Bedale
Encyclopedia
Bedale is a market town
and civil parish in the district of Hambleton
, North Yorkshire
, England
. It lies 34 miles (55 km) north of Leeds
, 26 miles (42 km) southwest of Middlesbrough
, and 7 miles (11 km) south west of the county town of Northallerton
. It was originally in Richmondshire
and listed in the Domesday Book as part of Catterick
wapentake, which was also known as Hangshire (so named from Hang Bank in Finghall
and because of the many gallows
used to execute marauding Scots
); it was split again and Bedale remained in East Hang. Bedale Beck
is a tributary of the River Swale
, which forms one of the Yorkshire Dales
, with its predominance of agriculture and its related small traditional trades, although tourism is increasingly important.
, Bedale was held by Torpin (Thorfinn
), a patronym retained by the infamous Dick Turpin
. The parish church also dates from this time (as evidenced by its crypt
), before significant remodelling.
for a short time, the new market town was founded by Scollandus (Henry III later confirmed this charter), a Breton officer
in an hereditary position at Richmond Castle
. Bedale Hall is the site of a castle
built in the reign of King Edward I of England
by Sir Bryan FitzAlan, Lord of the Manor
of Bedale and later Baron FitzAlan
. After contributing to the defeat of Llywelyn the Last
, FitzAlan succeeded the Earl of Surrey
as Guardian and Keeper of Scotland
for Edward I and fought at the Battle of Falkirk (1298)
and the siege of Caerlaverock
in July 1300. Fitz Alan was involved in a fight with William Wallace
that led to the death of a comrade-in-arms and held the castles of Dundee
and Forfar
, as well as those in the Scottish Lowlands
: Roxburgh Castle
and Jedburgh
. This baron also built Killerby Castle and Askham Bryan
in Yorkshire
.
, Sir Gilbert de Stapleton of Carleton, Knt., was a conspirator in the assassination of Piers Gaveston
. Sir Miles Stapleton
was a founding Knight of the Order of the Garter
, who fought at the Siege of Calais and at the Battle of Crécy
. The Stapletons were "Lollard
knights" and were Lords of the Manor
of Bedale for generations. Bedale had traditionally been a Lancastrian
area, until the Kingmaker
, Clarence
and Gloucester
obtained Richmond and Middleham Castle
s. Following the Battle of Bosworth Field
, Francis Lovell, 1st Viscount Lovell
led the charge of insurgency in the Yorkist Stafford and Lovell Rebellion
against Henry VII of England
, attainted Earl of Richmond. The inhabitants of the region went on several recusancy
strikes, such as the Pilgrimage of Grace
and made trouble for John Nevill, 3rd Baron Latymer
(Catherine Parr
's husband before Henry VIII) in Snape Castle
. This continued in the Rising of the North
, with Henry VII's follower Simon Digby
of Aiskew
executed and replaced by Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick
, whose wife sold it to the native Sir William Theakston & John Jackson, after which it was resold to Cavalier
Henry Peirse, whose descendents are remain in town. During the English Civil War
, Philip Stapleton
continued in much of the same anti-Tudor & Stuart sentiment as Guy Fawkes
, whose statement, when asked by one of the Scottish lords what he had intended to do with so much gunpowder
, Fawkes answered him, "To blow you Scotch beggars back to your own native mountains!" Middleham Castle
was subsequently demolished by Parliamentarians and Bedale no longer had a fortress in which to resist outside manipulation.
His daughters Agnes (born 1298) and Katherine (born 1300) were his co-heirs in his landed estates and manors. They were also co-heirs to his brother, Theobald. Katherine (d. before 7 August 1328) married Sir John de Grey, 1st Baron Grey of Rotherfield, KG (9 October 1300 - 1 September 1359).
The estate of Bedale and the Lordship of the Manor passed via the eldest daughter: Agnes FitzAlan, whose marriage was granted on 10 May 1306 (when she was aged just 8) to Sir Miles de Stapleton of Carlton, Yorkshire for his son:
The Lordship of Bedale Manor is currently held jointly by Lord Beaumont
, heir of both FitzAlan moiety lines, but the Beresford-Peirse Baronets
retain distinction as having de facto possession of the manor, which was originally forfeited by Lovell's attainder and passed on to numerous installments of government figures and subsequent real estate purchasers, whether Digby of Warwickshire, Dudley of Nottinghamshire, native Theakston and Jackson, then Peirse, after which it passed by inheritance to Beresford of Derbyshire.
This Gothic
church retains some Catholic relics, although Puritans during the English Civil War
vandalised features as statues. St Gregory's has a painting of St George slaying the dragon and also contains a stone Viking
-era grave marker, notable for a rare depiction of the legend of Wayland Smith. When Scots raided the countryside, inhabitants expected to find security in St. Gregory's pele tower. Bedale St. Gregory is the parish church
in the Church of England
in the rural deanery of Wensley within the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds
. The current incumbent of the church is the Reverend Simon Rudkin and its patron is the present Beresford-Peirse Baronet
. There is a plaque in the church which lists all priests of the parish. There is another plaque of the previous landlords of Bedale, featuring coats of arms of these people or their families: Fitzalan
, Stapleton
, Grey of Rotherfield
(related to Lady Jane Grey
), Sheffield
, de Warrene (Earl of Surrey
), Brian de Thornhill
, Lawrence de Thornhill, Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall
, Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster
, Fitz Hugh
of Tanfield
, John of Brittany, Earl of Richmond
, Marmion
, Arthur III, Duke of Brittany
and Ascough/Aiskew
.
St Gregory's has a daughter church known as St Augustine's Church and Village Hall at Leeming Bar
. There are other local Anglican chapels, such as St Gregory's at Crakehall
and St John the Baptist's at Leeming
.
St Mary's & St Joseph's
In Aiskew
, this was founded in the 19th century by the Stapletons who remained the local Catholic landlords since the Reformation. The Tudors had made sure to seize the original parish church of St Gregory and align it with their policies enacted by the Earl of Warwick's faction (which was not local), that supplanted the earlier Tudor implant of the Digby family, whom had "gone native" and been drawn into local sympathies of anti-Elizabethan rebellion.
Others
There are Methodist
chapels in Bedale, Leeming, Crakehall and Burrill
. There is also a Mission church
in Burrill. Some buildings in the area also have their own private chapels, such as at Christ's Hospital
in Firby.
's store for leech
es, an underground ice house
used for preserving food, and the fourteenth century market cross
. Bedale is home to a small museum
, numerous Georgian
buildings, and a station
on the Wensleydale Railway
, which runs to Redmire
via Leyburn
. The Thorp Perrow Arboretum
lies nearby, as do the village
s of Burneston
, Burrill
, Cowling
, Exelby
and Firby
.
The town is has many local shops, pubs, and eating places along its high street. It holds a market every Tuesday on the cobbles that line the market place. It also has a leisure centre with full gym, swimming pool, astro turf sports pitches. Bedale Athletic Sports Association club provides football, cricket, hockey, squash and tennis. Big Sheep Little Cow Farm is a petting zoo
, and the Wensleydale Railway
is the local line.
Bedale Golf Club is 800 yards north west of the town on the A684 road
to Leyburn. The golf course is set on a parkland landscape with many mature trees. The club was founded in 1894 and has been in its current location since 1969 having previously been located at Bedale Park, and at Firby Road. From the competition tees Bedale Golf Course is a testing 18 hole, 6610 yard, par and SSS 72. Its reputation continues to grow as new features are introduced and it has now become a regular venue for many prestigious regional competitions. In the September 2007 edition of Golf Monthly magazine Bedale Golf Course was featured as one of the six best courses in Yorkshire and in September 2009 the Club hosted the Yorkshire Golf Union Inter District Championship with the best 48 amateur golfers in the county. Bedale Golf Club is affiliated to the Harrogate Union of Golf Clubs who won this event for the first time in its 36 year history.
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
and civil parish in the district of Hambleton
Hambleton
Hambleton is a local government district of North Yorkshire, England. The main town and administrative centre is Northallerton, and includes the market towns and major villages of Bedale, Thirsk, Great Ayton, Stokesley and Easingwold....
, North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It lies 34 miles (55 km) north of Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, 26 miles (42 km) southwest of Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough is a large town situated on the south bank of the River Tees in north east England, that sits within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire...
, and 7 miles (11 km) south west of the county town of Northallerton
Northallerton
Northallerton is an affluent market town and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. It lies in the Vale of Mowbray and at the northern end of the Vale of York. It has a population of 15,741 according to the 2001 census...
. It was originally in Richmondshire
Richmondshire
Richmondshire is a local government district of North Yorkshire, England. It covers a large northern area of the Yorkshire Dales including Swaledale and Arkengarthdale, Wensleydale and Coverdale, with the prominent Scots' Dyke and Scotch Corner along the centre. Teesdale lies to the north...
and listed in the Domesday Book as part of Catterick
Catterick, North Yorkshire
Catterick , sometimes Catterick Village, to distinguish it from the nearby Catterick Garrison, is a village and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England...
wapentake, which was also known as Hangshire (so named from Hang Bank in Finghall
Finghall
Finghall is a village and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England, with a population of 126. It is located about 4 miles east of Leyburn. The local church is dedicated to St. Andrew.The village pub is the Queens Head....
and because of the many gallows
Gallows
A gallows is a frame, typically wooden, used for execution by hanging, or by means to torture before execution, as was used when being hanged, drawn and quartered...
used to execute marauding Scots
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
); it was split again and Bedale remained in East Hang. Bedale Beck
Beck
Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...
is a tributary of the River Swale
River Swale
The River Swale is a river in Yorkshire, England and a major tributary of the River Ure, which itself becomes the River Ouse, emptying into the North Sea via the Humber Estuary....
, which forms one of the Yorkshire Dales
Yorkshire Dales
The Yorkshire Dales is the name given to an upland area in Northern England.The area lies within the historic county boundaries of Yorkshire, though it spans the ceremonial counties of North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and Cumbria...
, with its predominance of agriculture and its related small traditional trades, although tourism is increasingly important.
History
Before the Harrying of the NorthHarrying of the North
The Harrying of the North was a series of campaigns waged by William the Conqueror in the winter of 1069–1070 to subjugate Northern England, and is part of the Norman conquest of England...
, Bedale was held by Torpin (Thorfinn
Thorfinn
Thorfinn may refer to:* Thorfinn Turf-Einarsson, Earl of Orkney * Thorfinn Sigurdsson, Earl of Orkney * Thorfinn Karlsefni, Icelandic explorer...
), a patronym retained by the infamous Dick Turpin
Dick Turpin
Richard "Dick" Turpin was an English highwayman whose exploits were romanticised following his execution in York for horse theft. Turpin may have followed his father's profession as a butcher early in life, but by the early 1730s he had joined a gang of deer thieves, and later became a poacher,...
. The parish church also dates from this time (as evidenced by its crypt
Crypt
In architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....
), before significant remodelling.
Under the Bretons of Richmond
After being doled out by Count Alan Le Roux to his relative Bodin of MiddlehamMiddleham
Middleham is a small market town and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. It lies in Wensleydale, in the Yorkshire Dales, on the north-facing side of the valley just above the junction of the River Ure and River Cover. There has been a settlement there since Roman...
for a short time, the new market town was founded by Scollandus (Henry III later confirmed this charter), a Breton officer
Breton people
The Bretons are an ethnic group located in the region of Brittany in France. They trace much of their heritage to groups of Brythonic speakers who emigrated from southwestern Great Britain in waves from the 3rd to 6th century into the Armorican peninsula, subsequently named Brittany after them.The...
in an hereditary position at Richmond Castle
Richmond Castle
Richmond Castle in Richmond, North Yorkshire, England, stands in a commanding position above the River Swale, close to the centre of the town of Richmond. It was originally called Riche Mount, 'the strong hill'...
. Bedale Hall is the site of a castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
built in the reign of King Edward I of England
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
by Sir Bryan FitzAlan, Lord of the Manor
Lord of the Manor
The Lordship of a Manor is recognised today in England and Wales as a form of property and one of three elements of a manor that may exist separately or be combined and may be held in moieties...
of Bedale and later Baron FitzAlan
Bryan FitzAlan, Lord FitzAlan
Sir Bryan FitzAlan, Baron FitzAlan Knt. was Lord of the Manor of Bedale in Richmondshire, Askham Bryan in the Ainsty, Bainton, Heworth &c., in Yorkshire, Bicker and Graby in Lincolnshire, a J.P., and High Sheriff of Yorkshire, &c...
. After contributing to the defeat of Llywelyn the Last
Llywelyn the Last
Llywelyn ap Gruffydd or Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf , sometimes rendered as Llywelyn II, was the last prince of an independent Wales before its conquest by Edward I of England....
, FitzAlan succeeded the Earl of Surrey
Earl of Surrey
The Earl of Surrey is a title in the Peerage of England, and has been created five times. It was first created for William de Warenne, a close companion of William the Conqueror...
as Guardian and Keeper of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
for Edward I and fought at the Battle of Falkirk (1298)
Battle of Falkirk (1298)
The Battle of Falkirk, which took place on 22 July 1298, was one of the major battles in the First War of Scottish Independence...
and the siege of Caerlaverock
Caerlaverock
Caerlaverock is an area to the south of Dumfries and to the west of Annan in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland.Caerlaverock NNR is a National Nature Reserve in the care of Scottish Natural Heritage....
in July 1300. Fitz Alan was involved in a fight with William Wallace
William Wallace
Sir William Wallace was a Scottish knight and landowner who became one of the main leaders during the Wars of Scottish Independence....
that led to the death of a comrade-in-arms and held the castles of Dundee
Dundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
and Forfar
Forfar
Forfar is a parish, town and former royal burgh of approximately 13,500 people in Angus, located in the East Central Lowlands of Scotland. Forfar is the county town of Angus, which was officially known as Forfarshire from the 18th century until 1929, when the ancient name was reinstated, and...
, as well as those in the Scottish Lowlands
Scottish Lowlands
The Scottish Lowlands is a name given to the Southern half of Scotland.The area is called a' Ghalldachd in Scottish Gaelic, and the Lawlands ....
: Roxburgh Castle
Roxburgh Castle
Roxburgh Castle was a castle sited near Kelso, in the Borders region of Scotland, in the former Roxburghshire.-History:The castle was founded by King David I. In 1174 it was surrendered to England after the capture of William I at Alnwick, and was often in English hands thereafter. The Scots made...
and Jedburgh
Jedburgh
Jedburgh is a town and former royal burgh in the Scottish Borders and historically in Roxburghshire.-Location:Jedburgh lies on the Jed Water, a tributary of the River Teviot, it is only ten miles from the border with England and is dominated by the substantial ruins of Jedburgh Abbey...
. This baron also built Killerby Castle and Askham Bryan
Askham Bryan
Askham Bryan is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of City of York in the north of England, 6 miles south west of York, west of Bishopthorpe, and close to Askham Richard and Copmanthorpe. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 582. Prior to 1996 it formed...
in Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
.
Stapleton, Lovell and others
His co-heir jure uxorisJure uxoris
Jure uxoris is a Latin term that means "by right of his wife" or "in right of a wife". It is commonly used to refer to a title held by a man whose wife holds it in her own right. In other words, he acquired the title simply by being her husband....
, Sir Gilbert de Stapleton of Carleton, Knt., was a conspirator in the assassination of Piers Gaveston
Piers Gaveston
Piers Gaveston, 1st Earl of Cornwall was an English nobleman of Gascon origin, and the favourite of King Edward II of England. At a young age he made a good impression on King Edward I of England, and was assigned to the household of the King's son, Edward of Carnarvon...
. Sir Miles Stapleton
Miles Stapleton of Bedale
Sir Miles Stapleton of Bedale KG was an English knight, one of the Knights Founder of the Order of the Garter. He was the eldest son of Gilbert de Stapleton, knt. , and the grandson of Miles de Stapleton . His mother was Matilda Sir Miles Stapleton of Bedale (or of Cotherstone) KG (1320?–1364)...
was a founding Knight of the Order of the Garter
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
, who fought at the Siege of Calais and at the Battle of Crécy
Battle of Crécy
The Battle of Crécy took place on 26 August 1346 near Crécy in northern France, and was one of the most important battles of the Hundred Years' War...
. The Stapletons were "Lollard
Lollardy
Lollardy was a political and religious movement that existed from the mid-14th century to the English Reformation. The term "Lollard" refers to the followers of John Wycliffe, a prominent theologian who was dismissed from the University of Oxford in 1381 for criticism of the Church, especially his...
knights" and were Lords of the Manor
Manorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
of Bedale for generations. Bedale had traditionally been a Lancastrian
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
area, until the Kingmaker
Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick
Richard Neville KG, jure uxoris 16th Earl of Warwick and suo jure 6th Earl of Salisbury and 8th and 5th Baron Montacute , known as Warwick the Kingmaker, was an English nobleman, administrator, and military commander...
, Clarence
George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence
George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence, 1st Earl of Salisbury, 1st Earl of Warwick, KG was the third son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, and Cecily Neville, and the brother of kings Edward IV and Richard III. He played an important role in the dynastic struggle known as the Wars of the...
and Gloucester
Richard III of England
Richard III was King of England for two years, from 1483 until his death in 1485 during the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty...
obtained Richmond and Middleham Castle
Middleham Castle
Middleham Castle in Wensleydale, in the county of North Yorkshire, was built by Robert Fitzrandolph, 3rd Lord of Middleham and Spennithorne, commencing in 1190. It was built near the site of an earlier motte and bailey castle...
s. Following the Battle of Bosworth Field
Battle of Bosworth Field
The Battle of Bosworth Field was the penultimate battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the House of Lancaster and the House of York that raged across England in the latter half of the 15th century. Fought on 22 August 1485, the battle was won by the Lancastrians...
, Francis Lovell, 1st Viscount Lovell
Francis Lovell, 1st Viscount Lovell
Francis Lovell, 9th Baron Lovell, 6th Baron Holand, later 1st Viscount Lovell was an English nobleman. He probably knew the later King Richard III of England from a young age, and was to become his lifelong friend and staunch ally....
led the charge of insurgency in the Yorkist Stafford and Lovell Rebellion
Stafford and Lovell Rebellion
The Stafford and Lovell rebellion was the first armed uprising against Henry VII after he won the crown at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. The uprising was led by Viscount Lovell and the Stafford brothers, Humphrey and Thomas, and occurred during Eastertime 1486.-Rebellion:The conspirators against...
against Henry VII of England
Henry VII of England
Henry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
, attainted Earl of Richmond. The inhabitants of the region went on several recusancy
Recusancy
In the history of England and Wales, the recusancy was the state of those who refused to attend Anglican services. The individuals were known as "recusants"...
strikes, such as the Pilgrimage of Grace
Pilgrimage of Grace
The Pilgrimage of Grace was a popular rising in York, Yorkshire during 1536, in protest against Henry VIII's break with the Roman Catholic Church and the Dissolution of the Monasteries, as well as other specific political, social and economic grievances. It was done in action against Thomas Cromwell...
and made trouble for John Nevill, 3rd Baron Latymer
John Nevill, 3rd Baron Latymer
Sir John Neville, 3rd Baron Latimer was an English nobleman of the House of Neville. His third wife was Catherine Parr, later Queen consort of England and Ireland to Henry VIII. His family was one of the oldest and most powerful families of the North...
(Catherine Parr
Catherine Parr
Catherine Parr ; 1512 – 5 September 1548) was Queen consort of England and Ireland and the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII of England. She married Henry VIII on 12 July 1543. She was the fourth commoner Henry had taken as his consort, and outlived him...
's husband before Henry VIII) in Snape Castle
Snape, North Yorkshire
Snape is a large village in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England, located about 3 miles south of Bedale and 3 miles west of the A1, it has a population of 350...
. This continued in the Rising of the North
Rising of the North
The Rising of the North of 1569, also called the Revolt of the Northern Earls or Northern Rebellion, was an unsuccessful attempt by Catholic nobles from Northern England to depose Queen Elizabeth I of England and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots.-Background:When Elizabeth I succeeded her...
, with Henry VII's follower Simon Digby
Simon Digby
Simon Digby was an English antiquary and Constable of Coleshill, in Warwickshire in the 15th century.Simon de Montford was executed in 1495 for contributing to the fund of Perkin Warbeck, who was plotting to oust King Henry VII from the throne...
of Aiskew
Aiskew
Aiskew is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. The village is situated to the immediate north-east of Bedale. It was known as Echescol in the Domesday Book...
executed and replaced by Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick
Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick
Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick, KG was an English nobleman and general, and an elder brother of Queen Elizabeth I's favourite, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester...
, whose wife sold it to the native Sir William Theakston & John Jackson, after which it was resold to Cavalier
Cavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...
Henry Peirse, whose descendents are remain in town. During the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
, Philip Stapleton
Philip Stapleton
Sir Philip Stapleton , of Warter-on-the Wolds in Yorkshire, was an English Member of Parliament, a supporter of the Parliamentary cause during the English Civil War. His surname is also sometimes spelt Stapylton or Stapilton.-Life:...
continued in much of the same anti-Tudor & Stuart sentiment as Guy Fawkes
Guy Fawkes
Guy Fawkes , also known as Guido Fawkes, the name he adopted while fighting for the Spanish in the Low Countries, belonged to a group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605.Fawkes was born and educated in York...
, whose statement, when asked by one of the Scottish lords what he had intended to do with so much gunpowder
Gunpowder Plot
The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was a failed assassination attempt against King James I of England and VI of Scotland by a group of provincial English Catholics led by Robert Catesby.The plan was to blow up the House of...
, Fawkes answered him, "To blow you Scotch beggars back to your own native mountains!" Middleham Castle
Middleham Castle
Middleham Castle in Wensleydale, in the county of North Yorkshire, was built by Robert Fitzrandolph, 3rd Lord of Middleham and Spennithorne, commencing in 1190. It was built near the site of an earlier motte and bailey castle...
was subsequently demolished by Parliamentarians and Bedale no longer had a fortress in which to resist outside manipulation.
Lords of the Manor
- Sir Alan FitzBrian, Knt., Lord of the ManorLord of the ManorThe Lordship of a Manor is recognised today in England and Wales as a form of property and one of three elements of a manor that may exist separately or be combined and may be held in moieties...
of Bedale, &c., (died shortly before May 17, 1267, killed in self-defence by Payn le Keu of Brandesburton), was a descendant of Conan I of RennesConan I of RennesConan I was the count of Rennes from 958 and duke of Brittany from 990 to his death. He became ruler of Brittany after a period of civil and political unrest, having first succeeded his father Judicael Berengar, as count of Rennes....
, Duke of BrittanyDuke of BrittanyThe Duchy of Brittany was a medieval tribal and feudal state covering the northwestern peninsula of Europe,bordered by the Alantic Ocean on the west and the English Channel to the north with less definitive borders of the Loire River to the south and Normandy to the east...
. He had two known sons, the younger being Theobald FitzAlan of Stow and Quy (d. 21 February 1308), and was succeeded at Bedale by the eldest:
- Sir Brian FitzAlanBryan FitzAlan, Lord FitzAlanSir Bryan FitzAlan, Baron FitzAlan Knt. was Lord of the Manor of Bedale in Richmondshire, Askham Bryan in the Ainsty, Bainton, Heworth &c., in Yorkshire, Bicker and Graby in Lincolnshire, a J.P., and High Sheriff of Yorkshire, &c...
Knt., (d. 1 June 1306), J.P.Justice of the PeaceA justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
, High Sheriff of YorkshireHigh Sheriff of YorkshireThe High Sheriff of Yorkshire was an ancient High Sheriff title originating in the time of the Angles, not long after the invasion of the Kingdom of England, which was in existence for around a thousand years. A list of the sheriffs from the Norman conquest onwards can be found below...
, &c. He was summoned to parliament from 24 June 1295 to 22 January 1305 by Writs directed to Briano filio Alani whereby he is held to have become Lord FitzAlan. Upon his death any hereditary peerage created by the Writ of 1295 is held to be in abeyance.
His daughters Agnes (born 1298) and Katherine (born 1300) were his co-heirs in his landed estates and manors. They were also co-heirs to his brother, Theobald. Katherine (d. before 7 August 1328) married Sir John de Grey, 1st Baron Grey of Rotherfield, KG (9 October 1300 - 1 September 1359).
The estate of Bedale and the Lordship of the Manor passed via the eldest daughter: Agnes FitzAlan, whose marriage was granted on 10 May 1306 (when she was aged just 8) to Sir Miles de Stapleton of Carlton, Yorkshire for his son:
- Sir Gilbert de Stapleton, Knt., (d. before 23 June 1324) a younger son, whom she married before 15 December 1317, in whose family Bedale remained for over a century, and was still in the possession of their great-great-grandson,
- Sir Miles StapletonMiles StapletonSir Miles Stapleton, KG was Lord of the Manor of Ingham, Norfolk and de jure Baron Ingham of Ingham, Norfolk, and Lord of the Manor of Bedale, Yorkshire.-Family:...
who died 30 September 1466. His younger brother Brian Stapleton of Crispings (in HappisburghHappisburghHappisburgh is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated off the B1159 coast road from Ingham to Bacton.The civil parish has an area of , although this is declining due to cliff erosion. In the 2001 census, before the creation of Walcott parish, it had a...
) and Hasilden, NorfolkNorfolkNorfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
died about the same time and they both left only co-heiresses.
The Lordship of Bedale Manor is currently held jointly by Lord Beaumont
Baron Beaumont
The title of Baron Beaumont is an ancient one in the Peerage of England, created in 1309 for a younger part of the de Brienne-family. The sixth Baron Beaumont was created Viscount Beaumont in 1432; after the death of the 2nd Viscount both titles fell into abeyance...
, heir of both FitzAlan moiety lines, but the Beresford-Peirse Baronets
Beresford-Peirse Baronets
The Beresford, later Beresford-Peirse Baronetcy, of Bagnall in the County of Waterford, is a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 21 May 1814 for John Beresford. He was an Admiral in the Royal Navy and also represented Coleraine, Berwick-on-Tweed, Northallerton and...
retain distinction as having de facto possession of the manor, which was originally forfeited by Lovell's attainder and passed on to numerous installments of government figures and subsequent real estate purchasers, whether Digby of Warwickshire, Dudley of Nottinghamshire, native Theakston and Jackson, then Peirse, after which it passed by inheritance to Beresford of Derbyshire.
Churches
St Gregory'sThis Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
church retains some Catholic relics, although Puritans during the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
vandalised features as statues. St Gregory's has a painting of St George slaying the dragon and also contains a stone Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
-era grave marker, notable for a rare depiction of the legend of Wayland Smith. When Scots raided the countryside, inhabitants expected to find security in St. Gregory's pele tower. Bedale St. Gregory is the parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
in the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
in the rural deanery of Wensley within the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds
Diocese of Ripon and Leeds
The Diocese of Ripon and Leeds is an administrative division of the Church of England, part of the Province of York. It covers an area in western and northern Yorkshire as well as the south Teesdale area administered by County Durham which is traditionally part of Yorkshire...
. The current incumbent of the church is the Reverend Simon Rudkin and its patron is the present Beresford-Peirse Baronet
Beresford-Peirse Baronets
The Beresford, later Beresford-Peirse Baronetcy, of Bagnall in the County of Waterford, is a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 21 May 1814 for John Beresford. He was an Admiral in the Royal Navy and also represented Coleraine, Berwick-on-Tweed, Northallerton and...
. There is a plaque in the church which lists all priests of the parish. There is another plaque of the previous landlords of Bedale, featuring coats of arms of these people or their families: Fitzalan
Alan de Bretagne, 1st Earl of Richmond
Alan of Penthièvre of Brittany, 1st Earl of Cornwall, 1st Earl of Richmond , Breton Alan Penteur, also known as "Alan the Black", was a Breton noble who fought for Stephen of England...
, Stapleton
Stapleton, Richmondshire
Stapleton is a village and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. It is close to the River Tees and Darlington. A pub and restaurant, The Bridge Inn, serves exotic meats such as kangaroo and crocodile....
, Grey of Rotherfield
Rotherfield Greys
Rotherfield Greys is a village and civil parish in the Chiltern Hills in South Oxfordshire. It is west of Henley-on-Thames and just over east of the village of Rotherfield Peppard....
(related to Lady Jane Grey
Lady Jane Grey
Lady Jane Grey , also known as The Nine Days' Queen, was an English noblewoman who was de facto monarch of England from 10 July until 19 July 1553 and was subsequently executed...
), Sheffield
Marquess of Normanby
Marquess of Normanby is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.The first creation came in 1694 in the Peerage of England in favour of John Sheffield, 3rd Earl of Mulgrave KG...
, de Warrene (Earl of Surrey
Earl of Surrey
The Earl of Surrey is a title in the Peerage of England, and has been created five times. It was first created for William de Warenne, a close companion of William the Conqueror...
), Brian de Thornhill
Thornhill, West Yorkshire
Thornhill, is a village in Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. Thornhill was absorbed into Dewsbury County Borough in 1910. It is located on a hill on the south side of the River Calder, and has extensive views of Dewsbury, Ossett and Wakefield...
, Lawrence de Thornhill, Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall
Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall
Richard of Cornwall was Count of Poitou , 1st Earl of Cornwall and German King...
, Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster
Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster
Henry , 3rd Earl of Leicester and Lancaster was an English nobleman, one of the principals behind the deposition of Edward II of England.-Family and lineage:...
, Fitz Hugh
Baron FitzHugh
The title Baron FitzHugh of Ravensworth was created in the Peerage of England in 1321, for Henry FitzHugh. The title passed through the male line until the death of the seventh baron in 1513 when it became abeyant between his great-aunts Alice, Lady Fiennes and Elizabeth, Lady Parr, and their...
of Tanfield
West Tanfield
West Tanfield is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. Situated about 6 miles north of Ripon on the A6108, which goes from Ripon into Wensleydale, West Tanfield is on the edge of both the Yorkshire Dales and the Vale of York...
, John of Brittany, Earl of Richmond
John of Brittany, Earl of Richmond
John of Brittany or Jean de Bretagne 3rd Earl of Richmond, was an English nobleman of Breton origin. He entered royal service under Edward I, and fought in the Scottish Wars. On 15 October 1306 he received his father's title of Earl of Richmond...
, Marmion
Marmion
Marmion is an epic poem by Walter Scott about the Battle of Flodden Field . It was published in 1808.Scott started writing Marmion, his second major work, in November 1806. When Archibald Constable, the publisher, learnt of this, he offered a thousand guineas for the copyright unseen. William...
, Arthur III, Duke of Brittany
Arthur III, Duke of Brittany
Arthur III , known as the Justicier and as Arthur de Richemont, was Lord of Parthenay and titular Count of Richmond in England and for eleven months at the very end of his life, Duke of Brittany and Count of Montfort after inheriting those titles upon the death of his nephew.-Biography:Belonging...
and Ascough/Aiskew
Ainscough
Ainscough is an old Lancashire family name, also spelled Ayscough, Aiskew, Askew, and Ascough.-Origins:It is thought that the name is derived from the Norse words "ask skog". Although other sources suggest that Aiskew is a corruption of the words "Eiki Skogr" translating to Oak Wood...
.
St Gregory's has a daughter church known as St Augustine's Church and Village Hall at Leeming Bar
Leeming Bar
Leeming Bar is a village in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England.-Geography:Located next to the A1 and near RAF Leeming it is home to the main depot and current terminus of the Wensleydale Railway at Leeming Bar railway station as well as the Dales & District bus company. It was...
. There are other local Anglican chapels, such as St Gregory's at Crakehall
Crakehall
Crakehall is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England about 2 miles west of Bedale. The village is split up into 2 parts: the west part, Little Crakehall, and the east part, Great Crakehall...
and St John the Baptist's at Leeming
Leeming, North Yorkshire
-Geography:Leeming lies a mile east of the current A1 road, south of the larger village of Leeming Bar and north of the small hamlet of Londonderry. Nearby is the RAF base of RAF Leeming....
.
St Mary's & St Joseph's
In Aiskew
Aiskew
Aiskew is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. The village is situated to the immediate north-east of Bedale. It was known as Echescol in the Domesday Book...
, this was founded in the 19th century by the Stapletons who remained the local Catholic landlords since the Reformation. The Tudors had made sure to seize the original parish church of St Gregory and align it with their policies enacted by the Earl of Warwick's faction (which was not local), that supplanted the earlier Tudor implant of the Digby family, whom had "gone native" and been drawn into local sympathies of anti-Elizabethan rebellion.
Others
There are Methodist
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
chapels in Bedale, Leeming, Crakehall and Burrill
Burrill
Burrill is a small village in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. It is in the parish of Burrill with Cowling and 1 mile west of Bedale....
. There is also a Mission church
Mission (Christian)
Christian missionary activities often involve sending individuals and groups , to foreign countries and to places in their own homeland. This has frequently involved not only evangelization , but also humanitarian work, especially among the poor and disadvantaged...
in Burrill. Some buildings in the area also have their own private chapels, such as at Christ's Hospital
Christ's Hospital
Christ's Hospital is an English coeducational independent day and boarding school with Royal Charter located in the Sussex countryside just south of Horsham in Horsham District, West Sussex, England...
in Firby.
Economy and attractions
Existing historic buildings include an eighteenth-century apothecaryApothecary
Apothecary is a historical name for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses materia medica to physicians, surgeons and patients — a role now served by a pharmacist and some caregivers....
's store for leech
Leech
Leeches are segmented worms that belong to the phylum Annelida and comprise the subclass Hirudinea. Like other oligochaetes such as earthworms, leeches share a clitellum and are hermaphrodites. Nevertheless, they differ from other oligochaetes in significant ways...
es, an underground ice house
Icehouse (building)
Ice houses were buildings used to store ice throughout the year, prior to the invention of the refrigerator. Some were underground chambers, usually man-made, close to natural sources of winter ice such as freshwater lakes, but many were buildings with various types of insulation.During the...
used for preserving food, and the fourteenth century market cross
Market cross
A market cross is a structure used to mark a market square in market towns, originally from the distinctive tradition in Early Medieval Insular art of free-standing stone standing or high crosses, often elaborately carved, which goes back to the 7th century. Market crosses can be found in most...
. Bedale is home to a small museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
, numerous Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
buildings, and a station
Bedale railway station
Bedale railway station is on the Wensleydale Railway and serves the town of Bedale in North Yorkshire, England.First opened by the Bedale and Leyburn Railway in November 1855, the station very nearly did not get built at all as the initial plans for the Leeming to Leyburn route would have...
on the Wensleydale Railway
Wensleydale Railway
The Wensleydale Railway is a railway line in Wensleydale and Lower Swaledale in North Yorkshire, England and the name of the company that operates services on the line....
, which runs to Redmire
Redmire
Redmire is a village and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. It is about 4 miles west of Leyburn in Wensleydale at the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.It is the terminus of the Wensleydale Railway...
via Leyburn
Leyburn
Leyburn is a busy market town and civil parish in the borough of Richmondshire, North Yorkshire, England sitting above the northern bank of the River Ure in Wensleydale. Historically within the North Riding of Yorkshire, the name was derived from 'Ley' or 'Le' , and 'burn' , meaning clearing by the...
. The Thorp Perrow Arboretum
Thorp Perrow Arboretum
Thorp Perrow Arboretum is an woodland garden near Bedale in North Yorkshire, England.Originally known as Thorp, Helewise of Perrow, near Ditchingham in Norfolk, was an early landowner. This is comparable to Bedale, as the Stapletons there held Ingham, Norfolk.Thorp Perrow is considered to be one...
lies nearby, as do the village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
s of Burneston
Burneston
Burneston is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 244. The village is close to the A1 road and is about four miles south-east of Bedale....
, Burrill
Burrill
Burrill is a small village in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. It is in the parish of Burrill with Cowling and 1 mile west of Bedale....
, Cowling
Cowling, Hambleton
Cowling is a small village in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. It is in the parish of Burrill with Cowling and 1 mile west of Bedale....
, Exelby
Exelby
Exelby is a village in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated 2.0 miles south east of Bedale and near the A1 road....
and Firby
Firby, Hambleton
Firby is a small village and civil parish in Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. It lies about one mile south of Bedale.Firby was a Liberty of Richmondshire and within the bounds of East Hang wapentake in the North Riding of Yorkshire, it is now within Crakehall ward of Hambleton...
.
The town is has many local shops, pubs, and eating places along its high street. It holds a market every Tuesday on the cobbles that line the market place. It also has a leisure centre with full gym, swimming pool, astro turf sports pitches. Bedale Athletic Sports Association club provides football, cricket, hockey, squash and tennis. Big Sheep Little Cow Farm is a petting zoo
Petting zoo
A petting zoo features a combination of domestic animals and some wild species that are docile enough to touch and feed. In addition to independent petting zoos, also called children's farms or petting farms, many general zoos contain a petting zoo...
, and the Wensleydale Railway
Wensleydale Railway
The Wensleydale Railway is a railway line in Wensleydale and Lower Swaledale in North Yorkshire, England and the name of the company that operates services on the line....
is the local line.
Bedale Golf Club is 800 yards north west of the town on the A684 road
A684 road
The A684 is an A road that runs through Cumbria and North Yorkshire, starting at Kendal, Cumbria and ending at Ellerbeck and the A19 road in North Yorkshire...
to Leyburn. The golf course is set on a parkland landscape with many mature trees. The club was founded in 1894 and has been in its current location since 1969 having previously been located at Bedale Park, and at Firby Road. From the competition tees Bedale Golf Course is a testing 18 hole, 6610 yard, par and SSS 72. Its reputation continues to grow as new features are introduced and it has now become a regular venue for many prestigious regional competitions. In the September 2007 edition of Golf Monthly magazine Bedale Golf Course was featured as one of the six best courses in Yorkshire and in September 2009 the Club hosted the Yorkshire Golf Union Inter District Championship with the best 48 amateur golfers in the county. Bedale Golf Club is affiliated to the Harrogate Union of Golf Clubs who won this event for the first time in its 36 year history.