AS A

(1941 - )

Compiled February 1972, Updated August 1997

EASINGWOLD (EASINGWOOD)

A Norsman named Angenmaer arrived in what is now Yorkshire some time prior to 71 A.D. and being a pagan people, no written records were kept and even their temples were made of wood. The Roman invasion in the York area "Brigantes" (Ancient Briton) by Roman Julius Agricola (c. 71-84 A.D.) forced the Ingas, the followers of Angenmaer, to flee inland.

During the Roman times, Easingwold was surrounded or traversed on every side by forts, military roads, and ancient British Track Ways. The area was the scene of many bloody conflicts between the Romans and the Britons. (Crayke Castle boasts of a Roman origin.)

After the departure of the Romans in 430, the area was still the scene of heavy conflicts from contending armies for control of the area and after many repulses of northern armies, the Saxons ultimately prevailed and the remains of the ancient Brigantes, which had escaped the Roman arms, were subdued.

Saxon laws were established, Saxon customs were adopted, and the Saxon language was spoken.

In 477, AElle and his three sons landed in the York area and besieged Andredesceaster (Northumbria) and granted land to the pagan leaders who assisted him and his cause. Esa and his people settled in what is now EASINGWOLD.

Whatever might have been the names of places previous to this period, the Saxons mostly re-named them from their own vocabulary. The Easingwold name cannot be traced in history any further back than the time of the Saxons.

No archaeological or historical evidence, except for existing place-names, is available to support any claims. Many villages established around 477 do not exist today. Only excavation of graves support the existence of extinct place names. The practice of smelting iron ore was done in the ancient times when the forest was abounded with wood.

Ingas place names are likely to be found only where initial settlements had been made followed by continuing occupation. Inhabitants of those settlements had been, for centuries, used to military government and powers (Roman rule) as well as stability depending largely on the distinction of its dynasty. As a result, independent kingdoms survived through the many centuries of wars and foreign rule.

The first Christian king of Northumbria was AEduini (Descendent of IDA - brother of ESA). He was baptized Edwin on the eve of Easter Day in 627. He began what was known as the Northumbrian Dynasty in the 7^th and 8^th century. He reigned from 616 to 632. He was succeeded by his son Oswand (632-641). Oswiu brother of Oswald, reigned from 641 to 670. After many wars with his brother, Oswiu’s government named Oswald’s son to reign. In 660, Oswiu took control of power again and reigned from 660 to 670. During Oswiu’s reign of Northumbria, he redistributed his lands. ESA’s descendents retained title of the land presently held. A neighboring village, Ripon, was named as seat of Northumbria bishopric until 731. The history of the 7^th Century Northumbria is known primarily from the writings of Bede (c. 671-735).

EASINGWOLD manor was held by Morcar during the reign of Edward the Confessor (1041). Morcar was the last Saxon Earl of Northumberland, and he was the Governor of York when Harold Harfager, King of Norway marched against it. Easingwold remained a feudal state until the establishment of the Domesday Book in 1086. At that time, England was under the rule of William, the Norman conqueror, who at the Battle of Hastings, on 14 October 1066, defeated the Anglo-Saxons and took over the control of York. Mocar was superseded in his government by Robert de Mowbray, a most cruel Norman.

The Anglo-Saxon, Mocar, raised a body of disgusted Northumbrians, like himself, and slew a great number of the Norman garrisons and the City of York was re-taken. The families who resisted the domination of William the Conqueror called in the aid of some neighbors to defend their ancestral acres and establish themselves within the earth work. The Norman assailants were routed. In 1070, William, upon hearing of this exploit, laid waste to all the country from York to Durham and made it so desolate that for nine years, neither spade of plough was put into the ground.

The name EASINGWOLD is found in very few English Place-Name books and to date, no book has been found with the surname-EASINGWOLD-listed. Since the English people adopted surnames of their vocations (i.e. Smith for a silver smith), the only people who retained the name of their village were those who could claim direct decendency from the leader who brought the settlement into existence. The earliest known use of the Easingwold surname was in 1390 with Roger de Esyngwald, Knight, was appointed as Governor of the city of York by Edward the 1st., and Nicholas de Esyngwold was the procurator for the Abbey and Convent of St. Mary’s, York, from 1390 to July, 15, 1398.

In 1410, in the reign of Henry IV, Thomas de Esyngwald was Sheriff of York and in 1422, he was created "Lord Mayor of York" and in 1430, John Esyngwald was the High Sheriff of York.

Normally, marriages in Yorkshire were held in churches in York or Ripon. However, many marriages were held without benefit of clergy and according to "The Legacy of the Middle Ages", one such marriage was held in EASINGWOLD in 1484. The bride and groom only exchanges promises (de presenti) confirmed by "hand fasting".

EASINGWOLD is a market and parish town, in the Wapentake (historical subdivision of some northern counties corresponding roughly to the hundred in other shires) of Bulmer located in the North Riding of Yorkshire, England. 13 miles northwest of York, 15 miles east of Ripon and 212 miles from London.. Latitude 54.2 N, Longitude 8.58 W.

The name derived from Anglo-Saxon leader named ESA; the "DUN" (hill and fortress) and "WOLD" (wood) of the ‘ESINGAS’ or "The people of ESI or ESA" ("Woodland of the Esingas").

The population of EASINGWOLD: 1822-1,912, 1831-2,381, 1964-2,591.

The EASINGWOLD name is found in several references such as:

EISINCEWALT - "Domesday Book", A.D. 1086

ESINGWALD - "Pipe Roll", A.D. 1169

ESINGWALD - "Feet of Fines", A.D. 1208

ESYNGWALD- "Torre", circa 1300

The principal income for the area is agriculture.

Religious background for the area: A.D. 43 to 627 - Pagan Anglo-Saxon, 7^th Century A.D. - Christian (Episcopal). Designated as a Parish in 1599. The church is a vicarage, dedicated to All-Saints, in the deanry (official residence of the ecclesiastical dean) of Bulmer. Its Ecclesiastical allocation is in the Archdeaconry of Cleveland, and Deanery of Buylmer.

Some additional settlements of ESA are:

a. EASINGTON: "The TUN of ESA", Northumberland County, 55.36 N latitude, 1.48 W longitude.

b. EASINGTON: "The TUN of the dwellers on Yese", Yorks County, 53.4 N latitude, 0.07 E longitude

c. EASEBOURNE: "ESA’s stream and hill", Sussex County, 51.00 N latitude, 0.44 W longitude.

a. "DOMESDAY BOOK": Arrangement of concrete things-Men, beasts, ploughs, and pennies listed by holder of manor, village, or town. Established in 1086 by order of William the Conqueror.

b. " PIPE ROLL": Public record of taxes (a record of the accounts at the exchequer for the sheriffs and other tax collectors) dating back to 113 A.D. then continuous from 1156 to early 19^th century under control of the Exchequer.

c. ING: A meadow by a river. "ing" suffix signifies "the sons of" or "descendents of" (i.e. Carlingham-settlements of sons of Carl)

d. INGAS: Followers or descendents of a man called ‘Angenmaer’. Combined with the personal name of the individual leader of group of people was commemorated in the name of the village which the group had brought into existence (i.e. ESA and Ingas)

e. BRIGANTES (Ancient Briton): Northern England territory of the Roman Legion Hispana.

f. NORTHUMBRIA: Brigantes in the 7^th century. Kingdom on east side of England extending from York on the south to Edinburgh on the north (see map on 7^th Century Kingdoms).

All dates (Anno Domini) are approximate until A.D. 731. A.D. dates were virtually unknown in England before Bede adopted it in his "Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation" which spans nearly eight hundred years. Bede completed his history in 731, four years before his death.

a. "The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names", 4^th Edition, Oxford Press, published 1960.

b. "A History of England" Vol 1, ‘Roman Britain and Early England-55 B.C to 871 A.D.’ by Peter Hunter Blair, M.A., published 1963.

c. "A History of England", Vol 2, ‘From Alfred to Henry III-871 to 1272’ by Christopher Brooke, M.A., F.R. Hist. S., published 1965.

d. "Family Names and Their History", by S. Baring-Gould, M.A., published 1910.

e. "The Legacy of the Middle Ages", edited by C.G. Crump and E.F. Jacob, published 1926.

f. "Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation" Modern language version, Printed Oxford University Press, Amen House, London. Geoffery Cumberlege, Publisher to the University. Published 1925.