The Minor Family of Somerset

THE TWO WILLOW HALLS Upper and Lower. Papers read April 7th an
d May 9th 1908at the Halifax Antiquarian Society meetiny. By H
. P. Kendall
Few people acquainted with the nomenclature of the Parish of Hal
ifax are not familiar withKing Cross. There was in early time
s a cross erected here, the remains of which were noted by Mr. W
atson in his history and he, wisely we may think, discarding th
e ancient tradition current in the locality as to its origin, i
sinclined to ascribe its erection to a person of the name of Ki
ng, and as evidence, mentions a family of that name in Skircote
, whom, he says, "were a considerable family."
We may perhaps be pardoned for differing with the reverend write
r as to the cross and its supposed origin, but we agree with hi
s remarkas to the family, about whose history he appears to hav
e know little or nothing.
The surname King is not a common one in our Parish, even now, an
d we donot find any entry of it in the Poll Tax of 1379 nor i
n the Rental of Halifax and Heptonstall of 1439. Certainly we h
ave a knowledge of one of the names, John Kinge, vicar of Halifa
x 1389-1437, who is generally supposed to have been a local ma
n and who held land in Skircote which were transferred to Henr
y Savile in the early 15th century. We have, however no evidenc
e to connectVicar Kinge, with the Skircote family, in fact, lit
tle is known about him save a few isolated references in wills a
nd Court rolls which have no bearing on our history. His will gi
ves no clue whatever to his relatives, and, being apriest he co
uld not, of course, marry.
In the early Registers of the Halifax Parish Church we find seve
ral entries of the name, and one of these we maytake note of i
n passing, as it may possibly be al ink in our chain of evidence
. Under date 18 January 1540, is a record of the burial of Isab
ella relict of John Kinge of Skircote." a fact which, so far a
s it goes, proves the existence of the family in the township a
t the period, and indicates the possibility of their having bee
n here some years previously; as a matter of fact they held lan
d here in 1518 as their deeds testify. It may be that to the Jo
hn Kinge before mentioned we owe the foundation of the Skircot
e family, and that he was the father of William Kinge, who is th
e first of the name to be identified with absolute certainty a
s of Willow Hall. This portion of the township appears to hav
e been a small manor of itself under the Lordship of the Saviles
, and as such was termed "The Wylleys" or the Willows, a name wh
ich has survied to the present Day without corruption. Evidence
s of its great auntiquity are not wanting, and it was without do
ubt derived from the particularspecies of tree which flourishe
d in that portion of Skircote adjoining the Warley Clough, where
, in those Days, a considerable stream flowed down to itsjuncti
on with the Calder. "The Wylleys" at the period with which we d
eal was not all waste land, but an area of cultivated ground whi
ch had been addedto from the waste by successive owners from ea
rly times, and it was at one time actually separate and distinc
t from Skircote itself, although within its boundary. This ma
y seem paradoxical, but let us examine for a moment an old docum
ent which sets this forth. It is a Grant dated on the feast o
f Saint Barnabas 1337 in the reign of King Edward III., and we f
ind that Henry, son ofMathew of the Wood (del Wose) conveys t
o Henry de Langefield and his heirs all that land and mesuage wi
th woods, meadows, pastures and pannage, "which Ihave of Mathe
w my father in the territory of Skircote and Willeys." Witnesse
s:-
William deCounale, Hugh deCoppeley, etc. This document is descr
ibed as having been "given at Willeys," that is the transactio
n took place and wasduly witnessed there. The witnesses includ
e the largest taxpayer of Skircoteunder the Lay Subsidy or "Pol
l Tax" of 2 Richa