If you had walked through the village of Carlton Husthwaite in 1690, you would have noticed four recently-built, substantial houses. What we now call the 'Manor House' belonged to William Kitchingman the Elder; the 'Old Hall' to William Kitchingman the Younger; 'Carlton House' to Bryan Kitchingman; 'Sunny Bank' to George Cooper, husband of Margaret Kitchingman. Where did these Kitchingmans come from? How did they come to occupy such prominent positions in the village?
In the 17th century, when people spoke of "their country", they did not mean England. Rather they were referring to a distinctive area, a landscape, a local culture to which they belonged. The Kitchingmans' country was not confined to Carlton but included land they farmed in Bagby, Balk, Birdforth, Kilburn, Raskelf, Thirkleby and Wildon Grange. Arguably, it extended to the whole Vale of York and the city itself.
Three of the four in Carlton were grandchildren of William Kitchingman alias Cleveland of Thirkleby. He was a yeoman, a tenant farmer, below the ranks of the gentry but above the "common sort". The records show him acquiring land, serving on the jury in the Quarter Sessions and as a church warden. He was also fined £10 for failing to take the oath of knighthood at King Charles I's coronation. This was a taxation scam: summons were issued after it was too late to reach London and levied on anyone able to pay. He also fell foul of various courts for failing to ring his pigs, over-stretching linen cloth, excessive malt making and calling one of his neighbours a "whore master".
Despite these ups and downs, William did well enough to provide amply for his seven sons. John, Thomas, Ralph, Timothy and Valentine were set up with farms of about 60 or 70 acres each. Although modest by today's standards, they were large enough to employ labour and market their surplus in neighbouring towns. The historian Mark Overton has estimated that a yeoman with 100 acres could not only feed his family but also generate a profit of about £70 in a typical year (equivalent to about three years' wages for a skilled tradesman). Collectively, the Kitchingmans held over 200 acres in Kilburn alone throughout the 17th century. Profits were re-invested in securing tenancies for future generations, purchasing freehold land, or providing portions (dowries) to settle advantageous marriages, of which, more below.
What of the other two sons? Premiums were paid to arrange apprentices for them in the burgeoning woollen cloth trade in Leeds. William and Bryan subsequently became successful clothiers. In a period before banking or formal investment opportunities, it is highly probable that their ventures were funded by loans from their country kinsmen, who shared in the rewards. Social as well as economic capital may have played a part in their success. By 1662, Bryan had been appointed one of the Assistants (councillors) on Leeds Common Council. His will, written in the previous December, included mention of extensive property in Meadow Lane and Hunslet, bequests to the vicar and poor of Thirkleby, as well as a suit and £10 to his apprentice and nephew Thomas (the son of Timothy K of Bagby). Along with his siblings, cousins and their children, by 1700 Thomas would create what has been called Leeds' most important dynasty of wool merchants. Their number included two Mayors and three Alderman. Civic duty appears to have happily coincided with family enrichment.
A good marriage could be another source of improved circumstances. Above the door to Carlton House are carved the initials "BK 1674". This was the year Bryan married Jane Bell of Cundall; her portion/dowry likely helped pay for the building of their new house. Likewise, the building of Sunny Bank coincided with the marriage of George Cooper and Margaret K in 1676. They died within two years of each other, leaving behind four under-age children. George's will of 1699 placed his estate in trust for them with Thomas K of Leeds, "his loving brother".
William K the Elder of Carlton also married well. His first wife was a cousin to some degree, Jane K, the daughter of William K of Petergate, York. Her father had risen to become Master of the Merchant Taylor's Company and briefly Sherriff of the city. Her brother, yet another William, was an attorney who would serve as Clerk to the Council for over 20 years. This was clearly a highly lucrative role. In 1659, he was able to buy Baxby Manor for £1600. In 1672, he paid tax on 18 hearths in the Minster Yard (only three houses in York were larger). It seems likely that these connections helped William K the Elder and William K the Younger in their business ventures, although it is not yet clear what form these took. By the 1680's, they had bought land and manors near Pontefract and returned to their new houses in Carlton bearing the title "Mr", the first step towards gentrification.
The Kitchingmans were a family of the middling sort. Some undoubtedly prospered and there are many more interesting stories to be told. What makes them remarkable, however, is the extensive documentary trail they left behind in parish records, wills, property transactions, taxation records and many court cases. Moreover, their unusual surname makes it possible to join the dots of extensive kinship ties across time and space.
The article owes a great deal to Professor Stuart Marriot's scholarly yet wonderfully written 'Carlton Husthwaite - Houses of the Old Village'. Stuart's unpublished research into the Kitchingman family, which he generously shared with me, offered further treasure. My thanks also go to the archivists of the Borthwick, Brotherton and North Yorkshire County Record Office for their help and to Angela Ovenston of Husthwaite History Society for her encouragement and support.
Simon Kitchman
Dec 2022
Note, March 2023 Simon Kitchman has now produced a blog containing fascinating stories about some of these characters of the past, see earlymodernkinship.com. One of the first three blogs is a slight rework of the article; the other two feature a Leeds will from 1635 and a fight at closing time in York on the eve of the Civil War. Other articles to follow in due course.