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1st April - 31st October.
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Skelton - the place name
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The spelling has varied over the years, at one time known as Scheltun, at another it was recorded as Skelltun. The name is formed from Skell , derived from the Old Norse Skjallr, a noisy stream or 'babbling brook', to which is added tun, an enclosure or settlement. The Norse elements of the name suggest that there has been a settlement at Skelton since the 7th century and the Norsemen may have taken over a Saxon settlement dating from up to 200 years earlier.
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There are six places called Skelton in the Great Britain, four of which are in Yorkshire, two in Cumbria and there are three more in North America.
The Fauconberg family
Following the death of Peter de Brus III in 1272, his four sisters became co-heiresses of the de Brus estates. Agnes, the eldest, married Walter de Fauconberg and took as her share, the manors of Skelton, Marske, Upleatham and Kirkleatham. Lucia, the second sister, married Marmaduke de Thweng taking with her the manors of Yarm, Danby and Brotton. Margaret, the third sister, married Robert de Ross and had as her share, the barony of Kendal whilst Laderina, the youngest, married John de Bellew and had for her share the lordship of Carlton amongst other holdings. Thus the estate was split up and Skelton Castle passed into the hands of:
Walter de Fauconberg (1)(died 1304) who had married Agnes de Brus. The estates now passed in direct line through the Fauconbergs.
Walter de Fauconberg (2) (died 1318)
John de Fauconberg (died 1349)
Walter de Fauconberg (3) (died 1361)
Sir Thomas de Fauconberg inherited two-thirds of the estate, whilst his mother, Isobel, received the other third. In 1403 the estate, by reason of Sir Thomas’s insanity, was put into the custody of King Henry IV who, later, placed it in the custody of Robert and John Conyers.
In 1407 the estate was settled on Walter de Fauconberg (4) (died 1407). He was the son of Sir Roger de Fauconberg, who was a brother of Sir Thomas. William died in the same year that he inherited the estate, which then passed to his daughter, Joan.
Joan Fauconberg (died 1490) inherited the estate as an infant. The castle passed, via her marriage to Sir William Neville (died 1462), who was honoured with the title Earl of Kent by Edward IV in 1461. They made alterations to the castle in 1428.
The Trotter family
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In 1577, Anthony Kempe, husband of Catherine Conyers, sold his share in the estate, including the castle, to Robert Trotter (died 1611) from whom it passed successively to:
Henry Trotter (died 1623) who married Mary Lowther
George Trotter, Edward Trotter (died 1708)
John Trotter and eventually to
Lawson Trotter a grandson of Edward and Mary. Lawson died without issue, the estate passing to his sister Catherine.
John Hall Stevenson, poet, writer and satirist,
painted in 1741
Lawrence Sterne, author of 'Tristram Shandy', was a frequent visitor in the
18th century
The Wharton family
John Hall Stevenson (died 1843) changed his surname to Wharton in order to inherit his great-great-aunt Margaret Wharton’s estate at Gilling, near Richmond, Yorkshire. For 36 years he was MP for Beverley in the East Riding. During his time he rebuilt both the castle and the church at considerable expense. However, he ran up large debts and was, for a time, confined in Fleet Debtors Prison, London. His property at Skelton, excluding that which was entailed and the library, which was mortgaged, was auctioned to pay his debts.
John Thomas Wharton (1809-1900) married Charlotte, eldest daughter of Henry Walker Yeoman of Marske Hall. Royalties and mining rights following the discovery of ironstone across East Cleveland restored the estates finances.
William Henry Anthony Wharton (1859-1938) married Harriot Emily Yeoman. He was Commanding Officer of the 4th Battalion Yorkshire Regiment, better known as the Green Howards, prior to the outbreak of the Great War.
Margaret Winsome Wharton (1894-1991) daughter of William & Harriot married Captain Christopher Hilyard Ringrose, taking the style and name Mrs Ringrose Wharton. A highly respected lady in the village, she took an active part in running the estate and supported many activities in the local community.
There were no children from this marriage and so the estate passed to Anthony Charles Philip Wharton (1946- date). The son of Lawrence Humphrey Wharton, grandson of Philip Thomas Wharton, great-grandson of James Charles Wharton who was a brother of John Thomas Wharton. Thus the current owner of Skelton Castle is the great-great-nephew of John Thomas Wharton (1809-1900).
We are indebted to the
Skelton History Group
for the detailed information
about the successive owners
of the Skelton Estates
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skeltonhistorygroup.wordpress.com
The de Brus family
The first Robert de Brus was a distinguished warrior and statesman who accompanied William 1 from Normandy. After the Battle of Hastings the Conqueror commissioned Robert de Brus to subdue the rebellions in the north, writes John Walker Ord. This he accomplished successfully and was rewarded with the gift of fifty-one manors across the north of England and Scottish Borders. Skelton, Danby and Kilton were amongst his possessions.
Through Robert II the descent can be traced through five further generations to Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland, who was crowned at Scone on 27th March 1306. Robert II’s grandson Adam de Brus (died c.1190) was dispossessed of his castle at Danby by his guardian and uncle, William d’Aumale who also persuaded Adam to take away the churches of Skelton, Kirkleavington and Yarm from Guisborough Priory and gift them to William’s own foundation of Thornton abbey in Lincolnshire.
Peter de Brus I (died 1222), the son of Adam, succeeded in recovering the manor of Danby at a cost of £1000 in 1200. In 1207 he purchased the wapentake of Langbaurgh, near Great Ayton. He became increasingly disillusioned of King John; and in February 1216 after displeasing the sovreign, he had to flee Skelton Castle to avoid capture by the king. By 1219, the new king, Henry III, had restored his lands to him.
Peter de Brus II (died 1240) served as a justice for Yorkshire, and died whilst on crusade. His son, another Peter, Peter de Brus III (died 1272) died without issue and was the last of the de Brus family to be Lord of Skelton.
The Fauconberg coat-of-arms
from the hospital (almshouses) at Coxwold
The Conyers family
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Alicia Neville was the daughter of Joan Fauconberg and Sir William Neville. She and her husband Sir John Conyers (later Lord Conyers) passed over the inheritance in favour of their son, William Conyers who inherited the castle in 1490.
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The property passed to John, Lord Conyers (died 1556) and on his death the estate was shared between his three daughters. Ann married Anthony Kempe, Catherine married John Atherton and Elizabeth married Thomas D’Arcy. There is record of disagreement between the three husbands. The story goes that each allowed their part of the castle to fall into disrepair so that the others wouldn’t have any benefit of it.
The Trotter coat-of-arms
The Hall and Hall Stevenson family
Joseph Hall (died 1733) came into possession of the castle and estates in 1727 by his marriage to Catherine, sister of Lawson Trotter, and by purchasing land, in 1730, from Lawson Trotter. Their son John Hall (died 1785) added Stevenson as his surname after his marriage to Anne, the daughter of Ambrose Stevenson and Ann Wharton. John was an author and friend of Laurence Sterne, who wrote ‘The Life and Times of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman’. He had a reputation for throwing wild parties for his friends who included Lawrence Sterne, Zachary Moore and Panty Lascelles, known collectively as the ‘Demoniacs’.
John was something of a hypochondriac and wouldn’t get out of bed if there was an east wind blowing. The story goes that Lawrence Sterne paid a youth to fix the weathervane so it never showed an east wind. The castle at this time was in a state of disrepair, earning for itself the nickname “Crazy Castle”.
The states passed to Joseph William Hall Stevenson (died 1786) who married Ann, daughter and heiress of James Foster, Drumgoom, Co. Fermanagh, Ireland. Their son John Hall Stevenson (died 1843) married Susan Mary Anne, the second daughter of General Lambton of County Durham.
Skelton Castle in the early 21st century