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‘Worth Nothing, but Very Wilful’; Catholic Recusant Women of Yorkshire, 1536–1642

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 September 2015

Sarah L. Bastow
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Extract

In 1577 a survey of Catholics was taken by the Archbishop of York and the Queen’s commissioners. It recorded the name, place of residence, status and worth of those who refused to conform. Dorothy Vavasour of York was noted in these records as being ‘worth nothing, but very wilful’. It is this statement that provides the inspiration for an examination of the women of Yorkshire, as a group that were vital to the survival of Catholicism, yet who are often ignored.

Type
Research Article
Information
British Catholic History , Volume 25 , Issue 4 , October 2001 , pp. 591 - 603
Copyright
Copyright © Catholic Record Society 2001

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References

Notes

1 Diocesan Returns, p. 24.

2 Aveling, J. C. H., Post Reformation Catholicism in East Yorkshire, 1558–1790 (York, 1960), pp. 21–46Google Scholar; The Catholic Recusants of the West Riding of Yorkshine 1558–1790 (Proceedings of the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society, 10 [6], 1963), pp. 211–29Google Scholar; Northern Catholics, pp. 112–98; Recusancy in the City of York, pp. 14–76; The Handle and the Axe: The Catholic Recusants in England from the Reformation to Emancipation (London, 1976)Google Scholar.

3 Haigh, C., Reformation and Resistance in Tudor Lancashire (Cambridge, 1975), pp. 316–22 Google Scholar.

4 Bossy, J., The English Catholic Community 1570–1850 (London, 1975), p. 158 Google Scholar; Rowlands, M., ‘Recusant Women 1560–1640’, in Women in English Society 1500–1800, ed. Prior, M. (London, 1985), pp. 149–80 Google Scholar.

5 Shiels, W., ‘Household, Age and Gender amongst Jacobean Yorkshire Recusants’, in English Catholics of Parish and Town, 1558–1778, ed. Rowlands, M. B. (CRS [Monograph Series] 5, 1999), pp. 139–142 Google Scholar.

6 Haigh, C., Reformation and Resistance in Tudor Lancashire (Cambridge, 1975), pp. 293–294 Google Scholar.

7 Aveling, J. C. H., The Catholic Recusants of the West Riding of Yorkshire 1558–1790 (Proceedings of the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society, 10 [6], 1963, pp. 211–29Google Scholar; Northern Catholics, pp. 112–98; Recusancy in the City of York, pp. 48–76. The accounts of the West and North Riding both have their second chapter headed ‘The heroic years of recusancy, 1583–1603’ while the second chapter of the East Riding study is also primarily concerned with ‘the heroic age of Catholic recusancy’.

8 Rowse, A. L., The England of Elizabeth: The Structure of Society (London, 1973), p. 494 Google Scholar.

9 Rex, R., ‘Thomas Vavasour M.D’, Recusant History, 20, (1990-1), pp. 436–54 CrossRefGoogle Scholar. Brief comments on Dorothy’s activities occur p. 448.

10 Diocesan Returns, p. 24.

11 Talbot, C. (ed.), Miscellanea: Recusant Rolls (CRS, 53, 1960), pp. 276–279 Google Scholar. Figures taken from the Constables of Everingham MSS, Hutton of Marske MSS, York Diocesan Archives and Temple Newsam MSS.

12 Miscellanea (CRS, 1, 1905), pp. 60, 62Google Scholar.

13 Caraman, P., Margaret Clitherow (York, 1986)Google Scholar. This short booklet provides a brief account of the life of Margaret Clitherow, focusing on her persecution and heroism.

14 Recusancy in the City of York, p. 45.

15 Diocesan Returns, p. 4.

16 Diocesan Returns, p. 5. It should be recognised that as with all records of Catholics in this period the survey was and still is considered to be inaccurate, in the fact that it grossly underestimates the number of recusants in England in 1577. Used in context, however, the inaccuracies may be considered to be less detrimental, as its purpose was not to produce an accurate head count to show the number of people practising Catholicism, but rather to assess how much could be obtained in fines—as a tax was imposed on all those who were found to be worth £40 per annum in land or £200 in goods.

17 Diocesan Returns, pp. 6–9. From the other counties only Suffolk and Essex had women outnumbering men on the list. Suffolk saw the ladies outnumbering the knights, with 5 ladies recorded and only 1 knight and 11 gentlewomen, compared to only six gentlemen. In Essex there were 2 ladies and only one knight listed; 18 gentlewomen and only fourteen gentlemen and 2 ‘inferior’ men with 6 ‘inferior’ women.

18 Diocesan Returns, pp. 12–36.

19 Diocesan Returns, pp. 12–36. Seventeen of the 82 women listed were widows.

20 Palmes, W., ‘The Life of Dorothy Lawson of St. Anthony’s, near Newcastle-upon-Tyne in Northumberland’, in Local Tracts: Tracts Relating to the Counties of Northumberland and Durham and the borough and county of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, ed. Fenwick, J. (Newcastle, 1854), p. 29 Google Scholar.

21 Walsham, A., Church Papists: Catholicism, Conformity and Confessional Polemic in Early Modern England (Suffolk, 1993), see pp. 1–3 Google Scholar for definition of recusancy and Church papistry.

22 Rex, R., ‘Thomas Vavasour M.D’, Recusant History, 20, (1990-1), pp. 436–454 CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

23 Dickens, A. G., The Marian Reaction in the Diocese of York: I, The Clergy and II: The Laity, (Borthwick Papers 11 & 12, 1957 & 1958)Google Scholar. Discusses the conservative nature of York.

24 Calthrop, M. M. C., Recusant Rolls 1, 1592–3, (CRS, 18, 1916) pp. xvi–xvii Google Scholar.

25 Mullet, M., The Catholic Reformation, (London, 1999), p. 177 Google Scholar, described Lancashire as ‘England’s most Catholic county’ which is true only in part. Certain areas of Lancashire displayed high levels of recusancy, but others showed a confirmed commitment to the new Protestant faith.

26 Roman Catholics; Dickens, A. G., ‘The Extent and Character of Recusancy in Yorkshire, 1604’, (Yorkshire Archaeological Journal, 37, 1948-51), pp. 24–48 Google Scholar; Dickens, and Newton, J., ‘Further Light on the Scope of Yorkshire Recusancy in 1604’, (Yorkshire Archaeological Journal, 38, 1951-2), pp. 524–528 Google Scholar. Dickens makes the point that this survey was ‘probably unique for its period’ and discusses the accuracy and statistical composition of the survey in relation to the geographical distribution of recusancy.

27 Dickens, A. G., ‘The Extent and Character of Recusancy in Yorkshire, 1604’, (Yorkshire Archaeological Journal, 37, 1948–51), pp. 42–43 Google Scholar.

28 Roman Catholics, pp. 61–62.

29 Roman Catholics, p. 76.

30 Roman Catholics, p. 80. Jane Wycliffe was a member of the Stapleton family, Merial Wyvill was a member of the Blackstone family of Durham.

31 Roman Catholics, p. 120. Also appearing without her husband was Anne Danby, wife of Thomas Danby of Leake.

32 Dickens, A. G. and Newton, J., ‘Further Light on the Scope of Yorkshire Recusancy in 1604’, Yorkshire Archaeological Journal, 38 (1951-2), p. 524 Google Scholar; Walsham, A., Church Papists: Catholicism, Conformity and Confessional Polemic in Early Modern England (Suffolk, 1993), p. 80 Google Scholar. Dickens bases his conclusion on the fact that certain men appeared in the Recusant Rolls of 1604 but were not listed in the survey.

33 Rowse, A. L., The England of Elizabeth: The Structure of Society (London, 1973), p. 492 Google Scholar.

34 Bossy, J., The English Catholic Community 1570–1850 (London, 1975), p. 152 Google Scholar, referring to Clancy, T. H., Papist Pampleteers: The Allen-Persons party and the political thought of the Counter Reformation in England 1572–1615 (London, 1966)Google Scholar.

35 Aveling, J. C. H., ‘Catholic Households in Yorkshire’, Northern History, 16, (1980), p. 91 Google Scholar.

36 Ibidem.

37 Rowlands, M., ‘Recusant Women 1560–1640’, in Women in English Society 1500–1800, ed. Prior, M. (London, 1985), p. 149 Google Scholar.

38 Aveling, J. C. H., ‘Catholic Households in Yorkshire’, Northern History, 16, (1980), p. 91 Google Scholar; Haigh, C., ‘From Monopoly to Minority; Catholicism in Early Modern England’, Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, [fifth series], (1981), pp. 129–147 CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

39 Palmes, W., ‘The Life of Dorothy Lawson of St. Anthony’s, near Newcastle-upon-Tyne in Northumberland’, in Local Tracts: Tracts Relating to the Counties of Northumberland and Durham and the borough and county of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, ed. Fenwick, J. (Newcastle, 1854), pp. 19–20 Google Scholar.

40 Calendar of State Papers Domestic for the reigns of Edward VI, Mary and Elizabeth I, 1547–1580, ed. Lemon, R. (London, 1856), p. 703 Google Scholar; MacMichael, J., ‘Hazlewood Hall’ in Yorkshire Notes and Queries 5 (Bradford, 1909), p. 148 Google Scholar. Anne Vavasour received £20 per annum for her service as a woman of the Bed Chamber.

41 Northern Catholics, p. 253.

42 Aveling, J. C. H., The Handle and the Axe: The Catholic Recusants in England from the Reformation to Emancipation (London, 1976), p. 87 Google Scholar.

43 Chambers, M. C. E., The Life of Mary Ward 1885–1645, vol. 1 (London, 1882), pp. 207–229 Google Scholar; M. Rowlands, “The Painted Life of Mary Ward’, delivered at the Northern Renaissance Conference, summer 1997.

44 Bar Convent Archive, York. The Gascoigne archive is referenced as 3G/2/ . This extract is entitled ‘A document copied from the manuscript annals of the English Congregation of Monks of the Brides of the Benedictines’, ref. 3G/2/8. The leader of the group was Helen More known as Dame Gertrude, the other women accompanying her were Margaret Vavasour who was known as Dame Lucy, Anne Morgan known as Dame Benedicta, Dame Catherine Gascoigne, Grace More known as Dame Agnes, Dame Anne Marie More, Frances Watson known as Dame Mary, Mary Hoskins and Jane Martine known as Martha.

45 Cliffe, J. T., The Yorkshire Gentry from the Reformation to the Civil War (London, 1969), p. 189 Google Scholar.

46 NYCRO, ZIQ, Thomas Meynell MSS, 2422–2509; Ampleforth Abbey, Meynell MSS; (ed.) Aveling, J. C. H., ‘Recusancy Papers of the Meynell Family’, Miscellanea (CRS, 56, 1964), pp. 19–20 Google Scholar.