Chapter IV: Part 4

The first record of Gaythorn Hall is that the whole, or part of it, belonged to the Hospital of St. Leonard at York. In 1281 they had a grant of free warren in Docker and Gaythorn. According to Burn it was next in possession of the Pickerings, and sold by Sir Christopher Pickering of Ormshead in the reign of James I. to Sir James Bellingham of Over Levens. This cannot have been the case, for in the reign of Henry VII., this manor, Levens, Helsington and Fawcett Forest were bought by Alan Bellingham, 8th son of Sir Robert Bellingham, Knight, of Burnshead. Alan was treasurer of Berwick, and deputy warden of the marches. He was succeeded by his son Thomas, who died previous to 1550. Thomas left two sons, Alan the elder, and Thomas, who married a daughter of Thomas Blenkinsop of Helbeck, Esq., and sister of the wife of Lancelot Pickering, Esq., of Crosby Hall. He resided at Gaythorn Hall.

After the Dissolution, the Bellinghams became possessed of the advowson of Crosby Church, and in 1597, Thomas Bellingham made a presentation of the living to William Willan. Gaythorn then passed to James Bellingham, Esq., of Helsington, eldest son of Thomas' elder brother Alan. James lived at Gaythorn as early as 1604, and it is believed he was the builder of the present Hall. He was knighted by King James I. at Durham on his first coming into England in 1603. He died in 1641. The property descended to his eldest son, Sir Henry Bellingham, baronet; he was knight of the shire in Charles I.'s reign. He was succeeded by his brother Alan, who represented the county in 1661 and died in 1672. Then followed James of Levens, his son, who died in 1680, and succeeded by his son Alan. He was knight of the shire in 1681 and 1685. Being a wild and gay young man, he consumed a vast estate, and sold Levens, Gaythorn, etc., to Col. James Graham, privy purse to James II.; who represented the county for many years, and left an only daughter, Katherine. She married Henry Bowes Howard, Earl of Berkshire. They had issue William, Viscount Andover; he died in the lifetime of his father, but left issue Henry Howard, Earl of Suffolk and Berkshire, in the descendants of whose family it still remains.

Gaythorn Hall is situated in a wild and dreary district, far away from any other habitation, and it is rather surprising to find so stylish a building in such an isolated situation. It is a large building, in the Elizabethan style, with large mullioned windows of six and eight lights each. There is a projection on the front side, supported by an arched doorway with three large mullioned windows in the upper story, and above the arch are the Bellingham arms. Within this is the door, above which is a rudely carved figure of a mermaid, and the footstones are curious grotesque heads. The lower rooms are large and spacious; the ceiling of one is beautifully ornamented with vine leaf and branch work, with the family arms in the centre. The upper rooms are also very spacious; in these are one or two very handsome stone chimneypieces. Behind the Hall was, at one time, the remains of a private chapel, but it is now all gone, and no record of it is left, excepting the upper part of a mullioned window, more ancient in style than the present Hall, which no doubt occupies the site of a previous building.

There is a curious legend connected with Gaythorn Hall, respecting a family who lived there. The husband was a Protestant, the wife a Roman Catholic. Their first born son the mother insisted should be reared according to her faith; the father objected, and wished him to be a Protestant. The mother, being a determined woman, insisted that if it might not be as she wished, the child should not be brought up to any religion. The consequence was, the heartless mother had the child put down into a cellar below the house, without any clothing. Into this place she threw it some straw and old rags to lie upon, and for its food, potato peelings, paste and dirty washings. These she threw in at a hole without even herself entering the place. Here the child remained unknown to any but themselves till it was six years old, when by accident a man about the building heard a peculiar cry. There being always curious suspicions respecting this child, he was induced to compel its mother to disclose its hiding-place, and it was brought forth, a hideous looking monster, unable to walk. The nails of its hands and feet were grown like eagles' claws, and its body was almost covered with hair, which was matted with dirt and filth. The child was then cleaned, clothed and properly fed, sent to school, and eventually, though enduring such hard treatment in infancy, grew up to manhood, occupied a respectable position in society, and lived to a good old age.

MANOR OF REAGILL.

The first notice recorded of Reagill is that Maude, the sister of Hugh de Morville and wife of William de Veteripont, gave a ploughland of her demesne of Renegill in frank marriage with her daughter Christian to Robert son of Derman; which land was called Hynthornham. There is no land at the present day bearing such a name; but it may have been the lands now known as Thornbank, a number of fields lying near Hard Bank. She afterwards gave the whole vill of Renegill to her son Robert, he rendering to her for all service one hawk; which he was to hold of Ivo his brother. Ivo confirmed the same to Robert and his heirs in 1208. This Robert, in 1212, granted it with the appurtenances to the Abbey of Shap.

The next account met with is concerning the chapel of Reagill. The Abbot and convent of Whitby despatched a messenger to Rome to complain to the Pope that the Abbot and Convent of Heppe over-exacted their tithes of Renegill Chapel in the parish of Crosby Ravensworth. His Holiness appointed certain persons to examine into these grievances, and wrote in 1224 settling the matter thus: that the Abbot and Convent of Heppe were to pay to the Church at Crosseby in the name of tithes 6 skepfuls (_skeppas_) of merchantable oatmeal for the tithes of their land at Renegill (a skepful is a quarter), from land which is cultivated at their own expense, and by their own hands, at that time; but new land hence broken up, by whomsoever, not to pay. It was to be paid, 3 skepfuls at Martinmas and 3 at Easter; but if they let these lands out after improving, they had to pay to the full. Also it is lawful for the Convent of Heppe to celebrate divine service in the Chapel of Renegill, saving harmless the mother church of Crosseby Ravensworth, with regard to oblations, obventions, confessions, communions and burials. This is drawn up and settled at Gisburn on the 20th Kalends of May, in the year of Incarnation 1225.

There is nothing more respecting Reagill until after the dissolution of the monasteries, when the revenues of the Abbey of Shap were granted in 1545 to Thomas, Lord Wharton, who had been advanced to the dignity of Baron by Henry VIII., for the signal defeat which he gave the Scots at Sollom Moss in 1542. To him was granted the monasteries of Shap, Gisburn and Rival (Rievaulx) in Yorkshire, to hold of the King by the service of one 20th part of one knight's fee, and paying for the whole £41 11s. yearly, with the reversion and remainder thereof in the Crown. In 1612, King James, for the faithful services of Sir George Wharton and other considerations, granted also the remainder and reversion to Philip, Lord Wharton. The particulars of the former grant of Renegill were divers rents and services issuing out of divers lands and tenements, and all messuages, mills, tofts, cottages, lands, tenements, meadows, pastures and other hereditaments in the tenure and occupation of the tenants, amongst whose names are Winter, Blamire, Furness, Hugil, Addison, etc., to the number of 22. The descendants of some of these have lived in Reagill for several generations afterwards. The Abbey, after the Dissolution, was valued at £154 7s. 7-1/2d. a year; and in the computation made by Henry VIII. is the following return of property in Reagill:--

Shappe nuper Monasteriu Com' Westm'

£ s. d.
Ranegill reddit' grang' 8 0 0
Ranegill firma vocat' Threplands 2 0 0
Ranegill liber' firm' 3 0
Ranegill lib' reddit' iij quart' lib' piperis
Ranegill lib' redd' terr' etc. 13 6
Ranegill reddit' divers' bovat' terr' etc. 9 5 0
Barnskew redd' mol' aquat' blad' 13 0

REAGILL GRANGE.

The ancient manor house of Reagill, or more properly the Grange, occupied nearly the same site as the present house, except that it has been a little more to the north, where, on excavating for the foundation of some outbuildings, were found various remains of groundworks and old floors. This position is immediately on the edge of a deep and rocky ravine, down which runs a stream.

On the opposite or north side of this stood the chapel, in a small field called Chapel Garth. Other fields near are still called Chapel Lands. Its site may still be seen as an irregular rectangle of about 22 yards by 6 or 8, formed by banks of earth, etc., on which are a number of large boulders; but it is nearly all covered with brushwood. This, after the Dissolution, would be pulled down, and the material used for building the present Grange. This manor being solely in the hands of the monastery of Shap, a lay brother would be located here as bailiff, (the lands above Grange are still known as the Bailiff lands), to collect and transfer in kind the different products of the manor to the Abbey. There are also traces of other branches of work having been carried on, for at the bottom of the field, in front of the Grange, were remains of tanpits, and some of the refuse. Other remains are also to be seen, to which we cannot now attribute any use, but it evidently seems to have been a place of active industry.

The manor house was at Barnskew, and what is called the Mill Road is still traceable from Grange past the Chapel through Byesteads and away by Hardbank to Barnskew. The mill is now quite gone, though the race is yet traceable, having fallen into disuse about 60 or 70 years ago. The present house bears the date 1676, being then in the possession of a family of the name of Holmes, whose descendants still reside there, but now as tenants of the Earl of Lonsdale.

Reagill Grange, after the Dissolution, became the property of the Whartons, and a branch of the family resided at it. According to the Register at Crosby, Anthony Wharton of Reagill Grange died in 1590; he was previously in the occupation of Meaburn Mill. In 1630 is another entry of the death of Mr. Thomas Wharton, an ancient gentleman. The next date we find connected with Reagill Grange is 1652; it is cut above a fireplace in an upstairs room, but whether it records the erection of the present building, its position renders somewhat doubtful.

The present Grange is one of those antique cross houses of Elizabethan style, massively built, with small, single mullioned windows, having dripstones above. Another feature peculiar to such houses is the stacks of tall, circular chimneys. On the north side is a small addition, up which winds the staircase; and on the south side is a picturesque porch, overshadowed by a gigantic sycamore, which might be almost coeval with the house itself.

According to tradition, the house when built was left unfinished, there being merely the shell without ceilings, and having unplastered walls, in which state some of the upper rooms remained till about 50 years ago. This was undoubtedly erected by the Wharton family. The Whartons (in what year there is no record), sold Reagill Grange and half the demesne to Dr. Lancelot Daws of Barton Kirk, and the other half to Sir John Lowther. Dr. L. Daws was educated at Queen's College, Oxford, and afterwards took the degree of Doctor of Divinity at one of the Scotch Universities. He was instituted vicar of Barton in 1608. He was also rector of Asby, instituted in 1618. He was likewise prebendary of Carlisle, and, according to Dr. Burn, died in 1653; so that the date, 1652, for the erection of the Grange, is somewhat questionable, if built by the Whartons.

LAID OUT BY THOMAS BLAND.]

But the vicissitudes of life and fortune are sometimes curious. It is well known that the Wharton property "never did any luck," and it is quite possible Reagill Grange had to be sold under some strain as soon as built, and it might be purchased by Dr. Daws just before he died. It remained in the possession of this family up to 1700, at which time an addition has been made to the north side, where there is a lintel of a doorway bearing that date, with the initials T & E D., with a bird, partly intended as heraldic. This must have therefore been done by Thomas Daws, nephew of Lancelot. Soon after this, the Grange, with the remaining half of the demesne, was sold to Sir John Lowther, to whose descendants it now belongs, and has ever since been in the occupation of the Thwaytes family as tenants.

(HERE THE TEXT ENDS).

[The view of the pleasure ground, no description of which was written, is taken about half way from the entrance. The recumbent figure on the right is Venus, which, with the lion, is now almost hidden by bushes. Beyond was the "Shakespeare corner," with scenes from his plays; facing the reader stands Sir Walter Scott, and below him three bas-reliefs illustrating his characters. The paintings are gone, and the arch is covered with a mass of ivy; it will be seen that one was mounted even in the wall of the farm house.

To the left is a corner of the terrace, beyond which the lower lawn continues between the two great vases. The panel below and to the left of the further vase represents Science trimming the lamp of Life.

The grounds fall far short of their former glory: only an artist could have kept them what they were; but though it misses "the touch of a vanished hand," the quiet garden is still a place of great interest and beauty.]

TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE:

Obvious printer errors have been corrected. Otherwise, the author's original spelling, punctuation and hyphenation have been left intact.

End of Project Gutenberg's The Vale of Lyvennet, by John Salkeld Bland