Beetham Parish

THE DE BETHAMS, OF BEETHAM

Sir, - The family of de Betham can be traced back to the time of Henry II (1154-1189), when Ralph de Betham was a witness to the foundation charter of Cockersand Abbey, which was founded by William de Lancaster I. This Ralph de Betham "for the health of his soul, and the soul of his wife, Ingaretha, gave a salt work with two patellæ in Beetham to the Abbey of Furness." - There is still at Arnside, which was in earlier times a part of the parish of Beetham, a house called "Saltcotes Hall" and at Sandside was the old salt warehouse (where the Northern Quarries now are). The coasting vessel from Liverpool used to unload their cargoes at this place, in the days when Milnthorpe was a seaport.

In the grant conferring Kendal Church on the Abbey of St. Mary of York by Gilbert, sixth baron of Kendal, at the end of the 12^th century, Adam de Bietham is mentioned as one of the witnesses. Another witness was Gervase de Aincourt, of Sizergh Castle. At this time the Stricklands were still at Strickland in Morland. The mention of the de Bethams in these old deeds is proof of their having been a family of the highest rank and eminence in their day, as only such persons could be witnesses in those early times. Ralph de Betham mentioned above had a son, Thomas, who married Amuria, daughter of Richard Fitz-Roger, lord of Wood Plumpton, in Lancashire. Their eldest son, Ralph de Betham, was one of those persons who were delivered as hostages to King John in 1216 for the future fidelity of Gilbert Fitz-Reinfred, baron of Kendal, under whom the de Bethams held their lands. Ralph's father, Thomas, was living in 1242, being then a witness to a grant of lands by Sir John Fleming of Beckermet. After Ralph, came Thomas de Betham who was knight of the shire for Westmorland in the years 1308-1309-11-12. "In 1311 he obtained a charter for a market and a fair in Beetham" - which of course, has long been obsolete. His wife seems to have been a le Fleming. She survived him for in 1334 we find "Iyan, wife of John le Tours (Towers), lord of Lowick and daughter of Sir John le Fleming, had settled on her the reversion of what Emma de Betham then held in dower." The son of Thomas and Emma married Pamel, daughter of Sir Robert de Burton, knt., and sole heir of her brother who died without issue. Thus was the manor of Burton brought into the de Betham family. The next Sir Ralph de Betham, knt., son and heir of Thomas and Pamel in 1335 had a grant of free warren in Beetham.

In 1347, writs were directed to Ralph de Betham, together with Thomas de Ross of Kendal Castle, to send their prisoners from their castles to the Tower of London. - This shows the former importance of Beetham Hall, then a castle. This Ralph de Betham held his lands of Joan de Coupland by "homage and fealty and the service of 32s. a year." "The Manor of Farleton at the same time was held by Nicholas de Haverington under the Lord de Betham. The same Ralph de Betham was a witness to a grant made by Sir Walter Strickland, of Sizergh, to his son John, of certain lands etc." The de Bethams had, at some time, been connected by marriage to the Stricklands as their arms were to be seen in the stained glass at Sizergh Castle.

The next in succession was Robert, who had a son, John de Betham, who, in 1407, represented Westmorland in Parliament. He married Margaret, sister of Sir William Tunstall, knt., and they had a son, Sir Thomas Betham, to whom, in 1416, "a commission of array was issued and directed by Henry V., to muster all men of arms." This Sir Thomas was living in 1444. He had two sons, Edward and Roger, and a daughter Elizabeth, married to Sir Richard Musgrave, of Hartley Castle, knt. There is (or was) a tomb in Kirkby Stephen Church to the memory of Sir R. Musgrave, and his wife, Elizabeth Betham. The elder son of Sir Thomas Betham married Joan, daughter of William Nevil, Lord Faulconberg, and Earl of Kent, but he had no issue, whereupon his brother Roger inherited the estate. He had an only child, Anne, who in the reign of Richard III (1483-5) was married to Sir Robert Middleton, of Leighton Hall (who was a son of Sir Geoffrey a younger son of John Middleton of Middleton Hall), and thereby the large estate of the of the de Betham family passed into the Middleton family. The male line of the Middletons terminated with Sir George, who was knighted by Charles I and who afterwards suffered heavily for his attachment to loyalty.

About this time the Manor of Beetham came into the Stanley family. The neighbouring Manor of Farleton, which was held by the Harringtons, under the lords de Betham, passed into the hands of the Stanleys after Bosworth Field (1485). The Harringtons and de Bethams both fought on the losing side in that battle and thus forfeited their lands, which were granted, either wholly or in part, to the Stanleys, who gained so much from that war; they having fought on the victorious side, or, (as some historians say), having 5,000 men stationed between the rival armies of York and Lancaster, who had communications open with both. At any rate, they ended up on the winning side.

The old hall at Beetham which was anciently a large and handsome building, was long the home of that illustrious family, the de Bethams. In "Domesday Survey," the place was called "Biedun." The early owners (as was the custom) took the name of the place; thus we have de Betham, whose home on the Betha (now Bela) river, must have seen many strange scenes enacted from the time of the Conquest, when its owners came into the limelight. At that time, we are told, the "Curfew" was enacted, "as a means of preventing the English people from assembling together in order to plan schemes of rebellion against their Norman oppressors." - Longfellow tells us about the primitive use of the "Curfew Bell" in the stanza:-

"Solemnly, mournfully dealing its dole,

The curfew bell is beginning to toll;

Cover the embers, and put out the light,

Toil comes with the morning, and rest with the night."

Then came the crusades, when, perchance, some members of the de Betham family might have gone forth with Richard Cœur de Lion wearing the badge of a crusader- the "Red Cross." About this time a de Betham was witness to the grant of Kendal Church to St Mary's Abbey, and a little earlier, about 1189, happened that awful massacre of the inhabitants of Kendal who had fled to the Church for protection, when Duncan, Earl of Fife, with a Scotch Army had entered the town. When Magna Charta was signed in 1215, the de Bethams were powerful landowners. All throughout the succeeding generations - when Cressy, Poitiers and Agincourt were fought and won, in honour of which the conduits of London ran wine instead of water, - they played their part until Bosworth field (1485), when the fortunes of the family began to wane.

We must now turn out thoughts to Beetham Church, the last resting place of the knightly family of de Betham, where there is a monument with two recumbent effigies cut in stone, - one a man clad in armour, the other a woman, covered with a shroud - which represent some members of the Betham family, but which is not quite certain. Some say it is the tomb of Sir Robert Middleton and his wife, Anne Betham, the last heiress of the direct line, but the various coats of arms on the tomb are somewhat of a puzzle to everyone. "Nicholson and Burn" says the arms of the de Bethams, as given by the Heralds College, were- "Or three flower de lys azure;" (placed in the same manner as the arms of the kings of France). The same arms were depicted in a window of the gallery of the old Hall at Leighton (once the home of the Middletons), quartered with Middleton and several other arms." The same arms of de Betham were to be found at Sizergh Castle quartered with Strickland, also at Burton-in-Kendal Church (Hill MSS.) quartered with Burton (Sir Thomas de Betham married Pamel, daughter and heiress of Sir Robert de Burton). But, says "Nicholson and Burn," "the flower de lys arms are not to be seen on the tomb at Beetham." Although there are many arms of families to whom the de Bethams had been allied by marriage, viz.:- Middleton, Burton, Strickland, Fitz-roger, Musgrave, Lawrence, Fleming, Tunstall, etc., the Flower-de-lys is missing. Is this to be accounted for by the fact that one member of the de Betham family, "Sir Richard de Betham com. Lance," had granted to him a separate coat (arg. chief indented azure; bendlet gules.) which arms are similar to the de Burton arms (or a chief indented sable) with a different colour? Was Sir Richard a younger son of Sir Thomas Betham and Pamel Burton the heiress; and did he take the arms of his mother, different only in colour and with the addition of a bendlet gules? West gives this coat as the arms of Betham; but from the evidence which was in the window of Leighton Hall (the three fleur-de-lys azure), which was especially named as for de Betham, and also at Sizergh and Burton, I think this was their original coat of arms.

The tomb in Beetham Church had the figures on it defaced by a fanatical zealot named Richard Sill, who, aided by a band of Cromwellian soldiers, broke into the church and destroyed all the pictorial windows which adorned the venerable edifice. In Mr. Machel's time, there were several defaced coats of arms in Beetham Church windows, amongst which were to be seen several times the name of Levens. This family was of Nether Levens of Under Levens, some of whom were styled of "Levens Hall" (the old hall, now a farm). Their arms were - argent, on a bend sable 3 escalops of the field; the crest; a slip of vine (in allusion to the name). It was the old custom to grant arms which had some allusion to the name, of some characteristic of the persons to whom granted. For instance, three asses heads for Askew; and three towers for the Towers family. Thus can we trace the rise and fall of various families, who from their original homes, which bore their name, have become scattered far and wide, bringing home to us those lines of the Poet Gray-

"The boast of Heraldry, the pomp of power,

And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave,

Await alike the inevitable hour;

The paths of glory lead but to the grave."

Yours, etc.

Low Fields, Hincaster, Milnthorpe.