Middle division: Roos

ROOS

THE village of Roos, lying some 19 km. east of Hull and 3 km. from the sea, has since the Second World War become increasingly a commuter settlement. (fn. 1) The parish includes the hamlet of Owstwick. The name Roos, meaning marsh or moorland, is possibly British, while Owstwick may be an Anglian and Scandinavian hybrid, and perhaps means 'eastern dairy farm', relative to Elstronwick, in Humbleton. (fn. 2) The settlement of 'Andrebi', recorded in 1086, may have lain in Roos, but has not been identified later. (fn. 3) In 1852 the ancient parish contained 3,623 a. (1,466 ha.), of which 2,528 a. (1,023 ha.) comprised the township, later civil parish, of Roos, 886 a. (359 ha.) were in Owstwick township, and 209 a. (85 ha.) lay detached in Garton with Grimston township. The rest of Owstwick township, amounting to 450 a. (182 ha.), and 1,614 a. (653 ha.) of Garton with Grimston township made up the ancient parish of Garton; (fn. 4) the history of Owstwick township is dealt with here and that of Garton with Grimston township under Garton. In 1935 Roos civil parish and all 1,338 a. (542 ha.) of Owstwick civil parish were united with Hilston and Tunstall civil parishes to form a new civil parish of Roos, with a total area of 5,721 a. (2,315 ha.). (fn. 5) By 1991 the area had been reduced, presumably by coastal erosion, to 2,283 ha. (5,641 a.). (fn. 6)

There were 149 poll-tax payers at Roos in 1377 and 116 at Owstwick and Hilston together. (fn. 7) In 1589, when Roos was visited by plague, 45 burials were recorded in three months. (fn. 8) Roos had 49 houses assessed for hearth tax and 8 discharged in 1672; at Owstwick 15 houses were assessed and 2 discharged. (fn. 9) There were 65 families in the parish in 1743 and c. 63 in 1764. (fn. 10) From 272 in 1801 the population of Roos township rose to 599 in 1851 but fell to 418 in 1911. Numbers increased to 455 in 1921 but fell again to 404 in 1931. In Owstwick the population rose from 109 in 1801 to 165 in 1811, before falling to 103 in 1851 and 80 in 1901. It rose to 114 in 1911 but fell to 81 in 1931. Housebuilding at Roos largely accounted for the increased population of the enlarged civil parish, which rose from 631 in 1961 to 769 in 1971 and 907 in 1981. In 1991 there were usually 1,071 residents but only 1,043 were present. (fn. 11)

The parish is mostly on boulder clay (fn. 12) and much of the ground lies at over 7 m. above sea level, rising to more than 23 m. at the north end of Roos township. The higher ground was occupied by the open fields and common pasture of Roos. Lower ground in the south and west is alluvial; part of it was used as common meadow but much was early inclosed. Commonable lands in Owstwick were inclosed in 1649 and those remaining at Roos in 1786.

The parish is drained by watercourses which flow south-west towards the river Humber and form parts of the boundaries of both Roos and Owstwick. They were in disrepair in 1367, when that forming the southern boundary of Roos township was recorded as part of Keyingham fleet. (fn. 13) A new drain in Roos which caused flooding c. 1387 was perhaps a realignment of the fleet. (fn. 14) The grounds drained by the fleet included 400 a. in Roos and 50 a. in Owstwick in 1618. (fn. 15) Roos petitioned in 1623 for the improvement of the fleet, (fn. 16) which by 1719 also served parts of the parish that formerly drained to Hedon haven. (fn. 17) The drains in Owstwick and Roos were improved under the Keyingham Level Drainage Acts of 1772 and later, and after 1845 low ground assessed to the drainage included 580 a. in Roos and 63 a. in Owstwick. (fn. 18)

Roads leading from Roos village north to Garton and east to Withernsea have been upgraded as parts of the main Holderness coast road. The Withernsea road is known as Pilmar Lane. Minor roads from the village lead south to Halsham, west to Owstwick and Burton Pidsea, east to Tunstall, and north to Hilston. From Owstwick roads lead east to Hilston, north to Fitling, west to Danthorpe, and south to Roos village and Burton Pidsea. The last mentioned road was straightened c. 1800 and was later known as New Road; it probably supplemented a road further west which was stopped up by the mid 19th century. Another minor road, Longbrough Lane, forms part of the northern boundary of the township. (fn. 19) Licence granted in 1845 to the surveyors of highways of Roos to take materials from Tunstall beach was then disputed. (fn. 20)

Roos village has a linear plan and two centres of settlement, known by the 16th century as the north and south ends, (fn. 21) with the church and manor house at the southern extremity. Both location and layout were probably influenced by the small stream called Roos or Town beck, which flows south through the village. (fn. 22) Before inclosure most of the houses stood on the west side of the main street, in a back lane to the west, and in several cross lanes. It may have been the back lane, now called Rectory Road, which was named as Westgate in 1626. (fn. 23) After inclosure houses began to be built on the east side of the main street, and the growth of the village became more rapid from the mid 20th century with much infilling and the building of small estates behind the streets. Many of the more recent houses are of a 'superior' kind. A dozen council houses were built on Pilmar Lane c. 1950 and c. 40 more added there in the 1960s, and eight also built at North End. (fn. 24) A sewage treatment works was built in 1965. (fn. 25) Outlying houses include Roos Furze and Glebe Farm, both built between 1786 and 1829; Sunderland Cottage was added in the later 19th century and Glebe Farm rebuilt c. 1881. (fn. 26)

The village houses, which mostly date from the 19th and 20th centuries, include several farmhouses. Among terraced cottages in the main street are six built in 1827. (fn. 27) Most of the noteworthy houses, including the former rectory, stand in the back lane. The Elms is an early 19th-century, stuccoed house which was enlarged in the later 19th and mid 20th century. (fn. 28)

There were one or two licensed houses at Roos in the later 18th century. The Crooked Billet or the Board was recorded in the 1820s, (fn. 29) and the Roos Arms has existed since at least 1840. There were also one or two unnamed beerhouses in the 19th and earlier 20th century. In 1892 one of the beerhouses was called the Black Horse and a house traded under that name in 1990. (fn. 30) A lodge of the Independent Order of Oddfellows was founded at Roos in 1839 but had been closed or had left the order by 1850; a branch of the National United Order of Free Gardeners had been moved to Roos from Withernsea by 1885 and was mentioned until 1948. (fn. 31) A reading room was provided in a cottage belonging to the church from 1885 until 1899, (fn. 32) and a rifle club met c. 1910. (fn. 33) A village institute was built in 1915 by Edward Milsom, rector, and his wife. (fn. 34) A playing field behind Main Street was provided c. 1980 and a sports pavilion was added in 1990. (fn. 35) A small wood called the Bog has been managed as a nature reserve since 1986. (fn. 36)

Owstwick. The dozen houses in the hamlet of Owstwick lie along one street, but there was formerly a back lane to the south. (fn. 37) The hamlet may also have had 'ends', for the east and west parts were referred to in the 16th century. (fn. 38) The buildings include two council houses and several farmhouses, one or two lying away from the hamlet. (fn. 39) Owstwick Hall, standing east of the hamlet, was built in the early 19th century by Joseph Storr (d. by 1834); it was called the Cottage in 1829 and Storr Hill later. (fn. 40)

MANORS AND OTHER ESTATES

In 1066 Murdoch and Swarger held 3 carucates and 5 bovates comprising two manors of ROOS and there were 3⅓ carucates of sokeland belonging to Morkar's manor of Kilnsea; all had passed to Drew de Bevrère by 1086, when his man Fulk occupied land on the manors. (fn. 41) Roos later became part of the Aumale fee. Four carucates of that fee in Roos were held as a mesne lordship by the St. Quintin family in the 13th and earlier 14th century (fn. 42) before descending to Henry FitzHugh, Lord FitzHugh (d. 1425). (fn. 43)

Roos was for long held in demesne by the Ros or Roos family, which is believed to have been named from its estate there. The first known member was Peter de Ros (probably d. by 1130), whose son Robert succeeded c. 1158 to Helmsley (Yorks. N.R.); the family took the title Baron Ros of Helmsley in the late 13th century. (fn. 44) The estate in Roos was mentioned in 1202, when another Robert de Ros held land there of Herbert de St. Quintin. (fn. 45) At the death of Robert's grandson Robert in 1285 it was described as the manor of ROOS. Part of the manor, including 1 carucate and 3¼ bovates of demesne land and evidently extending into Burton Pidsea and Tunstall, was held of the king as successor to the count of Aumale as 1 knight's fee; the remaining 4 carucates were held of the St. Quintins. (fn. 46) In 1301 a grant of free warren was made to William de Ros, who was named as sole lord of Roos in 1316. (fn. 47) The land held of the St. Quintins was said to comprise 1/12 knight's fee in 1343. (fn. 48)

The manor was held in dower by Margery widow of William de Ros from 1343 to 1363 (fn. 49) and by Beatrice widow of Thomas de Ros from 1384 to 1415. (fn. 50) John de Ros's widow Margery held ⅓ from 1421 and the remainder was enjoyed from 1430 by Thomas de Ros's widow Eleanor, later duchess of Somerset. (fn. 51) After the attainder of Thomas de Ros in 1461 the issues and reversion of Roos were granted to George Plantagenet, duke of Clarence, (fn. 52) who succeeded to Eleanor's ²/3share in 1467. (fn. 53) On the attainder of Clarence in 1478 that part reverted to the Crown, (fn. 54) which succeeded to the remaining ⅓ share on the death later that year of Margery, dowager Lady Ros. (fn. 55) Sir John Constable had the keeping of ²/3of the manor from 1462 until his death (fn. 56) c. 1474, and later in the 1470s prominent Yorkists were granted parts of the manor, apparently as undertenants of Clarence or the Crown. (fn. 57)

John de la Pole, earl of Lincoln, had a grant of the manor in 1484 (fn. 58) but that became void in 1485 on Henry VII's accession and the reversal of the attainder on Thomas de Ros. The Ros estates nevertheless remained with the Crown (fn. 59) because of the incapacity of the heir Edmund de Ros (d. 1508), custody being granted to Sir Thomas Lovell, husband of Edmund's sister Isabel. (fn. 60) On the death of Isabel by 1512 George Manners, son of Edmund's other sister, succeeded as Lord Ros. He evidently also inherited Roos, his entry being recorded in 1513, when he died. (fn. 61) George's son and successor Thomas was made earl of Rutland in 1525. (fn. 62) After Thomas's death in 1543 his brother Sir Richard Manners held the manor during the minority of Thomas's son, Henry Manners, earl of Rutland (d. 1563), (fn. 63) who left Roos for life to John Manners, his second son who succeeded as earl in 1587 and died in 1588. (fn. 64) John's elder brother Edward, earl of Rutland (d. 1587), devised the reversion to his daughter Elizabeth, Lady Ros. (fn. 65) Elizabeth (d. 1591) was succeeded by her husband William Cecil, later earl of Exeter (fn. 66) (d. 1640), and he in turn by his nephew David Cecil, earl of Exeter (d. 1643), and David's widow Elizabeth (d. 1688); John Rastall, recorded as lord between 1649 and 1654, may have held Roos for the dowager countess. (fn. 67) The manor descended to John Cecil, earl of Exeter (d. 1700), (fn. 68) whose son William sold it in 1709 to Mark Kirkby. (fn. 69)

Kirkby (d. 1718) left Roos to his son Mark (fn. 70) (d. 1748). At the partition of Kirkby's estates in 1750 it fell to the share of his sister Isabel Collings, who by will proved in 1764 devised it to her nephew the Revd. Mark Sykes, later the first baronet (d. 1783). (fn. 71) Sykes, who was rector of Roos from 1735 to his death, had bought a small estate in Roos and Owstwick in 1741. (fn. 72) He was succeeded by his son Sir Christopher Sykes, Bt. (d. 1801), who left the manor with 970 a. in Roos to a younger son, Christopher Sykes, later also rector of Roos. The estate was enlarged with 65 a. bought by 1824. (fn. 73) The Revd. Christopher Sykes (d. 1857) was succeeded by his daughters Lucy, wife of the Revd. Charles Hotham, and Penelope, wife of Edward York. (fn. 74) Mrs. Hotham and Mrs. York sold 1,021 a. in Roos to J. T. Dickinson and his brother George in 1871; the manor was not included in the sale. (fn. 75) J. T. Dickinson (d. 1875) left his interest to his brother, who devised the estate in 1900 (fn. 76) to trustees for his grandson M. W. Dickinson (d. 1943). (fn. 77) A small part of it was sold in 1937. (fn. 78) In 1947 William Grant (Paull) Ltd. bought the 421-a. Elms farm and the 251-a. Sunderland farm, besides a further 83 a., (fn. 79) and the 223-a. North farm was bought in 1947 by the trustees of Ann Watson's charity, Hull; (fn. 80) both estates were still in the same hands in 1990. (fn. 81)

The manor of Roos was bought in 1871 by Thomas Crust, who had purchased 75 a. of freehold in 1869 (fn. 82) and between 1871 and 1877 added copyholds amounting to 182 a. (fn. 83) The estate, which later comprised c. 290 a. of freehold, descended like Tickton, in Beverley, to Crust's daughter Marian Nolloth and her successors, the Riggs. (fn. 84)

A manor house was recorded in the 13th and 14th centuries. (fn. 85) It was probably disused in 1416, when a new house at its east gate, garths, and part of the 'great grange' there were let, (fn. 86) and only its site was mentioned in 1421. (fn. 87) Earthworks marking the site of the so-called castle (fn. 88) survived near the church in 1990, when one side of the moat was still wet. The Revd. Christopher Sykes and his daughter Lucy and her husband lived at the rectory house. (fn. 89)

In 1066 Murdoch had a manor of OWSTWICK, evidently comprising 2⅓ carucates, and Morkar had 3 carucates of soke there belonging to his manor of Kilnsea. Both estates had passed to Drew de Bevrère by 1086 (fn. 90) and later formed part of the Aumale fee.

It may have been Morkar's estate which passed to the Brus family, who held 3 carucates at Owstwick in the 13th century. The estate was held of the Bruses by the Merlays and of them by the St. Quintins. (fn. 91) Herbert de St. Quintin was confirmed as the tenant of rent and the service of ¼ knight's fee there in 1202 (fn. 92) and the estate was held by his successors until the 14th century. (fn. 93)

It was similarly perhaps Murdoch's estate which was granted to a butler of the count of Aumale. Amand the butler (d. by 1218) gave land in Owstwick to Meaux abbey in the early 13th century, (fn. 94) and in 1240 his daughter Beatrice, widow of Geoffrey de Friboys, held 1 carucate and 1 bovate there of the count of Aumale. By 1252 the estate was evidently held jointly by Beatrice and John de Surdeval, presumably the heir to Beatrice's sister Hawise de Surdeval. (fn. 95) As at Hilston and Tansterne, in Aldbrough, the butler's fee at Owstwick evidently passed in turn to the Berchauds (fn. 96) and the Constables, whose tenants were the Rouths. Amand of Routh was one of the lords named in 1316. (fn. 97) The Rouths' successor Sir Richard Michelbourne sold the small estate to Nicholas Kitchen in the early 17th century. (fn. 98) It has not been traced further.

By the 13th century much of Owstwick belonged to a family of that name. Stephen of Owstwick (d. c. 1288) held a chief house and 2 carucates from the Crown by knight service and 1 carucate and 1 bovate more from John of Aseby. (fn. 99) Stephen's son Stephen sold at least 1 carucate and 1 bovate to John Ughtred c. 1297. (fn. 100) John was succeeded soon after by his daughter Joan. (fn. 101) She married (Sir) Thomas de la Rivers, who was named as a lord of Owstwick in 1316. (fn. 102) In 1326 and 1328 the Rivers family sold the 1 carucate and 1 bovate to William son of Henry of Melton, (fn. 103) evidently for William Melton, archbishop of York, who c. 1336 gave (Sir) William Melton the so-called manor of OWSTWICK. (fn. 104) It was held as 1/40 knight's fee at Sir William Melton's death in 1362, when he was succeeded by his son William. (fn. 105) The estate later belonged to Sir John Melton (fl. 1455), (fn. 106) Margery Melton in dower in 1510, (fn. 107) Sir John Melton (d. 1544), and the latter's daughter Dorothy, wife of George Darcy, Lord Darcy, before descending in the Darcy family to John Darcy, Lord Darcy (d. 1635). (fn. 108)

It was perhaps the same manor of Owstwick, including a chief house, which Charles Laughton (d. 1638) devised to his son Charles, and a Mr. Laughton had 263 a. there in 1648. (fn. 109) Joshua Laughton and his son Charles had the estate in 1712 but by 1726 part at least had passed to Christopher Kirkby and presumably later descended with his other lands in Owstwick. (fn. 110)

Another estate in Owstwick extended into Hilston and belonged to a cadet branch of the Ros family. Robert son of Robert de Ros of Helmsley (Yorks. N.R.) had a grant of free warren there in 1297 and, as Robert de Ros or Roos of Gedney (Lincs.), he held 1 carucate and 1 bovate at his death by 1311. (fn. 111) The estate descended to Robert's grandson Sir James Roos (fl. 1397) and then to Sir Robert Roos (d. 1441), who left daughters. (fn. 112) It was evidently the same which was held in turn by Sir John Paulet (d. 1525) and his son Sir William, who was created Baron St. John in 1539. (fn. 113) The Paulets had 1 carucate and 1½ bovates, a few acres, and several houses in Owstwick, held as appurtenances of Thorpe manor in Aldbrough. The estate passed by exchange in 1546 from Lord St. John to the Crown, which sold it to John Eldred and William Whitmore in 1611. (fn. 114) It has not been traced further.

Other lay estates at Owstwick in the Middle Ages included that of William de la Twyer, who was named as a lord in 1316. (fn. 115)

The largest modern estate in Owstwick was that which passed from the Towrys to the Sykes family. A Mr. Towry had 254 a. there in 1648 (fn. 116) and much of the estate was sold in 1658 by George Towry to Robert Witty (d. by 1688). (fn. 117) In 1694 it was sold to Mark Kirkby (fn. 118) (d. 1718), who left it to his son Christopher (d. c. 1733), (fn. 119) from whom it evidently passed to his brother Mark. The estate, which comprised 2 carucates and 3½ bovates, (fn. 120) descended with Roos manor until 1801, when Sir Christopher Sykes, Bt., left it with 26 a. in Roos to a younger son, later Sir Tatton Sykes, Bt. (d. 1863). (fn. 121) The estate, which extended into Burton Pidsea, passed to Sir Tatton's second son Christopher Sykes (d. 1898), and then reverted to Christopher's brother Sir Tatton Sykes, Bt. (d. 1913), whose son Sir (Tatton) Mark Sykes, Bt., (fn. 122) sold it. In 1916 one farm, with 451 a. in Owstwick, was bought by Thomas Cook, and Grange farm, with 247 a., by Thomas Newton; in 1918 the 138-a. Primrose Hill farm was bought by T. E. Kirk. (fn. 123) In 1937 Cook's farm was sold to Thomas Cook the younger, who with Thomas K. Cook bought the 204-a. Elms farm in 1948. (fn. 124) In 1952 Kenby, formerly Cook's, and Elms farms, comprising 600 a., were conveyed to T. Cook & Son (Farmers) Ltd., which added c. 30 a. in 1959. The company still owned the farms in 1990. (fn. 125)

The great tithes of the part of Owstwick township lying in Garton parish remained with the Crown after the suppression of Thornton college (Lincs.). (fn. 126) Corn tithes there were granted to Francis Morrice and Francis Phillips in 1611. (fn. 127) The tithes were valued at £3 a year net in 1650, when all apparently belonged to George Towry, (fn. 128) who sold some of them in 1654. (fn. 129) In 1716 the impropriator was not known and the tithes were said to belong to the landowners by default. (fn. 130) Those on 428 a. were merged before the remaining tithes, on 22 a., were commuted in 1843 for a rent charge of £4 8s. payable to Hannah Sewell. (fn. 131)

Meaux abbey was given 2 bovates at Owstwick by Gilbert le Aungell between 1210 and 1220 and 4 bovates by Hugh of Rysome between 1221 and 1235, and by the mid century it had more than 1 carucate there. (fn. 132) The abbey was granted free warren in 1293, (fn. 133) and in 1316 the abbot was named as a lord of Owstwick. (fn. 134) In 1396 the estate comprised 6 bovates, 4 houses, and other land, all then divided between ten tenants who owed rents amounting to just over £3 a year. (fn. 135) In 1610 the Crown sold the abbey's estate, comprising 4 bovates, closes, and several houses, besides free rents, to Edward Bates and Henry Elwes. (fn. 136) A house and 1½ bovate were resold in 1613 and another house and land in 1629. (fn. 137)

Thornton abbey (Lincs.) had 2 bovates at Owstwick in 1288. (fn. 138) After the Dissolution its former estate descended with Garton and was sold in 1611; (fn. 139) no more is known of it.

Nunkeeling priory briefly had a small estate at Owstwick by grant of Beatrice de Friboys in the 13th century. (fn. 140)

Nine freeholdings in Owstwick were in 1702 reputed part of a manor of Fitling formerly belonging to the Knights Hospitaller. (fn. 141)

Clare college, Cambridge, had an estate in Owstwick by 1783. (fn. 142) The college sold Willow Toft farm, of 55 a., in 1901 to Mary Cook (d. 1921), who evidently devised it to Annie Cook (d. 1943). It was sold in 1943 to J. R. Ellis and in 1948, when of 76 a., was bought by Henry James, the owner in 1990. (fn. 143)

Two carucates at 'Andrebi' were soke of Morkar's manor of Withernsea in 1066; elsewhere the estate is said to have been held as a manor by Ramkel before passing to William Malet. By 1086 it belonged to Drew de Bevrère. No more is known of it. (fn. 144)

ECONOMIC HISTORY

Agriculture Before 1800. Roos. The open fields of Roos township were named as East and West fields c. 1640. (fn. 145) They included common meadow land and comprised 490 a. and 565 a. respectively c. 1750. (fn. 146) The rest of the common meadows were in West, Burnham, and Langham or Lengham carrs, which comprised 240 a., 57 a., and 11 a. respectively. (fn. 147) The carrs also included waste land called Sunderlands in 1343, and in the 17th century faggots of furze in Dean Sunderlands were let with other parts of the demesne. (fn. 148) Common pasture was provided mostly by the Furze, 163 a. of which was in East Furze and 107 a. in West Furze. As in neighbouring Tunstall, the pasture may once have been part of the tillage, and in 1685 'dales', 'lands', and 'falls' were recorded in East and West Furze, and earlier and later areas there were measured in acres, 'bands', or wands, and paces. (fn. 149) In 1663 West Furze was, however, said to be stinted at the rate of 1 beast gate a bovate and 1 'foot', or ¼ gate, for each toft; in East Furze 1 gate was enjoyed for every 3 a. held, possibly as grassed strips in that pasture. (fn. 150)

Pasture rights were closely regulated by the 17th century. In 1638 the stint in the fallow field was 3 gates a bovate from March until May and 6 from May until Michaelmas; horses and cattle were to be removed on May Day and the number of sheep in both periods was limited to 4 a gate. It was also ordered that year that no sheep should be put into the Furze until Michaelmas. (fn. 151) About 1750 each toft had, besides ¼ beast gate in the Furze in summer, ½ gate in West carr, and 1 beast gate or 5 sheep gates in the fields throughout the year. (fn. 152)

By the 1780s there were 873 a. of old inclosures in Roos township, most of them lying near the southern boundary; one close there con tained 291 a. and another 78 a. The closes were often flooded, (fn. 153) and the Furze was also said to be mostly wet land or covered with whins. (fn. 154) The remaining commonable lands in Roos were inclosed by an award of 1786 under an Act of 1783. (fn. 155) There were 1594 a. to be dealt with. Allotments totalled 1,554 a. and 10 a. of old inclosures were involved in exchanges. East field contained more than 395 a., West field over 170 a., the Furze more than 153 a., Burnham carr 51 a., and Lengham carr 8 a. The rector was allotted 337 a. for tithes and glebe, Sir Christopher Sykes, Bt., lord of the manor, 201 a., Benjamin Ganton 173 a., and Edmund Bramston 166 a. There were also four allotments of 50–99 a., ten of 20–49 a., thirteen of 5–19 a., and thirteen of under 5 a. each. Apart from the manorial and rectorial allotments, only 66 a. were freehold.

At Roos in 1558 the manor included some 40 bovates: the largest holding was of 3½ bovates and there were three of 3 bovates each, fourteen of 1 or 2 bovates, and twenty-two of less than a bovate; ten holdings included no open-field land. The manor-house site and the demesne were then let for nearly £23, copyhold rents produced almost £26, and free rents a few shillings. (fn. 156)

Owstwick. At Owstwick the open fields were named as North and South fields in 1320. (fn. 157) Both fields extended to the western boundary of the township. (fn. 158) An intake (avenam) recorded in 1288, and references later to foreland and odd land, suggest the enlargement of the cultivated area there by assarting. (fn. 159)

In 1648 there were 937 a. in the open fields, 140 a. in 'Audills', presumably Old Hills, and 97 a. of old inclosures. Of the 20 owners one had 263 a. and another 254 a., and there were five holdings of 50–99 a., ten of 5–49 a., and three of under 5 a. (fn. 160) An inclosure by agreement made in 1649 (fn. 161) probably dealt with most of the remaining commonable lands. The new closes may have included the 80-a. Carr close mentioned in 1669. (fn. 162) Some land apparently remained uninclosed, for in 1668 parcels of meadow were said to lie dispersed in Owstwick carr, (fn. 163) and as late as the 1720s a close included a strip. (fn. 164) Meadow land in the carr was consolidated by purchase in the late 18th century. (fn. 165)

Agriculture After 1800. The parish had 949 a. under crops in 1801. (fn. 166) Owstwick township contained 885 a. of arable and 432 a. of grassland in 1843, (fn. 167) and there were 2,172 a. under crops and 1,592 a. of permanent grass in Roos and Owstwick together in 1905. (fn. 168) Roos wood was recorded c. 1740, and in the mid 19th century there was c. 50 a. of woodland in Roos township, mostly in plantations in the former carrs, but little remained in 1987. (fn. 169) In the 1930s grassland was mostly near the settlements and on the lower ground in the south and south-west of Roos. (fn. 170) The area returned under Roos in 1987 was slightly larger than the civil parish; there were then 2,180 ha. (5,387 a.) of arable land and 222.7 ha. (550 a.) of grassland, and over 89,000 poultry, more than 13,000 pigs, and c. 600 each of cattle and sheep were then kept. (fn. 171)

There were usually a dozen farmers in Roos township and half a dozen in Owstwick in the 19th and earlier 20th century, (fn. 172) of whom in each township two in 1851 (fn. 173) and three or four in the 1920s and 1930s had 150 a. or more. In 1987 of 30 holdings returned at Roos, three were of over 200 ha. (494 a.), five of 100–199 ha. (247–492 a.), six of 50–99 ha. (124–245 a.), seven of 10–49 ha. (25–121 a.), and nine of under 10 ha. (fn. 174) A few men were employed at Roos as cowkeepers and market gardeners in the late 19th and early 20th century. Two or three cattle dealers and up to three horsebreakers were also recorded, and a horse show was held c. 1900. (fn. 175) There was an abbattoir in the north end of the village in 1990.

Trade And Industry. A brickworks at Roos existed by 1823 but was closed c. 1880, and gravel was extracted at Owstwick in or before the 1850s. (fn. 176) In the later 19th century James Blenkin, blacksmith, built up a business at Roos making and hiring agricultural machines, which employed up to 20 men, but it was in decline by 1913. (fn. 177) In the later 20th century premises at Owstwick were occupied in turn by an agricultural seed business and a farm machinery agency. (fn. 178) The numbers of craftsmen and tradesmen in Roos in the 19th and 20th centuries have reflected the large size of the village, (fn. 179) which still supported several shops in 1990.

Mills. A windmill recorded in the 13th century was probably at Roos, and there was a mill there in 1403 (fn. 180) and a windmill from the 16th century. (fn. 181) The windmill stood in West field in the later 18th century; (fn. 182) it was disused in 1908 and was demolished then or soon after. Milling continued elsewhere in Roos at a steam mill for a few years. (fn. 183) At Owstwick two mills were recorded in the 13th century, (fn. 184) and there was a windmill there in 1588; (fn. 185) one or more mills were commemorated in the names Mill Field close, recorded in 1811, and Mill Field House, later Primrose Hill Farm, named in 1829. (fn. 186)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Franchises of Roos manorial court included infangthief, which was claimed by grant from Henry II and allowed in 1242 by the count of Aumale on condition that such cases were heard in the presence of his bailiff of Holderness. Gallows and the assize of bread and of ale were also claimed c. 1280. (fn. 187)

Court rolls survive for nearly 20 years between 1298 and 1422 (fn. 188) and for 15 years in the 16th and early 17th century, (fn. 189) and the record is virtually complete from 1635 to 1935. (fn. 190) Other papers include copies of the roll from 1458. (fn. 191) The jurisdiction of the court included view of frankpledge and the assize of bread and of ale, and chevage was claimed from tenants in the 15th century. In the late 13th and the 14th century the court met about every three weeks but by the 15th century only two or three sessions a year were held. Meetings became more frequent in the 18th century, after the sale of the manor to a local family. Only one meeting a year was usual from the 1870s and the court last met in 1887. It was kept in a tenant's house in the 17th century. (fn. 192) Officers regularly appointed included 2 constables, 2 aletasters, 2 affeerors, and 4 bylawmen, and 2 mill-graves were recorded in the 15th and 16th centuries. A warrener answerable for strays and 2 pig-reeves were employed in 1416; in the 1630s there were 2 pinders, one for the sown field and one for the fallow, but later only one.

Part of Owstwick may have belonged to the Hospitallers, and testamentary jurisdiction there was an appurtenance of the order's former manor of Fitling, in Humbleton, in the 18th century. (fn. 193)

Churchwardens' accounts survive for 1666– 1755 and 1796–1953. (fn. 194) In the early 19th century permanent poor relief was given to 11–20 people in Roos township and 8–11 were relieved occasionally. In Owstwick township, which relieved its own poor, 9–16 received permanent and 3–4 occasional relief. (fn. 195) There were poorhouses at Owstwick. (fn. 196) Roos and Owstwick joined Patrington poor-law union in 1836 (fn. 197) and remained in Patrington rural district until 1935 when they were taken into Holderness rural district as part of the new civil parish of Roos, which became part of the Holderness district of Humberside in 1974. (fn. 198) In 1996 Roos parish became part of a new East Riding unitary area. (fn. 199)

CHURCH

There was a church at Roos by 1086. (fn. 200) It was given to Kirkham priory by 1232, presumably by the Ros family which was related to the founder of the priory. (fn. 201) Roos, which remained a rectory, was united with Tunstall in 1927 (fn. 202) and with Garton with Hilston in 1974. (fn. 203) In the Middle Ages Roos church may have had chapels at Hilston, which has long been a separate parish, and at Grimston. The garth of the chapel of Grimston was claimed to be in Roos parish in the 15th century. (fn. 204)

The advowson belonged to Kirkham priory until the Dissolution. (fn. 205) A turn granted to John of Lockton before his forfeiture in 1385 led to several apparently unsuccessful attempts by the Crown to present in his stead. (fn. 206) Assignees of the priory presented in 1508 and 1539. (fn. 207) In 1541 the advowson was granted to Thomas Manners, earl of Rutland, (fn. 208) and it later descended with the manor until the 19th century. The Crown presented in 1572, apparently by lapse, and in 1588 during the minority of Lady Ros. (fn. 209) At the death of the Revd. Christopher Sykes in 1857 the patronage evidently reverted to the senior representative of his family and was transferred by the Sykes trustees to Edward Milsom, rector, and his family in 1920. (fn. 210) When Roos was united with Tunstall in 1927, the former patron of Tunstall was given a share in the patronage of Garton with Hilston, united at the same time, and the patronage of Roos with Tunstall was declared to belong wholly to the former patrons of Roos. (fn. 211) The advowson of Roos with Tunstall passed in, or by, 1928 to an Anglo-Catholic body, the Society for the Maintenance of the Faith, (fn. 212) which at the further union of 1974 was given two turns out of three. (fn. 213)

The church was worth £13 6s. 8d. net in 1291 (fn. 214) and £19 net in 1535. (fn. 215) In 1650 the improved annual value of the rectory, comprising glebe lands, rents, and tithes in Roos, Owstwick, and Grimston, was £83 net. (fn. 216) The average net income was £602 a year in 1829–31 (fn. 217) and the income was £441 net in 1883. (fn. 218)

In the early 17th century the tithe of hay growing in the fields of the parish was compounded for at the rate of 3d. a bovate. (fn. 219) In Roos township the tithes included a modus of 1d. a bovate for whins growing on the common pasture. (fn. 220) The tithes of Roos were commuted at inclosure in 1786, when the rector was allotted 214 a. and rents of £43 7s. 2d. for the tithes of old inclosures. (fn. 221) In Owstwick township a composition of 6s. 8d. a bovate was paid by the 1670s for the tithes of the tillage when it was fallow. (fn. 222) In 1843 the tithes of Owstwick were commuted for a rent charge of £167 13s. 8d. (fn. 223) By the 1670s the tithes at Grimston were paid by a composition of £1 13s. 4d., presumably charged on Five Nobles close, just over the boundary in Tunstall. (fn. 224) That composition was still paid in 1843, when the tithes of 205 a. were commuted for a rent charge of that amount. (fn. 225) There were four bovates of glebe, besides several tofts and crofts, at Roos from the later 17th century, (fn. 226) and at inclosure in 1786 the rector was allotted 123 a. for glebe, besides more for tithes. (fn. 227) Two acres were sold in 1892, the 219-a. Glebe farm in 1918, and 6 a. in 1968. (fn. 228) In 1978 there were still 119 a. of glebe. (fn. 229)

The rectory house had five hearths in 1672. (fn. 230) Repaired in the 1690s, it was rebuilt between 1784 and 1798, (fn. 231) but was replaced by a 'handsome mansion' in white brick, built in 1820 by Christopher Sykes, who also enlarged the grounds. (fn. 232) The grounds were further enlarged in 1868 and 1872. (fn. 233) The house was considered too grand for a rectory and was sold in 1892 to George Dickinson and renamed Roos Hall. (fn. 234) It was destroyed by fire in 1937 (fn. 235) and Elm Farm was later built on the site. A new rectory house, c. ½km. to the north-west, was built in 1892–3 in a Queen Anne style to designs by Temple Moore. (fn. 236) In 1968 a new house was built and the old one sold. (fn. 237)

Rectors were often non-resident in the Middle Ages and later. Robert Corbridge, rector from 1301, was absent for study for at least 13 years. (fn. 238) Pluralist incumbents included John Pigot, rector from 1399, (fn. 239) and John Manners, a member of the seigneurial family, rector from 1539 until his death in 1563. (fn. 240) Nicholas Cook was presented for non-residence in 1567. (fn. 241) Anthony Stevenson, rector from 1645, was ejected in 1662; he was 'well skilled in physic' and treated the poor free. (fn. 242) The living was later held by several members of the Sykes family, patrons and lords of the manor. Dr. Mark Sykes, later Sir Mark Sykes, Bt., rector 1735–83, often lived elsewhere. (fn. 243) Christopher Sykes presented himself to the living in 1819 and then nominated as his successor his son-in-law Charles Hotham, rector 1841–66. (fn. 244) From 1948 the incumbent of Roos and Tunstall also served Garton with Hilston. (fn. 245) A curate was recorded in the mid 16th century (fn. 246) and an assistant curate was employed in the 18th (fn. 247) and 19th centuries. (fn. 248)

Service was weekly in 1743 and 1764. Communion was then celebrated four or five times a year, usually with c. 30 recipients in 1764. (fn. 249) By 1865 two Sunday services were held and c. 1920 they were daily. Communion was held monthly in the later 19th century, with c. 25 recipients, twice each Sunday c. 1920, and weekly in 1931. (fn. 250) A reading room in Ivy Row was converted in 1899 to a mission chapel and the next year licensed for services, including Holy Communion. (fn. 251) The chapel was still used occasionally in 1990. (fn. 252)

There was a medieval guild in the church (fn. 253) and lights there were endowed with houses and lands in Tunstall and Hollym. (fn. 254) A parochial library was established by 1840. (fn. 255) A class for young men was held on Sundays in the mid 1860s and a men's society flourished in 1913. (fn. 256) In the late 19th and early 20th century a church dedication festival or fair was held in June or July. (fn. 257)

The church of ALL SAINTS, so called by 1347, (fn. 258) consists of chancel with two-storeyed north vestry and transeptal south organ chamber, aisled and clerestoried nave, and west tower, flanked by continuations of the aisles, with west porch. It is built mostly of boulders with ashlar dressings, except for the clerestory which is of brick and the chancel and porch which are of ashlar. The plan accords with an origin in or before the 11th century but the earliest features are the 13th-century nave arcades, of three bays. The tower arch also is 13thcentury. The vestry, of the 14th century, has a prominent round turret containing stairs to the upper room; it may have been intended for a chantry chapel and there was apparently a chaplain in the mid 15th century. (fn. 259) Remodelling of the chancel is shown by a north window of similar date to the vestry and by a 15th-century piscina. All the other windows, including those of the tall clerestory, are of the 15th or early 16th century and have been much restored. A bequest of £1 for the tower in 1442 was presumably for the reconstruction of the upper part.

A painted screen discovered in the church in 1567 may have stood until 1720. (fn. 260) The church was reseated in 1803–4 (fn. 261) and a west gallery rebuilt in 1835–6. (fn. 262) There was an extensive rest oration by L. N. Cottingham in 1842, (fn. 263) when the porch was added. Medieval window tracery in the garden of the Chestnuts, Rectory Road, in 1990 may have been taken from the church. The roofs were renewed in the 1860s (fn. 264) and the organ transept was added in 1881 to designs by F. S. Brodrick of Hull. (fn. 265) In the late 19th and early 20th century the church was again remodelled and refitted by Temple Moore, whose fittings include a chancel screen given in 1894, a wooden Calvary mounted on it c. 1915, and the reredos in the chancel. (fn. 266) A pulpit of 1615, removed in 1842, was put back in 1885. (fn. 267) Fragments of medieval and later stained glass survive in the chancel and clerestory windows. (fn. 268)

There were three bells in 1552 and later, but two more were added in 1911. (fn. 269) The plate includes a cup made in 1570, a paten made in 1627 and given by Sir Mark Sykes, Bt., rector 1735–83, and a paten given in 1899. (fn. 270) The registers of baptisms and burials begin in 1571 and of marriages in 1572; they are largely complete. (fn. 271)

A mausoleum for the Sykes family, built on the chancel in 1784, was taken down and an entrance to the vault made instead in the churchyard, probably at the restoration of 1842. (fn. 272) Additions to the churchyard were consecrated in 1869 and 1952, and about the date of the earlier enlargement an avenue of yews was planted alongside the path to the west porch. (fn. 273) The churchyard includes a stone Calvary, put up in 1968. (fn. 274)

Benefactions for the fabric were evidently made by the 17th century, (fn. 275) and the church later had 9 a. in Roos, Ryhill, in Burstwick, and Tunstall, besides rent charges in Owstwick, all known in 1823 as the Church Lands charity. The annual income rose from c. £5 in 1720 to over £10 in 1809 and £33 in 1861; it declined later but stood at c. £40 in 1930. (fn. 276) Cottages for the poor were built on part of the land at Roos by 1842. (fn. 277) In 1989 the sums of £371 and £100 were paid from the charity for the maintenance of Roos and Tunstall churches respectively. (fn. 278)

NONCONFORMITY

Religious conservatism was apparent at Roos in the 16th century but there is little evidence of Roman Catholicism. (fn. 279)

There was evidently a Quaker meeting at Owstwick in the 1650s, when William Dewsbury and James Nayler visited it, (fn. 280) and the 12 recusants recorded under Roos in 1669 and the 16 protestant dissenters in the parish in 1676 were probably all Friends. (fn. 281) A meeting house at Owstwick was built c. 1670 and a burial ground provided, (fn. 282) and Owstwick became the usual venue for the monthly meeting for Holderness in the late 17th century. (fn. 283) Prominent Friends included John Whitehead (d. 1696) and Marmaduke Storr (d. 1678), both of Owstwick, and other members of the Storr family of Owstwick and Hilston. John Storr of Hilston (d. 1677) (fn. 284) founded a charity for the poor of the monthly meeting and in 1745 a cottage at Owstwick was bought for an almshouse. (fn. 285) A meeting place was also licensed at Roos in 1716 (fn. 286) and a house registered there in 1782 may have been for the Friends. (fn. 287) There were six Quaker families in the parish in 1743, when the Owstwick meeting was declining, and four in 1764, when there was a Sunday congregation of c. 15 but no regular teacher. (fn. 288) Owstwick monthly meeting was united with that of North Cave in 1784 (fn. 289) and meetings evidently ceased at Owstwick c. 1790. (fn. 290) Burials continued until the mid 19th century. (fn. 291) The former meeting house was later used as a cottage and a Church Sunday school; it was ruinous by the mid 20th century (fn. 292) and was later demolished. A house in Roos was licensed by an unspecified group of dissenters in 1795. (fn. 293) Wesleyan Methodists registered houses at Roos in 1805 and 1806 and a barn there in 1808, (fn. 294) and they built a chapel in Main Street in 1808. (fn. 295) The chapel was closed c. 1977 (fn. 296) and later demolished. It was probably one of the poorhouses at Owstwick which was converted to a chapel by Wesleyan Methodists by 1892. (fn. 297) It was closed c. 1980 and was derelict in 1990. (fn. 298)

It was evidently Primitive Methodists who registered a building in Roos for worship in 1821. (fn. 299) They built a chapel in 1826 (fn. 300) which was replaced by another, in Pilmar Lane, in 1868– 9. (fn. 301) The chapel was enlarged with a schoolroom in 1897; it was closed c. 1970 and later demolished. (fn. 302)

EDUCATION

An unlicensed schoolmaster was recorded at Roos in 1604 and another master was mentioned in 1654. (fn. 303) Jane Hogg (d. 1766) left £6 a year for a schoolmaster at Roos but the endowment was evidently lost c. 1800. (fn. 304) Three schools with an average of 30 pupils each were recorded in 1818 and there were two schoolmasters in 1823. (fn. 305) In 1833 there were four schools in the parish at which 77 pupils were taught at their parents' expense. (fn. 306)

Lucy Hotham had built a girls' school near the rectory house by 1840, (fn. 307) and about that date others for boys and infants were provided in buildings at the junction of Main Street and Pilmar Lane. (fn. 308) The schools were supported by Mrs. Hotham and her husband Charles, rector, by school pence, and by 1848 by an annual government grant. Average attendance was then 55 boys and 52 girls. (fn. 309) The schools were soon afterwards united with the National Society. (fn. 310) In 1866 they were reorganized as one school at Pilmar Lane, where existing buildings were remodelled and a new main room built in 1872. (fn. 311) The former girls' school was later demolished.

Children from outside the parish had attended schools in Roos since the early 19th century, (fn. 312) and the National school also served the parishes of Hilston and Tunstall and was supported by a voluntary rate levied in those parishes and in Roos. Owstwick children attended until the township withdrew from the school district in 1888; (fn. 313) they later went to Grimston and Burton Pidsea. (fn. 314) There were usually 70 pupils in attendance at Roos Church of England school in 1906–7, more than 90 between 1910 and 1927, and again c. 70 in the 1930s. (fn. 315) The village institute, built on part of the school site in 1915, was used by the school. (fn. 316) Senior pupils were transferred to Withernsea County Secondary School in 1948, and in 1950 the school was granted Controlled status. (fn. 317) Another classroom was provided c. 1963 but the institute was again used from 1967. A new school was built in Main Street and opened c. 1980, (fn. 318) and the old school was later used as a house. There were 73 pupils on the roll in 1990. (fn. 319)

CHARITIES FOR THE POOR

George Green (d. 1672) left 10s. a year for the poor of Roos parish. (fn. 320) In 1675 Reginald Marriott gave 6s. 8d. a year and an unknown donor a like amount; both sums were charged on land in Roos. In 1823 the income from all three charities was distributed by the churchwardens with the sacrament money. A rent charge of £1 8s. from land in Roos, spent on bread, was believed in 1823 to be the gift of Thomas Dixon. (fn. 321)

By a Scheme of 1911 all those charities were united, the income to be used for food, fuel, clothing, and other goods, help in sickness, or for money payments, and it was spent in doles of 5s. or 10s. until the mid century. (fn. 322) The income was later allowed to accumulate and in 1990 there was a balance of nearly £40. (fn. 323)

In 1672 William Gibson gave £1 and that sum and another gift (fn. 324) later comprised a town stock of £6, the interest on which was added to the other charities until the early 1820s, when the stock was spent. (fn. 325)

By 1842 (fn. 326) six cottages for the poor stood with gardens on ground at Roos belonging to the Church Lands charity. Two of the cottages were later made into one and used successively as a reading room and a mission chapel. (fn. 327) The others were occupied until the mid 20th century, and were later demolished. (fn. 328)