Warton and George Washington's ancestors

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CORNELL

UNIVERSITY

LIBRARY

THE
WORDSWORTH COLLECTION

Cornell University
Library

The original of tiiis book is in
tine Cornell University Library.

There are no known copyright restrictions in
the United States on the use of the text.

http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924104091586

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V

WARTON

AND

GEORGE WASHINGTON'S
ANCESTORS.

BY

T. PARE, B.A.

C5

Wb^

W^

o RMC ^

DEDICATED

TO

THE ONE WHO HAS BEEN MY BEST
COMPANION ON MANY PLEASANT
EXCURSIONS ROUND WARTON—

MY WIFE.

THE OLDEST WASHINGTON
MEMORIAL IN EXISTENCE.

THE WASHINGTON COAT OF ARMS
ON WARTON CHURCH TOWER.

PREFACE.

The information contained in these pages api:'eared
almost in its present form as part of a series of popular
historical articles entitled " Eound Old Poulton,"
which were published week by week in " The
Morecambe Visitor."

As I think that the gleanings in regard to the direct
ancestors of the first President of the United States
will appeal to a wider circle than that encompassed by
the readers of a local paper, the articles which dealt
with the immediate neighbourhood of W;arton and its
associations with the Washington family have been
only slightly altered to suit the present publication.

The interest in these English ancestors of George
Washington should be quickened from the fact that
one of the schemes in celebration of the Peace Cen-
tenary in December, 1914 is the purchase of Sulgrave
Manor, in the county of Northampton, the former
home of the Washingtons who migrated from Warton
•early in the sixteenth century.

Although Warton is situated but a mile from
Oarnforth Junction, where is the parting of the waxa
for southern tourists to the Lake District, via Grange
or Kendal, yet its quiet beauty is almost entirely
neglected, because it is not generally known that it
is an excellent centre for many pleasant excursions in
sylvan and hilly country.

Between 1710 and 1742 John Lucas wrote a
■"History of Warton," which still remains in manu-
script. A cop3^ of it was sent to the late Eev. T. H.
Pain at Warton Vicarage in 1879, and I am indebted
to the Eev. E. W. A. Olgiivy, the present Vicar, for
allowing me to inspect it. I have made several
extracts, which are instructive because they were
written two hundred years ago. The following addi-
tional extracts will no doubt be read with interest :

" The houses of this town and parish are all of
^tone strongly laid in and rough cast with lime, whicli

5

makes a substantial, warm, and not unhandsome
building. The street is rocky, uneven, and abounds
with W(ormwood. Over against the East End of the
church are the remains of a large old building which
probably was the seat of Will de Lancaster and Walter
de Lyndsey, antiently Lords of Warton ; it now belongs
to the Impropriator and Vicar ; before the Vicarage is
a fine row of Sycamore trees. Near the Vicarage is
the Tithe Barn wherein the Tithe Corn is yearly laid.
In this Parish the farmer of the tithe hath a custom to
take the best lamb in ten and the best fleece of wool in
ten and set in order acccording to the judgment of his
eye. The 'Maj Pole stands near the Church Gates,
the Stocks, also the Whipping Post for the punishment
of Malefactors. "

" Before the Reformation Seats' or Pews were not
allowed nor any different apartment assigned to any
distinct person (except the Patron who was allowed to
have a seat within the Quire as you enter into the
Body of the Church joining the Cancelli ; the Farmer
of the Tithes of this Parish has his seat there at this
day in this Church) but the whole body of the Church
was common, the whole assembly in the more be-
coming postures of kneeling or standing were promis-
cuous and intermixed. The Church was furnished
with pews soon after it was di^-ested of its supersti-
tious ornaments. These characters are neatly cut
upon one of them, LB. 1571. The Seats are so
ordered that the men sit by themselves and the women
by themselves according to primitive usage. The seats
for the men have only a board at the back ; those for
the women having nothing, which prevents any sleep-
ing, etc., too common among country people. The
first seats on the left hand of the Nave are two large
pews which belonged to Sir Eobt. Bindloss, of Borwick
Hall, on which are B.R.M., 1612. And on the right
hand a large pew belonging to Sir George INIidleton,
of Leigh ton Hall, on which are 8 Escutcheons very well
cut in Bas Eelievo. Over the Pew door is a large
Escutcheon of 8, underneath is 1614 jM. T.K., on the
inside IVI. G.A. 1662, to the west part of the pew is
fixed a small marble monument having this inscription,

' Here lies the body of Sir Geo. Midleton, of Leighton,
Knight and Bart.', who died 27 Febr. 1673. Aged
74 years.' In a panel over Sir Eobt. Bindlosse's pew
is the picture of the Virgin Mary and below four persons
in the habit of monks kneeling, especially the first and
third, which is receiving the Bishop's blessing, and
the Archibishop has on his robes and mitre. There
was formerly inscriptions belonging to tlT^m but now
not legible. The South Aisle has been cieled and
painted under the roof like the rood loft, but no figures
are discernible but the Sun and Moon in several
places. "

The Hare Stone is a little above the School and
is so called from the encampment of an army there
(Hare or Here in the Saxon language signifies an army)
and this is the most likely to have been when the
Danes invaded this part of the country. They landed
at Coat Stones, where from hence the Saxons might
see them land and observe all their motions, and if
they thought themselves not strong enough to engage
with them they might easily and safely retire to the
craggy mountains."

In conclusion I thank most heartily the following
ladies and gentlemen who have rendered me valuable
assistance : E. B. Dawson, Esq., for information about
Warton Hall and. for permission to visit various his-
torical remains on the Crag ; the Bev. J. K. Floyer, ex-
Vicar of Warton, and the Bev. E. W. A. Ogilvy, Vicar
of Warton; J. Eawlinson Ford, Esq., for information
about early members of the Washington family ; the
Misses Wren for their courtesy in allowing me to go
over Warton Hall; Mrs. Bichardson and Mrs. Escolme
for information about Tewitfield ; the Librarian and his
assistants at Lancaster for ready and courteous help on
all occasions.

For the benefit of those readers who are mainly
interested in the Washington family, a list of all the
Washington entries in the Warton parish registers and
a brief genealogical table will be found at the end.

T. PAPE.

The :\Iiddle School, Newcastle, Staffordshire. 1012.
7

WARTON CRAG.

I know of no place in England where the view across
the sea is so beautiful as at Morecambe.

It must be a very misty day indeed if the nearer hills
of Warton Crag and Arnside Knott cannot be distinguished;
usually the background of the great Cumbrian mountains
provides a panorama pleasing indeed to the eye. Those
who visit Morecambe only in the summer can never see the
view across the Bay at its best. They want to come in the
early spring when the sun is shining over the sands and sea
at half tide. From Warton Crag right round to Barrow
the belt of lower land that skirts the Bay looms dark and
away in the distance the heights of the Lake Mountains
rear their snow-clad peaks clear cut against the darker
sky.

That is a picture which cannot be seen in the summer,
and I rather fancy that Morecambe people do not appre-
ciate the many pleasant walks and afternoon excursions
which can be made round Warton. The place is looked
upon as a little sleepy town consisting of one straggling
street flanked by rough-cast substantial stone cottages and
houses, and nothing more. Let me try to dispel that
illusion.

Go up Warton main street until you have just passed
the church and inn. On your left is the Crag road : you
will find that for the first two or three hundred yards it is
very steep, but at the top there are two comfortable seats
and an excellent view in the direction of Lancaster and
Morecambe.

THE DOG LOTS.

A mile along the Crag road there is a sudden dip and
you see a farm — Scar Close — n.estling in the shelter of the
Crag. Beyond the lane leading to the farm the road
ascends and the second gate on your right gives access to
what is known as the Dog Lots. There is a notice-board
warning off trespassers. ]Mr. E. B. Dawson, the Constable
of Lancaster Castle and the owner of the Crag will not
allow the general public access to this secluded valley, owing
to the wanton damage done in times past. Personally, I
am indebted to him for information about the ownershiip of
Warton Hall and for permission to explore the " forbidden
land."

PRE-HLSTORIC DWELLINGS.

From the road you can see to the left of the gate a
circular depression in the ground, and there are others in
the allotment. These are considered to be nre-historic pit-
dwellings; also a good many rock cavities all over the Crag
could easily have been converted into rude habitations. In

8

a part consisting of waterworn limestone, deeply fissured
and scored all over, there is an underground passage known
as the Dog Holes Cave. In the fissures are many ferns and
small trees and bushes ; there is a large ash tree just at the
entrance to the cave.

THE DOG HOLES CAVE.

It is only three years ago since the cave was scientifically
explored by Mr. J. W. Jackson, the assistant keeper of
Manchester Museum. The entrance is by way of a vertical
shaft due to the falling in of the roof; it is boarded up and
padlocked for safety, it is thirteen feet to the bottom of the
shaft and the total length of the cave is seventy feet. At
the first exploration animal remains of the dog, sheep, goat,
Celtic shorthorn, and, in less abundance, the horse, red
deer, roe deer, and fallow deer were found. Also human
remains of at least eleven individuals were discovered. The
teeth onlj' of the urus, the reindeer, and the Irish elk were
found. There were some metal objects including a small
Celtic bronze, and red fragments of early first century
pottery pointed to an earlier occupation of the cave than
the period of the withdrawal of the Roman arms from this
country.

THE DOG HOLES CAVE.

EELICS FROM THE CAVE.

In the summer of 1910 Mr. Jackson continued the
search for remains. Further fragments of pottery were
found. Also a small sharpened lione awl made from the
metatarsal of a sheep, several small objects of iron, a blue
and red enamelled bronze pendant, and a pair of beautiful
patinated lironze scale pans and beam, the pans being
decorated on the interior with the dot and circle design.
The scales are probably of late Roman date, the fourth or
fifth centui-y, a.d, and they were most likely brought to
the cave by some Romanised Briton who lived there.
During the exploration many big boulders had to be
brought to the bottom of the shaft, hauled up, and stacked,
as can be seen, to the right of the photograph. In the
bottom left-hand corner you may be able to distinguish
some of the bone relics, left beiiind after due examination.

THE FAIRY HOLE.

On the eastern side of Warton Crag is a small fissure
cave situated in the face of a cliff immediately below one of
the numerous limestone terraces. It is called the Fairy
Hole, which trends for twenty-five feet in a north-easterly
direction. In this cave also there were fragmentary human
remains. Acording to report the cave extends to Leighton
Hall. It certainly does not come to a full stop at the limit
of twenty-five feet. If more debris were removed the
chamber would open \ip considerably. Old people used to tell
of the fairies, having been seen by other old people, dancing
about heaps of gold or silver or bleaching fine linen or they
were frequently heard batting their clothes. There are
still some of the old people in the village who believe that
the passage from the Fairy Hole extends to Leighton Hall.

The Dog Holes Cave is known locally as " Three-
fingered Jack's Cave." According to tradition the cave
consisted of two storeys and a highwayman used one for his
horse and the other for himself.

A CELTIC SWORD.

Of the late Celtic period is an iron sword with bronze
hilt and sheath, now in the British Museum, found early
in the nineteenth centiiry under a heap of stones in the
district of "Warton.

10

THE BRIDE'S CHAIR.

Not far from the Dog Lots is a large natural seat in
the face of a great limestone boulder, which towers to a
height of eleven feet. The seat will accommodate three
or four people, and is known as the Bride's Chair. It was
customary years ago when a marriage took place at Warton
Church for the bridal party to repair to this spot and for
the bride to sit in this seat and look out over the wide
expanse of Morecambe Bay. By doing so happiness in their
married life was ensured to the newly wedded couple.

Almost sheer down two hundred feet below is the road
to Silverdale, and in the direction of that village can be
seen the large stone column at Jenny Brown point.

II

Still keeping along the Crag Road, take the first turn
to your right, not far away, over the lower northern
shoulder of the Crag. At the highest part of this occupa-
tion road you can see, to your right, the summit of Warton
Crag.

EARLY CELTIC RAMPARTS.

The approach from the north side is not at all steep,
but there are leg-breaking fissures in the water-worn lime-
stone terraces. Near the summit are the remains of a
defensive wall put up in Celtic times. Originally there
were three of the ramparts, but only the topmost one is now
fairly complete. Of ancient fortresses defined in Class A.
by the Earthworks' Committee for the Victoria County
Histories, viz., " Fortresses partly inaccessible by reason of
precipices, cliffs, or water, additionally defended by arti-
ficial works, usually known as promontory fortresses,"
there are only two examples in Lancashire, and one of them
is Warton Crag in the parish of Warton-with-Lindeth.

A full description of the ancient remains of these de-
fensive works is given in the Victoria County History. The
stone-walled enclosures, semi-lunar in form, to the east of
the summit, were evidently early habitations. There are
more of the semi-lunar rock habitations near the first wall
of defence, now not much more than a line of moss-covered
stones. From the summit, by the double-stemmed gnarled
and half-burnt tree, a grand view all round can usually be
enjoyed. It is one of the recognised places for beacons in
olden times;. No doubt when " the fiery herald flew " from
height to height in 1.588, the " streak of blood red light "
shone forth on Warton Crag, though Lord ^lacaulay in his
fragmentary " Armada " leaves it out when he writes: —

" Till Skiddaw saw the fire that burned on Gaunt's

embattled pile,
And the red glare on Skiddaw roused the burghers of

Carlisle."

I '2

DOCK ACRE AND BORWICK
HALL.

In order that you may better understand Dock Aci'e it
Avould be advisable to approach it along the main road from
Carnforth.

The road is an excellent one, but the scenery is not very
striking", as for two miles just on your left is the raised
embankment of the railway, and on your right the country
is flat. But I want you to notice the lie of the land, be-
cause our first objective is an old water-camp or " sea-
burgh," most likely constructed by the ravaging Danes.
Not quite a mile out from Carnforth the road crosses the
Keer, the river from which Carnforth (Kernford) takes its
name. Although now the stream is not wide nor yet deep
at this point, if you look carefully at the land now drained
by the Keer you will see that it is very low-lying, and you
will be better able to understand that less than a thousand
years ago many of these fields were under water, and that
a wide arm of the sea existed between Warton Crag and
Carnforth as far inland almost as Borwick.

DOCK ACRE FARM.

I find on an ordnance map that three quarters of a
mile further along the road the land there is only 25 feet
above sea level. Just before you come to the place where
the road from Warton to Borwick crosses the main road you
can see on your left a very large artificial hollow. The
road has been constructed partly alongside it and partly
across the channel which connects it up to a very large
" dock " on the right side of the road. Just beyond the
dock is the farm known as Dock Acre Farm, and the people
there courteously gave me permission to examine the old
chain of docks and to take photographs. I did not have
time on the two occasions when I visited the place to make
an exact survey, but I am quite sure that if the site were
visited by experts from one of the historic oj- antiquarian
societies the time would be well spent.

THE INNER DOCK.

The large clock near the farm can easily be seen
through a gateway from the main road. It still has water,
though the drought of the summer of 1911 very nearly made
it a dry dock.

The photof;;raph shows the steeD south slope down to
the marshy and reed-covered bed. This was the innermost
construction of the Danish water-camp, quite capable of

13

acccmmodatiiig all the Aeet. Mention lias been made of the
channel which at the south-west connects up with another
dock, but there is also a well-marked channel cut out at the
south-eastern end.

TWO OTHER DOCKS.

It looks as though it were cut to communicate directly
with the Keer, but there are two small connecting channels
between the main outlet, and a large heart-shaped dock,
which is nearly 350 yards in circumference. The diameter
is just over one hundred yards, and in places the bottom
appears to have been covered with cobble stones.

To the north of this dock and separated by a high bank
there is a small V-shaped depresssion, which might have
been a " naust " or slip where galleys could be taken for
repairs. From the high bank a ssries of terraces, five of
which can still be distinctly traced, leads to the marshy
level. Both the large heart-shaped dock and this small
one open out naturally towards the Keer. At the present
day a small feeder of the Keer flows within twenty yards of
the V-shaped dock.

THE SLOPING SIDE OF THE BIG
DANISH DOCK.

14

A DANISH INVASION.

From the Anglo-Saxon "Chronicle" for the year 966
A.D.J I take the following translation of the original: " This
year Thored Gunner's son ravaged Westmorland, and that
same year Oslac obtained an ealdordom." Was this
Thored's water-camp ? The name Berwick is interesting
because it implies Danish origin. A well-known Danish
place-name is wich or wick signifying a creek. Traces of
genuine Danish camps are rare and I believe the best known
one is near to the town of Bedford at Willington on the
Great Ouse. The water-camp there consists of a harbour
at right angles to the river, a ditch running from the head
of the harbour and two hollowed depressions.

BORWICK HALL.

Having explored the old docks, go down the road on
your right, past Dock Acre Farm and a mile along the way,
after crossing the old coach route from Kellet to the north,
you v.'ill come to the Lancaster and Kendal Canal from the
bank of which I took the photograph of Borwick Hall.

The Hall is now no longer o]ien to the public, it is Ijeing
restored in order to serve as the residence of Mr. J. A.
Fuller Maitland. No doubt many inhabitants of the
neighbourhood have in times past visited the place and
been instructed in its past history and tradition, chiefly
the latter, hy [Mrs. Jackson, who lived at the gate-house,
and who came from Bare.

THE GATEHOUSE.

The gatehouse, with its two corbelled chimneys and no
windows to the front on the ground floor, was evidently
huilt for defence. Over the archway is a square-sunk panel
with the initials B. over RR. and the date 1650 underneath.
This panel was most likely inserted half a century after the
erection of the gatehouse, for the style is of the same period
as the hall and also as of Heysham Old Hall (built in 1598).
On the walls of the big barn adjoining the gatehouse is a
large irregular stone slab with the inscription : —
Ao Dni 1590.

R. B.

A. B.

At the top of the staircase inside the hall is a large
rectangular stone table-like erection supported by a dozen
small pillars and round the edge is inscribed: —

" Alexander Bbinsmead Mason, 1595."

15

THE BINDLOSS FAMILY.

The initials on the dated stones refer to members of the
Bindloss family. Christopher Bindloss was an Alderman of
Kendal in 1579, and in that town's " Book of Record " he is
described as a " Chapman " who died in 1581. His son,
Robert Bindloss, is mentioned as a Freeman of the Borough
in 1575.

The Bindlosses, as heads of the Kendal cloth industry,
established a regular service between Kendal and London
for the conveyance of their woollens, and Robert Bindloss
is said to have erected the big barn and outbuildings along
the line of the road to shelter the men and horses employed
in the trade. His chief mason was no doubt Brinsmead.
The staircase ,at the top of which is the inscribed slab, is in
the south-west building that contains the hall and the
drawing-room ; and the year 1595 no doubts marks its com-
pletion. I think the initials " R.B. " and " A.B.," which
are on the barn, refer to Robert Bindloss and his first wife
Alice.

The initials over the big doorway no doubt refer to
Robert Bindloss and his wife Rebecca. He was the grand-
son of the other Robert, and he became the owner of
Berwick in 1629. He was made a baronet in 1641, was a
memljer of Parliament for Lancaster during the years 1645-
1653, and a member for Lancashire in the Convention
Parliament of 1660. He was also High Sheriff of the County
in 1658, 1672, and 1673. When Prince Charles, afterwards
King Charles II., was on his way from Scotland to lose the
battle of Worcester in 1651, he was at Kendal on August
10th, spent the same night at Berwick Hall, and was at
Lancaster on Augiist lltb. On the 24th October, 1672, Sir
Robert Bindloss was elected !Mayor of the Borough of
Lancaster, but owing to ill health he retired from office
in the folloAving April. He died in 1688 and was buried in
Warton Church.

LATER OWNERS OF BORWICK.

His daughter married a Standish, and their daughter
Cecilia Standish, married William Towneley, and so
Berwick Hall came into the possession of the Towneley
family. The marriage of Cecilia Towneley with Charles
Strickland brought the hall into the possession of Thomas
Strickland their sen. His grandson, Walter Charles
Strickland, sold Berwick Hall in 1854 to George Marton, of
Capernwray Hall.

THE OLD PEEL TOWER.

Most of Berwick Hall was built by Robert Bindloss
during the years 1590-1595; but the big tower in the right-
hand part of the photograph, though very much altered, no

16

doubt formed tli,' nucleus of a very early defensive home.
It is one of the old Peel Towers similar to Arnside Tower
and the Tower at Hazelslack. They were a favourite form
of ahcde in the fourteenth century and for long afterwards
throughout a regiDii r.rsottled ' pud liable to raids from
across the Scottish border.

BORWICK HALL.

The leaden rain-water spout heads bear the date 1812,
and were put up during the occupation of the Hall by
Charles Strickland and his wife Cecilia (nee Towneley),
Soon after Mr. George Marton bought the place, the fore-
court and south-west front were opened to the public as a
sort of tea-garden, and the back was inhabited by a farmer.
The farm which you passed on your way from Dock
Acre is now being built to accommodate the farmer, who
will soon have to take up his new quarters.

A JACOBEAN BALUSTRADE.

Th-^re used to be a wooden paling as a parapet to the
great front ; but the present stone one is an exceedingly fine'
17

and original example of Jacobean balustrading, and was
moved from a terrace on the north-east side of tlie house
where the main gardens were situated. The iDorch gives
into the banqueting-hall which has a massive stone chimney
arch bearing the initials of the first Robert Bindloss.

The restoration which is now being carried out, will be
completed in a very conservative manner and the old
arrangements, with added neatness, will survive.

In the sleepy main street are many substantially built
houses, some with seventeenth century dated stones, and
immediately opposite the church is the vicarage, to the
left of which is a picturesque ivy-clad ruin, all that remains
of the old rectory or parsonage court.

From 1903 until 1908 the Rev. J. K. Floyer was the
vicar of Warton,, a scholar and antiquarian, who lias
written much upon the early history of Warton, more
especially about the church, and it is to him more than to
anyone else that I am indebted for mv information about
St.' Oswald's.

THE OLD RECTORY.

The iiiins just mentioned consist chiefly of a high
gabled end wall supported by a stepped buttress, and pierced
by a quatrefoil window of unusual shape, forming the end
of what was a large hall. This was lighted by two windows
on the east and one on the west, of which all traces have
disappeared except some large freestone quoins at the
south-east. In the south-west corner is a plain square-
headed doorway leading to another separate building of
two rooms. The chief entrance to the main building was on
the west side, and a large pointed archway exists. Another
ar'^hway leads to a garden on the east side.

Standing nearly at right angles to this large building
was another consisting of two rooms, one above the other\^
forming now part of the vicarage house. In a lease of
1678 the lower room is mentioned as the "old kitchen.'*
The upper room has a large traceried window high up on
the east, which is flanked by two small slit windows at a
lower level. The room was very likely constructed far an
oratory, as it appears of set purpose placed directly east
and west, and the east window is set high to allow for th^
erection of a small altar below.

IS

At any rate in the Parsonage Court buildings there is
a dwelling-house of large size with hall, dormitory, offices,
kitchen, and possibly an oratory, which date from the early
fourteenth century. During this period the Warton portion
of the Kendal Barony came into the hands successively of
two brothers of the name of Thweng, both of whom were
rectors of Warton. Probably Robert, who came into the
estate in 1341, was the builder of the old Parsonage Court
or Rectory.

A TWELFTH CENTURY FONT.

The gate which leads into the church yard is on the
north side, and over the north porch near the tower are
the arms of Croft, described as " bendy-chequey " or
" lozengy." They are in a very old stone vrhich has been
removed from the older porch at the time of the sixteenth
century restoration of the church. Pass in through the
porch and notice in the south-west corner the twelfth
century barrel font.

Soon after Charles II. came to the throne, 1660, this
font was relined with lead, the stone dressed, and it was set
on a new base under the care of Robert Bindloss, vSir George
Middleton, and Nathaniel West, whose initials it now l)ears.
Introduced into the lead work are the Tudor rose and the
fleur-de-lys. In 1848 it was re-set on its present base, into
which are worked three stones of the old hase : one with a
Jacobean i^attern ; another has a device which may be an
allusion to a coat of arms, i.e., three chevrons; the third
stone has the date 1661.

OLD PEW LABELS.

Inserted in the back of one of the pews are nine coats
of arms. They were formerly in Sir George ^Nliddleton's
pew, and originally on the rood screen. The brass monu-
ment to the memory of Sir George, who died on February
24th, 1674, is still on a pillar above this seat. In the
vestry are certain wooden labels, beautifully carved. One
has the date 1571 and the initials " LB." for James
Backhouse. Another such label with " B. — R.M.,, 1612,"
was in the pew belonging to Sir Robert Bindloss, of Borwick
Hall. The label for the new pulpit in 1712 is also in the
vestry.

Repeated restorations have done away with many of
the old features, viz., the chantry on the south-east of the
church, a fine rood loft, the old pews, the gravestones inside
the church, etc.

WARTON RUSH-BEARING.

When you have sufficiently examined the interior pass
out by the north door and turn to you left to look at the
outside of the tower. You Avill see that the western door-
way, leading into the tower, is now half built up. When

19

it was open it was used only once a year at the annual
rush-bearing, on the Sunday nearest to the first of August,
because St. Oswald's Day was Auguct 5th and the church
was dedicated to St. Oswald. The following is an account
written by a man about two hundred years ago : —

'" They cut hard rushes from the marsh, which they
make up into long bundles, and then dress them in hne
linen, ribbons, silk, flowers, etc. Afterwards the young
women take the burdens upon their heads and begin the
procession (precedence being always given to the church-
wardens' bundle), which is attended with a great multitude
of people, with music, drums, ringing the bells, and all other
demonstrations cf joy they are able to express. When they
arrive at the church they go in at the west end, and setting
down their bundles in the church they strip them of their
ornaments, leaving crowns or garlands placed over the
cancelli. Then they return to the town and cheerfully
partake of a plentiful collation provided for that i^urpose,
and spend the rest of the day and evening in dancing about
a I\Iay-pole adorned «ith greens and flowers, etc., or elso
in some other convenient place."

THE WASHINGTON SHIELD.

The same writer, in 1720, says: " On the north side of
the steeple door, about six or seven feet from the ground, are
the arms of Washington well cut in the stone, which is a
plain indication that this family, ancient and yet credible
in the town, where the Rev. Mr. Lawrence Washington has
a good estate, have been large contributors towards the
building of this fabric."

For many years the shield remained hidden, because all
the outside of the church was covered with a rough-cast of
pebbles and lime ; but in the year 1885 some of the rough-
cast outside the tower fell off, and the long-lost Washington
shield was exposed to view. Now a glass covering has been
placed over the relic to preserve it from further decay
occasioned by atmospheric changes. The photograph shows
the shield in its original positon about seven feet up from
the ground, over the north spandrel of the west door. It
is very much worn, but the three mullets at the top {i.e., in
chief, in heraldic terms) can easily be distinguished. They
have only four points, though there ought to be five. The
two bars below are cut into the stone, not left in relief, and
in the centre of the shield, between the two bars, there
appears to be a semi-circular depression due to the ravages
of time. It used to be a crescent which now, by the wear-
ing of the stone, has become merged into the lower bar.
The shield is 9^ inches in length and 7 inches in width.

I have described this stone memorial of the fifteenth
century at some length, because I believe it is the most
ancient representation of President George Washington's
coat of arms; and the builder of Warton church tower,

20

Robei't Washington, who died in 1483, was a direct ancestor
of the first president of the United States of America.

SOME OLD GRAVESTONES.

Pass round to the south side of the church. Two-thirds
of the south ^^-all is of the decorated period and is the oldest
part of the huilding. Notice the two two-light windows and
the door which belong to the fourteenth century and appear
to be in their original position. There is a sun-dial amongst
the gravestones on this side. Go round under the east
window and you will see the only gravestone giving any
record of the Washingtons still remaining in the churchvard.

THE WASHINGTON GRAVE.

21

Many of the members of the Washington family were buried
within the church, as specified in tlie wills which are still
preserved ; but when the interior of the church was restored
in 1892 many memorial tombstones were sold to be used for
flags for footpaths in the village. One stone, dated 1670,
and in memory of Nathaniel West, a member of Baron de la
War's family, was sawn in half, and the upper part, bearing
the arms of West and part of the inscription, used to form
one of the flagstones in a path leading up to a house at the
north end of Warton ! Its original position was in the floor
of the nave of the church. Perhaps, if some of the old
flagstones in the village were turned over, even now an
inscription to the memory of a Washington might come
to light !

THE LAST WASHINGTON OF WARTON.

But the tombstone under the east window records the
resting-place of the last of the Washingtons of Warton. It
is to the memory of Mrs. Elizabeth Washington, who died
in 1751, and to the Rev. Thomas Washington, Vicar of
Warton, from 1799 until his death in 1823.

The first part of the inscription on the plain rectan-
gular sandstone, as the photograph shows, is cut in large
straggling letters: " Mrs. Elizabeth Washington, June the
15th, 1751," and the Rev. J. K. Floyer thinks that the Rev.
Thomas Washington himself did it, because it is like his
handwriting. A specimen of it can be seen in one of the
old Wartnn church registers, for in the year 1685 there is
this baptismal entry: — " Lawr., son of Robt. Washington
of Warton, 27th September," and below an asterisk in the
margin the Rev. Thomas Washington has inserted: "Grand-
father of Thomas (son of Robert), minister of Warton in
1796." The Rev. Thomas Washington was the headmaster
of Archbishop Hutton's Gi'ammar School at Warton in 1773,
and he became curate in 1779.

22

TEWITFIELD,

It}

This straggling village, chiefly known for the number
of locks on the Lancaster and Kendal canal, might be
visited in the course of an excursion which could include
Warton Church, Dock Acre, and Borwick Hall.

When you have inspected the church and the church-
yard go up to the north end of the main street. On your
right is a road, and the finger-post indicates Borwick.
Go along for some distance, not forgetting to turn round
to look at the picture made by the crag and the village
nestling at its foot.

About a mile along the road you will pass under the
railway and get into the main road at Dock Acre, an
account of which has already been given. Turn to your left
along the main road and in less than ten minutes' time
you \^-ill come to the bridge over the canal at Tewitfield.

THE OLD MILL.

The most pleasant route from Carnforth to the same
spot is to go all the way by the canal side. The "\^^lit Beck,
which most likely gives the name to the village and divides
the parish of Priest Hutton from the parish of Warton,
flows under the Ijridge, and at this very place many years
ago stood the old mill. If you were to go into the field on
your left and approach as near as possible to the spot where
the stream disappears from view you would hear a fall of
water which occurs a few yards away under the bridge. It
indicates the place where the old mill iised to be, and if you
want to see a part of one of the old mill-stones, it forms
a step at the back door of Tewitfield Farm. A little
further along the road is the Longlands Inn, which was
moved to its present position in 1824 in order to be on the
' new road. The old coacli road cuts in at an angle by the
side of the inn and passes Greenlands Farm on the other
side cf the road up Br.ckstone Hill.

THE BUCK STONE.

Near the top of the hill is a huge stone in the hedge to
the right of the road. This is the Buck Stcne, and in olden
days, when the passenger-. rD?d to toil vn the hill behind the
coach, a practical ioke was oftsn nl.qved on guileless
travellers. They used to be told +o put their heads near the
stone to listen to the tide coming in ever the Pay miles
away, and if they did so theii- heads wers knocked against
the stone. Now the narrow old coach road is private, but
Mr. Bainbridge at Greenlands Farm would allow anyone to
inspect the stone if desired. His residence was built for
an inn, but when the old inn was moved w to its ]ire'^ent

r3

position no second licence was granted. The out-buildings
in connection with the farm comprise much the oldest house
in Tewitfield and for that reason Greenlands farm has been
pointed out as the residence of George Washington's
ancestors in early times. Go back to the bridge, and on
your right as you go back, but on your left if you have just
come in from Warton, you will see a narrow lane vrhich goes
past a white-washed cottage by a rnundalinut r^ute to
Tewitfield Farm.

A UNIQUE ROSEMARY PLANT.

The white-washed cottage is almost obscured by a
unique specimen of rosemary planted over thirty years' ago
by Mr. Sandham who inhabits the cottage. ' It reaches
almost to the roof and is shaped like a huge letter H to

24

allow tor the windows. Every year it is carefully trimmed
and It still makes good growth, and its abundant flowers
at the top are well-known to the bees.

Go along the lane to Tewitfield Farm, where Mr. and
Mrs. Escolme live. They will readily give you permission
to look at the old mill-stone, the old barns on the left of the
house, and the mound in front of the house, where a few
protruding stones indicate the position of an earlv home of
George ^yashington's direct ancestors. Remains of this old
house were used for building and other purposes not so
many years ago. Part of an old fire-place and a large slab
of worked stone over six feet in length were seen bv Mr.
Escolme.

/- ,/

TEWITFIELD FARM.

The present farm was built in Stuart times; the back
part has not been altered much, but the front has been
modernised. There is an old oak staircase, and in the big
kitchen is a fine old-fashioned fireplace. This farm was
most likely built by a Middleton, of Leighton Hall. On
the front wall of the big barn there is an irregular stone
with the initials " T.M. " and the date "1673."

25

Now one of the Catholics who redeemed his estates by
paying a composition in 1629 to the King when he needed
money for the war in Ireland was Thomas Middleton, of
Leighton. As he paid the highest sum, viz., £100, and
the fines were in proportion to the lands held, his estates
mvist have been very large indeed. He erected in 1614 the
original pew in Warton Church, ■\\'hence come the nine coats-
of-arnis there now. His son, George, at the restoration of
the pew in 1662 put the date and his own initials on the
oak pew label.

OWNERS OF TEWITFIELD.

The double line of trees at Tewitfield Farm appear to
have led to the older building now no longer in exis-
tence. The photograph shows some of the old stones in the
foreground and the trees in front of the farm.

The Tewitfield estate, which was formerly in the pos-
sessions of the Middletons, was the subject of a family
settlement in 1658. After the Middleton estates were
divided in 1711 between the heirs of George Middleton
Oldfeild, Tewitfield was sold. Now it is part of " William
Heysham's Charity," of Lancaster. It was purchased in
1900 from the trustees of the will of James Henry Johnson,
of Hall Garth, Over Kellet, but the family of Johnson had
not been the owners for long. If only the deeds had dated
back far enough, it could have been seen whether the
Washingtons were the owners or the tenants of Tewitfield
from the middle of the fifteenth centurv to about 1530.

THE EARLY WASHINGTONS.

The earliest members of the family took their name
from Washington-juxta-Ravensworth, a little village some
miles to the north of Richmond in Yorkshire, now called
Whashton. In early Norman times the manor of
Washington was in the possession of Bond de Ravensworth,
otherwise called Bond de Washington. From this parent
stock came the Washingtons of Westmorland, and those
who inhabited Millburne in that county were the ancestors
of the Washingtons of Carnforth, Tewitfield, and Warton.

The earliest of the Washingtons who had any terri-
torial connection with these parts was Robert, the son and
heir of Robert de Wessington or Washington, Lord of
MilV)urne, who in right of his wife Amicia held lands in
Carnforth in the time of Edward I. (1301). The third son
of this man was also named Robert Washington. He was
a follower of the ill-fated Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, but
he was pardoned in 1318. His is most likely the name
which occurs as a witness to a crant by Roger de Croft,
dated Michaelmas, 14 Edward II. (1321).
26

THE WASHINGTON S OF WARTON.

Of the four sons to this Robert, the eldest was named
after his father and was lord of Carnforth, the third was
Thomas of Bolton, the fourth was named William, but the
second son, John, was the first of the Washingtons to settle
in Warton. He married Alianora, the daughter and heir of
John de Warton. Both John Washington and his wife
were living in 1386, as they are mentioned in William de
Lancaster's will.

John's two sons were named John and Edmund, and
John's son accompanied Henry V. to France and was
wounded at the battle of Agincourt, 1415. The eldest son
of this soldier was Robert Washington, who held Tewitfield
in the parish of Warton. This was the man who caused
the church tower of Warton to be built.

ROBERT WASHINGTON'S POSSESSIONS.

He died in 1483, leaving no will, but an enquiry into
his possessions was held before John Green, Escheator, on
the 22nd of April, 1484, when Edmund Laurence and others
on their oath said that Robert Washington on the day on
which he died held a certain tenement called "Intwhj'tefeld"
in Warton, that he owed certain military service for the
same at Lancaster Castle, and that the value of it was
forty shillings per annum.

Amongst his other possessions were certain lands and
tenements in Silverdale, o^ie tenement in Middleton, one
messuage in Melling called " Saiobar," three messuages in
Arkholme, certain lands and tenements in Gressingham and
Tatham, one messuage in Houghton called " Suere," two
messuages in Heysham of the wife of Thomas Harrington,
two messuages in Horton and Over Kellet, one tenement in
Dalton, six bui'gages and eighteen acres of land in Preston,
and fifteen burgages in Warton in Lonsdale.

Many of these possessions were in the King's hands
because they were part of the Duchy of Lancaster, and
military service had to be paid for them at Lancaster Castle.
His eldest son, John, succeeded to his possessions in Warton,
biit Robert, his second son, received Tewitfield. John, the
son of Robert, succeeded to the estate of Tewitfield, and like
several of his ancestors he made a very fortunate marriage.

I believe this John Washington was the last of the
family to hold Tewitfield.

WARTON AND WARTON HALL.

As you come out into Warton by the tield-patli from
Carnforth, immediately opposite to you is a large building,
the right of which is a farm and the left Warton Hall. In
early times the whole of the building was the Hall, but now
the outward appearance has been transformed. A new roof,
new bay windows and a porch make it appear a house of
modern date ; but the solid walls, the old beams, the massive
front door, and above all the fine Spanish mahogany stair-
case, black with age, i^olished like a mirror, and with well-
wrought carving at the end of each stair all testify to the
antiquity of the Hall. The following extract from the
history of Warton written two hundred years ago. is very
interesting : —

" ..Idjoining the ware is a pleasant seat, the habitation
of Mr. Will Dawson, captain of the Trainbands commanded
by Sir Henry Houghton, of Houghton Tower. It formerly
belonged to the Kytsons, a flourishing family, one of which,
called the rich Kytson, was born here, and was sheriff of
London, 1553; in the time of the Oliverian faction Thomas
Kytson, of Warton, gentleman, compounded for his estate
here, paying £390."

THE OWNERS OF WARTON HALL.

The Hall is now occupied by two ladies, the Misses
Wren, who courteously allowed me to look over the place and
to take photographs. The owner is Mr. E. B. Dawson,
J. P., of Aldcliffe Hall, the Constable of Lancaster Castle,
and a descendant of Captain William Dawson. mentiDned
above. His family connection with the Hall goes back as
far as the reign of Henry VII., though Mr. W. Tilly, of
Morecambe, who is the deputy steward of the manor, has
not in his possession any earlier roll than one dated 1668,
but the first name on that is a member of the Dawson
family. Evidently the Dawsons in the first instance pur-
ch^r^d Warton Hall from the Kytsons or they were owners
by marriage into the Kytson family.

Descended from these early Dawsons was Mr. Edmund
Clowes, from whom Mr. E. B. Dawson bought the estate,
comprised in which was the Hall. Robert Dawson, the
immediate ancestor of the present Constable of Lancaster
Castle, lived at Cote Stone, and moved to Aldcliffe about
1733 on his marriage with Miss Leigh, whose grandfather
had bought Aldcliffe Hall from the Crown.

28

WARTON HALL.

PORTRAIT OF SIR THOMAS KYTSON.

In Warton main street beyond the church on the left-
hand side is the i-eading room and opposite the entrance
doorway on the wall is a six by five inch engraving of
Holbein's portrait of Sir Thomas Kytson, the original
painting being now at Hengrave Hall "in Suffolk. On the
mount inside the frame you will see this inscription : —

"Sir Thomas Kytson, son of Robert Kytson, of
Warton. Born at Warton Hall, 1485. Became Sheriff
of London in 1533. His sister, Margaret, married John
Washington, of Tewitfield, in Warton, and became the
direct ancestor of George Washington, President of the
United Stataes. Sir Thomas biiilt Hengrave Hall in
Suffolk."

This Sir Thomas was a great merchant adventurer; he
first of all dealt in Kendal cloths, then b° extended his
transactions to Holland and Flanders, held cloth fairs at

29

Antwerp and other continental towns, and he amassed great
riches. In the City of London, where he was an Alderman
in lo33, his influence was such that on one occasion he said :
" My Lord Cardinal (Wolsey) has such words from me before
the Aldermen and Commoners, that the voice goes about
the city that it \\as much long of me that the Court
pressed' so great a sum at this time." And after noticing
that they had assessed him in the sum of £100, he added,
" The King hath had of me every year this 16 or 17 years,
one with another, four or five hundred marks for cost and
subsidy." In all probability Sir Thomas Kytson induced
his brother-in-lav,', John Washington, to leave North
Lancashire and to engage in the wool trade of the Midland
Counties.

Hengrave Hall, near to Bury St. Edmunds, has a triple
bay window with this inscription : —

" Opus hoc fieri fecit Thomas Kytson. In Dieu et
mon Driot. Anno D'ni MCCCCC tricesimo octavo."

"vYhen Sir Thomas Kytson died at Hengrave in 1-540 he
was possessed of vast riches, and a fine monument was set
up to his memory in the old Parish Chui'ch of Hengrave,
now a private Chapel. It is in the north-east angle, lavishly
ornate, constructed of marble and coloured freestone, to
the memory of Margaret, Countess of Bath, and her three
husbands, Sir Thomas Kytson, Sir Richard Long, and John
Bourchier, Earl of Bath. The figures of the Earl and
Countess on a raised altar recline imder a canopy supported
by sis pillars. On the step in front of the tomb is placed
a recumbent figure of Sir Thomas Kytscn, in armour ; he
has a round head of hair, and a smooth chin, and his feet
rest against a unicorn's head.

A WASHINGTON WINDOW.

In the big banqiieting-hall at Hengrave the noble
families who were allied to the Kyt.:.ons have their associa-
tions perpetuated by coats of arms in the stained glass of
the l)ay window. There are nine in all, and to perpetuate
the alliance of Margaret Kytson with John Washington the
ninth shield has the Washington coat of arm;j. Ihe for-
tunes of the descendants of John and [Margaret Washington
will be detailed later.

30

SiR THOMAS KYTSOiM.

31

THE WASHINGTON HOUSE.

You have already learned that there are two memorials
of the Washington family at Warton Church — the stone
shield on the tower and the gravestone under the east
window Half-way up the main street on the right-hand
side is a small butcher's shop and just beyond it on the same
side of the road is the " Washington " house. It is an old
stone house, ivy-clad, with iron railings in front. The ivy
has been carefully trimmed so that two dated stones high up
between the second storey windows can be easily seen. The
stones no doubt belong to an earlier building, but the
Lancashire ciistom of utilising the dated stones of the older
building AAhen a new house was being put up has been
follo\\ed in this case.

The stone to the right has the Tudor rose viith the
crown above and the initials "I.E."; in the centre is the
date, 1612. and below are the initials "R.W.S." The rose
and crown and the date. 1612, all indicate that the top
initials denote "James Rex," and the initials Ijelow refer
to Robert Washington and his wife.

WARTON MILLS.

At one tim.e the Washingtons of Warton had possession
of the mills in the parish of Warton. They were situated
on the Keer near to the part now known as Dudley, and
the fields sloping up from the mires, which are crossed by
the field-path from Carnforth to Warton, are named Far
Mill Head and Near Mill Head. They would be the mills
to «hich reference was made in 1658 v,h?n the jury found
that " Mr. Cooper shall, before Martinmas next, make a
sufficient foot-bridge over the place called the Stone Bridge
into Allison Myers out of the Milne head upon pain to
forfeit six shillin.gs and eightpence ; and ^Nlr. Hinde to
repair that end next to mill head, and ]Mr. Hinde and the
occupiers of Washington's laund to repair the way between
the stone bridge end and the laund gate before the said
time."

When the Chantry of St. Mary in Warton Church wks
dissolved there were ten cottages and more than twentv
aci-es of land in the proi^erty, and six of the tenants did
not give up their holdingsi. One of these tenants was
Leonard, son of Thomas Washington.

32

MATTHEW MUTTON'S SCHOOL.

One of the Chantry priests was most likely the teacher
of Matthew Hiitton, the founder of the school at Warton,
who was born at Priest Hutton in 1529. He became
Bishop of Durhani and Archbishop of York. The school is
on the left-hand side of the main street as you go nj), before
you come to the Church. The inscription on it is : — " Anno
Domini, 1594, Deo et bonis Uteris, Matt. Hutton, Epus
Dunelm."

The Rev. Thomas Washington, who was the vicar of
Warton from 1799 until his death in 1823, became head-
master of Archbishop Hutton's Grammar School in 1773,
and amongst other subjects he taught classics. The Hutton
family withheld the endowment in 1808 and for some years
the charity lapsed ; the almshouses were let and the school
and the almshouses were the subject of a suit in Chancery
which was decided in 1829. The Rev. James Barns, the
vicar who succeeded the Rev. Thomas Washington in 1823,
was the plaintiff in the suit.

Although the almshouses and the school were revived,
drastic changes were made by the Court of Chancery against
the expressed wish of the parishioners. The almshouses were
rebuilt, but the small annual pension paid to the vicar was
dropped. The school, which had really been a church
school, was now no longer such and the standard of educa-
tion was lowered, so that teaching of elementary subjects
only now comprised the curriculum. Really the school
could have been made of the same type as Lancaster
Grammar School.

OLD ACCOUNT OF WARTON.

The derivation of "Warton" is given by Lucas, who
wrote, two hundred years ago: " The Ware is a large tarn
or pond which yearly is contracted. I make no doubt but it
formerly comprehended not only the Mires but also that
large flat of meadows and mosses in Warton, Carnforth,
Borwick, and Caponwray ; this will appear no improbable
conjecture if we do but consider how natuial it is for pools
and lakes where there is no great depth of water to become
gradually firm ground by alteration. The Ware is remark-
able for breeding abundance of eels." Two hundred years
before this was written, Leland, the antiquary, thus des-
cribes Warton: " From Lancaster I rode over Lune toward
Warton, a vi miles of, where Mr. Kitson was borne. A ii
mile from Lancastere the cunteri began to be stoney and a
litle to wax mountainous. Half a mile from Warton 1
passid Keir River dimming out of Hilles not far of, and
ther ebbing and flowing and about Lune Sandes going into
the salt water." And the sentence immediately following
is still appi'opriato : "Warton is a preti street for a
village."

83

THE WASHINGTON FAMILY.

In dealing with Warton and its chnrcb and Tewitfield
information has been given about members of the family
of Washington ^^•ho liad possessions in that neighbourhood
centuries ago.

So now I will explain the connection between the
Warton and Tewitfield Washingtons and the immediate
ancestors of George Washington.

It has already been stated that John Washington of
Tewitfield married a sister of Sir Thomas Kytson, of
Warton Hall, also that Sir Thomas Kytson, the great
merchant adventurer, induced his brother-in-law to try his
luck at the wool trad© in the Midlands.

THE WASHINGTONS OF NORTHAMPTON.

Lawrence Washington, the son of John Washington, of
Tewitfield, married for his second wife Amee Pargiter, of
the county of Northampton, and he was entered at Gray's
Inn, London, to take up the profession of the Law. But
no doubt his relationship to two of the greatest persons
interested in the wool-trade were powerful factors in induc-
ing him to forsake the Law for business. Sir Thomas
Kytson's influence with John Washington, the father of
Lawrence, has been explained. In addition, the powerful
Spencer family were interested in Lawrence Washington.
His wife was the cousin of William Pargiter, who had
married Abigail Willoughby, the sister of Lord Spencer's
deceased wife, at Brington, in the County of Northampton,
in 1601. Also Catherine, the daughter of Sir Thomas
Kytson, married Sir John Spencer of Wormleighton in
Warwickshire.

At any rate Lawrence Washington left London and
came to Northampton. He was twice Mayor of Northamp-
ton, in 1532 and again in 1.545, and became the owner of
the Manor of Sulgrave, in the southern part of the county,
at the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539.

SULGRAVE MANOR.

It was a common belief that the owners of confiscated
Church property could not long prosper. It was so in
Washington's case. Trouble overtook the family; they
became impoverished, and the eldest son of Lawrence (his
name was Robert) was obliged to sell Sulgrave. Also con-
cerned in the sale in the year 1610 was Lawrence, the son
of Robert and the grandson of Lawrence Washington,
Mayor of Northampton. At this crisis in the affairs of the
Washingtons Lord Spencer, of Althorp, provided a home

34

for them at Brington near by, and memorials of the family
are still to be seen at Sulgrave Church and at Brington.

The occupation of Sulgrave by the Washingtons did
not last for even two generations, although the purchaser,
iu 1539, enjoyed his possession for 45 years. Year by year
American pilgrims visit Sulgrave to look at the Manor
House and the stone slab in the church, on which were
originally six separate brasses relating to the Washingtons.
The two brasses representing the four sons and the seven
daughters were stolen in August 1899. Amee Washington's
brass and the head from Lawrence Washington's have long
been missing.

When the Garter King of Arms, of the year 1791, Sir
Isaac Herd, was asked to supply the pedigree of George
Washington, he found in the visitation of Northampton-
shire in 1618 the names of John and Lawrence, sons of
Lawrence Washington, of Sulgrave. This latter Lawrence,
it must be remembered, was the grandson of the Mayor of
Northampton ; he, along with his father, Robert, sold
Sulgrave, and ho died in 161fi, leaving five sons besides John
and Lawrence.

It was known that about the year 1659 two brothers
named John and Lawrence Washington, emigrated to
America, and that John Washington was the great-
grandfather of President George Washington; so Sir Isaac
Herd assumed that these two were the emigrants and the
pedigree was drawn up accordingly. But Colonel Chester,
a- famous genealogist, many years ago proved that the elder
of these was Sir John Washington, of Thrapston, who died
before 1678; and that Lawrence Washingto]i l)ecanic Rector
of Purleigh in Essex.

THE EMIGRANT JOHN WASHINGTON.

After this the report was started that the emigrants,
John and Lawrence, were the sons of Leonard Washington,
baptised at Warton in 1625 and 1627 respectively. But
there are no entries whatever in those two years of any
Washington name in the Warton registers. By the
courtesy of the Rev. E. W. A. Ogilvy, the Vicar of Warton,
I have been able to look up all the "Washington" entries
in the Warton Chiirch registers which begin in the year
1567.

The only two baptismal entries of a John Washington
are in 1586 and in 1640, and I am not able to trace what
became of the latter John, who was son of a Lawrence
Washington, but he is not the emigrant ancestor of the
first President of the United States. John, the emigrant
ancestor, has been proved to be the son and not the brother
of Lawrence Washington, who was Rector of Purleigh in
Essex from 1633 to 1643.

35

THE EMIGRANT'S FATHER.

Deposited in the British Museum there is a small
pamphlet of twelve pages entitled, "A summary of the
evidence that Lawrence Washington, M.A., Rector of
Purleigh, 1633 — 1643, was great-great-grandfather of
General George Washington; and father of the first
Washingtons who emigrated to Virginia." In it two facts
are proved : 1st, that Lawrence Washington, Rector of
Purleigh was married to a lady whose Christian name was
Amphillis; 2nd, that their eldt-st son John was the John
Washington of Virginia, great-grandfather of General
George Washington.

Besides many minor incidents there are two main points
which prove the first part. Mrs. Elizabeth Mewc« (nee
Washington) sister of Lawrence Washington, Rector of
Purleigh, left by will in 1676 a legacy to her niece, Mrs.
Elizabeth Rumball, or Rumbold. Again Mrs. Martha Howard
(nee Washington), daughtei- of Lawrence Washington,
who was the hiisband of Amphillis, calls Mrs. Elizabeth
Rumball her "eldest sister." Now if one's brother has the
same names as one's niece's father, they must be the same
person.

Mrs. M©wce's brother was Lawrence Washington, the
Rector of Purleigh. Her niece's father was Lawrence
Washington, the husband of Amphillis. Therefore, the
Rector of Purleigh was the husband of Amphillis.

As regards the second fact proved, it is known from
Mr. Andrew Knowling's will that Lawrence Washington,
the Rector of Purleigh, had the following sons and
daughters: John, Lawrence, William, Elizabeth, Margaret,
Martha.

Now Lawrence Washington, of Virginia, in his will,
1675, mentions his loving brother John ; and John
Washington, in his will, also of the year 167.5, speaks of his
brother Lawrence and of his sister Martha. Martha (Mrs.
Howard) in her will ,1697, mentions her eldest sister
Elizabeth Rumbold and her other sister Margaret.

It will be seen that the names of the emigrant's sisters
correspond exactly with the names of the da lighters of
Lawrence Washington, Rector of Purleigh; only the name
of the William is not mentioned. He most probably waS
dead before the different wills quoted were drawn \ip.

GEORGE WASHINGTON'S PARENTS.

The actual descent of the President from the emigrant
John Washington is well known. Briefly, John Washington
was twice married. His second wife, whose maiden name
was Anne Pope, was the widow of Walter Brodhurst, a
planter who had emigrated from Shropshire. By this
second marriage there was a son, Lawrence Washington.
He fcad a son, Augustine, who married Mary, the daughter
36

of Colonel Ball, and they were the parents of George
Washington, first President of the United States of
America .

Thus it will be seen that though the emigrant ancestor
of the President did not come direct from Warton, yet the
direct ancestors of George Washington can be traced from
Virginia in America to the Washingtons of Northampton,
and still further back to the Washingtons of Warton.

WASHINGTON MEMORIALS.

The Rector of Purleigh proposes to restore the Tower
of Purleigh Church, at an estimated cost of £600, as a
Washington Memorial. To celebrate the Peace Centenary
of the Treaty of Ghent, ratified in December, 1814, between
England and the United States of America, one of the
schemes to be carried out is the purchase of Siilgrave Manor
House and preserve it as a Washington Memorial.

At Warton, nothing so far has been proposed, perhaps
because the substantial church tower needs no restoration
and it possesses the most remarkable Washington Memorial,
for on it can be seen the oldest representation of the
Washington Coat of Arms.

PORTRAIT OF GEORGE WASHINGTON.

Two accompanying photographs require some explana
tion. One is of a hitherto unpublished poi-trait of George
Washington. The original portrait in oils is now in South
Cave Castle, East Yorkshire. It was copied at the instance
of Lord Spencer from an original portrait done in America
for the Prince of Orange. The vessel in which it was being
brought across the Atlantic to Holland was captured and
so the portrait did not reach its intended destination.

Now, at my solicitation a copv is published, not from
one of mv own nhotogranhs, for the copyright belongs to
Mr. W. Richardson, of South Cnve, bv. whose kind per-
mission the portrait appears in tin's publication.

MEDAL OF GEORGE WASHINGTON.

The other portrait of George Washington is from a
fine copper medal in my possession. It is three inches in
diameter, with George Washington's bust in high relief on
the obverse and, around, the legend, " General Washington.
Inscribed to his memory by D. Eccleston, Lancaster,
MDCCCV." On the reverse there are four concentric
circles, with the legend: "He laid the foundation of
American Liberty in the XVIII Century; innumerable
millions yet unborn will venerate the memory of the man
who obtained their countrv's freedom." In the small inner
circle is the figure of a Red Indian and the legend, /'The
land was ours."

37

^'"^'^"^''^•1 OV. Richardson, South Cave

GEORGE WASHINGTON.

38

Daniel Eccleston was a versatile man who, born at
Carna Row m the Fylde, after an adventurous life settled
m Lancaster and died there in 1821. He says about
George Washington: "During my residence in Virginia,
when at Alexandria, I had the pleasure, and, I may add,
the honour of meeting General Washington, who gave me
an invitation to call and spend a few days with him on his
estate at Mount Vernon."

ECCLESTON'S MEDAL OF WASHINGTON,

39

THE
WASHINGTON COAT OF ARMS.

One hundred years ago the United Kingdom was at war
with the United States of America. It was at that critical
period when practically all the Continental European
powers were subject to the great Napoleon, and certain
restrictions in regard to Continental trade which were
enacted by the British Parliament so hampered American
commerce that war was declared. Fortunately the foolish
struggle did not last long, and no great damage had been
inflicted on either side when the Treaty of Ghent put an
end to the war in December, 1814.

THE PEACE CENTENARY.

Now, there is a great international movement to cele-
brate the one-hundredth anniversary of peace among
English-speaking peoples. Two influential committees
have been appointed, of which the chairmen are ex-President
Roosevelt and Lord Grey. Many projects are to be carried
out before December, 1914, and the most interesting from
an Englishman's point of view will be the purchase, by
public subscription on both sides of the Atlantic, of Sul-
grave Manor in Northamptonshire, the one place in
England most closely associated with the name of
AVashington, because its manor house is the ancestral home
of the emigrant John Washington, the great-grandfather
of George Washington, who was the first President of the
United States.

THE WASHINGTON ARMS IN GLASS.

Because, as far as I have been able to discover, the
oldest representation of Washington's coat-of-arms is
carved in stone on Warton Church tower, I want to draw
attention to the similarity ])etween it and the flag of the
LTnited States of America. Of course there are many other
representations of the ooat-of-arms scattered up and down
the country. A beautiful stained glass window in the
clerestory of Selby Abbey shows the Washington Shield ;
there is another in the banqueting-hall at Hengrave Hall
in Suffolk ; also in Fawsley Chrch, Northamptonshire, are
several stained glass shields from out of the big kitchen at
Sulo;rave Manor and one with the Washington coat of arms
is depicted in an accompanying photograph.

40

The proper heraldic description of the Washington
Arms is : —

.4.r;/iA' — Argent, two bars gules ; in chief, three mullets
of the second.

Crest — A raven with wings endorsed proper, issuing out
of a ducal coronet or

In every day language the arms are a silver or white back-
ground with three red stars above and two red bars below.
Above the shield the ornament is a raven rising from a
golden coronet.

THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES.

To any superficial observer the similarity between the
coat of arms of the Washington family and the national flag
of the United States of America is at once apparent ; there
are the stars, there are the stripes, and to one unversed m
heraldry it would seem that there was an inner meaning in
the device. William Penn's motto was " No cross, no
crown," and a somewhat similar idea seems to be con-
veyed in the Washington arms — " No stripes, no stars."
One modern poet reads into it another meaning when he
says : —

" United States, thy standard bears two emblems, one

of fame,
Alas! the other that it bear reminds us of your shame;
The standard constellations type white freedom by the

stars,
But what's the meaning of the stripes ? They are your

niggers' scars !"

It is still a doubtful question : Did the Washington
" mullets " and " bars " suggest the " stars " and "stripes"
of the flag of the United States ?

TUPPER'S DRAMA OF WASHINGTON.

A play was written by Martin Farquhar Tiipper for
the Centenary of American Independence in honour of its
founder. It was entitled " Washington," and was a drama
in five acts. These words are put into the mouth of
Franklin :

" Yes, Natham, I proposed it to the Cloneress.
It was their leader's old crusading blazon,
Washington's coat, his own heraldic shield.
He never heard of it till fixed and done.
For on the spur when we must choose a flag,
Symboling independent unity.
We, and not he — all was unknown to him —
Took up liis coat of arms and multiplied
And magnified it every way to this
Our glorious national banner.

4X

I've searched it out and known it for myself,
When late in England there, at Heralds' College,
And found the Washingtons of Wessyngton,
In County Durham and of Sulgrave Manor,
County Northampton, bore upon their shield
Three stars atop, two stripes across the field.
Gules — that is red — on white, and for the crest
An eagle's head upspringing to the light,
Its motto, Latin, ' Issue proveth acts.'
The architraves at Sulgrave testify
As sundry painted windows in the hall
At Wessygton, this was their family coat.
They took it to their new Virginian home;
And at Moimt Vernon I myself have noted
An old cast iron scutcheoned chimney-back
Charged with that heraldry."

There is a good deal of poetic licence about these lines.
The Washingtons of the little town of Washington in
Durham countv were not the direct ancestors of President
Washington, though they were a branch of the family. It
is a raven's head and not an eagle's on the crest. The
translation of the Latin motto — Exitus acta prohaf — is
right; it was \ised by George Washington on his carriage
panels, on his book-mark, and on his last watch seal. The
only reason that I can give you for the presence of a ducal
coronet in the crest is the marriage of Sir William
Washington (brother of a direct ancestor of George
Washington) with the sister of George Villiers, Duke of
Buckingham. That Washington's coat of arms was pro-
nosed in Congress as the national flag is pure fiction on
the poet's part.

THE ORIGIN OF THE FLAG.

The following circumstantial story is told about the
origin of the flag: — " The descendants of Mrs. Betsy Ross,
an upholsterer, who resided in Arch Street, Philadelphia,
the maker of the first flag combining the stars and stripes,
claim that a Committee of Conaress, accompanied by
General Washington, who was in Philadelphia in June,
1776. called xipon Mrs. Ross and engaged her to make the
flag from a rough drawing, which, at her suggestion, was
re-drawn by General Washington in her back parlour, and
the flag thus designed was adopted by Congress,"

42

THE WASHINGTON COAT OF ARMS IN GLASS.

43

THE ORIGIN OF THE STRIPES.

But the following facts do not seem to tally with the
story. In June, 1775, the Philadelphia Light Horse had
adopted thirteen stripes, alternate blue and white, as the
canton or union in their banner. That was a year before
George Washington was said to have originated the " Star
spangled Banner." Stripes had been familiar to Americans
as the standard of the East India Company, which had
established Manhattan Island (New York) as a trading
port. That flag had on it thirteen stripes, alternately red
and white, with St. George's Cross on a white canton. In
an engraving of " The late Battle of Charlestown," pre-
sented with the September number, 1775, of the " Penn-
sylvania Magazine," the American shin which is taking
part in the fight has an ensign on a staff at the stern com-
posed of eleven vertical stripes and a canton with the
union.

Four months after the time when the Philadelphia
stripes were recognised as emblems of colonial union, viz.,
on Janary 1st or 2nd, 1776, the great union flag was raised
at Washington's headquarters at Cambridge, Massachusetts.
It is rather a significant fact that the Philadelphia Light
Horse escorted General Washington when he went to take
command of the army at Cambridge. Therefore it seems
as though the stripes of the flag do not owe their origin to
the bars of the Washington arms.

"STARS" AND "MULLETS."

With regard to the " stars " in the arms of Washington,
they stand for " miillets," which in heraldry are denoted by
a figure in shape like the rowel of a spur, used as the filial
distinction of the third son. The rowel of the spur is
symbolised in the " mullet " with five points. If there
were six or more points it would be a star ; and it is in-
teresting to notice that though now there are six-pointed
stars on the coins of the United States, they iised to be
five-pointed mullets during the presidency of Washington.

The Washington shield is entirely red and white,
whereas in the flag the stars are white on a blue ground.
On the other hand in the boat flags used by vice-admirals
and rear admirals of the American navy, the stars — ^one
of the former, two in the latter — are red,
44

THE ORIGIN OF THE STARS.

Th«re were no stars on the flag which George
Washington raised at the beginning of 1776 at Cambridge.
The flag consisted of thirteen red and white stripes, with
the crosses of St. Andrew and St. George at the right hand
upper corner, the crosses being on a blue held. When the
Independence of the States was declared in .Tidy, 1776,, in-
stead of the British crosses thirteen white stars were sub-
stituted. According to Major-General Schuyler, this change
in the flag did not take place until June, 1777. The
President of the Board of War in the States then was
John Adams, so that the question of the new flag came
under his consideration. In the possession of the family
of Adams of Massachusetts is an heirloom, consisting of a
seal representing an eagle holding in its beak a lyre with
thirteen stars scattered over the latter, and the motto,
"Nunc sidera ducit " ("Now it leads the stars.") These
stars radiate into another set of thirteen, «hich form a
circle round the whole. The drawing of the first flag of
the United States in the State Department of Washingtoii,
represents the thirteen stars in a circle. Which was
designed first, the flag of the United States or this heirloom
of the Adams family ?

George Washington, on April 30th, 1789, took the oath
as first President in the city of New York. In 1792
Washington was again chosen President, but he refused to
be a candidate at the election of 1796, when John Adams
became the second President. When the grandson of this
man, John Quincy Adams, was Secretary of vState in 1820,
he substituted for the arms of the United States on its
l^assports, contrary to the i^ractice of nations, the device
above described of the lyre of Orpheus on the Adams heir-
loom. It appears as though he wished to bring forward
prominently the origin of the stars on the flag. How
remarkable that there should have been so much in com-
mon between the arms of Adams and of Washington !

4f-

The Washington Entries,
Extracted from the Warton Registers.

1584 Elizabeth Washington, bapt. 2nd January.

1586 Ann Washington, bapt. 22nd May.

1586 John Washington, bapt. 7th October.

1593 Mary, daughter of Lawrence Washington of Warton,
bapt. 14th May.

1597 Anna, daughter of Lawrence Washington of Warton,

bapt. 28th February.
1600 Robert, son of Lawrence Washington, of- Warton,

bapt. 22nd July.

1603 Brigget, daughter of Lawrence Washington of
Warton, bapt. 3rd July.

1616 Robert, son of Leonard Washington, bapt. 8th
September.

1616 Alrice, daughter loi John Washington, bapt. 12th
January.

1618 Leonard, son of John Washington, bapt. 16th March.

1619 Jane, daughter of Leonard Washington, bapt. 4th

September.

1622 Francis, son of Leonard Washington, bapt. 4th
February.

1638 Ellen, daughter of Lawrence Washington of Warton,

bapt. 28th October.

1640 John, son of Lawrence Washington, bapt. 18th
October.

1643 Robert, son of Lawrence Washington, bapt. 15th June.

1645 Leonard, son of Lawrence Washington, bapt. 20th
December.

1685 Lawrence, son of Robert Washington, bapt. 27th
September.

1718 Matthew, son of Revd. Lawrence Washington and
Elizabeth Washington, bapt. 10th November.

MARRIAGES.

1583 Lawrence Washington and Alice Godsalve, 18th
February.

1637 Lawrence Washington and Mary Croft, 2nd October.

1639 Robert Bugg and Ann Washington, 17th October.

40

6URIALS.

1584 John Washington, buried last day of April.
1588 Elizabeth Washington, buried 13th April.
1588 Wife of Leonard Washington buried 30th March.
1618 Wife of John W^ashington buried 25th March.
1622 Lawrence Washington buried 29th May.

1657 Alice Washington of Warton buried 17th July.

1658 Thomas Washington of Warton buried 17th February.
1668 Robert Washington of Warton buried 14th September.
1670 Lawrence Washington of Warton buried 7th Sept.
1670 Thomasin Washington of Warton buried 10th Nov.
1675 Mary Washington buried 30th November.

1698 Leonard Washington buried 5th March.

1699 Robert Washington of Warton buried 18th January.

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GEO*RGE WASHINGTON'S
ANCESTORS.

BY

T. PAPE, B.A.

- PRICE SiXPENCE.

MORECAMBE:
VISITOR PRINTING WORKS, VICTORIA STREET.

1913.

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