The Procters of Bordley
Anyone looking through the parish registers for Kirkby Malham, Rylstone, Burnsall, Linton and Long Preston will soon come across the family name of Procter/Proctor/Prockter and JW Morkill’s “Parish of Kirkby Malhamdale” devotes ten whole pages to their history, which can be read
here.
This was written in 1933 and contains an interesting family tree, but there doesn’t appear to be any clear evidence which has emerged so far, that will link this group with the Procter family research shown below, though it seems most likely.
The spelling of the name varies, this is in some instances due to a change in the parish clerk. Thus, at St Peter Rylstone, the parish curate John Toppan served for 59 years from 1602 to 1661 and spelt the name as Proctor. His successor, Jeremiah Waid changed the spelling to Procter in 1662. In 1729, the spelling changes again to Prockter but reverts to Procter in 1762/63.
The various families (henceforward referred to as Procter) occupied a number of farmhouses particularly in the Bordley and Malham Moor areas and are variously referred to in the registers as gentlemen (until 1664/65), yeomen (from 1728/29), husbandmen (from 1732/33), and sometimes farmer (from 1774/75). The term yeoman is used right through to the early nineteenth century and occurs in the Burnsall registers as well from 1726.
The houses occupied by the Procter families in Kirkby Malhamdale parish include:
Old Name Alternative names Current name. Hawthorne leighe yeat Hathorne Lydeyeat, lyed yeat, hath— lydyeat, Leeyate and Leegate Lee Gate House Caponha Capponha, Cap(p)onhaw(e), Cappenhaw, Cappenhow, Chappenhaw, Capenhall or Cap(p)inhaw Capon Hall. Trannhouse Trainhouse or Upper Tranhouse High Trenhouse Crackemore Crake Moor Rough Close Ruff Close Rough Close Newhouses (Adjacent to Lee Gate House) Holgate Head Holgate Head Malham Water Houses (The hamlet at Malham Tarn) Procters also lived in the township of Hanlith
Alice Procter (1826 -1895)Born at Lainger House, Bordley – 3rd Oct 1826Baptised at Rylstone Chapel – 29th Oct 1826Married James Duckett of Clapham -13th May 1852 Died at Liverpool – 5th April 1895
In the parish of Burnsall at Bordley, they occupied the following houses/areas:
Blayk bank Blayke bank, Bleakbanke, Bleakbank, Blaikebanke , Blaik banke and BlakebankNow a ruin but marked on the OS Maps as Bleak Bank Bordley Hall Boardley Hall Bordley moor(e) Bordley town The township of Bordley also referred to as just Bordlay, Bordley or Baudley or Bord Lingtop Colepitt Gill Cowgill Coat Cow Gill Cote Lainger House Langer House Bowcross Bacros, Boocross, Buckerhouse Rilston Rylstone, township part of the parish of Burnsall. Knowbank
Elsewhere in the parish of Burnsall, they are found in Hetton and Cracoe, and in the parish of Linton at Threshfield and Skyrethorns,
In the parish of Long Preston, their main residence was Mearbeck (or Merebeck). There are numerous other less specific references in the above parish registers and those of adjoining areas.
Wills have been transcribed for the Procters, many containing inventories. These are listed below and it’s hoped that transcripts or abstracts can be added to the website in the near future. View an interesting sample will and inventory for
Richard Procter (1742/3) of Knowebanke
.
Year Name of Where Notes 1524
Geoffrey Procter
Bordley 1541 John Procter Burnsall (administration only) 1555 Geffraye Procter Knowlbanke 1560 Richard Procter Bordelay (administration only) 1561 Richard Procter Rilstone (administration only) 1580 Christopher Procter Blaikbanke 1584 Anthony Procter Blackbanke (administration only) 1594 Richard Procter Bordley (administration only) 1597 John Procter Bordley (administration only) 1601 Richard Procter Blaikebanke (administration only) 1607 Thomas Procter Capon Hawe 1611 William Procter Hathorn leadyeat (administration only) 1612 Thomas Procter Hathornledyate 1613 Thomas Procter Blackbanke 1614 Barbara Procter Blakebanke (administration only) 1616 Elizabeth Procter Black banke 1617 John Procter Blake Banke (administration only) 1617 Robert Procter Blakebanke administration only) 1618, Richard Procter Threshfield 1624 Thomas Procter Bordley (administration only) 1630 James Procter Burnsall 1654 John Procter Wynterburne 1658 Robert Procter Blackbanke 1662 Frances Procter Hathorn leayeat 1686 Christopher Procter Cowgillcoat 1693 Thomas Procter Blaikbanke 1693 William Procter Bordlay 1715 Miles Procter Thorgill Beck 1717 Anthony Procter Cougill Coat 1719 Edward Procter Burnsall (administration only) 1728 Thomas Procter Hetton 1737 Christopher Procter Lainger House (administration only) 1738 Alice Procter Hetton
1742
Richard. Procter
Knowlbanke
1745 Thomas Procter Bordley 1746 Richard Procter Langer House 1759 Thomas Procter Hetton 1775 Richard Procter Bordley 1776 Margaret Procter Langer House 1787 Richard Procter Bordley 1778 Thomas Gregson Cracoe 1789 Thomas Procter Threshfield 1809 Richard Procter Lainger House 1839 William Procter Alnwick 1840 James Procter Armley Heights, Leeds 1852 Richard Procter Lainger House 1922 Isabella Frances Smith Procter Newfoundland, Canada
Family Trees
These wills and other information (including land transactions involving the Procters from 1726 to 1824) have enabled a family tree to be made that is held on the GenCircles website (link below).
Extracts from this family tree have been made and illustrate the main lines that, for the most part, show the family to be descendants of Christopher Procter of Bleakbank (Bordley). These trees are named after the areas/houses in which the Procters lived.
Evidence for the relationships shown derive from parish records, wills and administrations and land transactions. The existence of a will, administration or inventory is indicated on each tree. The wills are mostly held at the Borthwick Institute and the land transactions at the Land Registry at Wakefield. Transcriptions of some of them will be added to this website. Also shown are the areas/houses which particular individuals lived in the latter part of their lives.
Click on any link to view the lineage of that family branch:-
Procter of Bordley, Cracoe and Leeds
Procter of Lainger House, Bordley*
Procter of Leegate, Malham Moor
Procter of Mearbeck (Long Preston)
* Note that Richard Procter and his wife Margaret Procter were first cousins, being both grandchildren of Richard Procter and Margaret Heeles.
Research by Tim Gray
Further details on Procter and Duckett from Craven District 
can be found on the GenCircles website
Malhamdale Local History Group 