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Barmston

The parish of Barmston is situated in what was once the wapentake of Holderness (north division), part of the historical East Riding of Yorkshire (see maps in Introduction). It has the unenviable reputation as being the one of the worst locations in England for coastal erosion. Its subparishes of Hartburn and Winkton were lost to the sea long ago, having already been abandoned by the 1600s and the mid 1800s respectively.

Old Hall farmhouse, Barmston c1900s

Despite this, Barmston boasts a surprising number of listed buildings, all lying along Sands Lane which is gradually being eaten away, but at a sufficient distance from the soft boulder clay cliffs not to be under immediate threat. These include the church and the Old Hall, both being part of the same medieval complex. All Saints church was probably built by Sir Alan Monceaux in the 12th century and enlarged in the 15th, though it shows signs of later additions and alterations. It houses a distinctive Norman font, an effigy of a man in armour on a tomb-chest, probably representing William Monceaux (d1446), and monuments to the Boyntons, successors to the Monceaux family through the female line and holders of Barmston until the early 19th century.

The Old Hall stands next to the church at the centre of an island surrounded by a moat on the site of the ancient 13th century manor house, which is said to have been rebuilt by Sir Thomas Boynton and his son Sir Francis in the 16th century. In 1672 William Boynton occupied the 10 hearth house, but it was later abandoned and dismantled in the 18th century except for one remodelled wing, which is now a farmhouse.

The Pickerings of Barmston passed briefly through the village, Richard Pickering (20th generation) having married Elizabeth Chapman, a local woman. Their children were baptised in the church between 1782 and 1789.

Sources:
https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/ERY/Barmston
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barmston,_East_Riding_of_Yorkshire
https://opendomesday.org/place/TA1558/barmston
Victoria History of the County of York, East Riding, vol. 7, pp.213-223:
https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/yorks/east/vol7/pp213-223
All Saints’ church: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1083851?section=official-list-entry
Old Hall: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1007846?section=official-list-entry