Nunthorpe, 1848

NUNTHORPE, a chapelry, in the parish of Ayton, union of Stokesley, W. division of the liberty of Langbaurgh, N. riding of York, 4 miles (N.N.E.) from the town of Stokesley; containing 137 inhabitants. This place derived its name from a Cistercian nunnery founded here in 1162, and subsequently removed to Bayesdale. The manor was anciently a demesne of the crown, and was bestowed by the Conqueror upon Robert de Brus, from whom it descended by marriage to the Thweng family; it was subsequently held by the Percys, Conyers, Bradshaws, and Simpsons. Ralph de Neville, in the reign of Henry II., granted some land, with a mill in the township, to the nunnery he had founded here, which grant was confirmed to the nuns by Henry III., after their removal to Bayesdale: and on the dissolution of the convent, the lands were conferred by the crown upon King's College, Oxford. The chapelry is in the district of Cleveland, and comprises about 1,400 acres; the surface is undulated, and the prevailing soil a strong stiff clay. Nunthorpe Hall, the seat of Thomas Simpson, Esq., formerly belonged to the Constable family; whose armorial bearings are still over a door of one of the out-buildings. The village is pleasantly situated on the Ormesby road. The chapel, dedicated to St. Mary, was rebuilt in 1824, at a cost of £200, and contains 100 sittings: the living is in the joint gift of Thomas Simpson and Thomas Richardson, Esqrs.; income, £46.