Pickering

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The history focuses particularly on the medieval period

Pickering was the law court where many Farndales were tried and punished.

 

 

 

  

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General Sir Martin Farndale KCB

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Introduction

 

Dates are in red.

Hyperlinks to other pages are in dark blue.

Headlines of the history of the Pickering are in brown.

References and citations are in turquoise.

Contextual history is in purple.

 

This webpage about the Pickering has the following section headings:

 

 

The Farndales and Pickering

 

The Farndales associated with Pickering included Thomas and Richard of Farndale (FAR00023), excommunicated for stealing at Pickering Castle; Robert of Farndale (FAR00024), fined for poaching at Pickering Castle in 1332; and John de Farndale (FAR00026), released from excommunication at Pickering Castle on 9 Apr 1324. For a full list of the transgressors see the Farndale Poachers of Pickering Forest.

 

Others who were associated with Pickering were Eln Farndale (FAR00068) who moved across the North Yorks Moors to Pickering; Richard Farndale (FAR00234)(see the Pickering Line); William Farndale (FAR00292); Lucy Farndale (FAR00282); and Mary Farndale (FAR00298).

 

Pickering

 

Pickering is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire on the border of the North York Moors. It overlooks the Vale of Pickering to the south. Picheringa (eleventh and twelfth century); Pikeringa (twelfth century cent.); Pikering (twelfth to sixteenth centuries).

 

Within Pickering are Pickering Parish Church, with medieval wall paintings; Pickering Castle; and the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.

 

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Pickering Timeline

 

Prehistory

 

Positioned on the shores of a glacial lake at the end of the last ice age, Pickering was in an ideal place for early settlers to benefit from the multiple natural resources of the moorlands to the north, the wetlands to the south, running water in the beck and the forests all around. It had wood, stone, wildfowl, game, fish, fresh water and fertile easily worked soils. The east–west route from the coast passed along the foothills of the North York Moors through the site at a place where the beck could be forded.

 

Many remains of the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages have been found at Pickering.

 

Roman and Anglo Saxon Period

 

There is evidence of Celtic and Roman era habitation in the areas surrounding Pickering but little remains in the town. Legendary sources suggest an early date for the establishment of a town but traces of earlier settlements have been erased by subsequent development.

 

The town probably existed throughout the Anglo-Saxon period of British history.

 

The Victoria County History – Yorkshire, A History of the County of York North Riding: Volume 2 Parishes: Pickering, 1923: The market town of Pickering is built along part of the road from Scarborough to Helmsley. According to legend the British prince Peredurus in 270–61 b.c. built 'the Towne of Pickering in the North parts of Yorkshyre'; but unless Pickering was 'Dic', the earliest historical mention of the place as opposed to the 'manor' is that of the visit here of Henry I.

 

Before the Conquest the important 'manor' of Pickering was held by Earl Morcar.

 

1069

 

When William the Conqueror claimed the crown of England after defeating King Harold and his Saxons at the Battle of Hastings, the north of the country rose in revolt. William's response was swift and ferocious; his armies laid waste to the north of England, destroying crops, razing villages, and decimating the population. It was said that the pall of smoke rising from the north could be seen in London.

 

This was William's Harrying of the North, and it left the land devastated for generations and crushed any hint of rebellion from the local population.

 

But William wanted to make sure that the north stayed under control, and one of the ways he did that was to establish strongly fortified castles throughout the region.

 

Pickering Castle was one of these, a royal castle erected either during the Harrying of the North or shortly after, probably beginning in 1069. It was erected on a hilltop site overlooking Pickering Brook, on the main route between Helmsley and Scarborough on the coast.

 

No doubt the town will have grown to service the Norman castle.

 

1086

 

According to the Domesday Book there was enough arable land for 27 ploughs, meadows and extensive woodlands.

 

1140

 

The original church was Anglo Saxon but the present Pickering Parish Church was rebuilt in about 1140 with later alterations.

 

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1267

 

In 1267 the manor, castle and forest of Pickering were given by Henry III to his youngest son, Edmund, 1st Earl of Lancaster

1598

 

In 1598 the streets of Pickering were: East Gate, Hall Garth, Hungate, Birdgate, Borrowgate (the present Burgate) and West Gate.

1857

 

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Pickering 1857

 

Pickering Castle

 

1068

 

In early 1068 northern England ignited into rebellion against William I. To suppress the revolt the Normans embarked on the 'Harrying of the North', a punitive campaign during the Winter of 1069/70 aimed at destroying all farms and settlements between York and Durham. After this devastation, William seized huge swathes of territory across Yorkshire and built castles to secure the newly conquered lands.

 

1069

 

Pickering was chosen for one of these fortifications due to its strategic location with roads running north/south between Whitby and Malton and east/west between Scarborough and Northallerton. This made it a key nodal point and accordingly construction of the castle occurred in late 1069 or early 1070 whilst the Norman campaign was still underway. Although its primary role was invariably to suppress internal resistance against the Normans, it also served as an anchor against any Danish incursion and/or Scottish expansionism. The latter was particularly important as England and Scotland had yet to settle the matter of ownership of the Earldom of Northumbria.

 

The original structure of Pickering Castle was built by the Normans in 1069 to 1070. Little is known about the construction of the early castle. It was probably built of earth and timber, with a mound or motte at the centre. It was raised on the eastern banks of the Pickering Beck which provided strong natural defences. The motte, which would have been topped with a wooden palisade, was surrounded by a deep ditch. To the west, sandwiched between the motte and the slope down to the beck, was the bailey which would have hosted the Great Hall and ancillary buildings. The outer bailey was located to the east.

 

The early building probably comprised a large, central mound (the motte); the outer palisades (enclosing the bailey) and internal buildings, particularly the keep on top of the motte. Ditches were also dug to make assault on the walls difficult. The main purpose of the castle at this time was to maintain control of the area after the Harrying of the North.

 

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Construction of the original castle in about 1069

 

There are two unusual features to Pickering Castle. The first is that it has been so little altered in shape since the original wooden castle was rebuilt in stone. The second unusual feature is the layout of the site. Most early Norman castles followed a similar motte and bailey plan, with a timber palisade atop a high mound, or motte. The base of the motte was surrounded by a large earthwork enclosure, usually with a further timber palisade on top of the earthen banks. This enclosed area was called the bailey.

 

At Pickering the layout is different; there is not one bailey but two, and the motte with its stone keep stands between the two. The motte is striking, standing 20 metres high, with a base 60 metres in diameter.

 

There is no record of what role, if any, Pickering Castle played during the Anarchy, the civil war between Stephen and Matilda over the English succession. However, on the other side of Pickering Beck is an earthwork fortification known as Beacon Hill. Although yet to be precisely dated, this is generally presumed to be a siege-work dating from this conflict. The extent and outcome of the siege is unknown.

 

Significant modifications were made to Pickering Castle in three distinct phases during the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries.

 

1180

 

The first of the upgrades was made by Henry II who replaced the former timber palisade on top of the motte with a stone shell keep between 1180 and 1187. He also constructed Coleman Tower, a formidable gateway into the Inner Bailey.

 

1207

 

A second phase of construction occurred between 1207 and 1210 during the reign of King John.

 

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1218

 

It was the third phase of upgrades that was the most extensive. This was initiated in 1218 by the government of Henry III who sought to secure the north after the end of the First Barons' War. Under the direction of Geoffrey de Nevill, Sheriff of Yorkshire the curtain walls of both the Inner Bailey and the shell keep were rebuilt and strengthened although the defences of the Outer Bailey remained in timber. Geoffrey also made substantial upgrades to Scarborough Castle and York Castle at this time which, when paired with Pickering, facilitated complete control of Eastern Yorkshire.

 

1255

 

In 1255 responsibility for maintaining Pickering Castle shifted from the Sheriff of Yorkshire to the King's Justiciar, Roger Bigod.

 

1264

 

He still had control of the castle in 1264 upon the outbreak of the Second Barons' War and prepared Pickering and Scarborough castles for action.

 

1265

 

However the death of Simon de Montfort, the rebel leader, at the Battle of Evesham in 1265 defused the war and there is no record of the castle ever being attacked.

 

1267

 

Henry III granted Pickering Castle to his younger son, Edmund Crouchback, Earl of Lancaster in 1267.

 

1296

 

When he died in 1296 the castle passed to his son, Thomas whose marriage to Alice de Lacy brought vast estates into the Earldom of Lancaster.

 

1314

 

Thomas used his power and wealth to challenge Edward II and was key in engineering the downfall of the King's favourite, Piers Gaveston. Thomas further opposed Edward when he refused to march north with him on the campaign that ended in the decisive English defeat at Bannockburn in 1314. The aftermath of that battle destabilised the north of England as Robert the Bruce of Scotland led his forces into Cumbria, Northumberland and Yorkshire attempting to force Edward II to recognise an independent Scotland. This prompted Thomas to make improvements to Pickering Castle both for defensive purposes and to make it a suitable residence for himself and his wife.

 

1321

 

However, Thomas continued to have a stormy relationship with the King and entered into open rebellion against him in 1321 only to be defeated at the Battle of Boroughbridge in 1322.

 

1322

 

Edward II, keen to avenge the harsh treatment meted out to Piers Gaveston, imprisoned him at Pontefract Castle and had him executed there in March 1322. Pickering, along with all other estates of the Earldom of Lancaster, were seized by the Crown.

 

With war still raging between Edward II and Robert I (the Bruce) of Scotland, the latter invaded northern England again in 1322 hoping to bring the English King to terms. Pickering must have been a tempting target but bribes were paid to the Scots to leave the castle and town untouched. Nevertheless, Edward II funded upgrades to Pickering Castle and this included rebuilding the curtain walls of the outer bailey in stone.

 

1326

 

Following the accession of Edward III in 1326, Pickering Castle was restored to the Lancastrian dynasty when Henry, brother of the executed Earl, was granted the title of Earl of Lancaster. His son, another Henry, was created Duke of Lancaster and through his daughter, Blanche, it passed by marriage to Edward III's third surviving son, John of Gaunt. His own son, Henry Bolingbroke, was exiled by Richard II and later dispossessed prompting him to invade. Passing by Pickering Castle on his way to intercept the King, he ultimately forced Richard to abdicate and took the Crown himself. The newly created Henry IV granted the Duchy of Lancaster to his son, Henry of Monmouth. When he became Henry V the Duchy reverted to the Crown albeit run as a separate entity.

 

Late fifteenth century

 

The use of the castle was in decline by the late fifteenth century although it served periodically as accommodation for royalty who used the adjacent forest for hunting deer and wild boar. However, the defences were neglected and it took no part in the Wars of the Roses. By the Tudor period it was being plundered for its materials and quickly descended into ruin.

1642

 

Although in no fit state to be garrisoned during the seventeenth century Civil War, it was seized by Parliament after the conflict along with the rest of the Duchy of Lancaster.

1660

 

It was returned to Charles II upon the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 but the castle was never rebuilt and, with the exception of the chapel, it remained an abandoned ruin until taken into the care of the Office of Works.

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Pickering Forest

Dalby Forest was once the Royal Hunting Forest of Pickering. The Forestry Commission purchased land around Low and High Dalby in 1919 from the Duchy of Lancaster Estate. They began planting trees in 1921.

Pickering Forest lay to the north of the castle and was reserved for royal hunting. Special laws applied and penalties for encroaching into the forest or poaching game could be harsh.

In 1298, the income from Pickering Forest was £21 9s 10 ¼ d from rents for intakes in the forest; £4 9s 4d for rents of the forest serjeants; £4 for courts of the forest and charges for pigs in the woods; £2 for dog licences; £15 for meadows and pastures in the deer hays, laudes and parks; and £2 4d 10 ½ d for freemen’s work maintaining the outer timber wall. This totalled £49 6s ¾ d. The total income from all sources including fines was £185 4s 10 ½ d. The present day value would be £ ½ M.

 

The Victoria County History – Yorkshire, A History of the County of York North Riding: Volume 2 Parishes: Pickering, 1923:

 

In 1086 the woodland belonging to the 'manor' of Pickering was 16 'leagues' long by 4 'leagues' wide, and 'was co-extensive, if not coterminous, with the soke.' This area afterwards formed the West Ward of the forest of Pickering, the East Ward being the tract known before the formation of the honour as the forest of Scalby. The forest of Pickering thus extended from the River Seven to the sea. It followed the descent of the honour.

 

Down to the early 17th century the following courts were held for the forest: an attachment court, a swainmote three times a year, a justice in eyre court, a court at Owdon on Whit Monday to give oaths to all 'fee men or forest walker,' a court on St. Cecilia's Day for receiving presentments in the East Ward, a court at Pickering on St. William's Day for giving oaths, and a court on St. Thomas's Day for receiving presentments. Every town throughout Pickering Lythe that had common in the forest had four sworn 'Bilawemen' 'to make good orders with the consent of the moste parte of the Towne, and to make no lawe to punish any faulte wheare there is anie other lawe to punish that offence.' They committed their 'paines and lawes' to writing, and these were generally put in to the court leet at Pickering or else in to some mesne lord's court leet to be presented and sued.

 

In 1494–5 the 'king's tenants, burgesses and inhabitants' of Pickering complained against the foresters in fee, Lionel Percehay of Ryton and Roger Hastings of Roxby, for breach of these rights. A further privilege, mentioned in 1651, was that the tenants of Pickering and Newtondale had the right to dig stone in the common quarries for the repair of their houses.

 

Pickering and poaching

Trespassers or poachers in the Royal Forest of Pickering were hauled back to the castle and could have their eyes gouged out and their foreheads branded. The royal officials of the castle were responsible for enforcing just it's over Pickering forest. Their courts would have been held inside the principle public building of the castle, it's Great Hall. Records of their proceedings showed that they were most commonly concerned with charges of poaching and assortment, the clearing of forest for cultivation. At times several buildings within the castle served as prisons. In 1323 mention is made of a prison in the Coleman tower, and by 1621 another probably existed in the mill tower.

 

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A prisoner being brought to justice in the New Hall.                                                                                 The remains of the New Hall today. It was originally built as a residence for Countres Alice, wife of the Earl of Lancaster.

Punishment for breaking the rules of the forest was brutal. The King began to find that it was more profitable to impose fines rather than to mutilate offenders. The royal forest thus became an additional source of revenue and profit for the King through fines.

 

 

Links, texts and books

 

English Heritage site Pickering Castle.

 

Gordon Home's Pickering: The Evolution of an English Town (1905).