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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The first historical reference to Farndale Rievaulx Chartulary 1154 Subsequent references to Farndale in the twelfth and thirteenth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
Subsequent references to Farndale in the twelfth and thirteenth
century
1166
By 1166, Roger de Mowbray having fallen
out of favour with Henry II, the lands of Kirkbymoorside had passed to the
House Stuteville. Robert III de Stuteville claimed the barony, which had been
forfeited by his grandfather, from Roger de Mowbray, who by way of compromise
gave him Kirby Moorside. Roger gave Robert Kirkby Moorside for 10 knights' fees
in satisfaction of his claim (Victoria County History – Yorkshire, A History of the
County of York North Riding: Volume 1 Parishes: Kirkby Moorside, 1914).
Rievaulx Abbey was unable to sustain its
claim to the Farndale property and a little before 1166, Robert de Stuteville
granted Keldholme Priory timber and wood in Farndale together with a vaccary,
pasture and cultivated land in East Bransdale
Rotuli Chartarum, 1199-1216, page 86: Confirmation of Keldeholm.
Know that we have granted and confirmed the present charter regarding Keldeholm, all the signatures that were given to them.
Grant of charters confirmed by the gift of Robert de Stuteville and the
grant of William de Stuteville to his son, that place of Keldholme, with the
whole
1209
In or about 1209 the Abbot
of St. Mary's obtained from King John rights in the forest of Farndale which
the King had recovered from Nicholas de Stutevill. Pipe R. 11 John, m. 11.
Robert de Stuteville had
given the nuns of Keldholme the right of getting wood for burning and building
in Farndale, (Cal.
Rot. Chart. 1199–1216 (Rec. Com.), 86) and in or about 1209 the Abbot of St. Mary's obtained from King
John rights in the forest of Farndale which the king had recovered from
Nicholas de Stuteville. (Pipe R. 11 John, m. 11)
1249
Inquisitions Post Mortem, Edward I, File 31, Pages 252-262, Calendar of
Inquisitions Post Mortem: Volume 2, Edward I. Originally published by His
Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1906: Extent, Tuesday the eve of the Annunciation, 10 Edw. I. Kerkeby Moresheved.
The manor (full extent given with names of tenants), including the park
a league in circuit with 140 deer (ferarum), a wood
called Westwode a league in length, a messuage and
great close in Braunsedale held by Nicholas son of
Robert Nussaunt rendering an arrow at Easter, rents
of nuts and woodhens, 'gersume,' marchet
and the tenth pig, a messuage called La Wodehouse, waste places called Coteflat, Loftischo, Godefreeruding, Harlonde, and
beneath Gillemore Clif, dales called Farndale
and Brauncedale, and waste places called Arkeners and Sweneklis, held of
Roger de Munbray. Knights' fees pertaining to the manor:—
Circa 1250
In the mid thirteenth
century, Lady Joan de Stuteville successfully prosecuted the Abbot of St Mary’s
York, for exceeding his rights taking wood from Farndale by actually
assarting 100 acres of land.
Joan de Stuteville was said
to be afforesting her woods here in the reign of Edward I (1239 to 1307). (Hund. R. (Rec. Com.), i, 117.)
1276
Only a few years later, the Inquisition Post Mortem taken after Joan’s death in 1276 reveals settlement on a grand
scale. In Farndale, bond tenants holding by acres and paying a standard rent of
1-0d for each acre produced £27-5-0d, presumably for 545 acres. In East
Bransdale, bondmen held another 141 acres paying a standard rent of 6d per
acre, but they are said to hold ‘by cultures’. The
significance of these terms is explained in the IPM of Joan’s Son, Baldwin Wake, taken only six years later in 1282,
where the bondmen are said to hold their land ‘not by the bovate of land, but by more or less’. Thus standard
bovate holdings, usually in the lowlands and in some of the older settled
moorland villas, have been dispensed with in favour of holdings of varied size
rented by the acre.
1281
The next mention of Farndale,
also Farendale, Farendal,
Farnedale in the thirteenth century, is found
at the beginning of the 13th century (Cal. Rot. Chart. 1199–1216 (Rec. Com.), 86). It formed part of the fee
of the lords of Kirkbymoorside, of which manor it was parcel. For an extent in
1281–2 see Yorks. Inq. (Yorks. Arch. Soc.), i, 249.
1282
The 1282 extent shows a
considerable increase over that of 1276, but this probably means nothing more
than that a new and up-to-date survey was used as the basis for the later
document. The Farndale rents now amounted £ 38-8-8d together with a nut-rent and
a few boon works and if the rate of 1s 0d per acre still applied, this would
give a total acreage held in bondage of no less than 768 acres. In
Bransdale rents were up to £4-14-3d which would give us about 188 acres at the
old rent of 6d per acre. For the first time the number of bondmen are given - 25 in East Bransdale and 90 in Farndale.
The sheer scale is
impressive enough, but there are features which point to a planned campaign
of settlement. It is difficult to imagine how men of villain status,
compelled to pay rents of 1s 0d per acre for minute holdings of marginal land,
could also have managed to undertake their own assarting. It seems more likely
that the land had been reclaimed in advance of letting, as at Goathland, by the
Lord’s agents, while the standard rents suggest a single campaign on a large
scale rather than piece meal assaulting. A number of
key questions cannot be answered from the sources we have used so far. It is
not clear whether settlement of the two Dales completed by 1282.
Baldwin Wake died in 1282
and was succeeded by his son and heir John Wake who was summoned to Parliament
as Lord Wake by Edward I.
1301
The lay subsidy assessments of
1301 afforded a
brief glimpse of the settlement pattern, listing numerous contributors bearing
the names of the farms which is still to be found at Farndale such as ‘Wakelevedy’ (Wake Lady Green), ‘Westgille’
(West Gill), Monkegate (Monket
House) and ‘Elleshaye (Eller House) and which are
scattered all around the dale. Further confirmation of this pattern is provided
by surveys of 1570 and 1610, both of which give the names of many more extent
farms and allow us to identify others from field names.
Yorkshire Archaeological
Society, Yorkshire Lay Subsidy 30 Ed. I (1301) The Subsidy: Wapentake of Rydale, The Subsidy: Wapentake of Rydale,
Pages 46-56, Yorkshire Lay Subsidy 30 Ed. I (1301):
Farndale:
De Willelmo
de Almeheved' ijs ixd o.
De Willelmo
Ruddock' ijs iijd
De Nicholao
Ruddock' iiijs vijd o.q.
De Willelmo
Clerico xxiijd
De Willelmo
Wakelevedy iijs ijd
De Nicholao
filio Galfridi vd o.q.
De Thoma
Kerelle xiijd
De Radulpho
de Westgille iijs ijd o.
De Thoma
de Birkeheved' vjd o.
De Willelmo
de Monkegate iijd q.
De Willelmo
ad Portam iijs iijd
De Johanne de Brannordale ijs vjd o.
De Rogero Bernard' xxjd q.
De Willelmo
de Hoton' vd o.q.
De Hugone
de Redmyre ijs vijd q.
De Nicholao
de Ellrischaye iiijs vijd o.
De Roberto de Brakanthayt' iiijs vijd o.
De Harpino
Coyly iiijd
De Waltero de Ellerscaye ijs ijd o.
De Ricardo Beverley ixd o.q.
De Willelmo
Westgil' ijs vjd
De Roberto ad Pontem vjd o.
De Simone Molendinario vijs ixd o.
De Johanne serviente ejus iijd q.
De Stephano Alberd' ijs iijd q.
De Radulpho
de Capite iijd q.
De Willelmo
de Fademore iiijd
De Willelmo
filio Henrici vd o.q.
De Galfrido
de Hoton' iijs vjd o.q.
De Roberto filio Golde vd
De Laurencio Syffewrythe iiijd
De Willelmo
filio Rogeri iijs xjd o.q.
De Galfrido
Saunder iijd
De Syther'
vidua iiijd
De Ada filio
Johannis iijd o.q.