Catalogue description STRICKLAND-CONSTABLES OF WASSAND HALL, FAMILY AND ESTATE RECORDS

Includes manorial records for Leven, 1854-1934, Hornsea, [1753]-1920 and Sigglesthorne, 1748; wills and settlements, 1630-1911. Also includes deeds relating to Seaton, Sigglesthorne and Wassand, 1666-1928; Hull, 1607-1910; Great Hatfield and Little Hatfield, 1699-1873; Hornsea, 1721-1930; Beverley, 1575-1771; Goxhill and Skipsea, 1657-1914; Eastoft, 1833-1901; Catwick, 1852-1924; Leven, 1836-1908; Reighton, 1545-1928; legal papers, c.1604-18th century; estate management, 1550-1976; school records, 1812-1957; ecclesiastical, 1809-1874; personal papers including Marmaduke Constable's compotus rolls, 1751-1786, Henry Strickland-Constable, 1864-1909, Frederick Strickland-Constable, 1898-1918; maps and plans, 1704-1912

This collection has a complementary collection of digital material which was made from originals currently remaining at Wassand Hall. They were loaned to the East Riding Archives and Local Studies Service for this purpose.

These include material relating to the building of Wassand Hall such as bills, a book showing men's time and account books, bills and receipts relating to the rebuilding and fitting of the hall.

The Family

The Constables of Wassand can claim a pre-Conquest origin. In 1241 Sir William Constable of Flamborough married the daughter of Sir Marmaduke de Thwenge. Sir Marmaduke Constable of Flamborough, born 1443, was descended from this marriage. His brother, William Constable , married Joan the daughter and heiress of Thomas Fulthorpe of Rudston. The manor of Wassand was sold by Robert Hodgson to Joan, now widowed, and her son Marmaduke in 1529. Their son, Marmaduke, inherited the estate and the name has stayed in the family for generations.

The Strickland-Constables are also descendents of William Strickland (d.1598) who founded this branch of the family in and around Bridlington. His grandson William Strickland (1596-1665) was MP for Hedon between 1640 and 1653 and for the East Riding between 1654 and 1656. The descendents continued to sit for Parliament. William Strickland's (1686-1735) great-grandson, George Strickland (1782-1874) took the name Cholmley to succeed to the Cholmley estates in 1865. The family also succeeded by marriage to the Wassand estates of the Constable family. George Strickland's first wife, Mary (married in 1818 and died 1865), was the only child and heir of the Reverend Charles Constable (1773-1852) of Wassand. (Charles Constable succeeded to the estate when his uncle, Marmaduke, died without issue in 1812). George and Mary's surviving son, Henry, adopted the name Constable in 1863. Through George Strickland's marriage to Mary, the three estates at Howsham (which he inherited through a cousin), Boynton and Wassand were held by the descendents of George Strickland and his wife. Out of their surviving children, Howsham and Boyton passed to the eldest son, Sir Charles William Strickland, 8th Baronet, whilst Henry inherited Wassand. His second son, Frederick (1860-1917) succeeded to the estate when Henry died in 1909. The baronetcy was held for a time by Sir Walter Strickland, the 'wandering baronet', the son of the 8th baronet and first cousin of Frederick Strickland-Constable. A renowned eccentric, he spent little time in this country and renounced his nationality and thus his title to become a Czechoslovakian citizen. His first cousin one removed, Sir Henry Marmaduke Strickland-Constable, Bt. (1901-1975) succeeded to the estate and the baronetcy, and the estate then passed to his second wife and widow, Lady (Ernestine) Strickland-Constable (d. 1995). The estate is now held by trustees including her and Sir Henry's great-nephew, Rupert Russell, who resides at Wassand Hall with his wife Catherine.

The estate

The estate has been in one family ownership for well over 400 years. It has retained a fairly compact pattern of land-ownership with many land purchases remaining within Yorkshire with some in Lincolnshire. The archive includes many deeds with some early deeds dating from the 16th century. There is a good original bundle relating to land transactions in Seaton Hold from 17th century to 19th century.

As far as land-owning was concerned, the Wassand estate was a modest one. In 1809 the estate comprised 534 acres in Wassand, 275 acres in Seaton (515 acres in 1910 and 1990 including Buttercup and Seaton Hold farms), and 7 acres in Sigglesthorne. Land at Catwick was bought by Marmaduke Constable in 1792 and after further purchases, this amounted to c.370 in 1910. This land and more descended through the family and remains with the trustees. Charles Constable also held land in Lockington (see map at DDWS/10/1/6, and restored the south chapel in the church in 1851 and some Constables are buried in a mausoleum there). The Hornsea estate was sizeable, and Frederick Strickland-Constable owned more that 1,000 acres and the bulk of the estate remains with the family today.

The Reighton estate descended through the Strickland and Strickland-Constable families and was broken up in the 1920s. Burton Fleming descended into the family after a settlement made on Henry Strickland-Constable. In 1959 125 acres were sold but the family still owned Manor Farm in 1970. Marmaduke Constable bought the patronage of Goxhill's church in 1774. Henry Strickland-Constable, MA and Justice of the Peace, was lord of the manor of Goxhill, and owner of the whole parish except 39 acres of glebe. Land descended with the manor until Henry Strickland-Constable exchanged the advowson with the Crown in 1901. The Reverend Charles Constable owned 792 acres c.1840. This was enlarged in 1914 and in 1992 it belonged to Lady Strickland-Constable.

Other land-holdings included, Leven and Beverley. In 1873 Henry stated that he owned 3,293 East Riding acres. In 1879 he stated 6,271 acres in the East and West Ridings. Death duties could cripple an estate and in 1918 and 1919 that and succession duty were £24,940. In 1917, the year of Frederick Strickland-Constable's death, estate income was £10,220. By 1922 the income had risen to £12,025.

The family also owned a considerable amount of land at Hornsea. On the death of Charles Constable Henry inherited the Hull estate and the archive at DDWS/5/3/4 reveals that during the 1870s these were consolidated and developed. The estates consisted of the Boulevard and Hessle Road, Wassand Street, Strickland Street, Goulton Street, Constable Street, Cholmley Street and Walcott Street, all of which exist today. There is also some material relating to the Humber Dock Company at DDWS/3/2/2. In the 1790s there was strong support in the town for a second dock, as the first one was an outstanding commercial success. In 1802 an Act of Parliament for a new dock with an entrance from the River Humber was passed. It opened for shipping on Friday 30th June 1809.

Regarding estate management, the archive is a little sparse in providing evidence of a definite administrative structure but it was a working estate of tenanted farms and the archive reveals that an estate office was for a time manned by Mr S Barr. The various owners, particularly during the 19th century would have employed a land agent to carry out various dealings regarding land sales. Under Henry Strickland-Constable, Samuel Woodhouse acted as a land agent who negotiated the development of the Boulevard estate, and in the 1880s land was sold to the Railway Company. In the 1930s the estate foreman for Wassand was GA Atkinson.

DDWS/5/5/1/12 includes an agreement for the stopping of trains at Wassand Station, dated 12 Aug 1905, between H Strickland-Constable and the North Eastern Railway Company thus improving existing transport links for the estate and those residing there.

The land at Staintondale appears to have been sold off in 1911. A coal mine at Eastoft in the West Riding was held as part of the Eastoft estate but it appears the mine was sold in the 1940s. The archive appears to show that during the first few decades of the 20th century and like many other landed estates, sales of land increased possibly to offset the severe effect of death duties. However, the archive also shows that into the 1970s, that the Wassand estate was still involved in the upkeep of its remaining properties and that the Bridington architect Francis Johnson was closely involved in drawing up plans for various alterations and modernisation.

After Frederick Strickland-Constable died, Margaret, his widow was left with an estate and three children, Henry Marmaduke (1900-1975), Robert Frederick (1903-1994) and Hilary Margaret (b.1908). Margaret soon took up residence in Princes's Gate, London which was to be her home until she died in 1961. When Henry Marmaduke's wife, Lady Strickland-Constable, died in 1995 she wanted the Wassand estate and the adjoining land to be managed and protected to preserve the wild birds, animals and plants. The Trustees have entered into a Heritage Landscape Management Plan so that her wishes can be fulfilled and at the same time continuing Wassand's agricultural heritage.

Hornsea Mere

In 1580 the Marmaduke of the day bought Hornsea Mere from Lady Warwick, widow of the earl of Warwick for £50 and it has remained in the estate ever since. In the nineteenth century Hornsea Mere was incorporated into the landscaping of the Hall. Hornsea Mere is remarkable in that it is the largest freshwater lake in Yorkshire, and is situated only three-quarters of a mile from the North Sea. It covers 467 acres, and is some two miles long and three-quarters of a mile wide. There is an early and fine map of Hornsea Mere, dating from 1704 at DDWS10/1/1. The surveyor marked the plan with numerous measurements to show the precise dimensions of the Mere, and it shows 'the humour of the land' which probably relates to the marshy areas at the edge of the water. The period from 1700 to 1850 has been described as the 'golden age of the local land surveyor', and this relatively early map reflects a survey of a high quality. There is also an account book at DDWS/5/5/1/2, dated 1803-1813 which records who fished at the Mere, the type of fish caught and the amount owed by each fisherman. DDWS/5/5/1/9 includes material relating to the letting of Hornsea Mere to be used for the purposes of a Seaplane Base of The Royal Air Service, 1917-1920.

The Hall

A manor house was reputedly built by Mary, wife of Philip Constable (d.1618) and the Constables owned a house with 10 hearths in 1672.

The present Wassand Hall, built between 1813 and 1815, replaced this earlier model because it had fallen into a state of disrepair. On succeeding to his new estate the Rev Charles Constable wasted no time in engaging Thomas Cundy to design his new house. Thomas Cundy later became famous for his contribution to the building of Pimlico and Belgravia for the Grosvenor family. There are few houses in the north of England that owe their designs to Cundy so Wassand is important in this respect. During the Second World War the house was requisitioned by the army and became the headquarters for the 'Free French'. When the family returned alterations were commissioned by the family and the Bridlington architect, Francis Johnson, was responsible for redesigning and reducing the size of the house. There is little material relating directly to the house in this archive.

Material relating to the family

One Marmaduke Constable (possibly the Marmaduke Constable who died in 1812) was Receiver General for the East Riding. He presided over financial affairs, overseeing the receipt and management of revenues. He was nominated by the Lords Commissioners of the King's Treasury. As an official he would present his books or rolls of particulars for auditing. Once this was complete he would draw up a compotus, usually in the form of a roll, that would represent the final statement of their accounts for that period. This would in turn be enrolled, a process marked by a single vertical line drawn through the compotus. The rolls present in DDWS/9/1/1/1 date from 1751 to 1786 and they reflect the total tax that was being extracted from the residents of the City of Hull and the counties of the East and North Riding. The collection contains rolls for houses and windows, inhabited houses, servants, wagons, horses, coaches and shops. The tax on servants only applied to male servants and was levied at the rate of twenty-one shillings per annum. The information contained within these rolls can contribute to an understanding of the economic structure of this area in the eighteenth century. Marmaduke Constable, like other land owners acted as a local benefactor to the children in the neighbouring village. Under his will at DDWS/2/1/1/1 he left £400 for the education of children at Sigglesthorne or Seaton.

Charles Constable's marriage settlement with Lucy Acklom is at DDWS/2/1/2/4 and his will is at DDWS/2/1/1/2. George Strickland (1782-1874) was the eldest son of Sir William Strickland Bt. of Boynton Hall. His marriage to Mary Constable (d.1865), the daughter of Charles, ended in separation. Their marriage settlement can be found at DDWS/2/1/2/5, together with other marriage settlements under DDWS/2/1/2. He eventually became 7th Baronet and succeeded to the estates at Boynton in 1834.

Henry Strickland-Constable (1821-1909) was a man of strong and decided opinions. The archive includes a few of his published tracts which broadcast his vehemently anti-Radical views to a wider audience. He published a book of his tracts relating to medicine in 'Our Medicine Men: A Few Hints' and it appears from the archive that he was involved in a court case because of his views on vaccincation (DDWS/9/2/1/3). There is also material at DDWS/5/6/1/3, dated 1878-1911 relating to the Redbourn Hill Iron and Coal Company Limited in Doncaster in which he was a shareholder. There is additional material relating to Eastoft coalmine at DDWS/5/6/1/4-5.

Frederick Strickland-Constable was born in 1860 and married Margaret Pakenham in 1898. He inherited the estate on the death of his father in 1909. He was responsible for setting up the Red Cross VA Detachment in Hornsea, Hedon some other places in the East Riding (DDWS/9/3/1/2). The Hornsea detachment ultimately joined the St John's Ambulance. Frederick joined the 3rd battalion of the East Riding Regiment (Special Reserves). He commanded the Depot and Hedon and trained around 6,000 men. He was eventually sent to the front as Area Commandant, following repeated refusals from the military authorities, and died in an English hospital after being wounded in France in December 1917. Correspondence and notes relating to uniforms and the training regime at Hedon can be found at DDWS/9/3/1/4-5

The archive includes Sir John Nevile's memoranda book at DDWS/8/1/1/1 which also includes genealogical notes on the Nevile family of Chevet. Sir John Neville was the Knight of Althorpe in the Isle of Axholme who married Elizabeth Bosvile. Sir John Neville built the church at Keadby. The book gives the expenses and menus for the marriage of Roger Rockley and Elizabeth Nevile and those attending, the marriage of Thomas Drax and Anne Nevile, the marriage of Gervais Clifton and Mary Nevile, and the marriage of Henry Nevile and Dorothy Dawney.

Also present in this collection is a legal case which covers the early 17th to 18th centuries (see DDWS/4). It relates to a complex and protracted case between the Estoft and Moyser families. Alexander Stockdale was the common ancestor of both families; he had two wives, both producing children - one family became Moysers and the other, Stockdales. The Moysers and Estofts appear to quarrel over the land left by Alexander Stockdale at Lockington. The case is taken up by the court of ward and liveries in London which dealt with land issues.