While the heather is in full bloom, it seems absurd not to be up on the moors. This boundary stone, standing proud over the heather, is marked on its Bilsdale side with the inscription “FEVERSHAM 1848,” a name requiring little introduction. It refers, of course, to William Duncombe, the 2nd Baron Feversham, whose seat was at Duncombe Park, and who owned much of Bilsdale and the surrounding moorlands.
This side of the stone, however, bears the name “FOULIS,” with no date, implying it was added soon after the stone’s erection. This name likely refers to Lady Mary Foulis, the heiress of the last Foulis baronet, Sir William Foulis who had left no male heir, so his daughter inherited Ingleby Manor upon his death in 1845. She married the 2nd Lord de Lisle and Dudley of Penshurst in Kent in 1850. With this marriage, under the legal doctrine of coverture, her husband became Lord of the Manor, and the name “Foulis” passed into history.1‘Ingleby Manor and Greenhow Park | Yorkshire Gardens Trust’. 2022. Yorkshiregardenstrust.org.uk <https://www.yorkshiregardenstrust.org.uk/index.php/research/sites/ingleby-manor-and-greenhow-park> [accessed 16 August 2024]
The Foulis family, originally Saxon, once held significant possessions in Kent. After opposing the Norman Conquest, they fled to Scotland with Edgar Atheling, giving their name to a town there.2“The History and Antiquities of Cleveland”, John Walker Ord, page 434, first published 1846 The family rose to prominence under the Scottish kings, and in 1608, Sir David Foulis, a distinguished courtier of James VI of Scotland, purchased Ingleby. He had accompanied the King south when he ascended the English throne as James I.3‘Ingleby Manor’. 2024. Inglebymanor.co.uk <https://www.inglebymanor.co.uk/history-of-ingleby-manor> [accessed 16 August 2024]
- 1‘Ingleby Manor and Greenhow Park | Yorkshire Gardens Trust’. 2022. Yorkshiregardenstrust.org.uk <https://www.yorkshiregardenstrust.org.uk/index.php/research/sites/ingleby-manor-and-greenhow-park> [accessed 16 August 2024]
- 2“The History and Antiquities of Cleveland”, John Walker Ord, page 434, first published 1846
- 3‘Ingleby Manor’. 2024. Inglebymanor.co.uk <https://www.inglebymanor.co.uk/history-of-ingleby-manor> [accessed 16 August 2024]
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