Medieval Section of the Yorkshire Archaeological and Historical Society

Annual General Meeting – 1/10/2014

I attended yesterday’s AGM at which a report was made about the proposed dramatic but probably inevitable changes: the transfer to University of Leeds Brotherton Library of the society’s archive and library and the closing of Claremont prior to sale.

The reason for these changes is the society’s difficult financial situation. Money raised from subscriptions has gone down and the society is no longer able to afford the upkeep of the Claremont building and other expenses. Indeed it is only thanks to the generosity of members and an exceptional level of donations and legacies that the society has been able keep itself in the black over the last few years. Brian Barber, the Treasurer, is confident that the society can support itself over the next year but the deficit is unsustainable.

The result for members of the society and section members is that in future we will have to go to the Brotherton Library to access the library. This is very sad because one of the great benefits of membership has been the privilege of browsing the bookshelves at Claremont. The transfer agreement allows YAS members to access the University of Leeds’ collection, so, as one wag described it on Saturday, it could be seen as an extension of the library… Society members will be treated as external readers.

The University will not accept duplicates of books it already has on its shelves and one consequence of this is that the Medieval Section will be asked to identify books which the section has bought in the past specially for the library. If you can think of books we have bought as a section please would you let me know so that Kirsty can mark them up on the shelves in the library as requiring special treatment. An appeal was made for volunteers to help Kirsty with preparing for the move. If you might be able to help please contact the library in advance so that this can be planned. There will be discussion with all the sections about what happens to section books. It was stressed that this work is at an early stage but we do need to identify books affected by the move on which we would have a claim as a section.

At yesterday’s AGM a proposal was made to transfer the Wakefield Court Rolls to West Yorkshire Records Office which now has support for a new premises. The Management Board was not in favour of such a transfer and after discussion a vote was taken and the proposal was turned down by a substantial majority.

Meetings will be held elsewhere at a venue still to be decided. For those Medieval Section members who attend the monthly lectures this will mean a change of venue but all I can do is keep you informed via the Section blog and by post if necessary. The Medieval Section Committee will continue to organise lectures but I cannot tell you yet where they’ll be held. Sylvia Thomas appealed at the following Council meeting in the afternoon for members to let her know what facilities they’d like to see at a new Society venue. There will have to be meeting room with AV facilities. I have requested that the new venue also has a kitchen a space for consumption of buffet type food because of the Section’s popular Xmas tea. The Society will keep runs of its publications for reference at the new site. It is not clear whether it will buy or rent new premises at the present time.

The library at Claremont will be open until the end of the year but after January there will be restricted opening: open as normal on a Saturday but open only by appointment Tuesday to Thursday.

One last bit of news: the next volume of the Wakefield Court Rolls has been published. The price is £9 for members.

2014-15 Lecture Programme: Richard of Cornwall, King of the Romans by David Harpin

Medieval Section member, David Harpin, initiated the year’s programme of lectures in October with a talk about Richard of Cornwall, King of the Romans (1209-1272). This was a follow-up to his talk at the Leeds Medieval Congress last summer which commemorated the 750th anniversary of the battle of Lewes, in which Simon de Montfort defeated King Henry III and his supporters, and took control of the government. Richard of Cornwall was the younger brother of the king and was imprisoned after his capture at Lewes. David drew upon objects that had been reported to the Portable Antiquities Scheme and objects in his personal collection to tell the story of Richard.

Richard of Cornwall's coat-of-arms on a heraldic pendant — Richard of Cornwall’s coat-of-arms on a heraldic pendant

As the younger brother of Henry III, Richard was very well-connected. He visited Louis IX in Paris, went on Crusade to the Holy Land and negotiated with the Pope and his brother in law Frederick II to try to resolve their differences over Sicily and the Holy Roman Empire. He was sufficiently wealthy to found Hailes Abbey, apparently having made a vow whilst in peril at sea. Richard was elected King of the Romans, a position that was rather more than titular. He held this position between 1257 and 1272. The belt of Las Huelgas shows the coats of arms of Richard as Earl of Cornwall, and many of the people he knew, including the Earls of Gloucester and Derby, and the Kings of England and France. Such belts were given as presents in Henry III’s reign to mark important occasions. An image from the “Trinity Apocalypse”, a book which may have belonged to Richard’s wife Sanchia, shows heraldic pendants suspended from the peytral (harness) of the horse. An heraldic harness fitting of Richard’s is a similar style to the coat-of-arms on the Huelgas belt. Another two have been found near Cambridge and may date from Richard’s prolonged visit there in 1266. Richard’s coats-of arms appear on steelyard weights that were introduced into England by the Hansa merchants after 1260. They had been given a base in England through Richard’s influence. Richard’s coats-of arms include a lion rampant for his Earldom; and a double-headed eagle for him as King of the Romans (and prospective Holy Roman Emperor). This indicates that Richard had authority over weights and measures in England, as he had had for the re-coinage. He ensured that the weights were used all over England.

A southern French theme is discernible in another pendant with a cross pattee heraldic device representing the de Montfort family, which had acquired lands in the south of France during the Albigensian Crusade in the early 13th century. The device appears on Simon de Montfort’s tomb. He was killed during the siege of Toulouse in 1218. It was this Simon de Montfort’s younger son, also called Simon, who became Earl of Leicester and played such a prominent role during the reign of Henry III.

De Montfort cross pattee on a horse pendant. — De Montfort cross Toulouse (or pattee) on a horse pendant.

Another piece may indicate Richard’s relationship with Alphonse of Poitiers, who was brother of the French king and Count of Poitou and Toulouse. A 13^th century bag with Alphonse’s coat-of-arms survives in a museum in Germany. Could the bronze fitting David showed us, also found near Cambridge, once have been attached to a diplomatic communication between them?

Bronze attachment of Alphonse of Poitiers

Richard was crowned King of the Romans in 1257 at Aachen and the regalia were gifted by Richard to the church. The sceptre was made in the English tradition and has a dove as its terminal. Charlemagne founded the Holy Roman Empire some 450 years earlier. Richard spent little time in Germany.

At a lower level in Medieval society heraldry can be seen on wine tavern tokens. David showed us four with the single-headed eagle as King of the Romans. As already seen Richard could also lay claim to use the double-headed eagle as he was expecting his promotion to be Holy Roman Emperor would be a formality. But the Pope and the Electors of the Holy Roman Empire, wanted to keep more power from him.

In 1247-50 Richard was involved in the re-coinage of the English currency. He recovered his expenses from exchanges and fines in return over a 12 year period. One hundred and forty million Voided Long Cross pennies were struck. The English silver coins the new issue replaced had borne the name of Henry even though they had been produced through the reigns of Henry II, Richard I, John and during the early years of Henry III. By this time the English coinage was in poor condition due to wear and clipping. The mint and moneyer’s name were on the coins so people could be held responsible for the quality of the coins. There were occasions when punishments were severe. David showed coins struck on the Continent that may have passed for English pennies, showing the commercial influence of England. From 1251 Richard was also responsible for the re-coinage in Ireland. Over 1000 wine tavern tokens cast in moulds that were previously used in London have been found during excavations in Dublin, leading to speculation that Richard may have had them brought over. David stressed that Richard was unlikely to have been involved in the minting of Henry’s gold penny, an initiative that never really caught on.

The lecture closed with an opportunity to see some of the pieces that David described in his lecture. This was very much appreciated by the members.

Barthwayt (sic) Hall – an appeal

The Society has received an enquiry about Barthwayt (sic) Hall.

George Frobisher of Capernwray and Overkellet who died in 1917 (?) worked on the Frobisher family tree and stated that the two brothers, Frances and James Frobisher, were involved in a raid on Barthwayt Hall in 1534. John Frobisher has struggled over the years to find where this was and the nearest he has got is Barthwaite Hall which, he writes, is still standing and was a 17th century farmhouse and is now an hotel.

Mr Frobisher now lives in Torquay Devon. He would be grateful if anyone can throw any light on this subject. If anyone knows anything please would they contact me or David Buck <yas.secretary@gmail.com> to pass on details. Thanking you.

Bryan Sitch

Hon Secretary
Medieval Section
YAS

Kirkstall Abbey Postern, Leeds, West Yorkshire

The Vesper Gate at Kirkstall Abbey< Leeds, West Yorkshire — The Vesper Gate at Kirkstall Abbey, Leeds, West Yorkshire

The Vesper gate is the name given to a stone structure that stands on the north-western perimeter of Kirkstall Abbey monastic precinct to the north west of Leeds city centre. In contrast to the rest of the abbey, relatively little is known about the Vesper Gate. It seems to have served as a convenient gateway that gave access to the Cistercian abbey’s western properties. In the mid-1990s when the writer was first appointed as Curator of Archaeology at Leeds Museums and Galleries, the condition of the Vesper Gate was generating some concern in local newspapers and community

Plan of Kirkstall Abbey precinct. The Vesper Gate is at the top on the northern boiundary of the abbey precinct. From Hope and Bilson's 1907 Architectural Description of Kirkstall Abbey. — Plan of Kirkstall Abbey precinct. The Vesper Gate is at the top on the northern boiundary of the abbey precinct. From Hope and Bilson’s 1907 Architectural Description of Kirkstall Abbey.

newsletters (Kirkstall Matters 62, p.19; 64, p.15 and Yorkshire Evening Post 17.6.1996).

At the time it was claimed that no less than 1.5 meters of stonework had been stolen from the Vesper Gate over a five year period. This seemed to be excessive even for local vandals and so I made a search of local archives for historic photographs of the Vesper Gate. Some were housed at Abbey House Museum where the writer was based but other sources included Yorkshire Archaeological Society, Thoresby Society and Leeds Libraries.

The Vesper Gate in 1882 (courtesy of the Thoresby Society, the Leeds Historical Society).

In 1873 only the portals were recorded as still standing by Leeds historian and antiquary James Wardell (1813-1873). A 3” x 3” glass slide in the Thoresby Society collection shows the ruins from the south-east in 1888. A similar photograph appears in a guide to the public parks of Leeds. In both photographs two stone piers can be seen, one on either side of Vesper Lane, the narrow road that runs across the top of what was the mill pond dam for the abbey (see photo below).

During the first half of the 20^th century major changes took place. At some point during the 1920s or early 1930s Vesper Lane was widened. The 1921 and 1934 Ordnance Survey maps show this clearly. In Leeds Museums and Galleries collections there is another 3” x 3” glass slide showing Vesper Gate before the road widening. Unfortunately it is undated but Alan Garlick (former Assistant Curator of Social History, Abbey House Museum) dated it tentatively to the 1920s based on the clothing of a woman standing in front of the southern pier. The width of the Vesper Lane at this time must have been about 10-12 feet. In 1934 the Ordnance Survey map shows the Vesper Lane had been widened. A 1947 photograph in Leeds Local History Library shows only one of the portals still standing. So the widening of Vesper Lane in the 1920s or early 1930s had been achieved at the expense of the southern pier of the Vesper Gate. It may be that the loss is perhaps less tragic than it seems because St John Hope and Bilson, in their authoritative Architectural Description of Kirkstall Abbey (1907), refer to earlier road widening, so perhaps only a rebuilt stone pier was destroyed rather than intact and in situ Medieval stonework.

The Vesper Gate in 1996 with Kirkstall Abbey church tower in the distance. The road (Vepser Lane) runs over what was originally the Mill Pond dam.

These photographs enabled me to make a comparison between photos showing the Vesper Gate as it survived in 1996 and its condition some 60 years earlier. It rapidly became clear that whilst some stone had certainly been removed from the Vesper Gate, only one course of stonework had been taken off the top. One of the missing stones still remained at the foot of the portal, and, after consultation with English Heritage, it was replaced (it can be seen in the 1996 photo above, slightly to the right of the foot of the portal on the edge of Vesper Lane).

The Vesper Gate (14th September 2014). Note the replaced top stone.

To state, therefore, as was reported at the time that the Vesper Gate had been reduced to a stump of stone was misleading. That is not to say that no stone had been removed, simply that the degree of damage had been exaggerated. During the previous one hundred years the Vesper Gate had suffered its greatest damage during the 1920s and 1930s when Vesper Lane had been widened.

At the time, when I wrote a note for Kirkstall Matters, the local community newsletter, I couldn’t resist teasing the contributors to the Leeds newspaper article that had started this particular hare running. They claimed to remember when the Vesper Gate had an arch over its two portals but the archive photographs showed clearly it hadn’t had an arch since before 1873 at the very latest. I wrote that either the Vesper Gate had had some sort of temporary arch for a commemorative event of some sort (which seemed very unlikely), or else the contributors were a bit older than they were letting on… What laughs we had! However, maybe the last laugh is on me because there was another peripheral building at the abbey – the park keeper’s lodge – built in neo-Gothic style, which certainly did have an arch and it disappeared during the 1950s. Could that have been the building arch the local residents remembered?

More about this blast from the past in a future blog. This will be discussed in the rejuvenated section journal Medieval Yorkshire, the second volume of which, I’m delighted to say, is taking shape under David Asquith’s editorial hand.

Flaumpens, Chewitts and Bakemetes

Pastry as a sculptural medium in late medieval and early modern Europe : a free illustrated talk by Ivan Day

Tuesday 23 September 2014, 6pm to 7pm, Castleford Forum Museum

In 1429 the eight year old Henry VI was presented at his coronation feast with a custard pie garnished with an English lion grasping a French fleur de lys in its claws. This edible emblem of territorial ambition and legitimacy to rule over the conquered is not an isolated example of a food item purposefully loaded with meaning at this period. Henry was also served with a pie in the form of a shield, garnished with ‘lozenges gilt” and borage flowers, chosen for the powerful ‘cordial’ effect they would have on the young king’s humours. From a pasty in the form of a bird served to the Worshipful Company of Salters at their Christmas Feast in 1394, to the funeral bake metes of Hamlet’s murdered father, pies and other pastry creations figured large in Renaissance culture.

In this free illustrated lecture, food historian Ivan Day will discuss the role of food as emblem, as a vehicle for Galenic dietary theory and as an occasional player in power politics.Booking is essential as places are limited. Phone Wakefield Museum on 01924 302700 or email museumslearning@wakefield.gov.uk

Lecture Programme for 2014-15


11th October 2014	David Harpin, Medieval Section, Y.A.S.	Richard, Earl of Cornwall, and King of the Romans.	silver penny
8^th Nov 2014	Kat Baxter, Leeds Museums & Galleries	The West Yorkshire hoard	Large gold ring
13^th December	Dr Robert Richards	All Saints Church York followed by Xmas party	All Saints Church, York
10^th Jan 2015	Prof. Ian Wood, University of Leeds	”It’s the economy, stupid”. The context for Anglian sculpture	Stone cross at Bewcastle. Photo: Ian Wood.
14^th Feb 2015	Tony Abramson, Yorkshire Numismatic Society (Joint lecture with Yorkshire Numismatic Society)	Northumbrian Sceats	Northumbrian silver sceat
14^th Mar 2015	Ian Roberts, West Yorkshire Archaeology Service	A Stamford Ware Pottery Kiln in Pontefract: A Geographical Enigma and a Dating Dilemma	$Medieval pots from Pontefract (WYAS)$ Medieval pots from Pontefract (WYAS)
11^th April 2015	Richard Thomason	Hospitality in a Cistercian Abbey: the Case of Kirkstall in the Later Middle Ages	Kirkstall Abbey: artist’s impression of guesthouse interior (Peter Brears)
9^th May 2015	Sam Sportun, Manchester Museum	Conserving Medieval Stonework	Norton Priory: statue of St Christopher

Dr Jonathan Foyle – 'A Bed of Roses: Henry VII and Elizabeth of York's Marriage Bed Rediscovered'

Here’s an event that may be of interest to Medieval section members. It’s a talk by Dr Jonathan Foyle about the rediscovery of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York’s marriage bed. Apparently the bed was bought at auction in 2010 and research showed it to have been made in 1485. It was most likely commissioned after Henry VII’s accession to celebrate his marriage to Elizabeth of York and the end of the War of the Roses. You can find out the full story of this astonishing discovery – what is surely the nation’s most exceptional example of historic furniture, and a seminal royal artefact with Dr Jonathan Foyle, architectural historian, broadcaster and CEO of the World Monuments Fund Britain.

The talk is part of the Wakefield Literary Festival and takes place at the Orangery between 7.30 and 9pm on 18th September 2014. You have to book on-line.

Presented in partnership with Wakefield Civic Society as part of its 50th Anniversary programme

Arncliffe- An Anglo Saxon Frontier?

Ruth Spencer has contacted me to say that Upper Wharfedale Heritage Group (UWHG) is organising a free Open Day on Monday, August 25^th in the Amerdale Hall, Arncliffe in Littondale (BD23 5QD or NGR SD 9328 7185) . The focus for the day is the recent UWHG project undertaken in the village to research and investigate the location of an interesting archaeological discovery found by a metal-detectorist in 2000 and is a direct follow-up to the ‘Festival of Archaeology’ display that the group will have in Long Ashes Leisure Centre in Threshfield between Sunday the 13^th and Sunday the 27^th of July. UWHG would be very pleased to see any YAS members at either (or both) of these events.

Programme for the day:
From 11:00 until 16:00, Amerdale Hall in Arncliffe will
be open to present a range of project related items.
You are free to drop in anytime during the day:

11:00 – 13:00 Take part in a simulated burial
excavation with Kevin Cale, Community Archaeologist

14:00 – 14:30 Final Results for the Arncliffe Project
Dr Roger Martlew

Yorkshire Dales Landscape Research Trust
14:30 – 1500 Arncliffe’s Anglo Saxon Context –
recent excavations of Early Medieval sites in the
Ingleborough area.

Dr David Johnson, Independent Researcher and
Ingleborough Archaeology Group

15:00 – 16:00 Take part in a simulated burial
excavation with Kevin Cale, Community Archaeologist

Digging Opportunity at Fulford

Chas Jones who kindly showed some us around the 1066 battlefield site of Fulford last September has been in touch to let Medieval Section members know that he is doing some more digging at Fulford in July as a part of the CBA Festival of Archaeology. Last year a trial trench was dug and Chas talked about the results of that excavation when we did the walk last September. He has kindly invited Medieval Section volunteers to go and do some digging. The site has been in the news recently, and Chas told me that his day in court went very well but they are waiting, he said, for the judgement. Chas believes there is hope for the future. He tells me the trees along the whole of the ditch (see photo above) have been cleared so there is a great view of the battle site now! There is a web page saying how to sign up.

Medieval Yorkshire – Call for Papers

At its business meeting on 10th May the Section committee set itself the target of publishing the first issue in a new series of ‘Medieval Yorkshire’ by December 2014. A number of people have already generously offered to submit material and we look forward to receiving this in due course. Two long-standing members have kindly given a small grant to assist with the production of the volume. There is, however, still scope for additional contributions of papers given the amount of space likely to be available, and we very much hope that other researchers will be willing to support this new venture by providing accounts of their work.

We hope to achieve a degree of variety in the topics covered and to combine longer, feature articles with shorter reports, book reviews and accounts of lectures for example, all written by knowledgeable authors for an intelligent readership. Beyond that, the intention is that the result should reflect well on the Section and the Society as a whole, with whose other publications our journal will be co-ordinated.

Anyone who feels they may be in a position to offer material this year is invited to make contact with us as soon as possible. Technical matters such as word-processing and illustrations can be dealt with then.