STANDISH

Standish with Langtree; Shevington; Welch Whittle; Charnock Richard; Duxbury; Heath Charnock; Adlington; Anderton; Worthington; Coppull;

The parish of Standish has an area of 15,377½ acres, and its population in 1901 numbered 18,496. It is curious that the township of Wigan, physically belonging to Standish, has always lain in another parish and hundred. On the formation of the barony of Penwortham, about 1100, the whole of this parish was included within it, except the townships of Worthington and Coppull, which were given to Manchester. Though one of the ancient roads to the north passes through it, (fn. 1) its history has been comparatively uneventful, but the Reformation and the Revolution met with much quiet opposition. The Young Pretender in 1745 marched through the parish, but obtained no adherents from it. The Duke of Cumberland marched through in pursuit, and the bells were rung. The district has remained to a great extent agricultural, but coal-mining and manufactures have long been carried on. (fn. 2) The agricultural land in the parish is now used as follows: —Arable, 4,532 acres; permanent grass, 8,460; woods and plantations, 598. (fn. 3)

STANDISH PARISH

The ancient 'fifteenth' from the parish amounted to £6 12s. 4½d. when the hundred paid £30 12s. 8d. (fn. 4) ; while to the county lay of 1624 this parish paid two-ninths of the sum levied from the hundred. (fn. 5)

The principal landowner contributing to the subsidy of 1525 was Ralph Standish of Standish, but many others are named in the parish. (fn. 6) Several recusants compounded in 1628. (fn. 7)

Dr. Kuerden in his itinerary, written about 1690, mentions several of the features of the district (fn. 8) :—'Having passed Standish you come to the Quakers . . . then crossing a little arched bridge of stone you pass over Coppull Moor, and on the right hand leave Blainscough Hall belonging to the ancient family of the Worthingtons, a little above which stands Coppull Chapel and near to it the ancient seat of the Prescotts, now the estate and residence of Captain Ward. You next cross Whittle Water, which running eastward meets with the Douglas in Adlington; then you meet with another road coming from Chisnall and pass by the Park Hall in Charnock belonging to a younger branch of the family of the Hoghtons of the Tower, and going on towards Charnock Green, 5 miles from Wigan, you arrive at Charnock bowling-green, leaving the Old Hall of Charnock whose barn is a land-mark to those on the western seas. (N.B. Mr. Richard Brooke and Mr. Hoghton are joint lords of Charnock.) You next come to . . . bridge, and having passed Blainscough Brook you shortly after meet with a road on the right hand leading to Chorley. Passing over the ford into Duxbury there are two halls called Burgh, one belonging to Mr. Alexander Rigby, the other to Justice Crook.' And again: 'Having passed a mile from Wigan to the Bear's Head, keeping the right hand road you pass over a little rill by Jolly Mill, about a quarter of a mile. You leave on the right a road with a stone bridge over Douglas Water, leading from Standish to Blackrod, and the church and town of Standish, passing by another mill called Worthington Mill, and shortly after by Worthington Hall, belonging to merchant Thomas Clayton. Half a mile further you leave a fair-built fabric, also belonging to the said merchant, called Adlington Hall. Passing by a little bridge over the Perburn Brook, having gone through the watery lane, leaving Coppull Hall a little on the left and going easterly till you meet the oblique road from Manchester to Preston.'

Church

The church (fn. 9) of ST. WILFRID stands on high ground at the north-east end of the village, and consists of chancel 37 ft. by 22 ft. with north and south chapels, nave 60 ft. by 22 ft. with north and south aisles 14 ft. 9 in. wide, west tower 11 ft. 6 in. by 10 ft. 6 in. with stone spire, and south porch 14 ft. by 10 ft. 6 in. with chamber over, all these measurements being internal.

Of the original building which existed prior to the 16th century little now remains. In 1544 it was found to be 'in grete ruyne and decaye,' and orders were given for re-edifying it under heavy penalties, but nothing seems to have been done for some years after. The present church, with the exception of the east end of the chancel and the tower, belongs to the rebuilding by Rector Moody in 1582–4, the contract and agreement of which is dated October 1582, (fn. 10) but it is possible that these refer to a final effort to complete a building which may have been in process of erection for many years previous, as in 1539, 1557 and in 1558 there is record of moneys having been bequeathed either for the repair or rebuilding of the church. (fn. 11) Whatever the exact date of the rebuilding, however, it appears to have been completed by about 1585, the work then done including the whole of the present nave and aisles, (fn. 12) south porch and the greater part of the chancel. The old tower, which was square below and octagonal above with an embattled parapet and spire, was left standing till 1867, when it was pulled down and the present tower and spire built. The east end of the chancel, which projects 10 ft. 6 in. in advance of the east end of the aisles and is contracted in width to 18 ft., appears to have been rebuilt, most likely late in the 15th century, the reconstruction of the chancel having been possibly then begun but not proceeded with. (fn. 13) Whether or not the east end of the chancel preserves any portion of an older mediaeval building it is difficult to say, and all that can be stated with any degree of certainty is that in the 15th century the church was the same length as at present and consisted of a chancel, nave with high pitched roof and west tower, and that there was a north aisle. (fn. 14) There was probably also a south aisle, but this is not certain. In 1799 a new east window was inserted, and two years later the north and south windows of the chancel were renewed. The building underwent a restoration in 1859, when the old square pews with which it was then filled were removed and the present seating erected. There were also galleries at that time on the north and west sides, and these were pulled down. Previously to this the lead roof seems to have been renewed and other external work done. (fn. 15)

The church is built of local gritstone in even and regular courses, but at the eastern end of the north side and in some other parts there are fragments of yellow and red sandstone, probably remnants from the earlier building. The walls throughout have embattled parapets, and the roofs, which are of very flat pitch and therefore not seen, are covered with lead.

The walls of the nave and chancel are continuous and of the same height, the division being marked externally only by octagonal staircases rising on either side as turrets with stone domed tops above the roofs. The aisles of the nave and chancel are also continuous and externally without distinction of division. The nave and chancel are lofty, with a continuous range of wide four-light clearstory windows with four-centred heads, and the line of battlement is varied by a wider merlon surmounted by a pinnacle over the middle clearstory window of the chancel, the second and fourth windows of the nave and over the east chancel window. The parapets on the east end of the north and south aisles are differently treated, that on the north side being stepped, while on the south the line follows the flat pitch of the lean-to roof. All the tracery of the windows is modern, of late Gothic character, with apparently little or no attempt to carry out the original design. The jambs and pointed heads of the windows, however, are original.

The chancel is lit at the east end by a modern five-light window and by a window of three lights immediately north and south with a similar opening above ranging with the windows of the clearstory. The upper windows previous to the restoration had been mutilated on their west sides apparently by the building up against them of the later wall which stands in front of the older chancel wall about 2 ft. The new windows, however, have been rebuilt similar to the ones below, with a pointed head, but narrower and of different shape from those of the clearstory. In the east wall south of the altar there was originally a doorway opening probably into a low vestry as at Sefton, the masonry on the outside still showing clearly where the opening has been built up. (fn. 16) Below the south window 2 ft. from the floor are the piscina and aumbry side by side, the piscina having an ogee-shaped head but no bowl; the aumbry a plain square-headed recess in the wall 1 ft. 11 in. wide by 15 in. high. The altar rails, which are modern, are at the junction of the older and later work, at the widening of the chancel, which west of this point has an arcade of two pointed arches on each side springing from circular columns and responds. The arches are 9 ft. wide, narrower and lower than those in the nave, but of the same general character. They are of two moulded orders with labels terminating in shields, and above are two four-light clearstory windows on each side. The chancel arch is pointed and of two orders, moulded on the east side and on the west with rounded chamfers, and springing from semicircular shafts with moulded caps and square abaci, similar in detail to the nave arcade. The division between the chancel and nave is marked by large octagonal piers, 6 ft. in diameter, each containing a staircase leading to the roof and with a halfround shaft forming a respond on three sides. (fn. 17) Over the arch pier on the north side of the chancel is a panel in the wall with the date 1584 in raised letters in the left-hand bottom corner, the rest of the surface being plain, (fn. 18) and on one of the shields at the termination of the hood mould on the opposite side are the initials R. M. The chancel screen is modern and of oak, but provision seems to have been made in the church as built in 1582–4 for a rood loft, as in the north staircase pier there is a door high up in the wall apparently constructed for access to the loft. The provision for a rood loft at such a late date, as well as other marks of mediaeval ritual in the building, is rather remarkable, unless the builders incorporated some features of the earlier structure in the new edifice. The roof is of oak similar to that in the nave, of very flat pitch, with richly moulded beams. On the beam over the east window is carved 'Rich^d Moodye p'son of Standyshe 1585,' and on the other three beams are inscribed ' A. S.,' 'E. S. 1585,' and 'R. Brideoake 74.'

Plan of Standish Church

The east end of the north aisle of the chancel (fn. 19) is used as a vestry and is separated from the chancel by a modern screen, while the second bay is occupied by the organ. The Standish chapel in the south aisle is separated from the chancel and from the nave at its west end by a modern screen, (fn. 20) and is 25 ft. long, the floor being level with that of the chancel, which is three steps above the nave. The chapel, like the north chancel aisle, is lit at the east end by a four-light window and by two similar windows on the south side, and is seated with benches, six of the old bench ends being carved with the Standish crest (the owl and rat) and the initials R. S. A brass plate records that the chapel was built by Edward Standish in 1589, and was restored in 1878, but whether this means that the outside walls date from that year, some five years after the supposed completion of the main building, is not quite clear. On the south wall below the easternmost window is a small piscina 11 in. wide, with an ogee head, but the bowl has been cut away. West of the second window, but on the nave side of the screen inclosing the chapel, is a priest's doorway with four-centred labelled head and modern panel on the outside carved with the Standish crest. On the south wall is a lead head with the initials and date L. F. 1669.

The nave is of five bays, with north and south arcades having circular piers 2 ft. in diameter on square pedestals 3 ft. high, and pointed arches 11 ft. wide of two round chamfered orders with label mouldings terminating in blank shields. The piers, which are of Renaissance design, have moulded caps and bases and a square abacus with curious turned pendant ornaments at the four corners. The pedestals have a plain chamfered plinth and moulded surbase, the height over all from the floor to the top of the abacus being 13 ft. 6 in. (fn. 21) There are five clearstory windows on each side, and the aisles have each three windows of four lights to the north and south, and a four-light window at the west end. In the north aisle the wall is faced on the inside with ashlar, while the south aisle wall is of rough masonry.

'An old drawing of the church previous to the restoration of 1859 shows a screen across the north aisle from the second pillar of the nave arcade west of the chancel pier, and the filled-up sockets in the pillar and wall can still be detected.' (fn. 22) This has suggested the location here of the 'Langtree chapel' which is mentioned in the time of Queen Elizabeth. (fn. 23)

The roof, which is of the same design to both nave and chancel, is the original one erected in the late 16th-century rebuilding and is an exceedingly handsome piece of work. It is of very flat pitch, richly wrought in oak, with moulded principals, each bay being subdivided by two moulded intermediate crossbeams, ridge and purlins, forming eighteen square boarded panels crossed by moulded diagonal ribs. All the intersections have carved bosses, and the principals are carried on carved oak brackets of distinctly Renaissance type, resting on small stone corbels. The lean-to roofs over the aisles are of somewhat similar detail, that on the south side having carved wood brackets and diagonally-ribbed panels as in the nave and chancel, but on the north side the principals are carried on stone brackets of Renaissance type, and the panels have square instead of diagonally-placed ribs. The stone brackets are carried along the north wall to the roof of the north chancel aisle, where, however, the roof is similar to that on the south side. The beam at the east end of the nave against the chancel arch has carved upon it four shields and the initials E. S., A. S., E. W., and I. C., probably standing for Edward and Alexander Standish, Edward Worthington and John Chisnall, and the second beam westward has an inscription not easy to decipher (fn. 24) with the date 1589. In the Standish chapel the intersections of the beams are carved with coats of arms showing the alliances of the Standish family, and there are two grotesque figures supporting one of the beams which are quite different in character from the other carvings in the church. (fn. 25)

The combination in the nave and quire of late Gothic and Renaissance detail is effective, and the latter not being over-emphasized the general appearance of the interior, the excellent proportions of which give it great beauty, is that of a building of the mediaeval period.

The north doorway, which is now made up, is small and plain with a four-centred arch and blank panel with hood mould over, the principal entrance to the church being by the south porch, which has a fourcentred outer arch under a square label mould and an upper story lighted on the south by a three-light square-headed window. The porch retains its original flat ceiling with heavy moulded oak beams, divided into twelve square panels similar in detail to those of the nave roof, and on each side is a stone seat. On the east wall is a three-light window, and in the north end of the west wall, near the inner door, 5 ft. from the ground, a small recess 6 in. wide and 3½ in. deep with ogee-shaped head. The entrance to the porch chamber is by a door inside high up in the wall over the entrance and now only accessible by means of a ladder. Like the aisles and clearstory the porch is finished externally by an embattled parapet, and on the south side above the upper window is a wood sundial with the motto 'Dum spectas fugit hora.' The outer angles have diagonal buttresses of three stages.

The west tower is of three stages, with a square base the height of the nave roof, and octagonal belfry stage above surmounted with a spire. The belfry stage has a two-light pointed window on each face, and the parapet above is embattled. The vice is in the south-west angle, and there is a clock on the north, south and west sides. The tower arch is of two chamfered orders continuous to the ground. To some extent the tower follows the design of the old one taken down in 1867, which was of the same type as those at Aughton, Halsall and Ormskirk. The old tower, however, was much lower, and its proportions spoilt when the new 16th-century nave was built up against it, the embattled parapet of the octagon belfry stage, from which the spire sprang, being only slightly higher than the nave roof, the parapets of which abutted awkwardly against it. The old tower is said to have shown the evidence of a pointed roof on its east wall, (fn. 26) and Glynne describes it as 'square below and octagonal above, with a Decorated west window and plain door and two-light belfry windows.' (fn. 27) The original spire had been partly rebuilt in 1823.

The font stands at the west end of the south aisle, and consists of an octagonal bowl of yellow sandstone with blank shields within sexfoils on each face. It is probably of early 16th-century date, but stands on an older stem of plain clustered shafts of hard greystone, and the base, again, is of different stone and of later date.

The pulpit formerly stood on the south side of the chancel arch, but in 1859 was moved to its present position on the north side. It was presented by Rector Leigh in 1616, and is octagonal in shape, of richly carved oak, each side being divided into three panels of unequal size and form. It stands on a tall stem and under the cornice on six sides is the inscription in Gothic letters, NECESSITAS | MIHI INCUMBIT | V^ae MIHI SI NON | EVANGELIZEM | EX SUMPTIBUS | W. LEIGH REC. 1616. On the remaining side (one being open) is—
'W. Leigh Rect.
Donum Dei Deo 1616.

A panel on the north side has a shield of eight pieces, the arms of Ralph Standish, with his initials and crest, and date 1616.

The rest of the fittings are mostly modern. There are, however, two oak bench ends in the north vestry, one carved with the initials and date 'E.H. 1625,' and the other 'W.R. 1626,' and under the tower is a bench apparently of about the same date, one of the ends of which has the Worthington crest and the other the arms and crest of Langtree. The altar slab is a piece of yellow marble, given by Edward Chisnall in 1693, and stands on an oak table with eight twisted legs.

On the north side of the quire is the altar tomb of Richard Moody, with a recumbent effigy, cut apparently from a block of local freestone, (fn. 28) but now, along with the rest of the monument, painted black and grey, or lead colour. The figure represents a clerk —possibly Gilbert de Standish, rector 1357–96—in cassock, surplice and hood, the close-fitting sleeves of the doublet appearing from within the sleeves of the cassock. (fn. 29) Below is a recess with Ionic columns and entablature, containing a bas-relief representing two angels holding a winding-sheet which contains a corpse, with the words, 'As you are I was and as I am you shal be.' The marginal inscription, which has the dates left blank, seems to indicate that the tomb was erected by Moody before his death. (fn. 30)

On the opposite side is a good 17th-century altar tomb, in yellow and black marble, with the recumbent effigy of Sir Edward Wrightington, kt., 'one of the Council of the North,' who died 1658. On the wall above is a monument to Edward Dicconson of Finch Mill, in Shevington, vicar apostolic of the northern district of England (1740) and Bishop of Malla in partibus infidelium (1741), who died in 1752. (fn. 31)

The oldest monument in the church, however, is a sepulchral slab with the incised figure of Maud Chisnall, wife of Robert de Chisnall, now in the floor at the east end of the nave, partly hidden by the platform on which the reading-desk stands. The date has been obliterated, but the stone is attributed to the 14th century. (fn. 32)

On the south-west face of the north octagonal staircase pier above the pulpit is a stone panel with the arms and crest of Worthington and the initials and date, E. W. 1584, and over the first pier of the north arcade is a panel with the Stanley crest of the eagle and child. Attached to the north-west side of the south staircase pier, facing the nave, is an elaborate mural monument to Edward Chisnall, who was one of the defenders of Lathom House, and died in 1653, with a long Latin inscription, and opposite on the north pier a tablet to Thomas Clayton, d. 1721. Over the south door in the nave is a marble tablet by Nollekens to Cecilia Towneley, d. 1778, and Edward Towneley Standish, d. 1807.

There are several brasses in the floor of the chancel, one to Mary Lathom (d. 1656), wife of Paul Lathom, rector, and others of 18th-century date. There was formerly a brass plate in the north aisle with a Latin inscription to the effect that Robert Pylkington (d. 1498) had been custodian and chaplain to the chantry of St. Nicholas.

The only fragments of old glass now remaining are in the top lights of the second window from the east in the Standish chapel, one of which contains the Standish coat of arms, a shield of eight quarters, and crest. There was formerly, however, in the second clearstory window of the north side a fragment of 15th-century glass which bore the inscription in Gothic characters, RICHARD LANGTRE MADE [A GIFT ?] OF THE GLAZING OF THIS WINDOW. ANNO DO. 1590. (fn. 33)

There is a ring of six bells, five of which were cast by A. Rudhall of Gloucester, two in 1714 and three in the following year. (fn. 34) In 1846 another bell was added, cast by Mears of London.

The church plate is exceedingly handsome, and consists of eight pieces, all of great merit and beautiful workmanship. The earliest pieces are a chalice and cover paten of 1607, the chalice inscribed in the centre of the bowl, THIS CUP AND COVER WAS GIVEN TO THE PARISH CHURCH OF STANDISH, IN THE COUNTY OF LANCASTER, FOR A COMMUNION CUP BY ALEXANDER PRESCOTT, THE SONNE OF WILLIAM PRESCOTT, OF COPPELL, AND NOWE CITIZEN AND GOULDSMITH, OF LONDON. ANNO 1608. It stands 9½ in. in height, and has further inscribed on it in Roman lettering in three separate places—below the lip, at the bottom of the bowl, and on the rounded upper portion of the base—'Lett a man examine himselfe and soe lett him eate of this breade and drink of this cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily eateth and drinketh his own judgement because he discerneth not the Lord's Body.' The cover is surmounted by a plain knob, and when inverted forms the paten, on which is engraved, 'Holy things are for holy men.' Both chalice and paten have the maker's mark, T. I., with a molet below in a plain shield. The rest of the plate consists of two flagons of 1656, a chalice and two patens of 1677, and an almsdish of 1768. The flagons are silver-gilt, of very rich design, standing 13 in. high and 7¼ in. in diameter at the base, with two bands of gilt repoussé work, and similar ornamentation on the lid, the design of which consists of cherubs' heads and wings in a circle round the edge interspersed with leaf and scroll ornament. Each flagon bears the arms of Holt of Shevington, dividing a long inscription, ALEXANDER HOLT, ESQUIRE, CITIZEN AND GOLDSMITH, OF LONDON, GAVE THESE TWO FLAGONS OF SILVER TO THE PARISH OF STANDISH, WHERE HE WAS BORNE, FOR THE SERVICE OF GOD AND THE USE OF THE PARISHONERS AT THE CELEBRATION OF THE HOLY COMMUNION. A. D. 1657. The maker's marks are I. W., with a tun below, all in a plain shield.

The second chalice is similar in size and shape to the first, and bears the same scriptural verses set out as before. It is inscribed, THIS CUP AND COVER WAS GIVEN TO THE PARISH CHURCH OF STANDISH, IN THE COUNTY OF LANCASHER, AS A COMMUNION CUP, BY EDWARD HOLT, LATE OF SHEVINGTON, GENTLEMAN, IN THE PARISH AFFORESAID, DECECED, IN THE YEARE OF OUR LORD 1677. The maker's mark is I. H., with a fleur de lis below. The cover paten is similar to the one belonging to the older chalice, but the second paten of 1677, which was the gift of James Holt, is larger, being 9 in. in diameter, formed by a single shallow depression, leaving a rim an inch wide deeply worked in repoussé. In the centre are the arms of Holt, with a martlet for difference, and around the arms is inscribed, EX DONO JACOBI HOLT MERCATORIS LONDONENSIS FILIJ EDWARDI HOLT GENEROSI NUPER DE SHEVINGTON DEFUNCTI IN USUM SINGULAREM PAROCHIALIS ECCLESIÆ DE STANDISH IN COMITATU LANCASTRENSI AD CÆNAM CELEBRANDUM. ANNO DOMINI 1677. The almsdish is of silver gilt, inscribed, DEO ET ECCLESIÆ DE STANDISH SACRUM, and bears the mark of John Harvey of London.

The registers begin in 1558. The first volume (1558 to 1663) has been rebound in leather.

The churchyard lies principally to the south and south-east of the church, and is bounded on the north by the high road, from which there is a gate at the east end; but the principal entrance is from the village on the south side, opposite the porch. It was enlarged in 1805. The oldest dated gravestone is 1645.

Advowson

On the partition of Standish and Langtree in 1206 the advowson of the rectory was also divided, (fn. 35) but a later agreement must have been made, (fn. 36) as the presentations from 1300 onwards were always made by the lords of Standish, without any claim from the Langtrees. (fn. 37) After 1713 (fn. 38) presentations were made by the University of Cambridge, and then the advowson was sold. (fn. 39) The present patron is Miss Mary Adams, who acquired the right by purchase in 1886.

The value of the benefice was in 1291 taxed as £13 6s. 8d., (fn. 40) and the ninth of sheaves, wool, &c., was also valued as 20 marks in 1341. (fn. 41) The clear value in 1535 was returned as £45 16s. 8d. (fn. 42) The Commonwealth surveyors in 1650 found that the value of the parsonage-house and glebe lands alone was £50, and that of the tithes £146. (fn. 43) In 1722 Bishop Gastrell found the income to be above £300. (fn. 44) At present it is returned as £1,320. (fn. 45)

The following is a list of the rectors:—

The earlier rectors were chiefly of local families. It may be noted that several of the earliest whose names are known had sons. The foundation of a chantry by Henry le Waleys in 1328 seems to have been intended to provide an additional priest to assist in the parish, the endowment being in one case called the 'vicarage.' The two later chantries at the parish church and the chapel at Coppull represent increases of the clerical staff in the parish; the rector, when non-resident, would provide a curate. (fn. 84) The list of 'ornaments' in 1552 shows that the church had been well furnished. (fn. 85) The visitation list of 1548 records seven names at Standish, but one of the staff lived at Bolton. (fn. 86) The confiscation of the chantry endowments at once made a great difference; the list of 1554 gives only five names, of whom the rector and another were non-resident (fn. 87) ; in 1562 only the conforming rector and his curate were named. (fn. 88)

This appears to have been the normal staff—but not always maintained (fn. 89) —until recent times, when a number of new churches have been built and the parish subdivided. The replies to the archdeacon's questions in 1739 (fn. 90) declare that the church and churchyard were properly kept and in good order. The rector, who had no other benefice and was 'a man of an unblameable and exemplary life,' was constantly resident, and preached every Lord's Day; his curate had a stipend of £40. Prayers were read in the church twice every Sunday, the Litany was said on Wednesdays and Fridays, the Lord's Supper was celebrated eighteen times a year, the youth were instructed in the Church Catechism on the Sundays in Lent, and methods were used to 'reclaim popish recusants.' There seems to have been also a separate curate for Coppull, where there were 'prayers and sermon' every Sunday. Nobody but the Quakers refused to pay Easter offerings or the Church rates. There were places in the parish where it was supposed that 'Papists' resorted to hear Mass; there was also a meeting of Quakers.

There was in 1360 a chapel at Standish endowed with lands in Anderton, but nothing further is known of it. (fn. 91) Of the three chantries the first, as already stated, was founded in 1328 by the rector, Henry le Waleys, at the altar of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the church, (fn. 92) the endowment being messuages and lands in Standish and Langtree. The nomination of the priest was granted to Richard le Waleys and his heirs and in case of default to the lord of Standish or to the Prior of Burscough. (fn. 93) At the Suppression the and the chantry priest was duly celebrating for the souls of the founder and his ancestors; he was further bound to find thirteen tapers before the sacrament and to maintain the service in quire every holy day. (fn. 94) The chantry at the altar of St. Nicholas was founded by Dr. Alexander Fairclough, rector, in 1479, (fn. 95) for a chaplain to celebrate for the souls of himself and his ancestors and to maintain the service in quire every holy day, and in 1548 the incumbent was celebrating accordingly. The income was £5 6s. 11d., derived from lands in Rivington, Whittle, Adlington and Heath Charnock. (fn. 96) The third chantry was at the rood altar, and founded by James Standish of Arley in Blackrod about 1520 (fn. 97) ; the priest does not appear to have had quire duty. The lands belonging to it in Langtree, Worthington and Chorley produced a rental of only 67s. 4d. (fn. 98) None of the chantries had any plate. The lands of the last-named chantry were sold by the Crown in 1550 to William Place and Nicholas Spakeman, (fn. 99) and those of the two older ones in 1583 to Thurstan Anderton. (fn. 100)

One of the chantry priests at Standish, as at other places, kept school. (fn. 101) A new school was founded in 1603. (fn. 102)

Charities

Apart from a few large benefactions there are but scanty funds for the aged and destitute. (fn. 103) For the whole parish a rent-charge of £12 is available, derived from ancient gifts. (fn. 104) For Standish-withLangtree John Johnson by his will of 1697 gave lands for the poor, which now produce an income of £119 4s. 1d., distributed in gifts of calico and linen. (fn. 105) This township has other poor funds, producing in all about £30. (fn. 106) John Shaw in 1627 and George Shaw in 1650 left money for the poor of Rivington and Anglezarke in Bolton, and Heath Charnock and Anderton in Standish, which was invested in lands, and the moiety of the income applicable to the general benefit of the poor of the latter townships is now £197 14s. 6d. (fn. 107) The portion of Peter Lathom's charity available for Welch Whittle amounts to £78 5s. 10d. (fn. 108) Thomas Johnson in 1680 gave a tenement in Tockholes for the benefit of the poor of Coppull and Anderton; the income is now £31 9s. 4d. (fn. 109) Coppull has another small fund. (fn. 110) At Charnock Richard a revenue of £14 4s., derived from several ancient gifts, is distributed in cloth, flannel and blankets at Christmas. (fn. 111) Heath Charnock has a small special charity. (fn. 112) At Duxbury £14 is available from a gift by William Mason in 1638 (fn. 113) ; there are two smaller charities. (fn. 114) Shevington has several foundations, amounting in all to about £16, spent chiefly in bread and cloth gifts. (fn. 115) The above benefactions are of ancient date. The principal recent gift is that of almshouses for the ecclesiastical district of Charnock Richard, in memory of Mrs. Frances Darlington. The charity was founded by her husband in 1898–9; there are six almshouses, appropriated to members of the Church of England, and the endowment amounts to £118 a year. (fn. 116)

Footnotes

1	The old Roman road from Wigan to Walton-le-Dale. A hoard of coins was found near Standish; C. Leigh, Nat. Hist. of Lancs. bk. iii, 81; Watkin, Rom. Lancs. 238.
2	Aikin, Country round Manch. 291.
3	The figures for the west and northwest part of the parish are 3,543, 5,400 and 364 acres respectively, and for the eastern part 989, 3,060 and 234 acres; Statistics from Bd. of Agric. (1905).
4	Gregson, Fragments (ed. Harland), 19. The details are: Standish and Langtree £1 2s. 8½d., Coppull and Worthington £1 9s. 8d., Shevington 18s. 5d., Duxbury and Adlington 17s. 4d., Welch Whittle 7s. 11d., Charnock Richard 19s., Heath Charnock 17s. 4d., Anderton 11s, 8d.
5	Ibid. 22. When the hundred paid £100 Standish with Langtree paid £3 19s. 7½d., Coppull and Worthington £4 0s. 6¾d., Duxbury and Adlington £3 14s. 6½d., Shevington and Welch Whittle £3 14s. 1d., Charnock Richard £2 15s. 6¾d., Heath Charnock and Anderton £4 0s. 1d.
6	Subs. R. Lancs. bdle. 130, no. 86. The other landowners contributing, arranged according to amounts, were: James Standish, Roger Asshaw, James Hale, Matthew Standish, Richard Worthington, Oliver Anderton, John Waring, Richard Worthington of Blainscough, John Chisnall, Nicholas Worthington, Richard Langtree, Ralph Arrowsmith, Robert Ugnall, Hugh Adlington, Hugh Woodward, Alexander Street and Lawrence Bimson.
7	For the sequestered two-thirds of their estates William Anderton of Anderton was to pay £20 a year, William Hoghton of Park Hall £16 13s. 4d., Thomas and Isabel Langtree of Langtree £10 and £6 respectively. The following also compounded: In Standish Thomas Standish £4, Edward Standish £2, William Mascroft £2; and in Worthington William Worthington £6 13s. 4d. Those who conformed were James Banister of Park Hall, Miles Green of Shevington, John Radcliffe of Charnock and Janet Shaw of Standish; Trans. Hist. Soc. (new ser.), xxiv, 173.
8	Loc. Glean. Lancs. and Ches. i, 211, 220.
9	See 'Notes on the Parish Church of St. Wilfrid, Standish,' by William Frederick Price, in Trans. Hist. Soc. xix-xx (new ser.), 238–86, which has been used in the following description.
10	Trans. Hist. Soc. xxii (new ser.), 51. Robert Charnock of Astley is there stated to be content to 'take upon himself the charge and oversight of the building and setting up of the church of Standish for and on behalf of the whole parish according to such proportion and time for the mason work as is agreed upon and set down in a pair of indentures . . . made betwixt the said Robert Charnock on the one part and Lawrence Shipwaie, freemason, upon the other part.' See also Baines' Lancs. (ed. Harland, 1870), ii, 168.
11	Trans. Hist. Soc. xix-xx (new ser.), 252.
12	The Standish chapel in the south aisle of the quire is said to have been built in 1589, but there is no architectural evidence to indicate that it was an addition to the building as originally designed. The date 1589, however, occurs on the roof of the nave, so it may be that the work of rebuilding progressed very slowly and occupied some seven or eight years.
13	It has been suggested that the chantry of Our Lady had its altar at the extreme end of the chancel, but from what is stated below this seems to be erroneous. The altar existed before the chantry, but its position is not indicated in the deeds. The date 1511 is cut in the stone near the bottom of the south chancel wall, but whether this has given rise to the reputed date or vice versa is questionable. The figures are, however, either entirely modern or have been recut in recent times.
14	The reports of the Chantry Commissioners make it clear that there was a north aisle in the old church in 1548; Trans. Hist. Soc. ibid.
15	On the lead of the main roof are the names of the rector (Rev. W. H. Brandreth) and churchwardens and the date 1847, and the same date occurs on the spout heads on the north side.
16	It is not, however, certain that the vestry was ever actually built.
17	'Under the dome of the north campanile there are four sockets in the masonry, probably to carry crosstrees for a bell'; Trans. Hist. Soc. xix-xx (new ser.), 258.
18	Glynne says that 'in the chancel on one of the northern arches is an inscription, Lancs. Churches, III. There is no date to Glynne's visit. The panel, however, is now blank except for the date.
19	The north aisle is sometimes known as the Duxbury chapel. 'It has been orally transmitted that the chapel on the north side of the chancel was originally founded by the Duxbury house, which still claims some uncertain and undefined right to it'; Raines' notes to Lancs. Chantries (Chet. Soc.), lx, 181 (1862).
20	The west screen dates only from 1889.
21	On the west side of the pedestal of the second pier from the east on the south side of the nave is cut 'A . F . OF . S . W . W . OF D.,' and on the pedestal of the third pier 'E. H.'
22	Trans. Hist. Soc. xix-xx (new ser.), 257.
23	'An order from [Wm. Chadderton,] Bishop of Chester, for examining witnesses in a dispute amongst the parishioners of Standish in the names of John Adlington and Gilbert Langtree concerning a chapel or chancel in Standish Church called Langtree chapel'; ibid. 256.
24	Mr. Price gives it as SASDWIREGR ANNO DOMINI 1589—'a number of letters the meaning of which I cannot interpret'; ibid. 259.
25	Ibid. 258.
26	Rector Perryn's notebook quoted in ibid. 250.
27	Lancs. Churches, 110.
28	Trans. Hist. Soc. xix-xx (new ser.), 275.
29	M. H. Bloxam, On certain rare and perhaps unique effigies of Ecclesiastics, 1875, quoted in ibid. Bloxam says, 'This is the only recumbent effigy of a parish priest of the reign of Elizabeth I have met with represented as vested in the surplice.' The explanation no doubt is that Moody appropriated the effigy of one of his predecessors, which had been displaced in the rebuilding. Mr. St. John Hope, on being shown a drawing of it, said it 'belongs to the last quarter of the 14th century.' The effigy is well carved, but the lettering of the inscription is very badly cut on a rough edge.
30	Inscription as given in Harland's Baines: 'Hic jacet Richard Moodi qui ānos [38] Pastor erat vigilentissim' Æccl[esi]æ Standish ille ppo. su[mp]tu geodoetas et saxi operatores victu ad Ædificæ huj' Te[m]pli bis ruina ppessi alluit obiit 10 die Novrs An[n]o. Do[min]i. 1586.'
31	See above p. 172.
32	Trans. Hist. Soc. xix-xx (new ser.), 255, where an illustration is given.
33	This fragment was preserved by the parish clerk when the old glass of the clearstory was destroyed; ibid. 257.
34	The first and second have the names of the churchwardens. The other inscriptions are (3) 'Peace and good neighbourhood,' (4) 'Prosperity to the Church of England,' and (5) 'Prosperity to the Parish.'
35	Final Conc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 25.
36	In 1219, the church being vacant, as was alleged, a dispute occurred between Richard de Langtree plaintiff and Ralph de Standish as to the right of presentation to the mediety. It appeared that Alexander son of Ralph was the rector and had been rector in 1206, and that it was his 'vicar,' named Leising, who had just died. There is no sign that Alexander was even in minor orders; Leising had paid him 20s. 'in the name of pension,' and on his death Alexander, as rector, presented another clerk. This led to Richard's complaint; Curia Regis R. 70, m. 16; 71, m. 6.
37	See the list of rectors. The advowson of the church is regularly mentioned in the Standish inquisitions.
38	Probably in consequence of the Act of 1714 (12 Anne stat. 2, cap. 14) extending the disability to present from 'Popish recusants convicted' to 'every Papist or person making profession of the Popish religion,' and his trustees. Bishop Gastrell notes that after 1715 the estate and advowson 'were sold by the Crown to one Edward Biscoe, but 'tis supposed to be in trust for Standish, and the right of presentation is now in dispute, anno 1722'; Notitia Cestr. (Chet. Soc.), ii, 391.
39	The Claytons of Adlington purchased the right for a term, and it was in 1777 acquired from Mrs. Cecily Towneley by Sir Richard Perryn, then by the Rev. William Green Orrett and Joseph Pilkington Brandreth, M.D.; W. F. Price, ut sup. It should be noted that in 1821 the patron was returned as Charles Standish esquire, at the bishop's visitation.
40	Pope Nich. Tax. (Rec. Com.), 249.
41	Inq. Nonarum (Rec. Com.), 40. The separate township valuations were Worthington with Coppull, 47s. 4d.; Standish with Langtree, 40s.; Shevington, 40s.; Charnock Richard, 40s.; Duxbury with Adlington, 33s. 4d.; Anderton, 21s.; Heath Charnock, 23s.; Welch Whittle, 22s.
42	Valor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), v, 232. The glebe produced £6 6s. 8d., the tithes of corn averaged £34 13s. 4d., other tithes £3 7s., oblations, small tithes and Easter roll £7 6s. 8d.; out of this came the bailiff's fee £5, and the synodals, &c., paid to the Archdeacon of Chester, 17s.
43	Commonw. Ch. Surv. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), 97.
44	Notitia Cestr. ii, 390. Each of the eleven townships at that time chose a sidesman, out of whom the rector nominated one churchwarden and the whole parish the other.
45	Manch. Dioc. Dir.
46	For this 'rector' and his 'vicar' Leising, who died in 1219, see a preceding note.
47	'Sir Edward, rector of Standish,' was witness to a grant of land in Charnock Richard; Kuerden MSS. iii, C 4, no. 4.
48	Richard, 'dean of Standish,' attested some Burscough charters; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxvi, App. 201. He was Dean of Warrington; the 'de Standish' probably implies that he was rector here.
49	Hugh, rector of Standish, attested Shevington and Langtree charters about 1260; Standish deeds (Local Glean. Lancs. and Ches.), no. 362; ibid. (Mrs. Tempest's abstracts of Mr. Standish's deeds), no. 4. William son of Hugh rector of Standish was sued for debt in 1292; Assize R. 408, m. 69, 74.
50	Robert, rector of the church of Standish, was defendant in two suits of 1292; Assize R. 408, m. 92, 101 d. He was rector as early as 1275; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xliv, App. 246. He is named again in 1284; Kuerden MSS. iv, S 21. Maud mother of Robert de Haydock, rector of Standish, is named in one of the Standish deeds (Mrs. Tempest's abstracts, no. 5). Hugh son of Robert de Haydock, rector of Standish, is also mentioned; Kuerden MSS. iii, W 26. Robert de Haydock was still rector in 1294; Cal. Pat. 1292–1301, p. 123. Also in 1298; Lich. Epis. Reg. i, fol. 1.
51	Lich. Epis. Reg. i, fol. 9; he was a priest. He founded a chantry; see Final Conc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), ii, 76, where he is called 'son of John le Waleys.' John le Waleys was lord of Uplitherland and Welch Whittle, and Henry was at one time rector of Aughton. He was a benefactor of Cockersand Abbey, and the canons were bound to provide food and lodging for a poor man for him, and undertook also to set apart one of their number to celebrate daily for Henry for ever; Hornby Chapel deeds. Simon le Waleys son of Henry, rector of Standish, occurs in 1327; Norris deeds (B.M.), no. 423.
52	Lich. Epis. Reg. ii, fol. 113b; a priest. In 1350 licence of absence for a year was granted to William de Burlegh; ibid. fol. 127. The family was a local one; in 1350 William de Blainscough complained that five years earlier William de Burlegh, rector of Standish, William his son and William son of Robert de Burlegh (or Byrlegh) had at a place called Leynschegh taken his house, &c., but a verdict of not guilty was returned; Assize R. 444, m. 14; see also Assize R. 443, m. 7 d. Burlegh was still rector in 1356 (Duchy of Lanc. Assize R. 5, m. 25 d.), but may have resigned soon afterwards; see ibid. 6, m. 5.
53	Lich. Epis. Reg. ii, fol. 135. There had probably been some error in an earlier presentation leading to Gilbert's being presented 'on the resignation of Gilbert de Standish.' One of the Standish deeds (Mrs. Tempest's abstracts, no. 71) shows that Gilbert was rector at the beginning of 1358. This rector had a licence for an oratory in his manor of Holmes; Lich. Epis. Reg. v, fol. 22, 27b. In 1369 the office of penitentiary to absolve the parishioners of Standish until Easter was granted to Brother Edmund de Standish of the Black Friars of Chester; ibid. ii, fol. 22. Sir Ralph de Standish in 1382 calls the rector 'his dearest brother'; Standish deeds (Mrs. Tempest), no. 102. Gilbert de Standish was still rector in 1390 and 1396; Pal. of Lanc. Chan. Misc. bdle. 1, file 2, no. 74; Standish deeds (Local Glean.), no. 80.
54	Lich. Epis. Reg. vi, fol. 61b; in the first tonsure. Soon after institution he had leave to study at Oxford for a year, and was ordained subdeacon in Sept. 1397; ibid. fol. 135, 157. He occurs as rector of Standish from 1398 to 1415; Standish deeds, no. 83, 106.
55	John Spink, rector of Freshwater, became rector of Aughton near Ormskirk in 1418, and held Aughton with Standish till his death in 1424. This rector is probably the 'John Smith' of Kuerden's abstracts.
56	Lich. Epis. Reg. ix, fol. 113b; a clerk. In 1444 Roger Standish, rector of Standish, was 'in mercy for defaults,' and was also attached to answer Nicholas Billinge for maltreating him at Eccleston; Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 6, m. 14. Roger Standish was a feoffee in 1429– 30, but the inquisition made in 1478 does not state whether he was still living; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc.), ii, 104.
57	This rector's name occurs in one of Kuerden's abstracts dated 21 Hen. VI; it is not clear from it that Gilbert was then living.
58	He may have been the Roger presented in 1424, who had been obliged to resign the benefice for a time. Roger appears as rector from 1451–2 onward; Standish deeds, no. 135, &c. Roger Standish, parson of Standish, gave an answer in 1473; Pal. of Lanc. Chan. Rec. Answers. He was also rector of Eccleston.
59	Lich. Epis. Reg. xii, fol. 112b. He founded a chantry.
60	Ibid. fol. 113b. He was perhaps a 'warming pan,' holding the rectory for a year only.
61	Ibid. fol. 115 b; a clerk. He seems to have been connected with the Bishop of Winchester in 1506, when he leased the parsonage to Ralph Standish for £50 a year, the lessee to find a competent priest to minister in the church and to keep the chancel in repair; Standish deeds (ut sup.), no. 193, 197, 225, and Mrs. Tempest's abstracts, no. 193. In 1516 the rector gave to Ralph Standish a release of all actions; Standish deeds, no. 229. By this time the rector had long been incapable, for at an inquiry made in 1521, when the rector was fifty years old or more, it was stated that he had lost his reason about eighteen years before, and had been since 1516 in the keeping of Ralph Standish, the patron of the church. The benefice was worth £60 clear; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. v, no. 35. (The abstract in the Standish deeds, no. 262, gives 'eight' instead of 'eighteen' years.) The Bishop of Lichfield in consequence gave the rectory in charge to the rectors of Sefton and Bury; Standish deeds, no. 263. The rector probably died soon afterwards. One of his leases is dated at Winchester.
62	He is named in Standish deed, no. 267. A return made in 1527 states that Roger Standish had been rector for seven years; he had been nominated by Ralph Standish, and the value of the rectory was £40; Duchy of Lanc. Rentals, bdle. 5, no. 15.
63	Henry Standish, Bishop of St. Asaph, a near kinsman of the lord of Standish, held the rectory about 1535; Valor Eccl. v, 232. He was a Franciscan, and studied at Oxford and Cambridge, being made a bishop in partibus, and then (1518) of St. Asaph. He died 9 July 1535, soon after which the next rector was appointed. See Dict. Nat. Biog.; Cooper's Athen. Cantab. i, 55; Wood's Athen. Oxon. It appears from a dispute in 1534–5 that the bishop, who occasionally resided at Standish rectory, had held the benefice for some years; he had repaired the parsonage house, and given money for 'good works of charity such as making of ways and giving of alms to poor people . . . and in hospitality'; see Duchy Plead. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), ii, 54–9.
64	Lich. Epis. Reg. xiii-xiv, fol. 34b. He was also rector of Eccleston. In 1506 a Peter Bradshaw was rector of Plum stead in Kent. In 1492–3 Sir Peter Bradshaw was allowed to enter in the canon law at the University of Cambridge; Grace Bk. B (Luard Memorial), 38.
65	Lich. Epis. Reg. xiii-xiv, fol. 38b; the patrons, John Aliff and Thomas Standish, presented in virtue of a grant from the king, owing to the minority of Ralph Standish, the patron. From a pleading of 1534 it appears that Richard Standish was the son of a Ralph (son of Lawrence) Standish by Margaret daughter of Alexander Street; he claimed lands in Heath Charnock in right of his mother; Duchy Plead. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), ii, 67. He was a prebendary of St. Asaph, holding the rectory of Llannefydd and other benefices; Valor Eccl. iv, 435. He paid his first-fruits 14 May 1541; Lancs. and Ches. Rec. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), ii, 407. He died at his lodgings near Paternoster Row, London, in 1552; Wood, Athen. Oxon.
66	Paid first-fruits 18 June 1552.
67	Paid first-fruits 15 Sept. 1552. He is probably the William Cliffe, dean of Chester, who died in Dec. 1558. He was rector in 1554. For an account of him see Chesbire Sheaf (Ser. 3), ii, 24, 30, also Dict. Nat. Biog.; Cooper's Athen. Cantab. i, 187.
68	Act Bks. at Chester. Somewhat later Richard Moody, 'chaplain of the church of Standish,' undertook, in case he should be instituted rector, to lease all the tithes to a certain Robert Shaw; Standish deeds, no. 313. The lease was accordingly made, and Robert Shaw, who had no doubt been acting for Edward Standish, at once transferred his interest to the patron; ibid. no. 314. The dates in these abstracts are probably inexact. Richard Moody was acting as curate of Standish as early as 1542; Clergy List (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), 17.
69	Act Bks. at Chester. He paid firstfruits 15 Dec. 1586. William Leigh was of Lancashire birth and educated at Brasenose Coll., Oxf., becoming fellow; M.A. 1578, B.D. 1586. He was tutor to Henry Prince of Wales and chaplain to the Earl of Derby. He was 'a preacher' but not resident at Standish in 1590; S. P. Dom. Eliz. xxxi, no. 47. Soon afterwards he became one of the leading Puritan clergy in Lancashire. In 1598 it was found that the curate at Standish wore the surplice, which was not fit for the rector; Visit. Papers. He published several sermons, including a eulogy of Mrs. Katherine Brettargh of Woolton (1601). At a later time he seems to have consented to wear the surplice while ministering the sacrament, for Nicholas Assheton records that his action caused a quarrel between Assheton's father and his son-in-law; Journal (Chet. Soc.), 87. He is no doubt the 'parson Lee . . . best preacher in the land,' who argued with the Ven. John Thulis at Lancaster, in the endeavour to induce him to renounce his religion and save his life in 1616; Pollen, Acts of Engl. Martyrs, 195. He appears less favourably in the account of the trial of the Ven. Edmund Arrowsmith in 1628, for he sat on the bench as a justice, and after whispering in the judge's ear, 'began to revile the prisoner aloud, declaring what a seducer he was, and that if some order were not taken with him he would make half Lancashire Papists'; Challoner, Miss. Priests, no. 160. In the church the carved oak pulpit which he gave in 1616 commemorates him, and he was a benefactor to the grammar school. For further notices see Dict. Nat. Biog.; Assheton's Diary (Chet. Soc.), 57–8; Stanley Papers (Chet. Soc.), ii, 117, where his will is printed; and there are references in the wills of relatives in Wills (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), 113, 126. For his descendants see the account of Singleton.
70	Act Bks. at Chester. From this time the institutions have been compared with those printed in Lancs. and Ches. Antiq. Notes from the Inst. Bks. P.R.O. John Chadwick paid first-fruits 7 Nov. 1640. His first presentation (by Ralph Standish) was objected to by the bishop, and the king endeavoured to claim the presentation 'by lapse,' Samuel Hinde being instituted 30 Dec. 1639. The claim was not sustained, and Chadwick was presented a second time by 'Robert Wiseman and Edward Harries' (Inst. Bks.). Ralph Standish in 1621 agreed with Charles Chadwick of Woodham Ferris in Essex touching the next presentation to Standish; Standish deeds, no. 343. Rector Chadwick probably died in 1644; an inventory of his goods was filed in 1647 at Chester. For pedigree see Dugdale's Visit. (Chet. Soc.), 74.
71	Some notice of him will be found in the account of Cheetham, near Manchester, also Dict. Nat. Biog. He was a strong Royalist and chaplain to the Earl of Derby. Brideoak was pursuing his claim to the rectory in 1653; his presentation had been confirmed by the Lords Commissioners of the Great Seal and allowed by the Committee of Plundered Ministers, and he had actually entered on possession and preached twice on the Sabbath when during the night one Lathom broke in; Cal. Com. for Comp. iv, 2812.
72	He paid his first-fruits at the same time. He 'came in by the election of the parishioners of Standish that met at Standish the day appointed, and all there present, save one, voted for' him, but the legal right of Brideoak delayed his actual possession for some time, probably from 1645 to 1649, though he signed the 'Harmonious Consent' in 1648 as 'pastor of Standish.' Paul Lathom son of Henry Lathom of Whiston was educated at All Souls' Coll., Oxf.; M.A. 1636; Foster's Alumni. In 1650 he was described as a 'godly, orthodox and painful divine,' who served the cure every Lord's day, but, like other Presbyterians, had not observed the recent fast; Commonw. Ch. Surv. 98, and letter printed in Baines' Lancs. (ed. Croston), iv, 234. He died in 1663.
73	On the Restoration Lathom's institution was of course regarded as null, and Dr. Brideoak obtained possession. He became Dean of Salisbury in 1667 and Bishop of Chichester in 1674, and died in Oct. 1678 holding Standish, which was served by curates.
74	Act Bks. at Chester. The presentation by E. Standish (dated 8 Oct. 1678) appears to have been annulled for simony, but as the king presented the same person 'by lapse' (Pat. 30 Chas. II, pt. v, m. 13) the offence could not have been a grave one. William Haydock of Standish was admitted to St. John's Coll., Camb., as a sizar in 1665; M.A. 1672; St. John's Coll. Admissions, i, 169. He 'beautified' the church by an altar-piece, removed in 1835, and erected a singers' gallery; according to his epitaph it was his strenuous endeavour 'that the doctrines of the catholic faith and the harmony of evangelical truth should resound' through his church. He died, 'equally lamented by his flock and by his widow,' 13 Apr. 1713. His will was proved at Chester.
75	His will was proved at Chester in 1722. For disputes as to the tithes in his incumbency see Dep. Keeper's Rep. xli, App. 561, 596.
76	Educated at Corpus Christi Coll., Camb.; M.A. 1712; and migrated in 1715 to St. John's Coll., of which he was made a fellow; B.D. 1719; Baker, St. John's Coll. (ed. Mayor), i, 302, 304; Admissions St. John's Coll. ii, 218.
77	He was educated at Trin. Coll., Camb., becoming fellow and also Professor of Greek; M.A. 1707, B.D. 1716. He 'mostly resided' in his parish and died at the parsonage-house, 'greatly respected.'
78	He was educated at Trin. Coll., Camb.; M.A. 1732; and was afterwards incorporated at Oxford. He was rector of Aldingham for a few months, having previously served as curate of Standish. He married a sister of the patron.
79	Educated at Christ Church, Oxf.; M.A. 1779. He was the eldest son of the patron. He kept a note book, some interesting extracts from which have been printed. He died at Trafford Hall, near Chester, 31 Oct. 1825; his wife was the daughter of George Edward Gerrard of Trafford. See Trans. Hist. Soc. (new ser.), xxi, 178.
80	Son of William Orrett of Warrington; educated at Brasenose Coll., Oxf.; M.A. 1815; Foster, Alumni. In 1834 the benefice was sequestered for debt.
81	Educated at Christ Church, Oxf.; M.A. 1839, Honorary Canon of Manchester 1855. He had been incumbent of Thornes, Wakefield, from 1838 to 1841.
82	Of Christ Church, Oxf.; M.A. 1881. He had been vicar of Shocklach from 1882 to 1883 and rector of Tilston 1883 to 1885.
83	Of St. John's Coll., Camb.; M.A. 1886.
84	The Clergy List of 1541–2 (p. 17) shows that, apart from the endowed staff, there were two resident priests—the curate and a stipendiary of the widow of Ralph Standish, who just at that time obtained a chantry.
85	Church Goods (Chet. Soc.), 128. Three altars and a 'picture' of St. Wilfrid are mentioned. A Caxton Missal now at Lyme Hall in Cheshire is believed to have belonged to Standish Church; see Pall Mall Mag., Apr. 1897.
86	These details are from the bishop's visitation lists preserved at Chester.
87	The three residents were the curate, one of the old cantarists, and another priest who had also appeared in 1548.
88	Coppull chapel had probably fallen out of use.
89	In 1622 in addition to the rector there was a 'lecturer' at Standish; Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 67. In 1650, however, no minister is named except the rector; nor in the visitation list of 1691 is a curate's name recorded.
90	From Chester Consistory Court records. There was a stone font with a cover. The decent communion table in the chancel was in time of divine service covered with a carpet, and, when the Lord's Supper was administered, with a fair white linen cloth. The books were, Bible, Prayer Book, Homilies and Canons. There were 'two flagons and three communion cups kept for that use and not employed for any other.'
91	Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxii, App. 340. The endowment had been given by Thomas de Burnhull.
92	This altar was at the extreme end of the north aisle, and 'our Lady's chancel' there was afterwards the 'kneeling place' of the Rigbys of Burgh; Wilson, Verses and Notes, 72.
93	John Dicconson of Coppull in 1557 desired to be buried in 'our Lady's chancel'; Church Goods, 129. The foundation deeds are printed in Local Glean. Lancs. and Ches. ii, 185–7. Licence to alienate the lands in mortmain was given by Edward III in 1328, after an inquiry at which it was found that the lands to be assigned were held of Thomas de Langtree by the service of three grains of pepper to Margaret Banastre, who held of the Earl of Lancaster, and that Henry le Waleys had lands in Aughton; Inq. p.m. (a.q.d.), 2 Edw. III (2nd nos.), no. 112; Cal. Pat. 1327–30, p. 230. A fine was levied in 1330, securing the lands to Simon son of Thomas le Waleys, who thus became the first chaplain; see ibid.; Final Conc. ii, 76. In 1332 the founder gave the chaplain stock for the lands—six oxen and four cows, worth 100s. in all—and the beneficiary was bound to render the same or their value to his successors in 'the vicarage'; Standish deeds (Mrs. Tempest), no. 45. Simon le Waleys is perhaps the priest of that name who became vicar of Huyton in 1349. The formal deed founding the chantry is dated 1338. The Standish family acquired (perhaps by lapse) the patronage, and an agreement in 1368 between Adam de Keckwich, chaplain, and Henry de Standish, patron of the church, may refer to this chantry; Standish deeds (Mrs. Tempest's abstract), no. 89. In 1394 Henry de Standish presented Thomas del Lee to the chantry, guaranteeing an annuity of 3 marks; ibid, no. 111. Ten years later Ralph de Standish gave the chantry to Thomas Thorpe, clerk; ibid. (Local Glean.), no. 89. In 1477 there was a dispute between Alexander Standish and Lawrence Langtree as to chantry lands called 'Chapon toft' on Standish moor; ibid. (Mrs. Tempest's abstract), no. 163. In 1491 Nicholas Bibby, then chaplain, received from Sir Alexander Standish and others lands in Welch Whittle, apparently an increment of the chantry endowment, with the obligation of praying for the soul of Roger Standish, lately rector, and supplying thirteen candles a year before the altar of St. Wilfrid; Standish D. no. 187. Thomas Worsley, appointed by Sir Alexander Standish, had in 1527 been chaplain for sixteen years; Duchy of Lanc. Rentals, bdle. 5, no. 15. Roger Lyney was chaplain in 1535; Valor Eccl. v, 232. William Bimson was appointed about June 1541, and remained there until the Suppression, being described in 1548 as 'aged forty-six, a lame and impotent man.' He had a pension of £4 5s. 6d. He was buried at Standish on 23 Jan. 1562–3. See Lancs. and Ches. Rec. ii, 407; Raines, Chantries (Chet. Soc.), ii, 178–80; Church Goods, 129. income was £4 15s.,
94	Raines, Chantries, loc. cit.
95	Standish deeds (Mrs. Tempest), no. 173. The priest was to say mass daily at the altar in the chapel of St. Nicholas for the souls of Mr. Alexander (Fairclough), Mr. Thomas Fairclough, his brother (rector of Walton), their parents, &c. The feoffees included Alexander Standish, Ralph his son and heir, Lawrence Fairclough (called 'esquire'), Ralph his son and heir, and many others, ending with Nicholas Bibby and John Greenhalgh, priests. A change of trustees was made in 1502; ibid. no. 192. St. Nicholas' chapel appears to have been in the north aisle. Robert Pilkington, chaplain, who died in 1498, appears to have augmented the endowment by a rent of 6 marks; Raines, Chantries, ii, 176 note. James Never was the chaplain in 1527, having held the place for eighteen years; Duchy of Lanc. Rentals, 5/15. He was there also in 1535 and 1547; Valor Eccl. v, 232. He probably died in the latter year, as his name does not appear in the visitation list, 1548.
96	Raines, loc. cit.
97	In 1525 Alexander Standish, as executor of James Standish of Arley, inducted Peter Bower to celebrate in the chantry of the Holy Cross in Standish Church, agreeably to the will of the said James; Standish deeds (Local Glean.), no. 281. Peter Bower was still there in 1535 and at the Suppression; Valor Eccl. v, 232; Raines, Chantries, ii, 180. In 1548 he was 72 years of age; he afterwards had a pension of £3, and was buried at Standish 20 Mar. 1556–7; ibid.; Church Goods, p. 129.
98	Raines, loc. cit.
99	Pat. 4 Edw. VI, pt. viii.
100	Ibid. 25 Eliz. pt. i. The lands of St. Nicholas' chantry were among those assigned by Queen Mary to the Savoy Hospital on refounding it; Duchy of Lanc. Misc. Bks. xxiii, 168.
101	William Thompson, rector of Ashton-under-Lyne, in 1553 bequeathed 'to Sir Peter Bower, my schoolmaster at Standish, 40s. and one of my jackets, and a doublet'; Piccope's Wills (Chet. Soc.), i, 92. There was probably no endowment for the school.
102	Gastrell, Notitia, ii, 392; Local Glean. Lancs. and Ches. ii, 112; Charity Report. There are two other small educational endowments in the parish. One of these, founded in 1794 by Mary Smalley, has an income of £46 13s., half of which is spent on clothing seventeen girls in the schools.
103	For the charities existing about 1720 see Gastrell's Notitia, ii, 393, 394. An official report was made in 1826, reprinted in the report of the inquiry of 1899, from which the details in the following notes are taken.
104	Elizabeth widow of Hugh Cooper in 1686 gave £50 to the poor of the parish, and this sum, with £154 derived from the gifts of Elizabeth Lathom, William Lathom, Edward Hatton and Catherine Haydock, was invested in a mortgage of houses, &c., at Scholes in Wigan. The interest used to be divided among the different townships in a fixed proportion, but from 1861 none was paid. In 1894 the property was demolished, and the land has been sold to the Corporation of Wigan, a rent-charge of £12 being payable in respect of the charity fund.
105	The income is derived from cottages and land in the Grove in Standish, Moss o' Lee in Wrightington, &c. Four of the cottages were in 1828 used as a workhouse. The distribution takes place on 26 Dec., about 260 doles of calico and linen being given away.
106	From an unknown donor £60, Thomas Birchall £100, Catherine Haydock £20 (and £50 for poor clergymen's widows) and Mary Smalley £100. These sums were joined together, though Birchall's was a Sunday dole of bread and Smalley's for linen cloth, and the capital is now represented by £240 Great Western 5 per cent. rent-charge stock. The income is £12, of which £1 10s. 9d. belongs to Shevington. Catherine Haydock's gift has been merged in the general Standish charity. The charity is known as the 'Bread and Shift' fund, a gift of bread being made every Sunday after morning service, doles of flannel from time to time, and shifts at Christmas time. An eighth part of Henry Bispham's clothing charity, 1728 (see Wigan), is given to Standish, and under a scheme approved by the Charity Commissioners in 1891 may be distributed in various ways for the sick or distressed. The income varies; the share of Standish in 1898 was £5 14s. Margaret Aspinall in 1759 left £100 for the purchase of linen cloth for the poor of Standish township. The money was used to purchase the Clay Croft in Wigan Woodhouses, which up to 1888 produced a rent of £9 10s. Standish also has £4 from John Threlfall's Shevington charity, given partly in bread and partly in cloth.
107	Lands in Heath Charnock, Adlington, Swinton and Witton were purchased. The total income in 1825 was about £65, but has greatly increased owing to the development of Swinton; half the income of £394 is given to the grammar school at Rivington and the other half to the poor of Heath Charnock and Anderton, distributed according to a scheme made by the Charity Commissioners in 1898. Pensioners are appointed, hospitals assisted and medical assistance provided, and gifts of clothing, coal and money made.
108	For this charity see the account of Croston. To Welch Whittle about a twentieth part is given, distributed in a great variety of ways according to a scheme sanctioned in 1879. Thurston Heskin in 1704 left £20 for the poor, but it had been lost before 1826. Thomas Whalley in 1758 left £5, and 5s. a year was given to a poor person as interest; this has now been lost also.
109	The tenement was sold in 1883 and the proceeds invested in £1,144 consols. A third of the net income is given to Anderton and two-thirds to Coppull; it is distributed in April or May in money doles.
110	It is a share of William Frith's Chorley charity, amounting to 13s. 4d., and is distributed by the priest at Weld Bank; 3s. 4d. is applicable for clothing a poor boy or girl. John Abbott in 1731 left £50 in trust, 24s. a year of 50s. interest to be given to poor housekeepers. This fund has long been lost.
111	From William Frith's charity £1 is received. Richard Hoghton in 1687 left £1 for linen cloth, but this had been lost before 1826. Robert Charnock in 1695 left 2 acres (7½ yds. to the pole), called Mossy Close, now yielding £7 a year, for the purchase of woollen cloth for the poor. For a like purpose Elizabeth Lathom in 1703 left the residue of her personal estate—one moiety for Charnock Richard and the other for Standish-with-Langtree (now part of the general fund). The Charnock moiety was combined with smaller gifts by Richard Rigby (1768) and—Charnock(c.1800), and invested in consols; 26s. 8d. is received yearly. James Charnock's gift of £3 in 1703 now produces £4 17s. 4d.
112	An annual sum of 17s. 8d. was distributed in money doles by Thomas Hollsworth (1703) for cloth and Mr. Haydock. Heath Charnock benefits from the Shaw charity, as already stated.
113	For particulars see the account of Chorley. The income is distributed in money doles in accordance with a scheme made in 1883.
114	John Charnley in 1712 gave £30 and Lady Standish in 1780 gave £20 for the poor; the capital is represented by rent-charges of 30s. and 20s. on the Duxbury Hall estate, and these sums are distributed along with Mason's charity.
115	John Threlfall in 1784 gave £200, charged on a farm called Sharrock's in Blackrod, for the benefit of the poor of Standish and Shevington. The capital was afterwards invested in Mersey Dock bonds, and produces £8 a year, of which half, the Shevington share, is distributed in a weekly bread dole at Shevington Church and in cloth distributed with the other charities. Edward Aspinall in 1748 bequeathed £100 for linen cloth for the poor. The money was invested in closes of land called Crowdhurst and Stony Riding in Eccleston. The gross income is now £9. Mrs. Jane Holt before 1720 left £60 (see Gastrell), afterwards increased to £70, for woollen cloth for the poor. The fund is now invested in consols, and produces £1 13s. 8d. a year. An annuity of £7 was in 1826 paid from the estate called Crook, but nothing was then known of its origin or obligation, and it has long ceased to be paid. As mentioned above, Shevington has a share of Edward Birchall's charity. The net income of the various charities is nearly £13, distributed in doles of cloth in January.
116	See End. Char. Rep. (Standish, 1899), 40–3; the almshouses at that time were not ready for occupation.