The Manor of Spaldington

The Nomina Villarum, 1316, informs us that the lords of the manor of Spaldington were Petrus de Hay and Jacobus de Bosevill.

The manor of Spaldington descended in the de la Hay family until a de la Hay heiress, Isabella de la Hay (died before 1481) married John Vavasour, around 1431. Through this marriage the manor passed to the Vavasour family, a cadet branch of the Vavasours of Hazelwood, and John Vavasour made his seat in Spaldington.

The manor then descended in the Vavasour family until the last male heir, Thomas Vavasour, Esq., died in 1679, leaving an only daughter and heir, Mary Vavasour, who married Sir Ralph Assheton of Middleton,  Lancs,  Baronet. Their eldest daughter and co-heir, Anne, married Humphrey Trafford, Esq., 5th Aug 1701, in Manchester. Humphrey and Anne had a daughter and co-heir, Elizabeth Trafford, who married Mail Yates, of Mail, Lancs, and had an elder daughter and co-heir, Anne Assheton Yates.

Anne Assheton Yates married Henry Nooth, a Colonel in a Cavalry Regiment, who assumed the name of Vavasour, and was created a baronet in 1801.

Sir Henry Mervin Vavasour, grandson of Henry (Nooth) and Anne, sold the manor around 1872.


Manorial Documents
There are no known manorial documents extant. However, there is a collection of Vavasour family papers at the Yorkshire Archaeological Society, under reference MD175, which includes deeds and indentures between the Vavasour family, as Lords of the Manor, to various tenants, and other material. There also exists a collection of family papers, extents, tenant lists and records of tithe payments and land tax, in Masters' Exhibits attached to a cause in Chancery, concerning a dispute over the boundaries of the detached portions of Spaldington and Willitoft that lay within Aughton parish. The details of both these collections are given below:


Yorkshire Archaeological Society, Reference MD175
The Vavasour Papers at the Yorkshire Archaeological Society Archives consists of one archive box containing 1 small A5-sized packet, 2 large A4-size packets, and 1 large A5-sized envelope.

Small Packet
Contains 4 parchment rolls:

Roll 1: An inventory of the goods of Owen Doddins, late of Great Harrowden, dated 10 April 1615
Roll 2: Same as Roll 1
Roll 3: Inventory of the goods of George Vavasour of Spaldington, undated
Roll 4: Inventory of the goods of Ann Vavasour, widow of Spaldington, dated 6 Feb 1570

Large Packet 1
Containing 6 deeds or indentures,


Large Packet 2
Containing 26 miscellaneous documents,


A3 Envelope
Contains 5 documents, delicate state




The National Archives, Reference C 112/27~29 (1734-1736)

Three boxes of papers mainly concerning the tithes of Bubwith and Spaldington, Yorkshire, with correspondence, account books, bills, etc. Copies of cause papers and various Lowther family leases. Will of Richard Lowther of Kirkby Stephen, Westmorland, 1697.

C112/27
The following is a description of the bundles in the box. The bundles are not numbered, and the numbering I have used here is for my convenience only.

Bundle 1
16 stitched pages containing the defendents' answers to the bill of complaint, viz:-

  1. Walter Vavasour says he owns all the said land in Willitofte and names all the closes, garths etc.
  2. Samuel Guy says in 1723-1724 he lived in Spaldington and occupied a farm under Humphrey Trafford and in 1724 he took a farm in Gribthorpe under the Duke of Somerset and has lived there ever since. In 1733 he took another farm in Gribthorpe under the Duke, all land, closes, garths etc are named.
  3. Peter Wilson of Harlthorpe, lists all land
  4. James Caid at Willitofte, lists all land, under Peter Vavasour.

All defendents say they have heard and believe that parts of Spaldington and Willitoft lie partly in the parish of Aughton and partly in the parish of Bubwith. They speak of tithes of corn, rape, line, hay, wool and lamb. They say the tithes of Harlthorpe are in two moieties. One moiety belongs to the vicar of Bubwith, and the other moiety to Nicholas Blanshard.

Concludes with a complete schedule of all land held, cattle etc.

Bundle 2
Defendents' answers to the bill of complaint (copy)

Bundle 3
Copy of the Bill of Complaint

Bundle 4
A brief of the entire case, with complaint, answers, and depositions all briefly summarised. A moiety of the tithes of the Rectory of Bubwith are owned by the D&C of York, the other by H. Trafford, bought of the Crown, ex-Ellerton priory.

Bundle 5
120 stitched papers containing the answers of the defendents (not to interrogatories, so presumably to the bill of complaint).

Bundle 6
266 stitched pages of depositions (paginated), taken 19 April 1736
for example, on page 177:

Nicholas Blanshard of Newsam, parish of Wressle, yeoman, aged 72, was born at Gribthorpe and lived there until he was 24 years old; says the townships of Harlthorpe and Gribthorpe lie wholly in the parish of Bubwith, and Spaldington and Willitofte lie partly in Bubwith and partly in Aughton parishes. Speaks of his late father, George Blanshard. In 1723 and 1724 he did farm 5 closes called Racehill and one close called The Ings in Spaldington within the parish of Aughton; also 2 closes called West Corn lands, 1 close called Bowland Howlands, and 2 closes called Wood Dales, all 5 in Spaldington in the parish of Bubwith; also 4 closes called Common Closes in Spaldington, one moiety of which were in the parish of Aughton while the other moiety was in the parsh of Bubwith, all of which consisted of meadow, pasteure and arable land. His son rents a house in Spaldington, which lies in Aughton, and 56 acres in Aughton and 53 acres in Bubwith. Also says about 7 years ago he was called to Mr. Trafford at his manor of Spaldington Hall.

Bundle 7
77 stitched pages of answers of the defendents

Bundle 8
Another copy of the answers.

C112/28
  1. A copy of the Survey of Spaldington, listing all field names and annotated A = Aughton, B = Bubwith, C = Commons, D = Demense, M = Mediety, P = Parish.
  2. Will of Richard Lowther, 25 Sep 1697
  3. Various legal correspondence
  4. Various bills, receipts, and bonds
  5. Book of Accounts, very few names listed
  6. Land tax bills, and payments
  7. Deeds
  8. Book of Household Accounts (Lowther's housekeeper)
  9. Listing of fields, closes + farmers in Breighton in 1690, 1700 and 1732, 1734.
  10. Tithe payments

C112/29
This box contains (only) the deeds, leases and conveyances of the Lowthers (primarily of tithes).