A HISTORY OF DURHAM 



century the mill had disappeared. A survey of the 

 reign of Elizabeth says, ' Also it dothe appeare by 

 evidence ther haithe bene a wyndmyll which were 

 nott onelye necessarye, but verye like to be comodyous 

 if one weare builded agaiiie ther. The tymber will 

 be harde to gett to do the same.' ''- There is nothing 

 to indicate that it was ever rebuilt. 



The earliest mention of ELSTOB (Ellestubbc, 

 Ellestop, xiv cent.) occurs in I 360, when confirmation 

 was granted to Thomas UghtreJ of a deed of Roger 

 Burdon of Kexby granting to Thomas Burdon the 

 manor of Kexby (co. Lincoln) and land in Elstob."' 

 In February 1366-7 the vill belonged to Sir Thomas 

 Gray of Ancroft (q.v.), who entailed it in that month 

 on his heirs.'''' At his death in or about 1369 it was 

 found that the manor was held in chief by a rent of 

 4/. 6tl. and suit of court at Coatham Mandcville."' 

 This 4/. 6ii. represented a service of castle ward at the 

 castle of Coatham. ^^ Thomas Gray, grandson of 

 Thomas, forfeited Elstob among his other l.inds in 

 141 5,*' but it was restored in 1455 to Ralph,*"* his 

 grandson. Ralph also suffered forfeiture, and in 1464 

 the revenues from his vill of Elstob were granted to 

 John Colt.'^' A later grant of the manor seems to 

 have been made to Thomas MidJleton, who died in 

 possession in 1480.'" His son and heir Thomas was 

 in possession at his death in i 5 i 2,"' when his daughter 

 and heir was Anne,'- while his heir male was his 

 brother Gilbert."^ Anne, who married Thomas 

 Ruthall, died in possession of the manor in or about 

 1572, leaving a son and heir Richard.'* It seems 

 that the manor was broken up at this date into parcels. 



MiDDLETON. Quar- 

 terly gules and or with 

 a crosslet argent in the 

 quarter. 



ScURFiELD. O'ules a 

 bend dancetty bet-ween 

 six martlets argent. 



In January 1588-9 Richard Middleton received 

 licence to alienate to William Scurfield two messuages 

 and 420 acres of ar.ible land, meadow, pasture and 

 wood in Elstob.' ° Four years later William Spenceley 

 died seised of a messuage, a garden and orchard and 

 190 acres of land here, which his daughter and heir 



Elizabeth with her husband Francis Wrenn and 

 Florence Spenceley widow conveyed to William 

 Scurfield in 1607."° William Scurfield died in 1627, 

 leaving a son and heir William, who died in 1694."' 

 The estate was heavily mortgaged by the younger 

 William and his son of the same name, who was a 

 prisoner in the Fleet in 1704."'* In 1709 Gilbert 

 Spearman bought in mortgages and the right of re- 

 demption, and became owner of the greater part.'' 

 He sold the South Farm in 17 10 to Richard Smith.*" 

 Richard was succeeded in 1723 by a son Richard, 

 who bequeathed the estate, by his will proved in 1755, 

 to his wife Hannah. At her death in 1764, Hannah 

 left it to her niece Elizabeth I'attison, afterwards the 

 wife of William Todd. William and his mortgagees 

 sold the farm in 1823 to the Earl of Eldon.*"-' 



In 1698 a farm in Elstob which had belonged to 

 the Scurfields was mortgaged by William Johnson to 

 Robert Bromley.*' The mortgage was assigned by 

 Robert Bromley in I 7 1 2 to his daughter Isabel, who 

 left it four years later to her nephews Robert and 

 William Coulson.*- Gilbert Spearman acquired the 

 farm in 1699 from William Johnson and repaid the 

 mortgage to Coulson in 1722. In 1723 Spearman 

 conveyed it with the rest of the Scurfield estate which 

 was in his hands to William Chaloner.**^ On the 

 death of William Chaloner these premises passed to 

 his eldest surviving son Robert Chaloner of Bishop's 

 Auckland, who conveyed them to trustees in 1763 on 

 his marriage with Dorothy daughter of Sir John Lister 

 Kaye, bart.'^* In I 77 I Robert Chaloner and Nathaniel 

 Green, a mortgagee, conveyed the Elstob estate to 

 John Tempest of Wynyard.*** It passed to the Mar- 

 quess of Londonderry, of whom it was bought in 

 1826 by the Earl of Eldon.** The present Earl of 

 Eldon is now the owner of this estate and practically 

 all the land in Elstob. 



In 1590 William Wilkinson of Elstob is men- 

 tioned.*' Four years later Richard Jackson had licence 

 to enter on two messuages and 244 acres in Elstob 

 acquired by him from William Wilkinson."* He died 

 in 1607, leaving a son and heir George.*' This estate 

 must have been acquired by Thomas Pearson, who in 

 1684 held all the freehold land in Elstob which did 

 not belong to William Scurfield."' 



Another estate at Elstob was settled in 1705 on 

 Matthew Richardson on his marriage with Jane 

 daughter of Thomas Fatherley of Byers Garth. 

 Matthew sold it in 1730 to John Hall of West 

 Cramlington, who bequeathed it in 1760 to his son 

 John. The younger John was succeeded in 1779 by 

 his son John, who sold it to Francis Reid of Hurworth 

 on Tees. By will proved in 1800 Francis left it to 

 his brother Thomas Reid Ward, on whose death it 



" .^rci. Ael. (New Ser.), iii, 92. 



« Cal. Pat. 1358-61, p. 488. 



«< Dur. Rec. cl. 3, R. 31, m. 6. 



•^ Ibid. no. 2, fol. 83 d. 



^ Half eld's Suri>. (Surt. Soc), 198 

 (here given as 4J. 6^d.). 



" Dur. Rec. cl. 3, no. 2, fol. 175 d. 



'* Ibid. R. 45, m. 2. Sec Urpeth. 



«' Cal. Pal. 1461-7, p. 294. The 

 yearly value of the vill is here given as 



£9 ' P- 4'^- 



'" Dur. Rec. cl. 3, file 167, no. 29. 

 See Silksworth. 



" Ibid, file 173, no. 54. 



" Ibid. 



" See Silksworth. 



'* risit. of rorh. (Harl. Soc), 208 ; 

 Dur. Rec. cl. 3, file 191, no. 33. 



" Dur. Rec. cl. 3, R. 86, m. 2. 



"«Ibid. file 192, no. 52; R. 86, 

 m. i6 d. ; R. 94, m. 6. 



" Ibid, file 189, no. 175 ; M.I. in 

 church. 



'* Exch. Dep. East. 3 Anne, no. 13, 

 22. 



" Surtccs, op. cit. iii, 65 ; Exch. Dep. 

 Trin. 9 & 10 Geo. I, no. 9; Hil. 12 

 Geo. I, no. 26. 



** Exch. Dep. Trin. 9 & 10 Geo. I, 

 no. 9 i Hil. 12 Geo. I, no. 26. 



*»« D. penes the Earl of Eldon. 



®' Surtees, op. cit. iii, 65. 



^- Ibid. 



^ Ibid. 



^' Ibid. ; cf. G.E.C. Baronetage, ii, 

 I58n., where Dorothy is said, obviously 

 in error, to be the daughter of Sir Richard 

 Kaye, bart. 



** Ibid. 



*'■ D. fcnes the Earl of Eldon. 



8' Dur. IVills and Invent. (Surt. Soc), 

 li, 192. 



*' Dur. Rec cl. 3, R. 92, m. 2. 



*' Ibid, file 182, no. 45. 



*' Surtees, op. cit. iii, 65. 



346 



