Guisborough
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This webpage is
divided into the following sections:
· The Farndales of
Guisborough
·
Guisborough Timeline
·
Buildings of Guisborough
·
Guisborough People
·
Anne Weatherill’s Diary
·
Bibliography
The Farndales of
Guisborough
Whilst
Guisborough will have been a focal point for most of the Farndales who lived in
Cleveland, the Farndales particularly associated with Guisborough were: Mary
Farndale (FAR00179);
William Farndale, wheelwright and cartwright of Guisborough (FAR00200);
William Farndale, wheelwright of Pinchingthorpe near
Guisborough (FAR00218A);
Joseph Farndale (FAR00228);
Hannah Farndale (FAR00274A);
Joseph Farndale (FAR00299);
William Farndale (FAR00309);
Mary Farndale (FAR00320);
Jane Farndale (FAR00332);
Mary Jane Farndale (FAR00351);
John Farndale (FAR00355);
Sarah Farndale (FAR00357);
Hannah Farndale (FAR00360);
Peter Farndale (FAR00373);
Sarah Ann Farndale (FAR00392);
Mary Ann Farndale (FAR00418);
William G Farndale (FAR00421);
Alice Esther Farndale (FAR00433);
Sarah Maria Farndale (FAR00442);
Annie Farndale (FAR00471);
Male Farndale (FAR00479);
William George Farndale (FAR00492);
John William Farndale (FAR00501);
Sarah Annie Farndale (FAR00505);
Mary Ann Farndale (FAR00507);
William Henry Farndale (FAR00516);
Annie Paver Farndale (FAR00519);
John Martin Farndale (FAR00520);
Joseph Farndale (FAR00524);
Thomas Farndale (FAR00525);
Hannah Elizabeth Farndale (FAR00533);
Lily Farndale (FAR00534);
Margaret Ann Farndale (FAR00541);
Sarah Farndale (FAR00543);
Edith Emily Farndale (FAR00546);
Mary Elizabeth Farndale (FAR00551);
Richard Farndale (FAR00562);
Lavinia Harrison Farndale (FAR00570);
Albert Farndale, an architect of Guisborough (FAR00574); Harry
Farndale (FAR00583);
Thomas William Farndale (FAR00587);
Ernest Farndale (FAR000589);
Richard Henry Farndale (FAR00594);
Sophia Farndale (FAR00601A);
Edith Farndale (FAR00611);
John Martin Farndale, a store keeper in Guisborough who later emigrated to
Newfoundland (FAR00613);
Mary Elizabeth Farndale (FAR00618);
Ruth Farndale (FAR00619);
Edwin Farndale (FAR00626);
George Farndale, a farm worker and miner rom Guisborough (FAR00627); Mary
Frances Farndale (FAR00634);
William Farndale (FAR00639);
John Farndale (FAR00640);
Elizabeth Farndale (FAR00654);
Ethel Farndale (FAR00658);
Meggy Farndale (FAR00660);
Robert Farndale (FAR00661);
William Farndale (FAR00665);
Lily Farndale (FAR00673);
Polly Farndale (FAR00676);
Frank Farndale (FAR00687);
Louisa Hutchinson Farndale (FAR00689);
Edwin Farndale (FAR00691);
Alice Maude Farndale (FAR00696);
John William Farndale (FAR00698);
Josephine Salvatori Farndale (FAR00705);
Ellen Farndale (FAR00712);
Richard Farndale (FAR00715);
Hannah Farndale (FAR00733);
Samuel Farndale (FAR00741);
Alice Jane Farndale (FAR00753);
Leslie Farndale (FAR00757);
Polly Farndale (FAR00774);
Samuel S Farndale (FAR00776);
Doris S Farndale (FAR00789);
Irene Farndale (FAR00797);
Ethel Farndale (FAR00798);
Alice Farndale (FAR00806);
Doris M Farndale (FAR00807);
Ethel Farndale (FAR00831);
William H Farndale (FAR00840);
Thomas T Farndale (FAR00842);
Mary Farndale (FAR00847);
Christie A Farndale (FAR00860);
Dorothy Farndale (FAR00861);
James Farndale (FAR00863);
Albert W Farndale (FAR00866);
Edith Farndale (FAR00870);
Elizbeth Farndale (FAR00887);
and Miriam W Farndale (FAR00905).
Guisborough
Guisborough is
a market town and civil parish in Yorkshire. It belongs to
the unitary authority of Redcar and Cleveland, the Tees
Valley region and the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire. The
name probably comes from ‘Gigr’s
fortification’, also Ghigesburg, Gighesborc, Ghigesborg, Giseborne 1086, Gisebur(g)h c.1130-15th century, Gi- Gysburgh 1285-1577, Gysborow, -borough 1530, Gi-
Gyseburne (1119) 15th
century-1430, Gi- Gysburn 1228-1483.
Old Norse personal name Gigr, secondary genitive
singular Giges, and Old English varying with Old Norse borg and
Old English burna.
Gisborough Priory
Some
archaeologists date the town to the Roman occupation, when it may have
been a military fortification. Discovery of a few Roman artefacts support this,
such as the elaborate ceremonial Guisborough Helmet. Gighesbore is
recorded in the Domesday Book. The ruined Gisborough
Priory dates from the 12th century.
Guisborough
Museum, behind Westgate's Sunnyfield House, exhibits
photos of Guisborough's history and inhabitants. There is a
working watermill at Tocketts Mill.
Guisborough Timeline
Roman
period
,_150-200_ca_02.JPG)
The Guisborough
Helmet is a Roman cavalry helmet found near the town in 1864. It was originally
fitted with protective cheek-pieces, which have not survived, but the
attachment holes can be seen in front of the helmet's ear guards. It is
lavishly decorated with engraved and embossed figures, indicating that it was
probably used for display or cavalry tournaments, although possibly for battle
as well. It was unearthed in what appears to be a carefully arranged deposition
in a bed of gravel, distant from any known Roman sites. After its recovery
during roadworks, it was donated to the British Museum for
restoration and display.
1086
The Domesday Book includes:
· Lands of the King: “In Chigesburg, Ulchel (had) 1
carucate of land for geld. Land for half a plough.
· Land of the Count: “In Ghigesburg, 17 carucates.”
· Lands of Robert Malet: ‘In Ghigesborg, Leisinc had 3
carucates and 2 bovates of land for geld, where 2 ploughs can be. Now Robert
has 1 plough there, and 3 villeins with 1 plough. T.R.E. it was worth 5s. 4d;
now (it is worth) the same.’
A carucate was roughly 100
acres. A bovate was roughly 15 acres. Geld was a tax that had to be paid.
T.R.E. means “in the time of King Edward the Confessor”.
Count Robert of Mortain held
considerable lands at Guisborough at the time of the Domesday Book but by the
reign of Henry I, the whole of Guisborough had come into the hands of Robert de
Brus of Skelton Castle.
(The Victoria History of the Counties
of England: Yorkshire North Riding” vol.2 (ed.) W.Page
(1923)).
William Hornsby (The Domesday Valets of the Langbargh
Wapentake, Yorkshire Archaeological
Journal, Volume 25, 1920, page
334) suggested the Domesday Survey is assessed at the following rates:
· A demesne plough
at 2.5 times villains' plough.
· Villains usually
4d, bordars 2d, and sokeman 6d.
· Meadow at 2d an
acre.
· Other elements at
1s 4d.
Guisborough’s
assessment in Domesday Book was “On the demesne 1 plough and 10 villains with 4
ploughs, a priest and a church and 1 mill of 4s. Valet 16s. (Open Domesday,
Anna Powell-Smith).
He therefore
suggested a breakdown of the rates paid of:
1 demesne plough
at 3s 4d.
10 villains at 3s
4d.
4 villains’
ploughs at 5s 4d.
Priest and church
at 0d.
Mill at 4s.
Total 16s.
Now Robert has 1 plough
there and 3 villains with 1 plough. Valet 5s 4d is suggested to breakdown to:
1 demesne plough at 3s 4d;
3 villains at 8d
1 villain’s plough at 1s 4d;
Total 5s 4d.
1119
Gisborough Priory is
generally spelt differently to the manor and town of Guisborough.
In 1119 Robert de Brus founded
Gisborough Priory, a house of Augustinian Canons. and granted the manor of
Guisborough to the canons there. It remained in the hands of the canons until
the priory was dissolved by Henry VIII in 1538. In 1550 the Chaloner family
purchased the priory and eight years later they became lords of the manor of
Guisborough.
Robert De Brus of Skelton Castle
granted land to the Canons Regular of St Augustine for the building of
Guisborough Priory.
Reconstruction of Guisborough
Priory
In or around 1119,
Robert de Brus, Lord of Skelton, founded a religious house for Augustinian
canons at Guisborough in Cleveland (NZ 161616). The original endowment was
lavish and the Norman buildings were aggrandised in the early thirteenth
century, but disastrous fires in 1289 and 1297 and the upheaval of the Scottish
Wars appear to have greatly delayed building work. (Gisborough Prioriy: Initial excavation of the Priory
Church, 1985, D H Heslop, Yorkshire
Archaeological Journal, Volume 59, 1987, page 175).
1263
A weekly market and a three day
fair every August were granted.
1289
Much of the priory was destroyed
by a fire that began accidentally.
1290
The Church of St
Nicholas
The Anglican Church
of St Nicholas holds the De Brus Cenotaph. A church may have existed in
1290, though the chancel dates from the late 15th century. The nave and
interior have been altered. The church in its present form resulted from major
rebuilding in 1903–1908 to a design by Temple Moore.
1301
The Lay Subsidy of 1301: More than 80 people in
Guisborough had to pay this government tax on moveable goods. Many more were
exempt. This was almost as many as Whitby, the busy North Riding seaport. The
highest taxpayer was Adam de Tokotes, paying almost 10 shillings. The total tax
paid was just over £7 15 shillings (The
“Yorkshire Lay Subsidy” edited by W.Brown (Yorkshire
Archaeological Society Record Series) 1897).
1405
The head of Sir John Fauconberg
was placed on the tollbooth for rebelling against the king.
1536
Prior James Cockerill
surrendered the priory to the Commissioners of King Henry VIII.
Robert Pursglove
was appointed Prior. He proved to be a loyal servant of the Crown.
1537
James Cockerill was executed for
his part in a protest against the closure of the monasteries during the
Pilgrimage of Grace.
1539
The Act for the Dissolution of the
Great Monasteries and Abbeys was passed in 1539 and
this year Guisborough Priory was pulled down.
1550
Thomas Chaloner purchased the
Priory lands from the Crown.
1561
Prior Pursglove
founded the Jesus Hospital and a school in Guisborough.
1569
Several rebels were captured
after the Rising of the North and executed in Guisborough.
1600
Thomas Chaloner II began
extracting alum near Guisborough.
1613
At the Helmsley Quarter Sessions
in July 1613 a Guisborough tailor and alehousekeeper
was presented before the magistrates “for suffering great disorder in
his house on Sunday 2 Jany. 1613 in the time of afternoon service &c. and
for not selling ale according to the rate limited &c.”
1643
The Battle
of Guisborough. A Parliamentarian army defeated a Royalist force.
The Battle-field of Guisbrough was rendered famous by the fierce encounter
between the Parliamentary and Royal troops, in June, 1642, near to the town.
The Royalists were commanded by Colonel Slingsby, who was taken prisoner by the
celebrated Sir Hugh Cholmley, general of the Parliamentary army.
The scene of this
encounter still bears the name of "War's
Fields,” and the uneven ground is suggestive of mounds and trenches.
(Ryedale and North Yorkshire
antiquities, George Frank, 1888, page 235).
1651
George Fox visited Guisborough.
Quaker meetings in the town started during the following year.
1673
The Hearth Tax of 1673: The ancient Wapentake of
Langbaurgh stretched from Yarm in the east to Lythe near Whitby in the west, and
from the River Tees to the River Esk. In 1673 Guisborough was its largest town.
105 houses in Guisborough had 1 or 2 hearths while a further 28 houses were
larger, with 3 or 4 hearths. There were 7 even more substantial homes with 5 or
6 hearths, while the largest dwellings in the town were those of “Tho Wilson”
with 7 hearths, “Mr Ja Lynne” with 10 hearths and “Sr Edw Challoner Kt” with 17
hearths. In addition to these 143 properties, there were 68 single-hearth
houses that fell below the tax threshold, making a total of 203 dwellings. This
was more than you would find in Stockton or Hartlepool in 1673. (“The Hearth Tax List for the
North Riding of Yorkshire, Michaelmas 1673, Ripon Historical Society (2011)).
1687
Tobias Hoopes of
Skelton was one of four leading Quakers of the area who bought a room in a
house in Westgate, Guisborough for a meeting place
1700
William Chaloner built
the Old Hall in Bow Street.
1759
John Wesley preached in
Guisborough for the first time.
1768
A Quaker Meeting House was built
in the town.
1770
An early mention in literature
appeared in “A Description of
England and Wales” vol. 10, F.Newberry and T.Carnan (1770): “Six
miles north by east of Stokesley is Gisborough, or Guisborough, a town situated
in the road from Whitby to Durham. It stands on a rising ground, in a
delightful situation and has a remarkable pure air; a fine scene of verdure
overspreads all the fields near it, which are adorned with plenty of
wild-flowers, almost all the year round, whence it has been compared to Puteoli
in Italy. The town is well built, and the inhabitants famous for their civility
and neatness. Here was formerly an abbey, the church of which seems by its
ruins, to have been little inferior to the best cathedrals in England. Near
this town are mines of iron and alum, but the latter are said to be now almost
neglected. This town has a market on Mondays, and six fairs, held on the Monday
and Tuesday after the 11th of April, for linen-cloth and horned cattle; on
Tuesday in Whitsun-Week, for horned cattle and linen; on the 27th of August,
the 19th and 20th September, and the first Monday after the 11th November, for
horned cattle.”
1777
A Methodist chapel was built.
1790
The Providence School was
established.
1811
The Wesleyan Church was
dedicated. Ebenezer Chapel was built by the Independents, later known as the
Congregationalists.
1814
A new market charter for the
town was issued.
1821
A town hall was built to replace
the old toll-booth.
1801
The Census 1801 recorded a population of 1,719.
1821
Guisborough's prominent
Town Hall was built on Westgate in 1821. Its initial two storeys were extended
to three in 1870. The ground floor served as a shambles or meat-market,
with rooms above, some used from the building's earliest days as solicitors'
offices (Lewis 1831, 286 & Baines 1823, 3).
The ground floor also contained a cell or vault (Harrison
& Dixon 1981, 131).
1823
Baines’ Directory of 1823 recorded Guisborough as a busy
town. Included in this directory were 15 grocers, 3 shopkeepers, 6 butchers, 4
bakers, 4 wine and spirit dealers, 2 chemists, 9 drapers, 5 milliners and
dressmakers, 5 tailors, 5 straw bonnet makers, 9 boot and shoe makers, 4
booksellers, 3 clock and watch makers and 6 ironmongers. 17 inns and taverns
were named. The directory also listed a number of joiners and cabinet makers,
plumbers and glaziers, stone masons, blacksmiths, coopers, wheelwrights,
millers, farmers, gardeners, skinners, saddlers, flax dressers, linen
manufacturers and rope-makers.
1839
The Guisborough Union Workhouse
was opened.
1851
The Census 1851 recorded a population of 2,062.
1853
Belmont ironstone mine opened
just south of the town and Chaloner ironstone mine opened just to the north.
The town shared
in the prosperity of the Industrial Revolution through proximity to
the ironstone mines of the North York Moors. One of Teesside's leading ironfounders, Sir Joseph Whitwell Pease, chose as his
country seat the Alfred Waterhouse-designed Gothic revival Hutton
Hall, situated at Hutton Lowcross, near Guisborough. It had its own station on
the Middlesbrough–Guisborough branch of the North Eastern Railway, but this
closed in 1964.
1854
The first passenger railway line
to Guisborough came into service.
1856
Guisborough Hall,
a Victorian mansion, was built in the Jacobean style in
1856. Once the home of the family of Lord
Gisborough, the estate was then owned by the Chaloner family from
just after the dissolution of Gisborough Priory until the 1940s. Gisborough
Hall is a Grade II listed building, now converted into a hotel.
1857
Thomas Chaloner built Long Hull,
his new family home.
1861
Chapel Street Primitive
Methodist Chapel was dedicated.
1863
Anne Weatherill's diary: Guisborough 1863. See separate section
below.
1864
A Roman helmet was
discovered near Guisborough.
1865
Guisborough Foundry was
extended about 5 years after it began working.
1871
Guisborough Water
Company was formed.
1873
Admiral Chaloner’s Hospital
was created for injured ironstone miners.
1881
Northgate Schools
opened.
1887
There is a Guisborough
link between Henry Saville Clarke and Lewis Carroll – see the North Yorkshire
History blog.
1888
Prior Pursglove’s Hospital was rebuilt as Guisborough Grammar
School.
1894
Guisborough was
designated as an Urban District with its own council.
1901
The Census 1901 recorded a population of 5,645.
1907
The Primitive Methodist
chapel was dedicated.
1911
The Empire cinema
opened. It closed in the 1960s.
1913
Kelly’s Directory of 1913 included in a probably
incomplete list of businesses, 21 general dealers, 12 grocers, 10 butchers, 5
confectioners, 3 fruiterers, a baker, 4 drapers, 8 tailors and outfitters, 3
watchmakers, a chemist, a stationer, a tobacconist, 2 hardware dealers, 2 coal
merchants and 8 boot and shoe makers. There were 3 beer retailers, 11 inns and
taverns, and 5 fish and chip shops.
1928
Guisborough Police
Station was built.
1933
Belmont mine closed.
Chaloner mine closed six years later.
1939
The last ironstone mine
in the Guisborough area stopped extraction.
1941
A “starfish” wartime
decoy site was built on the moors above Guisborough as part of Teesside’s air
raid defences.
1948
The workhouse infirmary
became Guisborough General and Maternity Hospital.
1951
The Census 1951 recorded a population of 6,531.
1958
Guisborough County
Secondary School was built. It was later called Laurence Jackson School.
1964
Railway passenger
services from Guisborough were discontinued.
Buildings of Guisborough
Guisborough Priory dates from 1119, but was much
altered after a fire in 1289.
The Priory dovecote dates
from the 14th century.
St. Nicholas Church dates from the sixteenth
century on a much older foundation.
The Market Cross dates
from the mid 18th century, altered in 1817.
Tocketts Mill dates from about 1810.
The Town Hall was built in 1821.
Gisborough Hall was built in 1857, and enlarged
in 1902.
The following no longer exist:
The Hospital of Jesus (1561) demolished c. 1888.
The Toll Booth (mentioned in 1599) demolished
in 1821.
Nos. 1 to 5 Market Place (18th century) demolished in
1963.
The Wesleyan Church
(1811) demolished in 1963.
The Rectory (1859, destroyed by fire in
1868 and rebuilt) demolished in 1966.
Guisborough People
Robert Pursglove
(1503/4 to 1580) was a cleric from Derbyshire who became Prior of Guisborough.
He also founded the Grammar School and Hospital in Guisborough.
Thomas Chaloner (1564 to 1615) was a man of
many parts who grew up in London. He brought the alum industry to Cleveland.
Joshua Ward (1684/5 to 1761) was a quack
doctor from Guisborough who became well known in London after he treated King
George II. He invented two medicines, Ward’s Pill and Ward’s Drop with some
dangerous ingredients. He was buried in Westminster Abbey.
John Wright (1807 to 1882) was a poet from
Guisborough who became known as “The Bard of Cleveland”.
Fred Priest (1874-1922) was a
Guisborough-born footballer who played for Sheffield United when they were
Football League champions in 1898 and F.A. Cup winners in 1899 and 1902.
Willie Applegarth (1890 to 1958) was an athlete
from Guisborough who won a gold medal for the 4 x 100 metres at the 1912
Olympic Games.
Elinor Lyon (1921 to 2008) was writer of
children’s books who was born in Guisborough.
Bob Champion (born 1948) is a jockey from
Guisborough who won the Grand National in 1981 on Aldaniti.
Selina Scott (born 1951) is a
Guisborough-born newsreader and presenter on national television.
Mark Benton (born 1965) is a television and
film actor who was born in Guisborough.
Katy Livingston (born 1984) is a sportswoman
from Guisborough who represented her country in the modern pentathlon at the
Olympic Games in 2008.
Anne Weatherill's diary: Guisborough 1863
The diary of Anne Weatherill of
Guisborough, was written when she was 22 years old. It was written in a small
notebook, measuring six inches by four inches and records her activities
between January and September 1863. She began the diary soon after returning
from a visit to London. See the North Yorkshire History Website page for Anne
Weatherill’s diary at Guisborough.
Back at home in Guisborough, she
recorded her attendance at impromptu dances and invitation balls, a visit to
Redcar and stays with friends in Stockton and Carlton-in-Cleveland. She
took part in a choir festival and lent a hand in local festivities. A
constant feature through the months is her response to the changing seasons and
the beauty of the countryside.
Anne lived in Northgate in Guisborough with her family. Her father Thomas was a
prosperous brewer, landowner and businessman. Her mother was Margaret, and she
had a 20 year old sister Kate, and brothers William and Herbert, aged 18 and
14.
A recent acquaintance of the
family was a young solicitor, John Richard Stubbs; he was often to be met with
at the Richardsons' house in Sussex Street. He had come north from
Boroughbridge in 1861 and on 1 January 1863 went into partnership with an older
solicitor, John Brewster, at 28 Bridge Street, Middlesbrough.
The year began with parties. Priory Hall, behind the Cock Inn, was a
large assembly room and the chief venue for Guisborough's social events.
The Hall and the Cock Inn were owned by Anne's father.
January 1st - The workpeople had their Christmas party in the
Priory Hall.
January 3rd - Went to a party at Aunt Todds.
… January 6th - A large party at the Parsonage.
January 10th - Took tea with Anne Louise. The Harpleys and Mr M & Mrs Wilson were there.
January 12th - Had our first lesson from the Choir Master.
… January 20th - The first snow has fallen this winter; the wind
last night in the North was terrible. The sailors expected a storm
tomorrow – but it has come today.
January 28th - Went
to Stockton to get our dresses for the Middlesbrough
ball.
January 29th - Had
a little practice dance in the Priory Hall.
January 30th - Very
warm for the time of year. The roads almost like summer. Ball at
Middlesbrough.
February 5th 1863 - Committee:
… The Committee request the honor of Miss A
Weatherill's Company at the Assembly Rooms, Watson's Hotel, Middesbrough,
on Thursday, February 5th 1863 … Dancing to commence at 9 o’clock … The favor of an answer is requested
February 3rd - Margaret was up – nothing talked of but the
Middlesbro ball – I stayed and had tea down street where there was quite a
large party in the evening. Messrs Wilson, Morgan, Roberts, T & C
Clarke. We sang catches and glees, played bagatelle & had a very
pleasant evening.
February 4th - We had a great
storm of thunder & hail in the evening.
February 5th - The day of the Middlesbro ball. We four
girls all went by the early train – the most glorious fun. Mr Cochrane
dined with us that day and took tea with us the next. H.C came
unexpectedly. It was a jolly time.
February 10th - Went to the Loys party (William Loy was a
doctor in Great Ayton, whose daughter Mary
(Polly) was then 19). The most delightful party since I left London –
I stayed & the next day Polly, Lou & I had the greatest fun helping to
put by the things. A most lovely day.
February 11th - Another beautiful day – with a most seasonable
frost – Mrs Loy, Polly, Louise & I drove to hear the Christy
Minstrels. We had such a pleasant drive.
February 12th - The fine weather continues. Had a little
dance in the evening.
February 13th - Drove to Stokesley in the afternoon, spent the
evening with Mrs T Loy (Thomas Loy was a doctor in Stokesley).
February 15th - Still most beautiful weather. Drove to
Stokesley in the afternoon, took tea with Mrs Graham. Two Miss Burrels are staying with her, very nice girls. They
are going out to their brother in New Zealand in the course of a month or
so. We danced in the Hall, & they taught me two new dances, the
Highland Polka, & God Save the Queen.
February 16th - Seem to have almost lived in Goodchilds the last
day or two, everyone here is having their likeness taken. The boys came
from S to see about theirs and stayed the day with us. Rained in the
afternoon, the first interruption of the beautiful weather since I came.
Goodchilds of Bath Street was the local photographers.
February 17th - Finished
Aurora Floyd (this was a popular and sensational novel by Mary
Elizabeth Braddon, published in 1863). A horrid book though not
without a little redeeming talent in it.
February 18th - Polly came home with me. Mr M and Mr R in
the house.
February 26th - Emma & Aunt took tea with us. Johnnie,
R & Will in the evening.
February 27th - A most glorious walk to Park Wood, Polly rode my
pony. Her papa and mama came for her in the afternoon. Mr M gave us
quite a comic concert which appeared greatly to amuse Mr Loy. Park Wood or
the Park is the woodland on the edge of the hill overlooking Guisborough to the
north-west. It had been medieval parkland.
March 4th - A
spring day such as only comes once in several years. We drove to Skelton starting about ten a.m. and from there walked to
Saltburn. The woods were most
lovely, some of the banks were covered with primroses and the mercury and
saxifrage were out by the beck. The rooks are beginning to build.
Papa showed us the Jackdaw cliff of which we have heard so much. Saltburn
will soon be a fashionable watering place – they are making rapid progress with
the buildings which have a beautiful effect seen in emerging from the wood
with blue blue sea for background. For more about
the development of Saltburn at this time, see the works of John Farndale. Anne's
father had been born at Marske, where his father farmed at Hob Hill. The
rocky steep valley side by Marske Mill weir on the Skelton beck was called the
Jackdaw Cliff. The valley was later bridged here by the railway viaduct.
March 7th - Still
beautiful weather. Clear, bright & slightly frosty. Herbert
came home last night and we all went to Wilton this afternoon. Roberts
went with us & kept us laughing all the way. Our object was to
procure ferns for Mrs Clapham – and we got some most beautiful. Papa
& I drove home together & congratulated ourselves on the beautiful
weather. The Princess Alexandra enters London today.
March 8th - The beautiful weather seems to be broken up, this
morning we woke to find a covering of snow. Mr Tyreman preached this
evening, capital sermon.
March 9th - South E Wind with wet.
March 10th - The Princess Alexandra's wedding day. I don't
know why it should be more hers than the Prince of Wales', only being a woman
one feels more sympathy with her – A stormy day with continuing showers of
sleet, nevertheless the town contrived to be gay with processions, games &
races of all descriptions. About 800 children walked in procession and
sang an appropriate Anthem at the cross, after that had tea in the Priory
Hall. I enjoyed helping with the tea, & afterwards took a tray at the
tea provided for the teachers. We all went to the old Bank & had tea
there, Aunt, Uncle, ER, John Charles & Anne Louise had tea with us, and
after tea the boys let off fireworks, etc which were great fun.
Altogether a very pleasing day. I forgot to put down a very important
event – Herbert came home on Friday, March 6th and stays till tomorrow.
March 11th - Stormy day. Herbert left.
March 17th - The weather has been the same for the last week –
stormy with more or less snow daily, Wind N.E.
March 18th - Finer, wind East.
March 19th - West wind in the morning, turned round to the East.
March 20th - Fine bright day, very cold. North wind.
March 21st - A very beautiful appearance of the Aurora
Borealis. The stars so clear & bright. Yesterday the boys got
quantities of violets in the Park Wood Today has been a
lovely day. There are records of brilliant appearances of the Northern
Lights in this district in the nineteenth century.
… March 23rd - A glorious spring day. We went to fish for
things for Helen's aquarium, and certainly were successful – spent the evening
at Aunt's.
March 29th - I
have neglected my diary for some time, but will endeavour to recollect some of
the principal events during the interval. The weather has been very fine
and dry but not warm. The east winds have prevailed much less than
usual. My birthday gifts on the second of April were a very pretty gold
necklet, "The Lady of Garaye" (poem by the
Hon. Mrs Norton), a charm service & scent. We had no party.
Roberts came to supper.
April 7th - The girls down street & Margaret Elizabeth spent
the evening with us. Mr Bowen & Roberts came in & sang some comic
songs.
April 8th - Mamma went to Stockton to see Uncle Robert.
April 12th - Margaret Elizabeth, Anne Louise & Aunt took tea
with us.
April 14th - Mamma went to Stockton again. Uncle very ill.
April 20th - Poor Uncle Robert died.
April 24th - Uncle was buried. The day promised to be very
fine but turned out stormy. Many attended the funeral. My cousins
from Stockton & Jasper Barugh spent the day with us.
… May 11th - The
rook shooting at Danby, and a break-up of the fine weather. Aunt, Mamma,
Helen and I drove together. The rain commenced when we had got little
better than half way to Danby and presently poured down never to cease the
whole day. It happened to be Castleton Fair & the girls enjoyed
driving through the town exceedingly. We all seemed to enjoy the day
notwithstanding the wet. The drive home was very wild.
May 13th - Showers,
which will greatly benefit the grass. Papa says we shall probably never
live to see such another spring. He never remembers one so genial with so
little East wind.
June - The day of the visitation (of the Archdeacon). The Kirkleatham choir came and joined ours so the
singing was good. We sat in the chancel and had no organ. In the
afternoon I came to Stockton.
Whit Monday - Miss Hunter, Annie W, Mrs W, Jane & myself went to Hartlepool and Seaton. Walked by the sands to
Seaton and had tea there. Altogether a very pleasant day. Had great
fun in the morning watching a circus in which Tom King figured.
Thursday - Went to old Mrs Gibson's party. The weather was bitterly
intensely cold with East wind from the day I came till Whit Monday when it
became warmer. Came to Jane on the Friday. Margaret Elizabeth and
Anne Louise were taking tea here.
June 1st - Went to
see the 'Southerner' and L.F. spent the evening with us.
June 2nd - Went to
Middlesbrough in the boat. Mr F. Reed
took tea with us. The Middlesbrough to Stockton boat was a regular way of
travel between the towns.
… Friday 19th - Went
to the theatre to see Miss Lucette & was delighted with her
performance. Took tea at Mr Biglands last
Monday.
June 22nd - Returned home. Mr H drove Jane, Mary, Little
Jimmie and myself. The day was tolerably fine, the drive very pleasant.
June 23rd - A
glorious day. Mamma, Papa, Herbert and I walked towards the Park after
tea. Everything seemed so fresh and pure, surely the country must have a
purifying influence on those who live in it, and large towns must present much
greater temptations and fewer good opposing influences to their inhabitants.
Saturday July 4th - We have had lovely weather since I came
home. Papa has got his seed hay and is going down to Redcar
for a week.
Monday July 6th - Kate
and I joined Papa and Mamma and Herbert at Redcar. We drove down in the
afternoon with Anne Louise who went to seek for lodgings. She had some
difficulty in obtaining them, as the place was so full.
July 7th - Anne
Louise came down. Had a game of Croquet on the sands.
July 8th - The grand Volunteer Review day. Corps after
Corps with their respective bands poured into the town making quite an
excitement. The day intensely hot and brilliant. Saw a number of
Stokesley people among them. T.L., R.N., Anne Louise went off in a boat
with us. It was cooler on the water. In the afternoon went to
see the Review on the sands; our Corps were drafted off to supply deficiencies
in other Corps. Thought the Review rather stupid as I do not understand
the movements. Mr Morgan [vicar of Guisborough] and Anne Louise took tea
with us. Was too tired at night to accompany Kate and Anne Louise to the
promenade concert. The Volunteers were the successors to the Militia.
Between 1846 and 1859 a French invasion scare prompted the formation of bands
of Volunteers across the country; the movement was enormously popular amongst
the burgeoning middle classes. The Volunteers were later transformed into
the Territorials. In Guisborough a branch was sponsored by Thomas
Chaloner in 1861 and the town developed a company of Volunteer artillery.
Herbert and William Weatherill were both members, and Margaret Elizabeth’s son
William Richardson was later to be Hon. Colonel.
July 9th - Went to
the promenade concert in the evening.
July 13th - Returned home. Found the town quite deserted
all down street & the Todds away. Fine warm weather the evenings, so
that you would like to stay out basking in the soft air and listening to the
still sounds of darkness. Drove down to Redcar on the 16th. A great
deal colder. So cold about this time that the hands of the haymakers
were numbed in the fields.
Wednesday 22nd - They returned from Scotland.
Friday July 31st - Lucy came. The day clearing we drove onto
the moor in the morning.
Saturday 1 August - Drove on the moor. Another lovely day. We
did so enjoy the beauty of the moors and sea.
Tuesday August 11th - All went down to Redcar to the meeting of
the choirs, and had a most pleasant day on the whole, though it was spent
chiefly in Church for we went to the practice at twelve and did not leave till
about two, when we went to dinner; at three back again to Church, and the
service continued till after five. The musical part went off very well on
the whole, very well, that is there were no mistakes, which is a good deal
considering there were three hundred comparatively untrained singers.
Friday August 14th - Mr Morgan's picnic. Mr Atkinson
opened a tumulus in the moor near Tidkinhoe (Tidkinhow) and found two urns, the date at
least one thousand five hundred years before Christ. Canon Atkinson of
Danby, natural scientist and archaeologist, was much engaged on the Skelton and
Guisborough moors that summer. Tidkinhow was home to the Farndale family from
1885.
Friday August 21st - The
school feast. A really happy day. We drove to Hutton in the
morning. The day was warm but sunless, very pleasant for being in the
open air. How the children did enjoy the tea, and after when you thought
it impossible for them to stir how they did enjoy the games. We had spent
the evening at the Parsonage and closed a very pleasant day by playing chareds till eleven o'clock.
Saturday August 22nd - Took tea down street. E. Blanchard
there.
August 23rd Lucy left, drove to Redcar with her. Feel quite
a bord without her.
August 29th - The
two previous days have been more or less wet but today is fine so the corn will
not suffer I hope. Papa's was down the beginning of the week.
Walked to Tockets Lythe. Read Willis Cruise in
the Mediterranean ('Summer Cruise in the Mediterranean' by Nathaniel
Parker Willis). It is interesting, the ground of his travels is so
famous, but his descriptions are poor, and his comparisons instead of raising
you up, bring the sublime down to the commonplace.
In September, Anne's parents went to Matlock, and Anne spent a little while
visiting Mr & Mrs Hart at Carlton. Her sister Kate had been to stay
there at the beginning of the year. Robert and Cecilia Hart may have been
related to Anne's mother. The 1871 Census shows them farming at Faceby
Grange.
September 1st - Had
a walk in the evening with Papa, Mamma, W and Roberts to Airy Hill in search of
mushrooms. This walk and one we had on Saturday eve: seem to have stamped
themselves on my memory, so much more strongly and pleasingly than many other
so called days of pleasure, the first on account of the beauty of the scene – the
purple moor, dark woods, the rising moon throwing a vernal hue over the grass
fields seeming to slope from the soft grey blue sky. The latter
because a solitary seat above the peaceful valley raised my mind above the
struggles and cares of daily life & enabled me to look closely around me,
recall the past & anticipate the future. How much more one lives in
such moments than in the exciting turmoil of every day
life & more especially than in the bewildering whirl of so-called fast life.
… September 7th - A
finer day. The corn will get led and quite time. Walked in the
morning. E. Nightingale (Ellen, aged 22, whose brother Richard
farmed at Faceby Lodge) & S.L. took tea with us.
… September 10th - Walked up Carlton Bank in the afternoon, a
beautiful day. The sun threw a mist in the west and N.W but it softened
rather than obscured the landscape. The heather was in full bloom.
Altogether the finest view I have ever seen, though I will not say my
favourite. Helen [Ellen] Nightingale pioneered us up the
hill, & R came in the evening, cards etc.
Friday - Walked on the Faceby Road with Mrs Hart in the morning & in the
afternoon went to see a new farm house Mr H has planned. The house is
delightfully situated commanding a view of the Carlton Hills with Roseberry to
the East. Polly and I both feel sorry that this will probably be our last
visit to Carlton, and that it may be a long time before we have the pleasure of
visiting Mrs Hart again.
Here the diary ends
Anne died on 6 November 1866.
She died of tuberculosis: "Phthisis [tuberculosis] 9 months – Abscess of
Lungs 3 months – Diarrhoea 12 hours”
Anne's diary is now at the North Yorkshire County Record Office.
Bibliography
Guisborough Before 1900, B Harrison and G Dixon, 1981.
Guisborough in Memory, G Dixon, 1983.
Robert Pursglove of Guisborough and his Hospital, D O’Sullivan, 1990.
Guisborough Past and
Present, P Wilson and P Smith, 2005.
Guisborough:
Photographic Memories, edited R Darnton, 2011.