YORK [continued]
William York died in 1927 at the age of 58 and his brother David died at Rectory Farm in 1949 at the age of 81 but he had three daughters whose marriages created links with other local families. Edith Mary born in 1891 married Robert Bentley and their son Herbert still lives at the Old Rectory. Annie May born in 1894 married Francis Chapman of Old Byland and Minnie born 1902 married Harry Hawkins, a member of a long established Rievaulx farming family. As their daughter Marina still lives in Helmsley she and Herbert Bentley continue a family presence in the area that has lasted 326 years.
TAYLOR
The earliest surviving record of this name in Scawton is the baptism of Isabel daughter of George Taylor in 1667 followed by that of Thomas [1670] and as a George Taylor married Mary Garbutt in 1672 it is possible that his first wife died and he and Mary then had two sons, George [1672] and William [1678] but as it was Thomas Taylor whose name was recorded as paying tax for one hearth in 1673 it is possible that he was the father of George who was the Fairfax tenant of 14 acres in 1694 which included 5 acres in the area known as White Sleights that were fields that were adjacent to what is now the A170.
Fifteen years later his son William was still paying a modest rent and in 1719 Marmaduke Taylor was paying annual rent of £16 for a larger farm that can be identified as Antofts. It is possible that he was from a different family as there is no record of his baptism in Scawton but he is thought to be the man who married Jane Browne at Hovingham in 1711 and their son Francis was baptised in Scawton church in 1722.
Marmaduke was still tenant of Antofts in 1750 and his son Francis was living at the farm when he married Elizabeth Garbutt in 1752 and they had three children, Francis [1753], Marmaduke [1755] and Mary [1763]. Francis took the farm tenancy after the death of his father in 1772 and still had it in 1790 but twenty two years later its 200 acres were jointly held by his sons Francis and Marmaduke and a record of 1822 reads : Francis Taylor - land only ; Marmaduke Taylor - house, barn, stable and land ; Marmaduke Taylor junior - house, building and land. The latter being the son of Marmaduke and Ann nee Simpson who was born in 1791.
The record of tithe valuations made in 1839 provides a clearer picture :
Marmaduke Taylor was the tenant of 89 acres at Scawton Croft
Francis Taylor [his brother] was the tenant of 203 acres at Moor House Farm
Joseph Taylor, son of Marmaduke was tenant of 206 acres at Antofts Farm
Marmaduke Taylor, son of Marmaduke was the tenant of 116 acres at Broxhill Farm
The family jointly held 614 acres which was by far the largest area ever farmed by one family on the Scawton estate but twelve years later in 1851 only three members of the family were still living in Scawton and they were Joseph and his sister Dorothy who were still at Antofts and his brother Marmaduke who was living at Scawton Croft. Both brothers were employing two labourers and two servants.
Thirty years later there were no Taylors left in Scawton but Mary the daughter of Marmaduke who had married Barnabas Sigsworth in 1833 and in 1881 she was a widow running Weathercote farm in Old Byland aided by her sons Thomas and Marmaduke who was named after her father.
