Figure 1. Mearley from the Keep at Clitheroe Castle:
the Merlay Vaccary was located on the slopes of Pendle.
[please click on this image, or any of the others for a larger image]
Like nearly everybody else researching one's family history, I was expecting to, and had found a peasant farmer at the end of each branch of my tree. With the exception of one other surname, all of my other branches were stalling at a point shortly before the date when King Henry VIII's new registers of christenings and deaths were established.
For several years, for my Nowell's , I thought that I had found my founding peasant farmer, in the form of one John Nowell, who had died 1525. (my 13 x great grandfather, twice over [1])
He had lived at Read near Whalley in Lancashire.
This belief persisted until I discovered the works of the Revd Dunham Whitaker. (1759-1822).
Whitaker who was Vicar of Whalley was one of those indefatigable antiquarians, who had both the time and inclination to research the history of his family, and that of the community that he lived in.
For reasons that I can hardly fathom, nobody seems to have thrown anything away. Christopher Townley in the early 1600's had found a pile of documents several feet deep on the floor of a turret at Clitheroe, and other nearby houses seem to have had muniment rooms filled to bursting, all of which Whitaker was able read at his leisure.
Whitaker himself was by happy chance related by marriage to the Nowell's [2], and as a result Whitaker's two volume book "An History of the Original Parish of Whalley and Honor of Clitheroe.... " contains a great of material about about the Nowell's and all of their many relatives through marriage.
Reading these volumes, was for me was like falling into a Black Hole, or going into a time warping machine, because suddenly I found myself speeding and tumbling back four hundred years on more.
Suddenly, I had almost a surfeit of information.
On the 23rd of August 1138, the Scots encountered the local army of Yorkshire levies commanded by William le Gros, Count of Aumale and Earl of York, who was supported by Ralph Nowell, Bishop of Orkney.
Ralph is credited with having given a rousing speech directly following Aumale's shortly before the start of the battle.
Figure 2. A map showing the border between England and Scotland in 1138.
Much to the surprise of the Scots, under King David I, it was the English who won. This caused the Scots to retreat northwards, and allowed the English to regroup.
These tenants and locals, who had seen their rights to the benefits of these estates removed in most cases were now to be called up, often probably against their wishes, to become members of their local warlord's armies.
The families who ruled in the south of Scotland and the north of England, were almost all from Normandy. However, while some of them may have been in the boats which arrived at Pevensey in 1066, far more seem to have arrived at subsequent landings that took place in Holderness and the Humber Estuary during the period from 1100 until about 1135. [4]
It appears very likely that the Nowell's, the Stuteville's and the Merlay families originally arrived in Holderness, and initially saw service under the Count of Aumale, in the early 1100's having very probably campaigned in Normandy for the count many times previously.
Aumale is a frontier town on a strategic crossing of the River Bresle, at the northernmost point in the Norman territories. It was very exposed to the French kings forces, and was constantly being fought over. It has changed hands many times over the years. In future blogs I will explore, this in more detail.
It is not clear where the Merlay (also spelt Meslay) family came from, however it is very likely to have been from the villages a few miles south of Chartres.
Figure 3. Geoffrey de Meslay, Vidame to the Bishop of Chartres.
A Vidame was the leader of the knights in the service of a bishop. During the 1100's it was quite usual for Bishops to have their own armies. Geoffrey, on the left is one of only two knights shown on all of the 176 stained glass windows in the cathedral. While it is unlikely that Stephen Merlay was closely related to Geoffrey, they were contemporaries, and it is possible that they were cousins.
The Merlay family initially seem to have been given lands a few miles inland of Scarborough on the northern limits of the count of Aumale's Holderness domain. Through marriage they gained Burton Agnes Hall, where a crypt from the period still survives. Roger de Stuteville, a younger son of the Roger de Stuteville who had fought in the battle of the Standard, was probably the builder of the earliest work at the Hall, in the basement of the building to the west of the present mansion. This Roger had a son Ancelm, who died without issue, and five daughters, Alice, Agnes, Isabell, Gundreda who was a nun.
Alice became the wife of Roger de Merlay the I, son of the founder of Newminster Abbey in the County of Northumberland (1137). This Roger de Merlay was succeeded by a second Roger, and he again by a third Roger. [5] This may be why so many of the eldest sons of the Nowell's were later to be called Roger.
Roger's Grandfather, William De Merlay had been given the tenancy of Morpeth, possibly as early as 1088, although the castle probably dates from a little later. [6]
Morpeth was a strategic crossing of the River Wansbeck, used by Scottish cattle dealers and drovers, and was the de facto frontier with Scotland for most of the 12th Century. The De Merlay family built the castle on the south bank of the river at Morpeth from which to control and very probably tax the cattle trade as it came south over the bridge from the market that took place in a very wide street to the north of the bridge.
During the 1138 campaign, Morpeth was particularly badly damaged by the Scots, and the Merlay's new Abbey at Newminster, was sacked just a year after it been founded.
I believe that it was during the reorganisation, immediately following the Scottish invasion of 1138, that it was decided to send Stephen Merlay to Pendle.
It is not known how he fits into the wider Merlay family tree, however as he is one of my 23 x great grandfather's I would dearly love to hear from you if you know!
The lands upon which Mearley was founded, belonged ultimately to the De Lacy family, who owned Pontefract Castle together with many others.
In order to make the most of what was very poor and wet land in the Pendle Forest compared to their other lands in Yorkshire and Normandy, the De Lacy family decided to develop a series of deer parks and cattle ranches, called Vaccaries.
In 1189, Matilda de Percy had written about Sawley Abbey, just a short ride to the north of Mearley, when she said that it stood
"in a cloudy and rainy climate so that crops, already white in the harvest, usually rot in the stalk; and the convent, for forty years or more, has been oppressed by want and lack of all necessities through the intemperate weather." [7]
Although it is not certain how, if at all the Vaccarie at Mearley was connected or related to the De Lacy owned and operated Vaccary, it is clear that Mearley operated in a very similar way to those run by the De Lacy workforce, that M.A. Atkin believes were organised directly.
Perhaps De Lacy had originally planned to have 30 cattle farms, but found that he had a willing tenant for the one at Mearley. Perhaps the Merlay family were able to demand better terms than the other local farmers.
These vaccarie were clearly substantial operations, with the De Lacy records showing that between £500 and £800 a year was being sent to the De Lacy coffers in Pontefract by 1300.
It is hard to estimate the stocking rate, but a report written in 1869 stated that land in the Pendle Forest was able to carry one cow per three to four acres.
Figure 4. The older Motte at Morpeth Castle
Alice became the wife of Roger de Merlay the I, son of the founder of Newminster Abbey in the County of Northumberland (1137). This Roger de Merlay was succeeded by a second Roger, and he again by a third Roger. [5] This may be why so many of the eldest sons of the Nowell's were later to be called Roger.
Roger's Grandfather, William De Merlay had been given the tenancy of Morpeth, possibly as early as 1088, although the castle probably dates from a little later. [6]
Morpeth was a strategic crossing of the River Wansbeck, used by Scottish cattle dealers and drovers, and was the de facto frontier with Scotland for most of the 12th Century. The De Merlay family built the castle on the south bank of the river at Morpeth from which to control and very probably tax the cattle trade as it came south over the bridge from the market that took place in a very wide street to the north of the bridge.
Figure 5. The Medieval bridge at Morpeth, on the road that the cattle took south.
The modern deck sits atop Medieval piers, and is barely
wide enough for one mature beast at a time.
During the 1138 campaign, Morpeth was particularly badly damaged by the Scots, and the Merlay's new Abbey at Newminster, was sacked just a year after it been founded.
Figure 6. Map from M.A. Atkin, "Land Use and Management
in the Upland Demesne of the De Lacy Estate of Blackburnshire c. 1300,
showing the location of the 29 Vaccaries.
I believe that it was during the reorganisation, immediately following the Scottish invasion of 1138, that it was decided to send Stephen Merlay to Pendle.
It is not known how he fits into the wider Merlay family tree, however as he is one of my 23 x great grandfather's I would dearly love to hear from you if you know!
The lands upon which Mearley was founded, belonged ultimately to the De Lacy family, who owned Pontefract Castle together with many others.
In order to make the most of what was very poor and wet land in the Pendle Forest compared to their other lands in Yorkshire and Normandy, the De Lacy family decided to develop a series of deer parks and cattle ranches, called Vaccaries.
In 1189, Matilda de Percy had written about Sawley Abbey, just a short ride to the north of Mearley, when she said that it stood
"in a cloudy and rainy climate so that crops, already white in the harvest, usually rot in the stalk; and the convent, for forty years or more, has been oppressed by want and lack of all necessities through the intemperate weather." [7]
Although it is not certain how, if at all the Vaccarie at Mearley was connected or related to the De Lacy owned and operated Vaccary, it is clear that Mearley operated in a very similar way to those run by the De Lacy workforce, that M.A. Atkin believes were organised directly.
Perhaps De Lacy had originally planned to have 30 cattle farms, but found that he had a willing tenant for the one at Mearley. Perhaps the Merlay family were able to demand better terms than the other local farmers.
Figure 7. Map from M.A. Atkin, marked to show Mearley
in relation to the other vaccarie.
These vaccarie were clearly substantial operations, with the De Lacy records showing that between £500 and £800 a year was being sent to the De Lacy coffers in Pontefract by 1300.
It is hard to estimate the stocking rate, but a report written in 1869 stated that land in the Pendle Forest was able to carry one cow per three to four acres.
Figure 8. The parish boundary of Mearley superimposed on a Google Earth image.
The red markers are Great Mearley, and the blue ones, Little Mearley
I expect that it might have been nearer 200 in Winter. I would welcome an informed opinion from a local farmer.
Figure 9. Pendle and Mearley in winter, courtesy of Steve Wignall.
Atkins records that other De Lacy vaccarie holding between 80 and 230 animals over winter.
What is certain, is that the cattle must have lived on the upper slopes and on top of Pendle. It appears that they probably met very few people, and were probably almost wild. This is brought out by the very large cattle crush, or funnel built of dry stone walls that lead down into the Great Mearley settlement.
Figure 10. Little Mearley is situated in the trees below the deeply incised Clough,
and Great Mearley below the sinuous track to the right
Notice how the walls come down the slope from Pendle in a funnel shape, directly above the sinuous track into Great Mearley.
The sheer size of the cattle crush, for that's what I believe it is, and the substantial nature of the walls, suggest that some fairly large numbers of cattle were being brought down.
How did he secure the land, and lay the foundations of his family's fortunes?
Both of these questions will probably always remain impossible to answer.
However writers including Christopher Norton [8] have studied the activities of Ralph Nowell, Bishop of Orkney, who we last met cheering on the Yorkshire levies as they fought off the Scots in the fields outside Northallerton in 1138.
In early Medieval times many clergy were married, and indeed Pope Benedict IX dispensed himself from celibacy and resigned in order to marry.
By 1095, Pope Urban II was having priests wives sold into slavery, children were abandoned.
It is clear however that into the Twelfth Century, clergy were still getting married, or at least cohabiting, and having families. In 1123-Pope Calistus II at the First Lateran Council decreed that clerical marriages were invalid, but in 1139, Pope Innocent II still felt it necessary for the Second Lateran Council to be asked to confirm the previous councils decree.
Yorkshire was a very long way from Rome, and it appears that Ralph Nowell must have been married [9] as Norton shows Ralph Nowell (still alive in 1154), having five sons, Gilbert canon of Ripon, Peter Priest of Wakefield, Adam the priest, Thomas and Paulinus of Leeds, who died circa 1202.
Intriguingly Alexander Nowell who became Dean of St Paul's immediately following the accession of Queen Elizabeth I, was married, and probably ruined his chances of promotion thereby. The Queen would accept married priests, but preferred her Bishops celebate.
There is no mention of Ralph having had any daughters, but this may quite possibly be because they had no property of their own, and therefore don't appear in records.
Norton believes that Paulinus married a daughter of Lefwin de Marisco, and to have a daughter called Ralph Nowell who was alive in 1227. Several other Nowell's are mentioned including John Nowell chaplain de Marisco.
All of these Christian names were frequently used in every generation of the Nowell family until well into the 18th Century, and often beyond that date.
Adam is very probably connected with one of these families. But how to find the connection is likely to be a challenge, although I have access to resources, and in ways that the Revd Thomas Dunham Whitaker could only have ever dreamed of.
In part 2, I will go on to discuss aspects of the landscape at Mearley that raise really intriguing questions, and also to look at how the estate evolved over time.
I will also discuss a hypothesis that is developing in my mind, about the type of cattle that were present on Pendle all of those years ago.
If you have anything to add to the above, or would like to ask a question, please contact me at balmer.nicholas@gmail.com
[1] John Nowell had two wives. The first in 1486 was Douse [3], daughter of Robert Hesketh of Rufford. From this marriage, many generations later, Dorothy Nowell, married James Barton at the Collegiate Church in Manchester on the 7th of January 1787 to become one of my 4 x great grandmother's. By his second marriage, before 1505 John Nowell married Elizabeth Kay, daughter of Robert Kay of Rochdale, gent. From this second marriage were descended Alexander Nowell, Dean of St Paul's, Laurence Nowell, Dean of Lichfield, Robert, of Gray's Inn, Christopher & Nicholas. There were also several girls, including Isabella, who married John Wolton of Whalley (my 12 x gt grandparents.) From John and Isabella Wolton, was born James & John Wolton, together with several other offspring. This John Wolton became Warden of Manchester College in 1575, and then went on to become Bishop of Exeter in 1579. His daughter Mary, married my 10 x great grandfather John Baber, D. D., Rector of Tormarton and Vicar of Chew Magna. During the 1880's, my Great Grandfather Harry Baber, married Clara Barton at Ramsbury in Wiltshire, almost certainly completely unaware that they were both descended from John Nowell who had died 350 years earlier. See "Dunham Whitaker: "An History of the Original Parish of Whalley and Honor of Clitheroe" volume 2.
[2] One of the other daughters of John Nowell and Elizabeth Kay was called Elizabeth who became wife to Thomas Whitaker of Holme, ancestor to the Revd Dunham Whitaker. See "The Spending of the Money of Robert Nowell of Reade Hall, Lancashire, edited by the Rev Alexander Grosart, Vicar of St. George's, Blackburn, printed 1877.
[3] Also Dowse.
[4] See Paul Dalton, Conquest, Anarchy and Lordship, Yorkshire, 1066-1154. See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_I_of_Scotland
[5] https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Boynton_family_and_the_family_seat_of_Burton_Agnes/The_Early_Owners_of_Burton_Agnes. See also Early Yorkshire Charters: Volume 9, The Stuteville Fee, edited by William Farrer, Charles Travis Clay. The Merlay's also appear in many of the other volumes of this work, as well as in Hodgkinson's Northumberland.
[6] https://actswilliam2henry1.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/h1-ranulf-de-merlay-2016-1.pdf
[7] M.A. Atkin, "Land Use and Management in the Upland Demesne of the De Lacy Estate of Blackburnshire c. 1300.
[8] Christopher Norton, St William of York, published 2006.
[9] Norton, pages 229 to 237. See Genealogical Table 4. The family tree of Ralph Nowell and Paulinus of Leeds.
