# Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England in the 1590s

> A small road village, church living, and archbishop’s manor on the main northern route.

- Place: Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England (53.410, -1.019)
- Years: 1590 to 1599
- Page: https://yorehistory.com/place/scrooby-nottinghamshire-england/1590s
- Step into it (interactive): https://yorehistory.com/?step=Scrooby%2C%20Nottinghamshire%2C%20England&at=53.4096,-1.0192&year=1595

## Looking around

Stand by the churchyard and the place is small but not hidden. The Great North Road passes the eastern end of the churchyard[2][3] and goes through the ford below the mill[2]. Beside it is a stone church, “not big but well builded”[2], with a tower from the early fifteenth century[3] and a south aisle with Tudor windows[3]. Close by lies the moated manor-place of about six and a half acres[4], once the Archbishop of York’s lodging. Much of it is timber; the hall front is brick, reached by stone steps, and the place has two courts[4]. In the 1590s the manor is not royal show but working administration: the Brewster office holds the archbishop’s Scrooby estate posts[4] and also the Queen’s post on the road. Northward, Bawtry is a little over a mile away[2].

## Work: Road, estate, and fields

The most visible work is tied to road and manor: the postmaster must lodge Crown messengers travelling from London to Scotland[4], while the receiver and bailiff handle the Archbishop of York’s Scrooby estates[4]. Farming surrounds this, but local 1590s crop details are not preserved in the sources found here.

## Faith: A watched parish church

Scrooby worships in a chapel-of-ease to Sutton-cum-Lound, with income and patronage in lay hands[1]. In 1598 the curate is in trouble over ritual dress: Henry Jones was cited for not using the surplice[1].

## Law & power: Archbishop, Crown, parish

Local authority is layered: the manor is an Archbishop of York manor-place[4], while the same household office serves the Crown through the Queen’s posts[4]. Poor relief is moving toward parish control, as the later 1601 system made relief a parish responsibility[5].

## In the air: Conformity under pressure

The arguments are religious before they are political. In 1603, just after the decade, the visitation said no adult refused communion and no separatism or puritanism[1] existed in the parish church, but the 1598 surplice case shows how closely conformity was watched.

## What people feared: Hunger and punishment

The late decade is hard across England: bad harvests between 1595 and 1598 increased poverty[5]. The official answer joins relief to discipline, with laws aimed at poverty and vagrancy[5].

## Home & table: Small, young population

By 1603 Scrooby held 71 adults and about 114 children under sixteen[1], making it a village where children outnumbered adults. Ordinary house interiors are a gap: no online source found here gives a 1590s description of ordinary Scrooby cottages.

## Money: Small salaries, fixed dues

The archbishop’s local offices paid cash: receiver was £2 a year[4] and bailiff £1 6s 8d a year[4]. Those sums belong to office-holding, not to ordinary labourers, whose Scrooby wages are not found here.

## Roads & news: News rides the road

Scrooby is not isolated: the Great North Road ran by Scrooby[2][3], and its post office had to receive Crown messengers travelling on the road from London to Scotland[4]. The nearest little town named in the sources is Bawtry, somewhat over a mile away[2].

## Year by year

- **1588** (the country): The Spanish Armada was defeated, a national memory still recent in the 1590s.
- **1590** (here): William Brewster senior died, and William Brewster junior succeeded him at Scrooby.[4]
- **1590** (nearby): A warrant accused James Brewster of ruining the hospital house and chapel at Bawtry and using it as a stable.[2]
- **1595** (the country): Bad harvests began a run of national scarcity that increased poverty through 1598.[5]
- **1598** (here): Scrooby curate Henry Jones was cited for non-use of the surplice.[1]
- **1598** (the country): Parliament passed poor-law measures against poverty and vagrancy.[5]
- **1603** (here): An archbishop’s visitation estimated Scrooby at 71 adults and about 114 children under sixteen.[1]

## What the sources say

- The old Great North Road ran by Scrooby, passing the eastern end of the churchyard. (inferred)[2][3]
- The old road then went through the ford below the mill. (inferred)[2]
- John Leland described Scrooby church in about 1540 as not large but well built of squared stone. (inferred)[2]
- The church tower, with its Perpendicular west window, dates from the early fifteenth century. (inferred)[3]
- The south aisle of the church was added about a century after the tower and had Tudor-style windows. (inferred)[3]
- Scrooby manor stood within a moat enclosing about six and a half acres. (inferred)[4]
- Leland described the manor as an Archbishop of York manor-place built in two courts, mainly timber, with a brick hall front and stone steps. (inferred)[4]
- William Brewster senior was appointed receiver and bailiff of the Archbishop of York’s Scrooby estates in 1575, with salaries of £2 and £1 6s 8d a year. (inferred)[4]
- In 1588 William Brewster senior also became Master of the Queen’s Posts and was responsible for accommodating Crown messengers travelling on the road from London to Scotland. (inferred)[4]
- William Brewster senior died in 1590 and was succeeded by his son William Brewster junior. (inferred)[4]
- The church was a chapel-of-ease to Sutton-cum-Lound, and Scrooby’s church income and patronage had passed into lay hands during Elizabeth I’s reign. (from the sources)[1]
- In 1598 Scrooby curate Henry Jones was cited for not using the surplice, though the record says he did use it for most services and for sacraments. (from the sources)[1]
- In 1603 the parish was estimated at 71 adults and about 114 children under sixteen. (from the sources)[1]
- By 1603 an archbishop’s visitation reported no adult in Scrooby refusing communion and no separatism or puritanism in the parish church. (from the sources)[1]
- Bawtry, north of Scrooby, was described as a little town somewhat over a mile away. (inferred)[2]
- Nearby Bawtry had the hospital or chapel of St Mary Magdalene, re-endowed in 1390. (inferred)[2]
- In 1590 a warrant accused James Brewster of ruining the Bawtry hospital house and chapel and turning it into a stable. (inferred)[2]
- Across England, bad harvests between 1595 and 1598 increased poverty and helped produce the Poor Laws of 1598. (from the sources)[5]
- The Poor Laws of 1598 were intended to answer poverty and vagrancy, and the later 1601 system made relief a parish responsibility funded by local rates. (from the sources)[5]
- No online source found here gives a 1590s description of ordinary Scrooby cottages, room layouts, diets, or field names. (not known)

## Sources

1. Scrooby - History. Southwell & Nottingham Church History Project. https://southwellchurches.nottingham.ac.uk/scrooby/hhistory.php
2. 16th Century Scrooby. Scrooby Village. https://www.scrooby.org/scrooby-history/16th-century-scrooby
3. Visiting Scrooby. Scrooby Village. https://www.scrooby.org/visiting-scrooby
4. Scrooby Manor House. Scrooby Village. https://www.scrooby.org/scrooby-history/scrooby-manor-house
5. English Poor Laws. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Poor_Laws

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Researched by Yore's AI historian (gpt-5.5) on 2026-10-12 from the sources listed. It is about the place and the time, not about any person. Statements marked "inferred" are conclusions, not records. Cite as: Yore, "Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, England in the 1590s", https://yorehistory.com/place/scrooby-nottinghamshire-england/1590s