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Farndale, where Edmund the Hermit used to live
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The first historical reference to Farndale Rievaulx Chartulary 1154 Subsequent references to Farndale in the twelfth and thirteenth
century
FAR00002
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A gift to Rievaulx from Roger de Mowbray |
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.
This
page is divided into the following sections:
·
The
First Reference to Farndale in the Rievaulx Chartulary
·
Monastic
grants
·
Edmund
the Hermit
·
The
Fern
·
Subsequent
references to Farndale in the twelfth and thirteenth century
The First reference to Farndale in the Rievaulx Chartulary
Gundreda, on behalf of her guardian, Roger de
Mowbray, gave land to Rievaulx abbey land
which included a place called Midelhovet,
where Edmund the Hermit used to dwell, and another called Duvanesthuat,
together with the common pasture within the valley of Farndale.
The name Farndale, first occurs in
history in the Rievaulx Abbey Chartulary in a Charter
granted by Roger de Mowbray to the Abbot and the monks of Rievaulx Abbey in
1154. By it Roger bestowed upon the Monastery, ‘….Midelhovet, that clearing in Farndale
where the hermit Edmund used to dwell; and another clearing which is called ‘Duvanesthuat’ and common of pasture in the same valley of
Farndale….’
Rievaulx Abbey
Rievaulx and Farndale
Midelhovet is probably Middle Head at the head of
Farndale near the source of the river Dove, 3.5 miles NW of Farndale East.
‘Duvanesthuat’
could be Dowthwait in Farndale, but is more likely to
be Duffin Stone, grid 646987 on the west side of High Farndale.
Middle Head and Duffin Stone at the
northern end of Farndale
Middle Head in 2021
Gundreda, wife of Nigel de Albaneius,
greetings to all the sons of St. Ecclesiff. Know that
I have given and … confirmed, with the consent of my son, Eogeri
de Moubrai, God and St. Marise Eievallis
and the brothers there. . . for the soul of my husband Nigel de Albaneius, and for the safety of the soul of my son, Roger
de Molbrai, and of his wife, and of their children,
and for the soul of my father and mother, and of all my ancestors, whatever I
had in my possession of cultivated land in Skipenum,
and, where the cultivated land falls towards the north, whatever is in my fief
and that of my son, Roger de Moubrai, in the forest
and the plain, and the pastures and the wastins,
according to the divisions between Wellebruna and Wimbeltun, and as divided from Wellebruna
they tend to Thurkilesti, and so towards Cliveland, namely Locum and Locumeslehit,
and Wibbehahge and Langeran,
and Brannesdala, and Middelhoved,
as they are divided between Wellebruna and Faddemor, and so towards Cliveland.
Middlehoved is Middle Head at the north end of
Farndale. See above.
Roger of Molbrai,
to all the faithful, both his own and strangers. Let it be known that I have granted . . to the Rievallis
brothers, in perpetual alms, Midelhovet - scil. that meadow in Farnedale
where Edmund the Hermit dwelt, and another meadow called Duvanesthuat,
and the common pasture of the same valley - scil., Farnedale: and in the forest wood for material, and for the
own uses of those who remained there, save the salvage.
Witness Samson de Alb[aneia]; and Peter of Tresc; and Anschetillo Ostrario; and Walter Parar; and Eicardo de Sescal [or ? Desescal.]; and John
the Scribe; and Walter de la Eiviere; [and] Eiinaldo le Poer.
In the same town I gave them two oxen in
full land, with a stable, and other appurtenances and appurtenances, as I had
granted them in Mideltune, and they shall have for
the shepherds of their animals one lodge of length xv feet and of the same
width. And it must be known that this logia emanates
in the upper part from Eskletes, and that the
aforesaid brother, with two servants, will attend the aforesaid house of
horses, as prescribed, without a larger family and without occasion. But if, in
these pastures, the cattle have passed their set goals, without having been
guarded, my men will turn them away without trouble.
Monastic Grants
The Yorkshire
Archaeological Journal, Vol 40, Page 481. The Monastic Settlement of North East Yorkshire:
… After the foundation, sometimes a
very large grant as at Guisborough and Whitby, or a very niggardly ones as at
Rievaulx, the accumulation of lands and rights was rapid, alarmingly so.
At Rievaulx, for example, the greater parts of the lands were acquired and a very large number of granges established by
the end of the twelfth century. Even by 1170 the monks had required all Bilsdale, Pickering Marshes, parts of Farndale and
Bransdale, the Vills of Griff, Tileson, Stainton,
Welburn, Hoveton, and the lands of Hummanby, Crosby, Morton, Wedbury,
Allerston, Heslerton, Folkton, Willerby, Reighton...
Some donors had apparently not bargained for such a rapid increase in monastic
possessions. It came as a shock to find that the monks were not “all that was
simple and submissive; No greed, no self-interest …” The result was that men
like Roger de Mowbray, Robert de Stuteville, Everard de Ros and other great
Lords, formerly great donors and foundations, began
unsuccessfully, to evict the monks from certain lands, but monastic expansion
continued...
The Yorkshire
Archaeological Journal, Vol 40, Page 636:
… The monks had a larger area given to
them at Skiplam by Gundreda
de Mowbray (1138 to 1143). This allowed for expansion since the grant
included Farndale Head and Bransdale, about 18 square miles of dale pasture land.
It must not be imagined that the monks
were beginning colonisation in an area entirely unused. Although the extent of settlement
and cultivation was small it had existed. Griff and Stiltons,
for example, were vills before 1069 but in 1086 were
waste. Presumably the monks grant here was of land which had gone out of
cultivation. Their task would be one of reestablishment rather than
the colonisation of new land. It was a decided advantage to have such a
tried starting point. At Skiplam, too,
although the greater part of the area had never been settled for or tilled,
there is evidence to show that the monks began the efforts from land already
or recently cultivated. Gundreda’s
grant, for instance cover included “de culta
terra” (“of cultivated land”), as well as a grant “ubi culta
terra deficit versus aquilonem” (“where the
cultivated land declines towards the north”). Of course
the subsequent work of the monks in all these places did result in a very
great extension of the cultivated land. But it is worthwhile to point out
that the Cistercians, so-called solitaries, did in fact owe something to
previous lay efforts. In fact, it was largely the success or failure of lay
farmers in a particular area which helped the monks to see the potentialities
it offered them.
…. The granges had easy access to two
types of pasture - moorland and valeland. Skiplam, for instance, had extensive pasture in the
moorland dales, only a few miles north. There was the rough pasture (saltum) of
Farndale Head and common pasture in Farmdale and
Bransdale. It had, too, the meadow of the clayland at
its disposal. This was even nearer, being no more than three miles to the
south. The plough teams from Skiplam could easily
pasture at Welburn, where the monks had common pasture rights, or at Rook
Barugh, Muscoates, and several other places, just as
the animals from Griff went to Newton grange for pasture. The limestone hills
had then a great deal to recommend them for the observant eyes of the monks.
The Yorkshire
Archaeological Journal, Vol 40, Page 636:
Although arable granges would require
access to pasture land this would be more important to
pastoral granges in which movement of animals, sometimes over great distances,
was an economic necessity. Most grants of common pasture to the monasteries
were made early. Rievaulx had common in Welburn (1138 to 1143); Wombleton (1145 to 1152); Farndale (pre 1155), for
example, and sometimes the privilege was purchased, eg
Arden Hesketh (pre 1159) 1 ½
marks, Morton (1158 to 1160) 1 mark... Some specific grants of sheep
pasture were very large... and undoubtedly induced the monasteries to set up
their granges nearby.
The Yorkshire
Archaeological Journal, Vol 40, Page 636:
A closer inspection of the map suggests
that some vital changes had occurred by 1301. This comprised an extension of
the settled area. Those areas colonised since Domesday were mainly of two
kinds: in the marshy vale lands and in the moorland dales. In
the latter, Bilsdale, Farndale, Bransdale and Eskdale
were mainly concerned. In the former the Vale of Pickering especially in
its central part was affected, but settlement on the limestone dip slope to the
north had also increased, eg Skiplam,
Carlton.
One outstanding fact is evident, that the
monastic share in the expansion of settlement after 1086 was very great indeed.
In Bilsdale, for example, Byland and
Rievaulx between them had settled almost the whole of the valley by 1301 while
lay settlement was confined to a few vills in the
north of the valley, e.g. Raisdale, Broad Fields,
Bilsdale, and these were largely dominated by
Rievaulx. In Eskdale too, a whole series of new settlements had been
established by Guisborough Priory at Skelderskew, Wayworth, Dibble Bridge, Glaisdale... Rosedale was entirely
a monastic settlement although the ironstone in the dale was to attract lay
settlers there by the mid 14th century. Bransdale
and Farndale had apparently been colonised by laymen, although even here
Rievaulx had twelfth century pasture rights which presumably led to some form
of small settlement. At any rate, by 1282 lay settlement here was
considerable. There were for instance 90 natives in Farndale and 54 natives
and bondsman in Bransdale. Along the north east fringe
of the moors at Stanghow, Scaling, Sandsend ... and in certain spots deeper in
the moors, eg Hartoft, laymen had played a major part
in the expansion of settlement.
Significant as the monastic colonisation
of uninhabited areas was it must be remembered that their greatest
contribution was the development of the already settled areas. Their
granges were often inside vills or on the outskirts
of them. In the north east, the monastic contribution
to the revival of settlement after 1069 was great. The great extent of waste
presented them with an unsurpassed economic opportunity. If so
much waste had not existed it is quite possible that the donations to the
monasteries would have been less; that the chance to secure and enlarge a
foothold would have been decreased….
Edmund the Hermit
Edmund the hermit of Farndale was a legendary figure who lived in a
cave in the North York Moors in the Twelfth century. He was said to be a
holy man who performed miracles and healed the sick. He was also reputed
to be a descendant of King Alfred the Great and a cousin of King Stephen.
However, there is no historical
evidence to support his existence or his royal lineage. He may have been
a fictional character created by local monks to attract pilgrims and donations
to their monastery. Alternatively, he may have been based on a real
person who lived in the cave, but whose identity and story were embellished
over time. Some scholars have suggested that he may have been a Norman
knight who fled to the cave after the Battle of the Standard in 1138, or a
Saxon rebel who resisted the Norman conquest.
The cave where Edmund supposedly lived
is known as Hob Hole and is located near Westerdale in Farndale.
It is a natural limestone cave that has been enlarged by human activity. It has
two chambers, one of which may have served as a chapel. The cave is now a
scheduled monument and is protected by law. You can see some photos of the
cave.
In Christianity, the term Hermit
was originally applied to a Christian who lives the eremitic life out of a
religious conviction, namely the Desert Theology of the Old
Testament.
In the Christian tradition the
eremitic life is an early form of monastic living that preceded
the monastic life in the cenobium.
The Rule of St Benedict listed hermits among four kinds of monks.
In the canon law of the Episcopal Church they are
referred to as "solitaries" rather than "hermits
Often, both in religious and secular
literature, the term "hermit" is also used loosely for any Christian
living a secluded prayer-focused life, and sometimes interchangeably
with anchorite/anchoress, recluse and "solitary”
Religious hermits were the original
residents of many of Ryedale's most remote outposts. Edmund was first at
Farndale, Osmund at Goathland and the Saintly Godric in Eskdale.
The Fern
The name Farndale seems to come from the Celtic ‘farn, or fearn’
meaning ‘fern’ and the Norwegian ‘dalr’,
meaning ‘dale;’ and so was the ‘dale where the ferns grew.’
Of course whilst Farndale is today dominated by
moorland bracken and ferns, ferns are naturally a woodland plant, so it must
have been the ferns of the forested Farndale which gave rise to its name.
Perhaps it was Edmund who must have known the valley intricately, first chose
its name.
The ferns in Farndale, from which
Farndale gets its name