A HISTORY OF DURHAM 



of their stipends as chaplain) in Dinsdale Church lor 

 the souls of Sir Thomas Surtecs and his ancestors.** In 

 I 541 the advowson of the chapel of St. Mary in the 

 church of Dinsdale was transferred from the monastery 

 to the dean and ch.ipter of Durham." At the sup- 

 pression of chantries in 1548 the chaplain was said to 

 have 57/. \ii. a year.** 



For the school and Thomas VVyvill's 



CHARITIES Charity thereto,see article on Schools.** 



A sum ofj^izo consols is held by the 



official trustees for providing the sum of ^^3 a year for 



the school. 



The official trustees also hold a sum of ^94 4;. 6J. 

 consols arising from the same charity in trust for the 

 poor. I'he annual dividend, amounting to £i 7/., 

 is applied in sums of 10/. usually for poor women in 

 confinement, also in ihe distribution of beef at 

 Christmas. 



James Watson, by will proved at Durham in 1844, 

 bequeathed £^0, the income to be applied in the 

 distribution of bread among the poor. The legacy, 

 with accumulations, is represented by ^^71 19/. jd. 

 consols, with the official trustees, producing £\ 161. 

 yearly. 



EGGLESCLIFFE 



EggasclifF (1085) ; Eggescliva (l 163) ; Egglesclive, 

 Ecclesclive (1197); Eggescliv (1213); Eggelesclive 

 (c. 1220) ; Ecclesclyve (1294) ; Egglisclyf (xv cent.) ; 

 Egglysclyfe or Heckesclyfe (1580). 



The parish of Egglescliffi;, or EaglesclifFe as the 

 railway station is named, lies along the northern bank 

 of the Tees, with Yorkshire to the south and east, 

 Stockton and Long Newton to the north and Middle- 

 ton St. George to the \ve5t. It comprises three 

 townships — EgglesclifFe in the north-east, Aislaby in 

 the centre and Newsh.im in the west. The land in 

 general is a tableland rising boldly from the Tees, 

 with lower land by the river side ; the general height 

 is from 50 ft. above sea level in the east to 120 ft. in 

 the west, with a few depressions down which becks 

 run to join the river. In some places the steep banks 

 have been planted with trees on both sides of the 

 river. 



The agricultural land is thus employed : arable 

 2,094 acres, permanent grass 2,443, "'oods and planta- 

 tions 57.' The soil is loamy ; wheat and oats are 

 grown, also beans and turnips. There are chemical 

 works at Urlay Nook, established in 183 1 ; minor 

 industries are brick works, vinegar works and a 

 tannery. There was formerly a paper-mill ; it was 

 built in 1832. The manorial horse-mill stood near 

 the tannery, and the water-mill was to the west, 

 next to an old house called the Scat-house. There 

 was formerly a considerable weaving industry in 

 Egglescliffe, of blankets and huckaback. Gardening 

 is extensively carried on, and the place used to be 

 famous for strawberries. - 



Egglescliffe proper contains the vilLige of that name 

 at the southern end on the high ground which over- 

 looks the river and the Yorkshire town of Yarm ; at 

 the northern end is the modern village of Eaglesclifie 

 Junction. The rectory was rebuilt in 1843. The 

 old rectory was a three-storied house with dormer 

 windows ; the top story is said to have contained a 

 recess hidden by sliding panels in which Dr. Basire 

 was concealed from the parliamentary soldiers. Carter 

 Moor lies to the west of the latter village, and Urlay 

 Nook on the western border. Nelly Burden's Beck ^ 

 separates Egglescliffi; from Aislaby. The village of 

 Aislaby is about a mile south-west of the parish 



church, on high ground overlooking the river. In a 

 similar position are Aislaby Grange and Portknowle in 

 the south-west corner ; Aislaby Moor is near the 

 western border, and another grange stands in the north. 

 In Newsham also there are two houses called Grange, 

 one in the south and the other in the north ; Newsham 

 Hall and Traftbrd Hill are more central, the former 

 being to the east on high land above a bend of the 

 river, and the latter a little distance from it, overlook- 

 ing an expanse of lower ground to the south-west. The 

 areas of the three townships are — Egglescliffi: ',55° 

 acres, Aislaby 1,835 *"'^ Newsham 1,461, in all 

 4,846 acres, including 56 acres of tidal water and 11 

 of foreshore.' The Tees is tidal up to this point. 

 The bridge over the Tees between Egglescliffe and 

 Yarm is mentioned by Leland : ' Yarcham bridge of 

 stone, three miles above Stockton, made as I heard 

 by Bishop Skirlaw.' ^ The northern arch was widened 

 about 1785 to accommodate the traffic. Then in 



1805 an iron bridge ot a single span was thrown 

 across the Tees, but it broke down on i 2 January 



1806 owing to faulty supports.'' Afterwards the old 

 bridge, somewhat widened, \\as restored to use. On 

 FoUin Hill between Traftbrd Hill and the river are 

 two parallel lines of intrenchments, which cover the 

 adjoining fords. 



The principal road is that leading north by Yarm 

 bridge to Stockton. It is noteworthy that the old 

 village does not stand upon this road, but is built 

 around a large green or open space to the eastward, 

 with the church on the west side ; in the centre there 

 were formerly a cross ^ and the stocks. A large mound 

 called the Devil's Hill stands to the east of the village. 

 Jubilee Assembly Rooms were built in 1897 and are 

 now used as a working men's club. From the main 

 road there is a branch westward, following the 

 river in the main, by Aislaby and Newsham to 

 Middleton, and another branch going through Urlay 

 Nook to Long Newton, with a branch to Darlington. 

 The Northallerton and Stockton section of the North- 

 Eastern railway goes north through EgglesclifFe on the 

 western side of the main road, having crossed the Tees 

 by a viaduct of forty-three arches, built in 1849. 

 There are stations at the village, called Yarm, and at 

 EaglesclifFe lately called Preston Junction, which stands 



" Dep. Keeper s Rep. xixii, App. 297. 

 They were to pay i mark of it to the 

 repair of Pontcys bridge. 



» L. and P. Hen. rill, xvi, g. 878 (33). 



^^ Bp. Barnet* Injunc. (Surt. Sec), 

 p. Ixviii. 



'• r.C.H. Dur. i, 40S. 



' Statiitics from Bd. of Agric. (190;). 



' Inform, from Rev. A. T. Dingle. 



^ Formerly Cold Reck. 



* The Ci»jui Rep. (1901) gives 49 a. 

 tidal water, and 12 a. foreshore. 



^ Leland, Irin. i, 70. There was an 

 earlier bridge [Cal. Pur. I 301— 7, p. 389}. 



222 



' Ord, Hisl. ami Aniij. of ClewlanJ, 



' There is a drawing in Brewster, 

 Siocklon (ed. 2), 44. Part of the shaft of 

 the cross was found and replaced on the 

 base in 191 1 (inform, from Rev. A. T. 

 Dingle). 



