THE FEATHERSTONE ........CHRONICLE....... ........1086 to 1885........: 1645 to 1649

A HISTORY OF FEATHERSTONE

1645 to 1649

THE CIVIL WAR

In 1642 King Charles found himself in dispute with Parliament and it became obvious sooner or later it would have to be decided who was the ultimate ruler in the land - King or Parliament, and so began the Civil War.

King Charles issued a proclamation from York requiring the aid and assistance of all his subjects north of the Trent. The gentry around Pontefract responded to the king's appeal, granting large sums of money to the cause, enlisting men and providing them with arms.

Pontefract Castle was the local rallying point and it was garrisoned by a strong force of gentlemen volunteers, among them being the Hammertons of the parish of Featherstone. Phillip Hammerton of Monkrode and Purston Jacklin was the son of Matthew and Bridget Hammerton who were said to live at Purston Old Hall. Phillip served in Sir George Wentworth's division and his brother Edward was a cornet (cavalry officer) in Sir Walter Vavasour's regiment.

Nothing much happened locally until the Parliamentarians beat the Royalists at the battle of Marston Moor in June 1644 after which Oliver Cromwell took possession of York and then turned his attention to other Royalist strongholds including Pontefract Castle.

The siege at the castle lasted until March 1645 when 1,600 Royalists under the command of Sir Marmaduke Langdale arrived from Oxford and forced the Parliamentarians to retreat towards Sherburn. Langdale then re-provisioned the castle and strengthened the garrison. He also stationed a body of cavalry at Featherstone and another at (Glass) Houghton under his nephew Langdale Sunderland. It is very likely Langdale Sunderland made the short trip between Houghton and North Featherstone and would be aware of Ackton Hall where he was to make his home some time later.

The calm didn't last long because a few weeks after Marmaduke Langdale had left on March 3 Parliamentarian Fairfax gathered his troops together, crossed the river at Castleford in the dead of night and fell on Sunderland's troops at Houghton and routed them.

He then moved to Pontefract and took possession of Monkhill and Baghill and laid siege to the castle again. This time there was no hope of rescue by Langdale who had lost the battle of Naseby, and in July 1645 the defenders of Pontefract Castle surrendered, and the local gentry were allowed to return to their homes.The castle then became a Parliamentarian stronghold.

In 1648 the second Civil War broke out and the local gentry once again took up arms for the King. Nine Royalist officers disguised themselves as peasants and were allowed into the castle with carts loaded with provisions. Money was given to some of the soldiers to fetch ale from the town and while they were away the guard was overpowered and the gate opened for the Royalist troops.

When Cromwell heard the news about the fall of the castle he sent a flying column to commence a siege until he could arrive. King Charles was executed in January 1649 but the Pontefract garrison refused to surrender and proclaimed Charles's son as King. But inevitably they were starved out and had to ask for surrender terms. They marched out of the castle on March 24 1649 and handed it back to the Parliamentarians.

Although the gentry were again allowed to go back to their homes they didn't escape scot-free for backing King Charles and they were fined for choosing the wrong side. Abraham Sunderland died during the siege in 1644. His estate was fined £878 which his son Langdale Sunderland had to pay. He had to sell his estates at Coley and High Sunderland (near Halifax) and with the money he had left he bought the Ackton Hall estates from Thomas Beckwith.

A side-effect of the civil war was the many entries in the Featherstone parish register for marriages and baptisms for people living in Pontefract. It would have been unwise for anyone to have gone near Pontefract All Saints' Church during the sieges so they came to Featherstone where they could be wed or named in peace.
The following engraving from The Mirror of Literature, Amusement and Instruction 1832 shows Pontefract Castle as it was during the Civil War. This was the view as seen by Cromwell's gunners. Their inaccuracy knocked the church about a bit.

THE 1645 PLAGUE

In August 1645 someone wrote in the Featherstone parish register "June and July lost, August plague in Featherstone."

Bubonic plague was a dreaded killer disease which swept across the country at intervals for many years. It was carried by fleas on rats, although nobody knew it at the time, and in hot weather the flea population soared.

The summer of 1645 was particularly hot so there were probably too many fleas for the rats. Although the fleas preferred to live on rats, if there were too many or if the rat died they would transfer to dogs or humans. When an infected flea bit a human it was almost certain death which is why the plague was feared so much.

Not every township suffered to the same extent. The bigger towns where the people tended to be crowded together were the worst hit. The plague was particularly bad in Leeds and Wakefield.

The unfortunate thing about the 1645 plague in Featherstone from the historical point of view is the first entry for those who died from it is Richard Turner the parish clerk who filled in the register. It would seem many of his pieces of paper with entries to be put in the register were lost, and so it will never be know how many local people died because of the plague. Those whose names are known were:

Richard Turner August 21

Joseph Righton August 24

Grace Pie August 24

Ann Hudson September 5

John Hudson September 18

Jennit Bateson September 23

Charles Milnes October 10

Mary Rawson October 18

Ann Horsman November 1

Ann Milnes November 1

How many plague victims should have been recorded in the gap in the register between May 18 and August 21 is anybody's guess. Ten names may not seem a lot, but with a population of about 400 and allowing for some unrecorded plague deaths it seems about one in thirty died of the disease. With the onset of the cold weather in November the flea population would reduce and this particular plague died out.

RELIEF OUT OF THE RATES

A General Sessions at Knaresborough in the summer of 1645 decided to raise £250 a week via the rates for the relief of the towns throughout the West Riding affected by the plague.

This was apportioned according to the severity of the outbreak and for the local townships was decided at: Pontefract £10; Ferrybridge and Darrington £2 each; Knottingley, Campsall and Ackworth £1 10s each; Askern £1; Womersley, Carleton, Purston, Castleford, Smeaton, Stapleton, Brotherton and Shelley 10s. Featherstone and Whitwood are not mentioned so it can be assumed most of the above deaths were in Purston.

In November when it was obvious the worst was over, an instruction was sent out to the "several high constables, collectors, receivers and distributers of monies to infected persons" to the effect that infected houses had to be shut up for a month after the infection had ceased, clothes had to be washed, well aired and perfumed, all houses thoroughly cleaned, and the "mean stuff" burned and poor owners recompensed out of the rates.

All that was needed was to get rid of the rats and their resident fleas, but as this was unknown at the time the following rules were issued.

DIRECTIONS FOR CLENSINGE BEINGE SOME FEW EXPERIMENTALLS GAYNED IN YE TIME OF INFECTION.

1 All wooden vessells or ware, as likewise mettails, vizt., plate, peuter, tinne, brass and iron, &c., must be washt in hot scalding water.

2 Linnin must be washt in hott water and thoughly dryed, but not to be used of a good while after.

3 Woolen clothes to be scalded in hott water and soe dryed. Woolen cloth, carsy peeces, &c., to be putt in a running stream 2 dayes att least, then dried on ye ground or on tenters. Woole is to be opened washt in a runninge water, dry itt on ye ground or on stakes, with sunne, wind or fyer.

4 Fetherbedds or flockbedds are to be opened, ye fethers, flocks and ticks scalded and well dryed before they are made upp.

5 Such house is to be clensed in every part both abovehead and below. The wainscot, posts, bedstocks, tables,&c., to be washt in scaldinge water as before is directed.

6 All straw, dust, rags or other rubbish (not worth ye clensinge) are to be burnt, or, much rather, to be buryed deepe in ye ground, that swine roote it not, or others digge it upp.

7 Make fyers with greene broome, greene hay, or both. Sleck lime in vinigar. Burne much tarre, pitch, rozen, frankensence. Turpentine, &c.

Ther is much abuse in smokinge and perfuminge ye roomes, rather producing putrifaction than any dissipation of ye infection, &c. Much carelessness and dishonesty in clensers.

There is no doubt that this cleaning would have proved effective by killing off any fleas in the house, furnishings or clothes, even though the authorities did not know the fleas were to blame. The disease could only then continue by reinfection with new fleas.

If it is true nearly all the plague deaths were in Purston then the death rate there could have been about one in ten. The first accurate figure for Purston's population was the 1801 census which gave the total as 177.