Kirby Grindalythe Parish information from Bulmers' 1892.

KIRBY GRINDALYTHE:
Geographical and Historical information from the year 1892.

Wapentake and Petty Sessional Division of Buckrose - County Council Electoral Division of Settrington - Poor Law Union and County Court District of Malton - Rural Deanery of Buckrose - Archdeaconry of the East Riding - Diocese of York.

This parish includes the townships of Kirby Grindalythe, Duggleby, and Thirkleby, comprising 7,583 acres of land lying on the Wolds. The area of the first-named township is 4,524 acres, the rateable value £4,464, and the population in 1891 was 225. The soil is light, with chalk and gravel resting upon Wold chalk. The chief crops are wheat, barley, oats, and turnips. Sir Tatton Sykes, Bart., Sledmere, who is lord of the manor; Sir Charles Strickland, Bart., Hildenley; and the trustees of the late T. W. Rivis, Esq., are the principal landowners.

The village is situated in a broad vale, through which flows a fine stream of water, to the presence of which this and the other Dale Towns owe their existence. It is distant eight miles south-east from Malton, and three and a half north-east from Wharram station, on the Malton and Driffield branch of the North Eastern railway. The church of St. Andrew is a handsome edifice of stone, consisting of chancel, nave, north aisle, south porch, and an embattled western tower, with octagonal spire, containing three 14th century bells. The tower is of Norman date, but a few stones belonging to an earlier edifice may be seen built into the wall. The spire was added in the 14th century, and the upper part, which had been very considerably damaged by a storm several years before, was restored in 1839. In 1826 the nave was rebuilt of brick, and the 13th century chancel restored; and in 1878 the whole church, with the exception of the tower, was rebuilt by Sir Tatton Sykes, Bart., at an expense of £10,000. The late G. E. Street, Esq., R.A., was the architect for the new work. The style is a happy combination of Norman and Early English. The nave is separated from the aisle by an arcade of pointed arches, beautifully carved and springing from cylindrical piers. A lofty semicircular arch divides the chancel from the nave, and within this is a handsome oak screen, surmounted by a Calvary group. Above the arch, cut in stone, is a figure holding a book. The ancient sedilia and piscina have been rebuilt in the south wall of the chancel, and above the communion table is a reredos of marble and alabaster, exquisitely sculptured, the centre panel exhibiting the Crucifixion. The floor is paved with Staffordshire tiles, of beautiful designs and colours. The pulpit is an elaborate piece of work, formed of marble and granite of different colours. The font is a reproduction of the ancient one, now preserved in the tower. The church is furnished with open benches of oak, to seat 350 persons. The churchyard, which is entered through a lych gate, contains a very handsome churchyard cross of marble, standing upon a stone base, elevated three steps.

This church was given by Walter L'Espec to the priory which he founded at Kirkham. After the dissolution of that house the impropriation came into lay hands. The living is a vicarage, net yearly value about £130, in the gift of Sir Tatton Sykes, Bart., and held by the Rev. Henry Percy Atkinson, M.A. The tithes were commuted in 1850 for a rent-charge, now valued at £74, and the impropriate tithe of the township amounts to £24.

There is a neat Wesleyan chapel in the village, erected in 1886, at a cost of £470, exclusive of the site, which belongs to Sir Tatton Sykes, Bart., and for which a nominal rent of five shillings a year is paid. The interior is neatly furnished with pitchpine benches for the accommodation of 120 persons.

The village school is a small building of brick, erected in 1878, for the accommodation of 50 children.

Near the churchyard are the remains of an ancient building, which was probably the grange, belonging to the monks of Kirkham.

MOWTHORPE is a hamlet in this township consisting of two farms.

DUGGLEBY township contains 1,714 acres, belonging chiefly to the trustees of the late T. W. Rivis, Esq., who are also lords of the manor. The rateable value is £1,520, and the number of inhabitants in 1891 was 183. The village is small and stands about two miles west of Kirby Grindalythe, and about the same distance from Wharram, the nearest railway station. The Wesleyans have had a chapel here since 1826. The present one was built in 1856, at a cost of £400. It is a building of brick, in the Gothic style, capable of seating 120 persons. The Primitive Methodist chapel was built in 1835, at a cost of £120, and about £30 was spent in repairs in 1865. There is accommodation for 100. The school, which stands a little out of the village, was erected by Mr. Croft, in 1838, for 60 children. It is mixed and under the care of a master.

The great tithe, amounting to £40, belongs to the prebendary of Stillington, in York cathedral; the impropriate tithe amounts to £74.

A little east of the village is Howe Hill, a large tumulus or barrow. It was opened by Sir Tatton Sykes, Bart., in July, 1890, when a large quantity of human bones were found, representing about 30 skeletons; also a flint axe, a knife, of the same material, and other articles belonging to a pre-historic people. + THIRKLEBY is another township in this parish, containing 1,345 acres, belonging chiefly to Sir Tatton Sykes, Bart., who is lord of the manor. The rateable value is £1,344, and the population 41. The whole township is divided into two farms. The impropriate tithe amounts to about £100, and the corn tithe (£55) is part of the endowment of Kirby Ravensworth Hospital and Grammar School.

[Description(s) from Bulmer's History and Directory of East Yorkshire (1892)]

Directories

• Transcript of the entry for the Post Office, professions and trades in Bulmer's Directory of 1892.

Scan, OCR and html by Colin Hinson. Checking and correction by Peter Nelson.