Notes for: John Wycliffe
The name Wycliffe
The following is a good summary about the name "Wycliffe." It comes from Harry
Lantrip's database on WorldConnect at Rootsweb:
The family name came from "WYCLIFFE" ... "Cliff by the water" ... the hamlet
from which the family sprang. The word is compounded from an old British word
"Wy" water, and the Saxon "clif" or "cliff". The history of the hamlet,
including its name, goes back to Saxon or Anglian times (821 - 825), when
Egred, Bishop of Lendisfarne gave to the Church of St. Cuthbert land on the
Tees River and two "Vils", Icecliffe and Wigeclif (Wycliffe) which he had
built. The hamlet of Wycliffe, where the church stands near a cliff
overhanging the water, lies on the southern bank of the beautiful Tees River,
which forms the northern boundry of North Riding of Yorkshire. This little
ancient church of St. Mary's was built about 1250-60, and has beautiful
windows of art glass work, some of which have beautiful shields, or coats of
arms of noble families. The entire area of Wycliffe Parish is only 2,162
acres, the civil parish proper consisting now of some eight cottages and three
farm houses, besides a mill, church and other church buildings. The history of
the Wycliffe family in England began when its progenitors first settled at
Wycliffe soon after the Norman Conquest. Here the lords of Wycliffe held sway
for a period of sixteen generations, and most of the time over a much larger
territory than the little secluded Manor of Wycliffe, including Ulvington,
Thorpe, Morthan, Newsham, Hutton, Magna, Calton Travers, etc. The family
record at Wycliffe from the coming of the first Lord of Wycliffe, (1100-1150)
until 1611 when the 16th Lord of Wycliffe broke the entail and willed it to
his daughters. Its ownership continued in the blood, but not in the name,
until 1734 when it passed to collateral heirs outside the Wycliffe family.
Other parts of the former Wycliffe holdings continued in the family name much
longer. The Wycliffes of Thorpe and Gales held their lands for 210 years,
seven generations after the extinguishment of the male line of the Wycliffes.
Some of the lands continued in the name until 1812. However, after over seven
hundred years of honorable record the name became extinct in England, although
it is still preserved in America. Although none now living in England bear the
family name, Wycliffe stands out prominently in English and world history,
while the church buildings with their most interesting architecture, the old
Thorpe chapel, Wycliffe Hall, a pleasing building in the Italian style of
architecture, the mill and monumental slabs, the scuptured stones, the brasses
with family records combine to make Wycliffe, the hamlet, a mecca for students
or art and history.
The Parents of John Wycliffe
Based on the research that exists, it looks like the Reformer John Wycliffe
was the son of Roger and Catherine Wycliffe. See below for more on this.
There is a genealogy of this Wycliffe family from Yorkshire in An History
of Richmondshire, in the North Riding of the County of York; together with
those parts of the Everwicschire of Domesday which form The Wapentakes of
Lonsdale, Ewecross, and Amunderness, in the Counties of York, Lancaster, and
Westmoreland, by Thomas Dunham WHITAKER. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees
(and others), 1823. 2 volumes. It says the first three generations (this is
one of those three) "are not sufficiently proved." So we need to take that
into account as we look at this. Whitaker first lists Robert de Wycliff, then
Roger Wycliffe, husband of Catherine, then William Wycliffe, husband of
Frances. About this John, Whitaker has written in his assumption in the margin
of this genealogy. He seems to guess that William had brothers John (the
Reformer) and a cleric named Robert Wycliffe the rector of St. Cruix, York.
About John he wrote this:
John Wycliffe, the Reformer, said
to have been born at Wycliffe.
Regarding this, Whitaker also puts in the margin: Vide (See) Fuller's
Worthies Tanner, p. 767, &c. This must refer to some entry about Tanner in
Thomas Fuller's book The History of the Worthies of England. I haven't
found that reference yet.
The following comes from the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography for the
entry on "John Wyclif."
"There is good reason to think that Wyclif was a member of the Richmondshire
family from the North Riding village of Wycliffe; he can probably be
identified with either Johannes filius Willelmi de Wykliff or Johannes filius
Simon de Wycliff, the first of whom was ordanied acolyte 18 December 1350, and
both of whom were ordained Subdeacon 12 March 1351, deacon on 18 April 1351,
and priest on 24 September 1351. This would suggest he was born in the mid
1320's."
I'm not sure what this article means by "be identified with," but I don't
think John Wycliffe the Reformer was either the son of a William or a Simon
Wycliffe. Those were probably cousins or nephews of John Wycliffe the
Reformer. There is more below on who his probable father was.
The Birthplace of John Wycliffe
The following comes from the book called John Wyclif, by H. B. Workman
(1926). It seems to be a very well researched book. I copied the following
from sections on pages 22-27:
One of the few certainties of Wyclif's life is that he was a Yorkshireman of
the North Riding. Three places Wycliffe-on-Tees, Hipswell, and Spresswell have
claimed the honour of his birth. The last may be dismissed as a clerical
blunder for Ipswell or Hipswell, first making its appearance in Hearne's
printed copy of Leland's Itinerary. Whitaker is emphatic that "there neither
is nor ever was in the neighbourhood of Richmond a village of the name of
Spresswell."
[Note from Dave: I don't think we should too quickly throw out the idea that a
place called Spresswell existed. In fact, I think it is the most likely
candidate for John's birthplace. See more on this below. By the way, "North
Riding" is an old name for an area, like a township, in County Yorkshire. I
don't think it's in use today.]
Of direct evidence of Wyclif's birthplace there is little or none apart from
his name. Walsingham records that he came from the north; others do not even
mention this. The first definite statement was made by John Leland, who lends
his authority to both claimants, Wycliffe-on-Tees and Hipswell. For while in
his Collectanea he says that Wyclif "drew his origin" from
Wycliffe-on-Tees, in his Itinerary he tells us, "They say that John
Wyclif Haereticus was born at Spreswell (Ipreswell) a poor village, a good
mile from Richemont." The words seem definite enough, and on the rules of
evidence Hipswell, restoring the right name in place of Hearne's clerical
blunder, would seem to have the better claim. For while the surmise that
Wyclif was born at the village from whose name he is invariably called is
obvious, his birth at Hipswell would hardly have been conjectured, unless
there had been some warrant. But there are many difficulties that prevent us
from accepting this.
[Note from Dave: The writer Bogg (in Richmondshire, p. 289) records
Leland as saying "They say John Wiclif (hereticus) was borne att Ipreswell, a
poore village a good mile from Richmont." Bogg notes that it was just a
tradition as he says "for the ancient Topographer wrote 'They say' etc." I
don't think it is clear to researchers what Leland originally wrote or had had
someone else write - if it was Spresswell or Ipreswell. Maybe the original
does not exist and researchers have to go from copies only.]
The form of Leland's statement shows that he is recording local tradition, and
that in his opinion it needed verification. In fact the Hipswell hypothesis
becomes more untenable the more it is studied. If Wyclif's mother lived
permanently at Hipswell a village about eight miles south-east of
Wycliff-en-Tees, in the parish of Catterick, with no connexion with the Wyclif
family, it is hard to explain, as surnames then went, why the Reformer should
be called John de Wycliffe. If on the other hand she was but on a passing
visit, as the mother of Luther in Eisleben under similar circumstances, it is
difficult to understand how this one straw of tradition should have survived
where all the more valuable has perished. So great is this difficulty that
some writers, misled by Hearne's blunder, have conjectured a village, now
non-existent, of Spresswell or Hipswell within the manor of Wycliffe, or have
suggested that "Spresswell is a corruption of Thorpeswell. There is a manor
house in the township of Thorpe and there are ruins of a village close to it."
It is true that half the village of Thorpe belonged to the Wyclifs from about
1270 onwards, but there is no evidence that it was ever called Thorpeswell.
Moreover, it was sublet by the Wyclifs to others, the most important tenants
being the Siggiswick family. On the other hand, tradition connecting Wyclif
with the village of his name has been uninterrupted. In 1634 Simon Birckbeck
"minister of God's word at Gilling in Richmondshire," in a book entitled
The Protestant Evidence, records that this tradition was unquestioned.
Another conjecture is, perhaps, the most doubtful of all. With the idea that
Leland's "good mile from Richemont" could not possibly be an error, some
writers have invented an Old Richmond, on the Tees, three or four miles below
Wycliffe. True enough in modern maps such a name may be found. The map-makers
have copied it, after the manner of their tribe, from that source of much
map-making, Carey's Atlas. But Old Richmond, if it ever existed, was certainly
not the "Richemont" the only town of the name at that time in England - for
the town named after it in Surrey was then called Sheen - whose magnificent
castle, of which Leland gave so complete a description, dominated the
district. Leland's miles may be wrong - others besides Leland's informants
have mistaken distance - and his name of the hamlet or manor may be corrupt or
obscure; but we can scarcely conceive that Leland would have confused the
famous Richmond with an obscure and doubtful place, some six miles away.
[Note from Dave Bodine: John Wycliffe was (as we mentioned earlier) believed
by some in local tradition to have been born in Hipswell. That is a town,
today, less than a mile east by northeast from Richmond in North Yorkshire.
Workman mentions some authors who have written on that theory. One of those he
refers to must be Edmund Bogg who wrote Richmondshire: An Account of its
History and Antiquities, Characters and Customs, Legendary Lore, and Natural
History (Elliot Stock: London, 1908). Bogg wrote this:
.....By some, Hipswell is supposed to the birthplace of John Wycliffe, the
great religious Reformer; Leland says he was born at "Ypreswell, a poore
village a good mile from Richmont." The present village, however, quite two
miles, and long ones at that, from the dale capital on the great mount. Yet
strangely enough, in the days of the Tudor kings there was a village about
half a mile from Wycliffe-on-Tees called Ipes or Ipreswell. That place has
entirely vanished, and only the faintest outlines of buildings and a relic or
two of the old chapel remain to vouch for such a settlement having stood there
at all. There is evidence, however, of a marriage having taken place in it
about 200 years ago. Soon afterwards the chapel was demolished or fell to
utter ruin, in all which there seems to be a hidden mystery. The ground on
which it and some other buildings stood has long been under cultivation, and
even to the oldest local inhabitant this "lost village" has passed beyond
memory, no tradition even having been handed down. Leland may have been
referring to this past Ypreswell on the south bank of the Tees, and when
speaking of the birthplace of the Reformer as a "good myle" may not have been
from Richmont on Swale but from Richmond near Ganiford-on-Tees.]
The manor of Wycliffe was but small, 720 acres in all. Its value would depend
upon whether it were arable or pasture, if the former at from 4d. to 8d. an
acre, if the latter at about 4s., and if woodland at 1s. In addition there
would be the fines which, however, in Yorkshire, where there were few
villeins, would be of little value. From about the middle of the thirteenth
century until after the Reformation it belonged to the family of Wyclif of
Wycliffe. "Wyclif, a mean (poor) gentelman," writes Leland, "dwelleth in a
little village called Wyclif," though there is ground for doubting whether
even this Wyclif was connected by blood with the family of the Reformer.* In
1611 the estate passed by the marriage of Catherine Wyclif to the family of
Tunstall, and from the Tunstalls in 1790 to that of Constable, in whose
possession it still lies. A collateral branch carried on the name at Thorpe,
until the death of its last male representative Francis Wyclif. The last of
the Wyclifs, according to some writers, was a poor gardener who dined every
Sunday at Thorpe Hall as the guest of Sir Marmaduke Tunstall, on the strength
of his reputed descent. But according to the prosaic investigations of
genealogists the last male heir was Thomas Wyclif, who died on the 3rd
November 1821 and is buried in the chancel of Kirkby Ravensworth church, where
several others of the family were buried before him. His sister, Mrs.
Katherine Wade, was buried in 1838 at Whitkirk, Yorkshire, claiming on her
tomb to be the last of the line. But though family and name are now extinct,
the branches seem at one time to have been numerous, As we shall see later, no
less than three different Wyclifs were at Oxford at the same time. The
extinction of the family may be attributed to the number of priests it
supplied in days when there was no other refuge for poor younger sons.
*Workman says in a note here "For the genealogy of the later Wyclifs see
Genealogist. xx. 133-6, xxi. 95-9." See also Infra (some critical study
on Wyclif), p. 45; Notes and Queries (ser. 5), ix. 343; and Genealogist, xxi.
p. 99. I (Dave) have looked at these (except Infra and mention them
later.
The little church of Wycliffe without spire or tower, with its porch on either
side, its pavement beneath the level of the soil, and its Gothic windows
almost hidden by the ivy, shows externally little change. The oldest parts
that now remain date from about 1240. When Wyclif was a boy it was a small
building with a nave about 30 feet long and a small chancel, but between 1340
and 1350 it was rebuilt and enlarged, no doubt with the help of Wyclifs
parents, by extending both the nave and chancel. The piscina with broken basin
still dates from his days, as do also the three windows in the south wall and
the priest's doorway between the second and third windows, The ancient font
has disappeared, but the church is still rich in remains of early stained
glass. In one of the windows of the chancel is a representation of the
Trinity, the Father with a dove on His shoulder holding His Son on the cross.
In one of the windows of the nave is St. James with his pilgrim's staff,
wallet, and scallop, carrying a book. In two of the windows there are
representations of the Virgin and Child. Stained glass windows in churches in
later life fell under Wyclif's Puritan lash.
***End of info from Workman's book.
Here is some information on John Wycliffe's early days from the book John
Wyclif: Last of the Schoolmen and First of the English Reformers, by Lewis
Sergeant, 1892 (pp 76-88):
Evidence in regard to Wyclifs birthplace is extremely meagre, and, such as it
is, it must be taken in connection with the other and better ascertained facts
of his biography. Sundry considerations tend to show that he was a member of
the family of Wycliffes who lived on their own land at the village from which
they took their name; but it so happens that John Wyclif, though he wrote a
great deal, made no reference to his earliest home or to his parentage. Thomas
Walsingham, a contemporary chronicler, says that he came from the North; but
no one appears to have made a more definite statement until John Leland (who
travelled and wrote In the reign of Henry VIII., upwards of two centuries
after the event of which he speaks) mentions as a matter of hearsay that
Wyclif was born at Spreswell, a good mile from Richmond in Yorkshire. In
another place he says that the Reformer derived his origin from the village of
Wycliffe, which is on the river Tees, some ten miles from Richmond.
These two statements of the antiquary have caused no slight perplexity amongst
later writers. Even If they are consistent with each other, which is not quite
clear, a double difficulty is created by the facts that there is no such place
as Spreswell, actually or historically, within a mile or so of Richmond, and
that the people of Wycliffe-on-Tees have for many generations piously laid
claim to a Spreswell or Speswell of their own.
It was Whitaker who first suggested, in his History of Rickmondshire,
some ninety years ago, that Spreswell was only Leland's incorrect rendering of
Ipswell or Hipswell a village of this name still existing - near Richmond. Dr.
Shirley preferred to think that Leland had made no mistake, having written
Ipreswell, which a copyist subsequently converted into Spreswell. Mr. F. D.
Matthew and Mr. Poole, relying upon Stow's transcript from Leland's work,
maintain that the copyist actually wrote Ipreswell, and that the S first makes
its appearance in Hearne's printed copy of the Itinerary.
All this looks natural enough; but it does not make the birth of a Wycliffe of
Wycliffe at Ipreswell (assuming that Hipswell was once Ipreswell) any the more
natural. If John Wyclif's birth at that place was remembered more than two
centuries later, one would imagine that it must have been on account of a
continued residence of his parents there, and not on the strength of a casual
visit of his mother at the time of his birth. There is a difficulty in
reconciling the Hipswell theory with the surmises which I shall presently
venture to make in respect of the parentage of Wyclif and mainly for the
reason just stated. If Stow's transcript of Leland be regarded as finally
establishing the form "Ipreswell" all that can be said is that we have one
reason the fewer to hesitate over Leland's statement.
The statement is not very definite in itself, and it is introduced with a
couple of words which almost imply that Leland did not attach great weight to
it, not so much weight, for instance, as he attached to his independent
statement about the village of Wycliffe. "They say," these are his words,
"that John Wiclif Haereticus was borne at Spreswel [Ipreswel], a poore
village, a good myle from Richemont." If we accept the Ipreswell and the "good
myle," there is still room for doubt in the "Haereticus" and the introductory
words. Leland merely repeats a rumour which he had not verified; and the fact
of his stating it as a rumour implies that he thought it needed verification.
His doubt may well have been the same as our own; it must have appeared
strange to him that a Wycliffe of Wycliffe should have been born at Ipreswell;
and, again, he would be quite alive to the possibility that any Wycliffe, or
even Whitdiffe, reputed to have lived at Ipreswell two hundred years ago,
would tend to become identified with the famous "heretic" who gave Englishmen
their open Bible.
The local tradition of a Spreswell close to the village of Wycliffe, which has
been accepted by Dr. Vaughan, and also by Professor Lechler, presents various
difficulties, and must be treated with particular caution, because one would
be decidedly glad to believe it. According to this tradition, Spreswell was no
mere figment of a name, and still less Ipreswell or Hipswell, but an actual
hamlet or thorp, within the manor of the Wycliffes, and about half a mile from
the present village of Wycliffe-on-Tees. Certain evidence in support of this
contention has been adduced by the Rev. John Erskine, now Rector of Wycliffe.
The evidence consists of:
1. A letter from William Chapman, 133 Church Street, Monkwearmouth (January
14, 1884), to the Rev. J. Erskine:
"I saw an account of the intended Restoration of Wycliffe Church, which stands
close to Wycliffe Hall, the supposed birthplace of Wycliffe. Leland, the
historian, says Wycliffe was born at Spreswell, near Richmond. I enclose a
copy of a statement made by my great-grandfather, John Chapman, who died 1849,
aged eighty-one years, at Alwent Hall, Gainford."
2. The statement of John Chapman :
"Spreswell or Speswell stood half a mile west from Wycliffe, and on the same
side and close to the River Tees. The Plough has passed over its site, and all
is quite level. There was a Chapel there, in which were married William Yarker
and Penetent Johnson, and there [sic] son John Yarker has many times related
the occurance to his Grandson, the Writer of this. The above coupel were the
last married there, for the Chapel soon after fell down. Francis Wycliffe of
Barnard Castle, the last of the Wycliffes in the Neighbourhood, said John the
Reformer was born at the above Village. John Chapman, Headlam, June 21st,
1839."
3. Mr. Erskine says:
"The tradition of Wycliffe having been born in this parish [Wycliffe-on-Tees]
has existed for over two hundred years, while there is no trace of him or
tradition at Hipswell . . . Might not Spreswell be a corruption of
Thorpeswell? There is a manor house in the township of Thorpe, and there are
ruins of a village close to it. I have also in my possession part of the
mullion of a church window, and a piscina, which were found in the pulling
down of an old wall on the property. The former might have been carried away
from the east window of our church, but the latter could not, as it is in
perfect preservation, while two in the church are broken close off by the
wall. The property of Thorpe belonged to the Wilkinsons of Richmond, who
purchased it from the Wycliffes . . . The man who gave me the piscina said
that his great-grandfather spoke of the chapel at Thorpe, and that after the
marriage of the two persons named in Mr. Chapman's letter the roof fell in ...
There was a village close to Thorpe Hall, as there are traces of foundations
of houses, and, as some believe, also of the village stocks.
Now, of course, this theory of a Speswell-on-Tees imposes on its advocates the
necessity of explaining away Leland's "good myle from Richemont." Some have
evolved an Old Richmond on the river bank, three or four miles below Wycliffe,
and have interpreted the "good myle" in the sense of a Scot's "mile and a
bit," where the bit is apt to be more than the mile. There is now on the same
spot a village called Barforth, which, according to Lewis's Topographical
Dictionary, was "formerly called Old Richmond"; and a place of this name
appears in Carey's map of the North Riding of Yorkshire. The evidence is very
recent, and as "Richemont" was in its present position long before Leland's
time, we should hardly be any better off if we were to accept it. Others say
that the antiquary was well informed as to Spreswell, but ill informed as to
the distance from Richmond; and with respect to this alternative it is only
fair to remember that Leland or his informers made some curious mistakes in
matters of locality and distance. There are at least two of these mistakes in
the Itinerary within fifty lines of the passage which has given so much
trouble to the biographers of Wyclif, from which it would seem that Leland had
no very clear and precise picture of the Richmondshire country in his mind.
Without building anything upon the name of Spreswell, and it is as easy to
conclude that the local tradition refers to Thorpeswell as that Leland's
original was the otherwise undistinguished village of Hipswell, there Is
evidence as to a group of houses close to the manor house where the Wycliffes
lived, and nearer to it than the village of Wycliffe was. Nothing is more
likely than that there should have been a little thorp and a chapel near the
gates of the manor house other than the village and the church of Wycliffe. We
know, in fact, that there was a Thorp as early as the thirteenth century which
formed part of the Wycliffe estate; and if there was no chapel at that early
date one would almost certainly have been built in the sixteenth century. The
family remained staunchly Romanist to the last, and intermarried with Rokebys,
Comers, Constables, and Tunstalls, though on the ground of their religion they
could no longer present to the living of Wycliffe. A private chapel of some
kind would be a necessity for them as soon as the Reformation had made
headway, and this may well have been the chapel in which Penitent Johnson was
married towards the close of the seventeenth century.
***End of information from Lewis Sergeant.
Here is some information from Notes and Queries, Series 2, xi (Jan. -
Jun., 1861), pp. 484-485 which, despite what Workman has said, gives very good
evidence for John Wycliffe's birthplace:
BIRTHPLACE OF JOHN WYCLIFFE
A very interesting letter has lately appeared in The Athenaeum (April
20, 1861, p. 529.), from Dr. Vaughan, the able author of one of the most
interesting works we have upon this early Reformer. It throws considerable
light upon the birthplace of Wycliffe, which previously has been a subject
of some uncertainty. Nothing certainly could be more clear and positive than
the statement of old John Leland in his Itinerary, v. 199. ed. l769,
where be tells us "Wiclif, a meane (?not wealthy) gentilman dwellith at a
litle village called Wiclif. They say that John Wiclif, Haereticus, was
borne at Spreswel, a poore village, a good Myle from Richemont."
But Wycliffe is a considerable distance from Richmond (Yorkshire); moreover,
no place of the name of Spreswel could be identified in the neighbourhood.
Indeed Dr. Whitaker, the historian of Richmondshire, stated "there neither
is now, nor was there ever a place of that name in Richmondshire;" and his
account, Dr. Vaughan adds, was corroborated by another gentleman.*
The doctor, therefore, could only suggest that possibly a house of some
such name, and belonging to the Wycliffe family, might have existed in the
neighbourhood, though not within "a good mile of Richmond," as the distances
of Leland were not always accurate, instancing his statement of the source of
the adjacent Tees.
But in this case, as in many others, the progress of time, and its access of
information but develope the statement of older writers, and we find now that
another Richmond existed at the period of Leland's tour.
In the recent letter above-named to the editor of The Athenaeum, Dr,
Vaughan throws new and important light on the subject. He states that he was
not long since informed by a gentleman fond of antiquities, Bligh Peacock,
Esq., of Sunderland, that there was an old spot about three miles below the
parish of Wycliffe, called Old Richmond, set down as such in the local maps,
and described in the traditions of the neighbourhood as more ancient than the
present town so named. Also, that "at a good mile" from this Old Richmond
there was in the last century a "poor village" or chapelry, called Spreswel.
Further inquiry elicited the following information from Mr. John Chapman, a
gentleman of respectable position in Gainsford, the parish adjoining the
spot called Old Richmond, whose ancestors had been resident for several
generations in that district:---
"Spreswel or Speswel stood close to the River Tees., half a mile from
Wyclitfe, and on the same side of the river. There was a chapel there, in
which were married William Yarker and Penitent Johnson, and their son John
related the occurrence to me, his grandson, many times. The above couple were
the last married there, for the chapel soon after fell down. The ploughshare
has since passed over its site, and all is now level."
Mr. Chapman further stated that Francis Wycliffe, who died at Barnard Castle
thirty years since, and was the last descendant of the family bearing the
name, always spoke of the family tradition, that the Reformer was a member of
their family, and born at Spreswel.
"So then" (adds Dr. Vaughan), "at last we come upon Leland's "Spreswel, a
poor village a good mile from Richmont," and we find this Spreswel still
marked by local and family tradition as the birthplace of Wickliffe. Modern
Richmond is ten miles from Wycliffe, the extinct Spreswel was not half a mile
from it."
Permit me to inquire whether further light on the subject can be applied by
any one resident in or conversant with the traditions of the locality? Do any
old topographies or documents refer to this Spreswel, or to Old Richmpnd? Is
anything known with relation to the fall of the chapel? or is there reference
to it in any registers or chronicles of the neighbourbood? In what state now
are the sites of these places? And would local investigation develope whether
the various statements which Leland makes to "Richmont" and places contiguous
thereto, really refer to the present town or its ancient namesake? What may be
the dates of the church or any of the oldest buildings of Richmond, and do
documents of the place throw any light on the rise of the newer, and
extinction of the older town?
***End of info from Notes and Queries.
Personally, looking at everything that has been written, I think the most
likely birthplace for John Wycliffe was the small village of Spreswell between
Wycliffe-on-Tees and Old Richmond.
The Family of John Wycliffe
Here is some more information on John Wycliffe's early days from the book
John Wyclif: Last of the Schoolmen and First of the English Reformers,
by Lewis Sergeant, 1892 (pp 76-88):
It Is but a melancholy picture which is presented to us of these Richmondshire
Wycliffes, poor in purse, proscribed in religion, proud of heart, gradually
fading away amongst the more substantial Northern Catholics, sternly
repudiating the one strong-member of their race who ranks with the great
Worthies of England, and owing much of their later misfortune to the obstinacy
with which they cherished the discarded faith. The last of the Wycliffes was a
poor gardener, who dined every Sunday at Thorpe Hall, as the guest of Sir
Marmaduke Tunstall, on the strength of his reputed descent.
It would be impossible to speak with confidence as to the origin of this
family of Wycliffes. There is nothing to show whether they were Normnan or
English. The local surname would be natural enough in either case, and it is
no more difficult to conceive a man of English origin bearing a Norman
patronymic than it is to think of Anglo-Normans in the eighth or tenth
generation who had lost their Norman characteristics and their Norman speech.
Wycliffe means " the water cliff." It is not the same name as that derived
from "the white cliff," although the latter name also came to be written
Wycliffe. The point is significant. There is a white cliff near Hipswell, and
a hamlet called Whitcliff, which has been suggested as the place from which
the Reformer took his name. But it is worthy of note that although we find
more than twenty variations in the spelling of this name,* it was never (so
far as I am aware) spelt with an h, though John Wycliffe of Mayfield is
occasionally called Whitcliffe. As for the baptismal name of John, it was
already more employed than any other; it was even in higher favour in the
fourteenth century than it is in the nineteenth. If we can point to only two
French kings and one English king of that name, there had been twenty-two Pope
Johns when Wyclif was born. There is scarcely a list of proper names in the
century wherein the Johns do not show a remarkable predominance. In
Courtenay's Synod of 1382, for instance, seventy-three theologians and lawyers
took part, and twenty-six of them were named John. Again, out of the twelve
doctors assembled at Oxford by William Berton, who agreed in his condemnation
of Wyclif s opinions in 1381, no fewer than nine were Johns. One of the
writers of the Chronicon Anglitz, probably himself a John, referring in
a certain passage to Wyclif, says quaintly: "This fellow was called John - but
he did not deserve to be. For he had cast away the grace which God gave him,
turning from the truth which is in God, and giving himself up to fables."
* Wycliffe, Wycliff, Wyclif, Wyclyffe, Wyclef, Wyccliff, Wycclyff, Wycldef,
Wyclyve, Wyckliff, Wykliffe, Wykliff, Wykclyff, Wykclyffe, Wyklive, Wicliffe,
Wicliff, Wiclif, Wicleff, Wiclef, Wicclyff, Wickcliffe, Wicklef, Wigdif.
If we are tempted to look with some doubt on the Hipswell conjecture, and to
nurse the idea that John Wyclif was born in the home of the Wycliffes, we
shall gain additional support for the general belief of the past five
centuries that the father of the English Reformation was a scion of one of the
most devout Catholic families of the North, the head of which was lord of the
manor of Wycliffe-on-Tees. Let us see what contemporary records have to tell
us about the Plantagenet Wycliffes.
The genealogy preserved by the Wycliffe family, which will be found recorded
in Whitaker's Richmomdshire includes three generations admitted to be
insufficiently proved.* They are given in the following form-except that the
dotted line is here introduced by way of conjecture:
Robert de Wycliff, Lord of Wycliffe, etc., (6 Edward I, by Kirkby's
Inquest, 1287 [1278], held 12 car[ucates] of land, etc., in Wycliffe,
Thorp, and Girlington; married ?-?)
- son: Roger Wycliffe, Lord of Wyclife, etc. married Catherine, his wife,
1319; both buried at Wycliffe.
- grandson: John Wyclif (Hereticus) [Note: The dotted line was here noting
that Whitaker had added John to this genealogy.]
- grandson: William Wyclif of Wycliffe, esquire married Frances, daughter of
Sir Robert Bellasis of _____, Kt.
*Before a historical student could use a document of this kind with any degree
of confidence, he would need to know the pedigree of the pedigree. Nothing
more is claimed for the genealogy here quoted than that it preserves the
traditions of the Wycliffe family at a comparatively late date, and that its
accuracy in a number of particulars is supported by independent historical
evidence.
Now if the date 1319 above given is that of the marriage of Roger, which is
probable (since Catherine Wycliffe was still living in 1369), it is a
noteworthy coincidence that the year 1320 has generally been accepted, on
independent grounds, as the approximate date of John Wyclifs birth. But there
is more substantial evidence than this for the belief that Roger and Catherine
Wycliffe were the actual father and mother of the future divinity lecturer at
Oxford. Another link in the chain is supplied by a close catalogue of rectors
of Wycliffe, quoted in Torre's Archdeaconry of Richmond, from which the
following entries are taken:
Date...........Rectors*............................Patrons
2 Aug. 1362....Dns Robert de Wycliffe, cl(ericus). Kath. relicta Rogi Wicliffe
7 Aug. 1363....Dns William de Wycliffe.............John de Wycliffe
7 Oct. 1369....Dns Henr. Hugate, Cap. .............iidem*
The significance of the "iidem" will be at once apparent [Note from Dave:
iidem, or idem, means "the same as the above"] . In 1362 Roger Wycliffe was
dead, and the vacancy in the family living was supplied by his widow
Catherine, who nominated Robert Wycliffe. It need not be concluded from the
genealogy already quoted that Roger Wycliffe had no brother, and only one son.
The later Wycliffes had numerous families, and that was probably enough the
case with Robert and Roger. At any rate, there was a Robert de Wycliffe,
clerk, ready to take the living In 1362; and when he died, a year later,
William de Wycliffe of Balliol College was appointed by John de Wycliffe to
succeed him. Who was this John de Wycliffe? Observe that Dame Catherine had
nominated in 1362, possibly after consulting John; that John nominated in
1363, possibly consulting Dame Catherine; and that in 1369 there was
admittedly a consultation between Catherine and John, resulting in their joint
nomination of Henry Hugate. Who could this John de Wycliffe be except the
eldest son of Roger and Catherine, legally the lord of the manor, but leaving
some of (perhaps nearly all) the duties and privileges of the lordship to his
mother. The varying exercise of this patronage, as shown in the close
catalogue, would be adequately explained on the supposition that John de
Wycliffe was the eldest son of Roger, himself lord of the manor, an absentee
from his small estate, living on his earned income as a secular priest and an
Oxford lecturer, and leaving the management of the Wycliffe property to his
widowed mother. In brief, the circumstances would be well explained by
assuming that John Wyclif, the Reformer, was the son and heir of Roger
Wycliffe.
[Note from Dave: Here is what Workman has to say about the entries from Torre
mentioned above (pp 40-42): We have assumed that Roger de Wyclif and Katherine
were parents of the Reformer. If so, Wyclif's father, Roger was alive in 1349.
In order to make room for William Wycliffe we must assume that Roger died a
few years later, for by August 1362 the lordship of the manor had passed both
from Roger Wyclif and William Wyclif to another, and in 1363, as we shall see,
was definitely in the hands of John de Wyclife. So William Wyclif, who
succeeded Roger in the estates, and who, presumably, was the eldest son, died
childless at some date before August 1362. Probably his wife Frances Bellas
was dead also. For in James Torre's invaluable collections, in the catalogues
of the rectors of Wycliffe, we note the following institutions (then he lists
those entries from Torre above)...
.....This list, taken along with the preceding, supplies many points of
interest, especially if used with a little conjecture. In the first place it
gives proof of the death of William Wyclif - we allude to the layman of that
name - before August 1362, It further shows that Katherine, Wyclif's mother,
was still alive "iidem" in October 1369, when she was associated with her son
"John de Wyclife" in the presentation to the living. At this date she must
have been at least 65 years of age. We further note the names of two other
members of the family, parson Robert and parson William Wyclif. Of the former
we know little, for he cannot be the same as the Robert Wyclif, rector of
Rudby, who died in 1423, of whom more anon, for that would make him nearly 90
at his decease. We have reason to believe, however, that Robert Wyclif's
retirement from the living of Wycliffe in August 1363 was due to exchange or
preferment, not to death. For on the 22nd June 1382 orders were issued to
restore to John, son of Thomas, lord de Roos of Hamlake in the North Riding of
Yorkshire, and Mary his wife, certain estates belonging to the said Mary which
had been hitherto in the king's hands because of her minority. Among these
estates was the manor of Dronfield, which Mary's grandfather, Sir John de Orby
of Toft by Witham, Lincolnshire, "long before his death" had granted "for life
to Robert de Wycliff." But "on the said Robert's death the late king (Edward
III) seized it into his hand." From this we learn that Robert Wyclif was dead
before 1377, but cannot have died before 1368, inasmuch as Mary's father,
Henry, third baron de Percy, did not die until the 16th June 1368, and
therefore Mary was not a minor at law until after that date. Probably Robert
Wyclif died a year or two after 1368. What the bond was between Robert dc
Wyclif if indeed he be the parson of 1362 and Sir John de Orby we know not.
.....We further notice that John Wyclif, though, presumably, the legal patron
of the living by the death of his elder brother, took no part in the
presentation of 1362. Wyclif at that time was rector of Fillingham in
Lincolnshire, and as the vacancy occurred in the Long Vacation may have been
at his country living. He seems to have left the management of the estate to
his widowed mother. At a later vacancy the Reformer interposed to secure the
presentation of two fellows of Balliol, taking care to associate his mother
with him, a tribute of respect doubtless very gratifying to the old lady and
not without credit to the son.]
If we are to be satisfied with this explanation, and to adopt it as a
trustworthy detail of biography, our conviction must be the result of a series
of inferences, for it is idle to expect absolute proof after the lapse of five
centuries. It will be said that the fact of a John Wycliffe acting in 1363 and
1369 as patron of the living, whilst it proves that there was a lord of the
manor bearing that name in the years just mentioned, does not prove that he
was John "the Heretic." True; but let us not miss the significance of the fact
that no John Wycliffe at all is shown in the genealogy, as preserved in the
family records. The close catalogue, which would not be in the keeping of the
Wycliffes, retains the name of John as patron of the living of Wycliffe, with
the strong presumption that he was lord of the manor during the widowhood of
Dame Catherine. The genealogy, which is full and uninterrupted from the middle
of the fifteenth century, makes not the slightest reference to him. What is
the reasonable, not to say the necessary, inference? Clearly that this John
Wycliffe had been deliberately erased from the record, for some reason which
commended itself to this exceptionally devout and consistent family of
Romanists.
According to the genealogy, it should have been William Wycliffe who appointed
his namesake of Balliol after the death of his father. If he was alive in
1363, John must surely have been his elder brother. If he was dead, John may
have been his next brother, or conceivably his uncle; for it is possible
(though clearly improbable) that 1319 is the date of Roger's birth (sic?). As
a matter of fact, John "Haereticus" refers in one of his Determinations to a
brother "olim mortuum." [Note from Dave: I think this means "dead a long time
now."] In any case John Wycliffe was an im-portant member of the family, and
he ought to be shown on the family tree. Why is he not?
To such as feel a special interest in the personality of John Wyclif the
Reformer it will be a matter of secondary concern whether he was or was not
the son and heir of Roger, lord of Wycliffe, and of Catherine his wife. But
his identification with the patron of Wycliffe rectory in 1363 and 1369 would
tend to confirm our belief in his absolutely disinterested character, and in
the sincerity of his profession of ecclesiastical poverty. The identification
is manifestly assisted by the circumstances connected with the two nominations
in question. John Wyclif was Master of Balliol up to 1361, when he took the
college living of Fillingham. The rectors appointed to Wycliffe in 1363 and
1369 were both of them Balliol men.
If Wyclif was legally lord of the manor, then we possess, to begin with, a
remarkable testimony to the nobility and thoroughness of his personal
character; and the whole tenor of his after life is such as to strengthen and
deepen this first impression. The manor of Wycliffe was 720 acres—equivalent
to a knight's fee; and the rectory was worth £14 \2s id. As living was
interpreted in those days, there was a competence both for the esquire and for
the rector. During the reign of Edward III. money was found, from one source
or another, to restore the fabric of the church.
***End of information from Sergeant.
And now to to add to all this confusion about John Wycliffe's birth place, I
paste in the following from John Wiclif and his English precursors, by
Gotthard Victor Lechler, London, 1904 (pp. 87-88):
We are always more accurately informed of Wiclifs birth-place than of the date
of his birth, and we owe this information to a learned man of the sixteenth
century, John Leland, who has been called the father of English antiquarians.
In his Itinerary he has inserted a notice of Wiclif's birth-place, which,
though only obtained from hearsay, yet as the earliest, and recorded only
about 150 years after the great man's death, must always be regarded as of
high authority. Leland's remark runs as follows: " It is reported that John
Wiclif, the heretic, was born at Spresswell, a small village a good mile off
from Richmond."
This notice, it is true, has its difficulties. The first is, that Leland
himself appears to contradict his present statement in another of his works,
for he says in his Collections in mentioning " Wiyclif " in the county of
York, that " Wiyclif " the heretic sprang from that place. These two
statements appear, at first sight, to contradict each other, and yet, when
looked at more narrowly, they are easily reconciled : for in the first-named
work Leland is speaking of Wiclif's birth-place
proper ; while, in the other, he is rather making mention of the seat of his
family. But there is a more considerable difficulty in the circumstance, that
in the neighbourhood of the town of Richmond, in the North Riding of
Yorkshire, no village of the name of Spresswell has ever, by the most reliable
accounts, been known to exist. This fact has given rise to various
conjectures, e.g., that Leland, in the course of his inquiries, had heard of a
place called Hipswell or Ipswell, and had mistaken its name for Spresswell, or
that Spresswell may have been the name of some manor-house or estate of the
Wiclifs. It was also thought by some that Leland could not have personally
travelled through that district of the county ; for, in giving its topography,
he has fallen into many mistakes.
But very recently Leland's credit for accuracy on this point has been
redeemed, and his account has received a confirmation which sets the subject
itself in the clearest light. The same scholar, Dr. Robert Vaughan, who, since
1828, lias rendered important services to the history of Wiclif, has, by means
of correspondence with other scholars in the north of England, established the
following facts:
Not far from the River Tees, which forms the boundary between the North Riding
of Yorkshire and the county of Durham, there was formerly a town of the name
of Richmond, of higher antiquity than the existing Richmond, and which is to
be found in old topographical maps under the name of Old Richmond.
About an English mile off from Old Richmond, there was still in existence in
the eighteenth century, close to the Tees, a small village or hamlet called
Spresswell or Spesswell. An old chapel also stood there, in which were married
the grandparents of an individual living in that neighbourhood, who vouched
for the truth of this information. These were, however, the last pair married
in the chapel, for it fell down soon after, and now the plough passes over the
spot where it stood.
Only half a mile from Spresswell lies the small parish of Wycliffe, the church
of which still stands on the level bank of the Tees, without tower, and in
part grown over with ivy. Upon a high bank, not far from the little church, is
a manor-house, which formerly belonged to the family of Wycliffe of Wycliffe.
From the time of William the Conqueror down to the beginning of the
seventeenth century, this family were lords of the manor and patrons of the
parish church. In 1606 the estate passed, by marriage of the heiress, to the
family of Tunstall. Another branch of the family, however, carried on the
name, and only about sixty-four years ago the last representative of the
family, Francis Wycliffe, died at Barnard Castle, on Tees. The tradition both
of the locality and the Wy clitics of Wycliffe has always been, that it Avas
from this family that the celebrated forerunner of the Reformation sprang.
***End of information from Lechler.
Personally, I would agree with Workman that John Wycliffe was not born in
Hipswell and must have been born in (or closer to) Wickliffe-on-Tees. Today's
Hipswell is about a mile east of Richmond/Richmont whereas Wycliffe-on-Tees is
about seven miles northwest of Richmond. Hipswell was not Wycliffe land and I
have no idea what Wycliffe's mother would have been doing there (unless she
was just traveling through) that John would have been born there. Based on the
interesting information about Spresswell discussed by Lechler and Sergeant
above, I would tend to agree that John Wycliffe was born in Spresswell.
The following comes from British History Online and from the book Victoria
County History: A History of the County of York North Riding, volume 1,
edited by William Page, 1914, pages 138-139:
WYCLIFFE
Wigeclif (vii cent.); Witclive (xi cent.); Huitcliffe (xiii cent.).
The 'beauties of Teesdale,' wrote Whitaker, 'with the exception of one
magnificent feature, are nearly concentrated in the three diminutive and
contiguous parishes of Brignall, Rokeby and Wycliffe.' (fn. 1) Wycliffe is of
the same pastoral type of river scenery that has made Brignall and Rokeby so
admired. The parish is composed of the village of Wycliffe and the small
hamlets of Ovington and Thorpe. Ovington was formerly in the parish of Forcett
(q.v.), but by an Order in Council of 1899 was constituted a member of this
parish. The original area was 2,491 acres of land with 32 acres covered by
water. In Wycliffe and Thorpe there are 740 acres arable land, 1,184 acres
permanent grass, and 48 acres woods and plantations. (fn. 2) The average
elevation is from 400 ft. to 460 ft. The subsoil is Yoredale Rocks with recent
alluvium in the valley of the Tees; the soil is loam, the chief crops raised
being barley, wheat, oats and roots. Watling Street cuts through the
south-west corner of the parish, touching Thorpe Grange. An earthwork called
Cockshot Camp at Ovington covers 4 acres of ground. (fn. 3) The water-mill of
Wycliffe is mentioned in 1348 (fn. 4) and 1578 (fn. 5) ; it was doubtless on
the site of what is now a saw-mill.
The village of Wycliffe is composed of the church, the rectory, which contains
a portrait of John Wycliffe by Antonio Mor, and a few red-tiled cottages
picturesquely grouped among trees at the edge of the River Tees. Wycliffe
Hall, the residence of Major Gerald M. Harding, and its park adjoin the church
on the east. The hall is a plain classical building of the 18th century.
Three-quarters of a mile west of the village the river is crossed by a
suspension bridge.
This peaceful parish was in the 15th century the scene of a double murder.
Early in 1482 Roland Mewburne, parson of the church of Wycliffe, 'waylaid
Robert Manfield with a knife and pierced his heart so that he died.' (fn. 6)
The parson was for some reason pardoned by the king, (fn. 7) but the kinsman
of the murdered man took his own vengeance, thus described in the Sanctuary
Records at Durham (fn. 8) :—
On the 25th day of February a.d. 1485, James Manfield, late of Wycliffe,
gentleman, came in person to the church of St. Cuthbert in Durham, and
striking on the bell of the same, prayed for the sanctuary of the said church,
and the liberty of St. Cuthbert, for that he, together with others, had near
the village of Ovington in the county of York, about the 26th of January as he
thinks, of the aforesaid year, insulted a certain Sir Roland Mebburne,
chaplain, rector of Wycliffe, and had struck the same feloniously in the body
with a wallych bill, and given him a mortal hurt of which he incontinently
died. (fn. 9)
A more serious interest attaches to Wycliffe as being possibly the birthplace
of the great reformer, or at least the seat of the family to which he belonged
(fn. 10); but, although it claims this connexion with 'the morning star of the
Reformation,' its lords have remained Roman Catholics until the present time.
During the time the Penal Laws were in force mass, it is said, was celebrated
in secrecy at Girlington Hall, an Elizabethan house to the east of Wycliffe,
now a farm-house. They had later a chapel attached to Wycliffe Hall. There is
now a Roman Catholic church of St. Mary at Wycliffe, erected in 1848–9, (fn.
11) and connected with it is a day school for boys and girls.
Manors
Bishop Ecgred of Lindisfarne (consecrated 830), according to the Chronicles
built the vills of Cliff and Wycliffe beyond Tees and gave them to St.
Cuthbert for the support of those serving him. Afterwards King Ella of
Northumbria (d. 867) took these vills and others from him, and as a
punishment, the chronicler adds, the Danes were sent against the king and he
was slain 'similarly to King Saul the son of Kish.' (fn. 12)
In 1086 WYCLIFFE, comprising 12 carucates, all waste, was part of the soke of
the manor of Gilling (q.v.), which had passed from Earl Edwin to Count Alan.
Girlington and Thorpe in Wycliffe parish were also at this time soke of
Gilling, and all three places afterwards continued to be members of the honour
of Richmond. (fn. 13) The mesne lord of Wycliffe, Girlington and half the vill
of Thorpe was in 1286–7 William de Kirkton. (fn. 14) In 1300 Roger de Edenham
and Joan his wife and her heirs granted the service of this fee to Harsculph
de Cleasby, (fn. 15) who held it in 1302–3. (fn. 16) With one exception (fn.
17) the manor is after this time always said to be held directly of the castle
of Richmond.
The under-tenants, the family of Wycliffe, obtained the advowson of the church
in 1263, (fn. 18) but the date of their enfeoffment of the manor is not
recorded. In 1252-3 Beatrice de Maunby granted a messuage and rent in Wycliffe
to Robert de Wycliffe, (fn. 19) presumably the same Robert who held Wycliffe
in demesne in 1286-7 and was also lord of Girlington and Thorpe. (fn. 20)
Robert was alive in 1300 (fn. 21) and dead in 1302-3, when Robert his son paid
the subsidy. (fn. 22) Robert was lord in 1316, (fn. 23) Roger paid the subsidy
in 1332-3 (fn. 24) and was lord in 1347-9. (fn. 25) The latter was exempted by
the king from being on any assize, jury or recognition and from being made a
mayor, sheriff, coroner, escheator or other bailiff or minister against his
will. (fn. 26) There is an inscription to him in Wycliffe Church. John de
Wycliffe his successor evidently attained his majority in 1363, for whereas
Katharine widow of Roger presented to the church in 1362, he presented in 1363
and again in 1369. (fn. 27) He was still returned as lord in 1375, (fn. 28)
but by 1389 a clerk, Robert de Wycliffe, had become head of this family.
Although a prominent man, the position of Robert, like that of his famous
contemporary John, is quite unknown in this obscure pedigree. (fn. 29) Perhaps
the Black Death, which made fearful ravages in these parts, may have been the
means of conveying the family estates to an unexpectant younger son. Robert
had been rector of Wycliffe in 1362 and resigned in 1363, and from 1377 until
his death he was rector of Hutton Rudby in Cleveland. Among his other
preferments were the rectories of Kirkby Ravensworth, St. Cross in York and
Romaldkirk. He was Master of Kepier Hospital before 1405, Temporal Chancellor
and Receiver General of the bishopric, and constable of Durham Castle from
1390 to 1405. He died at Kepier in 1423. (fn. 30) In 1412 he settled the manor
and advowson of Wycliffe on himself with remainders to (1) Sir Thomas
Pykworth, kt., and the children of Ellen his late wife, (2) John son of John
de Ellerton and his heirs male, who were to assume the cognomen of Wycliffe
and bear the ancient arms, (3) Robert son of John de Langton (fn. 31) and
Thomas son of John de la Mare. (fn. 32) Thus John de Wycliffe, who was lord in
1428, (fn. 33) may have been John son of John de Ellerton (fn. 34) and
represent a new dynasty of Wycliffes. He married Agnes daughter of Sir Thomas
Rokeby and left a son and heir Robert, (fn. 35) who died seised in 1494,
leaving a son and heir Ralph. (fn. 36) Robert settled the manor on Ralph and
his heirs male on condition that he should not sell any part of it. Ralph,
however, sold part of it, and thereupon the property descended to one William
Wycliffe, (fn. 37) son of his brother John, (fn. 38) who paid the subsidy in
1545–6 (fn. 39) and died in 1584, leaving a son and heir Francis. (fn. 40)
Francis died seised of the manor and advowson in 1593, leaving a son and heir
William, (fn. 41) who died seised in 1611, leaving daughters and heirs Dorothy
wife of John Wytham and Katharine wife of Marmaduke Tunstall. (fn. 42) The
entail had been removed by a deed of 1607, (fn. 43) and there are various
documents to which John Wytham and Dorothy were parties, settling the manor
and advowson, (fn. 44) which ultimately came to Marmaduke and Katharine.
Marmaduke Tunstall fought on the Royalists' side in the Civil War, and, being
taken prisoner by the Parliamentary forces on his return from Newark in 1645,
was kept captive until 1647. He then obtained leave to compound for his estate
and to produce writings showing that he had only a life interest in it. (fn.
45) His grandson Marmaduke Tunstall in 1728 conveyed his manors of Scargill,
Hutton Magna and Wycliffe and the advowson of the church of Wycliffe to a
trustee for barring all estates tail, remainders and reversions. (fn. 46) He
lived at Wycliffe, (fn. 47) where he was succeeded in 1760 by his nephew
Marmaduke (second son of Cuthbert Constable, who had changed his name from
Tunstall on succeeding to the Burton Constable estates as heir of Viscount
Dunbar), who resumed the family name and in 1776 came to live at Wycliffe and
transferred his natural history museum there. This Tunstall was a noted
naturalist; his collection of birds alone cost £5,000. The museum was
afterwards purchased by the celebrated antiquary George Allan of Grange, with
whose collections it passed in 1822 to the Literary and Philosophical Society
of Newcastle-onTyne. (fn. 48) On Marmaduke's death without issue the manors of
Wycliffe, Hutton Magna and Scargill reverted to William elder son of Cuthbert,
who entailed all his estates on his nephew Edward Sheldon. Edward Sheldon took
the surname of Constable, left no children and was succeeded by his brother
Francis, who also took this surname and died in 1821. Francis was succeeded by
his maternal kinsman Sir Thomas Hugh Clifford, (fn. 49) whose descendant Major
Walter George Raleigh Chichester-Constable is now owner.
Wycliffe of Wycliffe. Argent a cheveron between three crosslets sable.
The last of the Wycliffes is said to have been Mrs. Catharine Wade, née
Wycliffe, buried at Whitkirk, Yorks., in 1838. (fn. 50)
***End of info from the British History online site.
From Workman (pp. 44-45), we learn this:
With such slight links between John Wyclif and his family we must rest
content. That so little has been preserved is due, no doubt, to the complete
lack of all sympathy with him in the home circle, as we see in the elimination
of all mention of his name from their records. In the years of the triumph of
Wyclif's faith his family, as also other families in the neighbourhood, with
Yorkshire tenacity remained devoted adherents of Rome, carrying with them the
majority of the inhabitants of the tiny village. During the time of the penal
laws mass was celebrated in secret at their manor house of Girlington. At
Wycliffe the family built a chapel of the old faith close to their house, in
its turn superseded by a chapel at some little distance.