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Pudsays, Bowland and King Henry V1
Bolton-by-Bowland, in the Craven district of the West Riding of Yorkshire, is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1087 as Bodeton. This is thought to derive from the Old English Bothl-tun meaning dwellings within an enclosure. The earliest mention of Bowland is in a manuscript The Status of Blackburnshire which refers to the period when the Deanery of Whalley was founded.
From Whitaker’s History of Craven: app 1800:
BOWLAND-FOREST, in the parish of Slaidburn, west-division and liberty of Staincliffe; 5 miles from Clitheroe, 18 from Lancaster and Preston, (Lanc.) --Pop. lower-division 360, higher division 237, total 597. Bowland-Forest, anciently a Forest, as its name implies, extends over a large tract of country on the borders of Lancashire, and is divided into two townships, denominated Upper and Lower Forest of Bowland. Though Bowland is principally inclosed, it is still ranged by herds of deer, under the jurisdiction of a master forester here, in allusion to the name of the Forest, called Bowbearer, who has under him an inferior keeper. The former office is now held by Thomas Lister Parker, Esq. as it has long been by his ancestors.
Bowland, according to the historian, Whitaker, was famous in Saxon times for the excersise of archery in its most difficult form i.e., the shooting of animals in rapid and irregular motion. The Forest of Bowland was a member of the great fee bestowed on Roger de Poitou who came over with William the Conqueror. De Poitou granted the forest to either Ilbert de Lacey or his son Robert de Lacey. Robert (the founder of Clitheroe Castle) obtained the grant of Boeland from Henry 1 (son of William the Conqueror) in the early 12th century, to be held by the King in capite.
The Forest of Bowland consisted of the parishes of Slaydburn and Mitton, together these were members of the fee, or honor, of Clitheroe. Civil relations came under the demesnes of Clitheroe Castle and were subject to the Court of Woodmote, or forest law. Ecclesiastically the forest was an extraparochial tract called the Castle Parish, tythes were paid to the Abbey of Whalley. Most of the villages within Bowland were dependant on the Manor of Grindleton, the village of Bolton was not seem to have been included in this. A survey, taken when the Earl of Tosti held Bowland under Roger de Poitou, showed three villages that are now extinct Bogworthe, Sotlie and Radholme.
The Percy family also had grant of Bolton-by-Bowland as part of their Craven possessions. By the late 12th century the manor became divided, the Skirden beck being the boundary between east and west Bolton. An Elias de Bolton, who lived in the Stoups Lane area, took possession of the eastern area (with about 40 acres) around 1229. The son of Elias, Richard de Bolton, bought two bovates of land and the advowson of the village from John le Vavasor for ten marks of silver this gave Richard a foothold in the village and the right to appoint a Parson of his choice to the village church. Eventually the West-Bolton area was held by Sawley Abbey.
In the year 1300, the 16th of the reign of Edward 11, the bailiwick of the Bowland Forest chase was granted to Edward de Acre. In 1304 it was granted to Richard de Spaldington. In 1334, the 22nd year of the reign of Edward 111, a grant of free chase in Bowland was made to Isabella, the Queen Dowager. In 1431 Henry V1 granted a vaccary (farm) called Batterax, within Bowland, to John Harrison and Thomas Hammerton. The vaccary consisted of 32 vaccae, one bull and its issue, all the hay of the land, for the rental sum of LX shillings.
Richard de Bolton is thought to have extended the Bolton-by-Bowland parish church, SS Peter and Paul, in the 13th century, he died around 1267 following 34 years as Lord of the Manor. Richard’s grandson, John de Bolton, was Lord from around 1280 to 1332.
The Pudsay Family:
The origin of the Pudsay family is unclear, a link with the area of Pudsey (near Leeds) has not been made. In 1294 lands at Malasis, in the Bolton-by-Bowland area, were in the possession of Simon de Pudsay who married Katherine, daughter of John de Bolton, around 1312.
John de Pudsay became Lord of the Manor of Rimington in 1331 via his grandfather, John de Bolton. He became the first Pudsay of Bolton by grant of the Manor from his aunt, Christiana (William de Rimingtons widow) in 1349.
In 1352 King Edward 111, in unusual circumstances, granted him a market charter for Bolton:- In 1344 a Richard Shuttleworth (possibly of Shuttleworth Hall, Gisburn), for some reason, employed men to set John de Pudsay’s house alight, the house was burnt to the ground. Shuttleworth then went away, serving in the French wars and it was five years before John was able to bring him to court. Unfortunately for John the King had granted Shuttleworth a pardon for his services in the war and the case came to nothing. After much grumbling, on John’s behalf, the King granted the charter as compensation. The Monks of Sawley Abbey, never backward in coming forward, also petitioned and were awarded joint charter along with John who was, understandably, displeased at having to share his compensation.
John de Pudsay’s son, Henry, married Elizabeth, the daughter and heir of John de Layton of the Manor of Barforth in Teesdale, this Manor eventually came into the possession of the Pudsays.
Henry had a son, John de Pudsay, in the late 14th century. John was knighted, reputedly for his services to Henry V at the battle of Agincourt.
Johns son, Ralph de Pudsay (see Henry V1 below), was instrumental in the capture of the earl of Fife, an enemy of King Henry V, in 1415 and he was subsequently granted a pension of £20 per year for life. Ralph was knighted in 1448/49 and died in 1468. Ralph married three times, his wives bearing him twenty-five children between them. His first wife, Matilda Tempest bore two children. Ralph’s second wife, Margaret Tunstall, was the daughter of Sir Thomas Tunstall of Thurland Castle, Lancashire and Scargill, Yorkshire (Richard Tunstall, of this family, was a Steward of the Lordship of Clitheroe under HenryV1) Margaret bore six children. Ralphs third wife, Edwina (family name unknown), bore seventeen children.
The Pudsey chapel, in the ancient Bolton-by-Bowland parish church of SS Peter and Paul, contains Sir Ralphs memorial. This takes the form of a massive slab of Craven limestone bearing his effigy, and those of his wives and children. A brass inscription runs around the base of the tomb which reads: Ye tomb of Sir Ralph Pudsay Kt Lord of Bolton ye faithful adherent of King Henry V1 whom he sheltered at Bolton Hall after ye Battle of Hexham A.D 1463 was restored by his descendant and heir Pudsay Dawson of Hornby Castle Esq A.D. 1857. Penser peu de soi’.
One of the offspring of Ralph and Margaret was John Pudsay, heir to the estate. Sir John married Grace, daughter of Laurence Hamerton of Hamerton and Hellifield.
Sir John and Grace had a son, Henry Pudsay, who married Margaret Conyers. The daughter of John and grace, Emily, married John Bank of Bank Newton.
Henry and Margaret’s son, Thomas Pudsay, endowed the chantry that his father had built at Bolton church so that mass could be said for the Pudsay family forever. However, following Thomas’s death the chantry was dissolved, the dawning age of religious turmoil signaled the end of the continuous success of the Pudsay family.
Henry and Margaret’s second son, Henry Pudsay, married Margaret, daughter of Roger Tempest of Broughton. The Pudsay families of Arnford are descended from this line. Henry and Margarets daughter, Florence, must have been considered quite a catch as she married Sir Thomas Talbot, of Bashall, Clitheroe (son of the Sir Thomas we will meet later) who died in 1498. Florence took for her second husband Henry, Lord Clifford, the Shepherd Lord. Following Henrys death she was procured, by Henry V111, to marry Richard Grey, youngest son of Thomas Grey, Marquis of Dorset.
Thomas Pudsays grandson, also Thomas, born in 1531, hoped to see a revival of the Pudsay endowments at the church under the Roman revival of Queen Mary. However, on the death of Mary in 1558, things changed for Thomas as he could not accept the new doctrines brought in by Queen Elizabeth through the Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity of 1559. Thomas was a recusant and died during his imprisonment at York Castle in 1576. Thomas had found himself in trouble with debts over the years, to meet these he had sold large amounts of land at Bolton-by-Bowland and elsewhere.
Thomas had a son, William Pudsay (see topic of Rimington Silver Mines), who found himself in financial difficulties passed to him by his father. William was not as intransigent in his religious beliefs (at least outwardly) as his father and had his children baptised at Bolton parish church. He, and his second wife, Elizabeth, did suffer for their faith, however. William died in 1629.
Williams son died before him and so his grandson, Ambrose, succeeded him to the estate when he was around a year old. At the age of only fourteen Ambrose served in the Royalist army, during the Civil War, and commanded a Regiment of Foot. After the war he was exiled and his estate was seized by the Roundheads. Eventually he recovered his property put found himself ruined, as many of the gentry did when the King was restored. The historian, Dr.Whitaker, quotes a document of this period:
To the King’s most excellent Majestie. The humble petition of Ambrose Pudsey, Esq, Sheweth that your petitioner, having suffered much by imprisonment, plunder, etc, for his bounden loyalty, and having many years concealed a Myne Royall in Craven in Yorkshire, and prayeth a Patent for digging and refining the same.
This reference to a Myne Royall would be the Pudsay silver mine at Rimington. The King made no reply and Ambrose found himself having to sell lands to pay his debts. He sold the Barforth estate in 1660 for £10,000 and mortgaged Bolton Hall in 1667. In 1668 the Rimington lands were mortgaged and never returned to Pudsay ownership. Ambrose died whilst serving his apparently ungrateful King in 1674 (possibly in Ireland) aged 47.
Around this time a John Bradyll, son of a notable local family, was hunting in the Bolton area. He must have interfered with the grain threshing operation of local workers as they dragged him from his horse and beat him to death. High status obviously did not guarantee safety in those days.
Ambrose had a son, Ambrose Pudsay, who inherited the only surviving Pudsay estate of Bolton Hall. A Henry Marsden, of Gisburn, then held the mortgage on Bolton Hall and, in a shrewd move, Ambrose married Marsden’s daughter Elizabeth. The estate returned to Pudsay ownership in 1683. Ambrose was twice High Sheriff of Yorkshire and was the M.P for Clitheroe in 1695, 1701 and 1702. He carried out much restoration on the work of his ancestors on the church building and died in 1716.
Ambrose had a son, Ambrose who attended Sedbergh school and St. John’s College, Cambridge. He died in 1728.
The estate then passed to Ambrose’s sister, Bridget Pudsay, and Christopher Dawson, the son of another sister Jane. Jane had married William Dawson, of Langcliffe, Settle, in 1705, bore two sons, Christopher and Ambrose Dawson, and died in 1708. Christopher Dawson never married and occupied the Hall along with his maiden aunt, Bridget. They were joint owners of the estate, and patrons of SS Peter and Paul, for 42 years. Bridget died, aged 84, in 1770 and Christopher died, aged 80, in 1786. Bridget’s nephew was named Pudsay Dawson and this practice of using Pudsay as a Christian name continues still.
Following the death of Christopher Dawson the estate passed to his brother, Ambrose, who had retired from practicing medicine and had moved from Langcliffe to Liverpool where he died in 1794.
The eldest daughter of Pudsay Dawson, Mary, married Anthony Littledale in 1809.
Anthony and Mary’s son, Henry (one of seven children) Anthony Littledale married Elizabeth Armytage in 1845. Henry died in 1859 and Elizabeth died in 1897. Three other sons were Henry William Assheton Littledale, Ralph Pudsay Littledale and Willoughby Aston Littledale who was the last survivor, dying in 1930.
The Parish Church and Bolton Hall:
The church that now stands above the village is largely the building left by Sir Ralph, the Pudsay family having been instrumental in developing the church over the centuries. The earliest record of the church is an old charter stating that it existed in 1190 although the site would be much older than that. Originally the building would have been small with a shorter chancel, no side isles and no tower. Nothing remains of the Norman building although 13th century work exists.
The church chancel belonged to the Lord of the Manor, the altar being screened off for privacy. The nave and tower would belong to the people who made full use of their church, an early form of community centre. Manorial courts, and inquests, could be held in the nave although Bolton-by-Bowland village had its own Manorial court house, this still overlooks the village green. The Churchwardens, and Lords Sidesmen, would meet the people in the nave where they would settle disputes, take care of parish business and take payment of tythes. A dinner might be given to tenants paying their rents, this was known as Scot Ale as the rents were called scots, hence the expression scot- free. The lengths of chain used to measure allotments in the tenement fields would be measured against a fixed measure marked off in the nave.
Henry Pudsay completed his grandfather Ralph’s work and the end of the extensions to the church structure came with Henrys death in 1521. It would appear that the early Pudsays (first three generations) were not very interested in upgrading the church. However, the later generations considered that the church was a personal reflection on their social standing. This would seem to have been common, at least in the Craven area of Yorkshire, as the 16th century saw many parish churches being renovated, and even rebuilt, by the local gentry. Perhaps this reflected the fact that the landed-classes had settled into their estates, having fought, grasped and socially climbed their way to a position whereby they could consolidate their seats by means of accumulated wealth.
The Pudsay family, of Bolton-by-Bowland, although not now surviving as such, have left an obvious legacy that lives on in the village. Bolton Hall, the Pudsay seat for centuries, was demolished around 1960 by a short-sighted council who, quoting dry-rot as an excuse, could not wait to see the end of that historical edifice. Many people, driving into the village from Gisburn, overlook the imposing gateway that leads to the Bolton Hall site this is situated opposite the eastern end of the village church.
A long driveway leads past the ancient Bolton Cross to the remnants of the Bolton estate, this now consists of the large stables complex (now turned into Executive housing named King Henry Mews, and Bolton Home Farm. Private Land signs adorn the gateways although a public footpath follows the drive to the site.
I spoke recently to the retired farmer at the Home Farm who told me that, around the early part of the 20th century, the Bolton Hall estate employed 100 people. When work finished for the day it was like a factory losing. Footpaths radiated from the Hall like a spider’s web to the villages and farms from whence the workforce came. The estate had a stud for horse-breeding and also grew exotic flowers (in specially constructed sunken beds) that rivalled Kew Gardens in London.
When the Hall was demolished, around 1960, the contents were sold at auction. Three items to be sold were the skeletons of a man, a dog and a racehorse by the name of Balloon Boy, all of which had adorned the tack-room, in the stables, for many years. The estate farms carried on but the recent outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease affected the area badly when it spread into Bowland from Paythorne.
Sir Ralph Pudsay and King Henry V1:
The name King Henry Mews is an attempt to retain some of the history associated with Bolton Hall.
King Henry V1, of the Royal House of Lancaster, became the King apparent before his 1st birthday, his uncle, Humphrey Duke of Gloucester, became Regent in Henry’s minority. Henry attained the throne in 1429 and married Margaret of Anjou, daughter of the King of Sicily, in 1445.
As time passed it became clear that Henry leant towards the more cerebral (even esoteric) subjects in life rather than the practical. He was known as the Pious King, he practiced alchemy and employed three local notaries to transmute base metals into gold:- two of these were Sir Thomas Ashton of Ashton and Sir Edmund Trafford, of Trafford whose means of transmutation was by employment of the: Mother and Queen of Medicines, the Celestial Glory, the Quintessence or Elixir of Life. Henry was so confident of the outcome of these experiments that he publicly announced that “we are so close to attaining gold that I will shortly pay off all my debts”. Of course his acolytes were just stringing the King along, a sure sign that Henry was, at least, naïve.
Henry was not able to live up to the strong reputation of his father, Henry V, who was so successful at Agincourt. At a time when strong military leadership was required Henry V1 proved incapable, from 1430 he steadily lost many of the French possessions that his father had gained Finally, in 1453, the English were all-but driven out of France by the heroism of one Joan d’Arc.
Henry was well-known for his premonitions, he also suffered from bouts of madness (inherited from his maternal grandfather) and had a major nervous breakdown in 1452. He was, however, a gifted amateur architect and founded Eton College, King’s College, Cambridge and a number of grammar schools. Under Henry the English language began to replace Latin in legal transactions and the titles of Esquire and Gentleman first occur.
The War of the Roses saw Henry V1 deposed from the throne in 1461, usurped by the Yorkist Edward 1V. A few weeks after The Battle of Hedgeley Moor, on 15 May 1464, the Lancastrian forces were completely defeated near Devil's Water, to the south of Hexham, in Cumberland, effectively ending the four year war between the rival kings in Edward's favour.
On 24 June 1464, the Lancastrian stronghold of Dunstanburgh Castle also fell to the forces of Edward IV. Following his defeat at the Battle of Hexham, Henry took up residence for the summer at Bolton Hall under the protection of Sir Ralph Pudsay an unusual state of affairs as Henry, a Lancastrian King, was being protected by a Yorkshire family. At this time a number of contemporary local buildings attained a link with Henry. Whitaker’s Craven, on the subject of the nearby parish of Bracewell states:
Here is the ruin of an old Hall, built of brick, probably about the time of Henry VII. or VIII. and was formerly the residence of the ancient family of the Tempests. North of this are the remains of a still older house of stone, in which is an apartment called King Henry's Parlour; undoubtedly one of the retreats of Henry VI.
A converted barn survives in this area and is known as King Henrys Parlour. This begs the question as to who would have actually been aware that the King was in residence at Bolton? If Henry did visit the Tempest property then it is likely that this family would have Lancastrian leanings. A relic of Henry’s (a small silver spur) was owned by the Parker family of Browsholme Hall, Clitheroe, showing a likely link with this family also. The likelihood is that henry would be paraded around the local gentry as a social trophy. No doubt the gentry Mafia would keep the true identity of their visitor a secret from the lower classes
During this period Sir Ralph Pudsay was busy rebuilding the Parish Church and it is thought that he enlisted the skills of King Henry in the design of the tower. It is not certain that Sir Ralph built the tower to Henry’s specifications but leading ecclesiastical historians of the day considered that the tower took the form widely used in Somerset, but not in Yorkshire. They were of the opinion that certain church towers in Somerset were very like the Bolton tower and all had connections with the King. It was possible that “a colony of workmen out of Somerset could have built the church tower” as this was then common practice.
The Somerset connection becomes more apparent when it is realised that one of Henry V1’s most staunch supporters was Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset. Whilst Henry managed to evade capture at the Battle of Hexham, Beaufort was not so lucky, he was caught and was beheaded in 1463 for his adherence to King Henry. This Beaufort line of the Dukes of Somerset originated from John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, and son of Edward 111, who was himself a Lord of Bowland at one time.
Whilst practicing his skill as a water diviner, during his stay at Bolton, Henry found a well in the Hall grounds. He had this enclosed by walling it in the shape of a bath, over the centuries this well, known appropriately as King Henrys Well, has gained a reputation for effecting miraculous cures. The well survives and can be seen from the western edge of what now remains of the estate.
Henry also left what became known as The Kings Relics at Bolton Hall. These were a pair of the finest brown Spanish leather riding boots, tanned with the fur on, lined with deerskin and having a kind of wadding at the ankles to keep out the wet. The boots were fastened with buttons, from the ankle to the knee, and were only eight inches in length. Henry also left a pair of Spanish leather gloves, which were deerskin lined and, like womens gloves of the time, reached to the elbow. These were also small in size showing that the King had a physical build more fitting to a medium-sized woman - as Whitaker, rather unkindly, puts it:- Not only short in courage this imbecile was also lacking in corporeal stature. A spoon made up the trio of relics. Up to the 20th century these relics were proudly displayed by the then owner of the hall; where they are now I do not know.
Sir Ralph became a local hero for the shelter he afforded the King but things must have become too dangerous for Henry to stay at Bolton Hall, after a few months residence he removed to Waddington Hall, near Clitheroe, for the best part of a year. This was the seat of a branch of the Tempest family, Oliver his wife Joan and their daughter Elizabeth. The Hall came into their possession by means of an ancestor, Sir Roger Tempest, who married the daughter of Sir Walter Waddington in the reign of Edward 1.
The following is an account given by the contemporary historian, Leland, of the events that took place at Waddington. Even today, feelings can run high amongst descendants of the mentioned families who have been known to dispute the following events:-
"The King, whilst at Waddington Hall, in the Countie of Lancastre, was betrayed by Thomas Talbot (son and heir to Sir Edmund Talbot of Bashal in the Manor of Cliderow) and his cousin John Talbot of Colebry. On June 9 1465 a grant of award was made at Westminster whereby the possessions, lands etc, of Sir Richard Tunstill, of the Countie of Lancastre, were surrendered to Sir James Harrington by King Edward 1V. A forged alliance juxta Tempest and Talbot and in collusion with Sir James Harrington, forced the betrayal of the King. Sir James, on taking possession of said grant was praised for his great and laborious diligence in taking our great traitor and rebel, Henry, lately called Henry V1.
Sir Thomas Talbot, (whose brother, John, was Constable at Lincoln Castle at this time) his son Thomas and cousin John of Colebry (Salisbury) were granted pensions of £20 per annum for their betrayal of Henry. The Townley Manuscripts hold a copy of this grant which states:Pro bono fervicio fuo in captura magni nostri adversarii Henrici nuper de facto et non de jure regis anglae. The general consensus amongst local people, and historians alike, was that these families betrayed the King to protect their own estates.
The Kings captors, Sir James Harrington and the Talbots of Bashal and Salisbury, arrived at Waddington Hall whilst Henry was having dinner with Dr. Manning, the Dean of Windsor. Legend has it that Henry escaped through a false panel in the dining hall and left the building via a hidden stairway. Henry made his way down to the River Ribble below Waddow Hall and crossed over the Brungerley Hipping Stones (now Brungerley Bridge area on the Clitheroe to Waddington road). Having made the opposite bank Henry made for a wood then known as Christian Pightle Wood but was apprehended. Following his capture Henry was held at Bashall before being tied to a horse and unceremoniously taken to London.
Henry V1 was imprisoned in the Tower of London until he was restored to the throne in 1470. This second reign did not last for long, however, as the Lancastrian Kingship ended in the following year.
On the 21st May 1471 at 2pm, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, crossed the Thames in a small boat. He entered the Tower of London (where Henry was imprisoned for the second time in his life) and, upon finding Henry kneeling at prayer, stabbed him to death.
In an unprecedented move the monks of Whalley Abbey, who were staunch supporters of the Pious King had him privately beatified by the year 1521 a chapel at Whalley was jointly dedicated to St. Mary and St. Henry.
So ended the Royal House of Lancaster. Henry, unfortunately for himself and his country, was a dreamer in a harsh world.
The glories of our blood and state
Are shadows, not substantial things;
There is no armour against fate;
Death lays his icy hands on Kings:
Sceptre and Crown
Must tumble down,
And in the dust be equal made
With the poor crooked scythe and spade.
Sources:
The Reverend John William Winder, M.A.
Whitakers History of Whalley.
John Roby M.R.S.L.
John A Clayton
Barrowford Copyright 2005
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