Marske – NZ 089021
When Christopher Conyers died, in 1504, his will included an item for all the lead which had been burned (smelted) in the manor of Marske. Likewise, the will of William Conyers, dated 1531/32, mentions a burning place at Clints. Both of the foregoing almost certainly refer to bales, but a smelt mill, with two furnaces, was working at Clints by 1589. Like Sayer’s mill at Marrick, therefore, the latter was a very early mill.
The manors of Marske and Clints passed by marriage to Arthur Phillipe, whose son sold them to Timothy Hutton. In 1635 Dr John Bathurst married Elizabeth Willance, the daughter and co-heir of Brian Willance, whose family had acquired the manor of Clints and its smelt mill from the Hutton family around 1618. By this marriage, therefore, Bathurst gained possession of the Clints mill and was able to use it for smelting ore from the Arkengathdale mines, which he leased in 1654.
Later research by Tyson in 1993 showed that this mill is actually called Phillip’s Mill.
Further information and references can be found in:
- Gill, M.C. Yorkshire Smelting Mills Part 1, Northern Mine Research Society Memoirs 1992, British Mining No 45, pp 111-150
- Tyson, L.O. Mining and Smelting in the Marske Area, Swaledale, Northern Mine Research Society Memoirs 1993, British Mining No 50
