The “White Doe” was the pet of “the exalted Emily, maid of the blasted family.” It was presented to her by her brother, Francis Norton, of Rylstone. Francis was one of those who perished in the rising of the North. He was buried in Bolton Abbey, and, according to the legend, the sister was a frequent visitor to his grave—
“But most to Bolton’s sacred pile,
On favouring nights she longed to go;
There ranged through cloister, court, and aisle,
Attended by the soft-paced doe.
Nor did she fear in the soft moonshine
To look upon St. Mary’s shrine,
Nor on the lonely turf that showed
Where Francis slept in his last abode.”
Lying below Thorpe and Hebden is Burnsall, and here the scenery, especially along the banks of the river, is rich in picturesque beauty. Burnsall is Brinshale in Domesday. It is a place where well-worship must have prevailed from a remote time, as is evidenced in its “Thorsill” or Thor’s well, and in its other wells dedicated to St. Margaret and St. Helena. Owing to a peculiarity in the division of the manor, the parish at one time rejoiced in two rectors and two rectories, with two pulpits and two stalls in the church. Originally Norman, the church has undergone repair at different times. The latest restoration was in 1859. An inscription on a tablet inside the tower speaks of an earlier work in the same direction, describing how in 1012 the fabric was repaired and beautified at the “onlie coste and charges of Sir William Craven, Knight and Alderman of the Citie of London, and late Lord Mayor of the same.” Sir William was a native of Appletreewick close by. His career recalls that of Whittington. He went up to London under the care of a carrier, got employment in the family of a mercer, and eventually excelled his master in business. He was Lord Mayor in 1611. His eldest son distinguished himself in the service of Gustavus Adolphus and the Prince of Orange, and married the Queen of Bohemia. “Thus,” says Whitaker, with a touch of pride, “the son of the Wharfedale peasant matched with the sister of Charles I.”