The Council of the Society is not responsible for any statements or opinions expressed in the YORKSHIRE ARCHEOLOGICAL JOURNAL, the Authors of the various Papers being alone responsible for the same.

CONTENTS OF PART 80.
(Being the Fourth part of Volume XX.)

NORTH SIDE OF BASHALL HALL, WITH STABLES BEYOND
SOUTH PROSPECT OF BROWSHOLME HALL

PAGE

ROCHE ABBEY: North Transept, East Side, Elevation of Bay next Crossing
GROUND PLAN OF SALLEY ABBEY

to face 448

448

to face 487 488

WENSLEY:-Brass of Sir Simon Wensley, Rector, c. 1360

Shield of Arms of Henry, Lord Scrope

A TWELFTH CENTURY FONT AT EVERINGHAM:-
Plate I. General View

II. Archer and Beast

BRASS BENEATH THE FLOORING AT CATTERICK CHURCH

The Vorkshire Parish Register Society.

490

The Society was formed in 1899 for the purpose of printing the older Registers of the county. The following have been either issued or are in the press :-York (St. Michael-le-Belfrey), Burton Fleming, Horbury, Winestead, Linton-in-Craven, Stokesley, Patrington, Scorborough, Blacktoft, Bingley, Kippax, Brantingham, Hampsthwaite, Wath-on-Dearne, Cherry Burton, Marske, Hartshead, Bolton-by-Bolland, Pickhill, Howden, Grinton, Hackness, Ledsham, Rothwell, Thornhill, Terrington, Gargrave, Allerton Mauleverer, Askham Richard, Otley, York (St. Martin's, Coney Street), Kirklington, Halifax, Thirsk, Austerfield, Cowthorpe, York (Holy Trinity, Goodramgate), and Settrington.

Subscription, One Guinea per annum. President: Sir GEORGE J. ARMYTAGE, Bart., F.S.A.; Hon. Treasurer: JOHN AUDUS HIRST, 5, East Parade, Leeds; Hon. Secretaries: FRANCIS COLLINS, M.D., St. Andrews, Lyme Regis, Dorset; G. D. LUMB, F.S.A., 63, Albion Street, Leeds, to whom applications for membership should be sent.

NOTES ON DEWSBURY CHURCH AND SOME OF

ITS RECTORS AND VICARS.

BY S. J. CHADWICK, F.S.A.

PART I. THE CHURCH.

Paulinus hic prædicavit et celebravit.

THE tradition that Paulinus visited Dewsbury in the year 627 is well known, and has been accepted as true by the Mayor and Corporation of that borough, who have placed the above motto and the so-called Saxon Wheel Cross on their common seal. Dr. Whitaker's statement (Loidis and Elmete, p. 298) that "Dewsbury is the common centre from which the light of Christianity diverged over all the vale of Calder to the north, and to the east and west far beyond it," is also pretty generally acquiesced in, possibly because there is nothing substantial to be said either for or against it. There is often much truth in tradition, and it is very possible that the tradition about the visit of Paulinus. is correct, and that Dewsbury was an early centre of Christianity. The old stones in the Parish Church of All Hallows (now known as All Saints)' take us back to the eighth century of the Christian era, and it is quite possible that amongst them are fragments of the cross which is said to have been set up to commemorate the visit of Paulinus. Domesday Book tells us that at the date of that survey (about 1086) there were in Dewsbury a priest and a church, and although we cannot give the name of that priest, or the names of his successors during the 100 years next following the Domesday Survey, we know that one Ketel was rector in the time of Richard I, and we have a fairly continuous list of rectors and vicars from Ketel to the present time. There is a certain amount of rivalry between the churches of Wakefield and Dewsbury on the question of subjection, and on the relative positions of the two churches in early days. Mr. Thomas Taylor, in his Rectory Manor of Wakefield, throws great doubt on the position taken up by Dewsbury and her champions, and Mr. J. W. Walker, F.S.A., in his Cathedral

1 The change to All Saints commenced in the fifteenth century, but the older title continued in the sixteenth century.

VOL. XX.

See the wills printed in the latter part of this paper.

Y

Church of Wakefield, throws doubt on an alleged claim of Dewsbury to be the Mother Church of Wakefield, and he says that "in 1349, among the list of expenses of the Proctor of Dewsbury Church, is the following account: Hire of a certain pasture for lambs coming of Dewsbury and Wakefield, £o 4s. od.'; and he quotes the Rev. Joseph Hunter as an authority, that "this entry is the only one in these accounts which can afford the least countenance to the claim set up by the old minister of Dewsbury for the superiority of his church to that of Wakefield."

The original accounts of the Proctor of Dewsbury are now in my possession, and I give the original of the item above quoted: Custus Idem computat in quadam pastura locata pro agnis Agnorum. provenientibus de decimis de Dewesbiry et Wakefeld pasturandis iiij®.

In the same account for the year 1349 is the following entry: Agni-Idem respondet de vj**xij agnis receptis de decimis de tota

parochia de Dewesbiry, et in porcionibus. Et de lxix agnis receptis de decimis apud Wakkefeld ut patet in compoto personatus de Wakkefeld.

Mr. Walker refers (page 3 of his book) to the story of the custom of fetching annually from Wakefield three or four groats in lieu of wax lights given annually for the high altar of the Church of Dewsbury, and to the discontinuance of the custom owing to the fall in the value of money, which made the sum not worth fetching. Perhaps the following extract from a "Ballad in praise of Dewsbury," written by Mr. Thomas Tingle, a minister there in the time of James I, may explain the reason of the discontinuance :

Six churches hereabout doth obey
This church with due subjection,
And, as their mother, do maintain
And pay her yearly pension.
Church-Heaton, Hutherfield, also
Church-Burton, and Almondbury,
Thornhill, and Bradford likewise
Doth pay to the church of Dewsbury.
And three pence every year hath been
By Wakefield duly paid

Till of late the vicar of the same
The payment hath denayed.

The vicar of Wakefield, who so cruelly "denayed

payment

of the yearly threepence, would, probably, be either the Rev. Edward Mawde (1593-8) or the Rev. Wm. Lister (1598-1620). Now

that the income of the living is to be substantially increased, let us hope that the vicars of Wakefield will, in future, pay the annual threepence in due course.

The loss of the annual threepence was not the only trouble with which the vicars of Dewsbury had to contend. The incumbents of the six churches which still pay "pensions" to Dewsbury refused, in the time of the Commonwealth, to pay those pensions, and eventually the Rev. Samuel Pierson (or Pearson) commenced an action against them for recovery of the pensions and arrears. The following are particulars of the Bill which was filed:

EXCHEQUER BILLS AND ANSWERS. COMMONWEALTH. YORK, 42. The Rev. Samuel Peirson, plaintiff,

versus

Nathaniel Shirt, vicar of Kirkburton, Thomas Naylor, vicar of Almondbury, Christopher Richardson, rector of Kirkheaton, Henry Hurst, vicar or stipendiary minister of Huddersfield, Jonas Waterhouse, vicar of Bradford, John Tilson and John Battie, defendants.

Bill filed in Hilary term 1651 by Samuell Peirson, clerk, vicar of Dewsbury, co. York, shewing that in or about July 1642 the complainant was inducted into the vicarage of Dewsbury, and since that time hath carefully and constantly officiated the cure there; whereby he became and is entitled to the small and lesser tithes, commonly called the vicarage tithes, and tithes for the grinding of corn in any mill within the parish of Dewsbury, and also to all pensions etc. payable out of other parsonage, which have been paid to former vicars time out of mind. The said parish of Dewsbury hath been for many years past a very large and ancient parish, and the yearly profits are very small, and insufficient for the maintenance of a vicar; and the vicars have been accustomed, time out of mind, to receive certain annual pensions, as follows, from the rectory of Kirkburton, £4; from the rectory of Bradforth, 8s.; from the parsonage of Almondbury, £2 6s. 8d.; and from the rectory of Huddersfield, £2: 13s. 4d.; and from the parsonage of Kirkheaton, IIS. 8d.; these have all been paid until of late time.

Moreover the owners or occupiers of certain mills called Dewsbury mills, New Parke mill, and Southill mill, in the said parish of Dewsbury, have ceased paying their tithes as heretofore accustomed.

The pensions from Kirkburton (of which Nathaniel Short is now rector) and from Bradforth (of which Jonas Wateras is incumbent) are eight years in arrear; that from Almondbury (Thomas)

Naylor, incumbent) eight years; from Huddersfield (Henry Hurst, incumbent) nine years; and from Kirkheaton (Christopher Richardson, incumbent) four years. Thomas Webster has held two mills, Dewsbury mills, for two years past, and the tithe thereof is worth £3 yearly; John Battie has held New Park mill for nine years on II July last past, the tithe thereof being worth £3 yearly and upwards; and John Tillson has held Southill mill for eleven years ended as above, the tithe thereof being worth The com

plainant begs that all these may be summoned before the court, to answer &c. &c.

In their joint answer the defendants, Christopher Richardson, Henry Hirst, and Jonas Waterhouse, clerks, deny knowledge of any such pensions as alleged to be due from them to the complainant ; and declare they have never combined to defraud him thereof, or taken advantage of the late troubles and distractions, and given out that now, in the times of the Gospel, no customary payments, pensions, or tithes are due of right either by the law of God or man.

Thomas Nailor, Nathaniel Shirt (wrongfully named Short), and Henry Hirst, clerks, in their joint answer, say they have no knowledge what tithes may be due from their respective livings to the vicar of Dewsbury, because they themselves are only curates. They believe any such sums due ought to be made out of the rectories, by some composition or agreement long since made. Nailer has been curate of Almondbury for about three years last past, the profits thereof are not worth above £50 yearly, for which he preacheth twice a Sunday and performs the other duties of the cure. Shirt has been curate of Kirkburton for about a year last past; Mr. Daniel Clarke was incumbent next before this defendant for about eight years, and defendant hears the complainant is suing the said Clarke for the arrears of pension during that time. The length of Hirst's incumbency is not given.

John Tilson and John Battie make joint answer, denying all knowledge of the tithe alleged to be due on account of the mulcture of their mills, or any composition rate made for the same.

Tilson says that, time out of mind, the sum of 13s. 4d. has been yearly paid by the owners and occupiers of the Lordship of Soothill to the vicar of Dewsbury for the time being, in lieu of all small and minute tithes occurring within the Lordship, whereof Soothill mill is part.

Battie believes that Lord Savile has paid a like composition for New Park to the vicar of Dewsbury, for tithes occurring within the said park, of which the mill is a part. Battie holds the mill under a