A corner of yorkshire

HENRY JENKINS MEMORIAL

In St. Mary’s churchyard at the North Yorkshire village of Bolton-on-Swale stands a stone obelisk erected in memory of Henry Jenkins, said to have been 169 years old and the longest living human when he died in December 1670. Jenkins spent most of his life at nearby Ellerton and worked as a thatcher and also a salmon fisherman on the River Swale. Although he claimed to be born in 1501 this has never been verified since parish registers of births were not a legal requirement until 1538.

When challenged about his age in

1667 Jenkins stated on oath that he remembered the Battle of Flodden Field in 1513 and had carried arrows to English archers. The legend of Jenkins’ longevity grew and in 1743 a fund was raised to build the obelisk and mark his long life, which is viewed as highly improbable today. A marble plaque says his life of temperance and labour should “teach mistaken man these blessings”.