Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Vicars of Sedbergh

St Andrew’s Sedbergh
Written By Richard Cann

Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Vicars of Sedbergh

The sixteenth century had been a troubled time for the Church in Sedbergh. Apart from the problems caused by the Reformation the institution of Giles Wigginton as vicar had worsened the situation. He was eventually deprived of his living1 in 1585 and Edward Hampton was instituted in his stead in 1586. Initially he had to deal with the return of Wigginton after his prison sentence in London. The latter set up a rival congregation in sympathy with his Calvinist views but his re-arrest in 1587 presumably ended the schism. After the removal of his rival Hampton appears to have lived a normal life featuring as the beneficiary1 or witness in several wills. He was a married man and had at least one child, Elizabeth, before his death in 1610. He was buried on the 18th July and George Harrison was instituted as vicar on the 4th October of that year. He probably matriculated2 in 1596 from Trinity College, Cambridge, took his B.A. in 1599/1600 and his M.A. in 1603. What he did between university and Sedbergh is not clear. There is no evidence of him being married, which would have necessitated him leaving the college but there is the possibility that he was3 the Curate of Charlton with Idsworth, Winchester, in 1607. The only record of him in Sedbergh was when he acted as scribe and witness for the will of William Harrison4 of Stone Hall in 1612. In one of the clauses William left £6 to the poor of Sedbergh to be "devyded among them at the sight and discretion of George Harrison our Vicar". This wording suggests that William and George were namesakes rather than being related. He had resigned the living3 by the 17th July 1613 but what he did next is unclear. He may have been the person3 who was Rector of Comer with Prior's Dean Chapel, Winchester, from 1622 to 1642 but this is unlikely as that George Harrison had been the curate before becoming rector.

Joseph Wyborne/Wybarne was instituted as vicar on 17th July 1613. He had attended St Pauls and Westminster Schools in London. He attended Trinity College2 as a scholar from the latter school and matriculated in 1598. He took his B.A. in 1602/3 and M.A. in 1607. He was the author of "The New Age of Old Name" and "Machiavellus Comedia". There is no marriage recorded for him in the parish registers and so he probably was already married when he arrived because his daughter Nazareth was baptised on the 26th November 1614. Sadly Joseph did not live for much longer although he was not buried in Sedbergh.

On the 5th July 1615 Benjamin Hinton was instituted as vicar due to the death of the previous incumbent. He married Joan Love presumably before he arrived in Sedbergh. She was the sister of Richard Love D.D. the Dean of Ely. Benjamin and Joan had at least one child, William, who was baptised on the 1st December 1616. Benjamin stayed just over nine years and then resigned the living by the 21st August 16243. His subsequent career is unclear2 but most probably he was Vicar of Hendon from 1626 until 1643 when he was sequestered, a casualty of the Civil War.

Robert Cademan was instituted3 as vicar on the 21st August 1624. He had matriculated2 as a pensioner from Trinity College at Easter 1605 but had become a scholar by 1608. He took his B.A. in 1609/1610 and his M.A. in 1613. He was ordained deacon and priest at Peterborough on the 23rd May 1619. At sometime he married Elizabeth and they had two children during their stay in Sedbergh. Katherine was baptised on 1st May 1625 and Samuell on the 21st May 1633. There is no record of when he resigned the living although Platt5 gave it as 1637. This would fit in with other evidence. A Robert Cademan was possibly instituted3 as Vicar of Rowington, Worcester, in June 1637 and resigned in July 1640. A person of that name2 was Rector of Banham, Norfolk, from 1640 to 1645 when he was sequestered, another victim of the Civil War.

According to Platt5, who claimed it came from the Registry of Chester, Thomas Brisco(e) was instituted as vicar in 1637. Modern research has not found the entry but the date seems about right. He was definitely the vicar by 16393. He matriculated as a pensioner from Trinity College in Lent 1618/92. He took his B.A. in 1622/3, was made a Fellow of Trinity College in 1624 and took his M.A. in 1626. He was incorporated at Oxford University in 1628. In 1643 he was a Taxor in Cambridge at a time when he was still the Vicar of Sedbergh. This meant that among other things he was a weights and measures inspector in Cambridge for that year. There are no local records of him in Sedbergh and it seems that he was an absentee vicar having returned to Cambridge. According to Platt5 he was one of the Fellows of Trinity College turned out of their fellowships as a result of the upheavals of the Civil War. He died in 1660 and his will was proved in 1661 in the Vice Chancellor's Court, Cambridge.

Leonard Burton was instituted as vicar on the 20th April 1661 due to the death of Brisco. However, Burton was not new to the parish having served there already for at least 25 years. It is possible he was a local man as Burton was a common name in Dent and other Leonard Burtons existed there in the seventeenth century. He matriculated from St John's College, Cambridge, in Michaelmas 1623, took his B.A. in 1627/8 and his M.A. in 1631. A person of that name was Vicar of Heptonstall from 1632 to 1636. The first mention of him in Sedbergh was in June 1636 when his son, Christopher was baptised. He was described in the parish register as Mr Burton, Curate of Sedbergh. He and his wife, Barbara, had other children who were baptised in Sedbergh as follows: Anne in October 1638; Abigail in January 1640/1; Mary in July 1645; John in January 1647/8. In 1638 he was again described as the Curate of Sedbergh but in 1640/1, 1645 and 1647/8 merely as Mr Burton. He had another son Gilbert but his baptism was not recorded in the parish register probably because there were no entries between October 1645 and December 1646. Gilbert and John both went to Sedbergh School and from there to St John's College, Cambridge.

He was paid to preach sermons at funerals6 again being described as Mr Burton but in a deed7 of February 1647/8 was described as Minister of Sedbergh, Clerke. The Civil War created confusion in parishes. Parliament abolished bishops and ejected some clergy from their Livings. With their legal vicar, Brisco, an absentee there is no doubt that Burton was in charge in Sedbergh. In a court case8 over non payment of tithes in 1655 a Leonard Burton claimed that for about 21 years he had known what should have been paid to the Vicar of Sedbergh. This concerned property in Dent and so it might not refer to our Leonard Burton but it shows that tithes were still being collected and that the position of vicar was still recognised legally.

Burton obtained a mention in national history because he lived in the area where the Quaker movement was effectively formed. As if the upheavals of the Civil War and the Commonwealth were not bad enough for Burton a certain George Fox chose to come to the parish in 1652. He arrived at a hiring fair early in the year5 and first declared the day of the Lord through the fair. According to his journal he then "went into the steeple house yard, and many of the people of the fair came to me, with abundance of priests and professors. There I declared the everlasting truth of the Lord and the Word of Life for several hours. … At last a captain said 'Why will you not go into the church? This is not a fit place to preach in'. I told him I denied their Church". One can imagine Burton breathing a huge sigh of relief that at least he was spared Fox inside his church. Later in 1652 Fox noted9 in his journal "I wrote also to Burton, priest of Sedbergh, much to the same purpose, he being in the same evil ground, nature, and practice". Burton's crimes seem to have been the collection of tithes and that his religious views differed from those of Fox. The latter inspired many local people to join the Quakers and this must have caused tension and conflict for Burton.

When Fox first arrived in Sedbergh he went to Justice Benson's house where he met people who were separated from public worship, in other words did not attend Church of England services at St Andrew's Church. Gervaise Benson was the magistrate for Sedbergn and was the Commonwealth's representative there. He was frustrated by Sedbergh's lack of interest in the national revolution. According to a report of his10 written to fellow magistrates in 1653 it was an unruly little town with as many as fourteen pubs and the priest of the place a common frequenter of them. Obviously Burton was not a friend of his and to imply drunkenness was a favourite smear tactic of the age. The same allegation was made by his enemies against the Master of Sedbergh School, Richard Jackson, although in his case with some justification.

Anyway Burton survived in Sedbergh until the Restoration when his fortunes improved. On the death of Thomas Brisco he was instituted as Vicar of Sedbergh on 20 April 1661. This was unusual because he was not an alumnus of Trinity College, the Patron of the parish. He must have assented to the restored Prayer Book as required by the Act of Uniformity of 1662 because he was not evicted from his living and was licensed as a preacher in October 1662. He continued as the vicar for nearly two decades being buried on the 17th January 1680/1.

The next vicar was not recorded by either Platt or Thompson and he does not feature on the board in St Andrew's Church with the names of the previous vicars. Thomas Murgatroid was instituted as vicar on 8th May 16813. He had been admitted as a sizar at Trinity College in 16682. A sizar was a person educated at the college in return for doing certain tasks. He matriculated in 1669, became a scholar in 1671, took his B.A. in 1671/2, became a Fellow of the College in 1674 and took his M.A. in 1675. He was ordained a deacon in 1680 and was ordained priest in Chester on 8th May 1681, the same day that he was instituted as Vicar of Sedbergh. He did not last long as he had resigned by the 29th June 1682. The next year he became Vicar of Kendal and remained there until 1699. What caused him to resign is not known but the move certainly improved his financial prospects.

Whereas Murgatroid was the shortest serving and the least known vicar his successor, Jonathan Rose, was one of the longest serving and best-documented vicars. He was admitted2 to Trinity College as a sizar in March 1672/3, matriculated in 1653, took his B.A. in 1676/7 and his M.A. in 1680. He was ordained deacon in 1678 and priest in 1679. He was instituted3 as Vicar of Sedbergh on the 29th June 1682. At sometime, probably before coming to Sedbergh, he married Jennett but they apparently had no children as there were no entries in the parish register. He was an active governor of the school and early in his cure as vicar he must have undertaken some major building work at the vicarage. The evidence for that being a partly broken stone5 bearing the inscription J.R. 168– which was found there.

We know some of the other things he did because he left written records of his activities. He wrote in the parish register a record of charitable donations to the church and the poor. One of the entries concerned himself. It recorded that he had put a hundred live crayfish into the river in May 1725 below Straight Bridge where the Clough and the Rawthey meet and some more above Millthrop Bridge on 4th August of that year. He gave his age then as 71 years old and so he was born c1654. He also got at least two sets of his sermons published. One set of three sermons11 exists in the society's archive. It was "Dedicated to, and Published for the Good of his beloved Parishioners, of Sedbergh, Dent and Garsdale". It was printed by Grace White of York in 1718 and must have involved him in considerable expense. One hopes his parishioners appreciated his efforts. Platt5 was aware of another printed set of two sermons which probably no longer exist. He had prepared them to be given in Penrith Church on the 21st June 1724 but in the event only delivered one which combined parts from the two. However, he had them both printed in 1725 by Thomas Gent of York for the benefit of the Penrith parishioners. I am not sure if publication of his sermons was an indication of self-importance on his part, concern for the spiritual welfare of parishioners or was a normal practice for a wealthy clergyman. He was definitely a man who served both God and Mammon. I am indebted to Kevin Lancaster12 for allowing me to see an unpublished work of his which gives details of Rose's business dealings. Sufficient to say that in the early 1690s he took out a lease of all the Royalties of the Manor of Sedbergh. He was principally interested in the coal and was the first person in the area to really try to mine it in a commercial way.

His wife Jennett died in January 1715/6 and he was buried on the 13th June 1727. An inventory of his goods13 taken on the 29th June 1727 showed that he left £93 with £46 of that accounted for by his books. A plain slab with a Latin inscription recorded the burial of him and his wife. Originally it was in the chancel right in front of the altar14 but got broken9 by a falling beam during the 1886 restoration. As a result a brass plate with the inscription was provided to replace the broken slab and this was probably put on the nave floor near the present pulpit. However, it is now on a pillar in the north aisle next to the door.

Thomas Lambert was born c1702 and came from Watsfield2 near Kendal. He was admitted as a pensioner to Trinity College in February 1718/9 and matriculated in 1720. He became a scholar in 1721, took his B.A. in 1723/4 and his M.A. in 1727. He was instituted3 as Vicar of Sedbergh on the 13th November 1727. I have not been able to find any record of his work here for good or bad except that he had ceased being the vicar by 1742. After leaving Sedbergh2 he became Vicar of Thorpe near Harwick and then Rector of Melton in Suffolk.

Joseph Driffield was instituted3 as Vicar of Sedbergh on the 16th March 1742. The source is not clear if this means 1743 in modern dating. He came from2 a family living in Escrick and had gone to school in York. He was admitted to Trinity College as a sizar in August 1731, matriculated in 1732, became a scholar in 1735, took his B.A. in 1735/6 but did not take his M.A. until 1765. He was ordained deacon in March 1736/7 and priest in March 1741/2. According to Platt5 by midsummer 1742 the vicarage was being let to the Master of Sedbergh School, William Broxholme, and in 1745 and 1747 it was being let to James Trotter. Driffield was obviously not dwelling in Sedbergh and this was confirmed when his case15 for non residence came up before the Bishop's Court for the Archdeaconry of Richmond held in Kendal in October 1749. A sequestration order was issued against him and was implemented by the churchwardens in January 1749/50. He was eventually deprived of his Living probably in 1754 or early 1755. Platt thought that he had been deprived in 1746 and that Wynne Bateman, the Master of Sedbergh School, had become the vicar. This is not correct as the above evidence shows and in fact Bateman was referred to as the curate in an entry for the 22nd March 1754 in the parish registers. However, he was probably running the parish in the absence of Driffield. Being deprived of his Living did not seem to affect Driffield's career2 because he became Rector of Charlesworth, Suffolk, from 1754-1781.

The next vicar was John Meryett who had been admitted as a pensioner to Trinity College in June 1736 from Hampstead School, Westminster. He matriculated in 1737, took his B.A. in 1739/40, was made a Fellow of the College in 1742 and took his M.A. in 1743. He was ordained deacon in March 1739/40 and ordained priest on 23rd February 1755. He was instituted3 as Vicar of Sedbergh two days later on 25th February 1755. There is no mention in the parish registers of him being married or having children. The first entry concerning him was when he officiated at a marriage in March 1755 and the last entry was when he was buried on 1 9th June 1764 being named as Mr John Meryot.

According to the parish registers Marwood Place was "inducted Vicar" on 6th April 1765 although Platt gave the year as 1764. He was the son2 of Edward Marwood of Bedale and had attended Westminster School. He had been admitted as a pensioner to Trinity College in November 1739 and matriculated in the same year. He became a scholar in 1740, took his B.A. in 1743/4 and his M.A. in 1747. He was made a Fellow of the College in 1746 and was awarded a B.D. in 1761. He had been ordained deacon in 1748 and priest in 1754. He did not remain long in Sedbergh and was Vicar of Kirkby Lonsdale from 1766 until his death in 1791, aged 70.

The next vicar was a local man. William Gawthrop was the son of William Gawthrop of Sedbergh. Although the baptisms of his siblings were recorded in the parish registers his was not. He attended Sedbergh School and was admitted2 as a sizar at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, in May 1755 and matriculated in 1753. In 1756 he migrated to Trinity College and became a scholar in the same year. He took his B.A. in 1757, became a Fellow of the College in 1758 and took his M.A. in 1760. He was ordained deacon in 1758 and priest in 1760. He became Vicar of Sedbergh in 1766 and died, his monument in the church informs us, on the 2nd January 1798. He and his wife Ann had two children, John born in October 1775 and William Wright born in March 1777. He was succeeded by Daniel Mitford Peacock in 1798 but as the latter remained vicar for over forty years his story really belongs to the nineteenth century.

On present evidence the most accurate list of vicars for these two centuries would be

  • 1586–1610 Edward Hampton
  • 1610–1613 George Harrison
  • 1613–1615 Joseph Wybarne
  • 1615–1624 Benjamin Hinton
  • 1624–c1637 Robert Cademan
  • c1637–1660 Thomas Brisco (Leonard Burton ran the parish in his absence.)
  • 1661–1681 Leonard Burton
  • 1681–1682 Thomas Murgatroid
  • 1682–1727 Jonathan Rose
  • 1727–1742 Thomas Lambert
  • 1742–c1755 Joseph Driffield (Wynne Bateman ran the parish in his absence, 1746–1755.)
  • 1755–1764 John Meryett
  • 1765–1766 Marwood Place
  • 1766–1798 William Gawthrop
  • 1798–1840 Daniel Mitford Peacock

References

  1. Richard Cann, "Sixteenth Century Vicars of Sedbergh", Sedbergh Historian 2008.
  2. Venn J. And J.A. "Alumni Cantabrigienses".
  3. The website www.theclergydatabase.org.uk
  4. Transcript of a will in the S&DHS Archive; WWD 005.
  5. A.E. Platt, "The History of the Parish and Grammar School of Sedbergh, Yorkshire".
  6. Transcripts of wills and deeds in the S&DHS Archive: WXI 004. WWE 001 and DFF 15.
  7. Transcript of a deed in the S&DHS Archive; DFC 6.1.
  8. Trinity College, Cambridge, Archive box 17. A transcript is in the S&DHS Archive.
  9. W. Thompson, "Sedbergh, Garsdale and Dent"
  10. Society of Friends Archive in London, Swarthmore MSS 4/258.
  11. Jonathan Rose "The Duty of Prayer in Three Sermons" in the S&DHS Archive.
  12. KJ. Lancaster, "The Enclosure of Bluecaster". An unpublished work.
  13. Transcript in the S&DHS Archive; WXP 003.
  14. Faculty for the Restoration of St Andrew's Church 1885 in the Cumbria Record Office, Kendal.
  15. B.H. Smith; "Some Cumbrian Cases from the 1749 Compert Book" in a Cumbria Family History Society Newsletter.
Richard Cann
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