Myton

Myton is first mentioned in 1086, as a ‘farm at the confluence’ of the rivers Hull and Humber. It most likely Stood on the west bank not far from where the river Hull meets the river Humber. At this point it was merely a berewick belonging to the manor of North Ferriby, and forming part of the estates of Ralph de Mortimer.

Back to the Monks and the Sheep

The monks at the nearby Cistercian Meaux abbey began to buy areas of land around Myton. They needed a port where the wool from their estates could be exported. They built a quay at the confluence of the rivers Hull and Humber and it was this place that later became known as the Port of Wyke upon Hull. This may come from the Scandinavian vik, meaning creek (implying that the area was used as a port prior to this).

A large part of Myton between 100 and 140 acres was owned by the Camin family. This land passed down to Maud Camin and her husband Robert. Between 1160 and 1182 Maud and Robert granted 70 acres to Meaux Abbey, along with pasture for 800 sheep, a fishery in the Humber, and a number of other items. The grant excluded the remaining area which Maud’s mother Anor held for life. However somewhere between 1197 and 1210 the abbey also obtained this, from Maud’s son, John of Meaux. The abbey also received land from William de Sutton and Benet de Sculcoates. Three acres of meadow was also obtained from Robert de Benneyre. By about 1200 it had acquired the whole 200 acres of Myton.

Developing Myton

The Monks at Meaux then began converting the hamlet of Myton to a grange. The abbey was at this period actively draining and improving the the land for grazing and farming. A fall in sea-level, may also have helped in the work around Myton. It was also at this time that the town of Wyke was established, and for its safety the River Hull, was diverted into a shorter and straighter course to the Humber, following the line of Sayer Creek which took its name from the lord of the manor of Sutton, in Holderness.

It is unclear whether the new course was actually ‘new’, or an existing, secondary, outlet of the Hull. It’s also unclear if it was a deliberate diversion, or a result of a natural silting-up of the old course. The location of the junction of the old and new courses is also uncertain. It’s possible that the junction was at Sculcoates Gote, a short distance north of the town. When the haven was formally given to the town in 1382 it was described as stretching from there to the Humber.

The maintenance of sea banks along the Humber was likely a large part of the work of the grange, especially since a gradual rise in sea-level was happening over the course of the 13th century. With some serious flooding happening toward the middle of the century, when Myton was among Meaux’s estates.

Monks in dispute

The monks found themselves in a number of disputes with other landowners over use of the pasture. In 1160–82 William de Stutville and Benet de Sculcoates occupied the greater part of the common pasture. This was in order to make ditches to drain the marsh around Cottingham. Then again in 1210–20 men from Swanland were taking Meaux’s sheep from the pasture. For settlement in the last dispute, and confirmation of Meaux’s rights to its lands in Myton, the abbey paid £33 6s. 8d. to Eustace de Vescy. The common pasture was apparently shared by Meaux with several neighbouring villages.