24. The Civil War

Several men from the neighbourhood fought during the Civil War. We have records of two men from Sutton itself.

The first was William Barrett of the Bent. The Barret family had lived at the Bent for more than three hundred years. In 1379 there were Johannes Baret, Johannes Baret junior, and Willelmus de Bent, living in Sutton. There was a William Barrett living there in 1599. Peter Barrett of the Bent, was buried at Kildwick in 1653.

William Barrett was presumably a man of some importance in the village. He was a zealous partisan of King Charles 1st. When Charles was beheaded, there was a price on the head of Barrett, and he fled to Ireland. After the Restoration he returned to England, but could only recover a small amount of his land. The king refused him any help in regaining his property.

The second man also belonged to a family of some importance in the village. Malsis Hall had in 1625 padded into the hands of Richard Horsfall. His son and heir, Richard, was a captain in the army. He was killed at Selby in April 1644 and was buried at Colne.