A HISTORY OF DURHAM 



assignment of lands to the various prebends 

 under Henry VIII generally followed this 

 plan, there are some indications that it was 

 not done in the case of the nth stall. ^^ It is 

 certain, however, that in March 1554-5 

 Houghall was definitely assigned as the corpus 

 of the prebendary of this stall, an arrangement 

 which has been maintained until the present 

 day." 



In the 1 2th century NEJVTON (Neutona 

 xi cent., Newton near Durham xi-xvii 

 cent.) was among the lands of the Bishop 

 and seems to have been parcelled out among 

 various retainers. Certain lands were granted 

 to Richard the engineer,'* Pudsey's architect 

 in charge of the work of Norham Castle, and a 

 man distinguished alike for piety and skill.'* 

 Half of his demesne was in 11 83'' in the hands 

 of William de Watervill, sometime (1155-75) 

 Abbot of Peterborough, to whom the Bishop had 

 granted it of his good will and alms apparently 

 after his ejection from his abbey." A further 

 holding of 14 acres was in the hands of the 

 Bishop's servant, Ralf the clerk, and was made 

 up partly of land previously held by Robert 

 Tic and partly of assart.'* According to 

 Surtees, Bishop Hugh gave the vill to Roger of 

 Reading,'* but nothing more of his tenure is 

 known. One William was lord of Newton in 

 I3ii.=» 



Surtees states that in 1337 Bishop Richard de 

 Bury confirmed the manor to Adam de Bowes 

 of Streatlam,^' and it is certain that in March 

 1354-5 Robert de Bowes made fine for the 

 capital messuage.^- Before 1384 Robert de 

 Bowes seems also to have acquired the 60 acres 

 in the Fallowfield lying between the quarry of 

 Newton and ' Aldnewton ' which Robert son 

 of Nicholas Scriptor inherited from his father 

 in 1335,"' as well as other and smaller parcels 

 totalling at least 86 acres. 



In 1383 Sir John Heron, kt., was returned as 

 holding Newton by foreign service and a yearly 

 rent of 106/. 8i., but it seems possible that he 

 was merely acting as a trustee for the Bowes 



^ Rec. of the D. and C. of Durham, c. iv, 33, 

 fol. 148. 



" It was sold by the Parliamentary Trustees in 

 165 1 to Viscount Lisle, being then in the tenure of 

 Clement Farrowe. 



n Boldon Bk. (Surt. Soc.), 2. 



'* See Reginaldi Monachi Libellui (Surt. Soc.), 

 94, 1 1 1-2. 



i« BoUon Bk. loc. cit. 



1' Ibid. ; V.C.H. NoTthants, ii, 93. 



18 Boldon Bk. loc. cit. 



1' Surtees, Dur. iv (2), 146. 



2« Lans. MS. 902, fol. 369 ; Mem. 0/ St. Giles 

 (Surt. Soc.), 193. 



2' Surtees, loc. cit. 



22 Dur. Rec. cl. 3, no. 12, fol. 145. 



23 Ibid. no. 2, fol. 8 d. ; cf. fol. 153 d. 



Dowts of Streatlam. 

 Ermine three bent boxs 

 paleu-ise gules. 



George died un- 



family, since Sir William de Bowes was holding 

 the capital messuage and 200 acres of land at the 

 same rent when he died in or about 1399.^^ 

 The holding^* followed the 

 descent of Streatlam (q.v.) 

 until 1565 when Sir George 

 Bowes, kt., obtained licence 

 to grant it to Anthony 

 Middleton.''' In 1577 An- 

 thony Middleton granted a 

 lease of the manor for 100 

 years toThomas Middleton 

 his younger son.^' Anthony 

 died in 1581, and his in- 

 terest descended to George 

 son of his eldest son, 

 Cuthbert, a boy of 19.^* 

 married in 1596, his heir being William Mid- 

 dleton his brother.-* At some time between 

 1596 and January 1599-1600, Thomas and 

 George Middleton sold the manor to Thomas 

 Blakiston^ and he afterwards conveyed it to 

 his brother Marmaduke Blakiston,^' prebendary 

 of the 7th stall of Durham,'^ who was described 

 as 'of Newton' in 1626. ^^ Marmaduke con- 

 veyed the manor of Newton next Durham to his 

 son Toby Blakiston in 1630.** Toby's will 

 was proved in 1646. He left annuities from the 

 manor to his children Toby, Margaret and 

 Dorothy, the mansion house and lands descend- 

 ing to Thomas Blakiston the eldest son.'* 

 Thomas died intestate shortly after his father 

 and left a son, John,** who on coming of age in 

 1665 refused to execute the provisions of his 

 grandfather's will.*' The consequent litigation 

 came to an end in 1667, judgment being given 

 against John.** On 19 February 1670-1 John 



" Dur. Rec. cl. 3, no. 2, fol. 131 d. ; cf. 202 d. 



2* In 1468 William Bowes granted the manors of 

 ' Barneys, Clowcroft, and Palion ' with the fishery in 

 the Wear called ' Boweswatre ' and the manor of 

 Newton near Durham to Henry Gillowe and Thomas 

 Portyngton, probably trustees. (Lans. MS. 902, fol. 

 176). 



-* Ibid. no. 82, m. 6. They also sold a messuage and 

 land here to Hugh WTiitfield in 1 567 (Dur. Rec. cl. 12 



[1-2])- 



2' Ibid. cl. 3, file 191, no. 97 (l). 



2* Ibid. cf. no. 84, m. 13. 



2* Ibid, file 192, no. 66 ; no. 92, m. 15. 



*" Surtees, op. cit. ; Dur. Rec. cl. 3, no. 92, ra. 28, 

 28 d. *' Surtees, loc. cit. 



*- Bp. Cosin's Corr. (Surt. Soc), ii, 27 n. 



** Reg. of St. Margarets, Durham (Dur. and North. 

 Par. Reg. Soc), p. 11. 



** Dur. Rec. cl. 3, no. 7, fol. 103 d. ; no. 106, m. 12 ; 

 cl. 12, no. 4, m. 2 ; Surtees, op. cit. 162. 



*5 Dur. Rec cl. 4, no. 2, fol. 317 d. 



36 Ibid. fol. 333 d. 



*' Ibid. Surtees (op. cit. 162) says that Thomas 

 died in his father's hfetime, leaving an infant son 

 Thomas Uving in 1649. ** Ibid. fol. 352 d. 



170 



