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Manors of Laxton - Bayles
family - Laxton church - Hatfield
family - Laxton pictures
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photos of Laxton available for order.
Introduction
Some of the following information is taken from
an article about Laxton written by Philip Saltmarshe of Saltmarshe
Hall. At the time of writing in the early twentieth century he owned
most of Laxton and Saltmarshe and had in his possession many of
the documents and deeds relating to the two villages.
Laxton was first mentioned 1086 in the Domesday book. The name probably
means Lax’s farm but it is often believed to be connected
with the word 'lax' which means salmon. There were salmon in the
nearby River Ouse.
In 1086 Laxton consisted of only one carucate of land [about 120-
150 acres] while neighbouring Saltmarshe was 6 carucates. Sometime
in the12th century a large drainage ditch was dug by John le Clerk
of Metham [Metham is about a mile from Laxton] and Laxton probably
benefited from the better drainage it brought.
Manors of Laxton
By 1316 there were 3 separate manors within the
settlement of Laxton. They belonged to:
1. Nicholas de Metham
2. Geoffrey Hotham
3. Henry Sothill
In the poll tax of 1379 Laxton had 16 married couples
and 28 single adults [over 15]. The richest taxpayer was John Dayvill,
a franklin [quite a well-off farmer] who paid 6s 8d. There were
very few tradespeople - most were servants or farmworkers.
1. The manor of Nicholas de Metham
This manor covered most of Laxton as well as the
area known as Trandike [tranedic in 1199; Trandyke in 1282 - we
still have Trandy Lane today]. The Methams owned it until 1649 when
it was sold to David Belt of Howden
David Belt sold his manor to the Corporation of
York, then in 1837 they sold it to Philip Saltmarshe. It appears
to have been centred round the area near the blacksmith’s
shop [possibly this was known in the 19th century as Popples’
farmhouse].
2. The manor of Geoffrey de Hotham
Geoffrey was granted land in Laxton in 1281. He
owned a mill in the village [possibly water powered]. He was also
granted free warren [the right to hunt certain game] in 1310.
In 1445 William Hotham sold some of his Laxton land to John Portington
of Laxton.
In 1531 Thomas Braunch owned this manor.
In 1533 the same land was owned by Robert Brandling, a former sheriff
of Newcastle who died in 1568. The land passed down the family to
Robert Brandling who inherited in 1576 aged 1. It then consisted
of 8 houses, 30 acres of arable land, 100 acres of pasture, 60 acres
of meadow and 10 acres of wood. The Brandlings probably never came
to Laxton.
In 1608 the Brandling family sold their Laxton manor to John Higdon.
He was already living there as he was listed in the muster roll
with his own armour in 1584. His son, also John, married Elizabeth
Monkton of Caville.
From the 1672 hearth tax records: Ralph Higdon was living in Laxton
in a house with 7 hearths. This could have been on site of today’s
Manor Farm.
The Bayles
family of Laxton
In 1682 the Bayles (or Baylis) family bought the
land from Ralph Higdon. They were originally Selby merchants.
Christopher Bayles of Laxton was born 10th March
1685. On the 30th December 1712 he married Elizabeth the daughter
of John Wastell of Bolton near Richmond Yorkshire, afterwards of
Ainderby Steeple. She was born September the 12th 1690.
They had nine children:
Christopher, born March 19th 1714
Elizabeth, born August 25th 1715, died April 1744
John, 1716 - 1720
Nathaniel, 1717-1718
Deborah, born December 1721, married 1746, died
30 March 1782 aged 62
John, 1722 -1724
Frances, born May 1724
Barbara, born March 1726, married 15th Sep 1760
Catherine, 1727 -1728
An old document states that:
“Elizabeth
Bayles, the Mother of the above nine Children, Dyed in Child bed
the 10th of October 1727; and was buried the 12th, In the North
Isle, at the West end of St Mary's Church in Kingston upon Hull.
Christopher Bayles, the Husband to Elizabeth, Dyed the ... [blank]
... And was buried the ... [blank] ... In the Chapel at Laxton near
Howden.”
Christopher Bayles was a merchant in Kingston upon
Hull. He was Chamberlain there in 1714, and Sheriff in 1717.
In the old chapel at Laxton are memorial stones
to Christopher Bayles of Laxton who died 1744, his daughter Elizabeth
Bayles who also died 1744, his son Christopher who died 1782, and
his daughter Barbara Bayles who married her first cousin John Wastell
of Doncaster, and died in 1794. These stones are in poor condition.
The following summaries of abstracts from wills
are from the Borthwick Institute at York University:
Christopher Bayles [1] of Laxton, parish of Howden, county
of York, dated 24 May 1744
His executor was his Son Christopher Bayles. The will mentions lands
in Laxton, Skelton, Riccall, Selby and Skipwith.
He left bequests of £800 each to his daughters Deborah, Frances
and Barbara.
The will was proved by Christopher Bayles, son and executor, Kingston
upon Hull, merchant, 4 January 1744/5.
Christopher Bayles [2] of Laxton, Esq.
- dated 18 Aug 1782
Left bequests to Elizabeth the daughter of Mary Leek, otherwise
Mary Aldham, "my servant who now resideth with me";
to Mary Leek, otherwise Mary Aldham; to "my sister Frances
Bayles" [executor]; to "my sister Barbara, wife
of John Wastell, Esq."; to John Wastell of Aynderby Steeple
near Northallerton, County of York, son of Rev. Mr Wastell, late
of Simondburn, Northumberland, clerk; and to my late servant Sarah
Crowston. Proved 11 June 1783.
Frances Bayles of Laxton, co. York, spinster,
dated 17 December 1794
She left:
To my nephews Christopher Inman
and Charles Inman [they were the sons of her sister Deborah, who
had married Michael Inman of Hull], £50 apiece.
To my servant maid, Ann Waud, £20, my cloaths, wearing apparel,
my trunk with a hair cover and a mourning ring.
The residue to my niece Elizabeth ,the wife of Charles Escricke
Broadley of Kingston upon Hull, Esq.
Scarfs and rings to be given to each of my said nephews and to friends
and acquaintances.
The will declared Elizabeth Broadley to be sole
executrix.
Proved 24 June 1799; Executrix Elizabeth Broadley duly sworn before
Thomas Rudd, Surrogate. Pass'd 1 July 1799 ... £30.
There was a declaration instead of an Inventory - the Executrix declared
that the said deceased's personal effects at the time of death would
not amount to the sum of six hundred pounds.
The Bayles family built Manor Farm.
As the above wills show, the last Christopher Bayles
who died in 1782 had left all his property to his illegitimate daughter
Mary Leek. She had married Charles Broadley.
Their son, Charles Bayles Broadley of London, sold
the whole estate to Philip Simpson, the owner of Metham and vicar
of Laxton, in 1845.
In 1854 Philip Saltmarshe swapped Manor Farm and
lands for the manor of Cotness. He then modernised the farm. The
tenant then was a Mr Shaw. Later the land agent Mr Biggs lived there.
3. The manor belonging to the Sothill family
Some members of the family - Robert and John -
may have lived at Laxton Hall. This was about half
a mile west of the village near the present double bend [Hall Garth].
The land passed in the 16th century to William Lowson - a local
man living in Laxton. He too was in Laxton in 1584 when the muster
roll lists him as having his own 'coat plate' and a 'bill' [at that
time Laxton and Skelton together had 10 pikemen, 15 billmen, 23
calivers and 6 archers].
William Lowson died in 1613. He owned then Laxton
Hall, 5 cottages and around 100 acres. His heiress, Elizabeth, was
then aged 4.
By the mid-17th century Thomas Girlington of Sandhall was the lord
of this manor and the lands were split up.
The new owner of much of it was Christopher Fulthorpe who, the hearth
tax shows, lived in a house with 6 hearths - probably on the site
of Hall Farm today.
In 1698 the Fulthorpes sold the manor to Richard
Mawson, the second son of Robert Mawson of Cotness. In 1714 he built
himself a new house - his initials are still on the North end wall
of Hall Farm.
It is not easy to work out the locations of some
of the farms as in 1855 when Philip Saltmarshe had obtained possession
of most of the village farms, with the exception of Church Farm,
he remodelled them. This must have been quite traumatic for the
tenants as what it meant was that some farm houses lost all their
land while other land was moved between farms to tidy up their holdings
and group fields together.
A
history of Laxton church
Laxton was part of the bishop of Durham’s
Howden lands and there is no documentary evidence of it having its
own place of worship until the 15th century. However Laxton (with
Skelton) was one of the prebends of the collegiate church at Howden
and the village tithes (of hay, wool and lambs) used to provide
for the prebendary. From 1330 Laxton had its own vicar appointed,
but although there is a full list of holders of the office from
1330-1540 most of these were non-resident and so there is no certainty
that regular services were held or even when the chapel was built.
In 1409 John de Skipwith and others endowed a chantry in the chapel
of St John the Evangelist in Laxton with a “messuage (formerly
held of Alexander de Metham, chivaler), a toft and 35 acres of land
(formerly held of William de Rascelin)”. This seems to
have been one of several such endowments - in 1481 for example Edward
Saltmarshe left 3s 4d to Laxton chapel and 3s 4d to the Chaplain
to hold a service there.
It is therefore difficult to say when Laxton chapel
was built but it seems likely that it was some time in the 14th
century.
In the 16th century Henry VIII seized the land belonging to Laxton
chapel, in all about 100 acres. He sold it to Nicholas Arlush of
Knedlington who, in his inquisition post mortem in 1553, owned 100
acres of land “arable, meadow and pasture, late parcel of
the chapel of St John in Laxton”.
The chapel itself (which stands in the graveyardyard) fell into
disuse and decay since its endowment no longer existed.
Then in 1625 three sisters - Anne, Elizabeth and Grace Dorey - paid
for the building of a new place of worship at Laxton, incorporating
part of the old chapel. An engraving of it still hangs in the present
Laxton church. For some reason the new ‘chapel’ was
known as St Peter’s.
The sisters also endowed the new building with land to pay for its
upkeep: “shoulder of mutton” in Cherry tree row field;
one acre in West field, Saltmarshe; two acres in Farnite fields,
Laxton; four acres in Cotness; a small cottage and a garden in Laxton;
one and a half acres in Bishopsoil and a small close in Wallingfen.
But by 1769 the Laxton chapel was again decayed and worn and the
village was unable to maintain it. Permission was granted to collect
for its upkeep, a sum of £1200 being necessary. In 1797 £400
was granted out of Queen Anne’s bounty to help pay for the
chapel and this was invested in a close at Kilpin. In 1800 another
£400 was granted and in 1809 another £200.
At this time, of course, Laxton was still a chapel-of-ease to Howden
and until the 19th century the curates do not seem to have lived
in the village. The first curate, licensed on March 14th 1673, was
Rev John Mallison who was also curate of Eastrington, Barmby on
the Marsh, Barlby and vicar of Hemingbrough. He was followed by
Rev Robert Poole (1793-1813), Rev Thomas Allanson (1813-1814) and
Rev R Thomas (1814-1821).
In 1821 Rev Edward Ward was appointed and he seems
to have lived in Laxton. Four curates followed until in 1847 Rev
Philip Simpson, owner of nearby Metham, became the incumbent. He
resigned in 1850 and was followed by Rev William Hutchinson who
became vicar of Howden in 1855. He was followed by Rev Richard Ellis
and it was he who became Laxton’s first vicar when in 1858
Laxton became a separate parish. The stipend then was £50
p.a. but in 1859 Mr Saltmarshe gave an extra £30.
In 1860 he sold what was formerly Eland’s/Nottingham’s
farm house (now “Vicarage Farm”) as a vicarage. Rev
Ellis resigned in 1868 and was succeeded as vicar of Laxton by Rev
Edward Simpson (son of Philip).
In 1875-6 the present Laxton church was built at
a cost of £3400, the sum of which was raised by public subscription.
Rose Cottage and Laxton Church pictured in the
snow
The interior of Laxton church showing the oak
carved screen erected in memory of Rev Edward Whitmore Simpson of
Metham Hall, who was vicar of Laxton for 42 years until his death
in 1910
The Hatfield family of Laxton
The Hatfields were a well-established local family,
farming 12 acres in Laxton. Thomas Hatfield, born in 1832, was the
son of Benjamin Hatfield and Catherine (nee Wright) who were married
at Howden on December 6th 1821. Thomas and his wife Eliza had several
children including another Thomas, born 1874.
Many members of the Hatfield family played an active
part in Laxton village life. Benjamin was the parish clerk and both
Thomas Hatfields in their time acted as sexton and village carrier,
driving to Howden market every Saturday.
In the winter of 1899 Thomas Hatfield made a somewhat
more daring trip than his usual run when he drove his pony and trap,
in which his wife and daughter were passengers, over the frozen
River Ouse from Saltmarshe to Reedness. His feat was commemorated
in this photograph which shows Thomas standing proudly at the head
of his pony.
Laxton pictures
Below are some more 'recent' pictures of Laxton:
Mr C Dowson and landgirls at Church Farm
Celebrating 50 years of the Mothers' Union in
Laxton Victory Hall, June 1984
Chicken tonight? Preparing supper in Laxton
Victory Hall
Laxton Victory Hall has recently been refurbished
[2009]. Here is the original opening ceremony.
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