hemingborough _MG_0156

History of Hemingbrough

 

 

Hemingbrough Parish fills up, the southern extremity of the "Wapentake" of the Ouse and Derwent, and the village lies not far from the Ouse. The name probably signifies, probably, the birig or burg of Hemma or Hemming, some very ancient landowner or chieften. Hemming was a common Norse name in old times, and Hemma occurs in the Liber Vitae of the monastery of Durham. The place is called Hamiburg in the Doomsday Survey. The birig or burg according to historian's thoughts was an ancient tower or fort near or on the present church, of which some remnants may exist today in the rude grit-stones, which may be observed in the west wall of this building. But whether a Roman fort stood here or not, it is evident from the terminal of the name, that there was a burg or fortification of some kind early in the Saxon period, and as Heming was a common personal name among the Norsemen, it is probable that the first. Tradition runs that Romans had a series of forts on the banks of a river, two miles or so apart, to keep navigation open, and that there was one here. There is no proof of this, however a single copper coin of Victorinus, found in the village, is the only token of the presence of Roman on the spot. Many years ago the church stood originally on the bank of the river, in a position, which commanded a clear view for a considerable distance up and down stream. In Saxon times there is nothing is known of Hemingbrough. It had been regarded as part of Howdenshire. The early history of the two districts is quite different. Howdenshire, by some early and unknown grant, belonged to the rich monastery of Peterborough, but was taken from it by Edward the Confessor for some reason. At the time of the Doomsday Survey, Howdenshire was the property of William of St. Calais, Bishop of Durham and his successors, by the gift of William the Conqueror. Hemingbrough when the survey was taken, was in the king's hand, having been previously in that of Tosti, or, as the charter of William to Durham asserts, in those of the Earls Tosti and Siward, showing that it was an appendage of the earldom. It is most likely that the men of Hemingbrough joined their feudal lord in his insurrection against Harold and fought and fell by his side at the battle of Stamford Bridge. The rebellion of Tosti would bring Hemingbrough by forfeiture to the king. William gave it, shortly before his death, to God and St. Cuthbert, and the Prior and Monks serving God at Durham. Dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, the church was made collegiate in 1426, for a provost, three prebendaries, six vicars coral, and six clerks, but these privileges ceased with the dissolution. Of a large cruciform structure comprising in its present plan a nave with aisles on each side, and a south porch, a spacious chancel with an almost equally large aisle on the south side, and a small aisle and vestry on the north side, north and south transepts, and a central tower surmounted by a lofty spire. The first church that occupied the site was built in Saxon times, and is mentioned in Doomsday Book. But every trace of that edifice has disappeared, and of the Norman church that succeeded it there now remain only the two eastern most bays on each side of the nave. The church appears to have been remodelled and enlarged in the 13th century, and traces of the Transitional style, which then prevailed, are visible in almost every part of the edifice. The transepts, originally built when the remodelling took place, were very considerably altered in the Perpendicular period, a clerestory being added, and the large five-light windows inserted in the north and south gables. Further enlargements were made in the 15th and 16th centuries by the addition of aisles to the chancel, and the widening of the north aisle of the nave. The beautiful tapering spire, rising to a height of 191 feet, was added in the 15th century.

The church is built of the fine limestone (which used to be worked more largely than it is at present) of Huddlestone and Tadcaster, and which York Minster is constructed. In the west wall, however, a number of stones of grit may be observed, the relics of an earlier church. These probably came from Bramley Fall, Nr. Leeds or Plumpton Rocks in the vicinity of Knaresborough. Hemingbrough is a parish of considerable extent, the surface is flat, and but slightly elevated above high water level. The soil is chiefly warp and sand, with clay in a few places, and the subsoil sand. Wheat, oats, barley, turnips, and potatoes are chiefly grown. The village, long and straggling, is situated five miles east from Selby, five miles northwest from Howden, and two miles from Hemingbrough station (situated in Cliffe), on the Hull and Selby branch of the national railway. The village is not what it once was. Not so long ago the village supported a variety of trades in Farming, Blacksmiths, Brickworks, Litsters, Carriers, Websters (weavers), Maltsers, Farriers, Cattle dealers, Millers as can be seen in a Transcript of the entry for the Post Office, professions and trades for HEMINGBROUGH in Bulmer's Directory of 1892. Now people commute not only to Selby and York but also to the larger cities of Leeds and Hull for employment, some even further afar. There seems to have been quite a few schools of some description or another since the early 1600s when a Richard Pettie, BA. was licensed to teach Grammar School at Hemingbrough. In 1847 Mrs.Carr conferred a most single benefit upon Hemingbrough by erecting a school "establishing a charitable institution in her native place". The people who were to be the trustees was a Rev. John Ion, the vicar, Keighly Burton of Cliffe-cum-Lund, gentleman, John Harrison of the Grange in Hemingbrough, gentleman, and Lionel Tomlinson of Hemingbrough, gentleman. It was to be used as a day and Sunday school. Certain scholars were to be educated free of charge and the master was to be a member of the Church of England. In 1878 on the site of the present school another school was built with headmasters living quarters at a cost of two thousand pounds. There was accommodation for 110 pupils. Over the years the appearance of the school changed with the removal of a bell tower in the early nineteen twenties and eventually made way for the present school was built in the 1960's.Only the schoolhouse and a storage room are now remaining of the old school. The original 1847 school is known as the Institute and plays host to many groups such as the parish Council, Playgroup etc. In his book about life in "Hemingbrough 1936-1947", Geoff Burt's first recollections after to moving to the village, where his father became the landlord of The Britannia, after serving in the police force, from what he thought was a civilised area, was an earth closet which as he described lessened by the weeks. He recalls that the focus on these buildings only came back when they needed emptied. As he states the service was carried out by one of the villages characters "Bill Thackeray". Otherwise known as "Tashy" because of his large moustache, which apparently extended below his mouth, he lived at "The Hollies", a house previously occupied by an undertaker and joiner - Barker Hudson, father of Arthur (Chips) Hudson a well-known local character who apparently related with amusement the time when he and his wife had caused the collapse of their double bed with a combined weight of forty two stones. "Tashy" was also a local carrier providing by horse and flat cart, a service for the village by taking goods to and from the Selby market. The other mode of transport was the use of the river, where people would either use the ferry to Barmby Marsh or catch the steam packet upstream to Selby or down to Goole and Hull. This fell by the way with the opening of the by-pass in 1920's, however it was still used until the 1950's, as farmers would transport the sugar beet to the sugar beet factory at Selby. Electricity and piped water arrived in the village at about the same time in 1937/38, as records show in the P.C.C. minutes record that a total sum of £79.10s was spent in 1938 for installation. As transport became better, villagers had the choice of using bus or train (the latter from Hemingbrough Station which is in Cliffe) this provided the opportunity to visit the Hippodrome, The Central or the Ritz picture house in Selby all of which have now disappeared. The Tune family as far back as 1924 first served petrol in the village and with the opening of the new by-pass the petrol station is where it is now at the first entrance to the village and is called Hearthstone filling station. Opposite here was the home of Hemingbrough Tennis club and cricket was played in the field adjoining Hagg Lane and fronting the North side of the A63. The tennis club fell by the wayside over the years, however the village still has three active sporting clubs in the Bowls, Cricket and Football all of which now share and play in the same field at the side of the A63 in the village. Industry in the village apart from farming included the brickyard which was a very labour intensive and demanded hard physical work. The brickyard was sold to the Shepherd Building Group brick company Alne Brick after the war and they installed a narrow gauge railway line to bring the clay to the kilns. The brickyard finally ceased production in 1983 and today it is used for plant auctions and as rubbish tip. In the year 2000 the last of 15 working farms in the village moved to just outside the village. Most of these farms have been turned into building plots to cater for the greater number of new residents. In 1801 the population return Hemingbrough was home to 387 persons and in the census of 1991 the village has grown to a population of 1,675. The village still has a thriving business community with two public houses The Crown Inn and the Fox & Pheasant (formerly The Britannia), greengrocers, fish and chip shop, butchers, and a host of other trades, mostly none of which are connected to the history of the village.

 

 

 

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