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Yorkshire at the eve of Farndale history
Setting the scene immediately before we pick up the history of the Farndale family
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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.
John Thomas Farndale (FAR00405)
was involved in a play in 1907 about the History of Thirsk re-enacting key
moments. The Yorkshire Post and Leeds
Intelligencer, 18 February 1907: PROPOSED HISTORIC PLAY AT THIRSK. In the Assembly
Rooms, Thirsk, on Saturday afternoon, a meeting was held to consider a proposal
for the production of a play illustrative of the
history of Thirsk. Major Bell, of Thirsk Hall, who presided, said it was
intended to use the proceeds of the play for the parish church insurance fund,
and to provide a new heating apparatus for the church. It was the finest church
in the north riding and was not insured as it ought to be. He had been looking
at some parliamentary records of boroughs in the North Riding, and he found
that Thirsk was a borough in the reign of Edward the first. The Reverend F L
Perkins said they were much to obliged to Mr Bell for promising the loan of the
park for the undertaking. After explaining the objects in view, he said the seems practically suggested where as follows: 1. A forest
glade near Thirsk, in which Britons and Norsemen figure; 2. Thirsk marketplace
and the collection of evidence for the doomsday book, AD 1080; 3. Thirsk castle
and grounds with troops mustered for the march to the Battle of the Standard on
the other side of Northallerton, AD 1140; 4. The destruction of Thirsk castle,
1170; 5. A historic scene, when tradition said the Earl of Northumberland came
to impose a tax, but was stoned in the marketplace and carried off; 6. An
Elizabethan scene, when the heroes of the Armada came to Thirsk and old English
revels took place. The chairman proposed that the play be taken in hand. Mr J T
Farndale seconded the motion and it was carried
unanimously. Mr J T Farndale was elected secretary. A committee was elected
with power to add to their number.
This webpage will be developed to
cover aspects of the history of Yorkshire at the eve of the history of the
Farndale family.
The arrival of the Normans
1066 was a turning point in English history.
Following the Battle of Hastings, William the Conqueror took the throne after
the death of King Harold. However the tribal
organisation within Britain at the time meant that defeat in the south was not
recognised by those who lived in the north. So towns
like Northallerton continued to resist the new Norman rulers.
William grew frustrated, and Normans were sent north
to suppress resistance with force. The Conqueror showed himself to be a despot
from the moment of his victory at Hastings. In the north, faced with the
growing menace of the Norman baronage, Yorkshiremen began to fight back. By
1086, war spilled across most of England and the whole of the north was in
ferment. In Yorkshire, bands of outlaws drawn from the persecuted Saxon
nobility took an oath that none should sleep under a roof until the Normans
were driven out of England.
Angered, William marched northwards meeting Edgar
and Morcar ‘where the Ouse and the Humber conjoin’.
He inflicted so bloody a defeat that thousands of Saxons withdrew to the
hills. York was soon subdued and
garrisoned by Norman troops. The Normans then used Saxon labour to build and
fortify York, to become the primary fortress of the north. Many Northumbrian
and Yorkshire chieftains fled to Scotland.
The new Norman Governor of York, William Mallet,
reported to the Conqueror that the land around the city, later called Ainstie, and the Forest of Galtres,
was becoming precariously dangerous. The over ambitious Norman Commander,
Robert de Comine, marched northwards through
Yorkshire, intending to conquer Country Durham, but was swiftly dispatched by
Saxon guerrillas, when attacking the city of Durham. He was burned alive with
his military staff. The Saxons were supported by allies from abroad, including
from Denmark. On hearing of their arrival, thousands of Dalesmen
came hurrying to join them. The Governor of York, William Mallet, in his battle
preparations, accidentally set fire to the city. In the chaos 3,000 Normans
fled the burning city, to be slaughtered by the Saxons. York Minster and its
priceless library was burned. This Saxon insurrection gave rise to a vengeance
of ferocious intensity.
When the news reached William
he roared Per Deum Splendorum (‘By the
splendour of God’) and even his own entourage were in terror. William swore
that not a rood of northern land, a cottage or a human life should go
unscathed. Village by village were terrorised with such savagery that most
Saxon leaders fled to Scotland again, never to return.
150,000 people died or fled during brutal
slaughters. The land was torched. For twelve long years the land laid barren and towns stood stark for half a century. The
terrifying experience for those living in Yorkshire and northern Britain was
known as the Harrying of the North.
William’s commissioners then came, with sword, to
lay the foundations of the new Norman aristocracy. Such brutal overlords
included William de Percy, ancestor of the Earls of Northumberland, who was
given eighty Saxon manors. Large tracts of North Yorkshire fell to the hands of
William’s cousin, Alan the Red who built Richmond
Castle. The mighty De Mowbrays were dominant across
Yorkshire and soon there became established the powerful houses of Clifford of
Skipton and Scope of Wensleydale.
Norman influence grew, with military structures such
as forts and castles built around Britain. The Normans claimed land from Britons, and took it from private owners. To demonstrate
ownership and make taxing more efficient, the Doomsday Book was written to
record every person living in Britain and everything they own. Effects of this
were seen in investments such as large cathedrals and impressive architecture.
Norman Lords started preparing for the crusades, raising taxation from their
lands. The noblemen were promoted, for instance to baron, due to their success
as a crusader. Those who funded the noblemen were the inhabitants of the land.
Desperate times and illegal hunting
In 1315, one of Britain's worst storms halved the
crop yield and half a million died as a result. Thus, the price of crops
increased driving many to hunt illegally. Folk took to hunting but where they
did so in royal forests, such as Pickering, it was
a criminal offence. Such men must have been skilled bowmen, potentially also
those who may be called upon to fight for their king if called upon. But when
they hunted in the royal forests they were criminals.
The hunters were chased by the king's foresters and were often caught unless
they could evade capture. Such exploits sparked the legend of Robin Hood.
Many of our Farndale ancestors hunted illegally in the royal forests of
Pickering. Our ancestors were spirited individuals who were not afraid to
take risks to protect their interests. One of our ancestors, William
Farndale, was later married in the church where legend says Robin Hood
married Maid Marion.
Sky’s
series The British tells the story of People Power in Episode 2. It narrates
the rampages and rebellions of medieval Britain, the Black Death and Peasants'
Revolt. It even depicts poachers in Pickering forest
where our Farndale ancestors were also poachers and suggests that such exploits
were the inspiration for the British spirit that developed and the legend of
Robin Hood. If you are interested in early Farndale history, you will enjoy the
second episode of this series.
The Black Death
By 1349, merchant ships transported rats carrying the black
death to Britain. The black death soon swept through the villages in the south
and then the north of Britain. Soon it
swept through most villages in Britain. In London, mass graves were used to
preserve the dignity of the dead.
An end of serfdom and the growth of a new middle class
Due to the lowered population, there was a food
excess which was sold for profit to create a new middle class and a more
prosperous nation. As more tax was demanded of these merchantmen from their
lords a resistance grew; leading to the peasants'
revolt. The rebels marched on London.
And so whilst the rebel
leaders were executed, the changed circumstances meant that serfdom was slowly
replaced in England, giving rise to an alternative path to many of the European
nations.
Meantime the English tradition of archery gave rise
to a formidable force that fought at Agincourt in October 1415 under the
inspiring leadership of Henry V. The longbow allowed the British to become
victorious due to the ranged advantage and the high rate of fire. After its
release from serfdom, the English forces were loyal to their homeland, which
they had an interest to defend.