The Hilileighs of Clifton (Part 4) Thomas Hilileigh 1636-1673

Thomas's signature in the petition for John Briggs

Thomas Hilileigh was one of the 7 children of Robert and Alice Hilileigh - see the last post. Robert died in 1669 and, as the eldest son, Thomas would have inherited the family's estates. 

Thomas married Judith Ellis at Hartshead in 1667. The couple had 3 children - Robert, Thomas and John. Thomas senior died in 1673.

There are a number of references to Thomas Hilileigh of Clifton, including the assessment of his home (Highley Hall) for the Hearth Tax of 1672, and then as a certifier in two Civil War petitions in 1668 and 1670.

Hearth Tax

The Hearth Tax was introduced soon after the Reformation with the object of trying to provide an adequate income for Charles II, and was repealed in 1689. It was an unpopular tax. Occupiers of properties worth 20 shillings or more a year were taxed at the rate of 2 shillings per hearth, paid in 2 instalments at Lady Day and Michaelmas.

In the assessment for Hartshead cum Clifton Thomas Hilileigh ('Hyley' in the records) was taxed on the basis of having 5 hearths. There were 61 properties assessed and only 4 were shown as having more hearths than Thomas, suggesting he was one of the wealthiest men in the area.

Civil War Petitions

During the Civil War of 1642 to 1651, Parliament, and later the restored monarchy, offered war pensions to wounded soldiers, as well as the widows and orphans of those who died in service.

In order to claim a pension, veterans and bereaved family members had to submit a petition detailing their service. These were often written for the claimant by literate acquaintances, who tried to make them appear as deserving as possible, but claimants still had to defend these accounts in person as true in open court.

Thomas Hilileigh served as a 'Certifier' or 'Endorser' on 2 occasions - for John Briggs of Clifton in March 1668, and for Matthew Drake of Hartshead in January 1670. 

Matthew Drake's petition is shown below, with a transcription following it. 

To the Right Worshipful his Majesty's Justices of Peace at their General Quarter Sessions to be held at Wakefield.

The humble petition of Matthew Drake of Hartshead.

Humbly showing to your good worships that your poor petitioner served his late Majesty under the command of Sir Francis Armytage, Baronet. In which service, your poor petitioner was very sore wounded, lost two of his fingers, and was stripped and exposed to very much hardship, by reason whereof your poor petitioner is very much disenabled to labour for his living, having a wife and four poor children.

It would therefore please your good Worships to take premises into consideration and grant an order that your poor petitioner may be entered a pensioner in the stead of one Anthony Hepworth of Mirfield or Robert Ledgard of Durkar?, lately deceased, or any other whom your Worships shall think fit. And your petitioner, as in all duty bound, shall daily pray etc.

We whose names are hereunto subscribed do know the contents of this petition to be true.

John Greene
Christopher Empson
Thomas Nayler
Thomas Hilileigh
Edward Gibsone
John Ramsden
Samuel Drake
Nathan Drak

Ordered that what sum was due to Anthony Hepworth for this last quarter be paid by the Treasurer to the petitioner as a gratuity and that the petitioner be entered into the pension roll in the place of the said Anthony Hepworth and to receive the same pension the said Anthony Hepworth formerly received.

The records show that Matthew's gratuity was 10 shillings and that his annual pension was 40 shillings.

With thanks to the Civil War Petitions project for permission to use material from their site: Civil War Petitions

Next post: Thomas Hilileigh 1671-1702

The Hilileighs of Clifton (Part 3) Robert Hilileigh d 1669

Robert Hilileigh was the younger son of John - see the last post.

The initials over the front door of Highley Hall in Clifton may be those of Robert.

Robert married Alice Naylor in St Peter's Church, Hartshead on 18th February 1633/34. The couple had seven children - Dorothy, Thomas, John, Mary, John, Susanna and Sarah, all baptised in St Mary's.

There are several references to a Robert Hilileigh in the Wakefield Manor Court Rolls and this was most likely the same Robert. Among these are:

1639 Robert Hyley of Clifton sat on a jury at the Wakefield Court Leet
1648 Rob. Hileleigh was on a jury

1652 Robert Hileley sat on a panel of jurors in Brighouse and Northowram

When his father John died in 1615 Robert was left his father's lands in Shafton.

Robert's older brother Thomas died in 1629. In his will Thomas left his lands and properties in Clifton to Robert and so Robert inherited all his father's estates.

Robert died in 1669 and was buried at St Peter's but his gravestone is not with those of the other family members and has not been located.

Next post: Thomas Hilileigh 1636-1673

The Hilileighs of Clifton (Part 2) John Hilileigh d 1615

The first entry for a Hilileigh in the St Peter's Hartshead Parish Registers is the following:

15 March 1614/15  John Highlilegh buryed

John's is one of the three Hilileigh graves at St Peter's.

At the top of the gravestone:

Hic Iacet John Hilileigh

De Crose House In Clifton

Qui Obiit Decimo Quinto

Diae Marcii Anno Domini

1614

translated as:

Here lies John Hilileigh

Of Cross House In Clifton

Who Died the 15th

Day of March In The Year Of Our Lord

1614

The remaining lines in Latin are verses from a treatise on grammar by William Lily published in 1548.

(With thanks to David Hiley for his translation and research)

Cross House (or Cross Hall) was the earliest name of Highley Hall in Clifton.

We do not know a birth date or a marriage date for John Hilileigh.

There are references in the Wakefield Manor Court Rolls in 1587 and 1608 to a John Hilileigh, yeoman, who served as a juror in a court. A yeoman owned and cultivated free land which had an annual value of over 40 shillings. This may have been the same John Hilileigh who is buried at Hartshead.

There are two documents relating to John's death - his Will dated 28th February 1614/15 and an Inquisition Post Mortem dated 19th August 1615.

In his Will John bequeathed lands in Shafton, county York, to Robert his younger son, and lands in Clifton to Thomas his elder son. He made provision for his daughter Alice. John appointed his wife Jennet as his executrix and he left his apparel and some money to his brother Robert.

An Inquisition Post Mortem was an inquiry undertaken after the death of a feudal 'tenant in chief'' (a direct tenant of the Crown) to establish what lands were held and who should succeed to them. John's Inquisition suggests he was an important landowner with many acres of land, meadow, pasture and woods mentioned along with houses, cottages, gardens, orchards and other premises. His heir was his elder son Thomas whose age is given as 20 at the time of his father's death.

Next post: Robert Hilileigh d 1669

The Hilileighs of Clifton (Part 1)

The Hilileigh family of Clifton near Brighouse in Yorkshire has already been mentioned in this Blog.

'Highley Hall' on 19th March 2019 told the story of Thomas son of Thomas de Hylelegh of Sowerby who shot John Cockcroft of Wadsworth with an arrow in 1391. After this time a branch of the Hilileighs established themselves at Hilileigh or Hiley Hall in Clifton.

'Hilileigh graves at Hartshead' on 28th May 2019 identified the three family graves at St Peter's Church in Hartshead, the earliest of which was that of John Hilileigh who died in 1614, over 400 years ago.

The posts this month will say more about this family and some of its members. The family appears to have died out with the death of John Hilileigh, some time after 1743.

The family tree below shows all the members of the family I have managed to identify. St Peter's Hartshead Parish Records cover baptisms, marriages and deaths from 1615 to 1684. From 1692 to 1719 events were recorded in the Parish Registers of three different churches in York.

The Hilileighs of Clifton family tree
(Click on the tree to see a clearer magnified image)

After the move from Sowerby to Clifton, the Hilileighs became prominent in the village. There are several references in the Wakefield Manor Court Rolls between 1391 and 1665 showing members of the family serving as Constables and jurors. 

Next post: John Hilileigh d 1615