Bellcross, Kilpin

Kilpin is a small hamlet approximately 2 miles South East of Howden, in the East Riding of Yorkshire.

The location of a shrine at Kilpin is borne out by this quote from Bulmer’s History and Directory of East  Yorkshire (1892):  

“At the upper end of Bell Cross Lane formerly stood a shrine, or oratory, dedicated to the Blessed  Virgin Mary, at which offerings were frequently made by pilgrims resorting thither. It was in existence in 1512, but not a vestige of it now remains. It is very probable that the name of Bell Cross has some connection with this shrine.”  

It is possible that this ‘Bell cross’, seemingly located on the road between Kilpin and Howden, could have been a fairly prominent Marian shrine or chapel possibly built by, or supported by, at least one prominent family in the area.  

Interestingly, an internet search on ‘bell cross’ brings up very few matches. Apart from the  references at Kilpin, we only found two other mentions of bell crosses. The first was a reference to a bell cross base,  discovered during an archaeological excavation in Spring Lane, Sprotbrough.

The other reference can be found on the University of Nottingham’s website, ‘The Place Names of the West Riding of  Yorkshire’:  

There are probably many more, but we haven’t discovered them yet … apart from the following one, which we  believe might possibly hold the key to the story of the Bell Cross at Kilpin … 

It seems that chamlett was a luxury fabric often comprised of a mixed weave of silk and animal hair or wool. It is  possible that the intention was that the rich material was cut up into vestments and displayed on the statue of Our Lady. It was not unusual for bequests made to shrines, by women in particular, to take the form of garments or jewellery, rather than money. These shrines were often Marian; ie: dedicated to the Virgin Mary. They often marked the site of an apparition or other miracle ascribed to the Blessed Virgin Mary, or a site on which was centred a historically strong Marian devotion. Such locales were often the destination of pilgrimages.  

So, coming back to Lady Katherine’s will - where was ‘Our Lady of Belcrosse’? It couldn’t be the Bell Cross memorialised as Bell Cross Lane and Bell Cross Cottages on 19th century OS maps of Kilpin … or could it?  

First of all, we needed to find out more about Katherine Hastings and what her connection might be to the places  mentioned in her will.  

Our first clue to the identity of Dame Katherine may be found if we consider more of her will:  

We immediately notice the bequest to Katherine’s brother, George Aske, followed by a number of further bequests  to other members of the Aske family. So, Katherine’s maiden name was Aske!  

In fact, Katherine Aske was born circa 1457 at Aughton, Yorkshire, the daughter of Sir John Aske of Aughton (1442 - June 1497) and Elizabeth Bigod (1443 - 1507+). Sir John and his wife had a total of 8 sons (Robert, Richard, John,  William, Ralph, George, Henry, Nicholas) and 3 daughters (Anne, Katherine, Margaret).  

Katherine’s father, John Aske, was the son of Richard Aske and Margaret Ughtred. Margaret’s father, Sir Thomas Ughtred, was a member of an extremely important family of the time. Also of interest is the fact that Sir Thomas is documented as having leased the moated site at Hook from St Mary’s Abbey in 1384/5. Whether he actually lived there is unknown. However, if he did, is it possible that Katherine’s mother may have been born there, perhaps? 

In 1496, Katherine married Sir John Hastings of Fenwick, Yorkshire (1466 - July 12, 1504), son of Sir Hugh Hastings and Anne Gascoigne.  Katherine was Sir John’s second wife.  

The Aske Family

The Askes were an old Yorkshire family whose origins can be traced to the eleventh century when they held lands of the earl of Richmond in North Yorkshire. A younger branch of the family founded by Conan, the second son of Hugh de Aske, came by property in Aughton through marriage. Conan's son, Richard Aske, founded a chantry in Howden church in 1365, thus suggesting that he was living in the area at the time. His grandson, John de Aske, had a daughter, Alicia, whose marriage to German Haye brought with it land in Aughton and when she and her husband died without issue it reverted to John de Aske and his male heirs.  

John de Aske was thus the first lord of the manor of Aughton. Katherine was John de Aske’s Great Granddaughter.  

The south side of Aughton church bears a slightly cryptic inscription: ‘do not forget the year of our Lord 1536.’ This is the year that Katherine of Aragon died, Anne Boleyn met her dramatic end, and Henry VIII took a third wife in his  quest for a son. But, for the people of Aughton, it would have been remembered most for what would become known as the Pilgrimage of Grace. This famous insurrection that would involve 30,000 men throughout Yorkshire and further north was named and given its purpose by Katherine’s nephew, Robert Aske. In fact, Katherine even left Robert a shirt in her will!  

To understand the reasoning behind the bequests made in Katherine’s will, we should consider that it is likely that she would have visited the shrines during her lifetime or the shrines would, at least, have had some significance to her family or ancestors. For this reason, shrines mentioned in wills can give us valuable information about the places with which people were familiar and, at the same time, can reveal intensely local attachments.  

The religious sites mentioned in Katherine’s will are:  

• The Church of All Saints, Aston cum Aughton, where she wished to be buried. Katherine’s immediate family built the church at Aughton. This was also the final resting place of several other members of Katherine’s  family.  

•  The Priory church of St Mary and St Lawrence at Ellerton, to the Parson of which Katherine gave her horse in gratitude for him carrying out her burial service;  

•  The shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham. There is no obvious family connection to this shrine, however it was a major site of pilgrimage in North Norfolk and, as such, featured in many wills at the time.   

•  Our Lady of Doncaster. This was the most important medieval Shrine dedicated to Our Lady in Yorkshire.  In 1449, Constance Bigod, Katherine’s Great Grandmother, left her girdle worked with silver and gilt to Our Lady of Doncaster.  In 1482, Katherine’s Father-in-Law, Sir Hugh Hastings, then on an expedition against the  Scots, left funds to provide wax to be burned during Mass before Our Lady's altar here.  

• Our Lady of Hemingbrough. Katherine and Sir John had a daughter, Elizabeth, who died before her mother and was buried in the Church of St Mary the Virgin, Hemingbrough.  Hemingbrough seems to have been the resting place of several members of the Aske family.  

•  Norton Church. Norton Priory, near Doncaster, was the burial place of Katherine’s husband, Sir John  Hastings.  

•  And then we have Our Lady of Belcrosse … No obvious connection to Katherine or her family of a shrine with this name has yet come to light.  It may well be that the Bell Cross at Sprotbrough, not Kilpin, is the one referred to in Katherine’s will. Sprotbrough is close to Doncaster and, after all, Katherine did make a bequest to Our Lady of Doncaster. However, a local map marked with places of significance to the Aske family does seem to show an emphasis centering on the Howden area, rather than around Doncaster which is approximately 30 miles south of the family seat at Aughton.  Kilpin, on the other hand, is barely ten miles from Aughton.  

Furthermore, other family links in the Howden area of Yorkshire include:  

• The patronage of the Priory church of St Mary and St Lawrence at Ellerton by Sir Robert Aske in 1531;  In November 1543, John Aske left the sum of £20 to the church wardens, in order for them to ‘finish the  steple [steeple] of the churche of Aughton’.  

•  In 1542, the will of Robert Aske requested that ‘my bodie to be buried in the quere [choir] of Aughton where  my ancestors lieth’.  

•  St Michael’s Church, Eastrington – It is likely that the Aske family paid for the addition of the North and/or  South aisle of this church. Parts of the south chapel, in particular the south window, date from the  fourteenth century. This chapel was the Aske family chapel. Seemingly long-since gone, the coat of arms of John and Elizabeth Aske were recorded as being observed on a stone in the church in 1584. The coat of arms combined the arms of the Aske family with that of the Gascoyn family - Elizabeth Aske was the daughter of William Gascoyn who was Lord Chief Justice in 1400.