STOCKTON WARD 



HURWORTH 



wealth with the other estates of Sir Francis Howard." 



In 1651 complaint was made that the horse boat 



formerly at Neasham for the accommodation of the 



neighbourhood was missing, to the prejudice of the 



common packet ; it was maintained by Sir Francis 



as lord of the manor." The manor was sold to Lord 



St. John, afterwards Marquess of Winchester, and by 



him to Sir William Blackett," who in conjunction 



with Julia his wife sold it to Charles Turner in 1699." 



It descended to Charles Turner's great-grandson Sir 



Charles Turner, second baronet." He sold it to 



William Wrightson in 1803, on whose death in 1826 



it descended to his eldest son Thomas. Thomas 



about 1 8 50 sold the hall (which 



he had built) and part of the 



estate to Col. James Cookson, 



but retained the manor. The 



manor descended in 1872 to 



the eldest son of Thomas, the 



Rev. William Garmondsway 



Wrightson, who lived at the 



Old Hall. The new hall was 



purch.ised in 1 892 from Joseph 



the son of James Cookson by 



Sir Thomas Wrightson (who 



was made a baronet in 



1 900), son of the above-named 



Thomas, who also purchased 



the Neasham estate from his 



nephew, son of the Rev. W. G. 



Wrightson, .ind so became lord 



of the manor." Sir Tho.iias 



died in 192 1, and was succeeded by his son Sir Thomas 



Garmondsway Wrightson, the present owner. 



NEJSHAM JBBE}', as the priory estate is now 

 called, was acquired from the Crown by James Lawson 

 of Newcastle, brother of the last prioress, in 1540."' 

 The prioress continued to live 

 at Neasham, and her will, 

 dated 1557, has been printed." 

 In 154.3 the purchaser had 

 licence to grant the priory 

 with its lands in Neasham, 

 Hurworth and Dinsdale to 

 trustees, to be settled on him- 

 self for life, with remainder to 

 his son Henr)' Lawson and his 

 male issue, and in default 

 to his other sons, Edmund, 

 William and George.'* Henry 

 Lawson died in 1607 holding 

 the site of the monastery of 



the king and various lands in Neasham, Hurworth 

 and other places." James his son, aged thirty-six. 



Wrightson of Nea- 

 sham, baronet. Or a 

 fe%ie inveclcd and cheeky 

 azure and argent be- 

 fween tiuo eagUi' heaJi 

 razed sable in the chief 

 and a saltire gules in the 

 foot. 



Lawson of Neasham. 

 Argent a cheveron 

 befween three martlets 

 sable. 



was heir. He had livery of his lands in 1610," 

 and died in 163 1 holding the same lands as 

 his father." His son James, on whose marriage with 

 Frances daughter of Sir William Vavasour he had 

 settled his estates, had died in February 1628-9.'° 

 James son of the latter was four years old at his 

 grandfather's death, when he was found to be the 

 heir."' He died, aged sixteen, about 1643, and his 

 co-heirs were the representatives of his aunts — 

 Frances, married in 1 61 7 to Richard Braithwaite, by 

 whom she had a son Thomas, and Anne wife of Henry 

 Jenison, who had a son William. James's mother, a 

 ' Papist,' married Philip Dolman, a 'delinquent.' " The 

 estates were sequestered by the Commonwealth autho- 

 rities, and in 1652 Thomas Braithwaite's estate was 

 in the third Act for Sale, but he was allowed to 

 compound for his moiety of the estate at a fine of 

 X793 T- '^'^- He was described as a 'recusant 

 delinquent.' " His father Richard, of Burneside near 

 Kend.il, was the author of Drunken Barnahy and other 

 pieces ; he was a Royalist and 

 compounded for his seques- 

 tered estates." Two-thirds of 

 William Jenison's estate was 

 sequestered for his religion, 

 and it does not appear that 

 any other ' delinquency ' was 

 alleged against him. Jenison 

 died in 1655, and a complete 

 survey of the estate was made. 

 It included the ' house called 

 Neasham Abbey otherwise 

 Neasham Nunnery,' with vari- 

 ous closes called Flowerpiece, 

 Heathan Slacks, Brankinholme, Birkcarr, &c. ; Hun- 

 gerhill, now in Neasham, was then considered to be 

 in Hurworth." He left a son and heir Thomas, 

 aged eight, who died without issue in 1677, when a 

 brother William succeeded. William's son John in 

 1727 sold the manor of Hurworth to John Bland, 

 as stated above." The Neasham estate, however, 

 appears to have been successfully claimed by Sir John 

 Lawson under a settlement of 1544, or another of 

 1623."* He was made a baronet in 1655,''' and in 

 1 666 sold two-thirds of the estate to John Ramsay and 

 one-third to Nicholas Pearson, who may have been act- 

 ing for Thomas Jenison. In 1672 this third part was 

 sold by Thomas Jenison, Jane Jenison and Nicholas 

 Pearson to Thomas Cooper, under whose will it 

 passed to Jane Hargrave. Her son Thomas Holme 

 afterwards owned this portion." The owner of the 

 abbey in 1855 was Thomas Wilkinson"; Mrs. 

 Wilkinson now holds it. It is at present the residence 

 of Mr. George Tristram Edwards. 



Jenison. Azure a 

 bend befvjeen two swans 



" Cal. Com. for Comb, iv, 2588. 



"Ibid, i, 431. 



^ Surtees, op. cit. iii, 2;8. A fine of 

 1669 — Robert and Brian Roper v, Francis 

 Howard and Anne his wife — is probably 

 connected with these sales (Dur. Rec. cl. 

 12, no. 8 [ij). " Ibid. no. 1 1; (2). 



«' For pedigree see r.C.H. Torts. N. R. 

 '", 375- 



*• Inform, from Sir Thos. Wrightson, 

 bart. For pedigree see Burke, Baronetage. 



" L. and P. Hen. riH, XTJ, g. 107 (1). 

 For the history of the priory see f'.C.H. 

 Dur. ii, 106 ; Surtees, op. cit. iii, 260 n. 



" Dur. IVills and Invent. (Surt. Soc), 

 i, 156. 



« L. and P. Hen. Fill, xviii (i), g. 802 

 (66). Henry was a younger son. The 

 settlement was made in 15+4. The will 

 of George Lawson of Neasham, dated 

 I 580, is printed in Dur. fVills and Invent, 

 (Surt. Soc), ii, 22. 



'" Dep. Keeper's Rep. xliv, 455. 



^'' Pat. 7 Jas. I, pt. i, no. 12. 



«' Dur. Rec. cl. 3, file 186, no. 31. He 

 had some dispute with his cousin Sir 

 Ralph Lawson (Chan. Proc. [Scr, 2J. 

 bdle. 316, no. 2). 



™ Dep. Keeper's Rep. xliv, 459. 



^' Pedigree in Surtees, op. cit. iii, 

 264. 



" Royal Comp. in Dur. (Surt. Soc), 6, 



291 



130. Frances Braithwaite died in 163) 

 (Surtees, loc cit.). 



" Royal Comp. in Dur. (Surt. Soc), 

 130-2. 



'* Diet. Nat. Biog. ; Cal. CoiK.for Comp. 

 iii, iSSS. 



" Royal Comp. in Dur. (Surt. Sot), 

 255-8. An abstract of his will is given 

 ibid. 256 n. 



" Pedigree in Surtees, op. cit. iii, 263. 



'«» Dur. Rec cl. 3, hie 186, no. 31 ; 

 Surtees, op. cit. 261. 



" Dugdale, rssit. of Totks. (Surt. Soc), 

 90 ; G.E.C. Complete Baronetage. 



'* Surtees, op. cit. iii, 261. 



" Fordyce, op. cit. i, 504. 



