Cleveland on the clay,

Brings in two soles, and carries one away.

from The New Yorkshire Gazetteer by Stephen Reynolds Clarke, 1828 

We specialise in the history of Hutton Rudby and the surrounding area, including the market towns of Stokesley and Yarm.  Those of you who have never visited this beautiful part of North Yorkshire will find in "Local Links" details of the website of a prominent local photographer, fully searchable by place-name. 

We hope you find this website useful and interesting - if you do, please consider making a donation to the work of the Teesside Hospice as a mark of your appreciation.  Details can be found on their website, under "Local Links". 

‘Remarkable, but still True’ is the fascinating story of Robert Joseph Barlow, an Irish clergyman who was vicar of Hutton Rudby from 1831 until his death in 1878.

Mr Barlow is remembered above all for his tireless care and support of his parishioners in the cholera of 1832. For the first time, the true and remarkable story of his life is revealed—and also for the first time the full story of the cholera epidemic is told, overturning several cherished legends that have grown up over the years.

There are many surprising elements to Mr Barlow’s story to interest a wide readership.

Here you will find not only the names and lives of many people in Hutton Rudby and the neighbourhood, but also:

•    Barlow’s unusual childhood in Georgian Dublin
•    the remarkable story of his brother James Barlow Hoy, landowner in the Isle of Wight and MP for Southampton
•    how this Anglican vicar was related to “Black Jack” Fitzgibbon, the still hated Lord Chancellor of  Ireland, the St Petersburg merchant Michael Hoy, the Mormons of Faceby and the Catholic Marquis  Guadagno Guadagni
•    the roaring days of Stokesley
•    old Lady Amherst and young Lord Falkland
•    an account of the eccentric Stokesley solicitor William Powell, his nephews John and Thomas Harker and the sad downfall of George and Robert Brigham of Hutton Rudby
•    the varying fortunes of the Mease family of Stokesley
•    the religious background of the time: Methodists and Catholics in Hutton Rudby and why the  parish registers are not complete or reliable
•   a vivid account of trial for murder of Robert Goldsborough, the witnesses’ statements bringing the voices of Hutton villagers to life
•   Mr Barlow's friendship with the unfortunate Rev Sanger, believed by his Carlton parishioners to  have set fire to his own church
•    a theme throughout the story: the perils of the Court of Chancery

Paperback, 290 pages, ISBN 9781905544066, 210mm x 148mm (A5), price £22 inc post & packing.

I have the last remaining copies!  Contact me through this website.

 
Articles

includes:

an account of the competition held to choose a design for the  War Memorial near Ypres to the 50th (Northumbrian) Division 

the history of George Young Blair of Stockton and the building of Drumrauch Hall, Hutton Rudby

the fascinating story of the Mormon emigration from the hamlet of Faceby in 1855

the 1823 Baines' Directory entries for Hutton Rudby, Sexhow, Skutterskelfe, Middleton-on-Leven, East Rounton and Stokesley

information relating to errors in the 19th century parish registers of All Saints', Hutton Rudby

a list compiled by the Revd R J Barlow of Hutton Rudby of the tithe arrears of Myshall, County Carlow, Ireland.  He calculated that these remained due to his late brother-in-law, the Revd Hector Francis Vaughan, who died in 1834. 

an account of the Stokesley Paper War of 1822-4, a battle of pamphlets between the Methodist businessman Thomas Mease and the bookseller Robert Armstrong, a freethinker who was an agent for the radical publisher Richard Carlile.  Armstrong spoke up for the republicans of Stokesley and had links with the republicans of Stockton on Tees.

an account of the decision to change Guisborough Market Days in the early 19th century

the family tree of the Whitby artist George Weatherill, as recorded by his son Richard 

details of a Deed dated 1784 made between Mrs Lydia Metcalfe, formerly Lydia Loughead, and Thomas Waldy, both of Yarm

for those searching for Catholic ancestors in the area, a transcription of the Baptismal Register of St Mary's Catholic Church in Crathorne for the years 177 to 1839, together with explanatory notes

in the Great Ouseburn category - an account of Branwell Brontë's "honest and kindly friend", Dr John Crosby.  It contains a description of mid-19th century life in Great Ouseburn with new information (published here for the first time) on Dr Crosby, whose rôle in the aftermath of Branwell Brontë's dismissal has been much debated. 

Thomas Atkinson's account of a whaling voyage to Greenland in 1774 in the 'Hope' of Whitby

biographical note on Thomas Atkinson, surgeon.  He was born in Kirkleatham, where his father was Master of the Turner Hospital.  After his whaling voyage he joined the Hudson's Bay Company.  His brother William became a Fellow of Christ's College, Cambridge; his sister Jane married Captain Thomas Galilee of Whitby and Rotherhithe.

Two new articles in the Hutton Rudby section.  Particularly interesting to those researching their families in late 19th century Hutton Rudby: an account of Sunday School, Church Choir and Confirmations in the parish, with a list of those confirmed in 1893; and an article based on the Parish Magazines of the 1890s, with details of village activities - including names of Sunday School prizewinners etc

a description of the Vassal Singers in the village of Nunthorpe in the early 20th century, by the late Kay Hill 

an account of the Whitby Literary Wars 1825 to 1833 - the monthly magazines called the Repository, the Panorama and the Magazine - and their contributors, including James Myers, John Buchannan and the Chartist, John Watkins.  With appearances by John Walker Ord, Ebenezer Elliott (the Corn Law Rhymer) and the poet James Montgomery, who wrote the well-loved carol, Angels from the Realms of Glory

a discussion of family anecdotes about George Stanger, one of the Faceby Mormons who left North Yorkshire for Utah in 1855

an account of the people commemorated in the plaques and monuments of All Saints', Hutton Rudby

Books

includes:

a history of some of the houses of Hutton Rudby

the opening chapters of a new history of the Revd Robert Joseph Barlow and Hutton Rudby in the time of the cholera

New! chapter 5 of 'Remarkable, but still True': 'The Brighams and the Harkers'

- Site design and creation by Duncan Barrigan (contact).