WHALLEY
Clitheroe; Chatburn; Worston; Mearley; Bowland With Leagram; Whalley; Mitton, Henthorn And Coldcoats; Pendleton With Pendleton Hall, Standen And Standen Hey; Wiswell; Church; Oswaldtwistle; Huncoat; Altham; Clayton-Le-Moors; Old Accrington; New Accrington; Haslingden; Higher Booths; Lower Booths; Henheads; Newchurch; Burnley; Habergham Eaves; Briercliffe With Extwistle; Worsthorne With Hurstwood; Cliviger; Ightenhill Park; Reedley Hallows, Filly Close And New Laund Booth; Padiham; Simonstone; Read; Hapton; Higham With West Close Booth; Heyhouses; Dunnockshaw; Goldshaw Booth; Barley With WheatleyBooth; Rough Lee Booth; Wheatley Carr Booth; Old Laund Booth; Colne; Marsden; Barrowford Booth; Foulridge; Trawden; Downham; Twiston
Index Map of Whalley Parish.
The ancient parish of Whalley had an area of
106, 395 acres, of which a small part lay in Yorkshire,
as Bowland Forest. In Lancashire there were three
considerable forest districts, Pendle, Trawden and
Rossendale, all belonging to the honor of Clitheroe.
Of the ancient history there is little to be said beyond
what is connected with Clitheroe and the abbey of
Whalley. There are a few prehistoric remains and
traces of Roman roads from Ribchester through
Clitheroe north-east and through Burnley southeast.
The sculptured crosses at Whalley and Burnley
may point to English conquest during the 7th century, soon followed by conversion to Christianity
and the erection of churches at those places. The
first occurrence of the district in written history is in
798, when during Lent on 2 April a great battle was
fought at Whalley in Northumbria, Alric son of
Heardbert being slain and many more with him. (fn. 1)
Before the Conquest Whalley was the ecclesiastical
head of the district, its church having a liberal endowment, and this superiority may have dated from
the labours of the first missionaries. The 14thcentury tradition that the original parish extended
across the Ribble is probably erroneous, for the later
ecclesiastical boundaries of that district agree with
Domesday Book in attaching it to Amounderness and
York; and the connexion of Bowland and Leagram
with Whalley parish, or rather with Clitheroe Chapel,
is obviously artificial, being due to the secular lordship of the Lacys and their successors.
The chief centres of population in the earlier
period are probably marked by the most ancient of
the chapelries, Whalley, Clitheroe, Burnley and
Colne; by 1296 Altham, Downham, Church and
Haslingden had been added. A record of the
boundaries in the time of Edward III has been preserved. (fn. 2) The numerous booths or vaccaries within
the so-called forests ceased to be put to farm in
1507, when they were demised to the occupiers to
hold by copy of court roll. As a result new villages
sprang up at Goodshaw and elsewhere.
The district round Clitheroe was very disaffected
to the religious changes made by Henry VIII, and
the opposition called the Pilgrimage of Grace obtained considerable support. The Earl of Derby, in
command of the county force, was at Whalley in
November 1536 and wrote that he did not trust the
people of the shire on the borders of Lancashire and
Yorkshire, near Whalley and Sawley. (fn. 3) One of the
proclamations of the Pilgrimage forbade aid to be
given to the earl or to anyone not sworn for the
Commonwealth and ordered all of sixteen years of age
to be on Clitheroe Moor on the Monday after
SS. Simon and Jude's Day (30 October). (fn. 4) A Chorley
witness deposed that he had been told by adherents
that 'the Commons were between that place and
Whalley.' (fn. 5) The fate of the Abbot of Whalley for
alleged assistance to the movement has been told
elsewhere. (fn. 6)
The changes brought about by the destruction of
Whalley Abbey and the Reformation are illustrated in
the detailed accounts of the townships given below.
Owing largely to the absence of feudal influences,
the district appears to have become Puritan and in
the Civil War sided against the king, the Nowells of
Read forming the noteworthy exception. The Presbyterian Classis in 1646 was formed for the whole
hundred, but half of the ministers and most of the lay
members belonged to Whalley parish. After the
Restoration Nonconformity appears, Independents,
Baptists and Quakers being known, and in parts
influential. The Revolution and the Jacobite insurrections do not seem to have caused any stir in the
parish, but a great change has been wrought by the
introduction of the cotton manufacture in the middle
of the 18th century. One of the chief agents in its
success was the inventor James Hargreaves, a native of
Oswaldtwistle. A great part of the district is now
occupied with the trade; Burnley and Accrington
have become large towns, while entirely new towns
have been created in Rawtenstall and Nelson.
Church
The church of ST. MARY (fn. 7) stands on
the west side of the town, a short distance to the north-east of the abbey ruins,
and consists of a chancel with north vestry, nave with
north and south aisles, south porch, and west tower.
Although a church probably stood on the present
site in Saxon times and was followed by a later 12thcentury building, evidences of which are found in
various fragments still preserved and in the doorway
of the south aisle, the history of the present building
begins in the 13th century, to which period the
greater part of it still belongs. The south doorway,
belonging to the older building, is not in its original
position, the jambs and arch may possibly not belong
to each other; but it conclusively shows that the
12th-century church was a stone building of some
importance. This is in accordance with the tradition that the old name of the place was 'White
Church under Lea,' a 'white church' being one
of stone. The whole, however, was rebuilt during
the 13th century. The 12th-century church most
likely consisted of a chancel and aisleless nave, and
the new chancel would be built round the old
one in the usual manner, after which the rebuilding
of the nave would be proceeded with, an aisle being
added first on one side and then on the other. There
is enough difference of detail between the two
arcades to show that one was done before the other,
and probably that on the north side, which has
circular piers, was built first, but of this there is no
definite evidence. The building then assumed
more or less of its present aspect with chancel and
small north vestry, nave and aisles, and probably a
clearstory. The bells would in all likelihood be
hung in a turret over the west gable and there would
probably be a large west window. The church as
then completed seems to have stood without alteration till the latter half of the 15th century, when the
triple lancet east window of the chancel was done
away with and a new traceried window better suited
to the display of painted glass was substituted. The
aisles were at the same time transformed by the insertion of new windows all round, the roofs probably
renewed and perhaps the walls raised, but there is no
evidence in the masonry that the walls were entirely
rebuilt, the character of the rubble walling rendering
a positive pronouncement difficult. In any rebuilding, however, the old stones would doubtless be
used again. The ground plan of the church therefore remained unchanged except at the west end,
where a tower was added and the building assumed
externally its present aspect. When the tower was
built a new roof appears to have been put over the
nave and the clearstory altered as the aisles had been.
That the clearstory is not altogether an addition of
the 15th century there seems to be proof in the
mark of an earlier roof above the present one on
the east face of the tower. The existing clearstory
windows and the nave roof were evidently part of
one work, and the roof has ruled the spacing of the
windows, not the windows the setting out of the
roof, and both of them are so nearly of the same
date as the tower that it is impossible to suppose any
earlier roof can have been put there after the tower
was built unless it had chanced to be destroyed by
fire as soon as it was built, of which there must have
been some evidence. (fn. 8) The probability is that when
the tower was built the 13th-century clearstory and
roof still stood over the nave and the junction between them was made good in the usual way. After
that it was determined to have a new roof and to
alter the clearstory, the reason being that the early
windows would be small—perhaps only round holes
—and larger ones would be required for the sake
of light after the building of the tower had taken
away the direct light which formerly came from the
west window. It is possible however that the clearstory may have been wholly rebuilt, though an
examination of the walls would probably bring to
light evidence of work older than the 15th century.
The church is therefore still in substance and
plan that which was built in the 13th century with
some alterations and the addition of a west tower
made in early Tudor times. Since then the vestry
has been enlarged, probably about the end of the
18th or beginning of the last century, and a south
porch added in 1844, when a general internal refitting
of the building took place. The chancel was restored
in 1866, and in 1868 the old timber roof was laid
open and repaired. (fn. 9) A great deal of alteration had
taken place, however, in the interior during the
17th or 18th centuries, when galleries were erected
and new seating introduced. A further restoration
took place in 1909, when the north and south
galleries were removed, the west gallery reconstructed,
a north porch erected, the seating partly rearranged,
and the tower arch opened out.
The chancel, the architectural detail of which is
very good, is faced with rough rubble masonry both
inside and out, the interior plaster having been
stripped from the walls during one of the restorations. Its internal dimensions are 51 ft. 6 in. long
by 24 ft. 6 in. wide and 33 ft. in height to the ridge
of the roof. It is divided into three unequal bays
externally on the south side by wide but slightly projecting buttresses with gabled heads, and has a stone
slated roof with overhanging eaves. There are five
lancet windows and a doorway on the south side and
three similar windows in the western half of the
north wall, the eastern end being occupied by the
vestry. A string course runs round the chancel both
inside and out at the level of the sills of the windows,
being carried externally round the buttresses. The
window openings are 18 in. wide, splaying out internally to 4 ft. 9 in., with a depth of 2 ft. 9 in. and
with inner arches springing from corbels. The external label mould is carried along the wall as a
string course at the line of the springing. The east
window is of five lights with tracery under a pointed
head and external hood mould, the mullions and tracery
being apparently the original 15th-century work.
The glass on which are painted the shields of arms of
families and persons connected with the church was
inserted in 1816. The sedilia are original under
the second window from the east and now outside
the sacrarium. They are triple, with pointed chamfered arches springing from circular shafts with
moulded caps and bases, the whole under a square
head. A stone slab ornamented with an incised
cross and probably belonging to the earlier church
forms part of the seats. The piscina and credence
table are under the first window from the east, the
bowl of the former being set at one side of a
square opening 21 in. wide, the top of which is
formed by the moulded string below the sill of the
window. The credence has a trefoiled head with
chamfered arrises and jambs. The south doorway
is situated between the fourth and fifth windows from
the east end and has a pointed chamfered arch
springing from impost mouldings and with label
over. The door is the original one of oak with very
good iron scroll hinges and has what appears to have
been a knocker. The knocker itself is wanting, but
the head, probably a representation of the head of
our Lord, remains.
The first 12 ft. of the north wall from the east is
now occupied by a recess containing the monument
to Dr. T. D. Whitaker, and immediately to the west
of this is the doorway to the vestry with shoulder
arched head. There has been a good deal of reconstruction of the wall and doorway where the Whitaker
monument was erected and the vestry, which is of
course modern, has no points of antiquarian interest,
though its walls may incorporate some of the masonry
of an older and smaller vestry on the same site.
Plan of Whalley Church
The chancel roof is divided into five bays by six
curved principals, one against each wall, and is probably substantially the old one, though restored and
decorated and boarded between the spars. The
original 13th-century appearance of the chancel, however, has been almost entirely lost, owing not only to
the complete restoration of 1866, from which time
the present arrangement of the sanctuary and stalls
dates, but to the introduction of the stalls themselves,
whose high canopies effectively hide any interior
view of the lancet windows. The stalls are said to
have come from Whalley Abbey Church and very
probably did so, but there seems to be no record
remaining of their being placed here. (fn. 10) They are
now twenty-two in number, but were unfortunately
taken to pieces and very much altered and mixed up
with modern work in 1866. When Sir Stephen
Glynne visited the church in 1859 he found the
stalls 'not placed quite at the extreme west of the
chancel' and returned at that end. (fn. 11) In the restoration, however, this arrangement, which was probably
of the 17th rather than the 16th century, (fn. 12) was
altered to that at present existing, with twelve stalls
on the north side and ten on the south, the difference
being occasioned by the interruption of the passageway to the south door. In the restoration a very
lavish renewal of the old work was made, greatly to
the prejudice of the value of the stalls as historical
works of art. They remain, however, a very interesting and beautiful piece of work with elegant canopies
carried on slender shafts and a series of misericorde
carvings of more than ordinary interest. From the
initials W.W. on the 'abbot's stall' it may be assumed
that the work dates from the time of William Whalley,
who was abbot from 1418 to 1434. The subjects of
the misericorde carvings, reading from east to west,
are as follows on the north side: (1, 2 and 3)
flowers, modern; (4) man and two dogs pursuing
animal with bird in mouth; (5) St. George and the
Dragon; (6) two eagles tearing intestines of lamb;
(7) prior's stall: satyr and woman, with inscription
'Penses molt et p(ar)les pou'; (8 and 9) foliage;
(10) the Holy Trinity (three faces to one head); (11)
oak, with sprays of flowers, and mouse; (12) warrior,
with sword and buckler thrown down, kneeling before
his wife, who is beating him with a frying-pan. On
the south side: (1) angel, modern; (2) flying dragon
carrying in its claws a swaddled infant; (3) shoeing
the goose, with the inscription 'Who so melles hĠ of
yt al mē dos let hĠ cū heir & shoe ye ghos'; (4)
abbot's stall, vine and grapes with initials W.W. at
either side and inscription 'Semp. gaudentes sint ista
sede sedentes'; (5) face with plant growing out of
mouth; (6) angel; (7) king's head, with scroll held
by griffins; (8) pelican feeding young with its blood;
(9) pomegranates between two sharp-beaked birds;
(10) lion and winged dragon. The seats and book
desks in front of the stalls are modern, as is the reredos,
which extends the length of the east wall, but the
altar piece, a picture of Christ in the garden, painted
by James Northcote, was placed here in 1816. It
was formerly in a gilt frame. Suspended from the
chancel roof is a good brass 18th-century chandelier.
The bishop's throne was erected in 1909.
The chancel arch is of two rounded orders, the
inner one with fillet on the face springing from
moulded imposts. The arch is set back from the face
of the responds beneath, the wall diminishing in
thickness above the imposts; the responds consist of a
half-round attached shaft with fillet on the face.
The nave is 72 ft. long by 24 ft. wide and consists
of four bays with north and south arcades of pointed
arches of two chamfered orders and hood moulds
over. The north arcade has circular columns 2 ft. 2 in.
in diameter and half-round responds with fillet on the
face, all with moulded caps and bases, 9 ft. 6 in. high
to the springing of the arches. The south arcade has
similar responds, but the piers are octagonal with
moulded caps and bases. The walls above the arcade
are plastered and the clearstory has four square-headed
windows of two cinquefoiled lights on each side.
The north aisle, which is 9 ft. 6 in. wide, has
three square-headed windows, the easternmost of
which is modern, with a three-light pointed window
at the east and one of two lights at the west end, and
two dormer windows have been inserted in the roof
in modern times. The east end of the aisle is
occupied by the former chantry chapel of St. Nicholas
inclosed by a 15th-century screen and retaining on
its south side what appear to be the remains of a
piscina, a shallow recess in the wall 8 in. wide and
only 4 in. deep under a pointed head, but without
bowl or drain. In the wall above are traces of the
door giving access to the rood loft. (fn. 13) On the east
wall placed in an upright position is the ancient altar
stone, the five crosses on which are perfect, which
was discovered buried beneath the floor when
the chantry was repaired. (fn. 14) The chapel is now
furnished with chairs, but was previously filled with
square pews. The north doorway, to which a
wooden porch was added in 1909, is small and plain
with continuous moulded jambs and pointed head,
the principal entrance to the church being by the
south doorway, which, as already stated, is a late
12th-century fragment from the former building.
It has a pointed arch of three orders, the two outer
ones chamfered and the middle one moulded,
springing from imposts and late Norman caps. The
shafts and bases, however, are gone, though it is
possible the latter may be covered up. The porch
was added about 1844, (fn. 15) and is of stone with pointed
arch and gable. The south aisle is 8 ft. 6 in. wide
and lit by three square-headed three-light windows,
a modern three-light pointed window at the east end,
and a window of two lights with four-centred head
at the west, the mullions and tracery of which are
new. The east end of the aisle is occupied by the
former chantry of St. Mary inclosed by a 15thcentury screen and now filled with square pews,
but preserving its piscina, which has an ogee-shaped
head, in the south wall. Externally the nave is
architecturally uninteresting. The roof and those of
the aisles have overhanging eaves and are covered
with stone slates, and the walling as in the rest of the
building is of rough rubble with angle quoins.
The tower, which is 12 ft. square inside and 70 ft.
high, is very plain in detail, the stages being
externally unmarked. On the north and south sides
the walls are blank to the height of the belfry
windows except for a small square-headed opening to
the bell-ringing stage. There is a projecting vice in
the south-east corner and square buttresses of eight
stages finishing at a little more than half the total
height. The belfry windows are of two trefoiled
lights with tracery and hood moulds, splayed jambs
and stone louvres. On the east side facing the town
is a clock, the dial of which is partly in front of the
belfry window. The tower terminates in an embattled parapet above a string course, and there
is a good weathervane over the vice. The west
door has a pointed arch and jambs of two hollowchamfered orders, with hood mould and a three-light
pointed traceried window above with trefoiled heads
to the lights, chamfered jambs and head and hood
mould over. The tower arch is 10 ft. wide and of
two chamfered orders, but is almost entirely hidden
towards the nave by the organ. On the east wall of
the tower, as already mentioned, is the line of a former
roof of slightly higher pitch above the present one.
Apart from the 13th-century detail of the chancel
and other parts of the building, the chief interest of
the church lies in its woodwork and ancient furniture
of many dates and styles. The quire stalls have
already been described, but in addition to these,
which are not really part of the original furniture of
the church, there is other 15th-century woodwork in
the chancel screen, the screens to the chantry chapels,
and in the so-called 'mediaeval pew.' The chancel
screen is a 15th-century rood screen of great value,
and though there have been large renewals impairing
to some extent the authenticity of the original work,
enough remains to make it still of great interest. It
appears to have been shortened at the bottom at the
time of its restoration in 1864. (fn. 16) The screen has
seven openings, each with cusped arches in the head,
two to the middle wider opening, which is without
doors. It once carried a loft which must have been
of considerable size, as there was an altar in it. (fn. 17) The
screens to the chantry chapels are of less interest, but,
though much patched, retain a good deal of original
work.
Although there are many scattered fragments there
does not appear to be any pew work in place so old
as the award of places by Sir John Towneley, of
which Whitaker preserves the story, assigning it to
the year 1534, but the four places allotted by him
are still occupied by four very noteworthy pews. (fn. 18)
The easternmost on the south side of the nave adjoining the reading desk, known as the 'mediaeval pew,'
is a small low, irregularly shaped inclosure with oak
door, the greater part of the work of which is
mediaeval, but probably made up and added to in
the 17th century. Whether it is in its original
position or was only placed where it now stands at
the time it was altered is uncertain. The date
1610, which occurs on the next pew to the west,
probably gives the date of both, and the more ancient
work which each contains probably once formed part
of the former St. Anton's 'cage,' for which this is
the most likely site. (fn. 19) The pew to the west of this,
called 'St. Anton's cage,' is an extremely interesting
piece of work measuring 9 ft. square. It is of many
dates, several being recorded in the inscriptions, and
its curious and highly ornamented Renaissance
inclosing screen which is dated 1697 is a singularly late example of a 'cage.' (fn. 20) The pew
formerly belonged to the manor of Read, and the
first inscription, in Gothic characters, is 'Factum
est per Rogerum Nowell, armigerum anno dm
MoCCCCCoXXXoIIII.' This inscription is on the
eastern side and taken in conjunction with Sir John
Towneley's decision seems to imply that the original
pew was made in accordance with it. (fn. 21) On the
western side is another similar inscription, probably
indicating an enlargement, 'Factum per Rogerum
Nowell arm. MoCCCCCCoX.' On a carved panel
on the north side is the date 1697 with the initials
R.N.R. (Roger Nowell, Read), which is no doubt
the year when the elaborate upper portion with its
carved Renaissance top panels and cornice was
added. The 'cage' has been a fruitful source of
contention, originating in the dispute about sittings
in 1534 which Sir John Towneley was called upon
to decide, (fn. 22) and as late as 1800 the owners of Read
and Moreton Halls quarrelling as to the ownership,
recourse was had to law, when it was decided that
the pew be divided into two portions. The division
still remains and the two doors by which the cage is
entered on the north side bear the initials I.F.R.
(John Fort, Read) and I.T.M. (John Taylor,
Moreton) and the date 1830.
Opposite 'St. Anton's cage' on the north side of
the nave is the low 'Starkie pew' measuring 6 ft. 4 in.
by 5 ft., a very fine example of Renaissance carving
dated 1702, and with the initials W.R.S. Till
1909 it was closed in on the north and west sides by
other pews, and much of its elaborate detail was thus
lost. It now stands free, and a smaller pew, which
stood immediately to the west and had a handsomely
carved front dated 1644, has been removed. (fn. 23) It
bore a small brass plate with the arms of Whitaker
and the inscription 'Vicar's pew 1842,' but the
real vicar's pew is at the west end of the south aisle.
There were also till 1909 four other square pews
of later date and less interest on the north side of
the nave, the first of which had a small portion of
the upper part carved, the second was known as the
churching pew, and the third had a brass plate
recording that it belonged to the Whalleys of Clerk
Hill. Some original old oak benches remain on the
south side of the nave, the foremost of which, the
seat appropriated to the use of the inmates of the
almshouses, has at one end the arms of Adam
Cottam and the words 'Alms Houses.' There
were formerly a variety of small brass plates attached
to the pews throughout the church with the names
and dates of the proprietors, most of them belonging
to the first half of the 19th but a few to the end of
the 18th century. The nave and aisles were uniformly seated in 1909.
The churchwardens' pew formerly stood near the
south door, but was removed to its present position
under the gallery in the south-west corner of the
nave about 1898. It measures 7 ft. 3 in. by 5 ft.
and contains eight sittings assigned to the churchwardens who represented the eight townships chargeable with the repairs of the fabric. The pew is
dated 1690 and on the panel behind each seat inside
are the name of the township and the initials of the
churchwardens at the time the pew was constructed. (fn. 24)
The initials are repeated on two shields on the
exterior. The churchwardens' staves of office are
still attached to the seats.
At the west end of the north aisle, but at one time
close to the churchwardens' pew, is the constable's
seat, a pew measuring 5 ft. by 4 ft. 3 in., dated 1714.
It was removed to its present position in 1909 from
the west side of the south doorway, where it had
stood since a previous removal.
The font stands on two raised steps in its original
position, to the west of the third pier of the south
arcade, near the south entrance. It is of yellow gritstone, octagonal in form, and probably of late 15th
or early 16th-century date. The sides are plain, but
have an embattled moulding at the bottom. There
is a flat hinged wooden cover probably of 17thcentury date, but it seems to be of the old form, as
shown by the marks on the west side of the bowl,
indicating a lock by which the cover was fastened
down. (fn. 25)
At the west end of the north aisle, near the gallery
staircase, is a small stone font, which was formerly at
Wiswell Hall and was brought here for preservation
when the hall was pulled down in 1895.
The pulpit is modern.
The north and south galleries, removed in 1909,
and the old west gallery were all works of the first
half of the 19th century, but apparently a make-up
from old materials, the best work in them being a
panelled oak front and two staircases, which appeared
to be of considerably older workmanship. (fn. 26) 'These
parts may have belonged to an 18th-century western
gallery in use before the organ was introduced, or
they may have been brought with the organ from
Lancaster.' (fn. 27) The west gallery, which was erected
in 1812 to receive the organ, is 20 ft. in width, the
front being in line with the third piers of the nave
from the east. Since 1909 it has stood free at the
ends within the line of the nave. The side galleries
were carried in front of the piers, that on the north
side, however, only occupying one bay of the nave
beyond the west gallery, while that on the south
occupied two, being in reality two separate galleries
erected by the owners of Read and Moreton Halls,
with separate staircases from the south aisle. The
west gallery front is quite plain, and has the royal
arms of George III on a painted board. The side
galleries had good panelled fronts with classic entablature and cornice.
The organ was designed and built for Lancaster
Church in 1729, where it remained till 1813, when
it was presented to Whalley Church by Adam
Cottam. It was improved in 1829 and again in
1865. The case is the original 18th-century one,
and is a design of much merit.
The ancient monuments in the church are not
numerous. The oldest is a grave slab, now used as a
hearth in the vestry. It has a border of foliage and
a mutilated inscription which has been deciphered as
'Qui me plasmasti tu . . . op sit ut exclusate.' (fn. 28)
In the north aisle, close to St. Nicholas chantry, is
the reputed gravestone of John Paslew, last Abbot of
Whalley. It is a flat stone slab with an incised
cross, the arms and head of which terminate in
fleurs de lis, the intersection marked by a pointed
quatrefoil. At the foot the initial I remains, but
another letter has been obliterated. On either side
the cross is the inscription 'I.H.S. fili Dei miserere
mei,' and an incised chalice. The slab is now set
up against the wall. At the west end of the south
aisle is a stone marking the grave of Christopher
Smith, last Prior of Whalley, who died in 1539. It
bears his initials, X.S., with a cross fleury, chalice and
paten.
Attached to the eastern respond of the north
arcade in the St. Nicholas chantry is a small brass to
the memory of Ralph Catterall, who died in 1515.
It bears the figures of Catterall and his wife, the man
in armour of the early Tudor period, kneeling at a
prayer desk with nine sons behind him, and facing his
wife, who kneels at another desk with eleven daughters.
The inscription reads: 'Of yr charitie pray for the
sowllys of Ralfe Catterall esquire, and Elizabeth, hys
wyfe, whyche bodies lyeth Before this Pellor and for
all ther Chylder sowlys whyche Rafe decesyd the
xxvi day of deceber ye yere of our Lord God
MoCCCCCoXVo, on whose sowlys Jhu. have mercy
Amen.' (fn. 29) On the south wall of the south aisle is a
brass to John Stonhewer of Barleyford, co. Chester,
who died in 1653, and his wife Jane, with rhyming
inscription; and in the north aisle, attached to the
third pillar, is a brass to Richard Waddington of
Bashall Eaves, who died in 1671, with a long Latin
inscription. At the east end of the north aisle, in
St. Nicholas chantry, is a stone monument to Thomas
son of Thomas Braddyll, who died in 1672, aged
ten, and further west a marble monument to various
members of the family of Bradhull (or Braddyll) of
Brockhall (1672–1748). Over the altar, but now
hidden, is a brass with a Latin inscription to Stephen
Gey (vicar 1663–93); and in addition to the monument to Dr. T. D. Whitaker, already mentioned,
which consists of a recumbent figure, the chancel
contains mural monuments to the Rev. Robert
Nowell Whitaker (vicar 1840–81), Eliza wife of
James Whalley of Clerk Hill (d. 1785), Sir James
Whalley Smythe Gardiner, bart. (d. 1805), Alice
Cottam (d. 1819), Thomas Brookes (d. 1831), and
William Whalley Smythe Gardiner of Clerk Hill
(d. 1860) and Eliza first wife of James Whalley. In
the nave, high up on the south wall, is an 18thcentury classic stone monument to members of the
Walsham family (1783–93), and on a pier to the
south side a small stone tablet to Robert Hayhurst of
Parkhead, who died in 1767. In St. Nicholas
chantry is a brass to the Rev. Richard Noble, vicar
1822–40.
There is no ancient glass, but notes of four
early 16th-century windows with the arms of
Towneley, Nowell, Paslew and Catterall have been
preserved. (fn. 30)
In a glazed oak case at the west end of the
north aisle are three chained books: Jewell's Apology,
printed in 1611 by John Norton, Foxe's Actes and
Monuments (ed. 9, 1684), and the Book of Homilies,
1593.
There is a ring of six bells, by C. & G. Mears,
1855. These, however, were a recasting of six bells
cast in 1741 by Edward Seller of York, out of four
previously existing. From the inscriptions on the
18th-century peal, which have been preserved, it
appears that one of the bells had been recast in 1823
by Thomas Mears, but all were injured by a fire in
the tower in 1855 and recast the same year. (fn. 31) There
is also in the belfry, though not included in the peal,
an old Flemish bell, which was brought from Church
Kirk about 1866, (fn. 32) with ornament and inscription,
'MARIA BEN IC VAN PETER VANDEN OHEIN GHEGOTEN
INT IAER MCCCCCXXXVII.' (fn. 33)
The plate is all modern, and consists of an embossed flagon of 1828–9, 'The gift of Adam Cottam
1829,' and a set of two chalices, two patens, a credence paten and a flagon, presented in 1883 by Mr.
Richard Thompson. Two chalices, 'The gift of James
Whalley, esq., to the Parish Church of Whalley 1787,'
and a paten of 1810 are now at St. Luke's Mission
Church, Barrow. Five 17th-century pieces, of which
a record remains, have unfortunately disappeared. (fn. 34)
The registers begin in 1538, and have the appearance of having been uniformly copied at one time
either from an older register or from slips of parchment till about the middle of February 1600–1, after
which date entries were made as they occurred. The
first volume (1538–1601) has been printed by the
Lancashire Parish Register Society. (fn. 35)
The churchyard is inclosed by a stone wall and iron
railings, and has entrances on the north, east and
west sides, the stone gateways of which were erected
by Adam Cottam, (fn. 36) who died in 1838. Previous
to this inclosure, the first steps towards which were
made in 1818, it appears to have been open or surrounded at certain points by cottages. To the southwest of the tower was a building called The Hermitage,
no vestige of which now exists, and the churchyard
was traversed by three pathways, which were stopped
as rights of way when the inclosure was made. There
was an enlargement on the south side in 1871.
In the churchyard are some objects of great antiquarian interest, the chief being the three pre-Norman
sculptured crosses standing on the south side of the
church. They have been already described. (fn. 37) To
the north of the tower is a sepulchral slab 6 ft. 6 in.
long with an incised floreated cross of eight arms within
a circle, on the south side a stone 7 ft. long with an
incised four-armed cross. There are also a number
of fragments of similar ancient stonework. In the
angle between the south aisle and the tower is a stone
coffin. The sundial, which stands on three square
stone steps, is dated 1757. The oldest dated gravestone is of 1600. An early 19th-century stone records
the death of a woman on 31 April, and an inscription to the memory of 'the principal innkeeper of
the town,' who died in 1813, records that 'notwithstanding the temptations of that dangerous calling, he
maintained good order in his house, kept the Sabbath
Day holy, frequented the public worship with his
family, induced his guests to do the same, and regularly
partook of the Holy Communion.'
Advowson
In 1066 the church of Whalley
had two plough-lands as an endowment, corresponding to the later
township and manor of Whalley. (fn. 38) As at Blackburn
the rectors, though presented by the lord of Blackburnshire, are related to have held by hereditary
right. They were called deans; it is not said that they
had any sort of ordination, but they could not have
been in holy orders, for they sent priests to the bishop
to be licensed to serve the cure. (fn. 39) The succession
Robert, Henry (d. 1183), William, Geoffrey, Geoffrey,
and Roger seems to be proved, though the kinship is
not in each case known. (fn. 40) How long this system
had continued is unknown, but it was stopped by
the action of Innocent III in directing due observance of a canon of the Lateran Council of 1139. (fn. 41)
Roger, the last of these deans, lived in continence
and was ordained priest; wishing to please his kinsman, John de Lacy, lord of Clitheroe, he resigned his
whole right in rectory and advowson to him, retaining the pastoral charge and a share of the revenue
under the name of a vicarage. (fn. 42) John de Lacy then
in 1235 presented his clerk, Peter de Chester, to the
rectory. (fn. 43) This was no doubt done to record the
title. In 1249, after Roger's death, Peter, who
was provost of Beverley and had other benefices, reunited the vicarage with the rectory, thus enjoying the
whole revenue. (fn. 44)
Henry de Lacy in 1284 gave the advowson of the
church to the monks of Stanlaw, (fn. 45) and after Peter de
Chester's death in 1294 the rectory was appropriated
to them, (fn. 46) and they removed from their old house to
Whalley, founding the great abbey which came to an
abrupt end through the Pilgrimage of Grace in
1536. (fn. 47) The monks of Pontefract about 1300 put
forward a claim to the church of Whalley on the
ground of a donation to them by Hugh de la Val
about 1121, a donation which was not confirmed
by the Lacys when they regained possession. (fn. 48) In
1291 the value of the rectory was £66 13s. 4d., (fn. 49)
and in 1341 the value of the ninth of sheaves, &c.,
was £68 7s. 10d. (fn. 50) In 1535 the rectory was valued
at £91 6s. 8d. a year. (fn. 51) It remained in the hands
of the Crown after the Suppression, (fn. 52) until in 1547
it was granted by exchange to the Archbishop of
Canterbury. (fn. 53) From that time it was held by the
archbishops until 1799, when it was sold to the
farmers of the rectory, the advowson of the vicarage
being reserved. (fn. 54) In 1846 the advowson also was
sold, the Hulme Trustees purchasing it, (fn. 55) so that the
recent vicars have been presented by them.
The first 'vicarage' was, as already stated, reunited
to the rectory in 1249. The second was ordained in
1298 by the Bishop of Lichfield (fn. 56) ; the vicar was to
have a dwelling house and 30 acres of land with
various easements; also altarage. (fn. 57) This was changed
in 1331 by a new ordination, whereby the vicar was
to have 66 marks a year and certain allowances,
being made responsible for the maintenance of divine
worship in the parish church and the various chapels. (fn. 58)
From about 1348 to the Suppression one of the monks
was usually vicar. That was the year when the
Black Death appeared, but the appointment of
monks as vicars was due to quite another reason. (fn. 59)
In 1535 he received £12 a year from the abbey,
but various charges reduced his net income to
£6 3s. 8d. (fn. 60) At some time after the rectory came
into the possession of the Archbishops of Canterbury, (fn. 61) the farmer contracted to pay £38 a year to
the vicar, who had also a house, and other sums to
certain of the chapelries. (fn. 62) Archbishop Juxon in 1660
gave the Easter roll to the vicar and curates, but the
latter were to pay £42 a year to the vicar, whose income was thus made £80 a year. (fn. 63) This was still the
income in 1717 when eight townships contributed to
the repairs of the parish church, viz.—Whalley, Wiswell, Read, Mitton, Pendleton, Simonstone, Padiham,
and Hapton. (fn. 64) The value of the benefice was £137
a year in 1834, and is now given as £356 net. (fn. 65)
The following have been vicars:—
|
| Instituted | Name | Patron | Cause of Vacancy |
|---|
| 4 Oct. 1298 | John de Whalley (fn. 66) | Whalley Abbey | — |
| 3 May 1309 | Richard de Chadesden (fn. 67) | The Bishop | — |
| 27 Mar. 1311 | Richard de Swinesley (fn. 68) | Geoff. de Blaston | res. R. de Chadesden |
| oc. 1326 | ? John (fn. 69) | — | — |
| 7 Oct. 1330 | John de Topcliffe (fn. 70) | Whalley Abbey | — |
| — 1336 | William Wolf (fn. 71) | " | — |
| 19 Apr. 1342 | John de Topcliffe (fn. 72) | Whalley Abbey | d. W. Wolf |
| 20 Nov. 1348 | Bro. John de Walton (fn. 73) | " | — |
| 11 Oct. 1349 | Bro. Robert de Newton (fn. 74) | " | d. J. de Walton |
| 8 Dec. 1351 | Bro. William de Selby (fn. 75) | " | res. R. de Newton |
| 12 July 1379 | Bro. Robert de Normanville (fn. 76) | " | res. W. de Selby |
| 7 June 1381 | Bro. John de Tollerton (fn. 77) | " | res. R. de Normanville |
| 7 Nov. 1411 | Bro. John Sawley (fn. 78) | " | res. J. de Tollerton |
| 30 Oct. 1425 | Bro. Ralph Clitheroe (fn. 79) | " | d. J. Sawley |
| 29 Sept. 1453 | William Dinckley (fn. 80) | — | res. R. Clitheroe |
| 24 Nov. 1488 | Bro. John Seller (fn. 81) | Whalley Abbey | d. W. Dinckley |
| 15 Feb. 1534–5 | Bro. Robert Parish (fn. 82) | " | d. J. Seller |
| 2 Feb. 1536–7 | Edward Manchester, B.D., alias Pedley (fn. 83) | " | res. R. Parish |
| 8 Apr. 1559 | George Dobson (fn. 84) | The Queen | d. last vicar |
| 3 Oct. 1581 | Robert Osbaldeston, M.A. (fn. 85) | Archbp. of Canterbury | res. G. Dobson |
| 11 Aug. 1605 | Peter Ormerod, B.A. (fn. 86) | " | d. R. Osbaldeston |
| 24 Feb. 1631–2 | William Bourn, M.A. (fn. 87) | The King | d. P. Ormerod |
| Archbp. of Canterbury |
| oc. 1646 | William Walker, M.A. (fn. 88) | — | — |
| 19 May 1650 | William Moore (fn. 89) | Lord Protector | — |
| 11 Feb. 1663–4 | Stephen Gey, B.A. (fn. 90) | Archbp. of Canterbury | — |
| 13 Jan. 1693–4 | Richard White, M.A. (fn. 91) | " | d. S. Gey |
| 8 Dec. 1703 | James Matthews, B.A. (fn. 92) | " | d. R. White |
| 25 Sept. 1738 | William Johnson, M.A. (fn. 93) | " | d. J. Matthews |
| 2 July 1776 | Thomas Baldwin, LL.B. (fn. 94) | " | res. W. Johnson |
| 24 Jan. 1809 | Thomas Dunham Whitaker, LL.D. (fn. 95) | Archbp. of Canterbury | d. T. Baldwin |
| 11 Mar. 1822 | Richard Noble (fn. 96) | " | d. T. D. Whitaker |
| 1 Jan. 1840 | Robert Nowell Whitaker, M.A. (fn. 97) | " | d. R. Noble |
| 23 Nov. 1881 | Charles Collwyn Prichard, M.A. (fn. 98) | Hulme Trustees | d. R. N. Whitaker |
| — 1895 | Thomas Henry Gregory, M.A. (fn. 99) | " | res. C. C. Prichard |
| 6 Dec. 1904 | Richard Newman, M.A. (fn. 100) | " | d. T. H. Gregory |
After the church came into the hands of the monks
they appointed secular priests as vicars, but soon found
it advisable to have monks instead. It was necessary
that the monk-vicar should have one or more of his
brethren for company. This arrangement continued
till the suppression of the abbey. From later depositions it appears that in addition to the (daily) masses
at the high altar and the two side chapels a Jesus
mass was said on Fridays in the rood loft. (fn. 101) Four
priests would thus be required. At the visitation of
1548 the vicar (an ex-monk) and four other priests
are named on the list as attached to the parish church,
but these had been reduced to two by 1554 and in
later times there was only one. (fn. 102) The destruction
of the great abbey church and the dispersal of the
monks must have caused a great difference in the
arrangements for divine worship; the confiscation of
the chantries and the further changes of the time
completed the revolution.
George Dobson, appointed vicar in 1559, was one
of the old clergy who conformed to the various
changes of doctrine and worship. He took the oath
of the queen's supremacy in religion in 1563. (fn. 103) Yet
about the same time he was reported to be 'as ill a vicar
as the worst,' (fn. 104) the censure referring partly to his
morals, but chiefly to his disposition towards the
reformed religion; light on both points is afforded
by a complaint of 1575. The document is among
the Consistory Court records at Chester. It states:
The vicar of Whalley is a common drunkard and such an
ale-knight as the like is not in our parish; and in the night
when most men be in bed at their rest then is he in the alehouse with a company like to himself, but not one of them can
match him in ale-house tricks, for he will, when he cannot
discern black from blue, dance with a full cup on his head, far
passing all the rest—a comely sight for his profession.
Item, he doth teach in the church the seven sacraments,
and persuadeth his parishioners that they shall come and receive,
but in any case but to take it but as common bread and wine as
they may take it at home or elsewhere, for that it is so, far
differing from the word of God; and that this Church of
England is a defiled and spotted church, and that no man may
come to it lawfully in time of divine service except he at his
coming in heart exempt himself from this service and all that
is partaker of it, and make his prayer by himself according to
the doctrine of the Pope of Rome.
Item, he hath been accustomed at every Easter to give, to
certain of his parishioners, as he termeth them consecrated
hosts, saying in them was salvation, but in the other was
nothing worthy acceptance.
How much truth there was in the accusation cannot be determined. Dobson denied all the charges
absolutely. To the first he said he had for thirty
or forty years behaved 'as behoveth a man of his
calling'; to the second he said that for ten years he
had conformed exactly to the Book of Common
Prayer according to the laws of the realm; and to
the third, that he used no other consecration than
that in the same book. (fn. 105) A few years later he was
induced or compelled to resign, and his successor, as
a nominee of Grindal, would no doubt be a sincere
and thorough-going Calvinist. (fn. 106) In 1590 he was
reported to be 'a preacher, but insufficient,' (fn. 107) and in
1601 it was presented that no surplice was provided
for the minister, (fn. 108) so that the tendency of the place
was manifest. On the other hand complaint was
made about a rushbearing, with piping, in 1604. (fn. 109)
Of the next incumbents practically nothing is known,
but in the Commonwealth time it was judged best to
appoint a preacher to visit the different churches and
chapels for a few years, till suitable ministers could be
provided. (fn. 110) After the Restoration Nonconformists
and Quakers appear to have been numerous, and conventicles were reported to the Bishop of Chester. (fn. 111)
The district immediately attached to the parish church
has remained comparatively untouched by the manufactures which have caused great changes elsewhere,
but one or two new churches have been built within
it in recent times.
In December 1360 Henry Duke of Lancaster gave
the monks Ramsgreave and other lands at Standen, &c.,
for the maintenance of a recluse or anchoress to live
in a hermitage in the churchyard of Whalley. The
recluse was to have two servants to wait on her, and
a monk attended by a server was to sing mass daily
in the chapel of her inclosure, the abbey providing
all necessaries. The duke and his successors were to
nominate the recluses. (fn. 112) The monks probably objected to the intrusion of women, particularly of the
servants who waited on the recluse, and the recluses
appear to have found their situation irksome, for
several are said to have run away; and this course
having been taken by Isold Heaton, widow, nominated
by the king in 1437, the abbot and convent petitioned
for relief. (fn. 113) It was therefore ordered that the endowment should be employed to maintain two chantry
priests to say mass daily for the soul of Duke Henry
and for the king. (fn. 114) The chapels on the south and
north side of the church, called St. Mary's and St.
Nicholas', respectively, were so used down to the
Reformation. (fn. 115) St. Mary's chapel, as the abbey pew,
was acquired by Ralph Assheton in 1593, but there
were long disputes over it. (fn. 116)
In 1909 Whalley was chosen to give the title to
an additional suffragan or assistant bishop for the
diocese of Manchester, and the Rev. A. G. Rawstorne,
rector of Croston, was appointed.
The grammar school probably originated with the
monks. In 1548 a stipend of 20 marks a year was
assigned to it by Edward VI out of the late abbey of
Croxton's rectory of Tunstall. (fn. 117)
The charities of this large parish will be noticed in
sections, according to the recent reports, under the
several chapelries. (fn. 118)