St Luke's Church Eccleshill - Articles from "The Link"

A little more about our area's history...

The murder at Stony Loin

After the Norman Conquest of 1066, Eccleshill (then Egleshill) belonged to William the Conqueror, who granted it to his relative Earl Warren. Earl Warren (who died in 1089) made an arrangement whereby the parish was part of Bradford, but a sum of compensation was paid to Dewsbury in place of the tithes. Why did such an arrangement come about?

The tradition is that there was a cleric (or monk) who paid regular visits to Eccleshill. It seems he had a ministry which even today brings popularity: rebuking the inhabitants for their sins and exhorting them to repent. Eventually they got tired of the message, but instead of just ignoring it as modern folk would have done, they took it rather badly and stoned the messenger to death. The scene of crime is said to be between the Mechanics Institute and the Towngate, and became known as “Stony Loin” - nowadays Stony Lane.

The story carries on: all the neighbouring villages washed their hands of Eccleshill and refused contact with it, and the villagers were also virtually excommunicated by the church authorities. They were allowed to retain parochial rights after a rather odd piece of medievalism: a sheep was set free and allowed to wander, and as it wandered to Dewsbury it was held that Eccleshill should belong to Dewsbury. For convenience, tithes were paid to Bradford, but Dewsbury was compensated by a fixed fee (Ł1-9-3 1/4d in 1349).

The story sounds rather peculiar nowadays, and it needs to be remembered that in those days under feudalism) the church’s income for paying the clergy came not from collections but from tithes (tenths of the produce of farms which were on church land) and glebe (rentals for other pieces of land owned by the church but let to residents and businesses). Excommunication would have been a financial problem: as well as the desire by locals for access to the church’s ministry (at St Peter’s Bradford), the church would have needed the income from the land. There would have been great pressure to reach an agreement to bring the Eccleshill folk back into the fold. (In those days, and until long after the Reformation, collections were strictly for the poor: see p244 & p262 of the Book of Common Prayer.)

(Grateful thanks to “Eccleshill in Times Past” by Vera G Taylor for much of this information.)

John Hartley

	*St Luke's Church, Eccleshill - The Link* magazine** The Link is published monthly at 40p (Senior Citizens 35p), and we deliver free within the parish and post copies (at the reader's expense) to those who request it. Please contact us if you would like a free copy for a trial period. February 2002, Page 10.
Home Page. Index of articles. Local History: index, Eglsehill, Stony Loin, 1800's. In this issue: (February 2002) Vicar's Letter, Foot & Mouth, Bible versions, Question, History.	A little more about our area's history... The murder at Stony Loin After the Norman Conquest of 1066, Eccleshill (then Egleshill) belonged to William the Conqueror, who granted it to his relative Earl Warren. Earl Warren (who died in 1089) made an arrangement whereby the parish was part of Bradford, but a sum of compensation was paid to Dewsbury in place of the tithes. Why did such an arrangement come about? The tradition is that there was a cleric (or monk) who paid regular visits to Eccleshill. It seems he had a ministry which even today brings popularity: rebuking the inhabitants for their sins and exhorting them to repent. Eventually they got tired of the message, but instead of just ignoring it as modern folk would have done, they took it rather badly and stoned the messenger to death. The scene of crime is said to be between the Mechanics Institute and the Towngate, and became known as “Stony Loin” - nowadays Stony Lane. The story carries on: all the neighbouring villages washed their hands of Eccleshill and refused contact with it, and the villagers were also virtually excommunicated by the church authorities. They were allowed to retain parochial rights after a rather odd piece of medievalism: a sheep was set free and allowed to wander, and as it wandered to Dewsbury it was held that Eccleshill should belong to Dewsbury. For convenience, tithes were paid to Bradford, but Dewsbury was compensated by a fixed fee (Ł1-9-3 1/4d in 1349). The story sounds rather peculiar nowadays, and it needs to be remembered that in those days under feudalism) the church’s income for paying the clergy came not from collections but from tithes (tenths of the produce of farms which were on church land) and glebe (rentals for other pieces of land owned by the church but let to residents and businesses). Excommunication would have been a financial problem: as well as the desire by locals for access to the church’s ministry (at St Peter’s Bradford), the church would have needed the income from the land. There would have been great pressure to reach an agreement to bring the Eccleshill folk back into the fold. (In those days, and until long after the Reformation, collections were strictly for the poor: see p244 & p262 of the Book of Common Prayer.) (Grateful thanks to “Eccleshill in Times Past” by Vera G Taylor for much of this information.) John Hartley
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