North Duffield Castle and the Salvain Family
North Duffield is in the Derwent Valley, North Yorkshire, close to Selby. The ‘castle’ in North Duffield is probably better described as having been a fortified manor house. North Duffield and the fortified manor house / castle were held by the Salvain and Hussey families during the Wars of the Roses.
Note: there is a Duffield Castle in Derbyshire. This is a wholly different fortified structure. See The National Trust Website, or the Historic England official listing page, for information about Duffield Castle in Derbyshire.
Location, Size, and Importance
North Duffield is located north of Selby where the Derwent Valley meets the Vale of York. As such it overlooks an important juntion through the Yorkshire Dales, and is adjacent to some of the most fertile agricultural lands in Yorkshire. The River at North Duffield was navigable in the Middle Ages and it’s floods inudated farming lands making the site a prime one economically and potentially militarily. This is evidenced through the development of fishing pools and bridges across the river in the Medieval era, along with archaeological evidence illustrating the sites long term usage.
The size of North Duffield in the late medieval period can be gauged from Poll Tax records (1379) and from later records which indicate changes over time. In 1379 North Duffield had 136 people liable to pay the Poll Tax. By 1625 North Duffield was recorded as having 59 households of varying sizes: one having six hearths and four properties having more than two hearths, making them relatively large for the period.
Landholders at North Duffield
Domesday Book records a William Malet holding an estate of 7 carucates and 2 bovates at North Duffield at the time of the Norman invasion of England. Malet had been replaced as the lord as early as 1069, from when its feudal overlord was the count of Mortain with the Manor being held by Niel Fossard.
Rights to North Duffield appear to have been disputed for some time. In 1320 the Manor was noted as being held from Henry de Percy but similarly it was noted as being a holding of the Bishops of Durham as early as 1086 and as late as 1441. It was almost certainly under Percy influence and control for much of the later medieval era though.
In 1210 a dispute found in favour of Robert Chamberlain holding North Duffield. Later in the 13th century Henry Chamberlain granted the Manor to Roger of Thurkelby. However, the Chamberlain’s are also recorded as having held mesne lands from the see of Durham, so it may not have been theirs, or the Percy families, to grant.
In 1294 Gerard Salvain was granted a charter for North Duffield, permitting a market. There is also evidence of a weir having been constructed and of North Duffield being home to a Hermitage with 8 properties and 8 acres of farming land [in addition to lands held by the Manor itself which was roughly 25 acres in the mid 14th century].
The Salvain Family
The Salvain Family held North Duffield from 1280 until 1486. Robert Salvain claimed the Manor by right of his wife, Sybil, who was the niece and heir of Roger Thurkelby. Sybil granted the Manor via quitclaim to her and Robert’s son, Gerard Salvain. In 1486 the guardianship of the Manor was granted to John Hussey and Thomas Ballard as the daughter and heir of Sir John Salvain, Anne, was a minor. Anne was then married to the son of John Hussey, with the Manor and it’s castle / fortified house passing down the Hussey line thereafter until late in the 16th century when it again changed hands via marriage and again, through sale, in the 17th century.
Gerard Salvain II (d 1320)
Gerard was a Member of Parliament represented Yorkshire in 1305 and 1307. In 1302 he had been appointed as one of the collectors of a tax of a fifteenth across Yorkshire. Furthermore, he was called upon to serve in the King’s army in campaigns against the Scots in 1296, 1300 and 1303. Gerard also held lands in Sledmore and at Spalding Moor. He was granted licence to crenallate his Manor house at Harswell in 1302.
In 1304 Gerard was commissioned for duies on mainland Europe, illustrated by orders to the Constable of Dover to allow Gerard passage with arms, horses, and his entourage. In 1308 Gerard’s value to the Crown was demonstrated by his appointment as escheator north of the Trent. This was extended in 1311 by his further appointment to the office of sheriff of York and keeper of York castle for life.
He did not retain the roles for life though. He had them stripped in 1314 and in 1316 received a royal pardon after paying a hefty fine of £2000. Gerard died in 1320. He was predeceased by his son, John, and hs estates were inherited by his 12 year old grandson, also named Gerard.
Sir John Salvain (dates not confirmed)
Dates of John’s life are not certain. It can be surmised that he was born between 1285 and 1290 and it is known that he died before his father in 1320 but after 1312. He married Margaret, co-heir of Robert de Ros of Wark c1307.
Sir Gerard Salvain III (1308-1369)
Born in 1308, Gerard lived until 1369. In his minority North Duffield was rented to Thomas de Gray of Heton. One consequence of this was a debt to the bishop of Norwich which was settled in 1330. Gerard held the position of sheriff of Yorkshire and keeper of York castle for one year from October 1349 to October 1350.
Sir Gerard Salvain IV (1357-1418)
Sir Gerard was noted as being his grandfather’s heir in 1373 in the Inquisition Port Mortem into his grandfathers estate.
Sir Gerard had a reasonably distinguished military career. He served under John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster in 1383 against the Scots. He then served under King Richard II on his campaign against Scotland.
When Henry Bolingbroke overthrew Richard II it appears that Sir Gerard took the side of Henry. At least, he can not have opposed him in any sustained manner. For in November of 1399, just weeks after the coronation of the new monarch, he was granted wine from the King’s stores at the port of Kingston upon Hull:
Nov. 7. [1399] Grant for life to the king’s knight Gerard Salvayn of two tuns of wine Westminster. yearly from the king’s prise in the port of Kyngeston on Hull ;. By p.s.
His loyalty to the crown seems to have been in question as the percy family rose in revolt in 1403. Sir Gerard was one of the knights who was made to promise not to communicate with the Earl of Northumberland whilst making a further Oath of Allegiance to King Henry IV. It appears that he did not adhere to the promises made to the King, as orders were made to the Sheriff of York to arrest Sir Gerard in May 1405 with a pardon granted the following month.
Sir Gerard died in 1420 and was survived by his widow, Alice, and four sons.
Sir Roger Salvain (1380-1420)
Roger Salvain was a Knight of the Esquire for King Henry V on the 1415 Campaign into Normandy. This saw Roger fight as part of the King’s bodyguard in the Battle of Agincourt. He served on Henry V’s later campaigns in Normandy and was knighted by the King at Caen in 1418.
In July of 1420 Sir Roger and his wife Maud were granted permission by Pope Martin V to have a portable altar. [Source]. Sir Roger died later in the year, having made his will in October 1420.
Roger Salvain (c 1400 – c 1440)
Roger Salvain was a member of the guild of Corpus Christi. This is an ecclesiastical guild based in the City of York. It was open to those in the clergy or with roles attached to the church. As a result, Roger’s life was primarily centred on work for the church, rather than military or administrative career. North Duffield along with Roger’s other estates were therefore rented out, or transferred via quitclaims to people charged with the administration of the varied parts of the estate. Roger was married and when he died in 1440 he was survived by his wife, Margaret. Margaret remarried, into the Gascoigne family of Gawthorope which is near Harewood Castle.
John Salvain / Wilton III (d 1441)
Though Roger Salvain’s estate was inherited by his brother, John, his tenure as Lord of the Manor was short. John died in May 1441 without issue. This resulted in the estate then being inherited by his nephew, John Wilton, son of Alice (nee Salvain) and Henry Wilton. John Wilton appears to have adopted the Salvain surname upon inheriting. However, this John (Wilton/ Sauvain) also passed away relatively soon after inheriting North Duffield and other parts of the Salvain estate. This was in or before 1444, as it was in this year that the Bishop of Durham determined that the Salvain inheritance should pass to another John Salvain, who was a brother of Sir Roger Salvain who had passed away in 1420.
Sir John Salvain IV (d 1453)
Sir John Salvain IV probably never expected to inherit the family estates. He was a younger son and his elder siiblings had issue. However in 1444 the estates did pass to him by virtue of other lines of descent from his elder brother having died out. Sir John had already entered into a military career by the time he inherited North Duffield.
John was in the service of the Crown in the English held parts of Normandy and France when he inherited. He had married Elizabeth Willoughby in 1442 and was acting as Bailiff of Rouen throughout much of the 1440’s.
Sir John had returned to North Duffield by 1453, and genealogy websites suggest he died in January. [Example of date of death].
The Salvain Family and regional violence in the 1450’s.
There are two John Salvains recorded as having participated in disturbances loosely connected to the Percy-Neville feud in 1453. Professor A. J. Pollard in , notes that:
Others took advantage of the situation to settle their own scores. Thus the attack by Sir John Salvin [the spelling varies] on Margaret Clervaux at Sandholme near Howden on 12 July 1453 appears to have arisen out of an independent dispute between branches of the Salvin [Salvain] family. Likewise the robbery of the vicar of Aughton by the same Sir John in September does not seem to have been directed against the Neville’s. And similarly the ransacking of Sir John Salvin of Newbiggin’s house at Egton by Sir Thomas Neville of Brancepeth on 26 March 1454 was probably a completely unconnected affair [This is not the same Sir John Salvin [of Duffield] who had committed so many acts of violence in 1453 and was killed at Stamford Bridge later the same year].
Pollard, A. J. North-Eastern England during the Wars of the Roses: Lay Society, War, and Politics 1450 – 1500. Clarendon Press, Oxford. p261
It must be noted that Professor Pollard also notes that there are several different John Salvin’s recorded as having engaged in violence at this time. They are clearly different people. One John Salvin died in the ‘Battle’ at Stamford Bridge between the Percy and Neville families and another is recorded as ransacking properties in 1454. It is not entirely clear from the record which ‘John’ is which in places as only some note where they were from, and John was used as a name throughout the various branches of the Salvain family.
Also see: Regional feuds and violence in the 15th century
Sir John Salvain V (d 1481)
The last Salvin to hold North Duffield and it’s fortified manor house was Sir John Salvin V. Sir John married Margery Danby in 1459. They had one daughter, Anne, who was Sir John’s heir when he died in 1481. I have yet to find any record of Sir John’s participation in the politics or fighting of the period of the Wars of the Roses. However given the proximity of North Duffield to key locations, it is unlikely that he and the Manor did not have some involvement. He may, for instance, have been called upon for the 1460 and 1461 campaigns, as his Manors are firmly within the areas from where the Percy family in particular raised forces.
Sir John’s daughter, Anne, was a minor at that time and her wardship was passed to Sir John Hussey, with guardianship of the estates being confirmed in 1486. As a result, Anne married William Hussey and the Salvain estates passed into the Hussey family as a result.
Featured Image
John Flintoft’s map of 1760. From North Duffield Conservation and Heritage Society.
References
Many of the details noted for the size of North Duffield and it’s economy in the Medieval Era were found in the Skipwith Entry in Victoria County History for Yorkshire. Skipwith is adjacent to North Duffield and the two are covered on the same pages.
A P Baggs, G H R Kent, J D Purdy, ‘Skipwith’, in A History of the County of York East Riding: Volume 3, Ouse and Derwent Wapentake, and Part of Harthill Wapentake, ed. K J Allison( London, 1976), British History Online
North Duffield Links
Heritage Gateway – records and references.
North Duffield Conservation and Local History Society – Ancient North Duffield.
Genealogical Ramblings – The Yorkshire Family of Salvain.
Tudor Places – Sir William Hussey.
Spartacus Encyclopedia – John Hussey.
History of Parliament – Sir William Hussey.