STOCKTON WARD 



BILLINGHAM 



who maintained that he haJ the sole right of taking 

 custom on the north banic as Peter Brus had on the 

 south.^^ Several witnesses testified that the priors had 

 in the past taken toll,^** but by the final agreement or 

 'convenit' made with Bishop Poor in 1229 this 

 right was reserved to the bishop, leaving to the prior 

 only his ferry. ^^ Robert of Holy Island, Bishop of 

 Durham (1274-83), granted the prior and convent 

 warren in Billinghamshire."' An unexplained grant 

 of view of frankpledge in Billinghani, Newton, Bewley, 

 Cowpen, Wolviston and other places was made to 

 Ralph Fetherstonhaugh in June 1617," while the see 

 was vacant. 



The freeholds created here by various priors are 

 not of great importance. Gilbert son of Reginald de 

 Billingham surrendered his land here in the late 

 I 2th century for land In Wolviston.^* A messuage 

 and 72 acres belonged in the early 13th century to 

 John son of Geoffrey, whose daughters and co-heirs 

 Agnes, Alice, and Margaret married respectively Henry 

 del Hay, Alexander de Klrkynsolagh, and William son 

 of William de Herle.^^ Alice and Alexander enfeoffed 

 of their share William de Herle, who added to his 

 48 acres a messuage and 6 acres purchased from 

 William Champenays. The holding, having passed 

 in turn to his son William and daughter Joan, finally 

 reverted to his sisters Sibil and Isabella, whose sons 

 David de Bicheburn and Roger de Herle were tenants 

 in 1336.*' A third part of this freehold was granted 

 in mortmain to the prior and convent in or shortly 

 after 1379 as part of the endowment of John Fossor's 

 chantry." 



The most important freehold was that granted by 

 Thomas Melsanby (prior 1233-44) ^° Robert son 

 of Robert Rekelott,*^ to hold as his father had held it. 

 It consisted of 72 acres and a capital messuage, and 

 was next held by John son of Robert,*^ evidently the 

 John the Cowherd of Billingham who married the 

 sister of Richard Kellaw, Bishop of Durham, and was 

 treated with special favour in consequence by the 

 prior.** John's son William unsuccessfully claimed 

 common of pasture in ' Saltcroke ' and ' Wylycroke ' 

 in 1343.*^ He had a son Alan, who paid relief for 

 his lands in Billingham in 1349*^ ^"'^ made an 

 agreement with the prior in 1361.*' Alan died 

 between 1390 and 1397."* A dispute with William 

 de Billingham, son of Alan, was settled in 1 410.** 

 This William was succeeded by Thomas, who lived 

 till about 1442.*' Before 1430, however, his 

 land at Billingham had passed to Robert Jakson.'" 

 Robert paid a yearly rent of I 3/. 4</. for his capital 

 messuage and 72 acres, and owed military service, 



suit of court every fortnight, and works at the mill 

 and at the manor of Billingham. Most of these 

 services were redeemed in 1430 bya payment of 10/.^ 

 The heir of Robert Jakson is not known, but it was 

 apparently his freehold for which the heirs of John 

 Hewetjone paid a rent of 20/. in 1539.''^ Thomas 

 Bainbridge held it in I 580," and in 1 61 2 this or a 

 later Thomas Bainbridge, with his son and heir John, 

 conveyed three messuages and 360 acres of arable 

 land, meadow and pasture in Billingham to Sir Henry 

 Anderson.^'' About five years later Sir Henry claimed 

 that this tenement, which was known as ' Billinghams 

 or Bainbridges,' carried with it a share in the 

 manorial rights of the dean and chapter, against 

 whom he brought a writ of partition. He succeeded 

 in securing the inclosure of the common lands, a 

 measure which caused great discontent among the 

 other tenants. There are records of their proceed- 

 ings against him, the ground of which was that he 

 had no right to the soil of the pasture lands, but 

 only a right of common like themselves, and that his 

 claim to a ninth of the whole was in any case exces- 

 sive.'^ The dispute dragged on for several years, and 

 the result was apparently unfivourable to Sir Henry.'* 

 He was succeeded at Billingham by his son Henry, 

 but the later history of the estate is uncertain." 



BELLJSIS (Belasyse, xv cent.; Bellces, Belsis, xvi 

 cent.; Belsis, xviii cent.) gave its name to a local family 

 subsequently of Henknowle. According to tradition 

 this family came into possession of BelL'sis soon after 

 the Conquest,"* but nothing is known of it earlier. 

 Henry and Roger de Belasis witnessed 12th-century 

 charters of the Prior of Durham,'^ and a grant 

 of the vill by Willi.im de 

 Belasis to William son of 

 Robert is quoted in the family 

 pedigrees."" Sir Rowland de 

 Belasis, who lived at Bsvvley, 

 was among the knights of the 

 bishopric in 1 264.*"^ The 

 John de Bela:is who held l.ind 

 in Wolviston between 1270 

 and 1280**' may have been 

 lord of Bellasis, but it is pos- 

 sible that his family had 

 already alienated the manor to 

 the prior)' of Durham, to which 



it certainly belonged in i 296. **- The fact that certain 

 freehold tenants in Billingham holding under Prior 

 Thom.is (1233-44) o"'ed labour at the manor of 

 Bellasis"' seems to indicate that it was acquired by the 

 priory considerably before that date. The tradition. 



Bellasis. Argent a 

 chfveron gulei bet'zveen 

 three jleurt de Us azure. 



57- 



*• FeoJ, Prior, Dunelm, (Surt. Soc), 253. 

 " Ibid. 270, 276. "Ibid. 215. 



*« Hilt. Dunelm. Serif r. Tres (Surt. Soc), 



7- 



" Pat. I 5 Jas. I, pt. XV, no. 9. There 

 wai a lay dean, who was careless of the 

 cathedral righn [I'.C.H. Dur. ii, 43). 



** FeoJ. Prior. Dunelm. (Surt. Soc), 3 1 n. 



" Richard D' .lungeri-ille of Bury (Surt. 

 Soc), 123-5. 



»» Ibid. 



** Dep, Keeper^i Rep. xxxii, App. i, 275 ; 

 Cal. Pjt. 1 38 1-;, pp. lo-ii ; cf. FeoJ. 

 Prior. Dunelm. (Surt. Soc), 29. 



** FeoJ. Prior. Dunelm, (Surt. Soc), 40 n. 



" Ibid. 40. 



^ Surtccs, op. cit. iii, 144-5. 



" Ibid. 



«Ibid. 14 

 (Surt. Soc), So. 



*^ Surtees, op. cit. 



''a Dur. Rec cl. 

 228A. 



*® Surtccs, op. cit 



8 : FeoJ. Prior. Dunelm. 



, 148. 

 no. 13, fol. 21, 



145. 



*' FeoJ. Prior. Dunelm. (Surt. Soc), 40 ; 

 Hutchinson, fiiit. anJ .'Inri-^. oj" Dur. iii, 

 108. See Crook Hall. 



'" FeoJ. Prior. Dunelm. (Surt. Snc), 40, 

 88. The Billinghams of Crook Hall 

 made a general release to the prior in 

 1498 of land in Billingham (Surtees, 

 op. cit. iii, 145). 



" FeoJ. Prior, Dunelm. (Surt. Soc), 40, 

 88. "Ibid. 317. 



" Halmoli R. (Surt. Soc), 241. 



'* Dur. Rec cl. 12, no. 2 (3). 



197 



'^ Chan. Proc (Ser. 2), bdle. 333, 

 no. 3 J Exch. Dep. Hil. 2 A 3 Chas. I, 

 no. lo; East. 3 Chas. I, no. 15 ; Trin. 



3 Chas. 1, no. 4. 



'* Surtees, op. cit. iii, 145. 



'" Chan. Enr. Dec 1209, no. 3. 



" Surtccs, op. cit. iii, 148. 



" FeoJ. Pr:or. Dunelm. (Surt. Soc), 

 32 n., 64 n., 670., 128 n., 173 n. 



*" Ibid. 143 n. 



*"• far. Coll. (Hist. MSS. Com.), ii, 8S. 

 He does not appear in the list printed in 

 HatJielJ's Surv. (Surt. Soc), p. xiy-xvi. 



** Sec below. 



» Halmote R. (Surt. Soc), i, 8. 



*> FeoJ. Prior, Dunelm. (Surt. Soc), 



4 I ; cf. Halmote R. (Surt. Soc), i, 17 ; 

 Dur. Acct. R. (Surt. Soc), 676. 



