HORNBY
Hornebi, Dom. Bk.
The main portion of Hornby lies in the tongue of
land formed by the junction of the Wenning with the
Lune; the eastern half is occupied by a hill, some
400 ft. high, descending somewhat sharply to the
south and west, while the remainder is the level valley
of the Lune. The present village is situated by the
Wenning at the foot of the hill; the castle is to the east
on a mound; beyond, the hill-sides are seen clothed
with woods. The site of the priory is nearly a mile
north-west of the village, close to the Lune, while the
ancient castle-stead also stands by the Lune, but much
further north. (fn. 1) The township boundary includes land
on the south side of the Wenning. In addition there
is a considerable detached portion on the hill-side to
the south of Farleton and two small fragments within
Farleton itself. The detached portions of the two
townships probably represent apportionments of the
moorland between Hornby and Farleton, being roughly
proportionate to the areas of the main portions. Hornby
in all has an acreage of 1,961, (fn. 2) and in 1901 the population of Hornby and Farleton numbered 397. The
two townships were united in 1887 (fn. 3) under the name
of Hornby-with-Farleton, and are governed by a
parish council. Hornby is also the head of a rural
district council and of the Lunesdale Union. Petty
sessions are held once a month.
The principal road is that from Lancaster to Kirkby
Lonsdale. Ascending the valley of the Lune on the south
side it turns northward here and crosses the Wenning
by a stone bridge of three arches, and then forms the
main street of Hornby village. Passing out of the
houses it skirts the western side of the hill and goes
to Melling. A branch of it turns north-west and
west, crossing the Lune to reach Gressingham. The
Midland Railway Company's branch line from Hellifield to Lancaster skirts the southern boundary;
Hornby station is on the border of Farleton.
The house known as Hornby Hall, which stands
facing the road to the north-west of the church, has
a dignified 18th-century elevation with fluted composite pilasters the height of its two stories, supporting
a cornice and lofty attic.
The land is now chiefly used for grazing; the soil
is mixed, overlying gravel. There are no longer
markets or fairs, but in 1826 there were fortnightly
fairs for cattle and an annual cattle fair on 30 July. (fn. 4)
Barony
Although Melling is named first of
the three manors held by Ulf in 1066,
it is possible that HORNBY was his
place of residence. (fn. 5) In 1086 the manor was in the
king's hands, but was probably granted to the Montbegon family soon afterwards. They made it the
head of their barony, building a castle and founding
there a monastic house and a borough. Their story
has already been narrated at length, (fn. 6) and the descent
may be recorded in brief thus: Roger de Montbegon I, oc. 1086–1115–(?s.) Roger II, oc. 1129–
49—s. Adam, founder of the priory, oc. 1160–71 —
s. Roger III, d. 1226 without issue. Roger in 1212
held the fee of eight knights
within the lyme and without. (fn. 7)
The heir in 1226 was Henry
de Monewdon, great-grandson
of Agnes daughter of Roger II;
in 1269 he surrendered to
Edmund the king's son the
feudal rights belonging to his
knights' fees in the honour of
Lancaster, and with his death,
shortly afterwards, the barony
is considered to have expired.
Henry Duke of Lancaster was
in 1355 recorded to hold a
knight's fee in Hornby. (fn. 8) In
September 1354 the duke
granted to John de Harrington of Farleton a lease
of the manor of Hornby with the demesne and
appurtenances, excepting the castle and the deer in
the park and Roeburndale. (fn. 9)
Edmund Earl of Lancaster. England differenced with a label of France.
Honour Manor
Soon after Henry de Monewdon
obtained possession he granted Hornby
with its immediate dependencies to the
famous Hubert de Burgh Earl of Kent
and Margaret his wife. The agreement made in
1229 included the manor of
Hornby, with the castle,
honour and soke; the advowson of the priory; the manor
of Melling and the advowson
of the church; with the lands
of Wray, Wrayton, Cantsfield,
Wennington, Old Wennington, Tunstall, Arkholme and
Farleton. The service was to
be that due for half a knight's
fee. (fn. 10) Thus in 1242 Hubert
de Burgh was recorded to hold
the honour of Hornby of
Henry de Monewdon, and he in chief of the king. (fn. 11)
He died in May 1243, and was followed by his son
and grandson, each named John; and the last died
in 1279, leaving three daughters. (fn. 12)
De Burgh. Gules seven lozenges vair.
The tenure was vexed by a claim maintained for
forty years by John de Lungvilers, who was the
nephew of Roger de Montbegon III through Roger's
mother, and who alleged a grant by Roger made more
than a year before his death. (fn. 13) Apparently some
agreement was made between the claimant or his son
and the heirs of de Burgh, for by 1274 Margaret
daughter and heir of John de Lungvilers (fn. 14) had taken
Hornby in marriage to Geoffrey de Nevill, (fn. 15) a younger
son of the Raby family.
Sir Geoffrey de Nevill in 1279 obtained a grant
of free warren in his demesne lands of Hornby,
Melling, Wray and Arkholme. (fn. 16) He died in 1285
holding the manor of Hornby in chief of the king as
half a knight's fee, it being his wife's inheritance.
John the son and heir was fifteen years of age. The
extent records at Hornby a garden with a vivary,
worth 11s. 8d. yearly; in demesne there were 260 acres
of arable land, worth £13, and 31 acres of meadow,
62s.; there were three parks. At Hornby also were
a borough, a fulling mill, corn mill, fishery and free
courts. Two free tenants paid 5s. (fn. 17) The king at
once ordered the castle to be delivered to his widow
Margaret, (fn. 18) and she retained it till her death, more
than thirty years after, her son John dying before
her.
In 1292 she was called upon to show her title to
market, fair and free warren, to exemption from the
sheriffs tourn (fn. 19) and suit to county and wapentake
and to various feudal rights, including infangenthef,
in Hornby and Melling, and gallows in Melling.
These rights were claimed as ' of old time,' and were
allowed. (fn. 20) In the same year as lady of Hornby
Margaret de Nevill was occupied with numerous
suits. From Adam de Tunstall she demanded an
account of the time during which he was her bailiff
in Hornby. (fn. 21) The bailiff of Lancaster, she complained, had distrained her men and tenants of the
lordship of Hornby for toll in that town, and the
bailiff had to acknowledge himself in the wrong;
they ought to be free of toll for victuals and other
things sold to her and to their own use. (fn. 22) She resisted
a claim by the Prior of Conishead for the moiety of
a toft in Hornby, of which he alleged John de Burgh
had disseised a former prior. (fn. 23)
Margaret's holding was variously recorded in
1297 (fn. 24) and 1302, (fn. 25) but in 1319, after her death, it
was found that she had held the castle of Hornby
with the appurtenances of Thomas Earl of Lancaster
by knight's service as of the honour of Lancaster.
The heir was John son of John de Nevill and he was
eighteen years old. In the castle was an acre of
land, but nothing was rendered, because the castle
needed repairs. In demesne were 200 acres of arable
land and 25 acres of meadow. There were six vac
caries, two parks, a water mill, fulling mill, court
baron and borough court. (fn. 26)
Two of the Scottish invaders of 1322 were captured
and taken prisoners to Hornby Castle, Roger de Burgh
or Burrow then being its constable, and when John
de Nevill came of age and received the castle they
were handed over to him. (fn. 27) He died in 1335, (fn. 28) but
in 1330 his uncle Geoffrey held the knight's fee in
Hornby, (fn. 29) and the next in possession was Robert de
Nevill, son of Geoffrey's brother Robert and cousin
of John. Little is known of this branch of the
Nevills, and the descent is obscured by the succession
of several Roberts. The pedigree was thus stated in
a pleading of 1399: Eudo de Lungvilers -s. Eudo
-s. John -da. Margaret -s. John (de Nevill) -bro.
Robert -s. Robert -s. Robert, the plaintiff in the case. (fn. 30)
Horney Church from the South-east
Robert son of Robert de Nevill was aged twentytwo in 1336 and is named in a remainder in 1337. (fn. 31)
He married Joan daughter and heir of Henry de
Atherton and lands in Aintree, Oldham, &c., were
acquired thereby. (fn. 32) Sir Robert was summoned to
Parliament as a baron in 1342. (fn. 33) In 1346 he held
the fee of one knight in Melling and Hornby. (fn. 34) In
the preceding year he had complained that various
persons had broken into his park at Hornby and
carried off his deer. (fn. 35) Sir Robert the elder afterwards
released to his son Robert the younger all his right
and title in the castle and manor of Hornby and
Melling, with the soke, also knights' fees, advowsons,
free courts, parks, &c., and lands in Arkholme, Wray
and other places. (fn. 36)
Sir Robert de Nevill of Hornby the younger and
Margaret his wife occur in a settlement of the castle
of Hornby and manor of Melling in 1363. (fn. 37) He
probably succeeded soon afterwards. (fn. 38) In 1376 he
prosecuted several persons for cutting his trees and
underwood at Arkholme and Hornby, (fn. 39) and in 1394
as lord of the manor claimed certain franchises there. (fn. 40)
He died in 1413 seised of the castle, manor and
lordship of Hornby held in chief of the king as duke
by the service of one knight's fee. (fn. 41) His son Thomas
had died in or before 1387, (fn. 42) leaving a daughter
Margaret, who at her grandfather's death was thirty
years of age. She was the wife of Thomas Beaufort
Earl of Dorset and Duke of Exeter, one of the legitimated sons of John of Gaunt. The duke survived
his wife and died in 1426, (fn. 43) but had in 1424 demised
his interest in the manor and castle of Hornby and
other estates to Sir William Harrington and others. (fn. 44)
There was no surviving issue of the marriage and
the inheritance was divided between Sir Robert's
daughters Margaret and Joan and their issue. (fn. 45) The
latter had married Sir John Langton and her son
received the manor of Hutton Longvilers. (fn. 46) Margaret
married the above-named Sir William Harrington of
Farleton, (fn. 47) who fought at Agincourt, (fn. 48) and continued
to serve in the French wars. (fn. 49) In 1431 Sir William
and Margaret his wife were found to hold Hornby
by one knight's fee. (fn. 50) Sir William died 22 February
1439–40, (fn. 51) and Dame Margaret in or before 1451,
when she was found to have held the castle and
manor of Hornby, with its appurtenances, of the
king as Duke of Lancaster by knight's service. (fn. 52)
The son and heir Sir Thomas Harrington had
been seneschal of the Hornby Court in 1427, (fn. 53) and
occurs later in various pleadings. (fn. 54) He was in France
in 1430, (fn. 55) and served as knight of the shire between
1432 and 1449. (fn. 56) He was a Yorkist, and it was alleged
that in November 1458 he took part in a party council
at Middleham and afterwards made a settlement of
his estates. (fn. 57) He fell at Wakefield in 1460, fighting
for the Duke of York. His eldest son Sir John was
killed at the same time and the Hornby inheritance
fell to Sir John's two daughters Elizabeth and Anne. (fn. 58)
Dower from the castle of Hornby and various manors
was in 1478 ordered to be given to Elizabeth widow
of Sir Thomas. (fn. 59)
Of the co-heirs Elizabeth married John Stanley
and then Richard Beaumont, and left three daughters
—Joan wife of Sir Thomas Halsall, Anne wife of
John Swift and Margaret wife of Thomas Grimshaw (fn. 60) ;
while Anne married Sir Edward Stanley, a son of
the first Earl of Derby. He had Hornby as his
portion of the Harrington lordships, but, as there
was doubt as to the right owing to various forfeitures
for treason, Henry VII made a special grant to him
of Hornby, Farleton and appurtenant manors and
lands; the whole was to be held of the king in chief
by the service of one knight's fee. (fn. 61) This is the
tenure recorded in the later inquisitions, ignoring
the ancient tenures of several of the minor estates,
which had had no earlier dependence on Hornby.
The Earl of Derby intervened in some way. (fn. 62) A
difficulty was caused by the failure of issue to Anne,
but by one title or another Sir Edward retained
Hornby in despite of various claims by Anne's sister
and her representatives, (fn. 63) and it descended to his son
by his second wife Elizabeth (Vaughan) widow of
Lord Grey de Wilton. He was Sheriff of Lancashire
for life, and for his conduct at Flodden Field in 1513
was created Lord Mounteagle by Henry VIII. He
was present at the Field of the Cloth of Gold in
1520. (fn. 64)
Lord Mounteagle died in 1523 and was buried at
Hornby, holding the lordship by the tenure above
stated. (fn. 65) He desired to be buried in the chancel he
was building at the east end of the chapel of St.
Margaret at Hornby; should he die before its
dedication his body was meanwhile to lie at the priory.
Full directions were given in
the will as to his funeral, monuments, &c.; 'Mr. Richard
Beverley, Prior of the Black
Friars at Lancaster, or in his
absence another doctor of
divinity [was to] be provided
to make a sermon and to have
for his labour and pains 20s.'
He left £20 to the high altar
of his parish church of Melling
as composition for tithes, &c,
forgotten, 40s. to the Prior of
Hornby for a general absolution and prayers for his soul, and many other gifts
to churches and religious houses. His executors were
charged to make restitution 'to such persons as could
truly prove any oppression or wrong to them done
by him,' and to ask their pardon. (fn. 66) His son Thomas
was only ten years of age and the wardship was
granted to Sir Thomas Darcy, Sir John Hussey and
Alexander Radcliffe. (fn. 67)
Stanley, Lord Mounteagle. Argent on a bend azure three stags' heads caboshed or, a crescent for difference.
The second Lord Mounteagle took a share in the
suppression of the northern rising of 1536. He
joined the Earl of Derby with a retinue of 616
men. (fn. 68) On 3 December he wrote from Hornby
stating that he had apprehended a vicar who had
spoken against the king's acts, but many of his
tenants and servants had joined the rebels, some
through fear. The rebels about Kendal had threatened
to hang one of his bailiffs for sending him rent. (fn. 69)
There is but little to record of him. He died at
Hornby in 1560 holding the castle, manor and
capital messuage of Hornby, according to the inquisition, of the Earl of Derby, while Farleton, Melling,
Wrayton, Arkholme, Roeburndale, Wray, Brightholme and the other manors were held of the
queen in chief by knight's service. (fn. 70) His widow
Ellen had a dispute with his son, who had married
Anna Leyburne, one of her daughters. (fn. 71) She was a
zealous adherent of Roman Catholicism. (fn. 72)
He was succeeded by his son William, third lord,
then thirty-three years of age. Even before his
father's death he had begun to mortgage and sell
portions of the estates, (fn. 73) so that they were much
diminished at his death, and he had many disputes
with his tenants and others as to suit of court,
customs of the manor, &c. (fn. 74) A settlement of the
castle and manor of Hornby was made in 1574. (fn. 75)
At his death in 1581 he was followed in title and
estates by an only daughter Elizabeth. His widow
Anne, a second wife, daughter of Sir John Spencer
of Althorpe, afterwards married Henry Lord
Compton, and in 1585 messuages and lands in
Hornby, Melling and other places were granted to
trustees for her. (fn. 76)
The heiress married Edward Parker Lord Morley, (fn. 77)
and their son William was
summoned to Parliament from
1604 as Lord Mounteagle.
He was the peer to whom the
famous letter of warning was
sent relating to Gunpowder
Plot. He became a Protestant
about that time. (fn. 78) James I
in his progress from Scotland
to London through Carlisle
and Preston in 1617 visited
Hornby on 11 August, and
was entertained there by the
Earl of Cumberland. (fn. 79) Edward
Lord Morley died in 1618,
and the son William was then
summoned as Lord Morley
and Mounteagle. He and his
wife Elizabeth made a settlement of the lordship in 1618, (fn. 80) and he died in 1622.
By an inquisition made in 1625 it was found that he
had held the honour, priory, manor, castle and
demesne of Hornby, with the Great Park, two mills,
St. Margaret's fair, the manor of Tatham, &c, of the
king by knight's service. He also held various manors
and lands in Yorkshire, Somerset, Essex, Hertfordshire and elsewhere. (fn. 81)
Parker, Lord Mounteagle. Argent a lion passant gules between two bars sable charged with three bezants, in chief three bucks' heads caboshed of the third.
His son Henry, who was of full age, succeeded.
He was a Roman Catholic, and in 1625 Hornby
Castle was searched for arms and a seizure was made. (fn. 82)
As might be expected, he showed himself a zealous
Royalist on the outbreak of the Civil War, and consequently had his estates sequestered by the Parliament for 'recusancy and delinquency,' and they were
afterwards declared forfeit and sold. (fn. 83)
The castle itself was at first held for the king, and,
being a strong place, became the refuge of many
Royalist ladies and others of the district, but in
June 1643 it was taken by storm by Colonel
Assheton's force. The assailants were assisted by a
soldier who had deserted from the castle and found
an entrance by the great windows, though these were
very high above the ground. In order to screen the
escalade the main part of the force 'played upon the
castle and church' and set fire to the gates. (fn. 84) After
his defeat at Marston Moor Prince Rupert came by
Ingleton to Hornby on 10 July 1644, and thence
went by Garstang and Preston to Liverpool. (fn. 85) In
1648 Hornby was occupied by the Duke of Hamilton
and his Scottish army. (fn. 86)
Though the estates were in part recovered, the
losses are said to have ruined the family, and Henry's
son Thomas, who succeeded in 1655, (fn. 87) found it
necessary to sell Hornby to Robert Earl of Cardigan
in 1663. (fn. 88) The final sale appears to have been in
1682. (fn. 89) The earl's grandson (fn. 90) in 1713 sold the
lordship to the infamous Francis Charteris, the
typical debauchee of the time. (fn. 91) His daughter and
heir Janet married James fifth Earl of Wemyss, (fn. 92) and
Hornby was given to their second son Francis, who
took the surname of Charteris. (fn. 93) He succeeded to
the earldom in 1787, (fn. 94) and in 1789 sold Hornby to
John Marsden of Wennington.
The new lord of the manor was childish or
imbecile, and fell to a great extent under the control
of his steward, George Wright. He never married,
and after his death in 1826 his will—which left
Wright in control for many years, when a distant
cousin, the Rev. Anthony Lister, vicar of Gargrave,
1806–52, (fn. 95) would succeed—was contested by Admiral
Sandford Tatham, as next of kin. (fn. 96) The first trial
took place at York in 1830, and resulted in favour of
the will. Another trial in 1833, at Lancaster,
resulted in a verdict for Tatham, damages 1s. The
validity of the will was again tried at Lancaster in
1834 and approved by the jury. (fn. 97) At another trial,
in 1836, the verdict was for Tatham, and a similar
decision afterwards made in the Queen's Bench was
finally confirmed by the House of Lords in 1838.
The mesne profits were in the following year awarded
to Admiral Tatham, who died
at Hornby in 1840, aged
eighty-five. (fn. 98)
He was succeeded by his
kinsman Pudsey Dawson, who
in 1859 was followed by a
nephew, Richard Pudsey
Dawson. Finding the estate
heavily mortgaged, he sold it
to John Foster, a manufacturer
of Bradford, (fn. 99) who made many
improvements. He died in
1879, his son William (fn. 100) in
1884, and his grandson,
Colonel William Henry
Foster, (fn. 101) in 1908; the heir,
his son Henry Cyril Warneford Foster, was under age. (fn. 102)
Foster of Hornby. Per cheveron azure and ermine, a cheveron paly of eight argent and gules between in chief a sun in splendour between two bugle-horns stringed all or and in base a like bugle-horn.
HORNBY CASTLE is
finely situated on the top of
a lofty and precipitous cliff on the right bank of
the River Wenning, a mile above its confluence with
the Lune. The site is a naturally defensive one,
overlooking the village and commanding extensive and
beautiful views along the valleys of both rivers. Of
the original castle of the Nevills nothing remains, the
only ancient part of the present building being the
central tower, or keep, which was erected by
Sir Edward Stanley first Lord Mounteagle, probably
on an older foundation, at the beginning of the
16th century. In a survey taken in 1584 (fn. 103) the
castle is described as being 'verie faire built, standing statelie upon the topp of a great hill,' with
several gates and wards outside its walls, the first
gate being at the 'lowest foot of the hill,' adjoining
the town.
Whitaker, writing about 1819, (fn. 104) states that the
foundations of two round towers, probably of early
14th-century date, had been removed in some 'late
alterations,' and that in front of the present tower
there appeared to have been, from the evidence of
the foundations, a quadrangle 'of which one side
coincided with the present house and the opposite one
to the brow of the hill,' and that a base-court with
other outbuildings formerly extended to the edge of the
town. After the Civil War the castle was abandoned
and allowed to fall to ruin, but was partly rebuilt in
the first half of the 18 th century by Colonel
Charteris, who erected a long plain two-story building
in front of the keep on the south side, with square
sash windows and slightly projecting end, the roofs of
which were hipped back. (fn. 105) In Buck's view of
1727, which is taken from the north-east, and in
which, therefore, the new front is not seen, some of
the ruins of an old west wing are shown still standing,
but the 'Eagle turret,' or watch-tower, at the northwest corner of the keep, described by the poet Gray,
when he visited the castle in 1765 and found the
tower 'only a shell,' does not, if the drawing be
correct, appear to have been then erected. (fn. 106) The
18th-century front stood till 1847, (fn. 107) when it was
superseded by the present Gothic building, the south
or principal front of which was erected in front of it. (fn. 108)
It is a very good example of the domestic Gothic
work of the period, with central entrance tower and
flanking embattled wings. The keep was shortly
afterwards restored and the 18th-century watchtower rebuilt in harmony with the rest of the building with machicolations and an embattled parapet. (fn. 109)
There were further additions on the north side in
1881 and 1891.
Plan of Hornby Castle
Lord Mounteagle's keep is irregular in plan with a
circular staircase at the north-west corner. On the
ground floor the internal dimensions are 22 ft. by
18 ft., and the thickness of the walls is about 6 ft.,
but except on the north side, where it faces the
modern courtyard, little can be seen of the lower
part of the old walling. The tower, which is about
90 ft. high, has undergone a good deal of restoration,
and all the windows, with the exception of three
small ones at the back, are new. There remain,
however, also on the north side, two carved panels
with hood moulds, one bearing the eagle's claw and
the other the motto 'Glav et gant,' and there is a
stone in one of the upper rooms also carved with the
eagle's claw.
Court Rolls beginning in the 16th century are
preserved at the castle.
A suit in 1822 established the fishery rights.
John Marsden as lord of the manor claimed the
exclusive right of fishing in the Lune within his
lordship. The defendant, a collier, had trespassed
on the fishery. The damages were assessed at 1s. (fn. 110)
An Inclosure Act was passed in 1797, and the
award was made in 1804. (fn. 111)
Apart from the lord of the honour, few Hornby
families appear in the records. (fn. 112) One or two persons
had their estates sequestered for delinquency or
recusancy under the Commonwealth. (fn. 113)
Borough
Nothing is known of the foundation of the borough of Hornby, which
has been mentioned above. It never
attained any prominence, being probably too much
overshadowed by the lord's castle. In 1285 the free
service of the burgesses amounted to 13s. 6d. (fn. 114) In
1319 the number of burgages was 47½; they were
in the hands of a number of tenants, a rent of 4d.
being due from each. (fn. 115) The borough court was
stated to be worth 8s. 8d. a year to the lord.
'Burgage houses' were still recognized in the 17th
century. (fn. 116)
Church
The story of Hornby Priory has been
told in a former part of this work. (fn. 117)
Its site and possessions were acquired by
the second Lord Mounteagle. (fn. 118) There was also
a chapel in or near the castle.
The church of ST. MARGARET, (fn. 119) which stands
in the middle of the village close to the road, is
built throughout of wrought stone, and consists of a
chancel with short north and south aisles and northeast vestry, clearstoried nave with north and south
aisles and octagonal west tower. No part is older
than the 16th century, the tower having been built
in 1514. by Sir Edward Stanley Lord Mounteagle,
and the chancel being also his work, but uncompleted
at the time of his death in 1524. The rest of the
building is modern. The older nave, to which
Lord Mounteagle built his tower and chancel, was
pulled down and a new nave without aisles erected
in 1817 under one wide spanned roof. This was
again reconstructed in 1889, when the ceiling and a
west gallery were removed, north and south arcades
erected, a clearstory added ranging with that of Lord
Mounteagle's chancel, and the old square pews which
filled the church replaced by modern seating. (fn. 120)
Plan of Hornby Church
The chancel is 36 ft. 6 in. by 19 ft. 3 in., and
terminates eastward in a three-sided apse. The east
window is of three lights with segmental head and
embattled transom, the upper lights cinquefoiled
and the lower with plain four-centred heads. The
jambs and head are moulded both inside and out,
and there are internal and external hood moulds,
the external one finishing with shield terminations
carved with the eagle's claw and Legs of Man. The
external detail of the chancel is rather elaborate,
with moulded plinth, embattled parapet, and angle
buttresses of four stages, the two upper stages set
diagonally and panelled. The detail of the two
northernmost buttresses differs from that of the others
at the top, and there are angle pinnacles and gargoyles.
The other four windows of the chancel, which are
of two lights with transoms and squat four-centred
arches, are plainer in detail and less in height, with
their sills 15 in. below that of the east window,
which is 4 ft. 9 in. above the floor inside. To the
west of the windows above the aisle arches, which
are of 1889 date, are two original clearstory windows
of two lights, with four-centred heads and external
hood moulds with carved terminations. Externally
there is a slight break at the junction of the old
chancel with the new nave clearstory, the line of the
embattled parapet, however, being carried through
westward. Internally the old stonework extends
18 ft. from the east end in the lower portion of the
walls, but it remains in the upper part the full extent
of the original work, above the modern arches. The
north aisle is occupied by the organ. There is no
chancel arch, but a small stone shaft is introduced into
the angle where the slightly wider nave joins the chancel walls, and the roof is a continuation of that of
the nave. All the fittings of the chancel are modern.
The nave is 56 ft. 6 in. by 20 ft. 6 in. with aisles
9 ft. wide, and consists of five bays with pointed
arches springing from piers without capitals. There
are five clearstory windows on each side of three
lights each, with pointed heads, plain tracery, and
external hood moulds, and the windows of the aisles
are similar in character but of two lights. The roof
is a modern oak one of very flat pitch covered
externally with lead. The fittings, including the
font and pulpit, are all modern. In the vestry is an
18th-century communion table with carved legs.
The tower is of three stages and 66 ft. in
height to the top of the embattled parapet. It is
of rather unusual design, being octagonal on plan,
the two upper stories set diagonally to the base. It
measures 25 ft. in diameter externally in the lower
story, the walls of which are 5 ft. 6 in. thick, thinning
to 3 ft. at the belfry stage, which measures 16 ft. 6 in.
in diameter internally. There is a vice in the thickness of the wall on the north-east side, and the tower
is open to the church by a plain four-centred arch
chamfered on the east side only, opened out in 1889.
The west door is pointed, with double hollowchamfered jambs and head and external hood mould,
and the west window is a pointed one of three lights
with hollow-chamfered jambs and plain tracery.
Above the window in the middle stage facing west is
a niche. The belfry windows are of two lights with
transoms and four-centred labelled heads, and occupy
the whole of the upper stage on each face. The
stages are marked externally by moulded string courses,
the upper one carved at the angles, and the embattled parapet has pinnacles and gargoyles at the
angles. Over the west window is a panel inscribed
in Gothic characters, 'E. Stanley: miles: d[omin]u:
Montegle . me fieri fecit,' and in the middle stage
facing south-west is another panel with the Mounteagle
arms inclosed in a square moulded frame. There is
a clock dial on the north-west and south-west sides
facing the road. Over the tower arch, towards the
nave, the line of the old steep-pitched roof is still
visible, the ridge of which was the same height as
that of the present roof.
Under the tower are preserved two fragments of
pre-Norman crosses, one, from the decoration upon
it, commonly known as 'the loaves and fishes.' It
was formerly at the Priory Farm and afterwards at
Hornby Castle, being placed in the church in 1903. (fn. 121)
There are also six sepulchral slabs of different sizes, five
incised and one with a raised cross within a circle.
There is a ring of six bells by Rudhall of Gloucester,
1761. (fn. 122)
The plate consists of two silver-gilt cups and
patens of 1741–2 inscribed 'The gift of William
Edmundson of Outhwaite,' with the maker's mark
G. S.; a chalice of 1850 inscribed 'The gift of
Pudsey Dawson Esqre. to the Chapel of Hornby
a.d. mdcccl,' and with the arms of the donor; and
a flagon of Belfast make given 'In Memoriam W. H.
Foster, March 27, 1908.'
The register of baptisms begins in 1742 and that
of burials in 1763.
On the south side of the churchyard is the pyramidal base of a pre-Conquest cross, 6 ft. 2 in. high
and 2 ft. 10 in. by 2 ft. 6 in. on plan at the bottom,
tapering upwards to 1 ft. 9 in. by 1 ft. 3 in. at the
top, in which is a socket hole 11 in. by 8 in. Each
of the four sides is ornamented with a rude semicircular arch resting on narrow pilasters, and the
stone is sunk in the ground about 12 in. (fn. 123)
The church of St. Margaret, as already stated, was
greatly enlarged by the first Lord Mounteagle, the
work being unfinished at his death. (fn. 124) He designed also a hospital foundation there, with two
priests, a clerk, five bedesmen and a schoolmaster,
for the maintenance of divine service and a free
grammar school. In this matter his will was not fulfilled by his executors; consequently there was nothing
to be confiscated in 1547, though Lord Mounteagle
was then of his good will paying a schoolmaster, who
ranked as one of his household servants. (fn. 125)
What provision was made in 1547 or later for the
service of the chapel is unknown. (fn. 126) The curates
were formerly appointed by the vicars of Melling,
but from about 1750 the advowson has descended
with Hornby, (fn. 127) and is now held by the representatives of the late W. H. Foster. At out 1610
the chapel was served by the curate of Arkholme,
Mr. Mann. (fn. 128) In 1650 it was recorded that the
stipend was £6 a year, 'yet and anciently paid by
the inhabitants of the chapelry,' to which £40
had been added out of Lord Morley's sequestrated
estate. Henry Kidson, 'an honest godly man,' was
minister. (fn. 129) In 1717 the certified income was
£6 13s. 4d. 'arising from several small sums called
"priest's wages" paid out of the estates of the
inhabitants at Easter.' The curate of Melling at
that time preached every third Sunday at Hornby;
there were two chapelwardens. (fn. 130) More recently
further endowments have been procured, (fn. 131) and the
income is now recorded as £166 a year. (fn. 132) A district chapelry was formed in 1859. (fn. 133)
The following have been incumbents (fn. 134) :—
|
| 1718 | Lawrence Hillyard, B.A. (Christ's Coll., Camb.) |
| 1719 | John Benison, M.A. (fn. 135) (St. John's Coll., Camb.) |
| 1725 | Thomas Hoyle, LL.B. (Trin. Coll., Camb.) |
| 1740 | William Carr, B.A. (Christ's Coll., Camb.) |
| 1757 | Silvester Petty (fn. 136) |
| 1761 | Robert Cragg |
| 1785 | Robert Cragg (fn. 137) |
| — | Henry Ellershaw |
| 1800 | Thomas Clarkson, M.A (fn. 138) (Queen's Coll., Oxf.) |
| 1802 | Anthony Lister, M.A. (fn. 139) (Clare and Emman. Coll., Camb.) |
| 1806 | Robert Procter (fn. 140) |
| 1840 | Thomas Fogg, M.A. (fn. 141) (St. John's Coll., Camb.) |
| 1850 | Richard John Shields, M.A. (fn. 142) (Dur.) |
| 1880 | Benjamin Thomas Winterborn, M.A. (Christ's Coll., Camb.) |
| 1891 | Arthur Ferdinand Faithfull, B.A. (fn. 143) (Trin. Coll., Camb.) |
| 1901 | Ernest Clapin Wilson, M.A. (Clare Coll., Camb.) |
The story of St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church
is of special interest. (fn. 144) Anne Winder Dowbiggin,
spinster, of Winder, in 1717 as a ' Papist' registered
her house at Hornby called Bell House, worth £9 a
year. (fn. 145) She married Thomas Benison of Scambler,
and the house, rebuilt and called Hornby Hall, (fn. 146)
descended to her daughter Anne, who married John
Fenwick of Burrow, as is related in the account of
that township. About 1750 she proposed to Bishop
Petre that the remains of the Morley Trust (fn. 147) might
be applied to the maintenance of a chapel at Hornby,
she adding what was necessary. The result of the
evil conduct of her husband's heir was that she
retained Hornby Hall for life only, and therefore she
built a chapel at Claughton. Before her death in
1777 she gave instructions for the endowment of the
Hornby mission and the purchase of land adjoining
her house.
In the returns made to the Bishop of Chester
48 ' Papists' were recorded in the parish of Melling
in 1717, and 98 at Hornby (Mr. Butler, priest),
7 at Arkholme, and 2 at Melling in 1767. (fn. 148)
One of the priests in charge was Dr. John Lingard,
whose tenure has made the place famous. He was
born at Winchester in 1771 and educated at Douay.
Driven out by the French Revolution, he took part
in the work of the reconstituted college at Crook and
Ushaw. In September 1811 he took charge of the
Hornby mission, and retained it till his death on
17 July 1851. It was here that he wrote his
History of England, the first volume of which appeared
in 1819 and the last in 1830. He revised it three
times, and the fifth edition was completed in the
year of his death. He pulled down the Claughton
Chapel and used the materials in building the existing
small chapel at Hornby in 1820. He provided also
some endowment. (fn. 149)
There is a small collection of ancient deeds preserved there, cited in the present work as the ' Hornby
Chapel Deeds.'