Firbeck

The place name Firbeck is thought to derive from a wood streamlet, or beck of the Frith.[3]

An oval field in the village marks what was once the private racecourse of 18th century racehorse owner Anthony St Leger, who originated the St Leger Stakes. While the first "St. Leger" race was held on Cantley Common in 1776, was not so named until over a year later, and moved to Doncaster Racecourse in 1778, local legend holds that the race was being run in Firbeck prior to this. St Leger lived at Park Hill, an estate to the south of Firbeck, the main house was demolished in 1935, but there are still Grade II listed farm buildings, dating from the 17th century and built of limestone rubble with a roof of pantiles, within the grounds of the estate.[4]

Village amenities include The Black Lion public house, and St Martin's Church, which was rebuilt on the site of a previous building in 1820. A north aisle was added in 1844, and in 1887, Henry Gladwyn Jebb commissioned the builders E I Hubbard of Rotherham to enlarge it further. When Jebb died, a tower was added in 1900 in his memory. The building includes two 19th-century wall monuments to the Knight family of Langold,[5] while there is a larger 18th-century monument to other members of the family in the churchyard. Both the tomb and the church building are Grade II listed.[6]

Firbeck Hall was built in 1594 by William West, who was steward to Francis Talbot, 5th Earl of Shrewsbury,[7] and to Gilbert Talbot, 7th Earl of Shrewsbury from 1580 to 1594. He was from Rotherham, and had made a fortune as a practising lawyer. West was the author of a legal textbook called Symbolaeographia, and stipulated in his will of 1598 that "a grave stone be set for me and my said wife in Firbeck Church, and ingraven with our arms and names and some posy."[8] In 1676, the hall was purchased by Jonathan Staniforth, son of William Staniforth of Rotherham. The family had been puritans during the English Civil War, and were staunch Nonconformists. Jonathan married four times, first to Dorothy Shaw, secondly to Anne Spateman, thirdly to Mary Disney, daughter of John Disney, and finally to Christian Knight, daughter of Ralph Knight.[9] Upon Jonathan's death in 1679, the house was passed down to his son Disney Staniforth.[10] Disney married Mary Skinner and had a son named Jonathan, and three daughters Mary, Henrietta and Amelia. The children were known to be reclusive, never marrying or having offspring. In 1768, the estates of Firbeck and nearby Langold were inherited by Elizabeth Gally (née Knight), whose husband was Rev Dr Henry Gally, Rector of St Giles in the Fields, Camden, and chaplain to King George II. His two sons added the name Knight to their existing names, the eldest, John Gally Knight, living at Langold Hall, and the youngest, a barrister called Henry, residing in Firbeck Hall. Following Henry's death in 1808, his widow Selina devoted herself to serving the community, rebuilding Firbeck Church, and establishing schools in Firbeck and the neighbouring village of Letwell. When she died in 1823, the estate passed to her son, another Henry.[11]

Her son was the 19th-century architect and writer Henry Gally Knight who is assumed to have been a principal information source for Walter Scott during the writing of Ivanhoe. Knight was the Member of Parliament for North Nottinghamshire from 1814 to 1831, and was also the High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire. He wrote books on European medieval architecture, wrote poetry, and knew the poet Lord Byron. He intended to build a large mansion overlooking Langold Lakes, but having commissioned the plans, changed his mind, and lived at the Hall. He married his wife Henrietta in 1826. The hall was extended and improved, and a notable feature was the steep gables which he added. He died on 9 February 1846, and left the hall in his will to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners.[12] Seven years later, the commissioners sold the estate, and it was purchased by Frances Harriett Miles (née Jebb). The Rev. Henry Gladwyn Jebb, who was involved in the rebuilding of St Martin's church, inherited the building on the death of Mrs Miles, and it passed to his nephew Captain Sydney Gladwyn Jebb in 1898. Sydney Jebb was a wealthy landowner, and a Justice of the peace in the West Riding of Yorkshire, but chose to live in Maidstone, Kent. The house was rented out, after attempts to sell it failed in 1909.[7] Some modernisation was carried out at the beginning of World War I, when several Belgian families were housed there.[13]

• Listed buildings in Firbeck

Media related to Firbeck at Wikimedia Commons

• The History of Firbeck and Firbeck Hall, Rotherhamweb
• History of Firbeck, Rotherham
• Firbeck Hall, Rotherhamunofficial
• The Firbeck Canard, Local news, Firbeck