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THE
liirlibecfe0 of »estmotlanti
AND
THEIR DESCENDANTS.
BY ROBERT BIRKBECK, F.S.A.
Privately Printed for the Author by Mitchell and Hughi 1900,
PREFACE.
ii2?7G2
TN 1886, before issuing the patent of Baronetcy to my brother Edward, -■- the Home Office required production of the Arms from the Heralds' College as proof that he was Armigerus, and the College of Arms insisted on legal proof that he was descended from Thomas Birkbeck of Hornby, to whom the Grant of Arms was made in 151 5. We had all used these Arms in the belief that we were entided to them ; and in the attempt to prove that we were right in so doing, I caught the incurable disease of Genealogy. Major Robert Stanfeld Birkbeck had taken great interest in the pedigree, but died before I began to work at it. John Birkbeck of Anley lent me all his brother's papers on the subject — a great help in my earlier researches. For fourteen years I have tried to penetrate the maze, and as it appears hopeless to expect ever to reach the end, I have written this Sketch from the mass of notes which I had collected.
I know well that engrossing as the subject may be to the writer, it can have very little interest except to those of the name in question, probably not even to them ; but perhaps in years to come, a desire to know some- what of his ancestors might cause one of the family to be infected with the Genealogical craze, and if so, I think these notes may earn his gratitude by saving him from searching over again the same dusty old records.
I hope I have resisted all temptation to " make pedigree," and I believe that in no instance is anything assumed if not proved, unless expressly stated as merely possible or probable.
vi PREFACE.
I have been greatly indebted to many for kind help, and especially to several of the Westmorland Clergy, who, by copying long extracts from their registers, have saved me much trouble and expense.
Some explanation may be well of the dates with two years, as A.D. 1619-20. Until 1753 the Ecclesiastical and Legal year commenced on 25 March, so any day between i January and 25 March was dated the previous year. To avoid confusion the two years are therefore mentioned thus : i March, 1698-9, 1698 being the legal year, and the date used at the time, while 1699 was the historical year, according to modern computation. The old style was changed by Statute on i January, 1753. In the early registers of the Society of Friends, their practice of using the ordinal numbers for the months instead of their names often creates confusion ; for instance, March, which is now in the phraseology of Friends the 3rd month, was before 1753 called ist month, as the year then com- menced. Thus the marriage of William Birkbeck, 11 November, 1703, was entered 9th mo. iith; the birth of his son John, 16 February, 1723, was entered 12th mo. i6th of the preceding year, and therefore here described as 16 February, 1722-3.
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i
THE
BiRKBECKS OF WESTMORLAND.
rr^HE ARMS were granted to Thomas Birkbeck of Carlisle in the -*- seventh year of Henry VIII. (a.d. 15 15), it is said "for his brave defence against the Scots ;" but though this may have been the case, I can find no authority for it, nor have I found any reference to his having been engaged in any Scotch expedition previous to 1515, although he vv^as so, subsequently in 1523. He may possibly have fought at Flodden Field on September 9th, 15 13, and received the arms on that account. A letter addressed in 1833 to William Birkbeck of Settle, signed by Thomas Proctor, states that through his grandfather, whose mother was a daughter of Thomas Birkbeck of Ingleton Fells (died 1715), he came into possession of a quantity of Birkbeck papers, among which was " a coat of arms of the Birkbeck family in a very mutilated state from age : the patent stated that the arms were granted by Henry VIII. to Thomas Birkbeck, Governor of Carlisle, for his brave defence of the city against the Scots, or words nearly to this effect, and bearing date May loth, 15 15, signed Thomas Wriothesley; this was in 1808. I left the arms with a friend to forward to Mr. Jos. Nailer of the Heralds' College. My friend sent them by a person who never delivered them ; he is since dead, and I fear they are lost."
2 THE BIRKBECKS OF WESTMORLAND.
Mr. Proctor appears to have been a genealogist, and left a quantity of notes written to prove his descent from Thomas Birkbeck of Carlisle, but I believe he was quite mistaken in this belief- ; he seems to have jumped at conclusions without facts to prove them.
There must, however, have been some foundation for the story, and there appears to have been another copy of the patent, for when Dugdale certified the pedigree of Thomas Birkbeck of Hornby on March 22nd, 1 664-5, ^^^ antiquary Machell was with the Herald at Appleby, and thinking there was a mistake in the arms as entered by Dugdale, he made the following entry in his diary : —
Appleby, 23 Martij, 1664, Mr. Dugd.
Memorandum. Mr. William Birbeck, son of George Birbeck of Kirkby Stephen, &" fellow of St. John's Col. in Cambridge, has a patent, or a copy of a patent, wh. the arms which was granted to one Birbeck of Cariile: of (may be) the beginner of this family. I should see it 1^ know whence he had it.^
The official docket in the College of Arms is as follows : — " Cumb. Birkbeck, A. : Cheq. O. S. in chief 2 Lyons heads er. in base a Boars Head G. Crest : A branch of Green Accors <^ upon that a Rose hung in S pr. To Tho. Birkbeck of Carlisle pr. Wriothesly, Garter, and Young, Norroy, 10"' May 15 15."
Another crest from a MS. Alphabet of Arms in the College of Arms, viz. : "A Bow bent in | or standing in a bush of Hazels vt. the nutts appearing out of the Husks O."
Dugdale's Visitation of W^estmorland and Cumberland,- a.d. 1664, at the College of Arms, C. 39, fo. 6, certifying the pedigree of Thomas Birkbeck of Hornby, March 22nd, 1664, figures his arms as shewn in the annexed cut.
1 Machell's MS. History of the Borders, vol. v., p. 39 (Library of Dean and Chapter, Carlisle).
- EDN Alphabet of Arras, at College of Arms.
THE BIRKBECKS OF WESTMORLAND.
Machell, the Westmorland antiquarian, who was a cousin of the Hornby Birkbecks, writing in 1664, quotes Dugdale's Visitation: '" The Arms, Arg. a Fess chequy or, <%? sab. Between three Lyons heads errased. Gules,' but I believe this is a mistake in ye tracing it, for in all their Arms att hornby, the Fess is co'ntercompone, or ^ azure, he bore 3 Lyons heads ^c. & sometimes he bore 2 Lyons heads in chiefe <^ a F Bores head in bass : which I have seen confirmed in Visit. West. <^ Cumb. circa temp. Hen. 8."
In Dwnn's " Visitation of Wales and part of the Marches between the years 1586 and 1613," vol. i., p. 191, is the pedigree of "Syr Hylbert Byrbeck, Vickar off Lamffae in Pembrokeshire, 1608. He bereth Argent a ffes check Or an G. : 2 leions hiets erasyd G. : in bas powynts a Bors hieds kopied G. — o duw nad gamwedd, O God, Prevent error." Syr
Hylbert was certainly the Rev. Cuthbert Birkbeck, son of Edward Birkbeck of Hornby (fide post, p. 20). The prefix "Sir" was formerly generally applied to clergymen who had not taken a University degree.
4 THE BIRKBECKS OF WESTMORLAND.
Dugdale's Visitation of Yorkshire, a.d. 1666,^ certifies the arms of Thomas Birkbeck of Sheffield, and of Peter Birkbeck, Rector of Castleford, CO. York, as grandsons of " Thomas Birkbeck of Orton in Com. West- morl., of the family of Morton Tinmouth in Com. Palat. Dunelm,"
Argent, a fess between two lions' heads erased in chief, and a boar's head in base gules. Thomas Birkbeck of Orton was not descended from the Morton Tynmouth family, nor I believe from any of the Hornby Birkbecks [fide post, p. 43), but it seems to have been a point of honour with the Birkbecks to claim that they were descended from the Hornby family.
The arms at Headlam on the shield in the fireplace are described in " The Antiquities of Gainford," by J. R. Walbran, p. 107 (I omitted to copy them myself), as " a fess compony between three lions' heads erased, a crescent for difference," the crest being broken off the shield ; and the four shields in the stained glass removed from the window at the same place are all of them, a fess compony between three lions' heads erased gules. A silver cup given in 1609 by Thomas Birkbeck of Hornby to his daughter-in-law Anna, the wife of Henry Birkbeck of Headlam (described on p. 23), has the arms engraved, a fess compony between three lions' heads. The arms of his cousin Thomas Birkbeck of Morton Tynmouth on a brass in Gainford Church (^ride p. 20) in memory of his wife, A.D. 1668, were : Argent, a fess compony or and sable, between two lions'
' College of Arms, C. 40, 221 B.
THE BIRKBECKS OF WESTMORLAND. 5
heads erased in chief, and a boar's head in base. Crest : A hazel branch fructed proper debruised by a bow bent in pale (vide cut).
In C. 14, fo. 62, Visitation of Counties Northampton and Rutland, A.D. 1619, at the College of Arms, occurs the following match anterior to 20 Edward IV. : —
Richardus Andrewe de Sawbridge=pKatherina tilia et heres Joh'is Berbcck ,
in com. Warw. de com. Ebor.
Tho. Andrewe, emit manerium de Charwelton a° 30 Edw. IV.
The arms allowed for this lady in the scheme of quarterings at the base of the pedigree are : — " Sable, a fess chequey argent and of the ist, between 3 Lions' heads erased or " (vide cut, p. 6).
In Augustine Vincent's MS., College of Arms, vol. xliv., fo. 68, the arms given to the above Katherina Berbeck are, " Sable, on a chief or three niascles of the first," but this would appear to have been a mistake. Apparently therefore there had been an earlier grant of arms before 151 5, the son having bought the Manor of Charwelton in 1480-1 (but this is the only trace I found of it), though the arms are similar to those granted 1 5 1 5 ; the blazoning is quite different.
Who John Birkbeck of Yorkshire was I do not know. There was a John Burback, Professor of Sacred Theology and Vice-Chancellor of the
6 THE BIRKBECKS OF WESTMORLAND.
University of Oxford a.d. 1435-6, but I have no proof that either he or another John Burback, Prebendary of Lincohi, ob. 1402, were Birkbecks.
From Warburton's "Arms of Yorkshire Families" (Lansd. MSS. 908, British Museum) it appears that the Birkbecks of Osgoodby, co. York, used the arms (Warburton was Somerset Herald 1720 — 1759)- In 1741 Charles Birkbeck of York had a freehold at Osgoodby which he inherited from his father, Dr. Christopher Birkbeck of York, " a very eminent surgeon of this city, who died a.d. 1717" (M.I. All Saints, York). He was the son of Edward Birkbeck of Aldborough, who died 1674.
In a MS., "Arms C," p. 123, in the College of Arms, Dublin Castle, are the arms of Birckbeck : " Ar. a fess compony Or and az. between 2 lions' heads in chief and a boar's head in base Gu. ;" but the MS. is no' official, nor is there any mention of locality.
THE BIRKBECKS OF WESTMORLAND.
The Settle family have long used the arms with the fess chequy between three hons' heads ; and as crest the nut-branch and bow {lide cut), with the motto " Regi semper fidelis "; while the sons of Dr. George Birkbeck also used the branch of acorns with the rose, and the motto "Fide sed cui vide." In Norfolk we used the nut-branch without the bow, and no motto ; since 1886 of course the arms and crest granted that year as below.
The arms seem to have been generally and freely used without the slightest right, and probably with a sincere belief on the part of the wearer that he was descended from the Hornby Birkbecks, who alone had the right to bear the arms. All the Settle Birkbecks, with the Norfolk branch, had for long used the arms in perfect faith that they were entitled to them, but on the patent of Baronetcy being made out in 1886, the College of Arms required proof of the descent from Thomas Birkbeck of Hornby. This I soon satisfied myself was not the case, and fresh arms were granted to the descendants of John Birkbeck of Lynn, my grandfather ; they are as close as could be allowed to the original arms [vide Frontispiece).
Arms : Argent, a fess chequy az. and or cottised of the second, between three lions' heads erased gules, in the centre chief point a bow palewise ppr.
Crest : Upon a rock in front of a hazel branch, slipped and fructed, a bow palewise, all ppr.
Granted in 1886 to the descendants of John Birkbeck of Lynn Regis.
THE BIRKBECKS OF WESTMORLAND.
rT-\HE NAME OF BIRKBECK has from an early date been of very -*- frequent occurrence in the records of Cumberland, Westmorland, and Yorkshire. The Birkbeck lordship, from which the family name was derived, is chiefly in the parish of Orton, although a portion is within the parishes of Shap and Crosby Ravensworth in the county of Westmorland. it is now known as Birkbeck Fells, an extensive and wild mountainous district watered by the Birkbeck — a stream which, rising in the upper part of the Fell near Wasdale Pike, falls into the river Lune' close to Tebay Station, on the main line of the London and North-Western Railway.
Both lordship and river are several times mentioned in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The course of the latter was described under the name " Bibeck River " in a Boundary Roll of the Orton and Raisbeck Manors at the time of the division of the Manors {I'ide p. 39), witnessed by Sir Michael de Harclay, who lived in the reigns of Henry IIL and Edward L The roil is no longer in existence, but is stated by Dr. Burns, in the well-known " History and Antiquities of Westmorland and Cumberland,"^ to have been in the possession of Edward Birkbeck of Coatflat Hall, Orton, and to have been copied by the Rev. Thomas
1 "True it is," as Drayton sa3'S, " that the destinies assign such honour to this river [the Lune] that she christens in her course a County Palatine — ■
' Yet though she be a flood such glory that doth gain In that the British crown doth to her state pertain, Yet Westmorland alone not only gives her birth, But for her greater good the kind Westmerian earth Clear Burbeck her bequeathes, and Barrow to attend Her grace, till she her name to Lancaster doth lend.' "* - " History and Antiquities of Westmorland and Cumberland" (Burns and Nicholson), vol. i., p. 486.
* Article on Westmorland in "Quarterly Review," April. 1867.
THE BIRKBECKS OF WESTMORLAND. 9
Machell, Rector of Klrkby Thore from 1677 to 1698, "the father of all Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquaries."^ The name of the stream shews the derivation very clearly — the Birch Brook, " birk " being of course Scotch for " birch," and " beck " a north-country and Scandinavian word for "brook"; the streams running towards the west being generally called " becks," while those which run to the east have more often the Scotch designation " burns." The Scandinavians were much more firmly settled on the west than on the east coast of the north of England.
Even had there been Blrkbecks of sufficient position to have been mentioned in Doomsday Book, the survey did not include Northumberland, Durham, Cumberland, or Westmorland (although parts of the Barony of Kendal were taken with Lancashire), as those counties had been devastated with fire and sword by the Normans, and being waste and uncultivated were doubtless considered worthless. Cumberland and most of Westmorland, moreover, were ceded to the Scots by William the Conqueror.
The name was spelt in many different ways, the letter i) being constantly used in place of z, more especially perhaps in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. We find during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, as place names in Westmorland, Birkbeck, Birkbek, Berkebek, Bibeck, Berburn, Bercburn, Berckburn, — all, I believe, being the Birkbeck Lordship. Burbank is probably a distinct place, although I think I have found it used as a personal name for a Birkbeck. As personal names the spelling also varied very much, as Burbacke, Bychebek of Berburn, Berkebek, Berlebek, and Berkeley are all used for one and the same person. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries we find " Birtbet alias Birkebek," Birtbeck and Birkebecke in the same family at the same time, Barbyke and Birkebecke
1 Chancellor Ferguson, '■' Transactions of Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian Society," vol. iv,, p. i.
10 THE BIRKBECKS OF WESTMORLAND.
for the same person, as also Birkbecke, Birkebecke, Byrkbek, Byrkebek, Byrkbeck, Byrkebeck, Byrckbecke, and Barkebeke, all for one individual. Later on Birbeck or Burbeck is often found, so the name would appear to have been pronounced, as at present, without sounding the k. Certainly this was the case in 1702, as in a Chancery Deposition^ by Catterick Birkbeck of Hornby his name in the heading is correctly written over an erasure ; in all other places in his evidence in this suit the spelling is Burbeck, but the signature is Birkbeck.
I regret to say that the earliest records of the name I have found seem to shew that in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries they were a turbulent family, although probably not more so than their neighbours. In 13 18 " Willielmus de Birkebek as one of the adherents of Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, obtains pardon by consent of Parliament for all felonies and trespasses committed by him up to the 7"' August then last past ; the robbery of the Cardinal Legates only excepted. Tested at York i Nov. 12 Ed. IL'"
In August, 13 I 7, the Cardinals John de Ossa and Luke de Fieschi, having received a commission from the Pope (John XXII.), with full powers to settle p^ace throughout Great Britain, set out from London to Scotland, but when on their road from York to Durham they were surprised near Darlington by a party under Sir Gilbert de Middleton, Keeper of the Castle of Mitford, and Sir Walter Selby, and robbed of their money, goods, and horses. The Earl of Lancaster, who had rebelled against his cousin Edward II., made his peace with the King at a Parliament assembled at York 20 October, 1318, and his adherents were pardoned, the sacrilegious robbery only excepted, but again rebelling, he was finally vanquished with Roger de Clifford by Andrew de Hercla at Burrough Bridge in Yorkshire in 1322 and beheaded; Roger de Clifford being pardoned as
1 Exche<iuer Depositions, i and 2 Anne (Yorkshire), Hilary, No. 10. " Rot. I\n-1. 12 Edward II., p. i, m. 16.
THE BIRKBECKS OF WESTMORLAND. ii
William de Birkebek had previously been : the latter may have been an " adherent " of the Earl of Lancaster as a follower of Roger de Clifford — there certainly was some connection between the Cliffords and the Birkbecks a century or two later.
The Assize Rolls also for the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries mention Birkbecks in a somewhat unpleasant manner ; and later on they shewed little regard for game-laws in their love of sport : a.d. i 584, " Thomas Birkbeck of Ripley, co. York, with others in a very riotous and outrageous manner assembled with long pike-staves, swords, and daggers, did take, kill, and carry away divers conies " from Kellinghall Moor in the forest of Knaresbro.^ Although Edward Birkbeck in acquiring Hornby covenanted with the Earl of Cumberland that " he should leave his deer unmolested or slain," yet in 1566 the Earl was compelled to proceed against Henry Birkbeck of Hornby, Gentleman (a younger son of Edward), Thomas Byrkbeck, Gentleman, of Hartley Castle, and others, " for forcibly entering and hunting in Plaintiff's park at Brougham without leave, and taking Plaintiff's deer, viz., one buck, three does, and two fawns, to the damage of £^0 ;"" and a hundred years later (in 1677) William Atkinson at Lowther writes to Daniel Fleming that he thinks he has discovered the deerstealers of 13 September in Lowther Park, and names Mr. Birkbeck as ringleader.^ The pugnacious spirit shewn by the marauding and killing in the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries seems during the two following centuries to have found a vent in the law-courts. I have waded through and partly copied the pleadings in 145 law-suits at the Record Office, and doubtless could have found many more in a longer search. There is an immense amount of most interesting genealogical information to be found in these
1 Attorney-General v. Thomas Birkbeck and others, Duchy of Lancaster, Elizabeth, vol. 88, A. 38.
^ De Banco Roll, Easter, 8 Elizabeth, m. 25, 5.
s MSS. of S. H. Le Fleming (Historical Manuscripts' Commission, xii., part vii., P-7)-
c 2
12 THE BIRKBECKS OF WESTMORLAND.
old cases ; they sometimes recite family history for generations back. But we may hope that, possibly from Qiiaker influence, the family have of later years been less addicted to litigation, as I have only found one single law-suit to which a Birkbeck was a party since they went to Settle, and even in that he was not directly responsible ; a Hornby suit, however, dragged on to 1743.
( 13 )
BIRK BECKS OF HORNBY.
The two most prominent families of the Birkbecks were those of Hornby and Orton ; the former were descended from
THOMAS BYRKEBEKE of Carlisle, who is said to have been Governor of that city, but I can find no good authority for this, although he was certainly a man of some position ; indeed from Machell's account, written in the latter half of the seventeenth century (vide p. 35), it would appear that his ancestors had for at least five generations married into very leading families in Westmorland, and probably that Thomas Byrkebeke himself had married a daughter of Lancaster of Sockbrldge, a descendant of Ivo de Talebois, who was granted the Barony of Kendal by William the Conqueror. William de Talebois, by licence of Henry II., took the name of de Lancastre. Sockbridge was near Hornby.
The cut shews a lion's head instead of the boar's head in the base ; the quarterings of the second and third are those of Lancaster of Sockbridge.
The cut is taken from the "History of Galnford," in which parish his grand- son Henry owned Headlam [vide p. 22).
14 THE BIRKBECKS OF WESTMORLAND.
Thomas Byrkebeke owned lands in the city of Carlisle,' including the Manor of Bochardby," as well as a property in the parish of Kirkby Thore. The grant of the arms to him in 151 5 [vidt p. 2) is the earliest notice of his name I have discovered and, as before stated, this is said to have been for " his brave defence against the Scots." He is mentioned as one of the captains in Sir Thomas CliiFord's retinue in the "names of the persons who went into Scotland at this last raid" in 1523 ;'' he was " absent " in " the names of all the gentlemen within the shyre of Westm'land" a.d. 1526 ;"* and he was one of the jury on Lord Dacre's trial at Carlisle a.d. 1534.'
From a copy of a charter in the Bodleian it would appear that Thomas Byrkebeke had before 1528 purchased, in conjunction with Christopher and James Crackenthorp, a property in Brampton from Thomas Lancaster, the father-in-law of his son Edward. The translation of the charter is as follows : —
Carta Cristabelle de Lancastre. To all to whom this present writing shall come, Cristabeila de Lancastre, spinster, greeting in the Lord. Whereas I, the said Cristabeila, have and hold one tenement with appurtenances in Brampton, ot which same tenement with appurtenances the reversion then falls {spectat) to 'lliomas Lancaster iny brother when it shall happen after my death, w hich same tenement Christofer Crackenthorp, Thomas Byrkbeke, and James Crackenthorp lately purchased from my aforesaid brother Thomas Lancaster and his heirs. Be it known that I, the said Cristabeila, have returned to the said Christofer Cracken- thorpe, Thomas Byrkebeke, and James Crackenthorpe concerning the aforesaitl reversion, and by the payment of one silver penny. In witness whereof I have set my seal to this present writing. Dated 7 day of April, 19 Hen. VIII.''
' Chancery Depositions, Elizabeth — Charles I., B. 58, 19 November 4 Edward \'l.
- " An Accompt of the most considerable Estates and Families in the County of Cumberland, by Jno. Deuton " (Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian Societv), p. 103.
^ State Papers, Henry VIIL, vol. iii., part ii., 3410.
^ Cotton MSS., Calig., fo. 193, British Museum.
■"' State Papers, Henry VHI., vol. vii., 963.
" Dodsworth MSS., Ixx., 2>3 verso, Bodleian Library.
THE BIRKBECKS OF WESTMORLAND. 15
Thomas Byrkebeke was living in 1536-7, as Lord Maxwell vvrote to him and three other " Deputies to my Lord of Cumberland ;"^ no doubt he was a Deputy-Lieutenant for Cumberland. He died before 1550, and probably before 1543, having had two sons, Henry and Edward.
HENRY BYRKEBEKE, the eldest son, married Elizabeth Highmore. The Highmores were an old fimily at Bassenthwaite in Cumberland. Bishop Nicolson's Visitation in i 702 mentions three Highmore inscriptions in Bassenthwaite Church, without dates, but in old characters, one of which was, " Hie est positus Robertus de Hehmor cujus anime propitietur Deus." Henry Byrkebeke died before his father, and some time before 1550, when his only daughter Elizabeth, who had married Christopher Symson, brought a suit against her uncle Edward Byrkebeke, proving that the deeds of settlement and entail of property in Carlisle and Kirkby There, which had been settled by Thomas Byrkebeke on his eldest son's marriage, were burned by Edward Byrkebeke and Elizabeth, the widow of Henry, on the re-marriage of the latter to John Brougham of Brougham.^ The first marriage had been " according to the laws of Holy Church," therefore was before the Reformation. One of the witnesses to the signing of the settlement lived at Bassenthwaite. The burning must have taken place a considerable time before 1550, as it is stated that "the witnesses to the deed were then very old and sickly."
The second son, EDWARD BYRKEBECKE of Hornby, co. Westmorland, appears to have succeeded his father before 1543, and to have been living in Westmorland, as his name appears with " 2 horse " in "a list of the Gentlemen of the County called out by Sir Thomas Wharton upon some further service of the Borders (34 Henry VIIL a.d. 1543) ; which shews who were the principal Gentlemen of that time subject to
1 Cal. State Papers, Henry \'III., vol. xii., part i., 121.
- Chancery Depositions, Elizabeth — Charles I., B. ^S, 19 November 4 Edward VI,
1 6 THE BIRKBECKS OF WESTMORLAND.
Border Service."^ The " results of a forray " in that year, 1543, from 2 July to 17 November, no doubt the one in which Edward Byrkebecke was engaged, is thus computed in Haines' State Papers, pp. 51 — 54 : —
Towns, Towers, Stedes (farmsteads), Barnckyns (the out- wards of a Castle, containing the barns, stables, etc.), Parish Churches, Baste) Houses (monasteries or hospitals) cast down or burned . . . . . . 192
Scots slain 403
Prisoners taken . . . . . . . . 816
Nolt (horned cattle) taken 10,386
Sheep 12,492
Nags and Geldings ........ 1296
Goats 200
Bolls of Corn 890
In sight (household furniture), not reckoned.
No wonder that the Scotch forays were popular in the Border counties when they afforded such plunder !
He was also present at a muster at Howecarle (? Howgill Castle in Kirkby Thore parish) 20 February, 1558-9, with —
Light Horseman, furnished ......
Bowman ditto ......
Footmen, furnished with Jacks or Stel Cootes and Stel Capps
Bows . 7 Ditto ditto Bills . 6
and was then described as " Gentleman of the Parish of Brougham."^
He married before 1 549^ Jane, eldest daughter and coheiress of Thomas Lancaster* of Brampton, co. Westmorland. (Her name is spelt
1 " History of Cumberland and Westmorland " (Burn and Nicholson), vol. i., fo. 51.
~ " State Papers " (Domestic), Elizabeth, 1559, vol. ii., p. ^6.
3 Feet of Fines, Westmorland, Michaelmas 3 Edward VI.
* Thomas Lancaster had three daughters : the eldest married Edward Birkbeck ; the second, Bridget, married John Backhouse ; and the youngest, Elizabeth, married Gilbert Wharton of Kirkby Thore; we shall see later that one of the Orton Birkbecks married one of her descendants.
THE BIRKBECKS OF WESTMORLAND. 17
Joan in three cases/ but her will, dated 10 December, 1599, and directing her burial at Brougham, is signed Jane.) In 1552 he exchanged the third part of the Manor of Brampton,- which he held by right of his wife, with Henry, Earl of Cumberland, for the estate of Hornby and Udfoot, entailed on his heirs male, and held by homage at a yearly rent of £6, and paying on every death one gelding of the price of £^, and a cast of merlins, or three crowns of gold.-'
Edward Birkbeck re-settled, a.d. 1550, on Elizabeth Symson, the daughter of his deceased eldest brother, the properties of which he had taken possession after the burning of the settlement deeds.*
He died before 1593,^ and was buried at St. Ninian's, Brougham,'^ having had seven sons and three daughters : —
Thomas {i-ide infra). Elioner, married .... Lough.
Henry (p. 19). Barbaric, married Mungo Scott.
Richard (p. 19). Elizabeth, married Ninian Middleton.
Ambrose (p. 20).
Cuthbert (p. 20).
Edward (p. 21).
Henry (p. 21).
The eldest son, THOMAS BYRKBECK' of Hornby, succeeded to all his father's manors and lands in Cumberland and Westmorland. He married Joan, daughter and coheiress of Ambrose Lancaster, the fourth son of
1 Feet of Fines, Westmorland, Michaelmas 3 Edward VI., Michaelmas 6 Edward VI., and Michaelmas Elizabeth.
- Notes of Fines, Michaelmas 6 Edward VI.
^ Inq. post mortem of Edward Birkbeck (the grandson of the above), I. P.M. Misc. 9 Charles I., part ii., 138.
•* Feet of Fines, Cumberland, 2 and 3 Philip and Mary, packet v.
^ Feet of Fines, Cumberland, Easter 35 Elizabeth, packet xxxviii.
* Will of his widow, dated 10 December, 1599; proved April, 1601.
' It was the custom in Cumberland and Westmorland to christen the eldest son hy the name of his grandfather, and this is still the case in Norway.
1 8 THE BIRKBECKS OF WESTMORLAND.
Lancelot Lancaster of Sockbridge. She was living at the time of his death " in old age." He added considerably to his landed possessions, but except in these purchases I have found but few references to his name. He was one of the Commissioners for the Inq. post mortem of George, 3rd Earl of Cumberland, ad. 1605. From his will, dated 24 September, 1608, and proved 27 February, 1609-10, he would appear to have been a Protestant. He entailed Hornby on Edward, his eldest son, " ye hall as it standeth, with tables, wainscott, bufFetts, and formes," etc., "as heyrelooms in the same house after my wyfes decease," " and all such lands as I have purchased within the countyes of Westmorland and Cumberland, and other lands which came to me by descent." Various bequests to his children, and gifts to the poor of Penrith, Clifton, Melkinthorp, Cliburn, Kirkby Thore, Sowerby, Newbiggin, Culgaith, and " ye poor of ye parish where I dwell, and to ye Church Stock there for increase thereof." A codicil, dated 16 August, 1609, directs, "Also I will and my mind is yt if any before named goe about either by themselves or others by their procurement which is to have any benefit or profitt by this my last will and testament, for to imbessell, filch, purloine, or carry away before or after my death any of my goods, chattels, etc., then he or she so doing shall lose and want ye benefitt yt this my said will to him or her so willed. I doe insert this provision to my said will because I would have all things done and managed with truth and honesty amongst those to whom I have given any benefit by this my said will."
He died 8 January, 1609-10,^ and was buried at Brougham. He had three sons and four daughters : —
Edward (vide p. 21). Elizabeth.
Henry (p. 22). Eillen.
Simon (p. 24). Agnes.
Jane.
' Inq. post mortem 9 James I., Misc., Elizabeth — Charles I., p. 10, No. 109.
THE BIRKBECKS OF WESTMORLAND. 19
HENRY BYRKBECK I place as the second son {vide p. 17) of Edward Birkbeck on account of his sons being placed by their uncle Thomas next in tail to his own sons, and before his surviving brothers. No doubt Henry was himself deceased in 1609, not being mentioned in the will, but he is mentioned in his mother's will in 1599, as well as in that of his brother Ambrose.
As mentioned (p. 11), he was sued by the Earl of Cumberland in 1566 for forcibly entering and hunting in Brougham Park without leave, and taking his deer. Henry Birkbeck was in good company if he were a poacher, for a Musgrave, a Lowther, and four Whartons were in the same plight. They were all described as gentlemen. I do not know who he married, but he had two sons, George and Edward, mentioned in the will of their uncle Thomas, a.d, 1608, and one daughter, Jane, who married a Whepdale, mentioned in the will of her grandmother Jane, a.d. 1599.
RICHARD BYRKBECK of Morton Tynmouth, parish of Gainford, CO. Durham, placed third son [vide p. 17) of Edward, being fifth in tail, married at Gainford, i September, 1597, Anne, widow of Francis Bainbridge, and second daughter and coheiress of Ralph Alwent of Morton Tynmouth. She was buried at Gainford 29 May, 1623.'
He was buried at Gainford 21 March, 1623, having had three sons and five daughters : —
Thomas [vide infra). Mary, married John Morgan.
Henry, born 2 August, 16 12. Margaret.
Richard, born 19 June, 16 14, Jane, married William Iley.
admitted Gray's Inn, i 5 March, Anne.
1638. Bridget.
Thomas Birkbeck, baptized 30 December, 1601, was a Captain in the King's Forces under the Earl of Newcastle ; he was sequestered a.d. 1652.
1 Inq. post mortem i8 August 21 James I. (Durham Records; Pub. Rec, xliv., P- 343)-
20 THE BIRKBECKS OF WESTMORLAND.
On the north wall of the chancel of Gainford Church there is a brass plate in memory of his wife. I have not been able to ascertain who she was, or to identify her arms. He was buried i8 April, 1677, having had one son, Thomas, and one daughter, Catherine, who both died before him.
AMBROSE BYRKBECK of Great Chilton, co. Durham, younger son of Edward [vide p. 17), married Margaret, daughter of Richard Bowes of Aske, and widow of Thomas Middleton. His will, dated 7 December, 1594, and proved the same month, mentions no children, and leaves his property to his brothers. His widow died 16 September, 161 6.
REV. CUTHBERT BYRKBECK, younger son of Edward (r/We p. 17), is mentioned as " Syr Hylbert Byrbeck, Vickar off Lamffae, 1608," in the following pedigree in Dwnn's Visitations of Wales and part of the Marches between a.i). 1586 and 1613 (vol. i., p. 191).
Tomas Byrbeck Esq''=p. . . .
i Edward Byrbeck Esq.=pjan koeyr to Tomas Lonkaster.
Tomas=pJowan
Byrbeck
II III I I I
Syr Hylbert 4. Edward, i. Elsbeth. 2. Barbra 3. Elnor
do. to Byrbeck Vickar — mared to mared mared
Ambros off Lamffae 5. Ricliard Einion Mwngi Hari
Loncas- 1608. 1608. Medlton. le Skot. Loch,
ter. — —
3. Hari. 6. Harri.
Hi bereth Argent a ffs. check Or an G : 2 leions hiets erasyd G; in bas powynt a Bors hied kopied G.
His name, however, clearly was Cuthbert, as the Rev. Cuthbert Birkbeck was instituted Rector of Loveston, co. Pembroke, 2 May, 1590, and Vicar of Lamphey in the same county 17 March, 1597-8. His will also is signed
' O God, prevent error."
- In Pembrokeshire.
ih?o lrlAl.¥iB5JRCIgiECIlSoWJirE1tD M=^
m
nm mti
m'^mihm i
BRASS IN CHANCEL OF GAINFORD CHURCH.
THE BIRKBECKS OF WESTMORLAND. 21
Cuthbert, being dated 12 September, 16 13, and proved the following Novem- ber. It directs his burial in the chancel of Lamphey, mentions his Clerk and Sermonere of Loveston, and bequeaths his surplus to the poor of Lamphey.
Another younger son, Edward {vide p. 17), is only mentioned by Dwnn.
The youngest son Henry is also only mentioned by Dwnn. He possibly became a priest {ride p. 54), in which case he was admitted to the English College at Valladolid 16 November, 1609, took the missionary oaths 22 June, 16 10, and died in the College in September, 161 1. It was not unusual to call two brothers by the same name at that date.
Having disposed of the children of Edward, we must return to those of his eldest son.
EDWARD BIRKBECK of Hornby, eldest son of Thomas (p. 18), born A.D. 1565,^ married before 1608 Bridget, daughter of John Calvert of Cockerham, co. Lancaster. She was a staunch Roman Catholic, though her husband would appear to have been a Protestant, as on 13 October, 1629, he was fined " £6 13s. 4d. by the year for the recusancy of Bridgett his wife," and having failed to make the annual payment, he was twice afterwards fined £.\oJ^ She married, secondly, John Lawson of St. Anthony, Northumberland, and was living at Hornby in 165 i, being constantly fined for recusancy.
The Hornby family are generally said to have been Roman Catholics all through, but I am inclined to doubt this. From the time of their going to Hornby until this marriage I have not found anything to shew they were not Protestants, but from this period there are constant references to the fact. The wills throw no certain light upon the subject. Before the Reformation most wills begin by commending the testator's soul to the Virgin and saints. The will of Thomas Birkbeck in 1608 commences
' Inq. post mortem of Thomas Birkbeck, Misc., Elizabeth — Charles 11., part x., 109. - Recusant Rolls, 8, 9, 21, and 23 Charles I.
22 THE BIRKBECKS OF WESTMORLAND.
with a very usual formula, " I doe give my soule unto the Almighty God my Maker and Redeemer," but the wills were usually drawn by Protestant lawyers, and a Roman Catholic probably would not dare to use any but the usual phrases. This will contains bequests to the poor of nine parishes, and to "ye Church Stock of ye parish where I dwell." I am told that Roman Catholics of position frequently left bequests to the poor in very similar terms, but I certainly think that this gift to the " Church Stock " of a Protestant church would probably not have been made by a good Catholic. The fact of their being buried in their parish churchyards proves nothing, as it was unavoidable.
1 have been unable to find the will of Edward Birkbeck, which is mentioned in the Inq. post mortem' as having been dated 1 1 January, 1 63 1-2, the day on which he died.
He left five sons and two daughters : —
1. Henry (p. 24). Jane, living unmarried 1675-6.
2. Edward (p. 25). Bridget, married John Cornforth
3. Richard (p. 25). of Blackwell, co. Durham,
4. Thomas (p. 25). 1671.
5. John (p. 25).
HENRY BIRKBECK of Headlam, parish of Gainford, co. Durham, second son of Thomas (r/f/e p. 18), was not included in the entail of Hornby by his flither, although mentioned in his will and in those of his grandmother Jane and his uncle Ambrose. He married, 26 May, 1606, Anne, widow of Christopher Hutton of Hunwick, and daughter of Henry Brackenbury of Sellaby, parish of Gainford. He bought the estate of Headlam from Ambrose Lancaster in 1611." The house he built is still standing, and though partly rebuilt, the mantelpiece in the hall still contains a shield with the arms of Henry Birkbeck and his wife — A fess compony between three
' Intj. post mortem 9 Charles I., part ii., 138.
'- Fines, 9 and 12 James I. (Surtees' "History of Durham," vol. iv., p. 30).
THE BIRKBECKS OF WESTMORLAND. 23
lions' heads erased, a crescent for difference ; impaling, three chevronels interlaced, Brackenbury. The mantelpiece is very similar to one at Hornby {vide p. 37), and probably was copied from it. There was also a large full-length picture which is said to be a portrait of Henry Birkbeck, inscribed, "Sus etatis c,^ Anno 1619 ;" this would place his birth a.d. 1564; and his elder brother is stated at the date of his father's death (8 January, 1609-10) to have been " 44 years and more,"' so the latter was apparently born 1665 ; it now belongs to Mr. Brockett, Long Benton, Newcastle-on- Tyne. The following shields in stained glass were in the mullioned window on the staircase, but have been removed, and are now at Lancaster in the possession of Mr. Holden, the former owner of Headlam, which is now the property of Mr. J. H. Hett, Mr. Holden being descended from Eleanor, the only daughter of Henry Birkbeck : —
A fess compony between three lions' heads erased gules, Birkbeck ; impaling, azure, a fret argent.
Quarterly: i and 4, Birkbeck, as before ; 2 and 3, Argent, two bars gules, on a canton of the second a mullet of the first, Lancaster ; impaling, Lancaster, as before.
Birkbeck impaling Lancaster.
Birkbeck impaling, Sable, an orle ermine, semee of owls argent.^
In the first shield the lady's arms are evidently intended for Clifford, but the blazoning is somewhat different