WHEN I began to earn a living from writing articles and books, I needed a reliable source of information. The nearest library was several miles away and the obvious thing was to create my own reference library. And so I did, but to my collected books, mainly second-hand, I added files of newspaper and magazine cuttings, all indexed so that I could quickly find the relevant information.

To house those cuttings, I based my reference files on the Dewey-Decimal system. For example, my file on Animals is No 41. Hedgehogs are 41.1, Foreign Animals in Britain are 41.2, Wild Cats are 41.3, Donkeys are 41.4 and so forth, not necessarily in alphabetical order.

Within that system, Foxes are filed in 41.9, and Fox-hunting is the sub-division 41.9.1. Horses are in file number 41.1, with White Horses in 41.2, Horse Troughs in 41.3, Horse Racing and Race Courses in 41.4 and so on. I have a card index of the main files and it is a system that may be extended almost without end; even in the world of computers and their search facilities, my system remains both rapid and useful.

To this, however, I have added many reference books covering topics I may wish to use in this column and other articles.

One of my first acquisitions was The Observer’s Book of British Birds, the first in that famous series which began in 1937; I was only six or seven when I obtained my first title but that bird book still sits on my shelves along with many others from the Observers series. One of them was the Observer’s Book of Aircraft which I gave to one of my grandsons who is showing interest in the aircraft of the Second World War.

I have since added hundreds of books, many concerned with Yorkshire life, beliefs, customs, history, folklore and so forth. Supplementary sources of information range from an Encyclopaedia of Biblical History to a New Law Dictionary published in 1744. I have lots of old books covering the Yorkshire Dales and Moors with others featuring County Durham, Wales, the Lake District, Scotland and elsewhere.

Sadly, books have a limited life and many of mine are suffering from constant use and handling, yet I have a Catholic Mass Book dated 1688, a Douai Bible of 1796 and the New Law Dictionary mentioned above, all of which have sound bindings and good covers despite heavy use over the centuries.

One of my oft-used reference books is The History and Annals of Northallerton by the Rev JL Saywell, a former curate of Northallerton. It was published in 1885 and in his preface the author stated that if the work tended in any degree to maintain the prestige and reputation of the “capital of the North Riding”, he would be amply rewarded.

I’ve often thought that his surname was most apt because he was able to “say well” the history to which he refers. I think he had a sense of humour too.

For example, in 1735 on the morning of Sunday, July 20, an Anglican service was being celebrated in the parish church of Northallerton when, “to the great consternation and confusion of the congregation” an ardent Quaker, encouraged by her husband, entered the church and began to address what she called “the assembly”.

Her name was Ann Flower and the vicar did his best to stem her flow of words by saying it was the apostles’ command that a woman should not be suffered to teach in the church. He managed to lead her outside even though she believed she had been sent by “the Spirit” and it is reported that the vicar’s actions prevented a mob from throwing her into a neighbouring duck-pond to cool her passion. I wonder about the location of that duck-pond. I think it has gone now.

Another small note of interest was the establishment of the racecourse at Northallerton in 1765. It was described as being opposite the railway station on the east side, and it is now remembered in the name of Racecourse Lane that runs past County Hall, in whose grounds the former racecourse was created.

Saywell noted that in 1555 members of the Metcalfe family were so numerous that there was scarcely a town or village without a Metcalfe.

He added that in 1607 the name was considered the most numerous in England, and at that time there were several Metcalfe families in Northallerton; indeed they were prominent in the town during Saywell’s time but probably more so in Wensleydale. He notes the famous Metcalfe family of Nappa Hall.

A renowned leader was Sir Christopher Metcalfe who, as High Sheriff of Yorkshire in 1555, rode out of York with a retinue of 300 men of that name, all from his own widespread family. They were dressed in his livery and all were mounted on white horses as they rode out to meet the judges of York Assizes and escort them into the city.

Not surprisingly, there were queries about the origin of the Metcalfe surname. There is some suggestion it was locally pronounced as Mecca that may have originated in a Saxon name from Mec, which was associated with an area of land that was low and watery, known as halgh.

Another suggestion is that Metcalfe originated in a fell near Dent when Adam de Medecalf was slewn in single combat by Richard de Steynebrigge. A fell near Dent is called The Calf, and a central section of it was known locally as Midcalf, which is one or other of its forms (Mede, Mete or Met) indicated the middle or limit of a landmark, or perhaps a boundary.

Perhaps the most unlikely origin of the surname is said to derive from the following folk story.

Two men were out hunting in the forest one evening when they spotted a large animal heading in their direction. One turned to the other and asked “Haven’t you heard about the lions in this forest?” The man replied that he had heard about them but had never encountered one.

At that point one of the men ran away to safety while the other stood his ground to tackle the beast. It turned out to be nothing more than a red calf. The man who remained to deal with it was nicknamed Metcalfe while the one who ran off was called Lightfoot.

In studying this book, Saywell’s account of the ransom said to have been paid to the Scots for their release of Charles I is retold in a very matter-of-fact way. On his way to Scotland in 1641, Charles I stayed at Porch House, Northallerton, as the guest of the Metcalfe family but it was at the Civil War’s Battle of Naseby in 1645 that Charles suffered a heavy defeat and surrendered to the Scottish forces – he was King of England, Scotland and Ireland.

He was kept in custody for six months but eventually the Scots agreed to release him upon payment of a ransom of £400,000 by the English, an enormous sum worth millions today. Half was to be paid in advance – and it comprised bags each containing £1,000, carried in 36 carts. The receipt for the first £100,000 was signed at Northallerton and it is said the prisoner-king rested at Porch House, Northallerton but tried to escape through a window.