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H.  H.   Langton  Esq 


A  HISTORY 


OF 


BLACKBURN    PARISH 


r 


^artslj  of  Blackburn,  Counts  of  ILancaster. 


HISTORY 


OF 


BLACKBURN, 


Coton  anir 


BY 


WM.    ALEXANDER   ABRAM, 

FELLOW    OF    THE    ROYAL    HISTORICAL    SOCIETY  ;      CORRESPONDING     MEMBER    OF    THB 
HISTORIC  SOCIETY    OF   LANCASHIRE  AND   CHESHIRE. 


'Out  of  the  old  fieldes,  as  men  saithe, 
Cometh  al  this  new  corne  fro  yere  to  yere, 
And  out  of  old  bookes,  in  good  faithe, 
Cometh  al  this  new  science  that  men  lere." 
—CHAUCER, 


BLACKBURN : 

J.    G.    &    J.    TOULMIN,    THE    TIMES   OFFICE, 

CORPORATION  STREET. 

1877. 


Dft 


BLACKBURN: 

J.  G.  AND  J.  TOULMIN,   I,  CORPORATION  STREET. 


TO   THE   LIVING 
AUTHOR-ANTIQUARIES    OF   LANCASHIRE, 

WHOSE   COMBINED    LABOURS 
HAVE  RECOVERED  SO  MUCH   LOST  TREASURE 

FROM  THE  BURIED  HOARDS  OF  TIME, 

AND  TO  THE  CONSTANT 
PATRONS  OF  COUNTY  HISTORICAL  LITERATURE, 

WHOSE  SUPPORT 
HAS  CONTRIBUTED  TO  MAKE  ACCESSIBLE  IN  BOOKS 

THE  RICHES  OF  ANTIQUE  LORE 

WHICH  LAY  HID  IN  OBSCURE  MUNIMENTS 

AND  REMOTE  ARCHIVES, — 

®[ji$  Yxtfttm*!  xrf  )?flijJ$ 

IS  RESPECTFULLY  DEDICATED, 


PREFACE. 


I  NOW  submit  as  a  finished  work  this  History  of  the  Parish  of 
Blackburn  to  the  body  of  Subscribers  who  so  cordially  greeted 
it  as  a  project,  with  a  natural  satisfaction  on  the  completion  of  the  task, 
and  with  some  confidence  that  the  Book  will  be  received  as  a  material 
contribution  to  the  historical  literature  of  Lancashire.  Being  content 
that  the  Book  shall  attest  and  explain  itself,  I  have  little  to  write  in  the 
way  of  prefatory  remark.  The  purpose  and  scope  of  a  Local  History 
are  so  obvious,  that  the  intelligent  and  interested  reader  may  be  trusted 
to  judge  for  himself  of  the  manner  in  which  a  work  of  this  kind  fulfils 
the  design  and  appropriates  its  allotted  sphere.  An  author's  commentary 
upon  his  own  text  is  generally  speaking  gratuitous ;  and  I  do  not  deem 
it  needful  to  introduce  the  History  which  follows  with  any  detailed  ex- 
position of  its  general  plan. 

It  may,  however,  be  proper  to  mention,  that  my  ever-present  diffi- 
culty has  been  to  bring  the  work  within  the  compass  of  a  single  volume, 
whilst  making  it  as  full  and  circumstantial  in  every  department  as  I  had 
resolved,  and  as  the  materials  which  have  repaid  my  research  enabled 
me  to  do.  The  compression  of  the  matter,  without  sacrificing  any  items 
of  fact  which  it  appeared  useful  to  record,  has  been  a  time-consuming 
labour.  Instead  of  printing  many  original  documents  at  length,  I  have 
had  to  extract  the  pith  of  them  reduced  to  a  few  lines  of  text  or  note. 
The  same  necessity  has  caused  the  typography  of  the  work  to  be  more 
closely  compacted  than  is  usual  in  the  printing  of  books  of  this  class. 
With  all  these  strict  economies  of  matter  and  space  by  author  and 
printer,  the  History,  which  it  was  at  first  proposed  to  complete  in  some 
600  pages,  has  extended  to  nearly  800  pages.  The  additional  cost,. 


viii  PREFACE. 

while  the  price  of  the  book  has  not  been  raised,  I  do  not  grudge  in  the 
least,  so  long  as  I  can  indulge  in  the  belief  that  the  credit  of  thorough- 
ness will  be  accorded  me  by  discriminating  readers,  and  by  experienced 
antiquaries  who  know  what  a  Parish  History  ought  to  be  and  to  comprehend. 

I  have  bestowed  much  space  and  expended  an  unusual  amount  of 
work  upon  the  accounts  of  old  native  families  of  inferior  social  rank  to 
the  Manorial  Lords,  namely,  to  the  smaller  Freeholders,  lesser  Gentry 
and  Yeomen,  as  well  as  to  those  of  the  Merchant  class  who  have  attained 
to  local  repute  within  the  last  century  or  so.  My  reason  for  inserting 
such  sketches  of  families  of  our  old  yeomen  and  lesser  gentry  as  can 
be  made  out  by  parish  registers  and  public  records,  in  conjunction 
with  family  papers  and  title-deeds,  is  the  fact  that  the  history  of 
families  is  the  history  of  estates  in  the  case  of  the  smaller  as  of  the 
larger  properties  ;  and  to  ignore  the  succession  to  the  minor  freeholds  is 
to  leave  the  memorials  of  many  a  rural  township  practically  unretrieved. 
The  total  number  of  families  and  distinct  branches  of  families  genealo- 
gically noticed  in  this  History  is  nearly  300.  Of  necessity,  some  of  the 
more  obscure  descents  have  not  been  traced  to  the  last  survivor  or  in 
much  detail ;  but  even  in  the  slightest  outline  of  a  family  story,  clues 
may  be  afforded  to  readers,  now  or  hereafter,  who  may  have  a  personal 
interest  in  pursuing  the  traces  of  ancestral  alliance,  estate,  and  domicile. 
Ampler  and  more  minute  genealogies  have  been  carefully  worked  out  of 
all  the  more  important  and  long-standing  territorial  families,  who  are 
both  many  and  honourable  in  the  history  of  this  Parish. 

My  final  and  very  conscious  obligation  is  to  acknowledge  the  in- 
valuable help  which  I  have  received  from  some  of  the  highest  authorities 
in  archeology,  genealogy,  and  general  antiquities,  and  to  offer  my  grateful 
thanks  to  those  literary  friends,  generous  as  learned,  who  have  thus  given  me 
the  benefit  of  their  extensive  knowledge  and  large  experience  inauthorship. 
To  William  Langton,  Esq.,  a  veteran  genealogist  whose  sheaved  and 
garnered  harvests  of  research  have  enriched  so  many  publications  of  the 
Chetham  Society,  I  am  deeply  beholden  for  the  freest  communication  of 
exclusive  information  respecting  the  intricate  descents  of  the  important 
ancient  families  of  Banastre,  Langton,  Hoghton,  Cliderhou,  Talbot,  Os- 
baldeston,  Shuttleworth,  Holland,  South  worth,  and  others.  Mr.  Lang- 
ton's  name  is  the  assurance  of  severe  and  scrupulous  accuracy  among 
antiquaries,  and  I  am  fortunate  to  have  enlisted  his  most  kindly 
interest  in  my  work.  From  the  Rev.  Canon  Raines,  M.A.,  F.S.A. — 
both  in  references  to  his  published  works  and  in  private  communications 
of  notes  from  his  noble  collection  of  Lancashire  MSS. — I  have  derived 
an  unreckoned  number  of  interesting  and  authentic  items  bearing  upon 
the  ecclesiastical  and  civil  annals  of  this  parish.  Mr.  W.  Angelo  Wad- 


PREFACE.  jx 

dington,  of  Burnley,  besides  various  other  kindnesses,  has  made  specially 
for  me  a  very  pretty  drawing  of  the  old  Manor-House  of  Martholme, 
after  which  the  engraving  was  executed  which  is  inserted  in  the  volume. 
Wm.  Haworth,  Esq.,  of  Fence-in-Pendle,  has  supplied  a  mass  of  interest- 
ing particulars  respecting  the  several  families  of  Haworth  seated  in  this 
parish,  and  other  allied  families.  To  J.  E.  Bailey,  Esq.,  F.S.A.,  of 
Stretford  ;  J.  P.  Earwaker,  Esq.,  F.S.A.,  of  Withington ;  Wm.  Dobson, 
Esq.,  F.S.A.,  of  Fulwood  ;  Lt.-Col.  Fishwick,  F.S.A.,  of  Carr  Hill,  Roch- 
dale ;  and  Win.  Gourlay,  Esq.,  of  Blackburn,  I  owe  the  gift  of  valuable 
items  scattered  through  the  work.  My  friend,  Wm.  Thomas  Ashton, 
Esq.,  of  Ashdale,  Darwen,  has  helped  me  heartily  and  liberally  in  the 
preparation  of  my  account  of  that  important  town  and  township.  From 
John  Walmesley,  Esq.,  of  Totnes  ;  Edgar  S.  Holland,  Esq.,  of  Liverpool; 
Rev.  C.  B.  Norcliffe,  of  York  ;  Rev.  M.  Hedley,  M.A.,  Vicar  of  Langho  ; 
Thomas  Woodcock,  Esq.,  of  Haslingden  ;  Robert  Hubberstey,  Esq.,  of 
Samlesbury  ;  Mr.  D.  Geddes,  Librarian  of  Blackburn  Free  Library  ;  and 
Mr.  H.  Stevenson,  junr.,  of  Haslingden,  I  have  had  sundry  communica- 
tions which  have  been  utilised  in  the  accounts  of  families,  churches,  &c., 
in  the  different  townships,  and  hereby  express  my  thanks  for  the  same. 

No  small  proportion  of  the  original  materials  employed  in  the  com- 
position of  this  history  has  been  secured  to  me  by  the  favour  of  the 
Vicar  of  Blackburn,  the  Venerable  Archdeacon  Birch,  who  from  the 
first  has  given  me  the  utmost  facilities  for  repeated  reference  to  the 
Parish  Registers,  and  for  the  transcription  of  a  large  number  of  docu- 
ments relating  to  the  history  of  the  Parish  Church  of  Blackburn  with  its 
dependent  Chapels,  and  of  the  Rectory  and  Vicarage  of  Blackburn.  But 
for  this  enlightened  liberality  of  Archdeacon  Birch,  an  indispensable 
branch  of  Parish  History  must  have  been  left  comparatively  imperfect, 
which  I  have  thereby  been  enabled  to  fill  from  those  voluminous 
sources — the  Coucher  Books  at  the  Vicarage.  In  the  annals  of  the 
Blackburn  Grammar  School,  I  have  in  like  manner  been  obliged  by  A. 
I.  Robinson,  Esq.,  Clerk  to  the  Governors,  with  the  free  use  of  the 
Manuscript  Records  of  the  Foundation,  covering  three  centuries, 
hitherto  entirely  unnoticed. 

My  learned  neighbour,  whom  I  esteem  it  a  privilege  to  call  my 
friend,  the  Rev.  Alexander  B.  Grosart,  LL.D.,  has  with  characteristic 
generosity  given  me  the  use  of  his  fine  library  of  the  old  literature  and 
the  benefit  of  his  literary  counsel  and  practical  aid  in  the  preparation  of 
my  pages. 

From  William  Harrison,  Esq.,  F.S.A.,  of  Samlesbury  Hall,  I  have 
received  many  valuable  suggestions,  and  materials  from  the  muniment- 
chest  of  the  Samlesbury  manor-estate  ;  and  have  to  thank  that  gentleman 


x  PREFACE. 

also  for  the  use  of  his  papers  concerning  the  Samlesbury  Charities,  and 
of  the  engraved  blocks  of  Samlesbury  Church  and  Lower  Hall,  &c.;  and 
for  his  permission  to  copy  by  autotype  the  beautiful  plate  of  the  exterior 
of  Samlesbury  Hall  prepared  for  the  folio  History  of  Samlesbury  Hall 
privately  printed  for  Mr.  Harrison.  Jonathan  Peel,  Esq.,  of  Knowlmere 
Manor,  has  favoured  me  with  notes  from  his  extensive  manuscript  collec- 
tions for  the  family  history  of  the  Peels  which  has  just  been  printed 
privately  in  a  neat  volume.  Colonel  Butler-Bowdon,  of  Pleasington 
Hall,  courteously  lent  me  two  large  MS.  volumes  in  his  possession  re- 
lating to  the  descents  of  the  families  of  Butler  and  Bowdon  and  to  the 
manor-estate  of  Pleasington.  Alderman  John  Pickop,  of  Blackburn, 
placed  at  my  use  a  large  and  useful  series  of  deeds  of  his  family  estate 
in  Livesey  and  Tockholes.  Messrs.  Edward  and  Joseph  Dugdale  kindly 
allowed  me  to  make  extracts  from  the  deeds  of  their  estates  of  Oxen- 
dale  and  Studlehurst  in  Osbaldeston. 

I  have  cause  to  lament  the  decease,  before  my  work  had  reached 
its  close,  of  several  gentlemen  who  had  manifested  a  friendly  interest  in 
its  progress.  The  late  Sir  James  Phillips  Kay-Shuttleworth,  Bart.,  gave 
me  the  kindest  encouragement  and  assistance  in  various  ways,  and  com- 
mended my  work  in  influential  quarters.  Sir  Henry  de  Hoghton,  Bart, 
of  Hoghton  Tower,  who  died  in  December  last,  had  honoured  me  by 
the  expression  of  his  desire  to  see  this  History,  in  which  the  ancient 
family  of  Hoghton  occupies  an  eminent  place,  and  of  his  confidence 
that  the  work  would  be  competently  done.  My  familiar  friend  the  late 
Alderman  T.  T.  Wilkinson,  F.R.A.S.,  of  Burnley,  died  soon  after  the 
work  of  printing  this  volume  had  begun,  the  preparation  of  which  he 
had  often  urged  me  to  undertake,  and  by  his  decease  I  am  deprived  of 
the  pleasure  of  placing  the  result  of  my  toil  in  the  hands  of  an  able  and 
experienced  Lancashire  antiquary — a  native  of  this  Parish. 

I  cannot  refrain  from  placing  on  record  my  indebtedness  to  George 
Toulmin,  Esq.,  proprietor  of  The  Preston  Guardian,  whose  friendly 
promptings  did  much  in  the  outset  to  stimulate  my  adventure  upon  the 
somewhat  formidable  undertaking  of  producing  this  volume,  and  whose 
business  sagacity  and  technical  knowledge  have  been  brought  to  bear  in 
the  printing  of  the  work.  Mr.  Toulmin's  sustained  and  liberal  efforts  to 
promote  the  illustration  of  local  history  in  the  columns  of  The  Guardian 
have  received  due  recognition  by  men  of  learning  and  research  in  Lanca- 
shire. 

In  conclusion,  whilst  bespeaking,  as  I  trust  I  may,  a  not  ungenerous 
reception  of  my  book  by  those  whose  judgment  will  be  held  authorita- 
tive, let  me  confess  I  cannot  suppose  that  much  of  its  subject-matter 
will  appear  of  great  import  to  readers  who  have  no  personal  nor  family 


PREFACE.  xi 

association  with  this  part  of  the  country.  He  who  writes  local  history 
is  aware  that  on  the  wide  field  of  a  nation's  historical  literature  his  work 
must  occupy  an  obscure  nook  ;  and  that  details  which  may  give  it  a 
special  interest  on  the  spot,  will  be  passed  by  as  paltry  and  tedious  by 
distant  critics.  Except,  perhaps,  in  certain  particulars  of  the  archaeology 
of  the  district ;  in  the  narrative  of  local  transactions  of  the  great  Civil 
War,  including  important  battles  ;  in  memorials  of  men  of  public  fame 
sprung  from  the  Parish ;  and  in  illustrations  of  early  domestic  architec- 
ture in  several  of  our  fine  old  halls  and  mansions,  I  do  not  claim  a 
more  than  provincial  usefulness  for  the  product  of  my  labour.  Albeit  it 
has  been  settled  by  a  consensus  of  high  literary  authorities  that  full  and 
careful  Parish  Histories  should  be  written,  as  tributary  streams  to  the 
main  current  of  the  national  history.  If,  then,  this  volume  should  be 
accepted  as  a  fair  type  of  the  needful  local  record,  my  expectation  will 
be  fully  satisfied. 


WM.  ALEXANDER  ABRAM, 


Blackburn,  August,  1877. 


CORRECTIONS. 

PAGE. 

44  line  2  :  for  "Narman"  read  "Norman." 
158  line  19  :  for  "  disotdered  "  read  "disordered." 

200  line  1 6  :  the  initials  "  W  H  M  "  stand  for  "  William  and  Mary  Harwood." 
213  line  4  from  bottom  :  for  "  1698  "  read  "  1693." 
261  line  14  from  bottom  :  add  that  Myles  Aspinall,  gent.,  who  married  in  1763,  died, 

aged   80,  Sept.    II,  1799,  and  was  father  of  John  Aspinall,  born  in  1757,  died 

Feb.  27,  1833,  whose  son,  Lawrence  Aspinall,  born  in  1791,  died  May   1 1,  1840. 
269  line  13  from  bottom  :  for  "Nov.  9,  1645,"  read  "  1615." 
292  bottom  line  (note)  :  for  "Little  Harwood"  read  "  Mellor." 
335  line  13  :  for  "Lang"  read  "Lacy." 

349  line  5  :  for  "  1791,  ceased  1787  "  read  "  1787,  ceased  1791." 
362  line  5  :  for  "June  l8th  "  read  "June  25th." 
369  line  9  :  for  "  1865  "  read  "  1875." 

374  line  12  from  bottom  :  for  "  Feb.  5th,  1875  "  read  "  1874." 

376  line  6  from  bottom,  col.  2  :  for  "  John  Dean,  Esq.,"  read  "T.  H.  Pickup,  Esq." 
382  line  21  :  for  "  Markland  "  read  "Martland." 
392  line  15  from  bottom  :  after  "Rev.  W.  Higgin  "  add  "D.  D. ,  afterwards  Bishop 

of  Derry. " 
397  line  19  :  Peter  Haworth,  second  son  of  Thomas,  had  issue,  Thomas,  of  London, 

apothecary ;  John,  of  Bristol ;  Hugh ;  and  Richard  of  Chancery  Lane,  London, 

apothecary. 

403  line  4  :  after  "Richard  "  add  "bapt.  Dec.  29,  1767." 

404  line  1 1  from  bottom  :  Alice  Sudell,  who  married  Joseph  Hankinson,  was  daughter 
of  John  Sudell  who  died  in  1733,  not  of  the  John  who  died  in  1785. 

406  Note:  in   this   epitaph  for  "  Pretate  "  read   "Pietate,"  for  "  prsecipiae "  read 

"  praecipue,"  and  for  "  indentus  "  read  "intentus." 
411  line  9  from  bottom  :  for  "  565-6"  read  "  365-6." 
433  line  26  :  for  "  died  before  1570"  read  "was  buried  Sept.  9,  1564." 
433  line  33  :  for  "before  1586"  read  "Oct.  23,  1580." 

447  line  8  from  bottom  :  after  "  Cunliffe  "  add  "  He  was  buried  Nov.  2,  1594." 
469  Hne  18  :  after  "  Ryvington  "  add  "  His  son  and  heir,  John  Bradshaw,  was  aged 

22  years. " 
469  line  15   from  bottom:    after    "rent"   add   "derived  from  his  mother,   Anne, 

daughter  and  heir  of  John  de  Ardern,  lord  of  Nether  Darwen." 
479  line  19  from  bottom  :  for  "Thomas"  read  "John." 
482  line  12  from  bottom  :   for  "no  "  read  "  not." 
510  line  12  :  for  "  1832  "  read  "  1852." 

510  line  3  from  bottom  :  for  "died  about  the  year  1627  "  read  "  buried  April  1 8,  1628. " 
538  line  9  :  for  "  the  land  meadow  "  read  "  the  low  meadow." 
572  line  II  from  bottom  :  for  "  All  Soulue  "  read  "  All  Soulne." 
576  line  15  :  for  "  1693-4  "  read  "  1694." 
722  line  3  from  bottom  :  for  "  with  rental  "  read  "  with  a  rental." 


CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

PREFACE  vii-xi 

LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS       -  xv-xvi 


BOOK  I.— GENERAL  HISTORY. 

CHAPTER  I.  ROMAN  AND  SAXON  PERIODS  1-43 

II.  MEDLEVAL  PERIOD  44-59 

III.  TUDOR  PERIOD  -  60-83 

IV.  STUART  PERIOD      -  -  84-190 
V.  MODERN  PERIOD    -  -  191-244 

BOOK  II.— TOWNSHIP  HISTORY  AND  TOPOGRAPHY. 

CHAPTER  I.  TOWNSHIP  AND  TOWN  OF  BLACKBURN  -         -  245-412 

II.  TOWNSHIP  OF  BALDERSTONE  -  -  413-424 

III.  TOWNSHIP  OF  BILLINGTON  -  425-456 

IV.  TOWNSHIP  OF  CLAYTON-IN-LE-DALE  -  457-461 
V.  TOWNSHIP  OF  CUERDALE  •  462-465 

VI.  TOWNSHIP  OF  NETHER  DARWEN    -  -  466-487 

VII.  TOWNSHIP  OF  OVER  DARWEN  -  488-528 


XIV 

LUiN  lr!<IN  1  b. 

CHAP.  VIII. 

TOWNSHIP 

OF 

GREAT  HARWOOD 

529-555 

IX. 

TOWNSHIP 

OF 

LITTLE  HARWOOD 

-    556-563 

X. 

TOWNSHIP 

OF 

LlVESEY    - 

•    564-586 

XL 

TOWNSHIPS 

1    OF 

MELLOR-CUM-EOCLESHILL 

-    587-599 

XII. 

TOWNSHIP 

OF 

OSBALDESTON    - 

-    600-611 

XIII. 

TOWNSHIP 

OF 

PLEASINGTON 

-    612-626 

XIV. 

TOWNSHIP 

OF 

RAMSGREAVE    - 

-    627-630 

XV. 

TOWNSHIP 

OF 

RlSHTON  - 

-    631-643 

XVI. 

TOWNSHIP 

OF 

SALESBURY 

-    644-656 

XVII. 

TOWNSHIP 

OF 

SAMLESBURY 

-    657-680 

XVIII. 

TOWNSHIP 

OF 

TOCKHOLES 

-    681-704 

XIX. 

TOWNSHIP 

OF 

WALTON-IN-LE-DALE  - 

-    705-744 

XX. 

TOWNSHIPS 

i    OF 

WlLPSHIRE-CUM-DlNKLEY 

-    745-754 

XXI. 

TOWNSHIP 

OF 

WlTTON     - 

-    755-76o 

XXII. 

TOWNSHIP 

OF 

YATE-CUM-PICKUP-BANK   - 

-    761-765 

APPENDIX 

- 

- 



-    766-772 

INDEX  - 

LIST  OF   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


ROMAN  SEPULCHRAL  SCULPTURED  SLAB,  found  near 

Ribchester  to  face  page  19 

Engraved  by  Mr.  Robert  Langton  from  Photographs  by  Mr.  John  Geddes. 

ROMANO-BRITISH  CINERARY  URN  and  INCENSE-CUP, 

found  at  Darwen  to  face  page  24 

SAXON  RING  and  ARMLETS,  found  at  Cuerdale  -  to  face  page  40 

PEEL  FOLD,  ancient  seat  of  the  Peel  Family  to  face  page  221 

Engraved  by  Mr.  Robert  Langton  from  a  Photograph  by  Mr.  John  Frankland. 

BLACKBURN  OLD  PARISH  CHURCH  to  face  page  301 

Engraved  by  Mr.  Robert  Langton  from  a  Drawing  by  the  late  Rev.  S.  J.  Allen. 

BLACKBURN  TOWN  HALL  to  face  page  377 

BLACKBURN  CORPORATION  PARK  to  face  page  378 

Engraved  by  Mr.  Robert  Langton  from  a  Drawing  by  Mr.  Langton, 

BLACKBURN  FREE  LIBRARY  and  MUSEUM  to  face  page  380 

HACKING  HALL,  Billington  to  face  page  437 

Engraved  by  Mr.  Robert  Langton  from  a  Photograph  by  Mr.  John  Frankland. 

ANCIENT  SCULPTURED  CORBEL  at  Elkar,  Billington  -         to  face  page  446 

Engraved  by  Mr.  Robert  Langton  from  a  Photograph  taken  for   Rev.   M.  Hedley,  M.A., 
Vicar  of  Langho.     (The  arm's  on  the  shield  are  those  of  Abbot  John  Paslew.) 

LANGHO  PAROCHIAL  CHAPEL,  Billington  to  face  page  448 

Engraved  by  Mr.  Robert  Langton  from  a  Photograph  by  Mr.  John  Geddes. 

HIGHERCROFT  HOUSE,  Lower  Darwen  to  face  page  473 

Engraved  by  Mr.  Robert  Langton  from  a  Photograph  by  Mr.  John  Frankland. 

PAPER  WORKS  of  Messrs.  Hilton  at  Darwen  in  1843         to  face  page  492 

Engraved  by  Mr.  Robert  Langton  from  an  Engraving  in  "  Bradshaw's  Journal"  (1842), 


xvi  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

BELGRAVE  CONGREGATIONAL  MEETING-HOUSE,  Darwen  to  face  page  325 

Engraving  lent  by  Rev.  James  Macdougall. 

MARTHOLME,  Manor-house  of  Great  Harwood  to  face  page  538 

Engraved  by  Mr.  Robert   Langton  from  a  Drawing  made  specially  for  this  Work  by  Mr. 
William  Angelo  Waddington. 

GREAT  HARWOOD  CHURCH  to  face  page  551 

Engraved  by  Mr.  Robert  Langton  from  a  Photograph. 

SIR  EDWARD  OSBALDESTON,  KNT.  -  to  face  page  604 

Engraved  by  Mr.  Robert  Langton  from  an  Engraving  in  Pennant's  "Tour  from  Downing  to 
Alston  Moor." 

INSCRIBED  LINTEL  at  Osbaldeston  Hall  -  page  608 

PLEASINGTON  OLD  HALL  to  face  page  621 

Engraved  by  Mr.  Robert  Langton  from  a  Photograph  by  Mr.  John  Frankland. 

SAMLESBURY  OLD  HALL  to  face  page  664 

Reduced  by  autotype  from  the  Engraving  in  the  "  History  of  Samlesbury  Hall"  (folio). 

LOWER  HALL,  Samlesbury  to  face  page  671 

Engraving  from  the  "History  of  Samlesbury  Hall,"  lent  by  Wm.  Harrison,  Esq.,  F.S.A. 

SAMLESBURY  PAROCHIAL  CHAPEL    -  to  face  page  676 

Engraving  from  the  "  History  of  Samlesbury  Hall,"  lent  by  Wm.  Harrison,  Esq.,  F.S.A. 

SOUTHWORTH  ARMS  AND  CREST  in  Samlesbury  Chapel     to  face  page  676 

Engraving  from  the  "  History  of  Samlesbury  Hall,"  lent  by  Wm.  Harrison,  Esq.,  F.S.A. 

OLD  NONCONFORMIST  MEETING-HOUSE,  Tockholes          to  face  page  704 

Engraved  by  Mr.  Robert  Langton  from  a  Photograph  by  Mr.  John  Frankland. 

WESTERN  GATEWAY,  HOGHTON  TOWER  -  to  face  page  723 

Engraved  by  Mr.  Robert  Langton  from  a  Photograph  by  Mr.  John  Geddes. 

DINKLEY  HALL       -  to  face  page  746 

Engraved  by  Mr.  Robert  Langton  from  a  Photograph  by  Mr.  John  Geddes. 


HISTORY    OF    BLACKBURN. 


BOOK  I.— GENERAL  HISTORY. 
CHAPTER  I. —ROMAN  AND  SAXON  PERIODS. 

Name — Physical  Features — Aboriginal  Condition — Roman  Conquest  and  Occupation — Roman  Roads 
and  Stations—  Ribchester — Walton-in-le-Dale — Romano-British  Tumulus  at  Whitehall,  Over 
Darwen — Withdrawal  of  Roman  Garrisons  —Advent  of  Saxons — Saxon  Wars — Battle  of  Billan- 
gahoh— Conflicts  of  Saxons  and  Danes — Battle  of  Brunanburh — Danish  Treasure  discovered  at 
Cuerdale— Saxon  Settlements  in  the  Parish,  and  local  Nomenclature. 


BLACKBURN  is  the  name  borne  since  Saxon  times  by  one  of  the 
chief  territorial  divisions  of  Lancashire,  as  well  as  by  a  parochial 
subdivision  of  that  division  and  by  a  town  or  township  within  the  parish 
so  named.  It  has  been  matter  for  curious  but  fruitless  speculation  how 
the  descriptive  designation  of  one  of  the  smallest  of  the  streams  that 
water  this  extensive  tract — the  Blake-burne — should  have  come  to  be 
adopted  originally  as  the  appellation  of  a  shire — i.e.  Blakeburneshyre, — 
afterwards  of  the  Hundred,  in  addition  to  its  appropriation  as  the  name 
of  a  large  parish  of  many  townships  constituted  within  the  Hundred, 
and  naturally  as  that  of  the  particular  township  through  which  the  stream 
runs  in  its  short  course  of  two  or  three  miles.  Had  the  town  of  Black- 
burn been  anciently  a  central  fortified  place  of  Blackburnshire, — the 
seat  of  the  chief  lord  of  the  district, — the  comprehensive  use  of  the 
name  would  be  more  explicable ;  but  this  is  not  the  case.  Blackburn 
was  not  primitively  either  the  civil  or  ecclesiastical  centre  of  the 
Hundred ;  it  was  not  even  a  corporate  town,  as  Clitheroe,  the  focus  of 


2  HISTORY  OF,  BLACKBURN. 

Norman  authority  in  East-Lancashire,  or  Preston,  the  capital  of  Amoun- 
derness ;  and  it  was  not  until  a  very  modern  date  and  through  the  esta- 
blishment of  manufactures  within  it,  that  the  town  of  Blackburn  became 
distinguished  in  the  district  by  its  populousness  and  commercial  supre- 
macy. 

It  is  intended  to  limit  the  present  historical  survey  to  that  portion 
of  Blackburn  Hundred  forming  the  ancient  Parish  of  Blackburn.  This 
Parish,  at  an  early  period  not  exactly  ascertained,  was  separated  from 
the  older  parish  of  Whalley,  as  is  mentioned  in  an  ancient  document 
hereafter  to  be  referred  to. 

The  Parish  of  Blackburn  is  estimated  to  contain  43,569  statute 
acres.  Its  physical  geography  is  comprised  chiefly  in  the  northern  slopes 
of  two  ranges  of  hills  which  trend  N.E.  and  S.W.  across  this  portion  of 
Lancashire,  and  the  valley  lying  between  these  ranges.  The  series  of 
hills  occupying  the  mid-portion  of  the  parish  is  that  which  commences 
with  the  rock  of  Hoghton  and  continues  in  the  successive  ridges  of 
Billinge  Hill,  Revidge  Heights,  Wilpshire  Moor,  and  Billington  Moor. 
Mellor  Moor  and  Ramsgreave  Heights  form  a  spur  of  the  range.  South- 
ward of  the  Parish,  forming  its  bound  and  the  water-shed  of  Mid- 
Lancashire,  extend  lofty  moorlands,  the  largest  masses  of  which  are 
Tockholes  Moor,  Darwen  Moor,  and  Cranberry  Moss.  Cartridge  Hill, 
the  westerly  summit  of  these  moors,  rises  1,316  feet  above  the  sea-level. 
Projecting  northwards  from  this  range  are  the  hills  of  lower  altitude 
between  the  townships  of  Over  Darwen,  Livesey  and  Tockholes,  and, 
more  to  the  east,  a  ridge  descending  gradually  from  Blacksnape  Heights 
through  Hoddlesden  to  Lower  Darwen  and  Blackburn.  These  hills 
surround  the  upper  portion  of  the  valley  of  the  Darwen.  The  Ribble  is 
the  boundary  of  the  Parish  on  the  north  side,  from  end  to  end  ;  and  the 
Calder,  a  main  affluent  of  the  Ribble,  is  with  its  tributary  the  Hyndburn 
the  parish  limit  on  the  east.  The  river  Darwen  may  be  said  to  belong 
to  the  parish  through  its  entire  course.  Its  source  is  among  the  swampy 
wastes  of  Cranberry  Moss,  on  the  line  of  the  division  between  Salford 
and  Blackburn  Hundreds.  It  descends  rapidly  through  the  town  of 
Over  Darwen,  is  joined  at  Dob  Meadows  by  the  Sunnyhurst  brook, 
passes  through  Lower  Darwen  township,  and  thus  reaches  the  township 
of  Blackburn,  of  which  it  is  the  boundary  to  the  west.  At  Feniscliffe 
bridge,  in  Witton  Park,  the  Darvven  is  replenished  by  the  Blakewater,  a 
stream  which  descends  from  the  hills  of  Oswaldtwistle,  combines  to  the 
east  of  Blackburn  with  the  Little  Harwood  brook,  and  flows  through  the 
midst  of  the  townships  of  Blackburn  and  Witton  until  it  merges  into  the 
Darwen.  Another  subsidiary  stream  is  the  Roddlesworth,  which  springs 
on  the  high  ground  above  Hollinshead  Hall,  flows  northward  between 


ABORIGINAL  CONDITION.  3 

the  townships  of  Tockholes  and  Wheelton,  and,  until  it  mingles  with  the 
Darwen,  divides  the  Hundreds  of  Blackburn  and  Leyland.  Its  point  of 
junction  is  the  grounds  of  Feniscowles  Hall.  Flowing  onwards  through 
the  ravine  beneath  Hoghton  Tower,  the  Darwen  is  the  boundary  of  the 
Parish  until  the  line  branches  off  to  embrace  the  township  of  Walton- 
le-Dale  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Darwen,  which  discharges  itself  into  the 
Ribble  near  Walton  bridge. 

No  historic  account  of  this  or  any  other  part  of  Britain  exists  of  an 
older  date  than  the  first  Roman  invasion.  Accordingly,  obscurity  rests 
upon  the  movements  and  settlements  of  the  native  races  prior  to  that 
period.  The  Romans,  on  their  advent,  found  the  northern  provinces  of 
the  country  peopled  by  various  tribes  of  Celtic  extraction ;  and  of  these 
the  great  tribe  of  the  Briganles  was  reputed  to  be  the  most  powerful. 
The  realm  of  the  Brigantes  was  then,  and  had  probably  been  for  some 
centuries,  the  belt  of  territory  now  embraced  in  the  counties  of  Lanca- 
shire, Yorkshire,  Cumberland,  Westmoreland  and  Durham.  The  Roman 
historians,  in  chronicling  the  spread  of  the  Roman  power  in  Britain, 
became  also  the  earliest  annalists  of  a  land  destined  one  day  to  eclipse 
their  own  in  all  the  elements  of  national  greatness. 

When  the  civilisation  of  Greece  was  passing  into  senility,  and  even 
that  of  Rome  had  attained  its  zenith,  our  island  was  still  the  hunting-ground 
of  savages.  The  face  of  the  land  was  for  the  most  part  covered  with 
morass  and  forest,  through  which  wandered  naked  men,  who  abhorred  the 
settled  habits  of  systematic  husbandry.  The  personal  aspect  of  the 
Brigantes  and  the  British  tribes  generally  is  described  by  Strabo  and 
Tacitus.  The  Teutonic  and  Scandinavian  types  were  found  in  the  natives 
of  Southern  England  and  Eastern  Scotland;  but  in  the  North  of  England 
the  inhabitants  had  the  swarthy  visage  and  black  curly  hair  of  the 
Celtic  variety  of  mankind.  In  stature,  Strabo  says,  the  Britons  were 
taller  than  the  Gauls,  but  their  limbs  hung  loosely,  and  their  bodies  were 
not  so  symmetrically  formed.  The  stalwart  Brigantes  of  Lancashire,  and 
the  intrepid  Silures  and  Ordovices  of  Wales,  were  among  the  best  types 
of  the  nomadic  races  which  filled  the  borders  of  Britain  at  the  epoch 
when  our  country  emerges  from  the  cimmerian  shadow  of  a  terra  incognita, 
and  first  begins  to  figure  in  the  written  story  of  human  development. 

Dwelling,  as  they  did,  in  rude  and  temporary  habitations,  and 
having  no  towns  of  any  note,  it  is  not  strange  that  the  aborigines  of  this 
country  should  have  left  few  enduring  marks  behind  them.  The  sole 
vestiges  of  that  period  of  British  antiquity  that  Time  still  spares  are  the 
ranges  of  massive  stones  which  constituted  their  temples,  and  the  earth- 
mounds  of  their  burial  places. 

Very  slight  traces  of  the  ancient  language  of  Britain  survive  in  this 


4  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

locality.  The  geographical  nomenclature  of  East  Lancashire  is  almost 
wholly  Saxon.  In  the  names  of  two  or  three  of  our  hills  and  streams 
the  Celtic  element  is,  however,  recognised,  as  in  that  of  our  highest  moun- 
tain, Pendle  (formerly  Penhull\  in  which  the  first  syllable  is  Celtic.  Ribble, 
Calder,  Darwen,  Irwell,  the  appellations  of  our  principal  rivers,  possibly 
are  of  British  origin.  Rigodtmum,  the  ancient  name  of  Ribchester,  is  said 
also  to  be  British, — that  being  one  of  the  few  urban  settlements  or 
permanent  fortresses  of  the  Brigantes  before  the  Roman  appropriation 
which  raised  it  to  the  celebrity  of  a  chief  Roman  station  and  city. 

The  first  invasion  of  England,  by  Julius  Caesar,  took  place  55  years 
before  Christ;  but  it  was  not  until  A.D.  78,  that  the  Lancashire 
aborigines  were  made  effectually  to  feel  the  force  of  martial  Rome.  In 
that  year  Agricola,  the  ablest  general  that  ever  commanded  the 
Roman  army  of  occupation  in  Britain,  was  despatched  hither.  Having 
pacified  Wales  during  the  winter,  Agricola,  in  the  spring  of  the  year  79, 
made  preparations  to  consummate  the  conquest  of  the  country  lying 
beyond  the  Mersey  and  the  Humber.  He  concentrated  at  Deva 
(Chester)  the  largest  Roman  force  that  had  ever  operated  in  Britain, 
numbering,  it  is  said,  about  30,000  foot  and  6,000  cavalry.  He  made  a 
preliminary  survey  of  the  country  he  now  proposed  to  occupy,  and  then, 
passing  the  Mersey,  marched  his  army  across  the  plains  and  mountains 
of  South  and  East  Lancashire,  into  Yorkshire.  The  native  warriors 
offered  what  resistance  they  might  in  their  desultory  mode  of  fighting, 
but  they  could  make  no  stand  against  the  disciplined  legionaries  of 
Agricola,  who  at  the  end  of  a  single  year  was  master  of  all  the  fastnesses 
of  the  Brigantes. 

ROMAN  ROADS  AND  STATIONS. 

The  slender  testimony  of  history  regarding  the  victories  of  the 
Romans  and  the  acts  of  their  generals,  is  to  some  extent  supplemented 
by  the  mute  but  honest  evidence  afforded  by  the  remains  of  the 
engineering  works  they  undertook,  and  of  the  military  camps  and  civil 
colonies  they  established.  The  Roman  Roads  of  Britain  exist  to  this 
day,  after  the  lapse  of  eighteen  centuries,  as  proofs  of  the  thoroughness 
of  the  Roman  conquest  of  the  island.  Lancashire  presents  abundant 
remains  of  these  wonderful  roads,  and  the  Parish  of  Blackburn  contains 
many  interesting  vestiges.  Three  of  the  four  principal  roads  constructed 
by  the  Romans  in  Lancashire  traversed  some  portion  of  the  Parish  : — 
i.  The  lower  road  from  the  south  to  Carlisle,  intersected  the  township 
of  Walton-in-le-Dale.  2.  The  road  from  Manchester  to  Overborough 
crossed  the  Parish  at  its  broadest  part.  3.  The  road  from  the  sea  to  the 
interior,  which  formed  the  communication  between  the  "  Sistuntian  Port" 


ROMAN   ROADS.  5 

(on  the  Wyre)  and  Ribchester,  Ilkley-in-Wharfedale,  Aldborough  and 
York,  enters  Blackburn  Parish  at  Ribchester,  by  a  ford  over  the  Ribble, 
and  after  traversing  the  townships  of  Salesbury,  Dinkley,  and  Billington, 
crosses  the  Calder  at  Potter  Ford,  a  little  below  Whalley  Abbey. 
Besides  the  broad  and  solid  Romans  roads  forming  the  great  military 
routes,  a  number  of  vicinal  or  branch  roads,  of  much  simpler  construc- 
tion, were  used  for  communication  between  stations  situated  on  parallel 
lines  of  main  road.  In  Blackburn  district  some  of  these  vicinal  ways 
have  been  traced  out.  One  such  by-road  proceeded  along  the  vale  of 
Calder  by  Whalley  to  Burnley,  and  through  Cliviger  over  the  mountains 
to  Cambodunum  (Slack).  The  late  Rev.  E.  Sibson,  in  a  paper 
on  the  Roman  Roads  of  the  Wigan  district,  speaks  of  a  road  of  this 
kind  which  branched  off  eastward  from  Blackrod,  "Street-fold  and 
Water-street,  near  Rivington,  and  by  White  Hough,  in  Tockholes, 
to  the  small  Roman  station  at  Blackburn,  near  the  new  road  to  Preston." 
"  This  road  is  traced  in  the  fields  near  Anglezark,  and  a  tradition  is  still 
preserved  among  the  inhabitants  of  that  district,  that  this  was  the  old 
road  to  Blackburn." l 

The  Roman  military  roads — the  few  great  lines  first  constructed  in 
a  newly-entered  territory,  to  quicken  the  march  of  the  cohorts  and  the 
transport  of  material — were  the  most  massive  of  their  works  in  road- 
making.  The  plan  of  their  construction  was  as  follows  : — Two  deep 
furrows  were  cut  parallel  to  each  other,  about  twenty-one  feet  apart,  and 
the  subsoil  between  them  was  dug  out  until  a  solid  surface  was  reached. 
This  hollow  was  filled  up  with  layers  of  small  stones  and  gravel,  in  some 
instances  mingled  with  lime,  and  hammered  down  to  a  state  of  great 
hardness.  Upon  the  surface  the  road  was  paved  with  large  pebbles 
brought  from  the  beds  of  streams,  or  with  squared  flagstones  carefully 
adjusted.  The  same  road  at  different  places  is  paved  either  with  pebbles 
or  flag-stones,  whichever  lay  convenient.  The  public  roads,  built  when 
the  military  roads  were  no  longer  equal  to  the  commercial  requirements 
of  the  Roman  colonists,  were  usually  about  fourteen  feet  in  width,  and 
unpaved.  The  broad  military  roads  were  constructed  with  rigid  geome- 
trical accuracy,  being  carried  forward  in  straight  lines,  regardless  of 
obstacles  in  the  shape  of  bog-lands,  steep  gradients,  or  rough  water- 
courses. No  deviation  from  the  line  was  permitted,  except  an  angle 
might  be  struck  at  the  summit  of  a  hill,  in  order  to  preserve  the  high 
ground  through  the  remainder  of  the  route.  In  the  inferior  roads  the 
straight  line  is  less  strictly  kept,  and  the  low  courses  of  valleys  are  some- 
times followed.  These  characteristics  enable  us  generally  to  determine 
to  which  of  the  varieties  of  construction  any  Roman  road  belongs. 

i  Hist.   Lane.,  first  edn.,  v.   iii,  p.   585. 


6  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

The  Roman  road  from  Manchester  to  Ribchester  which  bisected 
the  Parish  of  Blackburn  had  apparently  been  a  military  road  of  the  first 
importance.  It  was  solidly  underlaid  with  gravel  and  carefully  paved ; 
it  preserves  the  straight  line  throughout,  and  it  keeps  the  high  ground, 
commanding  the  country  on  either  hand.  Some  Lancashire  antiquaries 
insist  that  this  was  the  veritable  Tenth  Iter  of  Antoninus ;  others, 
influenced  by  the  fact  that  Ribchester  (Rigodunum)  is  not  specified  as 
upon  that  Iter,  pronounce  the  road  through  Wigan  and  Walton  to  be 
the  Tenth  Iter — a  road,  judged  by  its  existing  remains,  of  inferior 
construction  to  the  higher  road.  However  this  may  be,  the  road  which 
went  through  Blackburn  parish  and  town  was  certainly  one  of  the  most 
useful  of  the  military  ways  of  the  Romans  in  the  North  of  England. 
It  directly  connected  the  two  most  renowned  Roman  stations  in  Western 
Brigantia,  namely,  Mamucium  (Manchester)  and  Rigodunum  (Ribchester). 
It  enabled  the  Roman  generals  to  penetrate  the  interior  of  the  country, 
and  to  overawe  the  sullen  barbarians  who  made  the  vast  woods  of  East 
Lancashire  their  covert.  It  might  well  be  that  the  construction  of  this 
indispensable  road  was  one  of  the  chief  works  of  the  indomitable 
Agricola  in  his  second  campaign  (A.D.  79) ;  and  that  throughout  the 
summer  thousands  of  hardy  Roman  warriors  swarmed  upon  this  moun- 
tain-track, some  keeping  guard  on  its  highest  summits,  while  the  rest 
diligently  laid  the  road  under  the  direction  of  the  imperial  engineers. 

This  road  left  Manchester  at  or  near  the  line  of  the  modern  street 
called  "  Strangeways,"  and  continued  for  some  miles  along  the  ground 
now  traversed  by  the  New  Bury-road.1  In  the  neighbourhood  of  Man- 
chester every  trace  of  the  ancient  pavement  has  been  obliterated,  but  its 
tradition  is  preserved  in  the  name  of  a  back-street  upon  the  line  in 
Higher  Broughton.  The  route  passes  through  the  village  of  Prestwich, 
crosses  the  Irwell  near  Radcliffe  Bridge,  and  proceeds  about  two  miles 
to  the  west  of  Bury,  where  it  abuts  upon  a  lane  which  still  bears  the 
name  of  "  Blackburn-street."  Afterwards  it  runs  by  Tottington,  Turton, 
and  Edgeworth,  over  the  highest  part  of  a  hill  called  Offiside,  and  enters 
the  Parish  of  Blackburn  a  short  distance  to  the  south  of  the  village  of 
Blacksnape.  The  writer  has  at  various  times  examined  the  line  of  the 
road  from  Blacksnape  to  Ribchester.  Standing  on  the  top  of  Black- 
snape Heights,  where  the  weather-beaten  cottages  of  the  coal-miners 
straggle  over  the  bare  hill,  a  long  stretch  of  the  Roman  route  is  visible 
both  southwards  and  northwards.  The  present  highway  from  Bury  to 
Blackburn  keeps  very  near  to  the  ancient  road  for  some  miles  until  it 
approaches  Blackburn.  In  the  valleys  the  modern  road  breaks  away 

i  See  an  account  of  the  road,  with  sketch-map  of  route,  by  John  Just,  in  Memoirs  of  Manch.  Lit. 
and  Phil.  Soc.,  v.  vii  (N.S).  pp-i-2i. 


ROMAN  ROADS.  7 

here  and  there  from  the  straight  line,  to  ease  the  descent  and  ascent,  but 
rejoins  the  Roman  work  where  it  approaches  the  summit  of  a  ridge. 
Looking  south  from  Blacksnape  the  road  is  seen  running  boldly  over  the 
brow  of  Offiside;   and  in  the  opposite  direction  it  pursues  the  high 
ground  of  Lower  Darwen  township,  descends  the  Whinny  Heights  into 
the  valley  of  the  Blakewater,  and  again  strikes  the  line  on  the  tops 
of  Revidge,  of  Ramsgreave,  and  of  Longridge  Fell  in  the  far  distance. 
The  ordnance  surveyors  found  that  this  road  never  swerved  from  the 
direct  line,  except  by  a  slight  angle  at  Blacksnape.     The  remains  of  the 
road  itself  are  not  easy  of  detection  for  a  great  portion  of  the  distance. 
Wherever   the   modern   road   stands   on   the   old  military  agger   it  is 
impossible  that  after  the  wear  and  tear  and  repairs  of  so  many  centuries 
any  external  traces  of  the  original  pavement  should  present  themselves. 
In  the  neighbourhood  of  large  populations,  also,  the  constant  disturbances 
of  the  surface  have  effaced  such  remains ;  and,  again,  in  parts  of  the 
route  where  the  land  has  been  repeatedly  ploughed  and  drained,  the 
pavements    laid    by   Agricola's    legionaries    have    been    torn   up    and 
carted  away  by  the  farmer,  with  whom  the  interests  of  archaeology  are 
naught  to  the  effectual  clearance  of  the  land  from  stones.     Accordingly, 
as  a  rule,  the  only  spots  at  which  complete  and  continuous  portions 
of  the  Roman  roads  can  now  be  distinguished  are  where  their  firm,  rigid 
tracks  cross  unfrequented  moorlands,  and  now  and  then  on  the  surface 
of  unbroken  pasture-land,  or  where  the  old  road  has  been  utilised  as  an 
occupation-road  upon  the  farms.      In  its  descent  from  Blacksnape  in  the 
direction  of  Blackburn,  the  Roman  line  is  identical  with  that  of  the 
highway  for  about  half-a-mile,  when  the  modern  road  bears  a  little  to  the 
left  where  it  is  intersected  by  the  old  bye-road  from  Hoddlesden  to 
Darwen.     At  this  point,  under  the  wall  at  the  corner  at  which  the  Roman 
road  enters  the  field,  are  some  signs  of  a  hard  pavement,  but  through  the 
fields  beyond  a  close  inspection  failed  to  detect  any  certain  indication 
until  the  ruinous  tenements  at  Harwood  Fold  are  reached.      There,  at 
the  corner  of  the  field,  remains  on  the  exact  line  of  the  agger  are  exposed. 
On  the  descent  of  the  hill  towards  the  coal-pit  the  footway  down  the  fields, 
precisely  on  the  Roman  line,  is  paved  for  some  distance  with  thick  flag- 
stones.    The  ground  hereabouts,  if  carefully  examined,  could  hardly  fail 
to  disclose  evidences  of  Roman  work.     Passing  the  coal-pit  on  the  left, 
the  Roman  road  rejoins  the  present  road,  at  the  point  known  as   the 
"  Flash,  "  and  thence  it  proceeds  on  nearly  the  same  line,  crossing  the 
Eccleshill  Brook  a  little  to  the  right  of  the  bridge,  through  the  village  of 
Blackamoor ;  beyond  it  the  present  road  once  more  bends  to  the  left  for 
its  descent  into  Blackburn.     The  Roman   road  still  kept  its  undeviating 
way,  its  direction  being  indicated  by  a  tree  standing  in  the  middle  of  a 


8  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

field  at  Whinny  Heights,  a  short  distance  to  the   west  of   the   Union 
Workhouse.     Crossing  the  Belthorn  road  at  Brandy  House  Brow,   the 
Roman  road  drops  over  the  scarp  of  the  stone-quarry.      No  remains  of 
the  road  have  been  noted  where  it  crosses  the  town  of  Blackburn,  but 
the  direct  course  it  took  would  lie  over  the  hill  of  Lower  Audley  to  Cicely 
Bridge,    past   the   east   end  of  the   Railway  Station,   over  the  site  of 
Button's  Brewery,  across  the  thoroughfares  of  Salford,  Penny  Street,  and 
James  Street.     Thence,  through  the  Brookhouse  Fields,  it  ascended  the 
hill,  and  rejoined  the  modern  road  at  the  Hole  i'th'  Wall  Inn,    Shire 
Brow.     The  Roman  road  then  runs  through  the  meadow  on  the  left  of 
the  highway  to  Lane  Ends,  over  the  site  of  the  School.     Here  the  heights 
of   Ramsgreave   come  in  view,   and  the  line  of    the  Roman  road  is 
hit  by  a  farm-house  on  the  top  of  that  hill.      It  crossed  the  intervening 
valley  a  little  to  the  left  of  the  farm-house  of  Higher  Waves.     In  these 
fields  the  traces  of  the  road  are  slight  and  unsatisfactory.     But  when 
the  summit  of  Ramsgreave  is  passed,  an  interesting  section  of  the  agger  is 
presented.     A  well-paved  farm-road  goes  down  from  the  farm-yard  into 
the  fields.     From  the  top  of  this  road,   standing  strictly  on  the  line  of 
the  Roman  way,  the  Ribble  valley  is  seen  spreading  itself  finely  before 
the  spectator.     A  little  to  the  west,  on  the  summit  of  Mellor  Moor,  are 
still  to  be  seen  the  fosse  and  vallum  of  a  small  Roman  camp  of  observa- 
tion.    Ribchester,  once  the  centre  of  Roman  power  in  these  parts,  is  well 
in  view  at  the  bottom  of  the  extended  valley,  and  lines  of  fences  mark 
out  the  track  of  the  road  from  where  we  stand  to  the  Ribble  bank  opposite 
the  station.     As  the  background  to  Ribchester  rises  Longridge  Fell,  and 
the  plain  appearance  of  a  lighter  strip  running  across  the  dark  sward  of 
the  Fell  shows   the    continuation    of    this   great   road   to   the   top    of 
Longridge.      The  lane  to  which  we  have  referred  ends  in  a  footpath, 
following  which  for  about  three  hundred  yards  is  come  upon  a  palpable 
specimen  of  Roman  road.      For  several  yards  the  pavement  lies  bare 
and  regular  in  the  midst  of  the  pasture,  every  stone  lying  where  the 
Roman  road-maker  set  it  in  the  first  century  of  the  Christian  era.     The 
pebbles   or   boulders   of  which   this   pavement  is  composed  are  very 
similar  in  size  to  those  which  were  used  for  the  streets  of  our  English 
towns  before  the  general  substitution  of  squared  "  setts."     Beneath  the 
paved  surface  is  a  hard  bed  of  gravel,  the  depth  of  which  could  only 
be  ascertained  by  hacking  up  a  portion  of  the  road.     A  little  further  on 
in  these  fields,  before  reaching  the  cottages,  a  second  portion  of  the 
agger  appears  distinct  above   the   ground.     Again,  near  the  gate  at  the 
end  of  the  occupation  road  which  runs  forward  from  Midge  Hall,  another 
perfect  example  of  the  road  is  exposed  to  view.       On  reaching  the 
farm-house    called    Harwood    Fold    (the    second    homestead    of    that 


ROMAN  ROADS.  9 

name  which  stands  upon  the  road  in  this  parish),  once  more  appears 
an  obvious  specimen  of  the  pavement  at  the  margin  of  the  meadow, 
just  beyond  the  farm-yard.  The  vestiges  here  mentioned  are  but  the 
results  of  superficial  examinations  ; — if  arrangements  could  be  made  to 
cut  across  a  segment  of  the  road  in  the  vicinity  of  these  remains,  useful 
information  as  to  the  dimensions  and  substratum  of  the  road  might  be 
supplied.  After  leaving  Harwood  Fold,  the  agger  crosses  the  Preston  and 
Whalley  turnpike  some  hundreds  of  yards  to  the  east  of  the  Royal  Oak 
Inn,  advances  across  the  fields  past  Stubby-Lee  House,  and  down 
the  occupation-road  towards  Ribchester.  On  reaching  the  high  bank  of 
the  Ribble,  the  road  is  for  the  first  time  diverted  by  a  sharp  angle  and 
carried  down  to  the  ford  of  the  river  below  Ribchester  Bridge. 

The  second  road  carried  through  a  portion  of  the  Parish  by  the 
Romans  during  their  occupancy  of  the  island,  is  that  which  extends 
from  the  Sistuntian  Port  to  York.  Near  Ribchester  this  road  crossed  to 
the  south  bank  of  Ribble,  and  passed  a  short  distance  above  Salesbury 
Hall.  Mr.  Just,  who  carefully  surveyed  the  road,  observes1 : — 

Fine  continuous  remains  hence  mark  the  course  of  the  road,  and  the  investigator 
can  see  the  line  before  him  now  in  bold  elevations  across  the  fields,  or,  still  more 
marked,  near  farm  houses  and  outbuildings,  and  not  unfrequently  in  occupation  roads, 
from  such  continuing  along  the  Roman  line  for  early  and  present  advantage. 

From  Salesbury  the  road  advances  into  Dinkley,  and  then  crosses  Dink- 
ley  Brook  below  Langho  Chapel.  It  proceeds  in  a  direct  line  behind 
Brockhole  to  Hacking,  where  it  runs  in  the  rear  of  the  Hall,  and  had  its 
ford  over  the  Calder  below  the  modern  crossing-place  at  Potter's  Ford. 
What  seems  to  be  a  section  of  the  agger  is  a  very  evident  rib  crossing 
the  large  field  immediately  to  the  south  of  Crow  Wood,  exactly  on  the 
line  of  road  as  marked  by  the  ordnance  surveyors.  Beyond  the  Calder 
the  route  is  through  the  Parish  of  Whalley  to  the  Yorkshire  border. 

The  other  Roman  road  to  the  North,  through  Wigan,  Preston,  and 
Lancaster,  at  Walton-in-le-Dale  crosses  an  extremity  of  the  Parish.  Mr.. 
Hardwick,  who  has  made  diligent  search  for  Roman  remains  in  Walton 
township,  and  was  the  first  to  demonstrate  the  existence  there  of  a 
considerable  Roman  station,  asserts  that  a  "  broad  agger  is  still  trace- 
able "  southward  from  the  Ribble  through  Walton  village  ;  that  "  during 
the  erection  of  Mr.  Calvert's  shed,  which  crosses  its  line,"  the  workmen 
"  came  upon  a  compact  mass  of  road  material,  so  hard  that  a  pickaxe 
could  scarcely  penetrate  it ;"  and  that  "  near  Brownedge  Chapel  there 
appears  still  to  exist  a  large  fragment  of  the  Roman  highway,  now  used 
as  a  private  road,  but  marked  on  the  ordnance  map  as  'Mainway  gate.'2" 

i  Hist.  Soc.  Lane,  and  Ches.  Papers,  v.  iii,  p.  6.         z  Ib.  v.  viii,  p.  132. 


I0  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Other  traces  of  the  causeway,  both  to  the  north  of  Ribble  and  to  the 
south  of  Walton,  authenticate  this  line  of  road,  and  prove  that  the 
Romans  possessed  duplicate  lines  of  road  and  stations  throughout  the 
length  of  the  county.  Whether  the  two  great  parallel  roads  were 
constructed  simultaneously ;  or,  if  not,  which  of  the  twain  was  first 
undertaken,  is  unknown ;  but  it  has  been  suggested  that  the  difficulties 
of  the  more  elevated  route  over  Blacksnape,  Longridge,  and 
Croasdale  caused  it,  as  the  country  became  pacified,  to  be  neglected  for 
the  level  and  less-exposed  road  through  the  plains  of  West  Lancashire. 
The  cross-road  from  Ribchester  to  Preston  would  supply  a  roundabout 
communication  with  Manchester,  Lancaster,  and  the  other  Lancashire 
stations.  In  summer  the  highland  road  would  be  practicable  and  even 
pleasant,  but  during  the  gales  and  snows  of  winter  even  the  inured 
Roman  soldiery  might  be  fain  to  seek  a  more  sheltered  path. 

It  is  not  necessary  here  to  extend  the  retrospect  of  the  long  period 
of  the  Roman  occupation  of  Britain.  That  occupation  endured,  so  far 
as  this  part  of  the  island  is  concerned,  for  about  369  years,  from  the 
advance  of  Agricola,  A.D.  79,  to  the  final  withdrawal  of  the  Roman 
garrisons,  about  the  year  448.  The  tranquillity  of  subjection  established 
by  the  considerate  policy  of  Agricola  lasted,  with  occasional  interruptions, 
for  more  than  a  century ;  and  the  prosperity  of  the  empire  of  Rome,  in 
which  its  British  colonies  shared,  culminated  in  the  reign  of  Antoninus 
Pius,  who  acceded  in  the  year  138.  In  the  preceding  reign  the  Emperor 
Adrian  conducted  in  person  a  series  of  military  operations  against  the 
tribes  of  North  Britain,  and  built  the  celebrated  wall  which  bears  his 
name  from  Solway  to  Wallsend  on  the  Tyne.  From  the  middle  of  the 
second  century  the  degeneracy  of  the  Roman  government  and  people 
was  rapid,  and  the  anarchy  of  the  home  provinces  influenced  for  ill  the 
condition  of  the  distant  dependencies  of  Rome.  In  the  year  208 
Britain  received  another  imperial  visitor,  the  Emperor  Severus,  who, 
hearing  that  the  colony  was  overrun  by  marauders  out  of  Caledonia, 
hastened  hither  to  restore  order  and  to  reduce  these  northern  tribes. 
Severus  established  his  court  at  Eboracum  (York),  where,  in  the  year 
211,  he  died.  Again,  A.D.  306,  Constantine,  who  had  been  declared 
Emperor  of  the  western  half  of  the  partitioned  empire,  sojourned  in 
Britain,  and  also  died  at  York,  when  his  son,  Constantine  the  Great,  was 
proclaimed  emperor  in  that  city.  The  garrisons  of  the  Romans  in 
Britain  consisted,  for  many  generations  after  the  conquest,  of  three  legions 
— the  Second,  spread  over  the  southern  provinces  of  the  country  ;  the 
Sixth,  whose  head  quarters  were  at  York  ;  and  the  Twentieth,  which  was 
quartered  at  Chester,  with  detachments  at  various  stations  in  the  north- 
western territory. 


ROMAN  STATIONS— RIBCHESTER.  XI 

ROMAN  RIBCHESTER. 

Of  the  numerous  stations  occupied  by  the  Romans  in  Lancashire, 
those  of  Rigodunum  (Ribchester),  and  Coctium  (Walton),  were  situate  in 
the  lower  portion  of  the  Vale  of  Ribble.  Ribchester  was  a  station  of  the 
first  importance.  Rigodunum  was  the  name  by  which  it  was  known  to 
Ptolemy  as  a  British  post.  The  ancient  name  of  its  beautiful  river  was 
Belisama.  The  Roman  nomenclature  of  the  place  is  not  yet  satisfactorily 
settled.  It  stands  as  Coccium  on  the  Tenth  Iter  of  Antoninus,  if  we 
accept  frr  that  Iter  the  great  road  from  Manchester  to  Overborough ; 
and  a  local  antiquary  made  an  ingenious  attempt  to  find  the  etymology 
of  Coccium  in  Rigodunum.  But  subsequent  researches  in  the  perplexed 
subject  of  the  Roman  topography  of  Lancashire  have  led  to  the  fixing  of 
Coccium  at  Walton-in-le-Dale. 

The  position  of  Ribchester,  lying  in  the  centre  of  the  Lancashire 
portion  of  the  valley  of  the  Ribble,  was,  in  a  military  point  of  view,  at 
once  commanding  and  secure.  Across  Ribchester,  the  valley  shows  its 
greatest  expanse,  and  one  of  the  few  fords  of  the  river  is  hard  by.  The 
station  stood,  like  the  modern  village,  on  the  north  side  of  the  Ribble, 
protected  in  front  by  the  steepness  of  the  other  bank  and  by  the  deep 
pools  of  the  river  ;  and  having  to  the  east  a  natural  defence  in  the  brook 
which  there  descends  into  the  Ribble.  The  western  wall  was  washed  by 
a  small  canal  connected  with  the  river  below  Anchor  Hill.  In  the  rear 
the  ground  is  sufficiently  open  to  permit  of  effectual  precaution  against 
surprise.  Moreover,  the  station  occupied  the  intersection  of  two 
principal  roads  of  the  Romans  in  the  north-west  of  England,  which 
supplied  the  city  with  four  grand  routes,  answering  to  the  four  points  of 
the  compass,  affording  direct  communication  with  every  portion  of  the 
British  colony.  The  foundation  of  the  Roman  station  here  is  supposed 
to  date  from  the  latter  years  of  the  first  century.  The  notion  that 
Ribchester  was  a  Roman  seaport,  occasioned  by  the  discovery  there  of 
small  anchors,  mooring  rings,  and  other  nautical  implements,  has  been 
exploded.  The  Ribble  could  never  have  been  a  tidal  and  navigable 
water  up  to  Ribchester  since  the  geologic  epoch,  incomputably  remote, 
when  the  marshy  lands  of  West  Lancashire  emerged  from  the  sea,  for 
those  districts  lie  considerably  below  the  level  of  Ribchester ;  and  as  we 
know  that  the  Romans  had  both  stations  and  roads  in  the  Fylde 
country,  it  is  obvious  that  Roman  shipping  could  at  no  time  have  been 
floated  on  the  tides  of  Ribble  so  far  inland.  The  anchors  and  rings 
seen  at  Ribchester  must  have  belonged  to  barges  employed  to  ferry  men 
and  stores  across  the  river  opposite  to  "  Anchor  Hill."  The  area  of  the 
Roman  circumvallation  at  Ribchester  is  ascertained  to  have  been  about 


I2  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

ten  statute  acres.  The  length  of  the  rectangle  of  the  fortifications  was 
300  yards,  and  its  breadth  from  130  to  140  yards.  Over  a  considerable 
portion  of  this  area  the  current  of  the  Ribble  now  flows.  The  river, 
after  running  due  west  until  it  reaches  Ribchester,  bends  quickly  to 
the  south  opposite  the  village,  the  situation  of  which,  being  at  the 
outer  edge  of  the  curve,  is  exposed  to  the  inroads  of  the  current.  The 
Ribble  is  subject  to  heavy  floods  after  continued  rains,  being  fed  by 
many  streams  coming  down  from  the  fells,  and  on  these  occasions  large 
portions  of  the  north  bank  are  frequently  torn  away  by  the  impetuous 
torrent,  in  spite  of  recent  attempts  to  break  its  force  by  facing  the  bank 
with  massive  stones.  This  process  of  encroachment,  going  on  without 
intermission  for  1,800  years  since  the  Roman  ramparts  were  reared,  has 
shifted  the  bed  of  the  river  at  this  point  to  an  extent  more  than  equal  to 
the  width  of  the  stream ;  and  has  submerged  about  one-third  of  the  site 
of  the  ancient  station.  The  eastern  angle  of  the  Roman  camp  now  lies 
separated  from  the  rest  of  the  area  on  the  south  side  of  the  Ribble,  and 
within  the  township  of  Clayton-in-le-Dale  in  Blackburn  Parish. 

The  limited  dimensions  of  the  walled  enclosure  at  Ribchester  may 
hardly  be  consonant  with  the  conception  of  a  populous  and  spacious 
city ;  but  it  should  be  considered  that  these  lines  only  covered  the  camp 
of  the  Roman  garrison.  According  to  the  Roman  castrametal  system, 
even  such  an  area  as  that  of  Ribchester  was  capable  of  holding  in  an 
emergency  one  entire  legion  with  its  auxiliaries,  about  9,000  men.  The 
villas  of  the  affluent  and  the  huts  of  the  indigent  civilians  of  ancient 
Ribchester  might,  at  the  period  of  its  highest  prosperity,  surround  for 
some  distance  the  military  enclosure.  The  garrison  of  Ribchester  con- 
sisted, as  appears  from  inscriptions  found  there,  of  detachments  of  the 
Sixth  Legion  from  Eboracum,  of  the  Twentieth  Legion  from  Deva,  and 
of  wings  of  the  Sarmatian  horse  and  of  the  Astures — auxiliaries  brought 
from  distant  subject  territories  of  the  empire.  The  Sarmatians,  who 
were  of  the  same  race  with  the  Cossack  horsemen  of  the  modern  Russian 
armies,  are  believed  to  have  constituted  the  ordinary  garrison  of  this 
station. 

A  brief  summary  of  the  numerous  discoveries  of  antiquities  which 
have  been  made  at  this  famous  spot  may  not  be  out  of  place  in  these 
pages.  The  earliest  note  of  the  remains  here  is  made  by  Leland,  anti- 
quary to  Henry  VIII.,  who  made  his  itineration  of  the  kingdom 
within  the  years  1544-50.  He  leaves  of  the  Ribchester  of  his  day  this 
short  but  expressive  record  : — "  Ribchestre  is  a  vii.  miles  above  Preston, 
on  the  farther  Ripe  of  Ribyl  as  Prestun  is.  Ribchestre  is  now  a 
poore  thing  ;  it  hath  been  an  aunciente  towne.  Great  squarid  stones, 
voultes,  and  antique  coynes  be  founde  ther  ;  and  ther  is  a  place  wher  the 


ROMAN  STATIONS— RIBCHESTER.  I3 

people  fable  that  the  Jues  had  a  temple  [the  common  folk  attributed 
Roman  remains  to  the  Jews].  Whaulley  Abbay  a  4  miles  above  Ribchestre 
on  the  same  Ripe.  Sawley  Abbay  a  —  miles  above  that,  but  it  stondith 
ripa  citeriori.  There  is  no  Bridge  on  Rible  betwixt  Prestun  and  the  Se. 
It  flouith  and  ebbith  in  Ribyl  most  communely  more  then  half  way  up 
betwixt  Prestun  and  Ribchestre,  and  at  ragis  of  Spring  Tydes  farther.1" 

Camden,  who  was  at  Ribchester  twice,  in  1582  and  1603,  published 
a  description  of  the  visible  vestiges  of  the  Roman  city,  and  offered  deci- 
pherings of  the  inscriptions,  some  of  which  have  been  corrected  by 
subsequent  writers.  In  the  account  of  his  first  visit  Camden  writes  : — 
"  Here  the  Ribell,  presently  turning  west,  gives  its  name  to  a  village  at 
present  called  Riblechester,  where  so  many  remains  of  Roman  antiquities, 
statues,  coins,  columns,  capitals,  bases  of  columns,  altars,  marbles,  and 
inscriptions  are  continually  dug  up,  that  the  inhabitants  seem  not  much 
mistaken  in  their  lame  rhyming  proverb  : — 

It  is  written  upon  a  wall  in  Rome, 

Ribchester  was  as  rich  as  any  town  in  Christendom.2" 

More  than  a  century  later  (1725)  an  able  antiquary,  Dr.  Stukeley, 
examined  the  spot,  and  his  observations  are  printed  in  the  Itinerarium 
Curiosum*  His  narrative  of  the  aspect  of  the  place  and  the  inroads  of 
the  river  is  graphic,  and  well  worthy  of  quotation  : — 

The  River  Ribble  is  very  broad  at  this  place,  rapid  and  sonorous,  running  over 
the  pebbles,  and,  what  is  much  to  be  lamented,  over  innumerable  Roman  antiquities  ; 
for  in  this  long  tract  of  time  it  has  eaten  away  a  third  part  of  the  city.  I  traced  round 
the  old  ground  plot,  and  where  the  wall  and  ditch  went  round  it,  it  lay  in  length  east 
and  west  along  the  north  side  of  the  river,  upon  its  brink,  eight  hundred  feet  long  and 
five  hundred  feet  broad.  .  .  Originally,  I  apprehend,  two  streets  ran  along  its 
length,  and  three  crossed  them  at  its  breadth.  By  symmetry  I  find  the  whole  channel 
of  the  river  lies  at  present  within  the  precinct  of  the  old  city,  the  original  channel  on 
the  other  side  being  filled  up  with  the  city  walls  and  rubbish,  for  it  bends  with  a  great 
elbow  towards  the  city.  The  eastern  limit  of  the  city,  or  that  upward  of  the  river, 
lies  against  a  brook,  there  falling  in  ;  and  the  two  streams  playing  against  that  angle, 
have  carried  it  away,  and  still  threaten  it.  At  the  western  end  of  the  city,  or  down 
the  stream,  a  whole  road,  and  some  houses  too,  by  a  barn,  are  absorbed,  and  a  great 
quantity  of  ashler,  the  remains  of  the  wall,  has  been  carried  off  for  building.  Much 
remains  in  the  ground,  and  on  the  edge  of  the  stream.  Further  up  the  land  and  all 
along  the  west  side  of  the  church  wall  the  ditch  is  perfect,  and  the  rampart  where  the 
wall  stood  pretty  high,  and  the  foundation  of  the  wall  a  little  apparent.  They  tell  me 
the  ashler  stone  still  lies  its  whole  length. 

Dr.  Stukeley  further  describes  that  a  subterraneous  canal  or  sewer, 
paved  at  the  bottom,  and  high  enough  for  a  man  to  walk  upright  in  it, 
entered  the  river  just  below  the  Red  Lion  Inn.  The  current  there 
was  so  strong  at  times  that  "  two  or  three  bridges  had  in  modern  times 

i  Hearne's  Leland,  v.  iv,  pp.  22-3.      2  Cough's  Camden,  v.  iii,  p.  378.      3  V.  ii,  pp.  36-38. 


I4  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

been  swept  away  by  floods."  The  hostelry  referred  to  had  been  partially 
built  out  of  the  Roman  ruins ;  its  doorway  was  "  the  base  of  a  pillar, 
and  a  most  noble  shaft,  seven  feet  long,  handsomely  turned,  which  was 
fished  up  out  of  the  river;"  and  "one corner  of  the  house  had  a  Roman 
partition  wall."  As  an  example  of  the  aggression  of  the  river  upon  the 
bank,  Stukeley  relates  that  "within  memory  a  great  many  houses 
(and  among  them  the  chief  inn  of  the  town)  were  washed  away";  and 
"further  on  down  the  river  a  great  part  of  an  orchard  fell  down  last 
year  (1724)."  This  writer  enumerates  a  great  quantity  of  minor  relics 
which  had  recently  been  picked  up  at  the  time  of  his  visit,  such  as  frag- 
ments of  pottery,  two  intaglios  of  Mercury,  gold  and  brazen  fingers 
broken  from  images,  &c. 

John  Horsley,  who  published  in  1733  his  Britannia  Romana,  or, 
Roman  Antiquities  of  Britain,  supplies  additional  particulars  in  regard 
to  the  altars  exhumed  at  Ribchester,  with  amended  readings  of  their 
inscriptions.  He  also  gives  representations  of  inscriptions  found  on 
isolated  stones  about  the  place.  Of  one  of  these  inscribed  slabs,  "  lying 
at  the  door  of  a  dwelling  house,"  he  remarks  that  "it  has  probably  been 
an  honorary  monument  to  Severus  and  Caracalla,  for  the  other  inscrip- 
tions to  these  Emperors  begin  much  after  the  same  manner.  It  has 
been  erected  by  a  vexillation  of  one  of  the  legions,  but  which  of  them 
is  not  so  certain.  The  place  lies  most  in  the  way  of  the  Twentieth 
Legion,  quartered  at  Chester."  The  inscription  in  question  is  rendered 
thus  : — "  Imperatori  Ccesari.  Imperatori  Ccesari.  Vexillatio  Legionis. 
Sub.  Sextis."  Of  a  second  fragmentary  inscription  noted  by  Horsley — 
and  deciphered  as  "Imperatori  Ccesari.  Marco  Aurelio.  Consult 
Pontifiti  Maximo.  Tribunitia  Potestate" — that  author  says  : — "  The 
form  of  this  looks  somewhat  like  a  miliary  pillar.  It  was  lying  in  a 
garden  at  the  west  end  of  the  town,  and  near  the  river.  So  much  of 
the  inscription  is  quite  effaced  as  makes  it  hard  to  guess  at  the  meaning 
of  the  whole."1 

A  remarkable  batch  of  relics  of  the  Roman  period  Wias  accidentally 
turned  up  at  Ribchester  in  the  year  1796.  In  a  hole  which  had  been 
made  in  some  waste  land  near  the  bend  of  the  Ribble,  in  front  of  the 
village,  a  youth  named  Walton  discovered,  about  nine  feet  below  the 
surface,  a  group  of  articles  of  Roman  manufacture,  which  had 
apparently  been  secreted  at  the  spot,  and  surrounded  by  a  quantity  of 
sand.  The  most  striking  of  these  objects  was  a  beautiful  bronze  helmet, 
richly  ornamented  with  embossed  figures.  Along  with  this  was  a  small 
Sphinx  of  the  same  metal,  which  had  probably  formed  the  crest  of  the 
helmet ;  also  a  bust  of  Minerva,  three  inches  in  diameter ;  the  remains 

i  Brit.  Rom.,  p.  302. 


ROMAN  STATIONS— RIBCHESTER.  !5 

of  vases,  a  number  of  circular  brazen  plates  with  mouldings,  a  circular 
plate  with  hinges  for  four  buckles,  carved  and  gilt ;  a  number  of  paterae  ; 
portions  of  a  candelabrum;  and,  besides  some  smaller  articles,  a  circular 
basin  of  earthenware,  with  the  words  inscribed  upon  it  "BorUdicffidna" 
supposed  to  be  the  name  of  the  maker.  The  material  of  most  of  these 
remains  was  bronze.  There  were  also  found  at  the  same  time  the  tusk 
of  a  boar,  and  fragments  of  wood  implements.  The  whole  collection 
was  purchased  by  Mr.  Charles  Townley,  of  Townley  Hall,  by  whom  a 
description  thereof  was  given  in  a  letter  to  the  Society  of  Antiquaries. 
The  helmet  is  now  to  be  seen  at  the  British  Museum,  and  several 
engravings  of  this  fine  work  of  Roman  metallurgy  have  been  published. 
Describing  the  workmanship  of  this  handsome  relic  Mr.  Townley 
writes : — 

The  helmet  deserves  the  particular  attention  of  the  curious  as  the  remains  of 
remote  ages  ;  very  few  ancient  ones,  decorated  with  embossed  figures,  have  as  yet 
appeared.  The  three  or  four  which  are  preserved  in  the  Museum  at  Portici  are 
esteemed  to  be  the  most  richly  ornamented,  and  the  best  as  to  state  of  workmanship  ; 
but  when  this  helmet  was  in  its  proper  state,  it  must  have  been  equal,  at  least,  to  those 
in  point  of  decoration,  and  in  respect  to  its  having  a  visor  imitating  so  exactly  the 
human  features,  I  believe  it  to  be  the  only  ancient  example  of  the  kind  that  has  yet 
been  discovered.  This  singularity  may  excite  a  doubt  whether  such  a  helmet  was 
destined  for  real  combat,  or  only  for  the  enrichment  of  occasional  trophies  which  were 
erected  in  the  celebration  of  military  festivals,  or  carried  in  procession  amongst  the 
Greeks  and  Romans.  Trophies  of  this  sort  are  seen  on  various  medals,  with  the 
names  of  the  people  whose  subjugation  such  trophies  are  meant  to  record  inserted 
upon  them,  as,  for  example,  DE  SARMATIS — DE  GERMANIS,  on  the  medals  of 
Marcus  Aurelius  and  Commodus.  The  superior  style  of  workmanship  of  the  mask  to 
the  headpiece  is  also  remarkable  ;  in  the  former,  the  beauty  of  the  features,  the 
excellent  work  of  the  figures  in  relief,  and  more  particularly  the  sharp  edges  and  lines 
with  which  the  eyebrows,  eyelids  and  lips  are  marked,  after  the  manner  of  the  Grecian 
art  preceding  the  Csesars,  denote  it  to  have  been  executed  some  ages  before  the  head- 
piece, the  coarse  and  heavy  work  of  which  corresponds  with  that  of  the  artists 
employed  in  the  reign  of  Septimus  Severus,  and  particularly  with  the  sculpture  upon 
the  arch  of  that  Emperor,  situated  near  the  Capitol  Hill  of  Rome.1 

Dr.  T.  D.  Whitaker  paid  much  attention  to  the  Roman  remains 
at  Ribchester,  and  brought  his  classic  knowledge  to  bear  upon  their 
elucidation.  Whitaker  revised  the  readings  of  partially-destroyed 
inscriptions  suggested  by  Camden,  Leigh  and  Horsley.  Amongst  the 
inscribed  stones  mentioned  by  Camden,  Whitaker  states  that  a  votive 
stone  was  in  his  time  remaining  in  a  garden  wall  in  the  village  ;  and 
another  stone  with  the  inscription,  "Legio  XX.  Valerian  vidr ids  fecit" 
which  the  doctor  thinks  had  been  the  corner-stone  of  a  building,  was 
still  to  be  seen  in  an  outhouse  by  the  church.  The  latter  stone,  he  says, 
had  then  "  two  sides  exposed,  and  on  the  second  was  a  rude  figure 

i  Vetusta  Monumenta,  v.  iv,  pp.  1-12. 


1 6  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

of  a  boar,  the  well-known  cognisance  of  the  Twentieth  Legion."  This 
stone  is  stated  to  be  now  at  the  mansion  of  the  Whitakers,  The  Holme. 
Dr.  Whitaker  remarks,  further,  that  "  besides  inscriptions,  the  smaller 
antiquities  discovered  here  are  innumerable ;  the  coins,  of  which 
many  are  found  of  the  large  brass,  are  generally  so  much  corroded  as  to 
be  scarcely  legible.  Denarii  of  the  upper  empire  are  not  uncommon. 
A  very  pretty  intaglio  in  a  ruby  is  engraved  by  Leigh  ;  and  I  have  a 
gold  ring,  found  here  some  years  since,  set  with  a  cornelian  of  many 
faces,  with  a  dove  in  the  centre,  and  round  it  the  words  '  Ave  mea  vita] 
the  present,  as  it  should  seem,  of  a  lover  to  his  mistress.  Tradition  also 
records  a  singular  discovery  at  Ribchester,  viz.,  the  skull  of  an  ox, 
covered  with  some  remains  of  leather,  and  studded  with  gold."  Both 
Camden  and  Horsley  had  noted  certain  stones  of  Roman  character 
built  in  the  structure  of  Salesbury  Hall,  at  a  short  distance  from 
Ribchester,  and  Whitaker  was  enabled  to  give  a  stricter  description, 
the  stone  being  removed  from  the  wall  in  his  presence,  in  1815  : — 

I  had  long  suspected  that  if  ever  the  stone  containing  the  sculpture  of  Apollo, 
which  stood  as  a  corner-stone  at  Salesbury,  were  removed,  one  of  the  two  concealed 
sides  would  exhibit  Camden's  inscription  ;  and  when,  by  the  favour  of  Lord  Bulkeley, 
the  stone  had  been  detached  from  the  situation  it  had  occupied  during  two  centuries,  I 
beheld  the  original,  which  had  been  so  strangely  misrepresented.  The  connection 
between  the  sculpture  and  the  inscription  now  became  obvious.  On  the  front  side  is  a 
basso-relievo  of  Apollo,  reposing  upon  his  lyre,  better  designed  than  any  work  of  a 
Romano-British  artist  I  have  ever  seen.  On  the  second  are  the  figures  of  two  priests 
in  long  robes  holding  the  head  of  some  horned  animal  between  them  ;  on  the  third  is 
the  inscription  ;  the  fourth  is  rough — had  been  originally  attached  to  a  wall.  It  now 
turns  out  to  be  a  dedication  to  Apollo  Aponus,  or  the  indolent  Apollo  (or,  as  it  may 
be  read,  Apollo  the  Healer),  the  god  of  medicine,  who  restores  health  by  relaxation 
or  repose,  on  behalf  of  an  emperor  who  unfortunately  is  not  mentioned.  This  accounts 
for  the  reposing  attitude  of  the  principal  figure.1 

This  altar  became  the  property  of  Dr.  Whitaker,  and,  with  other 
antiquities,  was  bequeathed  by  him  to  St.  John's  College,  Cambridge. 
A  rude  figure  of  Hercules  is  noticed  by  Whitaker  as  being,  in  like 
manner,  built  into  the  wall  of  Osbaldeston  Hall ;  this,  too,  was  sub- 
sequently removed  to  Tabley  Old  Hall,  in  Cheshire.  Other  remains 
were  brought  to  light  during  the  lifetime  of  this  historian,  and  received 
the  benefit  of  his  exhaustive  commentary.  In  the  year  1811  were 
exposed  the  foundations  of  an  extensive  Roman  temple  at  Ribchester. 
Some  workmen  were  employed  on  the  bank  of  the  Ribble,  opposite  the 
Church,  to  stop  the  encroachments  of  the  current,  when  they  came 
upon  the  bases  of  two  strong  and  well-cemented  walls,  standing  nearly 
north  and  south,  and  parallel  with  each  other  at  the  distance  of  about 

i  Hist.  Whalley,  new  edn.,  v.  i,  pp.  23-24. 


ROMAN  STATIONS— RIBCHESTER.  !7 

72  feet.  Portions  of  the  floor  of  the  edifice  were  found  within  the 
included  space,  and  close  to  the  southern  end  lay  a  large  inscribed  slab, 
which  unluckily  was  shattered  by  the  workmen.  On  the  fragments  being 
adjusted,  however,  the  complete  inscription  was  presented,  which  was 
deciphered  by  Whitaker  as  follows : — "  Dece  Minervce — Pro  salute 
Imperatoris  Alexandri  Augusti,  et  Julia,  matris  Domini  Nostri,  et 
castrorum  suorum,  et  Valcrii,  Crescentis  Fulviani  legati,  Provincice  Presidis, 
proprcetore,  Natalis  legatus  Prcepotenti  et  Regince  templum  a  solo  restituit  et 
dedicavit"  (To  the  Goddess  Minerva, — for  the  safety  of  the  Emperor 
Alexander  Augustus,  and  of  Julia,  mother  of  our  lord  and  of  his  camps, 
and  of  Valerius  Crescens  Fulvianus  his  lieutenant,  governor  of  the 
province,  the  proprietor,  Natalis  the  lieutenant,  restored  this  temple  and 
dedicated  it  to  the  most  powerful  goddess  and  queen).  The  historic 
value  of  this  inscription  is  considerable ;  it  proves  the  existence  of  a 
temple,  formerly  desolated  and  then  restored,  and  dedicated  to  the 
Goddess  Minerva,  to  an  image  of  whom  the  helmet  to  which  we 
have  made  reference  may  have  belonged  ;  and  it  adds  new  names  to  the 
previously-known  list  of  Roman  legates  in  Britain.  The  interest  aroused 
by  this  discovery  was  great,  and  two  years  afterwards,  in  the  summer  of 
1813,  renewed  investigations  were  made  on  the  spot,  with  successful 
results,  recorded  fully  in  the  History  of  Richmondshire1 : — 

Leave  having  been  obtained  to  dig  in  the  adjoining  gardens,  between  the  river 
and  the  churchyard,  the  first  appearances,  at  the  depth  of  about  three  feet,  were  a 
stratum  of  charcoal,  evidently  formed  by  the  conflagration  of  the  roof,  and  nearly  in 
the  centre  a  cavity  in  the  earth  had  been  made,  by  the  uniting  of  the  ends  of  the 
beams  at  their  fall,  large  enough  to  contain  a  man  sitting.  Beneath  this  was  a 
confused  mass  of  large  amphoroe,  some  almost  entire  at  first,  and  many  beautiful 
remnants  of  paterae  in  the  red  Samian  ware,  mingled  with  which  lay  several  human 
skeletons,  all  of  the  largest  size,  in  every  direction.  Every  appearance  about  the 
place  indicated  that  it  had  been  taken  by  storm,  and  that  the  defenders  had  been  buried 
in  the  ruins  of  the  roof;  but  the  absence  of  tiles  or  slates  seemed  to  prove  that  the 
outer  covering  of  the  building  had  been  previously  stripped  by  the  assailants.  Here, 
too,  was  found  a  very  curious  Roman  statera  or  steelyard,  very  exactly  graduated,  and 
a  singular  bodkin  of  polished  stone.  The  progress  of  discovery  was  once  more 
suspended,  till  the  sexton,  digging  a  grave  where  no  interment  had  taken  place  before, 
on  the  left  hand  of  the  entrance  of  the  churchyard,  found  the  base  of  a  column  and  an 
anta  or  square  moulded  comer  of  the  naos  itself,  upright  and  in  their  original 
situations.  Measurements  were  now  accurately  made  from  the  place  where  the  inscrip- 
tion was  found  (which  must  have  been  the  front  of  the  building)  to  the  base  of  the 
column.  This  gave  the  entire  length,  excepting  one  intercolumniation,  for  the  whole 
had  evidently  had  a  peristyle.  The  distance  of  the  anta  from  the  column,  by  the  rules  of 
architecture,  gave  the  distance  also  between  column  and  column  ;  by  which  data, 
with  the  help  of  a  very  conspicuous  line  of  mortar  about  45  feet  westward  in  the 
churchyard,  the  site  of  the  west  wall  was  ascertained  ;  a  ground  plan  of  the  building 

i    V.  ii,  p.  464. 

2 


I g  HISTORY    OF   BLACKBURN. 

was  laid  down;  after  which,  by  the  known  proportions  of  Doric  architecture,  a 
complete  elevation  was  obtained.  .  .  Let  all  these  circumstances  be  laid  together, 
and  it  will  scarcely  be  doubted  that  this  was  a  temple  of  Minerva,  restored  by 
command  of  Caracalla  ;  that  the  temple  had  been  stormed  and  burned  in  some 
eruption  of  the  Caledonians,  during  the  last  period  of  Roman  power  in  Britain  ;  and 
that  the  precious  object  of  worship  itself  had  been  carefully  deposited  in  the  earth,  on 
the  approach  of  the  threatened  danger.  Within  a  few  yards  of  the  east  wall  of  the 
temple  was  disclosed  the  statue  of  a  lion,  of  tolerable  workmanship,  which,  from  the 
roughness  of  one  side,  must  have  been  an  architectural  ornament. 

The  dimensions  of  the  temple,  deduced  by  architectural  rules 
from  the  above  data,  were — length,  112  feet;  breadth,  about  72  feet; 
with  sixteen  columns  in  the  front.  The  last  of  Whitaker's  discoveries 
was  that  of  the  lower  part  of  an  altar  among  the  stonework  of  a  dilapi- 
dated chimney  in  a  house  in  Ribchester.  The  inscription  upon  it  was 
almost  effaced.  In  the  year  1819,  the  Rev.  S.  J.  Allen,  of  Salesbury, 
reported  that  another  altar  was  found  in  the  basement  of  the  White  Bull 
Inn.  In  1829,  again,  some  Roman  coins  were  dug  up  at  Anchor  Hill, 
along  with  pieces  of  a  Saxon  cross  and  other  Saxon  relics.  In  1833, 
another  notable  discovery  was  recorded.  This  was  a  fine  altar  which 
was  taken  out  of  the  churchyard.  This  altar  stood  for  years  in  the  lobby 
of  the  Vicarage,  but  it  has  recently  been  sold  to  the  Marquis  of  Rothwell. 
The  altar  is  two  feet  six  inches  in  height,  one  foot  ten  inches  in  breadth, 
and  one  foot  seven  inches  in  depth.  Its  sides  are  ornamented  with  vine- 
branches,  and  on  its  front  is  an  inscription,  very  clearly  chiselled,  but 
mutilated  on  the  lower  left-hand  corner  by  the  breaking  of  the  altar 
block.  The  legible  lines  read  thus  : — "  Pro  salute  et  victories  invicti 
Imperatoris  Marti  Aurelii  Sever i  Antonini  Pii,  felids  Augusti,  et  Julia 
Augusta,  matri  Domini  et  castrorum"  (For  the  health  and  victory  of 
the  unconquered  Emperor  Marcus  Aurelius  Severus  Antoninus  Pius, 
the  fortunate  Augustus,  and  Julia  Augusta,  mother  of  the  Emperor  and 
of  the  camps.)  The  emperor  in  whose  behalf  this  altar  was  reared, 
Marcus  Aurelius  Antoninus,  reigned  from  A.D.  161  to  180,  within  which 
period  the  work  must  have  been  executed  and  dedicated.  When  found 
it  bore  marks  of  the  action  of  fire,  and  with  it  were  secured  a  fibula,  or 
brooch,  a  ring  of  brass,  a  bulla,  inscribed  with  some  illegible 
characters,  and  three  coins,  one  of  Trajan,  another  of  Valerian,  the  third 
with  its  superscription  obliterated. 

Numberless  small  matters  have  been  found  at  intervals  during  the 
last  forty  years,  both  at  Ribchester  itself  and  at  places  adjacent.  Many 
coins  of  gold  and  silver  have  fallen  into  the  hands  of  various  persons 
from  time  to  time.  In  the  year  1837,  workmen  digging  in  the  garden  of 
the  late  Mr.  Patchett,  surgeon,  reached  the  paved  floor  of  what  was 
suggested  to  be  a  Roman  bath,  but  might  as  probably  be  a  Roman  villa. 


SEPULCHRAL  SLAB  WITH  ROMAN  SCULPTURK  IN  RELIEF,  TAKEN  OUT 
OF  THE  KIBBLE.    OPPOSITE  ROCHESTER,  APRIL  STH,  1876. 

See  Appendix. 


ROMAN  STATIONS— RIBCHESTER.  19 

The  dimensions  of  the  discovered  apartment  were  ascertained  to  be 
thirty  feet  by  fifteen  feet.  The  walls  of  it  still  stood  four  feet  above  the 
floor,  and  were  three  feet  thick.  Some  stone  pillars,  about  a  foot  in 
height,  were  taken  out  in  the  excavation.  Many  of  the  tiles  of  the  floor 
were  removed,  and  underneath  was  found  a  layer  of  cement,  upon  a 
course  of  boulder-pavement  similar  to  that  of  the  Roman  causeways. 
At  Harwood  Fold,  in  the  township  of  Clayton-le-Dale,  by  which  passed 
the  Roman  road  from  Manchester  to  Ribchester,  there  was  found,  in 
1834,  a  perfect  and  finely-wrought  fibula  of  bronze  ;  this  passed  into  the 
possession  of  Mr.  John  Eccles,  of  Leyland.  The  figure  of  a  Roman 
standard-bearer,  at  Standen  Hall,  near  Clitheroe,  may  have  been  brought 
from  Ribchester. 

The  latest  systematic  scrutiny  of  the  vestiges  of  Roman  Ribchester 
took  place  August  2oth,  1850,  on  the  occasion  of.  the  visit  of  the 
Archaeological  Association.  For  this  Congress  extensive  excavations 
were  authorised,  and  numerous  articles  were  found  in  the  trenches  dug, 
both  near  the  western  wall  and  in  the  gardens  at  the  eastern  corner 
of  the  station.  A  statement  of  the  discoveries  here  was  prepared  for 
the  Association  by  the  late  Mr.  Harland  and  Mr.  Just.  The  excavations 
of  1850  "laid  bare  the  outer  wall  to  its  foundation  on  the  western  side. 
It  consists  of  loose  stones  without  mortar,  or  the  cement  grouting 
common  to  such  foundations.  On  the  opposide  side,  in  the  angle 
between  the  river  and  the  junction  of  the  brook,  a  large  quantity 
of  Roman  pottery  was  found,  consisting  of  numerous  fragments  of  Samian 
ware,  chiefly  of  paterae,  many  marked  with  the  potter's  name ;  one 
ampulla,  with  both  handles  perfect,  and  others  broken  ;  fragments 
of  glass,  of  common  pottery,  nails,  bones  of  animals,  in  which  were  tusks 
of  boars  and  swine,  five  Roman  coins,  three  of  which  are  silver,  but  are 
much  corroded  ;  two  of  the  coins  appear  to  be  coins  of  Vespasian  and 
Titus,  the  third  of  Vitelius ;  two  of  copper,  much  corroded,  but 
apparently  of  the  same  period."1  Similar  specimens  of  pottery,  of  various 
descriptions,  including  the  Samian  ware,  are  still  continually  turning  up  ; 
the  writer  has  himself  found  a  number  of  interesting  remains  of  this 
character. 

The  coins  recovered  here  embrace  within  their  dates  more  than 
three  centuries  of  the  epoch  of  the  Roman  occupation  of  Britain.  They 
begin  with  coins  of  Augustus,  B.C.  29  to  14;  and  include  coins  of  Titus 
Vespasian,  79  to  81,  A.D.  ;  of  Nerva,  96  to  98  ;  of  Trajan,  98  to  117  ; 
of  Hadrian,  117  to  138;  of  Commodus,  180  to  192;  of  Septimus 
Severus,  193  to  211;  of  Caracalla,  211  to  217;  of  Dioclesian,  the 
persecutor  of  the  Christians,  284  to  305  A.D.  ;  and  one  of  a  Christian 

i  Journal  Brit.  Archseol.  Assn.,  v.  vi,   p.  249. 


20  HISTORY    OF   BLACKBURN. 

emperor,  bearing  the  cross  and  the  motto  of  Constantine,  "  in  hoc  signo 
vinces?" 

Could  the  whole  of  the  objects  of  Roman  work  disinterred  at 
Ribchester  be  brought  together,  they  would  display  a  collection  as  varied 
and  as  rich  as  have  been  procured  from  any  single  station  of  the  Romans 
in  Britain.  But  they  are  now  irrecoverably  scattered,  and  are  chiefly 
hidden  from  public  view  in  the  cabinets  of  private  collectors.  The 
resident  student  in  Roman  archaeology  must  therefore  content  himself 
with  such  acquaintance  with  these  remains  as  he  can  make  through  the 
medium  of  written  descriptions  by  those  who  had  the  good  fortune 
to  inspect  them  on  their  discovery. 

The  recent  extension  of  the  churchyard  at  Ribchester  on  the  west 
side  of  the  Roman  site  may  lead  to  further  disclosures  of  buried  remains 
in  the  course  of  time.  In  the  excavation  of  graves  in  the  new  ground, 
the  Roman  level  is  reached  at  a  depth  of  three  or  four  feet,  denned  by 
charred  portions  of  oaken  beams,  and  a  layer  of  charcoal  in  which  are 
contained  fragments  of  Roman  pottery,  human  bones,  and  other  sugges- 
tive relics.  The  most  interesting  object  yet  secured  in  the  new  cemetery 
is  a  statera  (the  Roman  steelyard),  found  in  the  spring  of  1874  by  the 
sexton  when  digging  a  grave.  This  instrument  is  perfect  in  its  parts ; 
the  lever  is  of  brass,  with  distinct  graduation  and  numeral  letters ;  the 
suspenders  and  hooks  of  brass ;  and  the  two  weights  of  lead,  conical- 
shaped.  The  steelyard  lay  embedded  in  the  ashes  of  burnt  timber. 

THE  ROMAN  STATION  AT  WALTON. 

The  claim  of  a  Roman  foundation  has  been  advanced  on  behalf  of 
Walton-in-le-dale  in  this  parish.  It  is  but  recently  that  evidences  of  the 
existence  of  a  Roman  station  at  Walton  have  been  disclosed,  although 
the  probability  of  such  a  station  on  the  Ribble,  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Preston,  had  been  previously  recognised.  This  belief  was  the 
sequence  to  the  fact  that  a  Roman  military  road  traversed  the  west  side 
of  the  County,  and  crossed  the  Ribble  in  that  vicinity.  It  was  not  to 
be  supposed  that  the  Romans  would  leave  so  critical  a  point  as  the  ford 
of  a  large  river  unguarded  by  camp  or  fort,  or  permanent  garrison.  Mr. 
Sibson,  in  a  lengthy  contribution  on  the  Roman  ways  of  West  Lanca- 
shire, about  forty  years  ago  remarked  that  at  Walton  "  it  was  probable 
there  had  been  a  fortified  camp  to  protect  the  pass  of  the  Ribble." 
Some  writers  thought  that  the  station  might  have  stood  a  short  distance 
to  the  north  of  the  river,  to  reconcile  the  distances  from  station  to  station 
given  in  the  Iter  of  Antoninus,  if  this  route  were  accepted  as  the  Tenth 
Iter,  and  the  station  of  Coccium  were  placed  near  the  Ribble  on  this 

i  T.  Baines,  Lane,  and  Ches.,  v.  i,  p.  277. 


ROMAN   STATIONS— WALTON.  21 

line  of  road.     Proof  that  Walton  was  the  site  of  a  Roman  camp  was  at 
length  produced  by  Mr.  C.  Hardwick.     The  circumstances  that  led  to 
the  disclosure  were  accidental.     Mr.  Hardwick,  in  the  year  1855,  was  in 
quest  of  vestiges  of  the  battle  of  Cromwell  with  the  Scottish  army  in 
1648,   when  the  traces  of  Roman  occupation  manifested  themselves. 
The  workmen  of  the  Preston  Corporation  were  then  digging  for  stones 
and  gravel  on  the  Walton  bank  of  the  Ribble,  and  among  the  excavated 
material  were  some  coins  of  brass,  one  of  which  was  sufficiently  legible 
to  be  pronounced  a  Roman  coin  of  the  reign  of  Domitian.     The  spot 
at  which  these  remains  appeared  was  the  space  on  the  left  of  the  river, 
between  the  bridge  and  the  confluence  of  the  Darwen.      The  Ribble 
makes  a  quick  turn  just  before  passing  beneath  the  bridge,  and  proceeds 
at  a  right  angle  to  its  former  course  until  the  Darwen  joins  it,  and  thus 
the  site  is  protected  wholly  on  three  of  its  sides  by  the  two  rivers.     At 
present  the  channel  of  the  Darwen  before  its  junction  is  nearly  straight, 
but  it  formerly  made  a  great  bend  here,  almost  doubling  upon  itself,  and 
so  covered  the  Roman  site  on  the  greater  part  of  the  fourth  side.     The 
strength  of  the  position  as  a  military  post,  at  least  against  such  enemies 
as  the  Romans  had  to  contend  with,  is  obvious.     The  supposed  track 
of  the  Roman  road  from  Warrington  to  Lancaster  crosses  the  parallelo- 
gram near  its  eastern  limit.     Stimulated  by  the  indications  of  Roman 
tenure  upon  which  he  had  stumbled,  Mr.  Hardwick  prosecuted  his  inves- 
tigation with  diligence,  and  made  such  further  discoveries  as  to  leave  no 
room  for  doubt  that  a  Roman  fort  had  occupied  this  ground. 

The  Roman  antiquities  dug  up  at  Walton  embrace  the  usual  varieties 
of  pottery  found  at  the  imperial  stations.  There  are  some  fragmentary 
specimens  of  the  Samian  bowls,  with  their  fine  grain  and  durable  glaze, 
bright  red  colour,  and  beautiful  embossed  designs,  which  are  figured  by 
Mr.  Hardwick.  Two  portions  of  the  large  vases  of  the  common  red 
clay,  called  amphorae,  are  mentioned,  consisting  of  the  neck  and  handle 
of  those  vessels.  A  piece  of  the  rough  unglazed  earthenware,  marked 
after  turning  with  dots  and  figures  by  the  hand  of  the  potter,  was  also 
got.  A  great  number  of  pieces  of  the  coarse  blue-black  pottery, 
manufactured  in  urns  and  dishes  for  ordinary  domestic  use,  have  been 
picked  up  in  the  station.  All  the  above  are  similar  in  make  to  the 
varieties  of  Roman  pottery  occasionally  laid  bare  at  Ribchester.  In 
coins,  four  or  five  brass  ones,  of  the  reigns  of  Titus  Vespasian,  Domitian, 
and  Antoninus,  are  all  that  have  yet  been  secured  at  Walton.  Of  per- 
sonal ornaments,  a  brass  fibula  (the  Roman  brooch)  and  the  button 
of  another  in  bronze,  are  mentioned.  The  fibula,  which  is  three  and  a 
half  inches  long,  "  is  of  fine  brass,  ornamented  in  the  centre  with  a 
circular  figure  in  bright  red  enamel,  resembling  the  stone  setting  of  a 


22  HISTORY  OF    BLACKBURN. 

modern  finger  ring.1"  A  number  of  large  iron  nails,  fragments  of  lead 
and  copper,  and  of  vessels  in  pewter,  were  got  during  the  search,  along 
with  a  large  portion  of  the  lower  stone  of  a  quern,  or  hand  corn  mill ; 
fragments  of  "  riders,"  or  upper  quern  stones  ;  a  small  wheel  or  spindle 
head,  about  an  inch  and  a  half  in  diameter,  formed  of  a  fine  bluish 
stone  ;  portions  of  the  jaw  of  a  horse  or  ox,  with  other  bones ;  and 
"  the  core  of  a  horn  of  one  of  the  extinct  species  of  oxen,  the  Bos 
longifrons"  Some  additional  fragments  of  pottery  and  a  few  coins  have 
since  been  found  on  the  site.  The  above  constitute  the  greater  part 
of  the  antiquities  of  the  Roman  period  which  have  been  revealed  at 
Walton.  They  are  not  very  extensive  in  quantity,  or  remarkable  in  their 
character ;  but  they  suffice  to  attest  the  presence  and  prolonged  occu- 
pancy of  the  first  subjugators  of  Britain.  Probably  this  was  a  strictly 
military  post,  without  a  civil  settlement  superadded.  The  space  of  the 
plot  is  too  restricted  for  erections  on  any  great  scale,  and  the  situation  too 
low  and  damp  to  be  chosen  as  a  residence  by  a  civilian  population.  Mr. 
Hardwick  is  led  by  certain  indications  to  the  opinion  that  the  native  British 
had  a  fort  here  anterior  to  the  Roman  advent ;  and  it  is  hardly  likely 
they  would  neglect  to  occupy  such  a  point  for  the  command  of  the 
passage  of  the  river.  The  identification  of  Walton  as  a  Roman  station 
sheds  light  upon  the  Roman  system  of  fortified  places  in  Lancashire, 
if  it  does  not  altogether  clear  up  the  ambiguities  of  the  old  Itineraries. 

The  vestiges  of  an  ancient  fort  on  the  summit  of  Mellor  Moor,  are 
assumed  to  belong  to  a  minor  post  in  the  chain  of  Roman  military  sta- 
tions in  Ribblesdale.  This  camp  is  a  rectangular  entrenchment,  about 
100  feet  by  75  feet.  The  surrounding  fosse  has  partially  filled  up, 
but  its  depression  is  still  marked.  The  position  overlooks  Ribchester, 
some  three  miles  off,  northward,  in  the  recess  of  the  valley ;  at  the  same 
time  that  it  commands  the  lower  station  at  Walton,  and  the  estuary  of 
Ribble  from  Preston  to  Lytham,  at  some  point  on  which,  probably  near 
Freckleton,  was  the  Roman  harbour.  Mellor  Moor  was  therefore  well 
chosen  for  a  speculum  or  a  signalling-station  to  Ribchester  and  other 
stations  seaward,  that  could  communicate  immediately  by  means  of  a 
semaphore  worked  from  this  conspicuous  outpost.  To  the  south,  also, 
the  sentinel  on  Mellor  Moor  covered  with  his  observation  the  dozen 
miles  of  Roman  Road  from  Blacksnape  to  Longridge,  excepting  a  short 
length  of  it  down  in  the  Blackburn  valley. 

ROMANO-BRITISH  REMAINS  AT  WHITE-HALL,  DARWEN. 

Before  we  quit  the  period  of  Roman  dominion  in  Britain,  it  will  be 
needful  to  refer  to  sepulchral  remains,  attributed  to  that  era,  which  have 

i  Hist,  of  Preston,  p.  42. 


ROMANO-BRITISH   TUMULUS   AT  UARWEN.  23 

been  disclosed  in  this  parish.  The  presence  here  of  the  Romans,  as  the 
governing  race,  for  more  than  three  centuries,  influenced  to  a  large  extent 
the  manners  of  the  subject  aborigines.  The  Latin  language,  in  corrupted 
forms,  was  in  use  among  the  conquered  peoples ;  the  Roman  toga 
became  the  fashionable  garment  of  the  British  youth,  and  the  Roman 
paganism  supplanted  the  rites  of  native  Druidism.  Among  domestic 
arts,  the  Celtic-British  acquired  from  the  Romans  the  manufacture  of 
pottery,  and  in  ruder  forms  reproduced  the  bowls,  urns,  and  jars  of  the 
Roman  earthenware.  About  the  reign  of  Sylla  the  Roman  people  began 
generally  to  practice  the  burning  of  the  dead,  and  the  enclosure  of  the 
ashes  in  the  funeral  urn  for  deposition  in  the  tomb.  Following  the 
example,  the  Celtic  inhabitants  of  Britain  partially  abandoned  their  former 
mode  of  burying  the  bodies  of  their  dead  entire  for  the  method  of 
cremation.  Within  the  century  many  tumuli,  or  burial  mounds,  have 
been  opened  in  this  country  which  have  been  found  to  contain  earthen- 
ware urns  and  small  cup-like  vessels  filled  with  the  ashes  of  human  bones, 
a  circumstance  which  marks  a  distinction  between  the  sepulchral  mounds 
of  the  Romano-British  epoch,  and  the  barrows  erected  by  Saxon  and 
Dane  in  a  later  age.  In  some  districts  of  the  country,  however,  the 
system  of  cremation  survived  until  Saxon  times.  The  pottery  found  in 
the  Saxon  graves  is  more  finely  moulded  and  artistically  wrought  than 
the  British  cinerary  urns. 

An  interesting  discovery  of  sepulchral  remains,  apparently  of  the 
Roman-British  period,  was  made  in  Blackburn  Parish  in  the  month 
of  October,  1864.  Excavations  were  in  progress  to  prepare  the  founda- 
tions of  a  villa  at  White  Hall,  Over  Darwen,  on  the  estate  of  William 
Shorrock  Ashton,  Esq.,  when  the  workmen  fell  in  with  extensive 
relics  of  an  ancient  place  of  sepulture.  The  situation  of  these  remains 
was  a  mound  upon  the  top  of  the  knoll  which  rises  to  the  right  of  the 
road  to  Bolton,  a  short  distance  beyond  the  Bowling  Green  Mill,  in 
Darwen.  Upon  the  spot  now  stands  the  villa  of  Ashleigh.  The  Roman 
Road  from  Manchester  to  Ribchester  passes  over  Blacksnape  a  mile  or 
so  to  the  eastward.  Upon  the  communication  of  this  important  discovery 
to  Mr.  Ashton,  that  gentleman  took  steps  to  preserve  the  whole  series 
of  remains.  Subsequently,  Mr.  Ashton  supplied  particulars  of  these 
to  Mr.  Llewellynn  Jewett,  F.S.A.,  who  published  a  paper  on  the  subject 
in  The  Reliquary^  Mr.  Jewett  describes  the  barrow  and  its  contents  as 
follows : — 

The  barrow  overlooked  the  Darwen  valley  on  the  east,  but  was  sheltered  by  the 
high  hills  which  separate  that  river  from  the  Roddlesworth  on  the  west.  It  was 
within  the  grounds  of  White  Hall,  and  near  to  Low  Hill  House,  the  seat  of  Eccle$ 

i  V.  vi,  pp.  137-8. 


24  HISTORY    OF   BLACKBURN. 

Shorrock,  Esq.  It  was  formed  on  the  summit  of  a  natural  mound,  and  is  about  thirty 
yards  in  diameter  ;  its  height  from  the  natural  surface  of  the  hill  varying  from  one  to 
ten  or  twelve  feet.  The  centre  of  the  barrow  was,  to  the  extent  of  about  six  feet  in 
diameter,  sunk  in  its  centre.  Some  half  century  ago  the  barrow  was  planted  with 
trees,  and  it  is  only  recently  that  the  site — a  most  charming  one  for  a  villa  residence — 
has  been  determined  to  be  appropriated  to  building  purposes.  The  trees  were  felled 
in  the  autumn  of  1864,  and  it  was  during  the  course  of  the  excavations  for  the  founda- 
tions of  the  house  that  the  real  nature  of  the  mound  was  discovered.  A  careful 
examination  of  the  place  was  made  by  Mr.  Ashton,  and  the  result  was  the  bringing  to 
light  of  no  less  than  ten  distinct  interments.  One  of  these  was  simply  a  heap  of  burnt 
bones  without  any  cist  or  urn  ;  and  others  were  enclosed  in  urns,  only  one  of  which  was 
found  in  an  inverted  position.  On  the  top  of  each  of  the  cinerary  urns  was  a  rough  flat 
stone,  and  they  were  each  surrounded  and  covered  by  small  stones  carefully  piled  up. 
Two  of  the  cinerary  urns  were  found  in  a  tolerably  perfect  state  ;  the  others  were  very 
much  broken. 

Two  small  vessels,  usually  called  "incense  cups,"  were  found  within 
the  urns.  The  most  perfect  of  the  urns  is  twelve  inches  in  height, 
and  ten  inches  in  diameter  at  the  top.  It  is  circular  in  form ;  the  lower 
portion  somewhat  resembles  a  common  flower-pot,  narrowing  quickly  to 
its  base ;  at  the  central  and  widest  part  the  sides  of  the  vessel  are  vertical 
for  three  or  four  inches ;  above  is  a  deep  rim  or  collar.  The  ornamentation 
consists  of  a  number  of  dotted  indentations,  produced  by  the  point  of  a 
stick  while  the  clay  was  unbaked.  This  urn  was  found  filled  with 
burnt  bones,  on  the  top  of  which  lay  the  incense  cup,  also  containing 
human  ashes.  The  dimensions  of  the  minor  vessel  were  one  and  three- 
quarter  inches  in  height,  two  and  a  half  inches  in  diameter  at  the 
mouth,  and  four  inches  in  diameter  at  the  middle.  This  vessel  is  void 
of  ornament.  The  second  urn  figured  in  the  woodcut  is  considerably 
smaller  than  the  one  already  described,  being  but  seven  and  a  half  inches 
in  height,  and  seven  inches  in  diameter.  The  shape  when  complete 
(it  is  materially  mutilated)  was  substantially  similar  to  the  other.  Instead 
of  the  rows  of  indentations  on  the  upper  exterior  of  the  larger  urn,  this 
vessel,  upon  its  middle  part  and  collar,  is  "  elaborately  covered  with  a 
reticulated  ornament,  produced  in  the  usual  manner  by  pressing  a  twisted 
thong  into  the  pliant  clay."  The  contents  of  this  urn,  too,  were  charred 
bone  fragments  and  an  incense  cup  of  the  same  make  with  the  former 
smaller  vessel.  The  other  seven  urns  had  been  reduced  to  fragments. 
Some  were  more  ornamental  in  their  reticulations  than  either  of  the 
examples  described.  One  fragment  of  the  collar  of  an  urn  is  of  the 
"  herring-bone  "  pattern,  produced  with  the  twisted  thong  indented  into 
the  soft  clay.  The  vessels  and  other  sepulchral  relics  collected  on  this 
discovery  were  presented  by  Mr.  Ashton  to  the  Museum  of  the  Historic 
Society  of  Lancashire  and  Cheshire,  and  are  now  exhibited  in  the  Public 
Free  Museum  at  Liverpool. 


CINERARY  URN  AND  INCENSE-CUP,  FOUND  AT 

WHITE-HALL,  OVER  DARWEN.  [PAGE  24 


THE  ROMAN  DEPARTURE.  25 

The  story  of  the  Roman  occupation  in  Britain  closes  upon  a  scene 
of  national  helplessness  and  desolation.     The  conquest  of  the  country 
by  the  Roman  generals  was  marked  by  many  acts  of  ruthless  repression ; 
but  the   decay  of  the  Roman  power  was  a  worse  misfortune  to  the 
British  than  the  former  triumph.     Relying  upon  the  arms  of  their  martial 
masters,  the  native  people  had  long  neglected  the  art  of  war ;  and  when 
their  protectors  had  gone  they  became  the  prey  of  fierce  hordes,  that 
rushed  into  the  gap  left  by  the  Romans  from  every  adjacent  territory. 
Over  the  greater  part  of  this  northern  region  bands  of  Pictish  robbers 
prowled   unchecked,    preying   upon    the    inhabitants    of  the    Romano- 
British  towns  from  which  the  garrisons  had  departed,  and  obliterating  with 
barbarous  avidity  every  remnant  of  civilisation.     In  the  year  418  the 
Romans  "  collected  all  the  treasures  that  were  in  Britain,  and  some  they 
hid  in  the  earth,  so  that  no  one  has  since  been  able  to  find  them  ;  and 
some  they  carried  with  them  to  Gaul.1"    The  ruins  of  Roman  Ribchester 
reveal   tokens   that  the  city  had  been  carried  by  sudden  assault,   its 
temples  and  shrines  consumed  by  fire,  and  its  feeble  defenders  buried  in 
ruins.     The  fate  of  Ribchester  was  but  the  general  doom  of  the  fifty 
beautiful   walled   towns  the    Romans  left  behind  them  in  Britain  on 
their  final  migration.     Three  hundred  years  of  contact  with  the  foremost 
race  in  the  then-civilised  world  had  given  the  Britons  a  glimpse  of  the 
blessings  of  a  cultured  state  of  society ; — but  now,  for  a  melancholy 
space,  the  land  was  to  lapse  into  the  miseries  of  a  worse  than  the  original 
barbarism ;   and  the  dark  disc  of  Gothic   Paganism  was  to  eclipse  the 
genial  orb  of  Christianity,  newly  risen  upon  Britain's  horizon. 

It  is  probable  that  before  the  relinquishment  of  the  land  by  the 
Romans,  the  Christian  religion  had  made  its  way  to  our  shores,  and  had 
been  embraced  by  no  small  proportion  of  the  native  populations.  But 
the  appearance  of  the  Saxons  and  Angles,  pagans  of  the  most  ferocious 
type,  extinguished  the  nascent  faith  in  those  districts  of  the  country  over 
which  their  power  extended.  In  the  time  of  King  Edwin,  a  fresh  move- 
ment took  place  for  the  evangelization  of  Britain.  Pope  Gregory  the 
Great,  on  his  accession,  sent  to  England  forty  missionaries,  under  the 
charge  of  Augustine.  Edwin,  king  of  Northumbria,  having  espoused 
Edilberga,  daughter  of  Ethelbert  the  Kentish  king,  a  Christian  princess, 
embraced  the  same  faith,  and  when  his  queen  set  out  for  the  Northum- 
brian court  she  was  accompanied  by  Paulinus,  a  zealous  missionary 
of  the  Roman  Church.  A.D.  627  Paulinus  was  consecrated  archbishop 
of  Northumbria,  and  Christianity  became  the  State  religion  of  the 
northern  Angles.  The  king,  with  all  his  nobles,  was  baptised  at  York 
on  Easter  Sunday,  627,  and  the  common  people  of  the  Anglian  race, 

i  Saxon  Chron.,  Bohn's  edn.,  p.  308. 


26  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

following  the  royal  example,  adopted  the  Christian  name  in  great 
numbers.  It  is  recorded  that  no  fewer  than  10,000  converts  were 
baptised  at  one  time  by  Paulinus.  The  inhabitants  of  Lancashire 
listened  to  the  preaching  of  Paulinus,  and  accepted  the  new  faith. 
Churches  were  planted  in  various  parts  of  our  county.  In  the  Hundred 
of  Blackburn,  Paulinus  prosecuted  his  propaganda  with  great  success, 
and  the  mother-church  of  the  district  was  founded  by  him  at  Whalley, 
about  the  year  625.  In  the  churchyard  at  Whalley  are  seen  interesting 
monuments  of  the  memorable  event  of  the  introduction  of  Chris- 
tianity here,  in  the  three  antique  crosses  which  are  believed  to  have  been 
erected  in  the  time  of  Paulinus,  and  probably  by  his  direction.  There 
is  a  tradition  that  twelve  Saxon  castles  were  reared  in  the  part  of  Lanca- 
shire south  of  the  Ribble  during  Edwin's  reign.  The  sites  of  these 
castles  are  placed  at  Whalley  and  Walton  (in  this  district),  at  Childwall, 
Winwick,  Blackstone,  Sephton,  Standish,  Penwortham,  Wigan,  Rochdale, 
Middleton  and  Bury.  Edwin,  first  Christian  king  of  Northumbria,  was 
killed  in  battle,  A.D.  633,  and  his  kingdom  spoiled.  Paulinus  died  in 
the  year  644. 

It  would  be  tedious  to  pursue  step  by  step  the  history  of  the  Saxon 
dominion  in  the  North  of  England.  It  is  the  story  of  a  succession 
of  civil  wars  and  usurpations,  of  the  rise  and  fall  of  petty  dynasties, 
undiversified  by  the  record  of  local  transactions  of  interest.  Towards 
the  close  of  the  eighth  century,  however,  an  event  of  national  import- 
ance transpired  in  the  valley  of  the  Ribble.  At  this  period  the  nation 
of  the  Northumbrian  Angles  was  distressed  by  the  quarrels  of  internal 
factions.  At  Easter-tide,  in  the  year  774,  says  the  Saxon  Chronicle, 
"the  Northumbrians  drove  their  King  Alcred  from  York,  and  took 
Ethelred,  the  son  of  Moll,  to  be  their  lord  ;  he  reigned  four  years." 
In  778  the  opposite  party  had  its  turn  of  triumph.  "  Ethelbald  and 
Herbert  slew  three  high  reeves,  and  then  Athwold  obtained  the  kingdom 
[of  Northumbria]  and  drove  Ethelred  out  of  the  country ;  and  he 
reigned  ten  years."  A.D.  789  saw  the  downfall  and  death  of  Athwold, 
who  was  slain  by  Siga  in  October,  and  Osred,  the  son  of  Alcred,  then 
succeeded.  In  the  subsequent  year  Osred,  too,  was  betrayed  and 
banished,  and  Ethelred  regained  the  kingdom.  These  brief  chronicles 
show  into  what  a  state  of  confusion  the  regal  succession  had  at  this  time 
fallen  in  Northumbria.  To  increase  its  wretchedness,  the  kingdom  was 
afflicted  by  a  severe  famine  in  the  year  793,  and  the  Northmen  had  now 
begun  to  harass  the  dwellers  on  its  coasts.  In  the  same  year  "  dire 
forewarnings  came  over  the  land  of  the  Northumbrians,  and  miserably 
terrified  the  people ;  there  were  excessive  whirlwinds  and  lightnings ; 


BATTLE  TX  BILLINGTON.  27 

and  fiery  dragons  were  seen  flying  in  the  air."  Ethelred,  like  his 
predecessors,  was  deposed  and  killed  by  his  own  people  in  May,  794, 
and,  after  many  months  of  anarchy,  Eardulf  succeeded  to  the  perilous 
and  unstable  dignity  of  the  Northumbrian  crown. 

Three  years  afterwards  a  rival  faction  had  gathered  head,  and  was 
prepared  to  contest  with  Eardulf  the  government  of  the  kingdom.  The 
decisive  battle  between  the  King  and  the  abettors  of  this  revolt  took 
place  at  Langho,  near  Whalley,  in  this  parish.  In  the  year  798,  Eardulf 
was  compelled  to  take  the  field  against  the  leaders  of  a  formidable  revolt 
in  the  western  parts  of  Northumbria.  The  chiefs  of  the  conspiracy 
were  Wada  and  with  him  Alric,  both  implicated  in  a  former  rebellion,  that 
had  ended  in  the  deposition  and  death  of  the  previous  king,  Ethelred. 
Eardulf  encountered  the  insurgent  army  on  the  frontier  of  his  kingdom 
(for  the  country  south  of  Kibble  was  then  a  part,  not  of  the  Saxon 
kingdom  of  Northumbria,  but  of  that  of  Mercia).  Wada  and  his  army 
had  probably  been  driven  upon  neutral  territory  before  the  decisive  battle 
took  place.  At  all  events,  it  was  here  that  the  rebellion  of  Wada  was 
crushed.  The  account  of  the  battle,  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle^ 
is  rendered: — "A.D.  798.  This  year  there  was  a  great  fight  at 
Whalley  (Whsellsege),  in  the  land  of  the  Northumbrians,  during  Lent, 
on  the  4th  before  the  Nones  of  April ;  and  there  Alric,  the  son  of  Herbert, 
was  slain,  and  many  with  him."  Another  chronicler,  Simeon  of 
Durham,  not  only  mentions  Whalley  as  near  the  place  of  conflict,  but 
more  closely  indicates  the  spot.  His  account  is  as  follows  : — "  A  con- 
federacy was  made  by  the  murderers  of  King  Ethelred ;  Wada,  chief  in 
that  conspiracy,  with  his  force  went  against  Eardulf,  in  a  place  called  by 
the  English  Billangahoh,  near  Walalege,  and  on  either  side  many  were 
slain  ;  Wada,  the  chief,  with  his  men,  was  put  to  flight,  and  King 
Eardulf  regally  achieved  victory  over  the  enemies."  The  name 
Billangahoh,  here  assigned  to  the  place  of  battle,  may  be  taken  to  refer 
to  the  line  of  low  hills  near  to  the  Kibble  bank,  between  Hacking  and 
Braddyll.  The  present  name  of  Langho,  given  to  the  inner  side  of  this 
elevated  ground,  apparently  is  a  contraction  of  the  Anglo-Saxon 
Billangahoh.  The  historian  of  Whalley  endeavoured  to  elucidate  the 
position  of  the  battle,  the  written  record  of  which  he  found  confirmed 
by  an  oral  tradition  of  some  ancient  battle  on  the  lower  ground 
of  Billington.  On  the  right  bank  of  the  Kibble,  opposite  Hacking 
Hall,  are  two  large  tumular  mounds,  rising  from  the  level  ground  on  the 
inner  side  of  the  bend  of  the  river  at  this  point.  The  mounds  are 
plainly  artificial  in  structure,  and  probably  monumental  in  intent.  The 
tumulus  nearest  to  the  river  is  a  prominent  object,  and  bears  the  name 
of  the  "  Lowe."  Into  this  mound  Whitaker  had  some  excavation 


28  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

made  about  the  year  1815,  but  found  the  work  heavy,  and  gave  it  up 
without  reaching  the  centre  of  the  tumulus,  where  the  relics  of  sepulture 
should  lie.  Nearly  forty  years  since,  a  discovery,  apparently  connected 
with  the  battle  of  Billangahoh,  was  made  on  the  Billington  side  of  the 
Ribble,  in  the  flat  ground  called  Brockhole  Eses,  near  the  river. 
Raines  has  a  note  of  this  disclosure  : — "In  the  year  1836,  as  Thomas 
Hubbersty,  the  farmer  at  Brockhole,  was  removing  a  large  mound 
of  earth  in  Brockhole  Eases,  about  500  yards  from  the  bank  of  the 
Ribble,  on  the  left  of  the  road  leading  from  the  house,  he  discovered  a 
Kist-vaen,  formed  of  rude  stones,  containing  some  large  human  bones 
and  the  rusty  remains  of  some  spear  heads  of  iron.  The  whole 
crumbled  to  dust  on  exposure  to  the  air.1"  The  occupation-road  from 
Brockhole  farm-house  passes  close  by  the  site  of  the  mound  in  the 
direction  of  the  river  to  the  ford  at  this  place,  the  only  one  across  the 
Ribble  for  some  miles  up  and  down  the  river.  The  tumulus  was  so 
completely  cleared  away  at  the  time  of  the  finding  of  the  central  Kist- 
vaen,  that  no  trace  of  it  remains  ;  but  its  position  has  been  indicated 
on  the  large  ordnance  map.  This  mound  must  have  been  smaller  in 
bulk  than  the  great  mounds  across  the  river  opposite  Hacking,  or  the 
farmer  would  not  have  undertaken  to  level  it.  If,  therefore,  the  larger 
mounds  be  also  sepulchral,  and  date  from  the  same  event,  they  may  be 
supposed  to  contain  more  important  relics  than  the  Brockhole  tumulus. 
This  battle,  by  which  the  fate  of  a  kingdom  was  decided,  and  in  which  a 
king  was  in  command  on  one  side,  was  no  insignificant  conflict ;  the 
combatants  would  probably  number  some  thousands  ;  and  the  battle- 
field might  extend  not  only  to  Hacking  but  over  the  whole  plain 
of  lower  Billington  on  the  west  side  of  the  Calder ; — may  indeed  have 
begun  on  the  Whalley  side  of  that  river ;  have  attained  its  deadliest 
fierceness  about  Hacking ;  and  have  closed  on  the  slope  between 
Brockhole  and  Braddyll,  where  the  fugitives  of  Wada's  broken  army 
would  be  driven  in  hurried  flight  to  the  ford  of  the  Ribble.  The 
memorial  of  this  important  battle,  fought  nearly  eleven  hundred  years 
ago,  inscribes  the  names  of  Billington  and  Whalley  for  the  first  time 
upon  the  page  of  written  English  history.  King  Eardulf  s  victory  here- 
abouts did  not  prevent  the  formation  of  fresh  combinations  against 
him,  which  brought  about  his  overthrow  and  banishment  eight  years 
afterwards,  in  A.D.  806. 

Throughout  the  ninth  and  tenth  centuries,  a  period  marked  by  the 
desperate  conflict  of  the  Saxons  and  Angles  with  the  Danes  and  North- 
men for  possession  of  the  soil  of  England,  in  which  the  Saxon  King 
Alfred  appears  as  the  most  noble  and  heroic  actor,  no  event  of  historic 

i  Notit.  Cestr.,  v.  ii,  pt.  ii,  p.  286. 


BATTLE  OF  BRUNANBURH. 


29 


significance  is  known  to  have  had  these  eastern  parts  of  Lancashire  for 
its  theatre,  unless  the  hypothesis  of  recent  origin  be  accepted,  which 
places  the  site  of  the  famed  battle  of  Briincinburh  (A.D.  937),  upon  the 
hills  near  the  border  of  the  county  about  Burnley.  The  battle  was  the 
decisive  close  of  the  campaign  between  the  Anglo-Saxon  army  under  the 
command  of  King  Athelstan,  and  the  forces  of  a  Dano-Scottish  con- 
federacy led  by  Anlaf  the  Dane,  and  Constantirie  King  of  the  Scots, 
wherein  the  latter  were  routed  with  great  slaughter.  Much  difficulty  has 
been  found  in  determining  the  spot  on  which  this  battle  took  place,  and 
several  sites  have  been  suggested  by  historians  and  antiquaries,  on 
trifling  grounds,  in  Northumberland,  Yorkshire,  Lincolnshire,  and 
Cheshire.  Mr.  T.  T.  Wilkinson,  F.R.A.S.,  has,  however,  presented  a 
series  of  circumstances  tending  to  his  assumption  that  the  veritable 
battle-field  of  Brunanburh  is  in  the  vicinity  of  Burnley.1  The  main 
grounds  of  this  conclusion  are,  that  the  meaning  of  the  Saxon  name 
Brunanburh  is,  in  modern  English,  the  fortified  place  by  the  Brun ;  that 
on  the  slopes  of  the  hills  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river  Brun  by  Burnley 
are  found  abundant  traces  of  extensive  military  earthworks,  attributed  to 
Saxon  and  Roman  times ;  that  local  tradition  and  the  existing  nomen- 
clature of  the  neighbourhood  indicate  the  occurrence  of  some  ancient 
battle  there  ;  and  that  the  probabilities  point  to  the  west  rather  than  to 
the  east  coast  of  the  Northumbrian  Saxon  Kingdom  as  the  scene 
of  the  advance,  defeat,  and  retreat  of  Anlaf  s  expedition,  which  was 
organised  in  Ireland,  and  the  remnants  of  which,  according  to  the 
Saxon  chronicles,  retired  in  their  ships  to  Dublin  after  this  signal 
discomfiture.  The  proofs  of  Mr.  Wilkinson,  if  not  absolute,  are  strong 
enough  to  demand  attention,  if  not  to  justify  the  introduction  of  the 
victory  of  Athelstan,  in  the  year  937,  as  a  prominent  feature  of  the 
archceologic  record  of  the  district. 

DISCOVERY  OF  A  GREAT  DANISH  HOARD  AT 
CUERDALE. 

A  highly  important  disclosure  bearing  upon  the  Danish  occupation 
of  England,  reported  upon  about  thirty-five  years  ago  in  this  parish, 
seems  to  require  the  association  of  some  such  transaction  as  the 
Brunanburh  battle  for  its  explanation.  -I  refer  to  the  extraordinary 
discovery  of  coins  and  other  treasure  of  the  Saxon  and  Danish  period, 
made  in  the  township  of  Cuerdale,  in  Ribblesdale,  at  the  western 
comer  of  the  Parish  of  Blackburn.  If  the  army  of  Anlaf  the  Dane  was 
vanquished  by  Athelstan  near  Burnley,  in  the  campaign  decided  at 
Brunanburh,  its  best  line  of  retreat  to  the  sea-coast  would  be  the  valley 

i  Hist.  Soc.  L.  and  C,  Trans,  v.  ix,  pp.  21-42. 


3o  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

of  the  Calder  to  its  confluence  with  the  Kibble,  and  thence  the  valley 
of  the  Kibble  to  the  estuary,  where  the  Danish  ships  might  have  been 
anchored.  It  will  be  seen  in  the  remarks  which  follow  how  the  depo- 
sition of  the  mass  of  Danish  treasure  on  the  Ribble  bank  at  Cuerdale 
appears  to  synchronise  with  and  confirm  the  conception  of  the  local 
determination  of  a  memorable  tenth-century  war. 

The  discovery  of  the  celebrated  collection  of  ancient  coins  and 
valuables  at  Cuerdale  happened  on  the  i5th  of  May,  1840.  Floods 
in  the  Ribble  had  inflicted  damage  upon  its  banks,  displacing  the  earth 
which  supported  a  wall  constructed  to  preserve  the  channel  and  to 
prevent  encroachments  upon  the  land ;  and  workmen  were  employed  in 
carrying  earth  to  repair  the  mischief.  While  delving  for  material  they 
lighted  upon  an  enormous  hoard  of  treasure,  a  little  below  the  surface 
of  the  ground,  at  a  distance  of  about  forty  yards  from  the  Ribble.  The 
hoard  had  originally  been  deposited  in  a  leaden  chest,  enclosed  in  a 
wooden  one,  but  both  of  these  receptacles  had  become  much  decom- 
posed. The  treasure  consisted  largely  of  silver  coins,  and  also  of  a 
number  of  ingots  or  lumps  of  silver,  silver  armlets,  brooches,  rings, 
and  other  ornaments.  The  discovery  is  said  to  be  the  most  remarkable 
and  extensive  of  the  kind  ever  made  in  this  country.  The  coins  were 
the  most  important  portion  of  the  collection ;  their  exact  number,  how- 
ever, cannot  be  stated  ;  for  although,  on  the  discovery  being  made 
known,  the  treasure  was  promptly  claimed  on  behalf  of  the  Crown,  a 
considerable  number  of  the  articles  had  been  secreted  or  disposed 
of  by  the  finders  before  the  claim  was  enforced,  and  fell  into  the  hands 
of  private  collectors.  On  the  22nd  August  following  an  inquisition 
was  held  at  Preston  concerning  the  treasure,  at  which  it  was  found  that 
the  coins  secured  to  the  Crown  numbered  about  6,800,  weighing  304 
ounces  troy;  and  that  the  silver  ingots  included  sixteen  large  bars, 
weighing  132  ounces.  The  bulk  of  the  treasure  which  accrued  to  the 
Crown  was  distributed  to  the  British  Museum  and  other  public 
collections,  including  the  University  Museums  of  Oxford,  Cambridge, 
and  Glasgow.  A  selection  of  coins  and  ornaments  was  presented  to 
Mr.  Assheton,  lord  of  the  manor  of  Cuerdale.  Specimens  were  also 
sent  to  the  Bibliotheque  de  Roi,  Paris,  and  to  the  Danish  Museum  at 
Copenhagen.  A  discovery  so  extensive  and  unique  drew  the 
attention  of  many  distinguished  archaeologists  and  numismatists,  British 
and  foreign ;  and,  before  the  distribution  of  the  treasure,  opportunity 
was  afforded  to  competent  authorities  for  a  minute  inspection  of  the 
coins  and  ornaments.  The  late  Mr.  Edward  Hawkins,  of  the  British 
Museum  and  the  Numismatic  Society,  published  the  results  of  his 
scrutiny  in  several  elaborate  papers, — those  devoted  to  a  description 


DANISH  TREASURE  FOUND  AT  CUERDALE.  3I 

of  the  coins  appearing  in  the  Numismatic  Chronicle?  and  the  remarks 
upon  the  ingots,  armlets,  and  other  ornaments  in  the  Journal  of  the 
Archceological  Institute?'  Mr.  Lindsay,  author  of  a  work  on  the  Coinage 
of  the  Heptarchy,  also  gave  a  synopsis  of  these  coins;  and  the  eminent 
Danish  archaeologist  Worsaae,  after  careful  investigations,  reviewed  the 
collection  in  his  work  on  The  Danes  and  Norwegians  in  E?igland?  Dr. 
Skaife,  of  Blackburn,  an  experienced  numismatist,  contributed  a  letter  to 
the  journals  upon  the  subject.  A  summary  of  the  descriptions  given 
of  the  contents  of  the  treasure  chest  is  subjoined. 

"  The  coins  consisted  of  Anglo-Saxon  pennies,  pieces  of  the  second 
race  of  the  French  kings,  a  few  oriental  coins,  and  some  which  partially 
resemble  both  the  Saxon  and  French  series,  which  certainly  do  not 
belong  to  the  dynasty  of  any  country,  but  were  probably  struck  by  some 
of  those  piratical  northern  chiefs  who  obtained  at  different  times  a 
temporary  authority  both  in  England  and  France."  The  dates  of  the 
various  reigns  of  English  and  foreign  princes  whose  coins  are  exampled, 
extend  from  about  the  year  860  to  930.  This  latter  date  must  therefore 
indicate  approximately  the  period  at  which  the  secretion  of  the  treasure 
took  place.  The  date  of  the  battle  of  Brunanburh  being  within  seven 
years  of  the  date  of  the  latest  coinage  found  at  Cuerdale,  it  is  easy  to 
conjecture  that  the  campaign  of  Anlaf,  of  which  Brunanburh  was  the 
catastrophe,  was,  if  fought  in  Lancashire,  the  occasion  of  the  deposit 
of  this  immense  collection  of  coins  and  bullion  at  Cuerdale.  The 
deposit  was  evidently  made  by  the  Danish  party  during  their  temporary 
tenure  of  West  Lancashire.  It  has  been  suggested  that  the  hoard  might 
be  a  Saxon  one ;  but  it  is  hard  to  understand  why,  if  the  Saxon  authori- 
ties had  ever  been  under  the  necessity  thus  to  secrete  their  military 
chest,  they  should  not  have  taken  steps  for  its  recovery  after  the  district 
had  been  cleared  of  its  invaders.  The  wealth  here  forsaken  was  too 
great  to  have  been  forgotten  by  its  depositors,  or  intentionally  suffered 
to  remain  in  the  earth.  But  if  the  Danes  after  their  defeat,  unable  to 
carry  off  their  chest,  buried  it  at  Cuerdale,  they  probably  did  not  return 
to  the  immediate  neighbourhood  at  any  future  time,  at  least  within  the 
same  generation,  and  might  thus  have  no  chance  of  regaining  the 
treasure.  Other  Danish  invasions  did,  indeed,  afterwards  occur,  but 
they  took  different  directions.  There  are,  moreover,  intrinsic  grounds 
for  the  conviction  that  the  secretion  of  the  treasure  was  the  act  of  the 
Danes.  The  singular  admixture  in  the  hoard  of  Scandinavian,  French, 
and  other  continental  coins,  with  a  number  of  Anglo-Saxon  coins, 
strengthens  this  presumption.  The  roving  chiefs  of  the  Danes  and 
Northmen  would  gather  quantities  of  the  coinage  of  France  and  other 

i  Vol.  v,  p.  104  et  seq.         2  Vol.  iv,  pp.  111-130.         3  Page  49  et  seq. 


32  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

European  States  which  they  overran  about  this  time,  and  their  military 
treasury  would  be  replenished  from  'these  sources.  To  the  mixed 
moneys  of  foreign  mintage  Anlaf  and  his  allies  brought  with  them  on 
their  invasion  of  England  would  be  added  collections  of  Saxon  coin 
taken  from  the  Saxon  inhabitants  of  England  during  their  occupation 
of  portions  of  the  country  ;  and  so  we  can  account  for  the  curious 
conglomeration  of  native  and  foreign  coins  displayed  in  the  Cuerdale 
treasure.  Had  the  hoard  been  the  property  of  Saxon  chiefs,  one  can 
hardly  suppose  that  it  should  have  presented  such  a  variety  of  coinage, 
and  the  Saxon  element  would  have  predominated  over  the  Scandinavian, 
which  it  does  not,  there  being,  as  Worsaae  remarks,  nearly  three 
thousand  Scandinavian  and  one  thousand  French  coins,  with  other 
foreign  examples,  to  two  thousand  seven  hundred  Anglo-Saxon  coins  in 
that  portion  of  the  Cuerdale  collection  preserved  for  the  Crown.  The 
following  synopsis  of  the  coins  is  supplied  by  Mr.  Hawkins  : — 
ANGLO-SAXON  COINS.  A.D.  A.D. 

2  Ethelred  (East  Anglia)  about  860 

23  Ethelstan    87010890 

2  Ciolwlf  (Mercia) 874 

867  Alfred     872       901 

45  Edward  901       925 

1770  St.  Eadmund —        — 

1  Archbishop  Ceolnoth  830       870 

59  Archbishop  Phlegmund  881       923 

2  Sitric  (?  Danish)    —        — 

FRENCH  COINS. 

34  Louis 814  to  929 

727  Carolus  840      923 

7  Carloman  879      884 

197  Eudes,  or  Odo  888       898 

ii  Lambert 894      898 

13  Berengarius    883       924 

UNCERTAIN  (?  SCANDINAVIAN). 

304  Sigfred. 

486  Ebraice,  or  Evreux. 

23  Quentovici,  or  Quanage. 

1860  Cunnetti. 

i   Avaldus. 

3*5  Various. 

ORIENTAL  COINS. — 27. 

Mr.  Hawkins's  exhaustive  series  of  papers  elucidatory  of  these  coins 
fill  the  greater  portion  of  one  volume  of  the  Numismatic  Chronicle,  and 
are  illustrated  by  140  engraved  examples  of  the  coins.  A  few  sentences 
from  his  comments  upon  the  principal  types  in  the  series  of  English 
coins  discovered,  are  all  that  can  be  cited  here.  The  first  of  these,  in 


DANISH  TREASURE  FOUND  AT  CUERDALE. 


33 


chronological  order,  are  two  coins  of  Ethelred.  Hawkins  remarks 
thereon  :  "  All  that  can  be  said  with  strong  probability  is,  that  the 
Ethelred  who  struck  these  coins  was  a  contemporary  of  Eadward,  and 
that  he  held  dominion  in  East  Anglia.  The  style  of  the  coin  and  the 
name  of  the  moneyer  on  the  Museum  coin,  form  the  grounds  of  this 
opinion.  The  name  of  Headmod  upon  the  Cuerdale  coins  does  not 
appear  upon  any  piece  at  present  known,  and  therefore  contributes 
nothing  to  shake  or  confirm  this  opinion."  Coins  of  Ethelstan : — 
"  Twenty-three  are  of  a  king  whom  I  suppose  to  be  Ethelstan,  though 
upon  most  of  them  it  is  difficult  to  recognise  the  name ;  it  is,  then,  to 
be  considered  to  which  of  the  kings  so  named  these  pieces  belong — to 
Athelstan,  the  sole  monarch  and  the  immediate  successor  of  Eadward, 
or  to  Ethelstan,  King  of  the  East  Angles ;  and  there  is  not  much 
hesitation  in  assigning  them  to  the  latter  of  these  personages.  This  king 
was  strictly  contemporary  with  Alfred,  by  treaty  with  whom  he  was 
established  in  his  kingdom,  and  with  whom  he  was  in  close  alliance 
during  almost  the  whole  of  his  reign,  which  terminated  in  890,  about 
eleven  years  before  that  of  Alfred.  The  types  of  these  coins  exactly 
resemble  those  of  Alfred,  and  of  eleven  moneyers  named  upon  them, 
six,  probably  seven,  are  those  of  Alfred."  Coin  of  Ciolwlf: — "The  only 
Mercian  coin  found  in  this  large  collection."  "  This  coin  is  in  most 
perfect  preservation,  and  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  of  the  whole 
Saxon  series."  "  The  type  is  very  remarkable ;  the  diadem  and  dress 
of  the  king  are,  like  those  of  many  other  Saxon  kings,  copied  from 
those  of  the  later  Roman  emperors."  Coins  of  Alfred: — These 
numbered  867  examples,  and  are  "the  first  of  those  in  general  circula- 
tion at  the  time  of  the  deposit."  "  Amongst  them  are  some  types 
hitherto  unknown,  and  half-pence  of  which  the  existence  was  rather 
surmised  than  ascertained."  Among  other  coinages  are  twenty-three 
specimens  of  coins  with  the  London  monogram ;  twenty-four  coins 
of  the  Oxford  type  ;  and  about  no  pieces  of  the  Canterbury  type.  The 
Alfred  half-pennies  include  one  of  Oxford  mint ;  three  of  the  Canterbury 
type,  and  seven  of  the  ordinary  type  like  the  pennies.  Coins  of 
Eadweard. — These  are  forty-five  in  number,  "  six  only  of  the  type  which 
bears  his  bust,  and  thirty-eight  of  his  more  common  type,  having  his 
name  and  title  on  the  obverse  as  a  legend,  with  a  small  cross  in  the 
centre  of  the  type."  There  is  but  one  specimen  of  the  half-pennies 
of  this  reign.  Coins  of  St.  Eadmund. — These  are  by  far  the  most 
numerous  of  the  Saxon  collection  found  at  Cuerdale,  there  being  1,770 
specimens.  "  The  type  consists  of  the  letter  A  on  the  obverse,  with  the 
name  of  the  sainted  king  as  legend  ;  on  the  reverse  is  a  small  cross, 
with  the  name  of  the  moneyer."  "  It  has  generally  been  supposed  that 

3 


34  HISTORY    OF  BLACKBURN. 

the  coins  of  St.  Eadmund  were  struck  at  the  mint  of  the  abbots  of  St. 
Edmundsbury,  the  earliest  notice  of  which  is  a  grant  made  to  them  by 
Edward  the  Confessor,  in  1066.  The  name  of  the  place  does  not  occur 
upon  the  coins,  but  has  been  supposed  to  be  intimated  by  the  name 
of  the  mint.  If  such  be  the  case,  it  would  appear  that  the  privilege 
of  a  mint  must  have  been  granted  at  the  time  of  the  canonisation  of  St. 
Edmund,  all  the  circumstances  of  which  are  involved  in  much  obscurity, 
but  which  it  is  now  quite  clear  must  have  taken  place  very  soon  after  his 
murder,  in  870.  The  discovery  of  about  1,800  coins,  mixed  with  those 
of  a  large  number  of  Alfred,  would  be  strong  presumptive  evidence  that 
they  were  contemporary,  but  the  fact  is  proved  by  four  coins  which  are 
found  in  this  hoard,  bearing  on  one  side  the  name  of  Alfred,  and  on 
the  other  that  of  Eadmund,  with  his  saintly  title."  "  Eadmund  was 
murdered  in  870 ;  he  was  succeeded  by  Guthrum,  the  Dane,  who  subse- 
quently acquired  the  friendship  of  Alfred,  and  was  converted  to  Christi- 
anity in  878  ;  it  is,  therefore,  somewhat  probable  that  these  coins,  which 
give  the  name  of  Saint  to  Eadmund,  were  struck  about  this  period ;  that 
there  is  some  connection  between  the  conversion  of  Guthrum,  the 
canonisation  of  Eadmund,  and  the  striking  of  the  coins  which  commemo- 
rate the  event ;  and  that  all  the  circumstances  occurred  under  the 
sanction  of  Alfred."  Coin  of  Ceolnolh. — "  Of  the  coins  struck  by  Arch- 
bishops of  Canterbury  there  is  found  here  not  one  prior  to  Ceolnoth, 
and  of  his  only  one."  "  Of  his  successor,  Ethered,  who  occupied  the 
see  from  871  to  891,  not  a  piece  was  found;"  but  there  are  fifty-nine 
coins  of  his  successor  Phlegmund  ;  among  them  several  varying  in  some 
peculiarities  from  any  previously  known. 

Mr.  Hawkins  attempts  to  determine  the  probable  date,  and  to 
guess  at  the  possible  occasion  of  the  deposit.  His  first  surmise  is  that 
the  collection  may  have  "  belonged  to  a  worker  or  dealer  in  silver,  who 
had  been  suddenly  interrupted  by  some  alarm  in  the  midst  of  his  opera- 
tions for  reducing  his  stock  into  ingots,  preparatory  to  the  further 
processes  of  his  peculiar  trade ;"  but  later  he  concludes  that  the  mass 
of  treasure  must  have  been  brought  from  a  distance,  by  parties 
of  strangers  ;  and  as  the  only  parties  of  strangers  likely  to  visit  Lanca- 
shire at  this  period  were  warlike  parties,  the  opinion  is  a  corroboration 
of  the  view  that  the  hoard  was  the  military  treasury  of  some  invading 
Danish  leaders.  This  authority  observes  : — "  It  may  be  remarked  that 
these  coins  were  probably  collected  within  a  limited  district,  for  there  is 
but  one  coin  of  any  Mercian  King,  not  one  of  the  usual  Mercian  type, 
even  of  Alfred  himself."  "It  must  be  observed  that  there  is  not 
amongst  these  coins  any  of  either  an  Archbishop  of  York,  or  a  King 
of  Northumbria,  which  may  be  accounted  for  by  the  circumstance  that 


DANISH  TREASURE  FOUND  AT  CUERDALE.         35 

the  treasure  consisted  entirely  of  silver,  and  that  no  coins  of  that  metal 
were  current  in  Northumbria  before  the  time  of  Regnald,  who  com- 
menced his  reign  in  912."  "There  is  every  appearance  of  this  treasure 
having  been  collected  in  the  South,  and  transferred  in  one  mass  to  the 
place  of  its  deposit.  It  may  be  supposed,  then,  that  the  Cuerdale 
treasure  was  deposited  immediately  upon  the  arrival  in  this  neighbourhood 
of  the  party  or  parties  who  broiight  it  from  a  distance"  Now,  if  these 
parties  had  been  peaceable,  coming  in  peaceable  times,  the  hiding  of  the 
treasure  was  needless ;  but  if  the  owners  of  it  were  invaders  of  the  land, 
its  secretion,  either  just  before  a  great  battle  or  after  a  severe  defeat,  is 
quite  accountable.  As  to  the  question  of  date,  Mr.  Hawkins's  opinion 
is  expressed  as  follows  : — "  Looking  at  the  list  of  personages  who  may 
be  considered  to  have  struck  the  coins  comprising  the  English  portion 
of  the  Cuerdale  treasure,  it  appears  that  the  far  greater  number  bear  the 
name  of  Alfred  or  St.  Eadmund ;  it  is  clear,  therefore,  that  these  were 
strictly  contemporary  pieces,  and  that  the  deposit  was  made  very  soon 
after  the  death  of  Alfred,  before  his  coins  had  been  displaced  by  those 
of  his  successor.  Archbishop  Phlegmund  occupied  the  see  of  Canterbury 
for  eleven  years  before  the  death  of  Alfred,  and  survived  him  twenty-three 
years ;  of  his  coins  there  are  here  fifty-nine  specimens.  He  was  the  last 
prelate  of  Canterbury  who  struck  coins  in  his  own  name,  and  it  is  not 
improbable  that  he  may  have  discontinued  the  practice  some  years 
before  his  death  ;  indeed,  while  the  occurrence  of  the  name  of  Alfred 
upon  one  of  Phlegmund's  coins  proves  that  some  of  his  coins  were  struck 
during  that  King's  reign,  there  is  not  any  evidence  that  he  struck  coins 
after  the  King's  death,  and  it  is  probable  that  all  his  coins  here  found 
may  have  been  struck  during  the  life  of  Alfred.  There  are,  however, 
forty-five  coins  of  Edward,  the  successor  of  Alfred ;  he  died  in  924, 
and  this  is  the  very  latest  year  in  which  any  of  the  coins  here  discovered 
could  have  been  struck.  While,  then,  these  coins  prove  that  the  inter- 
ment must  have  taken  place  after  the  death  of  Alfred,  the  smallness 
of  the  number — forty-five — leads  to  the  presumption  that  it  took  place 
very  soon  after  his  death,  probably  not  later  than  the  year  910."  In 
this  supposition  the  writer  may  have  affixed  too  early  a  date  to  the 
deposit.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  Hawkins  wrote  in  ignorance 
of  the  evidence  which  seems  to  connect  Athelstan's  defeat  of  Anlaf  with 
this  part  of  Lancashire.  While,  too,  the  year  924  is  the  last  date  on 
which  any  of  the  Saxon  coins  could  have  been  minted,  the  year  928  is 
given  by  Hawkins  himself  as  the  latest  possible  date  of  one  of  the 
French  types  represented  here ;  and  some  of  the  Scandinavian  series 
were  of  the  same  period.  As  the  treasure  most  probably  belonged  to 
an  army  of  the  Danes,  the  coins  would  not  be  likely  to  include  the 


26  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

last  Saxon  coins  in  circulation  on  their  arrival  in  Lancashire.  Thus  trie- 
treasure  may  as  well  have  belonged  to  the  chiefs  who  invaded  England 
in  the  years  934-7  as  to  predatory  bands  of  the  same  race  that  might 
have  infested  the  Lancashire  coasts  some  twenty  years  earlier. 

The  articles  of  Mr.  Hawkins  on  this  treasure  were  supplemented 
by  communications  to  the  Numismatic  Chronicle  from  Mr.  Daniel  H. 
Haigh,  an  accomplished  Manchester  numismatist,  and  from  M.  Adrien 
de  Longperier,  of  Paris.  Mr.  J.  Yonge  Akerman  comments  upon 
several  of  the  English  coins  embraced  in  the  foregoing  enumeration 
of  the  Cuerdale  examples.  The  third  sovereign  here  represented  is 
Ciolwlf,  King  of  Mercia,  of  whose  mint  there  are  two  coins.  Akerman 
says :  "  Of  the  pennies  of  Ciolwlf,  who  seized  the  kingdom  on  the 
deposition  of  Burgred  (A.D.  874),  there  are  several  varieties  which  are 
rare.  Some  of  them  were  struck  at  Canterbury,  and  have  Dorobernia 
Cibilas  on  the  reverse.1"  Of  the  coins  of  Alfred  the  same  authority 
remarks  :  "  Many  of  the  coins  of  Aelfred  (Alfred)  found  with  the  large 
hoard  at  Cuerdale,  in  Lancashire,  a  short  time  since,  have  the  portrait 
"with  a  monogram  on  the  reverse  f  and  he  figures  an  example  "  which, 
instead  of  the  name  Aelfred,  as  usual  around  that  bust,  has  the  word 
Heribert"  "There  were  half-pennies  of  Aelfred  discovered  at  Cuerdale." 
Two  examples  are  given — "one  bearing  the  name  of  the  place  of  mintage, 
Orsnaforda ;  the  other  with  an  unintelligible  inscription.  Barbarous 
imitations  of  pennies  of  the  London  type  also  occurred  in  the 
Cuerdale  find,  and  among  them  the  examples  engraved."  "  There  was 
also  a  type  of  Alfred,  the  florid  ornaments  of  which  seem  to  have  been 
suggested  by  the  devices  of  one  of  the  coins  of  Offa.8"  It  has  been 
noted  that  there  are  no  fewer  than  '867  coins  of  King  Alfred  in  the 
Cuerdale  list.  Forty-five  coins  are  counted  of  the  succeeding  prince, 
Eadweard,  on  which  Akerman  writes  :  "  The  pennies  of  Eadweard  the 
Elder  are  interesting,  though  of  rude  execution.  There  are  many 
varieties.  Some  have  the  representation  of  a  building  ;  others,  a  flower 
in  a  compartment  of  the  reverse  ;  and  the  hand  of  Providence,  a  type 
derived  from  the  Byzantine  artists,  appears  on  a  third  variety.  But  two 
specimens  of  his  half-pennies  are  known.4"  The  coins  of  the  next 
Saxon  monarch,  the  martyred  and  canonised  St.  Eadmund,  King  of  the 
East  Angles,  are  1770  in  number,  the  most  numerous  of  any  English 
mint  represented  in  the  Cuerdale  hoard.  Following  these  are  a  few 
coins  of  the  ecclesiastics,  Archbishops  Ceolnoth  and  Phlegmund. 

The  observations  of  Worsaae,  the  Danish  antiquary,  upon  the 
Scandinavian,  French,  and  other  foreign  coins,  in  the  collection,  are. 
learned  and  valuable  : — 

i  Anc.  and  Mod.  Coins,  p.  1.13.        2  Ib.  p.  117.         3  Ib.  p.  119.        4  Ib.  p.  119,. 


DANISH  TREASURE  FOUND  AT  CUERDALE. 


37 


Among  the  coins,  besides  a  single  Byzantine  piece,  were  found  several  Arabic  or 
Kufic,  some  of  north  Italy,  about  a  thousand  French,  and  two  thousand  eight  hundred 
Anglo-Saxon  pieces,  of  which  only  eight  hundred  were  of  Alfred  the  Great.  But  the 
chief  mass,  namely,  three  thousand  pieces,  consisted  of  peculiar  coins,  with  the 
inscriptions  "  Siefredus  Rex,"  "  Sievert  Rex,"  "  Cnut  Rex,"  "Alfden  Rex,"  and 
"Sitric  Comes"  (jarl)  ;  and  which,  therefore,  merely  from  their  preponderating 
number,  may  be  supposed  to  be  the  most  common  coins  at  that  time,  and  in  that  part 
of  north  England  where  the  treasure  had  been  concealed.  Cnut's  coins  were  the  most 
numerous,  as  they  amounted  to  about  two  thousand  pieces,  of  different  dies  ;  which 
proves  a  considerable  and  long-continued  coining.  Not  only  are  the  names  of  Sitric 
(Sigtryg),  Alfden  (Halvdan),  Cnut  (Knud),  Sievert  (Sivard),  and  Siefred  (Sigfred) 
visibly  of  Scandinavian  origin,  but  they  also  appear  in  ancient  chronicles  as  the  names 
of  mighty  Scandinavian  chiefs,  who  in  the  ninth  and  tenth  centuries  ravaged  the 
western  lands.  Sitric  Comes  is  certainly  that  Sitric  Jarl,  who  fell  in  a  battle  in 
England  about  the  year  900.  Alfden  is  undoubtedly  the  same  King  "  Halfden  "  who 
at  the  close  of  the  ninth  century  so  often  harried  South  England — where  he  even 
besieged  London,  till  he  fell  in  the  battle  of  Wednesfield,  in  910.  Cnut,  whose  name 
is  found  inscribed  on  the  coins  in  such  a  manner  that  one  letter  stands  on  each  of  the 
four  arms  of  a  cross,  while  the  inscription  REX  (Rex)  is  enclosed  between  them,  is 
probably  he  whom  the  Danes  called  "  Knud  Daneast  "  (or  Danes'  Joy),  a  son  of  the 
first  Danish  monarch,  Gorm  the  Old  ;  as  it  is  truly  related  of  him  that  he  perished  in 
Vesterviking  (the  Western  lands).  Sigfrid  must  either  have  been  the  celebrated  viking, 
for  whose  adventurous  expedition  France,  and  its  capital,  Paris,  in  particular,  had  to 
pay  dearly  ;  or  that  Sige'fert,  or  Sigfred,  who,  in  the  year  897,  ravaged  the  English 
coasts  with  an  army  of  Danes  from  Northumberland.  The  steady  connection  which 
the  vikings  in  England  maintained  with  France,  affords  a  material  explanation  why 
their  coins  were  imitations  both  of  contemporary  English,  or  Anglo-Saxon,  and 
of  French  coins.  Thus  on  the  reverse  of  Cnut's  coins  just  mentioned,  we  sometimes 
find  the  inscription  "  Elfred  Rex,"  which  is  purely  Anglo-Saxon  ;  and  sometimes  the 
particular  mark  for  Carolus,  or  Charles  (Karl),  which  otherwise  is  only  found  on  the 
French  Carlovingian  coins.  A  very  frequent  inscription  on  the  Scandinavian  coins 
here  alluded  to  is  "  Ebraice  Civita, "  or  "  The  City  of  York,"  whose  ancient  name 
"  Eadhroig, "  and  in  the  barbarous  Latin  of  the  time  "Eboracum,"  was  converted 
into  "Ebraice."  On  other  contemporary  coins  struck  at  York,  namely,  on  some 
of  what  is  called  St.  Peter's  money,  York  is  also  called  "Ebraice"  and  "Ebraicit." 
For  the  Cuerdale  coins,  in  order  to  express  the  name  "Ebraice,"  coins  of  French 
kings  of  the  city  of  "Ebroicas,"  or  Evreux,  in  Normandy,  seem  to  have  been 
particularly  chosen  as  patterns  ;  for,  by  a  slight  change  of  a  few  letters,  this  Ebroicas 
could  be  converted  into  Ebraice,  which  was  the  easier  process  at  a  time  when  the  art 
of  stamping  coins  was  not  much  practised.  An  additional  proof  that  these  coins  were 
really  minted  by  Scandinavian  kings  in  Northumbria,  and  in  the  city  of  York,  is,  that 
none  such  have  been  found  in  any  other  part  of  England  ;  whilst,  on  the  contrary, 
one  of  Canute's  coins,  which  have  been  so  frequently  mentioned,  was  dug  up,  together 
with  English  and  French  coins  of  the  same  kind  as  those  found  at  Cuerdale,  at 
Harkirke,  near  Crosby,  also  in  Lancashire  ;  and  consequently  at  places  whose  names 
ending  in  kirke  (church),  and  by  (town),  bear  witness  no  less  than  that  of  Cuerdale 
(from  dal,  a  valley),  to  the  dominion  of  the  Northmen  in  these  parts.  Should  any 
doubt  still  exist  that,  so  early  as  the  ninth  century,  Danish-Norwegian  Kings  and 
Jarls  minted  a  considerable  number  of  coins  in  York,  in  imitation  of  contemporary 
Anglo-Saxon  and  French  coins,  it  is  at  all  -events  certain  that  the  Northumbrian 


38  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Kings,  Regnald,  Anlaf  or  Olaf,  and  Erik,  who  resided  in  York  during  the  first  half 
of  the  tenth  century,  caused  coins  of  their  own  to  be  minted  there,  and  which  agree 
exactly  with  the  historical  accounts.  Regnald,  who  reigned  from  about  912  to  944, 
was  a  son  of  King  Sigtryg,  and  brother  to  the  Olaf  before  mentioned,  who  fought  at 
the  battle  of  Brunanborg ;  Erik  is  either  King  Erik  Blodoxe,  of  Norway,  or  a  son 
of  King  Harold  Blaatand,  of  Denmark,  who  is  said  to  have  ruled  in  Northumberland 
about  the  same  time.  In  the  main  points  these  coins  are  also  imitations  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxon,  but  are  distinguished  from  them  by  various  and  very  striking  peculiarities  which 
show  them  to  have  been  coined  both  by  Danes  and  Norwegians,  and  by  conquerors. 

Mr.  Lindsay  summarises  the  treasure  retained  for  the  Crown,  after 
considerable  reductions  by  peculations  of  coin  collectors,  as  under : — 

About  6, 800  coins,  weighing 304  ounces  troy. 

Sixteen  ingots  of  silver,  weighing 132        ,, 

Small  bars  of  silver,  weighing    725K     » 

Rings,  armlets,  chains,  &c IO3/4     ,, 

Total 1,265         »» 

Of  the  residue  of  the  treasure,  other  than  the  coins,  the  subjoined 
particulars  are  derived  from  Mr.  Hawkins's  account  in  the  Archceological 
Journal  for  1847.  The  first  articles  to  be  noticed  are  the  ingots 
of  silver.  These  are  of  different  shapes  and  dimensions ;  some  are 
oblong,  about  3^  inches  long,  i^  inches  wide,  and  ^  inch  thick.  They 
have  been  cast  in  a  mould  of  metal  or  baked  clay.  Mould  marks  on 
the  surface  of  the  ingots  indicate  that  several  of  them  have  been  cast  in 
the  same  mould ;  while  others  exhibit  the  mark  of  a  cross.  "  These 
ingots  are  not  adjusted  to  any  particular  weight,  those  cast  even  in  the 
same  mould  vary  much  in  weight ;  some  weighing  between  3,900  and 
4,000  grains.  For  the  ingots  of  smaller  size  also  metal  moulds  seem  to 
have  been  used,  but  by  far  the  greater  number  of  these  have  been  cast 
in  rude  hollows  formed  in  sand  by  the  finger,  or  perhaps  by  a  stick ; 
these  vary  in  weight  from  upwards  of  2,000  grains  to  less  than  100,  and 
in  size  from  4^  long  to  ^  an  inch.  There  are  also  some  mere  lumps 
of  silver  dropped  upon  a  flat  surface,  and  weighing  from  about  1 2  to  70 
grains.  In  many  instances  these  ingots  and  drops  have  been  hammered 
on  two  sides,  sometimes  on  four  ;  perhaps,  in  some  cases,  as  a  prepara- 
tion to  forming  them  into  ornaments,  or  articles  of  use,  such  as  armlets, 
rings,  &c.,  but  before  this  intention  was  fully  carried  out  they  have 
frequently  been  cut  into  pieces  of  various  dimensions  and  weights." 
Concerning  the  use  of  the  silver  ingots,  the  same  writer  notes  : — "  It  would 
seem,  at  first  sight,  most  probable  that  all  the  ingots  and  bars  in  this 
treasure  were  made  previously  to  the  ornaments  found  with  them,  and  that 
they  formed  part  of  the  materials  of  their  manufacture.  But  the  ingots 
marked  with  a  cross  were  doubtless  made  by  a  Christian  people,  such  as 


DANISH  TREASURE   FOUND  AT  CUERDALE. 


39 


the  Northmen,  by  whom  this  emblem  of  their  newly-embraced  religion 
was  adopted  on  their  coins  ;  while  the  ornaments  were  most  probably 
the  work  of  Pagans  in  the  east,  and  thence  imported  into  Scandinavia. 
We  must  therefore  consider  that  some  of  the  ingots  and  bars  were  cast 
in  the  place  of  manufacture,  whence  the  ornaments  originally  came,  and 
that  the  remainder,  z>.,  those  marked  with  a  cross,  were  made  by  the 
Northmen,  when  they  melted  down  the  treasure  for  the  purpose  of  traffic." 

The  armlets  upon  which  this  peculiar  ornament  is  expended  are 
"  perfectly  flat  in  surface,  hammered  into  shape  from  the  rough  ingot, 
some  broader  and  larger  than  others,  but  all  having  the  same  general 
form,  larger  in  the  middle,  gradually  tapering  towards  the  extremities, 
where  they  terminate  rather  abruptly,  without  any  fastening ;  or  they  are 
hammered  out  into  wire-like  ends,  which  are  twisted  into  knots  of  various 
forms."  Armlets  of  another  type  have  been  hammered  thinner  than 
those  above-mentioned,  and  made  concave  towards  the  arm,  convex 
towards  the  outside.  The  wire-drawn  terminations  are  inter-twisted 
or  hooked  together.  Then  occur  another  class  of  armlets  of  thicker 
metal,  beaten  into  a  quadrangular  form,  one  angle  being  towards  the 
arm  of  the  wearer.  Like  the  previous  examples,  these  armlets  are 
always  thickest  in  the  middle  of  the  band,  and  are  reduced  to  the 
dimensions  of  thick  wire  at  the  extremities,  where  the  fastening  is 
effected  by  twisting  the  metal.  Still  other  varieties  of  the  armlets  are 
circular  in  contour,  and  of  comparatively  equable  thickness  throughout 
the  circle ;  in  one  instance  the  ends  are  wrought  into  the  rough  simili- 
tude of  a  dragon's  head.  "  It  cannot  be  said,"  remarks  Hawkins,  "  that 
these  terminations  are  much  like  heads  of  any  animal,  but  they  are 
perhaps  less  unlike  dragons'  heads  than  anything  else ;  and  may,  there- 
fore, be  considered  as  such.  If,  however,  such  has  been  the  intention, 
it  must  be  remarked  that  though  dragon-like  ornaments  appear  in  relief 
upon  some  objects  in  this  collection,  yet  such  a  termination  to  an  armlet 
of  the  tenth  century  is  extremely  rare,  if  not  unique."  Other  species 
of  armlets  secured  at  Cuerdale  are  constructed  of  two  or  more  lengths 
of  thickish  silver  wire,  neatly  interlaced ;  one  of  these  is  very  elegant — 
it  is  composed  of  six  wires  hammered  round,  and  tapering  towards  the 
ends,  two  of  which  have  been  twisted  together,  forming  three  cords,  and 
these  cords  again  twisted  together  into  a  rope  of  silver  forming  the  armlet. 

It  is  impossible  to  further  particularise  the  innumerable  varieties 
of  antique  articles  contained  in  this  unique  collection.  Besides  the 
ornaments  above  noticed,  they  consist  of  fibulae  of  divers  curious 
designs  ;  of  rings  of  many  kinds ;  of  some  elegant  specimens  of  silver 
chain-work  ;  hammers,  hooks,  and  a  number  of  manufactured  fragments 
in  metal  the  purposes  of  which  are  not  in  every  instance  easy  to  divine. 


4o  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

As  an  exposition  of  the  degree  of  skill  attained  in  the  manufacture 
of  jewelry  and  other  silversmith's  work  at  the  period  of  the  deposit,  the 
Cuerdale  treasure  is  exceedingly  useful. 

The  ornaments  accompanying  are  of  various  kinds,  but  the  silver 
armlets  and  portions  of  armlets  are  the  most  numerous.  They  exhibit 
many  diversities  of  shape,  workmanship,  and  embellishment.  Upwards 
of  forty  of  these  armlets  and  parts  of  armlets  are  engraved  by  Hawkins. 
Some  of  them  are  almost  beautiful  in  design ;  others  are  little  more  than 
thin  bands  of  silver  narrowing  to  the  ends,  where  the  circle  is  formed 
by  the  twisting  of  the  wires.  The  following  may  be  taken  as  a  type 
of  the  ruder  forms : — "  A  small  armlet,  probably  not  quite  finished, 
having  been  merely  hammered  into  form,  the  edges  and  sides  still  rough 
and  sharp,  and  retaining  traces  of  the  hammer ;  it  is  almost  entirely 
without  ornament.  It  is  perfectly  flat,  broad  at  the  middle,  becoming 
gradually  narrower  towards  the  extremities,  where  it  terminates  in  blunt 
round  ends.  Armlets  of  this  description  vary  in  breadth  at  the  middle 
from  %  of  an  inch  to  i^,  and  perhaps  more;  it  is  probable  that  they 
did  not  quite  encircle  the  arm,  the  ends  being,  when  worn,  at  some 
distance  from  each  other.  Sometimes  the  ends  were  elongated,  and 
rounded  into  the  form  of  a  thick  wire,  and  twisted  together  into  various 
forms."  The  ornamentation  consists  for  the  most  part  of  parallel 
indented  lines,  producing  a  ribbed  appearance,  zigzags  or  lozenges 
punched  into  the  metal ;  in  some  examples  the  punches  are  mere  dots 
or  small  rings  ;  in  others  the  form  of  the  stamp  is  more  artistic.  "  The 
patterns  are  numerous,  but  the  forms  of  the  punches  are  very  few,  the 
variations  being  produced  by  combining  the  forms  of  more  punches  than 
one,  or  by  placing  the  same  or  differently  formed  punches  at  a  greater 
or  less  distance  from  each  other,  or  by  varying  their  direction.  Patterns 
of  the  period  and  localities  to  which  these  ornaments  belong  are  scarcely 
ever  found  finished  by  casting  or  chasing ;  it  would  appear  also  that  the 
use  of  solder,  to  unite  the  various  parts  of  objects,  was  either  little 
known  or  little  practised,  for  the  ends  of  these  ornaments  are  tied 
together,  and  upon  other  occasions,  where  union  is  necessary,  rivets  are 
employed."  The  punches,  besides  the  blunt  chisel  punch  and  the 
zigzag,  are  annular,  heart-shaped,  egg-shaped,  triangular,  crescent, 
quatrefoil,  conical,  &c.,  and  although  the  tool  is  in  all  cases  more  or  less 
rude,  the  varieties  of  pattern  produced  by  them  on  the  outer  surfaces 
of  these  primitive  jewels  are  very  considerable. 

SAXON  SETTLEMENTS  AND  NOMENCLATURE. 

During  an  occupancy  of  some  five  centuries  as  the  dominant  race, 
from  the  period  of  their  advent  in  the  beginning  of  the  sixth  century  to 


SAXON  SILVER  RING  AND  ARMLETS,  FOUND  AT 

CUERDALE.  |TAGE  40 


SAXON  SETTLEMENTS  AND  NOMENCLATURE.  4I 

the  Norman  Conquest  in  the  eleventh,  the  Anglo-Saxon  colonists  in 
Lancashire  had  settled  to  the  pursuit  of  husbandry  upon  the  patches  of 
land  they  had  reclaimed  from  the  natural  wilderness.  Evidence  of  the 
Saxon  appropriation  of  lands  in  the  district  is  supplied  in  the  existing 
nomenclature  of  townships  and  smaller  territorial  divisions,  which  is 
essentially  Anglo-Saxon.  If,  which  must  be  supposed,  the  population  of 
the  preceding  Romano-British  epoch  had  made  some  impression  upon 
the  soil  in  the  way  of  cultivation,  and  had  established  fixed  dwellings 
upon,  and  proprietory  rights  in,  the  restricted  portions  of  the  land  then 
cleared  from  the  forest,  the  Saxons  and  Angles,  when  seizing  upon  these 
lands  as  the  victor's  perquisite,  not  only  dispossessed  the  British  settler 
but  discarded  or  ignored  the  name  given  to  the  British  settlement,  and 
substituted  a  new  series  of  names  of  localities  based  upon  the  language 
of  the  intruding  races.  Thus,  with  rare  exceptions,  the  Roman  and 
British  names  of  places  in  use  for  ages  before  the  Saxon  Conquest  were 
dropped  and  forgotten,  and  the  fresh  terms  of  topographical  description 
were  invented,  which  in  modified  forms  have  survived  to  this  day,  and, 
being  stereotyped  in  popular  use,  must  now  endure  to  the  end  of  England's 
record. 

Unless  in  the  names  of  the  two  local  rivers,  Darwen  and  Calder,  and 
the  range  of  hills  to  portions  of  which  the  name  of  Billinge  is  given,  it 
would  be  difficult  to  discover  the  most  faint  traces  of  the  aboriginal 
nomenclature  in  the  modern  names  of  places  within  this  parish.  Darwen 
is  thought  to  be  derived  from  the  British  terms  Dwr-gwyn,  meaning,  the 
Clear  Water ;  and  Calder  from  Col-dwr,  Narrow  Water.  Billinge  is  also 
imagined  to  be  British,  but  the  root  of  the  word  is  not  suggested.  The 
Saxons  did  not  attempt  to  change  the  name  of  the  river  Darwen,  but  in 
the  Saxonised  form  of  Derewent  retained  it  and  applied  it  to  two  of  their 
settlements  upon  the  banks  of  that  stream,  Over  Derwent  and  Nether 
Derwent.  The  other  names  of  the  ancient  manors,  or  landed  occu- 
pancies, in  Blackburn  Parish  have  a  Saxon  root-meaning  more  or  less 
distinct.  The  central  town  of  Blackburn  is  named  from  A.S.  Blac-burne, 
meaning  Dark  (or  opaque)  Brook — descriptive  of  its  stream.  In  the 
same  township  occurs  Audley,  apparently  from  the  Saxon  words  s£ld-ley, 
Old  Field  (or  place);  Whitebirk,  from  Hwite-byrc,  the  White  (or  silver) 
Birch ;  Beardwood,  probably  from  Beorh-wuda,  the  Wood  on  the  Hill. 
The  Anglo-Saxon  word  Tun,  a  residence,  or  homestead,  modernised  to 
Town,  was  frequently  used  in  the  naming  of  places,  with  some  distinguish- 
ing prefix;  and  several  of  the  townships  in  Blackburn  Parish  thus 
obtained  their  nomenclature,  namely,  Billington,  the  town  on  Billinge ; 
Osbaldeston,  the  settlement  of  Osbald  or  Oswald ;  Balderstone,  an  altered 
form  of  Osbaldeston  ;  Pleasington,  the  seat  or  homestead  of  Plesyng  ; 


.42  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Witton,  the  place  of  one  Wyta,  it  may  be  ;  Clayton,  perhaps  named  from 
the  character  of  its  subsoil,  Cl&g-tun,  the  clayey  place ;  and  Walton, 
which  may  have  been  composed  of  the  two  words,  Weall-tun,  the  walled 
settlement,  indicating  that  it  was  held  as  a  fortified  post  in  the  Saxon  as 
well  as  in  the  Roman  colonisation.  Rishton  may  be  taken  to  have  been 
compound  of  Rise,  A.S.  a  rush,  and  tun,  that  is,  the  place  of  rushes, — a 
-description  still  accurate  of  the  partially-recovered  bog-land  of  Rishton 
Moor.  The  Saxon  termination  of  bury  (byrt\  a  city  or  burgh),  implying 
a  settlement  made  strong  for  defence,  is  exampled  locally  in  Salesbury 
and  Samlesbury,  townships  in  the  Ribble  Valley.  Harwood,  the  name 
of  two  townships  in  the  parish  (Great  and  Little),  is  deducible  from  Hara- 
•wuda,  the  wood  or  covert  of  hares ;  doubtless  a  part  of  that  extensive 
woodland  which  is  recorded  to  have  covered  the  hills  in  the  centre  of 
the  parish  at  the  date  of  the  Conquest.  Ramsgreave,  the  next  township 
to  the  west  of  Little  Harwood,  receives  its  name,  probably,  from  Romms, 
a  Saxon  family  name,  and  graf,  a  grove,  and  implying,  the  grove  or 
greave  of  Romms  or  Romes.  Wilpshire,  a  township  on  the  hill  south  of 
Billington,  was  anciently  spelt  Wilipscyre  or  Wilpshire,  and  may  mean  the 
.share  of  Wilip,  from  the  Saxon  Scyre,  a  shire  or  share.  In  the  names  of 
Dinkley  and  Eccleshill  townships  appear  the  Saxon  affixes  ley,  a  field,  and 
.hull,  a  hill,  and  the  first  part  of  both  names  may  enshrine  those  of  the 
ancient  settlers  in  these  places.  The  derivation  of  the  names  of  three 
other  townships  in  the  parish,  namely,  those  of  Livesey,  Tockholes,  and 
Mellor,  is  not  so  evident.  Livesey  and  Tockholes  sound  like  Saxon 
words,  but  Mellor  has  a  hint  of  Danish,  and  the  heights  of  Mellor  may  at 
one  period  have  been  held  by  the  Danes  of  West  Lancashire  as  an  out- 
post of  their  fortified  places  in  Lower  Ribblesdale.1  The  word  dale  is 
Danish,  the  Saxon  equivalent  being  d<xn,  as  in  Hoddlesden,  Haslingden, 
and  Baxenden  more  to  the  east ;  and  a  reminiscence  of  Scandinavian 
tenure  on  the  west  side  of  the  parish  is  therefore  found  in  the  names  of 
Clayton-in-le-Dale,  Oxendale,  Cuerdale,  and  Walton-in-le-Dale  ;  as  well 
as  in  the  name  of  the  Ribbleside  estate  of  Sunderland  in  Osbaldeston. 
The  mixed  Saxon  and  Danish  nomenclature  of  the  valley  of  the  Ribble 
between  Salesbury  and  Penwortham  points  to  the  inference  that  this  was 
for  a  period  contested  ground  by  the  Saxons  of  the  hill  district  of  East 
Lancashire  and  the  Danes  of  the  coastward  plains  of  Leyland  and 
Amounderness. 

In  the  names  of  numerous  places  of  early  settlement  within  townships 
the  Saxon  element  is  visible,  ex.  gr.  : — Revidge,  Royshaw,  Oosebooth, 

i  Respecting  the  derivation  of  the  names  of  Mellor  and  Harwood,  Mr.  T.  T.  Wilkinson,  a  good 
authority  in  Lancashire  etymology,  suggests  : — "  I  should  derive  Mellor  from  the  Keltic  moeZ-ar=the 
place  or  speculum  (ar)  upon  (moel)  the  round  hill.  Harwood  might  also  come  from  ftifif/ter-wood,  or 
.ftflT  (gray)  wood  ;  as  well  as  from  the  words  given  in  the  text. " 


SAXON  NOMENCLATURE.  43 

and  Peel  in  Blackburn  township  ;  Langho,  Cunliffe,  Braddyll,  Brockhole, 
Hacking,  Elcar,  Nabbe,  and  Snodworth  in  Billington  ;  Showley,  in  Clay- 
ton-le-Dale ;  Green  Lowe,  Astley,  Turncroft,  and  Sunnihurst  in  Over 
Danven  ;  Th'Hurcroft,  Oakenhurst,  and  Fearnhurst  in  Lower  Danven  ; 
Martholme,  Overton,  and  Netherton  in  Great  Harwood  ;  Bankhey  in 
Little  Harwood  ;  Feniscliffe,  Whithalgh,  Moorgate,  and  Ewood  (Hey- 
wood),  in  Livesey ;  Arleys  and  Stanley  in  Mellor ;  Stidlehurst  in  Osbal- 
deston;  Feniscowles  in  Pleasington ;  Tottleworth,  the  Holt,  Mickle  Heys, 
and  Sidebight  in  Rishton  ;  Loveley,  in  Salesbury ;  Huntley,  and  Sower- 
butts,  in  Samlesbury  ;  Lowe,  and  Red  Lee,  in  Tockholes ;  Brownedge  in 
Walton ;  Pyethorne  in  Wilpshire  ;  and  in  the  names  of  the  united  town- 
ship of  Yate  and  Pickop  Bank. 


44 


HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


CHAPTER  II.— MEDIAEVAL  PERIOD. 

Lancashire  in  the  time  of  Edward  the  Confessor — The  Norman  Invasion  and  Conquest— March  of  the 
Norman  Army  across  the  County — The  Domesday  Survey — Lordship  of  De  Lacy  in  Blackburn- 
shire — Ancient  Ecclesiastical  record  of  the  district — Landed  tenures  in  the  reign  of  Henry  II. — 
Foundation  of  Whalley  Abbey — The  Great  De  Lacy  Inquisition — Tenants  of  the  First  Duke  of 
Lancaster — John  of  Gaunt's  estate  in  Blackburnshire — Wars  of  the  Roses— Capture  of  Henry  VI. 
near  Clitheroe — Rewards  to  his  captors — Fall  of  Richard  III.  at  Bosworth  Field. 


A'  the  commencement  of  the  eleventh  century  the  Lancashire  terri- 
tories were  under  the  sway  of  two  powerful  nobles.  The  northern 
half  of  the  county,  to  the  line  of  the  Ribble,  was  portion  of  the  Danish 
^earldom  of  Northumbria.  The  part  to  the  south  of  the  Ribble,  des- 
cribed as  "Terra  inter  Ripam  et  Mersham"  (the  land  between  Ribble 
and  Mersey),  was  attached  to  the  earldom  of  Mercia  or  Chester.  Wol- 
fric,  Earl  of  Chester,  by  his  will,  dated  A.D.  1004,  devised  his  lands 
between  the  Ribble  and  the  Mersey  to  his  sons  Elfhelme  and  Walfarge, 
•subject  to  a  payment  by  each  of  3,000  sceattas.  But  in  the  reign  of 
Edward  the  Confessor  the  territories  between  Ribble  and  Mersey  had 
passed  into  royal  possession  •  they  had,  in  fact,  been  sequestrated  by 
Canute.  The  position  of  King  Edward  in  relation  to  the  bulk  of  these 
lands  was  that  of  superior  lord,  but  certain  particular  estates  were  in 
immediate  tenure  of  the  Crown.  In  Blackburnshire  this  Saxon  King 
-had  several  estates  under  his  direct  control,  and  of  which  he  drew  the 
revenues.  Ecclesiastically,  the  region  of  South  Lancashire  was  a  part 
of  the  diocese  of  Lichfield,  and  remained  so  until  the  Reformation,  when 
the  diocese  of  Chester  was  constituted. 

In  1051,  William,  Duke  of  Normandy,  came  to  England  on  a  state 
visit  to  Edward,  accompanied  by  a  great  array  of  Norman  followers. 
Edward  received  him  with  profuse  honours  and  hospitalities.  William 
found  the  country  swarming  with  Normans,  occupying  every  post  of 


THE   NORMAN  APPROPRIATION. 


45 


authority  and  trust,  and  everything  apparently  favourable  to  the  usurpa- 
tion he  had  then  resolved  upon.  Edward  had  before  this  entered  into 
a  secret  engagement  with  William  that  the  latter  should  succeed  him 
upon  the  throne  of  England.  This  compact  was  viewed  with  aversion 
by  many  of  his  subjects,  who  rallied  to  the  leadership  of  Harold,  son  of 
Godwin,  Saxon  Earl  of  Wessex.  Edward  the  Confessor  died  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1066,  and  the  popular  voice  promptly  declared  Harold  should  be 
King.  On  hearing  of  this,  Duke  William  immediately  began  his  prepa- 
rations for  the  invasion  of  England.  The  army  of  invasion  was  consti- 
tuted, not  of  Normans  alone,  but  of  "  all  the  professional  adventurers 
and  all  the  military  vagabonds  of  Western  Europe."  The  Norman 
army  of  60,000  men  landed  at  Pevensey  Bay,  near  Hastings,  and  on  the 
1 3th  of  October,  1066,  the  battle  of  Hastings  was  fought.  By  the 
superior  tactics  of  the  Normans,  the  English  were  defeated.  Harold 
and  his  brothers  fell  in  the  thickest  of  the  battle,  and  in  the  space  of 
one  brief  autumn  day  the  domain  of  England  passed  into  the  hands  of 
a  new  race,  to  whom  the  native  English  were  doomed  to  pay  the  duty 
of  perpetual  servitude.  William  was  crowned  by  his  Normans  King  of 
England  in  Westminster  Abbey,  on  Christmas  Day  of  that  same  year. 
William  and  his  barons  now  proceeded  with  the  work  of  partitioning  the 
lands  of  the  English  amongst  themselves.  Royal  Commissioners 
traversed  the  country  in  every  direction,  and  made  careful  inventories  of 
every  kind  of  property.  To  enforce  a  sweeping  sequestration,  the 
Conqueror's  troops  ravaged  the  kingdom  with  atrocious  severity. 

Lancashire  was  among  the  last  of  English  territories  to  feel  the 
scourge  of  the  Norman  visitation.  Many,  indeed,  of  its  bravest  men  must 
have  participated  and  perished  in  the  final  bitter  conflict  for  national 
existence ;  but  the  western  parts  of  Northumbria  and  Mercia  were  out 
of  the  direct  track  of  conquest.  Not  until  the  year  1070  was  the 
county  entered  by  a  Norman  force.  It  was  the  followers  of  the  banner 
of  De  Lacy,  to  whom  the  earldom  of  Pontefract  had  fallen,  that  were 
the  first  to  penetrate  our  mountain  barrier,  and  to  seize  upon  some 
portion  of  land  in  East  Lancashire.  "  The  great  domain  of  Pontefract,'" 
writes  Thierry,  "  the  spot  where  the  Norman  troops  had  forded  the 
river  Aire,  was  the  share  of  Gilbert  de  Lacy,  who,  following  the  example 
of  nearly  all  the  other  Norman  captains,  built  a  strong  castle  there.  It- 
appears  that  this  Gilbert  was  the  first  who  with  his  troops  passed  the 
mountains  west  of  York  and  invaded  the  adjoining  county  of  Lancaster,, 
which  then  formed  part  of  Cheshire.  He  appropriated  to  himself  in 
this  county  an  immense  territory,  the  chief  town  of  which  was  Black- 
burn, and  which  extended  south  and  east  to  the  borders  of  Yorkshire, 
To  form  this  great  domain,  he  expelled,  according  to  an  ancient  tradition* 


46  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

all  the  English  proprietors  from  Blackburn,  Rochdale,  Tottington  and 
the  vicinity.  Before  the  conquest,  says  the  tradition,  all  these  pro- 
prietors were  free,  equal  in  rights,  and  independent  of  each  other ;  but 
after  the  Norman  invasion,  there  was  in  the  whole  county  but  one  lord.1" 
Soon  afterwards,  William  himself,  having  finished  the  work  of  subjugation 
in  the  east  of  Northumbria,  resolved  upon  the  capture  of  Chester,  the 
sole  remaining  city  of  any  note  which  had  not  yet  received  a  Norman 
garrison.  As  the  King  was  preparing  to  start  from  York  on  this  expedi- 
tion, he  learned  that  a  feeling  of  strong  repugnance  to  the  enterprise 
pervaded  his  soldiery.  According  to  Ordericus  Vitalis,  the  Norman 
army  had  been  alarmed  by  exaggerated  accounts  of  the  difficulties 
of  the  country  between  York  and  Chester,  and  of  the  "terrible  fierceness 
•of  the  enemy"  in  this  region.  Having  overcome  this  opposition  by 
lavish  promises  of  rewards  in  lands  and  other  property  to  those  who 
assisted  in  this  new  conquest,  William  marched  over  the  Pennine 
mountains  to  the  city  on  the  Dee.  It  is  natural  to  suppose  that  the 
'.main  body  of  the  Norman  army,  following  in  the  footsteps  of  De  Lacy's 
men,  would  take  the  route  through  Craven  into  Ribblesdale,  the  most 
open  of  the  passes  through  the  hill  ranges  of  the  eastern  border 
of  Lancashire ;  and  it  is  something  more  than  a  vague  conjecture  that 
the  great  Conqueror  himself  rode,  at  the  head  of  his  martial  array, 
through  the  length  of  our  Hundred  while  upon  this  journey.  Ordericus 
Vitalis  writes  that  in  this  march  the  Norman  leader  made  his  way  with 
unwearied  vigour  "through  roads  never  before  travelled  by  horses,  across 
lofty  mountains  and  deep  valleys,  rivers,  and  rapid  streams,  and  danger- 
ous quagmires  in  the  hollows  of  the  hills.  Pursuing  their  track,  they 
were  often  distressed  by  torrents  of  rain,  sometimes  mingled  with  hail. 
At  times  they  were  reduced  to  feed  on  the  flesh  of  horses  which  perished 
in  the  bogs.  The  King  often  led  the  way  on  foot  with  great  agility,  and 
lent  a  ready  hand  to  assist  others  in  their  difficulties."  The  result 
of  this  laborious  march  was  the  immediate  occupation  of  Chester  and 
of  all  the  Mercian  country  on  both  sides  of  the  river  Mersey. 

From  the  statement  above  it  would  appear  that  the  first  Norman 
possessor  of  Blackburnshire  was  Gilbert,  or  Ilbert,  de  Lacy,  whose 
major  acquisition  was  the  lordship  of  Pontefract  in  Yorkshire.  Other 
early  records,  however,  state  that  Blackburn  Hundred,  with  the  rest 
•of  Lancashire,  was  in  the  first  instance  conferred  upon  the  Norman  Earl 
Roger  de  Montgomery,  better  known  in  English  annals  as  Roger  de 
Poictou.  The  grant  is  believed  to  have  been  made  about  the  year  1068. 
This  Roger  of  Poictou  was  the  third  son  of  Roger,  Viscount  of  Mont- 
gomery. His  services  to  the  Conqueror  were  recompensed  by  the 

i  Conq.  of  Engl.,  trans,  by  Hazlitt,  v.  i,  p.  229. 


DOMESDAY  SURVEY.  47 

earldom  of  Lancashire,  the  superior  lordship  of  almost  the  whole  county, 
and  near  200  manors  in  other  parts  of  the  country.  Apparently,  Ilbert 
de  Lacy,  although  a  baron  in  Yorkshire,  held  his  estates  in  East 
Lancashire,  at  the  first,  under  Roger  de  Poictou  as  superior  lord.  This, 
at  least,  is  the  simplest  explanation  that  suggests  itself  of  the  discrepancy 
noted. 

The  memorable  survey  of  landed  tenures  in  England,  undertaken 
by  order  of  William  the  Conqueror,  the  record  of  which  is  contained  in 
Domesday  Book,  was  begun  about  the  year  1080,  and  finished  in  1086. 
The  passage  relating  to  the  Hundred  of  Blackburn  is  found  in  the  survey 
of  lands  between  the  Mersey  and  Ribble.  The  "King  Edward"  alluded 
to  is  Edward  the  Confessor,  the  last  Saxon  King  of  England  according 
to  the  Normans,  who  refused  to  recognise  the  brief  sovereignty  of 
Harold.  The  following  is  an  English  version  of  the  entry  relating  to- 
the  district  : — 

King  Edward  held  Blacheburne.  There  are  two  hides  and  two  carucates  of  land. 
Of  this  land  the  church  had  two  carucates  of  land  ;  and  the  Church  of  St.  Mary  in 
Whalley  two  carucates,  both  of  them  free  of  all  customs.  In  the  same  manor  there  is- 
a  wood  one  league  long  and  the  same  broad,  and  there  was  an  aery  of  hawks.  To  this 
manor  or  hundred  were  attached  twenty-eight  freemen,  holding  five  hides  and  a  half 
and  forty  carucates  of  land  for  twenty-eight  manors.  There  is  a  wood  there  six  leagues 
long  and  four  broad,  and  the  manors  were  all  subject  to  the  above  customs.  In  the 
same  hundred  King  Edward  had  Hunicot  (Huncoat),  two  carucates  of  land,  and  Wale- 
fome(Walton-in-le-Dale)two  carucates,  and  Pe»z7ftme(Pendleton)half  ahide.  Thewhole 
manor,  with  the  hundred,  yielded  the  king  a  farm  rent  of  thirty  two  pounds  and  two- 
shillings.  Roger  de  Poictou  gave  all  this  land  to  Roger  de  Busli  and  Albert  Greslet,  and 
there  are  so  many  men  who  have  eleven  carucates  and  a  half ;  to  whom  they  have 
granted  freedom  (from  all  customs)  for  three  years,  wherefore  it  is  not  now  valued. 

Unfortunately  for  the  precision  of  our  knowledge  of  the  topography 
of  the  district  in  the  eleventh  century,  the  Norman  surveyors  made  a 
much  less  particular  report  on  the  Hundred  of  Blackburn  than  was  usual 
with  them  in  describing  other  districts.  Of  twenty-eight  manors  in  the 
Hundred  held  by  freemen  at  the  Conquest  none  are  named  in  the  survey. 
Only  the  names  of  the  four  Royal  manorial  estates  of  Blackburn,  Hun- 
coat,  Walton  and  Pendleton  are  specified.  The  names  of  the  Saxon 
freeholders  under  the  last  of  the  Saxon  Kings  are  unrecorded,  and  the 
territorial  nomenclature  of  the  period  is  left  to  be  doubtfully  gathered 
from  later  historical  references.  In  the  Parish  of  Blackburn,  Blackburn 
and  Walton-in-le-Dale  are  entered  as  Royal  Manors  under  Saxon  rule. 
How  many  of  the  twenty-eight  other  manors  of  the  Hundred  were  con- 
tained within  the  Parish  of  Blackburn  cannot  be  exactly  made  out  ;  but 
we  know  from  other  sources  that  the  larger  townships  of  Billington,  Sales- 
bury,  Clayton-in-le-Dale,  Osbaldeston,  Samlesbury  and  Pleasington,  and 


48  HISTORY    OF   BLACKBURN. 

probably  Hanvood,  Rishton  and  Livesey,  have  embraced  manors  in  fee 
under  the  chief  lords  of  the  Honor  from  the  beginning  of  the  Norman 
appropriation,  and  it  may  be  inferred  that  the  Saxon  manors  within  the 
parish  were  generally  identical  with  the  Norman  manorial  tenures  that 
succeeded. 

Some  explanation  of  obsolete  terms  employed  in  Domesday  Book 
may  be  useful  to  the  general  reader.  The  hide  of  land  was  originally  a 
Saxon  measure,  and  signified  as  much  arable  land  as  would  suffice  to 
support  one  family.  Obviously  the  extent  of  the  hide  must  have  varied 
according  to  the  quality  and  situation  of  the  land,  and  thus  it  has  been 
found  impossible  to  fix  any  measure  as  the  uniform  equivalent  of  the 
Saxon  hide.  The  carncate  in  South  Lancashire  was  equal  to  the  sixth 
part  of  a  hide,  in  other  parts  of  England  it  was  but  one-twelfth.  The 
meaning  of  the  term  is,  as  much  land  as  could  be  tilled  by  one  plough, 
from  the  Latin  caruca,  a  plough.  Dr.  Whitaker  says  that  in  Blackburn 
Hundred  the  manors  averaged  about  one  and  a  half  carucates  each  ; 
that  the  "  oxgang"  was  sixteen  acres,  and  the  carucate  128  acres,  or 
eight  oxgangs.  This  gives  an  average  area  of  the  twenty-eight  private 
manors  of  Blackburnshire  of  192  acres  each. 

The  tenure  of  the  earldom  of  Lancaster,  with  its  valuable  appurte- 
nances, was  not  long  retained  by  Roger  de  Poictou.  In  the  year  1074, 
during  the  King's  absence  in  Normandy,  a  conspiracy  was  formed  to 
dethrone  him,  and  to  separate  England  into  three  kingdoms — those  of 
Northumbria,  Mercia,  and  Wessex.  The  three  principal  agents  in  this 
sedition  were  Roger  de  Poictou,  Waltheof,  Earl  of  Northumberland  (an 
English  noble  who  had  made  his  peace  with  the  Norman),  and  Adolphus, 
Earl  of  Norfolk  and  Suffolk.  Between  these  it  was  intended  that  the 
country  should  be  divided.  William's  prompt  return  to  England  discon- 
certed the  conspiracy,  and  the  foiled  plotters  paid  the  penalty  of  their 
ambition,  Waltheof  with  his  life,  and  Roger  de  Poictou  by  the  forfeiture 
of  his  English  estates  and  banishment  from  the  country.  The  Norman 
monarch  himself  assumed  the  proprietorship  of  the  Lancashire  lands  of 
which  his  rebellious  noble  had  been  deprived,  and  they  were  kept  as 
royalties  until  the  King's  death  in  1087. 

The  rise  of  the  town  and  fortress  of  Clitheroe  dates  from  the  first 
years  of  the  Norman  tenure  of  East  Lancashire.  It  was  then  that 
Clitheroe  became  the  seat  of  local  authority,  and  gave  its  designation  to 
the  "  Honor  of  Clitheroe,"  which  embraced  the  older  division  of  Black- 
burnshire, along  with  portions  of  other  Hundreds  in  Lancashire  and 
Yorkshire.  The  Norman  fortress  at  Clitheroe  was  built  either  by  Ilbert 
de  Lacy  in  the  reign  of  William  I.,  or  by  his  son  Robert  in  the  reign  of 
William  Rufus.  The  De  Lacy  family,  whose  representatives  figure  con- 


ORIGINAL  CHURCH   FOUNDATIONS.  49 

spicuously  in  the  local  history  of  the  next  two  centuries,  came  from  the 
Department  of  Calvadas,  in  Normandy  ;  and  their  name,  originally  spelt 
De  Lascy,  was  derived  from  a  place  called  Lassi,  in  the  French  province. 
The  history  of  the  Honor  of  Clitheroe, — which  passed  from  the  Lacies 
by  marriage  of  an  heiress  to  Henry  Earl  of  Lancaster,  and  remained  an 
appanage  of  the  Earldom  and  Dukedom  of  Lancaster  and  of  the  Crown 
on  the  addition  of  the  duchy  to  the  titular  dignities  of  the  Monarch, 
until  it  was  granted  to  General  Monk,  Duke  of  Albemarle,  by  Charles 
the  Second, — has  been  written  circumstantially  by  the  historian  Whitaker, 
and  therefore  need  not  be  repeated  in  these  pages.  With  the  Honor 
of  Clitheroe  was  associated  the  judicatory  rights  of  the  Wapentake  of 
Blackburn,  whose  ancient  court  has  but  recently  been  abolished. 

A  Latin  manuscript,  supposed  to  have  been  written  about  the  year 
1347  by  John  Lyndelay,  one  of  the  Abbots  of  Whalley,  contains  a  curious 
account,  compiled  probably  from  local  traditions  extant  at  the  time,  of 
the  primitive  circumstances  of  the  district,  both  as  respects  its  ecclesias- 
tical and  its  civil  settlements.  This  ancient  document,  which  Whitaker 
styles  De  Statu  Blagborneshire — "Concerning  the  State  of  Blackburn- 
shire" — was  translated  by  the  late  Mr.  Harland  for  the  new  edition  of  the 
History  of  Lancashire?-  All  that  need  be  recited  here  are  passages  refer- 
ring to  the  first  Christian  foundations  in  the  district  and  to  the  local 
manors  of  the  Saxon  period  : — 

Be  it  remembered,  that  in  the  time  of  Ethelbert,  King  of  the  English^  who< 
began  to  reign  A.  D.  596,  the  blessed  Augustine,  the  Apostle  of  the  English,  sent  by. 
the  blessed  Pope  Gregory,  in  the  third  year  of  his  papacy,  at  the  instance  and  request 
of  the  said  King,  preached  in  England,  and  taught  the  Christian  faith.  There  was  at 
Whalley  in  Blackborneshire  a  certain  parish  church  built  in  honour  of  all  saints,  in  the 
cemetery  of  which  church  were  certain  stone  crosses  then  erected  and  called  by  the 
people  the  crosses  of  the  blessed  Augustine,  which  under  the  same  name  exist,  there  to 
this  day  ;  and  the  above-named  church  was  called,  at  that  time,  "  The  White  Church 
under  the  Legh. "  Within  the  bounds  and  limits  of  the  said  parish  church  were  com- 
prised, at  the  time,  all  Blagborneshire  and  all  Boland,  and  so  it  endured  for  many 
years.  After  these  things,  the  devotion  of  the  faithful  increasing,  and  the  number  of 
believers  in  those  parts  being  augmented,  there  were  built  other  three  churches  in 
Blagborneshire, — namely,  the  Church  of  Blagborne,  the  Church  of  Chepen,  and  the 
Church  of  Ribchester, — the  parishes  of  these  churches  being  distinct,  and  marked  out 
in  certain  limits  on  all  sides,  as  they  have  continued  to  be  to  the  present  time,  and  are 
well  known  to  all  in  those  parts.  In  those  times,  while  the  said  churches  had  thus 
been  built,  there  was  not,  in  Blackborneshire,  at  Cliderhowe,  or  elsewhere,  a  castle 
built,  nor  any  chapel  whatever  besides  the  above-named  churches,  nor  any  lord  who 
had  ever  claimed  the  patronage  of  the  said  churches,  or  of  any  of  them  ;  but  each 
rector  held  and  possessed  the  land  and  vill  in  which  his  church  was  situated,  as  the 
endowment  of  his  church  ;  and  governed  his  church,  so  endowed,  as  if  it  were  his  own 
patrimony  and  inheritance  ;  and  freely  appointed  his  successor  from  among  his  sons  or 

i  Vol.  2,  pp.  1-3. 

4 


50  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

friends,  acceptance  or  institution  by  the  Bishop  of  Lichfield  then  taking  place  ;  and, 
for  a  long  time,  the  Rectors  of  Whalley  and  of  Blagborne  were  for  the  most  part  mar- 
ried men,  and  the  lords  of  vills.  And  those  of  Whalley  were  called  deans,  not  parsons 
— the  cause  of  which  is  thought  likely  to  be,  that  at  the  time  of  the  founding  of  this 
church,  and  through  times  long  subsequent,  the  people  of  those  parts  were  so  sparse, 
and  so  untamed  and  wild,  and  moreover,  there  was  such  a  multitude  of  foxes  and  hurt- 
ful beasts,  and  the  place  also  seemed  so  inaccessible  to  men,  that  alike  the  Bishops  for 
the  time  being,  and  their  officials,  left  and  continually  committed  the  whole  jurisdiction 
(pertaining  to  the  office  of  common  deans)  over  the  ordinaries  of  these  parishes,  to  the 
aforesaid  rectors,  on  account  of  the  inconvenience  specified ;  the  more  difficult  and 
weighty  causes,  indeed,  being  reserved  for  the  Bishop.  Who  held  this  lordship  of 
Blagborneshire  before  the  time  of  the  said  King  William  is  not  stated  with  certainty  in 
the  chronicles.  Common  opinion  holds  and  asserts,  that  as  many  as  were  the  vills  or 
mansions,  or  the  manors  of  men,  so  many  were  the  lords,  not  only  in  Blagborneshire, 
but  also  Rachdale,  Tottington,  and  Boland,  and  all  the  adjacent  neighbourhood,  of 
which  rone  was  held  from  another,  but  all  in  chief  from  the  lord  King  himself. 

In  the  reign  of  Henry  II.,  and  about  a  century  after  the  Conquest, 
the  names  of  several  townships  in  Blackburn  Parish  appear  in  existing 
documents.  For  example,  Gospatric,  lord  of  Samlesbury,  founded  the 
Chapel  of  Samlesbury  about  the  year  1190.  In  the  twelfth  century,  the 
name  of  Rishton  is  found  as  the  seat  of  a  branch  of  the  family  of  De 
Blackburns,  the  members  of  which  changed  the  family  name  on  their 
change  of  residence  to  De  Rishton.  The  manor  of  Great  Harwood  is 
mentioned  early  in  the  same  century  as  the  gift  of  Henry  de  Lacy  to 
Richard  de  Fitton,  Justice  of  Chester.  In  the  reign  of  Henry  II.,  who 
died  in  1189,  the  two  Darewents  (Upper  and  Nether  Darwen),  Melver 
(Mellor),  Hecdeshall  (Eccleshill),  and  Harawuda  (Harwood),  are  given 
in  documents  as  members  of  the  Knight's  Fee  of  Walton,  granted  by 
Henry  II.  to  Robert  Banastre,  founder  of  the  great  house  of  Banastre  of 
Walton,  Billington  township  is  named  so  early  as  the  reign  of  Stephen, 
who  died  in  1 1 54.  Osbaldeston  is  named  in  deeds  of  the  reign  of  Henry 
II. ;  and  the  townships  of  Wilpshire,  Dinkley,  Cuerdale,  Salesbury,  Tock- 
holes,  Pleasington,  and  Witton  not  much  later.  So  that  the  settled  lands 
of  the  Parish  soon  after  the  Norman  occupation  may  be  generally  identi- 
fied with  the  modern  townships,  and  their  anterior  definition  and  appor- 
tionment may  be  assumed,  the  silence  of  Domesday  notwithstanding. 

The  following  extracts  from  the  Liber  Feodorum  (Book  of  Fees), 
compiled  by  Ralph  de  Nevill  in  the  reign  of  Henry  III.,  have  reference 
to  the  landed  tenures  in  this  parish  : — 

FEES   OF  THE   HEIR   OF  ROBERT  BANASTRE. 

The  same  heir  holds  in  the  lord's  chief  manor  one  knight's  fee  in  Waleton  and 
Blakeburnscire  of  the  fee  of  the  Earl  of  Lincoln,  and  he  in  chief  of  the  lord  the  king ; 
the  land  hitherto  is  in  custody  and  belongs  to  the  dower  of  the  Countess  of  Lincoln, 


FOUNDATION  OF  WHALLEY  ABBEY.  5, 

FEES  OF  THE   HEIR   OF  THE  EARL  OF  LINCOLN   IN   BLAKEBURNSCIRE. 

Inquisitors  of  the  Wapentake  of  Blakeburnscire  : — Simon  le  Harris,  Adam  de 
Blakeburn,  Adam  Noel,  Henry  de  Cleyton,  Adam  de  Billinton,  William  de  Calde- 
cotes,  John  de  Wynketley,  and  Richard  de  Katlauhe. 

LIVESEY,  ACTON,  AND  MERLEY.— Ralph  de  Mitton  holds  the  fourth  part  of 
a  knight's  fee  in  Acton,  Merley,  and  Liveshey,  of  the  demesne  fee,  and  it  belongs  to 
the  dower  of  the  Countess. 

RISHTON. — Gilbert,  the  son  of  Henry,  holds  the  tenth  part  of  a  knight's  fee  in 
Ruston  of  the  demesne  fee,  and  it  belongs  to  the  dower  of  the  Countess.  Adam  de 
Billinton  holds  half  a  knight's  fee  in  the  same  of  the  demesne  fee,  and  it  belongs  to 
the  dower  of  the  Countess.  The  heir  of  Hugh  de  Alvetham  holds  the  eighth  part 
of  a  knight's  fee  in  the  same  of  the  demesne  fee,  and  it  belongs  to  the  dower  of  the 
Countess. 

HARWOOD. — Hugh  Fit  on  holds  the  fourth  part  of  a  knight's  fee  in  Harwood 
of  the  demesne  fee.  Henry  de  Cleyton  holds  the  eighth  part  of  a  knight's  fee  in  the 
same  of  the  demesne  fee. 

Under  the  head  of  Inquisition  of  the  Earldom  of  Lancaster ',  I  find 
the  following : — 

Roger  de  Laci  holds  five  knight's  fees  of  the  fee  of  Cliderhow,  which  was  in  the 
hand  of  the  lord  the  King. 

Under  the  head  of  Drengages  are  these  entries  : — 

HARWOOD. — Roger  de   Samelisbury  and   Alexander   [de    Harwood]    hold  six 
carucates  in   Harewood  of    the  aforesaid  [Robert  Greslet's]  knight's   fee. 
Roger  de  Samelisburi  and  Alexander  de  Harewood  hold   one  oxgang  of  land  in 
Chappels  [Sharpies]  by  [a  rent  of]  8s.,  of  Robert  Gredle  [Greslet]. 

Edmund  de  Lacy,  Lord  of  Clitheroe  Honor,  who  djed  in  1258, 
was  found  by  escheat  to  have  possessed,  among  his  many  estates  in 
Lancashire  and  Yorkshire,  the  manor  and  lands  in  Blackburn  Parish 
that  follow: — Rishton  manor,  lands  in  Salesbuyre,  Livysay,  Samlesburye, 
Osbaldeston,  Clayton,  Dinkedley  and  Wolipshire. 

FOUNDATION  OF  WHALLEY  ABBEY. 

By  much  the  most  notable  event  in  the  local  history  during  the 
thirteenth  century,  was  the  foundation  of  the  Monastery  at  Whalley 
by  the  Fraternity  of  Cistercian  Monks  previously  domiciled  at  Stanlaw, 
in  Cheshire.  With  the  history  of  that  Monastery,  from  its  erection  until 
its  dissolution,  a  period  of  about  two  centuries  and  a  half,  the  ecclesias- 
tical affairs  of  Blackburn  Parish  are  intimately  associated ;  while  the 
endowments  of  Whalley  Abbey  included  extensive  territorial  properties 
and  rights  of  lordship  within  the  parish.  Prior  to  the  translation  from 
Stanlaw  to  Whalley,  the  Church  of  Blackburn  and  its  dependent  Chapels, 
with  ample  glebe  and  other  lands  in  Blackburn,  had  been  bestowed 
upon  the  Abbot  and  Monks  of  this  fraternity  by  members  of  the  De 
Lacy  family,  founders  and  chief  patrons  of  the  Monastery.  Particulars 


52  HISTORY   OF  BLACKBURN. 

of  these  endowments  will  be  hereafter  furnished  in  the  accounts  to  be 
inserted  of  the  Parish  Church  and  ancient  dependent  Chapels  of  the 
parish.  In  the  year  1283,  Henry  de  Lacy,  Earl  of  Lincoln,  finding  that 
the  original  house  of  the  Fraternity  at  Stanlaw  had  suffered  greatly  by 
its  exposed  situation  on  the  estuary  of  the  Mersey,  and  was  threatened 
with  total  destruction,  resolved  upon  the  removal  of  the  foundation  to 
Whalley,  and  to  facilitate  the  transfer,  granted  to  the  Monastery  the 
advowson  of  Whalley  Church.  In  1289,  in  answer  to  a  petition 
of  the  Abbot  and  Monks,  Pope  Nicholas  IV.  by  his  bull  authorised 
the  proposed  translation.  Boniface  VIII.,  the  succeeding  Pope,  first 
revoked,  but  eventually  confirmed  the  permission  of  his  predecessor. 
Before,  however,  the  Abbot  and  Monks  of  Stanlaw  could  enter  into 
possession  of  the  benefice  and  patronage  of  Whalley,  the  death  of  the 
holder  of  the  rectory,  Peter  de  Cestria,  had  to  take  place.  This  event 
occurred  in  the  year  1294,  and  shortly  after  the  Abbot  of  Stanlaw 
removed  his  quarters  to  Whalley;  bringing  with  him  the  majority  of  the 
Monks.  Stanlaw  was  retained  as  a  cell  to  Whalley.  On  the  site 
selected  for  the  new  Abbey,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Calder  immediately 
to  the  west  of  the  Parish  Church  of  Whalley,  Henry  de  Lacy  laid  the 
foundation  of  the  Abbey,  June  i2th,  1296.  The  first-completed 
portions  of  the  buildings  were  consecrated  in  1306,  but  the  process 
of  extension  continued  for  two  centuries,  and  until  within  a  few  years 
of  the  dismantlement  on  the  dissolution  of  Monasteries  in  the  reign 
of  Henry  VIII.  Ample  annals  of  this  great  Cistercian  Abbey  have 
been  published  by  Whitaker  and  others,  and  it  is  not  within  the  design 
of  this  history  to  describe  the  Abbey  fabrics  or  to  rehearse  the  history 
of  the  Monastery.  Such  of  its  territorial  possessions  as  were  contained 
in  the  townships  of  Blackburn  Parish  will  be  named  in  the  several 
township  histories ;  but  it  may  be  here  stated  that  they  included,  besides 
the  Rectorial  and  Vicarial  Glebes  of  Blackburn,  the  lordship  of  the 
Manor  of  Billington  with  appurtenant  estates,  amounting  to  the  greater 
part  of  the  area  of  that  township  ;  and  considerable  lands,  with  barns, 
mills  and  messuages  in  the  townships  of  Pleasington,  Mellor,  Eccleshill, 
Witton,  Livesey,  Walton-in-le-Dale,  Samlesbury,  Balderstone,  Salesbury, 
Over  Darwen,  Wilpshire,  Little  Harwood,  and  Ramsgreave.  Thus,  for 
an  extended  period,  the  Abbots  of  Whalley  were  the  largest  landlords 
in  Blackburn  Parish,  and  their  domains  in  Whalley  Parish  and  in  other 
parts  of  Lancashire  were  still  more  vast  and  valuable. 

THE  GREAT  DE  LACY  INQUISITION. 

On  the   1 6th  of   February,   1311,  inquisition  was  taken,  by  order 
of  the  Crown,  of  the  situation,  extent  and  value  of  the  estates  in 


THE  DOMAIN  OF  HENRY  DE  LACY.  53 

Lancashire,  of  which  Henry  de  Lacy,  Lord  of  Clitheroe,  deceased  a 
year  before  (February  5th,  1310),  had  died  possessed.  Of  this  account 
Whitaker  says  that  "  after  the  death  of  the  last  Earl  of  Lincoln  (De 
Lacy),  leaving  only  a  daughter,  on  whose  demise  without  male  issue  the 
vast  estates  were  settled  upon  the  Crown,  it  was  thought  necessary  to 
make  a  strict  and  accurate  survey."  The  original  Latin  copy  of  this 
Inquisition  is  not  now  extant,  but  an  official  copy  of  it,  translated  into 
English,  is  contained  in  an  ancient  MS.  volume  among  the  records 
of  the  Honor  of  Clitheroe  in  the  custody  of  Mr.  Dixon  Robinson, 
of  Clitheroe  Castle.  The  Inquisition  has  been  printed  from  this  copy, 
edited  by  the  late  Mr.  Harland,  in  the  74th  volume  of  the  Chetham 
Society's  series.  I  cite  of  this  return  only  such  portions  as  relate  to 
estates  of  De  Lacy  in  the  Parish  of  Blackburn,  and  to  his  superior 
lordship  over  the  parish  as  parcel  of  Clitheroe  Honor. 
The  record  is  headed  : — 

INQUISITION  TAKEN  AFTER  THE  RENDER  OF  HENRY  DE  LACY,  LATE  EARL  OF 
LINCOLN,  OF  LANDS,  TENEMENTS,  &c.,  HELD  OF  THE  KING,  IN  THE 
COUNTY  OF  LANCASTER,  THE  i6TH  FEBRUARY,  4TH  EDWARD  II. 

The  Jury  say  that  Henry  de  Lacy,  Earl  of  Lincoln,  had  no  lands  or  tenements  in 
fee  in  chief  of  the  King,  but  that  he  held  all  his  lands  and  tenements  in  the  County  of 
Lancaster,  immediately  of  the  King  by  the  service  of  fourteen  Knights'  fees  and 
the  third  part  of  a  Knight's  fee,  and  by  the  rent  of  1055.  8d.,  payable  yearly  to  the 
Castle  Guard  of  Lancaster,  and  a  certain  fee  called  sak  fee,  and  doing  suit  to  the 
Court  held  at  Torn  every  six  weeks.  That  King  Edward  I.  granted  to  the  said  Earl 
of  Lincoln  and  the  heirs  of  his  body  all  the  lands  and  tenements  hereinafter  mentioned, 
remainder  to  Thomas,  son  of  Edmond  the  King's  brother,  and  to  Alice  his  wife,  and 
the  heirs  of  their  bodies,  remainder  to  the  right  heirs  of  the  said  Thomas. 

CLITHEROE. — That  he  was  seised  of  Ihe  Castle  of  Clyderhowe  with  the  moat  and 
ditches,  nothing  worth  above  the  reprises.  Also  of  an  Orchard  under  the  Castle,  with 
a  Croft,  the  herbage  of  which  is  yearly  worth  2d.  There  are  also  20  acres  of  demean 
lands  demised  to  several  tenants-at- will,  each  acre  yearly  worth  4d., — somm  6s.  8d. 
Four  and  a  half  acres  of  Meadow,  yearly  worth  35.  A  Watermill,  yearly  worth  £6 
133.  4d.  A  Fair  on  St.  Mary  Magdalene's  day,  the  toll  and  profits  thereof  are  yearly 
worth  6s.  8d.  The  Toll  of  Clyderhow,  Blakeburn,  and  Bowland,  yearly  worth  ^4 
135.  4d. 

The  subjoined  paragraphs  refer  to  townships  in  this  parish  : — 

RISHTON  AND  MAGNA  HARWOOD. — Johanna,  late  the  wife  of  Edmund  Talbot, 
held  two  carucates  of  land  in  Risseton,  by  the  fourth  of  a  knight's  fee,  or  the  yearly  rent 
of  is.  and  suit  of  the  Court  of  Clyderhou.  William  de  Haskayth  held  two  carucates 
of  land  by  the  service  of  a  knight's  fee  and  the  yearly  rent  of  2s.  6d.  and  suit  of  the 
Court  aforesaid. 

BLACKBURN. — John  Hilton  held  a  carucate  and  a  half  in  Blackburn  freely  by 
homage. 

LIVESEY. — Sir  Henry  de  Bury  held  Levesay  in  thanage  and  paid  yearly  295.  at 
the  Feast  of  St.  Gyles,  and  did  suit  of  the  Court  aforesaid. 


54  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

TOCKHOLES.— John  de  Plesyngton  and  Adam  de  Tockholes  held  Tockholes  in 
thanage,  and  did  one  suit  to  the  aforesaid  Court. 

OVER  DARWEN. — The  heirs  of  Samlesbury  and  of  Keuersdale  held  one  carucate 
in  On  Derwent,  by  the  service  of  the  eighth  of  a  knight's  fee  and  suit  of  the  Court 
of  Clyderhou. 

LOWER  DARWEN. — Sir  Adam  Banestre  held  two  carucates  of  land  in  Nether 
Derwent,  and  paid  yearly  2s.  lod. 

WALTON-IN-LE-DALE.— Sir  John  de  Langeton  held  two  carucates  of  land  by  the 
service  of  43.  a  year  at  Midsummer  and  suit  to  the  Court  aforesaid. 

CUERDALE. — Adam  de  Keuresdale  held  a  carucate  in  Keuresdale  by  the  service 
of  95.  a  year  at  the  Feast  of  St.  Gyles. 

SAMLESBURY.— Lady  Cecill  de  Evyhus  and  Lady  Elizabeth  de  Holland  held  one 
carucate  in  Samlesbury  in  thanage,  and  paid  yearly  I2s. 

MELLOR. — Nicholas  de  Evyas  held  half  a  carucate  of  land  in  Melore  by  the 
service  of  the  sixteenth  of  a  knight's  fee  and  paid  yearly  8d. 

CLAYTON-IN-LE-DALE  AND  BILLINGTON.— Sir  Adam  de  Huddelston  held 
Clayton  and  Billington  by  the  service  of  IDS.  yearly  at  the  Feast  of  St.  Gyles  and  3d. 
at  Midsummer,  and  suit  to  the  Court  aforesaid. 

WITTON. — Richard,  son  of  Geffery  de  Chaterton,  held  one  carucate  in  Witton  by 
the  service  of  the  eighth  of  a  knight's  fee  and  the  rent  of  2s.  per  annum  at  Midsummer. 
Adam  de  Haldeley  held  an  assart  and  paid  yearly  id.  and  suit  to  the  aforesaid  Court. 

SALESBURY. — Hugh  de  [Clyderhow]  held  Salesbury  and  Little  Penhilton  in 
thanage,  and  paid  yearly  235.  rod.  at  St.  Gyles's  Feast  and  suit  of  the  Court  aforesaid. 
Richard  de  Tyndiheved  held  1 1  acres  in  Salesbury,  paying  yearly  id.  Richard  le 
Sorris  held  freely,  a  Watermill,  paying  yearly  6s.  8d. 

DINKLEY. — Roger  de  Clyderhow  held  an  oxgang  and  a  third  of  land  in  Dynkeley 
in  thanage,  and  paid  2s.  and  suit  of  Court. 

WILPSHIRE. — Bernard  de  Hackyng  held  in  Whelipshire  half  an  oxgang  of  land 
in  thanage,  and  paid  yearly  I  id.  and  suit  of  Court.  Henry  de  Bradhill  held  half  an 
oxgang  of  land  and  a  third  there  in  thanage,  by  the  rent  of  is.  per  annum  and  suit 
of  Court.  Henry  de  Boulton  held  one  oxgang  in  thanage  by  the  rent  of  is.  per 
annum  and  suit  of  Court.  John,  son  of  Walter  de  Bradhill,  held  there  two  oxgangs 
of  land  in  thanage,  and  paid  yearly  is.  and  suit  of  Court. 

FISHERY  IN  THE  RIBBLE. — The  said  Earl  had  a  separate  Fishery  in  Ribblewater 
in  Samewell  and  Salewell  [Sale  Wheel]  yearly  worth  I2d.  Thomas  Soroys  paid 
yearly  to  the  Earl,  by  attachments  of  the  Pool  at  Mitton  Mill,  45. 

The  following  held  their  tenements  as  part  of  the  Dower  of  the 
Lady  Alice  de  Lacy,  but  did  suit  to  the  three  weeks'  Court  at  Cliderhou, 
viz  : — 

OSBALDESTON  AND  BALDERSTONE. — Thomas  de  Osbaldestone  for  his  tenements 
in  Osbaldestone  and  Bahvestone. 

To  the  above  may  be  added  the  agistment  and  winter  herbage 
of  Hoddlesden  Forest  and  Ramsgreave  Chase,  reckoned  together  with 
those  of  Trawden,  Rossendale,  and  Pendle  Forests,  as  worth  yearly  in 
total  408. 

The  particulars  of  the  Inquisition  are  of  use  in  the  authentic  state- 
ment they  embody  of  the  territorial  tenures  of  the  parish  at  that  period, 


TENANTS  OF  THE  DUCHY  OF  LANCASTER.        55 

with  the  names  of  the  free  tenants  holding  under  the  last  of  the  De 
Lacys  as  lords  of  manors  by  knight's  fee  and  also  in  thanage.  From 
this  time  the  tenure  of  most  of  the  chief  local  landed  estates  may  be 
defined  and  their  passage  traced  down  to  present  possessors. 

The  Honor  of  Clitheroe  or  domain  of  Blackburnshire  was  the 
possession,  in  the  fourteenth  century,  of  the  Earls  and  Dukes  of  Lan- 
caster in  succession,  beginning  with  Earl  Thomas,  husband  of  Alice  de 
Lacy,  and  Henry  his  brother,  father  of  Henry,  first  Duke  of  Lancaster. 
A  manuscript  printed  by  Gregson  in  the  Portfolio  of  Fragments^  supplies 
a  category  of  tenants  of  the  Duchy  of  Lancaster  in  Blackburnshire  at 
the  period  of  the  tenure  of  Henry,  the  first  Duke  (created  A.D.  1352),  in 
which  the  feudal  tenants  in  Blackburn  Parish  are  named  as  under: — 

WALTON-IN-LE-DALE.— Robert  de  Langton,  knight,  holds  one  knight's  fee  of 
the  Duke  of  Lancaster  in  Walton-in-le-Dale,  in  Blackburnshire,  that  Robert  Banester 
once  held  of  the  fee  of  the  Earl  Lacy  of  Lincoln. 

AIGHTON,  MEARLEY,  AND  LIVESEY. — John  de  Harington,  Knight,  Thomas  de 
Ardern,  Adam  de  Hoghton,  Richard  de  Nevill,  and  John  Bayley  hold  the  fourth  part 
of  a  knight's  fee  in  Aghton,  Merley,  and  Levissay,  which  Ralph  de  Mitton  once  held 
of  the  fee. 

RISHTON. — John  de  Radcliffe  holds  of  the  said  duke  the  tenth  part  of  a  knight's 
fee  in  Rysheton,  which  Gilbert,  son  of  Henry,  once  held. 

BILLINGTON. — The  Abbot  of  Whalley  holds  half  a  knight's  fee  in  Billington,  of 
the  demesne  of  the  duke,  which  Adam  de  Billington  once  held. 

HARWOOD.—  William  de  Hesketh,  knight,  holds  four  parts  of  a  knight's  fee  in 
Harewood  of  the  said  duke,  which  Hugh  Fyton  once  held. 

SALESBURY. — The  heirs  of  Richard  Clidrowe  hold  the  manor  of  Salebury  of  the 
Duke  of  Lancaster  in  socage  [obligation  to  plough,  &c.,  the  lord's  lands],  and  for  the 
service  of  383.  8d.  per  annum  at  the  Feast  of  St.  Gyles. 

SAMLESBURY. — William  Lord  Lovell,  Burnell  and  de  Holand  and  Richard  Soth- 
worth  hold  of  the  said  duke  the  manor  of  Samlesbury  in  socage  for  the  service  of  I2s. 
per  annum. 

TOCKHOLES,  &c. — Richard,  son  of  John  de  Radcliffe,  holds  the  manor  of  Urde- 
sale  ;  a  hundred  acres  in  a  place  called  Hollinhed  and  in  Tockholes  ;  forty  acres  in 
Salford,  &c.,  all  held  of  the  King  in  chief  by  knight  service  for  2s.  [per  annum.] 

John  of  Gaunt  (Ghent),  fourth  son  of  Edward  III.,  married  Blanche, 
second  daughter  of  Henry  Duke  of  Lancaster,  who  had  no  male  heir ; 
and  on  the  death,  in  1362,  of  Matilda,  eldest  daughter  of  Duke  Henry 
(who  died  in  1361),  the  whole  of  the  estates  attached  to  the  Duchy  of 
Lancaster  and  Earldom  of  Leicester  passed  to  the  Lady  Blanche,  as  sole 
heiress  of  the  deceased  Duke.  Thereupon,  her  Royal  spouse,  John  of 
Gaunt,  was  created  Duke  of  Lancaster,  and  the  title  was  thus  perpetuated. 
The  wife  of  Duke  John,  the  Lady  Blanche,  bore  him  a  son,  named 
Henry  of  Bolingbroke,  afterwards  crowned  as  Henry  IV.,  and  founder 
of  the  dynastic  House  of  Lancaster.  Duke  John  of  Gaunt  had  before 

i  Edn.  of  1824,  App.  pp.  lix-l.v. 


56  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

received,  on  his  marriage  with  Blanche,  daughter  of  Duke  Henry,  as  her 
marriage  portion,  with  other  estates,  "  the  Wapentake  of  Clyderhow, 
with  the  demesne  lands  there,  the  royal  bailiwick  of  Blackburnshire,  the 
manors  of  Tottington  and  Rochdale,  the  lordship  of  Bowland,  the  vac- 
cary  of  Eowland  and  Blackburnshire,  the  forest  of  Blackburnshire,  and 
park  of  Ightenhill,  with  the  appurtenances  in  Blackburnshire.1"  Blanche, 
Duchess  of  Lancaster,  died  in  the  year  1369  ;  Duke  John  of  Gaunt,  in 
1398. 

Henry  of  Bolingbroke,  who  succeeded  to  the  Dukedom,  was  in 
exile  at  the  date  of  his  sire's  demise,  having  been  banished  by  Richard 
II..  and  his  inheritance  sequestrated.  But  returning  to  England,  and 
placing  himself  at  the  head  of  a  powerful  disaffected  party,  Henry  easily 
deposed  the  last  of  the  Plantagenets,  and  was  proclaimed  King,  with  the 
title  of  Henry  IV.,  on  September  29th,  1399.  By  this  elevation,  the 
estates  of  the  Duchy  of  Lancaster,  among  them  the  lordship  of 
Blackburnshire,  became  appurtenant  to  the  English  Monarchy. 

In  that  vindictive  and  ensanguined  civil  conflict  which  arose  out  of 
rival  claims  of  the  Dukes  of  York  and  of  Lancaster — as  representatives 
of  the  elder  and  younger  branches  of  the  stock  of  Plantagenet — to  the 
Crown  of  England,  the  men  of  Lancashire,  knights,  gentry,  and  re- 
tainers, strenuously  bore  their  part  on  one  side  or  the  other,  and  profited  or 
suffered  by  the  various  events  that  alternately  lifted  and  sunk  the  for- 
tunes of  the  White  and  the  Red  Roses.  But  no  significant  military  pas- 
sage of  that  long  intermittent  war,  which  covered  a  period  of  about  three 
quarters  of  a  century,  had  for  its  scene  these  hilly  parts  of  North-East 
Lancashire,  nor  demand,  therefore,  the  notice  of  the  local  annalist. 
The  great  battles  of  the  Wars  of  the  Roses  were  those  of  St.  Albans  (A.D. 
1454),  Blore  Heath  (1459),  Northampton  (1460),  Wakefield  (1460), 
Mortimer's  Cross  (1461),  Towton  (1461),  Hexham  (1464),  Barnet  (1471), 
Tewkesbury  (1471),  and  Bosworth  Field  (1485),  some  of  which  were 
among  the  bloodiest  ever  fought  on  English  ground.  Before  the  battle 
of  Blore  Heath,  fought  on  the  Staffordshire  border  in  1459,  the  Yorkist 
army,  which  had  been  mustered  by  the  Duke  of  York  at  Middleham 
Castle  in  Yorkshire,  was  marched  through  Craven,  and  therefore 
through  Ribblesdale,  traversing  a  portion  of  the  Parish  of  Blackburn, 
and  passing  on  through  West  Lancashire  into  Cheshire  and  Shropshire. 
The  Yorkist  nobles  were  joined  in  the  campaign  by  Sir  Thomas  Har- 
rington, of  Hornby  Castle,  Sir  Richard  Molyneux,  of  Sefton,  and  other 
Lancashire  notables.  In  the  course  of  these  wars,  several  of  the  princi- 
pal landowners  in  this  parish,  to  be  named  hereafter,  forfeited  life  or 
lands  by  adherence  to  the  losing  interest. 

i  Hist,  of  Wha!k-y,  New  Edn.;  v.  i.  p,  262. 


BETRAYAL  OF  HENRY  THE  SIXTH.  57 

One  remarkable  and  melancholy  incident  in  the  career  of  the 
unfortunate  King,  Henry  the  Sixth,  is  associated  with  Ribblesdale,  and 
with  members  of  two  local  families, — I  refer  to  the  capture  of  Henry 
near  Clitheroe  in  the  year  1464,  by  partizans  of  Edward  IV.,  the  Yorkist 
Prince,  who  had  then  forcibly  possessed  the  throne.  After  the  loss  of 
the  battle  of  Hexham,  Henry  was  a  fugitive,  and  sojourned  for  a  time 
in  hiding  and  disguise  with  faithful  supporters  among  the  gentry  of  West 
Yorkshire.  Henry's  first  retreat  was  to  Bolton  Hall,  in  Craven,  the 
mansion  of  his  friend,  Sir  Ralph  Pudsay.  There  he  dwelt  in  conceal- 
ment for  some  months.  He  is  said  to  have  been  a  visitant  at 
Whalley  Abbey  during  this  period.  Sir  Ralph  Pudsay,  of  Bolton  Hall, 
had  married  Margaret,  daughter  of  Sir  Thomas  Tunstall,  who  attended 
Henry  as  his  body  esquire.  At  Bolton  Hall  Henry  left  memorials  of  his 
sojourn,  consisting  of  his  boots,  gloves,  and  a  spoon ;  these  interesting 
relics  are  still  in  preservation.  In  the  garden  of  Bolton  Hall  is  a  well, 
called  King  Henry's  Well,  of  which  it  is  a  tradition  that  the  spring 
was  discovered  by  Henry  himself,  and  the  well  walled  about  during  his 
residence  there.  After  his  departure  from  Bolton  Hall,  Henry'  was 
entertained  a  brief  space  at  Waddington  Hall,  in  the  parish  of  Mitton, 
then  the  residence  of  another  gentleman  who  had  supported  the  King's 
interest — Sir  John  Tempest.  Waddington  Hall  is  situated  a  short 
distance  from  the  Ribble,  on  the  Yorkshire  side.  It  is  a  strongly-built, 
moderate-sized  house,  most  of  the  original  features  of  which  have 
disappeared.  It  has  yet  a  room  which  is  known  as  the  King's  Chamber ; 
and  a  field  between  the  hall  and  the  river  bears  the  name  of  King 
Henry's  Meadow.  Henry's  presence  in  these  parts  was  known  to  the 
Harringtons  and  the  Talbots,  as  well  as  to  Tempest  and  Pudsay. 
Induced  by  the  promise  of  advantage  from  Edward  the  Fourth,  these 
parties,  with  the  honourable  exception  of  Sir  Ralph  Pudsay,  entered 
into  a  plot  to  take  Henry  captive  for  the  purpose  of  handing  him  over 
to  his  arch-enemy.  The  chief  agents  in  this  cruel  act  of  treachery 
were  Sir  James  Harrington,  of  Hornby,  and  John  Talbot,  of  Sales- 
bury  Hall.  They  set  a  watch  upon  the  ex-King's  movements  at  Wad- 
dington, and  when  he  was  known  to  be  within,  they  and  their  myrmidons 
approached  the  house  to  seize  Henry.  Their  victim  is  said  to  have 
escaped  by  a  back  window,  and  fled  in  the  direction  of  the  Ribble.  He 
reached  the  ford  of  the  river  anciently  known  as  Brungerley  Hipping- 
stones,  close  to  the  site  of  the  modern  bridge  over  the  Ribble  at  Brun- 
gerley ;  crossed  the  river,  and  reached  the  Lancashire  shore,  where  he 
was  overtaken  and  secured  by  his  pursuers.  This  capture  is  recorded  in 
the  Annals  of  England  by  John  Stow,  and  in  almost  identical  terms  in 
the  Chronicle  of  Warkworth,  as  follows  : — "  Also,  the  same  yere  [1464], 


58  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Kynge  Henry  was  takene  bysyde  a  howse  of  religione  [Whalley],  in 
Lancaschyre,  by  the  mene  of  a  blacke  monke  of  Abyngtone,  in  a  wode 
called  Cletherwode  [Clitheroe  Wood],  besyde  Bungerly  hyppyng- 
stones,  by  Thomas  Talbott,  sonne  and  heyre  to  Sere  Edmunde  Talbot,  of 
Basshalle,  and  Jhon  Talbott,  his  cosyne,  of  Colebry  [Salesbury],  withe 
other  moo  ;  whiche  disseyvide  [him]  beynge  at  his  dynere  at  Wadyngtone 
halle ;  and  [he  was]  caryed  to  Londone  on  horsebake,  and  his  lege 
bownd  to  the  styrope,  and  so  brought  thrugh  Londone  to  the  Toure, 
where  he  was  kepte  longe  tyme.1"  The  black  monk  who  was  instrumental 
in  the  betrayal  was  William  Cantlow.  At  Waddington  Hall  Henry  left 
on  his  abduction  a  handsome  leather  penner  ornamented  with  the 
heraldic  rose  and  crown,  and  other  insignia,  in  relief. 

The  betrayers  of  Henry  were  suitably  rewarded  by  Edward  IV. 
Sir  Thomas  Talbot  of  Bashall  received  a  gift  of  ;£ioo,  and  Sir  John 
Tempest  and  Sir  James  Harrington  the  sum  of  100  marks  each,  from 
the  Royal  exchequer ;  while  to  Sir  John  Harrington  King  Edward  made 
a  large  territorial  grant  for  his  share  in  this  transaction.  Both  the 
Talbots  who  aided  in  the  capture  of  the  inoffensive  King  were  consider- 
able landlords  in  Blackburn  Parish.  Talbot  of  Bashall  was  lord  of  the 
manor  of  Holt  in  Rishton  township,  and  his  relative,  John  Talbot,  was 
seated  at  Salesbury  Hall  and  lord  of  Salesbury  manor.  In  the  accounts 
of  these  two  families  of  Talbots  which  will  occur  in  the  histories  of 
Rishton  and  Salesbury  townships,  some  references  to  the  members 
implicated  in  this  business  will  be  found.  John  Livesey,  of  this  parish, 
a  connexion  of  the  Talbots  of  Holt  and  Bashall,  assisted  in  the  abduc- 
tion of  King  Henry,  for  which  he  received  a  reward  of  £20  from 
Edward  IV.  John  Talbot  of  Salesbury  received  likewise  from  King 
Edward  the  Fourth  a  grant  of  lands  and  houses  to  the  value  of  twenty 
marks  per  annum  (^13  6s.  8d.)  This  grant  was  confirmed  to  his  son 
by  a  deed  of  Richard  III.,  brother  of  Edward  IV.,  in  the  year  1484,  in 
terms  translated  thus  : — 

Richard  by  the  grace  of  God,  King  of  England  and  France,  and  Lord  of 
Ireland,  to  all  to  whom  the  present  writing  shall  come,  greeting.  Whereas  the  Lord 
Edward,  late  King  of  England,  our  brother,  in  consideration  of  the  good  and  faithful 
service  of  John  Talbot,  late  of  Salebury,  Armiger,  now  deceased,  in  the  capture  of 
his  great  adversary,  Henry,  late  in  fact  but  not  of  right  King  of  England,  by  his 
letters  patent  granted  to  the  same  John  a  certain  annuity  or  annual  fee  of  twenty 
marks,  to  have  and  to  receive  by  the  same  John  and  his  heirs  so  long  as  to  him  lands 
and  tenements  to  the  value  of  the  foresaid  annuity  might  be  awarded  by  the  lord  the 
King  or  his  heirs  ;  We,  also,  in  consideration  of  the  above-stated,  and  for  the  good 
and  faithful  service  that  our  well-beloved  John  Talbot,  of  Salebury,  Kt.,  son  and 
heir  of  the  aforesaid  John,  expends,  and  in  time  to  come  faithfully  may  expend,  of  our 
special  favour  concede,  and  by  these  presents  grant  to  the  same  John  the  annuity  or 

i  Camden  Soc.  Series,  v.  x,  p.  5. 


FALL  OF  RICHARD  III.  AT  BOSWORTH.  59 

annual  fee  of  twenty  marks,  to  have  and  to  receive  by  the  same  John  and  his  heirs, 
so  long  as  to  him  and  his  heirs  lands  and  tenements  of  the  annual  value  of  the 
foresaid  annuity  by  us  or  by  our  heirs  shall  be  bestowed  ;  receiving  the  same  annuity 
annually  out  of  the  issues  and  revenues  of  our  County  Palatine  of  Lancaster,  by  the 
hand  of  our  Receiver  of  the  foresaid  County  Palatine  of  Lancaster  for  the  time  being. 
In  attestation  of  which  thing  we  have  caused  to  be  executed  these  our  letters  patent. 
Given  under  our  seal  of  our  Duchy  of  Lancaster,  at  the  city  of  York,  the  26th  day  of 
June,  in  the  second  year  of  our  reign  (1484). 

Edward  IV.  granted  by  letters  patent  to  his  younger  brother, 
Richard,  Duke  of  Gloucester,  in  the  year  1469,  "the  honour,  castell,  lord- 
ship, manor,  and  hundred  of  Clytherough  [Clitheroe] ;  the  forests  of 
Blackburnshire  and  Bowland ;  the  manors  of  Penwortham,  Blaes,  Wal- 
ton, Padyngton,  Colne,  Penhulton,  Werston,  Chatburn,  Acryngton,  and 
Haselyngdon,  in  our  countie  of  Lancaster ;  the  manors  of  Skerton, 
Overton,  Slynes,  Rygby  and  Wira,  West  Derby,  Crosby ;  the  castell  and 
towne  of  Lytherpole ;  forests  of  Quernmoor,  Amoundernesse,  West 
Darbishire ;  Blesdale,  Wyresdale,  Penhull,  Rossendale  and  Myrescogh ; 
Toxtath,  and  Croxtath,  in  our  said  countie;  the  castell,  manor,  and 
lordship  of  Hulton ;  and  the  farmes  of  Runcorn,  More,  Wydnesse, 
Whitlegh,  Congleton,  in  the  countie  of  Chester." 

The  complete  overthrow  and  death  of  Richard  the  Third  by  Henry, 
Earl  of  Richmond,  at  the  battle  of  Bosworth,  in  1485,  ended  the 
domination  of  the  House  of  York,  and  closed  the  disastrous  epoch 
of  anarchy  and  confusion  created  by  the  conflicting  pretensions  to  the 
throne  of  the  several  descendants  of  Edward  Plantagenet.  .  Henry 
Tudor,  by  his  alliance  with  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Edward  IV.,  secured 
the  interest  of  York,  and  gave  to  his  heirs  a  stronger  title  to  the 
sovereignty  than  he  was  able  to  exhibit  in  his  own  lineage. 


<5o  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


CHAPTER  III.— THE  TUDOR  PERIOD. 

Sequestrations  by  Henry  VII. — The  Lancashire  Contingent  at  Flodden — Subsidy  Assessment  in  1523 — 
Ecclesiastical  Valuation  in  1534 — "  Pilgrimage  of  Grace,"  and  Suppression  of  Whalley  Monastery 
— Passage  of  the  Abbey  Estates—  Military  Levies  in  the  Reigns  of  Mary  and  Elizabeth— Prosecu- 
tion of  Recusants — Loyal  Declaration  of  Gentry— Free  Tenants  in  1600. 


NOTHING  of  significance  marks  the  record  of  this  Parish  in  the 
reign  of  the  first  Tudor,  Henry  VII.,  beyond  the  act  of  confiscation 
which  deprived  the  chief  members  of  the  vanquished  party  in  Lancashire 
of  their  territorial  possessions, — the  Harringtons  and  the  Lord  Lovel,  who 
owned  manors  in  Blackburn  Parish,  being  conspicuous  sufferers  by  that 
enactment.  Henry  VII.  paid  a  state  visit  to  Lancashire  in  the  year  1494, 
but  did  not  proceed  further  northward  in  the  county  than  Lathom,  the 
seat  of  the  Stanley  family. 

A  Subsidy  for  the  King  was  assessed  upon  Lancashire  in  1496,  and 
of  the  Commissioners  appointed  to  collect  the  subsidy  two  were  lords  of 
manors  in  the  Parish,  viz.,  Sir  John  Talbot,  Knt,  lord  of  Salesbury,  and 
Thomas  Hesketh,  Esq.,  lord  of  Great  Harwood. 

Henry  Tudor  died,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  as  Henry  the 
Eighth,  in  the  year  1509.  September  9th,  1513,  the  battle  of  Flodden 
Field  was  fought,  in  which  the  invading  army  of  James  the  IV.  of  Scot- 
land was  routed  by  the  English  host  under  the  Earl  of  Surrey.  In  this 
battle,  the  left  wing  of  the  English  army  was  composed  of  a  strong  con- 
tingent of  Lancashire  men,  marshalled  by  Sir  Marmaduke  Constable  and 
Sir  Edward  Stanley.  All  the  towns  and  parishes  of  the  County  were 
represented  in  this  gallant  array,  and  the  steadiness  and  valour  of  the 
Lancashire  fighting-men  are  specially  commemorated  in  a  quaint  con- 


SUBSIDY  ASSESSMENTS   IN  THE  PARISH.  61 

temporary  ballad-description  of  the  campaign.  These  lines,  often  cited 
from  the  Ballad  of  Flodden,  pourtray  the  characteristics  of  the  bowmen 
and  billmen  drawn  from  the  hills  and  plains  of  East  and  North  Lanca- 
shire : — 

From  Waddecar  to  Waddington, 

From  Ribchester  unto  Rochdale, 

From  Poulton  to  Preston  with  pikes, 

They  with  the  Standley  howte  forth  went, 

From  Pemberton  and  Pillin  Dykes, 

For  Battell  Bilmen  bould  were  bent, 

With  fellows  fearce  and  fresh  for  feight 

Which  Halton  fields  did  turn  in  foores, 

With  lustie  ladds,  liver  and  light, 

From  Blackborne  and  Bolton  in  the  Moores. 

From  a  Subsidy  Roll  in  the  Public  Record  Office  I  copy  the  parti- 
culars of  an  assessment  upon  that  portion  of  Blackburn  Hundred  con- 
tained in  Blackburn  Parish,  made  in  the  years  1523-4.  The  MS.  is 
beaded  : — 

ASSESSMENT  OF   FIRST  PAYMENT  OF  SUBSIDY  GRANTED   I5TH  HENRY  VIII.  ON 
INHABITANTS  WITHIN  THE  HUNDRED  OF  BLACKBURN. 

[!N  BLACKBURN  PARISH.] 

BLAKEBORNE—                                                                Value  Levy 

Robert  Sharpulls,  in  goodes       £4  2s. 

Roger  Wall ey,  in  goodes            £4  2s. 

William  Haworth,  in  goodes     £4  2s. 

Richard  Haworth,  in  goodes      £4  2s. 

Henry  Lyvesey,  in  goodes         £4.  2s. 

Thomas  Haspynhalgh,   in  goodes         ...         ...     £4  2s. 

James  Catterall,  in  goodes         ...          ...         ...     £4.  2s. 

William  Bolton,  in  goodes         ...         ...         ...     £4  2s. 

Lawrence  Sharpulls,  in  goodes ...         ...         ...     £4  2s. 

James  Harwood,  in  goodes         £4  2s. 

John  Karvart,  in  goodes £4.  2s. 

Henry  Whythalgh,  in  goodes £4.  2s. 

MELLOR-CUM-ECKELLS[HILL] — 

James  Whythalgh,  in  landes     ...         ...         ...     £4  45. 

John  Ward,  in  landes     ...         ...         ...         ...    405.  2s. 

Uxor  Christopher  Walley,  in  goodes 405.  I2d. 

George  Sharpulls,  in  goodes     405.  I2d. 

DERWYND  SUPERIOR— 

Rychard  Crosse,  in  landes         ...         ...         ...    403.  2s. 

William  Berre,  in  landes           2Os.  I2d. 

Rauf  Hey,  in  goodes      £4.  2s. 

DERWYND  INFERIOR— 

James  Lyvesey,  in  landes           £3  33. 

William  Mersden,  in  landes      ...         ...         ...    203.  I2d. 

Rauf  Waddington,  in  goodes £4  2s. 

Edmond  Haworth,  in  goodes £4  2s. 


62  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

DERWYND  INFERIOR—  Value  Levy 

Peter  Haworth,  in  goodes          ...         ...         ...  £4  2s. 

Edmond  Harwood,  in  goodes 403.  I2d. 

Richard  Haworth,  in  goodes  ...  403.  I2d. 

LYVESEY-CUM-TOCKHOLES — 

George  Esteley,  in  landes          403.  2s. 

Rauf  Crycheley,  in  goodes        ^4  2s. 

William  Walmesley,  in  landes 403.  2s. 

William  Holden,  in  landes        203.  I2d. 

John  Blaklach,  in  goodes           £4  2s. 

Thomas  Lyvesey,  in  goodes       £4  2s. 

Hugh  Marsden,  in  goodes          ^4  23. 

Marsden's  Widdow,  in  goodes £4  2s. 

PARVA  HARWOD— 

John  Ryshton,  in  landes           ...         2OS.    .  I2d. 

Roger  Bolton,  in  goodes  403.  I2d. 

PLESYNGTON — 

Lawrence  Any s worth,  in  landes            £$  53. 

William  Issherwod,  in  landes 403,  2s. 

Richard  Aspden,  in  landes        403.  2s. 

Myles  Mersden,  in  goodes         ...          405.  I2d. 

Bar thylmew  Sharpulls,  in  goodes  403.  I2d. 

RYSHTON — 

Uxor  Nicholas  Ryshton,  in  landes        £$  33. 

Nicholas  ffelden,  in  goodes         ...  £4  2s. 

George  Lyvesey,  in  goodes        £4  2s. 

George  Abbot,  in  goodes            £4      •  2s. 

Xpofer  Whalley,  in  goodes       403.  I2d. 

Rychard  ffelden,  in  goodes         403.  I2d. 

William  Hogeson,  in  goodes  £$  i8d. 

WYTTON— 

George  Cowbron,  in  landes       203.  i2d. 

James  Holdyn,  in  landes           205.  J2d. 

John  Hilliswyke,  in  landes  205.  I2d. 

MAGNA  HARWOD— 

Lynel  ffole,  in  landes 403.  2s. 

Roger  Cokshot,  in  landes          2os.  I2d. 

Robert  Haytalgh,  in  goodes      403.  I2d. 

Edmond  Merser,  in  goodes        £4  2s. 

Hugh  Stanworth,  in  goodes      403.  I2d. 

Xpofer  Butlyff,  in  goodes  £4  2s. 

BYLLYNGTON — 

John  Deyne,  in  landes 403.  2s. 

John  Braddyll,  in  landes 403.  2s. 

Hughtride  Morley,  in  landes      403.  2s. 

Edward  Braddyll,  in  goodes      £4  2S. 

Jamys  fforster,  in  goodes            £•$  i8d. 

Uxor  William  Choo,  in  goodes 403.  I2d. 

Jamys  Brought  on,  in  goodes      403.  I2d. 

John  Cedern,  in  goodes £$  igd. 

Edmond  Wod,  in  goodes           ...         403.  I2d. 

William  Pollart,  in  goodes        403.  I2d. 


SUBSIDY  ASSESSMENTS  IN  THE  PARISH.  63 

WYLLIPSHYRE-CUM-DYNKLEY —  Value  Levy 

Nycholas  Talbot,  in  landes       403.  2s. 

William  Dewirst,  in  landes       405.  2s. 

Olyver  Dewirst,  in  goodes         403.  I2d. 

CLAYTON-CUM-SHOLEY — 

Thomas  Walmysley,  in  goodes ^4  2s. 

Rychard  Hawkyshey,  in  goodes            £$  i8d. 

John  Mores,  in  goodes               405.  I2d. 

OSBOLDESTON — 

Robert  Osboldeston,  in  landes 205.  I2d. 

W  ALTON-I X  -LE-D  ALE — 

George  Banester,  in  landes         ...         ...         ...    ^3  33. 

Robert  Heyton,  in  goodes  ^4  2s. 

Edmond  Dansey,  in  goodes        ^"3  i8d. 

Edmond  Sergeant,  in  goodes      ^"4  2s. 

Edward  Dansey,  in  goodes         ^"3  i8d. 

John  Brerys,  in  goodes  ...  ...         ...         ...    403.  I2d. 

Rauf  Sergeant,  in  goodes  ...         ...         ...     ^"4  2s. 

BALDERSTONE— 

Roger  Smalley,  in  landes  203.  I2d. 

Thomas  Clyff,  in  goodes  ^4  2s. 

Barnard  Bolton,  in  goodes  ^3  l8d. 

Jamys  Radclyff,  in  goodes  405.  I2d. 

SALEBERY — 

John  Talbot,  in  landes  ...  ...         ...         ...   £10  los. 

John  Bolton,  in  landes   ...  ...         ...         ...    203.  I2d. 

Xpofer  Bolton,  in   landes  ...         ...         ...    405.  2s. 

SAMYSBERE— 

Hugh  Walshman,  in  goodes        ...         ...         ...    ^"4  2s. 

Richard  Cherneley,  in  landes  ...          ...          ...  403.  2s. 

Xpofer  Sede,  in  goodes...  £$  2s.  6d. 

Hugh  Michell,  in  goodes  403.  I2d. 

I    HODILSDEN — 

William  Yate,  in  goodes  £$  i8d. 

Robert  Fyshe,  in  goodes  403.  I2d. 

Robert  Baron,  in  goodes  403.  I2d. 

At  the  foot  of  the  Roll  appear  the  autographs  of  the  Subsidy  Commissioners  for 
j  Blackburn  Hundred,   being  the  four  principal  personages  in  the  Hundred  : — "P.   me 
JOHN  TOWNLEY,  Knyght ;  p.  me  ALEYSANDER  OSBALSTON,  Knyght ;  p.  me  THOM. 
SOTHWORTHE,  Knyght;  p.  me  THOMAS  LANGTON,  Esquier." 

The  preceding  Subsidy  Roll  furnishes  a  useful  list  of  the  resident 
gentry  and  freeholders  of  the  Parish  at  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth 
century.  It  exhibits  the  division  of  lands  in  the  townships,  show- 
ing that  Blackburn,  Billington,  Walton-in-le-Dale,  Rishton,  Livesey-cum- 
Tockholes,  Lower  Darwen,  Great  Harwood,  and  Pleasington,  then 
contained  the  largest  number  of  families  of  sufficient  estate  to  be  assessed 
to  the  public  taxation.  Several  of  the  lords  of  local  manors,  being  resi- 
dent elsewhere,  are  not  named  in  the  return  ;  ex.  gr.  Barton  of  Smithells, 


64  HISTORY    OF   BLACKBURN. 

lord  of  Blackburn  ;  Radcliffe  of  Ordsall,  lord  of  Tockholes  ;  Earl  ot 
Derby,  lord  of  a  moiety  of  Samlesbury ;  Hesketh  of  Rufford,  lord  of 
Great  Harwood ;  Talbot  of  Bashall,  lord  of  Rishton  and  Lower  Dar- 
wen  ;  and  the  Abbot  of  Whalley,  lord  of  Billington.  The  names  on  the 
Roll  of  the  assessment  for  the  second  payment  of  the  same  Subsidy  do 
not  vary  from  the  list  for  the  first  payment. 

THE  VALOR  ECCLESIASTICUS  OF  HENRY  THE  EIGHTH. 

In  the  26th  year  of  Henry  VIII.  (A.D.  1534)  an  Act  of  Parliament 
was  passed  authorising  a  survey  and  valuation  of  the  ecclesiastical  pro- 
perty and  of  the  benefices  of  the  kingdom,  and  Royal  Commissioners 
were  appointed  to  conduct  the  inquiry.  The  returns  thus  procured, 
known  as  the  Valor  Ecdesiasticus,  or  Ecclesiastical  Survey,  of  England, 
were  made  to  a  new  state  office,  then  instituted,  called  "  His  Majesty's 
Court  of  First  Fruits  and  Tenths."  The  King  had  resolved  to  direct 
into  his  own  exchequer  the  Detinue  Decimorum,  or  Tenths  of  the 
Tenths,  which  had  up  to  that  time  been  the  perquisite  of  the  Roman 
Pontiff,  and  it  was  necessary  to  ascertain  what  the  tenths  of  these  eccle- 
siastical revenues  amounted  to.  The  reports  of  the  Commission  are  pre- 
served in  a  celebrated  MS.  record,  called  the  Liber  Regis,  said  to  have 
been  transcribed  by  a  monk  of  Westminster,  for  the  Royal  Library.  I 
have  translated  the  portion  of  the  Valor  which  relates  to  the  Parish  and 
Deanery  of  Blackburn  : — 

DEANERY  OF  BLAKEBOURNE. 

WORTH  OF  THE  FORESAID  DEANERY  OF  BLAKEBOURNE  IN  THE  HANDS  OF 
WILLIAM  KNIGHT,  ARCHDEACON.— It  is  worth  in  proofs  of  Wills  and  other  casual 
farm-leases  to  Gilbert  Haydock,  clerk,  per  annum,  205.  Also  in  Pence  annually 
received  from  divers  churches  within  the  Deanery  aforesaid,  for  Synodals  and  Procura- 
tions, 66s.  ;  total  £4  6s.  ;  the  tenth  thereout,  8s.  7d. 

WHALLEY  MONASTERY.  — Values,  as  well  spiritual  as  temporal,  belonging  to  the 
Monastery  of  White  Monks  of  Whalley,  within  the  foresaid  Deanery, — John  Passe- 
lewe,  Abbot  there. — Temporals  belonging  to  the  foresaid  Monastery,  in  the  county  of 
Lancaster : — WHALLEY — Rents  of  demesne  lands  in  the  hands  of  the  said  Abbot, 

lying  in  the  parish  of  Whalley,  per  annum  ^"20. WISWALL. — Rents  of  assize  in 

Wiswall,  per  annum,  £6. PENHULTON. — Rents  of  assize  in  Penhulton,  per  annum, 

363.    8d. READE. — Rent    of    one  parcel    of   land  there,    per   annum,    325. — 

CLYTHERHOWE. — Rents  of  assize  of  lands  and  tenements,    per  annum,   £10. — 
EDDESFORTHE. — Rents    of    assize    and    tenements    there,     per    annum,     405. — 

DOWNHAM.— Rents  of  lands  there,    per  annum,    155. CHATBORNE.— Rents  of 

assize  of  two  tenements  there,  per  annum,  135.  4d. WORSTON. — Rent  of  one  cot- 
tage there,  per  annum,  2s. PARVA  MYTTON. — Rents  of  divers  tenements,   called 

Caldcotes,  in  the  foresaid  vill,  per  annum,  £4.  is.  4d. BURNELEY. — Rents  of  three 

tenements  there,   per  annum,    343.    8d. CLYDERHOWE. — Rent  of  one   tenement 

within  the  lordship  foresaid,  called  Baldwyn  Hills,  per  annum,  26s.  8d.     Rents  of  two 
tenements  near  the  foresaid  vill,  called  Standen,  per  annum,  £4  133.  4d. BYLLING- 


ECCLESIASTICAL  VALUATION    IN    1534.  65 

TON. — Rents  of  assize  there,  within  the  parish  of  Blackborne,  per  annum,  ^30. 

HARWOOD. — Rents  of  three  tenements  there,   per  annum,   68s.   8d. WYTTON. — 

Rents  of  two  tenements  there,  per  annum,  533.  4<:1. ROMESGREVE. — Rents  of  cer- 
tain tenements  there,  per  annum,  £6. [Rents  of  lands  and  tenements  in  divers 

townships  in  West  and   South  Lancashire,   of  the  collective  value  of  ^132  135.    lod. 

per  annum.] RYBCHESTER. — Rent  of  one  parcel  of  land  there,  per  annum  2s. 

BUTTON. — Rents  of  free  tenants  there,  per  annum  43.     Rents  of  one  tenement  there, 

per  annum  135.  4d. PRESTON.— Rent  of  one  parcel  of  land  there,  per  annum,  2s. 

— CHATERTON. — Rent  of  one  parcel  of  land  there,  per  annum,  6d. ROSSENDALE. 

— Rent  of  one  mill,  with  a  parcel  of  land  there,  25s.      Rent  of  one  tenement  there, 

per  annum,  2 is. -AcRYNGTON. — Rent  of  one  parcel  of  land  called    Calfehey,    133. 

4d. Temporals  belonging  to  the  aforesaid  Monastery  in  the  County  of  Chester  [in 

the  city  of  Chester  and   six  townships,    total  value  per  annum  ^"45    33.    lod.] In 

WADDINGTON  [Co.   York.] — Rent  of  one  parcel  of  land  there,  per  annum,  2s. 

Spirituals  belonging  to  the  aforesaid  Monastery,  in  the  said  county  of  Lancaster  :— 
WHALLEY  RECTORY,  appropriated  to  the  foresaid  Monastery ;  it  is  worth,  in  Rents 
of  Land  called  Glebelande,  per  annum  £j  ;  in  tithes  of  grain  with  hay,  by  estima- 
tion, annually  ^"44  133.  4d.  ;  in  tithe  of  lambs  and  wool,  by  estimation,  annually  ^17  ; 
in  oblations  with  seci'et  tithes,  and  other  privy  tithes,  with  Easter  Roll,  per  annum 

^22  133.  4d.  ;  altogether  ^"91  6s.  6d. BLAKEBOURNE  RECTORY  is  worth  in  Rents 

of  Glebe  Lands  per  annum  £10  ;  in  tithes  of  grain  with  hay,  annually,  by  estimation, 
£44.  ;  in  tithes  of  lambs  with  wool,  per  annum  ^4  ;  in  oblations  with  other  small 
tithes,  with  Easter  Roll,  per  annum  £16  6s.  8d.  ;  total  ^74  6s.  8d.  [EccLES  RECTORY 
— total  value  ^"5 7  2s.  ;  RACHEDALE  RECTORY — total  value  ^49  135.  4d.]  Sum  total 
of  clear  values  of  Spirituals  and  Temporals  belonging  to  the  foresaid  Monastery — 
^55  *  4s-  6d. — whereof  Reprises  : — Repaid  Rents — that  is  to  say,  in  rents  repaid  to  the 
lord  the  King  for  lands  in  Edisworth,  per  annum  35.  ;  to  the  same  the  lord  the  King 
for  lands  in  Romesgreve,  per  annum  66s.  8d.  ;  rents  repaid  to  the  foresaid  lord  the 
King  for  lands  in  Baldwyn-hills,  per  annum  2os.  3d.  ;  to  the  same  lord  the  King  fox- 
lands  in  Wyth worth,  per  annum  12s.  8d.  ;  to  the  same  lord  the  King  for  lands  in  the 
lordship  of  Mawnton,  per  annum  6s.  ;  to  the  same  for  lands  in  Ludworth,  per  annum 
3d.  ;  to  the  same  for  lands  in  Burnley,  per  annum  73.  2^d.  ;  to  the  same  for  lands  in 
Spotlande,  145.  id.  ;  to  the  same  for  lands  in  Clyderhowe,  per  annum  ^4;  to  the 
same  for  lands  in  Downham,  per  annum  6s.  8d.  ;  to  the  same  for  lands  in  Chatboume, 
3s.  4d.  ;  to  the  same  for  lands  in  Acryngton,  73.  7d.  ;  to  the  same  for  a  mill  in  Rossen- 
dale,  26s.  8d.  ;  to  the  same  for  lands  in  Penhulton,  203.  ;  to  the  lord  of  Worsley  for 
lands  in  Swynton,  73.  nd.  ;  to  the  lord  of  Barton  for  the  foresaid  lands  in  Swyntoiv 
I  id.  ;  to  Robert  Holt,  Esquire,  for  lands  in  Castleton,  33.  ;  to  the  Prioress  of  Hampull 
for  lands  in  Whytworth,  per  annum  I2s.  ;  to  the  Prioress  of  Chester,  per  annum  los.  ; 
to  the  Abbot  of  Chester  per  annum,  for  lands  in  Staney,  93.  ;  to  the  Castel  of  Lyver- 
pole,  per  annum,  2s.  ;  to  Thomas  Langton,  Kt.,  for  lands  in  Harwood,  43. — Sum  of 

Repaid  Rents,  £16  33.  2d. PENSIONS. — Pension  annually  paid  to  Robert  Parryshe, 

Vicar  of  Whalley,  £12  ;  pension  annually  paid  to  Henry  Salley,  Vicar  of  Blake- 
bourne,  £10  133.  4d.  ;  pension  annually  paid  to  the  Vicar  of  Eccles,  by  composition, 
£io  133.  4d.  ;  pension  annually  paid  to  Gilbert  Heydoke,  Vicar  of  Rachdale,  by  com- 
position, £S ;  and  in  pension  annually  paid  to  the  College  of  St.  Bernard  in  Oxon, 
43s.  4d-— Sum  of  pensions  paid,  £43  los. FEES.— Fees  of  the  Most  Noble  Ed- 
ward Staneley,  Earl  of  Derby,  chief  seneschall  of  the  said  Monastery,  per  annum  io6s. 
8d.  ;  fees  of  Alexander  Nowell  and  Richard  Cromboke,  sub-seneschalls  of  the  said 
Monastery,  per  annum  loos.  ;  fees  of  Lawrence  Forest,,  receiver  of  the  Rectory  of 

5 


66  HISTORY    OF  BLACKBURN. 

Whalley,  per  annum/ 6  6s.  8d.  ;  fees  of  Ralph  Lynney,  receiver  of  the  Rectory  of 
Blakebourne,  per  annum  loos.  ;  fees  of  Robert  Parryshe,  receiver  of  the  Rectory  of 
Eccles,  per  annum  ^4  ;  fees  of  William  Heydock,  receiver  of  the  Rectory  of  Rach- 
dale,  per  annum  66s.  8d.  j  fees  of  Lionell  Fulle,  receiver  of  the  lordship  of  Croynton, 
Garston,  and  Akeberth,  per  annum  543.  6d.  ;  fees  of  William  Whithowe,  bailiff  of 
Stanney,  per  annum  2Os.  ;  fees  of  Hunbabyn,  bailiff  of  Acton,  per  annum  203.  ;  fees 
of  Christopher  Smyth,  Bailiff  of  Aston,  per  annum  2os.  ;  fees  of  Robert  Fulle,  bailiff 
of  Byllington,  per  annum  403.  ;  fees  of  Oto  Holland,  bailiff  of  Maunton,  per  annum, 
and  of  Swynton  405.  ;  fees  of  Robert  Borman,  bailiff  of  Wolden,  per  annum  2os. ; 
fees  of  James  Gartside,  bailiff  of  Merland,  Castleton  and  Spotlande,  6os.  ;  fees  of 
Ralph  Holland,  bailiff  of  the  Grange  of  Whytworthe,  per  annum  IDS.  ;  fees  of  John 
Cromboke,  bailiff  of  Roclyff  and  Brendwood,  per  annum  203.  ;  fees  of  Giles  Parker, 
bailiff  of  Clyderowe,  per  annum  403.  ;  fees  of  Ralph  Morton,  bailiff  of  the  Grange  of 

Stanyngs,  per  annum  403. ALMS. — Alms  annually  distributed  among  the  poor,  viz., 

at  the  Feast  of  the  Nativity  of  our  Lord,  in  the  price  of  200  yards  of  woollen  cloth, 
on  the  said  day  annually  distributed  by  the  foundation,  iocs.  ;  alms  annually  distributed 
to  all  the  poor  persons  coming  to  the  foresaid  Monastery,  according  to  the  foundation 
of  John  Lacy,  on  the  day  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  namely,  in  the  price  of  1,200  quar- 
ters of  corn  made  into  bread,  £f  43.  ;  of  wheat,  123.  ;  of  eight  quarters 
brewed  into  ale,  of  the  price  per  quarter  6s., — 485.  ;  of  six  "maise"  of  red  and 
white  allecar,  of  the  price  per  "mais"  6s., — 363,  ;  and  annually  distributed  on  the 
said  day  to  the  poor  and  the  clerks,  after  the  washing  of  their  feet,  205.  in  pence  ;  "and 
also  distributed  to  thirteen  of  the  elder  poor  on  the  said  day,  to  as  many  of  them  as 
take  it,  2d.,  and  one  pair  of  shoes  price  8d,, — los.  riod.  ;  altogether,  as  appears  by 
the  foundation  of  the  said  Monastery,  when  examined  in  the  presence  of  the  Com- 
missioners of  the  lord  the  King,  £12  i8s.  rod.  ;  for  Pence  applied  to  the  support  of 
twenty-four  poor  and  infirm  persons,  annually  supported  within  the  said  Monastery, 
according  to  the  ordination  of  the  lord  John  Lacye,  that  is  to  say,  to  each  poor  person 
weekly  8d., — ^41  123.,  as  appears  by  the  foresaid  foundation,  in  the  presence  of  the 
said  Commissioners  exhibited  and  examined,  and  remaining  in  possession  of  the  Abbot 
and  Convent  there  ;  alms  annually  distributed  to  the  poor  coming  to  the  said  Monas- 
tery in  bread,  namely,  weekly  two  quarters  of  corn,  price  per  quarter  I2s»,  for  the 
souls  of  the  founders,  as  appears  by  the  foundation  of  the  said  Monastery — £62  8s.  ; 
total  ^"104.  Sum  of  all  Reprises  ^"229  153.  4>£d.  ;  and  there  remains  clear  ^321  gs. 
id.  ;  the  tenth  part  thereof  £32  2s.  I  id. 

VICARAGE  OF  WHALLEY.— In  the  hands  of  Robert  Parryshe,  monk,  worth,  in 
annual  pension  received  from  the  Abbot  of  Whalley,  by  composition,  £l2',  thereout 
in  pension  annually  paid  to  the  Bishop  of  Chester  405.  ;  in  pence  paid  to  the  Arch- 
deacon of  Chester  for  sinodals  and  procurations  per  annum  433.  ;  alms  annually  distri- 
buted on  the  death  of  Roger,  formerly  Bishop  of  Chester,  133.  4d.  ;  in  annual  rent 
paid  to  the  wardens  of  the  Church  of  Whalley  per  annum  2os.  ;  and  there  remains 
clear,  £6  35.  4d.,  the  tenth  thereout  I2s.  4d. 

CHANTRY  AT  CLYDEROWE.— In  the  hands  of  Thomas  Sylkoke,  clerk.  It  is 
worth  in  rents  and  farms  of  certain  lands  and  tenements  lying  there,  per  annum  77s-  > 
thence  the  tenth,  75.  8^d. 

CHANTRY  AT  PADYHAM. — In  the  hands  of  Hugh  Hargreve,  clerk.  Valued  in 
rents  and  farms  of  divers  lands  and  tenements  there,  per  annum  £4  133.  4d.;  the  tenth 
thereout,  95.  4d. 

CHANTRY  AT  HARWOOD.— Of  the  foundation  of  Thomas  Esketh,  esquire.  In 
the  hands  of  Richard  Wood,  chaplain.  Worth,  in  rents  and  farms  of  divers  lands  and- 


"PILGRIMAGE  OF  GRACE."  67 

tenements  in  the  same,  per  annum  £4  75.  8d.  Thereout,  in  alms  annual!}'  distributed 
among  the  poor  on  the  day  of  the  death  of  the  founder,  6s.  Sd.,  and  remains  ^4  is.; 
the  tenth  thereout,  8s.  i^d. 

CHANTRY  AT  BURNLEY. — In  the  hands  of  Peter  Adlyngton,  chaplain.     Valued 
in  rents  and   farms  of  lands  there  per  annum  66s.  8d.  ;  thence  the  tenth,  6s.  8cl. — 
CHANTRY  AT  BURNLEY  AFORESAID. — In  the  hands  of  Gilbert  Fayrbanke,  chaplain. 
Worth,  in  rents  and  farms  of  divers  lands  and  tenements  there,  per  annum  403.  ;  the 
tenth  thereout  4s. 

CHANTRY  AT  EDISFORDE. — By  the  foundation  of  the  Burgesses  of  Clyderowe. 
In  the  hands  of  William  Herde,  chaplain.  Valued  in  rents  and  farms  of  divers  lands 
and  tenements  there  per  annum,  263.  8d.  ;  the  tenth  thereout,  2s.  8d. 

VICARAGE  OF  BLAKEBORNE. — In  the  hands  of  Henry  Salley,  monk.  Worth  in 
a  pension  annually  received  of  the  Abbot  of  Whalley,  £10  135.  4d.  Thence,  in  pen- 
sion paid  to  the  Bishop  of  Chester  per  annum,  8s.  lod.  ;  in  pence  paid  to  the  Arch- 
deacon of  Chester  for  sinodals  and  procurations  per  annum,  235.  ;  annual  pension  or 
rent  of  the  Church  of  Blakeborne  per  annum,  2Os.  ;  and  there  remains  clear  £8  is. 

6d.;    the  tenth  thereout,  i6s.  2d. CHANTRY  AT  BLAKEBORNE.— In  the  hands  of 

Thomas  Burges,  chaplain.  It  is  worth  in  rents  and  farms  of  divers  lands  and  tene- 
ments there,  per  annum,  66s.  8d.  ;  the  tenth  thereout,  6s.  8d. CHANTRY  AT 

BLAKEBORNE  AFORESAID. — In  the  hands  of  William  Rishton,  chaplain.  Value  in 
rents  and  farms  of  divers  lands  and  tenements  there  per  annum,  66s.  8d. ;  the  tenth 
thereout,  6s.  8d. 

"PILGRIMAGE  OF  GRACE"  AND  SUPPRESSION  OF  WHALLEY 
MONASTERY. 

In  March,  1534,  Henry  VIII.  proceeded,  with  the  consent  of  his 
Parliament,  to  substitute  the  royal  supremacy  over  the  Church  of 
England  for  that  of  the  Pope ;  this  act  was  followed  by  the  appointment 
of  a  Commission  to  make  a  Visitation  of  all  the  religious  houses  in  the 
kingdom,  to  report  upon  the  pecuniary  resources  of  these  monastic 
establishments,  and  upon  the  modes  of  life  and  moral  character  of 
their  inmates.  This  Visitation  was  made  in  the  year  1535.  The  visitors 
for  Lancashire  were  Dr.  Thomas  Legh  and  Dr.  Richard  Layton.  Upon 
the  report  of  the  Commission,  an  Act  was  passed  suppressing  the  lesser 
monasteries,  and  providing  for  the  reversion  of  their  revenues  to  the 
Crown.  All  the  monastic  foundations  in  the  county  of  Lancaster, 
with  the  exception  of  the  three  great  abbeys  of  Whalley,  Cockersand, 
and  Furness,  succumbed  to  this  stroke  of  state.  The  measure  led  to  the 
rebellion  characterised  "  The  Pilgrimage  of  Grace,"  organised  and  led 
by  the  abbots  of  the  greater  Northern  Monasteries.  John  Paslew, 
Abbot  of  Whalley,  was  implicated  in  the  rising,  but  his  participation  in 
the  military  operations  was  but  slight.  The  "  Pilgrimage  of  Grace "" 
was  quelled  with  little  difficulty  by  the  king's  forces.  In  Lancashire, 
the  Earl  of  Derby  marshalled  the  loyal  gentry  and  their  men-at-arms  at 
Preston,  and  marched  through  Blackburn  to  Whalley  Abbey.  On  the 


68  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

occasion,  the  king  addressed  autograph  letters  to  sundry  county  knights, 
among  them  to  Sir  Thomas  Langton  of  Walton-in-le-Dale,  acknowledging 
their  service.  The  letter  to  Sir  Thomas  Langton,  knight,  is  found  in 
the  public  archives,  and  runs  : — 

By  the  King.— Trustie  and  welbeloved  we  grete  you  well.  And  forasmuche  as 
we  have  been  credeably  advertised  howe  that  lyke  a  moste  true  and  faythfull  subject 
you  have  assembled  all  your  force  and  joyned  the  same  with  our  right  trustye  and 
right  welbeloved  cousyn  the  Erie  of  Derbye,  for  the  repressyon  of  certayne  Traytours 
and  Rebelles  in  those  partes,  lyke  as  we  for  the  same  gyve  unto  you  our  moste  harty 
thankes.  So  we  thought  as  well  convenient  to  require  you  to  persist  and  contynue  in 
your  faythfull  towardnes  in  the  company  of  our  said  cousyn  till  the  said  Traytours  shall 
be  utterly  subdued ;  as  to  signifie  unto  you  that  we  shall  not  onely  consider  your  charge 
therein,  but  lykwise  so  remembre  your  service  in  the  same  as  you  shall  have  cause  to 
saye  you  have  well  employed  your  labours,  paynes,  and  travailles  in  that  behalf. 
Geven  undre  our  signet  at  our  Castell  of  Windesor  the  28th  day  of  Octobre,  in  the 
28th  yere  of  our  Regne  (1536).  Indorsed — "To  our  trustie  and  welbeloved  servant, 
Sir  Thomas  Langton,  Knyght."1 

There  is  also  in  existence  a  despatch  from  the  Earl  of  Derby  to 
the  king,  recounting  the  events  that  immediately  preceded  the  Earl's 
advance  from  Preston  to  Whalley  with  the  force  of  the  Shire.  Abbot 
Paslew  and  some  of  his  monks  were  arrested  shortly  after  the  collapse 
of  the  insurrection,  and  were  sent  to  Lancaster  to  be  tried  for  high 
treason.  The  letter  of  instruction  from  the  king's  secretary,  Thomas 
Cromwell,  to  the  Earl  of  Sussex,  in  command  of  the  royal  army,  dated 
March  nth,  1537,  makes  mention  of  some  local  incidents  of  the 
outbreak  in  the  passage  subjoined  : — 

Nevertheles,  we  thinke  it  necessary  that  you  should  not  only  duely  examyn  them 
all  [the  Monks  of  Furness]  befor  you  shall  dismisse  any  of  that  sorte  that  shall  goo  to 
other  houses,  as  well  for  that  we  thinke  some  of  the  houses  mentioned  in  your  bill 
of  their  names  be  not  well  hable  to  receyve  their  nomber  sett  upon  them  as  for  that  the 
house  of  Gervayse  is  in  some  danger  of  suppression  by  like  offence  as  hathe  been 
comytted  at  Whalley,  but  also  that  you  shall  retayne  John  Estgate  [Monk  of  Whalley] 
who  wold  goo  to  Methe  [?  Meath],  tyl  ye  may  percey  ve  the  cause  whye  he  should  desire 
to  go'o  more  to  that  place  thenne  to  any  other.  .  .  Thircle,  whereas  you  have  sent 
unto  us  the  copie  of  the  Lettre  writen  from  our  cousin  of  Norffolk  to  the  Lord  Darcye 
after  his  first  departure  from  Doncaster,  whiche  you  found  in  the  Vicar  of  Black  Burne's 
[Blackburne's]  Chamber  ;  forasmoche  as  by  the  same  it  appereth  that  there  hathe 
been  great  intelligence  amonges  such  personnes  as  were  of  that  naughty  inclination 
entent  and  conspiracye,  We  desire  and  praye  you  as  wel  by  the  straite  examynation 
of  the  said  Vicar  as  by  all  other  meanes  that  you  canne  possibly  devise,  strongly  to 
enserche  howe  the  said  copie  was  conveyed  thether,  who  was  the  messenger,  who 
was  of  counsel,  and  how  many  lettres  or  writinges  of  that  sorte  or  any  other 
were  in  that  tyme  conveyed  in  to  those  parties,  to  whom,  from  whom,  and  of 
what  effect.  For  in  the  ernest  folowing  of  this  matier  you  maye  cloo  unto  us  as 
highe  and  as  acceptable  service  as  canne  be  devised.  Finally  we  desire  and  pray  you 

i   Raines's  Hist,  of  Lane.,  1st  Edn.,  v.  i.  p.  477. 


SUPPRESSION  OF  WH ALLEY  ABBEY. 


69, 


to  sende  uppe  in  sauftie  unto  us  Richard  Estgate,  late  Monke  of  Salleye.  Our  servant 
Sir  Arthur  Darcy  hathe  writen  that  he  doubtethe  not  to  declare  suche  matier  against  him 
at  his  repayr  unto  us  as  shall  conveye  some  thinges  to  our  knowleage  whiche  for  our 
affaires  shall  be  very  necessary  to  be  knowen.  Which  things  being  once  conduced 
to  some  perfection  we  shall  signifie  our  pleasure  unto  you  touchinge  the  returne  of  our 
cousin  of  Sussex  to  our  presence.  T.  C.  [THOMAS  CROMWELL.] 

The  above  missive  informs  us  of  the  circumstance  that  on  a  search 
being  made  in  the  house  of  the  Vicar  of  Blackburn  by  the  King's  party, 
for  proofs,  probably,  of  his  treason  and  of  the  ramifications  and  plans 
of  the  rebellion,  the  searchers  lighted  upon  a  manuscript  in  one  of  the 
chambers  of  the  Blackburn  Vicarage  which  astounded  them  not  a 
little.  It  was  the  copy  of  a  private  despatch  sent  by  the  Duke  of 
Norfolk,  the  King's  General-in-Chief,  to  Lord  Darcy,  after  his  departure 
in  custody  from  Doncaster.  Manifestly  the  intelligence  department  of 
the  rebels  had  been  served  by  means  of  the  perfidy  of  some  of  the 
Royal  messengers,  and  the  order  of  the  King  was  that  the  mystery 
should  be  fathomed  to  the  bottom.  The  Vicar  of  Blackburn  at  that 
time  was  Henry  Salley,  a  monk  of  the  monastery  of  Whalley,  and 
doubtless  a  willing  agent  of  his  patron  Abbot  Paslew  in  all  the  plottings 
of  this  conspiracy.  In  the  beginning  of  March,  the  Earl  of  Sussex  held 
Whalley  Abbey  for  the  King  with  a  considerable  garrison.  William  de 
Trafford,  Abbot  of  Salley,  the  Prior,  and  other  monks  of  that  abbey? 
had  been  captured  by  Lord  Shrewsbury  along  with  Paslew  and  the 
Whalley  monks,  and  had  been  carried  to  Lancaster  for  trial.  At  length 
the  trial  of  the  abbots  took  place,  and  on  the  roth  March,  1537,  Abbot 
John  Paslew,  Abbot  William  Trafford,  the  Prior  of  Salley,  and  the 
monks  Haydock  and  Eastgate  of  Whalley,  were  found  guilty  of  capital 
offences,  and  sentenced  to  death.  The  Abbot  Trafford  and  his  Prior 
were  executed  the  same  day  at  Lancaster.  Paslew  and  his  brethren 
were  conveyed  to  Whalley  Abbey,  under  a  guard  of  Lord  Derby's  men. 
Thence  the  Abbot  was  conducted  on  the  morning  of  the  i2th  March, 
J537>  to  a  spot  on  the  Billington  side  of  the  Calder  in  Blackburn  Parish, 
called  the  Hole  Houses,  at  the  foot  of  Whalley  Nab,  where  the  gallows 
had  been  reared  upon  the  summit  of  a  grassy  knoll,  and  there  the  last 
Abbot  of  Whalley,  with  his  monk  Eastgate,  was  hung.  The  record  of 
this  melancholy  transaction  in  the  pages  of  Stow  is  this  : — "  The  10  of 
March,  John  Paslew,  bacheler  of  divinitie,  then  beeing  the  25  Abbot 
of  the  Abbey  of  Whalley,  was  executed  at  Lancaster  [this  is  an  error], 
and  the  same  day  with  him  was  hanged,  drawne  and  quartered,  John 
Castegate  [Eastgate],  a  monke  of  the  same  house,  whose  quarters  were 
set  up  at  divers  townes  in  that  Shire."1 

i  Annales  of  Eng.,  pp.  969-70. 


7o  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

The  fiat  of  sequestration  was  pronounced  upon  Whalley  Monastery 
directly  after  the  execution  of  its  Abbot  for  treason,  and  some  three 
years  before  the  general  suppression  of  the  greater  monasteries  of  the 
kingdom,  which  was  not  decreed  until  the  year  1540.  In  the  case  of 
Whalley  there  was  no  deed  of  formal  surrender  (as  was  made  by  the 
Abbot  of  Furness),  and  no  resort  on  the  King's  part  to  parliamentary 
sanction  ; — the  dissolution  was  the  summary  act  of  absolute  kingly 
power,  exerted  for  the  punishment  of  rebellion.  Three  months  after 
Paslew's  fall,  in  June,  1537,  a  survey  of  the  landed  possessions  and 
ecclesiastical  properties  of  the  convent  was  made  by  the  King's  agents, 
preliminary  to  the  disposal  of  the  same  at  the  monarch's  pleasure.  The 
particulars  of  such  parts  of  this  survey  as  relate  to  the  Abbey  estates  in 
Blackburn  parish,  will  be  found  in  the  account  of  the  several  townships 
in  which  such  lands  are  contained,  at  a  later  stage  of  this  work.  The 
territorial  possessions  of  the  Monastery  were  eventually  sold  by  the 
Crown  to  various  purchasers.  The  extensive  demesne  lands  in  the  town- 
ships of  Whalley  and  Billington,  on  both  sides  of  the  Calder,  were  on  the 
1 2th  of  April,  1539,  placed  under  the  bailiwick  of  John  Braddyll,  son 
of  Edward  Braddyll  of  Brockhole,  and  in  the  year  1553  (6th  Edward 
6th)  the  Abbey  fabric  and  the  manorial  estate  in  Whalley  were  sold  to 
John  Braddyll  and  Richard  Asheton.  Braddyll  also  acquired  rents  in 
Little  Harwood,  Clayton,  and  Witton,  in  this  parish,  that  had  pertained 
to  the  Abbey,  and  many  other  properties  in  Lancashire  and  Yorkshire ; 
and  Thomas  Holcroft,  Esq.,  another  great  speculator  in  Abbey  lands, 
secured  the  manor  of  Billington  with  its  appurtenances.  The  Rectory 
of  Blackburn  became  parcel  of  the  rich  estate  of  the  See  of  Canterbury. 

The  suppression  of  the  Chantries  followed  quickly  upon  the  down- 
fall of  the  Monasteries.  The  circumstances  of  the  suppression  of 
Chantry  Priests  attached  to  Chantry  Chapels  in  the  Parish  Church  of 
Blackburn  and  to  certain  of  its  dependent  Churches  will  be  mentioned 
in  the  historical  narrative  of  these  Church  foundations. 

MILITARY  LEVIES  AND  TAXATION  IN  THE  REIGNS  OF 
MARY  AND  ELIZABETH. 

The  reigns  of  both  the  Tudor  Queens  were  agitated  by  frequent 
intestine  disturbances  and  by  foreign  wars  or  rumours  of  wars.  To  meet 
these  emergencies  of  the  State,  the  levies  of  armed  men  made  upon  the 
country  were  almost  continuous,  and  in  many  instances  large.  Lancashire 
furnished  contingents  proportional  to  its  population  to  all  these  levies.1 

The  first  Military  taxation  in  Mary's  reign  is  one  made  in  the  ist 
Mary  (1553).  In  that  muster  Blackburn  Hundred  was  ordered  to  raise 

i  Lane.  Lieut.,  v.  i,  p.  4. 


MILITARY  MUSTERS  AND  TAXATION.  ?I 

400  armed  men,  and  the  following  knights  and  gentlemen  were  their 
commanders : — Sir  Richard  Sherburne,  Sir  Thomas  Langton,  Sir  Thomas 
Talbot,  Sir  John  Southworth  ;  John  Townley,  Thomas  Catterall,  John 
Osbolston  (Osbaldeston),  and  John  Talbot,  Esquires.1  The  quotas  of 
the  townships  in  the  Parish  of  Blackburn  are  added  : — 

PEROCH  DE  BLACKBOURNE. 

Men  Men 

Blackbourne viii  Harwood  Magna     x 

Osbaldeston ii  Billington  x 

Balderstone     vi  Nether  Darwen        iii 

Cuerdall          ....        ...  iii  Rishton                      ...          ...  vi 

Harwood  Parva          ...  vi  Mellor  and  Eccleshill           ...  V 

Plesington      xii  Over  Darwen            v 

Lyvesey           ...          ...  viii  Claiton-in-the-Daile...          ...  v 

Walton-in-le-Dale     ...  xv  Witton  ii 

Sailburye        ii 

In  the  2nd  of  Queen  Elizabeth  (1559)  several  calls  were  made 
upon  the  county  for  soldiers.  The  first  was  a  levy  of  300  men  to  serve 
the  Queen's  Majesty  at  Berwick,  in  her  operations  against  the  Scotch 
and  French  troops  under  Mary  of  Guise.  To  this  levy  Blackburnshire 
contributed  55  men,  of  whom  15  were  archers.  The  whole  Lancashire 
contingent  was  placed  "  under  the  conduction  of  Sir  John  Southworth, 
Knight,"  lord  of  Samlesbury.  Next,  a  levy  of  200  soldiers  and  267 
pioneers,  "to  serve  the  Queen's  Majesty  at  Leith,  under  the  conduction 
of  Thomas  Butler,  Esq.,"  was  made  in  Lancashire,  whereof  the  Hundred 
of  Blackburn  contributed  36  soldiers  and  48  pioneers.  A  third  and 
more  important  levy  of  men  was  made  in  the  same  year,  in  which  the 
Hundred  was  required  to  muster  407  harnessed  men,  and  361  unhar- 
nessed, a  total  number  of  768  soldiers.2 

Again,  in  1574,  was  a  general  levy  of  arms,  armour  and  horses  in 
Lancashire.  The  following  is  a  list  of  the  residents  of  Blackburn 
Hundred  who  had  to  furnish  arms,  &c.,  with  the  description  given  of  the 
articles  required  of  each : — Sir  Richard  Shirburne,  Knight,  to  furnish : — 
Dymylaunce  i,  light  horsemen  2,  corselettes  3,  coates  of  plate  2,  pykes3, 
long  boes,  3,  sheffe  of  arrowes  3,  steele  cappes  3,  calivers  2,  morrions 
2. — John  Towneley,  Esq.,  to  furnish  : — Dymylaunce  i,  light  horses  2, 
corslettes  2,  coates  of  plate  2,  pykes  2,  long  boes  2,  sheffe  of  arrowes  2, 
steele  cappes  2,  caliver  i,  morrion  i. — Sir  J.  Sowthworth,  Knight,  to 
furnish  : — Light  horses  2,  corslettes  2,  coates  of  plate  2,  pykes  2,  long 
bowes  2,  sheffe  of  arrowes  2,  steele  cappes  2,  caliver  i,  morrione  i. — 
John  Osbaldeston,  Esq.,  to  furnish  same  as  Sir  John  Sowth worth,  saving 

i  Line.  Lieut.,  v.  i,  p.  4.         2  Ib.  v.  i,  pp.   18-21. 


72  -  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

he  is  chardged  with  almaine  ryvettes  of  cottes  of  plate,  and  this  is  the 
wholle  difference. — Thomas  Caterall,  Esq.,  to  furnish  : — Light  horse  i, 
harquebut  i,  long  bo  we  i,  sheffe  of  arrowes  i,  scull  i. — Thomas  No  well, 
Esq.,  to  furnish  the  same  as  Mr.  Caterall. — Richard  Ashton,  Esq.,  to  fur- 
nish : — Lighte  horse  i,  corslettes  2,  coates  of  plate  2,  pykes  2,  longe  bowes 
2,  sheffe  of  arrowes  2,  steele  cappes  2,  caliver  i,  morrione  i. — John  Talbot, 
Esq.,  to  furnishe  the  same  as  Mr.  Ashton,  saving  he  is  not  chardged 
with  any  steele  cappes. — Nicholas  Banestar,  Ar.,  to  furnishe  : — Light 
horse. — John  Rish worth,  Ar.,  to  furnish  : — Light  horse. — Richard 
Grymeshawe,  Ar.,  to  furnish : — Coate  of  plate  i,  long  bowe  i,  sheffe  of 
arrowes  i,  caliver  i,  scull  i,  bill  i. — Thomas  Walmysley,  Ar.,  John 
Braddill,  Ar.,  Henrie  Towneley,  Thomas  Aynsworth,  Nicholas  Parker, 
to  furnishe  the  same  as  Mr.  Grymeshawe. — Alex.  Howghton,  gent,  to 
furnishe  : — Corslette  i,  coate  of  plate  i,  pyke  i,  long  bowe  i,  sheffe  of 
arrowes  i,  steele  cappe  i,  caliver  i,  morrione  i. — Roger  Nowell,  Esq., 
to  furnishe : — Coate  of  plate  i,  long  bowe  i,  sheffe  arrowes  i,  caliver  i, 
scull  i,  bill  i. — William  Barecroft,  Henrie  Banester,  Thomas  Watson, 
Ilvan  Heydocke,  Edward  Starkie,  Robert  Moreton,  Olin  Birtwisell,  John 
Greenacre,  Nicholas  Hancocke,  to  furnish  the  same  as  Mr.  Nowell. — 
Thomas  Astley  to  furnishe  : — Coate  of  plate  i,  longe  bow  i,  sheffe 
arrowes  i,  steele  cappe  i,  bill  i. — Thomas  Whittacre,  George  Shuttle- 
worth,  Frauncis  Garsyde,  to  furnish  same  as  Mr.  Astley. — Robert  Smithe 
to  furnishe  : — Long  bowe  i,  sheffe  arrowes  i,  scull  i,  bill  i. — John 
Ashawe,  Nicholas  Robinson,  George  Seller,  Nicholas  Halstidd,  Wm. 
Langton,  Bryan  Parker,  Lawrence  Whitacre,  John  Ormerode,  Rawffe 
Haworth,  Richard  Cunlyffe,  Richard  Parker,  Wm.  Barker,  Adam  Bolton, 
George  Talbot,  Thomas  Lassell,  Thomas  Isherwoodde,  Richard  Haberiame, 
Wm.  Starkye,  Rich.  Harrison,  Rich.  Crounlowe,  Tho.  Houghim,  Rich. 
Shawe,  Rich.  Bawden,  Alexander  Lyvesaye,  William  Churchlowe,  Rawffe 
Talbotte,  Edwarde  Carter,  Rich.  Woodde,  Tho.  Holliday,  Roger  Nowell, 
Hughe  Shuttleworth,  Hughe  Halsted,  Henry  Speake,  Tho.  Enot, 
Henrie  Shawe,  Peter  Ormerode,  Thomas  Walmysley,  Thomas  Dewhurst, 
Olin  Ormerode,  John  Nuttall,  Gilberte  Rishton,  Nicholas  Cunliff, 
Henrie  Barecroft,  Laur.  Blakey,  John  Hargreve,  James  Fieldes,  James 
Hartley,  Thomas  Ellys,  Thurston  Baron,  Robert  Craven,  George  Elston, 
Barnarde  Townley,  Oliver  Halsted,  John  Seller,  John  Pastlowe,  John 
Whittacre,  John  Aspinall,  Roberte  Cunliff,  Richard  Charneley,  Geffrey 
Ryshton,  Roberte  Seede,  Thurstone  Tompson,  Richard  Bawden, 
Thomas  Osbaldeston,  John  Holden,  Gyles  Whitacre,  Richard  Tattersall, 
Roberte  Smithe,  Nicholas  Duckesburie,  William  Merser,  to  furnishe  in 
everie  respect  lyke  unto  Robert  Smithe. — Summary  for  the  Hundred : — 
Dimilaunces  2,  light  horses  13,  corslettes  14,  coates  of  plate  or  almaine 


MILITARY  MUSTERS  AND  TAXATION. 


73 


ryvettes  34,  pykes  14,  long  bowes  112,  sheffe  of  arrowes  112,  steele 
cappes  109,  calivers  26,  morrians  7,  billes  90. 1 

A  Certificate  and  Summary  of  the  Muster  of  Men  in  the  same  year> 
shows  the  subjoined  numbers  of  men  supplied  by  the  "  Hundred  de 
Blackeborne  : — Archers,  beinge  able  men  furnished  by  the  Countrey 
with  bowes,  arrowes,  steele  cappes,  sword  and  dagger,  126;  Bill  men, 
beinge  able  men  furnished  by  the  Countrey  with  Jacke,  sallet,  bill,  sword 
and  dagger,  251  ;  Archers,  beinge  able  men  unfurnished,  20;  Bill  men, 
beinge  able  men  unfurnished,  402."  The  total  number  of  Soldiers  from 
the  Hundred  was  799. 

In  1577,  came  another  "  Taxation  of  the  Hundrethes  within  the 
Countie  of  Lancaster  for  the  makeinge  readie  of  300  men  within  one 
howers  warninge ;"  this  was  made  at  Ormskirk,  Jan.  3oth,  1577,  by 
Henrie,  Earl  of  Derby,  John  Fleetwoodd,  Esq.,  Sheriff  of  the  County, 
Sir  Richard  Shereburne,  and  others.  Of  these  three  hundred  conscripts, 
Blackburn  Hundred  had  to  produce  57  men,  including  24  pickmen,  six 
billmen,  six  archers,  and  2 1  pioneers.  The  furniture  of  each  Pickman 
cost  £4.  us.  2d.  ;  of  every  Billman  ^4  us.  2d.  ;  of  every  Archer  £4. 
45.  6d.,  and  of  every  Pioneer  £2  53.  5d.  The  cost  to  the  Hundred  of 
Blackburn  of  its  quota  in  money  would  be  ^209  153.  9d.a 

On  the  1 8th  of  April,  1577,  Commissioners  appointed  to  raise  and 
train  three  hundred  men  of  Lancashire  as  gunners,  made  the  division  of 
the  men  to  the  various  Hundreds  of  the  County  at  Ormskirk.  Of  this 
levy  Blackburn  Hundred  had  to  provide  57  gunners,  who  were  to  be 
trained  by  "  Henrie  Standley,"  along  with  a  certain  proportion  of  the 
men  raised  in  Salford  and  Amounderness  Hundreds. 

Again,  on  the  i6th  of  March,  1580,  Queen  Elizabeth  issued  to 
the  leading  gentry  of  Lancashire  a  Commission  for  a  general  muster 
of  fighting-men  in  the  county,  under  the  evident  fear  of  attack  by  some 
foreign  Catholic  State.  Among  the  members  of  this  important  Commis- 
sion were  the  following  gentlemen  connected  with  Blackburnshire  : — Sir 
Richard  Shirburne,  Knt. ;  Sir  Thomas  Hesketh,  Knt. ;  Ralph  Ashton  ; 
Richard  Ashton  of  Whalley ;  Robert  Barton,  of  Smithells  and  Blackburn  ; 
Thomas  Walmesley,  jun.  ;  Richard  Braddill,  and  Nicholas  Banister. 

In  1581,  an  hundred  men  were  demanded  from  the  county,  and  the 
"  furniture"  or  arms  for  the  men  was  apportioned  to  the  Hundreds  at 
Wigan,  by  the  Earl  of  Derby  and  others,  on  the  5th  of  April  in  that 
year.  Blackburn  Hundred  had  to  furnish  19  suits  of  armour,  including 
eight  calivers,  four  bowes,  three  pickes,  and  four  billes. 

Several  levies  were  made  in  1584;  among  these,  was  a  demand 
upon  the  county  gentry  for  light  horsemen  ;  and  appear  in  the  list  of 

i  Lane.  Lieut.,  v.  i,  pp.  45-9.         2  Ib.  pp.  86-8. 


74  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

"  names  of  such  persons  as  are  appointed  to  fynde  leight  horsemen,"  who 
are  "  everie  one  to  bee  furnished  with  a  good,  large,  and  serviceable 
horse  or  geldinge;  a  light  horseman's  staf  or  a  jacke,  a  burhonett, 
schlives  of  male,  a  case  of  pistoletts,  and  a  cassock," — the  following 
gentry  in  this  Hundred  : — Sir  John  Southworth,  of  Samlesburie,  i  horse- 
man ;  John  Talbott,  of  Salisburie,  2  horsemen.  This  year,  too,  a  call 
was  made  for  200  men  for  Ireland  with  their  furniture  and  charges ; 
whereof  the  Earl  of  Derby,  Edmund  Trafford,  Sir  John  Radclyf,  Sir 
Richard  Shireborne,  Richard  Shuttleworthe,  Sergeant-at-law,  Ralph 
Barton,  Esquire,  and  others,  were  the  Commissioners  ;  who  apportioned 
the  levy  at  Wigan,  Sept.  2nd,  and  ordered  the  Hundred  of  Blackburn  to 
furnish — Calivers,  16  ;  bowes,  8;  billes,  7;  pickes,  7;  total,  38.1 

In  the  month  of  November,  1585,  another  levy  was  made  upon  the 
county,  of  600  gunners  and  pikemen,  the  rate  of  which,  as  fixed  by  Sir 
John  Byron,  Knt,  and  Sir  Richard  Sherburne,  Knt,  was  57  men  for 
each  300,  or  114  men  altogether,  out  of  Blackburn  Hundred,  placed 
under  the  direction  of  Sir  Richard  Sherburne.  These  114  men,  at  the 
charge  of  ^3  per  man,-  cost  the  Hundred  the  sum  of  ^342,  equal  to 
six-fifteenths  of  the  whole  charge  of  the  county.2 

Under  date  1587,  is  found,  among  the  Shuttleworth  MSS.,  "A  note 
of  the  proceedings  taken  at  Preston,  the  ipth  daie  of  October,  29th  Eliz., 
by  Sir  Richard  Sherburne,  Knt.,  one  of  the  Deputie  Lieutenants  for  this 
Countie,  and  other  the  Justices  of  peace  and  gentlemen  of  worshipp 
there  present ;"  that  is  to  say  : — "  First,  that  the  Justices  of  peace  of 
everie  Hundreth,  doe  send  for  the  Armor  from  the  Croshall  [Cross  Hall, 
Ormskirk]  the  daie  hereafter  specified  : — Derbie  [Hundred],  Tuesdaie 
the  24th  of  October.  Lay  land,  Wednesdaie  the  25th  of  October.  Sall- 
forde,  Thursdaie  the  26th  of  October.  Blackborne,  Fridaie  the  27th  of 
October.  Amounderness,  Mondaie  the  30th  of  October.  Lonesdalle, 
Tuesdaie  the  last  of  October.  Item,  the  Justices  of  peace  of  everie 
hundreth  to  provyde  a  convenient  howse  for  the  keepeinge  of  the  saide 
Armor  and  weapons  at  these  townes  hereafter  specifyed  : — Lonesdalle,  at 
Lancaster ;  Amounderness,  at  Preston  ;  Layland,  at  Chorley ;  Derbie,  at 
Ormiskirke  ;  Sallforde,  at  Manchester ;  Blackburne,  at  Whalley.  Item,  it 
is  appointed  that  the  souldiers  of  everie  hundreth  shal  be  mustered  and 
treyned  at  theis  places.  Item,  the  600  souldiers  are  appointed  to  be 
mustered  at  theis  places  the  daies  hereafter  specifyed,  viz.  : — Mon- 
daie, the  6th  of  November,  at  Lancaster.  Wednesdaie,  the  8th  of 
November,  at  Whalley.  Mondaie,  the  1 3th  of  November,  at  Manches- 
ter, Wednesdaie,  the  i5th  of  November,  at  Ormiskirke.  Fridaie,  the 
1 7th  of  November,  at  Chorley. — Item,  the  horsemen  to  bee  mustered  as 

i  Lane.,  Lieut,  v.  ii,  pp.  144-5.         2  1^.,  pp.  158-60. 


MILITARY  MUSTERS  AND  TAXATION.  75 

hereafter  specified  : — Lonesdalle,  Amounderness,  and  Blackburne,  upon 
Tuesdaie,  the  2ist  of  November,  at  Preston."1 

The  order  concludes  with  "  a  note  what  everie  Hundreth  is  to  fur- 
nish of  the  600  souldiers  all  readie  appointed,  and  what  Armour  they 
are  to  receive  for  the  same  ;"  the  quota  of  Blackburn  Hundred  included 
— Shott  [or  Musketry]  74;  Corslettes,  32;  Pickes  [or  Pikemen],  32; 
total  138  ; — a  larger  number  of  men  than  was  raised  in  the  levy  by  any 
other  Hundred  save  that  of  Derby,  whose  muster  was  180  men.  This 
call  for  men  was  made  in  preparation  for  the  approaching  invasion  of  the 
country  by  the  Spaniards.  In  the  same  year,  a  contribution  of  twenty- 
five  dimilances  for  the  Queen's  service  was  asked  and  obtained  from  the 
gentry  of  the  county,  towards  which  the  following  in  Blackburn  district 
were  contributors  : — Thomas  Hoghton,  Esq.  ;  Sir  John  Southworth, 
Knt.  ;  Thomas  Langton,  Esq.  ;  Sir  Thomas  Hesketh,  Knt.  ;  Thomas 
Walmisley,  Esq.  ;  Edward  Osbaldeston,  Esq.  ;  John  Talbot,  Esq.  ;  and 
Thomas  Barton,  Esq. 

Probably  the  last  of  the  many  military  levies  in  Elizabeth's  reign 
was  that  of  the  year  1595,  the  particulars  of  which  relating  to  the 
Parish  I  copy  from  a  MS.  in  the  Harleian  collection  : — 

The  Number  of  able  Men  in  the  Hundreth  of  Blackburne,  as  well  furnished  with 
armor  and  weapon  as  unfurnished,  and  viewed  att  Whalley  the  Third  of  Novr.  Ano. 
P.  Rne.  Eliz.  37  (1595). 

[Return  for  Townships  in  Parish  of  Blackburn.] 

Musketers.     Pyke.     Unfurnished. 

14 

2  —  5 

28 

7 
—  30 

—  —  22 

33 

22 

—  —  16 


—  22 

23 

—  19 

2  5 

2  I 


Bills. 

Archers. 

Shott. 

Blackburna 

..       2 

I 

5 

Clayton-in-le-Dale 

..       I 

— 

— 

Harwood  Parva    ... 

..       2 

I 

i 

Harwood  Magna  ... 

..       2 

I 

i 

Sailburye 

..       I 

2 

— 

Billington 

..       2 

3 

2 

Livesey  and  Tockholes     . 

-•     9 

2 

I 

Rishton 

..   16 

7 

10 

Wilpshire-cum-Dinckley  . 

••     5 

5 



Mellor-cum-Eccleshill 

..    20 

2 

2 

Witton 



— 



Samlesbury 

..     I4 

10 

—  ., 

Nether  Darwen 

..       2 

6 

6 

Pleasington 

...     9 

6 

— 

Walton-in-le-Daile 

••     4 

— 

4 

Over  Darwen 

...     4 

8 

5 

Osbaldeston 

...       2 

2 

i 

Cuerdall 

..       2 

2 

i 

Balderstone 

...       I 

6 

3 

Total  for  Blackburn  Parish        98  64  42  4  2  322 

Total  for  Blackburn  Hundred  204         173         139  42  21          1342 

Armed  579  ;     Unarmed  1342  ;     Total  1921  Men. 

i  Lane.  Lieut.,  v.  ii,  pp.  180-5. 


76  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

The  same  MS.  contains  the  following  memorandum  of  appoint- 
ments for  training  of  the  Lancashire  levies  in  the  year  succeeding  the 
above  muster : — 

Dayes  appointed  for  trayninge  of  Soldiers  sett  down  by  the  Commissioners  at  Wiggan 
the  22d  day  of  April,  1596. 


Captaines. 

The  first  time  of 
particular  trayning. 

The  second  time  of 
particular   trayning. 

The   general    trayning 
of  the  whole  Bands  be- 
fore theyr  Captaine  and 

Lyvetenant  Brillges. 

Mr. 

Osbaldeston 

Blackburne  . 

..7  of  May. 

The 

15  of 

May. 

Blackburne, 

the 

Bande 

Burneley 

..4  of  May. 

The 

17  of 

May. 

26  of  May. 

Whaley       . 

..5  of  May. 

The 

19  of 

May. 

Ribchester  . 

..7  of  May. 

The 

22  Of 

May. 

1596.     June.     Dayes  appointed  for  treyninge  of    Souldiers. 

Captains  and  their 

Livetenants.  June.  June.  June. 

John  Osbaldeston.  Blackburne  I  23 

,,  8  14  22 

Edward  Osbaldeston.  Burneley...  9  15  23 

Whaley  ...  10  16  24 

Ribchester  n  17  25 

PROSECUTION  OF  RELIGIOUS  RECUSANTS— 1567    TO  1592. 

The  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth  was  disturbed  by  numerous  plots 
against  the  Protestant  succession,  and,  as  a  consequence,  was  marked 
by  constant  informations  and  severe  proceedings  against  those  English 
gentry  whom  events  had  not  moved  from  their  allegiance  to  the  Roman 
Catholic  communion.  In  this  county,  particularly,  the  prosecution  of 
Recusants  was  exceedingly  fierce,  for  in  Lancashire  the  Catholic  party 
was  exceptionally  strong.  In  the  Earl  of  Derby,  however,  who  had 
espoused  the  Protestant  cause,  the  Government  of  Elizabeth  found 
powerful  support  in  the  county.  It  was  about  the  year  1567  that  the 
first  efforts  were  put  forth  to  repress  the  movements  of  the  disaffected 
in  Lancashire.  Having  been  notified  of  the  attitude  of  certain  Catholics 
and  recusants  in  these  parts,  Queen  Elizabeth  wrote  two  letters,  to  the 
spiritual  and  civil  heads  of  the  province,  calling  upon  them  to  discover 
and  bring  to  punishment  alltsuch  seditious  persons.  One  missive  was 
addressed  to  William  Downham,  Bishop  of  Chester.  The  Bishop  was 
ordered  to  make  a  visitation  in  Lancashire,  to  satisfy  the  Government 
that  the  churches  were  supplied  with  honest  men  and  learned  curates. 
This  letter  was  dated  the  2ist  February,  1567-8;  and  simultaneously  a 
second  mandate  was  sent  by  the  monarch  to  Edward  Holland,  then 
High  Sheriff  of  Lancashire,  requiring  him  to  arrest  and  imprison  certain 
deprived  clergy  in  the  county.  These  names  of  marked  men  were 
written  on  the  back  of  the  letter  to  the  Sheriff: — "Alen  [afterwards 
Cardinal  Allen],  who  wrote  the  late  booke  of  Purgatory ;  Vause,  ones 


PROSECUTION  OF  RELIGIOUS  RECUSANTS.  77 

warden  of  Winchester  [Manchester] ;  Murren,  chaplain  to  Boner,  late 
Bishop  of  London ;  Marshall,  ones  dean  of  Christ  Church  in  Oxford ; 
Hargrave,  late  vicar  of  Blackbitrne ;  and  one  Norreys,  tearming  himself 
a  physitian."  The  vicar  of  Blackburn  here  stigmatised  was  James  Har- 
greves,  instituted  to  the  vicarage,  on  the  presentation  of  Phillip  and 
Mary,  in  1555,  and  deprived  for  "  papistry"  in  1563. 

The  Bishop  of  Chester  made  the  tour  of  his  diocese  during  the 
succeeding  summer  ;  the  results  of  which  he  reported  to  Secretary  Cecil, 
November  ist,  1568.  The  Bishop  stated  that  all  over  the  diocese,  120 
miles  in  length,  he  had  found  the  common  people  "  very  tractable,  and 
nowhere  more  than  in  the  furthest  Parts,  bordering  upon  Scotland." 
Enclosed  with  the  report  were  certain  documents,  including : — A  Decree 
of  Edward,  Earl  of  Derby,  William  Downham,  Bishop  of  Chester,  and 
others,  Ecclesiastical  Commissioners,  in  the  case  of  certain  persons  of 
Lancashire,  charged  with  recusancy,  issued  from  Lathom,  3ist  July, 
1568;  and  among  answers  made  by  divers  persons  to  the  articles 
objected  against  them  by  the  Commissioners,  those  of  John  Talbot, 
of  Bashall ;  and  of  Edward  Osbaldeston,  son  of  John  Osbaldeston,  of 
Osbaldeston.  Another  enclosed  document  was  the  articles  preferred 
by  the  Commissioners  against  Sir  John  South  worth,  of  Samlesbury,  Knt, 
"  for  not  repairing  to  Church,  nor  receiving  the  sacrament,  and  for  speak- 
ing against  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer."  Sir  John  Southworth  was 
especially  obnoxious  to  the  ruling  powers ;  and  Bishop  Downham,  in  his 
report,  cites  a  copy  of  a  form  of  submission  that  had  been  presented 
to  Sir  John,  by  order  of  the  Privy  Council,  but  which  the  Knight 
refused  to  subscribe.  The  form  of  submission  is  appended  : — 

Whereas  I,  Sir  John  Southworth,  Knt.,  forgetting  my  duty  towards  God  and  the 
Queen's  Majesty  in  not  considering  my  due  Obedience  for  the  observation  of  the 
Ecclesiastical  Laws  and  Orders  of  this  Realm,  had  received  into  my  house  and  Com- 
pany, and  there  relieved,  certain  Priests,  who  have  not  only  refused  the  Ministry,  but 
also  in  my  hearing  have  spoken  against  the  present  State  of  Religion,  established  by 
her  Majesty  and  the  States  of  her  Realm  in  Parliament,  and  have  also  otherwise  mis. 
behaved  myself  in  not  resorting  to  my  Parish  Church  at  Common  Prayer,  nor  receiv- 
ing the  Holy  Communion  so  often  times  as  I  ought  to  have  done  : — I  do  now,  by  these 
Presents,  most  humbly  and  unfeignedly  submit  myself  to  her  Majesty,  and  am  heartily 
sorry  for  mine  offence  in  this  Behalf,  both  towards  God  and  her  Majesty.  And  do 
further  promise  to  her  Majesty  from  henceforth,  to  obey  all  her  Majesty's  Authority  in 
all  Matters  of  Religion  and  Orders  Ecclesiastical ;  and  to  behave  myself  therein  as 
becometh  a  good,  humble,  and  obedient  subject ;  and  shall  not  impugn  any  of  the  said 
Laws  and  Ordinances  by  any  open  Speech  or  by  Writing,  or  Act  of  mine  own  ;  nor 
willingly  suffer  any  such  in  my  Company  to  offend,  whom  I  may  reasonably  let  or 
disallow.  Nor  shall  assist,  maintain,  relieve,  or  comfort  any  Person  living  out  of  this 
Realm,  being  known  to  be  an  Offender  against  the  said  Laws  and  Orders  now 
established  for  godly  Religion,  as  is  aforesaid.  And  in  this  doing,  I  firmly  trust  to 


78  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

have  her  Majesty  my  gracious  and  good  Lady,  as  hitherto  I,  and  all  other  her  subjects, 
have  marvellously  tasted  of  her  Mercy  and  Goodness. 

In  the  reign  of  Mary,  Sir  John  Southworth  had  been  highly 
regarded  by  the  Court,  and  he  held  the  office  of  High  Sheriff  of  the 
County  even  after  the  accession  of  Elizabeth.  In  October,  1557, 
Lord  Eure  and  Lord  Wharton  had  addressed  a  letter  on  the  subject  of 
military  affairs  in  the  North  to  the  Earl  of  Shrewsbury  in  which  the 
following  reference  to  Sir  John  Southworth  occurs  : — "  We  named  Sir 
John  Southworth  his  going  away :  hee  hath  made  request  that  wee 
would  be  a  means  to  your  lordship  that  hee  might  continue  in  service 
here  with  his  hundred  men,  and  to  have  also  putt  to  his  leading  another 
hundred  men.  Hee  sayes  hee  is  a  younge  man  and  desirous  to  know 
service  in  warr,  and  as  we  think  him  to  bee  commended  therein,  being 
a  toward  and  tall  gentilman,  wee  require  your  lordship  to  favour  this 
his  honest  suit."  But  their  knowledge  of  the  state  of  feeling  in  these 
parts  which  led  to  the  Roman  Catholic  "  Rebellion  of  the  North,"  in 
the  autumn  of  1569,  rendered  Elizabeth's  counsellors  more  distrustful 
than  they  had  formerly  been  of  any  of  the  leading  gentry  known  to  be 
devoted  to  the  Roman  interest.  After  the  suppression  of  that  revolt, 
inquiries  were  made  about  persons  in  Lancashire  who  were  believed  to 
be  concerned  in  it.  In  February,  1575-6,  the  Bishop  of  Chester  wrote 
to  the  Privy  Council,  forwarding  an  account  of  all  persons  in  the 
diocese  who  had  been  known  to  "refuse  to  come  to  the  church," 
distinguishing  those  who  had  conformed  on  admonition  from  those  who 
still  "  remained  in  their  wilfulness."  From  the  "  Blagburne  Deanry  " 
the  following  names  were  rendered  : — 

BLAGBURNE  DEANRY. — OBSTINATE. 
John  Sothworth  Knight  and  ladie  his  wief. 
Thomas  Sothworth  his  sonne  and  heir. 
John  Sothworth,  gent. ,  sonne  to  John  Sothworth,  Kt. 
Anne  Sothworth  his  daughter.     Dorothie  Sothworth  [Rushton]  his  sister. 
John  Talbot,  ar.         John  Townley,  ar.  and  his  wief. 
Thomas  Catherall,  ar.  and  his  wief. 
Henrie  Lowe,  junior.     Margaret  Lowe,  Vid. 
James  Hargreves.          Lucie  Townlie. 
John  Yate,  sonne  to  John  Townley,  ar. 
Ellen  Banester,  Uxor  Roberte  Banester,  gent. 
Anne  Townley,  Uxor  Henrie  Townley,  gent. 
Jenet  Paslowe,  Uxor  Francis  Paslowe,  gent. 
John  Rishton,  gent.     John  Rishton,  husbandman. 
Randle  Ferrand.     Richard  Wodde.     Richard  Hinley. 

CONFORMABLE. 

William  Rishton,  gent.,  and  his  wief.          Ellen  Rishton,  Vid. 
Gilbert  Rishton,  gent.,  and  his  wief.  Lau.  Whittacre,  gent. 


PROSECUTION  OF  RELIGIOUS  RECUSANTS.  79 

Among  the  papers  of  Bishop  Chaderton  are  found  evidences  of 
the  proceedings  taken  in  Lancashire,  about  the  years  1581-4,  for  the 
prosecution  of  priests  and  recusants.  In  1581,  Sir  John  Southworth, 
Knt,  had  been  arrested  and  committed  to  prison  in  the  New  Fleet  at 
Manchester,  one  of  the  charges  against  him  being  that  of  har- 
bouring at  Samlesbury  Hall  the  Jesuit  Edmund  Campion.  By  a 
missive  dated  June  22d,  1581,  the  Lords  in  Council  wrote  to  the  Earl 
of  Derby  and  the  Bishop  of  Chester,  stating  that  humble  suit  had 
been  made  to  the  Council  by  Sir  John  Southworth,  lately  committed  by 
the  Earl  and  Bishop  to  the  New  Fleet  in  Manchester  for  his  obstinacy 
in  popery,  to  be  suffered  to  abide  at  his  own  house  upon  bonds  for  his 
forthcoming,  or  else  to  have  a  servant  to  attend  upon  him  in  the  prison. 
If*  (says  the  letter)  Sir  John  will  enter  into  bonds  with  sureties  in  good 
sums  to  observe  the  conditions  offered  to  such  recusants  as  are  set  at 
liberty,  that  he  may  be  enlarged.  If  not,  then  to  remain  in  prison,  with 
a  servant  to  attend  him,  till  he  shall  conform  according  to  the  laws. 
In  a  postscript,  the  Council  say  they  have  yielded  to  Sir  John's  petition 
for  his  children  to  have  access  to  him  in  prison.  On  September  yth  in 
the  same  year,  the  Earl  of  Huntingdon,  President  of  the  North,  wrote 
to  the  Bishop  of  Chester  to  keep  a  watch  for  Campion,  who,  he  was 
sure,  had  been  in  different  parts  of  Lancashire.  He  named  Richard 
Simpson,  formerly  a  schoolmaster  at  Gisburne,  Yorkshire,  but  now  a 
recusing  priest,  who  was  sometimes  at  Skillicorne's  (of  Frees,  Kirkham), 
sometimes  at  Tarbott's  (Talbot's)  of  Salesbury,  and  at  Westby's.  On 
the  yth  of  December,  the  Lords  in  Council  wrote  to  the  Earl  and 
Bishop,  notifying  their  choice  of  Manchester  "for  bestowing  the 
recusants  of  the  diocese,"  as  being  more  convenient  than  Chester 
Castle ;  and  remarked  that  if  all  the  recusants  were  committed  to  one 
place,  their  diet  would  be  more  easy  to  their  keepers,  for  of  the  few  at 
Manchester,  but  one  (probably  Sir  John  Southworth)  was  able  to  bear 
his  own  charges.  In  January,  1582,  the  Council  write  that  they  were 
glad  to  find  that  the  imprisoned  recusants  had  been  removed  from  Ches- 
ter Castle  to  the  New  Fleet  in  Manchester ;  and  go  on  to  commend  the 
Earl  and  Bishop  for  their  care  and  diligence  in  the  search  of  Talbofs 
house  in  Salesbury,  and  bid  them  convey  the  thanks  of  the  Queen  and 
Council  to  Lord  Strange  for  his  towardness,  and  to  Messrs.  Atherton  and 
Banister,  who  assisted  him  in  that  service ;  the  schoolmaster  there  (at 
Salesbury)  apprehended  to  be  proceeded  against  by  law,  and  search  to 
be  made  for  the  priest  and  others  known  to  have  been  there  at  Christ- 
mas. And  seeing,  by  the  family  not  going  to  church  and  the  supersti- 
tious stuff  found  in  the  house,  they  probably  went  further,  that  point 
should  be  inquired  after,  and  every  of  them  proceeded  against  according 


8o  HISTORY    OF  BLACKBURN. 

to  law.  In  the  course  of  the  same  letter  the  Lords  in  Council  say,  that 
as  some  persons  evil-minded  to  religion  make  great  account  of  the  abode 
of  Sir  John  Southworth  in  London  (whither  he  had  been  temporarily 
transported),  as  though  he  had  received  great  favour,  to  the  Papists' 
encouragement  and  the  defacing  of  the  Ecclesiastical  Commission  and 
their  lordships'  authority,  Sir  John  is  to  repair  to  Manchester,  to  remain 
there,  and  to  be  there  ordered  as  the  Earl  and  Bishop  see  cause.  Febru- 
ary 25th,  1582,  the  Council  wrote  to  Henry  Earl  of  Derby  that  Sir  John 
Southworth  had  been  commanded  to  appear  before  him,  and  they  had 
caused  bond  to  be  taken  of  Sir  John  for  his  personal  appearance  before  the 
Earl  on  or  before  the  25th  of  March.  If  still  obstinate,  the  recusant  Knight 
was  to  be  recommitted  to  the  prison  at  Manchester,  with  liberty  only  to 
walk  abroad  at  times,  in  the  open  air  of  the  gardens  or  open  places  about 
the  college,  in  company  of  his  keeper,  and  then  not  to  confer  with  any 
one.  In  another  letter  of  the  4th  September  the  Lords  in  Council 
inform  the  Earl  and  Bishop  that  great  suit  having  been  made  to  them  on 
behalf  of  Sir  John  Southworth,  in  respect  of  his  age  and  former  good 
services,  the  Council  were  content  that  he  should  receive  as  much  favour 
as  lawfully  might  be,  and  their  lordships  are  directed  to  examine  into  a 
statement  that  this  prisoner  was  surcharged  in  the  fees  of  his  diet  and 
lodging,  above  the  rates  set  down  and  used  in  the  London  Fleet  Prison. 
In  the  year  following  (1583),  on  the  yth  of  February,  the  Council  wrote 
to  Lord  Derby  and  the  Bishop  of  Chester,  agreeing  with  their  reasons 
why  Sir  John  Southworth  should  not  have  his  liberty  further  than  that  of 
walking  with  his  keeper  in  Aldport  Park  and  in  the  College  Garden  ; 
but  added  that  he  might  be  allowed  at  all  times  to  talk  and  confer  with 
others  on  his  private  affairs,  in  the  presence  of  Mr.  Worsley  or  such  as 
he  shall  appoint.  Lord  Burleigh,  in  a  letter  of  the  2oth  November, 
X583,  wrote  to  the  Earl  and  Bishop,  that  Sir  John  Southworth,  prisoner 
for  matters  of  religion  in  the  New  Fleet  at  Manchester,  had  complained 
of  some  extreme  dealing  by  Mr.  Worsley,  the  Warden ;  this  was  denied 
by  Mr.  Worsley,  and  the  Earl  and  Bishop  were  wished  to  inquire  into 
the  allegations  of  "  abridging  him  of  his  ordinary  walk,  diet,  and  such  like 
matters."  More  letters  passed  between  the  authorities  during  the  year 
1584  on  the  subject  of  Sir  John  Southworth's  imprisonment  and  treat- 
ment. On  February  23rd,  the  Council  wrote  to  the  Earl  of  Derby,  the 
Bishop,  Sir  John  Byron,  Mr.  Edmund  Trafford,  &c.,  stating  that  Sir 
John  Southworth's  son  having  besought  for  his  father  more  liberty  and 
better  usage,  Mr.  Worsley  had  shown  that  Sir  John  had  been  more 
strictly  confined  for  refusing  to  be  present  at  grace  before  and  after  meals, 
and  at  the  reading  of  chapters  out  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  as  at 
first  he  was  wont  to  do.  Nevertheless,  his  son  having  undertaken  that 


PROSECUTION  OF  RELIGIOUS  RECUSANTS.  81 

Sir  John  should  do  this  again,  and  behave  himself  in  good  and  decent 
manner  in  the  prison,  and  Mr.  Worsley  being  contented  that  he  should 
have  such  favour  as  theretofore,  and  only  to  take  133.  4d.  weekly  for  his 
diet,  and  to  allow  him  such  liberty  of  walking  as  their  lordships  should 
think  meet,  the  Commissioners  were  instructed  that  they  might  suffer  Sir 
John  to  have  at  convenient  times  the  liberty  of  walks,  and  Mr.  Worsley 
to  take  no  more  of  him  than  he  had  promised  to  the  Council.  On  the 
2nd  May,  Sir  Francis  Walsingham  wrote  to  the  Bishop  of  Chester  that 
the  Privy  Council,  having  been  informed  that  Sir  John  Southworth  pro- 
posed to  disinherit  his  eldest  son,  only  because  he  was  not,  like  the 
father,  ill-affected,  but  well  given  in  religion,  and  to  dispose  his  lands  to 
his  other  children,  the  Bishop  was  bidden  to  learn  what  he  could  of  Sir 
John's  proposal,  so  that  in  case  the  bad  father  had  so  ill  a  meaning 
towards  his  eldest  and  best  son,  some  order  might  be  taken  to  stay  his 
purpose,  and  to  preserve  the  inheritance  for  his  right  heir.  In  another 
letter  from  the  Council  of  the  24th  May,  it  transpires  that  Sir  John 
Southworth  had  again  complained  against  Mr.  Worsley,  his  keeper,  who 
had  answered  the  complaint,  but  the  Council  sent  both  complaint  and 
answer  to  the  Bishop  to  be  examined  into,  and  directed  him  to  take  Sir 
John's  bond  to  the  Queen  for  ^"500  for  his  repairing  with  all  speed  to 
London  to  attend  before  the  Council,  but  before  he  went  he  was  to  pay 
Mr.  Worsley  all  money  due  for  his  diet.  Again,  on  the  5th  July,  1584, 
the  Lords  in  Council  wrote  to  the  Earl  and  Bishop,  stating  that  both  Sir 
John  Southworth  and  Mr.  Townley  having  paid  their  fines  according  to 
law,  they  cannot  be  longer  imprisoned,  for  that  would  be  a  double 
punishment  for  one  offence  ;  still,  as  the  Council  thought  them,  at  liberty, 
more  dangerous  in  Lancashire  (where  they  were  greatly  allied  and 
friended),  than  in  London,  it  was  considered  better  to  bind  them  to 
remain  in  the  metropolis  ;  besides,  some  of  them  had  pretended  diseases 
and  sickness,  and  demanded  the  best  advice ;  so  that  they  could  not 
touch  the  honour  or  credit  of  the  Earl  and  Bishop,  or  boast  of  favour  or 
friendship  at  Court ;  but  if  their  lordships  thought  it  necessary  for  their 
own  credit's  sake  or  in  good  policy,  the  Council  would  send  them  back 
to  Lancashire.  Finally,  on  July  i3th  in  the  same  year,  the  Council 
wrote  to  the  Earl  and  Bishop  that  Sir  John  Southworth's  son  having  been 
a  suitor  for  his  removal  to  London,  the  Council  were  willing  he  should 
be  allowed  to  come  up,  both  from  the  son's  good  character,  and  to  pro- 
mote his  father's  good  will  to  him.  But  if  the  Earl  and  Bishop  were 
against  it,  the  Council  had  no  more  to  say.1 

The  Harleian  MSS.  furnish   documents  containing  the  names  of 
all  bishops,  doctors  and  priests,  prisoners  in  the  Fleet  for  religion  since 

i  Chaderton  Corresp.,  in  Peck's  Desicl.  Curiosa. 


82  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

the  first  year  of  Queen  Elizabeth  (1558).  Among  the  persons  who,  on 
the  loth  of  September,  1586,  were  reported  as  "detected  for  receiptinge 
priests,  seminaries,  &c.,  in  the  County  of  Lancaster,"  are  mentioned 
the  cases  given  below  of  residents  in  the  Parish  of  Blackburn  : — 

This  appeareth  by  the  presentment  of  Ralph  Serjeant,  Churchwarden  of  Walton- 
in-le-Dale. — Jane  Eyves,  of  Fishwick,  widow,  receipted  [received]  Sir  Evan  Banister,  an 
old  priest,  &c. 

This  appeareth  by  the  presentment  of  Law.  Procter,  sworne  man  of  Brihilt. — One 
Duckson,  an  old  priest,  continueth  in  Samlesburye  by  common  report. 

This  appeareth  by  the  presentment  of  the  Vicar  of  Whalley. — John  Lawe,  a 
seminary  Priest,  receipted  in  divers  parts  of  Lancashire,  as  specially  in  the  parishes  of 
Ormskirk,  Preston,  Blackburne,  and  Whalley. 

This  appeareth  by  the  presentment  of  Tho.  Sherples. — James  Cowper,  a  seminary 
Priest,  receipted,  relieved,  and  maintained  at  the  Lodge  of  Sir  John  Sowthworthe  in 
Samlesburie  Park  by  Mr.  Tho.  Sowthworthe,  one  of  the  younger  sons  of  the  said  Sir 
John ;  and  at  the  house  of  John  Warde  dwellinge  in  Samlesburie  Parke  side  ;  and  the 
said  Priest  sayeth  Mass  at  the  said  Lodge  and  at  the  said  Warde's  house.  Whither 
resorte,  Mr.  Sowthworthe,  Mistress  Ann  Sowthworthe,  John  Walmesley,  servante  to 
Sir  John  Sowthworthe,  Tho.  Sowthworthe  dwelling  in  the  Park,  John  Gerrerde,  ser- 
vant to  Sir  John  Sowthworthe,  John  Singleton,  John  Wrighte,  James  Sherples, 
junior,  John  Warde  of  Samlesburie,  John  Warde  of  Meller  the  elder,  Henry  Potter  of 
Meller,  John  Goulden  of  Winwick,  Thomas  Goulden  of  the  same,  Robt.  Anderton 
of  Samlesburie  and  John  Sherples  of  Stanleyhurst,  in  Samlesburie.  .  .  This 
also  appearethe  by  the  presentment  of  Tho.  Sherples. — At  the  house  of  James  STierples 
in  Samlesburie  was  a  Masse  done  on  Candlemas  Day  by  one  Henry  Dueson  alias 
Harry  Duckesson.  And  these  persons  were  at  it,  viz. — John  Sherples  of  Stanleyhurst 
in  Samlesburie  and  his  wife,  and  his  son  Thomas  and  his  daughter  Ann,  and  Rodger 
Sherples  and  his  wife,  and  Richard  Sherples,  and  the  wife  of  Harry  Sherples,  and  the 
wife  of  Hugh  Welchman,  and  Thomas  Harrisson,  and  the  wife  of  Thomas  Welcnman 
the  elder,  the  wife  of  John  Chitome,  Robt.  Blackehay,  Thomas  Duckesson  of  Hough- 
ton,  James  Duckesson,  the  wife  of  Harrie  Bonne.  .  .  At  the  Lodge  in  Samlesburie 
Parke  there  be  masses  daily  and  Seminaries  diverse  resorte  thither,  as  James  Cowpe, 
Harrisson,  Bell,  and  such  like  ;  the  like  unlawful  meetings  are  made  daily  at  the  house 
of  John  Warde,  by  the  Park  side  of  Samlesburie,  all  whiche  matters,  masses,  resorte 
to  Masses,  receipting  of  Seminaries,  will  be  justified  [substantiated]  by  Mr.  Adam 
Sowthworthe,  Thomas  Sherples,  and  John  Osbaldston. l 

The  last  documentary  evidence  of  the  prosecution  of  the  lord  of 
Samlesbury  for  his  religion  is  found  in  the  Egerton  Papers,  and  is 
an  "  Inventorie  of  such  superstitious  thinges  as  were  found  in  Sir  John 
Southworth  his  house  at  Samlesburie,  by  Richard  Brereton,  Esq.,  one 
of  her  Majesties  Justices  of  the  peace,  at  a  search  made  there,  2ist 
November,  1592,"  and  is  accompanied  by  the  names  of  persons  then 
dwelling  at  Samlesbury  Hall,  about  forty  in  number.2  Sir  John  South- 
worth  died  in  1595. 

About  the  year  1585,  at  a  time  when  the  Queen,  the  Privy  Council, 

i  Baines's  Hist,  of  Lane.  v.  i,  p.  180.         2  Croston's  Hist,  of  Samlesb.  Hall,  p.  173. 


FREE  TENANTS  IN  A.D.   1600.  83 

Parliament,  and  the  Country  were  not  a  little  purturbed  by  the  revelation 
of  a  plot  for  the  dethronement  of  Elizabeth,  it  was  deemed  meet  that 
the  principal  nobility  and  gentry  of  Lancashire  who  were  loyally 
disposed  should  unite  in  a  public  declaration  of  their  allegiance  to  the 
Queen  and  the  national  establishment  of  religion.  Appended  to  the 
declaration  are  eighty-three  signatures,  headed  by  the  name  of  Henry, 
Earl  of  Derby.  The  names  of  those  signatories  who  resided  or  had 
properties  in  the  Parish  of  Blackburn,  are,  Thomas  Hesketh,  Thomas 
Hoghton,  Rychard  Ashton,  Edward  Osbaldeston,  Thomas  Talbot, 
Rauffe  Ashton,  Robert  Langton,  and  Edward  Braddell. 

On  the  1 8th  day  of  June,  1588,  Queen  Elizabeth,  from  her  Manor 
of  Greenwich,  issued  a  proclamation  to  the  Earl  of  Derby,  Lord- 
Lieutenant  of  Lancashire  and  Cheshire,  calling  for  the  supply  of  as 
great  a  quantity  of  munitions  of  war  as  these  counties  could  furnish,  to 
assist  the  Government  in  withstanding  the  Spanish  invasion.  Lanca- 
shire responded  loyally  with  men  and  arms  to  the  Queen's  appeal,  and 
sent  a  large  contingent  to  the  English  army  marshalled  to  .repel  the 
expected  attack  by  the  Armada  of  Spain.  A  month  after  the  royal 
summons  to  Lancashire,  on  the  ipth  of  July,  1588,  the  Spanish  Fleet 
arrived  in  the  English  Channel.  The  story  of  the  repulse  of  this 
invasion  is  universally  familiar. 

Harleian  MS.  No.  2042,  in  the  British  Museum  Library,  contains 
lists  of  Free  Tenants  in  all  the  Lancashire  Hundreds,  made  out  in  the 
year  1600  (43rd  Eliz.).  From  the  "  Free  Tenants  within  the  Hundred 
of  Blackeburne"  I  extract  the  names  of  such  Freeholders  as  were 
resident  in  the  Parish  of  Blackburn  : — 


Thomas  Southworth  of  Samlesbury,  Esq. 
Thomas  Langton  of  Walton,  Esq. 
John  Osbaldeston  of  Osbaldeston,  Esq. 
[John]  Talbot  of  Salesbury,  Esq. 
Edward  Walmisley  of  Banister  Hall,  Esq. 
Edward  Braddyll  of  Brockhole,  Esq. 
Thomas  Astley  of  Astley  [Stakes],  gent. 
William  Walton  of  Walton,  gent. 
Henry  Lussell  of  Osbaldeston,  gent. 
Ralph  Holden  of  Ewood,  gent. 
James  Aspden  of  Arley,  gent. 
Richard  Whithalgh  of  Livesey,  gent. 
Richard  Livesey  of  Fearnhurst,  gent. 
John  Parker  of  Loveley,  gent. 
Robert  Barker  of  Wheetley,  gent. 
Hugh  Marsden  of  Tockholes,  gent. 


Edward  Gillibrand  of  Ramesgreave,  gent. 
Robert  Woodruffe  of  Walton,  gent. 
Henry  Speake  of  Billington,  gent. 
Thomas  Ainsworth  of  Pleasington,  gent. 
Lawrence  Duxburie  of  Gt.  Harwood,  gent. 
Robert  Cunliffe  of  Samlesbury,  gent. 
John  Clayton  of  Little  Harwood,  gent. 
John  Dawson  of  Walton,  gent. 
Henry  Morley  of  Braddyll,  gent. 
[  ]  Parker  of  Hole  House,  gent. 

Christopher  Marsden  of  Tockholes,  gent. 
Thomas  Stanley  of  Mellor,  gent. 
Christopher  Smith  of  Bankhead,  gent. 
Thomas  Witton  of  Green  Tockholes,  gent. 
[John]  Livesey  of  Feniscolles,  gent. 
Nicholas  Grimshaw  of  Okenhurst,  gent. 


84  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


CHAPTER  IV.— THE  STUART  PERIOD. 

Accession  of  James  I. — Loyal  Address — Military  Muster  in  1608 — Subsidy  Assessment  in  1611 — Sam- 
lesbury  Witchcraft  Trials  in  1612— James  I.  at  Hoghton  Tower — Ship-Money  Levy  in  1635— Civil 
War  [1641-51],  Local  Transactions  and  Operations — Rupture  between  King  and  Parliament — 
County  Meeting  at  Preston — Royalist  Preparations  for  War — Parliamentarian  Organization  in 
Blackburn  Hundred — Militia  called  out — Blackburn  occupied  by  Sir  Gilbert  Hoghton — Retaken 
by  Colonel  Shuttleworth — Second  Royalist  Attack  on  Blackburn  repulsed— Ambush  at  Salesbury 
Hall — Roundhead  Assault  upon  Preston — Tragedy  at  Hoghton  Tower — Preston  recovered  by  the 
Earl  of  Derby,  and  Blackburn  occupied — Battle  at  Whalley  and  Retreat  of  Royalists — Further 
Roundhead  successes— Passage  of  Rupert's  Army  and  Fight  at  Blackburn — Col.  Nicholas  Shuttle- 
worth  at  Blackburn— Skirmish  at  Walton — Distress  in  Lancashire — Sequestration  of  Royalist 
Estates — Presbytery  Established  in  the  County— Campaign  of  1648 — Battle  at  Preston  and  Walton 
— Cromwell's  Despatches — Colours  taken  in  the  Battle — Petition  to  Parliament  from  Blackburn 
Hundred — Fight  at  Brindle  and  Walton  in  1651 — Further  Parliamentary  Sequestrations — Restora- 
tion of  Monarchy — Act  of  Uniformity — Its  local  results — Nonconformist  Congregations — Subsidy 
Assessment  in  1663 — Prosecution  of  Nonconformists — Revolution  of  1688. 


QUEEN  ELIZABETH  died  March  24th,  1602-3,  and  with  her 
ended  the  Tudor  line  of  English  Sovereigns.  James  Stuart, 
King  of  Scotland,  was  acknowledged  as  rightful  successor  to  the 
throne,  and  was  proclaimed  as  James  the  First  of  England.  On  his 
accession,  seventy-nine  Lancashire  gentry  presented  a  loyal  address  to 
the  new  monarch.  The  following  proprietors  in  the  parish  signed  the 
address  : — Sir  Richard  Hoghton,  Knt,  lord  of  Hoghton  and  Walton-in- 
le-Dale ;  Randal  Barton,  Esq.,  lord  of  Blackburn  and  Smithells ;  Thomas 
Southworth,  Esq.,  lord  of  Samlesbury ;  John  Osbaldeston,  Esq.,  lord  of 
Osbaldeston ;  William  Farrington,  Esq.,  of  Worden  and  Audley  in 
Blackburn  ;  Sergeant  Thomas  Walmesley,  of  Dunkenhalgh  and  Hacking 
in  Billington,  the  Judge  of  Common  Pleas  ;  John  Braddyll,  Esq.,  of 
Portfield  and  Brockhole  in  Billington  ;  and  Robert  Hesketh,  Esq.,  lord 
of  Great  Harwood  and  Rufford.  King  James's  progress  from  Edin- 
burgh to  London  occupied  from  the  6th  of  April,  1603,  to  the  yth  of 
May ;  and  during  the  journey  he  conferred  the  honour  of  knighthood 


MILITARY  MUSTER  [1608]— SUBSIDY  ASSESSMENT  [1611].        85 

upon  two  hundred  of  the  gentry.    Among  the  knights  created  at  this  time 
were  Sir  Thomas  Walmesley  and  Sir  Thomas  Hesketh. 

Considerable  tracts  of  land  were  emparked  on  the  estates  of  the  chief 
landholders  in  this  part  of  Lancashire  in  the  reign  of  the  First  James. 
Speed's  Map  of  Lancashire,  drawn  in  the  year  1610,  affords  information  as 
to  the  principal  park-lands  at  that  time,  which  are  indicated  on  the  map  by 
a  paled  circle.  Osbaldeston  Hall  is  shown  by  Speed  surrounded  by  a  large 
park,  of  which  no  traces  now  remain,  and  Samlesbury  Hall  likewise  is 
the  centre  of  a  paled  ring,  denoting  a  park  enclosure.  In  a  somewhat 
older  map  than  Speed's,  made  about  the  year  1598,  by  one  William 
Smith,  there  are  but  two  of  these  paled  circles  in  the  Parish,  those  of 
Martholme  Park,  on  the  Hyndburn  and  Calder,  the  seat  of  the  Heskeths 
of  Martholme  and  Rufford  ;  and  the  Park  around  Samlesbury  Hall,  the 
seat  of  the  Southworths.  Neither  of  these  estates  is  now  imparked  to 
any  extent. 

In  the  6th  James  I  (1608),  there  was  ordered  a  general  muster  of 
men-at-arms  in  Lancashire,  the  returns  of  which  are  preserved  in  the 
Harleian  collections.  The  return  from  Blackburn  Hundred  is  headed  : — 

Blackeburne  Hundreth  mustered  by  Sr.  Edmund  Trafford  and  Rychard  Holland,  Esq., 

att  Blackeburne,  the  26  of  September,  1608. 
[ Particulars  of  Musters  from  Townships  in  Blackburn  Parish.] 

Muskettes.  Caliverers.  Bills.  Archers.           Corselettes. 

Osbaldeston —  I  2  I 

Balderstone         -----       2  I  14  2 

Witton      - -       I  4  * 

Walton     - i  2  10  5 

Pleasington -     —  I  7  6 

Tockholes-cum-Lyvesey    -     -     —  7  28  3                      2 

Cuerdale        —  3 

Upper  Derwin         •     -     -     -       3  6  I  6 

Billington I  3  16  13 

Rishton     --------  8  20  8                     5 

Samlesburye       -----     —  6  8  15 

Clayton-in-le-Daile       -     -     -     — 

Blackburne 5  2I  rl 

Lower  Derwin  -----     —  22  17  3                    16 

Mellor-cum-Eccleshill  -     -     -     -  6  18  7 

Wilpshire-cum-Dinkley     -     -     —  5  IO  I 

Harwood  Magna     -----  ^  7  2 

Harwood  Parva       -----  6  9  2                      3 

Salesburye     ------       3  18  4 

At  this  muster  a  little  army  of  1453  men  of  various  arms  was 
gathered  out  of  the  Hundred  at  Blackburn  for  review. 

SUBSIDY  ASSESSMENT  ON  THE  PARISH,  A.D.  1611. 

I  copy  from  the  Subsidy  Rolls  the  appended  local  assessments  to  a 
Subsidy  levied  in  1611.  The  parchment  is  headed: — "Amount  of 


86  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Assessment  upon  each  Inhabitant  chargeable  to  the  Second  payment  of 
Subsidy  granted  yth  James  I.  within  the  Hundred  of  Blackburne." 

[!N  BLACKBURN  PARISH.] 

BLAGBURNE—  Value  Levy 

John  Gelybrand,  in  goods         £6  6s. 

Thomas  Haworth,  in  goods        ...         ...         ...  £$  5s- 

John  Livesey,  in  goods  ...           ...         ...         ...  £5  5s- 

William  Sudall,   in  goods         ^£5  5s. 

William  Haworthe,  in  goods     ^"5  5s. 

SAMLESBURYE — 

Thos.  Sothworth,  Esq.,  in  lands            £26  135.  6d.     373.  8d. 

Richard  Blakey,  in  goods            £3  35. 

William  Alcar,  in  goods              £$  35. 

John  Dewhurst,  in  goods £3  35. 

Henrie  Cowburne,  in  goods       ...         ...          ...  ^3  35. 

HARWOD  MAGNA — 

Lawrence  Ducksburie,  in  lands...         ...         ...  ^3  4s- 

William  Hindle,  in  goods £4  4s. 

John  Harwood,  in  goods...         ...         ...         ...  £3  3s- 

George  Cockshott,  in  goods       ^3  35. 

BlLLINGTON — 

Antonio  Bleuet,  gent. ,  in  lands 405.  2s.  8d. 

Henrie  Speake,  in  lands ...           305.  2s. 

Richard  ffoole,  in  goods "      £4  4s. 

Richard  Chewe,  in  goods ^3  3s. 

John  Sclater,  in  goods     ^3  3s. 

PLEASINGTON— 

Margaret  Ainsworth,  Widow,  in  lands £$  45. 

John  Smith,  in  lands      ... 405.  2s.   8d» 

James  Astley,  in  lands ...  2Os.  l6d. 

John  Livesey,  in  lands  ...            2OS.  l6d. 

Richard  Ainsworth,  in  goods ...  £$  5s. 

William  Marsden,  in  goods         ...  £4  45. 

Oliver  Whalley,  in  goods            £,Z  3s. 

CUERDALE— 

-     Edward  [             ]  of  Ellen  [             ]      — 

William  Cowpe,  in  goods           ^3  3s, 

William  Sudall,  in  goods ^"3  35. 

MELLOR-CUM-ECCLESHILL — 

Edward  Gelybrande,  in  lands-     ...          ...         ...  2os.  1 6d. 

James  Ward,  in  lands 2OS.  l6d. 

Richard  Walmsley,  in  goods       ...          ...          ...  ^4  45. 

Richard  Ireland,  in  goods            ...          ...         ...  £4  45. 

George  Hey,  in  goods      ...          ...          ...          ...  ^4  43. 

Rauf  ffishe,  in  goods        ...         ...         ...         ...  ^5  5s- 

Thomas  Shorrocke,    in  goods ...  £$  5s. 

WALTON-IN-LE-DAILE — 

Robert      Woodruffe,      gent.,      with     William 

Osbaldeston,  in  lands   ...          ...          ...  ^"3  4$. 

William  Walton,  in  lands           2Os.  l6d. 

Thomas  Leighe,  in  goods           ...          ...          ...  ^3  35, 


SUBSIDY  ASSESSMENT  IN  A.D.    1611. 


WALTON-IN-LE-DAILE — 

Relict  of  Edward  Jackson,  in  goods     . . . 
Relict  of  Edward  Bawden,  in  goods 
Relict  of  James  Woodcocke,  in  goods  ... 
Richard  Woodcocke,   in  goods  ... 
Oliver  Toogood,  in  goods 
Nicholas  Langton,  in  goods 
George  Hawkshead,  in  goods     ... 

Thomas  Gorton,  in  goods  

Ewan  Catterill,  in  goods 

Thomas  Conwell,  in  goods         

Relict  of  Henrie  Banestre,  in  goods 

LlVESEY-CUM-TOGKHOLES — 

James  Livesey,  gent.,  in  lands   ... 
Thomas  Astley,  gent.,  in  lai 
James  Whithalghe,  in  lands 
Myles  Marsden,  in  lands  . . . 
Randal  Holden,  in  goods... 
Matthew  Walkden,  in  goods 
Hugh  Marsden,  in  goods... 
John  Houghton,  in  goods 
Alexander  Waddington,  in  goods 

WlLPSHIRE-CUM-DlNKLEY — 

John  Dewhurst,  gent.,  in 

George  Talbott,  in  lands 

William  Smith,  in  goods... 

Oliver  ffeilden,  in  goods  ... 

James  Ward,  in  goods 

Richard  Craven,   in  goods 
HARWOD  PARVA — 

John  Cleyton,  in  lands 

Randall  Rishton,  in  lands 

William  Rishton,  in  goods 

Richard  Paidge,  in  goods 
SALEBURIE — 

John  Talbott,  Esq. ,  in  lands 

Richard  Parker,  gent.,  in  lands 

Robert  Barker,  in  lands... 
WITTON — 

Thomas  Holden,   in  lands 

Margaret  Cowburne,  in  lands 
NETHER  DARWIN — 

Lawrence  Haworth,  in  goods 

Henrie  Crosse,  in  goods 

Edward  Harwood,  in  good 
CLEYTON-IN-LE-DAILE— 

Edward  Lawe,  in  good: 

John  Calvard,  in  goods 


Value. 
£3 

£3 
£3 
£3 

£3 
£3 

£3 
£3 

£3 
£3 


Levy. 

as- 
S^- 
Ss. 
3s. 

3s. 
3s- 


i  lands   ...          ...          ...    405. 

2s.  8d. 

i  lands  £3 

4s. 

inds        405. 

2S.    8d. 

;  405. 

2s.  8d. 

s  £5 

5s- 

joods      ^4 

43. 

s  £4 

4& 

Is            £4 

4& 

in  goods            ...          ...     £3 

3s. 

a  lands  ...          ...          ...    405. 

2s.   8d. 

;  2OS. 

i6d. 

S  £4 

45.. 

£3 

35. 

£3 

3s. 

ds           £3 

3& 

405. 

2s.  8d. 

Is               2OS. 

i6d.. 

>ds         ...         ...         ...     ^4 

45. 

Is                                 ...    /,3, 

3.s.. 

ands       £$ 

6s.  8d. 

n  lands             ...          ...    2os. 

i6d. 

20S. 

i6d. 

ds           2Os. 

i6d. 

lands     2os. 

i6d. 

foods     £$ 

5s. 

£5 

5s. 

ods        ^4 

45. 

^3 

3s. 

-         £3 

3s. 

ilghe,  in  goods             ...     ^3 

3s. 

sley,  in  goods  £$ 

5s.. 

88  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

RisiiTciN—                                                                               Value.  Levy. 

George  Livesey,  in  goods           £3  3$. 

Thomas  Livesey,  in  goods          ^3  3s. 

James  Whalley,  in  goods             £3  33. 

Henrie  Duckworthe,  in  goods ^3  35. 

Uxor  of  Edward  Rish ton,  in  goods       ^"3  3s. 

Thomas  Abbott,  in  goods           ^"3  3s. 

John  Hindle  of  Tottleworth,  in  goods £3  3s. 

Thurstan  ffeilden,  in  goods         ...         ...         ...  ^3  3s- 

BALDERSTON — 

Roger  Smaley,  in  lands 2Os.  l6d. 

John  Osbaldeston,  in  lands 303.  2s. 

William  Bolton,  in  goods            £4  45. 

Robert  Sykes,  in  goods £z  3s. 

OSBALDESTON— 

Edward  Osbaldeston,  Esq.,  in  lands     £16  138.  4d.     22s.  2^d. 

Richard  Brookes,  in  lands          ...          405.  2s.   8d. 

Henrie  Lussells,  in  lands            2OS.  i6d. 

Lawrence  Osbaldeston,  in  lands            2Os.  l6d. 

Thomas  Hackin,  in  goods  £$  55. 

UPPER  DARWIN— 

Mr.  John  Crosse,  in  lands           ...          ...          ...  405.  2s.   8d. 

The  heires  of  John  Baron,  in  lands     ...          ...  2Os.  l6d. 

Henrie  Livesey,  in  goods           ...         ...         ...  £7  7s- 

TRIALS  FOR  ALLEGED  WITCHCRAFT  AT  SAMLESBURY. 

The  year  1612  was  marked  by  the  trial  at  Lancaster  of  a  number 
of  persons  charged'  with  witchcraft.  In  the  summer  of  that  year, 
nineteen  persons  were  lying  in  Lancaster  Castle  awaiting  trial  on  this, 
at  that  time,  capital  charge.  Ten  of  these  belonged  to  the  district  of 
Pendle  Forest ;  one  resided  at  Gisburn,  in  Craven  ;  one  at  Windle, 
near  Prescot ;  and  eight  others  were  from  the  township  of  Samlesbury, 
in  this  parish.  Most  of  the  accused  from  Pendle  Forest  were  convicted, 
sentenced  to  death,  and  executed;  but  the  so-called  witches  of 
Samlesbury  were  fortunate  enough  to  be  acquitted.  A  curious  record 
of  their  trial  is  preserved,  from  which  the  following  particulars  of  the 
Samlesbury  cases  are  derived.1 

The  persons  arrested  and  committed  for  trial  from  this  township 
were,  Jennet  Bierley,  Ellen  Bierley,  Jane  Southworth,  John  Ramesden, 
Elizabeth  Astley,  Alice  Grey,  Isabell  Sidegreaves,  and  Lawrence  Haye. 
Only  three  of  them  appear  to  have  been  arraigned  at  the  assizes — Jennet 
Bierley,  Ellen  Bierley,  and  Jane  Southworth.  The  chronicler  introduces 
his  report  of  their  trial  with  a  reference  to  them  as  "the  famous 
witches  of  Samlesbury,  as  the  countrey  called  them,  who,  by  such  a 

i  Potts'  Discov.  of  Witches  in  Co.  Lane.,  Ed.  by  Crossley  (Cheth.  Soc.  Publ.) 


SAMLESBURY  WITCHCRAFT  TRIALS.  89 

subtill  practice  and  conspiracie  of  a  seminarie  Priest,  or  as  the  best  in 
this  honorable  assembly  thinke,  a  Jesuite,  whereof  this  countie  of 
Lancaster  hath  good  store,"  &c.,  "are  now  brought  to  the  barre,  to 
receive  their  triall,  and  such  a  young  witness  prepared  and  instructed  to 
give  evidence  against  them,  that  it  must  be  the  act  of  God  that  must  be 
the  means  to  discover  their  practices  and  Murthers."  Thus  writes 
perspicacious  Master  Potts,  and  then,  with  an  apparent  self-contradic- 
tion, observes  "  how  and  in  what  sort  Almighty  God  delivered  them 
from  the  stroake  of  death,  when  the  Axe  was  laid  to  the  Tree,  and 
made  frustrate  the  practice  of  this  bloudie  Butcher ;"  that  is,  of  the 
Jesuit  priest,  their  accuser. 

The  three  prisoners,  Jennet  Bierley,  Ellen  Bierley,  and  Jane 
Southworth,  were  placed  at  the  bar  together  to  stand  their  trial.  The 
indictment  was  that  they  had  feloniously  "  practised,  exercised,  and 
used  diverse  devillish  and  wicked  arts,  called  Witchcraft,  Inchauntments, 
Charmes,  and  Soceries,  in  and  upon  one  Grace  Sowerbutts,  so  that  by 
means  thereof  her  bodie  wasted  and  consumed,"  &c.  The  prisoners 
pleaded  not  guilty. 

The  first  witness  against  them  was  Grace  Sowerbutts  herself,  the 
supposed  subject  of  their  sorceries.  She  is  described  as  "the  daughter 
of  Thomas  Sowerbutts,  about  the  age  of  fourteene  yeares."  Her  father 
is  mentioned  in  the  record  as  "Thomas  Sowerbutts,  of  Samlesbury, 
in  the  countie  of  Lancaster,  husbandman."  The  account  Master  Potts 
gives  of  this  girl's  testimony  is  so  curious  in  many  points,  and  so 
characteristic  of  the  strange  superstitions  and  dark  imaginings  of  the 
people  in  regard  to  witches  and  their  practices  and  powers,  that  it  is 
worth  while  to  insert  the  deposition  in  full.  Grace  Sowerbutts  swore  : — 

That  for  the  space  of  some  years  now  last  past  shee  hath  beene  haunted  and  vexed 
with  some  women,  who  have  used  to  come  to  her  ;  which  women,  shee  sayth,  were 
Jennet  Bierley,  this  Informer's  Grandmother  ;  Ellen  Bierley,  wife  to  Henry  Bierley  ; 
Jane  Southworth,  late  the  wife  of  John  Southworth  ;  and  one  Old  Doewife,  all  of 
Samlesburie  aforesaid.  And  shee  saith,  that  now  lately  those  foure  women  did  vio- 
lently draw  her  by  the  haire  of  the  head,  and  layd  her  on  the  toppe  of  a  Hay-mowe,  in 
the  said  Henry  Bierleyes  Barne.  And  she  saith  further,  that  not  long  after,  the  said 
Jennet  Bierley  did  meet  (her)  neare  unto  the  place  where  shee  dwelleth,  and  first 
appeared  in  her  owne  likenesse,  and  after  that  in  the  likenesse  of  a  black  Dogge,  and  as 
(witness)  did  goe  over  a  style,  shee  picked  [pitched  or  pushed]  her  off ;  howbeit  shee 
saith  shee  had  no  hurt  then,  but  rose  againe,  and  went  to  her  Aunt's  in  Osbaldeston, 
and  returned  back  againe  to  her  Father's  house  the  same  night,  being  fetched  home  by 
her  father.  That  in  her  way  homewards  she  did  then  tell  her  father  how  shee  had 
beene  dealt  withall  both  then  and  at  sundry  times  before  that  ;  and  before  that  time 
shee  never  told  any  body  thereof ;  and  being  examined  why  she  did  not,  shee  sayth, 
shee  could  not  speake  thereof,  though  she  desired  so  to  doe.  And  she  further  sayth, 
that  upon  Saterday,  being  the  fourth  of  this  instant  April,  (witness)  going  towards 


90  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Salmesbury  bote  [boat]  to  meete  her  mother  coming  from  Preston,  shee  saw  the  said 
Jennet  Bierley,  who  met  (her)  at  a  place  called  the  Two  Brigges,  first  in  her  owne  shape, 
and  afterwards  in  the  likenesse  of  a  blacke  Dogge,  with  two  legges,  which  dogge  went 
close  by  the  left  side  of  (witness),  till  they  came  to  a  Pitte  of  Water,  and  then  the  said 
Dogge  spake,  and  persuaded  this  Examinate  to  drowne  her  selfe  there,  saying,  it  was 
a  faire  and  an  easie  death.     Whereupon  this  Examinate  thought  there  came  one  to  her 
in  a  white  sheete,   and  carried  her  away  from  the  said  pitte,  upon  the  coming  whereof 
the  said  blacke  dogge  departed  away  ;  and  shortly  after  the  said  white  thing  departed 
also.     And  after  (she)  had  gone  further  on  her  way,  about  the  length  of  two  or  three 
fields,  the  said  black  dogge  did  meete  her  againe,  and  going  on  her  left  side,  as  afore- 
said, did  carrie  her  into  a  barne  of  one  Hugh  Walshmans,  neere  thereby,  and  layed  (her) 
upon  the  barne  floore,  and  covered  (her)  with  straw  on  her  bodie,  and  haye  on  her 
head,  and  the  dogge  itselfe  lay  on  the  toppe  of  the  said  straw,  but  how  long  the  said 
dogge  lay  there,  this  examinate  cannot   tell,  nor  how  long  her  selfe  lay  there,    for  she 
sayth,  that  upon  her  lying  downe  there,  as  aforesaid,  her  speech  and  senses  were  taken 
from  her,  and  the  first  time  shee  knew  where  shee  was,  shee  was  layed  upon  a  bedde 
in  the  said  Walshmans  house,  which  (as  shee  hath  since  beene  told)  was  upon  the  Mon- 
day at  night  following  ;  and  shee  was  also  told,   that  shee  was  found  and  taken  from 
the  place  where  shee  first  lay,  by  some  of  her  friends,  and  carried  'into  the  said  Walsh- 
mans  house,  within  a  few  hours  after  shee  was  layed  in  the  barne,  as  aforesaid.     And 
shee  further  sayth,  that  upon  the  day  following,  being  Tuesday,  neere  night  of  the  same 
day,  shee  was  fetched  by  her  father  and  mother  from  the  said  Walshmans  house  to  her 
father's  house.     And  shee  saith,   that  at  the  place  before  specified,   called  the  Two 
Brigges,  the  said  Jennet  Bierley  and  Ellen  Bierley  did  appeare  unto  her  in  theire  owne 
shapes  ;  whereupon  (witness)  fell  downe,  and  after  that  was  not  able  to  speake,  or  goe, 
till  the  Friday  following  ;  during  which  time,   as  she  lay  in  her  father's  house,  the  said 
Jennet  Bierley  and  Ellen  Bierley  did  once  appear  unto  her  in  their  owne  shapes,   but 
they  did  nothing  unto  her  there,  neither  did  shee  ever  see  them  since.     And  shee  fur- 
ther sayth,  that  a  good  while  before  all  this,  (she)  did  goe  with  the  said  Jennet  Bierley, 
her  grandmother,  and  the  said  Ellen  Bierley  her  aunt,  at  the  bidding  of  her  said  grand- 
mother, to  the  house  of  one  Thomas  Walshman,  in  Salmesbury  aforesaid.   And  coming 
thither  in  the  night,  when  all  the  household  was  a-bed,  the  doores  being  shut,  the  said 
Jennet  Bierley  did  open  them,  but  this  Examinate  knoweth  not  how  ;  and  being  come 
into  the  said  house,  (witness)  and  the  said  Ellen  Bierley   stayed  there,   and  the  said 
Jennet  Bierley  went  into  the  chamber  where  the  said  Walshman  and  his  wife  lay,  and 
from  thence  brought  a  little  child,  which  this  Examinate  thinketh  was  in  bed  with  its 
father  and  mother ;  and  after  the  said  Jennet  Bierley  had  set  her  downe  by  the  fire, 
with  the  said  childe,  she  did  thrust  a  naile  into  the  navell  of  the  said  child,  and  after- 
wards did  take  a  (quill)  pen  and  put  it  in  at  the  said  place,  and  did  suck  there  a  good 
space,  and  afterwards  laid  the  child  in  bed  againe  ;  and  then  the  said  Jennet  and  the 
said  Ellen  returned  to  their  owne  houses,  and  (witness)  with  them.     And  shee  thinks 
that  neither  the  said  Thomas  Walshman  nor  his  wife  knew  that  the  said  child  was 
taken  out  of  the  bed  from  them.     And  shee  saith  also,  that  the  said  child  did  not  crie 
when  it  was  hurt,  as  aforesaid  ;  but  shee  saith,  that  shee  thinketh  that  the  said  child 
did  thenceforth  languish,  and  not  long  after  dyed.     And  after  the  death  of  the  said 
child,  the  next  night  after  the  buriall  thereof,  the  said  Jennet  Bierley  and  Ellen  Bierley, 
taking  (witness)  with  them,    went  to  Salmesburie  Church,   and  there  did  take  up  the 
said  child,  and  the  said  Jennet  did  carrie  it  out  of  the  church-yard  in  her  armes,    and 
there  did  put  it  in  her  lap  and  carryed  it  home  to  her  owne  house,  and  having  it  there 
did  boile  some  thereof  in  a  Pot,  and  some  did  broile  on  the  coales,  of  both  of  which 


SAMLESBURY  WITCHCRAFT  TRIALS.  9I 

the  said  Jennet  and  Ellen  did  eate,  and  would  have  had  this  Examinate  and  one  Grace 
Bierley,  daughter  of  the  said  Ellen,  to  have  eaten  with  them,  but  they  refused  so  to 
doe  ;  and  afterwards  the  said  Jennet  and  Ellen  did  seethe  the  bones  of  the  said  child 
in  a  pot,  and  with  the  fat  that  came  out  of  the  said  bones  they  said  they  would  annoint 
themselves,  that  thereby  they  might  sometimes  change  themselves  into  other  shapes. 
And  after  all  this  being  done,  they  said  they  would  lay  the  bones  againe  in  the  grave 
the  next  night  following,  but  whether  they  did  so  or  not,  this  Examinate  knoweth  not ; 
neither  doth  she  know  how  they  got  it  out  of  the  grave  at  the  fi  rst  taking  of  it  up. 
And  being  further  sworn  and  examined,  she  deposeth  and  saith,  that  about  half  a  yeare 
agoe,  the  said  Jennet  Bierley,  Ellen  Bierley,  Jane  Southworth,  and  this  (witness)  [who 
went  by  the  appointment  of  the  said  Jennet  her  grandmother],  did  meete  at  a  place 
called  Red  banck,  upon  the  North  side  of  the  water  of  Ribble,    every  Thursday  and 
Sunday  at  night  by  the  space  of  a  fortnight,   and  at  the  water  side  there  came  unto 
them,  as  they  went  thither,   four  black  things,  going  upright,   and  yet  not  like  men  in 
the  face  ;  which  foure  did  carrie  the  said  three  women  and  (witness)   over  the  Water, 
and  when  they  came  to  the  said  Red  Banck  they  found  something  there  which  they  did 
eate.     But  (witness)  saith  she  never  saw  such  meate  ;  and  therefore  she  durst  not  eate 
thereof,  although  her  said  Grandmother  did  bidde  her  eate.     And  after  they  had  eaten, 
the  said  three  Women  and  (witness)  danced,  every  one  of  them  with  the  blacke  things 
aforesaid.     .     .     (Witness)  further  saith  upon  her  oth,  that  about  ten  dayes  after  her 
Examination  taken  at  Blackborne,  shee  being  then  come  to  her  Father's  house  againe, 
after  shee  had  been  certaine  dayes  at  her   Unckles  house  in  Houghton,  Jane  South- 
worth,  widow,  did  meet  (witness)  at  her  Fathers  house  dore  and  did  carrie  her  into  the 
loft,  and  there  did  lay  her  upon  the  floore,  where  shee  was  shortly  found  by  her  Father 
and  brought  downe,  and  laid  in  a  bed,  as  afterwards  shee  was  told  ;  for  shee  saith,  that 
from  the  first  meeting  of  the  said  Jane  Southworth,  shee  (witness)  had  her  speech  and 
senses  taken  from  her.     But  the  next  day,  shee  saith,  she  came  somewhat  to  herselfe, 
and  then  the  said  Widow   Southworth  came  againe  to  (witness)  to  her  bed-side,  and 
tooke  her  out  of  bed,  and  said  to  (her)  that  shee  now  would  after  doe  to  her,   and 
thereupon  put  her  upon  a  hay-stack,  standing  some  three  or  foure  yards  high  from  the 
earth,  where  shee  was  found  after  great  search  made,  by  a  neighbour's  Wife  near 
dwelling,  and  then  laid  in  her  bedde  againe,  where  shee  remained  speechlesse  and 
senselesse  as  before,  by  the  space  of  two  or  three  daies.     And  being  recovered,  within 
a  weeke  after,  shee  saith,  that  the  said  Jane  Southworth  did  come  againe  to  (witness)  at 
her  fathers  house  and  did  take  her  away,  and  laid  her  in  a  ditch  neare  to  the  house 
upon  her  face,  and  left  her  there,  where  shee  was  found  shortly  after,  and  laid  upon  a 
bedde,  but  had  not  her  senses  againe  of  a  day  and  a  night,   or  thereabouts.     And  shee 
further  saith,  That  upon  Tuesday  last  before  the  taking  of  this  her  Examination,  the 
said  Jane  Southworth  came  to  (witness's)  Fathers  house,   and  finding  (witness)  without 
the  doore,  tooke  her  and  carried  her  into  the  Barne,   and  thrust  her  head  amongst  a 
companie  of  boords  that  were  there  standing,    where  shee  was  shortly  after  found  and 
laid  in  a  bedde,  and  remained  in  her  old  fit  till  the  Thursday  at  night  following.     And 
being  further  examined  touching  her  being  at   Red-banck,  shee  saith,  That  the  three 
women,  by  her  before  named,    were  carried  backe  againe  over  Ribble  by  the  same 
blacke  things  that  carried  them  thither ;  and  saith  that  at  their  said  meeting  in  the 
Red-banck,  there  did  come  also  divers  other  women,  and  did  meet  them  there,  some 
old,   some  young,    which    (witness)  thinketh  did  dwell  upon  the  North  side  of  the 
Ribble,  because  shee  saw  them  not  come  over  the  water,  but  (she)  knew  none  of  them, 
neither  did  shee  see  them  eate  or  dance,  or  doe  anything  else  that  the  rest  did,  saving 
that  they  were  there  and  looked  on. 


92  HISTORY    OF  BLACKBURN. 

Such  was  the  extraordinary  yet  circumstantial  story  of  this  girl, 
upon  the  strength  of  which,  mainly,  the  reputed  Witches  of  Samlesbury 
were  incarcerated  and  arraigned.  She  was  afterwards  moved  to  confess 
that  the  whole  evidence  was  a  cunning  piece  of  perjury,  fabricated  by 
a  priest  to  bring  certain  parties  whom  he  hated  under  the  law.  The 
further  evidence  by  which  the  allegations  of  Grace  Sowerbutts  were  in 
part  sustained,  included  the  statement  of  Thomas  Walshman,  the 
father  of  the  child  supposed  to  have  been  bewitched  to  death  by  the 
prisoners.  Thomas  Walshman,  on  being  sworn,  deposed  that  "  hee 
had  a  childe  died  about  Lent  twelvemonth,  who  had  beene  sicke  by 
the  space  of  a  fortnight  or  three  weekes,  and  was  afterwards  buried  in 
Samlesburie  Church ;  which  childe  when  it  died  was  a  yeare  old ; 
but  how  it  came  to  the  death  of  it  [witness]  knoweth  not.  And  he 
further  saith,  that  about  the  fifteenth  of  April  last,  or  thereabouts,  the 
said  Grace  Sowerbutts  was  found  in  [his]  father's  barne,  laid  under  a 
little  hay  and  straw,  and  from  thence  was  carried  into  [his]  house,  and 
there  laid  until  the  Monday  at  night  following,  during  which  time  she 
did  not  speake,  but  lay  as  if  she  had  been  dead." 

Another  witness  was  one  John  Singleton,  yeoman,  whose  deposition 
had  been  taken  at  Samlesbury,  August  7th  (a  few  days  prior  to  the 
assize),  before  Robert  Houlden,  Esq.,  Justice  of  the  Peace  (Holden  of 
Holden  Hall,  Haslingden).  Singleton  swore  that  he  had  "often 
heard  his  old  master,  Sir  John  Southworth,  Knight,  now  deceased,  say, 
touching  the  late  wife  of  John  Southworth,  now  in  the  gaole,  for 
suspition  of  Witchcraft,  that  the  said  wife  was  as  he  thought  an  evill 
woman,  and  a  Witch,  and  he  said  that  he  was  sorry  for  her  husband, 
that  was  his  kinsman,  for  he  thought  she  would  kill  him."  The  witness 
also  said  "  that  the  said  Sir  John  Southworth,  in  his  coming  or  going 
between  his  owne  house  at  Samlesbury  and  the  Towne  of  Preston,  did 
for  the  most  part  forbear  to  pass  by  the  house  where  the  said  wife 
dwelled,  though  it  was  his  nearest  and  best  way  ;  and  rode  another  way, 
only  for  feare  of  the  said  wife,  as  [witness]  verily  thinketh."  A 
subsequent  deposition  of  one  William  Alker,  of  Samlesbury,  yeoman, 
taken  before  Mr.  Justice  Holden,  corroborated  the  last  witness's  statement 
as  to  the  superstitious  dread  felt  by  Sir  John  Southworth  of  Mistress 
Jane  Southworth.  William  Alker  swore  "  that  he  hath  scene  the  said 
Sir  John  Southworth  shunne  to  meet  the  wife  of  John  Southworth,  now 
Prisoner  in  the  Gaole,  when  he  came  neere  where  she  was  ;  and  hath 
heard  the  said  Sir  John  Southworth  say  that  he  liked  her  not,  and  that 
he  doubted  she  would  bewitch  him." 

These  references  to  the  family  of  Southworth,  lords  of  Samlesbury, 
will  be  rendered  more  intelligible  by  a  few  notes.  The  lady,  Jane 


SAMLESBURY  WITCHCRAFT  TRIALS. 


93 


Southworth,  who  was  put  on  trial  for  witchcraft,  was  the  widow  of  John 
Southworth,  Esq.,  eldest  son  of  Thomas  Southworth,  Esq.,  son  and 
heir  to  the  Sir  John  Southworth  whose  imprisonment  at  Manchester 
for  "  recusancy "  is  referred  to  in  the  preceding  chapter.  John 
Southworth  was  therefore  the  grandson  of  Sir  John,  and  the  heir  to  the 
entailed  estates,  but  he  died  young,  and  in  the  lifetime  of  his  father, 
Thomas  Southworth  ;  the  exact  date  of  his  death  is  not  apparent,  but 
it  was  about  1611  or  1612,  and  only,  at  most,  a  few  months  before  his 
widow  was  arrested  and  thrown  into  prison  as  a  witch.  She  was  a 
natural  daughter  of  Sir  Richard  Sherburne  of  Stonyhurst,  and  married 
John  Southworth  about  1598  probably,  for  their  eldest  son,  Thomas 
(eventual  heir  to  his  grandfather),  was  born  in  the  42nd  Elizabeth  (1599- 
1600).  The  pair  had  other  children,  John,  Richard,  Gilbert,  Christopher, 
Mary,  Anne,  and  Rosamond.  John  Southworth  and  his  wife  resided 
at  the  Lower  Hall,  Samlesbury,  and,  after  the  husband's  decease,  Jane 
Southworth,  the  widow,  had  that  house  as  a  jointure,  and  continued  to 
reside  there.  The  seminary  priest  who  was  declared  on  the  trial 
to  have  incited  the  girl  Grace  Sowerbutts  to  make  the  charge 
of  witchcraft  against  Jane  Southworth  and  the  other  females, 
called  himself  by  the  name  of  Thompson,  but  he  was  asserted  to  be 
Christopher  Southworth,  fourth  son  of  Sir  John  Southworth,  Knt,  and 
therefore  uncle  to  John  Southworth,  the  husband  of  the  accused  Jane 
Southworth.  Christopher  Southworth  was  a  priest  of  the  Roman  Church, 
and  endured  a  term  of  imprisonment  in  the  Castle  of  Wisbeach  for 
recusancy  in  Elizabeth's  reign.  The  representation  of  the  friends  of  the 
accused  on  her  trial  seems  to  have  been  that  Christopher  Southworth 
was  inimical  to  John  Southworth's  family  on  account  of  their  disposition 
to  forsake  the  former  religion  of  the  family,  Jane  Southworth  having 
recently  entered  the  Protestant  Church.  The  witness  John  Singleton 
had  been  a  servant,  as  he  alleged,  of  old  Sir  John  Southworth  ;  and  in 
Sir  John's  Will  occurs  the  legacy  : — "  I  doe  give  unto  John  Singleton, 
my  servant,  one  Annuitie  or  yearly  rent  of  405.  for  tearme  of  his  liffe." 
The  other  witness,  William  Alker,  was  doubtless  a  son  of  Richard  Alker, 
another  retainer  of  the  Samlesbury  Knight.  These  two  men,  as  recorded, 
both  attested  that  old  Sir  John  Southworth  was  in  fear  of  Jane  South- 
worth,  his  grandson's  wife,  as  a  witch,  and  made  a  detour  to  avoid  her 
house  when  riding  from  Samlesbury  Hall  to  Preston.  Concerning  this 
evidence,  a  point  occurs  which  was  not  noted  by  the  Court.  Sir  John 
Southworth  died  in  1595,  seventeen  years  before  the  trial  of  Jane  South- 
worth  for  witchcraft.  Now,  as  Thomas  Southworth,  son  and  heir  of  Sir 
John,  was  born  in  1561,  it  is  not  likely  that  he  would  have  married 
before  1580  or  1581  ;  and  if  his  eldest  son,  John,  had  been  born  in 


94 


HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


1581,  he  would  have  been  but  fourteen  years  old  at  the  time  of  Sir 
John's  death  in  1595.  He  could  not  have  been  married  long  before 
1600,  the  year  of  birth  of  his  heir,  Thomas.  The  conclusion  is  that 
Jane  Sherburne  was  still  in  her  young  maidenhood  in  1595,  and  did 
not  marry  John  Southworth,  or  come  to  reside  at  Samlesbury  Lower 
Hall,  until  three  or  four  years  after  Sir  John  Southworth's  decease.  A 
reference  to  Sir  John  Southworth's  Will  proves  explicitly  that  his 
grandson  John  Southworth  was  unmarried  at  that  date.  The  Will  is 
dated  September  iyth,  1595,  within  six  weeks  of  the  testator's  death, 
which  happened  on  November  3rd  in  the  same  year;  and  therein  appears 
this  sentence  : — "  The  said  Thomas  [Sir  John's  son]  maye,"  &c.,  "  give, 
lymit,  and  dispose  unto  Rosimond  now  his  wife,"  &c.,  "or  to  such 
wife  as  John  Southworth,  sonne  and  heire  apparent  of  the  said  Thomas, 
shall  marrie,  a  full  third  parte  and  no  more  of  the  said  Manners,"  &c. 
Subsequent  expressions  in  the  Will  confirm  the  fact  that  John,  the 
grandson,  was  yet  unmarried,  and  as  the  testator  was  then  lying  on 
his  death-bed,  it  was  simply  impossible  that  the  old  knight  could  ever 
have  believed  Jane  Southworth  to  be  a  witch,  or  have  shunned  her 
house  in  his  rides  to  and  from  Preston.  The  audacious  perjury  of  this 
part  of  the  testimony  against  Jane  Southworth  is  thus  demonstrated. 

Beyond  the  evidence  of  these  two  men,  John  Singleton  and 
William  Alker,  with  their  figment  about  the  terrors  of  their  long- 
deceased  master,  there  was  absolutely  no  evidence  to  corroborate  the 
extraordinary  charge  of  Grace  Sowerbutts,  except  the  statement  of 
Thomas  Walshman  as  to  the  death  of  his  child,  which  amounted  to 
little,  for  infant  life  is  of  the  frailest  tenure.  Our  chronicler,  Potts,  adds 
that  Thomas  Sowerbutts,  father  of  Grace  Sowerbutts,  was  at  length  called 
before  the  Court.  But  he  could  depose  to  nothing  save  "  the  finding 
of  the  wench  upon  the  hay  in  her  counterfeit  fits."  The  presiding 
Judge,  after  he  had  heard  the  whole  of  the  evidence  against  the  prisoners, 
demanded  of  them  what  answer  they  had  to  make ;  when  the  accused 
"  humbly  upon  their  knees  with  weeping  teares  desired  him  for  God's 
cause  to  examine  Grace  Sowerbutts,  who  set  her  on,  or  by  whose  means 
this  accusation~came  against  them."  What  followed  is  thus  described  : — 
"Immediately  the  countenance  of  this  Grace  Sowerbutts  changed. 
The  witnesses,  being  behind,  began  to  quarrel  and  accuse  one  another. 
In  the  end  his  Lordship  examined  the  girle,  who  could  not  for  her  life 
give  any  direct  answer,  but  strangely  amazed,  told  him  shee  was  put  to 
a  master  to  learne,  but  he  told  her  nothing  of  this."  The  Court  then 
ordered  the  girl's  father,  Thomas  Sowerbutts,  to  be  re-examined,  as  to 
"  what  master  taught  his  daughter,"  but  the  man  "  in  general  termes 
denyed  all."  Still  the  wench  refused  to  disclose  the  conspiracy.  But 


JAMES  I.   AT  IIOG1ITOX  TOWER.  95 

''  in  the  end  some  of  them  that  were  present  told  his  lordship  the  truth," 
and  the  prisoners  assured  the  Court  that  the  lass  "  went  to  learn  with 
one  Thompson,  a  Seminarie  Priest,  who  had  instructed  and  taught  her 
this  accusation  against  them,  because  they  were  once  obstinate  Papists, 
and  now  came  to  church."  This  was  the  tenour  of  the  assertion  of  the 
three  prisoners,  Jennet  Bierley,  Jane  Southworth,  and  Ellen  Bierley. 
The  widow  Southworth  mentioned  a  meeting  she  had  with  the  Priest 
who  had  originated  the  charges  : — 

Jane  Southworth  saith  she  saw  Master  Thompson,  alias  Southworth,  the  Priest, 
a  month  or  six  weeks  before  she  was  committed  to  the  gaole  ;  and  had  conference 
with  him  in  a  place  called  Barn-hey-lane,  where  and  when  shee  challenged  him  for 
slandering  her  to  be  a  Witch  ;  whereunto  he  answered  that  what  he  had  heard  thereof, 
he  heard  from  her  mother  and  her  aunt ;  yet  she,  this  Examinate,  thinketh  in  her 
heart  it  was  by  his  procurement,  and  is  moved  so  to  thinke,  for  that  shee  would  not  be 
disswaded  from  the  [Protestant]  Church. 

The  issue  of  the  case  was  that  the  girl,  Grace  Sowerbutts,  was 
taken  out  of  her  father's  charge,  by  the  Judge's  order,  and  "  committed 
to  M.  Leigh,  a  very  religious  preacher,  and  M.  Chisnall,  two  Justices 
of  the  Peace,  to  be  carefully  examined."  Being  closely  interrogated, 
the  wench  at  length  confessed  that  all  the  strange  statements  she  had 
made  of  the  witchcraft  of  the  prisoners  were  utter  falsehoods ;  for  that 
"  one  Master  Thompson,  which  she  taketh  to  be  Master  Christopher 
Southworth,  to  whom  she  was  sent  to  learne  her  prayers,  did  persuade, 
counsell  and  advise  her "  to  make  these  singular  charges  against  her 
grandmother,  aunt,  and  widow  Southworth.  This  was  enough,  and  at 
the  close  of  the  examination  of  the  witness  and  the  prisoners,  the 
Jury  were  directed  to  acquit  the  prisoners,  and  they  were  immediately 
liberated.  What  was  done  to  the  chief  agents  in  the  conspiracy  is 
unrecorded. 

KING  JAMES  THE  FIRST  AT  HOGHTON  TOWER. 

In  the  month  of  August,  1617,  King  James  the  First  made  his 
return  journey  from  Scotland  to  London,  progressing  through  the  length 
of  Lancashire.  The  monarch  and  his  retinue  were  at  Hornby  Castle 
on  the  nth,  the  guests  of  Lord  Gerard;  and  on  the  i2th  set  out  for 
Myerscough  Lodge,  near  Garstang,  the  seat  of  Edward  Tyldesley,  Esq. 
At  Myerscough  the  Court  abode  two  days ;  and  during  that  interval 
many  of  the  Lancashire  gentry  reached  Myerscough  Lodge,  and  made 
their  obeisance  to  the  King ;  among  them  Sir  Richard  Hoghton,  his 
next  entertainer.  From  Myerscough,  on  the  isth,  the  King  and  his 
Court  advanced  to  Preston,  where  a  grand  reception  had  been  prepared. 
After  the  civic  banquet  at  Preston,  which  must  have  taken  place  early  in 
the  day, — the«i5th  of  August, — the  Royal  party  sped  to  the  next  lodging- 


96  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

place,  the  mansion  of  Sir  Richard  Hoghton.  Passing  over  the  Ribble 
at  Walton  Bridge,  and  along  the  old  road  to  Blackburn,  the  party  had  in 
full  view,  through  the  greater  part  of  the  route,  the  bold  wooded  hill  of 
Hoghton,  with  the  castellated  frontage  of  the  Tower  on  its  summit,  the 
high  central  tower,  blown  up  in  the  Civil  War,  and  the  numerous  chim- 
ney stacks  of  the  buildings  forming  the  quadrangles.  Arrived  at  the  foot 
of  the  hill  upon  which  the  Tower  is  built,  the  royal  party  alighted  from 
their  equipages  and  advanced  in  state  up  the  grand  avenue.  The  tradition 
is  that  the  whole  length  of  the  avenue  was  laid  with  velvet  cloth.  In 
front  of  the  Tower  were  assembled  the  tenantry  of  the  Hoghtons, 
together  with  those  of  surrounding  families,  all  wearing  for  the  occasion 
the  Hoghton  "  livery  cloaks,"  to  express  the  homage  of  neighbouring 
esquires  and  gentry  to  their  King.  Nicholas  Assheton  mentions  that  a 
speech  was  made  on  the  arrival  of  his  Majesty  at  the  Tower.  After  this 
ceremony,  although  the  day  must  have  been  considerably  advanced,  a 
short  hunt  in  the  Hoghton  Park  was  ordered  before  supper  was  served. 
-The  "  Journalist"  closes  the  record  of  the  day  with  the  words: — "Hunted 
and  killed  a  stagg.  We  attend  on  the  Lords'  table."1 

The  noblemen  and  gentlemen  who  attended  King  James  at  Hogh- 
ton Tower  composed  a  numerous  and  distinguished  company,  including 
some  of  the  most  celebrated  courtiers  of  the  time.  A  list  of  the  guests 
of  Sir  Richard  Hoghton  during  these  days  of  the  King's  visit  has  been 
preserved.  Among  the  highest  in  rank  were  the  powerful  favourite  of 
the  monarch,  Villiers,  Earl  and  afterwards  Duke  of  Buckingham  ;  the 
Earls  of  Richmond,  Pembroke,  Nottingham,  and  Bridgewater ;  Lords 
Zouch,  Knollys,  Mordaunt,  Grey,  Stanhope,  and  Compton  ;  the  Bishop 
of  Chester,  Dr.  Moreton  ;  many  Baronets  and  Knights  ;  and  the  follow- 
ing Lancashire  notables  : — Sir  Edward  Mosley,  Knt.,  M.P.  for  Preston 
(1614-23);  Sir  Edmund  TrafTord,  of  Trafford,  Knt.,  Sheriff  of  Lancashire 
in  that  year ;  Cecil  Trafford,  Esq.,  knighted  by  the  King  at  Hoghton 
Tower ;  Richard  Towneley,  of  Towneley,  Esq. ;  Ralph  Assheton,  of 
Whalley,  Esq.  ;  Richard  Sherburne,  of  Stonyhurst,  Esq.  ;  Richard 
Shuttleworth,  of  Gawthorpe,  Esq.  ;  Nicholas  Girlington,  of  Thurland 
Castle,  Esq.  ;  William  Anderton,  of  Anderton,  Esq.,  and  one  hundred 
other  gentlemen  of  the  county. 

On  the  1 6th  of  August,  the  second  day  of  King  James's  sojourn  at 
Hoghton,  the  Royal  party  went  out  hunting  in  the  morning  ;  and  in  the 
afternoon  paid  a  visit  to  the  noted  Alum  Mines  at  Alum  Scar,  in  the 
township  of  Pleasington.  The  day  was  excessively  sultry.  The  Down- 
ham  "  Journalist"  notes  : — "  Aug.  16,  Houghton.  The  King  hunting  :  a 
great  companie.  Killed  affore  dinner  a  brace  of  staggs.  Verie  hott ; 

i  Journal  of  Nich.  Assheton  (Cheth.  Soc.  Publ.),  p.  38. 


JAMES  I.  AT  HOGHTON  TOWER.  97 

soe  hee  [the  King]  went  in  to  dinner.  Wee  attend  the  lords'  table  ;  and 
about  4  o'clock  the  King  went  downe  to  the  Allome  mynes,  and  was 
ther  an  hower,  and  viewed  them  preciselie,  and  then  went  and  shott  at  a 
stagg,  and  missed.  Then  my  Lord  Compton  had  lodged  two  brace. 
The  King  shott  again,  and  brake  the  thigh-bone.  A  dogg  long  in 
coming,  and  my  Lord  Compton  shott  again  and  killed  him  [the  stag]. 
Late  in  to  supper."1  The  Alum  Mine  visited  by  the  King  is  about  a  mile 
north  from  Hoghton  Tower,  on  the  Blackburn  side  of  the  Darwen  river. 
The  i  yth  of  August,  the  third  day  of  James's  presence  at  the  Tower, 
was  the  Sunday  ;  and  the  day  was  observed  by  the  Bishop  preaching  in 
the  great  hall  before  the  King  and  Court  in  the  morning  ;  while  the  after 
part  of  the  day  was  given  up  to  amusements,  including  a  rushbearing 
after  dinner,  and  a  grand  masque  in  the  gardens  at  night.  Nicholas 
Assheton  writes  : — "  Aug.  1 7,  Hoghton. — Wee  served  the  lords  with 
biskett,  wyne,  and  jellie.  The  Bishopp  of  Chester,  Dr.  Morton,  preached 
before  the  King.  To  dinner.  About  four  o'clock  ther  was  a  rushbearing, 
and  pipeing  afore  them,  affore  the  King  in  the  middle  court ;  then  to 
supp.  Then,  about  ten  or  eleven  o'clock,  a  maske  of  noblemen,  knights, 
gentlemen  and  courtiers,  afore  the  King,  in  the  middle  round,  in  the 
garden.  Some  speeches :  of  the  rest,  dancing  the  Huckler,  Tom  Bedlo, 
and  the  Cowp  Justice  of  Peace."2 

The  popular  custom  of  the  "  rushbearing"  was  exhibited  before  the 
monarch  in  the  afternoon  of  this  day,  and  after  it,  probably,  was  pre- 
sented the  memorial  petition  of  the  Lancashire  peasantry  and  others, 
complaining  to  the  King  of  the  restrictions  by  the  Queen's  Commission 
in  1579,  which  prohibited  the  people  from  indulging  in  any  kind  of 
out-door  games  or  sports  on  the  Sunday,  after  evening  prayer,  or  upon 
holidays.     James  received  the  petitioners  graciously,  and  acknowledged 
the  justice  of  the  remonstrance  against  the  prohibition  of  the  "lawful 
recreations  and  honest  exercises"  of  the  "  good  people"  of  Lancashire. 
This  petition  is  regarded  as  the  precursor  of  the  celebrated  "  Book  of 
Sports,"  published  by  royal  authority,  in  May,  1618  ;  by  which  "dancing, 
archery,  May-games,  Whitsun-ales,  and  May-poles"  were  permitted  to  be 
indulged  in  on  a  Sunday  evening ;  a  liberty  which,  while  it  gratified  the 
commonalty,  gave  such  offence  to  religious  people  in  Lancashire  and 
elsewhere  that  the  publication  by  King  James,  and  the  re-publication  by 
Charles  his  son,  of  the  "  Book  of  Sports"  is  reckoned  one  of  the  causes 
of  that  revolutionary  movement  which  hurled  the  Stuart  monarchy  from 
its  seat  of  rule  in  England. 

This  sportful  Sunday  of  the   Court's  revel  at  Hoghton  was  wound 
up  with  the  grand  Masque  in  the  gardens,  the  name  of  which  has  not 

i  Journal  of  Nich.  Assheton,  p.  40.         z  Ib.  pp.  41-45. 


98  HISTORY    OF  BLACKBURN. 

been  ascertained  ;  but  in  which  many  of  the  nobles  and  gentlemen  of 
the  King's  retinue  were  actors.  Nicholas  Assheton  also  says  that  "  some 
speeches"  were  delivered  on  this  night,  and  a  number  of  curious  dances 
and  popular  farcical  representations  of  the  period  enacted  ;  and  it  was 
at  some  period  of  his  stay  at  Hoghton  that  the  following  poetic  address 
was  recited  before  King  James,  the  text  of  which  has  been  kept  in  the 
archives  of  the  Hoghton  family.1 

A  Speeche  made  to  Kinge  James  at  his  cominge  to  Hoghton  Tower,  by  two  con- 
ceaved  to  be  the  Household  Gods  :  the  first  attyr'd  in  a  purple  taffata  mantle,  in  one 
hand  a  palm-tree  branch,  on  his  head  a  garland  of  the  same,  and  in  the  other  hand  a 
•dogge  : 

This  day,  great  Kinge  for  government  admired  ! 

Which  these  thy  subjects  have  so  much  desir'd, 

Shall  be  kept  holy  in  their  hearts'  best  treasure 

And  vow'd  to  James  as  is  this  month  to  Caesar. 

And  now  the  Landlord  of  this  ancient  Tower 

Thrice  fortunate  to  see  this  happy  hower 

Whose  trembleinge  heart  thy  presence  setts  on  fire 

Unto  this  house  (the  heart  of  all  the  shire) 

Does  bid  thee  hearty  welcome,  and  would  speak  it 

In  higher  notes,  but  extreme  joy  doth  breake  it. 

Hee  makes  his  Guest  most  welcome,  in  whose  eyes 

Love-teares  do  sitt,  not  he  that  shouts  and  cryes, 

And  we  the  gods  and  guardians  of  the  place, — 

I  of  this  house,  he  of  the  fruitfull  chace,  — 

[E'er]  since  the  Hoghtons  from  this  hill  took  name 

Who  with  the  stiffe,  unbridled  Saxons  came 

And  soe  have  flurish't  in  this  fairer  clyme, 

Successively  from  that  to  this  our  tyme, 

Still  offeringe  upp  to  our  Immortall  Powers 

Sweet  incense,  wyne,  and  odoriferous  flowers  ; 

While  sacred  Vesta  in  her  virgin  tyre 

With  vowes  and  wishes  tend  the  hallowed  fyre. 

Now  seeing  that  thy  Majestye  we  see 

Greater  than  country  gods,  more  good  than  wee  ; 

We  render  upp  to  thy  more  powerfull  guard 

This  house  ;  this  Knight  is  thine,  he  is  thy  Ward, 

For  by  thy  helpinge  and  auspicious  hand 

He  and  his  home  shall  ever,  ever  stand 

And  flurish  in  despite  of  envious  fate ; 

And  then  live,  like  Augustus,  fortunate. 

And  longe,  longe  mays't  thou  live  !  to  which  both  men, 

Gods,  saints  and  angells  say,  '  Amen,  amen  !' 

[The  Second  Tutelar  God  begins  :] 
Thou  greatest  of  mortalls  !  [He's  nonplust. 

i  This  poetic  address  of  welcome  was  probably  the  "  speech  "  made,  as  Nicholas  Assheton  men- 
tions, on  the  King's  arrival  at  the  Tower. 


JAMES  I.   AT  HOGHTON  TOWER. 


99 


[The  Second  [First]  God  begins  againe  :] 
Dread  Lord  !  the  splendor  and  the  glorious  raye 
Of  thy  high  majestye  hath  strucken  dumbe 
His  weaker  god-head  ;  if  t'  himselfe  he  come 
Unto  thy  service  straight  he  will  comend 
These  Foresters,  and  charge  them  to  attend 
Thy  pleasure  in  this  park,  and  shew  such  sport 
To  the  Chief  Huntsman,  and  thy  princely  court, 
As  the  small  circuit  of  this  round  affords, 
And  be  more  ready  than  he  was  in's  words. 

On  Monday  morning,  August  i8th,  1617,  the  King  and  his  retinue 
breakfasted  at  Hoghton,  and  then  set  forth,  about  noon,  to  Lathom 
House.  While  at  Lathom,  James  conferred  the  title  of  knight  upon 
John  Talbot,  of  Salesbury,  and  other  Lancashire  gentry  who  had  paid 
their  service  to  him  during  his  progress.  Nichols1  prints  the  bill  of  fare 
at  the  royal  table  during  the  last  day  of  James's  stay  at  Hoghton  Tower 
from  a  family  manuscript,  headed  : — "  Notes  of  the  Diet  at  Hoghton  at 
the  King's  cominge  there"  : — 

SUNDAY'S   DINNER,    THE  I7TH   OF   AUGUST   (1617). — FOR  THE  LORDS'  TABLE. 

FIRST  COURSE. — Pullets,  boiled  capon,  mutton  boiled,  boiled  chickens,  shoulder 
of  mutton  roast,  ducks  boiled,  loin  of  veal  roast,  pullets,  haunch  of  venison  roast, 
burred  capon,  pasty  of  venison  hot,  roast  turkey,  veal  burred,  swan  roast  (one,  and 
one  for  to-morrow),  chicken  pye  hot,  goose  roast,  rabbits  cold,  jiggits  of  mutton 
boiled,  snipe  pye,  breast  of  veal  boiled,  capons  roast,  pullet,  beef  roast  [Sirloin  ?], 
tongue  pye  cold,  sprod  boiled,  herons  roast  cold,  curlew  pye  cold,  mince  pye  hot, 
custards,  pig  roast. 

SECOND  COURSE. — Hot  pheasant,  one,  and  one  for  the  King,  quails,  six  for  the 
King,  partridge,  poults,  artichoke  pye,  curlews  roast,  peas  buttered,  rabbits,  ducks, 
plovers,  red  deer  pye,  pig  burred,  hot  herons  roast,  three  of  a  dish,  lamb  roast,  gam- 
mon of  bacon,  pigeons  roast,  made  dish,  chicken  burred,  pear  tart,  pullets  and  grease, 
dryed  tongues,  turkey  pye,  pheasant  tart,  hogs'  cheeks  dryed,  turkey  chicks  cold. 
SUNDAY  NIGHT'S  SUPPER. 

FIRST  COURSE. — Pullet,  boiled  capon,  cold  mutton,  shoulder  of  mutton  roasted, 
chicken  boiled,  cold  capon,  roast  veal,  rabbits  boiled,  turkey  roast,  pasty  of  venison 
hot,  shoulder  of  venison  roast,  herons  cold,  sliced  beef,  umble  pye,  duck  boiled, 
chickens  baked,  pullet,  cold  neat's  tongue  pye,  neat's  tongue  roast,  spi'od  boiled,  curlews 
baked  cold,  turkeys  baked  cold,  neats'  feet,  boiled  rabbits,  neats'  tongue,  rabbits  fried. 

SECOND  COURSE. — Quails,  poults,  herons,  plovers,  chickens,  pear  tart,  rabbits, 
peas  buttered,  made  dish,  ducks,  gammon  of  bacon,  red  deer  pye,   pigeons,  wild  boar 
pye,  curlew,  dry  neats'  tongue,  neats'  tongue  tart,  dryed  hog's  cheek,  red  deer  pye. 
MONDAY  MORNING'S  BREAKFAST,  THE  i8TH  OF  AUGUST. 

Pullets,  boiled  capon,  shoulder  of  mutton,  veal  roast,  boiled  chickens,  rabbits 
roast,  shoulder  of  mutton  roast,  chine  of  beef  roast,  pasty  of  venison,  turkey  roast, 
pig  roast,  venison  roast,  ducks  boiled,  pullet,  red  deer  pye  cold,  four  capons  roast, 
poults  roast,  pheasant,  herons,  mutton  boiled,  wild  boar  pye,  jiggits  of  mutton  boiled, 
jiggits  of  mutton  burred,  gammon  of  bacon,  chicken  pye,  burred  capon,  dryed  hog's 
cheek,  umble  pye,  tart,  made  dish. 

i   Progresses  of  James  I.,  v.  iii,  pp.  397-9. 


ioo  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

LABOURERS  [SERVANTS] — For  the  pastries — John  Greene,  Richard  Blythe, 
William  Aldersey,  Alexander  Cowper.  For  the  ranges —John  Coleburne,  Elias  James, 
John  Rairke,  Robert  Dance.  For  boiling — John  Murryer,  William  Parkes.  For 
pullets— John  Clerke,  John  Bibby. — Chief  Cooks— Mr.  Morris  ;  Mr.  Miller. 

Many  readers  will  have  heard  the  local  tradition  that  it  was  at 
Hoghton  Tower  that  King  James,  in  a  fit  of  humour,  knighted  a  loin  of 
foeef  which  was  set  before  him  at  dinner,  by  which,  as  the  story  goes, 
that  particular  joint  of  meat  acquired  the  name  of  Sirloin.  There  is  no 
evidence  except  the  folk-lore  of  the  district  that  the  eccentric  monarch 
actually  perpetrated  the  practical  joke  of  knighting  a  piece  of  beef  that 
pleased  his  palate,  either  at  Hoghton  or  elsewhere  ;  and  a  similar  story 
being  told  of  a  later  Stuart  king  (Charles  II.),  the  two  traditions  tend  to 
invalidate  each  other.  Some  writers  have  suggested,  indeed,  that  the 
original  etymology  of  the  word  was  surloin,  from  the  French  sur,  signi- 
fying upon  ;  and  the  modern  French  name  for  the  same  joint  the  English 
call  sirloin  is  surlonge.  The  legend  of  the  knighthood  is  therefore  doubt- 
ful. James  the  First  was  notoriously  given  to  punning,  and  it  is  not 
•unlikely  he  may  have  remarked,  as  he  partook  of  the  savoury  surloin  at 
Hoghton,  that  its  merit  was  such  that  its  name  might  appropriately  be 
-altered  from  "  surloin"  to  "  Sir-Loin." 

LEVY  OF  SHIP  MONEY  IN  LANCASHIRE  IN  1635. 

Among  the  chief  provocations  to  that  disaffection  of  the  English 
people  to  the  Stuart  dynasty,  which,  gradually  increasing  and  extending 
during  the  reign  of  Charles  I.,  eventuated  in  the  great  Civil  War,  and 
the  dethronement  and  death  of  that  King,  was  the  action  of  the  Crown 
and  Council  in  re-instituting,  in  a  more  oppressive  form,  the  ancient  levy 
of  "  Ship-Money."  This  levy,  which  in  former  periods  had  been  made 
upon  the  coastland  counties  for  the  providing  of  armed  ships  to  defend 
the  coasts  from  the  incursions  of  pirates  and  sea-marauders,  was  now 
exacted  from  the  whole  country  for  a  purpose  totally  apart  from  its 
nominal  and  ostensible  one,  namely,  to  furnish  the  Crown  with  means  for 
the  payment  of  royal  debts,  and  for  government  without  the  assistance 
of  a  suspended  Parliament.  In  the  year  1634-5,  when  the  impost  called 
ship-money  was  thus  levied  upon  Lancashire,  the  High  Sheriff  of  this 
county,  to  whom  the  Orders  in  Council  relating  to  the  levy  were 
addressed,  was  Humphrey  Chetham,  Esq.,  of  Turton  Tower,  the  noted 
Lancashire  merchant,  and  the  enlightened  founder  of  the  Chetham 
Hospital  and  Library  in  Manchester.  The  family  papers  of  the 
Chethams1  include  several  interesting  documents  concerning  the  levy 
of  ship-money  in  the  county.  From  these  papers  one  or  two  extracts, 

i   Foundations  of  Manchester  (Appendix),  v.  iii,  pp.  257-76. 


LEVY  OF  SHIP  MONEY.  IOI 

showing  the  proportions  of  the  county-levy  paid  by  the  different  Hun- 
dreds and  corporate  towns  of  Lancashire,  may  be  inserted  here.  First,. 
is  a  letter  from  the  Lords  of  his  Majesty's  Council  to  the  High  Sheriff, 
dated  from  Whitehall,  August  i2th,  1635,  which  directs  the  attention  of 
the  Sheriff  to  the  royal  writ  commanding  the  county  to  provide  "  one 
Shipp  of  Three  hundred  and  fifty  Tunnes,  to  be  furnished  with  men,, 
tackle,  munition,  victuall,  and  other  necessaries."  It  is  made  known  by 
this  mandate,  that  "  upon  a  due  and  just  calculation  wee  [the  Lords  in 
Council]  find  that  the  charge  of  a  ship  of  that  burthen  so  manned  and 
furnished  will  be  three  thousand  mve  hundred  pounds  ;"  and  it  is  added  : 
— "  To  prevent  difficulty  in  the  dividing  the  Assessments  uppon  the 
Corporate  Townes,  wee  having  informed  ourselves  the  best  we  may  of 
the  present  condition  of  the  Corporate  Townes,  and  what  proportion  of 
that  charge  each  of  them  is  fitt  to  beare,  doe  conceive  That  the  Towne 
of  Preston  may  well  beare  Fifty  pounds,  Lancaster  Thirty  pounds,  Liver- 
poole  Twenty  pounds,  Wiggan  Fifty  pounds,  Clitheroe  ffive  pounds, 
Newton  ffive  pounds ;  and  the  residue  of  the  said  three  thousand  and 
five  hundred  pounds  is  to  bee  assessed  upon  the  rest  of  the  county." 

In  obedience  to  these  orders,  the  Sheriff  proceeded  to  assess  the  tax. 
upon  the  Hundreds  and  Corporate  Towns.  He  issued  his  warrants  to 
the  "  Maior,  Bailiffes,  and  Comonalties  of  the  Towne  of  Lancaster,  the 
Maior  and  Bailiffs  of  the  Towne  of  Liverpoole,  the  Maior  and  Burgesses 
of  the  Towne  of  Preston  in  Amounderness,  the  Maior  and  Burgesses  of 
the  Towne  of  Wiggan,  the  Bailiffs  and  Burgesses  of  the  Towne  of 
Cliderow,  and  the  Steward  and  Burgesses  of  the  Towne  of  Newton ;"  and 
at  a  meeting  of  the  foresaid  Mayors,  Burgesses,  and  officers  of  the  Towns, 
assembled  by  the  Sheriff,  the  sum-total  of  the  levy  upon  the  Towns  was 
accepted,  but  "some  small  alteration  made  in  the  dividing  thereof."  As 
the  central  town  of  the  county,  Sheriff  Chetham  appointed  Preston  for 
the  place  at  which  the  sums  required  from  the  Hundreds  and  Towns 
should  be  paid  over  by  the  local  authorities.  The  tax  was  paid  in  Lan- 
cashire with  great  reluctance,  and  collected  with  difficulty.  The  Sheriff 
reported  that  on  proceeding  to  Preston,  where  he  had  expected  that 
money  should  readily  come  to  his  hands,  he  "  met  with  nothing  for  the 
first  two  days,  but  complaints  and  loud  exclamations  against  unjust  and 
unequal  taxations."  The  clergy  especially  complained  of  the  distressing 
pressure  of  the  tax  ;  and  the  Sheriff  ordered  that  they  should  be  leniently 
dealt  with.  Subjoined  is  a  copy  of  the  return  sent  up  to  London  by 
Sheriff  Chetham  of  the  proportions  in  which  the  sum  of  ,£3,500  for 
ship-money  was  paid  by  the  six  Hundreds  of  the  County,  and  the  six 
Corporate  Towns.  The  return  also  shows  the  amount  contributed  by 
the  clergy  in  the  several  districts  to  the  levy : — 


102  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

THE  HUNDREDS  OF  THE  Whereof   the 

COUNTY.  Clergie  paid 

£    s.    d.  £     s.    d. 

West    Darbie    Hundred,     excepting     the 
burroughes     of      Wigan,     Liverpoole, 

and  Newton  in  that  Hundred        -     -     -  757  10    o                     23  19     2% 

Salford  Hundred 490    o    o                    12    8    6 

Leyland  Hundred 315     o    o  -       -         3  II     o 

Blackburne  Hundred,  excepting  Cliderowe  622  IO    O  -       -         o  18    6 

Amounderness  Hundred,  excepting  Preston  625     o    o                       184 

Loynsdall  Hundred,  excepting  Lancaster  -  530    o    o  -       -         786 
THE  BURROUGHES. 

Lancaster  Towne 30    oo  -       -         200 

Preston  in  Amondernes      ..--.-  40    oo  •       -         080 

Wiggan       •     --..-•••--  50    oo  -       -         500 

Liverpoole       - 25    o    o  •       •            Nil. 

Cliderowe  - 7  10    o  -       -             Nil. 

Newton      -     -     •     - 7  10    o  -      -            Nil. 

Suma  totalis  ^"3,500,  of  which  the  Clergie  paid  ,£57  2s. 

These  returns  afford  evidence  as  to  the  distribution  of  wealth  in 
Lancashire  in  the  reign  of  Charles  I.  Wigan  was  then  the  richest  town 
in  the  County,  and  Preston  came  next.  It  is  a  significant  illustration  of 
the  extreme  poverty  of  the  Church  endowments  in  Blackburn  Hundred 
at  this  time,  that  while  the  Hundred  paid  to  the  levy  £622  ios.,  against 
^757  ios.  by  the  Hundred  of  West  Derby,  the  clergy  of  our  Hundred 
could  only  pay  a  paltry  i8s.  6d.  to  the  tax,  as  against  ^23  193.  contri- 
buted by  the  relatively  well-endowed  clergy  of  West  Derby  division. 

THE   GREAT   CIVIL  WAR  (1641-1651).— LOCAL  TRANSACTIONS  AND 

OPERATIONS. 

We  have  now  arrived  at  that  period  of  stirring  events,  the  great 
Civil  War  between  King  Charles  and  his  Parliament.  Lancashire  bore 
its  share  in  the  strife  and  suffering  of  that  long  conflict,  and  the  men  of 
Blackburnshire  were  not  behind  the  rest  of  their  countymen  in  the 
sturdiness  with  which  they  fought  out  the  quarrel,  under  the  leadership 
of  the  gentry  of  the  district.  The  record  of  the  war  in  this  work  limits 
itself  to  those  military  incidents  of  which  Blackburn  Parish  was  the 
theatre,  with  such  passing  mention  of  outside  occurrences  as  seems 
needed  to  connect  and  explain  local  movements. 

Early  in  the  year  1640,  King  Charles,  who  had  reigned  as  an 
absolute  monarch  since  1629,  found  it  indispensable  to  summon  a  Parlia- 
ment. The  House  of  Commons  returned  in  April,  1640,  was  so  little 
disposed  to  second  the  Crown  in  its  arbitrary  policy  that  it  was  dissolved 
after  an  existence  of  a  few  weeks.  The  next  Parliament,  summoned  in 


THE  CIVIL  WAR— LOCAL  TRANSACTIONS.  1Oj 

November  of  the  same  year,  was  longer-lived,  and  much  more  remark- 
able. It  was  the  Parliament  known  in  history  as  the  "  Long  Parliament." 
To  it  were  returned  for  the  borough  of  Clitheroe,  Ralph  Assheton,  Esq., 
of  Whalley,  and  Richard  Shuttleworth,  junr.,  gent.,  of  Gawthorpe  ;  for 
Preston,  Richard  Shuttleworth,  Esq.,  of  Gawthorpe,  and  Thomas 
Standish,  Esq.  Of  fourteen  members  returned  to  this  Parliament  from 
the  Lancashire  boroughs  and  for  the  county,  eight  were  for  the  Parlia- 
ment, and  six  were  Royalists,  in  the  contest  that  ensued. 

In  the  month  of  January,  1641-2,  the  rupture  between  the  King 
and  the  other  Estates  of  the  realm  being  complete,  both  parties  began  to 
prepare  for  the  inevitable  resort  to  arms.  Charles  withdrew  from  London, 
and  by  the  end  of  April,  1642,  was  at  York,  issuing  his  summons  to  the 
trusted  loyalist  gentry  of  Yorkshire,  Lancashire,  and  other  counties  to 
meet  him  there  with  their  forces.  The  first  step  of  the  Parliamentary 
leaders  to  make  their  influence  felt  in  Lancashire  was  the  nomination  to 
the  King,  on  February  i2th,  1641-2,  of  Lord  Wharton  to  be  Lord 
Lieutenant  of  the  county,  in  the  stead  of  Lord  Strange.  The  King 
rejected  the  nomination,  and  upon  that  the  Parliament,  on  March  5th, 
absolutely  appointed  Lord  Wharton  to  the  post.  The  new  Lord-Lieu- 
tenant at  once  nominated  a  fresh  batch  of  deputy-lieutenants  from  among 
the  gentry  favourable  to  the  Parliament.  Soon  after  this,  a  petition  was 
presented  to  the  House  of  Commons,  signed  by  "divers  Knights, 
Esquires,  Ministers,  Gentlemen  and  Freeholders  "  of  the  County,  thank- 
ing the  House  for  the  appointment  of  Lord  Wharton  to  the  Lieutenancy; 
acknowledging  with  gratitude  "  the  fidelitie,  patience,  and  unparalleled 
industry  of  this  Honorable  House  in  the  indevours  to  restore  to  order 
the  discomposed  condition  of  this  Church  and  State  ;  and  to  put  the 
same  into  a  way  to  unitie,  puretie  and  peace  ;"  and  praying,  with  other 
prayers,  "  that  the  number  of  preaching  ministers  be  augmented  in  the 
Countie  ;"  "  that  a  Fleet  of  small  ships  may  be  appointed  for  the  guard 
of  this  Coast ;"  that  the  Recusants  of  the  County  might  be  disarmed, 
and  the  County  Militia  put  in  a  position  of  defence ;  and  "  that  the 
petition  concerning  the  breach  of  privileges  at  the  Election  of  Knights 
for  this  county  (unparalleled  by  any  Election  in  this  Kingdome  as  your 
Petitioners  beleeve),  as  also  the  other  grievances  of  the  Countie,"  &c., 
"  may  receive  examination  and  redresse."1  Another  petition,  evidently 
from  the  same  parties  (the  Puritan  interest  in  Lancashire),  was  presented 
to  the  King  at  York,  May  2nd,  1642,  beseeching  his  Majesty  to  return 
to  London,  and  to  his  "  great  Councell,"  z>.,  Parliament.  These  Lan- 
cashire Puritans  would  seem  to  have  had  faith  in  the  power  of  petition- 
ing, for  on  the  2yth  of  the  same  month  they  presented  a  second  petition 

T   Civil  War  Tracts,  pp.  2-5- 


104 


HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


to  the  King  at  York,  "  subscribed  by  64  Knights  and  Esquires,  55 
Divines,  740  Gentlemen,  and  of  Freeholders  and  others  above  7000"- 
a  formidable  array  of  signatures.  The  King  was  besought  to  carry  out 
his  understood  resolution  "of  ruling  his  people  according  to  the 
laws  of  the  land ;"  of  defending  the  doctrine,  liturgy,  and  government 
of  the  Church ;  of  advancing  learning,  and  encouraging  "  painfull  ortho- 
dox Preachers  ;"  and  to  condescend  unto  whatever  Parliament  should 
offer  to  his  royal  view,  conducive  to  the  common  good.  To  this  latter 
petition  Charles  vouchsafed  an  answer,  dated  June  6th,  1642,  accepting 
the  loyal  expressions  of  the  petitioners,  and  assuring  them  of  his  zeal 
for  the  "  maintenance  of  the  true" Protestant  profession,"  and  his  acquies- 
cence in  their  "desire  of  a  good  understanding  between  His  Majestic  and 
his  two  Houses  of  Parliament."1 

These  pacific  expressions  amounted  to  little  ;  they  could  not  close 
up  the  wide  breach  between  King  and  Parliament,  and  they  were 
quickly  succeeded  by  hostile  dispositions.  On  the  nth  of  June,  1642, 
Charles  issued  from  York  his  commission  of  military  array  for  Lanca- 
shire. William,  Earl  of  Derby,  whose  name  stands  first  in  the  Royalist 
Commission  of  Array,  was  an  aged  man  at  this  time  ;  his  death  occurred 
in  September,  1642.  His  son  and  successor,  James,  Lord  Strange,  was 
from  the  first  the  recognised  chief  of  the  King's  party  in  the  county. 
His  action,  the  moment  he  saw  the  war  to  be  imminent,  was  bold  and 
prompt.  So  early  as  the  last  week  of  May,  there  had  been  a  muster  of 
Royalist  Catholics  in  the  vicinity  of  Lancaster,  and  a  few  days  later, 
Lord  Strange,  with  a  following  of  700  armed  men,  appeared  at  Lancas- 
ter, and  pounced  upon  the  Magazine  there,  from  which  he  appropriated 
the  powder  and  the  match.  The  great  county  meeting  at  Preston,  con- 
vened by  Sir  John  Girlington,  the  High  Sheriff,  on  the  2oth  of  June, 
1642,  is,  however,  the  first  remarkable  occurrence  in  the  annals  of  the 
Civil  War  in  Lancashire.  The  rendezvous  of  Royalist  partizans  at 
Preston,  and  the  proceedings  thereat,  are  recorded  in  a  letter  from  a 
gentleman  in  York  to  a  friend  in  London  ;  and  more  in  detail  in  a  letter 
from  Alexander  Rigby  to  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Commons.  Both 
these  narratives  were  written  by  adherents  of  the  Parliament,  which  will 
explain  the  terms  in  which  the  King's  friends  and  their  doings  are 
characterised.  The  gentleman  from  York  writes  that  Sir  John  Girling- 
ton, the  High  Sheriff,  on  receipt  of  a  letter  from  the  King,  proceeded 
"to  sum  up  all  protestant  subjects  with  all  speed  at  Preston,  to  hearehis 
Majestie's  two  declarations  and  the  Lancashire  Petition  to  the  King 
and  his  Majestie's  answer  thereunto" ;  at  which  meeting  "  some  of  the 
Committee  for  Lancaster  desired  the  forbearance  of  them  to  be  read, 

i  Civil  War  Tracts,  pp.  8-12. 


THE  CIVIL  WAR— LOCAL  TRANSACTIONS.  IO5 

but  hee  [the  Sheriff],  in  contempt  of  their  order  from  the  Parliament, 
departed  with  some  of  his  friends,  and  cryed  out,  '  All  that  are  for  the 
King  go  with  us,'  crying  'For  the  King,  for  the  King  !'  and  so  about 
400  persons,  whereof  the  most  part  of  them  were  Popish  Recusants, 
went  with  him  and  ridde  up  and  downe  the  moore,  and  cryed,  '  For  the 
King,  for  the  King  !'  but  far  more  in  number  stayed  with  the  Committee, 
and  prayed  for  the  uniting  of  the  King  and  Parliament  with  a  generall 
acclamation,  so  that  'tis  thought,  since  the  Committees  going  there,  it  hath 
wonderfully  wrought  upon  the  hearts  of  the  people."1  A  fuller  account 
(being  by  an  eye-witness)  of  the  incidents  of  the  Preston  demonstration 
is  contained  in  the  letter  of  Mr.  Alexander  Rigby,  who,  with  Mr.  Richard 
Shuttleworth  of  Gawthorpe,  being  sent  into  Lancashire  to  organise  the 
resistance  of  their  friends  to  Lord  Strange  and  the  King's  party,  was 
present  at  the  assembly  on  Preston  Moor.2 

This  Preston  meeting  was  the  first  rencontre  between  the  opposing 
parties  in  Lancashire ;  and  though  the  adherents  of  the  King  and  of 
the  Parliament  met  on  this  occasion  without  blows,  and  parted  without 
bloodshed,  it  is  manifest  that  the  partizan  feeling  already  ran  very  high, 
and  that  very  little  was  needed  to  have  brought  on  a  collision.  Messrs. 
Rigby  and  Shuttleworth,  as  Members  of  the  House  of  Commons  and 
the  Commissioners  of  Parliament,  displayed  courage  in  confronting  the 
High  Sheriff,  the  Lord  Strange,  and  the  other  members  of  the  King's 
Commission  of  Array  for  Lancashire,  and  in  challenging  the  legality 
of  their  proceedings.  The  Royalists,  on  their  part,  made  their 
preparations  for  war  with  decision  and  celerity,  as  Rigby's  account  of 
the  removal  of  gunpowder  stored  at  Preston,  and  of  their  collection 
of  "great  store  of  horses  for  service,"  attests.  The  Parliament  party 
were  somewhat  less  prompt  in  their  measures,  but  they  were  by  no 
means  asleep.  The  day  after  the  Preston  meeting  Mr.  Rigby  and  Mr. 
Richard  Shuttleworth  were  summoned  to  Manchester,  to  concert 
with  their  fellow-commissioners  plans  for  the  defence  of  the  county 
against  Royalist  attacks.  In  Manchester  there  were  at  this  juncture 
"  ten  barrels  of  powder  and  some  few  bundles  of  match  lodged  in  a 
room  of  a  house,  belonging  to  Lord  Strange ;"  these  the  local  Royalist 
leaders  sought  to  carry  away,  but  were  "prevented  by  Mr.  Ashton, 
who  with  Mr.  Thomas  Stanley  took  it,  and  removed  it  into  other  places 
in  the  town ;"  while  Lord  Strange,  who  had  seized  upon  thirty  barrels 
of  powder  and  a  great  quantity  of  match  in  the  county  magazine  at 
Liverpool,  "  did,  with  many  armed  Forces,  repair  to  a  town  called 
Bury,"  whence  his  lordship  made  a  demonstration  against  Manchester, 
demanding  the  restoration  of  his  powder  and  match,  which  was  refused. 

i  C.  W.  Tracts,  pp.  13-14.         2  Ib.  pp.  325-30. 


106  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  next  month  (July,  1642),  there  was  a  great 
muster  at  Manchester  of  the  Lancashire  Militia,  called  out  by  the 
Parliamentarian  Lieutenancy,  when  7000  or  8000  men,  "  well  furnished 
with  muskets  and  pikes,  and  completely  trained  by  the  captains  that 
were  there,"  were  reviewed,  after  which  "  there  was  a  greate  shoute  for 
halfe  an  houre — '  For  the  King  and  Parliament — For  the  King  and 
Parliament  !' — and  at  night  they  were  dismist."1 

There  is  a  contemporary  story  of  the  interception  at  Walton-in-le- 
Dale,  by  Sir  Gilbert  Hoghton,  of  a  letter  written  by  Mr.  Alexander 
Rigby  to  the  Manchester  Committee.  Mr.  Rigby's  messenger  was 
"  stayed  at  Walton  by  a  watch  which  was  set  by  Sir  Gilbert  Houghton, 
before  whom  they  brought  him,  and  he  delivered  him  Master  Rigbie's 
letter,  and  upon  Sunday  in  the  morning  Sir  Gilbert  sent  for  Mr.  Rigby 
[probably  to  Walton  Hall,  where  Sir  Gilbert  Hoghton,  eldest  son  of 
Sir  Richard,  sometime  resided],  and  being  come  he  told  him  he  had  a 
commission  from  the  king  to  break  open  all  such  letters  ;  Master  Rigbie 
asked  him  if  he  had  taken  the  protestation,  and  he  told  him  he  had. 
Then  he  demanded  his  letter  from  him  in  the  name  of  all  the  Commons 
of  England  :  and  further  told  him,  if  he  broke  it  open,  it  might  be  he 
might  be  the  first  man  that  should  be  made  an  example  in  Lancashire  ; 
and  then  he  delivered  him  his  letter  unbroken  up,  and  intreated  him 
to  stay  and  dine  with  him,  which  he  did  ;  and  when  they  were  at  dinner 
one  Mr.  Dawton,  a  great  recusant,  and  M.  Tylsley,  came  in  as  familiarly 
to  Sir  Gilbert  as  if  they  had  been  Haile  fellow  well  met.  And  M. 
Rigbie  told  [Sir]  Gilbert  and  M.  Tylsley  he  could  like  them  well,  if  they 
were  not  so  familiar  with  Papists."3  This  incident  occurred  upon  Sunday, 
July  3rd,  1642.  On  the  following  day,  Mr.  Rigby  was  again  at  Man- 
chester, present  at  a  meeting  of  the  Manchester  Committee  of  Safety. 

King  Charles's  anxiety  to  strengthen  his  party  in  Lancashire  at 
the  beginning  of  the  war,  is  illustrated  by  a  letter  under  the  Royal 
sign  manual,  dated  from  York,  July  ist,  1642,  addressed  to  William 
Farrington  Esq.,  of  Worden,  and  his  son  William.  These  gentlemen 
had  been  threatened  with  arrest  and  removal  from  the  county  by  the 
Parliament,  on  account  of  their  activity  in  executing  the  King's 
Commission  of  Array ;  and  the  King,  apprehensive  that  fear  of  personal 
danger  might  lead  the  Farringtons,  father  and  son,  to  withdraw  privately 
from  Lancashire,  wrote  the  missive  which  contains  this  peremptory 
order: — "Wee  straightly  require  you  upon  your  allegiance,  that  you 
depart  not  nor  absent  yourself  out  of  that  Our  County  Palatine  of 
Lancaster,  neither  suffer  yourself  to  be  engaged,  detained,  or  kept  from 
giving  your  ready  attendance  accordingly,  beinge  thereto  called  or 

i   C,  W.  Tracts,  p.  ~o.  ?  Tb.  pp.  20-1 


THE  CIVIL   WAR— LOCAL  TRANSACTIONS.  IO7 

summoned  by  Us,  or  Our  Command,  whilst  we  shall  continue  here, 
upon  any  pretence,  order,  warrant,  or  command  whatsoever  from  either 
or  both  Houses  of  Parliament."1  Three  days  later,  on  July  4th,  William 
Farrington,  Esq.,  with  the  other  Royalist  Commissioners  of  Array  in 
the  county,  were  required  by  Sheriffs  Warrant  "  forthwith  to  convene 
and  summon  all  the  severall  Captaynes  of  their  severall  regiments  to 
appeare  before  theme,  together  with  armes,  to  be  viewed,  trayned,  and 
exercised."  What  happened  during  the  next  two  or  three  days  among 
the  Royalists  mustered  at  Walton  and  Preston,  is  narrated,  with  a 
Puritan  bias,  by  the  writer  of  the  "  Perfect  Diurnall,"  a  Parliamentarian, 
who  seems  to  have  been  a  resident  at  Preston.9  This  unnamed  personage 
writes,  Wednesday,  July  6th,  to  his  friends  in  London,  as  follows  : — 

As  I  returned  home  from  Manchester  to  Preston,  in  Walton,  I  overtooke  M. 
Kirbie,  the  Knight  of  our  Shire,  and  there  was  in  hiscompanie  one  Chorley  of  Chorley 
(a  seducing  Papist,  a  fit  companion  for  so  lukewarm  a  Protestant),  and  these  were  very 
familiar  together.  A  false  messenger  came  this  day  to  Sir  Gilbert  Houghton,  and  told 
him  that  the  Lord  Wharton  was  come  to  Manchester  with  20,000  men,  whereupon  he 
sent  with  all  speede  to  all  his  tenants,  and  commanded  them,  that  they  should  be 
readie  upon  an  hower's  warning,  and  set  a  stronge  watch  about  his  house,  but  I  think 
there  was  no  brags  in  our  towne  [Preston]  for  that  day.  [The  false  alarm  from  Manches- 
ter had  sobered  the  Preston  Royalists  for  the  nonce.]  Then  they  let  honest  Protestants 
go  through  the  streets  without  scoffing  at  them,  and  calling  them  Roundheads,  and 
Tylsley  posted  up  and  downe  in  great  feare  ;  it  was  well  if  he  kept  all  cleane ;  and  how 
should  it  be  otherwise,  seeing  they  oppose  the  King's  Majesties  Royal  authority,  in  the 
High  Court  of  Parliament,  the  old  and  good  government  of  England. 

The  next  day,  July  yth,  the  same  purveyor  of  intelligence  from 
Preston  and  Walton  writes  : — "  My  Lord  Strange  this  night  is  at  Walton, 
with  Sir  Gilbert  Houghton  and  the  High  Sheriffe,  and  Tylsley  is  there, 
and  they  have  commanded  all  between  15  and  60  to  be  at  Preston  to- 
morrow, with  the  best  armes  they  have.  My  Lord  intends  to  be  there 
himselfe,  but  what  the  event  will  be,  I  cannot  yet  tell."  What  came  of 
the  mustering  of  men-at-arms  at  Preston  the  following  day  (Friday,  July 
8th,  1642),  is  also  recounted,  with  gossip  of  the  great  personages  at 
Walton  Hall  and  their  doings  : — 

M.  Tylsley  yesterday  night  said  unto  Luke  Hodgkinson  in  Sir  Gilbert's  buttery 
that  he  was  told  M.  Major  [the  Mayor]  of  Preston  had  thought  to  have  him  cast  in 
Prison,  which  if  he  had  he  would  this  day  have  pulled  downe  the  prison,  and  M. 
Major's  house  should  have  been  set  on  fire,  if  he  would  not  have  released  him.  Truly 
it  were  well  if  the  Parliament  would  send  for  this  Tylsley,  for  he  is  a  Captain,  one  of 
the  Commission  of  Array,  and  doth  more  harm  than  any  man  I  know.  Yesterday 
night  when  the  Lord  Strange  was  at  supper  he  received  a  packet  of  letters  from  York ; 
what  they  were  I  cannot  tell.  This  day  in  the  morning  I  spoke  with  the  Sergeant, 

i   Farington  Papers,  pp.  77-8.         2  C.  W.  Tracts,  pp.  21-3. 


io8  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

and  he  hath  delivered  that  order  from  the  House  to  the  Lord  Strange,  and  he  first 
told  him  he  would  return  an  answer  by  word  of  mouth  by  him,  and  afterwards  he  told 
him  he  would  send  an  answer  himselfe  to  Parliament.  Five  men  gave  one  Roger 
Haddock  of  Chorley  very  sore  strokes  and  broke  his  head  to  the  very  scull,  because 
he  went  with  the  Sergeant  as  a  messenger  to  show  him  my  Lord's  house.  The 
soldiers  are  all  marched  out  of  the  Towne  to  the  number  of  4,000,  as  I  thinke,  but 
the  post  is  in  going,  and  what  this  day  will  bring  forth  I  cannot  tell,  but  they  say  they 
shout  '  For  the  King,  and  my  Lord  Strange, '  and  the  Sheriffe  have  set  foure  barrels  of 
beere  abroache  at  the  high  Cross  to  make  the  soldiers  drinke  as  they  returneback.  The 
Sergeant  is  here  to  arrest  the  Sheriffe,  but  it  is  to  no  purpose  till  the  company  be 
gone.  .  I  shall  write  you  more  of  this  dayes  proceeding  the  next  poste.  My  Lord  is 
with  them  over  the  Moore.  Read  this  letter  be  sure  to  M.W.,  my  brother  W. ;  pro- 
vide for  our  safety  :  we  are  beset  with  Papists.  I  dare  not  go  to  the  Moore,  but 
my  .  .  .  was  there,  and  they  told  him  he  was  a  Roundhead,  and  swore  they 
would  kill  him.  So  he  came  from  amongst  them.  I  am  in  haste.  Vale. 

A  week  after  the  military  promenade  on  Preston  Moor,  Lord 
Strange  was  at  Manchester,  to  be  present  at  a  banquet  at  the  house  of 
one  Mr.  Greene.  This  audacious  visit  to  the  Puritan  head-quarters  led 
to  a  rather  serious  collision  between  the  rival  parties.  Sir  Thomas 
Stanley,  and  Captains  Holcroft  and  Birch,  were  exercising  the  Militia  in 
another  part  of  the  town,  when  some  of  the  Militiamen  got  to  blows 
with  the  body-guard  of  Lord  Strange.  Several  mortal  wounds  were 
received  in  the  affray  on  both  sides,  and  Lord  Strange  and  his  men 
hastily  retreated  out  of  the  town  to  Sir  Alexander  Radcliffe's  house  at 
Ordsall.1  This  was  the  first  bloodshed  of  the  war,  and  the  tidings  of  the 
conflict  were  received  throughout  the  country  with  trouble  and  dismay. 

Nothing  further  of  moment  transpired  in  the  county  until  the  last 
week  in  September,  when  Lord  Strange  returned  to  the  neighbourhood 
of  Manchester  with  a  formidable  force,  avowedly  to  reduce  the  place  in  the 
King's  interest.  The  Manchester  Puritans  had  made  the  best  use  of  the 
interval  since  Lord  Strange's  former  visit  in  throwing  up  mud  walls  and 
other  rude  fortifications  at  the  main  entrances  to  the  town ;  and  were 
thus  enabled  to  present  a  firm  front  to  the  Royalist  array  on  their 
appearance  to  besiege  the  town.  It  was  on  Saturday  night,  September 
24th,  1642,  that  Lord  Strange  sat  down  before  Manchester,  with  a  force 
of  from  2,000  to  3,000  men.  On  the  26th,  the  defenders  of  Manches- 
ter wrote  to  Richard  Shuttleworth  of  Gawthorpe  and  John  Starkie  of 
Huntroyd,  as  the  leaders  of  the  Parliamentarian  interest  in  Blackburn 
Hundred,  asking  for  ammunition. 

Lord  Strange's  assault  upon  Manchester  was  successfully  repelled, 
and  his  lordship  raised  the  siege  after  a  week's  duration,  having  lost 
about  200  of  his  men  in  an  attempt  to  storm  the  town.8  Among  the 
Royalist  officers  in  the  besieging  force  were  two  gentlemen  from 

i  C.  W.  Tracts,  pp.  30-34.  2  Palmer's  Siege  of  Manch.,  pp.  26-36. 


THE  CIVIL  WAR— LOCAL  TRANSACTIONS.  109 

Blackburn  Hundred — Master  Towneley  of  Towneley,  and  Master 
Nowell  of  Read.  While  Lord  Strange  lay  at  Manchester  his  father, 
the  Earl  of  Derby,  -died,  September  25th,  1642,  and  Lord  Strange 
succeeded  to  the  earldom.  He  is  therefore  spoken  of  henceforth  as 
the  Earl  of  Derby.  The  march  of  the  King's  party  to  Manchester, 
though  it  led  to  no  serious  result,  aroused  the  friends  of  the  Parliament 
to  greater  activity  than  had  hitherto  been  exhibited  ;  and  very  speedily 
thereafter,  as  a  Puritan  chronicler  relates,  "wear  raised  up  and  put 
into  armes  severall  Companies  under  Captaines  of  the  best  ranke  and 
qualitie  in  all  the  Townes  and  County,  as  Captaine  Birch,  Captaine 
Bradshawe,  Captaine  Venables,  Captaine  Ratcliffe,  with  others ; 
Commissioners  being  granted  by  the  Parliament  to  put  the  County  into 
a  posture  of  War  for  its  owne  defence.  And  Collonels  allso  apointed 
for  every  Hundred  in  the  County.  As  Colonell  Ashton  of  Middleton, 
Colonell  Holland  of  Heaton,  for  Salford  Hundred  ;  Colonell  Shuttle- 
worth,  elder,  Colonell  Starkie,  for  Blackburne  Hundred ;  Colonell  Alex- 
ander Rigbie  for  Leyland  and  Amoundernesse  Hundreds ;  Colonell  More 
and  Colonell  Egerton  for  Derby,  and  Colonell  Dodding  for  Lones- 
dale."1 

A  proclamation  ordered  to  be  published  by  the  House  of  Commons 
on  September  291)1,  1642,  announces  the  resolution  of  Parliament  to 
raise  1000  dragoons,  to  be  sent  down  to  Lancashire  "  for  the  suppressing 
of  the  Malignant  Party"  in  the  county,  and  that  Colonel  Sir  John  Seaton, 
an  experienced  Scottish  soldier,  was  selected  for  this  command.2  By  the 
middle  of  October,  the  men  required  for  this  service  had  been  enlisted, 
aud  Sir  John  Seaton  with  his  "1000  Dragooners"  was  marching  to  Man- 
chester. On  the  other  side,  the  Earl  of  Derby,  on  retreating  from  before 
Manchester,  marched  to  join  the  King's  army  in  Warwickshire. 

At  this  time,  Colonel  Richard  Shuttleworth  of  Gawthorpe,  a  member 
of  the  House  of  Commons,  and  a  staunch  supporter  of  the  Parliament 
interest,  was  taking  measures  to  render  the  Hundred  of  Blackburn  im- 
pervious to  Royalist  attacks,  and  his  neighbours  John  Starkie  of 
Huntroyd  and  John  Braddyll  of  Portfield  energetically  seconded  his 
efforts.  Mr.  Alexander  Rigby,  the  Parliamentarian  leader  in  Amoun- 
derness,  was  in  London  in  the  beginning  of  October,  1642,  and  seems 
to  have  expressed  some  doubt  as  to  the  fulness  of  the  intelligence  of 
Royalist  movements  in  Lancashire  sent  up  to  town  by  his  friend  Colonel 
Shuttleworth.  The  latter,  in  a  letter  dated  Oct.  yth,  1642,  remonstrates 
with  Colonel  Rigby  upon  these  unmerited  suspicions,  and  vindicates  his 
conduct  with  dignity  and  spirit,  reminding  Rigby  that  he  had  something 
at  stake  as  well  as  his  friend,  having  "  a  little  estate  in  two  Hundreds 

i  Discourse  of  Warr  in  Lane.,  pp.  9-10.         2  C.  W.  Tracts,  pp.  40-1. 


no  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

of  the  County,"  namely,  Gawthorpe  Hall  in  Blackburn  and  Barton 
Lodge  in  Amounderness,  and  asking  if  it  was  likely  he  would  wish  to 
have  them  pillaged.  Colonel  Shuttleworth  continues  that  he  had  not 
yet  asked  for  armed  assistance  from  beyond  the  limits  of  the  county 
because  he  "  never  knew  or  heard  of  any  force  sent  into  any  county 
before  any  actuall  violence  broke  out  there."  But  he  had  done  his 
utmost  to  procure  ammunition,  and  competent  commanders  to  direct 
the  local  resistance.1  The  truth  was,  albeit,  that  up  to  this  time  the 
gentry  of  this  part  of  Lancashire  had  been  cherishing  the  vain  hope 
of  being  able  to  avert  the  miseries  of  war  from  their  homes  and 
estates  by  a  friendly  understanding  between  the  adherents  of  the  two 
parties.  A  correspondence  was  opened  between  Roger  Nowell,  of 
Read,  a  Royalist,  and  Colonel  Shuttleworth,  on  a  proposal  of  Mr. 
Nowell  to  invite  a  meeting  of  the  neighbouring  gentry  of  the  opposite 
interests,  to  attempt  some  arrangement  for  escaping  the  obligation  of 
fighting  against  each  other.  The  project  was  that  half  a  dozen 
gentlemen  of  either  party  should  meet  at  some  appointed  place,  their 
safe  conduct  being  guaranteed,  to  negociate  a  sort  of  treaty  of  neutrality 
in  the  war.  It  was  about  the  8th  of  October  that  the  correspondence 
commenced;  and,  on  the  nth,  the  subjoined  letter  was  despatched  to 
Roger  Nowell,  from  Richard  Shuttleworth  and  others,  enclosing  the 
response  of  the  Manchester  leaders,  Colonels  Holland  and  Egerton, 
to  the  invitation  to  attend  a  proposed  peace  meeting  at  Blackburn,  on 
Thursday,  the  i$th  of  October : — 

COZEN, — Wee  according  to  your  and  our  last  conclusion,  at  our  parting  withoute 
delaie  sent  unto  Mr.  Holland  and  some  others  within  Salford  Hundred,  for  the  meet- 
ing at  Blackburne  on  Thursdaie  next,  from  whom  (even  nowe)  wee  received  this 
enclosed  answeare,  which  wee  thought  fit  to  send  unto  you  to  consider  of ;  which  when 
you  have  done,  and  that  you  then  resolve  to  meete  at  Boulton  ether  Mondaie  or  Tues- 
daie  next  (whether  daie  is  left  to  your  election)  wee  desire  you  to  signifie  unto  us  what 
you  conclude  hereabouts,  that  we  may  speedilie  (if  occasion  bee)  acquaint  Salford  men 
thereof  and  prepare  ourselves  to  perfect  (what  is  in  our  power)  the  intended,  and  wee 
shall  not  cease  to  continue,  Your  verie  lov:  cozens,  Ric.  SHUTTLEWORTH,  JOHN 
BRADDYLL,  JOHN  STARKIE. — In  hast  from  Padihame  this  nth  of  October,  1642. — 
To  our  verie  lo:  cozen,  Roger  Nowell,  Esq.,  this. — Hast.3 

The  Manchester  Parliamentarian  Colonels,  Richard  Holland  and 
Peter  Egerton,  were  unwilling  to  go  out  of  their  own  Hundred  to  a 
meeting,  and  it  was  at  their  suggestion  that  Bolton  was  substituted  for 
Blackburn  as  the  proposed  place  of  meeting.  Receiving  the  above 
letter,  Roger  Nowell  wrote  from  Read,  Oct.  i2th,  to  William  Farrington, 
Esq.,  inclosing  the  Padiham  and  Manchester  missives,  and  proposing 
Tuesday,  October  i8th,  as  the  date  of  meeting.  But  he  added  that  he 

i  Lane.  Lieut.,  v.  ii,  pp.  274-7.  2  Farington  Papers,  p.  Si. 


THE  CIVIL  WAR-LOCAL  TRANSACTIONS.  IIX 

could  not  himself  be  present  at  it,  for  he  was  ordered  to  set  forward  on 
Friday,  October  i/j-th,  to  join  Lord  Derby's  command ;  so  desired 
William  Farrington  to  name  two  other  deputies  from  the  Royalist  side 
instead  of  himself  and  his  cousin  Byron  ;  and  he  would  speak  to  Mr. 
Saville  Radcliffe  to  be  there.  On  receipt,  Mr.  Farrington,  with  Messrs. 
Rigby,  of  Burgh,  and  Fleetwood,  of  Penwortham,  wrote  to  Sir  Thomas 
Barton,  Knt,  of  Smithells,  and  Robert  Holte,  of  Castleton,  apprising 
them  of  the  proposed  peace  conference  at  Bolton,  and  informing  them 
that  the  six  gentlemen  appointed  to  represent  the  Parliament  interest 
were,  Richard  Holland,  Peter  Egerton,  John  Bradshaw,  Esqrs.  (from  Sal- 
ford  Hundred),  and  Richard  Shuttleworth,  John  Braddyll,  and  John 
Starkie,  Esqrs.  (from  Blackburn  Hundred);  while  on  the  Royalist  part, 
the  subscribers  to  the  letter,  Farrington,  Rigby  of  Burgh,  and  John  Fleet- 
wood  were  named,  with  Saville  Radcliffe,  Esq.,  and  it  was  desired  that 
Sir  Thomas  Barton  and  Robert  Holt,  Esq.,  should  consent  to  make  up 
the  six  representatives  of  that  interest.  The  same  parties  wrote  from 
Chorley  the  same  night  to  Colonel  Shuttleworth,  concerning  the  arrange- 
ments for  the  meeting,  and  suggesting  that  the  hour  of  meeting  should 
be  ten  o'clock  in  the  forenoon.  But  these  overtures  ended  abortively. 
The  Houses  of  Parliament,  having  received  intelligence  of  attempts  to 
preserve  neutrality  and  to  circumscribe  the  operations  of  the  war,  in 
Lancashire,  Yorkshire,  Devon,  and  Cornwall,  severely  discountenanced 
the  projects ;  and  the  correspondence  is  brought  to  an  abrupt  close  by 
a  letter  from  Colonel  Holland,  at  Manchester,  to  Messrs.  Shuttleworth 
and  Starkie,  dated  Oct.  i5th,  informing  them  that  since  their  former 
communication  they  had  received  in  Manchester  "  commands  both  by 
letter  and  declarations  set  fforth  from  Parliament,  how  much  it  is  against 
lyking  to  have  any  treaty,"  and  on  this  ground  declining  to  be  parties 
to  the  conference.  Having  "this  notification,  Messrs.  Shuttleworth  and 
Starkie  wrote  from  Padiham,  Oct.  i6th,  to  Messrs.  Farrington,  Rigby,  and 
Fleetwood,  inclosing  Mr.  Holland's  letter,  and  saying  that  the  meeting 
at  Bolton  "  could  not  hold."1  Thus  the  friendly  negotiation  terminated, 
and  the  parties  to  it  met  thereafter  only  as  foes  upon  the  battle-field. 

After  this,  no  further  effort  was  made  by  the  Parliamentarian  and 
Royalist  gentry  to  avoid  participation  in  the  struggle  that  had  now  fairly 
begun.  Hostile  ventures  were  now  concerted  by  the  Lancashire 
adherents  of  King  and  of  Parliament.  It  was  the  middle  of  October 
when  the  proposal  for  a  peace  meeting  broke  down,  and  within  a  couple 
of  days  of  that  date  detachments  of  armed  men  in  Blackburn  Hundred 
were  pushing  on  to  the  attack  of  houses  of  gentry  committed  to  the 
King's  interest.  Charles  Townley,  Esq.,  of  Townley  Hall,  was  one  of 

i   Farington  Papers,  pp.   81-6. 


H2  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

the  most  influential  of  Charles  the  First's  friends  in  these  parts  ;  and  he 
was  the  first  to  encounter  the  hostility  of  the  Parliamentarians  of  his  dis- 
trict. A  few  days  before,  he  and  other  Roman  Catholic  gentlemen  of 
Lancashire  had  supplicated  the  King  to  relax  the  law  affecting  religious 
Recusants,  which  forbade  them  to  keep  arms  in  their  houses,  asking  that 
the  arms  previously  taken  from  them  might  be  "  redelivered  in  this  tyme 
of  actuall  War,"  and  that  by  his  Majesty's  special  direction  they  might 
be  enabled  to  furnish  themselves  with  "  a  competencie  of  weapons"  for 
the  security  of  the  King's  person,  their  country  and  families.  To  this 
application  the  King  returned  a  favourable  answer.  By  an  order  of  the 
Court  at  Chester,  Sept.  27th,  1642,  these  loyal  "  Recusants"  were  bidden 
to  provide  sufficient  arms  for  themselves,  their  servants,  and  their  tenants, 
to  be  used  in  defence  of  their  own  persons  and  property,  and  of  the 
royal  interests.1  The  permission  was  not  granted  too  soon,  for  almost 
the  first  act  of  the  enemy  in  the  Hundred  of  Blackburn  was  to  make  a 
raid  upon  the  Townley  estate,  for  the  capture  of  Townley  Hall.  In  the 
beginning  of  October,  the  Parliament's  Committee  at  Manchester, 
"  to  keep  their  soldiers  in  exercise,"  sent  some  of  their  Captains  "  upon 
designs  advantagious  unto  them ;"  as,  for  instance,  "  Captaine  Birch  was 
sent  into  Blackburne  Hundred,  to  take  in  Townley  Hall ;  and  others 
were  sent  to  fetch  prizes  from  malignant  cavaliers."2 

At  the  outset  of  the  Civil  War  the  Royalist  party  were  so  much  the 
stronger  in  the  four  westerly  Hundreds  of  West  Derby,  Leyland, 
Amounderness,  and  Lonsdale,  as  to  exercise  complete  sway,  and  to  hold 
with  their  garrisons  every  strong  castle,  embattled  mansion,  and  fortified 
town  within  those  Hundreds.  The  Royalist  leaders,  with  Lord  Derby  at 
their  head,  included  Sir  John  Girlington,  Knt.;  Sir  Gilbert  Hoghton, 
Bart;  Sir  Alexander  Radcliffe,  Knt;  Thos.  Tyldesley  and  Wm.  Farring- 
ton,  Esqrs.;  and  other  powerful  gentlemen.  The  two  Hundreds  of 
Blackburn  and  Salford  remained  as  the  strongholds  of  the  Parliamentarian 
interest.  Manchester  was  their  most  defensible  place,  and  their  political 
and  military  head-quarters.  Bolton  likewise  was  held  for  the  Parliament, 
and  partially  fortified.  In  Blackburn  Hundred,  the  only  place  of  arti- 
ficial strength  in  possession  of  the  Roundheads  was  Clitheroe  Castle. 
The  town  of  Blackburn,  though  very  much  exposed  to  the  enemy,  had 
no  fortifications  worthy  of  the  name.  Burnley,  Colne,  and  Hasling- 
den,  the  other  market  towns,  were  better  protected  by  the  badness  of 
the  roads  that  led  into  the  interior  of  the  Hundred  than  by  any  temporary 
rampart  of  mud  that  may  have  been  hastily  thrown  up  to  strengthen 
them.  Though  the  friends  of  the  Parliament  in  the  district  outnumbered 
the  partizans  of  the  King,  there  were  several  local  Royalists  of  note. 

i  C.  W.  Tracts,  pp.  33-40.  2  Discourse  of  Warr,  p.  10. 


THE  CIVIL  WAR— LOCAL  TRANSACTIONS.  113 

Some  families  were  as  good  as  neutral  in  the  war  :  such  was  Richard 
Sherburne  of  Stonyhurst,  a  poor  ally,  though  he  must  be  classed  on  the 
King's  side.  The  Southworths  of  Samlesbury  make  no  appearance  in 
the  field.  Thomas  Southworth,  Esq.,  was  just  defunct  (1641)  with- 
out heirs,  and  there  was,  therefore,  no  male  scion  to  risk  the  estate  by 
committing  himself  to  either  of  the  contending  parties. 

It  was  chiefly  the  Roman  Catholic  families  of  the  Hundred, — 
Towneley  of  Towneley,  Sherburne  of  Stonyhurst,  Talbot  of  Salesbury, 
and  Walmesleys  of  Dunkenhalgh  and  of  Banister  Hall, — that  rallied  to 
King  Charles's  standard.  Roger  Nowell  of  Read  was  the  only  Protes- 
tant churchman  of  any  influence  who  sided  with  the  King.  The  local 
feeling  being  decisively  for  the  Parliament,  all  that  the  Royalist  gentry 
could  do  was  to  get  together  as  many  as  they  might  of  their  personal 
dependants,  and,  leaving  their  properties  to  the  mercy  of  the  enemy, 
march  to  join  the  Royalists  at  Preston  and  elsewhere,  in  the  hope  that 
the  tide  of  war  would  soon  bear  them  back  to  their  forsaken  estates. 
Sir  John  Talbot  tarried  a  while  in  his  strong  house  at  Salesbury,  profes- 
sing neutrality,  until,  his  treachery  being  discovered,  he  had  to  decamp. 
Richard  Walmesley  had  his  house  at  Dunkenhalgh  occupied  and  ran- 
sacked by  the  Roundheads  very  early  in  the  first  campaign.  Radcliffe 
Assheton  of  Cuerdale  became  an  active  agent  of  the  Royalist  party  in  the 
county. 

While  the  Parliamentarian  Committee  were  collecting  their  forces 
and  disposing  them  for  the  defence  of  Blackburn  and  Salford  Hundreds, 
the  Royalists  were  straining  every  nerve  to  be  ready  for  the  onset  in 
West  Lancashire.  That  the  Royalists  about  Preston  were  at  this  time 
equally  fearful  lest  the  Roundheads  of  Blackburn  and  Salford  Hundreds 
should  swoop  down  upon  them  unawares  and  discomfit  them,  as  the 
Parliamentarian  conclave  at  Padiham  were  lest  the  Royalists  from 
Preston  should  attack  them  while  unprepared,  is  evident  from  the 
Sheriff's  letter  to  Wm.  Farrington  and  others,  dated  the  23rd  November, 
in  which  allusion  is  made  to  the  source  of  anticipated  mischief  to  the 
Royal  cause  : — "  Fforasmuch  as  the  rebellious  Route  under  the  conduct 
of  Richard  Shuttleworth,  Esq.,  and  others  within  this  County  palatine 
of  Lancaster,  doe  daylie  swell  and  increase  in  a  greater  rebellious  body, 
which  committ  severall  outrages  and  notorious  wicked  acts  and  offences, 
ffor  speedie  redresse  and  suppression  whereof  I  am  required  to  raise 
and  have  in  readiness  the  power  of  the  County."  The  Sheriff  therefore 
ordered  all  the  Royalist  gentry  of  Leyland  district  and  their  tenants  to 
be  in  readiness  to  take  the  field  "  upon  fower  and  twenty  howres  further 
notice  and  warninge,  on  paine  and  forfeiture  of  their  lives  and  estates."1 

i   Farington  Papers,  pp.  89-90. 


TI4  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

In  obedience  to  these  directions,  Sir  Gilbert  Hoghton,  Bart.,  of 
Walton  Hall,  had,  in  conjunction  withWm.  Farrington,  Esq.,  of  Worden, 
been  employed  during  the  months  of  October  and  November  in  getting 
their  levies  in  fighting  order  for  the  King.  Sir  Gilbert's  position  at 
Hoghton  or  Walton  was  a  standing  menace  to  the  town  of  Blackburn. 
The  inhabitants  of  that  town  appear  to  have  been  from  the  beginning 
ardent  Parliamentarians,  as  were  several  of  the  neighbouring  gentry. 
But  the  place  was  small ;  dominated  on  every  hand  by  the  4iills  sur- 
rounding it ;  and  destitute  of  any  kind  of  defences.  It  seemed  to  offer 
an  easy  prey  to  an  enterprising  enemy.  When,  some  time  before,  the 
Roman  Catholics  in  the  Hundred  had  been  disarmed  by  order  of  Par- 
liament, the  arms  secured  had  been  deposited  at  Whalley.  Sir  Gilbert 
Hoghton  determined  to  seize  those  arms,  and  to  carry  them  to  Black, 
burn,  making  the  latter  town  a  Royalist  advanced  post.  The  first  incur- 
sion of  Sir  Gilbert  into  Blackburn  Parish  was  with  this  object.  It  was 
made  towards  the  end  of  November ;  the  author  of  the  Discourse  of 
the  Warr  fixes  it  about  the  middle  of  October,  but  it  could  not  have 
"been  so  soon  as  that,  for  Messrs.  Shuttleworth  and  Starkie  had  no  men 
in  arms  at  that  date,  and  could  not  have  attacked  Sir  Gilbert  Hoghton 
as  they  did.  Other  narratives  give  the  2yth  of  November  as  the 
date  of  the  first  collision  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Blackburn.  An 
undated  letter  from  the  Bailiff  of  Clitheroe1  and  others  to  Richard 
Shuttleworth  indicates  the  belief  at  Clitheroe  to  have  been,  on  Sir 
Gilbert  Hoghton's  appearance  in  the  Ribble  valley,  that  he  meant  to 
capture  Clitheroe  Castle,  the  fact  being  that  he  had  no  such  present 
design,  the  deposit  of  arms  at  Whalley  being  the  real  object  of  his  raid. 

The  stroke  fell  upon  the  Blackburn  Roundheads  at  last,  and  was 
replied  to  by  an  effectual  counter-stroke.  Sir  Gilbert  advanced  at  the 
head  of  his  troopers  to  Whalley,  and  seized  the  arms  there  ;  then  retired 
upon  Blackburn,  which  he  had  simultaneously  occupied  by  a  body 
of  foot.  The  affair  and  its  ending  a  Puritan  chronicler  records  as 
follows  : — 

The  Armes .  within  Blackburn  Hundred  being  laid  up  at  Whalley,  Sir  Gilbert 
Houghton,  one  of  the  Deputy  Lieutenants  for  the  Earle  of  Darbie  afforesaid,  no 
doubt  but  by  and  with  the  counsell  and  direction  of  the  Earle  and  to  make  their  Partie 
stronge,  called  up  the  Trained  Band  of  Amounderness  Hundred,  and  marched  to 
Whalley  to  fetch  the  said  Armes  from  thence,  and  the  1 6  or  17  of  October,  1642, 
carried  them  to  Blackburne  and  quartered  there  that  night.  And  that  same  day  ould 
Colonell  Shuttleworth  (having  received  intelligence  of  his  designe)  had  a  Randavous 
of  the  Clubmen  of  Blackburne  Hundred  upon  Houley  [Healey,  near  Burnley  ?] 
More,  wher  they  held  a  consultation  what  course  to  take  about  those  Armes,  the 
general  vote  being  not  to  let  them  goe  out  of  their  Hundred,  but  eyther  Reskowe 
i  Lane.  Lieut.,  v.  ii,  pp.  805-6. 


THE  CIVIL  WAR— BATTLE  AT  BLACKBURN.  115 

ihem  or  adventure  themselves  to  the  hazard.  Soe  that  at  night,  hearing  that  Sir 
Gilbert  with  his  Companie  and  the  Armes  had  taken  up  their  quarters  at  Blackburne, 
they  silently  fell  down  upon  Blackburne  beating  up  their  quarters,  tooke  many  of  Sir 
Gilbert's  soldiers  prisoners,  [and]  seased  upon  the  Armes.  Sir  Gilbert  himselfe  fled 
out  of  the  Towne,  and  the  prisoners  that  were  taken  being  brought  before  Colonell 
Shuttleworth  he  released  them,  counselling  them  to  be  honest  men  and  keep  at  home.1 

Other  accounts,  which  may  be  compared  with  the  above,  of  this 
victory  of  the  East  Lancashire  Roundheads  over  Sir  Gilbert  Hoghton's 
array,  are  found  in  two  curious  Puritan  records  of  the  period.  One, 
the  quaint,  pietistic  anonymous  tract  entitled  Lancashire's  Valley  of  Achor 
is  England's  Doore  of  Hope,  published  in  London  in  1643;  tne  other, 
a  shorter  tract,  printed  in  London,  Dec.  pth,  1642,  purporting  to  be 
A  True  and  full  Relation  of  the  Troubles  in  Lancashire  in  the  form  of  a 
letter  from  one  Thomas  Jesland,  of  Atherton,  a  Lancashire  Puritan,  to 
a  "  Reverend  Divine  in  London."  An  engagement  between  Colonel 
Shuttleworth's  force  and  that  of  Sir  Gilbert  Hoghton  is  stated  in  one  of 
these  accounts  to  have. been  fought  on  "  Hinfield  Moor,"  which  I  take 
to  mean  Enfield  Moor,  a  low  hill  to  the  north  of  Accrington,  about  mid- 
way between  Blackburn  and  Burnley, — a  central  eminence  commanding 
the  valleys  of  the  Calder  and  Hindburn.  The  other,  and  probably  the 
accurate  version,  agreeing  as  it  does  with  that  above  quoted,  is  that 
"  Hinfield  Moor"  was  but  the  place  of  the  Parliamentarian  rendezvous 
and  consultation,  and  Blackburn,  the  town  occupied  by  the  Royalist 
leader,  the  scene  of  the  conflict  and  defeat  of  Sir  Gilbert's  troops.  The 
passage  from  Lancashire's  Valley  of  Achor  is  given  below  : — 

BLACKBURNE  HUNDRED.— When  God  had  thus  gloriously  appeared  in  Salford 
Hundred,  the  first  and  forwardest  Hundred,  He  went  and  displayed  His  banner  in 
Blackburne  Hundred,  that  only  other  Hundred  in  this  Countie  that  appeared  i'n  the 
same  cause.  About  November  the  seven  and  twentieth,  the  [Royalist]  Array,  with 
some  three  hundred  armed  men  (as  is  conceived)  besides  Clubmen,  possessed  them- 
selves of  Blackburne,  whence  they  sent  a  party  to  disarme  Whalley.  This  alarm 
awaked  the  Militia  to  awake  the  people  by  precept.  They  being  awaked,  were  soone 
up  and  marched  towards  Blackburne  about  two  hundred  armed  men,  some  companies 
of  Clubmen,  and  some  Horsemen,  but  without  arms.  The  want  of  skill  in  souldiers, 
and  skilfull  captains  to  supply  that  want,  caused  a  consultation  on  Hinfield-Moore, 
which  received  Determination  (not  from  the  Discoverie  of  hidden  skill  but  from  the 
resolute  will  of  these  stirring  Souldiers)  to  dispossesse  those  forcible  Tenants.  They 
speed  on  with  shouting,  dividing  themselves  unto  the  conduct  of  two  chosen  captains, 
and  come  within  sight  of  the  Town  [of  Blackburn]  about  eight  of  the  clock,  when  the 
Queen  of  the  night,  that  had  shined  upon  their  March,  did  discover  them  to  their 
enemies,  who  soon  let  flie  from  the  Steeple  [of  the  Parish  Church]  ;  which  ordered 
one  Captain  and  his  companie  to  the  South  side  of  the  Town,  and  the  other  Captain 
with  his  companie  to  the  East  end  of  the  Town,  where  they  found  (though  not  so  high, 
yet)  as  hot  entertainment  out  of  the  Town  for  the  space  of  two  houres.  But  God  that 

i  Discourse  of  Warr,  pp.  11-12. 


Ii6  HISTORY    OF  BLACKBURN. 

varieth  His  providence  according  to  His  people's  occasions,  and  had  maintained  the 
passages  of  Manchester  (that  a  rightful  people  should  not  be  wronged),  did  now  open 
a  difficult  passage  to  let  in  his  friends,  from  whom  the  Array  [Royalists]  hasted,  having 
disburdened  themselves  of  their  arms,  and  restored  what  they  took  from  Whalley. 
Now  had  God  added  an  experience  of  favourable  providence,  in  a  new  kinde, 
formerly  in  a  way  of  defence,  now  in  a  way  of  offence,  declaring  His  all-sufficiencie 
and  compleatnesse  for  Warre,  to  those  two  united  Hundreds,  giving  a  Shield  to 
Manchester  and  a  Sword  to  Blackburne. l 

The  narrative  of  Thomas  Jesland,  written  four  or  five  days  after  the 
event,  and  from  hearsay  probably,  is  less  correct  in  particulars.  He 
magnifies  the  Roundhead  force  to  8,000  men  (a  highly  improbable 
number),  and  places  the  action  between  the  hostile  forces  at  "  Hinfield 
Moor"  instead  of  at  Blackburn.  Having  described  the  simultaneous 
defeat  of  the  Earl  of  Derby  at  Chowbent,  in  which  he  was  an  actor, 
Thomas  Jesland  writes  : — 

Now  the  men  of  Blackburn,  Paduam,  Burneley,  Clitheroe,  and  Colne,  with  those 
sturdy  churles  in  the  two  forests  of  Pendle  and  Rossendale,  have  raised  their  spirits, 
and  have  resolved  to  fight  it  out  rather  than  their  Beefe  and  fatt  Bacon  shall  be  taken 
from  them.  For  the  last  Weeke  Sir  Gilbert  Houghton  set  his  Beacon  on  fire,  which 
stood  upon  the  top  of  Houghton  Tower  and  was  the  signal  to  the  countrey  for  the 
Papists  and  Malignants  to  arise  in  the  Field  [Fylde],  and  in  Lealand  Hundred  ;  where- 
upon great  multitudes  accordingly  resorted  to  him  to  Preston  in  Andernesse,  and  ran 
to  Blackburne,  and  so  through  the  countrey,  disarming  all  and  pillaging  some ;  which 
Master  Shuttleworth,  a  Parliament  man,  and  Master  Starkie  hearing  off,  presently  had 
gotten  together  out  of  the  places  formerly  mentioned  about  8,000  men,  met  with  Sir 
Gilbert  and  his  Catholique  Malignants  at  Hinfield  Moor,  put  them  to  flight,  tooke 
away  many  of  their  armes,  and  pursued  Sir  Gilbert  so  hotly,  that  he  quit  his  Horse, 
leaped  into  a  field,  and  by  the  comming  on  of  the  night  escaped  through  fur  [furze] 
bushes  and  by-wayes  to  Preston,  and  there  makes  great  defence  by  chaining  up  the 
Ribble  Bridge  and  getting  what  force  he  can  into  the  Towne  for  its  securitie,  out  of 
which  the  countrie  swears  they  will  have  him,  by  God's  help,  with  all  his  adherents 
either  quicke  or  dead  ;  so  that  by  the  next  post  I  hope  I  shall  certifie  of  some  good 
posture  that  the  countrey  will  be  in.  O  that  Parliament  had  but  sent  downe  their 
1,000  Dragoniers  into  the  countrey — wee  would  not  have  left  a  Masse-monger  nor 
.Malignant  of  note  but  we  would  have  provided  a  lodging  for  him.2 

The  motive-cause  of  the  popular  rising  in  these  districts,  to  repel 
the  Royalist  invasion,  as  assigned  by  this  narrator,  was  not  perhaps  of 
the  most  exalted  kind.  It  was  not  so  much  that  the  peasantry  of  these 
parts  hated  the  absolutist  proceedings  of  the  monarch,  or  fell  in  with  the 
puritanic  ideas  of  religion  and  morals  favoured  by  the  King's  adver- 
saries ; — it  was  simply  to  save  "  their  Beefe  and  fatt  Bacon"  from  the 
clutches  of  an  enemy  credited,  and  not  without  reason,  with  the  inten- 
tion to  appropriate  them  to  his  own  use.  But  unromantic  as  the  fact 
may  be,  the  phase  the  spirit  of  patriotism  assumes  in  the  minds  of  the 

i  C.  W.  Tracts,  pp.  123-4.  =  Ib.  pp.  65-6. 


THE  CIVIL  WAR— PARLIAMENTARIAN  LEADERS.  ur 

majority  of  any  race,  in  any  age  or  country,  is  that  of  a  sense  of  the 
necessity  to  rise  in  arms  in  defence  of  home  and  family,  crops  and 
property.  The  "  sturdy  churles"  of  Pendle  and  Rossendale  Forests,  in 
mustering  for  the  defence  of  their  herds  of  cattle  and  swine,  obeyed  that 
instinct  of  self-preservation  which  possesses  all  mankind,  and  is  the  most 
powerful  actuating  motive  of  human  conduct.  These  mountain  boors 
and  forest  churls  of  Blackburnshire  were  possibly  not  more  selfish  in  the 
impulses  that  moved  them  to  fight  than  were  the  more  distinguished 
actors  in  the  Civil  War,  from  the  King  downward. 

The  chief  supporters  of  the  Parliament  in  Blackburn  Hundred,  the 
families  of  Shuttleworth,  Starkie,  Braddyll,  and  Assheton,  manifested 
their  devotion  to  the  cause,  not  only  by  the  active  services  of  the  heads 
of  those  families,  rendered  during  the  course  of  the  conflictjboth  in  the 
field  and  in  council,  but  likewise  in  the  acceptance  of  military  duty  by 
the  sons  of  each  of  these  leading  Parliamentarians.  Old  Colonel 
Shuttleworth  sent  no  fewer  than  four  of  his  sons  to  fight  against  kingly 
usurpation.  The  eldest  of  these  was  Richard  Shuttleworth,  Esq.,  M.P. 
for  Clitheroe,  who  was  a  colonel  in  the  Roundhead  armyr  and,  after  a 
successful  service,  died  before  the  contest  was  quite  concluded,  in  1648, 
Two  other  sons  of  the  Gawthorpe  veteran,  Nicholas  and  Ughtred, 
entered  the  army  as  captains,  and  became  colonels  both ;  while  William 
Shuttleworth,  the  fourth  son,  was  made  a  captain  at  the  outset  of  the 
war,  and  was  slain  at  Lancaster  early  in  the  first  campaign.  Sir  Ralph 
Assheton,  Bart.,  who  died  in  1644,  gave  an  energetic  soldier  to  the 
conflict  in  the  person  of  his  son  and  successor,  Ralph  Assheton,  Esq., 
M.P.  for  Clitheroe.  John  Starkie,'  Esq.,  of  Huntroyd,  also  lent  his 
heir,  Nicholas  Starkie,  to  the  service  of  Parliament,  and  knew  a  father's 
grief  on  the  death  of  his  son,  by  a  disastrous  accident,  within  a  few 
weeks  of  his  commission  to  a  captaincy.  John  Braddyll,  Esq.,  of 
Portfield,  experienced  a  like  bereavement  in  the  loss  in  battle  of  his 
son,  Captain  John  Braddyll,  who  was  mortally  hurt  at  Thornton  in 
Craven,  in  July,  1643.  There  is  a  record  of  the  appointment  of  these 
gallant  sons  of  gallant  sires  to  commissions,  in  the  following  passage 
from  the  Discourse  of  the  Warr : — "  After  that  the  Armes  were 
recovered  from  Sir  Gilbert  Hoghton,  Colonel  Shuttleworth  and  Colonel 
Starkie  were  very  diligent  and  industrious  to  put  their  Hundred  of 
Blackburn  in  a  position  of  warr,  and  therefore  gave  commissions  to 
several  Captaines  to  raise  Companies.  Four  of  Colonel  Shuttleworth's 
sons  were  made  Captaines,  viz.,  Nicholas,  William,  Edward  [?],  and  Hute 
[Ughtred].  Colonell  Starkie's  sonne  and  heyre,  and  Mr.  Bradell's  sonne 
and  heyre,  they  were  the  first  Captaines  in  the  Parliament  service  in 
that  Hundred,  and  they  raised  companies  which  proved  stout  men,  and 


ng  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

were  of  good  repute  for  hardness  and  manhood  everywhere  they 
carne."1 

This  was  done  about  the  beginning  of  December,  1642  ;  and  on 
the  loth  of  the  same  month  another  Royalist  conclave  took  place  at 
Preston.  The  meeting  was  convened  by  James  Earl  of  Derby,  "  Lord 
General  of  the  County,"  and  Sir  John  Girlington,  Knt,  High  Sheriff, 
It  was  there  resolved  "  that  the  soome  of  Sooo  and  700  pounds  shall 
be  ratably  assessed  upon  the  several  Hundreds  of  the  County;"  and  the 
money  thus  obtained  was  to  be  "  employed  for  the  pay  of  2000  foot  and 
400  horse,  and  also  for  provision  of  a  Magazine  and  ammunition  for  the 
said  County."2  Collectors  of  the  Subsidy  were  appointed  for  the  several 
Hundreds,  in  which  capacity  were  nominated  for  Blackburn  Hundred, 
Sir  John  Talbot,  Knight,  of  Salesbury,  and  Radcliffe  Assheton,  Esq.,  of 
Cuerdale. 

On  Christmas  Eve  (December  24th),  1642,  the  town  of  Blackburn 
was  subjected  to  another  hostile  demonstration  by  the  Royalists  of  Sir 
Gilbert  Hoghton.  Since  the  first  encounter  there,  four  weeks  before, 
the  few  hundreds  of  Parliamentarian  Militia  left  as  a  garrison  in  Black- 
bum  had  made  an  effort  to  strengthen  their  position  by  casting  up  some 
fortifications  about  the  town — nothing  more,  probably,  than  rough  earth- 
works to  guard  the  four  entrances  to  the  town  ;  at  the  top  of  Northgate, 
on  the  Ribchester  road  ;  beyond  Astley-gate,  perhaps  at  the  bridge  near 
Whalley  Banks,  on  the  road  to  Preston ;  about  Darwen-street  bridge,  on 
the  road  to  Darwen ;  and  somewhere  between  Salford  Bridge  and 
Bottomgate,  to  protect  the  entrance  from  Burnley  side,  which,  howeverr 
was  in  little  danger  from  Royalist*  partisans.  It  was  from  the  Revidge 
side  that  Blackburn  was  threatened  on  that  Christmas  Eve.  Sir  Gilbert 
Hoghton  and  his  men  got  up  to  the  vicinity  of  the  town  by  the  old  lane 
from  Mellor  and  Samlesbury.  Two  interesting  narrations  of  this  so- 
called  Siege  of  Blackburn,  which  was  really  a  very  desultory  and  abortive 
affair,  remain.  The  first  is  that  of  the  well-informed  author  of  the 
Discourse  of  the  Warr  in  Lancashire,  who  writes  somewhat  circumstan- 
tially. It  is  well  to  record  the  history  of  these  times,  as  far  as  possible, 
in  the  words  of  the  chroniclers  of  the  period,  considering  that  the  lan- 
guage of  these  useful  contemporary  documents  conveys  a  more  vivid 
picture  of  events  than  any  modernised  version  of  the  facts  could  do. 
The  authority  mentioned  narrates  the  incidents  of  this  attack  on  Black- 
burn in  the  following  passage  : — 

The  Hundred  of  Blackburne  being  put  into  a  Warlike  posture,  many  Companies 
of  Resolut  Souldiers  being  raised  within  it.  The  Colonells  Oulde  Shuttleworth  and 
Starkie,  having  a  speciall  eye  to  Blackburne  towne,  being  soe  neare  unto  Preston,  as 

i  Disc,  of  Warr,  p.  15.  a  C.  W.  Tract*,  p.  67. 


THE  CIVIL  WAR-SIR  GILBERT  HOGHTON'S  RAID. 


119 


alsoe  fearing  inroads  into  the  Hundred  by  the  enimie  besydes  Plundering,  laid  some 
Companies  of  Souldiers  in  it  and  caused  some  fortifications  to  be  maid  about  it,  in 
some  measure  to  secure  it,  and  so  till  about  Christmas  1642  it  continued  in  a  reasonable 
quiet  condition.  But  Blackburne  lying  within  three  miles  of  Hoghton  Tower,  the 
principal  house  of  Sir  Gilbert  Hoghton,  a  Deputie  Lieutenant  for  the  Earle  of  Darbie 
and  a  Commissioner  of  Aray,  He  tooke  it  into  consideration  how  unsafe  it  was  for  him 
in  respect  of  his  person  and  estait  about  Hoghton,  but  especiallie  how  dishonourable  it 
might  prove  to  his  reputation  with  the  King,  if  he  suffered  a  Garrison  of  the  Enimie 
soe  neare  unto  his  howse  and  used  no  means  to  dissipate  it,  was  moved  about  the  latter 
end  of  December  1642  to  thinke  upon  the  reducing  that  Garrison  to  the  King's  part. 
And  thereuppon  resolved  to  set  upon  it,  having  the  assistance  of  most  of  the  Popish 
affected  Gentlemen  in  Amounderness  Hundred,  with  there  Tenants  in  Armes,  the 
Trained  Bands,  and  the  Clubmen  of  the  Field  [Fylde]  and  other  parts.  He  marched 
forward  from  Preston  the  twenty  fourth  daye  of  December,  being  Christmas  time,  up 
the  way  to  Mellor  loan  head,  soe  upon  the  North  syd  of  Blackburne  ;  set  downe  most 
of  his  forces  about  and  neare  the  house  of  .  .  a  husbandman  by  a  bye-name  called 
Duke  of  the  Banke,  and  having  a  small  piece  of  Ordnance  plaid  most  of  that  night 
and  the  day  following  against  the  Towne,  the  greatest  execution  that  it  did,  as  was 
hard  of,  a  bullet  shot  out  of  it  entered  into  a  house  upon  the  South  side  of  the  Church 
Yard  and  burst  out  the  bottom  of  a  fryen  pan.  There  was  noe  nearer  assault  to  the 
Towne  than  a  quarter  of  a  Mile.  They  wear  afraid  of  comming  near  one  another. 
The  Souldiers  within  the  Towne  went  out  of  it  and  dischardged  there  muskets  towards 
them  at  randome,  for  any  thing  was  knowne  there  was  not  a  man  sleyne  or  hurt.  Upon 
Christmas  Day  at  night  Sir  Gilbert  withdrew  his  forces  being  weary  of  his  Siege,  and 
his  Soldiers  and  Clubmen  were  glad  of  it  that  they  might  eate  their  Christmas  pyes  at 
home.  But  they  did  the  good  man  about  whose  house  they  lay  much  harme  not  only 
in  eating  his  provision  of  Meale  and  Beefe  and  the  like,  as  also  in  burninge  his  barne 
doors  with  his  Carts,  wheels,  and  other  husbandry  stuff.  This  was  all  the  expedition 
of  Sir  Gilbert  Hoghton  against  Blackburne.1 

According  to  this  account,  the  point  at  which  the  Royalist  troops 
were  posted  in  this  approach  to  Blackburn  was  the  high  bank  just  above 
the  junction  of  the  modern  Branch  Road  with  Preston  New  Road.  It 
was  close  by  the  house  of  a  farmer  nicknamed  "Duke  of  the  Banke." 
Bank-house,  at  Higher  Bank,  an  old  gabled  house,  and  the  only  tene- 
ment of  any  antiquity  among  the  many  villas  that  now  cover  the  Bank, 
was  probably  the  place  plundered  and  ransacked  by  Sir  Gilbert 
Hoghton's  militia.  The  by-name  of  "  Duke  "  borne  by  the  occupant 
suggests  the  name  Duke's  Brow,  given  to  the  old  road  leading  up 
to  Higher  Bank,  and  prolonged  on  the  top  of  the  hill  in  the  disused 
lane  that  in  those  days  was  the  only  road  to  Mellor.  The  other  account 
of  this  Royalist  reconnaissance  is  in  the  tract,  Lancashire's  Valley  of 
Achor.  The  extract  is  subjoined  : — 

The  like  Christmas  kept  our  forces  at  Blackburn  ;  the  Militia  having  in  the  Town 
four  hundred  armed  men,  and  some  clubmen,  the  array  came  against  the  Towne  on 
Christmas  Eve  with  five  thousand,  and  three  field  pieces  ;  very  early  in  the  morning, 

i  Discourse  of  Warr,  pp.  21-2. 


120  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

they  shot  off  their  pieces,  with  shouting,  saying,  "Take  heed,  you  Roundheads." 
God  took  heed  for  us,  for  we  were  not  afraid  of  the  noise,  nor  hurt  once  by  the  eight- 
pound  Bullet,  though  directed  against  us  eight  and  twenty  times.  We  called  on  them 
(in  vain)  to  come  within  musquet  shot.  About  twelve  a  Clock  they  called  a  Parley  ; 
the  pretence  was  if  we  would  yielde  the  Towne  and  the  Arms,  and  submit  to  the 
Earl  of  Darby,  they  would  mediate  with  him  to  supplicate  the  King  to  grant  a 
pardon.  The  intent  was  to  carry  their  god  (the  greatest  Field  Piece),  nearer  the 
Towne,  he  was  too  farre  off  to  doe  any  harme.  We  (Scot-like)  knew  not  the  meaning 
of  a  Pardon,  professing  ourselves  to  be  for  King  and  Parliament.  When  we  would  no 
Pardon,  they  laboured  to  punish  us,  having  set  up  their  idoll  nearer,  by  the  counsell 
(as  they  report)  of  four  or  five  Priests  and  Jesuits,  and  other  great  Papists  whom  they 
had  at  hand  in  a  tythe  Barn ;  Till  sun-setting  both  sides  plaid  fiercely,  but  then 
taking  advantage  of  the  darkness,  they  fled  in  fear,  and  overrun  their  great  pieces, 
trusting  more  to  the  night  for  protection  than  to  their  own  courage  or  strength.1 

Thus  beleaguered  and  bombarded,  after  a  desultory  fashion,  the 
townsfolk  of  Blackburn  kept  their  Christmas  in  1642,  for  the  attack, 
according  to  both  accounts,  took  place  on  Christmas  Day,  Sir  Gilbert 
Hoghton  having  appeared  before  the  town  on  Christmas  Eve,  and 
planted  his  men  and  ordnance  on  the  rising  ground  to  the  north-west 
of  the  town,  ready  for  the  morrow's  attack.  At  the  period  of  the  Civil 
War,  Blackburn  was  but  a  small  town,  though  it  had  then  a  weekly 
market  of  some  importance.  Its  population  could  not  have  been  more 
than  two  or  three  thousand  souls.  Its  four  or  five  hundred  tenements 
were  clustered  about  the  north,  north-east,  west,  and  south-west  precincts 
of  the  Parish  Church,  along  the  streets  called  Church-street,  Salford, 
Darwen-street,  Astley-gate,  and  Northgate.  No  published  map  of  Black- 
burn older  than  the  century  is  known,  and  any  description  of  its  street- 
plan  two  centuries  back  must  be  largely  conjectural,  and  based  upon 
knowledge  of  the  ground  on  which  the  old  tenements  stood,  most  of 
which  have  been  demolished.  In  1660  a  great  proportion  of  the  houses 
in  the  town  were  detached,  standing  in  the  midst  of  their  own  garden 
plots.  The  six  or  seven  hundred  Roundhead  soldiers  garrisoning  the 
town  when  Sir  Gilbert  Hoghton  came  against  it  at  Christmas,  1642, 
would  appropriate  all  the  lodging  accommodation  of  the  town,  and  be 
quartered  in  nearly  every  house. 

It  may  be  mentioned,  as  illustrative  of  the  dislocating  effects  of  the 
political  agitations  which  disturbed  men's  minds  during  the  continuance 
of  this  unhappy  conflict,  that  the  Blackburn  Parish  Registers  exhibit  a 
gap  for  the  twelve  years  between  the  latter  part  of  1637  and  the  begin- 
ning of  1650.  During  that  terrible  interval,  the  people  thought  only  of 
war  and  its  dread  issues  :  parochial  clergy  and  their  clerks  absconded  or 
forgot  their  functions  ;  children  were  born  and  people  died  and  were 

i  C.  W.  Tracts,  p.  126. 


THE  CIVIL  WAR— SIR  JOHN  TALBOT'S  PLOT.  I2i 

buried  without  a  record ;  and  the  whole  social  economy  underwent  utter 
disarrangement. 

No  fresh  descent  was  made  upon  Blackburn  by  the  Royalists  after 
this  repulse  for  three  months,  when  the  Earl  of  Derby  came  with  his 
troops  and  temporarily  occupied  the  town.  But  throughout  the  winter 
the  people  and  garrison  were  excited  by  frequent  alarms.  An  authority 
says  : — "  There  was  this  winter  also  divers  Allarums  given  to  Blackburn 
by  the  King's  partie,  but  with  no  effecte."1  Episodes  of  conflict  occur- 
red, however,  in  the  parish.  At  Salesbury  Hall,  within  six  miles  of  the 
town,  Sir  John  Talbot  hatched  a  plot  in  the  Royalist  interest  which 
ended  in  his  own  discomfiture.  Affecting  neutrality,  the  Salesbury 
Knight  invited  a  party  of  leading  Parliament  men  to  his  house,  with  the 
design  of  treacherously  making  them  his  prisoners.  One  of  the  news- 
sheets  of  the  period,  published  on  January  i2th,  1642-3,  relates  this 
story  : — 

It  being  also  informed  from  Manchester  that  there  was  one  Sir  John  Talbot,  a 
great  Papist,  but  one  that  hath  all  this  while  stood  as  a  neuter  betwixt  the  King  and 
Parliament,  who,  living  within  two  or  three  miles  of  Manchester  [Blackburn?],  sent 
thither  in  a  very  friendly  manner,  and  invited  some  of  the  chiefe  of  them  there  to  come 
to  his  house,  promisinge  them  very  kinde  usage  and  some  other  courtesies  by  way  of 
complyance  with  them.  But  they  of  Manchester,  placing  little  confidence  in  his  word, 
sent  out  a  small  party  of  horse  to  the  said  Sir  John  Talbot's  to  discover  the  prepara- 
tions he  had  made  for  their  entertainment,  and  whether  the  same  was  not  a  treacherous 
plot  to  betray  them  into  his  hands,  as  indeed  upon  enquiry  it  proved  to  be  ;  for  the 
said  Sir  John  had  secretly  provided  in  his  stables  above  an  hundred  horses  fitted  with 
all  accoutrements,  theire  riders  being  near  at  hand  upon  occasion  to  set  upon  the 
Manchester  men.  But  this  being  discovered,  the  Manchester  forces  being  too  few  to 
deal  with  them,  retreated  back  to  the  towne  [Blackburn  ?],  and  about  three  hundred  of 
them  went  presently  to  the  said  Sir  John  Talbot's  (who  was  then  with  all  his  horse 
upon  flight),  pursued  them  and  killed  divers  of  them,  took  about  twenty  of  his  horses, 
drove  others  into  a  river  [the  Ribble],  where  the  riders  were  drowned,  and  their  horses 
taken,  and  have  seized  upon  the  said  Sir  John's  House,  where  they  found  good 
pillage.1 

This  was  the  first,  and,  so  far  as  appears,  the  last  attempt  the  Knight 
of  Salesbury  made  to  distinguish  himself  in  the  Royal  service.  He 
became,  after  this  rash  design,  a  marked  man  by  the  Parliament,  and  it 
was  probably  years  after  before  he  ventured  to  return  to  his  seat  on  the 
Ribble.  In  the  subsequent  campaigns  of  the  war  Sir  John  Talbot  does 
not  occur  in  any  military  capacity.  His  estates  were  sequestered  so  soon 
as  the  Roundhead  party  had  acquired  the  ascendancy.  The  sequestration 
was  taken  off  on  the  payment,  in  1647,  of  a  very  heavy  fine.  Sir  John 
was  afterwards  pardoned,  and  resumed  possession  of  his  lands  at  Sales- 
bury.  He  died  in  December,  1659,  a  few  months  before  the  Stuart 
Restoration. 


Disc,  of  Warr,  p.  22. 


2  C.  W.  Tracts,  pp.  70-1. 


122  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

A  letter,  parts  of  which  are  cited  below,  was  written  by  the  local 
Puritan  commanders  to  Manchester  soon  after  the  attacks  upon  Black- 
burn. The  copy  of  the  letter  is  unsigned  and  without  date  : — 

Gents, — Wee  had  began  to  have  given  you  a  perticular  of  the  passages  att  Blake- 
born,  but  were  presently  taken  off  it  by  new  alarums,  and  since  could  never  have 
opportunity  to  impart  it,  by  reason  of  continued  feares  and  business.  Wee  have  now 
sent  you  here  incloased  a  warrant  from  the  Sheriffe,  under  the  scale  of  his  office, 
directed  into  this  Hundred,  and  copie  of  his  warrant  into  Loinsdale  hundred,  wherein 
we  hope  you  will  take  note  of  the  difference  of  his  expressions,  and  whereby  wee  doubt 
not  but  you  will  evidently  discerne  the  danger  threatened  against  us,  or  you,  or  both. 
It  is  evident  by  these  warrants  what  their  [the  Royalists']  great  preparations  are, 
and  it  is  noe  less  probable  that  whenn  they  have  their  whole  force  assembled  att  Pres- 
ton, their  intentions  are  presently  to  march  forward  against  this  hundred.  .  .  Howe 
wee  shall  bee  able  to  withstand  them  the  Lord  knoweth,  beeing  in  want  of  armes  and 
having  noe  horse  att  all.  And  in  this  exigence,  if  you  could  bee  upon  the  confynes  of 
your  [Salford]  Hundred,  with  what  strength  of  horse  and  foote  you  can  conveniently 
spare,  to  bee  ready  to  joyne,  and  assist  us  if  occasion  be,  it  might  (through  God's 
blessing)  prove  advantageous  to  us,  to  you  and  to  the  cause.  Wee  give  you  hearty 
thanks  for  the  powder  and  match  you  sent  us,  and  shall  bee  answerable  to  you  in 
payeing  for  it,  and  if  nowe  you  could  spare  us  twice  as  much  as  you  did  before,  it  were 
a  great  ffavour,  and  for  that  purpose  wee  hope  to  send  horses  to  you  for  it. * 

Encouraged  by  the  success  of  their  defensive  disposition  at  Black- 
burn, the  Parliamentarian  Committee  for  Salford  and  Blackburn  Hundreds 
decided  to  assume  the  aggressive,  in  the  beginning  of  the  next  year 
(1642-3).  The  arrival  in  Lancashire  of  an  experienced  officer  of  the 
Parliament,  Sir  John  Seaton,  with  his  regiment  of  one  thousand  "  dra- 
goniers,"  appeared  to  warrant  this  bold  resolution.  Sir  John  Seaton 
was  a  Scotsman  by  birth,  who  had  served  a  long  probation  in  the  military 
science  in  continental  wars.  When  his  regiment  was  added  to  the  home 
musters  of  militia  and  clubmen,  a  force  of  some  3000  men  was  available 
for  an  offensive  movement.  The  town  of  Preston  was  the  first  object 
that  invited  the  attention  of  the  Roundheads.  Preston  had  been  chosen 
as  the  Royalist  rallying-point ;  being  by  its  situation  the  natural  centre 
of  West  Lancashire,  and  the  majority  of  the  inhabitants  being  warmly 
attached  to  the  King's  interest.  It  was,  moreover,  a  partially-fortified 
place,  and  one  that  could  be  made  strong  by  moderate  additions  to  its 
defences.  The  Royalist  gentry  who  had  been  obliged  to  flee  out  of 
Blackburn  Hundred  took  refuge  there.  Sir  Gilbert  Hoghton,  with  the 
levies  of  Leyland  and  Amounderness,  had  his  head-quarters  there,  and 
so  long  as  it  remained  in  Royalist  hands,  Preston  was  a  convenient  base 
for  hostile  operations  against  Blackburn  and  Ribblesdale.  It  was,  there- 
fore, imperative  on  the  Roundhead  leaders  to  attempt  the  capture 
of  Preston,  and  they  did  not  shrink  from  the  duty  so  soon  as  the 

i  Lane.  Lieut.,  v.  ii,  pp.  312-14. 


THE  CIVIL  WAR—  CAPTURE  OF  PRESTON.  I2$ 

military  skill  and  force  at  their  command  seemed  to  promise  a  favourable 
issue. 

Several  narratives  remain  of  this  first  assault  upon  Preston.  One 
chronicler  says  that  "  Blackburn  Hundred  being  well  provided  of  Sol- 
diers," having  "many  companies  in  it  of  resolute  men,  and  Colonells 
Shuttleworth  and  Starkie  having  received  intelligence  from  divers  the 
friends  to  the  Parliament  in  Preston  of  the  state  of  the  town  and  how 
weakly  it  was  kepte,  and  withall  desired  by  them  to  help  to  free  them  of 
that  bondage  they  were  under,  —  it  was  resolved  and  agreed  that  they 
would  try  what  they  could  doe  to  reduce  Preston  with  all  Amounderness 
Hundred  to  the  obedience  of  the  Parliament  (but  it  was  exceeding  close 
raised)."  In  pursuance  of  this  intent,  "in  February  their  forces  were 
gathered  up  towards  Blackburne  ;  together  with  some  of  Amounder- 
ness Hundred,  who  were  fled  out  of  the  country  for  fear  of  the  King's 
party  ;"  and  Sir  John  Seaton  and  Major  Sparrow  came  up  from  Manches- 
ter, "  to  assist  and  give  them  theire  counsell."1  Monday,  February  6th, 
1642-3,  Sir  John  Seaton  and  his  men  marched  in  the  direction  of  Black- 
burn. He  was  "attended  with  Serjeant  Major  Birch  ;  with  them  three 
or  four  companies,  and  as  many  from  Boulton  ;  all  these  came  to  Black- 
burn on  Tuesday  night  [Feb.  yth]  ;  thence  marched  along  with  them 
four  or  five  foot  companies  of  Blackburn  Hundred,  under  the  command 
of  Captain  Nowell  of  [Little]  Mearley,  and  other  Captains,  towards 
Preston,  together  with  two  thousand  clubmen,  upon  Wednesday  night, 
and  betimes  the  next  morning."  It  was  thus  on  Wednesday  night, 
Feb.  8th,  that  the  march  of  the  attacking  force  from  Blackburn  to  Pres- 
ton was  made,  and  early  on  the  morning  of  Thursday,  Feb.  9th,  that 
Preston  was  assaulted  and  stormed. 

The  Walton  suburb  and  Ribble  Bridge  were  occupied  at  daybreak 
by  the  Roundheads,  and  after  two  hours'  severe  fighting,  Preston  was  in 
the  hands  of  Sir  John  Seaton.1  In  the  assault  were  killed,  on  the 
Royalist  side,  Adam  Morte,  Mayor  of  Preston  ;  Captain  Radcliff  Hogh- 
ton,  younger  brother  of  Sir  Gilbert,  and  other  officers.  The  prisoners 
taken  included  Captain  Farrington  of  Worden  ;  George  Talbot,  son  of 
Sir  John  of  Salesbury  ;  Captain  Anderton  of  Clayton  j  two  or  three 
cadets  of  the  house  of  Hoghton  ;  Richard  Fleetwood,  Ralph  Sharrock  of 
Walton,  and  many  more.  Three  ladies  of  position,  Lady  Hoghton,  Lady 
Girlington,  and  Mrs.  Townley,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Parliamentarian 
commander.  Charles  Townley  escaped  with  difficulty.  Sir  Gilbert 
Hoghton  made  good  his  escape  to  Wigan,  where  he  was  joined  by  the 
Earl  of  Derby,  and  whence,  some  days  after,  he  issued  to  make  an 
attack  upon  Bolton,  which  was  repulsed. 


Disc,  of  Warr,  p.  23. 


a  C.  W.  Tracts,  pp.  71-5  ;  and  p.  127, 


124  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

The  week  succeeding  the  capture  of  Preston  was  spent,  by  Sir  John 
Seaton  and  his  East  Lancashire  auxiliaries,  in  the  construction  of  earth- 
works and  other  additions  to  the  former  fortifications  of  the  town.  Hav- 
ing done  this,  under  the  direction  of  Rosworm  the  engineer,  the  Parlia- 
mentary general  began  to  make  excursions  into  the  surrounding  country. 
On  the  1 4th  of  February,  1642-3,  a  detachment  of  Blackburnshire  men 
was  sent  to  make  a  demonstration  at  Hoghton  Tower,  it  having  been 
ascertained  that  Sir  Gilbert  Hoghton  had  left  the  Tower  very  weakly 
garrisoned.  On  the  appearance  of  three  companies  of  Roundheads 
before  the  mansion  it  was  at  once  surrendered.  But  the  exultation  of 
the  Parliament  men  over  their  easy  conquest  of  a  place  of  so  much 
natural  and  artificial  strength  was  quickly  turned  into  grief  by  a  sad 
catastrophe  that  occurred,  by  which  many  lives  were  sacrificed.  An 
explosion  of  gunpowder  destroyed  a  portion  of  the  Tower  within  a  few 
minutes  of  its  surrender,  and  buried  a  company  of  soldiers  in  the  ruins. 
The  details  of  this  misfortune  are  given  in  documents  of  the  period. 
The  writer  of  the  Discourse  of  the  Warr  has  this  reference  : — "  They 
[the  commanders  for  the  Parliament]  also  sent  some  companies  of  Soul- 
diers  to  Hoghton  Tower,  who  seased  upon  it  and  kepte  garrison  there. 
But  a  fearfull  accident  befell  them  to  their  losse  and  greef,  for  through 
want  of  heedfulnesse  some  Gunpowder  was  set  on  fyer,  which  blew  upp 
and  threw  downe  some  part  of  the  House,  and  slew  divers  Souldiers, 
amongst  whome  Captaine  [Nicholas]  Starkie  the  Colonell  son  was  one, 
which  was  greate  sorrowe  to  his  father."1  A  tract  dated  February  i4th, 
1642-3,  affords  minuter  information  of  the  circumstances  of  this  calamity. 
It  seems  that  young  Captain  Starkie,  being  a  forward  soldier,  was  the 
first  to  enter  the  Tower  with  his  company,  and  the  explosion  occurring 
while  they  were  housed  in  the  upper  apartments,  killed  the  whole  num- 
ber of  them  almost  instantaneously. 

My  intent  is  to  proceed  to  relate  of  what  hath  happened  since  [the  Preston  affair] 
in  our  parts,  viz.,  That  upon  Tuesday,  being  the  I4th  of  this  instant,  there  was  sent 
from  Preston  three  captains  and  their  companies,  to  the  number  of  about  three  hun- 
dred, the  most  of  Blackeborne  men,  to  take  a  castle  called  Houghton  Tower  (belonging 
to  Sir  Gilbert  Houghton)  which  lies  between  Preston  and  Blackeborne,  and  was  forti- 
fied with  three  great  pieces  of  ordnance,  and  some  say  with  betwixt  thirty  and  forty 
musqueteers,  and  some  say  more.  Our  men  approaching  near  the  said  Tower,  first 
shot  against  it  to  summon  it,  whereupon  they  in  the  Tower  desired  half  an  houres 
time  to  consider  what  they  should  doe,  which  was  granted  to  them  accordingly,  after 
which  the  result  of  the  parley  was  that  they  would  deliver  up  the  Tower  to  our  men 
upon  quarter,  which  was  by  our  men  granted  unto  them  as  they  desired.  Whereupon 
our  men  (thinking  all  had  beene  as  was  pretended  by  them)  entered  the  Tower  ;  and 
Captain  Starkey  of  Blackeborne  [Huntroyd],  a  worthy  gentleman,  and  his  company, 
was  the  first  that  entered  into  the  said  Tower,  and  in  the  same  found  good  store  of 
i  Discourse  of  Warr,  p.  24. 


THE  CIVIL  WAR— TRAGEDY  AT  HOGHTON  TOWER.          I2$ 

armes  and  powder  strewed  upon  the  stairs  ;  wherefore  he  with  his  company  going  into 
the  upper  rooms  of  the  said  Tower  to  search  for  more,  were  most  treacherously  and 
perfidiously  blown  up  by  two  of  them  to  whom  they  had  before  given  quarter,  who 
had  a  traine  of  powder  laid,  and  when  Captain  Starkey  and  his  men,  to  the  number  of 
above  one  hundred,  were  above  in  the  House,  gave  fire  to  the  said  traine,  and  blew 
both  him  and  all  his  men,  with  the  top  of  the  House  up,  threescore  whereof  were 
afterwards  found,  some  without  armes  and  some  without  legges,  and  others  fearfull 
spectacles  to  looke  upon.  Six  of  them  whom  they  had  given  quarter  unto  they  had  in 
hold,  the  rest  got  away  before  ;  but  our  men  have  the  Tower  and  three  pieces  of  great 
ordnance  that  were  cast  besides  divers  armes.  And  thus  ended  this  lamentable 
Tragedy  of  these  perfidious  creatures  whose  religion  will  allow  them  to  make  no  con- 
science of  dealing  treacherously  with  Protestants,  as  also  to  blow  up  whole  states  and 
kingdoms  at  one  blast,  &C.1 

The  above  narrator  assumes  that  the  fatal  explosion  at  Hoghton 
Tower  was  an  act  of  treachery.  But  proof  is  lacking  that  Sir  Gilbert 
Hoghton's  men  were  guilty  of  the  dishonourable  conduct  of  killing  by  a 
premeditated  piece  of  unsoldierly  revenge  the  enemies  to  whom  they 
had  capitulated,  and  from  whom  they  had  obtained  quarter.  Probably 
the  accident  arose  out  of  the  recklessness  of  the  Roundhead  soldiers 
themselves  in  lighting  their  pipes  in  a  place  where  gunpowder  was  lying 
strewn  about  the  floors  and  stairs.  Indeed,  the  author  of  the  tract  Lan- 
cashire's Valley  of  Achor  dismisses  the  suspicion  that  naturally  arose  on 
the  moment  in  Puritan  circles  that  the  Hoghton  disaster  was  the  result 
of  a  plot  to  massacre  their  foes,  laid  by  the  "  Papists,"  and  confesses 
with  grief  that  it  was  a  consequence  of  the  baneful  habit  of  tobacco- 
smoking  practiced  among  the  Parliamentarian  soldiery.  His  allusion 
to  the  Hoghton  Tower  explosion  is  subjoined  : — 

HAUGHTON  TOWER. — It  was  not  long  after  that  this  glorious  victory  [at  Pres- 
ton] was  clouded  by  a  dark  and  terrible  blow  at  Haughton  Tower,  where  the  miscar- 
riages of  great  and  small  in  the  taking  of  Preston  did  us  more  mischief  than  all  our 
enemies  from  the  entrance  of  our  hostility  to  that  time ;  as  sometimes  Israel's  sin 
through  Balaam's  counsel  prevailed  to  punish  them  more  than  Warre  or  Witchcraft. 
Our  men  were  going  down  to  take  the  Tower,  and  finding  it  prepared  for  entrance, 
possessed  themselves  of  it,  till  being  burdened  with  the  weight  of  their  swearing, 
drunkennesse,  plundering,  and  wilfull  waste  at  Preston,  it  dispossessed  them  by  the 
help  of  Powder  to  which  their  disorders  laid  a  Train  fired  by  their  neglected  Matches, 
or  by  that  great  Soldier's  Idoll,  Tobacco.  However  it  was,  sure  it  is,  that  the  place 
so  firmly  united  chose  rather  to  be  torn  in  pieces  than  to  harbour  the  possessours.  O 
that  this  thundering  alarm  might  ever  sound  in  the  eares  of  our  Swearing,  Cursing, 
Drunken,  Tobacco-abusing  Commanders  and  Souldiers,  unto  unfaigned  Repentance  ! 
For  do  they  think  that  those  upon  whom  the  Tower  fell  and  slew  them,  were  sinners 
above  the  rest  of  the  Army?  Let  Christ  that  asked  a  like  question,  Luke  viii.,  4-5, 
give  the  answer  : — "I  tell  you  nay,  but  except  ye  repent,  ye  shall  all  likewise  perish," 
&c.  Though  our  Sinnes  thus  clouded  our  Sun  in  the  cleare  daye,  yet  was  not  the 
praise  of  God's  glorious  goodnesse  and  power  to  be  darkened.3 

i  C.  W.  Tracts,  pp.  79-80.  2  Ib.  pp.  127-8. 


126  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

The  portion  of  Hoghton  Tower  destroyed  by  the  accident  cannot 
now  be  traced  in  the  appearance  of  the  fabric ;  but  Kuerden,  who  lived 
hard  by,  and  must  have  known  the  nature  of  the  damage,  states  that  it 
was  "  a  very  tall  tower  or  gate-house"  between  the  inner  square  court 
and  the  second  or  outward,  that  was  blown  up.  In  the  original  design 
of  the  buildings,  a  tower  of  greater  altitude  than  the  existing  outer  gate- 
way tower  surmounted  the  gateway  which  gives  admission  into  the  inner 
court.  The  gateway  itself  remained  uninjured,  but  the  upper  storeys 
were  shattered  and  the  roof  blown  away.  In  the  restoration  this  central 
tower  was  dispensed  with,  and  the  structure  of  the  block  reduced  to  the 
same  elevation  as  those  on  the  other  sides  of  the  upper  quadrangle. 

The  Parliamentarian  movements  in  the  latter  end  of  this  month 
(February)  and  the  beginning  of  March  embraced  the  occupation,  with- 
out opposition,  of  Lancaster  Castle  and  town,  by  several  companies 
under  the  command  of  Captain  William  Shuttleworth,  a  cadet  of  the 
Gawthorpe  family  ;  and  a  reconnaissance  from  Preston  against  some 
Royalists  collected  in  the  Fylde,  conducted  by  Colonel  Shuttleworth, 
who  considerately  afforded  to  the  Royalist  gentry  the  chance  of  getting 
safely  away. 

Thus  far,  the  first  campaign  of  the  East  Lancashire  forces  in 
Amounderness  and  Lonsdale  had  been  successful.  But  the  licentious, 
plundering  disposition  of  the  Parliamentarian  levies  had  been  painfully 
manifest  after  the  capture  of  Preston.  These  rough  fellows  out  of  Pendle 
Forest  and  Rossendale,  so  soon  as  the  exigence  of  battle  ceased  to 
inspire  their  animal  courage  and  force,  betrayed  a  total  absence  of  dis- 
cipline, and,  on  the  attempt  of  their  commander,  Sir  John  Seaton,  to 
enforce  military  rules,  they  broke  out  into  open  mutiny,  and  so  menaced 
his  life  that  he  was  obliged  to  fly,  first  to  Lancaster,  then  to  Manchester.1 
By  this  untoward  procedure,  the  way  was  paved  for  ignominious  defeat, 
and  the  loss  of  all  that  had  been  gained  by  good  generalship  and  sturdy 
fighting.  While  the  Roundheads  were  misbehaving  themselves  at  Pres- 
ton, the  Earl  of  Derby  crossed  the  Ribble  with  all  the  force  he  could 
raise,  and  marched  to  Lancaster,  which  was  reached  on  Friday,  March 
i  yth.  In  his  attack  upon  the  town,  which  was  instantly  made,  Captain 
William  Shuttleworth,  the  brave  son  of  Colonel  Richard  Shuttleworth, 
of  Gawthorpe,  met  his  death.  "  Upon  Friday,  they  [the  Royalists] 
entered  the  Towne  of  Lancaster  several  waies,  their  being  very  few  sol- 
diers, if  any,  to  resist  them  save  those  that  kept  the  Castle.  Captaine 
William  Shuttleworth  and  some  souldiers  with  him  being  not  far  from 
the  Castle,  and  not  being  wary  of  their  entrance  at  soe  several  waies, 
was  sodenly  surprised  and  slayne  before  he  could  recover  it."2  But  the  . 

i  Seton's  Letter  in  Chetham  Miscellanies,  v.  iii.  2  Disc,  of  Warr,  pp.  28-9. 


THE  CIVIL  WAR— LORD  DERBY'S  SUCCESSES. 


127 


small  garrison  of  Parliamentarians  held  the  Castle.  A  Royalist  account 
of  the  attack  states  that  Lord  Derby  had  under  his  command  about 
4,600  men  ;  that  the  Roundhead  defenders  numbered  600  musketeers  ; 
that  the  assailants,  "  after  two  hours'  hot  service,  forced  the  mote,  and 
drave  the  Rebels  into  the  Castle  ;"  and  that  Captain  Shuttleworth,  and 
many  of  the  townsmen,  "  were  killed  at  the  Castle  Gate,  the  Maior  and 
divers  of  the  townsmen,  such  as  were  most  seditious,  being  taken 
prisoners."1 

Tidings  having  reached  the  Manchester  Committee  that  the  Earl  of 
Derby  was  attacking  Lancaster,  Colonel  Assheton  of  Middleton  marched 
from  Manchester,  on  March  iSth,  with  2,000  men  for  its  relief.  The 
Colonel  reached  Preston  the  same  day,  and  the  bulk  of  the  garrison 
there  was  joined  to  his  force.  The  Earl  of  Derby  quickly  heard  of  the 
purpose  of  Colonel  Assheton,  and  being  unwilling  to  meet  him  in  the 
field,  stood  until  he  knew  the  road  the  enemy  was  taking ;  then  with- 
drew from  Lancaster,  and  marched  on  Preston  by  another  route,  design- 
ing to  capture  the  latter  town  while  the  Roundheads  were  away  upon  a 
bootless  errand  on  the  Lune.  This  astute  project  was  realised  ;  and 
the  night  of  Monday,  March  2oth,  found  the  Earl's  little  army  on  Ful- 
wood  Moor,  ready  to  surprise  Preston  before  daylight.  The  town, 
deprived  of  the  major  portion  of  its  defenders,  was  stormed  after  a  stiff 
fight,  in  which  the  few  hundreds  of  Parliamentarians  in  the  place  were 
cut  to  pieces.2 

Colonel  Assheton,  commanding  the  main  body  of  the  Roundheads, 
pushed  on  from  Lancaster  to  relieve  Preston,  but  too  late  to  effect  that 
object ;  and  finding  the  way  blocked  in  that  direction,  passed  by  way  of 
Chipping  and  Whalley  into  East  Lancashire,  where  his  disorganised  sol- 
diers, finding  themselves  among  friends  and  kindred,  might  recover  from 
their  consternation.  The  local  chronicler  writes  : — "  The  Parliament 
Partie  was  much  dejected  by  these  disasters.  Nevertheless  the  Colonell 
within  a  short  space  after  his  return  home,  calling  up  the  Country  about 
him  to  Rochdall,  made  known  unto  them  his  condition,  how  he  wanted 
money  to  supply  his  souldiers  withall,  as  allso  for  other  .  .  which 
the  Countrey  people  furnished  him  with  all  speed.  And  he  had  a  fur- 
ther designe  in  his  minde,  and  prosecuted  it,  as  shall  be  shewed."3  The 
tactics  of  both  parties  at  this  time  seem  to  have  been,  not  to  seek  out 
the  enemy  with  the  purpose  of  fighting  a  pitched  battle  in  the  field, — 
the  troops  on  either  side  being  yet  too  new  to  soldiering  for  such 
decisive  action  to  be  risked, — but  rather  to  pursue  a  system  of  sudden 
attacks  upon  weakly-protected  points  of  the  enemy's  lines.  The  Earl  of 
-Derby  had,  indeed,  expressed  his  determination  to  make  a  renewed 

i  C.  W.  Tracts,  p.  85.  2  Disc,  of  Warr,  pp.  29-30.  3  Ib.  pp.  30-1. 


128  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

attack  upon  Manchester  after  his  Preston  success,  but  found  a  good 
excuse  for  abandoning  that  enterprise,  and  contented  himself  with  a 
second  advance  upo'n  Bolton.  His  forces  delivered  this  assault  upon 
Bolton  on  Thursday,  March  28th,  I643.1  He  was  again  vigorously 
received  and  repulsed.  Colonel  Assheton's  design  was  an  attack  upon 
the  Royalist  towns  of  Wigan  and  Warrington.  Wigan  was  approached 
by  the  Roundhead  force  on  March  3ist,  and  was  captured  on  the  ist  of 
April.  The  assault  upon  Warrington,  April  5th,  did  not  succeed. 

In  the  beginning  of  April,  while  the  Lancashire  forces  of  the  Par- 
liament were  making  offensive  movements  in  the  south-west  of  the 
county,  the  Earl  of  Derby  suddenly  re-appeared  on  the  western  border 
of  Blackburn  Hundred.  The  Earl  advanced  as  far  as  Blackburn  during 
this  foray,  and  occupied  that  town  apparently  with  little  resistance.  No 
particulars  are  left  on  record  of  this  second  Royalist  capture  of  Black- 
burn. The  only  allusion  to  the  event  is  found  in  the  news-sheet  entitled 
the  Perfect  Diurnal,  of  the  date  of  April  6th,  1643,  an(^  the  sum  °^  the 
information  is  that  the  Royalists,  shortly  before  that  date,  and  after  the 
storming  of  Preston,  had  advanced  eastward  and  taken  Blackburn.9 
Possibly  the  forces  of  the  Earl,  after  the  repulse  at  Bolton,  were  divided, 
one  contingent  being  marched  westward  to  check  the  Roundhead  attacks 
upon  Wigan  and  Warrington,  while  the  other  was  sent  north  through 
Leyland  Hundred  to  Preston;  and  the  latter  detachment  might  be 
turned  aside  as  far  as  Blackburn,  which  had  been  left  with  few  defenders, 
and  so  became  an  easy  spoil.  •  The  Perfect  Diurnal  adds,  however,  that 
Blackburn  was  very  speedily  recovered  by  Sir  John  Seaton,  who  had 
again  been  sent  from  Manchester  with  a  considerable  force  to  re-take 
Preston,  if  possible,  and  to  afford  assistance  to  the  native  levies  in  this 
part  of  the  county  in  their  attempts  to  withstand  the  attacks  of  Lord 
Derby's  men.  Some  ambiguity  rests  upon  this  occupation  of  Black- 
burn, as  to  its  place  in  the  order  of  events  ;  whether  it  was  on  his  way 
from  Preston  to  Bolton  that  the  Earl  of  Derby  fell  upon  Blackburn,  or 
whether  he  came  thither  after  his  defeat  at  Bolton  on  March  28th.  The 
writer  of  the  Valley  of  Achor  tract  makes  a  passing  reference  to  the 
occurrence,  after  his  narration  of  the  operations  on  the  Lune.  How 
"  our  forces"  were  "  divided  and  diverted,"  writes  this  chronicler, 
"walked  and  breathed  to  and  fro,  whilst  the  Earle  fires  Lancaster, 
recovered  Preston,  and  rifled  Blackburne,  I  have  no  mind  to  inquire,  but 
doe  sadly  remember."3 

Sometime  during  the  Civil  War, — either  in  the  course  of  the  Earl 
of  Derby's  movements  between  Preston,  Bolton,  and  Blackburn  in  the 
Spring  of  1643,  or  the  year  after  during  the  passage  of  Prince  Rupert's 

i  C  W.  Tracts,  pp.  133-4.  ~  Ib.  p.  96.  3  Ib.  p.  132. 


RELICS  OF  A  FIGHT  AT  TOCKHOLES. 


129 


army, — severe  fighting  took  place  about  the  lower  part  of  Tockholes,  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  church.  This  could  not  have  been  the  scene  of 
either  of  the  affairs  near  Blackburn  between  Colonel  Shuttleworth  and 
Sir  Gilbert  Hoghton  before  described,  for  in  both  those  cases  the  attack 
came  from  other  directions,  and  the  fighting  was  confined  to  the  imme- 
diate neighbourhood  of  the  town.  About  forty  years  ago  various  relics  of 
a  battle  were  disclosed  in  a  field  on  Mr.  Parker's  farm  in  Tockholes. 
Baines  notes  the  discovery  : — "  Forty  horses'  heads,  bones,  cannon-balls, 
and  clubs  were,  in  1826,  dug  out  of  a  field  in  this  township  [Tockholes], 
called  '  Kill  Field,'  in  which  a  battle  is  believed  to  have  taken  place  in 
i642.'n  Of  course  the  date  given  by  Baines  is  quite  conjectural,  and 
there  is  no  account  of  any  battle  on  this  side  of  Blackburn  in  1642. 
Upon  local  inquiry  I  ascertained  that  it  was  in  the  year  1833  the  remains 
mentioned  by  Baines  were  discovered.  The  pit  in  which  they  were 
found  is  situated  at  the  upper  end  of  a  field  that  slopes  towards  the 
dingle  below  Crowtrees  farm.  The  spot  is  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to 
the  west  of  Tockholes  Church.  According  to  the  statements  of  elderly 
persons  in  the  neighbourhood,  who  saw  the  remains  that  were  brought 
up  in  the  cleansing  of  the  pit,  the  exact  number  of  skulls  of  horses 
found  in  the  muddy  bottom  was  thirty-eight,  and  there  were  also  several 
horses'  feet  and  leg-bones.  One  informant  mentions  that  some  large 
metal  buttons  were  turned  up.  The  bones  were  removed  to  the  farm- 
yard by  the  farmer,  and  what  became  of  any  other  relics  is  not  remem- 
bered. The  field  in  which  the  pit  lies  is  marked  "  Pit  Field"  on  the 
Ordnance  map.  At  the  time  of  the  discovery,  there  was  a  similar  pit  in 
another  part  of  the  same  field,  which  it  was  conjectured  might  have  been 
made  the  receptacle  of  other  bones ;  but  this  pit  was  filled  up  without 
being  cleaned  out.  There  is  no  mention  of  any  battle  implements  having 
been  found  with  the  bones,  but  several  cannon-balls  have  been  picked 
up  in  other  parts  of  the  township  within  the  last  forty  years.  One  of 
these  ancient  missiles  was  found  in  a  field  called  "  The  Green,"  just 
above  the  Bethesda  Chapel.  Another  was  found  on  Cartridge-hill,  a 
lofty  fell  a  mile  or  so  further  to  the  south.  Some  musket-bullets,  also, 
were  once  gathered  in  a  small  field  behind  the  Old  Independent  Chapel, 
a  short  distance  from  the  pit  where  the  bones  were  found.  These  are 
all  the  traces  of  the  fight  in  this  vicinity  of  which  information  can  now  be 
gleaned.  They  suffice  to  indicate  a  battle  of  some  severity,  in  which  both 
troops  of  horse  and  musketeers  were  engaged,  and  at  least  one  piece 
of  ordnance  brought  into  use.  A  skirmish  in  which  forty  horses  were 
killed,  not  to  consider  what  bones  of  dead  horses  may  have  been  interred 
in  other  pits,  cannot  have  been  of  an  insignificant  character.  The 

i  Hist,  of  Lane.,  new  edn.,  v.  ii,  p.  81. 


130  HISTORY    OF  BLACKBURN. 

battle-ground  being  so  near  the  old  Church  of  Tockholes,  it  may  be  sup- 
posed that  the  bodies  of  the  soldiers  killed  in  the  action  would  after- 
wards be  removed  for  burial  to  the  consecrated  ground  ;  which  would 
account  for  the  absence  of  human  bones  along  with  those  of  the  horses. 

For  some  days  after  the  encounters  of  the  hostile  parties  at 
Bolton,  Wigan,  and  Warrington,  there  was  quiescence  in  both  camps. 
The  time  was  spent  in  the  concentration  of  troops  and  the  collec- 
tion of  supplies.  The  Earl  of  Derby  was  too  ardent  and  enterprising  to 
rest  in  inaction  a  day  longer  than  the  necessities  of  the  situation  required, 
and  so  soon  as  he  found  his  forces  sufficiently  recruited,  he  set  forth  on 
another  adventure.  This  was  an  expedition  into  the  heart  of  Blackburn 
Hundred,  intended  to  effect  the  subjugation  of  the  whole  Hundred  to 
the  King's  authority.  About  the  igth  of  April,  1643,  tne  Earl  began 
to  move  up  the  Valley  of  Kibble  in  prosecution  of  his  aggressive  design. 
The  time  was  well  chosen,  for  not  only  were  the  Parliamentarian  colonels 
in  the  Hundred  weak  and  unprepared  for  the  encounter,  but  their  sol- 
diers were  dispirited  by  recent  defeats.  Colonel  Assheton  was  posted  in 
Salford  Hundred,  too  far  off  to  render  immediate  assistance  to  Colonel 
Shuttleworth  in  his  efforts  to  repel  the  enemy.  A  private  letter  relates 
"  that  the  Earl  of  Derby,  the  Lord  Mollineaux,  Sir  Gilbert  Hoghton, 
Colonell  Tildesley,  with  all  the  other  great  Papists  in  this  County,  issued 
out  of  Preston,  and  on  Wednesday  noon  [April  iQth]  came  to  Ribches- 
ter  with  eleven  troops  of  horse,  700  foot,  and  infinite  of  Clubmen,  in  all 
conceived  to  be  5,000."*  Other  estimates  of  the  Earl's  strength  reckon 
it  at  about  two  thousand  soldiers  of  all  arms.  The  mean  of  3,000  to 
4,000  men  may  be  accepted  as  the  correct  statement.  The  Earl  moved 
with  silent  celerity,  and  got  a  good  many  miles  up  the  valley  before  the 
enemy  became  aware  of  his  advance.  From  Ribchester  he  marched 
"  over  Ribble  at  Salesbury  Boat  and  by  Salesbury  Hall,  and  soe  was  well 
neare  gotten  to  Whaley  before  he  was  discovered  ;  his  Clubmen  accord- 
ing to  their  practice  plundering  in '  most  of  the  townes  [townships]  they 
passed  by  or  thorough."3  The  Puritan  party  were  evidently  disconcerted 
by  the  movement.  A  small  body  of  Roundhead  soldiers  was  at  the 
time  posted  at  Dunkenhalgh  on  the  Hyndburn,  a  tributary  of  the  Calder ; 
a  few  troops  also  were  with  Colonel  Shuttleworth  about  Padiham.  One 
"  E.  F.,"  writing  from  Padiham,  narrates  : — "We  lying  at  Dunkenhalgh 
hall  with  our  two  Troops,  hearing  of  his  [the  Earl's]  great  force  retreated 
to  Padiham,  having  before  sent  to  Colonell  Shuttleworth  to  raise  the 
country,  which  he  did  ;  all  the  firemen  [musketeers]  came  in  the  next 
morning  (though  they  have  had  no  pay  this  5  weeks),  and  some  few 
clubmen ;  I  did  compute  us  to  be  60  horse,  and  some  400  foot,  not 

i  C.  W.  Tracts,  p.  96.         2  Disc,  of  Warr,  p.  31. 


BATTLE  AT  WHALLEY,  131 

above  five  hundred  I  am  sure  at  the  first."1  Another  annalist  says  : — 
"The  Earle  accompanied  with  2,000  (as  is  judged)  came  to  Ribchester 
over  night,  to  Whalley  ^  by  eight  of  the  clocke  to  a  green  not  far  from 
Padiham.  Our  side  had  but  two  or  three  hundred  Fire-men,  and  four- 
score or  a  hundred  Horse,  so  that  in  means  there  was  no  possibility  of 
safety."*  Old  Colonel  Shuttleworth  did  all  that  man  could  do  in  the 
emergency,  and  put  a  bold  face  upon  the  matter.  The  news  of  Lord 
Derby's  approach  was  brought  "  to  Padiham  and  Galthrop  to  Colonell 
Shuttleworth  in  the  night  tyme,"  Blackburn  Hundred  "  being  then  in  a 
weak  condition  to  rescist  him,  the  souldiers  at  that  tyme  in  no  parte  of 
it  in  any  bodie  or  companies,  but  dispersed  and  also  wanting  ammunition 
and  powder.  Nevertheless  the  ould  Colonell  sent  intelligence  into  the 
Hundred  before  morning  of  the  Earl's  approach,  summoning  all  to  come 
up  to  him  in  the  morning  with  speed  with  their  best  weapons."3  Before 
the  Earl  could  reach  Whalley  the  place  had  been  visited  by  a  Round- 
head scouting  party  : — "  We  marched  with  our  horse  towards  Whalley, 
where  we  tooke  a  man  and  2  geldings  of  Mr.  Latham's  the  great  Papist, 
and  retreated  to  Read  Bank."4  Of  the  skirmishes  that  ensued  between 
the  hostile  forces,  by  which  a  general  action  was  brought  on,  against  the 
purpose  of  the  Parliamentarian  commander,  the  following  particulars 
are  recorded  in  the  two  principal  narratives  of  this  fight : — 

Betymes  in  the  morning  the  Earl's  armie  were  all  drawne  up  and  over  that  River 
that  runs  by  Whalley  called  Calder,  and  there  they  with  the  piece  of  ordnance  were 
set  in  a  bodie  as  to  receive  an  Enemie.  The  Earl  with  other  of  his  commanders  were 
up  at  the  Abbey,  Sir  Ralph  Assheton's  House,  whilst  Mr.  Tildsley  with  others  scoutted 
up  towards  Padiam,  yea,  as  far  as  Reed-head.  Now  the  Colonells  Shuttleworth  and. 
Starkie  being  both  come  to  Padiam  with  some  of  the  Captaines  were  in  a  great  per- 
plexitie,  knowing  not  what  to  doe,  being  (as  was  said)  unprovyded.  Yet  some  Cap- 
taines were  sent,  some  souldiers  accompanying,  to  scout  towards  Whalley  as  far  as 
Read,  Mr.  Nowell's  House,  to  hear  whether  my  Lord  advanced  or  no,  and  making  a 
stand  there,  consulting  amongst  themselves  what  was  likeliest  to  be  done  upon  the 
exigent.  The  Captaines  were  all  of  one  mind  as  that  it  was  not  safe  to  withstand  the 
Earle  there.  He  was  a  strong  partie  and  came  on  purpose  provided,  and  they  weake, 
their  companies  away  scattered.  Therefore  the  safest  way  was  to  retreat  and  preserve 
themselves  out  of  their  Enemies  hand  till  their  Companies  could  be  gathered  into  a 
bodie  with  some  aid  and  withal  furnished  with  Ammunition  which  now  they  wanted, 
this  being  their  resolution  at  Preston.  This  pleased  not  the  Souldiers  then  by,  that 
they  should  turn  their  backs  upon  their  enimies  before  they  saw  their  faces.  Therefore 
a  many  of  the  Musketiers,  being  resolut  men,  replyed  to  the  Captaines  boldly,  bidding 
them  take  what  course  they  pleased  for  their  safeties,  yet  they  would  aventure  them- 
selves, see  the  enemie  and  have  one  bout  with  them  if  God  will.  And  therefore 
gathering  themselves  together  mad  themselves  readie  to  receive  the  enemie.  And 
belyke  eyther  imagyning  of  themselves  or  having  intelligence  from  others  that  the 
enemie  would  pass  that  way,  they  planted  themselves  in  fields  on  the  highway  sid, 

i  C.  W.  Tracts,  p.  96.       2  Ib.  p.  135.       3  Disc,  of  Warr,  pp.  31-2.        4  C.  W.  Tracts,  p.  96. 


132  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

betwixt  Whaley  and  Padiam,  under  the  Stone  walls  with  their  muskets  readie  charged, 
being  hid,  to  give  their  enemie  a  volley  of  shot  if  they  appeared.  Long  they  lay  not 
before  they  espied  some  of  the  Earles  Horse  and  Foot  mounting  out  of  a  hollow  dingle 
betwixt  Ashterley  and  Read-head.  And  Maister  Tildsley  was  one  of  the  foremost,  and 
having  gotten  the  tope  of  the  Hill  he  enquired  of  a  woman  that  dwelt  in  a  little  house 
by,  where  he  was  or  how  that  place  was  calde.  "  Sir,"  said  she,  "  you  are  at  Read- 
head  above  the  house  of  Mr.  Nowell  of  Read. "  "  I  am  the  more  sorrie,"  said  he  ;  "I 
would  not  have  his  wyffe  disquieted. "  (Mr.  Nowell  was  a  strong  malignant).  Not 
long  after  this  Discourse  the  Musketiers  under  the  walls  waiting  their  opportunitie  let 
goe  a  volley  of  shot  against  them  very  hotly,  which  did  put  such  a  fear  into  them  that 
immediately  without  delay  they  turned  againe,  and  downe  towards  Whaley  with  all  the 
speed  they  could  make.  And  (as  the  report  was)  Mr.  Tildsley  was  soe  terrified  and 
amazed  that  forgetting  his  way  for  haste  tooke  into  that  lane  that  leads  to  Mr.  Shuttle- 
worth's  house  at  Ashterlee,  and  then  forced  his  horse  to  leape  over  a  yate  and  passed 
down  by  Portfield  to  Whaley.  The  Musketiers  perceiving  them  flee  soe  fearfully 
pursued  them  hotly  and  took  divers  Foot  Clubmen.  Presently,  upon  the  Report  of 
the  Muskets,  many  came  unto  them,  and  some  carried  the  Prisoners  to  Padiam,  and 
the  rest  joyned  with  the  Musketiers  to  pursue  the  enemie.1 

The  writer  of  the  Padiham  letter  on  the  affair,  with  the  initials 
"  E.  F.,"  tells  the  same  story  in  brief,  and  was  evidently  an  active  partici- 
pant in  the  fight ;  indeed,  he  claims  to  have  been  the  instrument  of 
leading  the  Royalist  troopers  into  the  trap  that  had  been  set  for  them : — 

Here  [at  Read-bank]  we  discovered  about  150  horse  to  follow  us,  and  when  our 
foot  was  come  thither  to  us,  our  horse  retreated  more,  our  foot  advanced  close  under  a 
wall,  only  myself  stood  and  faced  the  enemy.  I  made  as  though  I  fled,  they  pursued 
me  ;  when  I  knew  they  were  in  the  command  of  our  men,  I  advanced  againe  and  shot 
off  my  pistoll  (being  the  signe  for  our  foot) ;  whereupon  our  men  discharged  with  a 
great  shout ;  the  enemies'  horse  fled  in  great  disorder,  we  wounded  many,  took  forty 
prisoners,  some  horse,  and  60  musquets  ;  our  firemen  pursued  them  to  Whalley. 3 

The  scene  of  this  ambuscade  (so  successful  in  its  results  that  it  was 
the  starting  point  of  the  Royalist  defeat  at  Whalley  by  a  far  inferior 
force)  will  be  identified  by  the  reader  familiar  with  the  country  between 
Whalley  and  Padiham,  or  by  others  on  a  reference  to  the  six-inch  Ord- 
nance map.  The  present  road  from  Whalley  to  Padiham  is  of  modern 
construction.  It  branches  off  from  the  Accrington  and  Whalley  turn- 
pike near  Park  Head,  and  at  first  follows  closely  the  right  bank  of  the 
Calder,  through  the  lower  portion  of  Read  Hall  Park.  The  old  road 
between  these  towns  ascended  the  hill  to  Portfield,  thence  descended 
into  the  glen  through  which  the  Sabden  Brook  makes  its  way,  crossed 
the  stream  by  Read  Old  Bridge,  and  abruptly  ascended  the  other  slope 
to  the  summit  of  the  eminence  known  as  "  Read  Head,"  a  short  distance 
above  Read  Hall  to  the  north  ;  it  then  skirted  the  north  side  of  Read 
Park,  keeping  the  high  ground  to  the  hamlet  of  Read,  and  so  on  to 
Simonstone  and  Padiham.  It  was  up  this  ancient  road  that  the  Royalist 

i  Disc,  of  Warr,  pp.  32-3.  2  C.  W.  Tracts,  p.  97. 


BATTLE  AT  WH ALLEY-AMBUSH  AT  READ.  I33 

Colonel  Tyldesley  and  his  troopers  spurred  their  horses  on  the  Spring 
morning  in  1643,  with  the  object  of  reconnoitring  the  Roundheads  under 
Shuttleworth  and  Starkie,  who  were  expected  to  be  somewhere  on  the 
westward  side  of  Huntroyd  and  Gawthorpe,  guarding  the  mansions  of 
their  leaders.  On  quitting  the  glen  and  reaching  the  hill-top  above  Read 
Hall,  Tyldesley,  as  related,  made  inquiries  at  a  cottage  as  to  his  where- 
abouts, and  was  told  by  the  woman  of  the  house  that  he  was  at  Read 
Head,  hard  by  the  house  of  Mr.  Nowell,  himself  an  ardent  Royalist, 
then  absent  on  military  service.  With  characteristic  gallantry,  Colonel 
Tyldesley  expressed  his  fear  that  the  lady  of  Read,  Mistress  Nowell, 
might  be  terrified  by  the  sound  of  firing  and  other  noises  of  warfare  near 
her  mansion.  From  this  point  Tyldesley  and  his  horsemen  decided  to 
advance  a  little  further  along  the  hill-road,  not  suspecting  the  close 
proximity  of  the  enemy.  But  a  few  yards  further  on,  concealed  behind 
the  walls  of  the  lane  and  in  the  thickets  on  either  hand,  were  the  two  or 
three  hundred  Roundhead  musketeers,  awaiting  the  signal  of  the 
approach  of  the  Royalist  horse  to  fire  their  volley.  No  sooner  had 
Tyldesley  and  his  over-venturesome  troopers  placed  themselves  between 
the  muzzles  of  their  hidden  foes,  than  a  sudden  volley  of  musket-shot 
burst  upon  them.  Saddles  were  emptied,  horses  and  riders  were  struck 
down,  and  those  who  were  unhurt  turned  about  and  rode  back  towards 
Whalley  at  their  utmost  speed.  Tyldesley,  the  leader  of  the  troop,  lost 
his  way  in  the  hastiness  of  his  retreat.  A  little  to  the  west  of  Read  Old 
Bridge,  a  by-lane  connects  with  the  road  to  Whalley  on  the  left  hand. 
This  by-road  leads  up  to  Easterley  (called  "  Ashterlee"  in  the  narrative), 
on  the  estate  of  a  family  of  Shuttleworths  (an  old,  substantial  house 
situated  on  the  crest  of  the  high  bank  above  the  Sabden-brook),  and 
there  terminates  in  the  farm-yard.  Colonel  Tyldesley  got  into  the  by- 
lane  by  mishap,  and,  when  he  emerged  in  the  fold  at  Easterley,  discovered 
his  error ;  made  his  charger  leap  the  gate,  and  rode  across  the  couple  of 
fields  which  separate  Easterley  House  from  the  ancient  seat  of  the  Brad- 
dylls  at  Portfield.  Here  he  recovered  the  right  road,  and  mingling  with 
his  flying  horsemen  rode  down  into  Whalley.  There  the  sight  of  the 
retreating  troopers,  and  the  loud  firing  of  the  enemy's  match-lock-men 
in  close  pursuit,  a  eated  a  movement  of  panic  among  the  Earl  of  Derby's 
militiamen  and  clubmen,  posted  in  the  village  and  church.  I  now  pro- 
ceed to  quote  further  particulars  of  the  engagement  which  the  skirmish 
above-described  rendered  unavoidable,  and  which,  through  the  conster- 
nation produced  by  the  Parliamentarian  ambuscade  at  Read,  resulted  in 
the  rout,  almost  without  an  attempted  stand,  of  the  Earl  of  Derby's 
army.  After  the  episode  at  Read  Head,  the  conflict  proceeded  as 
follows  : — 


134  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Amongst  those  that  came  in  then  to  them  [the  Roundheads  in  pursuit  of  Tyldes- 
ley's  men],  was  .  .  Marsden,  then  a  Lieutenant,  after  made  a  Captaine,  a  man  of 
courage  and  hardie  spirit.  He  incoradged  the  souldiers  much  with  manly  words  to 
goe  on,  God  would  fight  for  them,  and  the  like.  So  they  pursuing  with  great  shout- 
ing, and  the  nearer  that  they  came  to  Whaley  the  shouting  was  more  and  greater,  the 
hills  and  valleys  giving  the  echoes,  besids  more  comming  and  increasing.  Whalley 
standeth  in  a  Vale,  having  the  hills  on  every  side  on  which  was  much  people  standing 
and  all  shouted,  putting  amazement  into  the  Earles  Armie.  The  Earle  being  in  the 
Abbey  and  divers  of  his  compam'e  in  the  Church  and  Tower,  upon  that  great  noyse 
made  haste  to  get  ther.  The  peice  of  ordenance  was  discharged  twice  or  thrise  at  the 
most  towards  the  Tower  ;  but  with  noe  execution  that  was  hard  of.  A  boy  that  was 
upon  a  steele  in  the  field  was  shot  about  his  knees,  whether  with  a  musket  or  the 
Ordenance  was  not  certaine  whereof  hee  died  immediately.  He  was  all  that  was 
slayne  of  the  Parliament  parte.  Off  the  Earles  companie  an  emenent  captaine  of  much 
respect  with  him  (yet  a  great  plunderer),  his  name  was  Conney,  was  shot  in  the  one 
of  his  eyes  whereof  he  died  afterwards  and  was  carried  away  with  them.  The  Earles 
Clubb  men,  being  in  the  reare  of  his  army,  hearing  the  great  noyse  of  shoutting, 
apprehending  it  fearfully,  fled  through  the  River  [Calder]  in  much  haste,  he  being  most 
happie  that  could  get  through  it  with  most  speed  and  run  the  fastest  away.  Noe  com- 
mand of  the  officers  nor  force  of  the  horsemen  could  make  them  turne  again  or  staye, 
but  gone  they  would  be  ;  which  wrought  so  upon  the  rest  of  the  armie  that  they  lyke- 
wise  turned  their  backs  and  fledd  soe  disorderly  and  confusedly  that  (as  relation  was) 
the  Earle  himself  had  much  adoe  to  cause  them  to  take  their  Ordenance  with  them, 
he  being  of  the  last  companie  that  was  with  it.  Thus  having  turned  their  backes  of 
Whaley,  the  shouters  increasing,  they  pursued  them  with  a  greater  noyse.  And  dyvers 
horsemen  comming  in  followed  with  more  speed  taking  some  prisoners,  and  fynding 
Armes  of  all  sortes  cast  in  the  way,  not  leaving  of  till  they  came  so  far  as  Salesbury 
Boat.  The  prisoners  taken  were  most  of  them  Clubmen  of  the  ffeild,  about  fortie 
who  weare  kept  at  Padiham  till  they  were  released.1 

Other  accounts  of  the  Royalists'  panic  and  retreat  from  Whalley 
accord  with  the  foregoing.  The  Padiham  missive  continues  : — 

The  Earl  of  Derby  and  the  rest  were  in  the  Abbey  ;  much  ado  we  had  to  keep 
our  Souldiers  back ;  the  enemy  (who  were  ten  for  one  of  us)  discharged  his  cannon  5 
times,  but  hurt  not  a  man  of  us  (blessed  be  our  good  God),  he  drew  into  a  body,  we 
being  out  of  order  ran  under  hedges,  played  upon  them  with  our  muskets,  and  routed 
their  foot,  which  fled  over  the  Water,  their  horse  still  facing  us  ;  our  men  still  pursued 
them  to  Lango-green  where  Captain  Ashton  and  myselfe  with  much  ado  caused  our 
first  men  to  stay  till  more  came  up,  then  our  men  shot ;  their  horse  fled  ;  then  all  our 
horse  came  up  and  pursued  them  through  Salisbury  [Salesbury]  Park,  and  to  Ribches- 
ter  ;  and  most  of  their  great  ones  had  some  touch,  or  some  narrow  escape,  as  them- 
selves report.  And  having  thus  driven  them  out  of  the  Hundred,  we  retreated  to 
Padiham.8 

Then  comes  the  short,  complacent  chronicle  of  the  victory  by  the 
author  of  Lancashire's  Valley  of  Ackor,  who  tells  gleefully  how  the  hand- 
ful of  Shuttleworth's  musketeers,  by  reason  of  the  "  resolution  God  gave 
them,  above  and  against  all  sense  and  reason,"  would  needs  let  fly  at  the 

i  Disc,  of  Warr,  pp.  33-4.  2  C.  W.  Tracts,  p.  97. 


BATTLE  AT  WHALLEY— ROYALIST  DEFEAT.  ^5 

enemy,  who  were  suddenly  turned  to  flight;  when  "our  encouraged 
souldiers  pursued  them  to  Whalley,  where  their  two  or  three  shots  of  Pow- 
der (all  they  had  at  first  to  accomplish  so  great  a  work)  were  well 
increased  by  their  enemies  store";  from  thence  to  the  Sands  [the  ford  of 
Calder],  thence  to  Lango  Green,  thence  to  Rible-side,  called  Salsbury 
Boat ;  the  Horse  and  Foot  took  Rible,  many  of  the  Foot  wading  to  the 
chin.  In  all  this  chase,  being  about  five  miles  in  length,  they  [the 
Royalists]  often  turned  their  faces,  but  as  often  turned  their  backs,  and 
hasted  away,  till  they  had  quit  the  Hundred  and  no  more  infested  it."1 
The  pursuit  thus  commenced  in  the  township  of  Read,  and  extended  in 
a  westerly  direction  over  the  township  of  Whalley,  across  the  Calder, 
through  the  townships  of  Billington,  Dinkley,  and  Salesbury  in  Black- 
burn parish,  terminating  across  the  Ribble  at  Ribchester.  Pursued  and 
pursuers  had  to  ford  two  considerable  rivers,  both  ordinarily  running 
high  in  April,  the  month  in  which  the  battle  took  place,  and  one  narra- 
tive indeed  states  that  where  the  Ribble  was  crossed  near  Salesbury  Hall 
the  soldiers  of  both  forces  were  immersed  to  the  chin. 

The  reports  that  reached  London  of  this  Roundhead  success  are 
summarised  in  the  Parliamentary  Chronicle  of  the  time  in  the  passage 
that  follows  : — 

Much  about  the  same  time  also,  namely,  the  latter  end  of  Aprill  aforesaid,  letters 
out  of  Lancashire  enformed  for  certain  that  the  Earl  of  Darbie  with  500  horse,  500 
foot,  and  about  2000  clubmen  went  to  Whaley,  a  Towne  nere  Blackburn,  sodainly 
seised  on  the  towne  and  got  into  the  Church  and  Steeple  ;  but  the  Inhabitants  of  that 
Hundred  presently  armed  300  musketeers,  300  horse  and  200  clubmen,  and  with  this 
small  strength  set  upon  them  in  the  towne,  beat  the  Earl  and  his  men  out  and  recovered 
it  again ;  and  being  the  same  time  provoked  and  challenged  by  the  Earl  to  come  out 
into  the  field  they  did  so,  and  set  upon  him  there,  slew  300  of  his  men,  routed  all  his 
armie,  and  chased  them  six  miles  at  the  least.  The  truth  whereof  was  firmly  ratified 
by  divers  letters  from  those  parts. z 

The  same  chronicler  again  alludes  to  "  the  victory  nere  Blackburn 
in  Lancashire  "  as  one  of  several  important  engagements  won  by  the 
Parliamentarians  in  the  Spring  of  1643. 

The  Parliamentarians  of  Lancashire  were  unbounded  in  their 
thankfulness  for  this  unlooked-for  victory ;  and  well  they  might,  for  it 
completely  changed  the  aspect  of  affairs  in  the  county.  Puritan  perfer- 
vidity  of  religious  sentiment  saw  in  this  marvellous  escape  and  triumph 
a  signal  example  of  Divine  interposition.  Shuttleworth's  victorious  sol- 
diers returned  to  Padiham,  where,  wearied  as  they  must  have  been,  "hav- 
ing a  good  minister,  some  hours  were  spent  in  thanksgiving  for  the  great 
deliverance,  and  be  assured  it  is  to  be  taken  (next  the  first  great  bout  at 

i  C.  W.  Tracts,  pp.  136.  2  Parl.   Chron.,  pt.  i,  p.  320. 


136  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Manchester)  the  greatest  deliverance  we  have  had.  We  had  one  day 
last  week,  and  on  Friday  next  we  are  to  observe  a  Thanksgiving  both  in 
Salford  Hundred  and  this,  with  praises  to  our  God.  The  intent  of  the 
enemy,"  concludes  the  writer,  "  was  to  overrun  this  Hundred,  and  so  to 
Bolton  and  Manchester  (as  upon  examination  appears  by  the  prisoners) 
and  be  assured  if  the  Lord  had  suffered  this  part  to  fail,  we  had  in  al 
probability  bin  totally  undone.  The  enemy  stole  all  horses  and  beasts 
as  far  as  they  went ;  I  hope  our  Gentlemen  in  this  county  will  consider 
to  joyn  and  clear  the  county.  This  part  which  before  was  dejected,  is 
now  through  God's  mercy  united  and  raised,  and  the  common  people 
never  more  forward,  and  the  souldiers  more  couragious,  but  the  Lord 
is  our  preserver."1 

The  discomfiture  of  the  Earl  of  Derby's  levies  at  Whalley  was 
discouraging  and  damaging.  But  before  impugning  the  Earl's  military 
capacity  on  account  of  this  untoward  affair,  the  circumstances  of  his 
position  must  be  considered.  Lord  Derby  had  been  very  scurvily  used 
by  the  King  and  his  advisers  from  the  commencement  of  the  war.  He 
was  the  object  of  unjust  suspicion  at  court,  and  had  been  systematically 
weakened  by  drafts  of  his  men  to  serve  under  other  leaders  in  the 
King's  main  army.  The  Earl's  influence  was  so  great  in  West  Lanca- 
shire that  his  ability  to  raise  troops  to  fight  for  the  Royal  cause  seemed 
almost  unlimited  ;  but  once  and  again  he  had  been  required  to  send 
his  best-equipped  and  trained  regiments  away  from  the  county  to  be 
employed  in  distant  operations,  leaving  himself  almost  destitute  of  men 
and  means.  Yet  this  ill-usage,  which  would  have  driven  most  men  to 
the  opposite  camp  in  resentment,  had  no  effect  upon  the  high  spirit  of 
honour  and  the  disinterested  loyalty  of  the  Lord  of  Lathom,  though 
these  frequent  withdrawals  of  his  ablest  troops  seriously  prejudiced  his 
efforts  to  maintain  the  ascendency  of  the  Crown  in  his  native  shire.  The 
force  with  which  the  Earl  advanced  from  Preston  into  Ribblesdale,  for 
the  subjugation  of  Blackburn  Hundred,  though  considerable  in  numbers, 
was  chiefly  composed  of  recent  levies  of  tenantry  and  peasantry,  with 
but  a  small  proportion  of  trained  and  steady  troops.  The  groundless 
fright  which  seized  upon  the  Earl's  forces  on  the  appearance  of  the 
enemy,  speaks  the  inexperience  and  want  of  confidence  of  the  general 
body  ;  and  the  few  skilled  musketeers  and  horsemen  in  the  force  were 
unable  to  arrest  the  stream  of  fugitives,  when  once  the  movement  of 
retreat  had  begun.  In  these  campaigns,  very  little  science  was  displayed 
on  either  side,  at  least  in  the  desultory  operations  in  the  various  pro- 
vinces of  the  country  in  which  the  combatants  were  principally  the 
newly-embodied  local  militia  and  trained  bands,  and  the  leaders  the 

i  C.  W.  Tracts,  pp.  97-8. 


PARLIAMENTARIAN  SUCCESSES.  !37 

local  gentry,  to  whom  the  rudiments  of  military  practice  were  unknown 
a  few  months  previously.  Adventitious,  however,  as  had  been  the  vic- 
tory and  the  defeat  at  Whalley,  its  influence  upon  the  issue  of  the  strife 
was  great.  A  chronicler  thus  remarks  the  Earl's  dejected  condition,  and 
the  recovery  of  hope  among  the  Parliamentarians,  after  the  Whalley 
passage-of-arms : — 

The  Earle  much  dismayed  and  disconsolat  with  his  Disasters  made  no  stay  till  he 
came  to  Mr.  Fleetwood's  house  at  Penerthom,  where  he  lodged  that  night  in  a  very 
sad  pensive  condition,  by  reason  of  the  dastardlines  which  appeared  in  his  Army. 
What  became  of  it  afterwards  was  not  materiall,  but  truth  it  was  he  never  headed 
Army  in  Lancashire  after  till  his  last  comming  out  of  the  Isle  of  Man,  when  he  was 
defeated  near  unto  Wiggon  not  long  before  his  Death.  Their  Defeate  at  Whaley 
was  strange  and  admirable,  for  to  the  judgment  of  Reason  he  had  strength  and  power 
sufficient  (as  the  Hundred  of  Blackburne  then  was)  to  have  subdued  it  to  the  King,  if 
not  Salford  Hundred  to,  for  that  Hundred,  all  but  Manchester,  was  in  a  scattered  con- 
dition. Colonell  Ashton  newly  returned  from  Lancaster,  his  Army  soe  dissipated  and 
discontented  through  want  of  pay  that  he  could  not  gather  them  into  a  body  till  the 
Country  had  supplied  him,  which  then  was  not  done.1 

The  East-Lancashire  Parliamentarian  chiefs  took  full  advantage  of 
the  Earl  of  Derby's  despondent  state,  and  the  demoralisation  among  his 
men.  At  once  on  receipt  of  the  news  of  the  victory  at  Whalley  and  the 
enemy's  confused  retreat,  Colonel  Assheton  (of  Middleton)  marched  west- 
ward with  the  forces  of  Salford  Hundred,  horse  and  foot,  reinforced  by 
some  of  the  troops  of  Blackburn  Hundred  and  "  some  volunteers  of 
Amounderness,  who  being  exyled  from  their  dwellings  by  the  enemies, 
put  themselves  under  the  leading  and  command  of  Captaine  Edward 
Robinson."2  With  an  army  of  about  2,200  men,  Colonel  Assheton's  offen- 
sive movement  commenced  on  the  28th  of  April.  His  route  into  West 
Derby  Hundred  was  through  Holland  and  Billinge.  Colonel  Tyldesley, 
after  the  rout  in  Ribblesdale,  had  gone  to  Wigan,  which  he  held  for 
Lord  Derby  with  nine  troops  of  horse  and  700  foot.  But  the  Royalists 
had  not  yet  recovered  courage,  and,  on  the  appearance  of  Colonel  Asshe- 
ton, Tyldesley  and  his  force  decamped  from  WTigan.  The  Parliamen- 
tarian commander  occupied  the  town,  and  before  he  left  it,  he  "  demolisht 
all  the  outworks  and  fortifications,  burnt  the  new  gates  and  posts  that 
had  been  set  up,"  and  "  took  an  oath  of  the  townsmen  never  to  bear 
arms  against  the  King  and  Parliament."  He  then  pursued  the  Royalist 
army,  retreating  northwards, — Lord  Molineux  and  Col.  Tyldesley  in 
command.  The  enemy  making  no  stand  anywhere,  Assheton  "marched 
by  Knowsley,  the  Lord's  House,  not  offering  any  the  least  evil  towards 
it."3  The  Earl  of  Derby,  fearful  of  the  sack  and  destruction  of  his 
mansion  by  the  victorious  Roundheads,  had  written  to  Col.  Assheton, 

i  Disc,  of  Warr,  pp.  34-5.  2  Ib.  p.  37.  3  Ib.  p.  37. 


138  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

praying  him  not  to  burn  his  seat  at  Lathom,  and  offering  a  sum  of  ^300 
to  purchase  its  immunity.  But,  says  the  record,  "  the  noble  Colonell 
sent  him  word  that  he  scorned  his  money  or  the  firing  of  his  house,  and 
desired  nothing  more  of  him  than  to  meet  with  him,  and  to  give  him 
battell."1  On  reaching  Ormskirk  in  his  advance,  Colonel  Assheton  learnt 
that  Molineux  and  Tyldesley  with  their  forces  had  escaped  him  by  crossing 
the  Ribble  some  distance  below  Preston.  They  were  "marched  over  Rib- 
ble  Watter  at  Hesketh  Bankes  into  the  Fyld,"  and  were  then,  it  was  re- 
ported, quartered  in  Kirkham.  The  Earl  of  Derby  had  gone  to  Warrington 
with  the  remnant  of  his  force,  but  leaving  his  men  there  as  a  garrison, 
the  Earl  secretly  passed  through  the  western  parts  of  the  county ;  forded 
the  Ribble  ;  and  while  -Lord  Molineux's  quarters  were  in  Clifton  and  Col. 
Tyldesley's  at  Kirkham,  they  were  surprised  by  the  apparition  of  the 
fugitive  Earl,  who,  "  with  a  few  horse,  passed  by  Clifton  with  litle  or  no 
speech  of  him,  and  soe  into  the  North  to  White  Haven,  and  taking 
shipping  there  went  into  the  Isle  of  Man,  leaving  his  Countess  and 
children  at  Lathom."2  So  writes  the  author  of  the  Discourse  of  the  Warr, 
but  other  records  say  that  the  Earl  first  betook  himself  to  Hornby  Castle, 
thence  to  Skipton  Castle,  before  he  quitted  the  country  for  the  Isle  of 
Man.  A  news-sheet  issued  in  the  early  part  of  May,  1643,  relates  that 
the  Lancashire  gentlemen,  knowing  from  intercepted  letters  from  Lathom 
to  the  King  what  a  quandary  the  Royalists  were  in,  "  immediately 
advanced,  have  taken  Preston,  and  fetched  away  the  twenty  peeces  of 
ordnance  from  Lancaster,  and  enforced  the  Earl  of  Derby  to  quit  the 
countrey,  and  flye  from  Hornby  Castle  into  Yorkshire,  into  Skipton 
Castle  in  Craven."3  Whichever  report  be  true,  it  is  certain  that  the  Earl 
did  not  long  remain  in  Lancashire  after  the  Whalley  disaster  ;  but  went 
to  secure  the  Isle  of  Man,  and  left  his  strong-hearted  Countess  to  defend 
Lathom  House. 

The  recapture  of  Preston,  and  movements  in  the  Fylde  and  in 
Lunesdale  subsequently,  are  recounted  in  detail  in  the  Discourse.  Out 
of  the  Fylde  the  King's  force  retired  to  Lancaster,  Colonel  Assheton  in 
brisk  pursuit ;  from  Lancaster  to  Hornby,  thence  to  Kirkby  Lonsdale. 
Although  the  Royalists  under  Molineux  and  Tyldesley  did  not  make  a 
stand  at  Hornby,  but  continued  their  precipitate  retreat  up  the  valley  of 
the  Lune,  and  so  quitted  the  county,  Hornby  Castle  was  defended  by  a 
party  of  cavaliers  for  a  brief  space.  The  Castle  was  very  strong  in 
itself,  and  occupies  an  almost  unassailable  position  on  the  summit  of  a 
high  knoll  hard  by  the  confluence  of  the  Wenning  and  Lune.  Col. 
Assheton  would  probably  have  passed  on  without  attempting  to  carry  so 
formidable  a  place,  either  by  siege  or  assault ;  but  a  few  of  his  soldiers, 

i  C.  W.  Tracts,  p.  99.  z.   Disc,  of  Warr,  p.  37.  3  C.  W.  Tracts,  p.  100. 


PARLIAMENTARIAN    SUCCESSES.  I^ 

without  orders,  audaciously  took  the  Castle  by  escalade.  The  Parlia- 
mentarian general,  having  driven  the  enemy  out  of  Lancashire,  com- 
menced the  return-march  southward  on  the  Qth  of  May  ;  and,  passing 
through  Lancaster,  took  away  from  the  Castle  there  some  cannon  which 
had  been  taken  out  of  a  Spanish  ship  ashore  at  Rossall.  Through  the 
inimical  Fylde  country  the  Roundhead  soldiery  plundered  at  discretion, 
and  when  they  got  to  Preston  began  to  fall  out  among  themselves  about 
the  division  of  the  captured  cattle  and  other  booty. 

Some  days  before  Midsummer,  1643,  Alexander  Rigby,  Esq.,  M.P., 
was  sent  down  into  Lancashire  with  a  colonel's  commission  from  Parlia- 
ment, "  to  raise  forces  to  put  the  Hundreds  of  Layland  and  Amounder- 
ness  into  a  posture  of  Warr."  Colonel  Rigby  prosecuted  his  appointed 
task  with  energy,  and  mustered  a  considerable  array  out  of  these  Hun- 
dreds. Captain  Edward  Robinson,  who  belonged  to  Kirkham,  had  pre- 
viously raised  a  troop  of  horse  in  that  part  of  Amounderness,  with  which 
he  had  served  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Shuttleworth.  This 
officer  and  his  troop  were  now  detached  from  Colonel  Shuttleworth's 
force,  and  placed  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Rigby.  Colonel 
Rigby's  first  military  enterprise,  in  which  he  displayed  the  soldierlike 
qualities  for  which  he  was  afterwards  distinguished,  was  the  reduction  by 
siege  of  Thurland  Castle  in  Lunesdale.  To  Rigby's  contingent,  raised 
in  and  about  Preston,  were  united,  for  this  undertaking,  some  "  forces 
from  Salford  and  Blackburne  Hundreds."1  Thurland  Castle  was  invested 
in  the  beginning  of  August.  It  was,  however,  not  easy  to  get  at.  "  It 
Avas  moated  about  so  that  it  could  not  be  come  to."  Rigby's  small 
ordnance  "  plaied  oft  against  it  with  little  execution.  It  was  stronge. 
Out  of  it  they  shot  desperately  when  they  spied  occation.  They  killed 
many  that  adventured  too  near  it.  Edward  Breres  [Breres  of  Walton], 
a  Captaine  of  the  Volunteers  of  Preston,  was  killed  by  adventuring  too 
neare."3  But  Rigby  having  defeated  an  attempt  by  Colonel  Hudleston, 
coming  out  of  Cumberland,  to  relieve  the  castle,  the  garrison  were  so 
disheartened  that  they  surrendered  the  castle  a  few  days  after.  Colonel 
Rigby  returned  to  Preston  in  good  heart  after  his  victory,  and  spent 
some  succeeding  weeks  in  strengthening  his  regiments,  and  providing 
them  with  suitable  officers. 

Meantime  the  Hundreds  of  Blackburn  and  Salford  were  menaced 
from  a  new  direction.  At  the  beginning  of  July,  1643,  the  Earl  of  New- 
castle, commanding  one  of  the  King's  main  armies,  having  won  some 
advantage  in  encounters  with  the  Parliamentarian  army  under  Lord 
Fairfax  in  Yorkshire,  appeared  in  force  upon  the  eastern  border  of  Lan- 
cashire, and  forwarded  to  Manchester  a  summons  to  submission,  which 

i  Disc,  of  Warr,  p.  41.  2  Ib.  p.  41. 


140 


HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


was  boldly  rejected.  The  Parliamentarians  in  these  parts  were  in  some 
alarm  at  the  proximity  of  the  Earl  of  Newcastle's  army,  and  took  imme- 
diate measures  of  defence.  They  "  placed  a  garrison  of  twelve  hundred 
men  in  Rochdale,  and  eight  hundred  more  upon  Blackstone  Edge,  to 
guard  the  passage  into  their  county  out  of  Yorkshire."1  Reports  in  the 
news-sheets  of  the  period  (July — August,  1643),  refer  to  several  attempts 
of  Lord  Newcastle  to  penetrate  the  mountain  passes  between  Yorkshire 
and  Lancashire,  all  of  which  were  repulsed.  First,  it  is  related  that  the 
Royalist  general  sent  "  200  horse  to  break  through  the  passage  at  Black- 
stone  Edge  into  their  countrey,  but  with  no  successe,  for  their  garrison 
in  that  place  slew  and  took  some  of  them,  and  sent  back  the  rest  to  tell 
their  fellows  that  they  will  hardly  have  passage  that  way,  because  it  is 
naturally  so  strong  that  500  men  can  keep  1,000."  Foiled  at  Blackstone 
Edge,  a  portion  of  Lord  Newcastle's  force  appears  to  have  attempted  a 
passage  over  the  hills  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Colne  and  Clitheroe  ; 
for  in  the  sheet  of  Certains  Informations,  dated  July  3ist,  it  is  stated 
that  "  some  of  Newcastle's  forces  had  been  defeated  in  Lancashire,  near 
Colne ;  some  slain,  and  about  forty  taken  ;"  and  further,  on  August  i4th, 
it  is  reported  that  accounts  from  travellers  are  to  the  effect  that  "  Lanca- 
shire is  quiet  since  they  [the  Parliamentarians]  beat  the  Newcastel- 
lians  from  Colne,  Clitheroe,  and  Thornton."*  These  scanty  statements  are 
all  the  information  to  be  had  of  the  series  of  skirmishes  the  hostile  forces 
fought  upon  the  county  border,  in  which  the  defenders  of  Lancashire  for 
the  Parliament  were  victorious.  But  by  the  local  annalist  of  the  war  it 
is  stated  that  about  this  time,  or  perhaps  a  little  later  in  the  year,  "  most 
if  not  all  the  companies  [at  Preston,  under  Col.  Rigby]  were  called  upon 
receiving  Order  to  march  into  Blackburne  Hundred  to  Healey  More  to 
a  Randavow,  and  after  that  they  had  Order  to  March  two  myles  further 
to  Colne,  to  a  Generall  Randevouse  betwixt  both  Hundreds,  in  the  most 
remote  part  of  the  county,  upon  the  borders  of  Yorkshire,  to  a  place 
called  Emmot  Loane  head,  to  be  a  terror  to  the  Yorkeshire  Caviliers  who 
that  Winter  ranged  up  and  downe."3  The  concentration  of  both  Round- 
head and  Royalist  troops  in  this  hilly  country,  the  former  on  the  Lanca- 
shire, the  latter  on  the  Yorkshire  side  of  the  frontier-line,  was  continued 
until  the  close  of  the  year  (1643). 

Prior  to  the  victories  of  the  summer  of  1643,  which  placed  the  whole 
of  Lancashire  (with  the  solitary  exception  of  Lathom  House,  held  by 
the  Countess  of  Derby)  at  the  mercy  of  the  Parliamentary  party,  the 
Houses  of  Parliament,  in  urgent  need  of  means  to  carry  on  the  arduous 
contest  with  the  King,  had  passed  an  ordinance  confiscating  the  estates 
of  "  Delinquents  and  Papists,"  and  appointing  sequestrators  for  the 

i  C.  W.  Tracts,  p.  146.  2  Ib.  p.  147.  3  Disc,  of  Warr,  p.  43. 


SEQUESTRATIONS  BY  PARLIAMENT.  I4I 

various  counties.     The  Lancashire  Sequestration   Commission  consisted 
of  twenty-three  persons,  seven  of  whom  were  connected  with  the  Hun- 
dred of  Blackburn,  viz.  : — Assheton  of  Whalley,  Assheton  of  Downham, 
Shuttleworth  of  Gawthorpe,  Nicholas   Cunliffe  of  Rollings,  Starkie  of 
Huntroyd,  Robert  Cunliffe  of  Sparth,  and  Nowell  of  Little  Mearley.  In 
September,  1643,  the  deputy-lieutenants  of  the  county  were  ordered  by 
Parliament  to  appoint  auditors  to  keep   accounts  of  monies  and  goods 
taken  by  virtue  of  the  sequestration  ordinance,  and  the  auditors  chosen 
under  this  order  were  Ralph  Assheton,  Richard  Shuttleworth,  John  Moore, 
and  Alexander  Rigby,  Esqrs.   Immediately  upon  the  conclusion  of  these 
appointments  the  arbitrary  process  of  sequestration   commenced.     One 
of  the  first  to  suffer  was  William  Farrington,  Esq.,  of  Worden,  a  steady 
Royalist.     In  the  Farington  Papers  is  preserved  an  inventory  of  Mr. 
Farrington's  household  goods   sequestrated  on  the  i2th   of  September, 
1643,  and  other  documents  relating  to  the  procedure.     The  master  of 
Worden  was  at  this  time  absent  from  his  estate,  serving  with  the  King's 
forces  in  the  field.     His  wife,  Mistress  Margaret  Farrington,  laid  a  peti- 
tion before  Sir  Thomas  Stanley,  Bart.,  Ralph  Assheton,  Richard  Shuttle- 
worth,  Richard  Holland,  Alexander  Rigby,  and    John   Moore,  Esqrs., 
Colonels  of  the  Lancashire  forces  of  Parliament,  in  which  she  shewed 
that  the  agents  of  the  Sequestrators,  in  their  unwelcome  visit  to  Worden, 
had  not  only  carried  off  her  other  household  goods,  but  had  also  seques- 
tered the  family  heir-looms,  which  the  ancestors  of  Worden  had  given 
and  bequeathed  "  to  the  successive  heires  male  of  the  house  of  Worden." 
These  heir-looms  the    gentle  petitioner  prayed  might  be   suffered    to 
remain  at  Worden,  seeing  that  her  husband,  whose  fidelity  to  his  King 
had  incurred  this  forfeiture  of  his  property,  had  only  a  life-possession  of 
the  heir-looms.     To  this  petition,  the  Sequestrators  appealed  to  returned 
answer  that  "  if  Mrs.  ffarington  will  speedily  pay  ^350  for  the  goods  of 
her  husband  now  sequestered,  there  will  remaine  sufficient  proportion  to 
allow  her  and  her  children  accordinge  to  the  power  committed  to  us  by 
the  Parliament ;  wherefore  if  shee  pay  this  wee  order  that  all  the  goods 
may  remaine  with  her  at  the  house."1     The  lady  of  Worden  was  unable 
to  find  the  required   sum  of  redemption  money,  and  accordingly  her 
household  goods  were  impounded.     But  she  was  allowed  "  purparture 
of  the  goods  to  the  value  of  ;£ioo   in  lieu  of  her  purparture  of  land  ;" 
and  parts  of  the  remainder  were  bought  in  her  behalf  by  Messrs.  Richard 
Clayton   and   William   Farington,    yeomen,    from     Gates    Holme   and 
Edward  Cowper,  agents  to  the  Sequestrators,  for  the  sum  of  ^83.    The 
total    amounts    of    the    Parliamentarian  sequestration    on    this    estate 
are  computed  at  ^645  in  goods,  cattle,  and  moveable  property  ;  ^263 

i    Farington  Papers,  p.  96. 


142  HISTORY  OF  BLACKHL'RN. 

in  value  of  lands  sequestered  at  different  times ;  and  in  rents  ,£46  ; 
altogether  £954.  In  like  manner,  other  prominent  Royalists  were 
mulcted  at  this  period  of  depression  in  their  party's  fortunes  in  the 
county. 

At  the  beginning  of  September,  1643,  the  county  had  been  so 
entirely  cleared  of  the  King's  adherents  (excepting  the  few  companies 
shut  up  in  Lathom  House)  that  it  was  reported  in  letters  from  Manches- 
ter to  London  "  that  the  whole  county  palatine  of  Lancaster  enjoyeth 
yet  ease,  quiet,  and  freedom  both  from  internall  and  externall  enemies." 
Also  that  not  only  had  the  forces  of  Lord  Newcastle  been  foiled  in  the 
movement  towards  Lancashire  through  the  passes  of  the  hills  between 
the  valleys  of  Aire  and  Ribble,  but  that  the  Roundheads  were  making 
raids  into  the  parts  of  Yorkshire  beyond  Colne  and  Clitheroe ;  for  the 
Mercurius  Britannicus  of  September  2nd  reports  that  "  the  Lancashire 
horse  still  make  incursions  into  Craven,  in  Yorkshire,  and  get  horses, 
cattle,  and  sheep,  from  off  the  lands  of  those  in  arms  against  the  Parlia- 
ment."1 While  the  men  of  Blackburn  district  were  thus  keeping  the 
eastern  border  of  the  county,  those  of  Salford  Hundred,  commanded  by 
Colonel  Assheton,  \vere  away  in  Wales  and  Cheshire,  subduing  the  country 
thereabouts  to  the  Parliament,  and  with  this  work,  in  conjunction  with  the 
Cheshire  Roundheads  under  Sir  William  Brereton,  proceeding  almost 
unopposed  until  the  close  of  the  year  1643.  But  in  December,  three 
thousand  Irish  soldiers  brought  over  in  Charles's  interest  landed  at 
Wirral,  and  were  joined  by  the  Royalists  under  Lord  Byron,  who, 
taking  command  of  the  united  force  of  about  4,000  men,  assumed  the 
offensive,  and  obliged  Sir  William  Brereton  to  retire  to  Nantwich.  Colonel 
Assheton,  while  marching  to  Middlewich,  was  attacked  suddenly  by  Lord 
Byron,  in  the  beginning  of  January,  1643-4,  and  completely  beaten, 
leaving  a  hundred  prisoners  in  the  enemy's  hands.  The  reverse  was 
quickly  retrieved.  On  the  i9th  of  January,  Lord  Fairfax,  who  had 
transported  his  army  out  of  Yorkshire,  marched  on  from  Manchester  to 
relieve  the  Parliamentarians  beleaguered  at  Nantwich  ;  his  force  con- 
sisting of  2,500  foot  and  28  troops  of  horse.  In  co-operation  with 
Brereton's  and  Assheton's  forces,  Fairfax,  with  an  array  of  about  8,000 
men,  gave  Lord  Byron  battle  before  Nantwich.  The  battle  was  stub- 
bornly contested,  but  ended  in  the  utter  defeat  and  dispersion  of  the 
Royalists ;  of  the  Irish  troops  under  Lord  Byron  many  were  slain,  and 
1,500  were  taken  prisoners.  In  this  battle,  Colonel  Assheton's  Lancashire 
men  exhibited  great  valour. 

To  Lathom  House,  that,  like  a  sea-surrounded  rock,  still  withstood 
the  wave  of  revolution  that  surged  over  the  county,  numbers  of  the 

i   C.  W.  Tracts,  p.  148. 


FIRST  SIEGE  OF  LATIIOM  HOUSE. 


143 


fugitive  cavaliers  of  Lancashire  had  resorted  as  the  sole  place  of  refuge 
after  the  defeats  their  party  had  suffered.  Though  the  lord  of  the  house 
was  not  within  its  wralls,  deeming  his  presence  even  more  essential  in  his 
Island  of  Man,  the  spirited  Countess  of  Derby  was  prepared  to  stand  a 
siege  before  surrendering  Lathom.  The  place  was  strong;  with  its 
massy  embattled  and  moated  towers  it  was  well  fitted  to  defy  assault  and 
to  resist  the  effects  of  a  cannonade  by  such  small  ordnance  as  was  then 
in  use.  Among  her  garrison  the  Countess  counted  many  gallant  gentle- 
men, who  were  ready  to  defend  their  admirable  lady-leader  to  the  death, 
if  need  were.  The  house  was,  fortunately,  well  provisioned.  On  Satur- 
day, February  24th,  1643-4,  the  Manchester  Committee  of  Parliamen- 
tarians, after  frequent  consultations,  resolved  "  that  Mr.  Assheton,  of 
Middleton,  Mr.  Moore,  of  Banck  hall,  and  Mr.  Rigby,  of  Preston  (three 
Parliament  colonels)  should  with  all  speed  come  against  Lathom."  The 
Countess  of  Derby  received  vague  information  of  this  movement  in  the 
morning  of  the  next  day,  and  at  once  took  measures  to  meet  the  danger. 
Marching  by  Bolton,  Wigan,  and  Standish,  the  Parliamentarian  army 
appeared  before  Lathom  on  Tuesday,  February  2  yth.  Sir  Thomas  Fairfax 
had  joined  the  force,  and  on  the  28th  he  sent  an  officer  up  to  the  House, 
conveying  to  the  Countess  the  ordinance  of  Parliament  requiring  her  to 
surrender  Lathom  and  cast  herself  upon  the  mercy  of  the  Parliament. 
After  some  parleying,  Colonels  Assheton  and  Rigby  were  admitted  into 
the  House  on  Saturday,  March  2nd,  and  offered  the  Countess  free  exit 
for  herself  and  her  troops,  and  permission  to  carry  all  their  goods  to 
Chester,  and  that  the  Countess  with  her  family  should  be  permitted 
either  to  dwell  at  Knowsley  under  protection,  or  follow  her  husband  to 
the  Isle  of  Man.  The  Countess  rejected  these  terms,  and  proposed 
others  of  a  temporising  character,  to  which  the  enemy  would  not  listen; 
finally,  to  counter  proposals  of  Sir  Thomas  Fairfax,  the  proud  lady 
returned  an  answer  of  point-blank  defiance.  The  siege  then  com- 
menced, and  took  the  form  of  a  blockade  ;  Fairfax,  misled  as  to  the 
quantity  of  food  in  the  place,  thinking  soon  to  starve  the  garrison 
into  capitulation.  In  this  the  besiegers  were  disappointed  ;  and  before 
Lathom  fell  the  cause  of  the  King  in  Lancashire  wras  destined  for  a  time 
to  be  reanimated,  and  Lathom  to  be  relieved,  by  a  very  formidable 
diversion  by  the  most  dashing  of  the  Royalist  leaders — Prince  Rupert. 

When  the  siege  of  Lathom  House  had  lasted  some  ten  or  eleven 
weeks  (from  the  last  week  in  February  to  the  first  week  in  May,  1644), 
with  no  effect,  by  the  confession  of  a  Roundhead  annalist,  "  but  the 
losse  of  men's  lives  and  spending  of  much  treasure  and  victuals,"  a 
rumour  became  current  that  occasioned  as  much  disquietude  to  Colonel 
Rigby  and  his  Parliamentarians,  as  it  awakened  hope  in  the  hearts  of 


I44  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Lady  Derby  and  her  garrison.  The  report,  which  proved  to  be  authen- 
tic, was  that  King  Charles,  influenced  by  the  appeals  of  his  hard-pressed 
friends  in  Lancashire,  had  resolved  to  despatch  Prince  Rupert  into  the 
county,  at  the  head  of  a  powerful  army,  first  to  relieve  Lathom ;  then 
to  strike  at  the  King's  enemies  where  he  might  bring  them  to  bay,  and 
to  storm  the  chief  towns  forming  the  Puritan  quarters  ;  and  thereafter 
to  march  hence  into  Yorkshire  for  the  relief  of  the  city  of  York,  held 
for  the  King  against  the  beleaguering  armies  of  English  and  Scottish 
"  rebels."  It  was  on  the  8th  or  gih  of  May  that  the  news  of  Rupert's 
approach  was  spread  through  the  county.  The  Roundhead  generals 
before  Lathom,  on  assuring  themselves  of  Rupert's  advance,  held  a 
council  of  war,  at  which  it  was  decided  to  raise  the  siege.  Colonel 
Rigby  knew  that  his  little  army  of  two  to  three  thousand  men  would 
be  utterly  incompetent  to  cope  with  Prince  Rupert's  army  in  the  field, 
for  the  estimates  of  the  Royalist  general's  force  were  from  10,000  to 
15,000  men.  Accordingly,  on  the  i2th  of  May,  Colonel  Rigby  with 
part  of  the  besieging  force  moved  away  on  the  Preston  road  as  far  as 
Eccleston  Green.  Colonels  Holland  and  Moore  at  the  same  time 
marched  off  their  regiments,  the  former  to  Manchester  and  the  latter  to 
Liverpool,  to  aid  the  defence  of  those  towns  against  the  invader.  For  a 
short  space  Colonel  Rigby  remained  at  Eccleston,  in  doubt  as  to  which 
way  it  would  be  safest  for  him  to  turn.  Naturally,  "  the  Colonell  was  in 
great  feare  of  his  familie  in  Preston,  giving  them  Order  to  pack  up  his 
goods  and  flee  up  into  Yorkshire,  which  was  done."1  He  was  aware 
that  the  eventual  object  of  Prince  Rupert,  his  task  done  in  Lancashire, 
would  be  to  relieve  York  ;  and  "  imagining,"  says  one  writer  of  the 
period,2  that  "  the  Prince  would  either  march  through  Blackburne  or 
Lancaster  for  the  releefe  of  Yorke," — the  only  passes  through  the  Pen- 
nine mountains  practicable  for  a  large  army  being  by  the  valleys  of  the 
Ribble  and  the  Lune,  and  across  Craven  into  the  valleys  of  the  Aire 
and  Wharfe, — Colonel  Rigby  came  to  the  decision  to  leave  both  these 
routes  open  to  the  Prince's  march,  to  abandon  the  whole  north  and 
north-east  of  the  county,  and  to  retire  upon  Bolton.  As  Rigby  marched 
into  Bolton  his  force  was  augmented  by  "  some  other  auxiliaries  from 
Coll.  Shuttleworth  to  the  number  of  4  or  5,000  in  all ;"  and  there  he 
awaited  the  progress  of  events. 

-  Prince  Rupert,  having  recruited  his  army  in  Shropshire  and  Wales, 
appeared  in  Cheshire  on  the  ipth,  with  an  army  of  10,000  men,  chiefly 
horse,  and  reached  the  border  of  Lancashire  on  the  25th  of  May.  At 
Stockport,  after  a  brisk  fight  with  the  Roundheads  posted  there  under 
Cols.  Duckenfield  and  Mainwaring,  the  Royalist  general  forced  the  pass. 

i  Disc,  of  Warr,  p.  49.  z  C,  W.  Tracts,  p.  183. 


BOLTON   STORMED— RELIEF  OF  LATHOM  HOUSE. 


145 


Deeming  Manchester  too  strong  to  be.  carried  by  assault,  Rupert  avoided 
that  town,  crossed  the  Mersey  at  Trafford,  and  advanced  upon  Bolton. 
On  the  28th  of  May  the  Royalist  army  was  before  Bolton ;  and  after  a 
desperate  conflict,  the  Prince,  whom  the  Earl  of  Derby  had  joined 
before  the  attack,  stormed  the  town,  and  put  the  greater  part  of  its 
defenders  and  inhabitants  to  the  sword.  This  capture  of  Bolton  by 
Lord  Derby  and  Prince  Rupert  is  memorable  as  one  of  the  most  terrible 
and  sanguinary  episodes  of  that  war,  and  many  piteous  stories  of  the 
assault  and  "  massacre"  have  been  preserved.  Of  the  twelve  or  fifteen 
hundred  Parliamentarian  soldiers  said  to  have  perished  in  that  dreadful 
carnage,  many  must  have  belonged  to  those  Blackburnshire  regiments 
mustered  by  Messrs.  Shuttleworth,  Braddyll,  and  Starkie. 

Colonel  Rigby,  commander  of  the  garrison  of  Bolton,  seeing  the 
day  lost,  contrived  to  escape  in  the  melee.  The  Roundhead  soldiers 
who  escaped  the  fury  of  a  vindictive  victorious  enemy  at  Bolton  made 
the  best  of  their  way  to  Manchester  and  Blackburn,  where  they  joined 
the  forces  of  the  Parliament  occupying  those  towns. 

Lord  Derby  and  Prince  Rupert,  after  their  triumphant  exploit  at 
Bolton,  proceeded  first  to  Lathom,  which  flung  open  its  long-sealed  gates 
in  joyful  welcome  to  the  Earl  and  Prince  and  their  relieving  army.  All 
the  colours  taken  from  the  enemy  at  Bolton  were  presented  by  the 
Prince  to  Lady  Derby.  Two  or  three  days  of  rest  and  festivity  were 
spent  at  Lathom ;  and  then,  contrary  to  the  anticipation  of  the  enemy 
that  he  would  proceed  forthwith  into  Yorkshire,  Rupert  turned  south- 
ward, resolved  to  reduce  Liverpool  before  he  quitted  the  county.  In 
the  attempt  to  carry  Liverpool  by  a  coup  de  main  Rupert  was  frustrated. 
After  two  repulses,  however,  and  a  siege  of  about  a  fortnight,  the 
Royalist  force  prevailed  by  its  vastly  superior  numbers,  and  entered  the 
town,  which  had  previously  been  evacuated  by  the  garrison. 

Prince  Rupert  returned  to  Lathom  for  the  purpose  of  directing  the 
extension  of  its  defences  in  anticipation  of  the  contingency  of  a  second 
siege.  By  his  advice,  the  Countess  of  Derby,  and  family,  left  the  place, 
and  repaired  to  the  Isle  of  Man.  From  Lathom,  about  the  1 9th  of 
June,  the  Prince  commenced  his  long  march  to  York,  for  the  relief  of 
the  garrison  there  besieged.  He  selected  the  route  through  Blackburn, 
Colne,  and  Skipton,  into  the  valley  of  the  Wharfe. 

Rupert  paid  a  hasty  visit  to  Preston  just  before  his  departure  from 
Lancashire,  to  marshal  the  recruits  gathered  for  the  Royal  service  in  these 
parts.  It  is  recorded  : — "His  [Rupert's]  army  was  at  its  greatest  when  he 
went  from  Preston.  It  increased  not  in  his  march  to  York,  for  what  forces 
Westmoreland  and  Cumberland  afforded  him  came  to  him  at  Preston."1 


Disc,  of  Warr,  p.  54. 


10 


146  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Colonel  Shuttleworth  was  at  this  time  lying  at  Blackburn,  having 
under  his  command  the  remnant  of  the  Blackburnshire  men  that  had 
not  been  sent  to  Bolton  to  share  in  that  bloody  defeat,  with  perhaps  a 
few  fugitives  who  had  escaped  thence.  At  most,  his  force  cannot  have 
exceeded  from  two  to  three  thousand  men  ;  and  any  serious  attempt  to 
bar  the  passage  of  Rupert  was  out  of  the  question.  For  the  Royalist 
army,  in  spite  of  its  heavy  losses  at  the  storming  of  Bolton  and  Liver- 
pool, had  been  so  greatly  recruited  during  the  month's  sojourn  in  Lan- 
cashire, that  the  Prince  was  able  to  set  out  for  York  with  a  force  estimated 
variously  at  from  14,000  to  20,000  men.  Nevertheless,  Colonel  Shuttle- 
worth  would  not  surfer  the  imposing  host  of  the  enemy  to  pass  without 
some  resistance.  The  second  day  of  Rupert's  advance,  the  2oth  of  June, 
brought  him  to  the  vicinity  of  Blackburn.  Near  Blackburn  a  sharp 
encounter  took  place  between  Rupert's  vanguard  and  the  Roundheads  of 
the  neighbourhood  under  Shuttleworth.  This  fight  at  Blackburn  is 
mentioned  in  several  contemporary  publications,  but  no  details  of  the 
action  are  supplied.  The  affair  at  Blackburn  on  Rupert's  passage  was 
something  more  than  a  mere  skirmish  ;  for  Sir  William  Dugdale, 
in  his  Short  view  of  the  late  Troubles  in  England?  while  he  omits  all 
notice  of  minor  local  occurrences  of  the  war,  names  the  action  at  Black- 
burn and  the  defeat  of  the  Roundheads : — "  Colonell  Shuttleworth 
defeated  (20  June)  at  Blackburn  in  Lancashire  by  Prince  Rupert."  Two 
Parliamentarian  chronicles  mention  the  engagement ;  one  stating  that 
Prince  Rupert  skirmished  with  Colonel  Shuttleworth  near  Blackburn ; 
and  the  other  referring  to  two  combats,  one  at  Blackburn  on  June  20th, 
and  the  second  near  Colne,  June  25.  Sir  Charles  Lucas  is  said  to  have 
commanded  the  Royalists  in  both,  and  Colonel  Shuttleworth  to  have 
been  wounded  in  the  second. 

What  have  been  supposed  to  be  vestiges  of  some  fight  during  the 
campaigns  of  the  Civil  War  were  found  about  fifty  years  ago  upon  the  lower 
part  of  the  Bank-hey  pastures,  in  Little  Harwood,  which  now  form  the 
public  Cemetery  of  Blackburn.  The  place  is  about  a  mile  from  the 
centre  of  Blackburn,  and  lies  on  the  left  of  the  old  road  from  Blackburn 
to  Whalley  and  Clitheroe.  It  is  believed  that  Prince  Rupert,  on  his 
march  through  the  parish  in  1644,  divided  his  army  at  Blackburn,  push- 
ing on  one  division  by  way  of  Clitheroe,  and  the  other  by  Burnley  and 
Colne,  into  Craven,  thus  facilitating  the  transit  of  his  army,  and  extend- 
ing the  field  of  his  foraging  parties  for  its  supply.  Colonel  Shuttleworth 
may  have  endeavoured  to  block  the  progress  of  the  division  directed  to 
march  through  Ribblesdale,  shortly  after  its  detachment  at  Blackburn 
from  the  force  marched  on  the  Burnley  road,  through  Enfield  and  Padi- 

i  Folio,  Oxfd.,  1681,  p.  195. 


RUPERT'S  MARCH  THROUGH  BLACKBURN  PARISH.          I47 

ham.  It  is  therefore  not  improbable  that  the  traces  of  battle  disclosed 
on  the  Little  Harwood  and  Wilpshire  side  of  Blackburn  may  belong  to 
an  encounter  of  the  hostile  forces  at  the  spot  on  that  occasion.  I  am 
informed  by  an  old  inhabitant,  whose  father  was  hind  upon  the  farm  of 
Bank-hey,  of  the  existence  of  a  local  tradition  of  a  battle  fought  on  the 
heights  of  Bank-hey.  About  the  time,  fifty  years  ago  or  more,  that  Mr. 
Rodgett,  of  the  firm  of  Rodgett  and  Sparrow,  bought  the  estate,  some 
labourers  employed  on  the  improvement  of  the  farm  were  engaged  in 
draining  the  slope  now  forming  the  south  corner  of  the  Cemetery,  when 
they  came  upon  (in  my  informant's  words)  "  a  tremendous  quantity  of 
bones."  The  land  at  the  spot  was  black,  boggy  land,  and  the  Little 
Harwood  brook  flows  at  the  foot  of  the  declivity.  When  my  informant 
lived  on  the  estate  the  site  of  the  discovery  of  bones  was  called,  and 
had  been  long  antecedently,  the  "  War  Stables."  During  the  construc- 
tion of  the  Cemetery,  a  workman  found  a  number  of  bullets  in  the 
ground  hereabouts  while  turning  over  the  sod. 

The  division  of  the  Prince's  army  taking  the  more  northerly  route 
passed  through  Whalley  and  Clitheroe,  crossing  the  ground  where  the 
Earl  of  Derby  had  suffered  defeat  fourteen  months  before.  At  Clitheroe 
the  Castle  had  hitherto  been  held  for  the  Parliament,  but  the  Royalist 
commander  took  it  and  left  in  it  a  small  garrison.  Captain  William 
Pateson,  whose  company  had  formed  part  of  Colonel  Dodding's  Round- 
head garrison  at  Lancaster,  at  this  juncture  "  marched  downe  the  Trough 
of  Bowland  and  so  into  Blackburn  Hundred  to  Clitherall  [Clitheroe], 
till  Prince  Rupert  marched  up  to  Yorke."  Then,  when  Rupert  had 
passed  on,  this  officer  followed  in  his  rear,  and  "  marched  towards  Leeds, 
carrying  some  prisoners  thither  out  of  Blackburn  Hundred  from  Colonell 
Nicholas  Shuttleworth ;"  and  Colonel  Dodding,  quitting  Lancaster, 
"  within  two  daies  after  Captain  Pateson,  went  away  marching  thorow  the 
dale  countries  of  Yorkshire  [Upper  Ribblesdale  and  Wharfedale]  up  to 
the  Leaguer  of  York,  and  Captain  Swarbreck  with  him  ;  they  were  in 
the  battle  there,  where  Colonell  Dodding  lost  many  of  his  Regiment."1 

The  Blackburnshire  Roundheads  under  Shuttleworth  had  a  second 
brush  with  Rupert's  horse  a  little  to  the  east  of  Burnley,  which  may 
have  been  the  action  near  Colne  above-noticed,  between  Sir  Charles 
Lucas  and  Colonel  Shuttleworth,  in  which  the  latter  was  reported 
wounded.  Mr.  T.  T.  Wilkinson  is  led  by  an  entry  in  the  Burnley  Parish 
Register  to  fix  upon  the  hamlet  of  Haggate,  among  the  hills  of  Brier- 
cliffe,  on  the  old  road  from  Burnley  to  Colne,  as  the  scene  of  this  engage- 
ment. The  Burnley  Church  Register  records  the  burial  of  "Robert 
Ecroyd,  a  souldier  for  Thomas  Eastwood,"  on  June  27th,  1644,  and  also 

i  Disc,  of  Warr,  p.  50. 


148  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

of  "  Nicholas  Starkie,"  "  James  Gabbott,  of  Billington,"  "  Peter  Hitchin, 
of  Hackgate,"  and  "  Bernard  Smith  ;"  all  entered  as  "  slayne  at  Hack- 
gate."1  As  the  report  of  the  affair  near  Colne  was  dated  June  25th,  it  is 
very  likely  to  refer  to  the  -skirmish  at  Haggate,  in  which  these  soldiers 
fell.  But  it  is  possible  that  a  third  conflict  took  place  in  the  more 
immediate  vicinity  of  Colne.  There  is  evidence  of  the  predations  of 
Rupert's  troopers  on  the  estates  around  Burnley  in  the  memorandum  in 
which  Mr.  John  Halsted  records  that  on  the  24th  of  June,  1644,  the 
Royalists  of  Prince  Rupert  stole  from  his  place  at  Swinden  five  beasts, 
and  a  horse  of  his  from  Rowley.  What  Halsted  suffered  in  loss  of  live- 
stock during  this  visitation  of  the  enemy  was  the  common  fate  of  every 
"  rebel"  gentleman  and  yeoman  in  Blackburn  Hundred. 

The  appended  letters,  found  among  the  MSS.  of  the  Earl  of  Denbigh 
at  Newnham  Parrox,  refer  to  the  days  during  which  Rupert  was  forcing 
his  way  through  Blackburn  Hundred  and  across  the  Yorkshire  border  to 
Skipton: — June  25th,  1644,  Sir  Thomas  Middleton  writes  from  Nant- 
wich : — "  Satt.  night.  Prince  [Rupert]  is  still  in  Lancashire,  and  not 
likely  to  get  thence  in  any  short  tyme,  soe  that  if  wee  can  but  be  able  to 
get  together  into  a  bodye  in  some  short  tyme,  wee  may  then  bee  in  pos- 
sibility to  doe  good  service.  Sir  John  [Meldrum]  assures  mee  that  the 
Prynce  is  not  above  6000  foote  and  8000  horse."  June  27th.  Fer- 
dinando  Fairfax  to  Sir  William  Brereton,  at  the  rendezvous  at  Knuts- 
ford  : — "  Haste,  post  haste.  Prince  Rupert  is  upon  his  march  to 
endeavour  the  raiseing  of  the  seidge  at  Yorke,  part  of  the  forces  being 
allready  advanced  as  farr  as  Skipton  in  Craven,  and  hee  is  expected  very 
shortly  to  follow  with  the  mayne  of  his  army." 

Rupert,  having  reached  York  at  the  end  of  June,  by  a  skillful  flank 
movement  relieved  the  city  and  raised  the  siege,  and  then,  accepting 
the  challenge  of  the  Parliamentarian  generals  to  a  battle  in  the  open 
field,  the  great  and  decisive  battle  of  Marston  Moor  was  fought  on  the 
2nd  of  July.  In  that  memorable  battle,  the  forces  on  either  side  num- 
bered from  25,000  to  30,000  men,  and  included  the  finest  regiments  in 
both  services,  commanded  by  the  ablest  generals  the  war  had  produced. 
The  Royalist  army  was  under  the  command  of  Prince  Rupert,  with 
whom  was  the  Earl  of  Derby,  and  of  the  Marquis  of  Newcastle.  The 
army  of  the  Parliament  was  commanded  by  the  already  famous  General 
Cromwell,  Sir  Thomas  Fairfax  and  General  Lambert.  Rupert  and 
Cromwell,  the  two  boldest  warriors  of  the  age,  were  opposed  to  each 
other  in  this  battle  ;  and  the  gallant  Royalists  of  Lancashire  found  them- 
selves confronted  by  Cromwell's  invincible  Ironsides.  The  struggle 
between  the  right  wing  of  the  king's  army  under  Rupert  and  the  left 

i  Hist,  of  Paroch.  Church  of  Burnley,  p.  55. 


MARSTON  MOOR  BATTLE— RETREAT  OF  RUPERT.     I4g 

wing  of  the  enemy  under  Cromwell  was  deadly.  Lord  Derby  and 
Sir  Thomas  Tyldesley,  at  the  head  of  the  Lancashire  regiments,  per- 
formed prodigies  of  courage  ;  the  Earl  is  said  to  have  rallied  his  soldiers 
thrice  when  they  recoiled  before  the  onset  of  the  Ironsides.  But  every 
effort  proved  vain ;  and  the  close  of  that  sanguinary  day  saw  the 
Royalist  host  completely  vanquished.  Rupert  fell  back  upon  York  with 
the  loss  of  his  artillery  train,  and  the  next  day  commenced  a  disastrous 
retreat,  with  the  broken  fragments  of  his  army,  through  Richmondshire 
into  Lancashire.  The  20,000  men  with  which  he  had  marched  to  York 
had  been  reduced  by  the  heavy  losses  of  battle  to  about  6,000,  and 
among  the  killed  and  taken  many  hundreds  of  Lancashire  loyalists  were 
numbered. 

No  official  roll  has  been  found  of  the  Lancashire  officers  and  regi- 
ments that  participated  in  the  battle  of  Marston  Moor ;  and  I  can  only 
mention  with  certainty  a  few  of  the  principal  Royalists  of  the  county 
who  were  in  the  battle  besides  the  Earl  of  Derby  and  Sir  Thomas 
Tyldesley.  Colonel  Goring  was  present  with  the  contingent  out  of 
North  Lancashire,  which  had  been  reviewed  by  Prince  Rupert  on  Pres- 
ton Marsh  a  fortnight  before  the  battle.  Probably  William  Farrington, 
of  Worden,  also  marched  to  York,  between  the  two  sieges  of  Lathom, 
in  both  of  which  he  played  an  honourable  part.  Colonel  Edward  Chisen- 
hale,  a  member  of  the  Chisenhales  of  Chorley,  appears  in  this  campaign. 
Among  those  out  of  Lancashire  who  perished  at  Marston  Moor  were 
Captain  Christopher  Anderton,  probably  of  the  Andertons  of  Lostock  ; 
Charles  Townley,  Esq.,  of  Townley;  and,  according  to  Vicars's 
Chronicle,  "  Colonel  Houghton,  son  to  Sir  Gilbert  Houghton."1 

Retreating  rapidly  by  forced  marches,  Rupert  distanced  his  pursuers 
detached  from  the  victorious  enemy  at  York  ;  and,  fearing  that  his  way 
through  Blackburn  Hundred  might  be  blocked  by  forces  from  Manches- 
ter uniting  with  those  left  in  the  Hundred,  performed  his  backward 
movement  through  Lunesdale.  On  July  8th,  1644,  six  days  after  Marston 
Moor  battle,  Colonel  Shuttleworth  wrote  from  Padiham  to  the  Committee 
for  Parliament  at  Manchester : — "  I  have  this  morning  intelligence  from 
Captain  Porter  att  Lancaster  that  Prince  Rupert  will  bee  this  night  at 
Horneby,  but  how  strong  we  know  not,  and  intendeth  for  Liverpooll  as 
wee  understand."9  A  week  later,  July  i5th,  Sir  George  Booth  wrote 
from  Dunham  to  the  Commander-in-chief  at  Nantwich : — "I  am  informed 
that  Prince  Rupert  is  come  to  Preston,  or  very  neare  it,  with  6000 
horse  and  some  foot,  and  that  Lieutenant  Generall  Cromwell  lefte  the 
pursuit  of  him,  and  is  returned  to  York  to  the  Leaguer,  so  as  the  enemie 
hath  more  scope  and  liberty  to  advance  as  he  pleaseth.  And,  there- 

i  Pt.  i,  p.  271.  2  MSS.  of  E.  of  Denbigh. 


150  HISTORY    OF  BLACKBURN. 

fore,  it  will  behove  us  of  this  countie  [Cheshire]  to  stand  well  upon  our 
ward,  and  rally  our  fforces  for  the  publique  safetie."1 

There  is  no  account  of  encounter  with  any  force  of  the  enemy 
during  Rupert's  retreat  through  Lancashire.  At  the  period  of  his  transit 
the  county  was  almost  denuded  of  Parliamentarian  soldiers.  On  his 
return  march  the  Prince  had  not  with  him  any  portion  of  the  Lancashire 
contingent.  It  was  left  behind  ;  one  detachment  under  Colonel  Goring, 
and  a  larger  force  under  Colonel  Tyldesley,  that  was  wandering  to  and 
fro  in  West  Lancashire  a  month  afterwards.  The  Royalist  garrison 
Prince  Rupert  had  left  at  Clitheroe  in  his  eastward  advance,  being  under 
an  incapable  captain,  had  lost  little  time  in  evacuating  the  post  on 
getting  tidings  of  the  great  defeat  at  York.  Says  the  local  annalist  of 
the  War  : — "  Clitherall  Castle  was  committed  to  the  trust  of  Captain 
Cuthbert  Bradkirk  of  Wray,  a  man  of  small  account  and  of  no  good 
caring.  He  caused  it  to  be  repaired  about  the  Gate  House  where  it 
was  ruined.  He  fetched  out  of  the  Country  about  great  stores  of  good 
provisions  of  all  kinds — Meall,  Mault,  Beef,  Bacon,  Butter,  Cheese,  and 
the  like.  [This  officer  was  manifestly  a  smart  forager,  if  a  poor  fighter.] 
He  kept  it  [the  castle],  much  to  the  prejudice  of  the  country,  till  the 
Prince  had  lost  the  Battell  at  York.  And  when  that  was  known  to  him, 
no  enemie  coming  to  oppose  nor  anie  visible  thing  appearing  against 
him,  but  out  of  the  feare  and  guilt  of  his  owne  mind  upon  a  sudden  he 
caused  the  Draw  Well  within  to  be  filled  with  some  of  the  provisions  he 
had  plundered  from  the  country,  and  without  taking  any  leave  he  and 
his  company  did  run  away  and  left  it."8  Perhaps  the  Roundhead  writer 
is  a  little  unjust  in  his  stricture  upon  Captain  Bradkirk  ;  for  it  is  difficult 
to  see  with  what  prudence  this  officer  and  his  band  could  have  tarried 
longer  at  Clitheroe,  when  all  the  rest  of  the  King's  forces  were  being 
driven  in  headlong  flight  out  of  the  county,  without  any  hope  of  return- 
ing within  a  reasonable  period.  By  his  sudden  withdrawal  from  Clitheroe 
Castle  on  hearing  of  the  lost  battle,  Captain  Bradkirk,  at  the  least, 
saved  his-  company  from  an  inevitable  surrender  as  prisoners  of  war  a 
few  weeks  later.  However,  the  other  Royalist  garrison  left  in  the  Earl 
of  Derby's  castle  of  Greenough,  near  Garstang,  under  the  command  of 
Captain  Anderton,  of  Lostock,  did  bravely  keep  its  post,  in  the  midst  of 
a  district  soon  swarming  with  foes,  and  it  was  not  until  many  months 
after  that  the  castle  was  reduced  by  Colonel  Dodding. 

On  the  8th  of  August,  it  was  decided  by  the  Parliamentarian  con- 
clave that  "  the  Lord  Fairfax  should  take  care  of  Yorkshire,  and  send 
1,000  Horse  into  Lancashire  to  join  with  the  forces  of  that  Countie 
against  Liverpoole,  as  also  Cheshire  and  Derbyshire,  for  the  reducing  the 

i  MSS.  of  E.  of  Denbigh.  2  Disc,  of  Warr,  p.  53. 


FIGHT  AT  WALTON  COP  AND  KIBBLE  BRIDGE.  jiji 

rest  of  Prince  Rupert's  broken  forces."1  By  the  time  the  detachment  sent 
west  by  Fairfax  reached  Lancashire,  some  successes  were  scored  by  the 
local  forces.  The  Perfect  Diurnall  for  Monday,  August  i2th,  1644, 
reported  the  receipt  of  letters  to  the  effect  that  "  Colonel  Ashton  (a  valiant 
active  gentleman)  had  taken  200  of  the  Earl  of  Barbie's  Horse  neere  to 
Preston,  and  that  Sir  William  Brereton,  Major  Generall  of  the  Associa- 
tion of  Chester,  had  sent  a  party  of  about  1,500  foote  to  join  with  the 
Lancasterians  in  beleaguering  the  town  of  Liverpool."2  Other  move- 
ments, in  the  vicinity .  of  Blackburn  and  Preston,  in  which  Colonel 
Nicholas  Shuttleworth  and  Sir  John  Meldrum  victoriously  attacked  the 
rear-guard  of  the  retreating  Royalist  army,  the  author  of  the  Discourse 
of  the  Warr  describes  with  some  minuteness.  He  states  that  Sir  John 
Meldrum,  "about  the  loth  of  August,  being  designed  to  clear  this 
County  and  furnished  with  forces  of  Salford  and  Blackburne  Hundreds 
with  the  remainders  of  Amonderness  and  a  Regiment  of  the  Yorkshire 
Horse," — "  set  forward  into  Darby  Hundred  to  seek  them ;  but  they  fled 
over  Ribble  Watter  into  the  Fylde,  out  of  which  upon  a  false  Alarum 
they  had  fled  not  above  five  days  before."  While  Sir  John  Meldrum 
was  trying  to  find  his  enemy  south  of  Ribble,  who  had  doubled  back 
into  the  Fylde,  "  some  scatterings  of  the  Enemy  aboad  in  or  about 
Preston."  The  narrative  proceeds  : — 

Now  Colonel  Nicholas  Shuttleworth  lying  at  Blackburne  with  his  Troop,  upon 
the  1 5th  of  August  he  with  a  part  of  his  Troop  and  some  Countrymen,  being  desirous 
to  go  to  Preston  if  possible  (it  being  the  Fair  there),  when  they  came  to  the  Coppe 
at  Walton  they  meeting  with  some  of  the  King's  part  scirmished  with  them  and  put 
them  1o  the  flight.  And  in  the  pursuit  they  took  a  Scottish  Lord  called  Ogles 
[Ogleby]  and  with  him  one  of  the  HudoUestones  of  Millam  Castle.  And  after  that 
they  met  with  more  of  that  Companie  about  Ribble  Bridge  Hill  and  there  had  a  sore 
disput  with  them,  killing  one  of  them  at  the  Bridge  End,  a  brave,  portly  man  ;  what 
his  name  was  they  could  not  learne,  for  they  were  so  hard  put  to,  that  it  was  with 
great  difficulty  that  they  came  off  with  honour  and  safetie — yet  did,  and  brought  some 
butties  and  their  Prisoners  to  Blackburne  that  night,  and  went  not  to  Preston  [that  is 
to  say,  did  not  enter  the  town,  as  they  had  purposed,  to  see  the  Fair].3 

A  despatch  of  Colonel  Nicholas  Shuttleworth,  concerning  this  fight, 
is  in  existence,  written  from  Whalley  : — 

Right  Honourable. — Upon  Thursday  last  [Thursday,  August  1 5th]  marching 
with  three  of  my  troops  upon  Blackburne  towards  Preston,  where  the  Enemie  lay,  I 
met  II  of  their  Colours  at  Ribble  Bridge  within  a  mile  of  Preston,  whereupon  after 
a  sharp  fight  we  took  the  Lord  Ogleby,  a  Scotch  Lord,  and  Col.  Ennis,  one  other 
Col.  slaine,  one  Major  wounded,  and  divers  officers  and  souldiers  to  the  number  of  40 
in  all  taken,  besides  8  or  9  slaine,  with  the  losse  of  1 2  men  taken  prisoners,,  which 
afterwards  were  released  by  Sir  John  Mildrum  upon  his  coming  to  Preston  the  night 
following,  from  whence  the  Enemie  fled. — Your  humble  Servant,  NIC.  SHUTTLE- 
WORTH.* 

i  C.  W.  Tracts,  p.  203.  2  Ib.  p.  204.  3  Disc,  of  Warr,  pp.  54-5.. 

4  Baines's  Hist,  of  Lane.,  ii,  p.  447. 


152  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

There  is  likewise  a  record  of  this  affair  in  Vicars's  Parliamentary 
Chronicle : — 

August  the  two  and  twentieth,  came  credible  information  by  letters  out  of 
Lancashire  to  London,  that  the  Lord  Ogleby,  a  Scotch  incendiary,  fell  upon  Colonel 
Doddington,  neer  Preston  in  Lancashire,  as  hee  was  marching  out  of  Yorkshire  to 
Sir  John  Meldrum,  then  in  Lancashire.  Colonell  Doddington,  the  first,  had  the 
worst,  but  young  Colonell  Shuttleworth,  who  indeed  deserved  to  bee  an  elder  brother 
for  his  activity  and  gallant  performances  in  the  service,  came  in  timely  to  the  relief  of 
that  valiant  gentleman,  Colonell  Doddington,  and  put  the  enemy,  consisting  of  foure 
hundred  horse,  to  totall  rout,  slew  many  on  the  place,  and  took  many  prisoners ;  among 
whom  were  the  Lord  Ogleby  himself,  Colonell  Mynne,  and  Lievtenant  Colonell 
Huddlestone,  a  man  of  power  and  much  reporte  in  Cumberland  ;  and  divers  other 
persons  of  quality,  Scottish  commanders  and  gentlemen,  were  taken  prisoners ;  they 
also  took  three  score  Horse  with  their  riders,  and  a  party  of  these  also  endeavouring  to 
get  to  Lathom  House  as  a  place  of  retreat,  was  surprised  by  our  forces  who  lay  before 
Lathom  House,  and  every  man  of  them  taken  prisoners.1 

The  flying  visit  of  Colonel  Nicholas  Shuttleworth  to  Preston  was 
immediately  succeeded  by  the  permanent  occupation  of  the  town  by  the 
Parliamentarian  regiments  under  Sir  John  Meldrum,  and  the  flight  of 
the  Royalist  partizans  into  the  rural  districts  of  Amounderness.  The 
most  circumstantial  narrative  of  the  war  in  this  county  says  : — "  At  this 
tyme  little  was  known  at  Blackburn  of  Sir  John  Meldrum's  March,  and 
yet  the  i6th  day  of  August  [the  day  after  Shuttleworth's  fight  at  Walton 
Bridge],  about  ten  or  eleaven  of  the  clock  at  night  he  entered  Preston, 
the  Enemie  flying  from  the  towne  downe  into  the  Fylde  ;  for  being  far 
in  Darbie  Hundred  and  hearing  that  those  Enemies  that  were  there  fled 
into  the  Fylde  over  Eibble  Watter,  he  marched  fast  that  day  although 
it  was  a  sore  wet  day.  He  quartered  his  Army  in  Preston  about  Satur- 
day and  Sunday.  Upon  Saturday  late  at  night  came  up  to  him  a  Regi- 
ment carrying  all  Black  Cullurs  that  came  out  of  Cheshire."2  This  was 
the  regiment  that  Sir  William  Brereton  detached  from  his  Cheshire  army 
to  aid  the  Lancastrian  Roundheads  in  clearing  the  county  of  the 
enemy.  At  the  same  time,  also,  "  Colonell  Dodding  in  his  return  from 
York  Battell,  quartering  some  while  in  Blackburne  Hundred  recruiting 
his  Forces  and  furnishing  them  with  Cullers  and  other  necessaries,  hear- 
ing that  Sir  John  was  come  up  to  Preston,  came  up  to  him  with  his 
Regiment  that  night."  Meldrum  thus  found  himself  in  command  of  a 
force  of  four  or  five  thousand  men,  with  which  he  gave  active  pursuit  to 
the  elusive  Royalists. 

August  iQth,  1644,  Sir  John  Meldrum  re-entered  Preston,  having 
expelled  the  enemy  from  the  Fylde  country.  On  the  2oth  of  August, 
he  moved  southward  to  pursue  the  enemy  retreating  through  North 
Meols  and  the  westerly  townships  of  West  Derby  Hundred,  with  the 

i  Pt.  iii,  p.  it.  2  Di«c.  of  Warr,  pp.  55-6. 


DISTRESS  IN  THE  COUNTY.  !53 

object  of  gaining  Liverpool.  Sir  John  had  previously  despatched  Dod- 
ding's  regiment  to  besiege  Greenough  Castle.  Liverpool  was  surren- 
dered by  the  Royalist  garrison  on  Friday,  November  ist,  1644. 

By  an  Ordinance  of  the  2  9th  of  August,  1644,  the  two  Houses  of 
Parliament  had  appointed  a  Committee  for  Lancashire,  for  the  seques- 
tration of  the  estates  of  "  Malignants"  (as  the  Royalists  were  termed) ; 
for  the  assessment  of  the  tax  called  the  "Soldier's  Ley"  upon  the  county ; 
and  the  reduction  of  the  forces.  The  committee  were  to  hold  general 
monthly  meetings  at  Preston.  One  instruction  to  this  committee  was 
that  no  person  unfit  in  the  judgment  of  seven  or  more  of  the  committee 
"to  be  intrusted  with  arms,  should  reside  or  dwell  within  any  of  the 
towns  of  Manchester,  Warrington,  Liverpool,  Lancaster,  -Clitheroe,  or 
Preston,"  and  every  able-bodied  inhabitant  of  these  places  was  to  be 
required  to  bear  arms,  or  to  provide  a  substitute.  Among  the  twenty- 
eight  members  of  this  Lancashire  Committee  of  Assessment  are  found 
the  following  representatives  of  local  families  : — Sir  Ralph  Ashton,  Bart. ; 
Richard  Hoghton,  Esq.;  Richard  Shuttleworth,  Esq.;  John  Starkey, 
Esq.;  Richard  Ashton,  Esq.;  Nicholas  Cunliffe,  gent. ;  and  Robert 
Cunliffe,  gent.1 

The  famine  of  food  and  general  distress  in  those  parts  of  Lanca- 
shire which  had  been  the  scene  of  Rupert's  ravages  and  the  military 
operations  of  that  memorable  summer  of  1644  had  been  so  extreme, 
that  on  the  nth  of  September  the  matter  was  brought  before  Parliament, 
and  the  subjoined  Order  was  passed  by  the  House  of  Commons : — 

Whereas  there  hath  been  such  Spoil,  Rapine,  and  unheard-of  Cruelties,  lately 
committed  by  the  Enemy  within  the  County  of  Lancaster,  insomuch  that  in  some 
parts  the  people  have  hardly  anything  left  them  to  cover  their  Nakedness,  or  their 
Children  Bread  to  eat ;  which  extreme  Misery  being  represented  unto  the  Commons 
assembled  in  Parliament  :  It  is  Ordered,  That  upon  the  Twelfth  Day  of  this  Instant 
September,  being  appointed  for  a  solemn  Fast,  the  One-half  of  the  public  Collection 
to  be  made  in  all  the  Churches  within  the  Cities  of  London,  Westminster,  and  within 
the  lines  of  Communication,  shall  be  employed  for  the  Relief  of  those  poor  distressed 
People  within  the  said  County  of  Lancaster  ;  and  the  Money  so  gathered,  being  certi- 
fied under  the  Hands  of  the  Ministers  and  Churchwardens  of  every  Church,  to  be 
upon  Tuesday  following,  being  the  Seventeenth  Day  of  this  Instant  Month,  paid  unto 
Mr.  Herle  and  Mr.  Case,  Ministers,  Members  of  the  Assembly  of  Divines,  at  the 
Deane's  House  at  Westminster  :  Which  Money  is  by  them  forthwith  to  be  conveyed 
and  paid  unto  Mr.  John  Hartley  of  Manchester,  and  by  him  to  be  disbursed,  accord- 
ing to  such  Directions  as  he  shall  receive  under  the  Hands  of  Mr.  Herrick  Warden  of 
Manchester,  Mr.  Harper  Minister  of  Boulton,  Mr.  Ward  Minister  of  Warrington, 
Mr.  Lathom  Minister  of  Douglasse,  Mr.  Ambrose  Minister  of  Preston,  Mr.  Shaw 
Minister  of  Aldinham,  and  Mr.  Hipworth  Minister  of  Whaley  [Whalley],  or  any 
Four  of  them  ;  who  have  hereby  authority  to  dispose  and  distribute  the  same  ;  the 
several  distributions  being  first  seen  and  allowed  by  Three  or  more  of  the  Deputy 
Lieutenants  of  the  same  County.2 

i  Journals  of  H.  of  Commons.        2  Ib. 


154  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

During  the  winter  Greenough  Castle,  by  Garstang,  was  won  for  the 
Parliament  by  the  besieging  force,  mostly  of  Blackburn  shire  men,  under 
Colonel  Dodding.  This  Castle,  owned,  as  formerly  stated,  by  the 
Earl  of  Derby,  was  totally  demolished.  Lathom  House,  the  last  refuge 
of  broken  Royalism  in  Lancashire,  was  surrendered  December  2nd, 
1645,  after  a  second  siege  or  blockade  of  sixteen  months.  Within  three 
years  of  the  commencement  of  the  conflict  of  the  hostile  parties  in 
Lancashire,  not  a  solitary  Royalist  soldier  remained  in  arms  in  any  part 
of  the  county.  The  men  of  Blackburn  and  Salford  Hundreds,  with  the 
minority  of  Puritan  confederates  in  Amounderness  and  from  Liverpool, 
had  proved  more  than  a  match  for  the  Royalists  of  the  four  western 
Hundreds  of  Lancashire,  joined  by  not  a  few  friends  of  the  King  out 
of  East  Lancashire,  and  led  though  they  were  by  the  most  powerful 
nobles  and  gentry  in  this  province  of  the  Kingdom.  The  result  of  the 
strife  was  singular,  and  is  but  partially  accounted  for  by  the  drain  of 
Lancashire  loyalists  to  reinforce  the  King's  chief  armies,  fighting  in  dis- 
tant parts  of  the  country.  It  was,  however,  a  miserable  and  disastrous 
contest  to  all  involved,  and  hardly  less  to  the  adherents  of  the  victorious, 
than  to  those  of  the  defeated,  cause. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  year  1646,  the  Royalist  interest  in 
Lancashire  had  been  crushed  out  of  existence  ;  and  by  midsummer  of 
that  year,  the  victory  of  the  Parliament  all  over  the  country  was  so  com- 
plete that  it  was  confessed  that  "the  Kinge  hath  no  armye  in  the  field  to 
the  number  of  i  oo  men,  nor  any  one  garrison  unbesieged.  'J1  King  Charles, 
feeling  the  game  was  lost,  had  surrendered  himself  to  the  Scottish  Army 
at  Newark,  in  May,  1646,  and  on  the  roth  of  June  the  captive  monarch 
issued  his  warrant  to  those  few  supporters  who  still  held  fortified  places 
(Sir  Thomas  Tyldesley  was  one),  to  evacuate  them  and  to  disband  their 
forces. 

The  Lancashire  Committee  of  Sequestration  were  very  active  in 
their  proceedings  about  this  time.  It  was  not  the  great  landowners 
alone  who  were  subjected  to  their  penalties.  The  smaller  gentry  and 
yeomen  who  had  taken  the  losing  side  were  fined  in  proportion  to  their 
means.  It  was  generally  found  convenient  by  the  sequestrators  to  allow 
the  "  delinquent  "  parties  to  compound  for  their  estates  by  the  payment 
of  an  assessed  sum  in  money.  The  gentry  of  the  district  driven  to 
compound  at  this  time  were  : — Roger  Nowell  of  Read,  Esq.,  who  paid 
,£736  45.  6d.  as  the  price  of  his  retention  of  his  estates ;  John  South- 
worth  of  Samlesbury,  Esq.,  paid  ,£358  i8s.  gd. ;  Sir  John  Talbot  of 
Salesbury,  Knt,  paid  ^444 ;  Edward  Walmesley  of  Banister  Hall, 
gent,  ^"114;  William  Winckley  of  Billington,  gent.,  £26  ;  William 

i  C.  W.  Tracts,  p.  214. 


LANCASHIRE  PRESBYTERY -BLACKBURN  CLASSIS.  155 

Farrington  of  Worden,  senior,  Esq.,  ^536  ;  William  Farrington,  junior, 
gent.,  ^117. 

In  the  autumn  of  1646,  the  experiment  was  made  of  the  establish- 
ment of  a  Presbyterian  form  of  church  discipline  as  the  legalised 
ecclesiastical  system  in  Lancashire.  Presbyterian  Classes  were  appointed 
for  each  Hundred  and  all  the  churches  were  furnished  with  ministers 
approved  by  the  Lancashire  Presbytery,  and  supported  by  stipends 
supplied  out  of  the  funds  of  the  County  Sequestration  Committee  in 
cases  where  there  was  no  sufficient  endowment  attached  to  the  benefice. 
The  Classis  of  Blackburn  Hundred  was  constituted  of  the  following 
ministers  and  laymen  : — 

THE  MINISTERS  FIT  TO  BE  OF  THE  THIRD  CLASSIS. — Mr.  Adam  Boulton 
of  Blackburne ;  Mr.  Robert  Worthington  of  Harwood ;  Mr.  Richard  Redman  of  Low 
Church  ;  Mr.  William  Walker  of  Whaley  ;  Mr.  Henry  Morrice  of  Burneley ;  Mr. 
John  Briars  of  Padiham ;  Mr.  Wm.  Ingham  of  Church ;  Mr.  John  King  of  Chipping. 

OTHERS  FIT  TO  BE  OF  THE  THIRD  CLASSIS. — Sir  Ralph  Ashton,  Baronet ; 
Richard  Shuttleworth,  senior,  Esquire ;  John  Parker,  Esquire ;  Richard  Ashton  of 
Downham,  Esquire ;  John  Livesay  of  Livesay,  gentleman  ;  Thomas  Barcroft  of  Bar- 
croft,  gentleman ;  Nicholas  Cunliffe  of  Wycollar,  gentleman ;  John  Cunliffe  of  Hollins, 
gentleman ;  Robert  Cunliffe  of  Sparth,  gentleman ;  Nicholas  Rishton  of  Anteley, 
gentleman ;  Roger  Gelliborn  of  Beardwood,  gentleman ;  William  Y  ates  of  Blackburne 
gentleman  ;  John  Howorth  of  Clayton,  gentleman  ;  Thomas  Whalley  of  Rishton, 
gentleman;  Charles  Gregory  of  Haslinden,  gentleman.1 

The  ordinance  of  Parliament  creating  the  Lancashire  Provincial 
Presbytery  of  nine  classes  is  dated  Oct.  2nd,  1646;  and  on  the  iyth 
of  November  following,  the  Assembly  met  for  the  first  time  at  Preston 
and  framed  a  declaration  of  polity,  published  under  the  title  of  "  The 
Deliberate  Resolution  of  the  Ministers  of  the  Gospel  within  the  County 
Palatine  of  Lancaster,  with  their  grounds  and  cautions  according  to 
which  they  put  into  execution  the  Presbyteriall  Government  upon  the 
present  Ordinances  of  Parliament."2  During  its  existence,  the  Provincial 
Assembly  held  twenty-two  half-yearly  meetings,  usually  at  Preston  ;  one 
meeting  only  was  held  at  Blackburn.  The  functions  of  the  Lancashire 
Presbytery  were  spontaneously  suspended  in  1659. 

The  year  1647  was  passed  in  tranquillity  in  Lancashire,  and 
throughout  England.  At  the  close  of  the  year,  it  was  resolved  to  effect 
large  reductions  in  the  standing  army,  the  support  of  which  had  severely 
taxed  the  resources  of  Parliament.  Accordingly,  on  the  23rd  December, 
1647,  the  House  of  Commons  appointed  a  Committee  to  go  down  to 
the  army  in  the  various  counties,  to  disband  the  supernumeraries,  pay  the 
troops,  and  take  off  free  quarter.  The  gentlemen  sent  down  into 
Lancashire  upon  this  duty  were  Colonel  Assheton,  Mr.  Fell,  Mr.  Peter 
Brook,  and  Mr.  Shuttleworth,  junior. 

i  Journals  of  H.  of  Commons.  2  London  :  Printed  for  Luke  Fawne,  1647. 


156  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

But  this  interval  of  calm  was  the  prelude  of  another  stormy  out- 
burst of  strife.  King  Charles  was  in  the  hands  of  his  enemies,  but 
among  his  friends  in  England  and  Scotland  was  cherished  a  determina- 
tion to  put  forth  another  effort  to  restore  the  fallen  sovereignty.  A  plan 
for  the  invasion  of  England  was  matured  by  the  Stuart  party  in  the 
North,  whilst,  in  concert  with  the  projectors  of  that  design,  Sir 
Marmaduke  Langdale  was  employed  to  collect  the  fragments  of  the 
Royalist  forces  in  the  northern  English  counties.  In  the  Spring  of 
1648  the  army  raised  by  the  Duke  of  Hamilton  among  the  Scottish 
nobility  had  grown  to  such  proportions,  that  the  prospect  of  an  advance 
southward  of  the  Duke  and  Langdale  began  to  create  uneasiness  in 
Parliamentarian  quarters,  particularly  among  the  Roundheads  in  Lanca- 
shire, who  were  likely  to  bear  the  brunt  of  the  new  attack.  By  the 
middle  of  May,  rumours  of  the  coming  forward  of  the  Royalist  Scottish 
army  had  become  so  positive  that  the  House  of  Commons  ordered 
Colonel  Assheton  and  other  officers  to  repair  to  Lancashire  to  employ 
means  for  the  safety  of  the  county.  The  mandate  was  promptly  put 
into  execution  by  Colonel  Assheton  and  his  colleagues.  There  yet 
remained  embodied  in  Lancashire  a  force  of  several  regiments,  which 
formed  a  nucleus  for  the  Lancashire  army  Colonel  (now  Major-General) 
Assheton  was  engaged  to  muster  for  the  defence  of  the  Parliamentarian 
interest  there. 

Sir  Ralph  Assheton  called  up  with  speed  the  militia  of  Lancashire, 
which  had  fought  under  him  in  former  campaigns.  June  i2th,  it  was 
reported  that  "The  Committee  of  Lancashire  have  ordered  four  colonels 
of  foot  and  two  of  horse,  with  their  regiments,  now  in  readiness  in  the 
northern  part  of  this  county,  forthwith  to  join  with  Major-General 
Lambert's  forces  in  Yorkshire  against  the  enemy  in  Westmoreland  and 
Cumberland  /'  that  "  Colonel  Ashton  is  Commander-in-chief,  and  under 
him  Lt.-Col.  Rigby  commandeth  one  regiment  of  horse,  and  Colonel 
Nicholas  Shuttleworth  the  other ;  the  colonels  are  Col.  Dodding,  Col. 
Standish,  commandeth  his  own  and  Lt.-Col.  Rigby's  foot,  Col.  Ashton 
[Assheton  of  Downham],  and  Col.  Oughtred  Shuttleworth."1 

After  some  bootless  delay  on  the  Border,  Duke  Hamilton  at  last 
moved  onward  into  England  in  the  last  days  of  July,  1648.  "Some 
of  his  army  was  in  the  North  about  Appleby  and  those  parts  a  good 
space.  And  Colonell  Lambert  with  the  forces  of  Yorkshire  and  Lanca- 
shire for  the  Parliament  had  some  little  bout  with  them,  but  not  being 
able  to  withstand  them,  they  retreated  downe  into  Yorkshire,  there 
expecting  and  looking  for  Generall  Cromwell  with  his  Forces  to  come 
in  to  them  to  make  head  to  resist  the  Duke.  About  the  latter  end 

i  C.  W.  Tracts,  p.  252. 


CAMPAIGN  OF  1648— HAMILTON'S  ADVANCE.  I57 

of  July  the  Duke's  Army  was  moving  towards  this  country,  and  by  the 
beginning  of  August  was  entered  it."1 

To  General  Cromwell  it  was  that  not  only  the  advanced  guard  of 
Lancashire  and  Yorkshire,  but  the  country,  looked  for  the  discomfiture 
of  the  combination  of  Hamilton's  Presbyterians,  and  Langdale's 
Prelatists  and  Roman  Catholics,  for  the  re-imposition  of  the  Stuart 
dynasty.  Cromwell  had  some  time  been  employed  in  military  operations 
terminating  in  the  tedious  Siege  of  Pembroke.  It  was  thought  Crom- 
well would  be  compelled  to  raise  that  siege,  by  the  more  serious 
distractions  demanding  his  presence  in  the  North.  But  he  persisted  in 
the  investment,  closely  calculating  the  time  when  the  Welsh  business 
must  close,  and  the  campaign  against  Hamilton  must  open.  On  the 
nth  of  July,  Pembroke  capitulated  ;  and  Cromwell,  released  from  that 
duty,  marched  swiftly  into  England,  in  the  direction  of  Yorkshire.  His 
route  lay  through  Gloucester,  Leicester  and  Nottingham ;  and  by  the 
2yth  of  July,  his  horse  regiments  had  effected  the  junction  with  Lambert 
at  Barnard  Castle.  Cromwell  himself,  at  the  head  of  his  foot  regiments, 
did  not  join  until  about  the  9th  of  August,  when  the  combination  was 
effected  at  Wetherby.  Thence  the  united  army,  under  Cromwell's 
command,  marched  to  Knaresborough,  and  was  at  the  latter  town  on  the 
nth  of  August.  The  design  was  then  to  enter  Lancashire,  which 
Cromwell  hoped  to  reach  in  time  to  intercept  the  invading  army  in  its 
passage  through  the  county. 

Hamilton,  less  regardful  of  the  importance  of  time,  both  to  himself 
and  the  enemy,  was  more  leisurely  in  his  movements  than  Cromwell. 
It  took  him  nearly  a  fortnight  to  reach  Preston  after  his  entrance  into 
Lancashire  at  Burton-in-Kendal  and  Kirkby-Lonsdale.  From  Hornby 
the  Duke  marched  to  Lancaster,  which  he  did  not  stay  to  invest,  and 
lodged  one  night  at  Ashton  Hall;  thence,  with  his  vanguard,  "his 
Artillery  and  three  Carriages,  came  to  Preston  on  the  i4th  or  i5th  of 
August."3 

BATTLE    AT    PRESTON     AND    WALTON. 

Throughout  the  long  conflict  between  Monarch  and  Parliament,  no 
more  signal  military  transaction  took  place  than  the  Battle  at  Preston 
and  Walton,  between  Cromwell  and  Duke  Hamilton,  in  August,  1648. 
Not  Marston  Moor  battle,  the  turning  point  in  the  contest,  when  for  the 
first  time  the  star  of  Cromwell  rose  in  the  ascendant,  and  that  of  Rupert 
suffered  occultation;  nor  Naseby,  the  expiring  effort  of  the  English 
Cavaliers  to  save  the  cause  of  Charles  ;  nor  Worcester,  where  the  heir 
of  the  then  beheaded  King  drank  to  the  dregs  the  bitter  cup  of  defeat 
that  had  been  ordained  for  the  Stuarts  in  these  wars  ;  was  regarded  at 

i  Disc,  of  Warr,  p.  64.  2  Ib.,  p.  65. 


158  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

the  time,  by  either  section  of  a  divided  nation,  as  of  more  supreme 
consequence  than  the  collision  of  the  opposing  forces  on  the  banks 
of  the  Ribble  and  Darwen.  The  particularity  with  which  the  brief 
campaign,  which  began  and  was  determined  by  this  battle,  was  dwelt 
upon  by  those  engaged  in  it ;  the  lengthy  despatches  of  the  victor, 
Cromwell ;  the  vindicatory  narrative  of  Langdale,  the  English  general 
on  the  vanquished  side;  the  proceedings  in  Parliament  on  the  announce- 
ment of  the  battle  and  its  results;  and  the  private  histories  of  the  event 
by  subordinate  participants  in  the  battle,  all  serve  to  betoken  the 
contemporary  estimate  of  the  magnitude  of  the  issue  here  decided. 
Measured,  too,  by  the  material  gains  to  the  conquerors,  and  by  the 
losses  of  life  and  liberty  by  the  defeated,  this  battle  gives  place  to  none 
fought  in  that  war,  nor,  indeed,  to  any  waged  on  English  ground  before 
or  since. 

On  Wednesday  night,  August  i6th,  1648,  the  last  of  Duke  Hamil- 
ton's troops  had  arrived  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Preston.  The  Duke's 
army  numbered  in  all  about  12,000  foot  and  5,000  horse;  a  total  of 
some  17,000  men.  But  this  considerable  army  was  very  much  scattered 
and  disotdered.  On  the  morning  of  the  i  yth  August,  a  large  portion  of 
Hamilton's  vanguard  of  cavalry  was  as  far  ahead  as  Wigan.  Of  his 
infantry,  some  thousands  were  across  the  Ribble,  and  posted  in  the 
village  of  Walton  and  on  the  rising  ground  beyond  Darwen  Bridge. 
Other  regiments  were  on  the  Preston  side  of  Ribble  Bridge  and  in  the 
town  of  Preston ;  while  a  body  of  the  Scottish  horse  was  out  foraging 
in  the  Fylde.  Sir  Marmaduke  Langdale,  with  the  English  contingent, 
comprising  some  3,000  foot  and  600  horse,  had  just  reached  his  quarters 
on  the  Ribbleton  side  of  Preston,  on  the  termination  of  his  march  out 
of  Craven.  The  Royalist  army  was  therefore  spread  over  about  twenty 
or  more  miles  of  country,  from  north  to  south,  and  was  utterly  unready 
for  an  attack  upon  any  part  of  its  extended  line.  Moreover,  between 
the  Scots  of  Hamilton  and  the  English  of  Langdale  there  existed 
religious  and  political  differences  that  rendered  concerted  action  very 
doubtful.  Even  had  it  been  probable  that  Cromwell's  attack  would 
come  either  from  the  north  or  the  south,  the  position  of  Hamilton's 
army  was  one  of  extreme  weakness  ;  though  had  the  blow  been  struck 
either  upon  the  heads  of  the  Duke's  columns  at  Wigan,  or  upon  his 
rear  behind  Preston,  the  assailed  regiments  might  have  retreated  upon 
the  main  body.  But  it  was  a  necessity  of  the  case  that  if  Cromwell 
attacked  at  all,  at  this  stage  in  the  invader's  advance,  it  must  be  upon 
his  left  flank,  and  consequently  that  any  troops  lying  apart  from  the 
main  body  would  be  entirely  out  of  the  fight.  Only  the  conviction  on 
the  part  of  Duke  Hamilton  and  his  council  of  war  that  Cromwell  was 


BATTLE  AT  PRESTON  AND  WALTON.  I$g 

not  strong  enough  to  attack,  or  could  not  come  up  in  time  to  confront 
the  Duke  on  the  Ribble,  could  explain,  much  less  justify,  the  careless 
disposition  of  the  Scottish  forces.  Sir  Marmaduke  Langdale,  indeed, 
had  his  English  regiments  well  in  hand,  and  having  come  to  Preston  by 
the  same  road  that  the  enemy  might  be  expected,  his  troops  were 
posted  precisely  where  they  would  be  wanted  in  the  event  of  a  sudden 
flank  attack.  Langdale's  position  was  at  the  edge  of  Ribbleton  Moor, 
a  short  distance  east  of  the  town  of  Preston.  He  knew  that  an  hostile 
force  was  within  three  miles  of  him  ;  and  he  communicated  the  fact  to 
Duke  Hamilton,  but  the  Duke  could  not  credit  that  Cromwell  was  so 
near,  and  supposing  that  the  enemy  was  merely  a  small  force  of  Lanca- 
shire militia  hovering  on  his  flank,  he  made  no  preparation  to  meet  a 
formidable  onslaught. 

Lieut. -General  Cromwell,  meanwhile,  had  got  across  the  frontier 
passes  into  East  Lancashire  with  great  celerity.  On  the  i3th  of  August 
he  was  at  Otley,  in  Wharfedale  ;  on  the  i4th  he  entered  Skipton ;  on 
the  1 5th  had  reached  the  verge  of  Yorkshire,  at  Gisburn  ;  and  on  the 
1 6th,  having  marched  from  Gisburn  to  Clitheroe,  through  Rimington 
and  Chatburn,  and  from  Clitheroe  over  Edisford  Bridge  to  Mitton,  he 
had  arrived  towards  evening  at  the  old  bridge  over  the  Hodder,  the 
ruins  of  which  still  remain,  a  few  yards  below  the  modern  bridge.  Here 
Cromwell  halted,  and  held  a  council  with  his  officers,  to  consider  if  they 
should  turn  to  the  left,  taking  the  road  to  Whalley,  and  by  that  route 
march  to  Blackburn  and  Bolton,  and  so  strike  the  enemy  somewhere  in 
South  Lancashire  or  in  Cheshire ;  or  should  cross  the  Hodder,  and, 
following  the  right  bank  of  the  Ribble  to  Preston,  try  to  catch  the  enemy 
before  he  had  quitted  his  quarters  there  and  force  him  to  a  general 
action.  In  favour  of  the  latter  move  it  could  be  urged  that  it  was  more 
likely  to  permit  of  the  surprise  of  an  unguarded  adversary.  Fortunately 
for  the  issue,  Cromwell  resolved  to  cross  the  bridge,  and  by  a  forced 
march  to  reach  and  beard  the  foe  upon  the  Ribble.  The  Roundhead 
army  encamped  that  night  in  the  fields  about  Stonyhurst.  At  daybreak 
next  morning  it  began  the  march  of  nine  miles  to  Preston,  the  des- 
tined battle-ground.  The  weather  was  wet,  and  the  roads  and  fields 
very  heavy  for  marching  of  foot  or  horse.  But  after  a  toilsome  march 
by  Hurst  Green  and  Longridge,  the  Roundhead  vanguard  came  in  view 
of  the  foe  late  in  the  afternoon,  between  Longridge  and  Ribbleton. 
Cromwell's  army  was  but  small,  not  more  than  8,500  men,  including  a 
portion  of  the  Lancashire  regiments  that  had  joined  him  near  Clitheroe. 
The  odds  against  him  were  nearly  three  to  one,  for  the  united  forces 
of  Hamilton  and  Langdale  were  variously  reckoned  at  from  22,000  to 
24,000  men.  The  day  too  was  fast  waning,  and  not  more  than  four  or 


!6o  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

five  hours  of  daylight  were  left  for  a  fight  that  seemed  likely  to  be 
stubborn.  Nevertheless,  Cromwell  gave  orders  for  an  immediate  attack. 
The  decision,  though  apparently  rash,  was  really  wise — the  intuition 
of  a  consummate  general.  Cromwell  divined  that  the  enemy's  force 
was  squandered  beyond  all  chance  of  concentration,  should  the  attack 
be  at  once  delivered ;  whereas  by  a  few  hours  of  delay  some  thousands 
of  outlying  troops  might  have  been  called  in  by  Hamilton  to  aid  him  in 
withstanding  the  onset  of  the  Parliamentarian  general.  Cromwell's 
army,  though  overmatched  in  numbers,  was  highly  disciplined  and  con- 
fident in  itself  and  its  invincible  general. 

The  battle  commenced  by  an  attack  with  foot  and  horse  upon  Sir 
Marmaduke  Langdale's  force,  "drawn  out,"  says  Cromwell,  "upon  a 
moor  betwixt  us  and  the  Town."  Langdale's  Englishmen  fought  very 
stoutly,  and  although  the  assailants  were  very  superior  in  strength  at  the 
point  struck,  it  took  from  three  to  four  hours  to  dislodge  the  Royalists, 
and  to  force  the  entrance  to  the  town.  Langdale,  finding  himself 
worsted,  judiciously  moved  his  troops  little  by  little  to  his  right,  in  the 
direction  of  Kibble  Bridge  at  Walton,  to  bring  him  in  closer  communi- 
cation with  Hamilton's  army,  the  major  portion  of  which  remained  in 
its  quarters  at  Walton,  and  on  both  banks  of  the  Kibble.  Eventually,  a 
remnant  of  Langdale  and  Hamilton's  troops  was  driven  into,  and 
through,  the  streets  of  Preston,  by  four  troops  of  Cromwell's  own  horse- 
regiment,  and  completely  detached  from  the  main  army.  The  rest 
of  Langdale's  men  debouched  upon  the  Bridge  at  Walton,  and  in 
conjunction  with  some  Scots  there  posted,  stiffly  maintained  the  bridge 
against  the  advance  of  Cromwell's  regiments,  of  which  the  Lancashire 
contingent  here  came  to  the  front  of  the  action.  At  last,  the  Lancashire 
Roundheads  stormed  the  bridge,  and  pursued  the  beaten  enemy  through 
the  village  of  Walton  to  Darwen  Bridge.  At  this  second  bridge  another 
fierce  conflict  took  place  ;  but  again  the  Royalists  had  to  yield ;  the 
troops  of  Cromwell  carried  the  bridge  over  the  Darwen,  and  occupied 
the  cluster  of  houses  that  stood  near  it.  When  darkness  set  in,  Crom- 
well was  in  possession  of  the  town  of  Preston ;  of  the  ground  on  both 
banks  of  the  Ribble  ;  of  Ribble  Bridge,  Walton  village,  and  Darwen 
Bridge.  Those  regiments  of  the  Royalist  horse  cut  off  from  the  main 
army,  and  driven  out  of  Preston  on  the  north  side,  were  hotly  pursued 
ten  miles  on  the  road  to  Lancaster,  and  many  hundreds  of  the  men  and 
horses  captured. 

The  battle-ground  traverses  several  miles  of  country  ;  commencing 
upon  a  stretch  of  boggy  waste  known  as  Ribbleton  Moor,  having  a  slight 
descent  towards  Preston  burgh  ;  on  the  west  skirt  of  the  moor  were 
the  enclosed  lands  of  Fishwick  and  the  crofts  and  gardens  of  the  eastern 


BATTLE  AT  PRESTON  AND  WALTON. 


161 


suburb  of  Preston.  Where  Ribbleton  Lane  ended  in  its  junction  with 
the  main  street  of  the  town,  the  road  to  Wigan  and  the  South  branched 
to  the  left  in  the  direction  of  the  Ribble  Bridge  at  Walton  ;  and  on  the 
east  side  of  this  road  the  plateau  of  Fishwick  terminates  in  a  bluff,  des- 
cending to  the  low  level  holme  expanding  here  on  the  north  side 
of  the  river.  West  of  the  Walton  road,  the  Swillbrook  ran  at  the  bottom 
of  a  dingle  between  Frenchwood  and  Preston,  that  deepens  until  the 
brook  reaches  the  Ribble  below  Avenham.  A  tradition  exists,  recorded 
by  Patten,  writing  in  1716,  that  in  the  hollow,  where  a  way  from  the 
town  to  Walton  Bridge  crossed  the  brook,  Cromwell,  when  riding  between 
these  points  on  the  right  wing  of  his  army,  was  put  in  great  peril  of  his 
life  by  the  sinking  of  his  horse's  feet  in  a  quagmire,  while  the  steep 
ground  in  front  was  lined  by  the  enemy's  firemen  or  pikemen,  and  barely 
saved  himself  by  hastily  dismounting.  The  old  road  made  a  quicker 
descent  near  the  bridge  over  Ribble  than  the  modern  road  ;  and  when 
once  the  musketeers  of  Cromwell  had  been  suffered  to  occupy  the  high 
banks  flanking  the  road,  the  position  of  the  Scots  defending  the  bridge 
could  not  long  have  been  tenable.  Forced  to  yield  the  bridge  at  length, 
the  Royalist  foot  fell  into  confusion,  and  in  the  contracted  space  were 
unable  to  make  another  stand  until  the  bridge  over  Darwen,  a  quarter  of 
a  mile  distant,  was  gained.  Boldly  advancing,  Cromwell's  disciplined 
troops  pushed  the  enemy  through  the  village,  and  carried  Darwen 
Bridge ;  after  which,  any  bodies  of  Scots  that  had  missed  the  second 
bridge  in  the  melee,  or  straggled  upon  Walton  Flats,  or  been  driven 
along  Darwen  bank  on  the  church  side,  would  be  cut  -off  from 
Hamilton's  main  body,  and  reduced  to  surrender  at  discretion.  The 
nature  of  the  position  of  Walton  village,  all  but  surrounded  by  two 
rivers  too  deep  to  ford  in  rainy  seasons,  renders  it  probable  that  the 
greater  part  of  the  thousands  of  prisoners  taken  in  the  battle  were 
secured  in  the  cul  de  sac  between  the  two  bridges,  by  the  Lancashire 
regiments  of  Cromwell,  that,  perfectly  knowing  the  ground,  first  joined 
in  the  victorious  rush  to  seize  Darwen  Bridge,  and  then  surrounded  and 
made  prisoners  in  batches  the  scattered  detachments  of  the  beaten 
army. 

The  losses  of  the  day  on  the  part  of  the  defeated  armies  of 
Hamilton  and  Langdale  were  about  a  thousand  killed,  an  indefinite 
number  wounded,  and  full  four  thousand  taken  prisoners.  The  victors, 
according  to  the  despatches  of  Cromwell,  which  have  not  been  impugned, 
had  remarkably  small  losses  in  killed,  but  a  considerable  number 
wounded  and  disabled. 

The  wreck  of  Langdale's  forces,  united  with  the  confused  masses 
|  of  Hamilton's  troops,  retired  at  nightfall  to  the  eminence  a  little  beyond 

ii 


162  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

the  Darwen  Bridge  to  the  south,  on  the  east  side  of  the  road  to  Wigan, 
between  Walton  and  Bamber  Bridge,  and  there  made  their  bivouac. 
During  the  night  Hamilton's  council  of  war  decided  that  the  only  course 
was  to  march  on  into  South  Lancashire ;  a  suicidal  decision,  but 
Cromwell  had  barred  every  avenue  of  retreat  towards  Scotland,  and  left 
his  antagonist  no  alternative  but  a  withdrawal  further  into  the  interior  of 
what  was  now  a  hostile  country.  Long  before  morning  the  Scottish 
army  had  resumed  the  retreat  in  the  direction  of  Wigan,  leaving  all  its 
artillery  and  baggage  on  the  hill  at  Walton,  to  fall  into  the  hands  of 
Cromwell,  who  ordered  the  pursuit  immediately  upon  the  flight  of  the 
enemy  becoming  known  at  the  Parliamentarian  head-quarters.1 

The  narrative  of  this  battle  by  the  Roundhead  officer  who  wrote  the 
Discourse  of  the  Warr  in  Lancashire  is  very  interesting  and  useful.  He 
relates  that  Cromwell's  army  encamped  in  the  Park  at  Stonyhurst  the 
night  before  the  battle,  after  a  council  of  war  at  which  "it  was  concluded 
to  fight  the  Duke  if  he  aboad;"  and  the  morning  after  "followed 
in  the  rear  of  Sir  Marmaduke  Langden's  army,  who  came  out  of  the 
north  by  Setle  towne  and  so  into  Blackburn  Hundred,  and  through  Rib- 
chester  and  downward  to  Preston  ;  but  some  of  them  staying  about  the 
upper  syd  of  Fulwood  and  Ribbleton,  lodged  there  that  night."  The 
account  proceeds  : — 

Generall  Cromwell  made  no  stay,  but  in  the  morning  marched  towards  Preston 
after  them,  and  when  he  was  come  as  far  as  Ribbleton  Mill,  there  he  found  them. 
He  set  upon  them  very  fearsly,  beating  them  up  all  along  the  way  to  Preston  (being 
three  miles).  Many  were  killed,  some  being  trodden  into  the  dirt  in  the  Lanes,  with 
the  horses'*feet,  the  wayes  were  soe  deep  [in  mire].  Abundance  were  killed  in  the 
feildes  on  the  East  syd  of  Preston,  and  so  did  drive  them  doune  towards  Ribble  Bridge. 
The  Duke  with  his  forces  and  carriages  being  passed  over  before,  having  Barricaded 
up  the  bridge,  stood  at  resistance.  It  was  reported  that  when  word  came  to  the  Duke 
that  Generall  Cromwell  was  in  the  rear  of  Sir  Marmaduke  Langden's  Army  fighting 
and  killing  them,  his  answer  was,  "  Let  them  alone, — the  English  dogs  are  but  killing 
one  another. "  So  little  regard  had  he  of  them.  At  the  Bridge  they  had  a  great  Dis- 
pute for  a  long  time,  but  at  last  Cromwell's  Army  did  beat  them  off  and  they  fled  over 

i  It  may  occur  to  readers  not  familiar  with  the  locality  that  the  story  of  this  memorable  battle, 
known  in  history  as  the  Battle  of  Preston,  hardly  comes  within  the  range  of  any  parish  history  except 
that  of  Preston.  But  when  it  is  explained  that  the  westerly  extremity  of  Blackburn  Parish  forms  the 
south  bank  of  the  Ribble  fronting  Preston  as  far  down  as  the  lower  railway  viaduct ;  that  the  second 
and  possibly  the  severest  stage  of  the  battle,  in  which  the  Scots  army  joined  issue  with  the  Lancashire 
forces,  began  on  Ribble  Bridge  and  rolled  on  through  Walton  village  in  Blackburn  Parish  to  Darwen 
Bridge  ;  that  both  armies  lay  the  night  after  the  battle  in  Walton  township ;  that  Cromwell  probably 
wrote  his  first  despatch  from  a  Walton  hostelry,  where  he  spent  a  part  of  the  night ;  and  that  the  retreat 
and  pursuit  next  day  began  in  the  Parish  ;  it  will  be  seen  that  the  battle  belongs  as  much  to  the  history 
of  Blackburn  Parish  as  to  that  of  Preston.  Add  to  these  circumstances,  as  further  justifying  extended 
reference  to  the  battle  in  these  pages,  that  the  Lancashire  troops  that  fought  so  well  on  the  conquering 
side  had  been  chiefly  raised  in  Blackburn  and  Salford  Hundreds,  and  marched  from  their  posts  in 
North-East  Lancashire  to  the  fight ;  and  that  the  one  natural  object  on  the  battle-field  associated  with  the 
conflict  in  Milton's  martial-toned  Sonnet  to  Cromwell  is  the  river  Darwen, — "Darwen  stream  with 
blood  of  Scots  imbrued, "—a  stream  that  both  rises  and  debouches  within  Blackburn  parish  boundaries. 


BATTLE  AT  PRESTON  AND  WALTON. 


163 


Darwen  Bridge  and  soe  up  that  hill  above  Walton  Toune.  In  the  feilde  upon  the 
east  of  the  way  they  maid  Cabbins  and  lodged  there  that  night.  [This  sentence 
exactly  indicates  the  spot  where  the  defeated  army  lay  on  the  night  after  the  battle.] 
Where  the  Duke  quartered  I  hard  not.  So  night  comming  the  Armies  guarded 
both  Bridges  ;  and  Generall  Cromwell  returned  to  Preston  and  there  quartered,  giving 
orders  to  our  Lancashire  forces  there  to  abide.  .  .  Providence  so  ordered  that 
Generall  Cromwell  fell  upon  the  Scotch  army  in  the  very  flank  thereof,  for  (as  we  said 
before)  the  Duke,  with  the  Infantrie,  traine  of  Artillery  and  Carriages,  came  all  to 
Preston  at  once,  with  Langden's  [Langdale's]  forces,  and  upon  these  it  was  that  the 
Generall  fell  and  defeated  them.  Now  the  great  bodie  of  the  Duke's  Cavalrie  and 
Horse  was  a  daies  march  behind  him,  and  coming  up  when  the  Battel  was  at  hand, 
the  Generall  when  he  had  well  beaten  them  up  gave  Orders  that  a  strong  bodie  of  his 
Horse  should  fall  down  to  the  lower  side  of  Fulwood  More  near  the  way  betwixt  Gar- 
stang  and  Preston,  to  hinder,  if  possible,  the  Reare  of  the  Duke's  Army  for  comming 
up ;  upon  the  sight  of  those  horse  and  hearing  of  the  Musketts  and  Defeat  given  to 
the  Duke  his  Reare  durst  not  come  out.  Great  number  of  them  turned  not  back  by 
the  same  way.  They  came,  but  tooke  other  waies  and  fled  downward  into  the  Fyld 
Country  and  in  great  feare,  as  was  thought,  parted  themselves  into  sundry  roads  or 
waies.  The  Duke's  Artillery  and  Carriages  were  all  taken,  standing  upon  Walton 
Coppe.  What  number  there  was  of  them  I  never  hard. x 

This  writer  gives  an  unfavourable  account  of  the  behaviour  of 
Hamilton's  army  and  the  depraved  female  camp-followers  while  about 
Preston  : — 

The  cariag  of  Duke  Hamilton's  Army  in  their  march  was  very  evill,  for  they 
plundered  extreamly  ;  yea,  abundance  of  sutty  vagabound  women" that  followed  the 
Duke's  camp  vexed  the  pore  country  sore  ;  yet  in  their  retreat  without  doubt  it  was 
well  paied  home  into  their  bosoms,  many  getting  by  them,  though  against  their  wills. 
The  better  sort  of  them  were  well  stored  with  money,  and  when  they  saw  themselves 
defeated  and  that  there  was  noe  way  for  them  to  escape  but  to  be  taken  prisoners,  some 
hid  their  money  in  the  fields  about  Preston,  and  have,  since  the  times  were  more  quiet, 
come  and  found  their  owne  money,  and  enjoyed  it.  And  it  was  thought  that  Preston 
and  the  townes  about  it  lost  not,  but  gained  much  by  their  flight.8 

The  next  document  is  the  vindicatory  letter  of  Sir  Marmaduke 
Langdale,  the  English  Royalist  general.  The  copy  is  from  the  Fairfax 

Correspondence" : — 

Sir, — This  will  give  you  a  final  account  of  my  employment,  which  is  now  ended, 
being  a  prisoner  in  Nottingham  Castle,  where  I  have  civil  usage.  You  have  heard  the 
condition  I  was  in  at  Settle  and  Gigleswick,  with  about  3,000  foot  and  600  horse,  the 
1 3th  of  August,  where,  hearing  the  Parliament  forces  were  gathered  together,  and 
marching  towards  me,  I  went  to  acquaint  Duke  Hamilton  therewith  to  Hornby,  when 
he  determined  to  march  to  Preston,  where  his  army  being  numerous  in  foot,  he  might 
have  the  greatest  advantage  upon  his  enemy  in  these  inclosed  countries.  I  marched 
neare  Clitherow,  towards  Preston  ;  in  the  march  I  met  with  the  Lord  Calender,  and 
divers  of  the  Scottish  officers  quartered  in  my  way,  with  whom  it  was  resolved  to  march 
to  Preston  ;  but  for  the  present  the  Intelligence  was,  that  the  Parliament  Forces  were 
divided,  some  part  whereof  were  marched  to  Colne,  and  so  to  Manchester,  to  relieve 
i  Disc,  of  Warr,  pp.  65-7.  2  Ib.  p.  68.  '  3  Ed.  by  Bell,  v.  ii,  pp.  60-2. 


1 64  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

that  Towne  in  case  we  should  press  upon  it ;  this  made  the  Officers  of  Horse  more 
negligent  in  repairing  to  Preston,  but  quartering  wide  in  the  country.  The  same  night 
certain  intelligence  came  that  Lieutenant-General  Cromwell,  with  all  his  Forces,  was 
within  three  miles  of  my  quarters,  which  I  immediately  sent  to  the  Duke,  and  told  my 
Lord  Leviston  to  acquaint  Lieutenant-General  Middleton  therewith,  and  drew  my 
forces  together  in  a  field,  and  so  marched  towards  Preston  betimes  in  the  morning, 
where  I  found  the  Duke  and  Lord  Calender  with  the  most  part  of  the  Scottish  foot 
drawn  up.  Their  resolution  was  to  march  to  Wigan,  giving  little  credit  to  the  Intelli- 
gence that  came  the  night  before  ;  but  suffered  their  horse  to  continue  in  their  quarters 
ten  or  twelve  miles  off.  Within  halfe  an  hour  of  our  meeting,  and  by  that  time  I  was 
drawn  into  the  closes  near  Preston,  the  Enemy  appeared  with  a  small  body  of  horse  ; 
the  Scots  continued  their  resolution  for  Wigan,  for  which  end  they  drew  their  Foot  over 
the  Bridge  [Ribble  Bridge  at  Walton].  The  enemy  coming  the  same  way  that  I  had 
marched,  fell  upon  my  Quarters,  where  we  continued  skirmishing  six  hours,  in  all 
which  time  the  Scots  sent  me  no  relief ;  they  had  very  few  horse  come  up,  so  as  those 
they  sent  me  at  last  were  but  few,  which  were  soon  beaten  ;  but  if  they  had  sent  me 
1,000  Foot  to  have  flanked  the  Enemy,  I  doubt  not  the  day  had  been  ours.  Yet  I 
kept  my  post  with  various  success,  many  times  gaining  ground  of  the  Enemy ;  and  as 
the  Scots  acknowledge,  they  never  saw  any  Foot  fight  better  than  mine  did.  The 
Duke  being  incredulous  that  it  was  their  whole  army,  sent  Sir  Lewis  Dives  to  me  to 
whom  I  answered  that  it  was  impossible  any  forces  that  were  inconsiderable  would  ad- 
venture to  press  upon  so  great  an  Army  as  we  had,  therefore  he  might  conclude  it  was 
all  the  power  they  could  make,  with  which  they  were  resolved  to  put  all  to  the  hazard, 
therefore  desired  that  I  might  be  seconded,  and  have  more  powder  and  ammunition,  I 
having  spent  nine  Barrels  of  powder.  The  Scots  continued  their  march  over  the  river, 
and  did  scour  a  lane  near  the  Bridge,  whereby  the  Parliament  Forces  came  upon  my 
flank  ;  neither  did  the  forces  that  were  left  for  my  supply  come  to  my  relief,  but 
continued  in  the  rear  of  mine,  nor  did  they  ever  face  the  Enemy,  but  in  bringing  up 
the  Rear.  When  most  part  of  the  Scots  were  drawn  over  the  Bridge,  the  Parliament 
Forces  pressed  hard  upon  me  in  the  Van  and  Flanks,  and  so  drove  me  into  the  Town, 
where  the  Duke  was  in  person,  with  some  few  horse  ;  but  all  being  lost  [the  Duke] 
retreated  over  a  ford  to  his  Foot.  After  my  forces  were  beaten,  the  Parliament 
Forces  beat  the  Scots  from  the  Bridge  presently,  and  so  came  over  into  all  the  Lanes 
that  we  could  not  join  with  the  Foot,  but  were  forced  to  Charlow  [Chorley],  where 
we  found  Lt. -General  Middleton  ready  to  advance  towards  Preston  to  the  Foot, 
which  he  did,  but  not  finding  them  there,  retreated  towards  Wigan,  where  the  Duke 
was  with  his  Foot ;  mine  totally  lost ;  there  they  took  a  resolution  to  go  to  my  Lord 
Byron,  for  which  end  they  would  march  that  night  to  Warrington,  &c. 

Sir  James  Turner,  a  Scotch  Royalist  in  Duke  Hamilton's  army,  sup- 
plies particulars  of  the  fighting  between  Ribble  Bridge  and  the  eminence 
beyond  Darwen  Bridge  in  Walton,  not  found  elsewhere  : — 

Beside  Preston  in  Lancashire  Cromwell  falls  on  Sir  Marmaduke's  flank.  The 
English  [under  Langdale]  imagined  it  was  one  Colonel  Ashton,  a  powerful  Presbyte- 
rian, who  had  got  together  3,000  [Lancashire]  men  to  oppose  us,  because  we  came  out 
of  Scotland  without  the  General  Assembly's  permission.  Mark  the  quarrel.  While 
Sir  Marmaduke  disputes  the  matter,  Baillie,  by  the  Duke's  order,  marches  to  Ribble 
Bridge,  and  passes  it  with  all  the  foot  except  two  brigades.  This  was  two  miles  from 
Preston.  By  my  Lord  Duke's  Command,  I  had  sent  some  ammunition  and  com- 


BATTLE  AT  PRESTON  AND  WALTON.  165 

manded  men  to  Sir  Marmaduke's  assistance  ;  but  to  no  purpose  ;  for  Cromwell  pre- 
vailed,— so  that  our  English  first  retired,  and  then  fled.  It  must  be  remembered  that, 
the  night  before  this  sad  encounter,  Earl  Calendar  and  Middleton  were  gone  to  Wigan, 
eight  [seventeen]  miles  from  thence,  with  a  considerable  part  of  the  cavalry.  Calendar 
was  come  back,  and  was  with  the  Duke,  and  so  was  I  ;  but  upon  the  rout  of  Sir  Mar- 
maduke's people  Calendar  got  away  to  the  Ribble,  where  he  arrived  safely  by  a  miracle, 
as  I  think  ;  for  the  Enemy  was  between  the  Bridge  and  us,  and  had  killed  or  taken 
most  part  of  our  two  brigades  of  foot.  The  Duke  with  his  guard  of  horse,  Sir  Mar- 
maduke  with  many  officers,  among  others  myself,  got  into  Preston  town,  with  intention 
to  pass  a  ford  below  it,  though  at  that  time  not  rideable.  At  the  entry  of  the  Town, 
the  enemy  pursued  us  hard.  The  Duke  faced  about,  and  put  two  troops  of  them  to  a 
retreat ;  but  so  soon  as  we  turned  from  them,  they  again  turned  upon  us.  The  Duke 
facing  the  second  time,  charged  them,  which  succeeded  well.  Being  pursued  the  third 
time,  my  Lord  Duke  cried  : — "  To  charge  once  more  for  King  Charles  !"  One  trooper 
refusing,  he  beat  him  with  his  sword.  At  that  charge  we  put  the  enemy  so  far  behind 
us  that  he  could  not  so  soon  overtake  us  again.  Then  Sir  Marmaduke  and  I  entreated 
the  Duke  to  hasten  to  his  army  :  and  truly  here  he  showed  as  much  personal  valour  as 
any  man  could  be  capable  of.  We  swam  the  River  Ribble  ;  and  so  got  to  the  place. 
Lieutenant-General  Baillie  had  advantageously  lodged  the  foot,  on  the  top  of  a  Hill, 
among  very  fencible  enclosures.  After  Calendar  came  to  the  infantry  he  had  sent  600 
musketeers  to  defend  Ribble  Bridge.  Very  unadvisedly  ;  for  the  way  Cromwell  had 
to  it  was  a  descent  from  a  hill  that  commanded  all  the  champaign  ;  which  was  about 
an  English  quarter  of  a  mile  in  length  between  the  Bridge  and  that  Hill  where  our 
foot  were  lodged.  So  that  our  musketeers,  having  no  shelter,  were  forced  to  receive 
all  the  musket-shot  of  Cromwell's  infantry,  which  was  secure  within  thick  hedges  ;  and 
after  the  loss  of  many  men,  were  forced  to  run  back  on  our  foot.  Here  Claud  Hamil- 
ton, the  Duke's  Lieutenant-Colonel,  had  his  arm  broke  with  a  musket  bullet.  The 
Bridge  of  Ribble  being  lost,  the  Duke  called  all  the  colonels  on  horseback  together  to 
advise  what  was  next  to  be  done.  We  had  no  choice  but  one  of  two  :  either  stay,  and 
maintain  our  ground  till  Middleton  (who  was  sent  for)  came  back  with  his  cavalry  :  or 
else  march  away  that  night,  and  find  him  out.  Calendar  would  needs  speak  first ; 
whereas  by  the  custom  of  war  he  should  have  told  his  opinion  last, — and  it  was,  To 
march  away  that  night  so  soon  as  it  was  dark.  This  was  seconded  by  all  the  rest,  ex- 
cept by  Lieutenant- General  Baillie  and  myself.  But  all  the  arguments  we  used, — as, 
the  impossibility  of  a  safe  retreat  from  an  enemy  so  powerful  of  horse  ;  in  so  very  foul 
weather,  and  extremely  deep  ways  ;  our  soldiers  exceedingly  wet,  weary,  and  hungry  ; 
the  inevitable  loss  of  all  our  ammunition, — could  not  move  my  Lord  Duke  by  his 
authority  to  contradict  the  shameful  resolution  taken  by  the  major  part  of  his  officers. 
After  that  drumless  march  was  resolved  upon,  and  but  few  horse  appointed  to  stay  in 
rear  of  the  foot,  I  inquired,  What  should  become  of  our  unfortunate  ammunition,  since 
forward  with  us  we  could  not  get  it  ?  It  was  not  thought  fit  to  blow  it  up  that  night, 
lest  thereby  the  Enemy  should  know  of  our  retreat,  or  rather  flight.  I  was  of  that 
opinion  too  ;  but  for  another  reason  ;  for  we  could  not  have  blown  it  up  then  without 
a  visible  mischief  to  ourselves,  being  so  near  it.  It  was  ordered  it  should  be  done  three 
hours  after  our  departure,  by  a  train  :  but  that  being  neglected,  Cromwell  got  it  all. 
Next  morning  we  appeared  at  Wigan  Moor  ;  half  our  number  less  than  we  were  ; — 
most  of  the  faint  and  weary  soldiers  having  lagged  behind,  whom  we  never  saw  again.1 

The  confusion  and  dismay  that  pervaded  the  Royalist  camp  on 

Memoirs  of  his  own  Life  and  Times,  pp.  63  et  seq. 


1 66  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

"  Walton  Coppe "  the  night  following  the  battle  is  nowhere  so  fully 
exposed  as  in  this  letter  of  the  Stuart  partizan.  The  abandonment  to 
the  enemy  of  the  ammunition  of  Hamilton's  army,  which  the  Royalists 
could  not  remove  and  dare  not  blow  up  for  fear  of  the  enemy,  illustrates 
the  egregious  mismanagement  that  marked  the  campaign  on  the  Scottish 
side.  Captain  Hodgson,  a  Yorkshire  officer  in  Cromwell's  army,  well 
sets  forth  the  part  sustained  in  the  battle  by  the  Lancashire  troops  : — 

I  met  Major-General  Lambert,  and  coming  to  him  I  told  him  where  his  danger 
lay,  on  his  left  wing,  chiefly.  He  ordered  me  to  fetch  up  the  Lancashire  Regiment, 
and  God  brought  me  off,  both  horse  and  myself.  The  -  bullets  flew  freely  ;  then  was 
the  heat  of  the  battle  that  day.  I  came  down  to  the  muir,  where  I  met  with  Major 
Jackson,  that  belonged  to  Ashton's  Regiment,  and  about  three  hundred  men  were  come 
up ;  and  I  ordered  him  to  march,  but  he  said  he  would  not  till  his  men  were  come  up. 
A  sergeant  belonging  to  them  asked  me  where  they  should  march.  I  shewed  him  the 
party  he  was  to  fight,  and  he  like  a  true-bred  Englishman  marched,  and  I  caused  the 
soldiers  to  follow  him,  which  presently  fell  upon  the  enemy  ;  and  losing  that  wing  the 
whole  army  gave  ground  and  fled  .  .  The  Lancashire  men  were  as  stout  men  as  were 
in  the  world,  and  as  brave  firemen.  I  have  often  told  them  they  were  as  good  fighters, 
and  as  great  plunderers,  as  ever  went  to  a  field  .  .  Col.  Bright's  regiment,  Col.  Pride's, 
and  Col.  Deane's  kept  the  field  ;  the  Lancashire  Regiments  and  my  Lord  Cromwell's 
Regiment  of  foot  passed  towards  Ribbald  [Ribble]  Bridge,  with  most  of  our  horse, 
where  the  Scots  had  six  regiments  of  horse  and  foot,  that  had  been  in  no  service  [i.e., 
that  had  not  yet  been  engaged],  besides  their  great  army,  with  their  waggons,  near 
Walton  Hall,  drawn  up  in  readiness.  There  was  a  long  dispute  before  the  Bridge  was 
gained,  and  our  horse  and  foot  having  routed  that  party,  above  Walton  Hall  they  came 
to  their  main  body,  and  a  matter  of  six  or  eight  horsemen,  commanded  by  Captain 
Pockley,  kept  a  gapstead  of  their  whole  army,  while  some  of  our  troopers  lighted,  and 
turned  about  Hamilton's  waggons,  and  threw  over  that  wherein  was  all  his  plate,  as 
they  brought  it  down  the  hill ;  but  the  Scots  having  no  mind  to  rescue  it,  suffered  them 
to  carry  the  prize  away  in  the  face  of  their  whole  army,  though  nothing  to  fright  them, 
but  a  forlorn-hope  of  horse.  .  .  That  night  our  regiment  was  appointed  quarters  in 
Preston.1 

Each  of  the  above  accounts  has  its  special  items  of  information ; 
still  the  most  circumstantial  and  interesting  description  of  this  historic 
battle  is  left  in  the  Despatches  of  Lieutenant-General  Cromwell,  to  whose 
redoubtable  courage  and  swift  decision  this  signal  triumph  was  even 
more  plainly  due,  than  to  the  discipline  and  bravery  of  the  army  under 
his  orders.  These  Despatches  are  four  in  number  : — (i)  a  brief  letter, 
written  from  Preston  on  the  evening  of  the  first  day  of  the  conflict 
(August  i  yth)  addressed  to  the  Lancashire  Committee  at  Manchester ; 
(2)  a  fuller  and  lucid  description  of  the  battle  and  its  results,  in  a  Des- 
patch intended  to  be  read  to  the  House  of  Commons,  and  addressed  to 
the  Speaker,  William  Lenthall ; — this  Despatch  is  dated  from  Warrington, 
on  the  20th  of  August,  and  reports  the  three  days'  operations  down  to 

i  Narrative,  cited  in  C.  W.  Tracts,  pp.  261-2. 


i 


BATTLE  AT   PRESTON  AND  WALTON. 


167 


the  last  Lancashire  fight  at  Winwick ;  (3)  a  letter  to  the  Committee  at 
York;  and  (4)  a  letter  from  Wigan,  dated  23rd  August,  to  the  Com- 
mittee at  Derby  House,  respecting  later  circumstances  and  movements. 
Cromwell's  first  report  of  the  victory  was  as  follows  : — 

FOR  THE  HONOURABLE  COMMITTEE  OF  LANCASHIRE  SITTING  AT  MANCHES- 
TER ; — (I  desire  the  Commander  of  the  Forces  there  to  open  this  letter,  if  it  come  not 
to  their  [the  Committee's]  hands). — Gentlemen, — It  hath  pleased  God  this  day  to  show 
His  great  power  by  making  the  army  successful  against  the  common  Enemy.  We  lay 
last  night  at  Mr.  Sherburn's  of  Stonihurst,  nine  miles  from  Preston,  which  was  within 
three  miles  of  the  Scots  quarters.  We  advanced  betimes  the  next  morning  towards 
Preston,  with  a  desire  to  engage  the  Enemy  ;  and  by  that  time  our  Forlorn  had  engaged 
the  Enemy,  we  were  about  four  miles  from  Preston,  and  therefore  we  advanced  with 
the  whole  army  ;  and  the  Enemy  being  drawn  out  on  a  Moor  betwixt  us  and  the  Town, 
the  armies  on  both  sides  engaged,  and  after  a  very  sharp  dispute,  continuinge  for  three 
or  foure  houres,  it  pleased  God  to  enable  us  to  give  them  a  defeat,  which  I  hope  we 
shall  improve  by  God's  assistance  to  their  utter  ruine  ;  and  in  this  service  your  coun- 
trymen have  not  the  least  [i.  e.  a  great]  share.  We  cannot  bee  particular,  having  not 
time  to  take  accompt  of  the  slaine  and  prisoners,  but  we  can  assure  you  we  have  many 
prisoners,  and  many  of  those  of  quality,  and  many  slain,  and  the  Army  so  dissipated. 
The  principal  part  whereof,  with  Duke  Hamilton,  is  on  south  side  Ribble  and  Darwen 
Bridges,  and  we  lying  with  the  greatest  part  of  the  army  close  to  them,  nothing  hinder- 
ing the  ruine  of  that  part  of  the  Enemies  Army  but  the  night ;  it  will  be  our  care  that 
they  shall  not  pass  over  any  ford  beneath  the  Bridge,  to  goe  northward,  or  to  come 
betwixt  us  and  Whalley.  We  understand  Colonel-General  Ashton's  are  at  Whalley  ; 
we  have  seven  troops  of  horse  or  dragoons  that  we  believe  lie  at  Clitheroe.  This  night 
I  have  sent  orders  to  them  expressly  to  march  to  Whalley,  to  joyne  to  those  companies, 
that  soe  we  may  endeavour  the  ruine  of  this  Enemie.  You  perceive  by  this  letter  how 
things  stand ;  by  this  means  the  Enemy  is  broken,  and  most  of  their  Horse  having 
gone  Northward,  and  we  having  sent  a  considerable  party  at  the  very  heels  of  them, 
and  the  Enemy  having  lost  almost  all  his  ammunition,  and  near  four  thousand  armes, 
so  that  the  greatest  part  of  the  Foot  are  naked  ;  and  therefore  in  order  to  perfecting 
this  worke,  we  desire  you  to  raise  your  county,  and  to  improve  your  fo.ces  to  the  total 
ruine  of  that  enemy,  which  way  soever  they  go  ;  and  [so]  that  you  shall  accordingly 
do  your  part,  doubt  not  of  their  total  ruine.  We  thought  fit  to  speed  this  to  you,  to 
the  end  you  may  not  be  troubled  if  they  shall  march  towards  you,  but  improve  your 
interest  as  aforesaid,  that  you  may  give  glory  to  God  for  this  unspeakable  Mercy.  This 
is  all  at  present  from  your  very  humble  servant,  OLIVER  CROMWELL.. 

Preston,  1 7th  August,  1648. 

The  letter  was  received  the  next  day  by  the  Manchester  Committee, 
and  by  one  of  them  was  sent  on  to  the  House  of  Commons,  with  a  letter 
dated  August  igth,  signed  with  the  initials  "W.  L."1  Cromwell's  missive 
was  read  in  the  House  on  the  2ist  of  August. 

This  despatch  was  penned  in  Cromwell's  head-quarters  in  Walton  at 
once  upon  the  cessation  of  the  battle,  while  yet  it  could  not  be  known 
what  the  discomfited  Hamilton  would  essay  to  do  with  his  broken  army. 
The  Royalist  army  was  then  encamped  on  the  rising  ground  in  Walton 

i  C.  W.  Tracts,  pp.  256-8. 


1 68  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

township,  just  beyond  the  bridge  over  the  Darwen,  and  the  mass  of 
Cromwell's  army  was  posted  in  Walton  village,  between  Ribble  Bridge 
and  Darwen  Bridge,  prepared  to  attack  at  the  first  glimmer  of  the  sum- 
mer dawn.  Cromwell's  solicitude  was  to  prevent  Hamilton  and  his 
Scots  escaping  him,  either  by  re-crossing  the  Ribble  by  the  ford  near 
Penwortham,  and  retreating  northwards,  or  else  by  getting  into  the  valley 
of  Ribble,  and  retiring  towards  Scotland  by  the  route  Langdale's  English 
Royalists  had  advanced  to  join  before  the  battle.  To  frustrate  any  such 
designs,  Cromwell  had  strongly  guarded  the  Ribble  at  fordable  places ; 
and  by  holding  Darwen  Bridge  and  the  east  bank  of  the  Darwen  effectu- 
ally blocked  the  entrance  to  Ribblesdale.  Duke  Hamilton  had  thus  no 
chance  of  moving  his  shattered  host  Scotland-ward,  but  was  driven  to 
retreat  further  into  England,  where,  as  Cromwell  knew,  forces  were 
gathering  from  every  hand  to  intercept  the  invader  now  turned  fugitive. 
He  bade  the  Manchester  Committee  raise  the  county  and  face  the  enemy 
boldly  should  he  march  in  the  direction  of  Manchester.  All  these  dis- 
positions reveal  the  soldierly  skill  and  sagacity  of  Cromwell.  Hamilton 
commenced  his  retreat  on  the  only  route  left  open  during  the  night — 
Cromwell's  troopers  resistlessly  pursuing  to  Chorley,  Wigan,  and  War- 
rington.  Three  days  later,  writing  from  Warrington,  the  Republican 
General  had  a  more  complete  account  to  give  of  the  enemy,  by  that  time 
wasted  almost  to  annihilation.  Cromwell's  celebrated  despatch  to 
Speaker  Lenthall,  announcing  his  victory  to  the  House  of  Commons,  is 
inserted  at  length  below  : — 

To  the  Hon.  William  Lenthall,  Esq. ,  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Commons  :  these. 
— Sir, — I  have  sent  up  this  gentleman  to  give  you  an  account  of  the  great  and  good 
hand  of  God  towards  you,  in  the  late  victory  obtained  against  the  enemy  in  these  parts. 
After  the  conjunction  of  that  party  which  I  brought  with  me  out  of  Wales  with  the 
northern  forces  about  Knaresborough  and  Wetherby,  hearing  that  the  enemy  was 
advanced  with  their  army  into  Lancashire,  we  marched  the  next  day,  being  the  1 3th  of 
this  instant  August,  to  Oatley  [Otley],  having  cast  off  our  train  and  sent  it  to  Knares" 
borough,  because  of  the  difficulty  of  the  marching  therewith  through  Craven  ;  and  to 
the  end  we  might  with  more  expedition  attend  the  enemy's  motion,  and  on  the  I4th 
to  Skipton,  the  I5th  to  Gisborn,  the  1 6th  to  Hodder  Bridge  over  Ribble,  where  we 
had  a  Council  of  War,  at  which  we  had  a  consideration  whether  we  should  march  to 
Whalley  that  night,  and  so  on  to  interpose  between  the  Enemy  and  his  further  pro- 
gress into  Lancashire,  and  so  southward,  which  we  had  some  advertisement  the 
Enemy  intended,  and  since  confirmed  that  they  intended  for  London  itself;  or 
whether  to  march  over  the  said  Bridge,  there  being  no  other  betwixt  that  and 
Preston,  and  engage  the  Enemy  there,  who  we  did  not  believe  would  not  stand  his 
ground,  because  we  had  information  that  the  Irish  forces  under  Munro  lately  come  out 
of  Ireland,  which  consisted  of  twelve  hundred  Horse  and  fifteen  hundred  Foot,  were 
on  their  march  towards  Lancashire  to  joyn  with  them.  It  was  thought  that  to  ingage 
the  Enemy  to  fight  was  our  business,  and  the  reason  aforesaid  giving  us  hopes  that  our 
marching  on  the  north  side  of  the  Ribble  would  effect  it,  it  was  resolved  that  we 


BATTLE  AT  PRESTON  AND  WALTON.  Z6g 

should  march  over  the  Bridge,  which  accordingly  we  did,  and  that  night  quartered  the 
whole  army  in  the  field  by  Stonihurst  Hall,  being  Mr.  Sherburn's  house,  a  place  nine 
miles  distant  from  Preston.  Very  early  the  next  morning  we  marched  towards 
Preston,  having  intelligence  that  the  Enemy  was  drawing  together  thereabouts 
from  all  out-quarters.  We  drew  out  a  Forlorn  of  about  Two  hundred  Horse  and 
Four  Hundred  foot,  the  Horse  commanded  by  Major  Smithson,  the  foot  by  Major 
Pownal.  Our  Forlorn  of  Horse  marched  within  a  mile  where  the  Enemy  was  drawn 
up  in  the  inclosed  grounds  by  Preston,  on  that  side  next  us  ;  and  there  upon  a  moor, 
about  half  a  mile  distant  from  the  Enemies  army,  met  with  their  scouts  and  out  guard, 
and  did  behave  themselves  with  that  valour  and  courage  as  made  their  Guards  (which 
consisted  of  both  horse  and  foot)  to  quit  their  ground,  and  took  divers  prisoners,  hold- 
ing this  dispute  with  them  until  our  Forlorn  of  foot  came  up  for  their  justification,  and 
by  those  we  had  opportunity  to  bring  up  our  whole  Army.  So  soon  as  our  foot  and 
horse  were  come  up,  we  resolved  that  night  to  engage  them  if  we  could,  and  therefore 
advancing  with  .our  Forlorn,  and  putting  the  rest  of  our  army  into  as  good  a  posture 
as  the  ground  would  bear  (which  was  totally  inconvenient  for  our  horse,  being  all  in* 
closure  and  miery  ground)  we  pressed  upon  them.  The  Regiments  of  foot  were 
ordered  as  followeth.  There  being  a  lane  very  deep  and  ill,  up  to  the  enemies  army, 
and  leading  to  the  town,  we  commanded  two  Regiments  of  horse,  the  first  whereof 
was  Col.  Harrisons  and  next  was  my  own,  to  charge  up  that  lane,  and  on  either  side 
of  them  advanced  the  Battel, — which  were  Lieut.  Col.  Reads,  Col.  Deans,  and  Col. 
Prides  on  the  right,  Col.  Brights  and  my  Lord  Generals  on  the  left,  and  Col.  Ashton 
with  the  Lancashire  Regiments  in  reserve.  We  ordered  Col.  Thornhaugh  and  Col. 
Twisletons  Regiments  of  horse  on  the  right,  and  one  regiment  in  reserve  for  the  lane, 
the  remaining  horse  on  the  left ;  so  that  at  last  we  came  to  a  hedge  dispute,  the  greatest 
of  the  impressions  of  the  Enemy  being  upon  our  left  Wing,  and  upon  the  battel  on  both 
sides  the  lane,  and  upon  our  horse  in  the  lane,  in  all  which  places  the  Enemy  were 
forced  from  their  ground  after  4  hours  dispute,  until  we  came  to  the  town,  into  which 
four  troops  of  my  regiment  first  entered,  and  being  well  seconded  by  Col.  Harrisons 
regiment,  charged  the  Enemy  in  the  Town,  and  cleared  the  streets.  There  came  no 
bands  of  your  foot  to  fight  that  day  but  did  it  with  incredible  Valour  and  Resolution, 
among  which  Col.  Brights,  my  Lord  Generals,  Lieut.  Col.  Reads  and  Col. 
Ashtons  had  the  greatest  work,  they  often  coming  to  push  of  pike  and  close  firing, 
and  always  making  the  enemy  to  recoyl ;  and  indeed  I  must  needs  say,  God  was  as 
much  seen  in  the  valour  of  the  Officers  and  Soldiers  of  these  before-mentioned,  as  in 
any  action  that  hath  been  performed ;  the  Enemy  making  (though  he  was  still  worsted) 
very  stiff  and  sturdy  resistance.  Col.  Deans  and  Col.  Prides  outwinging  the  enemy, 
could  not  come  to  so  much  share  of  the  action ;  the  Enemy  shogging  down  towards 
the  Bridge,  and  keeping  almost  all  in  reserve,  that  so  he  might  bring  fresh  hands  often 
to  fight,  which  we  not  knowing,  but  lest  we  should  be  outwinged,  placed  those  two 
Regiments  to  enlarge  our  Right  Wing,  which  was  the  cause  they  had  not  at  that  time 
so  great  a  share  in  the  action.  At  the  last  the  Enemy  was  put  into  disorder,  many 
men  slain  ;  many  prisoners  taken ;  the  Duke  with  most  of  the  Scots  horse  and  foot 
retreated  over  the  Bridge,  where,  after  a  very  hot  dispute  betwixt  the  Lancashire 
Regiments,  part  of  my  Lord  Generals  and  them  being  at  push  of  Pike,  they  [the 
enemy]  were  beaten  from  the  Bridge,  and  our  horse  and  foot  following  them,  killed 
many,  and  took  divers  prisoners ;  and  we  possessed  the  bridge  over  the  Darwent  and 
a  few  houses  there,  the  Enemy  being  driven  up  within  musquet  shot  of  us  where  we 
lay  that  night,  we  not  being  able  to  attempt  further  upon  the  Enemy,  the  night  pre- 
venting us.  In  this  position  did  the  Enemy  and  we  lie  the  most  part  of  that  night  ; 


170 


HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


upon  entering  the  town,  many  of  the  enemy's  horse  fled  towards  Lancaster,  in  the 
chase  of  whom  went  divers  of  our  horse,  who  pursued  them  near  ten  miles,  and  had 
execution  of  them,  and  took  about  five  hundred  horse  and  many  Prisoners.  We  pos- 
sessed in  the  fight  very  much  of  the  Enemy's  Ammunition  ;  I  believe  they  lost  four 
or  five  thousand  arms.  The  number  of  the  slain  we  judge  to  be  about  a  thousand, 
the  prisoners  we  took  were  about  four  thousand.  In  the  night  the  Duke  was  drawing 
off  his  army  towards  Wiggon  ;  we  were  so  wearied  with  the  dispute  that  we  did  not 
so  well  attend  the  Enemy's  going  off  as  might  have  been,  by  means  whereof  the 
Enemy  was  gotten  at  least  3  miles  with  his  rear,  before  ours  got  to  them.  I  ordered 
Collonel  Thornhaugh  to  Command  two  or  three  Regiments  of  horse  to  follow  the 
Enemy  if  it  were  possible,  to  make  him  stand  till  we  could  bring  up  the  army.  The 
Enemy  marched  away  seven  or  eight  thousand  foot  and  about  four  thousand  horse  ; 
wee  followed  him  with  about  three  thousand  foot,  and  two  thousand  five  hundred  horse 
and  dragoons  ;  and  in  this  prosecution  that  worthy  gentleman  Collonel  Thornhaugh, 
pressing  too  boldly,  was  slaine,  being  ran  into  the  body,  and  thigh,  and  head,  by  the 
Enemies  Lancers ;  and  give  me  leave  to  say  he  was  as  faithfull  and  gallant  to  your 
service  as  any,  and  one  who  often  heretofore  lost  blood  in  your  quarrel,  and  now  his 
last.  He  hath  left  some  behind  him  to  inherit  a  father's  honour,  and  a  sad  Widdow, 
both  now  the  interest  of  the  Commonwealth.  Our  horse  still  prosecuted  the  Enemie, 
killing  and  taking  divers  all  the  way.  At  last  the  Enemy  drew  up  within  three  miles 
of  Wiggon  ;  and  by  that  time  our  annie  was  come  up,  they  drew  off  again,  and  re- 
covered Wiggon  before  we  could  attempt  anything  upon  them.  'We  lay  that  night  in 
a  field  close  by  the  enemy,  being  dirty  and  weary,  and  having  marched  twelve  miles 
of  such  ground  as  I  never  rode  in  all  my  life,  the  day  being  very  wet.  We  had  some 
skirmishing  that  night  with  the  Enemy  near  the  town,  where  we  took  Generall  Van 
Druske  and  a  Collonel,  and  killed  some  principal  officers,  and  took  about  a  hundred 
prisoners  ;  where  I  also  received  a  letter  from  Duke  Hamilton,  for  civil  usage  towards 
his  kinsman  Collonel  Hamilton,  whom  he  left  wounded  here.  We  also  took  Collonel 
Harvey  and  Lt.  -Col.  Jones,  sometime  in  your  service.  The  next  morning  the  Enemy 
marched  towards  Warrington,  and  we  at  the  heels  of  them.  The  town  of  Wiggon  a 
great  and  poore  town,  and  very  malignant,  were  plundered  almost  to  their  skins  by 
them.  We  could  not  engage  the  Enemy  until  we  came  within  three  miles  of  War- 
rington, and  there  the  Enemy  made  a  stand  at  a  passe  near  WTinwicke.  We  had 
them  in  some  Dispute  till  our  army  came  up,  they  maintaining  the  passe  with  great 
resolution  for  many  hours,  ours  and  theirs  coming  to  push  of  pike  and  very  close 
charges,  and.  forced  us  to  give  ground,  but  our  men,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  quickly 
recovered  it,  and  charging  very  home  upon  them,  beat  them  from  their  standing,  where 
we  killed  about  a  thousand  of  them,  and  tooke  (we  believe)  about  two  thousand  pri- 
soners ;  and  prosecuted  them  home  to  Warrington  town,  where  they  possessed  the 
bridge,  which  had  a  strong  barricado  and  a  work  upon  it,  formerly  made  very 
defensive.  As  soon  as  we  came  thither  I  received  a  message  from  Lieutenant-General 
Baily,  desiring  some  capitulation,  to  which  I  yielded,  considering  the  strength  of  the 
passe  [over  the  Mersey],  and  that  I  could  not  go  over  the  river  within  ten  miles  of 
Warrington  with  the  army  ;  I  gave  him  these  terms,  that  he  should  surrender  himself 
and  all  his  officers  and  souldiers  prisoners  of  War,  with  all  his  arms  and  ammunition 
and  horses  to  me,  I  giving  quarter  for  life,  and  promising  civill  usage,  which  accord- 
ingly is  done,  and  the  Commissioners  deputed  by  me  have  received,  and  are  receiving, 
all  the  arms  and  ammunition,  which  will  be,  as  they  tell  me,  about  four  thousand 
compleat  arms,  and  as  many  prisoners,  and  thus  you  have  their  infantry  totally  ruined. 
What  colonells  and  officers  are  with  Lieut. -General  Baily,  I  have  not  received  the 


BATTLE  AT  PRESTON  AND  WALTON.  !7I 

list.  The  Duke  is  marched  with  his  remaining  horse,  which  are  about  three  thousand, 
towards  Nantwich,  where  the  gentlemen  of  the  county  have  taken  about  five  hundred 
of  them,  of  which  they  sent  me  word  this  day.  The  country  will  scarce  suffer  any  of 
my  men  to  passe,  except  they  have  my  hand  [certificate],  telling  them  they  are  Scots. 
They  bring  in  and  kill  divers  of  them  as  they  light  upon  them.  Most  of  the  nobility 
of  Scotland  are  with  the  Duke.  If  I  had  a  thousand  horse  that  could  but  trot  thirty 
miles,  I  should  not  doubt  but  to  give  a  very  good  account  of  them  ;  but  truly  we  are 
so  harassed  and  hagled  out  in  this  business,  that  we  are  not  able  to  doe  more  than 
walke  an  easy  pace  after  them.  I  have  sent  post  to  my  Lord  Grey,  to  Sir  Henry 
Cholmely,  and  Sir  Edward  Roads,  to  gather  altogether  with  speed  for  their  prosecu- 
tion, as  likewise  to  acquaint  the  Governor  of  Stafford  therewith.  I  heare  Munro  is 
about  Cumberland  with  the  horse  that  ran  away  [from  Preston],  and  the  Irish  Horse 
.  and  Foot,  which  are  a  considerable  body.  I  have  left  Collonel  Ashton's  three  regi- 
ments of  Foot,  and  seven  troop  of  Horse,  six  of  Lancashire  and  one  of  Cumberland, 
at  Preston,  and  ordered  Collonel  Scroop  with  five  troops  of  Horse  and  one  of  Dragoons, 
with  two  regiments  of  Foot,  viz.  Collonel  Wastals,  to  embody  with  them,  by  which  I 
hope  he  will  be  able  to  make  a  resistance  till  we  can  come  up  to  them,  and  have  or- 
dered them  to  put  their  prisoners  to  the  sword,  if  the  Scots  shall  presume  to  advance 
upon  them,  because  they  cannot  [in  that  case]  bring  them  off  with  security.  Thus  you 
have  a  narrative  of  the  particulars  of  the  successe  which  God  has  given  you,  which  I 
could  hardly  at  this  time  have  clone,  considering  the  multiplicity  of  businesse  ;  but 
truly  when  I  was  ingaged  in  it,  I  could  hardly  tell  how  to  say  lesse,  there  being  so 
much  of  God,  and  I  am  not  willing  to  say  more,  lest  there  should  seem  to  be  any  of 
man  :  only  give  me  leave  to  adde  one  word,  shewing  the  disparity  of  the  forces  on  both 
sides,  so  you  may  see  and  all  the  world  acknowledge  the  great  hand  of  God  in  this 
businesse.  The  Scots  army  could  not  be  less  than  twelve  thousand  effective  Foot, 
well  armed,  and  five  thousand  Horse  ;  Langdale  not  less  than  two  thousand  five 
hundred  foot  and  fifteen  hundred  Horse ;  in  all,  Twenty-one  thousand ;  and  truly  very 
few  of  their  foot  but  were  as  well  armed,  if  not  better  than  yours,  and  at  divers  disputes 
did  fight  two  or  three  hours  before  they  would  quit  their  ground.  Yours  were  about  two 
thousand  five  hundred  Horse  and  Dragoons  of  your  old  Army ;  about  four  thousand 
Foot  of  your  old  Army  ;  also  about  sixteen  hundred  of  Lancashire  Foot,  and  about 
five  hundred  Lancashire  Horse,  in  all  about  Eight  thousand  six  hundred.  You  see  by 
computation  about  two  thousand  of  the  enemy  slaine,  betwixt  eight  and  nine  thousand 
taken  prisoners,  besides  what  are  lurking  in  hedges  and  private  places,  which  the 
country  daily  bring  in  or  destroy.  Where  Langdale  and  his  broken  forces  are  I  know 
not,  but  they  are  exceedingly  shattered.  Surely,  sir,  this  is  nothing  but  the  hand  of 
God  ;  and  whenever  anything  in  this  world  is  exalted,  or  exalts  itself,  God  will  pull  it 
down,  for  this  is  the  day  wherein  he  alone  will  be  exalted.  It  is  not  fit  for  me  to  give 
advice,  nor  to  say  a  word  what  use  you  should  make  of  this  ;  more  than  to  pray  you, 
and  all  that  acknowledge  God,  that  they  will  only  exalt  him,  and  not  hate  his  people, 
who  are  as  the  apple  of  his  eye,  and  for  whom  even  Kings  shall  be  reproved,  and  that 
you  would  take  courage  to  doe  the  work  of  the  Lord,  in  fulfilling  the  end  of  your 
Magistracy,  in  seeking  the  peace  and  welfare  of  the  people  in  this  land,  that  all  who 
will  live  quietly  and  peaceably  may  have  countenance  from  you  ;  and  they  that  are 
implacable  and  will  not  leave  troubling  the  Land  may  speedily  be  destroyed  out  of  the 
Land ;  and  if  you  will  take  courage  in  this,  God  will  blesse  you,  and  good  men  will  stand 
by  you,  and  God  will  have  glory,  and  the  land  will  have  happiness  by  you  in  despite  of 
all  your  enemies ;  which  shall  be  the  prayer  of  your  most  humble  and  faithfull  Servant, 
2oth  August,  1648.  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 


I72  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

POSTSCRIPT. — We  have  not  in  all  lost  a  considerable  officer  but  Collonel  Thorn- 
haugh,  and  not  many  soldiers,  considering  the  service,  but  many  are  wounded,  and  our 
horse  much  wearied.  I  humbly  crave  that  some  course  be  taken  to  dispose  of  the 
prisoners  ;  the  trouble  and  extreme  charge  of  the  Country  where  they  lie,  is  more 
than  the  danger  of  their  escape.  I  think  they  would  not  go  home  if  they  might  with- 
out a  convoy,  they  are  so  fearfull  of  the  country  from  whom  they  have  deserved  so  ill. 
Ten  men  will  keepe  a  thousand  from  running  away. 

Lieut. -General  Cromwell  did  not  continue  the  pursuit  of  the  rem- 
nant of  Duke  Hamilton's  force  beyond  the  Mersey.  He  left  that  to  the 
forces  of  the  counties  to  the  southward,  which  were  mustering  with 
alacrity  to  surround  the  flying  invaders. 

The  tidings  of  Cromwell's  splendid  series  of  victories  in  Lancashire 
were  received  in  the  Capital  with  vast  excitement,  and  by  the  adherents 
of  the  Parliamentarian  and  Republican  parties  with  exultation.1  It  took 
in  those  times  three  days  for  a  military  courier,  riding  at  his  utmost 
speed,  with  relays  of  horses  provided  at  intervals,  to  accomplish  the  dis- 
tance of  two  hundred  miles  between  Lancashire  and  London.  To  do 
the  journey  even  in  that  time  must  have  been  a  considerable  feat,  for 
an  average  of  seventy  miles  per  day  upon  the  ill-kept  roads  of  England 
in  1648  required  desperate  exertions  both  by  rider  and  horse.  General 
Cromwell's  Despatch  to  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Commons,  written 
on  August  2oth,  reached  its  destination  within  three  days,  and  on  the 
Minutes  of  the  House  of  Commons  for  August  23rd,  1648,  the  following 

i  The  partizans  of  Royalty  in  London  and  the  South  were,  as  might  be  imagined,  eagerly  expecting 
and  awaiting  tidings  of  successes  by  the  forces  of  Hamilton  and  Langdale,  and  received  the  first 
sinister  rumours  of  disaster  with  real  or  pretended  incredulity.  What  was  thought  and  said  in  those 
circles  at  this  crisis  is  indicated  by  passages  in  the  Royalist  "  Mercurius  Pragmaticus,"  published  in  the 
week  succeeding  the  battle  of  Preston.  This  chronicler  writes,  about  August  22nd  : — "A  letter  also 
was  read  in  the  House  of  Commons  from  the  Committee  of  Lancashire  sitting  at  Manchester,  and 
directed  to  Sir  Ralph  Ashton  a  Member,  wherein  was  inclosed  a  pretended  letter  from  Cromwell,  the 
contents  whereof  were  to  give  the  Committee  an  accompt  at  Manchester  of  a  successe  against  the 
Scots  about  Preston  in  Lancashire,  where,  this  paper  kite  saies,  they  engaged  the  maine  of  the  Scottish 
armie  early  in  the  morning  on  Thursday,  August  ijth,  and  after  3  or  4  hours  dispute  worsted 
them,  took  between  3  and  4,000  arms,  killed  and  took  many  prisoners,  whereof  some  of  quality,  but 
that  Duke  Hamilton  was  fled  with  a  party  of  horse."  Upon  this  news  the  Royalist  journalist  casts 
contemptuous  discredit.  But  in  his  next  issue  he  has  dejectedly  to  record  its  full  confirmation  : — 
"Tuesday,  August  22,  was  a  day  of  refreshing  to  the  poor  baited  Faction.  For  the  letter  read  before 
the  House,  which  was  sent  by  the  Lancashire  Committee,  &c. ,  touching  the  rout  of  the  Scottish  army, 
and  which  I  then  slighted  in  the  close  of  the  last  week,  because  it  came  only  from  their  own  creatures, 
the  partes  of  it  very  rude  and  indigested,  and  had  nothing  to  second  it,  till  on  Tuesday  there  came  a 
more  probable  relation  under  Cromwell's  own  fist ;  wherein  he  gives  accompt  of  the  numbers  of  each 
army  before  the  Engagement,  the  manner  of  the  fight,  and  the  successe  of  both  parties.  He  makes 
the  Scots  and  Langdale  united  to  have  been  21  thousand,  now  that  they  are  beaten,  tho'  before  they 
were  undervalued,  and  it  was  malignancy  to  reckon  them  above  10  or  12  thousand  at  most.  As  for 
the  manner  of  the  fight,  it  was  acted  on  severall  stages  :  First  it  began  at  Preston,  in  Lancashire,  where 
the  Duke  being  worsted  he  retreated  to  Wigan,  and  from  thence  to  Warrington,  where  Lieut. -Generall 
Baily,  Lt.-Gen.  of  the  Scotch  Foot,  yielded  up  himself  with  4000  arms  and  5000  prisoners,  by  which 
means  the  infantry  being  quite  ruined,  the  Duke  himself  fled  with  4000  horse  towards  Namptwich,  but 
whither  since  you  shall  heare  by  and  by.  He  [Cromwell]  computed  about  2000  of  the  enemy  slain 
betwixt  8  and  9000  prisoners." 


BATTLE  AT  PRESTON  AND  WALTON.  !73 

record  is  entered  of  the  reception  of  the  despatch  by  the  House,  and  of 
its  Resolutions  thereupon  : — 

A  Letter  from  Lieutenant  General  Cromwell,  of  20  Augusti,  1648,  relating  the 
Particulars  of  the  wonderful  great  Victory,  bestowed,  by  the  great  Mercy  of  God, 
against  the  Scotts  whole  Army,  on  the  Seventeenth,  Eighteenth,  and  Nineteenth 
instant,  in  Lancashire,  now  this  day  read ;  and  ordered  to  be  forthwith  printed  and 
published. 

RESOLVED,  &c.  That  there  be  a  Day  of  Solemn  Thanksgiving,  through  the  whole 
Kingdom,  unto  Almighty  God,  for  his  wonderful  great  Mercy  and  Success,  bestowed 
upon  the  Parliament  Forces  under  the  Command  of  Lieutenant- General  Cromwell, 
against  the  whole  Scotts  Army  under  the  Conduct  and  Command  of  Duke  Hamilton, 
on  the  Seventeenth,  Eighteenth,  and  Nineteenth  of  this  present  August,  in  Lancashire. 
And  that  this  Day  be  Thursday  come  Fortnight,  being  the  Seventh  Day  of  September 
next,  1648. 

RESOLVED,  &c.  That  a  Collection  be  made  in  all  the  Churches  and  Chapels 
through  the  whole  Kingdom,  on  Thursday  come  Fortnight,  the  Seventh  of  September, 
the  Day  appointed  for  a  General  and  Solemn  Thanksgiving  for  the  great  Victory 
against  the  Scotts  :  And  that  the  Monies,  bestowed  and  collected  upon  that  Day,  be 
employed  for  the  Relief  and  Supply  of  the  wounded  Soldiers  in  Lancashire  ;  and  of 
the  poor  and  visited  People  and  Places  there. 

It  was  at  the  same  sitting  further — 

ORDERED,  That  a  Letter  of  suitable  hearty  Thanks,  to  be  signed  by  Mr.  Speaker, 
be  sent  to  Lieutenant  General  Cromwell,  taking  notice  of  his  great  Valour,  Vigilancy, 
and  wise  Conduct,  in  this  great  Service  against  the  Scotts  in  Lancashire ;  desiring  him 
to  give  the  thanks  of  this  House  to  all  his  Officers  for  their  good  Service  ;  and  to  let 
them  know,  that  his  Desires  by  his  Letter  are  taken  into  consideration.  Mr.  Lisle  is 
to  prepare  the  Letter. 

ORDERED,  That  a  Letter  of  Thanks,  to  be  signed  by  Mr.  Speaker,  be  sent  to 
Colonel  Ashton,  for  his  good  service  against  the  Scotts  Forces.  Sir  Ralph  Ashton  to 
prepare  the  Letter. 

ORDERED,  That  a  Letter  of  Thanks,  to  be  signed  by  Mr.  Speaker,  be  sent  to  the 
Committee  of  Lancashire,  taking  notice  of  their  seasonable  and  ready  assistance  against 
the  Scotts  Forces.  Colonel  Moore  to  prepare  the  Letter. 

Some  further  references  to  the  victory  are  found  in  the  Commons 
Journals  of  the  25th  August. 

Two  days  Cromwell  remained  about  Warrington,  and  on  August 
23rd  he  began  to  retrace  his  steps,  purposing  to  return  into  Yorkshire, 
and  from  Wigan  he  wrote  to  the  Parliamentarian  Committee  at  York, 
advising  them  to  be  prepared  for  the  contingency  of  Hamilton's  appear- 
ance in  their  direction. 

Another  interesting  letter  of  Cromwell  has  been  brought  to  light.1 
The  story  of  the  great  battle  would  hardly  be  complete  without  this 
letter,  passages  of  which  are  subjoined.  This  letter  is  addressed  to  the 
Committee  of  Lords  and  Commons  at  Derby  House  : — 

Wigan,  23rd  Aug.,  1648. — My  Lords  and  Gentlemen, — I  did  not  (being  straitened 
i  Printed  in  Appendix  to  Carlyle's  Letters,  &c.,  of  Cromwell. 


174  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

with  time)  send  you  an  account  of  the  great  blessing  of  God  upon  your  Army  ; — I  trust 
it  is  satisfactory  to  your  lordships  that  the  House  had  it  so  fully  presented  to  them. 
My  Lords,  it  cannot  be  imagined  that  so  great  a  business  as  this  could  be  without  some 
loss  ; — although  I  confess  very  little  compared  with  the  weightiness  of  the  engagement ; 
there  being  on  our  part  not  an  Hundred  Slain,  yet  many  Wounded.  And  to  our  little 
army  it  is  a  real  weakening,  for  indeed  we  are  but  a  handful.  I  submit  to  your  Lord- 
ships, whether  you  M'ill  think  fit  or  no  to  recruit  our  Loss  ;  we  having  but  Five  poor 
Regiments  of  foot,  and  our  horse  so  exceedingly  battered  as  I  never  saw  them  in  all 
my  life.  .  .  I  offer  it  to  your  Lordships  that  Money  may  be  sent  to  pay  the  foot  and 
horse  to  some  equality.  Some  of  those  that  were  here  seventy  days  before  I  marched 
from  Windsor  into  Wales  have  not  had  any  pay  ;  and  amongst  the  horse  my  own 
Regiment  and  some  others  are  much  behind.  .  .  We  have  very  much  to  do  which 
might  be  better  done  if  we  had  the  wherewithal.  Our  Foot  want  clothes,  shoes  and 
stockings  ;  these  ways  and  weather  have  shattered  them  all  to  pieces  :  that  which  was 
the  great  blow  to  our  horse  was  (beside  the  weather  and  incessant  marches)  our  March 
ten  miles  to  fight  with  the  Enemy,  and  a  Fight  continuing  four  hours  in  as  dirty  a 
place  as  ever  I  saw  horse  stand  in  ;  and,  upon  the  matter,  the  continuance  of  the  Fight 
two  days  more  together  in  our  following  the  Enemy,  and  lying  close  by  him  in  the 
mire.  .  .  I  have  sent  Major-General  Lambert  with  above  Two  Thousand  horse  and 
dragoons  and  about  Fourteen  Thousand  [hundred]  foot  in  prosecution  of  the  Duke  and 
the  Nobility  of  Scotland  with  him  ;  who  will,  I  doubt  not,  have  the  blessing  of  God 
with  him  in  the  business.  But  indeed  his  horse  are  exceedingly  weak  and  weary.  I 
have  sent  to  Yorkshire  and  to  my  Lord  Grey  to  alarm  all  parts  to  a  prosecution  ;  and 
if  they  be  not  wanting  to  the  work,  I  see  not  how  many  can  escape.  I  am  marched 
[marching]  myself  back  to  Preston, — and  so  on  towards  Monro  or  otherwise,  as  God 
shall  direct.  As  things  fall  out  I  shall  represent  them  to  you ;  and  rest,  my  Lords 
and  Gentlemen,  your  most  humble  servant,  OLIVER  CROMWELL. 

Two  days  after  the  date  of  this  missive,  on  August  25th,  1648,  Duke 
Hamilton  and  the  remains  of  his  army,  including  many  personages  of 
distinction,  surrendered  to  the  Parliamentarian  forces  at  Uttoxeter  in 
Staffordshire.  On  this  announcement,  Major-General  Lambert  at  once 
turned  his  pursuing  force  about  and  hastened  to  rejoin  his  chief.  Crom- 
well, as  he  states  at  the  close  of  the  letter  just  given,  proceeded  to 
Preston,  there  to  decide  upon  his  future  course.1 

From  Preston,  after  resting  his  overwrought  regiments  two  or  three 

i  The  Colours  taken  from  the  King's  army  by  Cromwell  in  the  Preston  campaign  were  eighty-five  in 
number.  Harleian  MS.  No.  1460,  Codex  2,  is  a  folio  volume  of  illuminated  representations  of  all  the 
colours  captured  in  the  battles  of  Preston  and  Dunbar,  with  the  title  engrossed  : — "A  Perfect  Registry 
of  all  the  Collours  (and  Standards)  taken  from  the  Scots  at  Preston,  Co.  Lancaster,  by  the  then  Lord 
General  Cromwell,  anno  1648,  &c.  (also  Colours  taken  at  Dunbar,  anno  1650)  ;  and  for  the  perpetuall 
memoriall  of  those  signall  Trophies  of  his  Highnesse  Victories  and  Valour  to  succeeding  ages,  carefully 
attested  and  compiled  by  F.F.  F.F.  (  f.  Fitz.-Paganum  Fisherum,  Fitz.-Pagani  Filium),  Historio- 
grapher of  his  Highnesse  Warres  in  Ireland  and  Scotland,  &c."  Of  "  the  Ensigns  taken  at  Preston, 
1648,"  the  first  is  a  blue  flag,  inscribed  with  gold  letters  DATE  CAESAR,  surmounted  by  a  crown  gilt. 
The  second  colour  is  a  blue  and  white  cross,  with  emerald  wreath  on  the  intersection  of  the  cross,  and 
the  legend  distributed  in  the  interspaces  : — "  For  Religion,  Covenant,  King,  and  Kingdoms."  This, 
with  differences  in  the  colours  forming  the  crosses,  and  verbal  variations  in  the  mottos,  is  a  type  of  a  large 
proportion  of  the  standards  captured  at  Preston.  Full  half  the  colours  taken  are  represented  as  more 
or  less  torn  and  fragmentary  ;  not  a  few  are  almost  reduced  to  the  bare  staff,  or  a  mere  shred  at  the 
staff-end, — a  token  of  the  fierceness  of  the  struggle  before  their  capture  and  surrender. 


CROMWELL'S  RETURN-MARCH  THROUGH  LANCASHIRE.     175 

days,  Cromwell  marched  back  by  the  same  route  he  had  advanced  to  open 
the  campaign,  through  Blackburn  Hundred  into  West  Yorkshire,  with 
the  intent  of  pushing  forward  to  Scotland  by  the  eastern  road  through 
Durham  and  Northumberland.  The  Lancashire  annalist  of  the  war, 
describing  the  course  of  Cromwell's  movements  after  his  return  from 
pursuing  Hamilton,  writes  : — "  His  [Cromwell's]  purpose  being  to  march 
again  into  Yorkshire,  he  therefore  sent  order  to  all  his  forces  that  with 
all  haste  they  should  follow  him,  being  then  gone  to  the  Stonyhurst, 
where  he  quartered  the  first  night  he  came  into  the  county."1  Cromwell 
had  thus  proceeded,  with  his  staff  and  a  body-guard,  perhaps,  from  Pres- 
ton to  Stonyhurst,  and  quartered  at  Mr.  Sherburne's  mansion  on  the 
first  night  of  his  return-journey.  Thence  he  went  into  Craven,  leaving 
orders  that  his  regiments,  scattered  over  the  western  parts  of  Lancashire, 
should  follow  him  immediately.  Some  of  these  troops  were  in  Preston  ; 
others  in  the  Fylde  ;  and  others  at  points  between  Preston  and  Wigan. 
The  Preston  troops,  united  with  the  detachments  in  the  Fylde,  would 
take  the  road  by  Longridge  to  Clitheroe,  in  the  direct  track  of  their 
General  and  the  vanguard ;  others,  posted  more  to  the  south,  would  con- 
centrate and  march  through  Blackburn  to  Whalley  or  Burnley,  and  so 
fall  in  with  the  other  part  of  the  army  on  the  borders  of  the  two  counties. 

Such  is  the  story  of  the  remarkable  Lancashire  campaign  of  1648. 
Its  results  were  the  destruction  of  the  Stuart  party  in  Scotland,  to  whose 
succours  the  captive  Monarch  and  his  friends  had  confidently  looked 
when  the  resistance  of  the  Cavaliers  of  England  had  been  borne 
down.  The  whole  body  of  the  Scottish  nobility  and  gentry  of  the 
Royalist  party  were  either  slain  or  captured  in  fight  during  these  days  of 
successive  disasters,  or  finally  surrendered  with  their  leader  at  Uttoxeter. 
The  victory  of  Cromwell  at  Preston  was  the  real  "  Death  Warrant "  of 
Charles  the  First,  for  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  from  the  hour  when 
Duke  Hamilton  commenced  his  flight  with  his  broken  and  dispirited 
host  from  the  banks  of  the  Darwen,  on  the  morning  of  August  i8th, 
1648,  the  doom  of  the  imprisoned  King  was  silently  sealed  in  the  minds 
of  Cromwell  and  his  political  associates. 

Archdeacon  Echard  quotes  a  statement  of  Ludlow  regarding  the 
reception  by  King  Charles  of  the  news  of  the  Battle  of  Preston,  in  his 
place  of  confinement  at  Carisbrooke  Castle,  to  the  effect  "  that  when 
the  news  of  the  loss  came  to  the  Isle  of  Wight,  the  King  said  to  the 
Governor,  '  That  it  was  the  worst  News  that  ever  came  to  England ;'  to 
which  he  answered,  his  Majesty  had  no  reason  to  be  of  that  opinion, 
since  if  Hamilton  had  beaten  the  English,  he  wrould  have  certainly 
possessed  himself  of  the  throne  of  England  and  Scotland.  The  King 

i  Disc,  of  Warr,  p.  67. 


176  HISTORY    OF  BLACKBURN. 

presently  reply'd  : — '  You  are  mistaken ;  I  could  have  commanded  him 
back  with  the  motion  of  my  Hand.'  ';1 

The  Lancashire  troops,  under  the  command  of  Col.-GeneralAssheton, 
among  which  were  the  regiments  of  Blackburn  Hundred,  after  the  battle 
were  detached  from  Cromwell's  army  and  left  at  Preston,  with  orders  to 
march  north  in  pursuit  of  those  Royalists  who  had  retreated  by  the 
northern  roads.  The  remnants  of  Langdale's  force,  on  reaching 
the  neighbourhood  of  Lancaster,  united  themselves  with  a  body  of 
English  troops  under  Sir  Thomas  Tyldesley,  which  had  been  engaged 
in  the  siege  of  Lancaster  Castle,  but  had  desisted  on  report  of  the  disaster 
to  the  main  army  on  the  Ribble.  Col.-General  Assheton  marched  into 
Lonsdale  after  Tyldesley,  who  retired  into  the  mountains  of  Westmore- 
land and  Cumberland.  The  retreat  and  pursuit  were  continued  for 
several  weeks  without  any  important  encounter  between  the  hostile 
forces  ;  but  at  length,  in  the  first  week  of  October,  1648,  the  Roundhead 
commander  brought  Sir  Thomas  Tyldesley  to  bay.  The  Royalist  force 
would  have  retreated  upon  Carlisle,  but  was  headed  by  Assheton,  who  had 
relieved  Cockermouth  Castle,  and  forced  the  enemy  to  abandon  the 
hope  of  gaining  Carlisle.  Some  of  the  Cavalier  troops,  seeing  escape 
cut  off,  broke  up  and  dispersed  over  the  country;  but  the  major  portion 
preserved  their  discipline,  and  retreated  to  Appleby  Castle  in  Westmore- 
land, then  held  by  a  small  Royalist  garrison.  Tyldesley's  men  had  no 
sooner  shut  themselves  up  in  this  castle  than  Col.-General  Assheton 
approached,  and  invested  the  place.  The  Castle  of  Appleby  was  not 
capable  of  standing  a  siege.  Col.-General  Assheton  at  once  summoned 
the  garrison,  and  by  Saturday,  October  yth,  the  conditions  of  surrender 
had  been  agreed  to.  There  were  1,000  horse-soldiers  in  the  place, 
besides  the  garrison,  and  1,200  horses;  but  the  horses  were  bought  by 
the  Roundhead  soldiers  at  small  prices  before  the  capitulation  was 
carried  out.  The  conditions  of  surrender  were  that  all  inferior  officers 
and  common  soldiers  must  lay  down  their  arms  and  return  home  in 
quietness ;  and  that  the  chief  officers,  Sir  Philip  Musgrave,  Sir  Thomas 
Tyldesley,  and  others,  should  retire  beyond  seas  within  six  months,  and 
obey  all  orders  of  Parliament.  The  number  of  superior  officers  taken 
prisoners  at  Appleby  was  remarkable.  They  included  no  fewer  than 
fifteen  colonels,  who  had  apparently  lost  their  regiments,  nine  lieutenant- 
colonels,  six  sergeant-majors,  forty-six  captains,  &c. 

This  capture  was  the  termination  of  hostilities  on  the  western  side 
of  the  country ;  and  Cromwell,  operating  on  the  eastern  side,  before  this 
time  was  in  Edinburgh,  dictating  terms  to  the  enemy  in  his  northern 
strongholds.  Colonel-General  Assheton's  Lancashire  forces,  numbering 

Hist,  of  Engl.,  v.  ii,  p.  604. 


MUTINY  OF  THE  LANCASHIRE  MILITIA.  I77 

some  four  thousand,  after  the  victory  at  Appleby  marched  leisurely 
down  to  their  native  places  in  East  Lancashire. 

On  the  3oth  of  January,  1648-9,  the  sternest  and  saddest  act  of  that 
conflict  between  King  and  People  was  accomplished  in  the  execution  of 
King  Charles  at  Whitehall.  Necessary  or  unnecessary,  Charles's  death 
did  not  end  the  strife  of  contending  parties,  nor  settle  the  question  of 
the  English  form  of  government. 

After  the  execution  of  Charles  the  First,  the  Houses  of  Parliament, 
more  at  their  ease  than  hitherto,  began  to  effect  the  reduction  of  the 
standing  army  that  had  been  brought  into  existence  by  the  war.  This 
was  done  by  disbanding  the  county  militia  regiments  and  other  provin- 
cial levies.  Some  opposition  was  offered  to  the  orders  to  disband  in 
Lancashire  and  elsewhere.  The  militia  regiments  were  composed  of 
men  who  had  become  weaned  from  peaceful  avocations  and  fond  of  the 
adventurous,  predatory  occupation  of  soldiering ;  and  there  was  also  a 
religious  feud  between  the  army  of  Cromwell,  that  was  kept  intact,  and  the 
local  forces  that  were  ordered  to  disband.  The  Lancashire  troops  deemed 
themselves  the  mainstay  of  that  Presbyterian  Establishment  to  which  the 
Cromwellian  soldiers  were  generally  averse.  In  the  beginning  of  1649, 
the  order  to  disband  was  received  by  the  commanders  of  the  forces  of 
Blackburn,  Salford,  and  Amounderness  Hundreds.  The  first  difficulty 
that  arose  in  carrying  out  the  order  was  in  the  matter  of  pay ;  and  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  on  March  6th,  1648-9,  Lieutenant-General  Crom- 
well reported  from  the  Council  of  State,  "  That  they  think  fit  there 
should  be  an  addition  of  Money  for  disbanding  the  Forces  under  Colonel 
Shuttleworth," — that  is,  the  militia  of  Blackburn  Hundred.  About  March 
2oth,  letters  received  from  Lancaster  reported  "that  the  forces  of  Col. 
Ashton,  about  four  thousand,  refuse  to  disband,  profess  for  the  Covenant, 
and  are  encouraged  by  the  [Presbyterian]  clergy;"  and  further  "that  Major- 
General  Lambert  is  gone  to  disband  them  by  force,  if  there  is  no  other  way." 
The  mutinous  regiments  shortly  afterwards  left  Lancaster,  marched  over 
the  hills  of  Bowland  to  Clitheroe,  and  attempted  to  fortify  themselves  in  the 
Castle  of  Clitheroe.  This  revolt  of  the  local  Militia  was  quickly  sup- 
pressed. By  March  2yth  intelligence  reached  the  Government  that 
"the  Lancashire  forces  had  submitted  to  disband,  and  had  quitted 
Clitheroe  Castle."1  On  that  day,  the  House  of  Commons  passed  the 
following  orders  : — "Ordered,  That  it  be  referred  to  the  Council  of  State, 
particularly  to  take  into  consideration  the  present  demolishing  of  Bolsover 
Castle  and  Clitheroe  Castle,  and  also  to  take  into  consideration  all  such 
other  Inland  Castles  as  they  shall  think  fit,  for  the  present  demolishing 
thereof. — Ordered,  That  Captain  Carter's  Troop  in  Lancashire  be  fortli- 

i  C.  W.  Tracts,  p.  277. 

12 


178  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

with  disbanded ;  and  that  the  Deputy  Lieutenant  of  the  said  County  be 
required  to  take  special  care  to  see  them  speedily  disbanded  accordingly."1 

In  accordance  with  the  foregoing  order,  the  Castle  at  Clitheroe  was 
afterwards  razed,  with  the  exception  of  the  keep,  which  still  stands  the 
solitary  local  memorial  of  the  Norman  age.  A  century  ago,  some  frag- 
ments of  the  fallen  castle-walls  were  yet  strewn  around  the  scarp. 
Grose  writes  : — "  The  old  gate  and  chapel  were  demolished  in  the  Civil 
War ;  large  pieces  of  the  wall,  strongly  cemented,  still  lye  on  the  side 
and  at  the  foot  of  the  rock,  probably  disjointed  and  thrown  thither  by 
the  force  of  gunpowder." 

At  the  beginning  of  April,  1649,  a  Petition  was  presented  to  Par- 
liament from  the  Inhabitants  of  the  Hundred  of  Blackburn,  setting  forth 
the  services  of  the  signatories  to  the  cause,  and  their  desire  that  Parlia- 
ment should  consider  what  compensation  might  be  due  to  them  for  their 
sacrifices  and  losses  in  the  war.  A  minute  relating  to  the  presentation 
of  this  Petition  on  the  4th  of  April,  1649,  is  entered  : — "The  Petition 
of  the  well-affected  Inhabitants  of  the  Hundred  of  Blackburne  in  the 
County  of  Lancaster,  was  this  day  read. — Ordered,  That  Mr.  Rigby  do 
return  the  Thanks  of  this  House  to  the  Petitioners,  for  their  faithful 
Service  and  good  Affections  to  the  Parliament  and  Commonwealth. — 
Ordered,  That  the  said  Petition  and  the  business  therein,  be  referred  to  the 
Consideration  of  the  Council  of  State."3  One  of  the  matters  about  which 
Parliament  was  appealed  to  was  the  considerable  sums  of  money  due  to 
the  soldiers  of  the  Lancashire  regiments,  now  disbanded,  for  arrears  of 
pay ;  and  the  two  Houses  discussed  means  for  the  immediate  discharge 
of  this  obligation.  On  April  9th,  the  House  of  Commons  passed  two 
Orders,  one  providing  for  the  prompt  payment  of  the  Lancashire  forces, 
and  the  other  dealing  with  contingent  cases  of  refusal  to  obey  the  order 
to  disband.  The  terms  of  the  Orders  were  these  : — 

ORDERED,  That  the  Three  Thousand  One  Hundred  Fifty-five  Pounds  Fifteen 
Shillings  and  Tenpence,  late  due  to  the  Lord  Willoughby  of  "Parham,  out  of  the 
Receipts  of  Goldsmiths'  Hall,  and  assigned  to  be  paid  to  the  Lancashire  Forces,  by 
Order  of  the  House  of  Commons  of  the  Twenty-fourth  of  October  last,  as  is  pre- 
engaged  to  other  uses,  shall  be  discharged  from  any  Engagement  to  the  said  Forces  ; 
And  that  the  Treasurer  of  Goldsmiths'  Hall  do  forthwith  pay,  out  of  their  Receipts, 
to  Mr.  James  Wainewright,  of  the  City  of  London,  Haberdasher,  for  the  use  of  the 
said  Forces  of  Lancashire,  towards  their  Arrears,  the  Sum  of  Four  Thousand  Six 
Hundred  Pounds,  out  of  the  Second  Moiety  of  the  Fine  imposed  upon  the  Lord 
Molineaux,  for  his  Delinquency,  notwithstanding  any  former  engagements  thereof  to 
the  contrary  :  Which  Monies,  the  said  Mr.  Wainewright  is,  without  delay,  to  pay  over 
unto  Mr.  Wm.  Cottom,  of  Preston,  Alderman,  who  is  to  pay  the  same  over  in  manner 
following  ;  viz. :  For  such  of  the  said  Forces  as  marched  under  Command  of  Major- 
General  Ashton,  in  the  late  Expedition  against  the  Scotts,  the  sum  of  Three  Thousand 
i  Journals  of  H.  of  Commons.  2  Ib. 


CIVIL  WAR— CAMPAIGN   OF    1651. 


179 


Four  hundred  Pounds,  according  to  such  order  and  directions  as  he  shall  from  time  to 
time  receive  from  the  said  Major-General  Ashton  ;  and  the  sum  of  Twelve  hundred 
Pounds  unto  the  other  Forces  of  that  County,  that  were  under  the  Command  of  Colonel 
Nicholas  Shuttleworth. 

It  is  also  ORDERED,  That  if  any  of  the  Forces  shall  continue  together,  or  at  any 
time  hereafter  gather  together  contrary  to  the  Order  for  their  Disbanding,  that  all  and 
every  such  person  and  persons,  so  continuing  and  gathering  together,  shall  lose  the 
Benefit  of  this  Order,  and  shall  not  have  any  part  of  the  money  aforesaid  ;  but  all  such 
of  the  said  Monies  as  otherwise  should  have  been  paid  unto  them,  shall  be  paid  to 
Major-General  Ashton,  to  be  paid  among  the  residue  of  the  Forces,  as  he  shall  think 
fit* 

The  country  now  enjoyed  peace  for  two  years.  But  in  the  Spring 
of  1651,  another  attempt  was  made  to  reinstate  the  Stuarts,  which  again 
took  the  shape  of  an  invasion  of  England  from  Scotland,  the  English 
Royalists  actively  co-operating.  Charles  Stuart,  eldest  son  of  the  late 
King,  reappeared  in  Scotland,  in  the  early  part  of  the  year.  An  army 
was  raised  to  sustain  him,  and  when  it  was  found  that  Cromwell,  occupy- 
ing with  the  English  army  the  fortified  places  on  the  east  side  of  Scotland, 
could  not  be  dislodged,  it  was  resolved  to  march  the  forces  of  Scottish 
Royalists  into  England,  on  the  westerly  route,  by  which  it  would  be 
impossible  for  Cromwell  to  come  up  with  the  invaders  until  they  had 
advanced  into  the  heart  of  the  country.  Charles  Stuart  crossed  the 
Border,  with  an  army  of  16,000  men,  in  June,  1651.  Cromwell,  with 
his  army,  was  far  in  the  interior  of  Scotland,  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Perth,  when  the  enemy's  movement  southward  commenced;  but  evidently 
did  not  regard  the  advance  as  a  serious  danger  to  the  Commonwealth, 
for  he  made  no  haste  to  follow,  but  sent  orders  to  General  Lambert, 
commanding  a  force  of  horse,  to  place  himself  upon  the  left  flank  of  the 
Scottish  army,  and  to  offer  resistance  if  favourable  occasion  should 
present. 

On  Thursday,  August  i4th,  1651,  Charles  Stuart  and  his  army 
entered  Preston.  He  did  not  lodge  in  the  town,  but  rode  on  to  Euxton 
Hall  to  spend  the  night.  A  writer  to  Mercurius  Politicus  reported  : — 
"  Upon  Thursday  his  [Charles's]  foot  having  the  van  over  Ribble  Bridge, 
that  night  he  lodged  at  Euxton-Burgh,  six  miles  on  this  side  of  Preston, 
being  Mr.  Hugh  Anderton's  house,  who  was  prisoner  at  Lancaster,  but 
set  at  liberty  by  the  Scots."3  The  next  night,  the  Stuart  slept  at  Bryn 
Hall,  the  seat  of  the  Gerards.  Thence  Charles  passed  over  Warrington 
Bridge  into  Cheshire,  Lambert  hanging  upon  his  flank,  with  an  occasional 
skirmish  along  the  whole  route. 

At  Northwich,  in  Cheshire,  on  Sunday,  August  i7th,  the  Earl  of 
Derby  reached  Charles  and  had  a  consultation  with  him.  The  Earl 
had  landed  on  the  previous  Friday,  at  Presall  Sands,  on  the  Wyre.  In 


Journals  of  H.  of  Commons. 


2  C.  W.  Tracts,  p.  288. 


I  So  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

seven  vessels  he  brought  over  from  the  Isle  of  Man  300  Manx-men,  and 
the  gentry  who  had  taken  refuge  in  the  Island.  The  Earl  and  his 
followers  marched  through  the  Fylde,  being  joined  by  several  Roman 
Catholic  gentlemen  of  the  district ;  crossed  the  Ribble  on  Saturday,  the 
1 6th  August,  and  reached  Lathom  House  the  same  day.  From  Lathom 
he  posted  after  the  Scottish  army,  and  appeared  at  the  Royal  head- 
quarters, as  stated,  on  the  i  yth.  At  the  interview  with  Charles,  it  was 
arranged  that  the  Earl  should  return  to  Lancashire,  and  endeavour  to 
raise  the  old  adherents  of  the  dynasty  within  the  county.  The  nucleus 
of  the  Earl's  command  was  the  Manx  troops,  about  60  horse  and  250 
foot.  Lord  Derby  was  at  Warrington  on  the  2oth  August,  and  had 
returned  to  Preston  the  day  following.  On  the  other  side,  a  regiment 
of  horse  and  some  companies  of  foot  under  Col.  Lilburne  were  ordered 
out  of  Cheshire  to  watch  the  Earl  of  Derby's  movements  in  Lancashire 
and  to  frustrate  his  intentions. 

At  Preston,  Lord  Derby  was  very  active  in  sending  out  agents  into 
various  parts  of  Lancashire  to  enroll  men  for  the  Royal  service ;  and  for 
a  brief  time  the  King's  party  in  this  district  "  put  a  great  fear  into  the 
country,  as  if  they  could  have  conquered  all  and  had  it  at  their  will."1 
But  on  Saturday,  August  23rd,  Colonel  Lilburne  approached  Preston, 
and  quartered  his  regiment  of  horse  at  Brindle,  four  miles  south  of 
the  town.  A  sharp  skirmish  occurred  between  the  Earl's  men  and 
Lilburne's  somewhere  between  Brindle  and  the  Ribble,  probably  in 
Walton  township,  in  which  the  Royalists  were  worsted.  Lilburne's 
troopers — 

Had  put  their  horses  to  grasse  in  those  low  meadows  between  [Brindle]  Church 
and  Preston,  the  soldiers  taking  their  ease,  being  laid  down  by  their  saddles  in  the 
closes  where  their  horses  were  feeding  ;  which,  as  the  event  proved,  was  made  known 
to  some  of  the  Earl's  party  in  Preston  by  some  secret  enemy  (they  being  all  enemies 
thereabouts)  what  a  prize  might  be  had  of  Lilburne's  Soldiers'  horses,  the  men  being 
all  at  rest.  This  being  sodenly  apprehended  by  a  company  of  young  striplings,  Gen- 
tlemen's Sons  with  other  like  to  them,  new  fresh  men,  altogether  ignorant  of  such 
warlike  exploits,  to  the  number  of  twentie  and  twoo  or  thereabouts, — these,  rashlie, 
without  orders  or  advice,  adventured  upon  the  desperate  designe  in  the  day  tyme  to 
make  a  prize  of  the  horses  of  some  of  Colonel  Lilburne's  Troopers.  They  were 
directed  through  a  secret  private  way  in  woody,  close  places  into  the  Meadows  where 
the  Horses  were  feeding,  which  gave  soe  sudden  alarm  to  the  Soldiers  halfe  asleepe 
that  they  were  at  a  mighty  stand,  not  knowing  what  to  think,  conceive,  or  doe  in  the 
business ;  for  the  guard  that  was  set  in  the  loane  below,  nearer  to  Preston,  neyther 
seeing  nor  hearing  any  thing  of  any  enemie.  Upon  the  allarum  they  cryed  "Armes, 
Armes, "  which  when  they  had  done  they  disputed  so  vehementlie  with  the  young  men 
that  they  were  soundly  payed  home  for  their  forwardness.  None  escaped  but  eyther 
slayne  or  taken,  save  one  called  Newsham,  who  forsaking  his  horse  fled  into  a  thick 
Oiler  tree  and  there  hid  himself  in  the  leaves  thereof  and  at  night  went  away.  There 

i  Disc,   of  Warr,  p.   73. 


CIVIL   WAR— CAMPAIGN    OF    1651.  T8x 

was  slaine  —  Butler,  the  young  heir  of  Racliffe  ;  —  Hesketh,  a  second  sonn  of  Mr. 
Hesketh  of  Maynes,  and  a  young  lad  of  the  North  country  called  Knipe,  with  others 
whose  names  I  hard  not.  Richard  Wilding  servant  to  Mr.  Stanley,  of  Eccleston,  left 
his  service  to  be  a  soldier  and  to  attend  young  Butler.  He  was  not  killed  downright 
in  the  skirmish,  but  sore  wounded  and  cut,  that  being  caryed  to  Preston  he  died 
within  ten  daies.  John  Clifton,  second  son  to  Mr.  Clifton  of  Lythom,  was  grievously 
wounded  and  taken  prisoner.1 

This  affair  took  place  in  the  afternoon  of  the  day  of  Colonel 
Lilburne's  arrival  at  Brindle — Saturday,  Aug.  23rd.  The  next  day, 
Sunday,  Aug.  24th,  Lilburne,  who  had  retired  a  little,  by  way  of  pre- 
caution, in  the  direction  of  Hoghton,  was  joined  by  the  venerable 
Puritan  leader  Colonel  Richard  Shuttleworth,  who  had  mustered  a  body 
of  men  in  Blackburn  Hundred  to  aid  in  the  expulsion  of  Lord  Derby 
from  the  county.  The  chronicler  narrates  that  on  the  Sunday  above 
dated,  "  ould  Colonel  Richard  Shuttleworth  and  the  country  thereabouts 
came  to  him  [Lilburne]  at  Houghton  Tower,  and  there  stood  in  a  bodie 
the  most  of  that  day,  making  so  great  a  show  that  they  were  discovered 
to  Preston."  Fearing  the  enemy's  strength,  the  Earl  of  Derby's  troops 
"  in  the  silence  of  the  night  secretly  marched  from  Preston,  making  noe 
stay  before  they  came  to  Wiggon.  .  .  It  was  eight  or  nyne  of  the 
clocke  the  next  morning  [Monday,  August  25th],  before  Colonel  Lilburne 
had  any  intelligence  of  their  marching  away  and  totall  leaving  of  Pres- 
ton, which  when  he  was  certaine  of  and  which  way  they  marched,  with 
as  much  convenient  speed  as  possible  he  gathered  his  Regiment  into  a 
bodie  and  made  after  them,  and  was  come  within  a  myle  and  a  halfe  of 
Wiggon  by  one  of  the  clocke,  being  resolved  and  disposed  to.  give  the 
Earle  battell  if  he  stayed.  And  Providence  had  so  ordered  it  that  there 
were  come  up  to  his  assistance  two  Foot  companies  from  Chester  under 
the  leading  of  Captaine  Robert  Jollie  and  Captaine  Samuel  Smith,  and 
another  Foot  Companie  of  new  raised  men  from  Liverpoole.  These 
were  quartered  within  Brindle,  and  kept  guard  in  the  Church  of  Brindle 
the  Saturday  night  after  the  defeat  of  the  young  men  spoken  of  before. 
These  were  all  the  Foot  that  Colonel)  Lilburne  had  marching  with  him 
to  Wiggon."8 

The  decisive  conflict  between  Colonel  Lilburne  and  the  Earl  of 
Derby  was  fought  in  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day,  August  25th,  at 
Wigan  Town  End.  The  battle  is  known  as  that  of  "  Wigan  Lane."  Its 
result  was  a  defeat  for  the  Earl  of  Derby.  Sir  Thomas  Tyldesley  was 
there  slain,  and  the  Earl  himself  was  wounded,  but  was  able  to  escape. 
Four  hundred  Royalists,  including  many  important  officers,  were  cap- 
tured. In  one  of  Colonel  Lilburne's  despatches  after  the  battle,  the 
Colonel  refers  to  the  movements  about  Preston  and  Brindle,  immediately 


i  Disc,  of  Warr,  pp.  73-4. 


2  Ib.,  pp.  74-5. 


182  .         HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

precedent  to  the  fight : — "  The  next  day,  in  the  afternoone,  I  having  no 
foot  with  me,  a  party  of  the  Enemies'  Horse  fell  smartly  amongst  us 
where  our  horses  were  grazing,  and  for  some  space  put  us  pretty  hard  to 
it ;  but  at  last  it  pleased  the  Lord  to  strengthen  us  so  as  that  we  put 
them  to  the  flight,  and  pursued  them  to  Ribble  Bridge  .  .  and  kild 
and  took  about  30  prisoners,  most  officers  and  gentlemen,  with  the  loss 
of  two  men  that  dyed  next  morning ;  but  severall  wounded,  and  divers 
of  our  good  horses  killed.  That  night  came  three  regiments  of  Foot, 
and  the  next  morning  hearing  of  your  Excellencie's  Regiment  coming 
towards  Manchester,  I  only  marched  two  miles  to  a  more  convenient 
ground,  thinking  to  have  staied  there  till  your  Regiment  could  come, 
which  I  expected  this  day,  but  their  weariness  frustrated  that  expecta- 
tion, and  this  morning  I  had  intelligence  that  the  Enemy  was  upon  their 
march,  which  I  thought  was  a  running  away  from  us,  being  that  they 
began  at  1 1  in  the  night,  and  marched  so  fast  and  privately,  but  their 
confidence  was  much  otherwise  raised,  having  increased  their  number  at 
Preston."1  Then  follows  the  victor's  description  of  the  Wigan-Lane 
battle. 

The  Earl  of  Derby,  though  hurt  at  Wigan,  succeeded  in  reaching 
the  principal  army  of  the  Royalists,  and  shared  in  the  battle  and  defeat 
at  Worcester,  Sept.  3rd,  1651.  Charles  Stuart  contrived  to  make  his 
escape,  but  the  unfortunate  Earl  of  Derby  was  shortly  afterwards  taken, 
conducted  to  Chester,  and  thence  to  Bolton,  where  he  was  beheaded, 
Oct.  i5th,  1651.  With  this  tragedy,  the  story  of  the  Civil  War  of  1641-51 
dolefully  closes. 

FURTHER  PARLIAMENTARY  SEQUESTRATIONS  IN  1652. 

After  the  suppression  of  the  last  rising  of  the  Stuart  party  in  1651, 
Parliament  addressed  itself  afresh  to  the^work  of  sequestration  of  the 
estates  of  those  landowners  who  had  joined  with  the  dynastic  house  in 
the  struggle  for  supremacy  between  Monarch  and  Parliament.  Many 
who  had  escaped  the  former  compositions  in  1643  and  1646  were  now 
swept  into  the  net  as  the  proper  prey  of  the  ascendant  party,  and  under 
the  "Additional  Bill  for  the  Sale  of  several  Lands  and  Estates  forfeited  to 
the  Commonwealth  for  Treason,"  before  the  House  of  Commons  in  Octo- 
ber, 1652,  some  hundreds  of  Lancashire  Royalist  gentry,  the  majority  of 
them  being  Roman  Catholics,  were  subjected  to  legalised  plunder.  The 
names  of  sufferers  on  this  occasion  connected  with  Blackburn  parish  are 
not  numerous,  the  parish  containing  fewer  Royalist  families  than  other 
districts  of  the  County,  but  the  following  are  embraced  in  the  categories 
of  this  sequestration : — John  Talbot  of  Dinckley,  Esq. ;  Alexander 

i  Lilburne's  Letter  to  Cromwell,  in  C.  W.  Tracts,  pp.  303-7. 


RESTORATION  OF  THE    STUARTS. 


183 


Osbaldeston  of  Osbaldeston,  Esq.  ;  Robert  Osbaldeston  of  Oxen- 
dale,  gent. ;  Edward  Rishton  of  Mickle-heyes,  gent.  ;  John  Parker  of 
Loveley,  gent. ;  John  Barker  of  Wheetley  ;  Robert  Craven  of  Billington ; 
Robert  Fowle  of  Billington ;  Laurence  Park  of  Cuerdale  ;  and  Thomas 
Sowerbutts  of  Samlesbury. 

RESTORATION  OF  MONARCHY  IN  1660. 

The  month  of  May,   1660,  was  signalised  by  the  return  to  the 
palace  of  his  ancestors  of  Charles  Stuart,  son  of  the  monarch  beheaded 
eleven  years  before.      The  change  in  Government,  from  a  Common- 
wealth back  to  a  monarchy,  was  not  only  effected  without  a  fresh  resort 
to  arms,  but  with  general  acquiescence;  for  after  the  voluntary  resigna- 
tion of  Richard  Cromwell,  son  of  the  late  Lord  Protector,  no  man  being 
found  capable  of  assuming  the  Protectorship,  the  recall  of  the  represent- 
ative of  the  old  Royal  House  was  a  political  necessity.     Charles  the 
Second  was  crowned  April  23rd,  1661.     The  restoration  of  the  Stuarts 
produced  little  change  in  the  aspect  of  civil  and  social  affairs  in  this 
part  of  Lancashire.      The  survivors  among  the  gentry  of  Blackburn 
Hundred  who  had  borne  conspicuous  parts  against  the  dynasty  in  the 
late  war  made  their  peace  with  the  new  Government,  and  retained  their 
properties  by    no  greater  sacrifice  than  their  acknowledgment  of  the 
King's  supremacy.      It  was  in  matters  ecclesiastical  that  the  reinstate- 
ment of  the  monarchy  occasioned  the  most  significant  revulsion.     The 
Presbyterian  Church-establishment  in  this  county  did  not  outlive  the 
political  conditions  that  called  it  into  being.     While  the  return  to  an 
Episcopal  Church  Establishment  was  greatly  welcomed   in   England, 
there  existed  among  the  Puritan  party  a  strong  dislike  to  some  portions 
of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  on  the  ground  that  in  its  formulas  were 
vestiges  of  the  errors  and  superstitions  of  the  Church  of  Rome.     The 
King  and  his  advisers  were  not  favourable  to  a  revision  of  the  Prayer 
Book  in  the  direction  of  a  more  pronounced  Protestantism,  but  insisted 
upon  the  restoration  of  the   Church's  worship  in  its  old  forms,  and  this 
many  of  the  more  determined  Puritans  could  not  brook.     Hence  the 
passing  of  the  Act  of  Uniformity,  in  May,  1662,  resulted  in  the  exclu- 
sion of  a  number  of  clergymen  from  the  cures  they  then  held,  and  in  the 
refusal  to  conform  of  many  Puritan  lay-churchmen.    The  Uniformity  Act, 
and  the  ejections  and  prosecutions  under  its  provisions,  have  the  credit 
of  causing  the  first  extensive  development  of  Protestant  Nonconformity 
in  England.     Those  who  had  declined  to  observe  the  Anglican  ritual 
and  obey  Episcopal  government  before  this  time  were  denominated 
"  Separatists,"  or  "  Sectaries  "  and  "  Schismatics,"  by  their  antagonists, 
but  not  "  Nonconformists."     In  some  parts  of  England  the  party  called 


1 84  HISTORY    OF  BLACKBURN. 

"  Independents,"  of  whom  the  Baptists  were  a  branch  holding  similar 
opinions  as  to  Church  government,  but  divergent  views  upon  the  rite  of 
Baptism,  was  rather  numerous  before  the  Commonwealth  period ;  but 
not  many  avowing  these  principles  were  found  in  Lancashire,  and  in  the 
parish  of  Blackburn  hardly  a  trace  appears  of  this  earlier  Dissent 
before  the  Civil  War  and  general  overturn  of  ancient  institutions  in  Church 
and  State  set  men  cogitating  upon  new  theories  of  government,  civil  and 
ecclesiastical. 

The  Act  of  Uniformity  enacted  "  that  every  parson,  vicar,  curate, 
lecturer,  or  other  ecclesiasticall  person,  neglecting  or  refusing,  before  the 
Feast  Day  of  St.  Bartholomew,  1662,  to  declare  openly  before  their 
respective  congregations,  his  assent  and  consent  to  all  things  contained 
in  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  established  by  the  said  Act,  ipso  facto 
be  deposed,  and  that  every  parson,  vicar,  curate,  lecturer,  or  other  eccle- 
siasticall person,  failing  in  his  subscription  to  a  declaration  mentioned 
in  the  said  Act  to  be  subscribed  before  the  Feast  Day  of  St.  Bartholomew, 
1662,  shall  be  utterly  disabled,  and  ipso  facto  deprived,  and  his  place  be 
void,  as  if  the  person  so  failing  were  naturally  dead."  This  Act  was  not 
put  into  force  until  the  lapse  of  a  period  of  more  than  two  years  after  the 
fall  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  the  return  of  Charles  II.  to  the  throne. 
In  those  two  years,  circumstances  had  compelled  some  of  the  "preach- 
ing ministers  "  holding  the  poor  benefices  in  this  part  of  the  country  to 
cease  their  ministrations,  without  waiting  for  the  decree  of  ejection.  The 
endowments  pertaining  to  the  majority  of  the  parochial  chapels  and 
chapels  of  ease  in  Lancashire  were  so  insignificant  that  many  of  them 
had  never  possessed  a  regular  resident  ministry  since  the  Reformation, 
until  the  imposition  of  the  Presbyterian  Government  in  1646.  Under 
that  establishment,  the  miserable  provision  for  ministerial  maintenance 
from  the  ancient  endowments  of  most  of  these  churches  and  chapels  had 
been  supplemented  by  an  annual  grant  towards  a  minister's  stipend  by  a 
County  Committee,  and  afterwards  by  a  body  called  the  "  Committee  of 
Plundered  Ministers,"  administering  a  fund  derived  from  the  sequestra- 
tion of  the  estates  of  Royalist  "  delinquents."  These  grants  varied  from 
£,ZQ  to  ^50  per  annum,  and  by  their  means  competent  ministers  were 
maintained  in  residence  in  the  poorest  benefices.  But  this  provident 
Committee  and  its  fund  must  at  once  have  ceased  to  exist  when  the 
Stuarts  had  been  brought  back,  and  when  those  who  had  been  fined  and 
punished  as  "  delinquents  "  found  themselves  masters  of  the  situation. 
With  the  stoppage  of  their  allowances,  the  ministers  in  those  chapelries 
where  the  former  endowments  were  too  small  to  support  a  curate  would 
be  driven  to  suspend  their  services,  and  to  seek  some  other  employment, 
except  in  the  cases  where  the  parishioners  were  willing  to  subscribe  sums 


ACT  OF  UNIFORMITY— LOCAL  EFFECTS.         ^5 

adequate  for  their  support.  Such  cases  would  not  be  numerous  in  those 
unsettled  times  ;  and  it  is  certain  that  a  number  of  the  preachers  by 
appointment  of  the  Presbytery  had  ceased  their  duties  and  withdrawn 
from  the  cures  of  their  own  accord,  months  before  the  Act  of  Uniformity 
came  into  force  to  compel  their  assent  and  consent  to  the  Book  of 
Common  Prayer.  The  fact  is  thus  accounted  for,  that  in  this  part  of 
the  kingdom  so  few  of  the  ministers  who  held  appointments  under 
the  Presbytery  a  few  years  before  are  mentioned  either  as  having  jcon- 
formed  or  among  the  ejected  in  1662. 

In  this  parish  the  only  benefice  the  endowment  of  which  afforded  a 
sufficient  stipend  for  a  minister  was  the  Parish  Church  of  Blackburn, 
the  fixed  value  of  which  was  ^49  zos.  gd.  per  annum.  The  Vicar, 
Mr.  Leonard  Clayton,  has  been  instituted  by  the  Presbytery  on  the 
nomination  of  the  parishioners  in  1647;  but  there  had  been  no  expul- 
sion of  a  prior  incumbent  of  episcopal  ordination  and  appointment,  for 
the  former  Vicar,  Adam  Bolton,  had  accepted  the  Presbytery  in  1646,  and 
retained  the  living  until  his  death  in  the  following  year.  Vicar  Clayton 
reconciled  himself  to  Anglican  creeds  and  forms  in  1660,  and  thus  con- 
tinued Vicar  on  the  Act  of  Uniformity  coming  into  force.  None  of  the 
dependent  churches  in  the  parish  at  this  date  possessed  a  maintenance  for 
a  resident  minister.  The  three  ancient  parochial  chapels  of  Lawe(  Walton), 
Samlesbury,  and  Great  Harwood  had  each  no  more  than  £4  per 
annum  of  a  settled  revenue,  and  the  Act  of  Uniformity  found  Walton 
and  Samlesbury  churches  already  destitute  of  curates  and  left  them  so. 
At  Great  Harwood  the  minister  under  the  Presbytery,  Mr.  Sandford,  had 
remained  after  the  failure  of  his  allowance  from  the  County  Committee, 
and  declining  to  conform,  was  ejected  in  1662.  This  was  the  only  cleri- 
cal ejection  in  Blackburn  Parish.  The  chapels-of-ease  at  Langho, 
Balderstone,  Tockholes,  and  Over  Darwen,  had  no  endowment  whatever 
in  1650,  and  in  1662  had  no  ministers  left  in  possession  by  the  extinct 
Presbytery  to  be  subjected  to  the  tests  of  an  exacting  statute. 

A  considerable  number  of  the  Puritan  laity  in  the  parish,  however, 
withheld  conformity  to  the  reconstituted  national  Church ;  and,  in  the 
years  of  religious  persecution  which  followed,  observed  religious  worship 
according  to  their  preference,  casually,  as  occasion  served,  and  fur- 
tively, in  secret  meetings,  for  fear  of  legal  penalties.  These  Nonconformist 
congregations  continued  to  meet  in  several  private  houses  in  the  dis- 
trict until  the  relaxation  of  the  prohibitive  laws  permitted  more  public 
assemblies  in  stated  meeting-houses.  The  ejected  pastors  visited  these 
groups  of  Nonconformists  and  preached  to  them  in  turn,  and  eventually 
settled  as  resident  ministers  of  churches  formed  upon  Congregational 
and  Presbyterian  principles. 


1 86  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

SUBSIDY  ASSESSMENT  IN  1663. 

To  the  four  Subsidies  granted  to  Charles  II.  in  the  year  1663  (the 
last  of  such  levies  made  in  England)  the  return  of  the  assessment  upon 
the  Inhabitants  of  Blackburn  Parish,  for  the  third  and  fourth  payments 
of  the  Subsidies,  is  copied  as  below  from  the  Subsidy  Roll,1 15  Chas.  II.: — 

BALDERSTONE —  Value.        Payment. 

Alexander  Osbaldeston,  gent,  in  terris         ...  303.    .  I2s. 

Roger  Berley,  in  terris 2os.                  8d. 

Richard  Ratcliffe,  in  bonis       £3  los.  1 8s.   8d. 

Richard  Cal vert,  in  bonis         ^3  los.  i8s.  8d. 

BlLLINGTON— 

William  Chew,  of  Olgreave,  in  bonis ^4  2 is.  4d. 

William  Holker,  in  bonis         ^3  i6s. 

William  Wood,  in  bonis           ,£3  1 6s. 

CLAYTON-IN-LE-DALE— 

Richard  Walmesley,  gent.,  in  terris 303.                 I2s. 

Richard  Hawkesley,  in  bonis ,£5  26s.  8d. 

John  Talbot,  in  bonis ^"3  1 6s. 

John  Entwistle,  in  bonis           £3                    1 6s. 

Robert  Tattersall,  in  bonis        £3  1 6s. 

DARWEN,  UPPER — 

John  Cross,  in  terris     205.                   8s. 

Robert  Waddington,  in  bonis .£3  IDS.  i8s.  8d. 

John  Crouchley,  in  bonis          ...         ...         ...  ^3  los.  1 8s.  8d. 

William  Yates,  in  bonis           £$  IDS.  i8s.   8d. 

DARWEN,  LOWER-- 

Thomas  Haworth,  in  terris       ^£3  245. 

Peter  Haworth,  junr. ,  in  bonis            .£5  263.  8d. 

Robert  Piccop,  in  bonis            ^5  263.  8d. 

John  Aspinall,  in  bonis            ,£4  2is.  4d. 

HARWOD  MAGNA — 

—  Boulton,  in  bonis ^4  2is.  4d. 

—  Taylor,  in  bonis        £3                     i6s. 

Edmund  Cockshutt,  in  terris 305.                 123. 

Robert  ffeilden  of  Lower  Town,  in  bonis       •••  ^3  i6s. 

HARWOD  PARVA— 

John  Clayton,  gent.,  in  terris 403.  i6s. 

Thomas  Rishton,  in  terris        2os.                   8s. 

John  Peele,  in  terris      2Os.                   8s. 

Richard  Dewhurst,  in  bonis     ^5  265.  8d. 

LIVESEY-CUM-TOCKHOLLS— 

Ralph  Livesey,  Esq.,  in  terris ^3  243. 

Thomas  Astley,  in  terris          503.  203. 

Richard  Whitehalgh,  in  terris 305.  123. 

William  Marsden,  in  terris       26s.   8cl.  ios/  8d. 

Lawrence  Ainsworth,  in  bonis            ^4  2 is.  4d. 

James  Piccop,  in  bonis ^4  2 is.  6d. 

William  Walmsley,  in  bonis £3  ios.  i8s.   8d. 

Richard  Aspden,  in  bonis         ^3  163. 

i  Unaccountably,  the  township  of  Blackburn  does  not  appear  upon  the  roll  of  this  Subsidy. 


SUBSIDY  ASSESSMENT  IN  1663. 


187 


MELLOR-CUM-ECCLESHILL — 
Edward  Houghton,  j 
William  Ward,  in  bonis 
Peter  Ireland,  in  bonis 
Richard  Battersby,  in  bonis 
William  Shorrocke,  in  bonis 
Thomas  Haydocke,  in  bonis 

OSBALDESTON— 

Alexander  Osbald 
Lawrence  Osbaldi 
Robert  Boulton,  in  bonis 
John  Sharpies,  in  bonis 
PLEASINGTON— 

Thomas  Ayneswo 
Thomas  Livesay,  in  terris 
Gyles  Astley,  in  terris  ... 
Richard  Aynsworth,  in  b 
Lawrence  Abbat,  in  bonis 
Thomas  Whaley,  in  bonis 

RlSHTON — 

Thomas  Whalley,  in  bonis 
Thomas  Talbott,  in  bonis 
Christopher  Hindle,  in  bonis 
William  Berry,  in  bonis 
Christopher  Duckworth, 
Robert  Dewhurst,  in  bonis 
John  Baron,  in  bonis 

SALESBURY— 

John  Parker,  gent.,  in  terris 

SAMLESBURY — 

John  Southworth,  Esq., 
William  Walmesley,  ge 
James  Livesay,  in  terris 
John  Holmes,  in  bonis 
George  Hey,  in  bonis  , 
Thomas  Smith,  in  bonis 
John  Marsden,  in  bonis 

WALTON-IN-LE-DALE — 

Edward  Walmesley,  ge 
Thomas  Walton,  gent., 
William  Osbaldeston,  ii 
John  Jackson,  in  terris 
John  Woodcocke,  junr. 
John  Woodcocke,  senr. 
Francis  Estham,  in  bonis 
William  Dandy,  in  bonis 
Katharine  Holland,  in  bonis 
Thomas  Woodcocke,  jum 
Thomas  Shaw,  in  bonis... 


Value. 

Payment. 

nt.,  in  terris 

2OS. 

8s. 

is 

...     £4 

2  is.  4d. 

£4 

2  is.  4d. 

bonis 

...     £4 

2  is.  4d. 

bonis    ... 

...     £5 

26s.  8d. 

bonis    ... 

...    £5 

26s.  8d. 

i,  Esq.,  in  terris 

...    £S 

403. 

,  in  terris 

2OS. 

8s. 

lis           

...    £3 

1  6s. 

5 

/  -i 

1  6s. 

n  terris... 

403. 

1  6s. 

rris 

2OS. 

8s. 

... 

20S. 

8s. 

i  bonis  

...    £s 

26s.  8d. 

)nis 

-.      £4 

2  is.  4d. 

mis 

...    £3 

1  6s. 

onis       

...  £3 

1  6s. 

nis 

...    £3 

1  6s. 

bonis    

...    £3 

i6s. 

s..  . 

£3 

1  6s. 

i,  in  bonis 

...    £3 

1  6s. 

3111S           

...    £3 

1  6s. 

/3 

1  6s. 

terris 

2OS. 

8s. 

,  in  terris 

20S. 

8s. 

int.,  in  terris    ... 

...    £5 

403. 

2OS. 

8s. 

£$ 

26s.  8d. 

...    £5 

26s.  8d. 

is           

...    £4  i  os. 

243. 

f.A       Cg 

22S.    8d. 

;nt.,  in  terris    ... 

4OS. 

1  6s. 

,  in  terris 

2OS. 

8s. 

n  terris... 

20S. 

8s. 

... 

20S. 

8s. 

.,  in  terris 

...       305. 

I2S. 

,,  in  terris 

2OS. 

8s. 

lis          

-     £3 

1  6s. 

lis           

-    £3 

1  6s. 

bonis 

...    £3 

1  6s. 

unr.,  in  bonis   ... 

-    £3 

1  6s. 

3  

...    £3 

1  6s. 

,  in  bonis 

...    £3 

1  6s. 

i88  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

WALTON-IN-LE-DALE—  Value.         Payment. 

Roger  Breers,  in  bonis ...          ...  ^3  i6s. 

James  Waring,  in  bonis ^3  i6s. 

William  Duddell,  in  bonis        ...  ^"3  i6s. 

Richard  Tasker,  in  bonis           ...  ...          ...  ^3  i6s. 

James  Walton,  in  bonis...          ...  ...          ...  ^3  i6s. 

Jane  Estham,  in  bonis  ...         ...  ...         ...  ^3  i6s. 

WlLPSHIRE-CUM-DlNKLEY — 

John  Talbot,  Esq.,  in  terris      ...          ...          ...  ^5  403. 

Robert  Collinson,  in  bonis         ...          ...          ...  ^3  i6s. 

Thomas  Blackburne,  in  bonis  ...          ...          ...  ^3  i6s. 

Thomas  Craven,  in  bonis          ...          ...          ...  ^"3  i6s. 

John  Breeres,  in  bonis  ...          ^£3  i6s. 

WITTON — 

George  Toulson,  in  terris         ...        2Os.  8s. 

Christopher  Marsden,  in  bonis...          ^"3  i6s. 

MEASURES  FOR  THE  SUPPRESSION  OF  NONCONFORMITY. 

The  Government  of  Charles  the  Second  did  not  cease  from  design- 
ing means  for  rendering  the  situation  of  persons  dissenting  from  the 
Church  of  the  State  intolerable,  hoping  thus  to  exterminate  all  "sectaries," 
and  to  restore  the  national  religion  to  at  least  external  uniformity.  The 
Act  of  1662  not  appearing  to  be  effectual,  it  was  supplemented  by  an 
"Act  for  Suppressing  Conventicles,"  which  came  into  force  on  the  ist  of 
July,  1664,  and  enacted  that  any  person  present  at  a  meeting  for  religious 
exercises,  "  in  other  manner  than  is  allowed  by  the  Liturgy  of  the  Church 
of  England,  where  shall  be  five  or  more  persons  than  the  household," 
shall  suffer  three  months'  imprisonment,  or  be  fined  ^5,  for  the  first 
offence,  six  months,  or  ;£io  fine,  for  a  second  offence,  and  seven  years' 
banishment  to  the  American  plantations,  or  ^100  fine,  for  a  third 
offence."  Those  who  lent  their  houses  or  barns  for  use  as  conventicles 
were  made  liable  to  the  same  penalties.  This  Act  was  renewed, 
amended  in  the  direction  of  greater  stringency,  in  1670.  Next  succeeded 
the  "Five  Mile  Act,"  which  obtained  the  Royal  Assent  Oct.  3ist,  1665. 
The  chief  clause  of  this  Act  provided  that  "  Nonconformist  ministers  | 
shall  not,  after  the  5th  of  March,  1665-6,  unless  in  passing  the  road, 
come  or  be  within  five  miles  of  any  city,  town-corporate,  or  borough ;  or  . 
within  five  miles  of  any  parish,  town  or  place  wherein  they  have  been  ' 
parson,  vicar,  or  lecturer, — upon  forfeiture,  for  every  such  offence,  of  the 
sum  of  forty  pounds,  one-third  to  the  King,  another  third  to  the  poor, 
and  a  third  to  him  that  shall  sue  for  it." 

In  1671-2,  matters  assumed  a  somewhat  more  comfortable  aspect  for 
Nonconformists,  for  on  the  isth  March,  of  that  year,  Charles  II.  pub- 
lished a  Declaration  of  Indulgence,  in  which,  exercising  his  prerogative 
as  supreme  head  of  the  Church,  the  Monarch  "  declared  his  will  and 


KING'S  DECLARATION  OF  INDULGENCE,  A.D.  1672.  ^9 

pleasure  to  be,  that  the  execution  of  all  and  all  manner  of  penal  laws  in 
matters  ecclesiastical,  against  whatsoever  sort  of  nonconformists,  or 
recusants,  be  immediately  suspended."  Upon  the  strength  of  this  Royal 
declaration,  the  Government  issued  licenses  to  applicants  for  Noncon- 
formist preaching  and  meeting-houses.  The  registers  of  licenses  granted 
in  1672  have  recently  been  discovered  among  the  national  archives,  and 
are  now  accessible  in  the  Public  Record  Office.  The  following  entries 
relate  to  licenses  applied  for  and  granted  for  preaching  places  in  this 
district : — 
LICENSES  TO  PREACH  (No.  185.  Record  Off.  St.  Papers  Dom.  Chas.  II.  1672). l 

License  to  John  Harvie  to  be  a  Pr.  [Presbyterian]  Teacher  in  a  meeting  house  in 
Tockley  [Tockholes]  erected  for  that  purpose,  in  the  Parish  of  Blackburn,  Lancaster. 

1  May,   '72. 

The  meeting  house  in  Tockley  [Tockholes]  in  the  parish  of  Blackburn  in  Lan- 
cashire. Pr.  [Presbyterian]  Meeting.  8  May,  '72. 

The  house  of  John  Horwood  [or  Harwood]  in  the  Hundred  of  Blackburn,  Lan- 
caster, licensed  for  a  Congr.  [Congregational]  meeting  place.  2  May,  '72. 

Thomas  Jollie  to  be  a  Congr.  [Congregational]  Teacher  in  his  house  at  Wymond- 
houses  in  the  Hundred  of  Blackburn,  Lancaster.  2  May. 

The  house  of  Thomas  Jollie  at  the  Wymond-houses  in  the  Hundred  of  Blackburn, 
in  Lancaster.  Congr.  meeting  place.  2  May,  '72. 

The  house  of  Robert  Whitaker  in  the  Hundred  of  Blackburn,  Lancaster.  Congr. 
place.  2  May,  '72. 

The  house  of  Richard  Cottham  in  the  Hundred  of  Blackburn,  Lancaster.  Congr. 
place.  2  May,  '72. 

The  house  of  Richard  Sagar  in  the  Hund.  of  Blackburn,  Lane.     Congr.  place. 

2  May,  '72. 

[Sept.  20.]     A  new  built  house  on  Langoe  Green  in  Blackburn,  Lancaster. 

[Dec.  9.  ]  An  erected  meeting  house  in  Blackburn,  in  Lancash.  Pr.  [Presby- 
terian.] 

Dec.  23,  '72.  A  meeting  place  erected  by  the  people  adjoining  to  Langoe  Greene 
in  ye  P'ish  of  Blackborne  in  Lancash.  Congr. 

License  to  Charles  Sagar  Pr.  [Presbyterian]  Teacher  of  Blackborne,  Lancashire. 
Feb.  3. 

The  house  of  Thomas  Anderton,  at  Samsbuiy.     Pr.  meeting  place. 

The  house  of  William  and  Henry  Berry  in  Upper  Darwin  to  be  a  Pr.  [Presbyte- 
rian] meeting  place. 

The  barn  of  John  Pickop  in  Dedwinclough  [in  Newchurch-in-Rossendale]  to  be 
an  Indep.  [Independent]  meeting  place. 

The  house  of  John  Durden  in  Yatebanke  to  be  a  Pr.  meeting  place. 

The  house  of  John  Harris  in  Withnell  to  be  a  Pr.  meeting  place. 

Within  a  year,  the  King  was  constrained  by  the  resistance  of  Par- 
liament to  the  relaxation  of  statute  law  by  the  mere  fiat  of  the  Crown,  to 

i  These  excerpts  of  the  official  records  of  Licenses  granted  for  Nonconformist  preaching-houses 
in  the  district  in  1672,  have  been  kindly  communicated  by  Mr.  J.  E.  Bailey,  of  Stretford,  who  has 
extracted  the  whole  of  the  license-entries  relating  to  Lancashire.  Annals  of  the  permanent  Noncon- 
formist congregations  afterwards  established  in  the  parish,  and  the  meeting-houses  built  at  Over 
Darwen,  Tockholes,  Walton,  &c.,  will  be  inserted  later  under  the  respective  townships. 


1 9o  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

revoke  his  Declaration  of  Indulgence  to  Dissenters  and  Roman  Catholics, 
and  to  suspend  the  licenses  for  places  of  worship  which  had  been  granted  ; 
and  measures  of  repression  were  passed  by  the  authorities  with  more 
severity  than  before.  Still,  in  spite  of  all,  conformity  was  by  no  means 
universal.  Local  prosecutions  of  the  Nonconforming  ministers  and 
their  supporters  were  instituted  in  1675,  m  J677,  in  1678,  and  in  1679, 
in  which  the  prime  movers  were  Justices  Nowell  of  Read  and  Ratcliffe 
of  Mearley,  and  the  chief  sufferers  Thomas  Jollie,  the  Independent 
minister  at  Wymond-houses,  near  Clitheroe ;  Charles  Sagar  of  Blackburn, 
ex-Master  of  the  Grammar  School ;  Mr.  John  Parr,  preacher  at  Walton 
and  Preston  ;  and  several  of  their  faithful  communicants.  The  crisis  of 
this  sharp  conflict  between  the  relentless  force  of  civil  authority  and  the 
passive  resistance  of  personal  conviction  equally  inflexible  and  per- 
sistent, was  reached  in  1684,  when  the  notorious  Jeffreys, — whom 
history  brands  as  the  most  unjust,  venal,  and  cruel  judge  that  ever  sat 
upon  an  English  Bench, — taking  the  Northern  Circuit,  had  several  of 
the  Nonconformist  preachers  brought  before  him  at  Preston,  and  in- 
dulged his  animosity  by  inflicting  upon  them  the  heaviest  penalties  law 
would  permit.  Less  than  five  years  after  this  visit  to  Lancashire, 
Jeffreys  died  a  miserable  death  in  the  Tower  of  London,  at  the  age  of 
40,  the  object  of  universal  contempt. 

Charles  the  Second  died  Feb.  6th,  1684-5,  and  his  brother,  with 
the  title  of  James  II.,  succeeded.  The  rule  of  the  second  James  was 
not  more  enlightened  than  that  of  former  monarchs  of  his  race.  The 
term  of  the  Stuart  dynasty  was  now  near  its  end.  The  nation,  that  had 
hailed  its  return  to  authority  in  1660  with  delight,  had  after  a  second 
probation  of  a  quarter  of  a  century  become  satiated  with  its  caprice  and 
estranged  by  its  perverseness.  Religious  persecution  was  rife  during  the 
firsttwo  years  of  James  the  Second's  reign ;  but  in  April,  1687,  the  King  (in 
the  interest  of  his  Roman  Catholic  co-religionists)  published  a  Declaration 
of  Liberty  of  Conscience  to  Nonconformists  and  Recusants.  The  relief 
was  welcome  to  many  who  had  borne  the  pressure  of  an  intolerant  policy 
for  fourteen  years  since  the  cessation  of  the  Indulgence  of  1672,  though 
the  mode  of  it  was  disliked  as  arbitrary  and  illegal,  and  its  motive  sus- 
pected. 

At  length,  in  the  last  month  of  1688,  James  the  Second  was  driven 
from  the  throne  and  into  exile,  and  William  of  Orange,  who  had  come 
to  England  to  place  himself  at  the  head  of  the  Revolution,  and  his  wife 
Mary,  daughter  of  the  ex-king,  were  invested  with  joint  sovereignty  with 
the  titles  of  William  III.  and  Mary  I. 


PROSECUTION  OF  LANCASHIRE  JACOBITES.  l()l 


CHAPTER  V.— MODERN  PERIOD. 

Jacobite  Trials  at  Manchester  in  1694— Antiquaries  Thoresby  and  Stukeley  in  East-Lancashire— 
Distress  in  1706— Rebellion  of  1715— Local  Non- Jurors— Rebellion  of  1745— Fate  of  Francis 
Towneiey— Visits  of  John  Wesley— Early  Textile  Manufactures— Blackburn  "Checks"  and 
"  Greys  "—James  Hargreaves  of  Stanhill— His  invention  of  the  Spinning- Frame— Popular 
jealousy — His  house  attacked  and  machines  destroyed  by  the  mob— Quits  Blackburn  and  settles 
at  Nottingham — His  invention  patented — Its  specification — Other  machines  invented  by  Arkwright 
and  Crompton — Death  of  Hargreaves — Rise  of  the  Calico-printing  industry— Claytons  of  Bamber 
Bridge— The  Peel  Family— Robert  Peel  of  Hole-house— Peels  of  Peel  Fold— Robert  Peel  of  Peel 
Fold— His  connexion  with  the  Haworth  Family— Resides  in  Fish  Lane,  Blackburn — Commences 
Calico-printing — Invents  the  parsley-leaf  pattern — Partnership  with  William  Yates — Brookside  and 
Altham  Factories  destroyed  by  rioters — Robert  Peel's  removal  to  Burton — Subsequent  enterprise 
of  the  Peels — Their  local  calico-printing  concerns — Other  print-works  at  Mosney  in  Walton,  Mill 
Hill,  and  Darwen — Growth  of  the  Factory  System  and  popular  resistance — Modern  commercial 
development  in  the  Parish  —Road  improvements,  Canal,  and  Railroads. 


JACOBITE  confederacies  in  England  (or  the  suspicion  of  them),  and 
a  dynastic  war  in  Ireland,  disturbed  the  peace  of  the  Kingdom 
during  several  years  after  the  accession  of  the  House  of  Orange, 
and  chequered  the  general  popular  satisfaction  with  the  constitutional 
changes  effected  by  the  Revolution  of  1688.  In  the  trial  at  Manchester, 
in  1694,  of  a  number  of  influential  Lancashire  Jacobites  indicted  for 
conspiracy  against  the  Government,  one  of  the  accused  was  Bartholomew 
Walmesley,  Esq.,  of  Dunkenhalgh  Hall,  lord  of  several  manors  within 
this  parish.  The  witnesses  for  the  Crown  swore  that  Mr.  Walmesley 
was  sojourning  at  Dunkenhalgh  in  1691-3,  the  date  of  the  alleged  con- 
spiracy ;  but  in  the  defence  several  witnesses  of  standing  were  brought 
to  prove  that  Mr.  Walmesley  was  then  absent  from  the  country.  One 
Oliver  Pearson,  in  a  deposition  taken  after  the  trial  in  1695,  deposed 
that  "about  seven  years  ago  he  called  at  a  house  within  a  mile  of  Black- 
burn, where  some  gentlemen  were  drinking  in  an  inner  room,  and  the 
room  door  being  open  deponent  enquired  of  some  of  the  people  of  the 


I92  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

house,  who  those  gentlemen  were,  and  answer  was  made  that  one  of 
them  was  Mr.  Walmesley,  which  said  Walmesley  deponent  took  particular 
notice  of,  because  there  was  then  a  great  talk  in  the  country  of  Mr. 
Walmesley  of  Dunkenhalgh  coming  to  his  estate  ;  and  about  four  years 
ago  deponent  met  the  same  Mr.  Walmesley  in  Church-parish  about 
three  quarters  of  a  mile  from  his  house  called  Dunkenhalgh,  on  horse- 
back with  two  or  three  men  of  his  company."1  But,  on  the  other  hand, 
Thomas  Braddyll,  Esq.,  of  Portfield,  a  Justice  of  the  Peace,  had  testified 
"that  he  lived  within  two  or  three  miles  from  Dunkenhalgh,  Mr.  Walmesley' s 
house,  and  never  heard  that  Mr.  Walmesley  was  there  since  he  left 
England  in  the  year  1689,  and  verily  believed  that  Mr.  Walmesley  and 
so  many  gentlemen  with  him  could  not  have  met  there  but  that  he  (Mr. 
Braddyll),  being  so  near  a  neighbour,  should  have  heard  something  of  it, 
which  he  affirmed  he  never  did."3  The  trial  ended  in  the  acquittal  of  all 
the  accused  gentlemen. 

The  half  century  between  1700  and  1750  was  comparatively  barren 
of  important  local  events.  The  commercial  enterprise  for  which  this 
with  other  divisions  of  the  county  has  in  recent  times  been  noted, 
had  hardly  begun  to  develop  before  the  first  years  of  the  second  half  of  the 
eighteenth  century.  What  this  part  of  Lancashire  was  when  William  of 
Orange  ascended  the  throne,  that  it  remained  in  its  social  aspects 
throughout  the  reigns  of  William  and  Mary.  Anne,  and  the  two  first 
Georges.  It  was  a  singularly  unproductive  era,  in  every  department  of 
action,  in  constitutional  change,  in  the  useful  arts  and  mechanical 
sciences.  Agriculture  was  unprogressive ;  architecture  was  debased; 
wealth  did  not  advance  greatly  nor  labour  improve  its  oppressive  con- 
dition ;  the  population  did  not  increase,  and  the  towns  of  Lancashire,  as 
of  every  other  part  of  England,  hardly  grew  from  year  to  year  amid  the 
general  stagnation.  The  local  annalist  finds  little  to  dwell  upon  in  the 
period  I  have  mentioned ;  and  what  few  incidents  present  themselves 
may  be  summarily  noted. 

THE  ANTIQUARIES  THORESBY  AND  STUKELEY  IN  EAST 
LANCASHIRE. 

In  the  autumn  of  1702,  Ralph  Thoresby,  the  Leeds  antiquary, 
performed  a  journey  through  the  Hundred  of  Blackburn  with  the  object 
of  observing  the  antiquities  of  the  district,  and  of  visiting  his  learned 
friends,  Charles  and  Richard  Towneley,  Esqrs.,  of  Towneley.  It  was 
the  Guild  year  at  Preston,  and  one  purpose  of  Thoresby's  tour  was  to 
witness  the  quaint  pageantry  of  the  Preston  Guild.  The  antiquary 
reached  Towneley  on  Sept.  ist.  In  his  Diary  he  notes  the  numerous 

i  Beamont's  Jacobite  Trials  at  Manchester  (Chet.  Soc.  Series),  p.  74.  2  Ib.  p.  100. 


VISITS  OF  THORESBY  AND  STUKELEY.  I93 

curious  matters  he  saw  at  Towneley  Hall,  which  included  some  valuable 
philosophic  appliances  and  scientific  instruments  ;  "  a  chariot  of  Mr. 
Towneley's  own  contrivance,  to  pass  over  these  mountainous  tracts  of 
stones ;"  the  collection  of  original  letters  of  Christopher  Towneley,  the 
antiquary,  Gascoigne,  Crabtree,  and  Horrocks,  the  eminent  mathemati- 
cians of  the  previous  century ;  the  "  ancient  manuscripts  in  the 
library,"  and  "curious  modern  prints;"  also  "Mr.  Towneley's  own  pedi- 
gree upon  skins  of  parchment,  with  the  matches,  &c.,  blazoned,  and  the 
old  short  deeds  inserted,"  which  he  speaks  of  as  "  most  noble  and  curious, 
and  attested  by  the  King-at-Arms,  being  drawn  from  original  writings," 
&c.  From  Towneley,  Thoresby  continued  his  journey  through  Burnley, 
Padiham,  and  Blackburn,  to  Preston,  his  destination.  He  writes  : — 

We  returned  to  Burnley,  and  thence,  in  our  way  to  Padiam,  or  Padingham,  we 

had  a  distant  prospect  of  Hapton  Tower  [now  long  levelled]  which  stands  melancholy 
upon  the  mountains  on  the  left-hand,  and  Towneley  Royal  [Royle]  on  the  right.  We 
stepped  aside  to  see  Lady  Shuttleworth's  turretted  house  at  Gawthorp.  Thence,  by 
Altham  Church,  to  which  only  one  house  in  view,  though  more  afterwards  at  a  dis- 
tance, through  Dunkenhalgh,  which  has  nothing  remarkable  but  the  hall  of  Mr. 
Walmesley,  which  seems  considerable,  but,  like  most  seats  of  the  gentry  in  these  parts, 
has  so  many  outbuildings  before  it,  as  spoils  the  prospect.  Thence  to  Blackburn,  a 
market-town,  which  gives  name  to  the  whole  Hundred,  the  third  of  the  six  in  Lan- 
cashire ;  here,  while  the  dinner  was  preparing,  we  viewed  the  church  and  town,  but 
found  nothing  remarkable  as  to  the  modern  state.  Of  old,  William  the  Conqueror 
gave  Blackburnshire  to  the  Ilbert  de  Lacy,  grandfather  of  Henry  Lacy,  who  built 
Kirkstal  Abbey,  anno  1159.  Thence  by  Hoghton  Tower,  which  gave  name  and 
habitation  to  an  eminent  and  ancient  family ;  Sir  Charles  Hoghton  is  the  present 
possessor  ;  its  situation  is  remarkable,  being  upon  a  very  steep  hill,  almost  a  precipice 
'on  three  sides,  and  so  high  that  it  is  seen  at  many  miles  distance.  Then  through 
Walton,  which  seems  to  have  been  a  Roman  station,  and  where  we  are  told  the  noted 
Kelly  [the  alchemist]  was  born,  but  it  is  now  chiefly  famous  for  the  manufacture  of 
linen-cloth  :  we  saw  vast  quantities  of  yarn  whiting  [bleaching].  In  the  vale  we  saw 
another  good  house  [Walton  Hall]  that  belongs  to  a  younger  branch  of  the  family  of 
Hoghton  Tower.1 

A  few  years  later,  another  antiquary  visited  the  district.  This  was 
Dr.  Stukeley,  author  of  the  Itinerarium  Curwsum,  who,  in  the  summer  of 
1725,  travelled  the  northern  and  western  parts  of  England  in  company 
with  Roger  Gale,  the  York  antiquary.  Besides  the  important  Ribchester 
references  (previously  cited),  Stukeley  has  left  some  topographical 
observations  on  the  district  generally.  He  describes  Pendle  Hill  as  "a 
vast  black  mountain,  which  is  the  morning  weather-glass  of  the  country 
people  :  upon  it  grows  the  cloudberry  plant."  He  also  speaks  of  Hoghton 
Tower,  visible  in  the  distance ;  Salesbury  Hall,  and  the  river  scenery 
thereabouts  ;  in  the  subjoined  passages  : — "  Haughton  Tower  is  within 
view,  a  great  -castle  upon  a  precipitous  hill.  .  .  Above  the  to\v*H  [Rib- 

i   Diary  of  Ralph  Thoresby,  v.  i,  pp.  386-9. 


194  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Chester]  half  a  mile  is  a  noble  bridge  of  four  very  large  arches,  built 
lately  by  the  country  [county]  ;  over  this  I  went  to  Salesbury ;  but  all 
the  inscriptions  are  carried  away,  probably  to  Mr.  Warren's  other  seat 
near  Stockport,  in  Cheshire.  I  found  a  large  stone  in  the  corner  of  the 
house,  which  has  been  a  Roman  monumental  stone,  foolishly  placed 
there  for  the  sake  of  the  carving ;  there  are  three  large  figures  upon  it, 
sweetly  performed,  &c.  [This  was  the  stone  removed  from  Salesbury 
Hall  by  Dr.  Whitaker,  in  1814,  and  bequeathed  by  him  to  St.  John's 
College,  Cambridge.]  .  .  This  [Salesbury  Hall]  has  been  a  very 
large  seat,  with  a  park.  They  told  me  there  were  some  carved  stones 
at  Dinkley,  another  seat  of  Mr.  Warren's,  a  mile  further ;  but  I  found 
they  were  all  carried  elsewhere,  save  two  altars,  both  obliterated,  but 
well  cut ;  one  stood  in  a  grass-plot  in  the  garden,  covered  over  with 
moss  and  weeds  ;  another  used  in  the  house  as  a  cheese-press.  This  is 
a  romantic  place,  hanging  over  the  river  purling  across  the  rocky  falls, 
and  covered  with  wood.  The  late  Mr.  Warren  was  very  careful  of  these 
learned  remnants."1 

A  petition,  forwarded,  in  1706,  by  the  inhabitants  of  Blackburn  to 
the  House  of  Commons,  and  mentioned  by  Whittle,  illustrates  the  im- 
poverished condition  of  the  country.  The  petitioners  represented  that 
in  Blackburn  "  people  were  seen  walking  their  desolate  streets,  hanging 
down  their  heads  under  disappointment,  wormed  out  of  all  branches  of 
their  trade,  uncertain  what  hand  to  turn,  and  necessitated  to  become 
apprentices  to  their  unkind  neighbours,  and  yet,  after  all,  finding  their 
old  trade  so  fortified  by  companies  and  secured  by  prescriptions,  that 
they  despaired  of  any  success  therein."2  The  system  of  restriction  by 
which  all  trades  were  surrounded  in  those  days  could  not  receive  a  more 
decisive  condemnation  than  is  contained  in  the  foregoing  statement. 

THE  JACOBITE  REBELLIONS  OF  1715  AND  1745. 

The  year  1715  is  memorable  for  the  rebellious  outbreak  of  the 
Stuart  or  Jacobite  party,  after  twenty-five  years  of  uneasy  submission  to 
the  dynasty  established  on  the  throne  by  the  Revolution  of  1688.  In 
October  of  that  year  the  army  raised  in  Scotland  by  the  Chevalier  and 
the  Scottish  nobility  who  supported  his  claims  entered  England,  under 
the  command  of  the  Earl  of  Derwentwater  and  General  Forster,  the 
latter  an  English  Jacobite.  The  invaders  entered  Preston  on  the  pth 
and  loth  of  November,  and  on  the  i2th  were  attacked  by  the  royal 
army  under  the  command  of  General  Wills.  On  Sunday,  the  i3th,  the 
force  under  General  Carpenter,  which  had  marched  down  Ribblesdale 
out  of  Yorkshire,  united  in  the  attack,  and  on  the  i4th  the  rebels,  being 

i   Itin.  Curi»s.,  y.  ii,  pp.  37-8.  z    Blackburn  as  it  Is,  p.  217. 


JACOBITE  REBELLION  IN  1715.  195 

completely  surrounded,  surrendered.  Thus  the  attempt  to  overthrow 
the  Brunswick  dynasty  was  speedily  suppressed. 

At  this  crisis,  the  Protestant  Nonconformists  of  Lancashire  zealously 
took  up  arms  in  defence  of  the  House  of  Hanover,  and  a  body  of  male 
members  of  neighbouring  Nonconformist  congregations,  armed  with 
muskets,  pikes,  and  scythes,  marched  under  the  leadership  of  two  of 
their  ministers,  Mr.  James  Woods  of  Chowbent  and  Mr.  Walker,  to 
Walton-in-le-Dale,  some  hours  in  advance  of  the  regular  army,  and  held 
the  Ribble  Bridge  and  Walton  village  without  being  attacked  by  the 
Rebels  until  the  arrival  of  General  Wills.  For  this  bold  service  Mr. 
Woods  and  Mr.  Walker  were  both  rewarded  with  grants  or  pensions 
from  the  Government,  on  the  recommendation  of  General  Wills. 

During  the  few  days  that  the  insurgents  occupied  Preston,  before 
their  surrender,  small  detachments  penetrated  into  Ribblesdale,  in  search 
of  forage.  One  party  of  Rebels  appears  to  have  crossed  the  southern 
portion  of  Blackburn  Parish,  by  Tockholes  to  Darwen ;  for  after  the 
restoration  of  peace  the  Nonconformist  minister  at  Darwen  claimed  and 
obtained  compensation  from  the  Government  for  damage  suffered  by  the 
depredation  of  the  Rebels.  The  people  of  the  town  and  parish  of 
Blackburn  displayed  hearty  loyalty  on  the  occasion ;  and  after  it  was 
known  at  Blackburn  that  the  Rebels  had  occupied  Preston,  the  inhabi- 
tants "prepared  to  defend  themselves  from  the  invaders  with  guns, 
clubs,  pikes,  and  scythes.  They  were  headed  by  one  Captain  Aynesworth, 
of  Pleasington.  The  entrances  to  the  town  were  barricaded ;  and,  to 
stimulate  their  loyalty,  the  Rev.  John  Holme,  the  Vicar,  assembled 
the  inhabitants  in  the  Parish  Church,  addressed  them,  and  offered  up 
prayers  for  the  welfare  of  the  Brunswick  family."  Whittle  also  notes 
that  "  Captain  Douglas  made  a  sally  out  of  Preston  as  far  as  Balderstone, 
in  search  of  arms  and  horses  for  the  Rebel  army,  but  could  not  obtain 
any.  He  entered  Blackburn  as  a  [pretended]  friend  of  the  Brunswick 
family,  but  was  discovered  at  the  Dun  Horse  Inn,  and  had  to  beat  a 
hasty  retreat,  but  escaped."1  This  Captain  Robert  Douglas  was  a  notori- 
ous Borderer,  in  command  of  a  Northumbrian  troop  of  Border  freebooters. 
He  was  previously  celebrated  for  his  Border  forays.  He  was  taken 
prisoner  in  the  Rebel  surrender  at  Preston,  but  escaped  from  the  gaol  of 
Liverpool  or  Chester,  and  returned  to  the  North,  much  to  the  disgust  of 
the  Border  farmers  who  had  suffered  from  his  predations. 

The  many  Scottish  and  English  noblemen  and  gentlemen  captured 
on  the  surrender  were  lodged,  pending  trial,  in  all  the  prisons  of  the 
county.  The  peers  were  impeached  before  the  House  of  Lords  for  high 
treason,  and  convicted.  Two  of  them — the  Earl  of  Derwentwater  and 

i  Blackburn  as  it  Is,  p.  101. 


I96  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Lord  Kenmore — suffered  decapitation  on  Tower-hill;  the  rest  escaped  the 
capital  penalty.  The  other  generals  and  inferior  officers,  to  the  number 
of  forty-nine,  were  tried  by  courts-martial.  Forty-seven  were  subsequently 
executed,  of  whom  sixteen  were  hanged  at  Preston,  four  at  Garstang, 
others  at  Manchester,  Wigan,  Liverpool,  and  Lancaster.  In  this  insur- 
rection several  of  the  Roman  Catholic  gentry  and  other  natives  of  Black- 
burn Hundred  had  been  led  to  participate.  Richard  Towneley,  Esq.,  of 
Towneley,  and  Mr.  William  Walmesley,  of  Showley  in  Clayton-in-le-Dale, 
were  the  most  noteworthy  of  the  local  Jacobites  taken  at  Preston.  Both 
these  gentlemen  were  put  upon  their  trial  on  the  capital  charge,  but 
both,  by  an  exceptional  good  fortune,  were  acquitted.  The  names  also 
appear  in  the  record  of  Thomas  Cowpe,  of  Walton-in-le-Dale,  yeoman, 
executed  at  Preston,  Jan.  27th,  1715-16;  William  Harris,  of  Burnley, 
Stephen  Seager,  of  Burnley,  and  Joseph  Porter,  of  Burnley,  all  of  them 
followers  of  Mr.  Towneley,  executed  at  Manchester,  in  February, 
1715-16;  also  James  Finch,  of  Walton-in-le-Dale,  labourer,  executed  at 
Wigan  ;  and  William  Whalley,  of  Walton-in-le-Dale,  whitster,  executed 
at  Wigan,  Feb.  loth. 

As  those  Englishmen  who  had  overtly  taken  part  with  the  Scottish 
lords  and  gentry  in  the  rising  of  1715  were  chiefly  Roman  Catholics, 
one  of  the  consequences  of  the  suppression  of  the  Rebellion  was  a  dis- 
position on  the  part  of  the  Government  to  treat  the  Roman  Catholic 
portion  of  the  nation  with  increased  harshness,  as  persons  dangerous  to 
the  public  security.  With  the  object  of  enabling  the  Government  to  lay 
its  hands  with  more  facility  upon  Roman  Catholics  and  their  possessions 
in  the  event  of  a  renewal  of  rebellious  attempts,  an  order  was  issued 
commanding  all  Catholic  and  Non-juring  landowners  to  register  state- 
ments of  the  extent  and  value  of  their  estates.  Those  were  styled  "Non- 
Jurors"  who  had  refused  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  his  Majesty 
King  George  the  First.  These  returns  were  to  be  transmitted  to  the 
"  Commissioners  for  forfeited  Estates  in  England  and  Wales  ;"  and  they 
were  published,  to  assist  in  the  discovery  of  seditious  persons,  during  the 
Rebellion  of  1 745.  The  registered  Non-Jurors  residing  in  Blackburn 
Parish  are  extracted  from  the  list  as  follows  : — 

THE  NAMES  OF  ROMAN  CATHOLICS,  NON-JURORS,  &c.,  1715  :— John  Cowell, 
of  Walton,  £6  55.  ;  John  Gerrard,  of  Walton,  —  ;  Edward  Eastham,  Estate  at 
Walton,  in  possession  of  Richard  Fielding,  £g  los.  ;  James  Coupe,  of  Walton,  — ; 
Thomas  Catterall,  of  Walton,  —  ;  John  Sherrington,  of  Walton,  — ;  John  Cottam, 
of  Ribchester,  ^14  55.  8d.  ;  Elizabeth  Duckworth,  Estate  at  Richton  [Rishton], 
in  possession  of  George  Haworth,  ^8  12s.  ;  Thomas  Bolton,  Estate  at  Bil- 
lington,  in  possession  of  Wm.  Gabbot,  £12;  Robert  Brindle,  of  Samlesbury,  ,£4  i;s.; 
James  Turner,  of  Samlesbury,  £6  los. ;  Margaret  Turner,  of  Samlesbury,  — ;  Hugh 
Walmesley  of  Samlesbury,  — ;  James  Woodcock,  of  Walton,  £12;  William  Orain, 


JACOBITE  REBELLION  IN  1745.  197 

of  Walton,  — ;  John  Burscough,  of  Walton,  £20 ;  Matthew  Worthington,  of  Walton, 
&2  53.  6d. ;  William  Gregson,  of  Samlesbury,  £9;  Thomas  High,  of  Samlesbury,  — ; 
John  Wilcock,  of  Balderston,  £21  ;  John  Adkinson,  of  Walton,  — ;  William  Mould  en, 
of  Samlesbury,  £$  i8s. ;  Ann  Cocker,  of  Samlesbury,  _^5  ;  Ann  Blackburne,  of  Bil- 
lington,  — ;  Richard  Craven,  of  Billington,  — ;  Richard  Wilson,  of  Osbaldeston,  — ; 
John  Jackson,  of  Balderston,  £11  IDS.  ;  John  Bolton — Estate  at  Walton,  in  possession 
of  Thomas  Billinge,  ,£70  53.;  Robert  Osbaldeston,  of  Billington,  £14;  Richard 
CunlifFe,  of  Harwood  Magna,  — ;  John  Woodcock,  of  Walton,  ^20;  John  Jackson, 
of  Walton-in-le-Dale,  ^50  8s. ;  George  Gregson,  of  Walton,  £3 ;  Hugh  Heatley,  of 
Samlesbury,  ^4  53. ;  James  Dilworth,  of  Samlesbury,  £6  55. ;  Henry  Darwen,  of  Bal- 
derston, — ;  Edward  Osbaldeston,  of  Cuerdale,  — ;  Elizabeth  Bolton — Estate  at  Sales- 
bury,  in  possession  of  Richard  Wood,  ^25  I2s. 

The  last  Jacobite  Rebellion  makes  notable  the  year  1745.  Prince 
Charles  Edward  Stuart  entered  Preston  with  his  Highlanders  on  the  2  7th 
of  November.  The  clansmen,  impressed  by  the  fact  that  on  two  former 
invasions,  in  1648  and  1715,  the  Scottish  army  had  been  arrested  and 
conquered  at  Preston,  deemed  this  the  critical  stage  of  their  march,  and 
fancied  the  river  Ribble  was  the  fated  limit  of  Scottish  invasions.  Sir 
Walter  Scott  states  that  "  to  counteract  the  superstition,  Lord  George 
[Murray]  led  a  part  of  his  troops  across  the  Ribble-bridge,  a  mile 
beyond  Preston.  The  spell  which  arrested  the  progress  of  the  Scottish 
troops  was  thus  supposed  to  be  broken."  From  his  quarters  at  Preston, 
the  young  Pretender  despatched  letters  to  the  English  Jacobite  gentry, 
conjuring  them  to  join  his  standard.  The  appeal  evoked  but  a  feeble 
response. 

In  Lancashire,  where  the  adherents  of  the  Stuarts  had  once  included 
almost  the  whole  of  the  nobility  and  many  other  old  landed  families, 
the  Jacobite  fervour  had  so  much  subsided,  and  the  acceptance  of  the 
Hanoverian  succession  was  so  general,  that  excepting  Francis  Towneley, 
a  younger  son  of  Charles  Towneley,  Esq.,  and  two  or  three  citizens  of 
Manchester,  no  significant  accessions  to  the  abettors  of  the  insurrection 
were  made  during  the  passage  through  this  county.  Edward,  eleventh 
Earl  of  Derby,  was  the  most  active  of  the  county  nobles  in  the  promo- 
tion of  measures  for  resisting  the  Stuart  invasion  on  this  occasion. 
About  two  months  before  the  Rebel  occupation  of  Preston,  when  it  was 
known  that  the  Pretender's  son  would  venture  into  England,  the  Earl  of 
Derby  had  called  a  County  Meeting  at  the  Town  Hall  of  Preston,  to 
which  the  representatives  of  the  best  families  of  Lancashire  came  in 
great  numbers,  when  the  Earl  had  proposed  the  formation  of  a  Defen- 
sive Association,  to  raise  a  force  of  5,000  men  ;  and  in  accordance  with 
this  resolution  a  large  militia  force  had  been  mustered,  which  was  dis- 
posed in  garrisons  in  the  chief  towns.  Blackburn,  and  the  other  towns 
in  Blackburn  Hundred,  had  armed  a  number  of  citizens  in  response 


198  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

to  the  call  of  the  Government,  and  two  companies  of  Blackburn  militia 
were  marched  to  Lord  Derby  at  Manchester  to  serve  in  defensive 
operations. 

Prince  Charles  Edward  advanced  to  Manchester,  where  about  three 
hundred  Lancashire  recruits  were  embodied  as  the  Manchester  Regiment, 
with  Francis  Towneley  as  colonel.  Thence  the  forward  march  was 
continued  to  Derby,  and  then  it  was  found  necessary  to  commence  a 
retreat.  The  Rebels  were  back  in  Manchester  by  December  9th ;  and 
on  the  1 2th,  at  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning,  after  a  night  march,  the 
dejected  clansmen  of  the  Stuart's  army  arrived  at  Preston.  There 
was  a  very  short  pause  in  the  retreat  at  Preston,  for  now  the  Duke 
of  Cumberland's  troopers  were  but  a  few  miles  in  the  rear.  Throughout 
Friday,  December  i2th,  the  Rebels  straggled  through  the  town.  It  was 
the  design  of  General  Oglethorpe, — who  with  a  body  of  horse  detached 
from  Marshal  Wade's  army,  despite  severe  winter  weather  had  performed 
the  distance  from  Doncaster  to  Preston  in  three  days,  traversing  the 
mountain  roads  from  West  Yorkshire  into  Blackburn  Hundred, — to  over- 
take the  Rebels  on  the  Ribble  ;  but  having  failed  by  a  few  hours  in  the 
attempt  to  intercept  the  insurgents  at  this  point,  Oglethorpe  rested  his 
dragoons  at  Preston  a  short  time,  and  the  pursuit  slackened  somewhat. 
Prince  Charles,  however,  did  not  loiter.  Within  six  days  after  leaving 
Preston  his  troops  had  gained  Carlisle  on  the  morning  of  December 
1 9th.  The  men  of  the  Manchester  Regiment  had  deserted  in  numbers 
while  marching  past  their  homes  in  Lancashire,  and  on  reaching  Carlisle 
it  was  found  that  Colonel  Towneley's  command  had  been  reduced  by 
these  desertions  from  300  to  114  men.  Towneley  and  his  men,  with 
about  2  70  Scots,  were  left  as  a  garrison  in  Carlisle,  while  the  Prince 
retreated  into  Scotland  with  the  main  body  of  Rebels.  The  Duke  of 
Cumberland  presently  arrived  at  Carlisle  and  invested  the  city.  The 
small  Rebel  garrison  was  soon  forced  to  surrender.  Its  commander, 
Colonel  Towneley,  was  sent  to  London,  and  lay  in  Newgate  until  his  trial 
for  high  treason  in  July,  1746.  He  was  convicted,  and  executed  with 
others  on  Kennington  Common,  July  30th. 

VISITS  OF  JOHN  WESLEY  TO  THE  PARISH. 

The  earliest  visits  of  Joh'n  Wesley,  the  Father  and  Founder  of 
Methodism,  to  this  Parish  and  Hundred  constitute  noteworthy  inci- 
dents in  the  history  of  a  generally  dull  and  obscure  period  of  the  local 
chronology.  Wesley  appears  from  his  own  record  of  his  journeyings  to 
have  made  at  least  twenty  distinct  visits  to  North  East  Lancashire. 
These  visits  extended  over  a  period  of  about  forty-three  years,  from  1 747 
down  to  1790,  the  year  before  Wesley's  death,  and  to  the  following 


VISITS  OF  JOHN  WESLEY.  199 

towns  and  villages  in  the  Hundred  : — Blackburn,  Lower  Darwen,  Over 
Darwen,  Walton-in-le-Dale,  Chipping,  Ribchester,  Burnley,  Padiham, 
Southfield  (Marsden),  Colne,  Rough  Lee  in  Pendle  Forest,  Bacup,  New- 
church,  and  Haslingden.  In  each  of  these  places  Methodist  societies 
were  subsequently  established.  In  1747-8,  the  town  of  Colne  and  the 
hamlet  of  Rough  Lee  in  Pendle  Forest  were  the  scenes  of  Wesley's  mis- 
sionary labour  and  of  his  persecution  by  the  mob.  In  April,  1751, 
Wesley  rode  through  Darwen  and  Blackburn  on  his  way  from  Bolton 
to  Ribchester  and  Chipping,  but  did  not  tarry  in  either  of  those  towns 
to  preach.  Wesley  made  the  same  journey  from  Bolton  to  Chipping 
through  Blackburn  parish  in  1753.  About  five  years  later,  John  Nelson, 
one  of  Wesley's  most  active  travelling  preachers,  came  to  Lower  Darwen, 
in  this  parish,  and  set  on  foot  the  first  Methodist  Society  hereabouts. 
Ralph  Haworth,  yeoman,  resident  in  Lower  Darwen,  and  his  sons  were 
among  the  earliest  adherents.  John  Haworth,  one  of  Ralph's  sons, 
heard  Nelson  preach,  and  became  a  convert  to  Methodism.  His  brothers 
shortly  followed  his  example.  In  the  Methodist  Magazine  for  1812, 
appears  a  biographical  notice  of  Mr.  John  Haworth,  written  by  his  son, 
the  Rev.  William  Haworth,  who  became  a  minister  in  the  Connexion. 
Mr.  William  Haworth  writes  : — "  My  late  father  was  born  near 
Blackburn,  in  Lancashire,  August  28th,  1730.  His  parents  were  per- 
sons of  some  property.  They  were  sober  and  steady,  and  regularly 
attended  the  Established  Church.  .  .  In  the  year  1 758  the  Methodist 
Preachers  came,  for  the  first  time,  into  that  part  of  the  country  where 
he  lived.  The  late  Mr.  John  Nelson  was  the  first  Methodist  preacher 
he  heard."  One  James  Oddie  formed  a  Methodist  society  or  class  in  the 
village  of  Lower  Darwen,  which  John  Haworth,  his  father  and  three 
brothers,  joined.  The  class  met  in  the  outset  at  the  house  of  the 
Haworths,  and  numbered  several  persons  from  Blackburn.  "At  that 
time,"  adds  Mr.  William  Haworth,  "  the  little  society  met  with  much 
opposition.  But  they  stood  their  ground ;  they  were  closely  united 
together.  .  .  When  the  society  was  first  formed,  my  father's  brother- 
in-law  was  the  leader ;  but,  after  some  time,  he  removed  to  another 
place,  at  a  distance,  and  my  father  was  appointed  the  leader  in  his 
place ;  and  he  continued  in  this  important  office  till  within  a  short  time 
of  his  death." 

In  1759  the  recently- formed  society  in  Lower  Darwen  was  stimu- 
lated by  a  visit  from  Wesley  himself,  who  travelled  this  road  from 
Bolton  to  Lancaster  to  look  in  upon  his  little  band  of  adherents  on  the 
outskirts  of  Blackburn.  Wesley  preached  at  Lower  Darwen  on  this 
occasion,  but  not  at  Blackburn — perhaps  fearing  to  encounter  violent 
prejudices  in  the  town.  The  journal  entry  of  the  visit  is  : — "1759. 


200  HISTORY    OF  BLACKBURN. 

Wednesday,  May  9. — I  preached  at  Bolton,  and  on  Friday,  the  nth, 
about  9  [o'clock],  at  Lower  Dar-went,  a  small  village  near  Blackburn."  It 
was  not  long  before  Wesley  favoured  the  Methodists  at  Lower  Darwen 
by  a  second  visit.  Mr.  Grimshaw,  incumbent  of  Haworth,  was  with 
Wesley  in  this  journey,  and  both  these  great  preachers  preached  at 
Lower  Darwen,  Mr.  Wesley  in  the  evening  of  one  day,  and  Mr.  Grim- 
shaw on  the  ensuing  morning,  having  spent  the  night  there.  Wesley 
writes: — "1761.  Thursday,  April  i6th. — After  preaching  at  noon  [at 
Bolton],  I  rode  to  Lower  Darwen,  near  Blackburn,  where  a  large 
congregation  behaved  with  deep  seriousness.  Leaving  honest  Mr. 
Grimshaw  to  preach  in  the  morning,  I  set  out  early,  and  in  the  evening 
reached  a  little  quiet  house  a  few  miles  beyond  Kendal." 

In  the  centre  of  the  village  of  Lower  Darwen  is  an  old  yeoman's 
house,  and  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  road  a  barn  of  equal  antiquity. 
The  lintel  of  a  door  in  the  barn  bears  the  date,  "  1691,"  and  the  initials 
"W.  H.  M."  In  this  old  barn,  according  to  tradition  in  the  village, 
John  Wesley  preached  on  one  or  other  of  his  earlier  visits  to  Lower 
Darwen. 

Although  John  Wesley  rode  through  Blackburn  on  his  way  from 
Lower  Darwen  to  Lancaster,  on  Saturday,  May  loth,  1759,  and  again 
on  Friday,  April  lyth,  1761,  he  did  not  halt  to  preach  in  the  town  on 
either  of  these  occasions.  It  is  likely  that  the  Blackburn  people  were 
rather  influenced  against  -Methodism  up  to  this  time.  Between  the 
years  1778  and  1780,  a  small  band  of  adherents  in  the  town  had  formed 
a  society,  and  opened  a  temporary  preaching-house.  At  length,  affairs 
being  rendered  propitious,  the  Founder  of  Methodism  came  to  Black- 
burn for  the  purpose  of  preaching  to  the  people.  The  visit  was  an  event 
of  great  local  interest.  The  repute  of  Wesley  was  now  so  high,  that  the 
most  respectable  of  the  inhabitants  of  Blackburn  were  glad  of  the  oppor- 
tunity of  seeing  him,  and  hearing  his  exhortations.  Wesley  gives  in  his 
Journal  a  note  of  the  encouraging  reception  he  had  on  this  appearance 
at  Blackburn: — "May  27th,  1780.  I  preached  in  Todmorden  Church 
with  great  enlargement  of  heart.  In  the  afternoon  we  went  to  Black- 
burn. It  seemed  the  whole  town  was  moved.  But  the  question  was 
where  to  put  the  congregation.  We  could  not  stand  abroad  because  of 
the  sun,  so  as  many  as  could  squeezed  into  the  preaching-house.  All 
the  chief  men  of  the  town  were  there.  It  seemed  as  if  the  last  will  be 
first."  In  the  following  year  Wesley  was  again  invited  to  Blackburn  to 
preach  at  the  opening  of  the  first  Methodist  Chapel  erected  in  the  town. 
The  subsequent  annals  of  the  Methodist  denomination  in  Blackburn 
and  Darwen,  and  other  places  in  the  parish,  will  be  inserted  hereafter 
in  the  separate  accounts  of  townships. 


ORIGIN  OF  THE  LOCAL  MANUFACTURES.  2Or. 

EARLY  TEXTILE  MANUFACTURES  IN  THE  DISTRICT. 

That  great  Cotton  Trade,  without  which  four-fifths  of  the  people  of 
Lancashire  could  not  subsist  in  their  present  dwelling-place,  has  a  history 
as  interesting  as  any  of  the  developments  of  human  energy  the  world  has 
witnessed.  But  it  is  not  within  the  limits  of  these  pages  to  traverse  all 
the  stages  of  that  history,  or  to  enter  with  minuteness  into  the  details  of 
the  changes  and  processes  by  which  the  manufacture  has  been  brought 
to  its  present  perfection,  and  the  commerce  to  its  existing  proportions. 
The  Cotton  Trade  has  not  lacked  annalists,  who  have  placed  upon 
record  the  facts  of  its  origin  and  extension.  The  present  writer  has  only 
to  narrate  some  of  the  circumstances  by  which  the  advance  of  inven- 
tive art  as  applied  to  this  large  industry  is  associated  with  the  careers  of 
inventors  and  pioneers  in  enterprise,  the  scene'  of  whose  work  was  the 
town  of  Blackburn  or  its  vicinity. 

Blackburn, — or,  rather,  the  district  of  which  the  town  of  Blackburn 
is  the  centre, — has  long  been  noted  for  the  production  of  certain 
specialities  of  textile  manufacture.  The  old  itineraries  and  gazetteers 
do  not  fail  to  mention,  with  exact  iteration,  that  Blackburn  had  a  name 
for  the  manufacture  in  succession  of  two  particular  kinds  of  cloths, — 
first,  the  "  Blackburn  Checks,"  and,  secondly,  the  "  Blackburn  Greys." 
It  is  nowhere  stated,  however,  at  what  date  and  in  what  manner  the  first 
of  these  manufactures  was  introduced  into  the  Blackburn  district,  and 
became  its  chief  important  handicraft.  Whether  the  art  and  mystery  of 
check-weaving  was  imported  hither  by  foreign  craftsmen  in  exile,  or  was 
of  local  origin  and  invention,  is  left  to  speculation.  So  long  ago  as  the 
reign  of  Elizabeth,  Blackburn,  Colne,  and  other  places  in  East  Lanca- 
shire, were  the  seats  of  a  manufacture  of  textiles  called  "cottons,"  friezes, 
&c.,  that  were  subject  to  the  statutory  regulations  of  alnage,  and  the  town 
of  Blackburn  was  one  of  the  places  to  which  the  Alnager,  or  Govern- 
ment officer  who  had  to  measure,  and  by  sealing  to  certify  these  fabrics, 
periodically  came  to  supervise  the  manufacture.  These  Elizabethan 
"cottons,"  were  not  made  of  the  cotton  fibre,  but  of  wool,  as  is  proved 
by  the  mention  of  their  subjection  to  the  milling  and  friezing  processes, 
applicable  only  to  woollens.  There  was  a  considerable  local  manu- 
facture of  linen  cloths  in  the  reign  of  Charles  I.1  The  Blackburn 
"  check  "  manufacture  is  supposed  to  have  first  sprung  up  in  the  .time 
of  the  Commonwealth,  between  1650  and  1660.  The  checked  cloths 

i  A  statement  dated  April,  1635,  under  the  hands  of  three  eminent  local  Justices,  Sir  Gilbert 
Hoghton,  and  Thomas  Walmesley  and  William  Farrington,  Esqrs.,  sets  forth  that  flax  was  then  an 
article  "so  frequently  used  in  the  County  of  Lancaster,  that  if  it  be  taken  away  all  the  poorer  sort  of 
people  who  live  by  spinning  and  weaving  of  Linen  Clothes  [cloths]  only  all  yeare  long  (except  in  the 
time  of  harvest)  wiTl  be  forced  to  begge,"  &c.  This  proves  the  extent  of  cottage  spinning  and  weaving 
in  the  district,  so  early  as  the  year  1635. 


202  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

made  here  consisted  of  a  linen  warp  and  a  cotton  woof,  one  or  both  of 
which  being  dyed  in  the  thread  gave  to  the  piece  when  woven  a  striped 
or  checked  appearance.  Fabrics  of  a  small  blue  and  white  check 
continued  to  be  made  in  East  Lancashire,  and  were  extensively  worn 
by  the  working  people  as  shirts  and  aprons,  until  recently. 

The  appended  petition  of  clothiers  in  this  parish,  for  redress  and 
protection  against  the  violent  seizure  of  their  wares  at  Preston  by  agents 
of  the  monopolist  trading  companies  of  that  borough,  indicates  the 
activity  of  the  manufacture  of  cloth  and  the  enterprise  of  the  local  chap- 
men. The  petition  bears  no  date,  but  by  the  names  inserted  and  the 
caligraphy  of  the  original  is  proved  to  belong  to  the  period  between 
1660  and  1680. 

To  the  Right  Worshipful  the  Justices  of  Peace  and  Quorum  in  the  County  of  Lancas- 
ter.— The  humble  peticion  of  some  of  the  inhabitants  within  Great  Harwood,  Billington, 
Whalley,  and  Rishton,  beeinge  Clothiers,  humbly  sheweth  : — That  whereas  your  said 
peticioners  or  some  of  them  have  come  to  Preston  to  the  Market  there  with  Cloath  to 
sell  of  their  and  their  servants  makeing  for  the  space  of  fiffty  yeares  and  upwards, 
and  had  free  liberty  to  sell  theire  said  Cloath  in  the  said  Towne  without  any  molesta- 
cion  or  trouble  by  any  of  the  Inhabitants  thereof  or  any  other  person  whatsoever, 
untill  within  this  two  yeares  and  under.  That  some  of  your  said  peticioners  being  in 
the  said  Towne  and  in  open  Markett  had  their  Cloath  taken  from  them  in  a  forcible 
manner  by  Thomas  Loxam  and  John  Cadman,  both  Inhabitants  of  the  said  Towne, 
and  kept  by  the  said  Loxam  and  Cadman  from  your  said  peticioners  eight  or  tenn 
weekes  together,  which  putt  some  of  your  peticioners  to  great  cost  in  comeing  to  the 
Towne  many  times  and  makeing  best  friends  they  could  before  they  gott  their  Cloath 
againe,  besids  the  benefitt  of  soe  many  Markett  dayes  as  your  said  peticioners  Cloath 
laye  out  of  their  hands,  which  hath  beene  a  hinderance  to  some  of  your  peticioners 
for  makeing  Cloath  which  make  many  poore  people  want  worke  which  have  been 
accustomed  to  work  and  bee  employed  in  such  tradinge.  And  your  peticioners  or 
some  of  them  which  have  been  thus  troubled,  being  not  able  to  try  out  the  reason  of 
this  theire  trouble  and  greevance,  doe  humbly  desire  your  Worshipps  to  take  the 
premisses  into  consideracion  that  such  course  may  be  taken  that  your  said  peti- 
cioners may  have  free  liberty  and  accesse  to  and  in  the  said  Towne  and  Markett.  And 
your  peticioners  as  in  duty  bound  shall  ever  praye,  &c. 

LAWRANCE  HINDLE  EDWARD  BARON  MYLES  ASPINALL 

JAMES  HARWOOD  RICHARD  DOBSON  JOHN  HINDLE 

WlLLM.  WlGAN  LAW.  ROBERTSHEY  ADAM  HALL 

JOHN  BARON  ROBERT  POLLARD  ROBERT  FFEILDEN 

MATTHIAS  TAYLOR  JOHN  POLLARD 

At  the  beginning  of  the  last  century  many  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Blackburn  town  and  parish  gained  a  livelihood  by  plying  the  hand-loom, 
in  the  weaving  of  linen,  woollen,  and  mixed  cloths.  Thoresby,  in  a  pas- 
sage of  his  Diary  already  quoted,  writing  in  1702,  speaks  of  Walton-in-le- 
Dale  (probably  the  Bamber  Bridge  end  of  the  township)  as  then  "  famous 
for  the  manufacture  of  linen  cloth,"  and  says  he  saw  "vast  quantities  of 


IMPROVEMENTS  IN  THE  HAND-LOOM.  203 

yarn  whiting,"  or  bleaching,  in  the  fields  there.  In  the  year  1 748,  the 
Vicar  of  Colne  sought  to  incite  popular  enmity  against  the  Methodists 
by  declaring  the  effect  of  the  new  religion  would  be  to  destroy  the 
"  Manufactory  in  and  about  Colne."  In  the  town  of  Blackburn  tokens 
of  the  manufacture  are  given  in  a  list  of  tenants  of  the  Vicar's  Glebe, 
about  the  year  1720,  when  upon  that  small  estate  of  about  100  acres 
were  several  tenants  of  houses  with  "yarn  crofts"  adjoining.  A  more 
definite  indication  of  the  prevalence  of  this  industry  is  afforded  by 
entries  in  the  Blackburn  Parish  Registers.  From  1720  to  1750  a  large 
proportion  of  the  names  in  these  registers  have  the  affixes  of  "  webster," 
and  "weaver,"  and  "fustian  webster."  For  example,  in  the  year  i723r 
out  of  149  entries  of  baptisms,  68  were  children  of  weavers,  and  81  of 
parents  of  all  other  occupations ;  and  of  60  entries  of  burials,  the 
names  of  34  heads  of  families  have  the  employment  of  "  weaver  "  assigned. 
The  trade  must  therefore  have  been  widely  diffused  at  that  time.  The  yarns 
used  in  the  weaving  of  the  Blackburn  checks  would  need  to  be  dyed 
prior  to  being  taken  by  the  weavers ;  and  that  the  dyeing  process,  also, 
was  done  upon  the  spot,  is  shown  by  the  title  of  "dyer"  appended  to  a 
few  names  in  the  same  Registers, 

Before  the  middle  of  last  century,  the  "  checks  "  had  to  a  great 
extent  given  place  to  the  "  Blackburn  Greys,"  as  the  leading  textile 
manufacture  of  the  district.  The  "greys,"  like  the  " checks,"  were  a 
mixed  fabric  of  linen  and  cotton;  the  difference  being  that  the  "greys" 
were  woven,  as  the  calico  is  now,  without  the  yarns  being  dyed  previ- 
ously. They  were  made  to  meet  the  demand  of  the  public  for  printed 
goods,  and  were  sent  to  be  finished  to  London,  where  the  art  of  printing 
the  linen  and  cotton  mixtures  had  been  developed  to  a  large  extent. 

The  antecedents  of  the  old  Lancashire  hand-loom  are  obscure. 
Who  brought  it  hither,  and  by  what  makers  the  early  weavers  had  their 
"shops"  provided  with  this  clumsy  wooden  machine,  cannot  be  stated. 
The  hand-loom  of  1730  was  even  a  ruder  contrivance  in  some  essential 
respects  than  the  old-fashioned  structure  still  seen  in  the  cottages  of 
Mellor  and  Blacksnape.  A  useful  improvement  was  applied  to  the  loom 
by  John  Kay,  of  Bury,  who  in  the  year  1738  produced  the  "fly-shuttle" 
instead  of  the  method  previously  practised  by  the  weaver  of  throwing 
the  shuttle  from  hand  to  hand.  The  "  fly-shuttle  "  and  "  picking-peg  " 
improvement  is  said  to  have  enabled  the  Lancashire  weaver  to  double 
his  former  production  by  the  facility  of  its  movement,  as  well  as  to  weave 
wider  webs.  This  enhanced  speed,  however,  led  to  a  difficulty,  for  it 
was  found  that  the  female  spinster  with  her  wheel  and  spindle  could  no 
longer  keep  pace  with  the  demand  for  yarn  of  the  weaver.  The  "fly- 
shuttle  "  was  thus  the  parent  of  the  "  spinning-jenny,"  and  that  was  the 


204  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

precursor  of  an  unended  series  of  improvements  in  spinning  and  weaving 
machinery. 

JAMES  HARGREAVES  OF  STANHILL,  THE  INVENTOR. 

It  was  to  the  ingenuity  of  an  intelligent  weaver  living  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Blackburn  that  the  conception  of  a  machine  for  the  spinning 
of  yarn  is  attributed.  James  Hargreaves,  about  the  year  1764,  was 
living  in  a  cottage  at  the  hamlet  of  Stanhill,  situate  on  the  hill-ridge 
that  bounds  the  township  of  Oswaldtwistle  on  the  north.  Stanhill  is 
about  two  miles  to  the  eastward  of  Blackburn.  James  Hargreaves  had 
seen  that  Kay's  improvement  of  the  hand-loom  deranged  the  economy 
of  the  weaver's  trade  by  leaving  the  spinster  with  her  wheel  behind-hand. 
Mr.  John  Wyatt,  of  Birmingham,  had  shortly  before  patented  a  machine 
for  spinning  by  rollers ;  but  there  is  no  evidence  that  this  process  was 
known  to  the  weavers  of  Lancashire,  when  Hargreaves  directed  his 
attention  to  the  means  of  increased  expedition  in  the  spinning  depart- 
ment. Another  ingenious  man,  Thomas  Highs,  of  Leigh,  appears  to 
have  been  working  at  a  design  of  his  own  for  a  new  spinning  frame, 
simultaneously  with  the  secret  labours  of  Hargreaves  in  this  direction. 

Prior  to  his  conception  of  the  spinning  frame,  Hargreaves  had 
brought  out  an  improvement  in  the  stock  cards,  which  displaced  the 
hand  cards  formerly  used  for  cleaning  and  straightening-out  the  cotton- 
fibres  in  the  process  preparatory  for  spinning  it.  The  old  hand-card  was 
a  sort  of  brush  made  of  fine  wires  closely  placed  in  a  piece  of  leather. 
Hargreaves's  stock-card  was  in  its  turn  improved  upon  in  the  cylinder 
carder,  which  was  introduced  into  Lancashire  about  the  year  1760.  It 
is  stated  that  Mr.  Robert  Peel,  having  heard  of  the  carding  cylinder,  and 
got  a  notion  of  its  construction,  obtained  the  assistance  of  his  neighbour 
Hargreaves  in  making  a  cylinder  for  use  in  his  own  spinning  factory, 
then  recently  established  'at  Brookside,  Oswaldtwistle. 

A  couple  of  years  Hargreaves  spent  in  working  out  his  idea  of  a 
more  expeditious  mechanical  operation  for  the  spinning  of  yarn. 
His  first  frame  was  put  together  secretly  in  his  own  house.  The  year 
1767  was  named  by  Richard  Arkwright,  a  rival  inventor,  as  the  date  of 
the  introduction  of  Hargreaves's  machine  to  the  public.  There  is 
evidence,  however,  that  the  machine  was  completed,  and  had  been 
purchased  by  various  parties,  two  years  before  that  date.  The  first 
spinning-frame  Hargreaves  made  was  kept  for  the  use  of  his  household, 
and  answered  its  purpose  fully.  Some  months  elapsed  before  he  was 
disposed  to  make  other  machines  on  the  same  model  for  sale.  The 
machine  was  christened  the  "  Spinning  Jenny,"  either  by  Hargreaves 
and  his  family,  or  by  the  weavers  of  the  neighbourhood  who  became 


DEMONSTRATIONS  AGAINST  SPINNING  MACHINES.  205 

acquainted  with  its  performances.  The  original  machine  is  described 
as  a  wooden  frame,  having  at  one  end  eight  rovings  placed  in  a  row, 
and  in  another  part  a  row  of  eight  spindles.  The  rovings  when  extended 
to  the  spindles,  passed  between  two  horizontal  bars  of  wood,  forming  a 
clasp,  which  opened  and  shut  somewhat  like  a  parallel  ruler ;  when 
pressed  together  this  clasp  held  the  threads  fast.  A  certain  portion  of 
roving  being  extended  from  the  spindle  to  the  wooden  clasp,  the  clasp 
was  closed,  and  was  then  drawn  along  the  horizontal  frame  to  a 
considerable  distance  from  the  spindles,  by  which  the  threads  were 
lengthened  out,  and  reduced  to  the  proper  tenuity  ;  this  was  done  with 
the  spinner's  left  hand,  and  his  right  hand  at  the  same  time  turned  a 
wheel,  which  caused  the  spindles  to  revolve  rapidly,  and  thus  the  roving 
was  spun  into  yarn.  By  returning  the  clasp  to  its  first  situation,  and 
letting  down  a  presser  wire,  the  yarn  was  wound  upon  the  spindle. 

Between  the  years  1764  and  1767,  Hargreaves  had  made  several  of 
his  "jennies,"  and  had  privately  sold  some  of  them  to  his  neighbours 
who  had  enterprise  enough  to  purchase  such  a  machine.  For  a  time  the 
"jennies"  were  in  good  request  by  such  weavers  as  could  afford  to  get 
them,  and  did  not  excite  jealousy  on  the  part  of  others  less  thrifty.  But 
when  it  was  seen  that  the  new  machines  were  likely  to  come  into  common 
use,  and  to  dispense  with  a  good  deal  of  female  labour  at  the  ordinary 
spinning-wheel,  the  antagonism  of  the  populace  became  roused.  The 
cottage  spinsters  began  to  look  upon  the  invention  as  a  mischievous 
innovation.  Mr.  Peel's  new  spinning  mill  at  Brookside  had  been  supplied 
with  "jennies,"  and  it  was  found  that  Capital,  with  its  new-fangled  appli- 
ances, would  drive  unfurnished  Labour  out  of  the  market.  The  resentful 
spirit  of  the  people  against  the  inventor  and  his  invention  reached  such 
a  pitch  in  the  year  1768,  that  it  betrayed  itself  in  acts  of  lawless  violence. 
On  a  fixed  day  in  the  Spring  of  that  year,  parties  of  weavers  from  Dar- 
wen,  Mellor,  Tockholes,  and  Oswaldtwistle  assembled  in  Blackburn,  and 
were  joined  by  a  body  of  Blackburn  craftsmen,  forming  together  a  mob 
of  some  hundreds  of  persons.  In  those  days  there  were  neither  police 
nor  soldiery  in  Blackburn  at  hand  to  disperse  rioters  and  to  protect 
obnoxious  citizens.  A  tradition  goes  that  the  rioters,  whose  design  was 
to  march  to  Oswaldtwistle,  to  sack  the  cottage  of  Hargreaves  and  to 
demolish  the  factory  of  Peel,  halted  at  the  "  Cross,"  in  Blackburn  (at 
the  junction  of  Church-street  with  Darwen-street),  and  obtained  refresh- 
ment at  the  inns  that  lay  convenient.  Having  done  this,  the  mob  pro- 
ceeded along  the  Burnley-road  to  Furthergate,  and  there  turned  off  by  a 
bye-road,  on  the  line  of  the  present  Accrington-road,  to  Knuzden,  and 
thence  to  Stanhill.  Hargreaves  and  his  family  had  doubtless  heard  of 
the  intended  attack,  and  had  quitted  the  homestead,  else  it  is  likely 


206  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

that  they  would  have  been  roughly  handled.  The  rioters  burst  into  the 
cottage,  found  the  "jenny"  used  by  the  family,  and  broke  it  up.  The 
inventor's  looms  shared  the  same  fate,  and  the  house  itself,  with  what- 
ever furniture  it  contained,  was  also  demolished.  From  Stanhill  the 
machine-breakers  went  to  Brookside,  about  half  a  mile  distant,  and  did 
not  desist  from  their  purpose  until  they  had  reduced  to  wreck  the  mill  of 
Mr.  Peel,  with  all  its  machinery,  including  the  "jennies"  in  use  there, 
and  other  mechanical  appliances  of  which  the  proprietor  himself  was  the 
inventor. 

After  this  ill-usage,  James  Hargreaves  disappeared  from  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Blackburn,  and  settled  in  the  town  of  Nottingham. 
It  is  stated  that  in  the  first  months  of  his  sojourn  in  Nottingham 
Hargreaves  was  employed  by  a  Mr.  Shipley,  to  whom  he  communicated 
his  invention,  and  in  whose  house  he  made  several  "jennies"  privately. 
Another  individual,  Mr.  Thomas  James,  then  invited  him  to  become 
his  partner  in  a  spinning  factory.  Mr.  James  was  to  find  the  capital  for 
building  the  mill,  which  he  borrowed  on  the  mortgage  of  some  freehold 
property,  and  Hargreaves  was  to  stock  it  with  spinning  machines.  The 
mill  was  built  at  a  place  called  Hockley,  and  there  the  partners  spun 
yarn  for  the  hosiers  of  the  district.  Two  houses  were  also  built  adjacent 
to  the  mill,  in  one  of  which  the  family  of  Hargreaves  was  domiciled. 
Hargreaves  now  considered  it  necessary  to  protect  his  invention  by 
letters  patent,  which  he  had  not  hitherto  been  in  a  position  to  do.  The 
patent  for  the  "Spinning  Jenny"  was  obtained  in  the  year  1770.  It  had 
then  been  in  use  by  its  inventor  about  five  years.  Hargreaves's  Specifi- 
cation of  his  patent  is  headed,  "  Machinery  for  Spinning,  Drawing,  and 
Twisting  Cotton."  Its  preamble  is  as  follows  : — 

Whereas,  I,  James  Hargraves  (of  the  town  of  Nottingham)  did,  by  my  petition, 
humbly  represent  to  His  present  most  Excellent  Majesty  King  George  the  Third,  that 
I  had  after  much  application  and  many  trials,  attended  with  expense,  at  last  invented 
and  brought  to  perfection  "  A  Method  of  making  a  Wheel  or  Engine  of  an  Entire  New 
Construction  (and  never  before  made  use  of),  in  order  for  Spinning,  Drawing,  and  Twist- 
ing of  Cotton,  and  to  be  managed  by  One  Person  only,  and  that  the  Wheel  or  Engine 
will  Spin,  Draw,  and  Twist  Sixteen  or  more  Threads  at  one  time  by  a  turn  or  motion 
of  One  Hand,  and  a  draw  of  the  other ;"  and  that  in  regard  I  was  the  first  and  true 
Inventor  thereof,  and  that  the  same  had  not  been  made  by  any  other  person  or  persons 
to  my  knowledge  or  belief,  I  therefore  most  humbly  prayed  His  said  Majesty  that  He 
would  be  graciously  pleased  to  grant  unto  me,  my  executors,  &c.,  His  Royal  Letters 
Patent,  &c.,  for  the  sole  use  and  benefit  of  my  said  Invention  within  Great  Britain, 
&c.,  for  the  term  of  fourteen  years,  according  to  the  Statute  in  that  case  made  and 
provided  ;  His  said  Majesty  being  willing  to  give  encouragement  to  all  arts  and  inven- 
tions which  might  be  for  the  publick  good,  was  graciously  pleased  to  condescend  to 
my  request,  and  therefore,  by  His  Royal  Letters  Patent,  bearing  date  at  Westminster, 
the  Twelfth  day  of  June,  in  the  Tenth  year  of  His  reign,  &c.,  did  give  and  grant  unto 


HARGREAVES'S  INVENTION  PATENTED.  207 

me,  the  said  James  Hargraves,  &c. ,  license  to  make,  use,  exercise,  and  vend  his  said 
invention. 

Hargreaves  describes  the  modus  operandi  of  his  invention,  as 
exhibited  in  the  accompanying  diagrams,  in  these  terms  : — 

One  person  with  his  or  her  right  hand  turns  the  wheel  in  the  plan  marked  G,  and 
with  the  left  hand  takes  hold  of  the  clasps,  in  the  plan  marked  I,  and  therewith  draws 
out  the  cotton  from  the  slubbin  box,  in  the  plan  marked  P,  and  being  twisted  by  the 
turn  of  the  wheel  in  the  drawing  out,  then  the  piece  of  wood  marked  N  in  the  plan  is 
lifted  up  by  the  toe,  which  lets  down  the  presser  wire  in  the  plan  marked  A,  so  as  to 
press  the  threads  so  drawn  and  twisted,  in  order  to  wind  or  put  the  same  regularly 
upon  the  bobbins,  which  are  placed  on  the  spindles  standing  in  the  box  in  the  plan 
marked  C. 

The  specification  is  signed  and  sealed  by  the  patentee,  on  the  3oth 
of  July,  1770,  in  presence  of  "Wm.  James"  and  "Robert  Evans," 
witnesses.  The  invention  was  enrolled  on  the  i8th  of  August  in  the 
same  year. 

The  drawing  of  the  patented  "jenny"  shows  a  range  of  sixteen 
spindles,  being  double  the  number  inserted  by  Hargreaves  in  his  first 
experimental  spinning-frame.  It  is  stated  in  the  description  that  the 
frames  might  embrace  a  larger  number  of  spindles  if  desired.  When 
Hargreaves  had  secured  legal  protection  for  his  invention,  he  took 
measures  to  prevent  the  use  of  imitations  which  had  been  made  of  the 
machine  since  its  first  appearance.  An  unfortunate  circumstance  frus- 
trated the  inventor's  hope  of  making  large  profits  out  of  his  patent : — 
"  Finding  that  several  of  the  large  manufacturers  were  using  the  jenny, 
Hargreaves  gave  notice  of  action  against  them ;  the  manufacturers  met, 
and  sent  a  delegate  to  Nottingham,  who  offered  Hargreaves  .£3,000  for 
permission  to  use  the  machine  ;  but  he  at  first  demanded  ^"7,000,  and 
at  last  stood  out  for  £4,000.  The  negotiations  being  broken  off,  the 
actions  proceeded ;  but  before  they  came  to  trial,  Hargreaves's  attorney 
(Mr.  Evans)  was  informed  that  his  client,  before  leaving  Lancashire,  had 
sold  some  jennies  to  obtain  clothing  for  his  children  (of  whom  he  had 
six  or  seven),  and  in  consequence  of  this,  which  was  true,  the  attorney 
gave  up  the  actions,  in  despair  of  obtaining  a  verdict."1  In  this  way, 
Hargreaves  was  disappointed  in  his  reasonable  expectation  of  obtaining 
the  adequate  reward  of  his  useful  ingenuity.  Lack  of  capital  at  the 
outset  was  the  cause  of  the  commercial  unsuccess  of  his  patent.  He 
had  been  forced  by  poverty  to  postpone  the  application  for  legal  protec- 
tion, and  the  same  exigency  had  obliged  him  to  sell  machines  before  the 
invention  was  patented. 

In  spite  of  popular  resistance,  the  spinning  "jenny"  had  before  the 

i  Baines's  Hist,  of  Cotton  Manufacture. 


2o8  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

year  1771  been  adopted  to  a  great  extent  by  spinners  in  Lancashire. 
Samuel  Crompton,  subsequently  distinguished  as  the  inventor  of  the 
"Spinning  Mule,"  was,  in  the  year  1769,  when  but  sixteen  years  of  age, 
supplied  with  one  of  Hargreaves's  frames  by  his  parents  at  Bolton, — a 
machine  of  eight  spindles  on  which  he  spun  the  coarse  yarn  he  after- 
wards wove  into  quilting ;  and  it  was  after  working  five  years  on  this 
jenny,  and  having  become  thoroughly  familiar  with  its  mechanism  and 
its  capacity  for  doing  the  work  required,  that  the  younger  inventor  set 
about  the  construction  of  an  improved  spinning  machine  for  finer 
spinning,  which  should  combine  with  the  successful  features  of  Har- 
greaves's "jenny"  some  new  arrangements. 

Richard  Arkwright,  the  Preston  barber,  working  at  the  idea  of 
spinning  by  rollers  that  had  been  already  embodied  in  the  machine 
patented  by  Paul  and  others,  produced,  about  the  year  1767,  his  first 
example  of  a  spinning  machine.  Arkwright's  machine  was  exhibited  in 
the  Grammar  School  at  Preston  in  that  year,  but  on  the  outbreak  of  the 
Blackburn  weavers  who  destroyed  Hargreaves's  machines  in  1768, 
Arkwright,  in  fear  that  the  machine  might  bring  the  mob  to  Preston, 
packed  up  the  machine,  quitted  the  town,  along  with  his  partner 
Smalley,  and  found  his  way  to  Nottingham,  the  town  which  had  afforded 
a  retreat  to  Hargreaves.  Arkwright  was  a  man  of  greater  energy  than 
the  Blackburn  inventor,  and  although  the  "jenny"  had  been  in  use  two 
or  three  years  before*his  own  frame  was  completed,  Arkwright  got  his 
invention  patented  twelve  months  earlier  than  Hargreaves.  The  speci- 
fication of  Arkwright's  patent  is  dated  July  3rd,  1769.  His  machine 
consisted  of  four  strong  upright  pillars,  bolted  together  with  cross-pieces. 
The  motive  power  was  a  horse,  that  turned  the  driving  drum.  The 
driving  strap  at  once  turned  the  rollers  at  the  top  and  the  spindles  at  the 
bottom  of  the  frame.  The  "  cotton  roving  "  was  wound  upon  bobbins 
running  in  a  frame  behind  the  rollers  ;  and  from  the  bobbins  passed 
through  a  pair  of  wooden  rollers,  &c.,  and  by  one  pair  of  rollers  moving 
quicker  than  the  other,  drew  it  finer  for  twisting,  which  was  performed 
by  the  spindles. 

It  is  a  coincidence  in  the  record  of  British  invention  that  the  Steam 
Engine  was  first  patented  by  James  Watt  the  same  year  that  Arkwright 
patented  his  spinning  machine.  The  years  1769-70  will  thus  be 
memorable  as  the  date  at  which  the  significant  inventions  of  Watt, 
Arkwright  and  Hargreaves  were  presented  to  the  world  of  industry. 

Samuel  Crompton's  "  Mule  "  Spinning  Machine  was  the  sequence 
of  the  inventions  of  Hargreaves  and  Arkwright.  The  Bolton  manu- 
factures at  that  time  included  numerous  finer  textile  fabrics,  such  as 
muslins,  the  yarn  for  which  could  not  be  spun  by  the  somewhat  simple 


DEATH  OE  II  ARC  REAVES.  209 

process  of  twisting  performed  by  the  "jenny."  Crompton  felt  his  ability 
to  add  important  improvements  to  the  machines  both  of  Hargreaves  and 
Arkwright.  After  five  years  of  ingenious  and  unassisted  work,  Crompton 
had  perfected  his  new  machine  in  1779.  It  was  from  the  first  a  success. 
It  was  called,  when  it  became  popularly  known,  the  "Muslin-Wheel," 
but  soon  it  acquired  the  suggestive  name  of  "  Spinning  Mule"  implying 
its  union  of  the  best  characteristics  both  of  Hargreaves's  jenny  and  the 
machine  of  Arkwright.  Crompton's  machine  had  numerous  good  points, 
but  what  proved  its  grand  merit  was  its  "  spindle  carriage,"  whereby  the 
strain  was  kept  off  the  thread  until  it  had  been  elongated  to  the  required 
tenuity. 

James  Hargreaves  died  at  Nottingham  in  the  Spring  of  1778.  The 
register  of  his  burial  in  the  Parish  Church  of  St.  Mary,  in  that  town, 
reads: — "  1778,  April  22,  James  Hargreaves."  The  statement  printed 
by  some  careless  chronicler,  and  repeated  by  others,  that  the  author  of 
the  "  Spinning  Jenny "  died  in  extreme  poverty,  and  left  his  family  in 
want,  has  been  entirely  disproved.  After  taking  out  the  patent  in  1770, 
Hargreaves  remained  in  partnership  with  Mr.  James  in  the  spinning 
mill  they  had  built  near  Nottingham,  and  had  prospered  well  enough  to 
uphold  a  respectable  position,  and  to  leave  at  his  death,  for  the  benefit 
of  his  widow  and  children,  property  of  the  estimated  value  of  ^4,000. 
He  died  at  his  house  near  the  mill  at  Hockley.  After  his  death  his 
widow  received  from  the  surviving  partner  a  sum  of  ^400,  as  the  value 
of  her  husband's  share  in  the  concern.  Mrs.  Hargreaves  was  otherwise 
sufficiently  provided  for  to  permit  her  to  save  the  ^400,  and  to 
bequeath  the  sum  to  her  children  when  she  died.  This,  though  not 
much  in  the  way  of  success  for  a  man  whose  invention  was  so  serviceable 
to  the  staple  trade  of  Lancashire,  is  at  least  more  satisfactory  than  the 
tradition  of  absolute  indigence  in  his  latter  days.  After  the  death  of  his 
widoAV,  some  of  the  children  of  the  inventor  became  very  poor.  A 
writer  in  the  year  1860  says: — "Two  of  his  daughters  were  living  in 
Manchester  until  within  the  last  few  years,  when  the  late  Mr.  Brotherton 
[M.P.  for  Salford],  hearing  of  their  condition,  endeavoured  to  raise  a 
subscription  on  their  behalf;  but  he  had  great  difficulty  in  collecting 
sufficient  from  the  wealthy  manufacturers  of  that  town  to  preserve  them 
from  destitution." 

The  year  after  Hargreaves's  death  (1779)  occurred  a  second 
violent  outbreak  of  peasant-craftsmen  in  this  district  against  the 
"jenny"  and  kindred  labour-saving  machines.  The  riot  in  1779, 
which  originated  in  a  temporary  dearth  of  employment  for  the  weaver, 
culminated  in  more  extensive  machine-breaking  than  that  of  1768.  On 
this  occasion  a'mob  of  rude  fellows  "  scoured  the  country  for  many  miles 


2io  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

round  Blackburn,  destroying  all  the  jennies,  carding  engines,  and  every 
machine  driven  by  water  or  horses.  Mr.  Peel  had  his  machinery  at 
Altham  thrown  into  the  Calder,  and  he  himself  with  difficulty  escaped 
personal  violence  at  the  hands  of  the  rioters.  Many  of  the  machine 
spinners  were  driven  from  Blackburn  to  Manchester  and  other  towns, 
and  years  elapsed  before  machine  spinning  was  resumed  at  the  former 
place.  Even  the  upper  and  middle  classes  in  those  days  entertained  a 
great  dread  of  machinery,  and  they  connived  at,  and  actually  joined  in, 
the  opposition  of  the  working  classes  to  its  extension.  On  some  occa- 
sions the  magistrates,  at  the  head  of  a  body  of  soldiers,  stood  quietly  by 
watching  the  outrages,  and  they  were  afterwards  found  ready  to  screen 
the  rioters  from  punishment."  Mr.  French,  in  the  Life  of  Crompton, 
says  that  the  mob  spared  those  "jennies"  that  had  fewer  than  twenty 
spindles.  Crompton  had  then  just  finished  his  more  elaborate  contri- 
vances for  finer  spinning.  He  was  so  afraid  of  being  attacked  that  he 
took  his  machine  to  pieces,  and  hid  the  parts  in  the  garret  of  his  house 
at  Hall-i'th'-Wood,  and  it  was  not  until  the  end  of  the  year  1780  that 
the  Bolton  inventor's  beautiful  machine  was  advanced  to  public  notice. 

It  is  not  within  my  purpose  to  narrate  the  subsequent  history  of  the 
inventions  of  Hargreaves,  Arkwright,  and  Crompton.  Crompton's  "  Spin- 
ning Mule,"  being  a  great  improvement  on  former  machines,  in  time 
superseded  the  frames  modelled  on  the  plan  of  the  "Jenny  "  and  the 
machine  of  Arkwright.  The  adoption  of  the  "Mule"  was  also  facilitated 
by  the  fact  that  Crompton  did  not  get  a  patent  for  his  invention,  but 
gave  it  to  the  trade  in  the  expectation  of  adequate  voluntary  compensa- 
tion by  the  leading  capitalists  who  made  use  of  his  machine — a  hope 
destined  to  be  disappointed.  According  to  a  return  obtained  by  Cromp- 
ton himself  in  the  year  1810,  there  were  ascertained  to  be  in  use  at  that 
date  of  Crompton's  "  Mule,"  machines  with  an  aggregate  of  4,600,000 
spindles;  while  at  the  same  time  there  were  310,516  spindles  in  use  on 
Arkwright's  water-frames;  and  155,880  spindles  on  Hargreaves'  "Jenny" 
machines.  So  far  from  being  surprised  at  this  prevalence  of  the  latest- 
invented  machines,  one  is  inclined  to  wonder  that  the  simpler  machines 
of  earlier  invention  had  in  many  factories  held  their  ground  so  long. 

ORIGIN  AND  EXTENSION  OF  CALICO   PRINTING  IN  THE   PARISH. 

Simultaneously  with  the  spread  in  East  Lancashire  of  the  cotton 
spinning  trade  from  the  beginning  of  the  factory  system,  a  considerable 
calico  printing  industry  was  planted  and  flourished  in  the  district.  The 
date  at  which  the  first  calico  pieces  were  printed  in  this  neighbourhood 
cannot  be  fixed.  Baines  refers  the  commencement  of  calico  printing  in 
Lancashire  to  the  Messrs.  Clayton,  of  Bamber  Bridge,  in  Walton  town- 


PRINT-WORKS  OF  THE  CLAYTONS. 


211 


ship,  who  "  began  the  business  on  a  small  scale  as  early  as  the  year 
1764."  The  Peels  of  Blackburn  are  stated  to  have  speedily  followed 
the  Claytons  in  this  trade.  That  calico  printing  was  rapidly  developed 
in  the  town  of  Blackburn  after  its  importation  is  proved  by  the  record  of 
the  antiquary  Pennant's  visit  to  Blackburn  in  the  year  1773,  when  he 
wrote  concerning  the  local  trade  : — "  The  manufactures  are  cottons ; 
considerable  quantities  are  printed  here ;  others  are  sent  to  London. 
The  fields  around  are  whitened  with  the  materials  which  are  bleached 
for  them.  The  thread,  which  must  be  ranked  with  them,  is  brought 
from  Ireland."  The  parish  of  Blackburn  was  the  original  seat  of  the 
calico  printing  trade  of  Lancashire,  and  the  town  of  Blackburn  and  its 
vicinity  continued  for  some  years  to  be  the  principal  emporium  of  the 
calico  printers.  Information  is  scant  concerning  the  calico-printing 
establishment  of  the  Claytons  at  Bamber  Bridge.  Mr.  S.  Potter  states : — 
"The  trade  was  established  in  Lancashire  in  1764  by  Messrs.  Clayton, 
of  Bamber  Bridge,  near  Preston  ;  the  cloth  that  was  printed  being  made 
with  linen  warp  and  cotton  weft,  and  produced  principally  at  Blackburn. 
This  was  the  reason  of  many  printers  settling  near  Blackburn,  which  was 
for  a  long  time  the  great  seat  of  the  print  trade.  The  introduction  of 
power-loom  cloth  caused  the  migration  of  a  considerable  print  trade  to 
Stockport,  Hyde,  Staleybridge,  and  North  Derbyshire." 

The  Claytons  who  entered  into  this  business  were  descendants  of 
the  ancient  family  of  Clayton  of  Clayton-in-the-Woods.  Mr.  Edward 
Clayton,  of  Bamber  Bridge,  conducted  the  business  of  linen  printer  for 
some  time  before  his  death  in  1767,  and  it  was  his  sons,  John  and 
George  Clayton,  who  developed  the  art  of  printing  calico  in  their 
works  at  this  place.  For  a  few  years  the  Bamber  Bridge  printers  of 
linens  and  calicoes  had  no  local  competitors,  and  several  Blackburn 
makers  of  cotton  fabrics  for  printing  purposes  sent  their  pieces  to  the 
Messrs.  Clayton  to  be  ornamented  with  printed  patterns.  But  soon  the 
original  firm  found  energetic  rivals  in  Blackburn,  the  first  of  whom  were 
the  Peels,  in  conjunction  with  their  family  connexions,  the  Haworths  and 
Yateses.  Another  family  of  Blackburn  merchants,  the  Liveseys,  also 
entered  the  trade,  and  prosecuted  it  on  a  large  scale  at  Mosney,  in 
Walton  township. 

The  old  process  of  printing  textiles  by  means  of  wooden  blocks  was 
a  slow  and  uncertain  one,  whose  only  merit,  if  merit  it  was,  was  that  of 
simplicity.  It  was  evidently  suggested,  at  first,  by  the  process  of  letter- 
press printing.  The  cloth  to  be  imprinted  was  stretched  upon  a  table 
whose  board  was  covered  by  a  fine  woollen  blanket.  The  printer  had  a 
boy  to  spread  the  colouring  fluid,  or  mordant,  by  means  of  a  brush  over 
the  surface  of  a  woollen  cloth  stretched  in  a  frame.  The  printer  took 


212  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

the  wooden  block,  on  which  the  pattern  had  been  cut  in  relief  by  the 
block-cutter,  pressed  its  face  upon  the  colouring  blanket  by  his  side, 
then  adjusted  it  upon  the  cloth  to  be  printed,  and  produced  the  impres- 
sion by  means  of  a  stroke  from  a  mallet.  Where  more  than  one  colour 
had  to  be  used,  a  separate  block  was  needed  for  each  colour,  and  great 
nicety  of  manipulation  was  needed  to  secure  perfection  in  the  production 
of  the  design.  This  system  of  block  printing  was  largely  replaced  by 
cylinder  printing  from  the  year  1785,  but  it  did  not  altogether  disappear 
from  the  print-shops  for  many  years  after  that  date. 

THE  PEEL  FAMILY. 

The  Peel  family,  in  the  persons  of  several  notable  representatives, 
were  incomparably  the  most  successful  of  the  pioneers  both  of  the  cotton 
manufacture  and  the  calico-printing  trade  in  the  Blackburn  district.  As 
diligent,  ingenious,  and  bold  projectors  and  commercial  men  the  Peels 
distanced  all  competition  in  the  outset  of  these  great  branches  of  Lan- 
cashire commerce.  The  Peels  had  been  settled  in  or  near  Blackburn 
for  several  generations,  but  are  supposed  to  be  originally  a  Yorkshire 
family.1  Sir  Lawrence  Peel,2  whose  account  of  the  early  history  of  the 
illustrious  family  to  which  he  belongs  is  the  most  authentic  published, 
deduces  the  descent  of  Robert  Peel,  the  great  manufacturer,  and  his  son 
the  Prime  Minister,  from  a  certain  member  of  the  Peels  who  removed 
to  Blackburn  out  of  East  Marton  in  Craven,  about  the  year  1600,  and 
who  settled  on  the  farm  of  Hole  House,  in  Blackburn.  William  Peele 
was  the  name  of  the  member  who  leased  this  farm,  a  portion  of  the 
Blackburn  Rectory  Glebe.  It  is  believed  that  the  father  of  this  William 
Peel  accompanied  him  to  Blackburn,  and  was  the  "  Robert  Peele  of 
Hole  House  "  who  appears  in  the  Blackburn  Parish  Register  as  having 
been  buried  on  the  2yth  of  June,  1608.  William  Peele  farmed  this  estate 
until  his  decease  in  October,  1623  ;  he  was  buried  in  the  Parish  Church 
of  Blackburn,  Oct.  nth,  in  that  year.  To  him  succeeded  in  the 
tenancy  a  son  and  namesake,  William  Peele  of  Hole-house,  who  married, 
in  Blackburn,  on  the  24th  of  December,  1619,  Margaret  Livesey,  by 

i  From  Jonathan  Peel,  Esq.,  of  Knowlmere  Manor,  I  am  favoured  with  a  note  upon  the  probable 
original  seat  of  the  family  of  Peel.  Mr.  Peel  writes  :  — "  There  is  a  vague  tradition  in  the  family  that 
the  Peels  came  originally  from  Devonshire.  The  author  of  '  The  Norman  People,'  published  last 
autumn,  has  kindly  sent  me  a  detailed  account  of  a  Norman  family  bearing  the  name,  in  addition  to 
that  of  a  Norman  lordship,  and  almost  the  identical  arms,  and  possessed  of  extensive  estates  in  Devon- 
shire, from  which  he  concludes  we  are  descended.  I  have,  however,  quite  lately  found  that  a  family 
of  Peels  dwelt  at  'The  Peel'  in  Bolton-by-Bowland  from  the  zoth  Ric.  II.  (A.D.i39s)  to  the  i3th  Jas.  I. 
(A.D.  1616),  and  that  in  the  i6th  Car.  I.  (A.D.  1641)  Thomas  Peele  and  Janette  his  wife  sold  lands 
there.  Since  that  date  all  connection  of  this  family  with  Bolton  appears  to  have  ceased.  The  subject, 
however,  is  under  investigation."  ^ 

2  Life  of  Sir  Robert  Peel,  1860. 


THE  PEELS  OF  BLACKBURN.  213 

whom  he  had  a  son  Robert,  and  other  children.  This  William  Peele 
died  March  gth,  1651-2,  and  was  buried  at  Blackburn  on  the  i6th  of  the 
same  month. 

About  the  next  representative  somewhat  of  interest  has  been  pre- 
served by  tradition.  Robert  Peele  of  the  Hole-house  was,  says  Sir  L. 
Peel,  "  a  manufacturer  of  woollen  cloths  at  Blackburn.  This  was  about 
the  year  1640.  The  cloth  was  stamped  with  patterns  from  wooden 
blocks  on  which  they  were  cut.  Some  of  these  blocks  were  seen  by  my 
father,  when  a  boy,  lying  neglected  in  a  lumber-room  in  his  grandfather's 
house.  He  expressed  his  regret  that  they  had  not  been  preserved,  and 
described  them  as  curious  from  their  very  rudeness.  His  grandfather 
was  the  eldest  son  of  Robert  the  manufacturer.  Robert  the  woollen 
manufacturer  was  the  first  prosperous  man  of  the  family.  He  was 
reputed  wealthy,  and  was  so  for  the  times ;  to  each  of  several  daughters 
he  left  by  his  Will,  which  was  in  the  registry  of  the  Archdeaconry  of 
Richmond,  in  Yorkshire,  the  sum  of  'nine  score  pounds,'  a  sum 
which,  mean  as  it  would  now  be  considered,  was  not  then  an  inconsider- 
able portion  for  a  daughter  in  families  of  the  middle  class."  To  this 
Robert  Peele,  besides  the  daughters  above-mentioned,  two  sons  were 
born,  the  eldest  Robert,  the  second  Nicholas.  Nicholas,  the  younger, 
entered  the  Church  and  obtained  the  curacy  of  the  Blackburn  Parish 
Church  in  the  Vicariate  of  the  Rev.  Leonard  Clayton.  The  Rev. 
Nicholas  Peele  was  the  preacher  of  the  funeral  sermon  for  Vicar  Clayton 
in  the  year  1677  ;  and  a  year  after,  on  the  lyth  of  March,  1678-9,15 
registered  the  interment  of  "  Rev.  Mr.  Nicholas  Peele,"  curate  of  Black- 
burn. 

Robert  Peele,  son  of  Robert,  had  to  wife  Ann  Warde,  of  Blackburn, 
whom  he  married  on  the  loth  of  October,  1681.  She  belonged 
to  a  respectable  family  of  yeomen  in  Blackburn,  who  have  a  tombstone 
still  existing  in  the  Parish  church-yard  at  Blackburn,  inscribed  with  the 
names  of  "  Henry  Ward,"  buried  in  "  1710,"  father  probably  of  Ann; 
and  of  William  Ward,  of  Blackburn,  who  died  November  3oth, 
1734.  By  his  wife,  who  died  in  June,  1721,  Robert  Peele  had  a 
numerous  progeny,  of  at  least  four  sons  and  seven  daughters.  The  sons 
were — William,  the  eldest;  Nicholas,  baptized  Oct.  26th,  1684;  John, 
baptized  March  i5th,  1690;  and  Joseph,  baptized  Sept.  28th,  1701; 
buried  Feb.  4th,  1718-19.  The  daughters  were — Alice,  born  in  March, 
1686,  died  in  March,  1691-2  ;  Margaret,  born  in  April,  1688  ;  Elizabeth, 
born  in  February,  1698;  Ann,  born  December,  1695;  Easter,  born 
May,  1698;  Mary,  born  Feb.,  1704-5,  died  May,  1712;  and  Susannah, 
born  Jan.,  1706-7,  died  May,  1709.  The  sire  must  have  been  a  thrifty 
man,  for  in  spite  of  the  large  family  he  had  he  found  means  to  purchase 


2i4  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

a  small  freehold  estate  in  the  township  of  Oswaldtwistle.  This  was  the 
messuage  anciently  known  as  Oldham's  Cross,  with  the  land  appertaining. 
The  estate  had  belonged  to  the  Oldhams,  a  family  of  antiquity  in  Oswald- 
twistle, which  gave  the  name  to  the  tenement.  After  its  passage  to  the 
Peels,  its  name  was  altered  to  that  of  "  Peel  Fold."  Robert  Peele 
acquired  the  Oldham's  Cross  farm  in  the  month  of  April,  1731,  and  he 
lived  at  this  place  until  his  death  in  February,  1733-4.  The  Hole-house, 
the  older  home  of  the  Peels,  has  disappeared,  and  the  farm  has  been 
partially  converted  into  building  sites  for  factories  and  cottages.  The 
situation  of  the  farm  is  near  the  Burnley  Old-road,  between  Furthergate 
and  Whitebirk. 

William  Peele,  Robert's  eldest  son,  succeeded  him  in  residence  at 
Peel  Fold,  and  farmed  the  freehold,  which  he  inherited  by  a  deed  of 
settlement  made  by  his  father.  William  Peele  had  to  wife  Jane,  daughter 
of  Lawrence  Walmsley,  gent.,  of  Over  Darwen,  whom  he  married  on 
the  gth  of  August,  1713.  The  issue  of  the  marriage  were — Sons, 
Robert;  Lawrence;  William,  died  in  infancy  in  1726;  Nicholas,  and 
Joseph ;  and  daughters  Ann,  Elizabeth,  Jane,  and  Margaret.  All  the 
information  given  concerning  this  William  Peele  is  that  he  was  a  man 
"of  very  delicate  constitution,  who  was  prevented  by  continued  ill-health 
from  exerting  himself  to  improve  or  maintain  the  condition  of  the 
family."  A  family  tradition  of  the  Peels  was  that  there  were  usually 
two  working  bees  in  the  male  succession,  followed  by  a  drone  ;  and  the 
above  William  Peele,  though  rather  by  the  fault  of  nature  than  his  own, 
was  not  able  to  add  anything  to  the  family's  acquisition  of  property.  He 
died  in  1757 — the  Register  of  Blackburn  gives  "William  Peele  of 
Oswaldtwistle,  yeoman,"  as  buried  on  the  24th  of  July,  1757.  His 
widow  survived  him  some  fifteen  years,  dying  in  March,  1772. 

Now  comes  a  member  of  this  family  of  much  greater  note  than  any 
of  his  progenitors,  who  was  destined  to  start  the  race  on  the  path  to 
distinction  and  opulence  which  one  of  his  sons  and  his  still  greater 
grandson  pursued  with  great  address  and  high  honour.  This  was  Robert 
Peel,  eldest  son  of  William  Peel,  and  the  first  of  an  unbroken  succession 
of  Robert  Peels,  of  whom  the  last  is  the  present  baronet,  of  Drayton 
Manor.  Robert  Peel  was  born  at  Peel  Fold,  in  the  year  1723  ;  he  is 
believed  to  have  been  educated  at  Queen  Elizabeth's  Grammar  School  in 
Blackburn.  Having  attained  his  majority,  he  married,  on  the  28th  of 
August,  1 744,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Edmund  Haworth,  of  Walmsley  Fold, 
Lower  Darwen,  gent.  It  is  stated  that  after  his  marriage  Robert  Peel 
went  to  live  at  the  Hole-house  farm,  in  Blackburn,  formerly  referred  to ; 
his  father,  William  Peel,  of  course,  remaining  in  possession  of  Peel  Fold 
estate,  in  Oswaldtwistle,  until  his  death  in  1757.  His  first  two  sons, 


THE  PEELS  OF  BLACKBURN. 


215 


William  and  Edmund,  were  both  bom  at  the  Hole-house,  the  one  in 
June,  1745,  and  the  other  in  January,  1747-8.  About  the  year  1750, 
Robert  Peel  had  found  another  abode  near  the  centre  of  the  town  of 
Blackburn.  This  was  the  messuage  in  Fish-lane,  off  Astley-gate.  This 
old  lane  may  have  derived  its  name  from  a  -  family  of  yeomen  named 
Fish,  who  lived  in  Blackburn,  and  not  improbably  at  the  farm  house 
tenanted  by  Robert  Peel,  a  tenement  of  considerable  age,  judging  by 
its  appearance  before  its  demolition.  At  Fish-lane  Robert  Peel  at  first 
engaged  himself  as  a  farmer  on  a  small  scale,  and  there,  in  the  month 
of  April,  1750,  was  bora  his  third  son,  Robert — the  future  baronet  and 
father  of  the  great  statesman.  The  infant  was  baptized  at  Blackburn 
Church,  April  23rd,  I75Q.1  The  house  at  Fish-lane  has  now  been 
taken  down  some  years.  The  house  stood  near  the  top  of  Fish-lane,  on 
the  north  side.  It  was  a  low  tenement,  with  mullioned  windows  and  a 
gabled  porch  near  the  midst  of  the  south  front ;  the  barn  attached  at  the 
end  of  the  building.  Twenty-five  years  ago  the  old  house  stood  isolated 
in  the  lane,  which  was  then  but  a  narrow  foot-road  at  the  lower  end, 
leading  between  walls  and  hedges  from  Astley-gate  to  Blakey  Moor. 
The  situation  is  transformed  by  the  modern  streets  that  now  cover  the 
ground. 

Shortly  after  the  time  that  this  third  son  Robert  first  saw  the  light, 
Robert  Peel  was  led  to  join  in  a  small  calico-making  and  printing  busi- 
ness. The  circumstances  of  his  commencement  in  business  are  supplied 
by  the  family  biographer.  Edmund  Haworth,  of  Walmsley  Fold, 
father-in-law  of  Robert  Peel,  was  engaged  as  a  "  chapman  "  or  dealer  in 
woven  fabrics,  and  he  had  sent  one  of  his  sons,  Mr.  Jonathan  Haworth, 
to  London  to  acquire  a  knowledge  of  the  art  of  printing  calicoes,  at 
that  time  confined  to  a  few  print-works  in  the  Metropolis.  On  the 
return  of  young  Mr.  Haworth  to  Blackburn,  proposals  were  made  to  his 
brother-in-law  Peel  to  become  his  partner  in  a  factory  to  be  started  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  town.  Sir  L.  Peel  writes  : — "  My  maternal  grandfather, 
Mr.  Haworth,  was  reputed  in  his  family,  and  I  believe  with  truth,  to 
have  been  the  first  calico-printer  in  Lancashire.  He  had  learned  the 
business  in  London,  where  he  resided  several  years  when  a  young 
man.  .  .  On  his  return  to  Lancashire,  he  was  bent  upon  introducing 
the  business  of  a  calico  printer  into  his  own  neighbourhood.  He  com- 
municated his  design  to  his  brother-in-law,  Mr.  Robert  Peel.  They 

i  The  tradition  is  positive  in  Blackburn  that  Robert  Peel,  the  first  baronet,  was  born  at  the  Fish- 
lane  tenement  in  the  town,  and  the  house  has  several  times  been  pictured  in  topographical  works  as 
the  birth-place  of  this  eminent  personage  ;  but  Jonathan  Peel,  Esq.,  informs  me  that  he  has  repeatedly 
heard  this  popular  notion  denied  by  old  members  of  the  family.  Mr.  Peel  does  not  remember  where  it 
was  stated  the  birth  really  took  place,  whether  at  Hole  House  or  Peel  Fold  ;  but  adds  that  Robert 
Peel  was  attended  at  Fish-lane  in  early  infancy  by  his  relative  Dr.  Thomas  Haworth,  as  appears  from 
the  Doctor's  account  book,  now  in  possession  of  Mr  Jonathan  Peel. 


216  HISTORY   OF  BLACKBURN. 

consulted  together,  and,  after  mature  deliberation,  resolved  upon  a  trial 
of  the  scheme.  Mr.  Peel  raised  money  for  the  undertaking  by  the 
mortgage  of  his  small  paternal  property.  Mr.  Haworth  had  some 
money,  but  their  united  means  did  not  furnish  capital  enough,  and  they 
therefore  looked  out  for  a  partner  with  money.  Mr.  [William]  Yates,  or 
his  parents,  had  kept  a  small  inn  at  Blackburn,  called,  I  believe,  the 
Black  Bull.  In  that  line  he,  or  they,  had  made  and  saved  some  money; 
he  was  willing  to  embark  it  in  a  scheme  which  promised  well,  and  the 
three  commenced  business  together  under  the  name,  style,  and  firm  of 
Haworth,  Peel,  and  Yates ;  they  manufactured  and  printed  their  own 
cloth,  and  established  a  warehouse  in  Manchester  for  its  sale." 

It  was  while  living  at  Fish-lane,  sometime  between  1755  and  1760, 
that  Mr.  Robert  Peel  made  his  first  experiments  in  block-printing.  The 
process  was  conducted  with  secresy  in  the  first  instance ;  and  the  printed 
pieces  were  ironed,  instead  of  being  put  through  a  calender,  by  his  wife. 
On  one  occasion, 

Mr.  Peel  was  in  the  kitchen,  making  some  experiments  in  printing  on  handker- 
chiefs, and  other  small  pieces,  when  his  only  daughter  [Anne],  then  a  girl,  afterwards 
Mrs.  Willock,  brought  him  in  from  their  "garden  of  herbs  "  a  sprig  of  parsley. 
She  pointed  out  and  praised  the  beauty  of  the  leaf,  and  said  she  thought  it  would  make 
a  very  pretty  pattern.  He  took  it  out  of  her  hand,  looked  at  it  attentively,  praised  it 
for  its  beauty,  and  her  for  her  taste,  and  said  he  would  make  a  trial  of  it.  She,  pleased 
not  to  be  pooh-poohed  as  discoverers  amongst  juniors  often  are,  lent  her  aid  with  all 
the  alacrity  of  fourteen.  A  pewter  dinner  plate,  for  such  was  then  the  common  dinner 
plate  in  families  of  that  degree,  was  taken  down  from  the  shelf,  and  on  it  was  sketched, 
say  rather  scratched,  a  figure  of  the  leaf,  and  from  this  impressions  were  taken.  It 
was  called  in  the  family  Nancy's  pattern,  after  his  daughter.  It  became  a  favourite  ; 
in  the  trade  it  was  known  as  the  parsley-leaf  pattern  ;  and  apt  alliteration,  lending  its 
artful  aid,  gave  its  inventor  the  nickname  of  "Parsley  Peel,"  which  not  having  the 
least  mixture  of  ill-nature  in  it,  no  barb  to  make  it  stick,  did  not  adhere. 

Besides  the  three  sons  that  have  been  named — William,  Edmund, 
Robert — Mr.  Robert  Peel  had  other  sons : — Paul,  died  in  infancy ;  Jona- 
than, afterwards  of  Accrington,  baptized  September  2  ist,  1752;  Lawrence ; 
Joseph,  born  in  September,  1765  ;  and  Robert  John.  Sir  Lawrence 
Peel's  statement  that  there  was  but  one  daughter  Anne,  or  Nancy,  is 
not  strictly  accurate  ;  she  was  the  only  daughter  who  survived  to  woman- 
hood ;  but  there  was  also  two  daughters  that  died  in  infancy — Betty, 
baptized  March  5th,  1762,  buried  June  22nd,  1764;  and  Jenny,  baptized 
April  ist,  buried  April  roth,  1768.  A  statement  is  made  by  Whittle, 
that  two  of  Mr.  Peel's  sons,  Robert  and  Jonathan,  were  apprenticed  to 
a  calico-printer  in  Livesey,  near  Blackburn,  named  Mr.  Thomas  Yates. 
There  was  a  Thomas  Yates  in  business  as  a  dyer  of  calicoes  at  Moor- 
gate  Fold  in  Livesey  before  the  year  1 748 ;  and  it  might  be  this  person 
with  whom  the  two  sons  of  Robert  Peel  served  their  time. 


THE  PEELS  AND  YATESES  OF  BLACKBURN.  217 

Mr.  William  Yates,  who  about  the  year  1760  entered  into  a  partner- 
ship with  Mr.  Peel  and  Mr.  Haworth  as  calico  printers,  at  Brookside, 
Oswaldtwistle,  was  a  Blackburn  man,  whose  father  kept  the  Black  Bull 
Inn.  The  relations  of  William  Yates  with  the  Peels,  both  commercial 
and  domestic,  were  in  the  sequel  very  intimate.  He  was  four  times 
married.  By  his  first  wife  Mary  he  had  a  son  Edmund,  named  hereafter; 
then  a  daughter  Ellen  ("  Ellen  daughter  of  William  and  Mary  Yates 
of  Blackburn,  Chapman"),  baptized  April  2nd,  1766,  afterwards  famous 
as  the  wife  of  the  first  Sir  Robert  Peel  and  mother  of  the  celebrated 
Minister;  also  sons  Thomas,  bom  in  September  1767;  and  John, 
baptized  June  nth,  1768.  The  mother  died  in  childbed  of  this  son, 
and  was  buried  the  day  of  his  baptism,  June  nth,  1768.  Mr.  Yates's 
second  wife,  Nancy,  bore  a  son  Giles,  born  in  April  and  died  in  June, 
1771 ;  and  daughters  Jane  and  Ann,  twins,  baptized  June  6th,  1773  ; 
Jane,  one  of  the  twins,  became  the  wife  of  Col.  Peel  of  Ardwick. 
Mr.  Yates  had  other  sons,  Jonathan,  afterwards  General  Yates;  William, 
who  entered  the  Church,  and  became  Rector  of  Eccleston,  Chorley; 
John;  and  Thomas  Yates  of  Bury,  calico  printer.  William  Yates  the 
father  died  in  1813,  aged  73. 

The  partnership  of  Haworth,  Yates,  and  Peel  did  not  continue 
many  years.  The  two  elder  partners  seceded,  and  subsequently  com- 
menced business  at  Bury ;  Robert  Peel  remaining  in  sole  possession  at 
Brookside.  It  has  been  mentioned  that,  in  1762,  Robert  Peel  and 
James  Hargreaves  conjointly  constructed  the  carding  cylinder  and 
introduced  this  greatly  improved  mode  of  carding  into  the  factory  at 
Brookside.  He  also  bought  from  Hargreaves  several  of  his  spinning 
frames  and  stocked  his  rooms  therewith.  Thus  Mr.  Peel,  at  an  early 
date  in  his  commercial  career,  combined  in  his  works  the  branches  of 
cotton  carding  and  spinning,  and  of  calico  weaving  on  the  hand-loom, 
with  the  subsidiary  art  of  calico  printing.  The  tradition  is  that  his 
machines  at  Brookside  were  destroyed  by  the  gang  of  rioters  that  attacked 
the  house  of  Hargreaves  and  broke  up  his  machines  in  the  year  1768. 
He  refitted  his  factory  when  the  fury  of  the  populace  had  subsided, 
and  erected  other  works  at  Altham,  to  enable  him  to  meet  the  increase 
of  orders  for  his  printed  pieces.  Still  the  enterprising  printer  was  not 
permitted  to  develop  his  trade  in  East  Lancashire  in  quietness.  The 
year  1779  found  the  Blackburn  weavers  suffering  from  temporary  priva- 
tions from  the  dearth  of  employment,  which  they  attributed  to  the 
multiplication  of  new  machines  and  the  progress  of  the  factory  system, 
and  Robert  Peel,  as  the  chief  local  agent  in  this  industrial  revolution, 
was  the  object  of  popular  hostility.  Not  only  were  his  mills  at  Brook- 
side  and  Altham  demolished,  and  all  the  machinery  broken  up ;  but  it 


2i8  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

is  related  that  Mr.  Peel  was  in  danger  of  personal  injury  by 
the  mob.  This  second  onslaught  convinced  Mr.  Peel  that  he  could 
not  continue  to  prosecute  his  businesses  with  any  degree  of  security 
in  the  Blackburn  district;  and  he  resolved  to  sever  his  connexion 
with  his  native  town,  to  leave  his  wrecked  factories  behind,  and  to  make 
a  new  start  in  a  more  hospitable  locality.  He  removed  his  family  and 
movable  property  to  the  vicinity  of  Burton-upon-Trent,  in  Stafford- 
shire, where  "  he  took  a  lease  for  three  lives,  from  the  Earl  of  Uxbridge, 
of  some  land  favourable  to  his  purpose,  part  of  which  abutted  on  the 
Trent.  He  built  three  mills  there,  to  supply  one  of  which  with  water 
he  cut  a  canal,  at  the  cost  of  ^"9,000."  It  is  not  necessary  here 
to  notice  the  future  history  of  Mr.  Peel  with  any  particularity.  His 
business  in  Staffordshire  was  remarkably  prosperous,  and  after  conduct- 
ing it  in  person  for  about  a  dozen  years  he  retired,  and  left  the  mills  at 
Burton-on-Trent  in  the  hands  of  some  of  his  sons.  Sir  Lawrence  Peel 
says  respecting  his  habits  and  personal  aspect : — "  Old  Mr.  Peel  was 
rather  an  absent  man.  When  he  walked  the  streets  of  Burton  he  used 
to  look  downwards,  and  seemed  ever  to  be  calculating  some  stiff  ques- 
tion, and  the  common  folks,  shrewd  enough  commonly  in  their  percep- 
tion of  eccentricities,  dubbed  him  '  The  Philosopher.'  .  .  He  stooped 
a  little  in  his  latter  days ;  in  his  youth  he  had  been  remarkably  erect. 
He  wore  a  bushy  Johnsonian  wig ;  like  that  sage,  he  was  dressed  in 
dark  clothes  of  an  ample  cut,  he  leaned  as  he  walked  upon  a  tall  gold- 
headed  cane,  and  as  he  was  a  very  handsome  man,  he  looked  a  figure 
stately  enough  for  a  mediaeval  burgomaster."  The  gold-headed  cane 
referred  to,  after  Robert  Peel's  death,  became  the  property  of  one  of  his 
sons,  Mr.  Jonathan  Peel,  of  Accrington  House,  and  by  him  it  was  care- 
fully preserved  as  a  relic.  On  the  death  of  Mr.  Jonathan  Peel,  it  was 
presented  to  Sir  Robert  Peel,  the  Minister.  The  stick  retained  the 
leathern  string,  well-worn,  which  used  to  encircle  the  wrist  of  the  vener- 
able founder  of  the  fortunes  of  the  Peels.  A  tradition  of  "the  personal 
appearance  of  Robert  Peel  in  his  less  stately  days,  when  he  lived  as  a 
plain  Blackburn  farmer  in  Fish-lane,  represents  him  as  "  a  tall  robust 
man,  whose  ordinary  garb  included  a  woollen  apron,  a  calf-skin  waist- 
coat, and  wooden-soled  clogs,  and  whose  hair  was  grizzly,  and  of  a 
reddish  colour."  This  was  Robert  Peel  at  forty  years  of  age,  when  his 
calico  printing  venture  was  in  its  humble  beginnings ;  the  picture  of  Sir 
Lawrence  Peel  is '  drawn  at  sixty  to  seventy,  when  his  enterprise  had 
yielded  its  ample  harvest. 

On  retiring  from  business,  Mr.  Peel  went  to  reside  in  a  house  he 
had  bought  at  Ardwick,  near  Manchester.  There  he  ended  his  life  in 
comfortable  repose.  Sir  Lawrence  Peel  has  a  pleasant  anecdote  of  a 


THE  PEELS  OF  BLACKBURN. 


219 


conversation  between  old  Mr.  Robert  Peel  and  his  excellent  wife,  a 
short  time  before  the  end  of  their  long  married  life  of  fifty-one  years  : — 
"  One  evening  near  the  close  of  their  lives,  as  they  were  seated  by  the 
fireside,  surrounded  by  some  of  their  descendants,  conversing  with  the 
calmness  of  age  upon  death,  the  old  lady  said  to  her  husband,  '  Robert, 
I  hope  that  I  may  live  a  few  months  after  thee.'  A  wish  so  opposite  to 
that  which  wives  in  story  are  made  to  express,  surprised  her  hearers,  but 
not  her  husband,  who  calmly  asked  her  'Why?'  as  if  guessing  her 
thought.  'Robert/  she  replied,  'thou  hast  always  been  a  kind,  good 
husband  to  me  ;  thou  hast  been  a  man  well  thought  of,  and  I  should 
like  to  stay  by  thee  to  the  last,  and  keep  thee  all  right.'"  The  good 
wife's  considerate  wish  was  fulfilled.  Robert  Peel  died  in  September, 
1795,  aged  72  ;  and  his  widow  followed  him  to  the  grave  within  a  few 
months,  in  March,  1796,  aged  73  years.  The  brief  space  of  her  widow- 
hood Mrs.  Peel  spent  chiefly  at  the  house  of  her  only  surviving  daughter, 
Mrs.  Willock,  wife  of  the  Rev.  Borlace  Willock,  incumbent  of  Great 
Harwood,  and  it  was  at  the  parsonage  of  Great  Harwood  that  the  old 
lady  died.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Peel  were  interred  in  a  family  vault 
built  by  Mr.  Peel  at  St.  John's  Church,  Manchester.  The  place  of 
sepulture  of  the  ancestral  Peels  was  in  the  middle  aisle  of  Blackburn 
Old  Parish  Church.  When  the  old  church  was  demolished  in  1820,  all 
the  graves  of  the  chief  local  families  within  the  church  area,  including 
those  of  the  Walmesleys,  Liveseys,  Ainsworths,  Feildens,  Sudells,  Peels, 
and  others,  were  left  unprotected,  and  it  became  the  duty  of  the  repre- 
sentatives of  these  families  then  living,  to  cover  the  graves  with  suitable 
tombs,  which  in  most  instances  was  done,  and  the  group  of  closely- 
placed  monuments  and  railed  memorial  slabs  above  the  vaults  of  these 
families  indicates  the  situation  of  the  former  fabric  in  the  Churchyard, 
and  marks  the  relative  positions  of  the  burial  places  of  the  families  in  the 
ancient  Parish  Church.  The  erection  of  a  family  tomb  to  the  Peels  was 
undertaken  jointly  by  the  first  Mr.  Jonathan  Peel  of  Accrington  House, 
fourth  son  of  Mr.  Robert  Peel,  and  by  Mrs.  William  Peel,  "a  lady,"  says 
Sir  Lawrence  Peel,  "the  sorrows  of  whose  life,  in  the  early  deaths  of  her 
husband  and  of  her  only  child,  a  son,  distinguished  at  Oxford,  destined 
for  the  Church,  and  promising  a  life  of  good,  left  unappropriated  a  never- 
failing  spring  of  love,  which  flowed  thenceforward  for  the  use  of  those 
who  mourn."  The  Peel  tomb  in  the  Parish  Churchyard  at  Blackburn 
is  a  plain  square  one  of  massive  stone  slabs,  surrounded  by  a  palisade. 
The  inscription  it  bears  is  simply  the  surname  of  this  now  historic 
family — "  PEEL."  Many  years  have  passed  since  any  member  of  the 
Peel  family  was  interred  in  the  Blackburn  Vault. 

Robert   Peel,  third   son   of  the  above   Mr.  Robert   Peel,  takes  an 


220  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

eminent  position  in  the  family  history  as  the  first  Sir  Robert,  and 
father  of  the  illustrious  statesman.  From  an  early  age,  Robert  Peel 
displayed  a  peculiar  energy  and  intellectual  ability  that  led  his  friends 
to  anticipate  his  future  distinction.  Sir  L.  Peel  says  that  when  he  had 
reached  the  age  of  18  (that  would  be  in  1768),  he  remarked  to  his  father 
that  he  thought  the  members  of  the  numerous  family  were  "  too  thick 
upon  the  ground,"  and  proposed  that  he  should  receive  ^500  from  his 
sire  and  go  forth  to  make  his  own  way  in  life.  The  father  at  the  time 
was  not  disposed  to  make  this  advance  ;  perhaps  the  drain  upon  his 
capital  in  the  working  of  his  mill  at  Brookside  forbade  it.  •  Two  or  three 
years  after,  however,  an  opening  for  young  Robert's  business  talents  was 
presented.  His  uncle,  Mr.  Haworth,  and  Mr.  William  Yates,  decided, 
about  the  year  1770,  to  commence  new  calico  printing  works  at  Bury ; 
and  on  starting  that  business,  Mr.  Haworth  manifested  his  confidence 
in  his  nephew  by  selecting  him  for  a  junior  partner.  The  Bury  firm  in 
process  of  time  became  one  of  the  most  extensive  in  the  trade.  Robert 
Peel  was  recognised  as  the  soul  of  the  business  by  his  seniors,  one  of 
whom  (Mr.  Haworth)  soon  retired  from  the  partnership,  and  the  other, 
Mr.  Yates,  left  the  entire  direction  to  young  Peel.  On  his  first  settle- 
ment in  Bury,  Robert  Peel  dwelt  as  a  lodger  with  Mr.  Yates,  and  dis- 
played a  strong  affection  for  the  little  daughter  of  his  host,  Ellen  Yates, 
who  was  then  but  a  child  of  five  years  or  so.  Robert  Peel  often  nursed 
this  pretty  wench,  and  used  to  ask  her  if  she  would  wed  him  when  she 
arrived  at  womanhood,  to  which  the  child  would  artlessly  answer  in  the 
affirmative.  The  singular  attachment  did  not  pass  away,  although  the 
young  man  was  sixteen  years  the  senior  of  his  child-sweetheart.  Ellen 
Yates  grew  up  a  beautiful  and  fascinating  young  lady,  received  a  first- 
class  education,  and  when  she  reached  the  age  of  seventeen,  and  Robert 
Peel  that  of  thirty-three,  the  early  pledge  was  redeemed.  Robert  Peel 
married  Ellen  Yates  on  July  8th,  1783;  and,  after  the  birth  of  two 
daughters,  a  son  was  born  to  the  pair  on  the  5th  of  February,  1788,  who 
was  named  after  his  sire  and  grandsire,  "  Robert  Peel."  This  son 
became,  forty-six  years  after,  Prime  Minister  of  England,  having  previ- 
ously taken  a  high  political  position  in  Parliament.  The  events  in  the 
life  of  Sir  Robert  Peel,  the  statesman,  are  too  well  remembered  to  require 
rehearsal.  It  should  be  a  source  of  pride  to  the  inhabitants  of  Blackburn 
that  this  renowned  politician  and  party-leader,  whose  name  has  become 
historical,  sprung  of  Blackburn  parentage  both  on  the  father's  and  the 
mother's  side,  for  both  Robert  Peel,  the  first  baronet,  and  Ellen  Yates, 
his  first  wife,  mother  of  the  statesman,  drew  their  first  breath  in  the  then 
dull  old  town.  Thus  it  may  be  boasted  that  Blackburn  energy,  intelli- 
gence, and  thrift  produced  one  of  the  most  honourable  and  successful 


ENTERPRISES  OF  THE  PEELS.  221 

statesmen  whose  hands  have  guided  the  destinies  of  the  Empire.  The 
first  Sir  Robert  Peel  was  not  less  remarkable  as  a  mercantile  man  than 
his  son  was  as  a  Parliamentary  leader.  In  1790,  the  elder  Robert  Peel 
entered  Parliament  as  Member  for  Tamworth,  and  continued  to  repre- 
sent that  borough  for  thirty  years.  In  1 800,  at  fifty  years  of  age,  he 
received  a  baronetcy.  In  1 803,  his  business  operations  were  so  large 
that  it  was  reckoned  he  employed  15,000  workpeople,  chiefly  at  Bury  and 
Tamworth,  and  was  paying  excise  duty  of  more  than  ^40,000  per 
annum  on  his  prints.  He  had  five  sons  besides  the  Minister,  and  several 
daughters ;  and  so  great  was  his  wealth  at  his  decease,  aged  80,  on  May 
3rd,  1830,  that  it  was  found  he  had  left  personalty  to  the  amount  of 
between  one  and  two  millions,  and  had  bequeathed  legacies  of  ^"13  5,000 
each  to  five  younger  sons  ;  ^52,000  each  to  three  surviving  daughters; 
and  numerous  liberal  bequests  to  his  connexions  and  to  public  objects. 
All  his  landed  estates  in  Staffordshire  and  Warwickshire  descended  to 
his  eldest  son  Robert  with  the  title ;  and  the  settlement  of  .£9,000  a 
year  which  had  been  made  on  him  at  the  age  of  21,  on  his  entrance  into 
Parliament,  was  a  part  of  the  inheritance  of  the  second  Sir  Robert  Peel 
out  of  the  princely  fortune  amassed  by  the  first  baronet. 

Among  the  other  businesses  in  East  Lancashire  in  which  the  Peels 
were  principal  partners,  were  the  works  at  Church  Bank,  Church  Kirk, 
founded  sometime  before  1770  by  Robert  Peel,  of  Blackburn.  With 
these  works,  after  the  father's  retirement  from  business  life,  William 
Peel  and  Jonathan  Peel,  his  eldest  and  fourth  sons,  were  chiefly  con- 
nected. Mr.  William  Peel  inherited  the  farm  at  Peel  Fold,  Oswald- 
twistle,  and  lived  at  the  old  house  there  after  his  marriage  until  his 
removal  to  a  larger  residence  at  Church  Bank.  This  representative 
married,  in  the  year  1766,  Mary,  daughter  of  Thomas  Haworth,  doctor 
of  medicine,  of  Blackburn,  and  had  issue  sons,  Thomas  (afterwards  of 
Peel  Fold  and  Sawley),  Joseph,  died  young  in  1781  ;  Robert,  of  Taliaris, 
Wales;  Edmund,  of  Church  Bank;  William,  of  Burnley;  Jonathan,  and 
John,  of  Burton ;  with  daughters  Elizabeth  and  Anne.  Mr.  William 
Peel,  like  his  grandfather  William  Peel,  had  not  the  robust  health 
common  among  the  Peels,  and  died  comparatively  young  and  before 
his  parents,  in  1791  ;  the  Blackburn  Parish  Register  shows  "William 
Peel,  of  Church  Bank,"  as  buried  there  April  2nd,  1791,  aged  47  (an 
error  in  the  record — he  was  hardly  46).  His  widow  died  in  March, 
1794,  aged  49,  and  was  also  sepultured  at  Blackburn,  March  25th. 

The  Peel-fold  estate  still  belongs  to  the  elder  line  of  the  Peels,  the 
descendants  of  the  above-named  Mr.  William  Peel.  The  old  house  at 
the  Fold  remains,  and  is  occupied  by  the  farmer  of  the  estate.  It  is  a 
very  fair  example  of  a  yeoman's  house  of  the  seventeenth  century,  with 


222  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

large  low  rooms,  and  mullioned  windows.  It  consists  of  a  principal 
structure  facing  north  and  south,  and  another  block  placed  at  right 
angles  at  the  east  end.  This  part  of  the  house,  in  which  were  once  the 
best  apartments,  the  parlour  on  the  ground  floor,  and  the  bed-chambers 
above,  is  now  unoccupied  or  turned  into  stabling,  and  very  decayed.  Peel 
Fold  is  situated  on  the  slope  of  the  hill,  S.E.  of  the  new  Blackburn  and 
Accrington  Road,  from  which  it  is  reached  by  an  occupation  road. 

Mr:  William  Peel's  younger  brother,  Mr.  Jonathan  Peel,  became 
the  presiding  genius  of  the  calico  printing  works  at  Church-Kirk,  which 
he  developed  most  successfully.  Writing  about  1792,  Dr.  Aikin  notices 
these  large  print  works,  then  in  full  operation  : — "At  Church  Bank,  near 
Church-Kirk,  Mr.  Jonathan  Peel  has  erected  very  extensive  buildings, 
where  he  carries  on  the  printing  business  in  great  perfection.  There 
are  other  large  printing  works  at  a  place  called  Oakenshaw,  in  which  a 
number  of  hands  are  employed."  The  Oakenshaw  works,  in  Clayton-le- 
Moors,  also  originated  in  the  enterprise  of  the  first  Mr.  Jonathan  Peel, 
who,  however,  disposed  of  this  branch  to  the  firm  of  Messrs.  Fort, 
Taylor,  and  Bury  before  the  year  1792.  Mr.  Jonathan  Peel  resided  in 
Accrington,  where  he  acquired  a  landed  estate,  and  built  for  himself  a 
commodious  mansion,  known  as  Accrington  House.  This  gentleman 
married  a  cousin,  Ann,  daughter  of  Mr.  Giles  Haworth,  of  Blackburn,  a 
brother  of  the  wife  of  Mr.  Robert  Peel.  By  her  he  had  two  sons — 
Robert ;  and  Giles-Haworth,  who  took  orders  in  the  Church  ;  with  these 
daughters  : — Grace,  married  her  cousin,  Edmund  Peel,  of  Church  Bank  ; 
Anne,  also  married  a  cousin,  Robert  Peel,  son  of  William  Peel ;  Ellen, 
married  Edmund  Yates,  Esq.;  and  Jane,  who  died  in  1795.  There 
was  also  a  daughter  Betty,  who  died  in  infancy.  Mrs.  Peel  died  in 
1785,  buried  at  Blackburn  Church — "Anne,  wife  of  Mr.  Jonathan 
Peel,  of  Accrington," — March  26th  in  that  year.  Mr.  Jonathan  Peel 
died  at  the  age  of  82,  in  the  year  1834,  having  been  born  in  September, 
1752.  His  eldest  son,  Robert  Peel,  Esq.,  of  Accrington  House,  who 
died  in  London,  April  i6th,  1839,  aged  63,  was  father  of  the  present 
Jonathan  Peel,  Esq.,  J.P.,  of  Knowlmere  Manor,  inheritor  of  the  estate 
of  this  branch.  The  enormous  fortune  accumulated  by  the  father  of  the 
Minister  Peel  was  not  the  sole  achievement  in  that  line  of  these  wonder- 
ful Peels,  for  at  the  decease  of  Mr.  Jonathan  Peel,  of  Accrington,  who 
was  a  brother  of  the  first  baronet,  his  personal  property  was  sworn  under 
;£6oo,ooo. 

Besides  the  principal  works  established  in  succession  by  the  Peels 
at  Brookside,  at  Bury,  at  Burton-on-Trent,  at  Church  Bank,  at  Accring- 
ton, and  at  Oakenshaw,  smaller  works  were  built  or  rented  at  Sawley 
and  Burnley  by  members  of  the  family  and  their  partners,  at  which  the 


THE  OLD  BROOKSIDE  PRINT-WORKS. 


223 


"pencilling"  work  and  other  subsidiary  processes  chiefly  were  carried  on. 
The  Sawley  works  were  abandoned  by  the  Peels  more  than  60  years 
ago,  and  the  buildings  have  most  of  them  been  demolished.  Mr.  Thomas 
Peel  resided  at  Bank  Hall,  on  the  Yorkshire  side  of  the  river  at  Sawley, 
at  the  time  the  print  works  there  were  in  operation.  As  the  eldest  son 
of  Mr.  William  Peel,  himself  the  eldest  son  of  Robert  Peel  the  elder, 
Mr.  Thomas  Peel  subsequently  came  into  a  large  estate,  and  was  seated 
at  Trenant  Park,  Cornwall.  By  his  wife,  Miss  Elizabeth  Bolton,  Mr. 
Thomas  Peel  had  sons,  Robert  (in  holy  orders),  Thomas,  William 
(of  Trenant  Park  and  Peel  Fold),  Edmund,  and  John ;  and  daughters 
Elizabeth,  Hester,  and  Ann — the  last-named  became  the  wife  of  the 
present  Jonathan  Peel,  Esq.,  of  Knowlmere,  but  died  without  issue. 

The  print  works  at  Burnley  of  this  active  firm  were  superintended 
by  Mr.  William  Peel,  fourth  son  of  Mr.  William  Peel,  of  Peel  Fold  and 
Church  Bank.  The  Burnley  residence  of  Mr.  William  Peel,  junior,  was 
at  Bridge  End  House,  not  far  from  the  works.  A  maiden  sister  of  this 
gentleman,  Miss  Elizabeth  Peel,  resided  with  her  brother  at  Burnley ; 
she  died  Nov.  25th,  1800,  and  was  a  liberal  benefactress  to  the  poor  of 
Burnley. 

The  Brookside  Print  Works,  in  Oswaldtwistle,  after  they  were  given 
up  by  the  Peels,  were  carried  on  by  the  firm  of  Reddish,  Brooks,  and 
Co.,  changed  subsequently  to  that  of  Reddish  and  Bickham.  After 
many  years  of  partial  working  in  this  trade,  the  premises  have  lately 
been  sold  to  Mr.  Joseph  Eccles,  of  Over  Darwen,  for  conversion  into 
Paper  Works.  As  the  earliest  scene  of  the  commercial  ventures  of  the 
Peels,  which  afterwards  became  so  colossal,  and  as  the  cradle  of  the 
calico-printing  trade  in  Lancashire,  Brookside  is  invested  with  interest 
to  such  as  concern  themselves  with  the  history  of  our  mercantile  and 
manufacturing  systems.  The  place  now  presents  little  to  the  eye  of  the 
visitor  but  ruinous  vestiges  of  former  industry  and  importance.  The 
premises  are  situated  in  the  valley  which  crosses  the  township  of  Oswald- 
twistle, down  which  a  small  brook  flows  to  join  the  Hyndburn  below 
Church  Kirk.  The  works  now  standing  consist  of  a  small  and  rudely 
built  stone  erection,  which  looks  as  though  it  may  have  been  the  first  of 
the  buildings  raised  by  the  Peels  for  business  purposes  at  this  spot ;  and 
of  several  long  two-storied  detached  buildings  of  more  recent  date.  In 
the  midst  of  the  works  is  an  old  square  stone  chimney  shaft,  built  on 
the  introduction  of  steam  as  the  motive  power ;  the  old  works  having 
been  driven  by  a  water-wheel.  There  are  several  lodges,  well  supplied 
with  water,  above  the  works  on  the  south  side.  The  ground  between 
the  buildings  at  Brookside  was  on  the  writer's  last  visit  strewn  with 
great  quantities  of  debris  of  the  tables,  engraved  wood  blocks,  and  other 


224 


HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


implements  used  by  the  block  printers  of  a  past  generation,  removed 
from  the  rooms  preparatory  to  a  restoration  of  such  portions  of  the  build- 
ings as  are  to  be  applied  to  a  new  industry.  Altogether  the  old  Brook- 
side  Print  Works  look  what  they  really  are,  the  forsaken  haunt  of  a  trade 
once  of  vast  proportions  and  amazingly  profitable,  but  now  contracted 
to  humbler  dimensions,  and  stripped  of  its  former  affluence.  The 
name  of  Brookside,  however,  will  not  soon  be  erased  from  the  commercial 
record  of  this  county. 

MOSNEY  PRINT-WORKS— THE  LIVESEY  FAMILY. 

Allusion  has  formerly  been  made  to  the  extensive  print  works 
established  at  Mosney,  in  Walton-in-le-Dale,  by  a  family  of  Liveseys  and 
parties  in  partnership  with  them.  The  Liveseys,  who  took  a  notable  part 
in  the  development  of  calico  printing  in  this  district  a  century  ago,  were 
collateral  connexions  of  the  ancient  territorial  family  of  Livesey  of 
Livesey.  One  of  them  was  Thomas  Livesey,  Esq.,  of  Blackburn,  and 
another,  John  Livesey,  Esq.,  of  the  same  place.  The  former,  Mr. 
Thomas  Livesey,  was  the  son  of  James  Livesey,  gentleman,  who  died  in 
1747,  and  a  kinsman  of  Ralph  Livesey,  Esq.,  of  Livesey  Hall,  who  died 
in  1766.  "Thomas,  son  of  James  and  Margaret  Livesey  of  Blackburn, 
gent.,"  was  baptised  in  Blackburn  Church,  July  i2th,  1734.  There  were 
other  children,  including  three  sons  named  James,  all  of  whom  died  in 
infancy,  and  sons  Robert  and  Richard ;  with  daughters  Alice,  born  in 
1741,  and  Ellen.  Mr.  Thomas  Livesey  was  eventually  heir  to  a 
considerable  estate,  but  he  also  engaged  in  the  local  manufacture,  in  the 
first  instance  as  a  merchant  in  the  Blackburn  fabrics,  and  afterwards  as 
an  extensive  calico  printer.  His  place  of  residence  about  1760  was  the 
handsome  stone-built  house  with  classic  frontage,  which  stands  on  the 
north  side  of  King-street  in  Blackburn,  near  the  opening  into  Paradise- 
lane.  This,  the  most  elegant  of  the  old  Blackburn  residences,  was 
built  in  the  early  years  of  last  century  by  a  Mr.  Falkner.  I  have  it 
on  the  statement  of  an  old  lady  in  Blackburn  that  when  Mr.  Thomas 
Livesey  dwelt  in  this  mansion  he  used  the  basement  floor  for  a  ware- 
house for  the  reception  of  the  calico  pieces  in  which  he  traded,  and  had 
the  whole  of  the  flagged  floor  boarded  over  to  make  the  place  more 
comfortable  for  his  warehousemen.  Mr.  Thomas  Livesey  married, 
first,  Elizabeth  Livesey,  a  daughter  of  a  family  of  Liveseys  in  Man- 
chester that  also  sprang  from  the  old  stock  of  Livesey  of  Livesey. 
They  were  married  May  6th,  1766.  The  children  of  this  marriage  were, 
James,  born  in  February,  1767,  and  died  in  March,  1771  ;  Margaret, 
born  in  1768,  died  in  April,  1775;  Ellen,  born  in  1770,  died  in  August, 
1793;  and  Elizabeth,  born  in  March,  1771.  Mrs.  Livesey  died  in 


PRINT-WORKS  AT  MOSNEY  IN  WALTON. 


225 


child-bed  of  this  daughter,  and  was  buried  March  2ist,  1771.  Mr. 
Thomas  Livesey,  for  his  second  wife,  married,  June  isth,  1775, 
Lydia  Bancroft,  of  Manchester,  by  whom  he  had  a  son  Joseph ;  and 
a  daughter,  Maria,  born  in  1777.  Miss  Alice  Livesey,  a  sister  of  Mr. 
Thomas  Livesey,  who  lived  with  him  in  the  house  in  King-street,  Black- 
burn, had  married,  in  1763,  Henry  Sudell,  gent,  and  had  by  him  a 
son,  Henry.  Mr.  Thomas  Livesey's  daughter  by  his  second  wife,  Miss 
Maria  Livesey,  was  married  to  her  cousin,  Henry  Sudell,  junior,  in  the 
year  1796. 

The  other  member  of  the  Liveseys  connected  with  the  rise  of  cotton 
spinning  and  calico  printing  in  Blackburn  Parish  was  Mr.  John  Livesey, 
of  Blackburn,  who  by  his  wife  Mary,  daughter  of  Samuel  Clowes,  Esq., 
of  Manchester,  whom  he  married  in  1772,  had  sons,  Robert,  born  in 
February,  1774;  John  Pearson;  and  Thomas,  born  in  July,  1784;  with 
daughters  Mary,  Elizabeth,  Frances,  and  Anne. 

The  works  at  Mosney,  started  about  1780,  were  the  property  of  a 
firm  under  the  style  of  Livesey,  Hargreaves,  Anstie,  Smith,  and  Hall. 
The  firm  secured  the  services  of  a  Mr.  Thomas  Bell,  a  Scotsman,  who 
brought  to  the  business  his  practical  talent  as  an  engraver,  and  who 
proved  also  a  successful  mechanical  inventor.  Indeed,  the  Walton 
calico  printing  concern  is  now  chiefly  remembered  from  the  circum- 
stance that  it  was  there  that  cylinder-machine  printing  of  calico  was 
first  introduced.  Mr.  Thomas  Bell,  of  this  establishment,  was  the 
original  inventor  and  patentee  of  the  cylinder  printing-process.  The 
specification  of  Mr.  Bell's  first  patent  bears  date  the  1 7th  of  November, 
1783.  In  it  the  inventor  "Thomas  Bell,  of  Mosney,  in  the  county  of 
Lancaster,  copper-plate  Printer,"  recites  that  by  Royal  Letters  Patent 
dated  July  1 7th,  23rd  Geo.  III.,  he  had  granted  to  him  power  to  make, 
use,  and  vend  his  invention,  described  as  "A  new  and  peculiar  art  or 
method  of  Printing  with  one  colour  or  with  various  colours  at  the  same 
time,  on  Linnens,  Lawns,  and  Cambricks,  Cottons,  Callicoes,  and 
Muslins,  Woollen  Cloths,  Silks,  Silk  and  Stuffs,  Gauzes,  and  any  other 
species  or  kind  of  Linnen  Cloth,  or  Manufactured  Goods  whatever." 
The  nature  of  the  invention  is  then  set  forth,  and  the  inventor's  affidavit 
is  attested  by  "William  Waterhouse,  of  Mosney,  within  the  township  of 
Walton-in-le-Dale,  in  the  County  Palatine  of  Lancaster,  Gentleman,  and 
John  Emmett,  of  Preston,  Cabinet  Maker."  The  large  sheet  of  drawings 
accompanying  the  specification  exhibits  the  parts  of  a  six-colour  cylinder- 
printing  machine,  the  mechanism  of  which  is  thus  described  : — The  six 
rollers  are  arranged  round  a  large  central  bowl.  The  colour  is  supplied 
to  each  roller  by  what  is  yet  called  the  "box  doctor."  Springs  and 
screws  are  shown  for  pushing  the  box  doctors  up  to  the  rollers,  and 

15 


226  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

cogged  wheels  to  drive  the  rollers  simultaneously.  The  machine  has 
attached  a  winding-on  frame,  by  which  the  unwinding  of  the  cloth  from 
one  roll,  before  printing,  winds  the  printed  cloth  on  another,  with  a 
coupling-box  to  detach  the  roll  when  filled.  Such  was  the  first  form  of 
the  cylinder  machine  for  calico  printing,  as  brought  out  at  Mosney 
works  by  Mr.  Thomas  Bell,  in  1783  In  the  following  year  Mr.  Bell 
patented  an  improved  machine,  of  which  one  of  the  features  is  the 
construction  of  the  centres  of  the  printing  rollers  of  iron,  covered  with 
copper  or  other  metal,  which  can  be  taken  off  at  pleasure,  and  other 
patterns  engraved  on  the  movable  copper  plates  fixed  upon  the  rollers 
as  needed.  The  drawing  of  this  specification  shows  a  three-colour 
cylinder  machine.  The  inventor's  affidavit  is  sworn  at  Mosney,  August 
4th,  1784,  and  the  specification  enrolled  on  the  8th  of  November. 

The  Mosney  firm  of  calico  printers  extended  their  works,  and  for 
some  years  prosecuted  a  flourishing  business,  and  bore  a  high  reputation 
in  the  trade  ;  but  a  succession  of  pecuniary  losses  very  much  shook  the 
credit  of  the  concern,  and  resulted  at  last  in  the  suspension  of  business. 
The  bankruptcy  of  the  firm  was  announced  in  the  year  1788.  The 
works  at  Mosney  were  stopped,  and  do  not  appear  to  have  ever  been 
re-started.  After  lying  idle  a  few  years,  the  buildings  at  Mosney  were 
demolished,  and  the  machinery  taken  out  of  them.  Mr.  William 
Assheton,  of  Cuerdale  Hall,  bought  the  site  from  the  executors  of 
Thomas  Livesey,  in  1792,  and  sold  it  to  Mr.  Richard  Calrow  about 
I797.1  It  is  said  that  the  mansion  of  the  Calrows  at  Walton  Lodge  was 
built  partially  of  the  bricks  brought  from  the  demolished  Mosney  works. 
The  only  vestiges  now  to  be  seen  of  the  once  extensive  arrangements 
for  calico-printing  at  this  spot  are  a  portion  of  an  old  wall,  and  remains 
of  the  brick  culvert  constructed  for  turning  the  water  used  in  the  works 
into  the  River  Darwen.  Mosney  estate  is  still  the  property  of  the  CalroAv 
family.  An  informant  mentions  that  the  Liveseys  had  bleach-works  at 

i  Among  the  Piccope  MSS.  in  the  Chatham  Library,  Manchester,  I  find  brief  abstracts  of  deeds  in 
the  possession  of  the  Rev.  J.  S.  Birley  relating  to  the  acquisition  of  part  of  the  site  of  the  Mosney  Print 
Works  in  Walton.  By  Indentures  dated  Jan.  i3th  and  i4th,  1783,  between  John  Atherton  of  Banister  Hall, 
of  the  first  part,  Joseph  Atherton  of  the  second  part,  Richard  Atherton  and  John  Hindle  of  the  third 
part,  and  John  Livesey,  John  Hargreaves,  Peter  Anstie,  Joseph  Smith,  and  William  Hall  of  the  fourth 
part,  is  conveyed  a  close  called  Barn  flatt  to  the  parties  of  the  fourth  part,  who  were  the  firm  of  calico- 
printers.  On  the  i8th  June,  1788,  a  joint  Commission  of  Bankruptcy  was  awarded  against  the  said 
John  Livesey  and  the  other  members  of  the  firm.  An  indenture  of  the  24th  Sept.,  1789,  between  John, 
Joseph,  and  John  Atherton  of  the  one  part,  and  Thomas  Livesey  of  the  other  part,  recites  the  inden- 
ture of  Jan.  i3th,  1783;  and  the  Will  of  John  Atherton,  dated  Oct.  i8th,  1783.  The  said  Thomas 
Livesey  died  in  March,  1790,  Joseph  Livesey,  his  son  and  heir,  being  then  a  minor ;  and  appointed 
Lydia  Livesey,  his  wife,  her  son  Mathew  Bancroft  Lister,  Esq.,  Henry  Sudell  of  Blackburn,  Esq., 
Joseph  Tipping  of  Manchester,  Esq.,  and  John  Hysall  of  London,  Esq.,  executors.  Thomas  Livesey 's 
Will  was  dated  Feb.  2ist,  1787.  By  indentures  dated  May  i7th  and  i8th,  1792,  Lydia  Livesey,  of 
Burwell  Park,  Co.  Lincoln,  widow,  Mathew  Bancroft  Lister,  of  Burwell  Park,  Esq.,  Henry  Sudell 
of  Blackburn,  Esq.,  and  Thomas  Tipping  of  Manchester,  Esq.,  sell  to  William  Assheton  of  Cuerdale, 
Esq.,  the  close  of  land  called  Barn  Flatt,  &c. 


PRINT-WORKS  AT  PRIMROSE  AND  MILL  HILL.  227 

Bamber  Bridge,  and  also  a  cotton  mill  at  Higher  Walton,  which  was 
purchased  by  Rodgett  Brothers  about  1859,  and  afterwards  pulled  down 
and  a  new  mill  built.  Mr.  Thomas  Livesey  resided  at  Knott  House, 
and  died  there ;  this  house  had  previously  been  the  residence  of  Mr. 
Anstie,  one  of  the  masters  of  the  Mosney  print-works ;  Mr.  Hall, 
another  partner,  resided  at  Darwen  Bank,  now  the  property  of  Mr. 
Rodgett.  Knott  House  was  since  the  mansion  of  Edmund  Calvert,  Esq. 

PRINT-WORKS  AT  PRIMROSE  AND  MILL  HILL. 

Another  local  printing  establishment  of  celebrity  in  its  day  was  that 
founded  by  Mr.  James  Thomson,   at   Primrose,  near  Clitheroe.     Mr, 
Thomson  began  business  at  Primrose  about  1811,  in  the  first  instance 
in  premises  that  had  been  previously  used  for  cotton  manufacturing 
purposes.      Mr.   James  Thomson  was  the  son  of  a  Scotch  gentleman 
who  had  migrated  to  Blackburn,  and  was  engaged   in  the  local  trade 
there.      The  son  was  born  in  the  year  1779,   and  was  educated  at 
Glasgow  University.     He  commenced  life  as  a  chemist  at  the  printing 
works  of  Messrs.   Peel,   at  Church-bank,  and   stayed   there   until    he 
had  obtained  a  partnership   in  the  business.     On  his  commencement 
of  a  new  business   at   Primrose,   he  had  for  his   partners    Mr.   John 
Chippendale,  the  son  of  a  Blackburn  trader  in  cotton  goods,  and  Mr. 
James  Burton.    The  firm  was  styled  Thomson,  Chippendale,  Burton,  and 
Thomson.    The  Primrose  Print-works  quickly  established  a  good  position 
in  the  trade ;  and  the  concern  was  found  so  profitable  that,  a  few  years 
after  its  commencement,  Mr.  Thomson  was  able  to  purchase  the  estate 
upon  which  the  works  stood  for  ^"28,000.    The  secret  of  Mr.  Thomson's 
eminence  as  a  calico  printer  was  his  devotion  to  the  scientific  improve- 
ment of  printing  processes.     He  took  out  patents  for  some  of  the  most 
important  of  his  novelties  in  the  application  of  colours.     The  first  of  his 
specifications  is  one  dated  March  3rd,  1813,  entitled  "A  new  method  of 
producing  patterns  in  cloth  previously  dyed  Turkey  Red,  and  made  of 
cotton,  or  linen,  or  both."   In  February,  1815,  the  Primrose  printer  patented 
certain   "  improvements  in  the  process  of  printing  cloth,"  consisting  of 
the  art  of  printing  earthy  or  metallic  solutions,  such  as  the  sulphate, 
acetate,  or  nitrate  of  alumina,  iron,  or  copper,  on  cloth  already  dyed. 
Mr.  Thomson,  finding  some  of  his  most  original  designs  pirated  by 
unprincipled  competitors,  took  a  leading  part  in  procuring  the  passage 
of  an  Act  of  Parliament  for  the  protection  of  the  inventor  of  any  pattern 
within  a  period  fixed   by   the    Act.     When  the   Primrose  print-works 
were  at  the  height  of  their  activity,  near  500  operative  printers  were 
employed  on  the  premises,  besides  large  numbers  of  men  engaged  in 
bleaching  and  other  departmental  processes.     The  most  skilful  chemists 


228  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

were  engaged  in  the  laboratories  of  this  firm,  and  able  engravers  in  the 
cutting  of  patterns.  About  the  year  1840,  Dr.  Lyon  Playfair,  who  now 
sits  in  Parliament  as  Member  for  the  Scottish  Universities,  accepted  an 
appointment  as  experimental  chemist  from  Mr.  Thomson,  and  gave  the 
Primrose  print-works  the  benefit  of  his  chemical  knowledge  for  two  or 
three  years.  Mr.  Thomson  was  a  liberal  patron  of  men  eminent  in 
science,  literature,  and  art,  and  among  his  personal  friends  was  the  poet 
Campbell,  who  sometime  sojourned  at  Primrose  as  the  guest  of  Mr. 
Thomson,  and  whose  portrait  was  painted  by  an  eminent  artist,  at 
Primrose  House,  at  the  order  of  Mr.  Thomson,  who  paid  five  hundred 
guineas  for  the  work.  Mr.  Thomson  died,  aged  72  years,  on  the  iyth 
of  September,  1850,  and  four  years  afterwards  the  works  at  Primrose 
were  stopped.  These  extensive  premises,  once  the  seat  of  one  of  the 
most  celebrated  industries  in  the  county,  have  now  for  twenty  years 
been  abandoned  to  decay. 

A  family  that  should  be  mentioned  as  having  built  up  a  large 
business  in  calico  printing  in  the  vicinity  of  Blackburn  is  that  of  the 
Turners,  whose  works  at  Mill  Hill,  in  Livesey  township,  about  a  mile 
south-west  of  Blackburn,  were  once  of  considerable  note,  but  have  now 
been  discontinued  about  thirty  years.  Mr.  Robert  Turner,  a  son  of  Mr. 
Thomas  Turner,  of  Martholme,  in  Great  Harwood,  settled  in  Black- 
burn as  a  "chapman,"  or  dealer  in  calico  woven  on  the  hand- 
looms.  It  is  probable  that  this  gentleman  commenced  calico  printing 
at  Mill  Hill  some  years  before  his  death  (Oct.  lyth,  1811,  aged 
77) ;  for  Dr.  Aikin  notices,  in  1794,  that  a  mile  from  Blackburn  on  the 
Preston  Old  Road  was  "  a  large  printing-ground."  The  calico-printing 
trade  was  prosecuted  by  Mr.  Turner's  sons,  Thomas,  John,  Robert,  and 
William  Turner,  all  of  Mill  Hill.  The  Mill  Hill  works  of  this  family 
extended  along  the  bank  of  the  Darwen  river  from  Stakes,  in  Livesey, 
to  the  site  of  an  existing  weaving  shed  below  Mill  Hill  House.  In 
1822,  the  Turners  appear  to  have  had  two  separate  businesses  in  calico- 
printing.  One  was  carried  on  at  Mill  Hill  by  the  firm  of  Robert  Turner, 
junior,  &  Co.,  and  the  other  by  Mr.  Thomas  Turner,  whose  works 
were  situated  at  Stakes,  in  Livesey,  and  his  house  or  warehouse  at  92, 
Darwen  Street,  in  Blackburn.  Mr.  Thomas  and  Mrr  John  Turner, 
the  first  and  third  sons  of  Mr.  Robert  Turner,  both  died  in  the 
year  1825.  Mr.  Robert  Turner  (the  son),  died  in  1842.  Mr.  William 
Turner,  the  youngest  of  the  brothers,  was  one  of  the  first  Members 
returned  to  Parliament  for  the  borough  of  Blackburn  on  its  enfranchise- 
ment in  1832  ;  and  he  sat  as  M.P.  for  Blackburn  in  three  succeeding 
Parliaments.  He  had  acquired  a  landed  estate  in  Cheshire,  and  had  a 
seat  at  Shrigley  Hall  in  that  county.  He  died  at  Mill  Hill,  July  1 7th, 


PROGRESS  OF  COTTON  MANUFACTURING.  229 

1842,  aged  65.  The  Mill  Hill  print-works  and  estate  were  sold  in  1843 
to  the  late  Mr.  Joseph  Eccles,  of  Mill  Hill  House,  who  demolished  the 
old  print  shops,  and  erected  on  their  site  the  Mill  Hill  Mills,  about  the 
year  1844. 

Other  former  firms  of  printers  in  the  Parish  are  those  of  Greenway, 
Potter,  and  Co.,  of  Over  Darwen ;  and  C.  Swainson  and  Co.,  Banister 
Hall  Print-works,  in  Walton.  With  the  exception  of  the  last-named  firm, 
that  of  Messrs.  Swainson,  which  is  yet  in  the  business,  the  calico  printing 
branch  of  the  cotton  manufacture,  once  so  valuable  and  so  widely  diffused 
in  this  part  of  Lancashire,  has  at  the  present  time  hardly  an  existence 
throughout  the  parish  of  Blackburn. 

PROGRESS  OF  COTTON  MANUFACTURING. 

The  start  in  the  English  cotton  manufacture,  strictly  so  called, 
dates  from  the  year  1774,  when  Parliament  passed  an  Act  reducing  the 
duty  of  sixpence  per  yard  upon  fabrics  made  wholly  of  cotton  (which 
amounted  to  a  prohibition),  to  threepence  per  yard.  The  preamble  of 
this  Act  recites  that  "  whereas  a  new  manufacture  of  stuffs  wholly  made 
of  cotton  wool  hath  been  set  up  within  this  Kingdom,"  it  is  enacted 
that  "  no  higher  duty  than  threepence  for  every  yard  in  length  reckoning 
a  yard  wide  shall  be  imposed ;"  and  that  "  it  shall  be  lawful  for  any 
person  to  wear  any  new  manufacture  made  wholly  of  cotton."  In 
Blackburn  it  is  a  tradition  that  the  first  cotton  piece  woven  was  made 
for  Mr.  Bertie  Markland  (a  local  merchant  who  built  the  house  in  King- 
street  in  which  Mr.  Hornby  afterwards  resided),  by  a  weaver  at  Copster 
Green.  But  there  is  another  claimant  for  the  honour  of  having  woven 
the  first  piece  of  calico,  according  to  the  following  entry  in  a  family 
Bible  at  Rishton  : — "  1 5th  of  Sept.,  1776.  Thomas  Duxbury,  of  Rishton 
near  Blackburn,  sold  to  Messrs.  Peels,  Yates,  and  Co.,  Church  Bank, 
two  common  fine  calico  pieces  for  ^5  95.  8d.  These  were  the  first 
calico  pieces  ever  manufactured  in  the  kingdom."  John  and  Thomas 
Duxbury  built,  it  is  said,  at  Rishton,  the  first  hand-loom  weaving  shop 
in  the  district ;  and  in  17 79  a  weaver  at  Duxbury's  "shop"  was  paid 
£i  1 6s.  for  weaving  a  piece  of  calico,  out  of  which  he  had  to  pay  i8s. 
6d.  to  his  family  or  others  for  carding  the  cotton  and  spinning  the  weft. 

In  1785,  the  Lancashire  manufacturers  and  merchants  became 
affrighted  at  the  prospect  of  competition  by  Irish  traders,  in  whose 
interest  certain  resolutions  were  presented  to  Parliament ;  and  petitions 
were  sent  from  Blackburn  and  other  towns  to  the  House  of  Commons, 
praying  for  consideration.  The  Journals  of  the  House  record  the 
reception  of  the  Blackburn  petition  as  under  : — 

Resolved,  "That  this  House  will,  this  Day,  resolve  itself  into  a  Committee  of  the 
whole  House,  to  consider  further  of  so  much  of 'His  Majesty's  most  gracious  Speech, 


230  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

to  both  Houses  of  Parliament,  upon  the  25th  day  of  January  last,  as  relates  to  the 
adjustment  of  the  Commercial  Intercourse  between  Great  Britain  and  Ireland. "  In 
Committee  of  the  House,  "a  Petition  of  the  Merchants,  Cotton  and  Callico  Manufac- 
turers, and  other  Traders  of  the  Town  and  Neighbourhood  of  Blackburn,  in  the  County 
Palatine  of  Lancaster,  was  presented  to  the  House  and  read,  setting  forth,  That  the 
Petitioners,  with  every  consistent  wish  for  the  prosperity  of  their  Fellow  Subjects  in 
Ireland,  are  desirous  that  a  lasting  Plan  may  be  adopted  to  put  the  Interest  of  the  two 
Kingdoms  upon  a  just  and  equitable  footing  as  to  Commerce  in  general,  but,  from  the 
Resolutions  lately  brought  before  the  House,  respecting  the  Trade  of  Ireland,  they 
are  fearful  that  they  will  tend  to  very  great  injury  of  the  Manufactures  throughout  this 
Kingdom,  and  of  this  part  of  Lancashire  in  particular  :  And  therefore  praying,  That 
the  Merchants,  Cotton  and  Callico  Manufacturers,  and  other  Traders  of  the  Town  and 
Neighbourhood  of  Blackburn,  in  the  County  of  Lancaster,  may  be  heard  in  support  of 
this  Petition,  by  themselves  and  Counsel,  at  the  Bar  of  the  House. "  It  was  thereupon 
' '  Ordered,  That  the  said  Petition  be  referred  to  the  consideration  of  the  Committee  of 
the  whole  House,"  &c. 

The  category  of  merchants,  warehousemen,  sizers,  and  cotton 
spinners  who  assisted  in  the  establishment  of  the  local  trade  between 
1770  and  1830  includes  the  names  of  Sudell  of  Blackburn ;  Markland  of 
Blackburn;  Fleming  of  Blackburn;  Feilden  of  Blackburn;  Birley  of 
Blackburn ;  Cardwell  of  Blackburn ;  Smalley  of  Over  Darwen ;  Eccles 
of  Lower  Darwen;  and,  somewhat  later,  the  Hornbys,  Pilkingtons, 
Rodgetts,  Liveseys,  Hopwoods,  and  Eccles  of  Blackburn ;  Shorrock  of 
Over  Darwen,  &c.  Notices  of  these  families  will  be  given  later  on  in  this 
history.  The  commercial  descriptions  applied  to  the  local  traders  were, 
in  succession,  those  of  "  chapman,"  "  merchant,"  "  sizer,"  and  "  cotton 
spinner  and  manufacturer,"  expressing  the  evolutions  of  the  manu- 
facture, from  the  time  antecedent  to  the  spinning  machine,  the  steam 
engine,  and  the  power-loom,  when  the  smaller  gentry  and  yeomanry  who 
had  accumulated  a  little  capital  employed  it  in  putting-out  material  and 
receiving  the  woven  pieces  from  the  handloom  weavers,  and  did  their 
business  in  warehouses  in  which  the  goods  were  stored  and  packed  for 
the  market,  down  to  the  present  highly-elaborated  mill  system,  in  which 
the  master-capitalist  and  the  perfected  machinery  leave  to  the  operative 
craftsman  so  comparatively  secondary  a  part  in  the  process  of  the 
manufacture. 

The  absorption  of  this  once  scattered  manufacture  into  the  factories 
involved  a  corresponding  concentration  of  labour  in  the  towns,  and  the 
migration  of  the  weaving  peasantry  from  the  rural  upland  townships 
into  the  towns  and  villages  of  the  valleys.  The  first  buildings  erected 
in  the  town  of  Blackburn  specifically  for  the  reception  of  cotton  spinning 
machinery  were  those  at  Wensley  Fold  and  at  Spring  Hill.  The  mill- 
building  on  Spring  Hill,  afterwards  called  "  Factory  Hill,"  is  the  oldest 
in  Blackburn  ;  the  place  was  built  by  a  Mr.  Anderton.  Robert  Hopwood, 


FIRST  COTTON  SPINNING  FIRMS  IN  BLACKBURN. 


231 


the  founder  of  the  great  firm  of  Hopwood  and  Sons  in  Blackburn,  came 
from  the  neighbourhood  of  Clitheroe  to  start  the  machinery  in  this  mill, 
and  lived  in  one  of  four  houses  adjacent.  Mr.  Anderton  cannot  have 
long  continued  in  occupancy,  for  it  is  stated  that  in  the  year  1797  this 
factory  was  being  worked  by  Mr.  Samuel  Horrocks,  brother  of  Mr.  John 
Horrocks,  afterwards  M.P.  for  Preston.  Mr.  Samuel  Horrocks  removed 
to  Preston,  and  the  place  was  afterwards  worked  by  Mr.  Richard 
Haworth.  The  building  remains,  and  is  a  small  brick  structure,  situated 
upon  the  rising  ground  to  the  east  of  Station-road. 

The  old  mill  at  Wensley-Fold,  near  the  western  boundary  of  the 
town,  demolished  a  few  years  ago,  was  built  sometime  before  1795. 
Baines  says  the  first  spinning  mill  at  Wensley  Fold  was  erected  before 
the  year  1779,  and  was  demolished  in  the  disturbances  of  that  year.  In 
1823  the  Wensley  Fold  factory  is  named  as  one  of  the  largest  in  Black- 
burn, and  as  employing  320  hands.  The  Wensley  Fold  Mills  afterwards 
passed  to  the  late  Mr.  William  Eccles. 

Several  other  spinning  mills  were  built  in  Blackburn  between  1800 
and  1825.  Mr.  James  Livesey,  father  of  Mr.  John  Livesey,  built  the  mill 
on  the  banks  of  the  Blakewater,  below  King-street  Bridge,  destroyed  by 
fire  in  May,  1840,  and  afterwards  rebuilt.  Mr.  William  Feilden,  of 
Feniscowles,  who  entered  Parliament  in  1832,  and  was  created  a  Baronet, 
commenced  an  extensive  cotton-spinning  business  in  the  factory  erected 
in  Harley-street,  the  original  portion  of  the  large  mills  now  carried  on  by 
Mr.  R.  R.  Jackson.  Mr.  William  Thorp  built  the  mill  called  King- 
street  Mill  •  and  Mr.  James  Rodgett  "the  old  stone  mill  on  the  canal- 
side  near  Eanam  Bridge.  These  were  all  the  considerable  mills  in 
Blackburn  in  the  year  1824.  A  little  later,  Messrs.  Hornby  and  Birley, 
who  had  for  a  number  of  years  carried  on  business  as  calico  manufac- 
turers and  merchants,  at  their  warehouse  in  Clayton-street,  erected  the 
first  spinning  mill  at  Brookhouse,  where  they  had  previously  a  size-house, 
a  small  stone  structure  which  has  but  lately  been  demolished  to  make 
room  for  enlargement  of  this  now  very  extensive  range  of  mills.  By  the 
improvements  in  machinery  subsequently  introduced  by  Mr.  Kenworthy, 
a  partner  with  the  Messrs.  Hornby,  the  Brookhouse  Mills  became  cele- 
brated in  the  trade. 

The  late  Mr.  Eccles  Shorrock,  of  Low  Hill  House,  Over  Darwen, 
was  the  first  cotton  spinner  on  a  large  scale  in  that  township.  It  was  by 
him  that  the  Bowling-green  Mill  was  built  at  the  south  end  of  Darwen 
about  forty  years  ago,  and  other  mills  subsequently,  and  he  was  the 
original  head  of  the  firm  which  built  the  splendid  India  Mills  in  Darwen, 
in  1866-7. 

The  "  Dandy  "  Factory  in  Blackburn,  erected  by  Messrs.  Bannister 


232  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Eccles  and  Co.,  about  1820,  derived  its  popular  appellation  from  the 
circumstance  of  the  introduction  there  of  an  improved  hand-loom,  in 
which  a  light  iron  frame  work  was  substituted  for  the  heavy  wooden 
frame  of  the  old  loom,  and  which  was  christened  the  "  dandy  "  loom  on 
account  of  its  neatness  and  compactness.  But  it  was,  I  believe,  at  the 
same  mill  that  the  invention  in  weaving  machinery  so  much  dreaded 
by  the  weavers  of  fifty  years  ago — the  power-loom — was  first  started  in 
Blackburn.  This  was  about  the  year  1825.  The  power-loom  had  then 
been  gradually  appearing  in  the  large  weaving-shops  of  the  Lancashire 
manufacturers  for  some  years,  and  had  already  been  subjected  to  the 
destructive  attacks  of  the  angered  weavers  in  West  Houghton  and  other 
places.  The  master-manufacturers  of  the  Blackburn  district,  remem- 
bering the  fury  with  which  the  hand-loom  weavers  had  opposed  the 
spinning  jennies  on  their  introduction,  were  slower  in  the  adoption 
of  the  power-loom  than  the  capitalists  engaged  in  the  textile  trades  in 
other  parts  of  England  ;  for,  while  it  was  computed  that  there  were  more 
than  12,000  power-looms  at  work  in  England  in  1820,  there  were  not 
probably  a  thousand  power-looms  in  all  the  factories  in  Blackburn 
Hundred  at  the  close  of  the  year  1825.  The  hand-looms  at  that  time 
numbered  many  thousands  in  the  district. 

It  was  an  untoward  coincidence  that  at  the  time  the  valuable  inven- 
tion of  the  power-loom  was  making  its  way  in  the  Lancashire  factories, 
the  trade  and  commerce  of  the  country  were  in  a  state  of  utter  stagna- 
tion. Great  numbers  of  the  peasantry  of  the  county,  wholly  dependent 
upon  the  occupation  of  calico-weaving  for  subsistence,  were  deprived  of 
this  employment ;  and  it  was  not  strange  that  the  half-starved  hand-loom 
weavers  should  regard  with  suspicion  a  new  invention  that  threatened  to 
aggravate  the  already  terrible  hardship  of  their  situation.  At  the  outset 
of  the  year  1826  the  condition  of  the  working-classes  in  Blackburn  was 
deplorable.  In  March,  1826,  a  computation  was  made  that  in  the 
townships  of  Blackburn,  Witton,  Lower  Darwen,  Rishton,  Mellor,  and 
part  of  Oswaldtwistle,  with  a  collective  population  of  about  32,000  souls, 
the  number  of  persons  depending  for  work  upon  the  cotton  manufacture 
was  10,686, — a  large  proportion  of  the  adult  and  adolescent  population 
of  these  townships;  and  that  the  state  of  employment  about  the  25th  of 
March,  1826,  was  as  follows: — Employed,  2,807;  half-employed,  1,467; 
unemployed,  6,412.  Thus  about  two-thirds  of  the  workfolk  in  the  Black- 
burn district  were  in  a  state  of  absolute  indigence.  The  results  of  this 
industrial  desolation  were  seen  at  first  in  aimless  and  desultory  acts  of 
violence.  On  the  night  of  March  24th,  the  residence  of  William  Carr, 
Esq.,  Clerk  to  the  County  Justices,  at  Shadsworth,  Blackburn,  was 
assaulted  by  a  mob  ;  and  for  this  offence  eight  of  the  ringleaders  were 


LOOM-BREAKING  RIOT  IN  1826. 


233 


apprehended  and  sent  to  prison.  Four  days  afterwards,  the  local 
journals  record,  March  28th,  1826,  that  at  Blackburn  one  of  the  market 
coaches  between  Blackburn  and  Manchester  was  pelted  with  stones,  by 
an  angry  crowd  of  people  in  the  street,  and  a  similar  incident  occurred 
on  the  22nd  of  April.  These  demonstrations  against  the  coaches  were, 
doubtless,  directed  against  the  local  merchants  and  manufacturers 
going  to  Manchester  to  market,  whom  the  hungry  people  supposed 
to  be  the  authors  of  all  their  misfortunes.  The  distressed  weavers  held 
assemblies,  took  counsel  of  their  fears,  and  came  to  the  resolution  to 
rise  and  destroy  the  power-looms  in  every  factory  in  which  they  were 
known  to  be  working. 

The  following  is  a  brief  record  of  the  incidents  of  the  loom-breaking 
disturbances: — On  the  forenoon  of  Monday,  April  24th,  1826,  amass 
meeting  of  weavers  was  held  on  Enfield  Moor,  a  convenient  rendezvous, 
being  near  the  junction  of  roads  from  Blackburn,  Burnley,  Whalley  and 
Clitheroe,  and  Haslingden  and  Accrington.  After  listening  to  several 
addresses,  the  crowd  was  detached  into  two  or  three  parties,  which  set 
forth  on  their  task  of  destruction.  Five  hundred  of  the  men  who  met 
at  Enfield  were  armed  with  rude  pikes  made  with  pieces  of  sharpened 
iron  attached  to  staves,  scythes,  sledge-hammers,  with  a  few  guns  and 
pistols.  A  body  of  the  rioters  proceeded  first  to  Accrington,  about 
noon,  broke  into  the  newly-built  mill  of  Messrs.  Sykes ;  and  in  less  than 
half  an  hour  had  broken  up  sixty  power-looms,  with  the  other  machinery, 
had  destroyed  the  warps  and  cloth  in  the  looms,  and  had  injured  the 
spinning  throstles  and  the  steam  engine.  The  shops  of  the  provision 
dealers  in  Accrington  were  plundered.  The  mob  went  on  to  Wood 
Nook,  and  broke  twenty  looms  at  work  there  ;  then  to  a  factory  of  Mr. 
Benjamin  Walmsley's,  at  Rough  Hey,  and  destroyed  twenty  looms ;  next 
the  rioters  marched  to  White  Ash  Mill,  belonging  to  Mr.  James  Bury, 
and  found  there  74  power  looms,  which  were  rapidly  reduced  to  frag- 
ments. From  White  Ash  the  mob,  of  some  6,000  men,  marched  in  the 
direction  of  Blackburn.  On  the  road  they  encountered  a  troop  of 
eighteen  dragoons  of  the  Queen's  Bays,  who  rode  through  the  mass,  but 
did  not  arrest  the  progress  of  the  insurgents.  On  reaching  Blackburn, 
by  Eanam  and  Salford,  the  mob  first  looked  about  for  refreshment.  A 
party  took  forcible  possession  of  the  Bay  Horse  Inn,  and  under  compul- 
sion the  landlady  served  a  large  quantity  of  drink,  and  gave  away  all  the 
bread  in  the  house.  The  work  of  devastation  was  resumed  at  the  Dandy 
Factory,  off  Darwen-street,  belonging  to  Messrs.  Bannister  Eccles  and 
Co.  Here  212  power  looms  were  found  and  smashed.  This  was  about 
three  o'clock-  in  the  afternoon.  Immediately  after  the  mob  and  the 
military  came  into  collision  in  Darwen-street.  The  rioters  began  the 


234 


HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


fray  by  stoning  the  dragoons,  and  one  soldier  was  seriously  hurt.  The 
Riot  Act  was  read  at  half-past  three  o'clock.  While  a  number  of  the 
rioters  were  still  within  the  mill  of  Messrs.  Eccles,  completing  the  work 
of  breakage,  the  detachment  of  cavalry  had  managed  to  surround  the 
building,  and  some  of  the  men  inside  the  place,  finding  their  exit  barred, 
leaped  out  of  a  second  storey  window  and  escaped  across  the  Blake- 
water,  where  no  soldiers  were  posted.  The  main  body  of  the  rioters 
proceeded  to  the  factory  of  Messrs.  Feilden,  Thorp,  and  Townley,  in 
King-street,  which  was  built  for  the  reception  of  power-looms,  but  none 
of  the  new  machines  had  yet  been  set  up,  and  the  building  was  left 
untouched  by  the  mob.  Another  body  of  the  weavers  went  up  to  a  small 
mill  of  Mr.  John  Houghton's,  in  Grimshaw  Park,  and  destroyed  twenty- 
five  power-looms  in  that  manufactory,  in  spite  of  the  attempted  interpo- 
sition of  the  military.  The  warps  and  twist  in  the  place  were  thrown 
into  the  canal.  Here  there  was  bloodshed  and  loss  of  life,  for  the  mob 
having  again  stoned  the  soldiers,  some  of  them  fired  off  their  carbines, 
by  which  one  rioter  was  shot  dead,  another  was  severely  wounded 
in  the  back,  and  a  third  was  shot  through  the  ear,  the  ball  passing  out 
at  the  mouth.  There  were  other  fatalities  during  the  conflict. 

In  the  evening  of  the  day,  ten  thousand  excited  weavers  triumphantly 
paraded  the  streets  of  Blackburn,  and  were  able  to  say  that  not  a  single 
power-loom  in  the  neighbourhood  had  been  left  unbroken.  The  Riot 
Act  was  again  read,  and  at  eight  o'clock  the  dragoons  were  bidden  to 
clear  the  streets,  which  was  done  by  charging  through  the  crowd  and 
striking  the  rioters  with  the  flat  edge  of  the  soldiers'  sabres. 

On  Wednesday,  April  26th,  the  demolition  of  all  the  power-looms 
at  work  in  Rossendale  was  carried  out  by  a  similar  mob.  Altogether  in 
Rossendale  215  power-looms  were  broken  up,  and  other  damage  inflicted. 
The  rioters  also  visited  Darwen,  and  broke  thirty-six  looms  in  the  factory 
of  Mr.  James  Garsden,  and  sixteen  in  that  of  Messrs.  Carr.  Throughout 
the  Hundred  of  Blackburn  the  total  number  of  looms  destroyed  was 
768,  and  the  estimate  of  the  damage  committed,  which  was  subsequently 
recovered  from  the  County  authorities,  was  ^11,593  i6s.  ud.,  besides 
the  sums  of  ^4,458  for  the  219  looms  and  other  machinery  destroyed 
in  Salford  Hundred,  and  of  ^489  for  100  looms  broken  in  the  factory 
of  Mr.  Sudell  at  Chorley  in  Leyland  Hundred.  Some  of  the  losses 
sustained  were  not  included  in  the  above  category  of  claims  at  the 
County  Sessions,  and  it  was  computed  that  in  all  nearly  1,000  looms 
were  destroyed,  and  that  the  aggregate  value  of  the  property  ruined 
approached  ^30,000. 

For  the  offences  committed  in  the  course  of  these  lawless  proceed- 
ings a  number  of  the  rioters  were  indicted  at  the  Lancaster  Assizes  in 


THE  DISTRESS  IN  1826. 


235 


the  August  succeeding  the  riots.  Of  the  batches  of  Blackburn  prisoners 
several  were  acquitted,  and  the  following  were  convicted  and  sentenced 
to  imprisonment  : — James  Chambers,  Simeon  Wright,  Richard  Entwistle, 
William  Winder,  John  Howard,  James  Riding,  William  Sutcliffe,  Richard 
Kay,  James  Latham,  James  Ormerod,  and  James  Howard.  The  six 
last-named  were  particularly  charged  with  having  taken  part  in  breaking 
the  looms  at  the  mill  of  Bannister  Eccles  and  Co.  The  evidence  of  the 
late  Mr.  Eccles  Shorrock,  one  of  the  partners,  describes  what  took  place 
at  this  manufactory  during  the  riots  : — 

Mr.  Eccles  Shorrock  deposed  : — I  had  a  cotton  mill  in  Blackburn,  in  April  last, 
for  spinning  and  weaving  by  power  looms.  My  partners  were,  Bannister  Eccles, 
Joseph  Eccles,  and  John  Eccles.  On  the  I4th  of  April  last,  about  three  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon,  I  saw  a  mob  of  persons  coming  towards  my  mill.  The  outer  gates  and 
the  doors  of  the  lower  rooms,  containing  212  power  looms,  a  lathe,  and  other  machinery, 
were  locked.  In  the  upper  rooms  there  were  dressing  machines.  The  looms  in  the 
lower  rooms  were  fastened  down  to  the  stone  floor  by  a  hole  drilled  into  the  stone,  and 
a  wooden  peg  driven  into  it.  The  power  of  motion  is  communicated  to  those  looms 
by  a  steam  engine,  which  is  on  the  premises.  The  mob  consisted  of  several  hundred 
persons.  After  they  broke  open  the  gates,  one  party  formed  to  the  side  of  the  mill. 
That  party,  consisting  of  about  thirty  persons,  were  armed  with  pikes.  There  was  an 
equal  number  similarly  armed  on  the  other  side  of  the  mill.  Others  of  the  party  broke 
in  the  doors  of  the  mill,  which  I  entered  in  about  thirty-five  minutes  afterwards.  I 
was  in  the  warehouse,  which  overlooks,  and  I  saw  the  people  break  into  the  mill,  and 
shortly  afterwards  they  brought  out  the  twist  beams  (part  of  the  power-loom),  and 
several  pieces  of  cloth  which  had  been  in  the  looms.  The  cloth  was  torn  in  the  yard 
in  the  presence  of  the  mob.  The  doors  appeared  as  if  they  had  been  broken  by  large 
hammers.  The  looms  in  the  lower  rooms  were  all  broken.  The  cast-iron  wheels  and 
the  drums  of  the  engine  were  broken.  It  would  require  considerable  force  to  break 
them.  The  shafts  were  thrown  down,  but  they  being  made  of  wrought  iron,  about  an 
inch  and  a  quarter  in  diameter,  could  not  be  broken.  The  shafts  were  in  cups  or 
gallowses,  which  must  either  have  been  broken  or  forced  before  the  shafts  could  be 
thrown  down. 

After  these  disturbances  the  commercial  depression  increased 
rather  than  diminished,  and  the  state  of  the  working  population  in  the 
district  was  for  many  months  most  distressing.  The  poor  rates  were 
enormously  high,  and  the  machinery  of  the  Poor  Law  being  unequal 
to  the  necessity,  a  public  subscription  was  inaugurated.  The  King 
(George  IV.)  kindly  forwarded,  through  the  first  Sir  Robert  Peel,  a 
donation  of  ,£1,000  for  the  relief  of  the  starving  weavers  of  Blackburn 
and  the  neighbourhood.  The  adult  male  indigent  were  employed 
during  the  distress  in  cutting  a  road  through  the  rock  on  the  summit  of 
Revidge  hill,  and  at  this  spot  a  memorial  stone  is  inscribed  : — "  Mount 
Pleasant,  Revedge. — The  Road  at  this  Place  was  made  by  removing 
the  Rock  during  the  Distress  in  1826  &  7." 

In  the  interval  of  half-a-century,  from  1826  to  the  present  time,  the 


236  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

cotton  manufacture,  stimulated  and  facilitated  by  the  continuous 
improvements  of  steam-driven  spinning  and  weaving  machines,  and  by 
the  organisation  of  the  factory  system,  has  become  the  chief  productive 
industry  and  means  of  popular  subsistence  in  this  as  in  many  other 
Lancashire  parishes.  With  the  decline  of  calico  printing,  the  district 
has  been  rendered  almost  solely  dependent  upon  cotton  spinning  and 
manufacturing  for  its  commercial  prosperity  and  importance ;  and  albeit 
the  cotton  trade  has  been  liable  to  periodical  panics  and  suspensions, 
which  while  they  lasted  greatly  afflicted  all  classes  of  the  people,1  the 
substantial  increase  of  local  wealth  by  this  commerce  is  everywhere 
visible.  Blackburn  parish  at  this  date  contains,  besides  the  chief  seats 
of  the  cotton  trade  in  the  large  towns  of  Blackburn  and  Over  Darwen, 
the  considerable  manufacturing  villages  of  Great  Harwood,  Rishton, 
Lower  Darwen,  Hoddlesden,  Cherrytree-in-Livesey,  Bamber  Bridge  and 
Moon's  Mill  in  Walton  township,  and  Walton  village  ;  and  there  are  also 
a  number  of  isolated  cotton  mills  in  the  townships  of  Billington,  Mellor, 
Samlesbury,  Eccleshill,  and  Tockholes.  The  only  townships  in  the 
parish  exclusively  given  up  to  agriculture  are  those  of  Pleasington, 
Yate-and-Pickup-Bank,  Ramsgreave,  Wilpshire,  Dinkley,  Salesbury, 
Clayton-in-le-Dale,  Osbaldeston,  Balderstone,  and  Cuerdale,  having 
a  population  of  3,281  only  of  the  132,744  in  the  whole  parish  at  the 
Census  of  1871.  At  the  same  Census  in  the  Registration  District  of 
Blackburn  (which  takes  in  Oswaldtwistle  "without  the  parish  (14,733)  but 
excludes  Walton  (9,057),  representing  an  industrial  district  of  which  the 
town  of  Blackburn  is  the  centre,  its  total  population  being  143,810 
persons  of  all  ages),  of  74,760  persons  aged  20  and  upwards,  there  were 
entered: — of  the  Professional  Class  1,065;  Domestic  Class  20,829; 
Commercial  Class  2,055;  Agricultural  Class  2,030;  Industrial  Class 
45,629;  Indefinite  and  non-productive  Class  3,152.  The  Industrial 
Class  includes  3,804  males,  15  females,  engaged  in  Mechanic  produc- 
tions;  16,799  males,  18,552  females,  engaged  in  making  textile  fabrics 
and  dress;  3,488  males,  17  females,  working  in  minerals  (coalmines 
and  stone  quarries).  The  35,351  adults  working  in  textile  fabrics  are 
nearly  all  engaged  in  the  various  occupations  of  the  cotton  manufacture, 
and  to  them  must  be  added  about  an  equal  number  of  juvenile  workers, 

i  There  was  great  local  distress  by  reason  of  the  depression  of  the  staple  trade  in  1847,  and  again 
in  1857.  Through  the  terrible  Cotton  Famine  of  1861-5,  the  Blackburn  district  suffered  excessively  ; 
and  at  the  worst  strait  of  the  distress,  towards  the  end  of  the  year  1862,  in  the  town  of  Blackburn  alone 
32,000  persons  had  become  dependent  upon  charity.  The  Blackburn  Relief  Committee  distributed 
about  .£100,000  in  relief  during  the  famine;  the  Corporation  paid  ,£12,500  for  labour  of  factory  workers; 
and  the  Poor  Law  Guardians  expended  in  relief  in  Blackburn  nearly  .£70,000.  The  charity  of  the 
religious  bodies,  and  of  private  individuals,  over  and  above  these  general  payments,  was  extensive. 
Full  and  exact  details  of  this  period  of  abeyance  in  trade  have  been  recorded  by  Mr.  William  Gourlay, 
in  his  excellent  "  History  of  the  Distress  in  Blackburn,  1861-5,"  8vo.,  1865. 


ANCIENT  AND  MODERN  ROADS.  237 

from  8  to  20  years  of  age,  the  services  of  young  persons  and  children 
being  more  largely  used  in  the  Blackburn  district  than  elsewhere  in  this 
trade,  by  reason  of  the  weaving  department  being  here  the  principal 
branch  pursued,  and  requiring  more  young  workers  than  the  spinning 
branch.  Within  the  strict  limits  of  Blackburn  parish  in  the  year  1875, 
not  fewer  than  55,000  persons  of  all  ages  were  at  work  in  the  cotton 
mills  and  subsidiary  trades,  of  whom  36,000  were  engaged  in  the  factories 
in  the  townships  of  Blackburn,  Witton,  Livesey,  &c.,  forming  constituents 
of  the  town  proper  of  Blackburn ;  9,000  in  Over  Darwen  and  Hoddlesden ; 
and  the  remaining  10,000  in  Great  Harwood,  Rishton,  Lower  Darwen, 
and  Walton  townships,  &c.  The  machinery  for  the  production  of  cotton 
cloths  in  the  parish  would  be  represented  roundly  by  2,000,000 
spindles  and  70,000  power  looms ;  driven  by  steam  engines  whose 
collective  power  would  amount  probably  to  1 5,000  horse-power. 

ANCIENT  ROADS  AND  MODERN  ROAD  IMPROVEMENTS. 

Down  to  about  a  century  ago,  good  public  roads  were  a  conveni- 
ence almost  unknown  in  Lancashire.  No  English  county  was  more 
notorious  for  the  badness  of  its  highways,  The  local  road  system  as  it 
existed  before  the  first  of  the  new  road  trusts  came  into  being  is  not 
now  easy  to  trace  out.  A  few  of  the  ancient  lines  of  highway  have  been 
followed  by  the  new  roads  through  their  entire  length,  but  these  have 
been  transformed  by  widening,  straightening,  levelling,  and  paving. 
Others  of  the  original  roads  coalesce  with  the  modern  highways  at  some 
points,  and  elsewhere  are  only  to  be  discovered  in  isolated  remains, 
inclosed  between  high  hedges,  choked  with  bramble,  and  rarely  trodden 
by  human  foot.  Other  old  lines  of  road  have  been,  abandoned  entirely 
for  new  routes  of  directer  course  and  easier  gradient.  An  observation 
of  some  undisturbed  stretch  of  forsaken  upland  road  illustrates  the 
opposite  principles  of  ancient  and  modern  road  structure.  The  old 
roads,  being  generally  intended  merely  for  use  by  travellers  on  foot  and 
horseback,  in  hilly  districts  were  frequently  carried  along  the  summit  of 
the  ridges,  so  as  to  escape  the  necessity  for  building  strong  bridges  to 
cross  the  streams  that  augment  on  the  lower  ground.  The  roads  were 
apparently  made  by  digging  out  the  earth  until  the  rock  was  reached, 
where  the  substratum  was  rock,  and  by  using  the  soil  thus  removed  to 
make  a  high  copse  on  both  sides  of  the  road.  The  level  of  the  road  is 
thus  often  several  feet  below  that  of  the  land  on  either  side,  and  forming 
an  open  channel  for  the  drainage  of  the  fields  abutting,  becomes  more 
like  a  mountain  beck  than  a  highway  in  the  rainy  season.  These  old 
roads  were  very  narrow, — not  more  than  one-fourth  the  width  of  some 
of  the  modern  turnpikes  ;  and  seem  to  have  been  seldom  repaired,  nor 


238  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

more  scientifically  than  by  the  deposit  of  unbroken  boulder  stones  in 
the  larger  holes  and  ruts. 

The  most  important  ancient  road  in  the  district  was  the  highway 
from  Preston  to  Blackburn,  Burnley,  and  Colne,  into  West  Yorkshire. 
The  road  crossed  the  Ribble  at  Walton  Bridge,  and  the  Darwen  over 
Darwen  Bridge,  in  the  village  of  Walton,  and  branched  from  the  Wigan 
Road  near  Cuerden  Green.  The  road  then  wound,  as  now,  round  the 
southern  side  of  Hoghton  Tower  Hill  to  Riley  Green  and  Feniscowles, 
through  the  townships  of  Livesey  and  Witton,  to  Blackburn.  From 
Blackburn  the  road  proceeded  by  Whitebirk  through  the  townships  of 
Rishton  and  Clayton-in-les-Moors,  to  Altham,  and  crossing  the  Calder  at 
Altham  Bridge,  passed  through  Padiham,  and  so  on  the  skirts  of  the 
Ightenhill  demesne  to  Burnley.  The  present  route  from  Preston  to 
Blackburn,  and  from  Blackburn  to  Burnley,  follows  generally  the  old 
line  of  road,  but  these  roads  have  been  so  greatly  improved  under  the 
provisions  of  road  trusts  that  it  is  impossible  to  realise  their  former 
condition.  Traces  of  several  wayside  crosses  betoken  the  antiquity  of 
this  east  and  west  route  through  the  Hundred. 

From  Blackburn  to  Preston  there  was  a  second  but  indifferent 
road  by  way  of  Ribblesdale.  Some  remains  of  this  road  are  still  visible, 
though  the  old  track  was  in  several  parts  obliterated  by  the  construction 
of  the  new  Preston  turnpike  in  1825.  The  old  road  left  the  town  of 
Blackburn  at  Little  Peel,  and  ascended  Duke's  Brow  to  Revidge ; 
continued  down  the  other  slope  to  Beardwood ;  near  Beardwood  are 
still  two  hedge-bound  portions  of  this  disused  road,  from  which  a  notion 
may  be  formed  of  its  pristine  character.  Forward,  the  road  is  covered 
for  some  distance  by  the  new  one,  but  it  reappears  in  the  vicinity  of 
Mellor,  and  trends  to  the  west  through  the  township  of  Samlesbury  by 
Samlesbury  Green.  It  reached  the  Ribble  opposite  Brockholes,  which 
was  crossed  by  a  ford  or  ferry. 

The  road  from  Blackburn  in  a  south-westerly  direction,  through 
Tockholes  to  Longworth  and  Sharpies,  is  one  of  considerable  age,  and 
was  anciently  the  only  available  road  from  Blackburn  to  Bolton. 

The  ancient  road  from  Blackburn  into  the  valley  of  the  Irwell, 
to  Bury  and  Manchester  (following  closely  the  track  of  the  Roman 
road  built  by  Agricola)  rises  out  of  the  valley  at  Blackburn,  and  having 
topped  the  ridge  at  Lower  Darwen,  maintains  the  summit  level  through 
Eccleshill  and  Blacksnape,  and  enters  the  Hundred  of  Salford  at  Grime 
Hills.  This  road  is  continued  in  the  opposite  direction  from  Black- 
burn up  Shire  Brow,  and  there  divides  into  two  roads,  one  by  Rams- 
greave  Heights  to  Showley  and  Ribchester,  and  the  other  by  the  hamlet 
of  Pleckgate  in  the  direction  of  Salesbury. 


ANCIENT  AND  MODERN  ROADS. 


239 


The  old  road  from  Blackburn  to  Whalley  and  Clitheroe  proceeded 
by  Cob  Wall,  behind  Little  Harwood  Hall,  and  past  Bank  Hey  to  the 
top  of  Wilpshire  Moor  at  Snodworth  Cross,  continuing  along  the  ridge 
of  Billington  Moor  to  the  Nab  (where  it  is  now  called  the  Old  Nab-road), 
and,  bending  to  the  north,  descends  the  Nab  very  steeply  to  Calder 
Bridge  at  the  entrance  to  Whalley.  From  Whalley  to  Clitheroe  the 
road  formerly  deviated  from  the  direct  line  of  the  existing  highway, 
passing  by  Standen  Hall  to  the  Four  Lane  Ends,  where  is  the  base  of 
an  ancient  wayside  Cross,  and  then  turning  towards  Clitheroe  by  the 
Pendleton  and  Clitheroe  road. 

Another  ancient  road  in  the  Parish  that  should  be  mentioned  is 
one  which  crosses  the  valley  of  the  Darwen  from  east  to  west,  beginning 
at  Pickup  Bank  heights  and  ending  among  the  opposite  hills  of  Tockholes 
township.  Tradition  says  it  was  once  the  only  road  across  this  part  of 
the  country  from  Preston  to  Haslingden,  and  it  is  most  likely  a  portion 
of  that  old  pack-horse  road  called  the  "  Limersgate,"  which  traversed 
the  northern  side  of  the  Forest  of  Rossendale,  and  is  said  to  have  been 
at  one  time  the  principal  means  of  communication  between  the  west  of 
Lancashire  and  the  eastern  side  of  the  kingdom.1  The  road  descends 
from  Pickup  Bank  heights,  and  entering  Long  Hey  Lane  a  little  to  the 
south  of  the  Independent  School,  crosses  Pickup  Bank  Brook  into  the 
township  of  Over  Darwen,  a  short  distance  from  the  village  of  Hod- 
dlesden.  The  track  successively  passes  Meadowhead  Farm  and 
Langshaw  Head ;  it  then  proceeds  by  Whitehall  to  Bury  Fold,  and  past 
Astley  Bank  to  Radfield  Fold.  The  road  is  continued  from  Radfield 
along  the  slope  of  Darwen  Moor  to  Sunnyhurst  Clough,  where  it  crosses, 
the  Lglen  and  ascends  Winter  Hill  into  Tockholes  township,  which  it 
crosses  in  a  westerly  direction.  There  are  some  traces  of  the  old  road 
from  Blackburn  to  Darwen  through  Lower  Darwen  and  Darwen  Chapels. 

Between  the  years  1770  and  1780  the  first  projects  were  started 
for  the  reconstruction  of  the  road  system  of  this  part  of  the  country. 
In  the  adjoining  parts  of  Yorkshire,  the  celebrated  blind  road-maker, 
John  Metcalf,  known  popularly  as  "Blind  Jack  of  Knaresborough," 
had  been  employed  in  making  some  new  public  roads,  one  of  the  first 
being  the  road  between  Harrogate  and  Boroughbridge,  completed  about 
the  year  1766.  John  Metcalf,  though  totally  blind,  had  displayed 
so  much  skill  in  this  department  of  engineering  during  the  construc- 
tion of  the  Yorkshire  roads  that  his  fame  extended  into  Lancashire,  and 
his  success  encouraged  Lancashire  capitalists,  sorely  in  need  of  roads 
for  the  conveyance  of  their  merchandise,  to  promote  schemes  for  the 
accomplishment  of  this  object. 

i  Old  Roads,  &c..  of  Darwen,  by  W.  T.  Ashton,  p.  6. 


240 


HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


Several  of  the  main  roads  in  the  Hundred  east  of  Blackburn  were 
made  under  the  plans  of  Metcalf,  including  the  new  roads  from  Black- 
burn to  Haslingden,  from  Bury  to  Haslingden,  from  Haslingden  to 
Accrington,  and  from  Burnley  to  Colne.  Metcalf's  first  undertaking  in 
the  district  was  the  road  from  Blackburn  to  Haslingden  and  Bury, 
which  surmounts  the  hills  of  Lower  Danven  and  Oswaldtwistle,  passing 
through  Haslingden  Grane  into  the  valley  of  the  Irwell.  This  road  was 
planned  about  the  year  1789.  Though  traversing  high  ground,  and 
crossing  a  wild  moorland,  it  is  an  excellent  road,  and  not  difficult  for 
cart  traffic.  This  road  was  a  portion  of  the  undertaking  of  the  Elton 
-and  Blackburn  Trust.  The  road  between  Haslingden  and  Accrington, 
with  a  branch  to  Bury,  is  stated  by  Mr.  Smiles  to  have  been  the  last 
line  of  road  built  by  Metcalf,  and  it  was  also  "  one  of  the  most  difficult 
he  had  undertaken."  Among  the  ancient  roads  improved  about  the 
same  period  was  that  of  the  Old  Preston  and  Blackburn  turnpike, 
diverted,  widened  and  re-bridged  under  the  provisions  of  the  Black- 
burn and  Walton  Cop  Trust ;  and  by  another  Trust  the  old  road 
from  Blackburn  to  Burnley  was  entirely  transformed.  About  the  year 
1798  an  important  new  road  from  Blackburn  to  Bolton  was  carried 
along  the  upper  portion  of  the  Darwen  Valley,  through  the  town  of  Over 
Darwen,  by  the  Bolton  and  Blackburn  Road  Trust ;  and  more  recently  a 
useful  road  was  carried  from  Walton  Bridge,  through  the  southern  town- 
ships of  Ribblesdale,  to  Whalley,  in  connection  with  which  are  branches 
from  Blackburn  to  Whalley  and  from  Whalley  to  Clitheroe.  Two 
essential  modern  lines  of  road  remain  to  be  mentioned,  both  of  which 
were  carried  out  some  fifty  years  ago,  viz.,  the  new  route  from  Black- 
burn to  Accrington  by  way  of  Knuzden  and  Church  Kirk,  and  forward 
from  Accrington  to  Burnley  by  Huncoat  and  Habergham  Eaves  j  and 
the  new  Blackburn  and  Preston  road  through  Mellor  and  Samlesbury. 
The  first  of  these  is  a  much  shorter  line  from  Blackburn  to  Burnley  than 
the  older  route  by  Rishton,  Clayton-in-les-Moors,  and  Padiham.  The 
Preston  New  Road,  constructed  in  1825,  brought  the  town  of  Blackburn 
within  eight  miles  and  a  half  of  Preston  by  the  highway,  instead  of 
eleven  miles  by  the  ancient  road  through  Livesey,  Hoghton,  and  Walton. 
Twenty  years  after  the  latest  of  these  excellent  roads  was  opened,  the 
first  Railroad  through  the  district  was  completed,  and  thereby  a 
revolution  in  the  system  of  inland  conveyance  was  inaugurated.  But  in 
spite  of  the  celerity  of  transport  offered  by  the  Railway  Companies,  the 
good  roads  which  had  been  previously  made  in  every  part  of  the  country 
have  not  lost  their  utility.  They  are  still  well-travelled,  and  the  tolls 
usually  suffice  for  the  maintenance  of  the  roads  in  repair. 

The  Journals  of  the   House  of  Commons  contain  the  following 


CONSTRUCTION  OF  ROADS  AND  CANAL. 


241 


notices  of  Petitions  and  Bills  relating  to  some  of  the  earlier  schemes  for 
the  construction  or  re-construction  of  local  roads  submitted  to  Parlia- 
ment, and  for  which  Acts  were  obtained  : — 

In  the  l6th  Geo.  III.  (1776)  a  Bill  was  presented  for  "repairing  and  widening 
the  Road  from  the  Market  Cross  in  the  Township  of  Clitheroe,  to  Salford  Bridge  in 
the  Town  of  Blackburn." — In  the  2Qth  Geo.  III.  (1789),  a  petition  was  laid  before 
Parliament  of  Gentlemen,  Clergy,  Freeholders,  and  others,  showing  "that  the  Roads 
from  the  Town  of  Bury  to  the  Town  of  Haslingden,  and  from  thence  to  the  Town  of 
Blackburn,  &c. ,  are  in  a  ruinous  state,  narrow,  and  incommodious,  and  it  would  be 
advantageous  to  the  neighbourhood,  and  of  public  utility,  if  the  same  were  properly 
amended,  widened,  and  kept  in  repair."  A  Bill  was  introduced  the  same  year,  "for 
amending,  widening,  turning,  varying,  altering,  and  keeping  in  repair,  the  Road  from 
a  certain  Dwelling-house  in  Bury,  now  or  late  in  the  occupation  of  Wm.  Walker, 
Gentleman,  to  Haslingden,  and  from  thence  to  the  east  end  of  Salford  Bridge,  in 
Blackburn,  and  also  the  Road  from  Haslingden  aforesaid  to  the  east  end  of  Cockshutt 
Bridge,  in  the  Town  of  Whalley,  and  also  the  Road  from  Haslingden  aforesaid, 
through  Newchurch  and  Bacup,  to  Todmorden. " — In  the  33rd  Geo.  III.  (i793)>  Sir 
Henry  Hoghton  presented  a  Bill,  which  was  passed,  "for  more  effectually  repairing 
the  road  from  Blackburn  to  Burscough  Bridge." — On  the  I4th  Feb.,  1797,  a  Petition 
of  Merchants,  Landowners,  Manufacturers  of  Cotton,  &c. ,  living  in  Blackburn,  Over 
Darwen,  and  Bolton,  was  presented  to  the  House,  setting  forth  that  the  road  leading 
from  Bolton  through  the  village  of  Over  Darwen  to  Blackburn  was  a  high-road,  about 
fifteen  miles  in  length,  in  which  were  several  steep  hills,  some  rising  seven  inches  at 
the  yard  ;  that  the  same  road  was  very  indirect  and  circuitous,  with  many  windings 
and  turnings,  and  "in  many  places  so  narrow,  bad,  and  founderous,  that  carts  and 
carriages  loaded  cannot  pass  to  and  from  the  said  towns  of  Bolton  and  Blackburn 
without  much  difficulty  ;"  that  the  said  road  might  be  diverted  and  shortened  to  twelve 
miles,  with  gradients  of  not  more  than  two  inches  in  the  yard  ;  but  could  not  be 
widened  or  amended  by  the  laws  in  being,  which  was  to  the  danger  of  passengers,  to 
the  prejudice  of  trade  in  general,  and  especially  of  the  Cotton  Manufactures  carried  on 
in  Blackburn  and  Bolton  and  the  villages  between  ;  and  praying  that  leave  be  given 
to  straighten,  widen,  divert,  and  amend  the  said  road,  and  to  erect  turnpikes  upon  it. 
A  Bill  was  passed  the  same  Session  providing  for  the  reconstruction  of  this  important 
road-communication. 

In  the  BLACKBURN  MAIL  for  August,  1797,  it  was  notified  that  on  Friday, 
August  25th,  "at  the  house  of  John  Haworth,  the  sign  of  the  Golden  Cup,  in 
Lower  Darwen,"  would  be  let  "the  forming,  fencing,  and  making  a  Road  from 
the  Golden  Cup  to  the  top  of  Fearnhurst  Eyes,  being  about  90  perches  ;"  plans  to  be 
seen  at  Mr.  Pettinger's,  surveyor,  Bolton,  and  information  to  be  had  also  from  Mr. 
Edward  Haworth,  of  Turton,  attorney-at-law,  and  Mr.  Thomas  Eccles,  of  Lower 
Darwen. 


PROJECTION  AND  CONSTRUCTION  OF  THE  LEEDS  AND  LIVERPOOL 

CANAL. 

A  bolder  undertaking  than  road-making,  in  fact,  the  greatest  public 
work  executed  in  Lancashire  before  the  era  of  railroads,  was  the 
construction  of  a  navigable  canal  between  Liverpool  and  Leeds, 

16 


242  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

connecting  the  River  Mersey  flowing  into  the  Irish  Sea  with  the  Aire, 
which  passes  into  the  German  Ocean.  The  most  difficult  engineering 
works  upon  this  Canal  are  over  that  section  of  it  which  traverses  the 
Hundred  of  Blackburn. 

Haifa  century  elapsed  between  the  adoption  of  the  project  of  this 
canal  and  its  completion.  Mr.  Longbottom,  of  Halifax,  the  author  of 
the  scheme,  surveyed  the  country  between  Leeds  and  Liverpool,  and 
laid  his  plans  before  a  number  of  capitalists  in  the  two  counties.  A 
committee  of  gentry  eventually  resolved  to  submit  the  question  of  the 
practicability  of  the  canal  to  Mr.  Brindley,  the  ablest  engineer  of  that 
day.  Brindley  made  an  independent  survey  of  the  country  to  be 
traversed  by  the  proposed  canal,  and  reported  to  meetings  at  Liverpool 
and  Bradford,  in  December,  1768.  The  eminent  engineer  pronounced 
the  scheme  feasible,  and  gave  as  the  estimate  of  its  cost  a  sum  of 
£2 59, 7 7 7-  The  canal  as  planned  was  to  be  103^  miles  in  length; 
with  a  width  of  42  feet  at  the  top,  and  a  general  depth  of  five  feet.  An 
Act  of  Parliament  was  obtained  for  the  work  in  the  loth  Geo.  III. 
(1770).  The  canal  as  scheduled  was  to  commence  at  Leeds  Bridge, 
and  to  continue  along  the  Aire  valley  by  Armley  to  Shipley,  with  a 
branch  thence  to  Bradford ;  onward  by  the  same  valley  to  Bingley, 
Keighley,  and  Skipton ;  from  Skipton  to  near  Barnoldswick  on  the 
Lancashire  border,  where  the  canal  attains  its  summit  level  of  411  feet 
above  the  Aire  at  Leeds,  distant  41  miles.  Of  that  part  of  the  canal 
which  passes  through  East  Lancashire  the  course  is  indicated  as 
follows  : — 

The  canal  passes  by  Barnoldswick  and  Salterford  to  Foulridge,  where  the  great 
tunnel  commences,  whose  height  is  1 8  feet,  width  17  feet,  and  the  length  1,640  yards. 
The  surface  of  the  ground  on  the  highest  part  over  the  tunnel  is  at  an  elevation  of  60 
feet  above  the  water  in  the  tunnel.  Within  a  little  distance  of  the  tunnel  are  two 
reservoirs,  for  the  supply  of  the  canal,  which  cover  104  acres  of  land,  and  will  contain 
1,200,000  cubic  yards  of  water.  From  Foulridge  the  canal  proceeds  to  near  Barrow- 
ford,  where  it  locks  down  from  the  summit  7°  fe£t  towards  Liverpool,  crosses  Colne 
Water  by  an  aqueduct,  passes  near  Carr  Hall  (a  seat  of  Colonel  Clayton's)  and 
Dancer  House,  to  the  town  of  Burnley,  which  it  circumscribes  on  three  sides,  and  at 
which  place  an  embankment  is  carried  for  1,256  yards  in  length,  at  above  60  feet  high, 
and  aqueducts  made  over  the  Rivers  Brun  and  Calder,  and  a  road  aqueduct  under 
the  canal ;  thence  the  canal  proceeds  to  near  Gannah,  where  there  is  another  tunnel 
559  yards  in  length ;  thence  by  Hapton,  Altham,  Clayton  Hall,  Enfield  to  Church 
Valley,  whence  Messrs.  Peel's  short  branch  runs  to  their  print  works  at  Church  ;  now 
crossing  the  river  Hindburn  by  an  aqueduct, -the  main  line  proceeds  past  Rishton  and 
White  Birk  to  the  town  of  Blackburn,  sweeping  on  the  south  side  of  this  town  to  a 
place  called  Grimshaw  Park,  where  by  six  locks  there  is  a  fall  of  54  feet  3  inches  ; 
thence  passing  over  the  Dei-went  [Darwen]  Water  by  an  aqueduct  it  runs  by  Livesey 
Hall,  and  passing  Roddlesworth  Water  by  another  aqueduct,  proceeds  to  near  Chorley  ; 


CONSTRUCTION  OF  CANAL  AND  RAILROADS. 


243 


thence  to  Copthurst  Valley,  and  here  locking  down  64  feet  6  inches  by  seven  locks  into 
the  head  level  of  the  Lancaster  Canal,  at  Johnson's  Hillock,  &C.1 

This  length  of  the  Canal,  from  Foulridge  near  Colne  to  Roddies- 
worth  Water,  which  is  the  S.W.  boundary  of  Blackburn  Parish,  thus 
required  two  long  tunnels,  three  supply  reservoirs  (at  Foulridge  and 
Rishton) ;  seven  massive  stone  aqueducts ;  two  embankments  (at 
Burnley  and  below  Blackburn) ;  and  series  of  locks  at  Barrowford  and 
Blackburn,  by  which  the  level  of  the  canal  is  lowered  124  feet. 

By  the  Act  of  loth  Geo.  III.  (1770)  the  Leeds  and  Liverpool 
Canal  Company  were  empowered  to  raise  a  capital  of  £26o,-ooo  for  the 
construction  of  this  work,  with  further  power  to  raise  an  additional 
£60,000  if  necessary.  In  July,  1770,  the  work  was  begun  simultaneously 
at  the  Leeds  and  Liverpool  extremities,  under  the  superintendence  of 
Mr.  Longbottom,  and  by  the  year  1777  thirty-three  miles  of  the  canal, 
from  Leeds  to  Holmbridge  near  Gargrave,  on  the  Yorkshire  side,  and 
twenty-eight  miles,  from  Liverpool  to  Newburgh,  on  the  Lancashire  side, 
had  been  opened  for  navigation.  The  cost  of  these  two  sections  had 
been  £"300,000  for  the  61  miles;  and  the  capital  of  the  Company  being 
all  spent  thereon,  a  new  Act  was  got  in  the  3oth  Geo.  III.  (1790),  giving 
powers  to  raise  a  further  sum  of  £200,000  to  complete  the  canal.  Mr. 
Whitworth,  the  company's  engineer,  directed  the  works.  In  May,  1796, 
the  canal  was  opened  from  Burnley  to  Enfield  Warehouse,  a  distance  of 
nine  miles  and  3  7  chains,  and  level.  The  17}^  miles  from  Foulridge  to 
Enfield  cost  it  is  said,  £120,000,  of  which  ,£9,000  are  set  down  for  the 
Foulridge  reservoirs,  £22,000  for  the  great  embankment  at  Burnley, 
and  £10,000  for  the  construction  of  the  tunnel  at  Ridge,  a  little  to  the 
west  of  Burnley.  The  remaining  sections,  from  Enfield  to  Blackburn, 
Chorley,  and  Wigan,  consumed  fifteen  years  more  in  their  construction. 
The  eight-mile  section  between  Enfield  and  Blackburn  was  opened  for 
boats  in  June,  1810;  and  the  final  stretch  of  the  canal,  from  Blackburn 
to  Wigan,  which  included  costly  works  in  lockage,  embankments,  and 
aqueducts  near  Blackburn  across  the  valleys  of  the  Darwen  and  the 
Roddlesworth,  was  opened  in  October,  1816.  The  navigation  from 
Leeds  to  Liverpool  was  then  complete.  With  regard  to  the  commercial 
benefits  secured  to  the  districts  through  which  the  canal  runs,  Mr. 
Priestley  writes  : — "This  gigantic  concern,  which  was  no  less  than  46 
years  in  executing,  and  which  has  cost  £1,200,000,  has  proved  highly 
beneficial  to  the  country  through  which  it  passes,  giving  facility  to  the 
transport  of  coal,  limestone,  lime  for  manure,  and  all  agricultural  produce, 
connecting  the  trade  of  Leeds  with  Liverpool  and  with  Manchester, 
Wigan,  Blackburn,  Burnley,  Colne,  Skipton,  Keighley,  and  Bradford."2 

i  Navig.  Rivers,  Canals,  and  Railways,  by  Priestley,  pp.  420-1.         2  Ib.  p.  427. 


244 


HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


RAILWAYS    IN    EAST   LANCASHIRE. 

The  origin  and  extension  of  the  Railroad  system  of  transit  are  still 
too  recent  to  require  more  than  a  short  record  of  the  chief  events  of 
local  railway  enterprise.  A  company  was  formed  in  1843,  later  called  the 
East  Lancashire  Railway  Company,  which  undertook  the  construction 
of  a  railroad  from  Preston  to  Blackburn,  Accrington,  Burnley,  and 
Colne,  and  a  connecting  line  from  Accrington  to  Manchester,  with  a 
branch  for  Rossendale.  The  works  were  commenced  between  Blackburn 
and  Preston  in  1 844 ;  this  section  was  completed  and  opened  for  traffic 
on  Whitsun  Monday,  1846.  The  extension  from  Blackburn  to  Accrington 
was  opened  on  Monday,  June  iQth,  1848.  Another  local  scheme  was 
inaugurated  in  September,  1844,  to  construct  a  railroad  from  Blackburn 
to  Bolton,  to  be  styled  the  Blackburn,  Darwen,  and  Bolton  Railway, 
thirteen  miles  in  length,  and  a  company  was  formed  with  a  capital  of 
,£250,000.  This  company  afterwards  obtained  further  powers  to  continue 
the  line  from  Blackburn  to  Whalleyr  Clitheroe,  and  Chatburn,  and  was 
then  styled  the  Bolton,  Blackburn,  Clitheroe,  and  West  Yorkshire 
Railway  Company.  Mr.  W.  H.  Hornby,  of  Blackburn,  was  chairman, 
A  portion  of  this  railroad  between  Blackburn  and  Darwen  was  opened 
for  traffic  in  August,  1847,  and,  on  the  completion  of  the  costly  works 
of  the  Sough  tunnel,  the  section  from  Blackburn  to  Bolton  was  opened 
on  Monday,  June  i2th,  1848.  The  two  companies  by  which  these  rail- 
roads were  projected  and  carried  out  were  eventually  amalgamated,  and  a 
later  amalgamation  took  place  in  1854  with  the  Lancashire  and  York- 
shire Railway  Company,  of  whose  system  these  lines  form  valuable 
sections.  A  loop-line  from  Blackburn  to  Great  Harwood  and  Padiham 
is  in  course  of  construction.  In  1864  a  company  was  formed  to  construct 
a  new  line  from  Blackburn  to  Chorley,  Wigan,  and  St.  Helens,  connecting 
at  Huyton  with  the  Manchester  and  Liverpool  Railway,  opening 
a  new  route  between  Liverpool  and  the  towns  named,  and  shortening 
the  distance  by  rail  between  Blackburn  and  the  towns  of  South-west 
Lancashire  by  many  miles.  The  series  of  short  lines  to  complete  this 
connection,  about  thirty  miles  in  length,  were  completed  at  a  cost  of 
,£900,000  in  1869,  and  the  route  was  opened  for  traffic  on  Dec.  ist  in 
that  year.  The  line  is  now  used  jointly  by  the  London  and  North- 
Western  and  Lancashire  and  Yorkshire  Companies. 


THE  TOWN  OF  BLACKBURN. 


245 


BOOK  IL— TOWNSHIP  HISTORY  AND  TOPOGRAPHY. 
CHAPTER    I.— THE    TOWNSHIP    AND    TOWN     OF    BLACKBURN. 


Ancient  obscurity  of  the  Town — Its  aspect  temp.  Elizabeth — Camden's  Notice — Market  and  Fairs — 
Descent  of  the  Manor — De  Blackburns,  original  lords — De  Hulton  and  De  Radcliffe — Barton — 
Belasyse,  lords  Fauconberg — Enclosure  of  Waste  Lands  in  1618 — Ancient  Freeholders,  &c. — Abbot 
— Aspinall — Barcroft — Bolton — Memoir  of  Revd.  Robert  Bolton,  B.D. — Dewhurst — Edge — Lawe 
— Mawdsley — Sharpies — Ward — Whalley — Parish  Church  of  St.  Marie — Foundation  and  Endow- 
ment—Impropriation  of  the  Rectory — Records  of  the  Rectory — Lessees  of  Rectorial  Estate — • 
Records  of  the  Vicarage— Vicarial  Glebe — List  of  Vicars — The  Old  Church  Fabric — The  Chantries 
— Chapels — Demolition  of  the  old  and  erection  of  the  present  Church — The  Bells — Monuments, 
&c. — The  Parish  Registers — Chantry  Song  School — Grammar  School  of  Queen  Elizabeth — Its 
origin — Charter— Attempt  to  recover  Chantry  School  Lands — Decree  of  1585— The  School  Records 
— Parish  Contributions  to  augment  Endowment — Original  Statutes,  A.D.  1597— Annals  of  School 
and  Elections  of  Governors  from  1593 — List  of  Masters— Charities  of  the  Town— Poor  Stock- 
Poor's  Lands— Girls'  Charity  School— Minor  Charities— Churches  of  the  Establishment— Roman 
Catholic  Missions,  Chapels,  and  Convent — Nonconformist  Foundations  and  Churches,  Congrega- 
tional, Baptist,  Presbyterian,  Methodist, &c.  —  Schools,  public  elementary,  and  private — Blackburn 
School  Board — Parliamentary  Borough— Elections  since  1832 — Municipal  Borough — Charter  of 
Incorporation — List  of  Mayors — Corporate  Buildings  and  Institutions — Town  Hall,  Market 
House  and  Market  Place,  Corporation  Park,  Public  Library,  Baths,  &c. — Corporation  Works — Gas 
Works — Water  Works — Poor  Law  Union— Workhouses— Burial  Board  and  Cemetery — Blackburn 
Dispensary,  and  Infirmary — Exchange — Clubs — County  Court — County  Police  Court — Savings 
Bank  and  other  Institutions — Families  of  Blackburn  Merchants  and  Modern  Gentry — Ainsworth — 
Ashburner — Armistead — Baldwin — Baron— Birley — Briggs — Card  well — Carr — Chippendale  — Cun- 
liffe— De  la  Pryme — Dugdale — Falkner — Fleming — Hargreaves — Haworth — Hmdle — Hopwood — 
Hornby  —  Leyland  —  Livesey  —  Markland —  Neville  —  Pilkington —  Rodgett  —  Smalley— Sudell — 
Whalley — Wilkinson — Yates — Blackburn  Inventors,  Authors,  &c. — Population  of  Township  and 
Town. 


THE  Town  of  Blackburn,  though  possessing  antiquity  equal  to 
many  existing  English  towns,  as  a  Colony  of  the  Saxon  era, 
and  from  unrecorded  time  the  most  considerable  urban  settlement  in  the 
shire  or  Hundred  to  which  it  gave  a  name,  was  not  until  almost  within 
the  memory  of  living  natives  of  advanced  age,  ever  noteworthy  or 
eminent,  whether  on  account  of  its  populousness,  its  natural  or  artificial 
features,  its  civic  privileges,  or  as  a  military  post  or  focus  of  baronial  or 
ecclesiastical  authority.  Other  ancient  towns  in  Blackburnshire  enjoyed 
precedence  in  one  or  other  of  these  respects.  Ribchester  in  the  centre, 
and  Colne  and  Walton  at  the  extremities  of  the  Hundred,  were  military 


246  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

stations  in  the  remote  centuries  of  the  Roman  occupation.  Clitheroe 
was  the  seignorial  fortress. of  the  Norman  period,  and  a  chartered 
burgh  for  ages  subsequent.  The  extensive  and  strongly-built  structure 
on  the  crest  of  Ightenhill  (by  Burnley),  now  long  razed,  was  a  royal 
manorial  seat  of  the  Plantagenets ;  and  the  solitary  Castle  of  Hapton 
was  the  stronghold  of  the  De  La  Leghs,  Seneschals  of  Blackburnshire, 
in  the  same  period.  Whalley  was  famed  as  the  primitive  church  founda- 
tion and  parochial  centre  of  the  region,  and  later  as  the  site  of  a  vast 
and  stately  Monastery,  whose  Abbots  ruled  as  lords  over  all  the  ecclesi- 
astical estates  and  over  many  secular  estates  in  East  Lancashire. 
Through  the  centuries  when  other  places  surrounding  were  thus  in 
succession  promoted  each  to  its  peculiar  distinction,  Blackburn  remained 
a  common  non-corporate  town,  without  castle,  abbey,  or  other  structural 
feature  to  dignify  its  aspect  to  the  eye  of  the  passing  pilgrim.  Its 
Church  of  St.  Marie,  founded  before  the  Conquest,  was  the  single 
object  capable  of  attracting  notice  among  the  cluster  of  timber-framed 
tenements  that  formed  the  town.  The  lords  of  the  manor  of  Blackburn 
had  from  an  early  date  been  non-resident,  and  there  was  no  knightly 
family  of  repute  and  power  to  reflect  some  of  its  lustre  upon  the  place ; 
no  goodly  manorial  hall  within  the  vill  to  lift  its  front  boldly  above  the 
level  uniformity  of  the  tenements  of  yeomen,  husbandmen,  and  craftsmen. 

The  names  of  Great  Peel  and  Little  Peel,  still  maintained  in  the 
nomenclature  of  spots  a  few  yards  apart  on  what  was  once  the  western 
outskirt  of  the  town,  are  supposed  to  indicate  the  sites  of  two  of  those 
ancient  square  towers  denominated  "  peels  "  that  supplied  a  retreat  and 
a  defence  rather  than  a  home  to  the  lords  of  the  land  in  the  Norman 
age.  If  this  surmise  be  a  right  one,  the  situation  of  Great  and  Little 
Peel  might  be  the  domicile  of  the  De  Blackburns  some  seven  hundred 
years  ago,  as  the  fortified  manor-place  of  the  western  moiety  of  this 
manor ;  but  the  "  peels  "  that  may  have  stood  here  were  abandoned  and 
destroyed  so  long  ago  that  in  the  earliest  documentary  records  of  Black- 
burn there  is  no  mention  of  them.  An  old  farm-house  stood  at  Great 
Peel  until  the  land  was  appropriated  as  sites  for  mills  and  cottages. 

To  the  north  of  the  town,  at  the  date  of  the  Domesday  survey,  and 
for  some  centuries  after,  extended  a  forest  that  covered  most  part  of  the 
present  townships  of  Ramsgreave,  Great  and  Little  Harwood,  Wilpshire, 
and  Clayton,  and  reached  from  the  ridge  of  Revidge  nearly  to  the 
Ribble.  This  great  woodland  was  preserved  in  the  time  of  Edward  the 
Confessor  as  a  Royal  Chace ;  and  remained  a  hunting-ground  for  the 
Norman  Barons  to  whom  Blackburnshire  was  granted  after  the  Conquest. 
It  is  to  be  conjectured  that  most  of  the  personages  of  rank  who  visited 
the  town  of  Blackburn  from  the  tenth  to  the  fifteenth  century  were 


ASPECT  OF  BLACKBURN  TEMP.  ELIZABETH.  247 

brought  hither  by  the  contingencies  of  the  chace,  in  quest  of  refreshment 
from  the  hinds  of  this  little  settlement  on  the  border  of  the  wooded 
wilderness. 

Onward  into  the  Tudor  period,  Blackburn  was  still  a  town  obscure 
and  little  known  of  strangers  ;  being  quite  out  of  the  track  of  travellers 
performing  the  journey  between  London  and  the  South  and  the  Northern 
Counties  and  Scotland.  Leland,  the  first  English  itinerant  antiquary  of 
note,  who  was  in  Lancashire  about  1540,  does  not  seem  to  have  looked 
at  Blackburn,  and  does  not  name  the  town,  though  he  penetrated 
Ribblesdale  from  Preston  as  far  as  Ribchester  and  Whalley  and  Salley 
Abbeys ;  and  crossed  the  Darwen  and  Ribble  at  Walton,  on  the  way 
from  Chorley  to  Preston.  James  Pilkington,  the  zealous  Bishop  of 
Durham,  visited  Blackburn  in  1564,  observing  church  affairs,  and  in  a 
letter  to  Archbishop  Parker  relates  an  incident  of  his  brief  sojourn  : — 

Among  many  other  things  that  be  amiss  here  in  your  great  cures,  ye  shall  under- 
stand that  in  Blackburn  there  is  a  fantastical  (and  some  think  a  lunatic)  young  man, 
which  says  he  has  spoken  with  one  of  his  neighbours  that  died  four  years  since  or  more. 
Divers  times  he  says  he  has  seen  him  and  talked  with  him,  and  took  with  him  the 
Curate,  the  Schoolmaster,  and  other  neighbours,  which  all  affirm  that  they  see  him 
[the  apparition]  too.  These  things  be  so  common  here,  and  none  of  authority  that 
will  gainsay  it,  but  rather  believe  and  confirm  it,  that  everyone  believes  it.  It  is  too 
lamentable  to  see  and  hear  how  negligently  they  say  any  service  here,  and  how  seldom.1 

Of  the  moral  condition  of  the  town  the  good  Bishop  draws  a 
melancholy  picture  ;  concerning  its  material  aspect  he  remarks  nothing. 
The  old  church  had  been  partially  rebuilt  a  few  years  before,  and  looked 
much  the  same  edifice  it  was  until  taken  down  in  1820.  In  the  church- 
yard were  the  Vicarage  and  School-House,  both  dilapidated  and  calling 
for  replacement  in  1564.  The  street  plan  of  the  town  was  an  irregular 
cross,  the  four  arms  being  the  thoroughfares  of  Northgate,  Astley  Gate 
projected  towards  the  modern  King  Street,  Darwen  Street,  and  Church 
Street.  Salford  Bridge  on  the  east,  Darwen-street  Bridge  on  the  south, 
would  be  the  limits  of  the  main  streets  in  those  directions ;  the  old  town 
Corn  Mill  was  near  the  stream  at  the  end  of  a  lane  from  Darwen  Street, 
long  known  as  Mill-lane.  Great  part  of  the  houses  and  shops  forming 
the  town  temp.  Elizabeth  were  grouped,  gable-wise  to  the  street,  on  both 
sides  of  the  four  streets  named,  with  a  few  detached  houses  in  the  angles 
between  those  streets,  and  dotted  over  the  Vicar's  Glebe  east  of  Salford 
Bridge.  The  town-population  would  not  exceed  2,000  people.  At  the 
junction  of  Church-street  with  Darwen-street  stood  the  chief  Inn  of  the 
place,  in  close  proximity  to  the  Church.  In  the  midst  of  the  street  here 
was  the  Market  Cross,  re-edified  shortly  before  his  fall  by  Paslew,  last 
Abbot  of  Whalley,  in  the  form  of  a  graceful  floriated  gothic  shaft ; 

i   Corresp.  of  Abp.  Parker  (Parker  Society),  p.  222. 


248  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

beside  it  were  the  draw-well  and  the  town-stocks.  Other  ancient  wells 
from  which  the  folk  of  Blackburn  drew  their  water-supplies  were  the 
Hallows  Spring  on  Spring  Hill  (reputed  for  medicinal  or  miraculous 
curative  properties),  and  the  Folley  Well,  near  the  messuage  of  the 
Brook-house  upon  the  Rectory  Glebe.  Such  was  Blackburn,  as  nearly 
as  can  now  be  realised,  when  Elizabeth  ascended  the  throne ;  and  such 
it  stood  with  but  slight  change  or  increase  until  the  beginning  of  the  last 
century. 

Sir  Thomas  Talbot,  Knight,  lord  of  Bashall  and  Rishton,  having 
obtained  a  lease  of  the  Rectory  estate  of  Blackburn,  sojourned  frequently 
at  Audley  Hall  in  Blackburn  in  the  reign  of  Queen  Mary  (1553-8),  and 
being  a  soldier  in  command  of  a  considerable  force,  raised  for  service  in 
the  war  on  the  Scottish  border,  the  presence  of  Sir  Thomas  with  bodies 
of  armed  men  must  have  given  the  town  an  aspect  of  unwonted  stir  and 
animation.  Sir  Thomas  died  at  Audley  in  1558,  and,  with  that  event, 
Blackburn  life  relapsed  into  its  normal  dulness. 

Camden,  who  traversed  Lancashire  near  the  close  of  the  reign  of 
Elizabeth,  has  this  short  reference  to  Blackburn  : — "  Below  Preston  the 
Ribell  receives  the  Darwen,  a  small  river,  which  first  waters  Blackburn, 
a  noted  market  town  (so  called  from  a  black  water),  which  formerly 
belonged  to  the  Lacies,  and  gave  to  the  tract  adjacent  the  name  of 
Blackburnshire."  It  is,  indeed,  as  Camden  has  it,  solely  as  a  market 
town  that  Blackburn  was  "  noted  "  down  to  the  period  of  the  rise  of  a 
special  textile  manufacture  there.  In  1649  it  was  reported: — "In 
Blackburn  there  is  every  Monday  a  Markett,  and  some  fairs."  Blome 
says  in  1673  that  Blackburn  had  on  the  Monday  a  great  weekly  market 
for  cattle,  corn,  and  provisions.  Its  cattle  market  and  fortnightly  and 
annual  cattle  fairs  were  of  early  importance.  Some  entries  in  the 
Shuttlcworth  Accounts  from  1583  to  1590  betoken  the  attendance  of  the 
farm-bailiffs  of  the  district  gentry  at  the  Blackburn  cattle  fair  for  the 
purchase  or  sale  of  stock,  ex.  gr.  : — 

1583.  Bought  in  Blackburne  the  firste  Daye  of  Maye  of  Robert  wyffe  Whalleye 
one  co we  265.  rod. — 1584.  Payed  for  haye  in  Blackbourne  for  fiffe  beastes  which  was 
there  all  nighte  and  for  dryvinge  the  same  to  Tingreave  I2d. — 1586.  May.  Towe 
oxen  in  Blackburne  unto  Thos.  Whalleye  £6  us.  8d.  — 1587.  Boughte  in  Blackburne 
of  Mr.  Vicar  towe  oxen  ^5  6s.  8d.  Wyllyam  Jenkenson  two  styres  ^5  IDS.  ;  Thomas 
Baley  one  oxe  tynter  485.  ad.  &c. — 1590.  Boughte  in  Blackburne  one  oxe  523. 
6d.  ;  towe  oxen  ^5. 

.  The  annual  fair,  for  cattle  and  produce,  in  Blackburn  was  held  in 
1583  on  the  istofMay.  In  "Rider's  Fairs,  1746,"  Blackburn  Fair  is 
still  fixed  for  May  Day.  Not  many  years  after  two  additional  fairs  were 
appointed  in  the  year,  on  Easter  Monday  and  at  Michaelmas  (Oct. 


DE  BLACKBURN  FAMILY.  249 

1 7th).  Monday's  market  was  given  up  in  1774  in  favour  of  bi-weekly 
markets  on  Wednesday  and  Saturday,  and  this  is  the  present  arrange- 
ment. Blakey  Moor,  a  patch  of  common  land  in  the  rear  of  Northgate 
and  Astley  Gate,  has  for  several  hundred  years  been  the  place  of  the 
cattle  fairs  and  markets  of  Blackburn. 

In  the  Shuttleworth  Accounts  it  is  mentioned  that  a  house  of  correc- 
tion was  built  in  Blackburn  in  1611 ;  this,  perhaps,  was  the  origin  of  the 
small  dingy  structure,  long  used  as  a  town  "  lock-up"  or  house  of  correc- 
tion, that  stood  on  the  south  end  of  the  Darwen-street  bridge  over  the 
Blakewater,  and  that  was  demolished  on  the  removal  of  the  old  stone 
bridge  in  1872,  when  the  roadway  was  widened  and  the  present  iron 
bridge  erected.  In  1621,  the  same  Accounts  record  payments  for 
building  of  a  bridge  "  on  the  south  side  of  Blackburne,"  and  of  "  another 
bridge  hard  by  Blackburne." 

So  late  as  1760,  the  compact  portion  of  the  town,  as  shown  upon  a 
plan  of  that  date,  covered  an  area  of  not  more  than  ten  acres  ;  in 
contrast  with  which  the  town  of  1875  is  estimated  to  cover  the  better 
part  of  1,500  acres  in  the  townships  of  Blackburn,  Witton,  and  Livesey. 
Very  few  are  the  vestiges  of  Old  Blackburn  remaining  after  the  street- 
improvements  and  reconstructions  of  the  last  thirty  years.  Several 
antique  houses  stood  on  the  west  side  of  Northgate,  at  the  bottom  of 
Church-street,  and  in  Darwen-street,  until  recently ;  but  the  last  of  them 
has  now  disappeared. 

DESCENT  OF  THE  MANOR— THE  DE  BLACKBURN  FAMILY. 

The  primitive  lords  of  Blackburn,  bearing  the  name  of  the  vill,  must 
be  referred  to  hereafter  in  the  account  of  Blackburn  Church  as  furnishing 
the  first  known  incumbents  of  Blackburn  in  an  hereditary  succession, 
both  the  rectorial  and  manorial  rights  pertaining  to  the  De  Blackburns 
for  some  generations.  The  descent  of  the  race  is  partially  recorded, 
with  differences,  in  ancient  documents.  According  to  an  accepted 
statement,  the  genealogy  is  traced  from  Gamaliel  de  Blackburn,  about 
the  time  of  the  Conquest,  to  Gilbert,  from  Gilbert  to  John,  and  from 
John  to  Henry  de  Blackburn,  living  about  1160.  Henry  had  sons 
Richard  and  Adam.  Richard  de  Blackburn,  eldest  son  of  Henry,  had 
a  son  and  heir  Adam ;  and  Adam  de  Blackburn  had  two  daughters,  co- 
heiresses, who  married  brothers  :  Agnes  marrying  David  de  Hulton,  and 
had  issue  Richard  de  Hulton  ;  and  Beatrice  marrying  William  de  Hulton, 
but  having  no  issue.  Thus  the  manor  of  Blackburn  passed  to  the  De 
Hultons,  and  the  chief  line  of  the  De  Blackburns  finished  in  the  male 
descent. 

Adam  de  Blackburn,  younger  son  of  Adam  and  brother  of  Richard, 


250  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

had  a  son  Roger.     About  the  same  date,  appear  other  members  whose 
connection  is  not  easily  denned. 

BRANCHES  OF  DE  BLACKBURN  FAMILY. 

Several  branches  of  the  De  Blackburn  stock  should  be  remembered.     One  branch 

settled  in  the  next  township  of  Rishton  as  chief  territorial  proprietors,  and  thenceforth 

bore  the  Style  of  De  Rishton.     The  first  of  these  was  Gilbert  de   Rishton,  son  of 

Henry  de  Blackburn.      Under  the  name  of  De   Rishton  the  descent  of  this  branch 

will  be  pursued  in  a  later  page  of  this  work. 

Another  branch,  owning  lands  in  Walton-in-le-Dale  and  Cuerden,  is  traceable  in 

charters  abstracted  in  one  of  the  HARLEIAN  MSS.  (No.  2112).     Richard,  son  of  Adam 

de  Blackburn,  and  Alice  his  wife,  are  named  in  a  dateless  charter  concerning  an  estate 

in  Cuerden.     Richard  de  Blackburn  granted  to  Henry  de  Walton  a  rent  of  403.  of  lands 

in  Wiswall. 

Alice  de  Blackburn,  widow,  late  wife  of  William  son  of  Adam  de  Blackburn, 

gave  to  Hugh  son  of  Henry  de  Whithull  portion  of  her  land  in  Whithull  (Whittle). 

William  de  Blackburn  gave  to  William  his  son  and  heir  all  his  lands  in  the  vill  of 

Kerden  (Cuerden). 

Then,  in  the  9th   Edward  II.  (1316),  William  son  of  William  de  Blackburn  of 

Kuerden  conveyed   to  John,  son  of  Richard  son  of  Ralph  de  Magna  Hole  (Much 

Hoole)  all  his  lands  in  Kuerden. 

In  the  1 3th  Edward  II.  (1320),  Henry  de  Blackburn  of  Walton  gave  to  Richard 

de  Billington  and  William  his  son,  all  his  land  which  he  had  of  the  grant  of  Robert 

Banester,  lord  of  Walton. 

The  1 6th   Edward  II.  (1323),  John  son  of  Henry  de  Blackburn  released  the  same 

lands  to  Richard  de  Billington  ;  and  in  the  5th  Edward  III.  (1332),  John  son  of  Henry 
de  Blackburn  of  Walton  demised  to  Richard  de  Billington  his  right  in  6s.  per  annum 
he  had  of  his  father's  gift. 

Richard,  son  of  John  de  Blackburn,  of  Walton,  in  the  22nd  Edward  III.  (1349), 
gave  to  William  son  of  John  de  Walton  and  his  heirs,  two  messuages,  &c.,  with  12 
acres  of  land  in  Walton,  which  Roger,  son  of  Adam  de  Blackburn,  and  Adam  son  of 
Roger  Dobson,  formerly  held. 

The  Robert  son  of  Richard  de  Blackburn  to  whom,  before  the  4Oth  Edward  III. 
(1367),  John  de  Alvetham  had  feoffeed  the  fourth  part  of  the  Bailiwick  of  Blackburn- 
shire,  possibly  was  a  member  of  this  branch  of  the  Blackburn  family. 

There  was  a  family  of  this  name  seated  at  Wiswall  in  Whalley  Parish,  contemporary 
with,  and  doubtless  derived  from,  the  De  Blackburns  lords  of  Blackburn.  In  the 
TESTA  DE  NEVILL,  Adam  de  Blackburn  appears  early  in  the  thirteenth  century  as 
holding  with  Roger  de  Archis  the  fourth  part  of  a  Knight's  fee  in  Wisewall  and  Apton. 
A  record  is  entered  in  the  Coucher  Book  of  Whalley  Abbey  (to  which  Mr.  Hulton, 
the  editor,  adds  a  note)  respecting  the  descent  of  the  Blackburns  of  Wiswall,  to  the 
effect  that  Sir  John  de  Blackburn,  Knt.  (perhaps  a  son  of  the  above  Adam),  lord  of  the 
vill  of  Wysewall,  had  a  son  and  heir  Sir  Adam  Blackburn,  Knt.  ;  he,  by  Alice  his 
wife,  had  a  son  and  heir  John  de  Blackburn,  who  married  Margaret,  sister  of  Sir 
Robert  de  Holand,  and  had  three  daughters,  Alice,  Agnes,  and  Johanna,  between 
whom  after  the  death  of  John  their  father  the  manor  of  Wysewall  and  his  other  lands, 
&c.,  were  divided.  Alice,  the  elder  daughter,  married  Sir  Robert  de  Sherburne,  Knt; 
the  second  did  not  marry ;  and  Johanna,  the  youngest,  was  wife  of  Thomas  de  Ardern. 
In  1311,  Sir  Robert  Sherburne  and  Thomas  de  Ardern  were  in  joint  tenure  of  Wiswall 


DESCENT  OF  BLACKBURN  MANOR.  25 r 

manor  by  virtue  of  their  wives'  inheritance  therein ;  but  the  father,  John  de  Blackburn, 
last  male  scion  of  the  Blackburns  of  Wiswall,  occurs  in  title-deeds  of  Whalley  after 
this  date,  and  as  late  as  the  year  1336. 

DE  HULTONS  AND  DE  RADCLIFFES,  LORDS  OF  BLACKBURN. 

The  half  of  that  moiety  of  Blackburn  manor  inherited  by  Agnes 
de  Blackburn,  was  conveyed  to  the  De  Hultons  by  her  marriage 
to  David  de  Hulton,  son  and  heir  of  Richard  de  Hulton,  lord  of  Hulton. 
David  de  Hulton  by  his  wife  Agnes  had  sons  Richard,  Adam,  and  John, 
and  a  daughter  Cecilia.  William  de  Hulton,  lord  of  Flixton,  younger 
brother  of  David,  who  married  Beatrice  de  Blackburn,  had  with  her  the 
other  share  of  the  estate  ;  but  on  his  death  without  issue,  his  brother 
David  became  his  heir.  David  surrendered  the  estate  to  his  brother's 
widow,  Beatrice,  as  her  dower  for  life  ;  and  after  her  death,  Richard 
de  Hulton,  eldest  son  of  David,  obtained  the  estate  as  heir  of  Beatrice 
his  aunt.  This  Richard  de  Hulton,  of  Hulton,  living  in  1304,  had  by  his 
wife  Margery,  daughter  of  Robert  de  Radeclive,  sons  Richard,  Adam, 
John,  and  Roger.  Richard  the  father  gave  the  moiety  of  Blackburn 
manor  to- John,  his  third  son,  for  life.  This  John  de  Hulton,  in  1311, 
was  returned  as  holding  a-  carucate  and  a  half  of  land  in  Blackburn 
freely  by  homage;  he  was  still  living  in  1326.  His  elder  brother, 
Richard,  died  before  John,  but  left  a  son  and  heir,  Richard,  who,  after 
the  death  of  John  de  Hulton  his  uncle,  sold  the  moiety  of  Blackburn 
manor  to  Robert  de  Radcliff. 

This  Robert  de  Radcliff  was  second  son  of  Richard  de  Radcliff,  of 
Radcliff  Tower ;  and  it  was  in  the  8th  Edward  III.  (1335)  that  Richard 
de  Hulton  quit-claimed  to  him  all  his  lands  in  Blackburn.  Robert  de 
Radcliff  was  founder  of  the  important  line  of  Radcliffes  of  Smithells,, 
for  nearly  two  centuries  lords  of  Smithells  and  Blackburn.  He  had  a  son 
and  heir  William  Radcliff  of  Smithells,  Esq.,  whose  son  and  name- 
sake, William  Radcliffe  of  Smithells,  had  a  son  and  heir  Ralph,  knighted 
in  the  latter  part  of  the  fourteenth  century. 

Sir  Ralph  Radcliffe  of  Smithells,  Knt,  had  a  son  Ralph,  and  died 
before  1406  ;  for  on  the  i8th  June  in  that  year  (yth  Henry  IV.),  is  dated 
the  precept  issued  to  the  Duchy  Escheator  to  give  to  Ralph,  son  and 
heir  of  Sir  Ralph  de  Radclif,  chevaler,  deceased,  livery  of  the  moiety  of 
the  manor  of  Blackburn,  holden  of  the  King  in  capite  by  knight  service 
and  45.  payable  yearly  for  the  ward  of  the  Castle  of  Clithero  and  doing 
suit  at  the  Wapentake  of  Clithero,  and  of  the  moiety  of  the  manor  of 
Flixton,  and  certain  tenements  in  Harwood,  &c.,  taking  security  of  the 
said  heir  for  payment  of  his  relief  for  the  two  moieties  of  the  manors  of 
Blackburn  and  Flixton.  Ralph  the  son  received  knighthood  as  well  as 
the  father. 


2 52  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

The  second  Sir  Ralph  Radcliffe  of  Smithells,  Knt.,  entering  in 
1406,  an  doccurring  again  in  1409,  had  by  Cicely  his  wife  a  son  and 
heir  Ralph,  the  third  Sir  Ralph  Radcliffe,  Knt. ;  and  the  latter  had  sons 
Ralph,  the  heir,  and  Edward ;  and  a  daughter  Joan,  who  married,  after 
1450,  Ralph  Barton  of  Holme,  Esq.,  and  was  mother  of  John  Barton, 
afterwards  of  Smithells.  In  the  2oth  Henry  VII.  (1505),  John  Barton 
gave  letters  of  attorney  to  Robert  Rishton  to  receive  possession  of  the 
Manor  of  Blackburn  from  Joan  Barton,  widow. 

Ralph  Radcliffe  of  Smithells,  Esq.,  son  of  Sir  Ralph,  married 
Katherine,  daughter  of  Sir  Richard  Molyneux,  Knt,  and  had  issue  a 
daughter  and  sole  heiress,  named  Cicely,  who  became  the  wife  of  the 
above-named  John  Barton,  son  of  Ralph  Barton  of  Holme.  By  these 
two  alliances  of  Ralph  Burton  and  his  son  John  with  successive 
heiresses  of  the  Radcliffes,  both  Blackburn  manor  and  Smithells  passed 
from  the  lineal  house  of  Radcliffe  to  the  Bartons,  and  were  held  by  John 
Barton  of  Smithells,  Esq. 

BARTONS  OF  SMITHELLS,  LORDS  OF  BLACKBURN   MANOR. 

John  Barton  of  Smithells,  Esq.  (son  of  Ralph),  who  married  Cicely 
Radcliffe,  heiress  of  the  manor,  had  issue  by  her,  sons,  Andrew ;  Alex- 
ander, a  clerk ;  Leonard,  and  Francis  (the  two  latter  died  without  issue). 
John  Barton  died  before  the  year  1516,  and  on  the  inquisition  taken 
8th  Henry  VIII.,  was  found  to  have  been  seized  of  the  manors  of 
Smithells  and  Tingreve,  with  landed  estates  there  and  in  many  town- 
ships in  South  and  West  Lancashire,  and  also  of  messuages,  lands,  &c., 
in  Blackburn.  Andrew  Barton,  son  and  heir,  was  then  aged  18  years. 

Andrew  Barton,  of  Smithells,  Esq.,  lord  of  Blackburn,  had  to  wife 
Ann,  daughter  of  Sir  William  Stanley  of  Hooton,  Co.  Chester,  Knt. 
Issue,  sons,  Robert;  Rauf;  Henry,  and  Thurstan;  daughters,  Cicely, 
wife  of  Robert  Holt  of  Stubley,  gent. ;  Margaret,  wife  of  John  Westby 
of  Mowbreck,  gent. ;  Dorothy,  wife  of  William  Gerrard,  Recorder  of 
Chester ;  and  Eleanor,  wife  of  Edward  Singleton,  of  the  Tower.  Andrew 
Barton,  Esq.,  died  in  1548;  by  his  Will,  dated  Feb.  yth,  3rd  Edw.  VI., 
he  directs  "  that  my  sone  Robert  Barton,  or  he  that  shall  hapen  to  be 
my  heyre,  shall  have  the  one  halfe  of  the  lordshipe  of  Oswentwysyll 
[Oswaldtwistle]  wyche  I  lately  purchased  of  the  right  honorabyll  Henry 
{Radclyffe,  second  earl  of  Sussex]  bounden  to  my  brother-in-law, 
William  Westby,  esquier,  in  severall  obligacyons  to  pay  unto  hym  yet 
beyng  behynde  fourscore  marks  for  the  maryage  of  Margaret  my  doughter 
to  John  Westby,  his  sone  and  heyre  apparent."  Also  testator  wills  that 
Thurstan  Tyldesley,  Esq.,  and  others,  "shall  take  twentie  pounds  yerly 
of  my  lands  in  Blakburne  and  Roumsgreve  to  pay  my  detts  whiche  I 


DESCENT  OF  BLACKBURN  MANOR. 


253 


stond  bounde  to  my  frends  by  bylles,"  &c.  The  escheatofs  return 
shows  that  Andrew  Barton  held  the  manor  of  Smithells,  two  messuages 
in  Smithells,  of  the  King,  as  of  the  Priory  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  in 
socage,  by  a  rent  of  i2d.,  worth  ^"14;  the  manor  of  Tingreve,  in  the 
parish  of  Eccleston,  in  Leylandshire,  and  two  messuages  with  appur- 
tenances in  Eccleston,  of  the  King  as  lord,  in  socage,  by  a  rent  of  43. 
yd.,  worth  523.  4d.  ;  the  manor  of  Hole,  with  one  watermill  and  55.  nd. 
issuing  in  rent,  and  lands1  in  Hole,  of  Thomas  Stanley,  Knt.,  Lord 
Monteagle,  in  socage,  by  a  rent  of  6d.,  worth  ;£i6.  Also  12  messuages 
in  Queralton,  of  the  King,  as  late  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  in  socage, 
by  a  rent  of  25.  2d.,  worth  £6.  Four  messuages  with  appurtenances 
in  Lostock,  of  Thomas  West,  Lord  de  la  Warre,  in  socage,  by  a  rent  of 
yd.,  worth  ^5  53.  4d.  Half  the  manor  of  Blackburn,  30  messuages 
there,  with  35.  4d.  yearly  rent  issuing  out  of  land  there,  of  the  King,  in 
socage,  by  a  rent  of  45.,  worth  ^15.  23.  rod.  Twelve  messuages  in 
Romesgreve  [Ramsgreave],  of  the  King  in  chief,  by  one-twentieth  of  a 
knight's  fee,  and  193.  2^d.,  worth  ^8  25.  gd.;  and  other  estates. 

Robert  Barton,  Esq.,  succeeded,  being  24  years  of  age.  He 
married  Margery,  second  daughter  of  Sir  Piers  Legh,  Knt.,  of  Lyme, 
Cheshire,  who,  after  his  death,  married  Richard  Shuttleworth,  of  Gaw- 
thorpe,  Esq.  By  this  lady  Robert  Barton  had  no  male  issue,  and 
at  his  death,  in  1580,  the  landed  possessions  of  the  house  passed  to  his 
brother,  Ralph  Barton.  An  inquisition  after  his  death,  taken  22nd 
Eliz.,  records  that  Robert  Barton,  Esq.,  held  the  manor  of  Smithells,  three 
messuages  and  one  mill  there,  of  the  King ;  the  manor,  with  the  capital 
messuage  of  Tingreve,  with  two  messuages  there,  of  the  King ;  half  the 
manor  of  Hole,  26  messuages  and  one  mill  there,  of  Richard  Sherburn, 
Knt.,  in  socage  ;  half  the  manor  of  Blackburn,  50  messuages,  and  a  rent 
of  45.  6d.  there ;  lands  in  Ramsgreve,  of  the  King ;  half  the  manor  of 
Flixton  and  Horwich ;  and  the  manor  of  Oswaldtwisel,  1 2  messuages 
and  a  rent  of  IDS.  id.  there,  of  the  King,  by  half  a  knight's  fee  and  a 
rent  of  25.  3d.,  worth  ;£i8 ;  with  other  lands  in  Lostock  and  Bradshaw. 
Ralph  Barton,  brother  and  next  heir,  was  aged  57  years. 

Ralph  Barton,  Esq.,  of  Grey's  Inn,  afterwards  of  Smithells,  the  next 
successor  in  1580,  died  in  1592.  Escheat  taken  42nd  Eliz.  (1599). 
His  estates  in  Blackburn  district  embraced,  according  to  this  return,  the 
manor  of  Oswaldtwistle,  with  37  messuages,  37  gardens,  one  water  mill,. 
1000  acres  of  land,  100  acres  of  meadow,  and  200  acres  of  pasture; 
12  messuages,  80  acres  of  land,  10  acres  of  meadow,  80  acres  of  pasture, 
50  acres  of  woodland,  and  140  acres  of  moor  and  moss  in  Ramsgreave ; 
and  half  the  manor  of  Blackburn,  with  50  messuages,  120  acres  of 
land,  40  acres  of  meadow,  200  acres  of  pasture,  100  acres  of  moor  and 


254  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

turbary,  and  43.  40!.  rent  in  Blackburn.  Ralph  Barton,  his  son  and  heir, 
was  aged  43  years  and  upwards. 

Ralph  Barton,  Esq.,  lord  of  Blackburn  and  Smithells,  married 
Elizabeth,  daughter  of  John  Wood,  of  Turton,  and  had  a  son  Thomas. 
Ralph  Barton  was  Sheriff  of  the  County  in  1605.  He  died  before  1613, 
seized  of  Oswaldtwistle  and  Blackburn  manors,  with  lands  pertaining ; 
of  lands  in  Ramsgreave  and  Witton  in  this  parish,  and  of  the  other 
estates  named  before  as 'possessed  by  the  family. 

Sir  Thomas  Barton,  of  Smithells,  Knt,  son  of  Ralph,  and  the  last 
male  representative  of  this  race  of  Bartons,  is  found  in  possession  of 
Blackburn  manor  in  1613.  He  was  a  governor  of  Blackburn  Free 
Grammar  School.  He  was  knighted  before  1621.  This  knight  died 
July  i yth,  1659,  and  was  buried  the  iQth  August  following,  at  Bolton. 
His  only  daughter  and  heiress,  Grace  Barton,  was  married  to  Henry 
Belasyse,  Esq.,  M.P.,  eldest  son  of  Thomas,  first  Viscount  Fauconberg, 
and  conveyed  Blackburn  manorial  estate,  with  the  rest  of  the  estates  of 
the  Bartons,  to  that  ennobled  Yorkshire  house. 

BELASYSE,  VISCOUNTS  FAUCONBERG,  LORDS  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Henry  Belasyse,  Esq.,  who  by  his  marriage  with  Grace  Barton 
acquired  for  his  family  the  manors  of  Blackburn,  Smithells,  Oswald- 
twistle, &c.,  in  this  county,  was  son  and  heir  of  Thomas  Belasyse,  first 
Viscount  Fauconberg,  of  Newborough  Abbey,  Co.  York.  He  served  in  • 
the  Long  Parliament  as  Knight  of  the  Shire  for  the  County  of  York. 
By  the  Barton  heiress  he  had  sons,  Thomas ;  Henry,  died  unmarried ; 
Rowland  (see  hereafter) ;  daughters,  Grace,  married  George,  Viscount 
Castleton ;  Frances,  married  Sir  Henry  Jones,  of  Aston,  Knt. ;  Arabella, 
married  Sir  William  Frankland,  Bart. ;  and  Barbara,  married  first,  Walter 
Strickland,  Esq.,  of  Sizergh,  and,  secondly,  Sir  Marmaduke  Dalton. 
Dying  in  his  father's  lifetime,  Henry  Belasyse,  Esq.,  left  his  Lancashire 
estates  to  his  sons  Thomas  and  Rowland,  the  first  of  whom  succeeded 
his  grandfather  in  the  title  and  patrimonial  estates. 

Thomas  Belasyse,  second  Viscount  Fauconberg,  on  his  grandsire's 
decease  in  1652,  married,  first,  Mildred,  daughter  of  Nicholas,  Viscount 
Castleton,  who  died  young,  and  left  no  issue.  He  married,  secondly, 
Nov.  1 8th,  1657,  at  Hampton  Court,  Mary,  third  daughter  of  Oliver 
Cromwell,  Lord  Protector.  The  marriage  was  celebrated,  says  Clarendon, 
"  with  all  imaginable  pomp  and  lustre."  Burnet  says  of  this  daughter  of 
Cromwell : — "  She  was  a  wise  and  worthy  woman,  more  likely  to  have 
maintained  the  post  [of  Protector]  than  either  of  her  brothers ;  according 
to  a  saying  that  went  of  her,  that  '  those  who  wore  breeches  deserved 
petticoats  better ;  but  if  those  in  petticoats  had  been  in  breeches,  they 


DESCENT  OF  BLACKBURN  MANOR.  255 

would  have  held  faster.'"  Andrew  Marvel  composed  "Two  Songs  at  the 
Marriage  of  the  Lord  Fauconberg  and  the  Lady  Mary  Cromwell."1  By 
this  lady,  however,  Lord  Fauconberg  had  no  issue.  April  9th,  1689, 
on  the  accession  of  William  III.  and  Mary,  he  was  created  Earl  Faucon- 
berg by  letters  patent.  He  died  December  3ist,  1700,  and  in  default 
of  issue  the  earldom  expired,  and  the  other  honours  and  the  estates 
reverted  to  a  nephew,  Thomas  Belasyse,  Esq.,  son  of  Sir  Rowland 
Belasyse,  K.B. 

Margaret,  eldest  sister  of  Thomas  Earl  Fauconberg,  married  Sir 
Edward  Osborn,  of  Kiveton,  who  after  her  death  married,  secondly, 
Ann,  daughter  of  Thomas  Walmesley,  of  Dunkenhalgh,  Esq. 

Sir  Rowland  Belasyse,  K.B.,  younger  brother  of  the  Earl,  was  lord 
of  the  manors  of  Blackburn  and  Smithells,  and  is  described  as  "of 
Smithells"  in  1688.  By  his  wife  Anne,  daughter  and  heiress  of  J. 
Davenport,  Esq.,  of  Sutton,  Co. '  Chester,  he  had  sons,  Thomas,  who 
succeeded  his  uncle  as  third  Viscount ;  Henry ;  John,  and  Rowland ; 
and  daughters,  Grace,  Frances,  Arabella,  and  Barbara.  Sir  Rowland 
died  in  1699. 

Thomas  Belasyse,  third  Viscount,  son  of  Sir  Rowland,  and  nephew 
of  Earl  Thomas,  succeeded  to  the  title  and  estates  of  his  uncle  in  1700. 
His  wife  was  Bridget,  daughter  of  Sir  John  Page,  Bart.,  by  whom  he  had 
sons,  Thomas  and  Rowland,  and  three  daughters.  This  representative 
died  Nov.  2oth,  1718. 

Thomas  Belasyse,  his  son,  succeeded  as  fourth  Viscount.  By  him, 
soon  after  his  accession,  the  Lancashire  estates  held  by  the  family  were 
disposed  of.  The  Manor  of  Blackburn  was  sold  by  him,  in  1721,  for 
,£8,650,  to  William  Baldwin,  Henry  Feilden,  and  William  Sudell,  Esqrs.2 
In  1722  Lord  Fauconberg  sold  Oswaldtwistle  Manor  to  James  Whalley, 
of  Sparth,  and  Christopher  Baron,  of  Oswaldtwistle,  gents. ;  and  about 
the  same  date  Smithells  Manor  was  sold  to  the  Byroms  of  Manchester. 
Thomas,  fourth  Viscount  Fauconberg,  died  4th  Feb.,  1774,  and  was 
succeeded  in  the  title  and  Yorkshire  estates  by  his  only  son  Henry  (by 
his  wife  Catherine,  daughter  of  John  Betham,  Esq.)  Henry  Belasyse, 
fifth  Viscount,  was  created  an  Earl,  and  married  twice,  but  had  no  male 
issue,  and  on  his  death,  in  1802,  the  Earldom  lapsed.  Rowland,  son  of 
Anthony,  son  of  Rowland,  fourth  son  of  Sir  Rowland  Belasyse,  succeeded 
as  sixth  Viscount,  and  dying  without  issue  in  1810,  was  succeeded  by 
his  brother,  Rev.  Charles  Belasyse,  D.D.,  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  as  seventh  Viscount,  at  whose  death,  in  1815,  the  barony  and 
Viscounty  of  Fauconberg  became  extinct. 

i  Printed  in  Grosart's  Complete  Works  of  Marvell,  v.  i.  (Verse),  pp.  139-145. 
2  The  Baldwins,  Feildens,  and  Sudells  will  be  noticed  hereafter. 


256  HISTORY    OF  BLACKBURN. 

ENCLOSURE    OF    THE    COMMON    AND    WASTE    LANDS    IN 
BLACKBURN,    A.D.     1618. 

In  the  year  1616,  upon  a  Petition  of  Sir  William  Fleetwood,  Knt, 
lessee  of  the  Rectory  Glebe,  Thomas  Barton,  Esq.,  lord  of  the  temporal 
half  of  the  manor,  John  Morres,  Vicar,  as  holder  of  the  Vicarial  Glebe, 
all  the  charterers  and  copyholders  of  the  township,  and  the  under- 
tenants of  the  Glebe  lands,  praying  for  the  enclosure  and  allotment  of 
waste  and  common  lands,  an  inquisition  was  taken  regarding  the  owner- 
ship of  the  lands  in  Blackburn ;  which  was  followed  by  an  application 
to  the  Court  of  the  Duchy  for  a  Commission  to  survey  and  adjust  the 
allotment  of  the  said  common  and  waste  lands.  The  Commission  was 
granted  by  the  Crown,  and  the  Commissioners  held  an  inquiry  at  Black- 
burn on  the  24th  of  April,  1617.  It  then  appeared  that  680  acres  of 
land  customary  measure,  equal  to  1,266  acres,  or  so,  statute  measure, 
out  of  some  3,600  statute  acres  in  the  township,  were  still  common 
and  waste.  The  Commissioners,  having  by  their  inquisition  ascertained 
the  particulars  of  ownership,  and  the  situation  and  extent  of  the  commons 
and  wastes,  and  reported  thereon,  the  Chancellor  of  the  Duchy  published 
his  Decree,  dated  the  2oth  June,  1618,  by  which  the  whole  of  the  waste 
lands  were  ordered  to  be  enclosed,  and  to  be  alloted/;^  rata  among  all 
owners  of  land  in  Blackburn.  An  abstract  of  the  decree  is  presented 
below  : — 

DECREE  MADE  2OTH  JUNE,  1618,  ASCERTAINING  THE  RIGHTS  OF  THE  LORDS 
OF  THE  MANOR  OF  BLACKBURN,  IN  THE  COMMONS  OR  WASTES  THERE, 
AND  THE  VlCAR  AND  SEVERAL  FREEHOLDERS  AND  COPYHOLDERS  IN  THE 

SAME. 

[ABSTRACT.] — This  cause  was  "between  the  King  and  John  Dewhurst  and 
Thurstan  Mawdesley,  Customary  Tenants  of  the  Crown  within  the  Manor  of  Black- 
burn, in  the  County  of  Lancaster,  of  the  one  part ;  and  George  [Abbot],  Lord  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  and  Thomas  Barton,  Esq.,  Lords  of  the  Manor  of  Blackburn 
aforesaid,  and  Edward  Fleetwood,  Knight,  Farmer  of  the  Rectory  of  Blackburn, 
within  the  Duchy,  and  Thos.  Holden,  and  other  Freeholders  within  the  same,  of  the 
other  part."  The  preamble  recites  that,  "by  an  Inquisition  taken  at  Blackburn, 
&c.,  upon  the  2Oth  day  of  September,  1616,  before  Humfrey  Davenport  and  John 
Hart,  Esqrs." — upon  the  oaths  "of  John  Rhodes,  of  Thornley,  in  the  said  county; 
Henry  Hammond,  John  Ward,  Nicholas  Crombleholme,  John  Rodes,  of  Thornley, 
in  the  said  county ;  John  Moore,  Thomas  Ryley,  James  Aspinall,  John  Middleton, 
Richard  Parker,  Robert  Parker,  Edward  Houghton,  Henry  Hurst,  and  John  Cottom, 
gentlemen,"— it  was  found  "that  the  now  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  is  seised  in  his 
demesne  as  of  fee,  of  and  in  the  Rectory  and  Parsonage  of  Blackburn,  &c. ,  and  of  and 
in  the  moiety  of  the  Manor  of  Blackburn  aforesaid,  belonging  to  the  said  Parsonage. 
And  that  Thomas  Barton,  Esq.,  is  seized  in  his  demesne  as  of  fee,  of  and  in  the  other 
moiety  of  the  said  Manor.  And  that  there  are  certain  wastes  lying  near  unto  Black- 
burn town,  containing  in  all  about  680  acres,  after  seven  yards  and  a  half  to  the  perch, 
whereof  all  (save  90  acres  or  thereabouts)  do  lye  within  the  township  of  Blackburn. 


INCLOSURE  OF  WASTE  LANDS.  257 

And  the  said  90  acres  were,  at  the  time  of  the  said  Inquisition,  in  controversy  between 
the  said  Archbishop  and  the  said  Thomas  Barton,  on  the  one  part,  and  the  Lords, 
charterers  and  others  of  the  town  o?  Nether  Darwen,  on  the  other  part,  whether  the 
said  90  acres  did  lye  within  the  township  of  Blackburn,  or  within  the  township  of 
Nether  Darwen."     It  appeared  by  the  same  inquisition  that  the  Archbishop,  in  right 
of  his  Archbishopric,  was  seized  in  his  demesne  as  of  fee  of  the  moiety  of  the  soil  of 
the  said  Wastes  within  the  township  of  Blackburn  ;  that  Thomas   Barton  was  seized 
in  his  demesne  as  of  fee  of  the  other  moiety  of  the  soil  of  the  said  Wastes.     It  further 
appeared  that  since  the  inquisition  the  parties  interested  had  agreed  to  a  partition  of 
the  ninety  acres  of  waste  in  question  between  the  townships  of  Blackburn  and  Nether 
Darwen,  which  gave  35  ac.  3  r.  of  the  said  90  acres  to  Blackburn,  and  the  residue  to 
Nether  Darwen.      Of  the  35  a.  3  r.  declared  to  be  in  Blackburn,  the  Archbishop  and 
Thomas  Barton  were  severally  seized,  each  of  a  moiety.     And  it  appeared  that  all  the 
Wastes  of  the  soil,  whereof  the  Archbishop  and  Thomas  Barton  were  respectively 
seized  in  the  township,  were   "three  several  Wastes,  Moors,  or  Commons,  the  one 
called  Colepit  Moor,  alias  Whinney  Edge,  the  other  called  Revidge  Moor,  and  the 
third,  which  is  a  small  moor,  containing  about  three  acres,  called  Blakey  Moor. "     It 
further  appeared  that  John  Morris,  Clerk,  Vicar  of  Blackburn,  in  respect  and  right  of 
the  said  Vicarage  ;  and  Thomas  Holden,  William  Barcroft,  Thomas  Kenyon,  Richard 
Lawe,  Miles  Aspinall,  and  James  Aspinall,  in  respect  of  divers  lands  and  tenements 
lying  in  the  township  of  Blackburn,  of  which  they  had  several  estates  of  inheritance, 
had  and  ought  to  have  common  in  the  said  Wastes  and   Moors,  and  that  Thurstan 
Maudsley  and  John  Dewhurst,  copyholders  of  divers  lands  and  tenements  in  the  said 
township  belonging  to  the  Duchy  of  Lancaster,  had  and  ought  likewise  to  have  common 
in  the  said  Wastes  and  Moors,  and  the  under-tenants  of  the  Glebe,  and  the  farmers  of 
Thomas  Barton's  lands,  had  in  the  right  of  their  landlords  common  in  the  said  wastes ; 
and  further  that  Sir  William   Fleetwood,   Thomas   Barton,   John  Morris,    Thomas 
Kenyon,  Richard  Lawe,  James  Aspinall,  and  Miles  Aspinall,  and  the  under-tenants  of 
the  glebe,  had  divers  times  petitioned  the  Archbishop  to  consent  to  the  "enclosing  of 
the  said  moors,  wastes,  and  commons,  as  being  a  thing  tending  to  the  good  of  the 
common  wealth  of  the  Kingdom,  and  to  the  private  good  of  the  said  petitioners, "  who 
desired  upon  the  said  enclosure  to  have  their  proportionate  part  of  the  said  wastes, 
&c.,  according  to  their  several  and  respective  inlands.     And  the  Archbishop,  after 
inquiry,  having  found  it  to  be  true   ' '  that  the  said  wastes  or  moors  had,  by  reason  of 
non-culture,  yielded  very  little  profit "  unto  those  who  commoned  in  them,  and  if 
enclosed  would  yield  a  far  larger  revenue  and  profit,  did  condescend  to  their  petition, 
and  applied  to  the  King's  Highness  to  award  a  Commission  out  of  the  Court  of  the 
Duchy,  for  the  allotting,  unto  those  who  had   right  of  common  there,  of  convenient 
portions  of  the  said  Moors  and  Wastes.     The  Commission  was  granted  accordingly, 
with  orders  to  view  and  survey  the  said  wastes,  and  to  take   evidence  of  the  tenants, 
and  with  full  power  and  authority  to  apportion  and  allot  to  the  interested  parties 
competent  and  convenient  portions  of  such  common  lands,  &c.     The  Commission  had 
held  an  inquiry  at  Blackburn  on  the  24th  of  April,  1617,  and  had  found  that  the  only  copy- 
holders of  the  King  in  the  said  township  were  Thurstan  Maudsley  and  John  Dewhurst  j 
as  to  Maudsley's  title,  they  found  "  by  a  copy  of  Court  Roll,  that  there  was  a  presentment 
made  the  23rd  April,  35th  Queen  Elizabeth  (1593),  at  a  Court  holden  for  the  said  Queen, 
at  the  Castle  of  Clitheroe,"  that  "one  Edward  Maudsley  died  a  little  before  the  Court 
so  holden,  being,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  seized  in  fee,  according  to  the  custom,  of  and 
in  one  messuage  and  other  buildings,  and  of  and  in  14  acres  of  land,  called  Ousbooth," 
in  Blackburn,  and  that  his  brother  and  heir,  Henry  Maudsley,  prayed  to  be  admitted 

17 


258  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

and  was  admitted  tenant  of  the  said  lands  ;  and  that  the  said  Thurstan  Maudsley  claimed 
to  hold  the  said  copyhold  lands,  &c. ,  as  son  and  heir  of  the  said  Henry ;"  as  to 
Dewhurst's  title,  a  copy  of  Court  Roll  showed  that  at  a  Court  holden  at  Clitheroe, 
May  25th,  26th  Eliz.  (1584),  came  William  Dewhurst,  and  John  Dewhurst  his  son  and 
heir,  and  surrendered  into  the  Queen's  hands  one  messuage  and  certain  buildings,  and 
34  acres,  I  rood  and  one  eighth  of  a  rood  of  land,  in  Blackburn,  called  Beardsworth 
Green,  to  the  use  of  one  Robert  Barcroft  and  their  heirs,  &c.  ;  and  that  the  said  John 
Dewhurst  claimed  to  hold  the  said  copyhold  lands  and  tenements.  The  Commis- 
sioners had  accordingly  allotted  to  the  said  Thurstan  Maudsley  7  acres  of  Waste  and 
Common  land,  after  the  measure  used  in  the  township ;  and  to  the  said  John  Dewhurst, 
1 7  acres  and  the  half  and  sixteenth  of  a  rood  of  Waste  and  Common  ;  by  which  the 
said  Thurstan  Maudsley  and  John  Dewhurst  were  very  well  satisfied  and  contented." 
Upon  which  Commission,  certificate  and  return,  the  Chancellor  and  Counsel  of  the 
Duchy  ordered,  on  the  1 6th  July,  1617,  "  that  all  the  tenants  of  Blackburn,  and  those 
who  were  any  ways  interested  in  the  said  Commons  and  Wastes,  should  shew  cause  in 
the  Duchy  Court,  in  Michaelmas  Term  the  next  following,  why  a  decree  should  not 
be  entered  by  consent,  for  the  establishing  and  confirming  of  the  enclosing  of  the  said 
Wastes."  By  affidavit  made  in  that  Court,  it  appeared  that  "the  said  John  Dewhurst 
had  his  proportionable  part  of  the  said  Waste,  lying  fitly,  &c.,  set  out  and  measured, 
in  and  upon  Revidge  Moor,  being  one  of  the  said  Wastes  ;"  and  "the  said  Thurstan 
Maudsley  had  his  proportionable  part  of  the  said  Wastes,  lying  fitly,  &c.,  set  out  and 
measured  in  and  upon  the  said  Moor  called  Revidge  Moor ;"  in  full  satisfaction  of 
such  Common  as  they  claimed.  And  it  appeared,  by  affidavit  and  by  the  acknow- 
ledgment of  John  Morris,  Vicar  of  Blackburn,  that  unto  the  said  Vicarage  there 
belonged  "not  above  50  acres  of  glebe  at  the  most,  lying  and  being  within  the  said 
township  of  Blackburn  ;"  that  in  right  of  the  Vicarage  he  the  said  Vicar  was  to  have 
Common  in  the  said  Wastes  ;  and  that  ' '  there  was  apportioned  and  set  forth  by  certain 
measures  and  bounds,  for  the  use  of  him  the  said  Vicar  of  Blackburn  and  his  successors 
for  ever,  in  full  satisfaction  of  his  said  Common  in  the  said  Wastes,  divers  parcels  of 
Land,  lying  in  several  places  in  the  said  Moors,  called  Revidge  Moor,  and  Cole  Pit 
Moor,  or  otherwise  called  Whinney  Edge  Moor  aforesaid,  23  acres,  I  rood,  13  falls  of 
Land,  after  the  measure  used  in  the  said  Township  of  Blackburn,  with  which  said 
portion  and  share  of  the  said  Wastes,  he  the  said  John  Morris  was  well  satisfied  and 
contented. "  The  Freeholders  in  the  township  were,  first,  Thomas  Holden,  who  had 
"about  26  acres  of  Inland  being  his  inheritance  in  fee,"  of  which  said  Inland  of  the 
Holdens,  John  Bolton  had  an  estate  for  life  or  lives  ;  and  in  satisfaction  of  his  common 
there  was  allotted,  set  forth,  and  measured  unto  the  said  Thomas  Holden,  &c.,  divers 
parcels  of  Land  of  the  said  Commons,  situate  on  Revidge  Moor,  containing  1 1  acres 
2  roods  or  thereabouts,  after  the  measure  used  in  the  said  township,  with  which  portion 
of  the  said  Wastes,  "the  greatest  part  whereof  being  of  the  best  sort  of  ground  in  the 
said  Moor,  he  the  said  Thomas  Holden  was  and  is  well  satisfied  and  contented. "  It 
also  appeared  that  William  Barcroft  had  about  24  acres  of  Inland,  his  inheritance  in 
fee,  in  the  township,  which  gave  him  right  of  Common  in  the  said  Wastes ;  and  in 
lieu  of  that  right  "there  was  allotted,  apportioned,  measured,  and  set  forth  unto  him 
the  said  William  Barcroft,  a  certain  parcel  of  land  in  the  said  Wastes  upon  Cole  Pit 
Moor,  alias  Whinney  Edge  Moor,"  containing  n  acres  or  thereabouts,  after  the 
measure  used  in  the  said  township,  wherewith  he  William  Barcroft  was  well  satisfied 
and  contented.  Also,  Thomas  Kenyon,  Richard  Lawe,  and  Miles  and  James  Aspinall, 
had  divers  parcels  of  Inland,  containing  about  45  acres,  being  their  inheritance  in  fee, 
for  which  they  had  Common  in  the  said  Wastes,  and  in  lieu  of  which  these  four  Free- 


INCLOSURE  OF  WASTE  LANDS.  259 

holders  received  divers  parcels  of  land  on  the  Waste  and  Moor  called  Revidge, 
containing  18  acres  2  roods  or  thereabouts,  to  be  shared  amongst  them,  according  to 
their  several  quantities  of  Inland,  with  which  share  they  were  all  well  satisfied,  pleased, 
and  contented.  After  the  disposal  of  these  lesser  claims,  the  bulk  of  the  Waste 
Lands  enclosed  remained  to  be  divided  between  the  lords  of  the  two  moieties  of  the 
Manor,  Thomas  Barton  and  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  The  Court  found  that 
Thomas  Barton  had  in  Fee  simple  the  Moiety  of  the  Manor  of  Blackburn  as  aforesaid, 
and  divers  parcels  of  Inlands,  as  parcel  of  the  said  moiety,  amounting  to  600  acres  or 
thereabouts,  after  the  measure  in  the  said  township,  in  regard  whereof  he  was  lord  of 
one  moiety  of  the  said  Waste  Lands,  and  the  Court  in  lieu  of  his  and  his  tenants' 
Common  in  the  said  Wastes,  allotted,  apportioned,  measured,  and  set  out  unto  the 
said  Thomas  Barton,  and  his  heirs,  divers  parcels  of  land  on  the  Wastes  and  Moors 
called  Revidge  Moor,  and  Cole  Pit  Moor,  alias  Whinney  Edge  Moor,  containing  255 
acres  o%  rood  9  falls,  or  thereabouts,  according  to  the  measure  used  in  the  township, 
and  with  this  allotment  the  said  Thomas  Barton  was  very  well  satisfied,  contented, 
and  pleased.  Lastly,  it  appeared  that  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  had,  in  right  of 
the  said  Archbishopric,  the  other  Moiety  of  the  Manor  of  Blackburn  and  divers  parcels 
of  Inlands,  being  the  Glebe  of  the  said  Parsonage  of  Blackburn,  amounting  to  5°° 
acres  or  thereabouts,  according  to  the  measure  used  in  the  said  township,  in  regard 
whereof  the  Archbishop  was  lord  of  the  moiety  of  the  soil  of  the  said  Wastes,  and  his 
Farmer  of  the  Parsonage  and  Tenants  of  the  Glebe  had  Common  in  the  said  Wastes ; 
wherefore  the  Court  in  lieu  of  such  common,  allotted,  measured,  and  set  forth  to  the 
said  Archbishop  and  his  successors,  for  ever,  divers  parcels  of  Land  of  the  said  Wastes 
and  Moors,  lying  on  Revidge  Moor,  and  Cole  Pit  Moor,  or  Whinney  Edge  Moor, 
containing  231  acres,  3  roods,  1 6  falls  or  thereabouts,  after  the  measure  used  in  the 
township,  which  is  very  near  double  so  much  after  the  statute  acre ;  and  with  this 
share  or  portion  the  Archbishop  and  his  Farmer  of  the  Parsonage  were  well  satisfied 
and  contented.  But  the  Lords  of  the  Manor,  the  Archbishop  and  Thomas  Barton, 
were  to  set  out  in  Whinney  Edge  Moor  two  acres  of  land,  and  in  Revidge  Moor  one 
acre  of  land,  of  the  customary  measure  of  the  township,  "for  the  getting  of  stones" 
for  their  farmers  and  tenants.  The  Court  further  ordered  that  the  said  Archbishop 
and  the  said  Thomas  Barton  should  "set  out  of  the  said  Moor  or  Waste,  called 
Cole  Pit  Moor  or  Whinney  Edge  Moor,  a  quantity  of  land,  lying  next  unto  Blackburn 
Town's  End,  containing  upon  admeasurement  thereof  made,  ten  acres,  according  to 
the  said  measure,  used  and  employed  for  ever  for  the  service  of  his  Majesty,  his  Heirs 
and  Successors,  for  the  mustering  and  training  of  people  in  that  part,  and  for  the 
recreation  of  the  Inhabitants  of  the  said  Town,  and  for  the  good  and  profit  of  the  said 
Town  and  Poor  thereof,  as  a  gift  given  for  ever,  for  the  uses  aforesaid,  by  them,  the 
said  Archbishop  and  the  said  Thomas  Barton,  of  the  parts  and  portions  of  the  said 
Wastes  and  Moors  now  intended  to  be  inclosed."  It  was  also  made  known  unto  the 
Court  that  the  Archbishop  had  caused  his  Lessee  of  the  Rectory  Lands,  Sir  William 
Fleetwood,  to  promise  to  the  under-tenants,  that  they  should  have  amongst  them,  to 
be  divided  as  they  should  agree  amongst  themselves,  1 60  and  odd  acres,  parcel  of  the 
property  of  the  Archbishopric,  after  the  measure  of  the  township,  for  the  residue  of  the 
term  of  years  that  the  said  Sir  William  then  had  the  Parsonage,  which  was  about 
twenty  years,  for  the  yearly  rent  of  I2d.  the  acre,  and  for  every  small  fine  or  income, 
about  285.  the  acre,  one  with  another,  to  be  paid  to  the  said  Sir  William  Fleetwood ; 
and  that  the  Archbishop  "had  caused  the  said  Sir  William  Fleetwood,  during  his 
term,  to  give  and  pay  yearly  unto  the  said  Vicar,  Churchwardens,  and  Sidesmen  of 
the  said  Parish  of  Blackburn,  for  the  term,"  &c.,  "£$  of  lawful  money  of  England,  to 


260  HISTORY    OF  BLACKBURN. 

be  paid  yearly,  at  two  Feasts  in  the  year"  (Michaelmas  and  Annunciation  Day) ;  the 
same  to  be  distributed  yearly  at  Michaelmas,  by  the  Vicar  and  Churchwardens,  to  the 
Poor  Tenants  of  the  Glebe  of  the  Parsonage  ;  and  the  Archbishop  had  further  ordered 
that  all  future  Farmers  or  Possessors  of  the  said  Parsonage  for  the  time  being  should 
for  ever  pay  a  like  sum  of  ^5  to  the  Vicar  and  Wardens  for  the  like  charitable  distri- 
bution. It  was  therefore  upon  the  above  premises  finally  ordered,  adjudged,  and 
decreed  on  the  2Qth  of  June,  in  the  l6th  of  James  the  First's  reign  (1618),  by  Sir 
Humphrey  Muir,  Knt. ,  Chancellor  of  the  said  Duchy  of  Lancaster,  &c. ,  with  the  King's 
consent,  and  with  the  consent  of  all  the  parties,  that  the  said  Moors  or  Wastes,  called 
Revidge  Moor  and  Cole  Pit  or  Whinney  Edge  Moor  (except  the  plots  of  ten  acres  and 
of  three  acres  before  mentioned  as  to  be  excepted),  should  and  might  be  with  all 
convenient  speed  taken  in  and  enclosed,  and  for  ever  hereafter  should  be ;  and  that  the 
several  and  respective  allotments  above  specified  should  be  taken,  held,  and  occupied 
by  all  the  parties  before  named,  for  ever ;  and  the  Court  also  decreed  that  the  afore- 
said IO  acres  adjoining  to  Blackburn  Town  End  "  should  for  ever  lye,  be,  and  continue 
open,  and  not  enclosed,  and  that  the  same  shall  be  employed  and  used  for  ever,"  &c., 
"for  the  mustering  and  training  of  Soldiers  in  these  parts,  when  occasion  shall  require, 
and  to  and  for  the  recreation  of  the  People  of  the  said  Town  ;  and  the  profits, 
pasture,  or  herbage  of  the  said  ten  acres  should  from  henceforth  for  ever  be  received, 
used,  taken,  and  enjoyed,  to  and  for  the  good  and  profit  of  the  said  Town,  and  of  the 
Poor  thereof."  The  Decree  is  given  under  the  seal  of  the  Duchy,  nth  July,  1 6th 
James  I.  (1618). 

ANCIENT  FREEHOLDERS  AND  LESSER  GENTRY. 

Subjoined  are  some  particulars  respecting  certain  families  of  the 
standing  of  lesser  gentry,  yeomen  or  freeholders,  formerly  seated  in  the 
township  and  town  of  Blackburn. 

ABBOT  OF  WHITEBIRK. 

John  Abbot  of  Blackburn  became  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in 
1596. 

George  Abbot  married,  Feb.  4th,  1615,  Margerie  Duckworth.  George  Abbot  of 
Whytebirk  occurs  in  1622,  when  his  wife  was  buried ;  and  was  a  warden  of  Blackburn 
Church  in  1636. 

John  Abbot  of  Whytebirk,  named  in  1636,  was  elected  a  Governor  of  the 
Grammar  School  in  1646. 

James  Abbot,  of  Higher  Whitebirk,  died  in  December,  1659. 

Thomas  Abbot  of  Blackburn,  yeoman,  by  his  wife  Ann,  had  a  son  John,  born  in 
1701,  and  other  issue. 

John  Abbot  of  Whitebirk  was  buried  Nov.  i8th,  1721. 

George  Abbot  of  Blackburn  married,  Dec.  4th,  1710,  Elizabeth  Gardner  of  Preston. 

George  Abbot  of  Blackburn,  attorney-at-law,  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar 
School,  was  buried  Oct.  24th,  1775. 

George  Abbot  of  Blackburn,  gentleman,  married  Mary  Shorrock,  May  2 1st,  1758, 
and  had  a  son  John,  born  in  December,  1761.  George  Abbot,  gentleman,  was  buried 
June  24th,  1790,  aged  53. 

ASPINALL    OF    ROYSHAW. 

Thomas  Haspynhalgh,  of  Blackburn,  is  assessed  to  the  Subsidy  of  1523.  William 
Asmall,  of  Blackburn,  is  taxed  to  a  Subsidy  in  1570. 


FAMILIES  OF  LESSER  GENTRY  AND  YEOMEN.  26i 

Myles  Aspinall  of  Blackburn,  a  Governor  of  the  Grammar  School,  died  in  1595. 
' '  George  Asmolle, "  probably  son  of  Myles,  was  elected  a  Governor  of  the  School  the 
same  year.  In  the  appropriation  and  enclosure  of  waste  lands  and  commons  of  Black- 
burn township  in  1618,  Miles  Aspinall  and  James  Aspinall  were  awarded  plots  of 
waste  for  their  parcels  of  freehold  land. 

William  Aspinall,  of  Royshaw,  was  buried  at  Blackburn,  August  loth,  1622. 
Mary  Aspinall,  of  Royshaw,  was  buried  August  2ist,  the  same  year.  Robert  Aspinall, 
townsman,  was  buried  Oct.  1 9th,  1624. 

Thomas  Aspinall,  of  Royshaw,  died  in  March,  1630-1.  His  widow  was  buried  at 
Blackburn,  Nov.  22nd,  1632. 

Myles  Aspinall,  of  Blackburn,  married  Jenet  Bayley,  and  had  sons  Richard,  born 
in  1619;  Peter,  born  1625;  and  John,  born  in  1627,  married  Sept.,  1655,  Isabel 
Whitaker ;  also  a  daughter,  Christabel.  "  Uxor  Myles  Aspinall"  was  buried  in 
August,  1635. 

Myles  Aspinall,  called  "Myles  o'  Gyles,"  was  buried  Jan.  igth,  1657-8. 

James  Aspinall,  of  Royshaw,  had  a  son  George,  who  died  young  in  1622.  A  son, 
Christopher,  of  James  Aspinall,  was  baptized  Sept.  28th,  1634.  A  daughter,  Ann, 
married,  in  1656,  Thomas  Alston  of  Wiswall.  James  Aspinall,  senior,  was  living  in 
1658.  Isabel,  wife  of  James  Aspinall  of  Royshaw,  died  in  June,  1658. 

James  Aspinall  of  Royshaw  ("junior"  in  1656-8),  had  several  children  : — John, 
born  in  1658;  James,  born  in  1669;  Thomas,  born  in  1671  ;  a  second  John,  born  in 
1673 ;  Joseph,  born  in  1677  ;  and  a  daughter  Elizabeth,  born  in  1656. 

The  following  died  in  the  years  stated  : — Thomas  Asmoll,  of  Blackburn,  1674  ; 
George  Aspinall,  of  Blackburn,  1676;  John  Aspinall,  of  Blackburn,  1678. 

Myles  Aspinall,  of  Blackburn,  occurs  in  1679,  when  Ellen,  his  wife,  was  buried, 
March  gth,  1679-80.  He  died  in  1687.  A  daughter,  Ann,  of  Myles  Aspinall,  of 
Royshaw,  died  in  1659. 

Myles  Aspinall,  of  Royshaw,  married  Nov.  5th,  1678,  Elizabeth  Core,  and  had 
issue  between  1680  and  1690. 

The  particular  relation  of  the  above  Aspinalls  to  each  other  cannot  be  proved  by 
the  church  registers  alone ;  but  most  of  them  appear  to  have  belonged  to  the  family 
that  had  the  Royshaw  freehold. 

Later,  Myles  Aspinall,  of  Blackburn,  chapman,  occurs  in  I757>  when  he  had  a 
son  John  born,  and  when  Elizabeth,  his  wife,  deceased. 

Myles  Aspinall  of  Blackburn,  gentleman,  married,  Sept.  25th,  1763,  Mary 
Dewhurst,  widow. 

BARCROFT,    FREEHOLDERS    IN    BLACKBURN. 

The  freeholder  named  Barcroft  who  had  an  estate  in  Blackburn  at  the  date  of  the 
Survey  of  1617,  was  a  member  of  the  Barcrofts  of  Barcroft,  in  Cliviger.  Robert 
Barcroft,  of  Barcroft,  who  died  in  April,  1612,  was  proved  by  inquisition  for  the  escheat 
to  have  been  seized  (besides  lands  in  Cliviger)  of  the  half  of  one  messuage  and  a 
cottage,  with  40  acres  of  arable  land,  meadow,  and  pasture,  in  Blackburn,  held  of 
Thomas  Barton,  Esq.,  in  socage. 

William  Barcroft,  son  of  Robert,  had,  by  the  Decree  of  1618,  eleven  acres  of 
Waste  in  Blackburn  allotted  him,  on  account  of  his  24  customary  acres  of  freehold 
land  there.  He  died  in  1620,  in  possession  of  a  messuage  and  lands  in  Blackburn,  as 
well  as  his  lands  in  Cliviger,  Worsthorne,  and  Hurstwood.  His  eldest  son  and  heii 
was  Thomas  Bancroft. 


262  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

BOLTON    OF   BROOKHOUSE. 

NOTICES    OF   REV.   ADAM   BOLTON,    AND    REV.    ROBERT 
BOLTON,    B.D.,    THE   PURITAN  AUTHOR. 

The  Boltons  were  lessees  of  the  estate  of  the  Brookhouse,  in  Blackburn,  a  portion 
of  the  Rectory  Glebe,  and  may  also  have  possessed  at  some  period  a  small  freehold  in 
the  township.1  William  Bolton,  of  Blackburn,  was  assessed  to  the  Subsidy  in  1523. 

Richard  Bolton,  living  at  the  Brookhouse  in  1545,  had  sons  Adam,  Giles,  and  Robert. 

Adam  Bolton,  tenant  of  the  Brookhouse  estate  in  1570,  a  first  Governor  of 
Blackburn  Free  Grammar  School  in  1567,  died  in  1593-  By  his  wife  Elizabeth,  who 
died  in-  1610,  he  had  sons  Adam,  Giles,  Thomas,  James,  John,  and  Robert-  -the 
youngest  being  the  distinguished  Puritan  divine. 

Adam  Bolton,  eldest  son  of  Adam,  farmed  the  Brookhouse  tenement  from  1593 
until  his  death  in  1639.  He  had  a  daughter  Elizabeth,  born  in  1605.  The  Will  of 
Adam  Bolton,  of  Brookhouse,  yeoman,  is  dated  Feb.  28th,  1639-40,  and  was  proved 
April  3rd,  1640.  Testator  desires  to  be  buried  in  Blackburn  Church  ;  and  bequeaths 
to  his  daughter  Elizabeth,  whom  he  appoints  his  executrix,  all  his  goods  whatsoever. 

Several  of  the  younger  brethren  of  Adam  must  be  noted.  Giles  Bolton,  who  also 
occupied  Brookhouse,  became  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1625. 
He  died  in  1641.  He  had  sons,  Adam,  died  in  1616  ;  Robert ;  Thomas;  John,  "of 
Brookhouse,  gentleman,"  a  Governor  of  the  Grammar  School  (elected  in  1662),  and 
Clerk  of  Blackburn  Parish  Church,  died  in  1688;  and  James. 

Thomas  Bolton,  third  son  of  Adam,  died  in  1622.— James  Bolton,  fourth  son,  who 
died  in  1635,  had  sons  James,  Joseph,  and  Adam.  The  younger  son,  Adam,  entered 
the  church,  and  was  instituted  to  the  Vicarage  of  his  native  parish  in  June,  1628,  on 
the  appointment  of  Archbishop  Abbot.  Vicar  Bolton  married  Ann,  sister  of  William 
Farrington,  Esq.,  and  died  in  1646.  His  Will  is  dated  Sept.  24th,  1646.  In  it 
reference  is  made  to  Ann,  wife  of  testator,  a  son  Samuel,  a  daughter  Hannah,  two 
brothers,  James  and  Joseph,  and  several  sisters.  Ann,  wife,  and  William  Farrington 
and  Henry  Tomlinson,  brothers-in-law  of  testator,  executors.  Samuel  Bolton,  son 
of  the  Vicar,  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  well-known  Doctor  of  Divinity,  Samuel 
Bolton,  but  this  is  doubtful  by  the  dates,  and  his  biographers  give  us  no  hints  of  his 
Blackburn  parentage.  Dr.  Samuel  Bolton  was  born  in  1606,  educated  at  Cambridge. 
He  was  in  succession  Vicar  of  St.  Martin's,  in  the  City  of  London,  St.  Saviour's,  South- 
wark,  and  St.  Andrew's,  Holborn.  Upon  the  death  of  Dr.  Bainbrigge,  he  was  chosen 
Master  of  Christ's  College,  Cambridge,  and  held  that  office  until  his  death.  He  died 
October  I5th,  1654,  aged  48  years  ;  and  was  buried  in  St.  Martin's  Church,  Ludgate- 
street,  London.  Calamy,  his  friend,  preached  his  funeral  sermon.  Dr.  Samuel 
Bolton's  published  writings  include  a  sermon  preached  before  the  House  of  Commons 
on  Humiliation  Day,  March  25th,  1646 ;  and  numerous  theological  treatises.  His 
works  were  published  between  the  years  1644  and  1657.  A  collected  edition,  issued 
in  1657,  has  for  frontispiece  a  portrait  of  the  Doctor,  engraved  by  Van  Horn. 

John  Bolton,  of  Blackburn,  another  son  of  Adam,  was  lessee  of  Thomas  Holden's 
freehold  estate  in  the  township  in  1617. 

Robert  Bolton,  youngest  of  the  sons  of  Adam  Bolton  of  Brookhouse,  was  the 
famous  Greek  scholar  and  preacher,  who  by  his  gifts  and  graces  dignified  the  humble 
yeoman  stock  from  which  he  sprung.  The  original  source  of  information  concerning 
him  is  the  memoir  composed  by  "  E.  B. "  (Edward  Bagshawe,  his  intimate  friend), 
entitled  "The  Life  and  Death  of  Mr.  Bolton,"  which  is  prefixed  to  the  four  editions  of 

i   See,  for  interesting  particulars  of  this  family,  a  "Genealogical  Account  of  the  Family  of  Bolton 
in  England  and  America,"  by  Robert  Bolton,  A.M.      New  York,  1862. 


MEMOIR  OF  ROBERT  BOLTON,  B.D.  263 

Mr.  Bolton's  last  work  "Of  the  Four  Last  Things, "  published  in  1632/1633,  1635,  and 
1639.  Of  his  birth  and  birth-place  Bagshawe  writes  : — "  He  was  borne  at  Blackborne 
a  towne  of  good  note  in  Lancashire  (a  country  fruitfull  of  good  wits,  witness  those  two 
great  lights  of  learning,  the  unkle  and  nephew,  Dean  Nowell  and  Dr.  [William] 
Whitaker),  on  Whitsunday  Anno  Dom.  1572.  His  parents  being  not  of  any  great 
meanes,  yet  finding  in  him  a  great  towardliness  for  learning,  destinated  him  to  bee  a 
scholler,  and  strugled  with  their  estate  to  furnish  him  with  necessaries  in  that  kind, 
apprehending  the  advantage  of  a  singular  School-master  that  was  then  in  the  towne 
[Mr.  Yates,  Master  of  the  Grammar  School].  Hee  plied  his  booke  so  well,  that  in 
short  time  he  became  the  best  Scholler  in  the  Schoole.  He  continued  long  at  Schoole, 
and  came  not  to  the  University  till  about  the  twentieth  yeare  of  his  age.  He  was 
placed  at  Oxford  in  Lincolne  Colledge,  under  the  tuition  of  Mr.  Randall,  a  man  of  no 
great  note  then,  but  afterward  became  a  learned  divine  and  godly  preacher  at  London. 
In  that  Colledge  he  fell  close  to  the  studies  of  logicke  and  philosophic,  and  by  reason 
of  that  groundwork  of  learning  he  got  at  schoole,  and  maturity  of  yeares,  he  quickly 
got  the  start  of  those  of  his  owne  time,  and  grew  into  fame  in  that  house.  In  the 
middest  of  these  his  studies  his  father  died,  and  then  his  meanes  failed,  for  all  his 
father's  lands  fell  to  his  elder  brother  now  living. "  Anderton,  another  brilliant  youth, 
was  Bolton's  schoolfellow  at  Blackburn ;  and  the  acquaintance  was  renewed  at  Oxford. 
When  the  death  of  his  father  had  left  him  almost  in  penury,  Robert  Bolton  did  not 
succumb  to  the  difficulties  of  his  situation.  No  longer  able  to  purchase  books,  he 
borrowed  from  his  tutor  Randal,  and  copied  large  portions  of  many  works  into  manu- 
script books,  so  as  to  have  the  contents  available  when  the  borrowed  volumes  had 
been  returned.  It  was  in  the  classic  languages  that  Bolton  displayed  the  greatest 
proficiency,  especially  in  Greek,  in  which  Anthony  Wood  says  he  "was  so  expert  that 
he  could  write  it  and  dispute  in  it  with  as  much  ease  as  in  English  or  Latin."  After 
a  few  years'  residence  at  Lincoln  College,  Bolton  transferred  himself  to  Brazenose 
College,  with  the  view  of  striving  for  one  of  its  fellowships.  He  proceeded  Bachelor 
of  Arts  in  1596.  For  six  years,  until  the  coveted  fellowship  was  won,  Robert  Bolton 
had  to  depend  upon  friends  for  assistance,  and  was  much  beholden  to  Dr.  Brett,  of 
Lincoln  College,  for  many  acts  of  service.  It  was  in  1602  that  Boltcn  was  elected  a 
Fellow  of  his  college,  and  he  took  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts  in  July  of  the  same  year. 
By  this  time  his  singular  abilities  becoming  widely  known,  procured  for  him  the  posts 
of  Lecturer  in  Logic  and  in  Moral  and  Natural  Philosophy  in  Brazenose.  On  a  visit 
of  King  James  the  First  to  Oxford,  Mr.  Bolton  was  chosen  as  one  of  several  to  exhibit 
their  powers  of  disputation  for  the  monarch's  entertainment,  and  the  royal  pedant  was 
so  impressed  by  Bolton's  gifts  that  he  afterwards  spoke  of  him  as  the  "brightest 
ornament "  of  his  college.  At  this  period  of  his  life  it  is  recorded  that  Bolton  had  no 
religious  feeling,  but  was  a  swearer,  a  Sabbath-breaker,  and  had  a  fondness  for  cards, 
plays,  and  similar  recreations.  His  associate,  Anderton,  known  for  his  eloquence  as 
"Golden-mouthed  Anderton,"  a  zealous  adherent  of  the  Roman  Church,  employed  all 
his  persuasiveness  to  induce  Bolton  to  join  that  Communion.  He  had  exacted  his  promise 
to  go  with  him  to  the  Continent,  to  enter  one  of  the  Catholic  seminaries  in  Flanders, 
tempting  the  poverty  of  Bolton  with  promises  of  abundant  gold.  An  accident 
frustrated  this  design  of  Anderton,  and  Bolton  was  restored  to  Oxford  and  the  reformed 
faith.  "A  day  and  place  were  appointed  in  Lancashire,  where  they  should  meet  and 
from  thence  take  shipping  and  be  gone.  Mr.  Bolton  went  at  the  day  and  place,  but 
Mr.  Anderton  came  not,  so  hee  escaped  that  snare. "  After  Anderton's  departure, 
the  character  of  Robert  Bolton  underwent  a  rapid  transformation  through  the  instruc- 
tions of  the  excellent  Mr.  Thomas  Peacock.  On  taking  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of 


264  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Divinity  in  1609,  he  resolved  to  enter  upon  the  clerical  office,  and  in  1610  was  presented 
by  Sir  Augustine  Nicolls  to  the  rectory  of  Broughton  in  Northamptonshire.  He  was  then 
thirty-eight  years  old,  and  two  years  after,  in  1 612,  Mr.  Bolton  married  Anne,  youngest 
daughter  of  Vincent  Boys,  Esq.,  of  Bakesbourne,  Kent.  Mr.  Bolton  remained  at 
Broughton  more  than  twenty  years,  until  his  death  in  1631.  He  was  remarkably 
assiduous  alike  in  his  parochial  duties  and  his  pulpit  ministrations.  Throughout  his 
ministry  he  preached  thrice  on  the  Sunday  and  catechised  in  the  afternoon.  All  his 
sermons  and  writings  are  marked  by  a  great  ardour  of  personal  religion.  Of  his 
domestic  relations,  his  biographer  writes  that  "for  the  better  settling  of  himself  in 
housekeeping  upon  his  parsonage,  he  resolved  upon  marriage,  and  took  to  wife  Mrs. 
Anne  Boyse,  a  gentlewoman  of  an  ancient  house  and  worshipfull  family  in  Kent,  to 
whose  care  he  committed  the  ordering  of  his  outward  estate,  hee  himselfe  onely  minding 
the  studies  and  weighty  affaires  of  his  heavenly  calling."  Five  children  were  born  to 
him,  the  only  son  being  named  Samuel  Bolton,  afterwards  an  eminent  churchman,  a 
D.D.  of  Oxford,  Prebendary  of  Westminster,  and  Chaplain  in  Ordinary  to  King 
Charles  II.,  a  man  "of  extraordinary  ability  and  great  integrity,"  who  died  nth 
February,  1668,  and  was  buried  in  the  South  transept  of  Westminster  Abbey,  where 
his  grave  slab  remains.  The  four  daughters  of  the  Rev.  Robert  Bolton  were  Hannah, 
Mary,  Elizabeth,  and  Sarah. 

The  ministry  of  this  learned  native  of  Blackburn  was  brought  to  a  close  by  a 
quartan  ague,  which  seized  him  in  the  year  1631.  His  illness  was  long  and  painful, 
but  was  endured  with  exemplary  fortitude  of  spirit.  Of  the  incidents  of  his  death-bed, 
his  biographer  mentions  these  : — A  little  before  his  departure,  and  expecting  every 
moment  to  be  his  last,  being  told  that  some  of  his  best  friends  were  about  to  take  their 
last  farewell,  he  caused  himself  to  be  raised  up,  and  bowing  himself  upon  his  bed's 
head,  after  a  few  gaspings  for  breath,  he  spoke  as  follows  : — "I  am  now  drawing  on 
apace  to  my  dissolution.  Hold  out,  faith  and  patience,  your  work  will  speedily  be  at  an 
end. "  Then  shaking  them  all  by  the  hand,  he  said  : — "  Make  sure  of  heaven,  and  keep 
in  mind  what  I  have  formerly  delivered  to  you.  The  doctrine  which  I  have  preached  to 
you  for  the  space  of  twenty  years  is  the  truth  of  God,  as  I  shall  answer  at  the  tribunal 
of  Christ,  before  whom  I  must  shortly  appear. "  This  he  spake  when  the  very  pangs  of 
death  were  upon  him.  A  dear  friend,  taking  him  by  the  hand,  asked  him  whether  he 
felt  much  pain.  "Truly  no,"  said  he,  "  the  greatest  pain  I  feel  is  your  cold  hand  ;"  and 
presently  expired.  The  date  of  his  death  was  Saturday,  December  I7th,  1631.  He 
was  then  in  the  sixtieth  year  of  his  age.  He  was  buried  December  ipth,  in  the  chancel 
of  his  own  church,  St.  Andrew's,  Broughton,  North-hants.  Against  the  chancel  wall 
is  fixed  the  monument  of  Bolton,  which  is  not  unsimilar  in  design  to  the  well-known 
monument  of  Shakspere  in  the  chancel  of  Stratford  Church.  Bolton's  memorial 
consists  of  an  alcove  containing  the  half-length  figure  of  the  rector,  his  hands  placed  in 
the  attitude  of  prayer,  and  his  arms  resting  upon  an  open  book  ;  the  face  and  figure 
are  those  of  a  somewhat  robust  man ;  the  forehead  is  high,  the  hair  rather  crisp,  the 
beard  and  lip  unshaven,  the  general  aspect  reverend.  Underneath  the  effigy  is  a  Latin 
inscription,  translated: — "Here  lies,  peaceably  sleeping  in  the  Lord,  the  body  of 
ROBERT  BOLTON,  who  died  December  the  seventeenth,  in  the  year  1631.  He  was 
one  of  the  first  and  most  learned  of  our  Church ;  his  other  excellencies  all  England 
knoweth,  lamenting  the  day  of  his  death. " 

Mr.  Bolton's  funeral  sermon  was  preached  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Nicholas  Estwick, 
B.D.,  minister  of  Warkton,  North-hants,  and  was  published  in  1635,  entitled  "A 
Sacred  and  Godly  Sermon  preached  on  the  19  day  of  December,  A.  D.  1631,  at  the 
Funerall  of  Mr.  Robert  Bolton,  Batchelour  in  Divinity,"  &c. 


MEMOIR  OF  ROBERT  BOLTON,  B.D.  265 

A  portrait  of  our  Worthy,  painted  on  wood,  is  in  the  Chetham  Library, 
Manchester.  Another  portrait  on  panel  is  said  to  be  at  the  Holme,  in  Cliviger. 
Bagshaw's  edition  of  Bolton's  last  work,  published  in  1632,  the  year  after  his  decease, 
is  enriched  by  a  portrait  on  steel,  engraved  by  John  Payne ;  with  a  Latin  quartet 
below,  Englished  on  the  title-page  thus  : — 

Behold  an  Image  onely  :  There  is  none 
That  BOLTON'S  ghost  can  paint :  To  Heav'n  it's  gone, 
More  learn'd  or  good,  I  know  not :  This  is  true, 
Whom  one  day  lost,  scarce  can  an  age  renue 

E.  B.  [EDWARD  BAGSHAWE.! 

The  testimonies  of  Robert  Bolton's  contemporaries  to  his  character,  abilities,  and 
learning  are  of  the  highest  kind.  Wood,  the  historian  of  Oxford,  speaks  of  him  as  "a 
most  religious  and  learned  Puritan,  a  painful  and  constant  preacher,  a  person  of  great 
zeal  for  God,  charitable  and  bountiful ;  and  so  famous  for  relieving  afflicted  consciences, 
that  many  foreigners  resorted  to  him,  as  well  as  persons  at  home,  and  found  relief. " 
Fuller  records  : — "The  same  year  [1631]  died  Robert  Bolton,  born  in  Lancashire, 
bred  in  Brazenose  Colledge,  Oxford,  beneficed  at  Broughton,  North-hants.  An 
authoritative  preacher,  who  majestically  became  the  pulpit,  and  whose  life  is  exactly 
written  at  large  by  my  good  friend  Mr.  Bagshaw."  A  seventeenth -century  diarist 
(Revd.  John  Ward,  Vicar  of  Stratford-upon-Avon),  says  of  Bolton : — "  What  was 
Nazianzen's  commendation  of  Basil  might  bee  Bolton's  :  hee  thunderd  in  his  life,  and 
lightend  in  his  conversation."  The  biographer  of  Joseph  Alleine  (A.  D.  1672),  records 
that  "Reverend  Mr.  Bolton,  while  walking  in  the  streets,  was  so  much  cloathed  with 
majesty,  as  by  the  notice  of  his  coming  in  the  words  '  Here  comes  Mr.  Bolton, '  as  it 
were  to  charm  them  [the  populace]  into  order,  when  vain  or  doing  amiss. " 

Another  writer  of  the  time  remarks  : — "It  is  observed  of  this  holy  and  reverend 
divine,  that  he  was  so  highly  esteemed  in  Northamptonshire,  that  the  people,  who 
beheld  his  white  locks  of  hair,  could  point  at  him  and  say,  '  When  that  snow  shall  be 
dissolved,  there  will  be  a  great  flood,'  and  so  it  proved  ;  for  there  never  was  a  minister 
in  that  county  who  lived  more  beloved  or  died  more  lamented.  Floods  of  tears  were 
shed  over  his  grave."  The  Will  of  this  illustrious  native  of  Blackburn  is  dated 
Broughton,  November  I2th,  1631,  and  was  proved  at  Canterbury  in  June,  1632. 
After  a  pious  declaration,  testator  wills  that  Anne  Bolton,  his  wife,  shall  have  his 
messuage  and  lands  in  Broughton,  for  so  long  as  she  shall  continue  unmarried,  towards 
her  maintenance  and  the  good  education  of  testator's  children ;  if  she  marry,  she  shall 
resort  to  her  dower  and  thirds  of  the  said  messuage  and  lands.  To  Hannah  Bolton, 
testator's  eldest  daughter,  .£250  on  the  day  of  her  marriage  or  of  the  death  of  her 
mother ;  to  Mary,  Elizabeth,  and  Sarah,  younger  daughters,  certain  parcels  of  land 
in  Broughton  and  ^"40  in  money  amongst  them.  All  testator's  other  messuages, 
tenements,  &c.,  in  Broughton,  not  otherwise  devised,  to  descend  and  go  to  testator's 
son  and  heir,  Samuel  Bolton.  Anne  Bolton,  testator's  wife,  to  have  the  use  of  all  his 
plate  and  household  stuff  while  she  lives.  Three  pounds  given  to  be  distributed  to  the 
poor  of  Broughton.  Anne  Bolton,  wife,  made  sole  executrix.  After  the  signature  of 
testator  follow  the  words  : — "O  Lord,  into  thy  hands  I  commend  my  Spiritt !  Thou 
has  redeemed  it !  O  Lord,  God  of  Truth,  Lord  Jesus,  receive  my  Spirit !" 
The  following  is  a  category  of  the  published  works  of  Mr.  Bolton  : — 

1.  A  Discourse  about  the  State   of  True  Happinesse,   Delivered  in  Certaine 
Sermons  in  Oxford  and  at  St.  Pauls  Crosse.      (First  edition,  1611  ;  seventh  edition, 
(Works)  1638.) 

2.  Some  Generall  Directions  for  a  Comfortable  Walking  with  God  :  Delivered 
in  the  Lecture  at  Kettering,  &c.     (First  edition,  1625  ;  fifth  edition  (Works),  1638.) 


266  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

3.  Meditations  of  the  Life  to  Come.     1628. 

4.  Instructions  for  a  Right  Comforting  Afflicted  Consciences.     (First  edition, 
1631  ;  third  edition  (Works),  1640.) 

5.  Helps  to  Humiliation.     Oxford.     1631. 

6.  [Posthumous]   Mr.    Bolton's   Last  and  Learned  Worke  of  the  Foure  Last 
Things,  Death,  Judgement,  Hell,  and  Heaven.     With  his  Assize  Sermon  and  Notes 
on  Justice  Nicolls  his  Funerall.     (First  edition,  1632  ;  third  edition  (Works),  1641.) 

7.  Assize  Sermons  and  other  Sermons.     1632. 

8.  The  Carnall  Professor ;  or  the  Woful  Slavery  of  Man  Guided  by  the  Flesh. 
1634. 

9.  A  Three-Fold  Treatise  :  Containing  the  Saints  Sure  and  Perpetuall  Guide, 
Selfe-enriching  Examination,  and  Soule-fatting  Fasting ;  or  Meditations  concerning  the 
Word,  the  Sacrament  of  the  Lords  Supper,  and  Fasting.     1634. 

10.  The  Saints  Soule  Exalting  Humiliation.     1634. 

11.  A  Short  and  Private  Discourse  with  M.  S.  concerning  Usury.     1637. 

12.  Devout  Prayers  upon  Solemn  Occasions.     1638. 

13.  A  Cordiall  for  Christians  in  the  Time  of  Affliction.     1640. 

14.  The  Last  Visitation,  Conflict,  and  Death  of  Mr.  Thomas  Peacock,  B.D. 
&c.,  1646. 

The  Workes  of  the  Reverend,  truly  Pious,  and  Judiciously  Learned  Robert  Bolton, 
B.D.,  &c.,  as  they  were  finished  by  him  in  his  life  time.  (Include  Life,  by  E.B.  ; 
Discourse  of  True  Happiness ;  Comfortable  Walking  with  God  ;  Instructions,  &c. , 
for  Afflicted  Consciences  ;  Four  Last  Things  ;  and  his  Funeral  Sermon,  by  Estwick. ) 
London  :  Printed  by  George  Miller,  1641.  (3  vols. ) 

BURY    OF    OUSEBOOTH. 

John  Bury,  townsman,  appears  on  the  Blackburn  Church  Register  in  1624,  when 
his  wife  was  buried. 

Myles  Berrie  married,  August  6th,  1615,  Ann  Livesey. 

Mr.  Robert  Bury,  of  Ousebooth,  was  a  Governor  of  the  Grammar  School  in  1681. 

John  Bury,  of  Blackburn,  yeoman,  was  buried  Feb.,  1730-1. 

Mr.  Miles  Berrie,  of  Ousebooth,  was  elected  a  Governor  of  the  Grammar  School, 
Dec.  2 ist,  1720.  He  was  buried  at  Blackburn  Church — "Miles  Bury  of  Blackburn, 
yeoman" — Jan.  2Oth,  1763.  By  his  wife,  Elizabeth,  he  had  sons,  Robert,  bapt. 
Aug.  7th,  1724,  and  John,  bapt.  Jan.  6th,  1729-30;  also  a  daughter  Alice,  born  in  1726. 

DEWHURST   OF   BEARDWOOD    GREEN    AND   BILLINGE    CARR. 

The  Dewhursts  were  copyholders  in  Blackburn  township.  William  Dewhurst  of 
Beardwood  Green,  a  first  Governor  of  the  Grammar  School  in  1567?  by  a  copy  of 
Court  Roll  of  Clitheroe,  dated  May  25th,  26th  Eliz.  (1583-4),  was  entitled  to  a  messuage 
and  34  X  acres  of  land  in  Blackburn.  He  had  a  son  and  heir,  John  ;  and  a  younger 
son  Roger  was  born  in  1568,  who  had  a  son  Thomas,  born  in  1608,  died  in  1625. 

John  Dewhurst,  of  Blackburn,  a  copyholder  in  1617,  by  the  Decree  for  the 
enclosure  of  Waste  Lands  in  Blackburn  was  awarded  for  his  34^  acres  customary 
measure  17  acres  of  waste.  He  died  in  July,  1626.  He  had,  I  think,  sons  John; 
Henry,  born  in  1600,  died  1633 ;  and  William,  a  warden  of  the  Church  in  1635,  died 
in  1639. 

Next  comes  John  Dewhurst,  of  Billinge  Carr,  Blackburn,  who  by  his  wife,  who 
died  Dec.,  1623,  had  sons  John  and  James, — the  latter  died  in  Oct.,  1603.  John 
Dewhurst  the  father  was  a  juror  at  the  Parliamentary  Survey  of  1650. 


FAMILIES  OF  LESSER  GENTRY  AND  YEOMEN.  267 

John  Dewhurst,  Junior,  was  a  juror  also  on  that  Survey.  "John  Dewhurst  of 
Blackburn,  freeholder,"  is  named  in  1657. 

Thomas  Dewhurst,  of  Billinge  Carr,  buried  Janet,  'his  wife,  April  24th,  1656. 

Arthur  Dewhurst  of  Blackburn  (a  son  of  William  who  died  in  1639),  was  buried 
March  8th,  1679.  His  son  Roger  died  in  Oct.,  1675. 

Thomas  Dewhurst  of  Blackburn,  had  a  son  John,  born  in  1675.  Richard 
Dewhurst  of  Blackburn,  son  of  Thomas,  had  a  son  Daniel,  born  in  1674. 

James  Dewhurst,  of  Blackburn,  yeoman,  was  buried  April  7th,  1763.  John 
Dewhurst  of  Blackburn,  yeoman,  died  in  March,  1765. 

EDGE   OF   BLACKBURN. 

William  Edge,  of  Blackburn,  gent,  is  found  in  a  list  of  free  tenants  in  1621. 

Ellis  Edge,  of  Blackburn,  married,  in  1618,  Ann  Gerrard,  and  had  a  son  Ellis, 
who  died  in  1626,  and  another  son  christened  Ellis,  who  survived  him. 

Peter  Edge  married  Ellen  Hodgson,  Feb.  27th,  1602.  Peter  Edge  of  Blackburn, 
yeoman,  was  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1628. 

A  younger  Peter  Edge  was  elected  a  Governor  of  the  same  foundation,  Jan.  I2th, 

1634-5- 

Ellis  Edge,  a  Governor  of  the  Grammar  School  in  1654,  died  in  July,  1688. 

In  the  petition  for  Vicar  Clayton  in  1660,  John  Edge,  another  John,  and  Giles 
Edge  are  petitioners. 

William  Edge  of  Blackburn,  yeoman,  died  in  August,  1753- 

Henry  Edge  of  Blackburn,  yeoman,  by  his  wife  Elizabeth,  had  a  son  John,  bom 
in  1748. 

LA  WE  OF  BLACKBURN. 

The  oldest  grave-stone  in  Blackburn  Parish  Churchyard  is  supposed  to  be  that  of 
one  Christopher  Lawe  ;  it  has  the  initials  "C  L  "  with  the  date  "1510,"  filled  in  with 
lead. 

Eighty  years  later,  according  to  Dugdale  the  herald,  another  Christopher  Lawe  of 
Blackburn  made  his  Will,  dying  about  1590.  He  had  sons  Richard;  Thomas  ;  James 
of  London;  John;  and  Miles — the  three  last-named  living  in  1590;  and  a  daughter 
Anne. 

Richard  Lawe,  of  Blackburn,  son  of  Christopher,  was  a  Governor  of  the  Grammar 
School  from  before  1590  until  after  1628.  In  the  decree  concerning  the  allotment  of 
Blackburn  Waste  Lands  in  1617,  Richard  Lawe  is  named  as  a  freeholder.  He  married 
Katherine,  daughter  of  John  Bolton  of  Bank-hey,  Little  Harwood,  and  by  her  had 
issue  five  sons  and  four  daughters.  The  sons  were — Christopher,  bapt.  March  1 4th, 
1592 ;  Miles,  of  Royshaw,  Blackburn ;  John  ;  Thomas ;  and  Benjamin.  The 
daughters  were — Ann,  wife  of  William  Sudell  of  Preston  ;  Katherine,  wife  of  Richard 
Agworth  ;  Mary,  wife  of  Thomas  Drinkall ;  and  Christabel,  wife  of  Edward  Snape. 
It  will  be  necessary  to  note  separately  the  posterity  of  Richard  Lawe  by  four  of  his 
sons— Christopher,  Miles,  John,  and  Benjamin. 

Christopher  Lawe,  first  son,  had  two  sons,  John,  whose  son  Christopher  Lawe 
was  a  "citizen  and  grocer  of  London;"  and  George.  The  latter,  George  Lawe  of 
Blackburn,  who  died  in  December,  1692,  had  by  Jennet,  his  wife  (died  in  October, 
1678),  a  son  Richard,  who  died,  probably,  in  1733. 

Miles  Lawe  of  Royshaw,  next  brother  of  Christopher,  was  warden  of  Blackburn 
Church  in  1636.  He  married,  June,  1619,  Jenet  Kenion,  and  had  sons  Richard, 
Thomas,  and  John — the  last  born  in  1635  ;  also  a  daughter  Elizabeth,  born  in  1630. 
His  wife — "Uxor  Myles  Lawe  de  Royshaw,"  was  buried  March  i8th,  1651-2. 


268  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

John  Lawe,  of  Blackburn,  third  son  of  Richard,  by  his  wife  Elizabeth,  daughter 
of  John  Proctor  of  Lower  Darwen,  had  a  son  John,  of  Preston,  born  in  1632  (who 
married  Jane,  daughter  of  Evan  Wall  of  Preston,  and  had  a  son  John  and  two 
daughters  prior  to  1664).  The  father  died  about  1658.  Whitaker's  List  of  Seneschals 
of  Blackburnshire  gives  the  names  of  Andrew  Holden,  gent.,  and  John  Lawe,  gent., 
as  holding  the  office  from  1656  to  1658,  during  the  Protectorship  of  Cromwell.  In 
the  Grammar  School  annals,  printed  in  this  history,  it  appears  that  in  1634  "John 
Lawe  the  younger  "  (most  likely  the  above  John,  who  had  an  uncle  John  that  might 
then  be  living)  was  made  a  Governor  of  the  School,  and  appointed  to  keep  the  school- 
key,  kept  by  his  grandfather. 

Benjamin  Lawe,  youngest  son  of  Richard,  is  entered  in  1664  by  Dugdale  as  then 
of  Blackburn.  "Benjamin  Lawe,  widower,"  married  March  2nd,  1656-7,  Margaret, 
daughter  of  Alexander  Baron,  of  Rishton,  and  had  sons  Richard,  born  before  1664, 
John,  died  1674,  Thomas,  died  1675,  and  probably  Robert.  Benjamin  Lawe,  of 
Blackburn,  buried  July  2nd,  1697,  may  refer  to  this  representative. 

Richard  Lawe  of  Blackburn,  yeoman,  cannot  be  clearly  distinguished  among  three 
Richards — sons  respectively  of  Miles,  Benjamin,  and  George  Lawe.  He  died  in 
September,  1729.  He  had  issue  sons  John  and  Thomas,  twins,  born  and  died  April, 
1688;  another  John,  died  1692;  and  Samuel,  born  1694;  and  daughters  Martha  and 
Mary,  twins,  born  May,  1696. 

Robert  Lawe  of  Blackburn,  husbandman,  I  suppose  to  be  a  son  of  Benjamin  by 
his  naming  his  son  Benjamin,  bapt.  December  3rd,  1704;  he  had  also  a  son  Robert, 
born  in  1709. 

Christopher  Lawe  and  Ellen  Orrell,  both  of  Blackburn,  married  February  I2th, 
1710-11. 

MAUDSLEY  OF  OUSEBOOTH,  &c. 

Thurstan  Maudsley,  in  the  1st  Eliz.  (1558)  was  lessee  under  Sir  Thomas  Talbot 
of  lands  in  Blackburn  belonging  to  Blackburn  Parsonage.  In  1567  he  was  made  a 
first  governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School. 

Edward  Maudsley  of  Ousebooth,  a  governor  of  the  Grammar  School,  died  in 
1592,  leaving  no  issue.  Henry,  his  brother,  was  his  heir. 

Henry  Maudsley,  of  Blackburn,  was  made  a  governor  of  the  Grammar  School 
in  1593.  By  copy  of  Court  Roll  of  Clitheroe,  dated  April  23rd,  1593,  it  was  recorded 
that  Edward  Maudsldy,  then  recently  deceased,  had  held  a  messuage  called  Ousebooth 
and  1 6  acres  of  land  in  copyhold,  and  Henry,  his  brother  and  heir,  claimed  to  be 
admitted  into  the  tenement,  and  was  admitted.  He  died  about  1614,  when  his  son 
Thurstan  entered  into  possession  of  the  copyhold. 

Thurstan  Maudsley,  of  Ousebooth,  gent.,  in  1617,  had  seven  acres  of  waste  land 
allotted  to  him  on  account  of  his  copyhold  farm.  He  was  made  a  governor  of  the 
Grammar  School  in  1616  ;  in  1637  appears  as  a  juror,  and  died  about  1654.  He  had 
sons,  Thurstan ;  Henry,  born  in  1632  ;  and  Thomas,  born  in  1635  ;  and  daughters, 
Elizabeth,  born  in  1614,  married  John  Cunliffe',  of  Hollins  ;  Katherine,  born  in  1620, 
died  1621  ;  and  Ann,  born  in  1625,  died  in  1633. 

Thurstan  Maudsley,  of  Ousebooth,  gent.,  son  of  Thurstan,  became  a  governor 
of  the  Grammar  School  in  1654.  He  married  in  1656 — "  Thurstan,  son  of  Thurstan 
Maudsley  deceased,  and  Alice,  daughter  of  William  Rishton,  within  the  parish  of 
Deane,  gentlewoman,"  banns  "  published  at  Blackburn  Market  Cross,"  in  April, 
1656.  His  eldest  son,  Thurstan,  was  born  December  3rd,  1657;  and  he  had  a 
younger  son,  Henry.  Thurstan  Maudsley  the  father  died  in  June,  1677. 


FAMILIES  OF  LESSER  GENTRY  AND  YEOMEN.  269 

His  son,  Thurstan  Maudsley,  gent.,  in  the  year  1684  gave  a  benefaction  of  ^5  t° 
the  endowment  of  Darwen  Chapel,  and  died  in  March,  1685-6. 

Henry  Maudsley  of  Ousebooth,  gent.,  on  the  decease  of  his  brother  Thurstan 
gave  a  sum  of  £10  to  the  Poor  of  Blackburn.  This  Henry  married,  February  5th, 
1686-7,  "Mrs.  Anne  Haworth,"  and  had  issue  sons  Thurstan,  bapt.  October  igth, 
1690;  Henry,  of  Blackburn,  yeoman,  died  in  May,  1755;  and  Thomas;  daughters, 
Ann,  born  in  1692;  Mary,  born  in  1694;  and  Elizabeth,  born  in  1696.  Mr.  Henry 
Maudsley  was  made  a  Governor  of  the  Grammar  School  in  1686;  and  he  died  in 
1697-8,  buried  January  I3th. 

Thurstan  Maudsley,  son  of  the  last  Thurstan,  died  in  October,  1752,  having  had 
issue  by  his  wife,  Lettice,  who  died  in  1756. 

A  later  Thurstan  Maudsley,  whose  parentage  I  have  not  noted,  by  his  wife  Grace 
had  sons  John,  born  in  1761,  Thomas,  James,  and  William. 

Thomas  Maudsley  of  Ousebooth,  gent.,  probably  a  son  of  the  Henry  Maudsley 
who  died  in  1686,  was  a  Governor  of  the  Grammar  School  in  1711,  and  living  in 
I73I- 

Another  Thomas  Maudsley,  of  Ousebooth,  gent. ,  by  Catherine,  his  wife,  had  sons 
Hilton,  born  in  1732,  and  Thomas,  born  in  1735. 

Thomas  Maudsley  of  Blackburn,  apothecary,  who  died  in  August,  1757,  was  of 
this  family.  He  had  married,  July  1 2th,  1744,  Elizabeth  Hindle,  of  Blackburn. 

SHARPLES    OF    BLACKBURN. 

There  was  a  family  of  Sharpies  of  some  estate  domiciled  in  Blackburn  in  the  reign 
of  Henry  VIII.,  and  to  the  Subsidy  of  1523  both  Robert  Sharpulls,  of  Blackburn,  and 
Lawrence  Sharpulls  were  assessed  ;  as  well  as  one  George  Sharpulls  in  Mellor  town- 
ship. 

Robert  Sharpies,  of  Blackburn,  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,,  married  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  Alexander  Sharpies,  of  Sharpies,  gent. ;  a  family  from  which  Sharpies 
of  Blackburn  not  improbably  was  an  offshoot. 

Lawrence  Sharpies,  of  Blackburn,  died  in  1606 ;  his  wife  died  in  1605. 

Geoffrey  Sharpies,  of  Blackburn,  had  a  son  Richard,  born  in  1600.  "Richard 
Sharpies,  oppidan,"  was  buried  at  Blackburn  Church,  October  I4th,  1623.  Perhaps 
this  was  the  Richard  Sharpies  who  had  married,  in  October,  1622,  Cicely  Holden. 

John  Sharpies,  of  Blackburn,  gent.,  appears  as  a  townsman  of  position  in  the 
reigns  of  the  first  Stuarts  ;  as  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1634.  He 
married,  November  I3th,  1614,  Jane  Harwood,  and  had  a  son,  Randal ;  and  a  daughter 
Hannah,  married  at  Preston,  January  26th,  1655-6,  to  William  Shaw,  of  Shaw  Hall, 
Leyland,  gent. ;  and  (I  think)  Anne,  wife  of  William  Yates  of  Blackburn,  gent. 

Randal  (or  Randolph)  Sharpies,  of  Blackburn,  gent.,  son  of  John,  was  baptized 
November  9th,  1655.  He  married,  at  Church  Kirk,  February  nth,  1654,  Anne, 
daughter  of  William  Rishton,  of  Dunnishop,  gent.  Issue  included  sons,  John,  born 
May,  1650;  Elkanah,  born  July,  1654  ("Mr.  Elkaney  Sharpies  "  buried  at  Blackburn 
Church,  March  6th,  1674-5);  Joseph  and  Benjamin,  twins,  born  March  I5th,  1657-8; 
and  daughters,  Elizabeth,  born  June,  1656  ;  and  Hannah,  born  January,  1659-60.  The 
father,  Mr.  Randal  Sharpies,  was  a  remarkably  active  partizan  of  the  Parliamentarian 
interest  in  the  Civil  War  of  1642-51.  He  was  placed  in  the  Commission  of  the  Peace  for 
the  county,  and  in  his  capacity  as  Justice  officiated  at  most  of  the  marriages  by  civil 
process  in  Blackburn  on  the  abolition  of  the  clerical  ceremony  in  1653.  These  magis- 
terial marriages  were  registered  in  the  Parish  Books  according  to  this  example : — 
"Nicholas  Rishton,  of  Oswaldtwistle,  and  Susan  Ratcliffe,  of  the  same,  were  married 
in  the  presence  of  Randle  Sharpies,  Justice  of  the  Peace,  July  nth,  1652."  "  Randell 
Sharpies,  of  Blackburn,  gent.,"  was  buried  May  2;th,  1673, 


270  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Joseph  Sharpies,  of  Blackburn,  tenant  of  the  Rectory  estate,  and  John  Sharpies 
occur  about  1663.  John  Sharpies,  of  Blackburn,  died  in  May,  1684. 

Joseph  Sharpies,  of  Blackburn,  gent.,  one  of  the  twin  sons  of  the  above  Randal,  was 
made  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1679.  He  had  a  son  Randal,  who 
died  in  infancy  in  1681 ;  and  a  son  John,  born  in  1684.  In  1689,  the  heirs  of  Joseph 
Sharpies,  of  Blackburn,  for  Okenhead  Wood,  provided  a  Greave  of  Rossendale. 

In  the  Manchester  Parish  Register  appears,  April  2oth,  1710,  the  death  of  "  Mr. 
John  Sharpies,  dyed  at  Manchester,  buried  at  Blackburne." 

There  was  another  Randal  Sharpies,  contemporary  with  the  Justice  of  that  name, 
who  died  in  1672,  and  had  a  son  Randal;  the  latter,  living  in  1715,  had  a  son  John* 
born  in  1715;  died  in  1718.  He  might  be  the  "Randall  Sharpies  of  the  Parish  of 
Whalley,"  who  married,  in  1697,  Isabel  Cross,  of  this  parish. 

Other  and  later  members,  whose  relation  cannot  be  positively  defined,  are  : — John 
Sharpies,  of  Blackburn,  living  at  the  East  Bridge  in  1656,  had  a  son  John,  born  that 
year.  "  Mr.  George  Sharpies,  of  Blackburn,  apothecary,"  had  a  son  Edward,  born  in 
1700.  Thomas  Sharpies,  of  Blackburn,  chapman,  had  a  son  John,  born  in  1701.  John 
Sharpies,  of  Blackburn,  yeoman,  married,  in  1737,  Anne  Tarrant,  of  Livesey,  and  had 
a  son  Thomas,  born  in  1742  ;  the  father  died  in  1762.  Henry  Sharpies,  of  Blackburn, 
born  in  1718,  died  in  1791,  aged  73. 

WARD  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Robert  Warde  was  a  first  Governor  of  the  Grammar  School  in  1567. 

William  Warde  married,  December  igth,  1616,  Mary  Ainsworth. 

William  Ward,  a  juror,  on  the  Parliamentary  Survey  of  1650,  was  living  in  1660. 

Henry  Ward,  of  Blackburn,  probably  father  of  Ann  Ward  married  to  Robert 
Peel  in  1681,  died  in  1710,  as  his  gravestone  in  the  Parish  Church-yard  records: — 
"Henry  Ward,  1710." 

William  Ward,  of  Blackburn,  chapman,  son  of  Henry,  died  in  1734;  his  name  is 
on  the  same  tombstone  : — "  William  Ward,  of  Blackburn,  who  died  Nov.  30th,  1734." 

Among  the  Vicar's  tenants  in  Blackburn,  about  the  year  1716,  were  Henry  Ward, 
occupying  a  house,  barn,  and  garden,  and  Richard  Ward,  tenant  of  a  house  and 
yarn-croft. 

A  later  William  Ward,  of  Blackburn,  chapman,  had  a  son  William,  born  in  1740. 

Henry  Ward,  of  Blackburn,  yeoman,  was  buried  January  3rd,  1784,  aged  76  years. 

Mr.  Michael  Ward,  of  Blackburn,  surgeon,  was  made  a  Governor  of  the  Grammar 
School  in  1789. 

WHALLEY  OF  TODHOLL. 

Roger  Whalley,  of  Todholl,  Blackburn,  married,  December  28th,  1617,  Jane 
Sothworthe.  He  had  issue,  sons  Thomas,  Thurstan,  and  James ;  also  a  daughter 
Jane,  married,  February  26th,  1655,  to  John  Clayton,  of  Little  Harwood,  gent. 

A  later  Roger  Whalley,  of  Blackburn,  yeoman,  by  Margaret,  his  wife,  who  died 
in  1702,  had  a  son  Roger,  buried  February  2ist,  1700-1  ;  and  by  a  second  wife, 
Mary  Bramley,  whom  he  married  August  i8th,  1704,  another  son  Roger,  died  1724. 

THE  PARISH  CHURCH  OF  ST.  MARIE. 

Reference  has  previously  been  made  to  the  traditionary  memorial 
of  the  foundation  of  the  Church  of  Blackburn  as  centre  of  a  parish 
detached  from  Whalley  at  some  undetermined  period  of  the  Saxon  era, — 
it  may  have  been  centuries  anterior  to  the  Norman  Conquest ;  also  to  the 
first  precise  record  of  the  existence  and  endowment  of  this  Parish 
Church  in  Domesday  Book  (i  080-6),  when  two  carucates  of  land  in  the 


THE  PARISH  CHURCH  OF  ST.  MARIE. 


271 


Parish  were  found  on  the  survey  attached  to  Blackburn  Church ;  and 
two  other  carucates  of  land  in  Whalley  Parish,  free  of  all  customs.  It  is 
further  written  in  an  ancient  MS.  that  the  primitive  rectors  of  Blackburn, 
as  of  Whalley,  were  lords  of  the  vill,  who  married  and  transmitted  the 
rectory  to  their  heirs  as  inheritance  along  with  the  secular  estate. 
Gamaliel  de  Blackburn  was  Rector  and  Lord  of  the  Manor  about  the 
time  of  the  Conquest ;  his  son  Gilbert  succeeded,  and  John  de  Black- 
burn, son  of  Gilbert,  was  the  next  rector,  whose  son  and  heir  Henry  de 
Blackburn  was  living  in  1160. 

About  the  middle  of  the  i2th  Century  the  Church  of  Blackburn  is 
found  under  the  right  as  superior  lord  of  that  Henry  de  Lascy  who,  in 
1147,  founded  Barnoldswick  Abbey  (removed  later  to  Kirkstall) ;  and 
by  a  Charter  undated,  but  given  soon  after  the  year  1160,  Henry  de 
Lascy  granted  to  Henry,  Clerk  of  Blackburn,  the  Church  of  Blackburn 
in  all  its  completeness,  viz.,  with  the  Chapel  of  Walton  with  all  its 
liberty,  in  land  and  water,  wood  and  plain ;  likewise  a  certain  benefice 
in  the  Church  of  Whalley  and  in  the  chapels  of  that  church,  which 
grantor's  ancestors  formerly  assigned  to  Blackburn  Church,  as  fully  as 
John  or  any  other  precedent  person  had  held  the  same.1  Peche, 
Bishop  of  Coventry,  confirmed  the  above  presentation  ;  naming  Gamaliel 
and  Gilbert  as  predecessors  of  Henry  de  Blackburn  in  the  benefice. 

Some  years  later,  Robert  de  Lascy,  son  and  successor  of  Henry  de 
Lascy,  granted  to  Adam  de  Blackburn,  his  clerk,  that  mediety  of  the 
Church  of  Blackburn  which  Richard,  his  ancestor,  held ;  and  further 
gave  that  benefice  in  Whalley  Church  that  belonged  to  the  Church  of 
Blackburn.2  Adam  de  Blackburn,  clerk,  was  son  of  Richard,  and 
grandson  of  Henry  de  Blackburn,  whom  Henry  de  Lascy  had  presented 
about  1 1 60.  This  Adam  surrendered  the  dependent  chapel  of  Walton 
to  John  de  Lascy.  Another  Adam,  brother  of  Richard  and  son  of 
Henry  de  Blackburn,  is  mentioned  below  as  holding  one  moiety  of 
Blackburn  Church. 

By  grant  referred  to  the  year  1230,  John  de  Lascy,  Constable  of 
Chester,  gave  in  spontaneous  charity  "  to  God  and  the  Blessed  Mary 
and  the  Abbot  and  Monks  of  my  Blessed  Place  of  Stanlawe  in  pure  and 
perpetual  alms  the  moiety  of  the  Church  of  Blackburn  which  Adam,  son 
of  Henry,  holds,  with  Walton  Chapel,  and  their  appurtenances,  as  much 
as  belongs  to  the  lay  gift,  for  the  health  of  my  soul,  and  of  my  wife, 
and  for  the  health  of  the  lord,  my  father  and  mother,  and  of  my  ancestors 
and  successors."3  The  gift  was  confirmed  by  another  charter  in  1238; 
and  about  the  same  time  John  de  Lascy  also  bestowed  upon  the  Abbot 
and  Monks  of  Stanlawe  that  other  moiety  of  the  Church  of  Blackburn 

i  Coucher  Book  of  Whalley  Abbey,  v,  i.,  pp.  75-6.      2  Ib.  pp.  76-7.      3  Ib.  pp.  72-3. 


272  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

which  Roger,  son  of  Adam,  son  of  Henry  de  Blackburn,  held,  with  all 
appurtenances  within  and  without  the  bounds  of  the  same  parish,  with 
his  body  for  sepulture.1  The  donor,  John  de  Lascy,  died  A.D.  1240. 

Edmund  de  Lascy,  son  of  John,  by  charter  "  done  at  Ightenhull " 
manor,  A.D.  1251,  confirmed  to  the  Monks  of  Stanlawe  that  moiety  of 
the  Church  of  Blackburn  which  Roger  de  Blackburn  once  held,  with  his 
body  for  burial  at  Stanlawe,  if  he  should  happen  to  die  in  England.2 
The  grant  was  sanctioned  by  Roger  de  Meuland,  Bishop  of  Coventry  and 
Lichfield,  by  charter  dated  1259.  From  this  time  the  Parish  Church  of 
Blackburn  and  its  dependent  chapels  remained  in  the  hands  of  the 
Cistercian  fraternity  of  Stanlawe — Whalley  until  the  suppression  of  that 
Monastery  in  1537. 

The  endowment  of  the  Vicarial  benefice  of  Blackburn  remains 
substantially  to  this  day  as  it  was  fixed  six  hundred  years  ago,  by 
ordination  of  Roger  de  Meuland,  Bishop  of  Coventry  and  Lichfield,  to 
consist  of  a  glebe  of  two  oxgangs  of  lands,  a  parsonage-house,  and  a 
pension  or  stipend  of  40  marks  per  annum  from  the  holders  of  the 
Rectorial  estate.  Of  course,  the  rental-revenue  from  the  glebe  has 
increased  enormously  in  the  lengthened  interval.  The  episcopal  charter 
conferring  this  endowment  is  dated  from  Hey  wood,  the  i4th  kalend 
of  May,  1277,  being  the  triple  ordination  of  the  Vicarages  of  Blackburn, 
Rochdale,  and  Eccles.  Bishop  Roger  de  Meuland,  having  made  diligent 
inquiry  concerning  the  income  and  wealth  of  these  churches,  upon  the 
design  to  augment  their  vicarages,  appoints  and  ordains  concerning 
Blackburn  that  the  vicarage  of  Blackburn  consist  of  a  suitable  manse,  to 
the  Vicar  ministering  in  the  said  Church  previously  assigned,  with  two 
oxgangs  of  land,  and  40  marks  annually  to  the  Vicar  for  the  time  being 
from  the  Abbot  and  Convent  of  Blessed  Place  of  Stanlawe  (afterwards  of 
Whalley)  as  impropriators  of  the  Rectory  of  Blackburn.  The  Bishop, 
or  the  Archdeacon  of  Chester,  to  have  power  on  appeal  to  enforce 
payment  of  the  pension  in  case  of  neglect.  The  Vicars  so  endowed  to 
perform  service  personally  in  the  church,  unless  prevented  by  the 
diocesan,  or  otherwise  legitimately  hindered,  and  then  to  find  other 
proper  ministers  in  their  stead,  and  at  all  other  times,  at  their  own 
charge,  to  cause  service  to  be  faithfully  performed  in  the  chapels 
belonging  to  the  Parish  Church  by  proper  ministers  and  clerks.8  The 
first  Vicar  appointed  after  this  ordination  was  probably  John  de 
Habyngdon,  who  is  named  as  "  late  Vicar  of  Blackburn "  in  a  deed 
dated  1289.  William  de  Lench  was  instituted  as  Vicar  in  1289,  and  by 
the  Bishop's  direction  gave  an  undertaking  to  the  Abbot  of  Stanlawe  not  to 
disturb  the  Conventual  authorities  respecting  any  augmentation  of  the 

i  Coucher  Book  of  Whalley  Abbey,  v.  i.,  pp.  74-5.        2  Ib.  p.  77.        3  Ib.  pp.  85-6. 


ANNALS  OF  BLACKBURN  RECTORY.  273 

vicarage.  Thereafter,  for  about  two  centuries  and  a  half,  the  Abbot  and 
Monks  of  Whalley  quietly  received  the  Rectorial  revenues,  and  nominated 
on  each  vacancy  monks  of  this  foundation  to  the  Vicarage  of  Blackburn. 
The  value  of  the  Church  of  Blackburn  is  registered  at  several 
periods  during  the  tenure  of  the  Abbots  of  Whalley.  In  the  Valor  of 
Pope  Nicholas  (1288-92)  the  Church  of  Blackburn  with  chapel  is 
returned  as  worth  ^33  6s.  8d.  In  the  Abbey  Compotus  of  1478  the 
receipt  for  the  Church  of  Blackburn  is  entered  as  ^89  i6s.  gd. ;  and  in 
that  of  1521,  the  value  of  Blackburn  Church  with  chapels  is  given  as 
^133  is.  Then,  at  the  Valor  Ecclesiasticus  of  1534  (cited  before),  the 
Rectory  of  Blackburn  is  returned  as  worth  ^"74  6s.  8d.  (including  Rents 
of  Glebe  ^10  ;  tithes  of  grain  with  hay  £44  ;  tithes  of  lambs  with  wool 
£4 ;  oblations,  small  tithes,  and  Easter  Roll  £16  6s.  8d.).  Finally,  on 
the  Survey  in  1538,  after  the  suppression  of  the  Monastery,  the  return  of 
revenue  for  Blackburn  Rectory  is  : — "  The  Parsonage  of  Blackburne 
with  the  Glebe  Land  and  other  tyeth  belonging  to  the  same  by  the  year 
^99  2S.  i  id."  Whereout  was  paid  the  Vicar  of  Blackburn's  pension, 
£26  8s.  4d. 

ANNALS  OF  THE  RECTORY  SINCE  THE  REFORMATION. 

The  estate  of  the  Rectory  of  Blackburn  remained  in  possession  of 
the  Crown  about  ten  years  after  the  Dissolution  of  Whalley  Monastery 
and  its  alienation  therefrom ;  and  then,  by  a  deed  of  exchange  between 
Edward  VI.  and  Thomas  Cranmer,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  dated 
June  i2th,  1547  (ist  Edw.  VI.),  were  conveyed  to  the  See  of  Canterbury 
"all  those  our  Rectories  and  Churches  of  Whalley,  Blackburn,  and 
Rachdale,  late  to  the  Monastery  or  Abbey  of  Whalley  lately  dissolved 
formerly  belonging,  and  also  all  those  our  Chapels  of  Padiham,  Clyder- 
how,  Coin,  Brunley,  Churche,  Altham,  Haslingden,  Bowland,  Penhull, 
Trawden  [Marsden],  and  Rossendale  [Newchurch],  and  our  Chapel 
of  Clyderhow,  with  all  those  our  Chapels  of  Law,  Samlesbury,  Saddle- 
worth,  Butterworth,  &c.,  and  the  advowson  and  right  of  patronage  of  the 
aforesaid  Churches  of  Whalley,  Blackburn,  and  Rachdale,  to  the  said 
late  Monastery  formerly  belonging." 

Thenceforward,  the  Rectory  Glebe,  of  500  customary  acres,  was 
farmed  on  leases  from  the  Primates.  The  first  lessees  after  1547  were 
John  Comberford  and  Robert  Billott,  who  sold  the  residue  of  their  lease 
to  Sir  Thomas  Talbot,  of  the  Holt  and  Bashall,  Knt.,  before  1550.  Sir 
Thomas  Talbot  sub-leased  portions  of  the  estate.  In  the  ist  Eliz. 
(I55^)>  Oliver  Livesey,  claiming  by  a  lease,  had  a  suit  with  Thurstan 
Maudsley,  lessee  of  Sir  Thomas  Talbot,  Knt,  concerning  a  barn  of  three 
bays  in  Blackburn,  parcel  of  Blackburn  Rectory.  Sir  Thomas  Talbot 

18 


276  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

In  1649,  during  the  Commonwealth  period,  the  Commission 
appointed  by  Parliament  for  the  sale  of  Bishops'  lands  surveyed  the 
Rectory  of  Blackburn,  and  returned  an  account  of  the  mill  and  glebe 
lands  belonging  to  the  Rectory,  and  the  tenants  thereof;  also  reporting 
that  "  nearly  half  the  houses  in  the  said  town  did  belong  to  the  late 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury  in  right  of  his  said  bishopric,"  and  that  many 
of  the  said  houses  in  the  town,  and  all  the  farmers'  houses  near  the 
town,  had  land  belonging  to  them  all  enclosed,  which  said  houses  and 
land  were  called  glebe. 

Quickly  followed  the  Survey  made  June  25th,  1650,  on  the  order 
of  Parliament  for  inquiring  into  all  ecclesiastical  estates  in  the  country. 
The  return  for  Blackburn  Parish  is  abbreviated  below  : — 

BLACKBURN  HUNDRETH. — An  Inquisition  indented,  taken  at  Blackburne,  in 
the  Countye  of  Lancaster,  the  25  Day  of  June,  1650,  before  Richard  Shuttleworth, 
John  Starkie,  Peeter  Bould,  Thcmas  Whittington,  George  Johnson,  John  Sawrey, 
Jeremiah  Aspinwell,  George  Piggott,  and  William  West,  Esquires.  By  virtue  of  a 
Commission  under  the  Create  Scale  of  England,  dated  the  29th  of  March,  1650,  to 
them  and  others  directed,  for  the  inquiringe  of  and  certifying  the  certain  number  and 
true  yearely  value  of  all  parsonages  and  vicaridges  presentative,  and  of  all  and  every 
the  spirittuall  and  Ecclesiastical  liveinges  and  benefices  and  donatives  within  the  said 
County,  by  the  oathes  of  John  Harwood,  William  Chew,  Richard  Osbaldeston, 
William  Walmisley,  James  Whalley,  Edward  Lowed,  William  WTard,  John  Aspden, 
John  Dewhurst,  Robert  Radclifie,  Richard  Dewhurst,  John  Dewhurst,  junior,  Richard 
Ainsworth,  Jeremy  Wood,  and  Edward  Boulton,  good  and  lawfull  men  of  the  parishes 
of  Blackburne  and  Whalley,  in  the  said  Countye,  whoe  upon  their  oathes  present  and 
saye  that  the  Parishe  of  Blackburne,  within  the  Hundred  of  Blackburne,  doth  containe 
one  parishe  church,  vizt.  Blackburne,  a  vicaridge  presentative  by  the  late  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury,  the  impropriator  Mistress  Marriane  Fleetwood,  farmer  of  the  tythes  by 
a  demise  on  lease  made  by  the  said  Bishopp  yett  in  beinge ;  besides  there  is  a  demesne 
called  Haudly,  yett  in  lease  under  the  said  Bishopp  to  the  said  Mrs.  Fleetwood  for  the 
terme  of  eight  years  or  thereabouts,  and  by  her  demised  att  eighty  pounds  per  ann., 
and  alsoe  an  ould  rent  of  thirty-five  poundes  fourteene  shillings  per  ann. ,  besides  fines 
of  tenements  and  one  water  corne  milne  of  the  yearly  value  of  [  ].  All  which  are 
in  lease  under  the  said  bishopp  with  the  said  Mrs.  Fleetwood  for  the  tenure  aforesaid. 
And  the  said  Mrs.  Fleetwood  hath  tyth  within  the  chappellry  of  Lawe,  in  the  parishe 
aforesaid,  worth  per  ann.  ,£119;  and  ^52  per  ann.  for  glebe  land;  and  in  Nether 
Darwen  ^27  per  ann.  ;  and  in  Plesington  ^13  IDS.  per  ann.  ;  and  in  Whitton  £8 
per  ann. ;  and  in  Mellor-cum-Eccleshill  ,£30  per  ann.  ;  and  in  Harwood  Parva  £10 
per  ann. ;  and  in  Samlisbury  ^30  "per  ann.;  besyde  three  acres  and  a  halfe  of  glebe 
land  att  75.  3d.  rent  per  ann.  ;  and  in  Clayton  in  le  Dale,  Salisbury,  Wilpshire-cum- 
Dinckley,  and  Billington,  theire  tythes  worth  ^"72  per  ann. ;  and  in  Tockholes  ^13 
6s.  8d.  per  ann. ;  and  in  Overdarwen  ^30  per  ann. ;  and  in  Blackburne  £60  per  ann. ; 
and  in  Harwood  Magna  ^40  per  ann. ;  and  in  Rishton  ^"35  per  ann. ;  and  in  Cuerdale 
.£5  per  ann.;  and  in  Livesaye  £20  per  ann.;  and  in  Osbaldeston  and  Balderston 
.£13  13$.  per  ann.;  besyde  Yatebank  and  Piccopbank,  part  of  the  forest  of  Rossendall, 
but  parcell  of  the  rectorye  of  Blackburne,  their  tythes  worth  to  the  abovesaid  farmer 
,£5  per  ann.  And  the  said  Jurors  likewise  saye  that  there  is  belonginge  to  the  said 


ANNALS  OF  BLACKBURN  RECTORY. 


277 


[vicarage]  a  viccaridge  house,  and  thirtye  acres  of  land  worth  per  ami.  £20  to  the 
present  minister  at  Blackburne ;  besydes  there  is  other  auntiente  tenements  which 
prescribe  to  pay  a  rent  of  £2  1 6s.  rod.  per  ami.  to  the  said  Viccar  (all  which  the  said 
viccar  receyveth  for  his  sallary),  besydes  £26  135.  4d.  per  arm.  which  he  receaveth 
from  the  said  Mrs.  Fleetwood,  and  alsoe  that  hee  hath  an  augmentation  of  £$o  Per 
ann.  from  the  Committee  of  Plundered  Ministers,  but  as  yett  hath  receaved  noe  benefitt 
thereof.  And  the  said  Jurors  further  saye  that  the  said  parishe  dothe  contain  within 
itselfe  nyneteene  townshipps,  which  are  distant  from  their  parish  church  as  is  here 
expressed,  vizt.  Blackburne,  in  which  the  parish  is  situated  ;  Nether  Darwen,  two 
myles  ;  Over  Darwen,  four  myles  ;  Livesey-cum-Tockholes,  four  myles  ;  Plesington, 
three  myles ;  Witton,  one  myle  and  a  halfe ;  Samlisbury,  six  myles  ;  Osbaldeston, 
five  myles ;  Balderston,  five  myles ;  Walton  in  le  Dale,  nyne  myles  ;  Cuerdale,  eight 
myles  ;  Mellor-cum-Eccleshill,  four  myles  ;  Whilpshire-cum-Dinckley,  four  myles  ; 
Clayton  in  le  Dale,  four  myles  ;  Billington,  five  myles  ;  Harwood  Magna,  four  myles  ; 
Harwood  Parva,  one  myle  and  a  quarter ;  Rishton,  three  myles  ;  and  Salisbury,  four 
myles.  The  jurors  also  saye  that  there  are  in  the  parish  seven  chapels  :  Law 
[Walton]  :  Samlisbury ;  Langoe ;  Tockholes  ;  Over  Darwen ;  Balderston ;  and  Harwood 
[see  Chapelries]. 

On  the  restoration  of  Episcopacy  in  1660,  Dr.  John  Juxon  was 
made  Primate  ;  and  by  deed  dated  February  roth,  i4th  Charles  II. 
(1662),  his  Grace  gave  a  sum  of  ^"70  per  annum  out  of  the  issues  of 
the  Rectory  for  the  increase  of  the  Vicarial  benefice  of  Blackburn.  The 
charge  was  added  to  the  rental  of  the  estate  paid  by  the  lessee  on  a 
renewal  of  the  lease  in  1661  ;  but  the  lessee,  Mistress  Mariane  Fleet- 
wood,  did  not  fail  to  transfer  this  extra  payment  to  her  under-tenants, 
in  the  shape  of  increased  rents,  whereat  the  latter  made  bitter  complaint 
to  the  Primate,  in  these  terms  : — 

Upon  the  renewal  of  the  Lease  of  the  Rectory  of  Blackburne  with  Archbishop 
Juxon,  immediately  after  his  Majestie's  Restauration,  his  Grace  was  pleased  to  grant 
an  augmentation  of  ^"70  per  annum  to  the  Vicar  of  Blackburne  and  his  successors,  to 
be  payd  by  the  farmer  of  the  Rectory,  who  not  long  after  likewise  renewed  the  Leases 
to  the  under  Tenants,  advancing  every  one  of  them  both  in  fine  and  rent  over  and 
above  their  former  payments,  to  their  great  impoverishment  and  severe  usage,  the 
officers  and  agents  of  the  farmer  alleging  (supposed  to  be  by  their  master's  directions) 
that  his  Grace  had  imposed  the  annual  payment  of  £70  to  the  Vicar  over  and  above 
the  Reserved  Rent  formerly  payd,  without  any  consideration  to  the  farmer,  or  defalca- 
tion of  fine  in  renewing  his  lease,  and  therefore  were  constrained  to  reimburse  their 
master  by  advanceing  the  Tenants'  fines  and  Annuall  Reserved  Rents  1o  equal  the 
sayd  summe  of  £jo  augmentation  to  the  Vicar.  The  agents  and  officers  of  the  farmer?, 
from  time  to  time  have  affirmed  and  reported  the  contents  above-written  for  a  certain 
truth.  The  present  agent,  Mr.  Ogle,  still  continuing  to  affirm  the  same,  with  the 
greatest  confidence  imaginable,  to  the  great  grief  of  the  under-tenants,  and  greater 
dishonour  of  the  present  Archbishop  and  his  predecessors. — (Signed) — Tenants  : — 
Joseph  Sharpies,  Thurstan  Maudsley,  Richard  Hilton,  Henry  Maudsley,  Adam  Rabj', 
Richard  Gelibrand,  Ben.  Lawe,  Edward  Smith,  Robert  Peele,  John  Yates,  Thurstan 
ffogge,  James  Cowper,  William  Yates,  William  Haworth. — We  whose  hands  are 
subscribed,  not  being  tenants  to  the  said  farmer,  do  some  of  us  know  and  others 
believe  the  contents  above-written  to  be  true  : — Thomas  Clayton,  Giles  Clayton, 


278  HISTORY    OF  BLACKBURN. 

George    Rishton,    Thomas   Walmsley,    Thomas    Sharpies,    Evan   Wilkinson,   James 
Brindle,  William  Pickering,  Ric.  Haworth,  James  Crosse,  Jacob  Edge. 

The  Coucher  Book  of  the  Parish  Church  of  Blackburn  contains  an 
.abstract  of  a  lease  obtained  by  Cordelia  Fleetwood,  in  the  year  1676. 
The  terms  of  this  lease  were,  an  annual  rent  of  ^139  25.  2d.  paid  direct 
to  the  Rector,  and  ^"70  on  his  account  to  the  Vicar  of  Blackburn ;  the 
total  rental  of  the  Rectory  Glebe  was  thus  at  that  date  ^"209  23.  2d. 
per  annum  : — 

MEMORANDUM  OF  LEASE  OF  RECTORY  TO  CORDELIA  FFLEETWOOD. — A  Lease 
granted  by  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  to  Cordelia  ffleetwood.  Dated  24th  Dec., 
1676,  of  all  that  the  Rectory  or  Parsonage  of  Blackburn  in  Com.  Lane.,  with  the 
Chappells  of  Law  and  Samlesbury  to  the  same  parsonage  belonging,  with  all  houses, 
buildings,  lands,  tenements,  Glebe  Lands,  Tythes  of  Corn  and  Hay,  Oblations, 
Obventions,  Privy  Tythes,  and  all  and  every  other  tythes,  profitts,  comoditys,  advan- 
tages, emoluments,  and  appurtenances  whatsoever,  &c.  To  have  for  21  years  from  the 
makeing.  Rent  yearly  ^139  2s.  2cl.  att  the  Annunciation  and  Michaels  by  equall 
portions.  Rent  also  on  the  days  aforesaid  £"jo  to  be  paid  by  the  said  Archbishop  and 
his  successors  yearly  to  the  Vicar  for  the  tyme  being,  &c.,  in  pursuance  of  the  King's 
Majesty's  directions  for  Augmentations,  &c.  And  that  the  said  Cordelia  F.,  &c., 
shall  repaire,  &c.,  the  chancell  of  the  Church  of  Blackburn,  and  also  the  Mansion 
House  called  Haldley,  in  Blackburn,  and  all  barns  and  other  edifices  thereunto 
belonging.  And  the  said  Cordelia  F.,  for  herself,  exors,  &c.,  doth  covenant,  &c. ,  by 
and  with  the  Vicar  of  the  Parish  Church  of  Blackburn  for  the  tyme  being,  att  all 
tymes,  &c.,  peaceably  and  quietly  to  receive,  take  and  enjoy  to  his  and  their  own  use 
and  behoof  all  and  every  the  church  duties  of  marriages,  christenings,  and  burialls, 
without  any  account  to  be  made  or  given  for  the  same. 

THE    BANCROFT    TRUST. 

Some  account  may  here  be  inserted  of  an  important  augmentation 
made  to  the  endowments  of  the  parish  chapelries  through  the  bounty  of 
Archbishop  Sancroft.  William  Sancroft  was  consecrated  Primate  in  the 
year  1678  as  successor  to  Sheldon.  Sancroft  found  that  the  livings  of 
the  chapels-of-ease  under  this  Parish  Church  were  lamentably  small. 
Not  one  of  the  chapelries  possessed  the  advantage  of  weekly  Christian 
worship.  The  zealous  Primate  therefore  felt  himself  called  upon  to  do 
somewhat  towards  placing  the  affairs  of  the  Church  upon  a  better  basis 
in  a  parish  from  which  he  drew  a  certain  yearly  revenue  as  Rector.  He 
decided  to  make  a  substantial  gift  to  each  of  the  chapels.  First, 
however,  the  Archbishop  required  a  correct  statement  of  the  nature  and 
extent  of  the  existing  endowments,  the  arrangements  for  serving  the 
chapels,  and  the  disposition  of  the  inhabitants  to  assist  in  the  work  of 
augmenting  the  stipends  of  the  curates.  At  the  Rector's  request,  the 
Vicar  procured  from  the  wardens  of  the  several  chapels  the  necessary 
details  upon  these  points,  and  forwarded  them  to  Lambeth.  There 


THE  SANCROFT  TRUST.  279 

were  seven  chapels,  of  which  Balderstone  was  in  ruins,  and  out  of  use. 
Of  the  six  remaining  chapels,  three,  Walton,  Samlesbury,  and  Harwood, 
were  esteemed  to  be  parochial,  and  got  a  small  allowance  from  the  Vicar 
of  the  parish.  In  the  other  four  chapels  none  had  been  permitted  to 
administer  the  sacraments,  marry,  or  bury.  The  curates  had  been 
always  maintained  by  the  bounty  of  those  that  resorted  thither,  without 
charge  to  the  Rector  or  Vicar.  It  was  further  represented  that  "  the 
Vicar  of  Blackburne  aforesaid  allows  to  the  curates  of  all  the  chapells 
above-named  all  the  church  dues  belonging  to  the  said  vicar,  besides 
the  above-mentioned  £8  to  Law  and  Samlesbury,  though  none  of  the 
aforesaid  chapells  do  by  the  Records  at  Chester  appear  to  be  parochiall, 
but  chapels  of  ease." 

The  Rev.  Francis  Price  was  at  this  time  Vicar  of  the  Parish,  and 
in  addition  to  the  accounts  he  gave  to  the  Rector  which  have  been 
mentioned,  sometime  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  year  1684,  Vicar 
Price  wrote  to  the  effect  that : — "  The  Vicar  of  Blackburn  will  freely 
oblige  himselfe  to  pay  £4  yearly  to  Law  Church  and  ^4  to  Samles- 
bury ;  to  remitt  the  dues  for  marrying,  &c.,  in  the  4  chapells  of  ease, 
about  £$  i  os.  or  sometymes  £4  per  annum,  and  to  permitt  them  to 
sever  themselves  from  the  mother  Church,  and  become  parochiall."  As 
to  the  disposition  of  the  parishioners  to  be  united,  Mr.  Price  said : — 
"  The  Inhabitants  of  each  Chapelry  are  not  willing  to  be  united  to  any 
other,  though  they  may  better  consider  of  it  hereafter."  As  to  Easter 
Dues: — "Easter  Dues  are  commonly  one  year  with  another  £2 5  or 
£26  per  annum.  Piggs,  geese,  &c.,  as  is  already  given  in  by  Mr. 
Halsted  in  the  accounts."  The  under-tenants  of  the  Rectory  lands  in 
Blackburn  were  reported  to  the  Archbishop  by  the  Vicar  as  in  a  condition 
of  abject  poverty  : — "Most  of  the  under-tenants  are  miserably  poore, 
and  the  houseing  out  of  repaire,  and  are  distinguished  and  taken  notice 
of  to  be  Mrs.  ffleetwood's  tenants  from  other  landlord's  houses.  If  any 
of  her  tenants  now  build,  the  new  houses  are  often  taken  from  them 
upon  the  expiration  of  their  leases,  and  some  before.  The  last  renewing 
of  their  leases,  the  tenant  was  raised  trible  in  his  reserved  rent,  and 
double  in  his  fine,  the  ffarmer  pretending  that  an  augmentation  of  ^"70 
was  given  to  the  Vicar,  and  no  allowance  made  for  it,  and  therefore 
the  tenants  must  advance  that  summe."  Soon  after  the  receipt  of  the 
Vicar's  missive,  John  Tillison,  Esq.,  the  Primate's  Comptroller,  was 
sent  down  to  Blackburn  to  advance  the  business. 

Mr.  Tillison  found  that  down  in  the  Parish  of  Blackburn  the  good 
intent  of  his  right  reverend  master  was  being  "  evil  spoken  of,"  and 
having  communicated  the  current  slander  to  the  Archbishop,  received 
the  following  letter  from  Sancroft : — 


28o  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Mr.  Comtroller, — To  doe  well  and  even  for  soe  doinge  to  be  evill  spoken  of,  is 
many  times  in  this  world  the  portion  of  well-meaninge  men.  That  a  suit  concerninge 
Tyth  Hay  is  commenced  or  threatened  by  my  particular  directions  (or  by  any  direction 
at  all  from  me)  is  a  great  and  foule  slander  upon  mee,  whoever  is  the  author  (of  which, 
I  pray,  informe  yourself  particularly).  But  that  I  intend  an  augmentation  of  the 
chapelries  to  be  had  out  of  the  purses  of  the  inhabitants  is  a  most  malliciouse  and 
unmannerly  calumny.  God  Almighty  knows  (and  better  than  any  man,  but  my  selfe, 
you  know)  that  what  I  should  receive  upon  the  renewinge  of  this  lease  I  intended 
should  bee  bestowed  for  the  good  (the  spiritual  good)  and  wellfaire  of  those  inhabitants, 
and  when  their  heats  are  over,  and  their  eyes  a  little  clear'd  to  look  upon  things  as 
they  are,  I  hope  they  will  forgive  me  this  wrong.  They  may  consider,  if  they  please, 
that  wise  men  will  never  throw  away  an  opportunity  of  doeinge  themselves  good  which 
(for  ought  they  know)  will  never  returne.  And  sure  I  am  they  cannot  bee  certaine, 
that  the  next  Archbishop  will  frankly  and  unaskt  throw  a  thousand  marks  into  their 
laps,  to  be  expended  entirely  for  the  good  of  their  souls.  And  that  I  am  prepared  and 
resolved  to  doe  this  for  them  (if  they  be  so  jealous  and  ill-natured  as  not  to  believe  my 
words)  they  may,  if  they  will,  soone  bring  mee  to  a  Reall  test,  and  shame  me,  if  I 
faile  in  performance  of  what  I  here  solemnly  declare.  But  all  this  under  the  privitie 
of  my  former  and  most  express  proviso, — that  if  they  expect  I  should  doe  for  them 
what  I  am  noe  waies  obliged  to,  they  should  doe  something  also  for  themselves,  for 
both  God  and  man  justly  abandon  those  that  will  not  helpe  themselves  when  they  may. 
Had  I  design'd  my  owne  worldly  advantage,  I  might  have  spar'd  myselfe  and  you  a 
great  deal  of  care  and  trouble,  and  concluded  the  matter  with  my  tenant  without  noise 
and  long  since  have  taken  the  money  into  my  Pockett.  But  (I  thanke  God)  my 
charitie  to  them  showed  me  a  more  excellent  way.  And  though  I  am  not  by  them 
handsomely  rewarded  for  it,  yet  I  know  Who  it  is  that  accepts  intentions  and 
endeavours  (if  they  be  reall  and  sincere)  and  writes  them  up  in  His  booke  of  accompt 
as  actuall  performances.  But  though  I  can  thus  satisfy  and  comfort  myselfe,  yet  I  am 
infinitely  unwilling  to  give  over  a  design  in  which  God  may  have  some  glory  and  men 
some  benefitt,  because  of  a  frowardnesse  or  peevishresse  of  those  I  have  to  deal  with 
about  it.  There  are  a  sort  of  men  to  whom  we  must  do  good  whether  they  will  or 
not,  and  therefore  I  will  give  them  time  to  bethinke  themselves  by  houldeinge  to  the 
ressollution  I  have  constantly  declared  to  the  Lord  Cheney  never  to  Renew  the  Lease 
unless  it  may  bee  to  the  advantage  of  those  unendowed  chappellries.  As  for  my 
unwillingness  to  interpose  between  my  tenant  and  the  under-tenants,  which  I  perceive 
hath  further  exposed  me  to  the  scourge  of  tongues,  I  think  I  had  noe  reason  to  doe  it 
till  I  was  perfectly  assured  of  the  true  state  of  the  case,  which  was  one  occasion  of  your 
journey,  and  accordingly  given  you  in  charge  by  me ;  and  if  before  your  returne  I  find 
there  is  just  cause  of  complaint,  I  conceive  it  not  seasonable  for  mee  to  medle  with  it 
till  I  and  my  tenant  goe  about  the  renewinge  of  the  Lease  in  good  earnest,  which  will 
not  be  till  the  Chappells  be  in  some  measure  provided  for.  God  Almighty,  who  hath 
put  into  our  mind  some  good  desires,  so  enable  us,  if  it  be  His  will,  to  bring  the  same 
to  good  effect,  the  hearty  daily  prayer  of — Your  very  ob.  friend  W.  CANT. 

Lamb.  H.,  July  5th,  1684. —For  my  Lo.  friend,  Mr.  John  Tillison. — Leave  this 
at  the  Post  House  in  Preston,  Lancashire. 

It  is  evident  from  the  allusions  in  the  letter  that  the  cause  of  the 
local  distrust  of  the  projected  increase  of  the  parochial  chapel  endow- 
ments was  the  exacting  treatment  of  their  tenants  by  the  lessees  of  the 
Rectory  glebe.  After  this  the  Primate  proceeded  with  the  necessary 


THE  SANCROFT  TRUST.  281 

formalities  for  the  execution  of  his  intention,  and  in  the  Spring  of  1685 
notified  Mr.  Price,  the  Vicar,  that  he  "had  prepared  a  declaration  of 
trust  for  the  receipt  of  one  thousand  marks  [;£666  135.  4d.]  to  be  applied 
towards  the  maintenance  of  the  Chapels  in  Blackburnshire,  according  to 
the  directions  of  a  settlement  intended." 

On  the  24th  of  March,  1687-8,  Sancroft  communicated  to  Vicar 
Price  an  outline  of  the  legal  arrangements  his  Grace  had  made  for  the 
completion  of  the  long-pending  business.  Appended  is  a  copy  of  the 
Archbishop's  epistle : — 

Sir, — It  is  more  than  time  that  we  should  finish  what  we  have  begun  some  while 
since,  and  finally  settle  the  little  provision  I  have  made  towards  the  endowment  of  the 
poor  chappellries  within  your  Vicarage.  But  whenever  I  have  gone  about  it  I  have 
found  that  I  could  not  fully  satisfy  myself  in  it,  without  advising  with  you  about  the 
manner  of  the  settlement,  and  the  particular  allotments  and  proportions  in  which  'tis 
to  be  done,  and  such  other  circumstances,  in  which  I  would  not  willingly  be  mistaken ; 
for  the  next  Act  I  doe  about  it  will  be  for  perpetuity,  and  put  it  quite  out  of  my  hands. 
A  commerce  by  Letter  for  debate  of  these  things  would  be  slow  and  troublesome  ;  and 
more  might  be  done  with  you  and  I  together  one  day,  than  in  a  Month's  intercourse 
the  other  way.  This  is  therefore  in  the  first  place  heartily  to  thank  you  for  the  great 
care  and  diligence  you  have  us'd  hitherto  in  this  Affair ;  and  in  the  next  place  earnestly 
to  desire  you  not  to  be  weary  of  well-doing,  but  as  soon  as  the  approaching  great 
Festival  is  past,  to  come  up  hither  to  me.  I  have  long  had  this  in  my  mind,  as  having 
a  great  desire  to  see  you.  But  the  Winter  was  not  a  proper  season  for  so  long  a  journey. 
It  will  now  be  pleasant  travelling ;  and  London,  methinks,  should  be  worth  the  seeing 
(especially  being  so  improved  and  beautified,  as  it  is)  once  in  20  years.  But  whatever 
other  Invitations  may  draw  you  hither,  you  are  to  remember  that  you  came  about  my 
business,  and  therefore  that  I  must,  and  will,  defray  the  whole  expense  of  your  journey. 
Wherefore  taking  it  for  granted,  that  you  will  come,  I  desire  you  to  bring  with  you  the 
Names  of  4  or  5  persons  more,  fitt  to  be  joined  with  you  in  the  Trust,  for  the  Lawyers 
advise  me,  that  if  I  settle  it  that  way,  it  should  not  be  fewer  than  seven,  because  of 
death  and  frequent  change.  Bring  also  the  best  directions  you  can  (both  of  your  own, 
and  of  your  colleagues),  in  whom,  and  in  what  proportion  it  shall  be  placed,  which 
together  with  such  particulars  as  I  have  received  before,  will  guide  me  to  a  final  Reso- 
lution herein.  But  now  that  estate  being  in  you  3,  and  you  having  by  your  Declaration 
of  Trust  covenanted  to  convey  it  as  I  should  direct ;  I  have  caused  a  good  Lawyer 
here  to  draw  such  a  Conveyance,  which  you  are  to  get  ingrost  there,  and  seal'd,  and 
executed,  and  to  bring  it  with  you,  in  exchange  for  which  you  shall  receive  my  last, 
and  final  Settlement.  I  have  written  it  [the  accompanying  Draft  of  Conveyance]  in  my 
close  hand,  and  with  such  abbreviations  as  you  will  know  easily  how  to  decipher,  and 
transcribe,  and  so  deliver  it  to  be  ingrost,  for  the  ease  and  conveniency  of  carriage. 
Till  I  see  you,  I  think  nothing  else  needful  to  be  added,  but  to  wish  you  a  prosperous 
journey ;  and  to  desire  you  very  kindly  to  salute  Mr.  Bradyl  and  Mr.  Osbaldeston,  my 
good  Friends,  in  the  Name  of, — Your  very  affectionate  Friend,  W.  CANT. 

Lambh.  H.,  Mar.  24th,  1687. 

The  final  proceedings  in  connection  with  the  Sancroft  Trust  were 
taken  in  the  Spring  of  1688.     The  following  Agreement  between  Arch- 


282  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

bishop  Sancroft  and  Vicar  Price  is  the  last  of  the  original  documents 
concerning  the  donation  among  the  Vicarial  MSS.  : — 

By  Indenture  dated  26th  May,  4th  of  James  II.  [1688],  between  Archbishop 
William  and  Vicar  Price. — Whereas  the  Curates  of  the  several  Chapelries  of  Law 
Church,  Samlesbury  Church,  Harwood  Church,  Langho  Chapel,  Darwen  Chapel, 
Tockholes  Chapel,  and  Balderstone  Chapel,  have  not  sufficient  maintenance  for  their 
subsistence  respectively,  and  whereas  the  said  William,  Archbishop,  &c.,  with  a  pious 
intent  to  provide  and  settle  an  augmentation  of  maintenance  upon  the  said  Curates 
respectively,  or  some  of  them,  in  manner  hereinafter  expressed,  hath  purchased  the 
several  messuages,  lands,  &c.,  and  by  good  conveyances  in  law  the  same  are  conveyed 
unto  the  said  Archbishop  and  his  successors  for  ever.  And  it  is  hereby  declared  and 
agreed  by  the  said  parties,  that  the  said  purchase  and  conveyance  are  only  upon  trust, 
that  the  said  Archbishop  and  his  successors  should  without  fine  demise  and  lease  the 
same  unto  the  said  Francis  Price  in  the  manner  and  form  set  forth.  And  further  that 
the  said  Archbishop  and  his  successors  for  ever  shall  hold  the  freehold  and  inheritance 
of  the  said  premises  in  trust  and  confidence  to  lease  and  demise  the  same  in  manner 
aforesaid,  and  accordingly  leases  the  same  unto  the  said  Francis  Price  for  the  term  of 
21  years,  if  the  said  Francis  Price  so  long  continue  true  and  lawful  incumbent,  upon 
trust  that  he  the  said  Francis  Price  shall  from  time  to  time  manage,  set,  and  let  the 
premises,  and  also  receive  the  rents,  issues,  and  profits  of  the  said  premises,  and  shall 
pay  the  same,  so  received,  unto  and  amongst  the  curates  for  the  tim  e  being  of  the  said 
several  Chapelries  of  Law  Church,  Samlesbury  Church,  Harwood  Church,  Langho 
Chapel,  Darwen  Chapel,  Tockholes  Chapel  and  Balderstone  Chapel,  or  some  of 
them,  for  the  time  being,  annually  or  half-yearly  upon  the  Feasts  of  the  Nativity  of 
our  Blessed  Lord  and  the  Annunciation  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  or  one  of  them, 
unto  such  of  the  said  curates,  and  in  such  shares  and  proportions  as  the  said  Arch- 
bishops of  Canterbury  shall  from  time  to  time  direct  and  appoint,  and  for  default  of 
such  appointment  then  in  such  shares  and  proportions  as  to  the  said  Francis  Price  and 
his  successors,  Vicars  of  Blackburn,  from  time  to  time  seem  most  just  and  expedient, 
with  regard  as  well  to  the  merits  as  to  the  necessities  of  the  said  several  curates 
respectively.  And  it  shall  be  lawful  for  the  said  Francis  Price  to  deduct  and  defalk 
cut  of  the  yearly  rents,  yearly,  the  sum  of  403.  to  his  own  proper  use  in  satisfaction 
for  his  pains  and  trouble  in  the  execution  of  the  trust  aforesaid,  and  also  all  other  sums 
of  money  by  him  necessarily  expended  for  the  charges  of  the  said  management,  and 
the  said  Francis  Price  shall  upon  the  Feast  of  the  Nativity  of  our  Lord  yearly  during 
the  said  term,  and  also  within  six  months  after  the  expiration  thereof,  make  a  full  and 
perfect  account  of  all  the  receipts,  payments,  and  transactions  whatsoever  relating  to 
the  said  trust,  for  each  and  every  year,  and  deliver  the  said  accounts  unto  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury  for  the  time  being,  without  any  falsity,  omission,  protraction,  or 
delay.  In  witness  whereof  the  parties  above-named  have  interchangeably  set  their 
hands  and  seals,  the  day  and  year  first  above  written.1 

i  The  Thornley  estate,  purchased  by  Archbishop  Sancroft  as  a  benefaction  to  the  chapels  of 
Blackburn  parish,  consists  of  lands  in  the  township  of  Thornley-cum-Wheatley,  in  the  parish  of  Chip- 
ping. These  lands  are  leased  by  the  Rector  to  the  Vicar  for  the  time  being,  who  relets  them  to  the 
tenant  farmers.  The  estate  was  originally  in  one  farm-holding,  but  for  more  than  a  century  has  been 
divided  into  two  farms.  The  following  list  of  successive  leases  will  show  the  rental-value  of  these 
lands  at  different  periods.  The  Rhodes  family  have  farmed  part  of  this  land  for  more  than  a  century 
and  a  half: — 1707.  Lease  granted  by  Vicar  Holme  to  Wm.  Rhodes — Rental  £32.  1726.  Lease  by 
Vicar  Holme  to  Wm.  and  James  Rhodes,  £35  per  annum  for  nineteen  years.  1746.  Lease  granted 
by  Vicar  Wollin  to  Wm.  and  James  Rhodes.  £38  IDS.  per  annum.  1767.  Leases  from  Vicar  Wollin 


THE  SANCROFT  TRUST.  283 

This  Indenture  bears  date  the  4th  of  May,  1688,  and  it  is  worthy 
of  remark  that  at  the  very  time  the  negociation  for  the  improvement  of 
the  church  livings  in  this  remote  Lancashire  parish  was  being  brought 
to  an  issue,  the  prime  mover  therein,  the  venerable  Bancroft,  was  engaged 
in  a  memorable  constitutional  struggle  with  the  Crown.  On  the  27th 
of  April,  1688,  King  James  the  Second  had  followed  up  his  Declaration 
of  the  previous  year  by  a  second  Declaration  of  Indulgence  to  Roman 
Catholics  and  Dissenters.  This  second  Declaration,  by  an  Order  dated 
May  4th,  of  the  same  year,  was  commanded  to  be  read  in  all  Churches 
of  England  on  two  successive  Sundays,  and  the  Bishops  were  bidden  to 
disseminate  the  Declaration  among  their  clergy  for  that  purpose.  Arch- 
bishop Sancroft  and  six  of  the  Bishops  met  and  resolved  to  disobey  the 
Royal  order.  It  was  on  the  i2th  of  May,  1688,  eight  days  after  the 
date  of  the  Indenture  completing  Sancroft's  benefaction  to  Blackburn 
Parish,  that  the  Bishops  and  others  who  opposed  the  arbitrary  conduct 
of  James  II.  met  at  the  Primate's  palace  at  Lambeth.  The  sittings 
were  continued  until  the  i8th  of  May,  on  which  day  a  petition  to  the 
King,  written  by  Sancroft  himself,  declining  to  distribute  the  Declaration 
of  Indulgence,  was  adopted  by  the  conclave,  and  was  presented  to  the 
King,  who  in  a  rage  pronounced  it  to  be  "  a  standard  of  rebellion." 
Nevertheless,  the  seven  prelates  persisted  in  their  refusal,  and  were 
sustained  by  many  of  the  clergy  of  London.  On  the  8th  of  June,  the 
seven  Bishops  were  cited  before  the  King  in  Council,  and  on  their 
continued  recalcitrancy  were  committed  to  the  Tower.  This  procedure 
by  the  King  forced  on  the  political  crisis  that  had  long  been  impending. 
The  question  soon  became  a  national  one,  and  in  a  few  weeks  the 
revolutionary  movement  in  favour  of  the  Prince  of  Orange  was  in  full 
sweep.  Singularly,  Archbishop  Sancroft,  though  one  of  the  foremost 
actors  in  the  events  that  led  to  the  deposition  of  James  II.  and  the 
advent  of  William  of  Orange,  was  afterwards  among  the  prelates  known 
as  "non-jurors,"  on  account  of  their  refusal  to  take  the  oath  of  alle- 
giance to  William  and  Mary.  For  this,  Sancroft  (with  five  bishops)  was 
deprived  in  February,  1690,  and  ejected  from  Lambeth  in  1691  ;  Thomas 
Tillotson  being  consecrated  Archbishop  on  WThitsunday  of  that  year. 
His  deprivation  so  embittered  the  mind  of  Sancroft  that  he  became,  in 
his  last  days,  a  passionate  assailant  of  the  Church  of  England.  He 

to  Robert  Rhodes,  at  a  rental  of  .£29  zos.  6d.  per  annum  for  21  years  ;  and  to  John  White,  at  a  rental 
of  £19  195.  6d.  per  annum  for  21  years.  1783.  Leases  from  Vicar  Starkie  to  Robert  Rhodes,  at  a 
rental  of  £38  ;  and  to  John  White,  at  a  rental  of  £24.  per  annum  ;  total  rental  of  the  estates,  £62. 
1807.  Leases  from  Vicar  Starkie  to  Isaac  Rhodes  at  a  rental  of  £52  per  annum  ;  and  to  James  White, 
at  a  rental  of  .£36  per  annum  ; — total  rental  .£88.  1814.  Leases  from  Vicar  Starkie  to  Isaac  Rhodes, 
at  a  rental  of  ,£85  per  annum  ;  and  to  William  Woods,  at  a  rental  of  £60  per  annum  ;  total  rental  in. 
1814,  £145. 


284  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

lived  some  years  after  his  ejection  on  his  estate  at  Fressingneld,  Co. 
Suffolk. 

A  subsequent  benefaction  out  of  the  Rectory  property  to  the  "poor 
curates  "  of  Blackburn  Parish,  amounting  to  the  sum  of  ^"14  per  annum, 
was  renewed  by  Archbishop  Tenison  in  1706.  This  was  obtained 
through  the  undertaking  of  Mrs.  Sarah  Fleetwood,  on  her  receipt  of  a 
lease  of  the  Rectory  Glebe,  in  1689,  to  pay  that  additional  sum  of  £14 
annually.  Below  is  cited  the  legal  instrument  investing  the  Vicar  for 
the  time  being  with  power  to  receive,  as  trustee  for  the  recipients, 
the  curates  of  the  seven  chapels  : — 

Know  all  men  by  these  presents  that  we,  Thomas,  by  Divine  Providence  Lord 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  have  and  do  hereby  constitute,  nominate,  and  appoint  our 
well-beloved  John  Holme,  Clark  and  Vicar  of  the  Parish  Church  of  Blackborne,  in 
the  County  of  Lancaster,  our  true  and  lawfull  Attorney  for  Us  and  in  our  Name  to  ask 
demand,  and  receive  the  full  and  just  sum  of  Fourteen  Pounds  per  annum,  on  the 
Feasts  of  St.  Michaell  the  Archangell  and  the  Annunciation  of  the  Blessed  Virgin 
Mary,  by  even  and  equal  portions,  of  and  from  our  now  Lessee,  Mrs.  Sarah  Fleet- 
woode,  Widdow,  being  Farmeress  by  Lease  from  us  of  the  Impropriate  Rectory  of 
Blackborne  aforesaid,  and  of  her  Executors  and  Assigns.  Which  said  Fourteen 
Pounds  was  a  new  augmentation  made  and  confirmed  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1688-9 
by  Mrs.  Cordelia  Fleetwoode,  then  the  Farmeress  of  the  Rectory  aforesaid,  and  she 
confirmed  it  by  giving  a  covenant  in  her  said  Lease  in  pure  charity  for  the  use  and 
benefitt  of  the  poor  curates  of  the  severall  chappells  belonging  to  the  said  Vicarage  of 
Blackborne.  And  also  giving  and  granting  to  my  said  Attorney  upon  the  receipt  of 
the  said  sums,  full  power  and  authority  to  dispose  of  them  to  those  curates  in  such 
proportions  as  Mr.  Francis  Price,  late  Vicar  of  Blackborne,  did  pay  the  same.  Or 
according  as  he,  my  said  Attorney,  shall  in  his  owne  judgment  think  fitt  and  reason- 
able, with  regard  to  the  deserts  and  merits  of  the  said  curates.  Provided  always  that 
my  said  Attorney  shall  at  the  end  of  every  year  give  an  account  to  us  or  oure  successors 
in  writing  how  he  has  disposed  of  the  said  Fourteen  Pounds,  that  he  may  receive  from 
us  or  them  directions  for  the  future  payment  of  it  to  the  said  curates. — Given  at  our 
Palace  at  Lambeth,  the  seventh  day  of  May,  A.D.  1706,  and  in  the  Fifth  Year  of  the 
Reign  of  our  Sovereign  Lady  Queen  Anne,  &c. — THO.  [Seal]  CANTUAR. — Signed 
and  sealed  in  the  presence  of  Lem.  Bradley,  Will.  Lovejoy. 

The  Feildens  succeeded  the  Fleetwoods  as  lessees  of  the  Rectory 
Glebe,  and  in  1758  Joseph  Feilden  is  named  in  one  of  the  Vicar's 
receipts  as  "one  of  the  farmers  of  the  Rectory  of  Blackburn."  Successive 
leases  of  these  lands  were  granted  to  Henry  Feilden,  son  of  Joseph, 
and  to  his  son,  the  late  Joseph  Feilden,  Esq.  A  large  portion  of  the 
Rectory  Glebe  was  sold  in  the  last  century  to  Henry  and  John  Feilden. 
In  1853,  the  Ecclesiastical  Commissioners  assumed  control  of  the 
Rectorial  estates.  The  lands  in  Blackburn  vested  in  the  Ecclesiastical 
Commissioners  comprised  two  separate  estates,  known  as  the  Audley 
and  Brookhouse  estates.  In  1856  the  Audley  Estate  consisted  of  the 
following  tenancies  : — Audley  Hall  Farm,  of  184  acres  and  25  perches; 


THE  RECTORIAL  GLEBE.  285 

Audley  Higher  Barn,  of  34  acres  and  24  perches;  Fish  Field  and  Five 
Acres,  of  18  acres,  2  roods,  39  perches;  Great  and  Little  Maudsley,  of 

15  acres,  2  roods,  3  perches;  Long  Meadow,  i  acre,  33  perches;  New 
Hey  and  Little  Meadow,  3  acres,  3  roods,  30  perches ;  Nearer  and 
Further    Dam    Hey    (Cicely    Hole),    6    acres,    2    roods,    30    perches ; 
Smalding's  Farm,   24  acres,   2  roods,   35   perches  ;  Snape  Fields  and 
Higher  Walks,  7  acres  i  rood,  19  perches;  Three  Lawnds,  16  acres, 
2    roods,    9    perches ;    Town    Green,    3    acres,    2   roods,    28  perches  ; 
occupation  road  from  Grimshaw  Park  to  Smalding's  Cottage,  2  roods, 

1 6  perches.     The  total  extent  of  Audley  Estate,  the  remnant  of  the 
ancient  Rectorial  demesne,  is  317  acres,    i  rood,   n  perches.  •  Since 
1856,  some  plots  of  the  estate  have  been  sold;  and  the  residue  has 
been  laid  out  and  leased  for  building  purposes.     Since  its  enfranchise- 
ment, a  new  town  has  risen  upon  the  estate,  and   its  rental  value  has 
increased  incalculably.     The  Brookhouse  Estate  is  situate  on  the  north 
side  of  the  Blakewater  at    Brookhouse,  and    extends  to  the  farm    of 
Lower  Ousebooth  in  one  direction  and  to  the  Hole  i'th  Wall,   Shire 
Brow,  in  another.     It  consisted,  in  1856,  of  two  tenancies,  of  a  total 
area  of  78  acres,  i  rood,  23  perches.     The  estate  has  since  been  further 
curtailed  by  the  sale  of  considerable  parcels  to  Mr.  Hornby  and  Mr. 
Ward.     The  aggregate  annual  revenue  of  all  the  Rectory  property  in 
lands,  leases,  and  ground  rents  must  now  amount  to  many  thousands  of 
pounds. 

The  mansion  of  the  Rectory  was  the  Hall  of  Hauldley  or  Hawdley, 
now  spelled  Audley,  standing  in  a  hollow  near  a  small  rivulet  between 
the  hill  of  Higher  Audley  and  Whinny  Heights,  on  the  south-east  side 
of  the  town.  In  1616,  the  old  Hall  at  Audley  is  described  as  being 
built  of  stone,  timber,  and  brick ;  situate  half  a  mile  from  the  town, 
and  surrounded  by  lands  known  as  Haudley  Demesne,  containing  by 
measurement  143  acres  and  10  perches.  Before  the  appropriation  of 
the  Rectory,  and  under  the  control  of  the  Abbots  of  Whalley,  a  Sister- 
hood of  Benedictine  Nuns  is  said  by  Whittle1  to  have  been  housed  in 
Audley  Hall ;  but  I  have  met  with  no  memorials  of  the  existence  of 
such  a  sisterhood.  Audley  Hall  is  now,  although  partially  inhabited 
by  the  fanner,  in  a  state  of  utter  dilapidation.  Most  of  the  buildings 
have  fallen  or  been  taken  down,  and  in  what  still  stands  every  feature 
of  architecture  has  been  effaced.  There  are  remains  of  large  mullioned 
and  transomed  windows  in  the  north-western  end  of  the  building.  The 
external  walls  are  of  stone  and  brick  intermixed.  Anciently  the  house 
is  said  to  have  been  approached  by  an  avenue  of  trees,  but  the  land 
about  is  now  t>are  of  timber. 

i  Blackburn  as  it  Is,  p.  336, 


286  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

ANNALS    OF   THE    VICARAGE. 

The  history  of  the  Vicarial  benefice  of  Blackburn  during  its  subjec- 
tion to  Whalley  Monastery  is  marked  by  few  recorded  events  of  moment. 
In  the  Abbey  Chartulary,  the  names  of  two  or  three  Vicars  of  Blackburn 
Church  occur.  John  de  Habyndon,  Vicar  before  1289,  and  William 
de  Lenche,  his  successor,  have  before  been  mentioned.  To  Adam  de 
Walboncke  (Vicar  next  in  order  to  William  de  Lenche),  succeeded  John 
de  Gristhwayth,  before  the  year  1333,  when  he,  as  Vicar  of  Blackburn 
Church,  receives  of  William  Russel  of  Magna  Harwood  his  land  situated 
within  Snodworth  field  in  Billington.  The  same  Vicar  acquired  other 
lands  in  Billington  in  1338 ;  and,  in  1340  Vicar  Gristhwayth  conveyed 
these  lands  to  the  Abbot  and  Monks  of  Whalley.  This  Vicar  again,  in 
1342,  with  John  de  Topclif,  Vicar  of  Whalley,  had  possession  of  lands 
in  Burnley  from  John  de  Brunley,  which  the  two  Vicars  jointly  conveyed 
to  the  Monastery  in  1343.  John  de  Gristhwayth  occurs  later  as  Vicar  in 
1356,  and  he  probably  died  about  1362. 

John  de  Lyndelay,  instituted  Vicar  of  Blackburn  October  i5th,  1362, 
was  the  learned  and  industrious  fifth  Abbot  of  Whalley,  who  transcribed 
into  a  Coucher  Book  all  the  title  deeds  of  his  Monastery.  He  died 
about  1378  and  was  succeeded  as  Vicar  of  Blackburn  by  William  de 
Wetherby,  whose  vicariate  probably  extended  from  1378  until  1419. 

Galfridus  [Geoffrey]  Banastre,  the  next  Vicar  known,  instituted  June 
3rd,  6th  Henry  V.  (1419),  will  again  appear  in  this  History  as  founder 
of  a  Chantry  in  Blackburn  Church,  in  the  year  1453.  He  died  in  1457, 
and  the  next  Vicar  found  is  Robert  Salley,  a  Monk  of  Whalley,  who 
occurs  in  1480,  and  died  in  1489,  when  another  Monk  of  the  same 
family,  Henry  Salley,  was  instituted,  December  i6th,  1489.  He  had  a 
lengthened  tenure  of  the  benefice ;  for  he  is  returned  as  Vicar  in  the 
Valor  of  1534,  forty-four  years  after  his  institution.  If  still  alive  in  1537, 
Vicar  Henry  Salley  would  suffer  dispossession  in  the  suppression  of  the 
Monastery  to  which  he  was  attached  in  that  year,  the  Vicar  of  Black- 
burn being  implicated  in  the  rebellious  rising  of  Abbot  Paslew  by 
documents  discovered  in  the  Vicar's  house. 

Ralph  Lynney,  installed  as  Vicar  about  1537,  is  before  described 
in  1534  as  receiver  of  the  Rectory  of  Blackburn.  He  was  witness  to 
the  Will  of  John  Talbot  of  Salesbury  in  1552,  and  resigned  upon  a 
pension  before  1554.  His  successor,  James  Hargreaves,  presented 
by  Philip  and  Mary,  instituted  October  24th,  1555,  was  deprived  soon 
after  the  accession  of  the  Protestant  Queen  Elizabeth  for  "  papistry," 
and  was  yet  in  the  district  and  reported  for  an  obstinate  recusant 
(Roman  Catholic)  in  1575. 


• 


ANNALS  OF  BLACKBURN  VICARAGE.  287 

John  Hylton,  presented  to  the  Vicarage  March  2oth,  1561,  may  be 
regarded  as  the  first  Protestant  Vicar  of  Blackburn  Church.  Vicar 
Hylton  was  in  1567  nominated  a  first  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar 
School  by  the  Charter  of  Queen  Elizabeth.  By  him  the  Vicarage  House 
was  probably  re-edified  about  1579.  This  Vicar  resigned  in  1580,  and 
died  in  1582.  The  Will  of  John  Hulton,  clerk,  late  Vicar  of  Blackburn, 
is  dated  May  i5th,  24th  Eliz.  (1582).  Testator  desires  to  be  buried  in 
the  churchyard  of  Blackburn. 

Edward  Welche  was  instituted  to  the  Vicarage  October,  ist,  1580, 
and  held  the  benefice  until  1606,  when  he  was  deprived  for  his  refusal 
to  wear  the  surplice,  and  retired  to  a  small  property  called  Walsh  Fold, 
in  Over  Darwen,  where  he  died  in  1627.  He  had  a  son  Thomas  Welche, 
Parish  Clerk  of  Blackburn,  who  had  a  son  Edward,  born  in  1625. 

John  Morres,  instituted  February  23rd,  1606,  by  the  Primate,  was 
next  Vicar.  It  was  he  to  whom,  as  Vicar,  in  1618,  a  portion  of  Waste 
land  in  the  township  was  allotted  on  account  of  his  Glebe.  "  Mr.  John 
Morres,  Vicar,"  was  buried  at  Blackburn  Church,  May  23rd,  1628. 

Adam  Bolton,  instituted  June  2oth,  1628,  was  a  native  of  Black- 
burn, and  has  been  noticed  in  the  sketch  of  his  family  (Bolton  of 
Brookhouse).  Vicar  Bolton  was  regularly  appointed  by  Archbishop 
Abbot;  but  on  the  establishment  of  the  Presbytery  in  1646,  he  retained 
the  Vicarage  and  accepted  nomination  on  the  third  classis  of  the 
Lancashire  Presbytery.  He  died  towards  the  end  of  1646. 

Leonard  Clayton  was  chosen  Vicar  by  the  process  of  popular  elec- 
tion in  1647,  during  the  Civil  War  distraction.  In  the  Parish  Register 
is  entered  : — "On  Sunday,  the  4th  of  July,  1647,  Mr.  Leonard  Clayton, 
Mr.  of  Artes  of  St.  Mary  Hall  in  Oxford,  tooke  possession  of  the 
Vicaridge  of  Blackburne.  The  said  Leo:  Clayton  is  sone  of  Gyles 
Clayton  of  Little  Harwoode."  This  Vicar  has  made  also  an  entry  in 
the  Register  opposite  the  record  of  his  own  baptism  as  follows  : — 
"Leonard  sonne  of  Gyles  Clayton,"  bapt.  May  26th,  1616.  [Added] — 
"  Of  Little  Harwood,  now  Vicar  of  this  Church.  The  said  Leonard 
Clayton  was  inducted  into  the  Vicaridge  of  Blackburne,  in  the  year  1647, 
and  was  allso  presented  and  inducted  into  the  Parsonage  of  Stockport, 
in  Cheshier,  in  the  yeare  1674,  and  is  yet  possessor  of  both  this  present 
yeare  1676."  Upon  an  application  for  an  increase  to  this  benefice, 
made  to  the  Committee  of  Plundered  Ministers  in  1649,  the  order  is 
recorded  upon  the  Minutes  of  that  Committee  in  these  terms  : — "Black- 
burn. Of  large  extent,  and  4000  Communicants,  and  that  in  regard  of  the 
greatness  of  the  charge,  the  smallness  of  the  means  there,  and  the  vicarage 
thereof  being  worth  but  ^50  a  year,  no  minister  would  accept  thereof. 
,£50  a  year  to  be  paid  to  Mr.  Leonard  Clayton,  present  minister,  to  be 


288  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

taken  out  of  the  Rectory  of  Bolton."1  The  record  mentions  a  sum 
6s.  8d.  set  apart  by  the  late  Bishop  of  Chester  for  this  vicarage.  The 
Committee  appointed  by  Parliament  for  Sale  of  Bishops'  Lands  surveyed 
the  Rectory  and  Vicarage  of  Blackburn  the  same  year  (1649),  and  as  to 
the  Vicarage  the  surveyors  reported  : — 

Mr.  Leonard  Clayton,  the  present  Vicar  of  Blackborne,  is  an  able  and  paynefull 
Divine,  approved  of  by  the  Assembly  of  Divines,  and  placed  there  by  the  Committee 
of  Plundered  Ministers,  who  have  ordered  him  an  augmentation  of  Fifty  Pounds  per 
annum  out  of  the  Rectory  of  Boulton  in  Lonsdale,  in  the  County  of  Lancaster, 
sequestered  from  Sir  Henry  Compton,  Knight  of  the  Bath,   Lessee  under  the  late 
Bishop  of  Chester  for  three  lives,  and  upon  the  said   Sir  Henry's  composition  the 
Councill  at  Goldsmith's  Hall  bought  his  terme  then  to  come  in  the  said  Rectory.     The 
Vicar's  Glebe  of  antient  enclosure  in  Blackborne  lies  near  the  Town,  and  is  accompted 
to  be  50  acres,  besides  20  acres  of  new  enclosure  at  Blakenmore  and  Refidge  Moor. 
The  antient  enclosure  hath  two  houses  and  a  barn  upon  it  in  the  field.     The  Vicar's 
best  old  glebe,  per  annum,  £20 ;  the  Vicar's  antient  rough  ground  by  the  demesne, 
per  annum,  £10  ;  New  enclosures  of  20  acres,  per  annum,  £$.     [Then  follow  the 
allowance  out  of  the  Bishop's  Rent  Dues,  &c.]     There  are  also  certain  houses  that  are 
parcel  of  the  Glebe  belonging  to  the  Vicaridge  of  Blackborne,  in  the  occupation  of 
the  several  Tenants  hereunder  mentioned  : —John  Sharpies  holdeth  one  house  with 
appurtenances,   and  payeth  rent  per  annum  6s.  8d. ;  but  it  is  worth  upon  rack  ^4. 
John  Marsden  holdeth  two  houses  with  appurtenances,  and  payeth  rent  45. ;  is  worth 
upon  rack  £6  ;  Thomas  Welch,  clerk,  holdeth  one  house,  and  payeth  rent  2s.,  worth 
upon  rack  £2  ;  Jane  Morris  holdeth  one  fair  house  by  the  School,  and  payeth  rent 
is.  8d.,  worth  upon  rack  £i  135.  4d.  ;  George  Shaw  holdeth  a  good  house  by  it,  and 
payeth  rent  is.;  Alice  Edge,   widow,    at  Toalbridge  End,   holdeth    one  croft,  and 
payeth  rent  2s.  6d. ;  Richard  Pomfret  holdeth  one  house,  and  payeth  rent  3d.  ;  Robert 
Ashton    holdeth    one   house,   and    payeth  rent  5d.;     George  Simpson  holdeth  one 
house,  and  payeth  rent  4d. ;  John  Cowper  holdeth  one  house,  and  payeth  rent  2d. ; 
Widow  Cunliffe  holdeth  one  house,  and  payeth  rent  6d. ;  Robert  Collinson  holdeth 
one  house,  and  payeth  rent  4d. ;  Nathaniel  Feilden  holdeth  one  house,   and  payeth 
rent  6d. ;    Maria,  wife   of  Peter  Lodge,  holdeth  one  house,  and  payeth  is.,   worth 
rack^i  133.  4d. ;  Nathaniel  Feilden  holdeth  one  house,  and  payeth  rent  4d.;  William 
Hayhurst  holdeth  one  messuage,  and  payeth  rent  6d. ;    Thomas  Verwi  holdeth  one 
house,  and  payeth  rent  6d. ;  John  Jackson  holdeth  one  house,  and  payeth  rent  is. ; 
Thomas  Astley  holdeth  one  house,  and  payeth  rent  55. ;  John   Siddall  holdeth  one 
house,  and  payeth  rent  55. ;   Richard  Siddall  holdeth  one  house,  and  payeth  rent  75. ; 
Christopher  Duckworth  holdeth  one  house,  and  payeth  rent  55. ;    Lawrence  Whalley 
holdeth  one  house,  and  payeth  rent  2s. ;  John  Astley  holdeth  one  house,  and  payeth 
rent  35. ;  Edward  Walmesley  holdeth  one  house,    and  payeth   rent   6d.      Total   of 
present  rent,  £2  175.  lod.      All  the  last  mentioned  houses  belonging  to  the  Vicar, 
upon  which  we  have  set  no  improvement,  we  value  every  house  to  be  worth  per 
annum  los.,  in  total  ^"9  los. 

A  second  order  of  the  Committee  of  Plundered  Ministers  respecting 
this  Vicarage,  dated  February  i4th,  1650,  describes  Blackburn  as  a 
Parish  containing  a  market  town  and  ten  villages,  and  a  place  of  great 

i  Plund.  Ministers-,  Bodl.  MSS.,  p.  169  ;  extracted  for  this  history  by  Mr.  J   E.  Bailey. 


PETITION  FOR  VICAR  CLAYTON. 


289 


resort.  ^"50  ordered  for  it  from  the  "impropriate  Rectory  of  Pulton  in 
the  ffeild,  sequestered  from  Sir  Thos.  Tilsley,  Delinquent,"  and  out  of  the 
tithes  of  Melling  "  for  the  maintenance  of  a  weekly  lecture  in  the  said 
Church  of  Blackburn;"  and  it  is  further  ordered  that  Mr.  "Michael 
Briscoe,  a  godly  minister,  be  appointed  to  preach  the  said  lecture."1 

Vicar  Clayton  had  no  difficulty  in  adapting  himself  to  altered 
circumstances  after  the  restoration  of  Prelacy  in  the  Church  of  England. 
In  1660,  the  Parishioners  are  found  humbly  but  hopefully  petitioning 
the  King  to  give  the  Vicar  elected  by  the  Parish  in  1647  a  legal  title, 
with  an  augmentation  of  the  living.  The  Petitioners  were  careful  to 
profess  penitence  for  past  political  errors,  and  to  declare  their  revived 
attachment  to  the  Stuart  dynasty,  a  change  of  sentiment  they  attributed 
to  the  judicious  preaching  of  their  Vicar.  The  Petition  is  printed 
below : — 

To  our  dread  soveraigne  and  mighty  monarch  Charles  the  Second,  by  the  grace 
of  God  of  England,  Scotland,  France,  and  Ireland  King,  Defender  of  the  Faith,  &c. 
— The  Petition  of  the  Inhabitants  of  the  Parishe  of  Blackburne,  in  the  County  of 
Lancaster.  (Subscribed  August  the  24th,  1660.)  Humbly  sheweth  : — I.  That  the 
Inhabitants  of  the  Parishe  of  Blackburne  did,  in  the  yeare  of  our  Lord  God  one 
thousand  six  hundred  ffortie  and  seaven,  unanimously  without  the  opposition  of  one 
man  elect  and  chuse  Mr.  Leonard  Clayton,  Master  of  Arts  of  St.  Marie  Hall  in 
Oxford,  to  be  oure  Vicar,  the  place  being  vacant  by  the  death  of  the  former  incum- 
bent. 2.  That  the  said  Mr.  Clayton,  upon  the  signification  of  our  election,  procured 
an  order  for  the  place,  from  the  Committee  of  Plundered  Ministers,  bearinge  date  May 
the  2 1st,  1647,  without  which  (as  the  tymes  then  were)  he  would  not  have  staied  with 
us  or  enjoyed  the  promts  of  the  place.  3.  That  the  said  Mr.  Clayton  is  a  man  of  able 
parts  for  the  work  of  the  ministerie,  is  verie  industrious  and  paynfull  in  his  callinge, 
and  pious  in  his  conversation,  as  also  one  that  is  faithffull,  and  hath  testified  good 
affection  to  your  sacred  Majestic,  and  hath  contynewed  to  discharge  his  conscience, 
and  to  speak  the  truth  boldly,  whereby  many  of  the  Inhabitants  of  our  Parish  have 
been  convinced  of  their  former  miscarriages  in  the  late  warres,  for  which  they  have 
begged  pardon  of  the  most  high  God,  and  now  begge  the  like  of  your  most  sacred 
Majestic.  4.  That  the  tythe  and  glebe  of  Blackburne  Parishe  is  impropriate  to  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  the  Vicaridge  endowed  with  some  Glebe  Lands  to  the 
quantitie  of  thirtie  pounds  per  annum,  as  also  40  marks  in  money,  due  out  of  the 
parsonage,  out  of  which  40  marks  our  said  Vicar  payeth  (as  also  did  his  predecessors) 
the  summe  of  eight  pounds  per  annum  to  the  ministers  of  two  of  our  chappels  in  the 
said  Parishe,  there  being  also  in  the  same  parishe  5  other  chappells  which  have  no 
means  at  all  appertaininge  to  them.  5.  That  the  glebe  and  tythe  of  the  impropriate 
Rectorie  of  Blackburne  was  farmed  and  leased  out  by  the  Bishop  of  Canterbury  to  Miss 
Mariana  ffleetwood,  which  said  lease  expires  in  or  about  May  next. — The  premisses 
considered,  your  petitioners  and  liege  people  of  the  said  parish  humbly  beseech  your 
sacred  Majestic  to  give  our  said  minister,  Mr.  Clayton,  a  more  legall  title  to  the  place, 
and  likewise  to  grant  him  and  his  successors  such  an  augmentation  of  revenues  out  of 
the  proffitts  of  the  Impropriate  Rectorie  as  may  make  a  competent  and  comfortable 

i  Bodl.  MSS.,  Plund.  Ministers.  Mr.  Michael  Briscoe  was  later  minister  of  Walmsley  Chapel, 
and  a  Nonconformist  after  1662. 

19 


290 


HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


subsistence,  accordinge  to  his  deserts  and  the  greatness  of  the  congregation.  And  this 
wee  are  the  more  engaged  to  begge  of  your  royal  Majestic  because  the  said  Mr.  Clayton 
hath  severall  tymes  had  invitations  to  places  of  farr  greater  value,  and  yet  hath  refused 
them,  being  more  willing  to  stay  with  us.  And  your  petitioners  doe  yet  further 
humbly  desire  that  your  Majestic,  having  settled  a  competency  uppon  our  Parishe 
Church  (where  there  is  a  great  congregation,  the  towne  being  a  market  towne,  and 
many  villages  adjacent  verie  populous,  the  inhabitants  of  all  which  resort  to  the  same 
church),  you  would  be  pleased  alsoe  to  take  order  that  something  out  of  the  proffitts 
of  the  said  Rectorie  might  be  allowed  to  the  severall  chappells  in  the  parishe,  there 
beinge  seven  of  them  in  number.  And  that  it  would  likewise  please  your  sacred 
Majestic  to  order  that  your  said  petitioners  and  faithfull  subjects,  or  some  of  the 
cheiffe  of  them  in  behalf  of  the  rest,  may  be  farmers  of  the  tythes  of  our  Parish,  that 
soe  they  might  not  be  leased  out  to  strangers,  wee  beinge  willinge  to  give  for  them  a 
valuable  consideration  to  the  right  owner  of  them.  And  your  petitioners  will  ever 
pray,  &c.  [Signed  by  the  following  Inhabitants  of  the  Parish.] 


Alexander  Osbaldeston,     Thomas  Clayton, 


John  Clayton, 
John  Harwood, 
Thurstan  Maudsley, 
Edward  Boulton, 
Richard  Wilkinson, 
John  Abbott, 
Lawrence  Ainsworth, 
Thomas  Gerston, 
Roger  ffoster, 
Randle  Cooke, 
William  Browne, 
Robert  Holden, 
William  Haydock, 
Thomas  Aspinall, 
James  Whalley, 
Thomas  ffishe, 
Edward  Smalley, 
George  Ainsworth, 
Ellis  Edge, 
John  Crosse, 
Thomas  Whalley, 
Lawrence  Ainsworth, 
Roger  Gillibrand, 
Robert  Dewhurst, 


Lawrence  Walmsley, 
John  Gillibrand, 
William  Sudall, 
Richard  Lawe, 
Thomas  Harwood, 
Henry  Clayton, 
Thomas  Pickeringe, 
John  Peele, 
William  Marsden, 
Walter  Haworth, 
William  Duhurst, 
William  Ward, 
Ralph  Lyvesey, 
James  Walmesley, 
William  Marsden, 
William  Walmsley, 
R.  Harwood, 
Michaell  Harwood, 
John  Edge, 
John  Edge, 
Robert  Osbaldeston, 
Thomas  Abbott, 
John  Clayton, 
Thomas  Tomlinson, 


William  Shorrock, 
John  Sudall, 
Thomas  Clayton, 
Myles  Lawe, 
Lawrence  Whalley, 
Richard  Marsden, 
James  Cunliffe, 
Richard  Livesey, 
John  Sharpies, 
James  Whalley, 
Thomas  Aspinall, 
Richard  Dewhurst, 
Matthew  Walkden, 
Thomas  Cook, 
Oliver  Whalley, 
Richard  Ainsworth, 
Richard  Isherwood, 
Thomas  Cooke, 
Gyles  Edge, 
William  Pickeringe, 
Richard  Ainsworth, 
John  ffishe, 
John  Baron, 
Edmund  Calvert. 


Vicar  Clayton  himself  petitioned  the  Primate  some  weeks  later, 
as  follows : — 

To  the  Right  Reverend  Father  in  God  John,  by  Divine  providence  Lord  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury  his  Grace.  The  humble  petition  of  Leonard  Clayton,  Minister 
of  the  Gospell,  in  Blackburne,  in  Lancashire,  September  I2th,  1660.  Sheweth, — I. 
That  the  Vicaridge  of  Blackburne  was  endowed  with  some  Lands  to  the  value  of  Thirty 
Pounds,  as  also  with  forty  markes  in  money  due  out  of  the  Rectory  of  Blackburne,  as 
appears  by  an  order  bearing  date  May  the  I4th,  A.D.  1277.  2.  That  the  said  Leonard 
Clayton  was  chosen  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  Parish  of  Blackburne  to  bee  their  minister, 


VICARAGE  HOUSE  AND  GLEBE  IN  1663.  291 

and  thereupon  had  an  order  for  the  place  from  the  Committee  of  Plundered  Ministers, 
bearing  date  May  the  2 1st,  1647.  The  place  being  vacant  by  the  death  of  the  former 
Incumbent.  3.  That  the  Rectory  of  Blackburne  is  impropriate  to  the  See  of  Canter- 
bury, and  was  leased  out  by  the  late  Bishop  of  Canterbury  to  Mrs.  Mariana  fHeetwood, 
which  said  lease  expires  in  or  about  May  next.  4.  That  the  said  Leonard  Clayton 
payeth  to  the  minister  of  the  parochiall  chapell  of  Walton  the  yearly  summe  of  4 
pounds,  as  allso  the  like  summe  to  the  minister  of  the  parochiall  chappell  of  Samles- 
bury,  both  in  the  said  Parish,  and  yet  there  are  5  other  chappells  in  the  same  parish 
which  have  no  meanes  at  all  appertaineing  to  them.  The  premisses  considered,  Your 
petitioner  humbly  beseecheth  your  Grace  to  grant,  and  by  law  to  settle  uppon  your 
petitioner  and  his  successors  for  ever,  such  a  competent  and  comfortable  subsistence  out 
of  the  profits  of  the  said  Rectory  as  may  be  an  encouragement  for  able,  orthodoxe,  and 
godly  men  to  accept  of  the  Vicaridge,  the  parish  being  very  large,  the  Towne  a  Market 
Towne,  and  the  congregation  very  great.  And  that  your  Grace  would  likewise  be 
pleased  to  grant  something  out  of  the  profits  of  the  said  Rectory  to  the  severall 
chappells  therein,  there  being  seven  of  them  in  number.  And  your  petitioner  will  ever 
pray,  &c. 

It  was  in  response  to  these  applications  by  Vicar  and  Parishioners 
that  Archbishop  Juxon  granted,  in  1662,  the  augmentation  of  ^£70  a-year 
to  the  Vicar's  stipend  out  of  the  Rectory  rents,  as  previously  recorded. 

Particulars  of  the  Vicarage  house  and  glebe  appear  in  the  following 
copy  of  a  Terrier  remaining  in  the  Registry  at  Chester,  made  in  the  year 
1663  :— 

There  belongeth  to  the  Vicaridge  of  Blackburn  in  Lancashire  one  large  ancient 
house  consisting  of  eight  bays  of  building.  There  is  also  two  Barnes,  the  one  consisting 
of  four  large  bays,  the  other  consisting  of  four  little  bays.  There  also  belongeth  to 
the  Vicaridge  of  Blackburn  aforesaid  certain  closes  of  ground,  some  of  which  are  in 
the  possession  of  the  Vicar  yearly ;  other  some  have  ever  been  in  the  possession  of 
tenants.  The  grounds  which  are  in  the  Vicar's  possession  lye  in  two  Places ; — some 
of  this  ground  lyeth  close  to  the  Town,  to  witt,  five  Closes,  one  called  Lower  Alleys, 
containing  by  estimation  about  two  acres ;  another  called  Upper  Alleys,  about  two 
acres ;  another  called  Syke,  about  four  acres  and  a  halfe ;  another  called  Larkehill, 
about  five  acres  j  and  another  called  Clay  Pitts,  about  four  acres.  All  these  bound 
upon  the  easte  and  south  upon  the  demesne  belonging  to  the  Rectorie,  and  north  and 
west  to  divers  closes  belonging  to  the  tenants  of  the  Lord  Fawlkenbridge  and  some 
cottage  Croffts  belonging  to  the  glebe  of  the  Rectorie.  The  other  Grounds,  which  are 
yearly  in  the  Vicar's  possession,  lye  half  a  mile  distant  from  the  town,  commonly 
called  the  Vicar's  Heys,  divided  into  five  closes.  Two  of  those  called  the  Nearer 
Heys,  both  are  about  eight  acres.  The  other  four  called  the  Further  Heys,  being  in 
quantity  about  tenn  acres.  All  these  grounds  last  mentioned  are  bounded  south,  east, 
and  west  upon  the  demesne  belonging  to  the  Rectorie,  and  upon  the  north  upon  the 
highe  Rode.  There  are  dyvers  Cottage  Houses  upon  the  Vicar's  Glebe  which  have 
noe  ground  belonging  to  them  save  backsydes  and  gardens,  for  the  which  the  Vicar 
hath  a  small  accustomed  Rent.  There  are  also  about  thirty  acres  of  Land  in  the 
possession  of  dyvers  tenants,  for  the  which  the  Vicar  hath  an  accustomed  rent. — Oct. 
1 3th,  1663, — We  the  Churchwardens  of  Blackburn  whose  names  are  subscribed  doe 
deliver  in  this  Account  by  the  Information  of  Mr.  Leonard  Clayton,  Vicar  of  the  same. 
Thomas  Lound,  John  Boulton,  Churchwardens. 


292 


HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


After  more  than  thirty  years  tenure  of  this  benefice,  Vicar  Clayton 
died  in  1677.  The  Will  of  Leonard  Clayton,  Vicar  of  Blackburn,  is 
dated  October  gih,  1677.  Testator  refers  to  an  estate  he  had  in  Little 
Harwood,  and  names  his  wife  Mary,  brother  Thomas,  and  daughters 
Elizabeth  (then  dead)  and  Katherine  Warren.1  Gives  a  sum  to  be 
dispensed  as  a  twopenny  dole  to  the  poor  of  the  parish.  The  Blackburn 
Burial  Register  records  : — "  Mr.  Leonard  Clayton,  Vicker  of  Blackburne," 
buried  October  2oth,  1677.  The  Revd.  Nicholas  Peele,  then  Curate  of 
Blackburn,  preached  the  funeral  sermon  for  his  Vicar. 

Revd.  Francis  Price,  M.A.,  was  instituted  to  the  Vicarage  of  Black- 
burn Dec.  5th,  1677.  One  of  the  first  acts  of  the  new  Vicar  was  to 
raise  a  fund  for  the  re-edification  of  the  Vicarage  House,  which  had  fallen 
out  of  repair.  The  Vicarage  then  standing  had  been  partially  re-built 
about  a  century  before ;  for  on  the  removal  of  the  house  built  in  1679, 
in  August,  1826,  fragments  of  the  older  structure  were  found,  among 
them  a  stone  that  had  formed  a  door-lintel,  inscribed  with  the  date 
"  T579>"  Put  m>  no  doubt,  at  the  time  of  the  prior  renovation.  The  site 
of  the  manse  of  1679,  as  of tne  older  domicile,  was  in  the  churchyard,  on 
the  south  side  of  the  Church.  The  subjoined  certificate  of  the  comple- 
tion of  the  new  House  was  sent  to  the  Bishop  in  1680  : — 

NEW  VICARAGE  HOUSE,  1680. — To  the  right  reverend  Father  in  God,  John,  by 
divine  permission  Lord  Bishop  of  Chester, — Wee  whose  names  are  subscribed, 
Inhabitants  of,  and  Neighbours  to,  the  Parish  of  Blackburne,  in  the  County  of  Lan- 
caster and  Diocese  of  Chester,  due  reverence  and  obedience.  We  humbly  certifye 
your  Lordship  that  the  late  Vicarage  House,  since  the  institution  of  Francis  Price, 
Master  of  Arts,  our  present  Vicar  there,  was  soe  ruinous,  infirme,  and  decayed,  in  the 
roofe,  walls,  ffloors,  and  other  parts  of  it,  that  it  was  become  uninhabitable,  and  very 
dangerous  to  dwell  in.  That  in  the  place  thereof  there  is  now  erected  a  very  goodly, 
strong,  and  sufficient  ffabrick  of  very  durable  stone,  well  built,  of  a  capacity  (as  wee 
conceive)  very  competent  to  the  said  Vicarage,  and  very  commodiously  contrived  for 
residence  and  keeping  of  house  there.  In  witness  whereof  we  have  hereto  subscribed 
our  Names,  this  —  day  of ,  anno  domini  1680.  Attested  by 

Jo.  Warren,  Esq.  Ralph  Livesay,  Esq.  Will.  Yates,  gentleman. 

Joh.  Braddyll,  Esq.  Will.  Bury.  Edw.  Warren,  Esq. 

Stephen  Gey,  Vicar  of  Rich.  Haworth.  Alex.  Nowell,  Esq. 

Whalley.  George  Rishton.  Richard  Astley,  Esq. 

Oswald  Mosley,  Esq.  James  Bolton,  gentleman.     Joseph  Yates,  Esq. 

Henry  Walmsley,  Clerke.      James  Haworth.  John  Adshead. 

Edward  Osbaldeston,  Esq.     Edward  Smaley.  William  Pickeringe. 

Henry  Banestre,  Clerke.        James  Crosse. 

Edward  Calvert,  Th.  Broughton,  Th.  Craven,  Robert  Peele,  Churchwardens. 
John  Oddy,  schoolmaster.        Tho.  Walmsley,  Usher. 

The  chief  event  in  the  vicariate  of  Mr.  Price  was  the  measures  he 
found  it  requisite  to  take,  in  the  years  1687-8,  for  preventing  the  detach- 

i  Further  notice  of  Vicar  Clayton's  family  will  be  inserted  under  Little  Harwood  township. 


RENTAL  OF  THE  VICAR'S  TENANTS. 


293 


ment  from  the  Parish  Church  of  the  Chapels-of-ease  of  Langho  and  Over 
Darwen,  the  first  of  which  had  been  appropriated  by  Mr.  Walmesley, 
lord  of  Billington  manor,  for  use  as  a  Roman  Catholic  Chapel,  and  the 
second  had  been  used  by  the  Nonconforming  inhabitants  of  Over 
Darwen  for  a  place  of  worship,  on  James  the  Second's  Declaration  of 
Indulgence.  The  Vicar  of  Blackburn  succeeded  in  recovering  both  the 
chapels  to  the  Church  of  England,  by  proceedings  which  will  be  recorded 
in  the  history  of  the  chapelries.  Vicar  Price  died  in  1705-6  : — "Francis 
Price,  Revd.  Vicar  of  Blackburn,  departed  this  mortall  life  the  14  day 
of  March,  and  was  buried  the  19  of  the  same  month." 

The  Revd.  John  Holme  was  presented  to  the  Vicarage  of  Blackburn 
in  1706;  instituted  April  3oth.  Dated  1706,  is  an  "Account  of  Fences 
belonging  to  the  Vicar  of  Blackburn,  as  given  to  Vicar  Holme,  May 
1 8th,  1706,  by  John  Isherwood,  servant  to  the  late  Vicar,  in  the  presence 
of  Mr.  Johnson,  steward  to  Mrs.  Fleetwood,  who  measured  the  same." 
The  glebe  plots  named  in  the  paper  are  Lower  Allows,  Upper  Allows, 
Sike,  Clay  Pitts,  Lower  Larkhills,  Upper  Larkhills,  Keys,  Moss,  and 
Linna  Field.  Some  ten  years  after  the  appointment  of  Vicar  Holme,  in 
1706,  the  subjoined  list  of  the  Vicar's  customary  tenants  in  Blackburn, 
who  held  tenements  and  gardens  on  his  glebe  at  nominal  rentals,  was 
drawn  up : — 
A  RENTALL  BELONGING  TO  THE  VICARIDGE  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Yearly  Rent.     Yearly  Value. 
£     s.     d.         £      s.     d. 

Mr.  John  Sharpies,  2  houses,  I  barn,  I  stable,  two  gardens  -072-800 
Mrs.  Emma  Yates,  I  house,  I  stable  -020-5°° 

Matthew  Smith  and  Matthew  Ainsworth,  2  houses,  I  barn  -020-400 
John  Edge,  I  house,  I  garden  -020-2100 

Richard  Whitehead,  I  house  -     o     I     o     -     3  10     o 

Nicholas  Holker,  I  house         -  -008-360 

Mr.  Robert  Sharpies  and  Mary  his  wife,  I  house,  I  garden  -004-100 
Hugh  Shorrock,  2  houses,  I  barn,  and  I  garden  -  -  o  2  6  -  5  10  o 

Hen.  Ward,  I  house  bought  of  William  Peel  and  another  of 

Lawyer  Yates,  I  barn  and  I  garden       -  -006-200 

Robert  Ashton,  I  house  and  I  garden  -     o    o     3     -     o  10    o 

,,  ,,        I  house  and  I  garden  -     o     o     3     -     o  10     o 

,,  ,,        I  house  -002-300 

,,  ,,        I  house  -002     -oroo 

,,  ,,        I  yarn  croft     -  -006-05° 

John  Ashton,  I  house  and  I  garden     -  -     o     o     7     -     o  16     o 

,,         ,,         I  bam     -  -004-050 

Thomas  Watson,  I  house  and  I  croft  -     o     o     7^  -     3   10     o 

Jane  Edge,  I  house  and  halfe  of  another  house  -002 

Mr.  Peter  Edge,  halfe  of  one  house  and  halfe  of  another  house     002 

114!      44     2    o 


294  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

£    s.     d.         £     s.    d 

Brought  forward         -  -     I     I     4.1  -  44     2     o 

Mr.  Peter  Edge,  2  houses  and  ground  lying  at  Fura  Gate  -050-  IIOO 
Richard  Ward,  I  house  -003-  lioo 

,,  ,,        I  yarn  croft      -  -006-060 

Roger  Walmsley,  I  house,  I  yarn  croft  -013-160 

Ralph  Holme,  I  house  and  croft  -     o     I     o     -     I   10    o 

Richard  Sharpies,  I  house        -  -     o    o    6     -    o  10    o 

Mr.  James  Burton,  I  house       -  -002-080 

Thomas  Massey,  i  house          -  -    o    o    6     -    o  18    o 

Jane  Sagar,   I  house     -  -     o    o    4     -     o  10    o 

Henry  Hay  hurst,  I  house         -  -002-0100 

Grace  Pollard  (alias  Barne),  I  house  6d.,  and  I  garden  3d.  -  o  o  9  -  o  10  o 
Thomas  Abbott,  I  house,  I  barn,  and  some  ground  at  Linney  gate  020-  I  o  O 
Thomas  Sudal,  12  acres  of  the  last  enclosed  common  -  -0120-600 

John  Tomlison,  I  house  and  5  acres  of  the  last  enclosed  common  050-2100 
Thomas  Sharpies,  3  acres  of  the  last  enclosed  common  -030-160 

Mr.  Randal  Feilden,  2  acres  of  the  last  enclosed  common  -020-  100 
Thomas  Dale,  I  house  2d.,  and  I  house  6d.  -  -  o  o  8  -  o  10  o 

James  Wittingham,  junior,  I  house      -  -     o     o     6     -     o  10     o 

Edward  Osbaldeston  and  Henry  his  brother,  2  houses  and  garden  o  o  9  -  o  18  O 
James  Cunliff,  I  house  -  o  o  I  -  o  10  o 

Henry  Penington,  I  house  and  I  garden  and  a  barn    -  -     o    o     2     -    o  16    o 


In  all  -  £2  18    o    ,£64    o    o 

Bishop  Gastrell,  when  compiling  his  Notitia  Cestriensis,  noted  these 
matters,  inter  alia,  concerning  Blackburn  Vicarage,  about  the  year  1717: — 

The  right  of  choosing  the  Parish  Clerk  adjudged  to  Alexander  Osbaldeston,  Esq., 
according  to  ancient  custom,  anno  1662.  The  Vicar  names  the  Curates  of  all  the 
Chappells.  In  Balderstone,  the  inhabitants  pretend  to  pay  a  prescriptive  rent  in  lieu 
of  all  Tyths.  [The  Vicar's  enclosed  common  lands,  22  acres]  are  now  in  possession 
of  5  tenants,  who  pay  only  I2d.  an  acre  per  annum  to  the  Vicar,  which  they  call  a 
prescriptive  rent ;  but  'tis  said  they  have  alwayes  paid  small  fines  at  the  death  of  every 
Vicar  or  tenant,  and  all  of  them  paid  the  present  Vicar  fines  at  his  coming  in ;  but  the 
person  to  whom  5  acres  were  leased  in  May  last,  refuses  to  pay  any  fine  to  the  Vicar, 
or  to  give  him  possession.  All  the  dues  the  Vicar  pretends  to  in  Harwood,  Lango, 
Law,  and  Samlesbury,  are  Surplice  Fees,  and  a  half-penny  for  every  Communicant, 
which  he  allows  the  Curate  to  take.  Four  Wardens  and  four  Assistants.  One  warden 
chosen  by  Ralph  Livesey,  Esq. ;  one  by  Alexander  Osbaldeston,  Esq. ;  one  by  John 
Warren  of  Dinckley,  Esq. ;  one  by  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  Mr.  William 
Baldwin,  Mr.  Henry  Feilden,  and  Mr.  William  Sudell,  gentlemen  [lords  of  Blackburn 
manor].  Families,  1800  in  the  whole  Parish.  Papists,  532,  [in  the  Parish]  1024. 
Papist  Meeting,  3  ;  Dissenting  Meeting,  3  Presbyterian,  Dissenters,  844,  Presbyterian.1 

Vicar  Holme  married,  December  loth,  1706,  Martha  Greenfield  of 
Witton,  and  had  issue,  sons,  Thomas,  bapt.  October  5th,  1707  ;  John, 
bapt.  March  29th,  1709,  buried  August  gth,  1710;  a  second  John, 
bapt.  November  nth,  1711;  and  Henry,  bapt.  April  i8th,  1722;  and 
daughters,  Martha,  bapt.  June  7th,  1715,  married,  March  2nd,  1741, 

i  Notit.  Cestr.  (Cheth.  Sory.  Pub.),  Ed.  by  Raines,  v.  ii,  pt.  ii,  pp.  274-7. 


CASE  ON  VICAR'S  TITLE  TO  TENEMENTS.  295 


Mr.  Richard  Cardwell  ;  Jenny,  bapt.  April  lyth,  1717,  died  in  1742 
("Miss  Jenny  Holme  of  Blackburn,"  buried  November  23rd,  1742); 
Elizabeth,  bapt.  May  iQth,  1720;  and  Mary,  bapt.  March  i5th,  1723-4. 
Vicar  Holme's  eldest  surviving  son,  John,  was  a  clergyman,  and  resident 
in  Blackburn  at  the  date  of  his  decease.  The  family  tomb  of  this  Vicar 
in  Blackburn  churchyard  is  inscribed  with  these  names  :  —  "  I.  H.  [John 
Holme,  infant  son  of  Vicar  Holme,  died]  1710.  Here  lyeth  the  body 
of  Revd.  John  Holme,  late  Vicar  of  this  Church,  who  died  April  the  29, 
1738,  aged  63  years.  Martha  Holme  [the  Vicar's  widow],  died  June 
4th,  1757.  Revd.  John  Holme  [son],  of  Blackburn,  died  i6th  of  Jan. 
1776,  aged  65."  "Henry  Holme  of  Blackburn,  gent.,"  younger  son  of 
this  Vicar,  was  buried  July  i5th,  1745.  The  burial  of  "the  Revd.  Mr. 
John  Holme,  Vicar  of  Blackburn,"  is  registered  May  5th,  1738. 

The  Revd.  John  Potter  was  instituted  to  this  Vicarage  by  his 
father,  Thomas  Potter,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  August  25th,  1738. 
While  holding  this  benefice  he  buried,  Nov.  8th,  1740,  an  infant  son  John, 
and  had  another  son  John,  bapt.  May  5th,  1  742.  Of  this  Vicar's  personal 
history  the  following  is  a  short  record  :  —  Born  1713  ;  entered  at  Christ 
Church,  Oxford,  1727,  took  M.A.  in  1734;  presented  to  Blackburn 
Vicarage  in  1738;  to  the  sinecure  living  of  Elme-cum-Enneth  in  1739  ; 
to  the  Deaconry  of  Oxford  in  1741  ;  later  to  the  livings  of  Lydde,  and 
Wrotham,  in  Kent,  and  to  a  prebend  of  Canterbury;  finally,  was 
made  Dean  of  Canterbury  in  1776.  By  marrying  one  of  his  servants, 
he  so  offended  his  father  the  Primate,  that  he  left  his  personal  fortune, 
some  ^70,000,  to  his  second  son,  Thomas,  Recorder  of  Bath.  Vicar 
Potter  resigned  Blackburn  Vicarage  in  1742. 

Previous  Vicars  having  been  troubled  to  recover  possession  of 
cottages  upon  the  Glebe  from  occupants  who  asserted  a  right  to  them 
by  prescription,  Vicar  Potter  resolved  to  bring  the  question  of  title  to  an 
issue  by  legal  means,  and,  in  1741,  submitted  a  case  to  counsel,  upon 
which  the  following  opinion  was  returned  :  — 

Upon  the  state  of  this  case  there  is  ground  to  apprehend  that  the  Houses,  Gardens, 
and  Lands  which  have  all  along  been  called  the  Vicar's,  and  for  which  Rents  have 
been  paid  to  the  Vicars  of  Blackbourne  for  the  time  being,  belong  to  the  Vicar  as  parts 
of  his  Glebe.  And  in  such  instances  as  the  present  Vicar  can  prove  that  fines  or 
acknowledgments  have  been  paid  to  his  predecessors  upon  the  change  of  Tenants,  or 
that  his  predecessors  have  made  leases  or  agreements  with  persons  to  hold  during  their 
incumbencies,  or  have  altered  the  tenants  and  given  leave  to  build  or  improve,  I 
conceive  the  present  Vicar  may  recover  the  possession-at-law  in  an  action  of  trespass 
and  ejectment  ;  but  if  such  proof  cannot  be  made,  I  apprehend  the  proper  method  is 
to  exhibit  one  or  more  Bills  in  equity  of  some  of  the  Tenants  for  the  discovery  of  their 
Title,  and  I  think  it  advisable  to  begin  with  such  only  against  whom  the  best  proof 
can  be  made,  or  who  are  likely  to  make  the  most  material  discoveries  by  their  answers. 
And  I  apprehend  the  fines  levyed  in  this  case  and  a  non-claim  by  the  Vicar  for  five 


296  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

years  will  not  bar  him  if  the  Lands  whereof  they  were  seased  appear  to  be  parts  of  the 
Glebe,  and  the  tenants  have  continued  to  pay  their  rents  after  the  fines. — EDW. 
CHETHAM.— August  5th,  1741. 

Acting  upon  this  advice,  Mr.  Potter  proceeded  to  file  declarations 
of  ejectment  against  tenants  of  glebe  houses.  The  Vicar  being  evidently 
in  earnest,  the  tenants  soon  yielded.  In  June,  1742,  an  Indenture  was 
made  between  John  Potter,  Vicar,  and  James  Haworth,  whitesmith,  by 
which  the  Vicar  granted  and  let  to  James  Haworth,  a  certain  messuage^ 
shop,  £c.,  in  Salford,  Blackburn,  in  consideration  of  a  rent  of  ten  shil- 
lings yearly.  On  May  2oth,  1742,  William  Tomlinson  and  Henry 
Tomlinson,  two  of  the  Vicar's  tenants,  surrendered  the  cottage,  barn, 
and  five  acres  of  land  they  occupied,  as  belonging  of  right  to  the  Vicar, 
who  upon  this  acknowledgment  gave  the  same  parties  a  lease  of  the 
premises.  At  the  same  time,  other  tenants  acknowledged  the  Vicar's 
proprietary  right  in  their  holdings. 

John  Wollin,  M.A.,  previously  Rector  of  Emley,  Co.  York,  was 
instituted  to  Blackburn  Vicarage  August  i6th,  1742,  and  held  this 
benefice  thirty  years.  By  his  wife  Mary,  he  had  a  son  John,  bapt.  at 
Blackburn  Church,  October  25th,  1749.  Vicar  Wollin's  receipt  in  1758 
for  his  stipend  from  the  Rectory  estate  is  copied  below  : — "  Received 
22nd  April,  1758,  of  Frederick  [Cornwallis],  Archbishop  of  Canterbury, 
by  the  hands  of  Mr.  John  Feilden,  one  of  the  Farmers  of  the  Rectory 
of  Blackburn,  &c.,  the  sums  of  ^13  6s.  8d.  and  ^£35,  being  the  first 
moiety  of  the  yearly  augmentation  of  £70,  allowed  by  the  Arch- 
bishop, &c.,  and  also  the  sum  of  £7,  the  moiety  of  the  new  augmentation 
of  ^14  given  to  the  curates  by  Madame  Cordelia  Fleetwood,  by 
covenant  in  a  lease  granted  to  her  by  Dr.  W.  Bancroft,"  &c.  This 
Vicar  gave  before  his  death  in  1772  a  sum  of  ^"10,  the  interest  to  be 
expended  in  books  for  the  use  of  the  poor  of  this  parish. 

John  White,  B.A.,  instituted  August  7th,  1772,  was,  says  Whitaker, 
"  brother  to  the  elegant  historian  of  Selborne,  and  himself  an  excellent 
naturalist."  He  was  the  son  of  John  White,  Esq.,  of  Selborne,  Hamp- 
shire. Vicar  White  corresponded  with  his  brother  Gilbert  on  matters 
in  natural  history,  and  is  named  several  times  in  the  Histoiy  of 
Selborne.  Writing  of  the  early  appearance  of  swallows,  Gilbert  White 
states  that  "at  Blackburn,  in  Lancashire,  swifts  were  seen  April  the  i8th," 
(1774)  ;  and  when  writing  on  the  severity  of  the  winter  of  1776, 
mentions  that  in  January  of  that  year  the  thermometer  "  stood  at  nine- 
teen at  Lyndon,  Rutland  ;  at  Blackburn  in  Lancashire,  at  nineteen  ; 
and  at  Manchester,  twenty-one,  twenty,  and  eighteen."  Gilbert  White 
also  "  transcribes  a  '  Natural  History  of  Gibraltar,'  written  by  the 
Reverend  John  White,  late  Vicar  of  Blackburn,  in  Lancashire,  but  not 


ACT  ON  VICAR'S  LEASES. 


297 


yet  published."  Mr.  White  was  at  Gibraltar  in  1770,  shortly  before  his 
appointment  to  Blackburn,  but  in  what  capacity  I  am  not  informed. 
He  died  Nov.  2  ist,  1 780,  and  was  buried  in  Blackburn  Church,  Nov.  25th. 
Thomas  Starkie,  M.  A.,  presented  to  this  benefice  in  1 780,  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  family  of  Starkie  of  Twiston,  and  eldest  son  of  James  Starkie, 
Esq.  He  was  a  fellow  of  St.  John's  College,  Cambridge.  His  eldest 
son,  Thomas  Starkie,  Esq.,  Q.C.,  married  Lucy,  daughter  of  Dr. 
T.  D.  Whitaker,  the  antiquary.  In  the  time  of  Vicar  Starkie,  an 
important  change  was  effected  with  respect  to  the  letting  of  Vicarial 
Glebe  Lands.  Being  heretofore  precluded  from  leasing  any  part  of  the 
glebe  for  lengthened  terms,  the  Vicar  had  been  unable  to  make  the  best 
rental  of  the  estate  by  parcelling  it  out  as  building  sites ;  and  thus  the 
Vicar's  land,  although  situate  centrally  in  the  township,  remained  in 
pasturage.  In  1796,  however,  Vicar  Starkie  obtained  a  special  Act  of 
Parliament  giving  power  to  make  long  leases.  The  value  of  the  Vicarage 
as  then  returned  was  as  follows  : — 

Glebe  in  Mr.  Starkie's  hand,  5  acres,  £20 ;  Ditto  let  to  Rt.  Pickup,  14^  acres, 
^"63;  Ditto  let  to  Rd.  Veevers,  21  acres,  ^37  l6s.;  Surplice  Fees  and  Easter  Offer- 
ings, ;£55  ;  Pension  from  the  Rectory,  £88  133.  4d.;  a  building  let  for  a  warehouse, 
£7  173.  6d.;  Glebe  rents,  £2  i8s.;  Rents  of  Gardens,  £10;  for  receiving  and  distri- 
buting Thornley  Rents,  £2  ;  total  ,£28743.  iod.;  less  taxes  and  repairs  £12;  net 
value  £275  45.  iod. — The  Duty  so  great  as  to  require  an  Assistant. 

An  abstract  of  the  Vicar's  Act  of  1796,  by  which  powers  were  given 
to  grant  leases  of  Glebe  lands,  may  be  found  useful  for  reference  : — 

ACT  ON  VICAR'S  LEASES,  36  GEO.  III.,  1796. — An  Act  to  enable  the  Vicar  of 
the  Parish  of  Blackburn,  Co.  Lancaster,  to  grant  Leases,  with  power  of  renewal,  of 
part  of  the  Glebe  Lands,  belonging  to  the  said  Vicarage.  Whereas  the  Reverend 
Thomas  Starkie,  M.  A. ,  Vicar  of  the  Parish  of  Blackburn,  in  the  Diocese  of  Chester, 
in  right  of  his  said  Vicarage,  is  seized  of  certain  Glebe  Lands,  containing  forty  acres 
and  a  half,  customary  measure  of  the  country,  part  of  which  is  very  conveniently 
situated  for  building  upon,  for  the  use  of  the  Inhabitants  of  the  said  Parish,  and 
whereas  great  benefit  would  accrue  to  the  Vicarage  if  power  was  given  for  the  time 
being  to  grant  Leases  of  the  said  Glebe  Lands,  for  a  term  of  years  sufficient  to 
encourage  persons  to  build  thereon,  and  to  improve  the  same,  it  is  enacted  that 
from  and  after  the  passing  of  this  Act,  it  shall  be  lawful  for  the  Vicar  of  the  Parish 
of  Blackburn,  &c.,  for  the  time  being,  to  demise  or  lease  all  or  any  part  of  the 
said  Glebe  Lands  (except  such  parts  thereof  as  are  hereinafter  excepted)  unto 
any  persons  who  shall  be  willing  to  build  upon  the  same,  in  the  manner  by  such  leases 
respectively  to  be  specified,  &c.,  for  any  term  or  number  of  years  not  exceeding  999 
years ;  so  as  in  the  said  leases  there  be  reserved  the  best  and  most  improved  ground 
rents  that  can  be  had  for  the  benefit  of  the  said  Vicar  and  his  successors  without  taking 
fine  or  foregift,  and  so  as  the  Lessees  enter  into  covenants  to  pay  the  rent  thereby 
reserved,  and  to  build  and  keep  in  repair  the  messuages  and  buildings  intended  and 
agreed  to  be  built  thereon,  and  to  surrender  the  same  at  the  expiration  of  the  term  of 
such  lease,  and  so  as  in  every  such  lease  there  shall  be  contained  a  power  for  re-entry 
for  non-payment  of  the  ground  rent  thereby  to  be  reserved,  and  so  as  such  leases  be 


298  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

respectively  approved  by  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  and  the  Bishop  of  Chester  for 
the  time  being,  before  the  execution  thereof,  and  so  as  in  every  such  letting  there  shall 
not  be  comprised  in  any  one  lot  any  greater  quantity  of  the  said  glebe  lands  than  4,840 
square  yards,  being  one  statute  acre.  It  is  further  enacted  that  it  shall  be  lawful  for 
the  said  Thomas  Starkie  to  receive  from  the  person  to  whom  he  shall  grant  building 
leases  as  aforesaid,  any  sum  of  money,  by  way  of  fine  or  foregift,  not  exceeding  in  the 
whole  the  sum  of  ^"300,  and  to  apply  the  same  to  reimburse  the  said  Thomas  Starkie, 
&c.,  sucL  sums  as  he  shall  have  expended  in  obtaining  this  Act.  It  is  further  enacted 
that  it  shall  be  lawful  to  and  for  the  said  Thomas  Starkie,  and  any  of  his  successors, 
Vicars  of  the  said  Vicarage,  to  accept  from  time  to  time  a  surrender  of  any  such  lease  as 
shall  be  made,  and  it  shall  be  lawful  for  any  Vicar  to  re-let  any  such  tenements,  unto 
any  other  person,  for  any  term  of  years  not  exceeding  the  then  residue  of  the  said  term 
of  999  years,  and  to  take  such  fine  or  foregift  upon  the  granting  of  which  lease  as  shall 
be  necessary  for  the  repairing  of  the  tenements  to  be  surrendered  or  revested,  so  as  such 
fine  or  foregift  shall  be  immediately  expended  in  repairing  such  tenements,  and  so  as 
every  such  new  lease  contains  the  same  clauses,  covenants,  and  agreements  as  are 
hereinbefore  directed  to  be  inserted  upon  the  granting  of  any  original  lease  by  virtue  of 
this  Act.  But  nothing  herein  contained  shall  be  construed  to  extend  to  impower  the 
said  Thomas  Starkie  or  his  successors,  Vicars  of  the  said  Vicarage,  to  grant  any  lease 
by  virtue  of  this  Act,  of  the  Parsonage  House  belonging  to  the  said  Vicarage,  or  of 
the  gardens  adjoining  to  the  said  house,  or  of  any  barns  or  stables  now  belonging  to 
the  said  Vicarage,  or  of  the  fields  called  The  Lower  Alleys,  the  Further  Vicar  Heys, 
The  Mosses,  and  The  Linney  Meadows,  containing  in  the  whole  thirteen  acres,  three 
roods,  and  twenty-five  perches  of  the  customary  measure  there  used,  being  twenty-five 
acres,  three  roods,  and  seventeen  perches  statute  measure  of  land,  or  any  part  of  them. 
Immediately  upon  the  passing  of  the  Act,  Vicar  Starkie  put  in  opera- 
tion its  provisions.  A  large  portion  of  the  glebe  was  leased  in  building 
plots  at  ground  rents  from  id.  to  2d.  per  yard.  Among  the  first  lessees 
were  William  Carr,  Ralph  Latus,  Richard  Cardwell,  Christopher  Hindle, 
Robert  Pickup,  William  Holme,  Richard  Veevers,  Thomas  Hart,  Jonas 
Bradley,  John  Smalley,  William  Eastham  and  others,  and  Robert 
Bannister,  all  of  whom  had  their  leases  made  out  the  year  after  the 
passing  of  the  Act.  Thirty-three  building  leases  were  issued  by  the 
same  Vicar  between  the  year  1797  and  the  year  1808.  The  number  of 
leases  now  running  under  the  Act  is  about  135.  The  appropriation  of 
glebe  lands  as  building  sites  has  greatly  increased  the  revenue  from  this 
ancient  endowment  of  the  benefice.  The  fact  that  the  estimate  of  the 
value  of  the  living  has  increased  from  ^"275  per  annum  in  1796  to 
^1,250  at  present,  is  sufficient  proof  of  the  advantage  that  has  accrued 
from  the  enfranchisement  of  these  lands.  The  estate  is  now  covered 
with  houses  and  manufactories.  The  main  parcel  of  land  forming 
the  Vicarial  Glebe  in  the  town  of  Blackburn,  lies  to  the  south  of  Penny- 
street  and  the  road  to  Whalley,  between  that  road  and  the  street  and 
road  known  as  Salford  and  Eanam,  extending  eastward  beyond  Larkhill 
and  Primrose  Bank  in  the  direction  of  Daisyfield ;  also  on  the  south 
side  of  Salford,  between  that  street  and  Mount-street,  near  the  present 


VICARIATE  OF  DR.   WHITAKER.  299 

line  of  the  railway ;  with  a  plot,  abutting  on  the  Rectory  Glebe,  on  the 
south  side  of  Coppy  Nook  and  Bottomgate.  The  existing  streets  named 
Starkie-street,  Vicar-street,  Syke-street  (which  owes  its  name  to  a  syke  or 
small  rivulet  that  had  its  course  through  the  midst  of  the  Glebe),  Cleaver- 
street,  Moor-street,  Lark-hill-street,  and  a  number  of  streets  in  the 
vicinity  of  Holy  Trinity  Church,  which  also  stands  on  Glebe  land,  as 
well  as  the  streets  named  High-street,  Mount-street,  Bow-street,  Hallows- 
street,  &c.,  on  the  south  side  of  Salford,  occupy  glebe  land  leased  from 
the  Vicar. 

On  the  6th  August,  1818,  Vicar  Starkie  presided  at  a  Vestry 
meeting,  at  which  it  was  resolved  to  apply  for  an  Act  of  Parliament 
giving  power  to  take  down  and  rebuild  the  Parish  Church.  The  Vicar 
died  a  few  days  after,  August  26th,  1818,  and  was  buried  at  Downham 
Church. 

Thomas  Dunham  Whitaker,  D.D.,  L.L.D.,  F.S.A.,  the  eminent 
antiquary  and  historian,  succeeded  Mr.  Starkie  as  Vicar  of  Blackburn,  to 
which  he  was  presented  November  yth,  1818,  by  the  then  Primate,  and 
which  he  held  (with  his  former  benefice  of  Whalley)  until  his  death,  a 
period  of  three  years.  The  full  memorials  of  Dr.  T.  D.  Whitaker  printed 
elsewhere  render  superfluous  any  biographical  notice  of  this  Vicar  in 
the  present  work.  It  may  be  mentioned,  however,  that  after  his  presenta- 
tion to  Blackburn  Vicarage,  "  he  resided  in  that  town  the  greater  part  of 
the  year,  and  took  his  full  share  along  with  the  curates  in  performing 
three  services  every  Sunday,  in  a  large  Church,  and  to  a  crowded  congre- 
gation." Dr.  Whitaker's  brief  term  as  Vicar  of  this  Parish  was  fittingly 
signalised  by  the  commencement  of  the  erection  of  a  new  Parish  Church, 
the  corner-stone  of  which  was  laid  by  him,  September  2nd,  1820. 
Several  of  Vicar  Whitaker's  Sermons  preached  in  the  Parish  Church  and 
other  Churches  in  the  Parish  were  published.  Dr.  Whitaker  died  at  the 
old  Vicarage  house  in  Blackburn  Churchyard,  on  Tuesday,  December 
1 8th,  1821,  aged  62  ;  and  was  buried  on  the  26th  December,  at  Holme 
Chapel,  Cliviger. 

John  William  Whitaker,  D.D.,  was  instituted  to  the  Vicarage  Feb. 
1 6th,  1822.  His  Vicariate  was  marked  by  the  energetic  prosecution  of 
the  work  of  Church  extension  in  the  Parish,  which  has  been  sustained 
under  the  two  succeeding  Vicars.  Dr.  J.  W.  Whitaker  was  an  excellent 
scholar  and  an  acute  polemical  writer ;  and  was  the  author  of  numerous 
theological  and  controversial  treatises.  He  died  at  Blackburn,  August 
23rd,  1854,  aged  63.  By  his  wife  Mary  Haughton,  daughter  of  Sir 
William  Feilden,  of  Feniscowles,  Bart.,  Dr.  Whitaker  had  issue  six  sons 
and  four  daughters ;  the  eldest  daughter  is  the  wife  of  R.  Raynsford 
Jackson,  Esq.,  of  Blackburn. 


300 


HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


John  Rushton,  D.D.,  instituted  to  this  Vicarage  August  Qth,  1854, 
was  a  son  of  James  Rushton,  yeoman,  of  Newchurch-in-Rossendale, 
born  at  Newchurch,  May  5th,  1 798.  He  obtained  the  Curacy  of  Langho 
in  this  Parish,  in  1822,  and  that  of  Newchurch-in-Pendle  in  1825.  He 
was  appointed  Archdeacon  of  Manchester  in  1843,  an^  in  1847  was 
presented  to  the  Rectory  of  Prestwich.  On  his  preferment  to  Black- 
burn, Dr.  Rushton  resigned  the  Archdeaconry.  In  the  fourteen  years 
of  his  vicariate,  six  new  churches  were  provided  in  the  parish,  and  to 
four  new  parishes  Vicar  Rushton  granted  endowments  of  ^50  per 
annum  each  out  of  the  Vicarial  revenues.  Dr.  Rushton  died  February 
2ist,  1868,  and  was  buried  February  27th,  at  Walton-in-le-Dale  Church. 

Edward  Birch,  M.A.,  the  present  Vicar,  was  instituted  April  2nd, 
1868.  He  matriculated  at  St.  John's  College,  Cambridge,  and  in  1836 
was  presented  to  the  vicarage  of  Chorlton-on-Medlock,  which  he  held 
until  his  preferment  to  the  Vicarage  of  Blackburn.  In  1866  he  was 
appointed  honorary  Canon  of  Manchester.  Canon  Birch,  since  his 
acceptance  of  this  benefice,  has  advanced  greatly  the  educational  institu- 
tions of  the  Mother  Church  of  this  Parish  by  promoting  the  erection  of 
the  new  School-buildings  in  the  Parish  Churchyard. 

LIST  OF  VICARS  OF  BLACKBURN. 


Adam  de  Blakeburn 
John  de  Blakeburn 

Henry  de  Blakeburn  -         A.  D.    1 1 60 
Adam  de  Blakeburn 
Roger  de  Blakeburn 

John  de  Habyndon,  before       -         1289 

William  de  Lenche,  -         1289-1313 

Adam  de  Walboncke,  -         1313-1333? 

John  de  Gristwayth,  -         1333-1362 

John  de  Lyndelay,  -  -         1362-1378 

William  de  Wetherby,  -         1378-1419? 

Geoffrey  Banastre,  .         1419-1457 

Robert  Salley,          -  -         1457-1489? 

Henry  Salley,            -  -         1489-1535 

Ralph  Lynney,         -  I537-I5S4 

James  Hargreaves,  -  -         1555-1561 


Jchn  Hylton,  -  -  1561-1580 

Edward  Welch e,      -  -  1580-1606 

John  Morres,  -  -  1606-1628 

Adam  Bolton,          -  -  1628-1646 

Robert  Worthington,1  -  1647 

Leonard  Clayton,     -  -  1647-1677 

Francis  Price,  -  -  1677-1705 

John  Holme,    -  1706-1738 

John  Potter,     -         -  -  1738-1742 

John  Wollin,    -         -  -  1742-1772 

John  White,     -         -  -  1772-1780 

Thomas  Starkie,       -  -  1780-1818 

Thomas  Dunham  Whitaker,  1818-1821 

John  William  Whitaker,  -  1822-1854 

John  Rushton,  -  -  1854-1868 

Edward  Birch,  -  -  1868- 


i  Robert  Worthington  officiated  as  Vicar  a  short  time  (not  longer  than  two  months),  between  the 
death  of  Vicar  Bolton  and  the  appointment  of  Vicar  Clayton,  as  I  find  by  a  note  kindly  extracted  by 
Mr.  J.  E.  Bailey  from  the  records  of  the  Plundered  Ministers'  Committee  (Bodl.  MSS.  324,  p.  241), 
dated  March  2oth  1646-7  ;  the  minute  runs  :— "  Whereas  the  Vicarage  of  the  P'ishe  Church  of  Black- 
burne  in  the  County  of  Lancaster  is  void  by  the  death  of  Adam  Bolton  the  late  incumbent,  and  the 
same  is  in  the  gift  of  the  Archb'opp  of  Cant.,  it  is  therefore  ordered  that  Robt.  Worthington,  a  godly 
and  orthodox  divine,  doe  forthwith  officiate  the  cure  of  the  said  church  as  Vicar,  and  preach  dili- 
gently," &c. 


RE-EDIFICATIONS  OF  BLACKBURN  CHURCH. 


301 


THE    OLD    CHURCH    FABRIC. 

The  statements  published  respecting  successive  re-edifications  of  the 
Parish  Church  of  Blackburn  are  conjectural  and  traditional ;  at  least, 
the  present  writer  is  not  aware  of  the  existence  of  any  documentary 
records  indicating  precisely  the  date  and  circumstances  of  restorations 
carried  out  in  the  fourteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries.  The  Saxon 
church-structure  found  standing  at  the  Domesday  Survey  may  not  have 
been  the  original  building,  for  the  foundation  was  even  then  to  be 
reckoned  by  centuries,  and  the  rude  erections,  of  wood  that  exhausted 
the  architectural  skill  of  the  primitive  church  builders  in  this  part  of  the 
kingdom  could  not  have  withstood  long  without  sign  of  decay  the  in- 
fluences of  a  humid  climate  like  that  of  Lancashire.  It  is  likely  that 
Blackburn  Church  would  be  rebuilt  or  restored  by  one  of  the  De  Lacys 
after  the  conveyance  of  the  church  to  that  Norman  baronial  house  in 
the  twelfth  century,  and  previous  to  its  transfer  to  the  religious  fraternity 
under  the  patronage  of  De  Lacys.  Two  more  centuries  of  time  had 
reduced  the  Norman  fane  to  a  state  of  dilapidation,  when,  about  the  reign 
of  Edward  the  Third  (1327-77),  the  first  Gothic  structure  was  reared. 
Some  of  the  materials  of  the  older  church  were  used  in  the  erection,  and 
blocks  of  carved  stone  after  Norman  patterns,  which  could  not  be  placed 
visibly  in  the  new  Church  of  that  date,  were  buried  in  the  foundations ; 
these  fragments  were  brought  to  light  on  the  digging  out  of  the  founda- 
tions in  1820 ;  they  included  portions  of  arcuated  stones  with  dog-tooth 
ornaments,  the  remains  of  a  doorway,  and  sculptured  Norman  capitals. 

The  Church  of  Edward  the  Third's  time  had  in  its  turn  become 
impaired  with  age,  perhaps  also  by  neglect,  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII., 
when  by  the  overturn  of  the  Monastery  to  which  it  was  attached  it  passed 
under  new  authority  j  and  shortly  after  that  change,  about  the 
year  1540,  the  upper  portion  of  the  church  walls  and  the  roof  were 
extensively  renovated.  The  nave  and  chancel  were  covered  with  hand- 
some roofs  of  timber,  with  transverse  beams  and  panelled  compartments  ; 
and  the  tracery  and  moulded  heads  of  some  of  the  windows  were 
replaced.  With  these  new  features,  the  main  structure  of  the  former 
church  was  retained,  and  lasted  until  the  final  demolition  of  the  ancient 
fabric  and  the  erection  of  the  present  Church  upon  another  site  in  the 
churchyard.  The  general  character  of  the  old  Church  as  it  was  left  after 
the  alterations  of  1540  will  better  be  understood  by  reference  to  the 
drawing  of  it  engraved  for  this  work  than  by  any  verbal  description. 
This  perspective  view  of  the  edifice,  taken  from  the  south-east  angle  of 
the  churchyard,  exhibits  the  components  of  an  early  Lancashire  Church, 
as  seen  with  variations  in  the  oldest  examples  yet  extant.  A  rather 


302 


HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


short  nave,  with  small  circular-headed  clerestory  lights  in  couplets; 
low-walled  aisles,  with  roofs  sloping  up  to  the  line  of  the  clerestory 
window-sills;  gabled  porch  at  the  west  end  of  the  south  aisle,  with 
pointed-arched  doorway ;  chancel  of  equal  length  with  the  nave,  having 
also  a  clerestory,  and  an  elaborately  traceried  east  window  of  four  lights  ; 
gothic  crosses  at  the  eastern  apexes  of  nave  and  chancel  roofs  ;  at  the  west 
end,  the  strong  embattled  square  tower  of  three  storeys,  surmounted 
by  a  stunted  spire ;  flanking  the  chancel  the  two  mortuary  chapels  of  the 
Osbaldestons  (on  the  north  side)  and  of  the  Walmesleys  (on  the  south 
side),  the  latter  with  embattled  roof-line;  tower,  aisles,  chapels,  and 
chancel  walls  supported  by  deep  graduated  buttresses.  The  interior  of 
the  Church  was  diversified  by  few  enrichments  beyond  the  carved  bosses 
of  the  Tudor  roof  and  an  interesting  east  window  of  painted  glass  in 
heraldic  devices ;  the  nave  was  divided  from  the  aisles  by  pointed 
arches  resting  upon  cylindrical  pillars  with  moulded  capitals.  Eight  old 
oak  stalls,  with  grotesque  carvings  under  the  hinged  seats,  said  to  have 
come  from  the  dismantled  Conventual  Church  at  Whalley,  were  placed 
in  the  choir,  four  on  each  side,  as  seats  for  the  wardens ;  these 
stalls  are  retained  in  the  fittings  of  the  modern  church.  The  eleva- 
tion of  the  Church  was  disproportionately  low  to  its  length  and  breadth. 
Beneath  the  floor,  the  ground  was  filled  with  the  graves  of  the  principal 
inhabitants,  who  for  many  generations  had  claimed  right  of  burial  within 
the  area  of  the  Church.  It  was  at  length  found  necessary  to  restrict 
these  interments  inside  the  fabric,  and  a  rule  was  made  at  a  meeting  of 
the  Vestry  held  on  August  i2th,  1789,  "that  no  corpse  shall  be  interred 
in  future  within  the  Church  unless  the  friends  of  the  deceased  do  pay, 
over  and  above  the  common  dues  to  the  Vicar,  Clerk,  and  Sexton, 
Three  Guineas,  to  be  laid  out  in  the  repairs  and  improvement  of  the 
Church ;"  and  "  if  the  interment  is  made  in  that  space  which  extends 
from  the  East  Window  to  the  centre  Arch,  the  above  sum  of  three 
guineas  is  to  be  paid  to  the  Lessees  of  the  Rectory,  in  consideration  of 
their  supporting  the  roof  over  that  respective  part ;"  the  regulation  is 
"  not  to  extend  to  the  two  Chapels  at  the  East  end  of  the  Church."1  The 
site  of  the  old  Church  was  but  a  few  paces  in  the  rear  of  the  houses  on 
the  south  side  of  Church-street. 

THE    CHANTRIES    AND   CHANTRY    CHAPELS. 

The  earliest  of  the  chantry  services  attached  to  the  Church  of 
Blackburn  was  founded  by  the  provision  of  John  de  Blackburn,  son  of 
Henry,  who  by  Charter  in  Norman-French,  given  at  Blackburn,  A.D.  1321, 
for  the  salvation  of  his  soul  and  of  the  souls  of  his  father  and  mother, 

i  There  is  a  minute  of  this  decision  in  the  Church  Register. 


CHANTRIES  IN  BLACKBURN  CHURCH.  305 

his  ancestors  and  heirs,  granted  to  God  and  to  the  Church  of  St.  Marie  of 
Blackburn  (leglise  seint  Marie  de  Blakeburn)  an  annual  rent  of  four  livres 
to  be  paid  yearly  for  ever  at  the  Feast  of  St.  Martin  to  the  wardens  of 
the  Church,  to  sustain  two  torches  lighted  at  the  high  altar  of  that 
Church.  The  deed  of  grant  to  remain  in  charge  of  the  Vicar  of  Black- 
burn and  his  successors.  This  Chantry  had  probably  fallen  into  abeyance 
after  the  lapse  of  more  than  200  years,  for  it  is  not  noticed  in  the  returns 
of  the  Chantry  Commissioners  of  Henry  VIII.  that  preceded  the  suppres- 
sion of  Chantry  Priests  by  statutory  enactment. 

In  the  year  1453,  Geoffrey  Banastre,  then  Vicar  of  Blackburn, 
founded  a  Chantry  in  this  Church,  and  endowed  it  with  the  annual  rent 
of  £4  135.  40!.,  secured  by  the  Dean  and  Chapter  of  the  Collegiate 
Church  of  St.  Mary,  of  Leicester,  on  the  rectorial  tithes  of  Preston,  in 
Lancashire,  in  consideration  of  two  hundred  marks  having  been  paid  to 
them  by  Mr.  Geoffrey  Banastre  or  by  his  executors.  The  record  of  the 
Valor  of  1534  names  this  Chantry  as  in  the  hands  of  William  Rishton, 
Chaplain,  worth  yearly  in  rents  of  lands  and  tenements  66s.  8d.  In  the 
report  of  the  Chantry  Commission,  A.D.  1546,  "The  Chantrye  at  the 
High  Altar  within  the  Paroche  Churche  of  Blakborne,"  is  found  served 
by  "  Willyam  Usherwoode,  preiste,  incumbent  there  of  the  foundation  of 
Galfrede  Banastre,  somtyme  Vicar  of  the  same  Churche,  to  celebrate  at 
the  high  altar  there  for  the  sowles  of  his  founders.  The  same  is  within 
the  Paroche  Churche  of  Blakborne,  and  the  saide  preist  doth  celebrate 
there  accordinge  to  the  statute  of  his  foundation."  The  endowments  of 
the  same  are  thus  certified  : — "  The  same  Incumbent  receiveth  yearly  for 
his  salary,  at  two  terms  in  the  year,  an  annual  rent  of  £4  133.  4d.? 
going  forth  of  the  parsonage  of  Preston,  which  parsonage  was  given  to 
the  same  Chantry  by  Richard  Androwe  and  his  brethren,  he  then  being 
Dean  of  the  New  College  of  Leicester,  for  the  sum  of  two  hundred 
marks  to  them  paid,  as  appeareth  by  their  grant  to  the  said  Chantry, 
dated  in  the  Chapter  House  under  their  common  seal,  the  26th  day  of 
February,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  God  1453,  due  at  the  Feasts  of  Saint 
Michael  the  Archangel  and  the  Annunciation  of  our  Lady  equally — £4 
135.  4d. — Sum  total  of  the  rental  £4  135.  4d.  Reprises  none."1  In 
1548,  William  Risheton,  aged  53,  is  returned  as  Chantry  Priest,  and  the 
houseling  people  of  the  parish  were  2,000.  At  the  suppression  of  Chan- 
tries William  Risheton,  priest  here,  was  pensioned,  and  in  1553  was 
living  on  his  pension  of  £4  6s.  8d. 

A  Chantry,  dedicated  to  the  B.  V.  Mary,  was  founded  by  Thomas, 
second  Earl  of  Derby,  and  the  inhabitants  of  Blackburn,  in  the  year 

i   History  of  Chantries  of  Lancashire,  Edited  by  Canon  Raines  for  Chetham   Society,   v.  i, 
pp.   152-3. 


304  HISTORY    OF  BLACKBURN. 

1514.     The  foundation  deed  is  dated  at  Lathom,  April  6th,  5th  Henry 
VIII.     The  following  is  a  summary  of  the  charter  : — 

The  purpose  of  the  founder  was  the  maintenance  of  a  Chantry  Priest  in  the 
Chapel  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  on  the  south  side  of  the  Parish  Church  of  Blackburn  ; 
and  while  the  parishioners  purchased  certain  freehold  and  copyhold  lands  in  this 
county  and  in  the  county  of  York,  the  Earl  of  Derby  gave  in  trust  to  John  Yorke, 
George  Cowburne,  Raufe  Waddyntone,  Raufe  Critchlawe,  Henry  Feilden,  William 
Ysherwood,  Xpofer  Bolton,  and  Richard  Hawkeshaye  the  estate  of  Eggye-heye,  in 
Brunley,  of  the  yearly  value  of  155.,  to  the  use  of  the  said  Chantry  as  endowment. 
The  said  Earl  within  twenty  days  was  to  make  "  Sir  Edward  Bolton  Chantry  Prest 
of  the  said  Chantre ;"  after  his  decease  or  resignation  the  said  Earl  and  his  heirs  for 
ever  should  name  "another  able  secular  Prest,  that  is  expert,  and  can  sing  both  pricke 
song  and  plane  songe,  and  hath  a  sight  in  Descant,  if  such  can  be  gotten,  which  shall 
teach  a  fre  Song  Scol  in  Blackburne  aforesaid,  and  also  shall  kepe  the  quere  in  the  said 
Parish  Church,  every  holy-day  through  the  yere,  at  the  time  of  al  devine  service  kept 
there."  Also  it  is  agreed  by  the  said  parties  "that  at  all  such  tyme  as  it  shall  happen 
all  the  fefes  of  the  said  lands  and  tenements  afor  apointed  for  the  sustentation  and 
mayntaining  of  the  said  Chantri,  except  four,  or  three  at  the  least,  to  decease,  that 
then  every  of  the  said  Chantri  Prests  then  and  there  being,  shall  make  deligent  labour 
to  cause  other  12  of  the  most  honest  men  of  the  said  parish  to  be  named  by  the  said 
Church  reves  ther  for  the  tyme  being  yf  they  can  agree  thereupon,  to  be  fefes  of  the 
premesses. "  The  Priest  of  the  said  Chantry  was  not  to  take  any  other  care  or  charge, 
but  should  he  say  any  trentals,  or  pray  otherwise  than  according  to  the  present  founda- 
tion, one  half  of  the  profit  of  the  same  should  go  towards  the  reparation  or  making  of 
ornaments  for  the  said  Chantry.  The  priest  was  to  pray  by  vowe  for  the  souls  of 
Thomas,  Earl  of  Derby,  late  deceased,  of  my  Lady  his  wife,  and  George  Stanley,  Lord 
Strange,  of  my  Lady  Jane,  his  wife,  and  for  their  children's  souls,  and  for  the  pros- 
perous estate  of  the  then  Earl  of  Derby  and  of  my  Lady  of  Derby  his  wife,  and  for 
their  issue  and  posterity  for  ever ;  and  for  the  welfare  of  all  the  parishioners  of  Black- 
burn, and  of  all  who  had  been  benefactors, -helpers,  and  contributors  to  the  purchasing 
of  lands,  jewels,  or  ornaments  for  the  said  Chantry,  quick  or  dead,  and  for  all  Christian 
souls.  The  said  Chantry  priest,  every  Sunday  and  holiday  in  the  year,  after  offering 
mass,  should  turn  to  the  people  and  exhort  them  to  pray  for  all  the  said  persons  and 
for  their  souls,  and  say  the  Psalm  of  De  profundis,  with  a  Pater  Noster  and  an  Ave 
Marie,  with  special  suffrage  after,  and  Funeral  Collect  for  the  quick  and  dead,  either 
by  themselves.  The  Priest  also  to  sing  or  say  mass  of  our  Lady,  to  note  every  holiday 
and  every  Saturday,  and  the  priest  and  his  scholars  and  others  who  may  be  gotten, 
four  times  in  the  year  for  ever  to  sing  a  solemn  dirge  for  the  souls  aforesaid,  and  also 
on  the  morrow  next  after  such  dirge  song  the  priest  to  sing  a  mass  of  requiem  with 
note,  and  on  every  Wednesday  and  Friday  to  say  mass  of  Jesus,  or  of  the  five  wounds 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  the  said  Chantry  Chapel ;  and  on  all  other  days  of  the 
week  to  say  mass  as  he  conveniently  may.  The  priest  to  sing  or  say  masses  in  the 
same  chapel  about  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning  in  summer-time,  i.e.,  from  Easter  to 
Michaelmas,  and  in  the  winter-time  about  ten  o'clock  in  the  forenoon.  A  penalty  of 
4d.  to  be  paid  to  the  churchwardens  out  of  the  lands  for  every  default  or  negligence  of 
duty,  without  sufficient  and  lawful  excuse. 

In  the  Valor  of  1534,  it  was  found  concerning  this  Chantry  that  it 
was  in  the  hands  of  Thomas  Burgess,  chaplain,  and  worth  in  rents  and 


CHANTRIES  IN  BLACKBURN  CHURCH. 


305 


farms  of  lands  and  tenements  66s.  Sd.  per  annum.  The  King's  commis- 
sion appointed  37th  Henry  VIII.  (1546)  to  ascertain  the  origin  and 
value  of  the  Chantries  returned  the  subjoined  account  of  this  Chantry  : — 
THE  CHAUNTRIE  AT  THE  ALTER  OF  OUR  LADY  WITHIN  THE  SAID  P'OCH- 
CHURCH  [OF  BLACKBURN]  : — Thomas  Burges,  preist,  incumbent  ther  of  the  founda- 
con  of  the  ancestors  of  the  Erie  of  Derbie,  to  celebrate  ther  for  their  sowles,  and  to 
maneteyne  the  one  side  of  the  quere  [choir]  to  the  uttermost  of  his  power  everie  holie 
day,  and  also  the  incumbent  herof  to  be  sufficient!  ie  lerned  in  gramer  and  plane  songe 
to  kepe  a  ffre  skole  contynuallie  in  Blakburne  biforesaide.  The  same  is  at  the  alter 
of  our  Lady  within  the  said  paroch  church,  and  the  said  incumbent  doth  celebrate  and 
manetene  the  quere  every  holie  day  accordinglie,  and  also  doth  teache  gramer  and 
plane  songe  in  the  said  ffre  skole  accordinge  to  the  statutes  of  his  ffoundacon. 

The  Endowments  are  thus  returned  by  the  Commissioners  : — 

Willyam  Smithson  holdyth  one  tenemente  with  the  appurtenances,  lienge  in 
Slathborne,  in  the  countie  of  York,  by  yere  133.  4d. ;  and  Alice  Parkinson  holdyth 
one  tenemente  there,  345. ;  in  all  by  yere,  475.  4d.  Robert  Smith  holdyth  one  tene- 
mente with  the  appurtenances  in  Burneley,  in  the  countie  of  Lancastre,  rentinge 
yerlie,  &c.,  145.  Nycholas  Dogeson  holdyth  one  tenemente  with  the  appurtenances 
lienge  in^Padiham,  in  the  said  countie,  rentinge  yerlie,  195.  Thomas  Whitehalghe 
and  John  Sudley  holden  one  tenemente  with  the  appurtenances  lienge  in  Oughe  Boughe 
in  the  said  countie,  rentinge,  &c.,  175.  Richarde  Haddoke  and  his  fellowes  holden 
one  tenemente  with  the  appurtenances  lienge  in  Leveshey,  in  the  said  countie,  rentinge, 
&c.,  135.  4cl.  Suma  totall  of  the  rentall  nos.  8d. ,  whereof  payd  to  our  sovereigne 
Lorde,  for  a  rent  goinge  furth  of  the  landes  by  yere  2s.,  and  so  remanyth  io8s.  Sc1.1 

The  Chantry  was  soon  afterwards  dissolved  with  the  rest;  its 
chaplain,  Thomas  Burgess,  aged  58,  receiving  a  life  pension;  and  in 
consideration  that  a  free  school  had  been  taught  by  the  Chantry  Priest, 
in  obedience  to  the  terms  of  the  foundation,  a  pension  of  ^"4  73.  4d.  in 
lieu  of  the  Chantry  lands  escheated  to  the  Crown  was  charged  on  the 
revenues  of  the  Duchy  of  Lancaster,  payable  to  the  Schoolmaster  at 
Blackburn.  The  Chapel  of  our  Lady,  on  the  south  side  of  the  choir  of 
Blackburn  Church,  in  which  the  Chantry-priest  officiated,  had  existed, 
it  would  seem,  before  the  foundation  of  the  Chantry  in  1514,  and  was 
held  to  have  pertained  anciently  to  the  Rishtons,  being  a  branch  of  the 
ancient  Rectorial  family  of  De  Blackburn,  and  was  claimed  as  the 
appanage  of  the  lordship  of  Rishton  by  the  Talbots  of  Holt  after  the 
suppression  of  the  Chantry;  and  later  by  the  Walmesleys  of  Dunkenhalgh, 
as  purchasers  of  the  Rishton  estate,  against  John  Talbot  of  Salesbury, 
who  asserted  a  claim  to  the  Chapel.  The  dispute  took  the  form  of  a 
reference  to  the  Bishop  of  Chester  in  1611,  whose  award  was  the  division 
of  the  Chapel  between  the  contesting  houses,  the  Talbots  taking  the 
north  half,  and  the  Walmesleys  the  south  half  of  the  Chapel.  The  Chapel 
was  repaired  subsequently  to  this  decision  as  to  ownership. 

The  Chapel  on  the  north  side  of  Blackburn  Church  does  not  prove 

i   Raines'  Lancash.  Chantries,  v.  i,  pp.  154-6. 

2O 


306  HISTORY    OF  BLACKBURN. 

to  have  been  endowed  as  a  chantry  for  the  family  of  Osbaldeston  to 
which  it  from  early  time  belonged  ;  but  was  used  as  a  private  oratory  and 
mortuary  chapel.  The  Wills  of  several  members  in  succession  of  this 
house  appoint  their  sepulture  in  their  chapel  within  Blackburn  Church, 
and  here  were  several  monuments  of  Osbaldestons,  to  be  noted  on 
another  page  along  with  other  monuments  formerly  fixed  in  the  Church. 
With  this  chapel  was  enjoyed  by  the  same  family  the  right  of  nominating 
the  Parish  Clerk  and  one  churchwarden.  The  last  lineal  member  of  the 
Osbaldestons,  in  1747,  by  Will  granted  to  Thomas  Clayton  of  Little 
Harwood,  Esq.,  his  "  chappells,  seats,  pews,  burying-ground,  and  all  his 
right  in  Blackburn  Church."  Pennant  noticed  in  the  chapel  a  century 
ago  much  miscellaneous  painted  glass  collected  by  one  of  the  Osbaldes- 
tons, including  four  pieces  of  great  beauty,  Our  Saviour,  St.  James  the 
Greater  and  Less,  and  St.  Matthew.  The  east  window  of  this  chapel 
was  a  traceried  one  of  three  lights. 

THE    NEW    CHURCH    FABRIC. 

The  last  service  was  held  in  the  old  Parish  Church  on  Sunday, 
November  loth,  1819,  and  the  Church  was  demolished  in  the  course  of 
the  year  following  ;T  its  replacement  by  a  new  edifice  having  become 
imperative  both  on  account  of  its  dilapidation  and  of  its  inadequacy  for 
the  reception  of  the  congregation  of  the  Mother  Church.  A  special 
Act  of  Parliament,  passed  June  i4th,  1819,  empowered  a  body  of  trus- 
tees2 to  raze  the  old  fabric  and  to  obtain  a  sum  of  ;£i  5,000  by  a  general 
parish  rate  to  defray  the  cost  of  a  new  Church.  The  corner-stone  of  the 
new  Church  was  laid  by  Vicar  T.  D.  Whitaker,  September  2nd,  1820. 
Mr.  John  Palmer  was  appointed  architect.  The  building  had  made 
some  progress  by  1823,  when  the  sum  realized  by  the  first  special  Church 
rate  being  expended,  a  further  rate  was  levied.  A  second  Act  of  Parlia- 
ment had  to  be  obtained  in  1824,  giving  the  trustees  power  to  raise  an 
additional  £18,000  by  means  of  a  rate.  The  consecration  of  the 
Church  by  the  Bishop  of  Chester  took  place  September  i3th,  1826.  The 
cost  of  the  fabric  was  £25,979  us.  9d. ;  organ  £850;  expenses  of  Acts 
of  Parliament  ,£1,279;  and  the  incidental  expenditure  in  diverting 
the  river  for  extension  of  the  church-yard,  in  purchasing  lands  and  in 
compensation  for  the  grammar  school,  was  upwards  of  £10,000.  A 

i  The  old  Tower  was  left  standing  until  the  year  1870. 

2  The  trustees  were:— Hon.  Rabt.  Curzon,  John  Bailey,  Thomas  Ainsworth,  Richard  Cardwell 
the  elder,  Richard  Cardwell  the  younger,  clerk,  Abraham  Chew,  John  Cunliffe,  Robert  Chadwick, 
William  Carr,  Thomas  Carr,  Robt.  Dewhurst,  John  Emett,  Thomas  Edmundson,  Joseph  Feilden, 
William  Feilden,  John  Fleming,  James  Greenway  the  younger,  Thomas  Glover,  James  Glover,  John 
Hornby,  John  Fowden  Hindle,  John  Hargreaves,  John  Harper,  Christopher  Hindle,  William  Maude, 
James  Nevill,  George  Petre,  William  Pickering,  Proctor  Ratcliffe,  Dixon  Robinson,  Le  Gendre 
Starkie,  Henry  Sudell,  James  Taylor,  William  Townley,  Thomas  Turner,  William  Turner,  William 
Walker. 


BLACKBURN  NEW  PARISH  CHURCH. 


307 


third  rate  was  levied  in  1827  to  obtain  the  cost  of  lighting  and  warming 
the  church.  On  January  6th,  1831,  during  morning  service,  the  roof  of 
the  church  took  fire  through  some  defect  in  the  flue,  and  was  entirely 
destroyed,  and  other  damage  was  done,  repaired  at  a  cost  of  ^2,500. 

The  present  Parish  Church  is  a  large  and  handsome  edifice,  of  the 
1 4th  century  gothic  in  style;  the  plan  consists  of  nave,  chancel,  north 
and  south  aisles,  western  tower  and  porches,  and  north  and  south  vestries 
at  the  east  end.  The  lateral  aspect  of  the  exterior  presents  aisles  about 
1 10  feet  in  length,  upheld  by  graduated  buttresses  with  pinnacles  heading 
each  buttress,  between  which  are  six  large  windows  of  three  lights,  tran- 
somed,  with  heads  of  elegant  tracery,  the  alternate  design  of  which  is 
borrowed  from  Roslyn  Chapel ;  the  clerestory  has  twelve  lights  on  each 
side,  placed  in  couplets,  trefoil-headed;  the  east  end  exhibits  the  entrance  to 
the  vaults,  beneath  a  large  east  window  of  five  lights,  elaborately  traceried ; 
above  this,  a  circular  window  filled  with  tracery ;  pinnacles  rise  from  the 
angle-buttresses  of  nave  and  aisles.  At  the  west  end,  a  very  bold  tower  of 
three  storeys  rises  in  the  centre,  and  is  flanked  by  porches  with  recessed 
pointed  arches.  An  effective  feature  of  the  tower  front  is  the  lofty  recessed 
arch  which  encloses  the  principal  doorway  and  a  tifcceried  window  above 
it.  Upon  corbels  in  the  west  front  are  sculptured  the  royal  arms  in 
duplicate,  with  those  of  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  and  Bishop  of 
Chester ;  and  on  the  porches  are  the  arms  of  the  two  vicars  (T.  D. 
Whitaker  and  J.  W.  Whitaker)  during  whose  vicariate  the  Church  was 
rebuilt.  In  the  interior  the  nave  arches,  six  in  number,  are  sustained 
by  cylindrical  columns  surrounded  by  four  semi-cylindrical  shafts ;  these 
noble  columns,  with  one  or  two  exceptions,  are  monoliths.  The  bases 
and  capitals  are  plainly-moulded.  The  chancel  is  a  continuation  of 
the  nave,  and  is  recessed  by  a  series  of  nine  arches,  resting  upon  lofty 
cylindrical  columns,  in  close  succession,  and  contracted  eastward  to  the 
east  window,  which  is  a  fine  painted  window  of  five  lights,  filling  the 
space  above  the  altar  screen.  The  roofs  of  nave  and  aisles  are 
groined,  with  rich  bosses  floriated  or  faced  with  heraldic  shields 
displaying  the  arms  of  numerous  native  families.  The  organ  loft  and 
gallery  for  the  choir  occupy  the  west  end  of  the  nave  above  the  central 
entrance,  and  rest  upon  pointed  arches  arranged  in  semi-octagonal  form. 
Side  galleries  are  erected  the  entire  length  of  the  aisles,  supported  by 
slender  iron  pillars  behind  the  nave  columns.  During  the  last  summer 
(1875),  tne  church-interior  has  been  wholly  renovated  and  re-benched; 
and  a  new  organ, — one  of  the  finest  Church  organs  in  the  county, — 
has  been  presented  to  the  Church  by  William  Coddington,  Esq.,  the 
cost  of  which  was  ^£2,500.  The  last  measurement  gives  1,450  sittings, 
of  which  700  are  free. 


3o8  HISTORY.  OF  BLACKBURN. 

The  internal  dimensions  are: — length  of  nave,  103  feet;  chancel, 
ii  feet;  breadth  of  nave,  28  feet;  aisles,  19  feet  each;  tower,  15  feet 
square ;  height  of  nave,  46  feet ;  aisles,  29  feet.  The  height  of  the 
tower  to  the  square  is  86  feet;  to  the  top  of  the  pinnacles,  112  feet. 

THE  CHURCH  BELLS. 

Blackburn  Church  had  anciently  a  peal  of  six  bells,  inscribed 
thus  : — First  bell :  "  Vivos  voco^  mortuos  platigo,  fulgura  frango  ;"  second 
bell :  "Laudo  Deum,  plebem  voco,  congrego  clerum  ;  defunctos  ploro,  pestem 
fugo,festa  decoro /"  third  bell :  "Funera  plango,  fulgura  frango,  Sabbata 
pango ;"  fourth  bell:  "Excito  lentos,  dissipo  ventos,  paco  cruentos  ;"  fifth 
bell:  "Nomen  Jesu  Christe ;  tu  attendas  et  defendas  f  sixth  bell:  "Te 
laudamus  et  rogamus  ;  nos  a  morte  tristi"  In  1690,  the  bells  had  been 
reduced  to  five;  and  in  1737  the  old  peal  of  five  bells  were  recast  and 
six  new  bells  founded  by  Abel  Rudhall  of  Gloucester.  The  tenor  bell, 
being  cracked,  was  recast  in  1747.  The  six  bells  are  now  ranged  as 
follows  : — i,  weight  6  cwt.  ;  motto,  "When  you  do  ring  we  will  sweetly 
sing;"  2,  6  cwt.  3  qrs.  ;  "Peace  and  good  neighbourhood;"  3,  8  cwt. 
3  qrs.  4  Ibs.  ;  "  May  the  Church  of  England  for  ever  flourish  ;"  4,  8  cwt. 
3  qrs.  4  Ibs. ;  "  We  are  all  cast  at  Gloucester,  by  Abel  Rudhall ;"  5, 
10  cwt.  2  qrs.  11  Ibs.;  "The  Rev.  John  Holme,  Vicar;"  6,  14  cwt. 
3  qrs.  13  Ibs.;  "Thomas  Martin,  John  Cross,  Henry  Drewitt,  Robert 
Whitacre,  churchwardens,  1747."  The  bells  remained  in  the  old  tower 
until  1832,  when  they  were  hung  in  the  new  tower;  and  in  1851  four 
new  bells  were  added,  making  a  good  peal  of  ten  bells.  The  founders 
of  three  of  the  new  bells  were  Messrs.  Mears,  of  London.  These  three 
"bells  weigh  4  cwt.  17  Ibs.,  4  cwt.  i  qr.  17  Ibs.,  and  5  cwt.  i  qr.  u  Ibs. 
respectively.  The  fourth  is  a  memorial  bell,  presented  by  the  Hopwood 
family,  whose  name  it  bears,  with  the  inscription,  "  John  Turner 
Hopwood,  Esq.,  Barrister-at-law,  Rockcliffe  House,  Blackburn,  March 
2nd,  1849."  The  weight  of  this  bell  is  5  cwt.  3  qrs.  i  Ib. 

THE  SEPULCHRAL  MONUMENTS. 

It  is  ground  for  complaint  by  all  who  value  the  preservation  in  situ 
of  ancient  sepulchral  memorials  of  deceased  citizens,  that  on  the  removal 
of  old  churches  such  monuments  attached  to  the  walls  are  often  destroyed 
or  disappear,  or  are  tossed  into  vaults  and  lofts  as  worthless  refuse,  and 
can  no  more  be  found  by  the  interested  searcher.  This  is  what  happened 
on  the  demolition  of  the  old  Parish  Church  fabric  of  Blackburn.  Of 
numerous  mural  tablets  formerly  found  within  the  walls  of  this  Church 
few  are  now  visible  or  to  be  heard  of.  I  can  only  therefore  note  such 
as  received  mention  by  visitants  to  the  former  Church  at  various  dates, 
and  two  or  three  that  have  been  brought  out  of  their  hiding-place  under 


THE  SEPULCHRAL  MONUMENTS. 


309 


the  Church  stair  as  a  result  of  my  own  inquiries.  I  am  unable  to  indi- 
cate the  present  whereabouts  of  any  that  have  fallen  into  private  hands. 
One  of  the  oldest  monumental  inscriptions  in  the  Church  was  that 
copied  in  the  Dodsworth  MSS.,  and  stated  to  have  been  in  the  window 
of  Sir  John  Talbot's  Chapel  (i.e.  the  south  Chapel  in  which  the  Chantry 
Priest  endowed  by  the  Earl  of  Derby  chanted  his  daily  prayers).  The 
inscription  ran  : — 

A.D.  1521.  Pray  for  ye  prosperous  Estate  of  ye  Rt.  Hon.  Thomas  Erie  of 
Derby,  Viscount  Kynton,  Lord  Strange,  Lord  of  Knokyn. 

In  the  same  Chapel  was  erected  at  a  later  date  the  costly  monument 
of  Sir  Thomas  Walmesley  of  Dunkenhalgh,  the  Judge  of  Common  Pleas, 
who  had  made  out  his  claim  to  a  share  in  this  Chapel  shortly  before  his 
death  in  1612.  This  stately  monument,  which  must  have  filled  a  good 
portion  of  the  Chapel-area,  consisted  of  a  statue  in  alabaster  lying  on  a 
sarcophagus  beneath  a  recessed  arch,  with  an  inscribed  tablet  behind, 
and  an  heraldic  shield  in  an  upper  compartment.  The  obituary  inscrip- 
tion and  a  poetic  epitaph  will  be  given  in  my  sketch  of  the  Walmesley 
family.  The  monument  was  broken  to  fragments  within  thirty  years  of 
its  erection,  during  the  Civil  War  of  1642-51,  by  the  Parliamentarian 
garrison  or  the  inhabitants  of  Blackburn,  as  a  proof  of  their  enmity  to 
the  Walmesleys,  who  were  doubly  obnoxious  as  both  Royalist  and 
Roman  Catholic.  A  small  remnant  of  the  monument,  consisting  of  the 
arms  of  Walmesley  impaled  with  those  of  Shuttleworth  of  Hacking, 
surmounted  by  the  knightly  helm  and  crest  of  the  judge,  is  now  fixed  in 
the  wall  of  the  south  vestry  of  the  present  Parish  Church. 

In  the  Osbaldeston  Chapel  at  the  east  end  of  the  north  aisle  were 
memorial  tablets  and  windows  to  several  members  of  the  family  owning 
that  Chapel.  Elena  Osbaldeston,  second  wife  of  Sir  Alexander,  by  her 
Will,  dated  1560,  directed  that  three  stones  with  inscriptions  on  brass 
should  be  fixed  in  her  Chapel  in  Blackburn  Church,  over  the  remains  of 
herself,  her  husband,  and  her  brother  Sir  Thomas  Tyldesley ;  and  doubt- 
less this  was  done  as  ordered ;  but  no  trace  or  record  of  these  brasses 
survives.  Other  tablets  in  the  Chapel,  inscribed  to  later  members  of  the 
family,  and  the  two  painted  windows  of  the  Chapel,  were  observed  by 
Pennant1  in  1773  : — 

Against  the  walls  are  two  brasses  ;  one  with  the  bald  head  of  an  old  man  with  a 
great  beard,  his  body  armed;  inscribed: — "Here  lyeth  the  body  of  Sir  Edward 
Osbaldiston,  a  charitable,  courteous,  and  valiant  Knight,  qui  obiit  A.D.  1636,  aet  63." 
The  epitaph  is  concise,  but  contains  a  character  replete  with  all  the  requisites  of 
chivalry  in  its  period  of  utmost  purity.  The  other  brass  is  in  memory  of  another 
Osbaldiston  [Edward,  son  of  Alexander],  which  acquaints  us  with  nothing  further  than 
that  he  died  in  1689,  aged  38. 

i  Tour  from  Downing  to  Alston  Moor,  pp.  66-7. 


I/ 


3io  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

A  local  chronicler  finds  that  a  gravestone  placed  in  1521  near  the 
altar.  of  Blackburn  Church  had  upon  it  the  sentiment  :  —  "Our  Fathers 
find  their  graves  in  our  shorte  memories  ;  and  sadly  tell  us  howe  we 
shall  be  buryed  in  our  survivors.  Lett  me  be  found  in  the  regystre  of 
heaven,  not  in  the  recorde  of  man.  A.D.  MDXXI.  Dom.  J.  Catherall."1 

Baines  gives  the  inscription  from  another  monumental  tablet  placed 
in  the  wall  of  the  south  aisle  of  the  old  Church  of  Blackburn,  as 
follows  :  — 

Before  thou  doe  thy  worke  begine 
Then  of  God  crave  pardon  for  thy  sin  : 
And  then  thy  worke  shall  prosper  soe 
As  want  shall  never  breed  thee  woe. 
.)  (.  1614  I.  M. 

George  Ryley.a 

To  an  infant  son  of  Vicar  Potter  is  inscribed  a  small  square  tablet  of 
white  marble  :  — 

Io.  Potter  Natus  Mortuus  Sepultus  Nov.  1740. 

I  also  note  an  oval  white  marble  tablet  to  the  last  direct  representa- 
tive of  the  Astley  family,  inscribed  :  — 

To  the  memory  of  the  Revd.  George  Astley,  who  departed  this  life  the  7th  of 
uly,  1777,  aged  43,  this  Monument  is  erected. 

Broken  into  four  or  five  fragments  I  find  the  tablet  to  Vicar  White, 
a  large  oblong  square,  of  white  marble,  inscribed  :  — 

Under  the  Communion  Table  is  interred  the  Revd.  John  White,  B.A.,  Vicar  of 
this  Parish,  who  departed  this  life  Nov.  2ist,  1780,  aged  53  years.  He  was  a  sincere 
Christian  and  conscientious  pastor,  an  affectionate  husband  and  good  parent,  a  kind 
and  faithful  friend,  an  ingenious  and  accurate  naturalist. 

A  brass  affixed  to  wood,  lying  also  amongst  lumber,  is  inscribed  :  — 

Sacred  to  the  Memory  of  Mr.  George  Cape,  Merchant  and  Drysalter,  Old  Swan 
Stairs,  London,  who  died  at  this  place,  June  2nd,  1789,  in  the  38th  year  of  his  age. 

In  the  Burial  Register  of  the  Church,  "  George  Cape,  a  rider  from 
London,"  is  entered  as  buried  June  4th,  1789. 

Several  Memorial  Windows  are  placed  in  the  present  Church.  The 
vaulted  tombs  in  the  churchyard  on  the  site  of  the  old  Church,  include 
those  of  Walmesley  and  Petre  of  Dunkenhalgh  ;  Feilden  of  Witton  ; 
Hindle  of  Blackburn  ;  Sudell  of  Blackburn  ;  Peel  of  Blackburn  ;  Birley 
of  Blackburn  ;  Chippendall,  Livesey,  Lancaster,  Yates,  Forrest,  &c. 

The  old  Communion  Plate  of  the  Church  was  inscribed  :  —  "£x 
dono  Thorn.  Smith,  1630,"  and  "£x  dono  Edwardi  et  Roberti  Bolton,  dat 
Ecdesice  Blackborne,  A.D. 


i  Whittle's  Blackburn  as  it  Is,  p.  62.  2  Hist,  of  Lane.,  New  Edn.,  v.  ii.  p.  66. 

3  The  "  Statement  of  Facts  relative  to  the  taking  down  and  rebuilding  of  the  Parish  Church  of 
Blackburn,"  printed  in  1827,  by  Thomas  Rogerson,  Market  Place  (an  ample  and  useful  compilation  of 


BLACKBURN  PARISH  CHURCH. 


THE  PARISH  REGISTERS. 

The  Parish  Registers  begin  connectedly  about  A.D.  1600,  but  I  find 
a  few  detached  entries  as  far  back  as  1568.  The  first  Register  Book,  on 
parchment,  has  been  seriously  tampered  with  at  some  period,  and  the 
leaves  containing  the  entries  between  1568  and  1600  may  have  been 
destroyed  during  the  Civil  War  of  1642-51,  when  the  Registers  exhibit 
another  gap  between  the  years  1637  and  1651.  The  first  volume  is 
bound  in  calf,  about  an  inch  in  thickness.  The  entries  are  in  English 
from  1608,  when  James  Hodgkinson  became  Parish  Clerk.  On  the 
resumption  of  the  record  in  1651  it  is  inscribed: — "Leonard  Clayton, 
Pastor.  Here  followeth  a  perfect  Register  of  all  Names  of  those  who 
have  been  baptized  att  our  Parish  Church  of  Blackburn,  from  the  20th 
of  Aprill,  1651."  Onward  from  this  date  the  entries  are  continuous 
until  the  present  time.  The  second  volume  opens  with  this  certificate 
of  the  appointment  of  Parish  Clerk  in  1653  : — 

Richard  Morres  of  Blackburn  in  Co.  Lane.,  gent.,  being  chosen  by  the  inhabitants 
and  householders  of  the  Parish  of  Blackburn  to  be  their  Parish  Registr.,  came  beffore 
us  this  22th  of  September,  1653,  and  was  by  us  approved  on  to  bee  the  said  Registr. 
for  the  said  Parish,  to  have  the  keepinge  of  this  Booke,  and  was  by  us  approved  on 
and  sworne  accordinge  to  the  Acte  of  Parliament  of  the  24th  of  August  last  in  that 
case  made  and  provided.  Ric:  SHUTTLEWORTHE. 

JOHN  STARKIE. 

The  civil  marriages  during  the  Commonwealth  were  usually 
performed  in  presence  of  Randal  Sharpies,  Esq.,  a  local  Justice  devoted 
to  the  party  then  in  power.  After  the  Restoration  the  old  form  of 
registration  of  marriages  is  reverted  to.  The  Parish  Clerk  was  then 

88  pages)  mentions  that  the  following  relics  of  the  old  Church  were  preserved  in  the  present  struc- 
ture :— "  In  the  north  vestry,  several  monumental  tablets  not  yet  re-erected ;  in  the  south  vestry,  the 
arms  of  Walmesley,  impaling  Shuttleworth  of  Hacking,  part  of  the  monument  of  Judge  Walmesley, 
formerly  in  the  Dunkenhalgh  Chapel ;  in  the  window  of  the  same  vestry  are  fragments  of  painted 
glass  bearing  the  figures  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  and  a  Saint  in  the  monastic  habit  of  the  Cistercians, 
probably  intended  for  St.  Bernard  the  founder  of  that  order,  which  was  the  one  established  at  Whalley 
Abbey ;  also,  on  glass  of  inferior  antiquity  and  beauty,  several  busts  of  the  Apostles ;  four  heraldic 
badges,  viz.,  the  White  Rose  of  York,  the  portcullis  of  the  House  of  Tudor,  the  Peacock,  and  the 
couchant  Stag ;  and  a  full-length  portrait  of  the  celebrated  Erasmus.  Some  fragments  of  painted  glass 
from  the  old  church  are  also  preserved  in  the  windows  of  the  clerestory  and  side-aisles ;  that  in  the 
east  window  is  modern,  and  was  furnished  by  subscription.  The  stalls,  at  present  occupied  by  the 
churchwardens,  were  also  part  of  the  furniture  of  the  ancient  church,  and  exhibit  in  the  grotesque 
carvings  on  the  under  parts  of  the  seats  or  misereres  decided  indications  of  a  date  anterior  to  the 
Reformation.  One  of  these  contains  a  rude  representation  of  the  temptation  of  Eve,  and  the  ejectment 
of  our  first  parents  from  Paradise  ;  three  bear  emblems  usually  attributed  to  the  Evangelists,  viz.,  the 
Angel  of  St.  Matthew,  the  winged  Lion  of  St.  Mark,  and  the  winged  Bull  of  St.  Luke ;  two  others 
represent  a  Fox  in  a  pulpit  edifying  a  congregation  of  Geese,  and  a  Huntsman  with  his  huge  horn 
encouraging  the  hounds  in  pursuit  of  a  family  of  apes,  one  of  which  has  fallen  into  their  clutches, 
while  the  parent  is  endeavouring  to  escape  with  a  young  one  at  her  back.  The  rest  are  of  foliage  " 
(pp.  26-7).  The  Vicarage-house  in  the  church-yard  being  taken  down,  the  present  house  in  King-street 
was  secured  for  the  Vicars'  residence. 


312 


HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


appointed  by  the  Osbaldestons ;  and  I  find  these  entries  of  such 
appointments  : — 

John  Bolton  began  as  Parish  Clerk  of  Blackburn,  gth  July,  1676,  presented  by 
Edward  Osbaldeston,  Esq.,  and  approved  by  Leo.  Clayton,  Clerk  and  Vicar  there. 

Adam  Rabye  began  the  office  of  Parish  Clerk,  April  5th,  1683,  presented  by 
Edward  Osbaldeston  of  Osbaldeston,  Esq. 

Thomas  Nevil  elected  Clerk  of  Parish  of  Blackburn  28th  May,  1708. 

The  Parish  Registers  are  now  kept  in  a  strong  room  lately  built 
between  the  north  vestry  and  the  chancel.  Previously  they  had  been  in 
a  wooden  cabinet  in  the  Vestry,  and  had  suffered  from  the  damp. 

The  appointment  of  Sexton  was  claimed  by  the  same  parties 
who  put  in  by  prescription  the  Parish  Clerk,  but  the  claim  has  been 
disputed  by  several  vicars.  An  affidavit  made  in  1781  states  that  in 
1734  one  John  Nevill  was  appointed  Sexton  on  the  death  of  Robert 
Lathom,  former  Sexton ;  but  the  Vicar,  Revd.  John  Holme,  appointed 
John  Hindle  to  be  Sexton.  A  week  after,  Mr.  Feilden  and  Mr. 
Ainsworth  sent  for  John  Osbaldeston  (then  living)  to  a  public-house  in 
Blackburn,  and  desired  him  to  bring  John  Nevill  to  them  at  that  house. 
They  told  Nevill  they  had  appointed  him  Sexton,  and  desired  John 
Osbaldeston  to  go  to  John  Hindle  for  the  key,  or,  if  he  refused,  to  send 
a  constable.  John  Hindle  thereupon  gave  up  the  key  to  John 
Osbaldeston,  who  delivered  it  to  Mr.  Feilden  and  Mr.  Ainsworth,  and 
they  to  their  nominee  John  Nevill,  who  afterwards  kept  it  and  the  office 
of  Sexton  until  his  death  in  March,  1781. 

THE  FREE  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL  OF  QUEEN  ELIZABETH. 

It  has  been  shewn  that  the  original  Free  School  in  Blackburn  was 
founded  and  endowed  in  conjunction  with  the  Chantry  of  the  B.  V.  Mary 
in  Blackburn  Church,  endowed  by  Thomas,  Earl  of  Derby,  in  the  year 
1514.  The  Chantry  being  suppressed,  Edward  VI.  soon  after  (A.D. 
1551),  granted  in  trust  for  the  use  of  the  Chantry  Priest,  Thomas 
Burgess,  for  the  term  of  his  life,  in  lieu  of  the  rents  of  certain  chantry 
lands,  a  sum  equal  to  the  ancient  endowment  of  £4  75.  4d.,  out  of  the 
revenues  of  the  Duchy,  the  said  priest  being  required  to  continue  the 
duties  of  school-master  of  the  said  school.  The  school  was  thus  nomi- 
nally perpetuated,  but  inadequately  sustained  ;  and  in  A.D.  1567,  upon  a 
petition  from  the  inhabitants,  Queen  Elizabeth  granted  a  Charter  for 
the  new  foundation  of  a  Free  Grammar  School  in  Blackburn,  of  which  a 
translation1  is  subjoined  : — 

Elizabeth,  by  the  grace  of  God,  of  England,  France,  and  Ireland  Queen,  Defender 
of  the  Faith,  &c.     To  all  to  whom  these  present  letters  shall  come,  greeting.     Know 
ye  that  we,  upon  the  humble  Petition,  as  well  of  the  Inhabitants  of  the  vill  and  Parish 
i  This  translation  was  made  by  Mr.  John  Clough,  of  Blackburn. 


THE  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL  CHARTER. 


3*3 


of  Blackburn,  in  our  County  of  Lancaster,  as  of  very  many  others,  our  subjects  of  the 
whole  country  in  the  neighbourhood  thereof,  to  us,  for  a  Grammar  School  to  be  there 
erected  and  established,  for  the  institution  and  instruction  of  boys  and  young  persons, 
of  our  special  grace,  and  our  certain  knowledge  and  mere  motion,  we  will,  grant,  and 
for  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  ordain,  that  henceforth  there  be  and  shall  be  one 
Grammar  School  in  the  said  vill  of  Blackburn,  which  shall  be  called  the  Free  Grammar 
School  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  for  the  education,  institution,  and  instruction  of  boys  and 
young  persons  in  grammar,  to  be  and  remain  for  ever ;  and  we  do  by  these  presents 
erect,  create,  ordain,  and  found  that  school  to  continue  for  ever,  of  one  master,  or 
pedagogue,  and  one  sub-pedagogue  or  under-master.  And  that  this  our  aforesaid 
intent  may  take  the  better  effect,  and  that  the  lands,  tenements,  rents,  revenues,  and 
other  issues  to  be  granted,  assigned,  and  appointed  for  the  support  of  the  aforesaid 
school,  may  be  better  governed  for  the  continuance  of  the  same,  we  will  and  ordain 
that  henceforth  for  ever  there  be  and  shall  be  in  the  vill  and  Parish  of  Blackburn  afore- 
said, fifty  men  of  the  more  discreet  and  honest  of  the  Inhabitants  or  Freeholders  of  the 
aforesaid  vill  and  Parish  for  the  time  being,  who  shall  be  and  shall  be  called  Governors, 
of  the  possessions,  revenues,  and  goods  of  the  said  Free  School,  commonly  called  and 
to  be  called  the  Free  Grammar  School  of  Queen  Elizabeth  in  Blackburn,  in  the  county 
of  Lancaster.  And  therefore  know  ye  that  we  have  assigned,  chosen,  named,  and 
appointed,  and  by  these  presents  do  assign,  choose,  name,  and  appoint,  our  beloved 
Gilbert  Gerrard,  Esq.,  our  Attorney- General  ;  also  our  beloved  Sir  Thomas  Langton, 
Knight;  Sir  John  Southworth,  Knight;  Sir  Thomas  Hesketh,  Knight;  Sir  William 
Ratcliffe,  Knight ;  John  Osbaldiston,  Esq. ;  Henry  Talbot,  Esq. ;  John  Talbot,  Esq. ; 
Robert  Barton,  Esq. ;  William  Farrington,  Esq. ;  Ralph  Rissheton,  Esq. ;  John  Braddell, 
Esq.;  John  Hylton,  clerk,  Vicar  of  Blackburn  aforesaid;  also  Richard  Livesaye, 
gentleman;  Lawrence  Ainsworth,  gentleman;  George  Astley,  gentleman;  Robert 
Morley,  gentleman ;  William  Clayton,  gentleman ;  Robert  Astley,  gentleman ;  Thomas 
Walmysley,  gentleman;  Alexander  Osbaldeston,  gentleman;  John  Isherwoode,  James 
Whithalgh,  James  Garstange,  Thomas  Hold  en,  Evan  Holden,  Robert  Bolton,  Richard 
Cunlyff,  Thomas  Gillibrand,  Thurstan  Maudesley,  William  Dewhurst,  William 
Barker,  Christopher  Mersden,  Robert  Warde,  Robert  Waddington,  Richard  Page, 
William  Page,  John  Cowburne,  Henry  Mersden,  John  Linnols,  Richard  Ducksburye, 
Roger  Gillibrand,  Richard  Heyworth,  Thomas  Whitehalgh,  George  Assheton,  John 
Hodgeson,  Alexander  Bolton,  Richard  Edleston,  Adam  Bolton,  and  Randal  Feilden, 
Inhabitants  and  Freeholders  of  the  said  vill  and  Parish  of  Blackburn,  to  be  and  remain 
first  and  new  Governors  of  the  possessions,  revenues  and  goods  of  the  Free  Grammar 
School  of  Queen  Elizabeth  in  Blackburn,  &c.,  the  same  office  well  and  truly  to  exer- 
cise and  occupy,  from  the  date  of  these  presents,  during  their  lives,  and  the  lives  of  the 
longer  livers  of  them.  And  that  the  same  governors  in  deed,  in  fact  and  in  name  be 
and  shall  be  henceforth  one  body  corporate  and  politic  of  themselves  for  ever,  by  the 
name  of  the  Governors  of  the  possessions,  revenues,  and  goods  of  the  Free 
Grammar  School  of  Queen  Elizabeth  in  Blackburn,  incorporated  and  erected.  And 
by  these  presents  we  incorporate  these  governors  of  the  possessions,  revenues,  and 
goods  of  the  Free  Grammar  School  of  Queen  Elizabeth  in  Blackburn.  And  we  really 
and  fully  create,  erect,  ordain,  make,  and  by  these  presents  appoint,  a  body  corporate 
and  politic  to  continue  for  ever  by  the  same  name.  And  we  will  and  by  these  presents 
do  ordain  and  grant  that  the  said  Governors  of  the  possessions,  revenues,  and  goods  of 
the  Free  Grammar  School  of  Queen  Elizabeth  in  Blackburn,  have  perpetual  succession, 
and  by  the  same  name  be  and  shall  be  persons  able  and  in  law  capable  to  acquire, 
receive,  and  take  and  hold  demesnes,  manors,  lands,  tenements,  rents,  reversions, 


314 


HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


tithes,  possessions,  revenues,  hereditaments  whatever,  or  of  what  kind,  nature,  or  sort 
soever  they  shall  be,  to  themselves  and  their  successors  in  fee  and  perpetuity ;  and 
likewise  to  give,  grant,  let  and  assign  the  same  lands,  tenements,  and  hereditaments, 
and  all  and  singular  other  acts  and  deeds  to  do  and  execute  by  the  name  aforesaid. 
And  that  by  the  name  of  the  Governors  of  the  possessions,  revenues,  and  goods  of  the 
Free  Grammar  School  of  Queen  Elizabeth  in  Blackburn,  they  have  power  and  be  able 
to  plead  and  be  impleaded,  answer  and  be  answered,  defend  and  be  defended,  in 
whatsoever  courts,  places,  and  steads,  and  before  whatsoever  judges  and  justices,  and 
other  persons,  and  any  officers,  in  all  and  singular  actions,  suits,  complaints,  causes, 
matters,  and  demands  whatsoever,  and  of  whatsoever  kind,  nature,  and  sort  they  may 
be,  by  the  same  manner  and  form  as  other  our  lieges  of  this  our  kingdom  of  England, 
persons  fit  and  in  law  capable,  have  power  and  are  able  to  plead  and  be  impleaded, 
answer  and  be  answered,  defend  and  be  defended,  and  have,  acquire,  receive,  possess, 
give,  grant,  and  let.  And  that  the  aforesaid  governors  and  their  successors,  henceforth 
for  ever  have  a  common  Seal,  that  shall  serve  for  the  transacting  of  whatever  causes 
and  businesses  of  their  own,  and  of  their  successors.  And  moreover  we  grant,  ordain, 
and  by  these  presents  decree,  that  whensoever  it  shall  happen  that  one  or  more  of  the 
said  fifty  Governors  for  the  time  being  shall  die,  that  then  and  so  often  it  shall  be  lawful 
for  the  said  other  Governors  surviving,  or  the  major  part  of  the  same  at  that  time 
residing  and  living  in  the  said  vill  and  parish  of  Blackburn,  to  elect  and  nominate 
another  fit  person,  or  other  fit  persons,  of  the  Inhabitants  or  Freeholders  of  the  vill 
and  Parish  of  Blackburn  aforesaid,  into  the  places  of  him  or  them  so  dying,  to  succeed 
in  the  said  office  of  Governor,  and  this  so  often  as  the  case  shall  happen.  And  further- 
more, of  our  further  grace,  certain  knowledge,  and  mere  motion,  we  have  given  and 
granted,  and  by  these  presents  do  give  and  grant,  to  the  aforesaid  new  Governors  and 
their  successors,  and  to  the  major  part  of  the  same,  full  power  and  authority  of  naming 
and  appointing  a  Master  and  Under  Master  of  the  said  School,  so  often  as  the  same 
shall  be  void  of  a  master  or  under  master ;  and  that  the  same  Governors  for  the  time 
being  from  time  to  time  make,  and  have  power  and  authority  to  make,  fit  and  whole- 
some Statutes  and  Ordinances  in  writing,  concerning  and  touching  the  preservation 
and  disposition  of  the  rents  and  revenues  appointed  for  the  support  of  the  said  School, 
which  statutes  and  orders  so  to  be  made,  we  will,  and  grant,  and  by  these  presents 
command  inviolably  to  be  observed  from  time  to  time  for  ever.  And  furthermore 
know  ye,  that  in  consideration  that  the  said  Governors  of  the  said  Free  Grammar 
School  of  Queen  Elizabeth  in  Blackburn,  in  the  county  of  Lancaster,  and  their  succes- 
sors, may  the  better  sustain  and  support  the  charge  of  the  same  school,  and  of  the 
master  and  under-master  thereof,  from  time  to  time,  of  our  special  grace,  certain  know- 
ledge and  mere  motion,  we  have  given  and  granted,  and  by  these  presents  do  give  and 
grant  unto  the  aforesaid  new  Governors  of  the  possessions,  revenues,  and  goods  of  the 
said  Free  Grammar  School  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  in  Blackburn  aforesaid,  and  their 
successors,  special  and  free  license  and  lawful  faculty,  power,  and  authority  of  having, 
receiving,  and  acquiring,  to  them  and  their  successors  for  ever,  as  well  of  us,  our  heirs 
and  successors,  as  of  any  other  person  or  persons  whatsoever,  whatever  manors, 
messuages,  tenements,  rectories,  tithes,  or  other  hereditaments  whatsoever,  within  the 
kingdom  of  England  or  in  any  other  place  within  our  dominions,  which  are  not  held  of 
us  immediately  in  chief,  provided  that  they  do  not  exceed  the  clear  annual  value  of 
Thirty  Pounds,  to  the  aforesaid  Governors  and  their  successors  as  above  related,  as 
being  granted  by  us  in  form  aforesaid,  the  statute  of  lands  and  tenements  in  Mortmain, 
or  any  other  statute,  act,  ordinance,  or  provision,  &c. ,  notwithstanding.  And  we  will 
and  by  these  presents  do  grant  to  the  aforesaid  new  Governors  that  they  have  and 


THE  ORIGINAL  SCHOOL  LANDS.  3!5 

shall  have  these  our  letters  patent  under  our  Great  Seal  of  England  duly  executed  and 
sealed,  without  fine  or  fee,  great  or  small,  to  be  yielded,  paid,  or  made  to  us  in  our 
Hanaper  Court,  or  in  any  other  place,  in  any  wise  for  our  use ;  so  far,  at  least,  as 
express  mention  is  made  of  the  true  yearly  value  or  of  any  other  value  or  certitude  of 
the  premises,  or  any  part  thereof,  or  of  any  other  gifts  or  grants  made  by  us  in  these 
presents,  or  by  any  of  our  progenitors,  to  the  aforesaid  new  Governors  of  the  posses- 
sions, revenues,  and  goods  of  the  said  Free  Grammar  School  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  in 
Blackburn  aforesaid,  and  their  predecessors  before  these  times,  any  other  statute,  act, 
ordinance,  provision,  proclamation  or  restriction,  made,  published,  ordained,  or 
provided,  &c.,  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding.  In  witness  whereof  we  have  caused 
these  our  letters  to  be  made  patent.  Witness  Our  Seal  at  Gorhambury,  the  Eighth 
day  of  August,  in  the  Ninth  year  of  our  reign.  By  Writ  under  Privy  Seal,  and  of  the 
date  aforesaid,  by  authority  of  Parliament.  (Signed)  BuGGYN. 

Eighteen  years  after  the  date  of  this  Charter,  a  cause  was  pleaded  in 
the  Duchy  Court  for  recovery  of  the  copyhold  lands  originally  granted  for 
the  endowment  of  the  Chantry  and  Free  School,  which  had  been  appro- 
priated by  the  Crown.  This  cause  was  heard  in  the  Michaelmas  term, 
27th  and  28th  Elizabeth  (1585).  The  plaintiffs  were  Richard  Livesey 
and  others  (the  Governors  of  the  School),  Inhabitants  of  Blackburn,  and 
the  defendants  were  Richard  Goodshaw  and  Nicholas  Halsted  ;  the 
matter  in  contest  being  the  right  and  interest  in  certain  messuages  and 
lands,  lying  in  Burnley,  Padiham,  and  Blackburn,  in  Lancashire,  and  in 
Slaidburn,  in  Yorkshire,  being  copyhold  of  the  manors  of  Ightenhill  and 
Slaidburn.  An  indenture  was  produced,  dated  5th  Henry  VIII.,  as  well 
as  a  Decree  of  the  Duchy  Court,  of  the  2nd  Elizabeth  (1560),  to  the 
effect  that  "  the  said  premises  were  given  principally  for  the  maintenance 
of  a  chantry  priest,  to  sing  and  say  mass,  and  other  superstitious  services 
in  the  Chapel  of  Our  Lady,  in  the  Church  of  Blackburn,  which  chantry 
priest  should  teach  a  Grammar  School  and  a  Song  School."  It  was 
shown  further  that  "  by  virtue  of  a  commission  granted  by  Edward  VI., 
in  the  fourth  year  of  his  reign,  after  the  statute  made  for  the  dissolution 
of  the  Chantries,  to  the  stewards  of  the  said  manors,  the  said  lands  and 
tenements  had  been  devised  by  copy  of  court  roll,  to  certain  persons 
and  their  heirs,  to  the  use  of  Thomas  Burgess,  late  chantry  priest  of 
the  said  Chantry,  for  his  life,  and  afterwards  to  their  own  use,  and  that 
those  persons  had  paid  certain  sums  of  money  for  the  said  premises, 
and  that  the  defendants  and  the  copyholders  of  the  said  premises,  or 
their  ancestors,  had  likewise  paid  sums  of  money  for  the  same  to  the 
first  purchasers,  and  that  the  title  of  the  said  copyholders  had  been  by 
the  said  decree  of  the  2nd  Elizabeth  confirmed  and  allowed."  The 
following  record  of  the  pleas  and  answer  in  this  cause  is  found  in  the 
"Burleigh  Papers"  (Lansdowne  MS.  46),  in  the  British  Museum 
Library  : — 

[Endorsed]  10  Feb.  1585-6.     The  case  touching  the  Free  Schole  of  Blackburne 


316  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

in  Lancashire,  with  the  objections  answered.  — The  Queue's  Ma'stie  hathe  incorporated 
a  ffree  Grammer  Schole  in  Blackburne  in  Lancaster,  called  the  Free  Grammer  Schole 
of  Queue  Elizabethe  in  Blackburne,  and  that  they  may  purchase  landes  not  exceedinge 
a  certaine  valew.  Before  this  corp'acon  ther  was  a  Scole  ther  not  incorp'ate,  and 
certaine  ffeoffees  were  seased  of  coppeholde  landes  p'cell  of  the  Quenes  Manner  to 
them  and  their  heires,  to  th'  intente  to  fynde  a  Schole  Master  w'ch  should  be  the 
preyst  and  maynteyne  the  Quyeres  and  saye  masses  and  diriges  for  the  sowles  of  the 
founders,  fforasmuch  as  Coppyholde  landes  w'ch  were  in  the  handes  of  others  then 
the  Chauntrye  Preysts  are  excepted  out  the  Statute  of  Chauntries,  these  landes  were 
not  taken  from  the  feoffees  by  the  statute,  but  theye  by  warrante  from  King  Phillypp 
and  Queue  Marie  surrendered  the  same  in  I  and  2  Phil,  et  Marie  to  certaine  newe 
feoffees  and  their  heires  to  th'yntente  to  fynde  a  scholemaster  at  Blackburne  and  to 
th'use  of  a  Schole  to  be  kepte  at  Blackburne.  Accordinge  to  this  warrante,  the  newe 
feoffees  were  admitted  to  the  use  of  the  Schole.  The  newe  feoffees  of  coppyehokle 
landes  p'cell  of  the  Quenes  Manner,  have  exhibited  theire  peticion  in  the  Duchie,  and 
have  humblie  prayed  that  they  may  have  and  enjoye  the  coppieholde  landes  to  the  use 
of  the  Schole,  as  by  lawe  they  oughte  in  righte  to  have  the  said  landes.  It  ys  objected 
by  Mr.  Attorney  of  the  Duchie,  that  however  the  righte  of  the  ffeoffees  be,  yet  they  may 
not  have  the  landes,  because  they  and  diverse  other  copieholde  landes  in  Lancaster  were 
solde  in  4.10  Ed.  VI.  by  surrender  in  the  Coppeholde  Courte.  And  yf  the  feoffees 
should  have  those  landes,  other  feoffees  wolde  by  lyke  petycion  take  away  all  the 
other  copiholde  lanttes  which  were  solde,  and  hinder  the  Quenes  Ma'stie. 

To  this  firste  parte  it  is  answered,  that  her  Ma'stes  pleasure  ys  (as  they  thinke) 
that  her  subjectes  for  her  own  Schole  shoulde  of  her  owne  lawes  have  justiciam  et 
rectum,  beinge  claimed  by  them  as  theire  inheritance  and  allowed  by  her  Ma'ste  and 
all  her  noble  progenytors.  Secondlye,  the  generall  myschieffe  of  other  cases  (alleged) 
dothe  not  extende  to  this  case,  because  in  this  case  there  was  a  good  use  for  a  free 
gramer  Schole,  w'ch  was  mente  to  be  mayntayned  by  the  Statute  of  Chauntries, 
and  not  overthrowne,  and  in  the  other  cases  there  be  noe  Scholes  to  be  considered. 
And  in  this  case  there  ys  a  new  admyttance  of  new  feoffees,  and  to  the  use  of  a  Gramer 
Scole,  and  a  decree  accordinglye  for  the  Scole,  w'ch  is  not  in  other  cases. 

The  Quenes  Ma'stie  shall  have  the  olde  rente  of  the  feoffees  of  the  schole  yearlie 
paide,  and  so  noe  loss  to  her  Ma'stie,  and  for  the  ffyne  due  to  her  Ma'stie  upon 
surrenders  or  upon  deathe,  yt  is  but  a  yere's  rente,  and  the  feoffees  did  lett  yt  by 
surrender  to  the  tenantes,  who  paide  ffynes  and  most  part  of  all  the  copieholders 
landes  there  are  usuallie  putt  in  ffeoffees  hands,  and  order  hath  been  taken  that 
notwythstandinge  the  Lorde  shall  be  answered  of  her  ffyne,  w'ch  order  the  feoffees  will 
performe.  And  these  feoffees  for  the  Scole  are  allreadie  by  speciall  warrante  of  Kinge 
Phillippe  and  Quene  Mary  admitted  and  allowed,  and  so  that  exception  is  not  to  be 
objected  again  to  those  feoffees. 

Upon  this  case  the  report  of  the  Attorney  General  of  the  Duchy, 
dated  February  22nd,  1585-6,  is  as  follows  : — 

The  estate  of  the  Copiholde  Landes  claymed  by  the  feoffees  for  the  mayntenance 
of  the  Scole  of  Blackburne. — It  is  trewe  that  her  Ma'tie  hath  incorporated  a  free 
Grammer  Scole  in  Blackburne  with  lycense  to  purchase  landes  to  a  certen  valew  and 
hath  appointed  the  now  Mr  of  the  Rowles  to  be  one  of  the  Governors  thereof.  And 
longe  before  the  incorporacon  of  the  saide  Scole  c'ten  feoffees  were  seased  of  copiholde 
landes  of  her  Ma'ties  Manner  to  th'intent  to  maynteyne  a  chaunterie  preist  in  the 
Churche  of  Blackburne,  w'ch  preist  should  teach  a  Grammer  Scole  and  a  Songe  Scole 


THE  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL  DECREE  OF  1585.  317 

(if  such  a  one  could  be  had),  if  not,  then  a  Songe  Scole,  and  should  saye  Masse  and 
diriges  for  the  soule  of  the  founder  of  the  said  Chaunterie  in  the  said  Churche.  So 
as  the  landes  were  given  for  the  mayntenance  of  a  chaunterie  preist,  w'ch  preist  should 
be  qualited  as  aforesaide,  if  such  a  one  could  be  gotten,  and  not  otherwise  geven  for 
the  mayntenance  of  a  scole.  And  there  was  not  almost  any  Chaunterie  Preist  in  a 
manner  but  he  was  tied  and  bounde  to  doe  some  Godlie  and  lawfull  thinge.  By  the 
Statute  made  in  primo  Ed.  VI.,  all  Chaunteres  were  dissolved,  and  the  said  Kinge  in 
the  fourth  year  of  his  raigne  did  by  his  Comyssion  comande  that  all  such  copiholde 
landes  holden  of  his  highnes  should  be  seasecl  into  his  hande,  blayminge  his  officers 
w'ch  had  suffered  the  copiholde  landes  of  his  Mannor  to  be  surrendered  to  such  uses 
and  such  corporacions,  whereby  he  was  prejudiced  in  his  fynes  and  inheritance,  and 
after  seasure  made  to  grante  them  out  againe  by  copie  to  Sr  Edwarde  Warner,  Knyghte, 
Henrie  Savile,  and  James  Gardyner,  for  reasonable  fynes,  reservinge  the  auncient  rent, 
whereuppon  seasure  was  made  and  the  same  graunted  for  tenne  yeres  fyne  ;  which 
Copiholde  landes  amounted  to  the  value  of  fyve  hundreth  poundes  a  yere  and  above, 
and  is  now  dispersed  amongst  almost  a  thowsand  persons,  who  have  bene  at  charge  in 
purchasinge  of  them  and  in  buildinge  uppon  them.  All  wrde  soe  the  M'te  [?]  of 
whorne  such  copiholde  landes  geven  to  such  sup'stitious  uses  were  holden  after  the 
uses  were  inhibited  did  sease  the  said  copiholde  landes  and  did  dispose  them  at  ther 
pleasure.  There  be  sev'all  decrees  made  in  the  Duchie  that  the  nowe  copiholders 
should  enjoye  the  saide  copiholde  landes  as  they  have  done  sithence  the  saide  seisure 
made  by  the  saide  Kinge  Edwarde  and  the  graunte  made  as  aforesaide.  Sr  Walter 
Myldmay,  Knt.,  and  Mr.  Kellewaye,  by  vertue  of  a  commyssion  in  Kinge  Edwarde's 
tyme  to  them  directed,  for  the  contynewinge  of  Scoles  and  erectinge  of  Scoles,  did 
allowe  ^4  75.  4d.  yerelie  for  the  better  maynetenance  of  the  Scole  in  Blackburne,  w'ch 
was  as  muche  or  more  then  was  employed  in  that  respecte  as  it  seemed.  The  laste 
terme,  by  meanes  of  y'r  Lo:  lettres  and  some  other  of  her  Ma'tys  most  hon'able  Privie 
Counsell,  Mr  Chancellor  of  the  Duchie,  Sr  Gilb'te  Gerrarde,  Knighte,  John  Clynche, 
one  of  her  Ma'tes  Justice  of  Assisses  within  the  Countie  of  Lancaster,  where  the  saide 
landes  doe  lie,  Willm.  ffletwoode,  Sergyant  at  the  Lawe,  and  the  rest  of  the  Counsell 
of  the  saide  Duchie,  assembled  themselves,  to  the  end  the  same  schole  might  be  in 
reasonable  manner  maynteyned,  and  that  her  Ma'ties  dere  brother's  grant  should  not 
be  called  in  question,  noe  such  a  number  of  people  molested  touchinge  ther  habitacon 
[upon]  copiholde  landes  by  them  p'chased  as  aforesaid  ;  noe  yet  her  Ma'tie  thought 
in  honour  bounde  to  restore  so  greate  a  some,  being  levied  by  reason  of  the  seasure 
and  grauntinge  of  the  said  copiholde  landes  beinge  fower  thousande  poundes  or  ther- 
abouts  ;  noe  yett  fermor  decrees  touchinge  the  said  landes  re-examyned;  did  order  and 
decree  that  ther  shoulde  be  yerelie  paied  towardes  the  mayntenance  of  the  saide  scole 
the  yerelie  rent  of  £4.  75.  4d.  allowed  as  aforesaid,  and  that  the  some  of  ;£ioo  or 
therabouts  should  be  paied  and  delivered  to  the  Mr  of  the  Rowles  to  be  imployed  in 
the  purchasinge  of  landes  to  the  use  of  the  said  scole  for  the  better  mayntenance 
thereof. 

The  Decree  of  the  Duchy  Court  upon  this  suit,  bearing  date  Feb. 
22nd,  1585-6,  I  copy  in  extenso  from  the  original  writing  in  the  School 
Chest : — 

ELIZABETH  dei  gra  Anglie  ffraunce  et  Hib'nie  Regina  fidei  defensor  OMNIBUS 
ad  quos  p'ntes  Ire  nre  p'venerint  saltm.  INSPEXIMUS  tenor  cuiusdem  decret  sive  Record 
in  camera  ducat  nro  Lancaster  apud  Westm  inter  Record  eiusdm  ducat  ibm  remanen' 
et  existen'  in  hec  verba:  Termio  M'chis  Annis  regni  Regine  Elizabeth  &c.  xxviimo 


3i8  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

et  xxviiimo  die  ven'is  viz.  xxvito  Novembris  1585.  Inter  Ricm.  Livesey  et  al' 
Inhabitant'  de  Blackeburne  quer'  et  Ricm.  Goodshawe  et  Nichol'  Halsted  defend'. — 
WHEREAS  matter  of  variance  is  dependinge  in  this  honourable  Courte  betwene  the  said 
p'ties  for  and  concernynge  the  right  interest  and  title  of  in  and  to  certen  mesuages 
landes  ten'tes  and  hereditamentes  with  th'  appurtenances  sett  lyinge  and  beinge  in 
Burnley,  Padiham  and  Blackburne  in  the  countie  of  Lancaster  and  in  Sladburne  in  the 
countie  of  Yorke  beinge  copieholde  landes  and  ten'tes  holden  of  her  Ma'tie  accordinge 
to  the  customes  of  the  manners  of  Ightenhill  and  Sladburne  and  the  Wapentage  of 
Cliderowe  p'cell  of  the  possessions  of  the  duchie  of  Lancaster  claymed  by  the  said 
compl'ts  to  be  given  and  assured  in  the  fifte  yere  of  the  Reigne  of  the  late  Kinge  Henry 
the  eight  to  and  for  the  mayntenn'ce  of  a  free  gramer  schoole  in  the  Towne  of  Black- 
burne aforesaide,  and  alledged  by  the  deffend'ts  to  have  bene  given  and  assured  for  the 
maintenn'ce  of  a  Chauntrye  in  the  Churche  of  Blackburne  aforesaid  which  said  cause 
hath  bene  at  sev'all  daies  in  this  p'nte  terme  of  St.  Michaell  herde  and  debated  in  open 
courte  before  the  Chauncellor  and  Councell  of  this  Courte  by  the  Counsell  lerned  of 
both  the  saide  p'ties  and  now  this  p'nte  fridaie  beinge  the  xxvith  of  November  above- 
saide  the  said  cause  hath  eftsones  bene  herde  and  debated  before  the  said  Chauncellor 
Sr.  Gilb'te  Gerrard  Knight  master  of  the  Rolles  John  Clenche  one  of  the  Justices  of 
her  Highnes  Benche  Will'm  ffletewoode  Sergent  at  lawe  and  John  Brogreve  esquier 
Attorney  gen'all  of  this  courte  and  by  them  fullie  understoode  and  considered  of  and 
for  asmuche  as  uppon  the  hearinge  thereof  yt  appeared  as  well  by  an  Indenture  dated 
the  thirde  daie  of  April  in  the  fifte  yere  of  the  reign  of  the  said  late  Kinge  Henrie  the 
eight  showed  furthe  by  the  said  compl'tes  as  also  by  a  decree  made  in  this  courte  in  the 
terme  of  St.  Hillarye  in  the  seconde  yere  of  the  quenes  Ma'tes  reigne  that  nowe  ys,  that 
the  said  landes  ten'tes  and  other  the  pr'misses  were  given  especiallie  and  principallie 
to  the  use  and  mainten'nce  of  a  chauntrie  priest  to  singe  and  saie  masse  and  other 
sup'stitious  service  in  the  chappell  of  our  ladie  in  the  churche  of  Blackburne  afforesaide 
w'ch  chauntrie  priest  should  teache  a  gramer  scole  and  a  songe  scole  if  suche  a  one 
cold  be  hadd,  and  if  not  then  a  songe  scole  and  for  that  the  said  pr'misses  are  and  at 
the  tyme  of  the  dissolucon  of  chauntries  were  copieholde  landes  holden  of  her  Majestic 
and  her  progenitors  according  to  the  customes  of  the  said  manners  of  Ightenhill  and 
Sladburne  and  the  wapentage  of  Clitherowe.  And  for  asmuche  as  it  appeared  that  the 
late  Kinge  Edward  the  Sixte  did  directe  a  comission  under  the  scale  of  this  Courte  after 
the  Statute  made  for  the  dissolucon  of  Chauntries,  that  is  to  weete  in  the  fourthe  yere 
of  his  reigne  emongest  other  to  the  Stewardes,  under-stewardes,  survey  our,  and  recey  vours 
of  the  said  Lordshippes  sookes  lib'ties  and  ffrauncheses  aforesaid,  rehersinge  that  for 
somuche  as  by  the  sufferaunce  and  negligence  of  them  and  their  predicessors  officers  of 
the  said  Lordshippes  manners  sookes  lib'ties  and  frauncheses  divers  and  sundry  p'celles 
of  landes  ten'tes  and  rentes  holden  by  copie  of  courte  rolle  of  the  said  severall  lord- 
shippes  and  manners  contrary  to  the  pollitique  lawes  and  statutes  of  this  realme  and 
againste  the  custome  of  the  said  lordshippes  and  manners  to  his  disherison  with  the 
losse  of  his  fines  customes  and  s'vices  were  surrendered  and  given  up  to  feoffees  and 
otherwise  to  th'use  of  chauntrie  priestes  and  stipendarye  priestes  and  other  incorpora- 
cons  intentes  and  purposes  menconed  in  the  statute  whereby  colledges  and  chauntries 
were  geven  to  his  possession,  yet  nev'thelesse  althoughe  he  might  as  well  for  the  causes 
aforesaid  as  for  divers  forfeitures  and  other  consideracons  enter  into  the  same  immedi- 
atelie,  his  heighnes  was  contented  and  pleased  that  eny  such  p'son  and  priestes  and 
other  spirituall  and  eccl'iasticall  p'sons  as  had  the  proffittes  of  the  same  at  the  tyme  of 
the  makeinge  of  the  said  statute  should  have  and  enjoye  the  proffittes  thereof  duringe 
their  naturall  lives  according  to  the  statute  aforesaid  and  to  th'intente  to  reduce  the 


THE  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL  DECREE  OF  1585.  319 

said  premisses  into  their  former  estate  so  that  afterwardes  the  said  Kinge  his  heires 
and  successors  might  justlie  and  dulie  have  all  suche  fines,  relifes,  rentes  customes  and 
s'vices  as  he  at  any  tyme  before  or  any  his  noble  progenitors  had  of  the  premisses 
accordinge  to  the  severall  customes  of  his  said  lordshippes  and  manners,  his  heighnes 
therefore  by  the  advice  of  his  Chauncellor  and  Councell  of  this  courte  for  the  tyme 
beinge  did  will  and  comaunde  the  said  officers  that  immediatly  uppon  the  sight  thereof 
they  and  any  of  them  sev'allie  within  their  offices  by  vertue  of  the  said  comission  at  the 
courtes  to  be  hoklen  within  the  said  lordshippes  and  manners  shoulde  with  all  spede 
graunt  demise  and  lett  by  copie  of  courte  rolle  unto  Sr  Edwarde  Warner,  Knight, 
Henry  Savile  Esquier  and  James  Gardiner  their  heires  and  assignes,  or  to  such  other 
p'son  and  p'sons  as  they  shoulde  name  and  appointe,  and  to  theire  heires  and  assignes, 
all  those  landes'ten'tes  and  hereditamentes  holden  of  the  said  severall  lordshippes  and 
mannors  by  copie  of  courte  rolle  and  then  in  the  sev'all  tenures  and  occupacons  of  the 
said  priestes  or  of  any  other  p'son  or  p'sons  to  the  use  of  the  said  priestes  or  other 
intentes  and  purposes  menconed  in  the  said  statute,  To  have  and  to  holde  accordinge 
to  the  customes  of  the  said  sev'all  lordshippes  and  manners  to  the  uses  of  everie  of  the 
said  priestes  duringe  their  lives  and  after  their  sev'all  deathes  to  remayne  to  the  said 
Sr  Edward  Warner  Henry  Savell  and  James  Gardiner  and  to  their  heires  and  assignes 
or  to  such  other  p'son  or  p'sons  as  they  should  name  and  appoint,  and  to  their  heires 
and  assignes  for  ever  according  to  the  custome  of  the  said  sev'all  lordshippes  and 
mannors  with  a  proviso  for  the  takinge  of  the  accustomed  fyne  uppon  every  of  the  said 
grauntes  and  reservinge  thereuppon  to  the  said  late  Kinge  his  heires  and  successors 
th'olde  and  accustomed  rentes  and  s'vices  of  and  for  the  premisses  to  be  paide  when  the 
said  p'sons  should  be  in  possession  of  the  said  premisses  and  not  afore.  And  with 
another  proviso  that  the  said  premisses  should  not  conclude  the  title  of  any  stranger 
other  than  the  priestes  and  feoffees  seased  to  their  uses,  and  for  asmuche  as  it  appeared 
that  the  said  premisses  nowe  in  varyance  by  force  and  vertue  of  the  said  commission 
were  by  the  said  stewardes  demised  and  letten  by  coppie  of  courte  rolle  accordinge  to 
the  sev'all  customes  aforesaid  to  certen  p'sons  sev'allie  and  their  sev'all  heires  named 
and  appointed  by  the  said  Sir  Edward  Warner  Henry  Savile  and  James  Gardiner  to 
th'use  of  one  Thomas  Burgesse,  clerke,  late  chauntrie  prieste  of  the  said  chauntrie 
duringe  his  liffe  and  afterwardes  to  their  owne  uses  accordinge  to  the  purporte  of  the 
said  comission.  And  for  that  it  appeared  that  the  said  purchasers  paide  div'rs  somes 
of  money  for  the  said  p'misses  as  well  to  the  said  late  Kinge  Edwarde  the  Sixte  as  to 
the  said  Sr  Edward  Warner  Knight  Henry  Savile  and  James  Gardiner,  and  that  the 
said  def'tes  and  ether  the  nowe  ten'ntes  and  coppieholders  of  the  said  p'misses  or  their 
auncestors  have  likwise  paide  greate  somes  of  money  for  the  said  p'misses  to  the  said 
first  purchasers  or  others  from  whom  they  clayme  and  derive  their  title.  And  for  that 
the  said  Thomas  Burgesse,  clerke,  received  and  toke  the  issues  and  p'fittes  of  the  said 
p'misses  during  his  naturall  life  by  vertue  of  the  said  commission  and  admission,  and 
for  asmuche  as  sithence  the  deathe  of  the  said  priest  the  title  of  the  said  defend'tes  and 
other  purchasers  and  copieholders  of  the  said  p'misses  was  by  the  said  decree  made  in 
this  courte  in  the  said  seconde  yere  of  the  quenes  Ma'tes  reigne  confirmed  and  allowed 
of  and  an  injunction  awarded  to  the  underten'ntes  of  pr'misses  to  paie  the  arrerages 
of  the  rentes  to  the  then  def'tes  and  other  copieholders  and  from  thenceforth  to  p'mitt 
them  to  occupie  and  enjoie  the  said  p'misses  and  a  commission  thereuppon  awarded  to 
the  said  stewardes  to  putt  the  said  then  def'tes  and  other  copieholders  into  possession 
of  the  same  p'misses  and  from  tyme  to  tyme  to  mayneteine  and  p'serve  them  in  the 
same.  And  for  that  it  appered  by  decree  or  decrees  made  in  this  courte  that  the  titles  of 
the  said  newe  copieholders  have  bene  from  tyme  to  tyme  allowed  of  by  the  courte  and 


32° 


HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


that  the  accustomed  rentes  and  services  of  the  said  p'mises  have  bene  trulie  answered 
and  paied  to  her  Ma'tie  and  her  progenitors.  And  for  asmuche  as  the  dismission  made 
in  this  Courte  in  the  fourth  and  fifth  yeres  of  the  late  Kinge  Phillippe  and  Quene 
Marie  shewed  by  the  said  compl'tes  semed  to  be  obteined  upon  a  surmise  that  the  said 
p'misses  were  geven  onelie  or  cheeflie  for  the  use  of  the  said  free  scole  w'ch  appeareth 
otherwise  by  the  said  Indenture,  IT  YS  therefore  this  26th  daie  of  November  in  the 
eight  and  twentith  yere  of  the  reign  of  our  sov'eigne  ladie  Elizabeth  by  the  grace  of 
God  Quene,  &c.,  ordered  and  decreed  by  the  Chauncellor  and  Councell  of  this  Courte 
that  the  said  defend'tes  and  other  copieholders  havinge  estates  from  the  said  purchasers 
and  their  heires  and  assignes  w'th  in  the  said  manners  and  wapentage  of  Ightenhill 
Sladburne  Cliderowe  and  Blackburne  shall  from  henceforth  for  ever  sev'allie  have 
holde  occupie  and  enjoye  the  said  sev'all  messuages  landes  ten'tes  and  other  the  p'misses 
w'th  th'appurten'nces  by  them  sev'allie  claymed  w'thout  lett  treble  sute  vexacon  eviccon 
disturbance  denyall  or  interupcon  of  the  said  compl'tes  and  inhabitantes  of  Blackburne 
aforesaide  or  any  of  them  or  any  of  their  heires  or  assignes  or  of  any  other  p'son  or 
p'sons  havinge  or  clayminge  any  estate  or  title  in  or  to  the  said  p'misses  or  any  p'te 
thereof  by  from  or  under  the  said  compl'tes  and  inhabitantes  their  heires,  &c.,  or  by 
theire  or  any  of  theire  assente  consente  or  procurement  or  by  from  or  to  the  use  of  the 
said  scole  of  Blackburne  in  any  wise.  And  it  ys  ffurther  ordered  and  decreed  by  the 
said  Chauncellor  and  Councell  of  this  Courte  that  the  said  Richard  Lyvesey,  one  of  the 
said  compl'tes  and  such  other  p'sons  as  have  or  clayme  to  have  any  estate  or  interest 
in  or  to  the  said  premisses  or  any  of  them  by  force  of  a  Surrender  in  the  tyme  of  the 
late  Kinge  Phillippe  and  Quene  Marye  by  reason  of  a  warrante  from  the  saide  late 
Kinge  and  Quene  or  otherwise  to  or  for  the  use  and  maynten'nce  of  the  said  Scole 
shall  after  the  feast  of  Saint  Michell  th'  archanngell  next  and  before  the  feast  of  the 
birthe  of  our  Lord  God  next  ensuinge  in  the  open  Courtes  of  the  said  sev'all  manners 
and  wapentage  lawfullie  and  accordinge  to  the  sev'all  customes  thereof  at  the  coste  and 
chardge  in  the  lawe  of  the  said  def'tes  surrender  release  and  extinguishe  all  their  and 
every  of  their  estate  and  estates  right  title  interest  and  demaunde  of  in  and  to  the  said 
Mess'es  landes  and  ten'tes  to  the  said  nowe  copieholders  thereof  and  to  their  sev'all 
heires  and  assignes.  And  that  the  said  compl'tes  their  heires  or  assignes  shall  also 
before  the  said  fieaste  deliver  or  cause  to  be  deliv'ed  to  the  said  Nicholas  Hasted  one 
of  the  said  def'tes  all  the  copies  of  courte  rowles  w'ch  they  have  for  the  mainten'nce  of 
the  said  p'tended  title  for  the  use  of  the  said  Scole  so  as  the  said  nowe  copieholders 
maye  from  hereafter  quietlie  have  and  enjoye  the  said  p'misses  without  any  further 
troble  sute  or  vexacon.  And  in  consideracon  of  and  for  asmuche  as  it  appeared  by 
the  said  Indenture  that  the  said  chauntrie  preist  sholde  be  sufncientlie  lerned  in 
grammer  yf  any  such  could  be  gotten  that  shoulde  kepe  continuallie  a  free  grammer 
scole  whereby  it  semeth  that  the  founders  of  the  said  chauntrye  had  some  respecte  to 
the  said  scole,  and  for  asmuche  also  as  the  said  late  Kinge  Edwarde  the  VI  after 
the  dissolucon  of  chauntries  did  directe  his  commission  unto  Sr  Walter  Mildemay 
Knight  and  Rob'te  Kellewaye  Esquier  and  others  authorisinge  them  (amongest  other 
thinges)  to  appointe  what  scoles  within  the  said  countie  of  Lancaster  were  necessary  to 
be  mainteined  and  kept  and  to  lymit  and  appointe  what  stipend  shoulde  be  allowed  for 
the  same  by  force  whereof  the  said  Commission'rs  thought  it  convenient  that  the  said 
ffree  scole  of  Blackburne  shoulde  be  contynewed  and  appointed  the  some  of  ffoure 
poundes  seaven  shillinges  and  fower  pence  for  and  towardes  the  stipend  thereof  as  by 
the  certificate  of  the  said  comission  remayninge  of  recorde  in  this  Courte  appeareth 
w'ch  said  stipend  hathe  not  bene  before  this  tyme  demanded  or  paide.  And  for  that 
the  right  honourable  Sr  Willm  Cicill  Knight  Lorde  Burleighe  and  Lorde  Threasorer 


THE  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL  DECREE  OF  1585.  321 

of  Englande  and  some  other  of  her  Ma'tes  most  honourable  privie  Councell  have 
directed  their  1'res  in  favour  of  the  mainten'nce  and  contynuance  of  a  free  gramer  scole 
there.  IT  YS  therefore  ordered  and  decreed  by  the  said  Chauncellor  w'th  the  full 
consent  of  the  said  Sr  Gilbert  Gerrard  Knight  John-Clinche  Willm.  ffleetwoode  and  the 
reste  of  the  Councell  of  this  Courte  that  the  said  some  of  4-li  7s.  4d.  shalbe  from  hence- 
forthe  yerlie  allowed  and  paied  by  her  Ma'tie  her  heires  and  successors  out  of  the 
Revenewes  of  the  said  duchie  of  Lancaster  by  the  Receivour  of  the  same  county  of 
Lancaster  for  the  tyme  beinge  in  or  at  her  Ma'tes  Castell  of  Cletherowe  in  the  said 
Countie  of  Lancaster  att  and  uppon  the  first  daye  of  Maye  accordinge  to  the  direction 
and  appointement  in  effecte  of  Sr  Walter  Myldmay  Knight  and  Rob't  Kellewaye  by 
vertue  of  the  comission  to  them  directed  as  aforesaid  to  and  for  the  better  maynten'nce 
of  the  said  ffree  grammer  scole  in  Blackburne  aforesaid  w'ch  is  nowe  incorporated  by 
her  Ma'tie  and  commonly  called  her  Ma'ties  ffree  scole.  And  this  decree  shalbe  a 
sufficiente  warrante  to  the  receiver  for  the  tyme  being  to  make  paiement  thereof  and 
the  Auditor  in  those  p'tes  to  give  allowance  for  the  same.  AND  it  is  thought  good 
by  the  said  Chauncellor  Sr  Gilberte  Gerrard  Knight  John  Clinche  Willm.  ffleetewood 
and  to  the  Councell  of  this  Courte  that  in  respecte  of  the  arrerages  of  the  said  some  or 
stipend  allowed  by  the  said  Comissioners  as  is  aforesaid  w'ch  amounteth  to  the  some 
of  131!!  155.  8d.  or  thereaboutes  and  w'ch  hath  not  bene  heretofore  required  or  paied  as 
is  foresaid  that  ther  be  allowed  out  of  the  Revenewes  of  the  said  duchie  the  some  of 
Threescore  Poundes  to  be  paied  unto  the  handes  of  the  said  Sr  Gilberte  Gerrarde  one 
of  the  Gov'nors  of  the  said  Scole  before  the  feast  of  the  Nativitie  of  St.  John  Baptist 
next  cominge  to  the  use  of  the  said  scole  in  Blackburne  aforesaid.  And  that  every  of 
the  p'chasors  and  p'prietors  of  the  said  landes  shall  also  paie  towardes  the  said  arrerages 
for  every  acre  of  the  said  copieholde  landes  to  be  measured  accordinge  to  the  sev'all 
customes  of  the  said  Manners  where  the  said  landes  doe  lye  tenne  shillinges  or  else  the 
some  of  ffiftie  and  fyve  poundes  of  lawfull  mony  of  Englande  at  the  choise  and  election 
of  the  nowe  copieholders  at  the  great  Courte  to  be  holden  at  the  sev'all  manners  after 
the  saide  ffeast  of  St  Michael  the  archangell  next  and  before  the  saide  Birthe  of  our 
Lorde  God  next  followinge  to  be  imployed  and  bestowed  by  and  w'th  the  good  and 
grave  advice  of  the  said  Sr  Gilbt.  Gerrarde  Knight  for  the  better  maynten'nce  of  the 
said  ffree  gramer  scoole  to  have  contynuance  for  ever.  PROVIDED  alwaies  that  non 
of  the  p'sons  that  are  nowe  in  possession  of  any  p'te  or  p'cell  of  the  p'misses  shalbe 
displaced  or  removed  from  his  possession  duringe  the  naturall  lief  of  the  now  possessor 
or  occupier  w'thout  the  privitie  or  consent  of  the  Chauncellor  and  Councell  of  the  duchie 
of  Lancaster  for  the  tyme  being.  Nos  autem  tenor  decret  sive  record  pred  ad 
instancia  pred  Nicholam  Halsted  et  als  &  duximus  exemplificand  p  p'ntes  IN  cuius 
REI  TESTIMONIUM  has  1'ras  n'ras  fieri  fecimus  patentes  DAT  apud  palac'm  n'r'm 
Westm  sub  sigillo  ducat  n'ri  Lancaster  pred  vicessimo  secundo  die  ffebruarii  anno 
regni  n'ri  vicessimo  octavo. 

The  moneys  received  for  arrearages  under  the  above  Decree 
accumulated  for  several  years,  until  they  amounted  to  above  £100, 
when,  by  a  subscription  of  the  parishioners,  a  sum  of  ^250  was  added 
thereto,  and  the  whole  invested  in  the  purchase  of  an  annual  rent  charge 
of  £20.  This  was  done  in  1590,  by  an  indenture  dated  the  3oth  of 
September  in  that  year  (32nd  Eliz.)  This  deed  is  a  covenant  between 
Edward  Eltoftes,  of  Fearnhill,  Co.  York,  of  the  one  part,  and  the  Governors 
of  the  possessions  of  the  Free  Grammar  School  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  in 

21 


322  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Blackburn,  Sir  John  Southworth,  Knt,  Thomas  Talbot,  John  Osbaldes- 
ton,  and  William  Farington,  Esquires;  Edward  Walmsley  and  Robert 
Walmsley,  gentlemen,  of  the  other  part ;  by  which  the  said  Edward 
Eltoftes,  in  consideration  of  ^"360  paid  by  the  said  Governors,  covenanted 
that  he  and  Thomas  Eltoftes,  his  son  and  heir,  would  levy  a  fine  to  the 
said  Edward  Walmsley  and  Robert  Walmsley,  of  the  messuage  called 
Fearnhill  Poole,  in  Fearnhill,  Yorkshire,  and  the  lands  thereto  belonging, 
and  of  all  the  other  messuages  and  lands  of  the  said  Edward  in  Fearn- 
hill ;  and  Edward  Walmsley  and  Robert  Walmsley  agreed,  by  the  same 
fine,  to  grant  to  the  said  Sir  John  Southworth,  Thomas  Talbot,  John 
Osbaldeston,  William  Farington,  and  the  heirs  of  the  said  Sir  John,  an 
annual  rent-charge  of  £20,  issuing  out  of  the  said  messuages  and  lands, 
of  which  the  said  Edward  Walmsley  and  Robert  Walmsley  should  stand 
seized.  In  the  same  year,  a  fine  was  levied  in  pursuance  of  this 
covenant,  and  in  the  following  year,  the  said  Sir  John  Southworth  and 
others  conveyed  the  said  rent-charge  of  £20  to  the  Governors  and  their 
successors. 

I  give  below,  copied  from  the  School  Records,  an  interesting  cate- 
gory of  contributors  to  the  Parish  Subscription  for  augmentation  of  the 
School  endowment,  made  sometime  between  the  years  1585  and  1590: — 

The  names  of  such  p'sons  as  of  theire  Godlye  and  charitable  dispositions  bestowed 
anye  benevolence  towardes  the  purchasinge  of  a  yearlye  rent  of  twentye  poundes  for 
the  use  of  the  ffree  gramer  schole  of  Quene  Elizabeth  in  Blackeburne,  and  the  severall 
somes  bestowed  by  everie  suche  person. 

£     s.    d. 
Gylbert  Gerrard  Knight  by  his  tenantes  of  Sholley,  Mellor,  Balderston, 

and  ,  the  some  of 

Thomas  Walmysley  one  of  her  Majestes  Justices  of  the  Benche,  of  his 

owne  gyfte  the  some  of  a  hundrethe  markes  -  -  66  13    4 

Sr  John  Sothwoorthe  Knighte  his  tenantes  and  followers  the  some  of 

twentie  seven  poundes         -  -  27     o.  o 

John  Osbaldeston  Esquire  his  tenantes  and  followers  the  some  of  thurtie 

poundes       -  30    o    o 

Willm.  ffarrington  Esquire  of  his  owne  gyfte  the  some  of  tenn  poundes  10  o  o 
Thomas  Talbot  Esquire  of  his  owne  gyfte  the  some  of  fyve  poundes  -  500 
Edwarde  Braddill  Esquire  of  his  owne  gyfte  the  some  of  fyve  markes  -  368 
Thomas  Sothwoorthe  Esquire  of  his  owne  gyfte  the  some  of  fyve  markes  368 
Rauffe  Barton  Esquire  of  his  owne  gyfte  the  some  of  ffoure  poundes  -  400 
Thomas  Langton  Esquire  Baron  of  Newton  his  tenants  and  followers 

the  some  of  .  --500 

The  ladye  Anne  Ratclyffe  of  her  owne  gyfte  the  some  of 
Willm.  Harwoode  clerke  otherwyse  called  P'son  Harwoode  of  his  owne 

gyfte  three  poundes  -  -  -300 

Thomas  Holcrofte  Esquire   of  his  owne  gyfte  the  some  of  twentye 

shillinges     -  ----IOO 

Rauffe   Assheton   Esquire   of   his   owne   gyfte  the  some   of   twentye 

shillinges     -  I     O    O 


323 


s.  d. 

o  o 

o  o 

o  o 

13  4 

13  4 

o  o 

o  o 


PARISH  CONTRIBUTIONS  FOR  SCHOOL  ENDOWMENT. 

£ 

Edwarde  Walche  Vicar  of  Blackeburne  of  his  owne  gyfte  the  some  of 

twentye  shillinges    -  -         I 

Edwarde  Walmysley  gen.   of  his   owne   gyfte  the   some   of  twentye 

shillinges     -  I 

Roberte  Walmysleye  gen.   of   his   owne  gyfte  the  some   of   twentye 

shillinges     -  -         I 

Roger  Nowell  Esquire  of  his  owne  gyfte  the  some  of  thirtie  three 

shillinges  foure  pence  -         I 

John  Braddill  sonne  and  heire  apparent  of  Edward  Braddill  of  his  owne 

gyfte  the  some  of  thirteen  shillinges  foure  pence      -  -         o 

Raynolde  Burscoughe  servant  to  Sr  Edwarde  Anderton    Knight,    L. 

Cheiff  Justice  of  the  Comon  Please  of  his  owne  gyfte  the  some  of  -  5 
Roberte  Morley  gen.  of  his  owne  gyfte  the  some  of  twentye  shillinges  -  I 
George  Talbot  of  the  Carre  gen.  of  his  owne  gyfte  the  some  of  ffortie 

shillinges   whereof  twentie   shillinges   for   the    Carr   and   twentie 

shillinges  for  Wytton 
Richard   Walmysley  gen.    of  his   owne  gyfte   the    some   of    twentie 

shillinges     - 
Lawrence  Aynsworth  of  Lyvesay  of  his  owne  gyfte  the  some  of  twentye 

shillinges     - 
Thomas  Gelibrande  of  Ramesgrave  of  his  owne  gyfte  the  some  of 

twentye  shillinges    - 
Lawrence  Haworthe  of  Nether  Darwyn  of  his  owne  gyfte  the  some  of 

twentye  shillinges    - 
Lawrence  Duckesburye  of  Moche  Harwoode  of  his  own  gyfte  the  some 

of  twentye  shillinges 
Richarde  Parker  of  Loveley  gen.  of  his  owne  gyfte  the  some  of  twentye 

shillinges     ....  ... 

Gylbart  Risheton  of  Doneshoppe  of  his  owne  gyfte  the  some  of  twentye 

shillinges     -------- 

John  Gelibrande  of  Beard  wood  of  his  owne  gyfte  the  some  of  twentye 

shillinges     -  -  -  - 

John  Talbot  of  Whalley  gen.  of  his  owne  gyfte  the  some  of  twentye 

shillinges     -  .  .  - 

William  Dewhurst  of  Wylpshire  of  his  owne  gyfte  the  some  of  twentye 

shillinges     - 
Nycholas   Ryshton   of  Antley   of  his  owne  gyfte  the  some   of  tenn 

shillinges     ------ 

William  Ryshton  servant  to  Mr.  Justice  Walmysley  of  his  owne  gyfte 

the  some  of  tenn  shillinges  -         o  10     o 

Randle  Lyvesay  the  archar  of  his  owne  gyfte  the  some  of  tenn  shillinges         o  10    o 
Isabell  Cunlyffe  kite  wyffe  of  Robt.  Cunlyffe  of  the  Sparthe  of  her 

owne  gyfte  -  o  10    o 

John  Cowbrand  of  Ediholes  of  his  owne  gyfte  the  some  of  syxe  shillinges 

eighte  pence  -         068 

George  Bolton  by  his  laste  Will  the  some  of  syxe  shillinges  eight  pence        068 
Robert  Catterall  of  monye  for  fyftenes  w'che  remayned  in  his  handes 

thirtie  eight  shillinges  syxe  pence    -  -         I    18     6 

The  Inhabitants  of  the  towne  of  Ryshton  the  some  of  seven  poundes 

nynetene  shillinges  twoe  pence        -  -  -  7   19     2 


2 

0 

0 

I 

o 

0 

I 

o 

0 

' 

o 

0 

I 

o 

0 

I 

o 

0 

' 

o 

0 

I 

0 

0 

I 

o 

0 

I 

0 

0 

' 

o 

0 

0 

10 

0 

324  HISTORY    OF  BLACKBURN. 

£    *    d. 
The  Inhabitants  of  the  towne  of  Wytton  the  some  of  ffortie  shillinges    -         200 

The  {freeholders  and  tenants  of  Mr.  Justice  Shuttleworthe  and  Rauffe 

Barton  Esquire  in  Blackburne  the  some  of  thirteen  poundes  twoe 

shillinges     -  -       13     2     o 

The  {freeholders  and  tenants  of  Willm.  ffarrington  Esquire  fermar  of 

the  Rectorie  of  Blackburne  the  some  of  eleven  poundes      -  -       u     o    o 

The  Inhabitants  of  the  towne  of  Lytle  Harwoode  the  some  of  syxe 

poundes  tenn  shillinges       -  6  10     o 

The  Inhabitants  of  the  towne  of  Nether  Darwyn  besydes  some  that 

remayneth   yet   unpayde   the   some   of   foure    poundes   nyneteen 

shillinges  twoe  pence  -         4   19     2 

Mr.  Holcroftes  tenants  in  Billington,  and  foure  of  Mr.  Ashtons  tenants 

there  the  some  of  fyftie  shillinges  and  twoe  pence  -  -         2  '1 2     2 

The  Inhabitants  of  the  Over-towne  of  Harwoode  the  some  of  fyflie 

shillinges     -  -         2   10     o 

The  Inhabitants  of  the  Lower  towne  of  Harwoode  the  some  of  twelve 

shillinges  syxe  pence  -        0126 

The  Inhabitants  of  Accrington,  Oswaldtwysle,  Claiton,  and  Churche, 

as  p'te   of  theire  benevolence   collected  by  Gilbt.    Rishton  and 

Thomas  Ryley  the  some  of  thirtie  fyve  shillinges  and  eleven  pence         I    15   1 1 
The  Inhabitants  of  Walton-in-the-Dale  the  some  of 
The  Inhabitants  of  Tockeholes  the  some  of 

George  Yates  of  Yate-bancke  by  his  last  Will  -  -  -068 

Willm.  Holden  the  some  of  i     o    o 

Thomas  Holden  of  Eywood  by  his  last  Will,  payed  by  Randell  Holden 

his  executor  -         I     o     o 

Thomas  Aynesworthe  Esquire  and  the   Inhabitants  of  the  towne   of 

Pleasington,  whereof  Mr.  Ainsworthe  paied  for  himselfe  403.          -         517     8)4 

[LIST  OF  GOVERNORS,  CIRCA  1586.] — Gylberte  Gerrarde,  Knighte, 
Mr  of  the  Rolles  ;  Thomas  Walmysley,  one  of  her  Ma'tes  Justices  of  the 
Benche ;  Sr  John  Soothworth,  Knighte  ;  Sr  Richarde  Shuttleworthe, 
Knighte ;  Robert  Heskethe,  Esquire ;  John  Osbaldeston,  Esquire ; 
Thomas  Langton,  Baron  of  Newton ;  Thomas  Holcrofte,  Esquire  (modo 
Miles)-,  Thomas  Talbot,  Esquire  (mart,  primo  Mali  1598,);  Rauffe 
Barton,  Esquire  (mortuus  1592)-,  Rauffe  Ashton,  Esquire;  Willm. 
ffarrington,  Esquire ;  Edwarde  Braddill,  Esquire ;  John  Talbot  of 
Salburie,  Esquire  ;  Roger  Nowell,  Esquire ;  Edwarde  Walmysleye,  gen. ; 
Thomas  Aynesworthe,  gen. ;  Rycharde  Lyvesey,  gen.  (mortuus  1 S9°) ; 
James  Ryssheton  of  Mycklehey ;  Edwarde  Walshe,  Vycar  of  Blacke- 
burne ;  Thomas  Astley,  gen.;  Richard  Parker,  gen.  (mortuus  1592^); 
George  Talbott,  gen.;  Alexander  Osbaldeston,  gen.  (mortuus  1598^); 
Robert  Morley,  gen.  (mortmts  1592);  Richarde  Walmysley,  gen. ;  Hugh 
Dyconson  of  Tockeholes  (mortuus  1599^);  John  Cowborne  of  Ediholls ; 
Thomas  Gelibrande  (mortuus  1595^;  Lawrence  Aynesworthe ;  Willm. 
Houlden  (mortuus  1593^;  James  Garsden  (mortuus  1595^;  Willm. 
Boulton  (mortuus  1594,);  Willm.  Crosse  •  (mortuus  i$gg);  Lawrence 


EVIDENCES  OF  SCHOOL  ESTATE.  325 

Haworthe ;  Lawrence  Duckesburye ;  George   Lyvesaye   of  Sydebighte 

^1592  mortuus  est);  Richarde  Page  (obiit  23  die  Januarii  1590,)  ;  Thomas 

Whithalghe  (obiit  1592,) ;  Roger  Smalley ;  John  Claiton  ;  Xpofer  Marsden 

of  ffeniscoles  (obiit  1590^;    Edwarde   Mawdisley  (obiit  1592,);    John 

Gelibronde ;    Myles   Aspmall    (mortuus    1595^;    Nycholas    Haworthe 

(mortuus  18  of  December  1597^;  Richard  Lawe ;  John  Hodgson  (mort. 

I59l)>  George  Ashton  (mortuus   1599^);  Adam  Bolton  (obiit  1593^; 

Lawrence  Aspmall ;  John  Baron ;  Myles  Marsden  ;    Robt.  Walmysley  ; 

Roger  Gelyburne ;  (John  Hulton  elected  17  Sept.  1600  in  the  place  of 

Roger  Gelibronde). 

EVIDENCES  CONCERNING  THE  SCHOLE  OF  BLACKBURN,  A.D.   1591. 

I. — Imprimis  a  lycence  of  mortmayne  from  the  Queene,  being  the  foundacion  of  the 
same  scole. 

2. — Itm.  a  Decree  of  the  Courte  of  the  Duchie  touchinge  the  ancient  landes  of  the  scole 
of  Blackeburne. 

3. — Itm.  a  1'tre  of  attorney  made  by  the  governors  of  the  scole  of  Blakburne  to  Tho. 
Clayton. 

4. — Itm.  one  Indenture  of  covenante  for  th'  assuringe  of  the  yearlye  rente  of  twentie 
poundes  to  be  issuynge  oute  of  the  capitall  messuage  or  mancion  house  called 
Farnehill  peele  in  ffarnehill  in  the  countye  of  Yorke,  and  all  lands  known  by  the 
name  of  the  demaynes  of  ffarnehill,  &c. ,  made  between  Edwarde  Eltoftes,  Esquire, 
on  the  one  partie,  and  the  Governors  of  the  same  Schoole,  Sir  John  Southworthe, 
Knighte,  Thomas  Talbot,  John  Osbaldeston  and  William  ffarrington,  Esquires, 
Edward  Walmysley  and  Robert  Walmysley  gen.  on  the  other  partie  bearing  date 
the  last  day  of  September,  32  Eliz.  (1590). 

5. — Itm.  one  obligacon  beavt/.g  i  date  the  saide  laste  of  September  [32  Eliz.]  maide  by 
the  said  Edward  Eltoftes  and  Thomas  Eltoftes  sonne,  &c. ,  to  the  said  Governors, 
wherein  the  same  Edwarde  and  Thomas  stande  bonde  in  the  some  of  seven 
hundrethe  poundes  w'the  condicon  for  p'formance  of  the  covenante  in  the  same 
indenture  conteyned. 

6. — Itm.  one  p'te  of  a  cyrographe  of  a  fyne  layd  [32  Eliz.]  betwene  Edward  Walmysley 
and  Robert  Walmysley  gen.  and  the  same  Edward  Eltoftes,  Thomas  Eltoftes  son, 
&c. ,  Sr  John  Sootheworthe,  Knighte,  Thomas  Talbot,  Esquire,  John  Osbaldeston, 
Esquire,  and  W'illm.  ffarrington,  Esquire,  deforciantes  of  tenn  messuages,  tenn 
gardaynes,  fourtie  acres  of  land,  a  hundrethe  acres  of  meadowe,  fyve  hundrethe 
acres  of  pasture,  and  fourtie  acres  of  wood  w'th  th'  appurtenance  in  ffarnhill,  withe 
a  Render. 

7. — Itm.  the  copie  of  dyv's  offices  of  the  Eltoftes  landes. 

8. — Itm.  the  copie  of  an  ancient  piece  of  evidence  of  Mr.  Eltoftes  landes,  of  a  yearlye 
rente  of  twentie  poundes  w'the  a  clause  of  distresse  for  the  same,  and  a  now 
penc  issueinge  oute  of  the  same  landes  to  the  said  Sr  John,  Thomas,  John,  and 
Willm.  and  the  heire  of  the  said  Sr  John. 

9. — Itm.  a  Recoverie  termino  hillarii  Anno  33  Eliz.  by  Willm.  Risshton  and  Thomas 
Claiton  demandantes  againste  Edwarde  Walmysley  and  Robert  Walmysley 
tenantes  of  tenn  messuages,  tenn  gardeyns,  ffourtie  acres  of  lande  w'the  th'  appur- 
ten'nces  in  ffarnehill  w'th  double  coucher  exemplyfied  under  the  Scale  of  this 
Courte  of  the  benche  at  Westminster  w'che  was  hadd  to  cutt  off  the  fformer  estate 
tayle  of  the  same  landes. 


326  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

IO. — Itm.  the  Queue's  1'res  patente  of  the  ffoundacion  of  the  said  scoole.  Md.  that 
the  evidences  above  specified  weare  delivered  the  i6th  of  Aprill  [33  Eliz.]  by  Mr. 
Justice  Walmysley  to  the  use  of  the  Governors,  and  put  in  a  large  boxe,  w'che 
boxe  is  nowe  remaining  in  a  greate  cheste  in  the  Churche  of  Blackburne.  [Signed] 
John  Sotheworthe  Knight,  John  Osbaldeston,  Wm.  ffarington,  John  Clayton, 
Edward  Welshe,  Nicholas  Haworthe,  Hugo  Dycconson,  Thomas  Astley,  John 
Gelibrond,  George  Boltone,  Ric.  Lavve,  Thomas  Gelybrond,  Wylliam  Bolton, 
Myles  Marsden. 

WRITINGS  OF  THE  FOUNDATION,  A.D.   1594. 

I. — Itm.  there  is  an  exemplificacon  under  the  scale  of  the  Comon  Plase  of  a  flfyne 
levyed  by  Edward  Eltoftes  esquire  Thomas  Eltoftes  his  sonne  and  heire  apparente 
and  othres  w'ch  ffyne  is  before  mencioned  and  a  Recov'ye  also  before  mencioned. 

2. — Itm.  an  Indenture  of  Bargaine  and  sale  made  by  Sr  John  Sowthworth  Knight 
John  Osbaldeston  Thomas  Talbot  and  Willm.  ffarrington  Esquires,  unto  the 
Governors  of  the  said  scoole  of  a  Rente  Charge  of  £20  dated  the  seacond  of  Aprill 
Ao  xxxiiio  Eliz.  M'ie  and  enrowled  in  the  Comon  Plase  Termino  Pasche  Ao  xxxiii 
Eliz.  Rotulo  xiio. 

3. — Itm.  an  Indenture  made  betwixte  the  said  p'ties  of  the  same  Rente  dated  iio  die 
Aprillis  Ao  M'ie  Eliz.  xxxvito  and  enrowled  in  the  Comon  Plase  Termino  Pasche 
Ao  xxxvito  Eliz.  Rotulo  secundo. 

4. — Itm.  one  obligacon  made  by  Willm.  Bolton  and  others  to  the  said  Governors  for 
the  paym'nt  of  £20  in  moneye  alredie  to  hym  and  others  deliv'd  to  the  use  of  the 
usher. 

5. — Itm.  an  Indenture  and  feoffament  of  landes  in  Lyvesaie  made  by  Thomas  Duckes- 
burie  to  James  Whithalghe  and  others  dated  Ao  xiio  H  viiivo. 

6.  — Itm.  an  old  p'chm't  conteininge  the  ffirst  foundacon  of  the  Scole  unsealed  and  a 
copie  also  of  the  same  in  paper. 

7. — Itm.  the  copies  of  a  Bill  Answeare  Replicacon  and  Rejoinder  towching  the  said 
Scoole. 

8. — Itm.  a  copie  of  a  Case  concerning  the  said  Scoole. 

9. — Itm.  a  copie  of  an  Order  taken  in  the  Uuchie  Termino  Michalis  Ao  xxvii  et 
viiio  Eliz.  Regno  towching  the  said  Scoole. 

10. — Itm.  an  olde  Booke  of  orderes  notes  charges  and  paym'tes  in  paper  towching  the 
said  Scoole. 

II. — Itm.  the  Comon  Scale  of  the  said  Scoole. 

Md.  that  the  evidences  and  writinges  last  before  menconed  were  putt  in  a  blacke 

square  boxe  to  the  use  of  the  said  Scoole  the  xxviith  of  September  1594  et  Anno  M'ie 

Eliz.    xxxvito  in  the  p'sence  of  THO.   WALMYSLEY,    WM.    FFARINGTON,  THOMAS 

ASTLEY,    EDWARD    WALSHE,    JOHN    CLAYTON,    JOHN    GELJBROND,    WYLLIAM 

BOLTON,  GEORGE  BOLTON,  MYLES  MARSDEN,  Ric.  LAWE. 

THE  SCHOOL  STATUTES,  A.D.   1597. 
I  insert  next  a  draft  of  the  original  Statutes  of  the  foundation  : — 

Certayne  Statutes  and  orders  to  be  kepte  in  the  free  gramer  Schoole  of  Queene 
Elizabeth  in  Blackburne,  agreed  upon  by  the  Governors  of  the  same  Schoole 
December  2lth,  1597,  and  afterwarde  consented  unto  the  1 7th  of  September,  1600. 
After  the  ringinge  or  towlinge  of  a  bell,  if  that  can  be  had,  soone  after  six  of 

clocke  in  the  morninge,  the  Schoole  Mr  and  usher  with  theire  Schollars  in  as  dutifull 

manner  as  conveniently  may  bee,  shall  dayly  come  to  the  Schoole  and  there  shall  have 

prayers  such  as  the  Governors  shall  from  tyme  to  tyme  apointe. 


GRAMMAR  SCHOOL  STATUTES.  327 

After  prayers  they  shall  begine  to  teach  att  or  before  seven  of  the  clocke,  and 
shall  continue  until  xi.  And  in  the  afternoone  they  shall  begine  to  teach  at  or  before 
one  of  the  clocke,  continewinge  till  after  ffyve  of  the  clocke,  and  shall  then  also  have 
and  use  prayers. 

After  Mychalmas  day  the  Schoole  shalbe  taught  from  the  Monday  next  after 
Mychelles  Day,  until  Thursday  in  the  whole  weeke  next  before  St.  Thomas  Day. 

After  Christemas,  upon  Monday  or  Tuesday  next  after  the  feast  of  the  Epiphane, 
until  Saturday  next  before  the  6th  Sunday  in  lente. 

After  Easter  from  the  Monday  next  after  Easter  weeke,  untill  Thursday  next 
before  Whitsuntide. 

After  Whitsuntide,  the  Monday  next  after  Trinitie  Sunday  untill  the  Saturday 
next  before  the  Eve  of  St.  Mychelles. 

All  Sundays  and  holidayes  in  the  year  excepted,  Shrove  Monday  and  Tuesday, 
all  Thursdayes  and  Saturdayes  after  noones. 

Licence  to  play  shall  not  bee  granted  to  scollars  at  theire  dep'tinge  from  the 
Schole,  nor  to  any  other  p'sons,  than  to  p'sons  of  honour,  or  worshipp,  or  to  M'rs  of 
Arte,  or  other  p'sons  of  equivolente  accounte,  and  by  concente  of  some  of  the  Governors 
in  after  nones  onely  and  once  at  the  most  in 

Petties  [small  boys]  shall  bee  taught  by  the  Gramarians  onely,  at  the  appointe- 
mente  of  the  Schoole  Mr  or  Usher,  who  shall  see  that  they  bee  diligently  instructed. 

Uppon  dayes  and  tymes  excepted  from  teachinge,  the  schollars  may  bee  caused  by 
the  Schoole  Mr  and  the  usher  to  larne  to  write,  cipher,  cast  accounts,  singe  or  such 
licke,  and  allsoe  upon  holidayes  and  other  convenient  tymes. 

Noe  Scrivinor  shall  teach  writinge  schole  termes  without  urgente  cause  oftener 
than  once  in  the  yeare  for  the  space  of  one  moneth :  onely  in  the  moneth  of  September 
if  conveniently  it  may  bee,  but  not  at  all  betweene  Monday  next  after  St.  Mychalles 
day  and  the  first  Monday  in  lent. 

Sith  discontinuance  is  the  greatest  hinderence  to  p'seedinge  in  larninge,  parentes 
and  ffrendes  are  not  to  discontinew  schollars  from  the  Scholes,  which  if  they  doe,  the 
discontinuers  are  to  bee  signified  to  the  Governors  for  reformacion  thereof. 

Noe  Schollars  are  to  bee  admitted  to  the  Schole  under  the  age  of  ffyve  yeares, 
and  such  onely  as  shall  be  in  fittinge  soarte,  fitt  to  conceave  larninge,  &c. 

The  Schollars  shall  diligently  apply  there  bookes,  dutifully  and  decently  beehave 
themselves  in  all  thinges,  in  all  places,  and  at  all  tymes,  and  to  all  p'sons,  espetially  to 
the  Governors,  and  shall  frequente  divine  service  upon  Sundayes  and  holidayes,  for 
which  purpose  there  parentes  and  frendes  shall  apparell  them  decently,  that  all  excuses 
of  absence  may  bee  removed. 

The  formes  or  sieges  may  be  Seaven  if  the  capabilities  and  proceedinge  of  the 
Schollars  so  require. 

The  authors  in  lattin  for  any  Introducktion  may  bee  the  gramar,  Cato  de  Moribus, 
supitiis,  verulamis,  de  moribus  in  mensa,  Esopes  fables,  &c.  In  poetrie  Terence, 
Ovide,  Vergil^,  Horrace,  Juvenall  and  Persius.  In  histories,  Salust,  Cecars  Com- 
mentaries and  Tullus  Liuius  Decades.  In  Cicerowes  workes,  his  familiar  Epistelles, 
ofnciis,  tusculans,  questionis,  his  Retoricke  and  Oracions  ;  for  epistelles  Macropidius, 
for  Themes,  Apthonius  ;  for  the  principles  of  Religion,  some  chathachisme  allowed  by 
the  ordinarie,  the  spalter  and  such  licke. 

The  authors  in  greeke  may  bee  Cambdens  or  Cleniades  gramar,  Basilles  Epistelles, 
Isocrates  Oracions,  Hesiod,  Homer,  Theocritus,  Pindarus,  Olinthrace,  Demostenes 
oracions,  and  the  Greeke  Testament. 

In  Hebrue  if  any  bee  willinge  and  fitt  thereunto,  some  Hebrue  Gramar  or  spalter. 


328  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

The  principles  of  arithmetick,  geometric,  and  cosmographie  with  some  Introduck- 
tion  into  the  Sphere,  are  p'fittable. 

The  exercises  may  bee  Englishe  speak inge,  lattin  variacions,  duble  translacions, 
disputacions,  verses,  epistelles,  themes,  and  declamacions  in  lattin  and  greeke. 

Once  yeerly  at  some  convenient  tyme,  espetially  in  September,  the  Schollars  shall 
exercise  themselves  in  verses  or  other  exercises  generally  in  praising  God  who  of  his 
fatherly  providence  hath  moved  the  Governors  and  benefactors  of  this  schole  to  prepare 
the  same,  for  the  bringinge  upp  of  youth  and  proffitt  of  his  church,  prainge  God  that 
others  by  there  example  may  be  sterred  upp  to  beestowe  there  goodes  upon  such  licke 
godly  uses. 

ANNALS  OF  THE  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL. 

The  following  Annals  of  the  School,  from  1593  onward,  are  compiled 
from  the  Record  Books  of  the  foundation  : — 

An  eleccion  of  Governors  at  Blackburne  the  gth  day  October,  1593,  made  by  the 
more  p'te  of  the  Governors  then  lyvynge,  being  then  and  theare  p'sonally  p'sent,  so 
whosle  names  so  elected  are  as  followeth. 

fferdinande  Earle  of  Derby         -  -         2Os.  [mortuus  est  1 594] 

Sr  Thomas  Gerrarde  junior       -  -         2os. 

Randle  Barton  Esquier  -         203. 

Thomas  Soothworthe  Esquier   -  -         2Os. 

John  Parker  of  Loveley  gen.       -  -         2os.  (6s.  8d.  pd. ) 

Henry  Mavvdysley          -  -         2os. 

James  Astley  of  Plessington       -  -         2os. 

William  Boulton  and  George  Astley  are  appointed  by  all  the  Governors  to  collecte 
and  gather  the  severall  Somes  above  sett  down. 

1595.  April  17. — James  Aynesworthe,   Henrye  Feilden,    George  Boulton,  and 
Lawrence  Cotton  were  elected  Governors. 

1596.  Dec.   20. — The    Governors    met    and    elected  to  fill   vacancies: — John 
Abbott  of  Blackburn,  Giles  Aynesworthe,  Edwarde  Jelybronde,  and  George  Asmolle, 
three  of  them  giving  IDS.  and  the  other  55.  to  the  School  as  donation. 

1597.  Dec.  21. — "At  an  assemblye  of  the  Governors  of  the  free 
Scole  of  Blackborne,  by  one  comon  assente  Mr.  Rycharde  Rusheton 
sonne  of  Ranofe  Rusheton  esquyre  disseased  was  ellected  to  be  usher 
of  the  sayd  scolle  and  appointed  to  rec.  all  sutch  stypend,  fees,  and 
wadges  as  is  or  shalbe  yerlye  due  or  app'tayning  to  the  usher  of  the  sayd 
schole  from  tyme  to  tyme." 

"  W'ch  daye  Mr.  Thomas  Walmesley,  eldeste  sonne  of  Mr.  Justyse  Walmesley, 
was  elected  a  Governor  of  the  said  free  scolle  in  the  place  of  Nycolas  Haworth  gen. , 
latelye  deade ;  and  hath  geven  towards  the  stocke  of  the  s'd  scolle  2os." 

"  Itm.  the  same  daye  Mr.  Justyce  Walmesley  dydde  bring  in  the 
some  of  twentye  shillings  as  a  legacie  bequethed  by  one  Barnarde  Smythe 
late  scollem'r  [schoolmaster]  of  Blackburne  by  his  last  testam't,  and  w'ch 
sayd  some  of  203.  was  delyvered  over^unto  the  sayd  Mr.  Ric.  Rusheton 
then  usher  of  the  sayd  scolle  by  comon  consente." 

1598.  April  21. — At  an  assembly  of  Governors  "Jhon  Sotheworthe  being  sonne 
and  heyre  apparante  of  Tho.  Sotheworthe,  of  Samlesbury,  Esquyre,  and  Edwarde 


GRAMMAR  SCHOOL  ANNALS.  329 

Osbaldeston  heire  apparant  of  John  Osbaldeston  Esquyre,  by  one  comon  assente  were 
elected  to  be  Governors  of  the  sayd  gramer  scolle  in  place  of  John  Talbot  and  of  John 
Hodson,  being  then  latelye  dep'ted  oute  of  this  worlde,  and  hath  geven  aos. " — Sept. 
30. — John  Talbot  of  Bashall,  Esq.,  was  elected  a  governor  in  place  of  Thomas 
Talbott  Esq.  "  his  late  brother  now  disseased,"  and  gave  2Os.  on  his  election. 

1599.  Aug.  21. — Sr.  Richard  Houghton  Knight  is  chosen  Governor  in  place  of 
Alexandr.  Osbaldeston.  Willm.  ffleetwood  likewyse  chosen  Governor  in  place  of 
George  Ashton.  James  Lyvesaye  of  Ly vesaye  gen. ,  likewise  chosen  Governor  in  place 
of  Willm.  Crosse. — Dec.  21. — Among  other  proceedings,  the  Governors  elected  John 
Crosse,  of  Over  Darwen,  gent. ,  a  Governor,  who  gave  a  benevolence  of  2OS. 

1600.  Sept.  21. —  In  presence  of  Mr.  Justice  Walmesley  and  other 
Governors,  it  was  "  ordered  that  all  such  as  have  any  of  the  Schole 
money  in  their  hands  and  have  not  entered  into  bonde  for  the  payment 
of  the  same  againe,  shall  now  from  Michelmes  next  enter  into  bonde 
with  two  sufficient  sureties  for  the  payment  of  the  same.  And  Mr. 
Lyvesay,  Mr.  Astley,  John  Clayton,  Henry  Maudisley,  John  Gelebrond, 
Rychard  Lawe,  and  Henry  ffelden  are  desired  to  see  the  said  bonds 
taken  in  the  names  of  the  Governors." 

1602. — It  is  recorded  that  on  the  2Qth  Sept.,  1602,  George  Ayns- 
worth,  as  executor  to  George  Waddington,  had  paid  a  legacy  of  203. 
bestowed  by  the  latter;  and  that  Richard  Houghton  had  paid  155.  4d. 
interest  on  money  in  his  hands,  to  Mr.  Richard  Risheton,  usher  of  the 
School. 

1606. — Md.  That  the  some  of  ffortie  poundes  p'cell  of  a  greater 
some  given  to  the  use  of  the  said  ffree  gramer  scoole  by  the  last  Will 
and  testament  of  Mr.  John  Astley  is  the  23  daie  of  Aprill  1606  deliv'd 
into  the  handes  of  Willm.  Rishton  of  Moche  Harwood  gen.  and  George 
Lyvesaye  of  Rishton  yeoman  to  be  repaide  upon  theire  bondes  to  the 
said  scoole,  &c. 

1607. — The  whole  sum  of  money  belonging  to  the  School  is  ;£iio 
in  the  hands  of  the  following  persons  : — Thomas  Asteley,  gent.,  £20 ; 
Ric.  Mollyneux,  gent.,  ^20;  X'pofer  Shorrocke,  yeoman,  ^"10;  Ric. 
Rysheton,  gent.,  the  usher,  ^51  iys.  rod.  ;  Ric.  Walmysley  and 
Lawrence  Haydoke,  £$  2s.  2d. ;  Tho.  Forrest,  ^£3. 

1608.  Aug.  i. — Md.  that  this  p'nt  daye  there  is  delivered  unto 
the  handes  of  the  Governors  of  the  Schoole  by  John  Clayton  gent,  the 
some  of  fortie  shillinges  w'ch  was  geven  to  the  use  of  the  said  schoole 
by  Thomas  Clayton  deceased  brother  of  the  said  John  Clayton. — Md. 
that  this  daye  is  delivered  unto  the  handes  of  the  Governors  of  the  Schoole 
by  Robte.  Kenyon  clerk  p'son  of  Harpley  in  the  countye  of  Norffolk 
the  some  of  ^£30  173.  6d.,  beinge  the  Residue  of  a  legacie  of  ,£80  173. 
6d.  geven  to  the  said  Schoole  by  Mr.  John  Astley  deceased,  w'ch  said 
some  of  ^£30  175.  6d.  and  the  aforesayd  some  of  405.  geven  by  Mr. 


330  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Clayton  is  delivered  to  the  handes  of  Mr.  Rysheton  the  usher  to  bee  by 
hym  employed  for  the  use  of  the  schoole  and  securetye  to  bee  taken  for 
the  same,  according  to  the  former  rule  therein,  viz.  by  the  pryvytye  and 
consent  of  some  of  the  gov'nors  neare  adjoynynge."  The  same  day,  at 
the  assembly  of  Governors,  "  Mr.  Edward  Browne,  now  schoolmaster  at 
Whalley,  was  elected  to  bee  Mayster  of  the  said  schoole  and  appointed 
to  receive  all  such  stipend,  fees  and  wages  as  is  or  shalbee  due  or  apper- 
teyninge  to  the  Schoolmayster  of  the  said  schoole  from  tyme  to  tyme." 
[The  School  Stock,  Sept.  29th,  1608,  is  returned  at  ^142  173.  6d.] 

1611. — Mr.  Rusheton,  usher,  showed  the  bonds  taken  for  the  school 
money  in  the  hands  of  divers  persons. 

"Md.  that  Sr  Gylbert  Houghton  Knight  beinge  moved  by  the  appointment  of 
the  Governors  to  bee  a  Governor  of  the  said  schoole,  hath  this  day  certyfyed  the  said 
Governors  that  hee  is  pleased  to  take  upon  him  the  said  place,  whereupon  the  said  Sr 
Gylbert  Houghton  is  this  day  nominated  and  elected  by  the  said  Governors  to  bee  a 
Governor  of  the  said  schoole  in  place  and  stead  of  Wm.  Harrington  Esqr.  deceased, 
and  the  said  Sr  Gylbert  Houghton  is  pleased  to  bestowe  one  tree  or  twoe  towards  the 
reparacions  of  the  said  schoole,  and  the  same  day  Rauffe  Rysheton  gent,  is  elected 
Governor  instead  of  Mr.  Richard  Walmysley  and  hath  paid  in  this  day  of  his  free  gyft 

IDS." 

1612.  Sept.  29. — Mr.    Browne,    Schoolmaster,   was    then    lately 
deceased,  and — "  Md.  that  Mr.  Browne  late  Scholem'r  dyd  gyve  403. 
for  a  legacie  to  the  Schoole  which  is  this  day  paid  in  by  John  Bolton  his 
ex'or."     Mr.  Collinson  was  appointed  Schoolmaster. 

1613.  Dec.   21. — "Md.   that  it  is  this  day  certyfyed  unto  the 
Governors   of    the   Schoole    that   the    right    worshipfull    Sr    Thomas 
Walmysley  Knight  nowe  deceased  dyd  gyve  and  bestowe   upon  the 
Schoole  at  Blackburne  535.  4d.  for  a  legacie,"  &c.     The  same  day  "Mr. 
Robt.  Osbaldeston  bachelour  in  artes"  was  elected  usher. 

1614.  Sept.  29. — The  following  were  elected  Governors,  and  each  gave  IDs. 
towards  the  increase  of  the  School  Stock: — John  Smyth,  gent.,  Thomas  Lussell,  gent., 
Thomas  Whalley,  gent,  Thurstan  Maudesley,  senr.,  gent,  and  Seth  Clayton,  gent 

1616.     Oct.  15. — Robert  Osbaldeston,  usher,  dismissed. 

These  new  Governors  elected  and  gave  the  respective  bounty  mentioned: — Raphe 
Asheton,  Esquire,  gave  205.;  John  Braddyll,  Esq.,  ios.;  Richard  Osbaldeston,  gent., 
I os. ;  Thomas  Walmysley,  sonne  and  heire  of  Thomas  Walmysley,  Esq.,  205.,  Tho. 
Sothworth,  sonne  and  heire  of  John  Sothworth,  Esq.,  deceased,  ios.;  Jo.  Osbaldeston, 
sonne  and  heire  of  Edward  Osbaldeston,  Esq.,  ios.;  Sr.  Richard  Mollineux,  junr., 
Knight,  22s. ;  Sir  Tho.  Gerrard,  junr.,  Knight,  22s. ;  Mr.  Ric.  Walmysley,  of  Show- 
ley,  IOS. 

1619.  Oct.4. — Mr.  Bradley  appointed  usher. — Dec.  21.  Amount  of 
School  Stock  p£i8o ;  Interest  thereon  ^17  75.  7d.,  added  to  principal. 

1621.  Sept.  29. — Stock  put  forth  in  several  hands,  the  sum  of 
^"207  i6s.  2d. 


GRAMMAR  SCHOOL  ANNALS.  33! 

1623.  Dec.  21. — The  Governors  elected  "John  Hargreaves, 
master  of  artes,  to  serve  ffor  the  Scholem'r  of  the  ffree  schole  of  Blakeburn 
so  long  as  the  Governors  shall  like  well  of." 

"  Younge  Mr.  Sherburne  and  Mr.  Walmesley  of  Couldcottes  "  elected  Governors, 
and  gave  together  22s. 

1624-5.  Jan.  8. — Mr.  Richard  Halsted,  M. A.  appointed  Schoolmaster. 

1625.  Aug.  22. — Wm.  Seller,  Gyles  Bolton,  John  Brock e,  Henrie  ffeilden,  Ric. 
Harwood  and  George  Holden  the  younger  elected  Governors,  and  gave  los.  each. 
Mr.  John  Clayton  elected  at  the  same  time,  gave  2OS. 

1628.     Dec.  21.— John  Talbot,  Esq.,  Richard  Shuttleworth,  Esq.,  "Mr.  Bolton, 

Vicar  of  Blackburne,"  Adam  Morte  and  John  Talbot  [of  Carr],  gent,  elected  Governors. 

1630.     Dec.  21. — "Adam  Boulton,  servant  to  Sr  Thomas  Walmys- 

ley,  Knight,"  appointed  School  Accountant,  and  to  be  allowed  135.  4d. 

yearly  for  making  the  account. 

Sir  Alexander  Ratcliffe,  John  Ainsworth,  Esq.,  Mr.  Raphe  Livesey,  Mr.  Edward 
Rishton  of  Mickelheyes,  Mr.  Thomas  Astley,  and  Mr.  Roger  Gillibrand  of  Beardwood, 
elected  Governors. 

1634.  Jan.  12. — These  Governors  were  elected: — George  Tomlinson,  Henry 
Walmesley  of  Mellor,  Edmond  Cockshoote  of  Harwoode,  Thurston  Maudisley,  John 
Sharpies,  Peeter  Edge,  William  Marsden  of  Tockholes,  Christopher  Hill  of  Black- 
burne, Thomas  Haworth  of  Darwen,  and  Thomas  Fish  of  Eccleshill.  Mr.  Thomas 
Havvorth  gave  2Os.,  and  the  other  Governors  elect  IDS.  each  to  the  school.  The  same 
day  a  legacy  of  2Os.  bequeathed  by  "James  Warde  laite  of  Mellor,"  was  received. 

1637.  Dec.  31. — "John  Ward,  Doctor  of  Phisicke,  comiter  of  the  bodie  and 
landes  of  Edward  Osbaldeston  Esq.,  his  Majesties  ward,"  was  elected  a  Governor. 

1641.  Aug.  9. — At  an  assembly  of  the  Governors  "  they  did  electe 
John  Swinlehurst  gent.  Scholem'r  of  the  said  ffree  Schole  (the  said 
Schole  being  then  voyd  of  a  Mr)" 

John  Lawe  the  younger  was  elected  a  Governor,  and  paid  ios.,  and  "it  was  then 
ordered  that  the  said  John  Lawe  should  have  the  keeping  of  the  key  of  the  schole 
chest  being  late  in  his  grandfather's  keepinge." 

1641.  Dec.    21. — At  an  assembly  of  the  Governors,    "Richard 
Bradley,    usher,    by   reason    of    his    recusancie,"    was    "displaced   for 
continuinge  usher  any  longer  in  the  said  Schole." 

1642.  April  1 8.— Richard  Morres  elected  usher  "uppon  tryall  of 
his  beha\ior,  for  w'ch  he  hath  geven  bonde." 

Elected  Governors:— "  Richard  e  Walmysley  of  Dunkenhalgh,  Esq.,  his  Ma'tie's 
warde,"  and  paid  2os. ;  Mr.  Henry  Walmesley  of  Church,  gent.;  Henry  White,  servant 
to  Mrs.  Mariana  ffleetwoode;  and  Mr.  Edward  Hoghton,  who  each  gave  ios. 

-  Dec.  21. — It  was  ordered,  "  by  reason  that  the  Mr  [Schoolmaster] 
could  not  receive  his  wages  the  tymes  beinge  soe  distracted,  that  there 
should  ^5  be  lent  him  till  a  full  assembly  of  the  Governors  may  bee 
assembled."1 

i  This  was  at  the  outset  of  hostilities  in  Lancashire  in  the  Civil  War  between  Charles  Land 
Parliament.  Only  six  Governors  were  present  at  this  yearly  meeting  and  signed  the  record  ;  their 
names  are :— GYLES  BOLTON,  THURSTAN  MAUDESLEY,  PETER  HAWORTH,  THOMAS  HAWORTH, 
PETER  EDGE,  }OHN  SHARPLES. 


332  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

1643.  Dec.  21. — At  an  assembly  of  Governors,  "it  was  ordered 
that  Mr.  Swinlehurst  the  Scholem'r  beinge  at  wante  of  money,  beinge 
three  Rentes  behind  [i.e.  of  the  school  lands],  by  reason  of  the  distracted 
tymes,  that  hee  shall  have  ten  poundes  out  of  the  stocke  money,  till 
the  rentes  due  to  the  said  schole  come  in,  and  then  to  be  added  to  the 
Stocke  againe." 

1644.  Dec.    21. — In  the  accounts   presented  to  the   Governors 
appear   the   following    significant   items  : — "  Item,    given   the   glasiers 
January  the  iyth,  1643,  for  32  foote  of  newe  glase  and  leadinge,  19  foote 
of  ould  glase,  the  schoole  windowes  beinge  in  ill  frame,  beinge  broken  by 
the  Souldiers,  and  soe  new  glased,  which  coste  155.  gd." — "And  three 
yeares  Rentes  all  readie  due  for  the  Schoole  Landes  in  Mellor  being 
now  withoute  a  tenante."     [What  follows  is  a  pitiful  example  of  the 
ravage  and  individual  ruin  inflicted  by  Civil  War.]     "  Two  yeares  rentes 
of  the  said  three  owinge  by  Mr.  Hoghton,  deade,  nothinge  worth.     The 
therde  yeres  rente  owinge   by   Jenkine  Gillibrande,   who   was   takene 
by  Mr.  Hoghton  appointm't,  with  all  his  cattell,  in  tyme  of  war,  his 
beastes  loste,  he  paid  his  Ransome  to  the  Armie,  Returned  home  and 
died ;  soe  I  looked  for  noe  rente." 

1644-5.  Jan-  7- — At  an  assembly  of  Governors  "it  is  ordered  that 
Mr.  Swinlehurste  the  Schoole  Mr  beinge  at  wante  of  money,  beinge 
fyve  rentes  beehinde  by  reason  of  the  distracted  tymes,  that  hee  shall 
have  twentie  ffyve  poundes  out  of  the  Stocke  money,  till  the  rentes  due  to 
the  said  Schoole  come  in,  and  then  to  bee  added  to  the  Stocke  againe." 

1645.  Dec.    21. — Among  the  accounts  presented  at  the  yearly 
meeting  of  Governors  appear  the  items  : — "  Geven  souldiers  for  strain- 
inge  at  Farnhill,  theire  meate  and  drinke  that  day ;  and  drivinge  the  cattell 
strayned  to  Paitnowle,  the  some  of  195.  6d." — "Item  for  fechinge  them 
at  Paitnowle  after  the  seidge  was  raysed  25.  6d." — "  Item  for  breakinge 
open  the  Cheste  where  the  Schoole  Evidences  lye  4d." 

1646-7.     Jan.  4. — At  an  assembly  of  Governors  the  persons  following  were  elected  * 
Governors: — "Alexander  Osbaldeston  of  Osbaldeston,  Esq.,  Tho.   Greenfeilde,  John 
Lawe,  John  Abbot,  Thomas  Whaley  of  Ichill,  Thurstan  ffogg,  and  Willm.  Walmsleye, 
and  every  of  them  paid  IDS.  a  peice. " 

1647.  Dec.  21. — At  an  assembly  of  Governors  "Mr.  Clayton,  now  Vicar  of 
Blackburne,  Coll.  Nicholas  Shuttleworthe,  Robt.  Redding,  gent.,  Richard  Hoghton, 
gent. ,  and  Lawrence  Haworth  of  Preston,  Inkeeper,  were  chosen  Governors,  and  paid 
each  IDS." 

1649.  Dec.  21. — In  the  accounts: — "Item,  given  Mr.  Willm. 
Yaites  in  full  of  a  noate  under  his  handes,  for  eighteen  bookes  boughte 
at  London  and  carridge  downe,  beinge  nominated  what  bookes  should 
be  boughte  by  Mr.  Claiton,  Vicker,"  the  sum  of  £6  45. 


GRAMMAR  SCHOOL  ANNALS. 


333 


1652.  Dec.  21. — The  Governors  assembled  "did  electe  Adam  Bolton  to  be  a 
Gov'nor  of  the  schole  of  Blakeburne  in  regard  of  the  great  panes  taken  about  the 
schole  busines. " 

1654.  Feb.  1 6. —The  Governors  at  an  assembly  elected  "  Randle  Sharpies,  Esq., 
and  Thurstan  Maudesley,  gent."  Governors,  who  each  gave  los.  to  the  School. — 
Dec.  21. — At  an  assembly  of  Governors,  William  Yates,  John  Talbott,  Ellis  Edge, 
and  James  Whalley  elected  Governors.  Stock  of  School  Money  was  ,£104  75.  4d. 

1655-6.  Jan.  21. — "  Md.  that  the  daye  and  yeare  above  written 
the  Gov'nors  have  elected  and  chosen  Charles  Segar  gent  to  serve  for 
the  Schole  Master  of  Blackeburne  so  longe  as  the  Governors  shall  like 
well  off." — It  was  ordered  "that  Mr.  Morres  the  usher  shall  have  ^5 
for  his  panes  taken  in  teaching  of  the  schole  since  the  death  of  the  late 
Mr."  This  record  is  signed  by  these  Governors  : — JOHN  TALBOTT, 
ALEXANDER  OSBALDESTON,  JOHN  TALBOTT,  NIC:  SHUTTLEWORTHE, 
LEO:  CLAYTON,  PETER  HAWORTH,  and  RALPH  LIVESAYE. 

1657.  Sept.  14. — At  an  assembly  of  Governors  it  was  ordered  : — 
"  That  Sr.  John  Talbott  Knight  and  Ric.  Haworth  Esq.  should  be  willed 
and  required  to  convey  and  assure  a  Messuage  and  Tenement  within 
Mellor  with  th'app'tenn'ces  to  the  said  Governors  and  their  successors  to 
the  use  of  the  free  schole  of  Blackburne  for  ever,  which  said  p'misses 
heretofore  (in  consideracion  of  a  certaine  some  of  money  paid  by  the 
said  Governors)  were  conveyed  and  assured  by  James  Whithalghe,  gent, 
deceased,  and  Rauf  Walkeden,  to  the  said  Sr  John  and  Richard 
Haworth,  and  others  who  are  dead,  and  they  the  said  Sr  John  Talbott 
and  Ric.  Haworth  surviving." 

1660.  Dec.  21. — The  Governors  elected  Launcelot  Bolton,  the  school  accountant 
and  Mr.  John  Clayton  of  Little  Harwood,  gent. ,  to  be  Governors. 

1 660- 1.  Jan.  21. — The  Governors  elected  Thomas  Walmisley,  gent, 
to  be  usher,  and  ordered  that  the  old  usher's  widow  should  have  £$ 
out  of  the  School  Stock.  They  at  the  same  time  elected  Thomas 
Braddill,  Esq.,  John  Law,  gent.,  and  James  Walmisley,  gent.,  to  be 
Governors  ;  and  "  the  key  of  the  schole  cheste,  which  was  in  the  keeping 
"of  Mr.  Law,  was  delivered  to  Mr.  Thurstan  Maudisley  to  be  kept  in  the 
schole." 

1662-3.  Jan-  I2- — At  a  Meeting  the  Governors  elected  the  following  to  be 
Governors,  who  paid  IDS.  apiece: — Law.  Haworth  of  Blackburne,  gent.,  James 
Whalley  of  Blackburne,  gent.,  John  Entwistle  of  Clayton-in-le-Dale,  gent.,  John 
Boulton  of  Brockhouse,  gent.,  and  Richard  Livesey  of  Baron-mylne,  gent. 

1666.  Dec.  21. — In  the  accounts  appear  the  items: — "  Pd.  Mr. 
Sager  late  Schoolemaster  23  Maie  last  in  full  of  his  wage  before  his 
goeinge  out  of  his  place  the  some  of  ^3  6s.  8d.  Pd.  Mr.  Sherburne 
the  present  Schoolem'r  23  Maie  last  his  p'porcionable  p'te  of  -the 
augmentation  money  335.  4d." — At  a  Meeting  of  the  Governors  on  that 
day,  Mr.  Richard  Duckworth  was  appointed  usher. 


334  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

1667.  Oct.  7.  —  At  a  Meeting  of  the  Governors  it  was  ordered 
that  "Mr.  Thomas  Wyld  shall  bee  Schoolmaster."  —  Dec.  21.  In  the 
accounts:  —  "  Payde  Mr.  Sager  the  late  Schoolmaster  May  i,  1667,  the 
some  of  £5." 

George  Talbott  of  Salesbury,  gent.,  and  Thos.  Talbott  of  Cowell,  gent.,  elected 
Governors. 

1667-8.  Jan.  20.  —  "Mr.  John  Wareinge  of  Brindley"  appointed 
Usher.  —  March  9.  Mr.  Oliver  Halliwell  appointed  Schoolmaster. 

1668-9.  Jan-  1  8.  —At  a  General  Meeting  of  Governors  "there  was  ellected 
Governors  of  the  said  Schoole,  Sr  Richard  Houghton  Bart  and  paid  2Os.  ;  also 
Charles  Houghton  son  and  heire  to  the  said  Sr  Ric.  Houghton  Bart,  and  also  pd.  2OS." 

1669.  Dec.  21.  —  In  the  account  of  disbursements  occur:  —  "Pd.  Mr. 
Sager  the  master  att  the  same  tyme  the  some  of  ^5."     "  Pd.  Mr.  Sager 
more  the  some  of  £$  155."  —  Amount  of  the  School  Stock  ^124  i8s. 

1670.  Dec.  21.  —  In  the  accounts  appears:  —  "  Pd.  Mr.  Oddy  the 
Schoolmaster  the  some  of  £$" 

At  this  date,  of  the  School  Stock  of  £126  45.  id.,  the  sum  of  ^105 
was  lent  out  to  interest  as  follows  :  — 


Lent  John  Ingham  of  Ridge  the  principal  some  o 

Lent  Willm.  Crosse  of  Upper  Darwen  ,,  £l$ 

Lent  John  Clarkson  of  Aughton            ,,  £20 

Lent  John  Hoyle  of  Haslingden             ,,  £20 

Lent  Thomas  ffelden  of  Rishton             ,,  £10 

Lent  Joshua  Dineley  of  Church              ,,  ;£i° 

Lent  Arthur  Ashton  of  Blackburne       ,,  £$ 

1672.     Dec.   21.  —  Thomas  Whalley  of  Black-lane-head,  junior,  was  elected  a 
Governor. 

1673.  Dec.  21.  —  "Memorandum  that  at  a  general  Meeting  of 
Governors,  they,  in  consideration  of  a  yearly  rent  hereafter  reserved  to 
be  paid,  have  demised  and  granted,  &c.,  to  Leonard  Clayton,  Vicar  of 
Blackburne.  and  Willm.  Yates  of  Blackburne,  gent.,  two  of  the  Governors, 
&c.,  all  that  Barne  and  the  lands  thereunto  belonginge,  situate,  &c.,  in 
Mellor,  belonging  to  the  said  ffree  schoole,"  to  hold  from  the  second 
day  of  February  now  next  ensuing,  for  the  term  of  2  1  years,  yielding  and 
paying  unto  the  Governors  the  yearly  rent  of  ten  pounds. 

1675.  Dec.  21.  —  At  the  audit  of  the  accounts  by  the  Governors  "Mr.  Raph 
Livesey  son  of  Raph  Livesey,  Esq.,  and  Mr.  John  Clayton  sonne  of  Mr.  Leonard 
Clayton  Vicar  of  Blackburne"  were  elected   Governors;  as  also  were    "Mr.  Tho. 
Haworth  of  Thurcroft,   Mr.  James  Whalley  of  Itchill,   Mr.  Raph  Walmsley  of  the 
Hill  in  Tockholes,   Mr.   Richard  Astley  of  the  Stakes,   Mr.   Tho.   Cockshutt,   Mr. 
James  Ainsworth,  and  Mr.  Evan  Wilkinson." 

1676.  Dec.  21.  —  At  the  General  Meeting  Edward  Southworth,  Esq.,  Thomas 
Ainsworth  of  Pleasington,  Esq.,  Richard  Haworth  of  Beardsworth,  gent.,  and  Thomas 
Abbot  of  Mellor,  gent.  ,  were  elected  Governors. 


GRAMMAR  SCHOOL  ANNALS. 


335 


1678.  July  i. — At  a  Meeting  of  Governors  "  Mr.  Hugh  Wareinge 
present  usher "  was  "  absolutely  discharged  from  henceforth  of  beinge 
usher ;"  and  "  Mr.  Tho.  Walmsley  of  Blackburne  "  was  elected  usher. 

Mr.  Francis  Price,  Vicar  of  Blackburne,  Thomas  Abbot  of  Mellor  gent.,  and 
Henry  Walmsley  of  the  same,  gent.,  were  elected  to  be  Governors. — Dec.  21.  At  a 
meeting  of  Governors,  Edward  Warren,  Esq.,  Richard  Walmsley  the  younger  of 
Dunkenhalgh  Esq. ,  and  Mr.  Joseph  Yates  of  Blackburne,  were  elected  Governors. 

1679.  Dec.  22. — "  Reed,  from  the  worshipfull  Madam  Walmsley  of  Dunkenhalgh 
as  a  gratuity  from  Richard  Walmsley,  Esq.,  her  sonne  for  increase  of  the   Schoole 
Stocke  the  sume  of  £2." — The  following  were  elected  Governors  : — "  Sr  Raph  Ashton 
of  Whalley,  Bart.,   Richard  Ashton  of  Cuerdall,   Esq.,   Edward  Rishton  of  Antley, 
Esq.,  Joseph  Sharpies  of  Blackburn,  gent.,  WTillm.  Shuttleworth  of  Asterleigh,  gent., 
Thomas   Lang  of  Winckley,    Esq.,    Thomas   Walmsley   of  Showley,  gent.,  Edward 
Chew  of  Potterford,  gent,  and  Thomas  Ainsworth  of  Knusden,  gent." 

1680.  Dec.  22.  —  In  the  Receipts: — "Reed,  of  Mr.  Tho.   Greenfeild  and  Mr. 
Stephen  Woodgate  being  elected  Governors  £i." 

1 68 1.  Dec.  21. — The  following  are  named  in  the  accounts  as  having  paid  gratui- 
ties on  being   elected   Governors: — "Mr.    Nicholas   Townley  of  Clifton,    Mr.  John 
Harwood    of    Showley,    Mr.    James    Marsden   of  Tockholes,    Mr.    Robert   Bury   of 
Ousbooth,  Mr.  Willm.  Chrichlowe  of  Tockholes  and  Mr.  James  Bolton  of  Blackburne." 

1682.  Dec.  21. — At  the  Governors'   yearly  Meeting  there  were  elected  Gover- 
nors:—"Mr.    John    Braddill    sonne    and   heire   apparent   of    Thomas    Braddill   of 
Portfield,  Esq.,"  Mr.  John  Clayton  of  Little  Harwood  and  Mr.  Theophilus  Ainsworth 
of  Pleasington. 

1683.  Dec.  21. — At  a  meeting  of  Governors  were  elected  Governors  : — Bartho- 
lomew Walmsley  of  Dunkenhall  Esq.,  Alexander  Nowell  of  Morton  Esq.,  and   Sr 
Edmund  Ashton  of  Whalley  Bart. 

1684.  Dec.  22. — "Received  from  Sr  Edmund  Ashton  Bart,  the  sum  of  ffive 
pounds  upon  his   being   elected   as   a   Governor,"  &c.     Elected   Governors: — The 
Worshipfull  Sr  Richard  Shuttleworth,   Knt,  Henry  Currer,  Esq.,  Thomas  Hesketh 
of  Rufforth,  Esq.,  and  John  Warren,  Esq.,  Justice  of  the  Welsh  Circuit. 

1685.  April   2. — Mr.  James  Abbot  of   Mellor  appointed  usher. 
The  ^4  1 8s.  8d.  due  to  Mr.  Thos.  Walmsley,  late  usher,  paid  unto  Mrs. 
Anne  Walmsley  his  widow. — Dec.  21.    Thanks  of  the  Governors  returned 
to  Sir  Edmund  A  she  ton  Bart.,  for  a  further  "  seasonable  gratuity  of  ffive 
pounds  "  bestowed  to  the  increase  of  the  Stock  of  the  School. 

1686.  Dec.  21. — Mr.  Henry  Maudsley  of  Ousbooth  elected  a  Governor. 

1687.  Dec.  21. — Received  of  Sir  Edmund  Ashton  Bart,  the  further 
sum  of  ;£io,  "as  a  signal  demonstracion  of  his  kindness  and  great 
bounty  for  the  augmentation  of  the  Stocke  "  of  the  School. — "  Mr.  Law- 
rence  Osbaldeston  son  of  the  high   Constable   for   the   Hundred   of 
Blackburne  and  Mr.  Thomas  Ainsworth  sonne  and  heire  of  Mr.  Richard 
Ainsworth  "  elected  Governors. — Mr.  Oliver  Shaw  appointed  usher. 

1688.  Dec.  21 — Roger  Lacy  of  Hackinge  gent.,  Willm.  Hayhurst  of  Preston 
gent.,  and  Thomas  Whalley  of  Itchill,  elected  Governors. — Thanks  of  the  Governors 
returned  to  Sir  Edmund  Ashton  Bart,  for  a  further  gift  of  £10,  "as  a  great  example 


336  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

to  others,  a  good  incouragement  to  learninge,  and  a  perpetuall  testimony  of  his  generous 
disposition  to  pious  and  charitable  uses. " 

1689.  Dec.   21.— Governors  elected  :— Revd.   Dr.   Willm.   Skippon,  and  Alex- 
ander Osbaldeston,  Esq.,  son  and  heir  of  Edward  Osbaldeston,  Esq. — Received  from 
Sir  Edmund  Ashton  Bart,  a  further  gift  of  ;£io,    "for  which  the  thanks  of  this 
assembly  and  all  succeeding  Governors  and  Schoolmasters  is  to  be  acknowledged  and 
had  in  perpetuall  remembrance." 

1690.  Dec.  21. — The  Governors  elected  "Edward  Sherdley,  gent.,  Curate  of 
the  Parish  Church  of  Blackburn,    Mr.   Abraham  Townley  of  Dutton,  Mr.  William 
Yates  and  Mr.  John  Sudell  of  Blackburne,  and  Mr.  Tho.  Ogle,"  Governors. 

1692.  Oct.  17. — It  was  ordered  "that  James  Burton  of  Salisbury 
in  the  County  of  Lancaster,  gent.,  shall  execute  the  office  of  usher" 
during  the  pleasure  of  the  Governors. 

—  Dec.  21. — Mr.  George  Entwistle  of  Clayton-in-the-Dale  elected  a  Governor. 

1694.  Dec.  21. — Elected  Governors  : — Robt.  Hesketh  of  Rufford  Esq.,  John 
Southworth  Esq.,  Benjamin  Hoghton  Esq.,  Edward  Sharpies  of  Ramsgreave  gent., 
and  Randle  ffeilden  of  Blackburne  gent.  —  "Reed,  then  as  a  further  gratuity  from 
the  right  worshipfull  Sf  Edmund  Ashton  Bart,  the  some  of  tenne  poundes  which  with 
what  sums  he  hath  already  given  exceeds  all  particular  gifts  given  by  any  p'son  or 
p'sons  whatsoever  since  the  foundacion  of  this  Schoole. "  Sir  Edmund  Ashton  of 
Whalley  had  now  given  £10  annually  to  the  School  for  eight  years,  and  £$  yearly 
for  two  previous  years,  making  a  total  donation  of  ^90  to  the  foundation — a  munifi- 
cent benefaction  for  the  period. 

1695.  Dec.  21. — It  was  ordered  that  Joseph  Yates,  Esq.,  and  John 
Clayton  of  the  Green,  gent.,  both  Governors,  should  have  a  lease  of  the 
Barn  and  Lands  in  Mellor  belonging  to  the  school,  containing  twenty- 
nine  acres  of  land,  meadow,  and  pasture,  for  21  years,  at  the  yearly 
rent  of  ^"10. — "John  ffleetwood  Esq.,  farmer  of  the  Rectory  of  Black- 
burne," elected  a  Governor. 

1698.  May  2. — Benjamin  Hoghton,  Esq.,  elected  a  Governor. — "Reed,  of  the 
aforesaid  Mr.  Benjamin  Hoghton,  one  of  the  Exors.  or  trustees  of  the  worshipfull 
Henry  Houghton,  Esq.,  his  uncle,  deceased,  the  some  of  fifty  shillinges  as  a  ffree 
gift  of  the  said  Mr.  Henry  Hoghton,"  &c. — Dec.  21.  Thos.  Hesketh  of  Rufford, 
Esq.,  and  Samuel  Crooke,  Esq.,  elected  Governors. 

1698-9.  Feb.  13. — Barton  Shuttleworth  of  Blackburn,  gent.,  and  William 
Rishton  of  Livesey,  gent. ,  elected  Governors. 

1701.  Dec.  21.— Henry  Hodgkinson  Esq.  (of  Preston),  and  the  right  hon'ble 
Thomas  Lord  ffauconberg,  elected  Governors. 

1702-3.  Jan.  II. — Roger  Nowell,  Esq.,  elected  a  Governor. — 1703.  Oct.  n. — 
Ordered  that  Mr.  Burton,  usher,  "shall  receive  the  sallery  due  to  Mr.  Oddy,  late  head 
Master,"  from  the  4th  of  Aug.  last  "untill  another  schoolmaster  bee  elected  and 
resident  instead  of  Mr.  Oddy." — Thomas  Ainsworth,  Esq.,  of  Pleasington,  elected  a 
Governor. 

1704.  July  3. — At  a  general  meeting  of  the  Governors,  "Mr. 
Robt.  fibster,  Batchellor  of  Arts  of  Jesus  Colledge  in  the  University  of 
Cambridge,"  elected  "  head  Schoole  Master  of  the  said  ffree  Gramer 


GRAMMAR  SCHOOL  ANNALS. 


337 


School,"  and  to  "  take  the  rents  and  sallery  belonging  to  the  place  for 
and  duringe  the  pleasure  of  the  Governors." — Oct.  2.  James  Livesey 
of  Over  Darwen,  gent.,  elected  Usher,  "after  the  death  of  Mr.  James 
Burton,  late  usher." — Jan.  29.  Ordered  that  Mrs.  Burton,  widow  of  the 
late  Mr.  James  Burton,  usher,  should  receive  certain  sums  due  to  the 
deceased  for  salary. 

1705.  Aug.  20. — Mr.  George  Smith  of  Burnley,  B.A.,  of  Brazenose 
College,  Oxford,  appointed  Head  Master  instead  of  Mr.  Robert  Foster, 
deceased. 

1706.  May  13. — "The  Reverend  John  Holme,  Vicar  of  Blackburne,"  elected  a 
Governor. — Dec.  21.  Mr.  Thomas  Cockshutt  of  Great  Harwood,  gent.,  and  Mr. 
William  Wilkinson  of  Royshey,  gent.,  were  elected  Governors. 

1708.  Dec.  21. — Mr.  Richard  Walmsley  of  Showley  and  Mr.  C'rofer  Baron  of 
Knuzclen,  elected  Governors. 

1711.  Dec.  21. — "The  hon'ble  Sr  Henry  Hoghton,  Barrt.,  and  the  wor'pp'll 
John  Warren,  Esq.,"  elected  Governors;  also,  "Tho.  Maudsley  of  Ousbooth,  gent., 
and  Thomas  Whalley,  M.  D. ,  and  John  Ainsworth  of  Pleasington,  gent. " 

1712-3.  Feb.  23. — Ordered  that  George  Smith,  the  headmaster, 
shall  collect  and  receive  all  monies  appertaining  to  the  school ;  shall 
yearly  deposit  the  same  before  the  Governors,  and  shall  keep  the  accounts 
of  the  School  in  regular  and  due  order. 

The  Hon'ble  Lord  Petre,  Sir  Ralph  Asheton  of  Whalley,  Richard  Shuttleworth, 
Esq.,  John  Fleetwood,  Esq.,  Mr.  Hamerton  Astley,  Mr.  Dickson,  Curate  of  Black- 
burne, and  Mr.  John  Whalley,  elected  Governors. — Mar.  23.  Willm.  Hesketh  of 
Maines,  Esq.,  Mr.  Clayton  of  Adlington,  Mr.  Joseph  Yates  of  Manchester,  and  Mr. 
John  Wildman  of  Billington,  gentlemen,  elected  Governors. 

1713.  Dec.  21. — "The  School-Stock  is  as  follows,  vizt. : — Mr.  Alex.  Osbaldes- 
ton  £20;  John  Forrest  ^,20;  Thomas  Tipping  ,£5;  Miles  Aspinall  £6;  John  Kemp 
£6;  Thomas  Osbaldeston  ^40;  Thomas  Dineley  £10',  Adam  Livesey  £20;  Lawrence 
Walmesley  ,£10;  Mr.   Wildman  £12;  Thurstan  ffishwick  ^4  173.   6d.     Total  ^£153 
175.  6d."     Interest  £<)  i6s.  6d. 

1714.  Dec.     21. — Elected    Governors : — Captain    Porter   Livesey,    Mr.    James 
Bolton,    Mr.    Johnson,    Mr.    John   Hopkinson,    Mr.    James    Dewhurst,    Mr.    Hugh 
Pickering,  Mr.  Will.  Sudell,  and  Mr.  Peter  Haworth  of  Thurcroft. 

1715.  Dec.  21. — Mr.  Willm.  Baldwin  of  Blackburne,  and  Mr.  Thos.  Haworth 
of  Lower  Darwen,  elected  Governors. 

1715-6.  Feb.  20. — The  Governors  elected  "in  the  room  of  Mr. 
James  Livesey  late  deceased,  Mr.  Thomas  Moon,  of  Wesham  in  the 
Parish  of  Kirkham,  to  be  Usher." 

1716.  Sept.  28.— Ralph  Asheton  of  Cuerdale,  Esq.,  and  Mr.  Willm.  Walbank  of 
Pleasington,   elected  Governors. — Dec.    21.      In  the  accounts: — "Reed,   of  Richd. 
Shuttleworth,  of  Gawthorpe,  Esq.,  Governor  elect,  ^"5." 

1717.  Dec.   21.— Elected  Governors  :— Hon.   Ld.   Petre  of  Dunkenhalgh,   Mr. 
John  Winckley  of  Preston,  Thomas  Hesketh  of  Martholme,  Esq.,  Mr.  Henry  Feilden, 
of  Blackburne,  and  Roger  Nowell  of  Read,  junior,  Esq. 

1720.     Dec,  21. — "At  a  publick  meeting  of  the   Gent.    Governors  they  were 

22 


338  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

pleased  to  elect  Haworth  Currer  of  Kildwick,  Esq. ,  Dr.  Thos.  Clayton  of  Manchester, 
Mr.  Miles  Berrie  of  Ousbooth,  Mr.  Ralph  Whalley  of  Blackburne,  and  Mr.  Henry 
Haworth,  apothecary  in  Blackburne,  to  be  Governors  of  the  School. '' 

1722.  Dec.  21. — Mr.  John  Stokoe  and  Mr.  Robt.  Feilden  of  Manchester  elected 
Governors. 

1724.  Dec.  21. — Mr.  William  Livesey,  of  Livesey,  elected  a  Governor. 

1725.  Dec.  21. — Banister  Parker,  Esq.,  Mr.  Thos.  Whalley  of  Blackburne,  and 
Mr.  Henry  Sudell  of  Blackburne,  elected  Governors. 

1726.  Dec.  21. — In  the  receipts: — "Reed,  of  Mr.  Henry  Sudell 
and  Mr.  Joseph  Hankinson,  Execrs.  to  Mr.  Willm.  Sudell  of  Blackburne, 
ye  some  of  20  pounds  left  to  ye  Free-School  of  Blackburne  by  the  said 
Mr.  Willm.  Sudell."     "  Reed,  of  Mr.  Jno.  Whalley,  senr.,  of  Blackburne, 
ye  some  of  Ten  pounds  towards  ye  augmentac'on  of  ye  Stock  of  ye  Free- 
School  of  Blackburne." 

1727.  July  3.— "Mr.  Thomas  Wright  of  St.  John's  Coll.,  Cam- 
bridge," elected  Usher. 

1728.  Dec.  21. — Mr.  Clayton  of  Adlington,  Mr.  John  Whalley,  junr.,  of  Black, 
burne,  and  Mr.  John  Entwistle  of  Madghill-bank,  elected  Governors. 

1729.  Dec.  22. — Edward  Warren,    Esq.,   Mr.  Willm.    Kippex  of  Blackburne, 
Mr.  Thos.  Livesey  of  Wensley  ffold,  Mr.  Roger  Walsh  of  Darwen,  Mr.  Hugh  Baldwin 
of  Blackburne,  and  Mr.  James  Osbaldeston  of  London,  elected  Governors. 

1731.  June  23. — "  Mr.  Thomas  Holme  of  Brasenose  Colledge  in 
Oxford,  elected  Head  Master  instead  of  Mr.  Geo.  Smith  resigned."  Mr. 
Thos.  Walmsley  of  Showley  elected  a  Governor. — Ordered: — "That 
noe  Girles  shall  be  taught  in  the  chamber  over  the  School." 

—  Dec.  21. — Mr.  Thos.  Johnson  of  Bolton,  Mr.  James  Horridge  and  Mr.  James 
Marsden,  both  of  Upper  Darwen,  and  Mr.  Ralph  Pollard  of  Blackburn,  elected 
Governors. 

1731-2.  March  23. — Mr.  Peter  Livesey  of  Pleasington  appointed 
Usher. 

1733.  Dec.  31. — Mr.  Henry  Baron  of  Knuzden  and  Mr.  Joseph  Whalley  of 
Blackburne  elected  Governors ;  also  Charles  Stourton  Walmsley,  Esquire,  elected  a 
Governor  at  the  same  time. 

1 734.  Dec.  21. — Money  and  securities  belonging  to  the  School : — 
Mr.  Stanley  Werder's  Bond  £40  ;  Richard  Walche's  ditto  £30  ;  Thomas 
Dineley's  ditto  ;£io ;  Henry  Griffith's  ditto  ^50;  Wm.  Baldwin's  ditto 
^"63  ;  total  ^193.  Interest  ^9  135. — James  Whalley  of  Blackburn, 
Esq.,  elected  a  Governor. 

1735.  Dec.  21. — Elected  Governors: — Richard  Clayton  of  Adlington,  Esq., 
Mr.  Thomas  Clayton  of  London,  and  Mr.  James  Livesey  of  Blackburne. 

1736.  Nov.  i. — Mr.  Henry  ffeilden,  a  Governor,  chosen  Trea- 
surer.— "  Mr.  Daniel  Markland  of  Middlewatch,  Batchellor  of  Arts  of 
Brasenose  Colledge  in  Oxford,"  elected  Head  Master,  in  place  of  "Rev. 
Thomas  Holme  late  head-master  and  treasurer,"  resigned. 


GRAMMAR  SCHOOL  ANNALS. 


339 


1736.  Dec.  21. — The  Governors  elected  Doddyn  Braddyll,  Esq.,  a  Governor.1 

1737.  Aug.  2. — The  Governor  elected,  "instead  of  Mr.  Daniel 
Markland  late  deceased,"  "  Mr.  Thomas  Hunter,  of  Queen's   Colledge 
in  Oxford,"  Head  Master. — Dec.  21.     Alexr.  Nowell  and  Allen  Harri- 
son, Esqrs.,  and  Mr.  Thos.  Johnson  junr.,  elected  Governors. 

1738.  Dec.  21.— Rev.  John  Potter,  A.M.,  Vicar  of  Blackburn,  elected  a 
Governor. 

1739.  Dec.  21. — Among  the  receipts  appears: — "A  Legacy  left 
by  the  late  John  Sudell  laid  out  in  a  Mortgage  on  Pollard  Grild  at  £4 
i os.  per  cent,  interest — ^30." 

"The  Rev.  Mr.  Thos.  Holme,  Mr.  Robert  Whalley,  Mr.  Richard  Haworth, 
and  Mr.  Richd.  Falkner"  elected  "trustees,"  i.e.  Governors. 

1740.  Dec.  21. — The  Governors  elected  Mr.  Robt.  Garthside,  of  Manchester, 
and  Mr.  Thos.  Haworth,  Apothecary,  of  Blackburn,  to  be  trustees. 

1740-1.  Jan.  20. — "John  Ainsworth  of  Pleasington,  Esq.,  Mr. 
Henry  ffeilden  of  Blackburn,  and  Mr.  John  Whalley  to  erect  a  new 
Building  on  the  lands  in  Mellor,  and  do  all  other  things  with  respect  to 
repairs  about  the  School  as  to  them  shall  seem  most  meet." 

1742.  Dec.  21. — "Rev.  Mr.  Woollin,  Vicar  of  Blackburn,  James  Shuttleworth, 
Esq.,  of  Gawthorpe,  Ralph  Asheton,  Esq.,  of  Cuerdale, "  elected  to  be  trustees. 

1742-3.  Feb.  25. — "Mdm.  It  is  this  day  agreed  to  that  the 
Cock-pennys,  which  have  formerly  been  divided  betwixt  the  Master  and 
Usher  equally,  shall  for  the  future  be  paid  to  each  Master  separately 
from  the  Boys  under  his  particular  care,  provided  the  Boys  under  the 
Master's  care  be  admitted  by  him  six  months  before  the  usual  time  of 
Cock-pennys,  or  the  Boys  admitted  within  the  aforesaid  six  months,  to 

i  Under  date  Dec.  21,  1736,  is  entered  the  following  "Rental  of  Lands  and  Rents  belonging  to 
the  Free  Grammer  Schoole  of  Blackburne."    At  the  same  date  the  School  Stock  stood  at  .£221. 

The    Twenty    Pounds    from    Farnhill 


A  clear  yearly  Rent  of  Twenty  Pounds 
issuing  out  of  the  Capital  Messuage 
or  Mancion  House  called  Farnhill 
Peele  in  Farnhill,  Co.  York,  pd.  by 
the  Hon'ble  Geo.  Fox  Esq.  at 
Whit,  and  Martinmas  -  -  -20 

Itm.  One  Messuage  and  Tenement  in 
Mellor  called  Whitalgh  House, 
cont.  by  estimation  Twenty-nine 
acres  of  land  and  also  one  Barne 
one  Close  called  Sedyhole  wherein 
the  said  Barne  now  stands,  at  the 
yearly  Rent  of  Twelve  Pounds 
payable  at  Michelmas  and  Candle- 
mas -  -  -  -  -  -  12 

Itm.  Out  of  the  Revenues  of  the  Duchie 
Manor,  is  to  be  pd.  by  the  then 
Receiver  the  sum  of  four  Pounds 
seven  Shillings  and  four  pence  on 
every  ist  of  May  at  the  Castle  of 


Clitherow 


Lands  has  been  customarily  allow'd 
the  Master  as  P'te  of  his  Sallary  -  20 


The  Twelve  Pounds  from  Mellor  Lands 
has  been  customarily  allow'd  and 
divided  betwixt  the  Master  2nd 
Usher  of  this  Schoole  -  -  -  12  o  o 


The  Duchie  Rent  has  been  customarily 
pd.  the  Usher  of  this  Schoole 

Also  a  Salary  of  four  Pounds  eighteen 
Shillings  and  eight  Pence  every  2nd 
day  of  Febr.,  out  of  the  Interest 
money  belonging  to  the  School. 


340  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

pay  their   cock-pennys   to   the   Usher." — Mr.   Robt.  Sutton,   junr.,   of 
Skipton  in  Yorkshire,  appointed  Usher. 

1743.  Dec.  21. — Mr.  Richard  Marsden  of  Pleasington,  Mr.  William  Leyland 
and  Mr.  John   Bolton  of  Blackburn,    and  Mr.  Edmund  Winder  of  Lovley,    elected 
Governors. — Ordered,  "that  the  Gentlemen  to  be  elected  Governors  hereafter  shall 
within  twelve  months  after  their  election  pay  at  least  one  Guinea  to  the  publick  Stock 
of  the  School,  otherwise  his  or  their  election  to  be  declared  void." — "Whereas  the 
rents  of  the  Mellor  Estate  have  hitherto  been  equally  divided  betwixt  the  Master  and 
Usher,  but  a  new  Building  being  raised  upon  the  said  estate,  whereby  the  School 
Stock,  from  the  Interest  of  which  the  Usher's  Salary  has  been  raised,  is  diminished, 
and  not  sufficient  for  the  payment  of  the  said  Salary,  it  is  therefore  agreed  that  two 
Pounds  fifteen  shillings  and  sixpence  shall  be  paid  to  the  Usher  over  and  above  his 
equal  share  of  the  remaining  Rent  of  the  said  estate,  being  the  Interest  of  ^55  IDS. 
laid  out  upon  a  House  in  the  Sagar  Field." 

1744.  Dec.  21. — "Mr.   Edward  Ainsworth  of  Pleasington,  the  Reverend  Mr. 
Bolton  of  Rochdale,  Mr.  James  Bolton  of  Preston,  Mr.  John  Whalley,  junior,  B.  A., 
and  Mr.   Sam.   Smith,"  elected  trustees.     The  following  townships  had  made  free 
gifts  towards   repairing  the    Free   Scbool   of  Blackburn: — Blackburn   £2  IDS.   5d.; 
Over  Darwen  £i    155.;  Lower  Darwen  £i  53.  iod.j  Tockholes   i8s.  i>£d.;  Little 
Harwood   175.  6d.;     Osbaldeston  I  is.  8d.;    Wilpshire-with-Dinkley  ^'i  ;    Salesbury 
155.;  Pleasington  £i    75.  6d.;    Witton   i6s.    3d.— 1745.      Mellor-cum-Eccleshill  £i 
ios.;  part  of  Rishton  95.  id. — 1746.     Livesey  £i  6s.  io^d.;  Balderstone  155. 

1746.  Dec.  22.  — "Mr.  John  Whalley  at  the  Mill  in  Blackburn,"  appointed 
Treasurer.  "John  ffeilden  gentleman,"  elected  a  Governor. 

1747.  Sept.  22. — The  Governors  agreed  to  purchase  from  George 
Ward  of  Mellor,  weaver,  the  Messuage  and  Tenement  of  Pianot  Nest  at 
Brookfoot  in  Mellor,  for  the  sum  of  ^113. — Dec.  21.  Ordered: — 
"  That  the  original  Charter  of  the  free  Gramar  School  in  Blackburn  be 
translated  into  English  and  read  publickly  in  the  said  School  every 
Saint  Thos.  Day  yearly." — Ralph  Livesey  of  Livesey,  Esq.,  and  John 
Shorrock  of  Little  Harwood,  elected  Trustees. 

1748.  Dec.  21. — William  Ainsworth  of  Pleasington,  Esq.,  and  John  Walmsley 
of  Goodshawe,  within  the  Parish  of  Rochdale,  elected  Governors. 

1749.  Aug.  15. — Mr.  Nicholas  Parker  of  Garstang  Churchtown, 
elected  Usher. 

1749.  Dec.  21. — Mr.  John  Clayton  of  Little  Harwood,  and  Nathaniel  Haworth 
of  Blackburn,  chapman,  elected  Governors. 

1750.  Aug.  29. — The  Governors  appointed  Rev.  Robert  Smith, 
B.A.,  of  St.  Alban's  Hall,  Oxford,  Head  Master,  in  place  of  Rev.  Mr. 
Hunter,  resigned. 

-  Dec.  21.— Robt.  Parker  of  Cuerden,  Esq.,  Mr.  John  Sudell  and  Mr.  Ralph 
Whalley,  elected  Governors. — Pianot  Nest  tenement  in  Mellor  leased  to  George 
Ward,  at  a  rental  of  £5  per  annum. 

1751.  Dec.  21. — Mr.  Thos.  Walmsley  of  Micklehey  in  the  township  of  Rishton, 
elected  a  Governor  in  place  of  Mr.  Ralph  Whalley,  of  Liverpool,  withdrawn. 

1752.  Dec.  2i.— Thos.  Cross  of  Shaw  Hill,   Esq.,  and  Mr.  Wm.   Roberts  of 
Blackburn,  chapman,  elected  Governors. 


GRAMMAR  SCHOOL  ANNALS. 


341 


1753.  Dec.  21. — Nicholas  Winckley  of  Preston,  Esq.,  and  Mr.  John  Styth  of 
Blackburn,  elected  Governors. 

1754.  Dec.   21. — The    Governors    elected  the  following    to    be    Governors  : — 
Alexander  Nowell,  of  Read,  Esq.,  in  the  room  of  William   Hesketh,  late  of  Mains, 
Esq.,  deceased;  Thomas   Walmsley  the  younger  of  Showley,  Esq.,  in  the  room  of 
Thomas  Livesey  late  of  Blackburn,  yeoman,  deceased  ;  and  James  Chew  of  Billington, 
gentleman,  in  the  room  of  the  Rev.  Thos.  Holme,  D.D.,  deceased. 

1755.     Sept.  6. — Mr.   Richard   Guest  of  Wigan  appointed  Head 
Master,  in  place  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Smith,  resigned. 

1755.  Sept.  30. — The  Governors  agreed  "that  the  Master  shall  take  the  Boys 
out  of  the  Usher's  end  in  the  Cordery  or  sooner  if  he  shall  see  it  proper  and  convenient, 
and  that  the  Usher  shall  take  in  such  Boys  as  can  read  in  the  Testament  agreeable  to 
the  Master  or  Usher  after  having  examined  them." — Dec.  21.     Mr.  Thos.  Livesey  of 
Blackburn  elected  a  Governor  in  the  room  of  Mr.  Walmsley  of  Showley,  deceased. 

1756.  Dec.  21. — Mr.   Joseph    Sigston   of  Blackburn,    and   Mr.   Wm.    Fox   of 
Clayton-in-le-Dale,  elected  Governors  in  the  room  of  Mr.  Wm.  Roberts  and  Mr.  Saml. 
Smith,  deceased. 

1757.  Dec.  21. — George  Warren,  Esq.,  of  Dinkley,  and  Thos.  Braddyll,  Esq.,  of 
Portfield,   elected  Governors  in  room  of  Mr.  R.  Haworth  and  Mr.  Nath.  Haworth, 
deceased. 

1759.  Dec.  21. — Piers  Starkie,  Esq.,  of  Huntroyd,  Asheton  Curzon,  Esq.,  and  Mr. 
Henry  Sudell,  junior,  elected  Governors  in  the  room  of  Ralph  Asheton,   Esq.,  Dr. 
Clayton,  and  Mr.  Winder,  deceased. 

1760.  Dec.  21. — Mr.  Robert  Livesey  and  Mr.  Joseph  Feilden  elected  Governors 
in  the  room  of  Piers  Starkie,  Esq.,  and  Mr.  John  Whalley,  deceased. 

1761.  Dec.  21. — Mr.  John  Hankinson  and  Mr.  Thos.  Bolton  elected  Governors 
in  the  room  of  Mr.  John  Shorrock  and  Mr.  Edwd.  Bolton,  deceased. 

1762.  Dec.  21. — Mr.  Henry  Feilden  of  Manchester  elected  Governor  in.  the 
room  of  Mr.  John  Styth,  deceased. 

1763.  Dec.  21. — Christr.   Baron,    Esq.,   Edmund   Starkie,    Esq.,   of  Huntroyd,. 
Mr.  John  Hindle  and  Mr.  Jonathan  Haworth,  elected  Governors  in  room  of  Mr.  Miles 
Berry,  Hamerton  Astley,  Esq.,  Mr.   Thos.  Johnson,  junr.,  and  Mr.   Robt.  Livesey, 
deceased. — On  complaint  of  Mr.  Guest  and  Mr.  Parker,  the  Master  and  Usher,  that 
certain  Scholars  had  insulted  them  "in  open  defiance  of  all  power  and  authority, "  the 
Governors  ordered  : — "That  every  schollar  offending  as  aforesaid,  after  due  correction 
given  him  by  the  Master  or  Usher  for  the  time  being,  shall  be  expelled  the  school  and 
for  ever  exempted  the  benefit  thereby  as  a  schollar." 

1764.  Dec.    21.— Mr.    James    Sudell,    Mr.    Hugh    Hesketh,    and    Mr.    Robt. 
Haworth  of  Clitheroe,  elected  Governors  in  the  room  of  Mr.  Thomas  Johnson,  Mr. 
Henry  Sudell,  and  Mr.  William  Leyland,  deceased. 

1765.  Dec.  21. — George  Wilson,  Esq.,  of  Osbaldeston,  elected  Governor  in  the 
room  of  Mr.  Thos.  Walmsley,  deceased. 

1766.  Dec.  21. — Mr.  Thomas  Roberts  and  Mr.  Thomas  Baron,  both  of  Black- 
burn, and  Mr.  Edward  Bolton  of  Preston,  elected  Governors  in  the  room  of  Mr. 
Christopher  Baron  of  Blackburn,  Mr.  James  Bolton  of  Preston,  and  Ralph  Livesey, 
Esq.,  of  Livesey,  all  deceased. 

1767.  Dec.  21.— Sir  Peter  Leicester  of  Tabley,   Co.   Chester,  Baronet,   Peter 
Legh,  Esq.,  of  Lyme  in  the  same  County,  Mr.  Thomas  Yates  of  Livesey,  and  Mr. 
Richd.  Bleasdale  of  Blackburn,  elected  Governors  in  the  room  of  Mr.  John  Whalley, 


342  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Mr.  Jos.  Whalley,  Mr.  Henry  Baron  of  Blackburn,  and  Mr.  John  Walmsley  of  Roch- 
dale, all  deceased. 

1768.  Dec.  21. — George  Abbott  of  Blackburn,  gentleman,  and  Edward  Brewer 
of  Blackburn,  gentleman,  elected  Governors  in  the  room  of  Sir  Henry  Hoghton,  Bart., 
and  James  Chew  of  Billington,  gent.,  deceased. 

1769.  Dec.  21. — Mr.  John  Calvert  of  Preston,  and  Mr.  Henry  Heaton  of  Black- 
burn, elected  Governors  in  the  room  of  Dr.  Robt.  Whalley  and   Mr.  James  Sudell, 
both  deceased. 

Aug.  28.    John  Wilson,  of  Tockholes,  clerk,  appointed  Head 
Master  in  the  stead  of  Mr.  Richard  Guest,  deceased. 

1770.  Dec.  22. — Mr.  John  Livesey  of  Blackburn,  Mr.  William  Sudell    of  Lan- 
caster, Mr.  John  Smalley  of  Billington,  Mr.  Abraham  Chew  of  the  same  place,  Mr. 
Ralph  Eccles  of  Upper  Darwen,  and  Mr.  Thos.  Johnson  of  Manchester,    elected 
Governors  in  the  room  of  Mr.  Hugh  Hesketh,  Mr.  Henry   Sudell,  Lawyer  Clayton, 
Sir  Peter  Leicester,  the   Rev.  Dr.  John  Potter,   and  Mr.  Johnson,  late  of  Bolton, 
gent.,  all  deceased. — On  complaint  by  the  Head   Master  that  the  lower  part  of  the 
School  had  become  "crowded  by  petty  boys,"  the  Governors  ordered  that  no  boy 
should  be  in  future  admitted  under  the  Usher  "to  be  instructed  in  the  reading  of  English, 
unless  the  sum  of  five  shillings  at  the  least  shall  be  paid  by  way  of  entrance  to  the 
Usher  by  the  Parents  or  Guardians." 

1771.  Dec.  21. — John  Parker  of  Millhouse  in  Cheshire,  Clerk,  Charles  Ford  of 
Manchester,  merchant,  Joseph  Tipping  of  Manchester,  merchant,  and  William  Yates 
of  Blackburn,  chapman,  elected  Governors  in  the  room  of  Mr.  James  Horridge,  Mr. 
Richard  Marsden,  Mr.  John  Feilden,  and  Mr.  Richard  Bleasdale,  gentlemen,  all  deceased. 

1772.  Dec.    21. — Rev.    John  White,    clerk,    Vicar  of  Blackburn,   Mr.    Bertie 
Markland,  Mr.  John  Yates,  and  Mr.  Edmund  Peele,  all  of  Blackburn,  elected  gover- 
nors in  the  room  of  the  Rev.   Mr.  Wollin,   Alexr.  Nowell,  Esq.,    and  Mr.  Joseph 
Sigston,   deceased,   and  Mr.   Thomas  Johnson,   who  had  refused  to  act. — Ordered  : 
"  That  no  days  of  playing  usually  called  Remedys  shall  for  the  future  be  allowed." 

1773.  Dec.  21. — Robt.  Shuttleworth  of  Gawthorp,  Esq.,  Le  Gendre  Starkie  of 
Huntroyd,  Esq.,  Mr.  Geo.  Hargreaves  of  Hoddlesden,  and  Mr.  John  Talbott  and  Mr. 
Benjamin  Walmsley  of  Blackburn,  elected  Governors  in  the  room  of  John  Entwistle, 
James  Shuttleworth,  Joseph  Yates,  Esqrs.,  Mr.  Thos.  Roberts  and  Mr.  Ralph  Eccles, 
all  deceased. 

1774.  Dec.  21. — Mr.  Samuel  Cable,  of  Blackburn,  surgeon  and  apothecary,  and 
Mr.  Benjamin  Bulcock  of  Rishton,  elected  Governors  in  room  of  John  Hankinson, 
gentleman,  and  John  Talbot,  gentleman,  both  deceased. 1 

i  The  list  of  Governors  about  a  century  ago  may  be  of  interest : — "A  list  of  the  present  Governors 
of  the  ffree  Gramar  School  of  Blackburn,  Dec.  21,  1774: — i,  James  Whalley,  Esq.;  2,  Mr  Richard 
Falkner  ;  3,  Mr.  Robert  Gartside  ;  4,  Mr.  Thomas  Haworth ;  5,  Mr.  John  Bolton ;  6,  Edward  Ains- 
worth,  Esq.;  7,  John  Clayton,  Esq.;  8.  Robert  Parker,  Esq.;  9,  Mr.  John  Sudell ;  10,  Thomas  Evans, 
Esq.  (non  residt.);  u,  Nicholas  Wmckley,  Esq.;  12,  Thomas  Walmsley,  Esq.;  13,  Mr.  Thomas 
Livesey;  14,  Mr.  William  Fox;  15,  Sir  George  Warren;  16,  Thomas  Braddyll,  Esq.;  17,  Ashton 
Curzon,  Esq.;  18,  Mr.  Joseph  Feilden  ;  19,  Mr.  Henry  Feilden;  20,  Mr. Thomas  Bolton;  21,  Mr.  John 
Hindle  ;  22,  Mr.  Jonathan  Haworth;  23,  Mr.  Robert  Haworth;  24,  George  Wilson,  Esq.;  25,  Mr. 
Thomas  Baron;  26,  Mr.  Edward  Bolton;  27,  Peter  Legh,  Esq.;  28,  Mr.  Thomas  Yates;  29,  Mr. 
George  Abbott ;  30,  Mr.  Edward  Brewer ;  31,  Mr.  John  Calvert ;  32,  Mr.  Henry  Heaton ;  33,  Mr. 
John  Livesey;  34,  Mr.  William  Sudell;  35,  Mr.  John  Smalley;  36,  Mr.  Abraham  Chew;  37,  The 
Rev.  Mr.  John  Parker;  38,  Mr.  Charles  Ford;  39,  Mr.  Joseph  Tipping;  40,  Mr.  William  Yates; 
41,  The  Rev.  Mr.  John  White;  42,  Mr.  Bertie  Markland;  43,  Mr.  John  Yates;  44,  Mr.  Edmund 
Peel;  45,  Robert  Shuttleworth,  Esq.;  46,  Le  Gendre  Starkie,  Esq.;  47,  George  Hargreaves,  Esq.: 
48,  Mr.  Benjamin  Walmsley ;  49,  Mr.  Benjamin  Boocock;  50,  Mr.  Samuel  Cable." 


GRAMMAR  SCHOOL  ANNALS. 


343 


1775.  Dec.  21.— Mr.  Richd.  Birley,  Mr.  Walter  Freckleton,  Mr.  John  Haworth 
of  Blackburn,  and  Rev.  Daniel  Wilson  of  Lancaster,  elected  Governors  in  room  of 
Thos.  Walmesley,  Esq.,  Mr.  Thos.  Yates,  Mr.  George  Abbott,  and  Mr.  Edmund 
Peel,  deceased. 

1776.  Dec.  21. — "Memorandum. — The  Estate  of  Farnhill  Peel, 
which  is  charged  with  an  Annuity  of  £20  payable  to  the  Schoolmaster 
of  Blackburn,  is  now  in  the  possession  of  Sr.  John  Goodricke,  of  Bram- 
ham  Park,  Yorkshire." 

Mr.  Wm.  Peel,  Mr.  Thos.  Clayton  of  Little  Harwood,  Mr.  John  Hargreaves, 
Mr.  Thos.  Chippindale,  and  Mr.  Wm.  Haworth,  elected  Governors  in  place  of  Geo. 
Wilson,  Esq.,  Mr.  Thos.  Haworth,  Thos.  Braddyll,  Esq.,  and  Mr.  John  Hindle, 
deceased,  and  Mr.  Richd.  Birley,  who  declined  acting. 

1777.  Dec.  22. — Rev.  Mr.  Armistead  of  Mitton,  and    Mr.  Calvert  of  Preston, 
elected  Governors  in  place  of  Mr.  Robt.  Gartside  and  Mr.  John  Calvert,  deceased. 

1778.  Dec.  21. — Mr.  Christopher  Marsden  and  Mr.  John  Hindle  elected  Gover- 
nors in  place  of  Mr.  John  Bolton  and  Mr.  Benjamin  Walmsley,  deceased. 

1779.  Dec.  21. — Mr.  Edmund  Haworth  and  Mr.  James  De  la  Prime  elected 
Governors  in  room  of  Edward  Ainsworth,  Esq. ,  and  Robert  Parker,  Esq. ,  deceased. 

1780.  Dec.  21. — Rev.    Thos.    Starkie,  A.M.,  Vicar  of  Blackburn,  and  James 
Whalley,  Esq.,  of  Clerk-hill,  elected  Governors  in  room  of  Rev.  John  White,  A.M., 
Vicar  of  Blackburn,  and  Thomas  Whalley,  Esq. ,  of  Clerk-hill,  deceased. 

1781.  Dec.  2i.— Mr.  Thos.  Bulcock,  Mr.  Wm.  Carr,  Mr.  Wm.  Charnley,  and  Mr. 
Peter  Ellingthorpe,  elected  Governors  in  the  room  of  Mr.  Edmund  Haworth  (refused 
the  trust),  and  of  Mr.  Winckley,  Mr.  John  Yates,  and  Mr.  Wm.  Haworth,  deceased. 

1783.  July  3. — Ordered  that  the  School  forthwith  receive  neces- 
sary repairs. 

—  Mr.  John  Thornton  and  Mr.  Thomas  Bancroft,  both  of  Blackburn,  elected  Go- 
vernors in  place  of  Mr.  Chr.  Marsden,  deceased,  and  of  Mr.  Thos.  Bulcock,  declined 
the  trust.  — Ordered  that  "the  Master  and  Usher  do  equally  divide  betwixt  themselves 
the  Entrance  Money,  Cock-pennies,  and  the  rent  of  the  Governors'  Room  or  writing 
chamber,  and  every  other  perquisite  arising  from  the  School  or  Scholars  except  their 
respective  salaries,  and  that  this  regulation  do  take  place  from  the  2ist  December,  1782." 

1784.  July  I.— Mr.  Robt.  Turner  and  Mr.  Robt.  Ashburner,  both  of  Blackburn, 
elected  Governors. 

1785.  July  7.— Mr.   Henry  Sudell,  Mr.  John  Hornby,  Mr.  Wm.  Chippindale, 
and  Mr.  John  Fisher,  surgeon,  elected  Governors  in  room  of  Mr.  John  Sudell,  Rev. 
Mr.  Wilson,  Mr.  Henry  Heaton,  and  Mr.  John  Haworth,  all  deceased. 

1786.  July  6.— Mr.  Edmund  Haworth  of  Mill  Hill,  and  Mr.  Henry  Feilden  of 
Blackburn,  elected  Governors  in  the  room  of  Mr.  Jonathan  Haworth  and  Mr.  Robt. 
Haworth,  both  deceased. 

1787.  Jan.  5. — The  Governors  appointed  Mr.  Samuel  Dean,  of 
Manchester,  Upper  Master  of  the  School,  the  place  being  vacant  by  the 
resignation  of  Rev.  John  Wilson,  clerk. — Oct.  10,  1787.  Mr.  James 
RadclifTe  of  Mosney,  appointed  writing-master  and  accountant. 

1789.  July  2. — Mr.    Isaac  Glover,  Mr.   John  Hall,  surgeon,  and   Mr.   Michael 
Ward,  surgeon,  all  of  Blackburn,  elected  Governors  in  room  of  Mr.  Henry  Feilden, 
senr.,  Mr.  Charles  Ford  and  Mr.  Walter  Freckleton,  all  deceased. 

1790.  Aug.    3.— Rev.  Jno.  Langton  Leach  and  Mr.  Thos.  Walmsley  Bulcock 


344  HISTORY    OF  BLACKBURN. 

elected  Governors  in  room  of  Mr.  Thos.  Livesey,  deceased,  and  Mr.  Michael  Ward, 
declined. 

1791. — In  the  accounts: — "By  Mr.  Cardwell  as  a  Benefactor  ^5 
55." — April  27.  Rev.  Thomas  Jackson  of  Bentham  elected  Usher,  in 
place  of  Rev.  Mr.  Exton,  resigned. — Ordered,  that  all  Scholars  learning 
the  Latin  language  shall  be  taught  by  the  Upper  Master. 

1792.  Aug.    17. —  Rev.  Saml.  Dean,  Upper  Master,  resigned. — 
Sep.  20.     The  Governors  elected  Rev.  Thomas  Jackson  Upper  Master. 
— Mr.  John  Feilden  elected  a  Governor. — Oct.   18.     Mr.  Christopher 
Inman  of  Burnsall,  near  Skipton,  elected  Usher. 

1793.  May  9. — The  Governors  agreed  to  a  proposal  by  Mr.  Sudell 
for  an  exchange  of  certain  lands  in  Mellor  belonging  to  the  School, 
known  by  the  name  of  the  Lower  Great  Meadow  and  a  small  corner  of 
the  Barn  Meadow,  for  certain  other  lands  in  Mellor  belonging  to  Mr. 
Sudell,  being  the  Nearer  Green  Meadow,  Further  Green  Field,  Shorrock 
Green  Croft,  and  part  of  the  Meadow  Field ;  Mr.  Sudell  to  give  the  sum 
of  ^15  in  consideration. 

1794.  July  2. — Mr.  Wm.  Feilden  and  Mr.  Samuel  Bowen  elected  Governors  in 
the  room  of  Joseph  Feilden,  Esq.,  and  Mr.  Thos.  Chippendale,  deceased. 

—  July  3. — Mr.  Edward  Chippendale,  Mr.  John  Nevill,  and  Mr.  R.  Latus  elected 
Governors  in  room  of  Peter  Legh,  Esq. ,  Legendre  Starkie,  Esq.  and  Mr.  Wm.  Peel,  deceased. 

1797.  July  6. — Mr.  William  Aspinall  of  Blackburn,   elected   Governor  in  the 
room  of  Mr.  Charnley,  deceased. 

1798.  July  5. — James  Chew,  M.D.,  Mr.  Jonathan  Wood  and  Mr.  John  Birley, 
King-street,  elected  Governors  in  the  room  of  Mr.  G.  Hargreaves,  Mr.  J.  Hargreaves, 
and  Mr.  Ashburner,  deceased. 

1799.  April  2. — Rev.  Wm.  Lutener,  of  Blackburn,  elected  Usher 
in  the  place  of  Mr.  Inman,  resigned. 

1 800.  July  3. — Mr.  Carr,  Mr.  Richard  Cardwell,  senr.,  Mr.  John  Birley,  junr., 
and  Mr.  Alexander  Butler,  elected  Governors  in  room  of  Mr.  Carr,  Mr.  A.  Chew, 
Mr.  J.  Tipping,  and  Mr.  W.  Bulcock,  all  deceased. 

1 80 1.  June  2.- — The  Governors  agreed  to  sell  to  Henry  Sudell, 
Esq.,  three  Messuages,  Farms,  or  Tenements  in  Mellor,  known  as  the 
Higher  School  Lands,  the  Lower  School  Lands,  and  the  Middle  School 
Lands,  now  in  the  occupation  of  Mrs.  Ashburner  or  her  under-tenants, 
for  the  sum  of  ^£2,600.  "The  estates  contracted  to  be  sold  contain  31 
acres  and  7  perches,  and  the  clear  profits  to  the  Master  and  Usher  are 
£20  us.  8d." — The  Governors  resolved  that  all  interest  accruing  from 
the  said  sum  of  ^2,600,  and  all  rents  thereof  should  thereafter  accrue 
from  lands  purchased  and  conveyed  in  exchange  for  lands  sold,  subject 
to  deductions  by  the  Governors  for  repairs  of  the  School  and  the  improve- 
ment of  lands  and  buildings  belonging  thereto,  should  be  divided  half 
yearly  between  the  Master  and  Usher  in  the  proportion  of  five  to  three. 

—  July  2. — Mr.  Hugh  Hornby  Birley  elected  a  Governor  in  the  room  of  Edw. 
Brewer,  deceased. 


GRAMMAR  SCHOOL  ANNALS. 


345 


1802.  July  I.— Mr.  A.  Chew,  Mr.  Thos.  Carr,  Mr.  Richd.  Ellingthorpe,  and 
Mr.  Wm.  Maude  elected  Governors  in  the  room  of  Sir  Geo.  Warren,  Mr.  Wm.  Fox, 
Mr.  Thos.  Baron,  and  Mr.  Thos.  Bolton,  all  deceased. l 

1803.  June  30. — The  Governors  appointed  Mr.  James  Holme,  of 
Ealing,  Middlesex,  to  be  Upper  Master  in  the  place  of  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Jackson,  deceased. 

Rev.  Mr.  Stephenson,  Mess;s.  John  Cardwell,  Abm.  Pryme,  Jos.  Birley,  Warren 
Maude,  and  D.  Blissett  elected  Governors  in  room  of  John  Clayton,  Thos.  Cross,  and 
Edw.  Bolton,  Esqrs.,  Mr.  Robinson  Shuttleworth  and  Mr.  Hugh  Birley,  deceased. 

1804.  Aug.  2. — Mr.  Robt.  Cross  and  Mr.  Thos.  Beardsworth  elected  Governors 
in  room  of  Mr.  John  Smalley  and  Mr.  Benjamin  Bulcock,  deceased. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  continue  in  detail  the  annals  of  the  School 
during  the  present  century,  so  far  as  they  relate  to  the  election  of 
Governors  to  fill  vacancies  and  to  current  business  of  the  foundation. 
The  present  Clerk  to  the  Governors,  Arthur  I.  Robinson,  Esq.,  kindly 
supplies  from  the  Minute  Books  the  following  notes  of  appointments  of 
Masters  since  1806: — "  Mr.  Holme,  the  Upper  Master,  resigned  Dec. 
2ist,  1807. — Rev.  Wm.  Boardman  elected  Head  Master,  26th  Sept., 
1808. — Mr.  Thomas  Atkinson  elected  Head  Master  23  Dec.,  1819, 
vice  Boardman,  resigned. — Rev.  John  Bidgood  Bennett,  M.A.,  elected 
Head  Master  18  Dec.,  1845,  vice  Atkinson,  resigned. — Mr.  Thomas 
Ainsworth,  M.A.,  elected  Head  Master  23  Nov.,  1855,  vice  Bennett, 
resigned. — Rev.  Ralph  Leeming  appointed  Usher  4  Oct.,  1812,  vice 
Lutener,  resigned. — Rev.  Richard  Garrett  appointed  Usher  10  Nov., 
1814,  vice  Leeming,  resigned. — Mr.  Garrett  resigned  in  Oct.,  1819,  and 
Mr.  Boardman,  Head  Master,  resigning  about  the  same  time,  the 
Governors  decided  to  combine  the  offices  owing  to  the  income  of  the 
School  Estate  being  insufficient  to  pay  two  salaries."8 

1  RENT  ROLL  [1802].— Nov.  nth,  due  from  Mr.  Sudell,  ^65  ;  May  i3th,  due  from  Mr.  Sudell, 
£65  ;  at  Whitsuntide  and   Martinmas,  due  from  Mr.  Wilkinson  of  Winterburn  near  Skipton  from  an 
estate  in  Yorkshire  called  Farnhill  Peel,  £10  half  yearly,  £20  ;  at  Candlemas  and  2nd  Feby.,  due  from 
Thos.  Ward  of  Mellor,  £2  IDS.  half  yearly,  .£5  ;  July  or  Aug.,  Dutchy  Rents  due  from  the  Dutchy 
Court,  £4  js.  4d. ;  Rent  of  the  Pew  from  E.  Chippindall,  ^i  IDS.  6d. ;  at  May  Day,  Rent  of  the  Wri- 
ting Master's  Room,  £3  23. ;  total,  £164  os.  jod. ;  Deduct  from  the  Duchy  Rents,  ics. ;  £163  ics.  rod. ; 
of  the  above,  five-eighths  due  to  the  Master,  £102  43.  3d.;  of  the  above,  three-eighths  to  the  Usher, 
£61  6s.  7d. ;  £163  TOS.  icd. 

2  The  present  (1875)  List  of  Governors  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  is  as  follows  : — Wm.  Henry 
Hornby,  Esq.;  Wm.  Thos.    Carr,  Esq.;  Montague  Joseph  Feilden,   Esq.   (Lt.-Col.)  ;  Robert  Lund, 
Esq.;  Henry  Master  Feilden,  Esq.;  Thos.  Ainsworth,  Esq.;  John  Livesey,  Esq.;  Sir  W.  H.  Feilden, 
Bart.;  Rev.  Chas.  Greenway ;  John  Turner  Hopwood,  Esq.;  Robt.   Raynsford  Jackson,  Esq.  (Col.); 
Rev.  Henry  John  Marlen ;     Danl.  Thwaites,  Esq.;  Robt.  Hopwood  Hutchinson,  Esq.;  Wm.  Leyland 
Feilden,  Esq.;  Richd.  Barton  Dodgson,  Esq.;  Hy.  Unsworth  Hargreaves,   Esq.;  Thos.   Lund,  Esq.; 
Rev.  Geo.  Alexr.  Hamilton  Ashe  ;    Rev.   Chas.  Wright  Woodhouse  (Canon  of  Manchester)  ;    James 
Cunningham,  Esq.;  Joseph  Harrison,  Esq.;  Wm.  Dickinson,  Esq.;  Rev.  Robt.  Atherton   Rawstorne ; 
Rev.  Philip  Graham  ;    Arthur  Ingram   Robinson,  Esq.;    Thomas  Ratcliffe,  Esq.;    William  Harrison, 
Esq.;  Wm.  Henry  Hornby,  junr.,  Esq  ;  James  Thompson,  Esq.;  Wm.  Coddington,  Esq.;  Rev.  Edwd. 
Birch  (Hon.  Canon  of  Manchester)  ;  Thos.  Hartley  Pickup,  Esq.;  Thos.  Clough,  Esq.;  John  Thwaites, 
Esq.;  John  Bolton,  Esq.;  Thos.   Lewis,   Esq.;  Adam  Dugdale,   Esq.;  Thomas  Bury,   Esq.,  Robert 
Parkinson,  Esq.;  John  Tattersall,  Esq.;  Robt.  Duckworth,  Esq.;  John  Pickop,  Esq.;  Thos.  Hutton 
Baynes,  Esq. ;  Robt.  Carr  Radcliffe,  Esq. ;  Wm.  G.  Cort,  Esq. ;  Henry  John  Robinson ,  Esq. ;  Jas.  Lewis,  Esq. 


346  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

The  purchase  money  (,£2,600)  of  the  School  lands  in  Mellor  sold 
to  Mr.  Henry  Sudell  in  1801,  remained  in  Mr.  SudelPs  hand  at  interest 
until  1812,  when  an  estate  was  purchased  therewith  in  Dilworth,  called 
"Clayton's,"  contains  31  acres  i  rood  25  perches  of  land,  customary 
measure  (about  58  statute  acres),  and  at  the  time  of  this  transfer  was 
leased  to  Thomas  Clayton  at  a  rent  of  ^no.  In  1816  the  farm  was 
relet  at  a  rental  of  ;£8o  ;  in  1823  was  relet  at  ^60;  and  in  1826  was 
leased  to  another  tenant  at  ;£8o  annual  rental,  which  is  about  the  present 
revenue  of  the  School  from  this  source.  The  Pianot  Nest  tenement  in 
Mellor,  purchased  in  1749,  yielded  in  1825  a  rental  of  £16  yearly;  the 
rent  charge  of  £20  on  Farnhill  estate,  and  the  sum  of  ^4  75.  4d.  from 
the  Duchy  (less  gs.  rod.  deducted  for  fees),  making  a  total  endowment 
of  ^119  7s.  6d.  About  ten  years  ago  the  annual  income  of  the  School 
from  endowments  was  reported  to  be  ^118  75.  8d.  gross,  and  ^113  net. 

The  old  School  House  in  the  Parish  Churchyard  was  disused  and 
taken  down  in  1820,  on  the  conveyance  of  the  site,  for  a  sum  of  ^850, 
to  the  trustees  for  rebuilding  the  Parish  Church.  The  same  year,  the 
Governors  secured  a  new  site  called  the  "  Bull  Meadow"  on  the  Rectorial 
Glebe  from  the  lessee  of  the  Primate,  for  ^141  23.  5d. ;  the  plot  contains 
4,610  square  yards,  and  upon  a  part  of  it  the  present  School  and  Master's 
House  were  erected  in  1825.  The  rest  of  the  land  is  enclosed  for  a 
playground.  The  school-room  is  not  large,  and  but  poorly  meets  the 
necessities  of  the  100  scholars  now  usually  receiving  education  upon  this 
foundation. 

A  project  for  rebuilding  the  school  on  a  pleasanter  site  in  the 
suburb  near  the  Corporation  Park,  and  for  augmenting  the  endowment 
by  means  of  a  public  subscription,  has  been  mooted  recently,  but  has 
not  yet  proceeded.  At  present  (July,  1875)  the  Commissioners  under 
the  Endowed  Schools  Act  of  1874,  are  making  local  inquiries  preliminary 
to  the  drawing-up  of  a  Scheme  for  the  reconstruction  of  the  government 
of  the  foundation.  Should  the  scheme  when  published  be  generally 
approved  by  the  inhabitants,  the  proposal  to  build  a  larger  School  on 
another  site  and  to  increase  the  endowment  may  be  expected  to  assume 
practical  shape. 

LIST  OF  HEAD  MASTERS  OF  BLACKBURN  GRAMMAR  SCHOOL. 

Of  some  of  the  earliest  Masters  of  the  School  from  the  Queen's 
foundation  in  1567  there  is  no  definite  record.     The  first  met  with  is — 
Mr.  —  YATES,  circa  1580  to  1592. 

He  was  instructor  of  Robert  Bolton,  whose  biographer  speaks  of  him  as  a  singular 
(good)  Schoolmaster  that  was  then  in  the  town.  Bolton  left  the  School  about  A.  D. 
1592. 


GRAMMAR  SCHOOL  MASTERS.  347 

BARNARD  SMITH,  died  before  1597. 

A  legacy  of  2os.  left  to  the  School  by  this  Master  was  paid  Dec.  2ist,  1597. 

EDWARD  BROWNE,  appointed  Aug.  ist,  1608,  died  in  1612. 

He  was  before  sometime  Master  of  Whalley  School ;  and  he  bequeathed  403.  to 
Blackburn  School,  which  was  paid  by  his  executor  Sept.  29th,  1612. 

THURSTAN  COLLINSON,  appointed  Sept.  29th,  1612,  ceased  before 
1623. 

JOHN  HARGREAVES,  M.A.,  appointed  Dec.  2ist,  1623,  ceased  1624. 

RICHARD  HALSTEAD,  M.A.,  appointed  Jan.  8th,  1624-5,  ceased  1640. 

JOHN  SWINLEHURST,  appointed  Aug.  9th,  1641,  died  Nov.,  1655. 

CHARLES  SAGAR,  appointed  Jan.  2ist,  1655-6,  resigned  in  1666. 

Some  account  of  this  Master,  who  afterwards  taught  a  private  school  in  Black- 
burn and  was  a  Nonconformist  Minister,  will  be  inserted  hereafter  in  the  sketch  of  the 
Lower  Chapel,  Over  Darwen,  of  which  Mr.  Sagar  became  Pastor. 

Mr.  —  SHERBURNE,  appointed  1666,  ceased  1667. 
THOMAS  WYLD,  appointed  Oct.  7th,  1667,  ceased  1667. 
OLIVER  HALLIWELL,  appointed  March  9th,  1667-8,  ceased  before 
1669. 

Mr.  SAGAR  seems  to  have  temporarily  resumed  as  Master  in  1669,  during  a  vacancy. 
JOHN  ODDIE,  appointed  1670,  died  1703. 

Mr.  Oddie  was  an  antiquary,  a  friend  of  Dr.  Charles  Leigh,  who  inserts  in  his 
"Natural  History  of  Lancashire,"  &c.,  a  letter  on  the  supposed  Roman  port  at  Rib- 
chester  "from  the  ingenious  and  learned  Mr.  Oddy,  School-master  at  Blackburn." 
In  Blackburn  Parish  Register  I  find  the  burial,  Sept.  2nd,  1703,  of  "John  Oddy  of 
Blackburn,  yeoman,  schoolmaster  of  the  Free  School  of  Blackburn,  buried  three  yards 
deep."  Mr.  Oddie  was  of  a  family  seated  at  Grindleton. 

RICHARD  WARDE,  appointed  1703,  died  June,  1704. 
ROBERT  FOSTER,  B.A.,  appointed  July  3rd,  1704,  died  1705. 
GEORGE  SMITH,  B.A.,  appointed  Aug.  2oth,  1705,  resigned  1731. 
THOMAS  HOLME,  appointed  June  23rd,  1731,  resigned  1736. 

Rev.  Thomas  Holme  was  eldest  son  of  Rev.  John  Holme,  Vicar  of  Blackburn. 
He  was  born  in  1706,  educated  at  Brasenose  College,  Oxford,  Master  of  this  School 
from  1731  to  1736,  elected  a  Governor  in  1739,  received  the  title  of  D.D.,  and  died 
in  1754. 

DANIEL  MARKLAND,  B.A.,  appointed  Nov.  ist,  1736,  died  1737. 

THOMAS  HUNTER,  appointed  Aug.  2nd,  1737,  resigned  1750. 

Rev.  Thomas  Hunter,  of  a  Cumberland  family,  born  about  1710,  of  Queen's 
College,  Oxford,  was  Master  of  this  School  thirteen  years,  and  is  spoken  of  by  a  pupil 
(Dr.  Edward  Harwood,  to  be  noticed  hereafter)  as  having  "  the  best  school  at  Black- 
burn of  any  gentleman  in  the  County."  While  here,  Mr.  Hunter  published,  in  1744, 

"A  Letter  to  Col.  John ,  in  Flanders,  on  the  Subject  of  Religion  ;"  and  married, 

Feb.  28th,  1738,  Mrs.^Mary  Baldwin,  widow  of  Hugh  Baldwin,  gent.,  by  whom  he  had 
sons  Thomas  and  Joseph  (both  died  in  infancy  in  1745),  William,  born  1741,  and  a 
second  Thomas,  born  1748.  In  1750  Mr.  Hunter  resigned  the  Mastership  of  the 
School  on  his  appointment,  June  ist,  1750,  as  Vicar  of  Garstang.  He  was  next 
preferred,  April  i8th,  1755,  to  tne  Vicarage  of  Weaverham,  Co.  Chester,  which  he 


348  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

held  until  his  death,  Sept.  1st,  1777,  aged  67  ;  and  was  succeeded  as  Vicar  there  by 
his  son  Thomas.  His  widow  died  March  roth,  1782,  aged  71.  A  monumental  tablet 
to  Mr.  Hunter  and  his  wife  is  fixed  in  the  chancel  of  Weaverham  Church.  Mr.  Hunter 
was  author  of  several  printed  books,  including: — "  Observations  on  Tacitus, "  1752; 
"Funeral  Sermon  on  Dr.  Stratford,"  1754  ;  "Character  of  Lord  Bolingbroke, "  1770 
(this  work  procured  him  the  title  of  M.  A.  by  diploma) ;  "Moral  Discourses  on  Provi- 
dence," 2  v.,  1774;  "Reflections  on  the  Letters  of  the  late  Earl  of  Chesterfield," 
1776;  "Letter  to  a  Priest,  &c.,  on  Image  Worship;"  "A  Fast  Sermon,"  &c.  He 
is  said  to  have  been  afflicted  with  blindness  in  his  later  years,  when  several  of  the  above 
works  were  composed. 

ROBERT  SMITH,  B.A.,  appointed  Aug.  29th,  1750,  resigned  1755. 

RICHARD  GUEST,  appointed  Sept.  6th,  1755,  died  1769. 

JOHN  WILSON,  M.A.,  appointed  Aug.  28th,  1769,  resigned  1786. 

Mr.  Wilson  was  sometime  Curate  of  Tockholes  in  this  parish,  and  also  Vicar  of 
Milnthorpe,  Westmoreland. 

SAMUEL  DEAN,  appointed  Jan.  5th,  1787,  resigned  1792. 

Rev.  Samuel  Dean  was  author  of  a  volume  of  Sermons,  printed  at  Blackburn 
in  1795.  He  was  Minister  of  St.  Paul's  Church  after  1792. 

THOMAS  JACKSON,  appointed  Aug.  i7th,  1792,  died  1803. 
JAMES  HOLME,  appointed  June  3oth,  1803,  resigned  1807. 
WILLIAM  BOARDMAN,  appointed  Sept.  26th,  1808,  resigned  1819. 
THOMAS  ATKINSON,  appointed  Dec.  23rd,  1819,  resigned  1845. 

Mr.  Atkinson  was  a  successful  Master  during  his  term,  and  on  his  death,  some 
years  after  his  retirement,  a  tributary  column  was  placed  at  the  angle  of  the  School 
ground  in  St.  Peter-street,  on  two  sides  of  the  pedestal  of  which  is  the  inscription  : — 
"To  Thomas  Atkinson,  Head  Master  for  20  years  of  Queen  Elizabeth's  Free  Gram- 
mar School,  Blackburn, — Erected  by  his  Pupils  in  grateful  remembrance  of  his  faithful 
and  zealous  services.  A.D.  1855." 

JOHN  B.  BENNETT,  M.A.,  appointed  Dec.  i8th,  1845,  resigned 
(having  greatly  reduced  the  School  by  neglect)  1855. 

THOMAS  AINSWORTH,  M.A.,  appointed  Nov.  22nd,  1855  ;  present 

Head  Master. 

LIST  OF  USHERS. 

RICHARD  RISHETON,  appointed  Dec.,  1597,  ceased  1613. 
ROBERT  OSBALDESTON,  B.A.,  appointed  Dec.,  1613,  dismissed  1616. 
RICHARD  BRADLEY,  appointed  Oct.,  1619,  dismissed  1642. 
RICHARD  MORRES,  appointed  April,  1642,  died  1660. 
THOMAS  WALMESLEY,  appointed  Jan.,  1660-1,  ceased  1666. 
RICHARD  DUCKWORTH,  appointed  Dec.,  1666,  ceased  1667. 
HUGH  WAREING,  appointed  Jan.,  1667-8,  dismissed  July,  1678. 
THOMAS  WALMSLEY,  appointed  July,  1678,  died  Jan.,  1684-5. 
JAMES  ABBOT,  appointed  April,  1685,  ceased  1687. 
OLIVER  SHAW,  appointed  Dec.,  1687,  ceased  1692. 
JAMES  BURTON,  appointed  Oct.,  1692,  died  1704. 
JAMES  LIVESEY,  appointed  Oct.,  1704,  died  1715. 
THOMAS  MOON,  appointed  Feb.,  1715-6,  ceased  1727. 


CHARITIES  OF  BLACKBURN. 


349 


THOMAS  WRIGHT,  appointed  July,  1727,  ceased  1731. 
PETER  LIVESEY,  appointed  March,  1731-2,  died  Jan.,  1742-3. 
ROBERT  SUTTON,  appointed  Feb.,  1742-3,  ceased  1749. 
NICHOLAS  PARKER,  appointed  Aug.,  1749,  ceased  1782. 
THOMAS  EXTON,  appointed  Dec.,  1791,  ceased  1787. 

THOMAS  JACKSON,  appointed  April,  1791,  made  Head  Master,  August,  1792. 
CHRISTOPHER  INMAN,  appointed  Oct.,  1792,  resigned  1799. 
WILLIAM  LUTENER,  appointed  April,  1799,  resigned  1812. 
RALPH  LEEMING,  appointed  Oct.,  1812,  resigned  1814. 
RICHARD  GARRETT,  appointed  Nov.,  1814,  resigned  Oct.,  1819. 
The  office  of  usher  was  abolished  in  1819. 

CHARITIES  OF  BLACKBURN  TOWNSHIP. 

POORS'    STOCK   AND   POORS*   LANDS. 

An  ancient  gift  of  £20  to  the  Poor  of  the  Parish,  "  by  a  person 
unknown,"  is  recorded  by  Bishop  Gastrell,  as  returned  by  Vicar  Holme 
and  his  Wardens  in  1718. 

A.D.  1685.  Mr.  Henry  Maudsley  of  Ousebooth,  at  the  funeral  of 
his  brother  Thurstan  (1685-6),  gave  £10  to  the  Poor  of  Blackburn; 
increased  by  interest  to  ^13  in  1716,  when  the  amount  was  in  the 
hands  of  Mr.  John  Sudell. 

A.D.  1694.  Mr.  William  Yates  gave  by  Will  dated  1694,  £20  to  be 
set  out  by  the  Vicar,  one  Warden,  and  one  of  the  most  honest  Mercers  or 
Fustian  Men  of  Blackburn,  the  interest  to  be  disposed  annually  among 
the  Poor  of  Blackburn. 

A.D.  1696.  Joseph  Yates,  Esq.,  and  his  Sisters  Mrs.  Mary  Moseley 
and  Mrs.  Abigail  Drake,  at  the  funeral  of  their  Mother,  gave  £20  for 
the  Poor  of  Blackburn. 

Before  1703.  Ralph  Clayton,  of  London,  Grocer,  gave  ^30;  and 
Mr.  Edward  Clayton,  Master  of  Manchester  Free  School,  by  Will,  gave 
£6  135.  d8.,  half  of  which  was  lost  before  1718. 

A.D.  1704.  Mr.  Joseph  Yates  by  Will  dated  June  2ist,  1704,  gave 
to  the  Churchwardens  and  Overseers  of  Blackburn  township,  ;£io  to 
be  bestowed  yearly  to  poor  persons  on  St.  James'  Day. 

A.D.  1 706.  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Wilkinson,  at  the  funeral  of  her  Brother, 
Rev.  Francis  Price,  Vicar,  gave  ^20,  the  interest  to  be  given  to  the 
Poor  of  Blackburn  by  the  Vicar  and  two  Inhabitants. 

A.D.  1710.  Mr.  Joseph  Yates  by  Will  gave  ;£ioo  to  be  lent  out 
at  Interest  by  the  Vicar  and  Curate  and  one  substantial  Tradesman ; 
interest  yearly  to  the  Poor  of  Blackburn. 

A.D.  1711.  Mr.  William  Yates  of  Blackburn,  by  Will  dated  May 
7th,  1711,  gave  to  Mr.  Holme,  Vicar,  William  Dickson,  Curate,  and 
John  Sudell,  ^100  to  be  given  to  poor  persons  not  receiving  parish 
relief;  and  interest  of  ^5  to  be  spent  by  Trustees  at  yearly  meeting. 


350  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

With  accumulated  Poor  Stock  was  purchased  for  ^205  25.  in  1744, 
a  copyhold  estate  in  Yate  Bank,  of  13  acres  of  land,  messuage,  barn, 
&c.,  which  was  then  let  to  the  trustees  of  William  Kenyon  at  a  yearly 
rent  of  ^"ir  los. 

A.D.  1737.  Mr.  John  Sudell  by  Will  dated  Feb.  9th,  1737, 
directed  a  sum  of  ^70  after  his  decease  to  be  put  out  at  interest  or  laid 
out  in  land  by  Vicar  Holme,  Henry  Sudell,  testator's  son,  and  his  sons- 
in-law  Henry  Feilden  and  John  Whalley ;  out  of  yearly  interest  to  be 
bought  two  new  Bibles  to  be  given  to  two  poor  children  of  Blackburn  ; 
the  residue  to  be  distributed  by  way  of  Dole  amongst  poor  persons  not 
receiving  parish  relief. 

A.D.  1762.  By  Deed  dated  Feb.  i6th,  1762,  John  Sudell  and 
John  Feilden  purchased  for  ^"210,  from  Richard  Dewhurst  and  Eliza- 
beth his  wife,  an  estate  of  land  in  Mellor  called  Southworth  tenement, 
and  closes  called  Little  Meadow,  Higher  Croft,  Lower  Mill  Field,  Well 
Field,  Witch  Croft,  a  new  inclosure  called  Whitehill  on  Mellor  Moor, 
and  Wall  Field,  containing  13  acres.  July  i6th,  1762,  John  Sudell  and 
John  Feilden  conveyed  the  same  tenement  to  Vicar  Wollin,  Henry 
Sudell,  and  John  Whalley,  their  heirs,  in  trust  to  let  the  same  and  distri- 
bute the  rents  annually  among  the  industrious  Poor  of  Blackburn.  It  is 
declared  therein  that  of  the  sum  of  ^210  paid  for  the  estate,  were  ^13 
given  by  a  Mr.  Maudsley,  ^70  by  Mr.  John  Sudell,  deceased,  and  a 
donation  of  ^£127  by  Mr.  Henry  Sudell.  The  Trustees  of  this  charity 
in  1825  were  Vicar  Whitaker,  Henry  Sudell,  Esq.,  and  Joseph  Feilden, 
Esq. 

A.D.  1825.  Blackburn  Poors'  Lands,  as  reported  to  the  Charity 
Commission,  were  : — i.  Copyhold  estate  of  Lang  House  in  Yate  Bank  ; 
a  house  and  loa.  ir.  24p.  land  customary  measure  in  the  occupation  of 
Henry  Sharpies  at  a  rental  of  -£$6.  2.  Estate  in  Mellor  called  South- 
worth  Green  Farm,  containing  loa.  2r.  zop.  customary  measure,  in 
occupation  of  Roger  Haydock,  rent  £28. — At  the  distribution  on  Jan. 
ist,  1825,  was  given  in  money  to  203  poor  persons  ^15;  90  pairs  of 
blankets  ^39  153.;  Church  rates  and  allowance  to  tenants  153.  6d. ; 
balance  £8  75.  rod. ;  total  income  ^13  i8s.  4d. 

GIRLS'  CHARITY    SCHOOL. 

Founded  A.D.  1763,  by  William  Leyland,  Esq.,  who  by  Will  dated 
1 8th  July,  1763,  gave  £200  to  Richard  Cardwell,  John  Shepherd,  and 
Joseph  Feilden,  in  trust  to  establish  in  Blackburn  a  Charity  School  after 
the  pattern  of  that  in  Kirkham,  &c.  To  the  above  legacy  was  added  by 
subscriptions  of  other  persons  the  same  year  £262  ros.  Subsequently 
these  further  gifts  have  been  made  to  the  Charity  : — In  1 764 — Joseph 


CHURCHES  OF  THE  ESTABLISHMENT. 


351 


Whalley  ^50;  John  Whalley  ,£50;  John  Shepherd  ^£50.  1796 — 
Part  of  residuary  property  of  Mrs.  Mary  Smalley,  received  from  Rev. 
Richard  Penryn  ;£ioo.  1807 — Mrs.  Feilden  of  Halsnead  ;£ioo. 
1811 — Richard  Birley  ;£ioo ;  Mr.  Yates  of  Bury  ^"50.  The  School 
in  Thunder  Alley,  Blackburn,  was  built  and  opened  in  1764.  A  house 
for  the  Mistress  adjoins  the  School.  In  1765,  Richard  Cardwell,  John 
Shepherd,  and  Joseph  Feilden  nominated  John  Fielding  and  John 
Thurston  to  be  trustees  with  them.  In  1825,  the  trustees  were  : — Rev. 
J.  W.  Whitaker,  Vicar ;  Messrs.  John  Hornby,  Joseph  Feilden,  William 
Maude,  and  John  Hargreaves.  The  School  Stock  at  the  same  date  was 
^2,416  135.  4d.  in  the  hands  of  Messrs.  Birley  and  Hornby.  Ninety 
girls  were  then  attending  the  School.  Salary  of  Schoolmistress  ^30 
and  ^4  for  firing.  Expenditure  in  1824,  ^155  23.  4d.  The  trustees 
met  twice  a  year  to  choose  girls,  children  of  poor  people  in  the  township 
of  Blackburn. 

MINOR  CHARITIES  OF  BLACKBURN. 

WOLLIN'S  CHARITY. — The  Rev.  John  Wollin,  Vicar  of  Blackburn,  1742-72, 
gave  £10,  the  interest  to  be  expended  in  books  for  the  poor  of  the  parish. 

DUCKWORTH'S  CHARITY. — Mrs.  Duckworth,  widow,  bequeathed  405.,  the 
interest  to  be  laid  out  in  bread  for  communicants  of  the  parish. 

The  LADIES'  SOCIETY,  established  in  1808,  affords  relief  to  poor  married  women 
in  child-bed. 

The  STRANGERS'  FRIEND  SOCIETY,  established  in  1808,  provides  for  visiting  and 
relieving  Sick  and  Distressed  Persons.  The  fund,  dispensed  by  visitors  under 
direction  of  a  committee,  is  derived  from  donations  and  annual  subscriptions,  and 
a  chief  item  of  income  is  a  yearly  gift  of  £100  by  Wm.  Henry  Hornby,  Esq. 

The  TURNER  ALMSHOUSES,  Bank  Top,  (according  to  an  inscription  upon  the 
front  of  the  houses)  "were  erected  and  endowed  by  William  and  Jane  Turner,  Mill 
Hill,  A.D.  1833."  They  comprise  six  small  one-storied  dwellings,  for  the  reception 
of  that  number  of  indigent  aged  women,  who  have  each  allowed  along  with  the  house 
a  sum  of  35.  weekly  for  maintenance. 

CHURCHES  OF  THE  ESTABLISHMENT. 

The  churches  in  the  township  besides  the  Old  Parish  Church  are 
the  following : — 

ST.  JOHN'S. — This  was  the  first  new  Church  founded  in  Blackburn  Parish  in  the 
modern  period.  It  was  built  by  subscription  in  1 788,  as  a  proprietary  Chapel  of  Ease 
to  the  Parish  Church,  and  of  the  cost,  ^"8,000,  the  moiety  was  given  by  Henry  Sudell, 
Esq.,  who  also  gave  for  the  endowment  of  the  living  an  estate  called  Becket  Fold  in 
Yate-cum-Pickup  Bank,  to  meet  a  grant  from  Queen  Anne's  Bounty.  The  Church 
was  consecrated  July  3  ist,  1789.  The  architecture  is  classic,  and  the  external  walls 
are  of  dressed  freestone.  The  body  of  the  Church  is  a  parallelogram  about  7oft.  by 
6oft.  The  entrances  are  in  the  west  front ;  the  central  doorway  is  under  a  tower  ter- 
minating in  an  octagon  with  domed  roof  and  lantern.  The  organ  chamber  is  above  the 
vestry  on  the  east  side  of  the  structure.  The  interior  has  galleries  on  three  sides. 
There  is  a  good  organ,  reconstructed  in  1868.  Sittings  ("Calendar"  return)  1,166. 


•352 


HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


A  large  grave-yard  surrounds  the  Church.  St.  John's  was  constituted  a  Parish  Church 
in  1847.  Patron  :  The  Vicar  of  Blackburn.  Value  of  Living  ^357.  Rev.  J.  Baker 
is  present  Vicar.  Former  Incumbents: — Rev.  John  Langton  Leach,  M.A.  (1789- 
1810);  Rev.  James  Dodgson,  B.A.  (1811-26);  Rev.  Jackson  Porter  (1826-41); 
Rev.  R.  T.  Wheeler,  M.A.  (1842-51);  Rev.  H.  J.  Marlen  (1851-60);  Rev.  John 
Smith  (1860-66). 

ST.  PAUL'S. — This  Church  was  built  by  subscription  in  1791,  but  the  then  Vicar 
of  Blackburn  refusing  to  certify  for  consecration,  the  trustees  of  the  Church  placed  it 
under  the  Countess  of  Huntingdon's  Connexion,  and  it  was  served  by  a  minister  of 
that  Connexion  until  1829,  when  the  Church  was  consecrated,  Dec.  2Oth,  and  the 
minister  (Rev.  John  Price)  admitted  to  Priest's  orders  in  the  Church  of  England 
in  1830.  The  Church  is  a  very  plain  structure,  consisting  of  a  nave,  low  tower,  and  a 
chancel  added  in  1867.  The  interior  is  galleried  on  three  sides,  the  organ  standing  in 
the  west  gallery.  The  Church  has  recently  been  much  improved  internally.  Sittings 
926.  Patron  :  The  Vicar  of  Blackburn.  Value  of  Living  ,£300.  Present  Vicar 
Rev.  W.  Thompson,  M.A.  Former  Incumbents: — Rev.  SamuePDean  (1792-99); 
Rev.  John  Price  (1799-1841) ;"  Rev.  A.  G.  Edouart  (1841-50);  Rev.  H.  W.  Mary- 
church  (1850-70);  Rev.  W.  Mayor. 

ST.  PETER'S. — This  spacious  Church  was  built  in  1819-21,  at  a  cost  of  ^13,000, 
provided  by  grant  from  Parliament  aided  by  private  subscription.  Its  style  is  decorated 
gothic,  designed  by  the  architect  of  the  Parish  Church  (Mr.  Palmer).  Consecrated 
Sept.  nth,  1821.  The  edifice  is  composed  of  nave  without  clerestory,  north  and  south 
aisles  ;  a  short  chancel ;  vestries  ;  and  western  tower.  The  roofs  of  nave  and  aisles 
are  vaulted  internally.  The  length  of  the  nave  is  96ft.,  and  the  width  across  nave  and 
aisles  67ft.  There  are  commodious  side  galleries ;  and  a  noble  organ  (opened  Feb. 
27th,  1865,  and  enlarged  in  1 874) 'fills  the  upper  space  at  the  west  end,  with  a  gallery 
for  the  choir  in  front  of  the  organ.  The  great  east  window  of  the  chancel  is  a  painted 
Memorial  window  given  by  the  late  Richard  Cardwell,  Esq.  The  clustered  columns 
supporting  the  nave  arches  are  massive,  with  moulded  capitals.  Sittings,  1,432. 
Patron  :  The  Vicar  of  Blackburn.  Value  of  the  Living  ,£300.  Present  Vicar,  Rev. 
H.  G.  Youard,  M.A.  Former  Incumbents  :— Rev.  T.  H.  Backhouse,  M.A.  (1821-28); 
Rev.  Chas.  A.  Hunt,  B.A.  (1828-39);  Rev.  T.  Sharpies,  M.A.  (1839-58);  Rev. 
C.  W.  Woodhouse,  M.A.  (1858-74). 

HOLY  TRINITY. — This  Church  was  projected  in  1836,  to  be  built  by  subscription, 
and  the  first  stone  was  laid  in  January  of  that  year,  but  the  work  was  delayed,  and  it 
was  not  until  January,  1846,  that  the  Church  \vas  completed  and  opened.  It  was 
consecrated  July  I2th,  1846.  The  architecture  is  transitional  gothic  and  the  design 
included  nave,  north  and  south  aisles,  north  and  south  transepts,  chancel,  and  western 
tower  and  spire.  The  tower  was  left  incomplete  until  1855  >  and  the  spire  yet  remains 
to  be  added.  The  site  is  a  conspicuous  one  on  the  crest  of  an  eminence.  The  interior 
is  lofty  and  effective.  Galleries  surround  the  nave  and  are  extended  into  the  transepts. 
Sittings,  1,474.  Patron:  Vicar  of  Blackburn.  Value  of  Living  ^350.  Present. 
Vicar,  Rev.  W.  R.  Stephens,  M.  A.  Former  Incumbents : — Rev.  E.  C.  Montriou,  M. A.; 
Rev.  Edward  Parker  (1846-50)  ;  Rev.  Christopher  Robinson,  LL.D.  (1850-69). 

ST.  MICHAEL'S. — A  Chapel  erected  by  the  Wesleyans  was  purchased  in  1839  and 
opened  as  a  Mission  of  the  Church  of  England  by  license  from  the  Bishop  Sept.  29th, 
1839.  This  building  was  consecrated  in  1844.  A  new  Church,  the  corner-stone  of 
which  was  laid  by  W.  H.  Hornby,  Esq.,  Jan.  6th,  1866,  was  finished  in  1869;  conse- 
crated Jan.  28th.  The  new  Church  is  a  gothic  structure,  designed  to  have  when 
completed  a  tower  and  spire  146 ft.  high  rising  above  the  entrance  on  the  south-east 


ROMAN  CATHOLIC  MISSIONS  IN  BLACKBURN.  353 

side  of  the  Church.  The  plan  includes  a  nave  and  side  aisles,  72ft.  by  51  ft. ;  chancel  ; 
and  organ  aisle.  Cost  of  the  Church  .£5,000.  An  organ  was  placed  in  the  Church  in 
1875.  Sittings  827.  Patron  :  Vicar  of  Blackburn.  Value  of  Living  .£300.  Vicar, 
Rev.  J.  W.  Pengelly  (1846-75). 

CHRIST  CHURCH. — The  erection  of  this  Church  was  commenced  in  1857  5  and  it 
was  consecrated  Sept.  2nd,  1859.  Cost  ,£6,000.  The  late  Robert  Hopwood,  Esq.,  was 
chief  donor  to  the  Church,  and  provided  also  an  endowment.  The  Church  is  of  gothic 
architecture,  and  consists  of  nave  and  side  aisles  (goft.  by  53^)5  south  porch; 
chancel ;  and  tower  and  spire  at  the  east  end  (i48ft.  high).  There  is  a  gallery  at  the 
west  end  of  the  nave.  Sittings,  930.  Patrons  : — Bishop  and  Trustees  alternately. 
Value  of  Living  ,£300.  Vicar,  Rev.  R.  Moss,  D.D.  (1860-75.) 

ST.  THOMAS'S.— This  Church  was  built  in  1864-5  ;  consecrated  Oct.  3Oth,  1865. 
The  edifice  comprises  a  nave  with  aisles,  95ft.  by  5oft.,  a  chancel  apse  at  the  north  end, 
and  western  porch.  Cost  ,£4,000.  Sittings,  920.  Patron  : —The  Bishop.  Value  of 
Living  ,£330.  Vicar,  Rev.  H.  Wescoe  (1865-75). 

ALL  SAINTS'. — This  Church  was  erected  by  subscription  in  1870-2,  as  a  Memorial 
Church  to  the  late  Archdeacon  Rushton,  D.  D. ,  Vicar  of  Blackburn.  Consecrated 
April  25th,  1872.  The  architecture  is  geometric  gothic  ;  the  plan  includes  nave, 
chancel,  north  aisle  and  north  chancel  aisle  ;  and  organ  transept.  At  the  south  end  is 
a  bell-turret.  The  old  organ  of  the  Parish  Church,  restored,  was  put  in  this  Church  in 
1875.  Cost  £S>°°°-  Sittings,  800.  Patrons  :— Vicar  of  Blackburn  and  Trustees 
jointly.  Value  of  Living  £ l oo.  Vicar,  Rev.  W.  T.  Vale. 

ST.  JAMES'S. — The  site  of  this  Church,  given  by  W.  T.  Carr,  Esq.,  is  on  the  hill 
at  the  top  of  Shear  Brow.  The  edifice  was  built  to  supersede  a  school-church  at 
Pleckgate,  in  1873-4.  Consecrated  June  8th,  1874.  It  is  a  plain  gothic  structure, 
with  nave,  aisles,  octagonal  chancel,  organ  chamber,  and  north  porch,  above  which  a 
tower  and  spire  are  intended  to  rise  to  finish  the  design.  Cost  £4,200.  An  organ 
was  purchased  for  the  Church  in  1875.  Sittings,  644.  Patron  : — Vicar  of  St.  John's 
for  life  ;  then  Bishop.  Vicar,  Rev.  G.  YVhalley. 

ST.  LUKE'S. — For  this  ecclesiastical  district,  detached  from  St.  Peter's  parish, 
service  is  celebrated  in  St.  Luke's  School.  Sittings,  350.  A  subscription  has  been 
started  for  a  new  Church.  Curate,  Rev.  J.  Noble. 

ST.  SILAS'S. — This  new  district,  severed  from  St.  Paul's,  has  services  conducted 
in  Billinge  School.  Sittings,  350.  A  site  at  Billinge  End  is  secured  for  a  new 
Church,  to  be  dedicated  to  St.  Silas  ;  and  the  foundations  have  been  prepared.  The 
new  Church  will  contain  600  sittings  ;  the  style  will  be  early  English,  and  the  design 
includes  nave,  side  aisles,  chancel,  organ  chamber,  and  tower  with  spire  I5oft.  high. 
Cost,  about  ,£5,000.  Curate,  Rev.  Wilson  Stones. 

THE  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  MISSIONS  IN  BLACKBURN  TO\VN  AND 

PARISH. 

No  systematic  narrative  has  yet  been  attempted  by  any  member  of 
the  (Roman)  Catholic  Communion  who  has  access  to  the  records  of  the 
missions  of  that  Church  in  the  Northern  District  of  England,  of  the 
history  of  its  organisation,  congregations,  and  priesthood  in  Lancashire 
during  the  more  than  two  centuries  of  statutory  proscription  of  English 
Catholicism  that  was  suffered  before  the  passage  of  the  Catholic  Relief 
Act  in  1791.  The  incidental  information  we  have  suffices  to  show  an 
uninterrupted  maintenance  of  religious  worship  by  the  members  of  the 

23 


354  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Roman  Church  in  Lancashire  throughout  that  trying  interval.  But  it 
was  a  necessity  of  the  case  that  the  service  of  the  Catholic  priests  in 
those  penal  days  should  be  more  or  less  private  and  surreptitious.  For 
long  no  public  Chapels  of  that  communion  were  allowed  to  be  erected.  It 
devolved  upon  the  Catholic  gentry  and  richer  families  to  provide  for  the 
worship  of  their  tenants  and  poor  neighbours  of  the  same  faith  in 
Chapels  connected  with  private  mansions.  In  this  parish,  ever  since 
the  Reformation,  the  presence  of  several  powerful  old  families  of  Catholic 
landlords  afforded  in  the  worst  times  a  degree  of  protection  to  the 
adherents  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  and  an  asylum  and  subsistence  to  its 
missionary  priests.  In  former  pages  I  have  noticed  the  prosecutions  of 
some  chief  local  families  of  the  parish  for  "  recusancy," — ex.  gr.  the 
South  worths  of  Samlesbury  and  Talbots  of  Salesbury — in  Elizabeth's  reign; 
the  severe  sequestrations  endured  by  loyalist  Catholics  in  the  Civil  War  of 
1641-51;  the  accusation  of  one  neighbouring  Catholic  esquire  of  compli- 
city in  a  Jacobite  Plot  in  1694;  and  the  compulsory  registration  of  Catholic 
freeholders  in  1 7 1 5.  Traces  are  frequent  of  the  existence  of  a  respectable 
minority  of  Roman  Catholics  in  this  district  throughout  the  300  years  of 
Protestant  ascendancy,  and  it  is  a  question  if  in  some  parts  of  Ribbles- 
dale,  under  the  countenance  of  landlords  of  that  faith,  the  Catholic 
section  of  the  population  was  not  at  times  in  the  majority. 

Among  the  English  Missionary  Priests  of  the  Church  of  Rome  who 
suffered  death  for  their  faith,  Chaloner  names  William  Thompson,  born 
in  the  Parish  of  Blackburn,  and  who  sometimes  passed  by  the  name  of 
William  Blackburn.  He  was  a  student  in  the  English  Catholic  College 
at  Rheims,  and  being  sent  to  England  as  a  missionary  was  soon  appre- 
hended, tried,  and  convicted  of  being  a  priest  of  Rome  contrary  to  the 
statute,  and  executed  at  Tyburn  in  1586,  as  Stow  thus  records: — 
"  William  Thompson,  alias  Blackburn,  made  priest  at  Rheims,  and 
Richard  Lee,  &c.,  removing  here  [into  England]  contrary  to  the  statute, 
were  both  condemned,  and  on  the  20th  of  April,  1586,  drawn  to  Tyburn, 
and  there  hanged,  bowelled  and  quartered."  Another  victim  of  the  law 
was  Edward  Osbaldeston  of  the  Osbaldeston  family  in  Blackburn  parish, 
also  educated  at  Rheims,  made  a  priest  in  1585 ;  sent  upon  the  English 
mission  April  27th,  1589;  arrested  Sept.  3oth,  1594,  at  Towlerton  in 
Yorkshire ;  incarcerated  in  York  Castle ;  tried  and  condemned  to  die  as 
a  priest  of  Rome,  and  executed  accordingly  at  York,  Nov.  i6th,  1594. 

The  local  Roman  Catholic  owners  of  the  soil  included  the  South- 
worths  of  Samlesbury,  Talbots  of  Salesbury,  Osbaldestons  of  Osbaldes- 
ton, of  Sunderland,  and  of  Cuerdale  ;  Warrens  of  Dinkley  and  Salesbury; 
Walmesleys  of  Dunkenhalgh,  lords  of  Billington,  Rishton,  and  Lower 
Danven;  Walmesleys  of  Lower  Hall,  Samlesbury;  Walmesleys  of  Showley 


ROMAN  CATHOLIC  MISSIONS  IN  BLACKBURN.  355 

in  Clayton-in-le-Dale ;  and  Sherburnes  of  Stonyhurst  In  these  old 
mansions  the  Chapel  was  a  principal  feature,  and  the  family  priest  a 
constant  inmate,  and  thither,  on  Sundays  and  feast  days,  the*  Catholic 
tenantry  and  peasantry  regularly  resorted  to  attend  mass.  In  the  records 
of  the  Parish  Church  of  Blackburn  is  found  a  note,  dating  about  1690, 
of  priests  reported  as  being  in  the  parish,  as  follows  : — "  The  Names  of 
some  Persons  who  are  reported  Priests  within  the  Parish  of  Blackburn  : 
Mr.  Kennet,  of  Walton-in-le-Dale ;  Mr.  Hardin,  of  Samlesbury;  Mr. 
Brookhouse,  of  Sunderland  [in  Balderstone] ;  Mr.  Mullins,  of  Orbeston 
[Osbaldeston] ;  Mr.  Hutchinson,  of  Brindle."  Brindle  is  out  of  the 
parish,  but  the  priest  there  had  very  likely  some  relation  with  Catholics 
on  the  south-west  border  of  Blackburn  parish. 

A  letter  written  in  the  year  1 709  by  the  Rev.  John  Holme,  Vicar 
of  Blackburn,  to  the  Primate  (and  lately  copied  by  Mr.  Lee  from  the 
original  MS.  in  the  Lambeth  Palace  Library),  betokens  the  strength  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  party  in  Lower  Ribblesdale  at  that  time.  The 
letter  is  subjoined  : — 

Blackburne,  Nov.  3,  1709. — May  it  please  your  Grace, — According  to  your 
Lordship's  Directions,  I  have  made  the  best  inquiry  I  could  to  find  out  the  particular 
circumstances  of  the  Popish  Bishop's  Visitation  within  my  parish,  and  the  Discoveries 
I  have  made  are  as  follows  : — The  first  week  in  July  (which  was  the  next  week  after 
my  Lord  of  Chester  held  his  Visitation  here)  Bishop  Smith  [Roman  Catholic]  came  to 
Mr.  Walmsley's,  of  Lower  Hall,  in  Samlesbury,  within  my  Parish,  and  confirmed  there 
on  Friday,  Saturday,  and  Sunday,  vizt.,  the  8th,  Qth,  and  loth  of  July.  I  cannot  find 
that  any  Persons  of  Note  were  there,  or  any  Protestants,  except  one  or  two  of  Mr. 
Walmsley's  Servants,  who  dare  make  no  Discoveries  of  these  matters.  The  number 
of  the  Papists  that  were  there  was  very  great ;  Mr.  Hull,  my  Curate  at  Samlesbury 
Chappell,  tells  me  that  he  saw  multitudes  goe  that  way  past  his  house,  some  on  foot, 
some  on  horse-back,  most  of  them  with  little  children  in  their  arms.  But  the  greatest 
concourse  of  people  was  on  Sunday,  because  the  Bishop  was  to  preach  that  day.  The 
neighbouring  Protestants  seemed  to  take  little  Notice  of  the  matter,  it  being  no  novelty 
with  them,  the  same  Bishop  having  been  there  upon  the  same  occasion  about  5  years 
ago.  I  think  the  Papists  have  been  a  little  more  reserved  this,  that  they  were  the  last 
time  the  Bishop  was  in  this  Neighbourhood.  For  then  they  made  great  Boasts  of  their 
vast  Numbers,  but  now  I  have  heard  nothing  from  any  of  them  of  this  matter.  If  this 
account  be  not  so  perfect  as  your  Grace  could  wish,  I  desire  you  will  not  impute  it  to 
my  negligence,  but  to  the  unwillingness  of  people  in  this  country  to  intermeddle 
against  Papists,  which  if  it  should  come  to  any  of  their  Ears  they  would  study  to 
requite  them  with  the  greatest  mischiefe  they  could  think  of.  And  indeed  'tis  danger- 
ous meddling  with  them  here,  where  they  bear  down  all  before  them  with  their  Power 
and  Interest.  I  do  not  know  that  my  Lord  of  Chester  has  any  Notice  of  this  matter, 
but  if  your  Grace  think  fitt  I  shall  communicate  it  to  him.  I  am,  my  Lord,  Your 
Grace's  most  obliged  and  obedient  Son  and  Servant,  Jo.  HOLME. 

I  derive  from  the  Brindle  Catholic  Chapel  Register  mention  of 
other  Roman  Catholic  episcopal  Visitations  to  the  district  in  1749, 
I7S5>  i76°?  and  1766,  when  considerable  numbers  of  the  youth  of 


356  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Catholic  families  in  Samlesbury  and  Walton  were  presented  for  confirma- 
tion. Eight  or  nine  years  after  the  date  of  Vicar  Holme's  letter, 
Gastrell,  Bishop  of  Chester,  in  his  diocesan  Notitia,  enters  his  informa- 
tion that  in  the  townships  of  which  Blackburn  was  the  parochial  centre 
(not  including  Walton  and  Samlesbury)  there  were  then  in  existence 
three  "  Papist  Meetings  ;"  and  532  professed  "  Papists ;"  or,  in  the  whole 
parish,  1,023  avowed  "Papists"  out  of  a  total  of  1,800  families;  that 
some  of  the  inhabitants  of  Billington  and  Dinkley  "  are  said  to  goe  to 
Mass  to  Sir  Nich.  Shirburne's  at  Stonihurst ;"  that  Walton  and  Cuerdale 
possessed  four  or  five  "  Papist  Meetings  ;"  Samlesbury  one  ;  and  Balder- 
stone  one.  These  neighbouring  missions  will  be  found  referred  to  later 
under  their  respective  townships. 

In  the  town  of  Blackburn  there  was  found  in  the  hardest  times  of  the 
penal  laws  against  "  Popery,"  a  small  colony  of  staunch  Roman 
Catholics;  and  in  1641  one  of  their  number,  Mr.  Richard  Bradley,  who 
had  been  appointed  Usher  of  Blackburn  Free  Grammar  School  in  1619, 
was  dismissed  from  his  office  "by  reason  of  his  recusancie."  The 
Blackburn  Catholics  may  have  found  it  unsafe  to  have  their  place  of 
worship  in  the  town,  for  I  find  no  trace  of  any  public  chapel  of  that 
communion  in  Blackburn  until  about  a  century  ago.  It  is  stated  that 
the  Catholic  Chapel  in  an  area  between  King  Street  and  Chapel  Street 
was  built  in  1773.  This  was  a  plain  structure  of  brick,  concealed  by 
houses  surrounding,  and  this  Chapel  sufficed  for  the  needs  of  the  Roman 
Catholics  about  fifty  years,  until  the  erection  of  St.  Alban's  in  1824, 
when  the  old  Chapel  in  Chapel  Street  was  sold.  The  walls  are  yet 
standing,  but  since  its  disuse  for  Christian  worship  it  has  been  used  as 
a  workshop.  About  seven  years  after  this  Chapel  was  built,  the  Rev. 
William  Dunn  was  appointed  priest  of  the  Blackburn  mission.  This 
useful  priest  died  suddenly  at  the  altar  when  offering  mass,  on  Sunday, 
Oct.  27th,  1805.  A  memorial  of  Dr.  William  Dunn  was  fixed  in  St. 
Alban's  Chapel  in  1844,  consisting  of  a  marble  mural  tablet  surmounted 
by  the  religious  emblems  of  Bible,  Cross,  Chalice,  and  Dove,  and  bear- 
ing the  inscription  : — "  D.  O.  M.  Here  lie  the  remains  of  the  Rev. 
William  Dunn,  D.D.,  twenty-four  years  pastor  of  this  congregation.  He 
was  born  in  the  year  1 749,  and  closed  an  edifying  life  whilst  offering  up 
the  Sacred  Mysteries,  on  Sunday,  Oct.  27th,  1805.  R.  I.  P."  A 
succeeding  priest  of  this  "mission"  was  the  Rev.  R.  Abbott,  who  occurs 
in  1819,  when  a  return  was  made  of  the  Catholic  Congregation  in  Black- 
burn, numbering  1,200  persons.  Father  Abbott  was  still  priest  in 
Blackburn  in  1824.  Below  is  a  brief  record  of  Roman  Catholic  Chapels 
in  the  town  founded  subsequently  to  the  first  Chapel  in  Chapel  Street. 
ST.  ALBAN'S. — This  Chapel  was  built  for  the  use  of  the  original  congregation  in 


NONCONFORMITY  IN  BLACKBURN. 


357 


1824-6,  upon  a  site  at  Lark-hill  (now  called  St.  Alban's  Place)  which  also  embraced  a 
spacious  burial-ground  and  site  for  priest's  house.  The  exterior  walls  are  of  brick, 
with  stone  quoins  at  the  angles.  The  entrance  is  by  a  porch  at  the  north-west  end, 
supported  by  Ionic  pillars.  On  the  west  side,  a  recent  addition,  is  an  elegant  gothic 
mortuary  Chapel.  The  chief  enrichment  of  the  interior  is  expended  upon  the  altars, 
above  which  the  roof  is  domed,  and  the  walls  enclosing  are  adorned  with  fresco  paint- 
ings. There  is  a  gallery  at  the  north  end,  in  which  are  the  organ  (placed  in  1835)  and 
choir.  The  Chapel  has  sittings  for  750  persons.  The  Rev.  James  Sharpies,  D.D., 
was  priest  of  St.  Alban's  from  about  the  time  of  the  removal  of  the  congregation  of  the 
older  Chapel  thither  until  1842,  when  he  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Samaria.  He 
was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Peter  Kaye,  who  died  August  6th,  1856 ;  and  was  followed 
by  the  Rev.  Canon  Irving.  Rev.  R.  Parker  is  present  Rector.  Assistant,  Rev.  W.  S.  Berry. 

ST.  ANNE'S. — A  second  mission  was  established  by  the  members  of  the  Church 
of  Rome  in  Blackburn  in  August,  1849.  A  house  and  ground  in  France  street  had 
previously  been  purchased  for  a  priest's  house  and  home  for  a  Sisterhood,  and  for  a 
site  for  a  Chapel.  The  latter,  dedicated  to  St.  Ann,  was  opened  on  May  4th,  1851. 
It  is  a  brick  and  stone  structure,  externally  without  any  striking  feature,  and  enclosed 
on  each  side  by  houses.  The  Chapel  has  since  been  enlarged,  and  its  plan  now  consists 
of  nave,  western  aisle,  east  transept  and  porch,  and  sanctuaries.  A  gallery  at  the 
south  end  contains  the  organ.  Sittings,  800.  Rev  Joseph  V.  Meaney  was  priest  in 
charge  of  the  Mission  from  1849  until  his  death  in  1875. 

ST.  MARY'S. — This  third  Roman  Catholic  mission  in  Blackburn  was  commenced 
in  1864.  The  corner  stone  of  St.  Mary's  Catholic  Chapel  was  laid  by  the  Bishop  of 
Salford  on  Whit-Monday,  1864.  The  edifice  was  opened  on  May  4th,  1865.  It  is  a 
gothic  Church,  the  plan  including  nave,  side  aisles  and  chancel-apse.  On  the  west 
front  a  bold  turret  rises  from  the  south-west  angle.  A  presbytery  adjoins  the  Chapel 
on  the  south  side.  At  the  west  end  of  the  nave  is  a  gallery  for  organ  and  choir.  Cost 
with  organ  and  reredos  subsequently  added,  about  ,£5,000.  Sittings,  600.  Priest  in 
charge  (1864-75),  RCV-  Richard  Dunderdale. 

ST.  JOSEPH'S. — A  fourth  mission  of  this  Church  was  founded  about  1870,  served 
by  the  priests  of  St.  Alban's.  In  1874  a  distinct  cure  was  constituted  and  the  Rev.  Fr. 
Maglione  appointed  priest.  The  mission  room  temporarily  used  as  a  Chapel  is  about 
to  be  displaced  by  a  new  Church,  dedicated  to  St.  Joseph,  on  a  site  in  Higher  Audley, 
given  by  Mr.  R.  Shakeshaft,  the  corner-stone  of  which  was  laid  on  Whit-Monday 
(May  1 7th),  1875.  The  edifice  will  be  the  largest  Roman  Catholic  Church  in  the 
town.  Its  architecture  is  Italian  ;  the  plans  will  include  schools  in  the  basement ; 
above  which  will  be  the  church,  with  nave  area,  lo5ft.  by  66ft  ;  two  transepts;  and 
apsidal  chancel  and  sanctuary.  A  tower  at  the  south  end  of  the  Church  will  be  82ft. 
in  height.  Cost  ,£9,000.  Sittings,  between  900  and  1,000. 

CONVENT  OF  NOTRE  DAME. — The  house  of  the  late  Edward  Kenworthy,  Esq., 
called  Brookhouse  Lodge,  was  purchased  in  February,  1859,  and  converted  into  a 
Convent  for  the  reception  of  a  company  of  the  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame,  by  whom  a 
seminary  for  young  ladies  is  conducted.  The  private  Chapel  of  the  Convent  is  served 
by  the  priests  of  St.  Alban's. 

PROTESTANT  NONCONFORMIST  CONGREGATIONS  IN  BLACKBURN. 

It  does  not  appear  that  on  the  enforcement  of  the  Act  of  Uniformity 
in  1662  any  regular  Nonconformist  Ministry  or  Meeting  was  set  up  in 
the  town  of  Blackburn.  Some  of  the  inhabitants,  indeed,  declined  to 


358  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

conform  to  the  re-established  Episcopal  Church ;  and  these  for  some 
years  frequented  the  occasional  assemblages  of  local  Nonconformists  in 
secluded  places  to  hear  the  preaching  of  several  of  the  ejected  Ministers 
who  sojourned  in  the  district  or  found  a  place  of  protection  at  Hoghton 
Tower.  The  Act  for  Suppressing  Conventicles  in  1664,  and  the  Five 
Mile  Act  in  1665,  made  it  impossible  for  the  nonconforming  preachers 
to  appear  in  or  near  parish  churches  or  market-towns.  In  1666,  Mr. 
Charles  Sagar  withdrew  from  the  Mastership  of  the  Grammar  School  of 
Blackburn,  and  still  residing  in  Blackburn  preached  at  times  on  the 
moors  or  in  private  houses  to  small  meetings  of  Nonconformists  of 
Blackburn  and  of  the  townships  around,  until  in  1687  he  became  stated 
pastor  of  an  Independent  Church  in  Over  Darwen.  Under  Charles  the 
Second's  Indulgence,  as  formerly  noted,  a  license  was  granted,  Dec.  9th, 
1672,  for  "an  erected  Presbyterian  Meeting  House  in  Blackburn  in 
Lancashire."  I  think  the  term  "erected"  did  not  signify  that  the 
building  used  had  been  specially  built  for  a  Chapel.  It  had  probably 
been  altered  from  some  dwelling-house  in  the  town,  and  was  disused  as 
a  place  of  meeting  when  the  King's  licenses  were  withdrawn,  as  they 
were  in  1675.  After  tms>  until  l687>  tne  Government's  repression  of 
conventicles  was  so  rigorous,  that  neither  in  Blackburn  nor  any  populous 
place  could  meetings  for  worship  be  held  without  great  peril  to  personal 
liberty  and  estate.  Everywhere,  for  a  time,  Nonconformity  lay  crushed 
and  terror-stricken,  and  the  few  laymen  that  stood  out  shared  with  the 
ejected  ministers  many  losses  and  hardships. 

The  Revolution  of  1688  ended  these  troubles,  and  under  the 
Toleration  Act  religious  societies  on  a  mixed  Presbyterian-Independent 
basis  were  organised  out  of  the  remnants  of  local  Nonconformists  in 
Tockholes,  Over  Darwen,  and  at  Hoghton  Tower.  It  is  not  apparent 
whether  or  not  a  meeting-house  was  opened  in  the  town  of  Blackburn 
also  in  1688.  If  there  was,  it  was  not  long  continued,  for  on  a  return 
of  Meeting-houses  furnished  in  1715  no  congregation  at  Blackburn  is 
mentioned.  Yet  the  fact  that  a  Ministers'  Meeting  of  Lancashire  Pres- 
byterian and  Independent  Ministers  is  on  written  record  as  having  been 
held  at  Blackburn  in  1693,  and  that  several  lesser  meetings  of  Ministers 
took  place  at  Blackburn  after  a  general  meeting  at  Manchester  in 
1696,  suggests  the  presence  in  the  town  at  those  dates  of  some  resident 
Nonconformists. 

A  Nonconformist  minister  under  the  Act  of  Uniformity  was  the  Rev.  John  Bailey, 
afterwards  one  of  the  most  eminent  Congregationalist  Pastors  in  New  England.1  Pie 
was  born  (according  to  the  statement  of  the  Rev.  Increase  Mather  who  preached  his 
funeral  sermon)  near  Blackburn  in  Lancashire,  Feb.  24th,  1643-4.  The  American 
biographer  does  not  name  his  father,  but  he  would  be  Thomas  Bailey,  a  member  of 

i  Mr.  J.  E.  Bailey  of  Stretford  gives  me  an  original  note  on  this  namesake  of  his. 


NONCONFORMITY  IN  BLACKBURN.  359 

/ 

Rev.  Thomas  Jolly's  church  at  Altham  and  later  at  Wymond-houses.  Thomas  Bailey 
died  in  1673,  and  Mr.  Jolly  preached  his  funeral  sermon.  He  had  once  been  a 
"notorious  evil  liver,"  but  his  wife,  mother  of  the  minister,  was  a  pious  woman.  It  is 
recorded  in  the  Church-Book  of  Mr.  Jolly's  church  that  John  Bailey,  at  the  age  of  12, 
was  a  "  wonderful  child  "  for  religion,  and  had  been  ' '  the  occasion  of  good  to  his  father 
and  a  schoolfellow."  He  was  educated  under  Mr.  Charles  Sagar,  "an  eminent  school- 
master," at  the  Blackburn  Free  Grammar  School,  and  was  afterwards  placed  under 
the  tuition  of  Dr.  Thomas  Harrison,  minister  at  Chester.  He  began  to  preach  at  the 
age  of  twenty-two,  but  was  not  ordained  until  the  year  1670,  when  he  would  be  in  his 
27th  year.  After  having  been  imprisoned  in  Lancaster  Jail  for  nonconformity,  he 
removed  to  Dublin,  about  the  year  1670,  and  soon  after  married  his  first  wife,  Lydia, 
who  died  in  America,  April  I2th,  1690.  The  Duke  of  Ormond  offered  Mr.  Bailey  a 
chaplaincy,  a  Deanery,  and  a  Bishopric  on  the  first  vacancy,  if  he  would  conform,  but 
he  would  not.  He  was  fourteen  years  Pastor  of  an  Independent  Church  in  Limerick. 
But  being  again  persecuted  and  incarcerated,  he  resolved  to  quit  the  country  for 
America ;  which  he  did  in  1683,  and  after  his  arrival,  May  8th,  1684,  writes  to  his 
"dearly  beloved  Christian  friends  in  and  about  Limerick."  Mr.  Bailey  was  appointed 
assistant  to  Rev.  Samuel  Willard  at  Old  South  Church,  Boston  ;  and  about  three 
years  later,  Oct.  6th,  1686,  he  succeeded  Rev.  John  Sherman  as  Pastor  at  Watertown. 
In  1688  he  wrote  to  Mr.  Jolly  and  his  friends  in  this  locality,  as  to  how  matters  were 
in  New  England.  A  younger  brother,  Thomas  Bailey,  who  had  accompanied  him  to 
America,  died  there  Jan.  2lst,  1689,  leaving  issue;  he  had  another  brother  Henry, 
living  at  Manchester  in  1688 ;  his  mother  was  then  still  living  in  Lancashire.  Mr. 
Bailey  wrote  a  treatise,  "Man's  Chief  End,"  edited  by  "  J.  M.,"  and  published  in 
duodecimo  at  Boston  in  1689.  He  had  no  children  by  his  first  wife.  His  second 
wife,  Susannah,  married  after  his  death  Rev.  Peter  Thatcher.  Mr.  Bailey  became 
assistant  Pastor  at  First  Church,  Boston,  July  I7th,  1693.  He  died  in  1697.  Two  of 
his  great-grand-children  were  living  in  1771.  A  painted  portrait  of  Rev.  John  Bailey, 
representing  the  minister  with  pensive,  somewhat  feminine  face  and  long  flowing  hair, 
is  now  in  possession  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society. 

I  notice  in  the  Parish  Church  Register  of  Blackburn  a  separate 
list  of  "  the  Names  of  such  Children  that  were  borne,  but  not  baptized 
after  the  ceremonies  of  the  Church  of  England,"  between  the  years 
1697-1705.  These  would  be  chiefly  the  children  of  Protestant  Noncon- 
formists, and  of,  perhaps,  two  or  three  Roman  Catholic  families. 
Among  the  family  names  in  this  category  are  those  of  Bridge,  Entwistle, 
Bury,  Whewell,  Bolton,  Ratcliffe,  Fish,  and  Grime,  all  of  Over  Darwen ; 
Fish  of  Blackburn  ;  Boardman  of  Livesey ;  Fish  of  Eccleshill ;  Kenion, 
Shorrock,  and  Harwood  of  Lower  Darwen ;  Holden  and  Yates  of  Yate 
Bank  ;  Aspinall  of  Pickup  Bank ;  Baron,  Haydock,  Haworth,  Wadding- 
ton,  Eatough,  Marsden,  and  Walmsley  of  Tockholes  ;  and  Ellison  of 
Wilpshire.  The  descriptions  of  "yeoman"  and  "chapman"  given  to 
the  heads  of  these  families,  with  two  or  three  exceptions,  denote  the 
social  standing  of  the  early  Nonconformists  of  this  district.  The 
Cravens  of  Billington  and  Osbaldestons  of  Oxendale,  Roman  Catholic 
families,  occur  in  the  same  special  registration. 

One  "  Mr.  Thomas  Whalley,  of  Blackburne,  a  Dissenting  Minister," 


360  HISTORY    OF  BLACKBURN. 

is  entered  as  buried  at  Blackburn  Church,  Oct.  25th,  1705.  This 
minister  was  no  doubt  a  native  of  Blackburn,  and  would  be  dwelling 
in  the  town  just  before  his  decease,  but  whether  he  was  officiating  as  a 
Dissenting  Minister  in  Blackburn  or  not  cannot  be  affirmed. 

The  settlement  in  Blackburn,  before  the  middle  of  last  century,  of 
a  number  of  Scotsmen,  drawn  hither  to  trade  as  "  chapmen "  in  the 
local  textiles,  strengthened  the  Dissenting  party  in  this  parish,  for  most 
of  them  were  Scottish  Presbyterians  of  the  Secession  Church  (now 
United  Presbyterian)  and  easily  adapted  themselves  to  the  connexion 
with  Lancashire  Independency  with  a  Presbyterian  tinge.  There  being 
then  no  Meeting-House  in  Blackburn,  some  of  these  Scotsmen,  together 
with  the  English  Dissenters  in  the  town  and  in  Lower  Darwen  and 
Livesey,  attended  worship  in  the  Lower  Chapel  Meeting,  Over  Darwen, 
and  the  rest  either  went  to  the  Tockholes  Meeting  or  to  the  Hoghtons' 
private  Chapel  at  the  Tower. 

In  1777,  the  Blackburn  Independents  deemed  themselves  able  to 
support  a  minister  and  a  place  of  worship,  and  having  induced  the  Rev. 
James  McQuhae,  for  six  years  previously  pastor  of  the  Independent 
Church  at  Tockholes,  to  join  them  in  founding  a  Meeting-House  in  the 
town  under  his  ministry,  a  Church-society  was  constituted  in  1778, 
consisting  of  the  Blackburn  portion  of  the  Tockholes  congregation, 
of  members  of  about  twenty  Blackburn  families  that  had  attended  the 
Lower  Chapel  at  Darwen,  and  of  two  or  three  families  that  had 
formerly  attended  the  private  Chapel  in  Hoghton  Tower.  Mr. 
McQuhae  removed  to  Blackburn  about  the  same  time,  and  during 
the  year  1778  the  Chapel  built  for  the  new  congregation  in  Chapel- 
street  was  completed  and  opened.1  Mr.  McQuhae  continued  minister 
of  the  Independent  Church  in  Blackburn  until  his  death.  He  died 
suddenly,  April  29th,  1804,  aged  63.  He  was  buried  in  the 
graveyard  of  the  Chapel,  May  5th.  His  funeral  sermon,  preached 
in  the  Blackburn  Independent  Chapel,  May  2oth,  1804,  by  Rev.  Edward 
Parsons,  was  afterwards  published.  His  wife,  Mrs.  Lydia  McQuhae, 
died  at  Blackburn,  Nov.,  1802. 

An  attempt  at  a  religious  census  of  the  parish  was  made,  at  Epis- 
copal request,  by  the  Vicar  in  1804,  when  it  was  returned  that  in  the 

i.  The  first  trust-deed  of  the  Chapel  is  dated  May  2nd,  1778,  and  recites  an  indenture  of  lease 
and  release  between  John  Sudell  of  Blackburn,  Merchant,  of  the  first  part,  and  the  trustees,  John 
Parker,  William  Kenyon,  Thomas  Smalley,  Richard  Smalley,  Adam  Sanderson,  all  of  Blackburn, 
chapmen,  Richard  Sanderson,  of  Chorley,  chapman,  and  Alexander  Kay,  Robert  Parker,  John  Currie, 
James  Jordan,  Charles  Waugh,  George  Sanderson,  William  Little,  Thomas  Wright,  James  Irving, 
and  William  Smalley,  all  of  Blackburn,  chapmen,  whereby  John  Sudell  conveyed  a  plot  of  land,  parcel 
of  a  close  called  nearest  Ryecroft,  adjoining  the  Bull  Meadow,  containing  1440  square  yards,  subject 
to  a  yearly  rent  of  £6,  and  the  building  lately  erected  thereon,  in  trust  to  suffer  the  said  building  to  be 
used  for  a  Meeting-house  for  a  church-society  or  congregation  of  Protestant  Dissenters  whereof  Mr. 
James  McQuhae  was  pastor. 


CHAPEL  STREET  INDEPENDENT  CHURCH.  361 

part  of  Blackburn  parish  including  the  town  and  the  contiguous  town- 
ships of  Little  Harwood,  Ramsgreave,  Mellor,  Witton,  Pleasington,  Lower 
Darwen,  and  parts  of  Livesey  and  Rishton  (but  excluding  the  Chapelries 
of  Darwen,  Tockholes,  Great  Harwood,  Langho,  Salesbury,  Balderstone, 
Samlesbury,  and  Walton),  there  were  found  "  1,490  Presbyterians,  396 
Independents,  71  Anabaptists,  13  Quakers,  765  Methodists,  and  745 
Papists."  There  was  then  no  Presbyterian  Chapel  in  this  part  of  the 
Parish,  so  that  the  1,490  persons  entered  as  Presbyterians  must  have 
been  the  Scottish  section  of  the  Independent  Congregation  in  Black- 
burn. 

The  second  minister  of  the  Independent  congregation  was  the  Rev. 
Joseph  Fletcher,  appointed  in  August,  1806.  The  Church-society  then 
numbered  69  communicants.  In  May,  1808,  the  Chapel  was  taken 
down  for  enlargement,  and  the  enlarged  Chapel  was  re-opened  on  Nov. 
6th,  1808.  Mr.  Fletcher  resigned  his  ministry  in  Blackburn  in  July, 
1822,  on  taking  the  pastorate  of  the  Independent  congregation  at  Stepney 
Meeting  in  London.  He  died  in  1845.  Dr.  Fletcher  married,  while 
in  this  town,  at  Blackburn  Parish  Church,  Dec.  2oth,  1808,  Mary, 
second  daughter  of  Mr.  John  France,  of  King-street,  Blackburn,  and 
had  issue  Robert,  born  Sept.  26th,  1810;  William  Wolfe,  born  Dec. 
8th,  1813;  Joseph,  born  Jan.  7th,  1816;  Elizabeth,  born  Feb.  5th, 
1818;  and  Henry,  born  July  8th,  1819.  Mr.  Fletcher  had  graduated 
M.A.  at  Glasgow  University,  and  in  1830  the  Senate  of  that  University 
conferred  on  him  the  degree  of  D.D.  A  memoir  of  Dr.  Fletcher  and 
selections  from  his  Works  were  published  in  three  volumes  in  1846, 
edited  by  his  son,  Rev.  Joseph  Fletcher.  His  printed  works  included, 
besides  special  discourses,  and  Posthumous  Sermons,  "  Lectures  on  the 
Principles  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Religion,"  &c.  (delivered  in  Blackburn 
in  1816) ;  "  Poems,"  by  Dr.  Fletcher  and  his  sister  Mary  Fletcher ;  "Six 
Views  on  Infidelity  ;"  and  several  theological  treatises.  Dr.  Fletcher 
was  a  son  of  Mr.  Robert  Fletcher,  goldsmith  and  citizen  of  Chester, 
where  the  son  was  born  Dec.  3rd,  1784.  Succeeding  ministers  of  this 
Church  were  the  Rev.  Luke  Forster  (1825-32);  Rev.  Thomas  Parry 
(1834-39) ;  Rev.  Alexander  Fraser,  M.A.  (appointed  Oct.,  1841,  resigned 
July  3oth,  1863,  died  at  Blackburn  Jan.  lyth,  1869,  aged  62)  ;  Rev.  J. 
McEwen  Stott,  present  minister,  appointed  Oct.,  1866. 

The  old  Independent  Chapel  in  Chapel-street  was  a  square  structure  of  brick, 
with  a  two-storey  addition  at  the  west  end,  the  lower  floor  being  a  school-room,  and 
the  upper,  opening  by  a  broad  arch  into  the  Chapel,  was  used  as  gallery  for  organ 
and  choir.  The  other  three  sides  of  the  Chapel  were  galleried.  A  porch  stood  at  the 
east  end  on  the  exterior  view.  The  fabric  had  no  architectural  merit.  It  seated  about 
900  persons.  A  fire  which  broke  out  in  the  organ  chamber,  Jan.  loth,  1872,  destroyed 
the  organ  and  consumed  the  roof-timbers.  It  was  therefore  resolved  by  the  congre- 


362  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

gation  to  demolish  the  Chapel,  and  to  erect  a  new  Church  on  the  same  site, 
extended  towards  the  west  by  the  removal  of  several  houses  in  Chapel-street  and 
Cross-street.  The  present  imposing  and  capacious  Church  was  begun  in  the  Spring 
of  1873  (corner-stone  laid  on  Good  Friday,  April  nth,  1873),  and  was  opened  for 
worship  on  Thursday,  June  1 8th,  1874.  The  style  of  the  Church  is  Early  Decorated 
Gothic.  The  plan  consists  of  nave,  side  aisles,  double  transepts,  semi-octagonal 
apse  ;  organ  chamber  adjoining  the  north  transept ;  and  two  vestries  at  the  east  end  of 
the  south  transept ;  an  arcade  at  the  west  end  forming  the  principal  entrance ; 
and  a  tower  at  the  south-west  angle.  The  only  galleries  are  in  the  transepts. 
The  interior  walls  are  lined  with  bath-stone  with  bands  of  blue  bath-stone.  The 
three  end  bays  of  the  apse  are  lighted  by  two-light  traceried  windows  (the*  centre 
one  a  painted  memorial  window  to  the  late  Henry  Shaw,  Esq. )  ;  the  space 
between  floor  and  window  sills  is  filled  in  with  handsome  traceried  panelling, 
surmounted  by  a  moulded  and  enriched  cornice.  The  moulded  nave  arches 
spring  from  massive  moulded  and  polished  granite  columns  with  carved  capitals 
and  moulded  bases.  The  total  internal  length  of  the  nave  and  apse  is  I32ft. 
3in.;  width  across  aisles  54ft.  4in.;  across  the  transepts  75ft.  4in  ;  width  cf  transepts 
42ft.  The  roof  is  open  timbered  and  panelled,  with  moulded  circular  ribs,  springing 
from  stone  columns.  The  height  to  ceiling  of  nave  is  42ft.  6in.;  to  apex  of  roof  56ft. 
6in.  On  the  exterior,  the  main  front,  in  Cross-street,  consists  of  lofty  centre  gable 
pierced  by  a  five-light  tracery-headed  window,  with  attached  columns  on  jambs  and 
mullions.  The  entrance  lobbies  extend  along  the  front,  with  three  large  doorways 
opening  into  them,  and  a  side  door  from  the  tower  entrance.  The  tympanum  of  the 
gable  over  the  central  doorway  is  filled  with  tracery  panels  and  carving.  The  tower 
and  spire  rise  to  the  height  of  1 87ft.  The  tower  is  in  three  stages,  the  lower  being  an 
entrance  to  the  Church,  the  second  a  floor  for  ringers,  and  the  third,  which  has  eight 
two-light  windows  with  traceried  heads  and  carved  and  crocketed  canopies,  is  designed 
for  a  belfry.  The  angle  buttresses  of  the  tower  are  graduated,  and  carried  up  25ft. 
above  the  tower  cornices  in  form  of  pinnacles.  The  spire  is  octagonal,  relieved  by 
bands  of  carved  diaper,  and  on  four  faces  by  handsome  spire  windows,  with  canopied 
heads.  The  side  elevations  of  the  Church,  towards  Chapel-street  and  St.  Peter-street, 
show  ranges  of  three-light  traceried  windows  in  the  aisles  and  clerestories.  Two 
ranges  of  windows  light  the  transepts,  the  lower  in  groups  of  three  single  lights,  and 
above  them  four-light  traceried  windows  with  attached  columns  on  the  jambs.  The 
transept  fronts  show  double  gables  with  moulded  and  perforated  finials.  The  roofs  of 
vestries  and  organ  chamber  are  carried  up  in  pointed  octagonal  form.  The  walls  are 
supported  by  bold  buttresses ;  and  a  deep  moulded  plinth  runs  round  the  structure. 
Architects,  Messrs.  Tarring  and  Son,  of  London.  The  organ,  a  fine  one  built  by  Mr. 
Willis,  at  the  cost  of  ,£1,000,  was  opened  simultaneously  with  the  Church.  The 
entire  cost  of  this  stately  Church,  including  purchase  of  property  for  extension  of  site 
;£l,355,  organ,  building  contract  with  extras,  boundary  walls,  heating,  lighting,  and 
furnishing,  architect's  commission,  &c.,  was  ;£  18,000.  Sittings,  1,330. 

The  other  Independent  congregations  formed  at  intervals  by 
detachments  from  the  Chapel-street  society  during  its  something  less  than 
a  century  of  existence  (besides  one  at  Mill  Hill  in  the  township  of 
Livesey),  are  the  following  in  Blackburn  township  : — 

JAMES  STREET  CHAPEL. — In  accordance  with  a  resolution  passed  at  a  meeting 
of  Chapel-street  Church,  held  April  3rd,  1837,  declaring  it  expedient  that  another 
place  of  worship  of  the  Congregational  order  be  erected  in  the  town,  a  subscription 


BLACKBURN  INDEPENDENT  ACADEMY.         363 

was  opened  by  the  members  of  the  congregation,  and  a  site  was  soon  afterwards 
secured  in  James-street  (formerly  called  Chippendale-lane)  for  the  projected  new 
Chapel.  The  Chapel  was  not  commenced  until  the  year  1841,  and  it  was  opened  on 
Thursday,  June  27th,  1842,  with  sermons  by  Revs.  Dr.  Raffles  and  Dr.  Fletcher. 
Twenty-nine  members  of  the  old  Church  withdrew  with  their  families  to  form  the 
second  congregation.  The  cost  of  the  Chapel  was  about  ^4,000.  James-street 
Chapel  is  a  large  and  lofty  structure  of  brick  with  Italian  porch  supported  by  stone 
columns.  The  interior  is  galleried  on  three  sides ;  and  in  1873  an  organ  apse  was 
added  at  the  south-end,  with  vestries  and  class-rooms,  and  a  new  organ  purchased, 
built  by  Willis.  The  organ  and  additions  cost  ^"1,500.  Under  the  Chapel  is  a 
spacious  school-room.  The  Chapel  contains  1,000  sittings.  The  first  minister  of  this 
Chapel  was  the  Rev.  Edward  Jukes,  appointed  Jan.  I2th,  1843,  resigned  in  1853. 
Succeeding  ministers  :— Rev.  E.  W.  Shalders,  M.A.;  Rev.  J.  B.  Lister  (1859-69)  ; 
Rev.  John  Byles,  present  minister. 

PARK  ROAD  CHURCH. — A  mission-service  was  commenced  in  1851  by  the  late 
Rev.  Alexander  Fraser,  of  Chapel-street  Chapel,  in  the  schools  then  newly-erected  in 
Park  Road,  Grimshaw  Park,  by  Messrs.  James  and  William  Pilkington  and  Edward 
Eccles.  A  separate  congregation  and  Church  were  formed,  by  whom  a  new  Church 
was  projected  about  1856.  The  corner-stone  of  this  place  of  worship,  called  Park 
Congregational  Church,  was  laid  on  Good  Friday  (April  loth),  1857,  and  the  Church 
was  opened  Feb.  24th,  1858.  It  is  a  neat  gothic  church  of  the  decorated  period, 
consisting  of  nave,  side  aisles,  north  and  south  transepts  ;  vestries,  lecture  room,  and 
gallery  for  organ  and  choir  at  the  east  end  ;  and  a  tower  and  spire,  I38ft.  high,  at 
the  south-west  angle.  The  interior  has  side  and  end  galleries.  Cost,  with  organ  added 
in  1868,  and  boundary  walls,  ,£6,000.  Sittings,  850.  Architect,  Mr.  Oliver,  of  New- 
castle. First  minister,  Rev.  D.  Williams ;  succeeding  ministers,  Rev.  M.  Macfie ; 
Rev.  A.  B.  Paton  ;  Rev.  A.  S.  Maclean ;  Rev.  Wm.  Parkes ;  Rev.  A.  Foster,  M.  A., 
present  minister. 

MONTAGUE  STREET  CHAPEL. — This  Chapel,  with  school  in  the  rear,  was  built 
in  1864.  It  is  a  brick  edifice  with  stone  dressings.  The  interior  has  no  galleries. 
Cost,  £2,  loo.  Sittings,  400.  Minister,  Rev.  John  Morgan. 

FURTHERGATE  SCHOOL-CHAPEL. — This  mission  was  started  about  1873  as  a 
branch  of  James  Street  Church,  worship  being  conducted  temporarily  in  the  school 
erected  in  1850-1.  Sittings,  300.  A  project  to  erect  a  Church  is  progressing,  and 
a  fund  has  been  subscribed.  Minister,  Rev.  W.  E.  Coller. 

BLACKBURN  INDEPENDENT  ACADEMY. — This  collegiate  institution,  for  the 
education  of  students  for  the  Independent  Ministry,  was  founded  in  1816,  and  was 
the  original  of  the  Lancashire  Independent  College,  Whalley  Range,  near  Manchester. 
The  principal  lay  patrons  of  the  Blackburn  Academy  in  the  outset  were  Roger 
Cunliffe,  Esq.  (of  Blackburn),  Dr.  Garrold,  Robert  Kay,  Esq.,  George  Hatfield,  Esq., 
John  Potter,  Esq.,  Samuel  Fletcher,  Esq.,  &c. ;  and  its  ministerial  projectors  and 
directors  included  Rev.  W.  Roby,  Rev.  Thos.  Raffles,  Rev.  Joseph  Fletcher,  Rev. 
Joseph  France,  and  others.  The  Rev.  Joseph  Fletcher  was  first  Theological  Tutor 
and  President ;  Rev.  Wm.  Hope,  first  Classical  Tutor,  succeeded  by  Mr.  William 
Hoole  in  1819,  who  resigned  in  1821  ;  and  the  Rev.  Gilbert  Wardlaw,  M.A.,  then 
became  Classical  tutor,  who  afterwards  was  appointed  Theological  tutor.  The  college 
premises  were  situate  in  Ainsworth-street.  On  Dec.  2Oth,  1838,  the  supporters  of  the 
Academy  resolved  that  it  be  removed  to  Manchester,  and  a  subscription  for  the  erection 
of  college  buildings  there,  to  the  amount  of  ^"15,000,  was  raised  before  1840.  By 
removing  the  Academy  from  Blackburn  the  Committee  had  to  sacrifice  a  handsome 


364  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

bequest  left  by  the  late  Roger  Cunliffe  conditional  upon  the  institution  being  maintained 
at  Blackburn,  but  the  widow  of  that  patron  was  a  liberal  donor  to  the  Manchester 
scheme.  While  the  Academy  was  at  Blackburn,  fifty-five  Ministers  were  trained 
therein,  some  of  whom  have  taken  eminent  positions  in  the  denomination.  The  new 
College  was  built  in  1841-2  (opened  April  26th,  1843)  on  a  site  of  seven  acres  obtained 
from  the  late  Samuel  Brooks,  Esq.,  of  Whalley  House,  near  Manchester.  The  Lan" 
cashire  Independent  College  (the  offspring  of  Blackburn  Academy),  has  now  an 
income  of  ^4,000  per  annum,  and  an  average  of  forty-four  students  in  residence. 

BAPTIST  CONGREGATIONS  IN  BLACKBURN. 

The  first  Baptist  preaching  in  or  near  Blackburn  is  stated  to  have 
been  about  the  year  1726,  by  Mr.  David  Crossley,  the  Baptist  minister 
at  Bacup,  who  made  preaching  visits  to  Blackburn  district  and  usually 
preached  at  Shorrock  Green.  No  regular  service  was  established  here 
by  Mr.  Crossley,  but  about  the  year  1757  one  Mr.  Adam  Holden,  a 
preacher  among  the  Baptists,  a  native  of  Rossendale,  came  to  live  in 
Blackburn,  and  in  1759  married  Mrs.  Boardman  of  Feniscliffe  in 
Livesey,  about  a  mile  from  Blackburn.  The  house  at  Feniscliffe  soon 
after  was  used  as  a  Particular  Baptist  place  of  worship.  A  church- 
society  of  local  Baptists  was  formed  in  1760.  Mr.  Holden  preached 
there ;  but  finding  the  house  too  small  for  a  chapel,  he  commenced  the 
building  of  a  chapel  in  Blackburn  in  1764.  Mr.  Holden  died  in  the 
midst  of  this  project,  Sept.  9th,  1764,  but  left  a  legacy  of  ^80  to  the 
fund  for  completing  this  chapel,  which  was  also  largely  assisted  by  his 
widow.  This  new  Baptist  Chapel  was  built  on  a  site  in  Islington  Croft, 
on  the  edge  of  the  Town's  Moor,  for  which  Mr.  Holden  paid  ;£io.  The 
meeting-house  was  opened  on  May  29th,  1765,  the  preachers  being  Rev. 
Mr.  Johnson,  of  Liverpool,  and  Rev.  Joseph  Piccop,  of  Bacup.  It  was 
the  first  structure  erected  specially  for  Nonconformist  worship  in  Black- 
burn. The  original  trust  deed  of  the  Chapel,  dated  1765,  names  as 
trustees,  Edward  Holden,  James  Holden,  John  Holden,  Henry  Holden, 
James  Turner,  Joseph  Pickup,  John  Johnston,  James  Hartley,  Henry 
Butterworth,  John  Miller  and  John  Milner,  who  held  the  fabric  in  trust 
to  permit  "  the  said  edifice  to  be  used  and  employed  for  and  as  a  place 
of  meeting  or  assembling  of  a  particular  congregation  of  Protestant 
Dissenters  from  the  Church  of  England,  commonly  known  or  distin- 
guished by  the  name  of  Baptists,"  for  the  public  exercise  of  their  religious 
worship.  A  second  trust  was  made  in  1790,  and  a  third  in  1823.  After 
Mr.  Adam  Holden's  death,  Mr.  James  Miller,  a  member  of  the  Church, 
succeeded  as  minister,  and  held  the  office  more  than  forty  years.  In 
1803,  three  cottages  near  the  Chapel  were  purchased  for  £220,  chiefly 
subscribed  by  the  Boardman,  Miller,  and  Clayton  families,  which  were 
put  in  trust,  the  rents  to  be  paid  to  the  minister  for  the  time  being.  In 


UNITED  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCHES.  365 

1808,  galleries  were  erected  in  the  Chapel  to  increase  the  sittings.  Mr. 
Miller  resigned  the  pastorate  about  1809,  and  died  Oct.  3ist,  1810.  He 
was  succeeded  in  August,  1809,  by  the  Rev.  William  Dyer;  resigned 
1816.  Succeeding  ministers: — Revs.  Charles  Grey,  John  Worral, 
Michael  Horbury;  J.  Archer,  present  minister.  A  minister's  house, 
attached  to  the  Chapel,  was  given  to  the  foundation  by  Mr.  Robert 
Boardman  of  Cherry  Tree  House  ;  and  school-rooms  were  annexed  in 
1832,  when  the  Chapel  itself  was  restored  and  re-roofed.  Later  bequests 
to  the  Chapel  are  : — ;£ioo  left  in  1833  by  Mrs.  Howson,  interest  to 
poor  members  and  minister ;  ^100  left  by  Will  of  Mr.  James  Boardman 
in  1842,  interest  as  part  salary  to  Schoolmaster;  £100  towards  main- 
tenance of  minister,  and  £200  towards  day  school  endowment, 
bequeathed  by  the  late  Miss  Boardman.  This  oldest  Baptist  Chapel 
in  Blackburn  is  a  small  square  stone  structure  of  plain  exterior. 
Sittings,  300. 

BRANCH  ROAD  CHAPEL. — This  Chapel  was  built  in  1843  for  a  congregation  of 
General  Baptists.  Its  architecture  is  Early  English.  The  Chapel  was  renovated 
internally,  re-benched,  and  galleries  placed  in  three  sides,  and  a  school  erected  in  the 
rear,  in  1871.  The  organ  is  in  a  recess  at  the  east  end.  Sittings,  600.  Present 
minister,  Rev.  J.  Douglas,  A.M.  ;  Former  ministers,  Revs.  W.  Barker ;  Robert 
Cameron ;  Thomas  Crabtree. 

UNITED  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCHES  IN  BLACKBURN. 

About  the  year  1810,  a  party  of  seceders  from  the  Chapel-street 
Independent  Congregation  established  a  church-society  in  the  town  on 
Presbyterian  principles,  in  connection  with  the  Burgher  Seceders  from 
the  Church  of  Scotland.  For  the  congregation  thus  formed,  a  Chapel 
was  built  in  Mount-street  in  1810,  and  the  Rev.  Joseph  Sowden  was 
appointed  minister.  The  congregation  afterwards  became  connected 
with  the  Lancashire  Presbytery  of  the  United  Presbyterian  Church,  and 
the  Chapel  was  improved  in  1829  ;  in  1836  a  portico  was  added  at 
the  west  end,  and  a  school  building,  forming  wings  at  right  angles  to 
the  Chapel,  was  erected  at  the  east  end.  Rev.  Francis  Skinner,  M.A., 
became  pastor  of  this  congregation  in  1830,  and  continued  minister  for 
thirty-six  years.  Mr.  Skinner  was  author  of  several  published  books, 
chiefly  controversial  letters  and  theological  pamphlets.  He  married, 
at  Blackburn  Parish  Church,  March  29th,  1837,  Martha,  eldest  daughter 
of  Mr.  John  Eccles,  of  Lower  Darwen,  and  sister  of  Bannister  Eccles, 
Esq.  (who  died,  aged  39,  April  i6th,  1838),  and,  secondly,  Dec.  5th, 
1844,  Catherine,  eldest  daughter  of  William  Martin,  Esq.,  of  Bolton, 
who  survives.  He  received  from  the  Glasgow  University  the  degree  of 
D.D.  in  1864.  The  Mount-street  Chapel  was  become  too  small  for  the 
congregation  in  1865,  and  on  March  4th  in  that  year,  Dr.  Skinner  laid 


366  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

the  corner-stone  of  a  new  Church  in  Preston  New  Road.  Dr.  Skinner 
died  before  the  completion  of  the  Church,  Dec.  29th,  1866,  aged  67. 
He  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Alexander  B.  Grosart,  previously  of 
Liverpool.  The  Mount  Street  Chapel  was  continued  in  use  by  a  section 
of  the  congregation  after  the  new  Church  was  opened,  and  the  Rev. 
Arthur  McArthur,  present  pastor,  was  appointed  to  minister  in  the  old 
Chapel.  This  Chapel  is  a  stone  structure  with  semi-circular-headed 
windows,  having  a  small  burial-ground  in  front.  The  interior  is  galleried 
on  three  sides,  and  behind  the  pulpit  is  an  opening  for  the  choir- 
gallery.  Sittings,  600. 

ST.  GEORGE'S  CHURCH,  Preston  New  Road,  the  second  Church  built  in  1865-8 
for  the  use  of  the  major  portion  of  the  original  United  Presbyterian  congregation,  was 
opened  June  1 8th,  1868.  It  is  a  spacious  and  handsome  edirice  on  a  prominent  site, 
with  a  three-storied  school  building  at  the  south  end  of  the  Church.  The  Church  is  in 
the  early  decorated  style  of  gothic  architecture.  The  front  has  a  central  and  two  side 
entrances  with  recessed  moulded  arches ;  and  over  the  central  d*oorway  is  a  large 
three-light  window,  with  tracery  heads,  the  centre-light  divided  by  a  mullion.  One  of 
the  side  entrances  is  in  the  tower,  at  the  north  west  corner,  from  which  rises  an  octagonal 
belfry,  surmounted  by  a  spire  ;  the  height  of  tower  and  spire  is  1 26ft.  The  sides  of 
the  Church  are  divided  into  six  bays  by  buttresses  capped  by  gablets ;  the  walls  are 
finished  by  a  parapet.  In  each  bay  is  a  window  of  two  lights.  The  roof  is  surmounted 
by  three  lofty  ventilating  turrets.  The  interior,  reached  by  a  spacious  vestibule,  is  a 
parallelogram,  about  goft.  in  length  above  from  north  window  to  school  partition- wall, 
and  5oft.  wide.  The  roof,  open  to  the  collar-beam,  divided  into  six  bays  by  arched 
principals,  is  carried  on  iron  columns  with  ornamental  caps.  The  columns  are  in  two 
tiers,  the  first  supporting  the  galleries,  which  occupy  three  sides  of  the  Church.  The 
pulpit  is  a  large  square  one  of  artistic  structure,  the  back,  somewhat  recessed  in  the 
wall,  is  panelled,  and  finished  with  cornice,  cut-cresting,  and  finial.  Behind  the 
Church  are  vestries  for  minister  and  elders,  four  large  class  rooms,  lecture  room  6oft. 
by  3oft.,  and  other  rooms,  occupying  three  floors.  Cost  ^"9,100.  Sittings  in  Church, 
1,000.  The  present  pastor,  Rev.  A.  B.  Grosart,  is  an  eminent  writer  and  literary 
antiquary,  author  and  editor  of  the  "Fuller  Worthies  Library,"  "Chertsey  Library," 
Prose  Works  of  William  Wordsworth,  and  many  other  published  volumes. 

WESLEYAN  METHODIST  SOCIETIES  IN  BLACKBURN. 

In  the  general  historical  narrative  I  have  mentioned  the  local  intro- 
duction of  Wesleyan  Methodism  in  Lower  Darwen  about  the  year  1758, 
and  the  earliest  visit  of  John  Wesley  to  Blackburn  for  the  purpose  of 
preaching  in  1780.  Wesley  was  again  at  Blackburn  in  1781.  His  Journal 
records  : — "1781,  Wednesday,  June  23rd.  Having  appointed  to  preach 
at  Blackburn,  I  was  desired  to  take  Kabb  in  my  way  (from  Bolton).  In 
the  evening  I  preached  in  the  new  House  at  Blackburn."  The  "  new 
house  "  referred  to,  opened  by  Wesley  either  on  this  or  on  the  visit  in 
1780,  was  the  original  Methodist  Chapel  in  the  town,  known  as  the  Old 
Calendar  House  from  its  previous  use,  and  purchased  and  adapted  for  a 
Chapel  by  the  newly-formed  Society  of  Methodists  about  the  year  1780. 


WESLEY  AN  METHODIST  SOCIETIES.  367 

This  building  still  exists,  but  has  been  many  years  used  as  shops  and 
workshop.  It  stands  on  the  N.E.  side  of  Old  Chapel  Street.  It  is  a 
brick  structure,  hardly  to  be  distinguished  from  the  other  premises 
on  either  side.  Its  interior  must  have  been  small  and  incommodious. 
Wesley  preached  here  on  a  third  visit  in  1784,  as  he  narrates  : — "1784, 
April  1 7th.  In  the  evening  I  preached  at  Blackburn,  where  the  Society 
is  lively  and  constantly  increasing.  Sunday,  i8th.  I  preached  at  five 
[a.m.]  to  a  numerous  congregation,  but  not  one  well-dressed  person 
among  them,  either  morning  or  evening.  Poor  Blackburn  !"  If  the 
first  Methodists  in  the  town  included  few  of  the  "  quality,"  they  soon 
grew  in  numbers  until  the  Old  Calendar  House  could  not  hold  them, 
and,  in  the  Spring  of  1785,  a  project  to  erect  a  larger  Chapel  was  afoot, 
of  which  the  main  promoters  were  Mr.  William  Banning  and  Mr.  George 
Walkden.  A  site  was  got  in  Clayton-street,  now  near  the  midst  of  the 
town,  but  then  an  open  suburb,  surrounded  by  gardens  and  several 
respectable  houses  of  tradesmen.  The  first  Chapel  in  Clayton-street 
was  opened  in  1786.  Wesley  again  came  to  preach,  but  the  Chapel 
would  not  hold  the  large  concourse  of  people.  Wesley  records  in  the 
Journal ': — "1786,  Monday,  April  i7th.  I  went  on  to  Blackburn,  which 
was  sufficiently  crowded,  it  being  fair-day.  No  house  would  contain  the 
people,  so  I  stood  abroad  and  expounded  that  awful  scripture,  '  I  saw  the 
dead  small  and  great  stand  before  God.'  All  was  still  as  night,  unless 
when  they  sung, — then  their  voices  were  as  the  sound  of  many  waters." 

The  trust  deed  of  the  Chapel  of  1786  names  as  trustees: — Mr. 
William  Sagar,  Colne  (Southfield,  in  Marsden) ;  John  Wood,  Padiham ; 
Roger  Crane,  Michael  Emmett,  and  William  Bramwell,  Preston ;  John  \J 
Crossley,  Hoghton ;  John  Walmsley,  Walton ;  William  Banning,  John 
Haworth,  Nicholas  Aspinall,  and  George  WTalkden,  Blackburn.  Messrs. 
Banning  and  Walkden  were  the  Blackburn  leaders  of  Methodism  in  its 
infancy.  Mr.  Banning  was  a  tradesman  in  Astley-gate,  at  whose  house 
Wesley  lodged  on  several  of  his  visits.  Mr.  George  Walkden,  a  "yeo- 
man," as  described  in  the  trust-deed,  was  a  laborious  local  preacher  in 
the  district. 

Wesley's  next  journey  through  the  parish  was  in  1788.  The 
Wesleyan  Conference  had  shortly  before  made  Blackburn  a  circuit, 
severed  from  the  older  Colne  circuit.  In  Wesley's  Journal  appears  the 
entry  : — "1788,  Monday,  May  2ist.  I  went  on  through  miserable  roads 
to  Blackburn,  where,  nothwithstanding  continued  rain,  the  new  preaching- 
house  was  thoroughly  filled  with  serious  and  well-behaved  people." 
Wesley's  journal  of  his  last  year's  tour  in  1790  is  destroyed,  but  it  is  on 
record  that  he  had  fixed  to  be  in  Blackburn  on  the  i3th  of  April,  1790, 
and  he  v  as  certainly  in  Lancashire  about  that  time.  Wesley  died  in  1 791. 


368  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Blackburn  Circuit  returned  878  members  in  1788,  the  year  after  its 
formation;  and  by  1794,  1,180  members  were  enrolled.  A  feud  in  the 
Connexion  in  1795  caused  a  numerical  decrease  in  this  as  in  other 
Circuits.  The  first  ministers  appointed  to  Blackburn  Circuit  were  Rev. 
Francis  Wrigley  and  Rev.  Edward  Burbeck.  Mr.  Burbeck  died  before 
entering  upon  his  ministry  here,  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  William 
Bramwell,  a  native  of  Elswick  in  the  Fylde.  Other  preachers  of  note  in 
turn  served  this  Circuit.  In  1798-9,  Rev.  T.  Wood  was  second  minister 
of  Blackburn  Circuit;  he  was  the  author  of  "A  Defence  of  the  late 
National  Fast,"  "Essays  on  Civil  Government,"  and  "Christianity 
Established  by  Reason  and  Revelation,"  treatises  printed  in  Blackburn 
and  published  during  the  author's  residence  in  the  town.  A  leading 
Methodist  layman  in  Blackburn  at  this  period  was  Dr.  Nathaniel  Aspden, 
a  surgeon  of  position  in  the  town.  He  was  a  son  of  Mr.  William  Aspden, 
of  Cliff,  Great  Harwood,  born  Jan.  2ist,  1766,  educated  under  the 
eminent  Rev.  Thomas  Wilson  at  Clitheroe  Grammar  School,  and 
married,  in  1788,  Miss  Edmondson  of  Barnoldswick.  He  died,  aged  32, 
in  1798.  His  epitaph  at  Clayton-street  Chapel  is  inscribed: — "In 
memory  of  Nathaniel  Aspden,  surgeon,  who  departed  this  life  Sept.  24th, 
17^8,  aged  32  years."  The  circuit  minister  published  an  account  of  Dr. 
Aspden's  life  in  the  Methodist  Magazine  for  1799,  and  also  "A  Sermon 
preached  on  the  Death  of  Mr.  N.  Aspden,  in  the  Methodist  Chapel, 
Blackburn,  on  Sunday,  Sept.  3oth,  1798,  by  T.  WOOD.  Blackburn: 
Hemingway  and  Nuttall. " 

In  1799,  the  Societies  of  Preston  and  its  district  were  separated 
from  Blackburn  Methodist  Circuit.  In  1809,  Blackburn  Circuit  con- 
tained 527  members  in  societies  at :— Blackburn  198  members;  Lower 
Darwen  (reckoned  with  Blackburn) ;  Over  Darwen  70  members ;  Mellor 
98  members;  Hoghton  96  members;  Tockholes  16  members;  Bank- 
foot  6  members;  Rishton  6  members;  Great  Harwood  12  members; 
Stanhill  28  members.1 

The  Clayton-street  Chapel  in  Blackburn  was  enlarged  and  almost 
rebuilt  in  1816.  Externally,  the  Chapel  remains  as  it  stood  after  this 
renovation.  It  is  a  square  brick  and  stone  fabric,  with  .pointed  windows, 
and  two  doorways,  flanked  by  pillasters,  on  the  north  front.  The 
interior  measures  about  65ft.  by  55ft.  Galleries  are  on  the  north,  east, 
and  west  sides,  and  organ  and  choir  are  in  a  recess  at  the  south  end. 
The  Chapel  has  been  twice  or  thrice  restored  internally  since  1816 ;  the 
last  improvements  were  made  in  1857-8  at  the  charge  of  the  late  Miss 
Newsham.  Sittings,  950. 

i  Some  of  the  above  facts  are  derived  from  an  interesting  account  of  the  rise  of  "  Wesleyan 
Methodism  in  the  Blackburn  Circuit/'  by  Rev.  John  Ward,  Wesleyan  Minister,  published  in  1871. 


PRIMITIVE  AND  FREE  METHODIST  CHAPELS.  369 

Particulars  of  other  Wesleyan  places  of  worship  in  the  township 
are  appended  : — 

A  Chapel  built  at  Daisyfield  in  1826  was  after  a  few  years  disposed  of  to  the 
Vicar  of  the  Parish  and  converted  into  a  Chapel  of  the  Establishment. 

HARWOOD  STREET  CHAPEL.— In  the  year  1864  a  School  Chapel  for  the  Wesleyan 
Methodists  was  erected  in  Harwood  Street,  Furthergate,  costing  about  ^"1,000.  By 
the  congregation  worshipping  there  a  new  Chapel  has  since  been  erected,  the  corner- 
stone of  which  was  laid  on  Good  Friday  (April  3rd),  1874,  and  which  was  opened  in 
July,  1865.  This  Chapel  is  in  the  Italian  style,  and  consists  of  a  parallelogram  66ft. 
by  49ft.  The  interior  has  galleries  on  three  sides.  The  cost  (with  site)  was  ,£3,300. 
Sittings  650.  The  original  structure  adjacent  is  now  used  solely  for  school  purposes. 

WRANGLING  MISSION. — A  building  in  Stout-street,  Wrangling,  was  altered  and 
fitted  as  a  ragged  school  and  preaching  place  in  the  year  1870.  Sittings  140. 

KENDAL  STREET  SCHOOL-CHAPEL.  —The  first  stone  of  a  Wesleyan  School- 
Chapel  was  laid  in  Kendal-street,  Brookhouse  Fields,  on  Feb.  2ist,  1874.  The 
Chapel  was  opened  for  worship  the  same  year.  Cost  (with  site)  ^"1,600.  Sittings  400. 

PRIMITIVE  METHODIST  CHAPELS  IN  BLACKBURN. 

The  Primitive  Methodist  Connexion,  soon  after  its  origin,  had  a 
meeting-room  in  Eanam,  in  this  town,  and  a  society  was  formed  about 
the  year  1820.  About  sixteen  years  later,  the  Chapel  in  Montague- 
street  was  built ;  opened  in  1837.  The  chapel  is  a  plain  brick  structure  ; 
the  interior  is  galleried.  School-rooms  were  attached  in  the  rear  in 
1871 ;  and  larger  schools  were  built  contiguous  to  the  Chapel,  at  a  cost 
of  ,£3,000,  in  1875.  Sittings  500.  Subsequent  Chapels  of  this  Connexion 
have  been  founded  in  the  township,  as  under : — 

OXFORD  STREET  CHAPEL,  HIGHER  AUDLEY.— In  1867,  the  Primitive  Methodists 
erected  a  School-Chapel  in  Mawdsley-street,  Higher  Audley,  seating  about  450 
persons.  On  the  l8th  Sept.,  1873,  the  corner-stone  of  a  more  spacious  edifice,  in  the 
classic  style,  for  the  use  of  this  congregation,  was  laid  by  Mr.  John  Hindle.  This 
Chapel  adjoins  the  forme?  building,  now  used  as  a  school,  but  fronts  to  Oxford-street. 
The  interior  of  the  Chapel  measures  6oft.  by  42ft. ,  and  is  galleried  round.  A  second 
school-building  of  brick  is  attached  to  the  east  end  of  the  Chapel.  Cost  £"4,000. 
Sittings  600. 

INFIRMARY  STREET  CHAPEL.— This  Chapel  was  built  in  1872,  and  is  used  both 
for  preaching  and  Sunday  School  purposes.  Cost  £"600.  Sittings  250. 

CHAPELS  OF  THE  UNITED  METHODIST  FREE  CHURCH. 
The  Wesleyan  Association,  founded  in  1835  by  a  separation  from 
the  Wesleyan  Methodist  Connexion,  formed  a  congregation  in  Blackburn 
in  that  year,  which  built,  in  1836,  a  Chapel  in  Paradise-street.  A  later 
secession  from  the  Wesleyan  body  in  1849,  called  "Wesleyan  Reformers," 
set  on  foot  a  society  also  in  Blackburn,  the  members  of  which  built,  in 
1853,  a  Chapel  in  Barton-street.  After  the  junction  of  the  Methodist 
seceders  of  1835  and  1849,  assuming  the  name  of  United  Methodist 
Free  Churches,  it  was  found  expedient  to  unite  the  two  congregations 
above  mentioned,  the  Chapels  being  but  a  few  yards  apart.  This  was 

24 


370 


HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


effected  in  the  year  1870  ;  and  the  Barton-street  Chapel  was  converted 
into  Schools.  In  1871,  the  Paradise  Chapel  was  taken  down,  and  on 
the  site  was  built  the  present  large  and  handsome  Chapel,  with  frontage 
to  Feilden-street.  The  architecture  of  this  Chapel  is  classic,  and  the 
interior  is  galleried  round.  Cost  ^"4,800.  Sittings  1,000.  There  are 
two  other  Chapels  of  this  Connexion  in  the  township,  viz.  : — 

KNUZDEN  SCHOOL-CHAPEL. — A  School-Chapel  was  built  on  the  border  of  the 
township  at  Knuzden  in  1863.  Cost  ;£i,ooo.  Sittings  325. 

DAISYFIELD  SCHOOL-CHAPEL. — The  corner-stone  of  a  School-Chapel  for  the 
United  Methodist  Free  Church  Connexion  was  laid  in  Derby-street,  Daisyfield,  July 
26th,  1875.  Cost  ;£i,ooo.  Sittings  300. 

OTHER  PLACES  OF  WORSHIP. 

The  FRIENDS'  MEETING  HOUSE,  Paradise-terrace,  off  King-street,  was  built  in 
1818.  It  is  surrounded  by  a  walled  grave-yard.  Sittings  226. 

The  NEW  JERUSALEM  CHURCH,  Brookhouse-fields,  was  built  in  1854.  The 
interior  was  restored  and  rebenched  in  1873,  and  an  organ  added  in  1874.  Sittings 
214.  Minister,  Rev.  Wm.  Bates. 

The  METHODIST  NEW  CONNEXION  opened  a  mission-room  in  Bolton-road  in 
1865  ;  removed  to  an  adapted  room  in  Lower  Audley  ;  and  later  to  the  Rechabites' 
Hall,  Cable-street. 

The  CHRISTIAN  BRETHREN'S  MEETING  HOUSE,  Russell-street,  built  in  1872, 
contains  about  150  sittings. 

The  CATHOLIC  APOSTOLIC  CHURCH  have  recently  fitted  up  a  preaching  place, 
with  about  200  sittings,  in  Town  Hall-street,  in  the  building  formerly  used  for  the  Free 
Library. 

Small  meetings  of  Baptists  and  of  Old  Scotch  Independents  are  held  respectively 
in  Exchange-street,  and  in  Cobden-rooms,  Corporation-street. 

SUNDAY  SCHOOLS  IN  BLACKBURN. 

The  first  Sunday  School  in  Blackburn  owed  its  establishment,  about 
the  year  1786,  to  the  Rev.  Thomas  Starkie,  Vicar  of  the  Parish;  this 
School  was  superintended  by  the  Vicar,  and  soon  after  its  foundation 
numbered  300  children.  Other  Sunday  Schools  were  opened  somewhat 
later  by  the  Wesleyan  and  Independent  Congregations  in  the  town  ;  and, 
in  1824,  it  is  recorded  that  the  Church  of  England  Sunday  Schools  in 
the  town  had  1,100  children  in  attendance;  Chapel  Street  Independent 
School  600 ;  Clayton-street  Wesleyan  Methodist  School  500 ;  Mount- 
street  Presbyterian  School  120;  Roman  Catholic  School  100;  and 
Unitarian  School  56  ;  a  total  of  2,476  children  attending  the  various 
Sunday  Schools.  After  the  lapse  of  about  50  years  since  this  return, 
and  of  ninety  years  since  the  first  of  these  Schools  was  founded,  it  may 
be  estimated  roundly  that  in  1875  there  were  connected  with  Sunday 
Schools  in  that  part  of  the  town  of  Blackburn  within  the  township  about 
21,000  children  and  young  persons,  whereof  some  9,500  belong  to 


BLACKBURN  SCHOOL  BOARD  AND  DAY  SCHOOLS.    37I 

Church  of  England  Schools,  8,000  to  Protestant  Nonconformist  Schools, 
and  3,500  to  Roman  Catholic  Schools. 

DAY  SCHOOLS  IN  THE  TOWNSHIP— BLACKBURN   SCHOOL  BOARD. 

In  the  last  generation,  a  National  School  in  Thunder  Alley  and 
two  or  three  small  private  schools  connected  with  the  larger  factories 
were  all  the  provision  for  the  education  of  children  of  the  labouring 
class  in  Blackburn  ;  but  during  the  interval  of  thirty  years  great  progress 
has  been  made  in  the  provision  of  school  buildings  for  Day  and  Sunday 
School  purposes,  and  many  large  and  good  Day  Schools  under  Govern- 
ment inspection  have  been  established  and  maintained  by  the  religious 
bodies.  Among  the  first  important  schools  erected  were  those  at  Brook- 
house,  built  by  Mr.  Wm.  Henry  Hornby  in  1839-40  ;  St.  John's  Schools, 
built  in  1844  ;  Holy  Trinity  Schools,  built  in  1845  ;  Park  Schools,  Grim- 
shaw  Park  Road,  built  by  Messrs.  James  and  William  Pilkington  and 
Edward  Eccles  in  1850;  the  Hopwood  Schools,  Grimshaw  Park,  built 
by  the  Hopwood  family  in  1850,  replaced  by  Christ  Church  Schools  in 
1858;  St.  Paul's  Schools,  in  1858;  Chapel-street  Independent  Schools, 
in  1859 ;  and  the  Wesleyan  Schools,  St.  Peter-street,  in  1861. 

A  School  Board  was  established  by  the  spontaneous  action  of  the 
burgesses  in  1870.  The  first  Board  was  elected  without  a  contest  on 
the  27th  of  December,  1870.  Mr.  Wm.  Ditchfield  was  appointed  Clerk.1 

A  census  of  children  of  school  age  and  attending  school  was  taken  by  order  of  the 
School  Board  conjointly  with  the  general  Census,  April  3rd,  1875.  It  was  found  that 
the  Municipal  Borough  and  Township  of  Blackburn  then  contained  17,453  children  of 
school-going  age  (between  3  and  13  years).  Of  these,  13,073  were  returned  as  in 
attendance  at  some  school,  and  4,380  not  in  attendance  at  any  school.  To  Church  of 
England  Schools,  6,901  children  were  returned  as  attached;  to  Roman  Catholic 
Schools,  2,317  children  ;  to  Nonconformist  and  British  Schools,  2,743  children;  to 
private  schools,  middle  class  and  elementary,  925  children  ;  and  to  schools  out  of  the 
borough,  217  children.  An  inquiry  was  at  the  same  time  made  respecting  School 
provision.  The  accommodation  in  existing  schools  was  found  to  be  for  16,908 
children;  and  in  other  school  buildings  about  to  be  provided,  2,025  »  total  of  prospec- 
tive accommodation  for  18,933  children.  The  provision  in  the  principal  schools  then 
in  use  or  projected  was  as  follows  : — Parish  Church  Schools,  1,040  children  ;  St.  John's 
Schools,  1,138;  St.  Paul's,  503;  St.  Peter's  (new),  604;  Holy  Trinity,  687;  St. 
Michael's  (with  Infant  School),  755  ;  Christ  Church,  1,115  ;  St-  Thomas's  (new),  856; 
St.  Luke's,  525  ;  Pleckgate,  183  ;  Billinge,  261  ;  Wensley  Fold,  228.  [All  Saints' 
•Church  School  since  built,  for  300  children.]  St.  Alban's  Roman  Catholic  Schools, 
775;  St.  Anne's,  868;  St.  Mary's,  661  ;  St.  Patrick's,  217;  St.  Joseph's,  266  [New 
Schools  under  Church  now  building  to  provide  for  about  700  children].  Chapel  Street 

i  The  School  Board  was  composed  as  follows  : — Mr.  VV.  H.  Hornby,  junr.  (chairman)  ;  Mr.  Mark 
Knowles  (vice-chairman) ;  Revs.  R.  Dunderdale  and  \V.  S.  Berry  ;  Messrs.  W.  A.  Abram,  T. 
Bertwistle,  A.  S.  Bury,  W.  Crossley,  James  Eccles,  \V.  Orrell,  Giles  Parkinson,  Isaac  Ward,  and 
J.  A.  Watson. — To  the  second  Board,  elected  in  1874,  the  Vicar,  Rev.  Canon  Birch,  was  returned  in 
place  of  Mr.  Knowles,  and  appointed  vice-chairman  ;  and  Messrs.  Launcelot  Porter,  H.  Shuttleworth, 
and  John  Thompson  were  returned  in  the  stead  of  Messrs.  Eccles,  Orrell,  and  Bertwistle. 


372  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Congregational  Schools,  1,174  children;  Park  Road  Schools,  1,019;  Nova  Scotia, 
406  ;  Bank  Top,  406 ;  Furthergate,  369 ;  Mawdsley-street,  552 ;  Montague-street, 
384  ;  St.  Peter  Street  Wesleyan  School,  363  ;  Barton  Street  United  Methodist  Free 
Church  School,  637  ;  Town's  Moor  Baptist,  103  ;  Mount  Street  British,  231  ;  Paradise 
Street  Science  School,  1 12;  Girls'  Charity  School,  135.  The  following  Dissenting 
School  buildings  were  not  in  use  as  Day  Schools  : — St.  George's  United  Presbyterian, 
provision  for  508  children  ;  Primitive  Methodist,  Branch  Road,  202  (new  schools  now 
building) ;  Montague  Street  Baptist,  340 ;  James  Street  Independent,  459.  The  Four 
Lanes  End  (Independent)  School,  providing  for  311  children,  has  since  been  opened 
as  a  Board  School. 

Under  the  action  of  the  compulsory  clause  of  the  Education  Act  adopted  by  the 
School  Board,  the  number  of  children  in  attendance  at  inspected  public  elementary 
schools  had  been  increased  at  the  end  of  the  year  1874  to  14,846,  and  the  average 
attendance  to  9,609.  (In  1871  the  number  attending  inspected  Schools  was  10,532, 
average  7,023.)  There  are  also  still  from  500  to  1,000  children  frequenting  indifferent 
private  adventure  schools  of  the  lower  class. 

The  middle-class  population  in  the  town  furnishes  from  600  to  700  children 
attending  the  superior  class  of  schools.  These  include  the  Free  Grammar  School ;  the 
Lower  Bank  Academy,  founded  by  Mr.  Edmundson  in  1826,  and  of  which  Mr.  George 
Weild  is  now  principal,  a  well-conducted  commercial  school  with  an  average  of  about 
90  pupils ;  one  or  two  boarding  schools  for  boys  in  the  vicinity  of  the  town ;  and 
several  seminaries  in  private  houses  for  the  daughters  of  middle-class  families. 

THE  PARLIAMENTARY  BOROUGH. 

Blackburn  was  first  constituted  a  Parliamentary  Borough,  returning 
two  Members,  by  the  Reform  Act  of  1832.  The  town  had  then  a  popu- 
lation of  27,091  ;  and  627  electors.  The  first  election  took  place  after 
the  dissolution  of  Parliament  in  December  of  that  year.  Four  candidates 
were  in  the  field  for  the  two  seats,  viz.,  Mr.  William  Feilden  of  Feniscowles 
(afterwards  Sir  William),  a  Conservative ;  Mr.  John  Fowden  Hindle  of 
Woodfold  Park,  Conservative ;  John  Bo  wring,  LL.D.,  of  London  (after- 
wards Sir  John),  a  Reformer ;  and  Mr.  William  Turner  of  Mill  Hill,  near 
Blackburn,  a  Whig.  Mr.  Feilden  and  Mr.  Bowring  were  the  favourite 
candidates,  and  it  was  expected  they  would  be  returned  together,  but 
Mr.  Turner  brought  local  influences  to  bear  that  secured  his  election 
against  Dr.  Bowring.  The  nomination  took  place  on  Tuesday,  Dec. 
nth,  1832.  Returning  officer,  John  Fleming,  Esq.  The  hustings  were 
erected  in  the  "  Bull  Meadow,"  on  the  site  of  the  present  Reform  Club, 
Market  Place.  Mr.  Feilden  was  nominated  by  his  uncle,  Mr.  Joseph 
Feilden,  and  by  Mr.  James  Cunliffe,  banker.  Mr.  Hindle  was  nominated 
by  Dr.  James  Barlow  and  Mr.  Wm.  Henry  Hornby.  Dr.  Bowring  was 
nominated  by  Mr.  James  Pilkington  and  Mr.  Joseph  Eccles.  Mr.  Turner 
was  nominated  by  Mr.  John  Hargreaves  (Coroner)  and  Mr.  Thomas 
Dugdale.  On  the  eve  of  the  poll  Mr.  Hindle  retired.  The  first  day's 
polling  resulted — Feilden  346  ;  Bowring  324  ;  Turner  314.  The  second 
day's  poll  ended  Feilden  376  ;  Turner  347  ;  Bowring  334.  The  defeat 


THE  PARLIAMENTARY  BOROUGH.  373 

of  Dr.  Bowring,  the  popular  candidate,  led  to  some  disturbances  in  the 
streets. 

At  the  next  General  Election  in  1835,  James  Pickup,  Esq.,  was  returning  officer 
for  the  borough,  and  the  candidates  nominated  were  the  retiring  Members,  Mr.  William 
Feilden  and  Mr.  William  Turner ;  and  Dr.  Bowring.  The  polling  took  place  on  June 
6th  and  ;th,  1835.  At  the  end  of  the  first  day,  Mr.  Turner  and  Dr.  Bowring  had  the 
majority  of  votes  ;  but  at  the  close  of  the  poll  on  the  second  day  the  numbers  were — 
Turner  432 ;  Feilden  316 ;  Bowring  303.  Dr.  Bowring  was,  however,  in  the  mean- 
time, elected  Member  for  Kilmarnock,  in  Scotland.  Rioting  supervened  on  the  result 
of  the  election  being  known  in  Blackburn.  A  procession  of  many  thousands  of  the 
working  classes  met  Dr.  Bowring  on  his  passage  through  Blackburn  on  his  way  to 
London  from  his  Scottish  constituency. 

At  the  dissolution  in  July,  1837,  on  the  death  of  William  IV.,  the  borough  was 
not  seriously  contested.  Mr.  Feilden  and  Mr.  Turner  were  again  nominated,  and  also 
Mr.  J.  B.  Smith,  of  Manchester,  but  the  latter  retired  before  the  poll  was  taken,  which 
resulted — Turner  515  ;  Feilden  416  ;  Smith  9. 

At  the  General  Election  on  July  1st,  1841,  the  nominated  candidates  were — Mr. 
William  Feilden  and  Mr.  John  Hornby,  Conservatives  ;  and  Mr.  William  Turner, 
Whig.  The  polling  issued  in  the  return  of  the  two  former  : — Feilden  441  ;  Hornby 
427  ;  Turner  426.  The  military  had  to  be  fetched  to  stop  the  rioting  on  this  occasion. 
Mr.  Turner  being  defeated  by  a  single  vote,  petitioned  for  a  scrutiny,  which  commenced 
on  Wednesday,  April  2Oth,  and  lasted  seven  days.  At  the  close,  Mr.  Hornby  was 
decided  to  have  sustained  his  election.  Mr.  Turner  died  within  three  months  of  the 
failure  of  the  petition. 

The  next  Election  occurred  on  the  dissolution  in  July,  1847.  Sir  William  Feilden 
retired  from  parliamentary  life,  and  the  candidates  nominated  were  : — Mr.  John 
Hornby,  Conservative ;  Mr.  James  Pilkington,  Liberal  Free  Trader ;  Mr.  William 
Hargreaves,  of  the  Grange,  Milnthorpe,  Whig ;  and  Mr.  W.  P.  Roberts,  Chartist. 
The  contest  resulted  in  the  return  of  Mr.  Hornby  and  Mr.  Pilkington ;  the  polling 
being — Hornby  649  ;  Pilkington  602  ;  Hargreaves  392  ;  Roberts  68. 

Parliament  was  again  dissolved  July  1st,  1852.  In  Blackburn  the  candidates  at 
this  Election  were  the  retiring  Members,  Mr.  Hornby  and  Mr.  Pilkington ;  and  Mr. 
William  Eccles,  as  a  Liberal-Conservative.  Parties  were  in  some  degree  confused  in 
this  contest.  The  result  of  the  poll  was — Pilkington  846  ;  Eccles  580  ;  Hornby  509. 
Mr.  Hornby's  supporters  petitioned  against  the  return  of  Mr.  Eccles  on  the  ground  of 
bribery  and  corruption,  and  the  House  of  Commons  Committee  declared  the  charges 
proved  and  the  election  void.  Mr.  Eccles,  unseated  in  March,  1854,  died  on  June 
1 7th  following,  aged  59. 

The  extraordinary  Election  occasioned  by  this  vacancy  took  place  in  March,  1852. 
The  candidates  were  : — Mr.  William  Henry  Hornby,  brother  of  the  former  Member, 
Conservative  ;  and  Mr.  Montague  Joseph  Feilden,  a  younger  son  of  the  late  Sir 
William  Feilden,  Liberal.  The  contest  was  fierce,  and  resulted— Feilden  631  ; 
Hornby  574. 

At  the  General  Election  in  March,  1857,  the  borough  was  not  contested  ;  as  Mr. 
Jonathan  Peel  of  Knowlmere,  who  had  made  overtures  to  the  constituency,  did  not 
persevere  in  his  candidature.  The  other  candidates  were  Mr.  Pilkington,  the  retiring 
Member,  and  Mr.  William  Henry  Hornby,  whose  claims  were  now  so  generally 
admitted  that  he  secured  the  seat,  along  with  Mr.  Pilkington,  without  a  poll. 

At  the  General  Election  of  1859  three  candidates  were  presented  to  the  constitu- 


374  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

ency  : — Mr.  Pilkington,  Liberal,  and  Mr.  Hornby,  Conservative,  the  retiring  Members ; 
and  Mr.  John  Patrick  Murrough  of  London,  as  an  advanced  Liberal.  The  poll,  taken 
April  30th,  resulted  : — Hornby  832  ;  Pilkington  750  ;  Murrough  567. 

The  next  Election  was  on  the  dissolution  in  July,  1865.  The  retiring  Members, 
Mr.  Hornby  and  Mr.  Pilkington,  were  candidates,  and  it  was  the  disposition  of 
influential  persons  of  both  parties  to  re-elect  these  gentlemen.  But  a  section  of  the 
Liberal  party  opposed  the  arrangement,  and  nominated  Mr.  John  Gerald  Potter,  of 
Mytton  Hall.  The  Conservative  Committee  upon  that  nominated  Mr.  Joseph  Feilden 
of  Witton  House,  as  its  second  candidate.  The  poll  closed  with  the  following  result: — 
Hornby  1,053 ;  Feilden  938  ;  Pilkington  771 ;  Potter  576.  Two  Conservatives  were 
thus  returned,  and  Mr.  Pilkington,  who  had  sat  in  Parliament  eighteen  years,  was 
defeated.  The  constituency  at  this  election,  the  last  under  the  old  £  10  franchise, 
numbered  1,845  electors. 

Consequent  upon  the  Reform  Act  of  1867,  the  dissolution  of  Parliament  in  Novem- 
ber, 1868,  occurred.  By  the  Boundary  Act  of  1 868,  the  boundaries  of  the  Parlia- 
mentary Borough  of  Blackburn,  originally  coincident  with  those  of  the  township,  were 
extended  to  include  the  suburban  parts  of  Witton  township  lying  between  the  Blake- 
water  and  the  Darwen,  and  of  Livesey  as  far  south  as  the  hamlets  of  Waterloo  and 
Moorgate.  The  new  franchise  and  this  extension  of  limits  combined,  increased  the 
number  of  electors  to  9,708.  The  candidates  nominated  were  the  retiring  Members, 
Mr.  Wm.  Henry  Hornby  and  Mr.  Joseph  Feilden,  Conservative,  and  Mr.  John  Gerald 
Potter  and  Mr.  Montague  Joseph  Feilden,  Liberal.  The  poll  was  taken  on  Tuesday, 
November  I5th,  1868,  and  resulted  in  the  re-election  of  the  former  Members.  The 
numbers  were — Hornby  4,907  ;  J.  Feilden  4,829  ;  Potter  4,399  ;  M.  J.  Feilden  4,164. 
A  petition  against  the  return  was  heard  at  the  Town  Hall,  Blackburn,  by  Mr.  Justice 
Willes,  March  13-16,  1869,  by  whom  the  election  was  pronounced  void  on  account  of 
intimidation  of  voters  by  expulsion  from  several  factories  by  partizan  workmen. 

At  the  extraordinary  Election  which  followed  upon  the  judgment,  the  Conservative 
Candidates  were  Mr.  Edward  Kenworthy  Hornby  and  Mr.  Henry  Master  Feilden, 
both  sons  of  the  former  Members.  The  Liberal  Candidates  were  Mr.  John  Gerald 
Potter  and  Mr.  John  Morley  (editor  of  the  "Fortnightly  Review,"  and  a  native  of 
Blackburn).  The  result  of  the  polling,  March  3Oth,  was  as  follows  : — Hornby  4,738 ; 
Feilden  4,697  ;  Potter  3,964;  Morley  3,804. 

The  last  General  Election  transpired  in  January,  1874.  The  candidates  in  this 
borough  were  Mr.  H.  M.  Feilden,  Conservative  (Mr.  E.  K.  Hornby  retiring) ;  Mr. 
Daniel  Thwaites,  an  independent  candidate  ultimately  adopted  by  the  Conservative 
Committee ;  Mr.  William  Edward  Briggs  and  Mr.  Richard  Shackleton,  Liberals.  The 
pollings  on  Thursday,  February  5th,  1875,  resulted  in  the  return  of  Mr.  Feilden  and  Mr. 
Briggs — the  numbers  being  declared  : — Feilden  5,532  ;  Briggs  5,338  ;  Thwaites  5>323> 
Shackleton  4,852.  This  was  the  first  election  in  which  the  voting  was  taken  by  Ballot 
under  the  provisions  of  the  Ballot  Act  of  1873. 

Mr.  H.  M.  Feilden,  the  senior  Member,  died  September  5th,  1875,  and  for  the 
vacancy  thus  caused  in  the  representation,  Mr.  Daniel  Thwaites  again  presented  him- 
self as  a  candidate.  Mr.  William  Coddington  (Mayor  1874-5),  who  appeared  as  a 
second  Conservative  Candidate,  retired.  Mr.  John  Tomlinson  Hibbert  (formerly 
Member  for  Oldham)  was  induced  to  contest  the  seat  with  Mr.  Thwaites  in  the  Liberal 
interest.  The  election  took  place  on  September  3oth,  1875,  and  the  numbers  declared 
were  :  —Thwaites  5, 792  ;  Hibbert  4, 832.  Mr.  Thwaites  was  thus  returned.  Number 
of  Electors  on  the  Roll,  11,709. 


INCORPORATION  OF  THE  BOROUGH.  375 

THE  MUNICIPAL  BOROUGH. 

The  town  of  Blackburn  possessed  no  local  governing  authority 
(beyond  the  town  constable)  prior  to  the  appointment  by  statute,  in 
1803,  of  a  body  of  twelve  Police  Commissioners,  who  were  invested 
with  the  duty  of  paving,  lighting,  watching,  and  cleansing  the  town. 
These  Commissioners  had  the  power  of  selecting  persons  to  fill  vacancies 
on  the  Commission.  The  powers  of  the  Police  Commissioners  were 
merged  in  those  of  the  Blackburn  Improvement  Commissioners,  appointed 
under  a  local  Act  of  Parliament  passed  in  1847  ;  and  Mr.  John  Har- 
greaves,  Clerk  to  the  former,  became  Clerk  to  the  latter  body  of  Com- 
missioners. William  Hoole,  Esq.,  was  Chairman  of  the  Improvement 
Commissioners.  The  Commissioners  laid  out  the  new  Market  Place, 
built  the  Market  House,  and  published  a  code  of  Bye-Laws  for  the 
regulation  of  the  town  in  sanitary  respects.  In  1854,  the  borough 
having  been  some  time  incorporated,  the  functions  of  the  Improvement 
Commissioners  were  transferred  to  the  Town  Council,  and  the  Com- 
mission was  wound  up. 

By  Petition  dated  Nov.  28th,  1850,  the  inhabitant  landholders  and 
ratepayers  of  the  Parliamentary  borough  of  Blackburn  petitioned  the 
Queen  in  Council  for  a  Charter  of  Incorporation  for  the  borough,  setting 
forth  that  the  "  important,  populous  and  increasing  borough  of  Black- 
burn is  without  any  efficient  or  responsible  local  government  adequate 
to  its  necessities,"  and  that  the  petitioners  desired  "  the  control  of  the 
municipal  affairs  of  the  said  borough  should  be  vested  in  a  responsible 
local  government."  Compliant  with  the  prayer  of  this  Petition,  the 
Queen  in  Council,  by  writ  of  Privy  Seal,  granted  a  Charter  of  Incorpora- 
tion to  the  borough,  which  bears  date  the  28th  August,  i5th  Victoria  (1851). 

The  Charter,  reciting  the  provisions  of  the  Municipal  Corporations  Acts  and  the 
consideration  of  the  Inhabitants'  Petition,  grants  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  said 
borough  of  Blackburn  shall  be  for  ever  hereafter  one  body  politic  and  corporate  in 
deed,  fact  and  name,  to  be  called  "The  Mayor,  Aldermen  and  Burgesses  of  the 
Borough  of  Blackburn. "  The  said  body  corporate  to  have,  exercise,  &c. ,  all  the  acts, 
powers,  authorities,  immunities,  and  privileges  held,  enjoyed,  &c.,  by  the  boroughs 
named  in  the  schedules  to  the  Act  for  regulating  Municipal  Corporations  in  England 
and  Wales ;  that  the  said  Mayor,  Aldermen  and  Burgesses  shall  have  a  Common  Seal 
and  shall  assume  armorial  bearings  and  devices ;  that  the  said  Mayor,  Aldermen  and 
Burgesses  shall  be  able  to  purchase,  take,  and  acquire  lands,  tenements,  &c. ,  to  any 
value,  situate  within  the  borough,  and  other  lands,  tenements,  &c. ,  out  of  the  borough 
not  exceeding  the  sum  of  ^"5,000  by  the  year,  to  have  and  hold  to  them,  their  succes- 
sors, for  ever ;  that  the  Council  of  the  said  Borough  shall  consist  of  a  Mayor,  twelve 
Aldermen,  and  thirty-six  Councillors,  the  first  election  of  Councillors  to  be  holden  on 
Nov.  ist,  1851,  and  the  first  Aldermen  with  the  first  Mayor,  to  be  elected  on  Nov. 
loth;  and  the  first  election  of  auditors  and  assessors  to  be  held  on  March  1st,  1852  ; 
that  the  said  Borough  be  divided  into  six  Wards,  to  be  respectively  called  St.  Mary's, 
St.  John's,  Trinity,  Park,  St.  Peter's,  and  St.  Paul's  Wards,  the  boundaries  whereof 


376  HISTORY    OF  BLACKBURN. 

are  described  ;  that  each  of  the  six  Wards  shall  return  and  have  six  Councillors ;  that 
Thomas  Crooke  Ainsworth,  Esq.,  make  out,  on  the  1 5th  Sept.,  1851,  a  Burgess  Roll, 
to  be  completed  on  or  before  the  24th  October  ;  and  that  William  Hoole,  Esq.,  act  as 
returning  officer  at  the  first  election  of  Councillors,  Aldermen,  Mayor,  Auditors  and 
Assessors. 

The  Seal  of  the  Municipal  Borough  of  Blackburn  bears  the  arms  of  the  borough, 
with  the  words  "  Seal  of  the  Mayor,  Aldermen  and  Burgesses  of  the  Borough  of 
Blackburn,  1851."  The  Borough  Arms,  enrolled  in  the  Herald's  College  in  the  same 
year,  are  : — "Argent :  a  fesse  wavy  sable,  between  three  bees  volant,  proper  ;  on  a 
chief,  vert,  a  bugle  horn  stringed,  argent,  between  two  fusils,  or."  Crest: — "On  a 
wreath  of  the  colours,  a  shuttle,  or  ;  thereon  a  dove,  wings  elevated,  argent,  and  holding 
in  its  beak  the  thread  of  the  shuttle,  reflexed  over  the  back,  and  an  olive  branch, 
proper."  Motto  : — "ARTE  ET  LABORE." 

The  first  election  of  Councillors  for  the  several  wards  of  the  newly-incorporated 
borough  took  place  on  the  first  of  November,  1851.  The  Councillors  elected  were  : — 
St.  Mary's  Ward  : — John  Folding,  Oliver  Roylance,  Leonard  Wilkinson,  James  Boyle, 
Christopher  Parkinson,  Henry  Briggs.  St.  John's  Ward  : — Thomas  Hart,  Benjamin 
Brierley,  Thomas  Dutton,  William  H.  Cartwright,  John  Thwaites,  Doctor  W.  Forrest. 
Trinity  WTard  : — Daniel  Thwaites,  William  Kenworthy,  James  Forrest,  William  Yates, 
Richard  Backhouse,  John  Rutherford.  Park  Ward  : — William  Pilkington,  Robert 
Hopwood,  junior,  Henry  Shaw,  Thomas  Dugclale,  John  Baynes,  Thomas  Bolton. 
St.  Peter's  Ward  : — William  Dickinson,  Charles  Boardman,  Joseph  Harrison,  William 
Peel,  John  Ratcliffe,  George  Stones.  St.  Paul's  Ward  : — James  Cunningham,  John 
Railton,  Robert  Raynsford  Jackson,  James  Pemberton,  Miles  Baron,  George  Devvhurst. 

At  the  first  meeting  of  the  first  Council,  Nov.  loth,  1851,  the  Aldermen  were 
elected  : — To  serve  five  years  : — William  Henry  Hornby,  Richard  Martland,  John 
Livesey,  William  Hoole,  William  Eccles,  Thomas  Thwaites,  Esqrs.  To  serve  two 
years  : — James  Pickup,  Robert  Hopwood,  senr.,  William  Sames,  James  Hartley, 
William  Mosley  Perfect,  George  Jackson,  Esqrs. 

William  Henry  Hornby,  Esq. ,  was  chosen  first  Mayor  of  the  Borough  at  the  same 
meeting  of  the  Council ;  and  on  Thursday,  March  25th,  1852,  a  rich  and  costly  gold 
chain  and  civic  badge  was  presented  to  Mr.  Hornby  as  Mayor,  bearing  the  inscrip- 
tion : — "Presented  to  William  Henry  Hornby,  Esq.,  J.P.,  by  a  number  of  the  Bur- 
gesses and  other  Inhabitants  of  Blackburn,  as  a  memento  of  their  esteem  for  him  as  a 
fellow-townsman,  and  especially  to  mark  their  gratification  at  his  having  been  chosen 
to  serve  as  Mayor  by  the  first  Municipal  Council  for  the  Borough,  to  which  he  was 
elected  on  the  loth  November,  1851." 

MAYORS  OF  BLACKBURN  1851-1875. 


1851-2.     William  Henry  Hornby,  Esq. 
1852-3.      Robert  Hopwood,  junior,  Esq. 


1853-4. 
1854-5. 


Thomas  Dugdale,  Esq. 


1855-6.     William  Hoole,  Esq. 


1856-7. 
1857-8. 


William  Pilkington,  Esq. 


1858-9.     John  Baynes,  Esq. 

1859-60.   James  Cunningham,  Esq. 

1 860- 1.     Thomas  Thwaites,  Esq. 

1 861  -2.     RobertHopwood  Hutchinson,  Esq. 

1862-3.     James  Barlow  S.  Sturdy,  Esq. 


1863-4.     Thomas  Lund,  Esq. 
1864-5.     William  Stones,  Esq. 
1865-6.     James  Thompson,  Esq. 
1866-7.     John  Dean,  Esq. 
1867-8.  | 
1868-9.  j  John  Smith,  Esq. 

1869-70.  John  Dean,  Esq. 

1870-1.  Thomas  Hartley  Pickup,  Esq. 

1871-2.  Thomas  Bury,  Esq. 

1872-3.  John  Thompson,  Esq. 

1 873-4.  John  Pickop,  Esq. 

1874-5.  William  Coddington,  Esq. 


CORPORATION  ESTABLISHMENTS. 


377 


The  Town  Council  of  Blackburn  for  1874-5  was  composed  as  follows  : — William 
Coddington,  Esq.,  Mayor.  Aldermen : — John  Pickop,  R.  H.  Hutchinson,  John 
Thompson,  William'  Dickinson,  John  Ratcliffe,  Roger  Haworth,  Thos.  H.  Pickup, 
Thomas  Lewis,  John  Robinson,  Thomas  Bury,  Robert  Duckworth,  Henry  Duckworth. 
Councillors : — William  Chambers,  J.  C.  Fisher,  W.  H.  Hornby,  junior,  Richard 
Shakeshaft,  James  Beads,  Edward  Dugdale ;  James  Briggs,  John  Ingham,  A.  S.  Bury, 
R.  D.  Coddington,  Robert  Parkinson,  Joseph  Eatough ;  Thos.  Higson,  T.  Fletcher,  John 
J.  Thompson,  Denis  Towers,  James  Dickinson,  George  Duerden ;  Laac  WTard,  R.  H. 
Pemberton,  W.  Stuart,  John  Stones,  Robert  Parker,  John  Lund ;  Eli  Heyworth,  W. 
Dixon,  William  Coddington,  R.  Alker,  Win.  E.  Briggs,  Robert  Whitaker;  William 
Taylor,  William  Kay,  C.  H.  Brindle,  William  Arthur,  Henry  Shaw,  Thomas  Brooks. 

Town  Clerks: — John  Hargreaves,  Esq.  (1851-4);  Thomas  Ainsworth,  Esq. 
(1854-9);  Henry  Saward,  Esq.  (1859-65);  C.  G.  H.  Beck,  Esq.  (1865-75);  W.  E.  L. 
Gaine,  Esq.  (1875). 

CORPORATION  BUILDINGS  AND  INSTITUTIONS. 

The  TOWN  HALL  occupies  a  site  of  3,832  square  yards  on  the  north  side  of  the 
New  Market  Place.  The  corner-stone  was  laid  Oct.  28th,  1852,  by  Joseph  Feilden, 
Esq.,  lord  of  the  manor,  and  the  Hall  was  completed  and  opened  Oct.  3Oth,  1856,  by 
William  Hoole,  Esq.,  then  Mayor.  It  is  a  large  and  handsome  fabric  in  the  classic 
style.  The  \vest  front,  I2oft.  wide,  with  an  elevation  of  62ft.,  presents  the  main 
entrance  in  the  centre,  by  three  massive  arched  doorways.  The  front  is  emboldened 
by  corinthian  columns  resting  upon  a  rusticated  basement ;  upholding  a  broad  entab- 
lature surmounted  by  a  perforated  parapet.  On  the  south  front  is  a  doric  porch  in  the 
centre  ;  and  at  the  east  end  are  the  entrances  to  the  Police  Offices  and  Court  yard  of 
the  prison  of  eighteen  cells.  The  interior  of  the  Hall  comprises  a  noble  Assembly 
Room,  U4ft.  by  5oft.,  with  orchestra  at  north  end,  occupying  the  entire  upper  stoery  of 
the  west  frontage,  above  the  vestibule  and  offices ;  on  the  south  side  on  the  same  level 
a  handsome  Council  Chamber  and  ante-room ;  two  rooms  of  corresponding  dimensions 
on  the  second  storey  of  the  south  wing ;  offices  and  ante-rooms  in  the  upper  floors  of 
the  north  wing  ;  and,  on  the  ground  floor,  the  Borough  Court,  a  second  Court  Room, 
Mayor's  Parlour,  offices  for  Town  Clerk,  Borough  Treasurer,  Borough  Surveyor,  and 
Collectors.  At  the  rear  are  the  Police  Offices  and  Chief  Constable's  House.  The  cost 
of  the  Town  Hall,  inclusive  of  later  additions  and  decoration,  has  exceeded  ^"35,000. 
Architect,  Mr.  James  Paterson ;  Contractors,  Messrs.  Richard  Hacking  and  William 
Stones. 

The  MARKET  HOUSE  and  MARKET  PLACE  were  planned  by  the  Improvement 
Commissioners  in  1845  ;  and  the  Market  House  was  opened  Jan.  28th,  1848,  by  the 
Chairman  of  the  Commissioners,  William  Hoole,  Esq.  The  building  is  in  the  early 
Italian  style,  and  presents  a  frontage  of  three  gables,  with  a  campanile  seventy-two 
feet  high  rising  in  the  centre  at  the  west  end,  and  forming  a  main  entrance.  There 
are  other  entrances  on  each  of  the  four  frontages.  The  upper  compartment  of  the 
tower  contains  a  large  illuminated  clock.  The  interior  is  l86ft.  6in.  long  by  lOQft. 
6in.  wide.  The  roof,  in  three  spans,  is  supported  intermediately  by  two  rows  of  iron 
columns.  Architect,  Mr.  T.  Flanagan.  Cost  ,£8,000.  Since  the  property  was 
conveyed  from  the  Improvement  Commissioners  to  the  Corporation  in  1852,  great 
enlargements  have  been  made  of  the  area  of  the  Market  Place  by  the  removal  of 
property  on  the  south  side  that  formed  the  Old  Square,  and  a  second  Market  House, 
at  first  designed  for  a  Fish  Market  was  built  in  1870-2  at  a  cost  of  about  ^8,000. 
Altogether  probably  ^"40,000  have  been  expended  in  providing  market  accommodation 


378  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

for  the  borough.  The  Blackburn  Market  for  produce  is  now  one  of  the  best  in 
Lancashire,  and  the  market  tolls  now  yield  an  annual  revenue  to  the  Corporation,  paid 
by  a  lessee,  of  ^4,500.  Wednesday  and  Saturday  are  the  Market  Days,  but  the 
Market  Houses  are  open  daily. 

The  CORPORATION  PARK  is  situate  on  the  north-western  side  of  the  town,  and 
extends  from  Preston  New  Road  to  the  crest  of  Revidge  Hill.  The  estate  forming 
the  Park  was  purchased  by  the  Corporation  from  the  lord  of  the  manor,  Joseph 
Feilden,  Esq.,  in  January,  1855  ;  its  extent  is  5oa.  or.  l8p.,  and  the  purchase-money, 
at  the  rate  of  ^65  per  acre,  was  ^3,237  6s.  3d.;  in  addition  to  which  the  Corporation 
were  required  to  construct  public  roads  on  the  east  and  west  sides  of  the  estate,  which 
was  done  at  an  expenditure  of  ,£4,480  ijs.  id.  Towards  the  outlay  in  procuring  the 
land  for  the  Park,  a  sum  of  ^4,701  193.  7d.  in  the  hands  of  the  Overseers  was  applicable; 
this  sum  accrued  from  the  sale,  about  the  year  1845,  of  the  remnant  of  the  public 
recreation  ground  on  the  Town's  Moor  (set  apart  on  the  enclosure  of  Waste  Lands  in 
1618),  to  the  East  Lancashire  and  Blackburn  Railway  Companies,  with  accumulated 
interest  during  the  interval.  The  entire  cost  of  the  Park  at  the  date  of  opening  had 
been  .£14,701  193.  id.,  so  that  the  balance  of  money  borrowed  on  that  account  on 
security  of  the  rates  was  £  10,000.  The  Park  was  opened,  with  a  public  ceremony,  by 
William  Pilkington,  Esq.,  Mayor,  on  October  22nd,  1857.  The  whole  population  of 
the  borough,  as  well  as  some  thousands  of  visitors,  took  "part  in  the  demonstration. 
The  natural  picturesqueness  of  the  wooded  dingle  and  rugged  hill  slope  forming  the 
site  of  the  Park  has  been  greatly  enhanced  by  artificial  means,  such  as  the  planting  of 
shrubberies  and  groves  of  young  trees,  the  introduction  in  the  hollows  of  fountains  of 
elegant  design,  the  conversion  of  the  former  reservoirs  into  ornamental  lakes,  the 
construction  of  terraces,  and  the  erection  of  a  battery  for  cannon  (trophies  of  the 
Crimean  War)  on  the  top  of  the  hill.  The  floral  features  of  the  Park  have  been  made 
very  attractive.  The  principal  entrance  to  the  Park  from  Preston  New  Road  is  under 
a  handsome  arcuated  gateway,  having  a  large  central  archway  for  carriages,  and 
smaller  side  arches  for  the  footways,  flanked  by  lodges  ;  above  the  entablature  on  both 
faces  the  borough  arms  appear  sculptured  in  stone,  with  crest  surmounting.  In  the 
gateway  are  inserted  two  tablets,  recording  that  : — "This  Park  was  publicly  opened 
on  the  22nd  day  of  October,  1857,  during  the  mayoralty  of  William  Pilkington,  Esq., 
by  whose  munificence  the  four  ornamental  Fountains  were  presented  to  the  Borough  ;'' 
and  that  "  The  adjoining  50  acres  of  land  were  purchased  for  a  Public  Park,  and  the 
erection  of  these  gates  and  porter's  lodge  was  commenced  during  the  mayoralty  of 
Thomas  Dugdale,  Esq.,  in  the  year  1854-5."  Two  other  entrance-gates  to  the  Park, 
with  porters'  lodges,  are  erected  at  the  upper  sides  to  give  access  from  the  boundary 
roads.  During  the  Cotton  Famine,  in  1863-4,  some  hundreds  of  operatives  were  found 
employment  in  the  improvement  of  the  scarped  slope  of  the  hill  within  the  Park  and 
the  construction  of  a  carriage-drive  to  the  summit.  About  the  year  1867  the  Red 
Rake  Farm  on  Revidge,  of  12  statute  acres,  was  purchased  by  the  Corporation  for 
;£i,2OO  with  the  intent  of  adding  this  land  at  some  future  date  to  the  enclosure  of  the 
Corporation  Park. 

THE  PUBLIC  FREE  LIBRARY  AND  MUSEUM. 

The  Blackburn  Public  Free  Library  and  Museum  were  established  under  the 
provisions  of  the  Public  Free  Libraries  Act  of  1850.  They  originated  in  a  vote  of  the 
Blackburn  Town  Council,  on  the  motion  of  Councillor  Thomas  Clough,  August  llth, 
1853,  followed  by  an  almost  unanimous  resolution  of  the  Burgesses  assembled  in  public 
meeting,  Sept.  I3th,  1853,  to  adopt  the  Act.  After  a  period  of  abeyance,  the  Town 
Council  took  the  first  steps  in  the  formation  of  a  Free  Library  in  1859,  during  the 


FREE  LIBRARY  AND  MUSEUM. 


379 


mayoralty  of  John  Baynes,  Esq.  A  Free  Library  Committee  was  appointed  by  the 
Council  March  1st,  1860,  by  whom  Mr.  W.  A.  Abram  was  appointed  Librarian 
(resigned  1867).  A  Town's  Meeting  to  inaugurate  a  public  subscription  towards  a  fund 
for  the  purchase  of  books  was  held  in  the  Town  Hall,  August  23rd,  1860,  presided 
over  by  the  Mayor,  James  Cunningham,  Esq.  The  principal  donors  of  money  and 
books  were  the  two  Mayors  above-named  (Mr.  Baynes  and  Mr.  Cunningham) ;  James 
Pilkington,  Esq.,  then  M. P.  for  the  borough;  Joseph  Feilden,  Esq.;  John  Tattersall, 
Esq. ;  James  Hey  wood,  Esq. ,  F.  R.  S.  The  working-classes  subscribed,  in  a  separate 
fund,  a  sum  of  ^"400.  On  the  iyth  of  February,  1862,  the  Library  was  opened,  in 
the  large  rooms  in  the  second  storey  of  the  south  wing  of  the  Town  Hall,  with  a  collection 
of  6,817  volumes,  and  a  printed  Catalogue  was  at  the  same  time  issued.  The  issues  of 
books  in  the  first  year  numbered  38,464  volumes.  In  March,  1862,  a  rate  of  one 
halfpenny  in  the  pound  upon  the  assessment  of  the  township  was  voted  by  the  Town 
Council  for  the  maintenance  of  the  Library.  In  1871,  the  rate  was  increased  to  one 
of  a  penny  in  the  pound.  The  Library  was  removed  from  the  Town  Hall  to  premises 
in  Town  Hall  street  in  1864.  In  December,  1870,  the  Library  Committee  resolved, 
with  the  sanction  of  the  Council,  to  proceed  in  the  provision  of  a  permanent  building 
for  the  Library  and  Museum  ;  and  in  1871,  a  site  was  purchased  on  Richmond  Terrace, 
for  ;£l,l2O,  subject  to  an  annual  ground  rent  charge  of  £,12  l8s.  A  competition  of 
architects  for  a  design  for  the  proposed  fabric  was  invited,  and  38  designs  were 
exhibited.  The  Committee,  aided  by  an  eminent  architect,  selected  for  adoption  the 
design  of  Messrs.  Woodzell  and  Collcutt,  of  London.  The  corner-stone  of  the  Library 
building  was  laid  on  the  i8th  of  July,  1872,  by  Thomas  Bury,  Esq.,  Mayor,  and  the  edifice 
was  opened  on  the  nth  of  June,  1874,  by  the  Mayor,  John  Pickop,  Esq.,  who  at  the 
same  time  opened  an  Exhibition  of  Works  of  Art  and  Industry.  The  Exhibition 
remained  open  about  three  months,  and  resulted  in  a  balance  of  £l, 066  to  be  expended 
on  the  purchase  of  books  and  objects  for  the  Library  and  Museum.  The  cost  of  the 
building  for  the  Library,  including  fixtures,  was  about  ,£10.000.  The  Library  now 
(1875)  contains  more  than  20,000  volumes,  in  distinct  Reference  and  Lending 
Libraries  ;  and  the  Museum  contains  interesting  collections  in  natural  history  and  a 
valuable  series  of  fossils  and  mineral  specimens  collected  and  presented  by  James 
Eccles,  Esq.  Mr.  D.  Geddes  is  present  Librarian.  A  second  catalogue  of  the  Library 
was  printed  in  1872.  The  income  of  the  Library  from  the  rate  is  now  about  ^"1,000. 

The  new  Library  and  Museum  Building  is  a  fine  edifice  in  the  early  decorated 
gothic  style,  with  imposing  frontages  to  Frances  street  and  Richmond  Terrace.  The 
main  entrance  in  the  centre  of  the  Frances  street  front  is  a  recessed  arch  protected 
above  by  a  corbelled-out  canopy  decorated  with  carvings  and  the  Borough  arms 
flanked  by  the  arms  of  the  ancient  manorial  lords  (De  Blackburn),  and  of  the  present 
lord  (Feilden  of  Witton).  On  each  side  of  the  entrance  is  one  single  and  one  double- 
light  window.  On  the  first  floor  are  five  triple-light  windows,  three  of  them  with 
pointed  and  pierced  quatrefoil  heads.  On  the  Richmond  Terrace  front  are  in  each 
storey  six  windows  corresponding  to  those  on  the  other  front.  At  each  corner  of  the 
building  is  a  gable  set  at  some  distance  inside  the  parapets,  and  having  open  tracery 
for  ventilation.  The  external  walls  are  of  Bradford  pierre-points  with  Longridge 
stone  dressings  ;  and  with  three  tiers  of  carved  string  courses  in  Warwick  stone. 
Under  seven  of  the  first-floor  windows  on  the  two  chief  fronts  are  panels,  each  ten 
feet  long  and  four  feet  high,  finished  with  sculpture  by  Mr.  Scale  of  London.  Of  the 
three  panels  on  the  west  front,  the  centre  group  of  sculpture,  representing  "Literature," 
was  charged  in  the  building  contract;  the  left  group,  representing  "Art, "  was  given 
by  James  Thompson,  Esq.,  chairman  of  the  Free  Library  Committee  ;  and  the  right 


380  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

group,  "Science,"  by  members  of  the  Committee.  On  the  Richmond  Terrace  front 
the  first  panel  of  sculpture,  "Agriculture,"  was  given  by  the  late  H.  M.  Feilden,  Esq., 
M.  P. ,  lord  of  the  Manor ;  the  second,  ' '  Iron  Manufactures, "  given  by  W.  E.  Briggs,  Esq. , 
M.P.  for  Blackburn ;  the  third,  "Cotton  Manufactures,"  given  by  John  Fish,  Esq., 
Cotton  Spinner,  of  Waterfall  Mills,  Livesey ;  and  the  fourth,  "Commerce,"  given 
by  John,  Edward,  and  Joseph  Dugdale,  Esqrs.,  Machinists  and  Cotton  Spinners, 
of  Blackburn.  In  the  interior  of  the  building,  a  spacious  vestibule  leads  to  the  hall 
and  staircase,  lighted  from  the  top  by  a  large  lantern  light ;  on  the  right  of  the  entrance 
hall  is  the  Lending  Library,  and  on  the  left  is  the  Reference  Library,  for  80  readers, 
having  an  arcade  of  columns,  with  carved  caps,  the  whole  length  of  the  room  ;  two 
students'  reading  rooms  are  at  the  west  end  of  the  Reference  Library ;  and  on  the 
right  of  the  entrance  is  a  ladies'  reading  room.  The  librarian's  room  is  placed  opposite 
the  entrance  to  the  hall,  \vhich  it  commands,  and  communicates  with  both  libraries. 
By  a  staircase  of  stone  the  first  floor  is  reached,  which  contains  three  spacious  rooms, 
the  whole  of  which  will  be  devoted  to  museum  or  picture  gallery.  The  Libraries  are 
designed  to  hold  60,000  volumes.  Contractors,  Messrs.  Marshall  and  Dent. 

The  Library  and  Museum  are  managed  by  a  Committee,  a  proportion  of  the 
members  of  which  are  not  members  of  the  Town  Council.  In  1875,  the  Committee 
was  constituted  thus  : — Chairman,  James  Thompson,  Esq. ;  the  Mayor,  William 
Coddington,  Esq. ;  Aldermen  Lewis,  John  Pickop,  Thompson,  Ratcliffe ;  Councillors 
Lund,  Ward,  James  Briggs,  W.  E.  Briggs,  Arthur,  Parker,  Bury,  Ingham,  Whittaker, 
Heyworth,  Chambers ;  Rev.  A.  B.  Grosart ;  Dr.  Skaife ;  Messrs.  Thomas  Clough, 
William  Gourlay,  Joseph  Brierley,  W.  A.  Abram,  W.  L.  Constantine,  John  Brand- 
wood,  and  R.  C.  Pilling. 

The  PUBLIC  BATHS,  on  a  site  adjoining  St.  Peter's  Churchyard,  were  provided  by 
the  Corporation,  at  the  expenditure  of  .£3,500,  and  were  opened  July  nth,  1868, 
during  the  mayoralty  of  Mr.  John  Smith.  The  building  is  of  brick  with  stone  dres- 
sings;  the  internal  arrangement  includes  a  large  swimming  bath,  6oft.  by  33ft.,  and 
40  private  baths  for  both  sexes,  for  the  use  of  which  a  small  fee  is  paid. 

CORPORATION    WORKS,  &c. 

The  SEWAGE  WORKS  of  the  borough  have  been  carried  out  at  a  vast  expenditure 
of  money,  and  are  still  incomplete.  The  system  of  public  sewers,  which  consists  of 
main  sewers  more  than  30  miles  in  length  collectively,  was  constructed  at  a  cost  of 
about  ^"90,000.  On  the  bank  of  the  Blake  water  at  Wensley  Fold,  on  the  south-west 
border  of  the  town,  the  sewage-outlet  works  consist  of  five  tanks  for  settlement  of 
sewerage,  store  shed,  &c.,  and  cost  ;£  10,000.  Under  the  obligation  to  keep  the 
discharge  of  the  sewer  out  of  the  river,  the  Corporation  proceeded  to  construct  a 
culvert  three  miles  long  from  the  outlet,  through  portions  of  Witton,  Livesey,  and 
Pleasington,  to  Hoghton  Bottoms,  where  lands  have  been  leased  from  Sir  Henry  de 
Hoghton  for  sewage-irrigation,  and  a  sewage  farm  has  been  laid  out  and  cultivated. 
More  land  being  needed  for  irrigation  purposes,  the  Corporation  obtained  powers  to 
acquire  a  portion  of  the  estate  in  Samlesbury  of  Edward  Petre,  Esq.,  and  the  price  of 
an  estate  of  374  acres  was  fixed  by  arbitration  in  1875  at  ^"44,800.  Other  parcels  of 
the  same  estate  have  been  purchased  at  public  sale  ;  and  it  is  intended  to  construct  an 
extension  of  the  culvert  conveying  the  sewage  from  Hoghton  to  Samlesbury.  The 
Corporation's  outlay  in  the  necessary  works  for  the  disposal  of  the  town's  sewage  has 
already  exceeded  ;£  100,000,  beyond  the  cost  of  main  sewers  and  original  outlet  works. 

Other  Corporate  Properties  are  the  Fire  Engine  Station  in  Clayton-street,  built 
to  accommodate   six   engines   with  house  for  Superintendent  of  Fire  Brigade ;  the 


FREE  LIBRARY  AND  MUSEUM,  BLACKBURN.  [PACK  580 


BLACKBURN  DISPENSARY  AND  INFIRMARY.  38  x 

Islington  store  yard,  covering  10,000  square  yards  of  ground,  with  store,  sheds, 
stables,  and  offices,  and  other  store  yards  at  Daisyfield  and  Canal  Dock. 

The  BLACKBURN  GAS  WORKS,  established  in  1819,  are  still  the  property  of  a 
private  company.  The  original  works  are  in  Darwen-street,  with  branches  near 
Wensley-fcld  and  in  Grimshaw  Park  Road. 

BLACKBURN  WATER  WORKS. — The  first  public  supply  of  water  to  the  town, 
beyond  the  ancient  wells,  was  from  two  small  reservoirs  in  Pemberton  dough,  now 
converted  into  ornamental  lakes  in  the  Corporation  Park.  The  Blackburn  Water 
Works  Company  was  formed  in  1844  ;  obtained  its  first  Act  in  1845,  and  in  1848 
began  to  supply  water  to  the  town.  The  Company  has  obtained  other  Acts,  extending 
its  borrowing  powers  and  enabling  it  to  acquire  fresh  water-rights,  in  1 86 1  and  1875. 
The  original  series  of  reservoirs  situate  on  the  hills  on  the  south  side  of  the  town, 
between  Whinney  Heights  and  Pickup  Bank,  were  constructed  to  hold  100,000,000 
gallons  of  water.  A  larger  reservoir,  to  hold  360,000,000  gallons,  at  Fish-moor  in 
Lower  Darwen,  was  completed  in  1866.  The  expended  capital  of  the  Company 
amounted  to  ^180,000  in  the  middle  of  1875,  when  the  Works  were  conveyed  to  the 
Blackburn  Corporation  on  the  terms  of  a  guaranteed  dividend  to  the  shareholders  of  9 
per  cent,  for  five  years,  and  after  of  9^2  per  cent,  per  annum  in  perpetuity.  The 
average  rainfall  at  Blackburn  is  about  39  to  40  inches. 

POOR  LAW  UNION  AND  BURIAL  BOARD. 

The  BLACKBURN  POOR  LAW  UNION  was  formed  in  1836,  and  the  Board  of 
Guardians  for  the  Union  met  for  the  first  time  on  Jan.  2ist,  1837.  John  Lister,  Esq., 
was  elected  Chairman.  Mr.  Peter  Ellingthorpe  was  appointed  Clerk,  and  held  that 
office  until  his  death  in  1875.  The  old  Workhouse,  on  the  skirt  of  the  Town's  Moor, 
dated  from  1764.  In  1841,  the  Overseers  of  the  township  obtained  power  from  Parlia- 
ment to  let  the  public  land  of  the  Town's  Moor  for  building-sites.  The  New  Union 
Workhouse,  erected  on  the  summit  of  the  ridge  on  the  south-east  border  of  the  town, 
at  a  cost  of  ,£30,000,  was  commenced  in  1861,  and  opened  April  2nd,  1864.  It  is  an 
extensive  group  of  structures,  built  of  stone,  and  is  designed  to  accommodate  700 
inmates.  The  site,  of  30  acres,  was  purchased  for  ^96  135.  4d.  per  acre  from  Mr. 
Feilden.  Richard  Eccles,  Esq.,  present  Chairman  of  the  Board  of  Guardians,  has 
filled  that  office  since  the  year  1844.  Thomas  Clough,  Esq.,  is  Vice-Chairman.  This 
Poor  Law  Union  embraces  all  the  townships  in  Blackburn  Parish  excepting  those 
of  Samlesbury,  Cuerclale,  and  Walton-in-le-Dale  at  the  western  extremity,  and,  as  well, 
the  townships  of  Clayton-le-Moors,  Church-Kirk,  and  Oswaldtwistle  in  the  parish  of 
Whalley.  The  offices  of  the  Board  and  Overseers  for  Blackburn  are  in  King  street  (the 
house  formerly  the  residence  of  the  Cardwell  family),  to  which  a  new  wing  was  added 
in  1874.  Mr.  Thomas  Brennand  is  now  Clerk  to  the  Board.  Assistant  Overseer  for 
the  township,  Mr.  John  Clough. 

The  BLACKBURN  BURIAL  BOARD  was  formed  in  1854,  and  purchased  portion  of 
the  estate  of  Bank  Hey,  in  Little  Harwood,  abutting  on  the  Whalley  Road,  north  of 
the  town,  consisting  of  119  acres  of  land,  and  of  which  74a.  2r.  6^p.  were  sold  by  the 
Board,  leaving  about  45  acres  to  be  appropriated  for  a  public  Cemetery.  The  cost  of 
the  land,  with  enclosing  walls,  three  mortuary  chapels,  and  of  laying  out  as  a  cemetery, 
was  ;£ 1 9,000.  This  sum,  borrowed  on  mortgage  of  the  Poor's  Nate,  has  been  nearly 
liquidated  by  a  sinking 'fund.  The  Cemetery  was  opened  July  1st,  1857.  The  annual 
revenue  of  the  Burial  Board  from  Burial  Fees  is  more  than  ,£1,600,  and  the  number 
of  interments  annually  has  reached  about  2,500.  Thomas  Ainsworth,  Esq.,  is  Clerk 
to  the  Burial  Board. 


382  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

BLACKBURN   DISPENSARY  AND  INFIRMARY.  ' 

In  the  year  1823,  on  the  occurrence  of  a  vacancy  in  the  office  of 
surgeon  of  the  old  Parochial  Infirmary,  a  project  was  mooted  to  found  a 
public  Dispensary  to  combine,  with  medical  service  to  the  pauper  class, 
relief  to  the  indigent  not  being  paupers  in  time  of  sickness.  A  meeting 
of  promoters  was  held  at  the  Sessions  Room,  Dec.  iQth,  1823,  when  a 
Committee  was  appointed  to  draw  up  rules,  collect  subscriptions,  and 
propose  terms  to  the  select  vestry  for  attendance  upon  sick  paupers.  The 
Committee  consisted  of  the  Vicar  (Rev.  J.  W.  Whitaker),  and  Mr.  John 
Hornby,  Mr.  Cardwell,  Mr.  J.  F.  Kindle,  Mr.  John  Cunliffe,  Mr.  Dixon 
Robinson,  and  Mr.  Silvester  Fraser.  The  Committee  proposed  to  the 
Overseers  and  Select  Vestry  to  perform  the  duties  of  the  Parochial  Dis- 
pensary for  one  year  for  ^250,  but  at  a  General  Town's  Meeting,  held 
Dec.  26th,  1823,  it  was  decided  to  allow  ^225  for  this  service.  This 
offer  was  accepted  by  the  Committee.  On  the  ist  of  January,  1824,  the 
first  meeting  of  Governors  was  held;  donors  of  ten  guineas  with  an 
annual  subscription  of  one  guinea,  and  yearly  subscribers  of  two  guineas, 
being  entitled  governors.  At  a  second  meeting  on  January  22nd,  Mr. 
John  Fleming  reported  that  he  had  treated  as  ordered  for  a  building  at 
No.  56,  King-street,  for  which  he  had  agreed  to  pay  a  yearly  rental  of 
^£38.  At  the  same  meeting  Dr.  Markland  was  appointed  superintendent 
physician,  Messrs.  James  Bailey  and  John  Cook  superintendent  surgeons, 
and  Mr.  John  Skaife  surgeon  apothecary  to  the  Dispensary  with  house 
attached,  at  a  salary  of  £120  per  annum.  These  gentlemen  were 
appointed  trustees  : — Rev.  J.  W.  Whitaker ;  Messrs.  John  Hornby,  John 
Hargreaves,  Dixon  Robinson,  and  John  Cunliffe.  Auditors : — Messrs. 
William  Hoole  and  John  Foster.  Treasurer,  Mr.  James  Cunliffe. 

The  Dispensary  was  opened  on  Feb.  1st,  1824.  The  patients  treated  during  the 
first  year  numbered  1,513.  At  the  first  annual  meeting,  Jan.  3rd,  1825,  a  fund  for  the 
erection  of  a  permanent  building  was  advanced  to  £650 ;  Messrs.  John  Hornby, 
Joseph  Feilden,  William  Feilden,  John  Lister,  and  Richard  Cardwell  were  among 
the  best  contributors.  An  address  to  the  public,  issued  by  the  Governors,  urges  the 
need  for  the  erection  in  the  town  of  a  General  Infirmary  for  the  Hundred  of  Blackburn. 
At  the  next  annual  meeting,  Jan.  5th,  1826,  the  subject  of  an  Infirmary  was  again  put 
forward,  and  a  committee  was  named  to  obtain  subscriptions  for  that  object.  Nine 
gentlemen  promised  an  aggregate  sum  of  £2,150  to  the  Infirmary  fund,  as  follows  : — 
Joseph  Feilden,  Esq.,  £500;  John  Hornby,  Esq.,  £300;  William  Feilden,  Esq., 
^300;  Henry  Sudell,  Esq.,  ^300;  Adam  Cottam,  Esq.,  £200;  John  Lister,  Esq., 
£"150;  John  Turner,  Esq.,  £"150;  John  Fleming,  Esq.,  £150;  James  Cunliffe,  Esq., 
£"100.  But  the  depression  in  trade  and  popular  distress  in  that  year  (1826)  arrested 
the  project ;  and  in  1827  and  1828  the  design  was  still  in  suspension.  In  1829  the 
Governors'  address  to  the  public  recalled  the  purpose  cherished  from  the  first  of 
eventually  founding  a  general  Infirmary,  and  it  was  reported  that  the  permanent  fund 
amounted  to  ,£1,250 ;  that  ,£2,150  had  been  subscribed  to  be  paid  whenever  required 
.for  the  erection  of  an  Infirmary  ;  and  that  this  aggregate  of  £3,400  was  sufficient  to 


BLACKBURN  INFIRMARY.  .583 

warrant  a  prompt  commencement  to  erect  a  building  for  the  accommodation  of  52 
patients,  at  an  estimated  cost  of  ^4,221  135.  Still,  however,  the  scheme  flagged,  and 
from  this  date  the  public  interest  in  the  proposal  declined,  while  even  the  subscriptions 
to  the  current  fund  of  the  Dispensary  suffered  decrease.  Again  in  1834,  when  the 
permanent  fund  had  reached  ,£1,723  45.  nd.,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  obtain 
donations  towards  a  new  building,  but  once  more  the  effort  failed.  At  length,  in  1838, 
on  the  passing  of  the  Poor  Law,  the  grant  by  the  Overseers  to  the  Dispensary  being 
withdrawn,  and  the  subscriptions  having  fallen  low,  the  Governors  resolved  to  close 
the  Dispensary,  after  a  useful  existence  of  fifteen  years.  The  permanent  fund,  about 
,£1,500,  was  invested  by  the  trustees,  and  twenty  years  later,  when  the  Infirmary 
Scheme  was  at  length  revived  and  successfully  launched,  this  Dispensary  fund  had 
increased  by  accumulated  interest  to  about  ^"3,000,  which  were  paid  over  by  the 
surviving  trustees,  Mr.  Dixon  Robinson  and  Mr.  John  Hargreaves,  to  the  endowment 
fund  of  the  Infirmary. 

The  revival  of  the  project  of  a  local  Infirmary  was  due  to  William 
Pilkington,  Esq.,  of  Wilpshire  Grange,  an  Alderman  of  the  borough, 
who,  on  his  election  as  Mayor  on  Nov.  loth,  1856,  offered  £"2,000 
towards  a  fund  for  the  erection  of  an  Infirmary,  and  .£100  per  annum 
to  an  endowment  fund.  In  support  of  the  proposal,  a  public  Meeting 
was  held  in  the  Town  Hall  on  the  3oth  of  December  following,  at  which 
further  donations  to  the  sum  of  £"3,000  were  promised,  and  .£100  to  the 
endowment.  A  Committee  nominated  for  the  purpose  selected  after 
much  inquiry  a  site  on  the  Hollin  Bank  estate  belonging  to  Joseph 
Feilden,  Esq.,  lord  of  the  manor.  The  site,  eight  acres  in  extent,  was 
conveyed  in  October,  1857,  and  of  the  purchase  money,  Mr.  Feilden, 
the  vendor,  returned  the  moiety  (,£1,600)  as  a  donation  in  addition  to 
a  first  donation  of  .£500,  and  £"20  annually  to  the  endowment.  Plans 
for  an  Infirmary  building  were  meantime  obtained,  the  selected  design, 
out  of  73  exhibited  in  competition,  being  that  of  Mr.  James  Turnbull  of 
Manchester.  The  corner-stone  of  the  structure  was  laid  by  Mr.  William 
Pilkington  (who  had  been  re-elected  Mayor  in  November,  1857),  on 
Whit-Monday  (May  24th,  1858),  when  a  Public  Procession  to  the  site 
heralded  the  ceremony.  The  stone  was  laid  with  Masonic  formalities. 
Afterwards  there  was  a  balloon  ascent  and  other  festivities.  At  the  date 
of  these  proceedings  the  building  fund  amounted  to  ,£14,000,  including 
,£9,241  in  donations,  £"1,127  from  a  working-class  subscription,  and 
£1,419,  half  the  proceeds  of  a  bazaar.  The  endowment  fund  then 
stood  at  about  £"5,000,  which  included  £"3,000  from  the  Dispensary 
Trust,  and  £"1,419  from  the  bazaar  proceeds.  The  Infirmary  fabric  was 
completed  and  partially  used  during  the  Cotton  Famine.  The  entire 
cost  of  building  and  site  was  about  £"25,000.  A  fresh  subscription  to 
reduce  a  debt  on  the  building,  in  1866,  was  headed  by  Mr.  William 
Pilkington  with  .£1,000.  The  institution,  which  is  styled  the  "  Black- 
burn and  East  Lancashire  Infirmary,"  is  now  (1875)  entirely  free  from 


384  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

debt;  and  the  report  for  1874  returns  620  in-patients  and  1,258  out- 
patients treated  within  the  year ;  and  an  average  of  43  patients  housed 
in  the  Infirmary.  The  investments  for  endowment  amount  to  ;£i  7,800. 
The  revenue  for  1874  was  ^4,162,  and  the  chief  items  were,  subscrip- 
tions ^"780 ;  donations  ^£805 ;  church  and  chapel  collections  ^485  •, 
Collections  at  Mills  and  Workshops  ^1,695  ;  and  ^£784  from  invested 
funds.  Besides  Mr.  William  Pilkington  and  Mr.  Joseph  Feilden,  the 
Infirmary  has  been  handsomely  aided  by  most  of  the  chief  gentry  and 
merchants  of  the  district. 

The  Infirmary  stands  upon  an  eminent  site  in  the  south  suburb  of  the  town,  and 
is  surrounded  by  extensive  gardens  and  shrubberies.  In  plan  the  building  consists  of 
separate  blocks,  two  floors  in  height,  placed  alternately,  at  intervals  of  20  feet,  on 
opposite  sides  of  a  principal  corridor.  Thus  a  series  of  quadrangles  is  obtained,  each 
quadrangle  6oft.  wide.  The  blocks  extend  47  feet  at  right  angles  to  the  main  corridor, 
and  contain  on  each  floor  a  ward  of  eight  beds,  with  five  windows  on  each  external 
side  wall.  Above  the  windows  are  placed  permanent  ventilating  openings.  Opposite 
the  wards,  projecting  I4ft.  on  the  other  side  of  the  corridor,  are  dining  and  sitting  rooms 
for  convalescents.  The  centre  block  of  the  building,  32ft.  wide,  contains  in  the  base- 
ment the  general  kitchens,  &c.  On  the  ground  floor  is  the  principal  entrance  hall ; 
in  the  projecting  wings,  right  and  left,  are  the  board  room,  secretary's  room,  house 
surgeon's  and  matron's  rooms,  &c.  Behind  the  entrance  hall  are  the  waiting  room, 
dispensary,  consulting  room,  accident  room,  &c.  On  the  first  floor  of  the  range  in 
front  is  the  chapel,  and  on  each  side  a  balcony  2oft.  long,  for  the  use  of  patients  able 
to  take  exercise  in  the  open  air.  Other  rooms  on  the  upper  storey  include  the  opera- 
ting room,  lighted  from  the  roof,  and  various  chambers.  The  front  of  the  middle 
block  is  elevated  an  additional  storey,  containing  the  servants'  domitories. 

BLACKBURN  EXCHANGE. — A  considerable  trade  in  cotton  yarn  has  existed  about 
forty  years  between  Blackburn,  as  a  centre  of  the  weaving  branch  of  the  calico  manu- 
facture, and  Manchester  and  other  towns  in  South  Lancashire  in  which  spinning  is  the 
larger  industry.  A  weekly  yarn  market  to  facilitate  this  local  trade  was  established, 
which  is  held  on  the  Wednesday  afternoon.  The  place  of  meeting  formerly  was  the 
Old  Bull  Inn.  About  the  year  1851,  a  project  for  a  public  Exchange  was  published  ; 
it  was  then  proposed  to  build  an  Exchange  at  the  Old  Market  Cross,  now  the  site  of 
the  new  bank  of  Messrs.  Cunliffe,  Brooks  and  Co.,  and  a  design  for  the  edifice  was 
prepared.  This  scheme  subsided  ;  but  on  the  opening  of  the  Town  Hall  the  Wednes- 
day 'Change  was  held  in  the  vestibule  of  the  Hall,  and  rooms  allotted  for  an  Exchange 
News  Room  in  the  south  wing.  In  1860,  a  Company  was  formed  to  provide  the 
necessary  capital  for  building  an  Exchange.  Plans  for  the  proposed  structure  were 
displayed  in  competition  in  1862,  and  the  design  of  Mr.  Brakspear,  a  Manchester 
architect,  was  selected  for  adoption.  The  corner-stone  of  the  Exchange  was  laid  on 
March  loth,  1863  (the  marriage-day  of  the  Prince  of  Wales),  and  the  edifice  was 
opened  in  April,  1865.  It  was  designed  to  consist  of  two  separate  blocks,  one  fronting 
the  Town  Hall  and  the  other  in  King  William-street,  connected  by  a  tower  at  the 
angle  of  the  frontage ;  but  one  wing  only  has  yet  been  erected.  The  architecture  is 
Gothic  of  the  fourteenth  century.  The  completed  portion  comprises  a  large  hall,  with 
ante-rooms  ;  a  range  of  offices  on  the  basement  floor ;  and  two  storeys  of  an  octagonal 
tower,  forming  the  principal  entrance,  having  two  external  doorways  consisting  of 
pointed  arches,  recessed  and  gabled,  with  tracery  heads,  approached  by  flights  of  steps. 


CLUBS  OF  BLACKBURN.  385 

The  interior  of  the  tower  is  a  handsome  octagonal  hall,  opening  into  the  Assembly 
Room  and  the  News  Room,  with  groined  roof,  and  large  traceried  windows  of  three 
lights  above  the  porches.  The  upper  storey  and  the  domed  roof  of  the  design  for  the 
tower  have  not  been  added.  The  exterior  of  the  main  structure  presents  a  series  of 
projecting  bays,  the  dividing  walls  buttressed  ;  and  the  front  is  lighted  with  large 
mullioned,  transomed,  and  tracery-headed  windows.  The  parapet  is  embattled,  and 
above  the  buttresses  rise  bold  pinnacles.  A  private  entrance  at  the  west  end  of  the  front 
is  under  a  neat  recessed  arched  doorway.  The  west  wall  is  pierced  for  a  beautiful 
wheel  window  of  stained  glass.  The  interior  of  the  Exchange  Room,  I4oft.  by  53ft., 
is  separated  into  nave  and  aisles  by  arches  supported  by  fluted  columns  of  iron ;  the 
nave  has  an  elaborate  open  timber  roof  of  good  design ;  the  aisle  roofs  are  panelled  in 
pitch  pine,  with  carved  bosses.  A  fixed  platform  at  the  west  end  is  provided  for  use 
at  public  meetings  and  as  an  orchestra  for  concerts.  The  cost  of  the  parts  of  the 
Exchange  buildings  yet  erected  was  about  ,£9,000.  'Change  hours  are  from  3  to  5  p.m. 
on  Wednesdays. 

CLUBS  OF  BLACKBURN. 

BLACKBURN  SUBSCRIPTION  BOWLING  CLUB  existed  so  long  ago  as  1734,  and 
most  of  the  Blackburn  gentry  from  that  date  onward  have  been  members.  The  old 
Bowling  Green  of  the  Club  was  at  the  foot  of  the  slope  at  Cicely  Hole,  and  was 
removed  about  1844,  when  that  land  was  taken  as  part  of  the  site  of  the  railway- 
station.  The  Green  near  the  Grammar  School  was  then  formed ;  and  again  in  1869 
the  Club  removed  to  a  new  Green  constructed  for  its  use  in  Shear  Bank  Road.  The 
number  of  members  in  1734  was  18,  and  is  now  limited  to  100. 

The  UNION  CLUB  is  an  association  of  gentlemen  formed  about  1849.  Its  news- 
room, billiard-room,  and  other  rooms  occupy  the  central  part  of  a  large  house  in 
Church-street,  originally  built  for  a  town  residence  by  Henry  Sudell,  Esq. ,  about  eighty 
years  ago,  but  recently  altered,  refronted,  and  the  side  portions  converted  into  shops. 

The  REFORM  CLUB  was  set  on  foot  about  1861,  and  in  May,  1864,  the  erection 
was  commenced  of  the  present  Club  House  in  Victoria-street,  New  Market-place.  It  is 
a  stone  edifice  with  a  lofty  Italian  front.  The  cost  of  the  club-house  and  shops  on  the 
wings  included  in  the  design  exceeded  £5,000.  The  ground  floor  and  basement  of  the 
building  are  used  as  business  premises ;  the  entrance  to  the  club-rooms  is  by  a  hand- 
some hall  and  staircase.  On  the  first  floor  is  the  news-room,  and  on  the  upper  storey 
a  spacious  and  lofty  billiard  room ;  in  the  rear  are  minor  rooms  and  offices.  The  Club 
is  composed  of  gentlemen  of  Liberal  politics. 

The  CONSERVATIVE  CLUB  was  organised  in  the  year  1864,  and  in  June  of  the 
same  year  the  premises  in  King  William-street,  which  had  been  leased  and  adapted  as 
a  commodious  Club-house,  were  opened.  The  Club-rooms  include  a  news-room, 
billiard-room,  and  several  other  rooms  for  various  uses  connected  with  the  accommo- 
dation and  recreation  of  the  members.  The  club  is  frequented  by  a  large  number  of 
members  of  the  Conservative  party  in  the  borough. 

The  COUNTY  CLUB  is  an  association  of  gentlemen  recently  formed.  Its  Club- 
rooms  are  in  New  Market-street. 

The  LITERARY  CLUB,  started  in  1863,  occupies  a  suite  of  rooms  built  for  Club 
purposes  in  Cort-street. 

The  CATHOLIC  CLUB,  Astley  Gate,  was  established  several  years  ago. 

The  COUNTY  COURT  is  held  in  a  substantial  building  of  brick  and  stone,  erected 
in  1 86 1 -2  for  Court  Room  and  Registrar's  Offices.  Cost  £3,000.  The  Court  Day  is 
Monday  in  each  week.  The  jurisdiction  of  the  Court  covers  the  townships  included  in 

25 


-386  HISTORY    OF  Bl 

the  Blackburn  Poor  Law  Union.  W.  A.  Hulton,  Esq.,  is  the  presiding  Judge. 
About  5,000  plaints  are  heard  annually  in  this  Court.  John  Bolton,  Esq.,  is  Registrar 
of  the  Court. 

The  COUNTY  POLICE  COURT  was  held  in  the  smaller  Court  Room  of  the  Town 
Hall  until  August,  1873,  when  the  new  Court-house  and  Offices  for  the  County  Con- 
stabulary were  completed  and  opened.  The  building  is  situate  in  King-street ;  it  has 
an  effective  frontage  with  entrance-archway  in  the  centre ;  the  style  is  Venetian  Gothic ; 
the  walls  are  of  red  brick  with  stone  dressings.  The  internal  planning  includes  a 
Court-room  48ft.  by  4oft.,  magistrates'  room,  charge  room,  store  room,  weights  and 
measures'  office,  police  waiting  rooms,  lock-up  cells,  &c.  Mr.  W.  S.  Varley  was  the 
architect.  The  cost  of  the  fabric  was  about  ,£4,000. 

BLACKBURN  SAVINGS  BANK  was  established  in  1831.  The  present  building  for 
this  Bank,  situate  opposite  Corporation-street,  was  erected  about  ten  years  ago.  The 
accounts  of  the  Savings  Bank  for  1874  exhibit  the  sum  of  ^226,204  los.  7d.  due  to 
6,501  depositors;  and  the  Bank's  assets  are  stated  to  be  ,£230,169  2s.  id. 

BLACKBURN  PHILANTHROPIC  BURIAL  SOCIETY,  formed  in  1839,  has  about 
140,000  contributing  members,  in  Blackburn,  Darwen,  Accrington,  and  the  inter- 
mediate villages.  Its  yearly  income  reaches  about  .£14,000. 

FAMILIES  OF  MERCHANTS  AND  MODERN  GENTRY. 

Brief  sketches  are  given  below  of  a  number  of  families  whose 

members   have   been   foremost  in  the  affairs  of  the  town,   or  in  the 

development  of  the  local  trade,  during  the  last  and  the  present  century ; 

or  have  attained  to  social  or  political  eminence  within  the  same  period. 

AINSWORTH  OF  BLACKBURN. 

John  Ainsworth,  gent.,  a  member  of  the  Feniscowles  branch  of  the  territorial 
family  of  Ainsworth  of  Pleasington  Hall  and  Feniscowles,  built  the  house  in  King- 
street,  Blackburn,  now  the  King's  Head  Inn.  He  married  Miss  Ellen  Ainsworth,  by 
whom  he  had  issue  a  son  Thomas. 

Thomas  Ainsworth,  Esq. ,  of  Blackburn,  attorney -at-law,  married  Jennett,  daughter 
of  Thomas  Haworth  of  Revidge  Fold,  Blackburn,  yeoman,  and  had  issue,  sons,  John ; 
Thomas;  William- Haworth,  died  in  infancy;  and  a  second  William;  also  daughters, 
Susannah,  Ellen,  and  Anne.  Mr.  Ainsworth  died,  aged  77,  January  8th,  1846. 

John  Ainsworth,  Esq.,  eldest  son,  died  unmarried,  June  2nd,  1830,  aged  26  years. 

Thomas  Ainsworth,  Esq.,  of  King-street  and  Revidge  Fold,  Blackburn,  attorney- 
at-law,  born  May  2nd,  1808,  is  the  living  chief  representative  of  this  branch  of  Ains- 
worths.  He  is  unmarried.  Mr.  Ainsworth  holds  the  public  appointments  of  Clerk  to 
the  County  Magistrates  for  the  Lower  Division  of  the  Hundred  of  Blackburn  and  the 
Accrington  Petty  Session  Division,  and  of  Clerk  to  the  Blackburn  Burial  Board.  He 
was  second  Town  Clerk  of  the  Borough,  from  1854  to  1859,  when  he  resigned  that 
office ;  and  was  Law  Clerk  to  the  Blackburn  Water  Works  Company  to  the  time  these 
works  were  disposed  of  to  the  Corporation  of  Blackburn,  and  for  many  years  Law 
Clerk  and  Treasurer  to  the  Governors  of  Queen  Elizabeth's  Grammar  School,  Black- 
burn ;  and  during  the  period  above  named  was,  and  still  is,  a  Governor  of  that 
institution.  He  also  took  a  very  active  part  in  the  formation  and  completion  of  the 
Blackburn  Infirmary,  and  was  legal  adviser  to  the  Committee  for  building  and  raising 
subscriptions  for  that  institution. 

William  Ainsworth,  Esq.,  brother  of  the  above,  died  January  4th,  1848,  aged  38. 
By  his  wife,  Helena  Dalrymple,  daughter  of  John  Pickup,  Esq.,  of  Galligreaves, 


MERCHANTS  AND  MODERN  GENTRY.  387 

Blackburn,  he  had  sotis,  John  Pickup ;  and  Thomas  William,  of  Hoghton  Bank ;  and 
daughters  Helena  Dalrymple  and  Jessie  Jennett. 

ARMISTEAD  OF  COB  WALL  HOUSE. 

Mr.  Fisher  Armistead,  cotton  manufacturer,  of  Blackburn,  died  unmarried  August 
1 7th,  1841,  aged  39.  His  brother — 

Mr.  Thomas  Armistead,  of  Blackburn,  born  in  1799,  died  April  7th,  1833,  aged 
34  years.  He  married  Betsy,  daughter  of  Mr.  John  Fish,  and  had  issue,  sons,  James 
Fisher  Armistead;  and  Walter,  who  died,  aged  3,  April  7th,  1833. 

James  Fisher  Armistead,  Esq.,  J.P.,  of  Cob  Wall  House,  Blackburn,  born  in 
1827,  married,  in  1851,  Miss  Emily  Wingfield,  and  has  issue  five  daughters,  Florence 
Alice ;  Lucy  Maud  Mary  (married,  September  9th,  1875,  Mr.  James  Bullough,  eldest 
son  of  Adam  Bullough,  Esq.,  of  Blackburn) ;  Blanche,  Kate,  and  Theresa. 

ASHBURNER   OF   BLACKBURN. 

An  elaborate  pedigree  of  the  Lancashire  Ashburners,  compiled  and  privately 
printed  by  Mr.  T.  Helsby,  supplies  particulars  of  those  members  settled  at  Blackburn. 
Several  generations  of  the  family  held  an  estate  near  Dalton  in  Furness.  Robert 
Ashburner,  son  of  Francis  Ashburner,  of  Paddock  Hall,  near  Dalton,  gent.,  had 
property  at  Lindal,  near  Dalton.  He  was  a  Sea  Captain,  and  was  lost  at  sea  and 
buried  at  Dalton.  He  had  sons, -Robert,  and  John,  the  latter  lived  at  Ulverston. 

Robert  Ashburner,  of  Blackburn,  gent.,  who  practised  as  an  attorney-at-law,  was 
son  of  Robert  of  Lindal,  born  in  1754-  By  his  wife  Peggy,  daughter  of  Rev.  Mr. 
Wilson,  vicar  of  Milnthorp  and  incumbent  of  Tockholes,  he  had  sons,  John,  born  Nov. 
27th,  1786,  and  died  abroad  without  issue;  Robert,  heir  to  Lindal  estate,  which  he 
sold,  and  died  unmarried  in  1832  ;  William,  noticed  below  ;  James,  also  again  noticed 
below ;  and  Francis,  died  in  1813,  aged  30,  without  issue ;  and  two  daughters  Ann, 
the  first  dying  in  1803  ;  the  second,  an  infant,  in  1813.  Mr.  Helsby  states  concerning 
the  father: — "This  Robert  succeeded  to  a  good  estate  in  Lindal;  he  left  property 
valued  from  ,£150,000  to  .£200,000,  but  two  of  his  sons  ran  through  the  most  of  it,  one 
cm'ious  habit  being  the  occasional  lighting  of  their  cigars  with  £10  and  £20  notes." 
Robert  Ashburner  died  at  Blackburn  in  1798.  His  widow  died  in  1803. 

William  Ashburner  of  Blackburn,  gent.,  died  in  Blackburn,  about  1818,  aged  27, 
and  was  buried  at  St.  John's  Church.  By  his  wife  Nancy,  daughter  of  Mr.  John  Hall, 
of  Blackburn  (she  died  in  1836),  he  left  an  only  daughter  and  heiress,  Margaret 
Ashburner,  who  married,  in  1834,  John  Morrell  Ffrance,  of  Yorkshire,  gent,  and  has 
issue. 

James  Ashburner  of  Blackburn,  gent.,  brother  of  William,  died  unmarried  in 
1824,  aged  29,  leaving  his  estate  to  Mr.  Walmesley  Stanley,  of  Liverpool,  in  trust  for 
his  niece,  Miss  Margaret  Ashburner. 

BALDWIN  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Mr.  William  Baldwin,  living  at  Blackburn  in  1706,  was  elected  a  Governor  of  the 
Grammar  School  in  1715.  By  Mary,  his  wife,  he  had  sons,  Hugh,  baptized  Feb.  6th, 
1706-7;  and  John,  baptized  April  6th,  1709;  with  a  daughter  Esther,  married,  Dec. 
i8th,  1722,  to  Mr.  William  Whalley,  of  Liverpool.  "Mrs.  Mary  Baldwin  of  Black- 
burn" was  buried  Jan.  23rd,  1709-10.  "William  Baldwin  of  Blackburn,  gent,"  died 
in  May,  1750.  Mr.  William  Baldwin  was  joint  purchaser  with  Mr.  Henry  Feilden 
and  Mr.  William  Sudell,  in  the  year  1721,  of  the  Manor  of  Blackburn,  which  eventually 
was  entirely  vested  by  purchase  in  the  Feilden  family. 


388  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Hugh  Baldwin  of  Blackburn,  gent.,  eldest  son  of  William,  was  elected  Governor 
of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1729.  He  married,  at  Walton  Church,  Oct.  a8th, 
1729,  Mary  Herbert  of  Eccleston.  Mr.  Hugh  Baldwin  died  in  January,  1736-7.  His 
widow,  Mary  Baldwin,  married,  secondly,  Rev.  Thomas  Hunter,  clerk  (Feb.  28th, 
1738),  and  died  March  loth,  1782,  aged  71. 

"William  Baldwin,  gent.,"  of  Blackburn  (maybe  a  brother  of  Hugh),  married, 
Jan.  7th,  1738-9,  Rose  Kenyon  of  Blackburn. 

BARON  OF  KNUZDEN  AND  LARKHILL. 

James  Baron  of  Stanhill  occurs  in  1636;  Ralph  Baron  of  Knuzden  in  1644;  and 
John  Baron  of  Duckworth  in  1644,  when  William,  his  son,  was  baptized. 

William  Baron  of  Roegreave,  Oswaldtwistle,  had  issue  sons,  Christopher,  born 
about  1660,  and  George,  died  in  1687.  William  Baron  the  father  died  Feb.,  1704-5. 

Christopher  Baron,  gent.,  purchased  the' manor  of  Oswaldtwistle  in  1722  ;  he  was 
then  seated  at  Knuzden  Hall.  "Mr.  Christopher  Baron  of  Knuzden"  was  elected  a 
Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1708.  He  died  in  1733,  aged  72,  and  was 
buried  at  Church-Kirk.  He  had  married,  at  Church-Kirk,  July  25th,  1711,  Ann 
Bayley,  of  Darwen  (who  died,  aged  68,  Nov.,  1754),  and  had  issue,  sons,  William, 
born  in  1712,  died  in  April,  1723,  aged  li;  Henry,  bapt.  July  1st,  1713;  Christopher, 
bapt.  Sept.  nth,  1714;  and^George,  bapt.  Sept.  27th,  1717;  and  daughters,  Ann, 
born  1715,  died  1716;  Alice,  born  1720,  died  1758;  Margery,  born  1721,  died  1723; 
a  second  Ann,  born  1723,  died  1767,  aged  44;  and  Ellen,  born  1725. 

Henry  Baron  of  Knuzden  Hall  and  Blackburn,  Esq.,  eldest  surviving  son  and  heir 
of  Christopher,  married  Ellen,  daughter  of  Thomas  Whitaker,  of  Symonstone,  Esq. 
(she  died  Jan.  6th,  1784,  aged  68),  and  had  issue,  sons,  Christopher,  born  in  1737; 
Thomas,  born  in  1741  ;  and  Henry,  died  in  infancy  in  1748.  Henry  Baron,  Esq., 
was  made  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1733;  and  died,  aged  54, 
March  26th,  1767.  In  1757  Mr.  Henry  Baron  had  acquired  the  Highercroft  estate 
and  other  lands  in  Lower  Darwen  as  legatee  of  Richard  Haworth,  of  Th'urcroft,  gent. 

The  second  son  of  Henry  Baron,  Esq.,  was  Thomas  Baron,  Esq.,  of  Knuzden 
Hall  and  Blackburn,  who  by  Catherine  his  wife  (she  died  Aug.  I5th,  1802,  aged  49), 
had  issue  four  daughters,  Ellen,  died  at  Brighton,  April  igth,  1862,  aged  83  ;  Eliza, 
married,  Feb.  2ist,  1811,  Lieut.  John  Parsons  Hoey,  had  issue  a  son  Henry,  and  died 
at  Brighton,  Feb.  1 6th,  1866,  aged  82;  Alice,  died,  aged  20,  in  1803;  and  Mary,  died 
at  Lisbon,  Sept.  loth,  1819.  Thomas  Baron,  Esq.,  died  Nov.  28th,  1801,  aged  60,  and 
was  buried  in  Church-Kirk  Church. 

Christopher  Baron,  Esq. ,  elder  brother  of  Thomas  and  son  and  heir  of  Henry,  was 
sometime  Officer  of  Excise  in  Blackburn  ;  he  built,  in  1762,  the  mansion  called  Lark- 
hill  House  in  the  town,  on  a  wall  of  which  are  the  initials  "C  B  A,"  and  date  "1762." 
Mr.  Christopher  Baron  was  a  Governor  of  the  Grammar  School.  He  married,  first, 
May  23rd,  1759,  Miss  Sarah  ffolds,  and  had  a  son  Christopher,  born  1761,  died  young. 
By  his  second  wife  Anne  (she  died  Sept.,  1765),  he  had  issue  a  son  Roger,  bapt.  Jan. 
6th,  1762  ;  and  a  daughter  Ellen,  born  in  1764.  Christopher  Baron,  Esq.,  died,  aged 
29,  in  1766,  buried  at  Church-Kirk,  April  27th.  In  July,  1766,  were  publicly  sold 
part  of  the  estates  of  the  deceased  gentleman,  including  the  following: — Larkhill, 
Blackburn,  houses  and  4^  acres  of  land  ;  Oakenhurst  farm  in  Lower  Darwen,  30 
acres;  Aspden's  farm,  Lower  Darwen,  12  acres  ;  Pomfret's  farm,  Lower  Darwen,  8 
acres ;  Arcroft  (Highercroft)  estate,  Lower  Darwen,  56^2  acres ;  Pole  Farm,  Over 
Darwen,  6  acres ;  Ellison  Fold  farm,  Over  Darwen,  67  acres.  The  Oswaldtwistle 
estate  passed  to  his  son  Roger. 


MERCHANTS  AND  MODERN  GENTRY.  389 

Roger  Baron,  Esq.,  of  Blackburn  and  Cabin  End,  surviving  son  and  heir  of 
Christopher,  married  Nov.  3rd,  1783,  Ellen,  daughter  of  Mr.  Thomas  Smalley,  of 
Blackburn  (she  died  in  1784),  and  by  her  had  issue  a  son  Henry,  died  young  in  1791  ; 
and  daughters,  Ellen  and  Anne.  The  first,  Ellen,  married,  Oct.  2nd,  1811,  Mr. 
William  Haydock,  of  Blackburn  (had  issue  daughters,  Mary,  married,  first,  Mr.  Hugh 
Clitheroe ;  secondly,  Mr.  Knowles ;  thirdly,  Mr.  John  Clayton,  and  had  issue  a 
daughter  by  each  of  the  first  marriages  and  a  son  by  the  third  ;  and  Anne  Ellen, 
married,  Feb.  8th,  1844,  Richard  Greenwood,  son  of  Mr.  W.  H.  Greenwood,  and 
left  issue).  Roger  Baron,  Esq.,  died  Feb.  i8th,  1820,  aged  60,  and  was  buried  at 
Church-Kirk. 

BIRLEY   OF   BLACKBURN. 

The  Birley  family  belong  originally  to  Kirkham.  John  Birley,  of  Skippool,  Poulton 
Parish,  whose  Will  is  dated  1732,  and  who  died  in  1733,  had  issue  an  only  son  John. 

John  Birley,  of  Kirkham,  West  Indian  Merchant,  son  of  the  above,  married,  first, 
Ellen  Harrison,  by  whom  he  had  four  children,  all  of  whom  died  without  issue.  He 
married,  secondly,  May  6th,  1741,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Mr.  Thomas  Shepherd,  and 
by  her  had  issue  sons,  Thomas,  of  Kirkham,  born  1741  ;  Richard,  of  Blackburn,  born 
Dec.  4th,  1743;  John,  born  Nov.  27th,  1747;  and  William,  born  April  24th,  1750, 
died  unmarried  in  1792  ;  and  four  daughters.  Mr.  John  Birley  died  May  1 2th,  1767. 
His  widow,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Birley,  died  June  27th,  1780. 

Richard  Birley,  of  Blackburn,  Merchant,  \vas  second  son  of  Mr.  John  Birley,  of 
Kirkham.  He  married,  Dec.  I5th,  1772,  Alice,  daughter  of  Hugh  Hornby,  Esq.,  of 
Kirkham  (she  died  April  igth,  1812,  aged  61).  Issue,  sons,  John,  born  August  3Oth, 
1775,  bapt.  at  Blackburn  Church,  Sept.  2lst ;  Hugh  Hornby  Birley,  born  loth,  bapt. 
25th  March,  1778;  Joseph,  born  3ist  May,  bapt.  July  3rd,  1782;  and  daughters, 
Margaret,  bapt.  Oct.  I3th,  1773,  died  in  infancy;  Elizabeth,  bapt.  Sept.  25th,  1780, 
married  John  Cardwell,  Esq.,  and  was  mother  of  the  present  Lord  Card  well;  a  second 
Margaret,  died  in  1844;  Jane,  bapt.  June  28th,  1787,  died  1823;  and  Mary,  wife  of 
Joseph  Baxendale,  Esq.,  of  Woodside,  Co.  Middlesex.  Mr.  Richard  Birley  was 
elected  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1775,  but  declined  to  serve.  He 
died  Jan.  nth,  1812,  aged  69. 

"Mr.  John  Birley  of  King-street,  Blackburn,"  became  a  Governor  of  Blackburn 
Grammar  School  in  1 798.  He  was,  I  assume,  the  next  brother  of  Richard ;  and  must 
thus  have  been  sometime  resident  in  Blackburn,  though  named  as  of  Kirkham  in  Burke. 
John  Birley,  Esq.,  died  in  May,  1831.  His  wife  was  Margaret,  daughter  of  John 
Yate,  Esq.,  of  Liverpool  ;  and  he  had  sons,  William,  of  Kirkham  ;  Thomas,  of  Mill- 
bank  (who  married  Ann,  daughter  and  co-heir  of  John  Langton,  Esq. ,  of  Kirkham, 
and  was  father  of  the  late  Thomas  Langton  Birley,  Esq. ,  J.  P. ) ;  Edward,  of  Kirkham 
(whose  only  daughter,  Margaret  Susannah,  married  William  Hemy  Hornby,  Esq.,  of 
Blackburn)  ;  Charles  ;  a  second  Charles  ;  and  Yate  Birley,  of  Ramsay,  Isle  of  Man  ; 
and  three  daughters.  William  Birley,  Esq. ,  eldest  son  of  John  of  Kirkham,  by  his 
wife  Mary,  daughter  of  John  Swainson,  Esq.,  was  father  of  Rev.  John  Shepherd 
Birley,  J.P.,  of  Moss  Hall;  William  Birley,  Esq.,  of  Preston,  and  Edmund  Birley, 
Esq.,  J.P.,  of  Clifton  Hall. 

John  Birley  of  Blackburn,  Esq.,  eldest  son  of  Richard  of  Blackburn,  was  a 
merchant  and  cotton  spinner  in  Blackburn  and  Manchester.  He  became  a  Governor 
of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1800.  His  wife  was  Margaret,  daughter  of  Daniel 
Backhouse,  Esq.,  of  Liverpool.  Issue,  Richard,  born  March  1 5th,  1801  ;  Daniel, 
born,  1807,  died  1839;  Hornby,  born  1811  ;  William,  in  holy  orders,  born  1813; 
John  ;  GeOrge  ;  Elizabeth,  Alice,  Margaret,  and  Frances — the  latter  wife  of  the  late 


390  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Daniel  Hornby,  Esq.,  of  Raikes  Hall.     Mr.  John  Birley  resided  in  Manchester  in  the 
later  years  of  his  life,  and  died  there,  Dec.  25th,  1833. 

His  eldest  son,  Richard  Birley,  Esq.,  who  died  in  Canada  in  1845,  by  his  wife 
Mary  Ann,  daughter  of  John  Hardman,  Esq.,  left  issue,  sons,  John  James,  Charles, 
and  Richard  William,  and  four  daughters. 

BRIGGS    OF    BLACKBURN. 

Mr.  James  Briggs  of  Blackburn,  cotton  manufacturer,  was  buried  April  6th,  1840. 
By  Lettice  his  wife  he  had  issue,  sons,  Edward  ;  George,  of  Blackburn,  died  in  July, 
1854;  and  William,  born  Dec.  24th,  1820;  and  daughters,  Ann,  born  July  29th,  1811, 
married  Mr.  Henry  Shaw,  of  Blackburn;  Jane,  born  in  1813,  married  Mr.  William 
Dickson ;  Elizabeth,  born  in  1815,  married  Mr.  Samuels ;  Sarah,  born  in  1818, 
married  Rev.  J.  Dewsnap ;  Mary,  born  in  1823,  died  unmarried  in  1870;  Ellen,  born 
in  1826;  Alice,  born  in  1828,  married  Rev.  Robt.  Bruce;  and  Emma,  born  July  I2th, 
1831,  unmarried. 

Mr.  Edward  Briggs,  of  Blackburn  and  Wilpshire  Grange,  cotton  spinner,  eldest 
son  of  James,  was  born  Jan.  22nd,  1809;  married  Ann,  daughter  of  Thomas  Slagg, 
Esq.,  of  Manchester  (she  died  Jan.  7th,  1853),  and  had  issue,  sons,  James,  and  William 
Edward  ;  and  a  daughter  Margaret  Ann,  born  in  1841.  Mr.  Edward  Briggs  died  June 
loth,  1857,  and  was  buried  at  Chapel-street  Chapel. 

James  Briggs,  Esq.,  of  Beard  wood,  Blackburn,  eldest  son  of  Edward,  married, 
April  27th,  1867,  Eliza,  daughter  of  Mr.  Thomas  Slagg,  of  Lytham,  and  has  issue. 

William  Edward  Briggs,  Esq.,  of  Beardwood,  second  son  of  Edward,  was  elected 
M.P.  for  Blackburn  at  the  general  election  in  February,  1874.  He  was  born  in  1848, 
and  educated  at  Rugby  and  Worcester  College,  Oxford. 

BROOKS    OF  BLACKBURN. 

William  Brooks  of  Whalley  and  Sunnyside,  banker,  who  died  Oct.  3rd,  1846, 
aged  83,  by  his  first  wife  Sarah  was  father  of  William  Brooks  of  Stand ish  ;  Richard, 
of  Blackburn ;  Samuel,  of  Blackburn ;  James,  and  Thomas,  of  Sunnyside,  Calico 
Printers  ;  and  of  daughters  Elizabeth  and  Nancy. 

Richard  Brooks  of  Blackburn,  surgeon,  son  of  William,  died  March  1 7th,  1822, 
aged  32.  He  married,  July  2Oth,  1815,  Sarah,  daughter  of  Thomas  Aspden,  of  Rishton. 

Samuel  Brooks  of  Blackburn,  later  of  Manchester,  banker,  son  of  Wrilliam,  died 
June  2nd,  1864,  aged  70.  His  wife  was  Margaret,  daughter  of  Mr.  T.  Hall,  of 
Blackburn,  by  whom  he  had  sons,  William  Cunliffe ;  and  John  Brooks,  B.A. ;  and 
daughters  Sarah,  Mary  Margaret,  Alice,  and  Ellen. 

William  Cunliffe  Brooks,  Esq.,  of  Manchester,  M.P.  for  East  Cheshire,  son  of 
Samuel,  was  born  at  Blackburn,  Sept.  3Oth,  1819,  baptized  at  Chapel-street  Inde- 
pendent Chapel,  Nov.  7th.  He  married,  in  1842,  Jane  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Ralph 
Orrell,  Esq.  (she  died  in  1865),  and  had  issue,  daughters,  Amy,  married,  July  I4th, 
1869,  Charles,  eleventh  Marquis  of  Huntley;  and  Edith. 

CARDWELL  OF  BLACKBURN. 

The  Cardwell  family  was  anciently  of  Barton,  Parish  of  Preston.  Richard 
Cardwell  of  Barton,  yeoman,  had  a  son  William.  William  Cardwell  of  Barton  also 
had  a  son  William ;  and  he  had  a  son  Richard. 

Richard  Cardwell  of  Barton,  by  Sarah  his  wife,  had  sons  William  and  Richard. 

William  Cardwell,  eldest  son  of  Richard,  bapt.  May  1 7th,  1692,  married 
Elizabeth,  daughter  of  William  Walmsley,  of  Tockholes,  yeoman,  and  had  a  son 
Richard  and  other  issue.  He  was  progenitor  of  a  senior  line  of  Cardwells  not 
connected  with  this  parish.  He  died  July  I4th,  1773,  aged  81. 


MERCHANTS  AND  MODERN  GENTRY.  39  r 

Richard  Cardwell,  younger  son  of  Richard,  bapt.  April  22nd,  1706,  settled  in 
Blackburn  as  a  trader  in  local  textiles  when  a  young  man.  He  married,  first,  March 
2nd,  1741,  Martha,  eldest  daughter  of  Rev.  John  Holme,  Vicar  of  Blackburn.  Issue, 
one  still-born  child,  buried  Dec.  4th,  1742.  "Martha,  wife  of  Richard  Cardwell, 
gentleman,"  was  buried  at  Blackburn,  July  1 9th,  1743.  Mr.  Richard  Cardwell 
married,  secondly,  Miss  Elizabeth  Stott,  of  Manchester,  and  their  first  and  only  living 
issue  was  a  son,  bapt.  June  I4th,  1749.  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Cardwell  died  March  3ist, 
1763,  aged  55,  buried  at  Blackburn  Church,  April  3rd.  Mr.  Richard  Cardwell  died 
March  loth,  1785,  aged  79,  and  was  interred  in  a  family  tomb  in  Blackburn  Churchyard. 
Richard  Cardwell  of  Blackburn,  Merchant  and  Esq.,  only  son  of  Richard,  resided 
in  the  large  brick  house  in  King-street,  now  the  offices  of  the  Blackburn  Poor  Law 
Union,  and  made  a  fortune  in  the  Blackburn  trade.  By  his  first  wife,  who  died  early, 
he  had  no  issue.  His  second  wife  was  Jane,  sister  of  John  Hodson,  Esq.,  of  Eller- 
beck,  M.P.  for  Wigan  in  1820,  from  whom  she  heired  the  Ellerbeck  estates;  married 
Feb.  26th,  1777.  Issue,  five  sons,  viz.,  Richard,  bapt.  Jan.  gth,  1778;  James,  bapt. 
May  26th,  1779;  John,  bapt.  Sept.  5th,  1781,  died  in  London,  May,  1831  ;  Thomas 
Hodson,  born  in  1785  ;  and  Edward,  born  in  1787. 

Richard  Cardwell,  eldest  son  of  Richard,  entered  the  Church,  and  became  Rector 
of  St.  Paul's,  Liverpool.  "Richard  Cardwell  the  younger,  clerk,"  was  with  his  father 
a  trustee  for  rebuilding  Blackburn  Parish  Church  in  1819.  He  died  unmarried,  in  1839, 
aged  62,  and  the  family  estates  passed  to  his  next  brother  James  Cardwell,  Esq.,  of 
Ellerbeck  Hall,  Duxbury,  near  Chorley,  who  died,  aged  76,  May  3151,  1855. 

Edward  Cardwell,  youngest  son  of  Mr.  Richard  Cardwell  of  Blackburn,  was  the 
eminent  Dr.  Edward  Cardwell,  Principal  of  St.  Alban's  Hall,  Oxford.  He  was  born 
at  Blackburn,  and  married  Cecilia,  youngest  daughter  of  Henry  Feilden,  Esq.,  of 
Witton  Park.  He  entered  at  Brasenose  College,  Oxford,  in  1806,  and  became  a 
Fellow  in  1809;  in  1814  was  appointed  a  University  Examiner,  and  in  1831  was 
appointed  Principal  of  St.  Alban's  Hall.  He  was  also  sometime  Private  Secretary  to 
successive  Chancellors  of  Oxford.  He  died  at  Oxford  May  231x1,  1861,  aged  73.  He 
was  a  learned  classic,  and  an  able  Church  historian.  His  published  works  are  too 
many  to  be  enumerated  here.1 

John  Cardwell,  Esq.,  third  son  of  Mr.  Richard  Cardwell  of  Blackburn,  and 
brother  of  Dr.  Edward,  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Mr.  Richard  Birley  of 
Blackburn.  He  was  later  a  merchant  in  Liverpool  along  with  his  brother  Mr.  Thos. 
H.  Cardwell.  John  Cardwell  had  several  sons,  of  whom  the  eldest  and  most  note- 
worthy is  the  statesman,  Rt.  Hon.  Edward  Cardwell,  now  in  the  peerage. 

Rt.  Hon.  Edward  Cardwell,  Viscount  Cardwell  of  Ellerbeck,  was  born  in  1813  ; 
married,  in  1838,  Annie,  daughter  of  Charles  Stuart  Parker,  Esq.,  of  Fairlie,  Ayrshire. 
He  was  educated  at  Winchester  and  Balliol  Coll.,  Oxford  (B.A.  1835,  M.A.  1838, 
D.C.L.  1863) ;  called  to  the  Bar  at  Inner  Temple,  1838,  and  practised  a  short  time  ; 
M.P.  for  Clitheroe,  1842-7;  for  Liverpool,  1847-52;  for  Oxford,  1853-74;  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury,  1845-6  ;  President  of  Board  of  Trade,  1853-55  '•>  Chief  Secretary  for 
Ireland,  1859-61  ;  Chancellor  of  Duchy  of  Lancaster,  1861-4;  Secretary  of  State  for 
Colonies,  1864-6;  Secretary  of  State  for  War,  1868-74.  He  was  raised  to  the 
Peerage  in  1874.  Lord  Cardwell's  Lancashire  seat  is  Nightingale  House,  Heath 
Charnock,  near  Chorley. 

i  The  most  important  of  his  Works  are,  "A  History  of  Conferences,  &c.,  connected  with  the 
Revision  of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  from  1568  to  1690  ;"  "  Documentary  Annals  of  the  Reformed 
Church  of  England;"  and  "A  Collection  of  Articles  of  Religion,  Canons,  &c.,  from  1547  to  1717, 
with  Notes." 


392  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

CARR    OF    SHADSWORTH,    &c. 

Mr.  William  Carr,  of  Blackburn,  elected  a  Governor  of  the  Grammar  School  in 
1781,  died,  aged  51,  May  26th,  1800  (tablet  in  St.  John's  Church).  By  Grace,  his 
wife  (who  died,  aged  67,  July  25th,  1817),  he  had  sons,  William,  born  in  1773  ;  and 
Thomas,  born  in  1776;  also  a  daughter  Ann,  born  1778,  died  unmarried,  aged  86, 
February  gth,  1865.  His  eldest  son  was — 

William  Carr  of  Blackburn,  Esq. ,  attorney-at-law,  appointed  a  Governor  of  the 
Grammar  School  in  1800.  He  held  the  office  of  Steward  for  the  Honor  of  Clitheroe, 
and  resided  some  time  at  Clitheroe  Castle,  but  also  possessed  the  freehold  messuage  of 
Shadsworth  House,  Blackburn.  He  was  Clerk  to  the  Magistrates  for  the  Black- 
burn division  of  the  County,  and  as  such  was  an  object  of  popular  hostility  in  the 
loom-breaking  riots  of  1826,  when  an  attack  was  made  upon  his  residence  at  Shads- 
worth.  He  married  a  Miss  Roberts.  He  had  a  son,  William;  and  several 
daughters;  of  whom  Alice,  third  daughter,  married,  in  1845,  Rev.  John  Hopwood, 
Incumbent  of  Accrington;  and  Grace,  youngest  daughter,  married,  in  1844,  Rev. 
W.  H.  Strong,  B.A.  William  Carr,  Esq.,  died  at  Shadsworth,  Feb.  3rd,  1833,  aged 
59;  his  wife  died  in  September  of  the  year  preceding. 

William  Carr,  Esq. ,  son  of  the  above,  was  appointed  Town  Clerk  of  Clitheroe  in 
February,  1833,  and  died  in  December,  1837. 

Mr.  Thomas  Carr,  of  Blackburn  and  Clitheroe  Castle,  son  of  William  Carr  who 
died  in  1800,  died  Jan.  I4th,  1837,  aged  60.  He  was  a  trustee  for  rebuilding  Black- 
bum  Parish  Church  in  1819.  By  his  wife  Alice,  daughter  of  Dr.  A.  Chew,  of  Billing- 
ton  (she  died  at  Whalley,  aged  79,  Jan.  9th,  1859),  he  had  sons,  William,  died^  young; 
William  Thomas;  and  daughters,  Jane,  died,  aged  16,  in  1827;  and  Grace  Alice, 
married,  in  1840,  to  Thomas  Ashton,  Esq.,  of  Bashall  Lodge. 

William  Thomas  Carr,  Esq.,  of  the  Temple,  late  of  Bastwell,  Blackburn,  son  of 
Mr.  Thomas  Carr,  now  resides  in  London. 

CHIPPINDALL   OF  BLACKBURN. 

Robert  Chippindall  of  Blackburn,  by  Hannah  Maria,  his  wife,  had  sons  Thomas, 
bapt.  Nov.  23rd,  1753;  Edward,  and  Robert;  and  other  issue. 

Mr.  Thomas  Chippindall  of  Blackburn,  chapman,  born  about  1753,  was  elected  a 
Governor  of  the  Grammar  School  in  1777,  and  died  March  I2th,  1794,  aged  40  years. 
By  Sarah  his  wife  (who  died  Nov.  6th,  1808,  aged  49),  he  had  issue  a  son  Edward,  died, 
aged  14,  in  1805  ;  and  daughters  Elizabeth,  born  1778;  Sarah,  born  1785,  died,  aged 
23,  April  2lst,  1809;  and  Mary,  wife  of  Rev.  Wm.  Higgin. 

Mr.  Edward  Chippindall,  brother  of  Thomas,  was  elected  a  Governor  of  the 
Grammar  School  in  1794,  and  was  living  at  Blackburn  in  1817. 

Mr.  William  Chippindall  of  Blackburn,  cotton  manufacturer,  died,  aged  74,  Dec., 

1833- 

Mr.  Robert  Chippindall,  banker,  of  Skipton,  of  this  family,  died,  aged  64,  Aug. 
7th,  1834. 

CUNLIFFE  OF  GREAT  HARWOOD  AND  BLACKBURN. 

Thomas  Cunliffe  married,  at  Great  Harwood  Church,  May  2Oth,  1577,  Elizabeth 
ffeilden. 

Richard  Cunliffe  married,  Aug.  loth,  1600,  Isabel  Dean;  and  Isabel,  late  wife  of 
Richard  Cunliffe,  was  buried  at  Great  Harwood,  Nov.  24th,  1613. 

Richard  Cunliffe  of  Banks,  Great  Harwood,  had  a  son  Robert,  *born  in  1647. 

John  Cunliffe  of  Banks  died  in  March,  1691.  Isabel  Cunliffe,  widow,  of 
Harwood  Banks,  died  in  June,  1 708. 


MERCHANTS  AND  MODERN  GENTRY. 


393 


Robert  Cunliffe  of  Harwood  Banks,  was  buried  Feb.  i;th,  1716-7. 

Robert  Cunliffe  of  Harwood,  woollen  webster,  married  Aug.  22nd,  1706, 
Margaret  Horrobin  of  Whalley  (who  died  Oct.,  1738). 

John  Cunliffe  of  Sparth,  linen  webster  and  husbandman,  married,  Jan.  I4th,  1722, 
Mary  Jackson,  and  had  issue,  sons,  William,  bapt.  Sep.  I2th,  1725;  Thomas,  bapt 
March  2§th,  1731;  Henry,  born  1732;  Edward,  born  1733-4;  and  John,  died  1746. 
John  Cunliffe  the  father,  "of  Deans"  in  1768,  was  buried  June  1 8th  in  that  year. 
Mary,  his  widow,  died  in  May,  177°' 

Thomas  Cunliffe  of  Deans,  Great  Harwood,  linen  webster,  had  three  sons,  Henry ; 
Roger;  and  John;  each  noted  below;  and  daughters,  Hannah,  born  1769;  Ann;  a 
second  Ann;  and  Jane,  born  1777. 

Mr.  Henry  Cunliffe,  of  Blackburn,  son  of  Thomas,  was  born  in  1764,  and  died 
June  29th,  1825.  He  was  father  of  Mr.  James  Cunliffe. 

James  Cunliffe,  Esq.,  of  Blackburn,  banker,  married  May  I4th,  1823,  Mary, 
daughter  of  John  Ostley,  Esq.,  of  North  Shields,  and  had  issue,  sons,  Roger,  born 
April  4th,  1824;  John,  born  Sept.  I2th,  1825;  Henry,  born  April  1 7th,  1827;  and 
daughters  Mary,  born  1828;  and  Ann,  born  1832. 

Roger  Cunliffe,  Esq.,  of  Blackburn,  banker,  second  son  of  Thomas,  bapt.  at 
Great  Harwood,  Oct.  iSth,  1767  ;  died  at  Blackburn,  in  1822,  aged  55,  buried  at 
Chapel-street  Chapel,  Aug.  2Oth,  1822.  By  Sarah  his  wife,  married  before  1804,  he 
left  no  issue. 

John  Cunliffe,  Esq. ,  of  Blackburn,  banker,  brother  of  James  and  Roger,  bapt. 
Aug.  2nd,  1772;  died  May  I3th,  1836.  By  Margaret,  his  wife,  who  died,  aged  70, 
April  3Oth,  1843,  he  had  no  issue,  but  an  adopted  daughter,  Margaret  Cunliffe,  became 
wife  of  Mr.  Henry  Hargreaves,  of  Beardwood. 

DE   LA    PRYME    OF  BLACKBURN. 

James  de  la  Pryme,  of  Blackburn,  Merchant,  by  his  wife  Jane,  had  issue,  Abraham ; 
Francis,  born  1785;  Charles,  born  May  28th,  1787;  Elizabeth,  boni  August  6th, 
1788;  and  Mary,  born  Oct.  7th,  1789. 

Mr.  Abraham  de  la  Pryme  of  Blackburn,  elected  a  Governor  of  the  Grammar 
School  in  1803,  manufacturer  and  merchant  in  1818,  subsequently  carried  on  business 
in  Liverpool. 

DUGDALE  OF  GREAT  HARWOOD,  BLACKBURN,  &c. 

John  Dugdale,  of  Great  Harwood,  married  Dec.  26th,  1721,  Mary  Mercer,  of 
Great  Harwood. 

Edmund  Dugdale,  of  Great  Harwood,  born  in  1693,  married,  Dec.  26th,  1721, 
Ann  Dawson  ;  had  a  son  John. 

John  Dugdale,  of  Great  Harwood,  who  died  in  1791,  had  sons,  Nathaniel ; 
Thomas,  of  Great  Harwood,  who  died  August  loth,  1833,  aged  67;  and  Adam. 

The  youngest  son  of  John  was  Adam  Dugdale,  of  Dovecot  House,  near  Liverpool, 
Esq.,  who  married,  Dec.  25th,  1800,  Mary,  eldest  daughter  of  Mr.  John  Hargreaves, 
of  Wheatley,  and  died  April  8th,  1838,  having  bequeathed  ^"100  to  the  Poor  of  Great 
Harwood. 

Nathaniel  Dugdale,  of  Great  Harwood,  married,  March  27th,  1785,  Ellen, 
daughter  of  Mr.  John  Smalley,  and  had  issue,  sons,  John,  of  Dovecot ;  James,  of  Ivy 
Bank  ;  and  Thomas,  of  Blackburn  ;  and  a  daughter  Mary,  married  to  Thomas  Clegg, 
Esq.,  of  Whittlefield.  Mr.  Nathaniel  Dugdale  died  Aug.  231x1,  1816. 

John  Dugdale,  of  Dovecot,  Esq. ,  married  Mary  Marshall ;  his  eldest  son  was 
James  Dugdale,  of  Dovecot,  Co.  Lane.,  and  Wroxall  Abbey,  Co.  Warwick,  Esq.,  born  in 


394  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

1813,  and  married  Mary  Louisa,  daughter  of  John  Plummer,  Esq.,  by  whom  he  has 
numerous  issue. 

James  Dugdale  of  Ivy  Bank.  Co.  Lane.,  and  Craythorne,  Co.  York,  Esq., 
second  son  of  Nathaniel,  born  in  1792,  died  1868,  had  issue,  sons,  James  Tertius  Dugdale, 
Esq.  (married,  in  1868,  Alice,  daughter  of  John  Brooks,  Esq.)  ;  Arthur  Gustav,  died 
in  1865,  aged  24;  daughters,  Ellen  Ann,  wife  of  Henry  White,  Esq. ;  Maria,  married, 
in  1850,  Richard  Shaw,  Esq.,  now  M.P.  for  Burnley;  Charlotte,  wife  of  H.  L. 
Browning,  Esq.  ;  Mary  Emma  Margaret,  wife  of  Captain  Edward  Waugh. 

Thomas  Dugdale,  Esq.,  of  Griffin  Lodge,  Witton,  youngest  son  of  Mr.  Nathaniel 
Dugdale,  born  in  1797,  married,  in  1824,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Mr.  Thomas 
Walmsley,  of  Blackburn,  and  had  issue,  sons,  Thomas,  born  in  1831,  married  Ellen, 
daughter  of  Joshua  Appleyard,  Esq.,  and  died  in  1874;  Adam,  now  of  Griffin  Lodge  ; 
and  James  Boardman  ;  also,  daughters,  Mary,  wife  of  Mr.  Miles  Rodgett,  of  Wareham; 
Elizabeth,  relict  of  Mr.  R.  B.  Rodgett,  of  Walton-in-le-Dale ;  and  Anne,  wife  of  Rev. 
W.  T.  Vale,  Vicar  of  All  Saint's  Church,  Blackburn.  Thomas  Dugdale,  Esq.,  was 
Chairman  of  the  Lancashire  and  Yorkshire  Railway  Company,  of  the  Manchester  and 
County  Bank,  and  of  the  Blackburn  Waterworks  Company.  He  was  Mayor  of 
Blackburn  in  1853-5.  He  died  March  I7th,  1875,  in  his  78th  year. 

ECCLES    OF  BLACKBURN. 

Mr.  William  Eccles,  of  Blackburn,  by  Betty,  his  wife  (who  died  in  1794,  buried 
Feb.  4th),  had  issue  a  son  William.  Mr.  William  Eccles,  the  father,  died,  aged  82, 
May  2Oth,  1831. 

Mr.  William  Eccles,  of  Spring  Mount,  Blackburn,  attorney  and  cotton  spinner, 
married,  in  1822,  Janet,  daughter  of  Mr.  Robert  Copeland,  and  had  issue,  sons, 
William,  born  Sept.  1st,  1824;  Thomas;  Henry;  John;  and  Samuel;  a  daughter, 
Janet,  born  1829,  died  1830;  a  second  Janet,  born  in  1836.  Mr.  William  Eccles  was 
elected  M.P.  for  Blackburn,  in  July,  1852,  but  was  unseated  on  petition.  He  died, 
aged  59,  June  I7th,  1853,  and  was  buried  at  Chapel-street  Chapel.  His  widow,  and 
eldest  son  William,  both  died  in  Dec.,  1863. 

FALKNER  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Mr.  Richard  Falkner  of  Blackburn,  merchant,  built,  early  in  the  last  century,  the 
handsome  stone  mansion  in  King-street,  subsequently  occupied  by  the  Sudells  and 
Liveseys.  Richard  Falkner  married  Dorothy,  daughter  and  heiress  of  John  Moss,  of 
Little  Hoole.  No  issue  of  this  union  can  be  traced.  "Dorothy,  wife  of  Richard 
Falkner,  of  Blackburn,  gent.,"  was  buried  Oct.  27th,  1753.  Mr.  Richard  Falkner 
was  elected  a  Governor  of  the  Grammar  School  in  1739,  and  continued  a  Governor  until 
1 782,  when  he  resigned.  He  was  then  in  advanced  age.  He  does  not  seem  to  have 
died  at  Blackburn. 

FLEMING  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Mr.  John  Fleming  of  Blackburn,  born  in  1778,  was  one  of  the  most  enterprising 
merchants  of  the  town  half  a  century  ago.  He  was  a  trustee  for  the  rebuilding  of  the 
Parish  Church  in  1819,  and  having  purchased  the  materials  of  the  old  Church,  he  used 
them  in  the  erection  of  the  blocks  of  building  forming  the  square  called  "Fleming 
Square,"  built  in  1824,  once  a  busy  mart,  but  now  comparatively  forsaken.  Mr. 
Fleming  was  a  foremost  man  in  town's  affairs  before  the  Improvement  Commission 
had  been  appointed.  He  died  Oct.  3rd,  1842,  aged  64  years.  His  tomb  is  in  the 
Parish  Churchyard.  He  married  Miss  Ann  Walker;  and  she  died  May  7th,  1815, 
aged  35.  Mr.  Fleming  had  no  children. 


MERCHANTS  AND  MODERN  GENTRY.  -  395 

GLOVER  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Mr.  Isaac  Glover,  of  King-street,  partner  in  the  firm  of  Pryme  and  Glover,  who 
built  the  large  house  afterwards  purchased  by  Mr.  William  Hoole,  was  elected  a 
Governor  of  the  Grammar  School  in  1789.  By  his  wife  Mary,  he  had  two  sons, 
Thomas,  born  May  23rd,  1 795 ;  and  James ;  and  also  daughters,  Elizabeth,  Ann,  and 
Mary.  Mr.  Isaac  Glover  died  at  Blackburn,  April  1 7th,  1812,  aged  51.  Mary 
Glover,  his  widow,  died  July  3rd,  1816,  aged  59  years. 

Mr.  Thomas  Glover,  in  1819  a  trustee  for  the  rebuilding  of  the  Parish  Church, 
was  eldest  son  of  Isaac.  His  brother,  Mr.  James  Glover,  of  Blackburn  in  1819,  after- 
wards resided  near  Exeter. 

HARGREAVES  OF  NEWCHURCH  AND  BLACKBURN. 

George  Hargreaves  was  father  of  John  Hargreaves  of  Balladen,  who  died  in  1706, 
and  who,  by  Margaret  his  wife,  daughter  of  Ralph  Nuttall,  of  Coupe  (she  died  in 
1716),  had  issue  sons,  John,  born  in  1668;  and  Henry,  born  in  1673;  also  daughters, 
Elizabeth,  Mary,  and  Ann. 

John  Hargreaves  of  Newchurch,  gent.,  eldest  son  of  John,  married  Elizabeth 
Nuttall,  and  died  without  issue,  aged  72,  Oct.  nth,  1740. 

Henry  Hargreaves  of  Balladen,  brother  of  the  last  John,  married  Susan,  daughter 
of  Richard  Whitaker  of  Rawtenstall,  and  had  issue,  sons,  John,  born  July  8th,  1 709 ; 
George,  a  clergyman ;  Richard  ;  Henry,  of  Lancaster ;  James ;  and  daughters,  Ann, 
wife  of  Rev.  Streynsham  Master,  Rector  of  Croston ;  and  Margaret,  wife  of  Mr. 
John  Lonsdale  of  Haslingden.  Mr.  Henry  Hargreaves  died,  aged  62,  Feb.  nth,  1735. 

John  Hargreaves  of  Newchurch,  gent.,  was  eldest  son  of  Henry.  He  married 
Susannah,  daughter  of  James  Hargreaves  of  Goodshaw  Fold  (she  died  in  I777>  aged 
54),  and  had  one  son,  Henry,  born  Dec.  1 3th,  1741 ;  and  daughters,  Elizabeth  (married, 
first,  Mr.  John  Woodhead  Blakey;  secondly,  Mr.  William  Yates  of  Bury);  Margaret, 
Nancy,  and  Mary.  Mr.  John  Hargreaves  died  June  7th,  1796,  aged  87  years. 

Henry  Hargreaves,  gent.,  of  Newchurch,  married  Susan,  daughter  of  John 
Lonsdale  of  Haslingden,  gent,  (she  died,  aged  86,  May  24th,  1841).  Issue,  sons, 
John,  of  Blackburn ;  Henry,  of  Beardwood,  Blackburn ;  George,  of  Newchurch,  J.  P. ; 
and  Richard;  daughters,  Susannah,  wife  of  Mr.  George  Ormerod,  of  Greensnook; 
Margaret;  Mary,  wife  of  Dr.  James  Crabtree  of  Newchurch;  Elizabeth  Ann,  wife  of 
Mr.  Harry  Bolton  of  Colne,  solicitor  (father  of  Mr.  John  Bolton,  County  Court 
Registrar,  of  Blackburn);  and  Alice  Martha,  wife  of  Dr.  John  Crabtree  of  Newchurch. 
Henry  Hargreaves,  Esq.,  died  Dec.  22nd,  1829,  aged  88. 

John  Hargreaves,  Esq.,  of  Larkhill-house,  Blackburn,  was  eldest  son  of  Henry, 
born  Oct.  I2th,  1783.  Admitted  as  an  attorney  in  1806,  and  commenced  practice  at 
Colne;  appointed  Coroner  for  Blackburn  Hundred  in  1810,  and  held  that  office  until 
January,  1865.  He  served  as  Captain  in  the  Blackburn  Local  Militia  in  1803-4.  In 
Blackburn  he  commenced  legal  practice  as  partner  with  the  late  Mr.  William  Carr. 
He  held  in  succession  the  offices  of  Clerk  to  the  Police  Commissioners;  to  the 
Improvement  Commissioners  (1847);  and  of  Town  Clerk  of  Blackburn  (1851-4).  Mr. 
John  Hargreaves  married,  Oct.  I2th,  1812,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Mr.  Robert 
Hargreave,  of  Bury  (she  died,  aged  79,  Jan.  22nd,  1862);  and  had  issue,  one  son, 
Henry  Unsworth;  and  daughters,  Susannah,  Margaret,  Mary,  Elizabeth,  Henrietta 
Alice;  Ann  Jane,  married  Rev.  Wm.  Brewster,  M.A. ;  and  Isabella,  married  Dr. 
A.  C.  Pope.  John  Hargreaves,  Esq.,  died  at  Larkhill,  Blackburn,  in  his  9ist  year, 
Dec.  2ist,  1873. 


396  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Mr.  Henry  Unsworth  Hargreaves  succeeded  his  father  as  Coroner  for  the 
Blackburn  district  in  1865. 

Henry  Hargreaves  of  Beardwood,  Esq.,  brother  of  John  Hargreaves,  Esq., 
married,  Jan.  25th,  1830,  Margaret,  adopted  daughter  of  the  late  John  Cunliffe,  Esq., 
banker,  and  had  issue.  Mr.  Henry  Hargreaves  died,  aged  82,  July  3ist,  1872. 

HAWORTH    OF  SHEARBANK,  &c. 

William  Haworth,  and  Richard  Haworth,  both  of  Blackburn,  were  taxed  to  the 
Subsidy  in  1523. 

George  Haworth  of  Blackburn,  and  Nicholas  Haworth,  of  the  same,  were  assessed 
to  a  Subsidy  in  1570. 

Thomas  Haworth  of  Blackburn,  and  William  Haworth,  of  the  same,  paid  the 
Subsidy  levied  in  1610.  In  the  records  of  the  Chancery  Court  of  Lancaster  is  found 
the  petition,  dated  1608,  of  Thomas  Haworth,  clerke,  executor  of  the  Will  of  Thomas 
Talbot  of  Bashall,  Esq. ,  which  sets  forth  that  the  executors  nominated  were  Thomas 
Hesketh  and  Ralph  Ashton,  Esqrs. ,  and  complainant,  Thomas  Haworth,  but  that  the 
two  first  refused  to  intermeddle. 

"William  Haworthe  of  Shearebanke,"  Blackburn,  was  buried  July  2nd,  1627. 

Ralph  Haworthe  of  Shearbank,  died  Sept.,  1636.'    Ralph  Haworth,  a  warden  of 
Blackburn  Church,  December,  1636,  was  probably  a  son  of  this  Ralph. 
A      William  Haworth,   of  Blackburn,   yeoman,  married,  November  25th,  1694,  Ann 
Hopkinson.     Thomas  Haworth,  of  Blackburn,  married  Ann  Dobson,   of  Whalley, 
June  30th,  1695. 

HAWORTH  OF  FACTORY  HILL,  &c. 

John  Haworth  of  Blackburn,  yeoman,  married,  in  1729,  Martha  Hall,  and  had  issue. 

William  Haworth  of  Blackburn,  yeoman,  by  Elizabeth  his  wife,  had  sons, 
John,  bapt.  Aug.  5th,  1733;  Thomas,  bapt.  Aug.  7th,  1737;  William,  of  Blackburn, 
died  in  1781;  and  other  issue.  William  Haworth,  the  father,  died  in  Sept.,  1758. 
His  wife  Elizabeth  died  in  May  of  the  same  year. 

Thomas  Haworth,  of  Reviclge  Fold,  Blackburn,  yeoman,  second  son  of  William, 
married,  in  1763,  Susan,  daughtec.of  Mr.  Robert  Lonsdale  of  Dinkley,  and  had  issue, 
William,  born  1764,  died  1767  ;  John,  born  1766,  died  1772;  a  second  William,  born 
1771  ;  Elizabeth,  born  1768  ;  and  Jennet,  wife  of  Mr.  Thomas  Ainsworth.  He  was 
a  Governor  of  the  Grammar  School,  and  died  in  1777. 

John  Haworth,  of  Blackburn,  yeoman,  eldest  son  of  William,  married,  August 
1 4th,  1766,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Richard  Ellingthorpe,  gent,  (she  died  May,  1804, 
aged  73),  and  had  issue,  sons,  William,  died  in  infancy,  June  23rd,  1775;  Richard, 
bapt.  Jan.  nth,  1774,  died  June  2lst,  1775;  William  Ellingthorpe,  bapt.  May  27th, 
1778,  died  unmarried,  March  24th,  1805,  aged  26;  a  second  Richard,  bapt.  Nov.  24th, 
1780;  John,  born  Oct.  2nd,  1783,  buried  April  igth,  1802;  Wilkinson;  and  Hatherton; 
and  daughters,  Dorothy,  born  1771,  died  1775;  Elizabeth;  and  a  second  Dorothy. 
John  Haworth,  yeoman,  died,  aged  55,  and  was  buried  at  Blackburn,  Jan.  29th,  1789. 

Richard  Haworth  of  Northgate,  Blackburn,  draper,  after  of  Factory  Hill,  cotton 
manufacturer,  was  fourth  son  of  John.  He  married  Elizabeth  Pomfret  (who  died  Aug. 
1 6th,  1848,  aged  72),  and  had  issue,  sons,  John,  born  May  I5th,  1803,  died  May  2lst, 
1807;  a  second  John,  born  Dec.  8th,  1812,  went  to  India,  and  has  not  been  heard  of 
since  1834;  and  William,  born  in  1816,  died  unmarried  in  1840;  and  daughters.  Ann, 
born  1802,  died  1807;  Elizabeth,  born  in  1805,  married  Mr.  William  Hart,  and  was 
mother  of  Mr.  Thomas  Hart,  Richard  Haworth  Hart,  and  William  Hart ;  a  second 


MERCHANTS  AND  MODERN  GENTRY.  397 

Ann,  born  1807;  Mary,  born  1808,  died  unmarried,  1853;  Margaret,  born  1810,  died 
unmarried,  1836;  Jane,  born  1814,  died  unmarried;  Alice,  born  1817,  married  Mr. 
Mc.Myn;  and  Dorothy,  born  1821,  married  Rev.  Wm.  Ellison.  Mr.  Richard 
Ha  worth,  in  1826,  by  an  accident,  shot  his  relative,  Mr.  Richard  Ellingthorpe.  He 
died,  aged  60,  April  5th,  1842. 

HAWORTH  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Peter  Haworth  of  Lower  Darwen  (son  of  Thomas),  who  died  in  1677,  by  Grace  his 
wife  (she  died  a  widow,  in  Dec.,  1698),  was  father  of— 

Richard  Haworth  of  Blackburn,  apothecary,  died  in  1694,  buried  Oct.  5th.  By 
his  first  wife  he  had  sons  Thomas  and  John.  He  married,  secondly,  Feb.  22nd,  1681, 
Jennet  Bentley,  and  had  issue,  Peter,  born  1682;  Henry,  born  1689;  Richard, 
born  1691 ;  and  Grace,  born  1685.  Oct.  29th,  1694,  letters  of  tuition  and  curation  were 
granted  to  Randle  Feilden  of  Blackburn,  chapman,  and  Robert  Feilden  of  Great 
Harwood,  mercer,  of  the  persons  and  estate  of  Peter  Haworth,  aged  12  years;  Grace, 
aged  9 ;  Henry,  aged  5 ;  and  Richard,  aged  3 ;  children  of  Richard  Haworth  of 
Blackburn,  apothecary,  deceased. 

Thomas  Haworth  of  Blackburn,  gent.,  eldest  son  of  Richard,  died  in  1699. 
He  married  Margaret  Livesey.  Letters  of  Administration  were  granted  to  his  widow, 
Jan.  6th,  1700.  He  had  sons,  John,  Peter,  and  Thomas  (ancestor  of  the  Haworths  of 
Dunscar  and  Bolton-le-Moors). 

Mr.  Henry  Haworth,  of  Blackburn,  apothecary  (second  son  of  Richard),  by 
Martha  his  wife,  had  issue,  sons,  Thomas,  bapt.  Feb.  5th,  1715;  Robert,  born  and  died 
1719;  Henry,  bapt.  April  7th,  1723;  Robert,  born  1725;  and  John,  born  1727; 
daughters,  Mary,  born  and  died  1717  ;  a  second  Mary,  born  1720;  and  Ann,  born  1723. 
Mr.  Henry  Haworth  became  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1720. 

Mr.  Thomas  Haworth  of  Blackburn,  surgeon  and  apothecary,  by  his  wife  Sarah 
(who  died  in  April,  1746),  had  a  son  Henry,  bapt.  Sept.  2ist,  1743;  and  daughters, 
Mary,  married  Jan.  1st,  1767,  Mr.  Wm.  Peel,  of  Church-bank,  brother  to  the  first  Sir 
Robert  Peel,  Bart. ;  and  Sarah,  wife  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Armitstead,  Vicar 
of  Mitton.  Mr.  Thomas  Haworth  was  elected  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar 
School  in  1740.  He  died  in  1776.  Letters  of  Administration  were  granted  at  Chester 
to  his  daughters,  Mary  (Mrs.  Peel),  and  Sarah  (Mrs.  Armitstead). 

Robert  Haworth,  a  younger  brother  of  Thomas,  occurs  in  1774  as  "Robert 
Haworth,  surgeon,  of  Clitheroe."  He  was  elected  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar 
School  in  1764.  He  died  in  1786. 

KINDLE   OF  BLACKBURN,  WOODFOLD  PARK,  &c. 

John  Hindle  of  Blackburn,  Merchant,  was  buried  March  22nd,  1754.  Mary,  wife 
of  John  Hindle  of  Blackburn,  quartermaster,  died  Oct.,  1762. 

John  Hindle  of  Blackburn,  chapman,  elected  a  Governor  of  the  Grammar  School 
in  1763;  married,  first,  Feb.  I4th,  1749,  Miss  Ann  Glover  of  Blackburn,  who  died  in 
June,  1751,  leaving  a  daughter  Nancy  Glover  Hindle,  bapt.  Jan.  5th,  1750-1,  married 
Mr.  Bertie  Markland.  By  his  second  wife,  Elizabeth  (died  Jan.  2nd,  1798),  he  had 
sons,  James,  who  died  in  1759;  and  John  Fowden,  bapt.  Feb.  gth,  1757.  Mr.  John 
Hindle,  of  Blackburn,  died  Sept.  I2th,  was  buried  Sept.  I5th,  1776. 

John  Fowden  Hindle,  Esq.,  D.L.,  of  Blackburn,  afterwards  of  Gillibrand  Hall, 
was  educated  at  Manchester  Grammar  School,  entered  in  1769.  He  was  a  Governor 
of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  (elected  in  1/78).  He  had  by  Mary,  his  wife,  sons, 
John  Fowden;  William  Fowden;  Henry  Peter,  died  Dec.  25th,  1798;  Fowden,  born 
1791,  died  1795;  and  Henry  James,  died  Oct.  3ist,  1822,  aged  23;  and  daughters, 
Elizabeth,  married  Oct.  i8th,  1826,  Captain  Hay,  of  the  Carbineers,  and  died  March 
I4th,  1858;  Ann  Murray,  born  1794,  died  1802;  a  second  Ann  Murray,  married,  in 
July,  1838,  Rerv.  —  Green,  of  Blackpool ;  and  Maria,  married,  Feb.  6th,  1833,  to 


398  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Robert  Inman,  Esq.,  of  Lancaster.  The  father,  John  Fowden  Hindle,  Esq.,  purchased 
the  Woodfold  Park  estate,  in  Mellor,  in  1831 ;  and  died  at  Walton  Parsonage,  July 
5th,  1831,  aged  74.  "Mary,  relict  of  John  Fowden  Hindle,  Esq.,"  died  at  her  house  in 
Walton-in-le-Dale,  July  I5th,  1844. 

John  Fowden  Hindle,  Esq.  (son  of  the  last-named),  of  Woodfold  Park,  Mellor 
(his  father  having  bought  that  estate  on  the  sacrifice  of  it  by  Mr.  Henry  Sudell),  served 
the  office  of  High  Sheriff  of  Lancashire  in  1844.  He  died  at  Dublin,  Feb.  7th,  1849. 

William  Fowden  Hindle,  Esq.,  of  Thelwall,  and  of  Percy  Lodge,  Warrington, 
sometime  Captain  in  the  6th  Dragoon  Guards,  brother  of  John  Fowden,  had  daughters, 
Mary  Jane;  and  Maria,  the  latter  died  in  infancy  in  1832.  Mary  Jane,  his  eldest 
daughter,  married,  March  8th,  1839,  George  Frederick  Gregory,  Esq.  Wm.  Fowden 
Hindle,  Esq.,  died  April  1st,  1853. 

HOPWOOD  OF  ROCKCLIFFE,  BLACKBURN,  AND  BRACEWELL. 

Mr.  Robert  Hopwood,  a  native  of  Clitheroe,  came  to  Blackburn  in  1810  to  engage 
in  the  cotton  manufacture.  He  was  founder  of  the  extensive  Nova  Scotia  Mills  in 
Blackburn,  and  died  one  of  the  wealthiest  of  the  local  trade  magnates.  In  1851  he 
was  elected  one  of  the  first  aldermen  of  the  borough.  He  died  July  15,  1853,  in  his 
8oth  year.  He  had  issue  a  son  Robert,  born  at  Clitheroe,  March  25th,  1800;  and 
daughters  Helen  (married  Richard  Hutchinson,  Esq.,  of  Minton  House,  near  Man- 
chester,— younger  son  of  Mr.  John  Hutchinson,  of  Darwen  Chapels,  who  died,  aged  64, 
Jan.  I4th,  1828,  by  Susan  his  wife, — and  was  mother  of  Robert  Hopwood  Hutchinson, 
Esq.,  Mayor  of  Blackburn,  1861-2);  Elizabeth,  born  1806  (married  Jan.  I2th,  1828, 
William  Dudley  Coddington,  Esq. ,  of  Manchester,  afterwards  of  Blackburn,  who  died, 
aged  68,  June  I5th,  1867,  and  was  mother  of  Robert  Hopwood  Coddington,  Esq.,  of 
Liverpool ;  William  Coddington,  Esq. ,  of  Wycollar,  Blackburn,  Mayor  of  Blackburn, 
1874-5;  Charles  Coddington,  Esq.,  of  Southport ;  Richard  Dudley  Coddington,  Esq., 
Frank  Coddington,  Esq.,  and  Albert  Coddington,  Esq.,  of  Blackburn);  Caroline, 
youngest  daughter,  married  June  26th,  1839,  Thomas  Gomersall,  Esq.,  of  Cleckheaton; 
and  Miss  Hopwood,  of  Highfield,  Blackburn,  died  unmarried,  August  28th,  1860. 

Robert  Hopwood,  Esq. ,  of  Rockcliffe,  Blackburn,  and  Bracewell,  son  of  Robert, 
second  Mayor  of  Blackburn  (1852-3),  married  April  3rd,  1828,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of 
John  Turner,  Esq.,  of  Copley  House,  near  Huddersfield  (she  died  in  1874),  and  had 
issue  a  son,  John  Turner;  and  daughters,  Mary  Jane,  died,  aged  5,  in  1836  ;  and 
Emily,  wife  of  Rev.  H.  J.  Marlen,  M.A.,  incumbent  of  St.  John's  Church,  Blackburn, 
now  of  Ambleside.  Robert  Hopwood,  Esq.,  died  February  igth,  1860,  and  was 
buried  at  Bracewell  Church.  He  was  lord  of  the  manor  of  Bracewell  by  purchase  of 
the  manorial  estate. 

John  Turner  Hopwood,  Esq. ,  of  Bracewell,  only  son  of  the  last-named,  was  M.  P. 
for  Clitheroe  from  1857  to  1865.  He  married,  April  7th,  1858,  Mary  Augusta 
Henrietta,  third  daughter  of  the  Hon.  Henry  and  Mrs.  Coventry,  and  has  issue  a  son 
and  heir,  born  Oct.  I2th,  1859. 

HORNBY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Hugh  Hornby,  of  Kirkham,  gent.,  third  son  of  Robert  Hornby  (who  was  son  of 
William  and  grandson  of  Richard  Hornby,  of  Newton),  was  bom  in  1719;  married 
Margaret,  daughter  and  heiress  of  Mr.  Joseph  Hankinson,  of  Kirkham,  by  his  wife 
Alice,  daughter  of  John  Sudell,  gent. ,  of  Blackburn.  Issue,  sons,  Rev.  Hugh  Hornby ; 
John,  of  Blackburn;  William,  and  Thomas,  both  of  Kirkham;  Robert;  and  Joseph, 
of  Ribby  Hall;  daughters,  Alice,  wife  of  Mr.  Richard  Birley,  of  Blackburn;  and 
Elizabeth.  Mr.  Hugh  Hornby  died  in  Feb.,  1781. 


MERCHANTS  AND  MODERN  GENTRY. 


399 


John  Hornby,  of  Blackburn  and  Raikes  Hall,  Esq.,  born  July  2nd,  1763,  married 
Alice  Kendall,  daughter  of  Daniel  Backhouse,  Esq.  (she  died  Dec.  8th,  1827);  and 
had  issue,  sons,  John,  died,  aged  12,  in  1809;  Daniel;  Robert;  William  Henry;  and  a 
second  John.  Mr.  John  Hornby  the  father  settled  in  Blackburn  as  a  merchant ;  and 
was  head  of  the  firm  of  Hornby  and  Birley,  that^founded  the  Brookhouse  cotton  mills. 
He  was  a  trustee  for  rebuilding  the  Parish  Church  in  1819.  His  Blackburn  residence 
was  the  house  in  King-street,  built  by  Mr.  Markland.  Mr.  John  Hornby  died,  aged 
77,  Jan.  29th,  1841;  a  handsome  monument  to  his  memory  stands  in  the  churchyard 
of  St.  John's  Church. 

Daniel  Hornby,  Esq.,  of  Raikes  Hall,  eldest  surviving  son,  bora  June  23rd,  1800, 
married  Frances,  daughter  of  Mr.  John  Birley,  and  had  issue.  He  died  Oct.  23rd,  1863. 

Rev.  Robert  Hornby,  Vicar  of  Walton-in-le-Dale,  was  next  brother,  born  in  1804. 
He  married  Maria  Leyland,  daughter  of  Sir  William  Feilden,  Bart.,  and  had  issue  four 
sons  and  seven  daughters. 

William  Henry  Hornby,  Esq.,  of  Brookhouse  Lodge,  Blackburn,  and  of  Poole 
Hall,  Co.  Chester,  third  son  of  Mr.  John  Hornby,  was  born  July  2nd,  1805.  He 
married,  May  igth,  1831,  Margaret  Susannah,  daughter  and  sole  heir  of  Edward 
Birley,  Esq. ,  of  Kirkham.  Issue,  sons.  John,  born  Dec.  2nd,  1832 ;  Edward  Kenworthy 
Hornby  born  June  l6th,  1839  (M.P.  for  Blackburn,  1869-74);  Henry  Sudell,  born 
July  4th,  1840,  died  in  infancy;  William  Henry  Hornby,  junior,  born  August  29th, 
1841  (first  Chairman  of  Blackburn  School  Board,  1871-6);  Cecil  Lumsden,  born  July 
25th,  1843;  and  Albert  Neilson  (the  noted  cricketer),  born  Feb.  loth,  1847;  also 
daughters,  Elizabeth  Henrietta,  Frances  Mary,  Augusta  Margaret,  Caroline  Louisa. 
Wm.  Henry  Hornby,  Esq.,  is  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School.  He  was 
first  Mayor  of  Blackburn  in  1851-2  (see  p.  376);  was  returned  to  Parliament  as 
Member  for  Blackburn  in  March,  1857,  and  sat  for  the  borough  in  four  successive 
Parliaments,  until  March,  1869,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Edward.  Mr. 
Hornby  is  in  the  Commission  of  the  Peace  for  Lancashire  and  also  for  Cheshire. 

John  Hornby,  Esq.,  fourth  son  of  John  Hornby,  Esq.,  of  Blackburn,  born  Aug. 
igth,  1810,  married  Margaret,  daughter  of  Rev.  Chr.  Bird,  and  had  issue  a  son  John 
Frederick,  bora  in  1846.  He  was  elected  M.P.  for  Blackburn  in  July,  1841,  re-elected 
in  July,  1847,  and  held  the  seat  until  1852. 

LEYLAND  OF  BLACKBURN. 

It  was  from  a  family  of  Leylands  settled  at  Kirkham  (of  which  Col.  Fishwick 
gives  the  descent  in  the  "History  of  Kirkham,"  p.  196),  that  the  Leylands  of 
Blackburn  were  derived.  Christopher  Leyland,  of  Kirkham,  who  died  in  1716,  by 
Margaret  his  wife,  had  a  son  John. 

John  Leyland,  of  Kellamergh,  later  of  Blackburn,  by  Elizabeth,  his  wife,  had  sons, 
Christopher  Leyland,  of  Kellamergh ;  Thomas,  a  clergyman ;  Joseph,  Ralph,  John  ;  and 
William,  of  Blackburn.  John  Leyland  was  buried  at  Blackburn,  Jan.  2nd,  1744-5. 
Elizabeth,  his  wife,  died  Oct.  1 2th,  1734,  aged  74. 

William  Leyland,  of  Blackburn,  merchant  and  gentleman,  a  townsman  of  good 
standing  a  century  ago,  married  Cicily,  daughter  of  Thomas  Shepherd  Bu4ey,i  gent. , 
and  then  widow  of  Edward  Rigby  of  Freckleton  (by  whom  she  had  a  daughter  Mary, 
described  in  1767  as  "Mary  Rigby  of  Blackburn,  spinster").  About  17405  Mr. 
William  Leyland  built  for  his  residence  the  large  brick  house  in  King-street,  Black- 
burn (now  occupied  as  offices  by  Messrs.  Dixon  Robinson  and  Sons),  and  which  bears 
on  its  front  the  initials  "  W  L  C"  (William  and  Cicely  Leyland),  and  the  date  "1741." 
By  Cicely  his  wife  he  had  no  male  issue,  but  the  following  daughters : — Jane,  married, 


400  HISTORY    OF  BLACKBURN. 

in  1753,  Thomas  Langton  of  Kirkham,  merchant;  Elizabeth,  buried  Feb.  29th,  1735-6 ; 
Margery,  baptized  Sep.  27th,  1734,  buried  Dec.  6th,  1735.  Elizabeth — Margaret, 
twins,  baptized  May  i6th,  1737;  one  of  the  twins,  Elizabeth,  was  buried  Nov.  27th 
in  the  same  year;  the  other,  Margaret,  married  Sep.  25th,  1762,  Joseph  Feilden,  Esq., 
of  Blackburn,  and  died,  aged  89,  in  1826.  Mr.  William  Leyland  was  elected  a 
Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1743-  Cicely,  his  wife,  died  April  26th, 
1753,  aged  57,  and  was  buried  at  Blackburn  Church,  April  28th.  By  his  Will,  dated 
July  1 8th,  1763,  Mr.  William  Leyland  bequeathed  £,200  in  trust  for  the  foundation  of 
the  Girls'  Charity  School  in  Blackburn,  which  was  established  the  following  year,  and 
a  school  building  erected  in  Thunder  Alley.  William  Leyland,  Esq.,  died  Nov.  1 2th, 
1764. 

LIVESEY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Richard  Livesey  of  Manchester,  living  in  1 782,  was  brother  of — 

Robert  Livesey   of  Manchester  and   Blackburn,  gent,   elected  a   Governor  of 

Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1760,  and  died  at  Blackburn,  1763,  buried  July  roth. 

He  had  a  son  John ;  and  a  daughter  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Thomas  Livesey,  Esq. ,  of 

Blackburn  (see  ante,  pp.  224-6). 

John  Livesey  of  Blackburn,  "chapman"  and  "Esq.,"  son  of  Robert,  married, 

Jan.  23rd,   1772,  Mary,  daughter  of  Samuel  Clowes,  Esq.,  of  Manchester,  and  had 

issue,  sons,  Robert,  bapt.  Feb.  27th,  1774;  Thomas,  born  June  27th,  1784;  and  John 

Pearson;   also  daughters,   Mary,  born  1772;  Elizabeth,  born    1778;  Frances,   born 

1781  ;  and  Anne. 

LIVESEY  OF  BRINDLE,  BLACKBURN,  &c. 

John  Livesey  of  Hoghton,  yeoman,  married  a  Miss  Nickson,  and  had,  with  other 
issue,  sons,  Thomas,  James,  and  John.  Mr.  John  Livesey  died,  aged  81,  April  3rd,  1820. 

Thomas  Livesey,  Esq.,  of  Crabtree  House,  Brindle,  and  of  Blackburn,  cotton 
spinner,  son  of  John,  by  Dorothy  his  wife  (she  died  Sept.  8th,  1843,  aged  73),  had 
sons,  James ;  John ;  and  Richard  Nickson  ;  and  several  daughters. 

James  Livesey,  Esq.,  of  Blackburn,  after  of  Beach  Hill,  Fairfield,  near  Liverpool, 
eldest  son  of  Thomas,  married  Ann,  eldest  daughter  of  R.  Edleston,  Esq.,  solicitor,  of 
Blackburn  (she  died  Feb.  2nd,  1865),  and  has  issue,  sons,  Thomas  Livesey,  Esq., 
married  Miss  C.  S.  Bates,  of  Croydon ;  and  Richard  Edleston ;  and  daughters,  Anne, 
married  Rev.  Charles  Wright  Woodhouse,  M.A.  (Vicar  of  St.  Peter's,  Blackburn, 
from  1858  to  1874;  and  now  Canon  of  Manchester,  appointed  in  1874,  and  Rector  of 
St.  Andrew's,  Ancoats,  Manchester);  Dora,  married  F.  D.  Lowndes,  Esq.,  of  Liver- 
pool; Ellen,  married  C.  E.  Proctor,  Esq.,  of  Macclesfield ;  Mary;  and  Elizabeth. 

John  Livesey,  Esq.,  of  Blackburn,  now  of  Manchester,  brother  of  James,  married, 
April  4th,  1843,  Elizabeth,  second  daughter  of  Thomas  Cardwell,  Esq.,  of  the 
Demesne,  Lytham,  and  has  issue  two  sons,  Thomas  John,  and  James;  and  one 
daughter,  Dora. 

Richard  Nickson  Livesey,  Esq.,  of  Blackburn,  youngest  son  of  Thomas,  married, 
Jan.  3  ist,  1846,  Mary  daughter  of  John  Lodge,  Esq.  (she  died  July  5th,  1847),  and 
died  March  3oth,  1857. 

MARKLAND    OF  BLACKBURN. 

John  Markland,  by  his  wife  Ellen,  granddaughter  of  John  Entwistle,  Esq.,  of 
Foxholes,  had  a  son  John. 

John  Markland,  of  Manchester,  tradesman  (Constable  of  Manchester  in  1749),  by 
his  wife  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Mr.  Robert  Wilson  of  Manchester,  had  sons,  John, 


MERCHANTS  AND  MODERN  GENTRY.  401 

bom  1740  (who  succeeded  as  heir  to  his  grandmother  to  the  estates  of  Entwistle  of 
Foxholes,  and  took  the  name  of  Entwistle  in  1787);  Robert,  Edward,  Bertie,  Ralph, 
and  Samuel. 

Mr.  Bertie  Markland,  of  Blackburn,  was  the  fourth  son  of  the  above  Mr.  John 
Markland,  born  Oct.  l8th,  1750.  He  commenced  business  in  Blackburn  as  a  merchant 
and  calico  manufacturer;  became  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1774; 
built,  in  1778,  the  mansion  on  the  south  side  of  King  Street,  Blackburn,  afterwards  the 
property  and  residence  of  the  Hornbys ;  and  resided  later  at  Cuerden  Hall.  He  died 
at  Cheadle  Rectory,  May  2Oth,  1817.  An  obituary  notice  of  him,  written  probably  by 
Dr.  T.  D.  Whitaker,  appears  in  the  "Gentleman's  Magazine"  for  1817.  His  wife 
was  Anne,  daughter  of  Mr.  John  Hinclle,  of  Blackburn;  she  died  Oct.  2gth,  1816. 
NEVILL  OF  LIVESEY  AND  BLACKBURN. 

Oliver  Nevell  of  Livesey,  who  died  in  April,  1623  (his  wife  died  in  1621),  had  a 
son  John,  who  died  before  his  father  in  Sept.,  1619,  leaving  sons,  John,  of  Livesey 
(first  of  a  Livesey  branch  of  Nevills),  and  Thomas  ;  and  a  daughter  Margaret. 

Thomas  Nevill,  son  of  John,  married,  in  1614,  Eliz.  Kinge,  and  had  a  son  George, 
born  in  1622,  and  a  daughter  Alice. 

George  Nevill  had  sons,  John  Nevill,  who  married,  in  1665,  Ann  Southworth,  and 
had  four  daughters ;  and  Charles. 

Charles  Nevill  married,  in  1670,  Jane  Benson,  and  by  her,  who  died  in  1710,  had 
sons,  Thomas,  and  John,  born  1679,  ob.  inft. ;  and  a  daughter  Jane.  Charles  Nevill 
died  in  1720.  His  son — 

Thomas  Nevill  of  Blackburn,  yeoman,  appointed  Parish  Clerk  May,  1708,  was 
buried  Aug.  I4th,  1732.  He  married  Ann  Lund,  and  had  sons,  John,  baptized  Oct. 
2nd,  1702;  and  Thomas,  baptized  Oct.  15th,  1710.  His  second  son  was  Thomas. 
Nevill,  of  Blackburn,  attorney-at-law,  who  died  in  April,  1770,  leaving  issue. 

John  Nevill,  eldest  son  of  Thomas,  held  the  office  of  Parish  Clerk  after  his  father. 
By  his  wife  Alice  Brooks  (died  April,  1761),  John  Nevill  had  sons,  Thomas,  died  July, 
1746;  James,  born  1729;  John,  born  1731;  and  Peter,  born  1736.  The  father  was 
buried  March  i6th,  1781.  Peter  Nevill,  younger  son,  succeeded  to  the  Parish  Clerk- 
ship, and  by  Catherine  Cunliffe,  his  wife,  had  sons,  John,  born  1768;  William,  born 
1770;  and  Peter;  daughters,  Betty;  Alice,  married  Mr.  Wm.  Barlow,  attorney;  Sarah, 
and  Jane.  Mr.  Peter  Nevill,  Parish  Clerk,  was  buried  Jan.  I2th,  1790,  aged  53  years. 

James  Nevill  of  Blackburn,  eldest  son  of  John,  by  Martha  Slater,  his  wife  (she 
died  July,  1775),  had  sons,  John,  and  Thomas;  and  daughters,  Alice,  born  1748; 
Mary,  born  1749;  Catherine,  born  1751;  Ann,  Martha,  and  Betty.  James  Nevill 
died  in  May,  1783. 

John  Nevill,   of  Blackburn,  attorney-at-law,  son  of  James,  married  Nov.    I7th, 

1783,  Miss  Ann  Ainsworth,  and  had  issue  a  son  James;    with  daughters,  Ann,  born 

1784,  died  1786;  Elizabeth,  born  1789,   died  March   I3th,    1859;    Mary,   born  Dec., 
1790,   died  Feb.   1st,    1868;    and  Ann,  born  Aug.,  1793,  died  Sep.  4th,  1857.     Mr. 
John  Nevill  died  in  Aug.,  1806. 

His  son,  James  Nevill,  Esq.,  of  Beard  wood,  Blackburn,  attorney-at-law,  born 
Jan.  4th,  1787;  married  Aug.  3Oth,  1823,  Helen,  daughter  of  Mr.  Thomas  Hargreaves, 
of  Oak  Hill,  and  had  issue  a  son  John  Hargreaves,  born  Oct.,  1828,  died  May  I5th, 
1829;  also  the  following  daughters :— Margaret,  born  Oct. ,  1824,  married  Sep.  nth, 
1845,  Henry  Brock-Hollinshead,  Esq.  (died  Mar.  igth,  1858);  Catherine,  bora  Jan. 
6th,  1826,  married  Oct.  24th,  1850,  Rev.  Edward  Parker  (Parker  of  Browsholme), 
Vicar  of  Waddington,  Co.  York;  Helen,  born  Aug.,  1830,  married  Dec.  I7th,  1863, 
Rev.  C.  G.  Hervey;  and  Frances  Mary,  bora  Aug.,  1832,  married,  in  1860,  John 

26 


4o2  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Bolton,  Esq.,  of  Blackburn  (Registrar  of  County  Court),  and  died  Aug.    loth,    1866. 
Mr.  James  Nevill  died  at  Beard  wood,  June  loth,  1848,  aged  61. 
PILKINGTON    OF   BLACKBURN. 

James  Pilkington,  of  Blackburn,  merchant,  by  Mary  his  wife,  had  issue,  sons, 
John,  died  Nov.  I4th,  1800,  aged  1 1  days;  a  second  John,  died  April  I4th,  1805, 
aged  2;  James,  bom  Aug.  29th,  bapt.  Oct.  7th,  1804;  William,  born  Dec.  lyth, 
1807;  a  third  John,  born  in  1 8l 6,  died  Jan.  1 9th,  1828,  aged  n;  Thomas,  died  in 
May,  1814;  and  daughters,  Elizabeth,  died  unmarried,  June  1st,  1864,  aged  65;  Mary, 
married,  in  1837,  Mr.  Edward  Eccles,  of  Liverpool;  and  Ann,  died  in  infancy,  March 
7th,  1814.  James  Pilkington,  Esq.,  the  father,  died  Nov.  3Oth,  1837,  aged  65.  Mrs. 
Mary  Pilkington,  his  widow,  died  Dec.  4th,  1844,  aged  66. 

James  Pilkington,  Esq.,  J.P.,  D.L.,  of  Park  Place  House,  Blackburn,  and  of 
Swinethwaite  Hall,  Bedale,  Co.  York,  M.P.  for  Blackburn  from  1847  to  1865,  is 
eldest  surviving  son  of  the  above.  He  married  (May  2 1st,  1831),  Mary  Jane,  sister  of 
John  Skaife,  Esq.,  M.D.,  by  whom,  who  died  Dec.  ist,  1865,  aged  59,  Mr.  Pilkington 
has  had  issue,  sons,  James  Bowring,  died  Nov.  3rd,  1836,  aged  I  year;  John  William, 
died  April  7th,  1846,  aged  8;  James,  died  March  3rd,  1843,  aged  3;  and  Edward, 
born  Oct.  7th,  1842;  also  daughters,  Ann  Jane,  born  April  26th,  1832,  died  June  4th, 
1875;  and  Mary  Elizabeth,  born  May  2nd,  1844. 

William  Pilkington,  Esq.,  J.P.,  of  the  Grange,  Wilpshire,  near  Blackburn, 
brother  of  James  Pilkington,  Esq.,  filled  the  office  of  Mayor  of  Blackburn  in  1856-7-8, 
and  in  1857  founded  and  endowed  the  Blackburn  and  East  Lancashire  Infirmary.  Mr. 
Wm.  Pilkington  married,  May  igth,  1853,  Martha,  eldest  daughter  of  the  late  Henry 
Shaw,  Esq.  He  has  no  issue. 

RODGETT  OF  BLACKBURN  AND  BRINDLE. 

James  Rodgett,  of  Blackburn,  cotton  manufacturer  in  1818,  died  March  4th,  1826, 
aged  50,  and  was  buried  at  St.  Alban's  Chapel. 

William  Rodgett,  Esq. ,  of  the  firm  of  Livesey  and  Rodgett,  of  Blackburn,  died 
Sept.  I4th,  1849,  aged  68.  He  had  sons,  Joseph  Rodgett,  Esq.,  died  in  1856,  aged 
42 ;  William ;  Edward  ;  and  James. 

William  Rodgett  of  Brindle,  Esq.,  died  May  nth,  1862,  aged  33,  by  Ellen  Jane, 
his  wife,  who  died,  aged  37,  July  3rd,  1864,  had  a  son  Thomas  Livesey  Rodgett,  died 
in  infancy  in  1858,  and  other  issue. 

James  Rodgett,  Esq.,  of  Blackburn,  married,  March  3Oth,  1851,  Isabella,  daughter 
of  James  Bury,  Esq.,  of  White  Ash,  Oswaldtwistle. 

SMALLEY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Thomas  Smalley  of  Blackburn,  mercer,  was  buried  Feb.  2nd,  1705-6. 

Mr.  John  Smalley  of  Blackburn,  chapman,  by  his  wife  Anne,  had  sons,  Thomas, 
bapt.  Jan.  8th,  1719-20;  Richard,  bapt.  Jan.  24th,  1723-4;  John,  bapt.  May  I2th, 
1728;  and  Edmund,  buried  May  3Oth,  1732;  also  daughters,  Alice,  born  1716; 
Ka'therine,  born  1717;  and  Elizabeth,  born  1721.  Anne  Smalley,  wife  of  John,  died 
May  24th,  1732,  in  childbed  of  the  son  Edmund. 

Richard  Smalley  of  Blackburn,  "gent.,"  died  in  Sept.,  1786.  He  had  issue  sons 
and  daughters  who  predeceased  him. 

The  second  son  of  John  Smalley,  of  Blackburn,  chapman,  born  in  1728,  and 
named  John,  I  believe  to  be  the  Mr.  John  Smalley,  of  Preston,  in  1770,  wine 
merchant,  who  is  deserving  of  note  as  having  assisted  with  money  the  inventor 
Richard  Arkwright,  and  as  his  partner  in  a  cotton  spinning  business  at  Holywell,  in 
Derbyshire.  He  died  at  Holywell,  Jan.  28th,  1782,  aged  53. 


MERCHANTS  AND  MODERN  GENTRY. 


SMALLEY  OF  LARKHILL. 


403 


Mr.  Thomas  Smalley  of  Blackburn,  chapman,  son  of  Mr.  Richard  Smalley  of 
Over  Darwen,  married  Oct.  24th,  1749,  Miss  Ann  Sagar  of  Southfield,  Marsden,  and 
had  issue  a  son  Richard;  and  daughters,  Ellen,  married,  Nov.  3rd,  1783,  Mr.  Roger 
Baron  of  Knuzden ;  Ann,  married  Jan.  1 7th,  1800,  Dr.  Abraham  Chew,  of  Blackburn; 
a  daughter  who  married  Mr.  Walton  Freckleton  of  Blackburn ;  Catherine,  died 
unmarried ;  and  Lucy,  married  Mr.  —  Jepson  of  Blackburn.  Mr.  Thomas  Smalley 
was  buried  at  Chapel  Street  Chapel,  Feb.  I4th,  1785,  aged  58.  His  widow,  "old 
Mrs.  Smalley  from  Larkhill,"  was  buried  March  1st,  1810. 

Richard  Smalley,  of  Larkhill,  gentleman,  son  of  Thomas,  acquired  the  mansion 
and  estate  at  Larkhill  in  succession  to  the  Barons  of  Knuzden  and  Larkhill.  He  did 
not  marry,  and  died  at  Larkhill  in  1835,  buried  at  Chapel  Street  Chapel,  Oct.  5th, 
aged  about  80.  Will  dated  Nov.  2lst,  1819. 

Miss  Catherine  Smalley  of  Larkhill,  sister  and  heiress  of  Mr.  Richard  Smalley, 
died  in  1841,  buried  February  I9th,  and  left  her  estate  to  the  heirs  of  her  sister  Mrs. 
Ellen  Baron. 

SUDELL  OF  BLACKBURN  AND  WOODFOLD    PARK,  MELLOR. 

The  Sudell  family,  that  in  its  later  members  held  an  eminent  position  in  the 
commerce  of  Blackburn,  as  well  as  among  the  landed  families  of  the  parish,  can  be 
traced  in  connexion  with  Blackburn  for  longer  than  three  centuries.  John  Sudley,  a 
tenant  of  Chantry  lands  at  Ousebooth  in  Blackburn  in  1548,  was  an  early  member  of 
the  family.  William  Sudell,  living  at  Blackburn  temp.  Elizabeth,  had  a  son  William, 
bapt.  Sep.  I3th,  1601.  James  Sudell,  of  Blackburn,  who  died  in  1629,  had  sons,  John, 
born  in  1603,  and  William,  died  Sept.,  1608. 

John  Sudell  of  Ousebooth,  who  died  Oct.,  1622,  had  sons,  William,  born  in  1602, 
and  James,  born  in  1604.  The  wife  of  John  Sudell  was  buried  in  April,  1632. 

A  later  John  Sudell  of  Ousebooth,  who  died  before  1670,  refers  in  his  Will  to  his 
wife  Margaret,  and  nephews  Thomas  and  Ralph. 

William  Sudell,  of  Blackburn,  had  a  son  John,  born  in  1631.  "Uxor  William 
Sudeli"  was  buried  Oct.  I5th,  1633.  William  Sudell,  of  Blackburn,  was  buried  July 
25th,  1664. 

The  relation  of  the  above  persons  to  each  other  is  obscure.  The  descent  of  the 
Sudells  of  subsequent  note  is  traceable  from  Henry  Sudell,  townsman  of  Blackburn,  who, 
by  Alice  his  wife  (she  died  in  Oct.,  1654),  had  sons,  William,  born  in  1636;  George, 
died  in  1654;  and  Henry,  born  in  1651,  with  other  issue.  "Henry  Sudell  of 
Blackburn  "  was  buried  April  24th,  1680. 

William  Sudell,  apparently  eldest  son  of  Henry,  married,  26th  Feb.,  1654-5 — 
"William,  son  of  Henery  Sudell  of  Blackburn,  and  Jenet,  daughter  of  John  Whaley 
of  the  same."  William  Sudell  had  sons,  Henry,  born  Jan.  I7th,  1658;  John,  born  in 
1662;  and  James,  born  Jan.,  1662-3.  Of  Henry,  the  elder  son,  nothing  beyond  his 
birth  has  been  noted. 

John  Sudell,  of  Blackburn,  son  of  William,  described  as  "yeoman"  and 
"chapman,"  married,  Jan.  5th,  1685-6,  Ann  Ashe.  He  had  issue  the  following: — 
William,  bapt.  Nov.  2ist,  1686;  Henry;  John,  bapt.  Feb.  I5th,  1690-1;  Thomas, 
bapt.  Feb.  5th,  1693-4;  Joseph,  bapt.  Aug.  5th,  1706;  'Alice,  bapt.  April  7th,  1689; 
Ann,  born  1697,  married  Rev.  Wm.  Vauclrey;  Jennet,  bapt.  Sept.  24th,  1699;  Eliza- 
beth, bapt.  March  5th,  1701-2,  married,  in  1721,  Henry  Feilden,  of  Blackburn,  gent.  ; 
and  Jane,  bapt.  Oct.  28th,  1704,  married  John  \\halley,  gent.  The  father,  "Mr.  John 
Sudell  of  Blackburn,  senr.,"  was  buried  April  22nd,  1739.  His  wife — "Ann,  wife  of 


\1        A  I 


404  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

John  Sudell  of  Blackburn,  gent.,"— was  buried  Jan.  ist,  1733-4.     Mr.  John  Sudell  had 
been  elected  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1690. 

William  Sudell,  of  Blackburn,  Merchant,  was  eldest  son  of  Mr.  John  Sudell ;  he 
married,  Aug.  24th,  1714,  Mrs.  Jane  Wagstaffe  of  Manchester.  His  only  son,  John, 
bapt.  Feb.  5th,  1718-9,  was  buried  April  28th,  1^32,  at  the  age  of  13  years.  Mr. 
William  Sudell  had  also  two  daughters,  Ann,  b'apt.  Sept.  I5th,  1717;  and  Lydia, 
bapt.  March  5th,  1720-1.  In  1721,  Mr.  William  Sudell  was  joint  purchaser,  with 
Henry  Feilden  and  William  Baldwin,  of  the  Manor  of  Blackburn,  but  afterwards  his 
share  of  the  estate  was  conveyed  to  the  Feildens.  Concerning  his  two  daughters  and 
their  alliances,  Canon  Raines  notes,  that,  after  the  death  of  their  father,  they  became 
co-heiresses  of  their  grandfather,  Mr.  John  Sudell.  "Ann  Sudell,  the  elder  daughter, 
married,  Dec.  3ist,  1736,  Thomas  Johnson  of  Tyldesley,  Esq.,  Sheriff  of  Lancashire 
in  1752  (being  his  first  wife),  and  dying  in  childbed  Nov.  2Oth,  1739,"  left  issue 
"a  sole  child,  Anne  Johnson,  born  in  1739,  ob.  1825,  and  who  married  Charles 
Forde,  of  Claremont,  Esq. "  Lydia,  the  other  sister  and  co-heiress,  married  Robert 
Gartside  of  Manchester,  Esq.,  and  also  dying  in  childbed,  left  an  only  daughter, 
Jane  Gartside,  co-heiress  to  her  grandfather  William  Sudell,  Esq.,  married  to  the  Rev. 
John  Parker  of  Brightmet.  Mr.  William  Sudell  wa"s  elected  Governor  of  Blackburn 
Grammar  School  in  1714,  and  must  have  died  about  1725,  for  his  executors,  Mr. 
Henry  Sudell  and  Mr.  Joseph  Hankinson,  paid  a  legacy  of  ^2O  to  the  Grammar 
School  in  December,  1726. 

Henry  Sudell  of  Blackburn,  gent. ,  second  son  of  John  and  brother  of  Mr.  William 
Sudell,  married,  April  25th,  1727,  "Mrs.  Alice  Yates  of  Eccleshill;"  by  whom  he 
had  numerous  children.  The  first  issue  were  twin  sons,  John,  and  William,  bapt. 
Dec.  loth,  1729.  A  pin-cushion,  pricked  on  this  occasion  with  the  initials  "I  A  S'' 
—John  (first-born  of  the  twins)  and  Alice  Sudell  (the  mother)— with  the  year  "1729," 
is  preserved.  The  other  sons  were,  Henry;  James,  born  1737,  died  1740;  a  second 
James,  bapt.  Nov.  27th,  1741,  buried  April  22nd,  1769.  The  daughters — Ann,  bapt. 
Nov.  1 7th,  1731;  Alice,  bapt.  Feb.  I2th,  1734-5;  and  Nancy,  died  Dec.,  1750.  Mr. 
Henvy  Sudell,  the  father,  was  elected  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in 
1725;  and  on  Sept.  1 2th,  1740,  "Henry  Sudell,  of  Blackburn,  gent.,"  was  admitted 
an  in-burgess  of  Preston.  He  died  in  1770,  and  was  buried  at  Blackburn  Church, 
June  1 2th.  His  widow  was  buried  Sept.  2Oth,  1777. 

Both  of  the  elder  twin-sons  of  Henry  Sudell,  John  and  William,  born  in  1 729, 
died  in  the  same  year,  1785.  "  William  Sudell,  of  Lancaster,"  one  brother,  was  made 
a  Governor  of  the  Grammar  School  in  1770;  and  "William  Sudell  of  Hornby,  gent," 
was  buried  at  Blackburn,  March  I4th,  1785,  aged  55.  John  Sudell  of  Blackburn, 
gent.,  died  May  29th,  1785,  aged  55  years; — his  name  is  the  first  inscribed  upon  the 
Sudell  tomb  in  Blackburn  Churchyard.  Mr.  John  Sudell  married,  and  had  a  daughter 
y  Alice,  who  married  Mr.  Joseph  Hankinson,  of  Kirkham,  and  had  a  daughter  and 
heiress  MargaretrHankinson,  who  became  the  wife  of  Mr.  Hugh  Hornby  of  Kirkham. 
Henry  Sudell,  gent. ,  third  son  of  Henry,  and  next  brother  of  John  and  William, 
married,  May  1st,  1763,  "Alice,  daughter  of  James  and  Margaret  Livesey,  of 
Blackburn,  gent ; "  witnesses  of  the  marriage :  Thomas  Livesey  and  John  Sudell.  He 
died  about  seven  months  after  his  marriage,  and  before  the  son  was  born  who  became 
his  heir.  "Henry  Sudell  of  Blackburn,  chapman,"  was  buried  Dec.  27th,  1763.  His 
wife  Alice,  a  widow  in  her  23rd  year  (she  was  born  Jan.  I5th,  1741-2),  survived  in 
widowhood  nearly  60  years,  and  died  of  cancer,  in  1823.  Her  only  son,  Henry,  was 
born  in  1764,  bapt.  May  4th.  Her  epitaph  upon  the  family  tomb  is: — "Alice  Sudell, 
Mother  of  Henry  Sudell,  who  died  July  l8th,  1823,  aged  81  years." 


V 


MERCHANTS  AND  MODERN  GENTRY. 


405 


Henry  Sudell,  posthumous  heir  of  Henry  Sudell,  gent. ,  and  born,  as  stated,  in 
1 764,  was  the  great  Blackburn  Merchant  and  landowner.  On  the  death  of  his  uncles 
John  and  William  in  1785,  Henry  Sudell,  Esq.,  became  chief  representative  of  the 
Blackburn  Sudells,  attaining  his  majority  the  same  year.  He  married,  at  Burwell, 
June  I3th,  1796,  Maria,  daughter  of  Thomas  Livesey,  Esq.  (she  was  born  in  1777). 
The  house  in  Church-street  (now  the  Union  Club)  was  built  by  Mr.  Henry  Sudell 
for  his  town  residence  on  his  marriage  in  1796.  Having  purchased  large  estates  of 
land  in  Mellor  and  Samlesbury,  Mr.  Sudell  enclosed  the  Woodfold  Park  about  the 
year  1799;  and  built  Woodfold  Hall,  Mellor,  an  extensive  mansion  with  a  handsome 
classic  portico.  In  his  day,  Mr.  Henry  Sudell  was  the  most  princely  of  local  traders, 
and  at  the  height  of  his  affluence  about  1820  was  reputed  to  be  a  millionaire.  His 
downfall  was  the  result  of  losing  speculations  on  a  large  scale  as  a  merchant  in  the 
German  and  American  markets.  Mr.  Sudell's  suspension  was  announced  in  July, 
1827,  on  which  he  quitted  Woodfold  Park  with  his  family,  and  never  returned  to  the 
neighbourhood  of  Blackburn.  The  major  portion  of  his  estate  in  Mellor,  including 
Woodfold  Hall  and  part  of  the  Park,  was  settled  upon  his  family,  and  was  sold  about 
the  year  1831  to  J.  Fowden  Hindle,  Esq.  The  residue  of  Mr.  Sudell's  estates,  in 
Pleasington,  Mellor,  and  Samlesbury  townships,  by  order  of  his  assignees  were  publicly 
sold,  in  September,  1828;  they  comprised  about  842  acres  of  land,  and  their  appraised 
value  was  near  ^"60,000.  Mr.  Henry  Sudell  afterwards  resided  at  Ashley  House,  Box, 
near  Chippenham,  Co.  Wilts.  Mrs.  Maria  Sudell  died  at  Box,  April  1st,  1848,  aged  70. 
Mr.  Sudell's  family  were :— Henry,  eldest  son,  born  in  1798,  died  unmarried  at  Ashley 
House,  Aug.  2lst,  1851,  aged  52;  Thomas,  born  Aug.  7th,  1802,  sometime  merchant 
in  Liverpool,  died  at  Ashley  House,  Chippenham,  June  27th,  1857  (he  was  last 
surviving  male  representative  of  the  Sudells  of  Blackburn) ;  John  Joseph,  born  Nov. 
2Oth,  1804,  died  Dec.  I3th,  1808;  a  younger  son,  born  in  1808;  daughters,  Maria, 
died  at  Cheltenham,  Jan.  2ist,  1823,  aged  23;  Lydia,  died  at  Versailles,  July  4th, 
1825;  Alice,  died,  aged  59,  Jan.  2nd,  1858;  and  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Rev.  Dr.  Horlock, 
Vicar  of  Bath,  died,  aged  49,  Jan.  3rd,  1858.  Henry  Sudell,  Esq.,  died  at  Ashley 
House,  near  Bath,  Jan.  3oth,  1856,  at  the  advanced  age  of  92. 

WHALLEY  OF  RISHTON,  BLACKBURN,  SPARTH,  AND  CLERK-HILL. 

The  family  of  Whalley,  of  note  in  the  last  century  as  possessors  of  considerable 
estate  in  this  parish  and  as  connected  by  marriage  with  the  Gardiner  family,  appears 
to  have  sprung  from  an  old  yeoman  stock  seated  in  Rishton  township.  Of  this  family 
was  James  Whalley,  of  Rishton,  assessed  to  the  Subsidy  in  1610.  In  1614,  Thomas 
Whalley,  gent,  gave  IDS.  to  increase  the  stock  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School.  After 
him  comes  Thomas  Whalley  of  Ichill  in  Rishton,  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar 
School  in  1647. 

James  Whalley  of  Sidebight  in  Rishton,  was  buried  at  Blackburn,  July  3Oth,  1687. 
Sidebight  is  close  to  the  west  boundary  of  Rishton  adjoining  Blackburn,  and  the  last- 
named  may  be  one  with  the  "James  Whalley  of  Blackburn,  gent.,"  made  a  Governor 
of  the  Grammar  School  in  1654. 

Next  occurs  Thomas  Whalley,  gent.,  of  Rishton,  assessed  to  the  Subsidy  of  1663, 
whom  I  suppose  to  be  the  Thomas  Whalley  of  Blackburn,  attorney  for  Thomas 
Walmesley,  Esq.,  at  the  Visitation  of  Dugdale  in  1664;  and  also  the  "Thomas 
Whalley  of  Eachill,"  a  Governor  of  the  Grammar  School  of  Blackburn  in  1688.  He 
is  named  Thomas  Whalley  of  Sparth,  gent,  in  a  deed  of  1679;  and  is  stated  to  have 
purchased  the  Clerk-hill  estate  in  Whalley  from  the  Crombocks  in  1699.  Thomas 
Whalley  of  Sparth,  in  Clayton-les-Moors,  gent,  had,  I  think,  these  sons:— James,  his 


406  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

heir,  baptized  June  23rd,  1672;  Thomas,  born  in  1673;  John;  Robert,  buried  Nov. 
27th,  1689;  William,  buried  in  1683;  and  Jonathan,  born  in  1679;  also  a  daughter 
Isabel,  buried  Sept.  I2th,  1683.  A  letter  from  Mr.  Whalley  of  Sparth,  on  the  affairs 
of  Great  Harwood  Church,  dated  1684,  was  by  the  above  Thomas  Whalley,  gent. 
Thomas  Whalley,  senior,  of  Sparth,  was  buried  at  Great  Harwood  Church,  Nov.  I4th, 
1712.  Ellen  Whalley,  widow,  of  Sparth,  was  buried  Oct.  I3th,  1713. 

James  Whalley  of  Sparth,  gent,  son  of  Thomas,  in  1722  purchased  (in  conjunction 
with  Christopher  Baron,  gent.)  the  Manor  of  Oswaldtwistle.  He  was  made  an 
in-burgess  of  Preston  in  1702.  Mr.  James  Whalley  of  Sparth  was  buried  at  Great 
Harwood  Church,  Sept.  I3th,  1734. 

Thomas  Whalley  of  Sparth,  M.  D. ,  brother  of  James,  was  made  a  Governor  of 
Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1711,  and  died  in  1724,  aged  51.  He  was  buried  at 
Great  Harwood  Church,  Dec.  loth,  I724.1 

John  Whalley  of  Blackburn,  gent. ,  another  brother,  continues  in  his  posterity  the 
family  descent.  He  was  elected  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1712; 
and  died  in  1734;  buried  at  Blackburn,  April  4th.  He  had  a  large  family,  including 
sons,  Thomas,  born  in  1698;  John,  bapt.  Nov.  1 7th,  1700;  James;  Joseph,  born 
1705;  and  Robert,  bapt.  July  1 3th,  1713;  and  daughters,  Esther,  born  1701,  died 
1703;  Ann,  died  1709;  Ellen,  born  1711 ;  Mary,  born  1715,  died  1726;  Elizabeth, 
born  in  1718,  married,  in  1741,  Thomas  Pickop;  and  a  second  Esther,  born  in  1720, 
married  John  Starky,  Esq. ,  of  Heywood  Hall. 

Thomas  Whalley  of  Blackburn,  gent.,  son  and  heir  of  John,  was  elected  a  Governor 
of  the  Grammar  School  in  1725.  He  had  sons  John  and  Thomas.  The  father  occurs 
as  "Thomas  Whalley  of  Blackburn,  Esq.,"  in  the  Guild  Rolls  of  Preston,  of  which 
borough  he  and  his  sons  and  brothers  were  in-burgesses.  He  was  buried  at 
Blackburn,  March  5th,  1747-8. 

The  next  brother  of  Thomas  was  John  Whalley,  of  Blackburn,  gent.,  elected  a 
Governor  of  the  Grammar  School  in  1728.  He  married,  Oct.  8th,  1725,  Jane, 
daughter  of  John  Sudell  of  Blackburn,  gent.,  by  whom  (she  died  in  1765,  buried  April 
6th)  he  had  issue,  sons,  John,  born  1739,  died  1740;  Thomas,  born  and  died  in  1741 ; 
and  daughters,  Mary,  born  in  1729;  Elizabeth,  born  in  1735,  baptized  July  1 6th; 
Ann,  born  1738,  died  1740;  a  second  Ann,  born  in  1743;  and  Esther,  born  and  died 
in  1744.  John  Whalley,  Esq.,  died  in  1767. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  last-named  John  Whalley,  gent. ,  had  no  male  issue 
that  survived ;  and  several  daughters  also  died  in  infancy.  One  daughter,  Elizabeth, 
married  Feb.  1 6th,  1764,  Rev.  Robert  Master,  D.D.,  rector  of  Croston,  and  had  a 
daughter  Jane,  who  will  again  appear  in  the  genealogy  of  this  family. 

In  1762,  James  Whalley,  Esq.,  Councillor-at-Law,  brother  of  Thomas  and  John, 
is  described  as  "of  Clerkhill."  Before  the  Preston  Guild  of  1762,  were  enrolled  as 
in-burgesses — "  JohnWhalley  of  Blackburn,  Esq. ;  James,  his  brother,  Councillor-at-Law, 
of  Clerkhill ;  Joseph,  his  brother,  of  Blackburn,  gent. ;  Robert,  his  brother,  of  St.  Gyles, 
Oxford,  M.  D.  ;  John,  his  [Robert's]  son ;  Robert,  his  [John's]  brother ;  James,  his  brother ; 
Thomas,  his  brother."  James  Whalley,  of  the  Middle  Temple,  Esq.,  appears  as  a 

i  Fixed  in  the  head  of  a  pillar,  on  the  south  side  of  Great  Harwood  churchyard,  is  a  brass 
inscribed  with  a  Latin  epitaph  on  "Thomas  Whalley  de  Sparth  in  agro  Lancastrensi,  M.D.  aud 
Collegii  Oriel  apud  Oxoniensis  nuper  socius  haud  ignobilis,  Theologia  fuit  sapiens,  Phylosophia 
prudens,  Botanices  sciens,  Medicinse  speculative  simul  et  Therapeuticse  peritus,  Pretate,  Probitate, 
Candore,  et  Modestia  clarus,  in  egenos  eroganda  pecunia  dives,  Inopi  ferens  opem  et  concilium,  quern 
capella  deDownham  et  Althamet  Harwood  praecipise  munificum,  loquuntur  ultra  vires  studiis  indentus 
et  assidua  sedulitatse  fractus  carnis  exuvias  tibi  consumptas  deposuit  sexto  die  Decembris  Anno  D'ni 
1724  setat.  51,  in  cujus  memoriam  fratres  Johannes  et  Jacobus  H.  P.  M." 


MERCHANTS  AND  MODERN  GENTRY. 


407 


Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  from  1734  until  his  death  in  1780.  In  1762 
four  members  of  this  family  were  at  one  time  on  the  governing  body  of  the  Grammar 
School,  viz.  : — Mr.  John  Whalley ;  Mr.  Joseph  Whalley ;  James  Whalley,  Esq. ;  and 
Dr.  Robert  Whalley. 

Joseph  Whalley  of  Blackburn,  gent.,  another  brother  of  John  and  James,  was  a 
Governor  of  the  Grammar  School  from  1733  until  his  decease  in  Jan.,  1767. 

The  junior  brother  was  Robert  Whalley,  Esq.,  M.D.,  of  Oriel  College,  Oxford. 
Dr.  Robert  Whalley  married  Grace,  only  daughter  of  Bernard  Gardiner,  D.  D. ,  and 
heiress  apparent  of  her  cousin,  Sir  William  Gardiner  of  Roche  Court,  Bart.  By  this 
lady  he  had  issue  sons,  John,  bom  May  26th,  1 743 ;  James ;  Robert ;  and  Thomas. 
Dr.  Robert  Whalley  of  Clerk-hill  was  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  from 
1739  until  his  death  in  1769. 

John  Whalley,  Esq.,  of  Clerk-hill,  first  son  of  Robert,  heired  through  his  mother 
the  estates  of  the  Gardiners;  assumed  in  succession  the  additional  names  of  Gardiner 
and  Smythe,  and  was  created  a  baronet  in  1782,  the  baronetcy  of  the  Gardiners  of 
Roche  Court  having  become  extinct  three  years  before.  Sir  John  Whalley  Smythe- 
Gardiner  died  in  1 797,  having  no  issue  by  his  wife,  Martha,  daughter  of  Dr.  Newcome, 
Dean  of  Rochester,  and  his  estates  passed  to  his  brother  James. 

James  Whalley,  Esq.,  of  Clerk  Hill,  also  in  turn  assumed  the  names  of  Smythe- 
Gardiner,  and  in  his  person  the  baronetcy  was  continued.  He  was  born  in  1748,  was 
M.  A.  of  Magdalen  College,  Oxford ;  and  married,  first,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Richard 
Assheton,  D.D.,  Rector  of  Middleton,  who  died  in  childbed  of  her  first-born,  Sept.  8th, 
1785,  aged  23;  her  monument  in  Whalley  Church  bears  the  pathetic  poetic  elegy  by 
Cooper  which  has  often  been  printed.  The  infant  child  left  at  her  death  was  a  son, 
James.  Sir  James  Whalley  Smythe-Gardiner,  Bart.,  married  for  his  second  wife  his 
kinswoman  Jane,  eldest  daughter  of  Robert  Master,  D.D.,  by  Elizabeth,  daughter  of 
John  Whalley,  Esq.  ;  the  date  of  this  marriage  was  Dec.  3rd,  1 789 ;  and  the  issue, 
four  sons,  Robert ;  John  Master;  William;  and  Thomas  (who  died  in  infancy) ;  and 
four  daughters,  Elizabeth -Jane ;  Barbara-Smythe ;  Grace;  and  Caroline-Margaret. 
Sir  James,  prior  to  his  succession  to  the  title,  was  High  Sheriff  of  Lancashire  in  1783. 
He  died  August  2ist,  1805;  his  widow  died  at  Clerk  Hill  in  1843. 

James  Whalley  Smythe-Gardiner,  eldest  son  of  Sir  James,  succeeded  to  the 
baronetcy,  and  to  the  estates  of  the  Smythe-Gardiner  families. 

Robert  Whalley,  Esq.,  first  son  of  Sir  James  by  his  second  wife,  inherited  Clerk- 
hill  ;  and  added  to  the  estate  by  the  purchase  of  Wiswell  Manor  from  the  Welds  in 
1830.  Robert  Whalley,  Esq.,  dying  unmarried,  the  heir  was  the  next  son  of  Sir  James, 
Rev.  John  Master  Whalley,  Rector  of  Slaidburn,  who  married  Hannah,  daughter  of 
Joseph  Nightingale,  of  Radholme,  but  died  issueless,  Oct.  I7th,  1861,  aged  68. 

William  Whalley,  Esq.,  younger  brother  of  the  above,  died  at  Whalley,  March 
loth,  1860,  aged  63. 

Elizabeth  Jane,  eldest  daughter  of  Sir  James,  widow  of  Samuel  Jellicoe,  Esq.,  of 
Uplands,  Co.  Hants.,  on  the  death  of  her  brother  John  claimed  the  Clerk-hill  estate 
under  her  father's  Will,  and  took  possession  ;  but  after  much  litigation  the  estate  was 
awarded  to  Sir  John  Brocus  Whalley  Smythe-Gardiner,  Bart.,  son  of  Sir  James. 
WILKINSON    OF  ROYSHAW. 

Richard  Wilkinson,  of  Blackburn,  occurs  in  1660;  he  married  Mary,  daughter 
of  Edward  Gillibrand  of  Ramsgreave,  gent. 

Mr.  Evan  Wilkinson,  of  Blackburn,  became  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar 
School  in  1675.  Evan  Wilkinson  of  Royshaw,  yeoman,  was  buried  Sept.  7th,  1706. 
He  had  a  son  William. 


4o8  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

William  Wilkinson,  of  Royshaw,  gent.,  elected  a  Governor  of  the  Grammar 
School  in  1706,  died  in  June,  1744.  His  wife,  Anne  Wilkinson,  died  in  June,  1737. 

Mr.  Evan  Wilkinson  was  the  son  of  Mr.  William  Wilkinson,  bapt.  July  24th,  1715. 

Lawrence  Wilkinson  of  Blackburn,  gent.,  a  "foreign  burgess"  of  Preston  at  the 
Guild  of  1682,  had  sons  John  and  Richard. 

WRAITH    OF   BLACKBURN,    &c. 

Mr.  James  Wraith,  born  at  Mirfield,  Co.  York,  was  father  of — 

Rev.  James  Wraith,  born  at  Elland,  Co.  York,  May  28th,  1734,  became 
minister  of  the  Independent  Church,  Bolton,  in  1772;  in  1782  removed  to  Wolver- 
hampton ;  in  1 792  removed  to  Chorley  in  this  county,  and  was  afterwards  Independent 
minister  at  Hampstead,  Co.  Middlesex.  He  died  May  1st,  1815,  in  his  8 1st  year.  He 
had  sons,  James;  and  Benjamin,  died  at  Liverpool,  aged  81 ;  daughters,  Mary,  Betty, 
and  Priscilla. 

Mr.  James  Wraith,  eldest  son  of  the  Rev.  James  Wraith,  settled  at  Blackburn, 
and  died  here,  in  1806  (buried  at  Leyland  Church).  He  married  Betty  Tassiker  of 
Clayton  Hall,  Leyland,  and  had  issue,  sons,  Hargreave;  Thomas,  born  1789,  died  in 
1824  at  Baltimore,  U.S. ;  James,  born  1791,  died  1806;  and  Charles  James  Fox,  died 
in  infancy;  also  daughters,  Mary,  married  George  Weale;  Betsy,  married  Benj. 
Haslam;  Priscilla,  born  Aug.  27th,  1793,  married  Rev.  John  Alexander,  Minister  of 
Norwich  Independent  Meeting-House;  Ellen,  Agnes,  Dorothy,  Frances,  and  Margaret. 

Mr.  Hargreave  Wraith  of  Blackburn,  chemist,  eldest  son  of  James,  was  born  in 
1787;  married  Phoebe,  daughter  of  Mr.  Adam  Hope  of  Blackburn,  and  had  issue, 
sons,  John  Hope  Wraith,  born  Feb.,  1814,  died  1862,  leaving  issue;  and  Samuel 
Hope  Wraith  (of  Darwen),  born  May,  1817,  married  and  had  issue;  and  daughters, 
Elizabeth,  born  1819,  married  Mr.  William  Dickson;  Lydia,  born  1821,  married  Mr. 
F.  Sharp,  of  Norwich.  Mr.  Hargreave  Wraith  died  Dec.  2nd,  1855,  in  his  6gth  year. 

YATES  OF  BLACKBURN,  STANLEY  HOUSE,  MELLOR,  &c. 

James  Yates  of  Blackburn,  living  in  the  first  half  of  the  seventeenth  century,  and 
descended,  probably,  from  the  older  stock  of  Yate  of  Yate  Bank,  had  two  sons,  James 
and  William.  James  Yates,  eldest  son  of  James,  died  without  issue. 

John  Yates  and  William  Yates  occur  about  1663  as  tenants  of  the  Rectory  in 
Blackburn. 

William  Yates,  of  Blackburn,  gent.,  second  son  of  James,  and  heir  to  his  brother 
James,  is  first  noted  in  1646,  when  he  was  appointed  a  lay  member  of  the  third  classis 
of  the  Lancashire  Presbytery.  He  married,  before  1651,  Ann,  daughter  and  heiress 
of  [John?]  Sharpies  of  Blackburn,  by  whom  he  had  sons,  James,  died  Dec.,  1652; 
William;  John,  born  March,  1651-2;  and  Joseph,  born  Oct.  9th,  1655;  daughters, 
Mary,  born  Nov.,  1652,  married  Mr.  Moseley,  of  Manchester;  Hannah,  born  1656; 
and  Abigail,  born  Oct.,  1660,  married  June  3rd,  1680,  William  Drake,  Esq.,  of 
Barnoldswick,  Co.  York.  Mr.  William  Yates  was  elected  a  Governor  of  Blackburn 
Grammar  School  in  1649;  and  in  1660  is  styled  "William  Yates  of  Blackburn, 
mercer."  He  had  some  estate  in  Mellor,  and  in  1673  leased  certain  lands  of  Blackburn 
Grammar  School  contiguous  to  his  own  there.  William  Yates  was  buried  at  Blackburn, 
March  l8th,  1683-4.  His  relict,  "Mrs.  Ann  Yates  of  Manchester,  widow, "  was  buried 
April  2nd,  1696. 

William  Yates,  of  Blackburn,  Esq. ,  eldest  surviving  son  of  the  above  William,  by 
his  wife  Evangeline  (who  died  in  1713),  had  sons,  William,  buried  March  25th,  1689 ; 
and  Joseph,  bapt.  Dec.  nth,  1687,  and  other  issue.  He  was,  I  opine,  though  the 
descent  is  not  clearly  ascertained,  progenitor  of  the  family  of  Yates  of  Blackburn 


MERCHANTS  AND  MODERN  GENTRY. 


409 


associated  in  business  and  by  marriage  with  the  Peels,  two  or  three  generations  later. 
This  William  Yates,  Esq.,  was  made  a  Governor  of  the  Grammar  School  in  1690,  and 
died  about  1711.  His  Will  is  dated  May  7th,  1711. 

John  Yates,  of  Blackburn,  next  brother  of  William,  died  in  Oct.,  1691.  He  had 
a  son  Thomas,  born  in  1674. 

Joseph  Yates,  gent,  brother  of  William  and  John,  and  younger  son  of  William 
Yates,  senior,  resided  at  Stanley  House,  Mellor;  afterwards  in  Manchester.  He  was 
made  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1678;  and  in  1695,  Joseph  Yates, 
Esq.,  and  John  Clayton  of  the  Green,  gent.,  both  Governors,  had  a  21  years'  lease 
granted  of  29  acres  of  School  land  in  Mellor.  Mr.  Joseph  Yates  married  at  Manchester 
Collegiate  Church,  Dec.  2 1st,  1682,  Margaret  Bootle,  of  Manchester,  and  had  issue, 
sons,  Edmund,  bapt.  Oct.  8th,  1688;  Joseph,  bapt.  April  1 3th,  1690;  Thomas,  born 
1691,  died  1692;  a  second  Thomas,  born  in  1692;  Richard,  born  1693,  died  1719;  John, 
died  1695;  and  Oswald,  born  1704;  daughters,  Ann,  bapt.  Aug.  2Oth,  1685,  married 
Mr.  Henry  Cottam,  of  Liverpool;  Margaret,  born  and  died  Dec.,  1686;  Mary,  born 
1695;  Abigail,  born  1699;  and  Margaret,  born  in  1700.  .By  his  Will,  dated  June 
2lst,  1704,  Joseph  Yates  of  Manchester,  Esq.,  gave  £10  to  the  Poor  Stock  of 
Blackburn.  He  died  in  1705,  and  was  buried  at  the  Collegiate  Church,  Manchester, 
April  1 8th. 

Joseph  Yates,  Esq.,  eldest  surviving  son  of  Joseph  last-named,  of  Manchester, 
afterwards  of  Peel  Hall,  by  Ellen  his  wife,  daughter  of  William  Maghull  of  Maghull, 
Esq.  (she  died  in  1753),  had  sons,  "Maile"  (or  Maghull),  bapt.  Nov.  1st,  1714-5; 
Edward,  born  in  1717;  and  Joseph,  bapt.  July  1 7th,  1722.  "Mr.  Joseph  Yates,  of 
Manchester,"  was  made  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  Feb.,  1712; 
and  was  High  Sheriff  of  Lancashire  in  1728.  He  died  at  Preston,  in  Nov.,  1773,  and 
was  buried  at  Peel  Hall  Chapel,  Dec.  1st. 

Maghull  (or  Maile)  Yates,  Esq.  (eldest  son  of  Joseph),  of  Stanley  House,  Mellor, 
and  Maghull,  by  his  wife  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Humphrey  Trafford  of  Trafford, 
Esq.,  had  issue  two  daughters,  co-heiresses.  Maria,  his  second  daughter  and  co-heir, 
married,  Oct.  2Oth,  1 764,  John  Aspinall,  Esq. ,  of  Standen. 

Joseph  Yates,  of  Manchester,  younger  son  of  Joseph,  entered  the  legal  profession, 
and  was  appointed  Judge  of  the  King's  Bench  and  knighted  in  1763.  Sir  Joseph 
Yates  was  advanced  to  a  judgeship  of  the  Common  Pleas  in  Feb.,  1770,  and  died  at 
Cheame,  in  Surrey,  June  7th,  in  the  same  year.  His  only  son,  Joseph  Yates,  Esq., 
married  Charlotte,  daughter  of  Baron  St.  John  of  Bletsoe. 

YATES  OF  BLACKBURN  AND  BURY,  &c. 

John  Yates  of  Blackburn,  yeoman  and  innkeeper  (of  the  Old  Bull  Inn),  elected  a 
Governor  of  the  Grammar  School  in  1772,  and  died  in  May,  1781,  was  father  of 
William  Yates.  His  widow,  Mrs.  Yates,  died  at  Bury,  aged  84,  in  June,  1797. 

William  Yates  of  Blackburn,  chapman,  born  about  1739,  elected  a  Governor  of 
the  Grammar  School  in  1771 ;  afterwards  was  the  celebrated  calico  printer,  of  Bury 
(see  ante,  p.  217).  He  married,  first,  in  1764,  Mary  Bentley,  and  by  her  (who  died 
in  1768)  had  sons,  Thomas;  and  John,  died  young;  and  a  daughter  Ellen,  wife  of  the 
first  Sir  Robert  Peel,  Bart.  He  had  three  other  wives;  by  his  second,  Ann,  daughter 
of  Edmund  Haworth  of  Walmsley  Fold,  he  had  sons,  Edmund,  Giles,  Jonathan,  William, 
John,  and  Thomas ;  and  daughters  Jane  and  Ann.  His  third  wife  was  Elizabeth  Blakey, 
widow,  daughter  of  John  Hargreaves  of  Newchurch,  gent.  His  fourth  wife,  Ursula 
Robinson,  died,  aged  92,  Dec.  9th,  1852.  Mr.  Yates  died  Jan.  I7th,  1813,  aged  73. 

Edmund  Yates,  Esq.,  of  Fairlawn,  Co.  Kent,  eldest  surviving  son  of  William, 
married,  first,  Mary,  daughter  of  Mr.  Jonathan  Haworth  of  Highercroft,  by  whom 


410  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

he  had  issue,  sons,  Edmund,  died  young  in  1802;  and  Jonathan;  and  a  daughter 
Elizabeth.  He  married  secondly,  in  1809,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Jonathan  Peel, 
Esq.,  by  whom  (she  died  in  1825)  he  had  no  issue.  Edmund  Yates,  Esq.,  died,  aged 
66,  April  24th,  1835.  Mr.  Jonathan  Yates,  his  son  and  heir,  died  before  him,  aged 
26,  in  March,  1829. 

BLACKBURN  INVENTORS. 

BULLOUGH,  James,  a  native  of  West-houghton,  settled  in  Blackburn 
in  1829,  and  while  engaged  with  the  firm  of  Hornby  and  Kenworthy 
patented  several  useful  improvements  in  the  power-loom,  such  as  the 
roller  temple,  weft  fork,  loose  reed,  &c.  He  also,  in  1855,  patented  a 
self-acting  warping  mill.  Mr.  Bullough  afterwards  was  a  cotton  spinner 
at  Baxenden.  He  died  July  3ist,  1868. 

HARGRAVES,  James,  of  Stanhill,  near  Blackburn,  inventor  of  the 
"Spinning  Jenny,"  &c.  (See  ante,  pp.  204-9). 

HARGRAVES,  John,  born  in  Nova  Scotia,  Blackburn,  is  remembered 
as  the  inventor  and  maker  of  a  spinning  frame,  a  carding  engine,  and  a 
bobbin  engine.  On  a  popular  rising  against  machinery,  the  mob  attacked 
his  workshop  and  destroyed  his  machines.  He  had  to  withdraw  from 
the  town,  but  returned,  and  died  in  Blackburn,  towards  the  close  of  the 
last  century.  Mr.  John  Hargraves  Scott,  Mayor  of  Burnley  in  1871-2, 
and  Mr.  William  Dickson,  of  Blackburn,  are  grandsons  of  this  inventor. 

KENWORTHY,  William,  of  Brookhouse  Lodge,  Blackburn,  sometime 
partner  with  Mr.  Wm.  Henry  Hornby  in  the  Brookhouse  Mills,  was  joint 
patentee  with  Mr.  Bullough  in  several  improvements  of  the  power-loom, 
sizing  machines,  &c.  Mr.  Kenworthy  died,  aged  53,  Oct.  i4th,  1856. 
A  handsome  monument  to  Mr.  Kenworthy  was  placed  in  Blackburn 
Parish  Churchyard  in  September,  1858. 

OSBALDESTON,  John,  born  at  Snig  Brook,  Blackburn,  about  the  year 
1777,  patented,  in  1842,  an  improved  power-loom,  and  claimed  to  be  the 
inventor  of  a  number  of  important  improvements  in  machinery  for 
spinning  and  weaving  cotton.  He  derived  no  pecuniary  benefits  from 
his  ingenuity,  however,  and  died  in  Blackburn  Workhouse,  Feb.  i8th, 
1862,  aged  84  years;  he  was  buried  at  Tockholes  Church. 

RAILTON,  Robert,  senior,  of  Blackburn,  was  known  as  the  inventor 
of  improvements  in  machines  for  winding,  warping,  including  the  "twist 
cop  winding  machine,"  the  "hank  warping  mill,"  &c. 

BLACKBURN  AUTHORS. 

BAILEY,  Rev.  John,  Nonconformist  Divine,  a  native  of  Blackburn ; 
author  of  "Man's  Chief  End."  Boston,  U.S.,  1680  (see  ante  pp.  358-9). 

BARLOW,  James,  an  eminent  Blackburn  surgeon,  author  of  "Essays 
on  Surgery  and  Midwifery."  Blackburn:  Printed  by  T.  Rogerson,  1822. 
8vo.  pp.  418.  Mr.  Barlow  died  at  Blackburn,  aged  72,  Aug.  2oth,  1839. 


BLACKBURN  AUTHORS.  4II 

BAYNES,  Alderman  John  (Mayor  of  Blackburn  1858-9),  author  of 
"Two  Lectures  on  the  Cotton  Trade"  (historical,  statistical,  &c). 
Blackburn:  J.  N.  Haworth,  1857.  8vo.  pp.  112.  He  died  Oct.  2nd,  1873. 

BILLINGTON,  William,  a  native  of  Blackburn;  author  of  "Sheen  and 
Shade:  Lyrical  Poems."  Blackburn:  J.  N.  Haworth,  1861.  Svo.pp.  160. 

BOLTON,  Rev.  Robert,  the  Puritan  Divine,  a  native  of  Blackburn ; 
author  of  various  works  (see  pp.  262-6). 

CARDWELL,  Edward,  LL.D.,  a  native  of  Blackburn;  author  of 
numerous  works  in  ecclesiastical  history  (see  p.  391). 

DURHAM,  William,  a  native  of  Blackburn,  died  in  1868  ;  author  of 
"Chronological  Notes  on  Blackburn."  Blackburn:  C.  Tiplady,  1866. 
8vo.  pp.  66. 

FLETCHER,  Rev.  Joseph,  D.D.,  Minister  at  Blackburn,  1806-22; 
author  of  several  published  works  (see  ante,  p.  361). 

GOURLAY,  William,  of  Blackburn,  author  of  "History  of  the  Distress 
in  Blackburn,  1861-5."  Blackburn:  J.  N.  Haworth,  1865.  8vo.  pp.  180. 

GROSART,  Rev.  Alexander  B.,  of  Blackburn,  author  and  editor  of 
"Fuller  Worthies'  Library"  (printed  partially  at  Blackburn,  by  Chas. 
Tiplady  and  Son),  and  many  other  works  (see  ante,  p.  366). 

HUNTER,  Rev.  Thomas,  M.A.,  Master  of  Blackburn  Grammar 
School,  1737-50;  author  of  several  works  (see  ante,  pp.  347-8). 

MORLEY,  John,  of  London,  a  native  of  Blackburn,  son  of  the  late 
Dr.  Morley;  Editor  of  the  "Fortnightly  Review,"  and  author  of  several 
published  works  on  French  literature,  &c. 

PRICE,  Rev.  John,  Minister  of  St.  Paul's  (C.H.)  Church,  Blackburn, 
1799-1841;  author  of  "The  Hearer's  Memorial"  (a  volume  of  Sermons 
preached  in  St.  Paul's  Church);  Blackburn,  printed  by  Wilcockson, 
1816;  and  of  a  Selection  of  Hymns  for  use  in  that  church. 

ROBINSON,  Rev.  Christopher,  D.D.,  Vicar  of  Holy  Trinity  Church, 
Blackburn,  1850-69;  author  of  several  works  on  Biblical  Interpretation, 
&c.  He  died  in  1869. 

SKINNER,  Rev.  Francis,  D.D.,  United  Presbyterian  Minister  in 
Blackburn,  1830-66;  author  of  several  theological  and  controversial 
pamphlets.  He  died  in  1866  (see  ante,  pp.  565-6). 

STARKIE,  Thomas,  Esq.,  M.A.,  Q.C.,  eldest  son  of  Rev.  Thomas 
Starkie,  Vicar  of  Blackburn,  born  at  Blackburn,  April  i2th,  1782,  was 
author  of  treatises  on  the  Law  of  Slander,  Libel,  &c.  (1813),  and  on 
Criminal  Pleadings  (2  vols.,  8vo.,  1814),  with  other  legal  works.  He 
married  Lucy,  daughter  of  Rev.  T.  D.  Whitaker,  LL.D.,  and  died  in  1849. 

WALCOT,  James,  M.A.,  author  of  "History  of  a  Pious  Indian 
Convert;  or,  the  New  Pilgrim's  Progress."  Blackburn:  Printed  by  J. 
Waterworth,  1792.  8vo.  pp.  268. 


4i2  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

WARD,  Rev.  John  (Wesleyan  Minister  at  Blackburn  1868-70), 
author  of  "Rise  and  Progress  of  Wesleyan  Methodism  in  Blackburn," 
&c.  Blackburn:  1871.  8vo.  pp.  80. 

WHITAKER,  Dr.  T.  D.,  Vicar  of  Blackburn,  1818-21,  author  of  the 
"History  of  Whalley "  and  several  other  well-known  topographical  works. 

WHITAKER,  Rev.  J.  W.,  D.D.,  Vicar  of  Blackburn,  1822-54,  author 
of  several  theological  and  controversial  works. 

WHITTLE,  Peter,  of  Preston,  author  of  "Blackburn  as  It  Is;"  1852. 

BLACKBURN  NEWSPAPERS. 

Blackburn  Mail,  started  May  29th,  1793  ;  ceased,  1832. 
Blackburn  Journal,  started  in  1832  ;  ceased  shortly  after. 
Blackburn  Gazette,  started  in  1832  ;  ceased,  1843. 
Blackburn  Mercury,  started  June,  1843  ;  ceased  about  1847. 
Blackburn  Standard,  started  in  1835;  (Patriot,  in  1860). 
Blackburn  Times,  started  June,  1855. 
BLACKBURN  ASSOCIATION  OF  VOLUNTEERS,  A.D.   1798-1804. 

In  the  year  1798,  a  corps  of  250  men  was  raised  to  aid  in  the 
national  defence,  and  was  called  "  Blackburn  Loyal  Local  Association 
of  Volunteers."  The  corps  was  officered  by  members  of  the  Sudell, 
Birley,  Cardwell,  Ferlden,  and  Hornby  families.  The  daily  muster  for 
drill  was  at  5  a.m.  A  pair  of  colours  presented  to  the  corps  by  Mrs. 
Sudell,  on  June  4th,  1800,  were  hung  in  the  Parish  Church  after  the 
association  was  disbanded,  about  1804,  and  later  were  placed  in  the 
Council  Chamber,  Town  Hall. 

In  the  recent  Volunteer  movement  two  strong  corps,  one  of 
Artillerymen  and  the  other  of  Rifles,  have  been  raised  and  maintained 
in  Blackburn.  For  both  corps  permanent  buildings  for  depots,  and 
drill  grounds,  have  been  provided. 

POPULATION  OF  BLACKBURN— A.D.   1801-1875. 

Township  of 
Blackburn. 

Census  of  1871 — Municipal  Borough,  boundaries  coincident  )         , 

with  Township j 

Do.  Parliamentary  Borough,  embracing  portions  log 

of  Witton  and  Livesey j 

Estimated  population,  end  of  1875 — Municipal  Borough,  circa      83,000 
Do.  do.  Parliamentary  Borough,  circa      90,000 


i8oi. 
11,980  . 

1811. 

..  15,082  . 

1821. 
..  21,940  ... 

1831. 

27,091 

1841. 
36,629  ., 

1851. 
•  46,536  - 

1861. 
..  63,126  ... 

1871. 
76,339 

BALDERSTONE  TOWNSHIP  AND  FAMILY.  413 


CHAPTER  IL— THE  TOWNSHIP  OF  BALDERSTONE. 

Situation  of  the  Township,  Acreage,  Population,  &c. — Ancient  Lords — De  Balderstone — Harrington — 
Stanley — Dudley — Radcliffe,  Gerard,  and  Braddyll — Osbaldeston — Sunderland  Grange  and  De 
Sunderland  Family — Osbaldeston  of  Sunderland — Modern  Proprietors — Feilden,  Starkie,  &c. — 
Parochial  Chapel  of  St.  Leonard— Balderstone  Charities,  &c. 


BALDERSTONE  is  situate  in  the  Vale  of  Ribble,  on  the  northern 
side  of  Blackburn  Parish,  and  extends  a  mile  or  so  along  the 
left  bank  of  the  Ribble,  betwixt  Osbaldeston  and  Samlesbury.  Balder- 
stone  is  a  manor,  and  (along  with  Osbaldeston  and  part  of  Mellor)  an 
ancient  parochial  chapelry.  The  area  of  the  township  is  1,710  statute 
acres.  Being  purely  agricultural,  the  population  of  the  township,  which 
was  615  in  1801,  had  decreased  to  475  inhabitants  in  1871.  Two 
centuries  ago  the  chapelry  contained  eighty  families,  about  the  present 
population  of  the  township. 

I  proceed  to  give  some  account  of  the  early  manorial  landlords  in 
Balderstone,  beginning  with  the  family  that  bore  the  territorial  name. 

BALDERSTONE  OF  BALDERSTONE. 

The  descent  deduced  of  the  De  Balderstone  family  makes  it  a 
branch  of  that  of  De  Osbaldeston,  varying  the  name  with  the  place  of 
settlement.  One  of  the  sons  of  Eilfi  de  Osbaldeston  was  William  de 
Balderstone.  He  was  brother  of  Hugh  de  Osbaldeston;  and  was  seated 
in  Balderstone  as  owner  of  lands  there  in  the  year  1223.  He  had  sons 
Richard,  Henry,  Adam,  Alan,  and  Robert. 

Richard  de  Balderstone,  heir  of  William  (living  in  1266),  had  a  son 
and  heir  named  William  de  Balderstone,  whose  successor  was  Richard 
de  Balderstone,  named  in  charters  from  1314  to  1325. 

Several  junior  connexions  of  the  proprietary  family  in  Balderstone 
are  mentioned  in  the  Coucher  Book  of  Whalley  Abbey;  ex.  gr.  Adam  de 
Balderstone;  Roger,  son  of  Adam;  Hugh  de  Balderstone  (A.D.  1290); 
John,  son  of  Hugh.  Simon  de  Balderstone  was  Seneschal  of  Blackburn- 
shire  in  1303. 


4H  HISTORY    OF  BLACKBURN. 

In  the  chief  lineage,  Richard  son  of  William  de  Balderstone  had 
issue,  by  Alice,  his  wife,  daughter  of  Alexander  de  Keuerdale,  a  son  and 
heir  William ;  and  a  daughter  Katherine,  wife  of  Gilbert  de  la  Legh. 

William  de  Balderstone,  who  lived  in  the  reigns  of  the  Second  and 
Third  Edwards,  and  died  before  1330,  by  Johanna  his  wife  had  sons, 
Richard,  who  succeeded ;  and  Thomas,  of  Bretherton ;  also  a  daughter 
Margaret,  married  Geoffrey  de  Osbaldeston. 

Richard  de  Balderstone  married  Agnes,  relict  of  William  Molineux, 
and  had  issue,  sons,  William,  and  Richard.  Richard,  the  sire,  died  in 
1383,  when  the  writ  of  diem  clausit  extremum  upon  the  death  of  Richard 
de  Balderstone  was  issued. 

William  de  Balderstone,  following  Richard,  married  Constancia, 
daughter  of  Edward  Banastre,  and  had  issue  Richard,  his  heir;  and 
Thomas  de  Balderstone;  the  latter,  living  in  1441,  had  a  daughter 
Constancia,  married,  in  1448,  to  James  Leigh.  William  de  Balderstone 
died  in  the  7th  Henry  IV.  (1406),  and  on  Dec.  roth,  in  that  year,  the 
writ  of  diem  clausit  extremum  was  addressed  to  the  County  Escheator 
after  the  death  of  William  de  Balderstone,  who  held  by  Knight  service,  of 
the  inheritance  of  his  late  wife  Constance. 

Richard  his  son  succeeded,  and  on  the  i8th  March,  1421-2,  the 
escheator  received  the  precept  to  give  to  Richard,  son  and  heir  of 
William  de  Balderstone,  full  seizin  of  his  lands,  he  having  sufficiently 
proved  his  age  before  the  escheator.  This  scion  was  knighted.  By 
Johanna  his  wife,  he  had  sons,  William,  and  Richard;  daughters, 
Elizabeth,  (Flower  gives  Anne),  married  to  John  Osbaldeston,  Esq.,  in 
the  year  1461 ;  Ellen,  married  Sir  Thomas  Radcliff,  Knt,of  Wynmarleigh; 
and  Isabella,  wife  of  Sir  William  Atherton,  Kt,  whose  monumental  slab 
is  in  Samlesbury  Church.  These  daughters  were  co-heirs  with  their 
brother  William,  and  each  of  them  carried  to  her  husband  the  fourth 
part  of  the  estates  of  the  family.  Sir  Richard  Balderstone,  Knt.,  died 
Dec.  2oth,  1456.  Inq.  post  mort.  dated  Sept.  25th,  1457. 

William  Balderstone,  lord  of  Balderstone,  son  of  Richard,  married, 
first,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Peter  Gerard;  secondly,  Margaret,  daughter 
of  William  Stanley,  Esq. ;  by  the  latter  wife  he  had  issue  two  daughters, 
co-heiresses,  viz.,  Joan,  or  Jane,1  (married,  first,  Sir  Ralph  Langton, 
Kt.,  and,  secondly,  Sir  John  Pilkington);  and  Isabel,  married  in  1472, 
Robert  Harrington,  Esq.,  of  Hornby  Castle. 

i  By  her  Will  dated  Jan.  2nd,  1497,  Dame  Jane  Pilkington,  widow,  bequeaths  her  body  to  be 
buried  in  the  "  Nunnes  Quier  at  Monckton,"  in  her  habit,  &c. ;  and  "  whereas  Syr  Henry  Huntington, 
Preste,  and  Roger  Radcliffe,  gent. ,  stande  seised  and  be  feoffees  for  and  in  all  my  moyety  of  the  Manor 
of  Balderstone  and  of  all  other  messuages,  landes,  &c.,  which  were  William  Balderstone's  my  father,  in 
the  townes  and  hamlettes  of  Balderstone,  Mellor,  Thornton,  Holme,  Singleton,  Little  Estake,  Hamleton, 
&c.  in  Co.  Lancaster,  and  Rogerthorpe,  Co.  York,  to  me  descended  by  inheritance;"  testator  wills 
that  the  feoffees  suffer  her  to  receive  the  rents  and  profits  of  the  said  lands  during  her  life,  and  after 


DESCENT  OF  BALDERSTONE  MANOR.  4x5 

HARRINGTON,  LORDS  OF  BALDERSTONE. 

Sir  Robert  Harrington,  Knt,  by  his  wife  Isabel  Balderstone, 
heiress  of  a  moiety  of  Balderstone  manor,  had  issue  a  son  James;  and  a 
daughter  Jane,  wife  of  Thomas  Talbot  of  Bashall,  Esq.  He  was  attainted, 
and  his  estates  were  confiscated  by  Henry  VII.  on  account  of  his 
attachment  to  the  party  of  Richard  III.,  after  Bosworth  battle;  and  given 
to  Thomas  Stanley,  Earl  of  Derby.  Sir  Robert  died  about  1497. 

James  Harrington,  son  of  Sir  Robert,  took  holy  orders  and 
became  Dean  of  York.  After  the  death  of  his  father  and  mother,  he  in 
the  year  1503  petitioned  the  King  and  Council  for  the  restoration  of  the 
forfeited  estates  inherited  from  his  mother,  describing  himself  as  "James 
Haryngton,  Prest,  son  and  heir  of  bloode  to  Dame  Isabel,  late  the  wyfe 
of  Syr  Robert  Haryngton,  Knt.,"  and  supplicates  that  he  may  have  ail 
the  lands  he  ought  to  have  inherited  from  his  mother,  Balderstone  manor 
being  chief  thereof,  "saving  that  this  acte  be  not  prejudiciall  to  Thomas 
Erie  of  Derby,  or  Sir  Edward  Stanley,  and  their  respective  heirs."  This 
appeal  was  granted  by  the  Crown,  and  the  lands  were  given  to  James 
Harrington  for  his  life.  In  the  escheat  of  Edmund  Dudley,  in  1510,  it 
is  mentioned  that  at  that  date  James  Harrington  held  in  fee  half  the 
manor  of  Balderstone.  He  died  in  1512.  The  estates  then  reverted 
to  the  Earl  of  Derby. 

STANLEY,  EARLS  OF  DERBY,  LORDS  OF  BALDERSTONE,  &c. 

Thomas  Stanley,  created  first  Earl  of  Derby,  in  1485,  received  from 
Heniy  VII.,  in  reward  for  his  great  service  at  Bosworth-field,  the  forfeited 
estates  of  Sir  Robert  Harrington  of  Hornby,  lord  of  Balderstone;  of 
Francis,  Viscount  Lovel,  lord  of  a  moiety  of  Samlesbury  Manor;  of  Sir 
Thomas  Pilkington ;  and  of  other  great  proprietors  in  this  county.  The 
Earl  died  in  1504. 

Thomas  Stanley,  second  Earl  of  Derby  (son  of  George  Stanley  Lord 
Strange,  and  grandson  of  Thomas,  first  Earl),  died  May  23rd,  1521,  and 
by  the  Inq.  post,  mort.,  taken  in  the  i3th  Henry  VIII.,  was  found  to 
have  been  seized  of  Balderstone  manor,  with  lands  appurtenant;  of 
Samlesbury  manor;  and  of  lands  in  Walton  and  Eccleshill  in  Blackburn 
parish. 

The  Earls  of  Derby  appear  later,  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  as  lords 
of  a  portion  of  Balderstone  manor. 

her  decease  they  shall  stand  seased  thereof  "  to  the  use  of  Syr  James  Harrington,  Knyghte,  my 
sister's  son,  for  terme  of  hys  lyfe  ;"  after  his  decease,  &c. ,  "  to  the  use  of  Thomas  Talbot  of  Bashall, 
son  and  heyre  of  Edmund  Talbot,  Esq.,  and  Jane  his  wife,  daughter  and  one  of  the  co-heires  to  Sir 
Robt.  Harrington  of  Hornby  Castle,  Knt.,  and  the  lady  Isabell  his  wyfe  my  Sister,"  and  the  heirs  of 
the  said  Thomas  for  ever,  and  "of  Richard  Radcliffe  and  Ellen  his  wyfe,  which  Ellen  was  Aunt  to  me 
the  said  Jane,  and  Sister  to  William  Balderstone  my  father ;  and  to  the  use  of  Richard  Osbaldiston, 
son  and  heyre  of  John  Osbaldiston  and  Elizabeth  his  wyfe,  another  sister  of  William  Balderstone  my 
father,  and  their  heyres  for  ever." 


4i 6  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

SIR  EDMUND  DUDLEY,  LORD  OF  A  MOIETY  OF  BALDERSTONE. 

Sir  Edmund  Dudley  (son  of  John  Dudley,  Esq.),  a  commissioner 
of  forfeiture  to  Henry  VII.,  obtained  a  moiety  of  Balderstone  manor, 
sequestered  from  the  Harringtons,  by  the  King's  grant,  and  held  the 
estate  until  his  attainder  and  execution  for  treason,  August  iyth, 
1510.  This  with  other  estates  Dudley  had  acquired  by  nefarious  means 
was  then  escheated  to  the  Crown  ;  and  on  the  Inq.  post  mart,  taken  at 
Wigan,  ist  Henry  VIII.,  it  was  proved  that  Edmund  Dudley  had  held 
half  the  manor  of  Balderstone  (of  which  James  Harrington  was  seized 
in  fee),  with  200  messuages,  2000  acres  of  land,  500  acres  meadow, 
1800  acres  pasture,  40  acres  woodland,  3000  acres  of  moor,  moss,  &c., 
and  iocs,  rents  in  Balderstone,  Mellor,  Preston,  Ribbleton,  Broughton, 
and  some  twenty  other  townships  in  Lancashire. 

RADCLIFFE  OF  WYNMARLEIGH,  LORDS  OF  BALDERSTONE. 

Sir  Thomas  Radcliffe  of  Wynmarleigh,  Knt,  by  his  marriage  with 
Ellen,  daughter  and  co-heir  of  Richard  Balderstone,  acquired  for  the 
Radcliffes  lands  in  Balderstone.  He  had  a  son  and  heir,  Richard. 

Richard  Radcliffe,  Esq.,  had  a  son  Thomas.  The  father  died  about 
A.D.  1500,  and  was  found  possessed  at  death  of  lands  in  Showley-in- 
Clayton,  Mellor,  and  Parva  Harwoode  in  this  parish. 

Thomas  Radcliffe,  of  Wynmarleigh,  Esq.,  aged  17  years  at  the  date 
of  his  father's  death,  had  by  his  wife  Alice,  daughter  of  Sir  Thomas 
Gerard  of  the  Bryn,  a  son  and  heir,  Thomas;  and  a  daughter  Cicelia, 
married  first,  Thomas  Farington,  gent.;  secondly,  Edward  Radcliffe  of 
Todmorden,  gent.  The  father  died  about  the  year  1521,  and  was  found 
seized  of  estates  in  Balderstone,  Showley,  Mellor,  and  Parva  Harwood, 
within  Blackburn  Parish. 

Thomas  Radcliffe  the  son  had  by  his  first  wife,  —  Redman,  a  son 
William;  and  by  his  second,  Isabel  Butler,  a  daughter  Ann.  He  died 
about  A.D.  1538;  and  his  extensive  possessions  included  messuages  and 
lands  in  Balderstone,  Mellor,  Showley,  and  Pleasington,  in  this  parish. 

William  Radcliffe,  Esq.,  son  of  Thomas,  had  no  issue  by  his  wife 
Ann,  daughter  of  Sir  John  Holcroft,  Knt;  and  he  died  in  1560,  being 
then  lord  of  Wynmarleigh,  Astley,  and  Cliderowe  manors;  also  of 
Showley  in  Clayton-in-le-Dale,  held  of  Thomas  Hoghton,  Esq.,  in 
socage;  of  the  fourth  part  of  the  manor  of  Balderstone,  held  of  John 
Osbaldeston,  Esq.,  in  socage;  and  of  300  messuages,  two  water  mills 
and  one  windmill,  2000  acres  of  land,  300  acres  meadow,  2000  acres 
pasture,  100  acres  woodland,  300  acres  moor,  moss  and  turbary  in  the 
above  demesnes  and  in  Mellor,  Pleasington,  Little  Harwood,  and  28 
other  townships  in  Lancashire. 


SUNDERLAND  GRANGE  AND  DE  SUNDERLAND  FAMILY.  417 

On  the  death  of  William  Radcliffe  without  heir  of  his  body,  portions 
of  the  estates  were  heired  by  Joan  Radcliffe,  daughter  of  Edward  Radcliffe 
of  Todmorden  -by  his  wife  Cicely,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  aunt  of 
William  Radcliffe  of  Wynmarleigh,  she  being  then  aged  14  years;  and  by 
John,  son  of  William  Singleton  of  Staining  by  his  wife  Alice,  daughter  of 
Cicely  Radcliffe  by  her  first  husband  Thomas  ffarington,  gent. 

The  manors  of  Wynmarleigh,  Astley,  and  Clitheroe,  and  the  mesne 
lands  in  Balderstone  and  Clay ton-in-le -Dale,  had  been  settled  by  William 
Radcliffe,  Esq.,  before  his  decease  upon  the  issue  of  his  sister  Anne,  wife 
of  Gilbert  Gerard,  Esq.,  afterwards  Sir  Gilbert  Gerard,  Knt.,  Master  of 
the  Rolls,  who  died  in  1592,  seized  of  manorial  lands  in  Wynmarleigh, 
Astley,  Cliderowe,  Balderstone,  Showley,  and  estates  in  Mellor,  Parva, 
Harwood,  Pleasington,  and  many  other  places. 

Sir  Thomas  Gerard,  Knt.,  son  and  heir  of  Sir  Gilbert,  would  seem 
to  have  conveyed  his  Balderstone  estate  to  John  Braddyll,  Esq.,  of 
Portfield,  soon  after  his  succession  to  his  inheritance ;  for  in  the  4oth 
Eliz.  (1598),  John  Braddyll,  "as  lord  of  Balderstone  Manor,"  sought  to 
recover  from  George  Wright,  Hugh  Pilkington,  Thomas  \Vright,  and 
Margery  Talbott,  the  customary  rents  and  services  for  mesne  lands  in 
Balderstone  held  by  them  under  leases  from  Sir  Thomas  Gerard,  Knt., 
formerly  lord  of  that  manor;  and  the  same  year,  John  Braddyll,  lord  of 
the  manor,  prosecuted  James  Snape  for  intrusion  on  a  parcel  of  ground 
called  Blyndhurst  in  Balderstone  Manor.  At  his  death  in  1616,  John 
Braddyll  was  seized,  among  other  estates,  of  lands  in  Balderstone. 
LORDSHIP  OF  THE  OSBALDESTON  FAMILY. 

In  the  1 6th  century,  the  Osbaldestons  of  Osbaldeston  appear  as 
exercising  manorial  rights  in  Balderstone.  In  the  35th  Henry  VIII. 
(1543),  Sir  Alexander  Osbaldeston  at  his  death  reckoned  among  his 
manors  the  manor  of  Balderstone,  according  to  the  escheat.  In  1560, 
we  have  seen,  the  lands  of  the  Radcliffes  in  Balderstone  were  held  in 
socage  tenure  of  John  Osbaldeston,  Esq. ;  and  in  the  i8th  Eliz.  (1576), 
the  same  John  Osbaldeston  died  seized  of  Balderstone  manor,  with 
lands  and  messuages  appurtenant.  In  the  32nd  Eliz.  (1590),  Edward 
Osbaldeston,  Esq.,  was  found  in  possession  of  Balderstone  and  Osbal- 
deston manors,  &c.  These  rights  in  Balderstone  were  probably  retained 
by  the  Osbaldestons  until  the  alienation  of  the  other  contiguous  demesnes 
by  the  last  direct  representative  of  that  family  in  the  last  century. 

SUNDERLAND  GRANGE  AND  DE  SUNDERLAND  FAMILY. 

Sunderland  in  Balderstone  was  from  ancient  time  a  Grange  of  the  neighbouring 

Monastery  of  Salley,  and  numerous  deeds  in  the  Chartulary  of  Salley  Abbey  relate  to 

the  conveyance  of  this  estate  by  members  of  the  De  Sunderland   family,  primitive 

owners,  who  were  probably  of  the  stock  of  the  De  Balderstones,  lords  of  Balderstone. 

27 


4i8  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Ailsi  de  Sunderlaiid  gave  to  the  Abbot  and  Monks  of  Salley  her  lands  of  Sunder- 
land,  with  common  of  wood  in  Osbaldeston  and  Balderstone,  pannage  for  swine,  &c. 

Ailsius  son  of  Hugh  gave  to  God  and  the  Monks  of  St.  Marie  of  Salley,  Sunder- 
landesholme,  between  the  torrent  of  Sunderland  and  the  Ribble,  as  far  as  Chippendes- 
clogh,  and  thence  by  the  wood  beyond  Langhirst  to  the  rivulet  of  Smalelie,  and  so 
by  the  west  boundary  of  Smalelie  to  Sandiford.  The  same  donor  gave  to  Salley  lands 
with  wood  upon  Sunderlandesholme.  Hugh  son  of  Ailsius  confirmed  his  father's 
grant. 

William  son  of  Ailsius,  with  consent  of  his  brothers,  Robert,  Alexander,  John,  and 
Adam,  and  by  the  will  of  his  mother  Wimara,  confirms  to  the  Abbey  all  his  father's 
gift.  Peter  de  Archis  also  confirmed  this  grant. 

Adam  de  Winkedelai,  for  the  salvation  of  his  soul  and  of  his  late  wife  Christiana, 
gave  to  the  Monks  of  Salley  all  the  land  of  Sunderlandesholme,  with  woods  pertaining 
to  the  same  manor. 

Adam  de  Sunderland  gave  to  Adam  son  of  Henry  de  Turton  in  free  marriage 
with  Agnes  his  daughter  a  certain  parcel  of  his  land  in  Sunderlande.  Agnes  de 
Sunderland  exchanged  this  land  in  Sunderland  with  the  Abbot  of  Salley  for  a  piece  of 
land  in  Preston ;  and  Robert  Cementarii,  son  of  Agnes  de  Sunderland,  quit-claimed  to 
Salley  Monastery  his  right  in  the  land  which  was  Adam  de  Sunderland  his  uncle's, 
son  of  Adam  de  Winkedelai,  in  all  the  Grange  called  Sunderlande. 

The  above  deeds  are  all  without  date,  but  belong  to  the  first  part  of  the  1 3th  century. 
Later,  Adam  de  Osbaldeston  quit-claimed  to  Salley  his  right  in  that  place  of  wood 
and  pasture  called  le  Mikelfal  in  Sunderland  Wood  ;  and  Robert  son  of  Thomas  de 
Osbaldeston  gave  also  his  deed  of  quit-claim  of  the  same  place  of  land. 

John  son  of  Robert  de  Osbaldeston  gave  to  the  Abbot  and  Monks  of  Salley  his 
right  in  the  Common  of  Sunderlande,  in  land,  meadow,  and  wood.  William  de 
Studelehurst,  Henry  de  Brune,  and  William  son  of  Henry  de  Osbaldeston,  also  gave  to 
the  Monastery  their  rights  of  Common  in  Sunderlande.  William  son  of  Richard  de 
Balderstone  gave  quit-claim  of  Wood  in  Sunderland. 

In  the  year  1271,  the  Abbot  and  Convent  of  Salley  remit  to  Richard  de  Balder- 
stone  all  their  enclosures  then  made,  with  10  acres  of  waste  and  los.  8d.  of  annual 
rent,  and  the  said  Richard,  on  his  part,  quit-claimed  the  tenements  of  Lebbelay  and  le 
Menefel  and  all  his  closes  there  made  or  to  be  made. 

William,  son  and  heir  of  Richard  de  Balderstone,  quit-claimed  to  the  Convent  his 
right  of  Common  in  the  woods,  closes,  and  pastures  of  Sunderlande.  Galfridus  son  of 
Hugh  de  Balderstone  quit-claimed  his  right  of  Common  in  the  enclosures  made  upon 
the  Grange  of  Sunderland  by  the  Abbot  and  Monks,  by  deed  dated  June  iyth,  1292. 
John  son  of  Hugh  quit-claimed  his  right  of  Common  in  the  Mikelfal  in  Sunderland 
Wood  ;  and  Thomas  son  of  Adam  de  Birley,  John  his  brother,  Adam  de  Balderstone, 
Alexander  de  Keuerdale,  Henry  de  Balderstone,  John  son  of  Hugh  de  Balderstone, 
and  Richard  son  of  John  de  Westewod,  quit-claimed  to  the  Convent  their  several 
rights  of  Common  in  the  Mikelfal. 

About  A.  D.  1320,  a  composition  was  made  concerning  Sunderlande  between  the 
House  of  Salley  and  the  Church  of  Blackburn,  by  Stephen  Abbot  of  Salley,  and  Roger 
and  Adam,  then  Rectors  of  Blackburn,  whereby  the  Abbots  of  Salley  and  Whalley 
agreed  to  submit  their  dispute  as  to  tithes  of  Sunderland  Grange  to  the  Abbots  of 
Fountains  and  Furness. 

August  2nd,  1333,  it  was  agreed  at  Whalley,  between  the  two  Houses,  by  media- 
tion of  the  Abbots  of  Dora  and  Tynterna,  that  Salley  should  have  the  tithes  of  the 
Grange,  except  Lebbelay,  during  the  agreement  Henry  de  Tunstall  then  had  in  the 


OSBALDESTON  OF  SUNDERLAND.  4!9 

Grange,  for  4lbs.  of  wax  yearly ;  after  the  Grange  reverted  to  the  Convent  of  Salley, 
the  Abbot  and  Convent  of  Salley  to  be  free  from  tithe  for  the  aforesaid  wax,  but  to 
pay  tithes  to  Whalley  Abbey  except  for  those  lands  they  assarted  after  the  old  compo- 
sition was  made,  viz.,  4^  acres  called  Dobberuydyng,  7^  acres  in  le  Monkeflattes, 
2j^  acres  in  Rammesholme,  I  acre  in  le  Pughull,  I  acre  in  le  Facebystubbyng,  and  ^ 
acre  in  le  Blakewelholme. 

William  son  of  Richard  de  Sunderland  quit-claimed  to  Salley  his  right  in  lands 
and  tenements  the  Abbot  and  Monks  held  in  Sunderlande,  Balderstone,  and  Osbal- 
deston,  by  deed  dated  April  2nd,  1325. 

In  the  "  Liber  Locus  Benedictus"  of  Whalley  it  is  noted  that  Ailsius  lord  of  Osbal- 
deston  was  seized  of  Osbaldeston  and  of  Sunderland,  and  gave  Sunderland  to  the  Abbot 
and  Convent  of  Salley  within  metes  and  bounds  as  contained  in  their  charter.  The 
said  Abbot  and  Convent  gave  it  in  exchange  to  Adam  de  Sunderland  for  four  bovates 
of  land  in  Craven  near  Pathorn ;  afterwards  the  said  Adam  gave  to  Robert  his  son  a 
certain  place  of  land  called  Lebbelay  with  Sunderland,  and  the  said  Robert  sold  the 
same  place  to  the  Church  of  Blackburn.  Afterwards,  by  common  consent  of  Adam 
and  Robert  de  Sunderland,  the  said  place  was  sold  to  Adam  de  Balderstone,  and  the 
said  Abbot  and  Convent  of  Salley  acquired  all  that  residue  called  Sunderland  of  the 
said  Adam,  so  as  before  they  had  it,  except  the  said  place  called  Lebbelay. 

OSBALDESTON  OF  SUNDERLAND. 

Richard  Osbaldeston,  gent.,  son  of  Sir  Alexander  Osbaldeston  of  Osbaldeston, 
Knt.,  by  his  second  wife  Ellen,  daughter  of  Thomas  Tyldesley,  Esq.,  settled  at 
Sunderland  in  Balderstone  upon  an  estate  that  was  then  lately  acquired  by  the 
Osbaldestons.  Richard  Osbaldeston,  by  Eleanor  his  wife  (who  after  his  death 
married,  secondly,  Richard  Rodgate),  had  sons,  Alexander;  William;  Thomas; 
Cuthbert  (who  had  sons  Thomas  and  Richard);  and  Edward;  and  a  daughter  Alice. 
The  youngest  son,  Edward  Osbaldeston,  gent.,  marrying  eligibly  Mary,  daughter  of 
John  Molyneux,  Esq.,  of  Sefton,  was  father  of  Sir  Richard  Osbaldeston,  Knt., 
Bencher  of  Gray's  Inn,  appointed  Attorney  General  for  Ireland  by  privy  seal  dated 
August  7th,  1636,  who  died  in  1643,  leaving  by  his  wife  (Anne  Westrope),  a  son 
William  Osbaldeston,  Esq.,  and  a  daughter  Frances.  Richard  Osbaldeston  of 
Sunderland,  gent.,  died  April  8th,  1556,  seized  of  lands  in  Balderstone,  Osbaldeston, 
and  Sunderland;  Alexander,  his  son  and  heir,  be'ing  then  aged  10  years  and  10 
months.  His  Will  is  dated  April  1st,  1556.  Testator  gives  to  Alice  his  daughter  his 
part  of  his  goods  ;  makes  Elizabeth  his  wife  and  Henry  his  brother  executors,  and 
gives  6s.  8d.  to  reparation  of  the  chapel  where  his  ' '  father  doth  lye, "  and  6s.  8d.  to 
be  distributed  amongst  the  poor.  Some  eight  years  after  this  testator's  decease,  in  the 
6th  Eliz.  (1564),  Henry  Osbaldeston,  executor  of  Richard,  deceased,  and  administrator 
of  his  goods,  had  a  suit-at-law  with  Richard  Rodgate  and  Eleanor  his  wife,  late  wife 
of  Richard  Osbaldeston,  respecting  possession  of  certain  messuages  and  lands  whereof 
Richard  Osbaldeston,  deceased,  was  seized  in  fee,  in  Sunderland  and  Cuerdall,  and 
which  he  granted  and  assured  to  certain  persons,  to  the  use  of  himself  and  Eleanor  his 
wife,  as  a  jointure  for  the  life  of  the  longest  liver  of  them,  with  divers  remainders  over, 
and  also  of  the  goods  and  chattels  of  the  said  Richard. 

Alexander  Osbaldeston  of  Sunderland,  gent.,  son  of  the  above,  married  Rosamond, 

daughter  of Bradley  of  Bradley,  Esq.,  and  had  a  son  and  heir  John.     Alexander 

Osbaldeston  rebuilt  Sunderland  Hall  in  1596;  and  died  Nov.  I5th,  1598,  aged  53.  An 
inquisition  of  the  escheator,  taken  at  Ribchester,  Mar.  I3th,  4ist  Eliz.,  showed  that  he 
had  been  seized  at  death  of  one  messuage  or  grange  called  Sunderlande,  late  part  of 


420  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

the  possessions  of  the  late  monastery  of  Salley,  with  40  acres  of  land,  40  acres  of 
meadow,  40  acres  of  pasture,  40  acres  of  woodland,  and  20  acres  of  rushland  and 
heath.  John  Osbaldeston,  son  and  heir,  was  then  aged  7  years. 

John  Osbaldeston,  gent. ,  married  Katherine,  daughter  of  George  Rogerley  of  Park 
Hall  in  Blackrod,  and  by  her  had  two  sons,  Alexander;  and  John  Osbaldeston,  of  the 
City  of  London;  also  a  daughter  Margaret.  John  Osbaldeston  died  April  26th,  1629, 
and  on  inquisition  at  Blackburn,  July  26th,  5th Charles  I.,  was  found  to  have  held  the 
messuage  called  Sunderland  in  Balderstone,  with  one  cottage,  3  gardens,  3  orchards, 
and  130  acres  of  land,  meadow,  pasture  and  woodland  in  Sunderland,  Balderstone,  and 
Osbaldeston.  Alexander,  son  and  heir,  was  aged  19  years. 

Alexander  Osbaldeston,  gent.,  married  Holcroft,  daughter  of  Robert  Hesketh  of 
Rufford,  Esq.,  and  had  issue  one  son,  John;  and  seven  daughters,  Katherine,  married, 
in  1657?  to  Thomas  Sutton,  gent.,  of  Mawdsley;  Jane,  Margaret,  Elizabeth,  Anne, 
Dorothy,  and  Mary.     The  father,   Alexander  Osbaldeston,  died,  aged  72,  in  April 
1 68 1,  buried  at  Walton  Church,  April  2ist. 

John  Osbaldeston,  of  Sunderland,  gent.,  born  in  1634,  had  to  wife  Anne,  daughter 
of  Richard  Blakeburne  of  Goosnargh  (she  died  in  1690),  by  whom  he  had  issue,  sons, 
Alexander;  Richard,  and  John  :  daughters,  Anne,  and  Margaret.  John  Osbaldeston 
died  Nov.,  1684. 

Alexander  Osbaldeston  of  Sunderland,  gent.,  son  of  John,  born  in  1661,  by  his 
first  wife  Isabel  (who  died  in  1704)  had  sons,  Alexander,  and  Gabriel  (died  in  1729); 
also  a  daughter  Ellen,  died  March,  1691-2.  He  married  again,  June  I3th,  1706, 
Lettice  Ainsworth  of  Pleasington,  widow,  by  whom  he  had  a  daughter  Mary.  Among 
the  estates  of  Roman  Catholics  ordered  by  Parliament  to  be  registered  in  1716,  appears 
the  return  of  his  estate  by  "Alexander  Osbaldeston  of  Sunderland,  gent.,"  who  re- 
ported that  he  had  in  Blackburn  parish  a  messuage  and  24  acres  let  to  Ralph  Waddicar, 
at  the  rent  of£ll  los.,  "  whereof  Lettice  my  wife  is  tenant  for  life,  and  I  am  seized 
in  her  right."  His  "other  lands  were  subject  to  the  payment  of  ^31 1  of  his  debts,  and 
£  1000  for  his  daughter  Mary's  portion ;  and  were  conveyed  to  Alexander  Osbaldeston 
and  John  Aynesworth,  Esqrs.,  in  trust  for  the  payment  of  the  said  debts  and  portion. 
In  the  Preston  Guild  Roll  of  1722  occur  "Alexander  Osbaldeston  of  Sunderland,  ar., 
Alexander  Osbaldeston  his  son,  and  Alexander  his  son. "  The  above  Alexander  died 
in  Sept.,  1729. 

Alexander  Osbaldeston  of  Sunderland,  eldest  son  of  Alexander,  had  sons, 
Alexander,  Thomas,  Westby,  William,  and  Francis,  all  of  whom,  with  the  father, 
were  enrolled  upon  the  Guild  Roll  of  Preston  in  1722.  Alexander  the  father  was  dead 
before  1742. 

Alexander  Osbaldeston,  son  of  Alexander,  was,  I  think,  the  last  of  Sunderland. 
At  the  Preston  Guild  of  1742  "Alexander  Osbaldeston,  of  Sunderland,  Esq.,"  was 
enrolled  as  an  out-burgess  for  himself  alone.  This  gentleman  died  in  175°-  He  had 
probably  daughters  living  in  1747  if  no  sons,  for  "Mr.  Osbaldeston  of  Sunderland,  his 
wife  and  children,"  are  mentioned  in  that  year  in  the  Will  of  Alexander  Osbaldeston, 
Esq. ,  of  Osbaldeston. 

Sunderland  Hall,  the  residence  of  this  family,  was  taken  down  and  rebuilt  some 
years  ago ;  but  in  the  wall  of  the  new  farm-house  is  inserted  an  inscribed  stone,  a  relic 
of  the  old  hall,  which  displays  the  arms  of  Osbaldeston  of  this  branch — "argent,  a 
mascle,  sable,  between  three  pellets,  a  canton  gules  " — and  the  initials  of  Alexander 
Osbaldeston  and  Rosamond  his  wife,  "A  OR"  with  the  date  of  edification  "  1596." 
The  site  of  the  hall  is  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Ribble. 


LANDED  ESTATES  IN  BALDERSTONE. 


421 


MODERN  LANDED  PROPRIETORS  IN  BALDERSTONE. 
There  is  difficulty  in  tracing  down  the  descent  of  each  of  the 
divisions  of  Balderstone  manor  from  the  seventeenth  century  to  the 
present  time.1  An  estate  in  the  township  to  which  manorial  rights  are 
attached  was  sometime  held  by  a  family  of  Cross,  and  was  sold,  about 
1821,  to  Joseph  Feilden,  Esq.,  of  Witton  Park.  This  estate  comprises 
about  389  statute  acres.  Balderstone  Hall  and  an  estate  of  183  acres, 
no  doubt  also  a  portion  of  the  ancient  demesne,  have  been  for  several 
generations  in  possession  of  the  family  of  Winckley  of  Preston,  and 
now  belongs  to  the  female  representative,  Dowager  Lady  Shelley, 
Balderstone  Hall  as  it  now  stands  is  a  simple  old  farm  house  standing 
beside  the  Ribble,  at  the  foot  of  a  steep  descent.  The  hall  has  not 
been  a  proprietary  abode  for  centuries.  The  Sunderland  Hall  estate, 
comprising  260  acres  of  land  and  woodland,  passed  from  the  Osbal- 
destons  to  Starkie  of  Huntroyd,  and  is  now  the  property  of  Col. 
Le  Gendre  N.  Starkie.  An  extensive  freehold  estate  of  355  acres  in 
this  township  has  long  been  held  by  the  Calvert  family,  whose  living 
representative  is  C.  T.  Calvert,  Esq.2  Other  estates  are  those  of  Rev. 
R.  A.  Rawstorne,  Vicar  of  Balderstone  (163  acres) ;  of  Mr.  Robert 
Radcliffe  (94  acres) ;  of  the  Exors.  of  John  Greaves  (104  acres) ;  of  Mr. 
Richard  Carr  (60  acres) ;  and  one  of  77  acres  part  of  the  endowment 
of  Bolton  Charity  School. 

SMALLEY  OF  BALDERSTONE. 

A  family  of  Smalleys  formerly  had  a  freehold  in  the  township.  In  the  8th 
Henry  VIII.  (1516)  Robert  Smalley,  of  Balderstone,  and  others,  were  prosecuted  by 
Thomas  Clyff  on  a  charge  of  rape  and  abduction  of  plaintiffs  daughter. 

Roger  Smalley  was  assessed  on  lands  in  Balderstone  to  a  Subsidy  in  1523.  Ann 
Smalley,  widow,  in  1546,  prosecuted  Edward  Osbaldeston  and  others  for  forcible 
entry  on  a  messuage  and  lands  in  Balderstone,  and  for  trespass  of  cattle  on  pasture. 

Roger  Smalley,  gent,  holding  lands  in  Balderstone,  is  on  the  Subsidy  Roll  of 
1570,  and  occurs  as  a  freeholder  in  1584  and  in  1600.  Roger  Smalley,  a  Governor  of 
Blackburn  Grammar  School,  occurs  about  1586. 

Probably  a  son,  Roger  Smalley,  was  taxed  on  his  lands  in  Balderstone  to  the 
Subsidy  in  1610  ;  and  "Roger  Smalley,  of  Balderstone,  gent."  occurs  as  a  juror 
in  1614. 

1  Respecting  this  manor,  Mr.   William  Langton  notes  it  is  mentioned  in  "  Memorials  of  the 
Garter  "  that  "  the  heirs  general  of  the  Banastres,  whose  heiress  married  Balderstone,  were  the  Earls 
of  Derby,  as  representing  Ellen  Radcliffe,  and  the  heirs  of  Alexander  Osbaldeston,  who  died  pth  Feb- 
ruary, 1670."    This  note  indicates  the  lordship  about  the  end  of  the   ijth  century.     In  1684,  Mr. 
Osbaldeston  is  named  as  lord  of  the  manor. 

2  I  have  noted  the  following  members  of  the  Calverts  of  Balderstone  : — Richard  Calvert,  of  Bal- 
derstone,  yeoman,    paid   the   King's  Subsidy  in   1663.      Another   Richard  Calvert,    of  Balderstone, 
married,  in  1696,  Janet  Duckson,  of  Brindle.     A  succeeding  Richard  Calvert,  of  Balderstone,  gentle- 
man, was  buried  at   Blackburn,  October  rath,  1766.     Mr.  John  Calvert,   of  Preston,  a  governor  of 
Blackburn  Grammar  School,  1768-77,  was  of  this  family  ;  as  was  also  his  son,  Mr.  —  Calvert,  elected 
a  Governor  in  1777.     Rev.  Thomas  (Jackson)  Calvert,  Warden  of  Manchester  College,  1823-40,  was,  I 
understand,  heir  of  the  Balderstone  Calverts. 


422  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

THE  CHAPEL  OF  ST,  LEONARD. 

This  Chapel,  originally  founded  as  a  Chapel  of  Ease  to  the  Parish 
Church  of  Blackburn,  dates  probably  from  temp.  Henry  VII. ;  but  no 
record  of  its  foundation  or  early  history  is  discoverable.  A  chapel  at 
Balderstone  is  mentioned  as  existing  in  the  2nd  Eliz.  (1559).  In  the 
next  reign  (James  I.),  the  chapel  was  reported  in  a  decayed  condition, 
and  so  it  seems  to  have  remained  long  afterwards.  It  had  not  been 
regularly  served  by  a  curate  before  1646,  having  no  endowment  at  all. 
But  on  the  setting-up  of  the  Lancashire  Presbytery  a  minister  was  found, 
and  a  stipend  granted.  On  the  25th  Sept.,  1646,  a  sum  of  £40  was 
allowed,  by  order  of  the  County  Committee,  for  a  Minister  at  Balder- 
stone  ;  one  Mr.  James  Shaw  having  been  approved  as  minister  here  by 
the  Committee  of  Divines  at  Bolton,  July  yth,  1646  ;  and  the  minute 
of  the  classis  states: — "He  is  paid  upp  till  the  8th  of  Oct.,  1647,  by 
Charles  Gregory."  Mr.  Shaw  evidently  had  quitted  the  place  before  the 
date  of  the  Parliamentary  Commission  that  surveyed  this  Parish  in  1650, 
by  which  it  was  returned  that  Balderstone  Chapel,  four  miles  distant 
from  the  Parish  Church,  was  then  without  endowment  and  minister, 
although  eighty  families  should  resort  to  it. 

In  1683,  the  Registrar  of  Chester  reported  to  the  Primate  that  one 
of  the  Blackburn  Chapels,  viz.,  Balderstone,  was  in  ruins;  and,  in  1684, 
the  Vicar  of  Blackburn,  answering  the  inquiries  of  Archbishop  Sancroft, 
reported : — 

Balderstone -Chapel,  four  miles  from  Blackburn  Church,  a  mile  and  a  half  from 
any  other  chapell.  The  chapell  almost  ruined.  No  Curate,  no  maintenance. 
Adjacent  to  it  Balderstone  and  Osbaldeston,  the  latter  belonging  to  the  mother  church. 

£   s.    d. 

ENDOWMENT  : — Mrs.  ffleetwood  promiseth  yearly    -        -        -        200 
The  inhabitants  will  give  yearly  while  they  live       10     o     o 

The  inhabitants  will  now  build  their  chapel  (which  is  not  repayreable),  and  will 
give  yearly  during  life  (being  tenants  only  for  life)  33-fifteenes,  which  is  a  great  sum 
among  so  few  tenants,  viz.,  ^20.  Mr.  Osbaldeston  is  lord  of  the  Mannor,  but  will 
not  be  persuaded  to  do  any  more  than  what  his  Tenants  promise.  The  Donative  of 
Stedd  lyes  within  a  mile  and  ^  or  2  att  the  most  of  Balderstone  Chapel,  and  has  but 
6  Familys  to  the  whole  parish.  Some  of  the  Inhabitants  of  Balderstone  resort  to  the 
Parish  of  Ribchester  (which  is  about  a  mile  and  halfe  from  their  Chapel) ;  others  to 
the  Chapel  of  Samlesbury  (which  is  about  a  mile  and  %  from  their  Chapel),  to  divine 
service,  to  christen  their  children,  and  sometymes  to  bury  their  dead.  But  the 
generality  of  them  resort  to  their  Mother  Church,  to  receive  the  sacrament  of  the 
Lord's  Supper,  to  marry  and  to  bury;  and  some  of  them  come  to  their  Mother  Church 
every  Sunday  to  divine  service  and  sermon,  and  they  dwell  4  miles  from  thence. 
Balderstone  is  a  small  township  of  itselfe. 

Matters  had  not  much  improved  at  this  chapel  in  1689,  when  the 
following  note  was  made  by  Mr.  James  Bolton,  of  Blackburn,  by  authority 
of  Vicar  Price:— "Balderstone,  another  chapell  in  the  said  Parish,  but 


THE  CHAPEL  OF  ST.  LEONARD.  423 

very  ruinous,  and  long  time  discontinued  from  exercise  of  any  holy  offices  ; 
noe  maintenance  at  all  belonging  to  it,  the  chappell  itselfe  overgrowne 
with  briers  and  thorns,  and  requires  a  rebuilding,  before  it  can  be  fitt 
for  divine  worshipp."  The  bounty  of  Archbishop  Sancroft,  who  about 
this  time  made  his  gift  in  trust  for  the  augmentation  of  the  poor  chapels 
in  the  Parish,  does  not  seem  at  first  to  have  been  participated  in  by 
Balderstone,  owing  to  some  difficulty  with  the  inhabitants ;  for  so  late 
as  the  year  1714  is  a  record  that  there  was  still  at  Balderstone  no 
endowment,  "  because  they  pretend  to  pay  only  a  prescriptive  rent  in 
lieu  of  tithes.  There  is  a  popish  meeting  said  to  be  within  this  chapelry." 
Four  or  five  years  later,  Bishop  Gastrell  makes  this  entry  in  his  Noiitia ; — 

BALDERSTONE,  certified  that  no  endowment  belongs  to  it.  Anno  1705,  certified 
that  ^7  belonged  to  it,  viz. ,  ^5  from  Thornly,  and  £2  from  the  Rector,  which  was 
divided  among  the  curates  of  the  other  chapels,  Who  supply  this  chapel  in  their  turns, 
only  the  first  Sunday  in  every  month,  at  which  time  there  is  no  service  in  their  own 
chapels.  The  six  other  chapels  in  this  parish  are  supplied  by  three  curates ;  those  two 
which  lie  nearest  to  one  another  being  annext  by  Archbishop  Sancroft's  order,  viz. , 
Darwen  and  Tockholes,  Harwood  and  Langho,  Law  and  Samlesbury.  The  lands 
given  to  these  chapels  were  bought  by  Archbishop  Sancroft  in  Thornly-cum-Wheatly. 
[Balderstone  is]  four  miles  from  the  Parish  Church,  and  two  miles  from  any  other 
chapel.  The  inhabitants  of  Balderstone,  Osbaldeston,  and  part  of  Mellor  resort  to  it. 
Circumference  about  seven  miles.  No  wardens. 

In  1 742  the  first  important  augmentation  to  the  endowment  of  the 
chapel  was  made.  A  benefaction  of  ^"200  by  Rev.  John  Potter,  then 
Vicar  of  Blackburn,  by  deed  dated  iQth  June,  1742,  procured  a  sum  of 
^200  from  the  Governors  of  Queen  Anne's  Bounty.  A  second  similar 
augmentation  was  received  in  1755-6,  when  the  payment  of  ^200  by 
the  executors  of  Dr.  Stratford,  on  March  25th,  1755,  was  met  by  a  grant 
of  ^200  from  the  Royal  Bounty.  In  1835  the  value  of  the  living  was 
;£i25  per  annum.  The  amount  now  given  to  Balderstone  out  of  the 
revenues  of  the  Sancroft  Trust  is  about  £14  per  annum.  The  present 
value  of  the  benefice  is  returned  as  ^150.  The  Vicar  of  Blackburn  is 
patron. 

The  fabric  of  the  Chapel  was  repaired  and  enlarged  by  faculty  in 
1752  ;  but  was  again  dilapidated  in  1818,  and  the  further  repairs  in  that 
year  could  not  have  been  material ;  for  in  1852  the  chapel  was  reported 
both  to  be  incommodious  and  in  decayed  condition.  It  was  then 
resolved  to  erect  a  new  Church.  The  corner-stone  of  the  present  edifice . 
was  laid  on  July  22nd,  1852,  by  Joseph  Feilden,  Esq.,  lord  of  the  manor. 
The  site  was  the  gift  of  Charles  Thomas  Calvert,  Esq.,  of  London. 
The  church  stands  in  a  secluded  situation  in  the  midst  of  the  township, 
Its  style  is  decorated  English;  the  plan  includes  nave,  57ft.  by  36ft.; 
chancel,  and  north  porch.  A  belfry  rises  above  the  west  gable.  The  cost  of 


424  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

the  fabric,  exclusive  of  the  stone  given  by  Mr.  Slater  of  Osbaldeston,  was 
about  ;£i,ooo,  provided  by  subscription.     Of  450  sittings,  70  are  free. 

The  following  curates  have  served  the  Chapelry  of  Balderstone  since  the  increased 
endowment  permitted  the  appointment  of  a  stated  minister: — 1741.  Rev.  Thomas 
Hunter  (Master  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School,  1737-50);  1756.  Rev.  Thomas 
Cooper;  occurs  in  1792;  1813.  ext.  Rev.  Wm.  Lutener,  Perp.  Cur.,  died,  aged  46, 
Dec.  5th,  1815;  1816.  Rev.  Thomas  Exton  (occurs  as  incumbent  in  1824);  (Stip. 
curates — Josh.  R.  Jameson,  1817-9;  G.  Wilkins ;  Stephen  Birkett,  1823);  1827. 
Rev.  William  Hartley,  stip.  curate  and  perp.  curate  from  1839  to  1859,  when  he 
resigned;  1859.  Rev.  Robert  Atherton  Rawstorne,  M.A.,  present  Vicar. 

CHARITIES  OF  BALDERSTONE. 

About  A.D.  1686.  Margaret  Radcliffe  gave  two  cottages  and  half 
an  acre  of  land  in  Balderstone,  for  poor  house-keepers ;  at  the  last  report 
of  the  Charity  Commission,  the  land  produced  £2  123.  per  ann.,  and 
the  two  cottages  with  gardens  £14  45.  per  ann. 

A.D.  1716.  Michael  Waterhouse,  by  his  Will  dated  July  2oth, 
1716  (proved  at  Chester  in  1719),  directed  that  his  messuages  and  tene- 
ment with  closes  in  Balderstone  containing  i5a.  3r.  i5p.  should  be 
charged  with  los.  per  annum,  to  the  Poor  of  Balderstone,  to  be  distri- 
buted yearly  by  Alexander  Osbaldeston,  John  Gregson,  William  Radcliffe, 
Thomas  Turner,  and  his  Nephew  Michael  Waterhouse  [Michael  Water- 
house  of  Blackburn,  gent.,  buried  March  28th,  1732],  and  his  heirs  for 
ever. — In  1786,  the  annuity,  paid  by  Mr.  Calvert,  was  received  by  the 
overseer  from  the  tenant  of  an  estate  called  Waterhouse,  late  the 
property  of  Mr.  Calvert  deceased  ;  in  1825,  the  property  of  Rev.  Thos. 
Jackson. 

John  Livesey  of  Balderstone  gave  ^15  to  the  Poor  of  Balderstone, 
which,  in  1718,  was  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Osbaldeston  of  Sunderland,  and 
the  interest  distributed  on  St.  Thomas's  Day  by  John  Jackson  of  Preston, 
the  Trustee. 


DESCENT  OF  BILLINGTON  MANOR.  425 


CHAPTER   III.— THE  TOWNSHIP  OF  BILLINGTON. 

Topography  of  the  Township,  &c. — Descent  of  the  Manor— De  Bilyngton  Family— De  Hudleston — 
Abbots  of  Whalley  as  lords— Holcroft— A  sheton— Hacking  of  Hacking—  Shuttleworth— Walmes- 
ley  and  Petre  as  lords— Hacking  Hall— Braddyll  of  Braddyll  and  Brockhole— Barker— Chew  of 
Potter  Ford,  &c.  — CunlifFe— Deane— Slater—  Smalley— Speake— Talbot— Chapel  of  St.  Leonard, 
Langho — Roman  Catholic  Chapel — Billington  Charities — Commons  Enclosure,  &c. 


BILLINGTON  is  a  large  township,  having  an  area  of  2960  statute 
acres,  occupying  the  ground  which  falls  northward  from  the  ridge 
of  moorland  whose  heights  bear  the  names  of  Billington  Moor  and 
Whalley  Nab,  to  the  Rivers  Calder  and  Ribble,  which  are  confluent  on 
the  border  of  the  township.  Billington  is  a  manor  under  Clitheroe 
Castle  ;  and  constitutes,  with  Wilpshire  and  Dinkley  on  the  south-west 
side,  the  parochial  chapelry  of  Langho.  With  the  exception  of  three 
small  cotton  manufactories,  the  township  is  still  given  up  to  agriculture. 
The  land  is  all  in  pasturage  or  woodland ;  and  the  soil  on  the  levels 
near  the  two  rivers  is  alluvial  and  good.  The  population  of  Billington 
in  1 80 1  was  844;  and  in  1871  was  1204.  The  chapelry  was  reported 
to  the  Commission  of  1650  to  contain  300  families,  or  about  1500 
persons  ;  but  probably  this  was  a  mis-statement,  for  nearly  seventy  years 
later  (about  1718)  a  return  gave  but  100  families  for  the  chapelry,  or 
some  500  souls.  It  was  on  the  lower  ground  of  Billington  that  the 
battle  of  Billangahoh  was  fought  in  Saxon  times,  A.D.  798  (see  ante 
pp.  27-8). 

DESCENT  OF  THE  MANOR— DE  BILYNGTON  FAMILY. 

One  of  the  De  Lascys,  Norman  lords  of  Clitheroe  Honor,  granted 
the  fee  of  Billington  to  Hugh,  son  of  Leofwyne,  a  Saxon  ;  and  William, 
son  of  Hugh,  conveyed  his  rights  in  this  manor  to  Ralph,  son  of  Geoffrey 
de  Bilyngton. 

After  Ralph,  appears  Adam  de  Bilyngton,  who  occurs  in  1211;  and 
next  comes  Elias  de  Bilyngton,  who  had  a  son  Adam. 

Adam  de  Bilyngton,  living  temp.  Henry  III.,  had  a  daughter  and 


426  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

heiress  Avicia,  who  married,  first,  Geoffrey  de  Whalley,  and  secondly, 
Henry  del'  Cho,  by  whom  she  had  sons  Richard  and  Thomas.  To 
Henry  del'  Cho,  Adam  de  Bilyngton  granted  land  in  Billington  called 
the  Halgh. 

Geoffrey  de  Whalley,  first  husband  of  Avicia  de  Bilyngton,  settling 
on  this  estate,  acquired  the  surname  De  Bilyngton.  To  Geoffrey  de 
Bilyngton,  who  occurs  before  1250,  his  wife  Avicia  bore  sons,  Adam, 
Roger,  Richard,  Robert,  Ralph,  William,  and  Henry.  Avicia  de 
Bilyngton  is  named  as  in  widowhood  about  A.D.  1270.  Of  the  younger 
sons  .of  Geoffrey  and  Avicia,  Roger  had  to  wife  Agnes,  who  survived 
him ;  Richard,  by  his  wife  Cicilia,  had  a  son  Geoffrey,  who  had  a  son 
Richard ;  Robert  had  lands  at  Langale,  in  Billington  j  Ralph  had  a  son 
Richard,  who  had  a  daughter  Mabile,  wife  of  Roger  Ingol  of  Elston ; 
William  had  six  acres  in  Billington  of  his  mother's  gift ;  and  Henry  had 
lands  in  this  township  conveyed  by  him  to  Richard  Pountchardon. 

Adam  de  Bilyngton,  son  and  heir  of  Geoffrey,  had  a  son  Adam. 
But  the  father  conveyed  his  estate,  being  a  moiety  of  Billington  vill,  to 
Adam  de  Hudleston,  Knt.,  A.D.  1288,  and  so  terminated  the  record  of 
the  family  as  manorial  owners  in  the  township. 

DE  HUDLESTON,  LORDS  OF  BILLINGTON. 

Sir  Adam  de  Hudleston,  Knt.,  who  obtained  the  moiety  of  this 
manor  from  Adam  de  Bilyngton,  secured  for  term  of  his  life  the 
other  moiety  by  the  gift  of  Henry  de  Lascy,  Earl  of  Lincoln,  by  undated 
deed  of  grant,  probably  about  1304,  when  Sir  Adam  de  Hudleston  had 
from  Edw.  I.  grant  of  free  warren  in  Billington.  Sir  Adam,  by  his  two 
wives,  Joan  and  Isabel,  had  no  issue,  and  his  nephew  Richard  was  his 
heir.  At  the  De  Lascy  Inquisition  in  1311,  "Sir  Adam  de  Hudelston 
held  Clayton  and  Bilyngton  by  the  service  of  IDS.  yearly  at  the  feast  of 
St.  Giles,  and  3d.  at  Midsummer,  and  suit  of  the  Court  of  Clyderhou." 
He  died  about  the  year  1321.  Inq.  post  mort.  was  taken  at  Billington, 
before  Thomas  de  Burgh,  King's  Escheator,  the  i5th  Edward  II.  (1322), 
upon  the  oaths  of  William  de  Heriis,  Philip  de  Clayton,  Henry  de 
Henthorne,  John  de  Holt,  Thomas  del  Grenegore,  Ralph  de  Revede, 
William  de  Wyswalle,  Henry  de  Alvetham,  John  de  Bradhil,  Henry 
de  Bradhil,  John  del'  Riddinge,  and  Richard  de  Rischeton,  to 
inquire  what  lands  and  what  tenements  Adam  de  Hodleston  held  of  the 
Lord  the  King  in  capite  the  day  in  which  he  died.  "Who  say  upon  their 
oaths  that  he  was  seised  in  his  lordship  as  of  fee  the  day  he  died  of  the 
mediety  of  the  Manor  of  Bilyngton,  with  a  certain  tenement  in  the  same 
manor  called  Le  Scho,  and  that  he  held  of  the  King  one  carucate  of 
land  that  was  Henry  de  Lascy's,  once  Earl  of  Lincoln,  by  service, 
homage  and  fidelity,  and  by  the  2oth  part  of  a  Knight's  fee  and  suit  to 


BILLINGTON  MANOR— ABBOTS  OF  WH ALLEY.  427 

the  King's  Court  of  Cliderhou.  Also  that  the  same  Adam  held  of  others 
no  other  tenements  in  the  County  of  Lancaster  the  day  he  died,  and 
that  the  foresaid  tenements  are  worth  per  annum  iocs.;  and  that  Richard 
son  of  John  de  Hodleston  is  kinsman  and  next  heir  to  Adam  de 
Hodleston,  and  is  of  the  age  of  40  years." 

Sir  Richard  de  Hudleston,  Knt,  sold,  in  the  year  1323^0  Thomas, 
son  of  Geoffrey  le  Scrop,  Knt.,  the  half  of  Billington  manor  he  inherited, 
described  as  the  "  manor  of  Choo  with  its  appurtenances,  and  half  the 
vill  of  Bilyngton,  with  its  appurtenances." 

ABBOTS  OF  WHALLEY,  LORDS  OF  BILLINGTON. 
Thomas,  Earl  of  Lancaster,  by  charter  dated  May  3rd,  nth  Edw.  IL 
(I3I7)5  granted  to  the  Abbot  and  Monks  of  Whalley  the  reversion  of 
the  moiety  of  the  manor  of  Billington  which  Adam  de  Hodleston,  Knt, 
then  held  for  term  of  his  life.  The  next  year  Sir  Adam  attorned 
himself  by  the  Earl's  order  to  the  Abbot  and  Convent ;  and  received  from 
the  latter  the  sum  of  23  marks  and  ios.;  receipt  dated  from  "  The  Cho, 
Vigil  of  St.  Mary  Magdalene,"  A.D.  1318. 

The  other  moiety  the  Abbey  acquired  by  grant  of  Sir  Geoffrey  le 
Scrop,  Justice  of  the  King's  Bench,  second  son  of  Sir  William  le  Scrop, 
of  Bolton,  and  heir  to  Thomas  le  Scrop,  who  had  the  moiety  of  this 
manor  of  Sir  Richard  de  Hudleston,  Knt.  Sir  Geoffrey's  deed  of  gift  to 
the  Abbey,  dated  the  6th  Edw.  III.  (1332),  describes  the  estate  as  the 
manor  of  Cho,  and  the  mediety  of  the  vill  of  Bilyngton,  with  their 
appurtenances,  and  with  homages  and  services  of  all  the  free  tenants 
there. 

Besides  the  manorial  estates,  the  Abbot  and  Monks  of  Whalley  acquired  many 
parcels  of  freehold  land  in  Billington  from  successive  benefactors.  In  the  Abbey 
"  Coucher  Book,"  144  title  deeds  relate  to  lands  in  this  township.  The  following 
gifts  may  be  noted.  A.D.  1259,  Countess  Margaret  de  Lascy  gave  the  Abbot  and 
Monks  a  site  in  Billington  for  a  building  to  lay  up  their  corn  into.  William  de 
Dynkedley  gave  half  an  acre  for  a  site  for  a  barn.  Adam  de  Hudleston,  Knt. ,  by 
deed  dated  1318,  gave  to  the  Monastery  right  of  pasturage  upon  Billington  Common 
for  eight  beasts,  also  to  dig  turf,  and  to  open  a  quarry  for  stone  upon  his  land  in 
Billington.  Thomas  de  Pont  gave  parcels  of  land  called  Menefeld  and  Grenecroft. 
John  de  Gristwayth,  Vicar  of  Blackburn,  gave  his  land  in  the  field  called  Snodde- 
worth ;  and  other  lands  in  the  township.  Richard  de  Bilyngton  granted  seven  acres  of 
his  land  called  Longale,  four  acres  called  Betham,  and  other  parcels  of  land.  Adam 
de  Standen,  Richard  del  Heye,  and  Richard  de  Chaderton,  severally  gave  parcels  of 
land  to  the  Monastery. 

In  the  Abbey  "Coucher  Book," begun  by  Abbot  Lyndelay  in  1347, 

a  record  is  made  of  the  free  tenants  of  Billington  about  the  date  of  the 

acquisition  by  the  Monastery  of  the  manorial  rights,  which  I  translate : — 

Memorandum,  that  of  the  same  first  part  of  Bilyngton  the  freeholders  hold  the 

underwritten,    namely : — Henry  de   Bolton,    whose   charter  is   written   in  the  same 


428  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

preceding  title,  and  pays  by  the  year  for  his  land  253.  4d.  Item,  the  place  which  is 
called  the  Hakkyng,  and  pays  by  the  year  53.  4d.  Item,  the  mill  of  Hakkyng,  and 
pays  by  the  year  133.  4d.  Item,  Robert  de  Cundeclif,  two  acres,  pays  by  the  year  8d. 
Item,  John,  son  of  J.  Watson,  holds  the  land  which  is  called  Bradhul,  but  that  he 
has  a  deed  of  the  same  or  not  is  doubted,  and  pays  by  the  year  35.  5d.  Item,  the 
land  of  Walbruk  pays  by  the  year  2s.  Item,  William  de  Bradhull  holds  a  tenement 
for  which  he  pays  by  the  year  6d.  Item,  Alexander  del  Den  [Dean]  holds  land 
within  certain  bounds  and  divisions,  but  has  no  deed,  and  pays  by  the  year  43. — Sum 
of  the  rents  of  the  hereditary  tenants  545.  yd. ;  out  of  which  we  pay  annually  to  the 
heirs  of  Hakkyng  for  the  site  of  a  certain  tythe-barn,  6d. ,  as  in  a  certain  charter  con- 
cerning the  foresaid  barn  to  us  made,  in  the  title  of  Blackeburn,  is  fully  contained. 

At  the  Survey  of  Abbey  estates  in  1538,  after  the  dissolution,  the 
freeholders  of  Billington  under  the  Abbey  were  these  : — John  Deane, 
holding  Hodghouse  tenement,  22  acres,  paying  23.  yearly;  also  holding 
half  a  messuage  called  Townworth,  paying  is.  4d.  ;  and  a  messuage 
called  Deynehill,  paying  43.  ;  Robert  Cuneliffe,  holding  freely  and 
paying  £i  55. ;  Robert  Shuttleworth  and  Robert  Blackborne,  holding 
freely,  paying  6s.  4d.  ;  Nicholas  Talbot,  holding  freely  lands  called 
Snodworth,  paying  is.  ;  Robert  Morley,  holding  freely  lands  called 
Braddill,  paying  us.  yd.;  the  heirs  of  William  Barker,  holding  freely 
lands  called  Whetley,  paying  yearly  a  broad  arrow  and  suit  in  the  court ; 
the  heirs  of  Becking,  holding  freely  Beckinsay  field,  paying  yearly  one 
pair  of  gloves  and  suit,  &c. ;  Edward  Braddell,  holding  lands  freely ; 
and  Richard  Showe,  holding  freely  a  close  of  six  acres  called  Benson 
field,  and  paying  yearly  los.  Total  of  services  £3  45.  id. ;  rents  from 
tenants-at-will  ^44  133.  4d. 

The  following  memoranda  close  the  survey  of  Billington  : — 

To  bring  in  all  the  wast  grounds  which  is  in  the  Lords'  hands  unlete,  and  what 
name  of  such  lands  is. — The  Maner  Place  is  clearly  decayed  and  mencioned  wheire 
the  maner  stoode  is  now  called  Chete  yard,  containing  by  estimation  2  acres. — There 
is  a  Common  called  Billington  Common,  which  containeth  about  2  miles  and  halfe, 
the  tenants  doth  intercommon  with  the  townshipps  of  Great  Harwood  and  Wilpsheld 
[Wilpshire].  There  is  a  wood  called  Elker-well,  replenished  with  oke  timber  and 
few  young  trees  and  much  underwoode,  which  is  hasell  and  eller,  containing  about  by 
estimation  60  acres,  which  cannot  be  sold,  for  it  is  little  enough  for  the  reparations  of 
the  tenants  in  the  milnes,  but  only  the  underwood.  Theire  is  another  wood  called  the 
Nabe,  replenished  with  oke  limber  and  many  faier  ash  trees,  and  but  small  underwood, 
and  containing  by  estimation  40  acres.  — The  tenants  of  the  same  lordshippe  houldeth 
there  lands  in  the  will  of  the  lord,  and  payeth  every  alienation  for  their  fine  and 
incoming  as  they  can  agree  with  the  lord  or  with  his  officers  their  for  the  time  being. — 
There  is  kept  within  the  same  Lordshipp  2  Courts  in  the  year  at  such  time  as  it  shall 
please  the  officer. — Under  that  Sir  Thomas  Southworth,  knight,  is  appointed  to  have 
the  ordering  and  ruling  of  the  tenants  their,  with  the  gathering  of  the  tyeth  within 
the  parish  of  Blackborne,  untill  the  feaste  and  Nativitie  of  our  Lord  God  next  ensuing, 
yealding  accompt  theirof  to  the  King's  use,  for  that  their  is  no  officer  their. 


BILLINGTON  MANOR— HOLCROFT  AND  ASHETON.  429 

HOLCROFT,  LORDS  OF  BILLINGTON. 

Shortly  after  the  sequestration,  Henry  VIII.  granted  Billington 
manor  to  Thomas  Holcroft,  Esq.  (second  son  of  John  Holcroft,  Esq., 
and  brother  of  Sir  John  Holcroft,  Knt,  of  Holcroft) ;  and  the  same 
court  favourite  secured  extensive  estates  that  had  belonged  to  the  Abbey 
of  Vale  Royal  and  the  Friaries  of  Warrington  and  Preston.  His  wife 
was  Juliana,  daughter  of  Nicholas  Jennings,  a  London  alderman ;  by  her 
he  had  a  son  Thomas.  Thomas  Holcroft,  the  father,  for  his  service  in 
the  war  in  Scotland  in  1544  was  made  a  Knight-banneret.  Sir  Thomas 
Holcroft,  Knt.,  died  in  1558 ;  and  the  Inq.  post  mort.,  taken  at  Wigan, 
5th  and  6th  Phil,  and  Mary,  proved  he  had  been  seized  of  "  Byllington 
manor"  and  several  other  Lancashire  manors. 

Thomas  Holcroft,  Esq.,  his  son,  was  proved  his  heir.  Thomas 
Holcroft  held  this  manor  until  the  close  of  his  life.  In  1597,  "Thomas 
Holcroft,  son  of  Sir  Thomas  Holcroft,  Knt,  lord  of  Billington  Manor," 
brought  a  suit  in  the  Duchy  Court  of  Lancaster  against  Henry  Morley, 
for  alleged  wrongful  possession  of  lands  in  Braddill  Fields  in  Billington, 
parcel  of  the  possessions  of  the  dissolved  Monastery  of  Whalley.  He 
died  about  1598. 

About  the  beginning  of  the  1 7th  century,  Sir  Thomas  Walmesley, 
Knt.,  purchased  the  manor  of  Billington  of  the  representative  of  Holcrofts 
of  Vale  Royal.  The  new  lord  of  the  manor  had  before  attached  to  his 
house  the  freehold  of  Hacking  in  Billington  by  his  marriage  with  the 
heiress  of  that  estate. 

FREEHOLD  ESTATE  OF  ASHETON  OF  GREAT  LEVER. 

The  Ashetons  of  Great  Lever  owned  lands  in  Billington,  which 
had  been  portion  of  the  estate  of  Whalley  Abbey.  Richard  Asheton, 
Esq.,  died  temp.  Eliz.,  seized  of  Whalley  manor  and  monastery,  Downham 
manor,  and  certain  messuages  and  lands  in  Blackburn  and  Billington. 
Ralph  Asheton,  Esq.,  lord  of  Great  Lever,  died  on  the  i2th  Jan.,  3oth 
Eliz.  (1587-8) ;  and  by  escheat  was  found  to  have  held  at  death,  among 
other  estates,  Downham  manor;  with  six  messuages,  six  cottages,  one 
water  mill,  100  acres  of  land,  40  acres  of  meadow,  100  acres  of  pasture, 
10  acres  of  wood,  and  200  acres  of  moor  and  turbary  in  Whalley  and 
Billington,  and  six  messuages,  40  acres  of  land,  8  acres  of  meadow,  40 
acres  of  pasture,  2  acres  of  wood,  and  100  acres  of  moor  and  turbary  in 
Billington  alone.  The  next  Ralph  Asheton,  who  died  Jan.  lyth,  1621-2, 
was  seized  at  his  death  of  Great  Lever  manor,  &c. ;  "  the  manor  or  house 
and  site  of  the  late  Monastery  of  Whalley;"  and  of  16  messuages,  14 
cottages,  i  water  corn-mill,  100  acres  of  arable  land,  40  acres  of  meadow, 
TOO  acres  of  pasture,  10  acres  of  woodland,  and  200  acres  of  moor  and 


430  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

turbary,  in  Whalley,  Pendleton,  and  in  the  parish  of  Blackburn ;  also  of 
lands  in  various  townships  in  Co.  Ebor ;  of  8  messuages,  40  acres  of 
arable  land,  8  acres  of  meadow,  40  acres  of  pasture,  10  acres  of  wood 
and  underwood,  and  100  acres  of  moor  and  turbary  in  Billington,  in  the 
parish  of  Blackburn ;  and  of  i  messuage,  2  gardens,  and  40  acres  of  land 
in  Oswaldtwistle ;  and  the  "  foresaid  manors,  lands,  tenements,  and  other 
premises,  and  appurtenances,  in  Whalley,  Billington,  Pendleton,"  &c., 
were  held  of  the  King  in  capite  by  knight -service  of  the  4oth  part  of  a 
knight's  fee;  and  were  worth  yearly  £15.  The  Asheton's  estate  in 
Billington  passed  to  the  Curzons,  and  was  eventually  sold,  by  a  member 
of  the  latter  family,  early  in  the  present  century,  to  Mr.  Petre,  lord  of 
the  manor. 

HACKING  OF  HACKING. 

The  freehold  estate  of  Hacking  (anciently  Hakkyng)  occupies  the 
north-eastern  angle  of  Billington,  at  the  confluence  of  the  rivers  Calder 
and  Ribble.  It  was  possessed  for  several  generations  before  A.D.  1330 
by  a  family  known  as  Del'  Hakkyng.  To  Bernard  del'  Hakkyng,  living 
in  1240,  Richard  de  Billington  made  a  deed  of  quit-claim. 

William  del'  Hakkyng  succeeds,  to  whom,  about  A.D.  1283,  Henry 
de  Lascy,  Earl  of  Lincoln,  grants  the  Mill  of  Billington,  erected  by  him 
upon  the  water  of  Ribble,  to  hold  of  him  (the  Earl)  for  himself,  his  heirs, 
&c.  He  had  a  son  Bernard. 

Bernard  del'  Hakkynge,  son  of  William,  occurs  in  1292,  in  1298, 
and  in  1313.  To  him,  by  deed  dated  1292,  Ralph  de  Kirkehame 
demises  all  his  right  in  that  land  in  the  vill  of  Billington  which  his 
mother  had  by  the  demision  of  William  del'  Hakkyng.  In  1311,  it  was 
found  that  Bernard  del'  Hakkyng  held  in  Whilpshire  half  an  oxgang  of 
land  in  thanage,  paying  yearly  ud.  and  suit  to  the  Court  of  Clitheroe. 
Bernard's  son  and  heir  was  William. 

William  del'  Hackinge,  son  of  Bernard,  succeeded.  By  deed  dated 
2nd  Edw.  III.  (1328-9),  Bernard  del'  Hackinge  gives  to  William  his  son 
and  heir  all  his  lands  and  tenements  in  the  vills  of  Aghton,  Billington, 
and  Dinkedley,  to  have,  &c.,  to  himself  and  his  heirs.  This  William  del* 
Hackinge  had  an  only  daughter  and  heiress  Agnes,  who  married  Henry 
de  Shuttleworth.  Her  sire,  the  last  representative  male  of  the  Del' 
Hackinge  family,  was  living  A.D.  1332. 

SHUTTLEWORTH  OF  SHUTTLEWORTH  AND  HACKING. 

Henry  de  Shotilworth  occurs  in  the  2nd  Henry  III.  (1214),  as 
then  holding  lands  in  the  hamlet  of  Shuttleworth  in  Hapton.  His  son 
was  Henry. 

Henry  de  Shotilworth,  son  of  Henry,  lived  temp.  Henry  III.  and 


SHUTTLEWORTH  OF  HACKING.  43  r 

Edward  I.  His  wife  was  Emma.  He  was  probably  father  of  John, 
named  below. 

John  de  Shotlesworth  was  found  at  the  De  Lascy  Inquisition  in  1311 
holding  of  the  Earl  Henry  de  Lascy  freely  10  acres  of  land  in  Huncote, 
paying  yearly  at  the  Feast  of  St.  Gyles  205.  and  25.  at  Midsummer  for 
Castle  Guard  at  Cliderhou. 

Henry  de  Shuttleworth,  the  next  member,  died  before  the  year  1326. 
The  Inq.  post  mort.  taken  at  Clitheroe,  July  22nd,  1326,  showed  that 
the  said  Henry  had  held  at  his  death  certain  lands  and  a  tenement  in 
Shuttleworth  (in  Hapton),  of  John  Talbot  (who  was  under  age  and  in  the 
King's  wardship),  son  and  heir  of  Edmund  Talbot,  by  fidelity  and  service 
of  43.  and  6  barbed  arrows;  of  the  lands  16  acres  were  arable,  worth 
53.  4d.  yearly;  4  acres  meadow,  worth  i6d. ;  and  24  acres  waste,  worth 
45.  yearly;  also  a  cottage  and  10  acres  of  land  in  Symondstone,  by 
thanage,  worth  35.  4d.  yearly.  John,  brother  of  the  said  Henry,  was 
heir,  and  aged  22  years.1 

John  de  Shuttleworth  is  named  in  the  Lansdowne  Feodary  as 
holding  lands  in  Huncot;  and  in  the  49th  Edw.  III.  (1375),  "John  de 
Schotelworth  the  elder"  enfeoffed  John  de  Pilkington,  Parson  of  Bury 
Church,  Henry  de  Shotelworth,  and  others,  of  all  his  lands  and  tenements 
in  Shuttleworth  in  the  vill  of  Hapton,  and  in  the  vill  of  Huncote,  to 
have  and  hold,  &c.,  with  the  condition  that  after  the  decease  of  the  said 
John  and  Henry,  remainder  be  limited  to  William,  son  of  Henry,  and  his 
heirs  male ;  remainder  to  his  brothers,  Robert,  Thomas,  and  Ughtrede. 

Henry  de  Shuttleworth,  the  first  of  Hacking  (brother  or  kinsman  of 
the  above  John),  married,  before  1330,  Agnes,  only  daughter  and  heiress 
of  William  de  Hakkyng,  and  had  issue,  sons,  John;  Thomas;  Ughtrede; 
Robert;  and  William.  By  a  deed  dated  42nd  Edw.  III.  (1369),  John 
de  Bridestwisel,  chaplain,  grants  to  Richard  de  Radcliffe  for  his  life  all 
his  messuages,  lands,  &c.,  in  the  vill  of  Billington,  with  one  mill,  and 
also  in  the  vill  of  Aghton,  which  he  had  of  the  feoffment  of  Henry  de 
Shottolworth  and  Agnes  his  wife;  after  decease  of  the  said  Richard 
Radcliffe,  remainder  to  Henry  and  Agnes  de  Shuttleworth  for  their  lives; 
remainder  to  John,  son  of  Henry,  and  his  heirs;  remainder  to  Thomas, 
Ughtred,  and  Robert,  brothers  of  John,  sons  of  Henry  de  Shuttleworth. 

Ughtred  Shuttleworth,  son  of  Henry,  is  named  as  first  of  Gawthorpe. 

John  Shuttleworth,  of  Hacking,  son  and  heir  of  Henry,  possessed 
the  lands  in  Hapton;  and  by  deed  dated  22nd  Ric.  II.  (1398),  John  son 
of  Henry  de  Shottjlesworth  quit-claims  to  John  del  Heye  of  Hapton  all 
his  right  in  ten  acres  of  land  lying  near  Shuttleworth  in  the  vill  of  Hapton. 
The  widow  of  this  John,  named  "Magota,"  was  living  in  1422. 

i  Lane.  Inquisitions,  Ed.  by  Wm.  Langton  (Cheth.  Socy.),  p.  152. 


432  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Henry  Shuttleworth,  of  Hackinge,  was  son  and  heir  of  John,  and  by 
a  deed  dated  ist  Henry  VI.  (1422),  Magota,  once  wife  of  John  de 
Shuttelworth,  binds  herself  to  pay  to  her  son  Henry,  at  the  feast  of  the 
Nativity  next  ensuing,  a  sum  of  £40  sterling.  Henry's  son  and  successor 
was  Robert. 

Robert  Shuttleworth,  of  Hackinge,  held  the  estate  in  the  middle 
part  of  the  fifteenth  century.  He  is  first  party  to  a  deed  (cited  below), 
made  in  the  year  1463.  He  had  a  son  and  heir,  Henry. 

Henry  Shuttleworth,  of  Hacking,  living  in  1461  and  in  1490,  had 
to  wife  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Thomas  Winkeley  (owner  of  Winkeley 
estate  near  Hacking  on  the  other  bank  of  Ribble).  Indenture  dated  2nd 
Edw.  IV.  (1463)  between  Robert  Shotelworth,  of  the  one  part,  and 
Thomas  Winkeley,  of  the  other  part,  witnesses  that  forasmuch  as  Henry 
Shotelworth,  son  and  heir  of  Robert,  has  wedded  Elizabeth,  daughter  of 
Thomas  Winkeley,  the  said  Robert  father  of  Henry  grants  to  Thomas 
Winkeley  that  he  shall  enfeoff  two  or  three  persons  nominated  by  the 
said  Thomas,  in  certain  rents,  lands  and  tenements.  Henry  Shuttleworth's 
son  and  heir  was  Robert.  Henry  Shuttleworth  and  Robert  his  son  are 
parties  to  an  agreement,  dated  6th  Hen.  VII.,  that  the  said  Henry  shall 
enter  peaceably  into  a  place  in  Simonstone,  &c. 

Robert   Shuttleworth,    of  Hacking,    gent.,  living  in   1490  and  in 

1509,  is  party  to  a  deed  of  bond  to  Ralph  Katerall,  of  Parva  Mitton,  m 
a  sum  of  j£ioo,  dated  Sept.  3oth,  23rd  Henry  VII.  (1508-9),  the  condi- 
tion of  the  obligation   being   that  if  the   said  Robert   truly  perform 
covenants  contained  in  a  pair  of  indentures  made  between  the  said 
Robert  and  Raufe  Katerall  concerning  the  marriage  of  Henry  Shuttle- 
worth  the  younger,  son  and  heir  of  Robert,  and  Katherine,  daughter  of 
the  said  Raufe,  bearing  date  Dec.  26th,  1508,  the  obligation  to  be  void, 
&c.     The  son  here  named,  Henry  Shuttleworth,  died  before  his  father, 
before  1513,  leaving  by  Katherine  his  wife  a  son  Robert,  born  about 

1510.  Robert  Shuttleworth  the  father  died  on  the  9th  September, 
5th  Henry  VIII.  (1513),  and  by  escheat  inquisition  taken  at  Wigan, 
in  the   yth   Henry  VIII.,   it   was   returned   that   Robert   Shotilworth, 
late  of  Hakkynge  in  the  vill  of  Billington,   had  died  seized  of  one 
messuage,  4  acres  of  arable  land,  4  acres  of  meadow,  and  4  acres  of 
wood,  in  Billington,  held  of  the  Abbot  of  Whalley,  in  socage,  by  a  rent 
of  6s.,  worth  22S.  8d. ;  other  lands  in  Billington,  of  the  Abbot,  worth  203. ; 
lands  in  Billington,  of  the  heir  of  John  Talbot,  in  socage,  by  a  rent  of 
2d.,  worth  2s. ;  a  messuage,  30  acres  of  land,  4  acres  of  pasture,  6  acres 
of  wood,  in  Aghton,  held  of  Hugh  Sherburne  in  socage,  by  i^d.  rent, 
worth  .405.  j   a  messuage,  24  acres  of  land,   8  acres  meadow,  20  acres 
pasture,  in  Simonstone,  held  of  the  King  in  socage,  by  25.  rent,  worth 


WALMESLEY,  LORDS  OF  BILLINGTON.  433 

265.  8d. ;  also  a  certain  chantry  in  the  Parish  Church  of  Blackburn. 
Robert  Shuttleworth,  son  of  Henry,  son  of  Robert  deceased,  was  found 
next  heir,  aged  5  years  and  upwards. 

Robert  Shuttleworth  of  Hacking,  gent,  grandson  and  heir  of  Robert, 
married  Isabel,  daughter  of  John  Hoghton  of  Pendleton,  gent,  (this  lady 
survived  him  and  subsequently  married  Robert  Morley  of  Dinkley,  gent,  ; 
she  was  living  in  1568),  and  had  issue  a  son  Robert;  I  think  a  son 
Charles;  also  a  daughter  Grace,  wife  of  Ralph  Parkinson  of  Falsnape. 
This  Robert  Shuttleworth,  on  the  survey  of  Whalley  Abbey  Lands  in 
1538,  was  found  holding  freely  lands  in  Billington  for  which  he  paid 
6s.  4d.  to  the  Abbey  yearly.  By  a  deed  dated  34  Henry  VIII.  (1543), 
Robert  Shutilworth  of  Hackinge,  gent.,  enfeoffed  Richard  Townley  the 
elder,  Esq.,  Alexander  Hoghton,  Richard  Greenacres,  and  John  Braddill, 
gentlemen,  of  all  his  lands  and  tenements,  including  the  "manor  of 
Hacking,"  in  trust  to  the  use  of  Robert  Shuttleworth  for  his  life,  &c.  He 
died  soon  after  this  deed  was  executed. 

Robert  Shuttleworth  of  Hacking,  gent.,  son  of  Robert,  married  Jane, 
daughter  of  Evan  Browne,  and  sister  and  co-heir  of  Richard  Browne,  of 
Ribbleton,  and  by  her  (who  died  before  1558)  had  one  daughter  and 
sole  heir,  who  married  Thomas  Walmesley  of  Dunkenhalgh,  Esq., 
and  conveyed  the  Hacking  estate  to  the  Walmesleys  after  her  sire's 
decease.  She  was  born  before  1550,  married  before  1570,  and  died,  in 
extreme  age,  in  1635.  Robert  Shuttleworth,  "in  right  of  Jane,  his  late 
wife,"  is  party  to  a  deed  of  partition  of  the  estate  of  Richard  Browne, 
gent.,  deceased,  among  the  representatives  of  his  six  sisters  and  co-heirs, 
dated  ist  Eliz.  (1558).  Robert  Shuttleworth,  gent,  died  before  1570. 

WALMESLEY,  AND  PETRE,  OF  DUNKENHALGH,  LORDS  OF 
BILLINGTON. 

Thomas  Walmesley,  Esq.,  eldest  son  of  Thomas  Walmesley  of 
Showley,  gent  (see /<?.$•/,  under  Clayton-in-le-Dale),  married,  before  1570, 
Anne,  daughter  and  sole  heiress  of  Robert  Shuttleworth,  gent.,  and  thus 
secured  the  estate  of  Hacking  to  his  line  of  Walmesleys.  This  notable 
lawyer  was  born  in  1537;  was  a  sergeant-at-law  before  1586  ;  a  Queen's 
Commissioner  for  the  Military  Levy  in  1580;  on  May  loth,  1589,  was 
appointed  Justice  of  the  Common  Pleas;  and  was  knighted  by  James  I. 
in  1603.  Amassing  wealth  by  his  legal  practice,  Sir  Thomas  Walmesley 
acquired  by  purchase  in  rapid  succession,  between  1570  and  1610, 
manorial  and  other  estates  in  Lancashire  and  Yorkshire  ;  among  them 
the  manor  of  Clayton-les-Moors  and  demesne  of  Dunkenhalgh,  which  he 
made  his  family  seat ;  the  manor  of  Rishton;  lands  in  Church  ;  half  the 
manor  of  Samlesbury ;  the  manor  of  Nether  Darwen ;  and  the 
manor  of  Billington,  purchased  from  Holcroft ;  as  well  as  freehold 

28 


434 


HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


lands  of  the  Cunliffes  and  others  in  this  township.  For  possession 
of  the  "capital  messuage  called  the  Hackinge,"  with  lands  in 
Billington  and  Aghton,  Thomas  Walmesley  and  Anne  his  wife 
had  several  suits  in  the  Duchy  Court  with  one  Charles  Shuttle- 
worth,  a  kinsman,  perhaps,  of  Mistress  Walmesley,  about  the  year 
1570.  Sir  Thomas  Walmesley,  Knt,  rebuilt  the  halls  of  Dunken- 
halgh  and  Hacking — the  latter  in  1607.  Sir  Thomas  died,  aged  75,  on 
the  26th  Nov.,  1612,  and  was  buried  in  the  south  chapel  of  Blackburn 
Church,  where  an  elaborate  monument  in  alabaster  was  erected  to  him, 
destroyed  during  the  Civil  War,  about  I642-4.1  He  had  settled  his  estates 
by  deed  of  trust  dated  March  2oth,  1606-7. 2  The  Inq.  post  mort.,  taken 
in  the  nth  Jas.  L,  returned  that  he  had  been  seized  at  death  of  Rishton 
manor,  held  of  the  King  as  of  the  Duchy  of  Lancaster,  for  the  fourth 
part  of  a  Knight's  fee,  worth  yearly  £6  138.  4d.;  half  the  manor  of 
Claiton-super-Mores,  held  of  the  King,  for  the  8th  part  of  a  Knight's 
fee,  worth  yearly  405.;  half  the  manor  of  Billington,  held  of  the  King,  for 
the  40th  part  of  a  Knight's  fee,  worth  yearly  ^"10 ;  the  messuage  called 
Cunliffe  House,  and  lands  and  tenements  in  Billington ;  half  the  manor 
of  Nether  Darwyn,  of  the  King,  for  the  8th  part  of  a  Knight's  fee,  worth 
yearly  ^5  ;  lands  and  tenements  in  Church,  of  the  King  as  of  his 
manor  of  Clitherowe,  in  socage,  worth  yearly  45. ;  lands  and  tenements  in 

1  Lansdowne  MS.  973,  in  the  British  Museum  Library,  contains  a  copy  of  Judge  Walmesley 's 
epitaph  from  this  monument,  which  records  that  he  was  a  Judge  of  the  Common  Pleas  from  the  3ist 
Eliz. ,  a  space  of  25  years,   "  during  which  time  he  went  all  the  circuits  of  England,  except  that  of 
Norfolk  and  Suffolk."    The  tomb  also  had  inscribed  upon  it  the  elegy,  the  first  and  last  lines  of  which 
are  subjoined : — 

Tombs  have  their  periods,  monuments  decay, 

And  age  and  rust  wear  epitaphs  away  ; 

But  neither  rust,  nor  age,  nor  time  shall  wear 

JUDGE  WALMESLEY'S  name,  that  lies  entombed  here, 

Who  never  did,  for  favour  or  for  awe 

Of  great  men's  frowns,  quit  or  forsake  the  law. 

For  when  as  old  age,  creeping  on  apace, 
Made  him  unable  to  supply  his  place, 
Yet  he  continued,  by  the  King's  permission, 
A  judge  until  his  death,  still  in  commission  ; 
And  still  received,  by  his  special  grace, 
His  fee,  as  full  as  when  he  served  the  place. 

2  By  this  deed,  the  parties  to  which  are  Sir  Thomas  Walmesley,  Knt.,  of  the  ist  part ;  Thomas, 
his  son  and  heir,  of  the  and  part ;  Rt.  Hon.  Henry  Lord  Danvers,  George  Talbot,  gent.,  and  William 
Rishton,  Thomas  Clayton,  and  John  Barker  (servants  of  Sir  Thomas),  of  the  3rd  part,  it  is  witnessed 
that  Sir  Thomas  Walmesley  the  father,  for  the  continuance  of  his  manors  and  lands  in  his  own  name 
and  blood,  grants  to  the  parties  of  the  3rd  part,  the  manors  and  lordships  of  Rishton,  Billington,  and 
Nether  Darwen,  and  half  the  manor  of  Clayton-les-Moors,  Co.  Lancaster;  manor  of  Paythorne,  &c., 
Co.  York  ;  and  all  estates  in  the  a'bove  townships  and  in  Whalley,  Dinckley,  Blackburn,  Over  Dar- 
wen, Pleasington,  Church,  Clitheroe,  Ribchester,  Ribbleton,  &c.  ;  with  lands,  tythes,  £c.,  parcel  of 
the  possessions  of  the  late  Monastery  of  Selby  ;  and  lands  had  by  purchase  from  Edmund  Talbot, 
Esq.  ;  to  have  and  hold  in  trust  to  the  use  of  the  said  Sir  Thomas  Walmesley  and  the  heirs  male  of  his 
body  ;  with  remainders  in  default  of  issue  of  Sir  Thomas,  or  of  Thomas  Walmesley  the  son,  &c. 


WALMESLEY,  LORDS  OF  BILLINGTON.  435 

Dinckley,  of  the  King,  as  of  his  manor  of  Clitherowe,  in  socage,  worth 
yearly  53. ;  lands  and  tenements  in  Clitherowe,  in  free  burgage  of  the 
Duchy  of  Lancaster,  worth  203.,  &c.  The  heiress  of  Hacking,  Sir 
Thomas's  widow, — "  Ladie  Walmsley,  gen.,  de  Dunkinhalge," — was 
buried  in  Blackburn  Church,  April  igth,  1635  ;  she  died  at  a  great  age. 

Thomas  Walmesley,  of  Dunkenhalgh,  Esq.,  lord  of  Billington,  son 
and  heir  of  the  Judge,  born  before  1575,  married,  first,  Elinor,  daughter 
of  Sir  John  Danvers  of  Dantsey,  Co.  Wilts.,  by  whom  he  had  issue,  sons, 
John,  died  young  in  April,  1600;  and  Thomas,  eventual  heir;  and 
daughters,  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Richard  Sherburne  of  Stonyhurst,  Esq.;  and 
Anne,  wife  of  Sir  Edward  Osborne  of  Kineton,  Co.  York.  His  second 
wife  was  Mary,  a  sister  of  Sir  Richard  Hoghton,  Bart.,  by  whom  (she  died 
in  July,  1632)  he  had  issue  a  son  Charles,  born  in  1608,  of  Stanger 
Hall,  near  Selby,  Co.  York.  Thomas  Walmesley,  Esq.,  died  March 
1 2th,  1641-2;  buried  at  Blackburn  Church,  March  i6th;  his  son  and 
heir,  named  below,  being  then  deceased. 

Thomas  Walmesley,  son  of  Thomas,  was  knighted  by  King  James  at 
Hoghton  Tower,  August  i6th,  1617.  He  had  married,  early  in  the  same 
year,  Juliana,  sixth  daughter  of  Sir  Richard  Molyneux,  Knt,  lord  of 
Sefton.  He  brought  home  his  wife  to  Dunkenhalgh  on  July  i4th,  1617, 
as  recorded  by  Nicholas  Asheton,  the  Downham  Journalist : — "July  14. 
I  to  Dunkenhalgh.  To  Blackburn,  to  meete  old  Sir  Ric.  Molyneux, 
etc.;  then  we  went  past  the  Bund,  and  met  Sir  Tho.  Gerrard  and  his 
lady ;  Sir  Ric.  Molyneux,  junr. ;  his  lady  and  hee  came  presently  after, 
with  young  Mr.  Walmsley,  whose  wyfe,  Sir  Ric.  Molyneux's  daughter, 
was  her  first  tyme  of  coming  to  Dunkenhalgh."1  By  this  lady  he  had 
issue,  sons,  Richard  ;  Thomas,  and  John,  both  died  young  ;  and  William, 
of  the  Lower  Hall,  Samlesbury,  married  thrice,  but  died  without  issue ; 
and  daughters,  Hellen,  wife  of  Sir  Godfrey  Copley,  Bart. ;  Anne,  died 
unmarried ;  and  Juliana,  wife  of  Francis  lord  Carington.  The  father, 
Sir  Thomas  Walmesley,  Knt,  died  in  July,  1636  ;  buried  at  Blackburn, 
July  1 3th.  His  estates  at  his  death,  by  inquisition  taken  at  Blackburn, 
Sept.  2ist,  1 3th  Chas.  I.,  included  (in  Lancashire)  the  manors  of 
Billington,  Nether  Darwyn,  and  Rishton ;  half  the  manor  of  Clayton- 
super-Mores  ;  lands  and  messuages  in  Church,  Dinkley,  Ribchester,  &c.; 
and,  besides  the  manorial  estate  in  Billington,  is  named  the  freehold 
messuage  of  CunlirTe-house,  with  garden,  30  acres  of  land,  10  acres  of 
meadow,  and  20  acres  of  pasture  appurtenant  to  Cunliffe-house  in 
Billington  and  Wilpshire. 

Richard  Walmesley,  Esq.,  son  and  heir  of  Thomas,  next  lord  of  this 
manor,  born  in  1630,  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Barthol.  Fromund,  Esq., 

i  Asheton's  Journal,  ed.  by  Raines  (Cheth.  Socy.),  pp.   25-6. 


436  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

of  Cheame,  Co.  Surrey,  and  had  issue,  sons,  Thomas,  bom  in  1658; 
Richard;  Charles;  and  Bartholomew.  Thomas,  first  son,  died  unmarried, 
at  Paris,  in  1677  ;  Richard,  second  son,  died  in  Rome,  in  I680,1  shortly 
after  his  father's  decease,  also  unmarried  ;  and  the  third  son,  Charles, 
also  dying  issueless,  the  youngest  son,  Bartholomew,  became  heir.  There 
were  two  daughters,  Anne,  and  Eleanor.  Richard  Walmesley,  Esq.,  was 
on  the  King's  side  in  the  Civil  War,  and  his  mansion  at  Dunkenhalgh 
was  taken  and  ransacked  by  a  detachment  of  Parliamentarian  soldiers. 
He  died  April  26th,  1679,  aged  49,  and  was  buried  in  Blackburn  Church, 
April  3oth. 

Bartholomew  Walmesley,  Richard's  youngest  but  last  surviving  son, 
inherited  the  estates.  He  was  a  minor  some  years  after  his  succession. 
His  wife  was  Dorothy,  daughter  of  John  Smith,  Esq.,  of  Crabbet,  Co. 
Sussex,  by  whom  he  had  one  son,  Francis,  born  Oct.  i3th,  1696;  daugh- 
ters, Julian,  born  1695,  died  Oct.,  1702;  Catherine,  born  Jan.  6th,  1697-8; 
Mary,  died  young,  Nov.,  1 702.  Bartholomew  Walmesley,  Esq.,  was  tried 
at  Manchester,  in  1694,  for  complicity  in  an  alleged  treasonable  Jacobite 
plot,  but  was  acquitted.  He  died  in  January,  1701-2. 

Francis  Walmesley,  Esq.,  only  son,  was  five  years  old  on  his  succes- 
sion. He  died  unmarried,  aged  14  years,  in  April,  1711,  and  was  buried 
at  Blackburn,  May  2nd. 

Catherine  Walmesley,  in  1711  sole  surviving  child  of  Bartholomew 
Walmesley  and  heiress  of  the  family  estates,  married,  at  the  age  of  1 5, 
March  ist,  1712-13,  Robert,  seventh  Baron  Petre,  ofWrittle,  Co.  Essex, 
who  died  of  small  pox  early  in  the  following  year.  His  widow,  Lady 
Catherine  Petre,  gave  birth  to  a  son,  June  3rd,  1713,  christened  Robert 
James,  who  duly  succeeded  to  the  title.  Lady  Petre  married,  secondly, 
in  1733,  Charles  Lord  Stourton.  She  died,  the  last  of  the  Walmesleys  of 
this  branch,  in  1785,  aged  88. 

Her  son,  Robert  James,  8th  Baron  Petre,  married,  in  1732,  Lady 
Anne  Radcliffe,  daughter  of  James,  Earl  of  Derwentwater,  and  had  issue 
a  son  and  heir  Robert  Edward  ;  and  three  daughters.  His  lordship  died 
in  1742.  Robert  Edward,  ninth  Lord  Petre,  married  Anne,  daughter 
and  co-heir  of  Philip  Howard,  Esq.,  and  had  issue,  sons,  Robert  Edward, 
tenth  baron ;  and  George  William,  who  heired  the  Lancashire  estates. 
Lord  Robert  Edward  Petre  died  in  1801  ;  Will  dated  July  25th,  1795, 
proved  July  i4th,  1801. 

George  William  Petre,  of  Dunkenhalgh,  Esq.,  younger  son  of  the 

i  His  epitaph,  in  one  of  the  churches  of  Rome,  is  as  follows  :— "D.O.M.  Richardo  Walmesley, 
secundo  genito  et  ex  morte  primi  fratris  heredi,  Richardi  Walmesley  nobilis  armigeri  de  Dunkenhall, 
comitatus  Lancastrensis,  et  Marise  Fromounds  de  Cheame,  nobilis  itemarmigen  comitatus 
Surriensis,  qui  set.  an.  xx  urbem  ingressus,  decimo  quarto  post  die,  non  tarn  celeri  quam  felici  morte 
abreptus,  in  ea  piisime  quievit,  secundo  Dec.  an.  MDCLXXX.  Charis  filii  cineribus  Mater 
illacrymans  posuit." 


HACKING  HALL,  BILLINGTON.  437 

ninth  baron  Petre,  born  in  1766,  died  in  1797,  leaving,  by  Maria  his  wife, 
a  son  and  heir,  Henry  William  Petre,  Esq.,  of  Dunkenhalgh  ;  born  in  1 791, 
married,  first,  Elizabeth  Jane,  daughter  of  Edward  Glyn,  Esq.,  and  had 
issue,  sons,  Henry,  and  George  Glyn;  and  three  daughters.  His  second 
wife  was  Adeliza  Maria,  daughter  of  Henry  Howard,  Esq.,  whom  he 
married  in  1830,  and  who  died  Sept.  9th,  1833,  leaving  issue,  sons, 
Edward  Henry,  born  Feb.  2ist,  1831;  and  Oswald.  Mr.  Petre  married, 
thirdly,  in  1834,  Martha  Agatha  Hoffnell ;  and  he  died  Nov.  26th,  1852. 
His  eldest  son,  Henry  Petre,  Esq.,  now  of  Dunkenhalgh,  inherited  the 
Billington,  Clayton,  and  Rishton  manorial  estates.  He  was  born  Aug. 
27th,  1821;  married,  Aug.  i3th,  1846,  Miss  Power,  and  has  issue. 

The  extent  of  the  manorial  and  other  estates  of  Mr.  Petre  in 
Billington  amounts  altogether  to  nearly  2000  statute  acres. 

Hacking  Hall,  rebuilt  by  Judge  Walmesley,  temp.  James  I.,  stands 
close  to  the  left  bank  of  the  Ribble.  The  frontage  presents  projecting 
wings  at  the  flanks,  within  which  on  either  hand  are  narrower  bays 
somewhat  withdrawn,  with  a  central  division  further  recessed.  There 
are  three  storeys  in  elevation,  and  the  roof-line  is  vandyked  with  five 
gables  surmounting  the  wings  and  middle  bays.  The  front  entrance  is 
by  a  doorway  in  the  centre  recess,  having  a  slightly  arched  head  under 
a  heavy  square  lintel.  The  windows  on  this  front,  fourteen  in  number 
on  the  three  floors,  are  mullioned  (the  larger  and  lower  ones  transomed), 
square-headed,  with  moulded  dripstones.  At  each  end  of  the  building 
massive  chimneys  project  exteriorly,  and  there  is  another  bold  chimney 
projection  at  the  back  of  the  house.  The  farm  offices  extend  from  the 
main  building  at  its  west  end.  The  back  of  the  hall  has  four  gables, 
and  both  ends  are  double-gabled.  The  exterior  is  in  good  preservation. 
An  inscribed  stone  fixed  in  the  upper  part  of  the  chimney  at  the  east 
end  bears  the  date  "1607,"  and  the  initials  "T  L"  which  must  be 
those  of  Thomas  Livesey,  father  of  Sir  Thomas  Walmesley's  mother.  In 
the  interior,  the  kitchen  has  the  arch  of  the  original  open  fire-place, 
which  is  13  feet  wide  to  the  outside  of  the  splayed  jambs,  and  above  six 
feet  in  height.  The  middle  of  the  building  on  the  ground  floor  is 
occupied  by  a  'large  hall,  about  30  feet  by  20  feet,  with  diamond-flagged 
floor,  and  its  wall  at  the  west  end  panelled  in  square  panels.  The  arch 
of  the  old  fire-place  is  here  also.  At  the  east  end  of  the  house  a  spiral 
oaken  staircase  leads  to  the  first  floor,  and  a  smaller  stair,  of  similar 
construction,  ascends  from  the  opposite  end ;  the  steps  of  both  are  of 
thick  oak.  The  principal  chamber  on  the  first  floor  is  in  the  east  wing; 
it  had  a  polished  oak  floor,  and  was  panelled  in  richly  carved  oak,  one 
compartment  of  which  bore  the  arms  of  the  builder,  Judge  Walmesley. 


438  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

The  carved  oak  work  was  stripped  off  the  walls  some  years  ago,  and 
conveyed  to  Dunkenhalgh.  On  the  upper  floor  of  the  hall  the  centre  is 
open  the  whole  length  of  the  building,  and  has  the  appearance  of  a  long 
arched  gallery.  The  oak  timbers  supporting  the  roof  are  framed  so  as 
to  form  a  succession  of  pointed  arches,  with  the  gable  lights  opening 
between  them.  The  masonry  of  Hacking  Hall  is  of  durable  gritstone, 
solidly  built. 

BRADDYLL  OF  BRADDYLL  AND  BROCKHOLE. 

At  Braddyll  and  the  contiguous  tenement  of  Brockhole  or  Brock- 
hall,  on  the  bank  of  Ribble,  in  this  township,  was  seated  of  yore  a 
family  which  took  its  name  from  the  former  of  these  residences — De 
Braddyll. 

The  early  orthography  of  the  name  is  Bradhull.  Thomas  de 
Bradhull  occurs  temp.  John  and  Henry  III.  He  had  sons,  Henry,  the 
heir ;  Robert,  who  had  lands  in  Salesbury ;  and  Roger,  who  had  a  son 
Geoffrey,  married  to  his  cousin  Alice,  daughter  of  Henry  de  Bradhull. 

Henry  de  Bradhull,  son  of  Thomas,  held  lands  in  Billington, 
and  had  sons,  Walter,  the  heir ;  John,  and  Henry ;  and  a  daughter  Alice, 
married  Geoffrey  her  cousin.  Walter  de  Bradhull  had  to  wife  Alice  de 
Dinkley,  by  whom  he  had  sons,  Roger  and  John.  Roger  de  Bradhull 
had  two  sons,  Henry  and  John,  and  a  daughter  Alice. 

Henry  de  Bradhull,  son  of  Roger,  is  probably  the  Henry  who,  at  the 
De  Lascy  Inquisition  of  1311,  held  in  Wilpshire,  the  next  township  to 
Billington,  half  an  oxgang  and  a  third  in  thanage,  and  paid  is.  3d.  and 
suit  of  Clitherp  Court.  Henry  de  Bradhull  appears  as  witness  to  a  deed 
of  yth  Edw.  II.  (1313),  and  others  of  about  the  same  date. 

His  son  and  heir,  John  de  Bradhull,  occurs  in  title-deeds  of  Whalley 
Abbey,  in  1331-3-7.  By  deed  of  7th  Edw.  III.,  "Joannes  films  Henrici 
de  Bradhull"  quit-claims  to  the  abbot  and  monks  all  his  right  and  claim 
in  certain  lands  in  Billington.  John  de  Bradhull,  by  his  wife  Margaret, 
daughter  of  Robert  de  Symonston,  had  a  son  Henry  de  Bradhull.  The 
latter  had  a  son  John,  whose  son  and  heir  was  Edward  Bradhull,  and  he 
had  a  son  Richard. 

Richard  Braddyll,  Edward's  heir,  was  in  possession  of  Braddyll  and 
Brockhole  temp.  Henry  VI.  and  Edward  IV.  His  wife  was  Margaret, 
daughter  of  Sir  Wm.  Harrington,  of  Hornby  Castle.  His  sons  were, 
John;  and  William,  a  clerk. 

The  next  member,  John  Braddyll,  gent.,  by  his  wife  Emota,  daugh- 
ter of  Wm.  Pollard  of  Billington,  gent.,  had  issue,  sons,  Edward,  William, 
Henry,  Richard,  and  Barnard,  all  living  A.D.  1544. 

Edward    Braddyll,    gent.,   eldest  son  of  John,  by  his  wife  Jennet, 


BRADDYLL  OF  BRADDYLL. 


439 


daughter  of  Robert  Crombroke  of  Clerk  Hill,  gent.,  haji  issue,  sons, 
John,  Richard,  and  William;  and  a  daughter  Margery,  wife  of  John 
Ghatborne,  gent.  Edward  Braddyll  died  in  1553. 

John  Braddyll,  of  Braddyll  and  Brockhole,  gent.,  Edward's  son, 
married,  in  1533,  Jennet,  daughter  of  John  Foster  of  Whalley,  gent,  and 
by  her  had  sons,  Edward,  the  heir  ;  and  Richard,  who  married  Dorothy, 
daughter  of  Thomas  Catterall,  Esq.,  and  relict  of  Robert  Sherburne  of 
Mytton ;  and  daughters,  Jennet,  wife  of  Uchtred  Morley  of  Braddyll, 
gent;  Ann,  wife  of  John  Chew  of  Parkhead  ;  and  Cecilia,  wife  of  Bernard 
Blakey,  gent.  John  Braddyll  followed  the  profession  of  law,  and 
traded  largely  in  lands  of  the  suppressed  monasteries.  He  was  made 
bailiff  of  Whalley  Abbey  demesne,  soon  after  its  forfeiture,  and,  in  1541, 
purchased,  jointly  with  Richard  Asheton,  the  Whalley  estate  from  the 
Crown,  for  ^2,132  33.  gd.  John  Braddyll,  Esq.,  died  in  November, 
1578.  His  Will  is  dated  May  3ist,  1575,  and  in  it  testator  charges 
Edward  his  son,  and  John  his  grandson,  son  of  Edward,  as  to  their 
manner  of  spending  the  estate  after  his  decease,  seeing  that  "the  most 
part  of  the  lands  which  I  leave  unto  them  came  unto  me  by  special 
gift  and  suffrance  of  Almighty  God,  etc.,  by  reason  of  buying  and  selling 
of  lands  that  I  bought  of  King  Henry  the  Eighte,"  etc.  To  his  son 
Edward  testator  gives  specified  chattels  in  his  houses,  bams,  etc.,  at 
Brockehall  and  Whalley.1  The  Inq.  post  mart,  was  taken  at  Whalley, 
June  8th,  2ist  Eliz.  (1579).  Deceased  was  found  to  have  been  seized 
of  Symondston  Manor,  with  12  messuages,  and  30  acres  of  land,  rents, 
etc.  Also  of  12  messuages,  6  cottages,  100  acres  of  arable  land,  30 
acres  of  meadow,  100  acres  of  pasture,  and  8  acres  of  wood  in  Whalley, 
held  of  the  queen  in  capite  by  knight  service ;  and  one  capital  messuage 
in  Whalley.  Also  of  one  capital  messuage  called  Brockhole  in  Billington, 
with  80  acres  of  arable  land,  16  acres  of  meadow,  70  acres  of  pasture,  8 
acres  of  wood,  and  100  acres  of  moor  and  turbary  in  Billington,  held  in 
free  socage  of  Thomas  Holcroft,  Esq.  Also  of  ten  messuages  and  two 
cottages,  four  messuages  and  one  cottage,  40  acres  of  land,  and  one  acre 
of  wood  in  Dinckley.  Also  of  three  messuages  in  Wiswall,  with  40  acres 
of  land,  and  60  acres  of  moor,  etc.  Also  of  three  messuages  in  Parva 
Harwood,  40  acres  of  land  and  5  acres  of  turbary,  etc.;  with  other  estates. 
Edward  Braddyll  was  son  and  next  heir. 

Edward  Braddyll,  Esq.,  married,  first,  Aug.  5th,  1554,  Ann,  daughter 
of  Ralph  Asheton  of  Great  Lever,  Esq.,  and  had  issue,  sons,  John, 
Richard,  Edward  (a  priest),  Ralph,  Cuthbert,  Gilbert,  Thomas,  and 
Bernard  ;  and  daughters,  Anne,  wife  of  Thomas  Southworth,  gent.; 
Dorothy,  wife  of  John  Talbot  of  Carr ;  Lettice,  wife  of  John  Nowell, 

i  Lane,  and  Chesh.  Wills  (Cheth.  Socy.),  v.  ii,  pp.  106-13. 


44o  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

gent.;  and  Jennet,  wife  of  Thomas  Brockholes  of  Claughton.  Dame 
Ann  Braddyll  died  in  Dec.,  1586.  Edward  Braddyll's  second  wife  was 
Ellen,  daughter  of  Henry  Starkey  of  Aughton,  Esq.;  by  whom  he  had  a 
son  John  ;  and  a  daughter  Katherine,  wife  of  Gilbert  Lawe,  of  Whalley. 
He  married  thirdly,  Dec.  i6th,  1594,  Elizabeth  Pollard  ;  and  died  Oct. 
6th,  1607  ;  and  by  Inq.  post  mort.  was  found  seized  of  one  capital 
messuage  called  Portfield,  etc.,  in  Whalley ;  two  messuages  in  Billington 
called  Brockhole,  with  ten  other  messuages,  two  cottages,  80  acres  of 
arable  land,  16  acres  of  meadow,  60  acres  of  pasture,  8  acres  of  woodland, 
and  100  acres  of  moor  and  moss,  in  Billington;  two  messuages,  one 
cottage,  40  acres  of  land,  meadow  and  pasture,  and  one  acre  of  wood- 
land in  Dinckley ;  and  of  four  messuages,  lands  and  tenements  in  Parva 
Harwood.  John  Braddyll,  son  and  heir,  was  aged  50  years. 

John  Braddyll,  Esq.,  son  of  Edward,  made  his  residence  at  Port- 
field,  on  the  Whalley  estate.  He  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Thomas 
Brockholes,  of  Claughton.  Issue,  sons,  Edward,  John,  and  Thomas; 
the  first  and  the  last  dying  unmarried  in  their  father's  lifetime,  and  the 
second,  John,  falling  heir;  and  daughters,  Anne,  died  unmarried;  Joan; 
Alice,  married,  first,  Richard  Towneley  of  Barnside,  and,  secondly, 
Christopher  Towneley  of  Carr  (the  antiquary);  and  Dorothy,  wife  of 
Thomas  Vavasour.  John  Braddyll,  Esq.,  died  Jan.  7th,  1615-6. 

John  Braddyll,  son,  was  of  age  in  1620,  and  had  livery  of  his  estate 
May  24th  of  that  year.  His  first  wife,  Milicent,  daughter  of  John  Talbot 
of  Bashall,  died  in  May,  1620,  leaving  a  son  and  heir,  John,  bapt.  March 
22nd,  1618;  and  a  daughter,  Ann,  born  1615,  died  1616.  The  son  of 
this  marriage,  John  Braddyll,  gent.,  died  in  his  father's  lifetime. 
Engaged  in  the  Civil  War,  he  was  mortally  wounded  at  Thornton  Hall 
in  Craven  in  1643;  buried  at  Whalley,  July  27th.  John  Braddyll,  the 
father,  married,  secondly,  Margaret,  daughter  of  John  Crombocke,  of 
Wiswall.  Issue,  sons,  Thomas;  Edward  (married  Margaret,  daughter  of 
George  Halsted,  of  Bank-house,  Burnley;  and  died  at  Dr.  Halsted's, 
Manchester,  Aug.,  1684);  Roger  (born  in  1634,  of  London  in  1714);  and 
John,  buried  Aug.  3rd,  1643.  Daughters,  Elizabeth  (wife  of  John 
Brockholes,  Esq.);  Dorothy;  Milicent  (wife  of  Tempest  Slinger,  of 
Dunnow,  Co.  Ebor,  gent);  Lettice  (wife  of  Thomas  Greenfield,  gent); 
and  Alice.  John  Braddyll  died  in  March,  1655;  buried  at  Whalley, 
April  5th.  He  was  an  active  soldier  on  the  side  of  Parliament  through- 
out the  Civil  War  of  1642-51. 

Thomas  Braddyll,  Esq.,  after  the  death  in  fight  of  his  brother  John, 
became  heir  and  succeeded  his  father,  in  1655,  at  the  age  of  24.  He 
married,  in  March,  1655,  Jane,  daughter  and  coheir  of  William  Rishton 
of  Donishop,  gent,  and  by  her  (she  died  in  1698)  had  issue,  sons,  John, 


BARKER  OF  WHETLEY. 


441 


the  heir,  born  Sept  i8th,  1659;  and  Thomas,  born  1663,  died  1672; 
daughters,  Anne,  born  1655,  died  unmarried  in  1732;  Grace,  wife  of 
Alexander  Osbaldeston,  Esq.;  Margaret,  and  Alice.  Thomas  Braddyll 
purchased  of  Edward  Southworth  the  hall  and  manor  of  Samlesbury  in 
1679.  He  died  in  May,  1706. 

John  Braddyll,  Esq.,  of  Portfield,  married  Sarah,  daughter  and  sole 
heir  of  Myles  Dodding,  of  Conishead  Priory,  Esq.  Issue,  sons,  Dodding, 
died  young;  a  second  Dodding,  born  June,  1689;  Thomas,  died  young; 
a  secc-nd  Thomas,  born  1691,  died,  unmarried,  in  1747;  John,  born 
1695,  died  in  1753  (leaving  sons,  John,  died  unmarried  in  1705,  and 
Dodding,  died  issueless);  William,  born  1700,  died  s.  p.;  Roger,  died, 
aged  13,  in  1686;  daughters,  Jane,  died  unmarried;  Margaret,  married 
Christopher  Wilson,  of  Bardsey  Hall,  Esq.;  Sarah,  died  unmarried; 
Agnes,  and  Anne.  John  Braddyll,  Esq.,  died  March  3rd,  1727-8,  buried 
at  Ulverston. 

Dodding  Braddyll,  Esq.,  his  heir,  by  his  wife  Mary,  daughter  of 
Samuel  Hyde,  Esq.,  of  London,  had  sons,  Roger,  died,  aged  7,  in  1726-7; 
Roger,  died  young;  and  Thomas.  The  father  died  Dec.  31  St.,  1748. 

Thomas  Braddyll,  Esq.,  third  son,  was  eventually  heir  to  the  estates. 
He  was  born  May  6th,  1730,  and  died  unmarried  July  25th,  1776; 
having  willed  his  estates  to  his  cousin,  Wilson  Gale,  Esq.,  (grandson  of 
Margaret,  daughter  of  John  Braddyll,  and  wife  of  Christr.  Wilson,  Esq.,) 
who  assumed  the  surname  of  Braddyll  by  royal  warrant  in  1776,  and 
whose  son,  Thomas  Richmond  Gale  Braddyll,  before  his  death  was 
forced  to  sell  the  family  estates  in  Billington,  Samlesbury,  Whalley,  and 
Furness,  having  ruined  himself  by  foolish  extravagance. 

The  Braddyll-with-Brockhole  estate  and  other  lands  in  Billington, 
were  bought,  about  the  close  of  last  century,  by  James  Taylor,  Esq.,  of 
Moreton  Hall.  They  comprise  740  acres  of  land,  of  which  173  acres 
are  woodland.  At  Braddyll  there  is  now  only  a  small  ruined  tenement 
on  the  site  of  the  old  messuage.  At  Brockhole  the  hall  has  been 
modernised  for  a  farm-house. 

BARKER  OF  WHETLEY,  &c. 

William  Barker  held  Whetley,  in  Billington,  in  freehold,  in  the  reign  of 
Henry  VIII.  At  the  time  of  the  survey  of  Abbey  lands  in  this  township,  in  1538,  it 
was  returned  that  "the  heirs  of  William  Barker  holdeth  freely  certain  lands  called 
Whetley,  and  payeth  yearly  a  brocle  arrow  and  suit  in  the  court." 

The  Barkers  also  held  land  in  the  township  of  Salesbury.      Robert  Barker  died 
before  the  4th  Phillip  and  Mary  (1556),   when  Jane  Barker,   widow  of  Robert,   was  • 
against  William  Barker  in  a  suit  as  to  title  to  lands  called  Fayrehurst,  in  Salesbury. 

William  Barker  was  taxed  for  lands  in  Salesbury  to  a  Subsidy  in  1570,  and  was 
assessed  to  furnish  arms  in  the  military  levy  of  1574.  "  William  Barker,  gent.,"  was- 
a  juror  at  John  Braddyll's  escheat  in  1579. 


442 


HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


Robert  Barker,  of  Whetley,  gent.,  is  in  a  list  of  local  freeholders  in  the  year 
1600.  The  same  occurs  as  a  juror  in  1612,  1613,  and  1616.  Robert  Barker  is 
assessed  upon  lands  in  Salesbury  to  the  Subsidy  of  1611: 

Bartholomew  Barker,  gent.,  who  died  about  1641,  owned  lands  in  several  town- 
ships in  Blackburn  Parish.  His  escheat  was  taken  at  Blackburn,  April  28th,  iyth 
Charles  I.  The  jurors  said  that  the  deceased  Bartholomew  Barker  had  been  seized  of 
these  estates  : — Two  messuages,  two  gardens,  1 6  acres  of  land,  10  acres  of  meadow, 
I o  acres  of  pasture,  and  2  acres  of  woodland,  in  Salesbury,  held  of  John  Talbot,  Knt., 
in  socage  ;  one  messuage,  one  garden,  and  8  acres  of  land,  meadow  and  pasture,  in 
Dutton,  of  the  King  in  socage  ;  20  acres  of  land,  meadow  and  pasture,  in  Billington, 
held  of  Thomas  Walmesley,  Esq. ,  by  fidelity  ;  20  acres  of  land,  meadow  and  pasture, 
in  Wilpshire,  held  of  John  Talbot,  Knt. ,  in  socage  ;  and  common  of  turbary  on  the 
waste  called  Browne  Hill,  in  Little  Harwood,  of  John  Clayton,  Esq. 

John  Barker,  aged  35,  in  1641  was  found  son  and  heir  of  Bartholomew.  John 
Barker,  of  Salesbury,  died  in  1678. 

CHEW    OF    CHEW    BANK,    POTTER    FORD,    CHEW    HOUSE,    &c., 
BTLLINGTON,  AND  OF  BURY  AND  MANCHESTER. 

The  Chew  family  was  an  ancient  freeholding  family  in  that  portion  of  Billington 
vill  described  in  charters  as  the  "Manor  of  Cho,"  and  was  allied  by  marriage  to  the 
De  Bilyngtons,  lords  of  the  manor.  By  undated  deed  of  the  thirteenth  century,  Adam 
de  Bilyngton  gave  to  "  Henry,  son  of  Hugh  del'  Cho,  and  Avicia  his  wife  "  (daughter 
of  the  grantor),  a  portion  of  land  in  Billington  which  Henry  del'  Cho  and  Hugh  his 
father  and  their  ancestors  had  held  of  grantor,  his  father,  and  his  ancestors.  The 
estate  is  defined  in  the  deed  as  lying  between  the  land  of  Bernard  de  Dynkedlegh  and 
the  way  called  Mungate,  and  a  portion  called  the  Halgh,  and  a  part  called  the  Cho, 
between  Busceburn  and  Calder.  This  area  of  land  between  the  Bushburn  rivulet  and 
the  Calder  was,  I  believe,  the  manor-place  of  Billington  in  Saxon  times.  It  is  still 
called  the  "Castle  Holme,"  and  in  the  midst  are  traces  of  a  square  mound,  conjec- 
tured to  be  the  site  of  a  Saxon  tower  demolished  before  the  earliest  local  record.  The 
mound  rises  about  four  feet  above  the  level  of  the  field,  but  has  no  vestige  of  masonry 
now.  Henry  del'  Cho  (modern  Chew),  by  his  wife  Avicia,  relict  of  Geoffrey  de 
Bilyngton,  was  father  of  Richard  del'  Cho,  who,  about  the  year  1240,  granted  to 
Beatrice  de  Blackburn  certain  land  in  his  place  called  Cho.  Richard  del'  Cho  is 
named  a  little  later  as  seated  at  Cho-bonk  (Chew-bank).  He  had  a  brother  Thomas, 
to  whom  his  father  Henry  gave  his  land  called  the  Halgh,  in  Billington.  These 
brothers  were  doubtless  ancestors  of  the  Chews  named  below. 

William  Choo,  of  Billington,  lived  in  the  last  part  of  the  fifteenth  and  first  part 
of  the  sixteenth  centuries.  He  died  before  1523,  for  in  that  year  "  Uxor  William 
Choo  "  was  taxed  to  a  King's  Subsidy.  This  would  refer  to  his  widow. 

Several  tenants  of  Whalley  Abbey,  in  Billington,  of  this  name,  occur  in  the  Sur- 
vey of  1538.  Richard  Chew  held  freely  Benson's  field,  also  Olgreave,  with  lands,  and 
a  fulling  mill.  Robert  Chowe,  Edmund  Chowe,  and  Adam  Chowe  appear  in  the 
same  Survey.  Richard  Chew,  of  Olgreave,  in  1538,  might  be  father  of  Richard 
Chew,  senr.,  of  Billington,  taxed  to  a  Subsidy  in  1570  ;  and  who  had  a  son,  Richard 
Chew,  assessed  to  a  Subsidy  in  1610.  A  later  member  of  that  branch,  William  Chew, 
of  Olgreave,  appears  in  the  Subsidy  Roll  of  1663. 

The  Chews  of  Potter  Ford  were  direct  progenitors  of  members  of  the  family  now 
living.  Robert  Chowe,  of  Potter  Ford  (the  ford  over  Calder  a  little  lower  down  than 
Whalley  Abbey),  rebuilt  the  house  there  in  1562,  as  attested  by  a  stone  at  Potter 


CHEW  OF  BILLINGTQN. 


443 


Ford,  dated  "  1562,"  and  inscribed  with  his  initials  and  his  wife's: — "  R  A  C."  In 
the  Will  of  John  Braddyll,  Esq.,  dated  1575,  is  a  bequest  to  "  Robert  Chowe,  of  the 
Potter  Forth;"  and  another,  of  £20  and  a  gelding,  to  testator's  "  servant  John  Chowe, 
in  consideration  of  his  honest  and  true  service, "  &c. ;  perhaps  this  latter  was  John 
Chew,  of  Parkhead,  Whalley,  whose  wife  was  Anne,  third  daughter  of  John  Braddyll. 

Edward  Chewe,  the  next  of  Potter  Ford,  would  be  a  son  of  Robert.  On  the 
lintel  of  a  fire-place  at  Potter  Ford  are  cut  the  initials  of  this  Edward  and  his  wife: — 
"  E  A  C  "  and  the  date  "  1610."  He  had  a  son  Robert,  born  in  1600. 

Robert  Chew,  of  Potter  Ford,  gent.,  son  of  Edward,  married,  May  25th, 
1618,  Mary  Crombleholme,  and  had  sons,  Richard,  born  in  1619,  who  settled  at 
Elkar,  in  this  township,  and  was  progenitor  of  that  branch  ;  and  Edward,  of  Potter 
Ford.  Robert  Chew,  of  Potter  Ford,  was  a  freeman  of  Preston,  and  was  enrolled  at 
the  Guilds  of  1642  and  1662,  with  his  sons  Richard  and  Edward.  The  father  died 
sometime  after  1662. 

Edward  Chew,  of  Potter  Ford,  gent.,  son  of  Robert,  married,  first,  in  1656, 
Ellen,  daughter  of  William  Chew,  of  Billington  ;  and,  secondly,  before  1665,  Eliza- 
beth, daughter  of  James  Moore,  gent.,  of  Lower  Harrop,  Co.  Ebor,  by  whom  he 
had  issue,  sons,  Edward,  bapt.  at  Great  Harwood  Church,  Jan.  28th,  1674  ;  and 
James.  The  father,  Edward  Chew,  gent.,  was  made  a  Governor  of  Blackburn 
Grammar  School  in  1679,  and  was  living  in  1687,  when  he  was  a  deponent  in  the 
case  before  the  Lord  Chancellor  concerning  Langho  Chapel. 

His  younger  son  was  "James  Chew,  of  Poulton,  gent.,"  so  described  in  Preston 
Guild  Roll  of  1702  ;  he  died  before  1722  ;  leaving  sons,  Edward  Chew,  attorney-at-law, 
living  in  1 742  ;  Thomas,  James,  and  Christopher. 

Edward  Chew,  of  Billington,  gent.,  was  eldest  son  of  Edward.  He  was  a  free- 
man of  Preston,  enrolled  at  the  Guilds  of  1682,  1702,  1722,  and  1742.  He  died  in 
1743,  buried  at  Blackburn  Parish  Church,  April  1 5th.  He  built  on  his  estate,  in 
1702,  Chew  House,  now  called  "the  Asylum;"  on  the  lintel  of  the  front  entrance 
are  his  initials  and  his  wife's,  "  E  A  C  "  and  the  date  "  1702."  He  had  issue,  sons, 
Edward,  born  in  1703  ;  Abraham,  bapt.  Jan.  1 8th,  1707-8  ;  Richard,  born  in  1710  ; 
and  James,  born  in  1713;  and  a  daughter  Elizabeth,  born  in  1712. 

Edward  Chew,  eldest  son,  was  of  Preston,  and  is  enrolled  at  Guilds  in  1742  and 
1762.  He  married  Catherine  Crooke,  widow  (daughter  of  Alex.  Rigby,  Esq.,  by  his 
wife  Ann,  daughter  and  co-heir  of  John  Townley,  of  Clitheroe,  gent.),  and  was 
father  of  Townley  Chew,  "  of  Preston,  attorney-at-law, "  in  1762,  and  "  of  London  " 
in  1782. 

Abraham  Chew,  of  Billington,  gent.,  next  brother  of  Edward,  was  described  as 
"  of  Oxfordshire, "  in  1742.  He  died  unmarried,  at  Billington,  aged  60,  and  was 
buried  at  Langho  Chapel,  April  1 7th,  1767. 

The  brother  of  the  two  last-named  was  James  Chew,  of  Billington,  surgeon  and 
gent.  He  was  a  governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  from  I754\mtil  his  death  in 
1768.  He  married  Miss  Ann  Fothergill  (she  died  Dec.  1759),  and  had  issue,  sons, 
Joseph,  born  in  1745,  died  young;  Abraham,  born  Sept.  I3th,  1747;  Edward,  born 
about  1749;  Thomas,  born  1752  ;  James,  born  Aug.  22nd,  1758  ;  and  Richard,  born 
1759,  died  young ;  and  daughters,  Grace,  born  1741  ;  Mary,  born  1742;  Ann,  born 
1744  ;  Janet,  born  1746  ;  Elizabeth,  born  1754  ;  and  Sarah,  born  1755.  The  father, 
Dr.  James  Chew,  died,  aged  54,  in  1768  ;  buried  at  Langho  Chapel,  July  5th. 

Abraham  Chew,  of  Billington,  surgeon,  eldest  surviving  son  of  James,  was 
elected  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1770,  and  died,  aged  52,  in 
1800;  buried  at  Langho,  July  2nd.  By  Jane  his  wife  (who  died,  aged  67,  in  1807)  he 


444  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

had  issue,  sons,  James,  born  in  1771  ;  and  Abraham,  born  in  1773  (he  was  the 
Abraham  Chew,  M.D.,  of  Blackburn  ;  married,  in  1800,  Ann,  daughter  of  Mr. 
Thomas  Smalley,  of  Larkhill,  Blackburn  ;  had  no  issue,  and  died,  aged  45,  April  2nd, 
1819  ;  a  bust  and  tablet  in  St.  John's  Church,  Blackburn,  were  erected  to  his  memory 
by  subscription);  and  daughters,  Ann,  wife  of  Rev.  William  Barton,  incumbent  of 
Langho,  &c. ;  Jane,  wife  of  Wm.  Hesmondhalgh,  died  at  Chew  House,  aged  90, 
April  7th,  1865  ;  and  Alice,  born  Jan.  27th,  1779  ;  married  Mr.  Thomas  Carr,  of 
Blackburn,  and  died  at  Whalley  Abbey,  aged  80,  Jan.  gth,  1859. 

James  Chew,  of  Blackburn,  surgeon,  younger  son  of  James,  married  Margaret, 
daughter  of  Major  Clayton,  of  Little  Harwood  Hall,  but  had  no  issue. 

Edward  Chew,  second  surviving  son  of  James,  and  brother  of  the  two  last-named, 
was  an  attorney-at-law,  of  Haslingden,  and  later  of  Bury.  He  married,  first,  April 
25th,  1773,  Miss  Elizabeth  Christopher,  of  Salford,  who  died  young,  without  issue ; 
secondly,  at  Haslingden  Church,  Jan.  7th,  1777,  Ann,  daughter  of  John  Grime,  of 
Baxenden,  gent.,  and  by  her  (she  died  Sept.  nth,  1793)  had  issue,  sons,  John  Grime 
Chew,  died  young,  in  July,  1782  ;  James  ;  Edward  ;  Abraham,  bapt.  July  1 6th,  1786  ; 
and  William  Christopher,  born  Oct.  26th,  1 788 ;  and  a  daughter,  Jane,  born  about 
1781.  Mr.  Edward  Chew's  third  wife  was  Alice,  daughter  of  George  Hargreave, 
Esq.,  of  Haslingden,  married  May  22nd,  1794.  Mr.  Edward  Chew  died,  aged  71, 
about  the  year  1820.  James  Chew,  his  son,  had  a  son  William,  now  living  at  Blacksnape. 

Edward  Chew,  of  Manchester,  attorney-at-law,  son  of  Edward,  had  sons  William 
and  George;  and  died  after  1832.  His  son  is  William  Chew,  Esq.,  of  Norman 
Lodge,  Shirley,  near  Northampton. 

William  Christopher  Chew,  a  younger  son  of  Edward,  sometime  of  Blackburn 
and  London,  eventually  of  Manchester,  established  in  that  city  a  successful  practice  as 
an  attorney-at-law  and  solicitor,  and  was  in  practice  more  than  55  years.  He  married, 
July  2nd,  1811,  Hannah,  daughter  of  Mr.  Thomas  Heath,  of  Nantwich,  and  had  issue 
five  sons  and  seven  daughters.  His  only  surviving  daughter  is  Mrs.  Hannah  Arm- 
strong, wife  of  John  Armstrong,  surgeon,  of  Harpurhey.  W7.  C.  Chew,  Esq.,  died, 
in  his  8oth  year,  Nov.  29th,  1867.  His  wife  died,  aged  70,  at  Lytham,  Jan.  27th, 
1861.  His  only  surviving  son  is — 

Thomas  Heath  Chew,  Esq.,  attorney-at-law,  of  Manchester,  born  Aug.  23rd, 
1816,  educated  at  Manchester  Grammar  School  ;  married  Oct.  1st,  1841,  Jane, 
daughter  of  Lawrence  Hall,  Esq.,  of  Openshaw,  and  has  had  issue,  sons,  Francis,  died 
young ;  and  William  Lawrence  Chew,  solicitor,  in  partnership  with  his  father  ;  and  a 
daughter,  Jane  Eleanor,  died  young. 

Of  the  Elkar  branch  of  Chews  I  add  the  following  sketch  descent  : — Richard 
Chew,  of  Elkar,  son  of  Robert,  of  Potter  Ford,  died  about  1664.  His  son,  Richard 
Chew,  of  Elkar,  born  in  1654,  died  in  Nov.,  1721,  buried  at  Whalley.  His  son, 
Richard  Chew,  of  Whitwams,  died  in  1726.  He  had  married,  in  1701,  Christiana 
Kendall,  by  whom  he  had  sons,  Kendall,  born  in  1703  ;  John,  born  in  1705  ;  Richard 
born  in  1708  ;  and  Thomas,  born  1713  ;  and  daughters,  Elizabeth,  Dorothy,  and 
Jennet.  Christiana  Chew,  widow,  died  in  Apiil,  1763.  Kendall  Chew,  of  Elkar, 
gent.,  Richard's  eldest  son,  married,  May  1 3th,  1736,  Ann  Stones,  of  Haslingden,  and 
had  a  son,  Richard  ;  and  daughters,  Elizabeth,  Ellen,  Ann,  and  Betty.  Mr.  Kendall 
Chew  died  in  July,  1764.  His  son,  Richard  Chew,  of  Billington,  yeoman,  married, 
Jan.  5th,  1763,  Sarah,  daughter  of  Edward  Ainsworth,  of  Pleasington,  Esq.  (she  died 
July  6th,  1802),  and  had  issue,  Kendall,  bapt.  Aug.  27th,  1766;  Ainsworth,  bapt. 
Jan.  23rd,  1770;  Theophilus,  bapt.  Dec.  i6th,  1771;  Ann,  born  in  1768;  and 
Ellen.  Richard  Chew  died  in  1782.  His  first  son  was  Kendall  Chew,  of  Billington. 


FAMILIES  OF  CUNLIFFE  AND  DEANE. 


445 


CUNLIFFE  OF  CUNLIFFE  HOUSE. 

A  family  of  Cunliffes  possessed  a  small  freehold  estate  called  Cunliffe,  in  Billing- 
ton,  deriving  thence  the  family  surname.  No  complete  descent  can  be  given  of  them. 
Robert  de  Cundelive  occurs  A.  U.  1250,  and  another  Robert  de  Cuncleclif  is  a  witness 
to  charters  temp.  Edw.  I.  A  third  Robert  de  Cundeclif  lived  temp.  Edward  III.,  and 
about  1347  paid  rent  to  Whalley  Monastery  for  a  plot  of  land  he  held.  Roger 
de  Cundcliff,  of  the  same  period,  had  a  daughter  Margaret,  wife  of  Adam  de  Lever. 
Later,  a  Robert  de  Cundecliff  occurs  in  1396. 

In  1478,  the  Abbey  of  Whalley  received  405.  yearly  "  de  terris  R.  Cundeclyff, 
viz.,  Brodmede  et  Grenehey." 

Robert  Cunliffe,  of  Billington,  died  before  1515.  He  is  described  in  the  escheat, 
dated  7th  Henry  VIII.,  as  late  of  Wilpshire,  gent.,  outlawed  for  felony  upon  Mar- 
garet Wood,  late  wife  of  Elie  Wood.  His  estate  was  found  to  consist  of  one  mes- 
suage, 30  acres  of  land,  10  acres  of  meadow,  10  acres  of  pasture,  4  acres  of  woodland, 
and  30  acres  of  moor  and  turbary,  in  Billington,  held  of  the  Abbot  of  Whalley,  value 
IDS.;  and  of  one  messuage,  30  acres  of  land,  12  acres  of  meadow,  20  acres  of  pasture, 
one  acre  of  woodland,  and  40  acres  of  moor  and  turbary,  in  Wilpshire,  held  of  the 
King  in  socage,  value  405. 

A. D.  1521,  Whalley  Monastery  received  45.  8d.  by  the  year  "pro  terris  Robert! 
Cundcliff,"  then  representing  this  family  ;  and  who,  again,  in  1538,  was  found  hold- 
ing freely  lands  in  Billington,  paying  therefor  to  the  Abbey  ^  I  5s.  yearly. 

Richard  Cunliffe,  for  his  lands  in  Billington,  was  assessed  to  a  Subsidy  in  1570. 
Both  Robert  Cunliffe  and  Richard  Cunliffe  were  taxed  to  the  Military  Levy  in  1574. 

The  Cunliffe-house  estate  passed  to  Sir  Thomas  Walmesley,  Knt.,  and  was 
found  in  his  possession  at  his  death.  It  was  leased  to  John  Talbot,  gent.,  of  Whalley, 
who,  by  his  Will,  dated  1594,  assigns  to  Elizabeth  his  wife  the  farming  houses  and 
grounds  he  had  "  by  lease  of  Mr.  Justice  Walmysley  in  Billington  and  Wilpshire,  laite 
the  inheritance  of  one  Richard  Cunliffe;"  also,  "  his  lease  of  the  tythe  corn  of  Cun- 
liffe." It  remains  with  the  lord  of  Billington  Manor.  The  Cunliffes  migrated  to 
Hollins,  in  Accrington  ;  thence,  later,  to  Wycoller,  in  Trawden.  The  pedigree  of 
Cunliffe,  of  Hollins  and  Wycoller,  commences  with  "  Robert  Cunliffe,  a  younger  son 
of  Cunliffe,  of  Cunliffe  Hall,"  in  Billington. 

DEANE,   OF  DEANE  HILL,  TOWNWORTH,  &c. 

The  Deanes  had  a  freehold  tenancy  in  Billington  from  an  ancient  period.  In 
1340,  Adam  del'  Dene's  land  in  this  township  is  mentioned;  and  some  years  later, 
Alexander  del'  Dene  was  in  possession  of  an  estate  for  which  he  paid  43.  yearly  to  the 
Abbot  of  WThalley,  as  lord  of  the  manor. 

John  Deyne  of  Townworth  and  Downham,  living  temp.  Edw.  IV.,  had  to  wife 
Agnes,  daughter  of  Richard  Worsley  of  Mearley  and  Twiston. 

About  half  a  century  onward,  John  Deyne  was  assessed  to  the  Subsidy  of 
1523  for  his  lands  in  Billington.  At  the  survey  of  Whalley  Abbey  estates,  in  1538,  is 
entered,  under  Billington  : — "John  Deane  holdeth  freely  a  tenement  called  Hodghouse, 
with  22  acres  of  land,  meadow,  and  pasture,  and  payeth  yearly  2s. ;  the  same  holdeth 
freely  half  a  messuage  called  Townworth,  and  payeth  by  the  year  for  the  same,  is.  4d. ; 
the  same  holdeth  a  messuage  called  Deyne  Hill,  and  payeth  43."  This  John  Deane 
then  possessed  three  separate  freeholds  in  the  township — Hodghouse,  Townworth,  and 
Deane  Hill. 

In  the  Lansdowne  MSS.  (No.  205),  I  find  a  note  of  five  descents  of  certain 
Deanes  of  Townworth,  which  appears  to  belong  to  this  family,  and  furnishes  two 


446  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

generations  precedent  to  the  above  John  Deane,  viz  : — William  Deane,  of  Townworth, 
who  by  Agnes  his  wife,  daughter  and  heir  of  —  Wrightington,  had  a  son  and  heir, 
Henry  Deane.  Henry  Deane,  marrying  Maud,  daughter  of  William  Ambrose,  had  a 
son  John,  who  seems  to  synchronise  with  the  John  above  who  is  found  in  possession 
in  1523  and  in  1538.  The  same  MS.  gives  William  as  son  and  heir  of  this  John,  and 
marrying  a  Nowell,  according  with  information  from  other  sources,  as  follows  : — 

John  Deane,  who  held  the  estate  at  the  time  of  the  Survey  of  1538  already  noted, 
died  November  24th,  33rd  Henry  VIII.  (1541-2)  ;  the  escheat  was  taken  35th  Henry 
VIII. ,  whereby  he  was  found  to  have  been  seized  of  six  messuages  in  Billington,  with 
100  acres  of  land,  100  acres  of  pasture,  50  acres  of  meadow,  40  acres  of  woodland,  and 
300  acres  of  moor  and  turbury  ;  also  of  ten  acres  of  land  in  Wilpshire,  and  lands  in 
Mellor,  Downham,  and  Twiston. 

William  Deane  was  son  and  heir  of  John.  The  manuscript  in  the  Lansdowne  col- 
lection states  that  this  William  married  Maud,  daughter  to  John  Nowell,  Esq.,  and  the 
item  is  confirmed  by  the  pedigree  of  Nowell,  of  Read,  which  gives  as  John  Nowell's 
second  daughter  : — "Maude,  married  to  William  Deane,  of  Townworth,  gent."  He 
had  a  son  John,  married,  runs  the  manuscript,  to  —  Holtoffe  [Holcroft  ?]. 

John  Deane  was  in  possession  in  the  year  1555  (3rd  Phillip  and  Mary),  when  he 
disputed  with  Sir  Thomas  Holcroft,  lord  of  the  manor  of  Billington,  a  claim  to  rent, 
service,  and  free  rent  for  a  messuage  and  lands  called  Townworth,  and  a  tenement  called 
Deane  Hill.  John  Deane,  of  Billington,  was  assessed  to  a  Subsidy  in  1570. 

A  succeeding  "John  Deane,  of  Townworth,  gent."  is  in  a  list  of  Freeholders 
dated  1585  ;  and  in  1587,  the  steward  at  Gawthorp  "  paid  John  Dane,  of  Townworth, 
by  appointment  of  Mr.  Sergeant  Shuttleworth,  ^4. " 

James  Deane,  of  Billington,  was  assessed  in  1611  to  the  Subsidy  levied  in  that 
year.  (Accidentally  omitted  from  the  return  of  the  Subsidy  printed  in  this  work. ) 

Edmond  Deane,  of  Billington,  had  a  son  Richard,  bapt.  May  6th,   1589. 

Soon  after  the  last  date  the  Deanes  ceased  to  be  represented  among  the  land- 
holders of  Billington,  and  no  further  account  of  the  family  descent  can  be  afforded. 

SLATER  OF  ELKER. 

The  Slaters  were  tenants  of  Whalley  Abbey,  both  in  Billington  and  Whalley,  at 
the  date  of  the  survey  on  the  suppression  of  the  Convent.  John  Slater  then  (1538)  held 
1 8  acres  in  Billington,  and  a  pasture  in  Whalley  called  Roger-ashes.  Robert  Slater 
held  •$%  acres  in  Whalley. 

John  Sclater,  of  Billington,  married,  in  1581,  Alice  Hindle  ;  and  he  was  assessed 
to  the  Subsidy  of  1611. 

John  Slater,  of  Billington,  who  died  in  1641,  had  a  daughter  Margaret,  married 
to  Francis  Paslew,  of  Wiswall,  gent. 

In  1684,  John  Slater,  of  Billington,  gave  a  donation  to  the  endowment  ofLangho 
Chapel  ;  and  in  1688  appropriated  a  pew  there,  which  yet  bears  his  name. 

"John  Slater,  Bayliff  of  Billington, "  so  stated  on  his  gravestone  in  Whalley 
Churchyard,  died  May  25th,  1761,  aged  84.  His  wife,  Janet,  died  Nov.  28th,  1758, 
aged  72. 

Andrew  Slater,  grandson  of  John,  lived  in  Billington  ;  his  wife,  Alice,  died  Jan. 
loth,  1810,  aged  77. 

SMALLEY  OF  COLIARS  AND  GREENSNOOK. 

Henry  Smalley,  of  Billington,  yeoman,  was  buried  May  gth,  1694. 

John  Smalley,  of  Billington,  had  sons,  Henry,  born  1697  ;  Edward,  born  1705  ; 
and  other  issue. 


CARVED  CORBEL  FROM  WHALLEY  ABBEY, 
IN  THE  GABLE  OF  AN  OLD  HOUSE  AT  ELKAR,  BILLINGTON.     [PAGE  446 


CHAPEL  OF  ST.   LEONARD,  LANGHO.  447 

Rev.  Henry  Smalley,  curate  of  Blackburn  in  1727,  appears  to  have  been  of 
this  family.  In  1749,  Rev.  Mr.  Smalley  gave  three  guineas  to  the  augmentation 
fund  of  Langho  curacy. 

John  Smalley,  of  Coliars,  whose  wife,  Jennet,  died  in  1732^  rebuilt  the  house  in 
1712,  over  the  door  of  which  an  inscribed  stone  bears  this  date,  "  1712,"  and  the 
initials  "  I  I  S,"  which  stand  for  John  and  Jennet  Smalley.  John  Smalley,  of  Bil- 
lington,  was  buried  at  Blackburn,  Jan.  2oth,  1753. 

John  Smalley  and  Ellen  Birtwistle,  both  of  Billington,  married,  Nov.  l6th,  1721  ; 
and  had  issue. 

John  Smalley,  of  Billington,  yeoman,  by  his  first  wife,  had  a  daughter  Jane,  born 
in  1760.  He  married,  secondly,  Ann,  daughter  of  Kendall  Chew,  July  25th,  1765, 
and  had  issue  a  son  John,  born  in  1766;  younger  sons,  Henry,  born  in  1768;  and 
Kendall,  born  in  1770.  "  Mr.  John  Smalley,  of  Billington,"  was  elected  a  Governor 
of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1770.  On  the  award  of  waste  lands  in  Billington  in 
1791,  John  Smalley,  of  Coliars,  and  John  Smalley,  of  Greensnook,  are  both  named  as 
freeholders  in  the  township,  being  the  above  John  Smalley  and  his  eldest  son.  John 
Smalley,  the  father,  died  in  1804. 

SPEAKE  OF  BILLINGTON. 

Robert  Speake  is  named  as  holding  land  in  Billington  so  early  as  the  34th 
Edward  I.  (1305-6). 

Henry  Speake,  in  1538,  was  tenant  of  lands  in  Billington  under  Whalley  Abbey. 

A  succeeding  Henry  Speake,  of  Billington,  was  assessed  to  the  Subsidy  in  1570, 
and  was  taxed  to  the  Military  levy  of  1574. 

Henry  Speake,  of  Billington,  gent.,  is  on  a  list  of  freeholders  dated  1600  ;  and  in 
the  Subsidy  of  1611  is  assessed  on  lands  in  the  township.  Henry  Speake,  gent.,  is 
met  with  as  a  juror  in  1612.  Henry  Speake  died  on  the  3Oth  of  April,  1625,  and  the 
escheat  return,  taken  at  Blackburn,  Oct.  3Oth,  5th  Charles  I.  (1629),  showed  deceased 
to  have  owned  one  messuage,  with  60  acres  of  land,  meadow,  and  pasture,  in  Billing- 
ton, held  of  the  King,  by  the  looth  part  of  a  knight's  fee,  worth  los.  per  annum.  John 
Speake  was  son  and  heir,  aged  40  years  and  upwards.  This  son  was  bapt.  at  Great 
Harwood  Church,  Sept.  8th,  1585. 

TALBOT  OF  CUNLIFFE  IN  BILLINGTON  AND  OF  WHALLEY. 

John  Talbot,  gent.,  of  Whalley,  natural  son  of  Sir  Thomas  Talbot,  of  the  Holt 
and  Bashall,  had  a  lease  from  Mr.  Justice  Walmesley  of  the  "farming  houses  and 
grounds  "  in  Billington  and  Wilpshire,  "late  the  inheritance  of  one  Richard  Cunliffe. " 
By  his  wife  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Robert  Parker,  of  Extwistle,  gent.,  he  had  a 
daughter  Anne,  wife  of  James  Asheton,  of  Chadderton,  Esq.  By  his  Will,  dated 
April  30th,  1594,  John  Talbot,  gent.,  bequeaths  to  his  wife  his  lease  of  the  lands  in 
Billington  and  Wilpshire,  and  also  his  "  lease  of  the  tythe  corn  of  Cunliffe. " 

THE  CHAPEL  OF  ST.   LEONARD,  LANGHO. 

The  parochial  chapel  of  St.  Leonard,  with  its  graveyard,  occupy  a 
portion  of  Langho  Green,  near  the  western  side  of  the  township.  The 
chapel  is  a  simple  nave,  62ft.  by  29ft.,  and  there  is  no  chancel.  The 
entrance  is  under  an  arched  porch  on  the  south  side.  At  the  west  end 
of  the  roof-ridge  is  a  wooden  belcot  for  one  bell.  Local  tradition, 
asserting  that  the  chapel  was  built  of  stones  from  the  dismantled  Abbey 


448  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

of  Whalley,  is  supported  by  the  appearance  of  the  walls  externally ; 
which  consist  of  dressed  stones  of  large  size  for  a  building  so  small. 
Several  of  the  stones  are  sculptured  with  figures,  heraldic  shields,  and 
other  devices.  Above  the  east  window  are  three  such  carved  stones, 
the  centre  one  appears  like  the  ogee  head  of  a  decorated  arch,  and  the 
other  two  bear  heads  of  saints,  now  much  battered  and  disfigured. 
Let  into  the  south  wall  are  other  stones  with  emblematic  sculpture  upon 
them.  On  one  of  these  is  a  deeply-relieved  heraldic  shield  ;  and  upon 
another,  a  shield  beneath  tracery  in  low  relief.  Another  stone,  with 
embossed  shield  and  tracery,  is  seen  in  the  west  wall.  The  windows,  of 
perpendicular  tracery,  generally  resemble  some  yet  remaining  in  situ  at 
Whalley  Abbey.  In  the  heads  of  several  of  the  windows  are  fragmen- 
tary portions  of  old  coloured  glass,  also,  perhaps,  from  the  Abbey.  The 
west  window  is  of  the  same  style  as  the  side  windows,  but  larger,  of  four 
lights.  The  window  at  the  east  end  is  a  plain  mullioned  one  of  three 
lights,  the  centre  circular-headed  ;  and  on  the  north  side  is  a  similar 
window,  without  tracery. 

The  interior  of  the  chapel  is  plain.  The  roof  is  ceiled,  and  sup- 
ported by  moulded  beams,  the  ends  resting  on  wooden  corbels.  The 
pulpit  stands  against  the  north  wall.  A  single  aisle  traverses  the  centre 
longitudinally,  joining  the  entrance-passage  from  the  south  porch.  In 
the  wall  near  the  S.E.  corner,  remains  the  piscina,  beneath  a  recessed 
and  moulded  pointed  arch,  trefoiled.  The  font  is  modern.  The  chapel 
was  repewed  in  1688,  and  most  of  the  pews  of  that  date  remain,  with  the 
initials  of  their  then  occupants. 

Langho  Chapel  appears  to  have  been  built  by  Sir  Thomas  Holcroft, 
Knt,  purchaser  of  the  manor  of  Billington  after  the  extinction  of 
Whalley  Abbey.  The  date  of  erection  would  be  about  1557.  Sir 
Thomas  Holcroft,  the  presumed  founder,  died  in  1558.  Braddyll  and 
Asheton,  who  at  the  same  time  acquired  the  Whalley  demesne  with  the 
site  and  buildings  of  the  Abbey,  may  have  joined  with  Holcroft  in  the 
erection,  being  likewise  owners  of  estates  in  Billington.  Langho  Chapel 
is  first  named  in  a  bequest  by  John  Braddyll,  Esq.  He,  by  his  Will, 
dated  May,  1575,  gave  : — 

To  the  reparation  of  Langall  Chapell  ten  shillings  every  year,  to  be  paid  out  of 
one  lease  of  the  tithe  corn  of  Brockhole,  which  lease  I  do  give,  &c.,  to  Edward  B., 
my  son,  and  John  B.,  my  godson,  upon  this  condition,  that  they  pay  out  the  said  los. 
yearly  at  Christmas  only,  and  see  it  bestowed  yearly  during  the  year  in  the  said  lease, 
if  the  said  chapell  so  long  do  continue  and  have  divine  service  in  the  same,  and  if  it 
do  not  so  continue,  then  the  said  Edward  and  John  shall  bestow  the  said  ten 
shillings  yearly  upon  mending  of  the  highways  in  Billington,  between  the  Chowe 
Milne  and  the  said  chapell. 

The  Chapel  was  built  as  a  chapel-of-ease  for  the  use  of  the  inhabi- 


H  'S 


CHAPEL  OF  ST.  LEONARD,  LANGHO.  449 

tants  of  this  part  of  Blackburn  Parish.  The  service  of  the  Chapel  was 
long  precarious.  There  was  no  endowment  for  a  curate's  maintenance  ; 
but  the  vicars  of  Blackburn,  or  some  curate  of  the  mother  church, 
periodically  ministered  here.  To  the  Parliamentary  Commission  of 
1650  it  was  reported  concerning  Langho  Church  that  there  was  no 
endowment,  but  that  Mr.  Churchlowe,  the  minister,  had  an  allowance 
of  £40  from  the  County  Committee  ;  that  the  Church  was  six  miles  dis- 
tant from  the  Parish  Church ;  and  that  the  chapelry  contained  three 
hundred  families,  who  desired  to  be  made  a  separate  parish,  and  to  have 
a  fixed  salary  for  their  minister.  Mr.  James  Critchley  had  been  approved 
for  Langho  Chapel  at  a  meeting  of  the  second  classis  of  the  Lancashire 
Presbytery,  held  at  Whalley,  July  roth,  1649. 

On  the  restoration  of  Episcopacy,  the  service  of  this  chapel  again 
became  only  casual.  In  1684,  Sancroft,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury, 
impropriate  rector  of  Blackburn,  intending  to  augment  their  endow- 
ments, asked  for  information  as  to  the  state  of  the  chapels,  and  it  was 
returned  : — 

Langho  Chapell,  4  miles  from  Blackburn  Church,  2  miles  from  any  other 
chapell.  No  curate,  because  no  maintenance.  Onely  one  Mr.  Braddell  gave  £10, 
the  interest  whereof  repairs  that  ffabrick.  Adjacent  to  it  Billington  and  Wilpshire. 

£   s.    d. 
Endowment. — Interest  of  Mr.  Braddell's  £10 o  10    o 

Mrs.    Fleetwood   (lessee  of  the  rectory  lands  in 

Blackburn)  promiseth  yearly 2     o     o 

Billington  promiseth  to  settle  about 5  10    o 

and  hope  for  as  much  from  Wilpshire  and  Dinkley  when  Mr.  Warren  (lord  of  Sales- 
bury,  Wilpshire,  and  Dinkley)  returneth  from  Cheshire. 

The  same  year  (1684)  the  following  further  account  of  the  chapel 
was  furnished  to  Primate  Sancroft  : — 

Langho  Chapell. — Billington  has  subscribed  a  certaine  sum  for  perpetuity.  (See 
the  list  under  their  hands.)  Mr.  Warren,  the  lord  of  Wilpshire,  &c.,  will  not  yet  pro- 
mise anythinge,  nor  his  tenants  neither,  until  Mr.  Warren  give  leave.  (Mem.  Dr. 
Stephen,  Rector  of  Stopford,  to  be  desired  to  intercede  with  Mr.  Warren,  the  Father, 
or  wilh  the  Grandfather,  both  of  the  same  place,  to  perswade  Mr.  Warren,  the  sonn, 
of  Dinckley,  to  give  something  to  the  chappel,  and  suffer  his  tenants  to  do  the  like.) 
There  is  some  former  animosity  or  difference  between  Justice  Bradyll  and  Mr.  Warren, 
which  occasions  Mr.  Warren's  averseness  ;  besides,  Mr.  Warren's  wife  is  a  violent 
ferme  Papist.  The  generality  of  the  Inhabitants  of  Billington  in  Lango  resort  to  the 
Parish  Church  of  Whalley  (which  is  about  a  mile  and  l/z  from  Lango  Chappel),  to 
divine  service  and  sermon,  to  christen  and  bury  ;  for  other  offices  they  come  to  the 
Mother  Church. 

A  Subscription  was  entered  into  by  the  inhabitants  in  1684,  and  a 
sum  of  ^55  155.  4d.  was  given,  to  which  Sir  Edmund  Assheton  gave 
£20  ;  Thos.  Braddyll,  Esq.,  ^10  ;  Mistress  Pollard,  ,£4  ;  Lawr.  Osbal- 
deston,  £4  ;  Edward  Chew,  £2  ;  &c. 

29 


450 


HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


Bartholomew  Walmesley,  Esq.,  of  Dunkenhalgh,  succeeded  to  the 
lordship  of  the  manor  in  1679.  Being  a  Roman  Catholic,  finding  that 
Langho  Chapel  was  without  a  curate,  and  assuming  that  the  fabric  of  the 
chapel,  having  been  built  by  a  former  lord,  was  an  appanage  of  the 
manor,  he  obtained  the  custody  of  the  keys,  took  possession  of  the  chapel, 
and,  in  the  year  1687,  had  the  seats,  communion  table,  &c.,  removed, 
and  the  altar,  and  other  fittings  necessary  to  adapt  it  for  the  Roman 
Catholic  ritual,  substituted.  For  a  brief  period  after  this  seizure,  mass 
was  celebrated  in  the  chapel.  The  Vicar  of  Blackburn,  Rev.  Francis 
Price,  promptly  took  measures  to  procure  the  restoration  of  the  chapel 
to  the  Church  of  England.  Failing  to  obtain  a  settlement  of  the  dispute 
by  private  overture,  Vicar  Price  petitioned  the  Crown  for  a  mandamus 
for  the  restoration  of  the  chapel.  The  petition  was  forwarded  in  May, 
1688.  I  copy  it  below  : — 

To  the  Kings  most  Excellent  Majestic. — The  humble  Petition  of  Francis  Price, 
Vicar  of  the  Parish  Church  of  Blackburn  in  the  County  of  Lancaster — Sheweth — That 
the  Chappel  of  Lango  in  the  said  Parish  of  Blackburne  hath  time  out  of  mind  been  a 
Chappel  of  Ease  belonging  to  the  Mother  Church  of  Blackburne,  wherein  Prayers, 
Preaching,  Sacraments,  and  other  Ecclesiastical  Rites  have  been  celebrated  by  the 
Vicars  and  Curates  of  the  said  Parish,  as  appears  by  many  affidavits  taken  before  a 
Master  extraordinary  in  your  Majesties  High  Court  of  Chancery.  That  the  said 
Chappel  hath  from  time  to  time  been  repaired,  both  walls  and  Roofe,  and  the  seats 
and  Pews  uniformly  placed,  and  the  Bell  thereof  bought  at  the  only  costs  and  charges 
of  the  adjacent  and  neighbouring  Townes  :  And  also  Communion  Plate  and  some 
other  Endowments  and  Salaries  given  to  it,  according  to  the  abilities  of  the  neighbour- 
hood, and  particular  Seats  in  it  assigned  to  ancient  ffamilies  and  Estates. — Now  so  it 
is  (may  it  please  your  sacred  Majestic)  That  a  Neighbouring  Gentleman,  one  Mr.  Bar- 
tholomew Walmsley,  hath  lately  seized  on  the  said  Chappel  of  Lango,  and  so  (pre- 
tending a  right  to  it)  hath  dispossessed  your  Petitioner  of  his  just  and  undoubted  Right 
in  and  to  the  said  Chapell,  which  he  is  ready  to  make  appear  by  and  from  Ancient 
Records.— May  it  therefore  please  your  most  sacred  Majesty,  out  of  your  Princely  In- 
clination to  Justice,  and  accustomed  Compassion,  either  to  Order  Mr.  Bartholomew 
Walmsley  to  make  Restitution  of  the  said  Chappel,  taken  so  unjustly  from  the  Mother 
Church,  or  else  to  referr  the  leaving  of  the  whole  matter  to  any  person  whom  your 
Majestic  shall  think  most  fit  to  Report  the  merits  of  the  cause  to  your  sacred  Majestic. 
— And  your  Petitioner  shall  ever  pray,  &c. 

This  Petition  was  supported  by  a  series  of  affidavits,  taken  pre- 
viously before  a  Master  in  Chancery.  Besides  the  affidavits,  eighteen 
in  number,  the  records  of  the  case  include  copies  of  allegations  made  by 
the  defendant,  and  of  the  answers  thereto  by  the  petitioner.  Subjoined 
is  the  draft  of  Mr.  Bartholomew  Walmesley's  allegations  respecting  the 
chapel : — 

[Endorsed] — Mr.  Walmesley's  Aligations  against  Lango  Chapell. — About  ye 
4th  year  of  ye  Reigne  of  Queen  Mary  (1556-7),  Sr  Thomas  Holcroft  became  Lord  of 
ye  Manner  of  Billington,  and  soon  after  began  to  erect  a  Chappell  on  Lango  Greene, 
within  his  Manner,  which  hee  Intended  for  the  ease  of  yt  neighbourhood,  that  they 


CHAPEL  OF  ST.  LEONARD,  LANGHO.  451 

might  hear  Masse  there.  But  it  appears  that  the  people  never  resorted  to  it,  for  wee 
find  that  the  very  Chappell  yard  was  immediately  let  in  lease  to  one  Wood,  then 
assigned  to  Osbaldeston,  then  to  Chew,  all  along  under  the  Rent  of  3$.  4d.  constantly 
pd.  to  Sr  Thomas  and  his  Assigns  ever  since.  It  is  very  probable  yt  ye  change  of 
Religion  happening  before  the  Chappell  was  finished  might  prevent  Sr  Thomas  his 
intention  of  getting  it  Consecrated  ;  the  house  itselfe  has  alwaies  been  imployed  as  a 
Court  house,  except  by  chance  some  seldome  times  a  sermon  was  preached  by  one  of 
ye  predecessors  of  ye  now  Vicar  of  Blackburne  without  any  obligation.  There  is  noe 
chappelry  knowne  by  bounds  and  limits  as  in  cases  of  other  chappells,  soe  yt  it  seems 
to  be  a  chappell  only  in  Reputation.  And  it  is  plaine  the  people  of  Billington  have 
time  out  of  Mind  repaired  to  other  places  to  hear  Sermons,  &c.,  and  never  subscribed 
to  ye  Maintenance  of  a  Curate,  nor  ever  was  there  a  curate  in  this  place. 

The  replies  of  the  Vicar  to  these  allegations  are  the  next  docu- 
ments : — 
Several  Allegations,  made  by  Bartholomew  Walmsley,  Esq. ,  and  his  agents,  against 

Francis  Price,  Vicar  of  Blackburnc's  title  to  the  Chappel  of  Lango  answered. 

Allegation  I. — That  the  said  Chappel  of  Lango  is  erected  on  a  common  or  wast 
called  Lango-green  in  Billington,  where  the  said  Mr.  Walmsley  is  Lord  of  a  manour. 
— To  which  the  said  Vicar  replies,  That  though  the  said  Chappel  of  Lango  be  erected 
on  a  common  or  wast,  yet  there  are  certaine  charterers,  viz.,  Sir  Edmund  Ashton, 
Baronet,  Thomas  Braddyll,  Esq. ,  and  others,  who  are  lawful  and  proportionable 
sharers  in  the  said  common  or  wast,  and  therefore  the  said  chappel  cannot  solely  belong 
to  the  said  Mr.  Walmsley. 

Allegation  2. — That  the  said  Chappel  of  Lango  was  never  consecrated. — To 
which  the  Vicar  replies,  That  the  consecration  of  many  chappels,  and  also  churches, 
are  not  (or  very  difficultly)  to  be  proved  by  Records  or  evidences  thereof,  any  other 
way,  but  by  long  performance  of  Divine  Service,  and  ministration  of  Sacraments  and 
Sacramentalls  there. 

Allegation  3. — That  Sacraments  and  Sacramentalls  have  seldom  or  never  been 
performed  in  the  said  Chappel  of  Lango. — To  which  the  said  Vicar  replies,  That 
before  the  late  unhappy  times  of  confusion, — viz. :  about  60  years  since, — there  was  a 
constant  hired  curate  there,  who  did  read  the  prayers,  preach,  marry,  christen,  and 
administer  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  there  ;  and  that  the  predecessors  of  the 
present  Vicar,  namely,  Mr.  Morres,  Mr.  Bolton,  and  Mr.  Clayton,  have  several  times 
officiated  at  that  chapel.  And  that  the  reason  why  the  present  Vicar  did  not  imitate 
them  in  that  particular  was  (ist)  because  he  thought  himself  bound  to  preach  con- 
stantly at  the  Mother  Church  of  Blackburne,  whither  some  hundreds  of  his  Parishioners 
do  constantly  resort  on  the  Lord's  Day  ;  and  (andly)  because  he  thought  it  sufficient  to 
send  a  Curate  to  officiate  at  that  Chappel  of  Ease,  so  often  as  anything  could  be  pro- 
cured to  pay  the  said  curate  for  his  paines.  To  the  foresaid  allegation  the  said  Vicar 
further  replies,  That  tho'  of  late  years  there  has  been  no  constant  settled  Curate  there 
for  want  of  maintenance,  yet  henceforward  there  is  like  to  be  no  complaints  of  that 
nature,  there  being  ^50  a  year  lately  given  by  two  charitable  Persons,  and  other 
annual  Pensions  promised  by  others,  for  the  Augmentation  of  the  Salaries  of  the 
several  Curates  of  that  and  other  chappels  in  the  said  Parish  of  Blackburn,  as  Mr. 
Snowe  of  Lambeth  can  testify. 

Allegation  4. — That  a  Rent  of  33.  4d.  per  annum  has  for  many  years  together 
been  paid  by  Mr.  Chew,  and  others,  to  Mr.  Walmsley  and  his  ancestors. — To  which 
the  said  Vicar  replies,  That  the  Business  in  controversy  is,  whether  the  Chappel  of 


452 


HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


Lango  be  an  appendant  to  the  Mother  Church  of  Blackburn,  and  not  whether  the  ad- 
jacent yard  belongeth  to  Mr.  Walmsley.  The  said  Vicar  being  indifferent  to  whom 
the  right  to  the  said  yard  belongeth,  provided  that  those  who  resort  to  the  said  chappel 
may  have  free  passage  through  the  said  yard  according  to  ancient  custome. 

Allegation  5. — That  the  Ancestors  of  Mr.  Walmsley  have  kept  Courts  in  the  said 
Chappel  of  Lango  for  many  years  together. — To  which  the  said  Vicar  replies,  That  the 
Vicars  of  Blackburn,  or  their  curates,  have  more  times  a  year  for  80  years  by  past  per- 
formed Divine  Offices  in  that  Chappel  without  the  least  control  from  any  person 
whatsoever.  And  besides  it's  too  notorious  that  severall  other  lords  of  manours  in 
Lancashire  do  keep  their  courts  in  other  chappels  (so  little  regard  have  some  of  them 
to  those  sacred  Places).  Yet  none  of  them,  besides  Mr.  Walmsley,  do  draw  argu- 
ment from  thence,  that  the  said  Chappels  are  their  owne,  no  more  than  the  Right 
worshipful  the  Chancellor  of  Chester  does,  that  the  Mother  Church  of  Blackburne  is 
his,  because  he  keeps  his  Court  of  Visitation  in  it  twice  a  year. 

Allegation  6. — That  the  keys  of  the  said  Chappel  of  Lango,  in  the  year  1684  (or 
thereabouts)  were  taken  by  Madam  Walmsley  from  one  Burton,  a  Schoolmaster,  who 
taught  scholars  in  that  chappel. — To  which  the  said  Vicar  replies,  That  those  keys 
were  taken  from  the  said  Schoolmaster  without  the  consent  or  pre-knowledge  of  the 
Vicar  of  Blackburne,  or  of  any  of  his  curates,  and  were  redelivered  in  lesse  than  7 
days  time,  upon  complaint  made  to  Mr.  Braddyll,  one  of  his  late  Majesties  Justices  of 
the  peace,  and  that,  excepting  these  few  days,  the  said  keys  were  never  before 
October  last  in  possession  of  Mr.  Walmsley  or  any  of  his  ancestors,  but  were  con- 
stantly kept  (if  report  say  true)  either  by  the  Curate,  or  Schoolmaster  of  Lango,  or 
else  by  some  of  the  Inhabitants  of  the  Chapelrie  of  Lango,  for  whose  use  and  benefit 
the  said  chappel  was  erected. 

Allegation  7.  (Designed  for  the  great  prejudice  of  the  Vicar  of  Blackburne). — 
Is  an  affidavit  of  one  Blore  of  Billington,  who  affirms  that  he  invited  the  said  Vicar  to 
preach  at  Lango  Chappel,  and  received  this  answer : — That  he  the  said  Vicar  was  not 
bound  by  any  Law  to  supply  that  place  and  therefore  refused  to  do  it  (or  to  that 
effect). — To  which  the  said  Vicar  replies,  That  the  Deponent  Blore  does  not  fairly 
state  the  case,  for  thus  in  truth  it  was  : — In  September  last  (or  thereabouts)  the  said 
Deponent  Blore  came  to  the  Vicar  of  Blackburne  at  his  house  in  Blackburne,  and 
desired  him  to  permit  one  Mr.  Ellis  to  preach  at  the  chappel  of  Lango,  and  to  admit 
him  to  be  Curate  there.  The  Vicar  replied,  that  he  had  heard  a  very  ill  character  of 
Mr.  Ellis,  and  therefore  could  not  consent  to  admit  him  to  be  Curate  there,  'till  he 
the  said  Vicar  was  fully  satisfied  that  the  said  Mr.  Ellis  was  a  man  of  good  Principles 
and  conversation.  Whereupon  the  said  Deponent  Blore  fell  into  a  Passion,  and  said 
to  the  Vicar  : — "If  you  will  not  permit  Mr.  Ellis  to  supply  that  chappel,  will  you 
come  and  supply  it  yourself?"  This  was  all  the  Invitation  he  gave  the  said  Vicar.  To 
which  the  Vicar  replied,  That  he  knew  no  law  that  obliged  him  to  leave  the  mother 
church,  to  officiate  at  a  Chappel  of  Ease  ;  yet  did  offer  that  whensoever  the  Inhabi- 
tants of  the  Chappelry  of  Lango  did  recommend  any  worthy  clergyman  to  be  Curate 
there,  he  the  said  Vicar  would  freely  consent  to  his  admission,  and  would  use  his 
endeavours  to  procure  the  approbation  of  the  Lord  Bishop  of  the  Diocese.  W'hich 
answer  to  Blore's  affidavit  the  said  Vicar  asserts  with  as  great  seriousness  as  if  he  were 
under  the  obligation  of  an  oath  ;  and  does  most  humbly  submit  both  this  and  all  the 
rest  of  his  Answers  to  the  forementioned  Allegations  to  the  great  wisdome  of  the 
Right  Honourable  the  Lord  High  Chancellor  of  England,  to  whom  the  case  between 
Bartholomew  Walmsley,  Esq.,  and  the  said  Vicar  is  referred  by  the  King's  most 
Excellent  Majesty  ;  on  whom  God  Almighty  multiply  his  Blessings. 


CHAPEL  OF  ST.   LEONARD,   LANGHO.  453 

The  next  document  is  a  copy  of  the  Royal  notification  of  reference 
of  the  cause  to  the  Lord  Chancellor.  The  Vicar's  Petition  was  returned, 
with  the  King's  reference  written  on  the  margin,  as  follows  : — 

At  the  Court  at  Whitehall,  May  29th,  1688. — His  Majestic  is  graciously  pleased 
to  referre  this  Petition  to  the  right  honble.  the  Lord  Chancellor  of  England,  to  heare 
all  partys  concerned  and  to  report  the  State  of  the  case  with  his  Lordships  opinion 
what  his  Majesty  may  fitly  do  in  the  matter,  whereupon  his  Majesty  will  declare  his 
further  pleasure.  (Signed)  SUNDERLAND  LD. 

A  manuscript,  which  appears  to  be  a  draft  of  the  Brief  of  the  Case 
submitted  to  Lord  Chancellor  Jeffreys,  is  given  below.  It  is  endorsed  : — 
"  Price  v.  Walmsley.  Upon  a  petition  before  the  Lord  Chancellor,  on 
Tuesday,  1 2th  June,  3  of  the  clock": — 

Ffranciscus  Price,  Viccar  of  Blackburn,  against  Bartholomew  Walmesley,  Esqr., 
— That  within  ye  Parish  of  Blackburne  are  severall  Chappells  of  Ease,  and  particularly 
Lango  Chappell,  where  time  out  of  minde  Divine  Service  hath  beene  read,  Ministra- 
tion of  Sacraments  and  other  ceremoniall  Rites  performed  by  ye  Viccars  of  Black- 
burne or  their  Curats,  and  ye  sd.  Chappel  was  fitted  with  conveniences  and  ornaments 
for  Divine  Service,  Communion  Table,  plate,  pulpitt,  seats,  and  a  Bell,  at  ye  charge 
of  ye  Inhabitants  of  Billington  and  places  adjacent. 

That  in  ye  yeare  1616,  upon  a  Survey  and  by  a  Juryjxmching  ye  possessions  be- 
longing to  ye  ArchB'pprick  of  Canterbury,  ye  sd.  Lango  Chappell  was  found  to  bee  a 
Chappell  of  Ease  belonging  to  Blackburn. 

That  ye  Townshipps  of  Wilpshire-cum-Dinckley,  Salbury,  &  Billington  have  time 
out  of  minde  beene  reported  to  bee  within  ye  Chappelry  of  Lango,  and  ye  Inhabitants 
thereof  generally  resorted  thither,  &  yt  ye  sd.  Chappell  of  Lango  hath  beene  reputed  a 
Chappell  of  Ease  within  ye  Parish  and  subject  to  ye  Mother  Church  of  Blackburne. 

To  prove  all  which  read  ye  Affidavits  of : — Wm.  Sager,  aged  75  yeares  ;  Tho. 
Calvert,  aged  88  yeares  ;  Tho.  Braddyll,  aged  57  yeares  ;  Nich.  Holker,  aged  82 
yeares;  Robert  Craven,  aged  71  yeares;  Isabell  Craven,  aged  74  yeares;  Anne 
Whalley,  aged  68  yeares  ;  Tho.  Wilkinson,  aged  80  yeares ;  Edwd.  Houghton,  aged 
85  yeares  ;  John  Parker,  aged  80  yeares ;  Tho.  Clayton,  aged  68  yeares  ;  Wm.  Cal- 
vert, aged  76  yeares ;  Edwd.  Chew,  aged  50  yeares ;  William  Colton,  Clerk  ; 
Theo.  Aynsworth,  aged  52  yeares  ;  Edwd.  Craven,  aged  70  yeares;  Eliz.  Craven, 
aged  80  yeares  ;  Richd.  Slater,  aged  74  yeares. 

Note. — That  ye  Defendant  pleading  yt  ye  sd.  Chappell  of  Lango  is  built  upon  a 
Common  in  Billington,  &  yt  he  is  Lord  of  ye  Manner,  &  makinge  some  please  of 
clayme  to  it,  though  in  truth  hee  hath  noe  manner  of  right  soe  to  doe,  hath  notwith- 
standing ye  truth  of  ye  case  aforesd.  dispossessed  Mr.  Price  of  ye  same,  &  turned  ye 
same  into  a  place  to  read  Masse  in,  upon  which  Mr.  Price  hath  petitioned  his  Majesty, 
who  hath  referred  ye  same  to  ye  Lord  Chancellor  to  make  his  report  herein. 

Having  heard  the  Petition,  and  the  evidence  by  either  party,  the  Lord 
Chancellor  issued  his  decree,  dated  June  i6th,  1688  ;  the  original  copy 
of  which,  with  the  autograph  of  Jeffreys,  is  endorsed  upon  the  back  of 
the  Petition  itself.  The  terms  of  the  decree  were  these  : — 

[Decree] — All  parties  concerned  attended  me  this  day,  with  the  Counsel.  Upon 
hearing  what  could  be  alledged  on  the  other  side,  we  do  hereby  order,  by  and  with 


454 


HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


the  consent  of  all  parties  concerned,  that  possession  of  the  said  Chapel  be  forthwith 
delivered  to  the  Petitioner  Francis  Price.  And  whereas  the  said  Mr.  Bartholomew 
Walmsley  hath  laid  out  several  sums  of  money  upon  the  repairs  of  said  Chapel,  I  do 
by  the  like  consent,  order  them  to  be  referred  to  the  Right  Rev.  Father  in  God  the 
Lord  Bishop  of  Chester,  to  order  what  sum  of  money  shall  be  paid  by  the  said  Mr. 
Price  and  his  Parish  to  Mr.  Walmsley  for  the  same.  (Signed)  JEFFREYS  C. 

On  Vicar  Price's  recovery  of  Langho  chapel,  its  interior  was  refitted 
with  pulpit,  communion-table,  and  pews  for  Protestant  worship  ;  and  the 
Vicar  made  provision  for  a  more  regular  performance  of  divine  service. 
The  sum  assigned  to  Langho  under  the  Sancroft  Trust  was  ^£5  per 
annum,  now  increased  to  about  £14.  In  March,  1689,  it  is  recorded 
that  "Harwood  and  Langho,  two  Chappells,  were  supplied  by  Mr. 
Sherdley,  a  conformable  minister ;  his  maintenance  from  both  about 
£ZS  Per  annum,  or  upward."  By  uniting  the  cure  of  the  two  neighbour- 
ing chapelries  of  Great  Harwood  and  Langho,  a  stipend  was  obtained 
that,  if  small,  sufficed  then  to  procure  the  service  of  a  competent  curate. 
The  Vicar  signed  an  agreement,  dated  October  i5th,  1690,  with  John 
Barlow,  then  curate  of  Church-kirk,  by  which  the  latter  was  admitted 
into  "  the  curateship  of  Harwood  Magna  and  Lango." 

The  chapelry  records  include  the  following  note  concerning  the 
affairs  of  Langho  Church  in  the  year  1714  : — "In  Lango  Chapel  the 
offices  of  the  Church  were  at  that  time  performed  only  every  other  Sun- 
d  ly,  by  reason  of  the  smallness  of  the  salary.  There  are  a  great  many 
Roman  Catholics  within  this  chapelry,  who,  'tis  reported,  go  to  Mass  at 
Nicholas  Sherburn's  at  Stonyhurst."  The  endowments  then  were  .• — 
"  Out  of  the  Archbishop's  Lands  at  Thornley  (Sancroft  Trust),  £$  ;  out 
of  the  Rectory  of  Blackburn,  £2  6s.  8d.;  total,  £j  6s.  8d." 

The  maintenance  for  a  curate  at  Langho  was  still  small.  But  in 
1746,  a  grant  was  made  of  £200,  by  lot,  out  of  the  Royal  Bounty ;  and 
in  1749  a  second  sum  of  ^200  was  offered  from  the  same  fund  to  meet 
a  local  subscription  to  augment  the  endowment.  Dated  July  3rd,  1749, 
is  a  record  of  "  Subscriptions  towards  raising  the  Bounty  for  the 
Chappell  of  Langoe,  as  collected  by  Robert  Hayhurst  and  Dr.  Chew, 
and  paid  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wollin,  Vicar  of  Blackburn."  The  total  then 
raised,  including  sums  left  by  the  late  William  Hayhurst  (£20),  by  Mr. 
Braddyll  (^10),  and  money  formerly  collected  (^24  IDS.  6d.)  was 
£i2j  35.  The  next  year  (1750)  a  further  sum  of  ^91  los.  6d.  was 
subscribed,  making  up  the  total  towards  augmentation  to  ^228  125. 
By  these  local  benefactions  the  grant  of  ^"200  from  Queen  Anne's 
Bounty  was  secured,  and  a  substantial  addition  made  to  the  living.  In 
1806  a  further  grant  of  £200  was  made  to  Langho  from  Queen  Anne's 
Bounty;  and  in  1813,  a  sum  of  ,£600  to  improve  the  benefice  was 
acquired  by  Parliamentary  Grant. 


CHARITIES  OF  BILLINGTON. 


455 


The  annals  of  Langho  Chapelry,  for  the  succeeding  120  years,  have 
been  as  uneventful  as  those  of  most  of  our  rural  churches.  On  July 
1 9th,  1823,  a  statement  of  the  value  of  the  curacy  was  rendered  : — 

Tithes  of  Withnell,  ^63  ;  Interest  of  ^200  Royal  Bounty,  ^"4  ;  Interest  of  ^"600 
Parity.  Grant,  ^"24  ;  From  the  Estates  in  Thornley,  £14 ;  Surplice  Fees,  125. 


I  add  a  list  of  incumbents  of  Langho,  so  far  as  known  : — 

Name. 

Robert  Smith 

Joseph  Thompson    .... 

Thomas  Elleray 

William  Barton 

George  Wareing      .... 
Thos.  Hy.  Backhouse.     .     . 

John  Rushton 

Robert  N.  Whitaker    .     .     . 
Chas.  Arnold  Chew     .     .     . 
Thomas  Dent      .... 
Jonathan  Beilby 
J.  F.  Coates  (killed,  1859) 
Dudley  Hart,   M.A.     .     . 
Matthew  Hedley,  M.A.  . 
(Present  Vicar.) 


Name. 

Date. 

—  Decoy       .                   circ. 

1620-1625 

—  Johnson    . 

1630 

Richard  Bullock 

tt 

1631-1632 

—  Woods      . 

J> 

1640-1645 

—  Whitaker 



—  Midghall  . 



James  Critchlow 

1649 

William  Colton     .     .     circ. 

1682-1684 

Edward  Sherdley    .     .    ext. 

1689 

(Mr.  Edward  Sherdley,  curate  of 

Blackburn,  buried  Dec.  24,  1693.) 
John  Barlow  ....  1690-1707 

Arthur    Tempest,     curate   of 

Langho  and  Harwood,      1706-1717 
Christr.  Whitewell.     .    circ.    1736 


Date. 
1751 

1754 

1756-1780 

1795-1902 

1803-1813 

1814-1822 

1822-1825 

1828-1840 

1840 

1841-1844 

1845 

1845-1859 
1859-1868 
1868 


CHAPEL  OF  ST.  MARIE  (R.C.). 

A  short  distance  south  of  Langho  Chapel,  stands  the  Roman 
Catholic  Chapel  of  St.  Marie,  built  about  1836.  It  is  a  small  stone 
fabric  in  the  Norman  style,  having  a  porch  on  the  east  side,  an 
octagonal  tower  terminating  in  a  conical  spirelet  at  the  north  end,  and 
narrow  circular-headed  windows.  The  dimensions  of  the  chapel  are 
about  65ft.  by  3 oft.  Sittings,  250.  The  chapel  is  served  by  priests  from 
Stonyhurst  College,  who  cross  the  Ribble  at  Hacking  Ferry  to  reach 
the  mission.  A  small  school-building  is  attached  on  the  west  side. 

CHARITIES  OF  BILLINGTON. 

BILLINGTON  POOR'S  LANDS. — A  record,  commencing  in  1671, 
shews  that  Richard  Waddington  had  before  then  bequeathed  to  the  Poor 
of  Billington  £20,  in  the  hands  of  four  honest  men  as  trustees,  towards 
a  Stock  for  the  impotent  poor  of  the  said  town  for  ever  ;  interest  to  be 
distributed  every  St.  Thomas's  Day. — To  the  Stock  these  donations 
were  added: — A.D.  1672,  Thomas  Braddyll,  £2  ios.;  Ellen  Blackburn, 
£2 -,  1676,  Ann  Chew,  ;£io;  1681-7,  Sir  Edmund  Assheton,  Bart, 
^52  ;  1682,  William  Chatburne,  £i  ;  1683,  William  Wood,  ^3  ; 
1684,  Ellen  Pollard,  ;£io. — In  1715,  the  Trustees  laid  out  the  Stock, 
with  interest,  in  the  purchase,  for  £110,  of  land  at  Dinkley  Moorgate. 
(Title  deeds  are  missing.) — In  1779,  John  Smalley  gave  to  Poor  Stock 
,£12,  laid  out  towards  the  building  of  house  and  barn  on  charity  estate, 
which  consists  of  house,  barn,  and  about  9  acres  (customary)  of  land ; 
let,  in  182-4,  for  ^24  yearly  rent.  There  were  three  trustees,  self- 


456  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

elective,  besides  the  Minister  of  Langho  pro.  tern,  accounted  a  trustee. 
The  trustees  distribute  the  amount  of  the  rent  annually  on  St.  Thomas's 
Day,  in  sums  from  8s.  to  153.,  to  poor  persons  not  receiving  parish  relief. 

BILLINGTON  SCHOOL. — Some  time  before  1743,  Mrs.  Mary  Night- 
ingale gave  ;£io ;  interest  to  be  paid  for  teaching  to  read  poor  children 
of  Billington  township  in  the  Protestant  religion ;  and  Robert  Hayhurst, 
a  trustee,  had  appointed  Dr.  Chew  and  another  co-trustee,  and  had 
placed  ;£io  out  with  money  of  his  own.  This  sum,  with  additions 
made  by  the  Braddyll  and  Assheton  families,  was  laid  out  in  purchase  of 
the  reversion  of  fields  in  Great  Harwood.  The  School  Lands  called 
Cunliffe  Fields,  were  let,  in  1824,  by  the  Schoolmaster  and  a  trustee  to 
a  yearly  tenant,  at  a  rental  of  ^7  us. — By  indenture  dated  Jan.  3151, 
1811,  George  Petre,  Esq.,  lord  of  the  manor,  granted  to  Rev.  George 
Wearing,  incumbent  of  Langho  Chapel,  James  Taylor,  and  John  Har- 
per, a  plot  of  ground  in  Billington,  of  144  square  yards,  and  a  house 
lately  erected  thereon,  in  trust  to  pay  the  clear  rents  to  the  Master  of 
the  School  at  Langho  ;  the  premises  were  occupied  rent  free  by  the 
Master. — In  1796,  ;£ioo,  part  of  residue  of  the  personal  estate  of  Mrs. 
Mary  Smalley,  bequeathed  by  her  to  Rev.  Richard  Perryn  for 
charitable  purposes,  was  appropriated  by  him  for  the  benefit  of  this 
school,  and  laid  out  in  purchase  of  ^184  three  per  cent,  consols,  vested 
in  the  names  of  Abraham  Chew,  Adam  Cottam,  and  John  Smalley.  A 
commodious  new  School  was  built  in  1875. 

ENCLOSURE  OF  BILLINGTON  WASTE  LANDS,  A.D.   1788-91. 

The  Waste  and  Common  lands  in  Billington  with  Wilpshire  and 
Dinkley  comprised  some  900  acres,  when,  in  the  year  1788,  a  petition 
to  Parliament  of  Sir  George  Warren,  K.B.,  John  Calvert,  Esq.,  and 
others,  owners  of  lands  in  the  lordships  of  Billington  and  Wilpshire- 
cum-Dinckley,  set  forth  that  within  those  manors  were  "  divers  parcels 
of  Common  or  Waste  Ground,  containing  about  900  acres,"  then  lying 
unenclosed,  which,  if  divided  and  enclosed,  would  be  of  very  great 
advantage,  and  praying  for  leave  to  bring  in  a  Bill  to  have  the  said  lands 
enclosed  and  divided  amongst  the  petitioners.  An  Act  was  passed  for 
the  enclosure  and  allotment  of  these  lands  the  same  session ;  and  the 
Commissioners  under  the  Act,  John  Harper,  Daniel  Whittle,  and  Adam 
Cottam,  gents.,  met  to  receive  the  claims  of  the  several  proprietors  and 
to  ride  the  boundaries  on  Monday,  August  26th,  1788.  The  award  of 
allotments  was  completed  in  April,  1791.  The  lands  were  allotted  to 
Lord  Petre,  W.  G.  Braddyll,  Pen  Asheton  Curzon,  Le  Gendre  Starkie, 
John  Smalley  of  Coliars,  John  Smalley  of  Greensnook,  Thomas  Porter, 
and  Thomas  Lund. 


DESCENT  OF  CLAYTON  MANOR.  457 


CHAPTER  IV.— THE  TOWNSHIP  OF  CLAYTON-IN-LE-DALE. 

Situation,  acreage,  &c. — Descent  of  the  Manor — Talbot  and  Warren  as  lords— Walmesley  of  Showley 
—Clayton  of  Clayton  Hey— Cowper  of  Showley  Fold— Talbot— Harwood  Fold— Mier,  &c. 

THE  township  of  Clayton-in-le-Dale  is  situate  on  the  left  bank 
of  the  Ribble  opposite  to  Ribchester,  between  Salesbury  and 
Osbaldeston ;  and  extends  south  to  the  slope  of  Ramsgreave  Heights. 
The  area  of  the  township  is  950  statute  acres.  It  is  an  ancient  manor 
in  the  Fee  of  Clitheroe.  The  population  in  1801  was  419;  in  1871 
was  reduced  to  275.  The  land  is  parcelled  out  into  small  pasture- 
farms  ;  and  there  is  considerable  woodland  on  the  high  banks  and 
dingles  near  the  river.  The  township  contains  no  place  of  worship, 
but  is  embraced  in  the  chapelry  of  Salesbury. 

DESCENT  OF  THE  MANOR. 

In  the  lordship  of  Earl  Henry  de  Lascy,  who  died  in  1310, 
Clayton-in-le-Dale  was  united  with  Billington  as  one  fee  belonging  to  the 
Castle  of  Clyderow,  with  two  carucates  of  land  appurtenant;  and  on  the 
great  De  Lascy  Inquisition  in  1311,  it  was  recorded  that  Sir  Adam  de 
Huddleston  held  Clayton  and  Billington  of  the  Earl,  by  the  service  of 
TOS.  yearly  at  the  feast  of  St.  Gyles  and  3d.  at  Midsummer,  and  suit  to 
the  Court  of  Clyderow. 

At  a  later  period  the  Talbots,  lords  of  Salesbury,  acquired  manorial 
rights  with  lands  in  this  township.  I  conjecture  the  manor  may  have 
passed  in  marriage  with  Sybil,  daughter  of  Richard  de  Hudleston,  to 
Robert  Clyderow,  lord  of  Salesbury,  and  from  the  Clyderows,  with 
the  heiress  that  married  John  Talbot,  to  the  Talbots.  This  was  in  the 
early  part  of  the  fifteenth  century.  A  century  onward,  in  1515,  another 
John  Talbot,  lord  of  Salesbury,  died  seized  of  the  manor  of  Clayton-in- 
le-Dale.  In  a  deed  of  trust,  dated  the  6th  Henry  VIII.  (1514),  this 
John  Talbot  disposes  of  an  estate  in  Clayton  called  Clayton  Hey,  in  the 
holding  of  Hugh  and  John  Clayton,  and  of  another  tenement  in  Clayton 
in  the  holding  of  Thomas  Bolton.  The  John  Talbot  who  died  in  1589 
was  seized  of  the  estates  in  Clayton  at  his  death ;  and  in  the  year  1609, 


458  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

John  Parker  occurs  as  holding  lands  in  Clayton  of  another  John  Talbot, 
Esq.,  as  lord,  in  socage. 

In  succession  by  marriage  to  the  Talbots,  the  Warrens  held  this 
with -the  other  estates  in  Ribblesdale ;  and  in  the  year  1800  Sir  George 
Warren  occurs  as  lord  of  the  manor  of  Clayton-in-le-Dale.  It  was  sold, 
with  the  manors  of  Salesbury,  Dinkley,  and  Osbaldeston,  by  Lord  de 
Tabley  to  Henry  Ward,  Esq.,  of  Blackburn,  in  the  year  1866.  The 
extent  of  the  estate  now  owned  by  the  lord  of  the  manor  is  657  statute 
acres. 

WALMESLEY  OF  SHOWLEY. 

Thomas  Walmesley  of  Showley,  living  22nd  Henry  VII.  (1506-7), 
is  the  first  on  "record  of  this  family  ;  his  antecedents  are  Unknown.  His 
wife  was  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  William  Travers,  of  Neatby,  Esq.,  and 
he  had  a  son  Thomas.  Thomas  Walmysley,  of  Clayton-cum-Sholley, 
was  assessed  to  a  Subsidy  in  i5th  Hen.  VIII.  (1523-4). 

Thomas  Walmesley,  of  Showley,  gent.,  married,  about  1536,  Mar- 
garet, daughter  of  Thomas  Livesey  of  Rishton,  and  sister  of  James 
Livesey  of  Rishton,  yeoman ;  and  by  her  had  issue,  sons,  Thomas 
(afterwards  Sir  Thomas  Walmesley,  Knt,  of  Dunkenhalgh,  Judge  of 
Common  Pleas);  Richard;  Robert  (first  of  the  Walmesleys  of  Cold- 
cotes)  ;  Edward  (of  Bannister  Hall,  Walton-in-le-Dale) ;  William  (of 
Lower  Darwen,  who  died  in  1622);  Nicholas,  of  London;  Henry,  a 
clerk ;  and  John,  a  barrister  of  Gray's  Inn ;  and  daughters,  Elizabeth, 
wife  of  Christopher  Nowell,  of  Little  Mearley,  Esq. ;  and  Alice,  wife  of 
Richard  Hothersall,  of  Hothersall,  gent.  The  father,  Thomas  Walmes- 
ley, was  reported  as  a  recusant,  or  "  obstinate  "  Catholic,  in  1575.  He 
died  April  lyth,  26th  Eliz.  (1584),  found  seized,  by  inquisition  taken  at 
Blackburn  in  Sept.  following,  of  lands,  &c.,  in  Cundcliffe  in  Rishton, 
Button,  Showley-in-Clayton,  Cliderowe,  Ribchester,  Nether  Darwyn, 
and  other  places  in  the  county. 

Richard  Walmesley,  gent.,  Thomas's  second  son  and  successor  at 
Showley,  was  aged  46  years  in  1584.  His  wife  was  Margaret,  daughter 
of  Mr.  William  Walmesley  of  Fishwick,  and  he  had  issue,  sons,  Richard; 
and  Thomas  (who  died  unmarried).  Richard  Walmesley,  the  father, 
died  Oct.  24th,  1609.  Inq.  post  mort.  taken  at  Preston,  Jan.  4th,  7th 
Jas.  I.,  returns  Richard  Walmesley,  gent.,  had  died  seized  of  a  capital 
messuage,  100  acres  of  land,  meadow,  pasture,  and  woodland  in  Showley 
in  Clayton-in-le-Dale,  worth  203. ;  and  of  13  messuages,  4  cottages,  160 
acres  of  land,  meadow,  and  pasture,  in  Ribchester  and  Button,  worth 
303. ;  and  9  acres  of  land,  meadow,  and  pasture  in  Fishwick.  Inden- 
ture dated  Oct.  loth,  6th  James  I.,  is  cited  between  Richard  Walmesley 
of  Showley  and  William  Gerrard  of  Radbourne  in  Brindle,  gent.,  being 


WALMESLEY  OF  SHOWLEY. 


459 


a  covenant  that  a  marriage  shall  be  solemnised  before  the  next  Easter, 
between  Richard  Walmesley,  son  and  heir  apparent  of  Richard,  and 
Ellen  Gerrard,  daughter  of  William  ;  and  that  a  sum  of  money  by  way 
of  dower  should  be  paid  by  William  Gerrard  to  Richard  Walmesley, 
the  father,  &c.  Richard  Walmesley  conveys  the  house  of  Showley  in  trust. 
Richard  Walmesley,  son  and  heir,  was  aged  n  years  in  1609. 

Richard  Walmesley,  of  Showley,  born  in  1598  (a  governor  of 
Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1616),  married  Hellen,  daughter  of  Mr. 
William  Gerrard  of  Radbourne,  and  had  issue,  sons,  Richard,  bapt. 
Nov.  25th,  1617  •;  Gerrard,  bapt.  Sept.  9th,  1619  ;  Thomas,  fcapt.  April 
2nd,  1621 ;  William,  born  in  1622,  died  young;  and  John  (of  Buckshaw, 
ancestor  of  the  Walmesleys  of  Westwood,  near  Wigan,  who  married 
Anne,  daughter  of  Lawrence  Breres  of  Buckshaw).  The  daughters  of 
Richard  Walmesley  were,  Margaret,  bom  in  1615  ;  and  Janet,  born  in 
1623,  married  John  Sherburne,  gent.  Richard  Walmesley,  Esq.,  was 
buried  at  Blackburn,  March  iyth,  1678-9,  aged  80. 

Richard  Walmesley,  gent.,  eldest  son,  died  in  his  father's  lifetime, 
having  had  issue  by  his  wife  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Thomas  South- 
worth  of  Samlesbury,  Esq.,  a  daughter,  Elizabeth,  wife,  first,  of  Mr. 
Thomas  Cottam  of  Dilworth,  and,  secondly,  of  Mr.  John  Nowell  of 
Mearley. 

The  next  son,  Gerrard,  dying  young,  the  succession  was  vested  in 
Thomas  Walmesley,  third  son  of  Richard. 

Thomas  Walmesley,  Esq.,  of  Showley,  married  Elizabeth,  sister 
and  heir  of  Henry  Mossock,  of  Cunscough,  gent.,  and  had  sons, 
Richard,  born  in  1656  ;  and  Henry,  died  young,  in  1660  ;  and  a 
daughter  Anne,  born  in  1656,  who  became  a  nun,  and  died  at  Aix  in 
Flanders.  Thomas  Walmesley,  of  Showley,  gent,  was  made  a  governor 
of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1679. 

Richard  Walmesley,  Esq.,  of  Showley,  had  to  wife  Jane,  sister  to 
William  Houghton,  Esq.,  of  Park  Hall,  in  Charnock  Richard.  The 
issue  of  the  marriage  were  ten  sons  and  six  daughters.  The  sons  were, 
Thomas,  William,  John,  Edward,  Richard,  Robert,  Charles,  Henry, 
James,  and  Francis  ;  the  daughters  were,  Elizabeth,  Juliana,  Ann,  Mar- 
garet, and  two  Dorothys,  the  first  dying  young.  Mistress  Walmesley, 
mother  of  the  above,  died  in  Oct.,  1722.  Mr.  Richard  Walmesley,  of. 
Showley,  became  a  governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1708. 
He  died  before  1730. 

William,  second  son  of  Richard,  described  in  the  record  as 
"  William  Walmsley  of  Sholey  near  Preston,"  was  tried  at  Liverpool, 
Jan.  nth,  1715-6,  on  a  charge  of  complicity  in  the  Jacobite  Rebellion 
of  1715,  but  was  acquitted. 


460 


HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


Thomas  Walmesley,  the  eldest  son,  born  Oct.  2ist,  1685,  succeeded 
to  the  estate.  He  had  to  wife  Mary,  daughter  of  William  Colgreave, 
Esq.,  and  had  sons,  Richard,  Thomas,  Joseph  and  Francis ;  and  a 
daughter,  Mary.  Thomas  Walmesley,  Esq.,  died  April  2oth,  1755. 
He  was  a  governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  from  1731. 

The  eldest  son,  Richard,  having  become  a  priest  (as  did  also  the 
third  son,  Francis),  the  patrimony  went  to  the  second  son,  Thomas 
Colgreave  Walmesley,  Esq.,  born  August  28th,  1713;  married,  April 
xoth,  1758,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  John  Turner,  Esq.,  of  London, 
and  had  issue,  Richard  Joseph,  born  Aug.  22nd,  1764;  Thomas  William, 
born  September  loth,  1767,  died  June  5th,  1825;  Robert,  a  monk  of 
La  Trappe,  born  Feb.  i2th,  1770;  Catharine,  born  in  1758;  Elizabeth- 
Marie-Magdalen,  died  in  1787;  Marie,  born  1761,  died  1807;  Anne, 
born  1763,  died  1814;  Francis,  born  1772;  and  Ellen  Monica.  Mr. 
Thomas  Colgreave  Walmesley  died  May  i2th,  1776.  He  was  a 
governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School,  elected  in  1754. 

Richard  Joseph  Walmesley,  Esq.,  of  Showley,  married,  August  25th, 

1794,  Miss  Catharine  Manby,  and  died  May  26th,   1803.     He  left  as 
his  heir  Thomas  George  Walmesley;   and  had  other  sons,  Richard, 
Henry,  and  Michael ;  also  a  daughter  Frances. 

Thomas  George  Walmesley,   Esq.,   of  Showley,   born  Aug.   i6th, 

1795,  married  May  4th,    1824,  Susan  Elizabeth  Trusler,  of  Shindon, 
Sussex;  by  whom  he  has  issue,  sons,  Anthony,  born  Nov.  25th,  1826; 
and  John,  born  January  26th,  1830.     Thomas  George  Walmesley,  Esq., 
disposed  of  Showley  Hall  and  estate,  in  February,  1870,  to  the  late  Mr. 
James  Eden. 

Showley  Hall  stands  on  the  skirt  of  the  plantation  that  covers  the 
bluffs  and  ravines  on  the  south  bank  of  the"  Ribble.  It  formerly 
consisted  of  three  blocks  at  right  angles,  enclosing  a  court.  All  but 
the  centre  block  at  the  south  end  has  been  demolished,  and  this  portion 
was  rebuilt  in  1870  for  a  residence  by  Mr.  Eden.  In  the  grounds,  a  little 
to  the  north  of  the  hall,  the  foundations  of  the  ancient  private  chapel  of 
the  Walmesleys  have  recently  been  removed,  and  in  the  process,  some 
antique  coins  are  stated  to  have  been  turned  up.1 

CLAYTON  OF  CLAYTON  HEY  AND  COPTHURST. 
John  Clayton  and  Hugh  Clayton,  both  of  Clayton  Hey,  in  this  township,  are 
named  in  a  deed  of  trust  made  by  John  Talbot  of  Salesbury,  Esq.,  in  1515.  Henry 
Clayton,  in  1565,  held  lands  formerly  belonging  to  Burnley  Chantry  in  Clayton, 
Ribchester,  &c.  John  Clayton  of  Clayton  Hey,  who  died  before  1626,  when  his 
widow  was  buried,  had  a  son  Thomas,  born  in  1617;  and  daughters,  Ann,  and 

i  Francis  Petre,  Roman  Catholic  Bishop  of  Amoria,  Vicar  Apostolic  of  the  Northern  District  of 
England,  resided  at  Showley  Hall  many  years  ;  he  died  in  1775,  and  his  tomb  is  at  Stydd  Chapel, 
Ribchester. 


TALBOT  OF  CLAYTON,  &c.  461 

Jennet,  wife  of  John  Talbot,  gent.  Richard  Clayton  of  Clayton  Hey  died  in  June, 
1652.  Roger  Clayton  of  Copthurst  died  in  March,  1627-8;  and  George  Clayton  of 
Copthurst,  died  in  April,  1647. 

COWPER  OF  SHOWLEY. 

Richard  Cowper  of  Showley  Foulde,  was  buried  at  Blackburn,  July  2ist,  1626. 
Another  Richard  Cowper,  of  Clayton,  buried  Ann,  his  wife,  Dec.  3Oth,  1655. 

Henry  Cowper  of  Showley,  occurs  in  1655,  when  Richard,  his  son,  married 
Ellen  daughter  of  Christopher  Marsden  of  Witton. 

Richard  Cowp' [Cowper]  of  Showley,  had  sons,  Thomas,  died  in  1689;  James,  born 
in  1663;  and  Edward,  born  1666;  also,  I  think,  an  elder  son  Richard,  and  a  daughter, 
Alice.  Ellen,  his  wife,  was  buried  at  Blackburn,  Feb.  25th,  1682-3. 

Richard  Cowper,  of  Showley,  also  named  "of  Clayton-in-le-Dale,  yeoman," 
married  Ann  Read,  Jan  28th,  1698,  and  had  a  son  Robert,  born  in  1698,  and  a 
daughter  Mary,  born  in  1703. 

TALBOT  OF  CLAYTON. 

John  Talbot  of  Clayton-in-le-Dale,  gent.,  was  father  of  Ralph,  John,  and  William 
Talbot. 

Ralph  Talbot  of  Clayton-in-le-Dale,  gent.,  died  in  1554;  his  Will  was  proved 
Sept.  1 8th  in  that  year.  Testator  desires  to  be  buried  in  the  chancel  of  Ribchester 
Church;  names  John  Talbot  his  brother;  "my  master  John  Talbot  of  Salesbury, 
Esq. ;"  Jane,  wife  of  testator.  Gives  to  Richard  Talbot,  his  son,  all  his  lands  in  the 
township  of  Ribchester;  if  son  Richard  dies,  all  said  lands  to  revert  to  the  child  of 
which  testator's  wife  is  with  child,  if  it  be  a  boy ;  reversion  to  daughters.  Jane 
Talbot,  wife,  Richard,  son,  William  Talbot,  brother,  and  Richard  Norres,  executors. 
John  Talbot,  Esq.,  supervisor. 

John  Talbot  of  Clayton,  was  assessed  to  a  Subsidy  in  1663.  Thomas  Talbot,  of 
Clayton-in-le-Daile,  was  buried  at  Blackburn,  Dec.  22nd,  1675. 

Robert  Talbot  of  Clayton,  son  of  John  Talbot,  deceased,  was  an  out-burgess  of 
Preston  at  the  Guild  of  1682  ;  as  was  also  his  brothers,  John  Talbot,  Thomas  Talbot, 
and  Samuel  Talbot.  John  Talbot  of  Clayton,  married,  in  1685,  Ann  Whalley. 

John  Talbot  of  Clayton,  yeoman,  died  in  1762.  His  wife,  Margaret,  died  in 
1772.  Another  John  Talbot  of  Clayton,  yeoman,  died  in  1778. 

'At  Showley  Fold,  in  this  township,  is  a  freehold  estate  and  messuage, 
the  property  and  residence  of  T.  S.  Ainsworth,  Esq.  (see  post,  Ains- 
worth  of  Feniscowles).  Harwood  Fold  is  the  messuage  of  another 
freehold  farm,  formerly  the  property  of  a  yeoman  family  of  Harwoods. 
"  Mr.  John  Harwood,  of  Showley,"  was  made  a  governor  of  Blackburn 
Grammar  School  in  1681.  His  son  William  Harwood  held  the  freehold 
in  1728,  and  restored  the  house,  on  a  stone  in  which  are  his  initials  and 
his  wife's  "  W  E  H,"  and  the  date  "1728."  The  Mier  estate  is  an  old 
freehold,  parcel  of  which,  of  93  acres,  was  sold  in  1832.  The  major 
portion  of  the  Mier  estate,  consisting  of  1 18  statute  acres,  was  purchased, 
in  1874,  by  Messrs.  John,  Edward,  and  Joseph  Dugdale,  of  Blackburn. 


462 


HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


CHAPTER   V.— THE   TOWNSHIP   OF  CUERDALE. 

Topography,  Acreage,  and  Population — Descent  of  the  Manor — De  Keuerdale  Family— Molineux — 
Osbaldeston — Assheton — Cuerdale  Hall. 

f  *  UERDALE  is  a  small  township  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Ribble, 
\^/  adjoining  Walton-in-le-Dale  at  the  western  end  of  Blackburn 
Parish.  Its  demesne  consists  of  fertile  river-side  meadow  and  pasture. 
The  area  of  the  township  is  500  statute  acres ;  and  it  contains  only  ten 
inhabited  houses.  The  population,  which  in  1801  numbered  170  per- 
sons, in  1871  was  diminished  to  60  persons.  Cuerdale  forms  part  of 
the  ancient  Chapelry  of  Lowchurch  (Walton).  It  was  in  this  township, 
in  a  field  near  the  Ribble,  a  few  paces  lower  down  than  Cuerdale  Hall, 
that  the  remarkable  hoard  of  Saxo-Danish  treasure  was  discovered  in 
1840  (see  ante,  pp.  29-40). 

DESCENT  OF  THE  MANOR.— DE  KEUERDALE  FAMILY. 

Henry  de  Keuerdale,  living  in  the  i3th  century,  was  chief  pro- 
prietor in  Cuerdale.  He  had  a  son  Richard. 

Richard,  son  of  Henry  de  Keuerdale,  by  undated  deed  gave  to  the 
Abbot  and  Convent  of  Stanlaw  (removed  to  Whalley  in  1294)  a  rent  of 
i2d.  yearly,  for  the  welfare  of  his  soul,  &c.  Alexander  and  Roger  de 
Keuerdale,  both  witnesses  to  this  charter,  would  be  either  sons  or 
brothers  of  Richard. 

Alexander  de  Keuerdale,  after  Richard,  held  Cuerdale  Manor 
temp.  Edw.  I.  and  II.  He  occurs  as  witness  to  a  deed  of  i2th  Edw.  I. 
(1284).  He  had  a  daughter  Alice,  wife  of  Richard  de  Balderstone. 
The  lords  of  Cuerdale  also  held  an  estate  in  Over  Darwen  in  socage ; 
and  in  a  deed  of  gift  to  Stanlaw  Abbey  of  a  barn  "  in  Superiore  Der- 
went,"  by  Roger  de  Whalley,  is  mentioned  "the  way  on  the  west  which 
leads  to  the  house  of  Alexander  de  Keuerdale."  In  1311,  by  inquisition 
it  appeared  that  "  Adam  (Alexander  ?)  de  Keuresdale  held  a  carucate 
in  Keuresdale  by  the  service  of  93.  yearly  at  the  feast  of  St.  Giles." 

Geoffrey  de  Keuerdale  occurs  after  Alexander,  and  he  had  a  son 
Robert  de  Keuerdale,  who,  A.D.  1349,  held  three  carucates  of  land  in 


MOLINEUX  OF  CUERDALE.  463 

Keuersdale  in  fee  of  the  Duke  of  Lancaster  and  service.  Also,  one 
John  de  Keuerdale  is  witness  to  a  charter  dated  i2th  Edw.  III.  (1339). 
Robert  de  Keuerdale  had  a  daughter  and  heiress  Jane  de  Keuerdale, 
who  married  Thomas  Molineux. 

MOLINEUX  OF  CUERDALE. 

Thomas  Molineux,  who  had  to  wife  the  heiress  Jane  de 
Keuerdale,  was  a  younger  son  of  Richard  Molineux  of  Sefton,  and 
brother  of  William  of  Sefton.  He  settled  in  Cuerdale  after  his  marriage, 
and  in  41  Ed.  III.  (1368)  I  find  "Thomas  Molyneux  de  Keuerdale" 
giving  deed  of  quit-claim  to  John  de  Gerston  of  his  right  in  the  hamlet 
of  Tockholes  within  Livesey  vill.  Richard  Molineux  (presumably 
his  father)  gave  to  Thomas  Molineux  lands  in  Sefton,  Thornton,  and 
Litherland  ;  remainder  to  Richard,  his  heirs,  &c.  He  held,  in  1377, 
in  right  of  his  wife,  Kuerdale  manor,  the  moiety  of  Over  Derwent,  and 
half  the  manor  of  Eccleshill.  He  had  a  son  Thomas  ;  and  a  daughter 
Katherine,  married,  first,  to  Alexander  Osbaldeston  of  Osbaldeston  ; 
secondly,  to  Thomas  Banastre  of  Osbaldeston ;  and,  thirdly,  to  Robert 
Radcliffe.  Thomas  Molyneux,  the  father,  was  slain  at  Radcott  Bridge 
in  1387. 

Thomas  Molyneux,  the  son,  died  Dec.  2oth,  1387,  leaving  no 
male  heir  by  his  wife  Katherine.  Inq.  post  mort.  was  taken  at  Preston, 
Feb.  1 7th,  1388,  when  it  was  found  that  the  lands  the  deceased  Thomas 
Molyneux  had  held  in  Sefton,  &c.,  were  to  descend  to  William,  son  and 
heir  of  Richard  Molyneux ;  from  William  to  his  son  and  heir  Richard  ; 
from  Richard  to  William  his  son  and  heir ;  from  William  to  his  son  and 
heir  Sir  William  Molyneux,  Knt;  and  from  him  to  his  son  Richard, 
living,  under  age,  in  ward  to  John  of  Gaunt,  at  date  of  the  escheat 
(I388).1  Of  other  estates  of  deceased,  Katherine,  wife  of  Thomas 
Banastre  of  Osbaldeston,  daughter  of  Thomas  Molyneux  the  father,  and 
sister  of  Thomas  then  defunct,  was  heiress,  and  aged  40  years. 

By  marriage  of  Katherine  Molyneux,  heiress  of  her  brother  Thomas, 
to  Alexander  Osbaldeston,  the  lords  of  Osbaldeston  acquired  manorial 
estate  in  Cuerdale,  and  Richard  Osbaldeston  of  Osbaldeston,  who  died 
in  1507,  was  found  to  have  held,  among  his  possessions,  "  Kuerdall 
Manor,  of  Richard  Langton,  in  socage,  worth  20  marks."  His  son,  Sir 
Alexander  Osbaldeston,  died  in  1543,  seized  of  Cuerdale  Manor. 
Edward  Osbaldeston,  Esq.,  who  died  in  1590,  kept  a  second  mansion 
at  Cuerdale  Hall,  for  in  his  Will,  dated  1588,  he  bequeaths  a  year's 
wages  to  "  all  my  howsehold  servants  at  Osbaldeston  and  Cewerdall." 
Some  years  after  this  the  estate  was  sold  to  Radcliffe  Assheton,  gent. 

i  Lane.  Inquisitions,  ed.  by  Mr.  Langton  for  Cheth.  Socy.,  pp.  28-30. 


464 


HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


ASSHETON  OF  CUERDALE. 

The  first  Assheton  who  resided  at  Cuerdale  was  Radcliffe  Asshe- 
ton,  Esq.,  second  son  of  Ralph  Assheton  of  Lever.  He  was  born  in 
1582,  and  had  to  wife  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  John  Hide,  a  citizen  of 
London.  Issue : — James,  died  young  ;  John,  eventual  heir  ;  Ralph,  a 
citizen  of  London  ;  Richard,  died  unmarried ;  Ellen,  married,  Sept., 
1627,  Edward  Rawsthorne,  of  New  Hall,  Esq. ;  Joane,  wife  of 
Ughtred,  third  son  of  Richard  Shuttleworth,  of  Gawthorpe,  Esq. ;  Alice, 
wife  of  John  Bancroft,  citizen  of  London  ;  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Richard 
Greene  of  Poulton ;  Julian,  wife  of  John  Legh  ;  Jane,  wife  of  Richard 
Holt ;  Margaret,  wife  of  Thomas  Parker  of  Browsholme  ;  and  Dorothy, 
died  young.  Radcliffe  Assheton  purchased  the  manor  of  Cuerdale  and 
settled  there,  the  entailed  estates  of  the  family  going  to  his  elder 
brother  Ralph.  He  joined  the  Royalist  party  at  the  commencement  of 
the  Civil  War,  and  at  a  meeting  at  Preston,  Dec.  roth,  1642,  was 
appointed  collector  for  the  Hundred  of  Blackburn  of  the  King's  assess- 
ment of  ^"8,700  upon  the  County.  Radcliffe  Assheton,  Esq.,  died  Jan. 
1 9th,  1644-5.  In  his  Will,  dated  Jan.  i8th,  1644-5,  testator  names 
Elizabeth,  his  wife  ;  sons,  John,  deceased  (who  had  a  son  Richard); 
Ralph;  and  Richard;  and  his  daughters,  Joan,  Alice,  Elizabeth,  Julian, 
Jane,  and  Margaret. 

John  Assheton,  gent.,  eldest  son  of  Radcliffe,  married  Anne, 
youngest  daughter  of  Richard  Shuttleworth,  Esq.y  of  Gawthorpe,  and 
had  a  son  Richard,  born  in  1643.  He  joined  the  King's  party  in  the 
Civil  War;  was  a  soldier  in  the  Royal  army,  and  was  raised  to  a 
colonelcy.  He  died  in  active  service  at  Bristol,  in  1643,  the  year  before 
his  father's  death.  His  widow  married  Richard  Towneley  of  Barnside 
and  Carr,  who  was  killed  by  a  bull,  baited  at  Gisburn,  in  1655. 

Richard  Assheton,  of  Cuerdale,  Esq.,  son  of  John,  married  Mary, 
daughter  of  George  Pigot,  Esq.,  of  Preston.  Issue  : — Ralph,  bapt.  at 
Walton  Church,  Nov.  i6th,  1666;  Radcliffe,  bapt.  Feb.  23rd,  1668-9; 
John,  bapt.  Oct.  25th,  1670,  buried  March  4th,  1670-1 ;  Elizabeth, 
bapt.  Nov.  9th,  1673;  Ann,  bapt.  Jan.  3ist,  1675-6,  buried  Sept.  28th, 
1676  ;  Mary,  bapt.  Aug.  6th,  1677,  married,  Dec.  i2th,  1706,  Alexander 
Nowell,  gent. ;  Lucy,  bapt.  Sept.  i5th,  1679  ;  Richard,  bapt.  Jan.  2ist, 
1 68 1-2  ;  Edmund,  bapt.  May  26th,  1684  (Edmund  Assheton  of  Preston, 
mercer,  Mayor  in  1714),  buried  April  6th,  1746 ;  John,  bapt.  Sept.  i6th, 
1690.  This  Richard  Assheton,  in  1679,  b7  tne  settlement  of  his 
relative,  Sir  Ralph  Assheton  of  Whalley,  became  heir  of  the  estates  at 
Downham  and  Whalley.  This  acquisition  caused  the  removal  of  the 
head  of  the  family  from  Cuerdale  to  Downham,  but  junior  members  of 
the  family  still  occupied  the  hall  of  Cuerdale.  Richard  Assheton,  Esq., 


ASSHETON  OF  CUERDALE.  465 

died  in  1709,  buried  Feb.  i5th,   1709-10  ;  his  Will  bears  date  Oct.  27th, 
1707.     His  widow  died  in  December,  1717. 

Ralph  Assheton,  Esq.,  eldest  son  of  Richard,  married,  Dec.  i9th, 
1695,  Mrs.  Sarah  Bruen,  of  Hoghton ;  and  had  issue,  Ralph,  bapt.  Dec. 
28th,  1696  ;  and  Richard,  who  died  without  issue. 

Ralph  Assheton,  Esq.,  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Thomas  Lister, 
Esq.,  of  Arnoldsbiggin,  and  had  issue  : — Ralph,  born  Jan.  25th,  1719-20; 
Richard,  born  Aug.  i5th,  1727  (he  was  Rev.  Richard  Assheton,  D.D., 
Rector  of  Middleton,  who  died  in  1800);  Elizabeth,  born  Feb.  i2th, 
1716-7,  married  Richard  Assheton,  Esq.  ;  Sarah,  born  May,  died  June, 
1718;  and  Mary,  bapt.  Nov.  7th,  1721,  married,  first,  Rev.  John 
Witton ;  and  secondly,  Peregrine  Wentworth,  Esq. 

Ralph  Assheton,  Esq.,  of  Downham,  inherited  the  estates,  and 
married  Rebecca,  daughter  of  William  Hulls,  Esq.,  of  London.  He  had 
issue,  sons,  Ralph,  born  May  2nd,  1753,  buried  May  3rd;  a  second 
Ralph,  born  April  5th,  1754,  died  young;  William,  born  in  1758  ;  and 
four  daughters,  Annie,  born  May  28th,  1755,  married,  April  23rd,  1782, 
Rev.  Wm.  Cleaver,  Rector  of  Foscot,  Co.  Bucks.,  afterwards  Bishop  of 
Bangor ;  Rebecca,  Mary,  and  Elizabeth.  He  died  Jan.  3rd,  1759. 

William  Assheton,  Esq.,  of  Downham  and  Cuerdale,  in  1786 
married  Letitia,  second  daughter  of  Sir  Richard  Brooke,  of  Norton 
Priory,  Co.  Chester,  Bart.  Issue  : — William,  born  March  i6th,  1788; 
Thomas,  died  Sept.,  1794;  Robert,  died  Jan.,  1797;  Frances,  died 
Oct.,  1795  ;  and  Mary,  wife  of  John  Armytage,  Esq. 

William  Assheton,  Esq.,  the  son,  married,  in  1816,  Frances  Arabella, 
daughter  and  co-heiress  of  the  Hon.  Wm.  Cockayne.  By  her  (she  died 
in  1835)  he  had  issue  two  sons,  Ralph;  and  Richard  Orme,  born  July 
1 2th,  1835.  William  Assheton,  Esq.,  was  a  deputy-lieutenant  and  a 
county  magistrate  of  Lancashire.  He  died  August  i2th,  1858,  aged  70. 

Ralph  Assheton,  Esq.,  the  present  lord  of  Downham  and  Cuerdale, 
was  born  Dec.  2oth,  1830.  He  was  elected  M.P.  for  Clitheroe  in  July, 
1868,  and  re-elected  in  Nov.,  1868,  and  in  Feb.,  1874.  He  married, 
in  1854,  Emily  Augusta,  fourth  daughter  of  Joseph  Feilden,  Esq.,  of 
Witton  Park,  by  whom  he  has  issue. 

Cuerdale  Hall,  long  a  mansion  of  the  Asshetons,  was  partially 
rebuilt,  in  1 700,  by  Wm.  Assheton,  Esq.  The  hall  stands  on  the  south 
bank  of  the  Ribble,  about  a  mile  above  Walton  Church.  The  later 
portion  of  the  hall,  facing  the  river,  is  a  rectangular  structure,  of  brick, 
with  stone  ornamentation.  In  the  rear,  some  parts  of  the  older  hall 
remain.  Since  the  hall  ceased  to  be  the  residence  of  the  Asshetons, 
the  gardens  and  grounds  have  fallen  into  neglect.  The  farmer  of  the 
demesne  now  occupies  Cuerdale  Hall. 

30 


466  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


CHAPTER  VI— THE  TOWNSHIP  OF  NETHER  DARWEN. 

Topography — Descent  of  the  Manor — Banastre — Langton— Ardern — Bradshaw — Talbot — Walmesley — 
Manor-place  of  Fernehurst — Haworth  of  Th'urcroft,  and  branches — Aspinall — Bailey — Eccles — 
Grymshaw — Harwood — Haworth,  of  Walmsley  Fold,  Preston,  and  Newfield — Hindle— Livesey— 
Lomas — Marsden— Sanderson — Waddington — Walmesley — Yates — St.  James's  Church— Dissent- 
ing Chapels — Commons'  Enclosure. 

NETHER  DARWEN  (in  modern  style,  Lower  Darwen)  is  a 
township  of  considerable  extent  occupying  the  portion  of  the 
valley  of  the  river  Darwen  between  Over  Darwen  and  Blackburn  town- 
ships, and  extending  over  the  moorland  heights  that  enclose  the  valley 
eastward  and  westward.  These  moors  formed  the  ancient  waste  and 
common  land  of  the  township,  but  within  the  century  have  been 
enclosed  and  cultivated  as  pasturage.  The  area  of  the  township  is 
2,490  statute  acres.  Its  population  in  1801  was  1646  persons;  but  by 
the  introduction  of  cotton  factories  into  the  township,  the  population  in 
1871  had  increased  to  3,876  persons.  The  manufacturing  population 
is  chiefly  collected  in  Lower  Darwen  village  near  the  centre  of  the 
township,  and  in  the  village  of  Ewood  (anciently  Ewode),  on  the 
border  of  Blackburn,  from  which  it  is  separated  by  the  river  Darwen. 
The  oldest  cotton  mill  in  the  village  of  Lower  Darwen,  a  small  square 
structure  now  disused,  was  built  by  Mr.  Thomas  Eccles,  yeoman  and 
manufacturer  (see  Eccles  family,  post),  about  the  year  1774. 

The  principal  storage  reservoirs  of  the  Blackburn  Waterworks  cover 
several  acres  of  ground  upon  the  acclivity  on  the  east  side  of  the  township. 

DESCENT  OF  THE  MANOR— BANASTRE,  AND  LANGTON,  AS  LORDS. 

In  the  Norman  period,  Nether  Derwent  is  found  as  an  appur- 
tenance of  the  feodal  estate  of  Walton-in-le-Dale  ;  and  about  A.D.  1130, 
Henry  de  Lascy,  lord  of  the  Honor  of  Clitheroe,  granted  "  the  two 
Derwents  "  (Upper  and  Nether),  along  with  Walton  as  its  members,  to 
Robert  Banastre,  for  the  service  of  one  Knight's  fee.  The  Banastres, 
lords  of  Newton,  held  Nether  Darwen  from  the  above  date  nearly  two 
centuries;  and  in  the  De  Lascy  Inquisition  of  131-1,  it  is  returned  that 


ARDERN  OF  NETHER  DARWEN.  467 

"  Sir  Adam  Banastre  held  two  carucates  of  land  in  Nether  Derwent,  and 
paid  yearly  23.  lod.  and  suit  to  Clitheroe  Court." 

Sir  John  de  Langton,  by  his  marriage  with  Alice,  daughter  and 
heir  of  James  Banastre,  acquired  the  lordships  of  Newton  and  Walton 
with  their  dependencies  ;  and  died  about  A.D.  1334.  His  son,  Sir 
Robert  de  Langton,  in  1349  was  found  in  possession  of  "  two  carucates 
of  land  in  Nether  Derwent."  After  the  lapse  of  220  years,  the  lords  of 
Walton  still  retained  manorial  rights  in  Nether  Darwen  at  the  death  of 
Sir  Thomas  Langton,  Knt,  in  1569,  who  in  his  Will  names  "Nether 
Darwyne  "  among  his  manors,  and  messuages  and  lands  he  held  there. 
But  it  is  probable  that  before  this  the  bulk  of  the  demesne  lands  in 
Nether  Darwen  had  somehow  been  acquired  by  other  families,  named 
hereafter.  The  manor  had,  I  think,  been  divided  about  the  fourteenth 
century ;  for  then  and  later  the  Arderns  and  Bradshaws  held  one 
portion  in  fee  j  and  Talbots  of  Holt  and  Bashall  another  portion. 

ARDERN— LORDS  OF  PARCEL  OF  LOWER  DARWEN  MANOR. 

Sir  Thomas  de  Ardern,  Knt.,  living  in  1391,  by  Alice  his  wife,  had 
a  son  and  heir,  John.  John  de  Ardern,  in  the  second  half  of  the 
fourteenth  century,  held  a  large  estate  in  Nether  Darwen  of  John  of 
Gaunt,  Duke  of  Lancaster,  in  fee.  This  estate  remained  with  the 
Arderns  until  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Henry  VI.  In  the  Chancery 
Rolls  of  the  Duchy  are  found  documents  relating  to  the  possessions  of 
this  family.  April  27th,  2nd  Henry  VI.  (1424),  a  mandamus  was 
issued  to  the  escheator  to  inquire  what  lands  and  tenements  John  de 
Ardern,  Esq.,  held  of  John,  Duke  of  Lancaster,  the  King's  great-grand- 
father, in  capite.  It  was  found  on  inquisition  that  John  de  Ardern  had 
died  on  the  Eve  of  Pentecost,  i5th  Richard  II.  (1392),  seized  in  his 
demesne  as  of  fee  of  16  messuages,  one  mill,  200  acres  of  land,  200 
acres  of  meadow,  1,000  acres  of  pasture,  and  20  acres  of  wood,  parcel 
of  the  manor  of  Nether  Derwynd ;  and  that  Joan,  wife  of  Nicholas  de 
Aynesworth,  Margaret,  wife  of  Hugh  de  Bradshagh,  Agnes,  wife  of 
Edward  de  Chernok,  and  Alianora,  wife  of  John  de  Bradshagh,  were 
the  daughters  and  next  heirs  of  the  aforesaid  John  de  Ardern.  April 
30th,  2nd  Henry  VI.  (1424),  precept  was  issued  to  the  escheator  to 
seize  the  above  estate  into  the  King's  hand.  It  was  found  also  by 
inquisition  that  Alice,  widow  of  Sir  Thomas  Ardern,  Knt.,  now  deceased, 
after  the  death  of  the  said  John  de  Ardern,  intruded  upon  the  lands 
aforesaid  and  enjoyed  the  issues  and  profits  thereof  for  her  life. 

May  5th,  1424,  a  precept  was  issued  to  the  escheator  to  give  to  Nicholas  de 
Aynesworth  and  Joan  his  wife,  one  of  the  daughters  and  heirs  of  John  de  Ardern, 
livery  of  her  portion  of  her  father's  lands,  taking  security  for  payment  of  the  relief. 


468  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

This  Joan  in  her  father's  lifetime  had  married  William  de  Lever,  but  being  afterwards 
divorced,  she  had  married  Nicholas  de  Aynesworth. 

A  like  precept,  at  the  same  time,  was  issued  for  livery  of  lands  to  Edward  de 
Chernok  and  Agnes  his  wife,  another  of  the  daughters  and  heirs  of  John  de  Ardern. 
This  Agnes  had  first  married  John  de  Chorley,  then  dead,  and,  secondly,  Edward  de 
Chernok.  • 

A  like  precept  was  issued  for  livery  of  lands  to  Hugh  de  Bradshagh  and  Margaret 
his  wife,  another  of  John  de  Ardern's  daughters  and  heirs.  She  had  married,  first, 
Hugh  de  Dokesbury,  and  after  his  death,  Hugh  de  Bradshagh. 

A  like  precept  was  issued  for  livery  of  lands  to  John  de  Bradshagh  and  Alianora 
his  wife,  another  of  John  de  Ardern's  daughters  and  heirs. 

BRADSHAW  OF  NETHER  DARWEN. 

From  one  or  other  of  the  two  Bradshaws  who  married  sisters  and 
heiresses  of  John  de  Ardern — Hugh  and  John  de  Bradshaw — descended 
a  family  that  possessed  freehold  estate  in  Lower  Darwen  in  the 
sixteenth  century,  the  following  particulars  of  which  are  drawn  from  the 
Duchy  Escheats  and  from  Harleian  MS.  1987. 

William  Bradshaa  died  Oct.  loth,  3rd  Henry  VIII.  (1511).  After 
his  death,  on  Inq.  post  mort.  taken  at  Wigan,  before  John  Worseley, 
Esq.,  escheator,  April  4th,  5th  Henry  VIII.,  it  was  returned  that  he  had 
possessed  30  messuages,  with  the  ninth  part  of  a  Knight's  fee,  in  the 
vill  of  Nether  Derwyn,  with  500  acres  of  land,  100  acres  of  meadow, 
200  acres  of  pasture,  and  1,000  acres  of  moor  and  moss  there.  Alto- 
gether, an  estate  of  1,800  acres,  amounting  to  about  three-fourths  of  the 
entire  acreage  of  the  township.  Thomas  Bradshaa,  son  and  heir,  was 
then  aged  34  years.  In  the  gth  Henry  VIII.  (1517),  in  the  matter 
of  a  writ  of  amoveas  mantis  Regis,  inquisitions  taken  at  Lancaster  and 
Wigan,  and  the  return  thereto  of  the  lands  and  possessions  of  William 
Bradshaa,  in  the  Manor  of  Nether  Darwyn,  were  recited. 

Thomas  Bradeshagh,  son  of  William,  died  Oct.  2oth,  7th  Henry 
VIII.  (1515).  His  escheat  was  taken  at  Lancaster,  Jan.  nth,  1516. 
It  was  found  that  Lawrence  Bradeshagh,  brother  of  deceased,  was  his 
heir,  aged  30  years  and  upwards. 

Lawrence  Bradshagh  held  the  above  estate  in  Nether  Derwyn  until 
his  death,  September  2oth,  1522,  when  by  inquisition  it  was  found  that 
Richard  Bradshagh  was  his  son  and  heir,  aged  5  years  and  upwards. 

Concerning  this  infant  heir,  Richard  Bradshaw,  there  is  no  record. 
John  Bradshagh,  perhaps  brother  of  Thomas  and  Lawrence,  is  found  in 
possession  of  the  estate  about  1540,  when  there  occurred  actions  in  the 
Duchy  Court  in  which  John  Bradshaw  was  a  defendant.  John  Bradshaw 
died  Jan.  igth,  1542,  seized,  according  to  inquisition  taken  in  the  35th 
Henry  VIII.,  of  twelve  messuages,  the  4th  part  of  one  fulling-mill,  67 
acres  of  land.  67  acres  of  meadow,  330  acres  of  pasture,  and  6  acres  of 


LORDS    OF  NETHER  DARWEX.  469 

woodland,  in  Nether  Derwynt,  parcel  of  the  Manor  of  Nether  Derwynt, 
&c.  John  Bradshaw,  aged  40  in  1543,  was  son  and  heir. 

John  Bradshaw,  last-named,  died  about  1548  (2nd  Edward  VI.), 
seized  of  12  messuages,  the  3rd  part  of  a  fulling-mill,  66  acres  of  land, 
67  acres  of  meadow,  336  acres  of  pasture,  and  6  acres  of  woodland  in 
Nether  Darwyn,  parcel  of  the  Manor  of  Nether  Darwyn;  also  of  Bradshaw 
Manor,  and  other  estates.  This  item  connects  the  Bradshaws  of  Lower 
Darwen  with  Bradshaws  of  Bradshaw,  near  Bolton. 

Another  John  Bradshaw  succeeded  the  last-named  John  in  this 
possession.  In  the  5th  Elizabeth  (1562),  John  Bradshawe  had  a  suit 
in  the  Court  of  the  Duchy  with  Henry  Talbott  and  Ralph  Lommas, 
respecting  certain  messuages,  lands,  tenements,  hereditaments,  and  right 
of  common  in  Nether  Derwent  and  Derwent  Common.  John  Brad- 
shaw died  about  1574,  and  the  escheat  of  the  i7th  Elizabeth  returned 
his  estate  as  twelve  messuages,  the  third  part  of  a  fulling-mill,  66  acres 
of  land,  67  acres  of  meadow,  336  acres  of  pasture,  and  6  acres  of  wood- 
land, parcel  of  Nether  Darwyn  manor ;  with  the  estate  of  Bradshaw 
within  Harwodd  Manor,  and  lands  in  Sharpies,  Bolton,  and  Ryvington. 

In  a  deed  dated  1588,  John  Bradshaw,  of  Bradshaw,  Esq.,  and 
Nicholas  Bradshaw  of  London,  are  named  as  having  some  time  thereto- 
fore sold  to  Richard  Marsden  certain  lands  in  Nether  Darwen. 

The  Nether  Darwen  estate  afterwards  was  conveyed  to  Sir  Thomas 
Walmesley  of  Dunkenhalgh,  Knt,  and  remains  the  possession  of  the 
Petre  family,  lineal  descendants  of  the  Walmesleys. 

TALBOT,  LORDS  OF  NETHER  DARWEN. 

Sir  Thomas  Talbot  of  Bashall,  Knt.,  who  died  in  1499,  held  at  his 
death  "  Nether  Derwynd  Manor,  by  23.  6d.  rent."  His  son,  Edmund 
Talbot,  Esq.,  held  Nether  Darwyn  manor  until  his  death  in  1519.  His 
widow,  Ann  Talbot,  held  this  manor  after  Edmund  Talbot's  decease. 
Sir  Thomas  Talbot,  Knt.,  died  in  1558,  seized  of  Nether  Darwen 
manor.  In  certain  depositions  respecting  the  south  chapel  in  Blackburn 
Church,  made  in  1612,  it  was  deposed  that  the  Talbots  had  for  several 
generations  held  this  lordship,  and  "the  capital  messuage  of  Ferne- 
hurst"  in  Nether  Darwen,  of  which  certain  Liveseys  were  tenants;  that 
Gilbert  Talbot,  uncle  of  Sir  Thomas,  "had  the  house  of  Fernehurst 
during  his  life,  and  died  there,"  about  64  years  before  (1547) — "  he  was 
simple;"  and  that,  before  1598,  Thomas  Talbot  and  his  brother  and 
heir,  John  Talbot,  sold  to  the  late  Sir  Thomas  Walmesley,  Knt.,  the 
lordships  of  Rishton  and  Nether  Darwen,  the  messuages  of  Holt  and 
Fernehurst,  and  all  the  lands  and  tenements  there. 

In  the  2oth  Henry  VIII.  (1528),  a  plaint  was  heard  in  the  Duchy 


470 


HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


Court  touching  a  contention  as  to  right  of  tenancy  of  the  manor  place 
of  Fernehurst  in  Nether  Darwen.  An  abstract  of  this  plaint,  from  the 
records  of  the  Chancery  Court  of  Lancaster,  is  subjoined  : — 

To  the  most  hon.  Sir  Thomas  More,  Knt,  Chancellor  of  the  Duchy  of  Lancaster; 
the  plaint  of  William  Clayton,  clerk,  and  Alexander  Clayton,  sets  forth  that  Ann  Talbot, 
late  wife  to  Edmund  Talbot,  deceased,  in  her  widowhood  demysed  to  William  Comp- 
ton,  Knt.,  the  manor  of  Fernehurst,  in  the  lordship  of  Nether  Darwen,  Co.  Lane.,  to 
have  and  hold  the  said  manor  for  term  of  his  life;  by  virtue  whereof  the  said  William 
Compton  was  seized  in  his  demesne  as  freehold  of  the  premises,  and  so  devised,  &c., 
and  to  farm  let  the  same  to  said  orators  for  term  of  certain  years  yet  to  come,  by  virtue 
whereof  said  orators  entered  into  possession;  that  one  James  Lyvesey,  Thomas  Lyvesey, 
Richard  Walkeden,  Xpofer  Walmysley,  and  other  ryotous  persons  unknown,  to  the 
number  of  twenty-one  persons,  the  2Oth  day  of  April  last  ryotously  and  in  forcible 
manner  entered  into  the  said  manor,  and  the  same  ensyns  [since]  have  kept  and  yet  do 
kepe  in  ryotous  manner  and  in  no  wise  will  suffer  the  said  orators  to  come  and  enjoy 
the  same  according  to  their  said  right  and  title,  which  said  ryotous  persons  daily  kepe 
within  the  said  manor  long  bowes,  bylles,  and  other  unlawful  weapons  as  if  it  were  an 
house  of  warr,  to  the  entent  to  keep  said  orators  unlawfully  from  possession  of  the 
premises,  which  said  ryotous  persons,  at  such  time  as  the  said  Alexander,  son  of  said 
orator,  came  to  have  entered  into  their  premises,  had  their  long  bowes  ready  to  shote, 
and  would  have  shotte  at  the  said  Alexander  if  he  had  not  perceived  their  ungracious 
intent  and  sodenly  in  eschewinge  the  danger  and  peril  thereof  departed  from  the  pre- 
mises; which  said  ryotous  demeanor  of  said  persons  contynuinge  by  so  long  season  is 
the  perilous  example  of  all  other  the  King's  subjects  in  those  partes  abydyng  if  so 
reformation  in  the  said  premises  be  not  had  and  provyded. 

HAWORTH  OF  TH'URCROFT  (HIGHERCROFT). 

This  family,  a  branch  of  the  ancient  Lancashire  stock  of  Haworth 
of  Haworth,  was  settled  in  Lower  Darwen  and  Blackburn  nearly  four 
centuries  ago.  In  the  Subsidy  Roll  of  1523  (see  ante,  pp.  61-3),  appear 
the  names  of  three  Haworths,  heads  of  families,  in  Lower  Darwen.  viz., 
Edmond  Haworth,  Peter  Haworth,  and  Richard  Haworth,  assessed  to 
that  Subsidy ;  and  also  of  William  Haworth  and  Richard  Haworth  in 
Blackburn  township.  Richard  Heyworth  was  an  original  Governor  of 
Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1567. 

A  descent  of  this  family  is  entered  in  Dugdale's  Visitation  of  Lan- 
cashire (1664).  It  commences  with  Lawrence  Haworth,  said  to  be  a 
son  of  Haworth  of  Haworth.  About  1585,  "  Lawrence  Haworthe  of 
Nether  Darwyn,"  gave  to  the  Parish  Subscription  to  augment  the 
Grammar  School  Endowment  205.  Two  Haworths  were  at  that  date 
Governors  of  the  School,  Lawrence,  and  "  Nycholas  Haworthe  "  (died 
Dec.  1 8th,  1597).  By  his  wife,  a  daughter  of — Dewhurst,  Lawrence 
Haworth  had  known  issue,  sons,  Peares  (or  Peter),  and  Richard. 

Peares  Haworth,  of  Th'urcroft  in  Lower  Darwen,  son  of  Lawrence, 
married  Jennet,  daughter  of  John  Livesey  of  Sidebight  in  Rishton,  and 


HA  WORTH   OF  TH'URCROFT.  47  x 

had  issue,  sons,  Lawrence,  his  heir ;  and  Richard  and  Thomas,  who  both 
died  without  issue.  Peter  Haworth  of  Nether  Darwyn  was  taxed  to  a 
Subsidy  in  1570. 

Lawrence  Haworth  of  Th'urcroft,  gent.,  married  Alice,  daughter  of 
Robert  Holden  of  Pickup  Bank  (son  of  Ralph  Holden,  of  Holden, 
gent.),  and  had  issue,  sons,  Peter ;  Thomas ;  and  Richard ;  also 
daughters,  Elizabeth,  born  in  1601;  and  Jenita,  born  in  1603.  Lawrence 
Haworth  died  March  2nd,  1618,  and  by  Inquisition  taken  for  the 
escheat,  at  Blackburn,  April  i4th,  i6th  James  I.,  was  found  to  have 
died  seized  of  one  messuage  called  Hurcroft,  in  Nether  Darwen,  held  of 
the  King  in  capite,  with  20  acres  of  land,  6  of  meadow,  and  20  of 
pasture  in  Nether  Darwen ;  also  of  one  other  messuage  in  the  occupa- 
tion of  Edward  Pomfret,  with  6  acres  of  land,  4  of  meadow,  and  10  of 
pasture  in  Nether  Darwen. 

Peter  Haworth,  of  Th'urcroft,  gent.,  son  and  heir  of  Lawrence,  was 
said  to  be  over  26  years  of  age  at  his  father's  decease,  so  must  have 
been  born  about  1592,  but  Dugdale  has  it  that  he  was  aged  77  in 
1664.  He  married  Grace,  daughter  and  co-heir  of  Henry  Crosse  of 
Okenhead  in  Lower  Darwen  (by  Alice,  daughter  and  co-heir  of  John 
Lomas),  and  by  this  marriage  a  moiety  of  the  Okenhead  estate  accrued 
to  the  Haworths.  Issue,  sons,  Lawrence,  bapt.  Oct.  i2th,  1623  ; 
Thomas,  and  Richard,  both  died  young ;  and  daughters,  Alice,  born  in 
1616,  wife  of  John  Moore  of  Greenhead  in  Pendle ;  Elizabeth,  wife  of 
Richard  Webster  of  Hargreave ;  Ann,  wife  of  Roger  son  and  heir  of 
Roger  Winckley,  of  Winckley,  Esq.,  after  of  Hugh  Currer  of  Kildwick, 
Co.  York,  Esq.;  and  Jennet,  wife  of  Thomas  Astley  of  Stakes  in 
Livesey,  gent.  Peter  Haworth,  gent.,  rebuilt  the  house  at  Highercroft 
in  1634,  and  a  stone  over  the  porch  bears  his  initials  and  that  of  his 
wife  Grace — "  P  H  G"  with  the  date  "  1634."  He  died  in  1675,  aged 
83,  and  was  buried  at  Blackburn  Church,  July  23rd. 

Thomas  Haworth  of  Okenhead  in  Lower  Darwen,  second  son  of 
Lawrence,  married  his  brother  Peter's  wife's  sister,  Elizabeth,  daughter 
and  co-heir  of  Henry  Crosse  of  Lower  Darwen  (she  died  childless),  and 
"Mr.  Thomas  Haworth  of  Okenhead"  was  buried  Sept.  22nd,  1684, 
dying  at  an  advanced  age.  In  his  Will,  dated  Aug.  3oth,  1684,  Thomas 
Haworth,  of  Lower  Darwen,  gent.,  names  his  (second)  wife,  Jennet 
(daughter  of  Wm.  Walmsley,  of  Tockholes ;  she  subsequently  married 
Jas.  Grundy,  M.B.,  of  Great  Lever),  to  whom  ho  leaves  ^200  where- 
with to  treat  for  a  moiety  of  the  messuage  and  tenement  of  Okenhead 
from  his  sister-in-law,  Grace  Haworth ;  and  charges  his  tenement  in 
Eccleshill,  in  tenancy  of  John  Fish,  with  ^100  for  the  benefit  of  his 
niece,  Mrs.  Alice  Oldfield,  &c. 


472  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

The  third  son  of  Lawrence,  and  younger  brother  of  Peter  and 
Thomas,  was  Richard  Haworth  of  Parkhead  near  Whalley,  Esq.,  a 
Bencher  at  Gray's  Inn.  He  was  born  about  1598,  and  married,  first, 
Elizabeth,  daughter  of  George  Tipping,  gent.,  of  Manchester,  who  bore 
him  two  daughters,  Mary  and  Elizabeth,  both  dying  young.  He  married, 
secondly,  Jane,  daughter  of  Roger  Kenion,  Esq.,  of  Parkhead  (vide  Kenion 
of  Dinkley),  relict  of  John  Stonehewer,  and  had  by  her  one  daughter 
Alice,  born  in  1657.  Richard  Haworth  resided  at  Parkhead  after  his 
second  marriage,  and  later  chiefly  in  Manchester.  He  was  made 
Recorder  of  Chester  in  1651,  and  resigned  in  1656.  He  was  a  County 
Commissioner  for  preserving  the  peace  during  the  Protectorship  of 
Cromwell.  He  died  at  Manchester,  Nov.  24th,  1671,  and  was  buried 
at  the  Collegiate  Church,  where  a  monument  was  erected  to  his 
memory  with  a  lengthy  epitaph  in  Latin.  By  his  Will,  dated  July  3rd, 
1663,  Richard  Haworth  of  Manchester,  Esq.,  devised  all  his  landed 
estates  to  his  daughter  Alice  Haworth  (afterwards  wife  of  Leftwich 
Oldfield,  Esq.,  of  Leftwich  Hall,  Co.  Chester) ;  a  third  of  his  personal 
estate  to  his  wife  Jane;  another  third  to  his  daughter  Alice;  and  the 
other  third  to  be  divided  among  his  brothers  Peter  and  Thomas  and  his 
nephews  Lawrence  and  Thomas  Haworth. 

Reverting  to  the  elder  succession  of  this  family,  Lawrence 
Haworth  of  Th'urcroft,  eldest  son  of  Peter,  married  Grace,  sole  daughter 
and  heir  of  Roger  Gillibrand,  gent.,  of  Beardwood,  Blackburn  (videG\\\\- 
brand  of  Ramsgreave  and  Beardwood),  and  had  issue,  sons,  Thomas,  born 
in  1 652,  died  same  year;  Richard, born  Dec.  8th,  1656;  a  second  Thomas, 
born  Jan.  2 7th,  1657  ;  Peter,  died  young;  and  Roger,  born  in  1664;  also 
daughters,  Anne,  died  an  infant  in  1651  ;  Elizabeth,  born  in  1654,  Hester, 
born  in  1655,  Mary,  and  Eleanor,  all  died  young;  Alice,  born  in  1660; 
and  a  second  Mary,  died  in  1674.  "  Lawrence  Haworth  of  Beardwood  " 
(so  described  after  his  marriage  with  the  heiress  of  that  estate),  died  in 
1675,  buried  at  Blackburn,  July  2oth,  aged  52.  Mrs.  Grace  Haworth, 
of  Blackburn,  widow,  died  in  1698,  buried  Dec.  6th.  In  her  Will,  dated 
July  9th,  1698  (proved  May  2nd,  1699),  Grace  Haworth,  of  Beardwood, 
widow,  names  her  son,  Thomas,  daughter  Anne  Maudsley,  and  grandson 
Peter;  mentions  her  real  estates  at  Mellor,  Balderstone,  and  Butterworth; 
appoints  Theophilus  Ainsworth  of  Pleasington,  gent.,  John  Marsden  of 
Witton,  and  Richard  Edmondson,  of  Mellor,  executors. 

Richard  Haworth  of  Highercroft,  Esq.,  son  and  heir  of  Lawrence, 
married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Mr.  Thomas  Haworth  of  Lower  Darwen, 
and  by  her  had  sons,  Peter,  died  in  1678;  a  second  Peter,  born  Dec.  2  9th, 
1689;  and  Richard,  born  in  1691,  died  Oct.,  1716;  and  a  daughter 
Grace,  died  in  1688.  Richard  Haworth  died  in  1694,  buried  July  28th. 


\ 


HAWORTH  OF  TH'URCROFT.  473 

Peter  Haworth,  of  Highercroft,  Esq.,  married  Lydia  Bailey  of 
Lower  Darwen  (she  was  living  in  1718),  and  had  issue  one  son, 
Richard;  and  one  daughter,  Elizabeth,  living  in  1718.  Peter  Haworth 
died  in  1718,  buried  April  i6th,  and  his  Will  was  proved  Oct.  27th,  1718. 
In  it  testator  names  his  wife  Lydia,  and  her  sister  Grace  Haworth ;  son, 
Richard ;  daughter,  Elizabeth ;  mother,  Elizabeth  Haworth  ;  mentions 
'Ellison's  tenement  in  Lower  Darwen,  and  Th'urcroft.  Christr.  Baron, 
gent.,  and  John  Bailey,  of  Lower  Darwen,  executors. 

Richard  Haworth  of  Highercroft,  Esq.,  son  and  heir  of  Peter,  died 
unmarried  in  1757  ("Richard  Haworth  of  Oswaldtwistle,  gent."  buried 
at  Blackburn  Church,  June  7th,  1757);  and  by  his  Will,  dated  May 
1 3th,  1757  (proved  Nov.  7th,  1758)  devised  all  his  estates  to  his 
kinsman,  Henry  Baron  of  Knuzden  Hall,  gent. ;  they  included  Higher- 
croft, mansion  and  56}^  acres  of  land;  "  Pomfrets,"  messuage  and  8 
acres;  Okenhurst,  messuage  and  30  acres;  and  "Aspdens,"  messuage 
and  1 2  acres,  all  in  Lower  Darwen,  with  other  properties. 

Highercroft  House,  the  ancient  seat  of  this  family,  is  a  pleasant- 
looking  old  mansion,  situate  beside  a  wooded  hollow  on  the  rise  of  the 
hill  in  this  township,  about  a  mile  from  the  south  suburb  of  Blackburn. 
The  house  was  rebuilt  by  Peter  Haworth  in  1634,  as  attested  by  the 
initials  and  date  inscribed  above  the  porch.  It  has  been  modernised  in 
the  windows,  but  the  other  parts  of  the  exterior  are  little  altered.  The 
accompanying  engraving  of  the  frontage  will  answer  instead  of  verbal 
description. 

HAWORTH  OF  LOWER  DARWEN,  TURTON,  &c. 

Richard  Haworth  of  Lower  Darwen,  gent,  (brother  of  Piers  Haworth  of  Higher- 
croft, who  died  in  1600),  died  in  1603.  His  Will,  dated  June  28th,  1602,  was  proved 
June  1 8th,  1603.  Testator  had  already  given  freehold  and  copyhold  lands  to  hi§  sons 
James  and  Peter.  Richard  Haworth  had  sons,  Lawrence,  of  Lower  Darwen,  who  died 
before  1598,  leaving  daughters  Lettice  and  Jennet;  William,  died  s.  p.  in  1598; 
Thomas;  James;  and  Peter;  and  daughters,  Anne,  and  Jennet,  both  married  before 
1602  ;  and  had  each  received  three-score  pounds  for  their  marriage  portions. 

Thomas  Haworth  of  Lower  Darwen,  third  son  of  Richard,  died  in  1637 ;  he 
names  in  his  Will  two  sons,  Peter,  and  Thomas,  by  Dorothy  his  wife. 

Peter  Haworth  of  Lower  Darwen,  son  of  Thomas,  died  in  1677.  By  his  wife, 
Grace,  he  had  iour  sons,  Thomas,  of  Lower  Darwen ;  Richard ;  James ;  and  John ;  and 
a  daughter  Mary.  The  Will  of  Peter  Haworth,  dated  April  I3th,  1677,  confirms  a 
settlement  made  upon  his  wife  of  one  half  of  his  entailed  lands  in  Lower  Darwen;  the 
other  half  to  his  eldest  son,  Richard  ;  remainder  to  the  children  equally. 

Richard  Haworth  of  Blackburn,  apothecary,  was  second  son  of  the  above  Peter, 
and  besides  other  issue  (see  ante,  Haworth  of  Blackburn),  had  a  son  Thomas.  Richard 
Haworth  died  in  1694;  buried  Oct.  5th. 

Thomas  Haworth,  of  Lower  Darwen,  eldest  son  of  Richard,  died  in  1699.  He 
married,  July  nth,  1683,  Margaret  Livesey,  and  had  issue,  John,  born  in  1685;  Peter 


474  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

(who  had  sons,  Thomas,  of  London,  apothecary ;  John,  of  Bristol;  Hugh;  and  Richard, 
of  Chancery  Lane,  London,  apothecary);  Thomas,  bapt  Oct.  i6th,  1696;  and  a 
daughter  Ellen. 

Thomas  Haworth  of  Lower  Darwen  and  Blackburn,  younger  son  of  Thomas, 
died  in  1773.  He  married  Ann  Riley,  and  had  issue,  sons,  John,  bapt.  Oct.  23rd, 
1718;  Peter,  bapt.  July  24th,  1720,  died  in  London  without  issue;  and  Thomas,  bapt. 
March  3rd,  1 722. 

John  Haworth  of  Blackburn,  eldest  son  of  Thomas,  married,  Dec.  3 1st,  1745, 
Catherine,  daughter  of  Edmund  Marsh,  of  Blackburn,  and  had  issue,  sons,  Thomas, 
bapt.  Jan.  loth,  1747-8,  died  without  issue ;  Edmund,  bapt.  Sept.  24th,  1749;  Peter, 
bapt.  Nov.  i8th,  1753,  ob.  s.p.  ;  Peter,  bapt.  Jan.  and,  1757,  ob.  s.p.  ;  William, 
bapt.  July  5th,  1758;  John,  bapt.  Nov.  7th,  1760;  and  James,  bapt.  Jan.  i6th,  1762, 
died  young. 

Edmund  Haworth,  of  Turton,  solicitor,  eldest  surviving  son  of  John,  married, 
first,  Margaret,  daughter  of  Thomas  Haydock  of  Mellor  (she  died  Dec.  2nd, 
1779),  and  had  a  son  John,  and  two  daughters.  His  second  wife  was  Alice, 
daughter  of  John  Knowles,  of  Entwistle  (by  his  wife  Hannah,  only  daughter  of 
Mr.  Adam  Lomax,  of  Dunscar,  near  Bolton),  and  by  her  (who  died  in  1822),  had 
seven  sons,  of  whom  five  survived  infancy,  viz.,  Adam  Lomax  Haworth,  solicitor, 
born,  July  4th,  1789;  Edmund  Haworth,  solicitor,  born  March  3Oth,  1801,  died  un- 
married in  1855;  Thomas  Haworth,  M.D.,  born  Aug.  26th,  1804,  died  Aug.  5th, 
1859,  leaving  a  son  Edgar;  Rev.  William  Haworth,  M.A.,  of  St.  John's  Coll., 
Cambridge,  Vicar  of  Fence-in-Pendle,  born  Nov.  27th,  1806,  married  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  Henry  Roberts,  Esq.,  of  Fence,  and  has  five  sons  and  one  daughter;  and 
Rev.  James  Haworth,  M.A.,  born  Jan.  25th,  1809;  also  daughters,  Hannah,  born  in 
1787,  married  Rev.  Robert  Dobson,  incumbent  of  Great  Harwood,  and  died  Jan. 
J2th,  1867,  in  her  8oth  year;  Margaret,  born  1791,  died  1863;  Elizabeth,  born  1795, 
died  1872;  and  Alice,  born  I797>  married,  Oct.  1st,  1833,  William  Houghton,  Esq., 
of  Liverpool  (see  post,  Hoghton  of  Tockholes).  Mr.  Edmund  Haworth  died  Dec. 
3Oth,  1810.  The  Will  of  Edmund  Haworth  of  Turton,  gent.,  dated  Jan.  28th,  1810, 
mentions  landed  property  in  Edgeworth,  Tottington,  Accrington  Manor,  Bolton-le- 
Moors,  &c.  Personalty  ^"35,000.  Will  proved  at  Chester,  June  23rd,  1812. 

John  Haworth  of  Turton,  solicitor,  first  son  of  Edmund,  born  May  i6th,  1778, 
married,  in  1812,  Mary,  daughter  of  James  Heywood,  Esq.,  of  Little  Lever,  and  had 
three  sons  and  four  daughters.  He  died  in  1837.  His  surviving  son  is  John  Bailey 
Haworth,  Esq.,  born  in  1824,  who  married  Susanna,  daughter  of  Adam  Lomax 
Haworth,  Esq.,  of  Dunscar,  and  has  three  sons,  the  Rev.  Thos.  William  Haworth, 
Charles  Herbert  Haworth,  and  Reginald  Edmund  Haworth. 

HAWORTH  OF  LOWER  DARWEN. 

Thomas  Haworth  of  Lower  Darwen,  yeoman  (eldest  son  of  Peter  Haworth  who 
died  in  1677),  died  in  1693.  His  Will,  dated  Oct.  24th,  1693  (proved  at  Chester, 
Dec.  6th)  mentions  his  wife  Elizabeth ;  son  Peter ;  daughters,  Elizabeth,  wife  of 
Richard  Haworth  (of  Th'urcroft,  who  died  in  1694),  and  Hannah,  wife  of  Thomas 
Critchley  of  Livesey;  to  the  latter  he  gives  £100,  which  with  £200  already  given  was 
equal  to  the  sum  testator  had  paid  with  his  daughter  Elizabeth  Haworth. 

Peter  Haworth  of  Lower  Darwen,  only  son  of  Thomas,  died  in  1699.  His  Will, 
dated  Oct.  28th,  1698  (proved  June  8th,  1699),  names  his  sons,  Thomas,  and  John 
(bapt.  Dec.  3ist,  1697)  ;  and  daughter  Elizabeth ;  appoints  his  brothers-in-law, 
Thomas  Ainsworth  and  Thos.  Critchley,  Executors;  had  estates  in  Lower  Darwen, 


ASPINALL— BAILEY— ECCLES. 


475 


Witton,  Mellor,  and  Pickup-Bank  ;  charges  his  lands  with  £200  for  his  daughter 
Elizabeth.  This  Elizabeth,  only  daughter  of  Peter  Haworth  of  Lower  Darwen,  bapt. 
Dec.  2 1st,  1694,  married,  Sept.  3Oth,  1720,  Robert  Feilden,  second  son  of  Randal 
Feilden  of  Blackburn,  yeoman. 

ASPINALL  OF  NETHER  DARWEN. 

The  Aspinalls  held  a  small  freehold  in  Lower  Darwen,  and  probably  resided  at 
the  Messuage  still  named  Aspinall  Fold,  in  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries. 
Thomas  Aspinall,  of  this  township,  was  assessed  to  a  Subsidy  in  1570.  Lawrence 
Aspinall,  of  Lower  Darwen,  died  before  1600  ;  and  a  second  Lawrence  died  before 
1618,  who  by  an  escheat  of  the  1 6th  James  I.  was  found  to  have  held  three  messuages 
and  36  acres  of  land  in  Nether  Darwen.  Robert  Aspinall  was  his  son  and  heir. 

John  Aspinall,  perhaps  a  brother  of  Lawrence,  died  March  3 1st,  1620,  and  in 
the  record  of  an  Inquisition  taken  at  Blackburn,  September  I4th,  1 8th  James  I.,  is 
named  John  Aspinall  of  Nether  Darwen,  yeoman,  found  seized  of  one  messuage,  five 
acres  of  land,  two  of  meadow,  one  of  wood,  and  the  fifth  part  o'f  a  More  or  Waste  in 
Nether  Darwen,  held  of  the  King,  by  45.  rent.  Thomas  Aspinall  was  his  son  and 
heir,  aged  40  years  at  the  time  of  his  father's  death. 

Thomas  Aspinall  appears  as  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1628. 
He  died  March  3 1st,  8th  Chas.  I.  (1633),  and  in  the  escheat,  taken  November  8th, 
I2th  Charles  I.  (1636-7),  is  returned  as  possessed  of  one  messuage,  5  acres  of  land,  2  of 
meadow,  I  of  wood,  and  the  fifth  part  of  one  Moor  or  Waste  in  Nether  Darwen,  held 
of  the  King.  By  his  wife  Anne,  living  a  widow  in  1638,  he  had  sons,  John,  and 
Thomas  ;  a  daughter  Mary,  wife  of  Thomas  Witton  of  Green  Tockholes,  yeoman, 
and  other  issue. 

John  Aspinall,  son  and  heir  of  Thomas,  was  aged  30  years  at  his  father's  decease. 
In  the  Subsidy  of  1663-4,  John  Aspinall  of  Lower  Darwen  was  assessed  in  goods 
value  ^4,  and  paid  a  tax  of  2 is.  4d.  Either  he,  or  a  son  of  the  same  name,  was 
buried  at  Blackburn,  April  nth,  1678. 

BAILEY  OF  THE  COAL  PITS. 

John  Bailey  of  Darwen,  living  in  1718,  had  sons,  John  ;  William,  born  in  1707; 
and  daughters,  Lydia,  wife  of  Peter  Haworth  of  Highercroft,  gent. ;  Christabel,  born 
in  1691 ;  Ann,  born  in  1693,  wife  of  Christopher  Baron  of  Knuzden,  gent. ;  she  died 
in  1768;  Alice,  born  in  1702;  Hannah,  born  in  1704. 

John  Bailey,  the  son,  of  Lower  Darwen,  married,  April  27th,  1709,  Ann 
Holclen  of  Livesey.  He  built  the  house  and  barn  at  "  Top  o'th  Coal  Pits,"  where  he 
resided.  The  house  has  a  stone  over  the  doorway,  bearing  the  initials  "IB  A" 
(John  and  Ann  Bailey),  and  the  date  "1722."  On  the  barn  is  another  stone, 
inscribed  "I  B"  and  the  date  "1720."  "John  Bailey  of  the  Coal  Pits  in  Lower 
Darwen,"  is  named  as  testator's  "uncle"  (mother's  brother)  in  the  Will  of  Richard 
Haworth  of  Highercroft,  gent.,  dated  May  1 3th,  1757.  He  had  a  son  Henry,  born  in 
1711,  and  other  issue. 

ECCLES  OF  LOWER  DARWEN,  BLACKBURN,  &c. 

The  Eccles  family  is  stated  to  have  had  an  estate  at  Eccles  Fold,  Garsden  Fold, 
and  Shorrock  Fold  in  Pickup  Bank  for  about  two  centuries.  Edmund  Eccles  of 
Pickup  Bank,  yeoman,  died  in  March,  1734.  Joseph  Eccles,  of  Lower  Darwen, 
webster,  married,  Aug.  24th,  1702,  Ann  Cowburne,  of  Blackburn. 


476  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Thomas  Eccles  and  Elizabeth  Shorrock,  both  of  Pickup  Bank,  married.  Oct.  8th, 
1717,  and  had  issue  a  son  Thomas  ;  a  daughter  Elizabeth,  born  in  1726,  £c. 

Thomas  Eccles,  yeoman,  of  Pickup  Bank  and  Eccleshill,  resided  at  Mill  Barn 
farm,  his  freehold,  where  the  house  has  initials  upon  its  chimney-piece  "T  E" 
(Thomas  Eccles),  with  the  date  "  1737."  He  married,  Oct.  3 1st,  1739,  Martha 
Haworth,  of  Pickup  Bank,  who  died  July  1 7th,  1777,  by  whom  Thomas  Eccles 
had  sons,  Edward,  Thomas,  and  John ;  also  twin  daughters  Martha  and  Mary,  bapt. 
at  Over  Darwen  Chapel,  April  28th,  1740.  "Thomas  Eccles  of  Pickup  Bank, 
yeoman,"  was  buried  at  Blackburn,  Sept.  i8th,  1769. 

Mr.  Edward  Eccles,  son  of  Thomas,  was  steward  to  the  first  Sir  Robert  Peel 
for  his  local  estates. 

Thomas  Eccles,  the  other  son  of  Thomas,  of  Pickup  Bank  in  1771,  subsequently 
settled  in  Lower  Darwen.  He  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  "  Blackburn  Checks," 
and  he  built,  about  1774,  the  "Old  Mill"  in  Lower  Darwen  for  a  cotton  spinning 
mill.  Mr.  Thomas  Eccles  was  also  steward  to  the  Sudells  of  Blackburn.  By  his 
wife  Mary  (who  died  April  23rd,  1799,  aged  58),  he  had  sons,  Joseph;  Ichabod,  died 
June  6th,  1803,  aged  23;  William;  Thomas,  who  died  in  1791,  and  whose  sons, 
Edward  and  Richard,  died  in  infancy  ;  and  John  ;  his  daughters  were,  Martha,  born 
in  1778,  married  to  Mr.  Robert  Boardman,  of  Blackburn  ;  and  Jane,  married  to  Mr. 
Ralph  Shorrock,  of  Lower  Darwen.  The  father,  Mr.  Thomas  Eccles,  died  Sept. 
nth,  1818,  aged  75. 

Joseph  Eccles,  Esq.,  of  Lower  Darwen,  cotton  spinner  (eldest  son  of  Thomas), 
married  Mary  Livesey,  of  Darwen,  and  had  issue,  sons,  Thomas,  born  in  May,  1806  ; 
Richard,  born  in  1807  ;  Joseph,  of  Liverpool ;  William  Eccles,  of  Blackburn  ;  and 
Edward  Eccles,  who  died  July  2nd,  1872,  aged  47,  within  a  week  of  his  marriage  ; 
and  daughters,  Mary,  born  in  1805,  and  was  killed  by  a  fall  at  Matlock,  May  1 8th, 
1835  ;  and  Ellen,  married  Aug.  1 8th,  1831,  Christopher  Shorrock,  Esq. 

The  two  eldest  sons  of  Mr.  Joseph  Eccles,  Thomas  Eccles  and  Richard  Eccles, 
Esqrs.,  are  the  living  chief  representatives  of  this  old  local  family;  and  are  com- 
mercially connected  in  the  firm  of  Messrs.  T.  and  R.  Eccles,  cotton  spinners,  of 
Lower  Darwen  and  Bamber  Bridge.  Thomas  Eccles,  Esq.,  who  resides  at  Torquay, 
married  Miss  Mitchell,  by  whom  he  has  had  issue,  sons,  Alexander  Eccles,  of  Liverpool ; 
Thomas  Mitchell  Eccles,  of  Blackburn  ;  Richard  Eccles,  junior,  of  Lower  Darwen, 
died,  aged  38,  in  1875  ;  Eccles  Shorrock  Eccles,  Esq.,  of  Liverpool;  and  several 
daughters.  His  brother,  Richard  Eccles,  Esq.,  of  Highercroft  House,  has  long  filled 
the  office  of  Chairman  of  the  Guardians  of  the  Blackburn  Union. 

Wm.  Eccles,  Esq.,  son  of  Thomas  who  died  in  1818,  had  sons,  Edward  Eccles, 
Esq.,  of  Liverpool  (who  married,  May  i8th,  1837,  Mary,  second  daughter  of  the  late 
James  Pilkington,  Esq.,  of  Blackburn,  and  died  in  1875,  and  whose  eldest  son  is 
James  Eccles,  Esq.,  of  London,  late  of  Blackburn);  John  Eccles,  Esq.,  of  Leyland, 
who  married,  Aug.  I2th,  1824,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Thomas  Ainsworth,  Esq.,  of 
Preston,  and  died  in  1868  ;  William  Eccles,  of  Bamber  Bridge,  cotton  spinner ;  and 
Joseph,  who  died  young. 

John  Eccles,  of  Lower  Darwen,  yeoman  (brother  of  Thomas  and  William),  who 
had  to  wife  a  daughter  of  Mr.  Bannister  Pickop,  of  Tockholes,  was  father  of  Bannister 
Eccles,  Esq.,  of  Blackburn,  and  Joseph  Eccles,  Esq.,  of  Mill  Hill,  Livesey.  Mr. 
John  Eccles  also  had  two  daughters  ;  Martha,  the  eldest,  married  Rev.  Francis 
Skinner,  M.A.,  of  Blackburn,  March  29th,  1837,  and  died  April  i6th,  1838,  aged  39  ; 
the  other  daughter  married  Rey.  Mr.  Smith,  a  missionary. 


GRYMSHAW  AND  HARWOOD  FAMILIES.  477 

Bannister  Eccles,  Esq.,  of  Blackburn,  cotton  spinner,  &c.,  eldest  son  of  Mr. 
John  Eccles,  married,  Oct.  I3th,  1825,  Mary  Jane,  only  daughter  of  Mr.  William 
Eccles,  of  Blackburn  (she  died  Dec.  3rd,  1859,  aged  61);  and  had  issue,  daughters, 
Sophia,  born  1831,  died  1832;  Elizabeth,  born  1833,  died  at  Golden  Hill,  Leyland, 
Aug.  2nd,  1852  ;  and  Harriet  Maria,  born  Oct.  3Oth,  1838,  died  in  London,  aged 
34,  May  nth,  1873.  Bannister  Eccles,  Esq.,  died  April  I7th,  1849,  in  his  49th  year. 
Joseph  Eccles,  Esq.,  of  Blackburn  and  Mill  Hill,  Livesey,  brother  of  Bannister, 
married  April  I2th,  1831,  Frances  Coates  Parsons,  third  daughter  of  Rev.  Edward 
Parsons,  and  had  issue,  a  son  Joseph,  born  June,  died  Aug.,  1841  ;  and  daughters, 
Catherine,  born  June,  died  Dec.,  1836  ;  Frances  Parsons,  married,  in  1854, 
Captain  W.  B.  Elgee,  and  died  Feb.  28th,  1858,  aged  24  ;  and  Margaret,  married 
Rev.  J.  D.  Kelly,  Vicar  of  Christ  Church,  Ashton.  Joseph  Eccles,  Esq.,  purchased 
the  Mill  Hill  estate  in  Livesey,  in  1844  ;  and  died  aged  60,  May  3rd,  1861. 

I  add  some  particulars  of  a  branch  of  this  family  settled  in  Over  Darwen  : — John 
Eccles,  of  Pole  Lane,  Over  Darwen  (a  son  of  Thomas  Eccles  of  Pickup  Bank,  who 
died  in  1769),  married,  first,  a  Miss  Walsh,  and  by  her  had  issue,  sons,  Thomas  and 
Matthew  ;  and,  secondly,  Miss  Haworth,  by  whom  he  had  five  children.  His  eldest 
son,  Thomas  Eccles,  of  Princes,  Over  Darwen,  hand-loom  manufacturer,  born  in  1766, 
died  in  November,  1824,  aged  58  years.  By  Alice  his  wife  he  had  issue,  sons,  John, 
who  died,  aged  68,  May  loth,  1859  ;  William,  of  Low  Hill  House,  Over  Darwen, 
died  in  Dec.,  1829  ;  Joseph  ;  George,  died,  aged  71,  in  1872  ;  and  Thomas,  died  at 
Edenfield,  aged  69,  Oct.  gth,  1875.  The  third  son,  Mr.  Joseph  Eccles,  of  Princes, 
died,  in  his  24th  year,  Dec.  2 1st,  1822;  his  wife  was  Mary  Eccles,  of  Pole,  and  he 
was  father  of  Mr.  Thomas  Eccles,  of  Hollins,  Lower  Darwen  ;  and  of  Mr.  Joseph 
Eccles,  of  High  Lawn,  Over  Darwen,  cotton  spinner  in  Darwen  and  Preston. 

GRYMSHAWE  OF  OKENHURST. 

Nicholas  Grymshawe,  gent.,  of  this  township,  a  younger  son  of  Richard 
Grymshaw,  of  Clayton,  Esq.,  occurs  as  a  juror,  temp.  Elizabeth  (1578-85).  Nicholas 
Grymshawe,  of  Okenhurst,  gent.,  is  named  as  a  freeholder  in  the  year  1600. 

Nicholas  Grymshawe,  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1628,  I 
suppose  was  husband  of  Maria  Grymshawe,  widow,  who  died  before  1642,  when 
an  Inquisition  was  taken,  Sept.  i6th,  1 7th  Charles  I.,  returning  that  the  deceased 
Maria  Grymshawe,  widow,  had  held  of  the  King,  as  of  his  Duchy  of  Lancaster,  one 
messuage,  one  garden,  6  acres  of  arable  land,  six  of  pasture,  and  6  of  moor  in  Nether 
Darwyne,  of  the  yearly  value  of  6s.  8d. 

Ralph  Grimshawe,  son  and  heir  of  the  above,  was  defunct  in  his  mother's  lifetime, 
and  the  jurors  at  the  escheat  found  that  Nicholas  Grymshawe,  son  of  Ralph,  was  next 
heir  to  his  grand-dame,  and  then  (1642)  of  the  age  of  24  years. 

This  Nicholas  Grymshawe  was  living  in  1660,  when  his  wife  Ann  was  buried,  and 
I  conjecture  he  was  progenitor  of  John  Grimshaw,  of  Blackburn,  architect,  living  in 
1728,  and  of  Nicholas  Grimshaw,  of  Blackburn,  tradesman,  who  married,  Feb.  24th, 
1738,  Susan  Briercliffe,  of  Cliviger,  and  had  a  son  John,  born  in  1749. 

The  suburb  of  Blackburn  contiguous  to  Lower  Darwen  derives  its  name  of  Grim- 
shaw Park  from  these  Grimshaws,  who  had  a  residence  on  this  side  of  the  town. 

I-IARWOOD  OF  LOWER  DARWEN. 

Edmond  Harwood  of  Nether  Darwyn  was  assessed  to  the  Subsidy  in  1523. 
A  later  Edmond   Harwood,  of  Nether  Darwyn,    was  taxed  to    the  Subsidy  of 
1610-11  ;  he  died  on  the  24th  July,  1616,  and  by  escheat  taken  Oct.  4th,  I4th  James  I., 


478  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

was  found  to  have  possessed  a  freehold  in  this  township,  held  of  the  King  as  Duke  of 
Lancaster.  Margaret  Harwood,  widow  of  Edmond,  was  living  when  the  inquisition 
was  taken. 

Richard  Harwood  was  son  and  heir,  aged  24  years  in  1616.  He  was  made  a 
governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1625,  and  was  still  a  governor  in  1647. 

Henry  Harwood  married,  Nov.,  1627,  Ann  Holden.  Michael  Harwood  married, 
April  25th,  1628,  Jane  Feilden.  Thomas  Harwood,  John  Harwood,  Richard  Har- 
wood, and  Michael  Harwood,  signed  the  petition  for  Vicar  Clayton  in  1660;  some  if 
not  all  of  them  belonged  to  the  Lower  Darwen  family. 

Lawrence  Harwood  of  Lower  Darwen,  had  a  son  John,  born  in  1685.  He  was 
afterwards  of  Upper  Darwen,  and  died  in  July,  1707.  John  Harwood  of  Upper 
Darwen,  yeoman,  had  a  son  William,  born  in  1699. 

William  Harwood  of  Lower  Darwen,  yeoman,  a  trustee  of  the  Lower  Chapel, 
Darwen,  in  1718,  died  in  June,  1741.  By  his  wife  Maiy,  who  died  in  1718,  he  had  a 
son  Edmund;  and  daughters,  Mary,  born  in  1700,  married,  Oct.  27th,  1735,  John 
Piccop  of  Livesey;  Margaret,  died  in  1703;  and  a  second  Margaret,  born  in  1705. 

Edmund  Harwood  of  Lower  Darwen,  yeoman,  son  of  William,  was  born  in  1711, 
bapt.  June  1st,  and  was  buried  at  Blackburn,  Sep.  24th,  1764. 

Edward  Harwood,  D.  D.,  a  Nonconformist  divine  and  author,  was  of  this  family — 
I  suppose  a  son  of  the  last-named  Edmund  Harwood,  yeoman.  He  was  born  at 
Lower  Darwen,  in  1728.  The  following  autobiographic  letter,  written  by  this 
eminent  scholar  shortly  before  his  decease,  supplies  the  most  authentic  account  of  his 
history.  I  have  abridged  the  letter  somewhat  : — 

"  I  was  first  put  by  my  good  father  under  the  care  of  Mr.  Belsborrow  of  Darwen, 
one  of  the  scholars  of  the  famous  Clarke  of  Hull.       I  learned  Lilly's  grammar  ;  [and] 
I  was  reading  Ovid's  Metamorphosis  with  him  in  the  year  I7445  when  Pope  died.     In 
the  year  1745,  when  the  Northern  Counties  were  greatly  terrified  and  alarmed  with  the 
invasion  of  the  Scotch  Rebels,  I  was  put  under  the  care  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Thos.  Hunter, 
some  time  afterwards  Vicar  of  Weaverham,    Cheshire,  who  had  the  best  school,    at 
Blackburn,  Lancashire,  of  any  gentleman  in  the  county.     This  most  worthy  Preceptor 
began  and  concluded  every  day  in  his  school  with  some   select   parts  of  the  Liturgy. 
This  most  learned  and  worthy  clergyman,   in  the  year   1748,   wished  to  place  me  at 
Queen's  College,  Oxford,  to  which  he  belonged;  but  my  father,  who  was  a  stiff  Presby- 
terian,   I  believe  would   have  died  if  he  had  seen  me  in  a  surplice.       I  was  then 
removed  to  one  of  Coward's  Academies,  where  I  continued  five  years,  the  only  blank 
in  my  life;  for  what  systems  of  ethics  and  divinity  I  learned,  I  afterwards  took  pains 
to   unlearn  them  all.      In  the  year   1750   I   taught  a  boarding  school  at  Peckham; 
and  preached  occasionally  for  Dr.  Benson  at  his  Meeting  in  Crutched-Friars.       In  the 
year  1754  I  removed  to  Congleton  in   Cheshire,   -where   I   taught  a  Grammar-school, 
delivered  up  to  me  by  one  of  the  most  ingenious  and  learned  men  I  have  ever  known, 
the  Rev.  Mr.  William  Turner,  with  whom  I  lived  in  friendship  and  harmony  for  seven 
years,  preaching  alternate  Sundays  to  two  small   societies,  Whitelock  in  Cheshire  and 
Leek  in  Staffordshire.     In  1765  I  was  invited  to  take  the  charge  of  a  very  small  church 
in  Bristol  ;  but  upon  publishing  a  second  edition  of  '  The   Supremacy  of  the  Father, ' 
written  by  one  Williams,  I   was  constantly  calumniated  in  the   Bristol  paper,   as  an 
Arian,  a  Socinian,  a  Deist,  and  worse  than  a  Deist.     On  account  of  this  public  abuse, 
my  salary  diminished  every  year;  and  the  last  year,  though  I  had  a  numerous  family, 
it  fell  considerably.     In  Bristol,  in  the  course  of  five  years,  I  read  carefully  the  Greek 
Fathers  of  the  first  three  centuries ;  the  Greek  language,  after  many  years'  study,  being 
as  familiar  to  me  as  the  French  is  to  any  English  gentleman ;  having  had  no  occasion 


II A  WORT  II  OF  WALMSLEY  FOLD. 


479 


to  consult  a  lexicon  for  twenty  years.  At  the  desire  of  some  friends,  I  came  to  London, 
and  applied  for  a  place  then  vacant  in  the  British  Museum ;  and  it  was  happy  that  I  was 
too  late  in  my  application,  for  a  month  afterwards  I  was  in  a  situation  more  profitable. 
Since  the  year  1772  I  have  lived,  on  the  whole,  extremely  happy  among  my  old  friends 
in  London,  by  literary  industry  providing  a  sufficient  maintenance  for  myself  and 
family.  I  have  written  more  books  than  any  other  person  now  living,  except  Dr. 
Priestley ;  having  never  spoken  evil  of  dignities,  but  have  lived  on  the  best  of  terms 
with  the  established  clergy,  who  ever  respected  me  as  a  scholar.  After  expending  a 
great  deal  of  time  in  discussing  the  subject,  I  am  neither  an  Athanasian,  Arian,  or  a 
Socinian;  but  die  fully  confirmed  in  the  great  doctrines  of  the  New  Testament,  a 
resurrection,  and  a  future  state  of  eternal  blessedness  for  all  sincere  penitents  and  good 
Christians.  I  am  your  obliged  old  friend,  in  much  affliction  from  the  palsy, 

E.   HARWOOD."1 

The  above  letter  was  addressed  from  Hyde  Street,  Bloomsbury,  Nov.  8th,  1793. 
Dr  Harwood  had  then  suffered  from  the  palsy  about  twelve  years.  He  died  in 
London,  Jan.  I4th,  1794.  Dr.  Harwood  married  a  daughter  of  Dr.  S.  Chandler,  and 
by  her  had  numerous  issue.  His  eldest  son,  Edward  Harwood,  was  many  years  a 
surgeon  in  the  Royal  Navy;  and  it  was  he  who  furnished  the  following  Latin  epitaph 
for  his  father  and  mother:— 

"H.  S.  E.  Edwardus  Harwood,  D.D.,  Vir  summo  ingenio  praeditus,  qui  literas 
sacras,  seque  ac  humanas,  mira  felicitate  coluit,  et  ornavit.  Ob.  14  Jan.,  anno  1794, 
aetatis  sure  65.  Reliquiae  ejus  uxoris,  filise  minoris  natu  S.  Chandler,  D.D.,  juxtahunc 
tumulum  site  sunt;  ob.  21  Maii,  anno  1791,  set.  suse  58.  E.  H.  Fil.  pos. " 

Among  many  printed  works  of  which  Dr.  Harwood  was  author  or  editor,  the  most 
important  are : — -"An  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  the  New  Testament,"  1767;  "Trans- 
lation of  the  New  Testament  into  Modern  English,"  &c.,  2  vols.,  1768;  and  "A  View 
of  the  various  editions  of  the  Greek  and  Roman  Classicks, "  1775,  which  went  through 
several  editions.  His  degree  of  D.  D.  was  granted  by  the  University  of  Edinburgh  in 
1768. 

HAWORTH  OF  WALMSLEY  FOLD. 

Thomas  Haworth  of  Lower  Darwen,  yeoman,  living  in  1700,  was  father  of — 

Edmund  Haworth,  of  Walmsley  Fold,  yeoman  and  chapman  ;  he  married,  first, 
Catherine  Pickering  (Jan.  6th,  1713),  and  had  issue,  sons,  Edmund,  died  in  infancy  in 
1727;  a  second  Edmund,  bapt.  Oct.  24th,  1727;  Lawrence,  died  in  1731;  Giles, 
bapt.  Aug.  3rd,  1730;  and  Jonathan,  bapt.  Feb.  4th,  1732.  Edmund  Haworth  had 
also  daughters,  Elizabeth,  married,  Aug.  28th,  1744,  Mr.  Robert  Peel  (grandfather  of 
the  statesman) ;  Jane,  wife  of  Dr.  Browne,  of  Nevis;  Ann,  wife  of  Mr.  William  Yates, 
of  Springside;  and  Alice.  Mr.  Edmund  Haworth  was  buried  at  Blackburn  Church, 
Oct.  3 ist,  1759. 

Edmund  Haworth  of  Blackburn,  tradesman,  eldest  son  of  the  above,  by  his  wife 
Mary  had  a  son  William,  bapt.  Dec.  27th,  1751,  and  other  issue.  He  was  buried  at 
Blackburn  Church,  August  5th,  1759,  aged  32.  His  son,  William  Haworth,  of 
Blackburn,  chapman,  died  in  May,  1781. 

Giles  Haworth,  next  brother  of  Edmund,  buried  August  23rd,  1759,  left  by  Betty 
his  wife  a  daughter  Betty,  but  no  male  issue. 

Jonathan  Haworth,  third  brother,  purchased  and  sometime  resided  at  Highercroft 
in  Lower  Darwen,  the  old  seat  of  the  Haworths.      He  married,   Sept.   26th,    1762, 
Mary,  eldest  daughter  of  John  Pilling  of  Sissclough  in  Rossendale  (she  died  at  Bury, 
i   Nichols'  Literary  Anecdotes,  v.  ix,  pp.  577-81. 


480  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Jan.  5th,  1819,  aged  78),  and  had  issue,  Edmund,  bora  Sept.  I4th,  1764;  John,  born 
Aug.  8th,  1765,  married  Dorothy  Tarbotom,  and  had  issue,  John,  Jonathan,  Edmund, 
Sarah,  and  Mary  Dorothea;  Jonathan,  born  in  1770,  married  Susannah  daughter  of 
Edmund  Peel,  Esq.  ;  Alice,  wife  of  Lawrence  Peel,  Esq.,  of  Ardwick;  Ann,  wife  of 
Joseph  Peel,  Esq.,  of  Bowes  House,  and  mother  of  Sir  Lawrence  Peel,  Chief  Justice 
of  Calcutta ;  Mary,  wife  of  Edmund  Yates,  Esq. ,  of  Tring  Park ;  Elizabeth,  wife  of 
John  Nuttall,  Esq.,  of  Bury;  Sarah,  wife  of  Jonathan  Patten,  Esq.,  of  London;  Jane, 
Harriet,  and  Charlotte.  Mr.  Jonathan  Haworth  was  a  merchant  in  Manchester,  and 
partner  in  the  noted  firm  of  Haworth,  Peel,  and  Yates,  to  which  he  brought  most  part 
of  the  original  capital.  The  deed  of  partnership  is  dated  1770.  Jonathan  Haworth, 
Esq.,  was  elected  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1762.  He  died  Jan. 
3Oth,  1786;  buried  at  St.  John's  Church,  Manchester. 

Edmund  Haworth,  Esq.,  of  Mill  Hill,  Co.  Lane.,  Sale  Lodge,  Co.  Chester,  &c., 
eldest  son  of  the  last-named,  married,  Nov.  1st,  1786,  Elizabeth  Peel,  and  died  (aged 
91  years)  in  1855,  having  had  issue,  sons,  Jonathan,  died  unmarried  in  1825;  Edmund, 
born  in  1797;  Robert;  and  daughters,  Mary,  wife  of  Dr.  Goodlad,  of  Manchester; 
Susannah,  wife  of  Rev.  Frederick  Peel,  Rector  of  Wellingbourn  and  Canon  of 
Lincoln ;  Elizabeth ;  Charlotte ;  and  Alice,  wife  of  Canon  Sergeant. 

Edmund  Haworth,  Esq.,  now  of  Churchdale  House,  Co.  Derby,  J.  P.  (the  eldest 
surviving  son  of  the  above),  married,  first,  Eliza,  daughter  of  Captain  Wallace,  and 
had  an  only  son  Edmund,  who  died  young.  He  married,  secondly,  Feb.  2Oth,  1868, 
Harriett  Dorothea  (widow  of  Rev.  John  Charnock,  and  sister  to  Sir  Cornwallis 
Ricketts,  Bart. ),  but  has  no  issue. 

HAWORTH   OF  PRESTON,   &c. 

Lawrence  Haworth  of  Preston,  innkeeper,  there  is  reason  to  believe  was  of  the 
Haworths  of  Lower  Darwen  or  Blackburn.  He  may  have  been  the  "Lawrence,  son 
of  Reginald  Haworth,"  bapt.  at  Blackburn,  Nov.  I4th,  1604.  He  settled  in  Preston, 
and  was  enrolled  a  freeman  of  that  borough  before  the  Guild  of  1642.  He  married 
Jennet,  second  daughter  of  Thomas  Banaster  of  Preston,  gent.,  and  had  a  son 
William,  born  at  Preston  about  1633  or  1634,  and  enrolled  with  his  father  on  the 
Preston  Guild  Roll  in  1642.  "Lawrence  Haworth  of  Preston,  Innkeeper,"  was' 
elected  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School,  Dec.  2ist,  1647; — this  would 
suffice  to  indicate  his  Blackburn  connexion.  He  was  deceased  before  the  Guild  of  1662. 

William  Haworth,  son  of  Lawrence,  a  native  of  Preston,  was  a  Puritan  minister 
during  the  Commonwealth,  and  was  among  the  clergy  ejected  for  nonconformity  in 
1662.  He  was  educated  at  Sedbergh  Grammar  School,  and  was  entered  at  St.  John's 
College,  Cambridge,  in  1652,  as  the  following  entry  from  the  College  Admission 
Books  records : — 

Gulielmus  Haworth,  filius  Lawrentii  Haworth  de  Preston  in  A'nderness  in  Comit. 
Lane.,  ubi  etiam  natus,  litteris  gramat'  institut'  [instructus?]  in  Schola  public'  de 
Sedbergh,  sub  M'ro  Jackson,  p'  annos  viiii,  et  subsequente  admissus  est  subsizator  pro 
D'e  Grandarge,  tutore  et  fidejussore  ejus,  Aug.  24,  1652. 

William  Haworth  on  leaving  college  was  appointed  curate  or  lecturer  at  St. 
Peter's  Church,  St.  Alban's,  where  his  wife  Mary  was  buried  (Sept.  6th,  1661).  By 
her  he  had  issue  two  sons,  Samuel,  and  John.  Among  the  "foreign  burgesses"  of 
Preston  on  the  Guild  Roll  of  1662  are  these  names: — "William  Haworth  de  civitat' 
Lond.  cler.  ;  Samuel,  fil.  ejus;  John,  frater  ejus"  (William  Haworth  of  the  City  of 
London,  clerk ;  Samuel,  his  son ;  John  his  (Samuel's)  brother. )"  It  was  about  this  date 
that  Mr.  Haworth  was  ejected  from  his  church  under  the  Act  of  Uniformity,  and  he 


HAWORTH  OF  NEWFIELD,  &c.  481 

probably  retired  temporarily  to  London.  The  editor  of  the  "Nonconformist 
Memorial "  gives  a  short  notice  of  Mr.  Haworth's  life,  stating  that  he  was  ' '  well 
skilled  in  the  Latin,  Greek,  and  Hebrew  languages;"  and  that,  after  his  ejectment  at 
St.  Alban's,  "he  was  desired  on  occasion  of  the  death  of  some  friend  to  preach  a 
funeral  sermon,"  and  "had  assembled  a  congregation  for  the  purpose  at  some  place  in 
the  town,  but  was  hindered  by  certain  malicious  persons  who  obliged  the  people  to 
disperse.  Upon  this,  they  went  to  the  cloisters  of  the  Abbey,  where  Mr.  Haworth 
had  resolved  to  perform  the  service.  While  he  was  in  his  sermon,  a  party  of  soldiers 
came  to  apprehend  him  when  one  of  the  hearers  interposing  to  prevent  it,  was  shot 
dead  on  the  spot.  Mr.  Haworth  was  taken  up,  and  on  account  of  the  affair  was  tried 
at  the  assizes,  when  he  was  discharged,  but  heavily  fined,  while  the  soldier  who 
committed  the  murder  escaped  with  impunity."  In  1673,  Mr.  Haworth  became  pastor 
of  Cowbridge  Congregational  Chapel,  Hertford,  and  died  there  in  January,  1703. 

Samuel  Haworth,  eldest  son  of  the  minister,  was  born  in  1660,  educated  in  a 
private  school  at  Chelsea,  and  at  the  age  of  17,  "Samuel  Haworth  ril'  Gulielmi 
Haworth,  presbyter,"  was  admitted  sizar  at  Sydney  Sussex  College,  Cambridge,  April 
24th,  1677.  This  Samuel  Haworth,  an  M.B.  of  Cambridge,  and  M.D.  of  Paris, 
passed  his  examination  in  the  Royal  College  of  Physicians,  Oct.  1 2th,  1680.  Dr. 
Samuel  Haworth  was  living  in  Arundel-street,  Strand,  London,  in  April,  1683;  and 
was  sometime  physician  to  the  Duke  of  York  (afterwards  James  II).  He  is  believed 
to  have  been  nearly  connected  with  a  Samuel  Haworth  who  bought  the  Wear  estate, 
Bacup,  Co.  Lane.,  in  1716.  The  latter  may  have  been  a  son  of  Dr.  S.  Haworth. 
He  was  direct  ancestor  of  the  Rev.  John  Haworth,  of  Penistone,  Sheffield,  whose  only 
surviving  daughter,  Anne,  is  wife  of  James  Maden  Holt,  Esq.,  of  Stubby  Lee  House, 
Bacup,  M.  P.  for  North-East  Lancashire.  The  title-deeds  of  the  Wear  estate  are  still 
in  possession  of  this  family  of  Haworths,  and  they  have  always  had  a  family  tradition 
of  their  descent  from  Dr.  Samuel  Haworth. 

HAWORTH  OF  NEWFIELD,  &c. 

Edmond  Haworth,  of  this  branch,  was  assessed  to  the  Subsidy  in  1523.  Giles 
Haworth,  who  had  a  small  freehold  estate  in  Lower  Darwen,  occurs  temp.  Elizabeth.  On 
the  iQth  November,  1588,  this  Gyles  Haworth  writes  from  "Newfielde"  to  William 
ffarrington,  Esq.,  at  Worden,  saying  that  the  writer  and  his  daughter  will  meet  Mr. 
ffarrington  at  Preston  on  the  next  Saturday  according  to  his  appointment,  upon  some 
matter  of  recusancy.  Giles  Haworth  died  Dec.  7th,  1590;  his  Will  is  dated  Nov.  2nd, 
32nd  Eliz. ;  and  by  inquisition  taken  some  years  after  he  was  found  to  have  been  seized 
of  one  messuage,  one  garden,  6  acres  of  land,  4  acres  of  meadow,  and  6  acres  of  pasture 
in  Nether  Darwen.  Ralph  Haworth  was  his  son  and  heir,  aged  21  years  and  upwards. 
Ralph  Haworth,  son  of  Giles,  may  have  died  without  heir  and  left  a  brother  Giles 
in  possession.  Giles  Haworth,  yeoman,  of  Lower  Darwen,  was  agent  in  a  horrible 
murder  committed  in  this  township  in  the  beginning  of  James  the  First's  reign,  the 
curious  discovery  of  which  has  been  recorded  by  Dr.  Webster,  and  other  annalists. 
In  the  "Chronicle  "  of  Sir  Richard  Baker,  published  in  1670,  this  murder  is  noted.1  Dr. 
i  "  In  the  second  year  of  his  [James's]  reign  a  strange  accident  happened,  to  the  terrour  of  all  bloody 
Murtherers,  which  was  this : — One  Anne  Waters,  enticed  by  a  lover  of  hers,  consented  to  have  her 
husband  strangled,  and  then  buried  him  secretly  under  the  dung-hill  in  a  Cow-house ;  whereupon  the 
man  being  missing  by  his  Neighbours,  and  the  Wife  making  shew  of  a  wondering  what  was  become  of 
him ;  It  pleased  God,  that  one  of  the  Inhabitants  of  the  Town  dreamed  one  night  that  his  neighbour 
Waters  was  strangle'd,  and  buried  under  a  dung-hill  in  a  Cow-house  ;  and  upon  declaring  his  dream, 
search  being  made  by  the  Constable,  the  dead  body  was  found  as  he  had  dreamed ;  and  thereupon  the 
wife  was  apprehended,  and,  upon  examination,  confessing  the  fact,  was  burned.  And  now  what  hope 
can  murtherers  have  of  being  concealed,  when  they  are  subjected  to  be  discovered  by  a  man's  dream?" 

31 


482  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Webster,  a  native  of  Clitheroe,  in  a  work  printed  in  folio  in  1677,  entitled 
"Displaying  of  Supposed  Witchcraft,"  gives  a  fuller  account,  and  states  that  the  place 
of  the  tragedy  was  Lower  Darwen.  Webster's  story  of  the  murder  was  taken, 
on  the  7th  of  April,  1663,  "from  the  mouths  of  Thomas  Haworth's  wife,  her 
husband  being  the  dreamer  and  discoverer,  and  from  his  son,  together  with  many 
more,  who  both  remember  and  can  affirm  every  particular  thereof."1 

Giles  Haworth  being  outlawed,  on  the  27th  March,  1611,  the  King's  Escheator 
took  inquisition  of  his  estate,  when  it  appeared  that  Giles  Haworth,  attainted  for 
murder,  at  the  time  of  his  attainder  was  seized  of  two  messuages,  10  acres  of  land,  6 
acres  of  meadow,  and  10  acres  of  pasture  and  common  of  pasture  in  Nether  Darwen, 
held  in  free  and  common  socage  and  not  in  capite.  His  wife — "  Uxor Giles  Haworth" 
— was  buried  at  Blackburn  Church,  June  3Oth,  1608. 

Edmund  Haworth  was  brother  or  son  of  Giles,  and  on  the  23rd  May,  1611,  a 
grant  was  issued  to  Edmund  Haworth  of  messuages  and  lands  in  Nether  Darwen, 
lately  belonging  to  Giles  Haworth,  attainted  for  murder.  Edmund  Haworth  occurs  as 
a  warden  of  Blackburn  Church  in  1634. 

At  Newfield  are  two  old  houses  with  gabled  porches,  and  on  the  door-lintel  of  a 
smaller  house  close  by  are  the  initials  "EH  C"  and  date  "  1725." 

KINDLE  OF  HIGHERCROFT,  &c. 

John  Hindle,  tanner,  of  Hindle  Fold,  Great  Harwood,  who  died  in  August,  1760, 
was  father  of  Christopher  Hindle,  tanner,  of  Higher  Fold,  Great  Harwood,  born  in 
1710,  whose  eldest  son  was  named  Christopher.  "Christopher  Hindle  of  Harwood" 
died,  aged  80,  and  was  buried  at  Great  Harwood  Church, ,  Oct.  2nd,  1789. 

"Mr.  Christopher  Hindle  of  Bradley  Hall,"  Great  Harwood  (so-named  in  1777), 
son  of  the  above  Christopher,  was  bapt.  at  Great  Harwood,  Jan.  3ist,  1747-8.  This 

i  Webster  relates : — "Inthe  year  1604  John  Waters,  of  Lower  Darwen,  in  the  county  of  Lancaster, 
gardiner,  by  reason  of  his  calling  was  much  absent  from  his  family,  in  which  his  absence,  his  wife  (not 
without  cause)  was  suspected  of  incontinency  with  one  Gyles  Haworth,  of  the  same  town ;  this  Gyles 
Haworth  and  Waters'  wife  conspired  and  contrived  the  death  of  Waters  in  this  manner.  As  soon  as 
Waters  came  home  and  went  to  his  bed,  Gyles  Haworth  and  Waters'  wife  conducted  the  hired  execu- 
tioner to  the  said  Waters.  Who  seeing  him  so  innocently  laid  betwixt  his  two  small  children  in  bed, 
repented  of  his  enterprise,  and  totally  refused  to  kill  him.  Gyles  Haworth,  displeased  with  the  faint- 
heartedness of  Ribchester,  takes  the  Axe  into  his  hand,  and  dashed  out  his  brains ;  the  murderers 
buried  him  in  a  cowhouse.  Waters  being  long  missing,  the  neighbours  asked  his  wife  for  him ;  she 
denied  that  she  knew  where  he  was.  Thereupon  public  search  was  made  for  him  in  all  pits  round 
about,  lest  he  should  casually  have  fallen  into  any  of  them.  One  Thomas  Haworth,  of  the  said  town, 
yeoman,  was  for  many  nights  much  troubled  with  broken  sleep  and  dreams  of  the  murder ;  he  revealed 
his  dreams  to  his  wife,  but  she  laboured  the  concealment  of  them  a  long  time.  This  Thomas  Haworth 
had  occasion  to  pass  by  the  house  every  day  where  the  murder  was  done,  and  did  call  and  inquire  for 
Waters,_  as  often  as  he  went  near  the  house.  One  day  he  went  into  the  house  to  ask  for  him,  and  there 
was  a  neighbour,  who  said  to  Thomas  Haworth,  It's  said  that  Waters  lies  under  this  stone  (pointing  to 
the  hearth-stone),  to  which  Thomas  Haworth  replied,  And  I  have  dreamed  that  he  is  under  a  stone  no 
far  distant.  The  constable  of  the  said  town  being  accidentally  in  the  said  house  (his  name  Myles 
Aspinall),  urged  Thomas  Haworth  to  make  known  more  at  large  what  he  had  dreamed,  which  he 
relateth  thus.  I  have  (quoth  he)  many  a  time  within  these  eight  weeks  (for  so  long  it  was  since  the 
murder)  dreamed  very  restlessly,  that  Waters  was  murdered  and  buried  under  a  stone  in  the  cow- 
house ;  I  have  told  my  troubled  dreams  to  my  wife  alone,  but  she  refuses  to  let  me  make  it  known ; 
but  I  am  not  able  to  conceal  my  dreams  any  longer,  my  sleep  departs  from  me,  I  am  pressed  and 
troubled  with  fearful  dreams,  which  I  cannot  bear  any  longer,  and  they  increase  upon  me.  The  con- 
stable hearing  this  made  search  immediately  upon  it,  and  found,  as  he  had  dreamed,  the  murdered  body 
eight  weeks  buried  under  a  flat  stone  in  the  cow-house.  Ribchester  and  Gyles  Haworth  fled  and  never 
came  again.  Anne  Waters  (for  so  was  Waters'  wife's  name),  being  apprehended,  confessed  the 
murder,  and  was  burned." 


LIVESEY  OF  FERNEHURST.  483 

Christopher  Hindle  purchased,  towards  the  end  of  last  century,  the  Highercroft  estate 
and  mansion  in  Lower  Darwen,  and  afterwards  resided  at  Highercroft.  By  Elizabeth 
his  wife,  he  had  issue,  sons,  Christopher,  born  at  Bradley  Hall  in  1777,  bapt.  at  Great 
Harwood  Church,  Jan.  23rd;  John,  born  in  1779;  William,  born  in  1783;  Thomas, 
born  in  1790;  Robert,  born  in  1793;  and  Joseph,  bapt.  Nov.  1st,  1795.  Mr. 
Christopher  Hindle  of  Highercroft  died,  in  his  7 1st  year,  Sept.  5th,  1818,  and  was 
buried  at  Great  Harwood,  where  the  Kindles'  tomb  is  in  the  churchyard.  Elizabeth 
Hindle,  his  relict,  died,  aged  74,  August  1 8th,  1835.  Two  younger  sons  of 
Christopher  Hindle  died  early,  viz.,  Thomas  Hindle,  fourth  son,  died,  aged  30,  in  Jan., 
1821,  leaving  a  daughter  Elizabeth,  who  died  in  1846;  and  Robert  Hindle,  fifth  son, 
died,  aged  23,  in  November,  1816. 

The  eldest  of  Christopher's  sons  was  Christopher  Hindle  of  Highercroft,  many 
years  Chief  Constable  of  the  Lower  Division  of  Blackburn  Hundred;  he  died 
unmarried,  at  Higham,  Kent,  Feb.  2oth,  1847,  in  his  7ist  year. 

William  Hindle  of  Newfield  House,  Lower  Darwen,  a  younger  brother  of 
Christopher,  died  unmarried,  aged  60,  May  2nd,  1843. 

Mr.  John  Hindle,  second  son  of  Christopher  Hindle,  senr.,  who  succeeded  his 
brother  Christopher  as  owner  of  Highercroft  estate,  resided  at  Highercroft,  and  died 
unmarried,  in  his  75th  year,  March  26th,  1854. 

Rev.  Joseph  Hindle,  B.D.,  sixth  son  of  Christopher,  and  heir  of  his  brother  John 
Hindle,  became  possessed  of  the  Lower  Darwen  estate  in  1854.  He  was  45  years 
vicar  of  Higham,  Co.  Kent,  and  died  at  the  Knowle,  Higham,  in  his  8oth  year,  Dec. 
23rd,  1874.  His  Will  was  proved  in  Jan.  1875;  personalty  under  ^"45, ooo.  He  left 
issue,  sons,  Major  John  Wm.  Hindle,  now  owner  of  Highercroft;  Joseph  Hindle;  and 
David  Bourn  Hindle;  and  two  daughters.  The  estate  of  the  late  Rev.  Joseph 
Hindle  in  Lancashire  was  returned  in  1873  as  about  294  acres,  with  a  rental  of  ^1090 
per  annum. 

LIVESEY  OF  FERNEHURST. 

A  branch  of  the  Livesey  family  held  in  the  i6th  century  the  demesne  estate  of 
Fernehurst  under  the  Talbots,  manorial  lords.  James  Lyvesey  was  assessed  on  lands 
in  Nether  Darwen  to  the  Subsidy  in  1523.  In  1529,  William  and  Alexander  Clayton 
accused  James  Lyvesey  and  others  of  forcible  entry  and  tortious  possession  of  lands  in 
Fernehurst  manor;  and  in  the  27th  Hen.  VIII.  (1536),  James  Lyvesey,  lessee  of 
John  (Paslew)  Abbot  of  Whalley,  had  a  suit  with  Richard  Wamborseley  and  others 
respecting  a  disputed  title  to  tythe  corn  and  other  tythes  of  Blackburn  parsonage  and 
Whalley  Abbey  in  Livesey,  Tockholes,  and  Fernehurst.  James  Livesey  died  before 
1564,  when  "Ann  Levesey,  widow,  late  wife  of  James  Livesey  of  Blackburn "  appears 
as  party  to  a  suit  in  the  Duchy  Court. 

Richard  Lyvesaye,  probably  son  of  James,  was  taxed  for  lands  in  Nether  Darwen 
on  a  Subsidy  in  1570.  In  the  26th  Eliz.  (1584),  Thomas  Talbot  had  a  suit  with 
Richard  Livesey  respecting  the  messuages  and  lands  called  Fernehurst  and  Livesey 
Bradshay,  with  a  corn  mill  in  Nether  Darwent.  "Richard  Livesay  de  Fernyhurst, 
gent.,"  appears  on  a  list  of  freeholders  in  1584,  and  again  in  1600.  Richard  Livesey 
of  Fernehurst,  gent.,  on  the  marriage  of  his  daughter  Mary  to  Thomas  Astley  of 
Ewocle,  gent.,  in  1574,  conveyed  in  trust  to  Thomas  Hold  en  of  Ewode,  and  William 
Crosse  of  Over  Darwine,  gents.,  a  tenement  in  Livesey  called  Oxelande,  to  the  use  of 
Thomas  Astley  and  Mary  his  wife  for  term  of  their  lives  and  of  the  longer  liver  of 
them,  afterwards  to  the  right  heirs  of  Richard  Livesey.  (Deed  in  Towneley  MSS., 
dated  I  Jan.,.  17  Eliz.) 


484  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Henry  Livesey,  a  deponent  in  1611,  then  aged  80,  and  Thomas  Livesey  of  Nether 
Darwen,  living  in  1628,  were  of  this  branch. 

LOMAS  OF  NETHER  DARWEN. 

Ralph  Lommas,  in  1562,  was  in  tenure  of  messuages  and  lands  in  this  township. 

Thomas  Lomas,  temp.  Charles  I. ,  gave  a  bequest  to  Darwen  Chapel. 

John  Lomas,  who  died  about  1641,  held,  according  to  an  escheat  return,  three 
messuages,  three  gardens,  24  acres  of  land,  10  of  meadow,  and  20  of  pasture  and  moor 
in  Nether  Darwen.  He  had  no  son;  and  three  daughters,  Alice,  Elizabeth,  and  Maria, 
were  found  to  be  his  heirs. 

Alice,  daughter  and  co-heir  of  John  Lomas,  was  wife  of  Henry  Cross  of  Oken- 
head  in  this  township,  whose  two  daughters  and  co-heirs,  Grace  and  Elizabeth, 
married,  respectively,  Peter  Haworth  of  Th'urcroft,  gent.,  and  his  brother  Thomas 
Haworth,  of  Okenhead  (see  Haworth  of  Th'urcroft). 

MARSDEN  OF  OKENHURST,  &c. 

William  Mersden  is  assessed  on  lands  in  Lower  Darwen  to  the  Subsidy  of  1523. 
Henry  Mersden  is  named  as  a  first  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1567- 
Christopher  Mersden  was  assessed  for  lands  in  Lower  Darwen  to  a  Subsidy  in  157°- 

Henry  Marsden,  who  died  April  1 2th,  1619,  possessed,  as  shown  by  inquisition 
taken  Sept.  I4th,  1620  (at  Blackburn),  half  a  messuage,  10  acres  of  land,  2  of  meadow, 
IO  of  pasture,  5  of  wood,  and  40  of  moor  and  moss  in  Lower  Darwen.  Alice,  widow 
of  the  same,  was  living  in  1620.  Christopher  Marsden,  his  son  and  heir,  was  then 
aged  40  years  and  upwards. 

Christopher  Marsden  succeeded,  and  dying  June  nth,  1631,  the  Inq.  post  mort. 
was  taken  at  Blackburn,  April  25th,  Qth  Charles  I.,  when  it  was  found  that  he  had 
held  of  the  King  as  of  the  Duchy  of  Lancaster,  by  a  yearly  payment  of  55.,  one 
Messuage,  and  1 6  acres  of  land,  meadow,  and  pasture  in  Lower  Darwen.  Henry 
Marsden  was  his  son  and  heir,  then  aged  25  years. 

Henry  Marsden  of  Okenhurst,  yeoman,  occurs  as  a  trustee  of  James  Piccop  in  1657. 

Ralph  Marsden  of  Okenhurst,  was  father  of  James  Marsden  of  Lower  Darwen, 
yeoman,  who  died  April  I4th,  1630;  and  on  inquisition  taken  Sept.  7th,  1630,  his 
estate  was  found  to  consist  of  one  Messuage,  one  garden,  8  acres  of  land,  4  of  meadow, 
and  6  of  pasture  in  Lower  Darwen.  William  Marsden,  son  of  James,  being  dead 
before  his  father,  James  Marsden,  the  latter  had  conveyed  the  estate  to  William 
Marsden,  of  Tockholes,  yeoman,  and  Christopher  Marsden  of  Okenhurst,  yeoman,  in 
trust  to  the  use  of  himself  and  his  heirs.  James  Marsden,  son  of  the  late  William,  son 
of  James,  was  found  next  heir,  aged  15  years. 

James  Marsden,  yeoman,  grandson  of  the  above  James,  held  the  property  several 
years.  He  was  dead  before  1637.  June  231x1,  I3th  Charles  I.,  an  inquisition  taken 
at  Bolton  returned  that  James  Marsden  had  been  seized  of  one  Messuage  called 
Okenhurst  in  Lower  Darwen,  with  one  garden,  8  acres  of  land,  2  of  meadow,  and  8 
of  pasture  appurtenant  to  the  said  Messuage  of  Okenhurst.  William  Marsden  was  son 
and  heir,  aged  9  months  and  7  days. 

Concerning  this  infant  heir  I  have  no  particulars.  The  following  names  occur 
later: — John  Marsden,  of  Lower  Darwen,  yeoman,  died  in  1698.  Henry  Marsden, 
yeoman,  of  this  township,  buried  Elizabeth,  his  wife,  in  1699.  Another  Henry 
Marsden,  yeoman,  married,  April  I3th,  1701,  Ann  Ainsworth  of  Blackburn.  Nicholas 
Marsden  of  Lower  Darwen,  yeoman,  who  died  in  1756,  had  sons  Thomas  and  John, 
with  other  issue,  by  his  wife  Hannah. 


SANDERSON—  WADDINGTON— WALMESLEY— YATES.         485 

SANDERSON  OF  FEARNHURST. 

Adam  Sanderson  of  Lower  Danven,  chapman,  was  buried  May  2Oth,  1706.  He 
had  sons,  Richard,  and  William — the  latter  occurs  as  Schoolmaster  at  Tockholes  in  1718. 

Richard  Sanderson,  of  Fearnhurst,  chapman  and  yeoman,  was  son  of  Adam. 
The  Sandersons  were  Nonconformists,  members  of  the  congregation  at  Darwen ;  and 
in  the  "  Diary  of  Peter  Walkden,"  edited  by  Mr.  Wm.  Dobson,  several  visits  of  the 
Diarist  to  the  Sandersons  at  Fearnhurst,  from  1725  to  1729,  are  recorded.  Richard 
Sanderson  died  August  27th,  1729.  His  sons  were— William,  Adam,  Thomas,  and 
George.  The  first  two  are  again  named  below.  The  third,  Thomas  Sanderson  of 
Livesey,  bapt.  Oct.  I3th,  1710,  was  buried  May  9th,  1791,  aged  80.  The  fourth  son, 
George  Sanderson  of  Livesey,  chapman,  died  Sept.  3rd,  17495  he  had  sons,  William 
and  George;  the  latter,  George  Sanderson  of  Blackburn,  chapman,  was  living  in  1778. 

William  Sanderson,  eldest  son  of  Richard,  bora  in  1704,  is  styled,  late  in  life, 
"Mr.  Wm,  Sanderson  of  Fearnhurst,  tradesman."  He  died  in  1780,  and  was  buried 
April  2nd.  By  Martha  his  wife  he  had  sons,  Richard,  born  in  1732;  and  Gyles,  born  in 
1734,  died  in  1738;  also  daughters,  Elizabeth,  born  and  died  in  1736;  and  Hannah, 
died  in  1740.  Richard  Sanderson  "of  Chorley,  chapman,"  in  1778,  was  the  eldest 
son  of  William. 

Adam  Sanderson,  brother  of  William,  baptized  June  loth,  1707?  died  July  3rd, 
1757,  aged  50.  At  the  Lower  Chapel,  Over  Darwen,  a  memorial  marble  tablet 
affixed  to  the  chapel-wall  is  inscribed  to  this  "Mr.  Adam  Sanderson,"  and  also  to  his 
second  son,  Adam  Sanderson,  who  died  Sept.  3Oth,  1786,  aged  48.  The  elder  Adam 
had  another  son,  Richard;  and  a  daughter  Catherine,  who  married,  July  6th,  1767, 
Mr.  Archibald  Stewart,  of  Church  Parish,  Calico  Printer. 

Richard  Sanderson,  of  Ewood,  gent.,  son  of  Adam,  was  born  in  January,  1731; 
and  died  in  May,  1774.  By  his  wife,  Mary,  he  had  sons,  Thomas  Bromily  William 
Sanderson,  born  Dec.,  1762,  bapt.  Feb.  ist,  1763,  died  Sept.,  1767;  and  a  second 
Thomas  Bromily  William,  bapt.  Oct.  2 ist,  1768. 

WADDINGTON  OF  NETHER  DARWEN. 

Rauf  Waddington,  of  Nether  Darwen,  was  taxed  to  a  King's  Subsidy  in  1523. 
Robert  Waddington,  of  Nether  Darwen,  paid  the  Subsidy  in  1570. 

Ralph  Waddington,  of  this  township,  died  Oct.  I4th,  39th  Eliz.  (1597),  seized  of 
one  messuage,  6  acres  of  land,  6  acres  of  meadow,  and  10  acres  of  pasture  in  Nether 
Darwen,  held  of  the  Queen  in  capite.  Anna,  Elizabeth,  Mary,  and  Grace,  his 
daughters,  were  co-heiresses. 

Robert  Waddington,  of  Upper  Darwen,  paid  the  Subsidy  tax  in  1663.  Thomas 
Waddington  married,  May  2Oth,  1662,  Jennet  Haworth.  Thomas  Waddington,  of 
Nether  Darwen,  married,  May  i8th,  1708,  Elizabeth  Haworth,  of  the  same. 

WALMESLEY  OF  WALMESLEY  FOLD,  &c. 

William  Walmesley,  sixth  son  of  Thomas  Walmesley  of  Showley,  Esq. ,  settled 
at  Walmesley  Fold  in  this  township,  on  a  small  freehold.  William  Walmesley,  of 
Nether  Darwen,  died  April  5th,  1622,  and  on  inquisition  taken  at  Blackburn,  the  26th 
Feb.,  1622-3,  it  was  found  that  he  had  been  seized  of  one  messuage,  one  garden,  one 
orchard,  and  24  acres  of  meadow  and  pasture  in  Nether  Darwen,  held  of  the  King  in 
socage.  Christopher  Walmesley,  son  and  heir  of  William,  was  aged  54  years  in  1622. 

YATES  OF  LOWER  DARWEN. 
Lawrencffe  Yates  of  Nether  Darwen,  who  died   Sept,  24th,  1606,  w 


486  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

tion  taken  Dec.  2Oth  following  found  to  have  held  parts  of  a  messuage,  and  24  acres  of 
land,  meadow  and  pasture  in  Nether  Darwen,  held  of  the  King  as  of  the  Duchy  of 
Lancaster.  William  Yates,  son  and  heir,  was  aged  4  years,  7  months,  1 8  days. 

William  Yates,  of  Lower  Darwen,  yeoman,  died  November  23rd,  1637,  and  was 
found  by  inquisition  taken  Jan.  23rd,  1 3th  Chas.  I.,  to  have  been  seized  of  one 
messuage,  8  acres  of  land,  4  acres  of  meadow,  and  6  acres  of  pasture  in  Lower 
Darwen.  His  son  and  heir  was  Lawrence  Yates,  aged  7  years,,  1 1  months,  and  20 
days.  Deceased  William  Yates  had  enfeoffed  his  estate  to  Thurstan  Mawdsley  and 
Peter  Edge,  in  trust  to  the  use  of  his  family.  Elizabeth  Yates,  wife  of  William,  John 
Yates,  his  second  son,  Samuel  Yates,  third  son,  &c.,  are  named  in  the  deed  of  trust. 

THE  CHURCH  OF  ST.  JAMES. 

Lower  Darwen  was  made  a  district  chapelry  in  1829,  and  in  that 
year  a  Church  was  built  at  the  cost  of  ^5,491  23.  6d.,  obtained  by  a 
Parliamentary  Grant.  The  Church,  dedicated  to  St.  James,  is  situate 
upon  the  hill  near  Newfield.  It  is  a  handsome  edifice,  of  decorated 
gothic  architecture.  Its  plan  includes  nave,  side  aisles,  and  pentagonal 
apse  for  chancel,  and  the  elevation  displays  a  slender  hexagonal 
embattled  tower  at  the  centre  of  the  west  gable.  The  windows  of  the 
aisles,  clerestory,  and  apse  are  of  double  lights,  with  heads  of  graceful 
cuvilinear  tracery.  The  church  contains  668  sittings,  of  which  410  are 
free.  The  value  of  the  living  (which  has  been  augmented  recently  by 
the  Ecclesiastical  Commissioners)  is  ^300  per  annum ;  and  the  Vicar 
of  Blackburn  is  patron.  Rev.  J.  K.  Glazebooke,  M.A.,  admitted  in 
1841,  is  present  Vicar. 

The  National  Schools,  adjoining  the  Church,  built  in  1838,  were 
rebuilt  and  much  enlarged  in  1873,  at  a  cost  °f  ^850,  and  now  provide 
accommodation  for  400  children. 

Other  Church  of  England  Schools  at  Guide  and  "Golden  Cup"  in 
this  township,  have  been  licensed  for  divine  service. 

DISSENTING  CHAPELS. 

WESLEYAN  METHODIST  CHAPEL,  NEW  Row.— It  has  already  been  mentioned 
(see  ante  pp.  199-200)  that  a  Methodist  Society  -was  founded  in  Lower  Darwen  by 
Wesley  himself,  who  preached  in  the  village  in  1759  and  in  1761.  An  early  preaching 
place  of  this  Society  was  in  a  farm-house  at  "  Top-o'th-Coal-Pits  ;"  and  another  was 
at  New  Row,  a  hamlet  on  the  border  of  Lower  Darwen  and  Livesey,  by  the  road 
from  Blackburn  to  Tockholes.  At  New  Row  a  chapel  was  built  in  1828,  which  is 
yet  in  use,  and  was  rendered  more  commodious  by  the  addition  of  galleries  about 
twenty  years  ago.  The  chapel  is  served  from  Blackburn,  and  contains  about  400 
sittings. 

WESLEYAN  ASSOCIATION  (NOW  PRIMITIVE  METHODIST)  CHAPEL.— A  chapel 
was  built  in  Lower  Darwen  village  by  the  Wesleyan  Association  (which  had  before  a 
preaching-place  in  the  township),  which,  after  being  used  by  the  United  Methodist 
Free  Church,  was  taken  by  the  Primitive  Methodist  Connexion  in  1873.  It  contains 
about  300  sittings. 


NETHER  DARWEN  COMMONS  ENCLOSURE.  487 

UNITED  FREE  METHODIST  CHAPEL. — This  handsome  Gothic  chapel  in  the 
village  of  Lower  Darwen  was  erected  in  1872-3  ;  opened  June  igth,  1873.  The  north 
front  contains  the  main  entrance,  flanked  by  buttresses  finished  with  crocketted 
pinnacles  ;  and  over  the  doorway  is  a  five-light  traceried  window.  The  front  is 
finished  with  gablets  and  finials.  The  side  windows  are  pointed,  each  of  two  lights. 
The  chapel  is  designed  to  provide  550  sittings;  the  interior  is  galleried.  Cost  ,£2,030. 

CONGREGATIONAL  SCHOOL  MISSION-ROOM.— In  the  room  built  by  the  Messrs. 
Eccles  near  their  works  in  the  village  for  a  Day  and  Sunday  School,  the  Congrega- 
tionalists  conduct  a  religious  service  on  the  Sunday.  Sittings,  200. 

ROMAN  CATHOLIC  SCHOOL-CHAPEL. — In  1872  a  school-chapel,  dedicated  to 
St.  Edward,  was  built  for  the  Roman  Catholics  in  this  township,  near  the  Blackburn 
and  Darwen  road  at  the  south  extremity  of  Lower  Darwen.  Sittings,  about  250. 

NETHER  DARWEN  COMMONS  ENCLOSED,    A.D.   1779. 

The  waste  and  common  lands  of  Nether  Darwen  amounted  to  600 
statute  acres  a  century  since,  and  on  the  ist  of  February,  1779,  a 
Petition  to  Parliament  of  the  Rt.  honourable  Catherine  Lady  Stourton, 
lady  of  the  Manor  of  Nether  Darwen,  and  of  other  persons  interested 
in  the  Commons,  was  presented  to  the  House  of  Commons  and  read ; 
setting  forth,  that  within  the  said  Manor  or  Lordship,  and  the  Vill, 
Hamlet,  or  Township  of  Nether  Darwen  there  is  a  large  Common  or 
tract  of  Waste  Land,  called  Lower  Darwen  Moor,  containing  600  acres 
or  thereabouts,  statute  measure,  which  the  petitioners  apprehended 
might  be  greatly  improved,  if  the  same  were  enclosed,  and  divided  into 
specific  allotments  amongst  the  said  Lady  Stourton,  as  lady  of  the  Manor, 
and  the  other  parties  interested  therein,  and  praying  for  leave  to  Sir 
Thomas  Egerton  and  Major  Stanley  to  bring  in  a  Bill  pursuant  to  the 
prayer  of  the  Petition.  The  Nether  Darwen  Commons  Enclosure  Act 
received  the  Royal  Assent,  May  i8th,  1779,  and  by  virtue  thereof  the 
Commons  were  soon  after  allotted  and  enclosed. 


488  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


CHAPTER  VII.— THE  TOWNSHIP  OF  OVER   DARWEN. 

Topography — Name — Ancient  Forests — Coal  Mines — Manufactures — Calico  Printing — Bleach  Works 
— Paper  Works — Cotton  Spinning  and  Weaving — Growth  and  aspect  of  the  Town — Population — 
Local  Government  and  Public  Works — Free  Library — Flood  of  1848,  &c. — Descent  of  the  Manor 
— Banastre,  and  Langton,  chief  Lords — Osbaldeston,  and  Southworth — Plaint  respecting  Darwen 
Waste  in  1556 — Later  Manorial  Lords — Hoghton,  Trafford,  Duckworth — Families  of  Ancient  and 
Modern  Gentry  and  Yeomen — Ashton — Astley — Baron — Barton — Berry — Brandwood — Cooper — 
Crosse — Dewhurst — Fish — Greenway — Hargreave — Hilton — Hindle — Holden — Marsden — Mauds- 
ley — Pickup — Shorrock — Smalley — Walsh — Watson — Church  of  St.  James— History  of  the 
Chapelry — Other  Churches — Nonconformist  Meeting  Houses—"  Lower  Chapel"— Other  Chapels 
— Wesleyan  Methodism  in  Darwen — First  and  present  Chapels — Other  Dissenting  Chapels — 
Roman  Catholic  Chapel — Schools — Charities  of  the  Town. 

OVER  DARWEN  occupies  the  northern  slopes  and  spurs  of  the 
range  of  elevated  moors  which  separate  the  Hundred  and  Parish 
of  Blackburn  from  the  Hundred  of  Salford  and  Parish  of  Bolton.  These 
hills,  which  enclose  the  township  on  every  side  except  the  north,  are  of 
varying  altitudes  from  1000  to  1300  feet;  their  summits  are  almost  flat, 
and  present  dreary  expanses  of  swampy  moss  and  heath ;  but  the 
acclivities  are  found  to  repay  tillage  as  rough  pasture  and  meadow-land. 
Darwen  Moor,  a  bold,  abrupt  fell  which  hems  in  the  town  on  the  west 
and  south-west,  reaches  a  height  at  its  loftiest  part  of  1316  feet  above 
the  sea-level,  and  appropriates  several  hundred  acres  of  unreclaimed 
waste  land  included  within  the  bounds  of  the  township.  Cranberry 
Moss  and  Hoddlesden  Moss  are  the  names  of  the  somewhat  lower  moor- 
lands to  the  south-east,  the  summits  of  which  are  traversed  by  the 
township  and  parish  boundary.  The  River  Darwen  has  its  source  on 
Bull  Hill,  and  in  its  rapid  passage  into  the  narrow  valley  in  which 
the  town  of  Over  Darwen  stands,  it  receives  several  considerable  streams 
whose  channels  are  the  doughs  on  the  flanks  of  Darwen  Moor.  From 
a  mere  mountain  beck  the  Darwen  is  thus  increased  to  a  river  of  some 
volume  (especially  in  wet  seasons)  before  it  passes  on  into  the  subjacent 
township  of  Lower  Darwen  at  Hollins. 

The  name  of  the  township  has  undergone  in  the  course  of  time 
numerous  mutations.     It  is  spelled  "Deraventa"  in  the  latin  charter, 


TOWNSHIP  OF  OVER  DARWEN.  489 

about  the  year  1130,  of  grant  of  its  lands  to  the  Norman  Banastre,  lord 
of  Newton.  This,  I  think,  is  the  first  mention  of  the  name  in  written 
record.  In  a  later  latin  deed,  made  about  A.D.  1280,  the  township  is 
named  "Superior  Derwent y"  this  is  a  charter  by  which  Roger,  son  of 
Henry  de  Whalley,  gave  to  the  Abbot  and  convent  of  Stanlaw  (after  of 
Whalley)  "three  perches  of  my  land  in  Superior  Derwent  in  length  from 
the  messuage  on  the  east  that  John  son  of  Bibby  held  of  Richard  de 
Alffton,  unto  the  road  on  the  west  that  leads  to  the  house  of  Alexander 
de  Keuerdale,  and  two  perches  in  breadth,  for  the  site  of  one  barn,  with 
the  house  on  that  land  built  for  their  tenth  sheaf  (tithe)  of  the  said  vill." 
In  a  return  for  escheat  dated  1311,  the  township  is  called  "  On  Deri/vent" 
In  documents  of  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries  the  name  is  given 
variously  as  Derwynd  Superior,  Darwyiit,  Derwyn,  &c.  It  is  named 
Upper  Darwin  on  the  Subsidy  Roll  of  1611 ;  and  from  that  date  until 
about  a  century  ago,  the  name  is  usually  found  as  Upper  Darwen;  it  has 
since  been  fixed  in  its  present  style,  as  "  Over  Darwen?  The  native 
folk-speech  supplies,  however,  another  variation,  that  of  "ITeigher 
(higher)  Darren? 

In  the  Saxon  period,  the  upper  reaches  of  the  valley  of  the  Darwen 
were  covered  probably  with  native  forest,  which  for  ages  before  then  had 
occupied  these  rugged  denes  or  doughs.  Existing  local  names  of  Saxon 
etymology  indicate  the  presence  of  woods  when  the  names  were  bestowed : 
ex.  gr.  Sunnyhurst,  Oakshaw,  Beech-hill,  Woodhead,  Greenhurst,  Oaken- 
hurst,  Fernehurst,  &c.  A  local  tradition  lingers  that  in  old  time  a  great 
wood  extended  from  Wood-head  in  Darwen  to  Wood-head  in  Pickup-Bank, 
beyond  Hoddlesden  on  the  east  side  of  the  township.  Even  within 
memory  groups  of  large  oaks,  beeches,  and  sycamores  were  to  be  seen 
in  the  valley.  Two  or  three  years  ago  a  discovery  was  made  on  the 
northern  flank  of  Darwen  Moor  above  Sunnyhurst  Hey,  during  the 
construction  of  a  reservoir  for  the  town's  Waterworks,  of  the  prostrate 
trunks  of  a  primeval  forest  buried  under  the  heather.  Beneath  the 
peat,  which  lies  here  about  two  feet  in  depth,  appeared  the  roots, 
trunks,  -  and  branches  of  trees,  chiefly  oaks  and  birch,  which  were 
counted  by  hundreds  in  the  limited  space  exposed.  This  part  of  the 
moor  is  now  totally  bare  of  timber. 

In  territorial  area,  Over  Darwen  is  the  largest  township  in  Black- 
burn parish,  containing  5134  statute  acres.  But  the  lands  within  the 
township  sufficiently  sheltered  and  fertile  to  be  capable  of  the  best 
agriculture  are  limited  in  acreage,  and  are  isolated  patches  in  situations 
near  the  river  in  the  lower  parts  of  the  valley.  A  large  quantity  of 
inferior  land  is  devoted  to  grass-farms,  and  fortunately  much  of  the 
rocky  and  sterile  ground  has  become  valuable  as  building-sites  with  the 


490  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

rapid  growth  of  a  town,  and  important  manufactories,  during  the  present 
century.  The  average  rental  of  land  in  the  township  is  rather  more 
than  2os.  per  acre. 

It  is  only  into  this  portion  of  the  Parish  of  Blackburn  that  the 
coal  field  of  South  Lancashire  extends ;  the  outcrop  of  the  seam  is 
found  along  the  centre  of  the  township  of  Blackburn.  Coal  has  been  got 
in  Over  Darwen,  Eccleshill,  Tockholes,  and  Lower  Darwen  at  least  three 
centuries,  very  probably  for  a  longer  period,  and  the  presence  of  this 
mineral  fuel  has  during  the  interval  compensated  the  inhabitants  of 
these  townships  for  the  barrenness  of  most  of  the  soil  of  the  district. 
Traces  of  old  abandoned  pits  and  workings  are  found  in  many  places 
upon  the  hill-sides.  In  the  reign  of  James  I.,  and  during  the  Common- 
wealth, coal-pits  were  worked  on  this  side  of  the  parish ;  and  in  the  reign 
of  Anne  (1702-1714)  a  number  of  inhabitants  of  Darwen  are  described 
in  parish  registers  as  "coaler,"  and  "coal-getter."  At  the  beginning  of 
the  last  century,  and  onward  until  the  opening  of  the  canal  navigation 
between  Blackburn  and  Wigan  in  1816,  the  coal  mines  of  Darwen 
and  Eccleshill  exclusively  supplied  house  fuel  for  Blackburn  and  to 
distant  places  north  of  Blackburn.  In  1729,  Peter  Walkden,  Noncon- 
formist minister  in  Chipping,  enters  in  his  Diary:  "Dec.  17.  Son  John 
went  to  Eccleshill  coal-pit  for  2  loads  of  coals."  The  distance  from 
Chipping  to  Eccleshill  and  back  is  about  30  miles,  and  there  being  no 
road  fit  for  carts  in  1729,  the  coals  were  carried  in  sacks  slung  on 
horseback.  The  coal  measures  in  this  township  are  shallow,  and  vary  from 
20  to  130  yards  below  the  surface;  the  coal  is  not  of  the  best  quality, 
being  mingled  with  shale.  The  Darwen  pits  have  most  of  them  been 
to  a  great  extent  worked  out.  So  late  as  1860,  however,  the  annual 
value  of  the  mines  in  Over  Darwen  was  assessed  to  property  tax  at 
^6,082.  The  annual  yield  of  the  five  collieries  working  in  1867  was 
estimated  at  101,920  tons,  and  the  value  of  the  same  at  ^42,588.  The 
number  of  persons  employed  in  these  collieries  was  477. 

The  weaving  of  checked-cloths  and  calicos  on  the  hand-loom 
became  in  the  seventeenth  century  an  important  industry  subsidiary  to 
husbandry  for  the  inhabitants  of  Over  Darwen.  This  primitive  textile 
manufacture  enabled  the  tenant  farmers  to  employ  their  families  at  home 
in  spinning  and  weaving,  and  to  secure  thereby  a  more  comfortable 
subsistence  than  the  profits  of  a  small  dairy  farm  could  then  afford.  As 
long  since  as  the  years  1700-1720,  a  large  proportion  of  the  natives  of 
Darwen  are  denominated  "webster"  in  the  parish  registers.  About 
half-a-dozen  resident  "chapmen,"  who  were  also  chiefly  yeomen  or 
freeholders  of  land  in  the  township,  then  supplied  the  material  to  the 
cottage-weavers,  received  the  fabrics  when  made,  paying  the  workers 


CALICO  PRINTING,  &c.,  IN  DARWEN.  49I 

the  price  of  their  labour,  and  found  a  market  for  the  cotton-pieces  in 
Manchester,  Preston,  or  more  distant  towns.  I  note  these  names  among 
the  capitalist  dealers  in  textile  fabrics  of  local  production  earlier  than 
1720  : — Ralph  Ellison  of  Upper  Darwen,  chapman;  John  Fish  of  Upper 
Darwen,  chapman;  Richard  Smalley  of  Upper  Darwen,  chapman; 
Richard  Sanderson  of  Lower  Darwen,  chapman;  Thomas  Watson  of 
Over  Darwen,  chapman ;  Edmund  Haworth  of  Lower  Darwen,  chapman ; 
and,  some  years  later,  members  of  the  native  families  of  Eccles,  Barton, 
Ainsworth,  and  Shorrock,  appear  as  "chapmen"  or,  as  afterwards 
described,  "hand-loom  manufacturers."  This  trade  in  hand-loom-woven 
cottons  progressed  until  the  invention  of  spinning-machines  and  power- 
looms  and  the  erection  of  factories  superseded  the  old  system  by  one 
incalculably  more  scientific  and  more  productive.  The  hand-loom 
weaving  industry  was  at  its  height  about  a  century  ago.  It  has  since 
been  steadily  reduced  and  displaced,  and  is  now1  insignificant  in  this  and 
neighbouring  townships. 

During  the  prosperous  time  of  calico-printing  in  Lancashire, 
towards  the  end  of  the  i8th  century,  several  print-works  were  erected 
in  Over  Darwen;  the  best  known  and  most  permanently  successful  of 
which  were  the  works  established  by  Mr.  James  Greenway,  grandfather 
of  Rev.  C.  Greenway,  of  Darwen  Bank  (see  post,  Greenway  family). 
It  was  about  the  year  1776  (just  a  century  ago)  that  Mr.  James 
Greenway  commenced  calico-printing  at  Livesey  Fold.  He  had 
prosecuted  the  business  there  above  thirty  years  when  he  built  the 
larger  print-works  at  Dob  Meadows,  in  the  year  1808.  He  took  as 
partners  Mr.  Charles  Potter  and  Mr.  Maude,  and  subsequently  retiring, 
the  firm  was  continued  as  Potter,  Maude  and  Co.,  until  about  1830. 
This  firm  also  built  the  now  disused  print-shop  on  the  Bury  Fold  Brook. 
In  1832,  the  Dob  Meadows  works  were  leased  by  Mr.  James  Greenway, 
junr.,  to  the  firm  of  C.  Potter  and  Wm.  Ross;  in  1841  Mr.  Potter 
withdrew,  and  Mr.  Ross  continued  the  business  until  1847,  when  he 
transferred  it  to  Messrs.  Heron,  Baron,  and  Eddleston.  Mr.  Eddleston 
died  in  1872,  and  the  works  are  still  carried  on  by  Messrs.  Heron  and 
Baron.  Mr.  W.  Henreys,  manager  of  the  Dob-Meadows  works  for  the 
Greenways,  who  died  in  August,  1823,  is  stated  to  have  been  dis- 
tinguished by  his  scientific  knowledge,  which  he  applied  to  the 
improvement  of  the  art  of  calico  printing,  and  thus  greatly  assisted  the 
success  of  the  concern. 

Some  extensive  calico-bleaching  works  were  established  in  Over 
Darwen,  none  of  which  now  exist.  The  celebrated  inventor  of  the 
spinning  mule,  Samuel  Crompton,  on  obtaining  the  Parliamentary  grant 
of  ,£5°°°>  came  from  Bolton  to  Over  Darwen,  in  June,  1812,  and 


492 


HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


commenced  the  bleaching  business  in  premises  known  as  Hilton's 
Higher  Works,  now  called  Spring  Vale  Works,  having  as  partners  his 
sons  George  and  James.  Mr.  Samuel  Crompton  built  the  older  central 
part  of  Low  Hill  House,  in  which  he  resided  several  years.  Partly 
owing  to  the  sinking  of  coal  pits  near  the  works,  which  diverted  the 
supply  of  spring  water  and  led  to  a  costly  law  suit,  but  chiefly  through 
the  indifference  of  his  sons,  Mr.  Crompton's  Darwen  business  did  not 
prosper,  and  it  was  given  up  about  the  year  1818.  His  eldest  son, 
George  Crompton,  started  a  separate  bleaching  business  at  Hoddlesden, 
which  also  failed.  Mr.  George  Crompton  resided  later  in  Blackburn, 
where  he  was  some  years  cashier  in  the  works  of  Messrs.  Yates, 
engineers,  and  he  died  at  Blackburn,  aged  77,  June  i6th,  1858. 
Another  bleaching  business  had  been  commenced  in  Over  Darwen 
before  the  year  1800  by  Mr.  Richard  Hilton,  a  native  of  Blackburn, 
son  of  Samuel  Hilton  (see  post,  Hilton  family).  One  of  his  bleaching 
works  it  was  that  Mr.  Crompton-  rented  in  1812;  but  the  Hiltons  were 
still  engaged  in  bleaching  in  1818,  when  Christopher  Hilton  (son  of 
Richard)  is  named  as  "bleacher"  at  Darwen.  Sometime  after  this  date, 
the  Hiltons  gave  up  bleaching  to  embark  in  the  business  of  paper  making. 
The  paper  works  erected  in  Over  Darwen  by  Mr.  Richard  Hilton, 
about  forty  years  ago,  were  of  great  extent,  and  when  completed  were 
reputed  to  be  the  largest  in  the  kingdom.  They  stood  near  the  river, 
surrounded  by  a  series  of  reservoirs,  on  the  site  of  the  present  paper 
mills  of  Messrs.  Dimmock  and  Co.  For  some  years  Mr.  Hilton  and  his 
sons  prospered  in  the  trade  of  paper  making,  and  were  the  principal 
employers  of  labour  in  the  town.  But  the  magnitude  of  the  concern 
eventually  involved  the  firm  in  difficulties  that  led  to  its  suspension, 
about  the  year  1843.  Mr.  Richard  Hilton  had  died  in  1836,  and  Mr. 
Henry  Hilton,  his  second  son,  was  head  of  the  firm  at  the  time  of  its 
failure  and  the  stoppage  of  the  works.  These  mills  were  temporarily 
worked  by  other  parties,  but  were  at  length  demolished.  Paper-making 
has,  however,  since  become  one  of  the  staple  trades  of  the  town;  and, 
in  1867,  four  paper-mills  in  Darwen  were  returned  as  employing  440 
workmen,  and  producing  paper  of  the  annual  value  of  ^"170,000.  The 
firm  of  Potter  and  Co.,  founded  by  Charles  and  Harold  Potter  in  1841, 
engaged  in  the  combined  businesses  of  paper-making  and  paper-staining, 
at  the  Hollins  and  Belgrave  mills  in  Over  Darwen.  The  paper-staining 
business  of  this  house,  of  which  Mr.  James  Huntington  is  resident 
director  and  partner,  is  one  of  great  celebrity,  and  has  been  for  many 
years  highly  profitable  and  largely  productive.  The  two  paper-staining 
works  in  Darwen  employed  350  workmen  in  1867,  and  produced 
figured  paper  for  house  decoration  of  the  annual  value  of  ^130,000. 


COTTON  TRADE  OF  OVER  DARWEN.  493 

The  spinning  of  cotton  on  the  factory  system  was  not  introduced 
into  Over  Darwen  before  the  beginning  of  this  century.  Mr.  William 
Eccles,  of  Low  Hill  House,  son  of  Mr.  Thomas  Eccles,  of  Princes, 
hand-loom  manufacturer,  built  the  oldest  portion  of  the  Bowling  Green 
Mill  about  the  year  1820.  This  mill  was  worked  afterwards  by  Messrs. 
Carr,  Hatton  and  Co.,  cotton-spinners,  until  the  year  1830.  The  first 
power-looms  had  been  set  up  in  Over  Darwen  shortly  before  the  loom- 
breaking  riots  in  April,  1826,  when  the  rioters  came  from  Blackburn  to 
Darwen,  and  broke  thirty-six  power-looms  in  a  factory  belonging  to  Mr. 
James  Grime,  and  sixteen  looms  at  the  factory  of  Carr  &  Co.  In 
1830,  Mr.  Eccles  Shorrock,  who  had  been  partner  in  a  cotton-spinning 
and  manufacturing  firm  in  Blackburn,  settled  in  Over  Darwen,  having 
purchased  Bowling  Green  Mill  and  the  adjacent  property  of  Mr.  Carr. 
Mr.  Shorrock  enlarged  that  mill,  and  carried  on  the  manufacture  there 
and  at  the  New  Mill,  which  he  built  in  1835.  A  few  years  before  his 
death,  in  1853,  Mr.  Shorrock  purchased  Brookside  Mill  and  the  Darwen 
Paper  Works,  erected  by  the  Hiltons ;  demolished  portions  of  the 
latter  works  and  on  the  site  erected  the  large  factory  called  Darwen 
Mill.  Near  the  same  spot  the  present  firm  of  Shorrock  Brothers  &  Co. 
erected  in  1867  the  immense  stone-built  India  Mills,  which,  with  their 
massive  Italian  campanile  chimney-shaft,  300  ft.  high,  form  a  striking 
architectural  feature  of  the  town.  Within  forty  years  other  large  cotton 
mills  have  been  built  in  the  township  by  important  firms ;  and  recently 
several  extensive  and  well-appointed  spinning  mills  have  been  erected 
by  companies  chiefly  formed  of  the  working-people.  In  1867,  thirty- 
six  cotton-spinning  and  weaving  mills  were  found  in  this  township, 
employing  7,750  persons,  and  producing  yarn  and  cloths  valued  at 
,£2,541,000  annually.  Since  that  return  several  new  mills  have  been 
built  and  started,  and  the  number  of  persons  now  employed  in  the 
cotton  trade  in  Over  Darwen  can  hardly  be  fewer  than  9,000.  A  return 
made  in  February,  1876,  gives  the  number  of  spindles  in  cotton  mills  in 
Over  and  Lower  Darwen  at  355,912,  and  of  power-looms  as  15,136. 

The  rise  of  the  town  of  Over  Darwen  has  been  concurrent  with  the 
extension  of  the  staple  manufactures  above-mentioned.  A  century  ago 
there  was  no  more  than  a  mere  village  in  the  centre  of  the  valley  in 
which  the  town  has  spread  out ;  besides  which  were  three  or  four 
detached  hamlets  in  the  township  at  Chapels  (surrounding  the  old 
Parochial  Chapel  and  Nonconformist  Meeting  House),  at  Sough,  Black- 
snape,  and  Hoddlesden.  Prior  to  the  construction  of  the  present  public 
road  between  Blackburn  and  Bolton,  in  the  year  1797,  the  communica- 
tion of  Over  Darwen  northward  and  southward  with  these  towns  and 
with  Manchester  was  by  a  narrow,  circuitous,  and  ill-conditioned  old 


494  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

bye-road,  passable  only  by  pack-horses  and  pedestrians.  The  new  road 
was  a  means  of  encouragement  to  external  trading  ;  and  the  construc- 
tion of  a  railroad  from  Blackburn  through  Darwen  to  Bolton  and 
Manchester  in  1845-8,  gave  an  additional  importance  to  local  manufac- 
tures. The  Blackburn  and  Bolton  road  forms  the  main  street  of  the 
town,  and  is  flanked  with  buildings  a  distance  of  about  two  miles. 
The  cotton  factories  and  paper  works  are  chiefly  on  the  banks  of  the 
river  Darwen ;  the  streets  of  private  houses  and  cottages  ascend  the 
hills  on  either  side  of  the  principal  thoroughfare.  Chiefly 'on  the  south- 
west side  of  the  town,  the  mansions  and  villas  of  the  gentry  of  Darwen 
occupy  admirable  situations  on  the  knolls  and  slopes  overlooking  the 
glades  and  dingles  at  the  base  of  the  Darwen  Moor,  which  form 
beautiful  secluded  shrubberies  and  plantations  enlivened  by  natural 
cascades.  The  town  contains  no  public  edifice  of  much  architectural 
character  excepting  the  places  of  worship,  some  of  which  are  large  and 
stately.  The  Co-operative  Hall,  the  Market  House  and  Liberal  Club 
Rooms,  and  the  Temperance  Hall  in  course  of  erection,  are  the  most 
important  public  structures  for  secular  purposes. 

The  population  of  Over  Darwen  appears  to  have  been  not  more 
than  500  or  600  souls  in  1720.  But  the  increase  of  population  had 
begun  to  be  material  before  the  year  1795,  when  Dr.  Aikin  wrote  of  the 
place  : — "  This  was  formerly  a  small  village,  but  is  now  a  populous 
district,  manufacturing  a  large  quantity  of  cotton  goods.  It  contains 
two  printing  works,  and  there  are  a  proportional  number  of  mechanics 
and  shopkeepers."  The  subsequent  progressive  increase  of  inhabitants 
is  shown  in  the  returns  of  the  Census  from  1801  to  1871 : — 

1801     1811     1821     1831     1841      1851        1861        1871 
Population    -    3587     4411     6711     6972     9348     11,702     16,492     21,278 

The  rate  of  increase  has  been  maintained  since  1871,  and  in  1876 
the  population  of  Over  Darwen  may  be  computed  at  about  25,000. 

The  town  is  regulated  by  a  Local  Board  of  Health,  which  was 
constituted  May  24th,  1854,  and  consists  of  eighteen  members.  The 
Board  also  acts  as  a  Burial  Board.  The  Public  Cemetery,  situate  on 
the  slope  of  the  hill  south  of  White  Hall,  was  constructed  in  1861 ;  it 
has  three  mortuary  chapels.  The  Gas  Works  were  founded  in  the  year 
1839,  at  a  cost  of  ^"8000,  by  a  private  company;  but  have  been 
purchased  on  behalf  of  the  town  by  the  Local  Board.  The  Water- 
works, also  originally  constructed  by  a  company,  and  since  purchased 
for  the  town,  have  storage  and  service  reservoirs  in  the  valley  below 
Darwen  moor  on  the  west  side  of  the  township,  holding  about 
150,000,000  gallons  of  water.  Public  Baths,  called  "Peel  Baths," 
were  erected  in  1854. 


DARWEN  FREE  LIBRARY,  &c.  495 

Over  Darwen  is  the  centre  of  a  petty-sessional  division  of  Blackburn 
Hundred,  which  also  includes  the  surrounding  townships  of  Tockholes, 
Lower  Darwen,  Eccleshill,  and  Yate-and-Pickup  Bank.  The  County 
Magistrates  acting  for  the  division  are  R.  S.  Ashton,  Joshua  Baron,  J. 
Dimmock,  Richard  Eccles,  Jas.  Huntington,  J.  G.  Potter,  W.  B. 
Ranken,  and  Eccles  Shorrock,  Esquires ;  and  Revs.  P.  Graham  and 
Chas.  Greenway,  M.A. 

THE  FREE  PUBLIC  LIBRARY. 

The  Over  Darwen  Free  Public  Library  was  established  in  1871,  in 
succession  to  a  Mechanics'  Institution,  which  was  founded  in  1839,  and, 
after  a  successful  existence  of  thirty-two  years,  was  closed  soon  after 
the  adoption  of  the  Free  Libraries  Act  by  the  ratepayers.  The  library 
of  the  Institution,  consisting  of  4000  volumes,  was  presented  to  the 
town,  and  formed  a  nucleus  of  the  new  Free  Library.  The  Library  is 
directed  by  a  body  of  Eight  Commissioners,  half  of  whom  are  chosen 
annually  at  a  ratepayers'  meeting.  A  Library  rate  of  id.  in  the  pound 
upon  the  assessment  of  the  township  is  levied  yearly,  and  produces  a 
sum  of  about  ^235,  which  covers  the  expenses  of  working.  In  1876, 
after  five  years'  operation,  the  Library  contained  6000  volumes,  and  the 
annual  number  of  volumes  issued  was  about  20,000,  to  more  than  2000 
borrowers.  The  Free  Library  is  housed  in  suitable  rooms  at  the  offices 
of  the  Local  Board  of  Health.  Wm.  Snape,  Esq.,  is  Chairman  of  the 
Library  Commissioners;  and  Mr.  F.  G.  Hindle  is  Clerk. 

A  catastrophe  memorable  in  the  annals  of  Over  Darwen  happened 
on  Wednesday,  August  23rd,  1848,  when  by  the  bursting  of  the  embank- 
ment of  the  reservoir  below  Radfield  Fold,  after  a  great  storm  of  rain 
on  the  moors  above,  the  lower  parts  of  the  town  were  overwhelmed  by 
the  suddenly  liberated  waters.  Twelve  persons  were  drowned  in  the 
flood;  and  the  damage  to  property  along  its  course  was  immense. 

An  extensive  Art  Exhibition,  projected  by  Rev.  James  Macdougall, 
and  very  successfully  carried  out  by  a  committee  of  local  gentlemen, 
was  opened  in  the  India  Mills  by  Lord  Hartington,  on  May  7th,  1868, 
and  was  continued  during  the  summer  months  of  that  year ;  the  net 
proceeds,  a  sum  of  £1112,  were  added  to  a  fund  for  the  erection  of  the 
Bolton  Road  Congregational  Schools. 

DESCENT  OF  THE  MANOR. 

I  have  stated  before  that  immediately  after  the  Norman  settlement 
the  two  upland  tracts  of  Upper  and  Nether  Derwent  were  not  reckoned 
distinct  manors,  but  were  subordinate  parts  with  Walton-in-le-Dale  of 
one  extensive  knight's  fee,  which  also  embraced  Mellor,  Eccleshill,  and 


496  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Hanvood  in  this  parish.  This  fee  was  held  by  the  De  Lascys,  lords  of 
Clitheroe,  until,  early  on  in  the  i2th  century,  Henry  de  Lascy  by  his 
charter  granted  Walton  with  its  members,  including  the  two  Derwents, 
to  Robert  Banastre,  who  also  held  the  lordship  of  Newton  in  Makerfield. 
The  Banastres  held  Darwen  with  Walton  until,  near  the  close  of  the  i3th 
century,  the  descent  ended  with  an  heiress,  by  marriage  with  whom, 
John  Langton,  son  of  Robert  of  Langton,  Co.  Leicester,  brought  this 
domain  to  the  Langtons  ;  who  held  Walton  until  its  conveyance,  in 
the  1 6th  century,  to  Hoghton,  of  Hoghton.  But  Upper  Darwen,  as  a 
detached  dependency  of  Walton  manor,  had  been  granted  away,  on  an 
inferior  tenure,  in  two  parts  to  the  Hollands,  lords  of  Samlesbury,  and 
De  Keuerdales,  lords  of  Cuerdale,  before  the  year  1311,  when,  on  the 
inquisition  concerning  the  estates  subject  to  Earl  de  Lascy  of  Clitheroe 
Castle,  it  was  returned  : — 

The  heirs  of  Samlesbury  and  of  Keuersdale  hold  one  carucate  in  On  Derwent,  by 
the  eighth  part  of  a  knight's  fee  and  suit  of  the  Court  of  Clyderhow. 

The  heir  of  Samlesbury  was  then  Sir  Robert  de  Holland,  Knt. ; 
and  on  the  death  of  a  succeeding  Sir  Robert  de  Holland  in  1372,  it  was 
found  that  he  owned,  among  his  large  estates,  the  fourth  part  of  the 
manor  of  Over  Derwent,  held  of  Ralph  de  Langeton  by  homage  and 
fealty,  worth  yearly  6s.  8d.  This  parcel  of  Over  Darwen  manor 
remained  with  successive  lords  of  Samlesbury,  and  in  the  i5th  century 
the  Southworths  of  Samlesbury  Hall  appear  as  possessing  the  share 
formerly  pertaining  to  the  Hollands. 

The  heir  of  Cuerdale  in  1311  was  Adam  de  Keuerdale  ;  his  portion 
of  demesne  in  Over  Darwen  descended  to  the  heiress  Jane  de  Keuer- 
dale, who  married  Thomas  Molineux.  Thomas  Molineux,  in  1377,  was 
holding,  in  right  of  his  wife,  a  moiety  of  Over  Derwent.  His  grand- 
daughter Katherine  was  heiress  of  Cuerdale  and  the  part  of  this  manor, 
which  by  marriage  with  Alexander  Osbaldeston  she  carried  to  the  house 
of  Osbaldeston. 

Between  the  Osbaldestons  of  Osbaldeston,  and  the  Southworths  of 
Samlesbury,  each  claiming  rights  in  the  reputed  manor  of  Over  Darwen, 
a  feud  subsisted  long,  and  more  than  once  proceeded  to  physical  strife 
leading  to  litigation.  There  was  a  suit  between  the  families  respecting 
their  rights  to  the  common  and  waste  land  of  the  township  temp.  Henry 
VI.,  when  Geoffrey  Osbaldeston,  Esq.,  was  against  Richard  Southworth, 
Esq.  About  a  century  later  (in  1556)  the  contest  again  waxed  hot,  and 
the  parties  had  recourse  to  the  Duchy  Court  for  a  judgment.  The 
account  of  those  proceedings  respecting  Over  Darwen  Waste  in  the  3rd 
and  4th  Philip  and  Mary  (1556)  I  summarise  from  the  records  of  the 
Chancery  Court  of  Lancaster  : — 


PLAINT  RESPECTING  DARWEN  WASTE,  A.D.   1556.  497 

Petition  of  complainant  to  Rt.  Hon.  Robert  Rochester,  Knt.,  Comptroller  and 
Chancellor  of  the  Duchy  of  Lancaster,  sheweth,  that  John  Osbaldeston  of  Osbaldeston, 
Esq.,  Orator,  was  son  of  Sir  Alexander  Osbaldeston,  Knt.,  deceased,  who  was  seized 
of  the  Manor  or  Lordship  of  Over  Darwynd,  which  said  Manor  descended  to  said 
Orator  as  son  and  heir,  who  entered  into  possession  and  is  seized  of  the  same,  &c. ;  but 
that  divers  deeds,  evidences,  &c.,  of  the  estate  had  come  into  possession  of  Sir  John 
Southworth,  Knt.,  who  by  colour  thereof,  &c.,  about  the  2Oth  May,  1st  and  2nd 
Philip  and  Mary  (1554),  wrongfully  entered  into  a  parcel  of  waste  ground  called 
Darwynd  Moore,  containing  by  estimation  6,000  acres,  and  the  gresse  [grass]  of 
Orator  there  growing  had  eaten  by  his  beasts  and  cattle,  and  also  digged  turves  upon 
the  said  moor  or  waste  to  the  amount  of  1,000  lodes  and  above,  and  the  same  with 
force  had  carried  away.  And  although  said  Orator  had  often  required  Sir  John 
Southworth  to  deliver  the  said  evidences,  &c.,  and  to  pay  for  the  said  wrongs,  the 
said  Sir  John  did  yet  deny  to  do  so  ;  so  that  Orator  cannot  occupy  nor  enjoy  th<;  said 
moor  or  waste  ground,  to  his  great  hurt  and  damage  ;  and  said  Orator  knoweth  not 
the  contents  of  the  said  evidences,  nor  wherein  they  be  contained  ;  he  is  therefore 
without  remedy  by  common  law  for  the  recovery  thereof.  Royal  letters  of  commission 
to  sundry  gentlemen  had  been  issued,  authorising  them  to  call  Sir  John  Southworth, 
and  to  take  his  answer  on  his  oath  ;  to  examine  witnesses,  and  thereupon  to  make  an 
end  thereof. 

Sir  John  Southworth  made  answer  to  the  said  Bill  that  Sir  Thomas  Southworth, 
Knt.,  his  father  deceased,  was  lawfully  seized  in  his  demesne  as  of  fee  or  fee  payle 
with  the  Rt.  Hon.  Edward  Earl  of  Derby  by  lawful  conveyance  in  the  law  of  the  4th 
part  of  the  said  Manor  or  Moor  called  Darwyn  Moore,  &c. 

Depositions  were  taken  at  Preston,  June  6th,  3rd  and  4th  Phil,  and  Mary  (1556) 
before  Thomas  Langton,  Knt.,  and  others,  Commissioners  of  the  King  and  Queen 
concerning  the  matter  in  variance  between  John  Osbaldeston,  complainant,  and  John 
Southworth,  Knt.,  defendant. 

The  depositions  on  the  part  of  John  Osbaldeston,  plaintiff,  were  those  of 
Christopher  Horrocks  of  Turton ;  Lawrence  Pycop,  of  Lower  Darwynd,  tenant  to 
Richard  Levesey,  gent. ,  of  the  age  of  72  years  ;  Christopher  Walmsley,  of  Levesey, 
freeholder  to  Richard  Levesey,  genf.,  of  the  age  of  70  years;  John  Crosse  of  Over 
Darwynd ;  Henry  Hyndyll,  priest,  of  the  age  of  65  years ;  John  Pyllyn,  of  Over 
Darwen,  tenant  of  John  Osbaldeston,  aged  63  years  ;  and  of  Edmonde  Barton  of  Over 
Darwynd,  freeholder  to  complainant,  of  the  age  of  43  years  (who,  among  other 
matters,  deposed  that  the  said  Manor  and  demesne  were  of  the  yearly  value  of  £20  to 
complainant,  and  the  lands  there  of  deftndant  were  of  the  yearly  value  of  303.  or 
thereabouts).  The  deposition  of  Mr.  John  Crosse  contains  the  chief  facts  deposed  for 
the  complainant. 

John  Crosse  of  Over  Darwynd,  of  the  age  of  66  years,  &c. ,  saith  that  he  knoweth 
the  lordship  of  the  Manor  of  Over  Darwynd,  and  the  Waste  Ground  now  in  variance, 
called  Darwynd  Moss.  That  Sir  Alexander  Osbaldeston,  falher  to  complainant,  and 
his  ancestors  have  been  taken,  reputed,  and  known  as  the  only  owners  of  the  said 
Manor  and  Waste,  and  the  said  Sir  Alexander  was  owner  of  the  same  at  the  time  of 
his  death.  That  the  said  Manor  or  lordship  after  the  death  of  Sir  Alexander  came  to 
John  Osbaldeston  as  his  son  and  heir;  that  John  Osbaldeston  did  keep  six  years  pasta 
Court  at  Over  Darwen  aforesaid  in  his  own  name,  without  stop  or  let ;  that  deponent 
hath  heard  his  father  say  that  the  ancestors  of  John  Osbaldeston  kept  Court  in  like 
manner;  that  Sir  John  Southworth  was  called  to  appear  at  the  Court  kept  by  John 
Osbaldeston,  and  that  Lawrence  Gorton,  Rauff  Baron  and  Henry  Duckesbury, 

32 


498  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

tenants-at-will  to  Sir  John  Southworth,  appeared  at  the  said  Court,  &c. ;  that  John 
Osbaldeston  and  his  ancestors  have  always  used  to  appoint  the  Constables  in  the  said 
lordship  of  Over  Darwynd  as  only  lords,  &c. ;  that  John  Osbaldeston  hath  enclosed 
parcel  of  the  said  Waste  without  any  let  of  defendant,  and  that  Sir  Alexander  his 
father  likewise  enclosed  other  parcels  of  the  said  Waste,  and  the  tenants  do 
occupy  the  same  at  the  liberty  of  the  said  John  Osbaldeston;  that  complainant 
and  his  ancestors  have  used  to  cause  the  said  Waste  to  be  driven,  and  the  beasts  and 
cattle  of  strangers,  dwelling  out  of  the  said  lordship,  to  be  pynden  or  folden  there  in  a 
pynfold  belonging  to  the  said  John  Osbaldeston ;  that  divers  persons  out  of  the  said 
lordship  have  asked  leave  of  Sir  Alexander  Osbaldeston  to  get  turves  and  sclate  in  the 
said  Moss,  and  that  Sir  Alexander  had  caused  such  got  without  his  leave  to  be  cut  and 
broken ;  that  Sir  Thomas  Southworth,  father  of  defendant,  did  cause  certain  turves 
gotten  on  the  said  More  by  tenants  of  one  Thomas  Grymeshaw  to  be  cut  and  destroyed, 
and  that  deponent  was  present  when  one  Henry  Mawdesley,  servant  to  the  said  Sir 
Thomas,  did  aske  the  leave  of  the  said  Sir  Alexander  so  to  do,  because  of  divers  dis- 
pleasures the  said  Grymeshaw  had  done  to  the  said  Sir  Thomas ;  that  at  such  time  as 
any  contention  or  bargain  heretofore  hath  been,  concerning  the  knowledge  of  the  meres 
and  bounds  of  the  said  Moss  or  Waste,  between  the  said  lordship  and  other  lordships 
adjoining,  the  said  John  Osbaldeston  and  his  ancestors  have  only  taken  on  them  in 
their  own  name  and  right  to  defend  the  said  Manor  as  lords  thereof;  that  deponent's 
father  and  other  men  of  the  said  lordship  report  and  say  that  such  variance  as  was  in 
times  past  between  one  Richard  Southworth,  ancestor  to  said  defendant,  and  one 
Geffraye  Osbaldeston,  ancestor  to  said  complainant,  was  for  and  about  the  said  More 
and  Waste  now  in  variance  ;  that  during  his  remembrance  the  said  John  Osbaldeston 
and  his  ancestors  have  always  used  and  occupied  the  chief  house  and  Mansion  Place 
of  Over  Darwynd  and  the  demesne  belonging  thereto  commonly  called  Darwynd  Hall 
in  severally  as  sole  tenants  thereof. 

Depositions  on  the  part  of  Sir  John  Southworth,  the  defendant,  were  made  by 
William  Yate  of  Eccleshill,  aged  70,  tenant  to  Rauf  Holden,  Esq.  (who  "hath  done 
service  to  Sir  John  Southworth  and  "his  father  before  him  because  of  his  libertie  upon 
the  Waste  and  Moor  in  varyance  ") ;  also  by  William  Shorrocke,  of  Eccleshill,  aged 
66  ;  Edward  Baron  of  Eccleshill,  tenant  to  Richard  Grimshaw,  gent. ,  aged  50 ;  Roger 
Walmesley  of  Samlesbury,  tenant  to  Sir  John  Southworth,  aged  70 ;  William  Fysshe 
of  Lower  Darwynd,  tenant  to  Sir  Thomas  Talbot,  Knt.,  aged  72;  George  Aspeden 
of  Lower  Darwynd,  tenant  to  Sir  Thomas  Talbot,  Knt,  aged  76;  and  George 
Southworth  of  Edgeworth,  tenant  to  Edward  Tyldesley,  Esq.,  aged  56  years. 

The  award  in  this  case  does  not  appear ;  but  in  the  category  of  the 
estates  of  Sir  John  Southworth,  who  died  in  1595,  I  find  no  mention  of 
manorial  estate  in  Over  Darwen,  from  which  it  may  be  inferred  that  the 
Southworths  had  before  then  ceased  to  exercise  manorial  rights  in  the 
township.  The  Osbaldestons  were  recognised  as  lords  of  the  manor  at 
the  escheat  on  the  death  of  John  Osbaldeston,  Esq.,  in  1575,  and  again 
at  the  death  of  Edward  Osbaldeston,  Esq.,  in  1590.  The  latter, 
Edward  Osbaldeston,  in  his  Will  dated  June  i8th,  1588,  bequeaths 
"  unto  my  miller  and  shepperde  in  Darwin,  which  shall  be  at  the  time 
of  my  decease,"  one  year's  wages  ;  an  indication  that  the  then  lord 
of  the  manor  had  a  mill  in  Over  Darwen,  and  that  the  hills  sur- 


DESCENT  OF  OVER  DARWEN  MANOR.  499 

rounding  were  then  a  sheep-run,  and  the  lord's  flock  thereon  was 
tended  by  his  own  shepherd.  About  A.D.  1593,  Sir  Richard  Shuttle- 
worth  of  Gawthorp  purchased  of  John  Osbaldeston,  Esq.,  lands  in 
Darwen  and  Eccleshill ;  and  an  entry  in  the  Shuttleworth  Household 
Books  relates  to  payment  for  the  same: — "March,  1593.  Payed  Mr. 
Osbaldeston  in  parte  pamente  for  certen  lands  in  Eccleshill  and  Derwen 
to  the  yerelye  rent  of  £$  6s.,  the  somme  of  ^15,  and  remenethe  more 
to  be  payed  for  the  said  landes  the  somme  of  £170,  besides  the 
redeminge  of  the  annuitie  with  the  arreriges  of  the  same,  which  is 
valued  to  the  somme  of  £120,  so  that  good  assurance  is  to  be  made 
of  the  said  landes."  By  an  indenture  in  the  Darwen  Free  Library, 
dated  1602,  it  is  witnessed  that  John  Osbaldeston,  Esq.,  by  deed  of 
lease  dated  July  yth,  1595,  had  leased  to  William  Witton  a  messuage 
and  lands  in  Over  Darwen,  with  common  of  pasture  and  turbary  upon 
the  moors  and  commons  there.  Edward  Osbaldeston,  Esq.,  of  Osbal- 
deston Hall,  occurs  as  reputed  lord  of  Over  Darwen  in  1611  and  1619, 
when  John  Baron  and  John  his  son  held  at  death  lands  there  "  of 
Edward  Osbaldeston,  Esq.,  in  socage."  At  Sir  Edward  Osbaldeston's 
death,  in  1636,  he  was  found  seized  of  Over  Darwen  manor,  with  "six 
acres  lately  improved  from  the  Waste  in  Over  Darwen." 

It  would  seem  that  the  Hoghtons  of  Hoghton  Tower,  as  lords  of 
Walton-in-le-Dale  in  succession  to  the  Langtons,  exercised  certain  rights 
of  lordship  in  Over  Darwen  in  the  iyth  century;  for  William  Fishe, 
who  died  in  1616,  held  his  estate  of  "Richard  Hoghton,  knt.  and 
bart,  in  free  socage  ;"  and  John  Crosse,  gent.,  who  died  in  1641,  held 
"  of  Gilbert  Hoghton,  knt.  and  bart.,  as  of  Walton  manor,  in  socage." 
"  White  Hall,"  an  old  mansion  which  has  in  one  of  its  walls  a  stone 
inscribed  "  R  H,"  and  the  date  "1614,"  may  occupy  the  site  of  the 
ancient  messuage  pertaining  to  the  lordship  of  Langtons  and  Hoghtons. 

I  cannot  give  the  date  at  which  this  manor  was  alienated  from  the 
Osbaldestons,  but  think  it  was  about  the  middle  of  last  century,  after 
the  death  of  Alexander  Osbaldeston  in  1747.  The  Manor  of  Over 
Darwen  was  offered  for  sale  in  1766,  as  appears  by  the  following 
advertisement,  copied  from  the  Manchester  Mercury  for  July  22nd, 
1766:— 

To  be  sold,  the  Manor  or  Lordship  of  Over  Darwen  in  the  County  of  Lancaster 
and  Parish  of  Blackburn,  on  the  28th  day  of  August  next,  at  the  House  of  Mr.  John 
Yates,  the  sign  of  the  Black  Bull  in  Blackburn,  with  reversions  to  the  value  of  £300 
per  annum  or  thereabouts.  The  Lordship  is  well  stocked  with  Game.  Under  most 
of  the  Estate  there  is  Coal,  and  the  purchaser  will  be  entitled  to  the  Common  Right 
of  about  300  acres,  under  which  there  is  coal  also. 

The  manor  of  Over  Darwen  was  acquired  upon  this  transfer  by 
John  Trafford,  Esq.,  of  the  family  of  Trafford  of  Croston  and  Trafford. 


5oo 


HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


Mr.  Trafford  sometime  resided  upon  this  estate,  and  in  the  absence  of 
an  ancient  manor-house,  he  erected  a  house  upon  the  easterly  edge  of 
Darwen  Moor,  overlooking  the  valley  of  the  Darwen.  The  house  is 
known  as  "Lord's  Hall ;"  but  it  had  not  long  been  the  abode  of  Mr. 
Trafford  before  he  left  the  township  and  re-sold  the  estate  to  George 
Duckworth,  Esq.,  about  the  year  1810.  "  Lord's  Hall"  is  now  reduced 
to  the  purpose  of  a  keeper's  lodge.  Its  situation  is  very  bleak  and 
dreary,  being  at  an  elevation  of  1200  feet  above  the  sea-level.  The 
estate  of  the  lord  of  the  manor  is  stated  in  the  new  "  Domesday  Book  " 
to  comprise  1032  statute  acres,  with  a  rental  of  ^1,485,  but  there  are 
,  about  300  acres  of  waste  appurtenant  to  the  estate. 

DUCKWORTH,  LORDS  OF  OVER  DARWEN  MANOR. 

George  Duckworth,  Esq.,  who  purchased  this  manorial  estate,  was  of  the  family 
of  Duckworth  of  Musbury,  in  Rossendale  Forest,  who  trace  a  descent  from  Richard 
Duckworth,  who  had  granted  an  estate  there  in  the  3Oth  Henry  VIII.  (1538).  Thomas 
Duckworth  was  Greave  of  Rossendale  Forest  in  1572.  Later,  John  Duckworth  was 
Greave  of  the  Forest  in  1707;  and  another  John  Duckworth  of  Park  House,  Greave  in 
1735.  Lawrence  Duckworth  of  Musbury,  was  Greave  of  the  Forest  in  1/75. 

George  Duckworth,  Esq.,  died  Nov.  2 1st,  1815.  He  had  sons,  Samuel,  and 
William  ;  and  daughters,  Eliza ;  and  Anna,  wife  of  Sir  Thomas  Coltman,  Judge  of  the 
Common  Pleas. 

Samuel  Duckworth,  Esq. ,  a  barrister-at-law,  and  sometime  M.  P.  for  Leicester, 
and  a  master  in  Chancery,  died  unmarried,  Dec.  3rd,  1847. 

William  Duckworth,  Esq.,  J.P.,  of  Beechwood  Forest,  Co.  Hants.,  lord  of  Over 
Darwen  Manor,  born  April  6th,  1795  >  married,  first,  Oct.  3rd,  1825,  Hester-Emily, 
daughter  of  Robert  Philips,  Esq.,  of  the  Park,  Prestwich  (she  died  in  1835).  by  whom 
he  had  sons,  George,  born  July  29th,  1826,  captain  5th  Dragoon  Guards,  died  at 
Varna  Bay,  Aug.  24th,  1854;  William- Arthur,  born  March  I7th,  1829;  Russell,  born 
in  1830;  and  Herbert,  born  in  1833;  also  a  daughter,  Sarah  Emily.  Mr.  Duckworth 
married,  secondly,  Margaret  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Samuel  Yate  Benyon,  Esq.,  K.C., 
Vice-Chancellor  Co.  Palatine  of  Lancashire. 

FAMILIES  OF  GENTRY  AND  YEOMEN. 

I  add  some  account  of  a  number  of  ancient  and  modern  residen- 
tial families  of  gentry  and  freeholders  in  the  township  : — 

ASHTON  OF  BLACKBURN  AND  OVER  DARWEN. 

Richard  Ashton  of  Blackburn,  married,  Aug.  1st,  1665,  Ann  Haworth  ;  he  pro- 
bably was  father  of  John  Ashton,  of  Blackburn,  who  had  a  son  Richard,  bapt.  at 
Blackburn  Church,  Feb.  22nd,  1694-5,  and  other  issue. 

Richard  Ashton  of  Blackburn,  son  of  John,  by  his  wife  Elizabeth  had  issue,  John, 
bapt.  April  2 1st,  1722  ;  Richard,  bapt.  Nov.  23rd,  1729  ;  and  several  other  children. 

Richard  Ashton  of  Blackburn,  second  son  of  Richard,  by  Betty  his  wife  had 
(with  other  issue)  a  son  Richard,  bapt.  Oct.  loth,  1762. 

Richard  Ashton,  of  Blackburn,  son  of  the  last-named,  married  Ann  Livesey,  and 
had  two  sons,  William,  born  Oct.  4th,  1790;  and  Thomas,  born  Feb.  I3th,  1798, 
bapt.  at  Chapel -street  Chapel,  Blackburn,  Feb.  28th  ;  with  other  issue. 


FAMILIES  OF  GENTRY  AND  YEOMEN.  5OI 

William  Ashton  of  Blackburn,  cotton  manufacturer,  eldest  son  of  Richard, 
married,  in  May,  1823,  Susannah,  youngest  daughter  of  Joseph  Barker  of  Beard  wood 
Fold,  Blackburn  (by  his  wife  Catherine,  daughter  of  Mr.  John  Hindle  of  Oswald- 
twistle),  and  had  sons,  Richard,  died,  aged  4,  in  April,  1821  ;  Joseph  ;  and  William 
Thomas,  born  in  1832  ;  and  several  daughters.  Mr.  William  Ashton  died  in  his  43rd 
year,  September  Qth,  1835.  His  widow,  Mrs.  Ashton,  died  in  1871. 

Mr.  William  Thomas  Ashton,  of  Ashdale,  Over  Darwen,  son  of  Mr.  William 
Ashton,  married,  in  1860,  Lydia  Grace,  eldest  daughter  of  Mr.  Henry  Deakin,  of 
Soulton  Hall,  Wem,  Shropshire,  and  has  issue,  sons,  Henry  Deakin,  Sidney  Antrobus, 
William;  and  several  daughters. 

Mr.  Thomas  Ashton  of  Darwen  Lodge,  third  son  of  Richard  Ashton  of  Blackburn, 
married,  first,  Mary,  daughter  of  Mr.  Ralph  Shorrock,  and  sister  of  Eccles  Shorrock, 
Esq.,  of  Over  Darwen,  and  by  her  (who  died  in  1829,  buried  at  Chapel-street  Chapel, 
Blackburn,  March  4th)  had  issue,  sons,  Eccles  Shorrock  Ashton,  and  Ralph  Shorrock 
Ashton ;  and  a  daughter  Alice.  Mr.  Thomas  Ashton  married,  secondly,  Miss 
Hannah  Shorrock,  and  had  issue,  sons,  William  Shorrock  Ashton,  James  Christopher 
Ashton  ;  and  several  daughters.  Thomas  Ashton,  Esq.,  died  in  1864,  aged  65. 

Eccles  Shorrock,  eldest  son  of  Thomas,  on  the  death  of  his  uncle,  dropped  the 
paternal  surname  of  Ashton,  taking  Shorrock  for  surname.  Eccles  Shorrock,  Esq., 
J. P.,  of  Low  Hill  House,  Over  Darwen,  married,  in  1851,  Sarah  Anne,  daughter  of 
Timothy  Dimmock,  Esq.,  of  Hanley,  Staffordshire,  and  has  issue,  sons,  Eccles, 
Lionel,  and  Howard  ;  and  several  daughters. 

Ralph  Shorrock  Ashton,  Esq.,  J. P.,  of  Woodlands,  Over  Darwen,  second  son  of 
Thomas,  married,  Sept.  22nd,  1852,  Betsy,  eldest  daughter  of  James  Shorrock,  Esq., 
of  Astley  Bank,  and  has  isuue  sons,  Percy,  Hubert,  and  other  children. 

William  Shorrock  Ashton,  Esq.,  of  Ashleigh,  Over  Darwen,  third  son  of  Thomas, 
married,  Aug.  loth,  1859,  Sophia  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  John  Whalley,  Esq.,  of  Old 
Trafford,  and  has,  wich  other  issue,  sons,  Frank,  Thomas- Rudolph,  and  Gerald- 
Whalley. 

The  landed  estates  of  Eccles  Shorrock,  Esq.,  at  present  include,  in  Over  Darwen, 
400  statute  acres ;  in  Lower  Darwen,  290  acres  ;  and  in  Tockholes,  the  manorial 
estate  of  890  acres.  Ralph  Shorrock  Ashton,  Esq.,  has  a  landed  estate  of  80  statute 
acres  in  this  township. 

ASTLEY  OF  OVER  DARWEN. 

Ralph  Astley,  of  this  township,  died  before  1642,  when  inquisition  was  taken  at 
Blackburn,  Aug.  3ist,  iyth  Charles  I.,  as  to  the  estate  of  Ralph  Astley  and  Margery 
his  wife.  It  was  proved  to  consist  of  a  messuage,  garden,  ar_d  24  acres  of  land,  meadow, 
pasture,  moor  and  moss  in  Over  Darwen,  held  of  Sir  Gilbert  Hoghton,  Knt.  and  Bart., 
in  socage.  Thomas  Astley,  Ralph's  son  and  heir,  was  aged  24  years  and  6  months. 

BARON  OF  OVER  DARWEN  AND  ECCLESHILL. 

Of  this  family,  a  Richard  Baron  occurs  in  1562,  and  a  William  Baron  in  1565, 
but  there  is  no  account  of  the  nature  of  their  property. 

Edmund  Baron  was  assessed  on  lands  in  Over  Darwen  to  a  Subsidy  in  1570. 

John  Baron  of  Over  Derwent,  yeoman,  died  September  6th,  1611,  and  an  inquisi- 
tion after  his  death,  taken  at  Preston,  April  4th,  gih  James  I.  (1612),  showed  that 
the  deceased  held  in  Over  Derwent,  of  Edward  Osbalcleston,  Esq.,  in  socage,  two 
messuages  and  an  estate  called  "Baron's  Ouldlande,"  comprising  30  acres  of  land, 
10  of  meadow,  10  of  pasture  and  3  of  moor  and  moss  ;  as  well  as  4  messuages,  20 
acres  of  land,  6  of  meadow,  and  6  of  pasture,  also  in  Over  Derwent,  and  now  belong- 


502  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

ing   to   Edward   Osbaldeston,    Esq. ;  and   in   Eccleshill,  held  of   the  king  as  of  the 
Duchy  of  Lancaster,  12  acres  of  land,  meadow  and  pasture. 

James  Baron  was  son  and  heir  of  the  above  John,  aged  14  years  and  10  months 
at  his  father's  death.  In  the  Subsidy  of  1611,  "the  heirs  of  John  Baron"  of  Over 
Darwen,  are  assessed  at  aos.  in  lands.  This  James  Baron  died  on  the  26th  January, 
1619-20,  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-three.  His  escheat  was  returned  at  Blackburn, 
April  6th,  1 7th  James  I.,  before  Edward  Rigby,  Esq.,  Escheator,  and  it  appeared 
that  deceased  had  held  in  Over  Darwen,  of  Edward  Osbaldeston,  Esq.,  in  socage, 
5  messuages,  10  gardens,  20  acres  of  land,  12  of  meadow,  12  of  pasture,  and  10 
of  moss  and  heath  ;  and  in  Eccleshill,  of  Nicholas  Grymshaw,  Esq.,  in  socage,  10 
acres  of  land,  16  of  meadow,  and  6  of  pasture.  James  Baron  had  no  male  heir,  and 
it  was  proved  that  Alice  Baron  and  Elizabeth  Baron  were  his  daughters  and  co-heirs, 
aged  Z%  years,  and  four  months,  respectively. 

BARTON  OF  BARTON  HOUSE,  &c. 

Samuel  Barton  of  Over  Darwen,  gent.,  fifth  son  of  Mr.  George  Barton,  of 
Torkington  (of  the  Bartons  of  Dean  Water  and  Stapleton),  had  issue,  sons,  Benjamin, 
born  in  1746;  and  Thomas,  the  latter  died  in  February,  1761  ;  and  a  daughter,  Sarah, 
married,  July  26th,  1759,  Rev.  George  Astley,  of  Preston,  and  Stakes  Hall,  Livesey. 
Samuel  Barton,  gent.,  was  buried  Sept.  29th,  1768. 

Benjamin  Barton,  of  "  Brick  House,"  Over  Darwen,  "chapman"  and  "gent." 
by  his  wife  Margaret,  who  died  Dec.  i8th,  1818,  aged  68,  had  issue,  a  son  Samuel, 
and  daughters,  Elizabeth,  died  young ;  Amelia,  married  in  1816,  Mr.  James  C  romp- 
ton  ;  Ann,  died  Feb.  1785,  aged  3;  Mary,  died  June,  1788,  aged  one  year;  and 
Sarah,  married  Mr.  Alexander  McGhie,  and  died  Feb.  1 6th,  1848,  aged  68.  Mr. 
Benjamin  Barton  died  April  28th,  1821,  aged  74. 

Mr.  Samuel  Barton,  of  Manchester,  surgeon  and  oculist,  was  the  son  of  Mr. 
Benjamin  Barton.  He  was  for  fifty  years  surgeon  of  the  Eye  Institution,  and  died, 
aged  8l,  in  April,  1871.  He  had  sons,  Benjamin  Barton,  Esq.,  merchant  in  the  city 
of  Mexico;  Samuel  MilnerBarton,  of  Manchester,  solicitor,  assistant  clerk  to  the  Man- 
chester Justices  ;  and  Rev.  James  Barton,  now  Vicar  of  Hedley,  Co.  Salop. 
BRANDWOOD  OF  TURNCROFT. 

William  Brandwood,  of  Entwistle,  married  Jane,  daughter  of  Richard  Orrell,  of 
Entwistle.  He  had  sons,  John,  born  in  1784,  and  James,  born  in  1793. 

Mr.  John  Brandwood,  who  settled  in  Over  Darwen,  purchased  the  Turncroft 
estate  of  Mr.  Sudell,  of  Blackburn.  By  Ann  his  wife  (she  died  Aug.  27th,  1822, 
aged  33),  Mr.  John  Brandwood  had  issue,  sons,  William,  born  in  1813,  died,  aged  43, 
April  23rd,  1857  ;  Thomas,  born  in  1816,  died  in  1819  ;  and  a  second  James,  born  in 
1821,  died,  aged  27,  March  I2th,  1849  ;  and  daughters,  Ann,  born  in  1820,  died  in 
1821  ;  and  Jane,  born  in  1815,  married,  first,  Eccles  Shorrock,  Esq.,  secondly,  Rev. 
Philip  Graham,  and  died  without  issue,  at  Turncroft,  aged  52,  April  I7th,  1867.  John 
Brandwood,  Esq.,  died  at  Turncroft,  Nov.  I2th,  1857,  aged  73  years. 

James  Brandwood,  Esq.,  J. P.,  of  Turncroft,  brother  of  John,  died  unmarried, 
aged  62,  Dec.  1 3th,  1855. 

The  Turncroft  estate  now  consists  of  256  statute  acres,  with  a  rental  of  ^1317* 
BURY  OF  BURY  FOLD,  &c. 

William  Berre  was  assessed  on  his  lands  in  Darwyn  Superior  to  a  Subsidy  in 
1523.  A  succeeding  William  Berye  was  taxed  to  a  Subsidy  in  1570.  Another 
William  Berye  of  this  township,  married,  in  1625,  Alice  Yates,  widow,  and  had  issue. 
Andrew  Burye,  of  Over  Darwen,  had  a  son  Henry,  born  in  1653. 


FAMILIES  OF  GENTRY  AND  YEOMEN. 


503 


William  Berry,  of  this  township,  and  Henry  Berry,  being  Nonconformists,  had 
their  houses  licensed  for  preaching  places  in  1672. 

Andrew  Berry,  of  Over  Darwen,  yeoman,  died  in  1705.  Mary,  his  wife,  died  in 
1700.  Another  Andrew  Berry,  yeoman,  died  in  1727. 

A  succeeding  Andrew  Berry,  yeoman,  married,  June  nth,  1701,  Jennet  Yates,  of 
Eccleshill,  widow.  He  had  issue,  sons,  Andrew;  William,  born  in  1703,  died,  aged 
59,  Aug.  23rd,  1762;  Richard,  born  in  1708;  Edmund,  died  in  1719;  and  Thomas, 
died  in  1725;  and  a  daughter  Ann,  born  in  1706.  This  Andrew  Berry,  yeoman,  a 
trustee  of  the  Lower  Chapel,  Over  Darwen,  in  1718,  died  July  3<Dth,  1753,  in  his  82nd 
year.  Jennet  Berry,  his  widow,  died  May  6th,  1755,  in  her  84th  year. 

Andrew  Berry,  of  Berry  Fold,  son  of  Andrew,  married  Jane  Townshend,  and  died 
in  1749-  He  had  sons,  Andrew,  born  in  1721;  John;  and  Edmund,  died  in  1755. 

John  Berry,  yeoman,  a  younger  son  of  the  last-named  Andrew,  married,  in  1753, 
Ann  Folds,  and  had  sons,  Andrew,  born  in  1754;  John  Berry  (of  Holly  Bank,  who 
died,  aged  82,  in  1845);  James;  and  Thomas.  John  Berry  the  father  died  in  1783. 
Andrew  Berry,  of  Over  Darwen,  his  eldest  son,  died,  aged  82,  in  1836. 

Andrew  Berry,  yeoman,  of  Berry  Fold  and  Catshaw,  died  Dec.  25th,  1801. 
He  had  married,  in  1 744,  Ann  Buckley,  of  Livesey,  by  whom  (she  died  a  widow,  aged 
78,  in  1802),  he  had  sons,  John,  born  in  1752;  Andrew,  born  in  17555  Edmund,  born 
in  1760;  Benjamin,  born  in  1762;  and  Lawrence,  born  in  1764. 

Andrew  Bury,  of  Bury  Fold,  yeoman,  was  second  son  of  the  last-named  Andrew. 
He  died  Jan.  8th,  1819,  aged  63.  By  Nanny,  his  wife,  who  died  in  March,  1808,  he 
had  sons,  Walmsley,  born  in  1778,  died  in  1821;  Andrew,  born  in  1779  ;  Hugh,  born 
in  1781,  died  in  April,  1808. 

Lawrence  Bury,  of  Bury  Fold,  son  of  Andrew,  married  Eleanor  Bury,  and  had 
sons,  Lawrence,  and  Edmund.  Lawrence  Bury,  died,  aged  62,  about  the  year  1829. 

Lawrence  Bury,  of  Bury  Fold,  son  of  Lawrence,  died  some  years  ago.  His 
brother,  Edmund  Bury,  of  Bury  Fold,  died,  aged  54,  Nov.  28th,  1854.  He  married 
Jane  Shorrock,  who  is  now  living  a  widow  at  Bury  Fold,  and  farms  the  remnant  of 
the  old  family  freehold,  containing  about  36  statute  acres. 

COOPER  OF  OVER  DARWEN. 

Roger  Cooper,  of  Over  Darwen,  yeoman,  occurs  in  a  deed  dated  1602.  Richard 
Cooper  of  Darwen,  was  a  warden  of  Blackburn  Church  in  1687. 

John  Cooper  of  Over  Darwen,  yeoman,  died  July  2nd,  buried  at  Darwen  Chapel, 
July  5th,  1736,  aged  59;  by  his  wife  Ann  (died  June  3Oth,  buried  July  3rd,  1736, 
aged  40),  he  had  issue,  Thomas,  Elizabeth,  Mary,  and  Sarah. 

Thomas  Cooper  of  Over  Darwen,  yeoman,  by  Alice  his  wife  had  sons,  Singleton, 
bapt.  Feb.  I7th,  1736-7  ;  and  Benjamin,  bapt.  March  loth,  1740-1.  Thomas 
Cooper  died,  aged  36,  Feb.  2nd,  1745- 

CROSSE  OF  TURNCROFT. 

Richard  Crosse,  a  trustee  of  the  Earl  of  Derby's  Chantry  in  Blackburn  Church, 
founded  in  1514,  is  the  earliest  member  of  this  family  noted.  Richard  Crosse  of  Upper 
Darwen  was  assessed  on  lands  there  to  the  Subsidy  of  1523. 

John  Crosse,  of  Upper  Darwen,  was  a  deponent  in  the  suit  concerning  Darwen 
Manor  in  1556,  when  he  was  aged  66  years,  so  must  have  been  born  in  1490.  William 
Crosse,  of  Over  Darwen,  was  assessed  for  lands  to  a  Subsidy  in  1570.  Probably  this 
was  the  William  Cross,  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School,  who  died  in  1599. 
By  Katherine  his  wife,  daughter  of  (William?)  Astley  of  Stakes,  gent.,  he  had  a  son 
and  heir,  John* 


504  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

John  Crosse,  of  Turncroft,  gent.,  married  Elizabeth  (or  Isabel),  daughter  of 
(Ralph?)  Holden  of  Holden,  gent.,  and  had  a  son  and  heir  Richard  ;  also,  I  think,  a 
son  John.  John  Crosse  was  taxed  to  the  Subsidy  in  1611,  and  appears  as  a  juror  in 
1612.  He  was  elected  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1599-  He 
died  in  April,  1641,  buried  at  Blackburn  April  loth.  He  gave  by  Will  £10  for  the 
minister  of  Darwen  Chapel.  His  escheat  was  taken  at  Blackburn,  Aug.  3ist,  1 7th 
Chas.  I.  The  Jurors  returned  that  John  Crosse  had  held  of  Sir  Gilbert  Hoghton 
Knt.  and  Bart.,  as  of  Walton  Manor,  in  socage,  value  403.,  one  capital  messuage 
called  Turnecroft  in  Over  Darwen,  with  two  gardens,  one  orchard,  30  acres  of  land, 
IO  acres  of  meadow,  10  acres  of  pasture,  and  4  acres  of  more  and  moss,  in  Over 
Darwen;  also,  another  estate  in  the  township  of  ten  messuages,  five  cottages,  20 
gardens,  100  acres  of  land,  40  acres  of  meadow,  60  acres  of  pasture,  and  40  acres  of 
moss  and  turbary.  Isabell  Cross,  his  widow,  was  then  living  at  Darwen. 

Richard  Cross,  of  Over  Darwen,  gent,  son  and  heir  of  John,  aged  40  in  1642, 
married  Mary  Ramsden,  of  Halifax,  and  had  a  son  John,  with  other  issue.  William 
Cross,  of  Over  Darwen,  who  died  Aug.  7th,  1658,  would  be  a  kinsman  of  this  Richard. 
John  Cross,  of  Over  Darwen,  gent.,  son  of  Richard,  was  assessed  to  the  Sub- 
sidy of  1663.  He  married,  first,  Millicent,  daughter  of  Thomas  Astley,  of  Stakes, 
gent,  (she  died  in  July,  1652),  and  by  her  had  a  son  William,  and  daughters,  Mary, 
Margaret,  and  Millicent.  His  second  wife  was  Margaret  Whitham  (named  otherwise 
Margaret  Hargreave  of  Gooclshaw),  whom  he  married  in  April,  1656.  At  the  time  of 
this  marriage,  the  civil  marriages  before  the  magistrate  were  in  vogue,  and  the  banns 
were  published  at  the  Market  Cross  ;  thus  recorded,  ex.gr.,  in  the  Parish  Registers  :  — 
"Called  at  the  Markett  Crosse  in  Blackburne  (last  time),  April  21,  1656,  John,  son 
of  Richard  Crosse  of  Upp^r  Darwen,  gentleman,  and  Margaret  Whittham  of  the 
same."  By  this  wife,  Mr.  John  Cross  had  sons,  Thomas,  born  July  3rd,  bapt.  at 
his  own  house,  July  I4th,  1657  ;  George,  and  John. 

William  Cross,  of  Upper  Darwen,  gent.,  eldest  son  of  John,  married,  first,  Ann 
Rogers,  widow,  daughter  of  —  Bold  of  Carnarvon  ;  the  marriage  was  at  Leyland, 
Aug.  -28th,  1666.  He  had  by  her  sons,  John,  bapt.  at  Leyland,  July  roth,  1667  ; 
William,  born  in  1669;  and  Thomas  ;  with  daughters.  Jane,  born  June,  1668  ;  Grace; 
Gaynor,  died  in  1687;  and  Millicent.  "Anne  wife  of  William  Cross,  of  Upper 
Darwen,"  was  buried  Dec.  5th,  1674.  A  second  wife,  "Margaret  wife  of  William 
Cross  of  Over  Darwen,  Esq.,"  was  buried  Oct.  3ist,  1692.  It  was  this  Mr.  William 
Cross  who,  in  the  year  1687,  took  the  leading  part  in  the  contest  with  the  Vicar  of 
Blackburn,  for  the  possession  of  the  chapel  of  St.  James,  Over  Darwen,  claimed  by 
Nonconformist  parishioners.  He  was  buried  at  Blackburn,  March  8th,  1697-8. 

John  Cross  of  Over  Darwen,  Esq.,  son  of  William,  married  Ann,  daughter  of 
Ralph  Egerton,  of  Turton,  Esq.;  the  marriage  license  is  dated  April  2jth,  1689. 
Issue  : — sons,  Bold  Cross,  born  in  1690  ;  Egerton,  born  in  1691  ;  Mainwaring, 
born  in  1700;  and  Thomas,  bora  in  1702;  daughters,  Gaynor,  born  in  1693; 
Elizabeth,  born  in  1697;  and  Mary  Herbert,  born  in  1699,  married  Mr.  Abel  Flitchcroft 
— her  Will  is  dated  Feb.  29th,  1768.  John  Cross,  Esq.,  died  in  1706;  his  Will  is  dated 
April  27th,  1706,  and  was  proved  in  that  year.  Testator  names  all  the  children  above 
enumerated  as  then  living. 

Mr.  Egerton  Cross,  second  son  of  John,  was  father  of  Egerton  Cross,  Esq.,  of 
Kersley  Hall,  major  in  the  Royal  Lancashire  Militia,  who  was  heir  to  his  aunt  Mrs. 
Flitchcroft  in  1768,  and  died,  aged  70,  in  Nov.,  1803.  His  sister,  Ann  Cross,  died, 
aged  82,  Jan  29th,  1814. 


FAMILIES  OF  GENTRY  AND  YEOMEN.  505 

DEWHURST  OF  OVER  DARWEN. 

William  Dewhurst  of  this  township,  yeoman,  died  June  loth,  1634.  Escheat 
inquisition  taken  Aug.  25th,  i6th  Chas.  I.,  proved  him  seized  at  death  of  one 
messuage,  two  gardens,  16  acres  of  arable  land,  4  acres  of  pasture  in  Over  Darwen. 
John  Dewhurst,  his  son  and  heir,  was  aged  22  years  at  the  date  of  his  father's  death. 

FISH  OF  CHAPELS,  &c. 

Three  centuries  back  I  trace  tenants  or  freeholders  of  the  name  of  Fish  in  Over 
Darwen.  One  of  the  earliest  is  Ralph  ffishe,  who  is  named  in  the  Will  of  Edward 
Osbaldeston,  made  in  1588,  as  holding  under  the  Osbaldestons,  lords  of  Darwen 
Manor,  "  one  parcell  of  grounde  lyinge  betweene  Soughe  and  Coubron  tenement  in 
Over  Darwin." 

About  the  same  date  lived  John  ffishe,  whose  wife  died  in  1604,  and  Lawrence 
ffishe,  buried  Aug.  8th,  1603. 

William  Fishe,  of  Over  Darwen,  is  the  first  who  appears  as  a  landowner  in  the 
township.  He  died  June  2ist,  1616,  and  at  an  Inquisition  as  to  his  estate,  taken  at 
Chorley,  the  Qth  Jan.,  14  James  I.,  it  was  attested  that  the  deceased  William  Fishe 
had  held  of  Richard  Hoghton,  Knt.  and  Bart.,  in  free  socage,  one  messuage,  one 
garden,  and  20  acres  of  land,  meadow  and  pasture,  in  Over  Darwen.  Ellen  Fishe, 
widow  of  William,  was  then  living  at  Over  Darwen ;  and  James  Fishe,  aged  one 
year,  two  months,  and  nineteen  days,  was  William's  son  and  heir. 

James  Fishe  of  Upper  Darwen,  who  died  Dec.  1689,  may  perhaps  have  been  the 
same  with  the  infant  heir,  James  Fishe,  of  1616. 

But  there  were  others  of  the  name,  distinct  from  William  Fishe's  family,  resident 
in  Darwen  in  the  reigns  of  the  first  two  Stuarts.  Ralph  Fish,  possibly  a  son  of  the 
Ralph  of  1588,  had  an  estate  in  the  township  up  till  his  death,  which  happened  about 
1623.  The  after-death  Inquisition,  taken  at  Blackburn,  8th  April,  2 1st  James  I., 
shewed  that  Ralph  Fish,  deceased,  possessed  in  Over  Darwen  one  messuage,  one 
garden,  10  acres  of  land,  5  acres  of  meadow,  5  acres  of  pasture,  and  4  acres  of  moss. 
He  left  no  male  heir,  but  two  daughters,  co-heiresses,  viz.,  Augusta,  the  wife  of  James 
Cunliffe  and  Margery  Fish. 

Next  I  note  Thomas  Fishe,  of  Over  Darwen,  also  a  small  freeholder.  He  died 
June  2nd,  yth  Charles  I  (1631);  his  wife — "  Uxor  Thomse  ffyshe  de  Upper  Darwen," 
had  been  buried  at  Blackburn,  Nov.  i6th,  1623.  The  escheat,  taken  at  Blackburn, 
April  24th,  gih  Charles  I.,  returned  that  Thomas  Fishe  had  died  seized  of  one  barn, 
with  12  acres  of  land,  meadow  and  pasture  in  Over  Darwen,  and  6  acres  of  land, 
meadow  and  pasture  in  Livesey,  late  improved  from  the  waste  of  Livesey. 

Thomas  Fishe,  aged  30  years  and  above  in  1633,  was  son  and  heir  of  the  above 
Thomas.  He  had  a  son  John,  born  in  1634.  The  names  of  both  Thomas  Fish  and 
John  Fish  are  affixed  to  the  petition  on  behalf  of  Vicar  Clayton  in  1660.  The  follow- 
ing notes  of  subsequent  members  are  the  sum  of  my  information  respecting  the  fami- 
lies of  Fish  in  Darwen  : — John  Fish  married  Agnes  Walsh,  Aug.  21,  1632.  William 
Fish  of  Upper  Darwen  was  living  in  1676.  John  Fish  of  Upper  Darwen,  yeoman 
and  chapman,  conveyed,  in  1718,  a  plot  of  land  to  be  the  site  for  a  new  Nonconfor- 
mist Meeting  House,  in  Clarke's  Field,  on  his  estate.  At  Chapels,  in  Darwen,  stands 
an  old  messuage,  no  doubt  once  the  residence  of  this  John  Fish ;  a  stone  in  the  wall 
having  the  initials  "  I  F  E  "  (John  and  Ellen  or  Elizabeth  Fish)  and  the  date  "1725." 
John  Fish  of  Upper  Darwen,  chapman,  had  a  son  John,  bapt.  May  I5th,  1702.  This 
son  was  John  Fish  of  Upper  Darwen,  chapman,  who,  by  Jane  his  wife,  had  a  son 
John,  born  in  1 726.  I  also  meet  with  a  Ralph  Fish  of  Upper  Darwen,  afterwards  of 


506  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Blackburn,  chapman,  who  married,  Feb.  9th,  1697-8,  Mary  Wilkinson,  of  Blackburn, 
and  had  sons,  Richard,  born  in  1699,  and  Ralph,  born  in  1701.  Thomas  Fish  of 
Upper  Darwen,  chapman,  was  living  in  1704.  Ralph  Fish,  of  Over  Darwen, 
whose  wife  Nanny  died  in  March,  1790,  was  buried  Feb.  1 6th,  1796,  aged  62. 

GREENWAY  OF  LIVESEY  FOLD,  DARWEN  BANK,  &c. 

Mr.  James  Greenway  of  Livesey  Fold,  in  this  township,  calico-printer,  who  died, 
aged  82,  May  i8th,  1821,  had  sons,  James  and  Charles. 

Mr.  James  Greenway  built  the  house  at  Darwen  Bank  for  his  residence.  He 
was  born  Feb.  21  st,  1777  ;  married  Oct.  7th,  1822,  Miss  Esther  Edge,  of  Rusholme 
(she  died  in  1859),  and  died  without  issue,  aged  89,  July  8th,  1866,  leaving  his  estate 
to  his  nephew,  Rev.  Charles  Greenway. 

Charles  Greenway,  Esq.,  of  Ardwick  and  Darwen,  brother  of  James,  married, 
first,  Ann,  daughter  of  John  Grimshaw,  Esq.,  of  Preston  (she  died,  aged  39,  in  1827), 
and  had  a  son  Charles,  and  several  daughters  ;  and,  secondly,  July  23rd,  1828,  Mary 
Eliza,  daughter  of  John  Poole,  Esq. ,  of  Manchester.  His  youngest  daughter,  Louisa 
Dorothea,  married,  in  1845,  Rev.  John  Congreve,  B.A. 

Rev.  Charles  Greenway,  M.A.,  of  Darwen  Bank,  son  of  Charles,  and  heir  to 
his  uncle,  James  Greenway,  Esq.,  is  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  for  the  county.  Mr. 
Greenway  was  incumbent  of  St.  James's  Church,  from  1851  to  1868.  His  estates  in 
Over  Darwen  comprise  245  statute  acres ;  and  in  Lower  Darwen  and  Eccleshill  45 
and  25  acres  respectively. 

HARGREAVE  OF  HODDLESDEN,  &c. 

George  Hargreave  of  Haslingden,  mercer,  born  in  1690,  died  Nov.  2Oth,  1725, 
was  father  of — 

George  Hargreave  of  Haslingden,  gent.,  who  married  Mary,  daughter  and  co-heir 
of  James  Marsden  of  Hoddlesden,  gent,  (she  died  Jan.  6th,  1796,  aged  75),  and  had 
issue,  sons,  George;  Marsden  bapt.  Feb.  I4th,  1749;  James  bapt.  July  7th,  1752; 
Oliver,  born  in  1754  ;  John  (of  Manchester),  born  in  1755,  died  in  1797  ;  and  Henry, 
born  in  1756,  died  at  Haslingden,  in  1828,  having  married  Jenny,  daughter  of  Mr. 
James  Holt  of  Bridge-end  ;  and  daughters,  Mary,  wife  of  Mr.  Wm.  Douglas,  banker, 
of  Old  Hall,  Pendleton;  Elizabeth,  died  in  infancy;  and  Alice,  born  in  1757, 
married,  in  1794,  Edward  Chew,  Esq.  Mr.  George  Hargreave  died,  aged  42,  Oct. 
I4th,  1758.  George  Hargreave  of  Hoddlesden,  gent.,  eldest  son  of  George,  bapt. 
Nov.  1 8th,  1747,  married,  in  1783,  Mary,  second  daughter  and  co-heir  of  Wm.  Hart 
of  Ulverstone,  gent.;  and  had  issue,  sons,  George,  born  in  1787,  died  aged  II,  in 
1798;  and  Oliver,  born  Oct.  1 6th,  1788;  and  daughters,  Maria,  born  in  1785,  died  in 
1795  ;  Eleanor,  born  Feb.  I3th,  1790,  married  April  1 7th,  1832,  Rev.  Stephen  Reay, 
sometime  incumbent  of  Haslingden,  sub-librarian  of  the  Bodleian,  Oxford,  and  died 
(as  did  her  husband)  in  Jan.,  1861  ;  and  Eliza,  born  in  1791,  died,  aged  81,  in  1872. 
Mr.  George  Hargreave  was  made  a  governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1773, 
and  died  at  Bolton,  aged  49,  Nov.  27th,  1796.  His  widow  died  Aug.  I3th,  1835. 

Oliver  Hargreave,  Esq.,  M.A.,  of  Trin.  Coll.,  Cambridge,  of  Hoddlesden  and  of 
Abbots'  Langley,  Co.  Herts.,  married,  first,  Elizabeth  Rattray,  who  died  in  1841  ; 
secondly,  in  1842,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Wm.  Bayne,  Esq.,  widow  of  George 
Ranken,  of  Tavistock,  Esq.,  and  dying  without  issue  by  either  marriage,  Oct.  I7th, 
1858,  aged  70,  the  Hoddlesden  estate  passed  to  the  son  of  his  second  wife  by  her  first 
husband,  Wm.  Bayne  Ranken,  Esq. ,  J.  P. ,  of  Hoddlesden  and  London,  whose  estate 
in  this  part  of  Lancashire  is  returned  at  667  statute  acres. 


FAMILIES  OF  GENTRY  AND  YEOMEN. 
HILTON  OF  BLACKBURN,  DARWEN  LODGE,  &c. 


507 


Samuel  Hilton,  of  Blackburn,  by  Ann  his  wife,  had  sons,  Samuel,  Richard,  William. 

Mr.  Samuel  Hilton,  of  Blackburn,  married,  at  Manchester,  Oct.  3Oth,  1787,  Mrs. 
Jane  Sale,  and  had  issue,  sons,  Edward,  born  in  1792  ;  James,  born  in  1793;  and 
Robert,  born  in  1796  ;  and  daughters,  Margaret,  born  in  1788  ;  and  Jane,  born  in  1794. 
Mr.  Samuel  Hilton  was  buried  at  Chapel  Street  Chapel,  Blackburn,  July  3ist,  1819. 
His  widow  died  in  1823. 

Richard  Hilton,  of  Blackburn  and  of  Darwen  Lodge,  Over  Darwen,  a  noted 
calico-bleacher  and  paper  manufacturer,  &c.  (brother  of  Samuel),  by  Ellen  his  wife 
had  issue,  sons,  Christopher,  born  in  1 794  ;  Henry  ;  and  Edward  ;  and  daughters, 
Ann,  died  in  1808,  aged  19 ;  Margaret,  died  in  1814,  aged  16;  a  second  Ann,  married, 
in  1838,  James  Imray,  Esq.,  of  Brixton ;  and  Maria,  of  Streatham,  Co.  Surrey. 
Richard  Hilton,  Esq.,  died  before  1836;  his  widow  died  Dec.  3ist,  1843,  aged  72. 

Mr.  Christopher  Hilton,  of  Darwen,  bleacher  and  paper  manufacturer,  eldest 
son  of  Richard,  died,  aged  39,  Oct.  I7th,  1833. 

Mr.  Henry  Hilton,  of  Darwen  Lodge,  Richard's  second  son,  married,  Sept.  5th, 
1836,  Mary  Lawrie,  daughter  of  Thos.  Ainsworth,  Esq.,  of  Preston.  His  only 
daughter,  Lydia,  married  Mr.  Vicars.  Mr.  Henry  Hilton  left  Darwen  for  Port  Natal, 
S.  Africa,  and  died  shortly  after  his  arrival  there,  May  4th,  1850. 

Another  brother,  Edward  Hilton,  Esq.,  of  Darwen  and  Manor  Park,  Streatham, 
married,  first,  April  3Oth,  1835,  Louisa,  daughter  of  Thos.  Cartwright  of  Heaton 
Norris  ;  secondly,  in  1839,  Eliz.  Susan,  daughter  of  Sir  John  Key,  bart.;  and  thirdly, 
in  1860,  Eliz.  Ann,  daughter  of  Joseph  Leech,  Esq.,  and  had  issue. 

Mr.  Wm.  Hilton,  younger  brother  of  Samuel  and  Richard,  died  at  Chorlton-upon- 
Medlock,  aged  64,  July  3rd,  1834.  His  widow,  Mrs.  Esther  Hilton,  died  at  Mottram, 
aged  80,  Feb.  25th,  1858. 

The  estate  of  the  trustees  of  the  late  Richard  Hilton  in  this  township  comprises 
8 1  acres,  with  a  rental  of  ^832  per  annum. 

KINDLE  OF  HOLKER  HOUSE,  HODDLESDEN. 

Christopher  Hindle  of  Cowbarrows  and  Holker  House,  yeoman,  by  Alice  his 
wife  had  sons,  John  ;  Christopher,  born  in  1751  ;  Thomas,  born  in  1758  ;  and 
daughters  Jane  and  Ann. 

John  Hindle  of  Holker  House,  yeoman,  born  in  1745,  died,  aged  71,  May  23rd, 
1816.  By  Mary  his  wife  (who  died,  aged  65,  Dec.  9th,  1811),  he  had,  with  other 
issue,  a  son,  William  Hindle,  died,  aged  30,  May  2lst;  1817. 

Christopher  Hindle  of  Holker  House,  son  of  Christopher,  married  Hannah  Mars- 
den,  and  had  issue,  sons,  Ralph,  who  entered  the  army  ;  and  James  ;  and  a  daughter 
Nancy,  born  Nov.  2nd,  1778,  wife  of  Mr.  James  Shorrock  of  Princes. 

Mr.  James  Hindle,  who  now  owns  a  small  estate  of  land  and  other  property  in 
Over  Darwen,  is  of  this  family. 

Holker  House  is  an  old  messuage  standing  at  the  upper  end  of  the  hamlet  of 
Hoddlesden,  having  a  gabled  porch,  over  which  is  a  stone  with  the  initials  "  R  E  I  " 
and  the  date  "  1591."  I  conjecture  that  a  junior  branch  of  the  family  of  Entwistle  of 
Entwistle  anciently  possessed  this  freehold. 

HOLDEN  OF  HODDLESDEN. 

Thomas  Holden  of  Hoddlesden,  yeoman,  in  his  Will,  dated  Oct.  9th,  1647, 
names  Alice,  his  wife  ;  sons  William  and  Robert  j  and  daughters,  Jane,  Elizabeth, 
Isabel,  and  Ann  Yate,  then  a  widow. 


5cS  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBl  RN 

MARSDEX  OF  OVER  DARWEN. 

Henry  Marsden,  of  Over  Danven,  a  freeholder,  died  in  1637.     Escheat  inquisition 
taken  Nov.  Sth  in  that  year  showed  that  he  died  seized  of  5  messuages,  5  garde 
•ores  of  land,  meadow,  and  pasture  in  Chorley ;  and  two  messuages,  3  garde 
acres  of  land,  meadow  and  pasture  in  Over  Darwen,  the  hitter  held  of  Sir  Gilbert 
Hoghton,  Km.  and  Bart,  as  of  Walton  manor  in  socage,  worth  40$.  yearly.     Ralph 
Marsden,  his  son,  was  then  aged  16  years. 

James  Marsden  married,  in  I6&2,  Alice  Rothwell  of  Haslingden  Chapelry.  Mr. 
James  Marsden,  of  Upper  Darwen,  buried  sons  George  and  James,  March  3rd,  i  - 

Mr.  James  Marsden,  of  Over  Darwen,  elected  governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar 
School  in  1731,  would  be  the  James  Marsden  of  Hoddksden,  yeoman,  born  Jan.  Sih, 
loSo,  who  died  May  Sih,  1733,  in  his  47th  year,  leaving  by  Mary  his  wife,  daughters 
Ann  and  Mary.  Mary  Marsden,  his  widow,  died  Nov.  loth,  1771,  in  her  Sand  year. 
Mary,  the  daughter,  married  George  Hargreave,  Esq.,  of  Haslingden,  and  died,  aged 
75.  »  «79& 

MAWDSLEY  OF  OVER  DAR\Y 

Henry  Mawdsky,  who  died  before  1607,  was  found  seized  at  death  of  two 
messuages,  16  acres  of  land,  two  acres  of  meadow,  10  acres  of  pasture  in  Over  Darwen, 
held  of  Richard  Hoghton,  Knt.,  in  socage ;  also,  of  13  acres  of  land,  meadow,  and 
pasture,  in  Clitheroe.  Elizabeth  Mawdsky,  widow,  died  before  the  escheat  was 
returned.  Thurston  Mawdsley  was  son  and  heir,  aged  13  years. 

PICKUP  OF  MARCH  IK 

John  Pickup  of  Sunnyhurst  and  Hey  Fold,  by  his  wife  Hannah,  daughter  of 
Thomas  Eccles,  yeoman,  of  Pickup  bank, 'had  sons,  William,  bant  June  loth, 
James  Pickup  of  Sough  ;  and  John. 

William  Pickup  of  Hey  Fold  and  March  House,  son  of  John,  married  Sarah, 
daughter  of  George  Brig^s,  of  Ellison  FoM,  and  had  sons,  John;  George  Pickup  of 
the  Hattons  (who  married  Jane  Cooke,  and  had  a  son  William  and  other  issue);  and 
William  Pickup  of  Higher  March  House,  who  died  unmarried.  William  Pickup  the 
father  died  before  iSaa 

John  Pickup  of  March  House,  eldest  son  of  William,  died  a  few  years  ago.  He 
married  Katherine  Smaller,  and  was  fcther  of  Mr.  William  Pickup,  now  of  March 
House,  and  of  Sarah  Pickup,  married  to  Mr.  Robert  Smalky  Entwistle. 

According  to  the  recent  Parliamentary  Return  of  Landowners,  the  estate  in  this 
township  of  the  exors.  of  the  late  John  Pickup  amounts  to  279  acres ;  that  c 
William  Pickup,  to  185  acres  ;  a  small  estate  of  36  acres  also  belongs  to  Jane  Pickup; 
and  I  am  informed  that  the  exors,  and  family  of  the  late  Mr.  George  Pickup  of  Hattons 
own  164  statute  acres  in  Over  Darwen  and  130  acres  in  Lower  Darwen. 

SHORROCK  OF  ECCLESH:-  AND  OVER 

1\\K\M  \ 

William  Shorrock,  of  Ecdeshill  in  1651,  was  assessed  to  a  subsidy  in  1663.  He 
had  sons  Thomas  and  James.  Thomas  Shorrock,  of  EccfeshiU.  yeoman,  died  in 
17*&  He  had  sons,  Robert,  and  Wilfianv  WUfiaM  SiKmtxk,  of  Eccksnill.  bora  in 
1690,  died,  aged  73,  in  May,  1764.  Thomas  Shorrock  of  EcckshiU  married,  in 

William  Shorrock,  of  Lower  Darwen,  had  a  son  James,  bora  in  1701.     I  think 

;.-.".>>    .      .-.x    -.-.>    ....     .     ..-.:    -.v. .-.-..-...  A.'.  .—    ......x. -.-...-:  ;.-..v..>^-.-:..-:-x 

Ralph  Shorrock  of  Lower  Hill.  Lower  Darwen,  yeoman,  by  Nancy  his  wife 


FAMILIES  OF  GENTRY  AND  YEOMEN.  509 

(she  died  April  I7th,  1817,  aged  74)  had  sons,  Ralph  ;  James,  bom  in  1771  ;  John, 
horn  in  1775  :  and  William,  born  in  1781,  died,  aged  62.  Aug.  22ml.  1843;  daughters, 
Jane,  Mary.  Nancy  and  Sally.  Ralph  Shorrock  died,  in  his  S;th  year,  Sept.  28th,  lSl8. 

Ralph  Shorroek  of  Lower  Darwcn,  yeoman,  son  of  Ralph,  married  Jane,  daughter 
of  Mr.  Thomas  Eccles  of  Lower  Paiwen.  and  by  her  (who  died  Nov.  1838)  hud 
issue,  sons,  Ralph,  born  in  1798,  died  unmarried,  aged  iS.  May  8th,  1817;  Thomas, 
died  unmarried  in  1832  ;  George,  born  in  iSor,  died  in  1802  ;  and  Eccles,  born  in 
1804  :  and  a  daughter  Mary,  wife  of  Mr.  Thomas  Ashton. 

Eccles  Shorroek,  Esq.,  a  younger  son  of  Ralph,  was  the  eminent  merchant  and 
cotton-spinner  of  Blackburn  and  Over  Parwen.  Mr.  Eccles  Shorroek  acquired  a 
landed  estate  in  Over  Parwen.  and  redded  at  Low  Hill  llou>e.  lie  also  purchased 
the  llollinshead  Hall  and  manorial  estate  in  Tockholes.  His  first  wife  was  Eliza, 
daughter  of  Mr.  James  Bailey  of  Wit  ton  (she  died,  aged  46,  Oct.  loth,  1850). 

-s  Shorroek,  Esq.,  married,  secondly,  Jane  daughter  of  John  Brandwood,  Esq., 
of  Turncroft,  by  \\hom  he  had  no  i>sue.  He  died,  aged  49,  July  I7th,  1853,  having 
made  his  nephew,  Kccles  Shorroek,  eldest  son  of  Thomas  Ashton.  Esq.,  his  heir. 

Another  branch  of  the  Shorrocks  descends  from  James  Shorroek  of  Lower 
Parwen,  brother  of  the  first  Ralph  Shorroek  named  above.  James  Shorroek  had 

.  Ralph  :  James  :  and  William  Shorroek  of  Sough  (who  by  his  wife,  a  daughter 
of  Pickup  of  Sough  had  a  son  William  Shorroek,  of  Sough);  and  a  daughter,  wife  of 
James  Pickup  of  Sough. 

James  Shorroek  of  Chapels,  son  of  James,  married  Betty  Pickup,  and  by  her  had 
sons.  James,  born  in  1776  ;  and  Ralph  ;  and  daughters,  Sarah,  and  Ann.  Mr.  James 
Shorroek  died  in  November,  1819. 

Mr.  James  Shorroek  of  Princes  was  eldest  son  of  the  last-named  lames.  He 
married,  in  1707,  Nancy,  daughter  of  Mr.  Christopher  II indie,  and  by  her  (who  died, 
aged  71.  Pee.  5th.  1840^.  had  issue,  sons,  Christopher,  born  Sept.  6th,  1804;  James, 
born  April  7th.  1806  :  and  George,  born  in  1822.  died  in  1859  ;  and  daughters,  Betsy, 
Sarah.  Nancy,  Mary  Ann,  and  Jane.  Mr.  James  Shorroek  died  Dec.  2Sth,  1861. 

Christopher  Shorroek,  Esq..  of  Manchester,  eldest  son  of  James,  married,  in 
1831,  Helen,  daughter  of  Joseph  Eccles,  Esq.,  of  Lower  Parwen,  and  by  her  (she 
died  in  1837)  had  sons.  Eccles,  born  in  1832  ;  James  born  in  1833  (James  Shorroek, 
Esq..  of  the  beeches,  Bowden.  Cheshire,  who  married  Mi--s  Good  of  Powden,  but  has 
no  issue);  and  Joseph  Shorroek,  born  in  1834;  married  Nancy,  daughter  of  Mr. 
James  Shorroek  of  Astley  Bank  :  has  no  issue.  Christopher  Shorroek,  Esq.,  died 
March  ^8-h.  1802.  His  next  brother — 

James  Shorrock,  Esq.,  J.  P. ,  of  Astley  Bank,  married,  in  1831,  Miss  Rachel 
IJenrey,  and  by  her  (who  is  yet  living)  had  issue,  sons,  Christopher;  William  Henry; 
Peter.  James.  Peter  ;  and  daughters,  Betsy  ;  Nancy  :  Sarah  Maria,  wife  of  Edward 
Elworthy,  Esq.;  and  Rachel  Henrey.  James  Shorroek,  Esq.,  died  April  nth,  1869. 

Christopher  Shorrock  Esq.,  of  the  Moss  Lower  Danven,  eldest  son  of  James, 
married,  in  1863.  Jane,  daughter  of  James  Chetham,  Esq. ,  of  Chadderton,  and  has  issue. 

SM ALLEY  OF  HEY  FOLD,  ASTLEY  BANK,  &c. 

A  small  estate  at  Hey  Fold,  near  Parwen  Chapels,  was  the  early  freehold  of  this 
family.  Richard  Smalley  of  Upper  Darwen,  died  in  1709,  and  another  Richard 
Smaller  died  in  1715. 

Richard  Smalley,  of  Upper  Parwen,  chapman,  married,  first.  Oct.  22nd,  1717, 
Jane  Marsden  of  Clayton,  and  had  issue  Richard,  bapt  Feb.  iSth,  1718-19.  Jane, 
wife  of  Richard  Smalley,  was  buried  Jan.  roth,  1720-1.  By  his  second  wife,  Mary, 


5 io  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Richard  Smalley  had  sons,  Thomas  (see  Smalley  of  Blackburn,  ante),  born  in  1726  ; 
and  Robert,  bapt.  May  25th,  1729. 

Richard  Smalley  of  Eccleshill  and  Blackburn,  chapman,  first  son  of  Richard, 
died  in  August,  1773.  By  Margaret  his  wife  he  had  sons,  Richard,  William,  Robert, 
and  Thomas  ;  and  a  daughter,  Margaret.  His  brother — 

Robert  Smalley,  of  Princes,  younger  son  of  Richard,  was  minister  of  the  Lower 
(Independent)  Chapel  in  Darwen,  from  1751  to  1791.  Rev.  Robert  Smalley  died 
Jan  26th,  1791,  aged  61  ;  and  was  buried  in  the  burial  ground  of  the  Lower  Chapel. 
He  married  Miss  Ann  Yates,  and  had  sons,  Richard,  born  Jan.  9th,  1760  ;  Robert 
Yates,  bapt.  June  I4th,  1763  ;  and  Lawrence,  bapt.  June  29th,  1768. 

Robert  Yates  Smalley  of  Hey  Fold,  yeoman,  second  son  of  Rev.  Robert  Smalley, 
married  Miss  Nanny  Yates,  and  had  issue  by  her  (who  died  Feb.  I4th,  1832,  aged 
87),  sons,  Robert,  bapt.  Oct.  l8th,  1789;  Yates,  died  young  in  1798;  Lawrence 
Yates  Smalley  (of  the  New  Inn,  Darwen)  ;  Richard  of  Hey  Fold ;  and  Thomas,  of 
Hey  Fold,  died  unmarried  ;  and  daughters,  Nanny,  and  Ann,  died  young ;  Betty 
(wife  of  William  Entwistle,  and  mother  of  Mr.  Robert  Smalley  Entwistle) ;  Kitty 
(wife  of  Mr.  Pickup  of  March  House) ;  and  Mary.  The  father,  Mr.  Robert  Smalley, 
died  aged  54,  May  I4th,  1824. 

Rev.  Richard  Smalley,  eldest  son  of  Rev.  Robt.  Smalley,  and  for  a  short  time 
minister  of  the  Lower  Chapel,  died  June  2Oth,  1800,  aged  40.  His  wife  was  Ann, 
daughter  of  Richard  and  Ann  Kershaw  of  Astley  Bank,  by  whom  he  had  sons 
Richard  Kershaw,  born  Dec.  29th,  1795  ;  and  Robert  Kershaw,  born  July  22nd, 
1797  ;  and  a  daughter  Ann,  born  in  1794,  died  in  1795. 

Richard  Kershaw  Smalley,  Esq.,  son  of  Richard,  built  Astley  Bank  House,  and 
died  about  1840.  He  married  his  cousin,  Ann,  daughter  of  Mr.  John  Walker  of 
Patricroft,  and  by  her  (who  died  at  Battersea,  aged  69,  in  1861)  had  issue,  sons, 
Robert  Kershaw  Smalley,  now  living  in  Australia  ;  and  John,  died,  aged  17,  Aug. 
22nd,  1848  ;  and  daughters,  Ann  Walker,  born  in  1819  ;  Jane  ;  Katherine  ;  and  Maria. 

Robert  Kershaw  Smalley,  surgeon,  second  son  of  Rev.  Richard  Smalley,  married, 
in  1830,  Maria,  daughter  of  Mr.  Win.  Henrey,  and  had  a  son  Mr.  Richard  Henry 
Smalley,  now  of  Over  Darwen. 

WALSH  OF  WALSH  FOLD. 

At  Walsh  Fold  in  this  township  sometime  was  domiciled  a  family  of  Walshe 
descended  from  Edward  Welshe,  a  Puritan  Yicar,  of  Blackburn,  suspended  in  1606 
for  nonconformity.  In  1590,  he  being  then  Yicar,  Mr.  Edward  Welshe  was  one  of 
17  Lancashire  Preachers  who  signed  an  Address  upon  "  The  manifolde  enormities  of 
the  Ecclesiasticall  State  in  the  most  partes  of  the  Countie  of  Lancaster, "  printed  by 
the  Chetham  Society  in  1875,  from  the  original  MS.  in  the  Bodleian  Library.  Canon 
Raines,  in  a  note  to  the  Address,  gives  some  facts  about  this  Yicar  of  Blackburn,  of 
which  I  cull  the  following  : — Sept.  26th,  1596,  he  "appeared  personally  before  the 
Commissioners  at  Chester,  and  said  that  he  neither  did  nor  would  refuse  to  wear  the 
surplice  if  the  same  was  fit  and  tendered  to  him  in  good  sort.  He  was  enjoyned  to 
wear  it  hereafter."  Eight  years  later,  Oct  3rd,  1604,  he  "  was  cited  to  appear  before 
the  bishop  and  was  required  to  subscribe  to  the  three  Articles  in  the  36th  Canon  of 
1603."  He  was  deprived  of  his  benefice  about  two  years  after,  and  retired  to  his 
little  farm  at  Walsh  Fold,  Over  Darwen.  By  Mary,  his  wife,  he  had  a  son  Thomas, 
and  other  issue.  The  deprived  minister  died  at  Walsh  Fold  about  the  year  1627. 

Thomas  Walshe,  son  of  Edward,  occurs  as  Parish  Clerk  of  Blackburn  in  1627. 
He  had  a  son  Edward,  born  in  1625,  whose  baptismal  register  runs  : — 1625-6.  Feb. 


CHURCH  OF  ST.  JAMES,  OVER  DARWEN.  511 

12.  "Edwarde,  sonne  of  Thomas  Walshe,  filii  vicarii."  He  had  also  sons,  Thomas  ; 
and  John.  Thomas  Walsh  of  Upper  Darwen  was  buried  Dec.  2nd,  1657.  John 
Walsh,  son  of  Thomas,  married,  July  i8th,  1656,  Mary  daughter  of  William  Ellison 
of  Upper  Darwen. 

Thomas  Walsh  of  Upper  Darwen,  son  of  Thomas,  had  sons,  Ralph,  born  in 
1657  ;  Richard,  bapt.  April  6th,  1662  ;  John,  bapt.  Aug.  23rd,  1664 ;  and  Roger ; 
and  a  daughter  Ann  born  in  1667. 

Ralph  Walsh  of  Upper  Darwen,  yeoman,  eldest  son  of  Thomas,  died  in  1703. 

John  Walsh  of  Upper  Darwen,  chapman,  another  son,  died  Jan.  nth,  1732. 
His  brother,  Roger  Walsh  of  Upper  Darwen,  chapman  (made  a  governor  of 
Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1729),  died,  aged  65,  Jan.  28th,  1739;  his  wife 
Elizabeth  died,  aged  71,  Oct.  1 6th,  1740. 

WATSON  OF  OVER  DARWEN. 

"Thomas  Watson  of  Over  Darwen,  gent.,"  was  buried  Dec.  3ist,  1732.  His 
epitaph,  inscribed  on  a  tablet  affixed  to  the  wall  in  St.  James's  Church,  Over  Darwen, 
is  as  follows  : — "  Here  lyeth  the  body  of  Thomas  Watson  of  this  town,  chapman, 
son  of  Edmund  Watson  of  Hague  Hall  in  the  County  of  York,  gentleman,  who 
departed  this  life  the  nineteenth  day  of  December,  1732.  And  gave  for  the  congrega- 
tion of  this  Chappel,  the  summ  of  three  hundred  eighty-five  pounds.  DEUS  AMAT 

L;£TUM    DOTOREM.  " 

THE   CHURCH  OF  ST.  JAMES. 

No  chapel  existed  in  Over  Darwen  before  the  Reformation  in  the 
middle  of  the  1 6th  century.  The  date  of  this  foundation  cannot  be 
fixed ;  but  it  was  probably  in  the  first  years  of  Elizabeth's  reign  that  the 
inhabitants  built  a  small  fabric  for  a  chapel-of-ease  to  Blackburn  Parish 
Church.  Harrison  the  itinerant  names  the  chapel  in  1577,  in  his 
reference  to  the  course  of  the  Darwen  river  : — "  The  Danvent  divideth 
Lelandshire  from  Anderness  [a  mistake  for  Blackburnshire],  and  it 
riseth  by  east  above  Darwent  Chappell"  On  the  survey  of  Blackburn 
Rectory  in  1616,  "  Danven  Chappell "  is  named  as  one  of  the  chapels 
belonging  to  the  mother  Church.  The  chapel  had,  it  would  appear,  no 
endowment  whatever  until  one  William  Haydock  gave  ;£io  to  be  a 
stock  at  Over  Darwen  Chapel,  to  the  use  of  a  minister  there.  A  curate 
from  the  mother  church  would  now  and  then  minister  in  the  chapel,  but 
no  resident  curate  at  Darwen  occurs  before  the  establishment  of  the 
Presbytery  by  Parliament  in  1646.  The  Presbytery  appointed,  about  the 
year  1647,  Mr.  Joshua  Bernard  to  be  minister  at  Over  Danven.  Upon 
the  minutes  of  the  Blackburn  Classis  it  is  recorded  : — "  Mr.  Joshua 
Bernard,  Minr.  at  Over  Darwin  Chap.  By  an  Order  of  the  Com.  at 
Manchester,  of  the  -  -  of  Jan.,  1648,  there  is  ^40  per  an.  allowed  to 
Mr.  Bernard,  Minr.  at  Over  Darwin,  together  with  the  arrears  due  unto 
him."  "  By  a  certificate  of  the  Inhabitants  of  the  Chappelrie  of  Over 
Darwin,  it  appears  that  Mr.  Bernard  was  in  arreare  for  two  yeares  and  a 
qr.  ending  the  3rd  of  Deer.  1649.  ?vlr-  Bernard  was  ordained  the  4th 


512  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

of  Deer.,  1649,  at  tne  chappel  of  Over  Darwin,  by  the  Classis  of  Black- 
borne  Hundred."  To  the  Commissioners  appointed  by  Parliament  in  1650 
to  survey  the  parish  churches  and  chapels  it  was  reported  respecting  Over 
Darwen  Chapel  that  it  was  four  miles  distant  from  the  Parish  Church, 
and  was  used  by  a  population,  including  part  of  Rossendale,  of  400 
families,  who  desired  that  the  chapel  might  be  made  parochial.  It  had 
no  endowment,  but  the  Committee  of  Plundered  Ministers  allowed  Mr. 
Joshua  Barnard,  "  an  able  and  godly  divine,"  ^40  per  annum. 

Mr.  Barnard  had  quitted  Darwen  before  the  restoration  of  Anglican 
forms  of  worship  under  the  Act  of  Uniformity  in  1662.  From  this  time 
for  some  years  there  was  monthly  service  only  in  the  chapel,  when  a 
curate  sent  by  the  Vicar  of  Blackburn  officiated.  In  1683  the  Vicar 
(Price)  reported  to  the  Primate  : — 

"Darwen  Chapell,  4  miles  from  Blackborn  Church,  4  miles  from  any 
other  Chapell.  N.  N.  officiates  there  once  a  month.  Adjacent,  Upper 
Darwen,  Eccleshill,  Yate  Bank,  and  Piccop  Bank.  Endowment  : — 
Interest  of  several  small  sums  of  money  given  by  well-disposed  persons, 
£4. ;  Mrs.  ffleetwood  [Lessee  of  Rectory  estate]  promiseth  £2  ;  In- 
habitants will  give  at  least  ^"10,  if  Mrs.  ffleetwood  raiseth  not  her  405. 
from  the  Tith  Hay." 

The  Chapel  at  Darwen  being  little  used  at  this  period,  and  many 
of  the  inhabitants  being  nonconformists,  the  latter,  on  their  procuring 
the  King's  warrant  for  a  meeting-house  in  1687,  construed  it  to  give 
them  liberty  to  use  the  old  chapel,  and  proceeded  to  hold  their  worship 
therein.  This  appropriation  of  the  fabric  was  stoutly  resisted  by  Mr. 
Price,  the  Vicar  of  the  Parish,  who  wrote  an  account  of  the  transaction 
to  the  Bishop  of  Chester  and  appealed  for  aid  from  the  Bishop  in 
excluding  the  intruders  and  in  reserving  the  fabric  as  a  chapel-of-ease 
to  the  Parish  Church.  The  Vicar's  letter  is  printed  below  : — 

To  the  Right  Reverend  Father  in  God,  Thomas,  Lord  Bishop  of  Chester,  my 
honoured  diocesan. — May  it  please  your  Lordship. — The  regard  your  Lordship  has 
for  your  clergie's  concerns,  and  the  justice  you  administer  upon  all  occasions  with  so 
much  integrity,  have  brought  me  to  prostrate  myself  at  your  feete,  to  represent  to 
your  clemency  in  few  words  an  affair  which  ought  to  be  treated  at  large.  Upon  the 
eighth  day  of  this  instant  August,  1687,  one  Mr.  William  Crosse,  of  Upper  Darwen, 
in  the  Parish  of  Blackburn,  in  the  County  of  Lancaster,  demanded  of  me  (the  present 
Vicar  of  Blackburne),  the  keys  of  the  Chappel  of  Darwen,  to  which,  as  Vicar  of 
Black burne,  I  hold  an  indubitable  right  and  title,  pretending  that  our  sovereigne,  Lord 
the  King  had  assigned  that  ancient  and  sacred  fabrick  for  such  of  the  inhabitants  as 
did  not  conform  to  the  Church  of  England.  But  because  in  the  licence  which  he 
showed  me  I  did  not  find  the  word  "  Chappel  "  once  mentioned,  nor  anything  sound- 
ing like  it,  excepting  one  expression  contained  in  this  sentence  : — "  We  have  allowed, 
and  do  hereby  allow  of  a  meeting-place  erected  in  Darwen,  in  the  Parish  of  Blackburn," 
— I  could  not  consent  to  the  delivery  of  the  said  keys,  till  I  was  fully  satisfyed  that 


CHURCH  OF  ST.  JAMES,  OVER  DARWEN.  513 

by  those  words  his  Majesty  did  meane  the  Chappel  of  Darwen  ;  yet  freely  did  I  offer 
to  deliver  up  the  said  keys  in  case  that  three  of  the  Justices  of  the  Peace  did 
apprehend  that  those  words  in  the  License  were  to  be  interpreted,  viz.,  of  the 
Chappel  of  Darwen,  and  not  of  another  edifice  in  Darwen,  which  some  of  the 
Dissenters  had  before  signified  and  made  known  to  the  Justices  of  the  Peace  they  had 
set  apart  to  assemble  in.  This  reasonable  motion  was  rejected,  and  since  then  the 
doors  of  the  said  Chappel  have  been  broken  open,  and  the  Curate  of  that  Chappel 
not  permitted  to  perform  his  ministerial  offices,  which  with  agitation  of  grief  and 
sorrow,  I  most  humbly  desire  your  Lordship  to  make  knowne  unto  the  King's  most 
excellent  Majesty,  and  to  beseech  his  Majesty  to  certify  your  Lordship  whether  or  no 
his  Majesty  did  mean  the  Chappel  of  Darwen  in  those  words  : — '"'  We  have  allowed 
and  do  hereby  allow  a  meeting-place  erected  in  Darwen."  If  your  Lordship  do  finde 
that  by  those  words  his  Majesty  did  not  mean  the  Chappel  of  Darwen,  I  humbly  beg 
that  your  Lordship  would  issue  out  an  order  to  be  affixed  to  the  Doore  of  Darwen 
Chappel,  that  no  minister  whatsoever  presume  to  preach  in  that  Chappel,  but  such  as 
are  duly  licensed  by  your  Lordship.  But  if  on  the  other  side  your  Lordship  do  finde 
that  by  the  foresaid  words  is  meant  the  Chappel  of  Darwen,  and  that  his  Majesty 
thinks  fit,  from  causes  best  knowne  to  himself,  to  waive  my  title  and  to  determine 
against  my  curate's  re-admission,  we  shall  not  immediately  refuse,  nor  uncharitably 
censure,  much  less  undutifully  disobey,  but  in  all  becoming  silence  sit  downe  in 
submission  to  his  Majesty's  good  will  and  pleasure ;  in  which  desire  I  will  here  rest, 
humbly  beseeching  the  Almighty  God  to  multiply  his  blessings  upon  the  King's  most 
excellent  Majesty  ;  and  your  Lordship  to  pardon  my  great  boldness,  who  am,  your 
Lordship's  in  all  duty,  FRANCIS  PRICE,  Vicar  of  Blackburne,  in  Lancashire. 

The  Bishop  (Cartwright)  referred  the  matter  in  contention  to  the 
decision  of  the  King  (James  II.),  by  whom  a  warrant  was  issued,  Oct. 
2oth,  1687,  commanding  the  restoration  of  the  chapel  to  the  Vicar's 
custody,  and  also  cancelling  the  license  granted  to  the  parties  who  had 
occupied  the  chapel  for  a  meeting-place.  The  original  warrant,  bearing 
the  royal  seal  and  sign-manual,  is  among  the  Parish  Records  at  Black- 
burn Vicarage.  By  the  favour  of  Canon  Birch,  I  print  the  text  of 
this  interesting  document : — 

James  the  Second,  by  the  Grace  of  God,  King  of  England,  Scotland,  France, 
and  Ireland,  Defender  of  the  Faith;  &c. — To  all  to  whom  these  presents  shall  come, 
greeting.  Whereas  by  our  Warrant  under  the  Signett  and  Signe  Manual  bearing  date 
the  25th  day  of  July  last  past,  We  allowed  of  an  erected  meeting-place  in  Upper 
Darwen,  in  the  Parish  of  Blackburne,  in  Our  County  of  Lancaster,  to  be  a  Place  for 
the  use  of  such  as  do  not  confomie  to  the  Church  of  England,  who  are  of  the  per- 
suasion commonly  called  Congregationall,  to  meet  and  assemble  in,  in  order  to  their 
Publick  Worship  and  Devotion.  And  whereas  it  hath  been  since  humbly  represented 
unto  Us,  that  the  Place  claymed  by  virtue  of  Our  said  Warrant,  is  a  Chappel  belonging 
by  an  unquestionable  title  to  the  Vicar  of  Blackborne  aforesaid,  and  that  the  Vicar 
thereof  for  the  time  being,  hath  constantly,  time  out  of  mind,  nominated  and  the 
Bishop  of  Chester  licensed  Curats  to  officiate  in  the  said  Chappel ;  We  have  therefore 
thought  fit  to  revoke  and  annull  Our  said  Warrant,  and  We  do  accordingly  by  these 
Presents  revoke  and  annull  the  same,  and  all  and  singular  the  clauses  therein  contained. 
And  our  Will  and  Pleasure  is,  that  the  Vicar  of  Blackborne  aforesaid,  now  and  for  the 
time  being,  or  his  Curate  duly  constituted  and  licensed,  have  and  enjoy  the  quiet  and 

33 


5i4  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

full  possession  of  the  said  Chappel,  there  to  perform  divine  Service  in  such  manner  as 
heretofore  hath  been  accustomed,  without  any  hindrance  or  molestation,  anything  in 
Our  said  Warrant  to  the  contrary  thereof  notwithstanding  :  Whereof  all  and  singular 
our  Officers  and  Ministers  Ecclesiastical  Civill  and  Military,  and  other  persons  whom  it 
may  concerne,  are  to  take  notice,  and  to  yield  due  obedience  to  Our  pleasure  herein 
declared.  Given  at  our  Court  at  Whitehall  the  2Oth  day  of  October,  1687,  in  the 
third  yeare  of  our  reigne.  By  his  Majesty's  command,  SUNDERLAND,  LD. 

The  wardens  of  the  Parish  Church  soon  after  certified  as  under  the 
restoration .  of  Darwen  Chapel  to  the  Vicar  by  three  Justices  of  the 
Peace  : — 

We,  whose  names  are  subscribed,  being  Churchwardens  for  the  Parish  Church  of 
Black burne,  do  hereby  testify  that  Thomas  Braddyll,  Esq.,  Edward  Osbaldeston, 
Esq.,  and  Ralph  Livesey,  Esq.,  three  of  his  Majestie's  Justices  of  Peace  for  the  county 
of  Lancaster,  did  give  restitution  of  possession  of  the  Chappel  of  Darwen,  in  the 
county  of  Lancaster,  unto  Francis  Price,  Vicar  of  Blackburne  aforesaid,  and  William 
Colton,  curate  of  Darwen  aforesaid,  upon  the  23rd  day  of  November,  1687.  In 
witness  whereof  we  have  subscribed  our  names  this  5th  day  of  December,  1687. 
(Signed)  GYLES  WALMSLEY,  WILLIAM  CHATBURNE,  RICHARD  COOPER  (his  mark), 
chu  rchwardens. 

In  the  year  following  these  transactions,  the  inhabitants  were 
invited  to  repair  the  chapel,  which  was  in  serious  dilapidation ;  and 
some  of  them  undertook,  by  writing  dated  Sept.  2oth,  1688,  "to  put  the 
chappel  of  Darwen  into  some  fitting  repairation  before  the  nth  of 
November  next  ensuing."  At  the  same  time,  the  parishioners  proposed 
to  meet  Primate  Sancroft's  gift  to  the  chapel  by  paying  "  to  the  curate  of 
Darwen,  by  way  of  benevolence,  yearly,  the  sum  of  5  Pounds  at  least, 
upon  condition  that  the  said  curate  will  preach  and  read  prayers  at  the 
said  chappel  twice  every  other  Lord's  Day  from  Candlemas  to  Michael- 
mas, and  at  least  once  every  other  Lord's  Day  from  Martinmas  to  Can- 
dlemas." The  Vicar  (Price)  of  Blackburn  now  made  an  agreement  with 
Mr.  William  Stones,  curate  of  Blackrod,  whereby  the  latter  was  admitted 
to  the  united  curacy  of  Darwen  and  Tockholes  ;  Mr.  Stones  agreeing 
to  reside  constantly  within  one  of  the  two  chapelries,  and  to  preach  and 
read  prayers  every  other  Sunday  at  each  chapel,  twice  in  the  day  from 
March  ist  to  Nov.  nth,  and  once  in  the  day  during  the  other  winter 
months. 

The  continued  failure  of  the  inhabitants  of  Darwen  adhering  to  the 
Church  to  proceed  with  the  restoration  of  the  fabric,  drove  Vicar  Price 
to  issue  his  notification  of  a  .compulsory  rate  upon  the  chapelry  to 
provide  the  sum  needed  for  the  repairs,  which  was  "  published  at  Black- 
burn and  Darwen,  September  i2th,  1692."  The  notice  runs  : — 

Dearly  Beloved, — You  perceive  by  this  order  of  the  Lord  Bishop  of  Chester  how 
zealously  he  is  concerned  for  the  repairing  of  the  Chappel  of  Darwen  ;  and  to  that 
end,  how  earnestly  in  the  first  place  he  recommends  the  carrying  on  of  that  pious 


CHURCH  OF  ST.  JAMES,  OVER  DARWEN.  515 

worke  to  the  care  of  the  Inhabitants  of  that  chappelry ;  and  upon  their  neglect,  how 
he  enjoynes  the  Churchwardens  of  Blackburne  (after  publick  notice  given)  to  proceed 
to  make  such  assessment  or  lay  within  the  said  chappelry,  as  shall  be  proportionable 
and  sufficient  to  the  said  Chappel  of  Darwen.  Now,  in  pursuance  of  that  order,  I  do 
in  the  name,  and  by  the  directions  of  the  said  churchwardens,  give  publick  notice  that 
in  regard  the  time  allowed  for  the  repairing  of  the  said  chappel  is  almost  expired,  and 
the  work  still  undone,  the  said  churchwardens  (God  willing)  do  intend  to  meet  at  the 
said  chappel  of  Darwen  upon  Thursday  next,  at  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  to  make 
an  assessment  or  lay  for  the  foresaid  purpose.  Desiring  and  hoping  that  the  said 
inhabitants  will  vouchsafe  them  their  company,  concurrence,  and  assistance  at  the 
time  and  place  aforesaid  ;  or  at  least  (in  respect  to  religion  and  their  own  good)  they 
will  not  show  any  dislike  to  so  publick,  so  useful,  and  so  unavoidable  an  undertaking  ; 
and  in  so  doing  they  will  oblige  the  churchwardens,  who  remain  their  and  the  Parish 
most  humble  servants. 

The  chapel  appears  to  have  been  rebuilt  soon  after  the  date  above, 
partially,  perhaps,  by  means  of  voluntary  gifts ;  for  in  the  books  of  the 
parish  is  a  list,  without  date,  of  about  seventy-five  persons  who  had 
together  promised  a  sum  of  ,-£94  i8s.  "towards  the  rebuilding  of 
Darwen  Chappel."  Canon  Raines  notes  that  "  a  Brief  was  obtained, 
and  is.  6d.  collected  at  Milnrow,  for  Upper  Darwen  Chapel  in  the 
County  of  Lancaster,  September  22nd,  1722." 

Respecting  the  sources  of  endowment  of  this  curacy,  information 
is  afforded  by  a  MS.  in  the  Vicar's  records,  headed  "  A  true  Account  of 
all  the  Monie  that  hath  been  given  to  Darwen  Chappel,  to  be  and 
remaine  as  Stocke  there,"  which  was  taken  by  Thomas  Ellison  for  the 
Vicar  of  Blackburn,  on  Jan.  26th,  1692.  These  items  are  contained: — 
Jan.  2oth,  1638,  William  Haydock,  of  Overlock  Shaw,  in  Livesey,  left 
£10  to  be  "  a  Stock  at  Over  Darwen  Chappel,  and  the  interest  thereof 
to  be  and  remaine  to  such  a  minister  as  shall  be  there  resident  from  time 
to  time."  March  28th,  1642,  John  Crosse,  of  Over  Darwen,  gent.,  gave 
£10  in  trust  for  the  same  use.  Nov.  i5th,  1641,  Thomas  Lomas,  of 
Over  Darwen,  gave  £10  in  trust,  the  interest  to  be  "  used  and  disposed 
of  for  the  mantayning  of  God's  Word  and  his  servis  at  the  said  chappel." 
The  trustee  of  these  gifts  had  at  such  times  as  no  minister  was  resident 
kept  the  interest  until  it  amounted  to  £10,  which  was  added  to  the 
Stock,  and  made  it  £40.  May  3oth,  1673,  Thomas  Longworth,  of 
Over  Darwen,  husbandman,  gave  £10  to  be  added  to  the  Chapel  Stock; 
interest  thereof  "  to  such  a  gospell  minister  as  shall  teach  there."  Nov. 
27th,  1684,  Thurston  Maudsley,  of  Ousebooth  in  Blackburn,  gent,  gave 
£5  "  towards  the  maintenance  of  an  orthodox  minister  at  the  chapell  at 
Over  Darwen,  which  shall  be  conformable  to  the  Church  of  England." 
Wm.  Bury  added  173.  interest  to  the  Stock,  amounting,  in  1692,  to  £60. 

Later,  by  a  benefaction  of  £220  made  to  the  chapel  on  Dec.  25th, 
1718,  by  Mr.  "Edmund  Eccles  and  others,  a  grant  was  secured  of  £200 


516  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

from  the  Royal  Bounty  in  1719.  With  this  united  sum  of  ^420,  and 
some  additions,  was  purchased,  for  ^450,  an  estate  at  Yate  Bank,  of  35 
acres,  from  Henry  Eatough  of  Yate  Bank  and  Christopher  Brandwood 
of  Inglewhite,  by  agreement  dated  Nov.  loth,  1719.  Two  other  grants, 
each  of  ^200,  from  Queen  Anne's  Bounty,  were  obtained  in  1733,  to 
meet  two  benefactions  of  similar  amounts,  the  one  dated  Sept.  loth, 
1 733?  by  Rev.  John  Holme,  Vicar  of  Blackburn,  and  Rev.  John  Folds, 
minister  of  Over  Darwen ;  the  other  dated  Sept.  2oth,  1733,  by  Henry 
Feilden,  Thomas  Whalley,  and  J.  Cooper,  gents.  This  sum  of  ^800 
was  laid  out  in  the  purchase  of  lands  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
chapel.  The  two  estates  purchased  by  these  means  in  1719  and  1733 
form  the  chief  endowment  of  this  benefice.  A  schedule  of  the  extent 
and  rental  of  the  estates,  made  in  1823,  gives  the  total  acreage  as  54a, 
i3p.;  the  lands  were  then  in  occupation  of  ten  tenants,  and  the  total 
yearly  rental  was  ;£2  oo  153.  The  receipt  from  the  Bancroft  Trust  at 
that  date  was  ^10  155.;  and  from  Surplice  Fees  ^£3  55.  per  year.  In 
the  new  return  of  landowners  the  Church  of  St.  James's,  Over  Darwen, 
is  stated  to  possess  lands  to  the  extent  of  49  acres,  yielding  a  rental  of 
^53.  The  value  of  the  living  is  now  returned  at  ^300  per  annum. 
The  Vicar  of  Blackburn  is  patron. 

From  the  date  of  the  re-edification  about  the  end  of  the  1 7th  cen- 
tury, the  fabric  of  this  church  was  not  again  much  altered  until  the  year 
1852.  In  consequence  of  the  excavation  of  coal  beneath  the  site,  the 
foundations  had  sunk,  and  caused  serious  fissures  in  the  walls.  The  use 
of  the  church  being  pronounced  unsafe  by  an  architect,  it  was  closed  in 
Sept.,  1851,  and  divine  service  was  conducted  in  the  School-house  at 
Holden  Fold.  In  1852-3  the  church  was  substantially  restored;  the 
walls  were  made  sound,  and  the  roof  entirely  renewed.  The  interior  was 
repewed  with  open  benches ;  new  galleries  were  erected ;  and  the  organ 
was  enlarged.  The  Church  was  re-opened  on  Sept.  nth,  1853. 

The  Church  of  St.  James  stands  upon  the  hill  on  the  east  suburb  of 
the  town.  The  edifice  is  not  large  (about  6oft.  by  4oft.),  and  is  of  low 
elevation.  Its  plan  is  a  parallelogram,  with  a  semi-circular  apse  at  the 
east  end.  The  style  is  mixed ;  the  windows  have  the  gothic  pointed 
arch  and  traceried  heads;  but  between  them  in  the  side  walls  are 
inserted  flat  pillasters,  supporting  an  entablature  ;  and  the  doorway,  on 
the  south  side,  is  square-headed  with  a  massive  lintel.  There  are  three 
windows  on  the  south  side,  and  four  on  the  north  side,  each  of  three 
lights,  trefoil-headed.  The  apse  has  two  windows  of  three  lights.  At 
the  west  end,  which  has  no  doorway,  the  external  masonry  is  relieved  by 
semi-circular  doric  pillasters,  with  the  entablature  above ;  and  in  the 
gable  are  three  small  mullioned  windows.  A  belfry  surmounts  the  west 


ESTABLISHED  CHURCHES  IN  OVER  DARWEN. 


517 


gable.     The  interior  has  no  peculiar  features.     There  are  522   sittings; 
76  are  free-seats.     The  grave-yard  was  extended  in  1853. 

The  following  list  of  incumbents  extends  back  to  the  first  regular  clerical  service 
of  the  chapel  : — Mr.  Joshua  Barnard,  1647-50  ;  Mr.  William  Colton,  curate  (certif. 
1687);  Win.  Stones,  curate  of  -Darwen  and  Tockholes,  from  1688  till  his  death  in 
1720.  John  Folds,  curate  of  Darwen,  from  1720  till  his  death  in  1772.  (In.  the 
church  is  a  mural  tablet  inscribed  :— "John  Folds,  clerk,  A.B.,  curate  of  this  chapel 
upwards  of  52  years,  interred  1 5th  February,  1772,  aged  75  years;  Ann,  his  wife, 
interred  3 1st  August,  1781,  aged  81  years").  Henry  White,  1772-1783;  Jeremiah 
Gilpin,  1783-1792;  Thomas  Exton,  1792-1815  (Usher  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School, 
1787-91  ;  also  curate  of  Balderstone  ;  he  was  drowned  in  the  river  at  Lower  Darwen) ; 
Matthew  Yatman  Starkie  (instituted  in  1815  ;  he  was  non-resident,  and  the  resident 
curate  was  Henry  Dunderdale,  vacated  in  1851);  Charles  Greenway,  M.A.,  instituted 
in  1851,  resigned  in  1868;  W.  H.  Blamire,  present  Vicar,  instituted  Dec.  I7th,  1868. 

OTHER  CHURCHES  OF  THE  ESTABLISHMENT. 

HOLY  TRINITY. — This  church  was  built  in  1828-9,  by  means  of  a  Parliamentary 
Grant  of  ^6799  ;  and  was  consecrated  Sept.  I3th,  1829.  It  is  a  large  edifice 
of  gothic  architecture,  built  of  reddish  stone  ,  in  plan  consisting  of  nave,  side  aisles, 
pentagonal  chancel,  south  porch,  and  massive  tower  at  the  west  end  with  eight  crock  - 
etted  pinnacles.  The  tower  contains  a  peal  of  six  bells.  Its  situation  is  a  high  bank 
overlooking  the  river  near  the  centre  of  the  town.  The  interior  is  fitted  with  galleries  at 
the  sides  and  west  end.  The  organ  is  in  the  west  gallery.  Sittings  1310,  of  which  985 
are  free.  Value  of  the  living  .£300.  Patron  :  the  Vicar  of  Blackburn.  Vicars  in  suc- 
cession:—Rev.  G.  Park;  Rev.  E.  C.  Montriou,  M.A. ;  Rev.  l\.  Mayall  (present  Yicar). 

ST.  PAUL'S,  HODDLESDEN.— This  church  is  within  the  township,  but  is  a  mile 
from  the  town  of  Over  Darwen,  and  was  built  for  the  service  of  the  manufacturing 
village  of  Hoddlesden,  in  the  year  1863  ;  opened  June  24th.  The  cost  was  ^5050, 
of  which  ^,'3000  were  given  by  W.  B.  Ranken,  Esq. ,  owner  of  the  Hoddlesden  estate. 
The  style  is  geometric  gothic  ;  and  the  plan  consists  of  nave,  side  aisles,  chancel,  and 
tower  at  the  north  end,  which  has  not  yet  been  completed.  Sittings  550,  of  which 
209  are  free.  Value  of  the  living  ^"140.  Patron  :  the  Bishop.  Vicars  : — Rev.  G. 
W.  Reynolds,  1863-7  ;  Rev.  W.  B.  Berry,  1867  (present  Vicar). 

ST.  JOHN'S,  TURNCROFT.— The  Church  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist,  built  on  the 
Turncroft  estate  at  the  south-east  side  of  the  town,  the  gift  of  the  late  Mrs.  Graham 
(daughter  of  John  Brandwood,  Esq.),  and  Rev.  Philip  Graham,  was  consecrated  July 
7th,  1864.  Cost,  with  endowment,  ^"11,500.  The  church  is  a  chaste  example  of 
gothic  architecture,  having  a  nave,  with  clerestory,  side  aisles,  a  spacious  chancel,  north 
and  south  transepts,  and  a  tower  and  spire  at  the  west  end.  The  interior,  which  is  not 
galleried,  contains  701  sittings,  240  of  which  are  free.  A  good  organ  by  Willis  was 
placed  in  the  church  in  1867.  Valueof  the  living ^300.  Patron  :  the  Bishop.  Vicars: — 
Rev.  P.  Graham,  1864-9;  Rev.  H.  H.  Moore,  M.A.,  1869  /present  Vicar).  St. 
John's  Schools,  contiguous  to  the  church,  are  large  stone  buildings,  erected  at  the  cost 
of  Rev.  P.  Graham,  and  opened  in  August,  1866. 

ST.  CUTHBERT'S. — This  new  church  fronts  to  the  Blackburn  road,  at  the  north 
end  of  Over  Darwen.  The  corner-stone  was  laid  on  August  1 6th,  1875.  The  plan  of 
the  church  is  cruciform  ;  and  the  style  is  gothic.  The  cost  is  about  ,£4,000,  defrayed 
by  subscriptions.  Rev.  Charles  Greenway  gave  the  site,  and  is  principal  donor  to  the 
building  fund.  Sittings  500.  The  church  is  still  (1876)  in  process  of  erection. 
Vicar  designate,  Rev.  W.  G.  Procter. 


5i 8  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

THE  NONCONFORMIST  FOUNDATION— THE  "LOWER  CHAPEL." 

The  Act  of  Uniformity  in  1662  created  a  numerous  secession  from 
the  Established  Church  in  this  part  of  Blackburn  Parish.  The  first 
Nonconformists  in  Darwen  had  no  regular  meeting-house  during  the  ten 
years  of  statutory  repression  that  followed ;  but  tradition  says  that  they, 
met  as  occasion  served  in  certain  secluded  places  upon  the  moors,  to 
receive  one  or  other  of  several  ejected  ministers  in  this  part  of  the  county. 
Mr.  Charles  Sagar,  of  Blackburn,  was  one  of  these  Nonconformist 
preachers,  and  he  may  be  said  to  be  the  founder  of  the  first  Noncon- 
formist Church  in  Darwen,  of  which  he  eventually  became  the  regular 
pastor.  Mr.  Charles  Sagar  was  born  at  Burnley,  in  1636  ;  his  baptismal 
record  in  the  Burnley  Church  Register  is  : — "  Charles  fil.  John  Sagar, 
de  Parke"  bapt.  Oct.,  1636.  His  father,  John  Sagar,  was  a  Warden  of 
Burnley  Church  in  1638.  Charles  Sagar  was  educated  at  Burnley 
Grammar  School  and  at  St.  John's  College,  Cambridge,  and  on  leaving 
the  University,  with  a  fair  repute  for  learning,  was  appointed  Master  of 
Blackburn  Grammar  School.  The  minute  of  appointment  in  the  School 
Record  reads  : — Jan.  21,  1655-6.  "  Md.  that  the  daye  and  yeare  above 
written  the  Gov'nors  have  elected  and  chosen  Charles  Segar,  gent,  to 
serve  for  the  Schole  Master  of  Blackburne  so  long  as  the  Governors 
shall  like  well  of."  Mr.  Sagar  held  this  mastership  nearly  eleven  years ; 
and  resigned  when  an  Act  was  passed  inhibiting  schoolmasters  who  did 
not  conform  to  the  Church  of  England,  to  continue  in  their  places.  It 
has  been  said  that  he  had  been  dismissed  from  the  Blackburn  School 
for  nonconformity;  but  the  books  of  the  foundation  show  that  the 
Governors  took  no  action  in  the  matter.  On  Dec.  21,  1666,  appears 
in  the  School  accounts  : — "  Pd.  Mr.  Sagar,  late  Schoolemaster  28  Maie 
last  in  full  of  his  wage  before  his  going  out  from  his  place  ^3  6s.  Sd." 
It  would  seem  that  Mr.  Sagar  temporarily  served  the  Blackburn  School 
again  after  the  first  withdrawal.  The  accounts  give,  in  Dec.,  1667  : — 
"  Payde  Mr.  Sagar,  the  late  Schoolmaster,  May  i,  1667,  the  some  of 
^"5  ;"  and  two  years  later,  in  Dec.  1669  : — "  Pd.  Mr.  Sagar  the  master 
att  the  same  tyme  the  some  of  ^5 ;"  "  Pd.  Mr.  Sagar  more  the  some 
of  ^3  155."  Mr.  Oddy  succeeds  as  Master  in  1670.  On  quitting  the 
Grammar  School,  Mr.  Charles  Sagar  commenced  to  teach  a  private 
School  in  Blackburn,  which  was  well  favoured  by  some  of  the  local 
gentry  and  tradesmen,  and  was  continued  with  success  about  twenty 
years.  He  had  married,  Nov.  nth,  1663,  Isabell,  daughter  of  Mr. 
Henry  Astley,  of  Blackburn,  who  was  about  ten  years  his  senior,  and 
he  had  a  son,  born  in  1662,  whose  baptism  is  entered  : — "Joshua 
films  Caroli  Sager,  Blackburniensis  Ludi  Magister  natus  vicessimo  nono 
Aprilis  de  dominico  anno  1666."  In  the  year  1672,  when  Royal 


NONCONFORMITY  IN  OVER  DARWEN.  519 

licenses  for  Dissenting  preaching-places  were  granted,  is  dated  a  "License 
to  Charles  Sagar,  Pr.  Teacher  of  Blackborne,  Lancashire,  Feb.  3," 
1672-3;  and  at  the  same  time: — "The  house  of  William  and  Henry 
Berry  in  Upper  Danven  to  be  a  Pr.  [Presbyterian]  meeting  place."  Mr. 
Sagar  thus  preached  at  Blackburn  and  also,  maybe,  at  Danven  during 
this  brief  toleration,  which  ended  in  1675.  In  *683  the  measures 
of  the  authorities  against  Nonconformists  were  most  severe ;  and  Major 
Nowell,  of  Read,  a  Justice,  arrested  Mr.  Sagar,  charged  with  unlawful 
preaching,  and  had  him  sent  to  Lancaster  Castle,  where  he  was  confined 
six  months.  In  prison,  Mr.  Sagar  preached  weekly  oft  the  Sunday  to 
the  prisoners  in  the  Castle,  and  to  inhabitants  of  Lancaster  who 
frequented  the  meeting.  On  his  release,  he  returned  to  Blackburn,  and 
continued  to  reside  in  that  town  after  he  became  pastor  of  the 
Nonconformist  Church  at  Darwen. 

Under  the  "  Indulgence  "  of  Charles  II.,  Mr.  John  Parr  preached  a 
short  time  to  the  Nonconformists  of  Darwen  about  the  years  1672-3, 
but  does  not  seem  to  have  been  fixed  minister  here ;  he  settled  at 
Preston,  as  minister  of  congregations  at  Preston  and  Walton.  That  the 
Nonconformist  parishioners  under  the  license  of  King  Charles  were 
suffered  temporarily  to  conduct  their  service  in  the  old  Chapel  of  Ease 
is  stated  in  documents  of  that  date  ;  and  although,  on  the  withdrawal  of 
these  licenses  in  1675,  the  practice  of  public  meeting  in  that  chapel  was 
suspended,  yet  when,  in  1687,  James  the  Second's  "Declaration"  for 
religious  liberty  was  promulgated,  the  Nonconformist  party  again  took 
possession  of  the  chapel,  and  constituted  it  their  meeting-place  until,  in 
November  of  that  year,  the  Vicar  of  Blackburn  recovered  possession  on 
the  order  of  the  Justices.  The  license  granted  by  James  the  Second, 
dated  25th  July,  1687,  was  worded  : — "We  have  allowed  and  do  hereby 
allow  of  a  Meeting-place  erected  in  Upper  Darwen  in  the  Parish  of 
Blackburn,  in  our  County  of  Lancaster,  to  be  a  place  for  the  use  of  such 
as  do  not  conforme  to  the  Church  of  England,  who  are  of  the  persuasion 
commonly  called  Congregationall,  to  meet  and  assemble  in,  in  order  to 
their  publick  Worship  and  Devotion."  After  the  deprival,  the  Noncon- 
formists petitioned  James  II.  in  the  following  terms  : — 

The  humble  petition  of  your  Majesty's  subjects  in  and  about  Darwen  humbly 
sheweth — That  whereas  we  formerly  have  had  an  erected  meeting-house  in  Upper 
Darwen  aforesaid,  to  worship  God  in  after  our  own  way,  which  your  Majestie's  subjects 
enjoy'd  with  a  great  deal  of  freedome  in  pursuance  of  a  license  formerly  granted  to  us 
of  the  said  place  by  your  Majestie's  late  brother  of  ever  blessed  memory,  and  untill 
such  time  as  the  same  was  cancelled,  and  wee  your  Majestie's  subjects  put  under  new 
difficulties,  though  we  behaved  ourselves  peaceably  and  loyally  towards  the  Govern- 
ment ;  and  further,  that  the  said  place  was  never  visited  by  any  Bishopp  as  farr  as 
your  Majestie's  subjects  can  heare  or  understand,  and  since  your  Majestie's  gratious 


520 


HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


declaration  the  keys  of  the  said  house  were  taken  away  by  the  Vicar  of  the  Parish  or 
his  order,  on  purpose  to  exclude  your  Majestie's  subjects  from  the  same  ; — Wherefore 
your  Petitioners  doe  humbly  pray  your  Majestic  that  you  would  be  gratiously  pleased 
to  restore  to  your  Majestie's  subjects  the  use  of  the  same  house,  it  being  out  of  repaire 
and  ready  to  drop  downe  ;  and  we  are  willing  to  repaire  the  same,  and  your  Petitioners 
as  in  duty  bound  will  ever  pray  for  your  Majestie's  health  and  happiness,  &c. 

Failing  to  secure  access  to  the  Chapel  of  Ease,  the  Nonconformists 
soon  after  provided  a  meeting-house  for  themselves,  and  applied  to  Mr. 
Charles  Sagar  to  become  their  regular  minister.  Mr.  Sagar  was  ordained 
in  1687  ;  and  became  the  first  stated  pastor  of  the  Nonconformist 
Meeting  in  Over  Darwen.  Under  the  Act  of  Toleration,  in  1688,  a 
license  for  a  meeting-house  in  this  township  was  obtained.  Mr.  Sagar 
was  residing  at  Blackburn  in  1691,  when  his  friend,  Rev.  Henry  Newcome 
of  Manchester,  records  in  his  diary  a  visit  to  Blackburn  : — 

Oct.  2Oth.  From  Bolton  Lecture  I  went  to  Blackburn*  Strangers,  and  in  the 
night.  The  way  was  perilous,  but  the  Lord  brought  us  in  safety.  Mr.  Green  came 
in,  late  at  night.  In  the  interim  I  had  the  company  of  my  old  hearty  friend,  Mr. 
Sagar.  The  next  day  we  went  to  Ribchester,  when  we  visited  and  attempted  to  order 
the  Charity  School  there,  and  despatched,  so  as  I  came  to  Hoghton  Tower  in  good 
time.  Mr.  Sagar  came  to  me,  and  there  I  stayed  the  next  day  in  much  content  and 
freedom  and  hearty  welcome  with  our  old  friend  Sir  Charles  Hoghton. 

In  1693,  Mr.  Sagar  was  fulfilling  the  office  of  "Scribe"  or 
Secretary  to  the  association  then  formed  of  Lancashire  Nonconformist 
Ministers  called  the  "United  Brethren."  Sept.  2oth  of  the  same  year, 
Mr.  Sagar s  son,  Mr.  Joshua  Sagar,  who  had  been  educated  for  a  preacher 
at  Rathmell,  was  ordained  according  to  the  Congregational  form  at  his 
father's  house  at  Blackburn ;  the  ministers  taking  part  were,  Mr.  Sagar 
the  father,  Mr.  Thomas  Jollie,  Mr.  Waddington,  and  Mr.  John  Walker. 
Young  Mr.  Sagar  had  then  just  accepted  an  appointment  as  minister  of 
an  Independent  Church  at  Alverthorpe  near  Wakefield,  where  he 
preached  some  years,  and  died  there  in  1710.  Rev.  Charles  Sagar 
died  after  more  than  a  year's  illness  from  a  stroke  of  paralysis,  aged  61, 
Feb.  1 3th,  1697-8,  when  he  had  been  ten  years  pastor,  and  about  thirty 
years  a  Nonconformist  preacher  in  this  district.  His  burial  is  registered 
in  the  Blackburn  Parish  register  : — "  Mr.  Charles  Sagar  of  Blackburne," 
buried  Feb.  1 7th,  1697-8.  Calamy  says  of  Mr.  Sagar  : — "  He  was  a  good 
scholar,  very  affable,  blameless  in  conversation,  and  generally  beloved." 

The  successor  to  Mr.  Sagar  was  Mr.  Griffith  Griffith,  who  was 
ordained  on  the  24th  June,  1699.  He  was  minister  here  more  than 
twenty  years.  In  1714,  during  Mr.  Griffith's  pastorate,  it  was  returned  to 
the  Bishop  of  Chester  respecting  Darwen  Chapelry  that  "  A  great  many 
of  the  inhabitants  frequent  a  Presbyterian  Meeting-house  there  is  within 
the  chapelry,  those  Sundays  they  have  no  service  in  their  own  chapel." 


LOWER  CHAPEL,  OVER  DARWEN.  521 

Mr.  Griffith  married  in  1711,  at  Manchester  Collegiate  Church — "Sept. 
4,  Griffith  Griffith  of  Blackburne  and  Elizabeth  Coulburne,  of  Leyland> 
per  license," — so  the  marriage  is  registered,  and  had,  with  other  issue,, 
a  son  Nathaniel,  bapt.  April  22nd,  1714. 

In  1715,  a  return  of  Nonconformist  Chapels  names  the  Lower 
Chapel,  Darwen,  having  then  a  congregation  of  648  persons,  of  whom 
25  were  freeholding  electors  for  the  county. 

It  was  Curing  Mr.  Griffith's  ministry  that  the  congregation  erected 
a  permanent  Meeting-house  to  supersede  the  adapted  building  in  which 
they  had  worshipped  about  thirty  years  (and  which  stood  where  the  path 
from  the  minister's  house  joins  the  old  road  from  Lower  Darwen  to- 
''Chapels").  A  site  was  conveyed  to  trustees  by  indentures  of  lease  and 
release,  dated  respectively  ist  and  2nd  Jan.,  1718-19. 

The  release  is  made  between  John  Fish,  of  the  one  part,  and  William  Yates, 
Richard  Sanderson,  John  Bailey,  William  Harwood,  James  Halliwell,  Thomas 
Entwistle,  jun.,  John  Walmsley,  Thomas  Kirkham,  Henry  Paulding,  Andrew  Berry, 
Ralph  Cratchley,  jun.,  Miles  Eccles,  William  Eccles,  Thomas  Foole,  Thomas  Whalley, 
and  Thomas  Jrf  aydock,  of  the  other  part ;  and  for  the  pecuniary  consideration  therein 
mentioned,  all  that  plot  or  parcel  of  land  lying  on  the  north-east  side  of  a  certain  close 
of  land  in  Over  Darwen,  &c. ,  called  the  Clark's  Field,  as  the  same  was  then  marked, 
measured  and  staked  forth,  containing  about  30  yards  in  length  and  26  yards  in 
breadth,  was  released  and  conveyed  by  the  said  John  Fish  to  the  use  of  the  persons 
parties  to  the  said  Indenture  of  the  second  part ;  and  by  a  deed  poll  bearing  date  the 
1st  and  2nd  of  January,  1718,  declared  that  the  plot  was  conveyed  to  them  upon  trust 
to  permit  an  Edifice,  Building  or  Meeting-house  to  be  erected  thereon,  and  from  and 
immediately  after  the  erection  thereof  upon  trust  to  let,  manage  and  improve  the  same 
to  the  best  yearly  profit  and  advantage  that  might  be,  and  as  they  the  said  Trustees  and 
the  survivors  of  them,  should  in  their  discretions  think  fit,  and  convert,  employ,  and 
dispose  of  the  clear  yearly  rents,  issues,  and  profits  of  the  said  Edifice,  Oratory  or 
Meeting-place,  parcel  of  land  and  premises  either  for  the  binding  and  placing  forth 
9  poor  children  apprentices,  born  and  resident  within  Over  Darwen,  Lower  Darwen, 
Eccleshill,  and  Yate  Bank,  to  callings  or  trades,  or  to  or  for  the  purchasing  of  Linen 
and  Woollen  Cloth  to  be  distributed  yearly  about  Martinmas  to  such  poor  children  as 
they  the  said  Trustees  should  think  most  fit.  Provided  always,  that  so  long  as  the 
Laws  of  this  Realm  should  allow  any  preaching  or  teaching  minister,  such  as  are  called 
Protestant  Dissenting  Minister,  to  preach  and  teach  God's  Word  in  any  Chapel  or  place 
within  England,  they  the  said  Trustees  should  permit  and  suffer  Griffith  Griffith,  the 
then  present  Minister  there,  and  such  Dissenting  Minister  as  should  from  time  to  time 
be  elected  and  chosen  by  the  trustees  for  the  time  being  or  the  major  part  of  them, 
and  the  communicants  or  such  as  did  usually  partake  of  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's 
Supper  in  the  said  Meeting-place,  and  the  constant  contributors  to  the  maintenance  of 
the  Ministers  there  or  the  major  part  of  them,  to  preach  and  teach  God's  word,  and  to 
administer  the  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  there,  and  to  exercise  all  offices  be- 
longing to  that  sacred  function  in  the  said  Edifice.  The  said  other  trusts  to  be  sus- 
pended while  such  preaching  was  allowed  by  law,  and  to  be  revived  and  take  effect  in 
the  event  of  such  preaching  being  legally  prohibited.  And  it  was  further  declared  and 
agreed  that,  so-long  as  the  laws  would  permit,  there  should  be  yearly  two  Anniversary  Ser- 


522  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

mons  preached  in  the  said  Edifice,  Oratory,  or  Meeting-house,  by  the  Minister,  the  one 
uponWhitson-Tuesday  and  the  other  upon  the  Fifth  of  November,  for  recommending  the 
works  of  charity  and  for  the  furtherance  of  the  knowledge  and  practice  of  the  Christian 
religion.  The  Trustees  to  meet  for  business  of  the  trust  twice  a  year  also  on  Whitson- 
Tuesday  and  Nov.  5th.  Provisions  follow  for  the  election  of  Trustees  to  fill  vacancies, 
and  for  renewal  of  the  trust  on  reduction  by  death  or  incompetency  of  the  trustees. 

The  chapel  was  built  upon  this  site  during  the  year  1719.  The 
work  of  building  was  chiefly  done  without  charge  by  members  of  the 
congregation,  and  the  building-materials  also  were  given  by  other  mem- 
bers, so  that  the  pecuniary  expenditure  was  not  very  large,  and  was 
subscribed  before  the  chapel  was  opened.  The  edifice  of  1719,  great 
portion  of  which  remains,  was  spacious,  the  dimensions  being  about 
7 oft.  by  4oft.,  and  the  walls,  though  of  small  stones  in  irregular  courses, 
were  rendered  strong  by  their  thickness.  The  chapel  was  lighted  by 
ordinary  mullioned  windows,  and  the  only  feature  indicating  its  purpose 
was  a  heavy  stone  belfry.  The  meeting-house  took  the  name  of  "Lower 
Chapel "  from  its  site  being  rather  lower  on  the  hill  than  the  older 
chapel-of-ease  (St.  James's  Church) ;  but  its  position  is  some  200  to  300 
feet  higher  than  the  central  part  of  the  modern  town  of  Darwen. 

Rev.  Mr.  Griffith  died  minister  here  in  1722,  and  was  buried  at 
the  foot  of  the  pulpit-stairs,  where  a  portion  of  the  grave-slab  was 
recently  to  be  seen.  He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Mr.  Burgess,  appointed 
about  the  year  1723,  and  resigned  about  1733.  The  next  minister  was 
Rev.  Benjamin  Mather,  who  was  appointed  in  1736,  and  died,  after 
twelve  years'  service,  Jan.  23rd,  1748-9.  He  was  buried  in  the  grave- 
yard of  the  chapel.1  There  had  been  some  division  of  the  society  on 
Mr.  Mather's  appointment  ;  and  a  seceding  section  chose  for  their 
minister  Mr.  Robert  Yates,  of  the  family  of  Yates  of  Pickup  Bank,  who 
had  been  educated  for  the  Nonconformist  ministry  at  Glasgow.  For 
Mr.  Yates  a  chapel  was  built  by  his  adherents  a  few  yards  to  the  south 
of  the  "Lower  Chapel."  It  was  known  as  "Yates's  chapel,"  and  is 
still  standing,  converted  into  dwelling-houses.  Mr.  Yates  preached  in 
this  chapel  until  his  death  in  1748.  The  minister  who  followed  Mr. 
Mather  at  the  "Lower  Chapel"  was  Mr.  Robert  Smalley,  who  married 
a  member  of  Mr.  Yates's  family,  and  the  matrimonial  event  was  the 
means  of  reuniting  the  two  congregations  at  the  old  meeting-house 
under  Mr.  Smalley's  pastorate ;  when  the  Yates'  chapel  was  disused  as 
a  place  of  public  worship.  Mr.  Robert  Smalley  was  born  at  Over  Darwen 

i  This  minister's  tombstone  in  the  ground  on  the  south  side  of  the  chapel  has  the  following 
epitaph  : — "In  hoc  tumulo  mortalitatis  suse  Exuviae  spe  lactse  Resurrectionis  deposuit  Benjaminus 
Matheriis,  S.  T.  P.,  hujus  Ecclesise  per  annos  duodecim  fidelis  Pastor  et  inter  omnes  Pietatis  et  Ami- 
citiaeassiduoscultor.  Eadem  qui  vixit  Eequanimitate  sine  ulto  nisi  cordis  ad  Christum  suspirio  animum 
expiravit  ZT.  Januarii  anno  1748-9,  setatis  60.  Amantissimi  conjugis,  optimi  Patris,  Theologi  vere 
Xtiani  clarum  reliquit  posterio  exemplum.  Exuviae  Edwardi  Matheriis  hujus  Ecclesije  Pastoris  Filii, 
nati  Decembris  31,  1727,  denati  19,  Decembris  13,  1746." 


LOWER  CHAPEL,  OVER  DARWEN.  523 

in  1729  (see  Smalley  family  of  Hey  Fold,  p.  509);  and  was  educated 
first  by  Dr.  Doddridge,  and  subsequently  studied  for  the  ministry  in 
Dr.  Jennings'  academy.  In  1749,  Mr.  Smalley  was  invited  to  become 
pastor  of  the  Independent  Church  in  his  native  town,  and  accepted  the 
appointment,  but  did  not  enter  upon  the  duties  until  the  completion  of 
his  college  term  in  1750.  Mr.  Smalley  was  ordained  Aug.  i4th,  1751  ; 
Dr.  Jennings,  his  tutor,  preached  the  ordination  sermon,  and  Mr. 
Guyse  delivered  the  charge.  The  chapel  was  found  too  small  for  the 
re-united  Nonconformists  of  Darwen,  and  it  was  made  more  commodious 
by  the  erection  of  a  gallery  in  1753,  when  the  fabric  was  otherwise 
improved  and  restored. 

A  paper  in  the  Philosophical  Transactions  for  1775,  on  "Duration 
of  Life  in  Towns  and  Country  Parishes  and  Villages,"  contains  vital 
statistics  from  several  places  in  Lancashire  obtained  by  Dr.  Percival, 
who  reports  a  return  from  Rev.  Mr.  Smalley  of  his  congregation  at 
Darwen  : — "  The  Rev.  Mr.  Smalley's  congregation  at  Darwent  consists 
of  1850  individuals,  viz.,  900  males,  950  females,  640  married  persons, 
30  widowers,  48  widows,  737  persons  under  the  age  of  15,  and  218 
above  50.  During  the  last  seven  years  the  births  have  amounted  to 
508,  the  deaths  to  233."  The  congregation  was  then  (a  century  ago) 
one  of  the  largest  Dissenting  communities  in  Lancashire. 

Rev.  Robert  Smalley  died,  aged  62,  Jan.  26th,  1791.  He  had 
been  40  years  pastor  of  this  church.  Mr.  Smalley  was  a  man  of  literary 
taste  and  attainments,  and  an  associate  of  some  of  the  first  men  of  letters 
and  science  of  his  time.  After  his  death,  an  indirect  attempt  to 
introduce  his  son,  Mr.  Richard  Smalley  (who  had  been  educated  for  a 
minister  but  whose  habits  were  not  such  as  became  the  function),  as 
successor  to  the  pastorate  led  to  trouble  and  the  detachment  of  a 
section  of  the  congregation,  who  formed  a  second  society,  and  built  a 
small  chapel  at  Pole  Lane.  Mr.  Richard  Smalley  had  to  resign  his 
appointment  as  minister  of  the  "Lower  Chapel"  after  about  a  year's 
probation.  The  next  minister,  Mr.  Barratt,  appointed  in  1792,  resigned 
in  1795.  ^n  J795  tne  present  minister's  house  was  built.  Rev.  Richard 
Bowden  was  appointed  minister  in  1796.  He  married,  in  1797,  a  Darwen 
lady,  Miss  Nancy  Catlow,  who  was  subsequently  drowned,  Nov.  2oth, 
1804,  when  crossing  a  ford  in  the  Darwen  stream  on  horseback  during 
a  flood.  Mr.  Bowden  resigned  this  pastorate  in  1813  and  removed  to 
London,  where  he  died  Jan.  2oth,  1830.  Succeeding  ministers  of  the 
"Lower  Chapel  "  have  been: — Robert  Blake,  from  Feb.,  1814  to  Aug., 
1819;  Robert  Littler,  from  1822  to  May,  1828;  Samuel  Nichols,  from 
May,  1829,  to  April,  1848  ;  R.  P.  Clarke,  from  1848  to  1859.  In  1852, 
it  was  reported  that  the  chapel  was  unsafe  from  the  sinking  of  its  founda- 


524  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

tions,  occasioned  by  coal  mining  underground  ;  and  a  majority  of  the 
congregation  resolved  to  erect  a  new  chapel  in  the  heart  of  the  town. 
This  was  done,  and  the  minister,  Rev.  R.  P.  Clarke,  continued  to  preach  in 
the  edifice  then  built.  A  considerable  number  of  the  congregation,  tradi- 
tionally attached  to  the  old  meeting-house,  refused  to  leave  it,  and 
undertook  to  restore  its  stability.  The  members  who  remained  took 
down  the  walls  of  the  chapel,  and,  after  the  foundations  had  been 
consolidated,  rebuilt  it  chiefly  with  the  old  materials  ;  but  the  east  front 
was  constructed  of  new  stone.  After  restoration,  the  "  Lower  Chapel  " 
was  re-opened  July  loth,  1853.  Rev.  George  Berry  became  minister 
of  the  remnant  of  the  congregation  in  April,  1854,  and  is  the  present 
pastor. 

The  site  of  the  "  Lower  Chapel "  and  its  extensive  graveyard  is 
on  the  slope  of  the  hill  ridge,  which  extends  along  the  east  side 
of  the  Darwen  valley.  The  Meeting-house  is  a  parallelogram,  with 
vestry  and  lecture  rooms  at  the  north  and  west  sides,  and  a  belfry 
surmounting  the  west  gable,  formed  by  ionic  pillars,  and  resting  upon  a 
turret-like  projection.  The  main  entrances  are  at  the  east  end ;  and  in 
the  upper  portion  of  the  east  wall  are  three  stone  panels  inscribed  with 
the  dates  of  the  original  erection  and  of  the  two  restorations  : — "1719;" 
"  J753  j"  "1853."  In  the  re-edification  of  1853,  the  mullioned  windows 
were  somewhat  enlarged  and  increased  in  number,  and  the  walls  were 
carried  a  little  higher.  Interiorly,  the  pulpit  is  placed  in  the  middle  of 
the  north  wall ;  to  the  right  of  the  pulpit  is  the  organ  apse.  Before  the 
rebenching  of  the  area,  in  1875,  the  pews  were  of  the  old-fashioned  high 
and  straight-backed  formation.  One  square  pew,  said  to  have  been 
brought  from  the  first  chapel  at  "  Bottoms "  built  for  Mr.  Sagar, 
had  inscribed  upon  a  panel  the  initials — "L  W  I"  and  date  "1704." 
In  accordance  with  an  old  custom,  several  ministers  and  members  of 
the  church  were  formerly  buried  under  the  communion  pew  and  other 
parts  of  the  area,  and  the  floor  is  partly  composed  of  inscribed  grave- 
stones. The  ceiling  is  new  arfd  substantially  panelled  in  wood.  A 
school-house  was  built  on  the  north  side  of  the  chapel  yard  in  1855. 

THE  POLE  LANE,  EBENEZER,  AND  BELGRAVE  CHAPELS. 
The  members  that  seceded  from  the  Lower  Chapel  on  the  appointment  of  Mr. 
Richard  Smalley  to  be  minister  in  1792,  built  soon  after  a  chapel  in  Pole  Lane,  on  the 
road  from  Darwen  to  Hoddlesden.  The  Pole  Lane  Chapel  was  opened  May  6th, 
1793.  Rev.  Henry  Townsend,  from  Cockermouth,  was  chosen  as  minister.  In 
August,  1806,  Mr.  Townsend  retired  from  that  pastorate  and,  assisted  by  his  friends, 
built  a  chapel  in  the  Bolton-road,  known  as  "  Townsend's Chapel,"  or  "  The  Refuge." 
It  was  a  small  square  structure,  without  galleries,  and  was  opened  in  1808.  Mr. 
Townsend  some  years  afterwards  betook  himself  to  secular  pursuits.  The  congregation 
at  Pole  Lane  Chapel  appointed  Mr.  William  Hacking  their  minister,  and  he  held  the 


BELGRAVE  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH,  DARWEN.      [PAGE  525 


' 


CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCHES  IN  OVER  DARWEN. 


525 


post  until  1822.  In  that  year,  the  two  congregations  at  Pole  Lane  Chapel1  and  "The 
Refuge "  coalesced,  and  the  latter  chapel  being  most  eligible  in  situation,  it  was 
selected  for  use,  re-edified  and  enlarged,  and  re-named  "  Ebenezer  Chapel."  Rev. 
Richard  Fletcher  became  minister  there  in  1823,  and  resigned  in  1831,  on  his  removal 
to  Manchester.  Rev.  Joseph  Plague  succeeded,  in  Oct.,  1831,  and  died  in  August, 
1835.  Rev.  S.  T.  Porter  followed,  in  1836,  and  quitted  Darvven  for  a  pastorate  in 
Glasgow  in  1848.  During  Mr.  Porter's  ministry  the  "Ebenezer  Chapel"  became  too 
small,  and  the  stately  chapel  in  Belgrave  Square  was  built,  at  a  cost  of  more  than 
£8000.  "Belgrave  Meeting  House"  was  opened  Oct.  2ist,  1847  ;  when  Dr.  Raffles 
preached.  Rev.  G.  B.  Johnson  succeeded  Mr.  Porter  in  1848,  and  resigned  in  1858. 
Rev.  D.  Herbert,  appointed  pastor  in  1859,  resigned  in  1865.  Rev.  James  McDougall, 
the  present  pastor,  was  appointed  in  1866.  The  old  "  Ebenezer  Chapel "  occupied 
ground  adjacent  to  the  present  chapel,  a  portion  of  which  was  taken  for  the  site  of 
the  Belgrave  Schools,  erected  at  a  cost  of  ^2,300.  Other  spacious  schools  were 
erected  by  this  congregation  in  Bolton  Road,  at  the  north  end  of  the  town,  in  1868, 
which  cost  about  ^2000.  A  school  at  Blacksnape,  attached  to  Belgrave  Church, 
was  built  in  1823.  The  Belgrave  Chapel  is  a  large  and  commodious  edifice  in  the 
transitional  style  of  gothic  architecture.  Its  plan  comprises  nave,  side  aisles,  east 
transept,  and  chancel  apse  (disposed  as  vestries  arid  organ  chamber)  at  the  south  end. 
The  salient  features  of  the  exterior  are,  a  lofty  porch  at  the  north  end  of  the  nave  and 
of  equal  elevation,  gabled  to  the  front,  and  opening  on  three  sides  beneath  high 
pointed  arches,  flanked  by  massive  buttresses.  From  the  roof-line  between  porch  and 
nave  springs  a  rich  arcaded  screen,  finished  with  three  gablets,  and  flanked  by 
conical  turrets  resting  upon  graduated  buttresses.  A  second  porch  on  the  east  side 
opens  into  the  transept,  by  a  pointed  arched  doorway,  under  coupled  lancet-windows. 
The  windows  of  the  aisles  are  lancet-lights.  The  interior  is  surrounded  by  galleries. 
Sittings  1 100.  Large  extensions  of  the  Belgrave  Schools  are  at  present  (1876)  in  pro- 
gress, and  the  project  includes  a  new  organ  for  the  chapel  and  other  alterations,  esti- 
mated to  cost  about  ;£6oco. 

DUCKWORTH  STREET  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH. 

This  church  was  built  in  1852-3  for  the  major  section  of  the  congregation  of  the 
old  foundation  of  Lower  Chapel,  and  was  opened  by  Rev.  Thos.  Raffles,  L.L.D.,  on 
June  23rd,  1853.  The  first  cost  was  about  ^4000  ;  but  the  use  of  bath  stone  for  the 
exterior  dressings  and  carving,  which  was  speedily  destroyed  by  the  humidity  and 
smoke  of  the  locality,  rendered  it  needful  that  extensive  restorations  should  be  made 
in  1868,  when  the  decayed  stone  was  replaced  with  Longridge  stone,  vestries  added, 
the  church  entirely  re-roofed,  and  a  large  organ  placed  in  the  chancel-recess.  The 
restorations  involved  an  additional  expenditure  of  ^2000.  Schools  had  previously  been 
built  on  a  site  at  the  north  side  of  the  Church,  at  a  cost  of  ,£2000,  and  a  manse,  costing 
,£1200,  had  also  been  provided.  The  church  is  an  elegant  gothic  design  ;  consisting  on 
plan  of  nave  with  side  aisles  enclosed  beneath  the  same  roof ;  the  bays  of  the  aisles 
terminating  in  gablets  on  the  roof-line ;  north  and  south  transepts ;  and  organ  chamber 
flanked  by  vestries  at  the  east  end.  The  entrances  are  at  the  west  front  under  an 
arcade  of  three  pointed  arches.  Large  traceried  windows  pierce  the  walls  of  the  west 
end  of  the  nave  and  the  transepts.  The  side  windows  also  have  traceried  heads. 

i  The  Pole  Lane  Chapel  has  been  demolished,  tut  its  buriaJ-ground  is  kept  enclosed  by  a  high 
wall,  and  contains  gravestones  of  the  Walmsley,  Green,  Hindle,  Leach,  and  Fish  families.  The  foun- 
dations of  the  chapel  at  the  north-east  angle  of  the  enclosure,  show  the  ground-plan  of  a  building 
about  35ft,  long*  by  2ift.  wide. 


526  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

There  is  no  tower,  but  the  gable  of  the  nave  is  high-pitched,  and  finished  with  a 
lofty  pinnacle.  The  interior  is  galleried  on  three  sides  ;  behind  the  pulpit  the  organ 
chamber  is  separated  from  the  church  by  an  arcade  of  two  pointed  arches.  Sittings 
1300.  Rev.  Thomas  Davies,  the  present  minister,  accepted  this  pastorate  in  1860, 
succeeding  Rev.  R.  P.  Clarke,  removed  to  Uxbridge  in  1859. 

WESLEY  AN  METHODIST  SOCIETY  IN  OVER  DARWEN. 

The  original  Wesleyan  Methodist  Society  in  Over  Darwen  was  formed 
about  the  year  1785.  John  Wesley  passed  through  the  township  several 
times  on  his  way  from  Bolton  to  Blackburn,  and  is  said  to  have  sojourned 
at  the  house  of  Mr.  Entwistle  at  Sough,  but  it  is  not  known  that  Wesley 
ever  preached  in  the  village.  Mr.  William  Banning,  the  Blackburn  Metho- 
dist, came  periodically  to  Danven  between  1785  and  1788,  and  preached 
in  the  open  air  upon  "  The  Green."  Among  the  first  resident  Methodists 
here  were  William  Greenwood,  John  Entwistle,  Richard  Cross  of 
Scholes  Fold  (father  of  the  late  Robert  Cross,  town's  missionary),  James 
Whittaker,  William  Crook,  and  Burgoin  Fish.  The  first  preaching-place 
was  a  room  over  a  blacksmith's  shop  in  Wellington  Fold.  A  large 
room  at  the  bottom  of  Water-street  was  fitted  up  as  a  place  of  worship 
and  Sunday  school,  and  opened  in  1788.  Next,  a  chapel  was  built  upon 
a  site  in  Back  Lane,  which  WTesley  visited  when  in  course  of  erection, 
accompanied  by  Mr.  Banning.  This  first  permanent  meeting-house  of 
the  Darwen  Methodists  was  opened  in  1791.  It  was  a  plain  structure 
about  42ft.  square,  with  vestries  in  the  rear,  and  a  small  belfry  on  the 
roof.  The  chapel  was  taken  down  in  1838  to  make  room  for  the 
"Centenary  Chapel,"  built  in  1839  upon  an  extended  site,  fronting  to 
Belgrave-square.  This  chapel  on  the  north  side  of  the  square  cost 
^£2,500.  It  has  a  rather  elegant  classic  frontage,  and  contained,  when 
in  use  as  a  chapel,  600  sittings.  The  school-room  was  in  the  basement. 
In  1863,  a  site  for  a  new  chapel  was  obtained  in  Station  Road,  the 
corner-stone  of  which  was  laid  on  the  ist  of  January,  1864,  by  John 
Holgate,  Esq.  The  new  chapel,  called  "  Wesley  Chapel,"  was  opened 
on  Good  Friday  (March  30th),  1866,  by  Rev.  John  Fairer  and  Rev. 
Wm.  Shaw  (President  of  the  Conference).  The  chapel  is  a  large  edifice 
of  classic  architecture,  built  of  freestone ;  and  has  a  striking  frontage 
emboldened  by  an  architrave  resting  upon  massive  corinthian  columns. 
The  internal  dimensions  are  92ft.  by  62ft.,  and  there  are  spacious 
galleries.  Cost  ^7, 700  ;  sittings  1250.  On  the  removal  of  the  con- 
gregation from  the  "  Centenary  Chapel"  to  Wesley  Chapel  in  1866,  the 
former  was  reconstructed  internally  for  use  as  Day  and  Sunday  Schools, 
at  a  cost  of  ;£T,OOO. 


DISSENTING  CHAPELS  IN  OVER  DARWEN. 


527 


ASTLEY-STREET  SCHOOL-CHAPEL.—  Astley-street  school,  formerly  used  by  the 
Independents,  was  taken  by  the  Wesleyan  Methodists  in  1870,  and  is  used  by  them 
as  a  mission-room  for  worship  and  for  Sunday  Schools.  Sittings  250. 

MISSION-ROOM,  OLD  WORKHOUSE.— In  the  building  which  was  formerly  the 
town's  workhouse,  the  Wesleyan  Society  now  conduct  a  Sunday  School,  and  religious 
worship.  The  preaching  room  will  contain  about  200  persons. 

PRIMITIVE  METHODIST  CHAPELS. 

RKD  EARTH  ROAD  CHAPEL.  — A  Primitive  Methodist  Society  was  formed  in 
Over  Darwen  about  the  year  1825.  Its  place  of  worship  was  a  temporary  one  in 
Winter-street  until  the  year  1832,  when  the  original  chapel  in  Red  Earth  Road  was 
built.  This  chapel,  with  some  enlargement  and  addition  of  school  building  served 
the  congregation  until  the  year  1875,  when  it  was  found  requisite  to  build  a  more 
spacious  chapel.  The  corner-stone  of  the  new  edifice,  on  a  site  adjacent  to  the  old 
one,  was  laid  by  John  Walmsley,  Esq.,  April  roth,  1875.  It  will  be  a  plain  gothic 
chapel,  consisting  of  nave  with  wings  at  the  end ;  and  vestries  and  gallery  for 
orchestra  behind  the  pulpit.  The  school-premises  are  in  the  basement  floor.  Inte- 
riorly, there  is  a  gallery  over  the  vestibule.  Cost  ,£3500  ;  sittings  700.  Rev.  James 
Crompton  is  present  minister. 

SCHOOL-CHAPEL,  SANDHILL. — A  school-chapel  in  Sandhill,  designed  for  a 
preaching  place  and  Sunday  School  for  the  Primitive  Methodists,  was  built  in  1869. 
Cost  ,£300  ;  sittings  200. 

SCHOOL-CHAPEL,  SOUGH. — A  mission  chapel  was  built  for  the  Primitive 
Methodists  at  Sough,  in  this  township,  in  1874.  Cost  ^"350;  sittings  200. 

OTHER  DISSENTING  CHAPELS. 

BAPTIST  CHAPEL,  BOLTON  ROAD. — A  Baptist  Church  was  formed  in  Over 
Darwen  in  1858;  for  which  a  permanent  chapel  was  built  in  Bolton  road,  in  1862. 
It  is  a  neat  square  edifice,  in  the  classic  style,  with  frontage  relieved  over  the 
central  doorways  by  pillasters  with  carved  capitals.  The  interior  of  the  chapel  is 
fitted  with  galleries  ;  and  behind  the  pulpit  at  the  east  end  is  the  organ  chamber. 
The  schools  are  in  the  basement  storey.  Cost  ^3000  ;  sittings  550. 

UNITED  FREE  METHODIST  CHAPEL,  DUCKWORTH  STREET. — The  Wesleyan 
Association  built  in  Over  Darwen  a  chapel  in  1838,  at  a  cost  of  ^"2,200,  which  subse- 
quently became  the  property  of  the  United  Methodist  Free  Church.  This  chapel  was 
made  much  larger  by  an  extension  at  the  rear  in  1861,  costing  ^"2400.  The  interior 
is  fitted  with  galleries,  and  an  organ.  Sittings  700. 

UNITED  METHODIST  SCHOOL-CHAPEL,  HOLLINS. — The  United  Free  Methodists 
erected,  in  1870,  school  buildings  at  Hollins,  bordering  this  township,  which  are  used 
both  as  Day  and  Sunday  Schools  and  for  public  worship.  The  school-chapel  was 
opened  Dec.  1st,  1870.  Cost  ,£300  ;  sittings  300. 

ST.  WILLIAM'S  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  CHAPEL. — A  structure  for  use  as  chapel 
and  school  was  built  and  opened  for  Roman  Catholic  worship  on  June  29th,  1856. 
Subsequently  another  attached  building  has  been  provided  for  school-purposes  and  the 
original  fabric  is  now  used  exclusively  as  a  chapel.  Sittings  250.  The  cost  of  the  premises 
has  been  about  ^1500.  Rev.  D.  Vanderweighe  is  the  priest  in  charge  of  this  mission. 

DAY  AND  SUNDAY  SCHOOLS. 

The  Day  Schools  of  Darwen  are  numerous  and  generally  efficient,  and  conducted 
in  excellent  school  buildings,  erected  by  the  religious  denominations  by  which  the 


528  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

schools  are  sustained.     In  the  Report  of  the  Committee  of  Council  on  Education  for 
1874-5,  the  Schools  in  Darwen  under  Government  inspection  are  the  following  : — 
CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND  (NATIONAL)  : —       Average  Annual  Grant. 

Attendance.  £    s.    d. 

St.  James's   -  95  78  10    o 

Holy  Trinity  279  -         190  19     o 

St.  John's     -  210  164    8     3 

Culvert          -  1 68          -         125    o    o 

Hoddlesden  74  54  15     o 

St.  Cuthbert's  97  78     i     8 

NONCONFORMIST  (BRITISH)  :  — 

Wesleyan      -  218  163  10    o 

Belgrave  Congregational       -  196  -         139     8     2 

Bolton  Road  ,,  178  -         118    o    o 

Blacksnape  ,,  42  29    o    o 

Duckworth  Street    „  272  204    o    o 

Lower  Chapel          ,,  60  39  15     6 

Hollins  U.  Free  Methodist  -  109  89  12  n 

ROMAN  CATHOLIC  :— 

St.  William's  133  -         116     6     3 

The  total  of  average  attendance  at  these  schools  is  2131  ;  but  the  number  of 
children  enrolled  on  the  school-books  exceeds  3500 ;  and  the  total  school  accommodation 
in  the  schools  named  will  not  be  less  than  for  5000  children.  Towards  the  building 
of  the  schools,  public  grants  have  been  made  to  St.  James's  School,  of  ^72  ;  Holy 
Trinity  School  ,£992  8s.;  and  Hoddlesden,  ,£171. 

The  Sunday  Schools  attached  to  every  place  of  worship  in  Over  Darwen  include 
an  aggregate  of  more  than  6000  Sunday  Scholars. 

MARY  SMALLEY'S  CHARITY. 

Mrs.  Mary  Smalley,  by  her  Will  dated  i6th  Sept.,  1794,  gave  to 
the  churchwardens  of  Over  Darwen  for  the  time  being  a  yearly  rent  of 
£i  i os.,  payable  to  testatrix  and  her  heirs  for  999  years  from  Feb.  2nd, 
1791,  by  virtue  of  a  deed  made  in  consideration  of  a  demise  of  part  of  a 
tenement  in  Over  Darwen  called  White  Hall,  to  be  laid  out  in  linen 
cloth  annually  for  distribution  amongst  the  Poor  of  that  place.  This 
donation  was  made  void  by  the  Act  9  Geo.  II.  c.  36 ;  but  a  sum  of 
^i  i  os.  has  usually  (but  not  regularly  every  year)  been  paid  to  the 
churchwarden  of  St.  James's,  and  distributed  by  him  amongst  Poor 
parishioners. 


GREAT  HARWOOD  TOWNSHIP. 


529 


CHAPTER  VIIL— THE  TOWNSHIP  OF   GREAT  HARWOOD. 

Topography — Name — Early  industries — Population — Cotton  Factories — Local  Government — 
Descent  of  the  Manor — Fytton,  original  Lords — Hesketh  of  Martholme— Martholme  Hall — 
Nowell — Lomax,  present  Lord — Minor  Families — Cockshutt — Duxbury — Mercer — Robertshaw 
— Turner — Church  of  St.  Bartholomew — Annals  of  the  Chapelry— Church  Fabric — List  of 
Vicars— Roman  Catholic  Church— Independent  and  Methodist  Chapels— Charities— Sir  Edmund 
Assheton's  Dole— The  School  Trust—  Elementary  Schools. 

GREAT  HARWOOD  township,  anciently  designated  Harewodt 
\  Magna,  or  Moche  Harwode,  occupies  the  easterly  side  of  the 
parish  of  Blackburn  betwixt  Billington  on  the  north  and  Rishton  on  the 
south.  The  extent  of  the  township  is  given  as  2510  statute  acres.  On 
the  north-west  side  of  Great  Harwood  extends  a  moor  which  culminates 
in  the  conical  hill  of  Bowlee  and  the  heights  above  Allsprings  Park,  which 
command  a  noble  landscape  across  the  deep  gorge  of  the  Calder  near 
Moreton,  and  up  the  ravine  of  Sabden  with  Pendle-hill  for  background. 
The  fertile  demesne  of  Martholme,  an  ancient  seat  of  the  Heskeths, 
comprises  the  low  lands  of  the  township  along  the  left  bank  of  the 
Calder  river.  The  modern  manufacturing  village  or  town  of  Harwood 
extends  down  the  southern  slope  of  the  moor  in  the  direction  of  the 
Hyndburn,  a  tributary  of  the  Calder,  which  here  divides  the  township 
from  Clayton-in-les-Moors  in  Whalley  parish.  United  with  a  portion  of 
Rishton  township  Great  Harwood  is  an  old  parochial  chapelry. 

The  name  given  in  Saxon  times  to  the  vill,  of  Harewode,  implies 
that  its  primitive  condition  was  chiefly  that  of  woodland.  Yet  its  ripa- 
' '  rian  levels  must  have  invited  agriculture  at  an  early  period,  and  doubt- 
less formed  the  first  clearing  of  land  which  soon  after  the  Norman 
Conquest  is  found  treated  by  the  superior  lord  as  a  mesne  manor.  But 
as  late  as  the  sixteenth  century,  a  great  proportion  of  the  soil  of  Great 
Harwood  was  still  unreclaimed  in  moor  and  common,  or  covered  with 
timber  and  underwood. 

Although  the  population  of  this  township  was  chiefly  agricultural 
jmtil  a  recent  period,  the  weaving  of  rough  linen  cloths  and  of  checks 
>r  plaids  was' an  industry  of  some  importance  in  Great  Harwood  at  least 

34 


530  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

250  years  since ;  and  the  Harwood  chapmen  or  dealers  in  these  native 
wares  were  noted  for  their  pushing  habits  as  traders  in  the  Common- 
wealth time.  The  native  yeoman  families  of  Hindle,  Taylor,  Mercer, 
Robertshaw,  Dobson,  Cunliffe,  Dugdale,  Turner,  and  Feilden,  had  long 
furnished  energetic  salesmen  of  the  textile  fabrics  made  in  the  district. 
Sixty  years  ago  there  was  a  busy  cottage  industry  in  weaving  hand-loom 
calico  ;  and  then  the  factory  system  came  in  to  give  its  great  impetus  to 
trade  and  to  population.  A  number  of  the  people  were  also  profitably 
employed  at  the  large  printworks  just  beyond  the  bottom  of  the  village 
at  Oakenshaw.  The  first  cotton  mill  was  started  in  Great  Harwood 
by  Mr.  Lawrence  Catterall,  about  the  year  1846;  and  in  spite  of  the 
want  of  railroad  connexion  with  the  Manchester  and  Liverpool  markets 
(a  deficiency  now  about  to  be  supplied  by  a  branch  railway  from  Black- 
burn through  the  township),  a  considerable  town  has  risen  on  the  site 
of  the  old  village  of  Harwood,  made  up  of  manufactories  and  cottages 
for  the  workpeople,  with  a  good  supply  of  shops,  and  an  adequate 
provision  of  places  of  religious  worship  and  schools. 

The  population  of  the  township  in  1718  was  not  more  than 
700  souls.  At  the  census  of  1801  the  population  was  1659;  and  its 
progress  since  has  been  as  follows: — In  1811,  1676  persons;  1821, 
2104;  1831,  2436;  1841,  2273;  1851,  2548;  1861,  4070;  1871, 
4907;  1876  (estimate),  5500. 

The  cotton  manufacture  of  Great  Harwood  is  carried  on  in  four 
spinning  mills  (including  a  second  mill  of  the  "Butts  Spinning  Company" 
in  process  of  erection)  with  an  aggregate  of  83,000  spindles,  and  nine 
weaving  mills  (including  one  mill  of  612  power  looms  at  present 
standing),  having  a  total  of  4390  power  looms.  The  other  trading 
industries  of  the  town  are  the  Great  Harwood  Coal  Company,  which 
works  two  coal  pits,  one  at  Martholme,  and  the  other  at  the  top  of 
Water  Street  in  Lowertown ;  and  the  Clayton  Street  Iron  Foundry. 

The  town  is  under  the  government  of  a  Local  Board  of  Health, 
composed  of  twelve  members.  The  formation  of  the  Board  was 
gazetted  Sept.  25th,  1863  ;  and  the  first  election  of  members  took  place 
Oct  22nd,  1863.  John  Mercer,  Esq.,  J.P.,  was  appointed  Chairman  at 
the  Board's  first  meeting  on  Nov.  4th,  in  the  same  year.  Thomas 
Clough,  Esq.,  first  Clerk  to  the  Board,  resigned  in  Nov.  1866,  when  Mr. 
Richard  Chippendale,  the  present  Clerk,  was  appointed.  Mr.  Joseph 
Haydock,  present  Chairman,  has  held  the  office  since  Nov.,  1867.  The 
Local  Board  have  carried  out,  at  a  cost  of  about  ^12,000,  a  complete 
system  of  drainage,  whereby  the  sanitary  state  of  the  town  has  been 
greatly  improved,  and  serious  outbreaks  of  typhoid  fever,  which  before 
the  existence  of  the  Board  had  been  frequent,  have  been  prevented. 


DESCENT  OF  GREAT  HARWOOD  MANOR. 


531 


Great  Hanvood  is  supplied  with  gas  by  the  Accrington  Gas 
Company ;  and  with  water  by  the  Accrington  Water  Works  Company, 
who  are  constructing  new  reservoirs  at  the  Dean  in  this  township  for  the 
supply  of  water  to  Great  Harwood,  Clayton,  Rishton,  and  Church-Kirk. 

DESCENT  OF  THE   MANOR. 

After  the  Norman  settlement,  this  manor  remained  in  the  hands 
of  De  Lascys,  lords  of  Blackburnshire,  until  Henry  de  Lascy  granted 
it  to  Richard  de  ffytton,  who  was  Justice  of  Chester,  A,D.  1233.  The 
grant  was  confirmed  by  Robert  de  Lascy,  son  of  Henry. 

The  ancient  boundaries  of  the  township  are  thus  defined  in  Robert  de  Lascy's 
charter  : — Beginning  at  the  head  of  the  Redbrok,  following  the  Redbrok  eastwards 
unto  the  Denecrage,  and  so  on  the  west  side  of  the  same  ascending  northwards  on  the 
west  unto  the  Stonerake  in  the  way  there,  so  following  unto  the  foot  of  the  Rissheham 
on  the  north  side  of  the  said  way,  and  so  from  the  foot  of  the  Rissheham  unto  the  lay 
below  Sixcliff,  following  thence  unto  the  Nabbnoke,  following  downwards  unto  the 
little  rivulet,  following  the  rivulet  below  the  Fallingstone  unto  the  water  of  Caldre, 
following  the  said  water  upwards  unto  the  foot  of  the  water  of  Hyndburne,  and  so  up 
the  watercourse  of  Hyndburne  unto  the  foot  of  Northdene,  following  upwards  the 
water  of  Northdene  westward  unto  a  certain  rivulet  crossing  Dungecar,  following  the 
said  rivulet  up  below  Taggetstone,  following  the  said  rivulet  as  long  as  it  continues, 
and  thence  straight  to  the  head  of  Redbrok,  the  first  boundary. 

FYTTON,  LORDS  OF  GREAT  HARWOOD. 

Richard  de  ffytton,  who  obtained  the  grant  of  this  manor,  was 
eldest  son  of  Richard  de  ffytton  of  Bolyn,  Co.  Chester,1  who  had  a 
second  son  John  (named  hereafter).  Richard  de  ffytton  died  in  1246. 
His  son  and  heir  was  Hugh. 

Hugh  ffytton,  eldest  son  of  Richard,  had  a  grant  from  his  sire  of 

all    the    manor  of    Harwode   in   Blackburnshire,"    with   homage    of 

Richard  Phitun,  grantor's  uncle,  and  John,  his  brother.     In  the  Testa 

de  Nevill,  Hugh  Fiton  appears,  holding  the  fourth  part  of  a  knight's  fee 

in  Harwode  of  the  Earl  of  Lincoln.     He  had  a  son  Edmund. 

Edmund  ffytton,  son  of  Hugh,  had  a  son  John,  from  whom  des- 
cended the  ffyttons  of  Bolyn  and  Gawsworth.  But  this  Edmund  ffytton 
had  granted,  before  the  birth  of  a  son,  to  his  kinsman,  Richard  ffytton, 
all  his  land  of  Harewode.  Edmund  ffytton  died  in  24  Edw.  I.  (1296). 

Richard  Fytton,  grantee  of  Harwood  Manor  from  Edmund  last- 
named,  was  the  son  of  John  Fytton,  brother  of  Richard  first-named 
above.  He  had  a  son  William,  and  three  daughters,  Maude,  Amabil, 
and  Elizabeth.  William,  Richard's  son,  died  without  issue,  probably 
•in  his  father's  lifetime,  and  thus  his  three  sisters,  Richard's  daughters, 
(became  co-heirs  of  this  manorial  estate.  An  indenture  in  Norman- 

i  The  descent  of  Fyttons  in  the  Hesketh  Pedigree  Roll  is  wrong.      Mr.  W.  A.  Hulton's  account 
'Coucher  Book  of  Whalley  Abbey,  pp.  845-6)  agrees  with  known  evidences,  and  is  followed  above. 


532  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

French  inserted  by  St.  George  in  the  Hesketh  record  relates  to  a 
dispute  which  was  between  John  de  Hesketh  and  Adam  Nowell 
concerning  tenements  in  Great  Harwood  which,  after  the  death  of 
William  Fitton,  were  partitioned  between  his  three  sisters  and  heirs 
and  their  lords,  viz.,  between  William  de  Heskaith  and  Maude  his 
wife,  Edmond  de  Legh  and  Amabilia  his  wife,  and  Roger  Nowell  and 
Elizabeth  his  wife.  This  was  in  the  reign  of  Edward  II.  By  this 
division  the  Heskeths  of  Rufford,  Nowells  of  Great  Mearley,  and  De 
Leghs  of  Hapton,  became  joint  lords  of  the  manor;  but  presently 
one  of  the  Heskeths  purchased  the  portion  of  De  Legh,  and  thereafter 
held  two  third-parts  of  the  estate  and  manorial  rights. 

HESKETH  OF  HESKETH,  RUFFORD,   AND  MARTHOLME. 

Richard  de  Hesketh,  the  first  known  member  of  this  ancient  house, 
had  a  son  and  heir,  William,  who  succeeded  him.  William  de  Hesketh 
married  Anabel,  daughter  and  heir  of  Richard  de  Stafford,  and  had 
a  son  Robert.  Robert  Hesketh  of  Hesketh  was  father  of  William. 

William  Hesketh  had  to  wife  Elbora,  daughter  and  sole  heiress  of 
Richard  and  Isabel  de  Tottleworth  (in  Rishton  township),  and  had  issue 
a  son  William ;  and  younger  sons,  John,  and  Adam. 

This  son  was  "Sir  William  Hesketh,  Knt.,  lord  of  Heskaith  and 
Beconsawe,"  who  married,  in  1276,  Maude,  daughter  and  co-heir  of 
Richard  Fytton,  lord  of  Great  Harwood.  Sir  William  Hesketh  is  found 
holding,  in  1311,  two  carucates  of  land  in  the  township  by  knight  service 
and  rent  of  2s.  6d.  to  Clyderhou  court.  Sir  William  had  sons,  Thomas, 
the  heir,  and  Adam,  who  had  issue  William. 

Thomas  Hesketh  of  Rufford,  lord  of  Great  Harwood,  married 
Alice,  daughter  of  Waring  de  Bispham,  lord  of  Bispham,  and  had  issues 
Robert,  died  without  issue ;  John ;  William ;  and  Richard  (who  had  a 
son  Stephen) ;  also  a  daughter  Margaret,  wife  of  Roger  Nowell,  Esq. 

Robert,  first  son  of  Thomas,  being  dead  without  heir,  the  estates 
passed  to  the  second  son,  John.  Sir  John  Hesketh,  Knt.,  married 
Alice,  sole  daughter  and  heir  of  Edmund  Fytton,  lord  of  half  Rufford, 
and  had  issue,  a  son  William,  and  a  daughter  Matilda, 

Sir  William  Hesketh,  Knt.,  son  and  heir  of  Sir  John,  was  living  in 
the  29th  Edward  III.  (1355).  Sir  William  had  to  wife  Marcilla,  daughter 
and  co-heir  of  Twenge,  of  Kendal,  and  had  sons,  Thomas,  and  William. 

Thomas  Hesketh,  Esq.,  by  his  wife,  Margaret,  daughter  of  Thomas 
Banestre,1  had  sons,  Robert,  who  died  in  1399  without  issue;  Nicholas, 
next  heir;  and  Gilbert.  In  1377  Thomas  Hesketh  was  returned  as 

i  Of  the  branch  of  Banastres  seated  in  Leyland  Hundred.  The  Hesketh  pedigrees  all  err  in 
styling  this  Thomas  Banastre  lord  of  Newton  ami  Walton.  Mr.  Wm.  Langton  points  oiU  that  no 
Thomas  Banastre  ever  held  those  lordships. 


HESKETH  OF  MARTHOLME.  ^3 

holding  the  fourth  part  of  a  Knight's  fee  in  Harwood  Magna  of  the 
Duke  of  Lancaster,  and  paying  55.  to  the  Court  at  Cliderhou. 

Nicholas  Hesketh,  Esq.,  succeeding  Thomas  his  father,  married 
Margaret,  daughter  of  -  -  Minshull  (she  died  in  1417,  her  husband 
being  before  deceased  ;  for  in  April,  1417,  the  escheator  received  precept 
to  assign  to  Margaret,  widow  of  Nicholas  de  Hesketh,  her  reasonable 
dower  out  of  her  husband's  lands).  Nicholas  de  Hesketh  died  Aug.  roth, 
1416.  By  inquisition  taken  at  Ormskirk,  Jan.  28th,  1417,  it  was  found 
that  Nicholas  de  Hesketh  died  seized  in  his  lordship  as  of  fee  of  the 
manor  of  Harwood,  held  of  the  king  in  chief  as  of  his  duchy  of 
Lancaster  by  knight  service,  worth  yearly  ;£io  ;  also  of  Roghford 
(Rufford)  manor,  held  of  the  abbot  and  convent  of  Chester  in  socage 
by  the  rent  of  403.  yearly,  worth  £22  ;  also  of  one  messuage  in  the  vill 
of  Risshton  held  of  the  heir  of  Edmond  Talbot  in  socage,  by  the  rent 
of  6s.  8d.  yearly,  worth  4  marks. 

Thomas  Hesketh,  son  and  heir,  was  aged  10  years  in  141 7. l  March 
9th,  6th  Henry  VI.  (1427),  a  writ  de  (ztate  probanda  was  addressed  to 
the  escheator  of  Lancashire  for  Thomas  de  Hesketh,  son  and  heir  of 
Nicholas,  being  in  the  wardship  of  Sir  Robert  Lawrence,  Knt.;  and  a 
few  days  later,  the  escheator  received  a  precept  to  give  to  Thomas  de 
Hesketh,  son  and  heir  of  Nicholas,  livery  of  the  lands  of  his  inheritance. 
Thomas  Hesketh  married,  about  1417,  Sibill,  daughter  and  co-heir 
of  Sir  Robert  Lawrence,  Knt.,  and  had  issue,  sons,  Hugh,  died  with- 
out issue ;  Thomas,  eventual  heir;  and  Nicholas.  Thomas  Hesketh, 
Esq.,  died  Dec.  iSth,  I458,3  being  seized  of  Great  Harwood  and  Rufford 
manors,  and  of  a  messuage  in  Rishton. 

Thomas  Hesketh,  Esq.,  lord  of  Rufford  and  Martholme,  &c., 
succeeded  Sir  Thomas  his  sire,  and  died  Oct.  8th,  1463.  His  wife  was 
Margaret,  daughter  of  Hamon  (or  Hamnet)  Mascye  of  Rixton,  Esq.,  by 
whom  he  had  a  numerous  progeny  : — sons,  Robert,  the  heir  ;  William 
Hesketh,  chaplain;  Thomas;  John,  a  priest;  Hugh;  William  (father 
of  Bartholomew,  first  of  Aughton) ;  Geoffrey ;  Richard  ;  Henry ;  and 
Nicholas,  a  priest ;  also  one  daughter,  Margaret 

1  Inquisition  taken  March  5th,  1428,  showed  that  Thomas  de  Hesketh  was  then  of  the  age  of  21 
years  and  upwards,  and  that  his  father  Nicholas  de  Hesketh  said  that  Thomas  de  Hesketh  was  born 
at  Laholmes,  7th  Henry  IV.  (1406),  and  was  baptized  at  the  church  of  Croston.    (Lane.   Inquis. ,  ed. 
by  Mr.  Langton.) 

2  The  Inquisition  for  the  escheat,    taken  May  gth,    1460,   returns  that   Robert    Hesketh,   son  of 
Thomas,  was  his  next  heir,  aged  31  years  ;  but  the  family  Pedigree  Koll  differs  here  in  placing  another 
Thomas  Hesketh  as  son  and  successor  of  Thomas  who  died  in  1458,  and  Robert  Hesketh  as  son  and 
heir  of  the  later  Thomas.     The  printed  pedigree  of  the  family  has   been  followed  in  the  text,   but  it 
cannot  be  reconciled  with  the  evidence  of  two  inquisitions  abstracted  by  Christopher  Towneley,  which 
clearly  show  Nicholas,  dying  in  1416,  father  of  Thomas,   died  in  1458,  father  of  Robert,    aged  31  in 
1460.      For  copies  of  these  inquisitions  I  have  to  thank  Wm.  Langton,  Esq. 


534  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Robert  Hesketh,  Esq.,  son  of  Thomas,  died  Jan.  ist,  1489-90.  His 
wife  was  Alice,  daughter  of  Sir  Robert  Booth,  Knt,  of  Dunham  Mascye, 
Co.  Chester.  Issue,  sons,  Thomas  the  heir  ;  Robert ;  William  ;  John  ; 
Hugh  (Hugh  Hesketh,  clerk,  ordained  in  1500.  chantry  priest  at  Rufford 
in  1506,  nominated  Bishop  of  Man  by  Thomas  Earl  of  Derby,  in  1522); 
a  second  William;  Geoffrey;  Richard  (Richard  Hesketh,  Attorney  General 
to  Henry  VIII.,  died  Aug.  iyth,  1520);  Henry,  and  Nicholas;  and 
daughters,  Margaret,  wife  of  Henry  Kighley,  Esq.;  Dowse,  first  wife  of 
John  Nowell  of  Read,  Esq. ;  and  Alice,  wife  of  Sir  Richard  Aughton, 
Knt.  The  escheat  inquisition  was  taken  ten  years  after  the  death  of 
Robert  Hesketh,  Esq.,  in  the  i4th  Henry  VII.,  when  it  was  found  that 
he  had  enfeoffed  Robert  Boothe  and  others  in  his  estates,  including 
Markithholme  Manor  in  Magna  Harwood,  held  of  the  King  by  knight 
service ;  lands  in  Nether  Harwood  and  Totleworth,  &c.  Thomas 
Hesketh  was  his  son  and  heir.  After  the  death  of  Robert  Hesketh, 
Esq.,  his  widow,  Alice,  professed  chastity,  took  the  order  of  the  Mantle 
and  the  Ring,  and  founded  a  chantry  at  the  altar  of  St.  Mary  in  Rufford 
chapel.  Her  sepulchral  memorial  is  a  Latin  epitaph : — "  Hie  jacet  Alicia 
Hesketh,  vidua,  quondam  uxor  Rob'ti  Hesketh,  armig.,  quse  obiit  1 7  die 
Sep.  An.  Dom.  1498  (14  Henry  VII).  Cujus  anime  propitietur  Deus." 

Thomas  Hesketh,  Esq.,  next  lord  of  Great  Harwood,  married, 
first,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  William  Fleming,  Baron  of  Wath  and  lord 
of  Croston.  From  her  he  was  divorced,  on  her  declaration  that  she 
had  another  husband,  in  the  year  1497.*  Thomas  Hesketh  had  a  son 
Robert,  not  born  in  matrimony,  by  Alice  daughter  of  Christopher 
Haworth,  styled  his  second  wife  in  the  Visitation  of  1567;  and  had 
another  bastard  son,  Charles,  and  a  daughter  Helen.  He  afterwards 
married  Grace,  daughter  of  Sir  John  Towneley,  Knt.  (she  died  June  29th, 
1510).  Thomas  Hesketh,  Esq.,  died  Aug.  i4th,  1523  ;3  and  the  escheat, 

1  Documents  in  Harleian  MS.  2077,  relating  to  the  process  of  this  divorce,  set  forth  that  Thomas 
Hesketh  married  Elizabeth  Fleming,  both  being  under  age,  and  either  of  them  being  entitled  to 
fourscore  marks  yearly,  and  long  after  the  marriage  it  fortuned  the  said  Elizabeth  to  be  with  child, 
and  she  confessed  before  the  birth  of  that  child  that  it  was  another  man's  and  another  husband's ; 
also,  that  Elizabeth  Fleming  before  the  divorce  had  given  to  Thomas  Hesketh  that  was  her  husband 
and  his  heirs  part  of  her  lands,  worth  yearly  betwixt  the  value  of  £20  and  40  marks  ;  and  that  after 
the  divorce  she  had  a  son  Edward  Fleming,  married  Thurston  Hall,  and  had  by  him  four  or  five 
children,  &c. 

2  An  indenture  dated  the  6th  Aug.,  14  Henry  VIII.  (1522:),  witnesses  that  Thomas  Hesketh,  Esq., 
had  delivered  unto  John,  Abbot  of  Whalley,  and  to  the  Convent  there,  "  threttene  peaces  of  evidences 
safely  and  surely  to  be  kepid  in  ye  said  Monastrie  to  ye  use  of  ye  said  Thomas  for  terme  of  his  liff," 
and  after  his  decease  "  to  be  kepid  in  ye  said  Monastrie  to  ye  use  of  Robert  Hesketh  sone  of  ye  said 
Thomas  and  of  ye  heirs  male  of  ye  said  Robert,"  &c.  No.  8  of  these  evidences  is  the  exemplification 
of  a  recovery  had  by  William  Molyneux  Esq.  and  others,  against  Thomas  Hesketh,  Esq.,  of  all  his 
manors,  mesnes,  lands,  &c.,  in  the  county  of  Lancaster,  for  the  use  of  the  said  Thomas  and  his  heirs 
in  fee  simple.  Done  at  the  Lancaster  sessions,  3  Henry  VIII.  (1511).  No.  12  is  a  Will  made  by 
Thomas  Hesketh,  Esq.,  of  the  same,  dated  2nd  July,  14  Henry  VIII.  (1522),  for  the  "more  plainer 
declaration  of  certen  articles  specyfied  in  ye  said  former  Will,"  &c.  (Towneley  MSS.) 


HESKETH  OF  MARTHOLME.  535 

of  the  1 5th  Henry  VIII. ,  returned  him  as  having  been  seized 
of  Rufford  Manor  and  Chantry  ;  Hoghwick  manor  ;  in  Magna 
Harwode,  of  the  manor  of  Martholme ;  and  of  messuages,  lands, 
woodlands,  and  rents  in  Totilworthe,  Oswaldtwisell,  Wiswall,  Dynkley, 
Aghton,  Walton-in-le-Dale,  Witton,  Mellor,  and  in  about  57  other  town- 
ships and  hamlets  in  Lancashire,  Yorkshire,  and  Westmoreland. 
Robert  Hesketh  his  natural  son  was  then  a  minor,  and  was  made  by  his 
father's  Will  successor  to  the  hereditary  estates. 

Sir  Robert  Hesketh,  Knt.  (son  of  Thomas)  is  recorded  to  have 
"  served  King  Henry  VIII.  in  Fraunce,  and  for  his  valoure,  forwardnes, 
actyvytie  and  good  service  theare  was  knighted  by  the  King's  own  hand 
with  great  countenance  and  many  good  woordes."  This  Knight  married 
Grace,  daughter  of  Sir  John  Towneley  of  Towneley,  Knt.,  and  by  her  had 
issue,  Thomas ;  Robert ;  Ellen,  wife  of  Richard  Barton  of  Barton  Row, 
Esq.;  and  Jane,  wife  of  Richard  Asheton  of  Croston,  Esq.  Sir  Robert 
Hesketh  died  in  1539.  The  Hesketh  tomb  at  Rufford  church  formerly 
bore  the  epitaph  : — "  Here  lyeth  under  Sir  Robert  Hesketh,  Knt.,  and 
Dame  Grace  his  wife,  which  said  Robert  dyed  the  8th  day  of  February, 
A.D.  1539,  and  the  foresaid  Grace  dyed  the  28th  of  May,  A.D.  1543-" 

Thomas  Hesketh,  lord  of  Rufford,  Martholme,  Harwode,  knighted 
Oct.  2nd,  1553,  was  Sheriff  of  Lancashire  in  1563.  He  is  stated  to 
have  "  served  his  sovraigne  (Elizabeth)  in  Scotland  at  the  seige  of 
Leethe  (Leith),  and  theare  was  sore  hurte  in  divers  places,  and  had  his 
ensigne  strooken  downe,  which  he  recovered  againe,  with  great  commen- 
dations for  his  forwardnes  and  good  service,  and  was  in  his  latter  dayes 
a  noteable  good  housekeeper,  and  benefactor  to  all  men  singuler  in  eny 
science,1  and  greatlie  repaired  the  house  at  Martholme  and  Holmes  Wood, 
and  the  Chappell  at  Rufford."  His  wife  was  Alice,  daughter  of  Sir 
John  Holcroft,  of  Holcroft,  Knt.,  and  he  had  sons,  Robert,  bapt.  at 
Whalley,  Jan.  2oth,  1560;  Thomas,  bapt.  at  Great  Hanvood,  May  i5th, 
1561  ;  and  Richard,  bapt.  at  Great  Harwood,  July  28th,  1562;  and 
daughters,  Grace,  bapt.  at  Whalley,  Nov.  gth,  1554;  Dorothy,  wife  of 
Henry  Squier;  and  Margery,  bapt.  at  Whalley,  Nov.  1510,  1557,  married 
Nicholas  Skillicorne,  Esq.,  of  the  Fylde,  and  died  May  loth,  buried  at 
Great  Harwood  Church,  May  i6th,  1606.  Sir  Thomas  Hesketh,  Knt., 
died  in  1588.  The  wardens  of  Harwood  have  recorded: — "Thomas 
Hesketh  knyghte  dyed  20  daie  of  June  in  ye  30  yere  of  Quene  Elizabeth, 
ano.  dom.  1588,  and  was  buryed  in  ye  chappell."  His  Will  is  dated  June 

i  John  Gerarde,  in  his  "Herbal  "  (1597),  names  the  Lancashire  asphodel  as  growinglin  moist 
places  "  near  unto  Mawdesley  and  Martom  [Martholme],  where  it  was  found  by  a  worshipful  and 
learned  gentleman,  a  diligent  searcher  of  simples  and  fervent  lover  of  plants,  Master  Thomas  Hes- 
keth, who  brought  the  plants  thereof  unto  me  for  the  increase  of  my  garden." 


536  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

2oth,  1588.  His  widow,  dame  Alice  Hesketh,  died  at  Penkith,  March 
25th,  1604-5,  and  was  buried  in  Great  Harwood  Chapel. 

Thomas  Hesketh,  second  son  of  Thomas,  dwelt  at  Martholme 
sometime  with  his  widowed  mother.  He  was  a  Roman  Catholic  ;  and 
the  church-book  of  Harwood  records  : — "1593.  Thomas  Hesketh, 
Esquyer,  a  Recusante,  dyd  notifye  his  cominge  to  the  Martholme  to 
dwell  with  his  mother,  to  me  W.  Harris,  Curat  of  the  Chapel  of  Moch 
Harwood,  the  fourth  daie  of  October  ao.  regni  regine  Eliz.  36." 

Robert  Hesketh,  Esq.,  lord  of  Rufford,  Martholme,  &c.,  married, 
first,  Marie,  daughter  of  Sir  George  Stanley,  Knt.,  of  the  Crosshall,  and  had 
sons,  Thomas  ;  Robert;  Henry;  George,  married  Jane  Sherburne,  and  had 
a  son  Robert ;  John,  married  Mary  Haydock,  and  had  a  son  Robert. 
The  daughters  were,  Holcroft,  wife,  first,  of  Lawrence  Rawsthorne,  of 
New-hall,  and  secondly,  of  Roger  Dodsworth,  gent.,  the  antiquary ; 
Jane,  bapt.  at  Whalley,  Nov.  i4th,  1576,  wife  of  William  Rey- 
nolds ;  and  Mary,  wife,  first,  of  Richard  Barton,  Esq.,  secondly  of 
Thomas  Stanley,  of  Eccleston,  Esq.  "  Marie,  wife  of  Robert  Hesketh, 
Esq.,"  was  buried  at  Great  Harwood  Church,  July  2ist,  1586.  Robert 
Hesketh's  second  wife  was  Blanche,  daughter  of  Henry  Twyford,  Esq.; 
she  had  no  issue.  His  third  wife  was  Jane,  daughter  of  Thomas  Spencer 
of  Rufford  (who  afterwards  wedded  Sir  Richard  Hoghton  of  Hoghton 
Tower,  Knt.  and  Bart.),  by  whom  Robert  Hesketh,  Esq.,  had  sons, 
Robert  (born  before  marriage),  and  Cuthbert  Hesketh,  of  Kenwick,  Co. 
Salop.  Robert  Hesketh  died  in  1620. 

Thomas  Hesketh,  Esq.,  next  scion,  married  thrice,  but  had  no  issue 
by  any  marriage.  His  wives  were:  i,  Susan  Powes;  2,  Jane  Edmonson; 
3,  Catherine,  daughter  of  Alexander  Briers  of  Lathom.  Thomas  Hesketh 
died  in  November,  1646. 

Robert  Hesketh,  next  brother,  succeeded  to  the  estates  on  Thomas's 
death  without  heirs.  He  had  to  wife  Margaret,  daughter  of  Alexander 
Standish  of  Standish,  Esq.,  and  by  her  had  sons,  Robert;  and  Hugh,  died 
in  July,  1622.  The  elder  Robert  Hesketh  died  in  January,  1653. 

Robert  Hesketh  the  son  died  in  his  father's  lifetime,  in  Sept.,  1651; 
but  left  issue  by  his  wife,  Lucy,  daughter  of  Alexander  Rigby,  of  Middle- 
ton,  Esq.,  a  son  Thomas,  born  in  1647  ;  ne  nad  also  a  son  Alexander, 
died  young ;  and  daughters,  Margaret,  died  unmarried,  aged  20 ;  and 
Lucy,  died  young. 

Thomas  Hesketh,  a  child  of  six  on  succeeding  his  grandsire,  married 
Sidney,  daughter  of  Sir  Richard  Grosvenor  of  Eaton,  knt. ;  had  issue, 
Robert ;  Thomas  ;  Richard,  Sidney,  Lettice,  and  Margaret  (these  four 
died  young) ;  Ann,  wife  of  Hugh  Warren  of  Poynton,  Esq. ;  and  Jane, 
wife  of  Henry  Brooke,  Esq. 


THE  HESKETH  FAMILY.  537 

Robert  Hesketh,  Esq.,  heir  of  Thomas,  by  his  wife  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  William  Spencer  of  Ash  ton,  Esq.,  had  an  only  child,  a 
daughter  Elizabeth,  who  married  Sir  Edward  Stanley  of  Bickerstaff, 
Bart,  afterwards  Earl  of  Derby.  Robert  Hesketh,  Esq.,  is  named  by 
Leigh  as  being  afflicted  with  the  black  jaundice  in  I6Q6.1 

Thomas  Hesketh,  next  brother  of  Robert,  became  lord  of  Rufford, 
Martholme,  &c.,  on  his  brother's  death  without  male  heir.  He  married 
Anne,  daughter  of  Sir  Richard  Graham,  Bart.,  and  had  issue,  a  son, 
Thomas  ;  and  a  daughter  Jane,  died  young. 

The  next  Thomas  Hesketh,  Esq.,  was  M.  P.  for  Preston  from  1 722  to 
1728.  By  his  wife  Martha,  daughter  of  James  St.  Amand,  of  London, 
Esq.,  he  had  issue,  sons,  Thomas,  and  Robert,  both  died  young;  a  second 
Thomas,  born  Jan.  2ist,  1727-8  ;  and  Robert,  born  in  1729. 

Thomas  Hesketh,  Esq.,  son  of  the  last  Thomas,  was  created  a 
baronet  in  1761,  with  remainder  in  favour  of  his  brother  Robert.  He 
had  married  Harriet,  daughter  of  Ashley  Cooper,  Esq.,  but  was  without 
issue.  Sir  Thomas  Hesketh,  Bart,  died  March  4th,  1778. 

Robert,  his  brother,  succeeded  to  the  estates  and  title.  Sir  Robert's 
wife  was  Sarah,  daughter  of  William  Plumbe,  Esq.  (she  died  in  1792). 
Issue,  Thomas  ;  Robert,  a  volunteer  in  the  American  war,  killed  at 
Bunker's  Hill,  unmarried;  and  Anne,  wife  of  Henry  Byne,  Esq.  Sir 
Robert  Hesketh  took  the  name  of  Juxon  in  1792,  and  died  in  1796. 

Thomas  Hesketh,  Esq.,  son  of  Sir  Robert,  born  in  1748,  died  in 
his  father's  lifetime  in  1781.  By  his  wife  Jacinthia,  daughter  of  Hugh 
Dalrymple,  Esq.,  he  had  issue,  Thomas,  born  1772,  died  young  ;  Thomas 
Dalrymple,  born  at  New  York,  Jan.  i3th,  1777  ;  and  daughters,  Harriet 
Ann  ;  Dorothea  ;  Jacinthia  Catherine;  Charlotte  Margaret;  and  Lucy,  all 
of  whom  married  (vide  Burke). 

The  next  baronet,  Sir  Thomas  Dalrymple  Hesketh,  by  his  wife 
Sophia,  daughter  of  Rev.  Nathaniel  Hinde,  Vicar  of  Shifnall,  Co. 
Salop,  had  sons,  Thomas  Henry,  born  Feb.  nth,  1798;  and  William 
Juxon,  died  young ;  daughters,  Harriet ;  Sophia  Elizabeth  ;  Charlotte  ; 
and  Maria  Catherine.  Sir  T.  D.  Hesketh  died  July  27th,  1842. 

Sir  Thomas  Henry  Hesketh,  Bart.,  died  Feb.  loth,  1843,  having 
held  the  estates  and  title  only  a  few  months.  He  had  issue,  by  his  wife 
Annette  Maria,  daughter  of  Robert  Bamford,  Esq.,  an  only  son, 
Thomas  George;  and  a  daughter  Maria  Harriet,  wife  of  Sir  Lawrence 
Palk,  Bart. 

Sir  Thomas  George  Fermor-Hesketh,  Bart.,  married,  March  loth, 
1846,  the  Lady  Anna  Maria  Arabella  Fermor,  eldest  daughter  of  the 
fourth  Earl  of  Pomfret,  and  a  co-heir  of  her  brother  the  last  Earl.  Issue, 

i  Nat.  Hist.  Lane,  and  Chesh.,  p.  96. 


538  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


Thomas  Henry,  born  Jan.  gth,  1847  '>  Thomas  George,  born  May  gth, 
1849;  Hugh  Robert,  born  1850 ;  Edith  Elizabeth ;  Constance  Maria; 
and  Augusta  Sophia.  Sir  T.  G.  Fermor-Hesketh  sat  in  Parliament 
as  M.P.  for  Preston  from  1865  until  his  decease  in  1873. 

Sir  Thomas  Henry  Fermor-Hesketh,  the  next  baronet,  died  without 
issue,  May  25th,  1876,  in  his  30th  year,  when  the  estates  and  title  were 
taken  by  his  next  brother,  Capt.  T.  G.  Fermor-Hesketh. 

Of  the  long-deserted  manorial  mansion  of  Martholme,  standing 
amidst  the  land  meadow  and  pasture  lands  of  its  demesne  near  the  left 
bank  of  the  Calder,  the  fragmentary  and  contracted  portions  remaining 
serve  but  to  suggest  the  general  plan  and  character  of  its  structure. 
Martholme  Hall  must  have  been  built  and  rebuilt  twice  or  thrice  during 
several  centuries  that  it  was  a  seat  of  the  Fyttons  and  Heskeths  in 
succession.  The  last  substantial  restoration  was  carried  out  by  Thomas 
Hesketh,  Esq.,  early  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  as  attested  in  the  record 
of  him  I  have  cited,  that  he  "  greatly  repaired  the  house  at  Martholme." 
The  house  is  reached  by  a  by-road  branching  off  to  the  east  from  the 
Accrington  and  Whalley  highway.  The  approach  is  under  a  picturesque 
gateway,  having  a  wide  semi-circular  arch  in  the  centre,  over  the  key- 
stone of  which  is  a  shield  emblazoned  on  stone,  displaying  the  arms  of 
Fytton,  flanked  by  the  initials  "  R  H  "  and  the  date  "  1607^  The  wall 
on  either  side  is  carried  over  the  gateway  by  a  series  of  steps,  and  the 
centre-stone  is  surmounted  by  a  columnar  finial.  The  gateway  opens 
into  an  outer  court-yard,  which  leads  to  a  second  circular-arched  gate- 
way in  the  midst  of  a  two-storied  structure,  which  is  also  pierced  on 
each  side  of  the  arch  and  in  the  upper  storey  by  moulded  mullioned 
windows  of  three  lights.  This  archway  is  roughly  moulded ;  and  in  a 
large  stone  panel  above  the  arch  is  a  sculptured  shield,  with  mantlings, 
helmet,  and  crest,  displaying  the  armorial  insignia  of  the  Heskeths. 
Above  the  shield  are  the  initials  "  T  H  "  (Thomas  Hesketh),  and  the 
date  "  1561,"  indicating  the  period  of  this  addition  to  the  mansion. 
Within  the  gateway  is  an  oaken  door  in  a  low  pointed  arch,  under  a 
square  moulded  head ;  and  in  the  spandrils  of  the  arch  are  two  carved 
heraldic  shields,  one  bearing  a  cross  flory,  the  other,  a  garb,  or.  The 
inner  view  of  the  gatehouse  presents  a  massive  splayed  circular  arch  ; 
with  a  mullioned  and  transomed  window  above.  There  is  a  square 
chimney  at  one  end  of  the  roof-ridge,  and  the  sculptured  stem  of  a  cross 
on  the  other.  The  house  itself,  at  the  north  end  of  the  inner  court- 
yard, has  suffered  demolition  of  its  whole  west  wing,  and  now  shows  on 
the  south  view  a  projecting  east  wing,  gabled,  lighted  with  mullioned 
windows ;  a  recessed  centre,  gabled,  with  three  ranges  of  window-lights ; 
a  pointed  arched  doorway  in  the  westerly  termination  of  the  remaining 


NO  WELLS'  ESTATE  IN  GREAT  HARWOOD.  539 

wall,  with  remains  of  a  mullioned  and  transomed  window  over  it.  This 
arch  being  in  a  direct  line  from  the  gateway  has  evidently  been  the  main 
central  entrance  to  the  quadrangular  block  of  the  mansion  as  originally 
planned.  It  opens  into  a  long  passage  having  a  pointed  arch  recessed 
under  a  circular  one  at  the  other  extremity ;  and  in  the  east  wall  of  the 
passage  are  two  narrow  pointed-arched  doorways  leading  into  the  dining 
room.  In  the  south  wall,  between  the  second  and  upper  windows,  is  a 
stone  panel  with  sculptured  frame,  enclosing  "  an  eagle  displayed  with 
two  heads  proper  "  having  a  garb  on  its  breast ;  in  the  upper  comers  of 
the  panel  are  the  figures  "  15 — 77  "  (the  date  1577),  and  in  the  lower 
corners  the  initials  "  T  H  "  (Thomas  Hesketh).  In  the  interior  of  the 
portion  of  the  house  yet  intact,  the  parlour  has  its  broad  low-arched 
fire-place,  the  arch  being  about  lift  wide  by  6ft.  deep  and  6ft  high,  and 
splayed  on  its  outer  edge.  A  similar  arch  encloses  the  kitchen  fire- 
place. In  the  rear  wall  of  the  house  are  two  small  window  lights  of 
evident  age,  with  trefoil  heads,  and  one  with  head  of  rude  tracery.  In 
a  field  to  the  west  of  the  buildings  are  traces  of  one  side  of  the  trench  of 
the  moat,  running  north  and  south.  The  tenant  informed  me  that  in 
the  meadow  west  of  the  hall  a  very  large  ash  tree  formerly  stood ;  and  a 
little  further  on,  out  of  a  sluice  or  gutter  an  old  oak  chest  was  taken 
nearly  forty  years  ago.  A  table  made  of  the  wood  is  now  at  Clayton 
Hall. 

ESTATE  IN  GREAT   HARWOOD  OF  NOWELL  OF  GREAT  MEARLEY 

AND  READ. 

Roger  Nowell  of  Great  Mearley,  it  has  been  stated  above,  married 
Elizabeth,  third  daughter  and  co-heiress  of  Richard  Fytton,  who  brought 
to  the  Nowells  the  third  part  of  the  manor  of  Harwood  Magna,  that 
portion,  namely,  anciently  called  Netherton,  now,  Lowertown.  By  this 
heiress  Roger  Nowell  had  a  son  Adam,  party  to  the  dispute  with  John 
Hesketh  concerning  lands  in  Great  Harwood  (vide  Hesketh);  this 
Adam  Nowell  received  from  Edward  I.,  in  the  i2th  of  his  reign  (1284), 
"  for  his  good  service  expended  for  us  in  certain  parts  of  Scotland,"  a 
grant  that  he,  Adam  Nowell,  and  his  heirs  for  ever,  should  have  "  a 
market  weekly  on  the  Thursday  at  their  manor  of  Netherton  in  Magna 
Harwode."  Adam  NowelPs  son,  Richard  Nowell  (living  in  1351),  by 
Johanna  his  wife  had  a  son  Lawrence  Nowell,  the  first  seated  at  Read  ; 
whose  son  and  heir  was  John,  seized  of  the  manor  of  Read  and  portion 
of  the  manor  of  Magna  Harwode  in  1398.  It  was  this  John  Nowell 
who,  in  the  i3th  Richard  II.  (1389),  came  to  the  chapel  of  Harwode 
and  there,  acknowledging  that  he  held  certain  tenements  in  Harwode, 
of  Thomas  de  Hesketh  in  chief  by  knight  service,  swore  to  the  said 
Thomas  Hesketh  that  he  John  Nowell  would  to  him  bear  fealty  for  the 


540  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

free  tenements  he  held  of  him  in  Harwode,  and  would  loyally  perform 
all  customs  and  services.  John  NowelPs  son  and  heir  Nicholas  Nowell 
was  father  of  Alexander  Nowell,  whose  wardship,  with  custody  of  the 
manor  of  Read  and  half  the  manor  of  Great  Harwood,  was  granted  to 
Richard  Towneley,  Esq.,  in  i2th  Henry  VI.  (1434).  Roger  Nowell, 
next  scion,  married  a  daughter  of  Thomas  Hesketh,  Esq.,  lord  of  Great 
Harwood,  but  was  divorced  from  her ;  and  his  son  John  Nowell,  Esq. 
dying  in  1526,  was  found  seized,  among  other  estates,  of  a  third  part  of 
Magna  Harwode  manor.  His  son,  Roger  Nowell,  Esq.,  died  in  1566, 
seized  of  a  third  part  of  this  manor,  held  of  Thomas  Hesketh,  Knt, 
by  knight  service.  His  son  Roger,  dying  in  1591,  held  the  same  estate; 
and  his  son,  Roger  Nowell,  Esq.,1  dying  in  1623,  by  an  inquisition  taken 
at  Preston,  April  8th,  22nd  James  I.,  was  found  to  have  held  at  death 
Reade  Manor ;  the  third  part  of  the  manor  of  Magna  Harwood,  with  20 
messuages,  100  acres  of  land,  50  of  meadow,  10  of  pasture,  40  of  wood- 
land and  underwood,  200  of  moor  and  100  of  turbary  (a  total  of 
500  acres  of  land)  in  Magna  Harwood ;  also,  two  messuages,  15  acres 
of  land,  10  of  meadow,  16  of  pasture  in  Dinckley  in  Blackburn  Parish. 
The  above  notes  show  the  continuance  of  the  manorial  estate  in  this 
township  in  the  Nowells  from  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  to  the  seven- 
teenth century.  It  remained  with  them  onward  until  Alexander  Nowell, 
Esq.,  seventeenth  in  descent  from  Roger  Nowell  who  had  the  estate 
with  the  heiress  of  Fytton,  alienated  the  Great  Harwood  property  some- 
time prior  to  his  death  in  1772. 

LOMAX,  PRESENT  LORD  OF  GREAT  HARWOOD. 

Richard  Lomax,  Esq.,  of  Pilsworth,  by  his  marriage  with  Rebecca 
Heywood  (granddaughter  of  John  Grimshaw,  Esq.,  and  sole  heiress  of  the 
manorial  estate  of  Clayton-in-les-Moors,  long  held  by  the  Grimshaws)  had 
issue  a  son  and  heir,  James  Lomax.  The  latter,  after  his  succession, 
rebuilt  Clayton  Hall,  and  purchased  from  Alexander  Nowell,  Esq., 
sometime  before  1772,  that  portion  of  Great  Harwood  manor  and 
appurtenant  estate  which  had  belonged  to  the  Nowells  of  Read  during 
several  centuries.  James  Lomax,  Esq.,  died,  aged  75,  Jan.  6th,  1792. 
He  married  Elizabeth  Lord  (she  died,  aged  78,  Sept.  8th,  1805),  by 
whom  he  had  sons,  Richard  Grimshaw ;  James  (Captain  in  the  Royal 

i  In  36  Eliz.  (1594),  Roger  Nowell  as  seized  in  fee,  was  against  Robert  Hesketh,  as  occupier  of 
two-thirds  of  the  Manor  of  Much  Harwood,  in  a  suit  in  the  Chancery  Court  of  the  Duchy  involving 
a  third  part  of  lands  and  tenements  there  with  right  of  common  and  turbary,  stone,  gorse  and  rush, 
on  Harwood  Moor  and  Bowlas  Hill,  as  formerly  the  inheritance  of  William  Fitton,  and  homage  and 
fealty.  Seven  years  subsequently  (1601),  Robert  Hesketh,  as  son  and  heir  of  Sir  Thomas  Hesketh, 
Knt.,  laid  a  plaint  against  Roger  Nowell,  Christopher  Cunliffe,  and  Henry  Hamond,  claiming 
homage,  fealty,  escuage,  and  rent  of  messuages,  lands,  and  hereditaments,  called  the  Lower  Town 
and  High  Town  of  Harwoode,  in  Great  Harwood  manor.  (Cal.  to  Plead.,  iii,  p.  309,  and  p.  461.) 


MINOR  FAMILIES  OF  GREAT  HARWOOD. 


541 


Lancashire  Volunteers,  died,  aged  40,  April  i5th,  1805);  and  John,  died 
young;  and  a  daughter  Elizabeth,  married  to  M.  F.  Trappes,  Esq.,  of 
Nidd  Hall,  Yorkshire.  Richard  Grimshaw  Lomax,  Esq.,  acquired  by 
purchase,  early  in  the  present  century,  the  major  portion  of  Great 
Harwood  manor  and  the  Martholme  demesne  from  the  Hesketh  family, 
and  thus  this  manor,  which  had  been  severed  in  the  i3th  century,  was 
at  length  united  under  one  proprietor.  Richard  Grimshaw  Lomax,  Esq., 
married,  in  1797,  Catherine,  daughter  of  Thomas  Greaves,  Esq.,  of 
Preston,  and  had  sons,  James  (died,  aged  4,  in  1802);  Richard  (died 
unmarried,  aged  22,  March  i6th,  1822);  John;  a  second  James;  William, 
Walter,  and  Charles,  all  in  holy  orders  of  the  Church  of  Rome;  Edmund; 
and  Thomas  ;  and  daughters,  Elizabeth,  Mary,  and  a  second  Mary. 
The  father  died,  aged  74,  Jan.  2oth,  1837.  John  Lomax,  Esq.,  eldest 
son  and  heir,  married  Helen,  second  daughter  of  John  Aspinall,  Esq.,  of 
Standen  Hall,  but  died  without  issue  July  i5th,  1849,  and  was  succeeded 
by  his  brother  James.  James  Lomax,  Esq.,  lord  of  Great  Harwood  and 
Clayton,  married,  in  1845,  Frances  Cecilia,  eldest  daughter  of  Charles 
Walmesley,  Esq.,  of  Westwood,  but  has  no  issue.  James  Lomax,  Esq., 
built,  in  1839  (prior  to  his  succession  to  his  elder  brother),  the  handsome 
mansion  of  Allsprings,  in  a  very  picturesque  situation  upon  the  Great 
Harwood  estate.  The  extent  of  the  Lancashire  estates  of  the  Lomax 
family  (chiefly  in  Great  Harwood  and  Clayton-in-les-Moors),  is  stated  in 
the  recent  Parliamentary  Return  of  Landowners  at  2988  statute  acres, 
with  a  gross  rental  of  ^"6291.  Some  2300  acres  of  the  total  are  in  the 
township  of  Great  Harwood. 

Subjoined   are   notices   of  several  families  of  lesser  gentry  and 
yeomen  of  the  township  : — 

COCKSHUTT  OF  GREAT  HARWOOD. 

Roger  Cockshot  was  assessed  on  his  lands  in  Magna  Harwood  to  a  Subsidy  in 
1523.  In  1584,  John  Cockshot,  gent,  occurs  as  a  juror.  Thomas  Cockshot  was 
buried  at  Great  Harwood  Church,  July  8th,  1608. 

George  Cockshot,  taxed  to  the  Subsidy  in  1610,  had  twin  daughters,  Lettice  and 
Elizabeth,  bapt.  Jan.  iQth,  1609,  and  probably  was  father  of  Edmund,  bapt.  Jan. 
20th,  1599  ;  John,  born  in  1602  ;  and  Thomas,  born  in  1604.  A  George  Cockshot 
died  in  1653. 

Edmund  Cockshutt  of  Harwood,  gent.,  married  Alice,  second  daughter  of  Geof- 
frey Rishton  of  Antley,  gent.  Edmund  Cockshutt  was  made  a  Governor  of  Blackburn 
Grammar  School  in  1634,  He  had  sons,  Edmund  ("  Edmund  Cockshutt,  lieutenant," 
buried  Jan.  291!:,  1683);  George,  bapt.  Sept.  l8th,  1628;  Thomas,  bapt.  Nov.  loth, 
1630  ;  John,  born  in  1635  ;  and  a  daughter  Alice,  born  in  1639,  married,  April  1st, 
1661,  Mr.  John  Kenyon.  Edmund  Cockshutt  died  in  Oct.,  1674;  and  his  wife  Alice 
died  in  Nov.,  1678. 

Thomas  Cockshutt,  gent.,  a  son  of  Edmund,  was  elected  a  Governor  of  Black- 
burn Grammar  School  in  1675  ;  and  in  1680  was  a  trustee  of  the  town's  Poor  Stock. 


542  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

He  married,  Dec.  9th,  1658,  Marie,  daughter  of  Edward  Rawsthorne  of  Higham 
(she  died  in  1670),  and  had  issue,  sons,  George,  born  Jan.  I2th,  1660-1  ;  Edmund, 
born  Feb.  I4th,  1662-3  ;  Thomas,  born  June  I4th,  1665  ;  and  John,  born  Oct.  1 2th, 
1667.  "Thomas  Cockshutt  de  Harwood,  gent."  appears  on  the  Guild  Rolls  of 
Preston  as  a  foreign  burgess  in  1662  and  1682.  He  was  buried  at  Great  Harwood 
Church,  Nov.  26th,  1684. 

George  Cockshutt,  of  Lowertown,  gent.,  eldest  son  of  Thomas,  signs  the  Petition 
of  Inhabitants  of  the  chapelry  in  1688.  By  Ann,  his  wife,  he  had  sons,  Thomas, 
born  July  loth,  1687  ;  Josias,  born  in  1688  ;  John  born  and  died  in  1690;  Edmund, 
born  in  1692;  also  daughters,  Margaret,  and  Mary.  George  Cockshutt  died  in  1694, 
and  a  posthumous  son  George  was  bapt.  June  3rd,  1694.  "Mrs.  Ann  Cockshutt, 
widow,  gentlewoman,"  was  buried  April  6th,  1705. 

Thomas  Cockshutt,  of  Lowertown,  gent.,  brother  or  son  of  the  last-named 
George,  married,  Dec.  I2th,  1714,  Katherine  Lonsdale,  of  High  Riley,  and  by  her 
(who  died  in  March,  1716)  had  a  son  George,  born  Feb.  5th,  buried  May  I2th,  1715. 
By  his  second  wife  Elizabeth  (who  died  in  Feb.,  1722),  Mr.  Thomas  Cockshutt  had 
a  son  Thomas,  who  died  in  1736.  Thomas  Cockshutt,  gent.,  was  a  Governor  of 
Blackburn  Grammar  School  from  1706  till  his  death  in  1737  ;  he  was  buried  at 
Harwood  Church,  Nov.  I5th  in  that  year. 

Edmund  Cockshutt  of  Harwood,  gent.,  a  brother  of  Thomas,  died  at  Newhall- 
hey,  a  mansion  of  his  mother's  family  the  Rawsthornes,  and  was  buried  at  Haslingden 
Church,  Aug.  1 7th,  1716. 

Josiah  Cockshutt,  Esq.  (a  son  of  George  who  died  in  1694),  is  named  as  paying 
£$o  to  Harwood  Church  Fund,  left  by  one  of  his  ancestors. 

DUXBURY  OF  GREAT  HARWOOD,  TOTTLEWORTH,  &c. 

Robert  Duckesburie  was  buried  at  Harwood  Church,  Jan.  8th,  1563.  Thurstan 
Duckesburie  died  in  1.584 ;  and  John  Duckesburie  died  in  1595,  whose  relict,  Ellen 
Duckesburie,  died  in  1599. 

Nicholas  Duckesburie,  buried  Sept.  27th,  1569,  was  father  of  Lawrence;  also, 
probably,  of  Alexander  Duckesburie,  married,  in  1569,  Grace  Hindle,  and  died  in 
1584  ;  and  Thomas  Duckesburie,  married,  in  1562,  Elizabeth  Baron,  and  died  in  1597. 

Lawrence  Duckesburie,  gent.,  assessed  for  lands  in  Harwood  Magna  to  a  Subsidy 
in  1570,  by  his  first  wife,  Agnes  (who  died  in  May,  1594),  had  sons,  Nicholas,  bapt. 
Aug.  igth,  1579  ;  Alexander,  bapt.  Feb.  l6th,  1582  ;  and  Lawrence,  who  died  in 
1621.  In  1576,  Lawrence  Duckesburie  the  father  was  engaged  in  a  law-suit  with 
Thomas  Walmesley,  Esq.;  and  about  A.D.  1593,  Lawrence  Duckesburie,  gent.,  gave 
2OS.  to  Blackburn  Grammar  School  Stock.  He  occurs  again  as  a  freeholder  in  1600, 
and  was  taxed  for  his  lands  to  a  Subsidy  in  1610.  He  had  some  estate  in  Clayton-le- 
Moors  as  well  as  in  Great  Harwood,  for  in  his  plaint  in  the  Duchy  Court  in  1609, 
"Lawi-ence  Duxburie  of  Much  Harwood"  is  said  to  be  possessed  of  messuages, 
cottages,  and  lands  in  Claiton.  He  died  in  1619  ;  buried  Sept.  loth.  His  second 
wife  Elizabeth  had  died  in  1597. 

Nicholas  Duxburie,  gent.,  eldest  son  of  Lawrence,  occurs  as  a  free  tenant  in 
1621.  He  married,  Aug.  3oth,  1 60 1,  Ellen  Miller,  and  had  a  son  Thomas,  bapt. 
Nov.  nth,  1602;  and  daughters,  Margaret,  Jane,  and  Anne. 

Thomas  Duxburie,  of  Tottleworth,  married,  Dec.  I5th,  1628,  Elizabeth  Feilden, 
and  had  sons,  Henry,  bapt.  Oct.  l6th,  1629  ,  and  Thomas,  born  in  1635.  Thomas 
Duxburie  was  buried  May  2Oth,  1670.  Elizabeth,  his  wife,  died  in  July,  1666. 


MERCER  OF  OVERTOWN,  &c.  '    543 

Alexander  Duxburie,  of  Tottleworth,  brother  of  Nicholas  above,  died  in  1619.  A 
later  Alexander  Duxburie,  of  Altham  and  Deans,  died  in  1692.  He  had  a  son  William, 
born  in  1659. 

MERCER  OF  HARWOOD  MAGNA. 

Edmond  Mercer,  of  Harwood  Magna,  was  assessed  to  a  subsidy  in  1523.  John 
Mercer,  of  Great  Harwood,  died,  aged  fourscore  and  seventeen  years,  in  1589,  buried 
Feb.  I4th  ;  he  must  thus  have  been  born  about  1493.  William  Mercer,  of  this  town- 
ship, was  taxed  to  a  subsidy  in  1570,  and  to  a  military  levy  in  1574.  Edmond  Mercer 
had  a  younger  son  Edmond,  buried  March  nth,  1571,  and  Janet,  his  wife,  .was  buried 
Feb.  25th,  1571.  Edmond  Mercer  died  in  Dec.  1587.  Thomas  Mercer  married,  Jan. 
23rd,  1580,  Margaret  Heyworth,  and  had  issue.  John  Mercer  married,  Nov.  I4th, 
1581,  Grace  Osbaldeston  (she  died  Nov.  1604),  and  had  a  son  William,  bapt.  Dec. 
I3th,  1591. 

Edmond  Mercer  married,  May  1 8th,  1582,  Alice  Hesketh  (she  died  Oct.  1 2th, 
1587),  and  had  a  daughter  Grace,  bapt.  Sept.  gth,  1587.  Edmond  Mercer  married, 
secondly,  Jan.  27th,  1588,  Isabel  Osbaldeston  (she  died  July  I4th,  1596).  Edmond 
Mercer  ("a  recusant  ")  was  buried  Jan.  26th,  1610. 

William  Mercer,  tanner,  of  Harwood,  had  sons,  Edward,  bapt.  July  nth,  1605  ; 
and  Thomas,  bapt.  Aug.  igth,  1608.  Elizabeth  wife  of  William  Mercer  died  Sept. 
29th,  1613,  and  William  Mercer  died  Oct.  loth  following. 

MERCER  OF  OVERTOWN,  TAN-HOUSE,  &c. 

Alexander  Mercer  of  Harwood,  married  Jan.  26th,  1560,  Grace  Mercer.  He 
died  April  i6th,  1606.  She  died  Aug.  26th,  1613. 

Alexander  Mercer,  of  Upper  Town,  bapt.  Dec.  i6th,  1597,  had  sons,  Thomas, 
bapt.  April  3rd,  1622;  Christopher,  born  1625,  died  1656;  and  John,  born  1636; 
and  daughters,  Ann,  born  1626  ;  Grace,  born  1628  ;  Ellen,  born  1632,  and  Alice, 
born  1634. 

Thomas  Mercer  of  Overtown,  son  of  Alexander,  married,  Oct.  5th,  1648,  Joane 
Warburton,  and  had  issue,  sons,  Alexander,  bapt.  Nov.  nth,  1649  ;  Thomas,  bapt. 
Dec.  lith,  1651  ;  William,  born  1654;  John,  born  and  died  1660;  and  Christopher, 
born  1662.  The  father  probably  was  Thomas  Mercer,  warden  of  Great  Harwood 
Church  in  1663,  and  he  died  in  Feb.  1663-4.  His  younger  sons,  "Thomas  Mercer  of 
Tan-house,"  and  "William  Mercer  of  Tan-house,"  died,  respectively,  in  1691  and  1687. 

Alexander  Mercer  of  Tan-house,  had  sons,  Alexander,  born  in  1682  ;  William, 
born  and  died  in  1694  ;  and  other  issue.  This  Alexander  Mercer  was  a  warden  of 
Harwood  Church  in  1708  ;  and  was  living  in  1712. 

Alexander  Mercer  of  Tan-house,  "junior"  in  1712,  had  sons,  Alexander,  bom  in 
1712;  Leonard,  born  in  1715;  Thomas,  bapt.  Feb.  igth,  1717;  other  sons,  and  several 
daughters.  He  rebuilt  the  "Tan-house  "  farm-house  in  1734,  and  in  the  front  wall  of 
the  house  is  a  stone  with  the  initials  "A  M  E"  and  the  date  "1734."  He  died  in  1756. 

"Alexander  Mercer  of  Blackburn,"  chapman,  eldest  son  of  Alexander,  occurs 
in  1 766  as  a  trustee  of  Harwood  Poor  Stock.  He  died  in  1 767. 

Mr.  Thomas  Mercer,  of  Tan-house,  brother  of  the  last-named  Alexander,  born 
in  1717,  was  a  trustee  of  Great  Harwood  Poor  Stock  at  the  time  of  his  death,  in 
1793,  aged  76.  He  was  buried  at  Harwood  Church,  July  26th,  1793.  By  Jane  his 
wife  (died  aged  72,  buried  Jan.  ist,  1799),  he  had  sons,  Alexander,  bapt.  Jan.  23rd, 
!759  5  William,  born  in  1760;  Thomas,  born  in  1766;  and  daughters,  Ellen,  born  in 
1754  ;  Nancy,  Catherine,  and  Jane. 


544  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Mr  Alexander  Mercer,  Thomas's  eldest  son  and  appointed  his  successor  in  the 
local  charitable  trust  in  1793,  died  about  1808.  His  brother  — 

Mr.  Thomas  Mercer,  of  Tan-house,  a  trustee  of  Harwood  Poor  Stock  from  1814 
to  1839,  died  July  I2th,  1839,  in  his  73rd  year. 

MERCER  OF  SQUIRE'S. 

Thomas  Mercer,  of  Squire's,  was  buried  in  June,  1700.  Edmund  Mercer  of 
Squire's,  gent.,  by  his  Will,  dated  April  i6th,  1726,  gave  ^50  to  the  Public  School 
ot  Harwood.  He  died  Sept.  I4th,  1726 ;  buried  Sept.  i6th.  He  had  a  son,  Edmund 
Mercer  of  Squire's,  born  in  1704,  who  had  sons,  Edmund,  born  in  1740  ;  and  John. 
Later,  John  Mercer  of  Squire's,  son  of  Edmund,  had  sons,  Edmund,  bapt.  June  I7th, 
1765  ;  Thomas,  born  in  1777,  and  other  issue. 

MERCER  OF  LOWER-TOWN. 

Robert  Mercer  of  Lowertown,  died  in  March,  1669.  Jane,  his  wife,  died  the 
same  year.  He  had  a  son  John. 

John  Mercer,  of  Lowertown,  was  buried  May  2nd,  1687.  He  had  sons,  William, 
bapt.  April  26th,  1648  ;  and  Robert,  bapt.  June  3oth,  1655. 

Robert  Mercer,  clerk,  of  Great  Harwood,  by  Catherine  his  wife,  whom  he 
married  Aug.  5th,  1680,  and  who  died  Nov.  1720,  had  issue  a  son  John,  bapt. 
Sept  22nd,  1681.  A  second  wife,  "Dorothy,  wife  of  Robert  Mercer,  clerk,"  died 
in  1723. 

John  Mercer  of  Lowertown,  son  of  Robert,  the  clerk,  had  sons,  Robert,  bapt. 
Feb.  24th,  1705-6  ;  John,  born  1707  ;  and  William,  born  and  died  1712. 

William  Mercer,  surgeon,  of  Harwood,  who  died  Aug.,  1785,  perhaps  would 
be  the  younger  son  of  the  above  John. 

ROBERTSHAW  OF  LOWER-TOWN. 

Edmund  Robertshaw,  yeoman,  married,  Feb.  1st,  1624-5,  Margaret  Hindle,  and 
by  her  (who  died  in  Jan.  1663)  had  a  son  Lawrence,  bapt.  April  5th,  1639. 

Lawrence  Robertshaw,  yeoman  and  "chapman,"  of  Lowertown,  a  local  trader 
who  signed  a  petition  (printed  ante,  p.  202)  about  1660,  had  sons,  Edmund,  bapt.  Nov. 
I5th,  1663,  died  in  April,  1666;  a  second  Edmund,  died  in  March,  1676;  Lawrence; 
and  John,  bapt.  Feb.  23rd,  1672  ;  and  a  daughter  Ellen,  born  in  1665,  died  in 
August,  1702.  He  died  in  1715,  buried  Sept.  5th. 

Lawrence  Robertshaw,  I  think  a  son  of  Lawrence,  died  in  June,  1712. 

TURNER  OF  MARTHOLME  AND  BLACKBURN. 

Robert  Turner,  of  Martholme  in  1687,  had  a  son  Thomas,  and  other  issue.  He 
was  buried  at  Great  Harwood  Church,  Dec.  2nd,  1727. 

Thomas  Turner  of  Martholme,  a  trustee  of  township  charities  in  1743  and  1759, 
had  sons,  William,  born  in  I727  5  Thomas,  born  in  1732  ;  and  Robert,  born  in  1734, 
who  settled  at  Blackburn  (see  ante,  p.  228) ;  also  a  daughter  Jennet,  died  in  1 738. 

Thomas  Turner  of  Altham,  second  son  of  Thomas,  died,  aged  80,  April  loth, 
1812.  By  Ellen  his  wife  he  had  sons,  Thomas,  James,  William;  and  Robert  Turner 
of  Shuttle  worth  Hall,  Hapton,  who  died,  aged  53,  in  1843,  having  had  issue  by  his 
wife  Sarah,  daughter  of  Roger  Green  of  Whalley  Abbey,  sons,  Thomas,  Roger, 
Robert  (of  Shuttleworth  Hall),  James  ;  and  several  daughters. 

William  Turner  of  Martholme,  yeoman  (eldest  son  of  the  first-named  Thomas), 
married,  in  1753,  Jane  Mitchell,  by  whom  (she  died,  aged  66,  in  1798),  he  had  issue, 
sons,  Thomas,  died,  aged  26,  in  1781  ;  Robinson,  died,  aged  1 1,  in  1768  ;  John,  born 
in  1761  ;  William  ;  James  (of  Carter  Place,  Haslingden,  first  of  the  branch  of 


GREAT  HARWOOD  CHURCH.  545 

Turners  of  Helmshore,  born  in  1759,  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Ralph  Ellison  of 
Accrington,  gent,  and  died  May  3Oth,  1832);  Robert,  born  in  1764,  died  in  1782; 
Edward  (of  Woodlands,  Manchester,  born  in  1766,  died  May  26th,  1833);  Doctor 
Robinson,  born  in  1767,  died  in  1768  ;  and  a  second  Robinson  Turner,  born  in  1769, 
died  in  London,  Nov.  I4th,  1814;  also,  daughters,  Jennet,  born  in  1769  (married 
Mr,  James  Clegg  of  Hallfoot  House,  Clitheroe,  and  died  June  1st,  1811);  and  Jane 
(born  in  1772,  married  her  cousin,  William  Turner,  Esq.,  of  Mill  Hill  House,  Livesey, 
sometime  M.P.  for  Blackburn),  William  Turner  of  Martholme,  the  father,  died, 
aged  55,  May  22nd,  1782. 

William  Turner  of  Martholme,  a  son  of  the  last-named  William,  died,  aged  38, 
in  Feb.,  1796  ;  and  after  his  death,  his  brother-in-law,  Mr.  James  Clegg,  became 
tenant  at  Martholme,  and,  in  1798,  was  appointed  a  trustee  of  the  township  charity, 
as  the  only  representative  of  the  Turner  family  of  Martholme  then  living  in  the  town- 
ship. Mr.  Clegg  removed  from  Martholme  in  1816.  He  had  a  son  James,  who  died  at 
Martholme,  aged  3,  in  1798, 

THE  CHURCH  OF  ST.  BARTHOLOMEW. 

The  parochial  Church  of  Great  Harwood  has  existed  at  least  five 
centuries  ;  and  owed  its  sole  ancient  endowment  and  service  to  the 
foundation  of  a  chantry  annexed  to  this  chapel-of-ease,  in  the  fourteenth 
century,  by  the  lord  of  the  manor,  Thomas  Hesketh  of  Martholme. 
The  earliest  mention  of  the  chapel  that  has  been  noted  is  in  the  year 
1389,  when  John  Nowell  of  Mearley,  who  held  the  third  part  of  the 
manorial  estate,  called  Netherton,  did  homage  to  the  chief  lord,  Thomas 
Hesketh,  Esq.,  "  in  the  chapel  of  Harwood  Magna."  During  nearly 
200  years  the  priest  who  served  the  chantry  also  acted  as  incumbent  of 
the  chapel,  celebrating  the  Sunday  masses,  and  performing  other  clerical 
functions,  and  his  pay  for  all  services  was  the  net  issues  of  lands  given 
to  the  chantry  by  the  founder,  and  received  by  the  Abbot  and  Convent 
of  Whalley,  to  whom  the  chapel  pertained.  Priests  from  that  monastery 
were  nominated  in  succession  to  serve  this  chantry  and  chapel.  From 
1389  I  find  no  reference  to  this  chapel  or  its  chantry-priests  until,  in 
the  Valor  of  1534,  it  is  returned,  concerning  the  chantry  at  Harwood: — 
"  Of  the  foundation  of  Thomas  Esketh,  esquire.  In  the  hands  of 
Richard  Wood,  chaplain.  Worth,  in  rents  and  farms  of  divers  lands 
and  tenements  in  the  same,  per  annum  ^£4  73.  8d.  Thereout  in  alms 
annually  distributed  amongst  the  poor  on  the  day  of  the  death  of  the 
Founder,  6s.  8d.,  and  remains  £4  is. ;  the  tenth  thereout,  8s.  ij^d." 
In  1535,  the  Subsidy  Commissioners  for  Blackburn  Deanery  assessed 
the  "Cant aria  apud  Harwode  ex  fundatione  Thome  Hesketh,  arm"  at 
8s.  i^d.  for  tenths;  and  75.  3^d.  for  the  subsidy.  The  Chantry 
Commissioners  of  Henry  VIII.  in  1546  reported  of  the  "TheChauntre 
in  the  Chapell  of  Harwoode  "  in  the  following  terms  : — 

Richard  Wood  p'st  incumbent  ther  of  the  ffoundac'on  of  the  antecessors  of  Thomas 
Hesket  esquier  ther  to  celebrate  for  ther  sowles  and  the  same  chapell  haith  license  to 

35 


546  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

crysten  wedde  and  burieandtomynystresacramentes  to  the  Inh'itantes  nigh  adjoinyngc. 
The  same  is  within  the  p'och  of  Blakborne  and  distant  from  the  p'och  church  4  myles 
and  the  same  preist  doth  mynystre  and  celebrate  ther  accordinglie  and  ther  is  of  the  Inh'i- 
tantes nigh  adjoinynge  reparyng  to  the  same  chapell  the  nombre  of  400  houselinge 
people.  (Plate)  First  one  chales  of  silver  weinge  by  est.  8  onz.  Item  one  vestmente 
of  Tawny  Chamlet.  Item  one  vestment  of  black  chainlet.  (Endowment,  tenants, 
and  rental. )  Christopher  Duxforth  holdyth  one  ten'te  with  th'  app't'ances  lienge  in 
Oswaldetwissel  in  the  countie  of  Lancastre  rentinge  yerlie  at  the  feastes  of  Whitsonday 
and  Martynmes  equallie  26s.  8d.  John  Smythe  holdyth  one  ten'te  lienge  in  Croston 
in  the  said  countie  by  yere  48.  Thomas  Woode  holdyth  one  cotage  ther,  45.,  and 
Willyam  Walton  holdyth  one  cotage  ther  35.;  in  all  dewe,  etc.,  equallie  I  is.  Willyam 
Fryth  holdyth  one  ten'te  with  th'  app't'ances  lieng  in  Wigan  in  the  said  countie  195., 
and  James  Sherington  holdyth  one  ten'te  ther  I2s.,  in  all  by  yere  dewe  at  the  said 
termes  equallie  315.  Thomas  Lathnate  holdyth  one  ten'te  with  th'  app't'ances  lienge 
in  Asheton  in  Makerfeilde  in  the  said  countie  renting  yerlie,  etc.,  equallie  26s.  Suma 
totallof  the  rentall^4i3s.  8d.  Reprises  none.  (Lane.  Chantries,  ed.  by  Raines,  pp.  145-7.) 

On  the  dissolution  of  chantries  and  of  monasteries  these  lands  were 
escheated  to  the  Crown  ;  but  the  amount  of  the  chaplain's  fee  in  the 
chapel  of  Harwood  was  charged  on  the  revenues  of  the  Duchy  of  Lan- 
caster. In  1548,  Richard  Wood,  incumbent  'of  Harwood,  was  yet  living, 
and  aged  80  years.  Queen  Mary's  Commissioners  in  1553  found  be- 
longing to  the  chapel  of  Harwood  two  bells  weighing  5  hundredweight 
and  a  half,  and  reckoned  worth,  at  155.  the  hundred,  £4  25.  6d. 

In  1559  (2nd  Elizabeth),  the  rood  loft  of  the  chapel  was  repaired, 
and  other  restorations  of  the  fabric  were  made  upon  the  advent  of  the 
Protestant  Queen.  In  1560  the  registers  of  baptisms,  burials,  and  mar- 
riages commence,  and  are  a  perfect  register  onward  from  that  date  to 
the  present  time.  "Sir  Richard  Dea-n,"  perhaps  the  first  Protestant 
curate  of  Great  Harwood  Church,  died  in  1578  ;  buried  Sept.  ist;  his 
successor  was  William  Herris,  who  appears  as  a  witness  of  the  marriage 
of  Roger  No  well,  Esq.,  in  1581  ;  occurs  again  in  1593,  and  in  1608; 
and  died,  after  some  40  years'  service  of  the  cure,  in  1620  (buried  in  the 
church,  March  4th,  1620-1).  His  wife,  "Alice  Herris  wife  of  William 
Herris,  clerk,"  was  buried  Dec.  9th,  1608.  John  Nowell  is  named  as 
minister  in  1627  ;  and  after  him  comes  Richard  Hargreaves,  who  was 
curate  in  1631,  and  about  that  date  was  suspended  by  the  bishop  for 
drunkenness  and  other  misdemeanours.  Harleian  MS.  2103  contains 
the  following  record  of  proceedings  before  John  Bridgeman,  Bishop  of 
Chester,  concerning  this  incumbent  and  his  abettors  : — 

Articles  objected  against  William  Hindle  and  Richard  Mercer,  of  the  chappelhy 
of  Harwood,  within  the  parishe  of  Blackburn  and  dioces  of  Chester,  before  the  Right 
Reverend  ffather  in  God  John  Lo.  B'pp  of  Chester  and  other  his  Majestie's  highe 
Commissioners  for  causes  Ecclesiastical  within  the  province  of  Yorke  and  the  dioces 
of  Chester,  att  the  promoc'on  of  Richard  Tompson  and  Rob'te  Dewhurste. 


GREAT  HARWOOD  CHURCH. 


547 


I.  Imprimis  it  is  articled  and  objected  that  Mr.  Richard  Hargreaves,  Curatt  att 
your  chappell  of  Harwood,  was  and  is  excommunicate,  and  soe  hath  stood  for  the 
space  of  9  or  10  daies  and  this  you  knowe  toe  be  true  for  you  saw  the  Excommunica- 
con  sent  forth  under  the  scale  of  the  office  of  the  Ecclesiastical  Judge  before  whom 
hee  should  for  many  of  his  Misdemeanoures  have  been  convented  and  censured  accord- 
ing to  the  lawes  and  ordinances  of  the  Church  of  Englande.  2.  Item,  that  you  the 
aforesaid  William  Hindle  are  and  were  at  the  tymeof  his  Excommunicacon  aforesaide, 
church  or  chappell  Warden  of  the  chappell  of  Harwood  aforesaid,  and  unto  you  the 
Excommunicacon  under  seal  aforesaid  was  broughte  to  take  notice  of  yt,  and  you  were 
sundry  tymes  or  at  least  once  warned  to  take  notice  of  it  and  not  to  suffer  the  said 
Hargreaves  to  preache  there  untill  such  tyme  as  he  should  be  absolved  and  restored  to 
the  Church  and  Sacraments  again,  butt  you  notwithstanding,  in  manifest  contempt  of 
Ecclesiastical  authorities,  answered  you  would  take  noe  notice  of  it,  and  that  it  should 
not  concern  you,  or  words  to  that  effect,  and  for  all  that  you  did  "allow,  permitt,  and 
suffer  the  said  Mr.  Hargreaves  to  preache  and  read  prayers  in  the  Chappel  the  Sundaie 
next  following.  3.  Item,  that  you  the  aforesaid  Richard  Mercer,  knowinge  the  pre- 
misses to  bee  true,  and  knowinge  the  said  Mr.  Hargreaves  to  bee  excommunicate, 
and  seeinge  the  Excommunicacon  against  him  aforesaid,  you  did  take  a  staffe  into 
the  chappell  or  chancell  of  Harwood  aforesaid,  and  sate  downe  in  the  seate  where  the 
minister  should  reade  and  pluckte  the  chancel  dore  after  you  and  said  openlie  in  the 
chancell  that  the  Excommunicacon  notwithstanding  Mr.  Hargreaves  should  preache, 
and  you  would  bear  him  out.  And  this  you  did  in  manifest  contempt  of  Ecclesiastical 
uthoritie  aforesaid.  4.  Item,  that  you  the  aforesaid  William  Hindle  and  Richard 
Mercer,  during  the  time  of  your  several  churchwardenshippes  have  known  or  at  least 
crediblie  hard  and  bene  informed  that  the  said  Mr.  Hargreaves  hath  made  dyvers 
clandestine  marriages  both  between  parishioners  and  strangers,  and  that  he  hath  bene 
of  tymes  drunke  and  that  he  is  a  comon  alehouse  haunter  and  doth  usuallie  or  at  least 
sometymes  sitt  in  an  alehouse. 

Mr.  William  Kippax,  minister  of  this  chapel,  occurs  in  1638,  and 
perhaps  was  appointed  soon  after  the  suspension  of  Hargreaves.  In 
1646,  on  the  institution  of  the  Lancashire  Presbytery,  Mr.  Richard 
Worthington,  minister  of  Harwood,  is  found  a  member  of  the  third  or 
Blackburn  Classis  ;  but  he  had  quitted  the  place  before  the  survey  of 
Lancashire  parishes  in  1650,  when  it  was  reported  of  this  chapel  to  the 
Commissioners  : — 

"Harwood,  a  parochial  chappel,  distant  from  the  parishe  church  four  myles,  hath 
I  att  present  noe  minister  nor  mayntenance,  save  only  four  pounds  per  annum  paid  out 
I  of  the  Duchy  lands.  They  consist  of  about  206  families,  with  the  inhabitants  of 
Totleworth  and  Rishton  towne,  who  desire  to  bee  annexed  to  the  said  church,  and  to 
jbee  made  a  parishe,  and  competent  mayntenance  allowed  for  a  minister. " 

One  Mr.  Sandford  is  named  by  Calamy  as  ejected  from  Harwood 
mder  the  Act  of  Uniformity  in  1662  •  but  I  have  obtained  no  evidence 
)f  the  service  of  this  church  by  a  minister  of  that  name.     After  the 
restoration,  Mr.  Thomas  Bentley  was  some  time  minister  of  Harwood. 
[e  died  here  in  1674  (buried  Aug.  5th),  and  had  a  son  Daniel,  bapt. 
)ct  8th,  1672,  who  died  at  Harwood,  aged  87,  in  1759.     Rev.  William 
'olton,    B.A.,    Succeeded   Mr.    Thomas    Bentley.       Mr.  Colton  was  a 


548  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Curate  at  the  Blackburn  Parish  Church,  in  1682,  and  he  served  Har- 
wood  and  Darwen  Chapelries  some  years  prior  to  1688,  when  he  ceased 
on  obtaining  the  joint  curacy  of  Law  Church  and  Samlesbury.  (Mr. 
Colton  had  a  son  John,  born  in  1684,  and  daughters,  Isabel,  born  in 
1682  ;  and  Jane,  born  in  1686).  In  1684,  in  answer  to  inquiry  by 
Primate  Sancroft,  who  proposed  to  augment  the  small  endowments  of 
the  chapels  in  Blackburn  Parish,  the  Vicar  of  Blackburn  sent  to  Lambeth 
the  subjoined  statement  respecting  Harwood  Chapelry  : — 

Harwood  Chappell  or  Church,  3  miles  and  X  fr°m  Blackburne  Church,  2  miles 
from  any  other  chappell.  They  of  Harwood  Magna,  Tottleworth,  and  east  end  of 
Rishton  resort  to  it.  The  sacraments  and  all  offices  are  here  administered,  and  the 
curate  hath  the  dues.  Endowment — Paid  yearly  out  of  the  Exchequer  ^£4  6s.  8d.; 
Given  by  the  ancestors  of  Thos.  Cockshot  £2  2s.  od. ;  Dues  for  marrying,  churching, 
burying,  &c.  £2. — 30  acres  of  common  set  out,  if  the  Parish  would  be  at  charge  to 
enclose  it ;  but  it  came  to  nothing  ;  they  now  refuse. — Mrs.  fHeetwood  promiseth 
yearly  £2  ;  The  Inhabitants  promise  yearly  (6-15)  £10 ;  and  hope  for  £20  per  annum 
from  Mr.  Hesketh,  of  Rufford. 

In  July  of  the  same  year,  the  subjoined  additional  facts  were 
communicated  to  Archbishop  Sancroft : — 

HARWOOD  MAGNA — The  Inhabitants  of  Harwood  Magna  have  nothing  to  show  for 
the  ^"4  6s.  8d.  paid  out  of  the  Exchequer  by  the  Chancellor  of  the  Duchy  of  Lan- 
caster, and  given  by  Queen  Elizabeth  to  that  chapel,  being  hitherto  paid,  but  with 
much  charge  and  trouble.  Nor  can  they  produce  any  settlement  of  425.  given  by  the 
ancestors  of  Mr.  Thomas  Cockshot,  and  if  tymely  care  be  not  taken  to  secure  the 
principal,  it  will  be  in  great  danger  to  be  lost,  being  uncertain  in  whose  hands  it  lies. 
The  30  acres  of  common  cannot  be  granted,  because  there  is  no  writt  of  partition  sued 
out  between  their  common  and  other  commons  belonging  to  other  neighbouring  towns  ; 
but  they  will  answer  his  Grace's  expectation  another  way.  There  has  been  common 
in  the  said  [ground]  within  the  few  years  last  past  notwithstanding  this  excuse.  They 
continue  their  promise  of  6-l5th's,  viz.,  £10  per  annum  dureing  life,  and  the  several 
lords  of  townships  will  oblige  themselves  and  heyres,  that  upon  the  death  or  remove  of 
any  tenant  or  subscriber,  his  successor  shall  be  obliged  to  continue  the  subscription  of 
his  predecessor.  But  this  does  amount  to  no  more  than  a  bare  discourse. 

The  following  is  a  letter  from  Mr.  Bridge,  agent  to  Mr.  Hesketh, 
of  Rufford,  addressed  to  Mr.  Whalley  of  Sparth,  in  reference  to  the 
2  os.  given  to  Harwood  Chapel  by  his  master. 

Mr.  Wholey, — I  have  acquainted  my  Master  with  the  result  of  our  business 
yesterday,  at  Blackborne,  as  also  of  your  answer,  that  is  to  be  returned  to  the  Arch 
Bishopp's  Gentlemen  upon  Tuesday  next.  And  he  saith  that  as  to  the  six-ffifteenes 
he  is  content  they  be  paid  in  case  his  Lordshipp's  allowance  will  be  considerable,  and 
that  there  may  be  noe  new  Innovations  brought  up  about  the  Tyth-hay,  but  as  to  the 
20s.  that  he  hath  paid  for  some  time  yearly  to  Mr.  Colten,  the  minister,  he  will  not 
be  tyed  to  pay  it  if  the  6-ffifteenes  be  paid,  for  that  was  given  upon  the 
account  of  his  tenants  heretofore,  and  he  must  pay  part  of  the  ffifteenes 
himself  for  his  demeasne  though  he  hath  as  little  reason  to  give  as  any 
man,  but  that  he  is  a  true  lover  of  the  church,  for  he  finds  by  antient  deed; 


GREAT  HARWOOD  CHURCH. 


549 


that  there  was  a  very  good  quantity  of  land  given  by  his  ancestors  to  the  Church  of 
Harwood,  which  at  the  dissolution  of  Abeys  and  Chantreys  was  seized  into  the  King's 
hands,  which  I  believe  was  the  reason  of  that  allowance  out  of  the  Dutchy  by  Edward 
the  6th,  and  likewise  land  in  Harwood  was  given  by  his  ancestors  to  the  Abott  of 
Wholey,  in  lieu  of  the  Tyth  of  Martholme  demeasne,  which  land  belongs  to  the  Abey 
to  this  day  ;  but  my  Master,  notwithstanding  as  ill  dealt  with  for  his  Tythes  as  any  in 
the  Rectory,  I  only  hint  these  things  to  you  to  lett  you  know  in  some  measure  how 
things  stand,  and  desire  you  to  make  use  of  as  you  see  occasion,  but  not  to  part  with 
it  out  of  your  hands,  which  is  all  at  present  from  your  humble  Servant, 

Rufforth,  July  the  3rd,  1684.  EDW.  BRIDGE. 

Mr.  Wholey, — I  desire  that  if  it  should  happen  that  I  be  prevented  of  meeting 
the  gentlemen  at  Black  Leane  Head  upon  Wednesday  sennight,  being  the  i6th  instant, 
about  considering  how  to  defend  themselves  about  Tyth-hay,  that  you  will  doe  what 
you  thinke  good  upon  my  Master's  account  and  what  the  gentlemen  conclude  on  my 
Master  will  joyne  with  them. 

About  the  same  date  (1684  or  1685),  the  Inhabitants  of  Great 
Harwood  addressed  the  Primate  in  the  following  Petition  : — 

To  the  most  Reverend  ffather  in  God  Willm.  Lord  Arch-Bp.  of  Canterbury 
Primate  and  Metropolitan  of  all  England. — The  humble  petition  of  several  of  the 
Inhabitants  of  the  parochiall  Chappellry  of  Great  Harwood  in  the  County  of  Lancaster, 
— Humbly  Sheweth,  That  within  the  said  chappellry  there  are  above  200  considerable 
families  and  that  for  several  years  last  past  they  have  made  collec'ons  amongst  them- 
selves for  the  maintenance  of  a  Minister  att  the  Chappell  of  Harwood  being  within 
the  parish  of  Blackburn  in  the  afores'd  county  of  Lanc'r,  there  being  no  stipend 
belonginge  to  the  said  chappell  but  onely  thirteene  nobles  a  yeare  a  gift  bestowed  upon 
the  same  (out  of  the  Revenues  of  the  Crowne  in  Lancashire)  by  the  late  gracious 
Queene  Elizabeth,  w'th  w'ch  and  your  petitioners'  contributions  they  have  frequently 
kept  a  Minister,  your  petitioners  being  above  5  myles  distant  from  their  parish  church 
of  Blackburne  and  all  other  churches  and  chappells  belonging  to  the  same.  And  the 
tithes  yearly  collected  within  the  said  chappellry  beinge  of  the  yearely  value  of  £60 
p.  annum  and  upwards  and  nothinge  allowed  out  of  the  same  towards  the  maintenance 
of  a  Minister.  And  the  inhabitants  of  the  said  chappellry  beinge  very  much  of  late 
years  decayed  in  their  estates,  and  the  chappell  at  present  being  very  well  supplied 
by  one  Mr.  Willm.  Coulton  Batchelor  of  Arts,  your  petitioners  cannot  continue  him 
long  amongst  them  without  an  additionall  Maintenance  which  in  respect  of  their 
poverty  they  are  not  able  to  contribute  unless  your  Grace  would  please  to  take  the 
premisses  into  consideracon  and  dispose  of  some  allowance  towards  his  maintenance 
out  of  the  tithes  of  the  said  chappellry,  otherwise  severall  families  are  like  to  be 
deprived  of  the  meanes  of  God's  word  preached,  beinge  soe  far  distant  from  other 
places,  and  the  chappell  will  become  voide  and  fall  into  mine.  All  which  your 
petitioners  doe  humbly  recommend  to  your  pious  consideracon  and  humbly  pray  that 
your  Grace  willbe  pleased  to  conferr  some  allowance  upon  the  same,  for  the  main- 
tenance of  Religion  and  the  instructinge  of  soe  many  poore  Soules  as  otherwise  may 
suffer  for  want  of  the  ordinance.  And  your  petitioners  as  in  duty  bound  shall  ever 
pray,  &c. 

Thos.  Hesketh.  Henry  ffeilden.  THOS.  MARSER.         \        Ch : 

Roger  Nowell.  Will.  Duckworth.  JOHN  FFLETCHER.    /Wardens. 

Alex.  Nowell.  James  ffeilden.  William  Horrabin. 

Edmund  Cockshutt.         W.   Clayton. 


550  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

The  Sancroft  gift  to  the  chapelries  afforded  to  Great  Harwood  at 
first  a  sum  of  £6  yearly  towards  the  curate's  stipend,  now  increased  to 
about  ;£i7  per  annum  from  this  Trust.  Mr.  Edward  Sherdley  was 
curate  of  Harwood  and  Langho  from  1688  to  1690  ;  and  in  March, 
1689,  it  is  recorded  : — "Harwood  and  Langho,  two  chapels,  supplyed 
by  Mr.  Sherdley,  a  conformable  minister ;  his  maintenance  from  both 
about  ^35  per  annum  or  upwards."  Oct.  i5th,  1690,  the  Vicar  of 
Blackburn  (Price),  signed  an  agreement  with  John  Barlow,  curate  of 
Church-kirk,  by  which  the  latter  was  admitted  to  the  curateship  of 
Harwood  Magna  and  Langho,  and  covenanted  to  reside  within  one  or 
other  of  the  two  chapelries,  and  to  "read  prayers  and  preach  at  the 
chappel  of  Harwood  every  Sunday  in  the  forenoon,  and  likewise  such 
Sundays  in  the  afternoon  as  he  did  not  officiate  at  Langho;"  but  by 
reason  of  the  shortness  of  the  days  and  badness  of  the  ways  in  winter 
between  the  two  chapels,  it  was  agreed  that  the  curate  might  leave 
Harwood  chapel  unsupplied  one  Sunday  in  the  month  during  the 
winter  season.  The  curate  was  to  "receive  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Harwood  Magna  such  surplice  fees  as  by  right  do  belong  to  the  curate 
of  that  place;"  and  was  to  "testify  his  subjection  to  the  Mother  Church 
of  Blackburn  by  preaching  at  it  once  a  year  if  he  be  required."  Mr.  Barlow 
held  this  curacy  until  1706,  when  Mr.  Arthur  Tempest  succeeded  him. 

On  the  1 8th  June,  1714,  it  was  reported  respecting  this  church  to 
the  Governors  of  Queen  Anne's  Bounty  : — "  In  Harwood  Chapel  divine 
service  is  performed  only  every  other  Sunday,  by  reason  of  the  smallness 
of  the  salary.  Endowment  : — Out  of  the  Duchy  Exchequer  £4.  6s.  8d.; 
gift  of  Cockshutt's  ancestors  ^40,  interest  £2  23.;  out  of  lands  at 
Thornley  £6 ;  out  of  the  Rectory  of  Blackburn,  £2  6s.  8d.;  total 
£14  155.  6d."  A  few  years  later,  Bishop  Gastrell  notes  that  here  "the 
curate  has  surplice  fees,  and  a  half-penny  for  every  communicant.  A 
caveat  was  entered  by  the  Vicar  against  granting  a  license  to  Harwood 
and  Langho,  anno  1690.  Harwood  Magna,  Tottleworth,  and  the  east 
end  of  Rishton  resort  to  [this  chapel].  The  same  curate  serves 
Harwood  and  Langho.  Two  wardens,  chosen  by  the  Minister  and 
principal  inhabitants."  A  benefaction  of  ^£200  by  James  Whalley, 
gent,  to  this  church,  made  on  27th  Sept.,  1735,  procured  from  the 
Governors  of  Queen  Anne's  Bounty  a  grant  of  ^200  ;  and  the  united 
sum  of  ^400  was  invested  for  the  increase  of  the  living.  A  second 
similar  grant  of  ,£200  from  the  Royal  Bounty  was  made  in  1772  to 
meet  a  local  benefaction  of  ^100  by  Richard  Cottam  and  Wm.  Aspden, 
and  a  gift  of  ;£ioo  by  Mrs.  Pyncombe's  trustees. 

Rev.  John  Smith,  minister  of  Harwood  about  54  years  from  June 
I4th,  1719  to  1773,  was  buried  at  this  church  Jan.  26th,  1773.  (His 


GREAT  HARWOOD  CHURCH.  ^I 

wife,  Mary,  was  buried  Aug.  25th,  1759).    A  few  days  before  the  death  of 
this  curate,  a  petition  abstracted  below  was  addressed  to  the  Vicar  : — 

Petition  of  Wardens  and  principal  inhabitants  of  Harwood  Chapelry,  dated  Jan. 
1 3th,  1773,  to  Revd.  Vicar  of  Blackburn,  praying  that  as  the  Revd.  Mr.  Smith,  their 
Curate,  is  at  the  point  of  death,  the  Vicar  will  appoint  to  the  curacy  Mr.  Elleray, 
Curate  of  Langho,  a  curate  in  the  parish  upwards  of  thirty  years.  Signed  by  William 
Aspden  and  Christopher  H  indie,  Chapel  Wardens,  and  the  following  Inhabitants  : — 
William  Duckworth,  Robert  Duckworth,  Joshua  Duckworth,  F.  N.  Williams,  Edward 
Pickles,  Thomas  Taylor,  Thomas  Mercer,  James  Mercer,  Win.  Peacop,  John  Hindle, 
Peter  Brennand,  Cuthbert  Gibson,  Henry  Taylor,  John  Mercer,  John  Hoyle,  Launce- 
lot  Pearson,  Jonathan  Calvert,  John  Dugclale,  Thos.  Royston,  Thos.  Hindle, 
Wm.  Wilkinson,  John  Calvert,  Roger  Feilden,  John  Feilden,  John  Clayton,  Thos. 
Pickles,  Joseph  Noble,  Thos.  Duckworth,  John  Duckworth. 

A  terrier  of  sources  of  minister's  income,  drawn  out  in  1779,  in- 
cludes : — Churchyard  44  perches  (enlarged  in  1814  by  20  perches  cus- 
tomary measure,  and  again  in  1858);  estate  called  Nook,  in  Walton, 
i6a.  3r.  i3p.  of  7  yards  to  the  perch  (exchanged  for  estate  at  Goosnargh 
called  Rig,  67a.  ir.  2gp.  statute  measure);  messuage  and  tenement  in 
Great  Harwood,  called  Mercer's,  purchased  out  of  Queen  Anne's  Bounty, 
loa.  ir.  29p.;  £i  35,  per  ann.  from  School  Lands;  ^3  i6s.  2d.  Duchy 
Rent ;  ^3  interest  of  Cockshutt's  money ;  £4  93.  2d.  half-yearly  by 
Vicar  of  Blackburn. 

In  1822,  a  Parliamentary  Grant  of  ^400  accrued  by  lot  to  this 
benefice;  and  on  Oct.  6th,  1841,  the  Ecclesiastical  Commissioners  made 
an  annual  grant  of  £21  to  Great  Harwood  Church. 

The  sources  of  income  of  this  benefice  I  find  stated  as  under  in  May,  1859  : — 
Glebe  land  and  farm-house,  ^40 ;  a  cottage  in  Great  Harwood,  let  with  the  Glebe 
Farm,  ^3  55.;  A  pasture  field  in  Great  Harwood,  £4.  IDS.;  School-land,  Great  Har- 
wood, ^3  ;  Cockshutt's  Benefaction,  paid  by  Mrs.  Waterworth,  Shaw  House,  Slaid- 
burn,  £2  I os. ;  Duchy  rent,  payable  at  Preston  in  November,  ,£4  6s.  8d.;  Sancroft 
and  Fleetwood  Trust,  £16  ;  Rig  Farm,  Goosnargh,  ^41  ;  Queen  Anne's  Bounty  on 
^"495  7s.  I  id.,  at  3  %,  £14  ijs.  2d. ;  Ecclesiastical  Commissioners,  £21  ;  Rent  of 
Church  Yard,  £l  IDS.;  Dues  and  Fees  (this  year),  ^35  ;  total,  j£i86  l8s,  lod.  The 
present  value  of  the  living  is  ^300  per  annum. 

The  Church  of  St.  Bartholomew  in  Great  Harwood  stands  on  a 
prominent  site  on  the  hill  slope,  above  the  north  end  of  the  modern 
town.  It  is  surrounded  by  a  large  graveyard  which  overlooks  the  vale 
of  Calder  northward ;  and  is  shaded  with  old  trees.  The  fabric  of  the 
church  is  unpretentious,  consisting  of  nave,  with  clerestory,  north  and 
south  aisles,  porch  in  the  south  aisle,  vestry  on  the  north  side,  and  the 
stout  square  tower,  buttressed  and  embattled,  common  to  the  old 
churches  of  North-East  Lancashire.  There  is  no  chancel ;  the  east 
window  of  the  nave  is  a  simple  mullioned  one  of  three  lights  ;  this  and 
the  smaller  three-light  windows  of  nave  and  aisles  have  semi-circular 


552  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

heads  without  tracery.  An  old  traceried  window  is  above  the  doorway 
on  the  west  aspect  of  the  tower.  The  tower  contains  one  bell.  The  in- 
terior has  no  gallery ;  the  communion  is  separated  from  the  nave  by  an 
altar-rail.  In  the  south  aisle  at  the  east  end,  where  stood  the  Hesketh 
chantry-chapel,  the  piscina  is  recessed  in  the  wall.  What  remains  of  an 
ancient  font  is  fixed  in  the  porch ;  the  font  now  used  is  an  octagonal 
one  of  gritstone,  initialed  "I  E"  with  the  date  "1662".  Arcades  of 
moulded  arches  springing  from  octagonal  columns  separate  nave  from 
aisles.  The  organ-chamber  is  at  the  east  end  of  the  north  aisle.  In  the 
east  window  of  the  south  aisle  are  pieces  of  antique  stained  glass,  bear- 
ing the  arms  of  Hesketh.  The  church  is  supposed  to  have  been  rebuilt 
early  in  the  Tudor  period  ;  and  again  restored  in  1559.  Later  alterations 
were  made  in  the  seventeenth  century.  The  recent  Parliamentary 
Return  of  Church-building  records  that  this  church  was  re-benched  and 
re-roofed  in  1864,  cost  ^413;  heating  apparatus  fixed  in  1871,  cost 
^95  ;  new  organ,  1872,  cost  £120  ;  these  sums  were  raised  by  volun- 
tary subscriptions.  Sittings  367,  of  which  70  are  free. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  incumbents  of  Great  Harwood,  so  far  as  I  have  been 
able  to  trace  their  succession  : — Richard  Wood,  chantry  priest,  occurs  1534  and  1548  ; 
Robert  Elder,  chantry  priest  of  Harwood  Parva  (?  Magna)  occurs  1553  >  Sir  Richard 
Dean,  1551-1578;  William  Herns,  1580-1620;  John  Nowell,  occurs  1627;  Richard 
Hargreaves,  occurs  circa  1630 ;  William  Kippax,  occurs  1638  ;  Richard  Worthington, 
Presbyterian  minister,  occurs  1646;  Thomas  Bentley  occurs  1672,  died  1674  ;  William 
Colton,  B.A.,  occurs  1682,  resigned  1688;  Edward  Sherdley,  1689-1690;  John 
Barlow,  1690-1705;  Arthur  Tempest,  1706-1717  ;  George  Brown,  1717-1719  ;  John 
Smith,  1719-1773;  Thomas  Elleray,  1773-1780;  William  Greenwood,  1780-1789; 
Borlase  Willock,  1789-1802  ;  William  Barton,  1803-1818  ;  Robert  Dobson,  1819- 
1861  ;  Rev.  Wm.  Maude  Haslewood,  B.A.,  present  Vicar,  instituted,  April,  1861. 

THE  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  CHURCH  OF  OUR  LADY  AND 

ST.  HUBERT. 

This  beautiful  Gothic  Church  was  built  by  James  Lomax,  Esq.,  lord  of  the  manor, 
for  the  use  of  the  Roman  Catholic  inhabitants,  together  with  the  adjoining  Presbytery 
and  Schools,  at  a  charge  of  ^"7000.  The  church  was  consecrated  in  September,  1859, 
and  is  dedicated  to  "  Our  Lady  and  St.  Hubert."  The  design  was  by  Mr.  E.  W. 
Pugin,  and  the  style  is  decorated  gothic.  The  plan  of  the  church  includes  nave,  Soft, 
by  3oft. ;  transeptal  aisles ;  chantry  chapel  I2j^ft.  square;  and  octagonal  chancel, 
25ft.  by  25ft.  A  handsome  tower  rises  near  the  middle  of  the  nave  on  the  south  side, 
and  with  spire  has  an  altitude  of  1 27ft.  The  belfry  contains  one  bell  weighing  13  cwt., 
cast  by  Warner  and  Sons.  The  windows  of  nave,  transepts,  and  chancel  are  large, 
richly  traceried,  and  filled  with  stained  glass.  The  altar  is  a  rich  and  artistic  design. 
The  site  of  the  church  is  on  an  eminence  at  the  east  end  of  the  Lowertown.  It  con- 
tains 700  sittings.  The  schools  are  of  stone,  well-built,  and  are  used  for  Day  Schools. 
Rev.  Wm.  Dunderdale  is  the  rector. 

INDEPENDENT  CHAPEL,  QUEEN  STREET.— In  the  year  1812,  Roger  Cunliffe, 
Esq.,  a  native  of  this  township,  fitted  up  a  room  in  Great  Harwood  for  public  worship 


DISSENTING  CHAPELS  IN  GREAT  HARWOOD. 


553 


and  for  a  Sunday  School,  and  founded  this  congregation  of  Independents.  Students 
from  the  Blackburn  Independent  College  were  the  ordinary  preachers  at  this  mission 
for  about  thirty  years,  until  the  removal  of  the  College  to  Manchester  in  1842.  No 
permanent  place  of  worship  was  provided  until  the  year  1837,  when  the  present  chapel 
in  Queen  Street  was  erected,  costing  about  ^400.  In  1839,  the  Great  Harwood  con- 
gregation was  returned  as  consisting  of  150  persons,  and  the  Sunday  School  then  con- 
tained 200  scholars.  The  chapel  was  improved  by  the  erection  of  galleries  in  1850, 
costing  ^200.  The  school-building  in  the  rear  of  the  chapel  was  added  in  1854,  and 
cost  £$oo;  and  class-rooms  were  added  later,  costing  £100.  The  minister's  house 
was  built  in  1869,  at  an  expenditure  of  ^450.  The  Sunday  and  Day  Schools  are 
efficient  and  flourishing.  The  chapel,  a  plain  structure,  contains  350  sittings.  Rev. 
J.  Preston  is  the  present  minister. 

WESLEYAN  CHAPEL. — Great  Harwood  is  named  as  a  Methodist  preaching-place 
in  Blackburn  Circuit  in  1787.  A  local  tradition  exists  that  Wesley  preached  on  two 
occasions  in  Harwood,  once  in  a  cottage  in  Church-lane,  when  he  was  stoned  by  the 
rabble,  and  a  second  time  at  the  house  of  a  Mr.  Frank  Clayton,  at  the  back  of  Bowlee 
Hill.  Mr.  Clayton's  house  was  the  first  Methodist  meeting-place  ;  later  their  worship 
was  conducted  in  a  room  at  Cross  Gates,  and  then  a  school-room  at  the  Cliff  was  used 
for  preaching.  In  1822,  a  small  chapel  was  built  at  Butts,  which  was  the  Wesleyan 
place  of  worship  until  1849,  when  the  reform  party  of  seceders  took  possession  of  the 
chapel.  The  Wesleyan  Society  built  the  present  chapel  in  Chapel-street  in  1853.  It 
was  enlarged  in  1 85  7,  and  schools  have  been  annexed.  The  chapel,  a  plain  square 
building,  contains  270  sittings. 

UNITED  FREE  METHODIST  CHAPEL.— A  section  of  the  Wesleyan  Society  in 
Great  Harwood  that  separated  in  1849,  used  the  old  Methodist  Chapel  at  Butts  some 
years,  and  then  built  the  present  chapel  and  schools  in  Cattle-street,  opened  in  1864. 
The  chapel  is  a  neat  edifice,  and  contains  about  400  sittings.  The  old  chapel  at  Butts 
has  since  been  disused  for  religious  purposes. 

PRIMITIVE  METHODIST  CHAPEL. — A  chapel  was  built  by  the  Primitive  Metho- 
dists in  Great  Harwood  in  the  year  1860,  which  is  called  the  "Jubilee  Chapel."  It 
is  situate  in  Mercer-street,  and  contains  about  300  sittings. 

CHARITIES  OF  GREAT  HARWOOD. 

SIR  EDMUND  ASSHETON'S  DOLE,  OR  POOR  STOCK. — January,  1680, 
Sir  Edmund  Assheton  of  Whalley,  Bart.,  gave  ^5  as  a  common  Stock 
for  the  Poor.  Interest  to  be  distributed  every  St.  Thomas's  Day  at  the 
discretion  of  the  Curate,  Churchwardens  and  Overseers,  and  the  two 
Trustees,  Thomas  Cockshutt  and  John  Mercer.  The  following  record 
is  contained  in  the  Trustees' Book  of  Accounts  : — "1690,  Dec.  20. 
Memorandum  that  the  day  and  yeare  abovesaide  the  Right  Worshipfull 
Sr.  Edmund  Ashton  of  Whalley  Baronet  hath  formerly  been  pleased  to 
give  and  bestowe  the  sume  of  Thirty  Pounds  as  a  Common  Stock  to  bee 
soe  lodged,  placed,  and  disposed  of  as  may  bee  for  the  most  advantage 
of  the  Poore  within  Great  Harwood,  and  the  Interest  of  the  same  to  bee 
annually  distributed  upon  every  Saint  Thomas  Day  before  Christmas 
respectively  among  the  most  indigent  poore  within  Great  Harwood 
aforesaid  at  the  discretion  of  John  Barlow,  clerke,  George  Cockshutt, 


554  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

gent.,  Robert  Feilden,  chapman,  and  John  Mercer  of  Heyes,  yeoman, 
trustees  for  that  purpose  appointed  for  the  time  being.  We  the  saide 
Trustees  have  distributed  the  due  interest  hereof  as  followeth,  the  day 
and  yeare  abovesaid.  As  witness  our  hands,  JOHN  BARLOW,  GEO. 
COCKSHUTT,  ROBT.  FEILDEN,  JOHN  MERCER."  Subsequent  gifts  had 
increased  the  yearly  value  of  the  Dole  in  1741  to  ^4  93.  4d.;  among 
them  a  sum  of  £10  given  by  Will  of  Edward  Mercer  of  Squires,  in 
1726,  whose  executors,  Mr.  Whittaker  and  Mr.  James  Nowell,  paid  the 
first  year's  interest  of  los.  on  Sept.  i3th,  1727.  Thomas  Cockshutt, 
gent,  gave  ^50  to  the  Stock  in  1737.  In  1742,  Mrs.  Mary  Nightingale 
gave  ^173,  the  interest  to  be  spent  in  bread  for  distribution  amongst  the 
poor.  The  capital  of  this  gift  was  invested  along  with  the  former  poor- 
stock  in  the  purchase  of  an  estate  of  14  customary  acres  of  land  at 
Roughlee,  in  Pendle  Forest,  now  called  Dole  House  estate,  in  1743, 
for  the  sum  of  £222  6s.  The  Dole  House  was  repaired  in  1749. 
Other  benefactions  accrued  to  the  Charity  in  1756,  when  Mr.  Alexander 
Mercer  gave  ^20,  and  Rev.  Thomas  Feilden  £10.  In  1765,  the 
receipts  of  the  trust  were: — Dole  House  rent  £8  53.;  Interest  from 
John  Slayter  155.;  Interest  from  James  and  Robert  Cross  135.  3d.; 
Interest  from  Thomas  Taylor  los. ;  total  ;£io  2s.  3d.  To  Mr.  Peacop 
for  loaves  £6  is.  4d.  Balance  to  distribute  in  money  ^£4  os.  nd. 
The  interest  from  Thomas  Taylor  was  on  ;£io  left  by  the  Will  of  Richard 
Walmsley  of  Great  Harwood.  The  dole  of  bread  Mrs.  Nightingale  the 
donor  "  ordered  and  appointed  to  be  distributed  at  Harwood  Chapel 
every  Sabbath  day,  fourteen  two-penny  wheaten  loaves  to  poor  people 
belonging  to  the  said  township  not  having  a  weekly  or  other  allowance 
for  them,  and  not  to  any  one  else  except  they  were  not  well  or  old  and 
impotent  and  "could  not  come  there." 

1770.  The  Rev.  Mr.  John  Smith,  Curate  of  Harwood,  gave  for  the 
use  of  the  poor  of  the  said  township  five  pounds ;  the  interest  thereof 
annually  arising  to  be  distributed  every  St.  Thomas'  Day  amongst  the 
most  indigent  Poor  within  Great  Harwood  at  the  discretion  of  Thomas 
Mercer,  William  Aspden,  and  Thomas  Turner,  nominated  trustees. 

THE  SCHOOL  TRUST. — Col.  Roger  Nowell  of  Read  Hall  built  a 
school  on  his  estate  in  the  Netherton,  in  this  township,  in  the  year  1696; 
but  he  did  not  endow  it,  and  more  than  twenty  years  after  the  school 
was  erected  it  was  found  that  there  was  no  teaching  in  it,  for  the  master 
could  not  get  a  maintenance.  Mr.  Edward  Mercer,  of  Squires,  by  Will 
dated  April  i6th,  1726,  bequeathed  ^50  to  Thomas  Hesketh  and 
Roger  Nowell,  Esqrs.,  and  their  heirs,  and  to  the  churchwardens  and 
overseers  of  Great  Harwood,  in  trust  to  place  the  same  out,  and  pay 
the  interest  thereof  to  such  Schoolmaster  as  should  teach  in  the  School- 


GREAT  HARWOOD  CHARITIES.  555 

house  erected  by  Col.  Nowell,  for  the  teaching  so  many  poor  children  of 
the  township  of  Great  Harwood  as  to  the  trustees  should  seem  con- 
venient. Another  benefaction  was  that  of  Mrs.  Mary  Nightingale,  in 
1742,  who  gave  a  sum  to  be  "placed  out  at  Interest  by  the  discretion  of 
her  trustees  hereafter  named,  and  the  interest  arising  yearly  therefrom  to 
be  paid  out  and  applied  to  the  Schoolmaster  in  Harwood  aforesaid,  pro- 
vided the  said  Schoolmaster  teaches  and  instructs  two  such  poor  chil- 
dren of  the  said  township  as  the  said  trustees  shall  think  fit  to  put  and 
place  in  the  said  school  from  time  to  time,"  and  appointed  the  "Rev.  Mr. 
John  Smith,  Curate  of  Harwood,  Alexander  Mercer,  Thomas  Mercer, 
and  Thomas  Swain,  gentlemen,  trustees  in  her  place  and  stead  to  distri- 
bute the  said  charity  and  to  place  in  the  said  school  two  poor  children 
of  the  said  township,  and  for  them  the  said  trustees  or  a  major  part  of 
them  to  elect  and  appoint  others  when  and  as  often  as  they  shall  think 
fit  and  so  on  to  futurity."  William  Hindle,  by  Will  dated  Feb.  22nd,  1820, 
bequeathed  to  the  minister  of  Great  Harwood  Church,  R.  G.  Lomax,  Esq., 
and  others,  ^150  on  trust,  the  interest  to  be  applied  for  the  sole  benefit 
of  the  master  of  the  School  in  Great  Harwood,  late  the  property  of 
Alexander  Nowell,  Esq.,  upon  condition  that  the  inhabitants  of  the 
town  should  within  one  year  raise  and  apportion  the  further  sum  of 
^150  upon  the  same  trusts.  The  inhabitants  thereupon  subscribed 
,£171  193.  6d.;  and  thereout  ^"150,  added  to  the  legacy  of  Mr.  Hindle, 
made  a  sum  of  ^300,  which  was  placed  at  interest,  and  in  1825  was 
yielding  £12  153.  per  annum.  In  1766,  sums  of  £40  los.  belonging 
to  the  Poor,  £64  belonging  to  the  School,  and  ^"29  belonging  to  the 
Minister  of  Great  Harwood  Church,  were  laid  out  in  the  purchase  of 
lands  in  Great  Harwood  called  Moor  Fields,  and  now  called  "  The 
School  Lands."  The  proportions  of  the  rent  of  these  lands  paid  in 
1825  were: — To  the  School,  £2  175.  6d.;  Poor,  £i  i6s.  6d.;  Minister, 
;£i  6s.  The  trustees  of  the  School  were,  recently,  Rev.  W.  M.  Haslewood, 
Vicar  of  Great  Harwood,  and  the  Vicars  of  Blackburn  and  Whalley. 

The  present  National  School  in  Queen  Street,  built  in  1837,  superseded  the  old 
school  built  by  Col.  Nowell,  which  was  converted  into  cottages,  and  the  rents  paid  to 
the  School  Fund.  Towards  the  erection,  and  enlargement  a  few  years  ago,  of  the 
new  school,  two  grants  of  ^123  and  £i$g  133.  4d.  were  obtained  from  Government. 
The  master  is  appointed  by  the  trustees  of  the  endowment,  and  in  respect  of  that 
income  teaches  12  poor  children  as  free  scholars. 

The  three  Day  Schools  in  Great  Harwood  under  Government  inspection  appear 
as  follows  in  the  Report  of  the  Education  Department  for  1874-5: — 

Average  Annual  Grant. 

Attendance.  £        s.      d. 

National  School         -         -         -  294  228     3     I 

Independent  (British)  School     -  197  147   15     o 

St.  Hubert's  Roman  Catholic  School     143  in     8     o 


556  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


CHAPTER  IX.— THE  TOWNSHIP  OF  LITTLE  HARWOOD. 

Name — Topography  and  Population — Descent  of  the  Manor — Clayton  of  Little  Harwood  Hall — 
Hoyle — Little  Harwood  Hall — Minor  Freeholders — Bolton  of  Bank  Hey— Clayton  of  Cunliffe— 
Foster,  and  Peel,  of  Bank  Hey— Rishton  of  Hartstonley— Commons'  Enclosure. 

ETLE  HARWOOD,  anciently  named  Harewode  Parva,  is  a  small 
township  of  730  statute  acres,  contiguous  to  Blackburn  on  the 
north-east,  and  occupying  the  slopes  of  a  hill  which  extends  towards 
Great  Harwood  eastward.  The  population  is  agricultural,  excepting  that 
portion  which  occupies  a  number  of  cottages  recently  built  for  workpeople 
at  the  mills  within  the  township  of  Blackburn.  The  population  since  the 
Census  of  1801  has  varied  as  follows  : — 1801, 104  persons  ;  1811,  126  ; 
1821,  210  ;  1831,  341  ;  1841,  322  ;  1851,  316;  1861,  270;  1871,  311. 
The  Public  Cemetery  of  Blackburn  is  within  Little  Harwood,  on  the 
west  border  of  the  township.  Little  Harwood  contains  no  place  of 
worship,  or  Day  or  Sunday  School ;  the  inhabitants  avail  themselves 
of  the  church  and  school  provision  of  Blackburn  near  at  hand.  The  old 
road  from  Blackburn  to  Whalley  and  Clitheroe  traverses  the  township. 

DESCENT  OF  THE  MANOR. 

Harwood  Parva  on  the  Norman  settlement  was  attached  to  Walton- 
in-le-Dale  as  one  of  its  outlying  members,  and  as  such  was  granted  by 
Henry  de  Lascy  to  Robert  Banastre,  lord  of  Newton,  temp.  Henry  II. 
It  remained  thus  feudally  subject  to  the  lords  of  Walton — Banastres, 
Langtons,  and  Hoghtons  in  succession — until  the  seventeenth  century. 
But  the  manor  lands  of  Harwood  Parva  were  granted  in  the  thirteenth 
century  by  one  of  the  lords  of  the  fee  of  Walton  to  one  of  the  De 
Clayton  family,  lords  of  Clayton-in-les-Moors.  The  Langtons  and 
Hoghtons,  subsequently,  received  service  and  a  rent  from  the  Claytons 
on  account  of  their  estate  in  Little  Harwood.  The  Will  of  Sir  Thomas 
Langton,  dated  1569,  names  testator's  rights  in  "  Little  Harwodde  "  as 
a  dependency  of  Walton;  and  half  a  century  onward  (1625),  John  Clayton 
was  found  to  hold  the  reputed  "  manor  of  Parva  Harwood  "  of  "  Sir 


CLAYTON  OF  LITTLE  HARWOOD  HALL.  557 

Gilbert  Hoghton,  Knt.,  as  of  his  Manor  of  Walton,  in  free  socage,"  by 
43.  per  annum  acknowledgment. 

CLAYTON,  LORDS  OF  HARWOOD  PARVA. 

There  is  difficulty  in  tracing  the  early  descent  of  that  branch  of  the 
Claytons  of  Clayton-in-les-Moors  which  settled  upon  the  Little  Harwood 
estate.  These  names  occur  : — Ralph  de  Clayton,  living  in  1251,  was 
father  of  Henry  de  Clayton,  seneschal  of  Blackburnshire  in  1266  or 
1277  ;  he,  I  suppose,  was  the  Henry  de  Clayton  who,  by  the  Testa  de 
Nevill,  held  the  8th  part  of  a  Knight's  fee  in  Harwode  temp.  Henry 
III.  A  later  "Henry  de  Clayton  de  Harwood"  was  a  juror  at  the 
inquisition  respecting  Henry  de  Shuttleworth's  estate  in  1326;  and  his 
son,  Ralph  de  Clayton,  son  of  Henry  de  Parva  Harwood,  occurs  in 
1349,  as  grantor  of  the  corn  mill  of  Button,  by  a  deed  dated  22nd 
Edw.  III.  This  Ralph  had  a  son,  Henry  de  Clayton,  who  occurs  in 
1373,  and  held  manorial  estate  in  Button.  He  died  before  1391,  when 
John  de  Baylegh  was  found  holding  land  in  Button  "  of  the  heir  of 
Henry  de  Clayton." 

The  genealogy  of  these  Claytons  is  a  blank  during  the  next 
century,  and  the  connected  descent  begins  with  Geoffrey  Clayton,  living 
temp.  Henry  VII.  He,  in  the  igth  Henry  VII.  (1504),  vested  the  Manor 
of  Harwood  Parva  in  trust,  during  the  nonage  of  the  next  male  heir,  in 
Sir  Edward  Stanley,  after  lord  Monteagle,  and  died  shortly  after  that 
settlement.  He  had  two  sons,  John,  and  George.  John  Clayton  married 
and  had  issue  two  daughters,  Ellen  and  Rose,  and  died  before  1516. 

George  Clayton,  second  son  of  Geoffrey,  had  a  son  and  heir,  Robert 
Clayton,  to  whom,  as  next  male  heir,  Edward  Stanley,  Lord  Monteagle, 
Geoffrey's  trustee,  released  the  estate  in  Little  Harwood,  A.D.  1516. 

Robert  Clayton,  lord  of  Harwood  Parva,  had  issue,  sons,  William, 
Lawrence,  a  clerk ;  Robert ;  and  George.  Robert  Clayton  the  father 
died  before  1540. 

William  Clayton,  of  Little  Harwood,  son  of  Robert,  was  in 
possession  in  the  3ist  Henry  VIIL,  when  he  sued  George  Lyvesey  and 
others  for  distress  and  rescue  of  cattle  trespassing  on  his  lands  in  Little 
Harwoode  and  Rishton.  He  had  another  litigation  in  1556  with  his 
brother,  Lawrence  Clayton,  parson  of  Eythrop-roding,  in  Essex,  in  a 
dispute  as  to  title  to  lands  called  Churchholde  in  Little  Harwood  and 
Blackburn.  The  dispute  was  renewed  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth.  "William 
Clayton,  gent."  was  named  a  first  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar 
School  in  1567.  By  his  wife,  a  daughter  of —  Livesey,  he  had  sons,  John; 
Thomas  (of  Church-house,  near  Bunkenhalgh);  Edward;  and  Ralph. 

John  Clayton  succeeded  his  father  before  1570,  when  he  was 
assessed  to  a  Subsidy  for  his  lands  in  Little  Harwood.  John  Clayton  is 


558  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

named  in  a  list  of  "  gentlemen  of  best  calling  "  in  the  county  in  1588  ; 
and,  in  1600,  "John  Clayton  of  Little  Harwood,  gent."  appears  on  a 
list  of  local  freeholders.  His  brother,  Thomas  Clayton  of  Church- 
house,  Parish  of  Whalley,  gent.,  dying  in  1608,  gave  405.  to  Blackburn 
Grammar  School,  which  John  Clayton  paid  to  the  trust,  Aug.  ist,  1608. 
John  Clayton  died  in  January,  1624-5,  and  was  buried  at  Blackburn 
Jan.  27th.  His  wife  had  died  in  1621.  The  Inq.  post  mort.  was  taken 
at  Preston,  Oct.  ist,  ist  Charles  I.  (1625).  It  was  found  that  he  had 
died  seized  of  the  Manor  of  Parva  Harwood,  held  of  Sir  Gilbert  Hoghton, 
Knt,  as  of  his  manor  of  Walton  in  free  socage,  by  43.  per  annum,  with 
six  messuages,  one  water-mill,  200  acres  of  land,  meadow  and  pasture  in 
Parva  Harwood  ;  also  of  8  acres  of  land,  meadow,  and  pasture  in  Black- 
burn, held  of  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  as  of  the  manor  [Rectorial 
moiety]  of  Blackburn,  in  free  socage  ;  and  6  messuages,  one  water-mill, 
250  acres  of  land,  meadoAv,  and  pasture  in  Upper  Wiersdale.  John 
Clayton,  son  of  Thomas  Clayton,  brother  of  the  aforesaid  John  Clayton, 
was  next  heir,  aged  19  years,  5  months,  and  10  days.  In  the  Escheat 
record  the  Will  of  the  then  deceased  John  Clayton  is  cited,  which  is 
dated  Jan.  24th,  1624,  in  which  testator,  being  seized  to  himself  and  his 
heirs  in  fee  simple  of  and  in  one  capital  messuage  with  lands  in  Upper 
Wiersdale,  called  Lentworth,  devises  the  said  messuage  and  all  lands 
appurtenant  unto  Thomas  Clayton  his  nephew,  younger  son  of  Thomas 
Clayton  his  late  brother  deceased,  for  life,  remainder  to  his  heirs  male  ; 
in  default  to  John  Clayton,  elder  brother  of  the  said  Thomas,  his  heirs 
male  ;  remainder  to  Edward  Clayton  of  Manchester,  gent,  testator's 
brother,  and  his  heirs  male;  remainder  to  Ralph  Clayton,  another  brother, 
and  his  heirs  male,  &c. 

Thomas  Clayton,  of  Church-house,  brother  of  the  testator,  who  had 
died,  as  stated,  in  1608,  had  by  Bridget  his  wife,  daughter  of  Robert 
Tunstall  of  Aldcliffe,  the  two  sons  above-named  as  heirs  to  their  uncle, 
John,  inheriting  Little  Harwood  manor ;  and  Thomas,  inheriting  Lent- 
worth  in  Upper  Wyresdale ;  also  a  daughter  Margaret,  wife  of  Thomas 
Birtwistle  of  Huncoat,  Esq.  Thomas  Clayton  of  Lentworth,  gent., 
married  Margaret,  daughter  of  Sir  John  Talbot  of  Salesbury,  Knight, 
and  had  a  son  Thomas.  Thomas  the  father  died  in  1658.  Thomas 
Clayton  the  second  of  Lentworth,  born  in  1631,  married  Grace,  daughter 
of  James  Moore  of  Harrock,  Co.  York,  and  had  sons,  Thomas,  aged  5 
years  in  1664  ;  John,  and  James  ;  and  daughters  Catherine  and  Margaret. 

John  Clayton  of  Little  Harwood,  gent.,  eldest  son  of  Thomas  and 
heir  to  John  his  uncle  in  1625,  was  elected  a  governor  of  Blackburn 
Grammar  School  the  same  year.  He  married,  first,  Alice,  daughter  of 
George  Coxe  [  ?  Cockshutt  ]  of  Great  Harwood,  gent.,  by  whom  he  had 


CLAYTON  OF  LITTLE  MARWOOD  HALL.  559 

issue,  sons,  Thomas,  bapt.  May  yth,  1628;  John, born  in  1629;  and  William, 
died  young ;  daughters,  Bridget,  married  Robert  Cowdrey,  of  Halifax  ; 
Alice,  born  June,  1632  ;  and  Margaret,  bapt.  Oct.  8th,  1637,  married 
Bartholomew  Shuttle  worth,  younger  son  of  Richard  Shuttleworth,  of 
Gawthorpe,  Esq.  John  Clayton  married,  secondly,  Feb.  26th,  1654-5, 
1655.  John  Clayton,  gent,  died  in  1660,  and  was  buried  at  Blackburn, 
Oct.  25th.  "  Mary  Clayton,  of  Little  Harwood,  widow,"  was  buried  May 
Mary  Shaw  of  Blackburn,  and  had  by  her  a  son  Thomas,  born  Aug., 
5th,  1679. 

Thomas  Clayton,  gent.,  eldest  son  of  John,  died  before  his  father 
in  1648.  By  his  wife  Dorothy,  daughter  of  George  Murray,  parson  of 
Bury,  he  had  sons,  John,  and  George,  both  of  whom  died  in  infancy,  the 
last  in  April,  1654,  so  that  on  the  death  of  John  Clayton,  gent.,  father 
of  Thomas,  in  1660,  the  estates  descended  to  his  second  son  John,  and 
his  heirs. 

John  Clayton,  of  Little  Harwood,  gent.,  entered  at  the  Visitation 
of  1664,  then  aged  35,  married,  first,  Feb.  26th,  1655-6,  Jane,  daughter 
of  Roger  Whalley  of  Toad  Hole  [Todd  Hall],  Blackburn,  who  had 
issue  a  son  Thomas,  born  Jan.  3rd,  1657,  died  May,  1658  ;  and  a 
daughter  Alice,  born  Oct.  7th,  1656,  married,  Jan.  8th,  1676-7,  Albin 
Davenport  of  Bramhall,  Co.  Chester,  Esq.  John  Clayton's  wife  Jane  died 
in  July,  1658.  His  second  wife,  whom  he  married  June  2ist,  1660,  was 
Susan,  daughter  of  Nicholas  Rishton,  of  Antley,  gent;  she  died  in  1668 
(buried  March  4th),  leaving  issue,  John,  bapt  April  8th,  1661;  Susan,  died 
young  in  1666;  Lydia;  Ruth,  born  Feb.,  1665-6;  and  Elizabeth,  died 
July,  1677.  John  Clayton,  gent,  was  buried  at  Blackburn,  Feb.  i9th, 
1667-8,  dying  at  the  early  age  of  38.  His  infant  son  John,  being  the 
eldest  surviving,  was  heir  to  the  estate. 

John  Clayton,  gent,  married,  first,  Sept  9th,  1684,  Ellen  Wilkinson, 
who  died  in  childbed  of  a  daughter,  and  was  buried  Aug.  9th,  1685; 
this  child,  Ellen,  bapt.  Aug.  7th,  died  in  infancy.  Mr.  Clayton's  second 
wife  was  daughter  of  Mr.  Thomas  Crook,  of  Abram  Hall.  Issue,  sons, 
John,  bapt  Jan.  8th,  1687,  buried  April  i7th,  1688;  Thomas,  bapt.  May 
5th,  1688;  William,  born  1697;  Christopher,  born  1699;  Edward,  born 
1701  ;  Nicholas  ;  Samuel,  born  1705  ;  John,  born  1707  ;  and  Stephen, 
born  1711;  also  daughters,  Susannah,  born  1690;  Mary,  born  1693; 
and  Alice,  born  1695.  John  Clayton,  gent,  was  elected  a  Governor  of 
Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1682.  He  died  in  May,  1721  (buried 
at  Blackburn,  May  roth),  aged  60  years. 

Thomas  Clayton,  Esq.,  who  succeeded  his  father,  was  a  Doctor  of 
Medicine,  and  in  1720,  when  elected  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar 
School,  is  described  as  "  Dr.  Thomas  Clayton,  of  Manchester."  He 


560  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

married  Abigail,  daughter  of  Mr.  -  •  Derbyshire,  about  the  year 
1728.  Issue,  sons,  John,  bapt.  Jan.  8th,  1728-29;  William,  bapt.  June 
1 8th,  1731  ;  Thomas,  bapt.  April  ist,  buried  Oct.  7th,  1736  ;  a  second 
Thomas,  bapt.  Sept.  25th,  1737;  and  Edward,  born  Sept.  2nd,  1741. 
Thomas  Clayton,  Esq.,  M.D.,  died  in  May,  1759.  In  1747  he  had  been 
made  by  the  Will  of  Alexander  Osbaldeston  a  trustee  of  his  estate,  and 
had  conveyed  to  him  and  his  heirs  for  ever  the  chapels,  pews,  and  burial- 
ground  of  the  Osbaldestons  in  Blackburn  Church,  with  the  right  of 
nomination  of  parish  clerk  and  one  churchwarden.  In  1760,  "Abigail 
Clayton,  of  Larkhill,  Blackburn,  widow  and  executrix  of  Thomas  Clay- 
ton," as  surviving  feoffee  of  Alexander  Osbaldeston,  nominated  an 
incumbent  to  Lytham  Church. 

John  Clayton,  Esq.,  son  of  Thomas,  married,  in  1754,  Margaret, 
daughter  and  sole  heir  of  Richard  Townley  of  Carr,  Esq.,  and  had  issue, 
sons,  Thomas,  born  May  i6th,  1755;  and  Richard  Townley,  died  an 
infant  in  June,  1756;  and  daughters,  Martha,  born  in  1760,  died  un- 
married, aged  74,  Oct.  28th,  1834  ;  and  Margaret,  married  to  Dr.  James 
Chew.  The  mother,  Mrs.  Clayton,  died  in  1779.  John  Clayton,  Esq., 
was  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School,  elected  in  1 749 ;  a  Jus- 
tice of  the  Peace  for  Lancashire ;  and  Major  in  the  Royal  Lancashire 
Volunteers.  He  died  at  Little  Harwood  Hall,  aged  74,  April  1 7th,  1803. 

Thomas  Clayton,  Esq.,  son  of  John,  was  Colonel  of  the  Royal 
Lancashire  Volunteers  ;  fifty-eight  years  a  magistrate  for  the  county ;  and 
high  sheriff  of  the  county  in  1808.  Towards  the  close  of  his  life,  Col. 
Clayton  sold  the  Little  Harwood  estate  in  lots  to  several  parties,  and 
afterwards  resided  on  the  estate  inherited  from  his  mother  at  Carr  Hall, 
where  he  died,  aged  79,  Feb.  i2th,  1835.  He  had  married,  Dec.  nth, 
1788,  Susan,  daughter  of  Robert  Nuttall  of  Bury  (she  died  Dec.  23rd, 
1789),  but  had  no  issue  by  her.  He  had  a  natural  daughter  Elizabeth, 
whom  he  adopted  as  his  heiress,  and  she  married  (two  days  before  Col. 
Clayton's  death),  Feb.  loth,  1835,  Edward  Every  (second  son  of  Sir 
Henry  Every,  Bart.),  who  took  the  surname  of  Clayton.  Edward  Every 
Clayton,  Esq.,  by  his  first  wife,  the  heiress  of  Carr,  had  issue  Thomas 
Every  Clayton,  and  several  younger  sons  and  daughters.  His  second 
wife  was  Eliza  Mary  Holgate,  grand-daughter  and  eventual  heiress  of 
Nicholas  Halsted  of  Rowley,  gent 

John  Hoyle,  gent,  of  Haslingden,  who  purchased  of  Col.  Clayton, 
in  1815,  Little  Harwood  Hall  and  that  portion  of  the  estate  called  the 
hall-farm,  resided  afterwards  at  the  Hall,  and  died  there,  aged  60,  in 
June,  1834.  By  his  wife  Mary,  daughter  of  Roger  Brandwood,  gent 
(whom  he  married  in  1801,  and  who  died  March  5th,  1824),  John 
Hoyle,  Esq.,  had  issue  four  sons  and  six  daughters.  His  son,  Mr. 


LANDOWNERS  OF  LITTLE  HARWOOD.  561 

Henry  Hoyle,  succeeded  to  the  Little  Harwood  property.  He  was  a 
solicitor,  and  for  twenty  years  was  Clerk  to  the  Blackburn  Borough 
Magistrates.  He  died  at  Little  Harwood  Hall,  in  Dec.,  1872,  leaving 
issue  two  sons  and  two  daughters.  In  June,  1873,  was  advertised  for 
sale  the  remnant  of  the  manorial  estate  attached  to  Little  Harwood 
Hall,  consisting  of  the  hall  and  about  64  acres  of  land  in  Little  Harwood, 
a  piece  of  land  in  Blackburn  called  Church-hill,  and  several  chief  rents. 
Henry  Robinson,  Esq.,  bought  the  estate,  and  now  resides  at  the  Hall. 

Little  Harwood  Hall,  ancient  seat  of  the  Claytons,  was  rebuilt  in 
the  1 7th  century,  and  the  south  front  of  the  hall  yet  exhibits  the  usual 
features  of  Lancashire  halls  of  that  date,  gabled  wings  projecting  from  a 
central  block,  and  numerous  small  mullioned  windows.  The  north  side 
was  rebuilt  about  1731,  in  the  semi-classic  style  then  in  vogue  for  do- 
mestic structures,  and  has  a  plain  red  brick  frontage,  with  pedimented 
doorway,  and  square  windows.  The  situation  of  the  hall,  gardens,  and 
plantations  is  an  angle  of  ground  bounded  on  two  sides  by  the  Little 
Harwood  brook,  which  divides  Little  Harwood  from  Blackburn, 

Other  landowners  in  the  township  are  Mr.  William  Carr,  who  has 
400  statute  acres  in  Little  Harwood  and  Blackburn ;  Mr.  John  Clarke, 
Higher  CunlifTe,  147  acres;  Blackburn  Burial  Board,  45  acres. 

BOLTON  OF  BANK-KEY. 

About  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.,  a  family  of  Bolton  appears  in 
tenure  of  a  small  freehold  estate  at  Bank-hey,  in  Little  Harwood.  In  the  Subsidy  of 
1523  Roger  Boulton  of  Parva  Harwood  is  assessed  at  403.  in  goods.  It  was  probably 
the  same  Roger  Boulton  who,  at  the  survey  of  the  estates  of  Whalley  Abbey,  in  1537, 
held  a  house,  garden,  and  36  acres  of  land  in  Parva  Harwood,  paying  383.  I  id.  rent. 

William  Boulton  of  Bancke-hey,  a  descendant,  if  not  son,  of  the  above  Roger, 
held  this  freehold,  and  died  in  1594.  An  Inventory  dated  the  I2th  March,  1594-5, 
"of  all  the  Goods  and  Catties  which  were  latly  Will  Boultown  of  Banncke  hey  in 
Lyttl  Harwood,"  makes  the  total  value  of  effects  ,£236  12s.,  including  £$i  93.  4d.  in 
"  oxen,  kyne,  younge  beasts,  and  horses  ;"  £20  in  "  oats  and  barley  ;"  £10  in  sheep, 
;£lo  in  "  bedding  and  bedcloathes, "  and  ^14  i6s.  2d.  in  "money  in  his  chyste  and  all 
debts  ;"  £$  135.  4d.  in  "hay  turves  and  coles ;"  and  £$  133.  4d.  in  "brass  and  pewdar." 

George  Bolton  of  Bank-hey,  in  the  year  1600,  gave  6s.  8d.  to  the  Free  Grammar 
School  of  Blackburn.  He  died  Jan.  I3th,  1617-18,  his  wife  having  died  before  him, 
Nov.  26,  1617.  The  escheat,  taken  at  Blackburn,  March  5th,  1617-18,  shows  that  he 
held  lands  in  Little  Harwood  of  the  King  in  socage,  and  cites  the  Will  of  the  deceased, 
dated  Jan.  2nd,  1617-18,  in  which  testator,  George  Boulton  of  Banke-hey,  desires  to 
be  buried  near  his  father  in  Blackburn  Church  ;  directs  that  his  eldest  son,  William 
Bolton,  shall  have  the  half  of  all  his  lands,  and  that  the  other  half,  then  in  the  hands 
of  his  mother  and  brethren,  shall  be  divided  amongst  his  five  younger  sons  and  one 
daughter.  Testator's  loving  friends,  Thomas  Barton  of  Smithells,  Esq.,  Richard 
Rishton  of  Sparth,  gent.,  and  Seath  Bushell  of  Preston,  gent.,  to  be  supervisors  of 
the  Will.  William  Bolton,  son  and  heir,  was  aged  20  years,  10  months  and  I  day  at 
his  father's  death.  George  Bolton's  mother,  Maria  Bolton,  was  living  at  Blackburn  at 


562  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

the  date  of  the  inquisition.      Thomas  Bolton,  a  younger  son  of  George  Bolton  of 
Bank-hey,  was  bapt.  Feb.  5th,  1601;  George,  another  son,  was  bapt  Aug.  I5th,  1605. 

William  Bolton  of  Bank-hey,  died  about  two  years  after  his  father,  March  yth, 
1619,  seized  of  half  a  messuage,  garden,  20  acres  of  land,  4  acres  meadow,  10  acres 
pasture,  6  acres  woodland  in  Little  Harwood.  His  Will  is  dated  March  1st,  1618-19. 
Richard  Bolton,  his  brother,  was  next  heir  ;  and  Mary  Bolton,  widow  of  William, 
was  living  at  Blackburn  in  1619.  John  Bolton,  of  Bank-hey,  a  brother  of  William, 
occurs  in  a  list  of  Free  tenants  in  1621.  He  died  in  1625,  and  was  buried  Aug.  I5th. 

Richard  Bolton  of  Bank-hey,  heir  to  his  brother  William  Bolton,  held  the  tene- 
ment from  the  year  1619  until  his  death  in  1685.  He  had  sons  William  and  George, 
and  a  daughter  Ann.  In  1650,  Richard  Boulton  appears  as  a  freeholding  tenant  in 
Blackburn  Wapentake,  paying  I  id.  yearly  to  Clitheroe  Castle. 

George  Bolton  of  Little  Harwood,  died  in  1669.  His  Will,  dated  Jan.  4th; 
1669-70,  names  his  children  and  nieces  (not  distinguished),  George  Bolton,  Robert, 
Katherine,  Ellis,  Ann,  and  Elizabeth  Bolton  ;  Ann  Hoffman  ;  and  a  brother  Richard. 
Testator  appoints  his  eldest  son,  George  Bolton,  sole  executor,  who  proved  the  Will 
at  Chester,  Feb.  3rd,  1669. 

George  Bolton  of  Little  Harwood,  yeoman,  died  on  the  24th  April,  1731,  and  was 
buried  on  the  26th  at  Blackburn.  The  burial  register  is  authority  for  the  statement 
that  he  had  reached  the  great  age  of  "  1 13  years. " 

CLAYTON  OF  CUNLIFFE. 

William  Clayton  of  Cundclyfife,  in  Little  Harwood,  gent.,  was  second  son  of 
William  Clayton  of  the  Old  Crook  and  Fulwood,  gent.,  and  by  his  marriage  with 
Hannah,  daughter  of  John  Clayton  of  Little  Harwood,  Esq. ,  acquired,  it  may  be,  the 
Cunliffe  property  in  which  he  resided.  He  had  issue,  sons,  Thomas,  born  in  1618  ; 
John,  bapt.  Oct.  2nd,  1626;  Alice,  bapt.  Feb.  2Oth,  1624;  and  Hannah.  The  father, 
William  Clayton,  died  in  Jan.,  1659-60,  and  was  buried  at  Blackburn.  Oct.  nth, 
1660,  letters  of  administration  of  the  estate  of  William  Clayton,  "  late  of  Cunliffe,  in 
Little  Harwood,  gent.,"  were  granted  to  his  son,  Thomas  Clayton  of  Cunliffe,  clerk. 

Thomas  Clayton,  clerk,  son  and  heir  of  William,  was  sometime  minister  of 
Chapel-in-le-Frith,  Co.  Derby;  in  the  register  of  which  is  recorded,  under  date  1660: — 
* '  Mr.  Thomas  Clayton  of  Cunliffe  in  Little  Harwood  in  the  Parish  of  Blackburne, 
&c.,  clarke,  sometime  Minister  of  Chapel  in  ye  frith,  married  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Bag- 
shawe,  daughter  of  Mr.  Thomas  Bagshawe  of  Ridge  Hall. " 

FOSTER  OF  BANK-HEY. 

The  Fosters  of  Little  Harwood  appear  to  have  come  of  the  Fosters  of  Billington. 
James  fibster  of  Billington  was  taxed  to  the  Subsidy  of  1523.  In  1537,  at  the  Abbey 
estates  survey,  Robert  ffoster  was  tenant  of  a  farm  of  22%  acres  in  Billington,  and 
the  wife  of  John  ffoster  held  Great  Nabbe  farm  and  Little  Nabbe  pasture. 

John  Foster  of  Little  Harwood,  gent,  is  named  in  a  list  of  free  tenants  dated 
1621.  John  Foster  of  Little  Harwood,  gent.,  died  Sept.  1st,  14  Charles  I.  (1638), 
and  at  the  inquisition  concerning  his  estate,  taken  at  Blackburn,  Sept.  27th,  14  Charles 
I.,  it  was  shewn  that  he  had  held  of  the  King  in  capite  one  messuage,  8  acres  of  land, 
3  acres  of  meadow,  and  7  acres  of  pasture  in  Little  Harwood  called  Le  Bank  Hey. 

Roger  Foster  was  found  son  and  heir  of  John,  aged  52  years.  He  had  a  son 
Roger.  Roger  Foster  of  Bank-hey,  whose  wife  Elizabeth  died  Sept.,  1658,  is  named 
in  1660  ;  and  was  buried  at  Blackburn,  Nov.  4th,  1672.  I  note  no  issue  save  a 
daughter  Elizabeth,  buried  June  2Oth,  1671. 


LITTLE  HARWOOD  COMMONS  INCLOSURE.  563 

PEEL  OF  BANK-KEY. 

Certain  members  of  a  family  of  Peel  from  Craven  in  Yorkshire  acquired  land  on 
this  side  of  Blackburn  parish  about  450  years  ago.  In  the  5th  Henry  VI.  (1427), 
Thomas  de  Pele  and  William  de  Pele  of  Craven  granted  to  Roger  Walmsley,  chap- 
lain, and  John  Walmsley  lands  in  Salesbury  and  Wilpshire. 

In  1538,  John  Peele  held  in  Little  Harwood  under  the  Abbey  of  Whalley  a  house, 
6  acres  of  arable  land,  7  acres  of  pasture,  and  4  acres  of  meadow,  paying  yearly  383. 1  id. 

Thomas  Peele,  of  Bank-hey,  Little  Harwood,  yeoman,  died  in  1590.  Inventory 
of  his  goods,  amounting  in  value  to  ^97  6s.  8d.,  is  dated  July  29th,  in  that  year. 
Administration  of  his  estate  was  granted,  Sept.  3rd,  1590,  to  Anne  Peele,  his  widow. 
He  had  sons,  Edward,  and  John ;  and  a  daughter  Elizabeth,  wife  of  William  Cleyton. 

John  Peele,  son  of  the  above,  was,  in  1594,  one  of  four  appraisers  of  the  goods 
and  chattels  of  his  neighbour,  William  Bolton  of  Bank-hey,  yeoman. 

John  Peele,  of  Bank-hey,  a  freeholder,  died  in  1641.  Inquisition  taken  at 
Blackburn,  April  28th,  1 7th  Charles  I. ,  proves  him  to  have  died  seized  of  one  mes- 
suage with  garden,  15  acres  of  land,  4  acres  of  meadow,  12  acres  of  pasture,  and  4 
acres  of  woodland  in  Parva  Harwood,  held  of  the  King  as  of  the  Duchy  of  Lancaster, 
worth  303.  yearly ;  John  Peele,  his  son  and  heir,  was  then  aged  34  years. 

John  Peele,  of  Bank-Hey,  yeoman,  son  of  John,  had  sons,  Edward,  born  in  1651; 
Joseph,  born  in  1656,  and  other  issue.  To  the  Subsidy  of  1663  John  Peele  is  assessed 
for  lands  in  Little  Harwood.  He  died  in  April,  1687  ;  buried  April  25th. 

The  above  John,  or  a  son  John  succeeding  him,  rebuilt  the  family  residence  at 
Bank-hey,  which  has  a  stone  over  the  doorway,  inscribed  "I  P  A"  (John  and  Anne 
or  Alice  Peel),  and  the  date  "  1687."  The  old  house  at  Bank-hey  (with  the  farm)  is 
now  the  property  of  Mr.  Carr,  and  has  recently  been  partially  rebuilt.  The  doorway 
with  the  inscription  above  it  is  in  the  east  wing. 

RISHTON  OF  HARSTONLEY. 

Geffereye  Rishton  was  assessed  on  his  lands  in  Little  Harwood  to  a  Subsidy  in 
1570.  Randal  Rishton  and  William  Rishton,  both  of  this  township  were  assessed  to  a 
Subsidy  in  1610.  Randal  Rishton  of  Harstonley  died  May,  1634  ;  his  wife  died  in 
1629.  Another  Randal  Rishton  who  had  land  in  this  township  occurs  in  a  rental  of 
Blackburn  Wapentake  in  1650.  Jeffrey  Rishton  of  Harstonley  occurs  in  1656.  He 
had  a  son  Jeffrey,  and  daughters  Mary  and  Rosamond.  Thomas  Rishton  of  Little 
Harwood  was  taxed  to  a  Subsidy  for  his  lands  in  1663.  Jeffrey  Rishton  of  this  town- 
ship married,  Dec.  I2th,  1676,  Jane  Shearburne,  of  the  Parish  of  Whalley. 

LITTLE  HARWOOD  COMMON-LANDS  INCLOSURE. 
A  Petition  of  persons  interested  in  the  Commons  of  Little  Harwood 
was  presented  in  the  House  of  Commons,  Feb.  8th,  1776,  setting  forth 
that  within  the  vill,  hamlet,  or  township  of  Little  Harwood  were  certain 
commons  or  tracts  of  Waste  Ground,  called  Brownhill,  containing  70 
acres  or  thereabouts,  customary  measure,  which  the  Petitioners  appre- 
hended might  be  greatly  improved  if  the  same  were  enclosed  and 
divided  into  specific  allotments  amongst  the  parties  interested  therein, 
and  praying  that  leave  might  be  given  to  bring  in  a  Bill  for  those  pur- 
poses. Leave  was  given,  and  an  Enclosure  Bill,  brought  in  by  Lord 
Stanley  and  Mr.  Lister,  was  passed  March  i8th,  1776. 


564  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


CHAPTER  X.— THE  TOWNSHIP  OF  LIVESEY. 

Topography— Acreage — Print  Works  and  Cotton  Mills — Population — The  Manor— Ancient  LancU 
owners— Livesey  of  Livesey — Livesey  Hall — Astley  of  Stakes— Dr.  Richard  Astley— Stakes  Hall 
and  estate — Present  Landowners — Ancient  Families  of  Freeholders — Astley — Boardman — Har- 
wood — Holden — Livesey  of  Whithalgh — Pickop — Walkden — Witton — Feniscowles  Church — 
St.  Andrew's,  Moorgate— Mill  Hill  Chapel — Waterfall  Chapel— Day  Schools — Charities. 

KrESEY  Township  comprises  lands  abutting  upon  the  River 
Darwen  on  the  south,  separated  by  the  river  from  the  townships 
of  Blackburn,  Witton  and  Pleasington.  On  the  west,  the  stream  of 
Roddlesworth,  which  divides  Livesey  from  Wheelton  township  in 
Leyland  Parish,  discharges  into  the  Darwen  at  Feniscowles  Bridge. 
The  uplands  of  Tockholes,  which  formerly  was  nominally  united  with 
Livesey  by  the  title  of  Livesey-cum-Tockholes,  bound  the  township  to 
the  south-west,  and  Lower  Darwen  is  the  next  township  on  the  south- 
east. The  land  of  Livesey  is  distributed  over  the  slopes  and  summit  of 
a  considerable  hill,  which  at  "  Bunker's  Hill "  is  some  700  feet  above  the 
sea-level.  The  acreage  of  Livesey  is  1890  statute  acres.  The 
agriculture  is  grass-farming  solely ;  and  the  soil  of  the  river-side  pasture 
and  meadow  lands  produces  good  crops.  Coal  was  anciently  got  in  the 
township,  and  many  traces  of  the  adits  of  old  coal  mines  are  found 
upon  Bunker's  Hill. 

The  lower  parts  of  the  township  next  to  Blackburn  have  shared  the 
manufacturing  industries  of  that  town  during  more  than  a  century. 
Mr.  Thomas  Yates  has  been  named  in  a  former  chapter  (p.  216),  as  a 
dyer  of  calico  at  Moorgate  in  1 748.  Later,  the  Haworth  family,  who 
were  connected  with  the  Peels  in  the  development  of  calico-printing, 
had  their  print-works  at  Stakes  Hall,  which  were  transferred  near  the 
close  of  last  century  to  the  Turners  (see  ante,  p.  228).  By  the  firm  of 
Turner  these  print-works  were  extended  along  the  river-bank  from 
Stakes  to  Mill  Hill  and  Primrose ;  and  the  business  of  calico-printing 
was  carried  on  by  the  Turners  until  the  death  of  Mr.  William  Turner 
(sometime  M.P.  for  Blackburn),  the  youngest  of  the  brothers,  in  1842. 


ANCIENT  LANDOWNERS  IN  LIVESEY.  565 

The  works  and  estate  were  sold  to  the  late  Mr.  Joseph  Eccles  in  1843. 
The  Mill  Hill  cotton  mills  were  erected  in  1844  on  the  site  of  some  of  the 
former  buildings  demolished.  Within  thirty  years,  more  than  a  dozen 
mills  for  spinning  and  weaving  cotton  have  been  built  in  Livesey,  the 
largest  being  the  "  Mill  Hill  Mills,"  now  under  the  firm  of  Hodgkinson, 
Swain  &  Co.;  the  works  of  Mr.  John  Fish,  called  "  Waterfall  Mills  ;"  of 
the  late  Mr.  Thomas  Dugdale;  of  the  late  Mr.  George  Whiteley, 
called  "  Albion  Mills  ;"  and  the  "  Cherry  Tree  Mills  "  of  Messrs.  John, 
Edward,  and  Joseph  Dugdale.  It  is  computed  that  the  cotton  factories 
in  Livesey  employ  from  5000  to  6000  workpeople.  The  local  extension 
of  this  manufacture  has  had  a  marked  effect  upon  the  growth  of 
population  in  the  township.  From  1801  the  figures  have  ranged  as 
follows  : — 1 80 1,  population  1184  persons;  1811,  1126  persons  ;  1821, 
1664  persons;  1831,  1787  persons;  1841,  1996  persons;  1851,  2649 
persons;  1861,  3581  persons;  1871,  4035  persons.  In  1876,  the 
population  of  Livesey  approaches  4500. 

The  Boundary  Commissioners,  in  1868,  in  consideration  of  the 
extension  of  the  town  of  Blackburn  into  this  township  and  Witton, 
extended  the  boundary  of  the  Parliamentary  borough  of  Blackburn  to 
embrace  suburban  portions  of  Livesey  and  Witton,  containing  now 
together  a  population  of  nearly  8000  persons,  and  adding  about  noo 
electors  to  the  constituency  of  Blackburn. 

THE  MANOR  OF  LIVESEY— ANCIENT  LANDOWNERS. 

Consecutive  particulars  of  the  early  passages  of  the  lands  in  Livesey 
cannot  be  furnished.  These  items  occur  : — In  the  Liber  Feodorum,  com- 
piled about  the  middle  of  the  i3th  century,  it  is  entered  that  Ralph  de 
Mytton  held  the  4th  part  of  a  knight's  fee  in  Acton,  Merlay,  and  Live- 
shey,  of  the  demesne  fee  of  the  Earl  of  Lincoln.  Adam  de  Buri,  in  the 
same  century,  had  lands  in  Livesey,  of  which  he  gave  to  Adam,  son  of 
Philip,  presbiter,  all  his  land  of  Astley  land  and  Ewod  between  the  water 
of  Derwent  and  fallingslih  and  eslerletillecale  and  fernihirst.  A  generation 
later,  before  1311,  Sir  Henry  de  Bury  held  Livesey  in  thanage  under 
Earl  de  Lascy,  and  paid  yearly  295.  and  suit  at  Clyderhou  Court.  The 
hamlet  of  Ewodet  now  Ewood,  on  the  east  border  of  Livesey,  gave  its 
name  to  a  family  of  proprietors  of  whom  three  or  four  generations  are 
apparent.  Nicholas  de  Wynkeley,  chaplain,  gave  to  Margaret  de  P^wode 
for  life  all  messuages  and  lands  in  Livesey  he  had  by  the  gift  of  the  said 
Margaret.  Richard  de  Ewode  had  a  son  Adam,  who  had  lands  conveyed 
to  him  by  William  de  Livesey ;  and  Adam  had  a  son  Adam  de  Ewode,, 
living  in  the  latter  years  of  the  i3th  century,  who  bought  lands  of 
Richard  de  Livesey.  This  last-named  Adam  de  Ewode  might  be  father. 


566  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

of  Richard  de  Ewode,  who  occurs  in  1333.  In  1346,  one  William  de 
Ewode,  by  his  felony,  forfeited  his  estate  in  Livesey  to  the  Crown,  nomi- 
nally 1 2  acres  of  land. 

LIVESEY  OF  LIVESEY. 

The  earliest  member  of  this  family  I  have  noted  was  one  Galfrid  de 
Levesaye,  who  by  deed  in  latin  dated  at  Livesey  4th  Henry  III.  (A.D. 
1220)  gave  to  Hughe,  his  son,  one  messuage  and  certain  crofts  called  the 
Estcroft  and  Westcroft  at  Grene-toccholes  in  the  vill  of  Levesaye.  One 
of  the  witnesses  is  Henry  de  Levesaye. 

Henry  de  Levesaye,  living  temp.  Edw.  I.,  gave  to  the  Abbey  of 
Stanlaw  one  perch  of  his  land  in  Livesey  lying  in  Whitacre  near  the 
highway.  Witnesses  (with  others),  Adam,  clerk,  of  Livesay,  Galfred  and 
Adam,  brothers  of  Henry  de  Livesay.  He  had  a  son  William. 

William  de  Levesay,  son  of  Henry,  lived  temp.  John,  and  quit-claimed 
to  the  Abbot  and  Convent  of  Stanlaw  a  rent  of  4d.  from  certain  lands. 
The  same  William  de  Levesay  gave  to  Adam  son  of  Richard  de  Ewode 
parcel  of  his  land  in  Levesay.  He  had  sons,  Richard,  Henry,  and  Gal- 
frid; and  "  William  son  of  Henry  de  Levesay"  gave  to  Richard  son  of 
William  de  Levesay  portion  of  his  land  in  Livesay  called  Le  Mers.  Wit- 
nesses :  Henry  de  Plesyngton,  Robert  his  brother,  Galfred  de  Levesay. 
These  deeds  are  without  date,  but  belong  to  the  latter  part  of  the  thir- 
teenth century. 

Richard  de  Levesey,  son  of  William,  gave  to  Adam,  son  of  Adam 
de  Hewode,  for  4  marks  sterling,  parcel  of  land  in  the  vill  of  Levesey 
called  the  Mers.  Witnesses,  Adam  de  Osbaldeston,  Adam  de  Levesey, 
Richard  de  Rishton,  and  others. 

Adam  de  Levesey  had  a  daughter  Matilda,  who  was  wife  of  Henry 
de  Whithkill,  and  by  deed  dated  nth  Ed.  II.  (1313)  granted  to  Thomas 
Talbot  all  her  lands  in  Bashall  and  Wetelay  which  her  father  Adam  de 
Levesey  gave  her. 

John  de  Levesey,  contemporary  with  Adam,  had  a  son  Robert. 

Robert  de  Levesey,  son  of  John,  granted  to  Henry,  son  of  Robert 
de  Levesey,  certain  lands  by  deed  dated  4th  Edw.  II.  (1306). 

Henry  de  Levesey,  son  of  Robert,  occurs  in  2nd  Edw.  III.  (1328), 
and  had  by  Magota  his  wife  a  son  Henry.  Henry  de  Levesey  the  father 
was  dead  before  the  iyth  Edw.  III.  (1344),  when  "Magota,  who  was 
wife  of  Henry  son  of  Robert  de  Levesey  "  appears  as  party  to  a  deed  of 
that  date. 

Henry  de  Levesey,  son  of  Henry,  married  Cecilia,  daughter  of 
Thomas  de  Button,  and  held  the  manor  of  Livesey  temp.  Edw.  III. 

John  de  Livesey,  lord  of  Livesey,  follows  Henry,  and  was  dead 
before  1389,  his  son  and  heir,  John,  being  then  a  minor. 


LIVESEY  OF  LIVESEY.  567 

John  de  Livesey  was  heir  to  the  manor  of  Livesey  on  his  father's 
death,  and  the  King's  ward  ;  and  on  March  24th,  1389,  the  King  and 
Duke  committed  to  Richard  de  Hoghton,  Knt,  and  Richard  de  Whalley, 
custody  of  the  lands  and  heir  of  John  de  Livesay  of  Livesay,  deceased, 
to  have  until  the  full  age  of  the  said  heir,  with  his  marriage,  &c.  In 
1395  it  is  recorded,  in  the  inquisition  of  John  de  Ardern,  that  John  son 
and  heir  of  John  de  Livesey  held  the  manor  of  Livesey  of  the  Duke  of 
Lancaster  by  knight  service,  and  was  then  under  age  and  in  custody  of 
the  lord  Duke.  This  John  de  Livesey  occurs  as  a  juror  in  1408,  1415, 
and  1422.  He  probably  was  father  of  Geoffrey  de  Livesey;  and  kinsman 
also  of  Robert  de  Livesey  (who  occurs  1419),  William  de  Livesey  (who 
occurs  1435),  Thomas  and  James  de  Livesey  (both  occur  in  1440). 

Galfred  (or  Geoffrey)  de  Livesey,  who  appears  as  witness  to  a  deed 
of  the  2oth  Henry  VI.  (1442),  and  other  deeds,  was,  I  think,  lord  of 
Livesey  at  that  date. 

Succeeding  comes  John  de  Livesey,  lord  of  Livesey,  who  had  to 
wife  Ann,  daughter  of  Gyles  Talbot  of  Slaidburn  (a  branch  of  Talbot  of 
Bashall),  and  had  issue,  sons,  Gyles,  and  William.  John  Livesey  died 
in  the  igth  Henry  VII.  (1504). 

Gyles  Livesey,  son  and  heir  of  John,  aged  15  years  at  the  time  of 
his  father's  death,  had  to  wife  Alice,  daughter  of  John  Talbot,  of  Sales- 
bury,  Esq.,  and  had  issue,  sdns,  James  ;  Henry,  of  Blackburn  ;  and 
Thomas,  of  Livesey ;  and  daughters,  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Robert,  son  of 
Christopher  Bolton  ;  and  Anne,  wife  of  Roger  Rishton  of  Ponthalgh.  A 
bill  of  receipt  dated  nth  June,  5th  Henry  VIII.  (1513),  witnesses  that 
Giles  Lyvesay  of  Lyvesay,  gent.,  had  received  of  Jenet,  wife  of  William 
Asteley  of  Livesey,  in  the  name  of  the  retease  of  George  Asteley  son 
and  heir  of  the  said  William,  45.  to  him  due  for  all  lands  which  the  said 
George  held  of  him  in  Livesey.  Gyles  Livesey  died  before  1520,  when 
the  escheat  record  shows  that  he  had  conveyed  his  estate  in  trust.  He 
was  found  seized  of  Livesey  manor,  with  messuages,  mills,  and  lands. 

James  Livesey,  son-  and  heir  of  Gyles,  was  aged  1 6  at  date  of  his 
succession.  His  wife  was  Alice,  daughter  of  Ralph  Rishton  of  Pont- 
halgh, and  he  had  issue,  sons,  Richard,  born  about  1525;  Alexander 
Livesey  ;  and  John  Livesey,  first  of  Sidebight  in  Rishton  (vide- post, 
Livesey  of  Sidebight).  James  Livesey,  gent.,  was  assessed  on  lands  in 
Lower  Darwen  to  the  Subsidy  in  1523.  He  died  Aug.  i8th,  1548,  and 
by  escheat  dated  Oct.  loth,  2nd  Edw.  VI.,  it  was  found  that  James 
Levesay  had  died  seized  of  Livesey  manor,  with  10  messuages,  200  acres 
of  arable  land,  40  acres  of  meadow,  100  acres  of  pasture,  and  200 
acres  of  moor  and  turbary  in  Livesey  ;  and  243.  of  annual  rents  of  lands 
and  tenements  there.  A  deed  is  attached  to  the  return,  whereby  it  is 


568  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

covenanted  that  Richard  Levesay,  son  and  heir  of  James  Levesey  and 
Alice  his  wife,  shall  marry  Ellen  Lister,  daughter  of  Christopher  Lister  of 
Midhope,  Co.  York.  By  a  settlement  cited,  the  estate  and  annuity  of 
Alice  Livesey,  wife  of  James,  were  to  go  to  one  Alice  Shuttleworth  for 
life,  remainder  to  James  Livesey's  son  Richard  and  his  heirs. 

Richard  Livesey,  son  and  heir,  was  then  aged  23  years.  He 
married,  at  Whalley  Church,  April  26th,  1543,  Ellena  Lister,  and  had 
issue  a  son,  John  ;  and  a  daughter  Mary,  wife  of  Thomas  Astley 
of  Stakes,  gent.  He  had  also  a  natural  son  Thomas,  of  Skelbank. 
Richard  Livesey's  second  wife,  Isabel,  survived  him  and  married  John 
Singleton  of  Chingle-hall.  Richard  Livesey,  gent.,  was  a  Governor  of 
Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1567  ;  occurs  as  a  juror  in  1584,  and  as  a 
"gentleman  of  best  calling"  in  Lancashire  in  1588.  He  died  in  1590, 
aged  about  65  years.  Tnq.  post  mart,  taken  33rd  Eliz,,  shows  that  he 
was  seized  of  Lyvesey  manor,  with  messuages,  lands,  mills,  &c. 

John  Livesey,  son  of  Richard,  had  died  in  his  father's  lifetime,  in 
the  year  1571.  He  had  been  twice  married,  first  to  Jennet,  daughter 
and  co-heir  of  John  Isherwood,  by  whom  he  had  no  issue  ;  secondly, 
to  Margery,  daughter  of  Henry  Talbot  of  Bashall,  by  whom  he  had 
issue,  sons,  James,  and  John ;  and  a  daughter  Mary,  wife  of  Thomas 
Parker  of  Loveley,  gent. 

James  Livesey,  eldest  son  of  John,  thus  was  next  heir  to  the  estate 
on  the  death  of  his  grandsire  in  1590.  He  married  Alice,  daughter  of 
James  Bradshaw  of  Darcy  Lever,  Esq.,  but  had  no  issue.  James  Livesey, 
Esq.,  rebuilt  Livesey  Hall  in  1608'.  In  his  Will,  dated  1609,  he  names 
his  wife  Alice,  brother  John,  and  sister  Mary.  He  was  a  Governor  of 
Blackburn  Grammar  School,  and  gave  2os.  to  the  School  Stock  on  his 
election  in  1599.  Being  without  issue,  he  constituted  his  nephew  Ralph, 
son  of  his  brother  John,  his  heir  by  a  deed  of  settlement  dated  Sept.  3oth, 
1617.  He  died  in  April,  1619.  In  a  letter  from  one  Leonard  Smedley 
to  St.  George  the  herald,  dated  1622,  it  is  mentioned  that  "  Mr.  Levesey 
of  Levese,  gent.,  dyed  in  April,  1619,  sance  issue,  and  was  Buried  with 
escutcheons,  whoe  made  his  wyfe  Alis  sole  executrix  both  of  goods  and 
lands  for  his  lyfe,  of  whom  I  did  demand  the  fees,  the  first  day  of  May 
this  month,  having  made  divers  Jurnes  thether  and  could  not  speak  with 
her  before,  whose  answer  was  that  at  hir  returne  from  London  whither  she 
was  then  going,  she  would  either  pay  nie  or  give  me  answer  to  the 
contrarie,  which  should  be  before  midsumer  next."1  By  Inq.  post  mort. 
taken  at  Blackburn,  Jan.  8th,  igth  Jas.  I.,  before  John  Haworth,  gent, 
deputy  feodary,  it  is  returned  that  James  Livesey  had  died  seized  of 
Livesey  manor  with  appurtenances,  including  10  messuages,  6  cottages, 

i  Chatham  Miscellanies,  vol.  v. 


.  LIVESEY  OF  LIVESEY.  569 

one  fulling  mill,  100  acres  of  land,  40  of  meadow,  100  of  pasture,  10  of 
woodland,  100  of  rushland  and  heath,  40  of  moor,  moss  and  turbary,, 
and  55.  rent  in  Livesey  and  Tockholes  ;  also,  of  one  messuage,  30  acres 
of  land,  20  of  meadow,  and  30  of  pasture  in  Pleasington. 

John  Livesey,  gent.,  brother  of  James,  by  his  wife  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  William  Cartwright  of  Ossington,  Co.  Notts.,  had  issue,  sons, 
Ralph,  born  April  3oth,  1610;  John  (John  Livesey,  of  Blackburn,  gent, 
married,  first,  Alice,  daughter  of  Thomas  Banastre  of  Walton,  and 
secondly,  the  widow  of  —  Rawstorne  of  Haslingden);  William  Livesey, 
of  Staple  Inn,  London;  Roger  Livesey,  living  in  Ireland  in  1664;  and 
daughters,  Elizabeth,  born  in  1623,  wife  of  George  Sim,  citizen  of 
London;  and  Dorothy,  born  in  1626,  who  died  "  of  the  small  pockes," 
in  November,  1654. 

Ralph  Livesey,  Esq.,  son  of  John,  and  successor  of  his  uncle  James 
in  the  estate,  married,  first,  at  Manchester  Collegiate  Church,  Dec .  8th, 
1632,  Mary,  daughter  of  William  Radcliffe,  of  Manchester,  and  had  by  her 
a  son  James,  who  died  young  ;  and,  secondly,  Anne,  daughter  of  Thomas 
Clayton  of  Fulwood,  Esq.,  by  whom  he  had  sons,  John,  died  young  in 
1654;  James,  born  and  died  in  1654;  and  Ralph,  bapt.  April  i6th, 
1657  ;  and  daughters,  Dorothy,  born  in  1651,  died  in  1655  ;  Elizabeth  ; 
Martha,  born  in  1656,  died  in  1670  ;  and  Sarah.  Ralph  Livesey,  Esq., 
built  a  new  wing  to  Livesey  Hall  in  1666  ;  and  dying  in  1694,  aged  84, 
was  buried  in  Blackburn  Church,  March  i2th,  1694-5.  He  was  a 
Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  from  Dec.,  1630,  until  his  death. 
Anne,  his  wife,  was  buried  Jan.  3ist,  1693-4. 

Ralph  Livesey,  Esq.,  of  Livesey  Hall,  only  surviving  son  of  Ralph, 
heired  the  Livesey  estate  in  1695,  at  the  age  of  37.  By  Ann  his  wife 
he  had  issue,  sons,  Porter,  bapt.  Oct.  4th,  1683  ;  William,  bapt.  Feb. 
i4th,  1687-8  ;  and  Ralph,  born  in  Nov.,  1693,  died  in  July,  1694;  and 
daughters,  Ann,  bapt.  at  Livesey  Hall,  July  5th,  1685,  died  in  August, 
1693  ;  Elizabeth,  born  in  Sept.,  1686  ;  Margaret,  born  and  died  in 
1690  ;  and  Dorothy,  born  in  1691.  Ralph  Livesey,  Esq.,  was  made  a 
Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1675 ;  ne  was  a  juror  at 
the  trial  at  Manchester  of  the  Jacobite  gentry  accused  of  treason  in 
1694;  and  is  named  in  1720  as  entitled  to  appoint  one  Warden  of 
Blackburn  Church.  He  died  in  1725,  and  was  buried  in  Blackburn 
Church,  April  27th. 

Porter  Livesey,  Esq.,  lord  of  Livesey  manor  in  1725,  son  of  Ralph, 
appears  not  to  have  married.  "  Captain  Porter  Livesey  "  was  elected  a 
Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1714.  He  died  about  the 
year  1747,  and  his  heir  was  Ralph,  son  of  his  brother  William. 

William  Livesey,  gent.,  brother  of  Porter  Livesey,  had,  by  his  wife 


570  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Elizabeth,  a  son,  Ralph,  bapt.  June  5th,  1728;  and  a  daughter,  Eliza- 
beth, bapt.  Sept.  loth,  1729,  wife  of  Daniel  Wilson,  Esq.  Mr.  William 
Livesey  was  elected  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1724. 
He  died  in  1729,  and  was  buried  in  Blackburn  Church,  March  30th. 
His  widow,  "  Elizabeth  Livesey  of  Preston,  gentlewoman,"  was  buried  at 
Blackburn,  May  2ist,  1755. 

Ralph  Livesey,  only  son  of  William,  succeeded  to  the  manorial  and 
other  family  estates  on  the  death  of  Porter  Livesey,  Esq.,  his  uncle,  in 
1747.  He  was  made  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in 
1747.  Ralph  Liveseyj  Esq.,  married,  on  26th  Nov.,  1754,  Mary  Bell, 
daughter  of  Ralph  Bell  of  Thirsk,  Esq.  (she  was  born  in  1729),  and  had 
issue  an  only  daughter,  Mary,  born  in  1755.  Ralph  Livesey,  Esq.,  was 
buried  in  Blackburn  Church,  Oct.  9th,  1766,  aged  38.  ,  His  only 
daughter,  Mary,  died  in  1774,  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  unmarried — "  Miss 
Mary  Livesey  of  Livesey,  spinster,  dyed  at  York,"  buried  at  Blackburn, 
March  2nd,  1774.  In  the  Hall  at  Thirsk  are  portraits  of  Ralph  Livesey, 
Esq.,  his  wife,  and  daughter,  by  Van  Loe. 

Elizabeth,  only  sister  of  Ralph  Livesey,  Esq.,  married  Daniel 
Wilson,  Esq.,  of  Dallam  Tower,  Lancaster,  and  died,  aged  72,  in  1801. 
Her  obituary  in  the  Manchester  Mercury  of  Nov.  loth,  1801,  reads  : — 
"  On  Wednesday  last  (Nov.  4th),  Mrs.  Wilson,  relict  of  the  late  Daniel 
Wilson,  Esq.,  of  Lancaster,  and  daughter  of  the  late  William  Livesey, 
Esq.,  of  Livesey  Hall,  Blackburn.  In  her  the  poor  have  lost  a  friend 
whose  purse  was  always  open  to  relieve  their  wants."' 

The  Livesey  estates  were  settled  in  1 760  by  deed  of  demise  of  Ralph  Livesey, 
Esq.,  in  trust  for  Robert  Bell  Livesey.  In  July,  1769,  shortly  after  Ralph  Livesey's death, 
were  advertised  "to  be  let,  the  estates  of  the  late  Ralph  Livesey,  Esq.,  in  the  manor  of 
Livesey  and  townships  of  Pleasington,  Studlehurst  and  Balderstone. "  From  an  abstract 
of  title  of  the  owner  of  the  Studlehurst  estate  I  find  information  as  to  the  nature  ot  the 
conveyance  of  the  Livesey  properties  by  Ralph  Livesey.  An  indenture,  dated  1829, 
recites  that  by  certain  indentures  of  lease  and  release,  dated  Sept.  1st  and  2nd,  1806, 
the  latter  between  Robert  Bell  Livesey,  Esq. ,  of  the  first  part,  John  Bell,  Esq. ,  of  the 
second  part,  Robert  Hubberstey  of  the  third  part,  and  Thomas  Hubberstey  of  the 
fourth  part,  it  is  witnessed  that  a  term  of  1000  years  of  and  in  the  hereditaments 
named  was  created  by  indenture  of  demise  dated  3Oth  June,  1760,  made  between  Ralph 
Livesey,  Esq. ,  of  the  first  part,  Edward  Dawson,  currier,  of  the  second  part,  and 
Roger  Gale,  gent.,  of  the  third  part,  and  was  by  divers  mesne  assignments  then  vested 
in  the  said  John  Bell,  his  exors.,  &c.,  in  trust  for  the  said  Robert  Bell  Livesey,  his 
heirs  and  assigns,  and  to  attend  the  inheritance  of  the  same  hereditaments. 

Robert  Bell,  second  son  of  Ralph  Bell,  of  Thirsk,  heir  in  reversion 
to  Livesey  Manor  and  other  estates  of  his  uncle,  Ralph  Livesey,  Esq., 
on  succeeding  thereto  assumed  the  additional  surname  of  Livesey.  He 
married  Jane,  daughter  of  Rev.  John  Cleaver,  D.D.,  of  Mai  ton,  and  had 
issue  a  daughter  and  heiress,  Marianne  Livesey,  married,  in  1822,  to 


LIVESEY  HALL.— ASTLEY  OF  STAKES.  57 r 

Edmund  Turton,  Esq.,  of  Upsall,  Co.  York.    Robert  Bell  Livesey,  Esq., 
sold  Livesey  manor,  in  1805,  to  Henry  and  William  Feilden,  Esqrs. 

Livesey  Hall,  the  former  seat  of  the  Liveseys,  lords  of  the  manor, 
stands  in  a  low  situation,  sheltered  by  trees,  on  the  north-west  border  of 
the  township.  The  hall  is  a  long  building  with  wings  gabled  to  the  south 
front,  and  massive  chimney  projections  at  the  rear.  Over  the  doorway 
in  the  central  porch  the  arms  of  the  Liveseys  appear  in  a  stone  panel ; 
and  on  a  stone  in  the  wall  above  is  inscribed  the  motto,  "  Deo  soli 
Gloria"  with  the  initials.  "  I  L  A  L  "  of  James  Livesey  and  Alice  his 
wife,  and  the  date  "  1608  "  of  the  restoration  of  this  portion  of  the  man- 
sion. The  north-east  wing,  added  by  Ralph  Livesey,  Esq.,  has  on  its 
front  a  lettered  stone  with  the  motto,  "  Virtus  est  vera  nobilitas"  the 
initials  "  R  L  A  L"  (Ralph  and  Anne  Livesey),  and  the  date  "  1666." 
Another  inscribed  stone  over  the  doorway  in  the  opposite  wing,  which  is 
evidently  the  most  modern  structure,  has  on  it  the  initials  "R  L"  "A  L" 
and  "  P  L"  standing  for  Ralph  and  Ann  and  their  son  Porter  Livesey,, 
and  the  date  "  1689."  The  interior  of  the  older  end  of  the  house,  now 
in  a  state  of  decay,  shows  the  wide  arched  fire-place  in  the  kitchen  ; 
carved  oak  panels  over  the  fire-place  in  the  dining  room ;  other  panelled 
rooms,  and  a  wide  oaken  staircase.  A  few  years  after  the  sale  of  the 
estate  to  William  and  Henry  Feilden,  Esqrs.,  in  the  early  part  of  this 
century,  the  house  was  divided  with  the  estate  into  two  parts,  and  the 
yard  and  garden  were  divided  by  a  wall.  The  portion  of  the  hall  that 
fell  to  the  share  of  Mr.  Feilden  of  Witton  Park  has  been  suffered  to  be- 
come ruinous  ;  while  the  portion  allotted  to  Sir  Wm.  Feilden,  of  Fenis- 
cowles,  has  been  repaired  and  made  the  farm-house  to  the  farm  adjoin- 
ing. Under  a  clump  of  trees  on  the  east  side  of  the  hall  garden  is  an 
artificial  mound,  beneath  which  is  a  strongly-built  vault  of  brickwork, 
having  deep  arched  recesses  in  three  sides,  and  entered  by  an  arched 
opening  in  the  angle.  The  purpose  of  this  chamber  I  cannot  confi- 
dently assign. 

ASTLEY  OF  STAKES,  &c. 

The  Astley  family,  seated  nearly  three  centuries  at  Ewood  and  Stakes 
Hall  in  this  township,  claim  descent  from  the  ancient  house  of  Astley  of 
Astley.  The  circumstances  under  which  the  family  acquired  estate  in 
this  parish  are  not  apparent. 

William  Astley  of  Livesey,  living  in  1513,  by  Jenet  his  wife  had  a 
son  and  heir  George. 

George  Astley,  son  of  William,  would  be  the  "  George  Esteley," 
assessed  for  lands  in  Livesey  to  the  Subsidy  in  1523.  "  George  Asteley 
of  Blackborne,  gent.,"  married  Alice,  daughter  of  Richard  Langtree, 
of  Langtree,  Esq.  In  the  i6th  Henry  VIII.  (1524),  George  Astley  is 


572  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

named  in  a  record  that  William  Holden,  son  and  heir  of  Thomas  Holden 
de  Ewode,  held  of  George  Astley  all  the  land  called  Ewode  in  socage. 

William  Astley  of  Stakes,  gent.,  the  first  named  by  the  herald  (Visi- 
tation of  1613),  probably  son  of  the  above  George,  by  his  wife  Eliza, 
daughter  of  -  -  Wrightington,  had  a  son  and  heir  George. 

George  Astley,  gent.,  son  of  William,  married  Jane,  daughter  of  Sir 
James  Stanley,  Knt,  of  Cross  Hall,  and  had  issue,  sons,  Thomas,  the 
heir  ;  William  ;  Gilbert;  and  Richard  (see  below)  ;  also  daughters,  Eliza- 
beth ;  Rosamond ;  and  Ann,  wife  of  Richard  Molineux  of  Hawkley,  Esq. 
("Ann,  daughter  of  George  Astley  of  Ewood,  now  of  Stakes,"  so  styled 
in  the  Molineux  pedigree).  George  Astley,  gent.,  and  Robert  Astley, gent., 
of  this  family,  were  named  Governors  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in 
its  Charter  (1567).  In  1570,  George  Astley  was  taxed  to  the  Subsidy  for 
his  lands  in  Livesey.  The  Will  of  George  Astley  of  Heywood  (Ewood 
in  Livesey)  is  dated  Aug.  24th,  1573.  Testator's  wife  is  left  his  house 
in  Witton,  and  his  son  Thomas  the  "  Manor-house  [st'f]  of  Livesey." 

Before  continuing  the  main  descent,  I  must  give  some  account  of  a  younger  son  of 
the  above  George  Astley,  gent.,  who  may  be  esteemed  the  most  eminent  personage  in 
the  genealogy.  This  was  Richard  Astley,  D.D.,  Warden  of  All  Souls  College, 
Oxford.  He  was,  as  stated  above,  third  son  of  George  Astley  of  Ewood,  near  Black- 
burn, gent.  He  was  born  about  the  year  1560  ;  and  being  a  near  kinsman  of  Judge 
Walmesley,  who  had  well  served  All  Souls'  College,  Oxford,  in  a  long  suit  against 
Lord  Cromwell,  "he  was  very  earnestly  recommended  by  the  Judge  to  that  College," 
and  Archbishop  Whitgift  joining  in  Sir  Thomas  Walmesley's  recommendation,  "he 
was  elected  into  the  College  in  1595."  He  took  his  degree  in  divinity,  and  was  re- 
turned with  Dr.  Twisden  to  the  Archbishop  for  the  office  of  Warden  of  his  College,  to 
which  he  was  appointed  July  23rd,  1618.  Richard  Astley,  D.D.,  was  sometime 
chaplain  to  George  Abbot,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  He  held  the  rectory  of  Chid- 
dington  in  Kent,  which  he  exchanged  for  the  rectory  of  Oddington  within  Oxford  ;  he 
was  also  rector  of  Chadwell.  He  died  in  his  college  Feb.  25th,  1635-6,  and  was  buried 
in  the  ante-Chapel  of  the  College.  Dr.  Richard  Astley's  portrait  some  years  sine. 
in  the  possession  of  S.  Crompton,  Esq.,  of  Manchester;  audit  was  inscribed  "Richard 
Astley,  Doctor  of  Divinitie,  Warden  of  All  Soules  College,  Oxbn.  Deo  Imago  luceat 
in  Prototypo  meo,"  in  large  yellow  letters  on  the  background.  1 1  is  Will,  dated  Nov. 
2yth,  1635,  is  an  interesting  document,  but  too  lengthy  to  be  printed  in  full.  I  ab- 
stract its  more  material  items.  Testator,  "  Richard  Astley,  Dr.  in  diviaitie  and 
Warden  of  All  Soulue  College  in  Oxon.,"  commends  his  body  to  be  interred  "  within 
the  quire  of  our  Colledge  Chapel  of  All  Soulne  ;"  and  after  his  physicians' and  apothe- 
caries' and  funeral  expenses  are  discharged,  bequeaths  "  to  the  poore  of  Blackeborne 
towne  and  parish  in  Lane.,"  ^5°  m  manner  following,  £10  "unto  my  coozen  Thomas 
Astley's  poore  tenants  in  Livesey  neere  Blackborne,"  and  the  ^,'40  remaining  unto  such 
impotent  and  distressed  poor  of  Blackburn  town,  township  and  parish  "as  Mr.Walms- 
ley,  Mr.  Vicar  of  Blackborne,  my  coozen  Thomas  Astley  and  Mr.  Roger  C.illibranJ 
of  Beardwood  shall  think  to  be  most  necessitous  and  most  worthic,"  &c.  Bequests 
follow  to  the  poor  of  Oddington,  Chiddington,  Oxford,  Hylone  in  Lancashire,  and 
others,  to  the  sum  of  £ll  ;  also,  bequests  to  divers  almsmen,  &c.  To  All  Souls'  Col- 
lege testator  gives  "  all  my  studie  bookes  ;"  divinity  books  to  the  fellows  and  chap- 


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574  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Thomas  Astley,  of  Stakes,  gent.,  elder  brother  of  Dr.  Richard 
Astley,  married,  in  the  year  1574,  Mary,  daughter  of  Richard  Livesey, 
of  Fernehurst,  gent,  (she  died  in  July,  1623),  and  had  a  son  Thomas 
and  other  issue  named  below.  Thomas  Astley,  gent.,  occurs  as  a  free- 
holder in  1600,  and  is  taxed  to  the  Subsidy  of  1610-11.  He  died  in 
1617;  buried  at  Blackburn,  Sept  3rd.  In  the  Will  of  Thomas  Astley 
late  of  the  Stakes  in  Livesey,  gent,  dated  Aug.  29th,  1617,  are  named 
sons,  William,  Randle,  Richard,  and  Edward ;  daughter  Milicent ; 
grandson  Thomas,  son  and  heir  of  testator's  son  Thomas;  granddaughters, 
Ann,  daughter  of  son  Thomas  ;  and  Alice,  daughter  of  Randle.  Tes- 
tator appoints  sons  Randle  and  Edward  executors,  Will  proved  at 
Chester,  Oct.  9th,  1617.  The  daughter  Milicent  was  wife  of  William 
Banester,  Bachelor  of  Law,  Fellow  of  All  Souls'  College,  Oxford. 

Randle  Astley,  second  son  of  Thomas  as  above,  was  "  of  Eccles- 
hill,  yeoman."  In  his  Will,  dated  Feb.  gth,  1640,  Randle  Astley  names 
his  late  wife  Margery  (she  died  Nov.  1 6 1 8) ;  son  Thomas  ;  daughters, 
Elizabeth,  Alice,  Margaret  and  Millicent ;  niece  Ann,  daughter  of  Ed- 
ward Astley.  Daughters  Alice,  Margaret,  and  Millicent,  executrixes. 
He  died  in  Feb.,  1640-1 ;  buried  Feb.  i3th.  Will  proved  April  21  st,  1641. 
He  had  other  sons,  George  Astley,  of  Witton ;  and  James  Astley,  of 
Mellor. 

Edward  Astley,  of  Livesey,  fourth  son  of  Thomas,  was  born  in  1568, 
and  died  unmarried,  in  Feb.  1624-5;  his  Will,  dated  Feb.  25th,  names 
brother  Randle  ;  nephew  Thomas,  son  of  Thomas ;  and  base  daughter 
Ann,  alias  Duckworth.  ("Anne,  base  daughter  of  Edward  Astley, 
gent,"  bapt.  Dec.  23rd.,  1618). 

Thomas  Astley  of  Stakes,  gent.,  eldest  son  of  Thomas,  by  his  wife 
Ellen,  daughter  of  Thomas  Osbaldeston,  gent  (she  died  July,  1623), 
had  one  son  Thomas;  and  these  daughters: — Mary,  born  in  1601  ; 
Margaret,  bapt  May  2oth,  1611 ;  Elizabeth,  wife  of  —  White,  of  All 
Souls'  College,  Oxford ;  Alice,  wife  of  Thomas  Snape  of  Balderstone ; 
Hellen,  wife  of  John  Marsden,  of  Blackburn ;  Jane,  wife  of  Roger  Dew- 
hurst  of  Livesey ;  and  Ann,  wife  of  John  Helme  of  Ribchester.  Thomas 
Astley,  gent,  died  in  1623  ;  buried  at  Blackburn,  June  2oth.  Escheat, 
taken  2ist  James  I.,  shewed  that  he  had  held  the  Hall  of  Stakes,  in 
Livesey,  with  20  acres  of  land,  8  acres  of  meadow,  and  12  acres  of  pas- 
ture appurtenant ;  other  six  messuages,  and  20  acres  of  land,  meadow, 
and  pasture  in  Livesey ;  also,  20  acres  improved  from  the  Waste  of 
Livesey;  4  messuages,  30  acres  of  land,  10  acres  of  meadow,  and  12 
acres  of  pasture  in  Witton  ;  34  acres  of  heath,  lately  improved  from  the 
Waste  of  Witton ;  and  one  messuage,  10  acres  of  land,  4  acres  of 
meadow,  and  10  acres  of  pasture  in  Mellor;  altogether  190  acres. 


ASTLEY  OF  STAKES.  575 

Thomas  Astley,  gent.,  next  in  descent,  married  Elizabeth,  daughter 
of  William  Preston  of  Preston,  gent.,  and  had  issue,  sons,  Thomas  ;  William, 
of  Preston,  born  in  1631,  died  Aug.,  1663  ;  Christopher,  bapt.  at  Preston, 
Aug.  i4th,  1633,  died  unmarried;  Richard,  died  unmarried;  John, 
bapt.  at  Preston,  Dec.  2nd,  1635,  settled  at  Leeds;  Edward,  bapt.  at 
Blackburn,  Nov.  i3th,  1636,  died  unmarried  ;  George,  settled  at  Leeds  ; 
and  Randle,  died  unmarried ;  daughters,  Elizabeth,  died  unmarried  ; 
Mary,  wife  of  Wrightington  Taylor,  of  Ireland  ;  Anne,  died  .unmarried ; 
and  Hellen.  After  his  marriage  with  the  Preston  heiress,  Thomas 
Astley  resided  alternately  at  Pres'ton  and  at  Stakes  Hall.  He  died,  says 
Dugdale,  about  the  year  1643. 

His  son  was  Thomas  Astley  of  Stakes  and  of  Preston,  gent,  bapt. 
at  Preston,  i3th  March,  1630.  His  wife  was  Jennet,  daughter  of  Peter 
Haworth  of  Highercroft,  Lower  Darwen,  gent.  Issue,  Thomas,  bapt. 
at  Blackburn,  Aug.  2ist,  1653,  died  Jan.,  1662  ;  Richard,  bapt.  Jan.  27th, 
1655-6  ;  John,  born  in  1657,  died  in  1685  ;  George,  bapt.  March  29th, 
1660  (named  again  below);  Thomas,  of  Fishwick  and  Ribbleton  (also 
named  below);  and  William,  born  in  1666  ;  and  daughters,  Elizabeth, 
born  in  1661  ;  and  Martha,  died  in  1666.  The  father,  Thomas  Astley, 
gent,  is  assessed  in  1663  to  a  Subsidy  for  lands  in  Livesey.  He  was 
buried  at  Blackburn  Church,  Feb.  7th,  1666-7. 

Thomas  Astley  of  Fishwick  (fifth  son  of  Thomas  of  Stakes  Hall), 
is  first  of  a  branch  of  the  family  seated  at  Fishwick-hall,  of  which  I  have 
particulars,  but  can  only  insert  here  a  brief  notice.  Thomas  Astley  of 
Fishwick,  gent,  had  sons,  John,  born  in  1684  (died  young);  John, 
born  in  1686,  by  his  wife  Elizabeth  Hedley,  married  at  Manchester  in 
1 7 1 7,  had  a  daughter  Elizabeth,  born  in  1721,  married,  in  1750,  Mr. 
William  Jordan  of  Manchester,  and  died  in  1784;  Thomas,  born  in 
April,  1689  ;  and  Luke,  born  in  1697  (Luke  Astley  of  Ribbleton).  The 
descent  is  continued  in  the  issue  of  Thomas,  second  son  of  Thomas 
Astley  of  Fishwick,  gent.  The  younger  Thomas,  by  Elizabeth  his  wife, 
had  sons,  Thomas  and  John.  He  died  at  Fishwick  Hall,  in  1759  ;  he 
was  the  donor  of  the  Communion  Plate  to  Preston  Parish  Church.  His 
sons  were  both  in  business  in  Preston.  Luke  Astley  of  Ribbleton, 
brother  of  Thomas,  married,  in  1727,  Ellen  Lorrimer,  and  had  a  son 
James,  named  as  a  legatee  in  his  uncle  Thomas  Astley's  Will  in  1759. 

Coming  back  to  the  senior  representatives  of  Astley  of  Stakes,  after 
the  death  of  Thomas  Astley,  gent.,  in  1666,  his  eldest  son  Thomas 
being  dead,  the  estates  in  Livesey  were  heired  by  Richard,  second  son. 
Richard  Astley  of  Stakes  Hall,  gent,  married,  Feb.  24th,  1678-9,  Mary 
Banister  of  Little  Harwood.  Issue,  sons,  Thomas,  bapt  June  9th, 
1681  ;  John,  djied  in  Oct.,  1695  ;  Nicholas,  bom  in  1684,  died  in  July, 


576  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

1698;  Banister,  bapt.  May  lyth,  buried  June  4th,  1687;  William,  born 
in  Nov.,  died  in  Dec.,  1690;  Ann,  born  in  1680;  Elizabeth,  born  in 
1682,  died  in  1699;  and  Millicent,  born  in  1684,  died  in  July,  1698. 
"  Richard  Astley  of  Stakes  within  Livesey,  Esq.,"  was  buried  at  Black- 
burn Church,  Oct.  22nd,  1729.  His  funeral  sermon  was  preached  the 
same  day  by  Vicar  Holme.  He  was  aged  73.  His  widow,  "  Mrs.  Mary 
Astley  of  Livesey,  widow,"  was  buried  Dec.  2ist,  1735. 

Apparently  the  male  issue  of  Richard  Astley,  Esq.,  were  all  dead 
at  the  date  of  his  death,  upon  which  event  the  estates  fell  to  the  heir  of 
his  younger  brother,  George  Astley  of  Blackburn,  apothecary,  who  had 
died  in  Dec.,  1700.  George  Astley  married,  Jan.  2oth,  1691,  Alice 
Woodes  (by  whom  he  had  before  marriage  a  son  George,  bapt.  March 
28th,  1691,  who  bore  the  name  of  Astley,  and  was  an  apothecary  in 
Blackburn),  and  had  issue/  sons,  Hamerton,  bapt  Jan.  5th,  1692-3  ; 
John,  bapt.  June  nth,  1693-4;  William,  bapt.  March  29th,  1696; 
Philip,  born  in  1698;  and  Edward,  born  and  died  in  1700;  also  a 
daughter  Eleanor. 

Hamerton  Astley,  of  Stakes,  Esq.,  later  of  Preston,  heir  to  his 
uncle  Richard  in  1729,  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Richard  Walmesley, 
of  Coldcoates,  Esq.,  and  had  issue  three  sons,  George,  bapt.  at  Preston, 
Dec.  22nd,  1733  ;  Richard,  bapt.  Sept.  7th,  1735  ;  and  Thomas,  bapt. 
June  1 5th,  1736.  Mrs.  Astley  died  in  childbed  of  the  last  son, 
and  was  buried  at  Blackburn,  May  i3th,  1736.  Mr.  Hamerton 
Astley  became  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1713. 
He  died  in  1763—"  Hamerton  Astley,  Esq.,  of  Preston,"  buried  at 
Blackburn  Church,  April  24th,  in  that  year. 

George  Astley,  first  son  of  Hamerton,  took  orders  in  the  Church, 
and  was  sometime  curate  of  Handforth  near  Cheadle,  but  after  his 
father's  death  resided  in  Preston,  at  the  family  mansion  there.  By  his 
wife  Sarah,  daughter  of  Samuel  Barton,  Esq.,  of  Over  Darwen  (married 
July  26th,  1759),  he  had  an  only  daughter  Sarah,  bapt.  at  Preston,  Oct. 
1 3th,  1770,  buried  at  Blackburn  in  July,  1771.  Rev.  George  Astley 
was  buried  at  Blackburn,  in  July,  1777.  In  the  old  Church  a  mural  tablet 
was  placed  : — "  To  the  Memory  of  the  Revd.  George  Astley,  who  de- 
parted this  life  the  7th  of  July,  1777,  aged  43,  this  Monument  is  erected." 
Dying  without  son,  and  his  only  daughter  being  dead,  Mr.  George 
Astley  was  the  last  representative  of  the  family  of  Astley  of  Stakes  Hall 
in  the  senior  descent.  Some  items  respecting  him  are  extracted  from  a 
letter  by  a  relative,  Samuel  Crompton,  Esq.,  of  Manchester,  who  writes : — 

"  My  aunt,  Miss  Elizabeth  Barton  (who  was  much  with  her  aunt,  wife  and  widow 
of  Rev.  George  Astley)  told  me  that  Mr.  George  Astley  was  the  only  son  of  Mr. 
Astley  of  Preston  ;  he  spent  ;£6oo  per  annum  at  college  ;  his  library,  consisting  prin- 


LANDOWNERS  IN  LIVESEY.  577 

cipally  of  a  fine  collection  of  classics,  is  in  possession  of  my  uncle  ;  his  name  is  in  all 
his  books,  and  there  are  copious  marginal  notes,  in  his  beautiful  handwriting,  besides 
common-place  books.  .  .  He  was  a  great  spendthrift.  I  believe  it  was  he  who 
sold  the  Stakes  estate.  He  bequeathed,  however,  property  to  his  widow ;  amongst 
other  things,  a  quantity  of  old  silver  plate  and  many  portraits.  His  own  portrait  is  in 
our  family  ;  we  have  also  others  which  we  cannot  identify  [and  the  portrait  of  Dr. 
Richard  Astley,  mentioned  above].  I  think  I  shewed  you  old  Mr.  Astley's  hatch- 
ment. My  aunt  remembered  it  over  his  door  at  Preston.  Mr.  Astley  visited  with  the 
Earl  of  Derby  ;  his  house  at  Preston  was  opposite  the  Earl  of  Derby's. " 

The  old  Hall  at  Stakes,  long  the  seat  of  the  Astley  family,  was 
demolished  many  years  ago  ;  but  the  name  of  "  Stakes  Hall "  is  still 
popularly  given  to  the  locality  of  its  site,  near  the  left  bank  of  the 
Darwen  river,  the  north  boundary  of  Livesey  township.  At  Overlock- 
shay,  a  short  distance  to  the  south-west  of  Stakes,  is  a  seventeenth  cen- 
tury house  which  was  built,  apparently,  for  a  residence  of  a  branch  of 
the  Astleys ;  for  over  the  porch  is  a  stone  bearing  the  initials  "  T  A  " 
and  "R  A"  (perhaps  Thomas  and  Richard  Astley),  and  the  date 
"  1691."  The  Stakes  Hall  estate  passed  by  sale  to  the  firm  of  Turner, 
Calico  Printers,  who  built  upon  it  their  print  works  and  two  residential 
houses  at  Mill  Hill.  The  late  Joseph  Eccles,  Esq.,  bought  the  estate  in 
1 843  ;  and  the  unsold  residue  of  the  estate  now  in  the  possession  of  the 
heirs  of  the  late  Joseph  Eccles  is  returned  as  containing  about  78  statute 
acres  (chiefly  building  sites),  with  a  rental  of  ^784  per  annum. 

The  present  chief  landowners  in  Livesey  are  : — Col.  Feilden  of 
Witton  Park,  922  statute  acres ;  Sir  W.  H.  Feilden,  Bart,  of  Feniscowles, 
366  acres.  Other  owners  are,  Mr.  Adam  Dugdale,  70  acres;  Mr.  James 
Boardman  Dugdale,  10  acres  ;  heirs  of  the  late  Joseph  Eccles,  78 
acres ;  Mr.  John  Pickop,  60  acres ;  Exors.  of  William  Whalley,  40 
acres  ;  Exors.  of  Geo.  Whiteley,  57  acres  ;  Mr.  R.  W.  B.  Sanderson,  46 
acres ;  Exors.  of  T.  T.  Mercer,  33  acres. 

ASTLEY  OF  WITTON,  LIVESEY,  &c. 

This  was  a  branch  of  the  Astleys  of  Stakes,  whose  members  owned  lands  in 
Witton  and  Blackburn.  George  Astley  of  Witton  Old  Hall,  a  son  of  Randle  Astley, 
of  Eccleshill,  and  grandson  of  Thomas  Astley  of  Stakes,  gent.,  was  baptized  March 
2Oth,  1609,  and  by  Ellen  his  wife  had  sons,  Henry,  bapt.  Nov.  8th,  1633;  and  John, 
born  in  1636. 

Henry  Astley  of  Livesey,  gent. ,  son  of  George,  married  at  Walton  Church,  June 
Ilth,  1679,  Lettice  Balshaw,  and  had  a  son  James,  bapt.  April  4th,  1680.  Henry 
Astley  died  in  1686;  was  buried  at  Blackburn,  Jan.  4th ;  and  letters  of  administration 
of  his  goods  and  chattels  were  granted,  Aug.  25th,  1686,  to  Lettice  Astley,  widow, 
relict  of  Henry  Astley,  deceased. 

James  Astley  of  Witton,  yeoman,  son  of  Henry;  and  popularly  called  "Old 
Duke,"  married,  at  Tockholes,  Sept.  26th,  1701,  Mary  daughter  of  Thomas  Critchley 
of  Holebottom  near  Brindle  ;  and  had  issue,  sons,  Thomas,  bapt.  March  ist,  1709  ; 

37 


578  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Richard,  born  in  1711  ;  Henry  Astley,  bapt.  June  1st,  1716,  died,  in  his  goih  yeaf, 
Nov.  3rd,  1805  ;  James  Astley,  born  in  1718  (married,  in  Sept.,  1746,  Mary  Ains- 
worth  of  Blackburn,  and  had  sons,  Richard  and  Thomas,  and  three  daughters)  ;  and 
William,  born  in  1720,  died  an  infant ;  and  daughters,  Hannah,  Elizabeth,  Ellen, 
Lettice,  and  Mary.  James  Astley  the  father,  becoming  impoverished,  sold  his  estate 
in  Witton  with  the  Old  Hall ;  and  he  is  said  to  have  walked  without  sleep  from  Black- 
burn to  London.  He  died  intestate  (buried  Dec.  I7th,  1747),  and  letters  of  adminis- 
tration of  his  effects  were  granted  to  three  of  his  sons,  Thomas,  Henry,  and  James. 
His  relict,  Mary  Astley  of  Witton,  widow,  died  in  April,  1758. 

Thomas  Astley  of  Redlam,  Witton,  eldest  son  of  James,  married  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  Thomas  Sharpies  of  Tockholes,  and  had  issue  (besides  a  daughter  Ann), 
two  sons,  James,  bapt.  Feb.  1 5th,  1737  ;  and  Thomas  Astley,  born  in  1743,  who  was 
overseer  of  Blackburn  ;  organist  at  St.  James's  Chapel,  Over  Darwen,  for  forty  years  ; 
and  died,  aged  69,  Nov.  4th,  1812;  he  was  buried  in  St.  John's  Churchyard,  Blackburn. 

James  Astley  of  Witton,  the  elder  brother,  married,  Feb.  26th,  1759,  Mary, 
daughter  of  James  Whalley  of  Livesey,  and  had  sons,  Thomas,  bapt.  Aug.  I9th, 
1759  5  and  John,  born  in  1767  ;  and  daughters,  Betty,  wife  of  James  Hardman ;  Alice, 
wife  of  Jeremy  Grime ;  Ellen,  wife  of  John  Pemberton ;  Jennet,  wife  of  Frank  Nelson  ; 
Mary  ;  and  Hannah,  wife  of  William  Kenyon.  John  Astley,  second  son  of  James, 
by  his  wife  Jane,  had  sons,  James  (who  had  a  son  Richard);  John,  born  in  1784,  had 
sons  John  and  William ;  and  Thomas.  James  Astley  of  Witton  died  March  3Oth, 
1819,  aged  82. 

Thomas  Astley,  his  son,  married,  in  1780,  Betty,  daughter  of  Benjamin  Holden 
of  Blackburn,  and  had  sons,  James,  bapt.  Nov.  nth,  1782;  and  John,  who  died  un- 
married ;  also  a  daughter  Mary.  Thomas  Astley  died,  aged  65,  April  i6th,  1825. 

James  Astley,  his  son,  married,  in  1808,  Peggy,  daughter  of  George  Jackson,  and 
died,  Feb.  5th,  1811,  leaving  an  only  son,  John  Astley,  born  April  2nd,  1809,  who  is 
now  living  at  Salford,  and  has  married,  first,  Ann  Taylor,  and  secondly,  in  Aug., 
1834,  Nancy  Ashton  of  Blackburn. 

BOARDMAN  OF  CHERRY  TREE  HOUSE,  &c. 

Robert  Boardman  of  Livesey,  yeoman,  was  made  a  trustee  of  the  Old  Independent 
Chapel,  Tockholes,  in  1715.  He  and  his  family  were  Nonconformists.  Edward  Board- 
man, of  Witton,  very  likely  Robert's  brother,  was  placed  in  the  same  trust  at  the  same 
time.  This  Edward  died  in  Dec.  1734.  Martha  Boardman  of  Witton  died  in  1 744. 
Mr.  Robert  Boardman  o£  Livesey,  by  Jane  his  wife,  had  sons,  William  ;  Edward,  born 
in  1698  ;  and  John  Boardman  of  Livesey,  tanner,  born  in  1700,  died  in  1740.  The 
father,  Robert  Boardman,  yeoman,  was  buried  at  Blackburn,  Jan.  28th,  1737-8.  His 
relict,  "Jane  Boardman  of  Livesey,  widow,"  was  buried  Oct.  igth,  1741. 

One  Robert  Boardman,  of  Livesey,  married,  Sept.  27th,  1726,  Esther  Pickering 
of  Lower  Darwen  ;  she  died  in  Oct.,  1765. 

William  Boardman  of  Livesey,  yeoman,  son  of  Robert,  died  in  1759,  and  was 
buried  Jan.  8th.  He  had  sons,  Robert;  and  William,  buried  Feb.  5th,  1761  ;  also 
daughters,  Margaret,  died  in  infancy ;  and  Mary,  who  married,  Dec.  2oth,  1767,  Mr. 
James  Miller  of  Penwortham.  William  Boardman's  wife  survived  him.  "Mrs.  Board- 
man, of  Feniscliffe,  widow,"  married,  secondly,  in  1759,  Mr.  Adam  Holden. 

Robert  Boardman,  gent.,  of  Cherry  Tree  House,  Livesey,  by  Elizabeth  his  wife 
(she  died  Dec.  6th,  1822,  aged  73),  had  sons,  James,  and  Robert; and  died  about  1824. 

Mr.  James  Boardman,  of  Cherry  Tree  House,  son  of  Robert,  bapt.  Jan.  9th, 
1772,  died  in  1842,  leaving  female  issue. 


ANCIENT  FREEHOLDERS  IN  LIVESEY.  579 

Mr.  Robert  Boardman  of  Coohill,  Pleasington,  and  of  King  Street,  Blackburn> 
married  Martha,  daughter  of  Mr.  Thomas  Eccles,  of  Lower  Darwen  (she  died  June 
25th,  1845,  aged  67),  and  had  an  only  daughter,  Mary  Elizabeth,  who  married,  first, 
June  7th,  1820,  Mr.  Wm.  Towers  of  Blackburn  (by  whom  she  nad  issue  a  daughter 
Elizabeth  Ann  Towers,  died  unmarried,  Sept.  26th,  1866,  aged  45);  and,  secondly,  the 
Rev.  Robert  Cameron,  Baptist  Minister  in  Blackburn  ;  she  died  May  28th,  1860.  Mr. 
Robert  Boardman  died  in  Sept.,  1836,  aged  58.  The  tombstone  of  the  Boardmans 
is  in  the  graveyard  of  Chapel  Street  Congregational  Church,  Blackburn. 

HARWOOD  OF  LIVESEY. 

George  Harwood  of  Livesey,  a  freeholder,  died  on  the  2Qth  of  August,  2pth  E'liz. 
(1586-7).  The  escheat,  taken  at  Wigan,  Aug.  I7th,  36th  Eliz.  (1593-4),  returned  that 
George  Harwood  had  been  seized  of  a  messuage  and  garden,  with  10  acres  of  land, 
5  acres  of  meadow,  and  9  acres  of  pasture  in  Lyvesaye,  held  of  Richard  Livesay, 
gent.,  in  free  socage,  paying  i8d.  yearly  at  the  Feast  of  St.  Martin  the  Bishop.  Mary, 
late  wife  of  George  Harwood,  was  then  wife  of  Richard  Whithalgh,  and  held  the 
estate.  She  sued  her  son,  John  Harwood  of  Livesey,  gent.,  for  ^41  lent  money  in  1610. 

John  Harwood,  gent.,  was  son  and  heir  of  George.  Another  son,  probably, 
was  George  Harwood,  who  died  before  1609,  seized  of  8  acres  of  land  lately 
improved  from  the  Waste  of  Livesey,  held  of  the  King  as  Duke  of  Lancaster.  John 
Harwood  of  Livesey,  gent.,  appears  in  1621  in  a  category  of  freeholders. 

Robert  Harwood,  gent.,  of  Feniscliffe,  in  Livesey,  acted  as  juror  in  the  year  1608, 
and  again  in  1613*  Robert  Harwood  of  Livesey,  yeoman,  a  party  to  a  covenant  made 
by  Thomas  Witton,  yeoman,  June  231x1,  1638,  was  probably  the  Robert  Harwood  who 
married,  July  3rd,  1621,  Rosamond  AspinalL 

Robert  Harwood  of  Livesey,  fustian  webster,  farmed  Potter  Tenement  on  lease 
from  Thomas  Cross  for  a  term  of  seven  years  from  1711,  renewed  in  1718  for  nine 
years,  at  a  yearly  rent  of  ^4  2s.  By  deed  dated  Sept.  28th,  1723,  George  Harwood 
of  Oswaldtwistle,  fustian  weaver,  assigns  to  Robert  Harwood  of  Livesey,  yeoman,  his 
estate  and  interest  in  a  tenement  at  Green  Tockholes  in  Livesey,  leased  for  his  life  by 
George  Harwood  from  Jeremiah  Walkden  of  Livesey,  yeoman. 

HOLDEN  OF  EWOOD. 

These  Holdens  had  a  freehold  at  Ewood  in  Livesey  for  several  generations. 
Thomas  Holden  de  Ewode,  living  temp.  Henry  VIII.,  had  a  son  and  heir  William. 
William  Holden  of  Livesey  had  lands  in  1523  taxed  to  the  Subsidy.  In  the  year  1524, 
William  Holden,  son  and  heir  of  Thomas,  was  holding  lands  at  Ewode  of  George 
Astley  in  socage. 

Thomas  Holden  of  Livesey  was  assessed  to  a  Subsidy  in  1570.  Thomas  Holden 
of  Ewood,  gent.,  had,  by  Margaret  his  wife,  sons,  William,  Ralph,  Richard,  and  Law- 
rence. His  Will  is  dated  July,  1588.  Testator  desired  to  be  buried  in  the  Parish 
Church  of  Blackburn  ;  and  had  given  2Os.  to  Blackburn  Grammar  School.  Randall 
Holden  was  his  executor. 

William  Holden  of  Ewood,  gent.,  a  free  tenant  in  1585,  died  June  4th,  1593; 
after  which  an  inquisition  was  taken  at  Preston,  Jan.  i8th,  1595,  showing  that  William 
Holden  held  of  James  Livesey,  Esq. ,  in  socage,  one  messuage  called  Ewode  in  Ly  ve- 
say,  with  20  acres  of  land,  10  acres  of  meadow,  and  20  acres  of  pasture,  inherited  from 
his  predecessor  Thomas  Holden  and  his  antecessors  ;  also  two  acres  of  moss  and  six 
acres  of  land  of  the  new  appropriation  of  the  Waste  in  Livesey.  In  the  escheat  record 
it  is  mentioned  that  Thomas  Holden,  father  of  William,  had  feoffeed  Robert  Holde^ 
John  Aynesworth,  Thomas  Astley,  and  Robert  Harwood,  in  the  above  estate  to  hold 


580  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

to  the  use  of  William  Holden  his  son  and  his  heirs  male.  The  jurors  said  that  Ralph, 
Richard,  and  Lawrence  Holden,  sons  of  Thomas,  were  then  living  at  Ewood,  and  that 
Mary,  daughter  of  William  Holden,  aged  5^  years,  was  next  heir.  In  the  year  1607 
a  plaint  was  entered  in  the  Chancery  Court  of  Lancashire,  by  Randal  Holden  of  Eywood, 
gent. ,  setting  forth  that  William  Catterall  of  Livesey  was  theretofore  interested  in  the 
wardship  of  Mary  Houlden,  daughter  and  heir  of  William  Houlden  deceased,  and  the 
said  William  Catterall  had,  about  the  37th  Eliz.  (1595),  conveyed  the  same  wardship 
to  suppliant,  Randal  Holden,  &c. 

Ralph  Holden  of  Ewood,  brother  of  William,  occurs  as  a  freeholder  in  1600  ; 
and  is  named  as  Randal  Holden  in  the  Subsidy  of  1 61 1.  He  died  in  1623.  Ralph 
Holden  of  Eawood,  gent. ,  and  William  Holden  his  son  and  heir,  are  parties  to  a  deed 
dated  March  23rd,  1614,  conveying  unto  Lawrence  Ainsworth  of  Tockholes,  gent., 
and  Christopher  Marsden  of  Okenhurste,  yeoman,  for  the  benefit  of  William  Marsden 
and  Maria  his  wife,  "  all  the  parcel  of  the  capital  messuage  and  tenement  called  the 
Eawood,"  lying  in  Livesey,  in  tenure  of  Ralph  Holden,  comprising  "the  great  daire, 
the  shole,  the  butterey,  the  milkehouse,  the  kitchin,  and  the  chambers  above  and 
beneath  in  the  north  end  of  the  house,"  also  that  room  between  the  said  house  and 
the  "  turfife  house,"  three  bays  of  a  shippon  at  the  lower  end  of  the  great  barn,  &c., 
half  the  dovehouse,  half  the  garden,  stack-yard,  and  orchard,  &c.,  and  "all  those 
landes  from  the  Eawood  Foulde  to  the  more  yate  and  to  the  little  hey,"  with  that  por- 
tion of  the  moor  lying  next  unto  the  house,  with  free  liberty  "  to  wash  or  fetch  water 
and  water  cattell  at  the  stream  and  broad  water;"  also  the  moiety  of  lands  in  Livesey 
in  tenure  of  William  Catterall,  to  have  and  hold  for  term  of  100  years,  if  Ralph 
Holden  and  Lawrence  his  brother,  and  the  first  son  of  Lawrence,  so  long  live. 

Richard  Holden  of  Ewood,  I  conjecture  another  brother  of  Ralph  and  William, 
occurs  as  a  juror  in  1613.  Lawrence  Holden,  brother  of  Ralph,  is  named  in  the 
above-cited  deed.  Lawrence  Holden  of  the  Moorgate,  had  a  son  Thomas,  born  in  1629. 

William  Holden  of  Ewood  comes  after  Ralph  his  father.  He  married,  July  5th, 
1616,  Alice  Marsden,  and  died  before  1630,  when,  by  inquisition  taken  at  Blackburn, 
Aug.  3rd,  6th  Chas.  I.,  it  appeared  that  William  Holden,  late  of  Ewode  and  Livesey, 
had  held  of  the  King  as  of  the  Duchy  of  Lancaster,  by  a  yearly  rent  charge  of  I2d., 
one  messuage  called  Le  Ewode  in  Livesey,  with  10  acres  of  land,  3  of  meadow,  and  3 
of  pasture  ;  also  the  third  part  of  four  messuages  and  six  acres  of  land  in  Livesey,  and 
four  acres  of  land  late  improved  from  the  Waste  of  Livesey.  Alice  Holden,  widow  of 
William,  was  then  living  at  Blackburn  ;  and  Thomas  Holden,  son  and  heir,  was  aged 
three  years  on  the  2ist  January  before  the  inquisition. 

Thomas  Holden  of  Ewood,  yeoman,  in  his  Will,  dated  Nov.  26th,  1662,  names 
Anne,  his  wife  ;  a  son  Thomas,  and  daughters  Alice,  Anne,  Elizabeth,  and  Jane. 

"  Mr.  Thomas  Holden,  of  Ewood,"  occurs  in  1664;  he  had  a  son  William,  born 
Jan.  8th,  1655-6. 

William  Holden,  of  Ewood,  had  a  son  William,  bapt.  Feb.  '2nd,  1674-5  ;  and 
other  issue. 

The  following  names  occur  later  : — James  Holden  of  Livesey,  yeoman,  died  in 
Sept.,  1707  ;  his  wife  Elizabeth  died  in  July,  1703.  Thomas  Holden  of  Livesey,  yeo- 
man, married,  in  1683,  Elizabeth  Blakey  of  Leyland  ;  and  died  in  Nov.,  1723.  John 
Holden  of  Livesey  died  in  1731;  Margaret  Holden,  widow,  died  in  1732  ;  Thomas, 
son  of  John,  was  born  in  1720.  Lawrence  Holden  of  Livesey  had  a  son  Lawrence,  bora 
Jan.  1 8th,  1673-4.  Lawrence  Holden  of  Livesey,  chapman,  and  yeoman,  who  died 
in  Nov.,  1769,  by  his  wife  Elizabeth  (died  in  1742),  had  sons,  John,  born  in  1730  ;  and 
James,  born  in  1731  ;--the  last-named,  James  Holden  of  Livesey,  buried  at  Blackburn, 


ANCIENT  FREEHOLDERS  IN  LIVESEY.  581 

Aug.  I7th,  1789,  aged  57.     "Henry  Holden  of  Livesey,  found  dead  on  the  highway," 
was  buried  at  Blackburn,  Jan.  6th,  1670-1. 

LIVESEY  OF  WHITHALGH. 

A  branch  of  Liveseys  had  a  freehold  at  Whithalgh  in  Livesey.  The  house  there 
has  over  the  porch  a  stone  inscribed  with  the  date  "  1616,"  and  the  initials  "  T.  L." 
and  "  G.  M  R.  R  ;"  the  first  standing  for  Thomas  Livesey  ;  the  other  initials  to  some 
unknown  connexion  of  the  builder  of  the  house. 

James  Livesey  of  Whithalgh  died  in  May,  1658.     He  had  a  son  Richard. 

Richard  Livesey  of  Whithalgh,  had  a  son  James,  baptized  at  Whithalgh,  Sept. 
1 4th,  1659  ;  also  a  son  Thomas  ;  and  a  daughter  Christabel,  died  in  1689. 

Thomas  Livesey  of  Whithalgh,  living  in  1694,  had  a  son  Lawrence,  baptized 
April  27th,  in  that  year. 

PICKOP  OF  GREEN-TOCKHOLES  AND  LIVESEY. 
From  early  in  the  seventeeth  century  the  Pickops,  prior  to  that  date  of  Lower 
Darwen,    have  held  a  freehold  estate,   on   the  border  of  Livesey  and  Tockholes, 
anciently  called  Green- Tockholes. 

James  Piccopp  of  Lower  Darwen,  yeoman,  married,  Oct.,  2Oth,  1634,  MaryEccles, 
and  had  a  son  and  heir  James.  James  Piccopp,  the  father,  purchased  of  Thomas 
Witton,  gent.,  in  1641,  the  messuage  and  eight  customary  acres  of  land  in  Green-Tock- 
holes,  for  the  sum  of  ^50,  and  by  deed  of  lease,  dated  April,  1642,  leased  to  Thomas 
Witton,  of  Green-Tockholes,  gent.,  for  a  term  of  1 8  years,  at  a  yearly  rent  of  2od., 
two  closes  of  land  in  Tockholes  called  Further  Greenheys,  of  5  acres. 

James  Piccopp  the  younger,  son  of  James,  of  Meadow  Head  in  Lower  Darwen, 
married  Jane  Yate ;  and  by  indenture  dated  Feb.  5th,  1657,  it  is  witnessed  that 
whereas  a  marriage  is  to  be  had  between  James  Piccopp,  son  and  heir  of  James 
Piccopp,  and  Jane  Yate,  daughter  of  Richard  Yate  of  Graine  in  Haslingden,  yeoman, 
before  the  1st  day  of  May  next,  James  Piccopp  the  father,  in  consideration  of  jCilo  to 
be  paid  to  him  and  his  son  as  a  marriage  portion  of  Jane  Yate,  covenants  with  Richard 
Yate  that  he  will,  before  March  1st  next,  convey  unto  Henry  Marsden  of  Okenhurst 
and  James  Duckworth  the  younger  of  Musburie,  yeomen,  the  messuage  and  parcel  of 
land  called  Greene-Tockholes  in  Livesey,  to  stand  seized  in  trust  to  the  use  of  James 
Piccopp  the  elder  during  his  life,  after  of  James  Piccopp  the  son  and  Jane  his  intended 
wife,  during  their  lives,  after  of  their  issue.  This  covenant  James  Piccopp  the  father 
fulfils  by  deed  of  trust  dated  Feb.  nth,  1657.  James  Piccopp  the  son,  of  Livesey-cum- 
Tockholes,  was  assessed  to  a  Subsidy  in  1663.  He  had  a  son  and  heir,  John  ;  and  a 
younger  son  James,  bapt.  May  29th,  1663. 

Robert  Piccop  of  Lower  Darwen  and  Tockholes  (probably  a  younger  son  of  James 
Piccopp  the  elder,  and  brother  of  the  above  James),  assessed  to  a  Subsidy  in  1663, 
married  Mary,  daughter  of  Thomas  Crompton  of  Bolton  (niece  of  Rev.  Oliver  Hey- 
wood),  and  by  her,  who  died  in  1672,  had  issue  one  child. 

John  Piccop  of  Green-Tockholes,  yeoman,  by  indenture  dated  July  I5th,  1690, 
sold  for  jCioo  to  his  brother  James  Piccop  pf  Livesey,  husbandman,  the  moiety  of 
his  messuage  and  lands  at  Greene-Tockholes,  to  have  for  a  term  of  500  years,  paying 
the  yearly  rent  of  one  peppercorn.  John  Piccop  married  Margaret  Bannister,  and 
had  issue,  sons,  James,  died  in  his  minority,  in  1703,  without  issue  ;  Bannister  ;  and 
William,  of  Livesey,  yeoman.  John  Pickop  died  about  the  year  1691  ;  his  widow, 
Margaret  Piccop,  married,  secondly,  Thomas  Holden,  and  died  in  1731. 

Bannister  Piccop  of  Livesey,  yeoman,  born  about  1686,  married,  Dec.  8th,  1708, 
Alice  Abbot  of  Livesey  (who  died  in  Dec.,  1738),  and  had  issue,  sons,  John  ;  James 


5§2  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Pickop,  ofPickop  Brow,  Livesey,  yeoman  (born  in  1718,  buried  May  4th,  1807,  aged 
88  ;  and  by  Ann  his  wife  had  issue)  ;  and  Bannister,  bom  in  1723  ;  also  daughters, 
Margaret,  born  in  1709;  Rosamond;  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Thomas  Darbyshire ;  and  Grace, 
born  in  1731.  Bannister  Piccop  was  living  in  1 739,  when  he  had  a  lease  from  Lawrence 
Tomson  of  Livesey,  for  87  years,  at  a  rental  of  ^23,  of  the  messuage  in  Livesey  called 
Horden,  with  36  acres  of  land,  which  the  lessor  had  by  deed  dated  Jan.  I2th,  1729^ 
for  99  years,  from  Lawrence  Ainsworth  of  Barr-house  Fold  in  Livesey,  yeoman. 

John  Pickop  of  Livesey,  eldest  son  of  Bannister,  married,  in  1735,  Mary,  daughter 
of  William  Harwood  of  Lower  Darwen,  but  appears  to  have  died  without  issue. 

Bannister  Pickop  of  Livesey,  younger  son  of  Bannister,  by  Catherine  his  wife  (she 
died  Aug.  23rd,  1772),  had  a  son  John,  born  July  5th,  1764  ;  and  daughters,  Margaret, 
born  in  1766  ;  Alice  ;  and  Mary.  Mr.  Bannister  Pickop  died,  aged  80,  Dec.  4, 1803. 

His  son,  John  Pickop  of  Livesey,  by  Lucy  his  wife  (she  died  Aug.  29th,  1814), 
had  issue,  sons,  Bannister,  born  June  6th,.  1803  ;  William,  born  Feb.  1 8th,  1807;  and 
James,  born  July  7th,  1810  ;  and  a  daughter  Ann,  bora  in  1813,  married,  in  1835^  Rev. 
John  Fisher,  incumbent  of  Heapey.  Mr.  John  Pickop  died  June  8th,  1823. 

Mr.  Bannister  Pickop,  of  Livesey,  married  Miss  Catherine  Hoghton,  of  Tockholes, 
and  by  her  (who  died  Nov.  i8th,  1827),  had  daughters,  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Mr.  Thos. 
Ward,  of  Bolton ;  and  Catherine,  born  in  1827,  died  in  1828.  By  Esther,  his  second 
wife  (who  died  July  3oth,  1865),  Mr.  Bannister  Pickop  had  one  son,  John;  and  a 
daughter  Lucy  Ann,  born  June  loth,  1831,  died  Dec.  3Oth,  1867.  Mr.  Bannister 
Pickop  died  in  his  32nd  year,  Dec.  I3th,  1834. 

John  Pickop,.  Esq.,  J. P.,  of  Winster,  Blackburn,  only  son  of  Bannister,  is  the 
living  representative  of  this  family  and  owner  of  the  freehold  estate  in  Livesey.  Mr. 
John  Pickop  was  born  Nov.  loth,  1832,  and  is  unmarried.  He  was  Mayor  of  Black- 
burn in  1873-4,  and  is  now  an  Alderman  of  the  borough.  Mr.  Pickop  has  recently 
retired  from  a  successful  practice  in  the  law. 

WALKDEN  OF  LIVESEY. 

Matthew  Walkden  was  one  of  several  yeomen  who,  in  the  year  1600,  claimed  the 
right  of  common  in  Livesey  township. 

Ralph  Walkden  of  Livesey,  yeoman,  living  in  1642,  had  sons,  Matthew,  Peter,, 
and  John.  Peter  Walkden  of  Livesey,  younger  son  of  Ralph,  had  sons,  Matthew 
(who  had  sons  Peter  and  William),  Ralph,  and  John,  and  was  deceased  in  1662. 

Matthew  Walkden  of  Livesey,  yeoman,  enrolled  with  his  father  on  Preston 
Guild  Roll  in  1642,  and  dead  before  1682,  had  a  son  Ralph. 

Ralph  Walkden  of  Livesey,  yeoman,  living  in  1682,  had  sons  John  and  Matthew. 

John  Walkden  of  Livesey,  son  of  Ralph,  died  before  1 702,  leaving  issue,  sons, 
John  Walkden  (of  Hoghton),  living  in  1722;  Matthew  Walkden,  of  Hoghton  in 
1742  ;  and  Richard  Walkden,  of  Withnell. 

WITTON  OF  GREEN-TOCKHOLES  IN  LIVESEY,  &c. 
Members  of  the  Witton  family  are  first  met  with  in  tenure  of  lands  in  Tockholes 
and  Darwen  towards  the  close  of  Elizabeth's  reign.  William  Witton,  of  Green-Tock- 
holes,  husbandman,  obtained,  in  1595,  from  John  Osbaldeston,  Esq.,  lord  of  Over 
Darwen  Manor,  a  lease  of  a  messuage  and  tenement  in  Over  Darwen,  occupied  by 
Roger  Cooper,  yeoman,  for  a  term  of  three  lives,  those,  namely,  of  William  Witton, 
Grace  his  wife,  and  John  Witton,  second  son  of  Thomas  Witton  of  Slaidburn,  Co, 
York,  yeoman.  Hence  I  infer  that  William  Witton  would  be  son  or  brother  of 
Thomas  Witton  of  Slaidburn.  The  moiety  of  this  tenement  in  Darwen,  then  occupied 
by  his  brother  James  Witton,  William  Witton  released,  by  deed  dated  June  3rd,  1602, 


ANCIENT  FREEHOLDERS  IN  LIVESEY.  583 

to  John  Wigglesworth,  of  Hayhead  in  Bolton-by-Bowland.    William  Witton  had  a  son 
William,  bapt.  Jan.  3Oth,  1601-2,  with  other  issue. 

At  the  same  time  I  note  "Thomas  Witton  of  Green-Tockholes,  gent.,"  in  a  list 
of  freeholders  dated  1600,  no  doubt  a  near  kinsman  of  William  Witton  above. 
Thomas  Witton  was  buried  at  Blackburn,  March  3rd,  1603-4.  He  was  probably 
father  of  "  Thomas  Witton  of  Green-Tockholes,  gent.,"  a  freeholder  in  1621  ;  and  of 
Nicholas  Witton,  of  whom  I  have  some  further  particulars. 

Nicholas  Witton,  of  Green-Tockholes,  gent. ,  by  his  wife  Alice,  had  a  son  and 
heir  Thomas  ;  other  sons,  Ambrose,  born  in   1615  ;   and  William  ;    and  daughters, 
Ellen,  bapt.  Aug.  23rd,  1618;  and  Elizabeth,  married  to  George  Morris  of  Livesey. 
The  title-deeds  of  the  Green-Tockholes  freehold,  in  possession  of  Alderman  John 
Pickop,  of  Blackburn,  help  to  elucidate  the  family  affairs  of  the  Wittons  in  the  seven- 
teenth century.     An  indenture  made  the  Jrd  March,  3rd  Charles  L   (1627),  between, 
Nicholas  Witton  of  Green-Tockholes,  yeoman,  on  the  first  part,  Thomas  Witton,  son 
and  heir  apparent  of  Nicholas,  on  the  second  part,  and  Rauphe  Walmsley  and  William 
Marsden  of  Tockholes  in  the  said  county,  yeomen,  on  the  third  part,  witnesseth  that 
Nicholas  and  Thomas  Witton    (that  a  competent  jointure  may  be  had  for    Alice 
Witton  wife  of  Nicholas),  covenant  with  Rauphe  Walmsley  and  William  Marsden, 
that  they,  Nicholas  and  Thomas,  with  George  Aynsworth  of  Knuzden,  yeoman,  John 
Cundliffe  of  the  Woodheade  in  Accrington,  gentleman,    and  William  Critchlowe  of 
Tockholes,  yeoman,  will  before  the  1st  April  next  coming,  by  their  deed  of  feoffment 
convey  unto  Ralph  Walmsley  and  William  Marsden  all  the  mesuage  and  tenement 
called  Greene-Tockholes,  in  Livesay,  in  the  occupation  of  Nicholas  Witton,  and  all 
other  the  messuages,  lands,   &c.,   of  them  the  said  Nicholas  and  Thomas  Witton, 
George  Aynsworth,  John  Cundliffe,  and  William  Critchlowe,  situate  in  Livesay ;  all 
reversions  ;  all  rents,  &c. ,  upon  any  lease  thereof  formerly  made,  &c. ;    one  messuage 
lately  erected  in  Livesay,  with  two  closes  of  land  adjoining,  containing  4^  acres  lately 
taken  in  and  improved  from  the  commons  and  wastes  of  Livesaye^  in  the  occupation 
of  George  Potter,  the  inheritance  of  George  Aynsworth  only  excepted  j   to  stand 
seized  thereof  to  the  intent  that  they  Ralph  Walmsley  and  William  Marsden  shall  be 
perfect  tenants  of  the  freehold  until  a  common  recovery  may  be  executed  of  the  same, 
premises  against  them,  by  John  Cundliffe  and  William  Critchlowe,  or  others  nominated 
by  Nicholas  and  Thomas  Witton  ;  the  said  Rauphe  Walmsley  and  William  Marsden 
to  stand  seized  of  the  premises  for  21  years,  to  the  use  of  Nicholas  Witton,  then  to 
the  use  of  Nicholas  Witton  and  Alis  his  wife  for  their  lives  ;  and  after  their  decease 
to  the  sole  use  of  the  said  Thomas  Witton,  his  heirs,   &c.      Another  indenture,  dated 
March    2ist,    1636,   between  Nicholas  Witton  of  Greene-Tockholes,   yeoman,   and 
Thomas  Witton  his  son,  on  the  one  part,  and  Ralph  Morris  and  William  Morris  of 
Winwick,  fustian  weavers,  on  the  other  part,   witnesseth  that  Nicholas  and  Thomas 
Witton,  for  the  suni  of  ^25,  have  let  to  Ralph  and  William  Morris  the  barn  standing 
in  the  hedgerow  between  Witton  Croft  and  the  Heefield,  commonly  called  the  Lower 
Barn,  with  the  Heefield  close,  situate  in  Tockholes,  containing  three  acres  of  land,  for 
the  term  of  33  years,  paying  to   Thomas  Witton  the  yearly  rent  of  I2d.     Nicholas. 
Witton,  gent.,  died  March  5th,  I5th  Chas.   I   (1640).      The  escheat  record  taken  at 
Blackburn,  April  28th,  1 7th  Charles  I.,  informs  that  Nicholas  Witton  had  died  seized 
of  one  messuage,  two  cottages,  three  gardens,  20  acres  of  land,    10  acres  of  meadow, 
and  10  acres  of  pasture  in  Green-Tockholes  in  Livesey,  held  of  Ralph  Livesey,  Esq., 
in  free  socage,  subject  to  a  payment    of  I2d.    yearly;    worth   153.       The  widow  of 
Nicholas  Witton  was  buried  Jan.  I4th,  1654-5. 

Thomas  Witton,  son  and  heir  of  Nicholas,  was  aged  over  34  years  at  the  date  of 


584  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

this  record.  Thomas  Witton,  gent.,  married,  before  1636,  Mary,  daughter  of  Thomas 
Aspinall,  of  Lower  Darwen,  as  is  shown  by  the  next  abstract  of  an  Indenture  made  the 
23rd  June,  I4th  Chas.  I  (1638),  between  Thomas  Witton,  son  and  heir  apparent  of 
Nicholas  Witton,  of  Greene-Tockholes  in  Livesey,  yeoman,  an  the  one  part,  and 
Robert  Harwood  of  Livesey,  yeoman,  on  the  other  part,  attesting  that  Thomas  Witton, 
in  consideration  of  a  marriage  already  had  between  himself  and  Mary  now  his  wife, 
one  of  the  daughters  of  Thomas  Aspinall  late  of  Lower  Darwen,  yeoman,  deceased, 
and  of  the  sum  of  £,120  to  him  beforehand  paid  by  Anne  Aspinall,  of  Lower  Darwen, 
widow  of  Thomas  and  mother  of  Mary,  being  the  marriage  portion  of  the  said  Mary, 
and  that  a  competent  jointure  may  be  had  for  the  said  Mary,  and  for  the  natural  love 
the  said  Thomas  Witton  hath  towards  the  issue  female  of  his  said  wife,  covenants  with 
the  said  Robert  Harwood  that  he  will  presently  convey  unto  William  Walmsley,  son 
of  Ralph  of  Tockholes,  yeoman,  and  Thomas  his  brother,  all  that  messuage  and  tene- 
ment called  Greene-Tockholes,  in  joint  occupation  of  Nicholas  Witton  and  his  son  the 
said  Thomas,  with  the  closes  of  land,  &c. ,  to  stand  seized  of  the  said  premises  to  the 
use  of  Thomas  Witton  and  Mary  his  wife,  for  term  of  their  lives  ;  and  to  the  use  of 
Nicholas  Witton  and  Alis  his  wife  during  their  lives  ;  subject  to  the  expiry  of  certain 
leases,  &c.;  and  after  the  decease  of  Nicholas  and  Alis  Witton,  to  the  use  of  Thomas 
Witton  for  his  life,  and  a  third  part  of  the  premises  to  the  use  of  Mary,  wife  of  Thomas 
Witton,  for  her  life,  in  the  name  of  her  jointure  and  dower,  and  after  to  the  use  of  the 
daughter  or  daughters  of  the  said  Thomas  and  Mary  Witton,  until  such  time  as  the 
lawful  heir  of  Thomas  WTitton  shall  pay  to  the  said  daughters  the  sum  of  £120,  to  be 
divided  equally  amongst  the  said  daughters  ;  after  such  payment  to  the  use  of  the  right 
heirs  of  the  said  Thomas  Witton.  Another  deed,  in  latin,  is  dated  June  29th,  1638,  by 
which  Thomas  Witton,  son  and  heir  apparent  to  Nicholas  Witton,  of  Greene-Tocke- 
holes  within  Livesey,  yeoman,  in  part  performance  of  an  indenture  of  agreement 
between  Thomas  Witton  and  Robert  Harwood  of  Livesey,  yeomen,  concerning  the 
marriage  of  Thomas  Witton  with  Mary  now  his  wife  and  a  daughter  of  Thomas  As- 
pinall, late  of  Darwen,  deceased,  gives,  concedes,  and  confirms  unto  William  Walms- 
ley, son  and  heir  apparent  of  Raulph  Walmsley  of  Tockeholes,  yeoman,  John  Aspi- 
nall of  Darwen,  yeoman,  and  Thomas  Aspinall  brother  of  John  Aspinall,  and  Mary 
wife  of  Thomas  Witton,  all  that  capital  messuage  with  appurtenances,  called  Greene- 
Tockholes,  in  the  tenure  of  Nicholas  Witton,  father  of  Thomas,  with  lands,  &c. ,  to 
have  and  hold  to  the  said  William  Walmsley,  and  the  others,  to  the  uses  in  the  said 
indenture  specified. 

In  1636,  the  above  Thomas  Witton  is  named  as  of  Nether  Darwen.  He  had,  I 
think,  no  male  issue.  A  daughter,  named  Rosamond  Witton,  was  baptized  July  3rd, 
1636.  Thomas  Witton  was  living  in  1647. 

PLACES  OF  WORSHIP. 

IMMANUEL  CHURCH,  FENISCOWLES.— An  elegant  little  church,  of  decorated 
gothic  architecture,  was  built  thirty  years  ago,  at  the  charge  of  the  family  of  Feilden 
of  Feniscowles  ;  and  endowed  by  the  same  patrons.  The  corner-stone  was  laid  by 
William  Feilden,  Esq.,  on  Feb.  5th,  1835;  and  the  church  was  consecrated  Oct.  loth, 
1836.  The  situation  is  a  charming  spot  on  the  rising  bank  of  the  Darwen,  on  the 
Livesey  side  of  the  river,  near  Feniscowles  Bridge.  The  fabric  is  built  of  grey  grit- 
stone, and  consists  of  a  nave,  lighted  by  windows  of  graceful  tracery,  and  a  neat  tower 
with  crocketted  pinnacles,  finished  with  a  spire.  Three  painted  windows,  the  gift  of 
John  Tattersall,  Esq.,  were  placed  at  the  east  end  of  the  church,  and  on  either  side  of 
the  communion,  in  Nov.,  1861.  The  value  of  the  living,  previously  ^"215,  has  re- 


CHURCHES  AND  SCHOOLS  IN  LIVESEY.  585 

cently  been  augmented  to  ^300  per  annum  by  the  Ecclesiastical  Commissioners.  Sit- 
tings 473.  Patron,  the  Vicar  of  Blackburn.  Incumbents  in  succession  : — Rev.  Geo. 
Edmundson  ;  Rev.  J.  Beilby  ;  Rev.  A.  Gallagher,  M.A.,  present  minister. 

ST.  ANDREW'S  CHURCH,  MOORGATE. — The  National  School  at  Livesey  had 
been  licensed  for  divine  service  more  than  twenty  years  before  a  church  could  be  pro- 
vided. The  corner-stone  of  the  church,  dedicated  to  St.  Andrew,  was  laid  on  Dec. 
24th,  1866.  The  style  is  early  English.  The  plan  comprises  a  nave,  85ft.  long;  north 
and  south  transepts,  64ft.  across;  chancel,  35ft.  by  24ft.  8in.,  with  octagonal  termi- 
nation ;  chancel  transepts,  divided  on  the  north  into  vestry  and  north  porch,  and  on  the 
south  into  organ  chamber  and  south  porch ;  the  tower,  which  rises  from  the  south  side 
of  the  chancel,  is  in  three  stages,  and  with  a  spire  (not  yet  built)  will  rise  to  a  height  of 
of  i6oft.  The  principal  porch  is  at  the  south-west  end  of  the  church.  In  the  interior  the 
nave  is  divided  from  the  chancel  by  a  bold  moulded  arch ;  and  the  tower  from  the  nave  by 
massive  arches.  The  nave  is  lighted  on  the  north  and  south  sides  by  two-light  lancet 
windows,  and  at  the  west  end  by  two  large  windows  with  geometrical  tracery.  The 
transepts  have  handsome  traceried  rose  windows.  Mr.  E.  G.  Paley  was  the  architect. 
The  church  contains  644  sittings,  and  cost  ^5000.  It  has  not  yet  been  consecrated. 

MILL  HILL  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH. — An  Independent  Sunday  School  was 
opened  about  the  year  1844  in  the  farm-house  at  Stakes  Hall,  and  public  worship  was 
casually  conducted  in  the  same  room.  In  the  year  1847,  the  late  Joseph  Eccles,  Esq., 
of  Mill  Hill  House,  erected  a  building  on  his  estate  for  a  school  and  chapel,  at  a  cost 
of  ,£1300.  The  chapel  on  the  upper  floor  of  this  building  had  become  too  small  for 
the  congregation,  and  on  the  26th  of  February,  1859,  the  corner-stone  of  a  new 
church,  designed  by  Messrs.  Hibbert  and  Rainford,  was  laid  by  Mrs.  Eccles.  The 
edifice,  called  Mill  Hill  Congregational  Church,  was  opened  Sept.  igth,  1860.  The 
style  of  the  architecture  is  Italian  ;  and  the  body  of  the  church  is  a  parallelogram, 
72ft.  by  5°ft.  At  the  north  end  is  the  entrance,  comprising  a  portico  of  square  stone 
pillars,  and  vestibules,  above  which  a  square  clock-tower  and  spire  of  curved  outline 
rise  to  the  height  of  I35ft.  The  interior  has  galleries  on  three  sides.  The  materials 
of  the  external  walls  are  red  bricks,  with  ornamental  mouldings  in  white  brick.  The 
cost,  inclusive  of  subsequent  alterations,  site,  and  organ,  has  been  about  ^6000.  Sit- 
tings, 950.  Ministers  in  succession  : — Rev.  H.  H.  Scullard ;  Rev.  W.  H.  Mann  ;  Rev. 
E.  Heath  ;  Rev.  Isaac  Davies,  present  minister.  The  former  chapel  is  now  devoted 
to  Day  and  Sunday  School  uses,  and  new  class-rooms  were  attached  in  1876. 

UNITED  METHODIST  FREE  CHURCH,  WATERFALL. — At  Waterfall,  near  the 
north  boundary  of  Livesey,  a  school-chapel  of  the  United  Free  Methodists  was  built 
in  1861,  and  has  since  been  extended.  It  is  a  plain  oblong  building,  containing  270 
sittings  ;  and  has  cost  about  £1200.  It  is  served  from  Blackburn. 

DAY  SCHOOLS  IN  THE  TOWNSHIP. 

At  the  date  of  a  return  to  the  Education  Department,  published  in  February, 
1873,  the  day-school  provision  in  Livesey  was  as  follows  :  — Immanuel  National 
School,  Cherry  Tree,  for  234  children  ;  Waterloo  Church  of  England  School,  Moor- 
gate,  for  266  children  ;  Independent  School,  Mill  Hill,  for  486  children ;  total  pro- 
vision for  986  children.  Mill  Hill  Independent  School  has  since  been  enlarged  by  new 
class  rooms.  In  1875,  the  inspection  of  these  schools  gave  the  following  results  in 
average  attendance  of  scholars  and  Government  grant  earned  : — 

Mill  Hill  Independent  School — Average  attendance  205,  Govt.  grant  ^£150/15/4 
Waterloo  Church  of  England  School —         ,,  172          ,,          £l3°/i5/3 

Cherry  Tree  National  School—  „  73          „  ^53/14/0 


586  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

CHARITIES  OF  LIVESEY  TOWNSHIP. 

LIVESEY'S  CHARITY. — Sarah  Livesey,  by  her  Will  (the  date  whereof 
is  not  known),  bequeathed  to  the  Vicar  and  Churchwardens  of  Blackburn 
P£IOO  upon  trust  to  use  the  interest  towards  putting  out  as  apprentice  to 
some  trade,  occupation,  or  craft,  some  such  child  or  children  of  neces- 
sitous inhabitants  of  Blackburn,  Livesey,  and  Pleasington  townships,  as 
the  Vicar  and  Wardens  and  the  owner  of  Livesey  Hall  for  the  time 
being  should  select,  in  the  course  following;  first,  one  of  the  township  of 
Livesey;  secondly,  of  Blackburn,,  thirdly  of  Livesey,  and  fourthly  of 
Pleasington  ;  and  so  on  by  turns  for  ever.  The  Charity  Commission  of 
1825  found  no  account  of  the  application  of  the  interest  prior  to  the 
death  of  Vicar  Starkie  in  1818  (who  had  been  the  acting  trustee).  Since 
that  date  the  wardens  had  received  interest  on  the  p^ioo  of  Sarah  Live- 
sey's  bequest  for  seven  years,  of  which  they  had  applied  ^5  in  1820 
in  apprenticing  a  poor  child  of  Blackburn ;  and  paid  £$  to  the 
overseers  of  Livesey  in  1821,  and  ^"5  to  the  overseers  of  Pleasington  in 
1823,  for  the  same  purpose.  The  principal  was  then  in  the  hands  of 
Messrs.  Birley  and  Hornby,  who  paid  the  interest  to  the  wardens. 

CHARITIES  OF  BLORE  AND  OTHERS. — George  Blore,  by  his  Will, 
dated  March  ist,  1730,  directed  that  ^33  which  was  Mrs.  Hothersall's 
should  lie  there  till  it  was  £40,  and  then  the  interest  to  go  to  the  poor 
of  Livesey,  the  heads  of  the  town  to  have  care  of  it.  In  1786  it  was  re- 
turned to  Parliament  that  £40  given  by  George  Blore,  and  ;£io  given 
by  Ralph  Livesey,  were  then  vested  in  Mrs.  Wilson  (sister  of  Ralph  Live- 
sey, Esq.).  Down  to  the  sale  of  the  estate  in  1805  to  Messrs.  H.  and 
W.  Feilden,  the  interest  of  the  same  had  been  paid  regularly  on  behalf 
of  Mrs.  Wilson  and  Robert  Bell  Livesey,  owners  of  Livesey  Hall  estate ; 
but  after  that  time  the  charge  was  disallowed.  George  Blore  also  left ^40, 
the  interest  to  be  divided  betwixt  the  townships  of  Livesey  and  Tock- 
holes,  for  distribution  to  poor  persons,  in  the  proportions  of  three-fifths 
to  Livesey  and  two-fifths  to  Tockholes.  The  £24  belonging  to  Live- 
sey, with  £6  given  by  Edward  Boardman,  ^"5  by  Daniel  Hall, 
and  ,£3  by  Thomas  Sharpies,  making  a  sum  of  ^38,  were  lent  out  on 
personal  security,  at  the  interest  of  £i  155.  yearly,  until  1824,  when  a 
workhouse  was  built  for  the  township,  at  a  cost  of  ^900,  and  the  inha- 
bitants agreed  to  apply  the  ^£38  towards  the  erection  of  the  building,  on 
condition  that  interest  to  the  same  amount  as  before  was  received  should 
be  paid  out  of  the  rates.  Messrs.  John  Pickop  and  Robert  Boardman 
distributed  this  fund  to  poor  persons  for  many  years  prior  to  1824.  It 
appears  from  an  inquiry  made  by  the  Charity  Commissioners  in  January, 
1868,  that  the  parochial  authorities  in  whom  the  principal  was  vested 
had  long  ceased  to  pay  the  interest  upon  the  stock  agreed  upon  in  1824. 


THE  TOWNSHIP  OF  MELLOR.  587 


CHAPTER  XL— THE  TOWNSHIPS  OF  MELLOR-CUM- 
ECCLESHILL. 

Mellor  Township— Topography— Population — De  Meluer  Family — Descent  of  the  Manor — Present 
Landowners— Ancient  Freeholders — Abbot— Aspden — Astley— Clayton—  Haydock—  Hoghton — 
Osbaldeston— Walmsley— Ward— Whithalgh— St.  Mary's  Church— Methodist  Chapels— Eccles- 
hill  Township — Ancient  Proprietors — Recent  Conveyances  of  the  Manor — Other  Estates  and  Free- 
holders— Eccles— Fish— Pickop— Shorrock. 

FROM  the  1 2th  century  to  the  end  of  the  lyth,  the  hamlets  of 
Mellor  and  Eccleshill  always  appear  in  conjunction  in  local 
records,  as  forming  together  one  township  ;  although  the  two  places  are 
separated  by  a  distance  of  three  miles  or  more,  the  whole  breadth 
of  the  townships  of  Blackburn  and  Lower  Darwen  lying  between.  In 
modern  parochial  definition,  Mellor  and  Eccleshill  are  reckoned  distinct 
townships. 

Mellor  township  extends  over  the  north  and  south  slopes  of 
two  hills,  the  last  of  the  range,  between  the  defile  of  the  Calder 
at  Whalley  and  that  of  the  Darwen,  which  is  the  natural  bound 
of  Ribblesdale  on  the  south.  The  highest  of  the  hills  within  Mellor  is 
Mellor  Moor  (735ft.  above  the  sea  level),  and  the  other  rises  behind 
Woodfold  HalL  The  modern  road  from  Blackburn  to  Preston  tra- 
verses the  hollow  between  these  eminences.  The  area  of  Mellor  is 
1830  statute  acres.  The  land  is  all  in  pasturage,  and  the  occupations 
of  the  inhabitants  are  those  of  farming  and  hand-loom  weaving.  There 
is  one  cotton  factory  at  Mellor  Brook.  In  the  early  period  of  the  cen- 
tury, a  large  manufacture  of  cotton  cloths  on  the  hand-loom  was  localized 
here,  and  caused  an  influx  of  cottage  weavers  into  the  township ;  but  this: 
trade  has  been  much  reduced  in  dimensions  by  the  competition  of  the 
power-loom.  Since  1831,  many  hundreds  of  the  weavers  from  Mellor 
have  been  drafted  into  the  mills  of  Blackburn,  with  the  effect  upon  the 
population  of  Mellor  shown  in  the  following  figures.  In  1801,  the  popu- 
lation of  this  township  was  1439  ;  in  1811,  1548;  in  1821,  1981;  in 
1831,  2071  ;  in  1841,  1844;  in  1851,  1688;  in  1861,  1398;  and  in 
1871,  1178. 


588  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

DE  MELUER  FAMILY. 

Members  of  a  proprietary  family  named  after  the  township  occur  in 
the  1 3th  century.  William  de  Meluer  (who  with  his  brother  Henry 
occurs  about  1241)  had  a  son  Robert ;  and  he  (Robert  de  Meluer),  by 
his  charter,  undated,  gave  to  the  Abbot  and  Convent  of  Stanlaw  one 
perch  of  land  in  the  territory  of  Meleur,  contained  in  a  croft  called 
Linbottie,  for  a  site  of  a  barn,  with  free  common  of  housbote  and  hay- 
bote  in  the  wood  of  Meluer.  Robert's  eldest  son,  John  de  Meluer, 
gave  to  the  same  monastery  half  an  acre  of  land  in  the  vill  of  Meleur, 
lying  on  the  upper  side  of  Thornecroft  next  the  land  of  Henry  Faber, 
on  which  the  monks  might  build  a  grange  for  their  tithes.  John  de 
Meluer  and  his  brother  Henry  de  Meluer  both  witness  a  deed  dated 
1292,  and  John  de  Meluer  attests  an  undated  deed  of  Diana  de 
Plesyngton.  Adam  de  Meluer,  chaplain  at  Clitheroe  in  1343,  may  be 
named  as  of  this  family.  There  is  nothing  to  connect  these  De  Meluers 
with  the  manorial  lordship  of  Mellor. 

DESCENT  OF  MELLOR  MANOR. 

Melver  with  Heccleshall  were  detached  appurtenances  of  the  fee  of 
Walton,  held  by  Robert  Banaster  in  the  i2th  century.  But  the  uplands 
of  Mellor  were  early  severed  from  Walton  and  accounted  a  distinct 
manor,  held  by  the  lords  of  Samlesbury.  In  1311,  Nicholas  de  Evyas 
(of  a  family  then  holding  Samlesbury)  had  half  a  carucate  in  Melore  by 
the  service  of  the  i6th  part  of  a  knight's  fee,  paying  yearly  8d.  to  the 
Clyderhou  Court.  Sixty  years  or  so  later,  in  a  survey  of  Blackburnshire 
in  1377,  the  return  was  that  Gilbert  de  Southworth,  Adam  Turton,  and 
Agnes  del  Leghe  held  the  4th  part  of  a  knight's  fee  in  Mellor,  Eccleshall, 
and  Nether  Derwend,  by  26d.  per  annum  of  rent;  and  that  Richard  de 
Hoghton  held  one  knight's  fee  in  Walton,  Mellor,  and  Eccleshall.  The 
Southworths  of  Samlesbury  long  time  held  the  so-called  manor  of  Mellor 
by  socage  tenure  of  the  crown ;  and  at  the  death  of  Sir  John  South- 
worth,  in  1595,  his  Mellor  estate  consisted  of  30  messuages,  as  many 
gardens  and  orchards,  and  300  acres  of  land,  100  acres  meadow,  200 
acres  pasture,  200  acres  moor  and  moss,  100  acres  gorse  and  heath,  40 
acres  of  wood,  and  505.  of  rents ;  total  acreage  (besides  gardens  and 
orchards)  940  acres.  The  returned  yearly  value  of  the  estate  was  ^£50, 
and  the  service  payment  to  the  crown  was  i6d.  per  annum.  On  the 
death,  in  1642,  of  Thomas  Southworth,  Esq.,  who  owned  the  manorial 
estate  in  Mellor,  it  consisted  still  of  30  messuages  with  gardens,  900 
acres  of  land  (200  acres  being  moor  and  moss),  and  203.  of  rents.  This 
Thomas  Southworth  dying  unmarried,  the  next  heirs  to  the  estate  were 
his  two  sisters,  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Richard  Walmesley  of  Showley;  and 


PRESENT  LANDOWNERS  IN  MELLOR.  589 

Jane,  wife  of  Timothy  Sumpner  of  Chorley.  The  manor  and  lands  in 
Mellor  subsequently  were  partitioned  and  passed  by  mortgage  and  sale 
into  several  hands  in  succession.  Towards  the  close  of  the  last  century, 
Mr.  Henry  Sudell,  of  Blackburn,  purchased  several  freehold  estates  in 
Mellor,  some  of  which  had  been  originally  manor-lands,  and  imparked 
a  portion  of  them,  with  contiguous  lands  in  Pleasington  and  Samles- 
bury,  to  form  the  extensive  Woodfold  Park,  in  the  midst  of  which  stands 
Woodfold  Hall,  the  modern  manor-house  of  Mellor,  erected  by  Mr. 
Sudell  about  eighty  years  since.  The  hall  is  a  large  stone-built  mansion, 
having  a  handsome  south  frontage,  with  central  portico,  supported  by 
four  corinthian  columns.  A  stone  wall  four  miles  in  circuit,  and  nine 
feet  high,  encloses  Woodfold  Park.  Henry  Sudell,  Esq.,  held  his  court 
leet  for  the  manor  of  Mellor  until  the  year  1827,  when  (as  stated  in  an 
account  of  the  Sudell  family,  pp.  403-405),  his  commercial  losses  caused 
him  to  leave  Woodfold  Hall,  and  necessitated  the  sale  of  parts  of  the 
estate.  The  portion  of  Woodfold  Park  situate  within  Mellor,  and  the 
residue  of  the  manorial  estate,  had  been  settled  upon  Mr.  SudelPs  family. 
These  were  sold  to  Mr.  J.  F.  Hindle  in  1831.  The  present  owner,  and 
lord  of  the  manor,  is  George  Frederick  Gregory,  Esq.,  who  married  the 
only  surviving  daughter  and  heiress  of  William  Fowden  Hindle,  Esq. 
Mr.  Gregory  resides  in  London  ;  and  the  extent  of  his  estate  in  this  part 
of  Lancashire  is  stated  in  the  recent  Return  to  Parliament  at  836 
statute  acres,  with  an  estimated  rental  of  ^1673.  "  Stanley  House,"  an 
old  mansion  now  in  ruins,  situate  on  an  eminence  to  the  north  of  Wood- 
fold  Park,  is  said  to  have  been  anciently  the  manor-house  of  Mellor. 
In  the  second  half  of  the  1 7th  century  and  beginning  of  the  last  century 
a  branch  of  the  Yates  family  (later  of  Manchester),  resided  at  Stanley 
House  and  held  the  freehold  attached  to  it  (see  ante,  p.  409).  Subse- 
quently, Mr.  Ramsbottom  of  Chorley  acquired  the  estate  and  lived  at 
Stanley  House.  A  Mr.  J.  Bolton  was  next  possessor,  from  whom  Mr. 
Sudell  bought  this  portion  of  the  manor-lands  of  Mellor. 

Other  present  landowners  in  Mellor  are  : — Mr.  Henry  Hargreaves, 
who  has  184  statute  acres  ;  Nancy  Hargreaves  has  163^  acres  ;  Alice 
Hargreaves,  33  acres ;  and  Mr.  James  Shorrock,  who  has  in  Mellor  and 
Ramsgreave  179  acres. 

Below  are  notes  upon  several  old  yeoman  families  in  the  township. 

ABBOT  OF  ABBOT  HOUSE. 

Thomas  Abbot  of  Mellor,  was  buried  at  Blackburn,  Feb.  5th,  1624.  George 
Abbot  of  Mellor,  had  sons,  Thomas,  born  in  1620,  and  George,  born  in  1624. 

Thomas  Abbot  of  Mellor,  clerk,  son  of  George,  elected  a  Governor  of  Blackburn 
Grammar  School,  Dec.  2ist,  1676,  is  then  styled  "  Mr.  Thomas  Abbot  of  Mellor, 
gent. "  Mr.  Thomas  Abbot  of  Mellor  was  curate  of  Walton  and  Samlesbury  chapels 


59o  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

between  1675  and  1 688.  He  lived  at  Abbot  House,  where  a  room  is  known  as  the 
" Minister's  Room."  The  Blackburn  Burial  Registers  record: — "Thomas  Abbot, 
of  Mellor,  clerk,  buried  in  linnen,"  June  igth,  1688.  He  had  sons,  George  and  James. 

George  Abbot  of  Mellor,  son  of  George  and  brother  of  Thomas,  by  his  wife  Alice 
{who  died  in  June,  1663),  had  issue  ;  he  died  in  Nov.,  1680.  His  widow,  Mrs.  Alice 
Abbot,  died  in  1723. 

George  Abbot  of  Mellor,  yeoman,  son  of  the  minister,  named  in  the  Grammar 
School  books  in  1689,  had  sons,  Thomas,  living  in.  1722;  John;  George  ;  and  James, 
born  in  1703  ;  and  daughters,  Elizabeth,  born  in  1798  ;  Alice,  Mary,  and  Jane, 

John  Abbot  of  Mellor,  yeoman,  son  of  George,  died  in  April,  1738.  James 
Abbot  of  Mellor,  yeoman,  younger  son  of  George,  who  died  in  May,  1767,  had  a  son 
George,  buried  in  1744  ;  and  John.  He  was  enrolled  a  freeman  of  Preston  at  the 
Guild  in  1742,  and  died  in  1767. 

John  Abbot,  of  Abbot  House,  Mellor,  son  of  James,  being  reduced  in  means, 
sold  the  estate  to  Mr.  Sudell  of  Blackburn,  and  died  about  seventy  years  ago.  Late 
in  life  he  learnt  to  weave  on  the  hand-loom,  and  so  made  a  meagre  subsistence. 

ASPDEN  OF  ARLEYS. 

Arleys  in  Mellor  was  in  the  reigns  of  the  Tudor  sovereigns  the  estate  of  a  family 
named  Aspden,  which  also  had  a  small  freehold  in  Pleasington  adjacent.  In  1523, 
Richard  Aspden  was  assessed  to  a  Subsidy  for  lands  in  Pleasington.  In  the  27th 
Henry  VIII.  (1535),  Robert  Aspden  disputed  with  Peter  Stanley  the  title  to  lands  in 
Mellour. 

Robert  Aspeden,  in  the  6th  Edward  VI.  (1552-3),  prosecuted  Giles  Walmesley 
and  others  for  obstruction  of  right  of  way  to  a  messuage  called  Arley,  and  lands  and 
tenements  called  Oxleys  in  Mellor.  This  person  also,  in  the  4th  and  5th  Phil,  and 
Mary  (1557),  had  a  suit  in  the  Duchy  Court,  against  Oliver  and  Christopher  Whalley, 
and  Roger  Isherwoode,  respecting  a  disputed  right  of  way  from  a  messuage  in  Pleas- 
ington called  Bencoks,  over  Fulshawe  Meadow,  and  the  Hill  Close,  unto  several  in- 
closures  of  Hesketh,  and  a  way  from  a  messuage  called  Arley,  otherwise  Erley,  in 
Mellor,  to  the  Common  of  Plesington.  A  year  earlier,  the  same  Robert  Aspeden, 
claiming  by  right  of  inheritance,  disputed  with  the  same  defendants  a  claim  to  turbary 
and  pasture  on  Plesington  More,  in  right  of  messuages  called  Bencocks  and  Arley. 

Robert  Aspden  was  assessed  on  lands  in  Mellor  to  a  Subsidy  in  1570. 

"James  Aspden  of  Areleys,  gent.,"  appears  in  a  list  of  free  tenants  in  1584,  and 
again  in  1600. 

ASTLEY  OF  MELLOR,  &c. 

This  yeoman  family  was  a  branch  of  the  Astleys  of  Stakes,  whose  descent  is 
sketched  in  another  part  of  this  work.  James  Astley,  the  first  settled  in  Mellor,  was 
third  son  of  Randal  Astley  of  Eccleshill,  gent.,  third  son  of  Thomas  Astley  of  Stakes, 
gent.  James,  son  of  Randal  and  Margery  Astley,  was  baptized  Aug.  27th,  1615. 
James  Astley  died  about  1636,  and  an  escheat  taken  at  Blackburn,  July  8th,  nth 
Chas.  I.,  showed  that  James  Astley  had  died  seized  of  one  messuage,  two  gardens, 
one  orchard,  and  16  acres  of  land,  meadow,  and  pasture  in  Pleasington,  and  of  3  acres 
of  land  in  Mellor.  Giles  Astley  was  his  son  and  heir,  aged  50  years.  He  was  father  of— 

James  Astley  of  Witton  and  Mellor,  yeoman,  married,  Feb.  25th,  1682,  Katherine 
Walmsley,  but  she  would  be  a  second  wife,  for  James  Astley  had  twins,  son  and 
daughter  (James  and  Ann),  baptized  Dec.  igth,  1655.  By  his  wife  Katherine  he  had 
a  daughter  Ellen,  born  in  1690,  and  a  son  Henry,  born  in  Nov.,  1692.  James  Astley 
died  in  June,  1709  ;  in  his  Will,  dated  May  i6th,  1709,  he  names  his  wife  Katherine 


CLAYTON  OF  SHORROCK  GREEN. 


591 


and  his  son  James.  The  will  of  Catherine  Astley  of  Mellor,  no  doubt  the  widow  of 
James,  is  dated  1720. 

James  Astley  of  Mellor,  yeoman,  son  of  the  last  James,  had  sons,  James,  bapt. 
April  24th,  1698,  and  Henry,  bapt.  March  1 3th,  1705-6;  daughters,  Elizabeth, 
married  to  William  Clayton ;  and  Ellen,  wife  of  Lawrence  Walmsley.  In  his  Will, 
dated  Dec.  I5th,  1719,  James  Astley  names  his  sons  James  and  Henry,  and  his 
daughters  Ellen  Walmsley  and  Elizabeth  Clayton.  James  Astley  of  Mellor  was  buried 
|  at  Blackburn,  March  gth,  1719-20. 

James  Astley  of  Mellor  and  of  Bencock  Hall,  Pleasington,  yeoman,  married  Eliza- 
beth Bury,  of  Blackburn  (who  died  in  1736),  and  had  a  son  James.  The  Will  of 
|  James  Astley  of  Bencock  Hall,  Pleasington,  is  dated  1741.  He  died  in  May,  1752. 

James  Astley  of  Mellor,  married,  Nov.  3rd,  1 737,  Mary  Hesmondhalgh  of  Wilp- 
I  shire,  who  died  in  childbed  in  1740,  leaving  a  daughter  Mary,  bapt.  April  23rd,  1740. 
By  Elizabeth  his  wife  he  had  a  son  Henry,  bapt.  Aug.  I3th,  1750.  The  Will  of  James 
Astley  of  Mellor  is  dated  1 760.  Mrs.  Forrest,  of  Blackburn,  aged  80  in  1853,  said 
|  her  father  paid  rent  to  James  Astley  of  Mellor,  who  lived  at  Bencock  Hall,  Pleasington. 

CLAYTON  OF  BLACKBURN,  AND  SHORROCK  GREEN,  MELLOR. 

Giles  Clayton  of  Little  Harwood,  yeoman  and  chapman  (related  very  likely  to 
Ithe  Claytons  lords  of  Little  Harwood  Manor),  married  Catherine  Edge  of  Blackburn, 
|and  was  living  in  1653.     He  had  sons,   Leonard,   bapt.   May  26th,  1616  ;  Thomas  j 
md  Henry  (Hemy  Clayton  of  Little  Harwood,  died  in  Nov.,    1660);  and  daughters, 
| Anne,  born  in  1622  ;  and  Katherine,  bom  in  1628. 

The  eldest  son  of  Giles  Clayton  was   Rev.  Leonard  Clayton,   M.A.,   Vicar  of 
[Blackburn  from  1647  to  1677   (see  ante,  under  Vicars  of  Blackburn,   pp.   287-292). 
(Before  he  obtained  the  vicarage  of  Blackburn,  Mr.  Clayton  was  minister  at  Heyford, 
York,  where  his  first  child  was  born  in  1645.      By  Mary  his  wife  (who  survived 
lim  and  died  at  Mellor  in  Jan.  1686-7),  ne  nad  issue  a  son  John,  born  Tuesday,  Feb. 
ji9th,  1650;  and  daughters,  Elizabeth,  bapt.  Dec.   1st,    1645,   died  unmarried  before 
|l677 ;    and  Katherine,   born  at  Blackburn,   Nov.   3rd,  1647,   who  married,  first,  in 
[669,  Rev.  Henry  Warren,  Rector  of  Stockport,  who  died  in  1674;    and  secondly, 
fan.  2nd,  1678-9,  Robert  Holden  of  Holden,  Esq.,  and  died  a  widow  in  March,  1685. 
ricar  Clayton  died  in  Oct.,  1677,  aged  61. 

Thomas  Clayton  of  Blackburn,  chapman,  brother  of  the  Vicar  and  second  son  of 
riles  Clayton,  born  about  1620,  married,   Feb.   6th,  1653,  "  in  presence  of  Randal 
sharpies,  Justice  of  the  Peace, "  Jane  Hindley ;  and  had  a  son  William  ;  and  also,  I 
think,  a  son  Giles — "  Giles  Clayton  of  Blackburn,"  who  had  sons,  William,   born  in 
1683;  Leonard,  born  in   1684;    and  Giles,   born  in  1686.       "Thomas  Clayton  of 
Blackburn,  chapman, "  aged  then  68,  was  a  deponent  in  the  case  respecting  Langho 
"hapel  in  1688  ;  and  stated  that  "whilst  deponent's  brother  was  Vicar  of  Blackburn, 
/hich  was  about  30  years  together,  he  (deponent)  did  usually  one  or  twice  every  year 
with  his  said  brother  to  Langho  Chapell,  and  heard  him  preach  and  pray  there  in 
[he  service  and  liturgy  of  the  Church  of  England,"  and  was  present  at  Langho  Chapel 
/hen  his  brother,  Vicar  Clayton,  « '  did  marry  one  Oliver  Whalley  to  his  now  wife, 
/ho  being  deponent's  relation  he  did  there  give  her  in  marriage  to  the  said  Oliver 
rhalley."     Thomas  Clayton  died  in   1694  (his  gravestone  is  in  Blackburn  Parish 
Churchyard),  and  his  son,  William  Clayton  of  Blackburn  (who  died  in   1725)  had  by 
iis  wife  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  James  Astley  of  Mellor,  yeoman,  a  son,  Thomas  Clay- 
Jon,  yeoman,  who  died  in  1759  ;  and  his  son,  William  Clayton,  died  in  1762. 

John  Clayton  of  Shorrock  Green,  Mellor,  gent.,   was  the  only  son  of    Rev. 


592  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Leonard  Clayton.  He  married,1  in  1672,  "Mrs.  Davenport"  (who  had  a  marriage 
portion  of  £$oo);  an<^  na(^  issue,  sons,  William,  bapt.  Sept.  9th,  1673,  died  unmar- 
ried ;  Thomas  Clayton  (described  as  "  of  London,  gent."  on  the  Guild  Roll  of  Preston 
in  1722,  and  "  Mr.  Thomas  Clayton  of  London  "  was  made  a  Governor  of  Blackburn 
Grammar  School  in  1735);  Leonard,  died  young  in  1679;  John,  born  and  died  in 
1684;  Davenport,  born  and  died  in  1686;  a  second  Leonard,  bapt.  Nov.  26th,  1688, 
of  Mellor  in  1717,  when  he  married  Ann  Cowell,  of  Samlesbury,  and  was  living 
in  1722 ;  a  second  Davenport,  bapt.  Nov.  26th,  1689 ;  a  second  John,  born  in 
1693 ;  and  daughters,  Anna,  born  in  1675  ;  Mary,  born  in  1676  ;  Katherine,  born  in 
1678;  and  Margaret,  born  in  1683. 

Davenport  Clayton,  son  of  John,  a  burgess  of  Preston  in  1722,  had  sons,  John, 
and  Thomas,  both  enrolled  with  their  father  at  the  Guild  of  1722.  Thomas  Clayton, 
the  second  son,  had  sons  John  and  Thomas. 

HAYDOCK  OF  MELLOR. 

I  have  made  out  no  connected  descent  of  this  family  of  yeomen.  The  subjoined 
names  occur.  George  Haydock  of  Mellor  died  in  June,  1670.  Thomas  Haydock  of 
Mellor  was  taxed  to  a  Subsidy  in  1663.  John  Haydock  of  Mellor  had  a  son  Law- 
rence, born  in  1690.  Lawrence  Haydock  of  Mellor,  yeoman,  had  sons,  Lawrence, 
born  in  1701 ;  and  John,  born  in  1705.  George  Haydock  of  Mellor,  yeoman,  had  by 
Ann  his  wife  a  son  Lawrence,  born  in  1729,  and  other  issue.  John  Haydock  of 
Mellor,  yeoman,  died  in  1753 ;  and  another  John  Haydock,  yeoman,  died  in  May, 
1760.  James  Haydock  of  Mellor  married,  by  license,  Sept,  2 1st,  1734,  Jane  Loftus 
of  Mellor.  Lawrence  Haydock  of  Blackburn,  probably  the  son  of  Lawrence,  of 
Mellor,  born  in  1701,  married,  by  license,  Feb.  loth,  1740-1,  Mary  Bracewell  of 
Goosnargh.  Mr.  Thomas  Haydock  of  Mellor  had  a  daughter  who  married  Mr.  Ed- 
mund Haworth  of  Lower  Darwen. 

HOGHTON  OF  MELLOR. 

Thomas  Hoghton,  of  Mellor,  was  assessed  for  his  lands  to  a  Subsidy  in  157°-  A 
later  Thomas  Hoghton,  gent.,  of  Mellor,  married  Matilda,  daughter  of  Robert 
Hoghton  of  Extwistle.  This  Thomas  Hoghton  paid  Blackburn  Grammar  School 
Trustees,  in  1641,  £10  rent  for  lands  in  Mellor ;  and  Thomas  Hoghton  of  Mellor  held 
a  freehold  in  Blackburn  Wapentake  in  1650,  and  paid  6d.  to  Clitheroe  Court. 


OSBALDESTON  OF  MELLOR. 


1 


Thomas  Osbaldeston  of  Mellor,  yeoman,  appears  as  a  juror  in  1611-12-13-17; 

i  From  the  MSS.  of  the  late  Nicholas  Grimshaw,  Esq.,  I  have  the  following  : — Oct.  ist,  1672, 
Rev.  Leonard  Clayton,  being  seized  in  fee  of  Shorrock  Green  tenement,  did,  previous  to  the  marriage 
of  his  son  John  with  Mrs.  Davenport,  and  in  order  to  it,  covenant  to  convey  the  said  estate  within 
twelve  months  after  the  marriage  to  the  use  of  himself  for  life,  remainder  to  the  son  in  fee.  By  the 
same  articles  it  is  covenanted  that  Mrs.  Davenport's  portion,  .£500,  shall  be  laid  out  on  land,  and  that 
such  new  purchased  land  shall  be  assured  to  the  use  of  the  son  and  his  intended  wife  for  their  lives, 
and  the  life  of  the  survivor  of  them,  remainder  to  their  heirs  male,  &c.,  remainder  to  the  husband  in 
taile  male,  remainder  to  his  right  heirs.  John  Clayton  and  Mrs.  Davenport  intermarried  ;  and  on  May 
3oth,  1673,  Leonard  Clayton  by  demise  reciting  the  articles  grants  the  premises  for  80  years  in  trust  to 
permit  Leonard  and  his  assigns  to  enjoy  the  same  during  such  part  of  the  term  as  he  should  live. 
After  the  death  of  Rev.  Leonard  Clayton  and  his  wife,  John  Clayton  his  son  granted  the  premises  in 
fee  to  Thomas  Winckley  in  mortgage  by  lease  and  release  and  covenants  that  he  with  his  wife  should 
leyy  a  fine  thereof  to  him  ;  which  was  done.  July  gth,  1695,  Thomas  Winckley  and  John  Clayton 
granted  Shorrock  Green  tenement  to  Benjamin  Hoghton  in  fee,  who  granted  it  in  fee  to  Robert  Shar- 
pies, who  regranted  it  by  way  of  mortgage  to  Mr.  Hoghton  in  fee.  John  Clayton  and  his  wife  were 
both  dead  before  Dec.,  1706,  leaving  issue  male  then  living. 


STANLEY  AND  WALMSLEY  OF  MELLOR. 


593 


and  this,  or  a  younger  Thomas  Osbaldeston  of  Mellor,  occurs  as  a  juror  in  1637.  Thomas 
Osbaldeston  of  Mellor  died  in  Feb.,  1672-3.  Ellen  Osbaldeston  of  Mellor,  widow, 
died  in  June,  1687.  Another  Thomas  Osbaldeston  ot  Mellor  had  sons,  Thomas,  born 
in  1683,  and  Joshua,  born  in  1687  ;  also  a  daughter,  Abigail,  born  in  1685.  Other  of 
the  Mellor  Osbaldestons  were  : — Robert,  died  in  Oct.,  1683  ;  Margery  Osbaldeston, 
widow,  died  in  Oct.,  1689.  Christopher  Osbaldeston  died  in  1681.  Robert  Osbal- 
deston, yeoman,  of  Mellor,  died  in  July,  1732;  and  Edward  Osbaldeston,  of  Mellor, 
married,  in  1742,  Alice  Hague  of  Blackburn.  John  Osbaldeston  of  Mellor  and 
Eccleshill,  husbandman,  married,  March  3rd,  1700-1,  Esther  Moulding,  widow. 

STANLEY  OF  MELLOR. 

Peter  Stanley  of  Mellor  occurs  in  1532  (24th  Henry  VIII. ),  when  he  disputed  with 
Robert  Aspeden  and  others,  servants  of  Sir  Thomas  Southworthe,  Knt. ,  the  title  to  a 
messuage,  lands,  woodlands,  &c.,  in  Mellor.  Three  years  later  Peter  Stanley  was 
against  Robert  Aspden  and  Geoffrey  Cowper  in  a  suit  concerning  a  disputed  title  to 
lands  in  Mellor.  Again,  in  the  3rd  Edw.  VI.  (1549),  Peter  Stanley  was  plaintiff, 
William  Woclcock  and  others  defendants,  in  a  cause  as  to  a  disputed  title  to  a  messuage, 
lands,  &c.,  and  right  of  way  over  a  certain  parcel  of  land  called  Barker's  Lane  to 
Mellor  Moor,  and  to  common  of  pasture  and  turbary  there. 

In  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  Thomas  Stanleye  of  Mellor  was  fined  at  the  manor 
court  of  Samlesbury,  for  "  pulinge  one  saplinge  spyre  in  the  Grenehurst  the  which  his 
man  caryed  awaye  upon  his  necke. "  "  Thomas  Stanley  de  Melore,  gent,"  occurs  as  a 
Freeholder  in  1600,  and  as  a  juror  in  1617  ;  again  in  a  list  of  freeholders  in  1621. 

WALMSLEY  OF  MELLOR. 

The  Mellor  Walmsleys  are  described  both  as  of  Whitecroft  and  the  Reaps  ;  their 
status  was  that  of  yeomen  or  lesser  gentry.  Richard  Walmisley  of  Mellor  was  taxed 
to  the  Subsidy  of  1610-11.  James  Walmesley,  senior,  of  Mellor,  died  in  June,  1614. 

James  Walmesley  of  Mellor,  yeoman,  died  July  26th,  1616,  and  on  inquisition  at 
Blackburn,  the  3rd  Oct.  following,  it  appeared  that  he  had  held  lands  in  Mellor  of 
Thomas  Southworth  in  free  socage. 

Henry  Walmesley  of  Mellor,  gent.,  son  and  heir  of  James,  aged  30  in  1616, 
appears  as  a  juror  in  1617,  and  as  witness  to  a  deed  dated  1620.  He,  or  a  younger 
Henry  Walmsley,  of  this  township,  was  elected  a  governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar 
School  in  1634,  and  was  living  in  1656. 

James  Walmsley  of  Mellor,  of  the  same  generation  with  Henry,  occurs  in  1620  ; 
lie  had  a  son  Christopher  born  in  1626,  and  was  a  governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar 
School  in  1660.  James  Walmsley  of  Whitecroft  died  in  June,  1671. 

Henry  Walmsley  of  Mellor,  attorney,  was  a  governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar 
School  in  1647.  His  wife,  Ellen,  died  in  Dec.,  1672. 

One  Henry  Walmsley,  of  Mellor,  described  as  "clericus,"  married  Margaret 
Aspden,  May  5th,  1677,  and  had  issue — James,  born  and  died  in  1681  ;  Jeffrey,  born 
in  1686  ;  Henry,  born  in  1688  ;  a  second  James,  born  in  1695  >  Edward  ;  and  Peter  ; 
arah,  born  Sept.  I7th,  1684;  Elizabeth,  born  in  1689;  and  Alice,  born  in  1691. 
Henry  Walmsley  of  Mellor,  gent,  was  elected  a  governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar 
[School,  July  ist,  1678.  He  died  in  1708. 

The  branch  seated  at  Reaps,  in  Mellor,  included  : — James  Walmesley,  of  the 
Reaps,  who  by  his  wife  Ann  (she  died,  a  widow,  in  Dec.,  1684),  had  Giles,  born  in 
1658.  Giles  Walmsley  of  Reaps,  yeoman,  died  in  Sept.,  1711.  He  had  issue: — 
foyce,  born  in  i68f  ;  James,  born  in  1685  ;  Henry,  died  in  1701  ;  Thomas,  born  in 

38 


594  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

1691  ;  Michael  and  Richard,  twins,  born  in  1697  (Michael  died  in  1699) ;  a  second 
Henry,  born  in  1702;  Martha,  born  in  1687,  died  in  1700;  and  Jane,  born  in  1700. 
James  Walmsley,  of  Mellor,  who  died  in  1734,  was,  I  conjecture,  the  son  of  Giles. 
Later  members  are  indistinguishable. 

WARD  OF  MELLOR. 

John  Ward,  of  Mellor,  was  assessed  on  lands  to  the  Subsidy  of  1523.  Robert 
Ward  was  taxed  on  his  lands  in  Mellor  to  a  Subsidy  in  1570.  "John  Ward  of  Meller, 
the  elder,"  was  reported  as  a  "recusant  "  in  1586. 

John  Ward  of  Mellor,  who  died  on  Nov.  3rd,  34th  Elizabeth  (1591),  was  found 
by  inquisition  taken  April  4th,  1594,  to  have  owned  three  messuages,  one  cottage,  &c., 
20  acres  of  land,  14  acres  of  meadow,  30  acres  of  pasture,  and  4  acres  of  woodland 
in  Mellor,  Button,  and  Oswaldtwistle.  The  lands  in  Mellor  were  held  of  John  South- 
worth,  Knt. ;  those  in  Dutton  of  Henry  Townley,  gent. ;  and  those  in  Oswaldtwistle  of 
Robert  Barton,  Esq. ,  and  his  heirs.  James  Ward  was  son  and  heir  of  John,  aged,  at 
the  escheat,  13  years,  n  months,  and  10  days. 

James  Ward  of  Mellor,  by  Jane  his  wife,  had  a  son  Richard,  and  daughters  Janet 
and  Thomasine.  James  Ward  was  assessed  for  lands  in  Mellor  to  the  Subsidy  of  1611. 

Richard  Ward,  of  Mellor,  succeeds  James.  The  inquisition  after  his  death  was  taken 
at  Preston,  April  26th,  2oth  James  I  (1622).  It  was  returned  that  Richard  Ward  was 
expectant  possessor  in  rendition,  after  the  death  of  Jane  Ingham,  the  wife  of  Robert 
Ingham,  and  late  wife  of  James  Ward,  late  father  of  Richard  Ward,  of  one  messuage 
with  appurtenances  in  Mellor,  with  16  acres  of  land,  6  of  meadow,  and  14  of  pasture, 
&c.;  that  Richard  Ward  had  died  at  Mellor,  March  I7th,  i8th  James  I.  (1620-1);  that 
Janet  Cowborne,  late  wife  of  Thomas  Cowborne,  and  Thomasine  Ward  were  sisters 
and  co-heirs  of  Richard  Ward  ;  and  that  the  said  Janet  had  died  on  the  2Oth  Decem- 
ber, 1621,  leaving  issue,  by  Thomas  Cowburne,  Richard  Cowburne,  son  and  heir, 
aged  6  years,  10  months,  and  15  days;  and  Thomasine  Ward,  living  at  Mellor,  was 
next  heir  of  Richard  Ward,  &c. 

These  succeeding  members  occur : — James  Ward  of  Mellor,  left  a  bequest, 
paid  in  1634,  to  the  Grammar  School  of  Blackburn.  John  Ward,  Doctor  of 
Physic,  was  made  a  Governor  of  the  Grammar  School  in  1637.  William  Ward  of 
Mellor,  assessed  to  a  Subsidy  in  1663,  was  buried  March  2Oth,  1671.  By  Mary  his 
wife  (she  died  in  1677)  he  had  sons,  George,  born  in  1636  ;  William  (died  in  1696,  by 
his  wife  Elizabeth  had  a  son  Richard,  &c. );  and  other  issue.  George  Ward  of 
Mellor  married  in  1686,  Alice  Morris,  and  had  sons,  Thomas,  born  in  1687,  died  in 
infancy;  John,  born  in  1689,  died  young;  and  other  issue.  George  Ward  of  Mellor 
married,  Dec.  3ist,  1739,  Ellen  Piccop  of  Balderstone  (buried,  aged  76,  May  5th,  1788), 
and  had  sons,  John,  bapt.  Nov.  22nd,  1747  ;  George,  born  in  1749  ;  William,  born  in 
1753;  and  other  issue.  George  Ward  of  Mellor,  conveyed,  in  1747,  for  ^113,  his  free- 
hold^estate  in  Mellor  to  the  Governors  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School,  and  in  Dec., 
1749,  had  a  lease  of  School  lands  in  Mellor  for  99  years,  or  lives  of  himself  and  son. 

WHITHALGH  OF  LIVESEY  AND  MELLOR. 

The  family  of  Whithalgh  had  freeholds  in  Livesey  and  Mellor  in  the  sixteenth 
century.  James  Whythalgh  was  taxed  on  lands  in  Mellor  to  the  Subsidy  of  1523. 

James  Whithalgh  was  named  a  first  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in 
its  charter  (1567),  and  dying  about  1569,  was  by  escheat  of  the  1 2th  Elizabeth   found 
to  have  held  messuages,  lands,  and  woodlands  in  Lyvesay,   Mellor,  Cuerden,  and  Os-   ' 
waldtwistle.      His  widow — "  Uxor  James  Whithalgh,"  was  assessed  on  lands  in  Live- 
sey to  a  Subsidy  in  1570. 


PLACES  OF  WORSHIP  IN  MELLOR. 


595 


Richard  Whithalgh,  gent.,  succeeded,  and  in  1595  held  lands  in  Mellor  under  Sir 
fohn  South  worth  ;  he  is  found  on  a  list  of  freeholders  dated   1600.      He  died  the  5th 
May,    1601,   his  eldest  son  being  under  age,    having  conveyed  his  estates  in  trust, 
is  stated  in  }he  record  of  the  Duchy  escheat,  taken  the  5th  July,  44th   Eliz.,  before 
dvvard  Leigh,  Esq.,  Escheator.     It  was  then  found  that  "  Richard  Whitehalgh,  late 
>f  Mellor,"  was  seized  at  death  of  10  messuages,    10  gardens,    60  acres   of  land,   20 
:res  of  meadow,  60  acres  of  pasture,    and  2  acres  of  woodland  in   Mellor,   held  of 
'homas  Southworth  in  free  socage  ;  also  of  estates  in  Oswaldtwistle,  held   of  Robert 
Jarton  by  knight  service ;  in  Livesey,  held  of  John  Livesey  in  free  socage ;  and  in 
luerden. 

James  Whithalgh,  of  Whithalgh,  gent,  was  found  son  and  heir  of  Richard,  aged 
years,  II  months,  and  12  days.      James  Whithalghe  was  assessed  on  lands  in  Live- 
sy  to  a  Subsidy  in  1610-11.       I  find  him  serving  as  a  juror  in  1608,  1615,  and  1617  ; 
ind  witness  to  a  deed  in  1620.     He  was  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in 
[628.     He  appears  to  have  had  sons,  Richard  ;  Henry,  born  in  1608  ;  James,  born  and 
lied  in  1614;  John,  died  in  1624;  Uriah  and  Thomas;  daughters,  Mary,  born  in  1616; 
ind  Ann,  died  in  1632.     His  wife — "  Uxor  James  Whithalgh,  gent." — was  buried  at 
Jlackburn,  Feb.  25th,  1635-6.       "Ann  Whitehalgh,   de   Livesey,"  buried  in   1652, 
lay  have  been  a  sister  of  James.       In  the  year  1625  (ist  Chas.  I.),  James  Whithalgh 
Conveyed  an  estate  in  Mellor  to  trustees  to   the  use  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School, 
estate  is  described  in  a  deed,  dated  1687,  as  "the   Messuage  and  tenement  with 
|ippurtenances  situate  in  Mellor,  known  by  the  name  of  Whithalgh  House,  or  Whit- 
lalgh  tenement,  with  several  closes  containing  2$  acres  of  land,  meadow  and  pasture, 
leretofore  in  possession  of  Richard  Whithalgh,  gent,   deceased;  and  also  the  new 
^arne  and  close  called  Sedge  Hole,  lately  improved  and  inclosed  from  the  common  or 
iste  of  Mellor,  heretofore  in  tenure  of  James  Whithalgh,    gent.,  deceased."      The 
indors   in  1625  were  James  Whithalgh,  gent.,   and   Ralph  Walkden,  of  Livesey, 
•oman. 

Richard  Whithalgh,    I   think  a  son  of  James,  was  made  a  trustee,   in  1649,  of 
lalph  Walmsley's  gift  to  Tockholes  Church.     In  1663,  Richard  Whithalgh  was  taxed 
the  Subsidy  on  lands  in  Livesey. 

Henry  Whithalgh,  a  younger  son  of  James,  is  witness  to  a  deed  of  the  Grammar 
fchool  trustees  in  1657.  "Henry  Whithalgh  of  Livesey,  gent,"  appears  on  the 
ruild  Roll  of  Preston  in  1642,  as  do  also  his  brothers,  Lawrence,  Uriah,  and  Thomas. 

PLACES  OF  WORSHIP. 

CHURCH  OF  ST.  MARY.— The  church  was  built  and  consecrated  in  1829.      The 
st  was  ^5584,  defrayed  by  a   grant  of  that  sum  from  the  Parliamentary  Commis- 
loners,  dated  July  gth,  1830.     The  church  is  a  spacious   fabric  in  the  early  English 
cyle,  consisting  of  nave,  chancel  apse,  vestry,  and  western  tower,  beneath  which  is 
chief  entrance.       The  interior  has  a  gallery  at  the  west  end  in  which  the  organ  is 
iced.     Sittings,  772-     Henry  Sudell,  Esq.,  lord  of  the  Manor,  gave  the  site  for  the 
lurch  ;  and  was  a  benefactor  to  the  endowment.     The  value  of  the  living,  originally 
74,  has  been  twice  augmented  by  the  Ecclesiastical  Commissioners  ;  first,   in  1850, 
.£150,  and  recently  to  ^300  per  annum.     The  Vicar  of  Blackburn  is  patron.     In- 
ibents  in    succession  : — Rev.    Francis    Kirkpatrick  ;  Rev.   —   Gregory  ;  Rev.  H. 
3we,  B.  A. ;  Rev.  G.  R.  G.  Pughe.     The  plain  square  tower  and  dwarf  spire  of  the 
irch  form,  from  its  elevated  situation  at  the  western  edge  of  Mellor  Moor,   a  con- 
:uous  feature  of  the  landscape  in  Lower  Ribblesdale. 
WESLEYAN  CH^APEL,  MELLOR  MOOR. — A  tradition  exists  among  the  Methodists 


596 


HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


of  Mellor  that  Wesley  preached  there  in  one  of  his  journeys  across  the  parish.  A 
society  of  Wesleyans  was  formed  in  Mellor  about  a  century  ago,  and  their  meeting- 
place  for  some  years  was  a  room  at  Abbot  House.  Then  they  found  a  singular  place  for 
their  service  in  the  old  windmill  on  Mellor  Moor,  now  a  ruin  ;  this  was  fitted  with 
benches  and  a  gallery.  The  Mellor  society  occurs  in  1790  on  the  books  of  Blackburn 
Circuit  as  a  contributor  to  the  Circuit  Fund.  In  1802,  a  small  chapel  was  built  on  the 
north  side  of  the  road  which  crosses  the  Moor.  In  1809,  the  society  reckoned  98 
members.  The  chapel  has  been  twice  enlarged  and  several  times  improved  since  the 
first  erection  on  the  site  74  years  ago.  It  now  appears  a  convenient  fabric  of  simple 
design,  surrounded  by  a  grave-yard.  The  interior  is  fitted  with  galleries  ;  and  a  new 
organ,  costing  ^300,  was  recently  placed  in  the  chapel.  The  sittings  are  about  400. 

MELLOR  BROOK  WESLEYAN  CHAPEL.— A  second  Methodist  society  was  formed 
in  the  township  in  1843.  The  preaching-place  was  for  some  years  a  room  in  Messrs. 
Eccles'  mill  at  Mellor  Brook.  In  1852,  a  chapel  was  built  at  Mellor  Brook  for  the 
use  of  inhabitants  of  this  part  of  Mellor,  Balderstone,  and  Osbaldeston.  The  site 
was  given  by  Mrs.  Brierley  and  Mr.  Thomas  Counsell.  The  chapel  is  a  small  brick 
structure,  and  contains  210  sittings. 

ECCLESHILL  TOWNSHIP— ANCIENT  LANDOWNERS. 

The  township  of  Eccleshill  extends  over  the  acclivities  of  the  hill 
(alluded  to  in  the  name  itself)  to  the  south  of  Lower  Darwen,  from 
which  it  is  separated  by  the  Eccleshill  Brook  ;  the  Darwen  river  being 
the  natural  boundary  on  the  west.  The  area  of  the  township  is  792  statute 
acres.  The  population  at  each  decade  from  1801  to  1871  has  been  : — 
In  1801,  346  ;  1811,  374  ;  1821,  456  ;  1831,  715  ;  1841,  510  ;  1851, 
598  ;  1 86 1,  543  ;  1871,  633.  The  soil  is  poor  and  the  situation  bleak. 
The  local  coal  measures  extend  underneath  the  land,  and  the  Eccleshill 
coal  mines  have  been  worked  at  least  three  centuries.  Extensive  iron- 
smelting  works  have  been  erected  recently  in  the  township.  A  branch 
railway  for  mineral  transit  from  Hoddlesden  to  the  junction  with  the 
Lancashire  and  Yorkshire  line  from  Bolton  to  Blackburn  traverses  the 
hill-side  in  Eccleshill. 

From  the  early  period  when  Eccleshull  was,  as  I  have  before  stated, 
an  appurtenance  of  the  lords  of  Walton,  to  the  present  date,  its  lands 
have  been  possessed  by  sundry  proprietors.  The  first  resident  owners 
of  the  soil  bore  the  township's  name  for  a  surname.  They  were  bene- 
factors to  Stanlaw  Abbey  about  the  date  1250-1270.  Robert  de  Eccles- 
hull gave  to  the  monks  of  that  convent  one  perch  of  land  "in  his  vill 
of  Eccleshull "  for  the  site  of  a  barn,  lying  on  the  "  west  side  of  the 
Bruderudyng  between  Hoddisdenebrok  [Hoddlesden  Brook]  and  the 
Mill  of  Eccleshull."  A  little  later,  after  this  donor's  death,  Matilda,  , 
relict  of  Robert  de  Eccleshull,  quit-claimed  to  the  Abbey  of  Stanlaw  her 
right  in  the  land  he  gave  in  the  vill  of  Eccleshull.  Henry  de  Eccles- 
hull, who  occurs  in  1214,  perhaps  was  father  of  the  above  Robert.  I 
conjecture  that  the  De  Eccleshull  family  were  akin  to  the  Grimshaws, 


THE  MANOR  OF  ECCLESHILL.  597 

who  succeed  them  in  this  possession.  In  1276  or  1277,  Richard  de 
Grymeshagh  gave  to  the  monks  of  Stanlaw  half  an  acre  of  land  in  the 
vill  of  Eccleshull,  contained  in  a  croft  called  Bymmecroft,  with  easement 
and  liberty  to  take  timber  there  in  his  (donor's)  lordship.  Grymeshaw 
was  a  tenement  in  Eccleshill  beside  the  stream  below  Hoddlesden,  and 
the  family  that  named  itself  from  this  place  of  settlement  became,  temp. 
Edward  III.,  lords  of  half  the  manor  of  Clayton-les-Moors  by  marriage 
of  Adam  de  Grymeshaw  with  Cecilia,  daughter  and  heir  of  John  de 
Clayton.  Thereafter,  the  Grimshaws  dwelt  at  Clayton  Hall,  but  they 
retained  the  estate  in  Eccleshill  for  many  generations.  It  was  found 
part  of  the  inheritance  of  the  heir  of  Thomas  Grimeshawe,  after  his 
death,  in  1540 ;  and  John  Grymshaw,  who  died  in  1587,  also  was  found 
on  the  Inq.  post  mort.  to  have  held  these  ancestral  lands  in  Eccleshill. 
I  have  not  found  when  the  estate  passed  from  this  family.  They  had  it 
still  in  1650,  when,  in  a  Rental  of  Blackburn  Wapentake,  it  was  found 
that  "  Grimshall  Hall "  in  Eccleshill  paid  6d.  yearly  to  that  court,  and 
"Mr.  Grimshaws  tennants  "  there  is.  yearly. 

The  modern  succession  of  owners  of  the  manor  lands  of  Eccleshill 
include  Claytons  of  Adlington,  who  sold  them  to  Wilsons  of  Preston  Old 
Bank  ;  and  on  the  sale  of  the  estates  of  Wilson  in  1848,  the  purchaser 
of  Eccleshill  manor  was  the  late  James  Hodgson  of  Liverpool,  in  whose 
trustees  it  is  now  vested,  and  consists  of  the  tenements  of  Brocklehead, 
Grimshaw,  Bent,  Eccleshill  Fold,  Shaw  Fold,  Holden  Fold,  and  Lower 
Eccleshill,  having  a  total  acreage  of  about  436  acres. 

The  Manor  of  Eccleshill  was  notified  for  public  sale  on  the  27th  of  July,  1848, 
and  was  then  described  as  "  all  that  manor  or  lordship,  or  reputed  manor  or  lordship 
of  Eccleshill,"  and  the  messuages,  lands,  quarries  of  freestone,  mines  of  coal,  &c.  The 
estate  consisted  of  the  farms  of  Lower  Eccleshill,  containing  6ia.  3r.  3p.  statute 
measure  ;  of  Eccleshill  Fold,  consisting  of  three  farms,  together  125  acres,  with  an  Inn, 
wheelwright's  shop,  and  several  houses  and  cottages  ;  of  another  farm  containing  63 
acres  ;  of  a  public-house,  dwelling-house,  cottages,  and  a  farm  of  29^  acres  ;  of  Shaw 
Fold  farm,  29^  acres  ;  Harwood  Fold,  46^  acres,  with  several  houses,  gardens,  &c. ; 
Brockle-Head,  97  acres,  with  several  houses  and  cottages  ;  altogether  about  452 
statute  acres  ;  also,  a  commuted  rent-charge  in  lieu  of  tithes  issuing  out  of  lands  in 
Eccleshill,  being  ^"25  l6s.  9>^d.  yearly  ;  the  ground-rents  of  several  houses  in  Eccles- 
hill, £10  12s.  3d.  yearly;  the  mines  of  coal  under  part  of  the  said  estates  called  the 
"  New  Mine  north  of  Eccleshill, "  and  the  remaining  coal  to  be  got  in  the  Great  and 
Little  Coal  of  the  Old  Mines,  then  in  lease  to  Messrs.  Johnson  and  Brandwood  ;  also 
the  valuable  and  extensive  Mines  of  Coal  called  the  "  Deep  Mine,"  under  part  of  the 
said  estates,  of  which  no  part  had  been  got  ;  the  whole  of  the  estates  being  tithe  free. 

The  Osbaldestons,  lords  of  Osbaldeston,  from  a  remote  date 
asserted  some  proprietary  right  in  Eccleshill ;  but  their  estate  in  the 
township  was  limited,  I  imagine,  to  the  one  tenement  called  David 
Field  House  ;  and  this  was  sold  by  John  Osbaldeston  to  Sir  Richard 


598  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Shuttleworth  in  1592.  This  estate  still  belongs  to  the  Shuttleworths  of 
Gawthorpe ;  and  the  lands  of  Sir  James  P.  Kay-Shuttleworth  in  Eccles- 
hill  now  comprise  the  Davy  Field  farm,  of  42}^  acres,  and  Whinsey 
tenement  of  6  acres. 

Other  present  landowners  in  Eccleshill  are,  Mr.  Adam  Bullough  of 
Waterside,  54  acres ;  Mr,  Wm.  Pickup,  44  acres ;  Bolton  Grammar 
School,  36^  acres;  Rev.  Charles  Greenway,  19  acres;  Mrs.  Nevill, 
Lower  Grimshaw,  29}^  acres;  Mr.  James  Hope,  22^  acres;  and  Mr. 
Blake  Jepson,  5  acres. 

An  estate  in  Eccleshill,  which  belongs  to  the  Free  Grammar  School 
of  Bolton,  was  purchased  by  the  Governors  for  the  sum  of  ,£890  ;  and 
conveyed  to  them  by  indentures  of  lease  and  release,  dated  the  1 6th  and 
1 7th  May,  1796,  between  Thomas  Eccles  and  Joseph  Peel,  of  the  first 
part;  Benjamin  Rawson  and  John  Ridgway  of  the  second  part;  and  the 
Governors  of  the  Free  Grammar  School  of  Bolton  of  the  third  part. 
The  estate  consists  of  two  dwelling  houses  and  lands  containing  36 
statute  acres,  called  Waterside  ;  with  a  chief  rent  of  2o^d.  and  two 
barbed  arrows,  payable  out  of  lands  then  belonging  to  Sir  Richard  Clay- 
ton, Bart,  later  the  property  of  the  late  Mr.  Wilson.  The  Bolton  School 
Governors  also  possess  a  farm  called  Bell  Coney  in  Upper  Darwen,  pur- 
chased in  1818  from  George  Yates  for  ^£51 6  ;  containing  io)4  statute 
acres.  At  Waterside  the  old  farm-house  on  the  estate  is  reputed  to  be 
the  ancient  manor-house  of  Eccleshill. 

Subjoined  are  short  notes  of  several  of  the  old  freeholding  families 
of  Eccleshill. 

ECCLES  OF  ECCLESHILL. 

The  old  yeoman  family  of  Eccles  had  lands  in  Eccleshill  (from  the  name  of 
which  the  family  surname  probably  was  derived),  as  well  as  in  the  adjoining  townships 
of  Pickup  Bank  and  Lower  Darwen.  (An  account  of  several  branches  of  the  family 
has  been  inserted  under  Lower  Darwen  township,  pp.  475-7.)  Mr.  Thomas  Eccles, 
of  Pickup  Bank  and  Lower  Darwen,  sold  his  freehold  in  Eccleshill  to  the  Governors 
of  Bolton  Grammar  School  in  1796. 

FISH  OF  ECCLESHILL. 

Rauf  Fish  of  Eccleshill  was  taxed  to  a  King's  Subsidy  in  1610.  After  him  occurs 
Thomas  Fish,  of  Eccleshill,  who  was  elected  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar 
School  in  1635.  He  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Richard  Hoghton,  gent,  of  Red- 
lee,  Tockholes,  and  was  named  an  executor  under  the  Will  of  his  brother-in-law, 
Gilbert  Hoghton,  gent.,  in  1639  (see  Hoghton  of  Tockholes).  Thomas  Fish,  gent.,  I 
lived  in  the  old  house  at  Eccleshill  Fold  which  is  now  accounted  the  manor-house  of 
Eccleshill,  and  upon  the  lintel  of  the  doorway  of  the  older  portion  of  the  house  are  cut 
the  initials  "T  E  F"  (Thomas  and  Elizabeth  Fish),  with  the  date  "1641."  He 
probably  was  father  of  John  Fish  of  Eccleshill,  who  occurs  in  1684;  after  whom 
comes  Mr.  John  Fish  of  Eccleshill,  yeoman  and  chapman,  who  married,  May  I4th, 


SHORROCK  OF  WATERSIDE.  599 

1700,  Ellen  Walmsley  of  Lower  Darwen,  and  had  issue,  sons,  John,  born  in  1704  ; 
Joseph,  born  in  1706  ;  William,  born  in  1709  ;  David,  born  in  1714  ;  Lawrence,  born 
in  1715,  died  in  1717;  Thomas,  born  in  1716;  and  James  bom  in  1719;  and 
daughters,  Martha,  born  in  1701  ;  and  Elizabeth,  born  in  1712. 

PICCOP  OF  ECCLESHILL,  &c. 

The  Piccops  of  Lower  Darwen  and  Eccleshill  I  think  were  related.  In  1560, 
Edward  Pycoppe  was  a  tenant  of  the  Talbots  in  Lower  Darwen.  Robert  Piccope, 
yeoman,  died  March  26th,  1603.  The  escheat  was  not  taken  until  Sept.  I4th, 
1 8th  James  I.  (1620),  when  it  was  proved  that  Robert  Piccope  had  been  in  possession 
of  the  fourth  part  of  a  messuage,  3  acres  of  land,  one  acre  of  meadow,  I  acre  of 
woodland,  and  6  acres  of  moor  or  waste  in  Nether  Darwyn,  held  of  the  King,  by  a 
yearly  payment  of  2s.  8d.  James  Piccope,  son  and  heir,  was  aged  35  years  at  the 
date  of  Robert's  decease.  James  Piccop  died  in  Oct.,  1623. 

A  gravestone  in  Blackburn  Parish  Churchyard  gives  data  for  the  following  descent 
of  the  Piccops  of  Eccleshill : — John  Piccoppe  of  Eccleshill,  died  1623  (buried  Feb. 
3rd,  1623-4) ;  Henry  Piccop  of  Eccleshill,  died  1650;  William  Piccop  of  Eccleshill, 
died  1675  (his  wife  Jane  died  the  same  year)  ;  Henry  Piccop  of  Beardwood,  Blackburn, 
died  April  2nd,  1744.  Before  the  last  Henry  I  think  should  be  inserted  John  Piccop 
of  Beardwood,  who  had  a  son  John,  born  1712,  and  may  have  been  father  or  brother 
of  Henry.  Edmund  Piccop  and  Ann  Threlfall,  both  of  Eccleshill,  married,  May  1 7th, 
1718,  and  had  a  son,  John,  bapt.  Nov  2Oth,  1720.  John  Piccop  of  Eccleshill,  married, 
Sept.  2gth,  1737,  Ellen  Taylor  of  Yate  Bank. 

SHORROCK  OF  WATERSIDE.  % 

William  Shorrock  of  Eccleshill  was  assessed  to  a  Queen's  Subsidy  in  1570  ;  and 
Thomas  Shorrock,  succeeding,  was  taxed  to  a  Subsidy  in  1610.  Then,  William 
Shorrock,  of  Eccleshill,  who  paid  a  Subsidy-tax  in  1663,  had  sons,  Thomas,  bapt. 
Sept.  28th,  1651 ;  and  James,  born  in  1656.  Thomas  Shorrock  of  Eccleshill,  yeoman, 
son  of  William,  by  Ann  hfs  wife  (who  died  in  June,  1707),  had  sons,  William,  bapt. 
July  12,  1691  ;  and  Robert,  died  young  in  1706.  The  father,  Thomas  Shorrock,  died 
in  1738,  and  was  buried  at  Blackburn,  Aug.  1 2th,  of  that  year.  William  Shorrock  of 
Eccleshill,  yeoman,  son  of  Thomas,  died,  aged  73,  in  1764.  His  son  Thomas 
Shorrock  of  Waterside,  Eccleshill,  married,  Jan.  27th,  1740-1,  Ann  Thompson  of 
Lower  Darwen,  and  had  issue,  including  sons  Thomas,  and  John.  A  brother,  John 
Shorrock  of  Waterside,  had  a  son  William,  born  in  1762. 


600  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


CHAPTER  XII.— THE  TOWNSHIP  OF  OSBALDESTON. 

Name — Topography  and  Population — Descent  of  the  Manor— De  Osbaldeston  Family— Recent  pas- 
sages of  the  Manorial  Estate— Osbaldeston  Hall — Present  Landowners  in  the  Township— Former 
Freeholders — Lussell  of  Studlehurst— Osbaldeston  and  Fox  of  Oxendale — Oxendale  Hall — 
Roman  Catholic  Chapel. 

OSBALDESTON  is  a  rural  township  rising  from  the  south  bank  of 
the  Ribble  towards  the  heights  of  Mellor  on  the  south.  Its 
name,  which  has  undergone  little  variation  in  its  orthography  since  the 
Conquest,  signifies  the  tun  or  place  of  Osbald,  its  Saxon  proprietor  at 
some  period  unfixed.  The  area  of  the  township  is  980  statute  acres. 
Its  population,  which  slightly  increased  from  1801  to  1831,  has  been 
declining  subsequently.  The  decennial  census  returns  are  subjoined: — 
1 80 1,  252  persons;  1811,  278;  1821,  319;  1831,  349;  1841,  289; 
1851,  250;  1861,  238;  1871,  224  persons. 

From  the  earliest  record  the  manor-estate  of  Osbaldeston  is  found 
in  possession  of  a  family  bearing  the  name  of  the  vill  for  surname.  It 
was  portion  of  the  great  fee  of  Cliderhou,  and  in  1311  is  named  as 
appendant  to  the  dower  of  the  Countess  of  Lincoln,  widow  of  Earl 
Henry  de  Lascy. 

OSBALDESTON  OF  OSBALDESTON. 

The  first  member  of  this  ancient  proprietory  family  in  Osbaldeston 
of  whom  we  have  any  account  was  Hugo  de  Osbaldeston,  living  about 
the  beginning  of  the  i3th  century.  He  had  a  son  Ailsius  or  Eilfi  de 
Osbaldeston.  Ailsius  de  Osbaldeston  gave  lands  in  Balderstone  to 
Salley  Monastery.  By  Wimara  his  wife  he  had  sons,  Hugh,  the  heir, 
William  (de  Balderstone),  Barnard,  John,  Robert,  Alexander,  and  Adam. 

Hugh  de  Osbaldeston,  son  of  Ailsius,  living  3oth  Henry  III.  (1245), 
confirmed  his  father's  grant  to  Salley  Abbey,  and  occurs  as  witness  to  a 
charter  of  Stanlaw  Monastery.  He  had  sons,  Thomas,  and  Roger. 

"  Thomas  de  Osbaldeston,  son  of  Hugh,"  occurs  in  a  deed  of 
Stanlaw  Abbey,  and  was  living  45th  Henry  III  (1260).  He  had  sons, 
Adam,  and  Robert. 


OSBALDESTON  OF  OSBALDESTON.  60 1 

Adam  de  Osbaldeston,  next  scion,  quit-claimed  to  Sawley  Abbey 
his  right  to  woodland  in  Sunderland  Grange  in  Balderstone.  He  had 
sons,  Thomas,  and  John  (occurs  in  1336).  Adam  de  Osbaldeston  is 
witness  to  a  deed  dated  June  lyth,  1292. 

Thomas  de  Osbaldeston  was  found  at  the  De  Lascy  Inquisition  of 
1311  holding  lands  in  Osbaldeston  and  Balderstone,  and  paying  suit  to 
Cliderhou  Castle.  This  Thomas  witnesses  deeds  in  Whalley  Abbey 
Coucher  Book  dated  1332  and  1333.  He  married  Amabilla  Ethelstone. 

Alexander  de  Osbaldeston,  next  member,  living  about  1350,  married 
Katherine,  daughter  of  Thomas  Molineux  de  Keuerdale  ;  she  survived 
him,  and  married,  secondly,  Thomas  Banastre,  and  thirdly,  Robert  Rad- 
cliffe,  and  was  living,  aged  40,  in  1387.  It  was  by  this  marriage  that 
the  Osbaldestons  acquired  manorial  estates  in  Cuerdale  and  Over  Dar- 
wen  ;  for,  as  noted  in  Flower's  Visitation,  "  Tomlyn  Molyneux  "  (second 
son  of  Sir  Richard,  of  Sefton),  whose  "  daughter  and  sole  heire  "  this 
scion  married,  had  to  wife  Jane,  daughter  and  sole  heir  of  Alexander  de 
Keuerdale,  who  had  married  the  daughter  and  heir  of  Darwyn  of  Dar- 
wyn,  armiger. 

Geoffrey  de  Osbaldeston,  Esq.,  son  of  Alexander,  had  to  wife  Mar- 
garet, daughter  of  William  de  Balderstone,  and  had  issue,  sons,  John ; 
and  Thomas  (the  latter  married  Isabella,  daughter  of  Henry  Langton, 
Baron  of  Newton,  who  died  in  1445).  Thomas  de  Osbaldeston  pro- 
bably was  father  of  Geoffrey  who  succeeds,  but  some  descents  make  the 
latter  son  of  John. 

Geoffrey  de  Osbaldeston,  lord  of  this  manor,  was  living  about 
1440-1450,  and  had  a  dispute  respecting  his  rights  in  Over  Darwen 
Manor  with  Richard  Southworth  of  Samlesbury.  He  had  sons,  John  ; 
Geoffrey,  William,  Richard ;  and  a  daughter  Cicilia,  wife  of  Peter  Stan- 
dish,  son  of  James,  of  Duxbury. 

John  Osbaldeston,  lord  of  Osbaldeston,  married,  in  1461,  Elizabeth, 
daughter  and  one  of  the  heirs  of  Sir  Richard  Balderstone,  Knt.  (see 
ante,  pp.  414-15),  and  had  a  son  Richard;  and  daughters,  Margaret,  and, 
Isabel. 

John's  son  and  heir,  Richard  Osbaldeston,  married  Grace,  daughter 
of  William  Singleton  of  the  Tower,  Esq.,  and  had  two  sons,  Alexander, 
and  Gilbert ;  and  one  daughter,  Agnes,  wife  of  Thomas  Latham,  of  Par- 
bould,  Co.  Lane.,  Esq.  Richard  Osbaldeston,  Esq.,  died  the  22nd 
July,  23rd  Henry  VII.  (1507),  and  on  Inq.  post  mort.,  taken  the  next 
year,  he  was  found  to  have  held  Osbaldeston  manor  of  the  King  in  chief, 
worth  £20  ;  Keuerdale  manor,  of  Richard  Langton  in  socage,  worth 
20  marks  ;  and  Over  Derwynd  manor,  of  Richard  Langton  in  socage, 
worth  20  marks. 


602  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Alexander  O.ibaldeston,  his  son  and  heir,  was  then  aged  26  years. 
I  cite  the  record  of  the  Visitation  of  1533,  concerning  him  and  his 
family: — "  Syr  Alexander  Osbaldeston,  knight,  had  to  his  furst  wyffe  Anne, 
dowghter  to  Sr.  Xp'ver  Sudworthe  [Christr.  Southworth],  knyght,  and 
they  hadd  yssue,  John,  whyche  maryed  Marget,  dowghter  to  the  Lord 
Strange.  The  sayd  Syr  Alexander  had  to  hys  second  wyffe  Ellyne, 
dowghter  to  Thomas  Tyllysley  of  Wardley,  and  they  hadd  yssue 
Richard  [Richard  Osbaldeston,  first  of  Sunderland,  see  ante,  p.  419], 
Harry,  Thomas,  Wyllm,  Thorston,  Anne,  Elizabeth,  Siscelye,  Alyce, 
Isabell,  Elnor,  and  Jane.  Anne  is  maryed  to  Edward  Langton,  sonne 
and  heyer  to  Thomas  Langton,  Baron  of  Nyewton ;  Elizabeth  ys  maryed 
to  Harry  Kyghleys,  sonne  and  heyer  to  Harry  Kyghley."  After  this 
record,  other  daughters  married  :  Alice,  to  John  Talbot  of  Salesbury ; 
Eleanor,  to  Thomas  Clifton  of  Westby ;  Jane,  to  William  Gerard  of  the 
Ince.  Sir  Alexander  Osbaldeston  was  Sheriff  of  Lancashire  in  1527. 
He  died  Jan.  iyth,  35th  Henry  VIII.  (1543) ;  the  Inq.post  mort.,  taken 
at  Preston,  March  3ist,  1544,  attests  that  the  deceased  knight  had  held 
Osbaldeston,  Cuerdall,  Over  Derwynt,  and  Balderstone  manors,  with 
appurtenances  ;  and  the  fourth  part  of  seven  messuages,  200  acres  of 
land,  100  acres  of  meadow,  300  acres  of  pasture,  60  acres  of  woodland, 
300  acres  of  moor,  and  300  acres  of  rushland  and  heath,  in  Balderstone, 
Walton,  and  24  other  Lancashire  townships  ;  also,  a  fishery  in  Ribble. 
An  inventory  of  the  goods  of  this  member  is  printed  by  the  Chetham 
Society,  and  contains  some  curious  items.  His  widow,  Ellena  Osbal- 
deston, by  her  Will,  dated  1560,  directed  that  three  stones,  with  in- 
scribed brasses,  should  be  placed  in  the  Osbaldeston  Chapel  in  Blackburn 
Church,  over  the  remains  of  herself,  her  husband,  and  her  brother,  Sir 
Thomas  Tyldesley.  These  memorials  have  long  since  vanished.  She 
also  gave  to  her  step-son,  John,  certain  objects  pertaining  to  the  altar  of 
the  family  chapel  in  Osbaldeston  Hall  "  to  remayne  as  erlomes." 

John  Osbaldeston,  Esq.,  aged  36  years  at  his  father's  death,  married, 
first,  Margaret,  daughter  of  George  Stanley  Lord  Strange,  by  whom  he 
had  issue,  sons,  Edward,  Alexander,  and  Thomas,  and  a  daughter  Mar- 
garet. By  his  second  wife,  Jane,  daughter  of  Thomas  Stanley,  Esq. 
(and  widow  of  Sir  Thomas  Halsall,  Knt),  he  had  no  issue.  In  1557, 
John  Osbaldeston  was  nominated  captain  in  the  army  of  Lord  Shrews- 
bury, serving  in  Scotland.  He  died  about  1575.  The  escheator  proved 
that  he  held  manorial  lands  in  Osbaldeston,  Balderstone,  Kuerdale, 
Over  Derwynd,  and  Edge,  and  other  lands  in  Grene  Tockholls  juxta 
Lyvesey,  Eccleshill,  Walton-in-le-dale,  and  other  places.  His  daughter, 
Margaret,  married  Robert,  son  of  John  Aspden,  gent. 

Edward  Osbaldeston,  Esq.,   succeeded  his  father,  and    held  the 


OSBALDESTON  OF  OSBALDESTON.  603 

estates  some  15  years.  His  wife  was  Maude,  daughter  of  Sir  Thomas 
Halsall,  Knt.  (marriage  covenant  dated  loth  April,  1548).  He  had  five 
sons,  John,  Thomas,  Geoffrey,  Leonard,  and  Hamlet ;  and  one  daughter, 
Cicely,  married  —  Singleton.  A  letter  of  Edward  Osbaldeston,  dated 
Jan.  ist,  1584,  addressed  to  William  Farington,  Esq.,  asking  for  a  loan 
of  ^40,  is  preserved  among  the  Worden  MSS.  He  died  on  Sept.  7th, 
1590;  and  the  inquisition,  taken  at  Preston,  before  Thomas  Hesketh, 
Esq.,  escheator,  in  1591,  names  the  son,  John,  aged  35  years;  the  widow, 
Maud ;  and  shows  that  the  estates  then  consisted  of  Osbaldeston  and 
Balderstone  manors,  held  of  the  Queen,  with  suit  to  Clitheroe  Court ; 
and  of  60  messuages,  one  water-mill,  one  fulling  mill,  200  acres  of  land, 
100  acres  of  meadow,  300  acres  of  pasture,  60  acres  of  woodland,  40 
acres  of  moor,  and  200  acres  of  rushland  and  heath  in  Over  Darwyn  and 
the  other  townships  already  named.  Edward  Osbaldeston  had  made  his 
Will,  June  i8th,  1588,  by  which  he  desires  to  be  buried  in  Blackburn 
Church ;  and  divides  his  goods  into  three  parts,  the  first  to  his  wife 
Maude;  the  second  to  his  younger  sons,  Geoffrey  and  Hamlet ;  the  third 
to  his  son  and  heir,  John;  subject  to  payment  of  100  marks  to  testator's 
daughter,  Cicely  Singleton ;  40  marks  to  his  sister  Margaret ;  40  marks 
to  his  brother  Thomas ;  and  other  bequests.  The  Will  was  proved  25th 
Sept.,  1590.  An  inventory  of  the  goods  of  deceased,  to  the  value  of 
^474  is.  8d.,  is  dated  Sept.  gth,  1590.  Maud  Osbaldeston,  widow, 
died  in  1592  ;  inventory  of  her  goods  is  dated  Sept.  i6th,  1592. 

Thomas  Osbaldeston,  brother  of  Edward,  had  sons,  Edward,  and 
Thomas  ;  and  daughters,  Margaret,  Ellen,  and  Dorothy — all  named  in 
their  uncle's  Will,  in  1588. 

Geoffrey  Osbaldeston,  a  younger  son  of  Edward,  attained  eminence 
in  the  law,  was  made  Justice  of  the  Common  Pleas,  and  was  knighted 
by  Queen  Elizabeth.  He  died  in  1590. 

John  Osbaldeston,  Esq.,  eldest  son  and  heir,  married  Ellen, 
daughter  and  co-heir  of  John  Bradley  of  Bradley  Hall,  near  Chipping, 
Esq.,  and  had  issue,  sons,  Edward,  born  in  1573  ;  Thomas;  Sebastian; 
John ;  and  Richard,  who  married  Margaret  Walmsley  of  Fishwick ;  and 
daughters,  Mary,  wife  of  —  Eccleston ;  Anne,  wife,  first  of  —  Scaris- 
brick,  after,  of  —  Charnock  ;  and  Elizabeth,  married  to  Edward  Welsh, 
who  was  slain  by  her  brother  Thomas.1  John  Osbaldeston  died  in  1603, 

i  In  the  4th  Jas.  I.  (1606),  Thomas  Osbaldeston  was  convicted  at  Lancaster  Assizes  of  the  murder 
of  Edward  Walsh  (his  sister's  husband);  and  on  July  gth,  gih  Jas.  I.,  an  inquisition  was  taken  as  to 
what  lands,  rents,  annuities,  goods,  and  chattels  Thomas  Osbaldeston,  late  of  Cuerdale,  gent.,  pos- 
sessed at  the  time  of  his  committal  of  the  felony  and  murder  named  in  the  King's  warrant.  The  jurors 
said  that  Thomas  Osbaldeston,  at  the  time  of  his  felony,  &c.,  was  seized  of  one  annuity  or  yearly  rent 
charge  of  £20  for  life,  going  out  of  the  messuage  called  Bradley  Hall  in  Thornley  and  the  demesne 
lands  belonging  thereto,  and  of  other  lands  in  divers  townships,  late  the  inheritance  of  John  Bradley  of 
Betham,  Esq.,  deceased,  and  late  in  the  tenure  of  John  Osbaldeston,  Esq.,  deceased;  since  in  the 


604  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

and   was   buried   at   Blackburn    Church;    the  register  records   "John 
Osbaldeston,  armiger,"  buried  3oth  Nov.,  1603. 

Edward  Osbaldeston,  Esq.,  son  of  John,  was  next  lord  of  this 
manor.  His  wife  was  Mary,  daughter  and  sole  heir  of  Francis  Faring- 
ton,  of  Hutton  Grange,  Esq.,  and  his  issue  were,  sons,  John,  born  in 
1599  ;  Alexander,  born  in  1602  ;  Francis  (in  holy  orders)  ;  Cuthbert, 
died  unmarried  ;  and  Robert  (who  by  his  wife,  Jane  Singleton,  had  sons 
Edward  and  Alexander);  and~daughters,  Anne,  wife  of  Thomas  Blen- 
kensop  ;  Maud,  wife  of  Thomas  Osbaldeston  of  Walton  ;  and  Elizabeth, 
died  in  1632.  Edward  Osbaldeston  was  knighted  temp.  James  I.  His 
dame  died  in  1623 — "Madame  Osbaldestonn  ux.  Edwardi  Osbaldestonn 
de  O.,  Militis,"  buried  at  Blackburn,  Dec.  6th,  1623.  Sir  Edward  Os- 
baldeston was  a  noble  example  of  chivalry,  high-breeding  and  scholar- 
ship for  a  Lancashire  knight  of  his  day.  Whatton  states  that  he  was 
"skilled  in  mathematics,"  in  which  he  found  "great  entertainment"  for 
his  leisure ;  that  his  learning  was  acquired  in  France,  whither  he  was 
sent  in  his  youth.  "  In  fencing  and  riding  he  excelled  any  one  in  the 
county ;  in  natural  philosophy  he  was  a  bright  ornament,  and  many  ex- 
periments were  made  by  him"  in  science.  He  died  in  1636;  was  buried 
at  Blackburn  Church,  Feb.  6th,  1636-7  ;  and  over  his  tomb  was  placed 
a  brass  engraved  with  his  effigy  and  inscribed  : — "  Here  lyeth  the  body 
of  Sir  Edward  Osbaldeston,  a  charitable,  courteous,  and  valiant  knight, 
qui  obiit  A.D.  1636,  cet.  63."  This  monumental  brass  is  lost,  but  on  the 
opposite  page  is  an  engraving  of  the  effigy,  copied  from  an  old  plate. 
Inq.  post  mort.  was  taken  April  i9th,  1637,  when  Sir  Edward  was  found 
to  have  been  seized  at  his  death  of  Osbaldeston  and  Over  Darwen 
manors,  held  of  the  King  in  socage  ;  with  20  messuages,  one  dovecote, 
one  water-mill,  100  acres  of  land,  20  of  meadow,  200  of  pasture,  60  of 
wood,  100  of  moor  in  Osbaldeston;  with  six  acres  lately  improved  from 
the  waste  of  Over  Darwen;  and  lands  in  Eccleshill  and  other  townships. 
Edward,  son  of  John,  late  son  of  Sir  Edward  deceased,  was  next  heir, 
aged  9  years,  10  months,  17  days.  Frances  Osbaldeston,  widow  of  John, 
and  Alexander  and  Robert,  his  brethren,  were  then  living  at  Osbaldeston 
Hall. 

The  heir  of  Sir  Edward  was  John  Osbaldeston,  who  died  before  his 
father.  He  married,  first,  Jane,  daughter  of  Anthony  Mounson,  by 
whom  he  had  a  daughter  Mary,  who  died  unmarried;  secondly,  Frances, 
daughter  of  Sir  Richard  Tempest  of  Bracewell,  and  by  her  had  sons, 
Edward ;  and  Alexander,  who  died  young.  "A  child  of  John  Osbaldes- 

tenure  of  Ellen  Osbaldeston,  widow  of  John  ;  then  in  the  tenure  of  Richard  Eccleston,  Esq.  Thomas 
Osbaldeston,  gent.,  the  homicide,  had  to  wife  Margery,  daughter  of  Thomas  Southworth,  Esq.  This 
family  tragedy  has  given  rise  to  a  legend  of  a  murder  at  Osbaldeston  Hall,  and  of  a  ghost  that  haunts 
the  old  mansion. 


SIR  EDWARD  OSBALDESTON,  KNIGHT, 

FROM  A  LOST  MONUMENTAL  BRASS  IN  BLACKBURN  CHURCH.  [PAGE  604 


OSBALDESTON  OF  OSBALDESTON.  605 

tone,  Esq.,"  was  buried  at  Blackburn  Church,  1623-4.  John  Osbaldeston 
died  in  1634  ;  and  the  escheat  was  taken  Sept.  8th,  1635,  which  shows 
he  was  seized  of  Osbaldeston  manor,  held  of  the  King,  with  the  mesne 
or  capital  messuage  of  Osbaldeston  Hall  ;  16  messuages,  16  tofts,  one 
water  corn-mill,  300  acres  of  land,  100  of  meadow,  100  of  pasture,  100 
of  woodland,  50  of  rushland,  300  of  moor,  and  2s.  rent  in  Osbaldeston; 
also,  a  free  fishery  in  Ribble  ;  and  one  messuage  called  the  Boathouse, 
with  one  acre  called  Boathouse  Field  in  Ribchester,  in  occupation  of 
Robert  Mitchell. 

Edward  Osbaldeston,  son  and  heir,  aged  eight  years  at  the  date  of 
his  father's  death,  and  not  quite  ten  years  old  when  he  became  heir  to 
his  grandfather,  in  1636,  died  in  1642,  at  the  age  of  fifteen. 

Alexander  Osbaldeston,  uncle  of  Edward  and  second  son  of  Sir 
Edward,  was  next  heir.  He  married  a  near  neighbour,  Anne,  daughter 
of  Sir  John  Talbot  of  Salesbury  Hall,  and  had  sons,  John,  died  young  ; 
Edward,  bapt.  June  4th,  1650  ;  Alexander,  bapt.  June  3rd,  1652,  died 
unmarried;  Michael,  bapt.  Dec.  iQth,  1656  (whose  descendants  are 
noticed  hereafter);  and  James;  and  daughters,  Mary,  bapt.  June  22nd, 
1646;  Katherine,  bapt.  April  27th,  1649;  Margaret,  bapt.  Nov.  Qth, 
1653  ;  Anne,  bapt.  May  9th,  1655  ;  and  Joane.  Alexander  Osbaldeston 
entered  his  family  before  Sir  William  Dugdale  the  herald,  at  Blackburn, 
Sept.  1 3th,  1664.  He  died  Feb.  9th,  1670-1,  and  was  buried  in  the  north 
chapel  of  Blackburn  Church,  Feb.  nth.  His  widow,  dame  Anne,  was 
buried  in  the  same  place  of  sepulture,  March  i9th,  1673. 

Edward  Osbaldeston,  Esq.,  aged  20  at  his  sire's  decease,  married 
Grace,  daughter  of  Thomas  Braddyll,  of  Portfield,  Esq.,  and  had  issue, 
sons,  Alexander,  bapt.  at  Blackburn,  May  22nd,  1677  ;  Thomas,  bapt. 
April  5th,  1681,  buried  Feb.  7th,  1701-2  ;  Edward,  born  in  1684;  and 
John,  born  in  1686,  died  young;  and  daughters,  Jane,  born  in  1679  ; 
and  Anne,  born  in  1682,  died  in  1683.  Edward  Osbaldeston  died  in 
1689,  and  was  buried  at  Blackburn,  June  4th.  Pennant  saw,  in  1773,  a 
brass  in  Blackburn  Church  to  the  memory  of  this  scion.  He  died  intes- 
tate, and  on  August  i3th,  1689,  administration  of  his  estate  was  granted 
to  his  widow. 

Alexander  Osbaldeston,  Esq.,  succeeding  his  father,  was  in  the 
same  year  (1689)  made  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School.  He 
resided  chiefly  at  Preston,  and  married,  in  1706,  Lettice  Ainsworth, 
widow,  but  died  without  issue  in  1747.  His  Will,  executed  two  or  three 
days  before  his  death,  is  printed  below  : — 

"  I,  Alexander  Osbaldeston,  of  Preston,  Esq.,  give  all  my  messuages,  &c.,  to 
Thomas  Clayton,  of  Little  Harwood,  Esq.,  and  Henry  ffarington,  of  Preston,  upon 
trust,  to  pay  my  debts  and  the  following  legacies,  namely  : — To  my  kinswoman,  Mrs. 


606  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Catherine  Shuttleworth,  ^"500,  with  all  my  plate  (except  my  silver  cup),  in  recom- 
pense for  her  care  of  my  mother,  when  she  lived  servant  with  her.  To  Mrs.  Mary 
Osbaldeston,  of  Preston,  £150,  in  trust,  to  pay  the  same  to  Mr.  Osbaldeston  of 
Sunderlan:!,  or  his  wife  or  his  children,  as  she  shall  think  fit.  To  Mr.  Thos.  Bleas- 
dale  ,£10  los.  To  my  servant  Thomas  £$00  and  mv  silver  cup,  horses,  furniture  of 
my  rooms  and  effects  in  my  outhousing  (save  my  books  and  ready  cash).  To  my 
friends,  Mr.  Thomas  Starkie,  Mr.  James  Rawsthorne,  and  Mr.  Gilbert  Woosey,  all  my 
legacys  left  by  the  Will  of  Mrs.  Ann  Braddyll  to  my  sister  Jane.  To  the  said  Thomas 
Clayton  and  Henry  ffarrington,  ^300,  to  lay  out  as  an  annuity  for  Mr.  Hugh  Wads- 
worth.  To  the  said  Thomas  Clayton,  his  heirs,  &c. ,  for  ever,  my  chappies,  seats, 
pews,  burying  ground,  and  all  my  right,  &c.,  in  Blackburn  Church,  with  my  right 
of  nominating  a  parish  clerk  and  churchwarden  there.  To  my  acquaintance,  Mr.  Tom 
Stanley  at  Culcheth,  ^50.  To  Mr.  Nicholas  Starkie,  of  Riddlesden,  in  Yorkshire, 
£20  2OS.  To  Mr.  Nicholas,  son  of  Mr.  William  Starkie,  of  Manchester,  ^31  IDS. 
The  residue,  &c.,  to  such  housekeepers  of  the  better  rank  as  my  executors  shall  think 
stand  in  need  thereof.  The  said  Thomas  Clayton  and  Henry  ffarrington,  my 
executors.  Dated  28th  March,  1747." 

A  short  time  before  the  death  of  Alexander  Osbaldeston,  a  mort- 
gage of  his  landed  estate  to  Allan  Harrison,  gent.,  son  of  John  Harrison, 
Esq.,  of  Little  Mearley  Hall,  had  been  effected.  By  his  Will,  dated 
April  25th,  1752,  Allan  Harrison,  of  Lancaster,  Esq.,  demised  to  Roger 
Hesketh  of  Rossall,  Esq.,  and  Richard  Emmott  of  London,  Esq.,  the 
Manor  of  Great  Mearley,  with  lands,  &c.,  in  Great  Mearley ;  also  the 
Manor  and  Lordship  of  Osbaldeston,  with  messuages,  lands,  &c.,  in 
Osbaldeston  and  Ribchester,  in  trust  for  testator's  wife,  Mary  Sybille, 
to  receive  the  rents,  &c.,  during  her  life,  and  to  pay  to  her  daughter  Ann 
Sybille  Harrison  the  yearly  sum  of  ^100  so  long  as  she  continued  un- 
married ;  with  contingent  reversions,  &c.  Ann  Sybille  Harrison,  daughter 
and  sole  heiress  of  Allan  Harrison,  Esq.,  became  the  wife  of  George 
Wilson,  Esq.;  and  the  trustees  sold  the  manorial  estate  to  Sir  George 
Warren.  In  August,  1774,  a  Fine  was  levied  between  Sir  George 
Warren,  K.B.,  and  George  Wilson,  Esq.,  and  Anne  Sybille  his  wife,  of 
the  manor  of  Osbaldeston,  with  14  messuages,  as  many  gardens  and 
orchards,  210  acres  of  land,  60  of  meadow,  210  of  pasture,  100  of  wood- 
land, 100  of  furze  and  heath,  60  of  land  covered  with  water,  and  20  of 
marsh,  and  45.  rent ;  with  common  of  pasture  for  cattle,  common  of  tur- 
bary, free  fishery  in  Ribble,  &c.,  in  Osbaldeston,  Ribchester,  and  Balder- 
stone  ;  and  Osbaldeston  Ferry  over  Ribble.1  From  Sir  George  Warren 
the  estate  descended  to  the  present  Lord  de  Tabley,  who  sold  the 

i  The  Ferry  across  the  Ribble  by  Osbaldeston  Hall  has  existed  more  than  500  years,  and  was 
long  an  appurtenance  of  the  manor.  In  1563,  a  cause  was  heard  in  the  Duchy  Court,  between 
Robert  Mychell,  claiming  by  inheritance  from  his  ancestors  for  250  years,  plaintiff,  and  John  and 
Thomas  Oebaldeston,  Henry  Bussel,  and  others,  defendants,  respecting  a  "  claim  to  the  Ferry  Boat 
upon  the  Water  of  Rible,  called  Osbaldeston  Boat,  for  passengers  and  travellers  from  the  North  Bank 
to  the  South  Bank  of  the  River  Rible ;  also,  to  a  house  and  land,  and  certain  fees  and  maintenance 
called  Boat  Hire  from  divers  parishes." 


OSBALDESTON  HALL. 


607 


manor,  manor-house,  and  estate  in  Osbaldeston,  consisting  of  659  acres 
| of  land,  in  the  year  1866,  to  Henry  Ward,  Esq.,  of  Blackburn. 

Descendants  of  this  ancient  family  are  still  living.  Michael  Osbaldeston,  born  in 
1656  (third  son  of  Alexander  Osbaldeston,  Esq.,  grandsire  of  the  last-named  Alexan- 
der), married  and  had  issue,  sons,  John,  and  George.  John  Osbaldeston,  of  Preston, 

Ithe  eldest  son,  seems  to  have  inherited  the  entailed  estates  on  the  death  of  Alexander 
Osbaldeston,  Esq.,  in  1747.  He  is  said  to  have  surrendered  his  rights  in  the  estates 

Ito  Sir  George  Warren,  for  ^"5000,  and  an  annuity  of  ^"400.  John  Osbaldeston  died 
without  issue.  His  brother  George  Osbaldeston,  living  in  Friargate,  in  Preston,  in 
1719,  by  his  first  wife,  Ellen,  had  sons,  George,  and  William  (of  Preston  in  1742  and 
1762,  who  had  issue);  and  by  his  second  wife  had  sons,  John  Stanley  (of  Preston, 

(husbandman),  and  Joseph  (who  is  described  in  the  Guild  Roll  of  Preston,  in  1722,  as 
'  a  soldier  in  Cornwallis'  regiment  ").  George  Osbaldeston,  son  of  George,  a  thread - 

Itveaver  at  Knutsford  in  Cheshire,  laid  claim,  about  a  century  ago,  to  the  Osbaldeston 

estates  as  next  heir.    The  extract  which  follows  is  from  a  diary  kept  by  this  claimant : — 

I,  George  Osbaldeston,  went  down  to  the  family  estate  called  Osbaldeston  to  make 

|  claim  to  it,  being  heir  at  law,  August  1 2th,  1778.  And  also  I  claimed  it  in  the  year 
1782,  August  I4th.  And  also  claimed  it  by  turning  over  soil  and  putting  a  chair  in 
the  hall  and  turning  out  the  tenants  of  it,  March  6th  and  7th,  1783.  Also  cutt  down 
timber  and  offered  it  to  sell,  May  3rd  and  4th,  1783.-  Mr.  William  Hollings,  attorney, 
was  with  me  there,  and  he  said  he  would  see  and  get  me  ^50  per  year  to  sine  [sign]  it 
away,  May  7th,  1783.  I  also  claimed  it  and  turned  over  soil  October  3Oth,  1783.  I 
also  cut  down  timber  and  offered  it  to  sell  December  26th,  1783.  I  had  a  bed  and 
slept  in  Osbaldeston  Hall  April  2 1st,  1784.  I  gave  J.  Sharrock  and  W.  Heskin  notes 
to  pay  me  rent,  August  1 2th,  and  October  3 1st,  1784.  Also  I  served  the  tenants  in 
the  manor  of  Osbaldeston  with  ejectments  from  ye  Court  of  King's  Bench,  May  igth 
1785.  Also  maid  claim  to  the  manors  of  Balderstone  and  Breidley  [Bradley]  by 
turning  over  soil,  the  nth  August,  1785.  Also  I  filed  a  Bill  in  the  High  Court  of 
Chancery  against  Sir  George  Warren  for  a  discovery  of  his  title  under  which  he  holds 
the  family  estate  of  the  Osbaldestons,  July  3rd,  1786.  Also  served  him  with  an  office 
copy  of  it,  July  5th,  1786.  A  copy  of  the  Bill  out  of  Chancery  on  stamps,  February 
2Oth,  1787.  As  Sir  George  Warren  hath  not  answered  the  Bill  filed  in  equity,  then 
moved  the  Court  of  Chancery  for  an  Order  to  sequester  his  estate  if  not  answered 
speedily,  March  24th,  1787.  Sir  George  Warren's  plea  was  filed  in  Chancery,  July 
h,  1787.  Sir  George  Warren  will  not  stand  trial.  Mr.  Lyon  delivered  papers, 
Oct.  2Oth,  1787.  Served  ejectment  on  the  Hall  at  Osbaldeston,  May  igth,  1787." 
This  persistent  estate-hunter  further  records  that  "in  searching  after  the  estate  to 
recover  it  he  walked  1,832  miles  and  rode  on  horse  or  in  coach  1,612  miles."  His 
efforts  were  unavailing,  however.  John  Stanley  Osbaldeston,  of  Preston,  brother  of 
George  the  claimant,  had  a  son  George  Osbaldeston  ;  and  the  latter  was  father  of 
Mr.  John  Osbaldeston,  now  residing  at  Farnworth,  aged  about  62  years. 

Osbaldeston  Hall,  long  time  the  seat  of  the  Osbaldeston  family,  is 
situate  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Ribble,  about  a  mile  west  of  Ribchester. 
The  remains  of  the  moat  by  which  the  hall  was  intrenched  still  exist 
behind  the  south  and  south-west  walls  of  the  garden.  At  the  south 
approach  a  bridge  crosses  the  ditch,  leading  to  a  gateway  flanked  by  old 
yews.  The  Hall  is  reduced  by  demolitions  to  a  mere  fragment  of  what 


608  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

has  been  a  large  mansion.  The  existing  building,  occupied  by  the 
farmer,  consists  of  a  block  parallel  with  the  river  behind  it,  with  a  central 
projection  to  the  south,  constructed  of  brick  with  stone  dressing,  in  the 
gable  of  which  are  large  windows,  mullioned  and  transomed.  Above 
the  upper  window  in  this  gable  is  attached  to  the  wall  a  tablet,  the  em- 
blazonment upon  which  is  almost  effaced.  In  the  interior  there  is  an 
interesting  chamber  in  the  upper  storey  of  the  building  projecting  to  the 
south.  This  room  is  handsomely  panelled  in  oak,  in  geometric  designs. 
The  mantle-piece  is  antique,  and,  with  the  chimney-breast  above  it, 
about  twelve  feet  in  width,  is  covered  with  elaborate  scroll-carving. 
Above  the  family  arms,  carved  in  wood,  which  are  placed  in  a  panel  in 
the  centre  of  the  ornamentation,  appear  the  initials  "E  O"  and  "  M  O", 
and  again,  above  these,  the  initials  "  E  O "  are  repeated.  These 
initials  represent  either  the  names  of  Edward  Osbaldeston  and  his  wife 
Maud,  who  held  the  estates  from  1575  to  1590  ;  or  of  Sir  Edward  Os- 
baldeston, Knt.,  who  died  in  1636.  The  wife  of  Sir  Edward  was  named 
Mary.  Probably  these  carvings  and  panels  were  prepared  in  Sir  Edward's 
time  and  under  his  direction.  No  other  curious  feature  is  left  at  Osbal- 
deston Hall.  On  the  north  side  of  the  house  most  of  the  windows  are 
blocked  up,  and  the  general  aspect  of  the  building  is  unsightly.  Anciently, 
the  arms  which  follow  were  fixed  in  the  dining-hall,  as  recorded  in  an  old 
MS.: — "  In  the  dyning  roome  att  Osbaldston  : — Osbaldston,  paled  with 
Reynacres : — Ar.  3  tygers'  heads  erased  b.  langued  gu.;  Halsall — ar.  2 
barrs  b.  a  border  engld.  sa.;  Bold — ar.  a  griphon  segreont,  sa.;  Stanley — 
ar.  on  a  bend  b.  3  staggs'  heads  caboshed,  or.;  Harrington — sa,  a  fretty,  or; 
Gerard — ar,  a  cross,  gu."  On  the  lintel  of  the  stable  door  in  the  old 
barn,  but  now  inserted  in  the  wall  of  the  new  barn,  is  an  inscription,  re- 
presented in  the  cut  below  : — 


The  shield  is  charged  with  the  arms  of  Osbaldeston,  impaled  with  those 
of  Bradley.  The  date,  1593,  points  to  the  period  of  John  Osbaldeston's 
tenure,  and  the  inner  initials  "  I "  and  "  E "  refer  to  this  personage 
and  his  wife  Ellen.  The  last  initials  are  enigmatical,  and  perhaps  refer 
to  one  of  the  Bradleys,  John  Osbaldeston  having  married  the  daughter  of 
John  Bradley  of  Bradley,  Esq.  "  T  B  "  would  stand  for  Thomas  Brad- 
ley, father  of  John  ;  and  "  T  O  "  for  Thomas  Osbaldeston,  brother  of 
John  Osbaldeston. 


FREEHOLDERS  IN  OSBALDESTON.  609 

LUSSELL  OF  STUDLEHURST. 

In  the  beginning  of  Elizabeth's  reign,  Thomas  Lussell,  gent,  possessed  a  small 
estate  at  Studlehurst  in  Osbaldeston  under  the  lord  of  the  manor.  At  the  levy  for  a 
Subsidy  in  1570  he  paid  tax  for  this  freehold.  At  the  military  levy  of  1574,  Thomas 
Lussell  had  to  furnish  "one  long  bow,  one  sheaf  of  arrows,  one  scull,  and  one  bill." 

Henry  Lussell,  gent.,  successor  of  Thomas,  occurs  as  a  juror  in  1582;  as  a 
freeholder  in  1584  and  in  1600;  and  in  the  Subsidy  of  1611,  "Henry  Lussell"  is 
assessed  on  lands  at  2Os.  He  died  in  Jan.,  1618  ;  his  widow  in  July,  1623. 

Thomas  Lussell,  gent.,  is  the  next  member.  He  was  a  Governor  of  Blackburn 
Free  Grammar  School  in  1614.  He  married,  Feb.  i6th,  1611-12,  Alice  Yates ;  and 
died  in  early  manhood  in  1616,  leaving  a  son  Edward  and  a  daughter  Grace,  bapt. 
June  roth,  1616.  An  Inquisition  taken  at  Blackburn,  April  gih,  l$th  James  I.  (1617), 
before  Edward  Rigby,  Escheator,  returned  that  Thomas  Lussell  had  died  seized  of  a 
messuage  and  lands  in  Osbaldeston,  held  of  Edward  Osbaldeston,  Esq. ,  in  socage ;  his 
death  had  taken  place  on  the  26th  September  previous  (he  was  buried  at  Blackburn 
Church,  Sept.  28th),  and  his  son  and  heir  was  Edward  Lussell,  aged  four  years. 

Edward  Lussell  of  Osbaldeston,  gent.,  died  on  the  3rd  June,  1637.  The  Escheat 
was  taken  at  Blackburn,  Sept.  2 1st,  1 3th  Charles  I.,  and  it  appeared  that  Edward 
Lussell  had  died  in  tenure  of  one  messuage,  one  garden,  20  acres  of  land,  4  of  meadow, 
and  IO  of  pasture  in  Osbaldeston,  called  Studlehurst ;  also  of  one  messuage  or  house 
and  croft  in  Preston,  and  one  other  burgage  in  Preston,  &c.  He  had  left  no  issue, 
and  it  was  found  that  Grace  Lussell  was  his  sister  and  heir,  aged  21  years  and  3  months. 

The  Studlehurst  freehold  passed  later  into  possession  of  the  Liveseys  of  Livesey 
Hall,  and  was  part  of  the  inheritance  of  Robert  Bell  Livesey,  Esq. ,  who  conveyed  the 
estate,  with  other  premises,  in  the  year  1806,  to  Robert  Hubberstey,  yeoman,  for 
.£1400,  for  a  term  of  1000  years.  Robert  Hubberstey  granted  to  Richard  Hubberstey, 
for  .£1000,  the  lease  of  the  Studlehurst  farm,  of  1 8^  customary  acres  ;  and  on  the 
27th  July,  1874,  the  trustees  of  the  late  Richard  Hubberstey  (who  had  died  in  Nov., 
1873),  conveyed  the  estate  to  Messrs  John,  Edward,  and  Joseph  Dugdale,  of  Blackburn, 
for  ,£2560 ;  when  it  was  stated  to  comprise  30^  statute  acres. 
OSBALDESTON  OF  OXENDALE. 

The  Oxendale  or  Oxenden  freehold  estate  apparently  was  detached  from  the 
manorial  estate  of  Osbaldeston,  and  given  to  a  younger  son  of  the  Osbaldeston  family. 
This  must  have  been  nearly  four  centuries  ago.  In  the  title  deeds  of  the  Oxendale 
estate  (reference  to  which  has  been  kindly  afforded  me  by  the  present  owners  of  the 
property,  Messrs  J.,  E.,  and  J.  Dugdale),  the  oldest  parchment  is  a  latin  deed,  dated 
the  4th  February,  23rd  Henry  VII.  (1508),  by  which  William  Osbaldeston  conveys  to 
Robert  Osbaldeston,  his  son  and  heir  apparent,  certain  messuages,  lands,  tenements, 
rents,  &c. ,  in  the  vill  of  Osbaldeston,  to  have  and  hold  to  the  said  Robert  for  term 
of  life  of  the  foresaid  William,  paying  for  the  same  to  William  Osbaldeston  43.  yearly. 
Witnesses  :  Hugh  Shyrburn,  armiger,  William  Haryington,  Robert  Wadyngton, 
Thomas  Colcebry,  Knt.,  Robert  Assye,  and  others.  By  the  date,  the  above^  William 
Osbaldeston  might  have  been  a  younger  brother  of  Richard  Osbaldeston,  Esq.,  of  the 
senior  line.  Robert  Osbaldeston,  of  the  above  deed,  son  of  William,  was  in  tenure  of 
an  estate  in  1523,  for  which  he  was  assessed  to  the  Subsidy. 

Henry  Osbaldeston,  of  this  branch,  was  taxed  to  a  Subsidy  in  15  7°  >  and  Robert 
Osbaldeston,  gent.,  appears  in  a  list  of  Freeholders  dated  1584.  Lawrence  Osbaldeston, 
gent.,  of  this  family,  was  taxed  to  a  Subsidy  in  1610-11.  "  Robert  Osbaldeston  de 
Oxenden"  was  buried  at  Blackburn,  June  26th,  1624;  Wm.  Osbaldeston  of  Oxenden 
died  in  Sept.,  1623,  and  his  wife  the  same  year. 

39 


610  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

"Lawrence  Osbaldeston  de  Oxendale "  was  buried  Jan.  pth,  1630-1.  He  had 
married,  Nov.  I3th,  1604,  Maria  Cowborn.  She  died  in  Nov.,  1637. 

Robert  Osbaldeston,  gent,  had  sons,  Lawrence ;  John,  died  in  1653 ;  and  probably 
Robert ;  also  a  daughter  Elizabeth.  His  wife  died  in  July,  1637. 

Lawrence  Osbaldeston  of  Oxendale,  gent.,  rebuilt  Oxendale  Hall  in  1656  ;  the 
inscription  over  the  doorway  "L  R  O  "  stands  for  Lawrence  and  his  wife  Rosamond 
Osbaldeston.  His  wife  was  Rosamond  Critchley,  whom  he  married  Nov.  3oth,  1630. 
"  Rosimon,  wife  of  Lawrence  Osbaldeston  of  Osbaldeston,"  was  buried  at  Blackburn, 
Oct.  7th,  1675.  ^e  nad  a  son  Lawrence  ;  and  daughters,  Rosamond,  bapt.  Sept., 
buried  Dec.,  1655  ;  and  Isabel,  born  in  1657.  The  father  died  in  June,  1683. 

Lawrence  Osbaldeston  of  Oxendale,  yeoman,  succeeded  Lawrence  his  father.  He 
was  elected  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  Dec.,  1687,  and  is  described 
in  the  record  as  ' '  Mr.  Lawrence  Osbaldeston,  one  of  the  High  Constables  for  the 
Hundred  of  Blackburn. "  In  the  year  1700,  "Mr.  Lawrence  Osbaldeston  of  Oxen- 
dale"  held  a  sum  of  School  money  of  the  Grammar  School.  By  Margaret  his  wife  he 
had  a  son  and  heir,  Thomas  ;  a  younger  son  James ;  and  daughters,  Margaret, 
Elizabeth,  Grace,  Mary,  and  Anne,  the  last  born  in  1704.  It  was  this  member  who 
alienated  the  estate.  An  indenture  made  the  2nd  March,  1714,  between  William 
Gradwell  of  Preston,  eldest  son  and  executor  of  the  Will  of  Thomas  Gradwell  late  of 
Preston,  grocer,  deceased,  on  the  first  part ;  Richard  Hayhurst  of  Ribchester,  mercer, 
on  the  second  part ;  Lawrence  Osbaldeston  of  Oxenden  within  Osbaldeston,  yeoman, 
and  Margaret  his  wife,  and  Thomas  Osbaldeston,  yeoman,  eldest  son  of  Lawrence,  on 
the  third  part ;  William  Ffox  of  Goosnargh,  yeoman,  on  the  fourth  part ;  and  Geoffrey 
Prescott  and  John  Richardson,  both  of  Preston,  gentlemen,  on  the  fifth  part ;  recites 
that  whereas  the  said  Lawrence  and  Thomas  Osbaldeston,  by  their  indentures  of  lease 
and  release  dated  respectively  the  2 1st  and  22nd  August,  1711,  for  considerations 
therein  mentioned,  did  grant  and  convey  to  Thomas  Gradwell,  &c. ,  the  capital 
Messuage,  &c.,  called  Oxenden,  with  all  lands  thereto  belonging,  containing  48  acres, 
to  his  own  proper  use  forever,  by  which  indenture  of  release  it  was  agreed  that  a 
common  recovery  then  lately  suffered  should  be  and  inure,  and  that  the  Recoverers 
should  stand  seized  of  the  premises  to  the  use  of  Thomas  Gradwell,  subject  to  a 
condition  for  making  void  the  same  on  payment  of  ^200  with  interest  on  August  2 1st 
next  ensuing  ;  and  whereas  also  the  said  Lawrence  and  Thomas  Osbaldeston,  by  their 
deed  dated  Nov.  loth,  1713,  did  make  the  said  mortgaged  premises  liable  to  the 
payment  of  a  further  sum  of  ^70  to  Richard  Hayhurst ;  and  whereas  default  was  made 
in  payment  as  well  of  £200  and  interest  as  of  ^70  and  interest,  at  the  times  limited 
for  payment,  whereby  the  said  mortgage  became  forfeited,  and  the  estate  did  on  the 
death  of  Thomas  Gradwell  become  and  is  now  legally  vested  in  William  Gradwell  his 
son  and  heir  ;  and  whereas  William  Ffox  hath  lately  agreed  with  Lawrence  and 
Thomas  Osbaldeston  for  the  absolute  purchase  of  the  said  mortgaged  premises  and 
equity  and  right  of  redemption  thereof,  paying  for  the  same  the  sum  of  £$20, — now 
the  indenture  witnesseth  that  for  the  sum  of  ^212  IDS.  paid  to  William  Gradwell,  and 
£80  paid  to  Richard  Hayhurst  by  William  Ffox,  the  said  William  Gradwell  and 
Richard  Hayhurst  have,  by  direction  of  Lawrence,  Margaret,  and  Thomas  Osbaldeston, 
bargained,  released,  &c.,  by  these  presents,  to  William  Ffox  all  the  premises  aforesaid, 
to  have  and  hold  to  William  Ffox,  his  heirs,  &c.,  for  ever.  Endorsed,  Receipt  of 
balance  of  purchase  money,  ,£228,  by  Lawrence  Osbaldeston. 

FOX  OF  GOOSNARGH  AND  OXENDALE. 

William  ffox  of  Goosnargh,  yeoman,  who  purchased  the  Oxendale  estate  in  1714, 
had  a  son  John,  who  inherited  the  estate  in  Osbaldeston. 


OXENDALE  HALL  ESTATE.  6ll 

John  Fox  of  Osbaldeston,  yeoman,  by  Ellen  his  wife,  had  issue,  sons,  William, 
bapt.  May  gth,  1 720 ;  and  Christopher,  bapt.  Sept.  28th,  1 724  ;  and  daughters, 
Elizabeth,  wife  of  Thomas  Alston  of  Ribchester;  and  Alice,  wife  of  Robert  Slater  of 
Whittingham.  John  Fox  resided  at  Oxendale  Hall,  and  died  there  in  1753;  was  buried 
at  Blackburn,  Aug.  29th.  By  his  Will,  dated  Aug.  25th,  1753,  John  Fox  of  Osbaldeston, 
yeoman,  gives  to  Ellen  his  wife  certain  household  goods,  and  whereas  he  is  entitled  to 
a  moiety  of  a  tenement  he  and  John  Shorrock  leased  under  Alexander  Osbaldeston, 
lord  of  the  manor,  known  by  the  name  of  Parkes,  gives  his  part  to  his  wife  Ellen  for 
life,  if  lives  in  lease  so  long  live  ;  gives  all  his  freehold  estate  in  Osbaldeston  called 
Oxenden  to  his  son  William  Fox,  his  heirs,  for  ever,  charged  with  .£8  a  year  to 
Ellen,  testator's  wife,  for  life;  ;£ioo  to  son  Christopher  ;  ,£100  to  daughter  Elizabeth, 
wife  of  Thomas  Alston  of  Ribchester ;  ^100  to  daughter  Ails,  wife  of  Robert  Slater 
of  Whittingham  ;  to  grandson  John  Alston  testator's  set  of  silver  coat  buttons.  Ellen, 
wife,  and  William,  son,  executors.  Will  proved  at  Chester,  Dec.  3ist,  1753. 

William  Fox,  of  Oxendale  Hall,  yeoman,  son  of  John,  whose  initials  "  W  F" 
and  the  date  "  1763"  are  upon  the  house,  died  in  1802.  The  Will  of  William  Fox  of 
Ribchester,  gent.,  is  dated  July  3rd,  1801.  Testator  gives  to  William  Carr  of 
Blackburn,  gent.,  and  Henry  Seed  of  Ribchester,  schoolmaster,  his  freehold  estate  of 
Oxendale,  and  a  farm  in  Clayton-le-dale  called  Catteralls,  on  lease  under  Sir  George 
Warren,  and  other  properties  in  Button,  &c.,  upon  trust  to  receive  the  profits,  &c., 
during  the  minority  of  such  grandchildren  of  testator  as  attain  the  age  of  21  years ;  to 
the  use  of  his  daughter  Betty,  wife  of  Christopher  Wilkinson  of  Ribchesler,  apothecary, 
and  in  case  her  eldest  son  William  Fox  Wilkinson,  or  any  other  son,  shall  arrive  at  the 
age  of  21,  then  upon  further  trust  that  the  feoffees  convey  the  same  freehold  and 
leasehold  premises,  subject  to  an  annuity  of  ,£60  to  testator's  daughter  for  life,  to  the 
use  of  said  grandson,  William  Fox  Wilkinson ;  remainder  to  other  children  of 
daughter  in  default.  Will  proved  May  26th,  1802. 

The  Oxendale  Hall  estate  was  conveyed  by  Thomas  Howard,  Esq.,  and  others, 
mortgagees,  by  deed  dated  27th  Febr.,  1846,  to  John  Addison,  Esq.,  of  Preston,  for  a 
sum  of  .£3400;  and  lastly,  by  deed  dated  igth  Nov.,  1874,  was  conveyed  by  Lt.-Gen. 
J.  F.  Crofton,  of  London,  and  Anne  Agnes  his  wife,  daughter  and  heir  of  the  late 
John  Addison,  to  Messrs.  John,  Edward,  and  Joseph  Dugdale,  for  £5139.  This  estate 
contains  76  statute  acres  of  land,  of  which  1 7  acres  are  woodland. 

Oxendale  Hall  is  a  quaint-looking  old  house  of  the  1 7th  century,  with  a  wide 
frontage,  with  four  gables  on  the  roof  line,  and  a  gabled  porch  in  the  centre  bay.  Over 
a  low-arched  doorway  the  lintel  is  inscribed  with  the  date  "  1656  "  and  initials 
"  L  R  O  "  (Lawrence  and  Rosamund  Osbaldeston).  On  the  leaden  easing  pipe  at 
the  side  of  the  porch  are  the  letters  "  W  F  "  (William  Fox)  and  the  date  "  1763." 

ROMAN  CATHOLIC  CHAPEL.— A  mission  of  the  Church  of  Rome  was  established 
in  Osbaldeston  about  the  year  1836  ;  and  a  chapel,  dedicated  to  St.  Marie,  was 
opened  on  Oct.  25th,  1838.  The  site  of  the  chapel  is  on  the  border  of  this  township 
next  to  Mellor,  near  the  turnpike  from  Whalley  to  Preston.  Annexed  to  the  chapel, 
which  is  a  neat  and  well-kept  structure,  is  the  priest's  house.  The  chapel  contains  250 
sittings  ;  and  is  furnished  with  an  organ.  The  priests  who  have  served  this  mission 
include  the  Rev.  Dr.  Rooker  (afterwards  of  St.  Augustine's,  Granby  Row,  London, 
who  died,  aged  66,  in  May,  1857);  Rev.  Thomas  Irving  (afterwards  Canon  Irving  of 
Blackburn);  and  Rev.  Thomas  Smith,  the  present  priest,  who  has  been  incumbent 
here  about  twenty  years. 


6l2 


HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


CHAPTER  XIII.— THE  TOWNSHIP  OF  PLEASINGTON. 

Topography— Acreage  and  Population — Descent  of  the  Manor — De  Plesyngton  Family — Ainsworth — 
Henry  Ainsworth  the  Commentator — Sale  of  the  Manor — Butler  and  Butler-Bowdon — Pleasington 
Old  Hall— Feilden  of  Feniscowles— Present  Landowners — Former  Freeholders — Ainsworth  of 
Feniscowles — Cunliffe — Ellingthorpe — Livesey  of  Feniscowles — Newell — The  Old  Alum  Mine- 
Roman  .Catholic  Chapel— Pleasington  Free  School. 

PLEASINGTON  Township  lies  on  the  west  side  of  Blackburn 
Parish.  The  lands  of  the  township  rise  from  the  banks  of  the 
Darwen  to  an  elevation  of  700  feet  on  the  ridge  of  Pleasington  Moor  ; 
and  on  the  north  side  are  separated  from  Mellor  by  the  stream  which 
traverses  the  glen  below  "Alum  Scar  "  to  its  confluence  with  the  Darwen. 
Witton  is  the  next  township  to  the  east,  and  Livesey  adjoins  on  the 
south.  Most  of  the  land  in  Pleasington  is  within  the  park  enclosures  of 
Pleasington  Hall  (the  Manor  House),  Feniscowles  Hall,  and  Woodfold 
Park  ;  and  is  well-timbered  and  in  high  cultivation.  The  Sewage  Farm 
of  Blackburn  Corporation  now  extends  over  the  sandy  knolls  overlooking 
the  river  near  Hoghton  Bottoms,  on  the  estate  of  Sir  Henry  de 
Hoghton.  There  are  no  manufactories  in  the  township.  Its  area  is 
1600  statute  acres.  The  population  has  varied  since  1801  as  follows: — 
1801,  614  persons  ;  1811,  599;  1821,  625;  1831,  633;  1841,517; 
1851,428;  1861,422;  1871,  336  persons. 

DE  PLESYNGTON  FAMILY. 

The  earliest  known  members  of  this  family  of  ancient  lords  of 
Pleasington  are  named  in  charters  of  Stanlaw,  Whalley,  and  Kirkstall 
Abbeys.  Henry  de  Plesyngton,  living  temp.  Henry  III.,  by  Diana  his 
wife,  had  sons,  Robert,  Roger,  Elia,  and  Adam  ;  and  a  daughter  Mar- 
gery, wife  of  John  de  Stodleigh.  He  had  also  brothers  Robert  and 
Richard.  By  a  deed  undated,  Henry  de  Plesyngton  gave  to  the  monks 
of  Stanlaw  half  an  acre  in  Plesyngton  ;  with  two  oaks  from  his  wood  of 
Plesyngton  for  timber  to  repair  their  houses  in  Blackburn ;  dead 
wood  for  burning,  and  alder  wood  for  fences ;  and  pannage  for  20  swine 
in  Plesyngton  Wood.  After  his  death,  Diana,  relict  of  Henry  de  Pie- 


DE  PLESYNGTON  FAMILY.  613 

syngton,  quit-claimed  her  right  in  the  same  to  the  Abbey.  To  a  deed 
dated  26th  Henry  III.  (1242),  Elias  de  Plesyngton  (a  son  of  Henry)  is 
a  party ;  and  by  another  charter  Helias  (or  Ely)  de  Plesyngton  and 
Adam  his  brother  quit-claimed  to  the  abbot  and  convent  of  Kirkstall  all 
his  pasture  between  "  le  Kirkisic  and  Acrinton." 

Robert  de  Plesyngton,  eldest  son  of  Henry,  was  living  in  1284,  and 
had  sons,  John  de  Plesyngton,  and  Robert,  of  Alsworth. 

John  de  Plesyngton  (Robert's  son  and  heir),  by  Mabel  his  wife,  had 
a  son  Robert.  In  28th  Edw.  I.  (1300),  John  de  Holme  conveyed  to 
John  de  Plesyngton,  son  of  Robert,  lands  and  buildings  in  Plesyngton, 
which  Adam,  his  father,  had  of  the  gift  of  Henry  de  Plesyngton.  In 
1315,  Mabile,  relict  of  John  de  Plesyngton,  remits  to  Sir  William  de 
Holand,  Knt,  all  her  right  of  dower  to  lands  her  son  Robert  had 
granted  in  Plesyngton  and  Holme. 

Robert  fie  Plesyngton,  son  of  John,  in  the  8th  Edw.  II.  (1315), 
gave  to  Sir  William  de  Holand,  Knt.,  and  Lady  Johanna  his  wife,  a 
piece  of  land  and  meadow  in  Plesyngton  called  Wodcokhull.  In  1330, 
Robert  de  Plesyngton  was  acting  as  Abbot's  attorney  in  a  cause  heard 
in  the  King's  Court  at  Minister,  respecting  a  claim  of  the  Convent  of 
Whalley  to  certain  lands  in  the  township  of  Read. 

Here  the  evidences  of  the  De  Plesyngton  descent  fail.  Possibly 
for  another  generation  after  the  above  Robert  the  family  survived  in  the 
direct  male  lineage  ;  but  about  the  middle  of  the  century  (i4th),  a 
daughter  and  heir  of  Plesyngton  of  Plesyngton  had  married  Adam  de 
Wynckley,  who  held  the  manor  until  his  death ;  and  having  a  daughter 
Agnes  for  his  heir,  by  her  marriage  with  John  de  Ainsworth  she  carried 
the  estate  to  him,  who  was  in  tenure  before  the  year  1396. 

It  is  conjectured  that  Robert  de  Plesyngton,  appointed  Chief  Baron 
of  the  Exchequer,  in  1380,  was  of  this  family.  He  died  in  1393,  and  by 
his  wife,  Agnes,  had  a  son  and  heir,  Robert  de  Plesyngton.  Of  the 
latter  Robert,  Henry  de  Plesyngton  was  son  and  heir.  From  him,  it  is 
supposed,  descended  the  branch  of  Plesington  of  Dimples,  which  con- 
tinued to  hold  that  estate  until  1715,  when  it  was  forfeited  by  the  treason 
of  John  Plesington  of  Dimples,  a  Jacobite.  A  Chancery  Roll  of  the 
Duchy  of  Lancaster,  contains  a  precept  to  the  escheator,  dated  i6th 
August,  5th  Henry  IV.  (1404),  to  surcease  levying  the  issues  of  the  third 
part  of  the  manor  of  Ellale,  and  divers  other  lands  in  the  County 
of  Lancaster  seized  into  the  King's  hands  by  reason  of  the  alleged  idiotcy 
of  Robert,  son  and  heir  of  Sir  Robert  de  Plesington,  Knt.,  until  the 
next  sessions,  the  said  Robert  having  found  security  to  appear  in  the 
Chancery  Court  at  Lancaster,  personally  to  be  examined  if  he  be  an 
idiot  or  not. 


6 14  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

AINSWORTH  OF   PLEASINGTON  HALL. 

John  de  Aynesworth  (a  younger  son  of  John  de  Ainsworth  who 
had  lands  in  Ainsworth  township)  married  Agnes,  daughter  and  heir  of 
Adam  de  Wynckley,  lord  of  Pleasington,  who  brought  to  this  branch  of 
the  Ainsworth  family  the  manor  lands  of  Pleasington.  This  John  de 
Aynesworth  occurs  in  deeds  dated  1396-7,  and  1398.  He  had  a  son 
Elia  or  Elice. 

Elia  Aynesworth  of  Pleasington  was  living  in  1429  and  in  1442. 
His  son  and  heir  was  Lawrence.  In  the  2oth  Hen.  VI.  (1442),  Elia 
de  Aynesworth  and  Lawrence  his  son  gave  to  Thomas  Seed  sufficient 
turbary  in  the  vill  of  Plesyngton. 

Lawrence  Aynesworth,  lord  of  Pleasington,  married,  before  1441, 
Margaret,  daughter  of  John  Talbot  of  Salesbury,  Knt.  In  the  20th 
Henry  VI.,  John  Banastre  de  Walton  released  to  Lawrence  Aynesworth 
of  Pleasington  and  Margaret  his  wife  a  field  called  Whitney  feld,  &c. 
Lawrence  Aynsworth  was  living  in  1453.  He  had  sons,  Henry,  and 
John  ;  and  a  daughter  Jenet,  wife  of  George  Banastre  of  Darwyn  Hall 
in  Walton. 

Henry  Aynsworth  de  Pleasington,  son  of  Lawrence,  married  a 
daughter  of  Thomas  RadclirTe  of  Wynmerleigh>  knt.,  and  had  a  son 
Lawrence. 

Lawrence  Ainsworth,  son  of  Henry,  was,  I  conceive,  father  of  a 
second  Lawrence.  At  the  Subsidy  levy  of  1523  the  elder  Lawrence 
Aynsworth  was  taxed  on  his  lands  in  Pleasington  valued  at  ^5  per 
annum. 

Lawrence  Ainsworth,  in  possession  half  a  century  later  than  the 
above  Lawrence,  married  Dorothy,  daughter  of  Thomas  Grymshaw  of 
Clayton,  Esq.  (who  died  in  1550),  and  had  issue,  sons,  Thomas,  born 
before  1550;  Henry;  Richard,  died  in  1628;  and  George ;  and  daughters, 
Elizabeth,  Anne,  Margaret,  and  Dorathe.  He  had  also  a  sister  Margaret, 
wife  of  Richard  Critchley  of  Livesey.  In  1538,  Lawrence  Ainsworth, 
chief  lord  of  Pleasington,  had  a  suit  in  the  Chancery  Court  of  the 
Duchy  with  Robert  Aspden  and  others,  concerning  rights  of  common 
and  turbary  on  Pleasington  Common  and  Moss,  Tykyll  Moss,  and  the 
Tonghyll  in  Pleasington  Manor,  &c.  In  1539,  he. had  another  dispute 
with  Ralph  Cunclif  and  Richard  Merseden,  tenants  of  Sir  Thomas 
Southworth,  as  to  right  of  common  on  Pleasington  More.  Lawrence 
Ainsworth,  gent.,  died  in  1573.  In  his  Will,  dated  March  26th,  1573, 
testator  desires  to  be  buried  in  Blackburn  Church ;  mentions  his  capital 
messuage  called  Pleasington  Hall ;  names  his  wife  Dorothy ;  sons,  Henry 
and  Richard ;  daughters  Anne  and  Dorothy ;  appoints  Richard  and 
Nicholas  Grimshaw,  gents.,  supervisors. 


HENRY  AINS WORTH  THE  COMMENTATOR.       615 

A  distinguished  Nonconformist  divine  and  hebraist  of  the  1 7th  century  was  of 
this  family.  Henry  Ainsworth,  second  son  of  Lawrence  Ainsworth,  of  Pleasington, 
was  born  about  the  year  1560.  Probably  he  acquired  the  elements  of  learning  at  the 
Blackburn  Grammar  School  founded  in  1567,  his  father  being  a  first  governor.  He 
was  an  orphan  at  the  age  of  13.  He  entered  at  the  University  of  Cambridge. 
After  leaving  the  University  his  strong  Puritan  opinions  led  him  to  join  the  sect  of 
the  Independents,  or  "Brownists"  as  they  were  then  named  by  their  opponents. 
These  sectaries  were  rigorously  prosecuted  by  Elizabeth's  government,  and  their 
leaders  were  driven  into  exile  in  Holland.  About  A.D.  1593,  Henry  Ainsworth  was 
forced  to  quit  his  native  country  on  account  of  his  peculiar  tenets,  and  he  betook 
himself  to  Amsterdam  ;  where  he  first  took  service  with  a  bookseller,  who  was 
prompt  to  recognise  his  proficiency  in  the  Hebrew  language.  In  conjunction  with 
Mr.  Francis  Johnson,  he  formed  an  Independent  Church  in  Amsterdam  ;  and  he 
published,  in  1602,  the  "Confession  of  Faith  of  the  People  called  Brownists." 
This  was  his  first  essay  in  print.  Ainsworth's  scheme  of  church-government  differed 
somewhat  from  that  of  his  coadjutor  Johnson,  and  the  result  was  a  division  of  the 
church  into  two  sections,  one  of  which  withdrew  with  Ainsworth  and  formed  a 
distinct  society.  On  the  testimony  of  John  Robinson,  the  pastor  at  Leyden,  Henry 
Ainsworth  displayed  much  moderation  in  this  dispute,  in  contrast  with  the  conduct  of 
Johnson.  Ainsworth's  second  church  was  founded  in  December,  1610.  Mr. 
Ainsworth  continued  about  twelve  years  to  serve  this  church  as  its  minister ;  and 
during  those  years  he  diligently  plied  the  pen  of  a  ready  writer  in  the  production  of 
many  controversial  treatises  and  books  of  biblical  exegesis.  Some  of  his  polemical 
pieces  now  afford  curious  illustrations  of  the  religious  contentions  of  his  age.  In  the 
tract  entitled  "The  Trying  out  of  the  Truth,"  &c.  (1615),  the  editor,  "E.  P." 
notifies  the  "Christian  reader"  that  "having  had  some  interest  in  the  conveyance  of 
4he  passages  following,"  and  "whereas  the  controverters  were  so  different  in 
judgment,  and  yet  both  of  them  for  conscience  sake  suffer  afflictions,  being  separated 
from  the  Church  of  England,  the  one  [John  Ainsworth]  to  the  practice  of  a  Roman 
Catholick,  the  other  [Henry  Ainsworth]  to  a  way  thereunto  most  opposite,  and  both 
of  them  being  leaders  and  men  of  note  in  their  so  much  different  religions,"  he  has 
"without  prejudice  put  forth  these  things,"  &c.  It  further  appears  that  Mr.  John 
Ainsworth,  a  Roman  Catholic,  whilst  a  prisoner  in  London,  put  forth  a  challenge  to 
debate  in  writing  religious  questions,  and  invited  his  "namesake  Mr.  Henry  Ains- 
worth" to  note  it.  Henry  Ainsworth,  in  his  first  letter  from  Amsterdam,  dated  Sept. 
4th,  1609,  refers  to  John  Ainsworth  as  "in  nation  and  in  name  (and  I  know  not 
whether  also  for  nearer  alliance)  being  meet."  Four  letters  were  written  by  each 
disputant ;  and  Henry  Ainsworth  concludes  with  a  short  answer.  Mr.  Henry 
Ainsworth's  last  extended  letter  in  this  controversy  is  dated  from  Amsterdam,  Nov. 
7th,  1613.  Shortly  before  his  death,  Henry  Ainsworth  visited  Ireland,  but  returned 
to  Amsterdam,  where  he  died  in  1623,  "leaving  an  exemplary  character  for  humility, 
sobriety,  discretion,  and  unblameable  virtue."  "  His  death,"  writes  Neal,  "was  sudden 
and  not  without  suspicion  of  violence ;  for  it  is  reported,  that  having  found  a  diamond 
of  very  great  value  in  the  streets  of  Amsterdam,  he  advertised  it  in  print,  and  when  the 
owner,  who  was  a  Jew,  came  to  demand  it,  he  offered  him  any  acknowledgment  he 
would  desire  ;  but  Ainsworth,  though  poor,  would  accept  of  nothing  but  a  conference 
with  some  of  his  Rabbins  upon  the  prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament  relating  to  the 
prophecies  of  the  Messias,  which  the  other  promised  ;  but  not  having  interest  enough 
to  obtain  it,  and  Ainsworth  being  resolute,  it  is  thought  he  was  poisoned."  Another 
version  is  that  Ainsworth  procured  the  conference  with  the  Rabbins,  and  so 


616  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

confounded  them,  that  out  of  pique  they  contrived  to  put  an  end  to  his  life.  There 
is  now  no  possibility  of  testing  the  truth  of  this  singular  story.  Concerning  the 
quality  of  Henry  Ainsworth's  writings,  and  the  value  of  his  commentaries,  Dr. 
Worthington,  Master  of  Jesus  College,  Cambridge,  wrote  in  1660,  in  the  follow- 
ing terms : — "  There  is  another  author  whose  remains  are  most  worthy  to  be 
retrieved  :  I  mean  Mr.  Ainsworth,  whose  excellent  annotations  upon  the  Pentateuch, 
&c. ,  sufficiently  discover  his  great  learning,  and  his  most  exact  observation  -  of  the 
proper  idioms  of  the  Holy  Text ;  with  every  iota  and  tittle  of  which  he  seems  to  be 
as  much  acquainted  as  any  of  the  Masoreths  of  Tiberias.  I  am  told  that  there  are 
these  MSS.  of  his,  viz.: — His  *  Comment  upon  Hosea,'  'Notes  upon  St.  Matthew,* 
and  '  Notes  upon  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,'  which  latter  he  was  the  more  prepared 
for,  by  reason  of  his  former  labours  upon  the  Pentateuch,  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews 
being  Moses  unveiled.  Mr.  Cole  (a  bookseller  at  the  printing  press  in  Cornhill)  told 
me  that  he  had  once  these  MSS.  in  his  keeping,  and  thought  to  have  printed  them  ; 
but  a  kinsman  (or  a  son,  I  do  not  well  remember)  of  Mr.  Ainsworth's,  at  Amsterdam, 
and  John  Caw,  could  not  well  agree,  either  about  the  right  of  disposing  of  the  copy, 
or  the  price  of  the  MSS.  I  have  heard  that  Mr.  Nye  or  Mr.  Jessey  knew  something 
of  these  MSS.  If  they  could  be  recovered,  as  they  be  like  the  other  printed  works  of 
the  author,  it  would  be  a  good  wwk  indeed,  and  might  be  of  singular  use.  Nay,  if 
they  be  not  throughout  so  coropleated  as  the  author  intended,  yet  the  whole  is  too  good 
to  be  lost  or  embessill'd. "  The  writer  suggests  that  the  matter  should  be  inquired  of 
at  Amsterdam,  and  adds  that  "  if  the  MSS.  can  be  found,  and  can  be  purchased  at  a 
fit  rate,  there  is  no  fear  of  being  a  loser.  His  other  works  have  always  sold  well,  and 
at  a  good  price,  and  were  bought  by  men  of  different  persuasion  from  him,  who  did 
esteem  him  for  his  modesty  and  singular  learning,  and  were  much  obliged  to  him  for 
his  skill  in  Jewish  Antiquities,  lighting  their  candle  by  his."  A  short  tune  after,  Dr. 
Worthington,  having  learnt  something  of  Ainsworth's  son  at  Amsterdam,  wrote,  in 
August,  1 66 1  : — "  If  Mr.  Drury  be  so  well  acquainted  with  young  Mr.  Ainsworth,  he 
might  (it  may  be)  borrow  those  MSS.  of  his  father's  which  relate  to  the  explication  of 
some  parts  of  Scripture,  and,  by  viewing  them,  he  might  judge  of  what  moment  they 
are."1 

i  The  following  is  a  category  of  titles  of  the  published  works  of  Ainsworth  in  the  original  editions : — 

1.  A  Confession  of  Faith  of  the  People  called  Brownists.     Amst.  1602. 

2.  Apology  or  Defence  of  such  true  Christians  as  are  commonly  but  unjustly  called  Brownists. 
Amst.  1604. 

3.  An  Epistle  sent  unto  two  daughters  of  Warwick  from  H.    N.   [Henry  Nicholas]   the  oldest 
Father  of  the  Familie  of  Love.     With  a  refutation  of  the  errors  that  are  therein.     By  H.  A  [HENRY 
AINSWORTH].     Imprinted  at  Amsterdam  by  Giles  Thorp.     1608. 

4.  Counterpoyson.    Considerations  touching  the  points  in  difference  between  the  godly  Ministers 
and  people  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  the  Seduced  Brethren  of  the  Separation.     Mr.    Bernard's 
book  intituled  The  Separatists  Schism.       Mr.    Crashawe's   Questions   propounded   in  his   Sermon 
preached  at  the  Crosse.     Examined  and  Answered  by  H.  A.     1608.     [Republished  in  1612  and  1642.] 

5.  Annotations  upon  the  Booke  of  Psalmes.     Lond. :  1612.     [Republished  in  1626.] 

6.  Annotations  upon  the  Five  Bookes  of  Moses  [published  separately  in  1619,  1621,   and  1626], 
the  Booke  of  the  Psalmes,  and  the  Song  of  Songs,  or  Canticles.    London  :  Printed  for  John  Bellamie, 
and  are  to  be  sold  at  his  Shop  in  Cornehill,  at  the  signe  of  the  three  Golden  Lions  neere  the  Royall 
Exchange.     1627.     [Republished  in  1639  ;  translated  into  Dutch  in  1690,  and  into  German  in  1692.] 

7.  An  Animadversion  to  Mr.  Richard  Clyfton's  Advertisement,  who  under  pretense  of  answering 
Chr.  Laurie's  book,  hath  published  an  other  man's  private  Letter,  with  Mr.  Francis  Johnson's  answer 
thereto  refuted  :  and  the  true  causes  of  the  lamentable  breach  that  hath  lately  fallen  out  in  the  English 
exiled  Church  at  Amsterdam,  manifested.     Imprinted  at  Amsterdam,  by  Giles  Thorp.     1613. 

8.  The  Communion  of  Saincts.     A  treatise  of  the  fellowship  that  the  faithful  have  with  God,  and 
his  Angels,  and  one  with  another,  in  the  present  life.     Gathered  out  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  by  H.  A. 
Reprinted  in  the  year  1615.     [Again  reprinted  in  1628  and  1640.] 


AINSWORTH  OF  PLEASINGTOX. 


617 


Thomas  Ainsworth,  Esq.,  first  son  of  Lawrence,  was  lord  of 
Pleasington  from  1573  to  his  death,  after  the  year  1600,  when  he 
appears  in  a  list  of  freeholding  gentry  of  Blackburn  Hundred.  He  was 
dead  before  1610,  when  Margaret  Ainsworth  his  widow  (her  maiden 
name  was  Charnley),  was  assessed  to  a  Subsidy  for  her  lands  in 
Pleasington. 

John  Ainsworth  a  son  of  Thomas,  married  Anne,  daughter  of  — 
Bradley  of  Betham  ;  and  died  Dec.  3ist,  1608.  By  Inq.  post  Mori., 
taken  at  Blackburn,  before  Wm.  Bromley,  Esq.,  escheator,  April  ist, 
1609,  it  was  found  that  John  Ainsworth,  Esq.,  died  seized  of  three 
messuages,  three  gardens,  40  acres  of  land,  10  of  meadow,  20  of  pasture, 
and  10  of  moor  in  Oswaldtwistle,  held  of  Ralph  Barton,  Esq.,  in  free 
socage ;  of  a  small  parcel  of  land  in  Pleasington,  held  of  the  heirs  of 
Wm.  Radcliff  of  Wynmerleigh  ;  and  of  lands  in  Livesey,  held  of  James 
Livesey,  gent,  in  socage.  George  Ainsworth,  his  son  and  heir,  was 
aged  10  years.  He  was  first  of  a  branch  of  Ainsworths  of  Knuzden 
and  High  Stanhill,  in  Oswaldtwistle.  Anne  Ainsworth,  widow  of  John, 
died  in  1618. 

Thomas  Ainsworth,  placed  in  the  Visitation  of  1613  as  son  of  John, 
was,  I  think,  his  elder  brother,  and  heir  of  Thomas  named  above.  This 
second  Thomas  married  Dorothy,  daughter  of  John  Halsted  of 
Rowley,  gent.,  and  had  sons,  John;  Richard  Ainsworth  of  Witton, 
gent.,  who  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Lawrence  Ainsworth  of 
Tockholes  ;  and  Robert,  who  died  in  1608.  Thomas  Ainsworth,  Esq., 

9.  The  Trying  out  of  the  Truth,  begunn  and  proseqwted  in  certayn  Letters  or  Passages  between 
lohn  Aynsworth  and  Henry  Aynsworth,  the  one  pleading  for,  the  other  against,  the  present  religion  of 
the  Church  of  Rome,     Published  for  the  good  of  others,  by  E.  P.,  in  the  yeare  1615. 

10.  A  reply  to  a  pretended  Christian  Plea  for  the  Antichristian  Church  of  Rome,  published  by 
Mr.  Francis  Johnson,  a.d.  1617.     Wherein  the  weakness  of  the  sayd  Plea  is  manifested,  and  argu- 
ments alleged  for  the  Church  of  Rome,  and  Baptisme  therein,  are  refuted.     Anno  1618.     Printed  in 
the  year  1620. 

11.  Certain  notes  of  Mr.  Henry  Aynsworth  his  last  sermon.     Taken  by  pen  in  the  publique 
delivery  by  one  of  his  flock,  a  little  before  his  death.     Anno  1622.     Published  now  at  last  by  the  said 
writer,  as  a  love  token  of  remembrance  to  his  brethren,  to  inkindle  their  affections  to  prayer,  that 
scandalls  (of  manie  years  continuance)  may  be  removed,  that  are  barrs  to  keep  back  manie  godly  wise 
and  judicious  from  us,  whereby  we  might  grow  to  further  perfection  again.     Imprinted  1630.     [Title 
and  preface  signed  "  Sabine  Staresmore  ;"  sermon  on  i  Peter  ii,  4.] 

12.  Advertisement  touching  some  objections  made  against  the  Sinserity  of  the  Hebrew  Text,  and 
the  allegations  of  the  Rabbins.     London,  1639. 

13.  An  arrow  against  Idolatrie  ;  taken  out  of  the  Quiver  of  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  by  H.  A.     Printed 
in  the  yeere  1640.     [Another  edition — "  Nova  Belgia,  Printed  1640,"] 

14.  The  old  orthodox  Foundation  of  Religion.     Left  for  a  Patterne  to  a  New   Reformation. 
Collected  long  since  in  Amsterdam,  by  Mr.  Henry  Ainsworth,  that  judicious  and  learned  man,  for  the 
benefit  of  his  private  Company  :  And  now  republished  for  the  profit  and  information  of  Presbyterians, 
Independents,  Papists,  Anabaptists,  Arminians,  Antimoravians,  Ranters,  Quakers,  Seekers,  and  all  that 
desire  to  know  Christ  Jesus  and  him  crucified,  by  S.  W.     [First  edition  1641.]     London,  Printed  by 
E.  Cotes,  and  are  to  be  sold  by  Michael  Spark  at  the  Blue  Bible  in  Green  Arbour,  1653. 

15.  A  Seasonable  Discourse,  or,  a  Censure  upon  a  Dialogue  of  the  Anabaptists,  intituled,  A 
Description  of  what  God  hath  predestinated  concerning  man,  &c.     London,  Printed  by  W.  Jones, 
1642.     [Other  editions  in  1643,  1645,  1651.] 


618  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

died  in  the  year  1613.  The  escheat  was  taken  at  Blackburn,  Oct.  26th, 
nth  James  I.  Thomas  Ainsworth  held  at  death  one  messuage,  10 
cottages,  80  acres  of  arable  land,  meadow,  pasture,  wood  and  underwood 
in  Pleasington,  held  of  John  Winckley  in  socage ;  also  13  messuages,  13 
gardens,  200  acres  of  arable  land,  meadow  and  pasture,  and  200  acres 
of  moorland  in  the  same  township ;  three  messuages,  one  cottage,  and 
70  acres  of  land,  in  Livesey,  held  of  James  Livesey  in  socage ;  and  one 
messuage  and  6  acres  of  land  in  Witton.  John  Ainsworth  was  his  son 
and  heir,  aged  4  years ;  and  Dorothy  Ainsworth,  his  widow,  was  then 
living  at  Pleasington. 

John  Ainsworth,  Esq.,  next  in  the  succession,  married,  first, 
Claudia,  second  daughter  of  Rev.  Wm.  Leigh,  B.D.,  rector  of  Standish 
(she  died  in  1631,  and  was  buried  Oct  25th),  and  by  her  had  two  sons, 
Thomas,  born  in  1629;  and  William,  bapt.  Jan.  26th,  1630-1.  His 
second  wife  was  Jane,  daughter  of  Leonard  Ashawe,  by  whom  he  had 
sons,  John,  bapt.  Dec.  i2th,  1632  ;  Theophilus  ;  and  Henry,  born  and 
died  in  1647;  and  daughters,  Mary,  wife  of  Robert  Dickinson  of 
Chorley;  Ellen;  and  Dorothy,  born  in  1636,  wife  of  —  Wrightington. 
Mr.  John  Ainsworth  died  in  1667,  aged  58,  and  was  buried  at  Blackburn 
Church,  March  26th. 

John  Ainsworth,  gent.,  second  son  of  John,  married  Sarah  Nether- 
wood  of  Leeds;  was  living  at  Pleasington  in  1671,  and  died  in  January 
1692-3,  aged  60.  Theophilus  Ainsworth  of  Pleasington,  gent.,  a 
younger  brother,  was  living  in  1687,  aged  52. 

Thomas  Ainsworth,  Esq.,  of  Pleasington  Hall,  eldest  son  of  John, 
married,  first,  Mary  Robinson,  and  had  a  son  William,  born  and  died 
in  1652  ;  and  a  daughter  Hellen,  born  in  1664.  His  first  wife  died  in 
1669  (was  buried  Aug.  4th) ;  and  by  Jenet,  his  second  wife  (who  died 
in  Oct.,  1686),  he  had  sons,  Thomas;  and  James;  and  a  daughter 
Margaret,  born  in  1672,  and  died  young.  Thomas  Ainsworth,  Esq., 
was  buried  at  Blackburn  Church,  Sept.  6th,  1672,  aged  43. 

Thomas  Ainsworth,  of  Pleasington  Hall,  first  surviving  son  of 
Thomas,  by  Mary  his  wife,  had  a  son  John.  This  Thomas  Ainsworth 
died  at  an  early  age ;  he  was  killed  by  falling  down  the  cellar-steps  at 
Pleasington  Hall,  and  was  buried  at  Blackburn,  Feb.  7th,  1701-2. 
Administration  of  his  estate  was  granted,  in  1710,  to  his  widow,  Mary 
Ainsworth,  then  of  Manchester,  he  having  died  eight  years  before, 
leaving  "  no  property,  and  great  debts." 

James  Ainsworth,  "of  Pleasington,  Esq.,"  I  think  a  brother  of 
Thomas,  married,  at  Church-Kirk,  in  1700,  Ellen  Kindle,  and  had  issue. 

John  Ainsworth  of  Pleasington,  Esq.,  son  of  Thomas,  made,  it  is 
stated,  "  an  entail  of  his  estates."  He  occurs  in  1724,  as  a  Commisioner 


BUTLER  OF  PLEASINGTON  HALL.  619 

concerning  Tockholes  Church ;  and  in  1 744  was  made  a  governor  of 
Blackburn  Grammar  School.  By  his  first  wife,  Sarah,  he  had  a  son 
Edward,  bapt.  Nov.  25th,  1725;  and  a  daughter  Sarah,  bapt.  Oct.  8th, 
1723.  His  second  wife  was  Ann  Stokoe,  of  Blackburn,  by  whom  he 
had  sons,  William;  Theophilus,  bora  in  1729;  John,  born  in  1731, 
died  in  1734;  Thomas,  afterwards  M.D.,  of  Colne,  who  entered  the 
navy;  and  daughters,  Ann,  bom  in  1727,  married  Thomas  Law,  and 
had  a  son  Robert;  and  Margaret,  born  in  1733,  married,  first,  James 
Anglezark,  secondly,  Henry  Longworth.  John  Ainsworth  had  a  third 
wife — "  Elizabeth,  wife  of  John  Ainsworth  of  Pleasington,  Esq.,"  buried 
July  i3th,  1 743.  He  died  in  August,  1 746,  and  was  buried  at  Blackburn 
Church,  Aug.  25th. 

Theophilus  Ainsworth,  "  of  Blackburn,  schoolmaster,"  a  younger 
son  of  John,  died  in  September,  1772,  aged  43. 

Edward  Ainsworth,  of  Pleasington  Hall,  Esq.,  the  last  direct  male 
representative  of  this  family,  married,  at  Haslingden  Church,  July  i4th, 

1743,  Ann,  daughter  of  Henry  Hargreaves,  gent,  of  Heap  Clough  (she 
died  in  childbed,  in  June,  1751),  and  had  issue,  a  son  John,  bapt.  July 
28th,  buried  Sept.  nth,  1751 ;  and  daughters,  Anne,  bapt.  Nov.  i6th, 

1744,  buried  Nov.  7th,   1745;  Sarah,  bapt.  Sept.  5th,  1745,  married, 
Jan.  5th,  1763,  Mr.  Richard  Chew  of  Billington  (he  died  in  1782),  and 
died  July  6th,  1802,  leaving  issue ;  a  second  Ann,  born  in  1746,  married, 
in  1769,  Mr.  Joseph  Ramsbottom  of  Brindle,  and  was  mother  of  Mr. 
Edward  Ramsbottom,  born  in  1770,  and  other  children;  Alice,  born  in 
1747;  and  Mary,  born  in  1749.     Edward  Ainsworth  having  no  surviving 
male  issue,  and  having  previously  mortgaged  the  estate,  on  the  1 7th  of 
March,    1777,    "the    Manor   of  Pleasington   and   its    fine   demesne," 
consisting  of  397  customary  acres,  or  738  statute  acres,  along  with  two 
pews  in  Blackburn  Parish  Church  and  a  vault  in  the  graveyard,  were 
publicly   sold,    subject   to   the   life   of  Edward   Ainsworth,    Esq.,   the 
purchaser  being  Richard  Butler,  Esq.     Edward  Ainsworth,  Esq.,  died 
soon  after  this  alienation  of  the  ancestral  lands,  in  1779,  and  was  buried 
at  Blackburn,  Oct.  27th. 

BUTLER  OF  PRESTON  AND  PLEASINGTON  HALL. 

Henry  Butler,  Esq.,  second  son  of  Henry  Butler  of  Rawcliffe,  Esq., 
by  his  first  wife,  Jane,  daughter  of  Thomas  Stanley  of  Eccleston,  Esq., 
had  sons,  Charles,  born  in  1652  ;  Philip ;  and  Thomas;  and  daughters, 
Mary,  Catherine,  Bridget,  and  Fleetwood. 

Charles  Butler,  Esq.,  son  of  Henry,  by  Elizabeth  his  wife,  had  issue, 
Launcelot ;  Fleetwood  (living  in  1759,  died  unmarried);  and  Jane. 
Charles  Butler  died  in  1715  ;  and  his  Will  is  dated  in  that  year. 


620  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


Launcelot  Butler,  Esq.,  son  of  Charles,  married  Alice,  daughter  and 
heir  of  Nicholas  Taylor  of  Eccleston,  gent.,  and  had  sons,  Richard  ; 
Nicholas,  who  died  without  issue ;  Thomas  (who  was  Rev.  Thomas 
Butler,  Catholic  Priest  at  Hornby;  he  died  in  Oct.,  1795,  having  de- 
mised the  farm  at  Tonge  Hill,  Pleasington,  to  his  nephew,  J.  F.  Butler ; 
his  portrait  is  at  Pleasington  Hall);  and  Charles,  died  issueless ;  and 
daughters,  Mary,  wife  of  John  Hodgson,  gent.;  Elizabeth,  born  in  1725  ; 
Ann,  Teresa,  and  Margaret,  all  three  nuns  in  Belgium ;  and  Fleetwood. 

Richard  Butler,  Esq.,  eldest  son  of  Launcelot,  married,  first,  in 
1757,  Anne,  second  daughter  of  William  Bryer,  of  Lancaster,  Esq.,  who 
died  Oct.  2ist,  1763,  having  had  issue,  Charles,  William,  and  Anne,  who 
all  died  in  infancy  at  Preston.  Richard  Butler  married,  secondly,  Char- 
lotte, daughter  of  John  Bowdon,  Esq.,  of  Baighton  Fields,  Co.  Derby, 
and  by -her  (who  died  at  Fernyhaugh,  aged  59,  Aug.  20th,  1807),  had  one 
son,  John  Francis ;  and  two  daughters,  Mary,  and  Anne.  Richard 
Butler,  Esq.,  purchased,  in  1777,  the  hall  and  manor  of  Pleasington, 
and  died  at  Preston  in  1779. 

John  Francis  Butler,  of  Pleasington  Hall,  Esq.,  only  surviving  son 
of  Richard,  was  born  at  Preston,  Jan.  1 9th,  1 7  74.  He  built  the  New 
Hall  of  Pleasington  in  1805-7,  and  the  Catholic  Church  called  Pleasing- 
ton  Priory  in  1818-19.  He  married,  in  1821,  Miss  Julia  Rush,  of  Man- 
chester, by  whom  he  had  no  issue ;  and  died  the  same  year,  aged  47. 

Miss  Mary  Butler,  elder  sister  of  the  last  named,  born  June  i5th, 
1777,  died  unmarried  March  9th,  1840,  leaving  the  Pleasington  estate 
to  her  cousin,  John  Butler-Bo wdon,  Esq.,  now  of  Pleasington  Hall. 

Anne  Butler,  second  sister,  born  at  Preston,  Feb.  2ist,  1778, 
married,  July  i8th,  1804,  James  Blanchard  of  Preston,  gent.,  and  had 
issue,  sons,  George,  born  in  1805,  died  in  1806;  Edward,  born  and  died 
in  1806  ;  and  John  Blanchard,  gent.,  born  Sept.  22nd,  1807,  died  near 
Aleppo,  July  i6th,  1835. 

BUTLER-BOWDON  OF  PLEASINGTON  HALL. 

Henry  Bowdon  of  Southgate  House,  Co.  Derby,  married  Mary, 
only  daughter  and  heir  of  Joseph  Enderwick,  Esq.,  of  Hartley,  and  had 
a  son,  John  Peter  Bruno  Bowdon. 

John  Peter  Bruno  Bowdon  of  Southgate  House,  J.P.,  High  Sheriff 
for  Derbyshire  in  1841,  died  Dec.  i7th,  1850.  By  his  wife  Mary  Martha, 
eldest  daughter  of  Edward  Ferrers,  Esq.,  of  Baddesley  Clinton,  he  had 
sons,  John ;  and  Henry  (of  Southgate  House,  &c.). 

John  Bowdon,  Esq.,  born  Sept.  i4th,  1815,  succeeded  to  the  ma- 
norial estate  of  Pleasington,  by  the  Will  of  his  cousin,  Miss  Mary  Butler, 
in  1840,  and  by  sign  manual  dated  Jan.  28th,  1841,  assumed  the  surname 


PLEASINGTON  OLD  HALL.  621 

of  Butler  (with  the  arms)  as  a  prefix  to  that  of  Bowdon.  John  Butler- 
Bowdon,  Esq.,  J.P.,  D.L.,  of  Pleasington  Hall,  married  Amelia 
Catherine  Frances,  eldest  daughter  of  G.  T.  Whitgreave,  Esq.,  of 
Mosely  Court,  Co.  Stafford  (she  died  Nov.  24th,  1874),  and  has  had 
issue,  sons,  John  Enderwick,  born  Feb.  i6th,  1850;  Launcelot  George, 
born  March  28th,  1851 ;  Jenny n  Thomas,  bora  in  1853  ;  and  Bruno 
Aloysius,  bom  in  1858;  and  a  daughter,  Mary  Frances,  died  in  1859. 

John  Enderwick  Butler-Bowdon,  the  eldest  son,  is  a  Justice  of  the 
Peace  for  the  County,  and  Captain  in  the  3rd  Lane.  Militia. 

The  old  manor-house  of  Pleasington  (which  has  been  superseded  as 
a  residential  mansion  by  the  New  Hall,  built  by  the  late  J.  F.  Butler, 
Esq  ,  and  lately  enlarged  by  J.  Butler-Bowdon,  Esq.),  stands  in  a  sheltered 
spot  in  the  demesne,  fronting  south.  It  consists  of  a  central  block  with 
gabled  wings.  The  east  wing  retains  its  original  features  in  mullioned 
windows  and  the  projecting  chimney  at  the  end  of  the  hall ;  the  middle 
portion  and  the  west  wing  have  been  partially  modernised.  The  interior 
contains  nothing  worthy  of  note  ;  and  the  only  curious  object  on  the  ex- 
terior is  the  lintel  of  the  doorway,  which  is  divided  into  five  panels,  con- 
taining carved  initials  and  insignia  as  follows  : — First  and  fifth  panels, 
the  initials  "R  H"  (for  Richard  Hoghton),  and  the  date  "1587;" 
second,  the  initials  "  T  H "  (Thomas  Hoghton),  and  the  Hoghton 
crest,  a  "  bull's  head  couped  ;"  third,  the  arms  (or  crest)  of  Ainsworth, 
"  three  battle  axes,"  with  traces  of  effaced  initials,  perhaps  of  Lawrence 
Ainsworth  ;  and  fourth,  the  initials  "I  S  "  (for  John  Southworth),  and 
the  Southworth  crest,  a  "  bull's  head  erased."  The  reason  for  placing 
these  several  heraldic  devices  upon  the  manor-house  was  that  the  Ains- 
worths,  Hoghtons  of  Hoghton  Tower,  and  Southworths  of  Samlesbury, 
were  the  chief  owners  of  lands  in  Pleasington  when  this  Hall  was  rebuilt 
in  1587.  An  engraved  view  of  the  Hall  is  presented. 

FEILDEN  OF  FENISCOWLES. 

William  Feilden,  Esq.,  third  son  of  Joseph  Feilden  of  Witton,  Esq., 
was  founder  of  the  branch  of  the  family  seated  at  Feniscowles.  He  was 
born  in  1772  ;  and  married,  on  March  3oth,  1797,  Mary  Haughton, 
eldest  daughter  of  Edmund  Jackson,  Esq.,  of  Woodlands,  Jamaica. 
Issue,  sons,  William  Henry ;  Montague  Joseph ;  and  John  Leyland  ; 
daughters,  Mary  Haughton,  wife  of  Rev.  J.  W.  Whitaker,  D.D.,  Vicar 
of  Blackburn  ;  Catherine  Margaret,  wife  of  James  Hozier,  Esq.;  Geor- 
gina  Amelia,  wife  of  Daniel  M^,  Esq.;  Frances  Eliza,  wife  of  Andrew  X 
Hamilton,  Esq.;  Maria  Leyland,  wife  of  Rev.  Robert  Hornby ;  and 
Catherine  Reid.  William  Feilden,  Esq.,  was  sometime  engaged  in  the 
cotton  trade,  in  Blackburn,  in  conjunction  with  his  brothers  Henry  and 


622  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

John.  In  1798,  he  purchased  the  Feniscowles  estate,  and  built  the  new 
Feniscowles  Hall  upon  that  property  in  1808,  having  shortly  before 
acquired  the  moiety  of  Livesey  manorial  estate  contiguous  to  Fenis- 
cowles, a  portion  of  which  he  converted  into  preserves  and  a  deer-park. 
In  1832,  Mr.  Feilden  was  elected  as  one  of  the  first  Members  of  Parlia- 
ment for  Blackburn  ;  and  after  being  re-elected  in  1835,  1837,  and  1841, 
retired  from  Parliament  in  1847,  at  tne  aSe  °f  75-  He  received  a  baro- 
netcy 26th  July,  1846.  Sir  William  Feilden,  bart,  died,  aged  78,  May 
1 7th,  1850,  and  was  buried  in  the  vault  beneath  Blackburn  Parish 
Church.  His  widow,  dowager  Lady  Feilden,  died  at  Streatham,  in  her 
9oth  year,  Jan.  9th,  1867. 

Sir  William  Henry  Feilden,  bart,  successor  to  the  estates  and  title 
married  Mary  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  the  late  Col.  Wemyss ;  and  has  had 
issue,  sons,  William  Leyland,  born  in  Nov.,  1835  ;  and  Henry  Wemyss, 
Feilden,  Capt.  R.N.,  Naturalist  to  the  Arctic  Expedition  of  1875-6 ;  and 
several  daughters. 

William  Leyland  Feilden,  Esq.,  J.P.,  eldest  son,  married,  Feb,  i6th, 
1860,  Catherine  Jane,  daughter  of  Edward  Pedder,  Esq.,  and  has  issue. 

Feniscowles  (New)  Hall  stands  at  the  foot  of  a  steep  bank  near 
Feniscowles  Bridge,  at  the  confluence  of  the  Roddlesworth  stream  with 
the  Darwen.  It  is  an  ordinary  modern  mansion  ;  and  contains  a  varied 
collection  of  objects  in  natural  history,  made  by  the  present  baronet, 
and  a  gallery  of  valuable  paintings  acquired  by  the  first  baronet. 

The  present  chief  landowners  in  Pleasington  are,  John  Butler- 
Bowdon,  Esq.,  the  manor-estate,  620  acres ;  Sir  W.  H.  Feilden,  Bart, 
Feniscowles  estate  (in  Pleasington  and  Livesey),  1 1 2 1  ^  acres ;  Exors. 
of  the  late  Peter  Ellingthorpe,  Shorrock  Hey  estate,  131  acres;  Ellen 
Higham,  63  acres ;  J.  Higham,  1 1  yz  acres  ;  Mrs.  Harriet  Openshaw, 
Feniscowles  Old  Hall,  47^  acres;  Rev.  John  Peduzzi,  R.  C.  Presby- 
tery, 11^2  acres. 

AINSWORTH  OF  FENISCOWLES. 

This  branch  of  Ainsworths  of  Pleasington  starts  with  Theophilus  Ainsworth, 
gent. ,  a  younger  son  of  John  Ainsworth,  Esq.  By  Sarah,  his  wife,  whom  he  married 
about  1671,  Theophilus  Ainsworth  had  a  son  Thomas.  Theophilus  Ainsworth  was 
elected  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1682,  and  he  died  April  24th,  1702. 

Thomas  Ainsworth  of  Feniscowles,  gent.,  son  of  the  last  named,  married,  Jan. 
1 7th,  1697-8,  Ellen  Piccop  of  Lower  Darwen.  He  had  sons,  John;  and  Richard  ; 
also  a  daughter  Sarah. 

John  Ainsworth,  son  of  Thomas,  married  Dorothy,  daughter  of  John  Livesey  of 
Feniscowles,  gent  (married  at  Brindle,  Oct.  29th,  1728).  He  had  a  son  John,  born 
in  1 734,  died  young ;  also  Thomas  and  John,  twin  sons,  born  in  1 738  (John  died  in 
1759);  and  a  daughter  Ellen,  married  to  Mr.  George  Anderson  of  Annan,  Scotland. 
John  Ainsworth  of  Feniscowles  died  in  Oct.,  1756.  Dorothy  Ainsworth,  his  widow, 
died  in  May,  1776. 


FREEHOLDERS  OF  PLEASINGTON.  623 

Thomas  Ainsworth  of  Feniscowles,  gent.,  son  of  John,  was  High  Constable  of 
the  Lower  Division  of  Blackburn  Hundred.  He  married  Jane  Ramsbottom,  of 
Brindle,  and  had  sons,  John,  born  about  1 767  ;  and  Thomas ;  and  three  daughters, 
one  of  whom,  Sarah,  married  William  Eccles  of  Blackburn,  and  died  in  1839,  aged 
61.  Mr.  Thomas  Ainsworth  sold  Feniscowles  estate  to  William  Feilden,  Esq.,  in 
1798  ;  and  died  in  1804. 

John  Ainsworth  of  Preston,  Esq.,  son  of  Thomas,  married  Catherine  Crooke,  of 
Preston,  and  had  issue  a  son,  Thomas  Crooke,  and  two  daughters.  Mr.  John  Ains- 
worth died  at  Leyland,  in  1815,  aged  48.  His  widow  died  at  Bangor,  in  1852,  aged  82. 

Thomas  Crooke  Ainsworth,  Esq.,  of  Blackburn,  attorney-at-law  (born  in  1802, 
and  died  in  1872),  married  Hannah  Mary  Somner  of  Chorley.  His  eldest  son  is 
Thomas  Somner  Ainsworth,  Esq.,  now  of  Showley  Fold,  Clayton-in-le-dale. 

CUNLIFFE  OF  TONGE  HILL. 

Thomas  Cunliffe,  of  Pleasington,  yeoman,  lived  in  the  reign  of  James  I.,  and  died 
before  1 612  ;  for  the  after-death  inquisition  was  taken  at  Blackburn,  April  8th,  2Oth 
James  I.,  and  proves  that  the  deceased  had  held  one  messuage,  with  three  acres  of 
land  and  pasture  in  Pleasington  ;  and  a  messuage  and  five  acres  of  land,  meadow,  and 
pasture  in  Mellor.  He  had  died  on  May  1st,  in  the  year  preceding ;  and  James  Cun- 
liffe was  his  son  and  heir,  aged  29  years.  James  Cunliffe  of  Pleasington,  gent. ,  is 
found  in  a  list  of  freeholders  dated  1621.  He  had  sons,  Giles,  born  in  1619,  and 
James,  born  in  1626.  Giles  Cunliffe,  of  Tonge  Hill,  who  died  in  Nov.,  1675,  had 
sons,  Thomas,  died  young  in  1654;  William,  born  in  1655  ;  and  Giles,  born  in  1666. 
William  Cunliffe  of  Pleasington  had  a  son  Giles,  born  in  1677. 

ELLINGTHORPE  OF  SHORROCK  HEY. 

Richard  Ellingthorpe  of  Pleasington,  yeoman  (of  a  Yorkshire  family),  died  in  Nov. , 
1782.  He  married  Dorothy  Ward,  and  had  sons,  Peter,  bapt.  April  22nd,  1750;  and 
Richard,  bapt.  Oct.  i6th,  1757,  died  in  April,  1762;  and  daughters,  Elizabeth,  born 
in  1731,  married  Aug.  I4th,  1766,  John  Haworth,  of  Blackburn,  yeoman  (see 
Haworth  of  Factory  Hill),  and  died  in  May,  1804  ;  Jane,  born  in  1743,  died  in  1744 ; 
a  second  Jane,  born  in  1745,  died  in  1751  ;  and  a  third  Jane,  born  in  1755,  married, 
Oct.  i8th,  1787,  Mr.  Henry  Slater  (he  died  Sept.  6th,  1788),  and  had  a  daughter 
Jane,  born  in  Oct.,  1788. 

Peter  Ellingthorpe,  of  Blackburn,  chapman  and  yeoman,  died  Jan.  i6th,  1809. 
He  married  Mary  Rixon  (she  died,  aged  71,  April  26th,  1827),  and  had  a  son  Richard, 
born  June  28th,  1779  ;  and  a  daughter  Ann,  born  in  May,  died  in  Sept.,  1781. 

Richard  Ellingthorpe,  of  Shorrock  Hey,  Pleasington,  gent. ,  son  of  Peter,  mar- 
ried, May  I4th,  1809,  Mary  Edmundson  (she  died,  aged  70,  Feb.  I3th,  1849),  and 
had  issue,  sons,  Peter,  born  Aug.  25th,  1809  ;  and  Rixon,  born  July  2ist,  1818  ;  also 
daughters,  Jane,  born  in  1810,  died  unmarried,  April  I7th,  1859  ;  Ann,  born  in  1812, 
died  unmarried,  Nov.  l8th,  1832  ;  Elizabeth,  bora  in  1814,  died  in  1818 ;  and  Doro- 
thy, born  in  1815,  died  unmarried,  June  1 7th,  1836.  Richard  Ellingthorpe,  gent., 
died,  aged  46,  April  22nd,  1836. 

Peter  Ellingthorpe  of  Shorrock  Hey,  gent.,  eldest  son  of  Richard,  was  appointed, 
in  1837,  Clerk  to  the  Blackburn  Poor  Law  Union,  and  held  the  office  until  his  death, 
unmarried,  April  8th,  1874,  aged  67. 

Mr.  Rixon  Ellingthorpe,  brother  of  Peter,  married,  Dec.  3Oth,  1856,  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  John  Parker  (fourth  son  of  Thomas  Parker,  Esq.,  of  Alkincoats),  and  died 
without  issue,  April  6th,  1865,  aged  46.  His  widow  died  June  2Oth,  1870. 


624  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

LIVESEY  OF  FENISCOWLES. 

This  family  of  lesser  gentry  or  yeomen,  seated  at  Feniscowles  Old  Hall,  Pleas- 
ington,  was  a  branch  of  Livesey,  lords  of  Livesey  ;  but  must  have  held  this  freehold 
during  a  long  period,  for  so  early  as  A.  D.  1404,  Thomas  de  Livesey  de  Fenischales 
occurs,  of  whose  estate  William  de  Wetherby,  Vicar  of  Blackburn,  was  a  trustee. 

Two  centuries  later,  John  Livesey  of  Fenyscholes  was  assessed  for  his  lands  to  a 
King's  Subsidy  in  1610,  and  died  in  July,  1626.  Thomas  Livesey  of  Fenischoles, 
assessed  for  lands  to  the  Subsidy  of  1663,  died  in  1686,  buried  Nov.  8th.  He  had  sons, 
Christopher,  born  in  1656;  Henry,  Ralph,  and  John.  John  Livesey  of  Pleasington, 
married,  March  6th,  1670-1,  Dorothy  Cunliffe.  He  was,  I  think,  father  of — 

John  Livesey  of  Feniscowles,  gent. ,  who  by  Mary  his  wife  had  issue,  sons, 
Thomas,  born  in  1700;  and  John,  born  and  died  in  Jan.,  1700-1  ;  and  daughters, 
Mary,  born  in  1702,  died  in  infancy;  and  Dorothy,  bapt.  Nov.  1 2th,  1704,  married 
John  Ainsworth,  gent.  John  Livesey,  gent. ,  was  buried  at  Blackburn,  Dec.  24,  1 729. 

Thomas  Livesey  of  Pleasington,  yeoman,  son  of  John,  by  Alice  his  wife  had  sons, 
John,  bapt.  Dec.  3Oth,  1726  ;  and  Thomas,  bapt.  Feb.  3rd,  1730-1.  Thomas  Livesey 
the  father  rebuilt  the  house  at  Feniscowles  about  1726.  He  died  in  May,  1751. 

Feniscowles  Old  Hall  is  a  house  of  some  antiquity  situate  upon  a  high  bank  near 
the  river  Darwen.  It  fronts  to  the  south,  and  has  a  gabled  porch,  and  retains  some 
of  the  original  features.  In  a  passage  near  the  kitchen  are  the  initials  (within  a 
scroll): — "T  A  L"  and  date  "  1726  ;"  showing  that  the  house  was  restored  at  that 
time  by  Thomas  Livesey.  In  the  wall  of  the  barn  are  two  sculptured  stones,  one 
bearing  the  letters  "T  L  +  A  L"  (Thomas  and  Alice  Livesey),  and  the  date 
"  1732 ;"  the  other  has  the  letters  "I  L  "  (for  John  Livesey). 

NOWELL  OF  PLEASINGTON. 

Alexander  Nowell,  gent.,  {of  Pleasington  in  1714-37),  was  fourth  son  of  Alexan- 
der Nowell  of  Read,  Esq.  He  was  born  in  1682  ;  married,  at  Walton  Church,  Dec. 
1 2th,  1706,  "Mistress  Mary  Ashton  of  Cuerdale,"  daughter  of  Richard  Assheton, 
Esq.  He  had  issue,  Alexander;  Richard,  baptized  at  Walton,  Nov.  1 8th,  1712; 
(while  he  resided  at  Pleasington,  and  baptized  at  Blackburn  Church)— Roger,  bapt. 
May  4th,  1715;  Thomas,  bapt.  May  4th,  1716;  James,  bapt.  April  I5th,  1718; 
Ralph,  bapt.  April  27th,  1719  ;  Rebecca,  bapt.  June  4th,  1714 ;  Elizabeth,  bapt. 
March  2 1st,  1716-17;  afterwards — Edmund,  baptized  and  buried  at  Samlesbury  in 
1722;  Eleanor;  and  Lucy,  buried  at  Samlesbury,  Nov.  I2th,  1721.  Mr.  Alexander 
Nowell  of  Pleasington  was  made  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School,  Dec. 
2ist,  1737.  He  died  at  Gawthorpe,  in  March,  1747,  and  was  buried  at  Burnley, 
March  i6th,  where  his  wife  had  been  buried  May  3rd,  1746. 

Alexander  Nowell,  gent. ,  eldest  son,  living  in  1 736,  had  sons  Charles  and  Richard. 

Richard  Nowell,  brother  of  Alexander,  who  held  an  office  in  the  Court  of  Chan- 
cery, was  living,  unmarried,  in  1783. 

Roger  Nowell,  of  Altham  Hall,  gent,  was  the  third  son  of  Alexander  the  elder. 

Ralph  Nowell,  Esq.,  of  Gawthorpe  Hall,  sixth  son  of  Alexander,  later  of  Eccles- 
ton,  by  his  wife  Sarah,  daughter  of  Thomas  Whitaker,  Esq.,  of  Holme,  was  father  of 
Thomas  Michael  Nowell,  Esq. ,  and  of  Alexander  Nowell,  Esq. ,  of  Underley,  M.  P. 
for  Westmoreland,  who  died  in  1842. 

THE  OLD  ALUM  MINE  AT  "ALUM  SCAR." 

Near  the  western  border  of  this  township,  bounding  the  deep  wooded  glen  below 
Woodfold  Park,  is  a  lofty  cliff,  known  as  "  Alum  Scar,"  composed  of  a  thick  stratum 


THE  ALUM  MINE  IN  PLEASINGTON. 


625 


of  aluminous  shale.  This  was  an  ancient  alum  mine  of  some  celebrity,  opened 
originally  by  Sir  Richard  Hoghton,  the  land  on  this  side  of  the  Darwen  being  a  por- 
tion of  the  Hoghton  Park  estate.  Webster,  in  a  "  History  of  Metals"  (1671)  writes  : — 
"  Sir  Richard  Hoghton  set  up  a  very  profitable  mine  of  Alum  nigh  unto  Hoghton 
Tower,  in  the  Hundred  of  Blackburn,  within  this  few  years,  where  store  of  very  good 
alum  was  made  and  sold."  When  James  the  First  visited  Hoghton  Tower  in  1617, 
he  was  brought  hither  to  look  at  the  mine,  as  is  mentioned  in  the  Journal  of  Nicholas 
Assheton  : — "  Aug.  1 6.  About  4  o'clock  the  King  went  downe  to  the  Allome  mynes, 
and  was  there  an  houer,  and  viewed  them  preciselie. "  The  Crown  had  a  royalty  upon 
the  mine,  and  on  Oct.  22nd,  1617,  the  same  diarist  records  : — "  My  brother  Anderton 
was  at  Houghton  upon  a  Commission  from  the  Kynge  to  view  the  Allome  mynes." 
Fuller,  in  the  "Worthies  of  England"  (1662),  describing  the  natural  commodities  of 
Lancashire,  has  this  allusion  to  the  Pleasington  Alum  Mine: — "ALLUME. — I  am 
informed  that  Allume  is  found  at  Houghton  in  this  County,  within  the  Inheritance  of 
Sir  Richard  Houghton,  and  that  enough  for  the  use  of  this  and  the  neighbouring 
Shires,  though  not  for  transportation.  But  because  far  greater  plenty  is  afforded  in 
Yorkshire,  the  larger  mention  of  this  mineral  is  referred  to  that  place."  Fuller  says 
that  much  alum  was  then  "  daily  employed  by  clothiers,  glovers,  dyers, "  &c.  Canon 
Raines  observes  that  later  these  alum  works  were  held  on  a  joint  lease  from  the  Duchy 
by  Mr.  Ramsay  and  Lady  Sarah  Hoghton,  and  that  Lady  Hoghton  entered  into 
articles  of  agreement  with  one  Captain  James  Benson,  in  the  year  1658,  to  work  her 
ladyship's  portion  of  the  mines.  Benson's  speculation  proved  a  ruinous  one,  and  the 
lessee  had  his  works  seized  by  his  creditors,  and  was  himself  imprisoned.  This  was 
in  the  year  1659,  when  Benson  published  a  small  tract  of  twenty  pages,  entitled  "A 
Relation  of  James  Benson's  undertaking  the  making  of  Alum  at  the  Alum  Works  in 
Lancashire,  truely  opened,  and  the  instrumental  causes  of  his  present  condition  set 
forth."  Herein  the  writer  refers  to  the  kindly  consideration  of  a  cousin  of  his,  Mr. 
Justice  Sharpies  of  Blackburn,  and  of  a  Major  John  Wiggin  ;  reproaching  Dr.  Fyfe, 
Major  Ashhurst,  and  Mr.  Thomas  Wilson,  who  "  had  been  great  contrivers  and  assist- 
ants to  my  lady"  [Hoghton],  and  from  "professed  friends  became  secret  and  sure 
enemies. "  He  appeals  to  Lady  Hoghton  for  some  allowance  in  consideration  of  his 
losses,  and  offers  to  refer  the  matters  between  himself  and  her  ladyship  to  the  arbitra- 
tion of  two  or  four  godly  divines,  naming  Mr.  Tylclesley  and  Mr.  Eaton ;  but  Lady 
Hoghton  refused  to  compensate  him  or  to  accept  his  proffer  of  arbitration,  and  upon 
this  Benson  declares  that  he  had  "received  the  hardest  measure  that  ever  poor  man 
received  from  any  person  professing  truly  to  fear  God,"  and  vowed  he  "would  never 
have  any  more  to  do  with  any  business  that  concerned  her  ladyship's  honour. "  This 
Captain  Benson  was  Bailiff  of  Preston,  and  a  Parliamentarian  partizan  during  the  Civil 
War.  The  working  of  the  alum  mine  ceased  after  his  failure,  but  the  mine  was 
re-opened  some  time  after  by  Sir  E.  Colebrooke,  whose  venture  turned  out  no  better 
than  that  of  the  former  lessee.  Evidence  that  the  Alum  works  in  Pleasington  were 
carried  on  until  towards  the  end  of  the  last  century  is  found  in  the  Blackburn  Parish 
Burial  Register,  which  shows  that  one  "  Alexander  Macknellin,  of  Pleasington,  allum- 
worker,"  was  buried  in  May,  1769  ;  and  "John  Kitchin,  Pleasington,  allum-striker," 
was  buried  in  April,  1771.  A  tenement  near  the  "  Scar"  is  called  "  The  Alum  House. " 

ROMAN  CATHOLIC  CHAPEL. — This  fine  edifice  was  erected  during  the  years 
1816-1819,  at  the  charge  of  the  late  J.  F.  Butler,  Esq.,  who  also,  and  his  sister, 
Miss  Mary  Butler,  endowed  the  mission.  The  chapel,  which  is  usually  called  the 
"Priory,"  was  opened  on  the  24th  August,  1819.  It  is  a  large  and  lofty  fabric,  in 

40 


626  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

the  early  decorated  style  of  Gothic  architecture,  and  in  plan  comprises  nave  with 
clerestory,  side-aisles,  and  octagonal  chancel-apse.  The  external  walls  are  of  dressed 
freestone.  The  west  front  displays  the  gable  of  the  nave,  flanked  by  turrets  finished 
with  pinnacles,  and  having  a  latin  cross  springing  from  its  apex.  The  entrance  is 
by  a  central  doorway  in  the  west  end,  whose  pointed  recessed  and  decorated  arch  is 
enclosed  within  a  lofty  false  arch  ;  the  space  between  the  lesser  and  greater  arch  is 
relieved  by  three  statues  supported  on  corbels.  Figures  of  kneeling  monks  enrich  the 
front  on  either  side  of  the  doorway.  Above  the  main  arch  is  inserted  an  elaborate 
catherine-wheel  window,  1 5ft.  in  diameter.  The  windows  of  the  aisles  and  chancel 
are  large  ones  of  three  lights,  the  heads  filled  with  very  elegant  tracery  ;  and  the 
clerestory  is  lighted  with  lancet  windows  in  triplets.  The  total  external  length  of 
the  chapel  is  ugft.,  and  the  width  6oft.  The  height  of  the  two  turrets  springing 
from  the  western  gable  is  86ft.  In  the  interior,  the  aisles  are  divided  from  the  nave 
by  arcades  of  pointed  arches  springing  from  moulded  capitals ;  and  the  nave  from  the 
chancel  by  a  bold  pointed  arch.  Mr.  John  Palmer  was  architect  of  the  chapel ;  and 
inscribed  upon  the  wall  to  the  right  of  the  west  doorway  appears  this  record  : — 
"JOHANNES  PALMER,  ARCHITECTUS  ;  THOS.  OWEN,  SCULPTOR.  DEO  OMNIPO- 
TENTE  IN  HONOREM  BEATE  MARIA  SEMPER  VlRG.  ET  SCT.  JOHANNIS  BAPTISTI 
DEDICATUM."  The  cost  of  the  chapel  was  ^"20,000.  The  Butler  family  gave  a  glebe 
of  10%,  acres  adjoining  the  "  Priory,"  including  a  site  for  the  priest's  house.  A  well- 
filled  grave-yard  surrounds  the  chapel.  Rev.  Father  Kenyon  was  the  priest  in 
charge  in  1819,  and  in  that  year  returned  a  congregation  of  200  persons.  Rev.  Father 
Peduzzi  has  been  priest  here  many  years. 

PLEASINGTON  SCHOOL. — Tradition  refers  back  the  origin  of  this  school  two  cen- 
turies or  more,  but  there  is  neither  record  of  foundation  nor  trace  of  endowment  earlier 
than  the  first  half  of  the  last  century.  William  Wallbanck  of  Pleasington,  gent,  (who 
was  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  from  1716,  and  died  in  Nov.,  1744), 
by  Will  gave  ;£ioo  towards  the  support  of  a  school  in  Pleasington.  The  sum  was 
left  in  the  custody  of  Edward  Ainsworth,  Esq.,  of  Pleasington  Hall,  kinsman  of  the 
donor,  who  paid  the  interest  to  the  schoolmaster,  and  the  succeeding  owners  of  the 
manor-estate,  J.  F.  Butler,  and  J.  Butler-Bowdon,  Esqrs.,  have  held  the  principal 
and  paid  interest  thereon.  Another  item  of  the  endowment  consists  of  three  cottages 
at  Great  Peel,  in  Blackburn,  the  rents  of  which  produced  about  £8  per  annum.  These 
tenements  were  purchased  for  ;£i6o,  raised  by  a  township  subscription,  by  indenture 
dated  1 2th  June,  1787.  The  purchasing  trustees  were  J.  F.  Butler,  Esq.,  Henry 
Sudell,  Esq.,  Messrs.  P.  Ellingthorpe,  Jas.  Astley,  Edw.  Heaton,  Robt.  Lowe,  and 
Thomas  Ainsworth  ;  and  the  premises  were  described  as  a  plot  of  ground  on  the  south 
side  of  a  close  called  Great  Peel,  upon  which  had  been  erected  three  messuages,  sub- 
ject to  a  yearly  ground-rent  ot  £2  I2s.  A  further  sum  of  ^100,  raised  by  Dowager 
Lady  Feilden  some  years  ago,  is  placed  in  the  bank  at  4  per  cent,  interest  per  annum. 
These  items  make  a  total  of  about  £16  IDS.  yearly  paid  to  the  schoolmaster,  to  which 
is  added  the  free  use  of  a  house  built  in  1 796  by  subscription  of  landowners  and  rate- 
payers. The  school,  which  is  a  small  low  building  of  primitive  rudeness,  and  the 
house,  stand  upon  a  plot  of  half  an  acre  called  "School  Green,"  on  the  edge  of  the 
hill  above  Pleasington  Hall.  The  master  is  required  to  teach  children  resident  in 
Pleasington  reading,  writing,  and  accounts,  without  other  payment  than  a  small  yearly 
cockpennv.  Recent  masters  have  been — John  Seed,  who  occurs  in  1754  ,  John  Mit- 
chell, senior  (a  noted  mathematician);  John  Mitchell,  junior;  James  Bond;  and  John 
Ward,  present  master,  elected  in  1836,  and  who  is  now  (1876)  in  his  78th  year. 


ROYAL  CHACE  OF  RAMSGREAVE. 


627 


CHAPTER  XIV.— THE  TOWNSHIP  OF  RAMSGREAVE. 

Topography — Population — An  Ancient  Royal  Chase — Estate  and  Tenants  of  Whalley  Monastery  in 
Ramsgreave— Estate  of  Bartons — Ramsgreave  Hall  Estate— Modern  Landowners— Former  Free- 
holders— Gillibrand  of  Ramsgreave  and  Beardwood — Hoghton— Sharpies— Independent  Chapel. 

RAMSGREAVE  lies  adjacent  to  Blackburn  township  on  the  north, 
and  occupies  both  slopes  of  the  hill-ridge  east  of  Mellor.     Its 
area  is  757  statute  acres.    Population  : — In  1801,  298;  1811,  484  ;  1821, 
534;  1831,515;  1841,453;  1851,438;  1861,320;  1871,263. 

Ramsgreave  (anciently  Romesgreve\  was  parcel  of  the  chace 
attached  to  the  King's  manor  of  Blackburn,  temp.  Edward  the  Confessor, 
and  doubtless  was  the  situation  of  a  portion  of  the  "  wood,  one  league 
long  and  the  same  broad  "  found  in  Blackburn  manor  at  the  survey  of 
Domesday.  This  remained  a  hunting-ground  of  De  Lascys  and  the 
Dukes  of  Lancaster  until  past  the  middle  of  the  i4th  century.  In  1311, 
the  rental  of  Earl  de  Lascy  included  ^£3  95.  8d.  from  the  winter  and 
summer  agistment  and  herbage  of  the  Forests  or  chaces  of  Trawden, 
Penhull,  Rossendall,  Hoddesdene,  and  Romesgreve,  with  a  sum  of  93.  4d. 
from  the  profits  of  "  old  wood,  charcoal,  &c."  from  these  woodlands 
sold  for  the  use  of  iron-forges.  Fifty  years  after  this,  Henry  Planta- 
genet,  Duke  of  Lancaster,  by  charter  dated  Jan.  2nd,  1361,  gave  to  the 
Monks  of  Whalley  two  cottages,  7  acres  of  land,  183  acres  of  pasture, 
and  200  acres  of  wood  called  Romesgreve,  all  lying  in  Blackburn  Chase. 
Of  the  same  date  is  an  indenture  of  agreement,  found  in  the  Rolls  of 
the  Duchy,  "  concerning  tenements  in  Romsgreave,  and  the  towns  of 
Penhulton  and  Cliderhou,"  between  the  Duke  and  the  Abbot  and  Con- 
vent of  Whalley.  The  acreages  named  in  the  Duke's  charter,  being 
customary  measure,  would  cover  the  whole  area  of  Ramsgreave,  and 
show  that  rather  more  than  half  the  land,  or  200  customary  acres,  were 
still  in  woodland  nearly  300  years  after  the  Domesday  return.  From 
1361  to  1537,  a  period  of  176  years,  this  estate  was  held  by  the  Cister- 
cian fraternity  of  Whalley ;  and  in  a  compotus  of  the  Abbey's  revenue 
in  1478,  the  sum  from  Romesgreve  per  annum  was  ^4.  The  rental  of 


628  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Romesgreve  was  the  same  in  1521  ;  and  in  1534,  by  the  Valor  Eccle- 
siasticus,  the  Monastery  derived  from  Romesgreve,  in  "  rents  of  certain 
tenements  there,  per  annum,  ^6."  On  the  dissolution  of  the  Abbey, 
this  estate  with  the  rest  was  sequestrated  to  the  Crown ;  and  the  survey 
made  in  1538  returned  the  abbey  lands  in  Remesgreve,  held  by  tenants- 
at-will,  as  under  : — 

John  Hey  holdeth  a  house  and  garden,  i%  acre  of  arable  land,  10^  acres  of 
meadow  and  pasture  called  the  Brodehead,  and  payeth  135.  4d.  The  wife  of  William 
Calvard  houldeth  a  house,  a  garden,  and  2  acres  of  arable  land,  8  acres  of  pasture, 
meadow,  and  wood -ground,  called  Ramesgreen,  by  the  year  75.  4d.  James  Boulton, 
Wm. ,  Edward  and  Robert  Boulton  holdeth  the  moyety  of  a  tenement  and  a  garden  and 
20  acres  of  arable  land,  pasture,  and  meadow  called  the  Ramesgreen,  and  payeth  by 
the  year  7s.  4d.  Richard  Boulton  holdeth  a  house,  a  garden,  4  acres  of  arable  land, 
2  acres  of  meadow,  7  of  pasture,  and  payeth  yearly  153.  Robert  Boulton  and  William 
Boulton  his  brother  houldeth  2%  acres  of  meadow  called  Newfield  [with  pasturage  of 
two  beasts  on  Worple  Hills],  by  the  year  55.  Edward  Gelbourne  holdeth  a  house,  a 
garden,  6  acres  of  arable  land,  20  acres  of  pasture  and  wast  ground,  5  acres  of  meadow, 
and  payeth  yearly  £2  53.  Jeffery  Rusheton  houldeth  a  house,  a  garden,  4  acres  of 
arable  land,  23  of  pasture  and  wast  ground,  and  payeth  yearly  £i  33.  4d.  James 
Woode  houldeth  i  acre  of  pasture,  9  acres  of  meadow,  and  payeth  yearly  6s.  8d.  Sir 
Thos.  Southworth,  Knt,  houldeth  6  acres  of  mosse  ground  parcill  of  Worple  hills,  and 
payeth  id.  Sir  Alexr.  Osbaldstone  houldeth  a  house,  7  acres  of  moss  ground  parcill 
of  Brodehead,  and  payeth  £2  6s.  8d. 

Besides  the  above,  there  were  five  tenants  who  held  portions  of 
waste  ground  upon  Worple  Hills,  viz. : — James  Boulton,  Richard  Walms- 
ley,  Richard  Ireland,  Henry  Walmsley,  and  Gyles  Whalley,  and  paid 
each  53.  The  total  rental  of  Ramsgreave  was  then  ^9  IDS.  3d.  But 
a  large  part  of  the  township  was  yet  in  woodland,  the  remains  of  the 
"  forest  primeval ;"  and  the  surveyors  note  : — 

"  Memorandum,  their  is  a  wood  called  Romesgreen  wood,  which  is  wood  well 
replenished  with  ould  okes  and  fair  timber,  containing  by  estimation  one  myle  and 
half.  Item,  their  is  within  the  same  wood  a  fair  spring  [plantation]  of  3  years,  grow- 
ing, containing  by  estimation  2  acres." 

On  the  sale  of  the  Abbey  lands  of  Whalley  by  the  Crown,  the  Bar- 
tons of  Smithells,  lords  of  Blackburn  manor,  appear  to  have  purchased 
the  lands  in  Ramsgreave  ;  for,  as  I  have  formerly  stated  (p.  253), 
Andrew  Barton,  Esq.,  died  in  1548,  seized  of  twelve  messuages  in 
Romesgreve,  held  of  the  king  in  chief  by  the  2oth  of  a  knight's  fee, 
worth  ;£8  2S.  gd.,  for  which  he  paid  yearly  195.  2^d.  Robert  Barton, 
Esq.,  who  died  in  1580,  had  the  same  estate;  and  in  the  escheat  of 
Ralph  Barton,  Esq.,  who  died  in  1590,  I  find  the  acreage  of  the  Rams- 
greave lands  of  this  family,  being  12  messuages,  80  acres  arable,  10  acres 
meadow,  80  acres  pasture,  50  acres  woodland,  and  140  acres  moor  and 
moss  ;  total  360  customary  acres,  equal  to  about  600  statute  acres,  the 
entire  area  of  Ramsgreave  being  757  statute  acres.  Lady  Margaret 


RAMSGREAVE  HALL  ESTATE.  629 

Shuttleworth,  wife  of  Sir  Richard,  as  widow  of  Robert  Barton,  held  the 
Ramsgreave  property  until  her  death  in  1592  ;  and  Ralph  Barton,  who 
died  before  1613,  in  his  time  was  possessor  of  the  estate. 

The  Ramsgreave  Hall  estate  is  the  largest  of  the  old  freeholds  in 
the  township  ;  and  probably  was  that  which  formerly  belonged  to  the 
lords  of  Blackburn  manor.  The  estate  has  passed  in  later  times  through 
several  hands.  It  was  notified  for  sale  by  auction,  on  July  5th,  1797, 
and  then  was  described  to  be  "  the  fee  simple  and  inheritance  of  Rams- 
greave Hall,  three  miles  from  Blackburn,  with  179^  3r.  24p.  of  arable, 
meadow,  and  pasture  land  thereto  belonging,  after  8  yards  to  the  rood 
or  pole,"  in  three  farms,  and  10^  acres  being  in  lease  for  life  to  Henry 
Whalley  of  Ramsgreave,  aged  59  years.  The  estate  became  the  pro- 
perty of  Messrs.  Benjamin  and  James  Wilson,  of  Baxenden,  both  of 
whom  died  unmarried,  when  the  property  went  to  four  nephews,  sons  of 
Mr.  Edward  Wilson,  the  last  survivor  of  whom,  Mr.  John  Rawsthorne 
Wilson  of  Lytham,  died  in  1865.  The  estate  of  the  Exors.  of  the  late 
J.  R.  Wilson  is  now  returned  as  comprising  245*^  statute  acres,  with  a 
rental  of  ^287.  Ramsgreave  Hall  is  situate  on  the  hill  near  the  centre 
of  the  township,  and  has  been  converted  into  two  ordinary  farm- 
houses. 

Other  landoAvners  in  Ramsgreave  are : — Mr.  James  Shorrock,  of 
Mellor,  who  has  179  acres  of  land  ;  Mr.  John  Harrison,  of  Bank  Farm, 
57/4  acres;  Exors.  of  J.  Ainsworth,  60  acres  ;  Mr.  Christopher  Charn- 
ley,  22  acres;  Mr.  John  Walmsley,  29  acres;  Mr.  John  Pemberton, 
acres. 

GILLTBRAND  OF  BEARDWOOD. 

The  above  family  branched  from  Gillibrand  of  Chorley.  Roger  Gyllybrand  of 
Chorley,  by  his  wife  Anne,  daughter  of  William  Chorley  of  Chorley,  had  a  son  John, 
the  first  of  Beard  wood  in  Blackburn.  John  Gelebrande  of  Beard  wood  is  named  in  the 
Grammar  School  Records  as  a  Governor,  before  1590,  and  as  giving,  in  the  year  1592, 
2os.  to  the  School  Stock.  He  was  taxed  to  the  Subsidy  of  1611 ;  and  was  witness  to 
a  Will  in  1620.  "John  Gelibrand  de  Berdwood  "  was  buried  at  Blackburn,  Oct.  3ist, 
1630.  "  Uxor  John  Gelibrond,  gent,"  was  buried  Aug.  7th,  1623. 

Roger  Gillibrand  of  Beardwood,  son  of  John,  was  elected  a  Governor  of  the  Gram- 
mar School  in  1630.  Dr.  Richard  Astley,  in  his  Will,  dated  1635,  names  Mr.  Roger 
Gellibrand  of  Beardwood  a  trustee  of  his  bequest  to  the  Poor  of  Blackburn.  Roger 
Gillibrand  was  living  in  1658,  but  died  before  1660.  By  Ann  his  wife,  Roger  Gilli- 
brand had  an  only  daughter  and  heir,  Grace  Gillibrand,  who  became  wife  of  Lawrence, 
son  and  heir  of  Peter  Haworth  of  Highercroft,  gent. ,  and  conveyed  to  him  the  Beard- 
wood  estate.  This  heiress,  and  last  representative  of  the  Gillibrands  of  this  branch, 
died  in  1686.  Her  mother,  "Ann  Gillibrand  of  Beardwood,  widow, "  was  buried 
Aug.  27th,  1683. 

GILLIBRAND  OF  RAMSGREAVE. 

In  !537>  Edward  Gelbourne  held  a  house  and  31  acres  of  land  in  Ramsgreave 
under  the  Abbot  of  Whalley. 


630  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Roger  Gillibrand,  of  Ramsgreave,  was  a  first  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar 
School  in  1567. 

Thomas  Gelibrande,  and  his  mother,  were  assessed  for  their  lands  to  a  Subsidy  in 
1570.  This  Thomas,  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1567,  gave  ^1  to 
the  School  Stock  in  1593,  and  died  in  1595. 

Thomas  Gillibrand  of  Ramsgreave,  the  first  named  by  Dugdale  the  herald,  died  in 
1610.  By  his  wife,  a  daughter  of  Haversham  of  Haversham  (she  died  in  June,  1608), 
he  had  two  sons,  Edward,  the  heir,  and  William. 

Edward  Gillibrand  of  Ramsgreave,  gent.,  occurs  as  a  freeholder  in  lists  dated 
1600  and  1621  ;  and  as  a  juror  in  1613-15-17.  He  was  a  Governor  of  the  Grammar 
School  in  1628.  He  died  about  1640.  By  his  first  wife,  a  daughter  of  Roger  Catterall 
of  Crooke,  he  had  one  son,  Thomas ;  and  daughters,  Anne,  married  to  Edward 
Houghton  of  Redleigh,  gent;  and  Mary,  born  in  1602,  married,  Feb.  l6th,  1628-9, 
Richard  Wilkinson  of  Blackburn.  His  second  wife,  daughter  of  —  Pilkington,  died 
without  issue. 

Thomas  Gillibrand,  only  son  of  Edward,  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar 
School,  died  before  his  father,  without  issue,  and  was  buried  July  25th,  1636. 

William  Gillibrand,  brother  of  Edward,   took  holy  orders,   and  was   Rector  of 
Warrington  from  1607  until  his  death  before  1621.     He  was  father  of  Jonathan  Gilli- 
brand,-Vicar  of  Leigh  (1662-85),  who  by  his  wife  Mary  had  sons,   Jonathan,   born  in 
1648  ;  Andrew,  and  Edward  ;  and  daughters,  Judith,  Frances,  and  Martha. 
HOGHTON  OF  RAMSGREAVE. 

Edward  Hoghton  of  Redleigh,  Tockholes,  gent.,  son  of  Richard,  born  in  1605, 
after  his  marriage  with  Ann,  daughter  and  co-heir  of  Edward  Gillibrand,  resided  at 
Ramsgreave  on  his  wife's  estate  ;  and  in  1687,  Edward  Hoghton  of  Ramsgreave,  gent., 
made  affidavit  in  the  case  of  Langho  Chapel  (see  ante,  p.  453).  He  was  a  Governor 
of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  from  1642  until  his  decease.  He  had  only  female 
issue,  one  of  whom,  Alice  Hoghton,  married  George  Sharpies  of  Freckleton,  and  had 
a  daughter  Anne.  He  died  in  1693-4. 

SHARPLES  OF  RAMSGREAVE. 

George  Sharpies  of  Freckleton,  who  had  to  his  second  wife  Alice  Hoghton  of 
Ramsgreave  ;  had  by  his  first  wife,  Dorothy  Veale,  sons,  John,  and  George.  John 
Sharpies  of  Freckleton,  the  elder  son,  had  a  son  Edward,  who  seems  to  have  heired 
part  of  the  estate  of  Mr.  Edward  Hoghton  of  Ramsgreave x  after  his  death.  Edward 
Sharpies  of  Ramsgreave,  gent. ,  was  made  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School 
in  1694;  and  "  Edward  Sharpies  of  Ramsgreave,  son  of  John  of  Freckleton  deceased," 
was  on  the  Guild  Roll  of  Preston  as  an  out-burgess  in  1702.  He  had  issue,  George, 
and  Margaret,  twins,  born  in  1694,  died  young  ;  also,  Edward,  born  in  1701  ;  and 
Mary,  born  in  1707.  Perhaps  the  following  also  were  sons  of  Edward  Sharpies: — 
John  Sharpies  of  Ramsgreave,  yeoman,  who  died  in  1 747,  having  had  issue  by  Eliza- 
beth his  wife ;  and  Thomas  Sharpies  of  Ramsgreave,  who  married,  in  1 732,  Ann, 
daughter  of  William  Haworth,  of  Blackburn,  yeoman  (she  was  living,  a  widow,  in 
March,  1758). 

INDEPENDENT  CHAPEL. — The  only  place  of  worship  in  Ramsgreave  township 
is  a  small  school-chapel  at  Ramsgreave  Heights,  built  in  1855,  by  the  Congrega- 
tionalists  of  Blackburn.  In  it  are  conducted  divine  worship  and  a  Sunday  school. 
Sittings  1 20. 


RISHTON  TOWNSHIP  AND  LORDSHIP.  631 


CHAPTER  XV.— THE  TOWNSHIP  OF  RISHTON. 

Topography— Population— Ancient  lords  of  the  Manor— De  Rishton  Family— Talbot  of  Bashall  and 
Holt— Manor-house  of  Holt— Former  Freeholders— Feilden  of  Holt,  &c.— Hindle  of  Cowhill— 
Livesey  of  Sidebight— Rishton  of  Mickle-Hey— Talbot  of  Cowhill— St.  Peter's  Church— Dis- 
senting Chapels — Day  Schools. 

RISHTON  township  extends  over  a  tract  of  low  moor-land  on 
the  easterly  border  of  Blackburn  parish.  Its  area  is  2760 
statute  acres.  Its  population,  which  diminished  with  the  failure  of 
cottage-weaving  on  hand-looms  between  the  years  1821  and  1851,  has 
since  increased  apace,  by  the  upgrowth  of  a  considerable  manufacturing 
village  not  far  from  the  railway  which  traverses  the  township.  The  census 
returns  from  1801  to  1871  supply  these  figures  respecting  the  population 
of  Rishton: — In  1801,  1051  persons;  1811,  1084;  1821,  1170;  1831, 
919;  1841,917;  1851,800;  1861,  1198;  1871,  2577 — having  more 
than  doubled  in  the  last  decade.  The  numbers  in  1876  would  reach 
3,5oo. 

DE  RISHTON,  ANCIENT  LORDS  OF  RISHTON. 

Robert  Praers,  living  temp,  Henry  III.  (1216-72)  was  seized  of  the 
manor  of  Ryssheton,  near  Harewode,  in  his  demesne  as  of  fee ;  who 
conveyed  the  same,  by  name  of  the  whole  town  of  Rustone,  being  two 
carucates  of  land,  to  Gilbert  son  of  Henry  de  Blackburn  (a  younger  son 
of  Adam  de  Blackburn)  in  free  marriage  with  Margery  his  (Robert 
Praers,)  sister.  This  was  in  the  3oth  Henry  III.  (1245.) 

This  Gilbert,  after  settling  upon  the  estate  thus  acquired,  styled 
himself  Gilbert  de  Ryssheton.  In  the  Liber  Feodorum  it  is  written  that 
Gilbert  son  of  Henry  held  the  tenth  part  of  a  knight's  fee  in  Ruston  of 
the  demesne  fee  that  belonged  to  the  dower  of  the  Countess  of  Lincoln. 
Gilbert  de  Rissheton,  by  Margery  his  wife,  had  issue  Henry,  his  heir. 

Henry  de  Rissheton's  son  and  heir  was  Gilbert,  issue  of  his  wife 
Margaret,  daughter  of  Clayton  of  Clayton-in-les-Moors. 

Gilbert  de  Rissheton,  whose  son  and  heir  was  Robert,  died  in  the 
1 8th  Edw.  I  (1290). 


632  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Robert  de  Rissheton  succeeded,  and  had  a  son  Gilbert.  Gilbert 
de  Rissheton,  son  of  Robert,  occurs  in  the  Plea  Rolls  of  the  Duchy 
Court  as  petitioner  for  the  manor  of  Rissheton  against  John,  son  of 
Richard  de  Radecliff,  and  Johanna  his  wife,  and  John  their  son,  when 
he  displayed  his  descent  and  heirship  from  Henry  de  Blakeburn,  through 
Gilbert,  Henry,  Gilbert,  and  Robert,  his  father.  His  son  and  heir  also 
was  named  Gilbert. 

Gilbert  de  Rissheton,  next  in  succession,  had  a  son  Robert,  living 
in  1358.  Robert  de  Rissheton's  son  and  heir  was  Ralph. 

Ralph  de  Rissheton,  by  Cecilia  his  wife,  had  sons,  Richard  and 
Roger.  Ralph  de  Rissheton  died  in  1417  ;  and  by  Inquisition  taken  at 
Rishton,  2nd  Sept.,  1417,  by  the  oaths  of  Richard  Risshtonof  Risshton, 
Richard  Rishton  of  Clayton,  and  others,  it  was  proved  that  Ralph  de 
Rishton  was  not  seized  of  any  lands  within  the  County  of  Lancaster  ; 
and  that  his  son  Richard  was  his  heir,  aged  22  years. 

Richard  de  Rissheton  had,  in  December,  1417,  livery  of  the  manor 
of  Ryssheton,  near  Harewode,  with  appurtenances,  which  had  been 
seized  into  the  King's  hands  by  reason  of  the  forfeiture  of  Thomas  Tal- 
bot,  outlawed  for  treason.  Richard  de  Rissheton  had  no  issue  ;  and  he 
died,  aged  about  30,  in  1425.  By  Inquisition  taken  Sept.  i8th,  1425, 
Richard  de  Ryssheton  was  found  to  have  been  seized  of  Rissheton 
manor,  held  of  the  King  in  capite  as  of  his  Duchy  of  Lancaster,  and  of 
one  messuage,  18  acres  of  land,  and  two  acres  of  meadow  in  the  town  of 
Rysshton,  held  of  the  King  in  socage  ;  of  the  manor  of  Ponthalgh  in 
the  town  of  Chirche,  held  in  socage  ;  of  one  messuage,  30  acres  of  land, 
20  acres  of  meadow,  and  8  acres  of  wood  in  Oswaldestwysell,  held  of 
Richard  de  Radclyffe,  Esq.;  and  of  one  messuage,  24  acres  of  land,  and 
4  acres  of  meadow  in  Cliderhowe,  held  of  the  King  in  socage ;  and 
having  died  without  heir  of  his  body,  his  brother  Roger  (second  son 
of  Ralph),  was  his  next  heir,  aged  30  years. 

Roger  de  Rissheton,  son  of  Ralph  and  heir  of  his  brother  Richard, 
received  livery  of  his  lands  in  Sept.,  1426.  He  had  a  son  and  heir 
Richard  ;  and  a  younger  son  Roger  (first  of  the  Ponthalgh  branch,  living 
in  1474,  whose  son  was  Richard,  father  of  Ralph  Rishton  of  Ponthalgh, 
who,  by  his  wife  Anne,  daughter  of  Roger  No  well,  Esq.,  had  a  son 
Roger,  of  Ponthalgh,  whose  eldest  son,  Ralph  Rishton  of  Ponthalgh, 
died  in  1566). 

Richard  Rishton  of  Rishton,  son  of  Roger,  by  Margaret  his  wife, 
had  sons,  Henry,  and  Peter  (a  chaplain);  and  a  daughter  Alice. 

Henry  Rishton,  of  Dunkenhalgh,  Esq.,  appears  as  son  and  heir  of 
Richard  in  1470.  His  wife  was  Agnes,  daughter  of  Richard  Sherburne 
of Stonyhurst,  Esq.  His  son  and  heir  was  Nicholas;  and  the  father 


RISHTON  OF  RISHTON.  633 

covenanted  with  John  Radcliffe,  of  the  Tower,  Esq.,  that  his  son 
Nicholas  should  marry  Margaret,  daughter  of  John  Radcliffe  ;  and  that 
he  or  his  feoffees  should  make  a  lawful  estate  by  deed  in  Rissheton  and 
Clayton-upon-les-Mores,  to  the  yearly  value  of  10  marks,  for  term  of  his 
life,  to  the  said  Nicholas  and  his  heirs  ;  for  the  which  the  said  John 
Radcliffe  agreed  to  pay  to  the  said  Henry  Rissheton  403. 

Nicholas  Rishton  "  of  Dunkenhalgh,  gent,"  by  his  wife,  Margaret 
Radclyff,  had  sons,  Richard  ;  Henry  ;  and  Nicholas  ;  and  daughters, 
Agnes  (married  thrice,  to  Holcroft,  Worthington,  and  Robt.  Boulton); 
Isabel,  wife  of —  Hothersall,  gent.;  and  Elizabeth,  first  wife  of  Roger 
Nowell  of  Read,  from  whom  she  was  divorced  in  1524.  Nicholas  Rish- 
ton died  the  3rd  May,  23rd  Henry  VII.  (1508);  and  the  escheat  shows 
that  his  father,  Henry  Rishton,  had  been  seized  of  "  the  Manor  of  Rish- 
ton, called  Rishton  Hall,"  with  lands,  tenements,  rents,  &c.;  and  that 
Nicholas  Rishton  died  seized  of  Risheton  Manor,  Stodeley  Manor,  Co. 
Warwick,  and  of  messuages,  lands,  woodlands,  &c.,  in  Dokenside  [Dun- 
kenhalgh], Cowhill  [in  Rishton],  Clayton-super-Moras,  Parva  Caterall, 
Church,  Reved  [Read],  and  Haworth.  His  widow,  "uxor  Nicholas 
Ryshton,"  was  taxed  on  her  lands  in  Rishton,  worth  ^3  yearly,  to  a 
Subsidy  levied  in  1523,  and  she  died  July  6th,  1528. 

Richard  Rishton,  son  and  heir  of  Nicholas,  aged  46  in  1509,  mar- 
ried Anne,  daughter  of  Sir  John  Talbot  of  Salesbury.  Issue — sons, 
Henry,  John,  Nicholas,  Robert,  William,  George,  and  Ralph  (several  of 
these  younger  sons  died  without  issue);  and  Alexander  Rishton,  youngest 
son  (of  Sparth  in  1567,  who  married,  at  Harwood  Church,  Nov.  6th, 
1560,  Ellen,  daughter  of  Edward  Mercer  of  Harwood,  and  had  issue  a 
son,  Richard  Rishton  of  Sparth,  gent.,  who,  by  Ellen  his  wife,  daughter 
of  John  Greenhalgh,  Esq.,  had  daughters,  Ellen,  bapt.  April  2nd,  1601; 
Ann,  bapt.  April  28th,  1603  ;  Elizabeth,  bapt.  Feb.  26th,  1606  ;  Alice, 
bapt.  June  27th,  1609;  and  Mary,  born  in  1611).  Richard  Rishton, 
father  of  Henry  and  Alexander,  died  April  3oth,  1530,  seized  of 
Rishton  Manor  and  the  other  family  estates  before  specified.  His 
widow,  Ann  Rishton,  in  1539,  disputed  with  Henry  Rishton  and  others 
he  title  to  lands  called  Cokasyd  in  Rishton  and  Cunliffe. 

Henry  Rishton,  son  and  heir  of  Richard,  married,  about  1527, 
Elianor,  daughter  of  John  Butler  of  Rawcliffe,  Esq.  The  husband  is 
styled  in  the  record  of  this  marriage  in  the  Butler  descent : — "  Harry 
Rusheton  of  Donkynsall."  He  had  sons,  John;  and  Geoffrey;  daughters, 
Ann,  Dorothy,  Jane,  Grace  (wife  of  Roger  Rishton  of  Ponthalgh), 
Elizabeth,  Alice,  and  Benet.  In  1536,  Henry  Rishton  charged  Roger 
Rishton  in  the  Duchy  Court  with  disturbance  of  divine  service  at 
Churchekyrke,  and  dilapidation  and  interruption  of  way  at  Dunkyn- 


634  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

haughe  Bridge,  on  his  manor.  He  died  about  1549,  seized  of  30  acres 
of  land  in  Rishton,  and  other  lands  in  several  contiguous  townships. 

John  Rishton,  gent.,  son  and  heir  of  Henry,  occurs  in  a  return  of 
"recusant"  (Roman  Catholic)  gentry  in  Lancashire  in  1575.  He  mar- 
ried, in  1542,  Dorothy,  daughter  of  Sir  John  Southworth  of  Samlesbury, 
Knt,  and  had  issue,  sons,  Nicholas ;  and  Geffrey ;  and  a  daughter  Anne. 
Mr.  Wm.  Langton  mentions,  in  his  valuable  notes  to  the  Visitation  of 
1533,  that  this  John  Rishton  had  been  mixed  up  with  a  scandalous 
transaction  in  his  early  manhood.  His  kinsman,  Ralph  Rishton  of  Pont- 
halgh,  having  formed  an  improper  connexion  with  Ann  Stanley,  daughter 
of  Dame  Ann  Stanley  of  the  Holt  in  Rishton,  widow  of  Sir  James  Stan- 
ley of  Cross  Hall,  Knt.,  the  mother  carried  her  daughter  by  night  to 
Great  Harwood  Church  (she  being  then  three  months  gone  with  child), 
and  forced  her  to  go  through  the  ceremony  of  marriage  with  John  Rish- 
ton of  Dunkenhalgh.  A  divorce  eventually  terminated  this  involuntary 
alliance. 

Nicholas  Rishton,  son  and  heir  of  John,  before  1582  had  sold  Dun- 
kenhalgh and  his  estate  in  Rishton  to  Thomas  Walmesley,  Esq.  He  is 
afterwards  described  as  "  of  Oswaldtwistle,"  and  died  about  the  year 
1596,  in  possession  only  of  a  small  estate  in  Oswaldtwistle. 

TALBOT  OF  BASHALL,  HOLT,  &c. 

The  once-potent  family  of  Talbot  of  Bashall,  in  Craven,  Co.  York, 
was  during  a  long  interval  of  time  intimately  connected  with  the  Parish 
of  Blackburn,  being  lords  of  Rishton  and  Lower  Darwen  Manors,  and 
also  lessees  of  the  extensive  Rectory  lands  in  the  township  of  Blackburn. 
It  is  therefore  needful  to  give  some  account  of  the  Talbot  s  of  that  line 
in  the  present  work.  The  Talbots  had  seats  at  the  Manor  House  of 
Holt,  in  Rishton,  and  at  the  Rectorial  mansion  of  Audley  in  Blackburn. 

A  charter  of  the  Duchy  evidences  that  between  the  years  1257  and 
1310,  Henry  de  Lascy,  Earl  of  Lincoln,  granted  to  Sir  Edmund  Talbot 
and  Joan  his  wife,  the  manor  of  Rishton  in  tail  male  special,  to  hold  as 
fully  as  Adam  de  Rishton,  a  bastard,  held  the  same,  and  the  reversion 
of  the  third  part  of  the  said  manor  after  the  death  of  Alice,  widow  of 
the  said  Adam.  This,  doubtless,  was  the  origin  of  the  Talbots'  pro- 
prietorship in  Rishton.  In  the  De  Lascy  Inquisition  of  1311,  it  was 
found  that  Johanna,  late  wife  of  Edmund  Talbot,  held  two  carucates  of 
land  in  Risseton,  by  the  fourth  part  of  a  knight's  fee,  a  yearly  rent  of  is., 
and  suit  to  the  Court  of  Clyderhou. 

In  the  3rd  Henry  V.  (1415),  the  manor  of  Rishton  is  found  to 
have  been  taken  into  the  King's  hands  by  reason  of  an  outlawry  for 
debt  against  Sir  Thomas  Talbot,  Knt. 


TALBOT  OF  HOLT.  635 

Canon  Raines  writes  that  "  the  Talbots  had  a  seat  at  the  Holt  at  an 
early  period,"  and  that  in  the  34th  Henry  VI.  (1455),  a  licence  was 
granted  to  "  Edmund  Talbot,  Knt,  to  have  an  oratory  within  his  manor 
of  Holt,  Pa.  Blackburne."  This  private  chantry  chapel  at  Holt  in 
Rishton  is  again  named  in  1516. 

Sir  Edmund  Talbot  of  Bashall  and  Holt  had  issue  a  son  and  heir 
Thomas  ;  a  second  son  John,  described,  in  the  i4th  Edw.  IV.  (1474),  as 
John  Talbot  of  Holt ;  a  third  son  William  Talbot,  Rector  of  Ribchester ; 
and  daughters,  Elizabeth  ;  and  Ann,  wife  of  Hugh  Sherburne  of  Stony- 
hurst,  &c. 

Sir  Thomas  Talbot,  Knt.  (eldest  son  of  Sir  Edmund),  died  on  the 
1 6th  Feb.,  1499.  He  had  enfeoffed  Thomas  Tempest  and  others  in 
tenements  of  Rishton  lordship,  held  by  the  tenth  part  of  a  knight's  fee 
and  Qd.  rent;  and  Nether  Derwynd  manor,  by  25.  6d.  rent.  The 
escheat,  taken  i5th  Henry  VII.,  returned  Edmund  Talbot  as  son  and 
heir  of  Sir  Thomas,  aged  30  years. 

Edmund  Talbot,  Esq.,  son  of  Sir  Thomas,  married  Ann,  sister  of 
Sir  Percival  Hart,  Knt.,  and  had  a  son  and  heir  Thomas.  Edmund 
Talbot  died  about  the  age  of  49,  on  the  i3th  Feb.  1519,  and,  on  the 
escheat  taken  at  Wigan,  nth  Henry  VIII.,  was  returned  to  have  been 
seized  of  the  Manors  of  Ryssheton  and  Nether  Darwen,  held  of  the 
King  as  Duke  of  Lancaster,  with  thirty  messuages,  100  acres  of  land, 
20  acres  of  meadow,  100, acres  of  pasture,  and  200  acres  of  moor  and 
turbary  in  those  townships.  Thomas  Talbot,  son  and  heir,  was  aged 
three  years  and  above.  After  Edmund  Talbot's  death,  his  widow,  Mrs. 
Ann  Talbot,  wedded,  secondly,  Sir  James  Stanley  of  Cross  Hall,  son  of 
Sir  George,  and  younger  brother  of  Thomas  Stanley  Lord  Strange,  to 
whom  she  bore  sons,  Sir  George  Stanley,  and  Henry  ;  and  daughters, 
Ann,  wife  of  Ralph  Rishton  of  Dunkenhalgh,  Esq. ;  Margaret,  and 
Eleanor.  Subsequently  to  the  decease  of  her  second  husband,  Sir  James 
Stanley,  Dame  Ann  Stanley  dwelt  at  the  hall  of  Holt,  having  Rishton 
manor  for  her  dower  as  wife  of  Edmund  Talbot ;  she  died  at  Holt, 
about  1566,  and  was  buried  in  Blackburn  Church. 

Thomas,  infant  son  and  heir  of  Edmund  Talbot  in  1520,  was 
Sir  Thomas  Talbot  of  Bashall,  Knt,  a  soldier  of  repute  in  the  reigns  of 
Henry  VIII.  and  his  successor.  This  Sir  Thomas  Talbot  obtained  the 
lease  of  Blackburn  Rectorial  estates  after  their  alienation  from  Whalley 
Abbey,  and  had  his  frequent  abode  at  Haudley  (Audley)  Hall  in  Black- 
burn. In  the  4th  Edward  VI.  (1550),  Sir  Thomas  Talbot  prosecuted 
Alice  Livesey  and  others  for  setting  fire  to  the  barn  of  the  parsonage  at 
Audley.  The  prosecutor's  plaint  in  the  action  is  cited  below  : — 

To  the  most   Honorable   Sir  William   Paggett,   Knight  of  the  most  honorable 


636  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Order,  comptroller  of  the  Kinges  most  honorable  Householde  of  his  grate  Duchie  of 
Lancaster. — In  moste  humble  maner  and  wise  shewithe  and  complaynethe  unto  your 
honorable  Mastershipp  your  Supplyant  and  Oratorr  Sr.  Thomas  Talbott  of  Bashall, 
within  the  Co.  Palatyne  of  Lancaster,  Knyght,  That  forasmoche  as  whereas  that  the 
said  Oratorr  ys  lawfullie  seasyd  and  possessed  of  and  in  the  Parsonage  of  Blackborne 
within  the  said  cauntie  and  of  the  mansyon  howse  belonging  to  the  same  called  Hawd- 
ley,  with  all  and  singular  the  appurtynances,  for  dy vers  yeres  not  yett  expired,  by  sufify- 
cient  conveyance  in  the  lawe,  and  so  being  possessed  did  buylde  upon  the  same  a  barne, 
to  the  charge  of  your  said  Oratorr  at  the  least  fortie  powndes.  So  it  is  that  the  fourthe 
daie  of  October  last  past  one  Edmonde  Dewhurst  of  Lyvesley  within  the  said  Countie, 
husbandman,  by  the  commandyment,  assent,  abbettment  and  procurement  of  Alys 
Lyvesley  of  Lyvesley,  &c.,  Wydowe,  Thomas  Whalley  of  Plesyington,  carpenter,  and 
James  Lyvesley  of  Brinhall,  husbandman,  did  in  the  nyght  time,  betwixt  x  and  XII 
of  the  clocke  of  the  same  daie,  in  most  ungodlie  maner  and  wise  sett  fyre  of  a  barne 
of  your  said  Oratorr,  within  wiche  haie  for  the  provision  of  your  Oratorrs  cattell, 
horses,  and  other  beastes,  by  the  occayson  of  setting  afyre  the  said  barne  and  the  haie 
therein  was  utterlie  spilte  and  burnyd,  to  the  hurte  and  damage  of  your  said  Oratorr 
at  the  least  threescore  powndes  and  by  the  occasyon  of  the  said  fyre  your  said  Oratorr 
and  all  his  familye  and  servantes  being  in  theire  beddes  had  lykelie  to  have  been  brentt 
and  all  the  houses  there  being,  but  that  speadye  remedye  was  hadde  theirein  by  the  In- 
habitants of  the  said  Towne  of  Blacbourne.  And  further  the  said  Edmonde,  by  lyke 
comandyment,  assent,  &c.,  of  the  above-named  persons,  and  lykewyse  at  the  tyme 
aforesaid,  putt  a  turve  kindled  with  fyre  in  the  yeasing  and  thatche  of  the  said  barne 
buyllded  by  the  said  Oratorr  as  aforesaid,  intending  therebye  to  burne  the  same  in  lyke 
maner,  wherein  was  the  corne  of  your  said  Oratorr,  haie,  bestes,  and  cattelles  in 
severall  devysyons  within  the  same,  but  by  the  prevision  of  the  thing  was  prevented  by 
the  espying  of  the  smoke  thereof  before  that  it  toke  fyre,  the  whiche,  if  so  hadd  not 
chancyd,  the  said  barne  hadd  lykewyse  been  burnyd  and  all  the  goodes  and  cattelles 
of  your  said  Oratorr.  The  wiche  severall  actes  is  not  only  to  the  greate  inquyeting 
of  your  said  Oratorr  and  to  his  great  hurte,  damage,  and  detryment,  but  also  contrarie 
to  all  lawes,  right,  equyte  and  consciens,  and  to  the  evill  example  of  lyke  malicious 
persons  to  attempt  the  lyke  onlesse  that  espedie  reformacion  be  herein  hadde.  In  most 
tender  consyderacion  that  it  may  please  your  honorable  mastershipp,  the  premysses 
consydered,  to  award  the  Kinges  Writt  of  privey  scale  unto  the  said  persons,  comandyng 
them  under  a  playne  personallacion  to  appere  before  your  Mastershipp  in  the  Duchie 
Chamber  at  Westminster,  the  morrowe  after  the  purificacion  of  our  Ladie,  then  and 
there  to  answear  to  the  premysses,  and  thereupon  to  take  such  order  and  dyrection  as 
may  stande  with  righte,  equyte,  and  consciens,  etc.  (Signed)  STANLEY. 

Sir  Thomas  Talbot  died  the  ist  August,  1558,  and  had  sepulture 
in  Blackburn  Church.  The  will  of  Sir  Thomas  Talbot,  "  of  the  Holt 
and  Bashall,  Knt,"  is  dated  Sept.  27th,  4  and  5  Phil,  and  Mary  (1557) ; 
wherein  the  testator,  "being  appointed  to  repaire  to  the  Queen's 
Majesties  most  noble  affaires  and  warres  towards  Scotland,"  bequeaths 
to  his  daughter  Anne  Talbot  his  lease  of  the  Manor  of  Bashall ;  also, 
his  lease  of  the  Parsonage  of  Blackburne,  which  he  did  lately  buy  of 
John  Comberford  and  Robert  Billot,  gents.,  with  all  his  interest  and 
title  in  the  same  ;  also  to  Anne  his  daughter  his  great  chain  of  gold,  and 
all  his  silver  plate ;  also  all  his  household  stuff  at  Audley.  Testator 


MANOR-HOUSE  OF  HOLT  IN  RISHTON.  637 

gives  to  John  Talbot  his  bastard  son  his  leases  from  Sir  Ralph  Assheton, 
&c.  The  inventory  of  Sir  Thomas  Talbot's  goods  is  dated  July  3151, 
1559.  The  Inquisitio  post  mortem  on  Sir  Thomas's  estate  was  taken  at 
Wigan,  Oct.  9th,  ist  Eliz.  He  was  found  to  have  been  seized  of 
Risheton  and  Nether  Derwynd  Manors,  with  a  "  messuage  called  the 
Holt"  in  Rishton,  and  certain  lands.  Henry  Talbot,  Esq.,  his  son  and 
heir,  was  then  aged  25  years  and  upwards. 

Anne  Talbot,  daughter  of  Sir  Thomas,  to  whom  he  bequeathed  the 
lease  of  Blackburn  Rectory  lands,  became  the  wife  of  William  Farington 
of  Worden,  Esq.,  and  so  it  was  that  the  Faringtons  succeeded  as  lessees 
of  the  Rectory  estate. 

Henry  Talbot,  Esq.,  the  next  scion  of  this  race,  had  two  sons, 
Thomas,  and  John ;  also  a  daughter  Marie,  the  covenant  of  marriage  of 
whom  with  John  Livesey  of  Livesey,  Esq.,  is  dated  April  lyth,  1571. 
Henry  Talbot,  Esq.,  died  about  the  year  1570,  seized  of  messuages, 
mill,  and  lands  in  Nether  Darwen. 

Thomas  Talbot,  Esq.,  eldest  son  of  Henry,  married  Elizabeth, 
daughter  and  heir  of  John  Bradley,  of  Bradley,  Esq.,  but  had  no  issue. 
He  died  ist  May,  1598;  and  before  his  death,  in  conjunction  with 
John  Talbot,  his  brother  and  heir,  he  sold  to  Sir  Thomas  Walmesley 
his  manors  of  Rishton  and  Nether  Darwyn,  with  the  messuages  of  Holt 
and  Fernehurst.  John  Talbot  his  brother  succeeded  to  Bashall,  and  by 
his  wife,  Ursula  Hammerton,  had  a  son  Thomas  Talbot,  who  died  Feb. 
25th,  1618-9,  leaving  two  daughters,  Elizabeth  and  Margery,  co-heirs. 

Some  incidents  of  the  connection  of  the  Talbots  of  Bashall  with  Rishton  lordship 
and  the  manor-place  of  Holt  are  brought  out  in  the  depositions  taken  before  the 
Bishop  of  Chester,  1 7th  March,  1611-12,  in  a  reference  of  a  disputed  claim  between 
Sir  Thomas  Walmesley,  Knt. ,  and  John  Talbot  of  Salesbury,  Esq.,  to  the  south 
chapel  in  Blackburn  Church.  A  chief  deponent  was  Anne  Rishton,  then  of  Ormskirk, 
aged  80,  widow  of  Ralph  Rishton  and  daughter  of  Dame  Ann  Stanley.  She  had  known, 
"  70  years  since,  a  lordship  in  Blackburn  Parish  called  Rishton,  in  which  was  an 
ancient  capital  messuage  called  Holte  Hall,  which  was  moated  about,  and  first  had  a 
drawbridge  over  the  said  moat,  afterwards  a  plain  bridge,  which  she  did  well  remem- 
ber ;  and  there  were  certain  edifices  of  the  said  house  yet  "  [161 1] ;  that  Lady  Stanley, 
wife  of  Edmund  Talbot,  Esq. ,  in  right  of  dower  held  the  said  capital  messuage  of 
Holte  ;  and  on  coming  to  Holte  did  put  Feilden  (the  tenant)  out  of  the  house  and 
placed  him  in  the  gate-house.  Another  deponent,  Robert  Harwood  of  Blackburn, 
aged  71,  had  heard  that  old  Sir  John  Talbot,  Knt.,  grandfather  of  Sir  Thomas  living 
in  1611,  did  dwell  at  the  Hall  of  Holte.  Christopher  Duckworth,  aged  84,  deposed 
"that  Holt  was  encompassed  about  with  a  great  draw-ditch  and  bridge,  of  which 
edifice  some  parts  are  yet  [1611]  remaining,  viz.,  one  kitchen,  a  dwelling-house  in  the 
end  of  a  chapel  belonging  to  the  said  house  in  time  past ;  that  Lady  Stanley,  wife  to 
Edmund  Talbot,  Esq.,  and  mother  to  Sir  Thomas,  after  the  death  of  Sir  James  Stan- 
ley came  to  dwell  at  Holte  in  right  of  dower."  The  chapel  at  Holt  Hall  named  by 
the  last  deponent  was  the  oratory  which  Edmund  Talbot,  Knt.,  in  1455  was  granted 


638  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

a  license  to  have  "  infra  manerium  suum  de  Holt  "  (within  his  manor  of  Holt) ;  and 
the  chantry  chapel  at  Holt  is  mentioned  again  in  1516. 

The  Manor-house  of  Holt  is  thus  shown  to  have  been  partially 
demolished  more  than  260  years  ago.  The  farm-house  that  now  stands 
upon  its  site  is  small,  and  of  no  interest  or  antiquity.  There  are  traces 
still  of  the  moat  which  anciently  surrounded  this  mansion  of  the  Talbots, 
as  well  as  of  the  garden  enclosures,  and  the  site  is  slightly  elevated 
above  the  level  of  the  adjacent  fields. 

Henry  Petre,  Esq.,  of  Dunkenhalgh,  is  present  lord  of  Rishton,  by 
descent  from  the  Walmesleys.  All  but  a  very  limited  portion  of  the 
land  of  the  township  now  belongs  to  Mr.  Petre. 

FEILDEN  OF  HOLT,  SIDEBIGHT,  &c. 

Nicholas  ffelden  and  Rychard  ffelden,  both  of  Rishton,  were  assessed  to  the 
King's  Subsidy  in  1523.  Henry  ffelden  of  the  Holt,  in  Rishton,  was  buried  at  Har- 
wood  Church,  June  8th,  1569.  Richard  ffelden  of  Rishton  was  assessed  to  the  Subsidy 
in  1570 ;  and  a  Richard  ffelden  died  in  1623. 

Henry  ffelden  of  the  Sydbight  had  sons,  Randle,  born  in  1582;  and  Nicholas, 
born  in  1592,  died  in  1621.  Henry  ffelden  died  in  1617  ;  his  wife  died  in  1625. 

Randal  ffelden  of  Rishton,  son  of  Henry,  had  sons,  Henry,  born  in  1611  ;  and 
John,  born  in  1620. 

Thurstan  ffeilden  of  Rishton  was  taxed  to  a  Subsidy  in  1610.  Peter  ffeilden  de 
Sydbight  died  in  1624.  Richard  ffeilden  of  Rishton  was  father  of  Richard,  born  in  1626. 

Christopher  ffeilden  of  Rishton  had  a  son  Thomas,  born  in  1628  ;  his  wife  died 
in  the  same  year.  His  son,  Thomas  Feilden,  of  Holt,  had  sons,  Richard,  born  in 
1658  ;  Christopher,  born  in  1663,  died  in  1664  ;  a  second  Christopher,  born  in  1673 ; 
and  daughters,  Anne,  born  in  1665,  died  in  1669  ;  Elizabeth,  born  in  1668,  died  in 
1672  ;  and  a  second  Anne,  born  in  1671. 

John  Feilden  of  Rishton  had  sons,  John,  born  in  1669  ;  and  Ralph,  born  in  1677. 
Henry  Feilden  of  Rishton  had  sons,  Henry,  born  in  1692  ;  and  William.  Christopher 
Feilden,  of  Rishton,  yeoman,  married,  Aug.  I2th,  1712,  Anne  Burton,  and  by  her 
(who  died  in  1754)  had  issue.  Roger  Feilden  of  Rishton  married,  in  1721,  Sarah 
Molden.  Thomas  Feilden  of  Rishton  married,  Aug.  24th,  1732,  Mary  Barton. 

KINDLE  OF  COWHILL,  &c. 

The  Kindles  (or  Hindleys,  as  the  name  was  sometimes  spelt)  were  a  numerous 
race  in  Rishton  and  Harwood  as  early  as  the  1 6th  century.  A  branch  was  seated  as 
small  freeholders  at  Tottleworth  and  Cowhill  in  Rishton.  Two  or  three  members  had 
entered  into  trade  as  chapmen,  dealing  in  the  linen  cloths  of  local  production.  Chris- 
topher Hindlie,  one  of  them,  in  the  year  1569,  sold  several  pieces  of  linen  cloth  to  the 
executors  of  Robert  Nowell  of  Gray's  Inn,  for  charitable  distribution  ;  and  Robert, 
John,  Jenkyn,  and  William  Hindlie,  all  local  traders,  sold  cloth  at  the  same  time  to 
the  same  executors.  Perhaps  it  was  the  same  Christopher  Hindle  who  died  in  1597, 
and  was  buried  at  Harwood  Church,  Sept.  3<Dth.  Another  Christopher  Hindle  of 
Rishton,  born  about  1539,  married  in  1563,  Jane  Hodgson,  and  about  1610,  being 
then  71  years  old,  was  deponent  in  a  local  inquisition.  Christopher  Hindle  de  Cowell 
was  buried  at  Blackburn,  Feb.  24th,  1609-10.  A  later  Christopher  Hindle,  born  in 
1560,  married,  in  1594,  Ann  Bolton. 


KINDLE  OF  COWHILL.  639 

John  Hindle,  by  Ann  his  wife  (who  died  in  1597),  had  sons,  Ralph  ;  and  also,  I 
think,  elder  sons,  John,  and  Christopher.  The  father,  John  Hindle  of  Tottleworth, 
paid  the  King's  Subsidy  tax  in  1610.  He  died  in  Oct.,  1627. 

Ralph  Hindle  of  Rishton,  son  of  John,  had  sons,  John,  bora  in  1618  ;  and  Chris- 
topher, born  in  1620.  Ralph  Hindle  of  Rishton  died  in  Sept.,  1626. 

John  Hindle,  of  Covvhill,  married,  in  1605,  Margaret  Livesey,  and  had  sons,  John, 
born  in  1615  ;  Christopher,  born  in  1616  ;  and  Lawrence,  born  in  1617. 

Another  John  Hindle  of  Cowhill  married,  in  1625,  Elizabeth  Parkinson,  and  died 
in  1653.  Roger  Hindle  of  Cowell  died  in  1632. 

A  Christopher  Hindle  of  Rishton  had  a  son  Thomas,  born  in  1617;  and  daughters, 
Grace,  Mary,  and  Elizabeth.  He  died  in  1632.  A  Christopher  Hindle  of  Rishton 
died  in  1654.  Andrew  Hindle,  of  Cowell,  buried  his  wife  Dec.  23rd,  1635. 

Christopher  Hindle,  sometime  Vicar  of  Ribchester,  was  of  the  Cowhill  branch  of 
Hindles.  I  think  the  Christopher  Hindle  bapt.  at  Harwood  Church,  loth  March, 
1592,  was  the  future  minister  ;  and  that  he  was  the  son  either  of  John  Hindle,  or  of 
Andrew,  both  of  Cowhill.  Having  been  educated  at  the  University,  he  was  instituted 
to  the  vicarage  of  Ribchester,  Feb.  I7th,  1617.  I  find  from  the  Ribchester  Registers 
that  Vicar  Hindle  had  children  born  there  : — "Andrew  Hindley,  son  of  Christopher 
Hindley,  Vickerde  Ribchester,"  bapt.  Jan.  25th,  1623;  Rhoda,  bapt.  Feb.  i^.h, 
1624;  Elizabeth,  bapt.  Jan.  25th,  1627;  Anne,  bapt.  March  7th,  1630;  and  Jane, 
bapt.  at  Blackburn,  April  28th,  1633. l  On  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War,  this  clergy- 
man was  a  bold  Royalist,  and  when  the  fortune  of  war  had  given  the  ascendancy  to 
the  Parliament,  Vicar  Hindle  paid  dearly  for  his  adherence  to  Charles  the  First.  He 
was  not  deprived  of  his  benefice  on  the  setting  up  of  the  Lancashire  Presbytery  in 
1646,  though  he  did  not  join  it.  But  he  was  had  up  before  the  Committee  of  Divines, 
who  pronounced  him  "  insufficient,  and  scandalory  in  his  life  and  conversation,"  and,  in 
form,  suspended  him.  At  the  beginning  of  1649  he  was  forcibly  expelled  from  his  place 
to  make  room  for  another  minister,  Mr.  William  Ingham,  who  had  obtained  his  ap- 
pointment to  Ribchester  from  the  authorities.  As  the  story  is  told  by  Mr.  Ogden,  a 
later  Vicar  of  Ribchester,  writing  in  1705  : — "When  Ingham  had  got  into  the  pulpit 
one  Sunday  morning  at  Ribchester,"  Mr.  Hindle  entered  the  church,  and  "standing 
upon  the  highest  pulpit  step,  uttered  a  speech  to  his  friends,  some  of  Cromwell's  sol- 
diers being -present ;"  describing  the  King's  death  as  "  that  scarlet  sin  of  murther,  the 
blood  of  one  sacred  person,  of  more  value  than  ten  thousand  of  the  best  of  his  subjects," 
&c.  After  his  ejectment,  Mr.  Hindle  petitioned  the  Judge  at  the  Assizes  "  for  permis- 
sion to  sue  in  forma  pauperis,  and  for  processes  to  be  served  upon  the  parties  he  ac- 
cused of  wrong  to  appear  in  court  and  answer  the  charges."  Aug.  28th,  1650,  Judge 
Thorpe  referred  the  matter  to  Justices  Saville  Radcliffe  and  John  Starkie,  who  returned 
that  by  an  order  of  the  Committee  for  Plundered  Ministers,  "  the  arrears  of  12  marks 
per  ann.  till  1646  are  paid,  and  that  his  wages  for  1646  and  ever  since  is  in  arrear," 
which  were  20  marks  per  annum  till  the  date  of  the  said  order,  the  4th  May,  1649, 
and  ever  since,  ^40  per  annum.  The  Justices  return  is  dated  "  Padiam,  Nov.  25th, 
1650."  Vicar  Hindle,  being  still  kept  out  of  his  church,  went  to  dwell  with  his 
kinsman  at  the  Cowhill  farm.  It  is  stated  that  "Vicar  Hindle  had  land  of  his 
own  at  Cowel,  and  there  he  lived  many  years  and  came  and  preacht  at  Ribchester,  and 
at  Cowel  ;"  and  that  he  "went  every  Sunday  from  Cowel,  about  seven  miles,  to  Rib- 
chester to  preach  there,  after  he  was  put  out  ;"  but  no  one  there  affording  the  preacher 
a  meal,  he  used  to  take  ' '  a  piece  of  bread  and  cheese,  or  a  dried  herring  or  two  in  his 

i  I  think  he  had  also  a  son  Christopher,  who  may  have  been  the  "  Christopher  Hindley  of  Lan- 
cashire" admitted  a  Fellow  of  St.  John's  College,  Cambridge,  7  April,  1647. 


640  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

pockett."  Rev.  Christopher  Hindle  died  at  Cowhill  in  August,  1657;  and  was  buried 
at  Church  Kirk,  where  the  register  records,  Aug.  29,  1657: — "Christopher  Hindle, 
Minister  of  God's  Word,  of  Cowell,"  then  buried.  In  1705  the  family  of  this  clergy- 
man at  Cowhill  possessed  his  MSS.,  on  which  they  set  great  value. 

Christopher  Hindle  of  Cowhill,  son  of  John  (and  perhaps  nephew  of  Vicar  Hindle), 
married,  April  loth,  1654,  Ellen  Collinson,  by  whom  he  had  daughters  Margaret  and 
and  Elizabeth.  By  his  second  wife,  Ann  Halliwell,  married  in  1658,  he  had  sons, 
Christopher,  born  in  1659  ;  Henry,  born  in  1 66 1  ;  and  John,  died  in  1680.  Chris- 
topher Hindle  of  Rishton  paid  the  Subsidy  tax  in  1663.  He  died  in  Oct.,  1663. 

A  George  Hindle  of  Cowhill  died  in  Nov.,  1663.  Henry  Hindle  of  Cowhill  died 
in  1662  ;  his  wife  had  died  in  1657.  John  Hindle  of  Cowhill  died  in  1679,  whose  wife 
had  died  in  1657. 

John  Hindle  of  the  Height,  Rishton,  had  a  son  Christopher,  born  in  1688-9. 
whom  I  conclude  was  the  Christopher  Hindle  of  Rishton  who  married  Oct.  3Oth, 
1715,  Elizabeth,  third  daughter  of  Robert  Peele  of  Peele  Fold,  yeoman. 

Christopher  Hindle  of  Rishton  (son  of  Christopher  of  Cowhill,  above),  had  by 
Mary  his  wife  (who  died  in  1718),  sons,  John,  born  in  1690;  James,  born  in  1692, 
died  young;  a  second  James,  born  in  1696  ;  Richard,  born  in  1699  ;  Robert,  born  in 
1 705  ;  Christopher,  born  in  1 706  ;  and  Thomas  ;  daughters,  Margaret,  and  Mary. 
The  father  died  in  May,  1730. 

Other  Hindles  of  Rishton,  doubtless  related  to  these  of  Cowhill,  are  so  numerous 
as  to  baffle  genealogical  arrangement. 

Cowhill  is  an  eminence  in  the  midst  of  Rishton  township,  and  three  old  farm- 
steads adjoin  at  Cowhill  Fold,  formerly  tenanted  by  the  yeoman  families  of  Hindle, 
Talbot,  and  Whalley. 

LIVESEY  OF  SIDEBIGHT. 

The  messuage  of  Sidebight  in  Rishton  was  once  the  possession  of  a  family  of 
Liveseys,  a  branch,  haply,  of  Livesey  of  Livesey.  George  Livesey  of  Rishton  was 
assessed  to  the  Subsidy  of  1523.  He  was  living  3ist  Henry  VIII.  (1539-40),  when 
William  Clayton  sued  at  the  Duchy  Court  George  Lyvesey  and  others,  for  distress  and 
rescue  of  cattle,  trespassing  on  messuages  and  lands  in  Rysheton  and  Litle  Harwode. 

The  next  representative  is  rather  troublesome  to  identify,  but  it  was  almost  cer- 
tainly Thomas  Livesey.  In  the  5th  Edward  VI.  (1552),  Anne  Stanley,  widow  of 
Edmund  Talbot,  Esq.,  and  of  Sir  James  Stanley,  a  dame  who  at  that  date  possessed 
the  Holt  in  Rishton,  prosecuted  Thomas  Lyvesey  and  others  for  tortious  possession  of 
lands  and  tenements  on  that  estate.  Thomas  Livesey  had  sons,  James,  Thomas,  and 
Oliver ;  and  a  daughter,  Margaret,  who  became  the  wife  of  Thomas  Walmesley  of 
Showley,  gent. ,  and  was  mother  of  the  celebrated  Judge,  Sir  Thomas  Walmesley.  At 
Hacking  Hall,  built  by  Justice  Walmesley,  is  a  stone  in  the  wall  with  the  initials  "T  L" 
standing,  no  doubt,  for  Thomas  Livesey,  the  Judge's  maternal  grandfather.  Thomas 
Livesey  was  assessed  for  lands  in  Rishton  to  a  Subsidy  in  157°- 

James  Livesey  succeeded  his  father  in  this  tenement.  By  his  wife  Agnes  he  had 
four  sons,  George  being  the  eldest.  The  Will  of  James  Livesey  of  Ryssheton,  yeoman 
(abstracted  in  the  Piccope  MSS.)  bears  date  Dec.  23rd,  1563.  Testator  desires  to  be 
buried  in  the  Parish  Church  of  Blackburn  ;  mentions  Agnes,  his  wife  ;  three  younger 
sons,  Thomas,  John,  and  Gabriel ;  and  the  eldest  son,  George.  Also  names  Thomas 
Walmysley  of  Dunkenhalgh,  Esq. ;  Ellen  Ryssheton  of  Ponthalghe,  widow  ;  Oliver 
Lyvesey,  testator's  brother  ;  Lawrence  Oldome,  and  William  Ryssheton.  In  a  note 
to  the  Will  testator  styles  Thomas  Walmesley  of  Dunkenhalgh  (the  future  Judge)  "my 


RISHTON  OF  MICKLE-HEY.  641 

good  nevewe  "  (nephew— sister's  son),  a  term  which  proves  that  the  Justice's  mother 
was  a  Livesey  of  Rishton,  not,  as  hitherto  conjectured,  of  the  more  considerable  family 
ofLivesey  of  Livesey.  The  Will  of  James  Livesey  was  proved  July  nth,  1565. 
Agnes,  relict  of  James  Livesey,  was  buried  at  Great  Harwood,  March  I3th,  1564. 

John  Livesey  of  Sidebight,  either  brother  or  younger  son  of  James,  had  a  daughter 
Jennet,  wife  of  Pears  Haworth  of  Thurcroft,  gent. 

George  Livesey  of  Sidebight,  son  of  James,  was  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Gram- 
mar School  ;  and  he  died  in  1592,  leaving  sons  George  and  Thomas. 

George  Livesey  of  Rishton,  yeoman,  occurs  in  1606,  and  is  assessed  to  the  Sub- 
sidy of  1611. 

Thomas  Livesey  of  Sidebight,  brother  of  the  last-named,  also  was  taxed  to  the 
Subsidy  in  161 1.  He  had  sons,  Thomas,  of  Sidebight;  James,  also  of  Sidebight; 
George,  bapt.  at  Great  Harwood  Church,  Dec.  9th,  1601,  died  in  1627  ;  and  Henry, 
born  in  1604  ;  and  a  daughter  Marie,  bapt.  April  i6th,  1606.  "Thomas  Livesey, 
senr.,  de  Sydebight,  et  filius  Georgii,"  was  buried  at  Blackburn,  April  i8th,  1625. 

"Thomas  Livesey  son  of  Thomas  Livesey  of  Sidbight  in  Rishton,"  occurs  in  1616, 
when  he  had  a  daughter  Margaret  bapt.  at  Great  Harwood  Church,  Aug.  24th,  who 
died  in  April,  1624.  He  had  also  daughters,  Ellen,  bapt.  Feb.  2nd,  1617-8,  and 
Anne,  died  in  1634.  His  wife  died  in  Aug.  1637. 

James  Livesey  of  Sidebight,  brother  of  Thomas,  died  in  April,  1647.  His  wife 
was  buried  Jan.  5th,  1625. 

RISHTON  OF  MICKLE-HEY. 

This  was  first  a  branch,  then  the  next  in  succession,  of  Rishtons  of  Ponthalgh. 
Roger  Rishton  of  Ponthalgh,  living  in  1474,  had  a  son  Richard,  who  had  Ralph,  of 
Ponthalgh.  The  latter,  by  his  wife  Ann,  daughter  of  Roger  Nowell  of  Read,  had  a 
son  and  heir  Roger ;  daughters,  Grace  ;  and  Alice,  wife  of  James  Livesey,  gent. ;  and 
he  died  in  1527. 

Roger  Rishton  of  Ponthalgh  had  to  wife  Alice,  daughter  of  Giles  Livesey,  gent., 
and  had  two  sons,  Ralph  and  William. 

Ralph  Rishton  of  Ponthalgh,  gent. ,  married,  first,  Hellen,  daughter  of  Richard 
Townley  of  Royle,  gent. ;  by  her  he  had  no  issue.  By  his  second  wife,  Elizabeth 
Parker,  he  had  five  sons,  Nicholas,  Roger,  William,  Henry,  and  Jeffrey,  all  of  whom 
died  unmarried  in  the  father's  lifetime.  His  third  wife  was  Anne,  daughter  of  Sir 
James  Stanley  of  Cross-hall,  Knt.,  who  survived  her  husband.  Canon  Raines  says  : — 
"  Her  life  was  almost  as  chequered  as  that  of  her  worthless  husband.  .  .  This  ill- 
used  lady,  having  survived  all  her  children,  was  living  in  Ormskirk,  nth  March,  1611, 
and  was  then  aged  80  years."  She  was  a  widow  before  1598,  when  "  Mrs.  Rusheton 
widdow  "  is  named  in  the  funeral  accounts  of  her  brother,  Henry  Stanley,  Esq. 

Richard  Rishton,  usher  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1597,  was  a  younger 
son  of  Ralph  Rishton,  Esq. 

William  Rishton,  gent.,  brother  of  Ralph,  held  the  estate  of  Mickle  Hey,  upon 
which  he  resided  ;  but  after  the  death  of  his  brother's  sons  without  issue  he  became 
next  heir  to  the  principal  patrimonial  estates.  William  Rishton  died  about  1589.  His 
wife  was  Eleanor,  daughter,  of  Robert  Charnock  of  Astley,  Esq.  By  an  indenture 
dated  nth  January,  3Oth  Eliz.  (1587),  between  William  Rishton  of  Ponthalgh,  gent, 
on  the  first  part,  and  Robert  Charnock  of  Astley,  Esq.,  and  William  Charnock,  on 
the  second  part,  it  is  witnessed  that  William  Rishton  is  lawfully  seized  in  demesne 
as  of  fee  simple  of  and  in  diverse  messuages,  lands,  tenements,  rents,  &c.,  in  Church, 
Rishton  and  Oswaldtwistle,  holden  in  socage  tenure ;  that  he,  William  Rishton, 

41 


642  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


grants,  &c. ,  to  Robert  and  William  Charnock,  that  before  the  feast  of  Easter  next  he 
will  lawfully  insease  Robert  Charnock,  Thomas  Southworth,  Esq. ,  George  Talbott  of 
the  Carre,  and  Robert  Rysheton  of  Dunnishoppe,  gents.,  of  and  in  all  and  singular  his 
messuages,  cottages,  tofts,  lands,  tenements,  &c.,  to  the  use  of  the  said  William  Rish- 
ton  for  his  life,  and  after  his  death,  for  the  education  and  bringing  up  of  his  five  chil- 
dren, namely,  Ralph,  William,  Marie,  Ann,  and  Elizabeth  ;  also  for  the  reparation  of 
the  manor-house  called  Ponthalghe,  and  the  mylne  called  Ponthalghe  Mill ;  and  for 
the  payment  of  the  debts  of  the  said  William  Rishton.  In  William  Rishton's  escheat, 
the  date  of  which  is  illegible,  Ralph  Rishton  is  named  as  his  son  and  heir,  aged  10 
years  ;  William  Rishton  as  a  younger  son ;  and  mention  is  made  of  Edward  Rishton, 
eldest  son  of  James  Rishton  of  Mickle-hey.  I  imagine  James  Rishton  was  a  younger 
brother  of  William,  who  took  up  his  abode  at  Mickle-hey  after  William's  removal  to 
Ponthalgh.  James  Rishton  of  Mickle-hey  was  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar 
School  in  1590,  and  his  son,  Edward  Rishton  of  Mickle-hey,  was  elected  a  Governor 
in  1630.  "  Uxor  Edward  Rishton  de  Micle  heyes"  was  buried  Oct.  i6th,  1624. 

Ralph  Rishton,  heir  of  William,  a  minor  at  the  escheat,  afterwards  married  Doro- 
thy, daughter  of  George  Talbot  of  Carr.  The  issue  were — William,  born  in  1606; 
Ralph  ;  John,  died  young  ;  Roger  ;  Edward,  of  London  ;  Anne,  died  unmarried  ; 
Margaret,  wife  of  John  Buck,  of  Gilling,  Co.  York  ;  and  Dorothy,  died  unmarried. 
He  died  about  1624. 

William  Rishton,  gent.,  eldest  son  of  Ralph,  married  Dorothy,  eldest  daughter  of 
William  Anderton  of  Euxton,  Esq.,  by  whom  he  had  issue,  William,  his  heir  ;  Ralph  ; 
John  (Rev.  John  Rishton,  Vicar  of  Leyland,  1677-83) ;  Edward  ;  Dorothy,  wife  of 
John  Barton  of  Cowbridge ;  Anne,  Isabel,  Alice,  Margaret,  Mary,  Eleanor,  and 
Katherine.  William  Rishton  was  living  in  1664.  William  Rishton,  of  Ponthalgh, 
succeeded  his  father. 

The  tenement  of  Mickle-hey  is  situate  on  the  hill  near  the  border  of  Rishton  and 
Little  Harwood.  The  old  house  of  the  Rishtons  is  a  low  building  with  mullion  win- 
dows, the  date  of  which  appears  on  the  front  upon  an  inscribed  stone  under  a  drip- 
stone head-moulding,  which  bears  the  initials  "  R  H  x  I  R"  and  underneath  the 
date  "1.5.9.1."  The  letters  "R  H  "  are  repeated  upon  another  stone  in  the  front 
wall.  The  estate  now  belongs  to  Henry  Petre,  Esq.;  and  on  the  lintel  of  the  barn 
door  are  the  letters  "T  W  A  "  and  date  "  1737."  The  initials  are  those  of  Thomas 
Walmsley  of  Mickle-hey,  a  governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1751. 

TALBOT  OF  COWHILL. 

This  family  was  a  branch  of  Talbot  of  Salesbury.  Sir  John  Talbot,  who  died  in 
1588,  had  a  son  Robert,  born  before  marriage.  This  Robert  Talbot  married 
Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Richard  Hoghton  of  Lea,  and  had  sons,  John,  George,  Robert, 
Thomas,  and  Richard. 

Richard  Talbot,  younger  son,  was  of  Rishton,  and  died  at  Cowhill  in  Nov.,  1654. 
He  married  Alice  Duckworth,  and  had  sons,  John  ;  and  Thomas,  living  in  1669. 

John  Talbot  of  Rishton,  gent  (son  of  Richard),  married,  Feb.  7th,  1631,  Jennet, 
daughter  of  John  Clayton  of  Clayton  Hey,  and  had  issue,  sons,  Thomas,  bapt.  April 
3rd,  1634  ;  Robert  Talbot  (who  married  Isabel  Lawson  of  Clitheroe)  ;  and  Jobn 
Talbot  (who  married  Margaret,  daughter  of  John  Sudell  of  Stopen  Hey,  and  had  sons, 
Richard,  born  in  1666  ;  Joseph  and  Benjamin,  twins,  born  in  1667  ;  and  John,  born 
in  1668  ;  and  daughters,  Alice,  and  Mary);  and  a  daughter  Ann,  wife  of  Leonard 
Nowell  of  Clitheroe.  The  father,  John  Talbot  of  Rishton,  gent.,  appears  with  his 
sons  on  the  Guild  Roll  of  Preston  in  1662. 


CHURCHES  AND  CHAPELS  IN  RISHTON.  643 

"Thomas  Talbot  of  Cowell,  gent."  (son  of  John)  was  made  a  Governor  of  Black- 
burn Grammar  School  in  1667 ;  he  married  Mary  Cross,  widow  (daughter  of  John 
Elison  of  Altham),  and  died  in  Aug.,  1675.  He  had  sons,  John,  bapt.  Sept.  28th, 
1662  ;  and  Richard,  bapt.  March  i6th,  1666,  living  in  1682  ;  and  daughters,  Alice  ; 
Elizabeth,  born  in  1669  ;  and  Mary. 

John  Talbot  of  Cowhill,  yeoman  (son  of  Thomas),  had  sons,  Thomas  ;  and  John, 
born  in  1690.  John  Talbot  the  father  and  his  two  sons  were  out-burgesses  of  Preston 
at  the  Guilds  of  1702  and  1722. 

Thomas  Talbot,  son  of  John,  married,  in  1732,  Mary  Turner  ;  was  father  of 
Thomas  Talbot  of  Elswick  ;  and  was  dead  before  1 762. 

John  Talbot  of  Cowhill,  yeoman,  brother  of  Thomas,  married  Margaret,  daughter 
of  Robert  Peele  of  Peele  Fold,  yeoman,  and  had  sons,  John  Talbot,  and  Thomas 
Talbot,  both  living  in  1762  ;  and  Joseph,  born  in  1719.  John  Talbot  the  father  was 
dead  before  1762. 

Joseph  Talbot,  of  Rishton  in  1762  and  of  Salesbury  in  1782,  was  buried  at  Black- 
burn, aged  73,  Sept.  1st,  1792.  He  had  a  son  John  Talbot,  who  had  a  son  Joseph, 
described  on  Preston  Guild  Roll  in  1782  as  "Joseph  Talbot,  son  of  John,  grandson  of 
Joseph  of  Salesbury. " 

PLACES  OF  WORSHIP. 

ST.  PETER'S  CHURCH. — The  National  School  in  Rishton  was  licensed  for  divine 
service  in  1866.  The  corner-stone  of  a  new  church,  dedicated  to  St.  Peter,  was  laid 
on  the  24th  May,  1873,  by  F.  W.  Grafton,  Esq.,  who  was  a  donor  of  ^1200  to  the 
building  fund.  The  church  is  a  gothic  edifice,  consisting  of  nave,  with  clerestory, 
side  aisles,  chancel-apse,  and  tower  at  the  south  end  (not  yet  completed).  Cost  of  the 
building  and  site  ^5000.  Sittings  600.  The  church  has  not  hitherto  (1876)  been 
consecrated.  The  situation  adjoins  the  Blackburn  Road  at  the  western  end  of  the 
village  of  Rishton. 

WESLEYAN  CHAPEL. — A  small  Wesleyan  society,  founded  here  in  1805,  gradu- 
ally became  extinct ;  but  about  the  year  1852,  Mr.  George  Clarke  of  Norden  started 
a  new  society,  and  opened  a  small  school-chapel  in  his  premises  in  High-street.  The 
society  grew  ;  and  a  new  chapel  was  built  in  1862,  which  cost  ^"1500  ;  a  gallery  was 
added  in  1868,  costing  ^"500  ;  in  1875  the  chapel  was  extended  at  the  rear,  at  a  further 
cost  of  ^"1500  ;  in  April,  1876,  an  organ,  costing  ^400,  was  opened;  and  in  July, 
1876,  new  schools  adjoining  the  chapel,  which  have  been  built  at  a  cost  of  ^2000, 
were  opened.  The  Chapel  now  contains  800  sittings. 

PRIMITIVE  METHODIST  SCHOOL-CHAPEL. — This  school-chapel  was  opened  in 
July,  1876,  in  place  of  the  small  school-room  before  used  by  the  Primitive  Methodists 
as  a  preaching-place.  The  cost  of  the  new  building  was  ^£1200.  Sittings  550. 

UNITED  FREE  METHODIST  CHAPEL.— This  school-chapel  was  erected  in  1875, 
at  a  cost  of  ,£1100,  and  contains  300  sittings. 

LAY  CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND  SCHOOL-CHURCH.— Built  by  a  party  of  seceders 
from  St.  Peter's  Church,  and  opened  in  1876.  Cost  ,£300  ;  sittings  300. 

A  CONGREGATIONAL  MISSION-ROOM  and  Sunday  School  was  opened  in  Rishton 
village  in  1876 ;  sittings  about  100. 

DAY  SCHOOLS. 

There  are  two  elementary  Day  Schools  under  Government  inspection  in  Rishton. 
The  National  School,  in  1875,  had  159  children  in  average  attendance,  and  received  a 
Government  grant  of  £112  6s.  The  Wesleyan  School,  at  the  same  date,  had  215 
children  in  average  attendance,  and  obtained  a  grant  of  ^170  IDS. 


644 


HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


CHAPTER  XVJ^-THE  TOWNSHIP  OF  SALESBURY. 

Topography — Extent — Population — Lords  of  the  Manor— De  Salesbury — De  Clyderhou — Talbot — 
Warren— Mr.  Ward— Salesbury  Hall— Talbot  of  New  Hall— Bolton— Parker  of  Loveley  Hall— 
Loveley  Hall— Church  of  St.  Peter — Salesbury  School. 

SALESBURY  is  a  township  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Ribble, 
between  Dinkley  above,  and  Clayton-in-le-Dale  below.  The  land 
rises  rapidly  from  the  river,  in  the  direction  of  Wilpshire  Moor,  which 
is  the  summit  of  the  acclivity.  It  is  appropriated  to  pasture  farms.  The 
acreage  of  the  township  is  1140  statute  acres.  Formerly  there  was  con- 
siderable cottage  weaving  in  Salesbury,  but  there  is  little  now.  The 
population  accordingly  has  dwindled  in  numbers  since  1831.  In  1801 
it  was  236  persons  ;  1811,  265;  1821,  427;  1831,  433;  1841,  399; 
1851  ;  388  ;  1861,  331  ;  1871,  212. 

DE  SALESBURY  FAMILY. 

Gilbert  de  Salesburi  was  lord  of  this  township  within  the  century 
after  the  Norman  Conquest.  He  had  a  son  Siward  de  Salesburi. 

Waltheus  de  Salesburi  was  brother  of  Gilbert,  and  under  him  held 
lands  in  Salesbury,  whereof  he  gave  sixty  perches  to  the  abbot  and  monks 
ofSalley. 

Ralph  de  Salesburi,  son  of  Waltheus,  afterwards  confirmed  to  the 
Abbey  of  Salley  the  lands  in  Salesburi. 

Richard  de  Salesburi,  son  of  Ralph,  in  turn  gave  1 1  acres  in  Sales- 
bury  to  the  Salley  fraternity.  He  had  a  son  Richard. 

In  the  Coucher  Book  of  Whalley  Abbey  appear  the  names  of  Adam 
de  Saleburi,  of  Award,  Gilbert,  Randulph,  Richard,  Roger,  and  Swane 
de  Salesbury,  indistinguishable  members  of  this  family ;  also  of  William 
de  Salesbury,  who  occurs  as  witness  to  a  deed  dated  1380. 

Gilbert  son  of  Ulkil  de  Salesbury  gave  certain  small  parcels  of  land 
in  this  vill  to  Salley.  Another  Gilbert,  son  of  Robert,  is  witness  to  one 
of  the  first  Gilbert's  charters. 

Adam  de  Helai  was  son  of  Gilbert  de  Salesbury ;  and  his  son,  Hugh 


DE  CLIDERHOU  FAMILY.  645 

de  Helai,  confirmed  to  the  monks  of  Salley  the  1 1  acres  of  land  that 
Richard,  son  of  Richard  de  Salesburi  (above),  gave  to  them.  John  de 
Salesburi  also  was  a  donor  of  lands  in  Salesbury  and  Helai  to  Salley 
Monastery.  Ranulf  de  Salesbury  had  sons  Hugh  and  Robert ;  the 
latter  had  a  son  William. 

Hugh  de  Salesbury,  son  of  Ranulf,  had  to  wife  Marjora,  daughter  of 
Hugh  de  Helai,  by  whom  he  had  five  daughters — Cecilia;  Dionesia, 
wife  of  Thomas  son  of  William  de  Hulton ;  Matilda,  Alice,  and  Agnes. 
Cecilia,  eldest  daughter  and  heiress  of  Hugh  de  Salesbury,  married,  first, 
Hugh  de  Cliderhou,  by  whom  she  had  issue  ;  and  secondly,  Robert  de 
Balderstone. 

DE  CLIDERHOU  FAMILY,  ANCIENT  LORDS  OF  SALESBURY. 

The  De  Cliderhou  Family  were  in  tenure  of  estates  in  Clitheroe, 
Mitton,  &c.,  before  the  date  when  Hugh  de  Cliderhou,  by  his  marriage 
with  Cecilia,  eldest  daughter  and  co-heir  of  Hugh  de  Salesbury,  son  of 
Ranulf,  added  Salesbury  manor  to  the  family  possessions.  Hugh  de 
Cliderhou  had  a  son  and  heir,  Hugh  ;  and  a  daughter,  Isabella,  wife  of 
Jordan  de  Wynkedley. 

Hugh  de  Cliderhou,  son  of  Hugh,  occurs  in  deeds  between  the 
years  1276  and  1310.  His  sons  were,  Roger,  and  Adam. 

Roger  de  Cliderhou  had  a  grant  of  free  warren  in  the  demesne 
lands  of  Salesbury,  dated  i5th  April,  1312. 

Adam  de  Cliderhou,  son  of  Hugh  and  brother  of  Roger,  by  his  wife 
Cecilia  (who  occurs  as  his  relict  in  1340,  and  was  living  in  1349),  had  a 
son  and  heir,  Robert.  Adam  de  Cliderhou  was  probably  dead  before 
the  nth  Edw.  Ill  (1337). 

Robert  de  Cliderhou,  Adam's  son,  married  Sibilla  (or  Isabella) 
daughter  of  Richard  son  of  John  de  Hodleston  (marriage  contract  dated 
1331),  and  had  issue,  sons,  Robert;  Thomas,  living  in  1343;  Roger 
living  in  1357;  and  Richard  (of  whom  more  presently).  Robert  de 
Cliderhou  the  father  conveyed  his  estate  of  two  parts  of  Saleberie  manor 
in  trust,  by  deed  dated  i7th  Edw.  Ill  (1343).  He  died  before  1346, 
in  which  year  his  widow  married,  secondly,  William  de  Rilleston. 

Robert  de  Cliderhou  succeeded  to  his  inheritance  in  infancy,  and 
Adam  de  Hoghton  bought  his  marriage  (deed  dated  24th  Edw.  III., 
bearing  the  arms  of  Adam  de  Hoghton,  on  a  shield  three  bars,  and  an  in- 
scription in  old  capitals,  SIGILLUM  ADE  DE  HOGHTON).  Robert  de  Cli- 
derhou was  probably  of  age  in  1357.  His  wife  was  Sibilla,  daughter  of 
Richard  de  Hoghton  (her  first  husband  was  William  de  Bold).  Dated 
3ist  Edw.  III.  (1357)  is  a  defeasance  of  a  statute  acknowledged  by 
Robert  son  of  Robert  de  Clitherow,  that  he  should  preserve  his  inheri- 


646  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

tance  without  any  foolish  demises  or  charges.  He  had  an  only  daughter 
and  heir,  Sibilla.  In  1371  he  and  his  wife  had  license  from  the  Bishop 
of  Lichfield  for  an  oratory  at  Salesbury  Hall,  for  two  years.  A  deed  of 
Robert  de  Cliderhou,  dated  44th  Edw.  III.  (1370),  contains  on  the  seal 
his  arms,  a  saltire  fusilee,  and  the  words  in  old  capitals,  SIGILL:  ROBERTI 
DE  CLIDERHOU.  He  died  before  1376.  His  widow,  who  survived 
until  1387,  had  a  license  for  her  oratory  at  Salesbury. 

Sibilla  de  Cliderhou,  only  daughter  and  heir  of  Robert,  was  thrice 
married;  first  (marriage  contract  dated  1362),  to  Richard,  son  of  John 
de  Radcliffe  of  Ordsall  (she  was  his  second  wife,  and  he  died  igth  July, 
1380),  and  bore  him  a  son  Roger,  who  died  before  1408;  and  a  daughter, 
Jonanna,  born  about  1379,  wife  of  Henry  de  Hoghton  of  Leagrim, 
second  son  of  Adam  de  Hoghton.  Dame  Sibilla  married,  secondly,  Sir 
Richard  Mauleverer  of  Beamsley,  who  was  dead  in  7th  Richard  II. 
(1384);  and  thirdly  (marriage  contract  dated  loth  June,  1386),  Roger 
de  Fulthrop,  Judge  of  Common  Pleas,  who  was  attainted  in  1388,  exiled 
to  Ireland,  and  died  about  1392.  By  the  two  last  husbands  the  lady  of 
Salesbury  had  no  issue.  In  her  last  widowhood,  a  license  dated  27th 
Dec.,  1406,  was  granted  to  "  the  lady  Sibill  Fulthrop  the  ladie  of  Salis- 
berie  for  a  chapel  or  oratery  in  her  manor  of  Salisberie,  and  to  celebrate 
mass  and  other  divine  offices,  provided  it  be  no  prejudice  to  the  Mother 
Church  ;"  to  continue  for  three  years.  This  lady,  whose  life  had  been 
so  chequered,  died  the  2ist  Dec.,  1414,  and  by  inquisition  taken  the 
7th  June,  1415,  it  was  found  that  Johanna  de  Hoghton  was  daughter 
and  next  heir,  aged  36  years  and  upwards. 

Johanna  de  Hoghton,  wife  of  Henry,  had  no  child,  and  accordingly, 
in  the  loth  Henry  V.  (1422),  she  was  party  to  a  settlement  of  the  estates, 
by  which  there  was  allotted  to  her  husband's  family  out  of  the  estates 
lands  worth  £20  per  annum ;  and  by  a  later  award  the  Hoghtons  were 
allotted  the  manor  of  Pendleton,  all  the  lands  in  Yorkshire,  and  lands  in 
Preston,  Ribchester,  Clitheroe,  and  Wilpshire  ;  all  the  rest  to  go  to 
Talbot  (see  hereafter),  and  on  failure  of  issue  male  of  either  family,  the 
whole  to  go  to  the  other.  The  heir  of  Henry  Hoghton  was  his  natural 
son,  Richard  Hoghton,  Parker  of  Leagrim  Forest,  ancestor  of  Hoghtons 
of  Pendleton. 

I  have  now  to  add  the  descent  of  a  younger  branch  of  De  Cliderhou, 
beginning  with  Richard  de  Cliderhou,  brother  of  Robert.  He  was  born 
before  1343 ;  and  by  Agnes  his  wife  he  had  sons,  John,  and  Edmund, 
both  of  whom  died  without  issue  ;  and  daughters,  Isabella,  and  Johanna. 
The  younger  daughter  married,  first,  William  de  Alston  ;  secondly, 
Richard  Golyn,  or  Colyn,  and  was  living  in  1425.  In  the  6th  Ric.  II. 
(1383),  Richard  de  Cliderhou  was  witness  to  a  grant  by  Sibilla,  widow  of 


TALBOT  OF  SALESBURY.  647 

his  brother  Robert  de  Cliderhou,  to  her  daughter  Sibilla.  He  died 
before  1419.  Agnes,  his  relict  in  that  year,  was  living  in  1427,  when 
she  quit-claimed  her  right  in  these  lands  to  John  Talbot  and  his  wife 
Isabella  (her  daughter). 

Isabella  Cliderou,  daughter  and  co-heir  of  Richard,  married  John 
Talbot,  son  of  William  (younger  son  of  Edmund  Talbot  of  Bashall  who 
died  in  1372).  In  Sept.,  1423,  a  dispensation  was  obtained  on  the 
ground  of  their  having  married  in  ignorance  of  their  consanguinity  in  the 
4th  degree  (which  was  then  a  bar  to  marriage).  In  1422,  Isabella 
Talbot  and  her  husband  and  issue  were  made  heirs  to  the  manor  of 
Salesbury  under  the  settlement  of  her  kinswoman,  Johanna  Hoghton, 
She  died  August  ist,  1432;  and  Inq.  post  mart,  was  taken  in  the  nth 
Henry  VI.1 

TALBOT  OF  SALESBURY. 

John  Talbot,  son  of  William  Talbot,  a  younger  son  of  Sir  Edmund 
Talbot  of  Bashall,  Knt,  after  being  divorced  from  his  first  wife  Mar- 
geria,  in  1415,  married,  before  1423,  Isabella,  daughter  of  Richard  de 
Cliderhou,  and  by  her  had  issue,  sons,  John,  born  about  1426  ;  Hugh, 
Christopher,  and  Alexander,  all  living  in  1448  ;  Richard,  named  in  his 
father's  Will,  1449 ;  Lawrence ;  and  three  daughters,  who  were  repre- 
sented with  their  mother  in  a  memorial  window  in  Ribchester  Church. 
On  Aug.  1 5th,  3rd  Henry  VI.  (1424),  John,  son  of  William  Talbot,  and 
Richard  de  Townley  of  Clivachre,  gave  recognizance  in  1000  marks  to 
Richard,  son  of  Henry  de  Hoghton,  Knt.,  to  submit  to  the  judgment 
and  award  of  John  de  Stanley,  Knt.,  and  William  de  Haryngton,  Knt, 
in  the  suit  between  the  said  John  Talbot  and  Isabella  his  wife,  and 
Richard  Golyn  and  Joan  his  wife,  sister  of  the  said  Isabella,  concerning 
the  lands  which  Sybil,  widow  of  Richard  de  Radclyf  held  in  the  counties 
of  York  and  Lancaster;  and  at  the  same  time  Richard  de  Hoghton  of 
Laythgrim,  and  Richard  de  Knolle  of  Thornley,  gave  recognizance  to 
John  Talbot  to  submit  to  the  judgment  of  the  said  arbitrators.  John 
Talbot  died  1 8th  April,  1449;  his  Will  is  dated  April  i6th,  1449,  by 
which  he  bequeaths  his  body  to  be  buried  in  the  Church  of  St.  Mary  at 
the  Abbey  of  Whalley  ;  gives  his  best  horse  for  a  mortuary  ;  and  to  his 
son  John  a  cap,  book,  vestments,  and  all  other  things  in  his  chapel. 
Ing.  post  mort.  was  taken  the  same  year.  His  son  and  heir,  John  Talbot, 
was  found  to  be  aged  24  years. 

John  Talbot  of  Salesbury,  Esq.  (known  as  "  Little  John  Talbot ") 
son  of  John,  assisted,  in  1464,  in  the  betrayal  of  Henry  VI.  near 

i  I  am  indebted  to  Wm.  Langton,  Esq.,  for  the  laboriously  and  carefully  proved  genealogy  of 
the  Cliderhou  family  embodied  in  these  pages,  the  intricate  descents  of  which  have  confounded  former 
antiquaries. 


648  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Clitheroe,  for  which  he  was  rewarded  with  a  pension  by  Edward  IV. 
One  of  his  two  wives  was  daughter  of  Sir  John  Radcliff  of  Ordsall. 
Johanna  his  first  wife  is  named  with  her  husband  in  1464,  in  an  inscrip- 
tion upon  a  window  in  the  oratory  of  Salesbury  Hall.  Ann,  his  second 
wife,  survived  until  1487,  and  was  mother  of  his  daughter  Lucy.  John 
Talbot  had  issue,  by  his  two  marriages,  sons,  John  ;  Ralph,  a  captain  at 
Calais  (who  had  a  son  Ralph) ;  William  (father  of  William  and  Hugh, 
both  priests) ;  Myles,  who  left  issue ;  and  Roger  (who  had  three 
daughters);  and  daughters,  Isabella,  wife  of  Richard,  son  and  heir  of 
Sir  Ralph  de  Ashton  of  Middleton;  Lucy,  wife  of  Ralph  Ashton,  brother 
of  Richard  ;  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Lawrence  Ainsworth  ;  Margaret ;  Alice, 
wife  of  Giles  Livesey  ;  and  another  daughter,  married  in  London.  John 
Talbot,  Esq.,  died  before  1485. 

Sir  John  Talbot,  knighted  at  Hutton  Field  in  1483,  succeeded  his 
father  as  lord  of  Salesbury  in  1484,  and  had  from  Richard  III.,  in  that 
year,  reversion  of  his  father's  pension.  He  married  Ann,  daughter  of  Sir 
Ralph  Ashton  of  Middleton  (covenant  of  marriage  dated  1452),  and  by 
her  (who  survived  him,  and  was  living  in  1511)  had  issue,  sons, 
John  ;  Ralph  ;  Richard  ;  and  Thomas  ;  and  daughters,  Anne,  wife  of 
Richard  Rishton  of  Dunkenhalgh  ;  Margery,  wife  of  Alan  Singleton 
of  Whitgill ;  and  Ellen,  wife  of  John  Singleton.  Thomas  Talbot,  of  the 
Impes,  was  father  of  Richard,  citizen  of  London  ;  and  of  Anne,  second 
wife  of  Sir  Thomas  Langton,  Baron  of  Newton.  Sir  John  Talbot,  Knt., 
died  August  roth,  1511.  Inq.  post  mort.  Oct.  loth,  3rd  Henry  VIII. 

John  Talbot,  Esq.,  son  and  heir  ("  long  John  Talbot "),  said  to  be 
aged  24  at  his  father's  death  in  1511,  married  Isabella,  daughter  of 
Richard  de  Towneley,  who  had  issue,  sons,  John  ;  Richard,  and  Hugh  ; 
and  a  daughter  Anne,  wife  of  Edmund  Hopwood,  gent.  John  Talbot 
died  about  the  year  1515,  and  by  an  escheat  return,  dated  7th  Henry 
VIIL,  it  appears  that  he  was  seized  at  death  of  Salesbury  manor,  held  of 
the  King,  worth  ^50  ;  of  Dynkeley  manor  ;  Clayton-in-le-Dale  manor ; 
and  of  messuages,  lands,  mills,  and  rents  in  those  townships  and  in 
Whilipshire,  Bylington,  Button,  Ribchester,  and  Clyderowe.  His  son 
and  heir  was  John  Talbot,  aged  14  years. 

Shortly  before  his  death,  by  deed  dated  April  24th,  6th  Henry  VIIL,  John  Tal- 
bot, Knt.,  had  conveyed  to  Edward  Ashton,  clerk,  and  other  trustees,  the  manors  of 
Salesbury  and  Dinkeley,  with  messuages,  lands,  rents,  burgages,  mills,  fishery,  &c.,  with 
reversions  of  the  same  to  the  use  and  intent  to  fulfil  the  Will  of  John  Talbot,  as  fol- 
lows :— Feoffees  to  stand  seized  of  above,  suffering  -testator  to  take  the  issues,  rents,  &c. , 
for  life  ;  and  to  make  a  lawful  estate  to  Isabella,  testator's  wife,  for  life,  of  the  manor  of 
Dinkeley  ;  after  decease  of  testator  and  his  wife,  feoffees  to  be  seized  of  closes  called 
Hassilborowes  and  Menefield,  with  the  wood,  parcel  of  Salesbury  manor,  to  the  yearly 
value  of  8s. ,  to  the  use  of  his  sons  Richard  and  Hugh  Talbot;  and  after  the  decease 


TALBOT  OF  SALESBURY.  649 

of  the  longest  liver  of  testator,  his  wife,  and  Dame  Anne  Talbot  his  mother,  that 
feoffees  shall  make  a  lawful  estate  of  tenements  in  Clayton  called  Clayton  Hey,  then 
in  holding  of  Hugh  and  John  Clayton,  to  the  yearly  value  of  405.,  and  of  another  mes- 
suage in  Clayton  in  holding  of  Thomas  Bolton  to  the  yearly  value  of  i8s.,  to  have  and 
hold  to  the  said  Richard  and  Hugh  Talbot  for  their  lives.  Feoffees  to  make  a 
lawful  estate  of  his  hereditaments,  after  the  form  testator  should  make  by  any  inden- 
ture concerning  the  marriage  of  John  Talbot,  his  son  and  heir  ;  and  to  stand  seized  of 
residue  of  premises  and  reversions  during  the  nonage  of  testator's  son  and  heir,  John 
Talbot,  to  the  use  to  suffer  the  aforesaid  Isabel,  if  testator  shall  make  her  executor,  or 
any  other  person  executor  or  executors,  to  receive  yearly  all  issues,  rents,  &c.,  during 
nonage  only  of  said  son  and  heir,  and  to  pay  all  legacies,  debts,  &c. 

The  next  scion  is  the  member  named  in  the  Visitation  of  1533 : — 
"  John  Talbott  of  Saleberry,  hadd  to  his  first  wife  Anne,  doughter  to 
Hewe  [Hugh]  Sherburne,  and  they  hadd  yssue  John,  Jane,  Anne,  and 
Margaret.  The  said  John  had  to  his  second  wife  Anne,  doughter  to 
Richard  Bannester  of  Altham,  and  they  had  no  yssue.  A  very  gentle 
Esquier,  and  worthy  to  be  taken  payne  for."  Thus  testifies  the  visiting 
herald.  After  this  return,  however,  John  Talbot  had  issue  by  his  second 
wife,  sons,  Thomas,  Michael,  John,  Richard,  Nicholas,  and  Robert ;  and 
daughters,  Beatrice ;  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Humphrey  Wyke  ;  and  Isabel, 
married  to  Wilfred  Banester.  Anne,  his  second  daughter  by  his  first 
wife,  married  John  Hothersall,  gent.  John  Talbot,  Esq.,  died  Aug. 
3oth,  1551.  His  Will,  dated  Aug.  28th,  is  abstracted  below  : — 

In  the  name,  &c. ,  I,  John  Talbot,  of  Salisbury,  within  the  countie  of  Lancaster, 
Esquier,  somethyng  disseased  in  my  bodie  but  hoole  [whole]  of  mynde,  &c.,  make  and 
orden  thys  my  present  testamente,  &c.  First,  I  commende  my  soul  to  Almyghty  God 
and  to  all  the  holy  companye  of  heaven,  and  my  bodye  to  be  buryed  within  the  Parisshe 
Churche  at  Blakeburne  in  the  chapell  on  the  southe  syde  of  the  churche  thear.  And  I 
geve  and  bequethe  unto  Sir  Rychard  Hoghton,  Knyght,  my  best  gowne  to  the  entente 
to  be  supervisor  of  thys  my  last  Will  and  see  the  same  performed.  I  geve,  &c.,  unto 
my  son-in-law  Wilfride  Banester  my  Regalles  and  my  Virginalles.  I  geve  unto  Anne 
my  wiffe  all  suche  leases  and  tackes  as  I  have  of  Sir  Thomas  Talbot,  Knyght,  of  cer- 
ten  tithes  as  in  the  said  lease  it  doth  appere,  and  also  of  Thomas  Heskett,  Esquier, 
of  certen  closes  and  landes  lieng  to  the  manor  howse  of  Dynkeley.  Moreover,  all 
such  tackes  and  bargaynes  as  my  brother  William  Talbot  hath  graunted  and  made  unto 
me  of  the  manor  howse  of  Dynkeley  (which  he  maketh  clame  and  title  to  by  the  gyfte 
of  his  father  and  myne),  with  all  landes,  medowes,  &c. ,  to  the  same  belongyng  I  geve, 
&c. ,  wholly  unto  Anne  my  said  wyffe.  And  in  case  hys  gyft  be  proved  voide  and  of 
none  effecte,  then  I  wyll  that  all  suche  goodes  and  sommes  of  money  as  I  have  con- 
tented and  payd  unto  my  said  brother  and  hys  assignes  by  the  order  and  awarde  of  Sir 
John  Atherton,  Knyght,  my  brother  Edmund  Hopwodde,  esquier,  for  the  premysses 
be  contented  and  payd  agayne  unto  my  sayd  wyfe  and  her  assignes,  to  the  use  and 
profitt  of  her  and  my  chyldren.  Item,  I  wyll  that  all  suche  dettes  and  deuties  as  I 
owe  of  ryghte  or  of  conscience  to  any  person  be  well  and  truly  contented  and  payd  by 
myne  executor  hereinafter  named.  And  after  my  dettes  payd  and  my  funerall  expenses 
performed,  I  geve,  &c.,  all  my  parte  of  goodes,  dettes,  &c. ,  whearsoever  they  can  be 


650  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

founde  unto  Anne  mysayd  wyffe,  my  executrix,  and  Sir  Richard  [Hoghton],  Knyght, 
abovesaid  supervisor. — Wrytten  the  28th  day  of  Auguste,  in  the  fyfte  yeare  of  the 
reigne  of  our  soveraigne  lorde  Kyng  Edward  the  Sixt,  by  the  grace,  &c.  These  beyng 
witnesses  : — Ranulphus  Lynney,  Vicar  of  Blakburn  ;  Richard  Marsten,  chaplain ; 
Edmund  Bolton,  chaplain  ;  William ,  Adam  Bolton,  withothers,1 

Here  I  deviate  from  the  chief  descent  to  notice  a  younger  son  of 
the  last-named  John  Talbot,  who  merits  distinction  as  one  of  the  ear- 
liest of  Lancashire  antiquaries.  Thomas  Talbot,  named  by  Sir  William 
Dugdale  as  "Clerk  of  the  Tower  Records"  and  "  a  noted  antiquarian," 
was  second  son  of  John  Talbot  of  Salesbury,  Esq.,  and  first  son  by  his 
second  wife  Ann  Banestre.  Little  is  recorded  of  the  history  of  this  per- 
sonage. Gough  has  the  following  brief  notice  : — 

Thomas  Talbot,  born  at  Salesbury  Hall,  in  1580  was  Keeper  of  Her  Majesty's 
Records  in  the  Tower,  and  rendered  assistance  to  Camden,  furnishing  him  with  a  Cata- 
logue of  Earls  for  his  "Britannia."  He  also  made  considerable  collections  for  the 
History  of  Yorkshire  ;  some  of  these  are  deposited  in  the  British  Museum,  some  in 
the  Heralds'  Office.  In  the  epistle  dedicatory  to  Mills'  Catalogue  of  Honor,  he  is 
called  '  limping  Thomas  Talbot,  a  great  genealogist,  and  of  excellent  memory. '  " 

A  portion  of  Thomas  Talbot's  collections,  containing  many  items 
concerning  abbeys,  and  various  historical  matters,  extracted  from  chroni- 
cles, rolls  of  noble  families,  and  their  pedigrees,  is  preserved  among  the 
Cotton  MSS.  (Vesp.  D.  17).  Other  papers  of  his  are  in  the  Lansdoww 
and  Harleian  MSS.  The  letter  copied  below,  written  by  Thomas  Tal- 
bot the  antiquary  in  1578  to  his  brother-in-law,  John  Hothersall  of 
Hothersall,  gent.,  accompanying  some  Read  evidences  from  the  Tower, 
is  not  without  local  interest : — 

"Brother  Hothershall, — I  comend  me  unto  you  and  to  the  rest  of  my  frendes,  letting 
you  to  understand  that  I  sent  you  a  note  of  the  matter  that  you  did  require  me  to 
search  in  the  Tour,  but  by  negligence  of  the  carier  yt  came  back  againe  to  my  handes 
contrarie  to  my  will  and  meaninge,  but  now  you  shall  receyve  yt  hereunder  written 
word  for  word  out  of  the  recorde  so  muche  as  serveth  for  your  frendes  purpose.  Bro- 
ther, this  is  all  I  can  find  for  Read  alias  Reved ;  and  the  word  thanagium  [thanage]  is 
the  same  whiche  my  eldest  brother  holdeth  the  maner  of  Salesbury  by,  which  I  take  to 
be  a  free  socage  tenure.  This  with  comendation  to  you  and  the  rest  of  my  frendes.  I 
wish  you  wel  as  to  myselfe.  Written  at  London  this  ffriday  the  6  of  June,  1578. 
THOMAS  TALBOT." — [Addressed] — "To  my  assured  good  brother  Mr.  John  Hother- 
shall, yeoman,  these,  at  Hothershall  by  Ribchester. " 

John  Talbot,  heir  of  John,  soon  after  his  succession  was  defendant 
in  an  action  brought  by  Anne  Talbot,  widow  and  executrix  of  the  last 
Will  of  John  Talbot  deceased,  for  tortious  possession  by  him  of  a  dwel- 
ling house,  and  detention  of  goods  and  chattels,  in  Salesbury  manor. 
This  was  in  1553.  He  married,  first,  at  Ribchester  Church,  Alice, 
daughter  of  Sir  Alexander  Osbaldeston,  Knt;  she  died,  without  having 

i  Lane,  and  Chesh.  Wills  (Cheth.  Socy.),  v.  iii,  pp.  105-6. 


TALBOT  OF  SALESBURY.  651 

issue,  in  1533.  His  second  wife  was  Mary  Moore,  of  Sheffield,  Co. 
York,  by  whom  he  had  sons,  John,  Robert,  and  Thomas,  born  before 
marriage  ;  and  a  legitimate  son,  George  ;  also  daughters,  Mary,  wife  of 
John  Atherton,  Esq.;  and  Frances,  wife  of  Peter  Barlow,  gent.  In  1553, 
John  Talbot  was  a  captain  in  the  Lancashire  array  in  Queen  Mary's  army. 
In  1581,  Edmund  Campion  the  Jesuit,  on  being  tortured  by  the  rack,  di- 
vulged the  names  of  certain  Lancashire  gentry  who  had  harboured  him, 
and  among  them  was  "  Talbot  of  Salesbury,  Esq."  Richard  Simpson,  a 
recusant  priest,  was  reported  in  1581  to  have  sojourned  at  Talbot's  house. 
In  consequence,  a  search  was  made  at  Salesbury  Hall  for  arms  or  other 
tokens  of  seditious  designs  by  its  master.  John  Talbot,  Esq.,  died  ist 
Sept.,  1588,  seized  of  Salesbury  manor,  with  ten  messuages,  10  cottages, 
20  gardens,  20  orchards,  200  acres  of  land,  40  of  meadow,  40  of  pasture, 
100  of  woodland,  and  100  of  moss  and  turbary  in  Salesbury  ;  30  acres  of 
land  in  Dinckley  ;  30  acres  in  Whilpshire  ;  30  acres  in  Clayton  ;  and 
lands  in  Button,  Cliderow,  and  Ribchester.  His  grandson,  John  Tal- 
bot, son  of  George  deceased,  was  next  heir,  aged  7  years. 

George  Talbot  of  Dinkley,  gent.,  John's  eldest  legitimate  son, 
married  Mary,  second  daughter  of  Sir  John  Southworth,  Knt.  (contract 
dated  Oct.  26th,  1573),  and  had  a  son  John,  born  about  1581  ;  and  a 
daughter  Mary,  wife  of  John  Singleton  of  Scales.  George  Talbot  died 
in  his  sire's  lifetime,  Sept.  26th,  1584.  The  Will  of  George  Talbot  of 
Dinkley,  gent.,  bears  date  June  i4th,  26th  Eliz.;  testator  to  be  buried  in 
Blackburn  Church  ;  names  his  father,  John  Talbot,  Esq.;  brother 
Robert  ;  sister,  Mrs.  Ann  Southworth  ;  cousin,  William  Talbot  ;  his 
daughter,  Mary  Talbot,  to  be  sole  executrix.  His  widow  was  living  in 


John  Talbot,  son  of  George,  was  heir  to  his  grandsire  John  Talbot, 
Esq.,  in  1588,  at  the  age  of  seven  years.  He  married,  about  the  year 
1607,  Margaret,  daughter  of  Sir  Alexander  Barlow,  Knt,  and  had  issue, 
sons,  John,  born  Aug.  2Qth,  1608;  Alexander,  born  in  1610,  died  s.p.  ; 
George,  born  June  8th,  1612  ;  and  Thomas,  born  Jan.  3ist,  1617,  died 
in  Nov.,  1628;  and  daughters,  Margaret,  wife  of  Thomas  Clayton  of 
Lentworth  ;  Mary,  died  unmarried  ;  and  Anne,  born  in  1619,  wife  of 
Alexander  Osbaldeston,  Esq.  In  1611,  John  Talbot  disputed  with 
Walmesley  of  Dunkenhalgh  the  right  to  the  mortuary  chapel  on  the  south 
side  of  Blackburn  Church,  and  by  the  Bishop's  award  obtained  the  north 
half  of  the  chapel.  He  was  knighted  by  King  James  I.  at  Lathom 
House,  Aug.  2oth,  1617.  When  the  Civil  War  broke  out  in  1642,  Sir 
John  Talbot  affected  neutrality,  but  was  in  secret  concert  with  the 
Royalist  party,  and  was  appointed  by  the  Earl  of  Derby's  Preston  meet- 
ing, in  Dec.,  1642,  one  of  the  two  collectors  for  Blackburn  Hundred  of 


652  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

the  levy  for  the  county  subsidy  of  ^8700  voted  to  the  King.  About  a 
month  later  Sir  John  Talbot  laid  a  plot  for  the  capture  at  Salesbury  Hall 
of  some  active  Parliamentarians  in  his  neighbourhood  ;  but  the  scheme 
was  frustrated,  and  Salesbury  Hall  occupied  and  pillaged,  as  already  nar- 
rated. At  the  storming  of  Preston  by  Colonel  Seaton,  Feb.  9th,  1642, 
George  Talbot,  son  of  Sir  John,  fought  on  the  Royalist  side,  and  was 
taken  prisoner.  These  overt  acts  of  hostility  to  the  Parliament  made 
Sir  John  a  mark  for  the  vengeance  of  the  Parliamentarian  party  when  it 
had  won  the  mastery  ;  and  by  the  Sequestration  Committee,  in  1647,  Sir 
John  Talbot  was  fined  in  the  sum  of  ^444.  The  "  Journals  of  the 
House  of  Commons,"  Dec.  28th,  1647,  record  this  minute  : — 

Resolved,  &c.  That  this  House  doth  accept  the  sum  of  Four  hundred  forty  and 
four  Pounds,  for  the  Delinquency  of  Sir  John  Talbot,  of  Salisbury,  in  the  County  of 
Lancaster,  Knight :  His  offence,  that  he  assisted  the  Forces  raised  against  the  Parlia- 
ment :  Rendered  in  January,  1645  :  His  estate,  in  Fee,  per  Annum  :  One  hundred 
and  Forty  Pounds.  Out  of  which  issue  Two  Pounds  per  annum,  a  Quit  Rent.  Which 
leaves  the  Fine,  at  a  Sixth,  Four  hundred  Forty-and-Four  Pounds. — An  ordinance  for 
granting  Pardon  unto  Sir  John  Talbott,  of  Salisbury,  in  the  County  of  Lancaster, 
Knight,  for  his  Delinquency,  and  for  taking  off  the  Sequestration  of  his  Estate  was  this 
Day  read,  and  upon  the  Question,  passed  ;  and  ordered  to  be  sent  unto  the  Lords  for 
their  concurrence. 

Among  the  muniments  of  the  estate  are  found  the  general  pardon 
granted  to  Sir  John  Talbot  by  King  and  Parliament  in  24th  Chas.  i. 
(1648);  the  survey  and  valuation  of  the  estate  of  Sir  John  Talbot,  taken 
by  Commission  of  Parliament  in  1652;  and  a  deed,  dated  1654,  by 
which  the  said  Commissioners,  for  ;£7 10  45.  i^d.,  convey  to  Adam 
Boulton,  gent.,  all  the  Talbot  estates  in  Lancashire.  Sir  John  Talbot 
died  in  Dec.,  1659,  and  was  buried  at  Blackburn  Church,  Dec.  26th. 
His  dame  had  died  thirty  years  before,  and  was  buried  at  Manchester 
Collegiate  Church,  Dec.  26th,  1628.  Sir  John  died  intestate,  and  ad- 
ministration of  his  estate  was  granted  in  1660  to  Anne,  his  daughter,  wife 
of  Alexander  Osbaldeston,  Esq. 

John  Talbot,  Esq.,  son  and  heir  to  Sir  John,  married,  first,  Mar- 
garet, daughter  of  Thomas  Westby  of  Mowbreck,  and  by  her  (who  died 
in  1634  and  was  buried  at  Blackburn  Church,  June  27th)  had  issue,  a 
son  John,  who  died  young ;  and  a  daughter  Margaret,  who  died  in  Jan., 
1635-6.  His  second  wife  was  Dorothy,  daughter  of  James  Wilford,  of 
Newman  Hall,  Co.  Essex,  Esq.  By  her  he  had  a  son  John,  who  died 
young;  and  a  daughter  Dorothy,  born  Feb.  i5th,  1650.  John  Talbot, 
Esq.,  died  in  Oct.,  1677,  and  was  buried  in  Blackburn  Church,  Oct. 
i  ith.  His  widow  died  in  1684,  and  "  Mrs.  Dorothy  Talbot,  of  Dinckley, 
widow,  buried  in  linnen,"  is  registered  as  buried  at  Blackburn  Church, 
Sept.  9th,  1684. 


WARREN  OF  SALESBURY.  653 

WARREN  OF  SALESBURY  AND  DINKLEY. 

Dorothy  Talbot,  only  surviving  child  and  heiress  of  John  Talbot, 
Esq.,  married,  about  1678,  Edward  Warren  of  Poynton,  Co.  Chester, 
Esq.  After  his  marriage,  Mr.  Edward  Warren  resided  chiefly  upon  the 
estates  of  his  wife  at  Salesbury  and  Dinkley  Halls.  Their  issue  were, 
sons,  John,  born  July  i5th,  1679 ;  Edward,  bapt.  at  Blackburn  Church, 
Sept.  24th,  1680;  and  Talbot,  bapt.  Dec.  4th,  1686;  and  daughters, 
Hannah  Dorothea  (bapt.  April  22nd,  1682,  married  Sir  Daniel  Byrne, 
Bart);  Margaret,  bapt.  Nov.  i4th,  1683,  died  unmarried;  Catherine 
(born  about  1685,  married  Humphrey  Davenport,  Esq.);  Mary  (bapt. 
Aug.  8th,  1688,  married,  first,  Edward  Radcliffe,  Esq.,  and,  secondly, 
Rev.  Thomas  Dakin);  and  Elizabeth,  bapt.  April  29th,  1692.  Mistress 
Warren  died  in  childbed  of  the  last  daughter,  and  was  buried  at  Black- 
burn, May  5th,  1692.  Edward  Warren,  Esq.,  married,  secondly,  Mar- 
garet, daughter  of  the  Honble.  William  Spencer,  of  Ashton  Hall,  Co. 
Lancaster,  and  by  her  had  issue,  sons,  Spencer  Warren,  Rector  of  Bads- 
worth;  and  William  Warren,  incumbent  of  Up-Holland;  and  daughters, 
Mary,  Alice,  and  Eleanor.  Edward  Warren,  Esq.  (then  "  of  Chorley  "  ) 
died  in  1719-20,  and  was  buried  at  Blackburn,  Jan.  28th. 

His  eldest  son,  John  Warren,  of  Stockport,  Esq.,  died,  s.p.  in  1729, 
and  was  buried  at  Blackburn,  Sept.  3oth.  His  younger  brother,  Talbot 
Warren,  married  Frances,  daughter  of  Wm.  Davenport,  of  Bramhall,  and 
died  in  Dec.  1734. 

Edward  Warren,  second  son  of  Edward,  married,  in  1730,  Eliza- 
beth, daughter  of  George  Earl  of  Cholmondeley ;  and  died  Sept.  7th, 
1737.  He  had  one  son,  George,  and  daughters,  Harriet,  and  Elizabeth. 

George  Warren,  Esq.,  of  Dinkley,  heir  to  his  uncle  John  Warren, 
married,  first,  Jane,  daughter  of  Thomas  Revel,  Esq.;  and  secondly,  in 
1764,  Frances,  daughter  of  Sir  Cecil  Bishop,  Bart.  He  had  an  only 
daughter,  Elizabeth  Harriet,  who  married,  April  26th,  1777,  Thomas 
James,  Viscount  Bulkeley.  George  Warren,  Esq.,  of  Dinkley,  was  made 
a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1757.  He  was  created  a 
Knight  of  the  Bath,  and  died  Aug.  3ist,  1801. 

In  default  of  issue,  Lady  Bulkeley,  daughter  and  heir  of  Sir  George 
Warren,  by  her  Will  constituted  as  her  heir  George  Leicester,  son  of  the 
first  Lord  De  Tabley  (who  was  great-grandson  of  Anne  Dorothea  Warren 
by  her  husband  Sir  D.  Byrne).  This  George  assumed  the  name  of 
Warren  in  1832.  Sir  George  Warren,  Bart.,  in  1827,  succeeded  his 
father  as  second  Lord  De  Tabley.  He  held  the  Salesbury,  Dinkley, 
Osbaldeston,  and  Clayton  manorial  estates  in  this  parish.  These  estates 
were  sold,  in  1866,  to  Henry  Ward,  Esq.,  of  Blackburn,  for  ^"140,000. 


654  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

The  following  is  a  correct  statement  of  the  extent  of  the  estates  of 
Lord  De  Tabley  in  Ribblesdale  as  sold  to  Mr.  Ward  in  1866  : — 

A.       R.    P. 

Dinkley  Hall  estate      369  3  12 

Wilpshire  estate  264  3  26 

Salesbury  Hall  estate 887  o  34 

Clay ton-in-le-Dale  estate         657  o     9 

Osbaldeston  Hall  estate          658  3  33 

Total  in  statute  acres     ...     2837     334 

Salesbury  Hall,  the  old  manor-house  and  seat  of  the  Talbots,  is 
situate  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Ribble,  at  a  point  where  the  river,  esca- 
ping from  a  wooded  ravine,  bends  abruptly  to  the  northward,  and  forms 
a  sort  of  whirlpool,  popularly  called  "Sale  Wheel."  The  hall  has 
originally  been  an  extensive  cluster  of  buildings,  placed  to  form  a 
quadrangle.  The  blocks  that  remain  were  the  south  and  west  wings. 
The  upper  walls  are  of  timbered  structure  ;  in  the  south  wing  the  mas- 
sive oaken  framework  and  projecting  cornice  are  interesting  features. 
Where  the  angle  of  the  two  blocks  approach,  they  are  splayed  to  make  a 
passage  between  the  buildings.  The  west  wing  has  been  curtailed  at 
the  north  end  ;  and  the  front  wall  restored  in  dressed  stonework.  On 
this  front  is  seen  a  wide  depressed  arch,  now  blocked  up,  which  was 
formerly  the  central  entrance  into  the  court  of  the  quadrangle.  The 
interior  of  the  main  west  wing  has  on  the  upper  floor  a  series  of  rooms 
reached  by  a  long  corridor,  and  partitioned  with  oak  wrought  in  panels. 
All  the  lower  rooms  have  lost  their  antique  aspect  by  successive  altera- 
tions. Some  old  plate  armour  that  formerly  hung  in  the  hall  was  re- 
moved to  the  Cheshire  seat  of  Lord  De  Tabley.  The  hall  has  been  sur- 
rounded by  a  moat,  some  traces  of  which  are  left.  On  the  north  side  of 
the  site  are  fragments  of  a  massive  rubble  wall  which  must  have  belonged 
to  the  earliest  structure  built  upon  this  ground.  In  the  garden  is  a  por- 
tion of  a  Roman  pillar,  with  double  band  mouldings. 

TALBOT  OF  NEW  HALL. 

George  Talbot,  gent.,  second  son  of  Sir  John  Talbot  who  died  in 
1659,  married,  April  2oth,  1657,  Anne,  daughter  of  Robert  Parkinson  of 
Fairsnape,  gent.  The  marriage  is  registered  at  Blackburn  Church,  thus  : 
"  George  Talbott  of  Sailsbury,  gent.,  and  Mrs.  Ann  Parkinson  of  Balder- 
stone,  married  by  Richard  Morres."  George  Talbot  built  for  his  resi- 
dence the  house  called  New  Hall,  which  stands  on  the  south  bank  of 
the  Ribble  just  below  Ribchester  Bridge,  within  the  boundary  of  Clay- 
ton-in-le-Dale.  New  Hall  is  a  good  example  of  the  houses  built  for  the 
lesser  gentry  temp.  Charles  II.  It  has  a  roof-line  broken  with  gables, 
small  mullioned  windows  and  a  gabled  porch.  In  the  front  wall  is  a 


PARKER  OF  LOVELEY  HALL.  655 

stone  inscribed  "G  T"  (George  Talbot),  and  the  date  "1665."  Another 
stone  contains  within  a  moulded  panel  the  sculpture  of  a  "  talbot "  (dog), 
the  crest  of  the  Talbots.  George  Talbot,  gent.,  was  made  a  Governor 
of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1667  ;  and  was  living  in  1673.  He 
had  issue,  I  think,  only  one  daughter. 

BOLTON  OF  SALESBURY. 

At  the  levying  of  the  Subsidy  in  1523,  Christopher  Bolton  and  John  Bolton  both 
were  assessed  for  their  lands  in  Salesbury.  The  Loveley  estate  in  Salesbury  appears 
to  have  been  held  by  the  Boultons  at  this  period  ;  for  on  the  survey  of  the  tenancies  of 
Whalley  Monastery  in  1538,  it  was  returned  that  "  Eares  [heirs]  of  Boulton  of  Loveley 
houldeth  freely  certain  lands  their,  and  payeth  therefor  yearly  45."  to  the  Abbey. 
Robert  Bolton  of  Salesbury,  married,  in  1567,  Agnes,  daughter  of  Nicholas  Rishton, 
gent.,  and  he  was  assessed  for  lands  in  Salesbury  to  a  Subsidy  in  1570.  Launcelot 
Bolton,  of  Salesbury,  died  in  1623.  Henry  Bolton,  of  Salesbury,  died  in  1656,  and 
Robert  Bolton,  of  Salesbury,  died  in  1671.  Adam  Bolton,  gent,  of  this  family, 
bought  the  estates  of  Sir  John  Talbot,  on  their  sequestration  in  1654,  for  £fiO  ;  these 
estates  reverted  to  Talbot  at  the  Restoration  in  1660.  Launcelot  Bolton  of  Copthurst, 
in  Salesbury,  yeoman,  by  Margaret  his  wife,  had  sons,  Launcelot,  died  in  1671  ; 
Thomas  died  in  1665  ;  and  Richard,  born  in  1658.  This  Launcelot  Bolton  died  in 
April,  1701.  In  1715,  Elizabeth  Bolton,  being  a  non -juror,  registered  an  estate  in 
Salesbury  of  the  yearly  value  of  ,£25  1 2s.  Near  Copster  (or  Copthurst)  Green  is  an 
old  house,  called  Bolton  Hall,  once  the  residence  of  this  family  of  Boltons. 

PARKER  OF  LOVELEY  HALL. 

The  Parkers  succeeded  the  Boltons  in  possession  of  Loveley  messuage,  perhaps 
by  marriage  of  a  Parker  with  a  female  member  of  the  Boltons.  In  the  Survey  of 
Whalley  Abbey  estates,  taken  in  1538,  it  is  reported  that  "the  heirs  of  Boulton  of 
Loveley  houldeth  freely  certaine  lands  their,  and  payeth  therefor  yearly  45. " 

Richard  Parker  was  taxed  for  lands  in  Salesbury  to  a  Subsidy  in  1570  ;  and 
Richard  Parker  de  Loveley,  gent.,  a  juror  in  1578  and  1584,  died  in  1592  ;  he  was  a 
Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School. 

John  Parker  of  Loveley,  gent.,  successor  of  Richard,  was  elected  a  Governor  of 
Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1593.  He  occurs  as  a  freeholder  in  1600  ;  and  he  died 
Dec.  29th,  1607.  After  his  death,  the  Escheator  took  his  Inquisition  at  Blackburn, 
April  1st,  6th  James  L,  and  found  that  John  Parker  had  died  seized  of  one  messuage, 
one  garden,  &c.,  1 6  acres  of  land,  I o  acres  of  meadow,  and  10  acres  of  pasture  in 
Salesbury,  held  of  John  Talbot  in  free  socage  ;  also  two  messuages,  two  gardens,  50 
acres  of  land,  10  acres  of  meadow,  and  20  acres  of  pasture  in  Wilpshire,  held  of  John 
Talbot  in  socage  ;  and  of  three  messuages,  three  gardens,  40  acres  of  land,  20  acres  of 
meadow,  40  acres  of  pasture,  and  10  acres  of  woodland  in  Clayton-in-le-Dale,  also  held 
of  John  Talbot  in  socage. 

Richard  Parker  was  found  son  and  heir  to  John,  aged  21  years  and  10  months. 
Richard  Parker  of  Loveley,  gent.,  is  assessed  to  the  Subsidy  of  1611  ;  appears  as  a 
juror  in  1617  ;  and  as  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  prior  to  1628.  His 
eldest  son  was  "John,  son  of  Richard  Parker  of  Loveley,  gent,"  bapt.  in  Dec.,  1608. 
His  first  wife  died  in  May,  1614.  He  married  again  and  had  issue,  Richard,  born  in 
1617  ;  Robert,  buried  in  1634;  Thomas,  buried  in  1622  ;  a  second  Thomas,  born  in 
1623;  and  a  daughter  Rosamond,  born  in  1615.  His  second  wife  died*  in  Feb., 
1623-24. 


656  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

John  Parker  of  Salesbury,  gent.,  son  of  Richard,  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of 
Robert  Walmsley  of  Coldcoates,  and  had  a  son  John,  bapt.  Jan.  2nd,  1631-2;  and 
daughters,  Margaret,  born  in  1627  ;  and  Elizabeth,  born  in  1628.  John  Parker,  gent., 
was  taxed  for  his  lands  to  a  Subsidy  in  1663,  and  died  about  1688,  and  in  that  year,  at 
the  age  of  80,  was  a  deponent  in  the  case  respecting  Langho  Chapel. 

A  Thomas  Parker  of  Loveley,  gent.,  married  Mary,  daughter  of  John  Livesey, 
gent.,  and  had  sons,  Robert,  born  in  1631  ;  and  Thomas,  born  in  1636  ;  &c. 

John  Parker  of  Loveley,  gent.,  son  of  John,  died  in  August,  1692.  He  had  a 
daughter  Jane,  born  in  1675.  Richard  Parker  of  Salesbury  married,  in  1671,  Dorothy 
Duckworth.  Richard  Parker  of  Salesbury  had  a  son  John,  born  in  1709. 

Early  in  the  last  century  Loveley  Hall  and  estate  \vere  in  possession  of  John 
Winder,  gent.,  whose  initials,  "I  W  E"  and  the  date,  "1735"  appear  on  the 
casing-pipes  in  front  of  the  house.  Mr.  Edward  Winder,  of  Loveley,  elected  a  Gover- 
nor of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1743,  died  in  1759.  The  estate  has  now  for 
many  years  belonged  to  Le  Gend re  Nicholas  Starkie,  Esq.,  of  Huntroyd,  who  has, 
within  the  last  two  years,  enlarged  and  restored  the  Hall,  to  fit  it  for  a  temporary  resi- 
dence for  himself.  The  old  house  dates  probably  from  the  1 7th  century,  and  consists 
of  a  central  block  and  projected  gabled  wings.  The  Loveley  Hall  estate  is  81^ 
statute  acres  in  extent ;  and  Mr.  Starkie's  lands  in  Salesbury  amount  to  about  114 
statute  acres. 

SALESBURY  CHURCH.— The  Parochial  Chapel  of  Salesbury  was  built  in  1806-7, 
and  was  consecrated  on  Sept.  7th,  1807.  Dr.  T.  D.  Whitaker,  then  Vicar  of 
Whalley,  preached  the  consecration  sermon,  which  was  afterwards  printed.  The  church, 
consecrated  to  St.  Peter,  is  a  very  plain  structure,  with  large  semi-circular-headed 
windows  and  doorway.  There  is  a  belfry  at  the  west  end.  The  interior  is  galleried  ; 
and  contains  530  sittings,  of  which  300  are  free.  By  benefactions  of  ^"200  each  from 
Viscount  Bulkeley  and  Rev.  T.  Starkie,  Vicar  of  Blackburn,  in  May,  1809,  a  grant 
of  ^"400  from  the  Royal  Bounty  was  obtained  in  that  year.  In  1810,  a  further  grant 
of  ^200  was  made  by  lot  to  Salesbury.  In  1813,  a  Parliamentary  grant  of  ,£600  was 
obtained  by  lot  for  this  benefice.  The  living  was  valued  at  ^"126  per  annum  in  1867, 
but  has  since  been  augmented  by  the  Ecclesiastical  Commissioners  to  ^300  per  annum ; 
and  the  former  curacy  has  been  constituted  a  vicarage.  The  Vicar  of  Blackburn  is 
patron. 

SALESBURY  SCHOOL. — Adjacent  to  the  church  is  a  National  School.  Towards 
the  erection  of  the  building  a  grant  of  ^240  was  made  by  the  Government.  In  1875, 
49  children  were  in  average  attendance,  and  the  Government  grant  earned  was/ 33  2s. 


SAMLESBURY-DESCENT  OF  THE  MANOR.  657 


CHAPTER  XVIL— THE  TOWNSHIP  OF  SAMLESBURY. 

Topography— Acreage— Population— Descent  of  the  Manor— De  Samlesbury  Family— D'Evyas — 
Southworth  Family— Braddyll— Harrison— Samlesbury  Hall— De  Holand  Family — Lovel — 
Earls  of  Derby  as  Lords-  Walmesley  and  Petre — Present  Landowners— Hoghton  of  Roacher — 
Roacher  Hall— Walmesley  of  Lower  Hall— Fleetwood  Hall— Culcheth  and  Hubberstey,  of 
Sowerbutts  Green — Church  of  St.  Leonard — St.  Marie's  Roman  Catholic  Church — Samlesbury 
Schools— Samlesbury  Charities. 

SAMLESBURY  is  a  large  township  in  Lower  Ribblesdale,  occupy- 
ing a  broad  plain  formed  by  a  deep  deposit  of  the  boulder-clay  ; 
abutting  upon  the  Darwen  river  upon  the  south,  and  upon  the  Ribble 
bank  on  the  north.  The  area  of  Samlesbury  is  4270  statute  acres. 
In  common  with  other  rural  townships  in  Blackburn  Parish,  Samlesbury 
has  suffered  in  recent  years  a  steady  decline  in  population.  In  1801 
the  inhabitants  numbered  1646;  iSn,  1589  ;  1821,  1979  ;  1831,  1948; 
1841,  1728;  1851,  1435;  1861,  1215  ;  1871,  Sio.  Thus,  the  popula- 
tion in  1871  was  less  than  half  t{ie  numbers  returned  in  1821  and  1831. 
There  is  one  cotton  mill  in  Samlesbury  on  the  Darwen  bank. 

The  succession  of  manorial  lords  of  Samlesbury  is  presented  here- 
under. 

DE  SAMLESBURY  FAMILY,  ANCIENT  LORDS. 

The  earliest  recorded  lord  of  Samlesbury  was  Gospatric  de  Sam- 
lesbury, living  in  the  second  half  of  the  i2th  century  ;  who,  about  A.D. 
1190,  built  a  chapel  in  his  manor  for  the  use  of  his  family  and  tenantry. 
Gospatric  de  Samlesbury  had  issue,  sons,  Roger;  Richard;  Alan,  whose 
wife  was  Anabel  de  Blakeburn  ;  and  Uctred,  a  priest ;  and  a  daughter, 
who  was  wife  of  Geoffrey,  Dean  of  Whalley.  His  lands  in  Samlesbury 
are  stated  to  have  been  14  bovates,  of  which  he  gave  eight  bovates  to 
Roger,  his  heir,  and  the  remaining  six  were  divided  amongst  his  three 
younger  sons,  Richard,  Uctred,  and  Alan.  These  bovates  contained  20 
acres  each,  or  a  total  of  280  customary  acres  in  14  bovates.  This  was 
all  the  cleared  land  in  Samlesbury  in  the  i3th  century. 

Roger  de  Samlesbury,  heir  of  Gospatric,  married,  before  1194, 
Margaret,  daughter  and  heir  of  Walter,  son  of  Oseber',  and  had  issue, 
sons,  William,  Robert,  Adam,  James,  and  Roger.  He  died  before  1246. 

42 


658  '    HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

William  de  Samlesbury,  heir  of  Roger,  was  knighted.  By  his  wife 
Avine  he  had  no  sons,  but  three  daughters,  co-heirs, — Cicely  ;  Margery; 
and  Elizabeth.  Sir  William  de  Samlesbury  and  his  brothers  were  con- 
cerned in  a  suit  in  1246,  concerning  their  respective  inheritances  in  the 
patrimonial  estate. 

Cicely  de  Samlesbury  married,  before  1258,  Sir  John  D'Evyas, 
who  jure  uxoris  had  half  Samlesbury  Manor.  Margery  de  Samlesbury 
married  Robert  de  Haunton,  but  had  no  recorded  issue.  Elizabeth  de 
Samlesbury,  the  third  sister  and  co-heir,  married  Sir  Robert  de  Holand, 
and  conveyed  her  moiety  of  this  manor  to  the  De  Holands.  In  1311, 
Lady  Cecill  de  Evyhus  and  Lady  Elizabeth  de  Holand  were  found  to 
hold  under  Earl  de  Lascy  one  carucate  in  Samlesbury  in  thanage,  paying 
i2s.  yearly. 

D'EVYAS,  LORDS  OF  SAMLESBURY. 

John  D'Evyas,  who  married  Cicely,  eldest  daughter  of  Sir  William 
de  Samlesbury,  and  thereby  obtained  the  half  of  Samlesbury,  was  Knight 
of  the  Shire  in  1295.  He  had  a  son  and  heir  Nicholas  ;  and  a  daughter 
Elizabeth. 

Nicholas  D'Evyas,  who  held,  besides  the  moiety  of  this  manor,  half 
the  hamlet  of  Brightmet,  was  living  in  1335.  He  had  issue  a  daughter, 
who  became  his  sole  heir,  and  marrying,  before  1332,  Gilbert  de  Sothe- 
worth,  conveyed  to  him  her  estate  in  Samlesbury,  &c. 

SOUTHWORTH  OF  SAMLESBURY. 

Gilbert  de  Sotheworth,  lord  of  Sotheworth  and  Croft,  Pa.  Winwick, 
was  father  of  Gilbert,  who  married  the  daughter  and  heiress  of  Nicholas 
D'Evyas,  lord  of  Samlesbury.  He  had  other  sons,  Richard,  and  Mat- 
thew, and  was  living  in  1325. 

Sir  Gilbert  de  Sotheworth,  Knt.,  son  of  Gilbert,  after  his  marriage 
abode  at  Samlesbury,  and  rebuilt  the  manor-house.  Sir  Gilbert  was  living 
in  1363.  His  son  and  heir  was  John  Sotheworth. 

John  Sotheworth,  lord  of  Samlesbury,  who  was  knighted,  married 
Margaret,  daughter  of  Sir  Richard  de  Hoghton,  Knt.,  and  had  a  son  and 
heir,  Thomas,  born  about  1393.  Sir  John  Sotheworth  was  with  the 
English  army  at  the  siege  of  Harfleur,  and  died  of  the  dysentery,  5th 
Oct.  1415.  The  Inq.  post  mart,  (printed  by  Mr.  Wm.  Langton),  shows 
that  Sir  John  Sotheworth  had  settled  in  trust  his  manors  of  Sotheworth, 
Samesbury,  and  the  Folyhall,  with  all  the  lands  he  possessed  in  Lanca- 
shire, Yorkshire,  Lincolnshire,  and  Notts,  by  deed  dated  July  25th,  1400. 

Thomas  Sotheworth,  found  son  and  heir  of  Sir  John  in  1416, 
and  then  aged  23  years,  held  these  estates  until  his  death,  April 
2 yth,  1432.  He  married  Johanna,  daughter  of  Sir  John  de  Booth  of 


THE  SOUTHWORTH  FAMILY.  659 

Barton.  On  the  Inq.  post  mort.,  taken  at  Ormskirk,  Dec.  3ist,  1432, 
it  was  found  that  Thomas  Sotheworth  de  Sammesbury  held  at  his  death 
jointly  with  Johanna  his  wife  (who  had  survived  him)  estates  in  Croft 
and  Ebury  by  the  deed  of  feoffment  of  his  father,  John  Sotheworth, 
Knt.,  dated  at  Barton,  May  4th,  1409  ;  also  that  he  had  held  two  parts 
of  the  moiety  of  his  manor  of  Sammesbury  by  feoffment  of  Galfrid 
Banaster,  vicar  of  the  Parish  Church  of  Blackburne,  and  William  Bolton, 
chaplain,  by  charter  to  him  for  his  life,  dated  at  Sammesbury,  Oct.  8th, 
1426,  which  the  said  Galfrid  and  William  had  of  the  feoffment  of  the 
said  Thomas  Sotheworth ;  the  Samlesbury  estate  being  held  of  the  King 
as  of  the  Duchy  of  Lancaster  in  socage  and  by  service,  and  worth  yearly 
10  marks  ;  other  estates  in  Middleton,  Ebury,  Houghton,  Sotheworth, 
and  Croft ;  also  he  held  of  the  King,  as  of  the  Duchy  of  Lancaster,  two 
parts  of  certain  lands  in  Meller,  Overderwynd,  and  Alston  in  socage  by 
service  of  45.  6d.  yearly,  worth  zoos.,  &c.  His  son  and  heir  was  Richard, 
then  aged  12  years;  and  he  had  other  sons,  Gilbert  Sotheworth,  who 
fought  at  the  Battle  of  Agincourt  in  1415  ;  and  John  Sotheworth  ;  and  a 
daughter  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Richard  son  of  Thurstan  de  Holand. 

Richard  Sotheworth,  Esq.,  succeeding  his  father  in  this  lordship, 
married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Richard  Molyneux,  of  Sefton,  Knt., 
and  had  a  son  and  heir,  Christopher ;  and  daughters,  Juliana,  wife  of 
Sir  Richard  Towneley  of  Towneley,  Knt. ;  Anne,  wife  of  Sir  Thomas 
Molyneux;  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Sir  Thomas  Screven,  Knt;  Margaret,  wife 
of  Richard  Vernon  ;  and  Emma,  wife  of  —  Cholmley.  Richard  South- 
worth  died  Dec.  2ist,  1472. 

Christopher  Southworth,  next  scion  of  this  family,  was  knighted, 
says  Dugdale,  "  on  his  expedition  to  Scotland,"  A.D.  1482.  His  wife 
was  Isabel,  daughter  of  Sir  Thomas  Dutton  of  Dutton,  Knt.  Issue, 
sons,  John,  the  heir ;  Christopher,  and  Edmund ;  daughters,  Anne,  wife 
of  SirAlexr.  Osbaldeston,  Knt;  Margaret,  wife  of  Sir  William  Hoghton, 
Knt.;  and  Johanna,  wife  of  Ralph  Langton,  Esq.  Sir  Christopher  Sothe- 
worth, died  in  1487  ;  and  in  the  6th  Henry  VII.  the  Inq.  post  mort.  was 
taken,  showing  him  to  have  held  Samlesbury  manor,  as  of  the  manor  of 
Cliderhou,  Southworth  manor,  and  lands  in  several  other  townships  in 
Lancashire. 

Sir  John  Southworth,  Knt,  son  of  Christopher,  married  Helen 
daughter  of  Sir  Richard  Langton,  Knt.,  by  whom  he  had  sons,  Thomas; 
Christopher  (who  had  sons,  John,  died  s.p.  ;  and  Edward,  merchant  of 
London,  who  had  sons,  Henry,  of  Week,  Co.  Somerset ;  and  Thomas) ; 
Richard,  who  died  s.p.;  and  James.  In  1511,  Sir  John  Southworth  had 
a  quarrel  with  John  Paslew,  Abbot  of  Whalley  ;  and  he  died  in  1519; 
the  escheat  (nth  Henry  VIII.)  attests  that  he  had  estates  in  Samles- 


66o  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

bury,  Mellor,  Osbaldeston,  Over  Derwynt,  Plesyngton,  and  Lyvesey,  in 
Blackburn  Parish,  and  divers  lands  in  other  parts  of  the  county. 

Thomas  Southworth,  his  son  and  heir,  also  was  knighted.  It  was 
this  Sir  Thomas  who  restored  the  north  wing  of  Samlesbury  Hall  in 
1532,  and  built  the  other  wing  in  1545.  He  was  sheriff  of  the  county 
in  1541.  At  his  Visitation  of  Lancashire  in  1533,  the  herald  enters  : — 
"  Syr  Thomas  Sudworthe,  Knyght,  maryed  Margery,  dowghter  to  Thomas 
Butler  of  Bewse,  father  to  Thomas  Butler  that  now  ys,  &  they  have 
ishew,  Elsabethe,  Anne,  Cysle,  Katryn,  and  Dorothe.  I  spake  not  wt 
hym."  This  record  names  not  Sir  Thomas's  son,  who,  however,  is  said 
to  have  been  born  sixteen  years  before  this,  in  1517.  Of  Sir  Thomas's 
daughters,  Elizabeth  was  wife  of  Robert  Farington,  Esq.;  Anne,  wife  of 
Richard  Barton  of  Barton  Row,  Esq.;  Cicely,  wife  of  John  Culcheth, 
Esq.;  Katherine,  wife,  first,  of  Thomas  Clifton,  Esq.,  secondly,  of  John 
Westby,  Esq.;  and  Dorothy,  wife  of  John  Rishton  of  Dunkenhalgh,  gent. 
Sir  Thomas  Southworth  died  in  1 546  ;  and  the  Inq.  post  mort,  was  taken 
38th  Henry  VIII. 

Sir  John  Southworth,  Knt.,  succeeded  Sir  Thomas,  his  father.  He 
was  in  some  respects  the  most  noteworthy  scion  of  this  important  family. 
Living  in  the  age  of  ecclesiastical  revolution  completed  in  the  reign  of 
Elizabeth,  Sir  John  Southworth  adhered  to  the  Roman  Church  through 
much  civil  penalty.  In  a  former  chapter  (pp.  77-82)  I  have  narrated 
fully  the  several  prosecutions  for  "recusancy"  Sir  John  Southworth 
underwent  between  the  years  1568  and  1592.  He  was  High  Sheriff  of 
the  county  in  1562.  He  married,  July  23rd,  1547,  Mary,  daughter  of 
Sir  Richard  Assheton  of  Middleton,  and  had  issue,  sons,  Thomas;  John ; 
Richard  ;  Michael ;  Christopher;  Gilbert;  and  Leonard  ;  and  daughters, 
Anne,  wife  of  Robert  Singleton,  gent.;  Jane,  married  —  Stanley;  Mary, 
wife  of  George  Talbot ;  and  Margaret,  wife  of  Bartholomew  Hesketh, 
gent.  During  Sir  John  Southworth's  incarceration,  his  affairs  became 
involved;  and  in  1588,  he  suffered  a  Recovery  of  his  estates  for  the  dis- 
charge of  his  debts.  He  died  Nov.  3rd,  1595.  His  Will  (a  lengthy 
document,  printed  in  the  History  of  Samlesbury  Hall),  is  dated  Sept. 
1 7th,  1595.  Testator  names  as  his  executors,  Jane  Stanley,  widow, 
Barthol.  Hesketh  and  Margaret  his  wife ;  and  Robert  Singleton  and  Anne 
his  wife,  the  said  Jane,  Margaret,  and  Anne  being  testator's  daughters  ; 
and  devises  to  them  all  his  manors  of  Samlesbury,  Mellor,  Southworth, 
Croft,  Myddleton,  Houghton,  and  Arbery,  with  messuages,  lands,  &c., 
in  those  places  and  elsewhere  in  Lancashire,  to  hold  for  seven  years,  for 
the  payment  of  testator's  debts ;  the  estates  then  to  pass  to  Thomas 
Southworth,  son  and  heir ;  remainder  to  John  Southworth,  son  and  heir 
of  the  said  Thomas ;  with  contingent  remainders,  £c.;  names  sons, 


THE  SOUTHWORTH  FAMILY. 


66l 


Thomas,  William,  Richard,  Michael,  Christopher,  and  Edward  ;  also 
Bridget,  Margery,  Ellen,  and  Anne,  daughters  of  testator's  son  Thomas  ; 
gives  to  his  daughters  Margaret  and  Ann  200  marks  each  ;  desires  his 
loving  cousins  and  friends,  Thomas  Hesketh  of  Preston  and  Humphrey 
Davenport  of  Gray's  Inn,  gentlemen,  to  be  supervisors  of  the  Will,  and 
gives  them  ^10  each;  bequests  to  servants  and  others,  &c.  By  the 
Inq.  post  mort,,  taken  March  3rd,  39th  Eliz.,  the  estates  of  Sir  John 
Southworth  were  found  to  comprise  :  —  the  manor  of  Southworth,  with 
3380  acres  of  land  and  i  oos.  rents  ;  Samlesbury  manor,  with  20  mes- 
suages, one  water-mill,  1000  acres  of  arable  land,  200  of  meadow,.  40  of 
pasture,  60  of  wood,  40  of  -moor,  100  of  moss,  and  40  of  gorse  and  heath 
in  Samlesbury  ;  in  Mellor,  30  messuages  with  gardens,  940  acres  of  land, 
and  5  os.  rents  ;  estates  in  Croft,  Newton,  Arbury,  Houghton  in  Maker- 
field,  Fernehead  ;  3  messuages  and  94  acres  of  land  in  Pleasington  ;  a 
messuage  and  120  acres  in  Livesey;  estates  in  Ribchester,  Oswald- 
twistle,  Brockhall,  and  other  places  ;  and  further,  in  Samlesbury,  the 
fourth  part  of  50  acres  common  of  pasture,  and  two  parcels  of  land 
called  Milnefield.  The  total  extent  of  the  lands  was  about  7600  cus- 
tomary acres,  equal  to  about  14,000  statute  acres. 

Of  the  younger  sons  of  Sir  John  Southworth,  two  are  noteworthy:— 
Christopher  Southworth,  a  priest  of  the  Roman  Church,  and,  like  his 
father,  subjected  to  severe  penalties  for  "  recusancy  ;"  he  was  in  prison  in 
Wisbeach  Castle  on  this  account  at  the  time  of  his  father's  death  ;  and 
he  was  implicated  in  the  cases  of  alleged  witchcraft  in  Samlesbury,  tried 
at  Lancaster  Assizes  in  1612  (see  ante,  pp.  88-95);  tne  other  was  Gilbert 
Southworth,  a  lawyer  of  some  standing,  who  was  living  in  1607. 

Thomas  Southworth,  Esq.,  son  and  heir  of  Sir  John,  married  Rosa- 
mond,1 daughter  of  William  Lister,  Esq.,  of  Thornton  in  Craven;  and 
had  issue,  sons,  John;  Thomas;  William;  Richard;  Michael  ;  Nicholas; 
Christopher  ;  and  Edward  ;  daughters,  Bridget,  wife  of  -  -  Duddell  of 
Salwick;  Margery,  wife  of  Thomas  Osbaldeston,  gent;  Ellen,  wife  of 
William  Dewhurst,  gent;  and  Anne.  He  sold  his  estates  in  Southworth, 
Pleasington,  &c.,  and  died  in  1617  ;  seized,  by  the  escheat  (isth  Jas.  I.), 


i  By  deed  dated  Feb.  24th,  1607,  between  Thomas  Southworth  of  Samlesbury,  Esq.,  and 
Rosamond  his  wife  (born  Rosamond  Lister),  of  the  first  part  ;  Thos.  Ireland  of  Bewsey,  Esq.,  and 
Margaret  his  wife  and  John  Harrington,  gent.,  son  and  heir  apparent  of  Percevall  Harrington  Esq. 
and  Margaret  his  wife  of  the  second  part  ;  Lawrence  Lister  of  Thornton  in  Craven,  Esq.,  Michael 
Lister  of  Brockden  in  Craven,  Esq.,  and  Martin  Lister  of  London  of  the  third  part;  and  John 
Aston,  Esq.,  son  and  heir  apparent  of  Thos.  Aston  of  Aston,  Co.  Chester,  Knt.,  and  Robert  Singleton 
of  Brockall,  gent.,  of  the  fourth  part;  it  is  witnessed  that  Thomas  and  Rosamond  Southworth, 
Thos.  and  Margaret  Ireland,  and  John  and  Margaret  Harrington  grant  unto  Lawrence,  Michael,  and 
Martin  Lister  one  annuity  of  £100  issuing  out  of  the  Manor-house  of  Thomas  Southworth  lately 
erected  in  Sothworth,  called  Sothworth  Hall,  and  the  lands  belonging  thereto,  &c.,  to  hold  during 
the  lives  of  Thomas  Southworth  and  Rosamond  his  wife,  and  the  life  of  the  longest  liver  of  them  ; 
to  be  paid  half-yearly  in  the  Church  porch  of  Wynwick,  on  the  3151  July  and  20th  Dec  ,  &c. 


662  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

of  Samlesbury  manor,   with  messuages,  lands,  &c.     He  was  the  first 
Protestant  of  the  family. 

John  Southworth,  eldest  son,  had  died  before  his  father  in  1612. 
His  wife  was  Jane,  natural  daughter  of  Sir  Richard  Sherburne,  Knt.,  by 
whom  he  had  sons,  Thomas ;  John ;  Richard,  Gilbert,  and  Christopher, 
all  three  died  unmarried  ;  and  daughters,  Elizabeth,  Mary,  Ann,  and 
Rosamond. 

Thomas  Southworth,  son  of  John,  was  heir  to  his  grandsire  in  1617, 
being  then  a  minor.  He  sold  the  Lower  Hall  of  Samlesbury  and  lands 
therewith  to  Sir  Thomas  Walmesley  (the  son).  His  wife  was  Anne, 
daughter  of  Sir  Thomas  Tyldesley,  Knt.,  and  he  had  two  sons,  John  ; 
and  Thomas ;  and  daughters,  Elizabeth  (wife,  first,  of  Richard  Walmesley 
of  Showley,  Esq.,  secondly,  of  John  Nowell,  gent.,  thirdly,  of  George 
Talbot  of  New  Hall,  gent);  and  Jane,  wife,  first,  of  Timothy  Sumner, 
secondly,  of  John  Jackson.  He  died  Feb.  271)1,  1623-4,  aged  about  24 
years,  seized  of  a  moiety  of  Samlesbury  manor,  with  16  messuages  and 
200  acres  of  land.  His  wife  Ann  survived  him  ;  and  his  son  John  was 
found  his  heir. 

John  Southworth  died  unmarried,  Jan.  i2th,  1635-6  ;  and  his 
brother  Thomas  became  heir,  who  also  died  without  issue,  April  ist, 
1641  ;  and  on  Inquisition  it  was  found  that  the  next  heirs  of  Thomas 
Southworth  were  his  two  sisters,  Elizabeth  Walmesley,  aged  21,  and  Jane 
Sumner,  aged  19.  But  Sir  John  Southworth  having,  in  1595,  made  a 
strict  entail  of  Samlesbury  manor,  litigation  now  ensued  between  these 
heiresses  and  their  uncle,  John  Southworth,  younger  son  of  John  who 
died  in  1612,  claiming  as  heir  in  taile.  The  issue  appears  to  have  been 
that  John  Southworth  was  left  in  possession  of  Samlesbury  Hall  and 
manor ;  and  the  daughters  of  Thomas  Southworth  retained  the  estates 
in  Mellor. 

John  Southworth  last-named  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Thomas 
Langton  of  Lowe,  Esq.,  and  had  sons,  John,  Thomas,  Edward,  Richard, 
Christopher,  and  William  ;  and  daughters,  Jane,  Elizabeth,  Anne,  Isabel, 
Rosamond,  Helen,  Bridget,  and  Mary.  By  a  series  of  mortgages,  John 
Southworth  surrendered  his  custody  of  remaining  portions  of  the  family 
estate.  He  died  in  1675.  His  two  eldest  sons,  John,  and  Thomas,  had 
died  before  without  issue,  and  Edward,  the  third  son,  was  heir  to  an 
estate  encumbered  beyond  retrieval. 

Edward  Southworth,  by  an  indenture  of  deseazance  dated  the  i4th 
July,  1676,  in  consideration  of  £200,  granted  to  Richard  Walmesley, 
his  heirs,  &c.,  all  his  estate  and  interest  in  the  manor  of  Samlesbury, 
with  a  proviso  for  redemption  on  payment  of  the  several  sums  of  ^36, 

,  and  ^£636  at  the  Hall  of  Dunkenhalgh  ;  but  the  surrender  became 


BRADDYLL,  COOPER,  HARRISON,  LORDS  OF  SAMLESBURY.    663 

final  shortly  afterwards,  when,  by  indenture  dated  icth  March,  1679,  to 
which  Richard  Walmesley  was  a  consenting  party  in  consideration  that 
a  sum  of  ^"6000  was  well  and  sufficiently  secured  to  him,  by  the  direc- 
tion, &c.,  of  Edward  South  worth,  was  sold  unto  Thomas  Braddyll,  his 
heirs  and  assigns  for  ever,  the  manor  of  Samlesbury,  with  the  rights, 
members,  &c.  The  indenture  of  conveyance,  between  Edward  South- 
worth  of  Samlesbury,  of  the  one  part,  and  Thomas  Braddyll  of  Portfield, 
•  of  the  other  part,  sets  forth  that  Edward  Southworth,  in  consideration  of 
^3150  paid  by  Thomas  Braddyll,  grants  to  the  said  Thomas  Braddyll 
all  the  manor  or  lordship  of  Samlesbury,  with  the  manor-house  of  Sam- 
lesbury Hall,  the  demesne  lands  thereto  belonging,  and  the  water  Corn 
Mill  and  the  Kiln  in  Samlesbury. 

The  descent  of  the  Southworths  since  the  alienation  of  the  last  of  the  estates  has 
been  traced  by  Mr.  Croston.  Edward  Southworth  had  two  sons,  of  whom  John,  the 
eldest,  had  no  issue.  Thomas,  the  second  son,  born  in  1690,  had  a  son  Thomas,  born 
in  1724,  who  left  Samlesbury  and  settled  in  London,  as  a  bookseller  in  Bethnal  Green. 
He  married  Ann  Debonair,  and  had  sons,  Thomas,  died  young ;  John ;  a  second 
Thomas,  died  in  1815  ;  James  (died  abroad)  ;  and  Samuel  ;  and  a  daughter  Ann. 
Thomas  Southworth,  the  father,  died  in  1788.  John  Southworth,  eldest  surviving  son, 
born  in  I75S>  married  Anne  Denby,  and  had  six  sons  and  four  daughters.  John  and 
Peter,  the  first  two  sons,  died  young  ;  the  third,  Edward  Lazarus  Southworth,  married 
Rebecca  Stephenson,  had  a  son  John,  and  a  daughter,  and  died  in  1815.  John  South- 
worth,  the  son,  was  born  in  1813,  and  was  living  at  Bethnal  Green,  Londpn,  in  1870. 
He  married,  in  1836,  Mary  Ferry,  and  had  five  sons,  and  as  many  daughters.  John 
Edward  Southworth,  eldest  son,  born  in  1839,  married,  in  1862,  Martha  Gibbons,  and 
has  issue. 

BRADDYLL,  LORDS  OF  SAMLESBURY. 

The  genealogy  of  the  Braddylls,  of  Portfield  and  Conishead  Priory, 
has  been  inserted  in  a  former  chapter  (see  ante,  pp.  438-441).  They  held 
the  moiety  of  Samlesbury  Manor  from  the  date  of  its  purchase,  in  1679, 
by  Thomas  Braddyll,  Esq.,  until  the  middle  of  the  present  century.  In 
1691,  Wilson  Gale  Braddyll,  Esq.,  mortgaged  to  Richard  Greaves  Town- 
ley,  for  ^10,300,  "all  the  manor  or  lordship  of  Samlesbury,  and  the 
capital  messuage,  mansion,  or  manor-house,  called  Samlesbury  Hall," 
&c.  Under  an  order  of  the  Court  of  Chancery  the  hall  and  manor  of 
Samlesbury  were  sold  in  Nov.,  1850,  to  John  Cooper,  Esq.,  of  the  Oaks, 
Penwortham.  Mr.  Cooper  conveyed  the  estate,  Nov.  i3th,  1862,  to 
Joseph  Harrison,  Esq.,  J.P.,  D.L.,  of  Galligreaves  Hall,  Blackburn.  Mr. 
Harrison  is  present  joint  lord  of  the  manor  of  Samlesbury. 

The  Manor-house  of  Samlesbury,  known  as  Samlesbury  Hall,  is  one 
of  the  most  complete  and  interesting  examples  of  early  domestic  archi- 
tecture remaining  in  the  North  of  England.  From  1862  to  1866  the 
Hall  was  admirably  restored  under  the  direction  of  Joseph  Harrison, 


664  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Esq.,  who,  in  the  internal  decorative  work,  had  the  services  of  the  late 
Mr.  Shaw,  F.S.A.,  author  of  Decorative  Arts  of  the  Middle  Ages.  As  re- 
stored, the  Hall  is  interiorly  a  model  of  antique  grandeur  and  enrich- 
ment, and  on  the  exterior  presents  the  picturesque  aspect  exhibited  in 
the  view  inserted  in  this  work.  The  picture  presents  the  north-east 
front  of  the  Hall,  with  the  oldest  wing  on  the  right ;  and  reveals  the 
various  styles  of  the  timber  framework  of  the  two  blocks.  The  distinc- 
tive features  of  the  more  ancient  structure  are,  the  upright  oaken  timbers, 
connected  by  horizontal  beams  and  fortified  by  diagonal  bracing  ribs, 
the  interstices  filled  up  with  a  composition  of  lime  and  clay,  laid  upon 
laths  ;  the  mullioned  and  transomed  windows ;  the  high-pitched  roof ; 
the  many-angled  oriel  near  the  point  of  conjunction  with  the  major 
building ;  and  the  gabled  and  casemented  dormer-chamber  proj  ected 
over  the  oriel.  The  larger  and  later  structure  displays  on  this  front 
walls  of  oak  timbers  fixed  vertically  and  horizontally,  the  square  inter- 
spaces being  decorated  by  pierced  quatrefoils  picked  out  in  white  to 
contrast  with  the  dark  hue  of  the  timber-work ;  the  entrance-porch  near 
the  midst  of  the  block ;  the  large  old-fashioned  windows,  divided  with 
mullion  and  transome,  on  the  lower  storey ;  the  corbelled  projecting 
windows  in  the  upper  storey ;  and  the  roof  with  its  boldly-projecting 
eaves  and  octagonal  chimneys.  The  other  front  of  this  principal  wing 
differs  in  detail  from  that  which  is  seen  in  the  drawing.  The  wall  on 
that  side  has  been  faced  with  moulded  brick  with  stone  dressings. 
Three  massive  chimneys  project  from  this  wall ;  and  upon  the  face  of 
the  chimney  to  the  left  hand  is  a  stone  shield,  enclosing  the  arms  of 
Southworth,  quartered  with  those  of  D'Evyas.  The  bricks  are  of  the 
small  thin  kind,  and  are  supposed  to  be  of  foreign  manufacture  (perhaps 
Flemish,  and  made  by  Flemings  who  sought  refuge  in  England  in  the 
1 6th  century  from  the  oppression  of  D'Alva).  The  surface  of  the 
wall  is  diversified  by  diamond-patterns  and  other  ornamental  designs  in 
dark  brick.  The  windows  are  square-headed,  with  mullions  and  cinque- 
foil  heads  ;  the  largest,  near  the  east  end  on  the  ground  floor,  is  a  hand- 
some four-light  window,  with  tracery  heads,  cinquefoiled  and  sub-arcuated, 
and  is  believed  to  have  been  brought  from  Our  Lady's  Chapel  in  Whalley 
Abbey.  The  length  of  this  front  is  105  feet.  The  main  doorway  of 
the  Hall  was  formerly  on  this  front,  near  the  centre  ;  it  remains,  but 
in  the  restoration  the  principal  porch  has  been  placed  on  the  other 
front.  Turning  to  the  interior,  the  Great  Hall  appropriates  nearly 
the  whole  area  of  the  original  north  wing.  It  is  a  noble  apartment, 
35  feet  long,  and  25  feet  six  inches  wide  ;  its  height,  from  the  floor  to 
the  spring  of  the  roof,  is  14  feet  six  inches,  and  to  the  ridge  29  feet 
seven  inches.  The  hall  was  originally  some  feet  longer  than  it  is 


THE  HALL  OF  SAMLESBURY.  665 

now,  having  at  some  date  been  reduced  by  about  half  a  bay  ;  and  at  the 
time  of  this  curtailment,  the  dais  or  raised  floor,  for  the  chief  guests  at 
great  feasts,  at  the  north  end  of  the  Hall,  was  removed.  The  features  of 
the  Great  Banqueting  Hall  which  at  once  arrest  the  eye  of  the  beholder, 
are  the  massive  open-timber  roof,  and  the  elaborately-carved  screen  of 
dark  old  oak,  at  the  south  end  of  the  hall,  supporting  the  front  of  the 
minstrels'  gallery.  The  roof  has  been  described  as  "  an  excellent  speci- 
men of  fourteenth  century  work/'  it  is  "  acutely  pointed  and  open  to  the 
ridge-piece,  the  frame-work  being  divided  into  bays,  and  so  arranged  as 
to  form  a  series  of  Gothic  arches."  The  erection  of  this  wing  is  attri- 
buted to  the  reign  of  Edward  III.  (1327-77),  and  it  is  believed  to  be  a 
portion  of  the  re-edification  of  the  Hall  shortly  after  the  destruction  by 
fire  of  an  older  manor-house  of  Samlesbury  during  a  raid  of  marauding 
Scots  into  Lancashire  in  1323.  But  the  carved  oak  screen  at  the  south 
end  belongs  to  a  later  addition  to  the  Hall ;  as  also  does  the  archway 
of  the  open  fire-place,  which  superseded  the  brazier  supporting  the  burn- 
ing logs  in  the  midst  of  the  hall.  The  woodwork  of  the  screen,  and  of 
the  massive  square  pillars  of  oak  which  separate  its  compartments  and 
support  the  cornice  in  front  of  the  minstrels'  gallery,  is  covered  with 
cunning  carvings  of  arcades,  grotesque  figures,  cornucopias,  and  other 
emblematic  devices.  Two  doors  open  in  the  screen,  and  in  the  centre 
is  cut  in  three  panels  the  inscription  : — 


umtm 


•team-til 


/f.lmtxr  ifata1 

* 


mitra* 


The  Southworth  crest  accompanies.  Over  the  screen  is  the  Minstrels' 
Gallery  ;  and  at  the  rear  of  the  gallery  is  a  room  designed  for  a  "solar"  or 
lord's  chamber.  At  the  south  end  the  east  wall  of  the  Great  Hall  is  em- 
bayed by  the  oriel  recess.  The  form  of  the  oriel  is  that  of  seven  sides  of 
a  duodecagon  ;  and  its  window  consists  of  five  lights  transomed.  Above 
the  oriel,  forming  an  upper  storey  on  a  level  with  the  floor  of  the  Minstrels' 
Gallery,  is  a  small  chamber,  lighted  by  a  recessed  window,  supposed  to 
have  been  used  for  an  oratory.  Besides  the  oriel  window  the  Great  Hall 
is  lighted  by  two  large  windows,  each  of  four  lights,  with  deeply-moulded 
jambs,  mullions,  and  tiansomes,  which  occupy  the  eastern  wall.  The  fire- 
place is  formed  by  a  depressed  arch,  the  jambs  of  which  are  splayed 
at  the  angles,  and  which  measures  1 5  feet  two  inches  in  width,  by  six  feet 
nine  inches  in  height.  The  principal  entrance  to  the  Hall  placed  in  the 
centre  of  the  larger  block,  is  by  a  gothic  porch  (which  is  modern).  The 

i  The  characters  "  S.  P.  Bono  Statu,"  in  the  middle  panel,  maybe  taken  to  stand  for  "Supplicate 
pro  bono  statu,"  meaning  "Pray  for  the  good  estate,"  &c.,  a  variation  of  the  more  common  wording 
of  the  invocatioa  "  Orate  pro  bono  statu,"  &c.,  of  ancient  memorial  inscriptions. 


666  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

entrance-hall  is  spacious  (23  ft.  by  19  ft.  6  in.),  and  from  the  hall  a  hand- 
some oaken  staircase  (part  of  the  late  restoration)  leads  to  the  upper  floor. 
A  corridor  extending  the  whole  length  of  the  building  conducts  to  the 
several  apartments  on  the  ground-floor.  On  the  right  are  the  dining-room, 
butler's  pantry,  kitchens  and  offices  ;  on  the  left  are  the  library,  and  the 
morning-room.  The  morning-room,  at  the  north-east  end  of  the  house, 
is  the  ancient  Chapel  of  the  Hall.  Its  ceiling  is  new,  for  the  height  of 
the  chapel  was  formerly  equal  to  the  altitude  of  the  building  itself.  The 
apartment  is  lit  by  windows  on  three  sides,  that  on  the  south  side  is  the 
window  from  Whalley  Abbey  ;  and  in  the  wall  near  it  is  inserted  the 
piscina,  betokening  the  ancient  religious  purpose  of  the  room.  The 
next  apartment  is  the  library,  a  room  originally  divided  from  the  chapel 
by  a  parclose-screen,  but  now  by  a  wall-partition.  The  ceiling  is  the  old 
one  of  massive  and  deeply-moulded  oaken  beams,  longitudinal  and 
transverse,  forming  square  compartments.  This  room  now  contains  the 
noble  library  collected  by  William  Harrison,  Esq.,  F.S.A.,  who  makes  the 
Hall  his  residence.  The  largest  apartment  in  this  wing  is  the  dining- 
room,  which  has  a  fine  panelled  oaken  ceiling,  a  richly-carved  cornice, 
and  other  tokens  of  age  and  dignity  ;  but  the  most  striking  of  its  decora- 
tions is  the  group  of  painted  heraldic  devices  over  the  arched  stone 
fire-place.  The  shields  of  arms  were  cut  in  stone,  and  surrounded 
with  a  series  of  circular  panels  displaying  geometrical  figures,  at  the  date 
of  the  erection  of  the  building  ;  but  falling  into  indifferent  hands,  they 
had  become  almost  invisible  by  coatings  of  whitewash  or  dirt.  Mr. 
Harrison  had  the  designs  carefully  cleared,  and  the  tinctures  of  the 
arms  replaced  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Shaw,  F.S.A.  These  shields 
and  the  geometric  patterns  in  panel  constitute  a  rich  and  most  appro- 
priate mural  embellishment.  The  arms  in  the  centre  shield  are  those 
of  the  Southworths  impaling  Hoghton,  with  the  Southworth  crest  above, 
flanked  by  the  arms  of  Hoghton  of  Hoghton  Tower  quartered  with 
Assheton,  with  the  Hoghton  crest  and  initials  "  R  H,  KNT.  ;"  and  the 
arms  of  Langton  of  Walton  Hall,  with  the  crest  and  initials  "  T  L,  KNT." 
Above  these  emblems  is  an  interesting  inscription,  fixing,  as  it  does,  .the 
date  of  the  rebuilding  of  this  wing  of  Samlesbury  Hall  in  or  before  the 
year  1545,  temp.  Henry  VIII.  The  inscribed  words  are  :  — 


.    n 

The  dimensions  of  this  room  are  twenty-seven  feet  by  fifteen  feet. 
It  is  lighted  by  two  large  square-headed  windows,  with  stone  mullions 
and  traceried  heads.  The  butler's  pantry  adjoining,  and  the  kitchens 
beyond,  are  recent  extensions  of  the  original  plan.  In  the  range  of 
chambers  on  the  upper  floor  the  open-timber  roof  has  been  preserved. 


DE  HOLAND,  LORDS  OF  SAMLESBURY.  667 

The  spandrils  of  the  curved  bracing-ribs  are  finished  with  carved  foliage. 
A  cornice  of  handsome  design  surrounds  the  rooms.  The  partitions  are 
new.  On  the  south-west  front  these  upper  rooms  have  windows  of  three 
lights,  square-headed  and  traceried.  On  the  north-east  side,  the  win- 
dows lighting  the  upper  corridor  are  recessed,  and  supported  by  oaken 
corbels,  the  external  surfaces  of  which  are  carved  with  human  faces  and 
other  devices.  Mr.  Harrison  has  furnished  the  hall  in  a  style  which, 
while  in  strict  keeping  with  its  antique  grandeur,  greatly  enriches  the 
aspect  of  its  interior. 

At  the  time  of  its  erection,  Samlesbury  Hall  was  semi-fortified,  and 
was  surrounded  by  a  moat,  remains  of  which  are  still  existing.  Recently, 
when  making  a  deep  drain  near  the  conservatory,  the  workmen  broke 
into  the  underground  dungeon  of  the  hall,  a  dark  walled  cavity,  1 5ft.  by 
1 5ft.,  and  i2ft.  in  height.  The  bones  of  several  human  bodies  also 
have  been  dug  up  in  the  grounds. 

DE  HOLAND,  LORDS  OF  SAMLESBURY. 

Sir  Robert  de  Holand  (knighted  before  1281,  son  and  heir  of 
Thurstan  and  grandson  of  Robert  de  Holand,  lord  of  Up-Holand,  Co. 
Lancaster),  by  his  wife,  Elizabeth,  daughter  and  co-heir  of  Sir  William  de 
Samlesbury,  had  sons,  Robert,  William,  and  Adam ;  and  daughters,  Joan, 
wife,  first,  of  Sir  Edmund  Talbot  of  Bashall ;  secondly,  of  Sir  Hugh  de 
Button ;  and  thirdly,  of  Sir  John  Radcliffe  of  Ordsall ;  Margery,  wife  of 
John,  eldest  son  of  Sir  John  de  la  Warre,  baron  of  Manchester ;  and 
Avena,  wife  of  Adam,  son  of  Sir  John  Ireland,  Knt.,  lord  of  Hutt. 

Sir  Robert  de  Holand,  Knt.,  son  of  Sir  Robert,  a  noted  warrior  of 
his  time,  married  Maud,  youngest  daughter  and  a  co-heir  of  Alan,  Lord 
de  la  Zouch,  and  had  sons,  Robert ;  Sir  Thomas  de  Holand,  K.G.  (who 
married  Joan,  daughter  and  heiress  of  John  Plantagenet,  Earl  of  Kent, 
and  obtained,  in  right  of  his  wife,  the  title  of  Earl  of  Kent) ;  Sir  Otho  de 
Holand,  K.G.;  and  Alan  de  Holand  of  Wirksworth.  Between  the  years 
1301-3,  Sir  Robert  de  Holand  was  engaged  in  the  war  in  Scotland.  In 
1311,  he  was  made  Governor  of  Beeston  Castle,  Co.  Chester,  and  in 
1314-15  was  again  marching  northward  against  the  Scots  at  the  head  of 
the  Lancashire  levies.  He  was  summoned  to  Parliament  as  a  baron  in 
1314.  In  1322,  he  joined  with  his  forces  the  rebellion  of  Thomas,  Earl  of 
Lancaster,  after  whose  defeat  Sir  Robert  de  Holand  surrendered  to  the 
King,  when  all  his  estates,  including  the  moiety  of  the  manor  of  Samles- 
bury, were  confiscated.  In  1328,  Edward  III.  ordered  the  restoration  of 
these  forfeited  possessions  to  Sir  Robert  de  Holand.  Sir  Robert  de 
Holand  died  in  1328,  and  his  son  and  heir  was  found  to  be  then  aged 
1 6  years. 


668  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Sir  Robert  de  Holand,  next  heir  of  the  Samlesbury  estate,  was  sum- 
moned to  Parliament,  as  second  baron,  25th  Feb.,  1342,  and  died  in 
1372.  By  Elizabeth  his  wife  he  had  issue,  sons,  Robert ;  and  John,  who 
died  without  issue.  Sir  Robert  de  Holand  held  at  his  death,  in 
1372,  the  manors  of  Holland,  Hale,  and  Orrell ;  the  manor  of  Samles- 
bury, held  of  the  lord  Duke  of  Lancaster  by  homage  and  fidelity  and  by 
the  service  of  6s.,  the  said  manor  being  worth  yearly  ^30  123.  i  id.;  and 
numerous  other  estates  in  the  county,  among  them  the  fourth  part  of  the 
manor  of  Over  Derwent  in  this  parish,  held  of  Ralph  de  Langton,  by 
homage  and  fidelity,  worth  yearly  6s.  8d. 

Robert  de  Holand,  son  of  Sir  Robert,  died  before  his  father  in 
Z359-  By  Joan  his  wife  he  had  a  daughter  and  heiress,  Matilda  (or 
Maud),  who  became  wife  of  Sir  John  de  Lovel,  K.G.,  and  by  the  union 
the  estates  of  the  Holands  of  this  branch,  including  this  half  of  Samles- 
bury manor,  passed  to  the  Lords  Lovel.  By  inquisition  dated  April  4th, 
47th  Edw.  III.  (1373),  it  was  proved  that  Sir  Robert  de  Holand,  the 
father,  had  died  March  i6th,  1372,  and  that  Matilda,  daughter  of  Robert, 
son  of  Sir  Robert  de  Holand,  deceased,  whom  Sir  John  Lovel  had  to 
wife,  was  next  heir  to  the  said  Sir  Robert,  and  was  of  the  age  of  seventeen 
years  and  upwards.1 

LOVEL,  LORDS  OF  SAMLESBURY. 

Sir  John  Lovel,  K.G.  (second  son  of  John  Baron  Lovel  of  Tich- 
mersh,  and  heir  to  his  elder  brother  John),  by  Maud  [Matilda]  Holand 
his  wife,  had  a  son  and  heir  John.  Sir  John  was  summoned  to  Parlia- 
ment in  1375.  Matilda  Lovel,  Sir  John's  widow,  died  in  1423,  seized 
of  the  manors  of  Upholland  and  Halewood,  and  the  moiety  of  the 
manor  of  Samlesbury,  with  other  estates  in  Lancashire  and  Derbyshire. 

John,  Lord  Lovel,  died  in  1414.  He  married  Alianore  de  laZouch, 
and  had  a  son  William,  who  had  livery  of  the  lands  of  his  father's 
mother,  Matilda,  late  widow  of  Sir  John  Lovel,  Knt,  by  precept  dated 
June  1 4th,  ist  Henry  VI.,  being  then  aged  26  years. 

William,  Lord  Lovel,  died  in  1455.  By  his  wife  Alice,  widow  of 
Ralph  Butler  of  Sudley,  and  sister  and  co-heir  of  William,  Lord  Dein- 
court,  he  had  issue,  sons,  John ;  William,  married  Alianore,  heiress  of 
Robert,  Lord  Morley ;  Robert ;  and  Henry. 

John,  Lord  Lovel,  son  and  heir,  died  in  1465.  His  wife  was  Joan, 
daughter  of  John,  and  sister  and  heir  of  William  Viscount  Beaumont, 
and  he  had  a  son  Francis  ;  and  daughters,  Joan,  wife  of  Sir  Bryan  Sta- 
pleton,  Knt.;  and  Frideswide,  wife  of  Sir  Edward  Norris,  Knt. 

i  Note  by  Mr.  W.  A.  Hulton,  in  Coucher  Book  of  Whalley  (p.  979);  and  Mr.  William  Langton's 
edition  of  Lane.  Inquisitions  (Cheth.  Socy.,  v.  xcix). 


LORDS  OF  THE  SECOND  MOIETY  OF  SAMLESBURY  MANOR.   669 

Francis,  Lord  Lovel,  created  Viscount  Lovel  4th  Jan.,  1483,  mar- 
ried Ann,  daughter  of  Henry,  Lord  Fitzhugh,  and  died  without  issue. 
He  was  supposed  to  have  been  slain  at  the  battle  of  Stoke,  June  i6th, 
1487,  fighting  against  the  King  (Henry  VII).  This  peer  had  been  at- 
tainted after  the  Battle  of  Bosworth  Field  in  1485,  as  a  partizan  of 
Richard  III.,  and  of  his  sequestrated  estates  the  moiety  of  Samlesbury 
manor  was  granted  by  Henry  VII.,  in  1489,  to  Thomas,  first  Earl  of  Derby. 

EARLS  OF  DERBY  AS  LORDS  OF  SAMLESBURY. 
The  moiety  of  Samlesbury  Manor  granted  to  Thomas  Stanley,  first 
Earl  of  Derby,  by  the  Crown,  on  its  forfeiture  by  Lord  Lovel's  attainder, 
was  found  in  possession  of  Thomas  second  Earl  of  Derby  at  the  date  of 
his  death  ;  and  in  the  escheat,  dated  1521,  Samlesbury  Manor  is  named 
among  the  late  Earl's  numerous  estates.  Edward,  third  Earl  of  Derby, 
held  his  manor-court  at  Samlesbury,  in  conjunction  with  Sir  John  South- 
worth,  June  soth,  1557;  and  in  1575  is  dated  a  record  of  verdicts  in 
the  court  of  Henry  fourth  Earl  of  Derby  and  Sir  John  Southworth  for 
this  manor.  At  this  court  it  was  agreed  "  that  the  headge  from  the 
fowte  of  bosburnbroke  unto  the  heade  of  beswalle  shalbe  the  meires 
[bounds]  betwene  the  Erie  of  Derbye  and  Sr  John  Sowthworth,  Knight." 
This  moiety  of  Samlesbury  was  sold  by  William,  sixth  Earl  of  Derby,  to 
Sir  Thomas  Walmesley  the  Judge  ;  who  appears  as  lord  in  the  6th  Jas. 
I.  (1608).  This  estate  is  not  named  in  Justice  Walmesley's  settlement  of 
his  estates  in  1606,  so  that  it  was  probably  acquired  by  him  between 
1606  and  1608. 

WALMESLEY  AND  PETRE,  LORDS  OF  SAMLESBURY. 

The  Walmesleys  of  Dunkenhalgh  held  this  moiety  of  Samlesbury 
from  the  beginning  of  the  1 7th  century  until  their  main  descent  ended 
in  an  heiress,  Catherine  Walmesley,  who  married  Robert,  Baron  Petre, 
in  1712-13.  From  that  time  to  the  present  the  estate  has  pertained  to 
the  Petre  family.  Edward  Petre,  Esq.,  of  Whitley  Abbey,  Coventry,  is 
the  present  owner  of  the  estate,  which,  in  1875,  comprised  about  2000 
statute  acres,  extending  over  the  west  and  south-west  portions  of  the 
township.  In  1875,  the  Corporation  of  Blackburn  acquired  by  compul- 
sory purchase,  for  the  purposes  of  a  sewage  farm,  375  acres  of  the  estate, 
the  price  of  which  was  fixed  by  arbitration  at  ^44,800.  In  July  of  the 
same  year  405  acres  were  sold  in  lots,  by  public  auction,  to  several 
parties  for  a  gross  sum  of  ^23,700.  The  portions  of  the  estate  thus 
severed  chiefly  lie  contiguous  to  the  Darwen,  on  both  banks  of  the  river. 
Mr.  Edward  Petre  still  retains  1122  statute  acres  of  land  in  Samlesbury. 

Other  landowners  in  Samlesbury  are  : — George  Walmsly,  Esq., 
who  has  348 statute  acres ;  J.  C.  Kay,  Esq.,  196^  acres;  J.  Fisher 


6 70  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Armistead,  Esq.,  125^  acres;  Henry  Gaskell,  Esq.,  120  acres;  Robert 
Hubberstey,  Esq.,  106^  acres;  Sir  W.  H.  Feilden,  Bart,  85^  acres; 
Daniel  Thwaites,  Esq.,  M.P.,  55  acres ;  &c. 

HOGHTON  OF  ROACHER  HOUSE. 

Henry  Hoghton,  Esq.,  was  sixth  son  of  Sir  Gilbert  Hoghton  of 
Hoghton  Tower,  Knt.  and  Bart.  At  Brindle  Church,  Sept  i5th,  1656, 
"  Henry  Hoghton  of  Walton  "  married  Dame  Mary  Stanley  of  Bicker- 
staff  (widow  of  Sir  Thomas  Stanley  of  Bickerstaff,  Bart.,  who  died  in 
1653).  I  think  there  was  no  issue  to  this  marriage.  Henry  Hoghton, 
Esq.,  sometime  resided  at  Roacher  House,  Samlesbury,  and  on  his 
estate  at  Brinscall.  An  indenture  in  the  muniment  chest  at  Samlesbury 
Hall  is  a  deed  of  exchange,  dated  Jan.  roth,  1678,  between  Edward 
South  worth,  Esq.,  and  Henry  Houghton  of  Brinscawe,  Esq.,  of  a  pew  in 
Samlesbury  Church  owned  by  Edward  Southworth,  for  another  pew 
"  behind  the  north  church  door  in  the  alley  called  Yeoman's  Alley,  be- 
longing to  the  capital  messuage  of  Henry  Hoghton  called  Roacher,  in 
Samlesbury."  Henry  Hoghton,  Esq.,  died  in  1682.  His  Will  is  dated 
6th  January,  1681-2  ;  and  was  proved  on  the  5th  February,  1681-2.  Tes- 
tator is  described  as  "  of  Brinscall ;"  mentions  his  wife  Mary  ;  nephew 
Sir  Charles  Hoghton ;  sisters  —  Rigby  of  Middleton,  Lady  Stanley, 
and  —  Whitley ;  gives  to  Sir  Charles  Hoghton  of  Hoghton,  Edward 
Rigby  of  Preston,  Serjeant-at-law,  Benjn.  Hoghton,  Esq.,  brother  of  the 
said  Sir  Charles,  and  Edwd.  Fleetwood  of  Penwortham,  Esq.,  three 
several  sums  of  ^50  for  the  benefit  of  the  officiating  clergymen  of 
Heapy,  Low  Church  (Walton-in-le-Dale),  and  Samlesbury,  at  the  discre- 
tion of  the  trustees  ;  refers  to  real  estate  of  testator  in  Samlesbury  and 
Wheelton  ;  appoints  wife  Mary  sole  executrix. 

Roacher  Hall,  Samlesbury,  situate  on  the  bank  of  the  Darwen  near 
Roacher  Bridge,  is  a  two-storied  stone  house  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
with  mullioned  and  transomed  windows  on  its  south  frontage,  and  a 
doorway  in  the  centre,  beneath  a  low  moulded  semi-circular  arch;  above 
is  a  stone  with  the  Hoghton  arms  and  crest  sculptured  upon  it,  and  let- 
tered with  the  initials  "  H  H  "  and  the  motto  "  Malgre  le  Tort."  In 
the  end  wall  of  the  house  is  another  stone  with  the  arms  on  the  left 
upper  corner,  and  inscribed  in  capitals  : — "  This  Bvlding  was  erected 
Anno  Domini  1675  by  Henry  Hoghton,  Esqr.  son  to  Sr  Gilbart 
Hoghton,  Knight  and  Baranet."  The  barn  in  the  rear  is  about  the 
same  age,  and  on  the  lintel  of  the  main  door  are  the  initials  "  H  H  " 
and  the  year  "1673."  Inside  the  barn,  in  the  hayloft,  a  stone  in  the  wall 
with  ornamented  border  displays  the  initials  "  H  H  "  (Henry  Hoghton), 
and  "  M  S"  (Mary  Stanley,  his  wife) ;  below,  the  date  "  1673," 


CULCHETH  OF  SOWERBUTTS  GREEN.  671 

WALMESLEY  OF  LOWER  HALL. 

I  have  mentioned  that  Sir  Thomas  Walmesley  of  Dunkenhalgh  (son 
of  the  Judge)  purchased  from  Thomas  Southworth,  before  1624,  the 
Lower  Hall  of  Samlesbury  and  lands  attached  thereto.  This  estate  was 
given  to  William  Walmesley,  Esq.,  second  surviving  son  of  Sir  Thomas, 
who  resided  at  the  Lower  Hall  many  years.  In  1664,  "William 
Walmesley  of  Samlesbury  "  is  named  in  the  family  record  made  by  Dug- 
dale.  His  first  wife  was  Anne,  widow  of  Mr.  Edward  French  of  Pres- 
ton, and  daughter  of  Mr.  James  Walton  of  Preston.  He  was  thrice 
married,  but  had  no  issue.  He  appears  as  a  foreign  burgess  of  Preston 
on  the  Guild  Roll  of  1682  and  1702.  He  died  in  Oct.,  1712  ;  and  "  Mr. 
William  Walmesley  of  Lower  Hall  in  Samlesbury  "  was  buried  at  Black- 
burn, Oct.  23rd,  1712. 

Lower  Hall  is  a  rather  handsome  old  house,  in  a  secluded  situation 
on  the  bank  of  the  Ribble.  The  hall  fronts  to  the  south,  and  has  a 
three-storied  gabled  projection  for  the  porch.  The  walls  have  been 
fronted  with  brick,  and  altered  in  other  respects  from  their  original  cha- 
racter. Some  good  trees  and  orchard  enclosures  surround  the  hall.  A 
large  apartment  in  the  hall  was  used  as  a  chapel  for  the  Roman  Catho- 
lics of  Samlesbury  during  a  long  period.  The  Lower  Hall  estate  now 
belongs  to  Edward  Petre,  Esq. 

FLEETWOOD  HALL. 

Fleetwood  Hall,  situated  on  the  south  side  of  the  Darwen  within  the  bounds  of 
this  township,  was  formerly  a  residence  of  the  branch  of  the  Fleetwood  family  whose 
members  for  several  generations  farmed  the  Rectorial  Glebe  of  Blackburn  ;  this  estate 
being  parcel  of  the  glebe  lands.  I  have  before  given  some  particulars  of  this  family 
(ante,  p.  275,  Note.)  The  house  is  old,  but  has  no  feature  worth  mention  excepting 
an  oaken  stair  with  carved  spiral  baluster.  The  estate,  of  196^  statute  acres,  is  now 
the  property  of  Mr.  Kay,  of  Bury.  In  the  yard  a  stone  that  has  formed  the  lintel  of  a 
doorway  is  inscribed  with  the  date  "  1687"  and  some  initials,  partially  effaced,  which 
seem  like  "  R  H  U  L"  and  "A  M  S." 

CULCHETH  OF  SOWERBUTTS  GREEN. 

Hector  Culcheth,  yeoman,  occurs  as  a  freeholder  in  Samlesbury  between  1695 
and  1710.  An  indenture  dated  July  1 6th,  1695,  witnesses  that  in  consideration  of 
£35O  paid  to  Christopher  Moire  of  Hathbushes,  Co.  Durham,  gent.,  and  his  brother 
John  Moire  of  Preston,  gent. ,  by  Hector  Culcheth  of  Samlesbury,  yeoman,  the  first 
parties  sell  to  Hector  Culcheth  a  tenement  upon  Sarbrose  Green,  in  Samlesbury,  con- 
taining 32  acres  customary  measure.  Hector  Culcheth  had  two  daughters,  Isabel,  and 
Mary.  Mary  Culcheth  married  Robert  Hubberstey,  yeoman.  A  deed  dated  Jan.  7th, 
1709,  witnesses  that  Hector  Culcheth,  in  performance  of  articles  of  agreement  dated 
the  23rd  June  last  past,  between  Hector  Culcheth  and  Robert  Hubberstey  and  Mary 
his  wife  and  Isabel  Culcheth,  for  securing  the  payment  of  a  rent  charge  of  £8  IDS. 
yearly  to  Hector  Culcheth  for  his  life,  releases,  &c.,  to  Robert  and  Mary  Hubberstey, 
Isabel  Culcheth,  Roger  Eastham  and  Thomas  Lawrenson,  the  messuage  on  Sarbrose 
Green  ;  Isabel  Culcheth  to  receive  a  moiety  of  the  rents  thereof,  and  her  sister  Mary's 


672  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

husband  to  receive  the  other  moiety.  Hector  Culcheth  was  dead  before  1 727.  His 
daughter,  Isabel  Culcheth,  died  in  1730  ;  and  by  her  Will,  dated  Jan.  2nd,  1729-30, 
Isabel  Culcheth,  of  Samlesbury,  spinster,  gives  her  estate  called  Haydock  tenement  to 
her  nephew  William  Hubberstey ;  with  bequests  to  her  nephews  John  and  James 
Hubberstey,  and  nieces,  Dorothy,  Anne,  and  Elizabeth  ;  sister  Mary  Hubberstey,  and 
nephew  William,  executors. 

HUBBERSTEY  OF  SOWERBUTTS  GREEN. 

Robert  Hubberstey,  yeoman,  by  his  wife  Mary,  daughter  of  Hector  Culcheth, 
had  issue,  sons,  William ;  John  (who  had  issue,  by  his  wife  Elizabeth,  Robert,  James, 
John,  Mary,  and  Joane);  and  James  ;  and  daughters,  Dorothy,  Ann,  and  Elizabeth. 
Robert  Hubberstey  acquired,  as  stated  above,  the  estate  on  Sowerbutts  Green  ;  and 
he  died  Oct.  loth,  1727,  and  was  buried  at  Brindle  Catholic  Chapel.  By  his  Will, 
dated  Jan.  2Oth,  1727,  testator  gives  each  of  his  six  children  £20  a  piece  on  attaining 
the  age  of  21  years;  the  residue  of  his  goods  to  his  wife  Mary.  Will  proved  at 
Chester,  March  2Oth,  1727-8.  Mary  Hubberstey,  widow  of  Robert,  died  in  extreme 
old  age,  Nov.  22nd,  1766. 

William  Hubberstey  of  Samlesbury,  yeoman,  married,  Dec.  2nd,  1732,  Mary 
Eccles  of  Alston,  and  by  her  (who  died  in  1745)  had  a  son  Robert ;  and  daughters, 
Elizabeth,  married  John  Wilcock  ;  Mary,  married  —  Turner  ;  and  Dorothy,  married, 
in  1760,  Edward  Simpson  of  Simpson  Fold,  Wheelton.  William  Hubberstey  settled 
his  estate  by  deed  dated  Feb.  I3th,  1771,  and  died  soon  afterwards. 

Robert  Hubberstey,  yeoman,  son  of  William,  married,  in  1 767,  Mary,  daughter 
of  William  Watson  of  Preston.  He  had  sons,  William ;  John  ;  Robert,  married 
Cicely  Fazackerley;  Thomas,  James,  Edward  and  Richard;  and  a  daughter  Catherine. 
Robert  Hubberstey  sold  an  estate  he  had  in  Brindle  (Denham  Hall  estate),  in  1776,  to 
William  Morris  of  Up-Holland,  gent.,  for  ^"584.  He  had  on  lease  the  estate  of  Over 
Brockholes.  By  his  Will,  dated  Jan.  7th,  1794,  Robert  Hubberstey  gives  his  estate 
at  Sarbrose  Green,  Samlesbury,  to  his  son  William,  subject  to  an  annuity  to  testator's 
wife  Mary  ;  and  the  lease  of  Haydock's  tenement,  held  under  Edward  Lord  Petre,  to 
his  son  John  ;  to  his  younger  children,  each  £200.  Robert  Hubberstey  died  June  8th, 
1794. 

William  Hubberstey,  yeoman,  son  of  Robert,  sold  his  estate  in  Samlesbury,  in 
1818,  to  Henry  Sudell,  Esq.,  for  ^,'4000  ;  but  Mr.  Sudell  became  a  bankrupt  in  1827, 
before  the  purchase  money  had  been  paid,  and  so  the  estate  came  back  to  Mr.  Hub- 
berstey. He  married  Deborah  Whittle,  by  whom  he  had  two  sons  and  a  daughter. 
He  died  Jan.  2Oth,  1838. 

Robert  Hubberstey,  gent. ,  son  of  William,  now  owns  the  estate,  to  which  he  has 
made  additions,  and  resides  at  Sowerbutts  Green.  He  is  unmarried.  His  lands  in 
Samlesbury  are  returned  as  106%,  statute  acres,  with  a  rental  of  ^170  per  annum. 

THE  CHURCH  OF  ST.  LEONARD. 

In  the  second  half  of  the  i2th  century  the  chapel  of  Samlesbury 
was  built  by  Gospatric,  lord  of  Samlesbury,  for  a  chapel-of-ease  to  Lawe 
(Walton)  parochial  chapel,  itself  a  dependent  of  Blackburn  Parish 
Church.  The  earliest  mention  of  Samlesbury  Chapel  is  connected  with 
the  irregular  consecration  of  a  burial-ground  there  by  two  Irish  bishops, 
about  1185-1191.  An  inquisition  in  the  Coucher  Book  of  Stanlaw  and 
Whalley  Abbey,  taken  some  years  after,  shows  that  the  chapel  of  Sam- 


PAROCHIAL  CHAPEL  OF  SAMLESBURY.  673 

lesbury  was  at  first  a  chapel  of  Lawe  Church,  having  no  burial-ground, 
so  that  the  dead  of  Samlesbury  were  taken  to  Walton  for  interment ;  and 
the  lord  of  Samlesbury  and  the  men  of  the  vill  carried  their  first  fruits 
and  oblations  to  Lawe  as  to  the  mother-church,  and  paid  the  tithes  to 
it  until  the  time  of  Hugh  de  Nonant,  Bishop  of  Coventry ;  in  whose 
time,  he  being  abroad,  two  bishops  from  Ireland  came  to  Samlesbury ; 
were  received  into  the  house  of  Gospatric,  lord  of  Samlesbury ;  and  at 
his  request  (with  the  consent  of  Henry,  parson  of  Lawe  and  Samlesbury 
Chapels),  consecrated  a  burial-ground  at  Samlesbury  Chapel.  On  his 
return  to  England,  the  bishop  (de  Nonant),  in  anger  revoked  the  conse- 
cration, but  afterwards  granted  that  there  might  be  a  cemetery  there, 
after  whose  time  the  dead  were  buried  at  the  chapel.  The  Abbot  of 
Stanlaw  prayed  for  this  chapel  to  be  confirmed  to  the  mother-church  by 
pontifical  decree.  By  the  bishop's  grant  of  the  right  of  burial  at  Sam- 
lesbury the  chapel  thus  early  acquired  a  parochial  character. 

By  charter,  in  1238,  John  de  Lascy  gave  to  the  Abbot  and  Monks 
of  Stanlaw  the  moiety  of  Blackburn  Church  "  with  the  chapels  of  Walton 
and  of  Samlesbury."  Thereafter,  Samlesbury  Chapel  remained  in  the 
hands  of  the  Cistercian  fraternity  at  Stanlaw-Whalley  300  years,  until 
the  dissolution  of  the  Abbey  in  1537,  and  was  served  by  monks  of  that 
foundation.  John  de  Evyas,  lord  of  Samlesbury  temp.  Edw.  I.  (1272- 
1307),  quit-claimed  to  "the  church  of  Samlesbury,  and  the  rectors  and 
parsons  of  the  same  church,  that  land  in  Northale  called  Capelruydyng." 

After  the  suppression,  the  King's  surveyor  of  Whalley  Abbey  estates, 
in  1538,  valued  "the  chappell  of  Samblesbery  with  ye  tyeth  belonging 
to  ye  same  by  ye  year"  at  £12  8s.  id.  Queen  Mary's  Commissioners, 
in  1553,  reported  that  "  Gylbert  Sharpies  and  Thomas  Wynkeley, 
churchwardens  of  the  chappell  of  Samesburye,  sworn  and  examined, 
depose  and  say  that  there  is  one  bell  yet  remaining  at  the  said  chapell 
which  was  seased  to  the  use  of  our  said  late  Kynge  of  famous  memory, 
Edwarde  the  Sixth,  by  auctorytie  of  the  said  former  Commysioners;" 
and  computed  the  value  of  "  one  little  bell,  weighing  fourscore  pounds, 
at  the  rate  of  155.  per  cwt.,  belonging  to  the  Chapell  of  Samesburie,"  at 

IOS. 

From  the  suspension  of  the  service  of  this  chapel  according  to  the 
ritual  of  Rome,  in  1537,  until  1558,  the  fabric  fell  into  disuse  and  dila- 
pidation, the  lord  of  the  manor,  and  his  tenantry  for  the  most  part, 
being  "  recusant."  But  the  Earl  of  Derby,  owner  of  a  portion  of  the 
manorial  estate,  was  moved  to  restore  the  tottering  structure,  and  wrote 
the  following  missive: — "  13  May,  1558,  Edward,  Earl  of  Derby,  to  al 
his  loving  frendes.  As  I  am  crediblie  informed  the  church  at  Sambery 
is  in  ruine,  and  indangeringe  people  that  resort  to  heare  God's  worde,  I 

43 


674  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

have  thought  good  to  move  my  loving  frendes  to  help  with  ther  charity 
towards  the  re-edifying  thereof."  The  chapel  would  seem  to  have  been 
partially  rebuilt  as  the  result  of  the  Earl's  interposition. 

Among  the  names  of  clergymen  in  Blackburn  Deanery  at  a  Visita- 
tion in  Aug.,  1551,  I  find  "  Dno.  Edwardus  Moldinge  ex  stipendio  Vic. 
de  Blagburn,"  who  was  curate  of  Samlesbury.  From  the  establishment 
of  the  Reformed  Church  of  England,  temp.  Elizabeth,  I  fear  the  service 
of  the  Church  in  Samlesbury  was  long  uncertain  and  interrupted,  the 
stipend  being  too  small  to  maintain  a  resident  curate.  James  Whit- 
worth,  who  had  been  minister  here  before  1609,  was  then  reported  sus- 
pended. In  1649,  the  Presbytery  then  recently  set  up  in  the  county 
appointed  a  minister  to  Samlesbury,  as  the  minute  below  attests : — 

Mr.  Richard  Smethurst,  Minister  at  Samlesbury  Chappel.  By  an  order  of  13 
Dec.,  1649,  there  is  40!.  per  an.  allowed  to  Mr.  Rich.  Smethurst,  Minister  at  Sams- 
bury  Chappel,  and  the  arrears  due  unto  him.  Mr.  Smethurst  was  ordained  by  the 
ministers  of  Blackborne  Classis,  and  sent  to  Samlisbury  Chappell  by  them  the  4th  of 
Dec.,  1649.  By  a  certificate  the  loth  Deer,  under  the  hands  of  the  chappelrie,  it 
appears  he  hath  served  here  20  weekes. 

At  the  Inquisition  of  the  Parliamentary  Commission  in  1650,  it  was 
found  concerning  this  chapelry  : — "  Samlisbury,  a  parochiall  chappell, 
had  auntiently  foure  pounds  per  annum  paid  by  the  former  viccars  of 
Blackburne  to  theire  minister,  but  now  detained,  and  forty  pounds  per 
annum  by  order  of  the  Committee  of  this  countye.  Theire  present 
minister,  Mr.  Smethurst.  The  inhabitants  desire  they  may  bee  made  a 
parishe,  and  that  competent  maintenance  may  bee  allowed  for  a  minister, 
they  being  above  one  hundred  families,  and  six  myles  distant  from  theire 
parishe  church,  and  four  myles  from  any  other  church." 

After  the  Restoration,  in  1660,  this  Chapel  and  Walton  Church 
were  served  in  turn  by  the  same  curates  for  about  a  century.  In  1683, 
it  was  reported  to  Primate  Sancroft  concerning  the  benefice  : — 

Samlesbury  Chapel  or  Church,  five  miles  from  Blackburn  Church,  and  a  mile  and 
a  half  from  any  other  chappell.  They  of  Samlesbury  resort  thither.  All  offices  per- 
formed there  every  other  Sunday.  The  same  person  serves  that  and  Law  Church. 
Samlesbury  is  a  great  township.  Endowment  : — Out  of  the  Vicar  of  Blackburn,  ^,4  ; 
dues  for  marrying,  &c.  (coibus  annis)  ^"i  IDS.  ;  interest  of  ^50,  given  lately  by  Mr.  H. 
Houghton,  £2  zos. ;  Mistress  Fleetwood  promiseth  yearly  £2  ;  Inhabitants  promise 
£3  145.  8d.  They  have  no  common  ground. 

It  was  further  stated  that  the  three  chapels  of  Law,  Samlesbury  and 
Harwood,  although  "  originally  Chapels  of  Ease,  yet  now  enjoy  paro- 
chial privileges ;  called  sometime  churches  and  receive  stipends — the 
ist  from  the  Crown,  and  2nd  and  3rd  from  the  Vicar,  and  2  of  them 
(Law  and  Samlesbury)  are  demised  in  the  lease  by  name  with  the  Rec- 
tory of  Blackburne."  In  1684,  this  further  report  of  Samlesbury 


PAROCHIAL  CIIAPELRY  OF  SAMLESBURY.  675 

appears  : — "  SAMLESBURY  CHAPEL. — The  inhabitants  continue  their 
promise  of  ^£3  143.  8d.  dureing  life  and  no  longer.  The  lord  of  that 
mannor  is  a  Mr.  Braddyll,  a  merchant  in  Hatton  Garden,  London, 
whose  brother  has  promised  to  write  to  him  to  move  him  for  his  assis- 
tance. Mr.  Henry  Halsted,  who  is  his  intimate  acquaintance,  has 
promised  to  do  the  same."  From  the  Vicar's  Books  I  get  the  annexed 
list  of  inhabitants  who,  in  1683,  promised  sums  amounting  in  the  whole 
to  ^3  143.  8d.  yearly  towards  a  stipend  for  a  curate  : — 

We  whose  names  are  hereunto  subscribed  beinge  inhabitantes  in  the  chappellry  of 
Samlesbury,  and  other  townships  adjoininge,  doe  hereby  promise  to  pay  unto  such 
Ministers  as  shall  be  appointed  by  the  Ld.  Archbishopp  of  Canterbury  to  officiate  at 
the  Chappel  of  Samlesbury  afforesd. ,  such  annuall  or  yearly  sumes  of  money  as  is  here- 
after declared  and  sett  downe,  viz. : — Henery  Anderton  2s.  ;  Ralph  Couberne  2s.  ; 
Robert  Sharpies  2s. ;  Widow  Warde  2s. ;  Thomas  Hey  as. ;  John  Hey  2s. ;  Richard 
Eccles  2s. ;  John  Hothersall  is.;  Thomas  Birley  is.;  Ralph  Harrison  is.  4d. ;  Thomas 
Silcocke  6d.;  Widow  Haydocke  2s. ;  James  Nihill  2s. ;  Matthew  Walmisley  is.;  John 
Bennet  is.;  Richard  Turner  2s. ;  William  Bryninge  is.;  Thomas  Heaton  is.;  Chris- 
topher Sumner,  8d. ;  John  Whalley  is.4d.;  George  Sharpies,  6d.;  Roberte  Cunliffe,  2s. ; 
George  Blackowe  is.;  James  Walmisley,  13.40!.;  William  Harrison  8d.;  William 
South  worth  is. ;  Thomas  Smith  8d. ;  Richard  Southworth  is.;  Henery  Waddington 
is.;  Henery  Southworth  6d.;  Ralph  Southworth  6d. ;  William  Pope  8d.;  Thomas 
Wilcocke  8d.;  Ellen  Shorrocke  8d. ;  Mr.  William  Walmisley  55.;  Gregory  Hoole  is.; 
John  Sudell  is.;  James  Turner  8d. ;  Roger  Haddocke  2s. ;  John  Lukas  is.;  Roberte 
Collinson  is.4d. ;  Richard  Sharpies  is. 4d. ;  Lawrence  Ainsworth  2s. ;  Hugh  Shorrocke 
2s. ;  Thomas  fforrest  2s. ;  John  fforrest  is.;  John  Haddocke,  Sd. ;  James  Haiteley 
ls.4d. ;  Robert  Easthom  2s. ;  Widow  Browne  is.4d. ;  Ralph  Moulding  ls.4d. ;  Roberte 
Harrison  is.;  Richard  Turner,  sen,  8d. ;  Henry  Walmisley  is. 

A  return  by  Mr.  Hull,  curate  of  Walton  and  Samlesbury,  dated  June 
1 4th,  1714,  records: — 

The  Chappel  of  Samlesbury  in  the  Parish  of  Blackburne  has  belonging  to  it  ye 
township  of  Samlesbury,  in  circumference  about  ten  miles.  The  number  of  Inhabi- 
tants about  two  thousand.  Is  distant  from  ye  Parish  Church  of  Blackburne  near  five 
miles.  There  is  one  meeting-house  of  Papists  in  this  chappelry.  The  endowment  of 
this  chappel  is  as  followeth  : — Out  of  ye  Vicarage  of  Blackburne,  £4;  out  of  ye  Arch- 
bps.  lands  in  Thomley,  about  £$  6s.  8d. ;  given  by  ye  Archbp.  of  Canterbury  out  of 
ye  Rectory  of  Blackbiu-ne,  £2  6s.  8d.;  Interest  of  ^50  given  by  Henry  Hoghton, 
Esq.,  at  ;£5  IDS.  per  cent,  £2  153.;  total,  .£14  8s.  40!. 

Somewhat  later,  Bishop  Gastrell  enters  in  his  Notitia  these  items 
(besides  a  statement  of  the  endowment  of  the  chapel): — "  Divine  service 
performed  every  morning  one  Sunday,  and  every  afternoon,  in  summer ; 
and  every  other  Sunday  in  winter.  Two  wardens,  chosen  by  the  mini- 
ster and  the  principal  inhabitants."  Several  augmentations  of  the  living- 
have  been  made  since  1760.  By  a  benefaction  of  ^200,  given  by  Mr. 
John  Ainsworth,  on  Nov.  9th,  1763,  two  grants  of  ,£200  each  from 
Queen  Anne's-  Bounty  were  secured  in  1765.  In  1812,  a  Parliamentary 
grant  of  ^400  was  made,  by  lot,  to  Samlesbury  curacy  ;  and,  in  1822,  a 


676  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

gift  of  ^180  from  the  executors  of  a  Mrs.  Moulden,  with  £20  from 
parishioners,  procured  a  Parliamentary  grant  of  ^£300  to  meet  these 
benefactions.  Oct.  6th,  1841,  by  an  Order  in  Council,  the  Ecclesiastical 
Commissioners  for  England  made  an  annual  grant  of  ^42  in  augmen- 
tation of  the  benefice  of  Samlesbury.  In  1867,  the  value  of  the  living 
was  given  as  ^150  per  annum  ;  and  it  has  since  been  again  augmented 
by  the  Ecclesiastical  Commissioners  to  ^300  per  annum.  The  Vicar 
of  Blackburn  is  patron. 

I  add  a  list  (imperfect  in  the  early  part)  of  incumbents  of  Samlesbury  : — Edward 
Moulding,  occurs  A.  D.  1551;  Thomas  Dale,  occurs  15535  James  Whitworth,  susp. 
1609  ;  Richard  Smethurst,  occurs  1649-50  ;  Thomas  Abbott,  occurs  in  1676,  died  in 
1688;  William  Colton,  occurs  1688-9;  John  Hull,  occurs  1703-14,  died  in  1721  ; 
William  Vaudrey,  1722-63.  (The  four  last-named  were  also  curates  of  Walton.) 
Thomas  Baldwin,  1763;  John  Lewes,  1763-4;  George  Astley,  1765-6 ;  William 
Stockdale,  1767-86,  or  later;  Thomas  Micldleton,  1790-97,  or  later;  James  Barnes, 
1804-28  (died  in  1828);  Patrick  Comerford  Law,  inst.  April  nth,  1829;  H.  W. 
M'Grath,  June  22nd,  1830;  Francis  Law,  B.A.  (present  Vicar),  inst.  May  i8th,  1832. 

Samlesbury  Parochial  Chapel  retains  its  ancient  structure  as  restored 
in  the  i6th  century.  It  is  a  plain  fabric,  about  seventy  feet  long,  and 
consists  of  a  nave  with  clerestory,  north  and  south  aisles,  and  chancel. 
The  side  windows  of  aisles  and  clerestory  are  mullioned,  of  three  lights, 
with  semi-circular  heads.  The  east  window  is  of  three  lights,  with  per- 
pendicular tracery  ;  and  the  west  window  is  a  triplet  of  lancet  lights.  A 
pointed  doorway  (without  porch)  opens  into  the  south  aisle.  A  square 
wooden  bell-cot  at  the  west  end  contains  two  bells,  one  of  them  of  some 
antiquity.  In  the  gable-ends  of  the  church,  a  difference  in  the  masonry 
of  the  lower  and  upper  walls  may  indicate  the  additions  to  the  original 
structure,  temp.  Elizabeth.  A  capacious  graveyard  surrounds  the  chapel. 
In  the  interior,  four  pointed  arches,  rising  from  octagonal  columns, 
divide  the  nave  from  the  aisles.  A  gallery  at  the  west  end  has  on  its 
front  the  inscription  : — "  This  gallery  was  erected  by  John  Walton,  of 
Preston,  for  the  use  of  the  children  belonging  to  Roacher  Factory,  A.D. 
1790."  In  the  area,  the  old  oaken  pews  bear  in  some  cases  the  initials 
of  former  owners.  The  Samlesbury  Hall  pew  is  at  the  east  end  of  the 
north  aisle  ;  and  is  distinguished  by  the  knightly  shield,  sword,  and  crest 
of  Southworth  attached  to  the  wall  above  it.  The  pew  of  Hoghton  of 
Rocher  is  in  the  south  aisle,  and  has  on  its  door-panel  the  arms,  crest, 
and  motto  of  Hoghton,  with  the  initials  "  H  H  "  (Henry  Hoghton)  and 
the  date  "1678."  In  that  year  (June  loth)  an  exchange  was  made 
between  Henry  Hoghton,  of  Brinscall  and  Rocher,  Esq.,  and  Edward 
Southworth,  of  Samlesbury  Hall,  Esq.,  of  a  certain  seat  and  parcel  of 
ground  in  Samlesbury  Chapel,  behind  the  north  church  door,  in  the  alley 
called  Yeoman  Alley,  belonging  to  the  capital  messuage  called  Rocher, 


SOUTHWORTH   ARMS  AND  CREST 

IN  SAMLESBURY  CHAPEL.  [PAGE  676 


SAMLESBURY  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  CHAPEL.  677 

for  another  seat  in  the  said  chapel,  in  the  alley  called  Yeoman  Alley, 
over  against  the  place  where  the  pulpit  then  stood,  belonging  to  the 
manor-house  of  the  said  Edward  South  worth  called  Samlesbury  Hall. 
There  are  several  modern  monuments  in  the  chancel,  and  a  fragment  of 
an  ancient  slab  of  alabaster,  inscribed  to  Isabella,  daughter  of  Richard 
Balderstone.  The  font  is  of  seeming  age,  and  without  enrichment.  A 
"Return  of  Seats  in  Samlesbury  Church,"  in  1849,  gives: — "Seats  in 
pews,  254;  in  upper  gallery,  70;  in  lower  gallery,  56;  total,  380."  The 
Church  Registers  commence  in  1722. 

ST.  MARIE'S  ROMAN  CATHOLIC  CHAPEL. 

From  the  date  of  the  Reformation,  a  body  of  members  of  the  Church  of  Rome 
in  Samlesbury,  supported  by  the  Southworths,  Walmesleys,  and  Petres,  successive 
manorial  lords,  have  maintained  worship  here  according  to  the  Roman  ritual,  secretly 
or  openly  as  the  times  permitted.  It  has  been  stated  (see  ante,  p.  355)  that  a  Mr. 
Harden  (Hawarden)  was  reported  in  1690  as  a  priest  resident  in  Samlesbury  ;  and 
that  in  July,  1709,  Bishop  Smith  came  to  Mr.  Wm.  Walmesley's  house,  the  Lower 
Hall,  and  confirmed  many  children  of  Catholics  for  three  days  in  succession.  The 
chapel  was  an  attached  building  at  the  rear  of  the  Lower  Hall  until  the  beginning  of 
the  present  century.  It  was  dedicated  to  St.  Chad.  A  tradition  is  preserved  among 
the  Catholics  in  Samlesbury  that  in  the  times  of  persecution  of  "recusants,"  a  priest 
domiciled  in  the  Lower  Hall  swam  across  the  Ribble  behind  the  hall,  when  the  river 
was  in  flood,  to  escape  the  pursuivant ;  and  there  was  formerly  hung  in  the  house  a 
picture  with  a  sword-cut  through  it,  said  to  have  been  made  by  one  of  a  party  of 
searchers  for  a  priest  suspected  to  be  concealed  in  the  hall.  The  encroachment  of  the 
current  of  the  river  some  years  ago  caused  the  fall  of  part  of -the  old  chapel,  vestry, 
and  priest's  house  into  the  Ribble  ;  and  the  rest  of  the  ruin1  was  then  taken  down.  A 
new  chapel  was  built  at  South-bank  in  1817-18.  This  chapel  is  dedicated  to  St. 
Marie  ;  and  is  a  plain  fabric  on  the  exterior,  with  semi-circular  side-lights.  The  in- 
terior is  decorated  in  the  Byzantine  style.  The  number  of  seats  is  246.  In  1819,  a 
Catholic  congregation  of  200  persons  was  reported  in  Samlesbury.  The  succession  of 
priests  who  have  served  the  mission  since  1749  is  subjoined.  Fr.  Wm.  Tootell  occurs 
as  priest  at  Samlesbury  in  that  year.  After  him,  in  1753,  came  Fr.  Robert  Painter, 
who  died  here  in  1770,  as  recorded  : — "  1770.  Martii  10.  R.  D.  Robertus  Painter 
ord.  S.  Francisci  per  16  cercit.  Annos  apud  aulam  Inferiorum  Missionarius  ;  locus 
sepulturse  Samlesbury."  It  is  said  that  this  priest  was  a  maker  of  weather-glasses. 
Fr.  Alexander  Whalley,  priest  here  from  Oct.  1770  to  Jan.,  1785  ;  Fr.  Richard 
Ravenhill,  from  Oct.,  1785  to  Oct.,  1792,  died  at  Samlesbury,  and  was  buried  at 
Samlesbury  Church ;  Fr.  Marsh,  from  March  to  May,  1 793 ;  Fr.  Weetman,  from 
May,  1793,  to  April,  1798;  Fr.  Casemore,  1798-1801  ;  Fr.  Wm.  Pilling,  1801  ;  Fr. 
Casemore,  1802 ;  Fr.  Waring,  1803,  to  April,  1816,  died  at  Samlesbury,  and  buried 
at  Samlesbury  Church.  Fr.  Davison,  1816.  (All  the 'above  were  Franciscans  ;  those 
who  follow  were  seculars. )  Fr.  John  Bell,  1817,  to  April,  1828;  Fr.  Win.  Carter, 
from  1828  to  Oct.,  1847  (after  of  St.  Joseph's,  Liverpool,  and  died  in  Sept.,  1853); 
Fr.  Wm.  Fayer,  from  1847  to  Jan.  3ist,  1875  5  Fr.  Richard  Gerrard,  from  Sept.  1st, 
1875  ;  present  priest.  The  existing  baptismal  and  marriage  registers  of  the  mission 
begin  in  Jan.,  1753. 

SAMLESBURY  SCHOOL. •- — A  school  existed  in  Samlesbury  two  centuries  ago.  Its 
condition  in  1685  may  be  gathered  from  an  application  made  to  the  Vicar  of  Black- 


678  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

burn  in  that  year,  as  follows  : — "  Sir, — It  is  both  the  desire  and  the  humble  request  of 
us  whose  names  are  here  subscribed,  that  you  should  be  pleased  to  give  leave  to 
William  Abbott,  that  he  might  have  the  liberty  into  the  chapel  for  to  teach  a  few 
children,  for  he  liveth  in  a  little  smoking  cottage,  and  the  children  are  allmost  spoiled, 
neither  is  there  room  enough  for  them  to  be  taught  in.  WILLIAM  CROSS,  WILLIAM 
BURY,  ROBERT  YATES."  The  schoolmaster  gave  this  undertaking:—"!,  William 
Abbot,  do  promise  to  forbear  teaching  schoole  at  ye  foresd.  place  whensoever  I  am 
commanded  so  to  do  by  the  Vicar  of  Blackburne.  Witness  my  hand  this  15  day  of 
June,  1685.  (Signed)  WILLIAM  ABBOT."  In  1718  the  curate  reported  "No  school." 
The  school  has  a  small  endowment  ;  and  in  1825  it  was  reported  that  the  property 
consisted  of  a  dwelling-house  for  the^naster,  a  croft  containing  30  perches,  and  a  piece 
of  land  containing  about  two  acres,  formerly  part  of  the  waste  and  stated  to  have  been 
given  for  the  benefit  of  the  school  by  the  lord  of  the  manor.  The  master  also  received 
;£8  yearly  from  the  overseers,  in  pursuance  of  a  resolution  passed  at  a  public  meeting  of 
the  inhabitants,  whereby  it  was  agreed  that  a  piece  of  the  waste,  about  two  acres,  given 
to  the  township  by  Mr.  Braddyll  for  building  a  poor-house  thereon,  should  be  let,  and 
a  portion  of  the  rent  paid  to  the  schoolmaster ;  the  rent  was  then  ^8  per  annum.  The 
master  had  been  appointed  by  the  minister  and  wardens,  being  the  only  persons  who 
attended  the  meeting,  which  had  been  duly  notified.  He  engaged  to  teach  six  poor 
children  to  read  and  write.  The  school  was  kept  in  a  cottage  at  Turner  Green.  All 
the  children  were  paying  quarterages  in  1825.  The  school  trustees  derive  £20  yearly 
from  6^2  acres  of  land  ;  and  the  Vicar,  Rev.  F.  Law,  as  sole  acting  trustee,  has  for 
some  years  applied  the  sum  to  the  payment  of  a  stipend  for  a  schoolmistress  at  the 
National  school,  erected  near  the  church. 

ROMAN  CATHOLIC  SCHOOL. — A  neat  building  at  Sowerbutts  Green,  erected  by 
subscription  of  the  Roman  Catholics  in  Samlesbury,  was  opened  as  a  Day-School  in 
1875,  and  is  now  under-  Government  inspection,  with  about  50  children  in  average 
attendance. 

CHARITIES  OF  SAMLESBURY. 

RICHARD  HOGHTON'S  CHARITY.  —  Richard  Hoghton,  Knt.,  in  1613,  conveyed  to 
Thomas  Whittingham  and  others  a  close  of  five  acres,  called  Wood  Crook  in  Whit- 
tingham,  the  rent  to  be  distributed  amongst  the  poor  of  Alston,  Preston,  and  those  of 
Samlesbury  Chapel.  The  proportion  of  this  rent  received  for  distribution  to  the  aged 
poor  in  Samlesbury  was  ^£3  143.  in  1875.  Thg  Vicar,  Rev.  F.  Law,  was  the  almoner. 

DOROTHY  LANGDALE'S  CHARITY. — Dorothy  Langdale,  wife  of  Jordan  Lang- 
dale,  by  her  Will  dated  Jan.  nth,  1715,  set  apart  ^"200,  after  the  decease  of  her  ser- 
vant Hannah  Cocker,  for  the  maintenance  of  aged  and  necessitous  poor  persons  of 
Samlesbury,  or  for  the  binding  out  of  poor  apprentices  there,  according  to  the  discre- 
tion of  her  executors,  Sir  Nicholas  Sherburne  and  Geoffrey  Prescott.  Indentures  of 
lease  and  release,  dated  April  igth  and  2Oth,  1736,  recite  deed  dated  I4th  May,  1715, 
wherein  power  was  reserved  to  Dorothy  Langdale,  by  name  of  Dorothy  Walmesley, 
widow,  to  dispose  of  personal  property  amounting  to  ^2945,  by  deed  or  Will.  Inden- 
ture made  July  3ist,  1826,  between  James  Wrigley  of  Manchester,  Mary  Platt  of 
Glossop,  widow,  and  Miles  Southworth  of  Inskip,  of  the  first  part,  George  Hayes  of 
Turner  Green,  Samlesbury,  of  the  second  part,  Rev.  James  Barnes  of  Samlesbury, 
Clerk,  William  Sharrock  of  Roach  Bridge,  James  Ward  of  the  Lower  Hall,  William 
Brown  of  Stanley  Coppice,  William  Sharrock  of  Sowerbutts  Green,  George  Hayes 
Alex.  Brown  and  Thomas  Sharrock,  all  of  Samlesbury,  of  the  third  part,  and  Chris tr. 
Bland  Walker  of  Preston,  of  the  4th  part,  recites  that  by  indentures  dated  April  igth 


CHARITIES  OF  SAMLESBURY.  679 

and  20th,  1736,  between  James  Wilson,  Mary  his  wife,  and  Richard  Wilson  of  the 
first  part,  Thomas  Pickering,  Roger  Haydock,  John  Aspinall,  and  Henry  Southworth 
of  the  second  part,  Martha  Prescott  and  William  Atherton  of  the  third  part,  and 
Richard  Dickson  of  the  fourth  part,  setting  forth  that  Dorothy  Langdale  by 
her  Will  dated  Jan.  nth,  1715,  gave  £200  to  the  use  of  indigent  and  aged  poor 
in  Samlesbury,  or  for  binding  out  poor  apprentices  there,  and  directed  the  sum  to 
be  laid  out  jn  the  purchase  of  lands  or  placed  out  at  interest,  and  the  yearly  rent  or 
interest  applied  as  above,  and  appointed  Sir  Nicholas  Shireburn  and  Jeoffrey  Pres- 
cott executors  ;  that  the  said  Jeoffrey  Prescott  was  survivor,  and  laid  out  sums  in 
binding  poor  children  of  Samlesbury  apprentices,  and  died  April  Qth,  1727,  having 
made  his  wife,  Martha  Prescott,  William  Atherton  and  John  Atherton,  and  John  Gilli- 
brand,  his  executors,  and  that  Martha  Prescott  and  John  Atherton  proved  the  Will 
and  undertook  the  above  trust  ;  reciting  also  a  decree  made  in  a  cause  in  tho  Chancery 
Court  of  Lancaster,  in  conformity  to  which  the  sum  above  was  laid  out  in  the  purchase 
of  lands  ;  and  witnessing  that  in  consideration  of  ^203  35.  paid  to  the  said  James 
Wilson  by  the  said  Martha  Prescott  and  William  Atherton  the  said  James  Wilson  did 
sell  to  the  said  Thomas  Pickering,  Roger  Haydock,  John  Aspinall  and  Henry  South- 
worth  the  messuage  and  lands  described  below,  upon  trust  that  they  should  employ 
the  yearly  rents  for  charitable  uses  as  aforesaid  ;  that  John  Aspinall,  survivor  of  those 
trustees,  died  March  iQth,  1780,  leaving  daughters,  Jennet,  Sarah,  Catherine,  and 
Elizabeth  ;  of  whom  Jennet  married  John  Wrigley  of  Manchester,  and  died  in  1782, 
leaving  a  son  James  Wrigley  who  died  in  1800,  leaving  a  son  James  Wrigley,  party  to 
this  indenture  ;  Sarah  Aspinall  married  Benjamin  Hinchcliffe  of  Manchester,  and  died 
in  1815,  leaving  a  daughter  Mary  Platt,  wife  of  John  Platt ;  Catherine  Aspinall 
married  Thomas  Southworth  of  Samlesbury,  and  died  in  1815,  leaving  a  son  Miles 
Southworth  ;  and  Elizabeth  Aspinall  married  John  Ogden  of  Blackburn  and  died  with- 
out issue  ;  and  whereas  at  a  meeting  of  the  Inhabitants  of  Samlesbury  held  many  years 
ago,  William  Alker,  Thomas  Forrest,  John  Hayes,  and  George  Hayes  were  appointed 
trustees  of  the  said  charity,  and  George  Hayes,  the  survivor,  left  a  son  George  Hayes, 
party  to  these  presents  ;  and  whereas  at  a  meeting  of  the  Inhabitants  of  Samlesbury, 
they  appointed  James  Barnes,  incumbent  of  Samlesbury  Parochial  Chapel,  William 
Sharrock,  James  Ward,  William  Brown,  William  Sharrock,  George  Hayes,  Alex. 
Brown  and  Thomas  Sharrock,  to  be  new  trustees  of  the  said  charity,  and  the  said 
James  Wrigley,  Mary  Platt,  Miles  Southworth,  and  George  Hayes  have  agreed  to  convey 
the  said  lands  to  the  new  trustees  ;  now  this  Indenture  witnesses  that  the  said  James 
Wrigley,  &c.,  have  sold,  &c.,  all  that  messuage  with  closes  of  land  in  Whittle-in-le- 
Woods,  containing  6  acres  of  land,  &c.,  to  the  use  of  the  said  new  trustees,  upon  trust  for 
such  purposes  as  are  declared  in  the  said  Will,  and  in  Indentures  dated  the  igth  and 
2Oth  April,  1736  ;  provided  that  the  Incumbent  for  the  time  being  of  Samlesbury  Chapel 
shall  be  a  trustee,  and  that  the  trustees  shall  from  time  to  time  fill  vacancies  in  the 
number  of  trustees,  &c.  The  accounts  of  this  charity  show  that  the  Incumbent  of 
Samlesbury,  Rev.  F.  Law,  has  acted  from  before  1853  to  the  present  time  (1876)  as  sole 
trustee,  and  has  received  the  sum  of  .£25  annually  in  rent  of  the  charity  lands,  which 
has  been  expended  in  gifts,  material  for  clothing,  &c.,  to  sundry  poor  persons. 

MARY  VALENTINE'S  CHARITY. — Mary  Valentine,  by  Will  dated  Dec.  i4th, 
1840,  gave  to  her  brother,  John  Valentine  of  Cuerdale,  yeoman,  Rev.  Robert  Hornby, 
of  Walton-in-le-Dale,  clerk,  William  Calvert  of  Walton-in-le-Dale,  cotton  spinner,  an;l 
Peter  Haydock,  of  Preston,  gentleman,  trustees  and  executors  of  her  WJ1,  the  sum  of 
;£iooo,  ;  the  interest  whereof  to  be  first  disposed  of  for  the  benefit  of  certain 


68o  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

cousins  of  testator,  and  after  the  decease  of  the  last  survivor  of  them,  then  "upon 
trust  to  call  in  the  said  ^1000,  and  apply  the  sum  and  interest  in  manner  folr 
lowing  : — As  to  ^500,  part  thereof,  to  the  Governors  of  the  Bounty  of  Queen  Anne, 
to  be  applied  for  and  towards  the  augmentation  of  the  maintenance  of  the  resident 
minister  officiating  at  the  Church  in  Samlesbury, "  &c. ;  and  as  to  a  further  sum  of 
,£250,  directs  trustees  to  pay  the  interest  thereof  "unto  the  Minister  for  the  time 
being  of  Samlesbury  Church  aforesaid,  to  be  by  him  applied  for  the  support  of  the 
Sunday  School  at  Samlesbury,  connected  with  the  Established  Church ;"  and  as  to 
the  residue  of  the  said  ^looo,  in  trust  to  pay  the  interest  thereof  "unto  the  Minister 
of  Samlesbury  Church  aforesaid,  and  the  Churchwardens  for  the  time  being,  to  be  by 
them  applied  for  the  benefit  of  such  of  the  poor  aged  persons  (not  receiving  parochial 
relief)  resident  in  Samlesbury  aforesaid,  as  are  most  needy  and  deserving,  at  or  about 
Christmas."  Miss  Mary  Valentine  died  Feb.  25th,  1842,  and  her  Will  was  proved 
Aug.  22nd,  1842.  In  accordance  with  a  decretal  order  dated  Jan.  3 1st,  1862,  her 
bequest  of  ^1000  was  paid  into  the  Bank  of  England  on  June  3oth,  1862,  and  was 
invested  in  3%  Bank  Annuities.  The  dividends  thereupon  are  distributed  in  charity 
and  to  the  support  of  Samlesbury  Sunday  School  by  the  Vicar  and  wardens. 

BARNES'  CHARITY. — Rev.  James  Barnes,  sometime  incumbent  of  this  chapelry, 
who  died  in  1 828,  gave  a  rent-charge  of  £3  yearly  in  lieu  of  tithe  on  a  farm  in  Osbal- 
deston,  for  a  charity,  which  is  distributed  in  clothing  to  poor  persons  in  Salmesbury 
by  the  trustee,  Rev.  F.  Law,  the  Vicar. 


RADCLIFFES,  LORDS  OF  TOCKHOLES.  68 1 


CHAPTER  XVIII.— THE  TOWNSHIP  OF  TOCKHOLES. 

Topography Extent — Population — Descent  of  the  Manor — Radcliffes  of  Ordsall  as  lords — Garston 

of  Tockholes— Hollinshead  Family- Hollinshead  Hall— Shorrock,  present  lord— Other  Land- 
owners—Old Freeholding  Families— Aspden  of  Red  Lee— Baron— Everfield-  Halliwell  of  Halli- 
well  Fold — Hoghton  of  Red  Lee — Marsden  of  Ryall  and  Bradley — Richardson — Walmsley  of  the 
Hill  and  Ryall— Church  of  St.  Stephen  the  Martyr— Old  Nonconformist  Meeting  House— Tock- 
holes School,  and  Charities. 

TOCKHOLES  is  a  township  (anciently  conjoined  with  Livesey) 
upon  the  south-western  border  of  Blackburn  Parish.  The  lands 
of  Tockholes  occupy  the  slopes  and  spurs  of  a  high  moorland,  the 
ridges  of  which  are  Tockholes  Moor  and  Cartridge  Hill ;  and  fall 
towards  the  Roddlesworth  stream,  the  parish  boundary,  which  passes 
down  a  narrow  valley  to  its  confluence  with  the  Darwen.  The  employ- 
ment is  chiefly  agricultural ;  but  Messrs.  Shorrock  &  Bror.  have  a  cotton 
weaving-mill  in  the  township.  The  acreage  of  Tockholes  is  2050 
statute  acres.  The  population  has  been  decreasing  since  hand-loom 
cottage  weaving  ceased  to  be  a  considerable  industry.  In  1801  the 
population  was  758;  1811,  1077;  1821,  1269;  1831,  1124;  1841, 
1023  ;  1851,  939  ;  1861,  820;  1871,  646. 

The  manor-estate  of  Tockholes  has  been  successively  held  by 
the  Radcliffes  of  Ordsall,  Hollinsheads,  and  Shorrocks. 

RADCLIFFE  OF  ORDSALL,  LORDS  OF  TOCKHOLES. 

The  demesne  of  Hollinhead  in  Tockholes  is  named  as  a  possession 
of  the  family  of  Radcliffe,  lords  of  Ordsall,  temp.  Edw.  II.  A  return  of 
tenants  of  the  Duchy  of  Lancaster,  dated  1311,  states  that  John  de  Rad- 
cliffe, who  held  "  Urdsale  manor,"  also  had  "  100  acres  in  the  place 
called  Holinhead  in  Tokholes,  held  by  the  service  of  23.  yearly." 

The  early  descents  of  Radcliffe  of  Ordsall  are  recorded  in  an 
ancient  document  (Harleian  MS.  1925)  as  follows  : — Henry  Radcliffe 
had  a  son  John  ;  the  latter  had  a  son  and  heir  Richard  ;  and  Richard 
Radcliffe's  son  was  named  John.  John  Radcliffe,  marrying  Johanna  de 
Holland,  had  a  son  and  heir  named  Richard  ;  and  Richard  was  father  of 
John  Radcliffe,  Knt. 


682  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Richard  de  Radcliffe  died  in  1380,  his  son  and  heir  John  being 
then  aged  27  years,  and  was  found  to  have  been  seized  of  Urdesale 
Manor  and  other  estates  ;  and  he  held  of  the  King  and  Duke  in  socage 
"le  Holynhed  in  Tokholes  by  the  service  of  2s.  per  annum,  and  there 
are  there  one  messuage,  6  acres  of  arable  land,  whereof  any  acre  is  worth 
6d.  per  annum,  sum  35 ;  20  acres  of  meadow,  worth  46..  per  acre,  sum 
6s.  8d.;  and  60  acres  of  pasture  worth  4d.  per  acre,  sum  203." 

Sir  John  de  Radcliffe  of  Ordsall,  Knt,  is  found  giving  recognizance 
to  Sir  Ralph  de  Radcliffe,  Knt.,  of  a  debt  of  ;£ioo,  March  20th,  1405 
(6th  Henry  IV).  Sir  John  Radcliffe  was  dead  in  1422,  when  the  es- 
cheator  received  precept  (Aug.  gth)  to  give  to  John  his  son  livery  of  his 
late  father's  lands.  It  appeared  by  inquisition  that  Sir  John  Radcliffe 
was  seized  of  Ordsall  Manor;  half  the  Manor  of  Flixton  ;  bailiwick  of 
Rochdale;  Manor  of  Hope,  &c.;  that  in  the  iQth  Ric.  II.  (1396)  Sir 
John  had  granted  to  John  his  son  and  heir,  and  to  his  wife  Clemence, 
daughter  of  Hugh  de  Standish,  and  their  heirs,  Shoresworth  Manor  in  the 
town  of  Pendlebury ;  lands  in  Hope  Manor ;  and  other  messuages  and 
lands  in  Lyvesey  and  Tokhols ;  that  the  said  Sir  John  Radcliffe,  Knt., 
died  June  3oth,  1422,  and  that  John  Radcliffe  was  his  son  and  heir, 
aged  40  years.  This  was  Sir  John  de  Radcliffe,  Knt.,  who  died  in  1434. 
His  son,  Alexander  Radcliffe,  Esq.,  died  in  1476  ;  and  his  son,  William 
Radcliffe,  Esq.,  was  father  of  Sir  John  Radcliffe,  Knt.  Sir  John's  son  was — 

Sir  Alexander  Radcliffe,  Knt,  lord  of  Ordsall,  who  died  in  1548, 
aged  72,  held  at  death  the  manor  of  Tockholes  and  Livesey,  with  7  mes- 
suages, 60  acres  of  land  arable,  10  acres  of  meadow,  40  acres  of  pasture, 
4  acres  of  wood  and  underwood,  and  100  acres  of  moor,  moss,  and  tur- 
bary in  Tockholes  and  Livesey.  This  was  the  extent  and  nature  of  the 
agriculture  upon  the  manorial  estate  in  Tockholes  for  several  generations 
of  this  family — a  total  acreage  of  about  214  acres  customary,  of  which 
the  half  was  moor,  turbary,  and  woodland.  Sir  Alexander  had  died  on 
Feb.  5th  preceding  the  inquisition  for  escheat.  William  Radcliffe,  Knt., 
was  his  son  and  heir,  then  aged  46  years  and  upwards. 

Sir  William  Radcliffe,  Knt,  lord  of  Ordsall,  who  died  Oct.  i2th, 
1568,  was  seized  of  the  Manor  of  Tockholes  and  Livesey,  and  of  one 
water-mill,  17  messuages,  60  acres  of  arable  land,  10  acres  of  meadow, 
40  acres  of  pasture,  4  acres  of  wood  and  underwood,  and  100  acres  of 
moor,  moss,  and  turbary  in  Tockholes.  His  first  wife  was  Margaret, 
daughter  of  Sir  Edmund  Trafford,  Knt.,  by  whom  he  had  issue,  Alexan- 
der, ob.  s.  p.  ;  John,  eventual  heir ;  Richard  ;  Helene,  wife  of  Edward 
Standish  of  Standish,  Esq.;  and  Alice,  wife  of  Francis  Tunstall  of  Thur- 
land  Castle,  Esq.  His  second  wife  was  Ann  daughter  of  Ralph  Caterall 
of  Mitton,  relict  of  Sir  John  Towneley,  Knt. 


GARSTON   OF  TOCKHOLES.  683 

Sir  John  Radcliffe,  Knt.,  who  died  in  Feb.,  1589,  aged  53,  was 
seized  at  death  of  Tockholes  Manor,  &c.  His  son  and  heir  was  Alexander. 

Sir  Alexander  Radcliffe,  Knt,  died  unmarried,  slain  at  the  battle  of 
Cunley  Hill,  Ireland,  in  Aug.,  1599.  Escheat  taken  Dec.  i9th,  42nd 
Eliz.,  showed  that  he  was  seized  of  Ordsall  Manor,  &c.;  and  of  the  re- 
version of  one  water-mill,  17  messuages,  60  acres  of  arable  land,  10  acres 
of  meadow,  40  acres  of  pasture,  4  acres  of  woodland,  and  100  acres  of 
moor,  moss,  and  turbary  in  Tockholes,  held  of  the  Queen  as  of  the 
Duchy  of  Lancaster  in  socage,  paying  25.  rent.  Of  this  estate  Sir  Alex- 
ander was  expectant  upon  the  death  of  Ann  Radcliffe,  widow,  mother  of 
Alexander  and  relict  of  John  Radcliffe,  Knt.;  she  being  survivor  of  her 
son,  and  living  at  Tockholes  at  the  date  of  the  escheat. 

Sir  John  Radcliffe,  Knt.,  lord  of  Ordsall  and  Tockholes,  had  by  Alice 
his  wife,  eldest  daughter  of  Sir  John  Byron,  Knt.,  of  Newstead,  Co.  Notts, 
issue,  Alexander,  son  and  heir,  born  April  27th,  1608  ;  and  daughters, 
Mary,  Alice,  and  Anne.  Sir  John  was  Lieut.-Col.  in  the  English  army 
in  Ireland ;  and  he  was  slain  in  the  Isle  of  Rhe,  Oct.  29th,  1627  (or,  ac- 
cording to  the  escheat,  Nov.  5th).  By  inquisition  taken  at  Bolton,  Sept 
9th,  4th  Charles  I.,  Sir  John  Radcliffe,  Knt.,  was  found  to  have  been 
seized  of  Ordsall  Manor ;  other  various  estates  ;  and  of  the  Manor  of 
Tockholes,  held  of  the  King  in  socage  by  fidelity  and  25.  rent,  value 
405.,  its  appurtenances  including  20  messuages,  one  water  mill,  60  acres 
of  land,  10  acres  of  meadow,  40  acres  of  pasture,  4  acres  of  woodland, 
and  100  acres  of  moor,  moss  and  turbary.  Alexander  Radcliffe  was  his 
son  and  heir,  aged  20  years  and  upwards. 

The  last  Sir  Alexander  Radcliffe  sold  his  estates  about  the  middle 
of  the  lyth  century;  but  he  still  held  Tockholes  manor  in  1650,  when  a 
Rental  of  the  Wapentake  of  Blackburn  names  Sir  Alexander  Radcliffe, 
paying  23.  yearly  for  his  tenure  of  this  estate  to  Clitheroe  Court. 
GARSTON  OF  TOCKHOLES. 

The  Garstons  of  Tockholes  traced  their  lineage  up  to  William  de 
Gerston  of  Penwortham,  to  whose  son,  John  de  Gerston,  Thomas  Moly- 
neux  de  Keuerdale,  by  deed  dated  4ist  Edw.  III.  (1367),  quit-claimed 
all  his  right  in  the  hamlet  of  Tockholes  within  the  vill  of  Livesey.  By 
Johan  his  wife,  John  de  Gerston  of  Tockholes  had  a  son  Ludovic.  John 
was  dead  prior  to  1396,  for  in  the  igih  Richard  II.  Johan  de  Gerston, 
widow,  released  service  for  all  her  right  in  the  vill  of  Tockholes. 

Ludovic  de  Gerston  held  lands  in  Tockholes,  let^to  Richard  son  of 
Roger  de  Whalley  of  Livesey,  by  deed  dated  4th  Henry  V.  (1416);  wit- 
nessed by  Richard  de  Hoghton,  Henry  de  Hoghton,  Knt,  Thomas  de 
Southworth,  and  Thomas  de  Osbaldeston.  By  his  wife  Elena,  daughter 
of  Thomas  Dicconson  Harrison,  he  had  a  son  Ralph. 


684  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Ralph  de  Gerston,  by  Alice,  his  wife,  daughter  of  Richard  Haydock 
of  Haydock,  had  a  son  James. 

James  de  Gerston  had  a  son  John  by  Margery  his  wife,  named  as 
widow  22nd  Edw.  IV  (1492). 

John  Garston,  of  Tockholes,  died  before  the  year  1500,  and  by 
several  inquisitions  taken  in  the  i6th  Henry  VII.,  he  was  found  to  have 
been  seized  of  10  messuages,  40  acres  of  land,  10  acres  of  meadow,  and 
20  acres  of  pasture  in  Tockholes  and  Livesey;  also  of  one  messuage  and 
14  acres  in  Whittle-in-le-Moores,  by  the  26th  part  of  a  knight's  fee. 
John  Garston  was  son  and  heir,  then  aged  8  years. 

John  Garston,  the  next  in  order,  who  died  June  loth,  22nd  Henry 
VIII.  (1530),  was  found  by  the  escheat  to  have  held  his  lands  in  Tock- 
holes of  Sir  Alexander  RadclifTe,  Knt,  in  socage.  James  Garston,  son 
and  heir  of  John,  was  aged  8  years.  Ann,  widow  of  John,  was  living  in 


James  Garston,  infant  heir  of  John,  was  the  ward  of  Sir  Alexander 
Radcliffe,  Knt.,  lord  of  Tockholes  Manor  ;  who,  by  indenture  dated 
July  Qth,  22nd  Henry  VIII.,  sold  the  wardship  and  marriage  of 
James,  son  of  John  Gerstan,  to  William  Clayton  of  Little  Harwood  for 
;£io.  James  Garston  of  Tockholes,  by  Ella  his  wife,  had  issue,  sons, 
James,  and  John,  and  was  living  in  1552. 

James  Garston  the  younger,  of  Tockholes,  gent.,  occurs  in  the  6th 
Edward  VI  (1552-3).  In  the  ist  and  2nd  Philip  and  Mary  (1554), 
Oliver  Gerstane  disputed  at  law  with  James  Gerstane  and  others  a  claim 
to  rent  of  a  messuage,  lands,  and  wood  in  Whittle-in-le-  Woods. 

A.D.  1611,  is  dated  a  complaint  of  Edward  Osbaldeston  of  Osbaldeston,  Esq. 
Whereas  complainant  ought  to  be  lawfully  seized  of  the  whole  manor  and  waste  of 
Tockholes,  heretofore  inheritance  of  one  James  Garston,  whose  ancestor  did  sometime 
marry  one  of  two  daughters  and  co-heirs  of  the  then  lord  of  the  manor  of  Tockholes, 
and  thereby  became  lawfully  seized  of  the  said  manor  and  waste,  &c.  So  it  is,  if  it 
please  your  Worshipp,  that  Dame  Anne  Radcliffe,  widowe,  and  one  Richard  Bayley, 
Thomas  Browne,  Richard  Halliwell,  John  Hindle,  and  William  Critchlowe,  all  of 
Tockholes,  yeomen,  having  combined,  &c.,  with  other  persons  not  known  to  orator, 
and  got  into  their  hands  ancient  deeds,  court  rolles,  terriers,  &c.,  that  beforetime  did 
belong  to  said  Garston  or  which  in  right  appertain  to  orator,  and  have  entered  into 
the  said  waste  or  common  of  Tockholes,  and  have  wrongfully  expelled  said  orator, 
who  having  made  a  ditch  and  hedge  round  the  said  waste,  &c.,  the  said  Dame  Anne 
Radcliffe,  Richard  Barker,  Christopher  Astley,  Thomas  Browne,  &c.,  being  all  armed, 
w  caponed,  and  arrayed  in  warlyke  manner,  and  being  assembled  at  Tockholes  afore- 
said, did  on  the  8th  June  last  repair  to  the  said  ditch  and  hedge,  and  pulled  down, 
raysed,  and  laid  waste  the  said  hedge  and  ditch  in  ryotous  manner,  &c. 

After  this  the  descent  of  the  Garstons  becomes  less  clear.  Some 
of  the  family  were  seated  on  the  Whittle  estate,  and  in  1574  Oliver  and 
Lawrence  Garstane  were  both  taxed  in  the  military  levy  for  Leyland 


THE  BROCK-HOLLINSHEAD  FAMILY.  685 

Hundred.  James  Garsten,  of  Tockholes,  was  a  Governor  of  Blackburn 
Grammar  School  in  1590.  He  died  in  1595.  Wiiliam  Garstane  of 
Tockholes,  died  in  March,  1652-3.  John  Garston  of  Tockholes,  died 
in  August,  1690.  Willam  Garston  of  Tockholes,  yeoman,  died  in  August, 
1703.  By  Jennet  his  wife  (living  as  widow  in  1710),  he  had  sons 
James,  and  Thomas ;  and  a  daughter  Margaret.  James  Garsden  of 
Tockholes,  yeoman,  son  and  heir  of  William,  born  in  1677,  married,  in 
Dec.,  1708,  Elizabeth  Thompson  of  Eccleshill.  Thomas  Garsden  of 
Tockholes,  brother  of  James,  born  in  1679,  had  a  son  William,  born  in 
1 708.  The  old  messuage  that  belonged  to  this  family  is  yet  called 
"  Garstanes." 

BROCK-HOLLINSHEAD   OF  HOLLINSHEAD  HALL  AND  BILLINGE 

CARR. 

I  have  not  succeeded  in  finding  the  date  at  which  this  family 
acquired  manorial  estate  in  Tockholes,  or  whether  it  was  from  the  last 
of  the  Radcliffes  of  Ordsall.  The  Hollinsheads  of  Tockholes  claim 
descent  from  those  of  Sutton  and  Copthurst ;  and  it  has  been  stated 
that  they  held  Tockholes  manor  before  the  year  1400 ;  and  lands  in 
Tockholes  in  the  sixteenth  century  ;  but  the  name  does  not  once  occur 
in  connexion  with  the  township  in  escheats,  Subsidy  Rolls,  or  other 
documentary  evidences  down  to  the  middle  of  last  century.  The 
modern  descent  of  Hollinsheads  is  as  follows  : — Edward  Hollinshead, 
son  of  Edward  and  grandson  of  William  of  Nottingham,  had  an  only 
daughter,  Emma,  who  was  married  to  Edward  Brock  of  Bothwell.  A 
grandson,  William  Brock,  assumed  the  additional  name  of  Hollinshead 
on  succeeding  to  the  estates  of  a  cousin,  John  Hollinshead.  William 
Brock-Hollinshead,  Esq.,  dying  without  issue  in  1803,  left  the  Tockholes 
estate  to  his  nephew  Lawrence  Brock,  Esq.,  who  added  to  his  own  the 
surname  of  Hollinshead.  By  his  first  wife  Margaret,  daughter  of 
Edward  Edwards,  Esq.,  he  had  a  son  Edward,  who  died,  aged  13,  Dec. 
nth,  1820.  By  his  second  wife  Mary,  daughter  of  Roger  Potts,  Esq. 
(she  died  Aug.  i8th,  1824),  he  had  sons,  Henry;  Lawrence,  died 
young ;  Clifford ;  and  Frederick ;  and  a  daughter  Emma,  wife  of  James 
Whigham,  Esq.  He  married,  thirdly,  Jan.  8th,  1829,  Eliza,  daughter 
of  Rev.  Wm.  Hampson,  and  had  a  daughter  Eliza,  born  in  1833. 
Lawrence  Brock-Hollinshead  sold  the  manor  of  Tockholes  to  the  late 
Eccles  Shorrock,  Esq.,  and  he  died,  aged  60,  July  25th,  1838.  His 
son,  Henry  Brock-Hollinshead,  Esq.,  born  March  22nd,  1819,  married, 
Sept.  nth,  1845,  Margaret,  daughter  of  James  Nevill,  Esq.,  of  Beard- 
wood,  and  had  issue,  a  son  Hugh  Nevill,  born  Sept.  3oth,  1846  ;  and 
daughters,  Beatrice,  and  Edith.  Henry  Brock-Hollinshead  of  Billinge 
Carr,  Blackburn,  died,  aged  37,  March  i4th,  1858. 


686  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Hollinshead  Hall,  the  manor-house  of  Tockholes,  is  now  untenanted 
and  in  a  state  of  decay.  A  wing  of  the  existing  hall  is  of  some  age,  but 
has  no  interesting  feature.  The  other  block  was  rebuilt  in  1776.  Its 
situation  is  at  the  foot  of  a  wooded  knoll  among  the  moors  at  the 
southern  extremity  of  Tockholes  and  of  the  parish  of  Blackburn.  In 
the  garden  is  an  antique  well,  enclosing  a  spring  of  water  of  curative 
properties  to  which,  of  yore,  the  name  of  "Holy  Well"  was  given. 
The  manor-estate,  of  890  statute  acres,  is  now  the  property  of  Eccles 
Shorrock,  Esq.,  J.P.,  of  Low  Hill  House,  Darwen. 

Other  present  landowners  in  Tockholes  are  : — Marquis  de  Roth- 
well,  about  400  acres;  Representatives  of  the  late  Mr.  Lowe,  76  acres  ; 
Trustees  of  St.  Stephen's  Church,  85  acres  ;  Trustees  of  Independent 
Chapel,  n}4  acres. 

I  add  genealogical  notes  on  some  of  the  old  yeoman  or  freeholding 
families  in  Tockholes. 

ASPDEN  OF  RED  LEE. 

Henry  Aspclen  of  Tockholes  was  dead  before  1570,  when  his  widow  paid  the 
Subsidy  tax.  James  Aspden  of  Tockholes  died  in  1621  ;  his  widow  died  in  1622. 

Robert  Aspden  of  Tockholes,  gent.,  witness  to  a  deed  dated  1620,  was  the  Robert 
Aspden  of  Red  Lee  who  died  in  April,  1655  ;  buried  May  2nd.  His  widow  died  in 
1658. 

Richard  Aspden  of  Red  Lee,  yeoman,  was  taxed  to  a  Subsidy  for  lands  in  Tock- 
holes in  1663.  He  occurs  as  a  trustee  in  a  deed  of  gift  to  Tockholes  Chapel  in  1670. 
He  rebuilt  the  homestead  at  Red  Lee  in  1674.  The  initials  "  R  A  E  "  (for  Richard 
and  Elizabeth  or  Ellen  Aspden),  and  the  date  "  1674  "  are  over  the  porch.  He  died 
in  April,  1679. 

Another  Richard  Aspden  of  Tockholes  married,  in  1677,  Ann  Gregson. 

John  Aspden  of  Tockholes,  yeoman,  probably  son  of  Richard,  occurs  in  I7I$> 
and  in  1726  as  a  trustee  of  Chapel  Stock.  His  son — 

Thomas  Aspden  of  Red  Lee,  a  Trustee  of  the  Nonconformist  Meeting  House  in 
1735,  died  in  May,  1749.  By  Hannah  his  wife  (buried  May  1st,  1759)  he  had  a  son 
John,  and  other  issue. 

John  Aspden,  of  Tockholes,  yeoman,  married  Mary  Beardwood,  and  had  a  son 
Henry,  born  in  1755. 

Henry  Aspden  of  Tockholes,  son  of  John,  was  many  years  overseer  of  the  town- 
ship, surveyor  of  highways  and  collector  of  assessed  and  property  taxes.  He  was  a 
trustee  of  the  old  Independent  Meeting-house.  Henry  Aspden  married  Betty, 
daughter  of  Mr.  Edward  Gregson  of  Tockholes,  and  had  a  son,  Moses  (Moses  Aspden, 
of  Tockholes,  bom  in  1807,  married  Mary,  daughter  of  John  Richardson,  and  died  at 
Darwen  in  1876);  and  daughters,  Mary,  and  Hannah.  Henry  Aspden  died,  aged  75, 
Sept.  24th,  1830. 

BARON  OF  TOCKHOLES. 

"John  Baron  de  Wenshead,"  in  Tockholes,  died  in  1627.  Myles  Baron  of 
Tockholes  married,  in  1620,  Jenet  Adlington,  and  died  in  1651.  His  son,  Thomas 
Baron,  had  sons,  Myles,  born  in  1656  ;  Thomas,  born  in  1663  ;  William,  born  in 
1665  ;  and  daughters,  Jennet  and  Mary.  Myles  Baron,  of  Tockholes,  yeoman, 
married,  in  1665,  Elizabeth  Livesey,  and  died  in  1728.  He  had  sons,  William,  born 


OLD  FREEHOLDERS  IN  TOCKIIOLES.  687 

in  1704  ;  James  ;  Thomas,  bora  in  1701,  died  in  1768;  and  a  daughter,  Mary.  His 
son,  William  Baron,  yeoman,  died  in  1771,  leaving  a  son,  Myles  Baron,  of  Tockholes, 
yeoman,  who  married  Lettice  Stott,  of  Manchester,  and  died  in  1774.  He  left  issue, 
William  Baron  (of  Bolton)  ;  Robert;  Thomas  (of  Manchester);  George  (of  Black- 
burn); Mary,  died  unmarried  ;  Jane,  wife  of  Mr.  Thos.  Hoghton  ;  and  Ann.  George 
Baron  of  Blackburn,  builder,  son  of  Myles,  died,  aged  68,  in  1835.  He  married 
Mary  Shorrock,  and  had  sons,  Robert  Baron  (of  Blackburn,  father  of  William  Baron, 
builder,  now  of  Blackburn)  ;  Myles  Baron  of  Blackburn,  sometime  alderman  of  the 
borough  ;  and  George  Baron,  of  Blackburn  ;  and  a  daughter,  Miss  Ann  Baron  of 
Blackburn. 

EVERFIELD  OF  TOCKHOLES. 

John  Everfield  of  Tockholes,  died  March  24th,  42nd  Eliz.  (1599),  and  his  escheat 
was  taken  at  Blackburn,  Dec.  I5th,  1602.  He  died  seized  of  one  messuage,  10  acres 
of  land,  5  acres  of  meadow,  and  30  acres  of  pasture  in  Tockholes  juxta  Livesey,  held 
of  John  Radcliffe,  Knt. ,  in  free  socage.  John  Everfield,  son  and  heir,  was  then  aged 
II  years. 

HALLIWELL  OF  HALLIWELL  FOLD. 

Richard  Halliwall  of  Tockholes  was  assessed  to  a  Subsidy  in  1570,  and  was  de- 
fendant in  an  action  for  trespass  in  1611.  "  Thomas  Halliwall  de  Tockholes  "  died  in 
1627.  James  Halliwall  married,  in  1619,  Alice  Richmond,  and  had  sons,  Richard, 
born  in  1623  ;  and  John,  born  in  1626.  Richard  Halliwell,  of  Tockholes,  had  a  son 
William,  born  in  1621,  and  other  issue.  Lawrence  Halliwell  occurs  in  1636.  His 
wife  died  in  June  of  that  year.  Thomas  Halliwell  of  Tockholes  had  sons,  Lawrence, 
bom  in  I"6i8  ;  William  (of  Tockholes,  who  died  in  1660,  having  had  issue  by  Jenet 
his  wife);  Thomas  (of  Tockholes,  who  had  a  son  Lawrence,  died  in  1670);  and  James. 
Lawrence  Halliwell  of  Tockholes,  gent.,  by  Jane  his  wife  (she  died  in  1682),  had, 
with  other  issue,  a  daughter  Anne,  born  about  1650,  who  became  first  wife  of  Hugh, 
twelfth  Baron  Willoughby  of  Parham,  and  had  issue  a  son  Thomas  who  died  young  ; 
she  died  before  1692.  A  later  Lawrence  Halliwell  of  Halliwell  Fold  married,  June 
1 2th,  1725,  Margaret,  daughter  of  Mr.  Benjn.  Wilson  of  Baxenden.  The  messuage  in 
Tockholes  once  tenanted  by  this  family  is  still  called  Halliwell  Fold. 

HOGHTON  OF  RED  LEE. 

This  family  of  lesser  gentry  was,  there  is  little  doubt,  a  branch  of  Hoghton  of 
Hoghton  Tower.  Richard  Hoghton  of  Tockholes,  gent.,  who  occurs  in  1602,  when 
he  was  entered  as  a  foreign  burgess  on  Preston  Guild  Roll,  with  his  sons  Gilbert  and 
William,  I  conjecture  was  a  son  of  Gilbert  Hoghton,  who  is  named  in  the  military 
levy  of  1574;  and  he  was  probably  the  Gilbert  Hoghton  mentioned  hereafter  in  the 
Hoghton  genealogy  as  a  natural  son  of  Sir  Richard  Hoghton,  Knt.,  who  died  in  1558. 
At  Preston  Guild  of  1622,  Richard  Hoghton  of  Red  Leigh,  gent.,  is  again  on  the  Roll, 
with  his  sons  Gilbert,  William,  and  Edward  ;  his  brother  John  Hoghton,  and  Thomas, 
Gilbert,  Roger,  William,  and  Richard,  sons  of  John  Hoghton.  Richard  Hoghton  of 
Red  Lee,  gent.,  and  his  son  Edward,  appear  as  parties  to  a  deed  dated  Jan.  28th, 
1626-7.  Besides  the  sons  named,  Richard  Hoghton  had  daughters,  Dorothy,  died  in 
1658  ;  and  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Thomas  Fishe.  He  was  living  in  1642.  His  wife 
Mary,  daughter  of  James  Livesey,  gent,  survived  him,  and  "Mary,  uxor  Richard 
Hoghton,  gent.,"  was  buried  March  I3th,  1657. 

William  Hoghton  of  Red  Lee,  gent.,  second  son  of  Richard,  died  in  1623  ;  and 
was  buried  at  Blackburn,  Sept.  4th.  He  had  a  son  William,  born  (as  entered  in  the 
baptismal  register)  posthumously,  in  1623. 


688  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Edward  Hoghton  of  Red-lee  and  of  Ramsgreave,  gent. ,  younger  son  of  Richard, 
was  bapt.  May  3rd,  1605  ;  and  he  married  Anne,  daughter  of  Edward  Gillibrand  of 
Ramsgreave,  gent.,  and  died  in  1693.  (See  ante,  p.  630.)  His  daughter  Alice  was 
bapt.  Sept.  1st,  1629.  He  had  a  son  William,  who  died  in  infancy,  in  1636.  His 
wife  died  in  Oct.,  1652. 

Gilbert  Hoghton,  gent. ,  eldest  son  of  Richard,  had  sons,  Richard,  Thomas  (born 
in  1633),  Edward,  William,  Gilbert,  John,  and  Leonard.  He  had  also  an  unnamed 
daughter,  born  in  1629.  He  resided  at  Teuton,  Pa.  of  Ashton-under-Lyne  ;  and  died 
there  in  June,  1639.  The  Will  of  Gilbert  Houghton  of  Teuton,  within  Ashton-under- 
Lyne,  gent.,  is  dated  8th  June,  1639.  Testator  mentions  his  sons,  Richard,  Thomas, 
Edward,  William,  Gilbert,  John,  and  Leonard  ;  sister  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Thomas 
Fishe  ;  appoints  his  brother  Edward  and  brother-in-law  Thomas  Fishe,  executors. 

Edward  Hoghton,  of  Tockholes,  younger  son  of  Gilbert,  died  in  March,  1685-6  ; 
was  buried  March  23rd  ;  and  on  the  2Oth  April,  1686,  administration  of  his  goods  was 
granted  to  his  widow,  Mary  Hoghton. 

Richard  Hoghton  of  Tockholes,  gent. ,  eldest  son  of  Gilbert,  bapt.  Dec.  23rd, 
1627,  was  made  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1647,  and  an  out- 
burgess  of  Preston  at  the  Guild  of  1662.  By  Ellen  his  wife  he  had  sons,  Thomas, 
died  in  1655  ;  a  second  Thomas ;  William ;  Edward  ;  and  Richard,  the  latter  was 
living  in  1702;  and  daughters,  Mary,  Ann,  Alice,  &c.  The  father,  "Richard 
Hoghton  of  Tockholes,"  was  buried  at  Blackburn  Church,  Jan.  I2th,  1666-7.  His 
widow  died  in  1684.  The  Will  of  Ellen  Hoghton  of  Tockholes,  widow,  dated  I5th 
Jan.,  1683-4,  names  sons,  Thomas,  William,  Richard,  and  Edward  ;  daughters,  Mary, 
wife  of  John  Ainsworth,  and  Alice  Hoghton  ;  son-in-law,  Thomas  Critchley  ;  grand- 
sons and  grand-daughter,  Arthur,  Thomas,  and  Janet  Lomas,  children  of  daughter, 
Ann  Lomas,  wife  of  John  Lomas ;  legacy  to  William  Walmsley,  son  of  daughter 
Alice.  Son  Richard  and  daughter  Alice,  executors.  The  Will  was  proved  I4th  May, 
1684. 

Thomas  Hoghton  of  Tockholes,  son  of  Richard,  had  sons,  Richard,  and  Charles, 
enrolled  with  the  father  upon  the  Guild  Roll  of  Preston  in  1 702.  He  had  also  a  son 
William,  born  in  1684. 

Edward  Hoghton  of  Tockholes,  brother  of  Thomas,  had  sons,  Richard  ;  Thomas, 
born  in  1676;  and  John,  born  in  1678.  John  Hoghton  of  Tockholes,  Edward's 
younger  son,  had,  in  1722,  sons,  Edward,  Giles,  and  John. 

Richard  Hoghton,  of  Tockholes  in  1704,  of  Livesey  in  1 707,  eldest  son  of  Edward, 
had  a  son  William,  bapt.  April  gth,  1704 ;  and  daughters,  Sarah,  born  in  1707  ;  and 
Mary,  born  in  1711. 

William  Hoghton  of  Tockholes  (on  Preston  Guild  Roll  in  1722,  1742,  and  1762) 
was  eldest  son  of  the  last  Richard.  By  Margaret  his  wife,  who  died  in  May,  1741,  he 
had  sons,  Thomas,  born  in  1 736 ;  William  ;  and  James  ;  and  a  daughter  Catherine 
(wife  of  Banister  Pickop).  William  Hoghton  the  father  died  in  1770,  and  was  buried 
Sept.  2nd.  His  son — 

Thomas  Hoghton,  of  Tockholes  Fold,  married,  first,  Mary  Marsden,  and  by  her 
had  issue,  sons,  William,  bapt.  Nov.  I2th,  1759,  died  young  ;  James,  born  Sept.  2lst, 
1761  ;  and  Thomas,  born  Oct.  3rd,  1766;  and  daughters,  Mary,  born  Aug.  8th,  1758; 
and  Margaret,  born  Aug.  1 2th,  1764.  His  second  wife  was  Jane  Peel,  aunt  to  Sir 
Robert  Peel,  the  first  bart. ;  she  died  s.p.  He  married,  thirdly,  Jane,  daughter  of 
Mr.  Myles  Baron,  by  whom  he  had  issue,  sons,  William,  and  Thomas  ;  and  a 
daughter  Isabella  (born  in  1797,  died  unmarried  in  1855).  Thomas  Hoghton,  gent., 
died,  aged  71,  May  7th,  1807. 


MARSDEN  OF  RYALL,  TOCKHOLES.  689 

William  Hoghton,  Esq.,  of  Conduit  Street,  Hanover  Square,  London  (brother  of 
Thomas,  and  described  on  Preston  Guild  Roll  (1782)  as  "  Wm.  Hoghton  of  London, 
gent."),  married  Sarah  Sykes  Garland,  daughter  of  Nathaniel  Garland,  Esq.,  of 
Michaelstone  Hall,  Co.  Essex,  but  had  no  issue.  By  his  Will,  dated  April  I2th, 
1806,  he  bequeathed  ^"10,000  to  his  brother  Thomas  Hoghton  of  Tockholes,  and  the 
residue  of  his  estate  (after  payment  of  other  legacies)  to  be  divided  amongst  the  chil- 
dren of  his  said  brother  and  of  his  sister  Catherine  Pickop. 

William  Hoghton,  Esq.,  of  Liverpool,  son  of  Thomas  and  heir  to  his  uncle 
William,  was  born  in  1801  ;  married,  Oct.  1st,  1833,  Alice,  daughter  of  Edmund 
Ha  worth,  Esq.,  of  Turton,  and  died  in  1845,  leaving  issue,  William  (born  Aug.  2nd, 
1834,  died  without  issue,  Oct.  9th,  1868)  ;  Henry  (born  in  1836,  of  St.  John's  College, 
Cambridge);  and  Thomas  Edmund,  of  St.  John's  College,  Cambridge,  late  Lieut. 
1 2th  Lancers,  born  in  1839,  married  July  4th,  1866,  Marie  Georgiana,  daughter  of 
Augustus  Cardinal,  Esq. ,  of  Havannah. 

The  freehold  messuage  and  lands  at  Red  Lee,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Roddies- 
worth,  are  now  the  property  of  Col.  Feilden  of  Witton  Park. 

MARSDEN  OF  RYALL,  BRADLEY,  &c. 

This  family  held  an  estate  in  Tockholes  four  centuries  since.  Hugh  Marsden  of 
this  township  paid  the  King's  Subsidy  tax  in  1523  ;  as  did  also  "  Marsden's  widdow  " 
(perhaps  his  mother).  In  1570,  Henry  Marsden  of  Tockholes  was  taxed  to  a  Subsidy. 
Edward  Marsden  of  Tockholes,  gent,  is  party  to  a  deed  dated  1576;  and  James 
Marsden  of  Tockholes  is  party  to  a  deed  dated  June  1st,  1588.  Henry  Marsden  died 
in  1619.  Hugh  Marsden  of  Tockholes,  gent.,  a  freeholder  in  1584  and  1600,  and  a 
juror  in  1615,  was  buried  June  5th,  1621 ;  his  wife  was  buried  four  days  after. 
Christopher  Marsden,  gent.,  of  Tockholes,  occurs  in  a  deed  dated  1620.  He  married, 
in  1622,  Ann  Walmsley  (she  died  in  1655),  and  was  "  of  Mellor  "  later  in  1623,  when 
a  son  Richard  was  born.  This  Richard  Marsden  of  Mellor  had  a  son  Edward,  born 
in  1651. 

Myles  Marsden,  of  Tockholes,  paid  the  Subsidy  tax  in  1610,  and  died  in  1623; 
he  had  a  son  William,  Hugh  Marsden,  taxed  to  the  same  Subsidy,  was  a  freeholder 
in  Tockholes  in  1621. 

James  Marsden  of  Tockholes,  gent.,  a  freeholder  in  1621,  had  married,  Oct.  I5th, 
1609,  Elizabeth  Holden.  He  had  issue,  William,  born  in  1623 ;  Ann,  born  in  1626; 
&c.  He  died  in  April,  1630. 

William  Marsden  of  Ryall  in  Tockholes,  gent.,  was  a  Governor  of  Blackburn 
Grammar  School  in  1634.  He  married,  Feb.  9th,  1621-2,  Ann  Alker,  and  had  sons, 
Christopher,  born  in  1627,  died  in  1634;  Myles,  born  in  1628  ;  John,  born  in  1629  ; 
Henry,  born  in  1630 ;  James,  born  in  1632,  died  in  1653  ;  and  Ralph,  died  in  1657  ; 
and  a  daughter  Ann,  married,  March  25th,  1656,  "Rev.  Edward  Lawrence,  pastor  of 
Garstange."  In  a  rental  of  Blackburn  Wapentake,  dated  1650,  William  Marsden 
appears  as  a  freeholding  tenant ;  and  he  was  taxed  to  a  Subsidy  in  1663  on  his  lands 
in  Tockholes.  He  died  in  1671,  and  was  buried  March  6th,  1671-2. 

William  Marsden  of  Tockholes,  "junior  "  in  1660,  married,  Nov.  loth,  1656, 
Alice  Hoghton  of  Ramsgreave,  and  had  a  son  William,  who  died  young  in  1660 ; 
daughters,  Jenet,  and  Lettice. 

James  Marsden  of  Tockholes,  yeoman,  paid  the  Subsidy  tax  in  1663,  and  in  1670 
was  trustee  of  an  endowment  of  Tockholes  Church.  He  had  sons,  James,  who  died 
young  in  1676  ;  a  second  James  ;  Hugh,  and  Thomas.  James  Marsden,  senior,  was 
buried  Sept.  3Oth,  1723.  His  son— 

44 


690  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

James  Marsden,  of  Bradley  in  Tockholes,  yeoman,  married,  in  Sept.,  1702,  Ann 
Heaton  of  Samlesbury  (who  died  in  June,  1721),  and  had  sons,  James,  born  in  1703  ; 
Richard,  born  in  1710  ;  and  Christopher,  born  in  1712  ;  also,  daughters,  Alice,  born 
in  1705  ;  and  Ann,  born  in  1716,  died  in  1721.  James  Marsden  died  in  April,  1741. 

Hugh  Marsden  of  Tockholes,  yeoman  (perhaps  brother  of  James),  by  Mary  his 
wife  (who  died  in  Nov.,  1731),  had  (with  other  issue),  a  son,  James  Marsden  of  Tock- 
holes (born  Oct.  8th,  1699,  died  March  I5th,  1777,  aged  77  ;  by  Isabel  his  wife,  who 
died  in  May,  1782,  he  had  issue).  Hugh  Marsden  of  Tockholes,  yeoman,  died  in 
Sept.,  1745. 

James  Marsden  (son  of  James  who  died  in  1741),  of  Tockholes,  yeoman,  died  in 
July,  1769.  His  son,  James  Marsden  of  Blackburn,  died  in  March,  1776. 

Ryall  is  a  messuage  situate  at  the  foot  of  Tockholes  Moor.  The  house  is  that  of 
a  respectable  yeoman,  built  probably  in  the  1 7th  century.  The  estate,  of  48  acres,  is 
now  the  property  of  Messrs.  Cunliffe  and  Grundy. 

At  Bradley,  on  the  lower  side  of  Tockholes,  is  an  old  house,  a  low  structure,  with 
square  doorways  and  small  windows.  On  the  wall  of  one  of  the  bed-rooms  are  the 
initials  "  I  M  M"  (James  and  Mary  Marsden)  and  date  "  1704."  The  estate  now 
belongs  to  the  daughters  of  the  late  Mr.  Lowe,  banker,  of  Preston. 

RICHARDSON   OF  LOWER  HILL,  SILK  HALL,  &c. 

Adam  Richardson,  yeoman,  of  Tockholes,  living  in  1735,  had  sons,  Walmsley, 
Ralph,  and  Adam  ;  and  daughters,  Alice  and  Ann.  His  second  son,  Ralph  Richard- 
son, chapman,  of  the  Silk  Hall  (which  he  built  in  1764),  by  Susannah  his  wife  had 
issue.  Walmsley  Richardson,  yeoman,  eldest  son  of  Adam,  married,  May  7th,  I752> 
Lydia,  daughter  of  Mr.  Ralph  Walmsley  of  the  Hill,  and  had  issue,  Ralph,  born  in 
1757;  Jane,  born  in  1754,  married  .James  Towers;  and  Ann.  His  son,  Ralph 
Richardson,  had  sons,  Walmsley  ;  and  John  Richardson,  of  the  Crowtrees,  who  by 
Lucy  his  wife  had  sons,  Ralph  Richardson  (now  of  Tockholes),  Adam,  and  John. 
Walmsley  Richardson  of  Preston,  eldest  son  of  Ralph,  sold  the  Lower  Hill  farm  some 
years  ago  to  Mr.  Thos.  Sefton. 

WALMSLEY  OF  THE  HILL  AND  RYALL. 

It  is  not  unlikely  that  from  the  ancient  stock  of  Walmerslegh  or  Walmsley  of 
Tockholes  branched  the  Walmesleys  of  Showley,  from  whom  came  the  important 
houses  of  Walmesley  of  Dunkenhalgh,  Westwood,  &c.  It  is  in  Tockholes  that  the 
earliest  residents  of  this  name  occur.  Roger  de  Walmerslegh,  who  is  named  as  a 
juror  in  1334  and  1359,  probably  was  progenitor  of  Roger  and  Richard  de  WTalmerslegh 
de  Tockholes,  jurors  in  1395.  One  William  Walmersley  is  named  in  a  letter  of  Sir 
Alexander  Radcliffe,  lord  of  Tockholes,  written  about  1450  ;  and  William  de  Walmers- 
ley of  Livesey,  yeoman,  and  Alice  his  wife,  John  de  Walmersley,  Hugh,  and  Christo- 
pher, occur  in  1457. 

William  Walmesley  was  assessed  on  lands  in  Tockholes  to  a  Subsidy  in  1523. 
WTilliam  Walmesley,  of  this  family,  aged  73  in  1611  (so  born  in  1528),  was  a  \vitness 
in  the  inquiry  respecting  the  Talbot  Chapel  in  Blackburn  Church. 

Thurstan  Walmysley,  of  Tockholes,  had  daughters  Alice  and  Ann,  who  after  his 
death,  as  his  heirs,  in  1568  had  a  dispute  with  John  Holden,  Robert  Holden,  and 
others,  respecting  lands,  turbary,  and  a  tenement  called  the  Chamber,  in  Lyvesey  and 
Tockholes. 

Richard  Walmsley  of  Tockholes,  married,  in  1615,  Grace  Bayne  ;  she  died  in 
1635.  Henry  Walmsley  of  Tockholes  occurs  in  1628. 


CHURCH  OF  ST.  STEPHEN,  TOCKHOLES.  691 

Ralph  Walmsley  of  Tockholes,  gent.,  named  as  a  freeholder  in  1621,  occurs  in 
1627  and  1635,  as  Ralph  Walmsley  of  the  Hill,  yeoman,  party  to  deeds  of  those  dates. 
His  son  and  heir,  William,  is  also  named  in  the  deed  of  1635.  In  1649,  Ralph 
Walmsley  gave  a  piece  of  land  on  Chapel  Green  to  Tockholes  Chapel  (see  post,  under 
Tockholes  Church).  He  died  in  1665 — a  centenarian.  In  Blackburn  Parish  church- 
yard is  a  slab  inscribed  : — "  Here  lyeth  the  body  of  Ralphe  Walmslay,  who  died  the 
[20]  day  of  November,  l6[65],  circiter  centum." 

William  Walmsley  of  Royle  or  Ryall,  in  Tockholes,  yeoman,  was  made  a  Gover- 
nor of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1646  ;  and  was  a  juror  on  the  Survey  of  the 
parish  in  1650.  He  bought  the  Ryall  estate  from  James  Browne  in  1660.  William 
Walmsley  married,  in  1637,  Alice  Shorrock,  and  had  sons,  Ralph ;  and  John  (of 
Ryall);  and  daughters,  Anne;  Hannah,  died  in  1660;  and  Mary,  born  in  1656. 
William  Walmsley  died  in  Oct.,  1671.  His  son — 

Ralph  Walmsley  of  the  Hill,  gent.,  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in 
1675,  married  Alice,  daughter  of  Richard  Hoghton  of  Tockholes  ;  and  had  sons, 
William,  born  in  1661  ;  James,  born  in  1663  ;  Ralph,  born  in  1667  ;  and  Thomas, 
born  in  1674,  died  in  1719  ;  and  a  daughter  Alice,  born  in  1677.  Ralph  Walmsley 
the  father  died  in  1716. 

Ralph  Walmsley  of  the  Hill,  yeoman,  younger  son  of  Ralph,  died  in  1722.  He 
had  a  son  Ralph.  He  was  Ralph  Walmsley  of  Tockholes,  yeoman,  who  died  in 
1746,  leaving  issue,  by  Jane  his  wife,  daughters,  Jane  ;  and  Lydia,  bora  in  1721, 
married,  May  7th,  1752,  Walmsley  Richardson,  yeoman. 

James  Walmsley,  of  Tockholes,  yeoman  and  chapman  (son  of  Ralph  who  died 
in  1716),  had  sons,  William,  bora  in  1699,  died  in  1705  ;  James,  bora  in  1702,  died 
in  1711  ;  a  second  William,  born  in  1709;  Benjamin,  born  in  1706;  and  a  second 
James,  born  in  1715  ;  and  a  daughter  Isabel.  James  Walmsley  died  in  1747.  His 
son,  James  Walmsley  of  Witton,  died  in  1772. 

Reverting  to  the  branch  seated  at  Ryall,  I  find  that  John  Walmsley  of  Ryall, 
yeoman,  son  or  grandson  of  William,  the  first  of  Ryall,  was,  in  1724,  nominated  a 
trustee  of  the  Church  Stock  of  Tockholes.  John  Walmsley  of  Ryall,  son  of  William, 
by  his  wife,  Elizabeth,  had  sons,  William,  born  in  1676  ;  and  Richard,  born  in  1688 ; 
with  other  children.  William  Walmsley  of  Tockholes,  yeoman,  son  of  John,  died  in 
Sept.,  1727  ;  by  Deborah  his  wife,  who  died  in  1718,  he  had  daughters,  Eliza,  wife  of 
William  Cardwell ;  and  Ann  ;  perhaps  other  issue. 

The  old  residence  of  this  family  at  the  Hill  is  a  good-sized  1 7th  century  house, 
with  gabled  porch  and  south  wing,  situated  on  the  edge  of  the  hill  in  the  centre  of 
Tockholes.  The  estate  now  belongs  to  the  Marquis  de  Rothwell. 

THE  PAROCHIAL  CHAPEL   OF  ST.  MICHAEL  (ST.  STEPHEN 

THE  MARTYR). 

I  have  found  no  evidence  respecting  the  foundation  of  this  ancient 
Chapel  in  Tockholes,  or  the  date  of  it.  Doubtless  it  was  built  as  a 
Chapel-of-Ease  by  one  of  the  Radcliffes,  lords  of  the  manor,  and  by  the 
freeholders,  who  were  numerous  in  Tockholes.  The  chapel  is  supposed 
to  have  been  built  temp.  Henry  VIII.  It  is  not  named  in  the  Valor  of 
1534  ;  and  has  no  pre-Reformation  endowment.  The  original  fabric  was 
in  a  condition  of  decay  many  years  before  its  demolition  in  1832.  It 
was  a  diminutive  building,  low  in  elevation,  about  52  feet  in  length,  by 
22  feet  in  width.  It  ha'd  no  chancel.  There  was  a  small  tower  at  the 


692  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

west  end,  and  a  porch  on  the  south  side.  On  the  north  side  were  one 
two-light  window,  and  two  windows  of  three  lights  ;  on  the  south,  two 
windows  of  two  lights  and  one  of  three  lights.  At  the  east  end  was  a 
three-light  window.  In  the  interior  a  central  aisle  traversed  the  church 
longitudinally.  The  pulpit  stood  on  the  north  side  towards  the  east 
end.  The  chapel  contained  170  sittings.  Over  the  east  window  was  a 
stone  bearing  the  initials  of  Sir  John  Radcliffe,  Knt.  Over  the  porch 
were  other  initials  and  the  date  1620.  The  chapel  may  have  been  re- 
stored in  that  year.  There  was  occasional  celebration  of  divine  service 
in  the  chapel  by  the  Vicar  of  Blackburn  and  his  curates,  but  no  regular 
ministry  before  the  setting  up  of  the  Presbytery  in  Lancashire.  Mr. 
Isaac  Ambrose,  Minister  at  Preston,  wrote  to  one  Mr.  Wales,  in  Oct., 
1643,  tnat  Colonel  Rigby  would  allow  ^50  per  annum  for  Tockholes, 
if  an  able,  honest  minister  could  be  provided.  A  minute  of  the  Pres- 
bytery in  1646  records  the  order  : — "  Mr.  John  Worthington,  Minister 
of  Tockholes  Chapell.  By  an  Order  of  this  Committee,  of  the  25  Deer., 
1646,  there  is  ^40  per  annum  allowed  to  an  orthodox  divine,  to  officiate 
the  cure  at  Tockholes  Chappel."  Mr.  Worthington  was  transferred  to 
Oldham  in  1647  >  and  Mr.  Alexander  Gilbert  was  ordained  Minister  at 
Tockholes  Chapel,  April  icth,  1649.  The  Parliamentary  Commission 
of  1650  returned  respecting  the  Chapel : — 

Tockholes,  a  chappel  distant  from  theire  parishe  church  three  myles,  consistinge 
of  above  fourscore  families,  and  twentye  foure  families,  in  Withnell  next  adjoyninge  to 
them,  being  seaven  myles  distant  from  theire  parish  churche  of  Leyland,  desire  to  be 
annexed  to  Tockholes,  and  the  same  to  bee  made  a  parishe,  and  competent  maynte- 
nance  allowed  for  a  minister,  they  haveinge  att  present  fortye  poundes  per  ann. 
allowed  by  the  Comittee  of  this  Countye. 

The  first  endowment  of  the  curacy  was  a  benefaction  given  by  Mr. 
Ralph  Walmsley,  of  Hill,  in  Tockholes,  in  the  year  1649.  It  consisted 
of  a  parcel  of  land  in  Tockholes,  "  upon  a  certaine  place  called  Chappell 
Greene,  containing  by  estimation  Twelve  Falls  of  ground  or  there- 
abouts," along  with  "  one  Messuage,  Cottage,  or  Dwelling-house  there- 
upon erected ;"  and  was  conveyed  by  the  donor  to  William  Marsden, 
Richard  Whithalghe,  Nathaniel  Leighe,  Lawrence  Halliwell,  Thomas 
Crichlowe,  and  John  Benson,  in  trust,  "  to  the  use  and  behoof  of  such  a 
preachinge  Minister  or  Ministers  as  shall  bee  resident  at  Tockholes 
Chappell  from  tyme  to  tyme."  The  deed  of  conveyance  is  dated  Dec. 
28th,  1649.  The  deed  abridged  below  refers  to  a  subsequent  gift  in 
1670  : — 

Be  it  known  unto  all  men  by  these  presents,  that  wee  Ralph  Walmesley,  James 
Marsden,  William  Chritchley,  and  Richard  Aspeden,  all  of  Tockholes,  in  the  countie 
of  Lancaster,  yeomen,  have  received  and  had  at  and  before  the  daye  of  the  date 
hereof,  of  William  Walmisley,  of  Tockholes  aforesaid,  within  the  said  countie, 


CHURCH  OF  ST.  STEPHEN,  TOCKHOLES.  693 

yeoman,  the  full  some  of  seaventy  nyne  poundes  seaven  shillinges  fyve  pence  of 
current  and  lawfull  money  of  England,  beinge  the  full  both  of  the  ould  Stock  and 
Use  belonginge  to  Tockholes  Chappell,  in  the  countie  aforesaid,  which  the  said 
William  Walmisley  had  anything  to  doe  withal ;  and  alsoe  twentie  two  poundes,  fyve 
shillinges,  fower  pence,  which  Ralph  Walmisley,  late  of  Tockholes  aforesaid,  deceased, 
gave  to  be  a  newe  Stock  towardes  the  maintenance  of  God's  Word  at  the  said  Tock- 
holes Chappell,  and  to  free  his  house  and  land  at  Hill,  in  Tockholes  aforesaid,  and 
the  inhabitants  thereof,  from  payeing  any  money  for  the  future  to  any  minister  or 
ministers  that  should  hereafter  preach  at  the  said  Chappell,  and  alsoe  to  free  the  house 
and  land  which  William  Walmisley  his  son  purchased  of  James  Browne,  called  the 
Ryle,  and  the  inhabitants  thereof,  from  payeinge  any  money  for  the  future  to  any 
minister  or  ministers  that  should  hereafter  preach  and  officiate  at  the  said  Chappell  of 
Tockholes.  The  receipt  of  which  said  somes  of  money  wee  the  said  Ralph  Walmisley, 
James  Marsden,  William  Chritchley,  and  Richard  Aspeden  doe  hereby  acknowledge, 
and  doe  fully  acquitte  the  said  William  Walmisley,  his  exors.,  &c.,  for  ever  by  these 
presents.  And  wee  the  said  Ralph  Walmisley  [and  others]  by  these  presents  remyse, 
release,  &c. ,  unto  William  Walmisley,  his  exors,  &c.,  all  manner  of  accommodations, 
&c. ,  which  wee  the  said  Ralph  Walmisley  [and  others],  our  heirs,  &c. ,  have  against 
the  said  William  Walmisley,  his  exors,  &c.  In  witness  whereof  we  the  said  Ralph 
Walmisley,  James  Marsden,  William  Chritchley,  and  Richard  Aspeden  have  hereunto 
sett  our  handes  and  seales  the  nth  day  of  March,  1670. 

In  the  year  1684,  Archbishop  Bancroft  received  the  information: — 

Tockholes  Chapell,  3  miles  and  half  from  Blackburn  Church,  2  miles  from  any 
other  chapell.     Adjacent  to  it  Tockholes  and  upper  part  of  Livesey.     Endowment — 
A  dwelling-house  belonging  to  it,  per  annum  1 75.  ;  Interest  of  ^100  given  by  — 
^5  ;  Mrs.  Fleetwood  promiseth  £2  ;  the  inhabitants  nothing,  till  they  see  what  I'll 
doe,  unless  they  may  chuse  their  minister. 

Other  items  forwarded  about  the  same  date  to  Lambeth  are 
contained  in  a  second  memorandum  : — 

TOCKHOLES  CHAPEL. — There  is  a  house  belonging  to  the  curate,  in  good  repaire, 
and  likewise  a  barn  belonging  to  it.  The  stock  given  to  the  chapelry,  see  the  certifi- 
cate under  the  hands  of  the  inhabitants.  ^"100  is  secured  by  mortgage  on  the  Lands 
of  Livesay  of  White  Hough,  ^20  whereof  was  given  by  several  families  of  Tockholes  ; 
the  rest  by  well-disposed  persons  who  cannot  be  discovered  at  present.  There  is  ,£30 
more  left  in  feoffees'  hands,  who  are  responsible  persons,  and  carefull  to  preserve  the 
same. — The  inhabitants  of  Tockholes  resort  to  no  other  church  but  their  Mother  Church 
of  Blackburn,  for  administration  of  the  sacraments  or  any  other  holy  offices. 

In  one  of  Sancroft's  letters  to  the  Vicar,  he  asks  :— "  Is  the  curate's 
house  at  Tockholes  fit  to  dwell  in  ?"  And  in  regard  to  the  conduct  of 
the  inhabitants,  in  refusing  to  promise  money  for  the  support  of  the 
curate  "  unless  they  may  chuse  their  own  minister,"  the  Primate  says  : — 
"  If  Tockholes  continues  refractory,  let  them  stand  alone  unassisted." 
The  threat  to  deny  a  share  of  the  Sancroft  endowment  to  Tockholes  was 
not  carried  out,  for  a  few  years  later  the  curate  was  in  receipt  of  ^5 
per  annum  from  the  Thornley  Rents.  In  1689,  Thomas  Johnson 
made  a  gift  of  Ten  Shillings  yearly  towards  the  maintenance  of  a 


694  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

minister  here.  At  this  time  the  chapels  of  Tockholes  and  Darwen  were 
served  by  the  same  curate,  Mr.  Wm.  Stones.  Dec.  yth,  1691,  is  dated 
"  An  account  of  what  money  belongs  to  the  chapel  of  Tockholes,"  and 
in  whose  hands  it  was  held,  as  follows  : — John  Marsden,  sen.,  of  Lower 
Darwen,  had  ;£io,  besides  two  years'  interest;  Richard  Catterall  of 
Tockholes,  had  £4. ;  Hugh  Gorse,  of  Tockholes,  had  £7  ;  Richard 
Livesey,  of  Livesey,  had  ^17,  due  upon  bond;  the  same  person  had 
;£ioo,  due  upon  mortgage,  besides  many  years'  interest;  Thurston 
Fishwick  had  £8,  besides  several  years'  interest.  The  other  moneys 
were,  an  annuity  of  los.  charged  upon  land;  Mrs.  Cooper's  gift  of  £20, 
disposed  of  by  James  Marsden;  and  £2  in  the  hands  of  John  Gelibrand, 
of  Livesey.  Total,  ^,"168  ios.,  besides  interest  overdue.  In  1714  it  is 
recorded  : — "  In  Tockholes  Chapel  divine  offices  are  performed  every 
other  Sunday,  and  most  of  the  inhabitants  frequent  a  Presbyterian 
Meeting-house  there  is  within  that  chapelry  those  Sundays  there  is  no 
service  in  their  own  chapel."  The  endowments  of  Tockholes  chapelry 
then  were  : — Out  of  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury's  lands  at  Thornley, 
^5  ;  out  of  the  Rectory  of  Blackburn,  £2  6s.  8d. ;  a  dwelling-house 
worth  about  155.  per  annum ;  and  die  interest  of  a  gift  of  ^30,  ^'i  ios.  ; 
total,  £9  us.  8d."  Bishop  Gastrell  writes,  about  1720  : — 

TOCKHOLES.— Certified  ^"15  is.  8d. ;  out  of  Thornley  ^5  ;  Rector  £2  6s.  8d. ; 
Interest  of  ^140,  £7  ;  Dwelling-house,  15  shillings  ;  ^13  2s.  5d.  Endowment  (Vicar's 
account,  anno  1704).  The  money  is  in  the  hands  of  Presbyterian  Trustees,  who  will 
give  no  account  of  the  Benefactors,  but  pay  the  curate  punctually,  viz.,  with  the 
Interest  of  ^140,  except  when  the  chapel  wants  repairing,  when  they  apply  it  to  that 
use  to  save  themselves.  Circumference,  about  9  miles.  The  Inhabitants  of  Tockholes, 
and  part  of  Livesey,  repair  to  it.  Divine  service  every  other  Sunday.  No  Warden. 
Three  miles  from  the  Parish  Church,  and  two  miles  4rom  any  other  chapel. 

Dated  August  27th,  1722,  is  a  petition  to  Rev.  John  Holme,  Vicar 
of  Blackburn,  signed  by  sixty-seven  inhabitants  of  the  Chapelry  of 
Tockholes,  the  prayer  of  which  is  : — "  We  desire  you  will  please  to 
nominate  the  Rev.  Mr.  Clayton  curate  of  our  chapell,  and  you  will 
thereby  very  much  oblige  us."  The  Vicar  paid  no  regard  to  this 
application,  for  one  William  Crombleholme  was  nominated  to  the 
vacancy.  In  1724,  a  Commission  consisting  of  Thomas  Towneley, 
Banister  Parker,  Robert  Chaddock,  John  Ainsworth,  Esqrs.,  and  Henry 
ffeilden,  gentleman,  were  directed  to  inquire  by  oath  of  twelve  good  and 
lawful  men  of  the  country  into  certain  breaches  of  trust  and  misemploy- 
ment  of  moneys  belonging  to  the  chapel  at  Tockholes.  Before  these 
Commissioners  evidence  was  given  that  "  for  some  time  whereof  the 
memory  of  man  is  not  to  the  contrary  there  hath  been  a  consecrated 
chappel  at  Tockholes,"  which  was  used  as  a  chapel-of-ease  dependent 


CHURCH  OF  ST.  STEPHEN'S,   TOCKHOLES.  695 

upon  the  Parish  Church  of  Blackburn  ;  that  there  had  been  "  several 
gifts,  donations,  and  charities  anciently  given  to  and  for  the  use  and 
maintenance  of  a  preaching  minister  at  the  said  chappel,  by  several 
charitable  and  well-disposed  persons,  amounting  in  the  whole  to  the 
sume  of  ^163;"  that  this  money  had  been  put  out  at  interest  upon 
security  in  the  names  of  trustees,  feoffees  for  the  said  chapel  stock ;  that 
"  there  is  a  house,  a  barn,  and  some  ground,  situated  at  Tockholes,  of 
the  yearly  value  of  £2,  which  of  right  belongs  to  the  officiating 
minister;"  that  "James  Marsden,  Thomas  Critchlow,  Hugh  Marsden, 
and  John  Aspden  have  taken  upon  them  to  act  as  trustees  or  feoffees  for 
the  said  chapel  stock,  without  any  authority  or  warrant  for  so  doing, 
and  have  got  into  their  hands  all  the  said  moneys  in  specie  or  security 
for  the  same,  and  have  misapplied,  misconverted,  and  misgoverned  the 
same,"  and  had  placed  out  such  money  at  interest  in  their  own  names. 
The  Commissioners  decreed  that  the  parties  mentioned  should  within 
one  month  pay  into  the  hands  of  Alexander  Osbaldeston,  John  Warren, 
Ralph  Livesey,  Esqrs.  ;  John  Holme,  Vicar  of  Blackburn,  and  John 
Walmsley,  of  Royle,  within  Tockholes,  yeoman,  the  said  principal  sum 
of  ^"163,  to  be  by  them  invested  for  the  use  of  the  preaching  minister 
for  the  time  being  at  Tockholes  Chapel.  The  decree  is  dated  Nov. 
3rd,  1724.  It  was  confirmed  by  the  Court  of  Chancery  of  Lancaster, 
by  an  Order  dated  March  3rd,  1726.  In  1735,  another  gift  of  a  parcel 
of  land,  in  Goosnargh,  was  made  to  this  chapel ;  this  farm  was  let  for 
;£8o  a  year  in  1830. 

To  meet  a  benefaction  of  ^200  by  Ralph  Livesey,  Esq.,  dated  9th 
Nov.,  1725,  the  Governors  of  Queen  Anne's  Bounty  gave  ^200  for  the 
augmentation  of  Tockholes  benefice.  A  second  sum  of  £200  was 
granted,  by  lot,  from  the  said  Bounty,  in  1801  ;  and  in  1821,  a 
Parliamentary  grant  of  ;£ioo  was  made  to  the  endowment,  by  lot. 
The  living  was  valued  at  ^95  per  annum  in  1834  ;  and  was  worth 
;£i6o  prior  to  the  recent  augmentation  by  the  Ecclesiastical  Commis- 
sioners to  ^300  per  annum.  The  Vicar  of  Blackburn  is  patron. 

In  1825,  the  old  fabric  having  become  infirm,  a  fund  was  started 
for  a  new  church.  A  local  subscription  of  ^£1000  was  raised  ;  the 
Church  Building  Society  granted  £200,  and  the  Parliamentary  Com- 
missioners made  a  grant  of  £1,200.  Mr.  William  Pickering  gave  a 
plot  of  1,840  square  yards  for  a  site  for  the  new  church  and  for  an 
extension  to  the  church-yard.  The  old  chapel  stood  a  little  to  the 
south  of  the  present  edifice,  and  was  not  taken  down  until  the  new 
church  was  completed.  The  foundation  stone  of  the  new  church  was 
laid  on  Thursday,  Feb.  23rd,  1832,  by  Lawrence  Brock-Hollinshead, 
Esq.,  lord  of  the  Manor.  The  Rev.  Gilmour  Robinson  was  then 


696  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

incumbent.  The  church  was  completed  in  1832,  and  was  consecrated 
by  the  Bishop  of  Chester,  November  26th.  The  church,  dedicated  to  St. 
Stephen  the  Martyr,  is  a  chaste  structure,  of  the  early  English  style.  Its 
plan  consists  of  a  nave,  chancel,  porch  on  the  south  side,  and  a  square 
projection  at  the  west  end  in  place  of  a  tower,  surmounted  by  angle 
turrets,  each  with  four  pinnacles.  The  windows  are  of  lancet  shape, 
coupled.  The  east  window  of  the  chancel  and  the  west  window  of  the 
tower  consist  of  triplets  of  lancet  lights.  The  main  entrance  is  by  a 
porch  on  the  south  side,  under  a  pointed  arch.  The  side  walls  are 
supported  by  buttresses  with  triangular  heads.  Interiorly,  the  dimen- 
sions are  about  74  feet  in  length  by  45  feet  wide.  There  is  a  west 
gallery;  and  there  are  sittings  for  804  persons,  of  which  410  are  free. 

The  list  of  Incumbents  of  Tockholes  subjoined  is  perhaps  deficient  in  two  or 
three  names: — John  Worthington  (Presbyterian)  1646-1647;  Alexander  Gilbert 
(Presbyterian)  1649-1650  ;  William  Stones  (Curate  of  Tockholes  and  Darwen)  1689- 
1720,  died  Nov.  1720;  Samuel  Simpson  1721-1724;  William  Crombleholme  1724- 
1729  (instituted  Vicar  of  St.  Michael-le-Wyre  in  1729);  Thomas  Holme  1729-1736; 
John  Hadwen  1736-1766;  Thomas  Baldwin  1766-17 — ;  John  Wilson  1769-17—; 

Thompson  ;  William  Fletcher  1799;  James  Dodgson  1805  ;  Richard  Garnett, 

1826;  Gilmour  Robinson,  1830-1856;  W.  M.  Haslewood,  B.A.,  1857-1861;  Charles 
Hughes,  B.A.,  1861  (present  Vicar). 

THE  OLD  NONCONFORMIST  MEETING-HOUSE. 

A  congregation  of  Nonconformists  has  existed  in  Tockholes  since 
the  year  1662,  when  a  number  of  parishioners  refused  compliance  with 
the  Act  of  Uniformity.  They  had  probably  no  regular  ministry  until 
the  King's  licenses  were  granted  for  nonconforming  preachers  and 
meetings  in  1672.  May  ist,  1672,  a  license  was  obtained  for  "John 
Harvie  to  be  a  Presbyterian  Teacher  in  a  meeting-house  at  Tocklez 
[Tockholes]  erected  for  that  purpose  in  the  Parish  of  Blackburne  ;"  and  a 
license  for  the  Meeting-house  at  Tockholes  is  dated  May  8th,  1872  (see 
ante,  p.  189).  Mr.  John  Harvey  continued  to  preach  at  Tockholes  for 
several  years.  A  church-society  was  constituted  on  a  Presbyterian- 
Congregational  basis.  In  1674,  I  find  Mrs.  Yates,  wife  of  Mr.  William 
Yates  of  Blackburn,  dismissed  from  Mr.  Thomas  Jollie's  church  at 
Wymond-houses  "  to  Mr.  Hervey  and  his  society,"  />.,  to  Tockholes. 
Mr.  John  Harvey  went  from  Tockholes  to  Chester;  and  after  an 
interval,  Mr.  Robert  Waddington  became  the  minister  at  Tockholes. 
He  was  son  of  Mr.  John  Waddington,  of  Whalley.  He  had  been  an 
elder  in  Mr.  Jollie's  church  ;  and  his  desire  to  preach  on  trial  is 
recorded  in  1677.  He  was  ordained  a  minister  in  1682.  Mr.  Jollie 
entered  in  his  Church  Book,  in  1681  : — "Mr.  Waddington  not  ordained 
when  expected,  from  ministers  and  people  failing,  but  done  afterwards 


OLD  NONCONFORMIST  MEETING-HOUSE,  TOCKHOLES.       697 

honourably."  A  reference  to  the  ordination  is  found  in  Hunter's  "  Life 
of  Oliver  Heywood."  Mr.  Hunter  says  that  the  ordination  of  Mr. 
Robert  Waddington,  who  had  been  a  ruling  elder  in  Mr.  Jollie's  church, 
commenced  on  May  i6th,  1682,  at  Mr.  Jollie's;  was  adjourned  to  June 
6th,  when  Mr.  Oliver  Heywood  was  there  ;  Mr.  Frankland  (of  Rathmell 
academy)  and  his  son ;  Mr.  Benson  (of  Hoghton  Tower) ;  Mr.  Green- 
wood of  Lancaster,  and  Mr.  Kay.  Mr.  Jollie  acted  as  moderator. 

The  "  erected  meeting-house"  mentioned  in  the  license  of  1672 
might  be  an  adapted  building ;  which  was  disused  when  the  Noncon- 
formists, I  imagine  after  the  Revolution  of  1688,  obtained  for  a  time 
the  use  on  alternate  Sundays  of  the  ancient  Chapel-of-ease.  It  was  only 
when  the  Bishop  had  at  length  inhibited  this  irregular  arrangement, 
that  the  Presbyterians  proceeded  to  erect  a  permanent  chapel  for 
themselves.  Between  1690  and  1700,  the  names  of  James  Walmsley, 
yeoman,  Hugh  Marsden,  yeoman,  Robert  Etough,  yeoman,  Miles 
Baron,  Evan  Haydock,  and  William  Haworth,  all  of  Tockholes,  and 
Robert  Boardman  of  Livesey,  gent.,  occur  as  prominent  men  of  the 
Dissenters  of  Tockholes.  A  tradition  exists  that  the  eminent  John 
Howe  preached  at  Tockholes  during  his  visits  to  Hoghton  Tower  from 
1688  to  1700.  In  the  beginning  of  1710,  a  site  was  purchased  on 
which  to  build  a  Meeting-house.  An  abstract  of  the  conveyance  of  the 
site,  dated  April  ist,  1710,  is  appended  : — 

Indenture  made  the  1st  April,  1710,  between  James  Garsden,  of  Tockholes, 
yeoman,  son  of  William  Garsden,  deceased,  and  Jennet  Garsden,  widow  and  relict  of 
the  said  decedent  on  the  one  part,  and  James  Marsden,  Robert  Etough,  and  James 
Walmsley,  all  of  Tockholes,  yeomen,  on  the  other  part, — Witnesseth  that  James 
Garsden  and  Jennet  Garsden,  in  consideration  of  £$  to  them  paid  by  James  Marsden, 
Robert  Etough,  and  James  Walmsley,  have  sold,  &c.,  unto  James  Marsden,  Robert 
Etough,  and  James  Walmsley,  their  heires  and  assignes,  all  that  portion  or  parcell  of 
land  now  meered  and  set  forth  in  and  ditched  out  of  and  from  one  close  of  land  called 
the  Upper  Croft,  in  Tockholes,  parcell  of  the  tenement  of  him  the  said  James  Garsden 
(the  said  parcell  conteyning  by  computation  Twenty  Yards  square,  and  being  intended 
to  have  a  building  erected  upon  it),  to  have  and  hold  the  same  parcell  of  land  and 
premises  to  the  sole  use  of  the  said  James  Marsden,  Robert  Etough,  and  James 
Walmsley,  for  ever.  (Signed),  James  Garsden,  Jennet  Garsden — Witnesses,  Edward 
Eccles,  Hugh  Marsden,  Henry  Norris. 

The  chapel  was  built  upon  the  site  thus  acquired,  and  was  finished 
before  October,  1710.  It  was  a  small  oblong  building,  with  thatched 
roof  and  square  turret  at  the  north-west  end.  The  requisite  certificate 
from  the  County  Sessions  was  procured,  and  is  copied  below : — 

1710. — Certificate  of  Justices  in  Session  at  Wigan,  for  Service  in  Tockholes 
Chapel— Lane.  SS  :  These  are  to  certiffye  that  at  the  Generall  Q'r  Sessions  of  the 
Peace  held  by  adjournment  at  Wiggan,  in  and  for  the  County  Pallatine  of  Lancaster, 
the  Nynth  day  of  October,  Anno  D'ni  One  Thousand  Seaven  hundred  and  Tenn,  A 


698  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Certaine  Ediffice,  newly  erected  within  Livesey-in-Tockholes  in  the  said  County,  is 
recorded  for  a  Meeting-place  for  an  Assembly  of  persons  dissenting  ffrom  the  Church 
of  England,  for  the  exercise  of  theire  religious  worshipp,  pursuant  to  an  Act  of 
Parliament  entituled  An  Act  for  Exempting  their  Majesties'  Protestant  Subjects 
dissenting  from  the  Church  of  England  from  ye  Pennaltyes  of  certaine  Lawes, 
according  to  the  tenor  and  purport  of  the  said  Act.  All  which  is  humbly  certiftyed 
by  RICHD.  EDGE,  Clerk  of  the  Peace  there. 

At  this  period  the  conforming  and  nonconforming  inhabitants  of 
Tockholes  were  not  so  clearly  distinguished  as  now.  Many  attended 
the  Chapel  of  St  Michael  and  the  Presbyterian  Meeting  on  alternate 
Sundays.  Dated  1714,  a  statement  in  the  records  of  the  chapelry  is 
to  this  purport : — "  Most  of  the  inhabitants  frequent  a  Presbyterian 
Meeting-house  there  is  within  the  chapelry  those  Sundays  there  is  no 
service  in  their  own  chapel."  Mr.  Robert  Waddington,  after  being 
minister  at  Tockholes  about  thirty  years,  died  before  1715.  A  small 
MS.  book  of  accounts,  in  possession  of  the  late  Mr.  Moses  Aspden, 
shows  the  contributions  for  the  minister's  stipend  from  1715  to  1750. 
Some  leaves  at  the  beginning  of  the  book  have  been  taken  out  and  the 
first  entry  is  dated  May,  1715.  The  receipt  is  entered  at  the  foot  of  the 
page  : — "  Received  the  contents  hereof  by  me,  John  Waddington." 
(He  was  probably  son  of  the  deceased  minister.)  The  pew-rents  at 
Martinmas,  1715,  produced  £6  25.  6d.,  and  the  contributors  were  : — 

James  Walmsley  IDS.  ;  Alex.  Gerrard  2s.6d. ;  George  Woodcock  2s.6d. ;  Thomas 
Marsden  55. ;  Daniel  Catterall  45. ;  Wm.  Bolton  2s.  6d. ;  Roger  Fishwick  53. ;  Alis 
Livesey  is.;  Thomas  Withnell  is.;  James  Haydock  55.;  William  Halliwell  2s. ; 
Widdow  Topping  2s.  6d. ;  Wm.  Haworth  2s.  6d. ,  Ralph  Walmsley  IDS.  ;  Oliver 
Pearson  53. ;  Thurstan  ffishwicke  2s.  6d. ;  Thomas  ffoole  55. ;  Widow  Marsden  53. ; 
James  Marsden  2s.  6d. ;  John  Aspden  55. ;  Edward  and  Robert  Boardman  55. ;  Henry 
Norres,  53.;  James  Marsden  53. ;  Thomas  Holden  6s. ;  Wm.  Dewhurst  IDS.  ;  Robert 
Etough  IDS. 

About  the  end  of  1 7 1 5  Mr.  Peter  Valentine  was  appointed  minister, 
and  he  gives  receipt  for  stipend  Feb.  Qth,  1715-16.  A  category  of 
Dissenting  Meeting  Houses  in  1715,  in  the  Dr.  Williams  Library, 
London,  names  "  Tockholes  ;  preachers  (in  succession)  Robert  Wad- 
dington;  Peter  Valentine  1715;  James  Towers  ;  No.  of  hearers  265; 
Votes  for  the  County  30  ;  votes  for  borough  (Preston)  i." 

In  1716  the  chapel  fabric  was  transferred  to  trustees  by  the  parties 
who  had  before  held  the  property  on  behalf  of  the  congregation.  This 
first  trust-deed  of  the  chapel  I  cite  below  in  abstract : — 

Indenture  made  the  loth  July,  2nd  Geo.  I.,  A.D.  1716,  between  James  Marsden, 
senior,  Robert  Etough  and  James  Walmsley,  all  of  Tockholes,  yeomen,  on  the  one 
part,  and  Henry  Norris,  of  Hoghton,  gentleman,  Robert  Bury,  of  Hoghton,  Edward 
Boardman,  of  Witton,  Robert  Boardman,  of  Livesay,  Richard  Dewhurst,  of  Withnell, 
Richard  Haydock  of  Tockholes,  and  Thomas  Marsden,  of  Whittle,  on  the  other  part, 


OLD  NONCONFORMIST  MEETING-HOUSE,  TOCKHOLES.      699 

reciteth  that  whereas  certain  of  his  Majestie's  Protestant  subjects,  dissenting  from  the 
Church  of  England,  heretofore  had  the  use  of  the  Parochial  Chapell  in  Tockholes 
certain  days  monthly  for  the  exercise  of  their  Religious  Worship,  and  being  afterwards 
abridged  thereof  by  the  Bishopp  of  Chester,  they  have,  rather  than  contest  their  liberty 
thereto  with  his  Lordshipp,  bought  a  parcell  of  land,  part  of  the  close  called  the 
Upper  Croft  within  Tockholes  aforesaid,  being  about  Twenty  yards  square,  and  there- 
upon have  built  an  Edifice  which  is  now  certified,  recorded,  and  used  for  the  worshipp 
of  such  Dissenters,  and  the  estate  in  law  thereto  is  now  vested  in  them  the  said  James 
Marsclen,  Robert  Etough,  and  James  Walmsley  ;  and  witnesseth  that  they  the  said 
James  Marsden,  Robert  Etough,  and  James  Walmsley,  to  the  intent  to  continue  the 
place  so  purchased  and  recorded  for  the  religious  worship  of  such  Protestant  Dissenters 
according  to  the  laws  tolerating  the  same,  and  to  that  end  for  granting  the  title 
thereto  to  proper  persons,  and  in  consideration  of  55.  to  them  paid  by  the  said  Henry 
Norris,  Robert  Bury,  Edward  Boardman,  Robert  Boardman,  Richard  Dewhurst, 
Richard  Haydock  and  Thomas  Marsden,  &c. ,  convey  unto  the  said  Henry  Norris  [and 
the  others],  their  heires,  &c.,  all  that  the  aforesaid  parcell  of  land,  being  about  Twenty 
yards  square,  part  of  the  said  Upper  Croft,  in  Tockholes,  with  the  Edifice,  Chapell, 
or  Building  thereupon  erected,  and  all  the  whole  estate,  &c.,  of  the  said  James  Mars- 
den, Robert  Etough,  and  James  Walmsley,  to  have  and  hold  the  said  Edifice,  Land 
and  premises  to  the  sole  use  of  the  said  Henry  Norris  [and  the  others],  as  Feoffees  and 
Trustees  to  the  intent  that  they  shall  permitt  the  said  Edifice  to  be  quietly  used  and 
enjoyed  for  the  religious  worship  and  service  of  his  Majestie's  Protestant  subjects 
dissenting  from  the  Church  of  England,  according  to  the  laws  in  being,  so  long  and  so  far 
as  by  law  the  same  shall  be  permitted.  And  to  this  further  intent,  that  the  survivors 
of  them  [the  said  trustees],  shall  within  twelve  months  after  the  death  of  any  of  them 
elect  another  Protestant  Dissenter  to  be  a  Trustee  herein  in  the  room  of  such  decedent, 
and  that  when  there  shall  only  be  three  of  them  surviving,  such  survivors  shall  grant 
over  the  said  Edifice,  Land  and  premises,  and  their  title  therein,  to  such  new  Trustees 
(and  surviving  old  ones),  being  Protestant  Dissenters,  as  shall  be  agreed  upon  by  such 
survivors  and  new  Trustees,  on  the  trusts  and  for  the  uses  aforesaid,  to  the  end  the 
said  religious  service  there  may  be  continued  whilst  the  same  shall  by  law  be  tolerated 
or  permitted.  (Signed)  James  Marsden,  Robert  Etough,  James  Walmsley. — (Wit- 
nesses)— William  Shawe,  Joseph  Shawe. 

In  1735,  by  an  indenture  dated  March  2nd,  the  trustees  mentioned 
in  the  first  Trust  Deed,  being  then  reduced  to  three,  viz.,  Henry  Norris, 
Robert  Boardman,  and  Richard  Haydock,  conveyed  the  chapel  and  site 
to  a  new  body  of  Trustees.  The  trustees  under  the  deed  of  1735  were 
Adam  Richardson,  James  Marsden  (son  of  Hugh  Marsden),  Thomas 
Aspden,  all  of  Tockholes  ;  Ralph  Walmsley,  of  Upper  Darwen ;  James 
Marsden  and  Peter  Marsden  the  younger,  both  of  Withnell ; — all  yeomen. 

The  Hoghton  family  of  Hoghton  Tower  were  early  patrons  of  the 
Nonconformist  Church  at  Tockholes.  When  the  chapel  was  pewed, 
two  large  square  pews  were  allotted  to  the  use  of  the  Hoghton  family 
and  their  domestics  ;  to  the  door-panels  of  which  were  attached  oaken 
shields,  bearing  the  monogram  of  Lady  Mary  Hoghton,  the  letters  M 
and  H  interlaced.  These  pews  have  recently  been  removed  and 
replaced  by  rows  of  single  pews ; — one  of  the  shields  with  the  monogram 


7oo  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

is  now  in  the  writer's  possession.  The  first  instance  in  which  the 
Hoghtons  appear  in  the  accounts  as  occupants  of  pews  in  Tockholes 
Chapel  is  at  the  Martinmas  collection  in  1716.  Lady  Mary  Hoghton, 
(widow  of  Sir  Charles  Hoghton  who  died  in  1710)  then  paid  for  her 
pews,  as  entered : — "  ist  [Pew]  of  the  Honrble.  Lady  Hoghton,  73.; 
2nd  Ditto  75.  6d."  At  Martinmas,  1717,  the  rent  of  Lady  Hoghton's 
pews  had  been  increased  to  8s.  for  the  first  and  125.  6d.  for  the  second, 
and  the  total  amount  collected  for  that  half  year,  and  paid  to  the 
minister,  Mr.  Peter  Valentine,  was  fy  145.  About  this  period  the 
chief  supporters  of  Nonconformity  in  Tockholes  were,  besides  Lady 
Hoghton,  five  yeomen,  who  are  found  paying  at  each  collection  a  rent 
of  i  os.  each  for  their  pews.  They  were,  Mr.  John  Aspden,  Mr.  James 
Walmsley,  Mr.  Ralph  Walmsley,  Mr.  Wm.  Dewhurst,  Mr.  Robert 
Etough,  and  Mr.  James  Marsden.  Mr.  Robert  Etough  acted  as 
treasurer,  and  probably  the  entries  in  the  account  book  are  in  his  hand- 
writing, from  the  beginning  of  the  record  until  May,  1724,  when 
another  hand  appears,  and  the  minister's  receipts,  written  at  the  foot  of 
the  account,  are  then  to  Mr.  James  Walmsley,  instead  of,  as  previously, 
to  Mr.  Robert  Etough.  Mr.  Peter  Valentine  resigned  his  ministry 
here  in  1721.  His  last  receipt  for  stipend  is  dated  August  6th,  1721. 
Mr.  James  Towers  became  minister  in  1721 ;  and  continued  about  27 
years.  In  the  Baptismal  Register  of  Blackburn  Parish  Church  is  the 
entry: — "Nov.  26th,  1726.  Isabel,  daughter  of  Mr.  James  Towers,  of 
Tockholes,  Dissenting  Minister."  Dr.  Halley  describes  the  preaching 
of  Mr.  Towers  as  having  been  "  strictly  orthodox."  His  last  receipt  for 
salary  is  signed  on  May  7th,  1749.  He  died  about  1749,  and  was 
buried,  with  his  wife  and  a  son  John,  in  the  chapel,  underneath  the 
pulpit.  Other  sons,  James  and  Thomas  Towers,  are  among  the  pew- 
holders  in  1751.  Mr.  Towers  had  a  grandson,  Rev.  George  Towers,  a 
Congregational  minister  at  Whitworth. 

The  last  entries  in  the  old  book  of  seat-rent  accounts  are  dated  November  i/th, 
1751.  At  that  time  the  names  of  the  pew-holders  or  subscribers  to  the  minister's 
stipend  were  the  following  : — Jeremiah  Grime,  James  Marsden,  Robert  Dewhurst, 
Elizabeth  Plumb,  Adam  Richardson,  Jane  Walmsley,  Lydia  Walmsley,  Joseph 
Grime,  Robert  Haworth,  John  Topping,  Hannah  Aspden,  James  Towers,  John 
Woodcoke,  Richard  Houghton,  Thomas  Beardwood,  Peter  Marsden,  Lawrence 
Haslam,  Henry  Jepson,  Roger  Ward,  Hugh  Wood,  Benjamin  Ingham,  Widow 
Hodson,  Esur  Haworth,  John  Watson,  Widow  Kershaw,  Lawrence  Halliwell,  William 
Boardman,  Thurstan  Marsden,  George  Berry,  Widow  Derbyshire,  William  Marsden, 
Robert  Marsden,  William  Houghton,  John  Ward,  Humphrey  Gorse,  John  Marsden, 
Halliwell's  Daughters,  Quartus  Marsden,  Alice  Marsden,  Joseph  Astmough,  Jenet 
Houghton,  Thomas  Towers,  Hester  Astmough,  Henry  Bury,  Margaret  Marsden, 
Joseph  Bury,  Robert  Boardman. 

At  various  times,  by  several  donors,  sums  have  been  given  to  this  foundation  to 


OLD  NONCONFORMIST  MEETING-HOUSE,  TOCKHOLES.       701 

assist  the  minister's  stipend.  Some  of  the  bequests  have  been  lost ;  others- have  been 
appropriated  to  repairs  of  the  minister's  house  aud  of  cottages  on  the  estate.  Of  some 
gifts  the  only  record  is  the  entry  in  the  seat-rent  accounts  of  items  of  interest  paid  on 
account  thereof.  The  following  appear  : — May,  1716,  "  Mrs.  Coop's  Interest  £i." — 
Oct.,  1719,  "Andrew  Makinson's  Interest  £l  ;"  "Abbott's  Interest  £i." — May, 
1720,  "James  Marsden,  Peter's,  Interest  55." — May,  1724,  "  Interest  from  Edward 
Boardman  ^i  los. ;"  "  Interest  from  James  Marsden  73." — May,  1728,  "Interest  of 
William  Grimshaw's  wife  £i  35." — May,  1736,  "I.  M.  [James  Marsden]  6s.;  W.  G. 
[Wm  Grimshaw]  £i  is.  3d.;  E.  B.  [Edward  Boardman]  £l  los." — May,  1733, 
"  R.  W.  [Ralph  Walmsley's]  Interest  £1  2s.  iod.;  R.  B.  Interest  6s."— Nov.,  1734, 
"E.  B.  Interest  £2."— May,  1735,  "  Executors  of  E.  B.  Interest  £1  ;  A.  B.  Interest 
6s.;  I.  M.  Interest  6s." — About  this  time  a  benefactor  named  Cross  left  a  sum  of 
money,  the  half-yearly  interest  of  which  was  at  first  £2  IDS.,  and  afterwards  £$. 
The  next  entries  are: — Nov.,  1735,  "Cross's  Interest  £2  IDS." — "May,  1736, 
"Crosss  Interest  £2  los. ;  I.  M.  Interest  2s."  &c. — May,  1738,  "Cross  Interest 
£2  los.,  and  2s.  6d.,  one  quarter  for  £20." — May,  1740,  "Cross  Interest  .£3  ;"  and 
"I.  P.  Interest  6s."— May,  1743,  "  Pickop's  Interest  us."— May,  1744,  "James 
Entwistle's  Interest  l6s." — Nov.,  1745,  "Received  Interest  from  Preston,  Six 
Pounds"  (Interest  on  Cross's  gift,  probably).— Nov.,  1746,  "Six  Pounds  Interest 
from  Preston  received. " 

A  small  estate  of  land  in  Mellor  was  given  to  this  Dissenting 
Community  in  the  early  part  of  the  last  century,  by  an  unknown  donor, 
perhaps  by  a  member  of  the  Hoghton  family.  The  estate  was  ex- 
changed for  another  in  Tockholes  a  century  since,  and  thus  the  title 
deeds  of  the  original  property  are  not  accessible.  By  an  indenture 
dated  Aug.  20th,  1772,  the  trustees  conveyed  in  exchange  to  Mr.  Wm. 
Higginbotham  of  Manchester  "  all  the  several  parcels  of  land,  meadow 
and  pasture,  with  the  Messuages,  barn,  and  other  buildings  lately 
erected/'  &c.,  being  "parcel  of  a  tenement  called  Little  Areleys,  in  the 
Manor  of  Mellor,"  and  consisting  of  plots  called  "  the  Two  Old  Areleys, 
the  Further  Marsh,  the  Nearer  Marsh,  the  Further  Field,  and  the  Little 
Field,"  with  dwelling  house,  barn,  &c.;  containing  "by  estimate  eleven 
acres  of  land  of  the  measure  there  used."  The  property  in  Tockholes 
secured  in  lieu  had  belonged  to  the  Richardsons.  By  deed  dated  Jan. 
2nd,  1769,  Ralph  Richardson  and  others  mortgaged  to  Mr.  T.  Walde- 
grave  (then  Minister  of  the  Chapel),  for  ^650  and  interest  at  £4  los. 
per  annum,  certain  houses  and  "  four  closes  called  Wall  Bank,  Hoghton 
Close,"  &c.,  in  Tockholes.  Revd.  Thos.  Waldegrave,  the  mortgagee, 
gave,  by  indenture  of  3rd  April,  1772,  a  lease  to  Thomas  Bennett,  of 
Derby,  Wm.  Higginbotham,  and  others,  for  possession  of  the  same 
estate,  described  to  be  "  the  newly-erected  Messuage  or  dwelling-house 
commonly  called  or  known  by  the  name  of  the  Silk  Hall,"  with  "  a 
cottage  or  dwelling-house  thereto  adjoining;  also  the  newly-erected 
dwelling-house  standing  near  the  same,  and  the  closes  or  parcels  of  land 
known  as  the  Over  Wallbank,  Lower  Wallbank,  the  two  Hoghton 


702  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Closes,"  &c.  In  the  deed  of  exchange  above-mentioned,  by  which  the 
property  passed  to  the  Trustees  of  Tockholes  Chapel,  the  description 
is  : — "  All  that  Messuage  or  dwelling-house,  cottages,  closes,  pieces  or 
parcels  of  land "  comprising  the  "  dwelling-house  known  by  the  name 
of  Silk  Hall,  and  the  cottage  or  dwelling-house  thereto  adjoining,  and 
those  two  newly-erected  cottages  or  dwelling-houses  standing  near  the 
same,  and  the  parcels  of  land  thereto  belonging,  in  Tockholes,  named 
Hoghton  Close  and  the  Edge  Barn,  the  Over  Wallbank,  Lower  Wall- 
bank,  the  two  Hoghton  Closes,  formerly  one  close  only  called  Hoghton 
Close  ;  containing  in  the  whole  by  estimation  six  acres  of  land  of  the 
measure  there  used  "  (customary  measure).  With  this  land  was  paid  a 
"sum  of  ^"85  to  make  an  equality  in  the  said  exchange."  The  estate 
has  been  extended  somewhat  by  the  addition  of  a  portion  of  a  subse- 
quent enclosure  of  waste  land.  The  house  known  as  "  Silk  Hall"  is  a 
three-storied  building,  built  in  1764  by  Mr.  Ralph  Richardson,  for  a 
residence  and  for  the  purpose  of  his  business  as  a  chapman  in  silks, 
whence  the  name  was  derived.  On  the  south-west  front  is  a  gabled 
projection,  forming  the  porch  on  the  ground-floor,  and  over  the  doorway 
are  the  initials  "  R  S  R "  (Ralph  and  Susannah  Richardson),  and  the 
date  of  erection,  "1764."  Since  the  exchange,  the  house  has  been 
appropriated  as  a  manse. 

A  sum  of  ^30  was  added  to  the  endowment  by  bequest  of  Mrs. 
Mary  Guest,  of  Manchester.  The  deed  of  conveyance,  endorsed,  "  ist 
December,  1773, — Mrs.  Guest's  Donation  of  ^30,  settled  in  trust  to 
the  use  of  a  Dissenting  Minister  at  Tockholes,"  is  abstracted  below  : — 

Indenture,  made  Dec.  1st  1773,  between  John  Mellor,  of  Manchester,  sole  acting 
executor  of  the  last  Will  of  Mary  Guest,  late  of  Manchester,  Widow,  deceased,  of  the 
one  part,  and  Adam  Richardson,  senior,  of  Tockholes,  yeoman,  James  Marsden,  of 
Blackburn,  yeoman,  Peter  Marsden  of  Rivington,  yeoman,  Robert  Dewhurst,  of 
Withnell,  yeoman,  John  Bury,  of  Withnell,  yeoman,  and  Lawrence  Halliwell,  of 
Lower  Darwen,  yeoman,  of  the  other  part,  hereinafter  mentioned,  witnesseth  and  it  is 
hereby  declared  and  agreed  by  and  between  the  parties  to  these  presents,  that  a  sum 
of  ^30  has  been  paid  by  John  Mellor  as  trustee  for  Mary  Guest  to  the  said  persons 
upon  trust  that  they  shall  place  out  the  said  sum  of  ^30  at  interest,  or  lay  out  the 
same  in  purchasing  an  estate  or  land  of  inheritance,  and  shall  employ  the  yearly 
interest,  so  long  as  the  laws  of  this  Realm  will  permit,  towards  the  finding,  providing, 
and  maintaining  of  an  able,  godly,  pious  preaching  and  teaching  Protestant  Minister 
or  Ministers  (such  as  are  now  usually  called  Protestant  Dissenting  Ministers)  of  the 
Presbyterian  or  Independent  Denomination,  at  a  chappel  or  Meeting-house  at  Tock- 
holes, in  the  parish  of  Blackburn  and  the  county  of  Lancaster  aforesaid  (wherein 
James  M'Quhae  now  officiates  as  minister),  or  at  such  other  chappel  or  Meeting- 
house as  the  congregation  thereto  belonging,  or  the  major  part  thereof,  shall  hereafter 
erect  within  the  parish  of  Blackburn,  and  for  want  of  such  chappel  or  Meeting-house 
belonging  to  the  said  congregation,  and  upon  the  cessation  of  public  worship  therein, 
then  for  and  towards  the  finding  and  maintaining  of  a  Protestant  Dissenting  Minister 


OLD  NONCONFORMIST  MEETING-HOUSE,  TOCKHOLES.       703 

at  such  other  chappel  or  Meeting-house  of  the  denomination  aforesaid  as  to  the  said 
trustees  shall  seem  proper,  giving  preference  to  such  chappel  of  the  said  Denomination 
(if  any  such  there  be)  within  the  parish  of  Blackburn.  Provided  always  that  if  the 
laws  of  this  Realm  should  disallow  the  public  worship  of  the  said  Denomination,  then 
and  in  such  case  the  then  trustees  shall  employ  the  produce  of  the  said  ^30  to  the 
benefit  of  such  laborious  poor  as  they  shall  think  proper.  Provided  also  that  if  after 
a  prohibition  of  the  said  worship  the  laws  shall  re-grant  a  Toleration,  the  produce  of 
the  said  ,£30  shall  revert  to  the  support  of  the  Ministry  of  the  said  Denomination  in 
the  said  chappel  at  Tockholes.  And  for  the  perpetual  performance  of  the  above  uses, 
trusts,  &c. ,  it  is  declared  that  when  death  shall  reduce  the  number  of  the  said  Trustees 
to  three  or  under,  that  then  the  surviving  trustees  shall  with  all  convenient  speed  elect 
fit  and  proper  persons,  being  Protestant  Dissenters,  and  such  as  statedly  attend  on 
public  worship  of  the  Presbyterian  or  Independent  Denomination  within  the  said 
parish  of  Blackburn,  to  be  Trustees  with  them  or  him  so  surviving  to  make  up  the 
number  six  or  three  at  the  least.  (Signed)  JOHN  MfcXLOR. 

In  the  Parliamentary  Return  of  Owners  of  Land,  made  in  1875, 
the  lands  held  by  the  Trustees  of  Tockholes  Independent  Chapel  are 
stated  at  1 1 24  statute  acres,  with  an  annual  rental  of  £41  25. 

The  successor  of  Mr.  Towers  as  minister  was  the  Rev.  James  Scott, 
who  settled  in  1750.  Mr.  Scott  remained  until  1754,  when  he  removed 
to  Heckmondwike,  in  Yorkshire,  where  he  became  tutor  of  a  Dissenting 
Academy.  Following  Mr.  Scott  was  Mr.  Mercer,  who  came  in  1754, 
and  left  in  1755.  The  next  pastor  was  the  Rev.  Thomas  Waldegrave,  a 
preacher  of  note.  He  was  a  native  of  Norwich,  son  of  Henry  Walde- 
grave, a  Roman  Catholic  gentleman  whose  estate  was  confiscated  for  his 
part  in  the  Jacobite  rising  of  1745.  The  son  became  a  Congregational 
Protestant,  and  attached  himself  to  the  Old  Meeting-House  at  Norwich, 
of  which  Dr.  Wood  then  was  minister.  He  studied  for  the  ministry 
under  Mr.  Scott,  at  Heckmondwike,  and  came  to  Tockholes  in  1755. 
He  removed  to  Bury  St.  Edmunds  in  1771,  and  died  in  1812.  Rev. 
James  M'Quhae  succeeded  him,  and  was  minister  here  about  seven  years 
before  his  removal  to  Blackburn,  where  he  founded  the  first  Congrega- 
tional Church  in  1778.  (See  ante,  p.  360.)  In  1779  there  were  74  house- 
holding  families  in  attendant  at  this  chapel,  numbering  330  persons. 

I  add  a  list  of  Ministers  of  this  Nonconformist  community  since  1672.  The 
duration  of  the  two  first  pastorates  is  somewhat  doubtful  : — John  Harvie  1 672-1 680  (?) ; 
Robert  Waddington  r682-l7!5  ;  Peter  Valentine  1715-1721  ;  James  Towers  1722- 
1749;  James  Scott  1750-1754;  —  Mercer,  1754-1755;  Thomas  Waldegrave  1755- 
1771;  James  M'Quhae,  1771-1778;  — Grimshaw  1779-1782  (removed  to  Forton, 
and  died  there,  in  1838,  aged  96) ;  Noah  Blackburn,  1782-1786  ;  Thomas  Whiteley, 
1787-1819  (died  at  Preston,  aged  82,  Jan  9th,  1843) ;  Joseph  Speakman,  1822-1830; 
Richard  Pearson  1831  ;  John  Birkby  1832-1834;  J.  Porter,  1836-1838;  John  Pen- 
kethman,  1840-1848  (died  at  Tockholes,  May  1st,  1848)  ;  Robert  Abram,  1849-1852 
(died  at  Tockholes,  July  3Oth,  1852);  Charles  Bingley,  1853-1857';  Horrocks  Cocks, 
1857-1861  ;  R.  Crookall,  1861-1865  ;  J.  Robinson,  1867-1875  ;  Robert  Allan  1876 
(present  minister). 


704  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

The  Old  Meeting-House  at  Tockholes  occupies  a  site  in  the  lower 
portion  of  the  township.  Its  front  aspect  is  shown  in  the  engraving. 
Its  plan  is  a  parallelogram,  about  41  ft.  by  26ft.,  with  vestry  in  the  rear. 
The  two  main  doorways  are  square-headed,  with  splayed  jambs  and 
lintels.  The  original  mullion  windows  have  recently  been  replaced  by 
plain  modern  lights.  A  stone  bell-cot  stands  upon  the  west  gable, 
supported  on  pillars.  Surrounding  the  chapel  is  a  graveyard,  which  has 
been  several  times  extended.  Internally,  the  meeting-house  has  the 
pulpit  in  the  centre,  against  the  north  wall ;  an  aisle  traverses  the  midst 
of  the  chapel  lengthwise,  and  two  short  aisles  lead  from  the  entrances 
across  the  chapel.  There  are  galleries  on  three  sides  of  the  chapel. 
The  west  gallery  was  inserted  in  1777,  when  the  edifice  was  re-roofed  ; 
the  east  gallery  was  added  in  1780,  and  the  front  gallery  in  1822. 
In  the  area,  most  of  the  original  pews  remain,  bearing  the  initials  of  the 
first  occupants,  and  the  dates  "  1710"  and  "  1711."  The  former  prac- 
tice of  burial  within  places  of  worship  was  observed  by  many  of  the 
families  connected  with  this  place,  and  the  ground  beneath  the  chapel 
floor  encloses  a  large  number  of  occupied  graves.  It  was  the  usage  to 
allow  persons  to  inter  under  their  respective  pews. 

A  short  distance  from  the  old  Meeting-house  is  a  chapel  known  as 
"  Bethesda  Chapel,"  built  in  1803,  by  a  seceding  party  of  the  congrega- 
tion. The  seceders,  who  joined  Lady  Huntingdon's  Connexion,  after 
some  years  rejoined  the  original  congregation.  "  Bethesda  Chapel " 
then  remained  closed  for  a  considerable  period.  In  the  year  1851,  the 
minister  and  congregation  of  the  Old  Meeting-house  purchased  and 
restored  the  chapel,  and  it  has  since  been  used  for  occasional  services. 
"  Bethesda  Chapel "  is  a  good-sized  structure,  and  has  a  graveyard. 

TOCKHOLES  SCHOOL. — Early  in  the  last  century,  a  school-house  was  built  in 
Tockholes,  the  existence  of  which  was  reported  to  Bishop  Gastrell  about  the  year 
1718,  who  records  : — "  There  is  a  School-house  lately  erected  in  Tockholes  ;  the  only 
endowment  is  2os.,  the  interest  of  which  is  applied  to  the  repairs  of  the  building  by 
the  Trustees,  William  Walmsley,  James  Marsden,  James  Walmsley,  and  Robert 
Aytock  [Eatough].  The  three  last  are  Presbyterians  [Nonconformists],  and,  as  might 
be  expected,  Wm.  Sanderson,  a  Presbyterian,  is  lately  come  to  teach  at  the  said 
school. "  Nothing  appears  respecting  the  subsequent  maintenance  of  this  school.  The 
present  building  for  the  National  School  adjoins  the  church-yard. 

GEORGE  BLORE'S  CHARITY. — Particulars  of  this  charity  have  been  given  under 
Livesey  township  (p.  586).  In  1786,  the  portion  of  Blore's  gift  belonging  to  Tock- 
holes, being  £16,  was  in  the  hands  of  John  Anderton  and  Ralph  Richardson,  and 
yielded  i6s.  a  year.  In  1794,  Mr.  William  Pickering  received  ^i  I  195.,  as  part  of 
this  gift  (the  rest  having  been  lost),  and  he  still  held  the  sum  in  1825. 


WALTON-IN-LE-DALE  TOWNSHIP. 


70S 


CHAPTER  XIX.— THE  TOWNSHIP  OF  WALTON-IN-LE-DALE. 

Situation — Topography — Acreage — Manufactures — Population — Local  Government — Descent  of  the 
Manor — Banastre  Family — Langtons — Hoghtons  as  lords — Walton  Hall  and  Hoghton  Tower — 
Old  Freeholding  Families  and  later  Landowners— Atherton— Banester  of  Banister  Hall — Burscoe — 
Calrow — Kuerden  (Jackson) — Osbaldeston — Pedder — -Serjeant — Walton  of  Little  Walton — Walm.es- 
ley,  and  Winckley  of  Banister  Hall— Woodcock  of  Cuerden  and  Walton— Woodcock  of  Lemon 
House,  Walton— The  Church  of  St.  Leonard  (Low  Church)- St.  Saviour's  Church,  Batnber 
Bridge— All  Saints  Church,  Higher  Walton — Roman  Catholic  Chapels  of  St.  Marie,  Brownedge, 
and  of  St.  Patrick,  Walton  Village- Old  Presbyterian  Chapel— Wesleyan  Chapels— Walton 
Schools — Walton  Charities. 

WALTON-IN-LE-DALE  township  extends  about  two  miles 
along  the  left  bank  of  the  Ribble,  opposite  to  the  town 
of  Preston  and  its  eastern  suburb  of  Fishwick ;  and  from  the  river 
extends  southwards  nearly  three  miles  to  the  stream  of  Lostock,  the 
boundary  of  Leyland  Parish.  Its  name  describes  its  position  in  the 
lowland  of  the  Lower  Ribble,  but  the  territorial  surface  of  the  township 
is  broken  by  the  ridges  of  low  hills  in  the  vicinity  of  that  river.  The 
river  Darwen  divides  the  township  into  two  parts,  and  joins  the  Ribble 
in  the  demesne  of  the  old  manor-house  of  Walton.  The  acreage  of 
Walton  is  large,  amounting  to  4630  statute  acres.  The  Cotton  Manu- 
facture is  represented  by  several  mills  in  Walton  village,  and  in  the 
villages  of  Moon's  Mill  and  Bamber  Bridge.  This  industry  has  enabled 
the  population  to  increase  steadily.  In  1801,  Walton  township  con- 
tained 3832  persons;  in  1811,  4776;  in  1821,  5740;  in  1831,  5767; 
in  1841,  6659;  in  1851,  6855  ;  in  1861,  7383  ;  and  in  1871,  8187.  In 
1877  the  numbers  approach  9000  persons.  The  township  this  year  (1877) 
has  been  placed  under  the  government  of  a  Local  Board  of  Health. 

In  seven  centuries  and  a  half  the  manor  of  Walton  has  been  held 
in  succession  by  representatives  of  the  three  families  of  Banastre,  Lang- 
ton,  and  Hoghton,  as  follows. 

BANASTRE,  LORDS  OF  NEWTON  AND  WALTON-IN-LE-DALE. 

Robert  Banastre,  the  first  of  his  race  who  settled  in  Lancashire, 
was  descended  from  Robert  Banastre,  said  to  have  come  to  England 
with  the  Conqueror,  who  had  a  grant  of  Prestatyn,  N.  Wales.  Robert 

45 


706  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Banastre  had  the  lordship  of  the  Fee  of  Makerfield,  which  gave  to  his 
descendants  the  feudal  title  of  Baron  ;  and,  about  the  year  1130,  Henry 
de  Lascy  gave  to  Robert  Banastre  Walatun  (Walton),  with  its  members, 
Melver,  Eccleshull,  Harawuda,  and  the  two  Derwentas,  "for  the  service 
of  one  knight."  This  Robert  Banastre  had  three  sons, — the  first, 
Richard  Banastre,  died,  s.p.,  before  1204,  and  his  brother  Warin  became 
his  heir ;  the  second,  Warin,  who  also  died  without  issue,  was  succeeded 
by  the  third  brother,  Thurstan. 

Thurstan  Banastre  came  into  possession  of  the  estates  in  1215,  and 
died  in  1218  or  1219.  By  his  wife  Cecilia  he  had  two  sons,  Robert,  the 
heir ;  and  Thurstan  Banastre,  who  had  a  grant  from  his  brother  of  lands 
at  Newton  in  Wirral,  Co.  Chester. 

Robert  Banastre  being  an  infant  of  about  a  year  old  at  the  time  of 
his  father's  death,  his  wardship  and  marriage  were  sold  for  500  marks  to 
Phillip  de  Orreby,  Justice  of  Chester.  He  died,  aged  about  24  years, 
before  July  27th,  1242,  having  had  issue,  by  his  wife  dementia,  sons, 
John,  who  died  in  infancy,  in  1241 ;  and  Robert,  who  was  heir. 

Robert  Banastre,  being  a  child  when  his  father  died,  was  left  in 
ward  to  the  Prior  of  Penwortham.  In  nth  Edw.  I.  (1283)  Robert  Ban- 
astre, Knight,  gave  lands  at  Walton  to  Stanlaw  (Whalley)  Abbey.  His 
wife  was  Alice,  daughter  of  Gilbert  Wodecoke,  and  he  had  one  son, 
James  ;  and  a  daughter  dementia,  who  married  William  de  Lea,  and 
died  before  Feb.  8th,  1290.  She  was  mother  of  Sir  Henry  de  Lea,  and 
of  Sibilla,  wife  of  Sir  Richard  Hoghton.  Robert  Banastre  appears  as 
lord  of  Makerfield  in  1278;  was  living  in  1289,  but  was  dead  before 
1292.  Alice  Banastre,  his  relict,  quit-claimed  to  Stanlaw  Abbey  her 
right  in  land  given  thereto  by  her  husband. 

James  Banastre,  son  of  Robert,  died  in  his  father's  lifetime,  leaving 
issue,  by  his  wife  Elena,  daughter  of  Wm.  le  Botiler,  Baron  of  Warring- 
ton,  a  daughter  Alice,  who  by  her  father's  death  became  next  heir  of 
her  grandfather.  Before  1295,  the  marriage  of  this  heiress  was  granted 
by  Edmund,  Earl  of  Lancaster,  to  John  de  Langton.  Alice  de  Langton 
was  living  in  1304,  but  died  before  18  Edward  II. 

LANGTON,  BARONS  OF  NEWTON  AND  LORDS  OF  WALTON. 

John  de  Langton  was  son  of  Robert  de  Langton  of  West  Langton, 
Co.  Leicester,  and  brother  of  John  de  Langton,  Bishop  of  Chichester. 
By  his  marriage  with  Alice  Banastre  he  assumed  the  lordship  of  Walton- 
in-le-Dale  and  of  Newton.  In  1300,  at  the  instance  of  his  brother,  after- 
wards bishop,  and  then  Chancellor  to  Edward  the  First,  the  King  granted 
to  John  de  Langton  a  charter  of  markets  and  fairs  and  free  warren  in 
Newton  and  Walton.  The  weekly  market  and  a  yearly  fair  of  three  days  in 


LANGTON,  LORDS  OF  WALTON.  707 

Walton  are  thus  specified  : — "  Et  unnm  mercatum  singulis  septimanis  per 
diem  Jovis  apud  manerium  suum  de  Waleton  in  la  Dale,  et  imam  feriam 
singulis  annis  ibidem  per  tres  dies  duraturum  videlicet  in  vigilia  et  in  die  et 
in  crastino  Sancti  Luce  Evangeliste"  John  de  Langton  was  living  in  1332. 
He  had  sons,  Robert,  the  heir ;  and  John  de  Langton,  who  was  pre- 
sented by  his  brother  to  the  Church  of  Wigan  in  1334. 

Robert  de  Langton,  knighted  in  1330,  in  1349  was  holding  in  de- 
mesne and  service  two  carucates  of  land  in  Walton-in-le-Dale,  one  caru- 
cate  in  Over  Darwent,  two  carucates  in  Nether  Darwent,  one  carucate 
in  Mellor  and  Eccleshill,  and  one  carucate  in  Harwood  Parva,  for  one 
knight's  fee.  By  Margaret  his  wife,  Sir  Robert  de  Langton  had  sons, 
John  ;  Richard  (probably  Rector  of  Wigan  in  1359);  and  Robert  (from 
whom  descended  the  Langtons  of  Lowe  in  Hindley).  The  father  died 
Sept.  26th,  1361,  seized  (by  the  inquisition)  of  the  manor  of  Newton, 
&c.;  and  the  manor  of  Waleton  in  the  Dale  with  appurtenances,  by 
knight  service  ;  there  was  in  the  same  manor  one  capital  messuage  ;  and 
in  that  demesne  fourscore  acres  worth  yearly  per  acre  i5d.;  and  twenty 
acres  worth  2os.;  and  two  water-mills  and  one  fishery  worth  yearly  £4; 
with  rents  of  free  tenants  there,  1045.  9^>d.;  and  rents  of  tenants-at-will 
yearly  ^9  175.  41! ;  sum  of  the  yearly  value  of  the  manor  of  Walton 
^£24  2S.  id.;  of  the  manor  of  Newton  ^17  i6s.  9d. 

John  de  Langton,  the  first  son,  died  in  his  father's  lifetime,  before 
1361,  leaving  a  son  and  heir  Ralph,  who  was  found  to  be  21  years  old 
at  his  grandsire's  decease ;  and  a  younger  son  Richard. 

Ralph  de  Langton,  who  succeeded  his  grandfather,  was  knighted. 
He  married  Johanna,  daughter  of  William  de  Radcliffe,  and  had  issue, 
sons,  Henry,  Nicholas,  Thomas,  and  Geoffrey ;  and  a  daughter  Isabel, 
wife  of  Sir  Richard  Venables,  Baron  of  Kinderton.  Sir  Ralph  died 
about  1406.  His  widow  was  living  in  1420. 

Henry  de  Langton,  Esq.,  next  representative,  married,  about  1391, 
Agnes,  daughter  of  John  de  Davenport,  and  had  a  son  and  heir  Ralph ; 
younger  sons,  Hugh,  James,  Thomas,  George,  and  Oliver  (all  named  in 
a  settlement  dated  1422);  and  a  daughter  Isabel,  wife  of  Thomas  de 
Osbaldeston.  Henry  de  Langton  died  Sept.  i4th,  1419,  and  the  Inq. 
post  mort.  dated  2ist  Oct.,  1419,  sets  forth  that  Ralph  de  Langton  being 
seized  of  the  manor  of  Walton  and  the  advowson  of  Wigan  Church,  by 
deed  dated  at  Walton,  i5th  Ric.  II.,  gave  to  his  son  Henry  de  Langton, 
and  Agnes  his  wife,  15  messuages,  160  acres  of  land,  20  acres  meadow, 
20  acres  woodland,  20  acres  moor,  100  acres  pasture,  parcel  of  the  said 
manor  of  Walton,  &c.;  and  Henry  de  Langton  had  died  seized  of  that 
manor  and  advowson,  and  of  the  Manor  of  Newton  and  other  estates. 
Agnes  de  Langton,  his  widow,  was  living  in  1422. 


708  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Ralph  de  Langton  was  son  and  heir,  aged  23  in  1419.  By  Alice 
his  wife  he  had  a  son  Henry.  The  father  was  knighted,  and  Ralph  de 
Langton,  Knt.,  died  the  26th  Feb.,  1431,  having  settled  his  estates  ten 
years  before  (1421).  His  heir,  Henry,  was  aged  12  years  in  1432. 

Henry  de  Langton,  Esq.,  by  Elizabeth  his  wife  (she  died  Nov. 
1 7th,  1472),  had  a  son  Richard ;  and  a  daughter  Joan,  wife,  in  1472,  of 
Richard  Sherburne  of  Stonyhurst,  Esq.  Henry  de  Langton  died  Sept. 
1 3th,  1471,  aged  52.  He  had  granted  his  estates  of  Walton  and 
Newton,  with  100  marks  yearly,  in  trust  to  James  Harrington,  Knt, 
Walter  Wrothesley,  Knt.,  John  Banastre,  son  of  William,  of  Lostock, 
and  James  Banastre,  chaplain. 

Richard  Langton,  his  son,  was  made  a  knight-bannaret  at  Hutton 
Field  in  1482.  He  married  Isabella,  daughter  of  Sir  Thomas  Gerard 
of  Bryn  (she  survived  him,  and  was  living  in  1516),  and  had  issue,  sons, 
Ralph  ;  and  Henry  (who  had  an  annuity  from  his  father  in  1489) ;  and 
daughters,  Jane,  wife  of  Thomas  Rigmaden  of  Wedacre ;  Ellen,  wife 
of  Sir  John  Southworth  of  Samlesbury  ;  Elizabeth,  wife  of  John  Clay- 
ton of  Clayton  ;  and  Isabel.  Sir  Richard  Langton  died  Aug.  23rd, 
1500. 

Ralph  Langton,  Esq.,  aged  26  in  1500,  married,  in  1490,  Joan, 
daughter  of  Sir  Christr.  Southworth,  Knt.  (she  died  in  1505),  and  had 
sons,  Richard;  Thomas  ;  and  William  (living  in  1558,  died  at  Walton); 
and  daughters,  Elizabeth,  wife,  first,  of  Nicholas  Banastre  of  Altham, 
secondly,  of  Henry  Byrom  of  Byrom ;  Isabelj  wife  of  Richard 
Skellicorn  ;  and  Jane,  wife  of  Thurstan  Tyldesley  of  Wardley.  Ralph 
Langton  died  July  29th,  1503.  Richard,  his  eldest  son,  died  June  i6th, 
1511,  aged  17  years,  unmarried,  and  Thomas,  his  brother,  thus  became 
next  heir. 

Thomas  Langton,  aged  14  when  his  brother  died  in  1511,  was  ward 
of  Sir  Edw.  Stanley,  Knt.,  Lord  Monteagle,  whose  daughter  Elizabeth  was 
his  first  wife;  she  died  in  1533,  and  left  issue,  sons,  Edward  ;  Richard 
(Rector  of  Wigan) ;  Thomas;  George:  Anthony;  Francis;  Leonard 
(of  whom  hereafter) ;  and  Christopher ;  and  daughters,  Johanna,  wife  of 
John  Fleetwood  of  Penwortham ;  Jane,  wife  of  Richard  Fitzherbert ; 
Anne,  wife  of  John  Bold,  gent;  Mary,  wife,  first,  of  Thomas  Byrom, 
secondly,  of  Edward  Winstanley ;  and  Eleanor,  wife  of  Edward 
Cholmondeley  of  Coppenhall.  Thomas  Langton  married,  secondly, 
Anne,  daughter  of  Thomas  Talbot,  and  had  by  her  sons,  Roger, 
living  in  1542;  Edward,  living  in  1582;  and  William,  living 
in  1562;  and  a  daughter  Catherine.  Thomas  Langton  was 
Knight  of  the  Shire  in  1554,  and  was  Sheriff  of  Lancashire  in  1556 
and  1567.  Sir  Thomas  Langton  died  in  1569,  aged  72.  His  Will  is 


LANGTON,  LORDS  OF  WALTON.  709 

dated  April  4th,  1569.  Testator  describes  his  estates  as  consisting  of 
600  messuages  with  gardens  and  orchards,  12  mills,  2  7,000  acres  of  land 
(customary  measure),  three-score  pounds  in  rents,  &c.;  which  had  been 
conveyed  to  feoffees ;  desires  to  be  buried  in  the  chancel  of  Lawe 
[Walton]  Church  ;  names  son  Edward  ;  several  daughters;  and  "cousin" 
(grandson)  Thomas,  heir  apparent.  Dame  Anne  Langton,  widow  of  Sir 
Thomas,  died  in  1572  ;  her  Will  bears  date  April  23rd,  i4th  Eliz.,  and 
was  proved  in  June,  1573. 

Edward  Langton,  eldest  son  of  Sir  Thomas,  had  to  wife  Anne, 
daughter  of  Sir  Alexander  Osbaldeston,  by  whom  he  had  a  son  Thomas, 
who  died  in  infancy.  Edward  Langton  died  in  his  father's  lifetime, 
before  1558,  and  his  widow  died  before  1566.  The  five  next  brothers 
of  Edward  were  all  dead,  without  issue,  in  1558. 

Leonard  Langton,  sixth  son  of  Sir  Thomas,  living  in  1558,  died  in 
his  father's  lifetime  before  1562  ;  but  by  his  wife  Ann  (widow  of  Wm. 
Singleton  and  daughter  of  Thos.  Leyburne),  he  had  a  son  Thomas,  born 
in  1561,  who  was  his  grandsire's  heir  in  1569. 

Thomas  Langton  had  been  betrothed  in  childhood  to  Margaret, 
daughter  of  Richard  Sherburne,  Esq.,  but  the  marriage  contract  was  dis- 
solved in  1580,  and  at  the  age  of  19  Thomas  Langton  married  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  Sir  John  Savage  of  Clifton.  He  had  no  issue.  In  1589, 
he  was  sore  wounded  in  a  faction  fight  at  Lea  Hall,  with  Thomas 
Hoghton,  Esq.,  and  his  retainers.  Mr.  Hoghton  was  killed  in  the  fray, 
and  Thomas  Langton  is  supposed  to  have  ceded  his  manor  of  Walton 
to  the  Hoghtons  in  condonation  of  that  mischance. 

In  the  possession  of  the  Hoghton  family  there  was  an  exemplification  dated 
19  Feby.,  33  Eliz.,  of  a  certificate  given  under  hand  and  seal  of  certain  justices  of 
the  peace,  the  Sheriff  and  under- Sheriff,  dated  at  Lathom,  7th  Jany.,  32  Eliz., 
which  was  abstracted  by  Christopher  Towneley,  and  is  to  be  found  in  a  volume  of 
Hoghton  evidences  in  the  library  at  Towneley  Hall,  from  which  the  following  is 
extracted  (kindly  communicated  by  Mr.  Wm.  Langton): — "To  the  Queen,  &c. — Certifi- 
cate of  Edward  Earl  of  Derby,  the  Sheriffe,  and  of  16  justices  of  the  peace.  7th  Jany. , 
32  Eliz.,  (1590),  that  Friday  2lst  Nov.  (1589),  Ann  Hoghton,  late  wife  of  Thomas 
Hoghton,  Esq.,  gave  information  to  the  earl  of  Derby  &  Sir  Richard  Shirburne  that  a 
great  riot  had  been  made  with  armour  &  weapons  at  the  Lea,  in  which  Thomas 
Hoghton  her  husband  and  Richard  Baldwin,  late  tenant  to  ye  Barren,  were  slain. 
They  ordered  watch  and  ward  to  be  kept,  whereupon  Thomas  Langton,  Esq.,  being 
sore  wounded  and  accused  to  be  an  offender  in  the  said  action,  was  presently  appre- 
hended lying  in  his  bed  at  Broughton  Tower  and  committed  to  safe  keeping,  and 
likewise  one  Thomazene  Singleton,  widow,  and  others.  Special  sessions  of  the  peace 
summoned  same  month,  and  24  persons  called.  No  sufficient  jurors  appeared  for  2 
days.  Three  that  did  appear  were  challenged  ;  no  presentment  could  be  made  ; 
evidence  proved  that  Thomazene  Singleton,  widow,  late  wife  of  John  Singleton  of 
Staining,  in  right  of  herself  and  daughters  Alice  and  Elizabeth,  pretended  to  a  good 
right  in  certain  oxen,  kyne  and  other  cattle  which  were  2Oth  November  pasturing  on 


7io  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

the  Ley,  being  the  soil  and  inheritance  of  Thomas  Hoghton,  and  adjoining  his 
mansion  house  called  the  Lea,  and  whereof  he  had  been  in  quiet  possession  for  2  years  at 
least ;  and  because  the  said  cattle  were  before  that  time  removed  from  the  pasture  in 
Staining  which  belonged  to  John  Singleton  by  one  George  Singleton  his  brother  who 
also  claimed  them,  therefore  William  Anderton  of  the  Forde,  a  near  kinsman  of 
Thomazene  Singleton,  on  Thursday,  2Oth  November  at  Walton-le-Dale  required  the 
ayde  of  Thomas  Langton  to  take  the  said  cattle  from  Lea,  and  Thomas  Langton 
being  persuaded  that  they  might  be  lawfully  taken,  he  ordered  Edmund  Toogood  and 
James  Mare  to  summon  sundry  of  his  tenants  in  Walton  to  accompany  him  with  their 
weapons  the  same  evening,  and  did  also  require  then  and  there  the  assistance  of 
Thomas  Singleton  of  Broughton,  Esq.,  for  the  execution  of  the  said  attempt.  So 
Thomas  Langton  of  Walton,  Esq.,  William  Anderton  of  Anderton,  Esq.,  Thomazene 
Singleton,  of  Staining  (and  then  follows  a  list  chiefly  yeomen  of  Staining,  Broughton, 
Walton,  Anderton,  and  among  the  rest  one  Francis  Langton)  armed  with  long  pickes, 
gunnes,  long  staves,  welshe-hooks  upon  long  staves,  swords  &  dagges,  bows  and 
arrows  and  bills,  on  2Oth  November  at  1 1  at  night  assembled  at  Preston-Marsh  about 
2  miles  from  Lea,  and  agreed  to  go  and  drive  away  the  cattle.  They  took  a  watch- 
word "  The  crow  is  white."  Arriving  about  one  after  midnight,  2Oth  Novr.,  Thomas 
Langton  and  the  others  divided  into  2  parts  and  entered  the  close,  viz.,  I  company 
entering  by  the  gate  leading  to  the  upper  court  of  the  Mansion  House,  the  other  tooke 
down  the  gate  and  hedge  of  the  close.  Between  8  &  9  at  night  intelligence  had  been 
brought  to  Thomas  Hoghton  that  Thomas  Langton  and  Thomas  Singleton  were 
assembled  to  do  him  some  displeasure  ;  so  he  put  himself,  his  household  servants  and 
such  other  persons  as  were  with  him  in  a  readiness  to  make  resistance,  and  one 
Bradshawe  sent  for  4  servants  of  Thomas  Hoghton  to  come  to  the  Mansion  House. 
He  mustered  30 persons,  among  the  rest  William  Hulton,  Esq.,  &  his  2  sons  &  2  tenants, 
and  at  9  at  night  with  staves,  I  pike,  I  gunne  charged  with  haile  shott,  2  pistols,  I  bow 
and  arrowes  &  swords  &  dagges  went  out  of  the  gate  of  his  Mansion  House  into  an 
outhouse  very  near  the  gate  &  standing  in  the  said  close  where  were  the  cattle,  and 
going  in  and  out  expected  the  said  Thomas  Langton  and  his  company,  which  entering 
the  close  at  the  gate,  offered  to  drive  the  said  cattle,  and  then  Thomas  Hoghton  and 
his  people  offered  resistance,  and  a  great  affray  began  within  60  yards  of  the  house, 
in  which  Thomas  Langton's  company  often  used  the  watchword  "The  crow  is  white," 
and  called  for  new  and  fresh  men  ;  and  Thomas  Hoghton's  people  used  the  word 
"  Black-black,"  but  whether  as  a  watchword  does  not  appear.  And  in  a  new  &  fresh 
assault  made  on  Thomas  Hoghton  and  his  company  by  the  said  persons  who  had 
entered  the  close,  Richard  Baldwin,  being  one  of  the  company  of  Thomas  Langton,  & 
Thomas  Hoghton  were  then  and  there  slaine,  but  by  whom  it  does  not  appear. " 

Thomas  Langton,  Esq.  was  created  a  Knight  of  the  Bath  at  the 
coronation  of  James  I.  in  1603.  He  died  in  1604,  and  was  buried 
in  Westminster  Abbey  according  to  an  inscription  formerly  in  Wigan 
Church  (but  removed  to  Duxbuiy  Hall)  copied  by  Dodsworth,  as 
follows  : — 

' '  To  Oblivion  and  ye  true  bones  of  Sir  Thos.  Langton  of  ye  Hon'ble  Order  of  ye 
Bathe  Knt.  Baron  of  Newton  Makerfeld  ye  last  of  his  name  and  ye  undoubted 
patron  of  this  church  descended  from  a  most  antient  famous  and  farre  renowned  family 
of  Langton  in  Leicestershire  who  some  times  were  of  great  authority  both  in  ye 
Church  and  Commonwealth  of  this  Kingdome  and  for  ye  space  of  300  yeres  have 
flourished  in  this  County.  A  gentleman  yt  many  times  tugged  with  extremityes  and 


DE  HOGHTON,  LORDS  OF  WALTON.  711 

made  warre  with  ye  worst  of  misfortunes,  &c.  He  departed  this  lief  in  ye  Citty  of 
Westminster  20  Feby.  1604  when  he  had  lyved  44  yeres  and  lyes  buried  nere  ye  high 
altar  in  St.  Peters  Church  adjoyning  to  ye  Abbay." 

DE  HOGHTON,  LORDS  OF  HOGHTON,  LEA,  DARWEN, 
WALTON-IN-LE-DALE,  &c. 

In  the  Testa  de  Nevill  it  is  written  that  Warin  Bushel,  Baron  of 
Penwortham  temp.  William  II.  (1087),  gave  two  carucates  of  land  in 
Hocton  and  Eccleston  to  Hamo  Pincerna,  in  free  marriage  with  his 
daughter ;  and  that,  at  the  date  of  that  record,  Adam  de  Hocton  held 
the  same  Hocton,  namely,  one  carucate  of  land.  Richard,  second  son 
of  Hamo  Pincerna,  had  Hoghton  of  the  gift  of  his  mother,  after  his 
father's  death ;  and  his  son,  Adam,  succeeding  to  this  estate,  was  styled 
Adam  de  Hocton.  His  descendant — 

Sir  Adam  de  Hoghton,  was  living  in  1266,  and  was  then  written  a 
Knight.  By  his  wife  Agnes  he  had  sons,  Richard,  Thomas,  and  Adam. 
He  was  dead  before  Sept.  8th,  1307,  when  inquisition  was  made  to  find 
his  heir,  and  it  was  proved  that  his  son  Richard  was  eight  years  older 
than  his  brother  Thomas,  and  true  heir  to  his  father,  Sir  Adam  de 
Hoghton. 

Richard  de  Hoghton,  Sheriff  of  Lancashire  in  1282,  1291,  and 
1300,  had  by  Christiana  his  wife  a  son  Richard  ;  and  daughters,  Johanna, 
and  Margery. 

Richard  de  Hoghton,  son  of  Richard,  died  without  issue.  He  was 
party  to  a  deed  of  quit-claim  to  the  Abbey  of  Whalley  in  1309.  To  this 
Richard,  Adam  son  of  Richard  Banastre  confirmed  one  messuage  and 
all  his  land  in  the  vill  of  Wythenhill,  &c.,  to  hold  of  the  chief  lord  of 
that  fee ;  and  if  the  said  Richard  de  Hoghton  should  die  without  heirs 
o£  his  body,  .remainder  to  Christiana  mother  of  the  said  Richard; 
remainder  to  Johanna  and  Margery  sisters  of  Richard ;  remainder  to 
Richard  son  of  Adam  de  Hoghton  and  his  heirs. 

Thomas  de  Hoghton,  brother  of  Richard,  died  also  without  issue. 

Adam  de  Hoghton,  the  other  brother,  married  Avicia  de  Howick, 
widow  of  Roger  de  Alston,  and  had  sons,  Richard;  and  Thomas.  He 
held  the  third  part  of  a  knight's  fee  in  Hoghton,  Clayton,  Penwortham, 
Whelton-com-Hepay,  Withenhill,  and  Rothelsworth,  for  which  he  paid 
133.  4d.  yearly  to  the  chief  lord,  the  Duke  of  Lancaster.  Adam  de 
Hoghton  was  dead  before  1307. 

Richard  de  Hoghton,  son  of  Adam,  and  heir  to  his  cousin  Richard 
son  of  Richard,  was  Knight  of  the  Shire  i6th  Edw.  II  (1323).  Sir 
Richard  de  Hoghton  had  married,  in  1309,  Sibil,  daughter  of  William 
de  Lea,  and  sister  and  heir  of  Henry  de  Lea,  lord  of  Lea.  By  this 
marriage,  the  manor  of  Lea  and  other  possessions  of  the  De  Lea  family 


;i2  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN1. 

were  attached  to  the  De  Hoghtons.  Sir  Richard,  by  this  heiress,  had 
issue  a  son,  Adam  ;  and  daughters,  Katherine,  wife  of  Hugh  Venables  ; 
and  Sibyl,  wife,  first,  of  William,  son  of  Richard  de  Bold,  and,  secondly, 
of  Robert  de  Cliderhou.  Sir  Richard  de  Hoghton  occurs  as  witness  to 
a  deed  in  1347,  and  died  in  1349.  His  son — 

Sir  Adam  de  Hoghton,  was  Knight  of  the  Shire  in  1349.  He  was 
twice  married,and  Mr.  Wm.  Langton  thinks  the  first  wife,  Philippa,  was 
mother  of  his  children,  Richard,  Henry,  Agnes,  and  Sibyl.  His  second 
wife  was  Ellen  Venables,  who  survived  him,  and  re-married.  Sir  Adam 
de  Hoghton  occurs  as  party  to  a  deed  with  Robert  de  Cliderhou,  dated 
1353.  His  daughter  Agnes  married,  first,  Thomas  Banastre,  secondly, 
Sir  Wm.  Molyneux,  and  thirdly,  Richard  de  Balderstone  ;  the  younger 
daughter,  Sibyl,  married  Wm.  Banastre,  son  of  Adam  Banastre,  Knt. 

Henry  de  Hoghton,  second  son  of  Sir  Adam,  was  Knight  of  the 
Shire  in  1408.  Sir  Henry,  by  his  wife  Jane,  daughter  and  heir  of 
Richard  de  Radcliffe,  had  no  issue ;  but  he  had  a  natural  son,  Richard, 
of  Leagrim  Park,  whose  son  Henry  Hoghton  was  the  first  of  the 
Hoghtons  of  Pendleton.  Sir  Henry  de  Hoghton  died  Nov.  25th,  1424. 

Sir  Richard  de  Hoghton,  son  and  heir  of  Sir  Adam,  was  in  posses- 
sion before  1377,  when,  in  a  rental  of  Blackburnshire,  it  is  recorded  that 
Ric.  Hoghton,  chevalier,  held  one  knight's  fee  in  Walton,  Mellor,  and 
Eccleshill  of  the  lord  of  that  fee.  He  was  Knight  of  the  Shire  in  1422  ; 
he  occurs  as  Duchy  Escheator  in  1380  ;  and  as  Seneschal  in  1410.  By 
his  wife  Johanna  he  had  sons,  William,  and  Edward.  Sir  Richard  de 
Hoghton  died  June  30th,  1415.  The  Inq.  post  mort.  taken  at  Preston 
nth  July,  1422,  shows  that  he  held  at  death  the  manors  of  French  Lee 
and  English  Lee  by  knight  service ;  half  the  manor  of  Ashton ;  the 
manor  of  Hoghton,  with  its  members,  Clayton,  Queleton  [Wheelton], 
Hepey,  Rothlesworth,  Wythinhull  [Withnell],  and  Conyldmores,  of  the 
King  by  knight  service,  as  of  the  fee  of  Penwortham;  half  the 
manor  of  Whithill  in  the  Woddes  ;  also  40  acres  of  land  in  Livesey  of 
the  heirs  of  John  de  Livesey  in  socage ;  and  estates  in  other  parts  of 
Lancashire.  Before  his  death  he  had  enfeoffed  William  de  Hoghton 
and  Alice  his  wife  in  the  manor  of  Gosenargh ;  and  Richard  de  Ewod, 
and  William  de  Langton,  chaplain,  in  the  manor  of  Chernock  Richard. 
Sir  Richard  de  Hoghton  founded  a  chantry  in  Ribchester  Church  in  1405. 

Sir  William  de  Hoghton,  son  of  Sir  Richard,  died  in  his  father's 
lifetime,  leaving  by  his  wife  Alice  a  son  Richard,  born  about  1399. 

Richard  de  Hoghton  became  heir  on  his  grandsire's  death  in  1415  ; 
by  whom  he  had  been  endowed  in  1410  with  the  manor  of  Charnock 
Richard.  Richard  de  Hoghton  was  found  heir  of  his  great-uncle  Sir 
Henry  in  1425,  being  then  aged  26  years.  He  was  knighted  in  1443. 


HOGHTON,  LORDS  OF  WALTON. 


713 


By  Margaret  his  wife  he  had  sons,  Henry,  born  about  1420  ;  and  Ralph. 
Sir  Richard  de  Hoghton  settled  his  estates  May  roth,  1458 ;  and  died 
before  February,  1468.  The  inquisition  for  the  escheat,  taken  at 
Preston  Feb.  i4th,  1468,  shows  that  he  had  enfeoffed  Edmund  Locker 
Vicar  of  Kirkham,  and  Thos.  Brown,  Chaplain,  in  all  his  manors, 
messuages  and  lands  in  the  counties  of  Lancaster  and  Chester. 

Henry  Hoghton,  Esq.,  was  found  heir,  aged  40  years  in  1468. 
He  had  married  clandestinely,  or  kept  as  his  mistress,  for  eighteen 
years  before  his  succession,  Helen  Mosson,  and  in  April,  1468,  a  Bull 
from  Pope  Paul  II.  enabled  him  to  make  the  offspring  of  that  connexion 
legitimate.  By  Helen  his  wife  he  had  sons,  Alexander,  William, 
Lawrence,  George,  and  Arthur  (in  Flower's  Visitation  are  added  Thomas, 
and  Edward) ;  and  a  daughter  Helen.  He  died  in  1479,  and  shortly 
before  that  event,  "  Henry  Hoghton,  son  and  heir  of  Richard  Hoghton, 
Knt,  deceased,"  quit-claimed  to  John  Hulton,  gent.,  all  right  he  and  his 
father  had  in  certain  lands  of  the  gift  of  John  Hulton.  In  the  5th 
Henry  VII.  (1489),  an  inquisition  was  taken,  proving  Henry  Hoghton 
to  have  been  seized  of  the  manors  of  Hoghton  and  Lee,  and  half  the 
manor  of  Ashton,  with  200  messuages,  2000  acres  of  land,  5000  acres 
of  meadow,  2000  acres  of  pasture,  300  acres  of  woodland,  1000  acres 
of  turbary,  and  500  acres  of  moor  in  Hoghton,  Lee,  Alston,  Grimsargh, 
Goosnargh,  Whittingham,  Halghton,  Cuerden,  Asheton-juxta-Preston, 
Tulketh,  Ravensmeles,  Chipping,  Dilworth,  and  Goldborne.  After  his 
death,  Helen  Hoghton,  his  widow,  founded  a  chantry  at  the  altar  of  our 
Lady  in  the  Parish  Church  of  Preston,  endowed  with  burgages  in 
Preston,  and  parcels  of  land  in  Walton,  Lea,  and  Fishwick. 

Alexander  Hoghton,  his  heir,  was  aged  26  years  in  1489.  He  was 
created  a  knight-bannaret  in  1482.  He  married  Elizabeth  Troutbeck, 
and  had  a  daughter  Anne.  Sir  Alexander  Hoghton  died  before  1499, 
when  it  was  found  by  inquisition  that  his  daughter  and  heir,  Anne 
Hoghton,  was  aged  n  years.  She  died  before  1508,  seized  of  divers 
lands  in  Lancashire. 

William  Hoghton,  Esq.,  brother  of  Sir  Alexander,  succeeded  to  the 
entailed  estates,  and  was  subsequently  knighted.  He  married,  Mar- 
garet, daughter  of  Sir  Christr.  South  worth,  Knt.,  and  had  a  son  Richard, 
born  about  1469.  Sir  William  Hoghton  died  before  1500;  seized  of 
Hoghton  and  Lea  manors,  and  of  the  landed  estates  before  enumerated. 
His  son  and  heir,  Richard,  was  then  aged  3 1  years. 

Sir  Richard  Hoghton,  Knt.,  son  of  William,  is  referred  to  in  the 
record  of  the  heraldic  Visitation  of  Lancashire  in  1533: — "  Sr  Ric 
Houghton  Knight,  did  mary  [marry]  Alice,  doughter  &  one  of  the 
heyres  to  Sr.  Thomas  Asheton  Knight.  The  said  Sr  Ric.  hath  putt  away 


714  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

his  lady  and  wife,  and  keepeth  a  concubyne  in  his  house,  by  whom  he 
hath  divers  children,  and  by  the  lady  he  hath  Ley  Hall,1  wh.  armes  he 
beareth  quartered  with  his  in  the  first  qr.,  he  says  that  Mr.  Garter 
licensed  him  so  to  doe,  and  he  gave  Mr.  Garter  an  angle  noble,  but  he 
gave  me  nothing  nor  made  me  no  good  chere,  but  gave  rne  proude 
woordes."  Besides  the  daughter  Katherine,  only  named  in  this  record, 
Sir  Richard  had  by  his  first  wife,  sons,  Thomas,  and  Alexander ;  and  a 
daughter  Isabel,  wife  of  -  -  Holden  of  Duckworth.  Sir  Richard's 
second  wife  was  Alice,  daughter  of  —  Morley,  yeoman  ;  by  her  he  had 
sons,  Thomas,  and  Rowland ;  and  daughters,  Agnes,  wife  of  Richard 
Butler  of  Rawcliffe,  Esq.;  Alice,  and  Anne.  His  third  wife  was 
Elizabeth,  daughter  of  John  Grygson,  yeoman,  by  whom  he  had  a 
daughter  Bridget.  His  fourth  wife  was  Anne,  daughter  of  Roger 
Browne,  yeoman,  who  had  before  been  his  mistress  ;  by  her  he  had  no 
issue  after  marriage.  By  her  or  other  mistresses,  Sir  Richard  Hoghton 
had  natural  children,  most  of  whom  seem  to  have  borne  the  father's  sur- 
name, these  :  Richard  Hoghton  of  Park  Hall  (who  by  Margaret  his  wife 
had  a  son,  Richard  Hoghton,  of  Park  Hall  gent,  in  1613);  Gilbert 
Hoghton  (named  as  progenitor  of  Hoghtons  of  Red  Lee,  in  Tockholes) ; 
Arthur,  of  Astley ;  Leonard,  and  George  Hoghton  ;  as  well  as  daughters, 
Elizabeth  (wife  of  Robert  Talbot  natural  son  of  John  Talbot  of  Sales- 
bury);  and  another  Elizabeth,  wife  of  James  Standish  of  Duxbury,  Esq. 
Sir  Richard  Hoghton  died  in  1558,  seized  of  the  manor  of  Hoghton, 
with  lands  in  Hoghton,  Clayton,  Wheelton,  Hepay,  and  Withnell,  held 
of  the  Queen  as  of  her  Duchy  of  Lancaster,  worth  £20 ;  lands,  &c., 
in  Charnock  Richard,  Walsh  Whittle  and  Sherrington,  held  of  the 
Queen,  worth  20  marks ;  lands  in  Ashton,  held  of  the  Queen,  worth 
5  marks ;  manor  of  Lee,  held  of  the  Queen,  worth  533.  4d.;  half  the 
manor  of  Alston,  held  of  the  Queen  by  fidelity,  worth  20  marks  ;  lands 
in  Chipping,  Hothersall,  and  Dil worth,  held  of  the  Queen,  worth  20 
marks ;  lands  in  Hawethe  and  Catterall,  held  of  the  Queen,  worth  405.; 
lands  in  Goldborne,  held  of  Thomas  Hoghton,  worth  403.;  with  other 
lands  in  Roddlesworth,  Bromcroft,  Ollerton,  Plessyngton,  Sholley, 
Ribchester,  Ellston,  Heskyne,  Tockeholes,  Sawreby,  and  Cophull,  held 
of  the  Queen  by  fidelity,  worth  £6  ;  tenements  in  Preston  in  free 
burgage,  worth  iocs.;  lands  in  Chorley  held  of  Edward  Earl  of  Derby, 
Thomas  Lord  Monteagle,  and  Richard  Shirburne,  Knt.,  as  of  their  manor 
of  Chorley,  worth  6os.  8d.;  lands  in  Ince  Blundell,  held  of  the  heir  of 

i  Lea  Hall  did  certainly  not  come  by  this  lady,  but  as  has  been  shewn  from  a  remote  ancestress, 
whose  arms  were  borne  quartered  with  a  similar  coat  of  counterchanged  tinctures  which  the  Hoghtons 
assumed  as  descendants  of  that  heiress  of  Lea.  The  coat  tricked  by  the  herald  gave  the  Ashton  coat 
as  borne  quarterly  ;  whereas,  as  those  of  a  wife,  they  should  have  been  impaled,  or  borne  on  an 
escutcheon  of  pretence. 


HOGHTON,  LORDS  OF  WALTON.  715 

William  Blundell,  Esq.,  worth  6s.  8d.;  lands  in  Eukeston  held  of 
Richard  Molyneux,  worth  ios.;  and  lands  in  Walton-in-le-Dale  held  of 
Thomas  Langton,  Knt.,  worth  405.  Sir  Richard  Hoghton  had  died 
on  the  5th  August  preceding ;  and  Thomas  Hoghton  was  his  son  and 
heir,  aged  41  years. 

Thomas  Hoghton,  Esq.,  succeeding  Sir  Richard,  his  father,  in  1558, 
married,  Katherine,  daughter  of  Sir  Thomas  Gerard  of  Bryn,  and  had  a 
daughter  Jane,  wife  of  James  Bradshaw,  Esq.  Between  1563  and  1565, 
Thomas  Hoghton  built  Hoghton  Tower,  to  replace  the  former  manor- 
house  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  at  Hoghton  Bottoms.  Connected  with  this 
work  were  suits  which  Thomas  Hoghton  had,  in  the  5th  Eliz.,  with  Bar- 
nard Townley  and  Ralph  Holden  respecting  a  contract  for  building  and 
other  works  in  Hoghton  Manor ;  and  in  the  6th  Eliz.  (1563-4),  with 
Jane  Banister  and  William  Mason,  charged  with  trover  and  conversion 
of  certain  timber  trees  which  had  been  felled  by  plaintiff  for  repairs,  and 
were  carried  away  by  the  rising  and  flowing  of  a  river  (the  Darwen) 
through  the  Park  of  Hoghton ;  the  place  of  their  trover  was  Walton-in- 
le-Dale.  Thomas  Hoghton  was  not  long  permitted  to  enjoy  his  new 
mansion.  He  was  a  Roman  Catholic,  and  being  denounced  to  the 
Government  as  an  associate  of  Cardinal  Allen,  he  was  forced  to  quit  the 
country  about  the  year  I569.1  He  sailed  for  the  Netherlands,  and  re- 
mained there  until  his  death,  a  period  of  about  eleven  years,  having 
failed  in  an  attempt  to  make  terms  with  the  Court  for  his  return  to  Eng- 
land. Thomas  Hoghton,  Esq.,  died  at  Liege,  June  2nd,  1580.  It  was 
found  on  the  escheat  that  Alexander  Hoghton,  brother  of  Thomas,  was 
next  heir ;  and  that  Jane,  wife  of  James  Bradshaw,  was  Thomas 
Hoghton's  daughter  and  heir,  then  aged  26  years. 

Alexander  Hoghton,  Esq.,  was  lord  of  Hoghton  in  succession  to 
his  brother  during  about  one  year.  He  married,  first,  in  Feb.,  1575, 
Dorothy,  daughter  of  Richard  Assheton,  of  Middleton,  Esq.,  and 
secondly,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Gabriel  Hesketh,  of  Aughton,  Esq.;  but 
had  no  issue  by  either  of  his  wives.  He  dwelt  chiefly  at  Lea  Hall,  and 
died  there  in  August,  1581.  His  Will,  dated  Aug.  3rd,  was  proved 
Sept.  i2th,  1581.  Testator  "Alex.  Hoghton  of  the  Lea,  Esq.,"  desires 
to  be  buried  with  his  father  Sir  Richard  and  first  wife  Dorothy  in  Preston 
Church  ;  makes  Elizabeth  his  then  wife  sole  executrix  ;  names  a  bastard 
daughter  Margaret,  wife  of  Roger  Crichlowe;  and  brother  Thomas 
Hoghton  of  Brynescoules ;  and  mentions  a  deed  of  agreement,  dated 
2oth  July,  1580,  between  testator  and  his  younger  brother  Thomas,  for 

i  There  is  preserved  a  pathetic  ballad,  purporting  to  be  composed  by  Thomas  Hoghton,  Esq., 
when  he  had  to  leave  his  ancestral  home  and  country  for  conscience-sake.  It  is  entitled  :— The 
Blessed  Conscience  ;  written  on  the  Departure  from  Merry  England  of  Thomas  Hoghton,  Esq.,  of 
Hoghton  Tower."  The  ballad  is  printed  in  Harland's  "  Ballads  and  Songs  of  Lancashire." 


716  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

settlement  of  his  manors,  lands,  &c.      Failing  issue  of  Alexander,  the 
estates  passed  to  his  half-brother  Thomas  as  next  heir. 

Thomas  Hoghton,  Esq.,  is  the  next  scion.  By  articles  between 
Thomas  Hoghton,  Esq.,  and  Elizabeth  Hoghton,  widow,  late  wife  of 
Alex.  Hoghton,  Esq.,  dated  Aug.  iQth,  1581,  it  was  agreed  that  one 
capital  messuage  called  Ashton  Hall,  and  all  lands,  &c.,  late  the  inheri- 
tance of  Thomas  Hoghton,  Esq.,  be  conveyed  to  the  said  Elizabeth 
for  her  life ;  and  she,  at  the  request  of  the  said  Thomas  Hoghton, 
should  cause  her  brethren,  Bartholomew  and  Thomas  Hesketh,  to 
convey  to  Thomas  Hoghton  all  their  estate  in  one  messuage  and  one 
mill  in  Hoghton.  Thomas  Hoghton  married  Anne,  daughter  of  Henry 
Kighley,  Esq.,  and  had  sons,  Richard ;  William  (who  married  Grace, 
daughter  of  Sir  Richard  Sherburne,  and  had  an  estate  in  Grimsargh) ; 
Thomas  (who  married  Katherine,  daughter  and  co-heir  of  John  Hoghton 
of  Pendleton,  gent.,  and  had  four  daughters,  co-heirs);  Adam ;  and 
Henry  ;  and  daughters,  Katherine,  wife  of  Thomas  Middleton,  of  Leigh- 
ton,  Esq.;  and  Mary,  wife  of  Thomas  Walmesley  of  Dunkenhalgh,  Esq. 
The  document  below  is  an  abstract  of  a  plaint  made  in  the  Chancery 
Court  of  Lancaster  by  this  lord  of  Hoghton,  in  1582,  soon  after  his 
entrance  upon  the  estates  : — 

"To  the  Rt.  Worshipp'l  Sir  Gilbert  Gerard,  Knt,  M'r  of  the  Roles,  and  Vice- 
Chancellor  of  the  Co.  Palatine  of  Lancaster. — Humbly  complayning  sheweth  unto 
your  worshippe  Thomas  Hoghton,  Esq.,  that  Richard  Houghton  of  Parke-Hall,  gent., 
bastard  brother  of  the  said  compl't,  hathe  as  well  duringe  the  tyme  that  Thomas 
Houghton,  late  of  Houghton,  Esq. ,  deceased,  was  inhabitinge  and  abydinge  within 
this  realme  and  also  after  his  departure  out  of  this  realme  and  beyond  the  seases  [seas] 
had  the  rule  and  government  of  all  or  the  most  p'te  of  the  landes,  tenementes,  leases, 
and  goods  of  the  said  Thomas  Hoghton,  deceased,  which  said  landes,  &c.,  are  law- 
fully descended  and  come  to  the  said  comp'lte,  and  all  and  singular  charteres,  deedes, 
evidences,  parchmentes,  wrythinges,  Corte  Roles  and  Rentales  are  of  right  belonging 
to  the  said  comp'lte,  and  ought  to  be  delivered  to  [him];  and  also  whereas  the  said 
Richard  Houghton  had  an  intereste,  estaite  and  terme  for  divers  yeares  yet  enduringe 
of  and  in  the  rectory  and  livinge  of  X'ston  [Preston],  and  also  an  estaite  for  divers 
yeares  yet  enduringe  of  the  tythes  of  Houghton  and  also  leases  in  the  Parishe  of  Lea- 
lande  of  the  demise  of  John  ffleetwoode,  Esq.,  and  by  reason  of  havinge  of  the  severall 
leases  and  estaite  of  the  said  last-recyted  [  ],  the  said  Rychard  Houghton  hath  and 
had  in  his  custodie  dyvers  originall  leases  and  assignmentes,  grauntes,  covenantes, 
boundes,  and  other  wrytinges  and  appurtenances  of  the  said  Rectory  and  parsonage  of 
Preston  and  the  other  tythes  of  Preston,  &c. ,  which  said  leases,  &c. ,  complainant 
hathe  by  conveyance,  covenantes,  boundes,  and  other  wrytinges  concerninge  the  same 
Rectory  and  tythes  afforesaid  and  of  ryghte  belonginge  to  the  said  complainant  ;  and 
now  so  it  is,  ryghte  Worshippful  if  it  may  please  your  Worshippe  that  the  said  char- 
tres,  dedes,  &c.,  of  the  said  manor  landes  and  tenementes  of  the  said  complainant  and 
the  said  original  leases,  grantes,  &c.,  to  be  delivered  to  him  by  the  said  Richard 
Houghton  upon  his  corporall  othe,  yt  may  therefore  please  your  Worshippe  to  grante 
the  breves,  warrantes,  precepts,  &c.,  to  be  directed  to  the  said  Richard  Houghton, 


HOGHTON,  LORDS  OF  WALTON.  717 

commanding  him  thereby  to  deliver  to  said  compl't  all  and  every  the  chartres,  dedes, 
&c.,  he  now  hathe  or  at  any  time  heretofore  had  touchinge  or  in  any  wyse  belonginge, 
&c.,  to  the  manors,  messuages,  landes,  tenementes,  and  hereditamentes  of  the  said 
complainant,  or  any  p'te  thereof,  lyinge  and  beinge  within  the  County  of  Lancaster  or 
elleswhere,  and  also  all  and  every  the  original]  leases,  assignmentes,  &c.,  which  he 
now  hathe  or  at  any  time  had  touchinge  and  concerninge  the  Rectory  and  tythes  affore- 
said,  and  every  or  any  part  thereof,  and  the  complainant  humbly  prayeth  that  the  said 
Richard  may  make  his  ansvveare  uppon  his  corporal!  othe  touchinge  all  and  singular 
the  premisses,  and  that  the  same  answeare  may  be  recorded  in  this  Hon'ble  C't,  and 
your  said  orator  shall  dulye  pray  for  the  prosperous  estaite  of  your  worshippc  in  healthe 
longe  to  contynue."  The  plaint  is  signed  "Thomas  Morte."  The  answer  of  Richard 
Hoghton,  the  defendant,  is  signed  "Thomas  Walmysley." 

The  quarrel  which  occurred  in  the  year  1589  between  Thomas  Hoghton, 
Esq.,  and  his  neighbour  Thomas  Langton,  Esq.  (referred  to  before  in  my 
account  of  the  Langtons),  terminated  fatally  to  Thomas  Hoghton.  He  died 
Nov.  2oth,  1589.  The  Itiq.posl  mort.  taken  32nd  Eliz.,  shows  that  Thomas 
Hoghton,  Esq.,  had  held  the  manors  of  Hoghton  and  Lea,  &c.,  with 
800  messuages,  400  cottages,  6  dovecots,  2000  gardens,  1000  orchards, 
20  water-mills,  10  windmills,  6000  acres  of  land,  2000  of  meadow,  3000 
of  pasture,  2000  of  woodland,  1000  of  moor,  1000  of  turbary,  1000  of 
rushland  and  heath,  and  ,£20  of  rents  in  Hoghton,  Lea,  Chipping,  and 
many  other  townships.  Richard  Hoghton,  son  and  next  heir,  was  aged 
20  at  the  date  of  the  escheat.  "  In  ye  margine  it  is  written  that  this 
Thomas  Hoghton  was  slain  at  Lea ;  he  marryed  Anne,  ye  daughter  of 
Henry  Kighley,  shee  was  afterwards  marryed  unto  Richard  Shirburne, 
sonne  and  heire  of  Sir  Richard,  his  second  wyfe."  After  Thomas  Hoghton's 
death,  Thomas  Langton  surrendered  the  Manor  of  Walton  to  his  heir. 

Richard  Hoghton  succeeded  to  the  estates  on  his  father's  death,  at 
the  age  of  19  (he  was  born  Sept.  28th,  1570).  During  his  minority  he 
was  ward  of  Sir  Gilbert  Gerard,  Knt,  Master  of  the  Rolls,  whose 
daughter  Katherine  he  married,  about  1590.  He  was  Sheriff  of  Lanca- 
shire in  1598,  and  was  knighted  in  1599  by  the  Earl  of  Essex,  with 
whom  he  was  serving  in  Ireland.  In  1603  he  was  returned  to  Parlia- 
ment as  Knight  of  the  Shire.  Sir  Richard  was  a  favourite  of  James  I., 
and  by  that  monarch  he  was  created  one  of  the  first  batch  of  baronets, 
on  the  institution  of  the  Order,  May  22nd,  1611.  It  was  this  Sir 
Richard  Hoghton  who  received  the  King  at  Hoghton  Tower  in  August, 
1617  (see  ante,  pp.  95-100).  By  Katherine  his  wife  (who  died,  aged  48, 
Nov.  1 7th,  1617),  Sir  Richard  had  issue,  sons,  Gilbert;  Thomas; 
Richard  ;  Ratcliffe  (married  Anne  Walmesley,  daughter  of  Thomas  of 
Banister  Hall);  and  Roger;  and  daughters,  Anne,  wife  of  Sir  John 
Cotton  of  Landwood,  Knt.;  Frances;  Catherine,  wife  of  Robert  Dew- 
hurst  of  Alston,  gent;  Elizabeth;  Alice;  Margaret;  Gilibert;  and 


718  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Eleanor.  After  his  wife's  death,  Sir  Richard  Heighten  had  two  other 
sons  by  Jane,  widow  of  Robert  Hesketh,  Esq.,  but  whether  in  wedlock 
is  uncertain.  Sir  Richard  Hoghton,  Knt.  and  Bart.,  died  Nov.  isth, 
1630,  aged  60.  The  Inq.  post  mort.,  taken  at  Blackburn,  yth  Chas.  I., 
showed  that  Sir  Richard  was  seized  of  the  estates  before  enumerated, 
for  term  of  his  life  ;  remainder  to  his  son  and  heir,  Gilbert  Hoghton, 
Knt,  for  his  life ;  remainder  to  Richard  Hoghton,  Esq.,  son  of  the  said 
Gilbert,  and  the  heirs  male  of  his  body,  &c. 

Thomas  Hoghton,  Esq.,  second  son  of  Sir  Richard,  and  described 
as  "  of  Hoghton  Tower"  in  1627,  had  sons,  Thomas,  bapt.  at  Brindle 
Church,  Feb.  i2th,  1625-6,  buried  Dec.  28th,  1627;  Richard,  bapt. 
July  22nd,  1632,  died  in  1658  ;  and  Gilbert,  died  young,  in  June,  1632  ; 
and  a  daughter  Elizabeth,  bapt.  April  2oth,  1628. 

Sir  Gilbert  Hoghton,  son  and  heir  of  Sir  Richard,  was  born  in  1591; 
and  at  the  age  of  15  was  knighted  at  Whitehall,  July  2ist,  1606.  He 
"  was  in  high  favour  with  James  I.,  and  had  the  honour  to  be  in  his  ser- 
vice at  Court."  Canon  Raines  adds  that  "  he  was  celebrated  for  his 
elegant  accomplishments,  and  especially  in  dancing.  He  frequently 
took  part  in  the  beautiful  masques  of  this  reign,  and  is  even  mentioned 
by  name  in  Ben  Jonson's  Antimasque  *  for  the  honor  of  Wales,'  presented 
before  the  King  and  his  courtiers,  in  1618-19."  The  brilliant  Jacobean 
poet  and  satirist  Nicholas  Breton,  dedicated,  in  1614,  his  piece  entitled 
"  The  Good  and  the  Bad,  or  Descriptions  of  the  Worthies  and  Unworthtes 
of  this  Age,"  to  "  the  Right  Worshipfull  and  Worthy,  Sir  Gilbert  Hough- 
ton,  of  Houghton,  Knight,  the  noble  favourer  of  vertuous  spirits."  In 
1614,  Sir  Gilbert  Hoghton  was  returned  to  Parliament  as  Knight  of  the 
Shire,  and  represented  Lancashire  in  three  subsequent  Parliaments.  In- 
1616  he  went  to  France  as  a  member  of  the  English  Embassy.  He  was 
Sheriff  of  Lancashire  in  1643.  Sir  Gilbert  Hoghton  was  one  of  the  fore- 
most leaders  of  the  Royalist  forces  in  Lancashire  in  the  Civil  War.  His 
part  in  that  conflict  has  been  described  in  a  former  chapter.  Sir  Gilbert 
married,  before  1613,  Margaret,  daughter  and  co-heir  of  Sir  Roger  Aston, 
Knt,  of  Cranford,  Co.  Middlesex.  He  had  sons,  George,  died  in 
infancy;  Richard,  born  in  1616;  Roger  Hoghton,  a  Royalist  officer, 
"  slain  with  a  cannon  bullet  at  Hessam  Moore,  fighting  on  the  King's 
part,  1643")  ')  Gilbert  Hoghton  ("  major  in  the  regiment  of  Sir  Gilbert 
Gerard,  Knt,"  Governor  of  Worcester  to  King  Charles  I.;  he  married 
Lettice,  daughter  of  Sir  Francis  Gamall,  Knt.,  and  died  in  1661); 
Thomas,  died  young ;  and  Henry  (see  p.  670);  and  daughters,  Katherine, 
wife  of  Thomas  Preston  of  Holkar  ;  Mary,  wife  of  Sir  Hugh  Calverley ; 
Margaret,  wife  of  Alexander  Rigby  of  Middleton ;  and  Anne,  died 
young.  Sir  Gilbert  Hoghton,  Knt.  and  Bart.,  died  in  1647.  His 


HOGHTON,  LORDS  OF  WALTON.  719 

widow,  Lady  Margaret  Hoghton,  died  in  1657.  Mr.  Isaac  Ambrose, 
the  Puritan  minister  at  Garstang,  preached  a  funeral  sermon  for  her, 
published  with  the  title  : — "  Redeeming  the  Time ;  a  Sermon  preached 
at  Preston,  in  Lancashire,  January  4th,  1657,  at  the  Funerall  of  the  Hon. 
lady,  the  Lady  Margaret  Houghton."  The  following  letter,  written  from 
Walton  Hall  in  1634,  by  Sir  Gilbert  Hoghton  to  Roger  Dodsworth  the 
antiquary,  I  print  from  the  Dodsworth  MSS.  on  account  of  its  reference 
to  the  early  passages  of  local  estates  of  the  Hoghtons  : — 

To  my  very  much  esteemed  loveinge  friende  Mr.  Roger  Dodsworth  at  Hutton 
Grange  these.  Being  advertised  of  your  return  home,  I  have  addrest  these  lynes  to 
you,  and  my  desire  is,  yt  if  you  can  possiblie  you  would  come  hither  to  Walton  to- 
morrow or  ye  first  day  yt  leasure  will  p'mit  you,  yt  we  may  c'ferre  together  for  ye 
manageinge  of  ye  business  whereof  wee  have  had  some  former  speech.  And  this  is 
for  proveing  the  tenure  of  Over  Darwent.  You  know  I  have  a  deed  of  ye  grant  of  ye 
body,  lands  and  marriage  of  John  de  Keu[er]dale  by  Sir  John  de  Langton  unto  Alice 
K.  his  mother,  of  lands  in  Parva  Darwent.  It  appeares  that  this  John  K.  dyed  and 
Joan  his  sister  became  heire,  and  married  Thomas  Molineux  de  la  Edge,  who  had  issue 
Katherine,  who  married  Alexr.  Osbaldeston.  I  desyre  you  to  informe  yourselfe  how 
to  prove  this  Pedigree  and  yf  Parva  Darwent  is  Over  Darwent.  And  whether  this 
Alexander  O.  was  ye  heire  of  ye  Osbalclestons,  and  how  ye  pedigree  may  be  proved 
from  him  to  Sir  Edward  yt  now  ys.  As  also  how  ye  lands  came  from  ye  Banastres  to 
ye  Langtons  Lords  of  Walton.  I  intend  to  sitt  on  office  one  of  these  days,  and  must 
intreat  your  furth'ance  and  testimony  in  ye  premisses  about  Darwent.  I  pray  you 
informe  yourselfe  fully,  and  thus  with  my  love  I  reste,  y'r  very  loveing  frend,  GILBERT 
HOGHTON. — 30  Maii,  1634. 

Sir  Richard  Hoghton  succeeded  his  father  in  the  estates  and  title. 
He  married  Sarah,  daughter  of  Philip,  Earl  of  Chesterfield,  and  had 
issue,  sons,  Philip,  Ferdinando,  Gilbert,  Henry,  Charles,  and  Benja- 
min ;  and  daughters,  Lucy,  Arabella,  Cordelia  (buried  at  Walton,  May 
2 Qth,  1685),  and  Sarah,  married,  first,  —  Dymock,  and,  secondly,  John 
Walmesley  of  Ince,  gent.  Sir  Richard  Hoghton  was  an  energetic  sup- 
porter of  Parliament  against  the  King.  He  was  returned  as  Knight  of 
the  Shire  in  1656.  After  the  Restoration,  Sir  Richard  adhered  to  the 
Presbyterian  party,  and  was  a  great  supporter  of  the  ministers  ejected 
under  the  Act  of  Uniformity.  He  died  in  February,  1677-8,  and  was 
buried  at  Preston  Church,  in  which  his  funeral  sermon  was  preached  by 
the  Vicar,  Dr.  Bushell.  His  widow,  "  Lady  Sarah  Hoghton  of  Ince," 
was  buried  at  Walton,  May  2ist,  1698. 

The  four  first  sons  of  Sir  Richard  died-  unmarried  in  his  lifetime, 
and  the  title  devolved  upon  the  fifth  son,  Charles,  as  next  heir  to  the 
estates.  The  youngest  son  was  Benjamin  Hoghton,  Esq.,  who  was  made 
a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1694,  and  was  living  at 
Cuerden  Green  in  1695. 

Sir  Charles  Hoghton,  was  born  in  1643  >  married,  in  1676,  Mary, 


720  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

daughter  of  John  Visct.  Massarene,  and  had  sons,  John;  Henry; 
Philip;  Skevington  (bapt.  Oct.  7th,  1687;  Skevington  Hoghton  died  in 
Feb.,  1768);  Hugh,  bom  in  1688  :  and  James,  born  in  1690;  and 
daughters,  Mary;  Cordelia  (bapt.  July  23rd,  1686;  married  Robert 
Davie,  Esq.);  Anne  (married,  Oct.  9th,  1721,  Samuel  Crook  of  Crook, 
gent);  Margaret  (bapt.  Feb.  loth,  1691-2;  married  at  Walton,  Aug. 
27th,  1716,  Samuel  Watson  of  Hull,  gent);  Elizabeth  (bapt  May  2nd, 
1693  ;  married,  Feb.  i4th,  1715-16,  to  Thomas  Fenton  of  Hunslet, 
Esq.);  and  Lucy  (bapt.  Oct.  291)1,  1694;  married,  Feb.  6th,  1721-2,  to 
Thomas  Lutwidge,  Esq.)  Like  his  father,  Sir  Charles  was  a  kind  patron 
of  the  Nonconforming  divines,  among  them  of  John  Howe,  Henry  New- 
come,  and  Oliver  Heywood.  Sir  Charles  built  a  new  wing  to  Hoghton 
Tower  in  1 700.  He  was  returned  Knight  of  the  Shire  in  1681  and 
1688.  In  1709,  he  founded  a  school  at  Withnell,  and  endowed  it  with 
^£400  by  deed  dated  June  3oth,  1709.  He  died  June  xoth,  1710,  and 
was  buried  at  Walton  Church,  June  1 5th.  His  widow,  Lady  Mary,  sur- 
vived him  twenty-two  years,  dying  on  April  3oth,  1732.  "  Dame  Mary, 
relict  of  SirCharles  Hoghton,  Bart,"  was  buriedat  Walton,  May  4th,  1732. 

John  Hoghton,  eldest  son  of  Sir  Charles,  died  in  his  father's  life- 
time, unmarried,  in  1699,  aged  about  21.  He  had  entered  the  Temple 
in  1698,  and  appears  to  have  died  in  London.  His  funeral  sermon, 
preached  by  John  Howe,  was  published  with  the  title  "  The  Redeemer's 
Dominion  over  the  Invisible  W7orld,"  prefaced  by  a  dedication,  dated 
May  1 7th,  1699,  to  "Sir  Charles  and  the  Lady  Mary  Hoghton  of 
Hoghton  Tower." 

Sir  Henry  Hoghton,  second  son  and  eventual  heir  of  Sir  Charles, 
was  returned  to  Parliament  as  Member  for  Preston  four  times,  in  1710, 
1715,  1728,  and  1735.  He  also  contested  Preston  at  the  election  in 
1722  ;  and  was  shortly  after  returned  Member  for  Eastlow,  in  Cornwall, 
in  1724.  Sir  Henry  Hoghton  held  some  years  the  office  of  Judge- 
Advocate  General.  He  was  the  most  active  local  supporter  of  the 
Government  against  the  Jacobites  in  the  rising  of  1715,  and  took 
effectual  measures  at  Preston  and  Walton  to  check  the  advance  of  the 
Rebel  army.  He  was  thrice  married,  first,  to  Mary,  eldest  daughter  of 
Sir  Wm.  Boughton,  Bart,  (she  died  at  Dover,  in  1719);  secondly,  to 
Lady  Russell,  relict  of  Lord  James  Russell ;  and  thirdly,  to  Susannah, 
daughter  of  Thomas  Butterworth,  Esq.,  of  Manchester  (her  marriage 
dowry  was  ^8000).  Sir  Henry  had  no  issue  by  any  of  these  marriages, 
and  on  his  death,  in  1768,  the  title  and  estates  passed  to  the  son  of  his 
brother  Philip  Hoghton.  The  obituary  of  Sir  Henry  in  the  Annual 
Register  runs  : — "Feb.  23,  1768,  [died]  Sir  Harry  Houghton,  baronet, 
at  his  seat  in  Lancashire,  aged  90." 


HOGHTON,  LORDS  OF  WALTON.  72I 

Philip  Hoghton,  Esq.,  married,  first  (at  Brindle,  Jan.  8th,  1724-5), 
Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Thomas  Sclater,  Esq.,  and  by  her  had  issue,  sons, 
Charles  (died  in  his  father's  lifetime,  in  May,  1 743);  and  Henry,  born 
Oct.  22nd,  1728;  and  two  daughters,  both  of  whom  died  unmarried. 
The  mother  died  in  March  1731-2.  Philip  Hoghton  married,  secondly, 
Mary,  daughter  of  Edward  Rigby  of  Middleton,  Esq.,  by  whom  he  had  a 
daughter  Anne,  who  married  Rev.  Humphrey  Shuttleworth,  Vicar  of 
Preston.  Philip  Hoghton,  Esq.,  was  buried  Nov.  i4th,  1747. 

Sir  Henry  Hoghton,  Bart.,  son  of  Philip,  who  succeeded  his  uncle  Sir 
Henry  in  1768,  at  the  age  of  40,  married,  first,  Elizabeth,  only  daughter 
of  Wm.  Ashhurst,  of  Heddingham  Castle,  Co.  Essex,  Esq.,  and  had  a 
daughter  Elizabeth  (married,  July  i5th,  1783,  Lewis  Magendie,  Esq., 
and  died  in  1833).  Sir  Henry  married,  secondly,  in  1766,  Fanny, 
daughter  and  co-heir  of  Daniel  Booth,  of  Hutton  Hall,  Co.  Essex,  Esq. 
By  her  he  had  two  sons,  Henry  Philip  ;  and  Daniel.  Sir  Henry 
Hoghton  was  returned  in  the  Whig  interest  as  M.P.  for  Preston  in  1768, 
and  afterwards  represented  that  borough  in  five  successive  parliaments 
until  his  death.  He  died,  aged  67,  March  9th,  1795.  Sir  Henry 
Hoghton  was  the  acknowledged  parliamentary  leader  of  the  Nonconfor- 
mist party,  for  whose  relief  he  introduced  and  carried  some  important 
measures. 

Daniel  Hoghton,  second  son  of  Sir  Henry,  born  Aug.  27th,  1770, 
entered  the  army,  and  rose  to  the  rank  of  Major-General.  He  fought 
in  the  Peninsular  War,  and  was  killed  at  the  head  of  his  regiment  at  the 
battle  of  Albuera,  May  i6th,  1811.  On  a  white  marble  slab  in  the 
chancel  of  Walton  Church  is  inscribed : — "  Major-General  Daniel 
Hoghton,  died  in  the  battle  of  Albuera,  in  Spain,  May  16,  181 1,  aged  41." 

Sir  Henry  Philip  Hoghton,  seventh  baronet,  was  born  June  i2th, 
1768.  He  was  returned  M.P.  for  Preston,  in  the  stead  of  his  father,  in 
1795,  and  sat  in  the  House  of  Commons  until  1802.  He  married,  Nov. 
1 2th,  1797,  Susannah,  daughter  of  Peter  Brooke  of  Astley  Hall,  Esq., 
and  relict  of  Thomas  Towneley  Parker,  Esq.,  and  had  a  son  Henry, 
born  Jan.  3rd,  1799  ;  and  a  daughter  Fanny  Elizabeth,  bapt.  May  zoth, 
1800.  Sir  Henry  Philip  Hoghton  died  at  Walton  Hall,  aged  67,  Nov. 
27th,  1835. 

His  son  and  heir,  Henry  Hoghton,  married,  May  25rd,  1820,  Doro- 
thea, second  daughter  of  Peter  Patten  Bold  of  Bold,  Esq.;  she  became, 
on  her  sister's  death,  sole  heir  of  the  Bold  estates,  and  on  that  account 
her  husband  Henry  Hoghton  assumed,  by  royal  license,  the  additional 
name  and  arms  of  Bold.  Sir  Henry  Bold-Hoghton,  Bart.,  had  issue, 
sons,  Henry,  the  heir;  Charles,  born  Nov.  2oth,  1823;  Richard, 
bora  May  20th,  1828,  married  Martha,  daughter  of  Septimus 

46 


722  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


Miller,  Esq.;  and  daughters,  Mary,  married  John  Ireland  Blackburne, 
Esq.;  and  Dora,  married  Priestley  Birch,  Esq.  His  first  wife  dying  in 
Dec.,  1840,  Sir  Henry  Bold-Hoghton  married,  secondly,  Miss  Smith  of 
Norwich,  and  by  her  had  issue,  sons,  James,  Daniel,  and  Gilbert,  and  a 
daughter  Frances.  He  was  High  Sheriff  of  Lancashire  in  1829.  He 
died  July  191)1,  1862,  at  Anglesea,  near  Gosport,  and  was  buried  at 
Anglesea  Chapel. 

Sir  Henry,  ninth  baronet,  who  succeeded  his  father,  resumed  by 
royal  license  the  ancient  prefix  of  De  Hoghton.  He  was  born  Aug.  22nd, 
1821 ;  married,  first,  Aug.  i4th,  1845,  Louisa  Josephine,  fourth  daughter 
of  Joseph  Sanders,  Esq.,  by  whom  he  had  a  son  Cecil,  born  Feb.  5th, 
1849.  This  marriage  was  dissolved  by  Act  of  Parliament  in  June, 
1849.  Sir  Henry  de  Hoghton  married,  secondly,  July  ist,  1851, 
Alice,  third  daughter  of  Sir  Henry  Jervis  White-Jervis,  Bart.,  by  whom 
he  had  issue  a  daughter  Alice  Marion,  born  Dec.  8th,  1852.  Lady  de 
Hoghton  died  Dec.  29th,  1852.  Sir  Henry's  third  wife,  married  Sept. 
6th,  1854,  was  Ellen  Ann,  daughter  of  Ralph  Harvey,  Esq.  (she  survives 
her  husband),  and  by  her  he  had  issue  a  daughter  Eleanor  Isabel,  born 
May  1 2th,  1860.  Sir  Henry  de  Hoghton  served  the  office  of  High 
Sheriff  of  Cardiganshire  in  1849.  During  the  term  of  his  tenure  of 
the  estates  Sir  Henry  de  Hoghton  spent  vast  sums  in  their  improve- 
ment, and  also  commenced  the  restoration  of  Hoghton  Tower,  the 
ancient  family  seat.  He  restored  the  church  of  Farnworth  near 
Warrington,  and  beautified  the  chancel  of  Preston  Parish  Church.  He 
resided  chiefly  in  London,  and  died  there,  aged  55,  Dec.  2nd,  1876. 
His  remains  were  interred  in  the  Bold  Chapel  of  Farnworth  Church. 
His  only  son,  Cecil  de  Hoghton  having  died  unmarried  before  his 
father  (July  24th,  1874,  aged  25),  Sir  Henry  was  succeeded  in  the 
title  and  estates  by  his  brother — 

Sir  Charles  de  Hoghton,  the  present  baronet.  He  was  born  in 
1823  ;  and  is  unmarried.  The  heir  presumptive  is  his  brother,  Richard 
de  Hoghton,  Esq.  By  the  Will  of  Sir  Henry  de  Hoghton,  dated  Feb. 
9th,  1875,  testator  directs  that  the  income  of  his  real  and  personal 
estate  shall  accumulate  for  21  years,  subject  to  annuities  to  his  wife, 
brothers,  &c.  ;  after  that  date  all  real  estate  to  go  to  his  brother  Charles, 
if  then  living,  with  remainder  to  his  first  and  every  other  son  in 
succession  ;  and  other  contingent  remainders.  The  Lancashire  estates 
of  Sir  Henry  de  Hoghton  were  returned  in  1873  as  comprising  4112 
statute  acres,  with  a  rental  of  ,£10,144. 

Walton  Hall,  the  Manor-house  of  Walton-in-le-Dale,  was  demolished 
about  40  years  ago.  It  had  previously  undergone  alterations  which 


"""•""V.  «, 


WESTERN  GATEWAY,  HOGHTON  TOWER.          [PAGE  723 


HOGHTON  TOWER. 


723 


gave  it  a  modern  aspect.  (An  engraved  view  of  the  Hall  as  it  stood 
shortly  before  its  removal  will  be  found  in  Baines's  History  of  Lanca- 
shire, first  edition.)  It  was  a  large  structure  of  brick  and  stone,  with 
classic  porch  in  the  centre,  in  the  pediment  of  which  was  the  Hoghton 
arms,  and  projecting  gabled  wings.  The  park  near  the  site  still  contains 
some  fine  old  trees.  The  offices  of  the  Hoghton  estates,  and  the 
modern  residence  of  Sir  Charles  Hoghton's  steward,  R.  J.  Flowerdew, 
Esq.,  J.P.,  now  occupy  a  portion  of  the  hall  grounds. 

Hoghton  Tower  occupies  the  summit  of  an  isolated  hill,  four  miles 
west  of  Blackburn.  On  the  north-east  side  the  hill  is  precipitous,  and 
at  its  base  the  river  Darwen  passes  through  a  deep  wooded  ravine. 
Built  in  the  first  years  of  Elizabeth's  reign,  the  Tower  presents  the 
features  of  the  Tudor  style  of  domestic  architecture.  Its  plan  consists 
of  blocks  of  buildings  set  at  right  angles,  and  forming  two  quadrangles, 
enclosing  outer  and  inner  courts.  The  south-western  front  is  composed 
of  three  towers,  with  embattled  parapets  and  connecting  walls.  The 
central  tower  is  larger  than  the  side  towers,  and  has  an  entrance  gateway 
under  a  depressed  arch,  i2ft.  wide,  springing  from  moulded  capitals.  On 
the  outer  wall  above  the  gateway-arch  is  a  panel  containing  sculptured 
figures  in  relief,  and  in  the  upper  corners  the  initials  of  the  builder's 
name  "  T  H "  (Thomas  Hoghton).  The  panel  is  flanked  by  Ionic 
pillars  supporting  a  cornice.  On  the  left  hand,  entering  the  lower  court, 
are  buildings  called  the  "  King's  Stables,"  said  to  have  been  built  shortly 
before  the  royal  visit  in  1617  ;  and  a  small  building  covering  the  wind- 
lass of  the  draw-well,  which  is  40  yards  deep.  On  the  right  hand  are 
buildings  of  three  storeys,  with  square  doorways  and  windows,  added  by 
Sir  Charles  Hoghton  in  1 700.  On  the  wall  is  a  moulded  stone  panel, 
bearing  the  initials  "  C  H  M  H "  (for  Charles  and  Mary  Hoghton), 
the  date  "  1 700  "  and  a  scripture  text.  The  upper  part  of  the  outer 
court  is  a  terrace,  fronted  by  a  low  wall,  with  square  pillars  forming  a 
gateway  in  the  midst,  at  the  top  of  a  flight  of  semi-circular  -steps.  In 
front,  the  block  of  building  between  the  courts  is  pierced  centrally  by  a 
gateway,  i3^ft.  wide,  and  i2^ft.  high  to  the  apex  of  the  Tudor  arch. 
An  elaborate  panel  is  seen  above  the  arch,  in  which  are  sculptured  the 
arms  of  Hoghton  (sable  three  bars  argent)  quartered  with  Asheton  (argent 
a  mullet  sable),  with  the  Hoghton  supporters  (two  bulls),  helm,  and  crest 
(a  bull  passant).  Here,  again,  are  the  initials  "TH"  of  the  founder.  On  the 
inner  wall  above  the  gateway  the  armorial  sculpture  is  repeated,  as  are 
the  initials  "  T  H  ";  and  in  this  panel  there  are  traces  of  the  date  of  the 
erection,  A.D.  1565,  of  which  the  two  last  figures  "65  "  alone  are  barely 
distinguishable.  Passing  into  the  inner  court,  which  is  a  square  7oft.  by 
.,  the  buildings  on  each  side  of  the  quadrangle  appear  to  be  of 


724  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

the  original  fabric,  excepting  that  the  walls  of  the  block  over  the  middle 
gateway,  above  which  rose  the  lofty  tower1  which  gave  the  mansion  its 
name  (destroyed  by  the  explosion  of  gunpowder  during  the  Civil  War) 
show  indications  of  having  been  rebuilt.  In  the  midst  of  the  court 
stands  a  statue  of  William  the  Third,  in  bronze ;  the  figure  is  six  feet 
high,  and  stands  on  a  square  corniced  pedestal,  about  6^ft.  in  height. 
This  statue  was  formerly  at  Walton  Hall.  The  doorways  opening  from 
the  inner  court  are  low  and  square-headed,  with  massive  lintels.  The 
windows  are  square,  with  moulded  mullions  and  transomes.  On  the 
north-west  facade,  above  a  flight  of  semi-circular  steps,  is  a  doorway  with 
low  pointed  arch,  beneath  a  square  head-moulding;  the  spandrels 
contain  carved  flowers  and  foliage.  Above  this  entrance  the  roof-line  is 
gabled.  The  large  window  of  the  dining-hall  occupies  the  middle  of 
this  front,  to  the  right  of  which  is  a  large  bay  window,  surmounted  by  a 
projected  gable.  The  interior  of  the  wing  contains  the  banqueting  hall 
and  kitchen  and  rooms  in  connection  therewith.  At  the  west  end  is  a 
panelled  oaken  screen,  supporting  the  Minstrels'  Gallery,  which  is 
protected  by  a  ballustrade.  The  broad  arch  of  the  original  open  fire- 
place has  been  built  up,  but  is  yet  visible  beneath  the  plaister.  The 
transeptal  bays  at  the  east  end  of  the  Hall  add  largely  to  its  capacity. 
Each  bay  forms  five  sides  of  an  octagon,  and  is  loft,  deep  by  lift.  wide. 
The  bays  are  lighted  by  lofty  oriel  windows,  mullioned  and  triple 
transomed.  The  main  window  of  the  Hall  is  of  unusual  size,  extending 
laterally  from  the  screen  to  the  oriel,  and  is  also  lofty,  having  three  lines 
of  transomes.  The  roof  of  the  Hall  has  been  renewed  in  the  recent 
restorations.  In  the  basement  of  the  same  block  is  the  kitchen,  reached 
by  a  stair  from  the  passage  behind  the  hall-screen.  Its  fire-place  is  8ft. 
2in  wide  by  2ft.  9in.  deep,  and  6ft.  high.  Domestic  offices  are  in  the 
rear  of  the  kitchen.  The  north-east  wing  of  the  quadrangle  contains 
some  of  the  state-rooms  of  the  mansion.  The  chief  entrance  from  the 
court  admits  to  a  spacious  Hall,  from  which  a  stair,  6ft.  wide,  with 
spiral  ballusters,  called  "  The  King's  Staircase,"  conducts  to  "  The 
King's  Room"  on  the  upper  floor,  a  spacious  apartment  27ft.  by  2 oft., 
used  by  King  James  the  First  when  he  was  here  as  a  reception  room. 
The  walls  of  the  room  are  panelled  in  oak,  in  deep  moulded  panels ; 
and  the  chimney-piece  is  of  classic  design,  with  a  bold  cornice.  The 
King's  Bedroom  is  a  long  narrow  chamber,  26ft.  by  12 ft.,  at  the  north 
angle  of  the  Tower,  with  panelled  walls  and  ornamental  cornices 
similar  to  those  of  the  audience  chamber  adjoining.  On  the  right  of 
the  first  staircase  in  this  wing  is  another  of  the  state-rooms,  a  handsome 

i  Dr.  Richard  Kuerden,  who  knew  the  Tower  before  its  mutilation,  records  : — "  Betwixt  the  in- 
ward square  court  and  the  sd,  was  a  very  tall  strong  tower  or  gatehouse,  which  in  the  late  unhappy 
civil  wars  was  accidentally  blown  up  with  powder,"  &c. 


HOGHTON  TOWER.  725 

panelled  room,  28ft.  by  2  oft;  with  a  massive  arcuated  storle  fire-place, 
which  has  been  restored.  The  south-east  wing  contains,  on  the  upper 
floor,  a  suite  of  four  large  rooms  which  have  been  stately  in  their  aspect, 
but  prior  to  the  recent  restorations  had  become  greatly  decayed.  The 
fifth  room  in  the  range  is  a  smaller  room  behind  the  corridor,  its  walls 
covered  with  small  oak  panels,  having  gilt  discs  in  the  four  corners  of 
each  panel,  and  therefore  named  the  "  Guinea  Room."  A  panel  over 
the  fire-place  displays  the  armorial  bearings  of  the  Hoghtons.  The 
minor  rooms  on  the  ground  floor  of  this  wing  and  in  the 
central  block  are  too  many  to  enumerate.  At  the  north 
side  of  the  Ministrels'  Gallery  is  a  large  panelled  room,  which 
may  have  been  used  by  the  lord  of  the  mansion  and  his  favoured 
guests  as  a  withdrawing  room.  It  occupies  a  projection  from  the  main 
block  and  has  windows  upon  three  sides,  commanding  charming  land- 
scapes down  the  vale  of  Darwen  and  towards  the  estuary  of  the  Kibble 
and  the  sea-coast  line  of  Lancashire.  The  external  walls  of  the  Tower 
are  massively  built  of  large  blocks  of  compact  gritstone,  quarried  from 
the  rock  on  which  the  Tower  stands.  On  the  rearward  aspect  of  the 
Tower  are  seen  the  wide  and  deep  chimney  projections.  Over  a  square- 
headed  doorway  at  the  exterior  angle  on  the  north  is  another  stone 
panel,  enclosing  the  arms  of  Hoghton,  with  the  baronet's  badge,  and  the 
family  crest.  The  projecting  wing  on  the  north  side  has  circular-arched 
openings  flanked  by  carved  pillasters  supporting  a  moulded  string-course. 
The  gardens  and  pleasure-grounds  are  enclosed  by  the  old  stone  walls, 
which  extend  to  the  edge  of  the  cliff  on  the  north  side  of  the 
Tower.  Below  the  outer  gateway  an  extensive  lawn  slopes  to  a  boundary 
consisting  of  a  pallisade  with  the  pillars  of  a  gateway  opening  opposite 
the  central  tower.  On  the  north-east  side  of  the  lawn  stands  a  large 
barn  built  by  Sir  Charles  Hoghton,  as  attested  by  a  stone  above  the 
barn-door,  bearing  the  letters  "  C  H"  and  the  date  "1692."  In  the 
keeper's  house  lies  the  old  chapel-bell,  removed  from  its  place  on  the 
roof  of  the  Tower  some  years  since.  The  bell  was  cast,  I  conjecture,  at 
an  earlier  date  than  the  erection  of  the  Tower,  and  may  have  been  first 
used  as  the  sanctum-bell  or  saint-bell  of  some  local  chantry.  It  is  about 
14  inches  high,  and  bears  the  legend  in  missal  characters  :  — 

Immfas  + 


Below  are  genealogical  notices  of  some  of  the  more  important 
ancient  and  recent  freeholding  families  in  Walton. 

ATHERTON  OF  WALTON. 

A  document  in  possession  of  Rev.  J.   S.   Birley  recites  that  John  Atherton  of 
Walton  -in-le-Dale,  Esq.,  had  Banister  Hall  in  Walton  and  other  lands  there;  and 


726  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

by  his  Will,  dated  4  Feb.,  1768,  he  leaves  Banister  Hall,  &c.,  to  his  son  John 
Atherton,  Esq.,  remainder  to  his  grandson  John  Joseph  Atherton  eldest  son  of  John  ; 
Remainder  to  Henry  Blundell  Atherton,  second  son  of  testator's  son  John  Atherton  ; 
remainder  to  right  heirs  of  said  John.  Testator's  wife,  Frances  ;  son  John  ;  nephew 
John  Atherton  of  Prescot ;  and  Robert  Richmond  of  Liverpool,  gent.,  executors. 
John  Atherton,  gent.,  the  son,  died  about  1785  ;  his  Will  is  dated  Oct.  1 3th,  1785. 
John  Joseph  Atherton  (son  of  John)  of  Walton  Hall,  Major  in  the  3rd  regiment  of 
Light  Dragoons,  married,  in  1796,  Miss  Mitford,  daughter  of  Bartram  Mitford  of 
Mitford  Castle,  Co.  Northumberland,  Esq.  William  Assheton,  Esq.,  of  Cuerdale 
Hall,  eventually  purchased  the  Banister  -Hall  estate. 

BANESTER  OF  DARWIN  HALL  (BANISTER  HALL). 

A  family  of  Banesters,  in  the  position  of  gentry,  held  an  estate  and  resided  in 
Walton-in-le-Dale  until  the  seventeenth  century,  and  was  presumably  a  branch  of  the 
ancient  manorial  house  of  Banastre  of  Walton,  merged  in  the  Langtons.  Flower  the 
herald,  in  his  Visitation  of  1567,  styles  this  family  Banester  of  Darwin,  which  is  mis- 
leading, and  suggests  one  of  the  townships  of  Darwen  as  its  place  of  residence.  The 
correct  description  is  Banester  of  Darwen  or  Banester  Hall  in  Walton ;  the  older 
name  of  Darwen  Hall  given  to  the  seat  of  these  Banesters  obtaining  from  its  proximity 
to  the  river  Darwen. 

John  Banastre  of  Walton,  occurring  in  2nd  Henry  V.  (1414),  is  the  first  member 
of  this  family  I  have  observed.  It  is  not  unlikely  that  Geoffrey  Banastre,  Vicar  of 
Blackburn  from  1419  to  1457,  was  of  this  branch.  Canon  Raines  remarks  of  this 
Vicar: — "He  may  have  been  the  grandson  of  John  Banastre  of  Walton-in-le-Dale, 
Esq. "  It  was  Richard,  a  son  of  John  Banastre  of  Walton,  who,  by  marrying  Johanna, 
daughter  and  heiress  of  John  de  Alvetham,  became  possessor  of  Altham  manor  and 
founded  the  line  of  Banastre  of  Altham. 

Another  John  Banastre  of  Walton  appears  in  the  loth  Henry  VI  (1432),  as  giving 
fines  for  certain  writs  of  that  date. 

Flower's  descent  begins  with  Richard  Banester,  who  must  have  lived  early  in  the 
fifteenth  century,  and  may  have  succeeded  the  above  John.  Thomas  Banester,  his 
son  and  heir,  had  a  son  and  heir  William  Banester,  whose  heir  was  Lawrence. 

Lawrence  Banester  of  Derwyn,  gent.,  had  a  son  and  heir,  George  Banester  of 
Derwin  ;  and  the  latter,  who  was  assessed  for  his  lands  in  Walton  to  a  Subsidy  in 
1523,  married  Jennet,  daughter  of  Lawrence  Ainsworth  of  Pleasington,  gent.,  and 
had  issue  sons,  Lawrence,  Henry,  William,  and  George. 

Lawrence  Banester  of  Darwen  Hall,  in  Walton,  gent.,  son  of  George,  had  to 
wife  Jane,  daughter  of  Richard  Hoghton,  Knt.,  and  had  sons,  Richard;  a  second 
Richard  ;  Thomas,  and  William  ;  and  daughters,  Alice,  Mary,  Grace,  and  Margaret. 
Lawrence  Banester  died  August  6th,  1558,  and  the  escheat  taken  at  Preston,  Oct. 
4th,  ist  Eliz.,  returned  that  he  had  possessed  nine  messuages,  four  cottages,  200  acres 
of  land,  60  acres  of  meadow,  10  acres  of  woodland,  and  100  acres  of  turbary,  in 
Walton,  and  one  messuage,  six  burgages,  two  cottages,  one  mill,  and  certain  lands 
in  Preston — not  a  small  estate.  Richard  Banester  was  his  son  and  heir,  aged  1 7  years. 

According  to  Flower,  Richard  Banester,  gent.,  eldest  son  of  Lawrence,  died 
without  issue  ;  and  his  next  brother,  Richard,  succeeded  to  the  estate.  This  Richard 
Banester  married  Isabell,  daughter  and  one  of  the  heirs  of  Piers  Farington,  of 
Farrington,  gent.  In  the  Farington  descent  Richard  Banester  is  described  as  "of 
Preston,  gent,"  but  he  dwelt  at  Banister  Hall  after  his  father's  death.  He  had 
sons,  Thomas,  Lawrence,  and  George  ;  and  daughters,  Mary,  Jane,  and  Alice.  In 


FREEHOLDERS  IN  WALTON.  727 

1581,  Alexander  Hoghton,  Esq.,  in  his  Will,  indicates  a  debt  owing  to  him  by  his 
nephew,  "Richard  Bannister,  gent.,  of  Darwin  Hall  alias  Bannister  in  Walton,"  of 
;£i5,  "for  which,"  it  is  added  "hee  hath  pledged  to  mee  all  his  wheate  now 
growing. " 

Thomas  Banester  of  Walton,  son  of  Richard,  had  a  daughter  Alice,  wife  of 
John  Livesey  of  Blackburn,  gent. 

William  Banester  of  the  Law  Hall,  yeoman  (a  younger  brother  or  son  of 
Lawrence  above,  and  named  in  Sir  Thomas  Langton's  Will  in  1588)?  made  his  Will 
the  4th  Sept.,  1584;  directing  his  burial  at  Law  (Walton)  Church;  and  naming 
Jane,  his  wife ;  Henry,  his  son  ;  William,  Jane,  and  Elizabeth,  children  of  Henry  ; 
and  Ellen  Hoghton  his  granddaughter.  Margaret  Banester,  testator's  daughter,  Jane, 
his  wife,  and  Henry,  his  son,  appointed  executors. 

Henry  Banester  of  Walton  died  before  1610,  when  his  relict  was  assessed  to 
the  Subsidy. 

Before  1600,  the  Banister  Hall  estate  had  passed  from  the  Banesters  to  Mr. 
Edward  Walmesley,  younger  son  of  Thomas  Walmesley  of  Showley,  Esq. 

The  Guild  Rolls  of  Preston  furnish  some  later  names  of  this  family  of  Banastre. 
Richard  Banastre  of  Banastre  Bridge  in  Walton ;  and  George  Banastre  his  brother, 
were  freemen  of  Preston  in  1642.  Richard  Banastre,  dead  before  1662,  had  a  son, 
Thomas  Banastre  of  Banastre  Bridge  in  Walton,  a  burgess  of  Preston  in  1642  and 
1662.  He  had  sons,  Richard,  William,  and  James,  all  enrolled  upon  the  Preston 
Guild  Rolls  for  1642  and  1662.  Another  member,  Lawrence  Banastre,  living  in 
1642  ;  had  sons,  John,  Thomas,  and  George.  John  Banastre  of  Walton,  son  of 
Lawrence,  living  in  1642  and  1662,  but  deceased  before  1682,  had  sons,  Richard  and 
John,  enrolled  on  the  Guild  Roll  for  1682. 

BURSCOUGH  OF  WALTON. 

Edmund  Bruscoe  of  Walton  was  assessed  to  a  Subsidy  in  1570.  He  had  a  son 
Roger.  Roger  Burscough  of  Walton,  gent.,  occurs  in  1584. 

Thomas  Burscough,  of  Walton-in-le-Dale,  gent.,  died  in  1614.  By  his  Will, 
dated  April  29th,  1 2th  James  I.,  he  desires  to  be  buried  at  Lawe  Church.  Testator 
names  Ernie,  Jane,  Anne,  and  Roger  Burscough,  children  of  Edmund  Burscough  his 
brother ;  and  refers  to  his  lease  to  John  Woodcock  of  Cuerden,  and  Arisen  Nilson, 
his  sister-in-law.  Makes  his  wife,  Katherine  Burscough,  and  John  Woodcock  of 
Cuerden,  executors. 

Edmund  Burscough,  brother  of  Thomas,  had  estate  in  Walton,  and  his  son, 
Roger  Burscough,  probably  was  heir  to  his  uncle.  In  1650,  Roger  Bruske  [Burs-- 
cough] held  lands  in  Walton  under  Blackburn  Wapentake  Court. 

CALROW  OF  WALTON  LODGE. 

Richard  Calrow  of  Adlington,  Co.  Chester,  was  father  of  Richard  Calrow  of 
Bury,  Co.  Lancaster,  who  purchased  the  Walton  Lodge  estate  in  this  township.  The 
son,  Richard  Calrow,  Esq.,  of  Walton  Lodge,  had  sons,  William  ;  and  Thomas 
Calrow,  Esq.,  of  Woodhill,  near  Bury.  He  died,  aged  71,  in  1830,  and  was  buried 
at  Walton  Church. 

William  Calrow,  Esq.,  J.P.,  of  Walton  Lodge,  born  Sept.  24th,  1786,  married, 
Sept.  1 2th,  1808,  Margaret,  daughter  of  Robert  Town,  Esq.,  of  Ulverston,  and  had 
issue,  sons,  Richard  Calrow  (born  April  1 7th,  1815,  married  Margaret,  daughter  of 
John  Grundy,  Esq.,  and  died  in  1850)  ;  William  Augustus,  born  in  1820 ;  and  Robert 
Francis  (born  in  1823,  married  Eleanor,  daughter  of  John  Lewthwaite,  Esq.);  and 


728  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

daughters,  Eleanor,  wife  of  G.  J.  Wainwright,  Esq. ;  Jane  Judith,  wife  of  William 
Walker,  Esq. ;  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Rev.  C.  Bickmore  ;  Wilhelmina  ;  Margaret,  and 
Frances  Rebecca,  wife  of  the  late  Mr.  J.  H.  Kay.  William  Calrow,  Esq.,  died  at 
Walton  Lodge,  March  6th,  1873,  in  his  8;th  year,  and  was  buried  at  Walton  Church. 

Walton  Lodge,  situate  two  miles  from  Preston,  was  built  by  Mr.  Assheton  of 
Cuerdale,  who  sold  the  mansion  and  estate,  early  in  this  century,  to  Richard  Calrow, 
Esq.  In  June,  1873,  the  estate  was  notified  for  sale,  and  described  as  a  mansion  and 
348  statute  acres  of  freehold  land,  tithe-fee,  &c.  The  rental  was  returned  in  1873  at 
^1076  per  annum. 

KUERDEN  OF  WALTON. 

Richard  Kuerden  of  Walton-in-le-Dale,  living  temp.  Henry  VIII.,  had  a  son 
Edward.  Edward  Kuerden  was  father  of  Thomas  Kuerden. 

Thomas  Kuerden,  of  Walton,  had  three  sons,  Thomas,  John,  and  William. 

John  Kuerden,  son  of  Thomas,  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  and  co-heir  of  Peter 
Farrington  of  Farrington,  Esq. ,  and  had  issue  three  daughters  his  co-heirs  ;  Alice, 
wife  of  Henry  Banaster  of  Bank,  Esq.  (whose  daughter  Alice  was  wife  of  Sir  Thomas 
Haggerston  of  Haggerston,  Bart. ) ;  Mary,  wife  of  George  Chatterton,  gent. ;  and 
Isabel,  second  wife  of  Alexander  Rigby  of  Wigan,  gent. 

William  Kuerden,  brother  of  John,  had  to  wife  Cicely,  daughter  and  heiress  of 
Richard  Farrington  of  Southbrook,  gent.,  and  had  issue  a  daughter  Margaret,  wife  of 
Richard  son  of  Gilbert  Jackson  of  Kuerden,  and  known  as  Richard  Kuerden,  gent., 
who  died  in  1630,  and  through  his  son  Gilbert  was  grandfather  to  Dr.  Richard  Kuer- 
den the  antiquary,  born  about  1623,  and  died  in  1701. 

William  Jackson  (Kuerden)  in  1650  held  lands  in  Walton  and  paid  is.  to  Black- 
burn Wapentake  Court. 

OSBALDESTON  OF  WALTON. 

Thomas  Osbaldeston  was  assessed  under  Walton  to  a  Subsidy  in  157°-  The 
same  Thomas  Osbaldeston,  of  Walton,  yeoman,  died  in  1582.  His  Will  is  dated 
June  2ist,  in  that  year;  proved  Aug.  23rd.  To  be  buried  in  Lawe  churchyard. 
Elizabeth,  testator's  wife,  and  Ralph  Osbaldeston  his  son,  executors.  Daughters 
Margaret  and  Elizabeth  are  named. 

William  Osbaldeston,  with  Robert  Woodruff,  gent.,  was  assessed  for  lands  in 
Walton  to  the  Subsidy  in  1610. 

A  later  member,  William  Osbaldeston  of  Walton,  was  assessed  for  his  lands  to 
the  Subsidy  in  1663.  Thomas  Osbaldeston,  of  Walton,  gent.,  occurs  in  1673. 

Osbaldeston  House,  in  Walton  township,  is  a  brick  structure,  a  little  off  the 
public  road  between  Walton  Church  and  Moon's  Mill.  It  was  rebuilt  by  the  last- 
named  occupant,  William  Osbaldeston,  in  1 66 1  ;  as  an  inserted  stone  over  the  porch 
attests,  bearing  the  date  "  1661"  and  the  initials  "  W:  O:D"  (William  and  Dorothy 
Osbaldeston). 

PEDDER  OF  PRESTON  AND  WALTON. 

Thomas  Pedder,  gent.,  of  Preston,  married,  May  1 6th,  1657,  Elizabeth,  daughter 
of  Richard  ffeilden  of  Preston  ;  and  died  in  Feb.  1679-80.  His  son — 

Richard  Pedder  of  Preston,  born  Oct,  26th,  1659,  had  issue,  sons,  Richard,  Paul, 
Peter,  and  Philip  ;  and  daughters,  Elizabeth,  Jenet,  and  Ellen.  He  died  in  March, 
1725-6. 

Richard  Pedder  of  Preston,  born  Feb.  1 2th,  1692-3,  was  Mayor  of  Preston  in 
1748  and  1756.  He  married,  in  1711-12,  Jennet,  daughter  of  John  Reed  of  Preston, 
gent.,  and  had  issue,  sons,  Richard  (who  by  his  wife  Sarah,  daughter  of  Robt.  Ash- 


W ALTON S  OF  LITTLE  WALTON.  729 

burner,  gent.,  had  issue  one  daughter,  died  in  infancy) ;  Edward ;  Thomas,  born  in 
1729,  Mayor  of  Preston  in  1779,  died  unmarried  in  1781  ;  and  James,  Vicar  of  Gar- 
stang  ;  and  daughters,  Ellen,  Jane,  Ann,  and  Grace.  The  father,  Richard  Pedder, 
Esq.,  died  in  1762.  His  second  son — 

Edward  Pedder,  Esq.,  of  Preston,  born  in  1742,  died,  aged  76,  Oct.  i6th,  1818. 
By  Margaret  his  wife  (who  died  June  23rd,  1817,  aged  73),  he  had  issue,  sons,  Edward 
Pedder,  of  Darwen  Bank,  Walton  ;  Thomas  ;  James,  &c. 

SERGEANT  OF  WALTON. 

Of  this  family  was  John  le  Sergeant,  Vicar  of  Leyland,  who  by  deed  dated  I5th 
Richard  II.  (1391),  remits,  &c.,  to  Richard  del  Cross  and  his  heirs  all  right  he  had  in 
certain  lands  which  the  foresaid  Richard  held  in  Walton. 

"  Richard  the  Sergeant"  (the  style  suggests  the  origin  of  the  surname),  living  in 
Walton,  occurs  1 8th  Henry  VI.  (1440). 

Rauf  Sergeant  and  Edward  Sergeant,  of  Walton,  were  both  assessed  to  the  Subsidy 
of  1523-  The  "  Edmonde  Sargeante  "  who  had  to  wife  Anne,  daughter  of  Richard 
Charnock  of  Charnock,  may  be  the  same  with  the  Edward  of  the  Subsidy  Roll. 

Rauf  Sergeant  represented  the  family  later  in  the  sixteenth  century.  In  the  23rd 
Eliz.,  (1580),  Rauf  Sergeant  of  Walton,  and  William  Walton  became  bond  to  Adam 
fibster  of  Standish,  in  eight  marks  of  silver. 

William  Sergeant  of  Walton  died  before  1633.     His  son  and  heir  was  Richard. 

Richard  Sergeant  of  Walton  died  about  the  same  date.  The  escheat  is  dated 
I4th  Charles  I.  It  appeared  that  he  had  possessed  one  messuage,  one  cottage,  two 
gardens,  27  acres  of  land,  meadow  and  pasture  in  Walton,  called  the  Turfeslack  Hill. 
Richard  Sergeant  died  at  Walton,  and  afterwards,  says  the  return,  William  Sergeant, 
his  father,  died.  Thomas  Sergeant,  son  of  William,  and  brother  of  Richard,  was 
then  heir,  aged  13  years.  William  Sergeant  had  a  daughter  Isabel,  wife  of  Richard 
Chorley,  of  Walton. 

Leonard  Sergeant,  most  probably  brother  of  William,  held  lands  in  Walton,  and 
after  his  death,  on  inquisition,  taken  at  Preston,  Sep.  26th,  1 6  Chas.  I.  (1640),  his 
estate  proved  to  comprise  a  messuage  and  30  acres  in  Walton,  held  of  the  King  as 
Duke  of  Lancaster,  by  a  yearly  payment  of  los.  Anna  Sergeant,  daughter  of  Thomas, 
late  son  and  heir  of  Leonard,  was  next  heir.  Katherine,  daughter  of  Leonard 
Sergeant,  was  wife  of  Richard  Sharrock  of  Walton. 

WALTON  OF  LITTLE  WALTON. 

This  family,  bearing  the  name  of  the  township,  from  a  remote  period  held  an 
estate  in  Little  Walton  (on  the  south  side  of  Walton-in-le-Dale)  and  in  Cuerden. 
William  de  Walton-in-le-Dale  had  a  son,  John  de  Walton,  living  in  1327  and  1331. 

William,  son  of  John  de  Walton,  acquired,  in  1349,  by  grant  of  Richard  de 
Blackburn,  two  messuages  and  12  acres  of  land.  In  1367,  William  de  Walton  had 
Wm.  de  Langley's  remission  of  lands  in  Walton,  irith  a  house  upon  the  bridge  over 
Derwent,  and  a  burgage  in  Preston.  William  de  Walton  was  Mayor  of  Preston  in 
1378,  1386,  and  1389.  He  occurs  as  "  William  Walton  of  Preston,  mercer,"  in  1388. 

"  Robert  de  Walton  de  Walton  "  occurs  in  1396  ;  and  John  de  Walton  in  1397. 

William  de  Walton,  living  in  1435,  had  in  that  year  a  writ  of  post  disseisin  issued 
in  his  favour  against  Wm.  de  Livesey  concerning  lands  in  Walton-in-le-Dale. 

A  later  member,  probably  Thomas  Walton,  married  Jenet,  daughter  to  Richard 
de  Kuerden,  whose  Will  was  dated  1529.  About  that  date,  Thomas  Walton  disputed 
with  James  Walton  title  to  messuages  in  Preston.  In  1553,  Edmund  Walton  laid 


730  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

plaint  against  Thomas  Walton  for  forcible  entry  and  tortious  possession  of  lands  in 
Cuerden  and  Walton-in-le-Dale. 

William  Walton,  gent.,  of  this  township,  occurs  as  a  juror  in  1582,  and  as  a 
freeholder  in  1600.  In  ^596,  William  Walton  laid  plaint  against  James  Walmisley, 
his  wife  Katherine,  and  daughter  Margaret,  for  intrusion  on  his  estate  called  the 
Holme,  &c.,  in  Walton  and  Cuerden. 

Thomas  Walton,  living  in  1610,  held  the  estate  in  Little  Walton.  By 
his  wife  Priscilla,  daughter  and  heir  of  John  Cottam  of  Tarnaker,  he  had  sons, 
William  ;  John  ;  and  James  ;  and  a  daughter  Anne.  His  son — 

William  Walton,  gent.,  was  assessed  for  his  lands  in  this  township  to  a  Subsidy 
in  1610.  His  wife  was  Dorothy,  daughter  of  Mr.  Christr.  Anderton  of  Hodgwick 
(she  survived  him,  and  married,  secondly,  Edward  Walmesley,  gent.),  and  he  had 
sons,  William  ;  and  Christopher.  He  died,  Feb.  i8th,  1625-6,  seized,  as  returned  by 
inquisition,  of  lands  in  Walton-in-le-Dale  called  Hunt's  Land  and  Baldwin's  Land, 
and  other  lands  in  Cuerden  and  Tarniker. 

Thomas  Walton,  gent.,  son  of  William,  aged  ten  years  in  1630,  paid  the  Subsidy 
tax  for  these  lands  in  1663,  was  living  in  1682,  but  was  dead  before  1687.  He  was 
enrolled  as  a  foreign  burgess  of  Preston  in  1662,  with  his  sons,  William,  Thomas,  and 
Roger. 

At  the  same  Guild  appear  upon  the  Roll,  John  Walton  son  of  Thomas  of  Walton- 
in-le-Dale,  deceased,  and  James  his  brother. 

Thomas  Walton  of  Winder,  gent.,  "  son  of  Thomas  Walton  late  of  Walton  de- 
ceased," was  an  out-burgess  of  Preston  at  the  Guild  of  1702. 

The  residence  of  the  Waltons  was  the  old  house  at  Bamber  Bridge  on  the  west 
side  of  the  road  from  Preston  to  Chorley.  The  estate  was  alienated  by  Thomas 
Walton,  gent.,  in  1682.  By/leed  of  demise1  dated  26th  Oct.,  1682,  between  John 
Leigh  of  Preston,  gentleman,  on  the  one  part,  and  Thomas  Walton  of  Walton-in-le- 
Dale,  gentleman,  on  the  other  part,  it  is  witnessed  that  John  Leigh,  for  the  securing  to 
Thomas  Walton  of  sums  of  ,£200  and  ^"400  (part  of  consideration  agreed  to  be  paid  by 
John  Leigh  to  Thomas  Walton  for  purchase  of  the  messuage,  demesne  lands,  &c. , 
mentioned),  in  pursuance  of  articles  of  agreement  between  these  parties  dated  I2th 
Sept.  last,  has  granted,  bargained,  sold,  &c. ,  to  Thomas  Walton,  his  exors. ,  all  that 
his  capital  messuage  and  tenement,  &c.,  called  Little  Walton,  with  the  demesne  lands, 
&c.,  of  him  John  Leigh  in  Walton-in-le-dale  and  Cuerden,  and  all  his  estate,  right, 
title,  &c. ,  therein,  to  have  and  hold  to  Thomas  Walton  for  500  years,  by  yearly  rent 
of  one  pepper-corn,  provided  always,  and  Thomas  Walton  covenants  with  John  Leigh 
by  these  presents,  that  in  case  John  Leigh  shall  pay  to  Thomas  Walton  ^640 — £200 
on  April  1st,  1683,  and  ^440  on  Feb.  2nd,  1683-4 — that  then  these  presents  shall 
cease,  and  Thomas  Walton  shall  re-grant,  release,  &c.,  the  said  Messuage,  lands,  &c., 
unto  John  Leigh.  (Signed)  THOMAS  WALTON.  (Witnesses)  "Will  :  Rishton,  Will : 
Hebson. "  Dr.  Kuerden,  writing  about  1695,  notices  the  old  seat  of  the  Waltons, 
which  had  then  passed  into  the  possession  of  the  Ashetons  : — ' '  Passing  the  Lostoc 
Water  at  a  fair  stone  Bridge  parting  Leyland  from  Blacburn  Hundred  you  meet  with 
the  other  road  from  Chorley  to  Preston,  and  on  your  left  the  antient  seat  of  Walton  of 
Little  Walton,  but  now  belonging  to  Mr.  Ratcliffe  Ashton  son  of  Mr.  Ashton  of 
Cuerdale."  The  house  at  Little  Walton  (Bamber  Bridge)  is  an  old-fashioned  struc- 
ture, with  central  porch  and  gabled  wings,  and  the  walls  show  a  timber  framework  in 
parts.  On  the  gate-post  in  front  is  carved  the  date  "  1675." 

*  This  deed  is  in  possession  of  Mr.  H.  C.  Walton  of  Preston. 


WALMESLEY  AND  WINCKLEY  OF  BANISTER  HALL. 


731 


WALMESLEY  OF  BANISTER  HALL. 

Near  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  century,  Edward  Walmesley,  fourth  son  of 
Thomas  Walmesley  of  Showley,  gent.,  obtained  the  Banister  Hall  estate  in  Walton. 
"Edward  Walmsley  of  Banaster  Hall,  gent.,"  occurs  in  a  list  of  freeholders 
dated  1600.  His  wife  was  Anne,  daughter  of  William  Hawksworth  of  Hawks- 
worth,  near  Otley,  Esq. ,  and  he  had  two  sons,  Thomas,  and  Edward  ;  and  three 
daughters,  Rosamond,  wife  of  Thomas  Winckley ;  Anne,  married  to  Richard 
Craven  of  Dinkley ;  and  Elizabeth,  married  to  Roger  Hodgkinson,  of  Preston. 
Edward  Walmesley  died  in  early  manhood,  Oct.  9th,  1604,  and  by  the  Inquisition 
thereafter,  taken  by  Thomas  Tyldesley,  Esq.,  escheator,  Jan.  1 2th,  2nd  James  I.,  it 
was  found  that  Edward  Walmesley  had  died  possessed  of  one  Messuage  called  Darwyn 
Hall  or  Banister  Hall,  of  five  other  messuages,  6  cottages,  30  acres  of  land,  20  acres 
of  meadow,  and  20  acres  of  pasture  in  Walton-in-le-Dale,  worth  6os.  per  annum,  held 
of  Thomas  Langton,  Knt,  in  socage.  Thomas  Walmesley,  son  and  heir,  was  aged  9 
years,  5  months,  and  6  days.  One  other  son  and  three  daughters  are  mentioned  in 
the  escheat. 

Thomas  Walmesley,  of  Banister  Hall,  gent.,  son  of  Edward,  married  Frances, 
daughter  of  Edward  Stanley  of  Moor  Hall,  Esq. ,  and  had  an  only  daughter,  Anne, 
who  married  Radcliffe  Hoghton,  Esq.,  fourth  son  of  Sir  Richard  Hoghton,  Bart. 
Thomas  Walmesley,  gent.,  died  in  June,  1637  ;  his  Will,  dated  June  I4th,  proved  July 
3rd,  directs  his  burial  in  the  Church  of  Low  in  Walton  ;  gives  the  third  part  of 
testator's  personal  estate  to  his  loving  wife  Frances  ;  another  third  to  Ann  his  daugh- 
ter ;  and  the  other  third  to  be  distributed  in  legacies  to  his  brother  Edward  ;  mother- 
in-law  Mrs.  Bridget  Stanley  ;  brothers-in-law  Mr.  Thomas  Stanley,  Richard  Craven, 
and  Thomas  Winckley ;  sisters  Anne  Craven  and  Elizabeth  Hodgkinson ;  nephew 
Thomas  Winckley  ;  to  Mr.  John  Ainsworth  of  Crooke  in  Clayton  j  and  to  testator's 
servants  and  ancient  tenants  ;  residue  of  this  third  part  to  his  wife.  John  Ainsworth 
and  testator's  wife,  executors.  The  escheat,  taken  Sept.  23rd,  1637,  proves  that 
Thomas  Walmesley  had  died  seized  of  Darwen  Hall  or  Banister  Hall,  with  the  same 
lands  held  by  his  father  as  above,  and  "  10  acres  lately  improved  from  the  Waste  of 
WTalton."  Annie,  his  daughter,  was  aged  1 6  years;  and  Frances  Walmesley,  his 
relict,  was  then  living  at  Banister  Hall. 

Edward  Walmesley,  gent. ,  brother  of  Thomas,  married  Dorothy,  daughter  of  Mr. 
Christopher  Anderton  of  Hodgwick,  widow  of  Mr.  William  Walton  of  Walton,  but 
had  no  issue  by  her  ;  she  was  buried  Nov.  8th,  1666.  In  1664,  Edward  Walmesley 
entered  a  family  record  before  the  Herald  Sir  William  Dugdale.  He  died  in  July, 
(buried  July  2ist),  1673.  He  was  on  the  Guild  Roll  as  a  burgess  of  Preston  in  1642. 

After  the  death  of  both  her  brothers  without  heirs  male,  Rosamond,  eldest  sister, 
wife  of  Thomas  Winckley  of  Billington,  gent.,  appears  as  inheritor  of  Banister  Hall 
estate,  which  thus  passed  to  the  Winckleys  ;  and  her  son,  William  Winckley,  gent., 
is  named  of  Banister  Hall  in  1628. 

WINCKLEY  OF  WINCKLEY,  BILLINGTON,  AND  BANISTER  HALL. 

The  original  settlement  of  this  family  (whence  its  name  is  derived)  was  the  tene- 
ment of  Winckley,  in  the  township  of  Aighton,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Hodder. 
Adam  de  Winckley,  living  in  the  1 3th  century,  had  a  son  Adam,  who  had  sons  Richard, 
Adam,  and  John.  John  de  Winckley  had  a  son  Robert,  living  temp.  Edw.  I.  A 
succeeding  John  de  Winckley,  who  occurs  in  a  deed  dated  1323,  had  a  son  Adam. 
In  the  5oth  Edw.  III.  (1376)  Adam  son  of  John  de  Winckley  gave  a  toft  in  Aighton 
to  John  de  Bailey.  His  son  was  John  de  Winckley,  whose  successor,  Thomas  de 


732  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Winckley,  was  living  in  1446.  The  next  member  is  Roger  Winckley,  whose  wife  was 
Maud  Cancefeld.  Another  Roger  Winckley  succeeds,  who  occurs  in  1534.  The 
Will  of  Roger  Winckley  of  Aighton,  gent,  dated  Aug.  1st,  I55^>  names  testator's 
wife  Jane ;  sons,  Roger,  and  Adam ;  daughters,  Elizabeth,  and  Isabel.  His  son, 
Roger  Winckley,  of  Woodfield,  in  his  Will,  proved  in  1560,  names  wife  Isabel  ; 
daughter  Jane ;  brother  Warine.  Anthony  Winckley,  the  next  in  possession  of  the 
estate,  may  have  been  a  brother  of  the  last  Roger.  Anthony  Winckley,  gent.,  married 
Marie,  daughter  of  Nicholas  Banastre  of  Altham,  and  had  a  son  and  heir  Nicholas. 
Anthony  Winckley  died  before  1566,  and  it  was  proved  on  the  escheat  that  he  had 
held  a  capital  messuage  called  Winckley  Hall  and  lands  called  Woodfyldes  in  Aighton  ; 
and  that  Nicholas,  his  son  and  heir  was  then  aged  40  years.  Nicholas  Winckley 
married  a  daughter  of  Richard  Holden  of  Chageley  Hall,  and  was  father  of  Thomas 
Winckley,  gent.,  named  as  a  freeholder  in  1600,  who  married  Cicely  daughter  of 
Thomas  Parker,  of  Withgill,  and  had  sons,  Roger,  and  Edward,  buried  at  Brindle 
Church,  Feb.  nth,  1600-1  ;  Thomas  Winckley  was  living  in  1613.  Roger  Winckley, 
aged  38  in  1613,  married  Martha,  daughter  of  John  Wrightington,  and  had  sons, 
Thomas,  born  in  1606;  and  Roger;  and  a  daughter  Ann.  Roger  Winckley,  de- 
scribed as  son  and  heir  of  Roger,  of  Winckley,  married  Anne,  daughter  of  Peter 
Haworth  of  Th'urcro ft,  and  died  before  1664;  his  widow  married  Hugh  Currer  of 
Kildwick. 

Thomas  Winckley  of  Billington,  gent.,  in  1620,  may  have  been  a  brother  of 
Roger  Winckley,  or  a  descendant  of  a  younger  son  of  a  previous  generation.  He 
married  Rosamond,  daughter  of  Edward  Walmesley,  gent. ,  of  Banister  Hall  (see 
ante  p.  731),  and  had  s.ons,  William  and  Thomas,  entered  with  their  father  on  Preston 
Guild  Roll  in  1622.  Thomas  Winckley,  senr.,  was  dead  before  1642,  when  his  sons, 
Thomas  Winckley  of  Billington,  gent.,  and  William  Winckley,  gent.,  were  on  the 
Guild  Roll  of  Preston. 

William  Winckley,  gent.,  son  of  Thomas,  described  in  1662  as  "of  Billington," 
and  in  1682  as  "of  Banister  Hall,"  inherited  the  Banister  Hall  estate  through  his 
mother,  Rosamond  Walmesley.  William  Winckley,  gent.,  being  a  Royalist  in  the 
Civil  War,  had  to  compound  for  his  estate  in  1646  by  payment  of  a  sum  of  £26.  By 
his  wife  Isabel  (she  died  in  June,  1688),  he  had  sons,  Edward  ;  Thomas,  born  in  1674, 
died  in  1675  ;  a  second  Thomas,  died  young  in  1677  ;  and  William,  bapt.  Sept.  pth, 
1677;  and  a  daughter  Rosamond,  died  young  in  1676.  William  jWinckley,  gent., 
died  in  December,  1703.  His  younger  son,  William,  was  Rev.  Wm.  Winckley,  a 
priest  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  and  Rural  Dean  of  Leyland  Hundred,  who  died  at 
Ulnes-Walton. 

Edward  Winckley,  gent.,  of  Banister  Hall  (whose  name  appears  as  a  Burgess 
of  Preston  on  the  Guild  Rolls  in  1682,  1702,  1722,  and  1742),  by  Mary  his  wife  (she 
died  in  Dec.  1709),  had  issue,  sons,  Thomas,  bapt.  March  I5th,  1697-8;  Edward; 
and  James,  died  in  1726  ;  and  daughters,  Isabel,  born  in  1696,  died  young ;  and  Jane, 
born  in  1697.  Mr.  Edward  Winckley  sold  the  Banister  Hall  estate  to  Mr.  Atherton 
of  Preston,  Feb  1st,  1738-9  ;  his  sons  Thomas  and  Edward  being  parties  to  the 
conveyance.  He  died  in  1742,  and  was  buried  at  Walton  Church,  Dec.  24th.  His 
second  son,  Edward  Winckley  of  Preston,  gent.,  died  in  March,  1749-50. 

Banister  Hall,  the  seat  in  succession  of  the  Banesters,  Walmesleys,  Winckleys, 
and  Athertons,  is  situate  near  the  right  bank  of  the  Darwen  river,  about  a  mile 
above  Walton  Church.  The  frontage,  to  the  south,  has  been  rebuilt  in  brick  ;  but  in 
the  rear  of  the  house  the  old  walls  of  stone  remain.  At  the  east  end  of  the  main 
block  is  a  gabled  projecting  wing. 


WOODCOCK  OF  WALTON.  733 

WOODCOCK  OF  CUERDEN  AND  WALTON,  &c. 

The  early  settlement  of  this  family  was  at  Woodcock  Hall  (or  Crowtrees)  in 
Cuerden  township.  Dr.  Kuerden,  the  local  antiquary,  about  200  years  ago,  noted  : 
"There  is  another  fayre-built  house  upon  the  lower  Cuerden  Green,  called  the  Crow- 
trees,  being  the  ancient  inheritance  of  John  Woodcoc  and  his  family  for  400  or  500 
years. " 

Richard  Wodcoc  occurs  in  a  deed  dated  1356,  by  which  William,  son  of  John  le 
Wright  of  Walton,  gave  to  Richard  Wodcoc  and  his  heirs  the  fourth  part  of  his  land 
in  Walton  called  Le  Farcrole.  Again,  in  1383,  Richard  Woddcok  and  William  his 
son  are  found  holding  lands  in  Walton.  Another  Richard  Woddcok  occurs  in  1413, 
who  by  Hanette  his  wife  had  sons,  Robert  and  Thomas.  Seth  Woddecok,  living  in 
1451,  had  sons,  William,  and  Seth  Woddcok,  a  priest.  William  Woddecock,  son  and 
heir  of  the  first  Seth,  in  1451  was  granted  in  ward  and  marriage  to  wed  Alison, 
daughter  of  Wm.  Livesey  of  Livesey,  gent.  Next  comes  John  Woodcock  living  in 
1522;  William  Woodcock  of  Cuerden,  gent,  whose  wife  was  Isabel,  daughter  of 
Edward  Cuerden,  gent,  and  who  was  living  in  1549;  and  John  Woodcock,  who 
married  Margaret,  daughter  of  John  Langton,  gent.  John  Woodcock  had  sons, 
Thomas,  and  Edward. 

Thomas  Woodcock  of  Cuerden,  gent.,  died  in  1602.  By  Inq.  post  mort.,  taken 
at  Wigan,  March  2 1st,  1602-3,  it  was  found  that  he  had  been  seized  of  a  messuage 
called  Lostock  in  Cuerden,  with  12  acres  of  land,  IO  of  meadow,  and  10  of  pasture  ; 
of  two  messuages,  40  acres  of  land,  20  of  meadow,  and  60  of  pasture  in  Walton-in-le 
Dale,  held  of  Thomas  Langton  in  free  socage ;  and  of  two  messuages,  10  acres  of  land, 
eight  acres  of  meadow,  and  10  of  pasture  in  Mellor,  held  of  Thos.  Southworth,  in 
socage ;  and  one  acre  in  Samlesbury  ;  that  Thomas  Woodcock  had  died  on  the  I4th 
Sept.  previous,  having  on  the  23rd  Sept.,  39th  Eliz.  (1597),  enfeoffed  his  estate  to  the 
use  of  his  children.  John  Woodcock,  son  and  heir,  was  then  aged  19  years. 

John  Woodcock,  of  Walton-in-le-Dale,  gent.,  so  described  in  a  list  of  freeholders 
in  1621,  had  been  made  executor  under  the  Will  of  Thos.  Burscough  of  Walton  in 
1614.  He  appears  on  the  Guild  Roll  of  Preston  in  1642,  as  "John  Woodcock  of 
Cuerden  Green,  gent,"  with  Thomas  his  son. 

Thomas  Woodcock  of  Cuerden  Green,  gent.,  son  of  John,  is  on  the  Guild  Roll 
of  Preston  in  1622,  1642,  1662.  He  had  two  sons,  John,  and  Thomas  (of  Walton,  of 
whom  more  hereafter). 

John  Woodcock,  son  of  Thomas,  was  of  Cuerden  Green,  and  was  a  burgess  of 
Preston  at  the  Guilds  of  1682,  1702,  and  1722.  His  son,  John  Woodcock  of  Cuer- 
den, living  in  1722,  and  then  an  in-burgess  of  Preston,  had  sons,  Thomas  ;  William ; 
and  Edward  (living  in  1768).  Thomas  Woodcock  of  Cuerden,  yeoman,  son  of  the 
last  John,  had  no  sons,  but  two  daughters,  Isabel,  died  unmarried ;  and  Alice,  wife  of 
Wm.  Winstanley,  gent.  Thomas  Woodcock,  gent.,  died  about  1780. 

Thomas  Woodcock  of  Walton  and  Preston,  gent,  (brother  of  John  and  son  of 
Thomas  of  Cuerden  Green),  had  sons,  Thomas,  and  William,  named  with  their  father 
on  Preston  Guild  Roll  in  1702  ;  and  daughters,  Elizabeth  (died  unmarried,  Will  dated 
April  23rd  1747)  ;  and  Ann,  married  —  Loxam.  Thomas  Woodcock,  gent,  died  in 
1725,  and  was  buried  at  Walton  Church,  July  1 7th.  His  Will  is  dated  June  24th, 
1725.  His  son — 

Thomas  Woodcock,  "of  Preston,  gent."  in  1742,  married  Hannah  Sargent,  and 
had  issue,  sons,  Thomas  ;  John;  William  (living  in  1762  and  died  unmarried);  and 
James  ;  and  daughters,  Mary,  married  —  Siddall ;  Betty  (Elizabeth)  died  unmarried  ; 
and  Nancy  (Ann),  born  in  1737,  died,  aged  89,  in  1826.  In  the  Will  of  the  aunt, 


734 


HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


Elizabeth  "Woodcock  of  Preston,  spinster,  dated  1747,  are  named  the  six  younger  chil- 
dren of  her  brother  Thomas  "Woodcock  of  Preston,  to  wit,  Mary,  Elizabeth,  John, 
William,  Anne,  and  James.  Thomas  Woodcock,  gent.,  was  living  at  Brownedge  in 
Walton  in  1762,  when  he  and  his  sons,  Thomas,  John,  William,  and  James,  and  grand- 
sons, William  and  Thomas,  were  entered  with  him  on  the  Guild  Roll  of  Preston.  By 
deed  dated  1783,  Sir  Henry  Hoghton,  Bart,  appoints  Thomas  Woodcock  of  Preston, 
gent.,  his  gamekeeper  for  the  manor  of  Fishwick. 

Thomas  Woodcock,  eldest  son  of  the  last-named,  settled  at  Tottington  near  Bury, 
and  had  numerous  issue.  His  younger  brother,  James  Woodcock,  was  a  surgeon  at 
Ormskirk. 

John  Woodcock,  of  Walton  in  1742  (second  son  of  Thomas  and  Hannah  Wood- 
cock), married,  in  1758,  Rachel,  daughter  of  Mr.  Wm.  Plant,  of  Elton,  near  Bury, 
and  had  issue,  sons,  William,  born  at  Walton,  June  3rd,  1759  ;  Thomas  (a  surgeon  at 
Bolton-le-Moors,  died  about  1790,  unmarried);  Samuel  (born  Dec.  25th,  1763,  married, 
in  1791,  Miss  Betty  Kay,  and  had  sons,  John,  James,  William  Plant,  Samuel,  and 
Thomas,  and  several  daughters  ;  he  died  Sept.  4th,  1843);  and  daughters,  Hannah, 
died  unmarried,  aged  21,  in  1788  ;  and  Alice,  wife  of  Mr.  Thomas  Howell  of  Bolton. 
John  Woodcock  was  living  in  1782,  and  an  in-burgess  of  Preston  at  the  Guild  that 
year,  and  was  buried  at  Walton  Church  about  1785.  His  widow,  Rachel  Woodcock, 
died  May  24th,  1817.  Her  Will  is  dated  Sept.  2 1st,  1804.  Testatrix,  described  as 
"  Rachel  Woodcock  of  Bolton,"  relict  of  John  Woodcock  late  of  Walton  in  the  Dale, 
gentleman,  bequeaths  her  pew  and  burying  ground  belonging  thereto  in  Walton 
Church  to  her  son  Samuel  Woodcock  ;  to  him  also  a  moiety  of  her  freehold  estates  ; 
and  the  other  moiety  to  her  daughter  Alice  Howell ;  to  her  son,  William  Woodcock, 
£100;  residue  of  personalty  to  son  Samuel  and  daughter  Alice. 

William  Woodcock  of  Holcombe,  gent,  (enrolled  on  Preston  Guild  Roll  in  1 782, 
1802,  and  1822),  married,  May  I5th,  1787,  Mary,  daughter  of  Mr.  John  Elton,  of  Loe, 
Tottington,  and  had  sons,  John  (of  Bury)  ;  Samuel,  born  in  1790,  died  unmarried  in 
1829  ;  William  Plant  (of  Holcombe);  Robert,  and  Thomas,  died  in  infancy  ;  a  second 
Thomas  (of  Haslingden);  and  daughters,  Rachel  (born  Feb.  22nd,  I793>  now  living  at 
Plant  tenement,  Holcombe);  Mary  (born  July  3rd,  1805,  now  living  at  Plant  tene- 
ment, Holcombe);  Hannah  (born  Aug.  5th,  1814,  also  now  living  with  her  sisters). 
Mr.  Wm.  Woodcock  died  in  June,  1827  ;  his  widow  died  Feb.  26th,  1849. 

John  Woodcock,  of  Bury,  surgeon,  eldest  son,  born  March  4th,  1788,  married 
Hannah,  eldest  daughter  of  Samuel  Woodcock,  solicitor,  and  had  issue,  sons,  Samuel, 
died  young  ;  and  William,  born  in  1825,  died  in  1868  ;  and  daughters,  Elizabeth  (of 
Woodfields,  Stonyhurst,  spinster),  Mary  (of  Manchester,  spinster),  Ann,  Rachel,  and 
Janet  (all  of  Woodfields),  and  Ellen  (twin,  born  in  1825,  died  unmarried).  Mr.  John 
Woodcock  died  March  5th,  1840. 

William  Plant  Woodcock  (brother  of  John),  surgeon,  of  Holcombe,  married  Eliza, 
daughter  of  John  Rostron  of  Chatterton,  and  had  sons,  William  Plant ;  and  John 
Rostron  Woodcock,  surgeon,  of  Knutsford,  M.R.C.S.  Eng.,  &c. ;  and  daughters, 
Mary  Woodcock,  spinster,  of  Woodside,  Ramsbottom ;  and  Alice  Rostron,  now  of 
Priory  Gate,  Sale,  wife  of  Mr.  Fred.  Kay,  son  of  Robert  Kay  of  Trowes,  near  Bury, 
calico-printer,  who  died  in  1874. 

Thomas  Woodcock,  of  Haslingden,  attorney-at-law  (brother  of  the  above),  born 
Feb.  27th,  1811,  married,  July  I3th,  1837,  Ann,  eldest  daughter  of  John  Lonsdale  of 
Haslingden,  Esq.,  and  has  had  issue,  sons,  William,  born  July  7th,  1838,  died  in  1847; 
John  Woodcock,  of  Haslingden,  attorney-at-law,  (born  April  1st,  1840,  married 
Emily,  daughter  of  Mr.  Henry  King,  and  has  issue);  and  Thomas  Woodcock,  attor- 


WOODCOCK  OF  WALTON.  735 

ney-at-law,  of  West  View,  Haslingden,  born  Sept.  23rd,  1841  ;  and  daughters,  Mary 
Ellen,  wife  of  Russell  Forbes  Carpenter,  third  son  of  Dr.  Carpenter,  Registrar  of 
London  University  ;  Hannah,  born  Dec.  loth,  1847  ;  and  Rachel,  born  in  1851,  died 
in  1868. 

WOODCOCK  OF  LEMON  HOUSE. 

A  branch  of  the  Woodcock  family  held  the  Lemon  House  freehold  tenement  in 
Walton.  Richard  Woodcock,  of  Walton  in  1610,  died  in  1641,  and  by  inquisition  it 
was  found  that  he  had  held  Bank  Hall  in  Broughton,  with  lands  there  ;  other  lands  in 
Whittle  and  Cuerden  ;  and  in  Walton,  held  of  the  King  as  of  the  Duchy  of  Lancaster, 
by  a  payment  of  305.  yearly,  two  messuages,  30  acres  of  land,  10  of  meadow, 
30  of  pasture  and  two  of  woodland.  He  had  sons,  James  ;  and  John  (entered  on 
Preston  Guild  Roll  of  1642  as  son  of  Richard,  deceased). 

James  Woodcock,  son  and  heir,  aged  21^  years,  died  in  the  same  year  as  his 
father  (1641),  leaving  a  son  James,  aged  3  years. 

John  Woodcock  of  Walton  Wood  (son  of  Richard  above),  yeoman,  had  sons, 
Richard,  James,  John,  and  William  (entered  with  the  father  on  Preston  Guild  Roll  in 
1662  and  1682),  and  a  daughter  Margaret.  John  Woodcock  the  elder  bought  of  Wm. 
Lemon,  gent.,  in  1663,  for  ^620,  the  Lemon  House  estate  in  Walton.  He  and  his 
son  and  heir  Richard  are  named  in  a  deed  dated  1688.  He  died  in  1690,  and  by  his 
Will,  dated  Sept.  4th,  1690,  he  devises  an  estate  in  Walton,  formerly  land  of  inheri- 
tance of  Mr.  Charnock  of  Leyland,  to  his  younger  son  and  executor  John  Woodcock, 
and  Christopher  Preston,  gent. ;  gives  bequests  to  sons,  James  and  William,  and 
daughter  Margaret,  and  names  his  son  and  heir  Richard. 

James  Woodcock,  John's  second  son,  was  living  in  1715?  anc^  na(^  a  son  William, 
on  Preston  Guild  Roll  in  1 702.  John  Woodcock  of  Walton,  yeoman,  son  of  John, 
and  his  executor  in  1690,  was  living  in  1702,  and  had  a  son  James  Woodcock,  on  the 
Guild  Roll  in  1702  and  1722,  who  had  a  son  William. 

Richard  Woodcock,  of  Lemon  House,  Walton,  and  of  Euxton,  eldest  son  of  John, 
by  Elizabeth  his  wife,  had  sons,  John  ;  and  William  (living  in  1742).  In  1690,  he 
mortgaged  Lemon  House  tenement,  of  28  acres,  to  Thomas  Winckley  of  Preston, 
gent.,  for  ^400.  Richard  Woodcock  of  Euxton,  yeoman,  died  about  1694. 

John  Woodcock  of  Lemon  House,  was  a  minor  at  his  father  Richard  Woodcock's 
death.  He  and  his  mother  Elizabeth,  widow,  are  parties  to  mortgage-deeds  dated 
1694  and  1709  ;  and  later  to  deeds  by  which  the  estate  in  Walton  of  28  acres  was 
conveyed  to  Susannah  Ranald  of  Preston,  widow,  by  way  of  mortgage,  for  ^"500. 
John  Woodcock  is  described  on  Preston  Guild  Roll  in  1722  as  "of  Lemon  House, 
Walton,"  and  in  1742  as  "late  of  Lemon  House."  He  had  a  son  Richard  Wood- 
cock, living  in  1722,  but  who  apparently  died  in  his  father's  lifetime,  before  1742. 
Being  Roman  Catholics,  John  Woodcock  had  to  register  his  estate  in  Walton  in  1715; 
and  his  mother  Elizabeth  an  estate  at  Euxton ;  the  first  said  to  be  of  ^20  yearly  value. 

THE  CHURCH  OF  ST.  LEONARD. 

This  is  the  most  ancient  of  the  chapels  subordinate  to  the  Church 
of  Blackburn  founded  in  the  Parish.  Being  from  eight  to  ten  miles 
distant  from  the  parish  church,  the  inhabitants  of  Walton-in-le-Dale 
(with  Cuerdale)  procured  permission  soon  after  the  Norman  settlement 
to  erect  a  chapel  in  Walton,  which  seems  to  have  been  at  once  made 
parochial.  Samlesbury  Church  was  made  dependent  upon  "  Lawe 
Church"  in  Walton,  and  we  have  seen  (p.  672)  that  Samlesbury  chapel 


736  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

existed  before  1190.  This  chapel  must  have  been  reared  not  later  than 
the  middle  of  the  i2th  century.  When,  about  A.D.  1160,  Henry  de 
Lascy  granted  to  Henry,  clerk  of  Blackburn,  the  Church  of  Blackburn, 
the  gift  included  "  capella  de  Walton"  (the  chapel  of  Walton);  and 
seventy  years  after,  John  de  Lascy  granted  the  church  of  Blackburn  to 
the  Abbot  and  Monks  of  Stanlaw  "with  the  chapel  of  Walton" 
appurtenant ;  Adam  de  Blackburn  having  previously,  by  charter,  about 
1229,  yielded  to  the  Abbey,  at  the  request  of  John  de  Lascy  his  lord, 
"  the  chapel  of  Walton,  with  the  lands,  tithes,  and  obventions  thereto 
belonging  ;"  subject  to  the  payment  of  20  marks  for  life  to  Richard,  son 
of  the  dean ;  this  Richard  being  incumbent  of  this  chapelry.  From 
1230  until  1537,  Walton  chapel  remained  a  possession  of  the  Cistercian 
fraternity  of  Stanlaw — Whalley.  On  the  survey  of  the  Abbey  estates 
after  the  suppression,  the  "  chappill  of  Law,  with  the  tieth  belonging  to 
the  same  by  the  year,"  was  valued  at  ^27  i6s.  2d. 

The  chapel  of  Walton  and  its  officiating  priest  are  named  occa- 
sionally in  documents  during  the  interval  of  three  centuries  the  chapel 
was  under  monkish  rule.  In  1332,  "William  clerk  of  the  Lawe  "  was 
prosecuted  for  wounding  Richard  Brown,  son  of  William,  at  Chorley. 
In  Harleian  MS.  2112  I  find  the  record  : — "Walton  Church,  18  Hen. 
VI.  (1439-1440).  Edward  of  Farington,  priest  of  Low  [Walton  Church], 
Nicholas  of  Clayton,  John  and  Henry  of  Osbaldeston,  John  of  Langley, 
Richard  the  Sergeant,  William,  Thomas,  and  James  of  Livesey,  John 
Coke,  cleric,  Thomas  Wilkinson,  Henry  Toynd,  Thomas  his  butler, 
and  Thomas  Stretbarell',  witness  that  Jauken  of  Wallis  sware  on  the 
masse  booke  at  the  pulpit  in  Law  Church  on  Sunday  next  before  the  date 
hereof,  that  he  made  never  before  that  day  any  estate  to  his  son 
William  nor  his  wife,  but  a  joynture  of  forty  shillings  of  lively  hood, 
and  that  Hary  was  his  heire." 

Walton  Chapel  was  rebuilt  temp.  Henry  VIII.;  towards  the  charge 
of  which  Ralph  Langton,  Esq.,  who  died  in  1503,  had  left  a  bequest  of  20 
marks.  The  Chantry  Commissioners,  in  1553,  reported  that  "Thomas 
Wynkeley  and  Edwarde  Laman,  churchereves  of  the  chappell  of  Lawe, 
deposen  and  say  that  there  is  three  belles,  specyfied  in  the  sedule,  yett 
remayninge  at  the  said  Chappell,  which  were  seased  to  the  use  of  our 
said  late  Kinge  Edward  the  Sixt,  by  auctorytie  of  the  former  Corny  ssion- 
ers."  These  bells  weighed  iScwt,  and  were  valued,  at  the  rate  of  153. 
per  cwt,  at  ^13  IDS.  The  chapel  had,  too,  "one  chales  percel  gilt," 
of  silver,  weighing  10  ounces.  Dec.  i6th,  1559,  Wm.  ffarington,  Esq., 
as  Justice  of  the  Peace,  was  ordered  by  the  Earl  of  Derby,  by  direction 
of  the  Privy  Council,  to  apprehend  "Sir"  Thomas  Heavanson,  curate, 
and  then  serving  within  the  Parish  Church  of  Walton,  alias  Law,  who 


CHURCH  OF  ST.  LEONARD,  WALTON.  737 

had  lately  openly  and  publicly  said  mass  within  the  said  church,  being 
assisted  by  the  Parish  Clerk,  William  Langton,  Edward  Estham,  John 
Weredon,  and  forty  others,  in  contempt  of  her  Majesty  and  the  laws, 
and  also  requiring  him  to  examine  Ralph  Clayton,  the  informant,  and 
to  protect  him  against  the  indignation  of  the  people  for  shewing  himself, 
"accordyng  to  his  dutie  to  myslyke  of  theise  lewde  doyngs." 

A  story  of  some  tricks  of  necromancy,  performed  by  Edmund 
Kelly,  the  alchemist,  at  Walton  park  and  churchyard,  about  the  close  of 
the  1 6th  century,  is  related  by  John  Weever  in  his  Ancient  Funeral 
Monuments  (1631),  as  follows  : — 

This  diabolical  questioning  of  the  dead,  for  the  knowledge  of  future  accidents, 
was  put  in  practice  by  the  aforesaid  Kelley  ;  who,  upon  a  certain  night,  in  the  Parke 
of  Walton-le-Dale,  in  the  County  of  Lancaster,  with  one  Paul  Waring  (his  fellow- 
companion  in  such  deeds  of  darkness),  invocated  some  of  the  infernall  regiment,  to 
knowe  certaine  passages  in  the  life,  as  also  what  might  be  knowne  by  the  devil's 
foresight,  of  the  manner  and  time  of  the  death  of  a  noble  young  gentleman,  as  then 
in  his  wardship.  The  blacke  ceremonies  of  that  night  being  ended,  Kelley  demanded 
of  one  of  the  gentleman's  servants,  what  corse  was  the  last  buried  In  Law  churchyard, 
a  church  thereunto  adjoining,  who  told  him  of  a  poore  man  who  was  buried  there  but 
the  same  day.  Hee  and  the  said  Wareing  intreated  the  aforesaid  servant  to  go  with 
them  to  the  grave  of  the  man  so  lately  interred,  which  he  did  ;  and  withall  did  helpe 
them  to  digge  up  the  carcase  of  the  poor  caitiffe,  whom,  by  their  incantations,  they 
made  him  (or  rather  some  evil  spirit  through  his  organs)  to  speake,  who  delivered 
strange  predictions  concerning  the  said  gentleman.  I  was  told  this  much  by  the  said 
serving-man,  a  secondary  actor  in  that  dismall  abhorrid  business  ;  and  divers  gentle- 
men, and  others,  are  now  living  in  Lancashire  to  whom  he  hath  related  this  story. 
And  the  gentleman  himselfe  (whose  memorie  I  am  bound  to  honour)  told  me,  a 
little  before  his  deathe,  of  this  conjuration  by  Kelley  ;  as  he  had  it  by  relation  from 
his  servant  and  tenant  ;  only  some  circumstances  excepted,  which  he  thought  not 
fitting  to  come  to  his  master's  knowledge. 

The  Lancashire  Presbytery,  set  up  in  1646,  included  among  its 
clerical  members,  in  the  Blackburn  Classis,  Richard  Redman,  minister 
of  Low  Church;  and  in  the  records  of  the  Presbytery  appears  the 
minute  : — "  Mr.  Rich.  Redman,  Min'r  of  Low  Church  in  Walton.  By 
order  of  the  Committee,  there  is  ^40  per  ann.  allowed  to  Mr.  Redman 
Min'r  of  Law  Ch.  He  is  p'd  till  the  14  Aug.  1647."  "By  an  order  from 
the  Com.  for  plund'd  Min'rs,  of  April  21,  1647,  there  is  ^40  per  ann. 
out  of  the  Rectory  of  Exton,  sequestered  from  James  Anderton,  Pap't, 
allowed  to  a  Min'r  at  Low  Church."  The  Commission  for  Parliament 
in  1650  found: — "Law,  a  parochial  chapell,  distant  from  the  parishe 
Church  of  Blackburne  nyne  myles,  to  which  is  annexed  the  townshipps 
of  Walton  and  part  of  Cuardale,  consisting  of  above  two  hundred  familys, 
hath  forty  pounds  per  ann.  allowed  by  order  of  the  Committee  for  Plun- 
dered Ministers  out  of  the  sequestred  tythes  of  James  Anderton,  a  Papist 
delinquent ;  but  in  regard  of  other  charges  laide  upon  the  said  tythes  for 

47 


738  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

the  maintenance  of  other  ministers  the  inhabitants  have  receaved  noe 
benefitt  of  the  said  order;  besides  they  had  formerly  four  pounds 
per  ann.  paid  to  their  ministers  by  the  former  viccars  of  Blackburne, 
which  for  three  yeares  last  hath  beene  detayned,  soe  that  at  present 
they  are  both  without  maintenance  and  minister.  The  inhabitants 
humbly  pray  the  same  may  be  made  a  parishe,  and  competent  main- 
tenance allowed  to  a  minister.  The  tithes  of  Law  chapelry  at  that  date, 
held  by  Mrs.  Fleetwood  as  lessee  of  the  Rectory  of  Blackburn,  were 
worth  £ng  per  annum,  and  glebe  lands  in  this  chapelry  were  worth 
^£52  per  annum. 

After  the  restoration  of  Episcopacy,  this  chapel  was  served  by  a 
curate  who  also  had  to  serve  Samlesbury  Chapel.  Thomas  Abbot, 
curate  of  Law  and  Samlesbury,  occurs  in  1676.  To  Primate  Sancroft 
the  Registrar  of  Chester  gave  account  in  1683  that  in  the  three  chapel- 
ries  in  Blackburn  Parish  said  to  be  parochial,  the  cures  were  "  well  and 
constantly  served "  by  curates  licensed  by  the  Bishop  in  the  Vicar's 
nomination  ;  and  as  to  Law  Chapel,  the  inhabitants  of  Walton  and 
Cuerdale  resorted  thither,  and  every  other  Sunday  all  offices  were  per- 
formed there.  The  endowment  was  made  up  of  these  items  : — "  Out  of 
the  Vicar  of  Blackburn  ^4  ;  Dues  for  marrying,  one  year  with  another, 
£i  i  os.  ;  Interest  of  £50,  lately  given  by  Mr.  H.  Hoghton,  £2  los. ; 
Mrs.  Fleetwood  promiseth  yearly  ^2  ;  They  of  Walton-in-le-Dale 
promise  yearly  ^4 ;  Mrs.  Asheton  of  Cuerdale  (during  good  pleasure) 
^4.  Walton  would  have  enclosed  20  acres  of  common  for  their  chaplain 
(well  worth  ;£io  yearly)  but  Mr.  Lee,  of  Croston,  hindered  it."  In 
another  return  to  Lambeth  we  have  these  particulars  : — 

LAW  CHAPEL. — The  Inhabitants  desire  longer  tyme  to  consider  what  to  do. — 
(See  Mr.  Dandy's  Lettre. )  One  hundred  pounds  bequeathed  by  Mr.  Henry  Hoghton 
(see  the  copy  of  the  clause  of  his  Will)  to  the  Chapels  of  Law  and  Samlesbury,  was 
paid  about  a  year  ago  to  the  Executrix  of  the  Trustees  therein  mentioned,  and  since 
then,  in  great  danger  to  be  lost ;  for  the  3  Brothers  call'd  Fiswicks,  to  whom  it  was  lent 
upon  Bonds,  have  fled  their  country  for  debt ;  but  their  Securetys  have  paid  it  to  their 
Trustees,  in  whose  hands  it  remaines  at  present.  Mr.  Lee,  of  Preston,  will  not 
consent  to  the  enclosing  of  the  Common,  pretending  that  it  will  be  a  prejudice  to  his 
tenants  and  a  loss  to  himselfe.  But  3  or  4  acres  of  another  Common  within  the  same 
Chapelry  Mr.  Dandy  offers,  both  by  way  of  purchase  upon  condition  that  the  Interest 
and  Principal  be  applied  to  the  augmentation  of  the  Curate.  For  a  further  tyme  to 
consider  Mr.  Ashton  refuseth  to  continue  his  guift  of  ^4  per  annum  if  he  pay  Tyth 
hay,  or  if  noe  hay  be  paid  he  will  continue  it  longer  then  Mr.  Abbot's  life,  the 
present  curate. 

Writing  to  the  Vicar  (Price)  of  Blackburn,  the  Primate  desired 
"  Mr.  Hoghton's  gift  and  others  to  be  laid  out  in  land ;"  that  Mr. 
Asheton  should  be  persuaded  to  make  his  temporary  gift  into  perpetual ; 
and  that  Mr.  Lee  might  be  asked  not  to  hinder  the  enclosing  of  the 


CHURCH  OF  ST.  LEONARD,  WALTON.  739 

piece  of  common  at  Walton.  A  later  record  in  1689  mentions  "  Law 
and  Samlesbury  supplied  by  Mr.  Colton,  a  conformable  minister,  who 
hath  by  an  extraordinary  charity  of  my  L'd  of  Canterbury,  together  with 
a  settled  maintenance  out  of  the  Vicaridge  of  Blackburne,  and  other 
charities,  about  ^43  per  annum." 

A.D.  1714,  the  Governors  of  Queen  Anne's  Bounty  had  this  ac- 
count of  the  benefice  : — 

"  Low  Church  is  a  Chappel  in  ye  Parish  of  Blackburne  in  ye  County  of  Lancaster, 
whereunto  belong  ye  Townships  of  Walton-in-le-Dale  and  Cuerdale,  ye  extent  whereof 
from  east  to  west  is  about  four  miles,  from  north  to  south,  three  miles  and  a  half  mile  ; 
the  number  of  Inhabitants  between  four  and  five  thousand  souls,  which  daily  encrease 
by  reason  of  ye  great  manufacture  of  Linen  Cloth  in  those  parts.  The  said  Chappel 
is  distant  from  ye  Parish  Church  of  Blackburne  between  six  and  seven  miles ;  from 
Preston,  a  neighbouring  Parish  and  next  adjoining  to  it,  one  mile  and  a  half.  There 
are  in  ye  said  chappelry  four  or  five  conventicles  of  Papists,  one  of  Presbyterians,  one 
of  Anabaptists.  The  endowment  of  the  chappel  is  as  followeth.  — Out  of  ye  Vicarage 
of  Blackburne  ^4  ;  one-sixth  of  ye  Archb'p's  Lands  lying  in  Thornley,  leased  at  ,£33 
per  annum  (taxes  and  chief  rents  deducted)  about  ^5  6s.  8d.  ;  an  augmentation 
given  by  ye  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  out  of  ye  Rectory  of  Blackburne  £2  6s.  8d. ; 
one-tenth  p't  of  ye  yearly  profits  of  Mr.  Crook's  estate  at  Whittingham,  leased  at 
£10  per  annum,  £i  2s.;  the  interest  of  £50  given  by  Henry  Hoghton,  Esq.,  £2  153.; 
total  ,£15  IDS.  8d." 

In  the  Notitia  Cestriensis  of  Bishop  Gastrell,  about  this  date,  it  is 
entered  respecting  Walton  Chapel : — 

"303.  per  annum  given  by  the  Will  of  Mr.  Crook,  of  Abraham,  to  Law  and 
Samlesbury.  Circumference  about  twelve  miles.  Walton  and  Cuerdale  resort  to  it. 
Divine  service  is  performed  every  forenoon  one  Sunday,  and  every  afternoon  the  other, 
in  summer  time  ;  and  every  other  Sunday  in  winter.  The  same  curate  serves  Law 
and  Samlesbury.  Two  Wardens  ;  one  chosen  by  Henry  Houghton  of  Houghton, 
Bart. ,  and  one  by  the  minister  and  the  principal  Inhabitants.  Seven  miles  from  the 
Parish  Church,  and  two  miles  from  any  other  church. " 

At  intervals  subsequently  several  additions  have  been  made  to  the 
endowment  of  this  living.  A  benefaction  by  Henry  Lutwidge,  gent, 
dated  April  4th,  1764,  procured  a  grant  of  ^200  from  the  Royal 
Bounty,  made  in  1765  ;  and  a  second  grant  of  ^£200  fell  to  Walton  by 
lot  in  1 795.  By  a  benefaction  of  ^"400  from  Rev.  Edmund  Strongfellow 
Radcliffe,  dated  Nov.  igth,  1803,  two  sums  of^>oo  each  were  obtained 
from  the  Royal  Bounty  in  1804.  A  subscription  of  ;£8oo  by  the 
inhabitants,  in  the  year  1810,  was  met  in  that  year  by  a  Parliamentary 
grant  of  ^"900  in  three  instalments  of  ^300  each;  and  in  1817  a 
sum  of  ^400  came  to  the  benefice  by  lot  out  of  the  Parliamentary  grant. 
The  value  of  the  living  in  1834  was  ^156  yearly.  By  grants  from  the 
Ecclesiastical  Commissioners  the  value  has  since  been  augmented  to 
^£320  per  annum.  The  Vicar  of  Blackburn  is  patron.  The  Registers 
of  Walton  Church  commence  in  1653. 


740  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

The  following  is  a  category  of  the  succession  of  incumbents,  so  far  as  known  : — 
Richard,  son  of  the  Dean,  circa  1229  ;  "  William  clerk  of  the  La  we,"  1332  ;  '\  Ed  ward 
Farington,  Priest  of  Low,"  1439  ;  Sir  Thomas  French,  occurs  1551,  1553  ;  Sir  Thomas 
Heamanson,  1559;  Peter  Mackinson,  occurs  1609  "egretat  et  decripit ;"  Robert 
Qsbaston,  1629;  Richard  Redman  1646-7;  Thomas  Abbot,  1676-1688;  William 
Colton  1688-1703  (buried  July  3rd,  1703) ;  John  Hull  1703-1721  (John  Hull  of  Cuer- 
den,  clerk,  married,  July  1 7th,  1704,  Miss  Hannah  Sharpies  of  Blackburn  ;  he  was 
buried  Nov.  4th,  1721);  (Alexander  Bagot,  stipendary  curate  1717-1721;)  William 
Vaudrey,  B.A.  1722-1762  (buried  Dec.  27th,  1762);  John  Shorrock,  iSthJuly,  1763; 
John  Atkinson,  1769-1797  (buried  Dec.  1 9th,  1797,  aged  51)  ;  Edmund  Strongfellow 
Radcliffe,  LL.B.,  1798-1826(7);  John  Clay,  Apr.  I2th,  1826-1827;  Randal  Henry 
Feilden,  May,  1827;  Henry  Walter  M'Grath,  May  1st,  1832,  resigned  1837;  Robert 
Hornby,  M.A.,  Nov.  1st,  1837-1852;  John  Brooks,  Jan.  6th,  1853;  died  in  Nov. 
1856  ;  James  Clegg  Kershaw,  M.A.  (present  Vicar),  Feb.  loth,  1857. 

The  Church  of  Walton-in-le-Dale,  dedicated  to  St.  Leonard,  stands 
picturesquely  upon  the  crest  of  a  knoll  rising  between  the  Ribble  and 
Darwen  near  their  confluence.  Its  name  of  "Low  Church"  is  derived 
from  the  Saxon  word  Llaw  applied  to  an  isolated  eminence.  The  only 
portions  of  the  ancient  fabric  that  remain  are  the  tower  and  the  chancel. 
The  Church,  I  have  mentioned  already,  was  re-edified  early  in  the  i6th 
century.  The  nave  was  taken  down  and  rebuilt  in  1798,  and  a  gallery 
placed  in  the  interior.  The  present  deep  transepts  were  added  in  1816. 
A  later  general  restoration  of  the  edifice  took  place  in  1856,  when  the 
nave  was  re-pewed  at  a  cost  of  ,£650 ;  and  in  1864  the  chancel  was 
re-roofed,  furnished  with  a  new  floor,  and  fitted  with  the  present  hand- 
some stalls,  at  a  cost  of  ^450,  defrayed  by  the  joint  owners  of  the 
chancel,  Sir  Henry  de  Hoghton,  Bart.,  and  Ralph  Assheton,  Esq.  A 
new  organ  was  placed  in  the  west  gallery  in  1874,  costing  ^400.  The 
external  aspect  of  the  church  is  plain  ;  the  modern  nave  and  transepts 
are  destitute  of  architectural  beauty.  The  tower  is  strong,  low,  but- 
tressed, and  embattled  ;  and  is  of  three  storeys  ;  on  its  west  front,  above 
the  arched  doorway,  is  a  large  window  of  perpendicular  tracery.  The 
belfry  windows  are  of  three  lights.  In  1761  the  old  peel  of  four  bells 
was  removed,  and  the  peal  of  six  bells  now  in  use  was  hung.  The 
chancel  has  an  east  window  of  three  lights,  with  perpendicular  tracery ; 
and  side  windows  of  three  lights  with  trefoil  heads  ;  on  the  south  side 
of  the  chancel  a  narrow  pointed  doorway  has  been  walled  up.  The  in- 
terior is  galleried  on  three  sides ;  and  the  internal  measurements  are  : — 
nave  55ft.  by  4ift.;  transepts  Soft,  across  by  32ft.  wide;  chancel  2Qft. 
by  1 8ft.  On  the  south  side  of  the  chancel  are  the  arms  of  Hoghton, 
and  several  monumental  tablets  to  members  of  that  family  ;  on  the 
north  side  are  the  arms  of  Assheton  of  Cuerdale.  The  old  font  is  a 
circular  one  with  gothic  ornamentation.  The  church  contains  930 
sittings,  of  which  230  are  free.  A  large  grave-yard  surrounds  the  church 


CHURCHES  IN  WALTON-IN-LE-DALE.  741 

and  extends  on  the  south  slope  of  the  hill.  Among  the  oldest  grave- 
slabs  I  noted  stones  with  these  initials,  names,  and  dates  : — "  H  I 
1628";  "W  H  1653";  "James  Waring  1668";  "Thos.  Shorrock  1706"; 
"Wm.  Coupe  1712,  Thos.  Coupe." 

ST.  SAVIOUR'S  CHURCH,  BAMBER  BRIDGE.— On  the  southern  edge  of  this 
township,  beyond  the  village  of  Bamber  Bridge,  a  church  was  erected  in  1837,  and 
dedicated  to  St.  Saviour.  The  church  is  a  plain  building  externally  of  Romanesque 
style,  with  spire  at  the  west  end.  It  contains  650  sittings,  350  being  free  seats.  The 
living  was  returned  at  ,£185  per  annum  in  1867,  but  has  since  been  augmented  by  the 
Ecclesiastical  Commissioners  to  .£300.  Rev.  W.  Wignall  was  first  incumbent,  1837- 
1868.  Rev.  J.  Taylor  is  present  vicar.  The  Vicar  of  Blackburn  is  patron. 

ALL  SAINTS'  CHURCH,  HIGHER  WALTON. — In  the  village  of  Moon's  Mill, 
Higher  Walton,  a  new  church  was  built  in  1861-4,  consecrated  July  7th,  1864.  Mr. 
E.  G.  Paley  was  the  architect.  It  is  a  neat  edifice  of  I3th  century  gothic,  with  nave, 
chancel,  north  transept,  and  tower  with  spire,  116  feet  high.  The  window  heads  are 
of  elegant  geometric  tracery.  The  cost  of  the  body  of  the  church  was  .£4000,  obtained 
by  voluntary  contributions,  including  a  grant  of  ^200  from  the  Church  Building 
Society.  Mr.  Miles  Rodgett  gave  the  site,  and  the  firm  of  Rodgett  Bros,  gave  ^1000 
to  the  building  fund.  The  spire,  which  cost  ^650,  was  added  in  1871  ;  and  an  organ, 
costing  ^"400,  was  placed  in  the  church  in  1874.  Sittings  604,  of  which  300  are  free. 
Rev.  W.  B.  Shepherd,  M.  A.,  is  vicar.  The  patronage  is  vested  in  the  Bishop  and  the 
Vicar  of  Blackburn  alternately.  The  value  of  the  benefice  is  ^300  per  annum. 

CATHOLIC  CHURCH  OF  STE.  MARIE,  BROWNEDGE.— The  members  of  the 
Church  of  Rome  have  always  been  numerous  in  Walton-in-le-Dale.  In  1690,  Mr. 
Kennet,  a  priest,  was  reported  to  be  living  at  Walton.  In  1714  a  statement  by  the 
wardens  of  Walton  Church  reports  the  existence  in  the  chapelry  of  "four  or  five 
conventicles  of  Papists  ;"  these,  doubtless,  were  private  houses  in  which  the  proscribed 
Roman  Catholics  held  frequent  meetings  for  worship.  But  there  was  then  one  regular 
mission,  founded  by  the  Benedictines,  at  Little  Mosney,  of  which  Fr.  Placid  Nelson 
was  incumbent,  who  died  at  Walton  ;  and  was  succeeded,  in  1724,  by  Fr.  William 
Champney.  He  also  died  at  this  mission;  and  his  successor,  in  1740,  was  Fr.  Ber- 
nard Bradshaw.  After  him,  in  1743,  was  Fr.  Thomas  Simpson,  who  also 
served  the  chapel  at  Cuerden  Green,  built  about  1746;  he  too  died  at  this 
mission.  Fr.  Oswald  Eaves  became  incumbent  at  Little  Mosney  and  Cuerden  in  1764. 
In  1780,  Fr.  Eaves  bought  land  at  Brownedge  on  which  he  erected  a  chapel  and 
house,  and  transferred  thither  the  mission  from  Little  Mosney.  The  first  chapel  at 
Brownedge  was  opened  Dec.  23rd,  1780.  The  year  in  which  Brownedge  Chapel  was 
opened,  a  return  of  Roman  Catholics  in  Walton  chapelry  was  made  to  the  Govern- 
ment by  the  parish  authorities,  the  record  of  which  is  in  the  Register  of  Walton 
Church  :— "  1780.  This  year  an  account  was  taken  of  the  number  of  Papists  through- 
out the  kingdom  in  obedience  to  his  Majesty's  commands,  &c.  There  were  in  Walton 
and  Cuerdale,  in  1780,  178  Popish  families— 875  individuals."  Fr.  Oswald  Eaves 
died  at  Brownedge,  Oct.  I5th,  1793,  and  was  buried  at  Preston.  In  the  records  of 
the  mission  is  the  obituary  :— "  1793.  Octobris  15.  R.D.  Oswaldus  Eaves  Missionarius 
apud  Hanbridge  et  Brownedge  per  annos  ferme  30  subitanei  tandem  mortuus  est  natus 
54.  L.S.  Preston."  Fr.  John  Atkinson  was  priest  from  1793  until  his  death  in  1822. 
He  reported  a  congregation  of  1500  persons  at  Brownedge  in  1819.  Subsequent 
incumbents  are  : — Fr.  Anselm  Brewer,  1822-1846;  Fr.  Anselm  Glassbrook,  1846-7; 


742  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Fr.  Thomas  Anselm  Walker,  1847-1877.  In  1827,  a  new  church  was  built  at  Brown- 
edge  ;  the  old  chapel  was  then  demolished,  and  a  presbytery  built  on  its  site.  A 
school,  built  by  Fr.  Walker,  was  converted  into  a  convent  in  1 86 1,  when  a  new  school, 
which  cost  ;£iooo,  was  opened.  A  handsome  gothic  tower  and  spire  were  erected  at  the 
south  end  of  the  church  in  1867-8  ;  and  opened,  with  a  fine  peal  of  six  bells,  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1868  ;  the  height  of  the  tower  and  spire  is  I3oft.  The  interior  of  the  church  is 
chastely  decorated  ;  and  the  windows  are  all  memorial  ones  of  stained  glass.  The 
plan  of  the  church  consists  of  nave,  side-aisles,  and  chancel.  It  will  accommodate 
about  800  persons.  There  is  a  good  organ. 

ST.  PATRICK'S  CATHOLIC  CHAPEL,  WALTON. — This  chapel,  which  stands  by 
the  highway  near  Walton  village,  was  built  in  1857.  It  is  a  plain  structure,  used  also 
for  school  purposes,  and  is  intended  to  be  replaced  by  a  larger  chapel.  A  cemetery 
for  the  mission  was  consecrated  in  August,  1862. 

PRESBYTERIAN  CHAPEL,  WALTON  VILLAGE.— Towards  the  close  of  the  i7th 
century,  a  Presbyterian-Nonconformist  preaching-place  existed  in  Walton,  at  which 
Mr.  John  Parr,  an  ejected  minister,  preached  alternately  with  Preston.  Mr.  John 
Turner  became  minister  in  1714,  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Parr.  The  Walton  congrega- 
tion of  Presbyterians,  on  a  return  in  1715,  numbered  286  persons,  of  whom  20  were 
electors  for  the  county,  and  22  electors  of  the  borough  of  Preston.  There  was  also  a 
small  meeting  of  Anabaptists  in  Walton  in  1714.  Sir  Henry  Hoghton  erected  a  new 
Presbyterian  Meeting-house  here  in  1719;  and  in  Nov.  of  that  year  conveyed  to 
Thomas  Whalley  and  others  in  trust  "8  falls  of  land  and  a  building  lately  erected, 
for  a  pepper-corn  rent."  Rev.  John  Pilkington  succeeded  Mr.  Turner  as  minister  in 
1716  ;  and  ^4  was  allowed  yearly  towards  his  stipend  out  of  a  general  fund  of  the 
Presbyterian  association  in  England.  Mr.  Pilkington,  who  was  also  private  chaplain 
to  the  Hoghtons,  continued  minister  at  Preston  and  Walton  until  1760.  A  return  of 
Dissenting  Chapels  in  1772  gives  Walton  Chapel  as  then  Congregationalist ;  and 
notes: — "Walton  and  Preston  are  the  same  congregation,  meeting  alternately  at  these 
two  places,  under  the  care  of  the  same  minister;  at  present  (1772)  vacant."  The 
society  soon  after  became  Unitarian  in  its  professed  tenets.  About  seventy  years  ago, 
the  congregation,  being  small,  merged  in  the  Preston  society,  when  the  chapel  at 
Walton  was  altered  into  cottages,  the  rents  of  which,  with  land  attached,  form  part  of 
the  endowment  of  the  Unitarian  chapel,  Preston.  The  Walton  chapel,  as  converted 
into  dwellings,  yet  exists  ;  it  stands  in  the  rear  of  the  main  street  of  Walton  village, 
on  the  west,  and  is  a  long  narrow  structure,  with  small  mullion  windows  in  two 
storeys.  The  burial-ground,  once  surrounding  the  chapel,  is  obliterated. 

WESLEYAN  METHODIST  CHAPEL,  BAMBER  BRIDGE. — In  1763,  a  small  society 
of  Methodists  existed  in  Walton,  and  in  1764,  the  place  of  meeting  was  Cockshott 
House,  the  residence  of  Mr.  Wm.  Livesey,  who  was  class-leader.  On  April  I7th, 
1784,  John  Wesley,  passing  through  Lancashire,  visited  a  sick  lady  in  Walton,  Mrs. 
Nuttall,  one  of  the  first  of  his  adherents  here.  About  the  same  date,  the  "  Old  Hall " 
at  Little  Walton  (Bamber  Bridge),  was  used  as  the  place  of  worship  of  the  Methodists 
of  Walton,  among  whom  Mr.  Walmsley  of  Cooper-hill,  steward  to  the  Hoghtons,  was 
class-leader.  Wesley  again  tarried  a  day  at  Walton  in  April,  1 790,  when  on  his  last 
journey  in  this  part  of  England.  The  Wesleyan  Chapel  at  Bamber  Bridge  was  built 
in  1821  ;  it  is  a  small  brick  building,  having  about  130  sittings.  For  the  society  the 
corner-stone  of  a  new  Chapel  was  laid  on  March  3 1st,  1877.  The  building  will  be  in 
the  early  English  style,  built  of  brick  with  stone  dressings.  Cost  ^"2000 ;  sittings  400. 


WALTON  SCHOOLS  AND  CHARITIES.  743 

WESLEYAN  CHAPEL,  HIGHER  WALTON.— Premises  at  Moon's  Mill  in  Higher 
Walton  were  adapted  and  opened  for  a  Methodist  preaching-room  in  1813.  There 
had  been  a  Sunday  School  at  the  Mill  about  nine  years  previously.  The  society  has 
continued  to  exist ;  and  in  1869-70  a  new  chapel  was  built  on  the  bank  of  the  Darwen 
at  Higher  Walton,  which  cost  ^800.  It  is  a  neat  building  of  brick,  of  simple  gothic 
design  ;  and  has  a  school-room  on  the  basement ;  sittings  200. 

WESLEYAN  SCHOOL  CHAPEL,  WALTON  VILLAGE. — The  Wesleyans  of  Preston 
had  conducted  service  in  Walton  village  before  they  were  able  to  obtain  a  building  or 
a  site  for  a  permanent  chapel.  In  1867,  Mr.  Gudgeon  of  Preston  sold  six  cottages  in 
the  village  to  the  Wesleyams,  and  three  of  these  were  converted  into  a  school-chapel, 
which  was  opened  in  March,  1868.  Cost  about  .£800  ;  sittings  220. 

WALTON  CHARITY  SCHOOL,  SCHOOL  LANE. — In  1718,  Mr.  Hull,  then  curate 
of  Walton  Chapelry,  reported  to  Bishop  Gastrell  :  "The  school  here,  which  is  free  only 
to  the  Inhabitants  of  the  Town,  was  built  by  Inhabitants  upon  ground  given  by  Sir 
Richd.  Hough  ton,  anno  1672  (the  children  being  taught  in  the  chapel  before).  Given 
to  the  Master  by  Peter  Burscough,  anno  1624,  ;£ioo  ;  out  of  the  interest  of  which  was 
raised  ^30  more  during  the  vacancy  of  the  School  in  the  time  of  the  Rebellion.  By 
Mr.  Andrew  Dandy,  citizen  of  London,  .£100  ;  by  Thomas  Hesketh  of  Walton  ^"20  ; 
by  Mr.  Crook  of  Abram  the  loth  part  of  his  estate  in  Alston  and  Whittingham 
leased  for  £il  IDS.  per  annum.  No  governors  being  appointed  by  the  Benefactors 
(except  the  heirs  of  Mr.  Crook  for  what  was  given  by  him),  the  inhabitants  have  named 
six  trustees,  but  they  keep  the  right  of  nominating  the  Master. "  In  1825,  the  securities 
of  these  gifts  were  in  the  hands  of  the  schoolmaster,  excepting  the  writings  relating  to 
Dandy's  ;£ioo,  held  by  Mr.  John  Clayton,  a  trustee.  A  sum  of  money  was  at  the 
same  date  in  the  hands  of  Sir  Henry  Hoghton,  being  about  .£181  los.,  for  which  he 
paid  as  interest  at  5  %  to  the  master  .£14  is.  6d.  yearly.  The  master  had  £2  per 
annum  also  out  of  the  Crook  trust.  The  premises  consisted  of  a  good  dwelling-house, 
with  a  school-room  and  garden,  occupied  rent-free  by  the  master.  The  school  is 
situate  in  School-lane  near  Bamber  Bridge.  In  1866,  the  school  was  controlled  by 
five  trustees,  and  taught  by  a  mistress,  and  had  93  children  in  attendance,  all  of  whom 
paid  a  small  school-fee. 

WALTON  NATIONAL  SCHOOLS.— These  schools,  which  stand  near  the  church  at 
the  west  end  of  the  churchyard,  were  built  in  1835,  and  cost  ^"1000;  the  subscription 
was  aided  by  the  National  Society.  The  school-buildings  have  since  been  enlarged. 

WALTON  CHARITIES. 

PETER  BURSCOUGH'S  CHARITY.— Peter  Burscough,  of  Walton-in-le-Dale,  yeor 
man,  by  his  Will,  dated  1624,  gave  £10  per  annum,  to  be  distributed  to  the  poor  of 
the  township  on  Good  Friday  yearly.  In  1718  the  trustees  of  this  charity  were,  Sir 
Henry  Hoghton,  Bart.,  Edward  Winckley,  gent.,  James  Woodcock,  and  Thomas 
Winckley. 

THOMAS  CROOK'S  CHARITIES.— Thomas  Crook  of  Abram,  gent.,  by  his  Will, 
dated  July  9th,  1688,  bequeathed  lands  called  Shaw's  in  Alston  and  Whittingham,  to 
be  disposed  of  as  follows  :— (i)  To  Caleb  Crook  and  Richard  Crook  in  trust  for  the 
poor  of  the  Parish  of  St.  Olave's,  Jury,  London,  to  be  distributed  by  the  Aldermen,. 
Common  Council,  and  overseers  for  the  time  being,  on  Easter  Eve,  403. ;  (2)  to  the 
preaching  Protestant  Minister  of  Hindley  Chapel  on  Easter  Eve,  203.;  (3)  to  the  Poor 
of  Abram,  Par.  Wigan,  to  be  distributed  at  the  discretion  of  the  Trustees  and  Over- 
seers of  the  Poor,  on  Easter  Eve,  2Os. ;  (4)  to  the  Poor  of  Mawdesley,  upon  every 


744  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Shrove  Tuesday,  405.;  (5)  to  the  Schoolmaster  of  Little  School  in  Mawclesley,  if  he 
be  a  Protestant,  on  Shrove  Tuesday,  405.;  (6)  to  the  Poor  of  Preston,  on  Shrove 
Tuesday,  £4 ;  (7)  to  the  Protestant  minister  of  Low  Church  in  Walton,  on  May  1st, 
405.;  (8)  to  the  Poor  of  Walton-in-le-Dale,  on  Shrove  Tuesday,  405.;  (9)  to  the 
Schoolmaster  of  Walton-in-le-Dale,  if  he  be  a  Protestant,  on  May  1st,  403.;  (10)  to 
the  Schoolmaster  of  Low  Church  in  Hindley,  if  he  be  a  Protestant,  on  May  1st,  403.; 
(u)  to  the  Preaching  Protestant  Minister  of  West  Hough  ton,  on  May  1st,  2os. 

GRADELL'S  CHARITY. — William  Gradell,  in  1735,  devised  to  trustees  an 
estate  of  24  acres  of  land,  called  the  Shuttling  Fields  in  Walton,  the  rents  of  which 
were  to  be  distributed  to  poor  inhabitants  of  Walton-in-le-Dale  and  Brindle.  The 
estate  was  some  years  ago  sold,  when  the  sum  received  was  invested  in  the  public 
funds,  and  produces  ^78  per  annum,  the  moiety  of  which  goes  to  the  Poor  of  Walton. 

THE  MOCK  CORPORATION  OF  WALTON. — About  the  year  1701,  a  party  of 
neighbouring  gentry  formed  themselves  into  an  association  by  which  the  title  of  "  The 
Mayor  and  Corporation  of  the  ancient  Borough  of  Walton "  was  assumed.  This 
mimic  Body-Corporate  continued  to  exist  in  more  or  less  organised  form  until  about 
the  year  1796.  The  original  object  of  the  founders  was,  it  may  be  supposed,  to 
indulge  in  a  practical  satire  upon  the  Corporation  of  Preston,  by  a  paraded  travestie 
of  civic  dignities  and  procedures  ;  and  the  Whigs  being  then  the  ascendant  party  in 
Preston,  the  first  members  of  the  Mock  Corporation  of  Walton  were  chiefly  High 
Church  Tories  and  Jacobites.  The  Corporation  consisted  of  a  select  body  of  so-called 
' '  freemen, "  from  whom  the  Mayor  and  other  officers  were  chosen  annually.  The 
chief  officers  were  the  Mayor,  Recorder,  Town  Clerk,  two  Bailiffs,  Deputy-Mayor, 
and  Chaplain  ;  and  the  minor  officers,  which  included  some  ludicrous  designations, 
were  "town  sergeant,"  "champion,"  "  poet  laureate, "  "sword-bearer,"  "mace- 
bearer,"  "physician,"  "jester,"  " house -groper,"  "custard-eater,"  and  "slut-kisser." 
The  meetings  of  the  Corporation  were  held  in  a  large  room  of  the  "  Unicorn  Inn"  in 
Walton  village.  In  1739,  the  "Regalia"  consisted  of  "two  stafes  cover'd  with 
silver  hoopes  ;  one  other  staf  cover'd  full  half  way  ;  one  hunting  staf  with  a  silver 
head  ;  one  swoard  of  state  ;  one  mace  ;  two  bailiffs'  wands  ;  two  halberds. "  Four 
staves,  three  of  them  surrounded  with  silver  bands,  each  band  bearing  the  names  of  the 
Mayor  and  officers  for  a  year  ;  one  staff  with  a  silver  cap  ;  and  two  black  wands  capped 
with  silver,  are  all  that  remain  of  the  "  Regalia  ;" — these  are  now  in  possession  of 
R.  Towneley  Parker,  Esq. ,  of  Cuerden  Hall.  A  manuscript  Book  of  Records,  com- 
mencing in  1705  and  ending  in  1796,  is  now  in  custody  of  Sir  Charles  de  Hoghton, 
lord  of  Walton  Manor.  William  Farington,  Esq.,  of  Shaw  Hall,  was  first  Mayor, 
in  1701.  The  inscribed  names  upon  the  silver  bands  and  in  the  Book  of  Records 
include  representatives  of  numerous  eminent  county  families. 


WILPSHIRE  AND  DINKLEY  TOWNSHIPS.  745 


CHAPTER  XX.— THE  TOWNSHIPS  OF  WILPSHIRE-CUM- 
DINKLEY. 

Situation— Nomenclature  —Acreage — Population — Ancient  Proprietors — De  Wylypshire  family — Tal- 
bots  and  Warrens  as  lords— Dinkley  Hall— Morley  family  of  Braddyll  and  Dynkley— Minor  free- 
holders—Craven of  Craven  Fold,  Dinkley— Dewhurst  of  Dewhurst,  &c.— Feilden  of  Pythorne— 
Kenyon  of  Dinkley— Lonsdale  of  Dinkley— Talbot  of  Carr  in  Wilpshire. 

WILPSHIRE-CUM-DINKLEY  anciently  were  named  together 
as  forming  one  township  ;  but  are  now  reckoned  separate 
townships.  Dinckley  occupies  the  lower  portion  of  the  valley-slope  to 
the  bank  of  the  Ribble  west  of  Billington ;  and  Wilpshire  the  higher 
southward  portion,  terminating  on  Wilpshire  Moor,  at  yyoft.  above  the 
sea-level.  The  primitive  nomenclature  of  these  tracts  was  Wylipscyre 
and  Dynkeddegh.  Wilpshire  contains  940  statute  acres  of  land ;  and 
Dinkley  500  acres.  The  population,  being  solely  agricultural,  is  small 
and  stationary.  It  has  varied  as  follows  since  1801  : — Wilpshire — 1801, 
275;  1811,  291  ;  1821,  287;  1831,  337;  1841,  281;  1851,237;  1861, 
228;  1871,230.  Dinkley: — 1801,  197  ;  1811,  250  ;  1821,238;  1831, 
223;  1841,183;  1851,  151;  1861,  120;  1871,  119.  Dinkley  and 
part  of  Wilpshire  are  in  the  chapelry  of  Langho.  There  is  no  place  of 
worship  or  school  in  either  township. 

The  lands  of  Wilpshire-cum-Dinkley  in  early  times  embraced  several 
freeholds,  held  by  a  family  named  De  Wylpshire ;  and  by  De  Hackings 
of  Billington  ;  Braddylls  of  Braddyll ;  and  by  branches  of  the  Morleys 
and  the  Talbots.  The  Cunliffes  and  Boltons  also  held  lands  in  Wilp- 
shire in  the  i3th  century.  Of  the  De  Wilpshire  family  occur,  Richard  de 
Wilipshire,  living  about  A.D.  1200  ;  and  Henry  de  Wilipshire,  whose  son, 
Adam  de  Wilpshire,  died  before  1291,  leaving  a  widow  Margery.  Adam 
de  Wilpshire,  son  of  Henry,  gave  to  the  monks  of  Stanlaw  half  an  acre 
and  a  fall  of  land  in  the  vill  of  Wilpshire,  beginning  at  the  Waynegate 
between  his  higher  and  lower  crofts,  thence  to  the  Horeston,  thence 
between  the  donor's  lands  and  those  of  Henry  de  Bolton,  unto  the  ditch 
of  Adam  son  of  Robert  son  of  Swayn.  His  relict,  Margery  de  Wilp- 
shire, quit-claimed  to  the  Abbey  this  land  in  20  Edw.  I.  (1291-2). 


746  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

The  lords  of  Salesbury,  de  Clyderhou,  Talbots,  and  Warrens  in 
succession  (it  has  before  been  observed),  were  chief  landlords  in  Dinkley ; 
and  the  Talbots  are  also  found  exercising  manorial  rights  in  Wilpshire, 
where  they  had  lands.  In  1432,  Isabella  widow  of  John  Talbot  was 
found  holding  4  messuages,  100  acres  of  land,  and  20  of  meadow  with 
appurtenances  in  Wilpshire  and  Dynkelay.  When  the  estates,  which 
had  passed  to  the  Lord  de  Tabley,  were  sold  to  Mr.  Ward  in  1866, 
the  Dinkley  Hall  estate  included  nearly  370  acres,  and  the  Wilpshire 
estate  265  acres. 

Dinkley  Hall,  formerly  the  residence  of  several  members  of  the 
Talbots  and  Warrens,  is  an  old  partly  timber-framed  house  standing  in  a 
secluded  nook  on  the  steep  bank  of  the  Ribble.  (The  engraving  annexed 
shows  the  south  aspect  of  the  hall.)  The  building  consists  of  a  main 
block  and  a  west  wing  at  right  angles.  The  doorways  and  windows  are 
square-headed.  In  the  interior,  the  large  open  fire-places  have  been 
walled  up. 

Next  to  the  Talbots,  the  family  of  Morley,  whose  descent  is  sub- 
joined, were  of  old  the  most  important  proprietors  in  Dinkley.  Their 
local  seat  was  at  Braddyll  Hall,  on  the  Billington  side  of  the  rivulet 
which  separates  Dinkley  from  Billington. 

MORLEY  OF  DINKLEY  AND  BRADDYLL. 

The  Morley  family,  long  seated  in  Dinkley,  was  a  branch  of  Mor- 
leys  of  Wennington,  in  this  county,  whose  ancient  seat  was  at  Great 
Mearley,  whence  they  derived  their  surname  of  De  Merlay,  varied  into 
Morley.  William  de  Merelay  occurs,  holding  lands  in  Dinkley,  in  1340, 
and  Richard  de  Merlay,  about  1330,  married  Margaret  de  Wennington, 
heiress  of  Wennington,  and  so  obtained  that  estate.  Richard  de  Mer- 
lay had  sons,  John,  his  heir ;  and  Simon  de  Merlay,  who,  with  Ellen  his 
wife,  occurs  in  1369,  and  held,  five  messuages,  a  mill,  and  29  acres  of 
land  in  Dynkelay,  and  Kenyon.  John  de  Merlay,  of  Great  Merelay  and 
Wennington,  by  his  wife,  Ann  Booth  (of  Barton),  had  a  son  William  de 
Merlay,  living  temp.  Henry  V.  The  latter  married  Anne,  daughter  of 
Henry  Radcliffe  of  Ordsall,  Esq.,  and  had  a  son  John  de  Merlay,  who 
died  about  1492.  By  his  wife  (Jane  Riddlesden)  he  had  sons,  Robert, 
Thomas,  and  Giles. 

Robert  Morley,  son  of  John,  in  the  2oth  Edward  IV.,  granted  to 
Richard  Sherburne  and  others  certain  lands  held  by  knight  service  in 
Merlay  Magna,  Merlay  Parva,  and  "  Dinkley  in  Billington."  He  died 
Aug.  28th,  1498,  and  in  the  i5th  Henry  VII.,  the  Duchy  Escheator  found 
him  to  have  held  Wennington  and  Hornby  manors,  with  other  estates. 
His  wife  was  Margaret  Neville,  by  whom  he  had  sons,  John ;  Thomas, 


MORLEY  FAMILY,  OF  DINKLEY.  747 

who  died  without  issue ;  Gyles ;  a  daughter,  Margaret,  married  Henry 
Sale  of  Redford. 

John  Morley,  heir  of  Robert,  was  aged  32  years  at  the  date  of  his 
father's  death.  He  died  before  iSth  Henry  VII.  (1502-3),  seized  of 
Wennington  and  Great  Merley  Manors,  and  other  lands,  and  having  no 
issue,  his  sister,  Margaret  Sale,  became  his  heir.  This  heiress  also  died 
childless  in  24th  Henry  VII.  (1508),  when  her  uncle,  Thomas  Morley, 
son  of  John,  had  the  family  estates. 

Thomas  Morley,  Esq.,  also  died  without  issue,  Dec.  2oth,  1508, 
and  was  found  on  the  escheat  (24th  Henry  VII.),  to  have  held,  besides 
the  Manors  of  Wenyngton  and  Great  Meyreley,  lands,  &c.,  in  Dynkley 
and  Cliderowe.  John  Morley,  son  of  Giles  Morley,  brother  of  Thomas, 
was  his  kinsman  and  heir,  then  aged  2 1  years. 

John  Morley,  Esq.,  married  Margaret,  daughter  of  Sir  John  South- 
worth  of  Samlesbury,  Knt,  and  was  father  of  Francis  Morley,  Esq., 
from  whom  the  chief  descent  of  Morleys  of  Wennington  is  deduced. 

Robert  Morley,  of  Dinkley,  who  appears  early  in  the  reign  of  Henry 
VIII.,  was  a  cadet  of  this  family  whose  paternity  is  not  evident.  He 
held,  besides  the  Dinkley  Hall  estate,  the  Braddyll  estate  in  Billington. 
He  married  Isabel  (Elizabeth)  daughter  of  Richard  Parker,  gent.  He 
died  about  1512,  and  at  the  Inq.  post  mort.t  taken  March  3ist,  4th 
Henry  VIII.,  it  was  "found  that  Robert  Morley  had  died  seized  of  the 
so-called  manor  of  Bradhill  in  Billington,  with  three  messuages,  200 
acres  of  land,  16  acres  of  meadow,  20  acres  of  pasture,  and  12  acres  of 
woodland  in  Billington,  Kenyon,  and  Dynkley.  Charles  Morley,  his 
son  and  heir,  was  aged  13  years.  The  escheat  cites  Robert  Morley's 
Will  and  a  deed  of  settlement,  dated  Dec.  iQth,  1510.  Robert  Morley 
of  Bradhill,  gent.,  had  theretofore  enfeoffed  Richard  Baturesby,  John 
Cauncefeld,  Charles  Baturesby,  and  George  Baturesby  to  recover  against 
him  before  the  King's  Justices  of  Assize  at  Lancaster,  at  the  sessions 
holden  there  next  after  the  Feast  of  St.  Bartholomew  the  apostle,  in  the 
ist  Henry  VIII.,  all  his  messuages,  lands  and  tenements,  &c.,  which 
he  had  the  day  of  the  said  record  in  Byllington,  Kenyon,  and  Dynkley ; 
the  intent  of  the  said  Recovery  being  that  the  recoverers  of  the  premises 
should  fulfil  the  last  Will  of  the  said  Robert  Morley  as  to  the  disposition 
of  the  same  ;  and  first,  testator  wills  that  the  said  recoverers  so  seized 
should  make  at  his  reasonable  request  to  certeyn  feoffees  to  be  nomi- 
nated by  Sir  Richard  Shirburne,  Knt,  a  sufficient  estate  in  the  law  of 
the  manor  of  Bradhill,  and  of  tenements  in  Dynkley  and  Billington  then 
in  the  holding  of  John  Dugdale,  with  a  parcel  of  land  lying  in  Billington 
in  a  close  called  Larkehill ;  the  said  feoffees  to  stand  enfeoffed  in 
parcel  of  the  manor  of  Bradhill,  of  the  yearly  value  of  265.  8d.,  to  the 


748  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

use  of  Ellyn,  daughter  of  Richard  Shirburne,  for  her  life.  Also  the  said 
feoffees  were  to  suffer  testator  to  take  yearly  to  his  use  all  issues,  rents, 
&c.,  of  the  residue  of  the  said  manor  of  Bradhill  and  tenements  in  Dink- 
ley  and  Billington  for  his  life ;  and  at  his  decease  feoffees  to  stand  seized 
of  the  same  residue  and  tenements  to  the  use  of  the  said  Ellyn  for  her 
lyfe  ;  after  her  death  to  the  use  of  Charles  Morley,  the  testator's  son,  his 
heirs  male,  &c.;  remainder  to  son  Ambrose  Morley,  and  his  heirs 
male ;  remainder  to  son  Utrede  Morley  and  his  heirs  male  ;  re- 
mainder to  son  Roger  Morley  and  his  heirs  male ;  remainder  to  the 
right  heirs  of  the  said  Charles  Morley  for  ever.  Testator,  Robert  Mor- 
ley, to  take  to  his  use  for  life  messuages  and  lands  in  Kenyon  of  the 
yearly  value  of  465.  8d.,  and  a  parcel  of  land  in  Billington,  in  the  hold- 
ing of  William  Talbot,  to  the  value  of  6s.  8d.,  of  which  other  certain 
feoffees  stood  seized  to  the  use  of  his  wife  Elizabeth  in  name  of  her  join- 
ture for  life.  Signed  Dec.  iQth,  2nd  Henry  VIII. 

The  above  evidence  proves  that  Robert  Morley  had  four  sons, 
Charles,  Ambrose,  Uctred,  and  Roger.  Charles,  the  heir  in  1512,  died 
probably  without  issue,  as  did  his  next  brother,  Ambrose;  for  in  1523 
Uctred  Morley,  the  third  son,  is  found  in  possession. 

Through  this  Uctred  Morley,  of  Braddyll,  the  descent  continues. 
In  the  Subsidy  of  1523,  Hughtride  Morley  paid  the  tax  on  his  lands  in 
Billington.  Uctred  Morley  died  Dec.  24th,  2oth  Henry  VIII.  (1528), 
seized  of  messuages  and  lands  in  Billington,  Dinkley  and  Kenyon. 
Robert  Morley  was  his  son  and  heir,  aged  1 6  years.  Uctred  Morley, 
gent,  probably  a  younger  son  of  the  above  Uctred,  married,  in  1547, 
Jenet,  second  daughter  of  John  Braddyll,  Esq. 

Robert  Morley,  heir  of  Uctred,  held  the  estate  some  60  years.  In 
1538,  Robert  Morley  held  freely  "certain  lands  called  Braddill"  for 
which  he  paid  us.  yd.  chief  rent  to  Whalley  Abbey.  He  had  also,  as 
tenant-at-will,  seven  acres  in  Billington,  "  late  Walbanck's  land,"  paying 
155.  yearly.  He  married,  first,  Isabel,  daughter  of  Thomas  Grimshaw 
of  Clayton  (she  died  in  1548,  and  was  buried  at  Whalley,  July 
9th) ;  and,  secondly,  Isabel,  widow  of  Robert  Shuttleworth  of 
Hacking,  gent.,  and  daughter  of  John  Hoghton,  of  Pendleton,  gent. 
He  had  sons,  Nicholas,  who  died  in  October,  1572;  Henry,  who 
succeeded  him,  and  John;  who  died  in  1594.  In  the  nth  Eliz.  (1568), 
Robert  Morley  and  Isabel  his  wife,  claiming  by  deed  of  feoffment  as  a 
jointure,  sought  to  recover  from  Charles  Shottilworth  and  others  four 
closes  of  land  about  the  house  called  Hackinge  Hall,  in  Billington.  A 
year  after  another  suit  was  entered  between  Robert  Morley  and  Isabel, 
"  late  wife  of  Robert  Shuttleworth,"  and  Charles  Shuttleworth,  claiming 
by  descent,  as  to  the  title  to  the  same  closes.  In  1570,  "Robert  Morley 


CRAVEN  FAMILY,  OF  DINKLEY. 


749 


cum  Uxor"  was  assessed  for  lands  in  Billington  to  a  subsidy.  In  1582, 
Thomas  Holcroft,  Esq.,  claimed  against  Robert  Morley  the  "lands 
called  Walbanck  in  Braddill  Fields."  Robert  Morley,  gent.,  gave  203. 
to  the  Stock  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School,  of  which  he  was  a  Governor, 
before  his  decease,  aged  about  74,  in  1592.  He  was  buried  at  Whalley 
Church,  Aug.  29th,  1592. 

Henry  Morley,  of  Braddyll,  gent.,  succeeding  Robert,  occurs  as 
defendant  in  suits  with  Thomas  Holcroft,  in  1597-8.  Henry  Morley 
died  June  loth,  ist  James  I.  (1603) ;  his  Will  is  dated  3ist  May  of  that 
year,  but  the  Escheator's  inquisition  was  not  taken  until  the  i9th  James 
I.  (1621),  when  it  was  proved  that  Henry  Morley  had  died  seized  of  one 
Messuage  called  Bradhill  or  Bradhull,  with  30  acres  of  land,  15  acres 
of  meadow,  60  acres  of  pasture,  four  acres  of  woodland,  and  60  acres 
of  moor,  moss,  and  turbary  in  Billington,  held  of  Thomas  Walmesley, 
Esq.,  as  of  Billington  manor  in  socage,  by  the  rent  of  us.  yearly ;  also 
of  one  messuage,  20  acres  of  land,  2  acres  of  meadow,  10  acres  of 
pasture,  2  acres  of  woodland,  and  40  acres  of  moor,  moss,  and  turbary 
in  Dinckley,  held  of  the  King  as  of  the  manor  of  Clitheroe  in  socage. 
Jane  Morley,  widow  of  Henry,  was  living  in  Billington  in  1622;  and 
Margaret,  wife  of  Anthony  Blewet,  Henry  Morley's  daughter  and  sole 
heir,  was  then  aged  48  years. 

Anthonie  Blewet,  gent,  husband  of  Margaret  heiress  of  the  last 
male  member  of  the  Morleys  of  Braddyll  and  Dinkley,  was  taxed  for 
lands  in  Billington  to  the  subsidy  in  1611.  He  had  issue,  by  Henry 
Morley's  daughter,  his  wife,  a  son  and  heir  Morley  Blewett.  Anthony 
Blewett,  gent.,  then  of  Somerby,  Co.  Leicester,  and  Margaret,  his  wife, 
were  parties  to  a  deed  in  1622. 

CRAVEN  OF  CRAVEN  FOLD,  DINKLEY. 

Richard  Craven  and  Michael  Craven  occur  as  tenants  of  Whalley  Abbey  in 
Billington  in  1538.  William  Craven  of  Billington  occurs  in  1563. 

Richard  Craven,  of  Dinkley,  is  named  in  the  Will  of  John  Braddyll,  Esq.,  dated 
1578  : — "  Forasmuch  as  I  have  made  a  lease  to  my  servant  Richard  Craven  of  one 
tenement  in  Dinkley,  now  in  (his)  occupation,  yielding  the  yearly  rent  of  243.  5d.,  my 
will  is  that  the  said  Richard  shall  not  only  not  pay  any  rente  to  my  heires  so  longe  as 
he  shall  live,  but  that  the  same  lease  shall  remain  to  his  executors,  paying  therefore 
thereafter  yearlie  the  said  rent  to  my  heires.  And  if  the  said  Richard  live  longer  than 
the  years  expressed  in  the  said  lease,  then  I  will  that  he  shall  have  the  said  messuages, 
&c. ,  wholly  during  his  life  without  paying  any  rent. "  John  Braddyll  also  gave  to  his 
"servant  Richard  Craven  "  a  legacy  of  ^20  for  his  good  service. 

Richard  Craven  of  Dinkley,  yeoman  (son,  or  grandson,  of  the  above  Richard), 
paid  the  Subsidy  tax  in  1610.  He  married  Anne,  second  daughter  of  Edward 
Walmesley  of  Banister  Hall,  gent.,  and  had,  with  other  issue,  a  son  Thomas.  The 
deeds  of  the  freehold  of  this  family  include  several  executed  in  the  time  of  this  Richard 
Craven,  and  to  which  he  was  a  party.  By  deed  dated  1617,  Anthony  Blewett,  of 


75o  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN.  . 

Harlaxton,  gent,  and  Morley  Blewett  his  son  and  heir,  for  ,£100,  bargain,  sell,  &c., 
to  Richard  Craven,  of  Dinkley,  yeoman,  the  messuage  and  tenement  in  the  Moregate 
in  Dinkley  then  in  possession  of  Jane  Morley,  widow  of  Henry  Morley,  gent.,  and  of 
one  John  Sailbury,  yeoman ;  also  a  close  of  land  called  the  Townefield  adjoining  the 
said  messuage  on  the  north  side,  and  a  little  parcel  of  the  lane  called  Dinkley  Loyne. 
By  deed  in  latin,  dated  also  in  1617,  Morley  Blewett,  of  Harlaxton,  gent,  (son  and 
heir  of  Anthony  and  Margaret  his  wife),  quitclaims  to  Richard  Craven  his  right  in  the 
same  tenement.  An  indenture  dated  July  3 1st,  1619,  between  John  Braddyll  of 
Portfield,  Esq.,  and  Richard  Craven  of  Dinkley,  yeoman,  witnesses  that  John 
Braddyll,  in  consideration  of  ^460  paid  by  Richard  Craven  to  him  and  to  his  father 
John  Braddyll,  Esq.,  deceased,  conveys  to  Richard  Craven  a  messuage  and  tenement 
of  20  acres  in  Dinkley,  in  the  tenure  of  the  said  Richard  Craven.  In  another  deed  of 
release  by  John  Braddyll,  dated  1622,  this  estate  is  described  as  one  messuage,  two 
barns,  one  garden,  two  orchards,  8  acres  of  land,  5  of  meadow,  5  of  pasture,  6  of 
woodland,  8  of  turbary,  and  common  of  pasture,  in  Dinkley.  Richard  Craven  of 
Dinkley,  yeoman,  by  deed  of  enfeoffment  dated  Feb.  2nd,  1654-5,  conveys  in  trust  to 
John  Barlow  of  Dutton,  Richard  Marsden,  son  and  heir  apparent  of  John  Marsden  of 
the  Pail  near  Lagram,  yeoman,  Thomas  Hindle  of  Rishton,  and  Richard  Craven 
younger  son  of  John  Craven  of  Elkar  in  Billington,  clothiers,  his  messuage,  lands, 
&c.,  in  Dinkley,  to  hold  to  uses  mentioned  in  a  pair  of  indentures  dated  Jan.  3ist, 
1654.  (Signed)  RICHARD  CRAVEN.  Witnesses  :  Wm.  Woodd,  Robt.  Chew,  Wm^ 
Holker,  Robert  Craven,  Thomas  Sudell.  Richard  Craven  died  soon  after  his  execu- 
tion of  this  deed  of  trust. 

Thomas  Craven  of  Dinkley,  yeoman,  paid  the  Subsidy  tax  in  1663,  and  was 
living  in  1689.  He  had  a  son  Richard  ;  and  daughters,  Jane,  wife  of  John  Clarke  of 
Whalley ;  Ann,  wife  of  John  Dobson  of  Whalley ;  and  Dorothy,  wife  of  George 
Almond  of  Dinkley. 

Richard  Craven  of  Dinkley,  yeoman,  son  of  Thomas,  by  Elizabeth  his  wife  had 
a  son  Thomas.  Richard  Craven  died  about  1717  ;  his  Will  is  dated  Aug.  3Oth,  1717  ; 
wife  Elizabeth  sole  executrix.  His  son — 

Thomas  Craven  of  Craven  Fold,  Dinkley,  rebuilt  the  house  there  in  1727,  which 
bears  a  stone  with  the  initials  "  T  C  "  and  date  "  1727."  He  had  a  son  Thomas. 

Thomas  Craven  of  Craven  Fold,  born  about  1740,  married  in  Nov.,  1768,  Betty 
Leeming  of  Billington,  and  had  issue,  sons,  Thomas;  James,  born  in  1771;  John, 
Ralph,  Peter,  Giles,  and  Paul ;  and  a  daughter  Margaret.  Thomas  Craven,  eldest 
son  of  Thomas,  died  unmarried,  in  1832,  and  was  buried  at  Stonyhurst. 

James  Craven,  second  son  of  Thomas,  and  heir  to  his  brother  Thomas  who  died 
in  1832,  died  at  Craven  Fold,  Oct.  1st,  1841,  aged  about  70  years.  He  married 
Mary  Walkden,  who  died  aged  65,  March  8th,  1840,  and  had  issue,  sons,  James,  born 
Oct.  10th,  1805  ;  Thomas,  died,  aged  24,  Oct.  I2th,  1830 ;  and  Peter,  born  in  1807, 
died  in  1810 ;  and  a  daughter,  Mary,  died,  aged  19,  in  1824. 

James  Craven,  of  Craven  Fold,  son  of  James,  married  Agnes  Partington,  and 
died,  aged  68,  Dec.  2Oth,  1873.  He  had  sons,  Thomas  Craven  (now  of  Blackburn 
and  Dinkley,  married  Catherine  Parker,  and  has  issue,  James,  Thomas,  and  Richard, 
Elizabeth,  and  Grace);  Richard  Craven  (of  Blackburn,  married  Sarah  Jane  Scowcroft, 
and  has  issue,  James,  William,  Richard,  and  three  daughters)  ;  James  Craven  ;  Mary, 
Elizabeth,  and  Margaret. 

DEWHURST  OF  DEWHURST  IN  WILPSHIRE,  &c. 

William  Dewhurst  and  Oliver  Dewhurst,  both  of  Wilpshire,  paid  the  Subsidy 
levy  in  1523. 


DEWHURST  FAMILY  OF  WILPSHIRE.  75  r 

John  Dewhurst  of  Dewhurst  in  Wilpshire  (named  in  the  Visitation  of  1613),  by 
a  daughter  of  Isherwood  of  Shorrock-hey  in  Pleasington,  had  a  son  William. 

William  Dewhurst  of  Dewhurst  occurs  in  1568,  and  was  assessed  for  lands  in 
Wilpshire  to  a  subsidy  in  1570.  He  died  about  1592,  having  given  2Os.  to  Blackburn 
Grammar  School.  By  Elizabeth  his  wife,  daughter  of  —  Aspinall  of  Standen,  he 
had  a  son  John. 

John  Dewhurst,  of  Dewhurst,  gent,  a  juror  in  1597,  a  recorded  freeholder  in 
1600,  was  taxed  on  his  lands  in  Wilpshire  to  a  subsidy  in  1610.  A  plaint  in  the 
Palatine  Chancery  Court,  in  1609,  by  Gyles  Whalley  of  Broadhead  in  Mellor,  yeoman, 
sets  forth  that  John  Dewhurst  the  elder,  of  Mickle-neyes,  being  seased  in  his  demesne 
as  of  freehold,  and  during  the  term  of  his  life  and  the  lives  of  John  and  William,  his 
sons,  of  parcels  of  land  in  Mickle-heyes  in  Rishton  by  lease  made  unto  John  Dewhurst 
by  Ralph  Rishton  of  Ponthalgh,  gent.,  the  said  John  Dewhurst,  for  the  sum  of  ^30 
paid  to  him  by  Edward  Whalley,  brother  of  suppliant,  of  Stoppen-hey  in  Lipshire 
(Wilpshire),  conveyed,  in  4th  James  I.  (1606),  the  said  closes  of  land  to  Edward 
Whalley  for  12  years.  John  Dewhurst  married  Grace,  daughter  and  heir  of  Henry 
Boyes  of  Boyes  House  (she  died  in  1619,  and  was  buried  at  Ribchester),  and  had  issue, 
sons,  William,  born  in  1587  ;  and  John  ;  and  daughters,  Ellen,  wife  of  Richard 
Banester  of  Craven  ;  Mary  wife  of  George  Southworth  of  Highfield,  Esq.;  and  Ann. 
His  son — 

William  Dewhurst,  lived  at  Boyes  House,  Ribchester  (his  mother's  estate),  but  had 
lands  in  Wilpshire.  He  married  Hellen,  third  daughter  of  Thomas  Southworth  of 
Samlesbury,  Esq.,  and  had  sons,  John,  born  in  1610,  died  in  July,  1622  ;  Anthony, 
died  in  Jan.  1621-2  ;  William,  eventual  heir  ;  and  George  ;  and  daughters,  Rosamond, 
and  Grace.  William  Dewhurst,  gent.,  died  at  Ribchester,  July  1 2th,  1622,  seized 
(by  the  escheat  taken  July  28th,  1625)  of  two  messuages  called  Dewhurst  and  60  acres 
of  land  in  Wilpshire ;  one  messuage  called  The  Ashes,  and  30  acres  of  land  in  Wilp- 
shire ;  these  tenements  held  of  Sir  John  Talbot,  Knt.,  as  of  his  manor  of  Salesbury,  in 
socage,  by  45.  rent,  worth  403. ;  of  other  lands  in  Wilpshire  ;  of  Boyes  House  in 
Ribchester,  with  lands,  &c.  William  Dewhurst,  son  and  heir,  was  then  aged  6  years 
and  5  days. 

From  William  Dewhurst,  the  son,  descended  the  Dewhursts  of  Ribchester,  of 
whom  were,  William  Dewhurst,  born  in  1644,  died  Jan.  24th,  1696  ;  and  later,  Henry 
Dewhurst,  whose  Will  is  dated  Nov.  i6th,  1762  ;  James  Dewhurst,  of  Ribchester  in 
1764  ;  John  Dewhurst,  who  by  his  Will,  dated  June  I3th,  1771,  gave  an  endowment 
for  a  free  school  in  Ribchester ;  and  Edward  Dewhurst  of  Ribchester,  yeoman,  who 
married,  in  Aug.  1765,  Jane  Wood  of  Blackburn. 

Descended  also  from  the  above  stock  of  Dewhursts  of  Wilpshire  was  Roger 
Dewhurst,  born  at  Dewhurst  House,  Wilpshire,  about  1720,  lived  in  Billington,  and 
died,  in  1820,  aged  nearly  100  years.  By  Martha  his  wife  he  had  sons,  Henry,  John, 
William,  Thomas,  and  Edmund ;  and  daughters,  Jennet,  and  Mary.  The  youngest  son, 
Edmund  Dewhurst  of  Temple  End,  Pleasington  (born  in  1770,  died  July  3rd,  1857), 
married,  in  1800,  Betty,  daughter  of  William  Kilshaw  of  Garstang,  and  had  sons, 
William  ;  Thomas  ;  Robert ;  and  Kilshaw  Dewhurst,  born  in  1811,  of  Pleasington  in 
1877  ;  and  a  daughter  Elizabeth. 

A  branch  of  this  family  was  seated  at  Micklehey  in  Rishton.  John  Dewhurst  of 
Micklehey,  son  of  John  of  Dewhurst,  had  sons,  John  ;  James,  born  in  1617  ;  and 
several  daughters.  John  Dewhurst  of  Micklehey  died  in  March,  1653-4.  Another 
John  Dewhurst  of  Micklehey  died  in  Nov.,  1676.  Thomas  Dewhurst  of  Micklehey 
occurs  in  1629.  He  had  a  son  Thomas,  born  in  1622,  and  other  issue. 


752  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

FEILDEN  OF  PYTHORNE  IN  WILPSHIRE. 

Francis  Feilden  of  Pythorne,  a  younger  son  of  Randal  Feilden  of  Great  Harwood, 
lived  temp.  Elizabeth.  Henry  Feilden  of  Wilpshire  paid  the  subsidy  tax  in  1570. 
Another  Henry  Feilden  of  Pythorne  was  a  governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in 
1628.  Oliver  Feilden  and  Jane  his  wife  both  died  in  1592.  Another  Oliver  Feilden, 
"  de  Pythorne,"  was  buried  Feb.  8th,  161 1.  His  son,  Oliver  Feilden  of  the  Pythorne, 
had  sons  John,  born  in  1605,  and  Robert,  born  in  1613.  The  latter  occurs  as  Robert 
Feilden  of  Pythorne,  who  had  a  son  Oliver  born  in  1652.  Oliver  Feilden  died  in 
1709.  A  later  Oliver  Feilden  of  Wilpshire,  yeoman,  married,  in  1697,  Elizabeth 
Feilden  of  Rishton.  Robert  Feilden  of  Wilpshire,  yeoman,  died  in  Oct.  1766. 

George  Feilden  of  Pythorne,  who  had  a  son  Roger,  born  in  Nov.  1591,  and 
daughters  Margaret  and  Isabel,  died  in  1618.  His  widow  died  in  1620.  His  son, 
Roger  Feilden  of  Pythorne,  died  Feb.  5th,  1652.  He  had  a  son  George,  bapt.  June 
2ist,  1644.  A  George  Feilden  of  Wilpshire,  yeoman,  died  in  July,  1721. 

KENYON  OF  DINKLEY  AND  PARK  HEAD. 

This  family,  perhaps  an  offshoot  of  the  ancient  one  of  Kenyon  of  Kenyon,  Co. 
Lane. ,  acquired  importance  in  the  seventeenth  century.  Robert  Kenyon,  by  Margaret 
Berry,  his  second  wife,  had  a  son  Roger,  seated  at  Dinkley. 

Roger  Kenyon,  of  Dinkley,  married  Anne,  daughter  of  one  of  the  Heywoods  of 
Hey  wood,  and  had  a  son  and  heir,  Roger. 

Roger  Kenyon,  gent.,  son  of  Roger,  resided  on  an  estate  at  Park-head,  near 
Whalley.  He  married  Jane,  daughter  of  Richard  Assheton  of  Chadderton,  Esq.,  and 
had  issue,  sons,  Roger,  born  June  1 6th,  1627  ;  Edward,  afterwards  Revd.  Edward 
Kenyon,  B. D.,  rector  of  Prestwich  from  1659  till  his  death  in  1668;  and  daughters, 
Anne,  wife  of  John  Crombocke,  of  Wiswall ;  Dorothy  (who  married,  first,  Major- 
General  Charles  Worsley,  the  celebrated  Cromwellian  general,  who  died  June  1 2th, 
1656  ;  and  secondly,  Mr.  Waldiffe  Layo,  of  Manchester)  ;  Jane  (married,  first,  John 
Stonehewer,  gent.,  of  Barley-ford,  Co.  Chester,  and  secondly,  Richard  Haworth,  Esq., 
of  Manchester,  barrister-at-law  and  Bencher  of  Gray's  Inn)  ;  and  Alice.  Roger  Ken- 
yon died  Aug.  I4th,  1636,  aged  52.  His  epitaph  is  in  Whalley  Church.  The  escheat, 
taken  at  Bolton,  Jan.  I2th,  I2th  Charles  I.  (1636-7),  shows  that  he  had  died  seized  of 
two  messuages,  two  gardens,  &c.,  44  acres  of  land,  in  Whalley  ;  of  right  of  pasture 
upon  Harwood  Moor ;  of  one  messuage  and  24  acres  of  land  in  Dinckley ;  of  two 
messuages,  two  gardens,  and  6  acres  of  land  in  Billington ;  and  of  one  barn  and  IO 
acres  of  land  in  Old  Accrington.  Roger  Kenyon  was  his  son  and  heir,  aged  9  years. 
He  was — 

Roger  Kenyon,  gent.,  of  Park  Head,  who  married,  in  1657,  Alice,  daughter  and 
heir  of  George  Rigby  of  Peel,  gent. ;  and  had  issue,  sons,  Roger,  born  in  1659 ;  George  ; 
and  Thomas  ;  and  a  daughter  Beatrice.  He  resided,  after  his  marriage,  at  Peel  Hall, 
in  Little  Hulton,  the  inheritance  of  his  wife.  Roger  Kenyon,  Esq.,  was  M.P.  for 
Clitheroe  from  1690  101695.  He  died  June  i6th,  1698,  aged  71  years.  His  eldest 
son,  named  in  1689  as  "  Mr.  Roger  Kenyon,  junr.,  of  Peele,"  had  a  daughter  Alice, 
bapt.  Feb.  24th,  1689-90  ;  he  died  before  his  father. 

George  Kenyon,  Roger's  second  son,  succeeded  to  the  estates.  He  was  M.  P.  for 
Wigan  from  1710  to  1714. 

Thomas  Kenyon,  younger  son  of  Roger,  married,  in  1668,  Catherine,  daughter 
and  heir  of  Luke  Lloyd  of  Bryn,  Co.  Flint,  and  died  in  1731.  His  son,  Lloyd  Ken- 
yon, Esq.,  was  father  of  Lloyd  Kenyon,  born  in  1732,  who  was  successively  Attorney 


TALBOT  OF  CARR.  ^ 

General,  Master  of  the  Rolls,  and  Lord  Chief  Justice  of  England ;  created  Baron 
Kenyon  in  1788,  from  whom  descends  the  present  Baron  Kenyon. 

LONSDALE  OF  DINKLEY. 

Hugh  Lonsdale,  of  Billington  and  Dinkley,  by  Mary  his  wife  (she  died  in  April, 
1678)  had  a  son  Hugh. 

Hugh  Lonsdale  of  Dinkley  married,  April  28th,  1681,  Susan  Smalley,  and  had 
sons,  Robert,  born  May  8th,  1686  ;  and  John,  born  and  died  in  1698 ;  and  daughters, 
Ann,  born  in  1682,  died  in  1708  ;  Mary,  born  in  1688,  married,  in  1717,  Nicholas 
Wigan ;  Elizabeth,  born  in  1691  ;  and  Alice,  born  in  1694.  Hugh  Lonsdale,  yeoman, 
died  Feb.  25th,  1708.  His  son — 

Robert  Lonsdale  of  Dinkley,  yeoman,  married,  at  Walton  Church,  April  7th, 
1713,  Ann  Radcliffe,  and  had  sons,  Hugh,  bora  Aug.  29th,  1717,  died  Feb.  2 1st, 
1749-50;  and  George;  and  daughters,  Mary,  born  in  1714;  Ann,  born  in  1727; 
Jane  ;  and  Susan,  born  Aug.  i6th,  1735,  married,  Feb.  I3th,  1763,  Thomas  Haworth 
of  Revidge  Fold,  yeoman  (see  ante,  Haworth  of  Blackburn,  p.  396).  Robert  Lons- 
dale died,  aged  63,  Jan.  24th,  1750. 

George  Lonsdale,  surviving  son  of  Robert,  born  March  2gth,  1726,  named  "of 
Dinkley"  in  1774,  was  progenitor  of  Dewhurst  Lonsdale,  of  Dinkley  in  1823  ;  whose 
son,  William  Lonsdale  of  Dinkley,  was  father  of  Thomas ;  William ;  and  George 
Dewhurst  Lonsdale,  who,  in  1873,  held  a  freehold  farm  of  31^  acres  in  Dinkley. 

TALBOT  OF  CARR  IN  WILPSHIRE. 

This  branch  of  Talbot  of  Salesbury  is  traced  back  to  Stephen  Taibot  of  Carr, 
whose  son  and  heir,  George  Talbot  of  Carr,  was  living  A.D.  1500.  His  son — 

Nicholas  Talbot  of  Carr,  gent.,  married,  first,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Lawrence 
Shuttleworth  of  Gawthorpe,  Esq. ,  by  whom  he  had  no  recorded  issue  ;  and  secondly, 
Anne,  first  daughter  and  one  heir  of  Evan  Browne  of  Ribbleton,  gent,  (she  survived 
him  and  married,  secondly,  Richard  Sherburne  of  Bayley,  Esq. )  By  her  Nicholas 
Talbot  had  a  son  George  ;  and  daughters,  Margaret,  wife  of  Robert  Aspden ;  and 
Bridget.  Nicholas  Talbot  was  taxed  to  a  Subsidy  for  lands  in  Wilpshire  in  1523. 
He  died  April  28th,  1547  ;  and  the  escheat,  dated  1st  Edw.  VI.,  returns  that  he  died 
seized  of  two  messuages,  40  acres  of  land,  1 6  of  meadow,  and  18  of  woodland  in 
Wilpshire  and  Salesbury ;  20  acres  of  land  and  2s.  rent  in  Penhulton  ;  and  9  acres  of 
land  in  Billington.  George  Talbot,  son  and  heir,  was  aged  5  years  and  1 1  months. 

George  Talbot  of  Carr,  gent,  married  June  27,  1569,  Ann,  daughter  of  Roger  Nowell 
of  Mearley,  gent,  and  had  sons,  Nicholas,  died  in  April  1571;  a  second  Nicholas,  died 
in  1595;  and  John;  and  daughters,  Bridgett,  bapt.  Nov.  2nd,  1575;  Mary,  bapt. 
March  I9th,  1577;  Dorothy,  bapt.  Aug.  1st,  1579,  married  Ralph  Rishton  of  Ponthalgh, 
and  Frances,  born  June,  1580.  In  1551,  Robt.  Aspden  and  Margaret  his  wife,  daughter 
of  Nicholas  Talbot,  deceased,  and  Bridget  Talbot,  disputed  with  Richard  Sherburne  and 
Anne  his  wife  (widow  and  executrix  of  Nicholas  Talbot)  and  John  Singleton  and 
George  Talbot,  also  executors,  title  to  goods  and  chattels  of  deceased  ;  and  depositions 
were  taken  as  to  the  custom  of  the  county  in  the  distribution  of  a  father's  effects  among 
his  children,  not  being  his  heirs,  and  notwithstanding  the  father's  Will.  In  1570, 
George  Talbot,  gent.,  paid  a  Subsidy  tax  for  his  lands  in  Wilpshire.  He  gave,  in 
I593»  4°s.  to  Blackburn  Grammar  School,  2Os.  for  Carre  and  2os.  for  Wytton.  He 
was  a  burgess  of  Preston  at  the  Guild  of  1622  ;  and  died  aged  88  (being  born  in  1541) 
in  1629.  His  son — 

John  Talbot  of  Carr,  gent.,  married  Dorothy,  daughter  of  Edward  Braddyll  of 

48 


754  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Portfield,  Esq.,  and  had  sons,  Edward  ;  Thomas,  and  John.  He  was  a  Governor  of 
Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1628. 

Edward  Talbot  of  Carr  married  Mabel,  daughter  of  Lawrence  Carleton,  and  had 
sons,  George  ;  and  John  (named  as  John  Talbot  of  Wilpshire,  who  had  sons,  Richard, 
born  in  1666  ;  John,  born  in  1668  ;  Thomas  ;  Joseph  and  Benjamin,  twins,  born  in 
1677  ;  &c). 

George  Talbot  of  Carr,  eldest  son  of  Edward,  died  about  1708.  The  Will  of 
"  George  Talbot  of  Carr,  gent.,"  is  dated  Dec.  i8th,  1708  ;  and  names  his  wife  Anne 
as  sole  executrix ;  a  son  George ;  and  daughters,  Katherine,  married  —  Eden,  and 
having  issue  Robert  and  Mary ;  and  Mary,  married  —  Osbaldeston,  and  having  issue 
James,  Mary,  Dorothy,  Margery,  and  Anne  ;  testator's  nephews,  John  and  Thomas 
Talbot,  are  mentioned.  A  curious  circumstance  about  this  Will  is  that  it  was  accom- 
panied by  depositions  that  it  had  been  torn  by  testator's  daughter,  Catherine  Eden. 

The  old  Messuage  of  this  branch  of  the  Talbots  called  Carr  is  situate  in  a 
wooded  hollow  on  the  northern  declivity  of  Wilpshire  Moor.  The  house,  rebuilt 
probably  in  the  1 7th  century,  consists  of  a  central  block  fronting  the  west,  with 
projecting  gabled  wings.  The  freehold  now  belongs  to  Henry  Petre,  Esq. 


WITTON  TOWNSHIP  AND  MANOR.  755 


CHAPTER  XXL— THE  TOWNSHIP  OF  WITTON. 

Topography — Acreage — Population — Ancient  Landowners — DeChaderton — Radcliff — Ireland — Astley 
— Standish— Feilden  of  Witton  Park— Witton  Old  Hall,  and  Witton  House— Greenfield  Family— 
Holden  of  Coohill— Church  of  St.  Mark- School-Church,  Griffin— Methodist  Chapels— Schools. 

WITTON  Township  adjoins  that  of  Blackburn  on  the  west,  and 
occupies  the  north  and  south  slopes  of  Billinge  Hill,  which 
rises  807  feet  above  the  sea-level.  The  Darwen  river  is  the  boundary 
on  the  south.  More  than  half  the  land  of  Witton  was  enclosed,  about 
80  years  ago,  as  a  Park  to  Witton  House,  the  seat  of  the  Feildens. 
The  lower  part  on  the  south  side,  between  the  Darwen  and  Blakewater 
rivers,  has  recently  become  a  populous  suburb  of  Blackburn,  and  has 
been  embraced  in  the  Parliamentary  and  Municipal  Borough.  The  area 
of  Witton  is  650  statute  acres.  The  population,  since  the  invasion  of 
the  cotton  manufacture,  has  much  increased.  In  1801  it  was  461 
persons;  1811,819;  1821,1067;  1831,1047;  1841,1073;  1851, 
1367;  1861,3293;  1871,3803.  Witton  Stocks  was  the  situation  of 
the  old  public  town  stocks,  which  were  standing  not  many  years  ago. 

ANCIENT  PROPRIETORS.— DESCENT  OF  THE  MANOR. 

The  earliest  landlords  in  Witton  who  occur  are  the  De  Chadertons. 
In  1311  (De  Lascy  Inquisition)  it  is  returned  that  Richard,  son  of 
Geoffrey  de  Chaderton  held  one  carucate  of  land  in  Witton  by  the 
service  of  the  eighth  part  of  a  knight's  fee  and  23.  yearly  to  the  chief 
lord.  Later,  the  Radcliffes  of  Chaderton  by  marriage  inherited  this 
estate.  By  deed  dated  at  Witton,  June  5th,  gth  Edw.  Ill  (1336)  Adam  son 
of  William  de  Radclif  gave  to  John  son  of  Adam  de  Ireland  "  all  the 
lands  he  had  in  the  vill  of  Witton  near  Blackburn."  The  same  Adam 
de  Radcliffe,  by  deed  dated  June  5th,  19  Edw.  III.  (1346),  granted 
lands  in  Witton  to  John  de  Toppcliff,  Vicar  of  Whalley,  and  to  John  de 
Gristwaith,  Vicar  of  Blackburn.  The  tenement  John  de  Ireland  held 
in  Witton  of  the  gift  of  Adam  de  Radclif  is  described,  in  1349,  as 
consisting  of  "  one  messuage,  70  acres  of  land,  TO  acres  of  meadow,  10 
of  woodland,  and  30  of  moor  and  pasture."  This  freehold  descended, 


756  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

at  a  later  period,  to  the  Astley  family,  of  Stakes,  in  Livesey,  who  were, 
in  the  i6th  and  iyth  centuries,  the  chief  resident  proprietors  in  Witton, 
and  some  of  whom  dwelt  at  Witton  Old  Hall.  (See  note,  p.  577.)  The 
Radcliffes  retained  the  manorial  rights,  which  passed  by  the  marriage 
of  Margery,  daughter  and  a  co-heir  of  Richard  Radcliff  of  Chaderton, 
with  Ralph  Standish,  Esq.  (who  died  in  1468),  to  the  De  Standishes. 
Alexander  Standish,  son  and  heir  of  Ralph,  at  his  death  in  1507  was 
found  seized  of  the  Manors  of  Witton  and  Chaderton,  as  his  mother 
had  been  until  her  death  some  seven  years  before.  Ralph  Standish, 
Esq.,  dying  about  1539,  held  these  lordships,  and  his  son  and  heir 
Alexander  succeeded  to  them,  and  died  in  I546.1  Edward  Standish, 
Esq.,  who  died  about  1610,  was  then  seized  of  Standish  Manor,  and  of 
the  Manor  of  Witton,  with  appurtenances,  and  of  one  messuage,  1 5 
acres  of  land,  4  of  meadow,  20  of  pasture,  and  80  of  rushland  and 
moss  in  Witton.  He  had  conveyed  his  estates  in  trust  to  the  use  of 
Alexander,  his  son  and  heir,  and  of  his  son's  wife  Elizabeth.  Alexander's 
son,  Ralph  Standish,  is  named  in  1617  as  lord  of  Witton.  He  died  in 
1655.  He  and  his  son  Edward  were  Royalists  in  the  Civil  War,  and 
the  estates  were  sequestrated  in  1652,  but  were  recovered  at  the  Restora- 
tion. But  another  Ralph  Standish,  Esq.,  having,  in  1715,  joined  in  the 
Jacobite  Rebellion,  his  estates  were  escheated  and  were  sold  by  the 
Crown.  It  may  have  been  then  that  the  estate  of  Standishes  in  Witton 
passed  to  new  owners  ;  but  I  am  unable  to  give  positive  evidence  on 
this  point. 

FEILDEN  OF  GREAT  HARWOOD,  BLACKBURN,  AND  WITTON 

PARK. 

Henry  Ffelden,  of  Blackburn  Parish,  in  1514  was  a  trustee  of  estate 
given  by  the  Earl  of  Derby  for  a  Chantry  in  Blackburn  Church. 
Robert  ffelden  of  Great  Harwood  was  an  executor  of  the  Will  of  Sir 
Robt.  Hesketh,  Knt,  in  1539.  Randal  Felden  of  Great  Harwood  was 
buried  Nov.  i8th,  1564. 

Randal  Felden  occurs  temp.  Elizabeth.  In  1564  Randulph  Felden 
late  servant  of  Sir  Thos.  Talbot,  and  claiming  as  lessee  under  him,  was 
defendant  in  a  suit  as  to  the  right  to  tenure  of  a  tenement  parcel  of  the 
Glebe  Lands  of  Blackburn  Rectory.  He  was  a  first  Governor  of  Black- 
burn Grammar  School  in  1567.  Randal  Felden  had  sons,  Henry;  and 
Francis  (of  Pythorne  in  Wilpshire) ;  and  he  died  in  1594.  Henry 
Felden,  perhaps  brother  of  Randal,  died  in  March,  1599. 

Henry  Felden,  son  of  Randal,  born  in  1548,  married  at  Great 
Harwood  Chapel,  May  ist,  1577,  Alice  Hyndle,  and  had  sons,  Henry, 

i  In  Feb.,  1571-2,  Edward  Standish,  Esq.,  had  an  order  from  the  Duchy  Court  of  Lancaster  to 
expel  Ellen  Abbot  out  of  a  messuage  and  30  acres  of  land  in  Wytton,  pursuant  to  a  decree  of  the  Court. 
(See  post,  under  Holden  of  Coohill.) 


FEILDEN  OF  WITTON  PARK.  757 

born  in  1578;  Randal,  bapt.  Sept,  24,  1582,  legatee  under  the  Will  of  Wm. 
Farington,  Esq.,  in  1609;  and  he  died  in  1610.  His  second  son, 
Randal  Felden,  married,  in  1621,  Isabel  Shorrock,  and  by  her  (who 
died  in  Aug.  1632)  had  sons,  Henry,  bapt.  Jan.  14,  1632-4;  and  John. 

Henry  Feilden,  son  of  Henry,  had,  with  other  issue  a  son,  Henry. 

Henry  Feilden,  of  Great  Harwood  and  Blackburn,  had  issue,  sons, 
Randal,  bapt.  Aug.  2oth,  1645;  Henry,  born  in  1649;  and  Richard 
Feilden,  elected  a  Fellow  of  Brazenose  College,  Oxford,  Nov.  3rd, 
1676,  and  died,  unmarried,  in  1703.  Henry  ffeilden  of  Blackburn  was 
buried  Jan.  4th,  1669-70. 

Randal  Feilden,  of  Blackburn,  yeoman,  married,  Oct.  i7th,  1669, 
Ellen  Pollard,  and  had  issue  by  her  sons,  Henry,  bapt.  Feb.  141)1,  1670-1 
(died  young) ;  and  John,  born  in  1674,  died  in  1706.  A  second  wife, 
Isabel,  died  in  1690;  and  Randal  Feilden  married  again  in  Feb.  1690-1, 
MaryBolton,  by  whom  he  had  sons,  Henry,  bapt.  June  i8th,  1693 ;  Joseph, 
bapt.  Nov.  i3th,  1694  ;  James,  bapt.  Jan.  i2th,  1696,  and  died  in  April, 
1714  ;  and  Robert,  bapt.  June  i2th,  1701  ;  and  a  daughter  Anne,  wife  of 
Jonathan  Patten,  gent.,  of  Manchester.  Mr.  Randal  ffeilden  of  Blackburn 
was  buried  Dec.  2oth,  1721. 

Robert  Feilden,  youngest  son  of  Randal,  married,  first,  Sept.  2oth, 
1720,  Elizabeth  Haworth;  secondly,  Miss  Lees  of  Manchester;  and, 
thirdly,  March  4th,  1735,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Rev.  G.  Wall,  by  whom 
he  had  a  son,  Henry  Feilden,  whose  son,  by  Mary  his  wife,  was  Robert 
Feilden,  Esq.,  of  Didsbury.  He  married  Anne,  eldest  daughter  of  Sir 
J.  P.  Mosley,  Bart,  and  his  son  was  the  Rev.  Robert  Mosley  Feilden, 
rector  of  Bebington,  Co.  Chester. 

Henry  Feilden  of  Blackburn,  gent.,  eldest  son  of  Randal,  married, 
June  22nd,  1721,  Miss  Elizabeth  Sudell  (she  died  in  March,  i738-9)» 
and  had  sons,  Randal,  bapt.  June  8th,  1725,  died  young;  John  Feilden 
(of  Blackburn,  gent.),  bapt.  Jan  28th,  1726-7,  married  Miss  Starkie,  and 
died  in  April,  1771,  without  issue;  Robert,  born  in  1734,  died  in  1735  ; 
Joseph,  bapt.  April  2ist,  1736;  and  Henry,  bapt.  Aug.  nth,  1738;  and 
daughters,  Anne,  born  in  1722,  married  Mr.  Craven  of  Melling;  Maiy, 
died  an  infant,  in  1723  ;  Catherine,  born  in  1730,  married  Mr.  Whalley, 
of  Orrell;  and  a  second  Mary,  born  in  1732.  In  1721,  by  purchase 
from  Lord  Falconberg,  for  ^8650,  Henry  Feilden,  jointly  with  Mr. 
Wm.  Sudell  and  Mr.  Wm.  Baldwin,  acquired  the  moiety  of  Blackburn 
Manor.  He  built  the  house  in  Church  Street,  Blackburn,  opposite  the 
Church  gates,  which  has  on  its  front  the  initials  "  H  F  E  "  (Henry  and 
Elizabeth  Feilden),  and  the  date  "  1728."  He  died,  aged  49,  in  1742  ; 
and  "  Henry  ffeilden,  of  Blackburn,  gentleman,  removed  from  Bath/' 
was  buried  in  Blackburn  Church,  April  i5th  in  that  year. 


758  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Henry  Feilden,  "  of  Blackburn,  chapman,"  younger  son  of  Henry, 
was  buried  at  Blackburn  Church,  June  i3th,  1769. 

Joseph  Feilden  of  Blackburn,  "  chapman  "  and  gent.,  fourth  son  of 
Henry  and  heir  to  his  brother  John  in  1771,  married,  Sept.  28th,  1762, 
Margaret,  daughter  and  co-heir  of  Mr.  Wm.  Leyland  of  Blackburn,  and 
had  sons,  Joseph,  died  an  infant  in  1763;  Henry,  bapt.  Feb.  2ist, 
1765;  William  Leyland,  died  in  1768;  John,  bapt.  Aug.  25th,  1769; 
William,  bapt.  April  3rd,  1772  (the  first  baronet,  of  Feniscowles,  see  ante, 
pp.  621-2);  and  Randal,  died  young  in  Feb.  1780;  and  a  daughter 
Cicely,  bapt.  May  2oth,  1766,  married  Richard  Willis,  Esq.,  of  Halsnead, 
and  had  issue  nine  sons  and  six  daughters  ;  she  died  April  nth,  1822. 
Joseph  Feilden,  Esq.,  died  at  Blackburn,  aged  57,  Dec.  24th,  1792,  and 
was  buried  Jan.  3rd,  1793.  His  widow,  Mrs.  Margaret  Feilden,  died, 
aged  80,  Sept.  27th,  1826. 

Henry  Feilden,  Esq.,  of  Blackburn  and  Witton  House,  married 
Fanny,  daughter  of  Wm.  Hill,  Esq.,  of  Blythe  Hall.  (She  died  Jan.  8th, 
1833.)  Issue,  sons,  Joseph,  born  Feb.  28th,  1792;  William,  born  in  1794, 
died  in  London;  Henry,  born  in  1798,  died  in  1801  ;  Randal  Henry, 
born  in  1802  (Rev.  R.  H.  Feilden,  Rector  of  Astley,  Co.  Wilts.) ;  and 
John  Feilden,  Esq..  of  London,  born  in  1804,  died  Nov.  22nd,  1865; 
daughters,  Margaret,  wife  of  Lt.-Col.  Poole  ;  and  Cecilia,  wife  of  Dr. 
Edward  Cardwell  (see  Cardwell  family,  p.  391,  ante).  Henry  Feilden, 
Esq.,  built  Witton  House  in  1800.  He  died,  aged  51,  Dec.  27th,  1815. 

Joseph  Feilden,  Esq.,  son  of  Henry,  married,  in  June,  1817,  Frances 
Mary,  daughter  of  Rev.  Streynsham  Master,  Rector  of  Croston;  and 
had  sons,  Henry  Master,  born  in  1818  ;  Randle  Joseph,  born  in  1824; 
William  Leyland,  born  Aug.  23rd,  1825  (Rev.  W.  L.  Feilden,  Vicar  of 
Knowsley) ;  John  Robert,  born  in  1827  (Rev.  J.  R.  Feilden) ;  Oswald 
Barton,  born  in  1832  ;  Gilbert  Streynsham,  born  in  1837  ;  and  Albert 
Augustus,  died  young  in  1852  ;  daughters,  Frances  Mary  ;  Cecilia,  wife 
of  Rev.  R.  A.  Rawstorne ;  Margaret  Priscilla,  wife  of  Rev.  G.  R.  Feilden; 
Emily  Augusta,  wife  of  Ralph  Assheton,  Esq.,  M.P.,  of  Downham  Hall ; 
Louisa  Willis,  wife  of  Col.  Feilden  of  Bebington  (she  died  in  1868) ; 
and  Charlotte-Emma  Willoughby,  wife  of  Rev.  Richard  Assheton,  rector 
of  Bolton.  Joseph  Teilden,  Esq.,  was  High  Sheriff  of  Lancashire  in 
1818,  and  M.P.  for  Blackburn  from  1865  to  March,  1869.'  He  died, 
aged  78,  Aug.  29th,  1870,  and  was  buried  in  the  new  family  mortuary 
chapel  at  Witton  Church.  His  widow  is  yet  living. 

Henry  Master  Feilden,  Esq.,  married,  first,  June  27th,  1843, 
Caroline,  daughter  of  Sir  Oswald  Mosley,  Bart.,  and  by  her  (she  died 

i  It  has  before  been  stated  that  the  Feildens  were  long  time  lessees  of  the  Rectorial  estate  in 
Blackburn  ;  and  in  1853,  Messrs.  Joseph  and  John  Feilden  surrendered  467  acres  of  the  Glebe  to  the 
Ecclesiastical  Commissioners,  retaining  the  residue  of  the  estate  on  the  payment  of  £20,000. 


GREENFIELD  FAMILY  OF  WITTON,  &c.  759 

May  6th,  1862)  had  issue  a  son,  Randal  Mosley,  died  young  in  1856; 
and  daughters,  Frances  Sophia  \  Caroline  Letitia  (died  young) ;  and 
Cicely  Ann.  Mr.  Feilden  married,  secondly,  Aug.  ist,  1864,  Miss 
Hannah  Fox,  and  had  issue  a  daughter,  born  in  1869.  Henry  Master 
Feilden,  Esq.,  was  M.P.  for  Blackburn  from  March,  1869,  until  his  death, 
Sept.  5th,  1875.  In  default  of  male  issue,  the  estates  passed  to  his  brother, 

Randle  Joseph  Feilden,  Colonel  of  the  6oth  Rifles.  Colonel  Feil- 
den married,  March  2ist,  1861,  Jane  Campbell,  eldest  daughter  of 
James  Hosier,  Esq.,  of  Mauldslie  Castle,  Lanarkshire,  and  has  issue. 

The  Old  Hall  of  Witton  stood  on  a  bank  near  the  Blakewater,  at 
the  south-east  corner  of  the  present  park.  Witton  House,  the  mansion 
of  the  Feildens,  built  in  1800,  is  situated  more  to  the  west,  on  a  knoll 
in  the  midst  of  the  Park.  It  is  a  spacious  structure  of  modern  style, 
with  a  classic  porch. 

GREENFIELD  OF  WISWELL,  WITTON,  PRESTON,  &c. 

The  Greenfields  were  originally  of  Whalley  and  Wiswell,  and  were  tenants  under 
Whalley  Monastery.  In  1538,  James  Grenefeld  was  found  holding  in  Whalley  manor 
a  messuage  and  lands,  paying  yearly  135.  4d.  "  George  Grenefield,  clerke,"  of  this 
family,  at  the  dissolution  of  the  Abbey  held  "a  parcel  of  ground  called  the  Leasing  - 
steads  without  gate  to  the  water." 

Gilbert  Greenfield,  of  Whalley,  had  sons  (Thomas);  John,  died  in  1579  ;  a  second 
John,  born  in  1581,  died  in  1587;  Christopher,  bapt.  July  23rd,  1582;  William, 
bapt.  Oct.  24th,  1583  ;  George,  born  in  1584;  and  a  daughter  Elizabeth,  born  in  1590. 

Thomas  Greenfield  of  Wiswall,  gent.,  is  named  as  a  juror  in  1612.  He  or  a  son 
was  Thomas  Greenfield  of  Witton,  gent,  elected  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar 
School,  Jan.  8th,  1647-8.  He  died  before  1650,  when  his  relict,  "  Widow  Greenfield," 
occurs  as  a  tenant  of  Blackburn  Wapentake  in  Witton.  His  son — 

Thomas  Greenfield  of  Witton,  gent.,  married  Lettice,  fourth  daughter  of  John 
Braddyll  of  Portfield,  Esq. ,  and  had  sons,  Thomas,  and  Christopher  ;  and  a  daughter 
Lettice,  buried  at  Blackburn,  Feb.  1 2th,  1651. 

Thomas  Greenfield  of  Witton,  gent.,  eldest  son  of  Thomas,  was  elected  a 
Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1680  ;  his  name  occurs  frequently  on  the 
records  of  the  School  between  1688  and  1712.  He  is  also  named  as  "of  Preston." 
He  was  buried  at  Blackburn,  March  27th,  1716.  He  married,  at  Manchester  Colle- 
giate Church,  Oct.  24th,  1674,  Martha  Johnson  of  Manchester.  His  daughter,  Martha, 
married,  Dec.  loth,  1706,  Rev.  John  Holme,  Vicar  of  Blackburn,  and  died  in  1757. 
I  have  not  noted  any  other  issue  of  Thomas  Greenfield.  His  brother  was — 

Christopher  Greenfield  of  Preston,  attorney-at-law,  afterwards  Sir  Christopher 
Greenfield,  M.P.  for  Preston  1690-95.  He  died  in  1706;  and  his  Will  is  dated  in 
that  year.  He  married  Sarah,  daughter  of  Dr.  Bushell,  Vicar  of  Preston  (she  was 
living  in  1712),  and  had  issue,  sons,  John  (of  whom  below)  ;  William,  Christopher, 
and  Thomas  ;  and  daughters,  Mary,  and  Isabella. 

John  Greenfield  "of  Preston,  gent.,  in  1714,"  was  "of  the  Abbey  Court,  Ches- 
ter," in  1745,  and  died  in  1758.  He  married,  Dec.  l6th,  1714,  Abigail,  daughter  of 
Isaac  Swift,  Esq. ,  of  the  Abbey  Court,  Chester,  by  whom  he  had  a  daughter  Elizabeth, 
bapt.  Sept.  1st,  1717,  who  died  before  her  father.  His  Widow,  Mrs.  Abigail  Greenfield, 
died  in  1761  ;  and  her  Will  was  proved  Oct.  9th  in  that  year. 


760  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

HOLDEN  OF  COOHILL,  WITTON,  AND  BASTWELL,  BLACKBURN. 

James  Holdyn  was  assessed  for  his  lands  in  Witton  to  a  subsidy  in  1523.  George 
Houlden,  and  the  wife  of  Thomas  Houlden,  for  lands  in  Witton  paid  the  Subsidy  in 
1570.  In  I2th  Eliz.  (1569),  Ellen  Holden,  claiming  as  lessee  of  Edward  Standish 
who  was  seized  in  fee,  and  also  claiming  her  jointure,  was  against  Evan  Holden  and 
Thomas  Holden,  claiming  also  as  lessees,  and  Edward  Standish,  as  in  fee,  in  a  suit  as 
to  divers  lands  in  Whitton ;  defendants  alleging  forfeiture  of  title  by  Ellen  Holden 
having  a  child  born  in  adultery  by  John  Abbotte. 

Thomas  Holden  of  Witton,  gent,  a  juror  in  1578,  died  in  1591.  Escheat  taken  at 
Wigan,  Aug.  I7th,  36  Eliz.,  proves  that  Thomas  Holden,  late  of  Witton,  died  on 
April  9th,  1591,  seized  of  Coohyll  in  Witton,  held  of  Edward  Standish,  Esq.,  in  free 
socage,  being  two  messuages,  two  gardens,  10  acres  of  land,  10  of  meadow,  10  of 
pasture  and  I  of  woodland  ;  also  of  Bastwell  in  Blackburn,  held  of  Margery,  widow  of 
Robt.  Barton,  Esq.,  in  free  socage,  one  messuage,  garden,  orchard,  20  acres  of  land, 
I  oof  meadow,  and  to  of  pasture;  also  of  one  messuage,  20  acres  of  land,  10  of 
meadow,  and  IO  of  pasture  in  Livesey,  held  of  Richard  Livesey,  gent.,  in  free  socage. 
Thomas  Holden,  son  and  heir,  was  aged  12  years,  1 1  months,  10  days. 

Thomas  Holden,  of  Witton,  gent,  taxed  to  a  Subsidy  in  1610,  was  buried  at 
Blackburn,  Feb.  I5th,  1616-17.  In(l-  Post  mort.  taken  April  8th,  I5th  James  L, 
returns  that  he  had  held  lands  in  Witton,  of  Ralph  Standish,  Esq.  ;  in  Blackburn,  of 
Thomas  Barton,  Esq. ;  in  Greene-Tockholes,  of  James  Livesey,  gent. ;  and  2^  acres 
in  Livesey  held  of  the  King,  by  knight  service.  Frances  Holden,  his  widow,  was 
then  living  at  Blackburn  (she  died  in  Dec.,  1633).  Thomas  Holden,  son  and  heir, 
was  then  aged  9  years. 

Thomas  Holden  of  Witton  was  buried  Nov.  29th,  1623.  Another  Thomas  Holden, 
of  Witton,  a  juror  in  1637,  and  a  freeholder  in  1650,  had  issue.  Coohill  tenement 
is  now  embraced  in  the  pale  of  Witton  Park,  on  the  east  side  of  the  park. 

ST.  MARK'S  CHURCH.— The  church  of  Witton,  dedicated  to  St.  Mark,  stands  on 
the  hill-side  just  outside  the  eastern  wall  of  Witton  Park.  It  was  erected  at  a  cost  of 
^£700;  including  a  gift  of  £200  and  the  site  by  Joseph  Feilden,  Esq.,  who  laid  the 
corner-stone,  Oct.  6th,  1836.  The  church  was  consecrated  June  loth,  1837.  The 
church  is  in  the  Norman  style  ;  and  consists  of  nave,  octagonal  tower  and  spire  at  the 
east  end,  west  porch,  and  a  handsome  mortuary  chapel  of  the  Feildens,  added  in  1870, 
forming  a  south  transept.  An  organ  was  placed  in  the  church  in  1850.  The  church 
contains  560  sittings ;  300  are  free  seats.  Value  of  the  living  ^300.  The  Vicar  of 
Blackburn  is  patron.  Rev.  G.  H.  Ashe,  B.  A. ,  has  been  Vicar  since  1 839. 

SCHOOL-CHURCH,  GRIFFIN. — On  the  Griffin  estate  the  late  Thomas  Dugdale, 
Esq.,  built  in  1870  a  large  school,  which  is  also  used  for  worship  on  the  Sunday. 
Sittings  594.  A  new  church  is  projected  (1877). 

WESLEYAN  CHAPEL. — A  chapel  for  the  Wesleyans,  which  is  also  used  for  a 
Sunday  School,  was  built  in  Witton  in  1867.  It  is  a  plain  oblong  structure  of  brick 
and  stone.  Cost  ,£1200;  sittings  372.  A  site  for  a  larger  chapel  is  secured,  and  a 
fund  is  being  raised  for  its  erection. 

PRIMITIVE  METHODIST  CHAPEL.— A  small  brick  building,  used  also  for  the 
Sunday  School;  built  in  1869;  cost  ^"1000;  sittings  258. 

DAY  SCHOOLS. — The  following  Schools  were  under  Government  inspection  in 
1876  : — St.  Mark's  National,  average  attendance  77  children ;  Griffin  School,  average 
attendance  284  children. 


YATE-AND-PICKUP-BANK.  761 


CHAPTER  XXII.— THE  TOWNSHIP  OF  YATE-CUM- 
PICKUP-BANK. 

Situation  and  description — Acreage  and  Population — Copyhold  tenure  of  lands — Private  Burial 
Grounds — Holden  Family  of  Pickup-Bank  and  of  Yate-Bank  —  Yates  Family,  of  Yate-Bank, 
Bank  Fold,  Windy  Bank,  Woodhead,  and  Pickup-Bank—Independent  Chapel— Church  School. 

YATE-BANK  and  PICKUP-BANK  are  spurs  of  a  mountain  tract 
on  the  south-eastern  border  of  Blackburn  Parish.  These  lofty 
"  Banks  "  formed  the  western  limit  of  the  ancient  Forest  of  Rossendale, 
and  were  thus  accounted  as  extra-parochial.  The  township  is  now 
dealt  with  parochially  as  portion  of  the  Parish  of  Blackburn.  The 
inhabitants  have  always  made  Blackburn  Church  their  parish  church ; 
and  in  1650  the  ecclesiastical  surveyors  reported:  "Yatebank  and 
Piccopbank,  part  of  the  Forest  of  Rossendall,  but  parcell  of  the  rectorye 
of  Blackburne,  their  tythes  worth  ^5  per  ann."  Yate-bank  and  Pickup- 
bank  were  comprised  in  the  chapelry  of  Over  Darwen.  The  lands  of 
the  township  descend  very  steeply  to  the  Hoddlesden  Brook.  Their 
watershed  is  utilized  for  the  water-supply  of  Blackburn.  The  area  is 
1360  statute  acres.  Population: — 1801,  1045;  1811,  1230;  1821, 
1359;  1831,1209;  1841,1068;  1851,1208;  1861,  mi;  1871,766. 

The  land  in  this  township  is  held  in  copyhold  of  the  Honor  of 
Clitheroe  ;  and  among  the  chief  early  copyholders  were  the  families  of 
Yates,  who  had  separate  tenements  at  Bank  Fold,  Windy  Bank,  and 
Woodhead  in  Yate-bank  ;  and  the  Holdens,  whose  estate  was  at  Eccles 
Fold  in  Pickup-bank ;  and  who  held  a  tenement  in  Yate-bank ;  also, 
there  are  glebe-lands  belonging  to  the  Church  of  St.  James,  Over  Dar- 
wen, at  Bank  Fold,  in  Yate-bank  ;  and  belonging  to  St.  John's  Church, 
Blackburn,  at  Becket  Fold.  Lang  House  estate,  in  Yate-bank,  was  pur- 
chased in  1 744  by  the  trustees  of  the  Poor  Stock  of  Blackburn.  At 
Quaker  Fold,  Pickup-bank,  is  a  small  private  burial-ground,  enclosed  by 
a  wall,  containing  some  forty  graves  and  several  inscribed  gravestones  of 
a  family  of  Yates,  &c.;  and  there  is  another  such  enclosure  at  Red 
Earth,  which  formerly  belonged  to  a  family  of  Scholes,  some  of  whom 
were  buried  in  the  grave-plot. 


762  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

HOLDEN  OF  PICKUP-BANK. 

George  Holden,  first  of  Pickup-Bank,  was  a  younger  son  of  Ralph  Holden  of 
Holden  Hall,  gent.  On  the  wall  of  the  old  house  of  the  Holdens  at  Pickup-Bank  are 
inscribed  with  the  date  "1602"  the  initials  "  G  H  "  (George  Holden).  He  had 
sons,  Robert  ;  George ;  and  Thomas  ;  and  daughters,  Alice,  wife  of  Lawrence 
Haworth  of  Th'urcroft,  gent.;  and  Elizabeth,  who  died  unmarried  in  Oct.,  1624. 
George  Holden,  the  father,  was  living  in  1626,  when  his  son — 

"  George  Holden  of  Pickup  Bank,  junior,"  died,  in  May,  1626.  He  had  been 
made  a  Governor  of  Blackburn  Grammar  School  in  1625.  His  wife  had  died  in  June, 
1619.  In  his  Will,  dated  May  3Oth,  1626,  testator  names  sons,  Robert  (a  minor) ; 
George ;  and  Thomas ;  daughter  Anne  (born  in  1604)  ;  brothers,  Thomas  and 
Robert  Holden,  who  are  made  executors  ;  and  his  kinsman  Andrew  Holden  of  Todd 
Hall,  to  be  supervisor. 

"Thomas  Holden  of  Pickup  Bank,  son  of  George,"  had  a  son,  William,  bapt. 
Jan.  2 1st,  1626-7. 

Robert  Holden  of  Piccop  Bank,  Greave  of  Rossendale  in  1591,  was  Robert,  son 
of  the  first-named  George  Holden.  "  Ellen  Holden  of  Pickup  Bank,  widow,"  relict, 
I  think,  of  this  Robert,  in  her  Will,  dated  May  1 9th,  1637,  names  her  five  sons,  James 
(who  had  sons,  George,  and  Thomas)  ;  Thomas  (who  had  George,  and  Ellen)  ; 
Robert ;  John  ;  and  William. 

James  Holden  of  Pickup  Bank  (eldest  son  of  Robert  and  Ellen  above),  served  as 
Greave  of  Rossendale  in  1644.  He  had  sons,  George;  Thomas,  born  in  1634; 
Robert,  born  in  1637  ;  and  John,  died  in  1656.  James  Holden  of  Pickup  Bank  died 
in  Oct.,  1689. 

George  Holden  of  Pickup  Bank,  yeoman,  eldest  son  of  James,  married,  Aug.  6th, 
1655,  Agnes,  daughter  of  Edward  Pilling  of  Pickup  Bank  (she  died  in  Feb.  1678-9), 
and  had  a  son,  James  Holden,  bapt.  Sept.  2ist,  1657 ;  and  daughters,  Anne,  born 
and  died  in  1656 ;  and  a  second  Anne,  born  in  1668. 

Thomas  Holden  of  Pickup  Bank  (second  son  of  James  above),  died  in  1673,  and 
had  sons,  James,  died  in  1662  ;  Jeremiah,  born  in  1662  ;  and  a  second  James,  bom 
in  1665. 

Robert  Holden,  youngest  son  of  James,  had  issue,  sons,  James,  born  in  1663  ; 
William,  born  in  1665  ;  Andrew,  born  in  1667 ;  and  Thomas  ;  and  daughters,  Mar- 
garet, born  in  1656  ;  and  Ellen,  born  in  1659. 

Of  the  younger  sons  of  Ellen  Holden,  widow,  who  died  in  1637,  were,  John 
Holden  of  Pickup  Bank,  who  died  in  1673,  and  his  wife  Margery  in  1670;  and 
William  Holden  of  Pickup  Bank,  who  had  a  son  Andrew,  born  in  1654;  a  daughter 
Ellen,  died  in  1663  ;  and  died  in  1675. 

A  later  Robert  Holden  of  Pickup  Bank  had  sons,  Miles,  died  in  1685  ;  and 
Robert,  born  in  1695. 

HOLDEN  OF  YATE  BANK. 

William  Holden  of  Yate  Bank  was  buried  March  3oth,  1685.  Thomas  Holden 
of  Yate  Bank,  yeoman,  died  in  1691.  His  Will  is  dated  Feb.  2Oth,  1691  ;  and 
names  his  sons,  William,  John,  Thomas,  and  James ;  and  a  daughter  Margaret. 
Robert  Holden  of  Yate  Bank  died  in  September,  1710.  John  Holden  of  Yate 
Bank,  had  a  son  Thomas,  born  in  1701,  and  other  issue.  John  Holden  of  Yate  Bank, 
yeoman,  died  in  his  96th  year,  in  1796.  William  Holden,  living  recently,  had  a 
small  estate  in  Yate  Bank,  left  to  him  by  his  great-uncle  John  Holden,  who  died  in 
1796. 


YATES  OF  BANK  FOLD.  763 

YATES  OF  YATE  BANK,  &c. 

The  surname  of  Yates  (anciently  Yate),  which  in  modern  times  has  been  borne 
by  numerous  families  (some  of  considerable  standing)  in  Lancashire  and  elsewhere,  is 
derived  from  the  hamlet  of  Yate  Bank,  and  it  may  be  assumed  that  all  the  families  of 
Yates  descend  from  one  which  held  an  estate  in  Yate  Bank  in  the  1 6th  century.  In 
the  I  yth  century,  the  Yateses  in  Yate  Bank  and  places  adjacent  already  formed  so 
many  households,  that  it  is  difficult  to  distinguish  persons  so  as  to  make  out  a  genea- 
logy of  any  one  among  the  various  contemporary  families.  In  Yate  Bank  were 
families  of  Yates  of  Banks  or  Bank  Fold,  of  Windy  Bank,  and  of  Woodhead.  Else- 
where occur,  Yates  of  Pickup  Bank  ;  of  Waterside,  Hoddlesden ;  of  Eccleshill ;  of 
Upper  Darwen  ;  of  Lower  Darwen  ;  of  Duckworth  Hall,  Oswakltwistle  ;  of  Belthorn ; 
of  Livesey  ;  of  Blackburn  ;  and  of  Stanley  House,  Mellor.  Below  are  named  mem- 
bers in  successive  generations  of  the  stock  of  Yateses  which  remained  seated  at  Yate 
Bank  or  at  Bank  Fold  in  Yate  Bank. 

John  Yate,  of  the  Forest  of  Rossendale,  yeoman,  dead  before  1588,  was  father  of 
William  Yate,  of  Yate  Bank,  yeoman  (named  in  a  deed  dated  1588).  William  Yate 
died  in  1617.  George  Yate,  of  Yate  Bank,  yeoman,  gave  by  Will,  before  1590, 
6s.  8d.  to  Blackburn  Grammar  School.  Robert  Yate  married,  in  1602,  Ellen  Halli- 
well.  Richard  Yate  had  a  son  Robert,  born  in  1611.  Thomas  Yate  married,  in 
1617,  Isabel  Yate  ;  and  a  Thomas  Yate  of  Yate  Bank  died  in  1623. 

William  Yate  of  Yate  Bank,  "  son  of  Robert,"  married,  in  1617,  Elizabeth  Fish, 
and  had  sons,  John,  born  in  1625  ;  and  Robert,  born  in  1627  ;  and  a  daughter  Ann, 
born  in  1622.  William  Yate  died  in  1634. 

James  Yate  of  Yate  Bank  died  in  1641.  Another  James  Yate  of  Yate  Bank  had 
sons,  William,  born  in  1640  ;  James  ;  and  Henry.  John  Yate  married,  in  1623,  Mary 
Harwood,  and  had  sons,  James,  born  in  1630;  Robert,  born  in  1631  ;  and  John, 
born  in  1637.  Richard  Yates  of  Yate  Bank  had  a  son  William,  born  in  1638. 

Robert  Yates  of  Yate  Bank,  "son  of  William,"  born  in  1600,  married,  Dec.  9th, 
1624,  Ann  Yates  of  Jackson-house,  and  had  sons,  James,  born  in  1625  ;  William, 
born  in  1627  ;  a  second  William,  born  in  1630 ;  Henry,  born  in  1632  ;  Robert,  born 
in  1634,  died  in  1637  ;  twin  sons,  born  in  1637  ;  and  daughters,  Alice,  Isabel,  and 
Elizabeth. 

William  Yates  of  Yate  Bank,  yeoman,  died  in  May,  1677.  By  Jenet  his  wife  he 
had  a  son  Robert,  bapt.  Sept.  igth,  1651  ;  and  other  issue.  Henry  Yates  of  Yate 
Bank  (son  of  Robert)  had  sons,  Robert,  born  in  1663  ;  James  ;  and  Thomas.  John 
Yates  of  Yate  bank  had  sons,  John,  born  in  1662 ;  Robert ;  and  James.  William 
Yates  of  Yate  Bank  had  a  son  Henry,  born  in  1676.  William  Yates  of  Yate  Bank 
died  in  May,  1685.  Ellen,  wife  of  William  Yates  of  Yate  Bank,  died  in  July,  1687. 
Robert  Yates  of  Yate  Bank,  yeoman,  had  a  son  Henry,  born  in  1688,  with  other  issue. 

George  Yates  of  Yate  Bank,  yeoman,  had  a  son  William,  born  in  1671.  A  later 
George  Yates  of  Yate  Bank,  yeoman,  had  a  son  George,  bapt.  March  26th,  1700, 
and  died  in  Dec.,  1722.  His  wife  Mary  died  in  1709.  Thomas  Yates  of  Yate  Bank, 
yeoman,  died  in  May,  1706. 

William  Yates  of  Yate  Bank,  yeoman,  had  sons,  William,  who  died  in  1689 ; 
and  Lawrence ;  and  a  daughter  Jane,  born  in  1699.  Ann,  wife  of  William  Yates,  yeo- 
man, died  in  Oct.  1699.  Probably  the  same  William  Yates,  yeoman,  of  Yate  Bank, 
married,  in  1702,  Deborah  Duckworth  of  Musbury,  and  had  a  son,  Robert,  born  July 
$th,  1703.  "  William  Yates  of  Banks,  yeoman,"  died  in  July,  1739. 

Rev.  Robert  Yates  of  Banks,  Nonconformist  minister  at   "  Yates'  Chapel,"  Over 


764  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Darwen  (see  ante,  p.  522),  son  of  William,  married,  Dec.  3Oth,  1731,  Ellen  Smith  of 
Yate  Bank.  "  Robert  Yates  of  Banks,  minister,"  was  buried  Jan.  nth,  1648-9. 

Lawrence  Yates  of  Banks,  yeoman,  eldest  son  of  William  Yates,  by  Ann  his  wife 
(who  died  in  Aug.  1 740),  had  sons,  Robert,  born  in  1 727  ;  William  ;  and  John.  He 
died  in  Oct.  1763. 

Robert  Yates,  yeoman,  of  Bank  Fold,  Yate  Bank,  son  of  Lawrence,  by  his  wife 
Elizabeth  (Betty),  had  issue,  sons,  William,  bapt.  March  iQth,  1760,  buried  May  29th, 
1763;  and  Robert,  bapt.  April  6th,  1769,  buried,  July  27th,  1772;  and  daughters, 
Catherine,  bapt.  Oct.  I3th,  1756,  died  young  ;  and  Nancy,  bapt.  Nov.  3<Dth,  1764. 
The  father,  Robert  Yates,  rebuilt  the  homestead  at  Bank  Fold,  and  an  inscription 
upon  a  stone  over  the  stable-door  bears  the  names  "  Robert  and  Elizabeth  Yates," 
and  the  date  "  1765."  "  Betty,  wife  of  Robert  Yates,"  died  aged  51  years,  and  was 
buried  June  28th,  1785,  Robert  Yates  died  aged  66,  and  was  buried  April  29th,  1793. 

Robert  Yates  seems  to  have  had  no  surviving  son.  His  daughter  Nancy  became 
eventual  heir  to  the  freehold.  She  married  Robert  Smalley  of  Hey  Fold,  yeoman, 
and  died,  aged  87,  in  Feb.,  1852  ;  and  the  estate  at  Bank  Fold  is  now  held  by  the 
representatives  of  her  daughters,  Betty  Smalley,  wife  of  Wm.  Entwistle  ;  and  Kitty, 
wife  of  John  Pickup  of  March  House  (see  ante,  pp.  508  and  510). 

YATES  OF  WINDY  BANK  IN  YATE  BANK. 

George  Yate  de  Windie  Banke  married,  in  1617,  Jenet  Waddington,  and  had 
sons,  Henry,  born  in  1622  ;  a  son  who  died  in  June,  1623;  John,  born  in  1624; 
and  James,  born  in  1626.  George  Yates  de  Windie  Banke  was  buried  Aug.  I7th, 
1656.  A  later  George  Yates  of  Windy  Bank  was  living  in  1674.  He  had  a  son 
William. 

William  Yates,  yeoman,  of  Windy  Bank,  married,  April  28th,  1703,  Mary  Heape, 
and  had  a  son  George,  bapt.  Nov.  27th,  1709;  a  daughter  Alice,  born  in  1705;  &c. 
William  Yates  renewed  the  farm-house  at  Windy  Bank,  as  attested  by  a  stone  in  the 
front  wall  with  the  initials  "  W  Y  M  "  (William  and  Mary  Yates)  and  the  date  "1718." 
George  Yates  of  Windy  bank,  yeoman,  son  of  William,  married,  Feb.  igth,  1739, 
Alice  Eccles  of  Pickup  Bank,  and  had  sons,  William,  born  in  1743;  and  George, 
bapt.  Nov.  5th,  1756.  George  Yates,  the  father,  died  in  March,  1772.  Alice  Yates 
of  Windy  Bank,  widow,  was  buried  April  2ist,  1775. 

William  Yates  of  Windy  bank,  son  of  George,  married  Feb.  5th,  1767,  Betty 
Pickup  (she  died  in  1777),  and  had  sons,  John,  born  in  1770,  died  in  1777  ;  and 
William,  bapt.,  Aug.  26th,  1772.  "William  Yates,  the  elder,  of  Windy  bank,"  died, 
aged  68,  May  3rd,  1811.  His  son- 
William  Yates  of  Windy  Bank,  married  Elizabeth  Bury,  and  had  sons,  George ; 
and  William  (now  living).  He  died  about  1820.  His  son,  George  Yates,  sold  the 
farm  at  Windy  Bank  to  Blackburn  Waterworks  Company  some  thirty  years  ago. 

YATES  OF  WOODHEAD  (HODDLESDEN). 

William  Yate  of  Hoddlesden  occurs  in  1523.  James  Yate  was  Greave  of  Rossen- 
dale  Forest  in  1608.  Robert  Yate  of  Woodhead  married,  in  1629,  Ann  Holden,  and 
had  a  son  Thomas,  born  in  1637,  &c.  William  Yate  of  Woodhead,  by  his  wife  (who 
died  in  1658)  had  a  son  Henry,  born  in  1656,  died  in  1660.  Robert  Yate  of  Wood- 
head,  Greave  of  Rossendale  in  1677,  was  living  in  1688.  His  descendant — 

John  Yate,  of  Woodhead,  Greave  of  Rossendale  in  1745,  by  Ann  his  wife,  had 
sons,  John,  bapt.  Feb.  I5th,  1732 ;  and  William  Yates  of  Woodhead,  who  had  a  son 
William  born  in  1 769  ;  the  latter  was  father  of  John  Yates  of  Woodhead,  who  had 


YATES  OF  PICKUP  BANK.  765 

sons,  John  Yates,  of  Parrick,  and  Oliver  (Mr.  Oliver  Yates  of  Woodhead,  where  he 
has  built  a  villa  on  the  freehold,  on  the  site  of  the  old  messuage). 

John  Yates  of  Woodhead,  yeoman,  son  of  John,  died,  aged  77,  about  1810,  by 
his  first  wife,  a  daughter  of  —  Marsden  of  Okenhurst  in  Lower  Darwen,  he  had  sons, 
John  Yates,  of  Belthorn  ;  George  ;  Hugh  ;  and  Henry.  By  his  second  wife,  Ann 
Hayhurst  of  Blackburn,  he  had  issue,  Timothy,  Phoebe,  and  Ann. 

John  Yates  of  Belthorn,  eldest  son  of  John,  had  a  son,  John  Yates  of  Bank  Fold, 
Yate  Bank. 

Henry  Yates,  of  Lower  Fold,  Woodhead,  younger  son  of  John,  married  Nancy 
West  (who  died,  aged  90,  in  1858),  and  had  sons,  Henry  ;  Christopher,  and  William, 
died  young  ;  George,  and  James;  and  daughters,  Ann,  and  Mary.  The  father,  Henry 
Yates,  died,  aged  68,  about  1843. 

Henry  Yates  of  Woodhead,  son  of  Henry,  born  Aug.  2nd,  1790,  was  living, 
aged  84,  in  1876.  He  had  a  son  Henry,  and  other  sons  and  daughters. 

YATES  OF  PICKUP  BANK. 

John  Yates  of  Piccop  Banke  had  a  son  James,  born  in  1672.  George  Yates  of 
Piccop  Bank,  by  Ann,  his  wife  (she  died  in  1688),  had  issue.  Thomas  Yates  of 
Pickup  Bank  had  a  son  Henry,  born  in  1697.  Robert  Yates  of  Pickup  Bank,  by  his 
first  wife  Elizabeth  (buried  March  27th,  1702)  had  a  son  Lawrence.  He  married, 
secondly,  in  Dec.,  1704,  Sarah  Morres  of  Eccleshill. 

Lawrence  Yates  of  Pickup  Bank,  yeoman,  son  of  Robert,  married,  Nov.  1st, 
1719,  Ann,  daughter  of  Christopher  Hargreaves  of  Heap  Clough,  and  had  sons, 
Robert;  Christopher;  William,  died  in  1732;  and  John,  died  in  1740.  Lawrence 
Yates  was  buried  Oct.  8th,  1763.  His  younger  son,  Christopher  Yates  of  Pickup 
Bank,  married,  in  I745>  Esther  Foole  of  Over  Darwen. 

Robert  Yate,  son  of  Lawrence,  by  Agnes  his  wife,  who  died,  aged  46,  in  1768, 
had  sons,  Robert  ;  William  ;  and  other  issue. 

Robert  Yate  of  Pickup  Bank,  by  Mary  his  wife,  had  sons,  Robert,  born  in  1772  ; 
Lawrence,  bora  in  1775  ;  and  William,  bom  in  1776. 

*'  William  Yates  of  Pickup  Bank,  son  of  Robert,  ^had  a  son  James,  born  in  1790, 
died  in  1792." 

INDEPENDENT  CHAPEL,  PICKUP  BANK.— A  structure  built  in  1836  for  use  as  a 
Sunday  School,  was  adapted  as  a  chapel  in  1860,  for  a  congregation  of  Independents. 
It  contains  300  sittings.  Rev.  J.  Clyde  has  been  the  minister  since  1866. 

CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND  SCHOOL,  SHORROCK  FOLD. — This  school  was  origi- 
nally built  in  1790,  but  was  rebuilt  in  1832,  and  has  recently  been  renovated.  It  is 
used  for  a  Sunday  School  under  St.  James's  Church,  Over  Darwen. 


766  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN, 


APPENDIX. 


I.— SEPULCHRAL  SLAB  OF  ROMANO-BRITISH  SCULPTURE 
DISCOVERED  NEAR  RIBCHESTER  IN  1876. 

A  description  of  this  relic  of  the  Roman  occupation  at  Ribchester 
was  communicated  last  year  by  the  author  of  the  present  work  to  the 
Society  of  Antiquaries,  and  to  the  Historic  Society  of  Lancashire  and 
Cheshire,  and  was  printed  in  the  Proceedings  of  both  societies ;  of 
which  the  following  is  the  substance.  An  engraving  of  the  slab  is 
inserted  at  page  19. 

The  discovery  of  a  monumental  sculpture  of  Romano-British  work- 
manship near  Ribchester  adds  a  fresh  item  to  the  record  of  remains  of 
the  Roman  colony  disentombed  at  this  important  station  in  the  course 
of  centuries.  The  slab  was  taken  out  of  the  bed  of  the  Ribble  by  Mr. 
P.  Wearden,  who  has  a  farm  on  the  south  bank,  on  Saturday  afternoon, 
April  8th,  1876.  The  tapered  upper  end  of  the  stone  had  been  noticed 
beneath  the  surface  of  the  water,  embedded  in  earth,  some  10  or  12  feet 
from  the  river's  edge.  The  spot  of  the  discovery  is  on  the  Clayton  side 
of  the  Ribble,  nearly  opposite  Ribchester,  but  a  few  hundred  yards 
higher  up  the  stream.  There  the  river  makes  a  sharp  curve  against  a 
high  bank  of  boulder-clay  on  the  Blackburn  side  of  the  valley,  and  the 
force  of  the  current  in  time  of  flood  has  caused  continual  falls  of  the 
bank,  the  last  of  which  happened  a  few  days  before  the  slab  was  seen, 
by  which  a  mass  of  the  bank  about  four  yards  wide  was  submerged.  The 
slab  was  got  out  of  the  river-bed  with  some  difficulty,  and  brought  upon 
the  bank,  when  its  sculptured  surface  was  revealed.  Two  days  after,  on 
April  loth,  I  visited  the  place  and  made  notes  of  the  relic  prior  to  its 
removal;  and  subsequently  I  had  an  engraving  made  of  it  from  excellent 
photographs  taken  for  me  by  Mr.  John  Geddes.  The  subject  of  the 
sculpture,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  wood-cut,  is  a  Roman  horseman 
plunging  his  spear  into  the  body  of  a  fallen  enemy.  Its  purpose  was 
that  of  a  sepulchral  monument  to  some  officer  of  the  Roman  garrison  at 
Ribchester.  The  dimensions  of  the  slab  are  5  feet  in  height,  and  2  feet 
6  inches  in  width.  The  material  is  a  fine  sandstone,  such  as  is  got  from 
the  Longridge  quarries.  The  upper  end  of  the  slab  is  gable-shaped, 
with  a  battered  finial  ornament.  The  sculpture  is  enclosed  within  a 


ROMAN  SEPULCHRAL  SCULPTURED  SLAB.  767 

panel,  pointed  at  the  head,  the  projected  border  of  the  panel  being  about 
3in.  wide,  excepting  at  the  base,  which  is  deeper.  The  outer  edges  of 
the  slab  are  roughly  cut  and  uneven,  and  the  bottom  corners  are  broken 
away.  The  ground  of  the  sculpture  is  pitted  all  over  with  punch  marks. 
The  design  of  the  sculpture  is  vigorous,  but  the  execution  betokens  in- 
different art  in  the  sculptor.  The  figures  are  out  of  proportion — the 
body  of  the  horse  is  too  short,  and  the  head  of  the  horseman  too  large 
for  his  body  ;  the  prostrate  foeman  is  a  puny  creature.  The  hind  legs 
of  the  horse  are  stiff  and  stumpy  ;  the  tail  is  a  very  poor  ill-set  appen- 
dage ;  the  left  fore-leg  is  straight,  the  right  well  lifted.  The  head  of  the 
steed  is  erect,  held  in  by  a  thick  bridle  ;  the  mouth  part  open,  the  teeth 
set ;  nostril,  eye,  and  ear  well  denned ;  mane  strong  and  flowing  back- 
ward. The  head-gear,  tasseled  trappings  crossing  the  neck  and  hind- 
quarters, and  large  square  saddle-cloth  on  the  flank,  are  distinctly  cut. 
The  rider  is  erectly  seated  on  his  horse ;  the  leg  bent  back,  and  foot, 
unstirruped,  pointed  downwards.  The  warrior's  head  is  bold  and  large ; 
the  eye  full ;  nose  prominent,  but  now  battered  ',  jaw  massive ;  ear 
clearly  cut;  hair  thick,  and  set  in  ridgy  curls.  The  figure  is  bare- 
headed. His  dress  consists  of  a  short,  close-fitting  tunic  \  and  a  mantle, 
meant  probably  to  represent  the  Roman  military  cloak  or  paludamenlum, 
fastened  over  the  breast  with  a  large  circular  brooch  (fibula),  which  has 
an  inner  circular  indentation.  The  cloak  is  pushed  back  to  leave  free 
the  extended  arms  ;  the  left  bearing  an  oval  shield ;  the  right  uplifted 
and  grasping  a  spear  which  the  soldier  has  buried  in  the  heart  of  the 
vanquished  adversary.  Besides  the  spear  the  horseman  is  armed  with  a 
long  dagger,  fixed  in  its  sheath  on  his  right  side,  attached  to  his  girdle. 
Dagger  and  sheath  together  measure  14  inches ;  the  blade  about  9 
inches  ;  the  hilt  of  the  dagger  has  a  flat,  semi-circular  knob.  The  re- 
maining figure  is  that  of  the  impaled  enemy,  recumbent  in  the  lower 
right-hand  corner  of  the  panel.  His  only  visible  armour  is  an  irregular 
oval  shield,  with  a  ridged  centre.  There  is  no  inscription  upon  the  slab, 
but  it  may  be  supposed  that  it  rested  when  in  situ  upon  an  inscribed 
base-stone,  which  has  not  been  recovered.  Mr.  C.  Roach  Smith  attri- 
butes the  sculpture  to  the  Third  Century.  Camden  mentions  a  some- 
what similar  sculptured  slab  dug  out  at  Ribchester  before  his  visit  nearly 
three  centuries  ago,  which  bore  an  inscription. 

II.— CONVEYANCE  OF  THE  RECTORY  OF  BLACKBURN  IN  1547. 

Of  this  transaction  (see  page  273)  I  have  the  following  further  items 
communicated  by  Rev.  Canon  Raines,  F.S.A.:— "On  the  i2th  June, 
1547  (ist  Edw.  VI.),  Edward  Duke  of  Somerset,  uncle  and  counsailerto 
ye  said  King  Governour  of  His  Person  and  the  Lord  Protector  of  his 


768  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

Realm  and  Dominions,  Sir  Wm.  Pawlet,  K.G.,  &c.,  in  fulfilment  of  the 
Will  of  Henry  VIII.,  who  enjoyned  that  all  Grants,  Exchanges,  Sales, 
&c.,  made  or  covenanted  to  be  made  but  not  completed  by  him,  should 
be  perfected  by  his  Executors  and  Counsellors  during  the  minority  of 
his  Highness'  son, — the  said  Lord  Protector,  &c.,  in  fulfilment  of  an  ex- 
change of  Manors  and  Lands  entered  into  by  the  late  King  and  Thomas 
A'b'p  of  Canterbury  but  left  uncompleted,  conveyed  to  the  A'b'p  and 
his  successors  inter  alia  the  Parsonage  of  Blackburn,  with  all  its  rights 
and  appurtenances  to  the  late  Monastery  or  Abbey  of  Whalley  belonging 
and  late  parcel  of  the  possessions  thereof,  and  all  Messuages,  Houses, 
Chapels,  Lands,  Glebes,  Tithes,  Oblations,  and  all  other  jurisdictions, 
liberties,  privileges,  &c.,  and  the  reversion,"  &c. — In  1616  the  Rectory 
consisted  of  the  moiety  of  the  Lordship  of  Blackburn,  Glebe  Lands, 
Tithes,  Oblations,  &c.  The  Glebe  was  of  three  sorts,  demesne  Lands, 
Messuages  and  Lands  let  to  Tenants  for  years,  and  Commons.  The  de- 
mesne lands  contained  161  acres,  the  Messuages  (being  64,  besides 
cottages),  with  the  lands  in  Blackburn,  being  2g2a.  21.  2op.;  ros.  per 
annum  was  payable  out  of  lands  called  Berdsworth ;  in  Samlesbury, 
lands,  2 a.  ir.  op.;  in  Cuerdale,  6a.  and  houses ;  in  Little  Harwood, 
houses  ;  in  Law  (Walton),  houses.  There  seem  to  have  been  compo- 
sitions for  Tithe  of  Hay  in  several  parts  of  the  Parish." — Lane.  MSS., 
vol.  xi,  pp.  206-220. 

III.— CHURCH  EFFECTS  IN  BLACKBURN  IN  1553. 

I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  J.  E.  Bailey,  F.S.A.,  for  the  appended  tran- 
script of  an  inventory  of  vestments,  and  other  effects  in  Blackburn 
Church,  made  in  1553,  temp.  Ranulf  Lynney,  Vicar  (see  page  286). 

This  indenture  made  the  xvth  day  of  October,  in  the  yere  of  the  reigne  of  Edward 
the  Sext  by  the  grace  of  God  King  of  England,  france,  and  Ireland,  defender  of  the 
feythe  and  on  Earthe  of  the  Churche  of  England  and  also  of  Ireland  sup'me  heade, 
betwixe  Sr  Thomas  Holt  Knyght  Raffe  Assheton  Esquier  &  Jhon  Bradill  gen- 
tlema  three  of  the  comyssyon's  upon  the  behalf  of  o'r  souraigne  Lord  the  King  uppon 
the  on  p'tie  and  Ranulphe  Lynney  Veker  off  blagburne  Jhon  Issherwod  &  Giles 
bolton  churche  wardens  of  the  same,  thomas  dale  curate  of  Samesburye  Gilbart  Shar- 
puls  &  Willm.  Warde  churche  wardens  of  the  same,  Richard  Wodd  curate  of  Hare- 
wodd  James  dobson  and  Jhon  M'rcer  churchewardens  of  the  same  uppon  the  other 
p'tie,  Witnessed!  that  wheare  the  said  Sir  Thomas  holt  Raffe  Assheton  and  Jhon 
bradill  have  delivered  at  the  tyme  of  the  sealinge  and  delyvry  of  thes  "presents  to  the 
said  Ranulphe  Lynney  Jhon  Issherwod  &  giles  bolton,  on  chales  iiij  vestments  one 
coope  three  auterclothes  two  corporas  fyve  for  whiche  thei  aw  xxvjli  xijs.  jd.,  to 
thomas  france,  thomas  Winkeley  &  Edmund  Leman  on  chalis  on  vestment  on  coope 
fower  bells  on  of  them  being  broken,  to  thomas  Dale,  Gilbart  Sharpuls  &  Willm 
Ward  two  little  bells  on  chalis  p'cell  gyld  on  vestment  on  albe  &  on  aniysse  &  other 
things  belonging  to  a  p'est  to  celebrate  in  wt.  two  old  towels,  to  Ric  Wodd,  James 
Dobson  &  John  M'rcer  three  bells  in  the  stepull  on  vestment  wt  the  apprt'n'nces  thereto 


HAWORTH  AND  CLAYTON  FAMILIES.  769 

app'tening  belonging  to  the  said  churches  and  chapels  savely  to  be  kept  to  the  use  of  o'r 
sovraigne  Lord  the  King,  And  the  s'd  Ranulphe,  Jhon,  giles,  thomas,  thomas,  [Edmund], 
thomas,  gilbert,  Willm,  Richard,  James  and  Jhon  for  them  and  their  execut.rs  do  co- 
ven'nt  and  graunt  by  thes  pr'sents  to  &  wt  the  said  Sr  thomas  Raffe  &  Jhon  that  the 
said  chalices  bells  &  other  anoranments  affore  rehersed  shall  not  att  any  tyme  hereafter 
be  alienated  imbesilled  or  otherwise  put  away  from  o'r  said  sovraigne  lord  the  King 
but  shalbe  awnswaraball  &  forthcuyng  to  the  use  of  his  highnes  at  suche  tyme  and 
tymes  as  his  ma'tie  or  his  honerabull  counsell  shall  demaund  the  same  In  witness 
wheareof  the  pties  above  named  to  thes  presents  interchaungeably  have  sette  ther  scales 
and  putte  ther  handes  the  day  &  yere  above  wry  ten 

p  me  Ranulphu  Lynney  vicariu  p  me  Thoma  Ffrenche  capelanu 

p  me  Rich  Wod  caplu  p  me  Thoma  Dale  caplu 

IV.— HAWORTH  FAMILY  OF  BLACKBURN. 
Respecting  George  Haworth,  of  Blackburn  in   1570  (see  ante,  p. 
396),  Canon  Raines  favours  me  with  a  note  from  \tt.§  Lancashire  MSS.: — 

"II  April  12  Eliz.  [1569].— B'p  of  Chester's  Act  Book.— Forasmuch  as  it 
apereth  by  Certificate  from  Sir  John  Hulton,  Vicar  of  Blagburn  that  George 
Haworth  usethe  to  repaire  to  hys  p'ish  churche  att  tyme  of  devine  s'vice  and  to 
receive  the  hollie  co'ion  [communion]  usuallie,  It  is  order'd  that  he  shall  soe  hereafter 
orderlie  behave  himself  and  that  he  shall  not  hereafter  at  any  tyme  mayntaine  or 
relieve  in  anie  maner  or  sort  Mr.  Edmund  Haworth,  clerke,  but  shall  doe  his  beste 
endevor  to  cause  hym  to  be  apprehended  and  brought  before  ye  sayde  Rt.  Reverend 
Father  imediatlie  uppon  his  saide  apprehencon. — LANC.  MSS.  vol  xxii,  p.  340. — 
This  Rev.  Edmund  Haworth  appears  to  have  been  a  younger  son  of  Robt.  Haworth 
of  Haworth  near  Rochdale,  gent.  He  seems  to  have  been  a  Roman  Catholic  Priest 
I  have  his  letters  of  Orders  and  several  endorsements  of  his  having  attended  Bishop's 
Visitations. " 

V.— CLAYTON  FAMILY  OF  CUNLIFFE. 

Mr.  Thomas  Clayton  (see  page  562)  was  sometime  minister  of  the 
Parochial  Chapel  of  Didsbury,  near  Manchester,  to  which  office  he  was 
elected  by  the  parishioners  in  1646.  The  Minutes  of  Manchester  Pres- 
byterian Classis  record : — "April  14,  1647.  Preparation  unto  ordina- 
tion, according  to  Ordinance  of  Parliament,  begun  March  4,  1646  :  Mr. 
Thomas  Clayton,  aged  about  28  years,  Master  of  Arts  of  St.  John's, 
brought  certificate  of  his  good  conversation  from  Blackburn,  where  he 
was  born ;  took  the  National  Covenant  before  the  Classis  ;  desired  and 
freely  elected  by  the  people  of  Didsbury,  Co.  Lancaster,  was  examined," 
&c.  He  was  ordained  in  Manchester.  March  n,  1650,  it  is  reported 
to  the  Classis  that  "Mr.  Clayton,  minister  at  Didsbury,  did  withdraw  the 
Classis  and  departed  out  of  the  Classis  without  anie  order  from  the 
Classis."  Mr.  Clayton  quitted  Didsbury  soon  after.  During  his  resi- 
dence at  Didsbury  he  had  two  children  born  : — "  1650.  April  9.  Bapt. 
Mary,  the  daughter  of  Mr.  Clayton,  minister  of  Didsbury."  "1651. 
Buried  a  sonne  of  Thomas  Clayton,  minister."  (Booker's  Didsbury 
Chapel,  pp.  55-9,  73.) 

49 


770  HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 

VL— CLAYTON  AND  DAVENPORT  FAMILIES. 
Respecting  the  marriage  of  Mr.  John  Clayton  of  Shorrock  Green, 
Mellor  (see  page  592),  Mr.  J.  P.  Earwaker,  F.S.A.,  furnishes  the  follow- 
ing note  : — "  Mr.  John  Cleaton  and  Mrs.  Margaret  Davenport  "  were 
married  at  Stockport,  October  22,  1672.  There  is  a  portrait  of  Mrs. 
Clayton  still  remaining  at  Bramhall  Hall.  She  was  the  youngest 
daughter  of  Peter  Davenport  of  Bramhall,  Esq.,  by  his  wife  Anne, 
daughter  of  Thomas  Legh  of  Adlington,  Co.  Chester,  Esq. 

VII.— RICHARD  AINSWORTH  OF  PLEASINGTON. 

Mr.  J.  P.  Earwaker,  F.S.A.,  notes,  as  to  Richard,  second  son  of 
Thomas  Ainsworth,  gent.,  of  Pleasington  Hall  (see  page  617),  "that 
Richard  Ainsworth  matriculated  at  Oxford  from  Brasenose  College,  Dec. 
9th,  1631,  and  is  described  as  fil.  Tho.  Ainsworth  de  Pleasington,  gen., 
fit.  a*.  19." 

VIII.— TENANTS  OF  BLACKBURN  WAPENTAKE  IN  1650. 

Recently  I  copied  at  Towneley  Hall,  from  one  of  the  MSS.  of 
Christopher  Towneley  headed  "1650,  Rentall  of  the  Wapentage  of 
Blackburneshire,"  the  names  of  tenants  of  this  Court  within  the  Parish 
of  Blackburn,  as  under  : — 

[Blackburn]  Sir  Thos.  Barton,  Lo  :  of  Blackburne  43.  Thurstan  Maudsley,  55. 
Thos.  Dewhurst  2OS.  Nich.  Haworth  id.  Richard  Dickinson  4d.  Thos  Hilton  4d. 
James  Cunliffe  3d.  Wm.  Marsden  3d.  James  Margerison  4d. 

[Ramsgreave]  Roger  Gillibourne  6d. 

[Over  Darwen]  Peeter  Money  in  O.  Darwine  4d. 

[Lower  Darwen]  Peeter  [Haworth]  in  L.  Darwyne  2d.     Earcroft  6d. 

[Eccleshill]  Grimshall  Hall  6d.     Mr.  Grimshaw's  tenants  is. 

[Livesey]  John  Lindsay  [Livesey]  gent.  305.  Ewood  3d.  Thos.  Astley  for 
Astley  [Stakes]  Hall  8d.  James  Whitall,  gent.,  is.6d.  ffeniscliffe,  8d. 

[Witton]  James  Astley  yd.  Widow  Greenfield  55.  yd.  Miles  Marsden  3d. 
Thomas  Holden  3d. 

[Great  Harwood]  Mr.  Heskaith  for  Martholme  is.  8d.     Edward  Cockshut  3d. 

[Little  Harwood]  John  Clayton,  gent.,  is.  Wm.  Worth  6d.  Randle  Rishton 
6d.  Leonard  Paige  3d.  Richard  Boulton  4d.  John  Poole  [Peele]  4d. 

[Mellor]  Tennants  of  Mellor,  6d.  James  Whithalgh  6d.  Thos.  Haughton  6d. 
Henry  Walmesley  6d. 

[Pleasington]  John  Aynsworth  id.  Wm.  Heddocke  id.  Widow  Marsden  6d. 
Shorrock-hey  is.  3d. 

[Tockholes]  Sir  Alex.  Radcliffe  2s.  Ralph  Walmesley  6d.  Richd.  Barker  6d. 
Tho.  Crouchley  6d. 

[Samlesbury]  Heirs  of  Mr.  Southworth  IDS.  8d. 

[Cuerdale]  The  Towne  of  Cuerdale  33.      Heirs  of  Ratcliffe  Ashton  is.  8d. 

[Osbaldeston]  Mr.  Osbaldeston  8s.  8d.  Peter  of  Osbaldeston  is.  6d.  Peter  of 
Oxendale  3d.  John  Ingham  8d. 

[Balderstone]  Robert  Smalley  6d.      Robert  Shaw  3d.     Thos.  Sallom  6d. 

[Clayton-in-le-Dale]  Villa  de  Showley  is.     Villa  de  Clayton-le-Dale  lod. 

[Salesbury  and  Dinkley]  Sir  John  Talbot  175.  6d.     Idem  pro  Dinkley  Hall  lod. 


TRADERS'  PETITIONS  TO  PARLIAMENT  IN  1731  AND  1756.    ;71 

Rich.  Parker  8d.     Mr.  Dewhurst  is.  id.     Richard  Craven  lod.     Adam  Boulton  4d. 
John  Parker  6d. 

[Billington]  John  Bradley  [Braddyll],  Esq.  3d.  Wm.  Gabbot  8d.  Robt.  Edel- 
ston  2d.  Rich.  Almond  3d. 

[Walton-in-le-Dale]    Sir  Richd.  Houghton  95.     Mr.  "Wm.   Sharrocke  8d.     Ba- 
nester  Hall  is.  6d.    Stonehouse  6d.    James  Garston  is.     Mr.  Leigh  is.    Mr.  Sergeant 
is.  2d.     Ralph  Sherley  is.     Bawden  ten't.  3d.     Wm.  Jackson  is.     Roger  Bruske  is. 
Mr.  Walton  is.     Knowles  Ho  :  is.     Poope  and  Pedlar  is.     Mr.  Woodcocke  gd. 
IX.— PETITIONS  OF  BLACKBURN  TRADERS  TO  PARLIAMENT, 

IN  1731  AND  1756. 

The  first  Petition  subjoined,  addressed  to  the  House  of  Commons 
in  1731  by  Blackburn  Traders,  indicates  the  existence  of  some 
specialities  of  Blackburn  textile  wares  at  that  date  : — 

IO  March,  1731-2.  A  Petition  of  the  Manufacturers  of  Silk,  Mohair,  and  Yarn, 
the  Twisters  and  Twiners  of  Mohair,  Cotton,  Thread,  and  Worsted,  and  of  other 
the  principal  traders,  within  the  Towne  of  Blackborne,  in  the  County  of  Lancaster, 
whose  names  are  thereunto  subscribed,  was  presented  to  the  House,  and  read,  alleging 
that  seveial  clauses  contained  in  the  Bill,  now  depending  in  this  House,  for  preserving 
and  encouraging  a  new  Invention  in  England  by  Sir  Thomas  Lombe,  and  granting 
him  a  farther  term  of  years  for  the  sole  making  and  using  his  three  Italian  Engines, 
will,  if  the  same  be  passed  into  a  law,  be  very  prejudicial  to  the  Petitioners,  and  to 
the  trade  and  interest  of  the  said  town  ;  and  therefore  praying  the  House  to  take  the 
premises  into  consideration,  and  that  the  Petitioners  may  be  heard  by  themselves,  or 
counsel,  against  the  said  Bill,  [and  may  have  such  proper  relief  as  the  nature  of  their 
case  requires. 

The  next  Petition,  copied  from  an  old  broadside  communicated  by 
Lieut.  Col.  Fishwick,  F.S.A.,  was  presented  to  the  House  of  Commons 
(as  I  learn  from  the  Journals  of  the  House)  on  the  lyth  January,  1756,  in 
conjunction  with  a  counter-petition  of  owners  of  the  Kibble  Fisheries: — 

To  the  Honourable  the  Commons  of  Great  Britain  in  Parliament  assembled.— 
The  humble  Petition  of  several  of  the  principal  Landowners,  Merchants,  Manu- 
facturers, Tradesmen,  and  others,  Inhabitants  in  and  about  the  Town  of  Blackburn, 
in  the  County  of  Lancaster,  Sheweth,  That  in  the  said  Town  of  Blackburn  and  in  all 
the  Villages  and  Country  lying  between  the  said  Town  and  Walton-in-le-Dale  (which 
stands  upon  the  Turnpike  road  leading  to  the  said  Town  of  Blackburn  about  Seven 
miles  distant),  is  carried  on  a  very  great  Manufacture  of  Cotton,  coarse  Linen  Cloth 
and  Checks,  for  the  making  whereof  divers  Materials  purchased  at  London,  Bristol, 
Liverpool,  and  other  parts  of  this  Kingdom  are  imported  into  the  River  Ribble,  in 
the  said  County,  which  for  a  considerable  space  runs  close  along  the  side  of  the  said 
Turnpike  road,  and  the  said  Town  of  Blackburn  being  a  populous,  thriving  Place 
great  quantities  of  Grocery  Goods  are  there  vended,  and  much  foreign  Timber  is 
frequently  wanted  there  for  building  and  other  purposes. 

That  if  the  Navigation  of  the  said  River  be  preserved  free  and  open  to  the 
utmost  natural  extent  thereof,  it  will  be  of  very  great  utility,  not  only  to  many  of  your 
Petitioners,  but  to  the  publick  in  general,  as  your  Petitioners  will  thereby  save  at  least 
four  Miles  of  Land  Carriage  of  their  said  Materials,  and  be  enabled  to  manufacture 
their  Goods  cheaper  and  to  vend  them  at  lower  prices,  which  will  give  them  the 
preference  at  f9reign  Markets. 


772 


HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


That  the  navigation  of  the  said  River  up  to  Walton  aforesaid  hath  been  many 
years  obstructed  by  ffishing  Stakes  and  Nets  set  across  the  same,  which  hath  greatly 
discouraged  all  attempts  to  navigate  the  said  River  up  to  Walton  aforesaid  till  very 
lately  that  diverse  persons  have  been  prosecuted  for  the  setting  such  Stakes  and  Nets ; 
which  practice  being  absolutely  prohibited  (as  your  Petitioners  are  advised),  by  the 
Laws  now  in  being,  your  Petitioners  thereof  most  humbly  hope  that  the  said  Naviga- 
tion shall  be  preserved  free  and  uninterrupted  so  that  the  Publick  may  not  be  deprived 
of  the  benefit  thereof. 

That  it  appearing  by  the  votes  of  this  Honourable  House  that  a  Petition  hath 
been  presented  to  your  Honours  praying  leave  to  bring  in  a  Bill  for  explaining  and 
amending  an  Act  of  Parliament  made  in  the  First  year  of  the  Reign  of  his  late 
Majesty  King  George  the  First,  entitled,  An  Act  for  the  better  Preventing  fresh  Fish 
taken  by  Foreigners  being  imported  into  this  Kingdom,  and  for  the  preservation  of 
the  Fry  of  Fish,  and  for  giving  leave  to  import  Lobsters  and  Turbets  in  Foreign 
Bottoms,  and  for  the  better  preservation  of  Salmon  within  several  Rivers  in  that  part 
of  the  Kingdom  called  England.  So  far  as  relates  to  the  fisheries  in  the  said  River 
Ribble,  your  Petitioners  are  apprehensive  that  the  design  of  such  Bill  is  to  establish 
the  said  method  of  Setting  Stakes  and  Nets  across  the  said  River,  whereby  the 
Navigation  thereof  will  be  greatly  obstructed,  and  your  Petitioners  and  others 
prevented  from  being  so  well  supplied  with  diverse  materials  necessary  for  the  carrying 
on  their  said  Manufacture  and  other  Merchandise  as  they  might  otherwise  be  to  the 
great  injury  of  many  of  your  Petitioners  and  the  Publick  in  general. 

Your  Petitioners  therefore  humbly  pray  that  they  may  be  heard,  by  themselves 
or  Counsel,  against  the  said  Bill  or  such  part  thereof  as  may  affect  your  Petitioners, 
or  have  such  relief  therein  as  to  this  Honourable  House  shall  seem  meet. 

And  your  Petitioners  shall  ever  pray,  &c. 


James  Margerison 

Henry  Bramwell 

Thos.  Brewer,  jun. 

Peter  Nevill 

James  Law 

Willm.  Ward 

Law.  Haydock 

Richd.  Jackson 

John  Ainsworth 

Henry  Robinson 

Roger  Noblet 

Robert  Holme 

Radcliffe  Edwards 

Richard  Partington 

Robt.  Law 

Robert  Mills 

William  Roberts 

Edw.  Ainsworth 

James  Lond 

Thos.  Ainsworth 

John  Cowband 

William  Bolton 

Thos.  Boocock 

James  Barlow 

Willm.  Boocock 

Robert  Livesey 

Robert  Preston 

Peter  Lowcock 

Henry  Heaton 

Thos.  Dearden 

Jno.  Hindle 

Henry  Sudell 

Hen.  Bentley 

Thos.  Haworth 

Wm.  Leyland 

James  Fish 

Henry  Aspden 

Richd.  Cardwell 

Thos.  Hindle 

Joseph  Browne 

John  Shepherd 

John  Nutter 

John  Lancaster 

Thomas  Livesey 

William  Cunliffe 

John  Vipont 

Edmd.  Haworth 

John  Yates 

William  Fish 

Smalley  &  Com. 

Amos  Ogden 

Jas.  Grunall 

Joseph  Whalley 

John  Nevill 

Ellis  Greenwood 

Robt.  Ainsworth 

John  Margerison 

INDEX. 


773 


INDEX. 


ABBOT  House,  Mellor,  590 

family,  of  Mellor,  589-90 

Rev.  Thomas,  Curate  of  Walton  and 

Samlesbury,  589-90,  676,  738 

family,  of  Whitebirk,  Blackburn,  260 

Accrington,  Machine-breaking  at,  233 
Agricola  in  Lancashire,  4,  6,  7,  10 
Ainsworth  family,  of  Blackburn,  386 
-  Thomas,  Esq.,  377,  386 

of  Feniscowles,  662-3 

lords  of  Pleasington,  420,  614-19,  770 

Henry,  the  Puritan,   615-17 

Thomas,    M.A.,    Master  of  Black- 
burn School,  345,  348 

Allsprings,  Great  Harwood,  541 
Altars,  Roman,  at  Ribchester,  16,  18 
Alum  Mine  at   Alum  Scar,   Pleasington, 

96-7,  624-5 

Ambrose,  Isaac,  Minister,  692,  719 
Appleby  Castle,  capture  of,  176-7 
Arderne,  lords  of  Nether  Darwen,  55,467 
Arkvvright,    Richard,  the  Inventor,    204, 

208,  210 

Armada,  the  Spanish,  in  1588,  83 
Armistead  family,  of  Blackburn,  387 
Armlets,  Saxon,  found  at  Cuerdale,  39-40 
Arleys  in  Mellor,   590 
Ashburner  family,  of  Blackburn,  387 
Ashton  family,  of  Blackburn  and  Darwen, 

500-1 
Aspden  of  Arleys,  Mellor,   590 

of  Red  Lee,  Tockholes,  686 

Dr.  Nathaniel,  368 

Aspinall  of  Royshaw,  Blackburn,  260-1 

of  Lower  Darwen,  475,  584 

Aspinall  Fold,  Lower  Darwen,   475 
Assheton  family,  of  Cuerdale,  113,  464-5, 

730,  740 

• of  Great  Leaver,  Estate  in  Billing- 
ton,  429-30 

Sir  Edmund's  Dole,  553-4  ;  Gifts  to 

Blackburn  Grammar  School,  335-6 

Col.    Ralph  of  Middleton,   in    the 

Civil  War,    127-8,    137-9,    142-3,    ^Sl> 
156,  176-7 

Astley  family,  of  Blackburn,  576 

of  Fishwick,  575 


Astley,     of   Ewood    and     Stakes    Hall, 
Livesey   571-7 

-  Dr.  Richard,   Warden  of  All  Souls' 
Coll.,  Oxford,   572-3 

Rev.  George,  curate  of  Handforth, 

3io,  576 

of  Mellor,  590-1 

of  Over  Darwen,  501 

—  of  Witton  and  Livesey,  577-8,  756 
Astley  Bank,  Over  Darwen,  509-10 
Astley-gate,  Blackburn,  247 
Atherton  of  Banister  Hall,   226,  725-6 
Atkinson,  Rev.  Thomas,  Master  of  Black- 
burn School,  345,  348 

Audley  Hall,  Blackburn,   274,  285,  634  ; 
arson  at,  in  1550,  635-6 

Rectorial  estate  of  Blackburn,  274, 

284-5 

BAILEY   family,  of   Coal  Pits,   Lower 
Darwen,  475 

Rev.  John,   Nonconformist  Divine, 

358-9 

-  J.  E.,  189,  300,  358,  768 
Balderstone  township,  63,  88,  186,413-24 

—  manor,  54  ;  descent  of,  413-17 

-  Hall,  421 

—  family,  413-14,  418 

Church  of  St.  Leonard,  422-4 

—  Charities,  424 
landowners  in,  421 

—  Sunderland  Grange  in,  417-20 
Baldwin  family,  of  Blackburn,  387 
Bamber    Bridge,     Walton,     705  ;    Calico 

Printing  at,  210-11;  Old  Hall  at,   730 
Banastre  family,   lords   of  Walton,   50-1, 

54-5,  705-6 ;  lords  of  Nether  Darwen, 

466 

of  Banister  Hall,  Walton,  726-7 

Geoffrey,  Vicar  of  Blackburn,  286, 

726  ;  his  Chantry,  303 
Banister  Hall,  Walton,  726,  731-2 
Bank  Hey,    Little   Harwood,    relics  of  a 

battle  at,  146-7  ;  house  at,  562-3 
Bank  House,  Blackburn,  119 
Banning,  William,  founder  of  Blackburn 

Methodism,  367,  526 


774 


HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


Baptist  Chapels,  at  Blackburn,  364-5  ;  at 

Darwen,  527 

Barcroft  family,  of  Blackburn,  258,  261 
Barker  of  Weetley,  Billington,  441-2 
Barlow,  Dr.  James,  411 

Rev.  John,  curate  of  Harwood,  550 

Barnard,   Joshua,    Minister    of    Darwen 

Chapel,  511-12 
Barnes,  Rev.  James,  678-80 
Baron  family,  of  Knuzden,  and  Larkhill, 
255,  388-9 

of  Darwen  and  Eccleshill,  502 

of  Tockholes,  686-7 

Barton  family,  of  Smithells,  lords  of  Black- 
burn,  ill,    252-4,   256,    259 ;  estate  in 
Ramsgreave,  628-9 
—  of  Barton  House,  Darwen,  502 
Battles,   at  Billington,  27-8  ;  Blackburn, 
114-16,     118-20,    122,    146-7;    Bolton, 
145  ;    Brindle,     180-2 ;     Burnley,     29, 
147-8  ;  Lancaster,  126-7  5  Manchester, 
1 08  ;  Marston  Moor,  148-9  ;  Nantwich, 
142;    Preston,    122-3,    i57'74>    I94~5  ', 
Tockholes,    129-30;    Walton,     151-2; 
Whalley,    130-7  ;  Wigan  Lane,  181-2 
Beardwood,  Blackburn,  266,  629 
Bellasyse,  lords  of  Blackburn,  254-5 
Bell    family,    of     Thirsk,     and     Livesey 

Manor,  570 

Bell,  Thomas,  of  Mosney,  Inventor,  225-6 
Benson,    Capt.    James,    and    the    Alum 

Works  at  Alum  Scar,  625 
Billangahoh,  Battle  of,  27-8 
Billinge  Carr  (Scar),  266,  685 
Billinge  Hill,  2,  755 

Billington  township,  27-8,  41, 62,  86,  186, 
425-56 

manor,  54-5  ;  descent  of,  425-9,  434-7 

manor-place,  428 

De,  family,  51,55,  425-6 

freeholders  of,  438-447 

Charities,  455-6 ;  School,  456 

Commons  Inclosure,  456 

Birch,  Rev.  Edward  (Canon,  now  Arch- 
deacon), Vicar  of  Blackburn,  300 
Birley  family,  of  Blackburn,  389-90 
Blackburn    Hundred   (Blackburnshire)   I, 
49,  50-1,  75,  83,  102,  112;  Wapentake, 
tenants  of,  in  1650,  770-1 

Parish,  2,4-6,  12,  71,  75,  83,  86,  &c. 

-  Township  and  Town,  I,  8,  61,   86, 

241,  245-412 

name  of,  1,41  ;  Roman  station  at,  5  ; 

at  Norman  Conquest,  45,   246;  aspect 
temp.     Elizabeth,    247-8 ;    musters    of 
soldiers  at,  in  1608,  85  ;  in  1642,  112  ; 
aspect   in    1642,    120;    assaults   on,   in 
Civil  War,  114-16,  118-20,122;  Prince 
Rupert  at,   146  ;   relics  of  battle  near, 
146-7;  aspect  in  1702,    193;  Jacobites 
at,    in    1715,    195;    Wesley   at,     200; 
first  cotton  factories  in,  230-1 

Blackburn  Authors  and  Inventors,  410-12 


Blackburn  Borough,  Parliamentary,  and 
Elections,  372-4 ;  Municipal,  375-7  ; 
Charter  of  Incorporation,  375-6;  Town 
Council  and  Mayors,  376-7  ;  Town 
Clerks,  377  ;  Corporation  Buildings 
and  Works,  377-8 1 

Blackburn  Cemetery  and  Burial  Board,  381 
Blackburn  Charities,  349-51 
Blackburn  Church,  Parish,  49,  219,  270- 
312 ;  foundation  and  endowment,  271-2 ; 
Rectory,  65.  70,  272-85,  767-8  ;  Rectory 
glebe,  258-9,  273-6,  284-5  ;  parsonage, 
274  ;  farmers  of  Rectory  Estate,  273-8, 
284-5,  758  5  survey  of,  276-7  ;  Sancroft 
Trust,  278-82  ;  Vicarage,  67  ;  ancient 
endowment,  272  ;  Vicarial  glebe,  258, 
272,  288,  291,  293-9;  Vicars,  67,  69, 
77,  271-3,  286-300;  Vicarage  House, 
272,  291-2  ;  Act  on  Vicar's  Leases, 
297-8  ;  Description  of  the  Old  Church, 
301-2;  the  New  Church  fabric,  306-7  ; 
Chantries,  67,  302-6 ;  Organ,  307  ; 
Bells,  308  ;  sepulchral  monuments  in, 
219,  308-10;  Parish  Registers,  120, 
311-12;  Parish  Clerks  and  Sextons, 
311-12  ;  Church  effects  in  1553,  768-9 
Blackburn  Churches,  of  the  Establishment, 
St.  John's,  351;  St.  Paul's,  352;  St. 
Peter's,  352  ;  Holy  Trinity,  352  ;  St. 
Michael's,  352  ;  Christ's,  353 ;  St. 
Thomas's,  353  ;  All  Saints',  353  ;  St. 
James's,  353 ;  St.  Luke's,  353  ;  St. 
Silas's,  353 

Blackburn  Churches  and  Chapels,  Dis- 
senting, 357-70;  Independent,  357-63; 
Baptist,  364-5  ;  Presbyterian,  365-6 ; 
Wesleyan,  366-9  ;  other  Methodists, 
&c.,  369-70 
Blackburn  Chapels,  Roman  Catholic, 

353-7  ?  Convent  of  Notre  Dame,  357 
Blackburn  Clubs,  385  ;  Exchange,  384-5 
Blackburn  Commons  and   Waste  Lands, 
enclosure  of,  256-60;  Town's  Moor,  260 
Blackburn  Dispensary  and  Infirmary,  382-4 
Blackburn,  Factories,  Cotton,  first  in,  230-1 
Blackburn  De,  family,  lords  of  Blackburn 
and  Rishton,  50,   249-50,   302,   631  ;  of 
Walton,  250  ;  of  Wiswell,  250-1 
Blackburn    Gentry,    yeomen,  merchants, 

&c.,  260-70,  386-410 
Blackburn  Grammar  School,  312-49  ; 
origin,  Chantry  School,  312  ;  Queen 
Elizabeth's  Charter,  312-15,  340 ; 
Plaint  in  1585  and  Decree,  315-21  ; 
estates,  321-2,  332,  334,  336,  339-40, 
343-6  ;  Parish  Subscription  for,  322-4  ; 
Governors,  313,  324,  328-45  ;  Evi- 
dences and  Writings,  325-6 ;  School 
Statutes,  326-8  ;  Annals  of,  from  1593 
to  1875,  328-45  5  School  Rents  and 
Accounts,  339,  344,  346;  School 
House,  332,  343,  346  ;  Head  Masters, 
346-8 ;  Ushers,  348-9 


INDEX. 


775 


Blackburn,  Girls'  Charity  School,  350-1 
Blackburn  Manor,  53  ;  descent  of,  249-55 
Blackburn    Markets  and   Market   House, 

Fairs,  248-9,  377-8 
Blackburn  Newspapers,  412 
Blackburn,  Population  of,  412 
Blackburn  Town  Hall,  377  ;  Corporation 

Park,   378  ;    Free   Public  Library  and 

Museum,  378-80  ;  Public  Baths,  380 
Blackburn  Poor  Law  Union,  381  ;   Union 

Workhouse,  381  ;  Poor's  Lands,  350 
Blackburn    Schools,     Day    and    Sunday, 

370-2  ;  Blackburn  School  Board,  371-2 
Blackburn  Traders,  Petitions  of,  771-2 
Blackburn  Volunteers,  412 
Blakeburn(Blakewater)  stream,  1,2,41,249, 
Blacksnape  Heights,  2,  6-7,  10 
Blewett,     Anthony     and     Morley,     their 

estate  in  Dinkley,  749-50 
Block-printing,  process  of,  211-12 
Blore,  George,  Charity  of,  586,   704 
Boardman  family,  of  Livesey,  364-5,  578-9 
Rev.    Wm.,    Master   of  Blackburn 

School,  345,  348 
Bolton,  town,  stormed,  and  massacre  at,  145 

—  Grammar  School,  Estate  in  Eccles- 
hill,  598 

Bolton  family,  of  Brookhouse,  Blackburn, 
262-6 

-  Adam,    Vicar   of   Blackburn,    185, 
262,  287 

Rev.  Robert,  the  Puritan,  262-6 

of  Bank  Hey,  Little  Harwood,  561-2 

tenants  of  Ramsgreave,  628 

—  of  Salesbury,  &c.,  655 

Bowring,  John,  L.L.D.  (Sir  John),  372-3 
Boyes  of  Boyes  House,  Ribchester,  751 
Braddyll  in  Billington,  438-41 
Braddyll  family,  of  Braddyll  and  Portfield, 

54,  70,  117,  192,  417,  438-41,  663,  675 

John,  Esq.,  439,  448,  749 

Bradkirk,    Capt.    Cuthbert,    at    Clitheroe 

Castle,  150 
Bradley,     Richard,     usher   of   Blackburn 

School,  a  recusant,  356 
Bradley  in  Tockholes,  690 
Bradshaw,  lords  of  Nether  Darwen,  468-9 
Brandwood  family,  of  Turncroft,  502 
Briggs  family,  of  Blackburn,  390 

-  W.  E.  Esq.,  M.P.,  374,  390 
Brindle,  fight  at,  in  1651,  180-2 
Brockhole  in  Billington,  439-41  ;    Brock- 
hole  Eases,  tumulus  at,  29 

Brookhouse  in  Blackburn,  262 ;  Brook- 
house  Mills,  231 

Brookside,  Mr.  Peel's  factory  at,  205  ; 
Print  Works  at,  217,  223-4 

Brooks  family,  of  Blackburn,  390 

Broughton  Tower,  709-10 

Browne,  Edward,  Schoolmaster  of  Black- 
burn School,  330,  347 

Brownhill  Common,  Little  Harwood,  563 

Brunanburh,  Battle  of,   29,  31 


Brungerley     Hipping-stones,     Clitheroe, 

Henry  VI.  taken  at,  57-8 
Bullough,  James,  Inventor,  410 
Bunker's  Hill,  Livesey,  Old  Coal  Mines 

on,  564 

Burgess,  Thomas,  priest,  305,  315,  319 
Buri,  De,  family,  lords  of  Livesey,  53,  565 
Burnley,  remains  of  ancient  fortifications 

at,  29 

—  Chantry  at,  67 

Burscough  family,  of  Walton,  727,  743 
Bury,  Print  Works  at,  217,  220 
Bury  family,  of  Bury  Fold,  Darwen,  502-3 

of  Ousebooth,  Blackburn,  266 

Butler    and    Butler-Bowdon    family,     of 

Pleasington  Hall,  620-1 

CALICO-PRINTING  in  the  Parish,  210- 
12  ;  decline  of,  236 

Calrow  family,  of  Walton  Lodge,  226, 727 

Calvert  family,  of  Balderstone,  421,  424 

Camden  at  Ribchester,  13,  15  ;  at  Black- 
burn, 248 

Camps,  Roman,  at  Ribchester  11-20;  at 
Mellor,  8,  22  ;  at  Walton,  21-2 

Canal,  Leeds  and  Liverpool,  made,  241-3 

Card  well  family,  of  Blackburn,  390-1 
Dr.  Edward,  391 

•  Viscount,  of  Ellerbeck,  391 

Carr  in  Wilpshire,  754 

Carr  family,  of  Blackburn,  &c.,  392,  561 

Castle  Holme,  Billington,  442 

Caterall,  Ralph,  of  Little  Mitton,  432 

Catholic,  Roman,  Missions,  in  Blackburn, 
354-7  ;  Brindle,  355  ;  Lower  Darwen, 
487  ;  Over  Darwen,  527  ;  Great  Har- 
wood, 552;  Osbaldeston,  6n  ;  Pleas- 
ington (Priory),  625-6  ;  Samlesbury, 
355,  677  ;  Walton-in-le-Dale,  Brown- 
edge,  741  ;  Walton  Village,  742 

Census,  Educational,  of  Blackburn,  371 

Religious,   of  Blackburn,   in   1804, 

360-1 

Chaderton,  De,  lords  of  Witton,  54,  755 

Chantries,  at  Blackburn  Church,  302-6, 
318  ;  at  Clitheroe,  66  ;  at  Great  Har- 
wood Chapel,  66-7,  545'6;  at  Holt> 
Rishton,  635,  637-8 

Chapel  Street  Independent  Church, 
Blackburn,  360-2 

Chapels  (see  under  the  several  townships) 

Charles  I.,  reign  100-179;  receipt  of 
news  of  Battle  of  Preston,  175-6; 
death,  177 

Charles  II.  at  Preston  in  1651,  179; 
Restoration  of,  183  ;  death,  190 

"Checks"  and  "Greys"  (linen  cloths), 
201-3 

Chetham,  Humphrey,  Sheriff  of  Lanca- 
shire, 100- 1 

Chew  family,  of  Billington,  442-4  ;  Chew 
House,  443 

Chippendall  family,  of  Blackburn,  392 


776 


HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


Church  Bank,  Print  Works  at,  221-2 
Churches  (see  under  the  several  townships) 
Civil  War,  1642-51,  local  events  of,  102-82 
Clayton-in-le-Dale  township,    42,  63,  87, 

1 86,  457-6i 

—  manor,  54 ;  descent  of,  457-8 

New  Hall  in,  654-5 

Clayton  family,  of  Bamber  Bridge,  Calico 

Printers,  2H 
lords  of  Little  Harwood,  51,  556-60 

of  Blackburn  and  Shorrock  Green, 

Mellor,  287,  336,  591-2,  769 

Rev.  Leonard,  Vicar  of  Blackburn, 

185,  287-92,  311-12,  334,  591 
of  Cunliffe,  Little  Harwood,  562,  769 

of  Clayton  Hey,  460-1,  649 

Clerk  Hill  estate,  Whalley,  407 
Clitheroe  (Cliderhou)  Castle,  48,  53,  112; 

held  by  Roundheads,  147  ;  by  Royalists, 
150;  Mutinous  Militia  at,  177  ;  demo- 
lition of,  177-8 

Clitheroe  Court,  53-4,  56  ;  Fee  of,  51,  53 
Clitheroe  (Cliderhou),  De,   family,    lords 

of  Salesbury,  54-5,  645-7 
Clothiers,  local,  petition  of,  202 
Coal  Pits,  at  Blackburn,   257,   274,  490 ; 
Over  Darwen,  490,  499  ;  Lower  Dar- 
wen,  475,  490  ;  Eccleshill,  490,  596-7  ; 
Livesey,  564  ;  Tockholes,  490 
Coccium  (Walton),  a  Roman  Station,  II 
Cockshutt    family,     of  Great    Harwood, 

541-2,  548,  554 
Coddington,     William,     Esq.,    307,    374, 

376-7,  398 
Coins,  Roman,  found  at  Ribchester,  19 

Saxon,  &c. ,  found  at  Cuerdale,  29-38 

Colne,  fight  at,  in  1644,  146-8 

Colton,  Rev.  William,  514,  547-9,  739 
Commons  and    Waste    Lands,  Enclosure 
of,    Blackburn,    256 ;    Billington,   456  ; 
Lower   Darwen,   487 ;    Over    Darwen, 
496-7  ;  Little  Harwood,  563 
Coohill    (Cowhill),    in    Rishton,    638-40, 

642-3  ;  in  Witton,  760 
Cooper  family,  of  Over  Darwen,  503 
Cotton  Manufacture,  rise  and  progress  of, 
in  the  Parish,  201-10,  229-37  5  statistics 
of,  236-7 

County  Court,  Blackburn,  385-6 
Cowpe,  Thos.,  executed  as  a  Rebel,  196 
Cowper  family,  of  Showley,  461 
Cranmer,  Abp.,  Rector  of  Blackburn,  274 
Craven  family,  of  Dinkley,  749-50 
Craven  Fold,  Dinkley,  750 
Critchley,  James,  Minister  of  Langho,  449 
Crompton,  Samuel,  Inventor,  208-10;  at 
Darwen,  491-2 

Samuel,  Esq.,  of  Manchester,  576 

Cromwell,  Oliver  (General  and  Lord  Pro- 
tector), at  Marston  Moor,  148-9  ;  at 
Clitheroe  and  Stonyhurst,  156-7;  victory 
of,  at  Preston  and  Walton,  157-75  ; 
despatches,  167-74;  Lord  Protector,  254 


Cromwell,  Lady  Mary,  254-5 

Thomas,  letter  to  Lord  Essex,  68-9 

Crook,  Thomas,  of  Abram,  559  ;  his  chari- 
ties, 739,  743-4  ;  Samuel,  720 
Crosse  family,  of  Over  Darwen,  503-4 

-  William,  gent.,  504,  512 
Cross,  Market,  at  Blackburn,  247 
Crosses,  ancient  wayside,  &c,  26 
Cuerdale,  Hoard  of  Saxon  Treasure  found 
at,  29-40,  462 
—  township,  86,  462-5 

manor,  descent  of,  462-5  ;  Hall,  465 

(Keuerdale)   De,  family,  54,  462-3, 

649 

Culcheth  family,  of  Samlesbury,  671-2 
Cunliffe,    in   Billington,    434-5,   445  >    m 
Little  Harwood,  562,  769 

family,  of  Cunliffe,  Hollins,  &c.,  445 


ofGt.  Harwood  and  Blackburn,  392-3 

of  Tonge  Hill,  Pleasington,  623 

Cylinder-machine  for  Calico  Printing,  225-6 

"DANDY  Factory,"  Blackburn,  231-2; 
attacked  by  loom-breakers,  233-5 

Danish  Hoard  at  Cuerdale,  29-38 

Darwen  River,  2,  3,  41,  488 

Darwen,  Lower  (Nether),  township,  7, 
61-2,  87,  181,  466-87 

manor,  54  ;  descent  of,  466-70 

Families   of  gentry    and    yeomen, 

470-86 

Church  of  St.  James',  486  ;  Dissent- 
ing Chapels,  486-7 

Commons,  enclosed,  487 

Murder  at,  in  1604,  481 

Darwen,    Over,  name   of,  488-9  ;  ancient 
forests  in,  489 
-  township,  6l,  88,  186,  488,  528 

manor,  54  ;  descent  of,  495-500 

waste   lands,     plaint  respecting,    in 

1556,  488 

Families   of    gentry,     ancient     and 

modern,  500-11 

—  Coal  Mining  in,  490  ;  early  traders, 
491 ;  Calico-printing,  491 ;  Paper-mak- 
ing, 492-3  ;   Bleach  works,  491-2  ;   first 
Cotton  factories  at,   493  ;  power-looms 
destroyed  at,  234 

town  of,  493-4  ;  population  of,  494 

—  Church  of  St.  James,  511-17  ;  other 
churches,  517 

Nonconformity  in,  518-27;  Congre- 
gational Churches,  518-26  ;  Baptist 
Church,  527  ;  Methodism  in,  526-7 

Fatal  Flood  at,  in  1848,  495 

Day  and   Sunday  Schools,    527-8 ; 

Charities,  528 

Local  Board  of  Health,  493  ;  Ceme- 
tery, Water  Works,  and  Gas  Works,  494 

Free  Library,  495 

Davenport,  Albin,  Esq.,  559  ;  Mrs.,  592, 
770  ;  Humphrey,  and  Wm.,  653  ;  John 
de,  707  ;  Peter,  770 


INDEX. 


777 


Deane  family,  of  Billington,  428,  445-6 
Dean,  Rev.  Samuel,  Master  of  Blackburn 
School,  343-4,  348 

—  Sir  Richard,  curate  of  Great  Har- 
wood,  546 

De  la  Pryme  family,  of  Blackburn,  393 
Derby,    Earls   of,    lords    of   Balderstone, 
415;  of  Samlesbury,  669 

Edward,    third    Earl    of,    occupies 

Whalley  Abbey   for  the   King,   67-9  ; 
rebuilds  Samlesbury  Chapel,  673-4 

James,  Earl  of,  at  Blackburn  during 

the  Civil  War,  121  ;  attack  on  Lancaster, 
126-7  ;  capture   of  Preston,  127  ;  rifles 
Blackburn,    128 ;    defeat   at    Whalley, 
130-6  ;  in  Isle  of  Man,  138  ;  at  storm- 
ing of  Bolton,  145  ;  at  Marston  Moor, 
148-9;    at    Preston    in    1651,    180 ;    at 
Worcester,  182  ;  executed  at  Bolton,  182 

Countess  of,  her  defence  of  Lathom 

House,  143-4 

Thomas,    Earl   of,    his  Chantry   in 

Blackburn  Church,  303-5,  309,  415 

Edward,  eleventh   Earl,  at  Preston 

in  1745,  197 

Dewhurst  family,  of  Blackburn,  266-7 
of  Over  Darwen,  505 

—  of  Dewhurst,  Wilp.shire,  750-1 
Dinkley  township,  63,  87,  188,  745-54 

manor,  54 ;  descent  of,  746 ;  Hall, 

194,  649,  746 

gentry  and  freeholders  of,  746-53 

Distress,  popular,  in  Blackburn,  in  1826, 

232-5;  in  1847  and  1861-5,  236 
Dodsworth,  Roger,  Antiquary,  536, 7 10, 7 19 
Domesday  Survey  of  Blackburn,  47-8 
Duckworth,  lords  of  Over  Darwen,  500 
Dudley,  Sir  Edmd.,  lord  of  Balderstone,  416 
Dugdale  family,  of  Great   Harwood  and 

Blackburn,  393-4 

Thomas,  Esq.,  376,  378,  394 

Messrs.  J.,  E.   &  J.,  of  Studlehurst 

and  Oxendale,  609,  611 

Dunkenhalgh  Hall,  130,  193 

Dunn,  Rev.  Dr.,  Priest  at  Blackburn,  356 

Duxbury  family,  of  Great  Harwood,  542-3 

John  and  Thos. ,  of  Rishton,  229 

EARDULPH,  King,  27-8 
Earwaker,  J.P.,   770 
Easterley,  Whalley,  133 
Eccles  family,  of  Blackburn,  394 

Bannister,  &  Co.,  232 

of  Lower  Darwen,  &c.,  475-6 

of  Over  Darwen,  477 

of  Eccleshill,  598-9 

Eccles  Fold,  Pickup  Bank,  761-2 
Eccleshill,  township  of,  61,  86,  187,  587, 

596-9 

• •  manor,  descent  of,  59"- 7 

(Eccleshull),  De,  family,  596-7 

Freeholders  of,  59^-9 

Eccleshill  Fold,  old  House  at,  598 


Edge  family,  of  Blackburn,  267 
Edward  the  Confessor,  lord  of  Blackburn, 
45>  47 

IV.,  his  grant  to  John  Talbot,  58 

VI. ,  316-17,  767 

Elections,  Municipal,  in  Blackburn,  376 

Parliamentary,  in  Blackburn,  372-4 

Elizabeth,  Queen,  reign  of,  76  ;  death  of, 

84  ;  her  claim  to    Blackburn    Rectory 

lands,  264  ,  Charter  to  Grammar  School 

at  Blackburn,  312-15 
Elkar  in  Billington,  444-6 
Ellingthorpe  of  Shorrock  Hey,  623 
Enfield    Moor,    Parliamentarian    Muster 

on,  115-16 

Everfield  family,  of  Tockholes,  687 
Evyas,  De,  lords  of  Samlesbury,  54,  658 
Ewood  in  Livesey,  565,  572,  580 

De,  family,  565-6 

Exchange,  Blackburn,  384-5 

FACTORY  Hill,  Blackburn,  first  cotton 

mill  at,  230 
Fairfax,  Lord,  forces  of,  at  Nantwich,  142 ; 

at  Lathom  House,  143 
Famine  in  Lancashire  in  1644,  153 
Farington   family,    of   Audley    Hall   and 

Worden,  274,  603,  736 

William,   a   Royalist,    106-7,    "4J 

estate  sequestrated,  141-2  ;  at  Marston 
Moor,  149 

Fearnhurst  (manor-house),  Lower  Darwen, 

469-70,  483,  485 
Feilden  family,  of  Blackburn  and  Witton 

Park,  284,  421,  756-9 
of  Feniscowles,  621-2 ;  Sir  William, 

M.P.,  344,  372-3,  571 

of  the  Holt  in  Rishton,  638 

of  Pythorne,  Wilpshire,  752 

Feniscliffe  in  Livesey,  578-9 
Feniscowles  Hall,  622  ;  Old  Hall,  624 
Feniscowles,  Emmanuel  Church,  584-5 
Fish  family,  of  Chapels,  Darwen,  505-6 

of  Eccleshill,  599 

Fish  Lane,  Blackburn,  old  house  in,  215 
Fishwick  Hall  and  estate,  575 
Fishwick,  Lt.-Col.  H.,  771 
Fleetwood  family,   lessees   of  Blackburn 
Rectory  estate,  259,  275-8,  284,  671,  738 
Fleetwood  Hall,  Samlesbury,  671 
Fleming,  John,  of  Blackburn,  394 
Fletcher,  Rev.  Joseph,  M.A.,  361 
Flodden  Field,  Blackburn  Men  at,  60- 1 
Forces,  Lancashire,  Order  for  pay  of,  1 78-9 
Foster  of  Bank  Hey,  Little  Harwood,  562 

Robert,  Schoolmaster,  336-7,  347 

Fox  family,  of  Oxendale,  610-11 
Freeholders,  local,  in  1600,  83 
Friends'  Meeting-house,  Blackburn,  370 
Fuller,  Dr.  Thomas,  625 

Fulthrop,  Roger  de,  Judge,  646 
Fytton  family,  lords  of  Great  Harwood, 
50-1.  55.  53i-2 

50 


778 


HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


GARSTON   (Garsden)  family,  of  Tock- 

holes,  &c.,  683-5,  697 
Garstanes  in  Tockholes,  685 
Gerarde,  John,  author  of  a  "  Herbal,"  535 
Gerard,  lords  of  Balderstone,    417  ;  Sir 

Gilbert,  321-2,  417 

of  Radbourne  in  Brindle,  458-9 

Gilbert,  Alexr.,  Minister  of  Tockholes,  692 
Gillibrand  family,  of  Beardwood,  629 

of  Ramsgreave,  629-30 

Girlington,  Sir  John,  Sheriff,  104-5,  118 
Girls'  Charity  School,  Blackburn,  350-1 
Glover  family,  of  Blackburn,  395 
Gourlay,  Wm.,  236,  411 

Gradwell,  Wm.  and  Thos. ,  of  Preston,  610 
Greenfield  family,  of  Witton,  &c.,  759 
Greenough  Castle,  siege  of,   150,  154 
Green-Tockholes,  Livesey,  581-4 
Greenway  family,  of  Darwen,  491,  506 
Griffith,  Rev.  G.,  Minister  at  Darwen,  520-2 
Grimshaw  family,  of  Grimshaw,  597 

of  Okenhurst,  Lower  Darwen,  477 

of  Clayton  Hall,  540 

Grimshaw  in  Eccleshill,  597 

Rev.  W.,  Incumbent  of  Haworth, 200 

Nich.,  Esq.,  MSS.  of,  592 

Gristwayth,  John  de,  Vicar  of  Blackburn, 

286,  427 

Grosart,  Rev.  A.B.,  LL.D.,  366,  411 
Guest,  Mary,  gift  to  Tockholes  Chapel,  702 

Richard,  Schoolmaster,  341-2 

H  ABYNDON,  John  de,  Vicar  of  Black- 
burn, 286 
Hacking  estate  in  Billington,  27-8,  430-8  ; 

Hall,  437-8 

Hacking,  De,  family,  54,  430 
Haggate,  fight  at,  in  1644,  147-8 
Halliwell  family,  of  Tockholes,  687 
Halliwell  Fold,  Tockholes,  687 
Hamilton,  Duke  of,  at  Preston  Battle,  157 
Hand-loom,  the  Lancashire,  202-3 
Hardwick,  Charles,  on  Roman  Station  at 

Walton,  21-2 

Hargreave  family,  of  Hoddlesden,  506 
Hargreaves,  James,  Vicar  of  Black  burn,  286 

James,  Inventor,  204-10 

Richard,  curate  of  Harwood,  Articles 

against,  546-7 

family,  of  Blackburn,  395-6 

John,  Esq.,  Coroner,  395 

Harland,  John,   on  Roman  Remains  at 

Ribchester,  19 
Harleian  MSS.,  75-6,  81-3,  85,  174,  534, 

546 
Harrington,    lords    of    Balderstone,    55, 

57-8,  415 
Harrison  of  Galligreaves  and  Samlesbury 

Hall,  663,  667-8 

William,  Esq.,  F.S.A.,  666 

Alan  and  John,    lords   of  Mearley 

and  Osbakleston,  606 
Harvie,  John,  Puritan  Minister,  696 


Harwood,  Great,  township,  42,  62,  86, 
186,  529-55 

ancient  bounds  of,  531 

manor,  51,  53,  55  ;  descent  of,  531-41 

manor-house  (Martholme),  538-9 

families  of  gentry  and  yeomen,  541-5 

manufactures  of,  529-30 

Local  Board  of  Health,  530 

Church  of  St.    Bartholomew,    545- 

552  ;  Chantry,  66,  545-6 

Roman  Catholic  Church,  552 

Dissenting  Chapels,  552-3 

Charities,  553-4;  Parish  School,  554 

Harwood,   Little,   township,   42,  51,  62, 

87,  186,  556-63 

manor,  descent  of,  556-61 ;  Hall,  561 

families  of  gentry  and  yeomen,  561-3 

Commons  enclosed,  563 

Harwood  family,  of  Livesey,  579 

of  Lower  Darwen,  477-8 

Dr.  Edward,  478-9 

Harwood  Fold,  Clayton-in-le-Dale,  461 
Hawkins,  E. ,  on  the  Cuerdale  Coins,  30-6 
Haworth  family,  of  Blackburn,  397,  769 

of  Shear  Bank,  Blackburn,  396 

of  Factory  Hill,  Blackburn,  396-7 

of  Blackburn,  Preston,  &c.,  480-1 

Rev.  Wm.,  480-1  ;  Dr.  Samuel,  481 

of  Th'urcroft,  Lower  Darwen,  470-3 

Richard,  Esq.,  of  Park  Head,  472 

of  Lower  Darwen  and  Turton,  473-5 

of  Newfield,  Lower  Darwen,  484-5 

of  Walmsley  Fold,  479-80 

Edmund,  Calico  printer,  214-15 

Ralph,  John,  and  Rev.  Wm.,  early 

Methodists,  199 

Haydock  family,  of  Mellor,  592 
Healey  Moor,  Burnley,  Roundhead  Meet- 
ing at,  114,  140 

Henry  IV.,  56  ;  Henry  VI.,  capture  near 
Clitheroe,  57-8;  Henry  VII.,  59-60; 
Henry  VI 1 1.,  60,  64 

Herris,  William,  curate  of  Gt.  Harwood,  546 
Hesketh  family,  of  Martholme,  lords  of 
Great  Harwood,  53,  55,  60,  532-8,  545 
Hey  Fold,  Over  Darwen,  509-10 
Highercroft  House,  Lower  Darwen,  473 
Hilton  family,  of  Darwen,  492,  507 
Hindle  family,  of  Blackburn  and  Woodfold 

Park,  397-8,  589 
of  Cowhill,  Rishton,  638-40 

Christr.,  Vicar  of  Ribchester,  639-40 

of  Highercroft,  &c.,  482-3 

of  Holker  House,  Hoddlesden,  507 

Hodder  Bridge,  Cromwell's  army  at,  159 
Hodgson,    Captain,    account   of    Preston 

Battle,  1 66 

Hoddlesden,  7,  63,  506-7,  596-7,  763-4 
Hoghton,  De,  family,  lords  of  Hoghton, 

Walton,  Over  Darwen,  &c.,  55,  95-100, 

499,  711-22 

Sir  Richard,    first  baronet,  95-100, 

625,   717-18 


INDEX. 


779 


Hoghton,  Sir  Gilbert,  106-7  J  *n  Civil  War, 
114-23,  330,  718-19 

Sir  Henry,  fifth  bart.,  720;  ninth 

bart.,  722 

Sir  Charles,  193,  719-20,  723 

Lady  Mary,  699-700,  720 

Thomas,  builder  of  the  Tower,  715, 

723 

Thomas,  slain  at  Lea,  709-10,  717 

Major-General  Daniel,  slain  at  Al- 

buera,  721 

Hoghton  Tower,  James  I.  at,  95-100; 
taken  in  Civil  War  and  partially  blown 
up,  124-6;  in  1703,  193;  in  1715,  193; 
building  of,  715  ;  description  of,  723-5 

Hoghton  family,  of  Mellor,  592 

of  Ramsgreave,  630 

of  Red  Lee,  Tockholes,  687-9 

of  Roacher  House,  Samlesbury,  670, 

676,  738 

Richard,  of  Park  Hall,  714,  716 

Richard  and  Henry,  ofLeagrim,646-7 

Holand,  De,  family,  lords  of  Samlesbury, 

54-5,  496,  667-8  ;  Sir  Robert,  667 
Holcroft,  lords  of  Billington,  429,  749 

Sir  Thomas,  429,  448,  450-1 

Holden  family,  of  Blackburn,  258,  760 

of  Coohill,  Witton,  760 

of  Ewood,  579-81 

of  Feniscliffe,  364 

of  Hoddlesden,  507 

of  Pickup-Bank,  &c.,  762 

Hole  House,  Blackburn,  212-15 
Holker  House,  Hoddlesden,  507 
Hollinshead,  Tockholes,  55,  682;  Hall, 686 
Hollinshead-Brock,  family,  of  Tockholes, 

&c.,  685 

Holme,  Rev.  John,  Vicar  of  Blackburn, 
284,  293-5,  312,  355.  5i6,  694 

Thomas,      Master     of     Blackburn 

School,  338,  347 

Holt,  James  Maden,  Esq.,  M.P.,  148 
Holt  Manor-house,  Rishton,  58,  634-8 
Hoole,  William,  Esq.,  375-7 
Hopwood  family  of  Blackburn,  &c.,  398 
Hornby  Castle,  captured  by  Roundheads, 

138-9 
Hornby  family,  of  Blackburn,  398-9 

and  Birley,  firm  of,  231 

Wm.    Henry,   Esq.,    M.P.,   372-4. 

376,  399 

John,  Esq.,  M.P.,  373.  399 

Horsley,  Dr.,  at  Ribchester,  14-16 
Howe,  Rev.  John,  497,  720 

Hoyle,  of  Little  Harwood  Hall,  560-1 
Hubbersty  family,  of  Samlesbury,  672 
Hudleston,  De,  lords  of  Billington,  54, 

426-7,  457 

Hull,  Rev.  John,  675,  740 
Hulton,     De,    lords    of    Blackburn,   53, 

W.  A.,  Editor  of  Coucher  Book  of 

Whalley  Abbey,  531,  668 


Hunter,  Rev.   Thomas,  Master  of  Black- 
burn School,  339-40,  347-8,  424,  478 
Hutchinson,  R.  H.,  Esq.,  376,  398 
Hylton,  John,  Vicar  of  Blackburn,  287, 769 

INCENSE  Cups,  found  at  Whitehall, 
Darwen,  24 

Independent  Chapels,  at  Blackburn, 
35&-63  ;  Lower  Darwen,  487  ;  Over 
Darwen,  518-26  ;  Great  Harwood,  553  ; 
Mill  Hill,  Livesey,  585  ;  Ramsgreave, 
630;  Rishton,  643;  Tockholes,  696- 
704  ;  Pickup  Bank,  765 

Independent  Academy  at  Blackburn,  363-4 

Infirmary,  Blackburn,  383-4 

Inquisition,  De  Lascy,  in  1311,  52-4 

JACKSON,  Rev.  Thos.,  Master  of  Black- 

burn  School,  344-5,  348 
Jacobite    Trials  at    Manchester,    191-2 ; 

Rebellions,  194-8 
James  I.,  Address  on  his  accession,  84  ;  at 

Hoghton  Tower,  95-100,  625,  724 
James  II.,  reign  and  deposition,  190 
Jeffreys,  Judge,  at  Preston,  190  ;  decree 

on  Langho  Chapel,  453-4 
Jesland,  Thomas,  Narrative  of  Attack  on 

Blackburn,  116 
Jollie,  Rev.  Thomas,  696-7 
Just,  John,  on  local  Roman  Roads,  19 
Juxon,  Abp.,  Rector  of  Blackburn,  27 7, 29 1 

KAY,  John,  Inventor,  203-4 
Kenworthy,  William,  Inventor,  410 
Kenyon  family,  of  Dinkley,  &c. ,  329 
Keuerdale  family  (see  Cuerdale) 
Kuerden  family,  of  Walton,  728 

Dr.  Richard,  Antiquary,  126,724,728 

LAMBERT,  General,  in  Lancashire,  156, 

166,  174,  177,  179 

Lancaster  Castle,  in  Civil  War,  126-7 
Lancaster,  Thomas,  Earl   of,    53-5,  427  ; 

Henry,  Duke  of,  55-6 ;  John,  Duke  of,  55 
Langdale,  Dorothy,  Charity  of,  678-9 
Sir  Marmaduke,  General,  at  Preston 

Battle,  158-67 
Lr.ngho,  Church  (Chapel)  of  St.  Leonard, 

447.55 

Battle  at,  27  ;  Langho  Green,  134-5 

Langton  family,  lords  of  Walton,  Nether 

Darwen,  &c. ,  54-5, 63, 68, 467, 556, 706- 1 1 

Sir  Thomas,  708-11 

William,  Antiquary,  421,  431,  463, 

532-3,  647,  668,  709,  712 

Larkhill  House,  Blackburn,  388,  395,  403 
Lascy,  De,  Lords  of  Cliderhou,  45-55 
Lathom  House,  Sieges  of,  142-5,  154 
Law  family,  of  Royshaw,  Blackburn,  267-8 
Lawrence,  Rev.  Edward,  minister  of  Gar- 

stang,  689 

Lea,  De,  lords  of  Lea,  706,  711,  714 
Lea  Hall,  affray  at,  709-10  ;  7H-I5 


780 


HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


Leigh,  Dr.  Charles,  15-16 

Leland,  John,  in  Lancashire,  12.  247 

Lench,  William  de,  Vicar  of  Blackburn, 

272,  286 
Leyland  family,  of  Blackburn,  399-400 

William,    Esq.,    Bequest    to    Girls' 

Charity  School,  350,  399-400 

Library   and  Museum,   Free,   Blackburn, 
378-80 

Free,  Over  Darwen,  495 

Lilburne,  Col.,  at  Brindle  fight,  1 80- 1 
Lister  family,  of  Thornton  in  Craven,  661 
Livesey  township,  62,  87,  1 86,  564-86  , 
manor,  51,  53,  55  ;  descent  of,  565-71 

Hall,  571  ;  Estate,  570 

family,  lords  of  the  manor,  58,  566-71 

Print  Works  and  Cotton  Mills  111,564-5 

Churches,  at  Feniscowles  and  Moor- 
gate,  584-5 

Dissenting  Chapels,  585 

Charities,  586  ;  Schools,  585 

gentry  and  yeoman  families.  571-84 

• of  Blackburn  and  Mosney,  224-7 

of  Brindle  and  Blackburn,  400 

of  Fearnhurst,  Lower  Darwen,  483 

of  Feniscowles,  624 

of  Sidebight,  Rishton,  458,  640-1 

of  Whithalgh,  Livesey,  581,  693 

Richard,  318-20 

Sarah,  Charity  of,  586 

Lomas  family,  of  Darwen,  484,  515 
Lomax,  lords  of  Great  Harwood,  540-1 
Lonsdale  family  of  Dinkley,  753 

Loom,  the  hand-,  232  ;  the  power-,  232-5 
Lovel,  lords  of  Samlesbury,  54,  668-9 
Loveley  Hall,  Salesbury,  655-6 
Lower  Chapel   (Nonconformist),  in  Over 

Darwen,  518-24 
Low  Hill  House,  Danven,  492 
Lussell  family,  of  Studlehurst,  609 
Lyndelay,  John,  Vicar  of  Blackburn,  286 
Lynney,  Ralph,  Vicarof  Blackburn,286,76S 

Machine-breaking  Riots,  205-10,  217-18, 

233-5 

Manufactures,  early,  in  Blackburn,  201-4 
Markland  family,  of  Blackburn,  229,  400-1 

• Daniel,  B.A.,  Schoolmaster,  338-9 

Marsden    family,    of    Okenhurst,    Lower 

Darwen,  484,  580-1 
• of  Over  Darwen,  508 

of  Bradley   and  Ryall,    Tockholes, 

583,  689-90 

Marston  Moor  Battle,  148-9 

Martholme  Manor-house,  Great  Harwood, 

529,  535,  538-9 

Masque  at  Hoghton  Tower,  97-8 

Mather,  Rev.  Benjamin,  522 

Mawdesley  family,   of  Ousebooth,  Black- 
burn, 257,  268-9,  349,   515 
—  of  Over  Darwen,  508 

Mayors  of  Blackburn,  376 

McQuhae,  Rev.  James,  360,  703 


Meldrum,  Sir  John,  campaign  of,  151-3 
Mellor  township,  61,  86,  187,  587-96 

manor,  54  ;  descent  of,  588-9 

(Meluer),  De,  family,  588 


—  Moor,  Roman  Camp  on,  8,  22 

yeoman  families  of,  589-95 

Church  of  St.  Mary,   595 

-  Wesleyan  Chapels,  595-6 

Mercer  family,  of  Great  Harwood,  543-4 
Methodist,  Wesleyan,  Societies,  at  Black- 
burn, 366-9 ;  Lower  Darwen,  486 ; 
Over  Darwen,  527  ;  Great  Harwood, 
553 ;  Mellor,  595-6 ;  Rishton,  643 ; 
Walton,  742-3  ;  Witton,  760. 

Primitive,    Societies,   at  Blackburn, 

369  ;  Lower  Darwen,  486  ;  Over  Dar- 
wen, 527  ;  Great  Harwood,  553  ;  Rish- 
ton, 643  ;  Witton,  760 

United    Free,    Societies,    at    Black- 
burn,   369-70 ;    Lower   Darwen,   487  ; 
Over  Darwen,    527 ;    Great   Harwood, 
553  ;  Livesey,  585  ;  Rishton,  643 

Micklehey,  in  Rishton,  642,  751 
Military  levies,  from  1553  to   1596,   70-6  ; 

muster  at  Blackburn,   85 
Mill  Hill  Print  Works,  Livesey,  228-9 
Molyneux,  lords  of  Cuerdale,  463,  683 

Sir  Richard,  435 

Monasteries,  Visitation  of,  in  1534,  67 
Moorgate,  Livesey,  580,  585 
Morley  family,  of  Dinkley,  411,  746-9 
Morres,  John,  Vicar  of  Blackburn,  287 
Mort,  Adam,  Mayorof  Preston,  killed,  123 
Mosney  Print  Works,  Walton,  224-7 
Murder  at  Lower  Darwen  in  1604,  481 
Mutiny  of  Militia  at  Clitheroe  Castle,  177 

NEVILL  family,  of  Blackburn,  &c.,  401-2 
Newcastle,  Earl  of,  at  Colne,  &c.,  140 
Newcome,  Rev.  Henry,  520 
Newfield,  Lower  Darwen,  481-2 
New  Hall,  Clayton-in-le-Dale,  654 
Newspapers,  Blackburn,   412 
Nightingale,  Mrs.  Mary,  her  Charity,  554-5 
Nomenclature,  local,  4 ;  Saxon,  40-3 
Nonconformity,  in  Blackburn  Parish,  185; 
suppression  of,   188  ;  licenses  for  meet- 
ing-houses, 189-90  ;  in  Blackburn,   357- 
70;  in  Darwen,  518-27;  in  Tockholes, 
696-704  ;  in  Walton,  742 
Nonjurors  in  the  Parish,  196-7 
Norman  Conquest  of  Lancashire,  45-6 
Nowell  family,  of  Pleasingtori,  &c.,  624 

of  Read,  lords  of  Great  Harwood,  539 

OAKENSHAW,  Print  Works  at,  222 
Oddie,  John,  Master  of  Blackburn  School, 

334-6,  347 

Okenhurst,  Lower  Darwen,  477,  484 
Oldham  family,  of  Oldham  Cross,  214 
Osbaldeston,  township,  41,  63,  88,  187, 

600- 1 1 

manor,  54 ;  descent  of,  600-7 


INDEX. 


78l 


Osbaldeston,  De,  lords  of  Osbaldeston, 
Darwen,  and  Balderstone,  54,  63,  417- 
18,  496-9,  597,  600-8 

Sir  Edward,  Knt.,  604 

Sir  Geoffrey,  Judge,  603 

George,  claimant  to  the  manor,  607 

—  Hall,  607-8 ;  Park,  85  ;  estate,  606-7 

Edward,  priest,  executed,  354 

—  family,  of  Sunderland  Hall,  419-20 
• •  of  Mellor,  592-3 

Thomas,  of  Cuerdale,  a  felon,  603 

of  Oxendale,  609-10 

• of  Osbaldeston  House,  Walton,  728 

Chapel,  in  Blackburn  Church,  305-6, 

309,  560,  602,  606 

• monuments  in  Blackburn  Church,  309 

Roman  Catholic  Chapel,  6n 

Ferry  and  Boathouse,  605-6 

Osbaldeston,  John,  inventor,  410 
Oswaldtwistle,  lords  of,  252-5 
Ousebooth,  Blackburn,  266,  268-9 
Overlockshay,  Livesey,  old  house  at,  577 
Oxendale  Hall,  Osbaldeston,  611 

PADIHAM,  Meeting  of  Parliamenta- 
rians at,  113 

Park,   Corporation,  Blackburn,  378 
Parks  in  Blackburn  Parish,   temp.    Eliza- 
beth, 85 

Parker  family,  of  Loveley  Hall,  655-6 
Parliament,  Long,  Lancashire  Members,  103 
Paslew,  John,  Abbot  of  Whalley,  rebellion 

and  execution  of,  67-70 
Paulinus  in  Lancashire,  25-6 
Pedder  family,  of  Walton,  728-9 
Peel,  Great  and  Little,  Blackburn,  246 
Peel  Fold,  Oswaldtwistle,  214,  221-2 
Peel  family,  of  Peel  Fold  and  Blackburn, 
212-23 

William,  of  Peel  Fold,  214,  221 

-  Robert,  Inventor,  204-5,  214-19 

-  Robert,  Calico-printer,  first  baronet, 
215,  219-21 

—  Sir  Robert,  the  Statesman,  220-1 

-  Rev.  Nicholas,  213,  292 

Jonathan,  Esq.,  212,  215,  222 

—  Sir  Lawrence,  215,  218 

Peel  of  Bank  Hey,  Little  Harwood,  563 

Pendle  Hill,  193 

Petitions,  to  Charles  I.  from  Lancashire, 
103-4  ;  to  Parliament  from  Blackburn 
Hundred,  178  ;  of  local  clothiers,  202  ; 
of  Blackburn  manufacturers,  229-30  ;  for 
new  Roads  in  the  district,  241  ;  of 
tenants  of  Blackburn  Rectory,  277  j  of 
Parishioners  for  Vicar  Clayton,  289-90; 
of  Vicar  Clayton,  290-1  ;  of  Nonconfor- 
mists of  Darwen,  519-20;  of  Inhabi- 
tants of  Great  Harwood  to  Abp.,  549; 
of  Blackburn  traders,  771-2 

Petre  of  Dunkenhalgh,  lords  of  Billington, 
Lower  Darwen,  Rishton,  Samlesbury, 
436-7,  469,  638,  669 


Pickop  (Piccop)  family  of  Green  Tock- 
holes,  Livesey,  581-2 

—  John,  Esq.,  376,  379,  582 

—  of  Eccleshill,  and  Lower  Darwen,  599 
— —  of  March  House,  Darwen,  508 
Pickup-Bank  township,  761-5 
Pilgrimage  of  Grace,  67-8 

Pilkington  family,  of  Blackburn,  402 
-  James,  Esq.,  M.P.,  372-4,  402 

-  William,  Esq.,  376-8,  383-4,402 
Pilkmgton,  Sir  John,  414;  Dame  Jane,  414 

-  Rev.  John,  Minister  at  Walton,  742 
Pleasington    township,   41,    62,    86,    187, 

612-26 

—  manor,  descent  of,  612-21 

-  Old  Hall,  621  ;  New  Hall,  621 
De,  lords  of  Pleasington,  54,612-13 

—  gentry  and  freeholders  of,  621-4 

Priory  (R.C.),  625-6 

School,  626 

Police  Courts,  Blackburn,  Borough,  377  ; 
County,  386 ;  Darwen,  495 

Poor  Law  Union,  Blackburn,  381 

Portfield,  Whalley,  132-3,  440 

Potter's  Ford,  Billington,  5,  9,  442-3 

Potter,  Rev.  John,  Vicar  of  Blackburn,  295-6 

Praers,  Robert,  lord  of  Rishton,  631 

Presbytery,  Lancashire,  Blackburn  Classis 
of,  155 

Presbyterian  Churches  at  Blackburn,  365-6; 
at  Walton,  742 

Preston,  County  Meeting  at,  in  1642, 
104-5;  Royalist  Muster  at,  107;  Round- 
head assault  and  capture  of,  122-3  ; 
Royalist  recapture,  127 ;  Sir  John 
Melclrum  at,  152  ;  Rebels  at,  in  1715, 
194-5  5  in  1745,  197-8 

Battle  of,  in  1648,  157-74;  colours 

captured  at,  174 

Price,  Rev.  Francis,  Vicar  of  Blackburn, 
279,  282,  284,  292-3,  450-4,  512 

Primrose  Print  Works,  Clitheroe,  227-8 

Pythorne  in  Wilpshire,  752 

RADCLIFFE  family  of  Smithells,  lords 
of  Blackburn,  251.2 

of  Chaderton,  lords  of  Witton,  755 

.  of  Ordsall,  lords  of  Tockholes,   54, 

681-3 
Dame  Anne,  183-4  ;  Sir  John,  692 

of  Wynmaiieigh,  lords  of  Balder- 
stone,  416-17 

Railways,  local,  construction  of,  244 
Raines,  Rev.  Canon,  274,  515,  625,  635,  767 
Ramsgreave  township,  627-30 

—  Chase,  627-8  ;  Wood,  628 
Hall  and  estate,  629 

freeholders  of,  629-30 

tenants  of  Abbey  of  Whalley  in,  628 

Recusants,  local,  prosecution  of,  76-83 
Red  Lee,  Tockholes,  686-9 
Redman,  Richard,  Minister  of  Walton,  737 
Ribchester  (Rigodunum)  Roman,  6-9, 11-20 


782 


HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


Kibble  Bridge,  Walton,  fighting  at,  151-2, 

160-2,  182 

Richard  III.  his  grant  to  John  Talbot,  58 
Richardson  family,  of  Tockholes,  690, 701-2 
Rigby,  Alexander,  in  Civil  War,  106,  109, 

139,  143-4 

Rishton  township  42,50,62,88,187,631-43 
manor  51,  53,  55  ;  descent  of,  631-8 

manor-house  (Holt),  638 

families  of  yeomen  in,  638-43 

De,  lords  of  Rishton,  51,  55,  631-4 

of  Ponthalghand  Micklehey,  328, 641 

of  Harstonley,  563 

Church  of  St.  Peter,  643 

Dissenting  Chapels,  643 ;  Schools,  643 

Roacher  Hall,  Samlesbury,  670 

Roads,  local,  old  and  modern,  237-41 
Robertshaw  family,  of  Great  Harwood,  544 
Rodgett  family,  of  Blackburn,  402 
Roman  remains,    at    Ribchester,    11-20, 

766-7;  at  Walton,  21-2  ;  at  Mellor,  8, 

22  ;  at  Salesbury  Hall,  654 

Roads  and  Stations,  local,  4-22 

Roses,  Wars  of,  battles  in,  56 
Royshaw,  in  Blackburn,  260-1 
Rupert,  Prince,  in  Lancashire,  144-50 
Rushbearing  at  Hoghton  Tower,  97 
Rushton,  Rev.  John,  Vicar  of  Blackburn, 

3°o,  353 
Ryall,  in  Tockholes,  690 

SAGAR,  Rev.  Charles,  333-4,  347,  359, 

518-20 
Salesbury  township,  42,  63, 87, 187, 644-56 

manor,  55,  58  ;  descent  of,  644-54 

Hall,  9,  16,  58  ;  search  at,  79,  113; 

taken  by  Roundheads,  121;  Stukeleyat, 
193-4  ;  description  of,  654 

De,  family,  lords  of  Salesbury,  644-5 

Freeholders  in,  655-6 

Church,  656  ;  School,  656 

Salley  Abbey,  13,  418-19 

Henry,  Vicar  of  Blackburn,  286 

Salley  (Sawley),  Print  Works  at,  223 
Samlesbury  township, 42, 63, 86, 187,657-80 
manor,  54;  descent  of,  657-69 

Hall  and  Park,  82  ;  663-7 

Lower  Hall,  671,  677 

De,   family,    lords   of   Samlesbury, 

50-1,  657-8 

Witchcraft  in,  88-95 

gentry  and  yeomen  families,  670-2 

Church  (Chapel)  of  St.  Leonard,  50, 

355.  672-7,  680 

Roman  Catholic  Chapel,  677 

Schools  and  Charities,  677-80 

Bancroft,  Abp. ,  Rector  of  Blackburn,  gift 

to  the  Chapelries,  278-83  ;  693 
Sanderson  family,  of  Fearnhurst,  485 
Schools,  Sunday  and  Day,  at  Blackburn, 

370-2 

Scrope,  le,  family  of,  lords  of  Billington,  427 
Seaton,  Sir  John,  in  Civil  War,  109,  122-8 


Sequestrations  of  local  estates,  141,  153-5, 

182-3,  652 

Sergeant  family,  of  Walton,  729 
Sharpies  family,  of  Blackburn,  269-70 

Randal,  Esq.,  269,  311 

of  Ramsgreave,  630 

Sherdley,  Rev.  Edward,  454,  550 
Ship-money,  levy  of,  in  Lancashire,  100-1 
Shorrock  family,  of  Darwen,  508-9 
of  Eccleshill,  508,  599 

Eccles,  Esq.,  231,  235,  493,  509 

Shorrock  Green,  Mellor,  591-2 
Shorrock  Hey,  Pleasington,  623 
Showley,  in  Clayton-le-Dale,  63,  458-60; 

Hall,  460 ;  Showley  Fold,  461 
Shuttleworth  family,  of  Hacking,  &c. ,  430-3 

of  Gawthorpe,estate  in  Eccleshill,  598 

Col.    Richard,   in  Civil  War,    105, 

108-19,  123,   126 ;  victory  at  Whalley, 

131-7  ;  146-9,  181 
Col.  Nicholas,  117,  151-2 

Capt.  William,  117,  126-7 

Sidebight  in  Rishton,  640-1 
Silk  Hall,  Tockholes,  690,  701-2 
Singleton  family,  of  Staining,  709-10 
Skinner,  Rev.  F.,  D.D.,  365-6,  411 
Slab,  Roman  Sepulchral,  found  near  Rib- 
chester, 766-7 

Slater  family,  of  Elkar,  Billington,  446 
Smalley  family,  of  Blackburn,  402-3 

of  Balderstone,  421 

of  Billington,  446-7 

of  Over  Darwen,  509-10 

Mary,  Charities  of,  456,  528 

Rev.  Robert,  510,  522-3 

Smethurst,  Richard,  Minister  of  Samles- 
bury, 674 

Smith,  George,  Schoolmaster,  337-8 

Robert,  Schoolmaster,  340-1 

Smith,  Rev.  John,  minister  of  Harwood, 

550-1,  554 

Sourbutts  family,  in  Samlesbury,  89,  95 
Southworth  family,  lords  of  Samlesbury, 

Darwen,  Mellor,  &c.,  55,  63,  92-4,  113, 

496-7,  588-9,  658-63,  675-6 

Sir  John,  prosecuted  for  recusancy, 

77-82,  660- 1 

Jane,  accused  of  witchcraft,  89-95 

Christopher,  priest,  93,  95 

Speake  family,  of  Billington,  447 
Speed,  John,  his  Map  of  Lancashire,  85 
"Spinning    Jenny,"     invented,     204-9; 

Spinning  "Mule,"  208-10 
Stakes  Hall,  Livesey,  228,  571-7 
Standish  family,  lords  of  Witton,  756 
Stanlaw   Abbey,   51-2,   596,  672-3,   706, 

736,  745 
Stanley  family,  of  Cross  Hall,  and  Holt, 

Rishton,  635-7 
Dame   Ann,    of  the   Holt,    634-8; 

Ann,  641 

of  Mellor,  593 

Stanley  House,  Mellor,  489,  589 


INDEX. 


783 


Starkie,  Col.  John,  of  Huntroyd,  in  Civil 
War,  108-11,  114-18,  123 

Capt.      Nicholas,      117;     slain     at 

Hoghton  Tower,  124-6 

Col.  Le  Gendre  Nicholas,  421,  656 

Rev.  Thomas,  Vicar  of  Blackburn, 

297-9,411,  656 

Statera,  Roman,  found  at  Ribchester,  20 
Stonyhurst,  Cromwell  at,  167-9,  r75 
Strange,  James,  Lord  (Earl  of  Derby),  104-8 
Stuart,   Charles   Edward,  at  Preston  and 

Manchester,  197-8 
Studlehurst  in  Osbaldeston,  609 
Stukeley,  Dr.,  13-14,  193 
Subsidies,  King's,  in  1496,  60;   in   1523, 

61-4  ;  in  1611,  85-8  ;  in  1663,  186-8 
Sudell  family,   of  Blackburn  and  Wood- 
fold  Park,  403-5 
Henry,  Esq.,  405  ;   lord  of  Mellor, 

589,  595,  672 

Sunderland,  De,  family,  417-19 
Grange,  Balderstone,  417-19;  Hall, 

420 
Swinlehurst,      John,      Schoolmaster      of 

Blackburn  School,  331-2 

TALBOT  family,  lords  of  Salesbury, 
Clayton,  &c.,  57-8,  60,  113,  305,  457-8, 
647-5.2 

Sir  John,  Royalist,l2l, 154,333,651-2 

Thomas,  the  Antiquary,  650-1 

of  New  Hall,  Clayton-in-le-Dale,  654 

of  Cunliffe,  in  Billington,  447 

of  Clayton,  461 

of  Cowhill,  Rishton,  642-3 

of  the  Holt,   Audley,  and  Bashall, 

lords  of  Rishton  and  Nether  Darwen, 
53.  58,  273-4,305,329,469-70,634-8,647 

Sir  Thos.  Knt.,  71,  248,  273-4,469, 

635-7 

of  Carr,  in  Wilpshire,  753-4 

Temple,  Roman,  at  Ribchester,  1 6- 1 8 
Tenison,  Abp.,  Gift  to  Curates  of  Black- 
burn Chapels,  284 
Thompson,  James,  Calico  Printer,  227-8 

Wm.,  Priest,  executed,  354 

Thoresby,  Ralph,  the  antiquary,  192-3 
Thornley  Estate  (Sancroft  Trust),  282-3 
Thurland  Castle  taken  by  Roundheads,  139 
Tockholes  township,3, 5, 62, 87, 1 86,68 1-714 

manor,  54-5  ;  descent  of,  681-5 

Adam  de,  54 

relics  of  battle  at,  129-30 

Parochial  Chapel  (Church),  691-6 

Nonconformist  Meeting- House,  696- 

704 

School  and  Charities,  704 

families  of  freeholders,  686-91 

Tonge  Hill,  Pleasington,  614,  623 

Towers,  Rev.  James,  700-3 

Towneley,    Charles,  a  Royalist,     1 1 1- 1 2, 

123  ;  slain  at  Marston  Moor,  149 
Christopher,  the  Antiquary,  440,709 


Townley,  Richard,  Esq.,  192-3 

Richard,  a  Jacobite,  196 

Francis,  Col,  execution  of,  198 

Charles,  the  antiquary,  15 

Hall,  occupied  by  Roundheads,  112 

Trafford,  De,  lords  of  Over  Darwen,499-5oo 
Tumuli  at  Brockhole  Eses,  28 ;  at  White- 
hall, Over  Darwen,  23 

Tunworth  in  Billington,  445-6 
Turncroft  in  Over  Darwen,  502-4 
Turner  family  of  Mill  Hill,  &c.,  228-9,  544-5 

—  Sir  James,  on  Preston  battle,  164-5 
Tyldesley,    Col.  Thomas,  in  Civil  War, 

I3I-3,  137-8,  149.  176;  slain  at  Wigan 
Lane,  181 

UNIFORMITY,  Act  of,  local  effects  of, 
183-5 

Urns,  Cinerary,  found  at  Whitehall,  Dar- 
wen, 23 

VALENTINE,  Mary,  Charity  of,  679-80 

Rev.  Peter,  698-700 

Valor  Ecclesiasticus  in  1534,  64-7 
Volunteers,  Blackburn  Association  of,  412 

WAD  A,  the  Dane,  battle  with  Eardulf, 

at  Langho,  27-8 
Waddington  family  of  Lower  Darwen,  485 

Rev.  Robert,  696-8 

Waldegrave,  Rev.  Thomas,  701,  703 
Walkden  family,  of  Livesey,  582 
Wallbank,  William,  337  ;  his  gift  to  Plea- 

sington  School,  626 
Walmesley  family,  of  Showley,  458-60 

of  Dunkenhalgh,  lords  of  Billington, 

Nether  Darwen,  Rishton,  and  Sarnies* 
bury,  113,  305,  335,  433-7,  469,  634, 
637-8,  669 

Sir  Thomas,  the  Judge,  309,  326, 328- 

30,  433-4,  437,  640,  669 

Bartholomew,  191-2,  436,  450-4 

William,  a  Jacobite,  196 

Chapel  and  Monuments  in  Blackburn 

Church,  309,  311,  434 

family,  of  Banister  Hall,  Walton,  731 

of  Lower  Hall,  Samlesbury,  671 

of  Lower  Darwen,  485 

Walmsley  family,  of  Mellor,  593-4 

—  of  the  Hill,  Tockholes,  583-4,  690-3 
Walmsley  Fold,  Lower  Darwen,  479-80,485 
Walsh  of  Walsh  Fold,  Over  Darwen,  510 
Walton-in-le-Dale,   2,  4,   9,   1 1 ;  Roman 

Station  at,  20-2 

Cop,  Bridge,  &c.,  fight  at,  in  1644, 

151-2  ;  battle  at,  in  1648,  157-74  ;  fight 
at,  in  1651,  1 80-2 

Darwen  Bridge  at,  1 60- 1 

Market  and  fair  at,  A.D.,  1300,  707 

township,  63,  86-7,  187-8,  705-44 

manor,  50,  54-5  ;  descent  of  705-23 

Hall,  106-7,  722-3 

family,  of  Little  Walton,  729-30 


784 


Walton,  Little  (Bamber  Bridge),  Hall,  730 

gentry  and  freeholders  of,  725-35 

Chapel   (Church    of    St.    Leonard), 

185,  672-3,  735-41 ;  other  Churches,  741 
Chapels,  Roman  Catholic,  at  Brown- 
edge,  741-2  ;  St.  Patrick's,  742 

Chapels,    Presbyterian,   742;    Wes- 

leyan,  742-3 

Schools,  743  ;  Charities,  743-4 

Mock  Corporation  of,  744 

Ward,  Mr.  Henry,  lord  of  Salesbury,  653 
Ward  family,  of  Blackburn,  213,  270. 
of  Mellor,  594 

Rev.  John,  412 

Warren  family,  lords  of  Salesbury,  Dinkley, 
&c.,  449,  456,  458,  606-7,  653 

Waterhouse,  Wm.,  225  ;  Michael,  424 

Waterside,  Eccleshill,  598-9 

Waters,  John,  murder  of,  in  1604,  481-2 

Watson  family,  of  Over  Darwen,  511 

Weavers  of  Blackburn,  Distress  of,  217 

Webster,  Dr.  John,  481-2,  625 

Weaver,  John,  727 

Welshe,  Edward,  Vicar  of  Blackburn, 
287,  510 

Wells,  ancient,  in  Blackburn,  248 

Wensley  Fold,  Blackburn,  old  Mill  at,  231 

Wesley,  Rev.  John,  in  Blackburn  Parish, 
198-200,  366-8,  742 

Wesleyan  Societies  and  Chapels,  at  Black- 
burn, 366-9;  Lower  Darwen,  199,486; 
Over  Darwen,  526-7  ;  Great  Harwood, 
553 ;  Mellor,  595-6 ;  Rishton,  643  ; 
Walton,  742-3  ;  Witton,  760 

Wetherby,  William  de,  Vicar  of  Black- 
burn, 286 

Whalley,  battle  at,  in  1643,  130-7 

Abbey,  foundation  of,  51-2  ;  estates, 

in   1534,  427-8  ;  suppression  of,  67-70  ; 
Abbots  of,  lords  of  Billington,  427-8  ; 
estate  in  Ramsgreave,  627-8 

Church,    52,    134-5  ;    Rectory    and 

Vicarage,  65-6 

Whalley  family  of  Sparth,  Rishton,  and 

Blackburn,  &c.,  255,  405-7,  548-9 
of  Todd  Hall,  Blackburn,  270 

-  Thomas,  Dissenting  Minister,  359-6o 
Whetley  in  Billington,  442 

Whitaker,  Rev.  J.  W.,  D.D.,  Vicar  of 
Blackburn,  299 

-  Rev.  T.  D.,  LL.D.,  Vicar  of  Black- 
burn, and  Historian,  15-18,  49,  299,  306 

White,  Rev.  John,  Vicar  of  Blackburn, 
296-7,  307,  310 

-  Gilbert,  the  Naturalist,  296 
Whitecroft,  Mellor,  593 

Whitehall,  Over  Darwen,  22-4,  499,  528 


HISTORY  OF  BLACKBURN. 


Whithalgh,  in  Livesey,  581  ;  Mellor,  595 

family,  of  Livesey,  and  Mellor,  594-5 

Wigan  taken  by  Roundheads,  137 
Wigan  Lane,  Battle  of,  181-2 
Wilkinson  family,  of  Royshaw,  407-8 

-  T.  T.,  29,  147 

William  the  Conqueror  in  Lancashire, 44-6 
Willoughby,  Hugh,  Baron,  of  Parham,  687 
Wilpshire  township,  42,63,87, 188,745-54 
—  manor,  54  ;  descent  of,  745-6 

De,  family  of,  745 

gentry  and  yeomen  families,  750-4 

Wilson,  Mrs.,  Lady  of  Livesey  Manor,  570 

Rev.  John,  Schoolmaster,  342 

Winckley  family  of  Billington  and  Banister 

Hall,  Walton,  418,  421,  432,  614,  618, 

673>  73I-2'  736,743 
Winder  family  of  Loveley  Hall,  656 
Windy  Bank,  Yate  Bank,  764 
Wiswell,  lords  of,  250-1 
Witches,  alleged,  at  Samlesbury,  tried  at 

Lancaster  in  1612,  88-95 
Witton  township,  62,  87,  188,  755-60 

manor,  54  ;  descent  of,  755-6 

House   and   Park,   755,    759;    Old 

Hall,  759 

family,  of  Livesey,  &c.,  582-4 

gentry  and  freeholders,  756-60 

Church,  760  ;  Schools,  760 

Chapels,  Dissenting,  760 

Wollin,  Rev.  John,  Vicar  of  Blackburn, 

296,  351 

Wood,  Rev.  Thomas,  368 
Wood,  Richard,  priest  of  Harwood,  545-6 
Woodcock  family,  of  Walton,  733-5 

of  Lemon  House,  Walton,  735 

Wooclfold  Hall  and  Park,  405-7,  589 
Woodhead,  Yate  Bank,  764 
Worsaae,  on  the  Cuerdale  Coins,  32,  3'  i-8 
Worthington,  Robert,  Minister  of  Black- 
burn, 300 

John,  Minister  of  Tockholes,  672 

Wraith  family,  of  Blackburn,  408 

YATE  Bank,  township,  761-5 
Yates  family,  of  Blackburn  and  Mellor, 
349,  408-9 

of  Blackburn  and  Bury,  409-10 

William,   of  Blackburn   and   Bury, 

Calico  Printer,  216-17,  220,  409 

of  Lower  Darwen,  485-6 

of  Bank  Fold,  Yate  Bank,  763-4 

of  Windy  Bank,  Yate  Bank,  764 

of  Woodhead,  Yate  Bank,  764-5 

of  Pickup  Bank,  765 

Mr. ,  Master  of  Blackburn  School, 346 

Rev.  Robert,  522 ;  Richard,  581 


PRINTED  BY  J.  G.  AND  J.   TOULMIN,  BLACKBURN. 


BINDING..  7.JUN 


DA       Abram,  William  Alexander 
690        A  history  of  Blackburn, 
B63A37    town  and  parish 


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