OLD ACCRINGTON, NEW ACCRINGTON
Acrinton, 1277; Akeringtone, 1296; Akryngton,
1311.
The two townships of Accrington, united since
1878, have the following areas: Old, 792 acres;
New, 2,633 acres. (fn. 1) Old Accrington forms the
northern edge of the whole, but has two detached
portions (fn. 2) within New Accrington, while the modern
town spreads over both portions. The population
in 1901 numbered 43,122.
The town lies at the foot of Hameldon Hill to
the east and the Haslingden hills to the south, and
from these hills three brooks descend westward,
north-west and north to join near the old church,
and as one stream flow west to the Hyndburn. The
town grew up along the road from Clitheroe to
Haslingden and the south, here called Whalley Road,
Abbey Street and Manchester Road in succession.
It passes close to the brooks named near their
junctions, and is joined by the Blackburn Road from
the west, while the Burnley Road goes off from it to
the north-east. The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company's line from Clifton to Colne passes
through the centre of the town, the station (1848)
being in Old Accrington; at that point the line is
joined by one from Blackburn.
On the north side of the town are the districts of
Milnshaw, Meadow Top and Lane Side. On the
west side the town is continuous with Church;
Antley, Dunnyshope and Scaitcliffe being to the
south-west. On the south side are Woodnook and
Hollins, and on the south-east border, on the road to
Haslingden, is the modern village of Baxenden. On
the east of the town are High Riley and Warmden
Clough.
The hearth tax return of 1666 shows that thirtyeight hearths were liable in Old Accrington, only one
house there having as many as four; but ninetythree were liable in New Accrington, where John
Cunliffe had the largest house, six hearths, and there
were others with five and four hearths. (fn. 3)
A century ago Accrington was only a 'considerable
village,' but by 1830 it had become a centre of
calico printing and cotton spinning. These trades
continue to be the principal ones, but there have
also grown up extensive works for supplying the
machinery used in those factories, and some minor
industries. Collieries and quarries are worked, and
there is a brewery. A mine of ironstone is
mentioned in 1462. (fn. 4) The agricultural land is
almost entirely devoted to pasture, there being no
arable land, 1,987½ acres in permanent grass and 26
used for woods and plantations. (fn. 5) The soil is a heavy
clay. Near Accrington is a good deal of bog soil,
out of which oak trees have been dug. (fn. 6)
At a point in the east of the township, where the
boundaries of Hapton and Huncoat join, was a well
formerly called Mare or Mere Hole Well, at which a
popular festival was formerly held on the first Sunday
in May. (fn. 7)
The town contains a Mechanics' Institute, founded
in 1845, and possessing a good library. There are
also Liberal and Conservative clubs. The Cooperative Society has a large membership. The
Victoria Cottage Hospital was founded in 1897 to
commemorate Queen Victoria's jubilee; there had
been a dispensary previously. The Territorial Army
is represented by part of the 5th Battalion of the East
Lancashire Regiment. There are three local newspapers, published once or twice a week, the Advertiser,
Observer and Gazette.
William Ryley the elder, herald and archivist, a
Parliamentarian, is supposed to have sprung from the
Ryleys of Accrington.
Manor
The manor of ACCRINGTON was a
member of the honor of Clitheroe, and
was by Henry de Lacy granted to Hugh
son of Leofwine together with Altham before 1177. (fn. 8)
It must have been surrendered to the grantee or his
successor, for Robert de Lacy gave it to the monks of
Kirkstall by way of compensation for the grange at
Cliviger which had been recovered from them by
Richard de Elland. (fn. 9) The gift was confirmed by
William son of Hugh de Altham for the love of God
and for the salvation of the souls of himself, his wife
and kindred. (fn. 10)
The bounds recited in Robert de Lacy's charter (fn. 11)
show that the whole of New Accrington was granted,
and possibly Old Accrington also; the New may be
'the wood called the hey' which is mentioned, for
in later times New Accrington was regarded as in
the forest, while Old was copyhold land. (fn. 12) The
monks made a grange there, removing the inhabitants to make room for it; and these, taking it ill,
revenged themselves by setting fire to the new
building, destroying everything in it and killing
the three lay brothers who were in charge. Due
punishment was meted out. (fn. 13) The monks' tenure
was of no long continuance, for in 1287 the abbot
resigned his lands to Henry de Lacy, who agreed to
pay 80 marks a year in return, chargeable upon
Accrington, Cliviger, Huncoat and other manors. (fn. 14)
From that time the manor has remained a part
of the lordship of Clitheroe. It is often called a
chase. (fn. 15)
The Lacy accounts of 1296 (fn. 16) show that considerable amounts of oats, cheese (fn. 17) and butter were
sold; linseed is mentioned. Ryley Carr was at farm
for 6s. 8d.; Broadhead was the free tenement of
William de Bradshagh, and 3s. was paid as dower to
his widow Mary. The mill and bridges had had
something spent upon them. Robert de Ryley had
charge of the grange. In the receipts are sums of
31s. 9d. from the farm of 52¼ acres, 103s. 1¾d. from
three vaccaries, 36s. 8d. from the mill, 34s. for
brushwood and ore sold to the forge, and other
moneys from the herbage of Brockholehurst (Brocklehurst), Pesecroft, &c. Of the stock of cattle some
had died of murrain and others had been killed by a
wolf. The officers named are Gilbert son of Michael
the Stockkeeper, Macock and William de Antley,
Simon the Geldherd and Geoffrey the Parker.
'Accrington' in the accounts extended over Huncoat,
Hoddlesden and Cliviger. Further accounts have
been printed for 1305, (fn. 18) 1311 (fn. 19) and 1323–4. (fn. 20)
No free tenants are named. The Court Rolls for
1324 have been printed, (fn. 21) and there are others at
Clitheroe Castle and the Record Office. In 1349
the Earl of Lancaster held one plough-land in
Accrington by the eighth part of a knight's fee. (fn. 22)
The manor was sold by Charles I, (fn. 23) and Humphrey
Chetham in 1653 purchased it from William Farrer
and others. (fn. 24)
The Act of 1609 for confirming the copyholds of
Clitheroe applied to Accrington. (fn. 25) Tenants of the
'old hold' (fn. 26) and the 'new hold' (fn. 27) appear in
pleadings of the time of Elizabeth, but there is little
to record of the township till modern times. (fn. 28)
There was a dispute as to the boundary between
Accrington and Oswaldtwistle in 1559. (fn. 29)
The Radcliffes of Winmarleigh had some land in
Accrington, said to be held in socage. (fn. 30) The families
of Rishton of Antley (fn. 31) and Rishton of Dunnyshope
or Donishope (fn. 32) recorded pedigrees in 1664. Higher
Antley now belongs to St. James's Church, Accrington. Other prominent names were those of Cunliffe
of Hollins, (fn. 33) Hayleys, (fn. 34) Kenyon (fn. 35) and Ryley. (fn. 36)
ICORNHURST, though considered to be in Old
Accrington, was part of the forest. In 1464 it was
held by Edmund Waddington at a rent of 16s. 2d. (fn. 37)
In 1527 this rent was paid by Nicholas Rishton and
Edward Kenyon. (fn. 38)
BAXENDEN, in New Accrington, in 1527
contributed a rent of £5 13s. 4d., the tenants being
Henry Cunliffe, Denis Ryley, Lawrence Holden,
Ralph Holden and the Abbot of Whalley. In
1609 John Cunliffe held the first and second of these
tenements, while the third had become divided
between Abraham Holden and Agnes Hargreaves.
John Cunliffe was the chief tenant in 1662. (fn. 39)
FRIARHILLS, also in New Accrington, was in
1527 tenanted by Nicholas Rishton, who paid 6s. 8d.
a year. (fn. 40) The tenants of Cowhouses, High Ryley,
New Laund and Fernhagh at that time are also
recorded. (fn. 41)
William Ryley and Thomas Kenyon contributed
to the subsidy in 1543 for their lands; in 1600 the
contributors were John Ryley and Christopher
Kenyon in Old Accrington, Nicholas Rishton,
William Rishton and John Hargreaves in New
Accrington; in 1626 Thomas Ryley and William
Kenyon in Old, and in New Nicholas Rishton,
Edmund Rishton, John Cunliffe, Christopher
Hargreaves and James Walmesley. (fn. 42)
The land tax returns of 1788 show that Widow
Kenyon and Lord Petre were the chief owners in
Old Accrington; Robert Nuttall, Wilson Braddyll,
Mr. Aspinall and William Halsted in New
Accrington. (fn. 43)
Charles I in 1632 gave a lease of the mines of
coal, iron, &c., to Roger Nowell for twenty-one
years, but the lessee in 1639 surrendered it. (fn. 44)
Borough
A local board was constituted for
Old and New Accrington by Act of
Parliament in 1853, (fn. 45) and the town
was incorporated in 1878, with mayor, eight aldermen
and twenty-four councillors.
There were at first four
wards, (fn. 46) but in 1901 the
borough was divided into the
following eight: Central, East,
North, South, West, Higher
Antley, Peel Park and Spring
Hill. A Commission of the
Peace was granted in 1880,
and a police force was formed
in 1882. Gas and water were
supplied by a private company, (fn. 47) but the undertaking
was taken over by the Accrington District Board, formed
in 1894 for Accrington,
Clayton-le-Moors, Great
Harwood, Rishton, Church,
Huncoat and part of Altham. (fn. 48)
Electric lighting works were
opened in 1900. There is
also a sewerage board for Accrington and Church. (fn. 49)
The town hall, (fn. 50) built in 1857, was purchased by the
local board in 1864, the market hall was built in
1869, the abattoir in 1891, the technical school,
recently enlarged, in 1894, and the free library in
1908. The corporation have opened baths, two
public parks—Milnshaw (1880) and Oak Hill
(1893)—and a cemetery (1864); this last is in
Huncoat. It has also established an electric tramway
service to Church on one side and Rawtenstall on
the other. Fairs are held in April and August (fn. 51) ;
Tuesday and Saturday are the market days.
Borough of Accrington. Gules on a fesse argent a shuttle proper, in base two rolls of a calico printing machine therefrom issuant a piece of calico proper, a chief per pale or a lion rampant purpure impaling vert a hart courant proper.
Church
It is possible that the monks of Kirkstall during their brief tenure built a
small chapel adjacent to their grange (fn. 52)
for the convenience of the brethren or officials
residing there and their tenants in the township, but
nothing is known from the records. At the Reformation the chapel at Accrington, whatever its true
origin, was confiscated by the Crown as a chantry, (fn. 53)
but was restored to the inhabitants in 1553 on a payment of 46s. 8d. (fn. 54) The vicar of Whalley was
responsible for the maintenance of divine worship, but
the place had usually no minister of its own, being
served, when served at all, by the curate of one of
the adjacent chapels. (fn. 55) Yet about 1610 Accrington
was regarded as 'well affected,' the inhabitants
'maintaining Mr. Marcroft of their voluntary benevolence.' (fn. 56) Under the Commonwealth also (fn. 57) it had
in 1650 a minister of its own, Roger Kenyon, 'an
able and orthodox divine,' who had £40 a year
allowed him out of Royalist or ecclesiastical sequestrations. (fn. 58) The allowance was increased to £50. (fn. 59) On
the return of the old order at the Restoration it
ceased to have a curate, (fn. 60) and in 1717 was served by
the curate of Church, who preached there once a
month (fn. 61) and then was from 1721 to 1804 united
with Altham. The vicar of Whalley nominated the
curates until Hulme's Trustees acquired the patronage
about 1840.
The endowment in 1717 was only 15s. yearly, but
subscriptions were raised to the amount of £8 12s., (fn. 62)
and in 1729 the Rev. Roger Kay left £100 on condition that the people raised another £100, so that a
grant from Queen Anne's Bounty might be obtained,
and this was effected in 1731. (fn. 63) Other augmentations have been secured and the net value is now
£560 a year. (fn. 64) A district was assigned in 1870. (fn. 65)
The registers date from 1754. St. James's Church
was built in 1763, replacing the old chapel.
The following have been curates and vicars:—
|
| 1804 | George Wearing |
| 1813 | Thomas Thoresby Whitaker, M.A. (fn. 66) (University Coll., Oxf.) |
| 1817 | John Hopwood |
| 1854 | George Garbett, M.A. (Brasenose Coll., Oxf.) |
| 1865 | William Kenneth Macrorie, M.A. (fn. 67) (Brasenose Coll., Oxf.) |
| 1869 | John Rogers, M.A. (fn. 68) (Brasenose Coll., Oxf.) |
| 1905 | Abraham Spencer, M.A. (fn. 69) (Brasenose Coll., Oxf.) |
In connexion with St. James's is a school-chapel
at Green Haworth.
In recent years a number of new churches have
been erected. Christ Church, Quarry Hill, was built
in 1840–1 (fn. 70) ; the patronage is vested in five trustees.
The iron mission church of St. Paul is connected with
it, and services are held in St. Mary's School. St. John
the Evangelist's, Burnley Road, was built in 1864–70 (fn. 71) ;
St. John's, Baxenden, 1877 (fn. 72) ; St. Peter's, Richmond
Street, 1889 (fn. 73) ; St. Mary Magdalen's, Milnshaw,
founded as a school church in 1895, (fn. 74) raised a permanent building in 1904; St. Andrew's, 1898, is a
temporary iron church. (fn. 75) The vicar of St. James's
presents to all except Baxenden, which is in the gift of
the Bishop of Manchester.
The Free Church of England is represented by
St. Matthew's, built in 1889.
Methodism was introduced a century ago and the
Wesleyans built a chapel in Union Street in 1807,
replaced by the present church in 1845. An additional one was opened in 1866 and more recently
others at Antley and Baxenden; there are also three
school-chapels and a mission room. The Primitive
Methodists built a chapel about 1828 and it was
rebuilt in 1894; they have also another, and the
United Free Methodists have one also.
Congregationalism was introduced in 1839, when
a church of six members was formed; they built a
chapel in Oak Street, opened in 1842, to which the
present church succeeded in 1889. (fn. 76) A secession in
1875 led to the founding of a school-chapel in
Whalley Road (fn. 77) ; another chapel has since been
added.
A Baptist cause was founded from Bacup at
Oakenshaw in Clayton-le-Moors about 1735, (fn. 78) and
from it sprang the Accrington church in 1760; the
present building in Cannon Street was erected about
1874. There are two other churches dating from
1858 and 1891; also two Particular Baptist chapels
and one Strict Baptist (Salem).
The Swedenborgians built their first place of
worship in 1805; this was succeeded by the present
New Jerusalem in 1849.
The Unitarians, Catholic Apostolic Church (Irvingites) and Salvation Army have meeting-places and
there is also an unsectarian mission room.
The Roman Catholic mission was formerly served
from Clayton-le-Moors. (fn. 79) The first chapel in the
town was opened in 1851 (fn. 80) and the present church
of the Sacred Heart was built in 1868; it is in the
hands of the Jesuits. St. Anne's school-chapel, served
by secular priests, was founded in 1897.
A school was built in 1716, but was not endowed
till a century later. (fn. 81)