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Comments, complaints, broken links, disappointed hopes - please contact the caretaker. 31/07/2009 |
Notes on the History of Ordsall Parish - 7 R.F. Wilkinson, Rector of Ordsall 1925-1941. From the pages of Ordsall Parish magazine. [History index] [Wilkinson index] [Previous] [Next] Patrons We have already printed a list of the Rectors of the parish, and their names can be read on the oak panel which was recently presented by a friend to our Church. We give here the names of Patrons of the living, who have appointed the Rectors since 1302. The earlier part of the list may be found in the manuscripts of that wonderful Antiquary, Torre, who spent many years at York collecting the history of the Churches from the Archbishop’s Registers. Only a very few of these registers have yet been published. They contain a vast number of transactions by the Archbishops in the administration of their office. All the earlier registers are written in medieval Latin, and the late Canon Raine once said it would take six months to read through one of the larger registers, and translate it. When an appointment is made in our Church the Patron chooses the Incumbent, and unless there is some legal objection, the Bishop admits and then institutes him to the living or benefice (as it is called because ho receives the benefits). By this Institution the Rector or Vicar is placed in charge of the parish and made responsible for the care of souls there, after taking certain oaths of duty and obedience. Institution may take place anywhere wherever the Bishop may happen to be, either in Church or in his own house. The service of induction is familiar to many Church people, by which the Archdeacon, after receiving the Bishop’s Mandate or Command, leads the new Rector or Vicar into the Church, and inducts him to all the possessions and privileges of the Church and Living. He then tolls the bell to signify to all the parish that he is the new Minister. Thus there are four things necessary before any priest can become Minister of a parish : (1) Presentation by the Patron; (2) Admission and (3) Institution by the Bishop; (4) Induction by the Archdeacon. If the Bishop himself is Patron (1) (2) and (3) are joined together and called Collation.
The dates refer to the appointment of the Rectors. Except for a short interval the Patronage was in the hands of two great families, Hercy and Wortley, for more than 600 years, In early days a large part of the Manor of Ordsall, and the Advowson of the Church belonged to the owners of Grove. One of the family, Laurence de Hercy, became Rector of Ordsall in 1322. The last of the family was Sir John, who died in 1570. His daughter, Barbara, married George Nevile, who probably sold the Ordsall property with the Advowson to Samuel Bevercotes, and so he became possessed of the living. After a short time it came to the Wortley family in Yorkshire. Sir Francis Wortley died in 1665 and left his estate with "my manors of Ordsall, Babworth and Tylne" to his daughter, Anne. She was a noted heiress and married Hon. Sidney Montagu (the second son of Edward, 1st Earl of Sandwich), who assumed the name of Wortley, as specially directed in Sir Francis Wortley’s will. A curious thing was that he never signed this will, but the Court afterwards allowed it. The appointment of King James I by lapse took place when Edward Mason became Rector. If a Patron does not appoint in six months, the presentation passes by lapse to the Bishop. If the Bishop in his turn does not fill the vacancy within the next six months, the presentation passes to the Archbishop. Finally, after another six months, the appointment lapses to the King. These periods may he shorter if the Bishop should die or change his Diocese. Edward Mason was Tutor to Charles I, the King’s son, so it is not surprising that he was appointed in this case. Afterwards, in 1622, he became Chaplain to the King. Lyon Falconer was probably a Trustee acting for the Estate, or it is possible that he himself became possessed of the living by marriage. Thomas Cornwallis married Anne, only daughter of Samuel Bevercotes, and lie sold his Ordsall property to Lady Wortley, who became Countess of Devonshire on her second marriage. So the living came to her grandson, Sir Francis Wortley father of Anne, who was patron in 1673. The husband of Anne Wortley was the Hon. Sidney Montagu, son of the 1st Earl of Sandwich. Under the express conditions of Sir Francis Wortley’s Will, he relinquished the name of Montagu and was known as Sidney Wortley, and he appointed Rev. John Pigot Rector of Ordsall in 1695. Mr. Wortley took an active part in political life, and was one of those who conspired to bring William of Orange to the English Throne. Hunter, the Yorkshire antiquary, says that he used to sit in a great chair using remarkably strong language to his servants, even in the presence of his brother who was Dean of Durham! He died on November 11th, 1727, having survived his eldest son, and so the Patronage of Ordsall came with the Wortley Estates to his second son, Edward Wortley Montagu, who was born in 1678. Just before his death, the Rector, Rev. John Pigot also died, and John Baker was probably acting as Trustee or Executor when Rev. George Mason was appointed Rector at this time. Edward Wortley, as he was known, presented Rev. Thomas Cockshutt to the Rectory in 1743. He was Vicar of Penistone, and a near neighbour to Wortley Hall. This patron of Ordsall was a distinguished man in political life and became one of the Lords of the Treasury. In this capacity he was said to be the only one who could talk French with George I. He married a celebrated lady of letters, Mary Pierrepoint, daughter of the 1st Duke of Kingston, who then lived at Thoresby in this County. They married in 1712 against the Duke’s wishes, but he was afterwards reconciled to the match. She was remarkable for her beauty and became a favourite of George I. She had a great knowledge of Classics which was very unusual for a young lady in those days. She recovered from smallpox, and this made her resolve to introduce vaccination into England. Her only son was the first Englishman to he innoculated. Her husband was appointed Ambassador to Constantinople in 1716 and her only daughter, Mary, was horn there. Here she wrote her letters from the East which have become famous in English Literature. Their son, Edward Wortley Montague, would naturally have become Patron of Ordsall, but was disinherited by his father, and his mother, Lady Mary, left him the sum of one guinea! This man was very eccentric and ran away front Westminster School as a boy and at different times became a sailor, an M.P., a scholar and traveller, and eventually died in Italy. His sister Mary inherited all her father’s estate and married the 3rd Earl of Bute in 1736. So we find that this Earl presented Rev. Joseph Scott to Ordsall Rectory in 1774. The former Rector, Thomas Cockshutt, was his Chaplain for a short time. The Countess of Bute settled the ancient Wortley property and all her estates upon her second son James Stuart, who assumed the name of Wortley and afterwards also that of Mackenzie. In 1812 he presented Rev. Francis Foxlowe to Ordsall Rectory and in 1826 was created Baron Wharncliffe. The Earl of Bute’s daughter Augusta married Mr. Andrew Corbet, and at a later date, Lord Wharncliffe appointed "his friend and near relative" Rev. Stuart Corbet, D.D., to the Curacy of Wortley Church. This clergyman married Ann King, aunt of Rev. Thomas King. When the Rev. F. Foxlowe died in 1841, the living was offered to Mr. Corbet immediately, but for some reason he did not accept it, and so Rev. Thomas King (his son-in-law) was appointed. Here again there was a double family connection, for Mr. King had married his cousin Louisa Corbet, daughter of Rev. Stuart Corbet, and, so was a relative of Lord Wharncliffe by marriage. In 1873, Rev. S. K. Stothert, who had been a Chaplain in the Crimean War was appointed as Rector of Ordsall by the 2nd Baron Wharncliffe, who was created an Earl soon afterwards. In 1897, the 1st Earl of Wharncliffe appointed Rev. S. W. Stott as Rector, at Bishop Ridding’s request. Eventually Mrs. Stott bought the Patronage from the 2nd Earl, and so had the right to appoint Rev. R. D. Foster in 1908. Last year the Church Council managed to purchase the Advowson from Mrs. Stott and present it to the Bishop of Southwell, and this transfer was confirmed by Order in Council on 21st Feb., 1935. Thus the long line of Patrons since Sir Hugo de Hercy in 1302 is brought to an end, and the living will remain for all time the Gift of the Bishops of Southwell. [History index] [Wilkinson index] [Previous] [Next]
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