The parish of Prestwich with Oldham: Pilkington

A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 5. Originally published by Victoria County History, London, 1911.

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'The parish of Prestwich with Oldham: Pilkington', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 5, (London, 1911) pp. 88-92. British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol5/pp88-92 [accessed 26 April 2024]

In this section

PILKINGTON

Pilkiton, Pilkinton, Pulkinton, 1200; Pilketon, 1221; Pilkinton, Pynkelton, Pynkilnton, 1277; Pilkington, 1282. The forms with and without the g are common from this time.

This township is bounded on two sides, the southwest and north, by the River Irwell, which makes an acute bend at the western corner, and its tributary the Roch; on the north-east the Whittle Brook, running into the latter stream, cuts it off from Pilsworth and Heap. The southern boundary is formed by the high land towards Heaton, and the clough towards Prestwich. The highest ground is near the centre, a ridge about a mile from east to west reaching the 400-ft. level. The township measures about 4 miles by 2, and has an area of 5,469 acres. (fn. 1) The population in 1901 was 15,578, including 324 in the area added to Unsworth.

For a long time there were three recognized divisions, or hamlets, in the township—Unsworth (fn. 2) in the east, Whitefield in the centre, and Outwood in the west. Unsworth village lay in the centre of its division on the higher ground between two brooks running north to Whittle Brook and to the Roch. The hamlets of Hollins and Blackford Bridge are near the Roch. Whitefield, also centrally placed, has grown into a town, stretching along the high road from Besses o' th' Barn (fn. 3) on the south to the Irwell. To the north-west is a suburb of Radcliffe, at the bridge over the Irwell. To the south of these, on the highest ground, is the hamlet of Stand, with Pilkington and Stand Halls. Outwood still has the park on the border of Prestwich and a number of wooded doughs. At the west end are Cinder Hill, part of Ringley—the other part being across the river, in Kearsley—and Prestolee. (fn. 4)

The principal road is that from Manchester to Bury. Two branches of it unite at the southern border, and go north through Thatchleach, Besses o' th' Barn, Four Lane Ends, and Whitefield. Here the road divides again; one branch goes north to Bury, crossing the Irk at Wackford Bridge, and another goes north-west to Radcliffe Bridge. From Whitefield also roads branch off north-east to Unsworth,south-west to the Irwell, and west to Stand and Ringley, where there are bridges over the Irwell. The Lancashire and Yorkshire Company's Manchester, Raddiffe, and Bury Railway passes north and north-west through the centre, with a station at Whitefield, opened in 1879. (fn. 5) The same company's branch from Clifton to Radcliffe and Bury winds west and north through Outwood, with stations called Molyneux Brow and Ringley Road. The Manchester and Bolton Canal also passes through Outwood, crossing the Irwell from Clifton, keeping close to the river most of the way, and crossing it again near Prestolee.

A dragon story is told of Unsworth. (fn. 6)

Pilkington has since 1894 ceased to exist as a township. Whitefield, the central portion, which obtained a local board in 1866, (fn. 7) has been in part added to Radcliffe; a new township has been made on the south-west called Outwood, while Unsworth has given its name to a township on the other side, made up of the old Unsworth and Pilsworth, with the detached part of Heap which adjoined it. (fn. 8) The new townships are governed by parish councils.

In 1666 there were as many as 245 hearths liable to be taxed. The three hamlets showed the following:—Outwood, 70 hearths, no house having six hearths; Whitefield 135, Margaret Sergeant's house having eight; and Unsworth 40, no house having six hearths. (fn. 9)

The view from Stand Hall was thus described in 1806:—'The large town of Manchester spreads along the valley in front of the house at some miles distance, and the less one of Bury is seen distinctly to the left, surrounded by villages, with simple cottages dispersed along the plain. The hills of Lancashire, Derbyshire, Cheshire, and Yorkshire rising in succession, spread in a vast amphitheatre, till lost in the immensity of space; while the rugged tops of the Welsh mountains, which I gazed upon as old friends, hide their heads in the clouds, of which they seem to form a part. . . . The neighbourhood abounds with families of immense wealth, and reminds me of what Clapham Common is to London. The villas of the gentry are handsome, and their pleasure grounds are tastefully laid out. The rich woods and green park of Heaton House, the seat of the Earl of Wilton, appear from the terrace of Stand Hall to much advantage; but the most prominent feature in this landscape is the pretty church of Prestwich. (fn. 10)

Stand Hall, a large timber and plaster house, was taken down in 1835, and a new house built. (fn. 11) A large wooden barn belonging to the old house has been the subject of much attention because of an absurd theory that it was built of the timbers of a wooden predecessor of the present Cathedral church of Manchester.

Manor

The manor of PILKINGTON was held of the lords of Manchester by the fourth part of a knight's fee, (fn. 12) by a family which took the local name, and its dependence on Manchester continued, at least in name, till the 18th century. (fn. 13) The first of the local family known is Alexander de Pilkington, who appears about 1200 as contributing to the tallage; (fn. 14) he held the manor in 1212, (fn. 15) and was living in 1231. (fn. 16) He was followed by Roger de Pilkington, presumably his son. Roger was defendant in 1221, (fn. 17) and held the manor in 1242. (fn. 18) Alexander de Pilkington, who, it is reasonably conjectured, increased the family possessions by his marriage with Alice, sister and co-heir of Sir Geoffrey de Chetham, lord of Chectham and Crompton, (fn. 19) occurs between 1260 and 1290 as witness to charters; (fn. 20) he was the tenant of the manor in 1282. (fn. 21) His son Roger (fn. 22) succeeded, and obtained from the king a grant of free warren in Pilkington and his other manors in 1291; (fn. 23) a year before he had had a grant of £100 for his services in Gascony. (fn. 24) In other ways Roger took his part in the public affairs of the time, serving as knight of the shire in 1316. (fn. 25) He sided with the Earl of Lancaster, and after the battle of Boroughbridge was imprisoned and fined, dying shortly afterwards. (fn. 26)

In 1312 he had made a settlement of his manors of Pilkington and Cheetham in favour of his son Roger, with remainder to a younger son William. (fn. 27) Roger accordingly succeeded his father; (fn. 28) but little is known of him except his marriage with Alice, sister and heir of Henry de Bury, by which the important manor of Bury was acquired by the family. (fn. 29) He died about 1347, (fn. 30) being followed by his son, the third Roger in succession. The new lord, who was made a knight before 1365, attended John of Gaunt on the expedition to France in 1359; (fn. 31) he served as knight of the shire in six Parliaments between 1363 and 1384. (fn. 32) He died in 1407, holding the manor of Pilkington of the lord of Manchester by knight's service. His son and heir, Sir John, was thirty-four years of age. (fn. 33)

Pilkington. Argent a cross patonce voided gules.

Sir John de Pilkington, whose age must have been understated (fn. 34) at the inquisition just quoted, is first heard of as marrying Margaret, widow of Hugh de Bradshagh, and heiress of Sir John de Verdon; she was a ward of the duke, and her husband procured a pardon in 1383 for having married her without permission. (fn. 35) He was one of those who were appointed to attend the king in the Scottish expedition of 1400. (fn. 36) In 1413 he obtained a confirmation of the grant of free warren in Pilkington and other manors. (fn. 37) He was one of the Lancashire knights who fought at Agincourt, (fn. 38) and he continued to serve in the French wars, (fn. 39) dying early in 1421. His son and heir, Sir John, was then twenty-eight years of age. (fn. 40)

The younger Sir John also fought in the French wars. (fn. 41) He was knight of the shire in 1416, and in 1418, as a reward for his services, he was made escheator in Ireland; (fn. 42) this office was confirmed to him in 1423. (fn. 43) He died without issue in 1451, and his honours descended to Thomas, son of Edmund Pilkington. (fn. 44) The elder Sir John and Margaret his wife had a son Edmund, on whom the manor of Stagenhoe in Hertfordshire was settled in 1399 for his life; (fn. 45) Thomas was no doubt the son of this Edmund, who was living in 1438. (fn. 46) Thomas Pilkington enjoyed the favour of Edward IV; in 1469 he obtained licence to fortify his manor-house at Bury, (fn. 47) and was several times sheriff of the county. (fn. 48) He was made a knight of the Bath in 1475, and a banneret at the capture of Berwick in 1481. (fn. 49) As a zealous adherent of Richard III he fought on his side at Bosworth; (fn. 50) was attainted by the victorious Henry, and his confiscated manors in Lancashire were given to the newlycreated Earl of Derby. (fn. 51) Sir Thomas Pilkington does not seem to have become reconciled at once to the new king, for in 1487 he fought at Stoke for Lambert Simnel. (fn. 52) His son and heir Roger contrived to obtain or retain the manors of Brisingham and Clipston; (fn. 53) he left six daughters as co-heirs. (fn. 54)

Pilkington, as already stated, was granted in 1489 to Thomas Stanley, Earl of Derby, (fn. 55) and has descended with the title in the same manner as Knowsley to the present earl. (fn. 56) No courts are held, but 'suit and service' at the manor court still exist in name.

In 1541 there were no freeholders in the township contributing to the subsidy, but in 1622 Thomas Lever and Richard Fogg contributed. (fn. 57) Thomas Heape, a leaseholder under the Earl of Derby, compounded for his estate in Pilkington in 1649, his 'delinquency' being that he had borne arms against the Parliament. (fn. 58)

Though Unsworth gave a surname to a family which occurs in various other places, it does not seem to have had any prominent residents of that name. The estate of Rhodes (fn. 59) was held by the families of Foxe and Holland as heirs of Parr. (fn. 60) The families of Barlow, (fn. 61) Crompton, (fn. 62) Molyneux, (fn. 63) Seddon, (fn. 64) Sergeant, (fn. 65) Walworth, (fn. 66) and Wroe (fn. 67) occur in the 16th and 17th centuries.

The land tax returns of 1786 show the principal proprietors to have been:—In Whitefield, the Earl of Derby, the executor of Geoffrey Richardson, Benjamin Blinkhorn, and Richard Walker; in Outwood, — Smith, Mrs. Watson, — Tomkinson, James Fields, Egerton Cross; and in Unsworth, Thomas Butterworth Bayley, Thomas Chadwick, and Richard Meadowcroft. (fn. 68)

Philips Park, on the border of Prestwich, derives its name from Robert Philips, who bought it about 1800. (fn. 69)

Digging for coals in Pilkington is mentioned in 1599. (fn. 70)

Nathan Walworth, a native of Ringley in Outwood, built the chapel of St. Saviour in 1625, (fn. 71) in conjunction with his Puritan friends in the neighbourhood. It was consecrated in 1634, (fn. 72) and rebuilt in 1824. The patronage, by the founder's desire, is vested in the rectors of Prestwich, Bury, and Middleton, or the majority of them. The present church of St. Saviour was built in 1851, and consecrated in 1854. Holy Trinity Church, Prestolee, was built in 1863, and had a district assigned to it in 1883; (fn. 73) the Lord Chancellor presents. St. George's, Unsworth, was built in 1730, and rebuilt in 1843; the rector of Prestwich is patron. (fn. 74) All Saints', Stand, was built in 1826; Sir Frederick Johnstone is patron at present. (fn. 75) St. John the Evangelist's, Stand Lane, built in 1866, has also a small mission church; the patronage is vested in three trustees.

In addition to the chapel Nathan Walworth also founded a school at Ringley in 1626. (fn. 76)

There are Wesleyan chapels at Radcliffe Bridge and Unsworth—the former dating from 1815—and a Primitive Methodist one at Chapel Field.

The Congregational Church at Stand represents a division in the old Presbyterian congregation caused by opposition to the newly introduced Unitarian doctrine. The first chapel was built in 1791. It was demolished in 1885, and the present ornate church built; being on rising ground the spire can be seen for some distance. (fn. 77) There is another church at Besses o' th' Barn.

At the same place is a Swedenborgian Church called New Jerusalem.

The Unitarian chapel at Stand is said to owe its origin to a congregation formed after 1662 by Mr. Pyke of Radcliffe, and other ejected clergy. (fn. 78) After the toleration of Nonconformity Robert Eaton, who had been rector of Walton on the Hill till 1660, was registered as preaching in William Walker's barn at Pilkington; (fn. 79) and a chapel was built for him in 1693. (fn. 80) As in other cases the teaching became Unitarian towards the end of the 18th century. The building was restored in 1818, and a bell tower was added in 1867; the bell is dated 1709. (fn. 81) There is a school in connexion with it.

Footnotes

  • 1. Including Outwood, 1,939; Whitefield, 2,058½ and Unsworth, 1,471½. The census report of 1901 gives:—Outwood, 1,938 acres, including 80 of inland water; Whitefield, 1,406, including 9; the part taken into Radcliffe, 625, including 23; Unsworth (enlarged), 3,067, including 27.
  • 2. Hundeswrth, 1292.
  • 3. The name is said to have originated from the innkeeper about 1750; Manch. Guard. Local N. and Q. no. 448.
  • 4. Perhaps Prestall Lee, from Prestall on the other side of the Irwell in Farnworth and Kearsley.
  • 5. Electric tramways connect Whitefield with Manchester and Bury.
  • 6. Harland and Wilkinson, Traditions of Lancs. 63.
  • 7. Lond. Gaz. 19 Jan. 1866.
  • 8. Local Govt. Bd. Order, 30905; a slight alteration in Whitefield boundary was made in 1896; ibid. 33855.
  • 9. Subs. R. bdle. 250, no. 9, Lancs.
  • 10. Pal. Note Bk. ii, 5 5, quoting E. I. Spence's Summer Excursions, i, 123.
  • 11. A description of the remaining part of Stand Old Hall by E. W. Cox, with several views, is given in Col. J. Pilkington's Pilkington Family.
  • 12. Lancs. Inq. and Extents (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), i, 55. In addition to the knight's service the lord of Pilkington had to find 'one judge for the king, of ancient tenure.' The manor had therefore probably been held by the same family all through the 12th century. In 1282 the vill of Pilkington was held of Robert Grelley by the fourth part of a fee, and was worth £10 a year clear; ibid. 250. In 1322 the lord of Pilkington was one of those who owed suit to the three-weeks court at Manchester, of ancient custom, being called a judge of the court; Mamecestre (Chet. Soc), ii, 375. An oxgang in 'Pilkington' was in 1311 stated to be held by a rent of 12d. of the manor of Rochdale; De Lacy Inq. (Chet. Soc), 20. Nothing further is known of it, and the name given is probably an error of transcription.
  • 13. As late as 1733 the jury of Manchester court leet amerced the constable of Pilkington (among others) for not appearing, though owing suit and service to the court; Manch, Ct. Leet Rec. vii, 25.
  • 14. Farrer, Lancs. Pipe R. 151. In 1202 Alexander de Pilkington, William his brother, and Alice his sister were concerned in a settlement of lands in Rivington and Worsthorne; Final Conc. i, 18, 22. The Pilkington crest, a mower with his scythe, with the motto, 'Now thus, now thus,' similar to that of the Trafford family, has a legend of unknown origin related by Fuller, who had it from William Ryley, Norroy, to the effect that the ancestor of the family, being sought for at the time of the Norman invasion, disguised himself as a mower and so escaped. The crest is found on a seal of 1424. Accounts of the family have been printed by John Harland, 1875, and by Lieut.-Colonel John Pilkington, F.S.A., in Trans. Hist. Soc. 1891, and separately, 1894; this, with corrections and additions supplied by the author, has been utilized in this place. See also Final Conc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), ii, 35–8. A number of illustrative documents are printed in Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc.), ii, 175–86.
  • 15. Lancs. Inq. and Extents, i, 55. He also held Rivington; ibid. 67.
  • 16. Alexander de Pilkington attested a number of early charters; e.g. Lancs. Pipe R. 329–30; Final Conc, i, 216. He served on a jury in 1225–6; ibid, i, 145. The latest occurrence of his name seems to be as witness to a charter in 1231; Lord Ellesmere's D. no. 215.
  • 17. Roger de Pilkington, Geoffrey son of Luke, and others were summoned by Henry de Bolton; Curia Regis R. 78, m. 4 d. Roger attested an early 13thcentury charter to Stanlaw; Whalley Coucber (Chet. Soc), i, 49.
  • 18. Inq. and Extents, i, 154. In 1246 he was concerned in suits about Sholver; Assize R. 404, m. 2, 7, 9.
  • 19. See the account of Cheetham, and E. Axon, Chetham Gen. (Chet. Soc. New Ser.), 2.
  • 20. Alexander was probably the son of Roger. In 1277 it was found that Adam de Prestwich, Richard son of David de Hulton, Thomas de Heaton, Roger de Prestwich, and others had thrown down a ditch in Pilkington and Prestwich, whereby the tenants of Alexander de Pilkington had been damaged, through the depasturing of their corn, &c. Alexander said his father and ancestors had always been wont to raise that ditch for the protection of their corn and meadow. In the end Adam de Prestwich and the others were ordered to pay for the repair of that part of the ditch which lay in Pilkington; Assize R. 1235, m. 11 d. For a charter attested by him see Final Conc. i, 218; there are others among the Ellesmere Deeds, e.g. no. 135 (1267), 216 (1271), and 137 (1276).
  • 21. Lancs. Inq. and Extents, i, 248. He is also mentioned in 1284; Cal. Close, 1279–88, p. 251. Alice, widow of Alexander de Pilkington, is named in 1302; Assize R. 418, m. 2, 12.
  • 22. Alexander de Pilkington and Roger his son were witnesses to Lever charters about 1270; Add. MS. 32103, no. 16, 20. Richard, another son of Alexander, received the manor of Rivington.
  • 23. Chart. R. 84 (19 Edw. I), m. 10, no. 41; a grant to Roger de Pilkington of free warren in his demesne lands of Pilkington, Whitefield, Unsworth, Cheetham, Crompton, Sholver, and Wolstenholme. In the following year he was called upon to justify his claim of free warren, and produced the charter; Plac. de Quo War. (Rec. Com.), 369.
  • 24. Cal. Pat. 1281–90, p. 352. He had the king's protection in 1296 on going beyond the seas in the retinue of William de Louth, Bishop of Ely; ibid. 1292–1301, p. 177. In 1302 he contributed 10s. to the aid, as holding the fourth part of a knight's fee in Pilkington; Lancs. Inq. and Extents, i, 313. In 1322 it was found that he owed homage, fealty, and suit of court for the fourth part of a fee in Pilkington, and paid sake-fee 4s. 8d., castle ward 2s. 8d., and puture; Mamecestre, ii, 289. His seal, showing the cross patonce, is attached to a Crompton deed of 1307; Clowes D. no. 96.
  • 25. Parl. Writs (Rec. Com.), i, 1292; in 1313 he had a pardon for his part in the rising which led to the death of Piers Gaveston, and another in 1318. See also Rot. Scotiae, and Pink and Beaven, Parl. Repre. of Lancs. 18. In 1298, at Bolton, Henry son of Alexander de Pilkington (otherwise del Wood) came with a sword made of iron and steel, worth 2s., and wounded Adam de Pilkington in the neck 4 in. from the right ear, with a wound 3 in. deep, 3 in. long, and 2 in. wide, of which the said Adam languished for seven days, and died at dawn on the eighth day at Pilkington in the house of his brother Roger; Assize R. 417, m. 2; 422, m. 1 d.; see further Cal. Pat. 1292–1301, p. 550.
  • 26. Parl. Writs, loc. cit.; he was committed prisoner to Tickhill Castle, and afterwards released on agreeing to pay a fine of £200. His widow Margaret married Adam de Swillington; Cal. Pat. 1327–30, p. 21.
  • 27. Final Conc, ii, 9; he made further settlements in 1319 and 1320, when his wife's name is given as Margery; ibid, ii, 33. 35. A Roger de Pilkington in 1295 espoused Alice daughter of Sir Ralph de Otteby, and received with her the manor of Otteby in Lincolnshire; Roger joined in the insurrection of Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, and the manor was taken into the king's hands; but in 1324 Alexander, the son and heir of Roger and Alice, both then dead, petitioned for its restoration, and appears to have succeeded. An Alexander de Pilkington of Lincolnshire occurs a little later. See Inq. a.q.d. 17 Edw. II, no. 97; Anct. Pet. P.R.O. 133/6639; Pat. 18 Edw. II (6 Sept. 1324). As there can scarcely have been two Rogers taking part with the Earl of Lancaster and dying before 1324, it follows that Roger must have been married three times, the heir to Pilkington being a son by the first wife. His widow, Margery, as stated, almost immediately after his death married Sir Adam de Swillington, who had also taken part with Earl Thomas. On 13 Nov. 1322 she had livery of the lands settled upon her in 1319; Cal. Close, 1318–23, pp. 610, 648; and in 1327 Adam de Swillington was acquitted of the fine of £200 incurred by Roger; ibid. 1327–30, p. 21. Richard and William, sons of Roger de Pilkington, are mentioned in 1333; Cal. Pat. 1330–4, p. 498. William de Pilkington was in 1344 presented to the rectory of Swillington by Margery, relict of Sir Adam de Swillington; Col. J. Pilkington, quoting Torre MSS.
  • 28. About 1324 Roger de Pilkington appears as holding seven parts of the manor of Rivington; Lancs. Inq. and Extents, ii, 103. In 1324 it was stated that a Roger de Pilkington had had to pay £100 to Robert de Holland after the death of Adam Banastre; Coram Rege R. 254, fol. 61. Roger de Pilkington in 1325 was summoned to serve in Guienne, such service having been a condition of his pardon; Parl. Writs, i, 1292. He must therefore have taken part with his father in the rebellion. In 1341 he was one of the jury to inquire into the assessment of the ninths; Inq. Non. (Rec. Com.), 39. In 1343 Roger de Pilkington—perhaps the son—was charged by the jurors of West Derby with having 'brought a great crowd to the terror of the people'; Assize R. 430, m. 29. In the aid 1346–55 Roger held the fourth part of a knight's fee in Pilkington; Feud. Aids, iii, 89.
  • 29. See the account of Bury.
  • 30. Alice, widow of Roger de Pilkington, occurs in 1350; Assize R. 1444, m. 4. There were various suits in later years in which she and Roger son of Roger de Pilkington were concerned; e.g. Duchy of Lanc. Assize R. I, m. 7; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxii, App. 342. The Bishop of Lichfield in 1360 granted Alice, lady of Pilkington, licence for an oratory there for two years; Lich. Epis. Reg. v, fol. 3. In 1375 Henry de Pilkington, administrator of the goods of Alice de Pilkington deceased, called upon Roger son of Roger de Pilkington for account; it appears that he had brothers Richard and Robert, and that all were brothers of Sir Roger; De Banco R. 456, m. 598; 458, m. 80 d.; 460, m. 323 d.
  • 31. The grant of protection given him on this occasion was shown in court in Sept. 1359; Duchy of Lanc. Assize R. 7, m. 4; see Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxii, App. 334.
  • 32. Pink and Beaven, op. cit. 34–40. He is called 'chivaler' in the return of Jan. 1364–5, p. 35. When over sixty years of age, in 1386, he appeared at the Scrope-Grosvenor trial; Nicolas, Scrope R. 289.
  • 33. Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc), i, 86. The manor of Bury had been given to hit son, Sir John, before his death. Isabel daughter of Roger de Pilkington married (1) Thomas son of Sir Thomas de Lathom, and (2) Sir John de Dalton; ibid. 10, 20.
  • 34. As he was married, apparently of his own will, in 1383, he would probably not be far from twenty years of age. He was over twenty years of age, and a knight, on appearing at the Scrope-Grosvenor trial in 1386; Scrope R. 290.
  • 35. He paid a fine of 20 marks for himself and his wife for the pardon of the Duke of Lancaster; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc), i, 86; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xl, App. 522; also ibid. xxxii, App. 356.
  • 36. Cal. Pat. 1399–1401, p. 353. In 1402 he went to Germany in the retinue of the Lady Blanche; Rymer, Foed. (Syllabus, ii, 544); see also Rolls 'of Parl. iii, 634.
  • 37. Cal. Rot. Pat. (Rec. Com.), 262.
  • 38. Sir H. Nicolas, Agincourt, 360; he had with him three esquires, ten lances, and forty-five archers.
  • 39. Norman rolls in Dep. Keeper's Rep, xli, App. 711, 715, 788; ibid, xlii, App. 392, 393.
  • 40. Lancs. Rec. Inq. p.m. no. 25, 26; the jury did not know by what service the manor of Pilkington was held of the lord of Manchester, but gave its clear annual value as £60. He died 16 Feb. 1420–1. His widow Margaret died in Nov. 1436; her next heir was her granddaughter Elizabeth, daughter of Sir William Bradshagh and wife of Sir Richard Harrington; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc), ii, 181–4.
  • 41. He is perhaps the John de Pilkington who had Cheshire archers in his retinue; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xlii, App. 392. He occurs in 1427 as in debt to his tailor; Cal. Pat. 1422–9, p. 430. He held the manor of Pilkington in 1431; Feud. Aids, iii, 96. Immediately after his father's death Sir John granted his mother the pasture called Outwood and Ringleys, the tenement of William Walwork in Pilkington, and various rents and lands as dower; Raines MSS. (Chet. Lib.), xxxviii, 3. In 1432 he granted to feoffees manors and lands in Bury, Pilkington, and Cheetham; ibid. 7. Three years later he married, at the door of Manchester church, Elizabeth daughter of Sir Edmund Trafford, and made a settlement in her favour; ibid. 7, 9. In 1438 he again made a settlement of his manors and lands in Lancashire, and his brother Edmund confirmed it; ibid, 11, 15. Sir John made his will in Oct. 1446, in which he mentions Elizabeth his wife, and desires a fit priest to be procured to celebrate for him, and two years later he confirmed the arrangements made; ibid. 15, 17.
  • 42. Dep. Keeper's Rep. xli, App. 727, 760; Rot. Norm. (Rec. Com.), 234.
  • 43. Cal. Pat. 1422–9, p. 51.
  • 44. The inquisition relating to the Lancashire estate is not known to exist; but that relating to Bricklesworth in Northamptonshire is printed in Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc), ii, 184. It had been settled on him by his mother in 1430, with remainders to Edmund and Robert Pilkington, and to her granddaughter Elizabeth Bradshagh; ibid. 180. Sir John died 23 Feb. 1450–1; his heir was Thomas son of Edmund Pilkington, then of full age. Two later writs of Diem clausit extremum were issued in 1456 and 1459; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxvii, App. 175, 177.
  • 45. Lancs. Inq. p.m. ii, 176. By a fine of 1430 Stagenhoe was settled on Edmund Pilkington and his heirs male, with reversion to Elizabeth daughter of Sir William Bradshagh ; ii, 181.
  • 46. A difficulty is created by the statement in a plea in the Rolls of Parl. (vi, 34, 35) that Thomas was the son of Edmund son of Katherine, sister of John Ashton (of Ashton-under-Lyne). The solution may be that Edmund was son-inlaw of Katherine, i.e. that she was his wife's mother.
  • 47. Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxvii, App. 179.
  • 48. From 1467 to 1473 and from 1480 to 1484 ; P.R.O. List, 72. In his first term he was 'esquire,' and in the second 'knight.'
  • 49. Metcalfe, Knights, 4, by the Prince in 1475, and p. 5, by the Duke of Gloucester, 1481.
  • 50. Pilkington, Pilkington Family, 26, quoting Harl. MS. 542, fol. 31.
  • 51. Rolls of Parl. vi, 276.
  • 52. Harland, Pilkington, 2 (quoting Blomfield's Norf. i, 33, x, 42), erroneously states that he was killed at the battle of Stoke. He was pardoned in 1508; Towneley MS. GG, no. 2041.
  • 53. Cal. Inq. Hen. VII, 1, 220; Sir Thomas Pilkington, attainted in 1485, had in 1467 granted his manor of Clipston to his son Roger, who had been in possession from that time until 1487. In 1502 it was alleged that the grant to Roger was made without the knowledge of Sir Thomas; Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 95, m. 5.
  • 54. Harland, ut sup.
  • 55. Pat. 4 Hen. VII, 23 Feb.; the grant included the manors of Pilkington, Bury, Cheetham, and Cheetwood, and lands, &c. in these places and in Tottington, Unsworth, Salford, Shuttleworth, Shufflebottom, Middleton, and Hundersfield.
  • 56. The manor of Pilkington was in 1652 part of the life estate of Charlotte Countess of Derby; the old rents in 1640 were £116, and the turbary was worth £4; Royalist Comp. Papers (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), ii, 184, 185. Various lands in the neighbourhood seem to have been treated as appurtenances of the manor, e.g. a messuage in Salford and messuages in Cheetham; ibid, ii, 240, 241; also Com. Pleas Recov. Rolls, Trin. 1653, m. 21; Mich. 1653, m. 39. The manor has been included in the Derby settlements; e.g. Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 199, m. 55 (1677); ibid. Aug. Assizes, 1797 (recovery).
  • 57. Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), i, 143. 155.
  • 58. Royalist Comp. Papers, iii, 174; he stated that 'he was threatened from his dwelling house into service as a common trooper' under the earl. He was the son of Richard and Jane Heape. Thomas and John Heape contributed to the subsidy in 1622.
  • 59. A family of the local name was formerly settled there; Booker quotes a deed by which Richard de Rodes, clerk, in 1280 granted all the fruits in his land at the Rhodes to Richard de Budellisholme and Agnes his wife; Prestwich, 214. The legend as to the fraud by which Sir John Pilkington acquired the estate is given in Baines, Lancs, (ed. 1870), i, 448. Sir John is said to have caused some of his own cattle to be locked up in a shelter on the Rhodes property, and having 'found' them there, charged the owner with stealing them, and thus compelled him to sell his estate.
  • 60. 'From the old local family it passed in marriage with an heiress into the family of Parr, from whom it was conveyed by two sisters and co-heiresses—one portion to William son of William Holland of Clifton in right of his wife Jane Parr, and the remainder to — Foxe of Lathom, who had espoused the other sister'; Booker, loc. cit. no references being given. In 1541 John Foxe contributed to the subsidy. His son William died about 1595, having, besides the Rhodes, an estate in Toxteth. By his will he gave to his son his title and interest in ground 'late parcel of the waste and common in Pilkington aforesaid, called Whitefield moor'; and 10 metts of barley to be divided equally among twenty of the poorest people of Pilkington and the neighbourhood; Piccope, Wills (Chet. Soc), iii, 113–15. The inventories of his goods at Pilkington and Toxteth amounted respectively to £295 and £127. For the will of Jane widow of John Foxe, 1581, see Wills (Chet. Soc. new ser.), i, 210; also i, 236. There is a picture of the family life at Rhodes in Halley, Lancs. Puritanism, i, 193–4. The name Foxe occurs in the Prestwich registers down to 1746; Booker, loc. supra cit. See also Walwortb Corresp. (Chet. Soc), 8. The statement quoted above, that William Holland of Rhodes was son of William Holland of Clifton, is incorrect; see W. F. Irvine, Hollands of Mobberley, 37–8. The will of William Holland of Rhodes, 1613, is printed ibid. 123. The Hollands of Rhodes occur in the Prestwich registers down to 1672; Booker, op. cit. 176–8.
  • 61. Robert Barlow contributed to the subsidy in 1541 and Thomas Barlow in 1622.
  • 62. Thomas Crompton contributed to the subsidy in 1541. Of another family was Joshua Crompton of Old Hall in Stand, baptized at Bolton in 1650 and buried there in 1728; he was succeeded by coheiresses, whose representatives in 1847 were George Ormerod, the historian of Cheshire; Hornby Roughsedge of Foxghyll; George Tomline of Riby; and Harriet Maltby of Bath; Booker, op. cit. 233–5; also 245.
  • 63. This family gave its name to a portion of the Park in Pilkington. Molyneux occurs in the Prestwich registers from 1630 to 1745; Booker, op. cit. 236, 237.
  • 64. For the Seddons of Prestolee, a yeoman family, see the Walwortk Corresp. where a tabular pedigree is given, extending from 1550 to 1870. The family were in the main Puritans, and adhered to the Parliamentary side in the Civil War, though one or two took part with the king; op. cit. pp. x-xiv. Peter Seddon was in 1646 a member of the Manchester Classis; his son Peter was a captain in the Parliamentary army; another son, Robert, a minister, was ejected from Langley in 1662; Manch. Classis (Chet. Soc), i, 7 ; iii, 445.
  • 65. This family lived at Stand in the 17th century. Peter Sergeant of Pilkington was another member of the Classis; ibid, i, 7, 16. Extracts from the Prestwich registers relating to them are given by Booker, pp. 221–3.
  • 66. For an account of the family see J. S. Fletcher, Walworth Corresp. above quoted, v-ix; Pal. Note Bk. i, 1. Ellis Walwork or Walworth was curate of Prestwich in 1563 onwards; Visit. Lists at Chester. Nathan Walworth founded the chapel of Ringley in 1624.
  • 67. The will of Robert Wroe of Prestwich was proved in 1566; Wills (Chet. Soc. new ser.), i, 232. James Wroe of Unsworth was an elder of Prestwich in 1647; Manch. Classis, 16.
  • 68. Returns at Preston.
  • 69. W. Nicholls, Prestwich, 91, 92. It was part of the ancient Park of Pilkington. The Philips family have monuments in the old Presbyterian chapel at Stand. The house was built by Robert Philips in 1800; his eldest son Mark, a Liberal, was one of the first members of Parliament for Manchester, 1832 to 1847; Pink and Beaven, op. cit. 295–8. Another son, the late Robert Needham Philips, was member for Bury from 1857 to 1885; ibid. 329. 'Through the generosity of the resident family much of the most beautiful part of the estate has been open for years and is still open to the public every Saturday and Sunday.' For a pedigree of the family see Burke, Landed Gentry—Philips of Heath House.
  • 70. Ducatus Lanc. (Rec. Com.), iii, 400, 401, 420. Robert Massey, mercer, of Warrington, in 1651 desired to purchase thirty-eight score of timber trees and poles on the Earl of Derby's land at Pilkington, some being much decayed and of no use, 'because coals are gotten within a mile or two'; Cal. of Com. for Compounding, i, 492.
  • 71. Nathan Walworth mentions it in a letter of 1623, and hopes the building will go forward in the following spring; Walworth Corresp. 2. The date of erection is given in Commonwealth Ch. Surv. (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), 15.
  • 72. The delay in the consecration seems to have been due to the want of an endowment for the minister. A description of the consecration is given in a letter of Peter Seddon's; he saw nothing in the ceremony but what was 'godly, lawful, and expedient, without any superstition'; he was aware that 'some calumniators' objected, but, as he thought, 'because they like not bishops'; Walwortb Corresp. 30–3. Walworth afterwards endowed it with lands at Benton in Yorkshire; in 1650 the value was £16 a year, but had increased to a nominal £24 by 1718, by which time other benefactions had been made, raising the income to about £30; Gastrell, Notitia (Chet. Soc), ii, 117–19. The chapel was then used by the inhabitants of Kearsley and Clifton, as well as Outwood. About 1735 a gift from Queen Anne's Bounty added another £20 a year to the income; Booker, Prestwich, 84. In 1671 the curate, William Dennis, was presented for not wearing the surplice and omitting the holidays, particularly 29 May; he promised obedience; Visit. Rec. In 1778 the chapel was regularly served every Lord's Day; the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was administered once a quarter; Booker, loc. cit.
  • 73. Lond. Gaz. 6 Mar. 1883.
  • 74. It was regularly served every Lord's Day in 1778; the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was administered once every quarter; Booker, loc. cit.
  • 75. It was endowed with the tithes of Unsworth and made a rectory in 1848; Lond. Gaz. 10 Mar.
  • 76. Notitia Cestr. ii, 119. The endowment consisted of land at Flamborough.
  • 77. Nightingale, Lancs. Nonconf. iii, 226– 33. In spite of the reason given for the division, the first minister was 'strongly Unitarian'; the cause declined in consequence.
  • 78. Manch. Socinian Controversy, 156, where it is claimed as 'originally orthodox,' though 'part of the endowments were not of orthodox origin.' For the endowments of chapel and school see Endowed Charities Rep. for Prestwich, 1904, pp. 4, 18.
  • 79. Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. iv, App. iv, 232.
  • 80. The Charities' Report shows that Henry Siddall, a tailor, of Radcliffe Bridge, in 1666 left land in Whitefield which his trustees in 1688 applied to the use of a school. The building raised was used both as chapel and school; Notitia Cestr. ii, 111.
  • 81. For a full account see Nightingale, op. cit. iii, 215–26. About 1720 there were 338 persons in the congregation, of whom thirty-one had county votes; O. Heywood, Diaries, iv, 316. The chapel was wrecked by a 'Church and King' mob from Manchester in June 1715; Pal. Note Bk. ii, 243. A school advertisement of 1769 is printed in Loc. Gleanings Lancs, and Ches. i, 253.
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