PARISH OF ST. MICHAEL’S-ON-WYRE.
UPPER RAWCLIFFE-WITH-TARNACRE. In the Domesday Book no less than three
Rawcliffes are mentioned, and have been identified, respectively, with
Upper, Middle, and Out Rawcliffes, the last being stated to contain
three carucates, and the others two carucates each. In the _Testa de
Nevill_ it is entered that the grandfather of Theobald Walter gave four
carucates of land in (Upper) Rawcliffe, Thistleton, and Greenhalgh,
to his daughter Alice, on her marriage with Orm Magnus. William de
Lancaster held Upper Rawcliffe at the time of his death in 1240; and
in 1248 Theobald Walter, or le Botiler, had lands in Upper Rawcliffe
and Mid Rawcliffe, as well as the manor of Out Rawcliffe, the principal
portion of which had doubtless descended to him from his ancestor
alluded to above.[215] An inquiry was instituted in 1322, during the
reign of Edward II., concerning the possessions in land and mills of
John de Rigmayden in Upper Rawcliffe, Wyresdale, and Garstang; and a
similar inquisition, with the exception of Garstang, was made, three
years later, in the case of widow Christiana de Coucy de Guynes.[216]
In the succeeding few years Joan, the daughter and heiress of John de
Rigmayden, and John de Coupland held Upper Rawcliffe between them. John
de Coupland had married the widow of Sir William de Goucy, and was the
gallant soldier who captured David II., king of Scotland, on the battle
field at Durham, and was rewarded for his bravery by Edward III., with
the rank of knight-banneret and a grant of land. Joan de Rigmayden, the
heiress, probably married William Southworth, as he is described as lord
of Upper Rawcliffe a little later; Ellen, the sole child and heiress of
William Southworth, became the wife of Robert Urswick, of Urswick, and
their second son, Thomas, who succeeded to the estates of Rawcliffe,
etc., and was knighted, left at his decease a daughter, who espoused,
about 1430, John, the third son of Sir Richard Kirkby, of Kirkby. John
Kirkby resided at Upper Rawcliffe Hall,[217] or White Hall, as it was
subsequently designated, and was succeeded by his eldest son, William,
who in his turn left the lands and mansion to his heir and offspring
John Kirkby. The eldest son of the last gentleman, by his wife, the
daughter of—Broughton, was William Kirkby; and he, in course of time,
inherited the property, and married, in 1507, Elizabeth, the daughter of
William Thornborough, of Hampsfield, by whom he had issue John, George,
William, Richard, Henry, Anne, Elizabeth, and Jane. John Kirkby, the
heir, was living in 1567, but died without offspring, as also did his
brother George, so that Upper Rawcliffe Hall and estate passed to the
third son, William Kirkby, who married Isabell, the daughter of John
Butler, of Kirkland.[218] The Kirkbys continued in sole possession of
the township until 1631, when Thomas Westby, of Mowbreck, purchased from
them Upper Rawcliffe Hall and the estate attached, both of which he
settled upon Major George Westby, the eldest son of his second marriage
with Elizabeth, the daughter of Thomas Preston, of Holkar, and widow of
Thomas Lathom, of Parbold. George Westby resided at White Hall, as the
manor house was now called, and was twice married, being succeeded by
John, the only child by his first wife, Margaret, the daughter of Thomas
Hesketh, of Mains. Both George Westby and his third brother, Bernard,
were royalist officers. John Westby, of Upper Rawcliffe, espoused, in
1684, Jane, the daughter of Thomas Bleasdale, of Alston, and had issue
John, Joseph, James, and Alice, who became the wife of Thomas Gilibrand,
of Dunken Hall, near Chorley. John Westby the eldest son, inherited the
mansion and land on the death of his father in 1708, and married, in the
following year, Mary, the daughter of Thomas Hawett, of Ormskirk, by whom
he had Thomas; George, who died in 1776, leaving several children by his
wife Mary, the daughter of ⸺ Field; John, died unmarried; Cuthbert, died
childless; and Jane. Thomas Westby came into the estate in 1745, when
his father was accidentally killed, and espoused Margaret, the daughter
and heiress of William Shuttleworth, of Turnover Hall, and Bridget,
his wife, who was one of four daughters, the sole offspring of John
Westby, of Mowbreck. The children of Thomas Westby, of White Hall, and,
ultimately, of one fourth of Mowbreck, were John, who died unmarried in
1811; William, died unmarried in 1811, just before his brother; Joseph,
died young; Robert, died childless in 1800; Thomas; Bridget, an abbess
at Liege; and two Marys, one of whom died in infancy. Thomas, the fifth
son, held Mowbreck, White, and Turnover Halls and estates, on the decease
of his eldest brother, and at his own death in 1829, without issue,
was succeeded, in Turnover, by Thomas the only surviving son of his
uncle, George Westby, whose death occurred in 1776; whilst he bequeathed
Mowbreck and White Hall to George, the eldest son of this Thomas Westby,
by his wife Anne, the daughter of John Ashley, of London. The Westbys,
of White Hall and Mowbreck, sold their property at the former place in
recent years to the late John Stevenson, esq., of Preston and Lytham.
Reverting to the earlier Westbys, we find that the active parts played by
George and Bernard Westby in the Civil Wars resulted in the confiscation
of the White Hall estate by Parliament; and in 1653 it was sold by the
Commissioners of State, being purchased for the Westbys again by, and in
the names of, some of their Protestant friends.
Upper Rawcliffe Hall was rebuilt about the time of its purchase by the
Westbys, who conferred upon it the new title of White Hall. This mansion
stood by the side of the river Wyre, and was approached through a noble
gateway. The windows were mullioned, and two bays projected from the
north-west front; within were secret chambers and a private chapel.
The Hall is now a farm house. Turnover Hall, the ancient seat of the
Shuttleworths, and afterwards one of the mansions of the Westbys, as
already shown, presents nothing of special interest to our notice.
St. Michael’s Hall, the residence of the Longworths[219] during the
seventeenth century, and probably of the Kirkbys before them, has since
been rebuilt in an antique style, and converted into a farm house.
Tarnacre was claimed, amongst other places, by the abbot of Cockersand in
1292, during the reign of Edward I., and was, with Upper Rawcliffe, in
early days, a feudal appendage of Garstang.
The township of Upper Rawcliffe-with-Tarnacre contains the ancient
parish church of St. Michael’s-on-Wyre, which occupies a prominent and
picturesque station on the banks of the narrowed Bleasdale stream, in
the midst of the rural village, to which its title has been extended.
St. Michael’s church, or _Michelescherche_, as it appears in the Survey
of William the Conqueror, was obviously standing on the arrival of that
warrior in 1066, being, with the exception of a similar structure at
Kirkham, the only edifice of its kind existing in the Fylde at that time.
There are no records amongst the meagre annals of Amounderness during the
Saxon era, to assist us in establishing beyond question the antiquity
of this church, but it may reasonably be supposed that its erection
took place at no long interval after the year 627, when Paulinus was
appointed bishop of the province of Northumbria, in which St. Michael’s
was situated. The zeal and piety displayed by Paulinus are said to have
exercised an important influence in overcoming the pagan tendencies of
the inhabitants of Lancashire, and although it is far from probable
that the whole of the people of the Fylde at once became converts to
Christianity, and renounced their heathenish and superstitious ritual,
still it would be idle to deny that the ministrations of so earnest
a prelate as Paulinus were fruitful to a considerable degree in our
district, more especially when history proclaims the success of his
efforts in other portions of his diocese. The small band of professed
Christians would gradually extend their circle, and at no remote date a
building would become necessary where divine worship could be conducted
in a decent and orderly manner, according to the direction of the
newly-adopted creed; and it was, we opine, at such an epoch that the
church of St. Michael’s-on-Wyre was first called into being. After the
Norman Conquest the church formed an item of the princely estate of Roger
de Poictou, acquired through the partial munificence of William I.; and
possibly in 1094, or thereabouts, was conferred by him upon the priory
of St. Mary’s, at Lancaster, in like manner to similar ecclesiastical
possessions which he held in Kirkham and Poulton. However that may be,
it is learnt from the _Testa de Nevill_ that rather more than a century
after the foundation of the monastic house in the year just named, the
advowson of St. Michael’s was vested in King John, who presented Master
Macy to the living,[220] then valued at £66 13s. 4d. per annum. In 1326,
William de Walderston, rector of the church of St. Michael’s, and the
prior of Lancaster, were engaged in a controversy before the authorities
of Richmond, respecting the forest and other tithes of Myerscough, and
those of a place called Migchalgh, the suit being decided at Lancaster on
the 13th of October against the rector.[221] Nineteen years later, Henry,
earl of Lancaster, was patron of the living, and in 1411 Henry IV., duke
of Lancaster, who had claimed and obtained the crown resigned by Richard
II., conveyed St. Michael’s church to the Master and Brethren of the
College or Chantry of the Blessed Mary Magdalen, at Battlefield, near
Shrewsbury, nominally established by himself.[222] The letters-patent by
which the transfer was effected, bore the Duchy seal, and stipulated that
Roger Yve, of Leeton, Keeper and Master of the College concerned (really
its founder), and his successors, should, in return for the grant, make
the following provision for the maintenance of a vicar at the church of
St. Michael’s:—
“The Vicar and his Successors to receive, have, and possess,
the offerings and revenues which are and belong to the church
of Michaelskirk, together with the fruits and offerings arising
from Hay and Revenues; the Tenth of Gardens dug with the foot,
of Lambs, Calves, Young Foals, Poultry, Young Pigs, Geese, Eggs,
Milk, Wool, Flax, Hemp, Mills, Apples, Garlick, Onions, Fishes,
and Pigeons; the first fruits of the Dead, otherwise called
Mortuaries, whether they consist of Animals, Clothes, or any
other thing whatsoever, together with our Pool and Mill, and also
the Pool upon Wyre near the Rectory of Michaelskirk; and further,
the same Vicar and his Successors to have for their Dwelling the
straw-thatched Porch below the Rectory, and the Door and House
adjoining, with the Dovecote and Orchard near the Porch, and the
Fishponds and Moats.”
The vicar on his part was required to pledge himself to pay all ordinary
taxes and expenses incumbent upon the church, excepting “the covering
of the chancel of the church, the payment of 40s. to the Archdeacon of
Richmond, and the Tenths payable to the King for ever,” for which the
Master of the College agreed on behalf of himself and his successors to
be answerable.[223] The foregoing grant and regulations were confirmed
in 1425 and 1485 by Henry VI. and Henry VII. respectively. After the
Dissolution the right of presentation was exercised by King Charles
in 1629, who appointed Nicholas Bray to the vicarage. Subsequently
the patronage of the living has descended through several private
individuals, and is now centred in the present vicar, the Venerable
Archdeacon Hornby.
The parish church of St. Michael’s contained two chantries, one of which,
dedicated to St. Katherine, occupied the chapel still existing in the
north aisle. This chantry was founded some time about the middle of the
fifteenth century by John Botiler, or Butler, lord of the manor of Out
Rawcliffe. Canon Raines says that a portion of the body armour either of
him or one of his immediate descendants remained suspended in the chapel
until long after 1700.
Alice Butler, the daughter of Sir Thomas Radcliffe, and widow of Nicholas
Butler, the eldest son of the founder, bequeathed by will, dated the
20th of November, 1504, “her sowll to God and hys Blessyd Mother and
all the holye Cumpanie of heven, and her bodye to be beryd in Christian
wyse in Saynt Katrine’s chapel, where her husband laye;” also “to the
lyght brenning there 20d; to Thomas Walton, or some wel dysposed priest
to synge for my sowll for one yeare £1 13s. 4d., solemn mass of requiem,
and other obsequies to be done as becometh one of my degree, but not too
moche expendsive so that my executors let not (hinder not) my dowters
advancement in marryage; and to Sʳ John Butler, Clerk, 40s. a yeare
togider with meate and drynke whiles he is on lyfe.”[224] In the reign
of Henry VIII., William Harrison was the officiating priest of this
chantry, and at that time its tenants, possessions, and annual rentals
were, one tenement lying in Esprick, held by Thomas Dawson at 20s. per
annum; another tenement in the same place held by William Hall at 19s.; a
windmill in Stainall at 26s. 8d., and several parcels of ground amounting
to about an acre at 2s., held by Ralph Hull; one tenement in Stainall
with appurtenances held by Ralph Hodgeson at 12s.; an acre of ground
lying in a field at Stainall held by William Hull at 2s. 8d.; two roods
of land in Stainall held by the wife of Christopher Hull at 12d.; divers
plots of ground estimated to comprise four acres in the same township
held by William Hull, the elder, at 19s.; one tenement with appurtenances
in Great Eccleston held by the wife of William Stiholme at 13s. 4d.; and
one tenement in Little Eccleston held by Henry Wilkinson, at 20s. Hence
it seems that the gross rentals amounted to £5 15s. 8d., out of which
5s. per annum was paid to the wife of Robert Stannall for her jointure,
leaving £5 10s. 8d. the actual yearly revenue of the chantry from its
endowment.[225] At the accession of Edward VI., Henry Harrison was the
“Priest Incumbent at St. Katherine’s Altar, being 54 years old, and he
taught a Grammar School according to his foundation.” When chantries
were suppressed the educational institution here alluded to was probably
abandoned for want of funds and a master; in any case it ceased to exist
about that time. On the 29th of November, 1606, James I. granted to Henry
Butler, of Rawcliffe Hall, “all that Late Chantrie of the ffoundation of
John Butler, at the Aulter of the Blessed Katherine within the Parishe
Churche of St. Michaell-upon-Wyre, in the Countye of Lancaster, lately
dissolved, and all the lands appertaining thereto.”
The second chantry in St. Michael’s church was founded sometime during
the fifteenth century by one of the earlier Kirkbys, of Upper Rawcliffe,
and in the reign of Edward VI. its annual income from endowment property
was £4 13s. 10d., Thomas Crosse, of the age of 40 years, being the priest
who celebrated there and “assisted the Curate.” Nothing more precise
concerning the origin of this chantry can be ascertained, and even the
situation it occupied in the church is unknown. In 1553 Thomas Crosse
received a pension of £4 13s. 10d. a year.[226]
VICARS OF ST. MICHAEL’S-ON-WYRE.
IN THE DEANERY OF AMOUNDERNESS AND ARCHDEACONRY OF LANCASTER.
------------+--------------------+--------------------+-----------------
Date of | NAME. | By whom Presented. |Cause of Vacancy.
Institution.| | |
------------+--------------------+--------------------+-----------------
About 1200 |Master Macy |King John |
” 1377 |William de Horneby |Duke of Lancaster(?)|
In 1411 |Johannes de Daleby |College of |
| | Battlefield |
Before 1549 |Michael Thorneborrow| |
In 1549 |Thomas Crosse |G. Kirkby and Nich. |
| | Lawrenson, gents.,|
| | patrons on this |
| | occasion only, by |
| | consent of John |
| | Hussey, master, |
| | and the Fellows |
| | of Battlefield |
| | College |Death of M.
| | | Thorneborrow
In 1628 |Robert Carr | |
” 1629 |Nicholas Bray |King Charles I. |Resignation of
| | | R. Carr
Before 1650 |William Bray |King Charles I. |
About 1653 |Nathaniel Baxter | |
Before 1715 |Thomas Robinson | |
In 1715 |Richard Crombleholme|Thomas Clitherall |Death of T.
| | | Robinson
” 1729 |William Crombleholme|Edward Crombleholme |Death of R.
| | | Crombleholme
” 1765 |Robert Oliver |Richard Whitehead |Death of W.
| | | Crombleholme
” 1768 |Anthony Swainson, |Richard Whitehead |Cession of R.
| M.A. | | Oliver
” 1784 |Charles Buck, M.A. |John Swainson |Death of A.
| | | Swainson
” 1789 |Hugh Hornby, M.A. |Joseph Hornby |Resignation of
| | | C. Buck
” 1847 |William Hornby, M.A.|Himself |Death of H.
| | | Hornby
------------+--------------------+--------------------+-----------------
The Rev. Hugh de Horneby was the brother of Robert de Horneby, vicar of
Kirkham, and it may fairly be inferred that they belonged to the family
of Hornbys, whose descendants are now settled at St. Michael’s, Ribby,
and Winwick, but lapse of time has obliterated the connecting links.
The Rev. Nathaniel Baxter was ejected in 1662, for refusing to take the
oath required by the Act of Uniformity. Little only can be ascertained
concerning the Crombleholmes, but it is conjectured that they were
associated with the branch of that name seated at Goosnargh. The Rev.
Richard Crombleholme had two sons—Edward and William, by the latter of
whom he was succeeded in the vicarage, whilst to the former seems to
have descended the patronage, acquired by purchase. The Rev. William
Crombleholme married the daughter of Alexander Butler, of Kirkland, and
possibly had no offspring beyond the Elizabeth Crombleholme, to whose
memory the mural monument shortly to be noticed, was erected. The Rev.
Anthony Swainson was the son of the Rev. Christopher Swainson, B.A.,
incumbent of Copp, and Elizabeth, his wife; he was a Fellow of Worcester
College, Oxford. The Rev. Charles Buck was the son of the Rev. Charles
Buck, M.A., vicar of Kirkham; he was afterwards curate of Warton and
Lund. The Rev. Hugh Hornby was the sixth son of Hugh Hornby, esq., of
Kirkham, whose eldest son was Joseph Hornby, esq., D.L., of Ribby Hall.
He married Ann, daughter and co-heiress of Joseph Starky, M.D., of
Redvales, and had issue, one son, William, now the Venerable Archdeacon
Hornby, who succeeded him in the living, and is the present vicar and
patron. The Ven. Archdeacon Hornby is an honorary canon of Manchester,
and has been twice married, but further information respecting the family
will be found in the pedigree of “Hornby of Ribby Hall.”
The present church is a broad low building of rough stone, with a tower
of similar character at the west end. Both the tower and church are
surmounted and surrounded by a castellated stone parapet and ornamental
pinnacles of the same material. The porch and the tower bear the date
1611 and initial letters H:B. upon their exteriors, but it is evident
that much of the edifice can boast a considerably greater antiquity than
that indicated by the corresponding inscriptions. It is also obvious
from the varieties displayed in the architecture of different portions,
more especially the windows, that the rebuilding of the church has not
been accomplished all at once, but carried on at pretty long intervals,
extending back certainly to the time of Henry VIII., and perhaps further.
Within, the south side aisle is separated from the nave by a succession
of stone arches running from east to west, whilst the north side aisle
contains the chapel in which was placed the altar of St. Katherine, and
where now is the following inscription:—“This Oratory, known before
the Dissolution to have been a Chantry dedicated to Saint Katherine,
and competently endowed with lands in the neighbouring townships, was
repaired by John ffrance, esq., of Rawcliffe Hall, A.D. 1797, being an
appendage to that ancient manor house.” The tower opens directly into
the nave without even the semblance of a partition, and on one wall is
fixed a brass plate intimating that the large clock, whose huge pendulum
vibrates opposite, and whose dials are visible without, was presented,
in 1850, to the Ven. Archdeacon Hornby by his parishioners, as a mark of
esteem. The mural tables occupying stations within the aisles and nave
are erected to the memories of Edward Greenhalgh, of Myerscough Hall,
died in 1823, aged 53, and Margaret, his widow, died in 1853, aged 92,
also Mary, died in infancy, and Charlotte, died in 1823, aged 29, their
daughters; Thomas Westby, of White Hall, died in 1762, aged 47, and
Margaret, his widow, died in 1802, aged 82, also their children—Mary,
died in infancy, Joseph, in 1769, aged 16, Bridget, in 1786, aged 37,
Robert, in 1800, aged 45, Mary, in 1805, aged 45, William, in 1811,
aged 60, and John, in 1811, aged 65—Thomas, the only surviving child
being the erector of the monument in 1812; Hugh Hornby, M.A., 56 years
vicar of the parish, died in 1847, aged 81, and Anne, his widow, died in
1850, aged 81 years, also Joseph Starkey Hornby, born in 1839, died in
1858, and William Hornby, born in 1845, died in 1858—“They were lovely
and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided”;
Henry Hornby, late Captain in the East India Service, died in 1794, aged
54, “also near this place were interred the remains of his late father,
Thomas Hornby, of St. Michael’s, who died Mar. 8, 1785, aged 76, likewise
Elizabeth, wife and mother to the above, who died May 14th, 1798, aged
84”; Elizabeth Crombleholme, daughter of the Rev. William Crombleholme,
formerly vicar of the parish, “whose mortal remains were deposited in the
graveyard of this church near those of her beloved parents on the 21st
of May, 1817—Erected as a tribute of esteem by her affectionate relative
Thomas Butler Cole, of Kirkland Hall.” The Baptistry was restored in 1852
by the surviving children of John and Susannah Swainson, of Preston,
and contains several tablets affixed to the north wall in memory of
numerous members of that family, amongst whom may be mentioned the Revs.
Christopher Swainson, B.A., incumbent of Copp, died in 1775; Anthony
Swainson, M.A., vicar of St. Michael’s-on-Wyre, died 1784, aged 42; and
Christopher Swainson, M.A., prebendary of Hereford, and vicar of Clun,
Salop, died in 1854. The burial ground surrounding the church presents
nothing of much interest to the antiquarian beyond an old sun-dial, and
the Crombleholme grave lying under the shadow of the east wall. The
living is a discharged vicarage.
The following extracts from the ancient vestry books will doubtless be
interesting to our readers, although not of much importance as parish
records:—
“April, 1683: To Ann Raby for washing surplice, 4s.; to John
Fisher for work for clock and bells, 8s. 6d.
“Ordered this 21st of June, 1683, that no person or persons for
the future be admitted to bury any dead corpse in the church
unless he or they, at whose instance such corpse shall be buried,
do in hand pay to the sexton of the parish for the same, being 12
pence for the use of the parish, or sufficiently secure the same
to him, the corpses of women dying in childbed only excepted,
which are hereby intended to be free, as is usual in other
parishes.—Thos. Robinson, vicar; Rich. Longworth, Thos. White,
gents.; Jas. Raby, Rich. B. Hornby, Rich. Wilding, George Bennet,
churchwardens.”
“May 18, 1688: It is ordered that the two former orders made, the
one ffor destroying Magpie and Sparrow heads, and the other for
allowing the churchwardens to pay ... out of the parish money, be
for the future suspended.”
“July 4, 1729: To ring one Bell at 7.0; to ring 2 Bells at 8.0;
to ring and chime for Service in summer from half an hour past 10
o’clock, and in winter from Ten till half an hour after.”
“Aug. 25, 1736: It was ordered by ye Vicar and gentlemen of ye
parish that another church lay after ye rate of 12d. in £1,
besides ye 3 church lays before mentioned, be forthwith collected
and gathered for repairing ye church. N.B.: This church lay is
collected for laying a new beam and erecting a new pair of
principals between ye church and ye chancel at the joint charges
of ye parish and Allen Johnson, esq., owner of ye chancel.”
May 5, 1745: Be it known that John Lewtas has cleared up ye
difficulties about ye quakers’ taxes for Rawcliffe.
“1746: Ringers’ salary, 15s.; for 5th of November, 6s.; for
sanding churchyard, 1s.
“November 6, 1780: Agreed by the Vicar and gentlemen of the
Vestry of St. Michael’s, that each Ringer attending the church
shall be allowed two tankards of ale, and each singer one
tankard, together with each one their dinner.”
“November 6, 1792: It was determined by a majority of the
gentlemen of the Vestry to raise the dues for opening a grave in
the inside of the church to 6s. 8d.
“1796: At a meeting of the Vestry of this church it was
unanimously resolved that the remainder of the profits arising
from the estate called Terleways and the garden in Upper
Rawcliffe, after defraying the expenses of a dinner and a quart
of ale to each vestryman, churchwarden, the curate of Copp, and
clerk of St. Michael’s, at the respective days of Easter Tuesday
and the 5th of November for 7 years ensuing, commencing with the
present day (March 29, 1796), shall be suffered to accumulate
during the above period towards purchasing an Organ for the
Church of St. Michael’s; and that every Stranger introduced on
the forementioned days at dinner, except it be on business of the
parish, shall be paid for by the person introducing him.”
“July 15, 1799: To a Finger and Barrel Organ with the following
stops—Open, Diapason, Stop do., Principal, Twelfth, Fifteenth,
Sesqualtra, and Mixture,—£183 15s. 0d.”
In 1708 Richard Cornall gave £40 to be invested, and the interest
applied towards the maintenance of a schoolmaster for Upper
Rawcliffe-with-Tarnacre, and in 1808 Joseph Fielding, of Catterall,
was the sole remaining trustee of a sum of money, amounting to £60,
of which the £40 doubtless formed part, for educational purposes. At
that date Joseph Fielding induced the Rev. Hugh Hornby, vicar of St.
Michael’s-on-Wyre, and William Harrison, of Upper Rawcliffe, to undertake
the trust with him on a fresh deed, the old one having been lost. A new
schoolhouse was shortly erected on the site of the former building, and
is now governed by the representatives of the trustees named. In 1813
Mrs. Elizabeth Crombleholme left £200 in trust to be invested, and the
annual income therefrom paid to the master of St. Michael’s-on-Wyre
school for teaching three poor children of the parish to read, write, and
cast accounts.
Bread-money was probably established during the lifetime of John ffrance,
of Rawcliffe Hall, and arises from “two-sevenths of the clear rent of a
close of ground lying in Kirkham, purchased with £20, to be distributed
to the poor attending divine service in the parish church of St.
Michael’s, at the direction of John ffrance, esq., and his heirs; Thomas
Langton, gent., and his heirs; and the vicar of St. Michael’s for the
time being.”[227]
Ralph Longworth, esq., of St. Michael’s Hall, left £5 per annum to the
vicar, and £2 10s. to the poor of Upper Rawcliffe.
Thomas Knowles, gent., left £2 10s., and John Hudson, gent., £2 a-year to
the poor of the same township.
The Terleway’s Lands were given by some one unknown at a very early
date “for the use of the parish, as the vicar and vestry shall
direct,” and consist of lands in Claughton and a garden in Upper
Rawcliffe-with-Tarnacre.[228]
POPULATION OF UPPER RAWCLIFFE-WITH-TARNACRE.
1801. 1811. 1821. 1831. 1841. 1851. 1861. 1871.
494 617 643 665 671 697 682 700
The area of the township embraces 3,743 statute acres.
GREAT ECCLESTON. Great Eccleston was anciently held by William de
Lancaster as an appendage of the fee of Wyresdale. William de Lancaster
died without issue, and Wyresdale, with its dependency Great Eccleston,
passed to Walter de Lindsay, the eldest son of his second sister, Alice.
The Lindsay line terminated in the heiress Christiana de Lindsay, living
in 1300, who married Ingelram de Guynes, Lord of Coucy, in France,
whose eldest son was created earl of Bedford in 1336, and whose second
and third sons, Sir William de Coucy and Robert de Coucy, held Great
Eccleston as part of Wyresdale, their inheritance, in 1346. The widow of
Sir William de Coucy conveyed her portion of Great Eccleston in marriage
to Sir John de Coupland, and the remainder was then held by Baldwin de
Guynes and Joan, the heiress of John de Rigmayden. The whole of the
township, with the exception of certain lands rented by the convent of
Deulacres,[229] descended in the manner above described from William
de Lancaster, through the Lindsays and Guynes or Coucys, to Coupland,
Baldwin de Guynes, and Joan Rigmayden, and subsequently to their
heirs. Amongst the _Familiæ Lancastrienses_ there are two families of
Ecclestons, one of which is described as of Eccleston, near Preston, and
the other of Eccleston simply, the latter doubtless being the Ecclestons
who were seated at Great Eccleston Hall anterior to the Stanleys, the
occupants in the seventeenth century, whose pedigree will be found, with
others, in a former chapter of this volume. The Ecclestons, of Eccleston,
near Preston, would belong to the place of that name in the Hundred of
Leyland. Thomas Stanley, an illegitimate son of the fourth earl of Derby,
settled, about 1600, at Great Eccleston Hall, which, together with the
estate, was probably purchased; his descendants remained there until
the death of Richard Stanley, in 1714, when Thomas Westby, of Upper
Rawcliffe, obtained possession of the land and mansion, both of which
have since descended in his line.
An Episcopal chapel was erected, in 1723, on the summit of a hill at
Copp, almost a mile from the village of Great Eccleston, and near to
Elswick chapel, “which,” says Bishop Gastrell, “being never consecrated
and in the possession of the Dissenters, it was thought more proper to
build a new one there than to seize upon that.” Subjoined is a letter
from John ffrance, of Little Eccleston Hall, to William Stafford,
Commissary of Richmond, and Secretary to Bishop Gastrell, called forth by
sundry matters in connection with the newly completed place of worship:—
“Eccleston parva, Aug. 3, 1724.
“Upon some discourse with Mr. Dixon (vicar of Kirkham) about Cop
Chapell I will give you the trouble of this. When Subscriptions
were desired towards building the said Chapell it was proposed
and intended to be not only for the use of the Inhabitants of
St. Michael’s, but likewise for the use of several townships,
which lye in the Parish of Kirkham, remote from their
Parish Church; and the Inhabitants of this township (Little
Eccleston-with-Larbrick) have contributed more towards the
Building than those of St. Michael’s, and would have erected it
within Kirkham Parish, if the situation had been thought equally
convenient. And likewise the person, who promised to pay the
hundred pounds towards the Queen’s Bounty, gave a note touching
the same, with conditions in favour of Kirkham Parish.
“Before the Chapell was erected the two Vicars of the Parishes
aforesaid were together, seemed to encourage our proceedings,
and talked amicably and agreeably about Nomination, etc.; but
since the Chapell was built several proposals have been made
to which the Vicar of Kirkham has consented, but the Vicar of
St. Michael’s seems to dislike them. One of the proposals was
that the determination of the affair might be referred to the
Bishop of Chester, whose generous offer to procure £100 towards
the Endowment of this Chapell gave great encouragement to our
undertaking the building thereof. Some people have refused
to pay their Subscriptions on pretence that the Vicar of St.
Michael’s has departed from former proposals; but we hope (if
these differences could be amicably settled to the satisfaction
of the neighbourhood) that not only the old, but likewise several
new Subscriptions might be procured, especially if our grateful
behaviour for by-past favours may continue his Lordship’s
Countenance and Encouragement; and we desire you to represent the
matter to him as favourably as you think it will bear.”
(Signed) John ffrance.
The chapel was a small plain brick building, dedicated to St. Anne, but
in 1841 a tower was added, and at the same time a burial ground was
enclosed and licensed in connection with it. Great Eccleston, Elswick,
and Little Eccleston-with-Larbrick townships were, in 1849, constituted a
separate ecclesiastical district, known as the parish of Copp, of which
this chapel is the parochial church. There is a vicarage house.
CURATES AND VICARS OF COPP.
------------+-----------------------+---------------------
Date of | NAME. | Cause of Vacancy.
Institution.| |
------------+-----------------------+---------------------
Before 1775 |Christopher Swainson, |
| B.A. |
| |
” 1841 |Reginald Sharpe |
| |
In 1841 |Thomas Hathornthwaite, | Resignation of
| L.L.D. | R. Sharpe
| |
” 1864 |William C. Dowding, | Resignation of
| M.A. | T. Hathornthwaite
| |
” 1870 |William Bateson, M.A. | Resignation of
| | William C. Dowding
------------+-----------------------+----------------------
A new Catholic chapel was completed in 1835, and superseded one of
considerable age. Three fairs are held each year on March 14th, April
14th, and November 4th, for cattle.
The origin of the free school at Copp has not been discovered, but the
earliest endowment to be found dates from 1719, when William Fyld,
yeoman, of Great Eccleston, left the remainder of his personal estate,
amounting to about £250, to be invested in trustees, and the interest
to be paid yearly “for a Master to teach Poor Children here, or in some
other part of the township.” By his will, dated 1st of April, 1748,
William Gaulter bequeathed £242 14s. to certain trustees to augment the
stipend of the master of this school, and directed that in case the
educational establishment should ever be abandoned, or the terms of
the will not be observed, the annual income derived from his bequest
should be distributed amongst the poor inhabitants of the neighbourhood.
In 1866 the school was temporarily closed, whilst the charity was
under the revision of the Charity Commissioners; and in 1871 a new and
more commodious building was erected. There is also another school in
this township, called Lane Head school, held in a building erected by
subscription on the site of the original one, which had collapsed through
age. The only endowment is a rent charge of £5 supposed to have been left
by Thomas Clitherall.
William Fyld, of Great Eccleston, bequeathed £2 annually to the poor of
that township.
Ellen Longworth left the interest of £20 to be distributed in bread to
the poor people attending divine service at Copp church.
POPULATION OF GREAT ECCLESTON.
1801. 1811. 1821. 1831. 1841. 1851. 1861. 1871.
455 540 648 624 661 631 641 565
The area of the township in statute acres is 1,412
OUT RAWCLIFFE. The manor of Out Rawcliffe was presented to Theobald
Walter by Richard I., and from that time to 1715 remained in the hands of
the same family. Theobald Walter, the son of the above-named gentleman,
and _Butler_ of Ireland, a title which, as elsewhere stated, he adopted
as a surname, gave the whole of Out Rawcliffe, and one carucate of land
in Stainall, to his relative, perhaps son, Sir Richard Butler, and from
him sprang the long line of Butlers of Rawcliffe.[230] In 1627 the
inquisition _post mortem_ of Henry Butler, of Rawcliffe Hall, revealed
that his possessions consisted of the two manors of Out and Middle
Rawcliffes, and of lands in Upper Rawcliffe.[231] Henry and Richard
Butler of Rawcliffe, father and eldest son, joined the ranks of the
insurgents in 1715, and after the suppression of the rebellion, their
estates were confiscated; Henry escaped, but Richard was seized, and died
in prison at London in 1716, before the day appointed for his execution.
The sale of Out Rawcliffe by Government was enrolled on the 19th of
September, 1723, the purchasers being the Rev. Richard Crombleholme,
(vicar of St. Michael’s), John Leyland, Cornelius Fox, and James Poole;
and in the diary of the Rev. Thos. Parkinson, curate of Garstang,
reference is made to the completion and terms of the transfer as follows:—
“April 1723.— ... At night I preached for T. Raby, of Tarnacre,
at St. Michael’s. His son paid me 10s. Mr. Crombleholm, the vicar
there, came from London, whilst I was there, who, in conjunction
with three more, had bought Rawcliffe demain and tenants, paying
to the board £11,260. It cost them near £1,000 more in hush
money, as they call it.”
In 1729 the Rev. Richard Crombleholme, who seems to have bought up the
shares of his co-investors, died, and five years later his heir, Edward
Crombleholme, disposed of the lordship of Out Rawcliffe, with its
courts, fishing in the Wyre, rents, etc., to Thomas Roe, whose only child
and heiress married John ffrance, of Little Eccleston Hall. The only son
and heir of John ffrance, of Rawcliffe and Little Eccleston, also called
John, became lord of the manor on the decease of his father in 1774. He
espoused Margaret, the daughter and heiress of ⸺ Rigg, of Lancaster,
and, dying without issue, devised his property, after the death of his
widow, to Thomas Wilson, of Preston, whose wife, the daughter of ⸺ Cross,
of Shaw Hall, Chorley, was his nearest relative. Thomas Wilson assumed
the surname of ffrance in addition to his own, and was succeeded, under
the will of John ffrance, by his son, Thomas Robert Wilson-ffrance, who
effected great improvements on the land by draining and re-covering the
mosses, thereby increasing the value of the estate considerably. T. R.
Wilson-ffrance died in 1853, and Rawcliffe descended to his only son,
Robert Wilson-ffrance, who lived but six years afterwards, and bequeathed
his estates to his sole offspring, Robert John Barton Wilson-ffrance,
esq., at that time an infant, and now in possession. Rawcliffe Hall
lies on the south of the township, in a park-like enclosure, leading to
the banks of the river Wyre. The present mansion was built in the 17th
century, but during more recent years has undergone material alterations.
The remains of the Catholic chapel attached to it are situated at the
rear.
The church of Out Rawcliffe was consecrated in 1837, and was erected by
subscription and a donation from the late T. R. Wilson-ffrance, esq., who
also gave the site, and retained the patronage. The style of architecture
is said to resemble some portions of the ruins of Glastonbury Abbey,
with a fine Norman arch over the west end. There are 250 sittings, of
which 150 are free. The first incumbent was the Rev. W. Chadwick, who was
succeeded by the Rev. Joshua Waltham. The Rev. James C. Home, M.A., is
the third and present holder of the living.
There is a good day-school supported out of the Rawcliffe estate.
POPULATION OF OUT RAWCLIFFE.
1801. 1811. 1821. 1831. 1841. 1851. 1861. 1871.
413 484 598 575 728 791 771 832
The area in statute acres of Out Rawcliffe is 4,340.
ELSWICK. From the _Testa de Nevill_ it appears that about 1400 Warin
de Wytingham and Alin de Singilton held respectively the eighth and
sixteenth parts of a knight’s fee in Elswick from the Earl of Lincoln.
Edmund Dudley had the manor until his attainder at the beginning of the
reign of Henry VIII.; and in 1521, Thomas, earl of Derby, held it of that
monarch. The soil is now in the possession of several landowners.
In 1650 the Parliamentary Commissioners of the Commonwealth reported
that the inhabitants, “being fifty families, and five miles from their
parish church, had lately, with the voluntary and free assistance of
some neighbouring towns, erected a chapel.” The Rev. Cuthbert Harrison,
who had been ejected from his benefice in Ireland for refusing the oath
of Uniformity, procured a license from Charles II. in 1672 for the same
chapel, “for the use of such as did not conform to the Church of England,
commonly called Congregational.” Parliament, however, decreed that the
King’s authority was insufficient, and forbade divine service to be held
there a short time later. In 1702 the chapel seems to have been again
opened, and continued in use amongst the Independents until 1753, when
it was superseded by a new one, enlarged in 1838. The memorial stone
of the present chapel, erected to commemorate the persecutions under
the Five Mile Act of two centuries ago, was laid by Sir James Watts, of
Manchester, on the 30th of July, 1873, and the building completed with
all expedition. The chapel stands on a plot of ground presented by Mrs.
Harrison, of Bankfield, adjoining the site of the former edifice, and is
a handsome stone Gothic structure. The mortuary, with tower and spire,
was given by R. C. Richards, esq., J.P., of Clifton Lodge, in memory of
certain members of his family.
Elizabeth Hoole, by will dated 26th of April, 1727, charged a meadow in
Elswick, which she gave to the Roman Catholic chapel of Great Eccleston,
with the annual payment of £3 to the poor of Elswick.
POPULATION OF ELSWICK.
1801. 1811. 1821. 1831. 1841. 1851. 1861. 1871.
232 256 290 327 303 307 290 254
The area of the township includes 1,009 statute acres.
WOOD PLUMPTON. In the Domesday Book Pluntun is entered as comprising
two carucates of arable land. Robert de Stokeport died possessed of
the manor in 1248, and his daughter and heiress married Nicholas de
Eton as her first husband, and John de Arderne as her second. Robert
de Eton, a descendant of her first marriage, obtained Wood Plumpton in
1340. Cecily de Stokeport, heiress of the Etons, conveyed the manor
to Sir Edward Warren, of Poynton, in which family it remained until
transferred, in 1777, to Viscount Thomas James Bulkeley on his marriage
with Elizabeth Harriet, only child of Sir George Warren. The Bulkeley
property ultimately passed to the Fleming-Leycesters, whence Lord de
Tabley obtained the lordship. Charles Birley, esq., of Bartle Hall, is
the present possessor of the manor. Wood Plumpton Hall was anciently the
seat of the Warrens, whilst Ambrose Hall was occupied by a family of the
same name, from which descended the Rev. Isaac Ambrose, who was ejected
from Garstang by the Act of Uniformity. Richard Ambrose, of Ambrose Hall,
left a son and heir, William, who married the daughter of ⸺ Curwen of
Lancaster, and had issue a son, Nicholas. Nicholas Ambrose espoused Jane,
daughter of John Singleton, of Gingle Hall, Lancashire, and left six sons
and a daughter, the eldest of whom, William, resided at Ambrose Hall in
1567, and was twice married, first to Anne, widow of Lawrence Cotham, of
St. Michael’s-on-Wyre, and after her decease to Margaret, widow of Sir
Richard Houghton. Flower’s heraldic visitation, from which the foregoing
is extracted, was made in 1567, and consequently the pedigree cannot be
traced further.
The church of Wood Plumpton is very ancient, being probably in existence
during the earlier years of the 14th century. It was rebuilt in 1630, and
has subsequently undergone numerous alterations, consisting now of nave,
chancel, and two aisles. The communion table has the date and initials
“W. A. 1635” upon it, and a beam in the roof is carved with the year
“1639.” An organ was obtained in 1849. The principal window, the gift of
R. Waterworth, esq., of Preston, is beautifully emblazoned, in addition
to which there are several other richly stained windows. A handsome
monument of marble, representing a sailor mourning, is situated in the
north aisle, and was erected in memory of Henry Foster, R.N., F.R.S., son
of a former incumbent who was drowned in 1831, in the river Chagres,
Gulf of Mexico. The church is dedicated to St. Anne, and the Rev. Isaac
Mossop is the present vicar.
There is a Roman Catholic chapel at Cottam, erected in 1793. The date
of the original one is unknown, but in 1768 it was almost completely
destroyed by an election mob. A Wesleyan chapel was built in 1815, and
another for the Primitive Methodists about 1819.
The township contains an auxiliary workhouse, connected with the Preston
Union, which was erected in 1823. Annual courts are held for the manor of
Wood Plumpton, which includes the hamlets of Catforth, Eaves, Bartle, and
Wood Plumpton.
The school at Catforth was established by Alice Nicholson, of Bartle,
who gave in 1661 the sum of £100 in trust for the maintenance of a free
school within the manor of Wood Plumpton. Subsequent benefactions have
been received as follows:—The same Alice Nicholson £10 by will, in 1664;
John Hudson, of Lea, £20 by will, in 1676; John Hall, of Catforth, £20
by deed, in 1732; James Hall, of Catforth, £10 by will, in 1741; Richard
Eccles, £100 by will, in 1762; Elizabeth Bell, £100 by deed, in 1813;
Richard Threlfall, £20 by deed in 1813; and Ann Robinson, £90 by will in
1817. The total endowment up to 1813, amounting to £380, was invested on
the 21st of April in that year, in the navy five per cents., in the name
of the trustees. The further bequest of £90 was placed out at interest.
In 1817, Ann Robinson, the benefactress just mentioned, also left £90 in
trust, the interest to be given to the master teaching the Sunday school
at Wood Plumpton church.
Thomas Houghton gave, in 1649, the fourth part of the rental of an estate
in Wood Plumpton to the poor of that township.
It is recited in an indenture, dated 9th January, 1709, that George
Nicholson bequeathed the rents of several closes of land, which he stood
possessed of for a certain term of years, in trust, for the poor of Wood
Plumpton, and also left for the same charitable object, the sum of £200,
to be retained by his executors, and the interest only distributed,
until the expiration of the above term, when the sum should be paid to
the churchwardens and overseers, and used as heretofore. The indenture
further recites that on the death of George Nicholson in 1672, a Chancery
suit arose out of the will, the result being that the poor were awarded
£210 as a settlement of their legal claims upon the property of the
deceased. The money was ordered to be invested, and the annual income
bestowed as directed by the testator.
POPULATION OF WOOD PLUMPTON.
1801. 1811. 1821. 1831. 1841. 1851. 1861. 1871.
1,197 1,397 1,635 1,719 1,688 1,574 1,462 1,290
The township comprises 4,722 statute acres.
INSKIP-WITH-SOWERBY. In the Domesday volume this township appears as
containing three carucates of arable soil. Richard Butler, of Rawcliffe
Hall, obtained the manor of Inskip in 1281 as the dowry of his bride
Alicia, daughter of William de Carleton. Inskip was held by Cuthbert
Clifton, of Clifton, in 1512, from whom it descended to Sir W. Molyneux,
of Larbrick and Sefton, who had espoused his sole child and heiress.
In 1554-68 it was in the possession of Henry Kighley, and afterwards
passed to William Cavendish, earl of Devonshire, on his marriage with the
daughter and co-heiress of that gentleman.
The fishery of “Saureby Mere” belonged to William Hoghton in 1519, at
which epoch Thomas Rigmayden and the earl of Derby had lands in Sowerby.
The Stanleys have for long been lords of Sowerby and continue to hold a
court-baron there. In Inskip also a court-baron takes place each year in
June.
A church, dedicated to St. Peter, was erected in 1848 at the joint
expense of the earl of Derby and the Ven. Archdeacon Hornby, vicar of
St. Michael’s-on-Wyre. The living, now a vicarage, is endowed with £100
per annum out of the corn rents. The Rev. A. Sharples, B.A., appointed
shortly after the church was built, is the present vicar.
One-fourth of the rentals from certain lands in Goosnargh and Chipping
was given by Thomas Knowles in 1686 to the poor of Inskip.
In 1750 John Jolly bequeathed the residue of his estate in trust, for
the use of such poor housekeepers of Inskip-with-Sowerby as received no
parochial relief.
POPULATION OF INSKIP-WITH-SOWERBY.
1801. 1811. 1821. 1831. 1841. 1851. 1861. 1871.
635 647 739 798 735 680 663 593
The area of the township in statute acres amounts to 2,888.
[Illustration]