John Wrightson 1460 of Eryholme

Information suppiled by Zed & Ilma Malunat

1 JOHN WRIGHTSON

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Birth:    1460, Eryholme Yorkshire During the War of the Roses

Occ:     Farmer

 An ancient land copyholds had lapsed into the hands of the Markenfields as Lord of the Manor of Eryholme.

Prior to this period there was an awful destruction of life that was almost continuous during the 180 years that followed the death of Edward the first.  The War of the Roses, which lasted for some 30 years, this directly and indirectly destroyed about one tenth of the population.  This war was preceded by the 100 years War with France, also the invasion by the victorious Scots.  But great as the death toll was by the wars, it was small compared to the more than 20 outbreaks of the Black Death plague.  It is estimated that about half of the English population perished in a single year.

With all the foregoing it is therefore no surprise that copyholds fell simply for want of claimants, into the hands of the Lords of the Manors. 

The most natural explanation of the earliest known circumstances in our family history is that the Markenfields had become possessed of some of the ancient copyholds on their Manor of Eryholme.  These may have been in their hands as part of a freehold for a 100 years or more; but now swayed probably by a desire to rectify some boundary, Sir Ninian Markemfield (who became Lord in 1497) determined to re-grant a part of his copyhold land to our ancestor John Wrightson.  Receiving in return a fraction of the freehold land already held by the said John Wrightson.

The copyhold which passed to the Wrightson's is described as "a fourth part of all those lands called “Westfield" for which, in lieu of the old villein service a payment of thirty five shillings a year be rendered.

A quarter part of what now (1890) bears the name of Westfield in Eryholme falls not far short of a hundred acres and it assumed the area of John Wrightson's copyhold.

There is a Twelve-Century church at Eryholme, which was renovated in 1889 and the builders discovered evidence of previous fires, old pavements, and fragments of old beams and human bones.

Children:            RICHARD (1490-1578)