To

The Right Honble the Earl Fauconberg

London

Date-stamped: 19 March

Remains of red wax seal

My Lord                                                                      Newborough 16th March 1760

Old John Raper was with me to Day, to desire I would acquaint your Lordship that he hath a Son that’s a Parson, if yr Ldship would be pleased to give him Coxwold Living, if so, he has an Organ of his own Making, which he wou’d make a present of to the Church; he hath a bad Character and has behaved very Ill for which Mr Hugill Discharged him from Smeaton; he’s now Curate for Mr Sterne at Sutton; We have had fine Seasonable Weather for this Fortnight past and the Roads are now very good I am

My Lord

Your Lordships Most

Obdt: Hble Servant

Richd:: Chapman

Notes
John Raper: John Raper was one of Lord Fauconberg’s tenants in Coxwold.

a Son that’s a Parson: William Raper, originally a farm boy from Coxwold was Sterne’s curate in Sutton, where his first entry in the parish register is dated 23 November 1759. He was not a university-trained cleric.

Living: the term used to describe a position in the Church of England.

Hugill: The Hugills were a family from Great Smeaton, several of whom held the local living. This particular member is not recorded in the Church of England database.

To

The Right Honble the Earl Fauconberg

London

My Lord                                                                                                          Newborough 23d March 1760

I am extreamly Glad your Lordship hath thought proper to Nominate Mr Sterne to Coxwold living, of which I have acquainted Mrs: Wilkinson this Day, and got Mr Wilkinsons Nomination which I have Sent Inclosed; I Should be glad to know if I am to pay to Mrs Wilkinson this half Years Sallary due Lady Day 1760 —-

Notes
Nominate: Historically individuals and institutions not formally part of the Church of England had the right to nominate clergy to a particular living. Though many of these anomalies have been abolished some still remain, most notably among the colleges of Oxford and Cambridge and certain public schools, such as Winchester and Eton. There are even a few individuals still retaining this right. Lord Fauconberg’s nomination of Sterne, dated 28 March 1760, is in Sterne’s own hand-writing and an illustration of it may be found in L.P. Curtis’ edition of Sterne’s Letters, facing p. 102.

Mr Wilkinson: Richard Wilkinson, like William Raper (see above), a cleric without a university degree, had been made Sterne’s assistant curate at Sutton-on-the-Forest on 14 June 1740, where he stayed for approximately two years. On the same day he was made assistant curate at Sheriff Hutton, Farlington Chapel. He had been nominated to Coxwold by Lord Fauconberg on 23 October 1753 and had died there on 12 March 1760.

Lady Day: 25 March – one of the four quarter days on which rents and salaries were conventionally due. It appears the cleric of Coxwold was paid half-yearly rather than every three months, which would have required a degree of economic planning.

Honrd. Sir

Newborough 1st June 1760

I am Extremely Sorry to hear by yours of the Death of my good Lady. This Meloncholy newse hath Struck me so, that I am Disabled from Writing. I Condole with your Honr, in the Loss of so good a Sister, and so Tender a parent none more Amiable and Affectionate than her Ladyship was to all about her, which will render her loss to the Immoderate grief of her Ladyships Family, as also all those her acquaintance

I Shall take Care to get Dark Gray Coates for the Hospital Men and Women, and do every thing that you think is Necessary on the Occasion. Mr Sterne Dines with my Bror, to Morrow and shall then let him know the Contents of yours; I Should be glad to know if your Honr. Or his Lordship think it proper that my Self or any other Should meet the Corpse at York or any part in the Road, I am

Honrd, Sir

Yours Honrs Most Obdt:

Hble Servant

Richd: Chapman

Notes
Honrd. Sir: the letter is addressed to the Earl’s brother, the Hon Mr Belasyse, whose fore-name is not recorded.

my good Lady: The Countess of Fauconberg, née Catherine, daughter and heiress of John Betham, alias Fowler, of Rowington, Warwickshire. She married Thomas Belasyse, fourth Viscount Fauconberg, on 5 August 1726. He was elevated on 16 June 1756 to become the first Earl Fauconberg of Newburgh (of the second creation – the first Fauconberg earldom had lapsed with the death of Thomas Belasyse in 1700). She died at the Earl’s London house in George Street, Hanover Square on 29 May 1760. This was Sterne’s first contact with the family in his new position.

Hospital Men and Women: the inhabitants of the two alms-houses, set up for the elderly and indigent. One was endowed for ten men who each received four pounds a year; the other for ten women, who were each given two pounds. In the Visitation Return to the Archbishop of York in the summer of 1764, Sterne wrote: ‘There are two Hospitals endowed by Thomas Earl Fauconberg an Ancestor to the present Earl.—every Thing is well ordered in these Hospitals.’ The reference to ‘Thomas Earl Fauconberg’ is a reference to the Earl Fauconberg of the first creation.

To

The Right Honble the Earl of Fauconberg

London

Date-stamped: 9 [July] and place stamped: EASING / WOULD

Remains of black wax seal

My Lord                                                                                                               Newborough 6th July 1760

Last Tuesday Mr Sterne went along with me to Sutton in order to give his Assistance
in Settleing the Rentals and Assessmts, which was not agreed to till that Day, and I have Inclosed
Sent your Lordship every Freeholders Seperate Rental (with the Assessmt: at 3d p pound) as it was
then Agreed to, and the Small Tenants of 20s and under are left out as they are all of ’em poor
people, in order to save them the Expense of the Window Duty —

Notes
Sutton: Sterne was one of the Commissioners for the Land Tax for the township of Sutton and in that capacity signed the annual statements of the amounts each individual was required to pay.

20s and under: under an Act of Parliament of 1432 (10 Hen. 6, c. 2), it was necessary to hold a freehold worth forty shillings in order to have a vote. The poor tenants referred to here are not entitled to vote.

Window Duty: there was no income tax at this point in British history. A window tax had been introduced in 1696 under William III and was intended to be relative to the taxpayer’s wealth based upon the standard of his accommodation. When the tax was introduced, it was levied in two parts: a flat-rate house tax of 2 shillings per house and an additional variable tax for houses with more than ten windows. Dwellings with between ten and twenty windows paid a total of four shillings, while those above twenty windows paid eight shillings. The number of qualifying windows changed in 1766.

To

The Right Honble the Earl Fauconberg

London

Date-stamped: 23 July

Remains of black wax seal

Newborough 20th July 1760

I gave Your Lordships Sirvice to Mr Sterne, whose Doctrine, (tho Chiefly Extempory) takes So well among the Congregation that the Church can Scarce Contain the Number of People that appear every Sunday.

I am

My Lord

Your Lordships Most

Obdt: Hble Servant

Richd: Chapman

Notes
Chiefly Extempory: this may explain why, though a clergyman for the best part of three decades, there are relatively few surviving sermons written by Sterne.

Number: it is estimated that 200 people could have fit into Coxwold Church.

To

The Right Honble the Earl Fauconberg

London

Date-stamped: 10 August

Remains of red wax seal

Newborough 6th August 1761

Mr Sterne is very much put about for want of a Stable, he has been at me Sevl: times to mention it to your Lordship, if you will please to let one be Built for four or five Stands he will pay your Lordship Twelve pence p pound for what it Costs Building, which may be added to the Rent —–

Notes
Stable: the stable block was built and may be seen at Shandy Hall. Some of the original stalls are still in situ.

To

The Right Honble the Earl Fauconberg

London

Indistinct date stamp; place stamp EASING / WOULD

Remains of red wax seal

Newborough 6th Sepr: 1761

They have pul’d up my Seat in the Church, in the Corner of which they have put up part of the Pulpit, as Some other Seats are puld up and those Standing are full, I Shall beg lieve to go into your Lordships Pew for a few Sundays till we are set right again

Notes
Seat: this letter refers to an extensive re-organisation of the interior of the St Michael’s, Coxwold, apparently at Sterne’s behest (see letters below). The more important parishioners would have had their own named place in a pew or even, as in the case of the Earl, pews reserved for the family and servants. They would probably have been box pews, of which a fine set survives at Holy Trinity, Goodramgate, York.

To

The Right Honble the Earl Fauconberg

London

Date-stamped: 23 September; place stamp: EASING / WOULD

Remains of red wax seal

Newborough 20th Septr: 1761

Ive this Day Sold to Mr Sterne and the Churchwardens a Scotch Ox which is to be Roasted Whole at Coxwold on Tuesday next, the Joy full Day of their Majesties Accession to the Crown; Mr Sterne hath prevailed with me to give e’m a Bushel of wheat for Bread so that all the Poor in the Parish may be Satisfied – there will also be a Collection for a Drink for e’m —

Notes
Scotch Ox: Scotch beef cattle were highly regarded, as now. This particular beast cannot have been an Aberdeen Angus as we learn in a subsequent letter that it has horns, and they are naturally polled.

their Majesties Accession: George II had died on 25 October 1760. On 8 September, his grandson, George III, had married Charlotte of Mecklenberg-Strelitz and was crowned king of Great Britain on 22 September. ARE

Bushel: a bushel was a measure of capacity used for grain – for many years it was a quantity which varied as to geographical location and was only standardised in 1826. Under an Act of Parliament of the reign of Henry VII (12 Henry VII c. 5) a bushel was defined as a measure containing 8 gallons of wheat where each gallon contained 8 pounds Troy weight of wheat. In fact, the bronze standard which was distributed around the country at the time contained not 8, but 9 gallons – 72 Troy pounds. This was because wheat was sold in the market in heaped measures. There were inevitable variations. Based on figures in Elizabeth David’s English bread and yeast cookery (London: Allen Lane, 1977), 72 pounds of wheat would have made nearly 90 standard one-pound loaves.

The whereabouts of the original of the letter below is uncertain – this transcription has been made from a rather faded photocopy.

My Lord                                                                                                               Newborough 25th Septr: 1761

Inclosed is a new Plan for the Pews in Coxwold Church which is a new Scheem of Mr Sternes, and he desired it might be Sent for your Lordships Opinion, and an ansr. from your Lordship as Soon as Convenient will be very agreable, as the whole work is stopt till they hear from you, it will be Something in the form of a Cathedral it will give a better Sound a better Light, and will all face the Parson alike, and the other way half the Church will be with their Backs to the Pulpit, which will make a Dispute for their Seats, and this Plan will go Crossways on the Old Seats, so that no one will know their own Place, the Pulpit is finished, the four Pews opposite your Ldships, two of e’m is Intended for your upper and under Servants, the other two for my Bror. and Scott, if your LdShip will please to let your under Servants Pew be the front Seat and the Corner of your Pew, the other three will be made Square and the Same hight with your Ld Ships, the Pews longway of the Church will be with their Backs to the Wall and face the Isle, and will be nigh afoot above each other –

I am Extreamly obliged to your LdShip for the Coronation News, and am glad your LdShip got Excused from attending which might have been of bad Consequence; I Imagine it will be agreable for your LdShip to know the Coronation Newse at Coxwold, in the first place a very fine ox with his  Hornes gild was laid down whole before the fire in the middle of the Town Street about 9 oClock in the Morning, at half Hour past roasting The Bells put in for Church, where an Excelent Sermon was Preached Extempory on the Occation by Mr Sterne, and gave great Content to every Hearer, the Church was quite full, both quire and Isle to the very Door, the Text &c you will See both in the London and York Papers about 3 oClock the Ox was cut up and Distributed Amongst at least 3000 People, after which two Barrils of Ale was Distributed amongst those who could get nearest to e’m, Ringing of Bells Squibs and Crackers Tarr-Barrills and Bonefires &c and a Ball in the Evening concluded the Joyfull Day, I am

My Lord

P.S Yesterday the Ston’d Horse was Cut                                                                Your Lordships Most Obedt.

and is as well this Morning as can                                                                              Hble Serv:t

be Expected —————————

Rich: Chapman

Notes
Scheem of Mr Sternes: unfortunately the ‘Inclosed’ plan appears to be no longer extant. The description Chapman gives here is somewhat confusing. Whether ‘the other way’ refers to the original plan or an alternative scheme is not at all clear. Had there been box-pews, then half the congregation might well have had their backs to the preacher; the reference to Sterne’s idea being ‘in the form of a Cathedral’ suggests a chancel and nave arrangement, which is what is found in St Michael’s.

my Bror. and Scott: neither Chapman’s brother nor Mr Scott has been identified. They were not liable to land tax in the Sutton area.

Coronation News: George III was crowned in Westminster Abbey on 22 September 1761.

bad Consequence: it is not clear why attending the coronation might have had bad consequences. Fauconberg’s letters to Chapman, which may have cast light on this, have not been preserved. Perhaps Fauconberg was unwell at the time.

Hornes gild: the practice of gilding the horns by way of celebration is recorded Virgil, see see Aeneid Ix, 627: auratâ fronte.

Extempory: another reference to Sterne’s manner of composition of sermons. Though the delivery may have appeared to have been extemporary, there was a written version of this sermon (see next note). Whether this means that Sterne wrote out this sermon and then memorised it for more dramatic delivery, or that he wrote it out after having extemporised on the topic, is a matter for conjecture.

London and York Papers: The York Courant reported: ‘At the Village of Coxwould that Day was celebrated in the following manner: A large Ox was roasted whole, with his Head on and Horns gilt, and all the Parishioners invited to Dinner after Divine Service, which was perform’d by the Rev. Mr. Sterne; who on that Occasion, preach’d a sermon from 2 Chron. XV. 14,15. And they sware unto the Lord with a loud Voice, and with Shouting, and with Trumpets, and with Cornets. And all Judah rejoiced at the Oath.’ (Tuesday, 29 September 1761, p. [3].). This sermon was published after Sterne’s death as ‘Asa: a Thanksgiving Sermon’ (number XIII in Sermons by the late Rev. Mr. Sterne).

at least 3000 People: the Archbishop’s Visitation Return for 1743 recorded that there were ‘about 170 Families’ in the village: In the Return for 1764, Sterne wrote, ‘There are 158 Families in this parish.’ 3000 is a remarkable number to have gathered in a village of such size, whether drawn by free beef, free ale, or a sermon from the famous author.

Tarr-Barrills: setting fire to barrels which contained, of had contained, tar, appears to have been a tradition. OED records a similar celebration: J. Barmby Churchwardens’ Accts. Pittington ‘Item paid for a tarbarrell at cronation day, vj d.’

Ston’d Horse: a stallion was castrated – to make him more manageable. The subsequent laconic ‘as well this Morning as can be expected’ is reminiscent of the response of Susannah in Tristram Shandy when asked how Mrs Shandy is during the labour which produces Tristram: ‘As well, said Susannah, tripping by, as can be expected’ (IV. 12).

To

The Right Honble the Earl Fauconberg

London

Date-stamped 10 February; place stamp EASING / WOULD

Almost complete red wax seal

Newborough 7th Feb. 1762

I am Extreamly Sorry to See in the Newspaper the Death of Poor Mr Sterne, and if true, I heartily wish, and it wou’d also give great Content to the whole Parrish, if your Ld:ship wou’d be pleased to Appoint the Revd: Mr Newton (who you Nominated to the School at Coxwold and Curacy of Husthwait) to Succeed Mr Sterne, who I think a very proper Person, and was your Ldship acquainted with him, I am almost Certain you wou’d think him worthy of Coxwold Curacy, he’s a very good Man and gains ground every Day in the Parrish, he is Extreamly well liked in the Parrish of Husthwait and Carlton, as also at Coxwold, for his good behaviour the time he’s been there, in Short every one that knows him Speaks well of him, as being an Affable good Natured Modest Man —- and I dar Say every person in this Parrish will give their Voice for him to Succeed Mr Sterne, if agreable to your Lordship, he shou’d be appointed I am almost Certain you wou’d not repent, and what I have Said your Lordship may Depend on as Fact; Mr Newton does not know as yet that Mr Sterne is Dead, nor of my Writing this to your Lordship, but as Soon as he hears I am very Sure hel make Application to your Lordship for the Same, I am

My Lord

Your Lordships Most Dutifull

And Obdtt Hble Servant

Richd: Chapman

Notes
Death of poor Mr Sterne: rumours of Sterne’s death circulated widely at this time and were reported in the London papers. Hack writers, such as the author of A funeral discourse, occasioned by the much lamented death of Mr. Yorick, Perbendary of Y—k and author of the much admired Life and opinions of Tristram Shandy, seized on this opportunity. The advertisement in this particular pamphlet played on the uncertainty surrounding the reports. Lord Fauconberg also received a letter dated 13 February 1762 from a William Gibson of Tattershall, requesting the nomination to what he believed to be a vacancy. Gibson is not recorded in the Church of England database of clergy, but may have been a curate at Holy Trinity, Tattershall, Lincolnshire.

Mr Newton: Thomas Newton, born at Bampton in Westmoreland, was admitted as a sizar to St John’s College, Cambridge, where he took his B.A. in 1757, and was ordained by Edmund Keene, bishop of Chester, on 2 July 1758. His first church appointment was as curate of Goldsborough in the West Riding of Yorkshire, 3 July 1758. He then became curate of Husthwaite with Carlton on 22 August 1761 and eventually gave this up to succeed Sterne in the living of Coxwold from 18 April 1768. In the Visitation Return to the Archbishop of York in the summer of 1764 Sterne noted: ‘There is a publick School endowed by Sir John Hart – The Masters name is Newton. The Scholars are only taught the Latin and greek tongues—there is a Charity School also, endowed by the same person for the Instruction of the parishioners Children in reading English.—all proper care is taken of them.’ In the Visitation Return of 1743, one of Sterne’s predecessors, Henry Thomson, noted that there were ‘about fifty’ children in each of the schools. According to the Cambridge University records, Newton was, presumably before taking up his post in Coxwold, the assistant master at Knaresborough Grammar School.

To

The Right Honble the Earl Fauconberg

London

Date-stamped 19 May; place stamp EASING / WOULD

Complete red wax seal

Newborough 16th. May 1762

Last Thursday Mrs: Sterne was here, who is Shortly going with her Daughter to France, and Desired I would Recomend her Postillion to your Lordship if you wanted one, he is a Coxwold Boy about 14 or 15 years of Age was one of your Lordships Plough Drivers who I Recomended to Mrs: Sterne above two years agoe, the lad is cut out on purpose, and he’s been Cast in the Postillion Mould, Mrs: Sterne gives him a good Character, if your Ldship want one Shou’d be glad to know for he’l Soon be gone —-

Notes
France: in a letter dated 16 May 1762 from Paris to his publisher, Thomas Beckett, Sterne observed: ‘She [Mrs Sterne] will sooner be in Town than I expected in her way to france and possibly you will see her the middle of June’ (Curtis 90).

Postillion: quite what Mrs Sterne’s postilion was required to do is debatable as the term was used to cover a range of activities: OED postilion 2, is defined as ‘A person who rides a post-horse, a post-boy; (more generally) a courier, a swift messenger’; while postilion 3 is: ‘A person who rides the (leading) nearside (left-hand side) horse drawing a coach or carriage, esp. when one pair only is used and there is no coachman. Also in extended use: an outrider for a carriage.’ Chapman’s reference to the ‘Postillion Mould’ makes clear his view of such positions.

To

The Right Honble the Earl Fauconberg

London

Date-stamped 23 July; place stamp YORK

Trace of red wax seal

York 20^th June 1762

My Lord

One Hudson who is Tenant to Lady Long for Land <Land> laying within the Township of Sutton, who gave Notice of an Appeal for the Land Tax at this place this time twelve month, when we agreed to take 4^l: of his Assessm^t: and lay it Equally amongst our Selves without coming before the Comisr^s.; on Thursday last one of the Tenants at Sutton came to let me know that the Same Hudson had given Notice to Appeal for the Land Tax at this place as Yesterday, who had taken the Advantage of M^r Harland and M^r Sterne being abroad; so I came here and Waited on M^r Croft M^r Bows and Lawyer Johnson (who were the three Acting Comisioners) Yesterday Morning before the Meeting and laid the Case before them who promised to do the best in their power for your Lordship; and M^r Bows Meeting with our Adversary and talked the affair over to him in Such a Manner as Affrighted him from his Appeal, so that he gave us no further trouble, but I am afraid he’l be a Continual plague to us —-

Notes

Lady Long: Lady Long was the fourth largest land-holder in the township of Sutton, being taxed on a valuation of £88. Earl Fauconberg’s valuation was £581-9-6; Philip Harland was assessed at £691-4-0; and Mr Bethell, £90. For purposes of comparison Laurence Sterne was assessed at £69-2-9.

Land Tax: http://www.history.ac.uk/gh/landtax.htm: ‘The first assessments of 1692-3 were made under the terms of “An Act for granting to their Majesties an aid of four shillings in the pound for one year for carrying on a vigorous war against France” [4W. & M.c.1,1692/3]. The Act specified that real estate and personal property, that is buildings & moveable goods as well as land, were to be taxed. It nominated for each borough and county in England and Wales the local commissioners who were to supervise the assessments & local collection. The tax was voted annually, usually in the spring, until 1798…. It was levied on a number of different bases : as a pound rate between 1693 & 1696, as a 4 shillings assessment supplemented by a poll tax in 1697 and from 1698-1798 on the system whereby each county or borough was given a fixed sum to collect.’ Land Tax in Sutton was supposed to raise £90 in total and it is suggested here that to accommodate Hudson in 1761 the major tax payers had agreed to spread the cost of his £4 contribution among themselves, but had decided not to continue this benefit.

M^r Harland: Philip Harland (1708-66), a graduate of Queen’s College, Oxford, was the squire of Sutton. He and Sterne did not see eye to eye.

M^r Sterne being abroad: Sterne set off for France in the first week in January 1762. He arrived back in London in early June 1764.

M^r Croft M^r Bows and Lawyer Johnson: Stephen Croft (1712-98) was Lord of the Manor of Stillington, and a close friend of Sterne. Messrs Bowes and Johnson have not been identified: they are both fairly common family names in Yorkshire and Durham.