Act 13
The Farmers of Kilton
Picnic at Kilton Lodge about
1908. Vincent Grainger, Ann and Charles
Farndale, George
Farndale, Grace
Farndale, an unknown person and Mary Farndale
The story of the Kilton Farndales,
who dominated Kilton for over two centuries, a village community now lost to
time
This
is a new experiment. Using Google’s Notebook LM, listen to an AI powered
podcast summarising this page. This should only be treated as an
introduction, and the AI generation sometimes gets the nuance a bit wrong. There
are a some instances in this podcast where there are mistakes about the exact
relationships and an overlap of generations. However it does provide an
introduction to the themes of this page, which are dealt with in more depth
below. Listen to the podcast for an overview, but it doesn’t replace the text
below, which provides the accurate historical record. |
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Four Hubs
Having
arrived in Cleveland, by the early eighteenth century, the family split into
four main Hubs. These were large extended families associated with different
geographical areas, from which over time, there would be further dispersal. In
the next four Acts, we will meet each of these four Hubs.
We will
first meet the Farndales of Kilton, from whom a significant part of the later
family descend.
Scene 1 – Home for two and a half
centuries
Arrival
in Kilton
From about
1705, Kilton was the home of the Farndales
for almost two hundred and fifty years until 1940. With an exception of the
family associated with the
Ampleforth Line, many branches of the modern family are descended from the
Farndales of Kilton. The Kilton 1
Line and the Kilton 2 Line
are significant hubs of the family history and the Kilton 3 Line also made Kilton their home. John Farndale
wrote, from the perspective of Victorian Yorkshire, that My children’s
children comprise the sixth generation of our family that has lived at Kilton
estate upwards of two hundred years.
In about
1870, John
Farndale (1791 to 1878) imagined his return to Kilton after years of absence when he
recalled The steward always called old J Farndale to the
vice-chair, he being old, and the oldest tenant. Farndale’s was the most
numerous family, and had lived on the estate for many ages. Here we have
chronicled something like a genealogy of a race of people once thronging the
streets of Kilton, but where are they now to be found? Many of them have gone
to their everlasting reward, yet a few, a small few, remain unto this day.
The
Victorian John
Farndale’s great grandfather was also called John Farndale
(1680 to 1757) and he was baptised at Liverton
on 27 June 1680, the son of Nicholas and
Elizabeth (nee Bennison) Farndale. We met Nicholas and Elizabeth at the end
of Act 12.
John Farndale
married Elizabeth Bennison on 5 February 1705 at Brotton.
He was probably the first of the family to move to Brotton,
perhaps at about the time of his marriage to Elizabeth and their family of five
were born in the Parish of Brotton, almost
certainly in Kilton. He may have been a
farm labourer, or may have been a tenant farmer. So the Farndale association
with Kilton probably started in around
1705. Brotton was the church which served
the agricultural estate lands of Kilton.
Elizabeth,
his wife, died in 1726 and was buried at Brotton
on 1 May 1726. John was 40 years old then and in 1730 he married again, to
Catherine Jackson, at Brotton.
Described as
a householder when he died in 1757, then aged 77, John was buried at Brotton on 5
October 1757 at St Margaret Anglican Church, Brotton.
John and Elizabeth
(nee Bennison) Farndale are the direct paternal and maternal ancestors of
all those who descend through the
Kilton 1 line. They had three daughters, Elizabeth
Farndale who must have died an infant, another Elizabeth
Farndale and Ellin
Farndale, and two sons, who we will meet in Scene 2.
The
story of the lost village of Kilton and its sylvan landscape |
|
A journey around modern Kilton, of farms, a ruined
castle and a small village of Kilton Thorpe to capture the essence of the two
century home of Farndales |
Scene 2 - The Second Generation
Cabinet
Makers and Cartwrights who took their skills to Whitby and Great Ayton
John and Elizabeth
Farndale’s eldest son was William Farndale
(1708 to 1789) who married Abigail Gear at Brotton.
He may have farmed at Craggs, which was later associated with the Craggs Line of Farndales.
William’s
oldest son, Samuel
Farndale (1735 to 1797) became a cabinet maker in Kilton. His relative John Farndale
wrote in the late eighteenth century that Near them is Samuel Farndale and
Betty, his wife, and their five children, one yet still alive, cabinet makers
and joiners, Wesleyans. They had some land, lived to be old and died at Kilton,
respected.
Samuel
married Elizabeth Hutton and they had four sons and three daughters, which
doesn’t quite tally with John Farndale’s account. Their eldest son, also William Farndale
(1777 to 1863), born in Kilton
Thorpe, was a wheelwright and cartwright
who was indentured as an apprentice to a joiner, Thomas Garbutt of Nunthorpe,
in 1827 and later moved to Pinchinthorpe near Guisborough and retired to Great Ayton to which town his two
youngest sons had moved.
William Farndale’s
younger son was also called William Farndale
(1743 to 1777), and he became master mariner of Whitby
and his family were the Whitby 3
Line. Samuel’s second son was John Farndale who
also moved to Whitby and his family were the Whitby 5 Line. Their stories
will be picked up in Act
15.
Samuel’s
younger sons were Joseph
Farndale and Henry
Farndale, who moved to Great Ayton,
and their story will be picked up in Act 22.
Old
Farndale of Kilton
The youngest son of John and Elizabeth Farndale was John Farndale (1724 to 1807) who was baptised at Brotton on 28 February 1724.
The later author, John Farndale, his grandson, wrote And now we come to our grandfather’s and father
and mother, William and Mary Farndale, and their seven children’s birth place;
farmers and merchants of wood, rods, coals, salting bacon; church people. And
those premises are held by our youngest brother, held from generation to
generation this two hundred years. Springing from this roof may be said to be
forty Farndales of this last generation.
John Farndale became known as Old Farndale of
Kilton, a farmer, alum house merchant, yeoman and cooper. He was also a tenant of Cragg Farm on the Wharton Estate of
31 acres in 1773 but was soon farming in Kilton. His grandson recalled My Grandfather, who was a Kiltonian, employed many men at
his alum house, and many a merry tale have I
heard him tell of smugglers and
their daring adventures and hair breadth escapes.
Stories of smugglers,
led by my great x3 grandfather known as the King of the Smugglers, and the
undoubted involvement of our forebears |
|
Have
fish and chips in the Ship Inn, and you will be in the home of John Andrew’s
smuggling trade, once connected by an underground passage to the white house
on the hill where my great x3 grandfather lived |
|
1757 to 1835 The Smuggler Chief The grandfather of Martin Farndale’s wife Elizabeth Taylor, no
doubt in league with the c17th Farndales. When the local folk whispered Andrew’s
Cow has calved, everyone knew the goods had arrived. The wealthy John
Andrew later became master of the Cleveland Hunt |
He married Grace Simpson on 16 April
1750 and they had eighty children.
His grandson recalled that once, a year at Christmas – they balanced accounts,
over a bottle of Hollands gin, and after eulogising each other, the squire
would rise and say, “Johnny, when you are gone, there will never be such
another Johnny Farndale”.
1724 to 1807 Old Farndale of
Kilton, the patriarch of
the Kilton Farndales, regaler of smuggler tales, alum merchant and farmer, of
whom the Squire once said “When you are gone, there will never be such
another Johnny Farndale” |
Scene 3 - The Third Generation
The Older
Brother
John Farndale (1750 to 1825) was baptised at Brotton on 24 March 1750, the son of Johnny and Grace Farndale.
He married Jane Pybus in Skelton
on 23 December 1795.
The Skelton and Kilton Terrier in 1809 recorded his tenanted
farm.
So he was
farming these lands in Kilton
No |
Enclosure Name |
State in 1809 |
Quantity in a, r and p |
|
|
70 |
Stack Yard &c |
Pasture |
“, 2, 16 |
um |
“ 10 “ |
264 |
Broad Garth |
Pasture |
3, “, 32 |
an |
7 4 “ |
54 |
Farndale Barf |
Llea? Mea? |
2, 3, 20 |
ud |
5 3 6 |
71 |
Bulmer Barf |
Paddock |
4, 3, 08 |
uh |
9 2 5 |
72 |
do |
Fall |
4, 2, 24 |
ao |
9 15 3 |
95 |
Swales Barf |
Llea? Mea? |
2, “, 32 |
uh |
4 3 7 |
197 |
Ward Barf |
Pasture |
5, “, 24 |
uh |
9 15 8 |
89 |
South Cow Pasture |
Oats |
7, 1, “ |
ud |
13 1 “ |
90 |
North Cow Pasture |
Wheat |
4, 1, 08 |
ua |
7 6 2 |
55 |
Chapel Long Close |
Llea? Mea? |
4, 3, 08 |
ua |
8 3 2 |
53 |
Lane from Kilton to Kilton Thorpe |
Pasture |
3, 1, “ |
- |
|
Total |
|
|
43, “, 12 |
|
74 12 9 |
John Farndale died
on 23 October 1825 aged 75. His will read In the Name of God Amen. I John
Farndale of the Parish of Brotton in the North Riding of Yorkshire, Farmer,
make this my last Will and Testament in manner and form as follows. First I
desire that after the period of my decease all my funeral expenses and other
debts be duly discharged by my within named Executor out of my personal estate.
I then give devise and bequeath unto my wife Jane Farndale all the residue or
remainder of my personal estate consisting of the stock and crops of the farm
which I now rent, cash, household, furniture, linen, plate etc during the term
of her life, or as long as she continues my widow. But after the said term or
widowhood my Will is that the aforesaid personal estate be equally divided
amongst my children to share and share alike.
The
Butcher of Brotton
George Farndale
(1753 to 1782) was the second son of Johnny and Grace Farndale
and he was baptised on Brotton on 13 May
1753.
George was a
butcher presumably in Kilton, though
recorded in the Brotton records.
The Five
Sisters
Johnny and Grace Farndale
had five daughters. Sarah
Farndale died in infancy. Hannah Farndale
married James Jackson in Lythe, along the
coast towards Whitby. Elizabeth
Farndale married Thomas Hall in Whitby.
Mary Farndale
married John Frankland in Skelton,
a farmer of Brotton, perhaps also on the Kilton estate. Grace Farndale
married William Fawcet at Skelton.
The
Merchant Farmer
William Farndale (1760 to 1846) was baptised at Brotton on 30 March 1760, the sixth child of
Johnny and Grace Farndale. He married Mary Ferguson at Brotton on 20 September 1789.
His son John Farndale wrote connected with the castle is Kilton Lodge which my father
pulled down to build a new house. He went on that I see in the book
recorded and registered in olden time, the names of farmers who once occupied
this great farm [at Kilton] – R and W Jolly, M Young, R Mitchell; W Wood, J
Harland, T Toas, J Readman, J Farndale, S Farndale, J and W Farndale, all these tenants once occupied
this great farm; now blended into one. I
remember what a muster at the Kilton rent days, twice a year, when dinner was
provided for a quarter of a hundred tenants, Brotton, Moorsholm, Stanghoe, those paid their rents at Kilton; and were indeed
belonging to the Kilton Court, kept here also, and the old matron proudly
provided a rich plum pudding and roast beef; and the steward also a jolly punch
bowl, for it was a pleasure to him to take the rents at Kilton, the day before Skelton
rent day.
1760 to 1846 William was a farmer of Kilton and a merchant of wood, rods,
coals, salting bacon. We know a lot about his life, which you can explore
here |
Scene 4 - The Fourth Generation
The Older Brother
The website author’s great x3 grandfather, George Farndale (1789 to 1858) was born on 1 December 1789, the son of William and Mary Farndale of Kilton. He was baptised at Brotton on 31 January 1790. His brother John Farndale described his elder brother George as a prodigal son, though he was probably just talking down his older brother in a family rivalry.
In 1816 William Farndale took a farm at Easby for his older son George and another at Skelton for his second son, John. George married Mary Armstrong that year and they had seven children.
George farmed in Easby near Stokesley after his marriage in 1816 until about 1825. He then moved to Marton,
near Ormesby and Great Ayton, before moving back to Brotton by 1841, by which time he was working as a labourer.
When his father died in 1846, old William had left funds to George’s three
brothers for George’s care. And I give and bequeath unto my sons John Farndale, the said Matthew Farndale and Martin Farndale, the sum of One Hundred pounds upon trust to apply the same, or any
interest which may arise therefrom in case my said three sons should place out
or invest the said sum of One Hundred pounds at interest in providing Board
Lodging Clothing or Medical attendance to and for my son George Farndale at such times and in such manner as my said three children shall think
proper, provided always, and I declare and direct that in case my said three
sons, the said John Farndale, Matthew Farndale and Martin Farndale shall think it expedient to lay out or expend the said sum of One
Hundred pounds in any other manner than is hereinbefore mentioned, in favour of
my said son George Farndale. I hereby authorise and empower them so to do, it being my Will and
intention that my said three sons shall have the complete control, management
and expenditure of the said principal sum of One Hundred pounds and interest if
any. And I declare and direct that in case the said principal sum of One
Hundred pounds and interest, or any part or parts thereof shall not be expended
by my said three sons at the time of the decease of my said son George Farndale, then, and in that case, I give and bequeath the same to the children of
my said son George Farndale to be divided equally between and amongst them.
He seems to have fallen ill and
needed support and the Kilton farm passed to George’s younger brother Martin Farndale, and later to John Farndale’s son, Charles Farndale.
George’s family made new lives for themselves away from Kilton, and we will pick up their story
again later.
The
Author
John Farndale (1791 to 1878) was born at Kilton on 15 August 1791, the second son of
William and Mary (née Ferguson) Farndale, then described as farmers and
business people.
He was the most flamboyant of his
generation and he wrote
extensively of the transition from the idyllic pastoral landscape of late eighteenth
century Kilton to the industrial landscape of
Cleveland in the nineteenth century and the emergence of ambitious new
Victorian towns, like Saltburn-by-the-Sea.
John left Kilton and by the 1820s he farmed at Skelton before he farmed for a while at Long
Newton near Stockton and Hunley Hall Farm north of Brotton before moving the growing metropolis
of Stockton, where he was a merchant, agent and
author.
Brotton in 1850
His colourful life should not be
missed.
1791 to 1878 The Author A man of sphinxian complexity who wrote
extensively and has passed down stories of the family and of change in early
Victorian Yorkshire |
Although John did not farm at Kilton himself, his son Charles Farndale took over the Kilton Farm from John’s brother Martin Farndale, who had no children of his own.
The
Australian
Matthew Farndale (1793 to 1884) lived at Kilton Hall and later at Hallgarth Farm,
Kildale. In his late sixties he sailed from Liverpool with his family on the
Argo on 8 October 1852 and arrived in Melbourne, Australia on 19 January
1853. He is the founder of the Australia 1 Line
of Farndales and their Australian adventures will be told in Act 23.
Matthew was
brought up on the family farm at Kilton
and went to school in the village or possibly at Brotton and went to church regularly. His
parents were churchgoers and about the turn of the century became methodists.
There is no evidence that he ever left the farm in his early years.
In 1816 his
father had taken a farm at Easby for his elder brother George and another at Skelton for his next elder brother John. This left Matthew
with his father William and his younger brother Martin Farndale
at Kilton Hall Farm. He was 23 when his
elder brother left home and he started to do more at Kilton.
Matthew
married Hannah Thompson at Brotton on 13
May 1829.
The Kilton accounts show Matthew
paid a rent of £100 for the first time in 1834. The Poll Books from 1835 to
1850 all show Matthew Farndale,
as Farmer; occupier of Kilton Hall Farm. From 1838 to 1850, Matthew
was shown as a farmer at Kilton and with his brother Martin Farndale
in the Register of Voters.
When Matthew’s
father William died on 5 March 1846 aged 86, he
left All my money upon note and other securities unto my said son Matthew
Farndale and my said son Matthew Farndale, my sole executor. Clearly
William expected
his son Matthew to
take over the farm at his death. We can only guess what was going through Matthew's
mind however. It seems that he was not prepared to let down is father but it
seems that he did not want to spend the rest of his life at Kilton. He remained at Kilton
until 1849.
In 1849 Matthew
and his family left Kilton and the Census
of 1851 for Hallgarth, Kildale, south of Guisborough
listed Matthew
Farndale, a farmer of 150 acres with 2 labourers with his family. He must
have agreed with his brother Martin Farndale,
that Martin would continue the farm at Kilton.
Matthew
didn’t stay long in Kildale. The lease of his farms in Kildale were
relinquished in 1851. Farms to Let at Kildale in Cleveland, Church House
Farm, occupied by Matthew Farndale, containing, more or less, 76 acres of
superior Turnip and Barley Soil; 74 acres in good Old Grass; and 85 acres of
sheep pastures. Every encouragement will be shown to good and improving
tenants. For further particulars apply to Mr George Peirson, Marske, Near
Middlesbrough. Marske, January 1st, 1851.
Then in
1852, the family emigrated to Australia.
1793 to 1884 Matthew and Hannah
Farndale and their daughters Mary and Elizabeth embarked on a 14 week voyage
to Melbourne to establish a new lineage in Australia |
|
The story of Matthew Farndale and his two daughters
who emigrated to Melbourne during the Australian Gold Rush and settled at
Birregurra, who have left a wealth of descendants, though none still bearing
the Farndale name. |
The
Farmer of Kilton Hall
It was
therefore Martin
Farndale (1798 to 1885) who continued the family farm in Kilton.
Kilton in
1850
Martin
Farndale was a farmer of Kilton
Hall Farm of 200 acres and later 600 acres. He married Elizabeth Hours
and since he had no children it was John’s son Charles who later
took over farming at Kilton Hall Farm.
A descendant
of the poachers of
Pickering Forest, Martin Farndale had his own problems with poaching on his
land in the 1870s. He took various public offices, and faced various challenges
as a farmer, including the slaughtering and quarantining of his cattle when
disease hit his farm.
1798 to 1885 Martin was a
farmer at Kilton Hall Farm of 600 acres |
Family
Community
The large
Farndale family at Kilton operated as an extended family and
provided its own community and support system.
When William’s eldest
son, George Farndale needed support, he provided funds in
his will in 1846 for his other brothers to look after his interests to provide
Board Lodging Clothing or Medical attendance and to lay out or expend
the said sum of One Hundred pounds in any other manner than is hereinbefore
mentioned, in favour of my said son George Farndale.
By 1851 Matthew
Farndale had left Kilton
and on 1 April 1851 Martin Farndale
was farming at the main family farm of 207 acres at Kilton with 8
employees. His brother George Farndale,
by then 60 and a widower and working as agricultural labourer, was living with
him as was his 15 year old niece Maria Farndale,
and Charles Farndale,
13, his nephew and son of his brother John.
Twenty years
later in 1871 Martin Farndale
was still at Kilton Hall Farm, Kilton,
the head of the family, by then a farmer of 600 acres with 16 employees.
Living with Martin and his
wife Elizabeth was Matthew Farndale,
aged 22, his grand nephew, described as a servant, so
presumably working on the farm. Matthew was the
son of the late Martin
Farndale, and grandson of Martin’s brother the late George Farndale.
So the
family farm provided a focus for the wider family community. They all looked
after each other. As long as folk stayed in the cradle of Kilton, all was well. When they left, to seek
fortunes elsewhere, they were generally on their own. It was safer to remain in
the family heartlands, and risky to leave them. Yet the new economic winds of
the industrial age were a pull to new directions.
The rest
of the family
in 1831 the
third brother, William
Farndale died of typhus fever, aged 38. There was an obituary to him in the
Methodist Records October 21st at Kilton: In the Stokesley Circuit in his
37th year, Mr William Farndale Junior. He was of an open disposition and of
studious habits. About the year 1815 a revival of the work of God took place in
the neighbourhood where he resided when he was acquainted with his condition as
a sinner and sought and found the Lord to the joy of his heart. He then listed
himself to the Wesleyan Methodists and became very useful among them as an
exhorter and local preacher. The complaint typhus fever which terminated his
mortal existence, considerably affected his mind, yet when he recollected he
expressed strong confidence in God.
The oldest
sister was Mary
Farndale, who died at the age of 21 in 1817, and was commemorated by a tea
pot given to her by a sea captain.
In 1854 the
second sister Anna
Farndale raised a suit disputing the will of her father in law, William
Phillips, supported by her brother, Martin
against Elizabeth Hume who had married William Phillips’ niece. When the
competency of the case was allowed, the defendant withdrew their defence. They
suggested that they had to dispute the will because there were questions of its
competency. Phillips and others v Hume. Will Cause. The will in dispute in
this case was that of Wm Phillips, late of Stokesley, gentleman, which was
dated January 6th, 1852. The suit was promoted by Anna Phillips, the widow;
John Henry Phillips, the nephew; and Martin Farndale, against Elizabeth Hume,
the wife of Wm Hume, a niece of the deceased. Mr Travis submitted that in this
case the competency of the testator had been full established, and prayed that
the will should be confirmed. Dr Bower, after the inquiry which had taken
place, had no longer to dispute the factum of the will. The defendant had
required the inquiry which had taken place, not only because certain parties
were excluded in the last will who were residuary legatees under a former will,
but also because there were some reasons to question the competency of the
testator, who was in a very infirm state when the last will was made in 1852.
All had now been done that could be done for the next of kin, and therefore he
only now asked for costs out of the estate. The Judge said a perfectly
legitimate course had been adopted by the next of kin, under the circumstances,
and he had every right to have costs out of the estate.
The youngest
sister was Elizabeth
Farndale, who died when she was only 18.
Scene 5 - The Fifth Generation
Since Martin
Farndale had no children it was John’s son Charles Farndale
who then took over farming at Kilton Hall Farm in the fifth generation. Charles
had two elder brothers and five sisters.
The
Customs Officer
William Masterman Farndale (1831 to 1913), the son of John and Martha
Farndale then of Skelton
Barnes Farm was baptised at Skelton
on 24 March 1831.
In 1841 William Farndale,
then aged 10, was living with his recently widowed father John, a
farmer, and his siblings.
William was an
Officer of Her Majesty’s Customs of Middlesbrough,
when he married Jane Brownbridge, a spinster of Middlesbrough by licence, daughter of
Thomas Brownbridge, an Office of the Inland Revenue, at the Parish Church Middlesbrough, on 18 November 1856.
On 3 April
1857 at Middlesbrough a fire broke
out this morning, at three o’clock, on board the Hydrus, Shapter, of Exeter.
Captain Shapter, accompanied by captain Tregonna, of
the Perseverance, also of Exeter, went on board the Hydrus at one am, at which
time there was no sign of fire. At the time above mentioned the fire was
discovered by Mr W Farndale, assistant tide surveyor, then on duty, who,
together with Mr C Smith, rendered every assistance. The fire broke out in the
state room, and was quickly got under without much damage being done to the
vessel. Captain Tregonna, who was missed during the
fire, was afterwards discovered in the cabin burnt to a cinder.
William and
Jane had a son, Charles Masterman Farndale
who was born at Middlesbrough in
1858; a daughter, Anne Maria Farndale
born in 1861 and a younger son, William Henry Farndale,
born in 1865. Charles
became a ship broker’s clerk but died at the young age of 31 and William
became a rail clerk and died at the age of 27. Anne
remained single and lived with her parents and later at Great Ayton.
By 1861, William and his
family were living at the Preventive Office, Cargo Fleet, Ormesby, Guisborough, where William was
working as an outdoor officer. In his daughter’s birth record, he was described
as a tide waiter of Cleveland port. A tide
waiter was an officer in various preventive customs services who boarded
ships and watched the landing of goods. Ormesby is now south east Middlesbrough.
In July
1870, William
Masterman Farndale was promoted to be assisting examining officer at
Runcorn in Cheshire. Mr W M Farndale, out door
officer 1st class at Middlesbrough, has been promoted to be assistant examining
officer at Runcorn. By 1871 the family were living at Peel Street, Runcorn,
Cheshire and in 1877 they lived at Trentham Street, Runcorn.
In 1877 he
was an examining officer, 2nd class, and transferred from Runcorn to Ramsgate
and on 9 March 1878 he returned as examining officer, 2nd class, from Ramsgate
back to Runcorn, where by 1881 the family lived at South Bank Terrace, Runcorn.
By 1901
William and Jane lived at 30 Regent Grove, Starbeck, Harrogate.
William M
Farndale, age 82 died at Harrogate in 1913.
The Five
Sisters
Four
sisters perhaps at time of Charles Farndale's family at Kilton Lodge about 1890 – probably Elizabeth Mary
Douthwaite (nee Farndale), Annie Hall (nee Farndale),
perhaps with Charles’ wife, Ann Farndale and Teresa Featherstone
(nee Farndale).
Mary Farndale was
the eldest sister who may have got into a spot of trouble over an assault in
1861. Elizabeth
Mary Douthwaite (nee Farndale) married a master confectioner in Middlesbrough. Teresa Featherstone
(nee Farndale) married a tailor and they also lived in Middlesbrough, where she was later a
lodge keeper. Annie
Hall (nee Farndale) lived on Martin Farndale’s farm for a while and later
married a farmer of 200 acres at Brawith Farm, Skutterskelfe, Stokesley.
Annie was later widowed and continued to farm herself. Emma Farndale died
an infant.
The
Crimean War Soldier
John
George Farndale (1836 to 1909) the son of John & Martha
Farndale then a farmer of Skelton
was baptised at Skelton
on 27 November 1836. By 1851 he was a printer’s apprentice in Skelton and shortly after
that, he joined the army. He fought through the Crimean War and write letters
home from the heights of Sebastopol. Then, in about 1870, he emigrated with his
family to Ontario in Canada and his family were the Ontario 1 Line. His uncle
Matthew Farndale had emigrated to Australia in 1852, but John and his family
were the first of the family to go west.
1836 to 1909 A Victorian
infantryman who provided us with an eye witness account of the Crimean War
before taking his family to a new life in Ontario |
|
The
Crimean War through the perspective of John Farndale, who took part in the
long campaign |
|
Upon his return from the Crimean War, John George
Farndale took his family to Ontario in 1870. At about the same time Samuel Kirk Farndale took
his family to Ontario |
The
Kilton Farmer
Charles Farndale (1838 to 1914) was born on 17 January
1838 and baptised on 27 February 1838 at Skelton. Charles took over the tenancy of the farm at Kilton from Martin Farndale who was his uncle, since Martin had no children of his own. By 1871, Martin was farming 600 acres at Kilton at the age of 73, with 16 employees. By 1881 Martin had retired and Charles was farming 577 acres with 9 employees.
On 16 April 1872, Charles
Farndale married
Ann Dale of Danby.
Charles
and Ann
Farndale had a family of eight.
1838 to 1914 Charles took over the farming of Kilton Hall Farm where he farmed
577 acres |
Victorian Brotton
Scene 6 - The Sixth Generation
The eldest
son of Charles and
Ann Farndale, John Martin
Farndale and their seventh child, Ernest Farndale
both died at the age of two.
The
Richmond Farndales
The second
son of Charles and
Ann Farndale was William Farndale
(1875 to 1948). William
was working on the farm at Kilton
Hall Farm until about 1899, when he married Ada Fawell in Auckland. By
the time of their wedding, they had moved to Gilling Wood Hall, at Gilling
West, north of Richmond. Gillingwood was also part of the estate of the Wharton family of Skelton
Castle, who were also
landlords of the Kilton estate. The farm
was named after the mansion of the Wharton family, Old Gillingwood
Hall, which had burned down in 1750. Their children, Annie Farndale, Beatrice Farndale,
Charles Farndale
and Edith Farndale
were all born at Gilling, though Edith died when she was only 17 days old. The
family formed the Richmond Line of
Farndales. His son Charley Farndale
(1905 to 1973) continued to farm at Gilling through the Second World War.
The
Kilton Farmer
George Farndale
(1876 to 1970) was born at Kilton on 24
August 1876 and it was he who continued the Farndale dynasty at Kilton Hall Farm. He was working in partnership with his
father, Charles
by 1911.
By 1939, George Farndale
was living at Stank House in Kilton, with
his sister Grace.
They continued to be involved with the local Wesleyan Church. He did not marry
and so had no family.
In 1940 George sold the stock at Kilton and this was the end of the Farndale
association with Kilton. He and his sister
moved to Saltburn and George died
there in 1970. The farm sale at Kilton Lodge to take place on 18 April 1940 at
12 noon was advertised by T S Petch who was favoured with instructions from
Mr George Farndale to sell by auction his valuable farming stock comprising 4
horses, 72 head of cattle, 140 sheep, poultry, implements, gears etc.
The end of
the Farndale era was summarised by the Wesleyans on 8 March 1940. For over a
century the Farndale family have been associated with the Loftus and Staithes
Wesleyan Circuit, a connection which is soon to be severed by the removal of Mr
George Farndale from Kilton Lodge to Saltburn. A member of the third generation
of the well known family, Mr Farndale has been a
circuit official for over 20 years, and a steward for seven. His grand father was a local preacher in the circuit for a
number of years, and the late Charles Farndale upheld the family tradition by
serving for the major period of his life as circuit official and steward. In
the outlying districts of the circuit Mr George Farndale has worked equally
hard, and stands as Trustee for many of the circuit chapels.
George was
buried on 18 February 1970 at Saltburn Cemetery.
1876 to 1970 George was the
last of the Kilton Farmers |
Grace
Farndale
George’s
sister Grace
was brought up at Kilton Hall Farm and was doing dairywork there in
1911, when she was 31.
She was
chief bridesmaid at a wedding in 1902 and regularly performed at local events
including taking part in a series of exhibitions of living pictures in 1896
in which Miss G Farndale was the exhibitor.
She later
lived at Kilton Hall farm with her brother George Farndale,
and they both retired to Saltburn
in 1940.
A
photograph of Grace and her brother George (sitting), about 1925
Grace died on 1
March 1966 and is buried with her brother, George.
Mary
Farndale
Mary Farndale was
also doing dairywork at Kilton Hall Farm into her thirties. She married William Hodge in 1927 with the
reception at Kilton Hall when she was 49.
Mary’s
wedding at Kilton Hall
The
Architect
Albert Farndale
(1881 to 1918) was born in 1881 and brought up at Kilton
Hall Farm. By 1895 he was in charge of the toy
department at the Wesleyan Methodist Bazaar. By 1901 he was an architect
pupil and in late 1902 he had prepared plans for the new schools at
Skinningrove. On Wednesday afternoon the new Sunday School building which
has been erected by the Wesleyan Methodists of Skinningrove were formally
opened by Mrs H L Samuel, wife of the member for the Cleveland Division. The
school is situated immediately behind the chapel, and is built of red brick
with stone dressings in harmony with the chapel. The schoolroom is 30 feet 5
feet long by 20 feet wide, capable of seating 172 scholars. The roof is
vaulted, with a pitch pine ceiling, stained and varnished. On each of the
longer sides, under the corners is a freize,
intersected by continuations of the principal rafters resting on core bells and
so forming squares for the display of texts. The chapel is accessible from the
schoolroom, and at one side of the building there is a vestry and a classroom,
each being connected with the side street by an entrance lobby. In the vestry
there are appliances for public teas. The whole is heated by hot water on the
high pressure system. The lighting is good, there being for Norman windows on
the south elevation, and at night incandescent gas will be the luminant from
neat pendants from the roof. The plans were prepared by Mr Albert Farndale,
of Kilton Lodge, now of London, and the contract has been most efficiently
carried out by Messrs Ridsdale brothers, of Skelton. The contract price was £450,
but this does not include the heating apparatus or the furniture, which have
cost about £150 more. At the opening ceremony there was a large gathering of
people, who waited outside the building.
On 22
October 1910 thirty two sets of drawings, sent in competition for the new
Town Hall, markets and municipal buildings for the ancient borough of Denbigh,
North Wales, have just been adjudicated upon. A design by Mr. A Farndale, of
Kilton Lodge, Brotton, was awarded second premium by the assessors, Messrs
Leeming and Leeming, FFRIBO, London. Mr Farndale's plans were recently accepted
by the urban council of South Bank, for their new town hall, markets and
council offices.
In 1911 he
was living at Stank House, with his family.
In April
1911 the Local Government Board Inspector on Tuesday held an inquiry at
South Bank into the application of the Council for sanction to borrow £7,000 in
order to erect a new town hall, market hall etc on the site of the present
buildings... Competitive designs were then requested for a complete scheme in
which to do away with the present buildings altogether, and eventually a
selection was made, the plans of Mr A Farndale, Brotton, being successful,
and application to borrow £7,000 to cover those plans was made to the Local
Government Board.
In December
1911 reported the Carlin How and Skinningrove District has grown very
rapidly during the last few years, and, in order to cope with the increasing
demand for accommodation, the friends of the Wesleyan body have decided to
build a new Wesleyan Church at Carlin How. The cost of the church will be £850,
£500 of which has already been raised or promised. Mr T C Hutchinson, managing
director of the Skinningrove iron works, has generously given the site. The
buildings will be of brick, and will accommodate about 250 people. Mr. A
Farndale is the architect, and Mr J K Wilson is superintending the work of
erection. The foundation stone laying ceremony took place on Wednesday, in the
presence of a good company. The Rev W Powell, Loftus conducted the ceremony,
and stones were placed by Mrs M Moore, Westfield, Loftus,… C Farndale …. M
Farndale, Craggs Hall... Mr E Lofthouse laid a stone in memory of the late Mr.
A Murray weather, a prominent Brotton Wesleyan. The Rev J C Adelard (Saltburn)
gave an address and a public tea took place in the preaching room, which has,
for many years, done duty as a place of worship, but is now totally inadequate
to meet the demands made-up on it.
In March
1912 at a special meeting of the Spennymoor Urban Council on Thursday week
plans from 23 competitors were considered for the erection of a market, market
shops, council room, offices and public hall, which scheme is to cost about
£15,000. The first prize was awarded the plans of Mr George T Welburn, ARIBA,
of Middlesbrough and Redcar; the second to Messrs Clark and Moscrop,
FRIBA, Darlington; and third to Mr. A Farndale, Kilton Lodge, Brotton. Mr
Welburn's plans were accepted by the Council.
He joined in
the Cleveland hunt from time to time. On 4 November 1912 considerable
interest was yesterday taken in the opening meet of the Cleveland Hounds at
Skelton Castle, the residence of the popular master and huntsman, Mr W H A
Wharton, and a large crowd gathered on the lawn. Bright sunshine prevailed and
there was every prospect of an excellent day's sport. Among those who were
present at the meet were Mr. A Farndale, Kilton Lodge.
Then tragedy
struck in 1918, when the pressures of Albert’s architectural career seem to
have become too much for him. He died aged 37 and was buried at St Peter, Brotton, on 23 December 1918.
Albert
Farndale, 37, son of a farmer, of Kilton Lodge, Brotton, died under tragic
circumstances, yesterday. Missing from his home some hours a search was made,
and his body was found in one of the outbuildings on the farm. His head was
shattered, and nearby was a double barreled gun.
Appearances went to show that Farndale had first fixed the gun in a vice, and
after placing the muzzle in his mouth, had pushed the trigger with a piece of
iron about two feet in length. About 9 or 10 years ago deceased was an architect
at South Bank, but since that time has been engaged in agricultural pursuits.
On
Thursday afternoon, last week, Albert Farndale, Kilton Lodge, left home for the
purpose of wild duck shooting, and was not seen again alive by any of the
family. As he had not returned home late in the evening, search was made, and
he was discovered in an outbuilding of the farm, quite dead, having apparently
died a few hours previous. An inquest was conducted by Mr W Richardson, the
Cleveland Coroner, at Kilton Lodge, on Saturday, and evidence was given by Mr G Farndale,
brother of the deceased. The witness said his brother was 37 years of age, and
lived at home. He described the finding of the body about 10 o’clock on the
previous Thursday evening. His gun was near him, and there was a wound on the
side of his face and head. By profession his brother was an architect, though
of late years he had worked on farm. About 10 years ago he was depressed,
having been disappointed at not obtaining a position in his profession. He
recovered from his depression, and became quite cheerful. There was no
financial or other trouble at all. The Coroner, who sat without a jury,
returned a verdict of suicide whilst in an unsound state of mind. The funeral
took place on Monday afternoon, at Brotton, the first part of the service being
held in the Wesleyan Church, and was conducted by the Rev W Rex, Loftus, and
the Rev H Mortimer, Staithes.
It was a
tragic story, which perhaps illustrates the trauma as the family started to
turn from an agricultural life which had provided the security of an extended
family for two millennia, to the risk and challenges of new professions and lifetsyles.
The
Performer
The youngest
of the family was Sophia Farndale,
born in 1884.
At local events in Kilton
she seems to have been the entertainer. Miss S Farndale
was accompanist. Songs, duets and recitations were
rendered by Miss Farndale. For the entertainment to
visitors there was Mrs Jolly’s waxwork, tableaux vivants
by the Misses Farndale and others, a ping pong tournament and a concert by the
Loftus spring band. A tableau vivant, a French term for a living
picture, was a static scene composed by actors who were stationary and silent,
usually in costume, carefully posed, with props and scenery, and sometimes
theatrically lit.
She married
Maxwell Foster and they settled in Stockton,
the once home of her grandfather, John Farndale,
where they had a large family of eight. She eventually lived in a house there
which was called Kilton on The Drive at Stockton,
the name of the house reminding her of a bygone age.
She died in Hartlepool in 1971.
Scene 7 - The Kilton Wanderers
George
Farndale’s family
You will
recall that George
Farndale of the fourth generation of Kilton Farndales, left Kilton
and his family made new lives for themselves away from
Kilton. So whilst the branch of the family
we have met above continued to live at Kilton until 1940, George’s family was one of those to have
left Kilton by about 1816. Since George was my
great x3 grandfather, his family are the Kilton
offshoots from which my part of the family descend.
In 1816 William Farndale
had taken a farm at Easby for George who
married Mary Armstrong that year and they had seven sons.
George farmed in
Easby near Stokesley after his marriage
in 1816 until about 1825, and eventually moving back to Kilton by 1841, by which time he was working on the farm and supported by his
brother. He died aged 68 years, at Kilton on 8 May 1858. of pneumonia and effusion of fluid in the ventricle of the
brain.
George and Mary’s
fifth son, John
Farndale had died at the age of only one, and the rest of his family by
then had dispersed across Cleveland. We will return to their fortunes in Act 25.
Finding
Work
In the
Victorian Age, the most obvious employment for those who left the security of
generations of living from the land, was ironstone mining. We will return to
the impact of ironstone mining in Act 18. As they left the
protection of the generational community at Kilton,
George’s family had picked up what work
they could, as miners and labourers.
George’s son, William Farndale
(1817 to 1901) was a labourer in Stokesley
by 1861, but by 1881, he was working in the mines at Margrove
Park. His son Joseph
Farndale (1875 to 1921) worked around Cleveland variously as a labourer, a
farm worker, a bricklayer and a hind looking after horses.
George Farndale
(1820 to 1891), another son of George, was a
tile maker in Stokesley by 1861 and he
was working as an ironstone miner at Middlesbrough
by 1861 and was later a brick maker.
The
Bishop Auckland Farndales
George’s son, Thomas Farndale
(1822 to 1854) was a pit man in Auckland by 1850 and later a coal miner. He
died of phthisis
at the age of 32. His family were the Bishop Auckland Line. Thomas’s son William Farndale
worked in a wine vault at Firby, near Bedale, who adopted Nora Bovill with his sister Mary Ann Farndale. Mary Ann Farndale was an excellent
needlewoman. She did not drink alcohol but offered spirits to visitors who she
met in the front room of the Dun Cow where she knew the landlady.
Mary Ann visited Bishop Auckland each Thursday for market day and to meet other
family members. She was strict but
extremely kind and was only ever spoken of in terms of great respect and
affection. She knew that she came from a huge extended family but did not know
many of them. Her adopted daughter Nora had vivid memories of holidays at Cragg Hall Farm. She was adamant that she knew it is
Cragg and not Craggs. Matthew Farndale, affectionately called Mattha by Mary Ann, was an elderly widower by
then and he appeared to enjoy her fussing over him. Mary Ann and Nora remembered a beautiful rose
garden hidden at the back of the farm seen only by those at the farm, with
fruit bushes dripping with berries, and she remembers taking the farmworkers
lunches out to the fields at midday, and being allowed to go shopping on her
own to Carlin How or Brotton when she was only 5 or 6 at the
time. She remembered reading Pilgrims Progress in the rarely used front
room at Craggs. A special treat was to be taken for rides in the side car
of Herbert Farndale’s motor bike. Herbert, Matthews’
son was presumably running Craggs farm by this stage.
The
Coatham Farndales
George’s son, Matthew Farndale
(1827 to 1905) was ploughman on a farm in Ormsby by 1850 and also worked as an
agricultural labourer. He married Ann Readman of Coatham
in 1855 and he moved there to live at Coatham Sand Banks. By 1871 he was a
foreman at Sand Banks and his wife Ann Farndale ran a Temperance Hotel there.
They had a family of three daughters and three sons, the Coatham Line. The daughters were
laundresses and dressmakers. His son George Farndale
was a successful footballer in the Redcar Crusaders team. His grandson, George
William Farndale, emigrated to USA and George’s family were the American 2 Line.
The
carpenter and cordwainer
Robert Farndale
(1830 to 1875) continued to live at Kilton
Hall Farm with his grandfather William Farndale
until 1841 and he seems to have been favoured by his grandfather who bequeathed
his silver watch and £20 to pay for his apprenticeship when William died in
1846. By 1851 Robert left Kilton for Loftus, where he was an apprentice joiner and
cartwright with John Walker. By 1861, he was a cordwainer in Stockton. A cordwainer was distinguished from
a cobbler as an artisan trained to craft a shoe from scratch.
The
Farmer of Fogga Farm
Martin Farndale (1818 to 1862) was the second son of George and Mary
Farndale, and the website author’s great great
grandfather. Martin
was born in 1818 and baptised on 17 December 1818 at Great Ayton. By 1841, he was working on
the farm of Michael Dixon at Skelton.
Martin married
Elizabeth Taylor at Skelton, on 27 February
1842, who was the granddaughter of John
Andrew, the notorious smuggler chief of Old Saltburn.
Martin and
Elizabeth, known as Bessie, had four sons. The oldest was William Farndale
who died aged only 11. The second son was Martin
Farndale, my great grandfather, who settled at Tidkinhow, and whose story will be told in
Act 25. The third son was John Farndale, who
became a railwayman. The fourth son was Matthew Farndale,
who took a farm at Craggs Hill.
By 1851, Martin was a
farmer of 70 acres at Fogga Farm in Skelton. Fogga Farm was located in present day
North Skelton where the Ironstone Mine was later opened in 1872. It was also
known as Old Fogga.
Martin died on
12 July 1862 aged 43 in the parish of Guisborough
from empyema. Elizabeth Farndale was present at the death. There is a family
story that Martin
was kicked by a horse. Empyema is the medical term for pockets of pus that have
collected inside a body cavity. They can form if a bacterial infection is left
untreated, or if it fails to fully respond to treatment. The term empyema is
most commonly used to refer to pus-filled pockets that develop in the pleural
space.
Elizabeth
Farndale, widow of Martin
Farndale, farmer, aged 83, died of influenza and sirgultas
on 21 March 1894 at Craggs Hall Farm, the farm of her son, Matthew Farndale.
Martin and
Elizabeth are buried at the entrance to Skelton
Old Church.
or
Go Straight to Act 14 –
The other Kilton Farndales