Allowing for discrepancies in the records it appears that there were roughly 22 Scawton tenancies throughout the 18th century but a document dated a year after the 1812 survey throws a different light on the situation. It is a list submitted by the estate bailiff to Mrs Worsley on 10 December 1813 requesting aid for a group of poor tenants.
John York his wife and
five children
One real scene of poverty, leaving them entirely ma’am to your generosity
One petticoat and one handkerchief
One bedgown, apron and petticoat
One coat and one handkerchief
Two shirts and a pair of breeches
One upper petticoat and bedgown
One upper petticoat, two shifts and aprons
Two children’s frocks and petticoats, 1 to 3 years
One pair of breeches, one bedgown and petticoat
Two shifts and petticoats
Wishes Mr Worsley would remember her in something for her young child as she has to lay in soon
This document highlights the amount of poverty present in the village at the beginning of the 19th century and as only one of the people mentioned can be recognised as a tenant it must be assumed that some were living with other families or were live-in servants or labourers.
George Mason was described as poor in the parish registers when his children were baptised and as his wife was named Ruth it is strange that the bailiff listed her separately. The George Mason supported by the parish in 1784 could be the second one listed but there is also record of a third person of that name.
The John York listed was married to Elizabeth Weightman and must have been the tenant recorded with 12 acres pasture in 1812. Margaret Richardson was the widow of James and Thomas Rooklass was listed as Thomas Rowkley paying annual rent of 11s 6d in 1770 and 1790.
The presence of Sylvester Sturdy on the list shows how the fortunes of that family had changed from being tenants of sizeable farms throughout the 18th century to having none in 1813 and needing to be supported by charity.
