sequestered hamlet of Meaux.

The choice did not please the Earl, for it was

a favourite situation, which he intended to convert into a park, as it was surrounded by woods and pools of water, and had but recently come into his possession by exchange. He desired the monk to reconsider the matter, and he did so, but his former resolution was confirmed. Striking his staff into the ground, and looking on the scene before him, which, through a broad avenue of lofty trees, terminated in a noble view of the Humber, he exclaimed with enthusiasm, "Hic locus, nempe vocitetur aula regis......etiam vineaque cœli portaque vitæ, gens hic creatur Christicolarum." (This place shall in future be called the door of life, the vineyard of heaven, and shall for ever be consecrated to religion and the service of God.) Under the direction of Adam a magnificent edifice was erected in the wood, adorned with stately pinnacles and towers, and enriched with tesselated pavements. It was dedicated to God in honour of the Blessed Virgin; monks were brought hither from the Abbey of Fountains, and Adam, the architect of the building, became the first Abbot of the new community. The Abbey of Meaux rose rapidly into importance under the fostering protection of its noble founder, and the monks were also indebted to many of the neighbouring barons and gentry for extensive grants of lands, particularly in Yorkshire. Of these grants, together with the privileges, &c., the histories and registers of the Abbey contain full records, the most perfect of which are to be found in an original chartulary, beautifully written, upon vellum, about the close of the 14th century, and now preserved in the British Muscum. This chartulary was one of the volumes in the library of Sir Thomas Cotton, and did not entirely escape the effects of the fire which threatened the total destruction of that invaluable collection. There is a valuable history of the monastery, entitled "Liber Melse," of which there is a copy in the library of the late W. H. Smyth, Esq., of Heath, Yorkshire. The former work contains a list of 132 places where the monks of Melsa had possessions.

In Waghen alone the Abbot of Meaux had 193 tenants, who paid various sums, from £3. Gs. 8d. down to 2d., yearly, the whole amounting to £66. 8s. 44d. We have shewn in the history of Kingston-upon-Hull that the site of that town was the property of the monks of Meaux, and that it was exchanged for lands in other places, with King Edward I. The Cistercians, an order modified from the austere principles of St. Benedict, were established in England at an early period, and though they professed the utmost simplicity, the religious of the order soon became exceedingly wealthy. (See page 382.)

The monks of Melsa possessed many privileges; they were quit of all pleas of murder, free from all tithes and royal exactions, exempt from suit and

secular service, and endowed with all the same laws, customs, and immunities, which were enjoyed by the church of St. Peter at York. In the ancient records of the Abbey are upwards of 80 Pope's Bulls, 61 charters of the Archbishop and Chapter of York, and several charters granted by the Kings of England. The Abbey church was very rich in relics, and the library was extensive. 'Holderness," writes Poulson, "may well mourn over the loss of the key of many of her antiquities." The number of monks at Melsa varied at different periods, from 36 to 50; but it does not appear that there were more than the Abbot and 24 monks pensioned at the dissolution, when the revenues of the Abbey were valued at £299., according to Dugdale, and at £415. per annum, according to Speed.

The following list of Abbots of Meaux will be found pretty correct:-Adam, the first Abbot, resigned in 1160; Philip, occurs in 1182; Thomas; Hugh, occurs in 1210; Geoffrey de Sawtry, in 1220; Richard de Ottringham, 1221; Michael de Brunne, 1246; Wm. de Driffield, 1251; Rd. de Thornton, 1269; Rt. de Skyren, 1270; Rd. de Bacton, 1280; Roger de Driffield, 1286; Adam de Skyren, 1310; Hugh de Lowen; William de Dringhoe, 1349; John de Reyseley, 1356; Rt. de Beverley, 1356; Wm. de Dringhoe, 1867; Wm. de Ursingham, 1372; Thomas de Burton, 1396; John de Holland, 1423; Philip Davill, 1445; John de Sutton, 1458; Wm. Feryff; Ralph Sloame, 1471; John Clapham, 1488; and Rd. Stopes, the last Abbot, well knowing that "in the King's favour was life," surrendered the Abbey on the 11th December, 1540."

The Abbey is considered to have been a splendid pile, the pride and ornament of this part of Holderness; and such was the spirit of the time of its dissolution, that, we are told, it took only as many days to destroy it, as it had taken years to erect it. The Monasticon states that in the 3rd of Edward VI. (1550), the site was granted to John, Earl of Warwick; but in the 3rd of Elizabeth, the Queen granted the site of the Abbey, and much of the property belonging to it, to Dudley, Earl of Leicester, her favourite. The site, and lands adjoining, are now the property of R. W. Richardson, Esq., of Meaux Grange, having descended to him from his uncle Rt. Wise, Esq., whose father purchased them of the Earl Fitzwilliam. The circuit of the Abbey was 60 acres, of the orchard 20 acres, of the garden 5 acres, total 85 acres. The deep moats around it are distinctly traceable. A small arched gateway, and a few fragments of the outer walls, are all that now remain standing of this once splendid monastery. The ground occupied by the church can yet be traced; near it is a subterranean passage, which has been explored to a considerable extent, and is partly filled with water. The site of the Abbey is now rich grazing land, with an abundance of fine old wood. Many antique relics have been discovered here from time to time. Beneath the brick pavement of the floor of the Abbey, which had not been previously

disturbed, a stone coffin was found in 1834, containing human bones and the common seal of the house. The latter is circular, with a legend, and exhibits a crowned figure of the Blessed Virgin, seated, with the Divine Infant in her lap. In the garden of the Abbey farm an old draw well was discovered a few years ago, and among other relics found therein, were an old tankard, an antique knife, a key, and a ring. This well has been cleaned, and the water is excellent. In the garden of the farm house is a large floor stone, which has had a brass effigy of a lady, and an inscription, said to be designed for the Countess of Albemarle, wife of William le Gros. There is a tesselated pavement in the same place. In the decoy have been found a stag's horn, a silver ring, inscribed "Sir Wm. Alford, of Meaux," a brass thimble, &c. In front of Mr. Richardson's house is, as has been observed, a tesselated pavement; and in the garden is a floor stone, about 6 feet long, broken into fragments, removed from the Abbey ruins, bearing a legend, and the figure of an Abbot, with a pastoral staff, under a crocketed canopy. Beneath this stone a skeleton was found, nearly entire, but no remains of a coffin.

HOLDERNESS NORTH DIVISION.-The following parishes comprise the north division or bailiwick of the Wapentake of Holderness, viz. :— Atwick, Barmston, Beeford, Brandesburton, Catwick, North Frodingham, Goxhill, Hornsea, Leven, Mappleton, Nunkeeling, Rise, Long Riston, Routh, Sigglesthorne, Skipsea, and Withernwick.

ATWICK. The parish of Atwick, or Attenwick, is bounded on the east by the German Ocean, and comprises, including the manors of Arram and Skirlington, about 2,186 acres, and a population of 324 persons. The rateable value of Atwick, without the hamlets, is £1,694.; that of the whole parish is £2,683. The soil is a stiff but very fertile clay. The sea view to Bridlington Quay and Flamborough Head is extensive and beautiful. The manor of Atwick was in the families of Hastings, Mauley, Bigot, Salvaine, Bulmer, Ughtred, and Constable, but the manorial rights of the place are now the subject of dispute. The principal landowners are William Ward, Esq., Mr. George Mason Gale, the Misses Ogle, and Messrs. Wm. Lowson and J. T. Dickinson. The Church formerly belonged to the Priory of St. Mary, Bridlington, to which it was granted by Everard de Roos, in the 12th century. The Living is a Discharged Vicarage, rated in the King's Books at £4. 7s. 11d., and now returned at £149. nett. Patron, the Crown; Vicar Rev. Cyril W. Wood. The small tithes were commuted in 1772, for 263 acres of glebe, and an annual payment of £19. The Edifice (St. Lawrence) consists of a nave, chancel, and a small square tower of brick, containing two bells. The tower was rebuilt by the parish, and the chancel repaired,

in 1829. The roof of the nave is flat. The late Vicar has built a handsome Vicarage House, of white brick, at a cost of nearly £1,000.; £300. of which was raised by Gilbert's Act, and £100. from Queen Anne's Bounty.

The Village is pleasantly situated, near the sea, about 2 miles N. from Hornsea. In the centre of it is a part of the shaft of an old stone cross, raised on three steps, the height of the whole being now about 15 feet. In 1786 the cross was distant from the sea 33 chains 61 links, it is now scarcely half that distance. A portion of a tusk, 3 feet 2 inches in length, 1 foot 8 inches in circumference, and weighing 4 stone 2 pounds, was discovered some years ago, on the sea shore at this place, having fallen from the cliff. It is supposed to have been thrice as long when entire, and is undoubtedly the tusk of the fossil elephant. It was presented to the late Dr. Alderson of Hull. A small Wesleyan Chapel was erected here in 1821.

Atwick Hall, the property of William Ward, Esq., forms a conspicuous feature in the village.

Edward Fenwick, in 1689, bequeathed land at Beeford (in lieu of which 33 acres was allotted at the enclosure), the rents to be applied to the education of the poor children of the parish, and the apprenticing one poor boy every year. The annual rent is now about £40., of which the master of the parish school receives £21. per annum, for teaching 17 poor boys; two guineas a year is applied to the support of the Sunday school; and about £15. a year is expended in apprenticing and clothing poor boys. The schoolmaster has also five guineas a year from Burton's Charity, which consists of 13A. 3R. of land, in Hornsea parish, left by Ralph Burton in 1726, The remainder of the rents of this land is expended upon the poor.

Arram, or Ergham, is a small hamlet and manor, 2 miles S.W. of Atwick, which at an early period belonged to the Abbey of Meaux, and at the dissolution it came to the Crown. Queen Elizabeth granted it to Sir Christopher Hatton, Lord Chancellor, and after passing through several hands, it was carried in marriage, by the heiress of Alderman Dobson, of Hull, to Sir Christopher Hildyard, and it continued in this family till 1804, when it was purchased by John Bainton, Esq. The estate contains about 490 acres. The Manor House, called Arram Hall, the residence of Mr. Bainton, appears to have been built in the reign of James I., either upon or very near a more ancient mansion.

Shirlington is another hamlet and manor in this parish, situated about 2 miles N. of Atwick. The place formerly had owners who derived their name from it, and one of whom gave it to the Priory of Bridlington. At the dissolution it came into the possession of the Crown, and since passed through

various hands. The place now consists of two farms, or estates, called High and Low Skirlington. High Skirlington, containing 188 acres, is the property of Mr. George Etherington, and the residence of his son, Mr. Thomas Etherington. The house stands on high ground. Low Skirlington was purchased by the Rev. John Gilby, and was carried in marriage, by his daughter, to the late Col. Beresford, of Chilwell Hall, near Nottingham. The farm contains 125 acres, and is the property of Mrs. Beresford.

BARMSTON.-The ancient name of this parish, Berneston, is probably derived from its original possessor, or cultivator, and was Bern's town. At the beginning of the 12th century Sir Alan de Monceaux, Knt. (a Norman), held this and other manors, as a vassal of the Lord of Holderness; and about the year 1430, the Lordship and Rectory of Barmston descended by an heiress of the family of Monceaux into that of De la See. Sir Martin de la See, Knt., the issue of this marriage, left two daughters, co-heiresses, of whom Margaret, the eldest, married Sir Henry Boynton, Knt., and on the death of her father, in 1497, she transferred the manor and Rectory to the family of Boynton, in which they have continued for fourteen generations. The area of the parish is about 2,300 acres, of the rateable value of £3,319.; assessed property, £4,662.; population, 249 persons. Sir Henry Boynton, Bart., is the owner of the whole parish except the glebe land.

Barmston is the most northern parish in Holderness, and is separated on the north and west from the Dickering Wapentake, by the Earl's Dyke, or Watermill Beck, which, according to Leland, was made by one of the Albemarles, Earls of Holderness. This dyke emptied its waters into the Old Hoo, or How, which conveyed them into the river Hull, near Frodingham; but when the Beverley and Barmston Drain was formed, part of this ancient watercourse was taken into it. (See vol. i. p. 5.)

The Benefice is a Rectory, rated at £13. 11s. 10d., and now worth £1,065. nett per annum. Patron, Sir H. Boynton; Rector, Rev. John Wm. Bower. The rent charge, in lieu of tithes, is about £680., and there are 38 acres of glebe land in this parish, and 67 acres in the township of Ulrome, which extends into Barmston. The Church (All Saints) is an ancient edifice in the Perpendicular style, and consists of a nave, south aisle, chancel, south porch, and an embattled tower at the south-west angle. The aisle, which was a chantry dedicated to St. Mary, was formerly enclosed by a Gothic screen, and the entrance to it, from the churchyard, was through a small doorway, which is now blocked up. The tower opens into this aisle. The inner door of the porch is curious, and is referred to the second class of the second style of the Norman era; and there is a small narrow doorway on the north side. 3 F

VOL. II.