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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. FAR00001
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“A land fit only for wild beasts, and men who live like wild beasts.” |
Dates
are in red.
Hyperlinks
to other pages are in dark
blue.
Headlines
are in brown.
References
and citations are in turquoise.
Context
and local history are in purple.
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 Gamallson 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
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 Gamallson 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; 0 after the Conquest.
Kirkby Moorside
was transferred to Hugh son of Baldric. It contained Households: 10 villagers. 1 priest. Land and resources Ploughland: 2
ploughlands. 2 lord's plough teams. 3 men's plough teams. Other resources: 1
mill, value 4 shillings. 1 church. Tenant-in-chief in 1086: Hugh son of
Baldric. Lord in 1086: Hugh son of Baldric. Lord in 1066: Orm (son of Gamal).
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.