A HISTORY OF DURHAM 



Bowts. Ermine three 

 bent bows palezone gules. 



included in a feoffment made in I 5 i z,'' and in 1516 

 the Bowes' manor of Elton was said to be held of 

 Henry Clifford.'* Dorothy, a daughter and coheir of 

 George Bowes, married Cuthbcrt Coliingwood,'-' and 

 in I 574 they sold ' the manor ' 

 of Elton to Thomas Serjeant- 

 son and John, Thomas, and 

 Christopher Jefferson.^" An 

 estate, amounting to 10^ 

 oxgangs, with part of the 

 advowson, probably part of the 

 Bowes' property, was bought 

 by Robert Conyers from John 

 Mitforth senior and John 

 Mitforth junior.'" 



Robert Jefferson's lands at 

 Elton are mentioned in 

 1651.''- In 1664 a settle- 

 ment was made by Margaret Jefferson, widow, and 

 John Jefferson,^' and in June 1703 Elizabeth widow 

 of Sir John Jefferson and her son John sold two 

 messuages, lands and the advowson of the church to 

 John Jefferson, yeoman, of Norton." Anne, the 

 eventual heiress of John Jefferson, in 1760 married 

 Thomas Hogg of Norton, from whom is descended 

 Mr. John Ewer Jefferson Hogg of Norton, sheriff of 

 the county in 1903.*' 



Another part of the Jefferson estate appears to have 

 descended, by the marriage of Thomas Sutton with 

 Rachel Jefferson in 1692, to their grandson George 

 Sutton, who died in 1 8 1 7, and from him, through his 

 cousin Elizabeth Sleigh, who married John Hutchin- 

 son, to her son George, who took the name of Sutton.''^ 

 He was father of Mr. John Stapylton Sutton, men- 

 tioned above. 



In 131 I it was found that 4 oxgangs in Elton had 

 been granted by Maud, kinswoman of Robert de Brus, 

 to Guisborough Priory, and that the gift had been 

 confirmed by Robert.*' These lands were described 

 as ' the Manor of Elton ' in i 344.*'^ 



The lands formerly held by Guisborough Priory 

 were in 1544 granted by the Crown to Sir Thomas 

 Wharton Lord Wharton.*' In 161 2 Philip Lord 

 ■ Wharton and Dorothy his wife had land in Elton 

 among other places.*' John Lord Lumley (1609) 

 held land here of the king."'" 



The freeholders in 1684 were Sir Robert Shafto, 

 John Jefferson, Thomas Dodd of Dalton, and John 

 Hendry of Norton. ■'' 



The church ^^ of ST. JOHN consists 

 CHURCH of a chancel 19 ft. by i 5 ft., with vestry on 

 the north side, nave 33 ft. 3 in. by 18 ft., 

 and south porch 4 ft. 6 in. square, all these measure- 

 ments being internal. There is also a bellcote over 

 the west gable containing two bells. 



The structure dates from the i 2th century, but was 



almost entirely rebuilt in 1 841. The plan, however, 

 remains unchanged, and some ancient features have 

 been retained internally. The external appearance of 

 the building is entirely modern, the roofs being of slate 

 xvith overhanging eaves, the nave windows are small 

 lancets,''- and the east window is of two trefoiled lights 

 with a circle in the head. 



The chancel arch is an interesting example of I 2th- 

 century work, forming a stone screen of three openings, 

 all with semicircular moulded arches, the middle one, 

 or chancel arch proper, being 6 ft. 10 in. in width. 

 The arches are divided by rectangular piers with 

 attached shafts facing the nave, standing on stone 

 walls 2 ft. 8 in. high on either side of the middle 

 opening. The shafts have moulded bases and cushion 

 capitals with chamfered imposts, the outer jambs of 

 the side openings, which are only 3 ft. in width, being 

 square with imposts only. The arches spring at a 

 height of 8 ft. 9 in., and the middle one is ornamented 

 with plain beak-heads. The whole of the stonework 

 is original. 



The doorway to the vestry is also of late 12th- 

 century date, but is not in its original position.''' It 

 has a semicircular arch of a single order, with plain 

 chamfered head and jambs and moulded label. The 

 roof of the chancel is lower than that of the nave, but 

 the floors are on the same level. 



The original 12th-century south doorway has been 

 rebuilt inside the church, and has a semicircular arch 

 with cheveron moulding springing from chamfered 

 imposts. Only the arch itself is old, the jambs being 

 plastered, and a modern pointed arch, which alone 

 shows to the porch, has been introduced below. 



On the south side of the chancel is the cross-legged 

 effigy of a man in chain armour with feet resting on 

 a talbot. It has not been identified, but in 1714 was 

 referred to as ' Gower's statue.'^' The monument 

 possibly commemorates Robert Gower the younger, 

 who died about I 3 1 5, for whom there was an obit in 

 the church. 



The fittings erected in 1841 were square, high, 

 painted deal pews, with a pulpit of similar type under 

 the southern opening of the screen, and a reading 

 desk below the north opening. These were removed 

 in 1874 and pitch pine seating substituted. The 

 font and the pulpit (which is of wrought iron) also 

 dates from 1874.'° 



A painted wooden rood screen was erected in 1907 

 by Mary Scott in memory of her sister Eleanor. It 

 fills the three openings of the stone screen, over which 

 is a rood and its accompanying figures, the whole being 

 a fine piece of decorative design. It has doors to the 

 middle opening, and the lower portion contains painted 

 figures of SS. Matthew, Andrew, Peter, Paul, James, 

 and James the Less.'* In 1925 a heating chamber 

 was added on the north side of the nave by Mrs. 



'' Dur. Rcc. cl. 3, no. 3, fol. 12, 36. 



'8 Ibid. 



" Foster, Dur. Pid. 38. 



'" Dur. Rec. cl. 12, no. i (2); cl. 3, 

 R. 1 56, m. ;o. 



*' Sec below, advowson. 



*' Roy, Comp. in Dur. (Surt. Soc), 

 225. 



*' Dur. Rec. cl. 12, no. 6 (3). 



*< Ibid. cl. 12, no. 1 6 (3); cl. 3, R. 

 Ii9d. 



*^ Burke, Landed Gentry. 



** Surtces, op. cit. iii, 210. 



*^ Guisboro^ Chartul. (Surt. Soc), ii, 



343-4- 



"a Cal. Inj. p.m. (Edw. Ill), viii, 381. 

 *^ L.and P.Hen. riII,x\x{l),g.Soo{i). 

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



(>)• 



^" Dep. Keeper s Rep. xliv, App. 455. 



'* Surtees, op. cit. iii, 209. 



■^'3 The invocation is unknown; the 

 late rector gave it the title of St. John, 

 but without authority. 



" Surtces, writing before the rebuilding 

 (c. 1823), says, 'The old narrow lights 



234 



arc chiefly replaced by modern sashes * 

 (op. cit. iii, 210). 



^ Surtees mentions a * round arch closed 

 up on the north side of the nave ' (ibid.). 



^* Proc, Soc. Anti'^. NetixaitUy iv, 152, 

 quoting Elton Church books where men- 

 tion is made of 'the panelled work above 

 Gower's statue.' 



^^ The pedestal of the 1841 font is in 

 the churchyard. 



** It was designed by Mr. J. N, 

 Comper, The paintings are by Miss E. 

 Gulland. 



