The production of the Walker family tree and, perhaps of greater interest, the Walker family history has taken us through three distinct phases of investigation. The first is the natural process of recording the knowledge from those alive and such pieces of information "within the living memory". This has been verified and augmented by written and photographic records which over the last one hundred or so years is available in abundance.
Prior to this and inevitably overlapping are the Quaker records of births marriages and deaths which have been meticulously kept and preserved. These take our family tree back with confidence to the year 1714. This date is the earliest Quaker record of the Walker family we have found and is the marriage of John Walker to Sarah Chappell. These records have also been supported by wills, maps, letters and official records from within the family as well as from many archive offices. The details of the Quaker records deserve a chapter in themselves but this is neither the time nor the place.
The third phase, pre 1714 Quaker, has taken us into the Church of England records for births, marriages and deaths. Once again the official archives have been able to offer supporting evidence of family connection in the form of wills and a few other documents. Prior to 1714 the amount of available information drops rapidly and the search itself is difficult and requires, on occasions, dogged detective work.
The C.of E. records which concern our family are within the parishes of Batley and prior to that Birstall both within the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. The records for Birstall started in the year 1558 and by comparison with many parish records are relatively complete and in some instances contain useful details, on many occasions the occupation and town or hamlet follows the individual’s name. This practice followed the whim of the recorder rather than any Church edict. Certain maps exist which assist in pointing to the dwellings or farms our descendants lived in, land records and Manorial records support this.
We have quite naturally called those who are recorded from 1714 onward through the Quaker records our "Quaker ancestor". Those who pre-date these records we have chosen to call our "Ancient ancestor" and it is about some of the earliest of these that I write.
This group of ancient ancestors who lived from c.1484 to 1605 and include three Williams, a Wilfrey and a James are of considerable interest from many points of view. The main reason must stem from the fact that they were living in a period of English history known as the Middle ages. A period far removed from the understanding of our present generation and in which most family histories have ground to a halt or have details which are confined to a fathers name and some children, usually connected with shaky evidence from one generation to the next. This situation is far removed from the Walker case and forms the basis of the second interesting series of facts.
Some of the "Ancient Ones" had a status in the English class system which was known as “franklin”, “yeomen farmer” or “yeomen clothier” depending upon the century in which they lived and their major occupation. They all had control of land either as owners or tenant with a long lease (three generations was often the minimum case) either of which gave them in turn control over their lives and to some degree their destinies. This status meant that official records were kept with regard to many aspects of their lives. Three are worthy examples at this stage but are used in detail at a later point. They were wealthy enough to be subject to Lay subsidies, also Poll tax and land reviews. As individuals they were careful not to loose their land and wealth to the State and so wills were made and deposited, three of these have been obtained and deciphered, William Walker III, Wilfrey Walker and James Walker.
The focus of our search, the parish of Birstall, part of the West Riding of Yorkshire was an area of great importance for the production of cloth and wool from the earliest times. Both these commodities contributed significantly to this countries wealth. This fact alone has led other writers to research and publish works in great detail about many aspects of the area and covering the last six centuries. Other writers, as with almost any area in the country have written about the topography, sociology, development and history of the area. All these works offer background information of great importance but seldom contain Walker history or details pertinent to our ancient ancestors.
One book however sets itself apart from this group, "Spen Valley: past and present", published in 1893 and written by Frank Peel author of a number of texts about the area. Fortunately for us Peel wrote in a style unlike many late Victorians whose works were flamboyant and on occasions exaggerated. His work was nearer that of the better Victorian observers in the developing fields of science and natural history, detailed in observation and with quoted sources and references. Perhaps this is why he is spoken of as an antiquarian of special note when quoted in modern research.
Within the parish of Birstall is Spen valley and as Peel explains, this is that area from which the river Spen drains and includes the three townships of Liversedge, Heaton and Heckmondwike. Within this area is the hamlet of Littletown also known in the early days as Little Liversedge. He records that whilst researching this area for a book he came across a bundle of papers in the Bodleian Library, Oxford which had lain untouched for over three hundred years. They had been collected by a lawyer named John Hanson who married Jennet de Liversedge and found that her relatives had done her out of her inheritance. She was the last in line of the Manor of Liversedge and she was also a women! John Hanson put together all the documents pertaining to the Liversedge land he could gather and recorded in his own hand all the details "in time immemorial". This phrase which was acceptable in the Manorial Courts, Leat or Baron referred to "time within living memory" and was either backed up by other responsible adults or taken as a sworn statement. These documents, written statements and hand written notes were used in a court of Law to fight his land disputes and following his death were deposited in the Bodleian. These provided Peel with an extraordinary find and the most remarkable details any serious writer could wish come across.
Our family details are enriched immeasurably by this piece of good fortune and along with Fleet of Fine records, Lay subsidy records of 1523, Parish and Manorial records, Wills, very early Estate plans and sketch maps form the basis for this writing.
I have chosen to italicize the material used in quotation form, and to underline that evidence which I believe is of special significance. The spelling of names, both of individuals and place are apt to be inconsistent during the period under review. I have taken the spelling as it appears in the wills, documents and papers used. A few examples come to mind, Rawfall, Rawfals and Rawfold: Rayner, Raynor and Rainer: Nevyll and Neville: Eddercliff, Eddercliffe and Adderclough: Wilfray and Wilfrey : Jannet and Jennet. I have purposely tried not to become involved with all the details and facts which are known as it would diffuse the issue at hand. These facts, which in themselves are of interest would take up many more pages than this article. I would refer the inquisitive reader to the relevant and well edited Biographies and the Link Articles completed by this writer and Bud Walker of Canada.
The story of our Ancient Walkers starts with James Walker and gives the evidence for the continuity of land ownership in one particular hamlet within the family, whilst moving backwards in time and history to his father William Walker (111), grandfather William Walker (11) and great grandfather William Walker (1). The number following each name has been added purely for ease of identification.
James Walker died in 1605 and left a Will. It was written on "the seventeenth day of February..........and in the third year of the reign of our sovereign Lord James on the throne of England, France and Ireland, King defender of the faith and in the thirty ninth year of his reign over Scotland." This sentence alone may send one or two readers hunting for their history books. It continues "I James Walker of Little Liversedge in the parish of Birstall.......commit my soul unto the mercyfullness of Almighty God my maker and redeemer. And my body I willingly yield to the earth to be buried in the Parish church or churchyard of Birstall." James mentions his brother John living at Hartshead a Parish adjoining that of Birstall and his wife Elizabeth (formally Stringer) whom he married in 1587. Also mentioned are John his son and heir apparent, who inherited “all my wains, ploughs, yokes, furniture and timber”. Also grandchildren John and Margaret, daughter in law Jennie Walker and her sister Alice.
Finally, though foremost in the Will is the important sentences concerning my lands and estates ...... “I will, devise and appoint unto Richard Walker my second son...... a messuage or tenement and the lands or grounds therewith occupied in Little Liversedge in the tenure of my brother Wilfrey Walker....I devise to my neighbour Mr Robert Rayner and to my cousin John Hanson of Woodhouse”, (also known as Staincliffe in the next parish of Batley) “in trust and consideration to the use of them and Richard my son all the parcels of land and meadows called Rawfolds.....”
Of great significance here is the mention of a messuage, that is a dwelling house and its attendant out buildings and yards with land at Little Liversedge (Littletown) and land and meadows called Rawfold. In effect this establishes the Walker family lands and property.
An O.S. map dated 1848, of the Liversedge area, shows the hamlet of Littletown and the farm called Rawfold. Another earlier map dated 1801 also names and shows the position of Rawfold farm and the pattern of fields around it. On this map is a farm called Eddercliffe and one unnamed in the bottom left quarter. From other maps and writings this was known as Primrose Farm and the area as Primrose Hill.
James Walker was born about the year 1559. The first son of William Walker (111) and his wife Alice Rayner whom he married in 1558. The John and Wilfrey mentioned in the above Will as James's brothers were born in 1560 and 1562 respectively. From the amount of land, farm equipment, timber, monies, furniture and bequests it is safe to say that James Walker was of yeomen status. Land was inherited and passed down the family, usually going with the elder or eldest son. All eight of William (111) and Alice's children are recorded in the Birstall Parish records as born at Littletown.
The will of William Walker (111) (James Walker's father) was written on “...the 21st day of November in the 31st year of the reign of our Sovereign Ladie Elizabeth and in the year of our Lord God 1588”. He described himself as “William Walker of Liversedge in the County of York, Yeoman, poore of bodie but yet of good and perfect remembrance”. His status from the will is compatible with a yeoman clothier/farmer. That he had himself inherited land is later demonstrated. The major contents of the will are concerned with the clothier trade, hence the dual use of occupations with the status of yeoman. The will was written and sealed in the presence of Wilfrey Walker of Heckmondwike (his brother), Robert Rainer and John Holdsworth.
James is named as William's son and heir and was given “all that timber I ordained....with my tenters as they stand, hoping that he will suffer his younger brothers to have use of them...” Tenters were fences with hooks on them onto which lengths of cloth were hung so they could dry in the sun without shrinkage. A "length of cloth" was by definition twenty two feet in length and twenty seven inches broad. Tenters were therefore long and took up a substantial amount of land. The Will mentions four other children, grandchildren and a servant. The younger brothers were John, Wilfrey and Francis each of whom are left money, shears, shearboards and handles, the tools of a cropper or shearman. In the History of Yorkshire by Tate and Singleton there is a drawing of a cloth-cropping shop and the following. "The croppers or shearmen were highly-skilled and well paid craftsmen engaged in the work of cloth finishing. First they raised the nap of the cloth with teazles then they sheared the surface with a huge pair of iron shears, four feet long and weighing perhaps forty pounds". The shearboard was as the name suggests, a long wooden board supported by trestles onto which the cloth was stretched before the shearing commenced. The handles referred to in the will were the teasel brushes for raising the nap on the cloth.
In a typescript copy of the West Yorkshire Fleet of Fines, a court set up to deal with land disputes, there is a record in the year 1579, Easter Term, in which William Walker (111) and Thomas and Edmond Brooke proved their rights to a messuage and lands in Liversedge. In 1592, Trinity Term, Wilfrey Walker stated his case for lands in Heckmondwike.
In 1570 Sir John Neville who was then Lord of the Manor of Liversedge committed treason against Queen Elizabeth of England and had his lands sequestrated. Before they were given to Sir Edward Carey the Queen commissioned Sir Thomas Gargrave, the Inquisitor General for the West Riding of Yorkshire to list details of the Manor, its lands, rents and tenants. From a list of names collected and preserved in the Hanson papers of the Free rents in Liversedge, dated 1571, which by implication means those individual heads of family, are of freemen or yeomen status, we see those of :-
John Hanson,......................who paid 9d.
Edmond Brooke,............... who paid 7d.
William Walker.(111)........who paid 6d.
Lionel.Rayner,...................who,paid.5d.
William Walker who paid 6d a year had the fifth highest rent and over half the Freeholders listed (21) paid less than 3d.
William Walker (111) was born in c.1528 and married Alice de Liversedge in c.1555 and from Frank Peel's book we read that they resided at Rawfold. A farm about a half mile north of Littletown.
William Walker (111) was the elder son of William Walker (11) and his wife, whose name we know not. The date of birth predates parish records and has been arrived at by four facts.
(1)As William (111) inherited Rawfold he was almost certainly the elder/eldest surviving son. It was quite common at that time for the first born son to be given the same first name as his father. Land was often given or leased to a family for three life times, so encouraging good farming and hence good rent returns! The senior land lord, the reigning Monarch never bothering to visit his estates as long as the rent was paid on time. To extend this time period from three to four generations, and we should remember that lives were often cut short by disease and famine, the continued use of the same name had strong advantages !!
(2) As children were born at home and William (11) inherited Rawfold which is in Littletown we can state his place of birth with a good degree of certainty.
(3) The average age of marriage at the time can be shown to be about 30 for men and 28 for women.
(4) William (111) was born c.1528 so his father would have been born about thirty years prior to this. These are the reasons for suggesting William (11) was born c.1498 at Littletown.
In 1560 a land review took place by Richard Rayner, who at the time lived at Primrose Hill. This was entitled A Note of Every Man's Land. The list gives the name of every holder of land in Liversedge outside the domain of Liversedge Hall and the name of almost every field they held. Richard Rayner's wife Margaret, was John Hanson's mother-in-law. The latter was mentioned in James Walker's will as his cousin. William Walker (11), as one would expect is mentioned as one of the major holders with land requiring " 77 days work " A few of the details are worth mentioning, "his house with a Croft, 11 days: Capp's House and Croft with his Nether Croft, 11 days": and finally the largest area of William's land and presumably the one from which his lands were named, " the Rawfall and the close at Wasduks, 16 days ".
Edmond Brooke had land worth 55 days work in Littletown and Richard Rayner had land worth 65 days work.
This writer has not seen the original document but wonders if Peel's transcription of the medieval handwriting mistook Rawfold for Rawfall. There is a strong similarity in looks and pronunciation of both names.
Throughout this 1560 list of field, farm and place names there are many which bear a strong resemblance in spelling or phonetically to those shown on later maps and writings. There are also those which have not changed to this day, nearly 437 years later. In January 1997 this writer and his wife Valerie, visited the area and found Rawfold Lane and Primrose Lane (leading in the 1850s to Rawfold farm and Primrose Hill farm respectively) in the place one would expect using the 1801 map never mind the 1848 map or 1997 town plan. (Again in 2001 and 2006 with Australian and Canadian “cousins”.) Other surnames listed in the 1560 document can be positively associated with particular fields and farms in the Manor of Liversedge. In a number of instances the relative positions of individual farms, one with another, are mentioned. These two facts make it very certain that the name of William (11)s major land area, that of Rawfall which either then or at some later date gave its name to the farm called Rawfold is one and the same. In the Birstall Parish records the death is recorded of William Walker on 23rd September 1562 and his burial in the same churchyard.
William Walker (11), born c.1498 at Littletown was the son of William Walker (1) who was also born in Littletown c. 1468 . His mothers name is not known. The estimation of birth date must be made as this occurs pre-church records and is arrived at in similar manner as was William (11)s.
In 1523 King Henry VIIIth of England was granted a Subsidy by Parliament to fund and continue his fight with the King of France. This took the form of a tax on his more wealthy subjects. Lists were produced from each Manor to show the names of individuals and the amount of payment against land or goods. An extract from the West Riding Book of Rates lists the following six names for Liversedge Manor:-
Robert Nevyll, Knight........................œ50 on Lands.............50 s. tax
William Rayner..................................œ18 on Goods.............19 s. tax
Gilbert Bentley...................................20 s. on Lands............12 p. tax
William Walker..................................40 s. on Lands..............2 s. tax
John Brooke......................................20 s. on Lands............12 p. tax
Wife of Richard Rayner.....................40 s. on Goods...........12 p. tax
William Walker (1) would have been aged about 55 when this tax was levied and his son William (11) aged about 25. As the tax was paid only by the head of the household no other members of the family are named. It is certain that William (11) was not married or had inherited land at this date as he is not named in the list.
Following some comment on the individuals named in the above tax Peel states:- It will be have been seen that the records of Liversedge township at this period (1523) and earlier are far more varied and interesting than those of Cleckheaton and Heckmondwike. This, as we have already pointed out, arises from the fact that the central township was from the earliest times the residence of the wealthy and notable families.
From the Rates list we see that only Sir Robert Nevyll, Lord of Liversedge Manor in 1523 and William Rayner a name prominent at a later date as a future Lord of the Manor held wealth greater than William Walker. The Rayner family seat was at Primrose Hill Farm next to the Walkers at Rawfold. The Walkers as we have seen were of yeomen status and had considerable lands, 77 days work. The Brooke name has also been seen in connection with land deals and the family lived for many generations at Eddercliffe farm just south of Rawfold. The same names, Rayner, Brooke and Walker were also shown as the wealthy group of Littletown yeomen in the 1571 list of Free rents, some 48 years later. The farms held by the principal sons also remained the same.
Returns in 1523 from Heckmondwike were not given and there were no Walkers listed as living at Heaton or Cleckheaton as it is now known.
The only recorded Walker family in the entire Spen Valley in 1523 were living in the Manor of Liversedge. They were of yeomen stock and almost certainly had land and therefore a family seat in Littletown. It is very likely that the family land even at that early date, was known by the name of Rawfall or Rawfold.
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As demonstrated there is a strong case for tracing and placing the Walker family in the year 1523 to the Hamlet of Littletown within the Manor of Liversedge. This has been accomplished by the use of wills, parish registers, manorial records, maps, Poll tax and Lay subsidy records and of course Peel's interpretation of the Elizabethan lawyer John Hanson's collection of papers in the Bodleian Library at Oxford.
What follows is a short look at the social and domestic situation at that time. This supports and strengthens the case as outlined above. It also assists in preparing our thoughts as to the Walker family situation before this date of 1523, a group of people designated as our "Very Ancient Walkers."
The two authorities who controlled the lives of all individuals at this time were the Church and the Lord of the Manor. Above these two bodies was the reigning Monarch who by right of position owned and controlled all the land. He gave the land rights to areas as large as Counties to his favored followers; these individuals in turn gave the land rights of Manors to their favored followers. A Manorial Lord such as Sir John Nevyll gave land rights to the freemen or yeomen such as the Walkers, Rayners, Bentleys and Brookes. The Walkers sub-let their land, in the case of William (11) to the Capp's family. However all in turn owed something to the superior landlord, be it a number of days work, rent in the form of produce, goods manufactured, money, or in the time of war, allegiance in battle. This was the English Feudal system, and for centuries, an effective means of control. As can be imagined it was very difficult for a man or his family to move either physically or socially during this time period. Transport was by horse for the lucky few; the ox was the main source of pulling power and hardly suitable as a means for travel! Social change rarely occurred, where it did it was through a favour being owed and repaid in the form of land rights or sequestration if incurring the displeasure of the Monarch. An advantageous marriage might help or a change in the fortunes of the family. The vast majority of people stayed put and, believe it or not were glad to do so. Life may have been wretched in many ways but for most people things were relatively stable and they knew their position and expectations in life. But for the lowest stratum of society, that of the surf or villein who worked the land from dawn to dusk, year in and year out and were owned by the Lord of the Manor rights were very few. These individuals could be, and were sold, even up to the end of the 16th century. Those families who had land were, in general, secure in social circumstance and in physical position.
A prerequisite of land tenure was a trade or occupation. These circumstances generated just enough food and money in a good year to feed the family, pay the required rents and put a little of bit aside for a bad year. Failure of one year's harvest had dire consequences. Failure of two harvests consecutively often decimated the population who were already weakened due to one year of near starvation. In the Halifax and Birstall area the opportunity for some individuals to work in a dual economy presented itself. The area was on the edge of the Pennine hills which had reasonable potential for farming, the upland areas for sheep and the valleys for crop cultivation. The Pennines had a generous yearly rainfall which gave continuous clean water and a source of power to the cloth and woollen mills; a small number are recorded as early as the 12th century. Families which had a stake in a dual economy were almost insured against failure. In fact it can be shown that the wealthy families in this area during the early and late Middle ages were involved in both farming and cloth production. This position was also true in the 17th century and applied to John Walker, yeomen clothier and farmer who died in Staincliffe in 1742.
Most trades and occupation were at that time passed on from generation to generation. This was especially true for the yeomen families. It is documented that six spinners were required to supply one weaver of cloth at his loom and eight to supply one linen weaver. This work was done where possible by the daughters and youngsters of the family with mother helping when ever possible. The word spinster is derived from the unmarried daughter following this occupation. When families were larger, perhaps due to married sons with a wife and children remaining on the home farm then it became possible for additional jobs associated with the woolen trade to be done. These would be dying the wool or cloth and shearing it, so keeping the profit within the family rather than having to "put out" the work.
Another factor which supported the idea that continuity of occupation was sensible has to do with the tools of the trade. In the 12th, 13th and14th C. tools were rough, rudimentary and people just didn't have the spare hours to make them. Materials such as wood was common though metal was expensive and if to be made into specific shapes was only done by the local blacksmith. Not all hamlets had one, and the nearest to Littletown was some miles away near Birstall, at Birstall Smythies. Tools and equipment as we have seen were willed to individuals and their placing not left to chance. Skills were taught to the family members as soon as they were able to join in the work. Those living in the Manor of Liversedge had good farming land, it was well treed so timber was not short and the river Spen flowed through. The five factors of good land, river access, tools of the trade, a skill which was always in demand and secure land tenure would have provided generation after generation with security and prosperity. We have seen that the Walkers were so placed from the year 1523 right through to James Walkers death in 1605, some four generations later (over 83 years). The family may well have maintained this position for further generations. As our direct ancestor was a younger brother of the said James the family land didn't pass in our direction so no attempt has been made to follow its progress.
The story of our "Ancient Ancestors" is not quite complete. William Walker (1) was recorded in the 1523 Lay Subsidy in the Manor of Liversedge. When and where was he born? It is not difficult to give an answer which maintains credibility, though at present it must remain a guess.
William Walker (11) was born c.1498. We have taken for reasons previously explained that he was the elder/eldest son at the time of his fathers will. If we allow two years between the marriage of William (1) and his son's birth and make an assumption that he was 30 years of age at his wedding, for reasons given previously, than we have an approximate date of birth for William Walker (1) as 1468. It is likely that he too was born on the farm recorded in 1523 and this at some later date became known as Rawfold.
This group of individuals cannot be linked to our family of Walkers, and by that I mean William (1), with any degree of certainty. As the details to be used are mentioned by Peel and come from the Hanson papers and other identified sources it would be interesting to make a case and leave readers to form their own judgment and future genealogists to consider the undoubted challenge it presents.
The time between William (1)'s birth and James's death is about one hundred and forty three years and during that time the Walkers were on the same lands. If one is to turn the clock back 89 years, or about three generations before William's birth, c 1468 to the year 1379 we are able to study another set of official records.
In 1379 a Poll Tax was decreed by Parliament in the reign of King Richard II to raise funds for the continuance of the war against France. A groat was to be paid by every person, except beggars, above the age of sixteen years. The nobility and the wealthy classes paid according to position. The lists exists for the three manors of Spen Valley, Liversedge, Heaton Clak (Clekheaton) and Heckmondwyke. The sum raised were:-
Heckmondwyke 4sh. 8d. with 21 recorded individuals.
Heton Clak 12sh 4d with 59 recorded individuals.
Liversedge 29sh 6d with 51 recorded individuals.
Of the 51 individuals in Liversedge the records show that there were 22 married couples, 2 single women, 6 single men and 7 children. Taking into account, beggars and young children it is thought that the total number in the entire Spen valley would be about 200 individuals.
There were no Walkers recorded in Heton Clak or Heckmondwyke. This was also the case shown in the 1523 Lay Subsidy. Once again the only recorded Walkers were living in the Manor of Liversedge.
The1379 Poll tax list for Liversedge reads in part thus:-
Johannes Nevyll., and vx....................................................XXs.
Johannes de Leversig, cissor, and vx.................................XIId.
Johannes Walkester, Fullo, and vx.................................VId
Wilhelmus del Spen and vx................................................IIIId
Johannes Bethbroke and vx............................................... IIIId.
Robertus Schephird and vx................................................ IIIId.
Thomas fforester and vx.................................................... IIIId.
Thomas Walker and vx...................................................... IIIId.
Thomas del Halle and vx................................................... IIIId.
Johannes Nevyll paid XXd (20 pence), Johannes de Liversig paid XId (12 pence) and Johannes Walkester paid VId (6 pence). Of the remaining twenty four named families on this list all paid the minimum sum of one groat. (IIIId or 4 pence in pre 1972 English money). The wages of the ordinary workman at that time was 1½ d per day and the tax of a groat would therefore represent nearly as much as a man could earn in three days. The other names were nearly all indicative of the individual's place of origin and represented places relatively near by. A few examples will suffice, Johanness de Morlay ( John of Morley), Thomas de Kyghlay (Thomas of Keighley) and Johannes de Lokton (John of Lockton). Works on family names, their development and origins, suggest that this type of naming represented individuals who had migrated or been draughted as a work force into the manor. The place name was only given to the first of the family coming in, thereafter the name of children born would bear another "surname". The names Shepherd and Forester like that of Walker indicated their trade or occupation. The names Nevyll and de Liversig need only pronouncing to realize their later equivalents.
These are Peel's comments on the names and individuals in the list. The letters vx. are a contraction of "uxor", wife. At the head of the list appears John Nevill, Esquire, who pays in the class of Knight. Next in the list is John de Liversedge, to whose name is attached the word "cissor". Generally this word means tailor, but there are instances were it takes the wider signification of clothier, and this is the case here. "Walkester" is Walker. John Walker is said to be a fuller, so it is evident cloth was made here at this early period. "fforester" is Forester. "Schephird" is Shepherd. "Halle" is Hall. "Wihelmus del Spen"s name shows us clearly that he lived in the vicinity of that stream. A moments examination of "Johannes Bethbroke's" surname will show us that it is the same as the forgoing, in another form. John Bethbroke would be originally "John Bythbrook".
A few additional comments are necessary here as Peel was not extracting information for the Walker name nor the continuity of family names and land ownership. There are two Walker families listed but neither had children over the age of sixteen at that date. One is connected with the cloth trade, a Johannes Walkester, or as we would now say John Walker. The word "Fullo" or Fuller is another name for Walker, an occupational name for one who fulls or walks the cloth to thicken it.
The three highest contributions were paid by the Nevylls, de Liversedges and the Walkers. The Bethbrokes or as Peel suggests Bythbrook and I will now suggest was later simplified to Brooke, are once again the leading and wealthy family names which we have seen from the 1523 Subsidy tax, and other lists throughout this work.
Drawing once again upon Peel's researches:-
"In the poll tax list of Liversedge drawn up in 1379 is the name of John Walker, a fuller". and "there is no trace of another fulling mill existing in Liversedge at so early a period". In other words John Walker's name and occupation come from the Poll tax list and as only one fulling mill in Liversedge has been identified from early documents this would appear to be his place of work and residence.
Jumping forward in time to 1560 and examining the land details of Liversedge produced by Robert Rayner we read of a house at Milnebrigg, a Milneclose, the Milnefield, Walkmilnyeard and the Milne. These references to a house at the mill bridge, a walled field, and larger field next to the bridge and finally the mill and adjacent yard itself are worthy of consideration. The process of fulling or walking the cloth required a continuous water supply and there is also mention of a bridge. We must therefore look at the river which flows through Liversedge manor to locate a possible site for the mill. The only river either mentioned or shown on early or later maps is the river Spen. This flows, not through Liversedge township itself but through Littletown where there was a bridge on the main packhorse track from Liversedge to the parish church and township of Birstall. A rough map of the Littletown area drawn about the year 1700 shows roads, river, houses and names the mill bridge and beside it the mill. An O.S. map of 1848 of the area under investigation names the Mill Bridge and beside it Victoria woollen mill and a Walkman mill yard. Peel states that these existed at his time of writing (1893). If this site at Littletown was so satisfactory for a mill connected with cloth making from 1560 to 1893, (and it could have easily been a wider span of dates) a time span of at least 333 years then it is entirely conceivable that it was also the one site mentioned by Peel existing 181 years prior to 1560, which would be 1379.
We have a situation supported by existing records of a John Walker and his wife whose trade was a cloth fuller / walker, living in Liversedge in the year 1379 and only one fulling or "walk mill" in that manor. Peel states "that this walk mill was mentioned in many old local deeds and documents and was erected in 1376".
One hundred and eighty one years later in c.1468 William Walker (1) was born in Littletown, a hamlet in the same manor and had lands which are associated with the name Rawfold. These lands were handed down through three generations of Walkers to James Walker also of Littletown. All these Walkers were men of yeomen status and consistently ranked about the fourth most wealthy family in the Spen valley in the lists of 1379, 1523, 1560 and 1571. The lists of 1379 and 1523 record only one Walker family in the Spen valley. Though later individuals had dual incomes the wills show that the cloth trade was one of them. The fulling or cloth mill at Millbridge, Littletown is shown to exist on the same site up until the1890s. These details, taken with the usual practice of handing both the skills and the tools of the trade from one generation to the next suggest a continuity of name, occupation, status, land and location from 1379 to 1605. The question left is, have we revealed the name, place and occupation of our most Ancient Ancestor? Is it Johannes Walker, fullo and his wife of Liversedge manor? I know what I am inclined to think, but must stress, only think!
Richard B Walker, Formby, England. January 1997.
Reference material:-
The Parish Register of Birstall, 1558 - 1635.
Spen Valley : Past and Present. Frank Peel . 1893.
"A note on every mans land,1560", page 106
1379 Poll Tax records, page 45.
"Walk mills erected in 1376", page 55.
1523, West Riding Book of Rates, page 73.
Borthwick Institute of Historical Research, University of York.
Wills of :-
William Walker,
Wilfrey Walker,
James Walker.
Quaker records, Special Collections, Brotherton Library, Leeds University.
History of the ancient Parish of Birstall, H. C. Cradock. 1933.
Illustrated History of Britain, the early Middle Ages.
The Industrial Revolution, the textile industry.
The Yorkshire Woollen & Worsted Industries, earliest times up to industrial revolution. Herbert Heaton 2nd Ed 1965. Clarendon Press, Oxford.
Society and Economy in Modern Britain. 1700 - 1850. Richard Brown.
The People of England, social and economic history. Maurice Ashley.
Yorkshire from A. D. 1000. David Hey.
West Yorkshire Archives , Kirklees :-
Maps of the area dated 1700, 1775, 1801 and 1848.
West Yorkshire Fleet of Fines. W.Y.A.S.
Tax and other sources of revenue. Cauldwell.
History of Yorkshire. Tate and Singleton.
Tudor times. V. Salter.
It should be noted that various members of the Walker family continued as clothiers up until 1825. John Walker owning a mill at Rawdon, whilst other individual sailed to New York to oversee the arrival, storage and sale of family produced cloth, some settling and marrying. One Joseph Walker retired early in life from New York to Darley after importing/exporting in the dry goods trade leaving a Will detailing £35,000 in 1835. A second Joseph Walker had a packet boat named after him and many others are listed as cargo owners on the early packet liners of the Black Ball line. This venture (Black ball line) is now stated as the reason New York took the lead over the ports of Boston and Philadelphia as the goods emporium of the world in 1818, not the opening of the Clinton-Erie canal which opened later, as had previously been thought. A group of cloth producing Quakers from Rawden and Darley in Yorkshire set up business in Rawdon, Liverpool and New York in 1816. This included Walkers, Thompsons and Grimshaws. All three names intermarried within our group. This story will be written.
RBW. Formby, England. 2005.