decade, immediately before the Norman conquest, that Orm, son of Gamel rebuilt St
Gregory’s Church at Kirkdale.
Kirkdale Church
Photos of the Church and the sundial taken in 2021
The sundial at Kirkdale is
one of a number of late Anglo Saxon sundials in the area. The Kirkdale sundial
is particularly intricate in its design and he best preserved as it was coated
I plaster for many centuries prior to 1771 and was protected by the porch.
The central panel
contains the sundial and an Old English inscription above it which reads This
is the day’s sun-marker at every hour. The left panel reads Orm the son
of Gamel acquired St Gregory’s Church when it was completely ruined. The
right hand panel reads and collapsed, and he had it built anew from the
ground to Christ and to St Gregory in the days of King Edward and in the days
of Earl Tostig. At the foot of the panel, a further inscription reads Hawarth made me, and Brad the priest.
King Edward
referred to in the panel is King Edward the Confessor, 1042 to 1066, who
restored the Kingdom of Wessex to the English throne. He was a deeply pious and
religious man who presided over the rebuilding of Westminster Abbey. He left
much of the running of the country to Earl Godwin and his son Harold. Edward
died childless in 1066, 8 days after the completion of Westminster Abbey. There
was then a power struggle. Despite no bloodline, Harold Godwinson was elected
to be king by the witan (the high council of nobles and religious leaders).
William, Duke of Normandy claimed that Edward had promised the throne to him.
Harold defeated an invading Norwegian army at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in
Yorkshire, but then marched south to face William of Normandy in Sussex and was
killed at the Battle of Hastings. This was the end of the Anglo Saxon kings and
the beginning of the Norman dynasty.
Tostig, the
son of Earl Godwin of Wessex and brother of Harold II, the last Anglo Saxon
King of England was the Earl of Northumbria between 1055 and 1065. It was therefore in the course of that decade that Orm, son of
Gamel rebuilt St Gregory’s Church.
The surviving parts of
Orm’s church adopt a style reflective of the Romanesque architecture of the
eleventh century mainland Europe and it is possible that Orm may have travelled
to Rome when Tostig made a pilgrimage there in 1061.
Domesday Book recorded
that Chirchebi comprised five carucates of land. A carucate was a
medieval land unit based on the land which eight oxen could till in a year. So
presumably this area of land described the five carucates of cultivated land
around Kirkdale. Before the Conquest, civilised Chirchebi
was in the possession of Orm and it comprised ten villagers, one priest, two
ploughlands, two lord’s plough teams, three men’s plough teams, a mill and a
church.
A carucate
or carrucate (Latin, carrūcāta or carūcāta)
was a medieval unit of land area approximating the land a plough team of eight
oxen could till in a single annual season.
However this area of
civilisation was part of a much wider wild estate which Chirchebi formed,
which was said to be twelve leagues (about 42 miles) long by the time of the
Normans.
Earl Waltef
who had a manor and 5 carucates at Fadmoor which comprised three ploughlands.
1066
By 1086 the
ownership of Chirchebu had passed to Hugh, son of Baldric. The landholdings of Orm Gamalson of Kirkdale, were forfeited to Hugh
fitzBaldric after the conquest.
Hugh Fitz Baldric
Hugh fitzBaldric was a German archer in the service of
William the Conqueror and was made Sherrif of the County of York, replacing
William Malet after his capture in 1069.
Hugh FitzBaldric was born in about 1045 in Cottingham,
Yorkshire (now part of Hull). He married Emma de Lascelles in 1050. They had a
daughter Erneburga Fitz Baldric (1075-?).
Hugh FitzBaldric died in about 1086 in Cottingham,
Yorkshire, aged about 41 years old.
Hugh first appeared in the historical record around 1067
when he was the witness to a charter of Gerold de Roumara. Hugh held the office
of Sheriff of Yorkshire from 1069 to around 1080, succeeding William Malet in
that office.
When the land of the Saxon earls was confiscated after
the Norman Conquest, it would appear that Orm’s property was acquired by, or
granted to Ralph de Mortimer; and Barch’s by Hugh FitzBaldric.
Ralph de Mortimer was the only son of Roger, who derived
his surname from Mortemer en Lions in the Pays de Caux, between Neufchatel and
Aumale in France. Ralph de Mortimer died in his castle of St. Victor-en-Caux on
5 August 1100 (or 1104) and was buried in the Abbey church there. He left two
sons, Hugh and William; and a daughter, Hawise, who became the wife of Stephen,
Earl of Albemarle and Holderness. Hugh’s descendants became the Earls of March;
William died childless. The family seems to have no recorded connection with
Gilling, except for a later reference (in the 12th century) when
Peter de Ros, who was linked with the Mortimers by marriage, gave two carucates
of land to St. Mary’s Abbey, York. It is likely that this land so granted was
Orm’s, which had probably come into the Ros family by marriage. The Ros family
also had land of Ralph de Mortimer’s in Whenmore. In the 12th century the land
was in the possession of the Mowbrays and the Stutevilles.
Barch’s portion was granted to Hugh FitzBaldric (i.e.
Hugh the son of Baldric). It is not known which Norman family he came from, if
indeed he was Norman. It has been stated that he was a German archer in the
service of William the Conqueror. However, before 1067 he “witnessed a charter
of Gerald, granting the Nuns of St. Amand in Rouen the church of his fief of
Roumare”. Immediately after the capture of York by William in September 1069,
Hugh FitzBaldric appears to have been made Sheriff of the County of York by the
King. He fell into trouble by supporting Robert Duke of Normandy against
William and presumably lost his lands. However, nothing more is heard of him.'
John Marwood’s History of Gilling, Chapter 8: After the Saxons: The Ettons of
Gilling.
Hugh had lands in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, and was
listed in Domesday Book as a tenant-in-chief. Hugh's tenure of the estate at
Cottingham in Yorkshire is considered to mean that he was a feudal baron.
Katharine Keats-Rohan states that Hugh lost his lands after the conclusion of
Domesday Book in 1086, likely for supporting Robert Curthose as king against
William Rufus after the death of William the Conqueror. But I. J. Sanders
states that Hugh's lands were divided after his death and does not mention any
forfeiture of the lands.
One of Hugh's holdings included the village of Bossall
in the hundred of Bulford (now in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire). In
1086, there were 19 residents and a priest, as well as a church, in the small
community. This property produced an annual income of "3 pounds in 1086; 2
pounds 10 shillings in 1066".
It is possible that the Hugh fitz Baldric who witnessed
a charter of Robert Curthose's in 1089 is the same person as the former
sheriff.
Domesday Book records that Walter de Rivere and Guy of
Croan were son-in-laws of Hugh.
Hugh gave some of his English lands to Préaux Abbey in
Normandy and St Mary's Abbey in York.
Hugh was memorialized in the liber vitae of Thorney
Abbey.
When the land of the Saxon earls was confiscated by the
Normans after the Conquest it would appear that Orm’s property was acquired by,
or granted to, Ralph de Mortimer; and Barch’s by Hugh FitzBaldric.
... let us follow what is known about Barch’s
portion. As we have already seen, it was granted to Hugh FitzBaldric (i.e. Hugh
the son of Baldric). It is not known which Norman family he came from, if
indeed he was Norman. It has been stated that he was a German archer in the
service of William the Conqueror. However, before 1067 he “witnessed a charter
of Gerald, granting the Nuns of St. Amand in Rouen the church of his fief of
Roumare”. Immediately after the capture of York by William in September 1069,
Hugh FitzBaldric appears to have been made Sheriff of the County of York by the
King. He fell into trouble by supporting Robert Duke of Normandy against
William and presumably lost his lands. However, nothing more is heard of him.
Count Robert
of Mortain held Fadmoor and it was waste. Later it fell into the hands of Hugh
son of Baldric before passing first to Roger de
Mowbray and later to William and then Nicholas de
Stuteville in 1200.
1086
The
Kirkbymoorside estate passed to the Stuteville
family (Robert I de Stuteville) in 1086, when Hugh died.
There is more information about the Domesday
Book here.
Orm (son of Gamal) is associated with 61 places before the Conquest,
but none after the Conquest.
Kirkby Moorside was transferred to Hugh son of Baldric.
See also
the Feudal System.
From the Essay New
Settlements in the North Yorkshire Moors, 1086 to 1340 by Barry Harrison,
in Medieval Rural Settlement in North East England, Architectural and
Archaeological Society of Durham and Northumberland, Research Report No 2,
Edited by BE Vyner, 1990. The
North Yorks Moors was an appropriate area for the study of medieval
agriculture, since it appears to have been largely empty of settlements in
1086.The only developed manor in the moorlands proper was in the Esk Valley
where a 12 carucate holding was located at Danby, Crumbeclive (Crunkley Hill in
Glaisdale) and Lealholm. This was an extensive area, said to measure seven
leagues in length by three leagues in width, within which Danby (six carucates)
was the major focus of settlement. The long valleys on the south side of the
watershed appear to have functioned mainly as resources for woodland and
pastures for settlements in the Vale of Pickering and although some settlements
in the moors may have been subsumed into consolidated Domesday entries for
lowland manors, the descriptions of moorland tracts granted to the new
monasteries (Whitby, Guisborough, Rievaulx and Byland) in the early and mid
12th century contain very little evidence of functioning communities of any
kind.
So we start
with a clear palate, to understand how agriculture developed after the Norman
Conquest.
1106
The Stutevilles
were deprived of the Kirkbymoorside estate in 1106 when it was granted to Nigel d’Aubigny, one of Henry I’s ‘new men’.
Nigel
d’Aubigny was one of Henry I’s “new men”. Nigel d'Aubigny (Neel d'Aubigny
or Nigel de Albini, died 1129), was a Norman Lord and English baron who was the
son of Roger d'Aubigny and Amice or Avice de Mowbray. His paternal uncle
William was lord of Aubigny, while his father was an avid supporter of Henry I
of England. His brother William d'Aubigny Pincerna was the king's Butler and
father of the 1st Earl of Arundel. He was the founder of the noble House of
Mowbray. He is described as "one of the most favoured of Henry's 'new
men'". While he entered the king's service as a household knight and
brother of the king's butler, William d'Aubigny, in the years following the
Battle of Tinchebrai in 1106 Nigel was rewarded by Henry with marriage to an
heiress who brought him lordship in Normandy and with the lands of several men,
primarily that of Robert de Stuteville. The Mowbray honour became one of the
wealthiest estates in Norman England. From 1107 to about 1118, Nigel served as
a royal official in Yorkshire and Northumberland. In the last decade of his
life he was frequently traveling with Henry I, most likely as one of the king's
trusted military and administrative advisors. Nigel's first marriage, after
1107, was to Matilda de L'Aigle, whose prior marriage to the disgraced and
imprisoned Robert de Mowbray, Earl of Northumbria, had been annulled based on
consanguinity. She brought to the marriage with Nigel her ex-husband's lordship
of Montbray (Mowbray). Following a decade of childless marriage and the death
of her powerful brother, Nigel in turn repudiated Matilda based on his
consanguinity with her former husband, and in June 1118 Nigel married to
Gundred de Gournay (died 1155), daughter of Gerard de Gournay and his wife
Edith de Warenne, and hence granddaughter of William de Warenne, 1st Earl of
Surrey. Nigel and Gundred had son who would be known as Roger de Mowbray after
the former Mowbray lands he would inherit from his father, and he was
progenitor of the later noble Mowbray family. Nigel died in Normandy, possibly
at the abbey of Bec in 1129.
1129
On Nigel
d’Aubigny death in 1129 his widow Gundreda administered the estate on behalf of
her under age son, Roger de
Mowbray (1120 to 1188).
Nigel’s
widow Gundreda administered the estate on behalf of her under aged son Roger de
Mowbray.
It was she who granted the whole
of Welburn and Skiplam together with the western side of Bramsdale to Rievaulx
Abbey who developed the whole area as a series of granges and cotes, including
Colt House and Stirk House in Brandsale.
1133
Henry II became King.
1138
On reaching his majority
in 1138, Roger de Mowbray took title to the lands awarded to his father by
Henry I both in Normandy including Montbray, from which he would adopt his
surname, as well as the substantial holdings in Yorkshire and around Melton.
Sir Roger
de Mowbray (1120–1188) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman with substantial
English landholdings. A supporter of King Stephen, with whom he was captured at
Lincoln in 1141, he rebelled against Henry II. He made multiple religious
foundations in Yorkshire. He took part in the Second Crusade and later returned
to the Holy Land, where he was captured and died in 1187. Roger was the son of
Nigel d'Aubigny by his second wife, Gundreda de Gournay. On his father's death
in 1129 he became a ward of the crown. Based at Thirsk with his mother, on
reaching his majority in 1138, he took title to the lands awarded to his father
by Henry I both in Normandy including Montbray, from which he would adopt his
surname, as well as the substantial holdings in Yorkshire and around Melton.
King Stephen - Soon after, in 1138, he participated in the Battle of the
Standard against the Scots and, according to Aelred of Rievaulx, acquitted
himself honourably. Thereafter, Roger's military fortunes were mixed. Whilst
acknowledged as a competent and prodigious fighter, he generally found himself
on the losing side in his subsequent engagements. During the anarchic reign of
King Stephen he was captured with Stephen at the battle of Lincoln in 1141.
Soon after his release, Roger married Alice de Gant (d. c. 1181), widow
of Ilbert de Lacy and daughter of Walter de Gant. Roger and Alice had two sons,
Nigel and Robert. Roger also had at least one daughter, donating his lands at
Granville to the Abbaye aux Dames in Caen when she became a nun there. In 1147,
he was one of the few English nobles to join Louis VII of France on the Second
Crusade. He gained further acclaim, according to John of Hexham, defeating a
Muslim leader in single combat. King Henry II - Roger supported the Revolt of
1173–74 against Henry II and fought with his sons, Nigel and Robert, but they
were defeated at Kinardferry, Kirkby Malzeard and Thirsk. Roger left for the
Holy Land again in 1186, but encountered further misfortune being captured at
the Battle of Hattin in 1187. His ransom was met by the Templars, but he died
soon after and, according to some accounts, was buried at Tyre in Palestine.
There is, however, some controversy surrounding his death and burial and final
resting-place. Mowbray was a significant benefactor and supporter of several
religious institutions in Yorkshire including Fountains Abbey. With his mother
he sheltered the monks of Calder, fleeing before the Scots in 1138, and
supported their establishment at Byland Abbey in 1143. Later, in 1147, he
facilitated their relocation to Coxwold. Roger made a generous donation of two
carucates of land (c.240 acres), a house and two mills to the Order of Saint
Lazarus, headquartered at Burton St Lazarus Hospital in Leicestershire, after
his return from the crusades in 1150. His cousin William d'Aubigny, 1st Earl of
Arundel and his wife Adeliza, the widow of King Henry I, had been amongst the
earliest patrons of the order and, when combined with Roger's experiences in
the Holy Land, may have encouraged his charity. His family continued to support
the Order for many generations and the Mowbrays lion rampant coat of arms was
adopted by the Hospital of Burton St Lazars alongside their more usual green
cross. He also supported the Knights Templar and gave them land in Warwickshire
where they founded Temple Balsall. Roger is credited with assisting the
establishment of thirty-five churches. The House of Mowbray, the senior line of
which would become Barons Mowbray, descended from Roger's son Nigel, who died
on crusade at Acre in 1191.
1154
The first
references to Farndale
were in the Chartulary of Rievaulx
Abbey.
See FAR00002.