RELIGION.
Of the non-Aryan tribes who at some remote period lived in the North
of England we do not know sufficient to even conjecture what was their
religion, if they had any; but judging from analogy, it may be presumed
that they had some kind of belief in a super-human power.
The tribes who next succeeded these rude savages in effecting
settlements in this country were all of the Aryan race, and all that
we are able to ascertain as to their religious faith is that when
Julius landed in Britain he found that the inhabitants were pagans,
and followed a mysterious kind of worship known as Druidism, and that
their priests were called Druids, and were not only the arbitrators in
disputes, but also judges of crime.
One of the tenets of this religion was a belief in the immortality of
the soul, and also in its transmigration. As to the nature of their
gods we know little or nothing, except that to them were offered human
sacrifices, who were sometimes criminals and at other times prisoners
of war. Of temples they appear to have had few, but to have performed
their mystic rites in the secluded groves of oak which were then found
on every side. The Druids were exempt from military service, and were
at once priests, lawgivers, and teachers. From the time the Romans
penetrated into Northumbria (see p. 15) near the beginning of the fifth
century, the religion of the people of that district (which includes,
of course, Lancashire) must have undergone a gradual change, as the
polytheism of the Romans made itself apparent.
At all their large stations the conquerors erected temples dedicated
to their gods, and altars to their various deities were put up in
every direction, and thus, no doubt, year by year the influence of the
Druidical priesthood diminished, and was probably finally extinguished
by the more attractive worship which found favour in imperial Rome.
After the Romans vacated Lancashire, the conversion of Constantine
the Great to Christianity (see p. 17) had no doubt some effect upon
religious thought even in Northumbria. But long after the Roman Empire
became a Christian State, the tribes which were then struggling for
supremacy in Britain still adhered to the old pagan worship, and
_Thor_, the god of thunder, _Wodin_, the god of war, _Eostre_, the
goddess of spring, and a host of others, were numbered amongst their
deities. They believed, however, in a future state, as their warriors
slain in battle were supposed to inhabit a bright and happy palace
called _Valhalla_. Near the end of the sixth century, King Æthelbert,
who ruled in Kent, married the daughter of King Charibert of Paris, and
by the terms of her marriage contract she was to be allowed to enjoy
the exercise of Christian worship, which she did in a small chapel
near Canterbury. With her, from France, came a Frankish Bishop named
Liuhard, who was soon followed by a Roman Abbot named Augustine, who
came by instructions from Pope Gregory I., accompanied by some forty
monks, who were to establish the Christian religion in Kent; they
ultimately persuaded the King to be baptized, and this event may be
regarded as the foundation of the Christian religion in England. Little
by little the new religion spread, and in A.D. 627 Edwin, the
King of Northumbria, became a convert through the instrumentality of
his wife, who was a daughter of Æthelbert, (see p. 42), and Paulinus,
one of the company who came to Britain with Augustine. He had been
consecrated to the episcopate by Justus, Archbishop of Canterbury,
"in order that he might be to Ethelburga, in her Northern home, what
Liuhard had been to her mother in the still heathen Kent."[169] On the
authority of Bede, Paulinus was a man of striking appearance, being
tall, though slightly stooping, with black hair, but of worn and wasted
visage; his nose thin, but curved like an eagle's beak, and altogether
a presence to command respect and veneration.
The tale as told by Bede, of the dramatic events which led up to the
conversion of Edwin, must be received with caution, mixed up as it
is with such incidents as a spiritual visitor with whom the narrator
held familiar converse; nevertheless, the main facts of the story are
probably correct, allowing for the fact that the account was written
nearly 100 years after the events took place, and by one who was
prone to mix with history incidents which would only at the present
time be classed with legends and superstitions. The story, briefly
told (omitting the apparition), is that Edwin for a long time refused
to abandon his old faith, but after an attempt had been made to
assassinate him, the birth of a daughter and a victory over his enemy,
the King of the West Saxons--all of which events were turned to account
by the wily Bishop (who was trying to convert him)--he consented to
call a council of leading men and to lay the matter before them, and if
they agreed with him they would together be baptized and admitted into
the Church.
At this meeting, a chief priest of one of the pagan temples, Coifi by
name, declared himself against his old faith on the simple grounds that
after all his long devotion to his gods he was still without that
worldly success for which his soul thirsted; and, therefore, as he had
nothing to lose and everything to gain, he should vote for giving the
new religion a trial.
Another of the council spoke, and in simple but striking words reminded
his hearers how they had often on a winter's night, gathered round the
fire, when all outside was dark and dreary, the wind howling and the
rain beating against the latticed windows, when a door for a moment
opened admitting a poor little bird seeking shelter from the storm.
But a moment only it stays, flies across the hall, and is gone. This,
he continued, is a fit emblem of man's life; he appears for a little
season, and having finished his appointed course is gone; but no
earthly wisdom has told us from whence he came, or has illuminated
his departure. And so, he concluded, if the new teacher can tell us
anything with assurance of certainty as to man's origin or future
destiny, his words ought to be received and accepted. Paulinus then
addressed the assembly, at the conclusion of which Coifi, with all the
fanatic zeal which might be expected from such a man, volunteered to
enter the temples of the gods and to take therefrom what he heretofore
had held to be sacred, and having been armed and mounted he rode to
Goodmanham, a place of the highest pagan sanctity, and there tore
down the idols of Thor and Wodin with shouts of joy and gladness.
Bede adds, the people stood awe-struck, and thought that their chief
priest had gone mad. But Coifi knew what he was about; he had only
determined (like many a better man had done before) to keep himself on
the winning side, for he saw clearly enough that paganism had received
its death-blow, and however little his gods had done for him in the
past, they would certainly do less in the future. Edwin, with the
enthusiasm of a new convert, now set about erecting a small church,
or more probably an oratory, in the city of York. This was made of
wood, and within this building the Northumbrian King was baptized by
Paulinus on Easter Day, A.D. 627 (April 12). This oratory
was not long afterwards enclosed within a larger structure which was
built of stone, and upon the site of which was afterwards erected the
stately Minster of York. It is said that shortly after the baptism of
Edwin a large number of his barons and subjects followed his example.
Paulinus and his friends now lost no time in spreading through the
length and breadth of Northumbria the tenets of the Christian religion,
and under the patronage of the King and Queen no doubt many proselytes
were obtained, not a few of whom were dwellers on Lancashire soil.
This missionary work proceeded uninterruptedly for six years, but was
then destined to receive a very severe check by the war between Edwin
and Penda (see p. 42), in which the King of Northumbria was defeated
and slain on October 12, A.D. 633, and subsequently the whole
of his kingdom was overrun by pagan soldiers, who, according to Bede,
slaughtered the Christians without regard to either age or sex. The
head of Edwin was taken to York by some of his friends, and placed
within the church which he had so recently built. Ethelburga, the
Queen, and her two children, escorted by Paulinus, fled into Kent, and
Paulinus was afterwards presented to the See of Rochester.
He was never Archbishop of York (as by some supposed), although the
Pope offered that dignity to him; the letter was addressed to Edwin,
who was dead before it was delivered. Paulinus died at Rochester
October 10, A.D. 644. Cædwallon ruled over Northumbria for
only a few years, and his successor, Oswald, who had probably passed
some years in the monastery of Iona very early in his reign, sent over
to that community for help towards the revival of Christianity in this
kingdom.
The first priest who was sent returned reporting that the people were
impracticable and refused to be converted, whereupon a priest called
Aiden was consecrated Bishop, and despatched to Northumbria in the year
635.
Oswald did not, as might have been expected, place Aiden at York, but
gave to him a small island on the coast of Durham known as Holy Island,
and here was founded the abbey of Lindisfarne, which was destroyed by
the Danes in A.D. 795; from this centre the missionary work
in the North of England emanated. The basilica at York was finished
by Oswald, and by erecting other churches and granting lands for the
sites of religious houses this King did much to establish the Christian
religion in the North. But after eight years of comparative peace
Northumbria again passed into pagan hands (see p. 43), and not until
Penda in A.D. 655 was defeated and slain did paganism receive
its death-blow. Oswy, on gaining this final victory, fulfilled the vow
which he had made--that if he was successful in this war he would give
twelve sites for as many monasteries, and give his infant daughter to
serve the Lord in holy virginity. The monasteries were founded, but
none of them appear to have been on the western or Lancashire side of
the Pennine Hills. Early in A.D. 665 the bishopric of York was
re-established, when Wilfrid was consecrated as Bishop at Compiègne
in France; but having delayed his coming to his see for nearly twelve
months, he was not a little astonished to find that in the meantime
Chad's consecration had taken place and he was already in possession.
For a few years only he held the office, and on his retirement to the
monastery of Lastingham, Wilfrid took his place.
Of the dispute with Theodore, Archbishop of Canterbury, and the
temporary expulsion of Wilfrid from the See of York and his subsequent
visit to Rome, where he saw the Pope, and obtained from him a decree
which was to reinstate him, little need here be said, except that on
his return to York, and a "witan" having been called, the Pope's order
was treated with scorn by the assembly, and Wilfrid was cast into
prison, where he remained for nine months.
The real point at issue was the supremacy of the Pope, Egfrid, the
King of Northumbria, being strongly opposed to it, whilst Wilfrid and
his friends were just as firmly decided in its favour. Wilfrid had for
some years been the sole Bishop of Northumbria, his diocese extending
from the Firth of Forth to the Humber, and from the Firth of Clyde to
the Mersey. Through the entreaty of an aunt of the King's, who was
Abbess of Ebba, Wilfrid was at length liberated, but banished from
the kingdom. Whilst these disputes were going on, Bosa occupied the
episcopal chair of York, and was followed by John of Beverley, who died
May 7, A.D. 721. Before this date several monasteries are
believed to have been established in Lancashire. Wilfrid II. held the
see from 718 to 732, when he was succeeded by Egbert, to whom Bede,
now an old man, addressed a letter, the contents of which show clearly
that already many abuses had crept into the Church, and that in some
of the so-called religious houses luxury and license were more the
rule than the exception. Land granted for purely religious purposes,
and thus free from secular claims, was used to erect houses, religious
in name, but really only dwelling-places for the founders and their
people. Egbert, in A.D. 735, was appointed by Pope Gregory
III. Archbishop of York, and thus became Primate of the Northern
Province, and a few years afterwards his brother, Eadbert, became King
of Northumbria. Towards the middle of the ninth century began the
invasions of the Danes (see p. 44), which continued until A.D.
867, when the whole of Northumbria was in their possession, and for
many years before and after this event the ecclesiastical history
of the kingdom is almost a blank. The new occupiers of Northumbria
were mostly from Denmark, and were a wild, lawless set of pirates,
distinguished for courage, ferocity, and a violent hatred to the
newly-established faith. The religion these tribes professed was a
worship of Odin and other kindred gods. A great point of difference
between the conquerors and conquered (who had both descended from the
same race) was that whilst the Danes had continued to worship the gods
of their forefathers, and had not forsaken their old profession of
sea-pirates, the settlers in Britain had devoted themselves to peaceful
pursuits, and had to a great extent adopted the new religion.
It may therefore be taken for granted that amongst the first objects
upon which they wreaked their vengeance would be the newly-erected
churches, and in all probability not one was left untouched.
Persecution would follow as a natural consequence, and the religious
progress made during the last two centuries was not only arrested, but
almost annihilated. During the troubled times which intervened between
this period and the election of Edward the Confessor Christianity
made some progress, as even the Danes to some extent yielded to
its influence, and a Bishop of Danish blood (Oskytel) occupied the
episcopal chair of York, and his kinsman Oswald, in A.D. 972,
was Archbishop, and held the see until his death in A.D.
992.[170] With the Conquest came another change, and the Bishops of
York were selected from Norman ecclesiastics. Up to this period, except
as part of the Diocese of York, we have found but scanty records
referring to the religious history of Lancashire, but, nevertheless,
it is absolutely certain that in some few of its scattered villages
churches were built and Christian colonies established. But in
considering this question it must be borne in mind that in what we
call Lancashire there were at that time no large towns, nor even any
number of considerable-sized villages; the inhabitants were mostly
engaged in agricultural pursuits, and the religious requirements
were administered from York. In Yorkshire and other parts of ancient
Northumbria we know that churches and monasteries had been so long
established that into the latter many abuses had been introduced even
as early as A.D. 732, but we have no evidence to lead us to
suppose that such was the case in Lancashire.
In the middle of the eleventh century, on the reliable testimony of
the so-called Domesday Survey, we have positive evidence that in
Lancashire there were then at least a dozen churches; however many
more were left unnoticed, or had existed and been destroyed by the
ravages of the Danes, we can only conjecture, but there are not wanting
indications in that direction which leave little room for doubt that,
at all events, some half-dozen others are wanting to complete the list.
The Great Survey was not in any way intended to furnish such a list,
and its object might have been attained almost without the mention
of a single ecclesiastical building; it is therefore not improbable
that other churches existed, of which no trace, nor even tradition,
has been handed down to us. Beginning with the early churches in the
north of the county, and coming down to the Mersey, we shall be able in
some measure to trace the local rise and development of the Christian
religion in the county. In the Lancashire part of Lonsdale no church
is named as a building, but as we have after the word Lancaster[171]
_Church Lancaster_ (_Chercaloncastre_), it is evident that this
ancient town had at that time, at all events, its church (to which
we shall refer again hereafter); and from the fact that to the four
manors of Bentham (in Yorkshire), Wennington, Tatham and Tunstall were
attached three churches, it is clear that not less than two of them
were in Lancashire, and these were at Tatham and Tunstall. The church
at Tatham, like many others of these early foundations, has now no
village near to it, but stands at the extreme north of the parish; it
is mentioned in the _Valor_ of 1291, and it has been more than once
rebuilt, but a Norman doorway remains, and an archway said to belong to
the Saxon period.
Tunstall was the site of a small Roman station (see p. 36), and
therefore the more likely to be afterwards used as the settlement of a
Saxon community. The early history of this church is obscure, but it
was recognised in 1291, and shortly afterwards appears to have belonged
to the Abbot of Croxton Keyrial, in Leicestershire; it has been at
least three times restored; it was originally dedicated to St. Michael,
but the more modern dedication is to St. John. Thurland Castle, which
is not far from the church, is supposed to have taken its name from
a Saxon Thane. At Kirkby Ireleth one can scarcely avoid coming to
the conclusion that at some time during the Saxon Heptarchy a church
existed, though all material trace of it was soon afterwards swept
away. The present parish church is dedicated to St. Cuthbert, who, in
A.D. 685, had given to him by the King of Northumbria "the
land called Cartmel and all the Britons there" ("terram quæ vocatur
Cartmel et omnes Britannos cum eo"),[172] and as Kirkby Ireleth is
only some ten miles from that place, it is at least probable that here
Cuthbert erected a church, which afterwards being destroyed, left only
a tradition of its founder.
A few miles to the west of Lancaster, at Heysham, on high ground
overlooking the waters of Morecambe Bay, undoubtedly once stood a Saxon
church, on the site of which, in Norman times, was erected the present
building, portions of which, notably a doorway and part of the north
wall, are of undoubted Saxon architecture. In the churchyard is a very
ancient runic cross with a richly carved scroll and rude figures of
the Virgin and Child, and on the bare rock, a little above the church,
are several excavations of coffin-like shape, in which at some very
distant date human bodies were interred. The hog-backed stone in the
churchyard, with elaborate carvings, has formed the subject of much
learned argument, but whilst there are several opinions as to the
correct story intended to be represented by the sculptor, all agree
that this relic is of very great antiquity, and probably belongs to
the sixth or seventh century.[173] The original church, which was only
24 feet long and 7½ feet wide, was dedicated to St. Patrick, and has,
on that account, been thought to have been established by a colony
of Irish monks who, about that period, are said to have visited this
district.
Coming back to "time-honoured Lancaster," the only vestige of the Saxon
church which has been preserved is a small stone cross discovered in
1807 in the churchyard; it is almost complete, and bears an inscription
in Anglian runes, of which the generally accepted reading is (when
translated): "Bid" (_i.e._ pray ye) "for Cunibalth Cuthbœrehting"
(Cuthbert's son). This is, by the best authorities, ascribed to the
seventh century. At the time of the Conquest Lancaster had fallen
from its former high estate, and was returned in the Domesday Book
as a dependency of Halton. The church, which stood not far from the
castle and some little distance from the town, was no doubt of small
dimensions, and was the property of Roger de Poictou, who just before
the close of the eleventh century (A.D. 1094) conveyed it to
St. Martin of Sees, in Normandy, by the name of the church of St. Mary
of Lancaster, with all things pertaining thereunto, including part of
the land of the _vill_, from the old wall (of the town) to the orchard
of Godfrey and as far as Prestgate, and near to Lancaster two mansions,
Aldcliffe and Newton.[174] The charter which made this grant to the
monastery of Sees was, in fact, the charter which established the alien
priory of St. Mary of Lancaster, which consisted of a Prior and five
monks, with three priests, two clerks, and the usual servants--the
monks were all drawn from the parent Norman monastery.
Amongst other endowments of this religious house, given to it by its
founder, were the patronage and temporalities of a number of churches,
many of which had only been recently erected in Lancashire; these were
Heysham, Croston, Eccleston, Childwall, Preston, Kirkham, Melling,
Bispham, Bolton (near Lancaster), and Poulton-le-Fylde. By charter
dated March 26, 1200, King John took into his hands the custody,
protection and maintenance of the church of St. Mary of Lancaster, and
the Prior and monks there "serving God and St. Mary," with all their
lands and possessions.
In 1260 Pope Alexander issued a Papal Bull in which he expressed a
desire that "the church of the Monastery of Lancaster, of the Order of
St. Benedict, of the Diocese of York," might be "filled with fitting
honours," to accomplish which, "in the mercy of God and the authority
of the blessed Peter and Paul his apostles, he mercifully" remitted
to all "true penitents and the confessed" who approached the church
for the sake of devotion annually on the feast of the Blessed Virgin
Mary, "to whose honour it was asserted the church was dedicated," a
hundred days of the penance enjoined on them. And in the 10 Kal.,
March, 1292, Pope Nicholas granted relaxation for one year and forty
days of the enjoined penance to those penitents who visited the church
of Lancaster on the feasts of the Blessed Virgin and St. Nicholas, in
their octaves, and on the anniversary of the dedication.[175]
In 1246 a dispute was settled between John Romanus, Archdeacon of
Richmond, and the Abbot and convent of Sees. The matter had been
referred to the priors of Kirkham and Bridlington by the Pope, and
through this intervention a compromise was arrived at, the terms of
which were that the right of patronage with the pension of three
marks, and all right which the Abbot and convent had in the church of
Bolton in Lonsdale, should be yielded up for ever, and that the moiety
of the church of Poulton, with the appurtenances which Alexander de
Stanford possessed, when it became vacant, should be ceded to the
priory of Lancaster to its own uses, provided that in the said church
the vicarage should be taxed "by good men chosen by each party" from
the goods of the same church to the value of 20 marks; to the vicarage
the Abbot and convent of Sees to present their own clerk for ever, who
shall find hospitality for the Archdeacon and support all other due and
customary burdens.
It was also settled that the Archdeacon should confirm the church of
Lancaster to the priory for ever as they formerly held it, and that
neither he nor his successors should "compel" those so appointed to
the vicarage, unless it shall please them, saving, nevertheless, to
the Archdeacon and his successors in all things their archidiaconal
rights in the same. This agreement was afterwards confirmed by the
Archdeacon and the Archbishop of York. A few years later we find Gerard
de Wipensis (or Vyspeyns), Archdeacon of Richmond, granting to the
Abbot and convent, Prior and monks, at Lancaster, that they may in
future hold and possess in full right the church of the Blessed Mary at
Lancaster, with all lands, tithes, possessions, and chapels belonging
to it, namely, the chapels of Gressingham, Caton, Overton and Stalmine.
Also, as the monks by themselves or by fit chaplains administered
continually day and night in the said church of Lancaster and the
parish of the same, and laboured perpetually in the cure of souls, so
they should not be compelled by anyone to make or ordain a vicarage or
vicar in the said church against their will, as none existed therein.
From this it is clear that at this time no vicar was appointed, the
entire duties being executed by the monks or their chaplains.
The number of grants made in the thirteenth and following century to
the church of Lancaster, and the Prior and monks there serving, is
considerable, and it is impossible here even to catalogue them; one
or two will, however, serve to show how strong the influence of the
religious men had become. By deed dated at Caton in 1256, Roger, son of
Vivian de Heysham, granted to God and the church of the Blessed Mary of
Lancaster, and to the Prior and monks, etc., for the safety of his soul
and the soul of Wymark his wife, and for the souls of his ancestors
and successors, the third part of his corn-mill at Caton, also of his
fulling-mill there, with the pond and free water-course to the said
mills, with free common in the wood of Caton for repairing the said
mills, to be held for ever.
By another charter, without date, but executed in either 1261 or 1272
(one of the witnesses being Ralph Dacre, the High Sheriff, who held
that office in those two years), John, son of Roger Gernet, of Caton,
for the safety of his soul, etc., gave a piece of land in Caton,
lying from the north corner of Cottescroft, going northwards as far
as the root of the burnt oak, next to the sun, and so to the stream
running between the land of William de Bensted and the land of Adam
de Lee, to the priory to be held for ever free of all customs. About
the same date, Helewise, daughter of Adam, son of Gilbert de Bolton,
gave the church of the Blessed Mary of Lancaster, and the Prior and
monks serving there, all the land in the vill of Bolton which she had
received from her father, to be held by them for ever, but subject to
the usual services to the lord of the fee.
One of the large landowners in Bolton (in Lonsdale) at this time
was Thomas de Capernwray, who about A.D. 1261 gave to the
church of Lancaster and the Prior and monks all his lands, buildings,
services, and rents in the vill of Bolton, except certain land
previously granted to Adam, son of Robert Kellet. Many other similar
grants followed, and, as already stated, the advowson of nearly all the
churches in the district fell into their hands.
After the alien houses were suppressed in 1414, most of the possessions
of this priory went to the monastery of Syon in Middlesex, the
foundation-stone of which was laid on February 22, 1415, by the King
in person, who endowed it with £110 a year, to be paid out from the
farm of the Lancaster Priory lands. Giles Lovell, the last Prior of
Lancaster, died in 1428. The priory itself was granted to Syon in frank
almoigne in 1432. Thus the Abbot and convent of Syon became the patrons
of the Lancashire churches held by the priory. Probably Syon appointed
Richard Chester Vicar of Lancaster, who in 1430-34 also held the
rectory of South Wollyngham in Lincolnshire, and had protection granted
to him on going in that year to the Council of Basle, in the retinue of
Robert, Bishop of London.[176]
At Lancaster there was also founded, late in the twelfth century,
a small hospital of the Augustine Order; it was dedicated to St.
Leonard's in or about the year 1357. It was annexed to the nunnery
of Seton in Cumberland; at one time its accommodation was limited to
a master, his chaplain, and nine persons, three of whom were to be
lepers. There was also here a small monastery of the Grey Friars,
about which little is known. The century succeeding the Conquest was
distinguished by the rise of monasteries and convents, and with them
rose many of the ancient churches in which Lancashire is so rich. It
is, however, a mistake to suppose that the abbots built these; history
rather shows that the monasteries absorbed the lesser ecclesiastical
foundations, or, more frequently still, they received them as part and
parcel of their own endowments.
The great monastic institution in this part of the country was Furness
Abbey, which was not only a great religious centre, but from it sprang
many other abbeys of note. Furness Abbey is near to the town of Dalton,
but lies in a sheltered nook, so that it is cut off, as it were, from
the neighbouring towns. The abbey of Savigni in Normandy was founded
in 1112, and within a few years of its foundation (in 1126-27) Stephen
gave Furness to this monastery, but only, it would seem, in order that
St. Mary's of Furness should by this order be established; with this
object, he endowed it with very large tracts of land, including the
whole of Furness, Dalton, Ulverston, and Walney Island, in addition
to such rights and privileges as made them veritable lords over all
the district. And here was built that abbey which even in its ruins
is majestic and beautiful. This institution was originally founded in
July, 1123, at Tulket, near Preston, and the monks remained there for
over three years, when, finding a more suitable site, they migrated to
Furness. About the year 1148 the monks of Furness, with other followers
of Savigni, joined the Cistercian Order. The monks of Furness were an
immense power in the district, and, notwithstanding that they suffered
like the rest of the people from the ravages of the Scots, must have
enjoyed a very large revenue. Not only were they breeders of cattle
and rearers of horses, sheep, and oxen, but they had on their demesne a
considerable number of iron furnaces and salt works, all of which, if
not worked by the community, were a considerable source of income. As
in the case of other monasteries, as time went on, numerous benefactors
arose, and lands and tenements all over the district were added to the
possessions of the already opulent institution, and the patronage of
Urswick Church and almost every other church for miles around fell to
them. Very shortly after their settlement at Furness these monks began
to send out colonies to other places; one of the earliest which they
established was in Wyersdale, where, however, the monks did not remain
very long, as about 1188 they removed to Withney in Ireland; but whilst
they were in Lancashire they obtained the patronage of the church of
St. Michael's-on-Wyre.
The last Abbot of Furness was Roger Pele, or Pile, who was elevated to
that dignity in about the year 1532; he surrendered the abbey to the
King, April 9, 1537. The suppression of Furness Abbey must have been
for a time very severely felt by the inhabitants of the district, as
from it emanated much hospitality, and to it all the natives looked
for the education of their children and for such religious help as
was usually obtained from these houses. Between the abbots and their
tenants there appears to have been carried on a system of barter and
exchange, some of the details of which are preserved in the evidence
brought forward in support of a petition made in the duchy court in
25 Elizabeth (1582-83) by the tenants of Walney against the Queen's
Attorney-General, who had obtained a lease of the late dissolved
monastery. One of the witnesses, who was then seventy-eight years old,
said that they (the petitioners) and their ancestors, whose estates
they severally held, used to pay and deliver to the Abbot certain
"domestical" provisions, such as calves, sheep, wheat, barley,
oats, and the like, and for recompense they not only enjoyed their
burgages or messuages, but also received from the abbey great relief,
sustentation, and commodities for themselves and their children, viz.,
all the tenants had weekly one ten-gallon barrel of ale; the tenants
of Newbarns and Hawcoat had all the worthings[177] of all the horse
and oxen (except those at the Abbot's stables); the tenants had also
a weekly allowance of coarse wheat bread, iron for their husbandry,
gear and timber for the repairs of their houses. In addition to these
grants, all tenants who had a plough could send two men to dine at
the monastery on one day in each week from Martinmas (November 11) to
Pentecost (Whitsunday); and the children of the tenants who had found
the required provision were educated in the school of the monastery
free, and allowed every day a dinner or a supper; and if any of them
became good scholars, they were often made into monks. The question
at issue between the tenants and the Attorney-General was that whilst
he demanded the provisions, he claimed exemption from making the
recompenses, alleging that the abbots had merely given the food out
of benevolence and devotion to their neighbours. The result of the
petition was in favour of the tenants.
The condition of the abbey itself in 1774 is thus described by
West[178]: "The magnitude of the abbey may be known from the
dimensions of the ruins, and enough is standing to show the style of
the architecture, which breathes the plain simplicity of taste which
is found in most houses belonging to the Cistercian monks which were
erected about the same time with Furness Abbey.
"The round and pointed arches occur in the doors and windows. The fine
clustered Gothic and the heavy plain Saxon pillars stand contrasted.
The walls show excellent masonry, are in many places counter-arched,
and the ruins show a strong cement.
"The east window of the church has been noble; some of the painted
glass that once adorned it is preserved in a window in Windermere
Church (Bowness). The window consists of seven compartments or
partitions. In the third, fourth and fifth are depicted, in full
proportion, the Crucifixion, with the Virgin Mary on the right and the
beloved disciple on the left side of the cross; angels are expressed
receiving the sacred blood from the five precious wounds; below the
cross are a group of monks in their proper habits, with the Abbot in a
vestment; their names are written on labels issuing from their mouths;
the Abbot's name is defaced, which would have given a date to the
whole. In the second partition are the figures of St. George and the
dragon. In the sixth is represented St. Catharine, with the emblems
of her martyrdom, the sword and wheel. In the seventh are two figures
of mitred abbots, and underneath them two monks dressed in vestments.
In the middle compartment above are finely-painted quarterly the arms
of France and England, bound with the garter and its motto, probably
done in the reign of Edward III. The rest of the window is filled up by
pieces of tracery, with some figures in coat armorial, and the arms of
several benefactors, amongst whom are Lancaster, Urswick, Warrington,
Fleming, Millum, etc. On the outside of the window of the abbey, under
an arched festoon, is the head of Stephen, the founder; opposite to it,
that of Maud, his Queen, both crowned and well executed. In the south
wall and east end of the church are four seats adorned with Gothic
ornament. The chapter-house is the only building belonging to the abbey
which is marked with any elegance of Gothic sculpture; it has been a
noble room of 60 feet by 45. The vaulted roof, formed of twelve ribbed
arches, was supported by six pillars in two rows at 14 feet from each
other.
"Now, supposing each of the pillars to be 18 inches in diameter,
the room would be divided into three alleys or passages, each 14
feet wide. On entrance the middle one only could be seen, lighted
by a pair of tall pointed windows at the upper end of the room; the
company in the side passage would be concealed by the pillars, and
the vaulted roof that groined from those pillars would have a truly
Gothic disproportionate appearance of 60 feet by 14. The northern
side alley was lighted by four small pointed side-windows, besides a
pair at the higher end, at present entire, and which illustrate what
is here said. Thus, whilst the upper end of the room had a profusion
of light, the lower end would be in the shade. The noble roof of this
singular edifice did but lately fall in; the entrance or porch is still
standing--a fine circular arch, beautified with a deep cornice and a
portico on each side.
"The only entire roof of any apartment now remaining is that of a
building without the enclosure wall, which was the schoolhouse of the
Abbot's tenants. It is a single-ribbed arch that groins from the wall.
"A remarkable deformity in this edifice, and for which there is no
apparent reason or necessity, is that the north door, which is the
principal entrance, is on one side of the window above it. The tower
has been supported by four magnificent arches, of which only one
remains entire. They rested upon four tall pillars, whereof three are
finely clustered, but the fourth is of a plain unmeaning construction.
The west end of the church seems to have been an additional part
intended for a belfry to ease the main tower, but that is as plain as
the east. The east end of the church contained five altars besides the
high altar, as appears by the chapels, and probably there was a private
altar in the sacristy.
"In magnitude this abbey was second in England belonging to the
Cistercian monks, and the next in opulence after Fountains Abbey in
Yorkshire. The church and cloisters were encompassed with a wall, which
commenced at the east side of the great northern door and formed the
straight enclosure; and a space of ground to the amount of 65 acres
was surrounded with a strong stone wall, which enclosed the mills,
kilns, ovens and fish-ponds. The inside length of the church from east
to west is 275 feet 8 inches; the thickness of the east end wall and
the depth of the east end buttress is 8 feet 7 inches; the thickness
of the west end wall 9 feet 7 inches; the extreme length of the church
is 304 feet 6 inches; the inside width of the east end is 28 feet, and
the thickness of the two side walls 10 feet. The inside width of the
cloister is 31 feet 6 inches; the area of the quadrangular court is 338
feet 6 inches by 102 feet 6 inches."
Since this description was written many researches have been made,
and much light thrown on various points of interest. The church is
ascribed to the time when John de Cauncefeld was Abbot--_i.e._, about
A.D. 1160. Of the parts of the church still remaining in fair
preservation, the most conspicuous are the transepts, which are 126
feet long, by 28 feet wide. At the north end of the transepts is a
Transitional doorway which is rich in its ornamentation and mouldings;
above it is a magnificent window, probably inserted in the fifteenth
century.
Various monuments have been discovered, one of which is probably the
effigy of William de Lancaster, the eighth Baron of Kendal, whose
Inquisition is dated 31 Henry III. (1246-47).
The beautiful groined roof of the chapter-house was intact until the
end of the last century. Beyond the chapter-house was the fratry, or
monks' common room, which was 200 feet long, and over it were the
dormitories. Near the western tower the walls of the hospitium, or
guest-house, may still be traced. At the south end of the ruins there
is a building with a groined room which has generally been called the
school-house, but many authorities now consider that it was a small
chapel, as it contains a large east window and a piscina; if this be
so, then it was without doubt the Abbot's private chapel. The date
assigned to it is early in the fourteenth century.
Near to the abbey the Preston family, to whom the site was granted
soon after the dissolution,[179] built their mansion, and part of
this house now forms the Furness Abbey Hotel. In 26 Henry VIII.
the rentals belonging to the abbey amounted to £942 per annum, of
which tithe offerings and ecclesiastical fines came to £182. In 1540
these possessions were annexed to the Duchy of Lancaster, and were
not finally alienated therefrom until the time of James I. From the
Prestons it passed by marriage to Sir William Lowther, Bart., whose
son and heir married Lady Elizabeth, the daughter of William, Duke of
Devonshire; his son and heir, dying without issue in 1756, bequeathed
all his estates to his cousin, Lord George Augustus Cavendish.
The coucher book of Furness is still preserved in London; it is a
handsome volume containing 293 folios. On the seizure of the abbey in
1537 this volume and other memorials, trussed in three packs, were sent
by Cromwell on the back of three mules to London, and £1 15s. 4d. was
expended on their conveyance. It was afterwards placed in the duchy
office, and ultimately handed over to the Record Office.[180]
Before the end of the twelfth century a new religious order was formed,
of which the first house in England was the priory of SS. Julian and
Botulph in Colchester, in 1105 (or 1107). This was the canons regular
of St. Augustine, who subsequently held 175 religious houses in Great
Britain. At Cartmel a priory of this order was founded in 1188 by the
Earl of Pembroke; it was dedicated to St. Mary, and displaced the
ancient parish church, which, if not of Saxon origin, was certainly a
very early foundation. One of the privileges of this house was that
it had the exclusive right to furnish guides to conduct travellers
over the treacherous sands across the estuary of the Kent. To the
fact that this parish church became the priory church we no doubt owe
its preservation, as at the dissolution of the monasteries it did not
share the fate of so many fine examples of early Church architecture,
but still remains a noble monument of the past. At Coniston, in the
extreme north of the county, in 1188 was founded a small hospital for
lepers, and it would thus appear that even to that remote district
leprosy had spread. This hospital was given in charge of some monks
of St. Augustine's Order, who converted it into a priory, at the same
time appropriating to themselves the church of Ulverston, over 40
acres of land, and other possessions. It is, however, only fair to add
that they took charge of the lepers when there were any. Though never
of any considerable size or importance, yet in its early days its
establishment consisted of over a dozen canons and a Prior, and the
usual number of attendants. After its dissolution in 1536 every trace
of it was swept away. Of the Præmonstratensian Order there were two
houses in Lonsdale Hundred--one at Cockersand, and the other at Hornby.
Amongst this order--which was introduced into England in 1120--a
greater strictness of discipline and a less external code of duties
prevailed than amongst the Austin canons.
The history of Cockersand is somewhat obscure, but at an early period
there was here a hermitage, which was afterwards a hospital, presided
over by a Prior, and dependent upon the abbey at Leicester, founded
by William of Lancaster; but in 1190 it became an abbey of the
Præmonstratensian canons. It was one of the lesser houses which were
given to the King in 1536, when it consisted of 22 religious men and 57
laymen, with an annual income of about £200 arising from a rather large
rent-roll and customary boons and services.
The establishment at Hornby was scarcely worthy of the name of a
priory, but was rather a hospital or cell with a Prior and three canons
dependent on the abbey of Croxton, in Leicestershire. It was dedicated
to St. Wilfrid, and had a small endowment of £26 a year.
In the hundred of Amounderness the Great Survey only refers to three
churches, and these, though not named, were undoubtedly Preston,
Kirkham, and St. Michael's-on-Wyre; and in the absence of proof to
the contrary we must assume that none others were then in existence,
though possibly others may have been erected in Saxon times, but, like
the district upon which they stood, were then lying waste (see p. 57).
Poulton is dedicated to St. Chad (a Saxon saint), and Garstang may
possibly have been the site of a pre-Conquest church, although its
proximity to St. Michael's renders it somewhat improbable.
Preston Church was originally dedicated to St. Wilfrid, and was
probably built in the tenth century; Kirkham,[181] or the church
village, may even be of an earlier foundation than Preston, for from
the time that Roger de Poictou granted the church to St. Mary of
Lancaster (see p. 187) to the present date its history is clear and
fairly complete; no trace of the Saxon building has, however, been
discovered.
At St. Michael's, also, all material evidence of the pre-Norman period
has long ago disappeared. In Amounderness only two religious houses
were established--one at Preston, the other at Lytham. At Preston was
a Franciscan convent of Grey Friars, or Friars Minor, built in 1221
by Edmund, Earl of Lancaster. Within the precincts of this house was
buried Sir Robert Holland, who impeached Thomas, Earl of Lancaster
of treason. Little is known concerning this friary; in 1379 letters
were addressed to the Warden of the order of Preaching Friars there,
asking them to pray for the Duke of Lancaster on his going abroad.
There was also at Preston a hospital for lepers, which must have been
established early in the twelfth century, as Henry II. took it under
his protection, as did also King John; there was a chapel attached
dedicated to St. Mary Magdalen. The cell at Lytham was dependent upon
the Priors of Durham from its foundation in 1190 to 1443, when it
became partly independent. They were black monks.
In the hundred of Leyland no churches are mentioned in Domesday Book,
but there was almost certainly one at Croston and another at Eccleston,
as both these were given to the priory of Lancaster in 1090 (see p.
187), and if not in existence at the taking of the Survey one can
scarcely avoid coming to the conclusion that long before that date
churches had been erected at Eccleston, Leyland and Standish, the
latter being dedicated, like Preston, to St. Wilfrid.
On a site on the opposite side of the river Ribble to Preston stood the
priory of Penwortham. Its situation was picturesque, commanding as it
did an exclusive view down the valley, through which the river flowed,
and not far from it were the parish church and castle. It was founded
as a dependent upon the abbey of Evesham, in the county of Worcester,
in 1087, by two brothers, Warine and Albert Busset, with the approval
of Pope Alexander III., and it was for 400 years regularly supplied
with monks from the parent house. The monks were Benedictines, or black
monks, and their home in Lancashire was but sparsely endowed, although
it included the churches of Penwortham, Leyland and North Meols. At
the dissolution it was rated at a little over £100. No great number
of churches were erected in this hundred during several succeeding
centuries.
In Blackburn Hundred two churches are named in the Survey--St. Mary's
at Whalley and St. Mary's at Blackburn--and the only other parish at
all likely to have had a church earlier than this period is Ribchester.
The present church is dedicated to St. Wilfrid, and tradition adds that
its original foundation was laid in Saxon times; it certainly is built
close to the walls of the ancient Roman castrum (see p. 27). Another
very early foundation was that of Chipping, said to have been built in
1041. St. Mary's of Blackburn is still the parish church, but there is
no evidence to prove that its foundation dates back to pre-Norman times.
The church at Whalley is perhaps the most interesting church in
Lancashire, not only from its undoubted great antiquity, but from
its association with the abbey, which was second only to Furness in
importance, but about the history of which much more is known.
John, Constable of Chester, in 15 Henry II. (1163), founded a monastery
of the Cistercian Order at Stanlawe, in Cheshire, and having endowed
it, he instructed that it should be called _Locus Benedictus_. The
situation selected was not a happy one, as not only was the soil
barren and unfruitful, but a considerable portion of it was liable
to periodical encroachments by the sea, which at spring tide almost
surrounded it. After almost a century, the monks--when the monks had
become considerably richer by the acquisition of properties, chiefly
in Lancashire--decided to remove the abbey to a more convenient site,
and ultimately fixed upon Whalley. This translation was, no doubt,
hastened by the destruction of a great part of Stanlawe Abbey by
fire in 1289, but it was not until April 4, 1296, that Gregory, the
eighth Abbot of Stanlawe, and his convent took formal possession of
the parsonage of Whalley, where they continued to live until the
new monastery was erected. Here they found one of the oldest church
foundations in Lancashire, which probably dated back to the time when
Christianity was first introduced into the district; it was originally
known as the White Church, and in its churchyard still remain three
very fine specimens of Saxon crosses. The church was another of the
Northern erections dedicated to St. Wilfrid, and at the time the monks
settled there it had been rebuilt, and was a good sample of Norman
ecclesiastical architecture.
Amongst their other possessions the monks held the impropriate
rectories of Whalley, Blackburn and Rochdale, with the right of
presentment to their vicarages and chapels of ease. Attached to Whalley
were the chapels of Clitheroe, Colne, Burnley, Altham, Downham,
Church and Haslingden. Whalley now (to quote the language of its
historian)[182] "became the seat of an establishment which continued
for two centuries and a half to exercise unbounded hospitality and
charity; to adorn the site which had been chosen with a succession of
magnificent buildings; to protect the tenants of its ample domains
in the enjoyment of independence and plenty; to educate and provide
for their children; to employ, clothe, feed and pay many labourers,
herdsmen and shepherds; to exercise the arts and cultivate the learning
of the times; yet, unfortunately, at the expense of the secular
incumbents, whose endowments they had swallowed up and whose functions
they had degraded into those of pensionary vicars or mendicant
chaplains."
Notwithstanding the great abuses that gradually crept into these
and the other monastic houses, and ultimately brought about their
destruction, there is still much truth in the _dictum_ of the learned
author.
The charters whereby lands were conveyed to Stanlawe and Whalley are
very numerous, and have all been printed.[183] They extended over a
very large area, and included lands in Rochdale, Blackburn, Whalley,
Childwall, and other places in Lancashire and Cheshire. The full
complement of monks belonging to this abbey was twenty, exclusive of a
Lord Abbot and a Prior; in addition to this there were ninety servants,
twenty of whom belonged to the Abbot. That these monks lived well, and
probably entertained strangers on a liberal fare, may be inferred from
the following table of animal food consumed: for the Abbot's table,
75 oxen, 80 sheep, 40 calves, 20 lambs and 4 pigs; for the refectory
tables, 57 oxen, 40 sheep, 20 calves and 10 lambs; whilst 200 quarters
of wheat, 150 quarters of malt and 8 pipes of wine were annually
consumed.
The dissolution of this house in 1539 was accompanied by a tragic
event. John Paslow, the last Abbot, with many of his followers, had
taken part in that rebellion known as "the Pilgrimage of Grace," by
which this and the county of York were for some time greatly agitated,
and on its final suppression Paslow, with others, was lodged in
Lancaster Castle, from whence he was taken back to Whalley, and on
March 12, 1537, was executed in front of his own monastery along with
John Eastgate, one of his monks, who was hung, drawn and quartered,
whilst a third brother of his order was on the following day hung on a
gallows at Padiham. Of this stately building comparatively little now
remains.[184] The whole area of the close contains nearly thirty-seven
statute acres, and is defined by the remains of a deep trench which
surrounds it. The abbey was approached through two strong and stately
gateways yet remaining. These gateways were of the usual plain,
substantial character which was common with the Cistercian brotherhood.
The central portion of the north-west gateway is almost entire, and is
a fine specimen of the late Decorated architecture, probably of the
middle of the fourteenth century. It is of two stories, the higher
being supported on stone groining springing from wall corbels. To this
upper room, however, there is now no staircase; access must have been
gained from apartments lying on the north and south of the existing
portions, but no trace of these is left. The north-east gateway is of
much later date; it has a spiral staircase in an angle turret which
leads to the second story and roof. The house itself stood on the bank
of the Calder; it consisted of three quadrangles, besides stables and
offices. Of these the first and most westerly was the cloister court,
of which the nave of the conventual church formed the north side;
the south transept, sacristy, chapter-house, penitentiary, and part
of the refectory, the east; the kitchens, principal refectory, etc.,
the south; and the guest-house the west. The roof of the cloister
was supported on wooden posts, the corbels for bearing the rafters
being still visible. The area within was the monks' cemetery, and
some ancient gravestones are still remembered to have been there.
In the south wall of this quadrangle is a wide arched recess, which
was the lavatory. The groove where the lead pipe was placed is still
conspicuous.
Of the building to the south nothing is now left but a portion
of the north wall of the refectory, etc., but the eye rests with
satisfaction on the beautiful doorway of the chapter-house, with its
numerous pateras and the richly-moulded and traceried windows on
either side, with many shafts and an amount of carving which serves
to illustrate the peculiar care which was bestowed on the decoration
of the building. The south-west angle of the day-room is ornate and
picturesque. The predominating style is that of the transition from the
Decorated to the Perpendicular. The guest-house is almost entire, and
is now used as a barn and cow-house. To the east is another quadrangle,
one side of which is formed by what is believed to have been the
Abbot's house. On the southern side of this is a ruin presenting a very
beautiful window of the Transitional character, which was probably part
of the Abbot's private chapel.
The conventual church would rank amongst the finest of the Cistercian
Order in Europe, and exceeded many cathedrals in size. It was almost
demolished soon after the suppression, though not entirely, for in the
account books of Sir Ralphe Assheton we find in 1661 and 1662 several
items such as, "Pᵈ for pulling down the old walls over the inner close,
£1 0s. 6d. Pulling down the old abbey walls. Pulling down the old part
of the steeple and those sides adjoining at 3d. per yard. For taking
down the great window or door at the head of stairs in the cloisters."
Near to Ribchester was a small institution belonging to the
Hospitallers. Very little is known concerning its early history, but
it was founded at a very early date; it is referred to in the coucher
book of Salley as the Hospital sub-Langreg, and Dugdale also calls it
the _Hospital sub Langrigh_, and merely mentions two bequests made to
it, one by Alan de Syngleton, and the other by Walter, son of Walter de
Mutun. There were, however, several other endowments. This religious
house was, no doubt, at one time of not inconsiderable size and
importance, and was, it is believed, dedicated to our Saviour and the
Blessed Virgin Mary.
Alan de Syngleton, son of Richard, gave to God and our Saviour for a
hospital four acres of land in Dilewhe (Dilworth), and Walter de Mutun,
of Ribelchester, granted in the time of Henry III. all the lands which
his father, Walter, had bequeathed to the same hospital. In a charter
of the time of Henry VII. it is called the House of St. Saviour at Sted.
Nicholas Talbot by will, dated 1501, appointed a priest to sing for
twelve months at Stede, where his father and mother were buried.
After the dissolution the manor of Stede [Stydd], with all its rights,
in 1544, was granted to Sir Thomas Holt, of Grizzlehurst. From
this grant it appears that Stydd was then a house of preceptories,
consisting of Knights Hospitallers dependent on the house of Newland,
near Wakefield. One of the provisions of this charter was that out
of the revenues of the manor, etc., was reserved 40s. a year for the
payment of a curate to perform divine service at the church at Stydd.
It was, no doubt, at this time that all the buildings except the small
chapel were demolished. From the time of the Reformation until quite
recently service was only performed here three or four times a year,
although the church was endowed with the tithes of eleven farms in the
township of Dutton.
The church as it now stands is at once striking and picturesque; it
is composed of gray grit stone, and is almost covered with ivy. Small
as it is, there were evidently three entrances to it, one of which,
on the north side, is of very early Norman character. The principal
entrance is in the west end, and its proportions and mouldings mark it
as of Anglo-Norman date. The effect of this doorway is partly destroyed
by a rude porch, which at a comparatively recent date has been added
to it. The east window is of fine proportions; the compartments are
lancet-shaped without cuspings, and contain three lights. The window
on the interior of the mullions has been ornamented with painting in
polychromy, now hardly visible. On the south side is a long, narrow
aperture, which was probably used as a hagioscope or squint. The
interior of this interesting little building looks cold and bare, as
it is unseated and almost without the usual church furniture.[185] It
contains several tombstones of great age, one of which is to the memory
of a Lord and Lady of Salesbury Hall, who were living in the time of
Edward III., and another is embellished with the double cross of the
Knights Templars. The head of this stone is richly ornamented, and is a
fine specimen of its kind. The stone font is a massive octagonal piece
of work, and is probably of the fourteenth century.[186]
In West Derby Hundred, the Domesday Book mentions five churches:
Childwall and Walton-on-the-Hill, Wigan, Winwick and Warrington; but
there had probably been at some earlier period churches at Kirkby and
Ormskirk, and very soon afterwards others were founded at Prescot,
Huyton, Sefton, and North Meols. The church of Warrington calls for
special notice on account of its dedication to St. Elfin (see p. 55), a
saint whose name does not occur in the Romish calendar, and is unknown
to history. Beamont[187] conjectures that it is the name of some local
benefactor, canonized by the people for the good deeds which he had
done; a cognate name was that of Elfwin, the brother of Egfrid, and the
nephew of King Oswald, who was slain fighting with Ethelfrid in the
battle on the banks of the Trent in A.D. 679.
At Warrington, probably towards the end of the thirteenth century, a
friary of the Augustine or Hermit friars was established, but the name
of its founder and the exact date of its foundation are alike unknown;
it was not on a very extensive scale, and was dissolved with the other
lesser houses in 1535. The third house established in Lancashire by
the Austin canons was the priory of Burscough, which was founded in
honour of St. Nicholas, by Robert Fitz-Henry, Lord of Lathom, in about
1124. To this priory was granted a charter in 1286 to hold a weekly
market and a five days' fair in their manor of Ormskirk; amongst its
endowments were the advowsons of the churches of Ormskirk, Huyton and
Flixton, and lands in many parts of West Derby. At the time of the
dissolution (about the year 1536) it contained a Prior, five monks, and
forty dependents, and its temporalities were then worth about £1,000 a
year, according to the present value of money. There was here a priory
church with several altars, a chapter-house, and a hospital, into
which Henry de Lacy, Constable of Chester, agreed with the Prior for a
perpetual right to send one of his tenants. Very little of this ancient
priory has been left by the destroying hand of Time.[188]
A small Benedictine priory, dedicated to St. Thomas of Canterbury, was
founded at Upholland, near Wigan, by Sir Robert Holland, in 1318, and
to it were impropriated the churches of Childwall in Lancashire and
Whitwick in Leicestershire.
In the great hundred of Salford, the Domesday Book only names two
churches, both of which were in Manchester, and dedicated to St.
Michael and St. Mary, and it is somewhat remarkable that even the
sites of these buildings are now only a matter of conjecture. The
probability is that one stood in Aldport and the other in Acres Field,
near to the end of the present St. Mary's Gate. When or why these
churches were pulled down history does not tell us, but for centuries
after the Conquest Manchester was a rural deanery, and probably was
the ecclesiastical centre of the ten parishes comprised in the county
division. Baines says (and others have repeated) that the church at
Bury was named in the Great Survey; this is not the case, but before
the end of the twelfth century there were churches not only at Bury,
but at Ashton-under-Lyne, Prestwich, Middleton and Flixton, and a
little later saw the rise of the churches of Radcliffe, Bolton and
Eccles. Rochdale Church was certainly built before 1194, and was almost
certainly a Saxon foundation.
In 1421 (August 5) the parish church of Manchester was, at the
instigation of Thomas la Warre, twelfth Lord of Manchester, made into
a collegiate church, to be governed by one warden and eight fellows,
four clerks, and six choristers, and it was ordained that divine
service should be celebrated there every day for the good health of the
King, of the Bishop, of Thomas la Warre, and for the souls of their
ancestors, and for the souls of all the faithful departed for ever.
This collegiate church in 1540 obtained the privilege of asylum (as had
also Lancaster), whereby any criminal resorting to it for sanctuary
should be assured his life, liberty and limbs. At the beginning of the
fifteenth century the church of Manchester was a wooden building, on
the site where now stands the cathedral.
The only monastic institution in this great division of Lancashire was
the priory of Kersal, near Manchester, which consisted of a cell to the
Cluniac house of Lenten, near Nottingham. The manor and cell of Kersal
was granted by Henry II. (1154-1189) to Lenten, and both passed into
the hands of Henry VIII. at the dissolution.
During the two centuries which immediately followed the Norman
Conquest, a vast change came over the religious aspect of Lancashire;
the commissioners who compiled the Domesday Book found here and there a
small church and other evidences of the growth of the Christian faith;
but in all directions they found great tracts of country--especially
in the northern parts--lying waste, with few or no inhabitants.
British settlements had been followed by Roman camps, and these in turn
had been destroyed by the Scots, the Saxons and the Danes, in their
struggles for supremacy; but, still, it is clear beyond dispute that
the teachings of Paulinus, and Bede, and Wilfrid had taken firm hold of
the minds of the people, and the time was ripe for a great missionary
effort. The opportunity was seized, and in every direction colonies
of monks and friars were sent out, and religious houses founded, one
effect of this being that gradually a very large number of the existing
churches were passed over to and became part of the possessions of the
newly-established institutions. There were, of course, exceptions,
but as a rule, where the patronage of a church was not held by the
King, it was owned by some religious house. One result of this was the
appointment of non-resident vicars, many of whom held several livings,
the care of which was handed over to others.