Thorpe Bassett Parish information from Bulmers' 1892.

THORPE BASSETT:
Geographical and Historical information from the year 1892.

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

Thorpe Bassett is a small parish and township containing 1,806 acres, belonging chiefly to Lady Cholmley, of Scarborough, who is also the owner of all the manorial rights. W. H. St. Quintin, Esq., of Scampston, has some land in the parish. The rateable value is £2,478, and the population in 1891 was 180. The soil is clay and sand on the low ground, and flint on the Wolds, the subsoil clay, sand, and chalk; the chief productions are wheat, barley, oats, and turnips.

The village is situated about four miles east-by-north of Malton, and one-and-a-half miles south-east of Rillington station, on the York and Scarborough branch of the North-Eastern railway. The church of All Saints is a small structure of stone, built during the Norman period, and still retaining some of its original Norman work. This is seen in the south porch, where the ancient semicircular doorway with its zigzag moulding still remains. An aisle was added to the church in the Gothic era, but this was subsequently removed, probably during some post-reformation repairs. The edifice was thoroughly restored in 1879, at a cost of £1,750, under the direction of Messrs. Paley & Austin, of Lancaster. The north aisle was rebuilt on the old foundations, and the arcade of three pointed arches, which had long been built up in the north wall, was opened out. The whole fabric was re-roofed, the chancel rebuilt, a vestry added, and the nave reseated. At the west end is a small turret containing two bells. During the restoration, an interesting old tomb was discovered, and is now preserved in the north wall of the sacrarium. The lid is very massive, and upon it is carved the recumbent effigy of what appears to be a mitred ecclesiastic. A few ancient carved stones, displaying crosses of different patterns, have been built into the north wall, and some fragments of ancient stained glass, representing the crucifixion, are preserved in the oriel of the east window. There are monuments to the Rev. George Walter Wrangham, the Rev. Robert Hale, and the Rev. Christopher Grenside, M.A., former rectors of the parish. There are 100 sittings. The registers date from the year 1656. The tithes were commuted for a rent-charge of £361; present value, £315. The living is a rectory in the gift of Earl Fitzwilliam and others, nett yearly value, £265, and held since 1881 by the Rev. George Alexander Grenside, M.A., of University College, Durham.

The Rectory House is a commodious building, erected in 1860, almost solely at the expense of the late Rev. Robert Hale, then rector.

The School and Teacher's House is a picturesque ivy-covered building. It will accommodate 40 scholars, and is endowed with £200, left by the Rev. James Greaves, in 1804.

There is a small Wesleyan Chapel in the village, built in 1844.

[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.