A HISTORY OF DURHAM 



Walter Tailbois was a knight in 1389" and died 

 21 September 141 7 holding the manor of Hurworth 

 (except half an acre) with the advowson of the church 

 by knight's service, suit of court, keeping the gaol, 

 and a rent of 25;. td. ; his heir was a son Walter, 

 aged twenty-six. '' The younger Walter Tailbois 

 had livery of his Durham lands in 1417"; he 

 died in 1444 holding the manor and advowson, 

 and leaving his son William, aged twenty-six, 

 to inherit." William Tailbois and Elizabeth his 

 wife complained of the finding of the jury in 

 the inquisition, and judgement was given in their 

 favour, the manor of Hurworth being restored to 

 them." The family had for more than half a century 

 been associated with Lincolnshire." Walter Tailbois 

 and his son Walter were described as ' of South 

 Kyme ' in 1439," but do not seem to have been 

 summoned to Parliament as barons of Kyme. 



Sir William Tailbois, son of the younger Walter, 

 was an adherent of the unpopular Duke of Suffolk, 

 and was in 1450 ch.irged with an attack on Lord 

 Cromwell in the Star Chamber." He took the 

 Lancastrian side in the Wars of the Roses, was made a 

 knight at the second battle of St. Albans, 1 7 February 

 1 460-1, by Prince Edward, son of Henry \'I," and 

 was shortly afterwards attainted.'' In May 1464 he 

 fought at Hexham and he was beheaded at Newcastle 

 on 20 July." Before this he was styled Earl of 

 Kyme." In 1462 the manor of Hurworth and 

 other estates were granted to trustees for Elizabeth his 

 wife, daughter of the Yorkist Lord Bonvill, for her 

 life." Their son Sir Robert was restored in blood 

 in 1472," and at his death in 149;'* was recorded 

 to have held the manor of Hurworth and the advow- 

 son of the church and rent from the manor of 

 Neasham." His son and heir George, aged twenty- 

 four at that time, was made a knight at the battle of 

 Blackheath in 1497," but about a year later was 

 found to be a lunatic." He must h.ive recovered, 

 for in 1499 he obtained pardon for any intrusions 

 made upon the manor and vill of Hurworth." In 



1512 he had licence to alienate the manor of Sotby," 

 and made his will 18 January 1512-13,"' after 

 which he joined the expedition to France with a 

 retinue of twenty-five men." In 1517 he was again 

 a lunatic," and appears to have remained insane to 

 the end of his life," about twenty years later." At 

 the Durham inquisition in 1 5 ;9 it was found that 

 he had held Hurworth ; the heir was his grand- 

 son George, Lord Tailbois, aged sixteen years, being 

 son of Gilbert, Lord Tailbois, son of George." This 

 Gilbert had married ' the beautiful Elizabeth Blount,' 

 a mistress of Henry \'III,'' and he was styled Lord 

 Tailbois, though in the Parliament of 1529 his name 

 is recorded among the knights as a representative of 

 Lincolnshire." He died in I 530,'" and his son George 

 died in 1540,'' leaving a younger brother Robert as 

 heir.™ He also died without issue in 1541, and the 

 inheritance passed to hissister Elizabeth, Lady Tailbois, 

 wife of Thomas Wymbish," who had livery of the 

 manor of Kyme, &c., in May 1542." Elizabeth had 

 no children," and in 1550 joined with her husband 

 in the sale of the manor of Hurworth and advowson 

 of the church to Sir Leonard Beckwith of Sclby, the 

 dower of Elizabeth widow of Sir George Tailbois 

 being preserved." 



Sir Leonard Beckwith died on 7 May i 5 5 7," and his 

 son and heir Roger, then sixteen years of age, in 1577 

 sold the manor of Hurworth, but not the advowson 

 of the church, to Henry Lawson of Neasham and 

 George Ward of Hurworth.'* The Lawson moiety 

 descended with the Neasham Priory estate" to the 

 Jenison family ; in 1727 it was sold by John Jenison, 

 who had registered his estate here as a Papist ten 

 years before, to John Bland.™ The successor of John 

 Bland was apparently the James Bland of Hurworth 

 who died in 1770, and whose daughter and heir 

 Barbara married William Wrightson of Cusworth 

 (Yorks.)." William Battle Wrightson, her son and 

 heir, was a landowner in Hurworth in 1855. He 

 died in 1879 and was succeeded by his brother 

 Richard Heber Wrightson, on whose death in 1 891 



«" Cd. Pat. 1388-92, p. 59. 



" Dur. Rcc. cl. 3, no. j, fol. 181 d. 



" Ibid. R. 35, m. 13. 



"' Ibid, file 164, no. 65. In 144.1 he 

 had obtained the pope's licence for a port- 

 able altar and rescrTation of the Blessed 

 Sacrament (Ca/. of Papal Letters^ ix, 231). 



** Dfp. Keeper't Rep. xxxiv, 241—2. 



^^ Sec the Cal. Pjt. under date, /'ijj;/m ; 

 Wrottesley, PtJ. from Pha R. 357. 



'» Cal. Pal. 1436-41, p. 271. See also 

 ibid. 1441-6, p. 268. 



«' Pari. R. V, 200. A letter of his is 

 printed in Patton Letters (ed. Gairdner), 

 i, 96. 



** Shaw, Kii. of Engl, ii, 13. 



'' Pari. R. V, 477, 480. Afterwards 

 he took refuge in Scotland with the tjiiecn 

 {Paiton Letters, ii, 46). There are 

 numerous references to him in Cal. Pat. 

 1461-7. 



" Hall, Chron. 260 (under 2 Edw. IV) ; 

 Misc. Chan. Inq. file 319 (4 Edw. IV, 

 no. 49). Thomas Tailbois was said to 

 be son and heir and fourteen years of 

 age. 



" G.E.C. Complete Peerage, iv, 425. 



" Cal. Pat. 1461-7, p. 144. William 

 Lord Bonvill was executed after the 

 second battle of St. Albans (G.E.C. 

 Peerage, i, 375). 



"Pari. R. vi, 18. 



'* Numerous returns m C^l. Inq. p.m. 

 Hen. J^Il, i, 414, &c. An abstract of 

 his will is printed in Surtees, op. cit. iii, 

 408. He desired to be buried at Kyme. 

 Hurworth is not mentioned. 



" Dur. Rec. cl. 3, file 169, no. 58. 



"* Ibid. ; Shaw, op. cit. ii, 30. 



" Dep. Keeper's Rep. xliv, 516. 



" Dur. Rcc. cl. 3, R. 61, m. 10. In 

 1499 the king ordered that should Sir 

 George become disabled his guardianship 

 should be entrusted to certain persons 

 named (Pat. 584 [14 Hen. VII, pt. iii]). 



■' L. and P. Hen. 1111, i, 3515. 



*» N. ana Q. (Ser. 8), iv, 482. Hur- 

 worth is not named in it. 



" L.and P. Hen. llll, i, 3977. 



*' Ibid, ii, 2979. 



'^^ In 1528 his wife Elizabeth mentions 

 *her husband's last visitation ' (ibid, iv, 

 4357). See also ibid, v, g. 119 (67). 



*' Dur. Rec. cl. 3, file 177, no. 31 ; 

 cf. L. and I'. Hen. VIU, xiii [2], 420. 



^'^ Dep. Keeper s Rep. xliv, 5 I 7. His 

 widow Elizabeth received her dower in 

 Hurworth (ibid. 518). 



^ Her son by the king was created 

 Duke of Richmond. See Gen. ii, 19, 44. 



« L. and P. Hen. Fill, iv, p. 269I. 

 See also G.E.C. Complete Peerage, vii, 358. 



^^ Gen. loc. cit. He was buried at 

 South Kyme. In 1532 Lord Leonard 



288 



Grey was visiting Gilbert's widow, whom 

 he declared he would be better contented 

 to marry than any lady or gentlewoman 

 living (L. and P. Hen. I'lII, v, 1049). 



*» Ibid, xvi, 19. 



" Ibid. g. 580 (92). 



" Dur. Rcc. cl. 3, file 177, no. 55. 

 Elizabeth was aged twenty-two. This 

 Robert Lord Tailbois is omitted by G.E.C. 



" L. and P. Hen. I'll!, xvii, g. 362 



^' G.E.C. op. cit. vii, 3 59. For pedigrees 

 of the Tallboys see Lines. Ped. (Harl. 

 Soc), 945 J Hodgson, op. cit. li (i), 6; 

 Surtec3, op. cit. iii, 254 ; Gen. ii, 51, 



*^ Adtj. Chart. 19419 ; Dur. Rec. cl. 12, 

 no. 1(1); Dtp. Keeper^ Rep, xxxvii, 57. 



^* Chan. Inq. p.m. (Ser. 2), cix, ^5 ; 

 Dur. Rec. cl. 3, file 177,00.27. Sir Leonard 

 had in or about 1538 married Elisabeth 

 daughter of Sir Roger Cholmelcy. R"gcr 

 Beckwith was kinsman and heir of 

 Elizabeth Lady Tailboys (Dur. i't-c. cl. 3, 

 file 191, no. 65). 



®^ Add. Chart. 19421 ; Dur. Rec. cl. 3, 

 R. 1^6, m. 55. Sec also Chan. Proc. 

 (Ser. 2), bdle. 107, no. 54. 



^' Dep. Keeper's Rep. xHv, 455, 459. 



^^ Estcourt and Payne, Engl. Cath, 

 Non-Jurors^ 50 J Surlces, op. cit. iii, 253 ; 

 Fordyce, op. cit. J, 501. 



** fiurke, Landed Gentry. 



