The Baptismal Register of St Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Crathorne 1777 to 1839

I obtained a copy of St Mary's baptismal register while researching my book on Hutton Rudby in the time of the cholera.  My transcription follows below - please check against the original before relying on it.

The baptismal register book for St Mary’s, Crathorne is held at the National Archive (Public Record Office) at Kew and covers the period 1777 to 1839. 

During this time Parliament restored civil rights to Catholics in a series of Relief Acts beginning in 1778 and culminating in 1829 with the Catholic Emancipation Act. 

The register begins with an introduction by Thomas Ferby:  

“A Baptismal Book belonging Crathorne [sic] in which an account is kept of the children that have been baptized by me Thos Ferby Eng.h Miss. since Novr 1st 1777”

Crathorne in 1840

Crathorne, as described in White's Directory 1840:

Crathorne, a village and parish on the Thirsk road, and on the western side of the vale of the river Leven, 4 miles S by E of Yarm, contains 304 souls, and 2,460 acres of land, mostly the property of Mrs Mary Tasburgh, of Burghwallis, the lady of the manor and patroness of the Church, (All Saints) which is a small ancient edifice, and has in its chancel the recumbent effigy of a crusader, supposed to represent Sir Wm Crathorne, Kt, who lived in 1322, and whose family was long seated here.  The rectory, valued in K.B. at £10 11s 10 ½d and now at £205, is enjoyed by the Rev Ralph Grenside, B A.
Here is a Catholic Chapel, which was rebuilt about sixteen years ago, and was founded by the Crathorne family.  The interest of £74  4s 8 ½d, left by Thomas Baxter, in 1769, is paid to a schoolmaster for the education of poor children.

Crathorne in 1823

Crathorne, as described in Baines' Directory 1823:

Crathorne in the wap and liberty of Langbargh; 4 miles SSE of Yarm.
The church, which is dedicated to All Saints, is an ancient plain structure;  in the chancel is an effigy of a knight cumbent in armour cross-legged, with the arms of Crathorne on his shield.  This, it is conjectured, is the monument of Sir William Crathorne, Knight, who lived A.D 1322, near which is a mural monument, to the memory of Ralph Crathorne, Lord of Crathorne.  The living is a rectory, in the patronage of Lord Viscount Cullen.
Here is likewise a Catholic chapel, and a place of worship for the Primitive Methodists.
A mineral spring has been discovered about half a mile from this place.  The village consists of about sixty-six houses pleasantly situated on the banks of the river Leven.  Pop 330.

Hutton Rudby parish council, April 1947

This account of the Annual Meeting of Hutton Rudby Parish Council was published in the Darlington & Stockton Times on 5 April 1947. 

A fascinating glimpse of the past.

They debated the cobbled footpaths, the proposal for public toilets, the village school, the burial ground and the acute post-War housing shortage:

Edwardian Hutton Rudby

Some photographs from the Hutton Rudby History Society collection.  Most are from the early 20th century, showing North End and North Side in Edwardian times:

Hutton village pond

The pond was opposite the end of Doctors Lane.  The photograph shows the view looking east towards the Green and the back of the houses on North End.

Elwick House is on the left and the back of Elwick Terrace can be seen - it was built in 1905.

North End

This row of cottages on the right hand side of North End is much changed today but still recognisable.
The view beyond is quite different now!







The top of North End with the junction with North Side and the Post Office.

North End - North Side

Now a little further along, turning around to look back along North Side, westward towards the Post Office:

North Side

The mounting block and the King's Head can be seen in the distance.

The Green, and the view from the Green, were changed substantially by the planting of the avenues of trees in 1878.  Here is an early view of North Side before the trees had grown:

North Side c1885

Stringer's Row and The Elms are visible at the right of the picture.

The eastern end of North Side after the trees had begun to mature - Stringer's Row is to the right.

North Side

A thank you

Many thanks to all of you who turned out in such filthy weather last night and gave me such a warm welcome for my talk about the 1832 Cholera in Hutton Rudby - it was lovely to see so many familiar faces!

The People behind the Plaques: memorials in All Saints', Hutton Rudby

All Saints', Rudby-in-Cleveland

5 February 2022:  a revised version of this, slightly shorter with more illustrations is to be found here – I hope it's written in a more accessible, less formal style – and I hope it will be useful for families and visitors to the church!

On the walls of the church of All Saints there are plaques and tablets which require no explanation – the 1914-18 War Memorial, for example – but others commemorate people once well-known locally, often as generous benefactors to the church and village, who are now almost forgotten. 

The following was written as a booklet to cast some light on the shadowy people behind the plaques.

Most of them knew a church very different from the one we see today, which is the result of the major restoration that took place in 1923.  Photographs of the building work, which took eight months to complete, are displayed on the north wall of the nave.  The recreation of the Lady Chapel and the exposed stonework of the nave and south aisle both date from this restoration, and most of the stained glass windows were put in after this date. 

In the years between 1860 and 1923 the inside of the church was plastered throughout and many of the pews, in the chancel as well as the nave, were of the “box” or square “family” type.  John Walker Ord in his History of Cleveland of 1846 described them as

“chiefly of oaken wood, in the old style, with pins fastened above for the convenience of hats.”  

The pews in the south aisle faced across the nave and there was a gallery across the west end of the church, erected in the 18th century and used by the small orchestra of church musicians; their instruments included a bassoon, oboe and strings.  A harmonium was acquired at the end of the 1860s and replaced by an organ in 1895, which was housed in what is now the choir vestry.

Major alterations were made in 1860.  For nearly a century there had been a flat plaster ceiling above the nave, and for most of that time the ancient church windows were replaced by sash windows, like those used for houses.  The ceiling was removed in 1860 and in the course of the alterations they found, under the layers of limewash covering the walls and pillars, the last remains of the mediaeval wall paintings, and rediscovered the fine marquetry of the Elizabethan pulpit under several layers of paint. 

In the 16th century the church interior was radically altered by the religious turmoil of the years following Henry VIII’s split with Rome: “papist trappings” were replaced by bare walls, pulpit and pews.  The mediaeval church’s candle-lit rood loft across the chancel arch, the painted angels between the arches, the battle-scene depicted around the South door, the images of the Virgin and the Saints, the altar of St Christopher and the chapel of St Cuthbert (referred to in Wills of 1483 and 1505), the chantry chapel: all were removed.