Yorkshire Almanac 2026

Unedited excerpt

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Samuel Rabanke, by indenture of bargain and sale, enrolled, dated 24th February, 1631, conveyed to Thomas Reeve and Samuel Pruddom, and the heirs of Pruddom, certain premises, upon trust that they and the heirs and assigns of the said Samuel Pruddom, out of the rents and profits of such premises, upon the 9th day of June, or the 9th day of December, from the day of his death, and upon every 9th day of every month for ever thereafter, cause to be paid to nine poor people, to be nominated and elected as thereinafter mentioned, 9d. a week, or 3s. a month; and should also, upon every 9th day of December, pay the sum of 10s. to some godly and able preacher, who should on that day yearly preach the Word of God in the parish church of Danby; and that the said Samuel Pruddom, his heirs and assigns, should, after the sermon, give and deliver one peck of rye to every such of the said nine poor people, as well to those who were present during the service, as also to such others as should be absent by reason of sickness or otherwise; and as to the choice of the poor persons, he directed that, on the 9th December, the curates, churchwardens, and overseers of the poor of Danby, should nominate eighteen poor persons, men or women, of Danby, six by the curate, six by the churchwardens, and six by the overseers, of whom nine should be immediately elected by Pruddom, or his heirs or assigns, but, if they were absent, then such nine persons should be chosen on the next Sabbath day, by the curate and overseers, or any three of them, whereof the curate should be one; and that, if there were not so many poor persons of the poorest sort and best report in the parish of Danby, the number should be supplied out of Glaisdale; so, however, as such number should not exceed three.

The sum of £18. 10s. a year is paid on account of this charity, out of lands called Howe Farm, Castleton and Bottom or Dale Head, in this parish. £17. 11s. of the money is distributed in monthly payments of 3s. each month, to nine poor persons of Danby, 10s. are paid to the minister for a sermon which is preached on the 20th December, the day on which the rent-charge is paid; and, in lieu of a peck of rye, it has been customary, for many years past, to give a shilling to each of the poor persons, which makes up the present amount of the payment.–VII. p. 715.

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To facilitate reading, the spelling and punctuation of elderly excerpts have generally been modernised, and distracting excision scars concealed. My selections, translations, and editions are copyright.

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• Charity (practice) (10) W/G ·
• Danby, North Yorkshire (1) W/G ·
• Glaisdale (1) W/G ·
• North Riding of Yorkshire (51) W/G ·
• Numerology (1) W/G ·
• Rye (7) W/G ·
• Trust law (5) W/G ·

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To facilitate reading, the spelling and punctuation of elderly excerpts have generally been modernised, and distracting excision scars concealed. My selections, translations, and editions are copyright.

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To facilitate reading, the spelling and punctuation of elderly excerpts have generally been modernised, and distracting excision scars concealed. My selections, translations, and editions are copyright.

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Did local people comment on the coincidence between this transhumance of sheep (amongst others) and the transport of the Lamb of God to Golgotha (a hill in Christian tradition), or to paradise between his crucifixion and resurrection (Luke 23:42-43)? “Wold” turns up again and again in this connection, here in a late 13th century passion poem, regarding the temptation of Christ:

Þe holy gost hyne ledde. vp in-to þe wolde.
For to beon yuonded. of sathanas þen olde.
Þer he wes fourty dawes. al wiþ-vte mete
(Morris 1872)

More medieval wold magic:

This othur nyght soo cold
Hereby apon a wolde
Scheppardis wachyng there fold,
In the nyght soo far
To them aperid a star.
(Anon 1902)

Transhumance in the Yorkshire Dales

My fleeting impression is that longer-distance transhumance (still short of the great Spanish migrations) was conducted before the Dissolution by the great religious orders. Here (via John McDonnel (McDonnel 1988)) in 1598 the herder Richard Knowles (80) recalls moving flocks between Fountains Abbey and Fountains Fell (Malham) before the Dissolution 60 years previously:

Richard Knowles of Wessitt Houses in the parish of Kirkby Malloughdale, aged 80, confirmed from knowledge ever since he could remember the sheep, cattle [kyne], mares, and nags of Fornah Gill House did pasture in common together with the goods of the Abbey before and at the dissolution thereof of his sight, who served one of the Abbey’s herds seven years before the dissolution and at the very time thereof, and helped to fetch the Abbey’s goods at Fountains Abbey yearly about St. Ellen Day [May 21] to Fornah Gill and helped also to drive them back again to Fountains Abbey about Michaelmas [September 29] yearly (Purvis 1949).

Ra. Buck’s testimony re the lack of security before the Dissolution is remarkable:

Being born very near to the same grounds and dwelling there the same time, and so knew the premises to be true and did know the herders that kept the same grounds and goods therein for the Abbey, and hath seen the herders milk the Abbey’s kyne in the same ground, lying there swords and bucklers besides them whilst they were milking. (op. cit.)

Would someone like to reconstruct Richard Knowles’ route? Pateley Bridge, but then? I can’t locate “Wessitt” Houses, but Fornah Gill barn (at least) is 54.121813,-2.236811.

Also, can someone summarise the plant & animal biology behind the dates?

Did transhumance here and/or in general cease with the Dissolution?

Kyne -> cattle, though elsewhere kyne and other cattle suggests cows.

St Helen/Ellen/Helena’ Mass: transhumance day

St. Ellen is St. Helen, popular in the north (e.g. the holy wells). St Helen’s Mass, the day on which transhumance tended to being, was the commemoration on May 3rd of the Invention of the Holy Cross, the True Cross having been found by St Helena on her travels – see e.g. here and here. I previously wrongly thought her feast was May 21st:

Feeling stupid – St Ellen? (Transhumance in the Pennines between Kirkby Malhamdale & Fountains Abbey) pic.twitter.com/8PQQnkXuL3

— Singing Organ-Grinder (@elorganillero) May 10, 2023

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