St James' Chapel

There is no mention of a church or chapel at Spaldington in the Domesday Book of 1086.  

Reference to a church appears in a charter made during the reign of Henry II (1154-1189), granting land in Spaldington to the Nuns of Ormsby Priory.  The grant was made by William, son of Gerard of Spaldington, whose daughter, Hawisa, was a Nun at the Priory.  In return, the Nuns were to pray "for the safety of my soul and the souls of my father and mother and of all our ancestors and of all faithful people".

There are many fields mentioned within the charter, including Gosholmmor, which may equate to Goose Holmes field, the name of which occurs in the 1725 survey of Spaldington and the tithe map of 1849 and is situated on the western side of the road leading to Gribthorpe.  However, the reference to a church, "... and upon the way to the church towards the north", may refer to the church at Bubwith, especially as the chapel at Spaldington is south of Goose Holmes.

Other fields referred to in this charter are:  Syinestibusc; Relandes; Calmaremor; Sinderlandes, Rederic; Sudestesengdailes (South East Ing Dales, perhaps?); Berewic; Lanwellehilles; Westredaile in West(re)broc; Bonnelandes; Wandaile at Berewyk.  However, we have so far been unable to locate these fields.  Mention is also made of the Fulne/ Fulna (presumably the Foulness River?).

The first definite reference that we have to an ecclesiastical building existing in the village occurs in 1310, when a licence was granted to Roger of Spaldington to have divine service celebrated in an oratory in his manor of Spaldington.  The reason for this was given as being due to the distance of the village from the parish church - this probably referred to the church at Bubwith.      

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, an “oratory signifies a place of prayer…(and) technically means a structure other than a parish church set aside by ecclesiastical authority for prayer and the celebration of Mass.”  Nicholas Orme, in his excellent book 'Going to Church in Medieval England', defines the term 'oratory' as a place for private prayer, which may have been unconsecrated. He acknowledges, however, that licences were granted in the later Middle Ages for portable altars and for masses to be said in oratories - it seems that this may have been the intention of Roger of Spaldington - to be able to consecrate his chapel and celebrate masses therein.

Pounds defines an oratory or private chapel as being ‘for the devotions of a family or other small group’, whereas a chantry was a chapel reserved for Masses for a specific purpose, usually ‘the repose of the souls of its founder and his family’. Chantry chapels could be present within another chapel structure and it is possible that some private chapels were effectively chantries.   [1] 

All of the above suggest that the chapel building was already there in 1310, but was unconsecrated, being used only for private prayer.  Roger was applying for a licence so that Mass, etc., could be said in the building.  Once a licence had been agreed, this effectively meant that it had been consecrated and then any services (not baptisms, marriages or burials) could be held in there, perhaps?

Thirty-five years later, in 1345, Peter de la Haye left 10 shillings in his will to mend his chapel.  At the time this would have paid a skilled tradesman to work for 25 days, thus suggesting that the chapel might have been quite ancient and therefore in need of repair by this time.  

A version of the coat of arms of Eustace de Vesci displayed in the border of a copy of the Magna Carta.

So, why was the chapel dedicated to St James, as this is quite an unusual dedication in this area of the country?  We think that to answer this we might need to travel to Alnwick in Northumberland and go back  in time to the late 1100's or early 1200's, when Eustace de Vesci and William Fitzpeter (nephew of Nigel Fossard) were joint lords of the manor of Spaldington.   

Eustace de Vesci (1169-1216) was originally named Eustace fitz John, until his marriage with Beatrix, the daughter of Ivo de Vesci, when he became Lord of the Barony of Alnwick.  As part of his endowment, Eustace founded Alnwick Abbey, a Premonstratensian monastery.  Alnwick Abbey was dedicated to St James and the Blessed Virgin.

Eustace de Vesci was one of the Barons who signed the Magna Carta.  He was killed at Barnard Castle in 1216 and at this point William Fitzpeter became sole heir of the manor.

Furthermore, the coat of arms of the De La Hays contains 3 scallop shells.  The scallop shell symbol is connected with those undertaking pilgrimage to St James' shrine at De Compostela.

The de la Haye coat of arms, featuring three scallop shells.

In 1426 the villagers of Aughton and Bubwith petitioned Pope Martin V for permission to worship in the chapel at Spaldington at times of inclement weather, when they were unable to worship in their own church.  They were supported in this petition by another Peter de la Haye - possibly a descendent of the previous Peter.  Maybe he lived in Aughton or Bubwith, or maybe he was just agreeing to his chapel in Spaldington being used in this way.  It is interesting to note that, in the petition, the chapel of St. James is referred to as being 'old founded and dedicated'.  

Richard Blanshard, a farmer of Spaldington, left several bequests to the chapels of Spaldington and Willitoft in his will of 1486.  If, as has been suggested elsewhere, the chapel was solely for the use of the Lord of the Manor and his family, why would a local farmer leave a bequest to a chapel in which he has never been able to worship?  This suggests that the chapel was the centre of worship for the village of Spaldington and not just for the Lord of the Manor. 

By 1510, the manor was led by the Vavasour family.  During this year, Peter Vavasour obtained a licence to found a chantry for one chaplain in the chapel of St James, which was located within the grounds of the Vavasour's moated mansion.  As this was before the 1534 Act of Supremacy, the family would have been free to openly worship as Catholics, presumably using the chapel which may have also been used by the villagers.  It is possible that they would have adopted the tradition of their family chapel at Hazlewood Castle, where a balcony in the chapel in their grounds was occupied by the Lords of the Manor, while the villagers worshipped in the main body of the chapel below.

Again, before the Act of Supremacy, Robert Flete was listed as the chaplain of Spaldington. 

St Leonard's Chapel, Hazlewood Castle

The Dissolution of the Chantries took place in 1548.  At this time, the chapel was valued at £4.13s.4d. per annum. 

By the time of the Third Act of Uniformity in 1559, life would have become much more difficult for the Vavasours of Spaldington - and for all other recusant Catholic worshippers. The Act imposed a fine of 12d on people who refused to attend Anglican worship at their parish church and banned the celebration of Catholic mass.  It seems possible that, around this time, a chapel may have been secreted within the manor house of the Vavasour family, to enable them to continue to worship.  It is interesting that, according to J.S. Fletcher in 'A Picturesque History of Yorkshire', the Vavasour chapel at Hazlewood Castle is said to be the only one in which mass was permitted to be celebrated during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, who exempted it from the general order because of her fondness for the Vavasour family.  However, this relaxation of the rules doesn't seem to have extended to the Vavasour family of Spaldington.

OS 25": Revised: 1908, Published: 1909

By the time of the Parliamentary Survey of 1650, it was noted that there were two chapels, one at Spaldington and one at Willitoft.  These were to be united and made into a parish.  Willitoft was to be the parish Church.  It is unlikely that this actually took place! 

A question asked during the Visitation of Archbishop Drummond in 1764 gives us a further insight into the state of the chapel by this time.  In answer to his question, "Have you any chapels within your parish?", the reponse was, "There is now no chapel.  Two lie in ruins, one at Spaldington and one at Willitoft".  

The ruins of the chapel seem to have still been visible in 1900 as it is referred to in the 1900 edition of Cassell's Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland as, "The remains of an old chapel can still be traced".  Strangely, there is no evidence of these remains recorded in OS maps of that period, the location merely being marked as 'Site of Church'.