Part 3

Item I give to the poore people of the Cittye of Yorke three pounds XX^s whereof to be distributed to the poore of the Warde where I now live and the remmant to the poore of the other three Wardes equally to be divided.

Item I give to the poore prisoners of the castle of Yorke XX^s and to the poore prisoners on Ousebridge called the Kidcoate X^s and to the poore prisoners of S^t. Peters prison in Yorke X^s.

Item I give to the poore people of the old hospitall or massing dewes of the Citty of Yorke thirty shillings. Item whereas....

Item my Will meaninge and harty desire is that my nowe loveing wife Mary Deane shall & may quietly have & enjoye all her widdowe rights whatsoever according to this pvince of Yorke w^{th}out any further trouble molestac{~COMBINING OVERLINE~}on or vexac{~COMBINING OVERLINE~}on or suite in lawe and that my Executor shall not make any claime to any such goods or plate as she the said Mary had in her former widdowhood & brought w^th her to me att her marriage w^th me. Item I give to my said nowe loveing wife as a legacy my coatch horses & furniture & what hay or oates, coales, turfes & fuell shall be in my howse att my death. Item I give....

Item I give to Margery Smeton yf shee be my servant at my death forty shillings and to each other of my servants att my death tenn shillings.

All the rest of my goods & chattells unbequeathed, my debts and funerall expenses discharged I give and bequeath to my loveing nephewe Mr. John Deane of Saltonstall Atturney in his Maty Court of Com{~COMBINING OVERLINE~}on Pleas att Westminster & eldest sonne of my late brother Gilbert Deane of Saltonstall deceased w^ch said John Deane I doe ordayne constitute & make my sole & onely Executor of this my last Will & Testament

And for as much as most of my Estate doth consist in debts, w^ch will require tyme for gathering in, my Will & meaneing is that this my said executor shall have twelvemonethes tyme for the payment of the greater legacies....

And further my meaneing is That for as much as my said Executor John Deane by Gods pvidence is likely to be lame by a fall & not to live & followe his profession as an Atturney to London (but as it weare undone) whome I have made my onely & sole Executor of this my last Will & Testament. Therefore all my nephews & kindred may know I have given them small legacy to doe him good

In Witness.... etc.

In "Spadacrene Anglica" Deane mentions that "out of the divers fountains springing hereabouts" five are worthy the observation of physicians. These are--

1.--The Dropping Well.

2.--The Sulphur Well at Bilton Park.

3.--The Sulphur Well near Knaresborough.

4.--The Sulphur Well at "Haregate head."

5.--The Tuewhit Well, or The English Spaw.

The number of springs worthy the observation of physicians has largely increased and the relative importance of the five mentioned has altered considerably since Deane wrote. But in 1626, The Tuewhit Well, or The English Spaw, was regarded as the most worthy of fame. This well, according to the later writers, was discovered by Captain (afterwards Sir) William Slingsby:--in Chapter 6 of "Spadacrene Anglica," however, a Mr. William Slingsby is given as the discoverer.

"The first discoverer of it to have any medicinall quality (so far forth as I can learn), was one Mr. William Slingesby, a Gentleman of many good parts, of an ancient and worthy Family neere thereby: who having travelled in his younger time, was throughly acquainted with the taste, use, and faculties of the two Spaw fountaines. In his latter time, about 55 yeeres agoe it was his good fortune to live for a little while at a grange house very neare to this fountaine, and afterwards in Bilton Parke all his life long."

From this it appears that the discovery was made by Mr. William Slingsby in his later years, about the year 1571, but if the Mr. William Slingsby here referred to was Sir William Slingsby he would have been a youth of some 8 or 9 years in 1571. Secondly, one would judge from the text that the Mr. William Slingsby referred to by the writer was dead at the time that he wrote, namely 1626, whereas, as a matter of fact, Sir William Slingsby was alive until the year 1634. Thirdly, it is impossible to conceive that Edmund Deane would refer to Sir William Slingsby as Mr. William Slingsby, seeing that the former was knighted in 1603, or 23 years prior to the publication of Deane's work. It is therefore abundantly clear that Sir William Slingsby--a very gallant gentleman--has no claim to the fame which history has insisted upon according him.

The fact is that the Mr. William Slingsby referred to was the fourth son of Thomas Slingsby of Scriven, who married Joan, daughter of Sir John Mallory of Studley, and who had a family of six sons and four daughters. The name of the eldest son was Francis, and, as just mentioned, William was the fourth son. Sir William Slingsby was the seventh son of Francis and the nephew therefore of Mr. William Slingsby. Mr. William Slingsby was buried at Knaresborough on the 8th of Oct., 1606, but the date of his birth does not seem to have been recorded. His elder brother, Francis, died in 1600 at the age of 78, so that he was born in 1522. It is not unreasonable to suppose that William, his brother, one of a large family, was born between the years 1525 and 1527. He would therefore be somewhere between 44 and 46 years of age, when he discovered the medicinal qualities of the Tuewhit Well, which equally accords with Deane's statement that in his younger days he had travelled in Germany.

So far as I can trace, Hargrove is the first author to confuse the uncle and the nephew. He writes that the well

"was discovered by Capt. William Slingsby, about the year 1571. This Gentleman, in the early part of his life, had travelled in Germany, where he made himself acquainted with the Spaws of that country. He lived sometime at Grange House, near the Old Spaw, from whence he removed to Bilton Park, where he spent the remainder of his days. He made severall trials of this water, and finding it like the German, he walled it about, and paved it at the bottom, leaving a small opening for the free access of the water. Its current is always near the same, and is about the quantity of the Sauvenir, to which Mr. Slingsby thought it preferable."

From this quotation it is clearly apparent that Hargrove erroneously inferred that Mr. Slingsby and Capt. Slingsby were the one and the same person instead of being uncle and nephew. In the 3rd edition of the "History of Knaresborough," published in 1782, the reference to Mr. Slingsby is omitted and from that edition onwards, Captain Slingsby appears as the discoverer of the Tuewhit Well in 1571, a discovery clearly inconsistent with the fact that he was born in the year 1562.

The source of Hargrove's information in the above quotation is, without doubt, the summary of "Spadacrene Anglica," published by Dr. Short in 1734 in his History of Mineral waters. The summary by Short of Chapter 6 of "Spadacrene Anglica" is as follows:--

"This fifth Spaw is a Mile and half from Knaresburgh, up a very gentle ascent, near Harrigate, has much the same Situation as the foresaid Spaws in Germany. It was discovered first about fifty years ago, by one Mr. William Slingsby, who had travelled in Germany in his younger Years, seen, and been acquainted with theirs; and as he was of an ancient Family near the place, so he had fine Parts and was a capable Judge. He lived some time at a Grange-House near it; then removed to Bilton-Park, where he spent the rest of his Days. He, using this Water yearly, found it exactly like the German Spaw. He made several Tryals of it, then walled it about, and paved it in the bottom with two large Stone-flags, with a Hole in their sides for the free Access of the Water, which springs up only at the bottom, through a Chink or Cranny left on purpose. Its current is always near the same, and is about the quantity of the Sauvenir, to which Mr. Slingsby thought it preferable being more brisk and lively, fuller of Mineral Spirits, of speedier Operation; he found much benefit by it. Dr. Tim. Bright, about thirty years ago, first gave it the name of the English Spaw: Having spent some time at those in Germany, he was Judge of both; and had so good an Opinion of ours, that he sent many Patients hither yearly, and every Summer drank the Waters himself. And Dr. Anthony Hunter, late Physician at Newark-upon-Trent, often chided us Physicians in York, for not writing upon it, and deservedly setting it upon the Wings of Fame."

A more consistent form has been given to the error by Grainge, who in 1862 published a memoir of the Life of Sir William Slingsby, Discoverer of the first Spaw at Harrogate. Grainge, like Hargrove, had only access to Short's summary, but he sees the difficulty to which I have alluded, for he writes:--

"From the uncertain expression of the Dr. 'about 50 years ago' the date of this discovery is generally fixed in the year 1576, though it is probably twenty years or more too early, as at that time Slingsby would only be fourteen years of age: and could not have travelled much in Germany or elsewhere: while the expression 'in his younger days' would infer that the discovery was not made until he had attained middle age at least."

Grainge accordingly dates Captain (or Sir) William Slingsby's discovery to 1596 or later, the origin of the expression "near the close of the 16th Century" of the recognised history.

In the first place Dr. Short is inaccurate in that Deane states it was discovered "55" years ago, and not "50." In the second place, the only authority whom Grainge could rely upon was Deane, either directly or indirectly, and Deane could not have made the discoverer to be a boy of nine years of age (not fourteen) for he must have known Sir William Slingsby, a contemporary. Finally, Grainge only consulted the summary of "Spadacrene Anglica" and not the actual work, and it is to be noted that Deane in Chapter 6 says the first discoverer "so far forth as I can learn." These words are not in the summary, but they show that Deane had given care to his work, and if Sir William Slingsby had been the discoverer, Deane could have obtained his information at first hand, and would have given Sir William Slingsby as his authority.