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A History of Great Hatfield
The Prehistoric Landscape
For the understanding of the history of the village of Great Hatfield
we must take note of the history of the whole region together with other
related subjects, such as geography, geology, economics and so on.
Great Hatfield is situated on the North Holderness Plain, an area of Yorkshire
on the North East coast of England. It is saucer-shaped with the Yorkshire
Wolds rising on the western side and the land inclining to the North Sea
on the east. In the Pliocene Age (about ten million years ago) there was
a submergence of the land and this led to the formation of the Bay of
Holderness. Following this was the Ice Age (about two million years ago)
and material deposited in the region consisted of sand, gravel and clay
brought down from the Lake District and Teesdale. When the ice retreated,
about 8500 B.C. the landscape left behind resembled the Norfolk Broads
with small hills, bogs, meres and hollows. Some of these can still be
seen but most have been removed by farming. The largest remaining mere
is at Hornsea - a lasting reminder of pre-historic times. The seacoast
is constantly eroded as the pounding of the waves wash the soil away,
and it is said that in the future Great Hatfield will not exist.
Holderness is not on the main route of those traveling north as it tends
to be doff the beaten track”. This has affected the temperament
of those born in East Yorkshire, being somewhat independent and freethinking.
Prehistoric Settlers
People who dwelt here before the days of the written records were Lake
Dwellers. They lived on higher ground or on the shores of meres, where
they built wooden platforms and artificial islands linked by causeways.
They constructed canoes hollowed from singletree trunks. Some remnants
of these boats have been found in Holderness.
There is evidence that the area was also settled much later in the Stone
Age (about 5,000 B.C.) and the Bronze Age (about 2,000 B.C.). There are
some fine earthworks found in the district from these times, which were
mounds used for defense. We have one at Hatfield although the date is
unknown, but the most important one is at Skipsea Brough. It was later
built on by Drogo de Beuvriere, (Bevere) who was granted a large area
of land by William the Conqueror - which included Hatfield. Other remains
of this early prehistoric time have been discovered at Wetwang, Garton
Stacks, Kilham and Brandesburton.
We do not know when the first settlement was made in Hatfield but water
would be a priority as in other settlements. We know that there was a
good supply of water here, including a public well west of the pond, an
old well behind 1, Main Street (still used by the occupants) and there
is a spring in the pond itself.
The name of the village
It is appropriate at this point to introduce the meaning of the name Great
Hatfield, as it helps further with an understanding of the landscape.
The earliest written record of the name occurs in the Doomsday Book of
1086, where it is referred to as “Haifeld”, and a variation
of this is found throughout the middle Ages. “Hal” refers
to heath, and “feld” is field, which in early times meant
open land. Therefore Hatfield would be an area of uncultivated heathland.
The “Magna” (Great) or sometimes East Hatfield distinguishes
it from Little Hatfield, a nearby settlement.
Some variations of the name:
Haifeld 1086
Hadfeld 1190
Hatefeld late 12th century
Estheyfeld 1197- 1210
Est Hattfeld 1226
Esthaithfeld 1246
EstHatfeld 1401
Hatfeld Magna 1578
The Ancient Cross-
The Romans left Britain in the fifth century and the land came under invasion
from Angles, Saxons and Jutes. They came from Northern Germany and gradually
during the next two centuries ploughed and farmed the land and they became
Christians.
Christianity reached Yorkshire in the 7th century and the Ancient Cross
is a witness that the Faith was established in medieval times. As the
well of St Helen sprang from the pagan past with the worship of the water
spirit, so Christian stone crosses looked back to the prehistoric standing
stones. The most famous is Stonehenge, but there is a fine one at Rudston
in the churchyard. No-one knows the true reason for these stones although
attempts have been made by some to interpret them in a mystical way, linked
with ancient belief, but the lack of written records make it uncertain.
Christian crosses, also, are of deep significance and became general after
the introduction of Christianity among the Anglo-Saxons. (We know that
they settled in Holderness by the names ending with -ingham as in Keyingham
and -ton, Welton etc.). The cross is the symbol of Christian belief and
originally wayside crosses were erected in wood (stone ones came later),
to terrorise evil spirits and stand as a reminder of the Faith.
A treatise by Wynken de Worde of the fourteenth century reads:
“For this reason ben crosses by ye waye that folke passynge see
the crosses they should thynke on Hym that dyed on the crosse and worshippe
Hym above all things?
There were other purposes for the Wayside Cross. They were usually positioned
where lanes met at the entrance to a village. Here they would act as marker
for travellers, or a starting place for processions. Missionaries preached
there and beggars asked for alms. An archaeological survey of Holderness
made in April1988 however, points to another aspect of the Crosses. It
is believed that it was a Medieval Market Cross, which stands in Hatfield.
The idea put forward is that it was the centre of a busy market and the
village was once a thriving place much bigger than it is now. The Cross
itself dates from Norman times and that makes it at least 900 years old.
It was nine feet tall, standing on a sandstone block, with vine leaves
on the shaft and crouching lions with heads joining at the corners and
a standing figure at the bottom. It was undoubtedly a splendid monument
but has suffered badly from weathering and exposure.
The Danes
During the ninth century new invaders came in the form of the Danes. Although
fierce and warlike they were also cultured, producing high quality craftwork,
as we can see at the Jorvick Centre in York - a city that they captured
in 866-7. We have no record of a Danish settlement at Hatfield but they
may have done so. We do know the name of the county divisions called Ridings
is Danish and means “thirds”. Also the Danes gave us the name
Holderness meaning “one who holds the promontory”.
The Normans and the Doomsday Book
The first written record of Hatfield comes in the Doomsday Book. William
the Conqueror was responsible for this great work. He came from his lands
in Normandy invading England in 1066. This came about because Edward the
Confessor had willed the throne to him (or so William declared) instead
of Harold who thought he had prior claim. Unfortunately, for Harold, as
William landed in the south of England, he was caught up fighting rebellion
in the north at Stamford Bridge. These rebels were defeated, but immediately
Harold was forced to come south where William had marched onto Hastings.
Harold was killed and William was crowned on Christmas Day 1066. He eventually
subdued the whole country, building immense castles and then dividing
the land amongst his barons.
In 1086 William decided to list his assets and sort out the outstanding
disagreements about land ownership, which had arisen during his reign.
The King wished to find out what had existed in Edward the Confessor’s
time, what he himself had given to his tenants-in-chief and also what
existed in the present (that is, 1086). William wished to have a description
of every manor in the country; he wanted a record of plough teams, cottage
workers and those who owned fields, horses and other animals. With all
this information he was able to make tax assessments. A record was also
to be made of wood, meadowland, fisheries and mills.
William ordered a team of commissioners to complete this immense task
in seven months. They managed to do so and it was written in Latin so
that only scholars, priests and monks could read it. (Even the King was
unable to read). The entries were arranged in counties. It is contained
in two volumes, a large one, with most counties and a second one describing
Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk. The book’s proper name is the Book of
Winchester because it was kept there in the Royal Treasury. By 1170 it
had earned the name Doomsday Book, because, like the Last Judgement, it
was final. It settled all disputes over land and was used for such purpose
until about 100 years ago. It is still in existence and is kept in the
Public Record Office.
By the time of Doomsday William had established Drogo de Ia Beuvriere
as Lord of Holderness and of Great Hatfield we read:
“Rayner, a vassal of Drogo, has now there one plough, and three
villeines, and one bordal, and thirty acres of meadow. Half a mile long
and half a mile broad. Value in King Edward’s time forty shillings,
now twenty shillings”.
In interpreting this we can see that a man called Rayner acted as steward
for Drogo de Beuvriere, who ruled Holderness. Drogo came from Flanders
with William and he built a huge castle on the mound at Skipsea. He married
William’s niece, but he ill-treated her and she finally died. Concealing
her death from William he asked for money to return to Flanders with his
wife. Having got the money he fled, and although the king ordered his
arrest when he discovered the truth, Drogo was never found. The ghost
of Drogo’s wife still walks the road by Skipsea Castle.
The villeins and the bordal who are listed were the property of the lord
of the manor. They had to work for him and look after the livestock but
they would have time to farm their own strips of land. They could never
leave the village except to take a message, or to go to war.
The Normans and the
Doomsday Book
The Medieval counterpart of a modern farm was the manor. The fields, however,
on a modern farm are usually quite close together but this was not so
six hundred years ago. The arable land was divided into two or three large
fields, which were further divided into strips, which were farmed by individuals.
There would also be some common land on which villagers would graze their
livestock, together with woodland. If there were only one manor, as in
the case of Hatfield, all the land would be owned by the lord of the manor.
There would be few hedges, if any at all.
The villagers were entirely taken up with farming and life centered round
the cycle of seasons and holy days of the Church. The harvest was the
most important time of all when everyone would work together to gather
in crops for winter. Livestock would be slaughtered before winter set
in. During the autumn food would be salted and preserved. The village
was self-sufficient and time would be devoted to spinning, weaving, tanning
and making clothes, which provided the people with the basic necessities
of life.
Fishing was an important part of the economy and many conflicts surrounded
the rights to fish in the waters of Holderness. The meres in the district
were full of fish and during the twelfth century the common rights to
fish were being whittled away and the Hatfield fishermen fought to keep
their rights.
There are few records of the village in these early days, but there is
one of an inquest, which was held in 1231 by the Holderness coroner concerning
the death of a man in the fields of Withernwick. Men from Great Hatfield,
with Withernwick and Cowden were found guilty of giving false evidence
and were fined.
The ordered pattern of life
changing seasons, interdependence and self-sufficiency changed dramatically
for most villages in this country when, at the end of the eighteenth century,
the Open Field System where strips of land were farmed, was gradually
abandoned and fields were enclosed by hawthorn hedges, and allocated to
local people. This all came about by Acts of Parliament. However no record
of Enclosure is recorded in Great Hatfield and so we presume the village
was saved from the trauma and disturbance, which this great social change
brought about. We must believe that because of its small size, the villagers
enclosed the large open fields by mutual consent in earlier times. This
belief is also confirmed by the road system in and around the village.
Roads built by the Enclosure Commissioners were straight and lined with
hedgerows. Such straight roads run to Mappleton, Little Hatfield and Withernwick.
But the roads in the village wind, confirming the view that Hatfield was
not formally ‘enclosed’.
The Manor of Medieval times no longer exists but its name is retained
in the title Manor Farm of the present day. The farm is on the old site.
Hatfield Manor had a moat still evident at the bottom of Cross Farm and
Moat Farm. The moat would have been dug in the middle Ages. The earthworks
of Hatfield moat are found down the road to Withernwick. Within the moat
would be the house, stables, outbuildings and St. Helen’s Chapel.
Moats were dug for a variety of reasons; to form a defensive barrier;
to symbolise the owner’s wealth and status; for use as a fishpond
or water supply; and for drainage.
Above the lord of the manor was the Lord of Holderness appointed by the
king and after the disappearance of Drogo, William the Conqueror gave
Holderness to Udo of Champagne, and his descendants were the Counts of
Aumale who ruled Holderness until 1260. They were colourful and lively
characters. Aumale was a small county of the north east of Normandy whose
fortunes had their ups and downs. When the monarch was weak they would
extend their powers and when there was a strong king they would be subdued.
They travelled, went on Crusades and lived with the king in Normandy,
so were often absent landlords. The family came to an end with the failure
to produce male heirs, and finally died out and the land reverted to the
Crown.
Meaux Abbey and Great
Hatfield
The most colourful Lord of Holderness was William le Gros who like many
other wealthy men wished to buy himself a place in heaven and promised
to go to Jerusalem on pilgrimage, but because of his immense size there
was no horse, which could carry him. Eventually he became too old to manage
the journey. A way out of his problem was found as he met a monk from
Fountains Abbey who told him that if he built a monastery this would free
him from his vow to go to Jerusalem. William built Meaux Abbey, which
opened on 1st January 1151, for the Cistercians (White Monks) and was
the first to be founded in Holderness. The monks cleared large areas of
land as farming pioneers. In 1280 Meaux had 11,000 sheep with 200 grazing
at Hatfield. The wool was sold direct to Italian and Flemish wool merchants.
This lends support to the belief that Hatfield was once a busy place.
In 1202 when Alexander, the fourth Abbot ruled the abbey, William Tele
of Hatfield gave two and a half ox gangs (A unit of land which could be
ploughed by an oxen), land with a taft (house and its outbuildings), a
rent of five shillings, with rent of another taft; all of which the Abbey
sold afterwards.
Later, at the beginning of the fourteenth century Stephen de Hatfield
and Agnes his wife gave money or other gifts to Meaux Abbey. This custom
of giving to the Church was thought to be a pious one, which would bring
favours in the next life. It is easy to see how the abbeys and churches
became so rich.
On the edge of the village stands a farm known as Hatfield Grange, which
probably has historic roots in the time of the dominance of Meaux Abbey.
In order to maintain their extensive farming activities the Cistercian
Order adopted the method of using lay brothers, who had simpler religious
and intellectual needs. They were sent to distant areas to oversee the
sheep, as it was impossible for the monks to leave the Abbey (Meaux in
the case of Great Hatfield) to attend to these duties. These ‘outposts’
were known as ‘granges’.
The word ‘grange’ originally meant barn or byre, but later
developed to include living quarters and a chapel. Squads of lay brothers
went in rotation for this work. This was, presumably, the origin of Hatfield
Grange, which would have been an outpost of Meaux Abbey.
The Hatfield Family
No one knows when the manor came into the possession of the Hatfield’s,
which took their name from the village. We have a record of the family
tree stretching from the fourteenth to the nineteenth century. There is
a record of Walter de Hatfield in 1218. The son of another Walter gave
all his fisheries of Wassand, Seaton, Hornsea and Burton Agnes to the
Abbey of St. Mary York.
The most famous lord was Thomas de Hatfield - a very important person
who held great office. He was prebendary (i.e. holder of the tithes and
land) of Lincoln and York, was keeper of the Privy Seal and secretary
to Edward III (1327-1371). The king held him in great esteem. On the 8th
May 1345 (the feast day of St. John of Beverley) he was elected Bishop
of Durham, consecrated on 9th July and enthroned on Christmas Day of the
same year. Edward was very anxious for Thomas to become Bishop and in
case he was not elected applied directly to the Pope for his support.
His position as Bishop gave him great power, as church appointments were
not religious in the Middle Ages as they are today. So trusted was he
by Edward Ill that he was tutor to his son Edward, Prince of Wales.
Thomas was a tall man with a commanding figure who lived to be an old
man with grey hair. When David of Scotland invaded England, Thomas led
the army with Lord Percy and defeated the Scots with great loss of life.
After the battle the banners were placed upon the shrine of St. Cuthbert
in Durham Cathedral. He had an army of 3 bannerettes, 48 knights, 163
esquires and 80 archers. The banner he carried was his family crest.
However, he was a cultured man. He founded Trinity College, Oxford, (then
called Durham) and was a generous benefactor to Durham itself. He died
8th May 1381 at his manor in Alford, near London. His body was taken to
Durham Cathedral where it was buried in a magnificent tomb he had previously
built. It is unlikely that much was seen of Thomas in Hatfield.
Thomas’ nephew William did spend time in the Manor. He made his
will in January 1402 in “his manor of Esthay Field” (East
Hatfield). In it he commanded his soul to God, St. Mary and all the saints
and his body to be buried in the church. He left four pounds to a chaplain
to celebrate Mass for his soul in the church. He is referring to the Chapel
of St. Helen. The executors were Sir Robert Hyllon, John Disney and Margaret
his wife. She also appointed a priest to celebrate Mass daily for her
soul, and ‘ordered a window be made in the church, with her and
her husband’s portraits, with her sons and daughters’.
William had four sons, Robert, Stephen, Thomas and William. Robert also
became a man of note in the country. He was the escheator for Holderness,
a position of great importance dealing with crown property. He wrote in
his will on 1st February 1451, after commending his soul to God, St. Mary
and all the Saints, that his body be buried in the Chapel of St. Helen
and four pounds be paid to an honest priest to say Mass daily for his
soul, and that of his wife and family.
Robert’s brother Stephen was knighted by Henry V who favoured him
and Sir Stephen accompanied the King to Normandy on his French campaigns.
It appears that the Hatfield’s were a noble and fine family. They
served their kings and earned many honours, in some case, held High Office.
The family name, however, disappeared and passed into the Constable family.
They came to Holderness in 1539 and gradually acquired a great deal of
land. Later the land passed to the Bethells.
The Chapel
In the Middle Ages Great Hatfield belonged to the Parish of Sigglesthorne
and the Chapel attached to the manor was used as a chantry chapel by members
of the Hatfield family. As the parish church at Sigglesthorne was not
easily accessible to the villagers they would, presumably, use the chapel
in Great Hatfield. A clerk would have been appointed, known as a ‘Vicar’.
John Sawle, one of these vicars, was dismissed for using ale in the Sacrament
and was banned from holding office in the future. From 1593 to 1608 John
Seele was Rector of Sigglesthorne. He neglected Hatfield Chapel.
“... The chancel is in decay in defaulte of the said Mr Seele. The
bodie of the church or chapellee is in decay.”
During the year 1595 not one sermon was preached there. As time passed
the situation apparently did not improve.
Phineas Hodgson succeeded John Seele, but he too took little interest
in Hatfield. In 1626 he was accused of -“suffering the chancell
to be in decay,” but nothing was done about it. By 1627 the chapel
had completely fallen into ruin and gradually got worse and worse. In
1640 it was “all in decay”. The final destruction came with
fire towards the end of the seventeenth century, although a part of the
east wall and a window remained at the beginning of the eighteenth century.
Local people probably took stones from the ruin to build and repair their
own houses. This was common practice over the centuries.
The churchyard is still in use but the most interesting old tombstone
is that of Christopher Constable. The name reads EX POPHER, which is Greek,
shorthand for Christ.
It reads:
Here lies interred the body of Ex Popher Constable of Great Hatfield Esq.
who departed this life December 12th Anodni1642.
In Sigglesthorne parish records
is the gift of William Day to the poor of Great Hatfield, and the day
it was given out was called Day’s Dole Day. This charity has been
administered by Mr. David Clappison until recently, but has now become
redundant.
St. Helen and the
Holy Well
Before the Romans came a tribe of Ancient Britons known as Parisi controlled
Yorkshire. These people were farmers and large settlements are known to
have existed in many places including Salthouse Road, Hull, Brantingham,
Welton, and Rudston.
The Romans first came to Britain in 43 A.D., then again in 55 A.D. but
did not cross the Humber until 71 A.D. They crossed at Brough where they
built a military camp. A fort was constructed at Hayton, before moving
on to York where a strong and permanent fortress was established. There
was little resistance from the Parisi and in the second century A.D. the
Roman frontier was fixed between Newcastle and Carlisle, so East Yorkshire
was well behind. However, later ‘signal stations’ were built
on the coast at Scarborough, Filey and other places, to keep a lookout
for Saxon pirates coming across the North Sea.
Roman remains have been found at Sigglesthorne and a Romans-British sword
was found at Hatfield in 1956. Also there is a tradition that Romans may
have passed this way. It is said that at Burton Constable Hall a ghostly
legion of Roman soldiers can sometimes be seen marching along the road
through the woods.
There is a strong, but indirect link with the Romans in Great Hatfield
as the old chapel (where the churchyard now is) was dedicated to St. Helen,
together with the well situated to the east, in the field now sometimes
used to graze sheep. It is not uncommon to find churches dedicated to
her name in this part of the world.
St. Helen was the mother of Constantine the Great, one of the most influential
politicians in the history of Christianity. In 300 A.D. he had a vision.
It was given to him one evening in the rays of the setting sun. He saw
a cross of light and the words, “By this sign you shall conquer.”
As Constantine went to sleep that night trying to understand the message,
he had a dream in which Christ told him that the Cross-was to be his sign,
and Constantine accepted this instruction.
The immediate effect was that when his soldiers next went into battle
there was, on each man’s shield, a new emblem.
It is the shorthand Greek
for Christ.
X=CH P =R
In the long term the conversion of Constantine had an immeasurable impact
on the whole world. He became the friend of Christians who had for 300
years suffered torment and persecution for their beliefs.
He changed the laws to assist them and gave land, money and buildings
for their use. Those of the Faith ran his entire household.
While in York, Constantine was proclaimed Emperor during 306 AD. and it
is his mother who is still remembered in Great Hatfield. She was St. Helen
and a remarkable woman who had a deep influence on his life.
The Manor Chapel and the Holy Well were both dedicated to her. Details
of St. Helen’s origin are obscure but for many years it was believed
that she was a native of Britain and the daughter of Coel, King of Colchester,
who is remembered in the nursery rhyme, Old King Cole. Ills more probable
that she was born in what is now known as modern Turkey, possibly an innkeeper’s
daughter. The exact date of birth is not known but it is reckoned to have
been about 255 A.D.
St. Helen married the Emperor Constantius Chlorus and a boy was born to
them in 274 who was to become Constantine the Great. Her married life
was very unhappy as her husband brought humiliation on her by divorcing
her in 293 in order to make a better marriage, which would forward his
career. Her son was to compensate for this when he became Emperor himself.
He honoured her in many ways including naming her Augusta (a noble title).
Everyone was to reverence her name and respect her. She had embraced Christianity
wholeheartedly and was able to practice her faith openly when her son
was converted.
In old age she made a lengthy visit to the Holy Land, and it is said that
she identified the sites of Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension.
She found that the Emperor Hadrian (who had lived in the previous century)
had built a temple to the goddess Venus over Jesus’ tomb. She had
it removed and supervised the building of a great new church known as
the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre.
The holy Bishop Ambrose, who lived a short while after Helen, declared
that she had actually found the True Cross on which Jesus had been crucified.
So strong was this belief accepted in the Christian world that the Cross-is
used as an emblem on many pictures of St. Helen. Legends of the True Cross
are numerous. In 346 Cyril of Jerusalem claimed that the sacred wood had
been disturbed in the time of Constantine and moved from the site piece
by piece. The stem and title were supposed to be still intact at the end
of the fourth century, when it went to Rome. Here a basilica (church built
in the style of a Roman palace for justice and commerce) was specially
built to house this holy relic. Gradually pieces were dispersed round
Europe.
On her travels St. Helen is also thought to have found the sacred nails
used in the crucifixion. Two of these she gave to her son, who wore one
in his helmet and one in his bridle. Thus she is often depicted holding
a plate on which are placed the three nails.
Another remarkable story tells how she found the tomb of the Three Wise
Men in Constantinople. This must be pure fantasy, but shows how her name
was associated with finding ancient remains relating to Christianity.
In the ninth century all these stones and legends were put into a long
poem, which is attributed to another legendary figure known as Cynewuif.
It is entitled, simply Elena. The original manuscript is still in existence
in Vercefli, Northern Italy. Helen was, in her lifetime, loved wherever
she went. Her dress and demeanour were always modest, yet she was generous
to the poor and spent her money on new church buildings while decorating
old ones, which she visited.
We do not know for certain where she was buried, but several cities have
been suggested such as Rome or Constantinople. A document, which records
that, she was interred in a stone coffin, decorated with crystals is still
in existence in the Vatican Museum, Rome.
In this part of the county of Yorkshire, there remain at least seven churches
dedicated to her name. In Ashton-under-Lyne in Lancashire the local church
has eighteen stained glass windows representing scenes from her life.
The Eastern Church keeps her day on 21st May, which she shares with her
son, but in the West she is remembered on the 18th August because Spanish
sailors are supposed to have discovered the Isle of St. Helena on that
day. It was here that Napoleon spent his last days in exile following
the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.
The Holy Well associated with St. Helen is situated in the field to the
east of the churchyard. Once every village was within traveling distance
of a Holy Well, which would be important for its healing or magical properties
in days without doctors. In pre- Christian days the spirits of the wells
would be worshipped and
Christians would have taken over these wells as holy places and which
they dedicated to an appropriate Saint. They may have also used the water
for baptism in very early days before the widespread building of churches.
Up to the 1920s there were fifteen known wells and one ford dedicated
to St. Helen with seven found in the East Riding. Some of these wells
were known as Rag Wells. They were so called because both lovers seeking
blessings and the sick for healing would offer rag gifts. The person requiring
assistance had to arrive before sunrise, in great secrecy, face a tree
near the water, take a piece of clothing, and after dipping it in the
water, knot it and hang it on the hawthorn bush whilst the suppliant’s
wishes were made known. Whether this custom was carried out at Hatfield
no one knows. The significance of using rags is not fully understood,
although in the New Testament the use of handkerchiefs and scarves was
made by St. Paul in Acts 19. So it may be that it was believed that the
rags represented an offering to the Saint. On the other hand it could
be that they were signs of thanksgiving for blessings received. In the
case of the well at Great Hatfield it was noted that four steps and a
landing facing east approached the water. There were remains of a door
and it had a roof and walls. The steps and landing still remain. An old
rhyme, suggested by the Rev. W. Smith (rector of Catwick and Long Riston
in the 1 920s) when researching the wells of the East Riding goes as follows:
“Before sunrise, dear
Helen, I stand by thy spring
And intreat thee, sweet saint, good health to me bring,
For with eyes firmly fixed on this ancient hawthorn
See I place a rag from my dress now torn.”
Recent work in the village
has led to the restoration of the Village Green, the pond and the Ancient
Cross. But most important has been the restoration and rededication of
the Holy Well of St. Helen.
In November 1994 a committee was formed and work started on the well,
which is on the land now belonging to Mr. David Young the owner of Manor
Farm. An architect was engaged who designed a large new well house with
a tiled roof. Mr. and Mrs. Brian Shipley undertook the work and Mr. Young
was responsible for the brick foundation walls on which it is supported.
A footpath has been laid, bounded by a hawthorn hedge, and access to it
is through a strong gate, Mr. J. Hepworth has carried out this work. The
money for the work was raised from grants, awards and donations.
On a beautiful summer’s evening on 18th August 1995 (St. Helen’s
Day) nearly 100 people gathered for the celebration of the Eucharist on
the site of the former St Helen’s Chapel; the first for about 300
years. After this open air service the congregation proceeded to the well
where the Rev. Nelson Stockbridge rededicated the Well. During the day
the newly formed group of Great Hatfield Well Dressers had decorated the
Well with posies and garlands of flowers. The well is well cared for and
tended. Each week a posy of flowers is left at the edge of the water for
this lovely, and much loved saint. As the years pass and the hedge grows
it is hoped that the place will grow in mystery and romance. It is meant
to be a place where people can feel in touch with their spiritual past.
..............................................
Recent Times
Since Medieval days the village has remained quietly in the background
although the railway passed to the west of the village as it ran from
Hull to Hornsea. It was to suffer at the hand of Dr Beeching in the 1960s.
The disused line is now well used by cyclists and ramblers.
The Wrygarth Inn was once a pub in Wayside Cottage (the old Blacksmith’s
forge of Wayside Cottage) opposite the pond where the feet of the horses
were washed.
There is still the schoolroom of 1894 in the village main Street, now
a private residence. It was closed in 1958 and the bell, once used to
call the scholars was possibly from St. Helen’s Chapel. The Bethell
family built it for the village. At the entrance to the village stands
the 1914-1918 War Memorial. It records only one death - John Ford, now
buried in the cemetery.
The Methodist Chapel is regularly used. The first building dates from
1838 but was closed then demolished. The present building consists of
two structures dated from 1862 then enlarged in 1901.
The Story of Great
Hatfield was by Hazel Jeffs.
Bibliography
Book of Saints – Benedict
Monks of St. Augustine’s Abbey, Ramsgate 1987.
Penguin Dictionary of Saints – Donald Altwater 1983.
Oxford Dictionary of Saints – David Hugh, Fanmer O.V.P. 1992.
Calendar of Saints – James Bentley. Orbis 1986.
Dictionary of Saints – John J Delaney. Kay & Ward Ltd 1980.
History of Holderness – Poulson 1840.
Goxhill
Geographical and Historical information from the year 1892.
Wapentake of Holderness (North
Division) - Petty Sessional Division of North Holderness - County Council
Electoral Division and Poor Law Union of Skirlaugh- County Court District
of Beverley – Rural Deanery of Hornsea - Archdeaconry of the East
Riding - Diocese of York.
Goxhill is a small parish
and township containing 838 acres, lying between Hornsea and Hatfield
Magna. The soil is chiefly of a stiff, strong nature, and rests on clay;
wheat and beans are the principal crops. The rateable value is £827,
and the population in 1891 was 83. Henry Constable, Esq., M.A., J.P.,
of Wassand Hall, Sigglesthorne, is lord of the manor and owner of the
whole parish except 39 acres of glebe, and the land occupied by the Hull
and Hornsea railway.
When the Norman Survey was
taken, this place, which the commissioners spell Golse, was returned as
a soke of Mappleton, containing three carucates and the third part of
an oxgang. In documents a little subsequent to the above survey it is
written Gousle, and was owned at an early period by a family that took
its name from the place. Margery, daughter and co-heir of Ralph Gousle
or Gousil, married Philip le Despenser, and soon afterwards the Lellays
are returned as possessing lands in Gousle. Ralph Lelley was buried here
in 1412. He was probably the last of the name that had the estate. The
next owners were the Stokeses, from whom it passed by the marriage of
Elizabeth, sole heiress of Robert Stokes, Esq., to Marmaduke Constable,
Esq., of Wassand, whose descendant is the present owner.
The village is small and
stands about three miles southwest of Hornsea. There is a station here
on the Hull and Hornsea branch of the Northeastern railway, and for the
convenience of the few inhabitants a train stops on Tuesdays. The church,
dedicated to St. Giles, is a small stucco-covered edifice of brick, consisting
of chancel, nave, and square western tower containing one bell. It was
rebuilt in 1840, by the late Charles Constable, Esq., and during the present
year several improvements have been effected in the interior - the old
face-to-face pews have been replaced by open benches, a new pulpit has
been added and also a reading desk and lectern. The old church contained
some remains of Norman architecture. The ancient piscina - a very beautiful
piece of carving, with a trefoil head and a shield of arms supported by
angels at the foot - is preserved in the east wall of the chancel. On
the floor is a monumental slab of one of the Lellay family, supposed to
date from the early part of the 16th century. It bears the effigy of a
lady habited in a loose tunic, which falls in graceful folds to her feet.
Her hands are joined in the attitude of prayer, and above her head is
a three-arch canopy with pinnacles. On each side are small shields supported
by angels. The figure is cut in deep bass relief, and around the outside
is a border with evangelistic symbols at the four corners. On the border
is inscribed "Orafe: pro : ala: Johanne : que * uxor: Radulphi de:
Lellan : que: hic:jacet: cujus : ale: deus:
propietur : Amen” (Pray for the soul of Joan, who was wife of Ralph
de Lellay, who here lies. On whose soul may God have mercy. Amen). Several
of the Constables of Wassand are interred here, and their names are recorded
on a marble tablet on the north wall of the nave Marmaduke Constable obiit
1558, and Elizabeth (Stokes), his wife, 1560; Marmaduke Constable, 1568;
Marmaduke Constable, 1607, buried in York Minster; Philip Constable (killed
in a duel) 1618; Marmaduke Constable, 1680, and Frances his wife, daughter
of Sir John Buck, of Filey, 1644, and Marmaduke Constable, 1690, to whom
there is a memorial slab in the floor of the nave. There are 27 headstones
in the churchyard, 12 of which record the deaths of 15 persons whose united
ages amount to 1,153 years. The Rev. Christopher Forge, M.A., who died
in 1873, and was interred here, was for 54 years curate and rector of
the parish. A chantry was founded at the altar of St. Mary in this church
by Master John de Goxhill, vicar of the church of Scarbro’, but
there are no remains of it now in existence.
The living is a discharged
rectory, worth £220 per annum net, in the gift of H. S. Constable,
Esq. and held since 1877 by the Rev. James Twamley, M.A., of Tnnity College,
Dublin, who resides at Hornsea.
· This word is totally
effaced but was probably fuit.
By Mr Peter Johnson
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