Townships: Wrightington

A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 6. Originally published by Victoria County History, London, 1911.

This free content was digitised by double rekeying. All rights reserved.

Citation:

'Townships: Wrightington', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 6, ed. William Farrer, J Brownbill( London, 1911), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol6/pp169-178 [accessed 7 December 2024].

'Townships: Wrightington', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 6. Edited by William Farrer, J Brownbill( London, 1911), British History Online, accessed December 7, 2024, https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol6/pp169-178.

"Townships: Wrightington". A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 6. Ed. William Farrer, J Brownbill(London, 1911), , British History Online. Web. 7 December 2024. https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol6/pp169-178.

In this section

WRIGHTINGTON

Wrstincton, 1195; Wrichtington, 1202; Wrictinton, 1212; Wrytinton, 1256; Wrythinton, 1262; Wryghtington, Writtyngton, 1284–5; Whritynton, Wrythtynton, 1292. (fn. 1)

The township has an area of 3,915½ acres, (fn. 2) with a population in 1901 of 1,869 persons. The surface is hilly, rising to over 400 ft. at Harrock on the border of Parbold, and falling thence to the north, north-east and south-east. On the southern border the boundary at Appley Bridge touches the Douglas. The hall, with its large deer park, is to the north of this point. Tunley and Broadhurst lie to the north of the park, and Fairhurst, to the west of Harrock, reaches down to the Douglas.

A road runs north from Appley Bridge through Appley Moor and the hamlet called Robin Hood to Eccleston; it is crossed by two roads from Wigan to Parbold. The Lancashire and Yorkshire Company's Railway from Wigan to Southport crosses the southeastern corner, having a station called Appley Bridge, while the Leeds and Liverpool Canal crosses the township at the same place between the railway and the Douglas.

The soil is clay, with subsoil of marl and stone. Wheat and oats are grown.

At Harrock Hill, Fairhurst and Hill House Lane are pedestals of ancient crosses. (fn. 3) At Skull House in Appley is kept a skull which is said to return to its resting-place if displaced. (fn. 4)

In 1666 there were found 107 hearths chargeable to the tax in the east side of the township and ninetysix in the west side. The largest house was that of Hugh Dicconson with fifteen hearths, the next that of Nicholas Rigby with seven. (fn. 5)

Manors

The vills of WRIGHTINGTON and Parbold were probably from its formation members of the barony of Manchester, and the connexion was recognized down to the 17th century. (fn. 6) Albert Grelley the elder, who died about 1162, gave them, together with the adjacent Dalton in West Derby Hundred, to Orm son of Ailward in marriage with his daughter Emma, to be held by the service of one knight's fee. (fn. 7) From Orm descended the family of Kirkby of Kirkby Ireleth, (fn. 8) of whom Wrightington continued to be held, at least in part. The Kirkbys granted it out, and in 1195, probably by marriage with co-heirs, the group of manors was held in moiety by Robert son of Bernard de Goosnargh and by Roger de Burton and Orm de Ashton, his brother. A division was made in the year mentioned, half of Wrightington being retained by Robert son of Bernard and the other half, with the whole of Parbold, being assigned to the brothers. (fn. 9) The former moiety was soon afterwards divided among three co-heirs, (fn. 10) represented later by the families of Catterall, (fn. 11) Butler of Rawcliffe (fn. 12) and Hoghton, (fn. 13) while the latter moiety seems to have reverted to the superior lords, and was later in the hands of Kirkby of Kirkby (fn. 14) and Lathom of Lathom, (fn. 15) each being said to hold a fourth part of the manor. The Lathoms also had Parbold, and as early as 1242 Robert de Lathom was stated to hold one knight's fee in Wrightington and Parbold of Thomas Grelley. (fn. 16) This part was held by the Lathoms of Parbold, who about 1620 acquired the Kirkby portion. Probably the moiety was included in the purchase of the Parbold estates by the Dicconsons. (fn. 17)

With the manor thus divided among a number of non-resident lords, the smaller families, as in similar cases, became prominent. The first to be noticed are those which took the local name. The story is extremely obscure. The above-named Roger de Burton was a benefactor of Cockersand Abbey, (fn. 18) and it was probably a descendant of him or his brother Orm who as Geoffrey de Wrightington was lord of part of the manor in 1282. (fn. 19) Afterwards this fourth part was sold to the superior lords, the Kirkbys, (fn. 20) but a Wrightington family, probably descendants of the former one, continued to hold lands in the township. (fn. 21) A later Geoffrey de Wrightington (fn. 22) about 1365 received from Henry de Torbock the manor of Welch Whittle, with lands in Wrightington and Coppull, as a reward for assistance in recovering his inheritance. (fn. 23) John son of Robert Wrightington died in or before 1503, (fn. 24) leaving a son and heir Thomas Wrightington, who died in December 1544 holding eight messuages and various lands in Wrightington of Nicholas Butler and Robert Kirkby in socage by a rent of 18s. 4d.; also holding the manor of Welch Whittle and lands, &c., there and in Shevington and Coppull. His heir was his son John, aged fifty-seven. (fn. 25) Edward Dicconson of Eccleston married Anne daughter of a later John Wrightington, (fn. 26) and is said to have succeeded to the family lands. (fn. 27) A brief pedigree was recorded in 1664. (fn. 28) It is certain that the Dicconsons acquired a large portion of the land in the township, (fn. 29) and in 1723 Edward Dicconson and Mary his wife made a settlement of their 'manors' of Wrightington, Shevington and Welch Whittle. (fn. 30) Edward was succeeded by his sons William (fn. 31) and Edward, and on the death of the latter in 1812 the estates went to his nephew Thomas Eccleston, who resumed his family name of Scarisbrick and died in 1809. His younger son Charles took the name of Dicconson on succeeding to Wrightington, but he also afterwards resumed his family name on becoming lord of Scarisbrick. On his death in 1860 Wrightington passed to the son of his sister Elizabeth, who had married Captain Edward Clifton. She took the name and arms of Dicconson, and died in 1862. The estate was held in turn by her sons Thomas, William Charles and Charles. The last-named died without issue in 1895, and was followed, according to his dispositions, by his nephew Robert Joseph Gerard, a younger son of the first Lord Gerard by his wife Harriet Clifton, who has added the name of Dicconson to his own. (fn. 32)

The Dicconson family in the main adhered to the old religion. (fn. 33) Inquiry was made in 1694 as to lands of Hugh and William Dicconson alleged to be appropriated to 'superstitious uses.' (fn. 34) William Dicconson, eldest son of Hugh, was a zealous Jacobite; much of his estate was confiscated, and he went into exile dying at St. Germains in 1743. (fn. 35) Roger, a younger brother, was outlawed in 1715, but appears to have retained the family estates, the abovenamed Edward Dicconson of 1723 being his son. (fn. 36) The most distinguished member of the family was a younger brother of William and Roger, Dr. Edward Dicconson, professor at Douay, and afterwards Bishop of Malla and Vicar Apostolic of the Northern Province. Heresided at Finch Mill in Shevington, and is buried in Standish Church, where there is a monument. (fn. 37)

Dicconson of Wrightington. Or on a cross quarter - pierced between four hinds' heads erased vert two crosslets fitchy in pale and as many escallops in fesse of the field.

WRIGHTINGTON HALL is a plain two-storied classic building erected in 1748, (fn. 38) the main front facing east with slightly projecting ends with hipped roofs. The entrance is on the west side under a large modern porch added in 1860, when the interior of the house was partially gutted and renewed and a servants' wing added on the north. The building is of stone with wood cornice and green slated roofs, but the original barred windows have given place to modern plate glass. On the first floor a long gallery runs the full length of the building from north to south lit by windows at each end and a bay on the east. Wrightington Hall is said to have been the first house north of the Trent to have sash windows, but this probably refers to a former building, part of which remains on the north-west side of the main block at right angles with the west front. It was erected probably in the 17th century, but seems to have been partially rebuilt since in stone. Its north elevation, however, retains in its upper part the original halftimber work, a picturesque design with four attic gables and curved and diagonal bracings, with a plaster cove marking each floor line. The ground story has been refaced in stone and has sash windows. The interior of this older wing retains much of its original oak panelling and has two rooms with good fireplaces, that to the end ground-floor room having Tuscan columns in its lower part and panels divided by small Ionic columns above. The mantel in the room above has some good carved oakwork with the initials w.w. and m.w. in the panels.

On the north side of the house, at the east end of the older wing, is the chapel, which, though no longer used and curtailed in size, still retains its classic altarpiece with Ionic columns and picture together with twisted altar rails. The altar is at the north end and has a plain semicircular arch over, carried on cherub-head brackets. The east wall has been rebuilt and has modern windows, those on the west being the original sashes divided by bars. The door between the old wing and the servants' quarters is the original 17th-century one of heavy oak and nail-studded. The new north wing was further added to and new offices built about ten years ago. To the north-east of the house are the 18th-century stables and riding school.

On the east side of the house is a sheet of water which is crossed by the road from Standish and Parbold on a bridge of three arches and balustraded parapet erected in 1778.

The name of Stopford appears early (fn. 39); William Stopford at the end of the 16th century acquired two of the sixth parts of the manor, (fn. 40) but this share was in 1611 sold to the Ashhursts of Dalton. The 'manor' is not named again, (fn. 41) but lands, &c., in Wrightington were included in the Ashhurst sale to Sir Thomas Bootle of Lathom in 1751. (fn. 42)

The Heskeths of Rufford about 1500 acquired an estate in Wrightington, (fn. 43) but it was not till the beginning of the 17th century that their 'manor' is named. (fn. 44) It is probable that it was the Stopford manor. (fn. 45)

The Hospitallers had considerable lands in Wrightington and Parbold. (fn. 46) HARROCK was one of the estates, and it was long held by the Rigby family. (fn. 47) Nicholas Rigby died in May 1557 (fn. 48) holding the capital messuage called the hall of Harrock of the king and queen as of the late priory of St. John of Jerusalem in socage by a rent of 12d., other lands similarly by a rent of 4d., and the Town Carr of Henry Kirkby by a rent of 2s. 6d. (fn. 49) Nicholas his son and heir, then aged thirty-two, (fn. 50) died in 1599 holding the same lands and leaving as heir his son Nicholas, thirty-seven years of age. (fn. 51) This Nicholas died in 1629, leaving a son and heir of the same name and thirty-seven years old. (fn. 52) The inquisitions do not show the purchase of part of the Hoghton of Hoghton Tower share of the manor in 1567. (fn. 53) The family for some time adhered to Roman Catholicism and in 1628 Nicholas Rigby was entered on the subsidy roll as a convicted recusant. (fn. 54) Pedigrees were recorded in 1567, (fn. 55) 1613 (fn. 56) and 1664. (fn. 57) The Nicholas Rigby who recorded the last pedigree left a son Nicholas, who died in 1740, (fn. 58) and whose eventual heirs were the descendants of his daughter Anne by her husband, the Rev. Thomas Baldwin, sometime rector of a mediety of Liverpool and rector of Leyland. Their son John, rector of North Meols, succeeded to the Harrock estates in 1787 and took the name and arms of Rigbye. His third son, the Rev. Rigbye Baldwin, succeeded him in 1793, and afterwards took the surname of Rigbye. He was in 1829 succeeded by his son Captain Rigbye Baldwin Rigbye. The estate was sold about fifty years ago and in 1894 was owned by Arthur Ramsden Boulton. Mr. Gerard-Dicconson now owns it.

HARROCK HALL is situated in a sheltered position on the high ground north of Parbold and the Douglas Valley, in the north-west of the township. It is a two-story stone building with mullioned windows, apparently dating from the first half of the 17th century, but internally the house has been wholly modernized at the beginning of the last century and extended at both ends. In this alteration it is possible that portions of the original building were destroyed, and that the middle portion of the principal front, which is alone of any architectural interest, may not be the full extent of the original house. This older portion is a good composition, with centrally placed bay window and projecting porches at each end, going up the full height of both stories. The windows on both floors have transoms, and in the rooms over the porches are placed near to the internal angle and carried right across the front of the first floor. The walls finish with plain stone parapets, except to the bay, where a rounded embattled coping is introduced. The upper part of the parapet, however, has been rebuilt, and may not carry out the original design. The porches have semicircular-headed openings with imposts and moulded jambs, and occupy the internal angles between the later wings and the hall proper. Whether they mark the full extent of the original front is not evident, there being nothing to show definitely whether the early 19th-century work is a rebuilding or an addition. (fn. 59) The present extent of the old front is about 48 ft., and the later wings on either side are each 20 ft. across. They are built in the pseudo-Gothic style of c. 1820–30, with sash windows, and have blue slated hipped roofs behind ornamental parapets. The older roofs are covered with stone slabs. The house has been further extended at the east end by the addition of a gabled wing about 46 ft. in length, erected apparently in the middle of the last century, the design being much better than that of the earlier modern work, and making a total frontage of about 136 ft. The front of the building faces north, and owing to its sheltered position is very damp. The back is almost wholly modern. The building has been unoccupied, except for a few rooms at the east end, for a number of years, and in parts is in a very neglected and dilapidated condition. The interior is without interest, having been entirely modernized. In front of the house is a good 18th-century fence wall and railing, with tall Renaissance gate and angle piers of good design.

Nelson of Fairhurst. Or a cross patonace sable over all a bendle gules.

FAIRHURST seems also to have been the Hospitallers'. Families named Banastre (fn. 60) and Nelson owned it; the latter, who acquired another part of the Hoghton manor, (fn. 61) remained in possession till recent times. A pedigree was recorded in 1664. (fn. 62) Fairhurst Hall is a two-story 18th-century brick building with gritstone dressings, the principal front, which faces south, having projecting end wings and originally a central entrance doorway. This, however, has been converted into a window, and the entrance is now at the east end, to the north of which a wing has been added during the last century. The roofs are hipped and covered with stone slates, with overhanging eaves. The windows have keystoned heads, and the angles of the building and old entrance doorway are further emphasized in stone. The back part of the west wing appears to belong to an older house, probably of the 17th century, and has a gable and large projecting stone chimney. There is said to have been a chapel on the first floor in this part of the house, approached by an external flight of stone steps. The steps are gone, but the old doorway still remains. Some portions of timber construction belonging to the older house are also visible. The building was probably of the usual H type of plan, the front part reconstructed in the 18th century, and most likely on the old foundations. The interior has been almost entirely modernized, though two of the lower rooms retain original painted wainscot. The front elevation is of good design and has a very good appearance, owing to the colour of the old bricks and stone slates and to the fact that the windows retain their barred sashes.

The other tenants of the Hospital included the Worthingtons of Blainscough, (fn. 63) Standish (fn. 64) and Halliwell. (fn. 65) The tenants of Cockersand Abbey were Banastre, Rigby, Stopford and Tunley. (fn. 66)

TUNLEY at one time gave a surname to the tenant. (fn. 67) In part it was owned by the Halliwells and in part by a Wilson family, whose representatives retain it. (fn. 68) South Tunley, (fn. 69) now a farm-house, stands on rising ground above a small stream called Tunley Brook at the east side of the township, and is an interesting 17th-century building of two stories of the H type, the middle and east wing being of timber and plaster and the west wing of brick with gritstone dressings, the whole on a high sandstone chamfered base. The front, which faces south and is about 55 ft. in length, retains most of its original features, though all the windows in the timber portion have been modernized, and in 1896 the greater part of the old oak timber in the east gable was taken out owing to decay and replaced. The end wings are gabled but without barge-boards, and there is a smaller timber gable over the projecting porch to the hall in the angle formed by the west wing. The appearance of the front with its combination of old red brick, stone, plaster and timber and greystone roofing slates is very picturesque, the position of the house, which stands some 8 ft. or 10 ft. above the roadway, and the character of its approach adding materially to the effect. The lower part of the porch, which is open and has a wooden seat on each side, is built of gritstone, and on the door head are the date 1622 and the initials of Thomas Wilson and his wife. This probably gives the year of building, what later work there is being more in the nature of embellishment or repair than of structural alterations or additions. The hall is only 17 ft. by 12 ft. 6 in., the greater length being from front to back, but the size is increased by a large open fireplace 4 ft. 6 in. deep and 12 ft. wide on the west side, now filled with a modern grate. The floor is flagged and the ceiling, which is 9 ft. 6 in. high, is crossed by a single oak beam now whitewashed carrying the exposed joists of the floor above. The whole of the south side of the room is occupied by a window, and there are three doors, one in the south-west corner from a lobby between its porch and west wing, and the others on the east and north sides opening directly into the parlour in the east wing and to a smaller room and staircase on the north side. The west wing, which preserves its low stone mullioned windows, contains the kitchen, in which there is a large fireplace opening nearly 11 ft. wide. A low brick porch has been added to the outer door on the west side. The parlour in the east wing and the room above were originally wainscoted in oak, but owing to decay this has been replaced by pitch pine and painted. The interior of the house is of no particular interest, but the original oak doors with fleur de lis hinges have been retained, and the porch door is the old oak one with iron ring handle. The upper part of the porch is of brick, but has apparently been rebuilt in comparatively modern times, the bricks not being the original 17thcentury 2½-in. ones as used in the west wing. The exterior timber work is of very plain character, consisting almost entirely of uprights and crosspieces with a cove at the first-floor level and diagonal pieces in the east gable. There is a good projecting brick chimney of two square shafts with zigzag filling between at the east end. On a spout head near the porch is the date 1667 with the initials W TE and the crest of the Wilsons (a demi-wolf), the crest being repeated four times on the bands of the spout below. It was probably about this time, or a little later, that the picturesque approach to the house from the road was laid down. This consists of a rising footwalk about 7 ft. wide between stone walls entered by a wicket from the roadway and proceeding for a short distance parallel with the house and then turning at right angles, with a rise of three steps towards a gateway in the stone wall inclosing the front garden immediately opposite the porch. Over the gateway is a stone with the same initials as on the spout head and the date 1671, but the stone is loose and may not be in its original position. There are two more rises, each of three steps, one at the gateway and the other within the garden at a distance of about 35 ft. from the house, the whole forming a very charming feature. In the hall are preserved two ancient breastplates, a helmet and some 18th-century oak furniture.

A short distance to the east of South Tunley is Tunley Farm, a two-story stone-built house with central hall and projecting gabled end wings. It is built above the level of the road, from which it is approached by a flight of six steps leading to a gateway flanked by two graceful gate-piers with ball tops. Over the porch are the initials R H M and the date 1675. The building retains its old stone-flagged roof, but the original mullioned windows have been removed. (fn. 70)

Landowners contributing to the subsidy of 1542–3 in Wrightington with Tunley were Thomas Wrightington, Nicholas Rigby, Richard Banastre (two), and Robert Stopford. (fn. 71) In 1564 those in Wrightington with Parbold were Richard Lathom, Nicholas Rigby, Robert Stopford and John Wilson. (fn. 72)

Among other landowners recorded in the inquisitions are Sutton, (fn. 73) Chisnall, (fn. 74) Fleetwood, (fn. 75), Lancaster, (fn. 76) Lassells, (fn. 77) Sankey, (fn. 78) Hawett, (fn. 79) Jarman (fn. 80) and Finch. (fn. 81) In addition the freeholders of 1600 included Richard Porter, James Pemberton, Gilbert Rigby, Hugh Wrennall and Thomas Eccleston. (fn. 82) Several estates were sequestered by the Parliament in the Civil War for recusancy and delinquency, (fn. 83) and in 1717 six 'Papists' registered their estates. (fn. 84)

From the land tax returns of 1786 it appears that the township was still divided into east side and west side. The chief landowners were William Dicconson and Dennis Halliwell, both double assessed for religion, Mrs. Rigby, John Nelson and Lady Tyrrell. In 1798 some additional owners appear: Edmund Newman Kershaw, Mr. Millson (? Wilson), Mr. Heskin's heirs and James Tunstall. (fn. 85)

From the account of the manor it will be seen that the old subdivisions were altered and perhaps increased in number early in the 17th century. (fn. 86) The lordship thus became uncertain, and manor courts have long ceased to be held.

At an inquiry made in 1540 it was stated that the custom of the town had been for the executors of a deceased tenant to keep possession of his land till the following Candlemas, and for fire and fodder till 3 May; also that the eldest son should have his father's tenement, paying the accustomed rent at Whitsuntide and Martinmas. (fn. 87)

For the services of the Church of England St. James's was built in 1857; the vicars are presented by the rector of Eccleston. (fn. 88) There is also a mission chapel at Appley.

The Primitive Methodists have two places of worship. (fn. 89)

Jonathan Scholefield, the curate ejected from Douglas in 1662 for nonconformity, found a refuge at Tunley. He died in 1667, and there is no information as to his adherents, but a chapel was built in 1691. The congregation, about a century later, became Unitarian, but the building was afterwards given to the Scottish Presbyterians, and it now belongs to the Presbyterian Church of England. (fn. 90)

Roman Catholicism was never extinguished in the township, (fn. 91) but there are few records of its worship. Fairhurst Hall was at one time the mission centre, and Wrightington Hall Chapel was used from 1806 until the building of St. Joseph's in 1892.

Footnotes

  • 1. Land was claimed in 'Wrethington,' but the defendant replied that there was no vill in the county so named; the tenements were in 'Wrythtynton'; Assize R. 408, m. 37 d.
  • 2. The Census Rep. of 1901 gives 3,917 acres, including 29 of inland water.
  • 3. –6 Lancs. and Cbes. Antiq. Soc. xvii, 17, 18.
  • 4. For this and other interesting places in the township see an essay by Mr. W. F. Price in Trans. Hist. Soc. (new ser.), xv, 208, &c.
  • 5. Subs. R. Lancs. bdle. 250, no. 9. Other houses were those of Thomas Nelson, William Crook, Oliver Halliwell, six hearths each; John Halliwell, five; John Halliwell of Hill, five; and Thomas Wilson, four.
  • 6. It is so recognized in inquisitions quoted later. Some dues or services were received from it by the lord of Manchester, as appears by Mosley fines of 1653 and 1680; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 151, m. 152; 204, m. 66. At the same time the constables of Wrightington and Parbold were summoned to attend the Manchester court; Court Leet Rec. iv, 148, &c.
  • 7. Lancs. Inq. and Extents (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 55; in 1212 'the heirs of that Orm held' the land.
  • 8. Farrer, Lancs. Pipe R. 405.
  • 9. Final Conc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), iii, 172. From a Dwerryhouse deed, quoted below, it appears that Roger de Ashton, perhaps the father of the Roger and Orm of this fine, gave land in Wrightington to the Hospitallers. Somewhat later, in 1202, Margaret widow of Richard de Lancaster made an agreement as to her dower with Robert son of Bernard (de Goosnargh), Orm son of Roger and his brother Roger; ibid. i, 18. From the former fine it will be seen that Wrightington was assessed as two plough-lands and Parbold as one. Hence in 1302 Thomas Grelley contributed to the aid for three plough-lands in Wrightington and Parbold, whereof ten made a knight's fee; Inq. and Extents, i, 315. It is thus seen that in the case of Wrightington, Parbold and Dalton four plough-lands had been granted out as one knight's fee, though the superior lord rendered only the service of four-tenths of a fee. Hence it is the less surprising to find it recorded that Robert de Lathom in 1242 held the fourth part of a knight in Parbold and three-fourths in Wrightington of the fee of Manchester; Inq. and Extents, i, 154. The 'three-fourths' may be an error or may include Dalton, for in 1320 Robert de Lathom and John de Kirkby were stated to hold half a fee in Wrightington—the old service; and again in 1473 Richard Kirkby and his partners held the half fee by a rent of 3s., paying also 5s. for castle ward; Mamecestre (Chet. Soc.), ii, 288; iii, 479.
  • 10. In 1282, after the death of Robert Grelley, it was returned that Wrightington, Parbold and Dalton were held of him for the fee of one knight by Robert de Lathom, Adam de Hoghton, William le Boteler, Ralph de Catterall and Geoffrey de Wrightington; Inq. and Extents, i, 248.
  • 11. Richard de Catterall of Goosnargh about 1244 held land in Wrightington worth 14s. of Thomas Grelley; ibid. i, 160. Later inquisitions record Richard's holding as either 4 or 22/3 oxgangs—i.e. a quarter or a sixth part of the manor— held of John de Kirkby by knights' service; ibid. i, 211, 212. Richard son of Swain (de Catterall), with the consent of his wife Isoult, about 1220 granted to the canons of Cockersand his land within bounds fixed by Linley Brook, the great Clough to Risenbridge, a line across to Vivinhac, and south to the start; Cockersand Chartul. (Chet. Soc.), ii, 502. Ralph de Catterall claimed the sixth part of a tenement of John de Chisnall's in 1292; Assize R. 408, m. 74; see also m. 30. He granted his son Alan in 1305 all his lands, demesne, services, &c., in Wrightington; Carr Hall MS. Adam de Catterall, who died in 1397, held a fourth or third part of the manor of Sir John La Warr by knights' service; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc.), i, 66. Later inquisitions describe the Catterall estate as held in socage of Lord la Warr; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. iv, no. 62, 4. In that of Thomas Catterall in 1579 it is described as the fifth part of the manor, twelve messuages, &c., and 10s. free rent; ibid. xiv, no. 4. It in part at least descended to the Townleys of Barnside, heirs of Thomas Catterall's eldest daughter Anne. Lawrence Townley died in 1623 holding a sixth part of the manor of Wrightington, with messuages and land there, of Edward Mosley as of his manor of Manchester in socage, and a similar return was made after the death of his son Richard in 1630; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), iii, 410; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xxv, no. 19. Another part, however, was held by John Grimshaw and Mary his wife, another daughter of Thomas Catterall, and was in 1580 sold to William Stopford; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 42, m. 150. Thomas Procter and Elizabeth his wife (another daughter) also made a sale or settlement of the 'manor' in 1581; ibid. bdle. 43, m. 130.
  • 12. The origin of the Butler interest is not clear, but as it was sometimes called a sixth part of the manor it was probably the share of a daughter of Robert de Goosnargh. Richard le Boteler in 1262 purchased from Alan de Wolvemoor and Alice his wife land and wood in Wrightington, giving 11 marks of silver, and promising a rose as rent; Final Conc. i, 136. To the same Richard, Henry son of Wenne released all his title in lands granted him by Richard de Catterall in Wrightington; Add. MS. 32104, no. 1321. William le Boteler, as stated above, was one of the lords in 1282. Nicholas le Boteler was defendant in a claim made by John de Chisnall in 1292; Assize R. 408, m. 41. Nicholas son of William le Boteler in 1337 granted to Lucy de Lathom, lady of Parbold, all his share of the Mene wood in Wrightington, between Hawksbrook and Linley Clough, at a rent of 2s.; Add. MS. 32104, no. 1318. Sir John Boteler died in 1404 holding lands in Wrightington of John La Warr, lord of Manchester, by the rent of a rose; Towneley MS. DD, no. 1460. Lands in Wrightington were included in a Boteler settlement of 1443; Final Conc. iii, 108. James Boteler died in 1504 holding three messuages, 20 acres of land, &c., of Lord la Warre by services unknown; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. iii, no. 109. In a subsequent inquisition the tenure is called socage; ibid. vii, no. 4. The estate is not described as a manor, but in 1567 Henry Butler, a grandson and the eventual heir, sold the manor of Wrightington with the appurtenances and lands there to William Stopford; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 29, m. 43. It seems to be the sixth part of the manor afterwards held by the Heskeths of Rufford.
  • 13. Avice daughter and co-heir of Robert de Goosnargh married Oliver de Longford and secondly Michael de Ellaston (Athelackston) and Nigel de Longford and Michael de Ellaston both granted lands in Wrightington to Cockersand Abbey; Cockersand Chartul. ii, 504, 503. Henry de Ellaston gave all his right in his mother's lands in Wrightington, Goosnargh, &c., to Adam de Hoghton; Dods. MSS. cxlii, fol. 23b. Thus Adam appears as one of the lords of Wrightington in 1282. He was defendant in pleas of 1284–5; Assize R. 1268, m. 13; 1271, m. 11 d. Thomas de Hoghton in 1313–14 claimed the sixth part of the manor of Wrightington formerly held by Adam; it appeared that Adam had granted it to Geoffrey de Hoghton, who had died without issue; Assize R. 424, m. 7 d. The verdict was for the defendants Master Richard de Hoghton (son and heir of Adam) and his son Richard, who were in possession. Three years later Richard son of Sir Adam de Hoghton gave to Edmund de Greystock and Richard his brother and their issue all his manor of Wrightington with its appurtenances to be held by the service of a rose annually; Towneley MS. OO, no. 1297. From another deed (ibid. no. 1296) it appears that Edmund was son of William son of Adam de Greystock; he gave his lands to Richard, his brother. A further release was in 1316 given to Richard de Greystock by Thomas de Hoghton; Add. MS. 32106, no. 710. The Greystocks became accordingly lords of a portion of the manor. Edmund had a son Adam, a minor in 1347; Assize R. 1435, m. 19. John de Brereworth the elder, in right of his wife Margery, in 1358 claimed the sixth part of the manor, &c. (except 30½ acres), against Edmund de Greystock and Amice his wife; and 30½ acres were held by Geoffrey de Wrightington, John son of Robert de Heskin, William de Tunstall, Richard son of Robert de Wrightington, Henry de Tunley, Henry Banastre and John son cf Adam the Tailor; Assize R. 438, m. 9. In 1364 Robert de Greystock son of Diota de Pleasington surrendered his life interest in lands in Wrightington granted by Edmund de Greystock to Sir Adam de Hoghton; Towneley MS. OO, no. 1287. Probably, therefore, Edmund had died without issue, and this sixth part of the manor had reverted to the Hoghtons. Messuages and lands in Wrightington were among the estates of Sir Richard Hoghton in 1468; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc.), ii, 81. They were also mentioned among those of Thomas Hoghton in 1580, but no tenure was recorded; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xiv, no. 26. Thomas Hoghton had in fact sold his estate in Wrightington in 1567 to Alexander and Nicholas Rigby of Arley and Harrock respectively, and the former released to Nicholas all his interest in the sixth part of the manor; Towneley MS. OO, no. 1331, 1334, 1330.
  • 14. See further in the account of the Wrightington family. The fourth part of the manor had come into the possession of John de Kirkby by 1320, as appears by a preceding note, and seems for a time to have been granted to a younger branch of the family. Thus Alexander de Kirkby in 1331 gave lands in Wrightington in Appley to William son of Richard de Hoole; Kuerden MSS. ii, fol. 211. Richard de Catterall in 1344 claimed a messuage, &c., against Sir Thomas de Lathom and Eleanor his wife, who had a fourth part of the manor, William son of Alexander de Kirkby and others; Assize R. 1435, m. 38. Nicholas le Boteler and Edmund de Greystock are named among the lords of the manor. In 1356 John de Kirkby granted his son Richard, among other lands, &c., the manor of Wrightington with the homage of William son of Alexander de Kirkby; Kuerden MSS. ii, fol. 211. From pleas of the same year by William de Kirkby it appears that he and Sir Thomas de Lathom the elder, Sir Nicholas le Boteler, Richard de Catterall and Edmund de Greystock were lords of Wrightington, holding lordship in common; Duchy of Lanc. Assize R. 5, m. 26 d. (Easter), m. 20 (July). About the same time William de Kirkby and Alice his wife made a settlement of the fourth part of the manor, the remainders being to their sons William, Adam, Roger, Richard and John; Final Conc. ii, 150. The younger William and his wife Katherine are mentioned in Sept. 1351; Duchy of Lanc. Assize R. 1, m. 3 d. William de Ashton and Katherine his wife in 1361 claimed tenements in Wrightington against William de Kirkby, Alice his wife and William his son; Assize R. 441, m. 5. In 1374 Roger son of William de Kirkby was in possession; Kuerden, loc. cit. Afterwards, in 1395–6, he resigned all his estate to Sir Richard de Kirkby, and this was agreed to by his sister Agnes and a brother Gilbert; ibid. and fol. 221. Thus the superior lord regained possession of this fourth part, and it was included in a settlement made by Sir Richard de Kirkby in 1407; ibid. fol. 211. Lands in Wrightington and Appley Wood are named in 1465 as having belonged to Richard Kirkby attainted in Parliament of high treason; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxvii, App. 179. See also Cal. Pat. 1467–77, p. 40. Richard Kirkby of Kirkby Ireleth died in 1547 seised of lands, &c., in Wrightington held of Lord La Warr in socage by a rent of 18d.; among the fields were Sterclough Meadow and Pekeshey; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. iii, no. 1; ix, no. 40. In the inquisition after the death of his son John in 1551 the rent is stated as 2s.; ibid. ix, no. 20; see also xi, no. 21. John Kirkby had been distrained by Thomas Lord La Warr for arrears of the rent of 2s. due from his fourth part of a knight's fee in Wrightington, and denied that he held by such a service; Duchy of Lanc. Plead. Edw. VI, xxxi, D 2. The manor was still held by the Kirkbys in 1610 (Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 78, m. 17), but was sold to Thomas Lathom of Parbold before 1623; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), iii, 405.
  • 15. There seems no sign that the Ashtons of Ashton-under-Lyne, the heirs of the Orm of 1196, ever had any interest in Wrightington. Possibly, therefore, it was Orm's right which came into the possession of Robert de Lathom before 1242.
  • 16. Lancs. Inq. and Extents, i, 154; threefourths of the fee was in Wrightington. Thomas son of Robert de Lathom in 1385 held a fourth part of the manor of John La Warr by knights' service; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc.), i, 17. It is called a 'third part' in 1376; Final Conc. ii, 190.
  • 17. Thomas son of Sir Thomas de Lathom gave the fourth part of the manor to his brother Edward, and thus it descended with Parbold; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. ii, no. 7; v, no. 7, &c. As above stated, Thomas Lathom of Parbold, who died in 1623, purchased another fourth part of the manor from Roger Kirkby. See also the account of Parbold. Henry son of Robert de Lathom granted land in Wrightington to John son of Henry de Whittle; Kuerden MSS. iii, W 26 d. Lands in Wrightington were also held by the Torbock family: idid, ii, fol. 266; Final Conc. ii, 139.
  • 18. Roger de Burton granted the canons land in Wrightington for building, and 2 acres in Linleys near the spring; Cockersand Chartul. ii, 501. William son of Roger confirmed his father's grants; ibid. ii, 505. A 'Roger de Wrightington son of Orm de Ashton' made a grant to Cockersand of land in the Menewood; ibid. ii, 504. It is not clear whether the grantor was father or nephew of the above-named Roger de Burton. Appley Wood is named in this and some other charters.
  • 19. Lancs. Inq. and Extents, i, 248. William son of Geoffrey de Wrightington in 1292 claimed the fourth part of a tenement against John de Chisnall; Assize R. 408, m. 74, 30. In 1293 Roger de Burton gave to William son of Geoffrey de Wrightington all the lands formerly held of him by Geoffrey, a rent of 2s. 6d. (or 2s.) to be paid; Kuerden MSS. ii, fol. 212; iii, K 8. Agnes widow of Geoffrey was a defendant in 1295; Assize R. 1306, m. 16. William de Wrightington occurs in 1301; Inq. and Extents, i, 310. William de Wrightington granted to John son of Henry de Wrightington land in the Scholefields formerly held by William the Smith; Rev. W. Michell's D.
  • 20. This is clear from the actual descent of the manor. Alice widow of John de Wrightington in 1309–10 demised to John de Kirkby her dower lands for a term of years; Kuerden MSS. ii, fol. 211. In 1324 Thomas son of Adam son of Geoffrey de Wrightington was non-suited in a claim for lands against Alexander de Kirkby and others; Assize R. 426, m. 9.
  • 21. A Robert son of Robert de Wrightington occurs in 1284; Assize R. 1268, m. 13. Agnes widow of Hugh son of Roger le Ferrer about the same time claimed dower against Bernard son of Mabel de Wrightington; De Banco R. 55, m. 30 d. John son of Thomas de Wrightington was a defendant in 1306, but the position of the tenement is not given; Assize R. 420, m. 8. William son of Alexander de Kirkby gave land in Towncarr to Richard son of Robert de Wrightington in 1339; Towneley MS. OO, no. 1278. William son of Robert de Wrightington occurs in 1345–6; Assize R. 1435, m. 19; De Banco R. 356, m. 583.
  • 22. In a pleading of 1441 the descent is thus set forth: Ambrose de Wrightington —s. Geoffrey —s. Henry (s.p.), Geoffrey (s.p.), and Robert, who had —s. Geoffrey —da. Katherine, who married Thomas Halsall; Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 3, m. 24b. In 1339 Ambrose de Wrightington leased to Edmund de Rigby and Joan his wife a moiety of Smithscroft; Towneley MS. OO, no. 1281. William his son was a defendant in 1351; Duchy of Lanc. Assize R. 1, m. 3 d. The children of William son of Ambrose de Wrightington in 1378–9 released their right to Geoffrey the elder son of Ambrose; Kuerden MSS. iii, W 28. Geoffrey son of Ambrose was a plaintiff in 1366; De Banco R. 423, m. 348 d. Geoffrey de Wrightington and Ellen his wife were concerned in the manor of Billinge in 1374; ibid. 454, m. 141.
  • 23. Kuerden MSS. ii, fol. 266. Sir Henry de Torbock in 1414 released the manor of Welch Whittle to Robert son of Geoffrey de Wrightington; ibid. See also the accounts of Tarbock and Welch Whittle. In 1372 Roger son of William de Kirkby of Wrightington made a grant to Geoffrey de Wrightington; ibid. iii, W 28. In 1385–6 the feoffee granted to Henry son of Geoffrey son of Ambrose de Wrightington a messuage and land which had formerly belonged to William son of Ambrose de Wrightington, and land in the Carrhouses, &c., in Wrightington— the tenants being John de Chisnall (3d.), Nicholas de Tunstall (3d.), Thomas Haunson (1d.), John son of Thomas (8d.), Thomas de Sutton (12d.)—with remainder to Geoffrey the brother of Henry; ibid. ii, fol. 266b, no. 14. Geoffrey the father seems to have been living in 1390; ibid. no. 11. In an action for the restoration of a box of charters in 1445 an abstract of the contents was given by John Wrightington, the plaintiff. They included grants by Henry son of Geoffrey; Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 7, m. 7. In 1441 a general settlement seems to have been made. Richard de Langtree, one of the trustees of Henry de Wrightington, released various tenements in Wrightington, Welch Whittle and Dalton to Robert de Wrightington; Kuerden MSS. ii, fol. 266. The trustees stated that Henry had demised the lands to his brother Robert, with remainders to Geoffrey, John, Alexander and William, sons of Robert, and their male issue; ibid. Robert died about that time, for his widow Katherine was claiming her dower in 1442; Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 4, m. 14b. A long dispute was maintained between the descendants of Katherine wife of Thomas Halsall and those of John Wrightington, the heir male. An arbitration between John Wrightington and Thomas Halsall as to Halgh, Peel, &c., was agreed upon in 1455–6; Kuerden MSS. iii, W 28. Katherine had a son James, whose daughter Katherine married Roland Kirkby, and by an arbitration in 1532, when she was a widow, it was ordered that she should have £100, while Thomas Wrightington, the heir of John, should have the manors; ibid. W 29. Two years later she made a feoffment of her lands; ibid. ii, fol. 267. See also Ducatus Lanc. (Rec. Com.), i, 149; ii, 27.
  • 24. Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc.), ii, 133; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xl, App. 543.
  • 25. Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. vii, no. 26. A younger son Robert had an annuity of 53s. 4d. from messuages in Wrightington and Welch Whittle. Thomas Wrightington had made a settlement of his estate in 1520–1; Kuerden MSS. ii, fol. 267. John Wrightington died in 1558, and desired to be buried in his parish church of Standish, near the place where his wife had been buried. He names Richard as his son and heir-apparent, who had a son John, already old enough to be one of the executors, and other relatives. He desired 6s. 8d. to be given yearly to the poor of Wrightington, Heskin and Eccleston. See his will in Piccope's Wills (Chet. Soc.), i, 69. Margaret widow of Richard Wrightington made her will in 1579 and it was proved in 1580. She also wished to be buried in Standish Church. She was probably a second wife, for, while making John Wrightington, esq., one of her executors, she provided for 'her four children,' Alexander and others; Wills (Chet. Soc., new ser.), i, 77. John Wrightington was a freeholder and justice of the peace in 1600; Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 244. William Wrightington, vicar of Poulton-le-Fylde from 1566 to 1573, made his brother John his executor; Kuerden MSS. ii, fol. 267. Sir Edward Wrightington of Gray's Inn was the son and heir of John Wrightington. He entered Brasenose Coll., Oxf., in 1594, being then thirteen years of age; Foster, Alumni Oxon. He paid £25 on refusing knighthood in 1631; Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 214. Sir Edward Wrightington was a Royalist and therefore removed from the commission of the peace in 1642 by the Parliament; Civil War Tracts (Chet. Soc.), 60. Afterwards he appears among the captors of Liverpool, but made his peace with the Parliament; Royalist Comp. Papers (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 45; Cal. Com. for Comp. i, 506. He died in Oct. 1658, aged seventy-eight, and was buried in Standish Church, where a monument still remains, erected by his nephew (nepos) and heir Hugh Dicconson.
  • 26. Two other daughters of John Wrightington are named: Martha wife of Roger Winkley, living in 1613 (Visit. [Chet. Soc.], 38), and Mary wife of William Leigh, rector of Standish; Dugdale's Visit. 183. This family's 'manor' of Wrightington is first mentioned in 1632; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xxvii, no. 27. One of the fragments of the manor may have been purchased by that time.
  • 27. For the Dicconson family see also the account of Eccleston township. Fines concerning lands in Wrightington, Mawdesley and Lathom, in which William and Edward Dicconson were concerned, are Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 59, m. 222, 241. Hugh Dicconson, grandson of Edward and Anne, is stated to have inherited the Wrightington family estates under the will of Sir Edward Wrightington; Piccope, loc. sup. cit. For a dispute as to the estate in 1663 see Exch. Dep. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), 37.
  • 28. Dugdale, Visit. (Chet. Soc.), 98. Hugh Dicconson and his sons William, Roger, Hugh and Edward were enrolled at Preston in 1682; Preston Guild Roll (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), 185.
  • 29. William Dicconson, father of Edward above-named, died in 1604 holding only a few acres in Wrightington of Roger Kirkby; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 16–18.
  • 30. Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 291, m. 126. For a settlement in 1753 see Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 579, m. 8.
  • 31. It was William who bought the Parbold estates.
  • 32. The above account is taken chiefly from Burke's Landed Gentry; see also the account of Scarisbrick.
  • 33. Gillow, Bibl. Dict. of Engl. Cath. ii, 60, 61. Jane wife of William Dicconson and daughter and heir of Hugh Nelson was a recusant in 1628, but her husband was not; Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 186. Hugh Dicconson, a justice of the peace in 1664, was a recusant in 1679; Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. xiv, App. iv, 110, 152.
  • 34. Hugh Dicconson and his wife Agnes, parents of William, Juliana wife of William and daughter of Richard Walmesley of Dunkenhalgh, as to lands in Wrightington and Shevington: whether £300 a year was secured by William Dicconson for the support of the secular priests of the Church of Rome or maintenance of the Romish religion, or any such uses; Exch. Dep. 86. Agnes widow of Hugh Dicconson registered her annuity of £200 in 1717; Engl. Cath. Nonjurors, 116.
  • 35. Gillow, op. cit. William Dicconson in 1699 granted to Thurstan Heskin of Heskin and others the hall of Wrightington with the demesne lands for ninetynine years, they paying £200 a year to Agnes Dicconson and discharging certain of William's debts; Duchy of Lanc. Misc. Bks. xxv, p. 111 d. He was accused of participation in the so-called Lancashire Plot of 1694, and there are numerous references to him in the reports, e.g. in the Kenyon MSS. (Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. xiv, App. iv), where two of his letters are printed (357, 375). In the former he expresses the opinion that the Government should acquit him and others tried for their lives 'from double taxes for seven years, but I doubt they will scarce consider us so far.' See also Month, cix, 573–90. Some notices of the family estates are given in Payne's Rec. of Engl. Cath. 119, 120. See also Duchy of Lanc. Special Com. no. 1264–a forfeiture by William Dicconson in 1707.
  • 36. Gillow, op. cit. In a deed (c. 1730) Edward son of Roger Dicconson refers to his wife Mary and his possession of a capital messuage at Wrightington with the fifth part of the manor; Piccope MSS. (Chet. Lib.), iii, p. 196, quoting R. 10 of Geo. II of deeds at Preston.
  • 37. He was born in 1670, left Douay for the English mission in 1720, made vicar apostolic in 1740 and died in 1752; Gillow, op. cit. ii, 56–9; Dict. Nat. Biog. His will is in Piccope, op. cit. iii, 278, from R. 26 of Geo. II at Preston; in it he is described simply as 'gent.'
  • 38. The spout heads have this date with the initials E. D.
  • 39. A number of charters, apparently of this family, are contained in Add. MS. 32104, no. 522, &c., 1311, &c. In 1404 Richard de Stopford and Alice his wife daughter of Robert Banastre were enfeoffed of the Banastre lands in Wrightington and Parbold; ibid. no. 1368. By a charter dated at Wrightington in 1441 Richard Stopford and Alice his wife made a feoffment of all their lands there and in Parbold and Martin by Burscough; Towneley MS. RR (Add. MS. 32108), no. 929. The feoffee in 1444 gave them up to Thomas Stopford, except certain parcels including Moldesfield in Wrightington; ibid. no. 954. From another deed (no. 928) it appears that Thomas was the son of Richard Stopford. In 1473 Thomas Stopford and John his son and heir-apparent granted to Robert, another son, land in Grimscarr and Dedecarr in Wrightington; Add. MS. 32104, no. 1327. John Stopford seems to have succeeded by 1488; he made feoffments of his lands in 1496 and 1498; ibid. no. 1337, 1347–50. In the latter year also Thomas son and heir-apparent of John Stopford granted lands he had received from his father to George Lord Strange and William Wall, rector of Eccleston; ibid. no. 1344. In 1519 William Lathom of Parbold released to Thomas Stopford of Wrightington his claim in Dedecarr, Woodhey, Fairhurst, Newearth, Ambrose Acre and Dethfield in Wrightington and Parbold; ibid. no. 1324. An inquisition as to the lands of John Stopford was made in 1534; he had held Dobhey in Parbold by a rent of 11d. Thomas, his son and heir, was then over sixty years of age; ibid. no. 1359. William Stopford of Martin seems to have been a son of John son of Thomas Stopford from a deed of Robert Stopford, another son of Thomas; Towneley MS. DD, no. 370. He acquired lands in Wrightington from Thomas Standish of Ormskirk in 1543; Add. MS. 32104, no. 1366. In 1581 William Stopford of Bispham the elder and William Stopford the younger, 'cousin' of the elder William, and then of Barnard's Inn, acquired the right of Thomas Kirkby of Kirkby Ireleth in Wrightington; ibid. no. 1390. The tomb of William Stopford, with the date 1584, is in Eccleston churchyard.
  • 40. As already stated, the shares were those of John Grimshaw and Mary his wife, one of the co-heirs of Thomas Catterall, in 1573–80 (ibid. no. 524, 1369, 1378—'the twentieth part' of the manor), and that of Henry Butler; see Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 29, m. 43; 35, m. 179; 42, m. 150. Feoffments were made by William Stopford (no doubt 'the younger') and Anne his wife in 1587 and 1589; ibid. bdle. 49, m. 80; 51, m. 254. In another fine the estate of William Stopford is in 1598 called a third part of the manor of Wrightington, together with fifty messuages, &c., there and in Bispham, Mawdesley, Shevington, Parbold, &c.; ibid. bdle. 60, m. 396. Thomas Hesketh and William Ashhurst were the plaintiffs. Some further particulars may be gathered from the Plea Rolls. In 1596 John Stopford alias Langley made a settlement of the capital messuage of Bispham, the third part of the manor of Wrightington, with courts, view of frankpledge, &c., with remainders to his male issue, and to James another son of William Stopford; Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 279, m. 10. William Ashhurst in 1610 gave 50s. for leave to concord with Richard Nelson and William, Ursula, Dorothy, Blanche and James Stopford as to messuages, water-mill, &c., in Bispham, Shevington and other places, and a sixth part of the manor of Wrightington; ibid. 305, m. 6. In the following year Anne widow of William Stopford claimed dower in Bispham and Wrightington against William Ashhurst. She relied upon a settlement made by William Stopford (who died in 1584), grandfather of her deceased husband, with remainder to the use of his wife Blanche for life and then to their male issue. Blanche widow of the elder William afterwards married Robert Hesketh; ibid. 307, m. 20 d. For Blanche (Twyford) see Dugdale, Visit. (Chet. Soc.), 135.
  • 41. Lands in Bispham, Wrightington, &c., are named in Ashhurst of Dalton settlements in 1629, &c.; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 115, no. 3; 256, m. 3. The Ashhurst family had land in the township at a much earlier time; Final Conc. ii, 121.
  • 42. Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 347, m. 26.
  • 43. A number of deeds are in Towneley's MSS. DD, RR, &c., from the Hesketh muniments. Thomas Hesketh in 1505–6 purchased from Ralph Fairclough and Grace his wife lands, &c., in Wrightington and Shevington; Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 101. Thomas Hesketh died in 1523 holding a few acres in Wrightington, but the tenure was not known; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. v, no. 16. In 1589, however, it was found that the Hesketh land in Wrightington was held of the heirs of the lord of Manchester by fealty only; ibid. xv, no. 56.
  • 44. Robert Hesketh of Rufford in 1623 held a sixth part of the manor, with messuages, lands, &c., of Edward Mosley as of his lordship of Manchester, by fealty only; Lanc. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), iii, 356. See also Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 237, m. 52 (of 1696), and later.
  • 45. A number of Stopford deeds are among Towneley's collection of Hesketh charters.
  • 46. Parbold is named in 1292 among the places where the Knights of St. John had land; Plac. de Quo War. (Rec. Com.), 375. Robert de Whittle son of Jordan gave the Hospitallers 3 acres in the wood of Wrightington next to his land on the other side of Southbrook; Abstract (c. 1660) in Agecroft deeds, no. 359. There is a note appended: 'This is that part of Pemberton's tenement which lieth at the brook side,' &c. Henry de Seveton (? Shevington) and Alice his wife in 1256 surrendered 20 acres to the prior on being received into the good works and prayers done in the order; Final Conc. i, 128. Roger de Walton gave them part of his land in Wrightington, the bounds beginning at Blacklache and going west by the ditch as far as the cross; Kuerden MSS. v, fol. 82b. The rental compiled about 1540 shows the following tenants in Parbold and Wrightington: Nicholas Rigby for Harrock, 5s. 6d.; Ralph Standish, Hanhey, 1d.; James Barton, Lindley Close, 8s.; Katherine widow of William Hornet (?), The Crook, 12d.; Richard Banastre, Bewhouse (?), 11d.; Nicholas Richardson, 12d.; Thomas Westhead, 12d.; Robert Smith, 4d.; Margery widow of John Strange, 20d.; Richard Lathom, 6d.; Edward Earl of Derby, 2d.; Bartholomew Hesketh for Borkerfield, 4d.; Thomas Stopford for Dobhey, 11d.; Richard Banastre, 4d.; Richard Lathom, Broadfield, 6d.; part of Fisherfield, 2d.; Nicholas Halliwell for Dwerryhouse (?) 6d.; James Scarisbrick, Christians and Pighill, 1d.; heirs of Thomas Banastre of Lostock, 16d.; ibid. fol. 83–4. It was probably the Hospitallers' lands in Harrock Hill, Wrightington and Parbold which were sold by the Crown to Lawrence Rawstorne in 1546; Pat. 37 Hen. VIII, pt. v.
  • 47. There is a collection of Rigby of Harrock charters in Towneley's MS. OO, no. 1270–1339. By one Robert lord of Lathom granted to Henry de Rigby land in Wrightington (no. 1272) and by another Henry de Rigby gave to Alan his son land held of St. John of Jerusalem by 12d. rent (no. 1275). Henry de Rigby in 1284 complained that Adam de Hoghton and others had disseised him of common of pasture in 26 acres of moor, &c., in Wrightington; Assize R. 1268, m. 13. He was also plaintiff in 1294; ibid. 1299, m. 15. Edmund and Alan de Rigby appear in 1332 and Richard in 1351; Exch. Lay Subs. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), 50; Duchy of Lanc. Assize R. 1, m. 3 d. Alan de Rigby made a settlement of land in 1337, the remainders being to his daughters Agnes (wife of Richard de Perburn) and Maud, and then to Richard son of Robert de Wrightington; Towneley MS. OO, no. 1280. The feoffees in 1342 granted certain lands to Richard son of Edmund de Rigby and Ibota his wife, daughter of Henry de Byrom; ibid. no. 1279. Richard son of Edmund de Rigby in 1357 made a grant of a Pighill by Ellencliff and Turnetcliff to Henry son of John Banastre, Alice his wife and Robert their son; Towneley MS. RR, no. 893. In 1380 Richard de Rigby gave land to William de Croft; Add. MS. 32104, no. 1354–5. Nicholas de Rigby appears in 1379 obtaining leave to take turbary from Sir Adam de Hoghton, Richard de Catterall, Edward de Lathom and Robert de Kirkby; Towneley MS. OO, no. 1292. John Rigby of Wrightington in 1387–8 released to Nicholas all his right; ibid. no. 1288. In 1391 Nicholas made a grant of Gayescrooks (elsewhere Kailscrooks) to Robert Banastre; ibid. RR, no. 902. In 1408 the feoffees released lands to Nicholas de Rigby and Katherine his wife, daughter of Ralph de Standish; ibid. OO, no. 1317. The long succession of Nicholases renders it difficult to distinguish between them. In 1433–4 Nicholas son of Nicholas Rigby had lands in Wrightington and Derby from the feoffee; ibid. no. 1302. Nicholas Rigby made a settlement of lands in Wrightington, Parbold, Eccleston and Heskin in 1457; ibid. no. 1298. Then in 1474 Nicholas Rigby the elder granted to Nicholas the younger and Agnes his wife, daughter of Gilbert Urmston, lands called Alansfields, Priestfield, &c., in Wrightington; ibid. no. 1307. Another Nicholas Rigby the elder in 1507–8 made a settlement in favour of his son and heir Nicholas, who was to marry Margaret daughter of Hugh Anderton of Euxton.
  • 48. Nicholas Rigby of Harrock Hill in 1547 settled his capital messuage, windmill, houses, lands, &c., in Wrightington on his son and heir Nicholas and male issue, with remainders to younger sons— John, Edward, William, Alexander and Ralph; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 13, m. 211.
  • 49. Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. x, no. 12.
  • 50. A feoffment of lands in Wrightington, Parbold, &c., was made in 1568 by Nicholas Rigby, Mary his wife and others; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 30, m. 159.
  • 51. Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xvii, no. 62. It seems to have been a younger son of Nicholas named John who was executed at St. Thomas Waterings, London, in 1600 for having been reconciled to the Roman Church. The process of beatification in his case was allowed to be introduced by Leo XIII in 1886. See Gillow, Bibl. Dict. of Engl. Cath. v, 420.
  • 52. Towneley MS. C 8, 13 (Chet. Lib.), p. 1000. The Town Carr was held of Richard Lathom, the Pighill of the king as of the priory of St. John, and the rest in Wrightington of William Earl of Derby as of the same priory.
  • 53. See above; Towneley MS. OO, no. 1330–4. There was, it should be noticed, a minor Rigby family in the township, or perhaps more than one. Robert Rigby acquired land from Richard Mawdesley in 1557; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 19, m. 86. John Rigby died in 1619 holding land of the Earl of Derby as of his manor of Woolton by a rent of 2d.; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), ii, 117.
  • 54. Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 169. In 1631 Nicholas Rigby (perhaps on his father's account) paid £10 on refusing knighthood; ibid. i, 214. Nicholas Rigby, the son, must have been a Protestant; he fought for the Parliament in the Civil War, being a captain, and was appointed a county commissioner in 1645; Cal. Com. for Comp. i, 745; ii, 1117; Civil War Tracts (Chet. Soc.), 210. Peter Rigby of Wrightington conformed to the established religion in or before 1628, as appears by the composition lists; so did John Bank of the same place.
  • 55. Visit. (Chet. Soc.), 74. It begins with the Nicholas of 1474.
  • 56. Ibid. 24.
  • 57. Ibid. 243.
  • 58. For the later descents see Piccope MS. Pedigrees (Chet. Lib.), ii, p. 197; Farrer, North Meols, 84; Raines in Notitia Cestr. (Chet. Soc.), ii, 374.
  • 59. The plan does not materially help in the matter, the building having been so entirely altered, but it would appear most likely that the porches occupy pretty much their original positions, the end wings being rebuildings of others formerly existing.
  • 60. There seem to have been two Banastre families in the township, for in 1332 Richard and Geoffrey appear on the subsidy roll; Exch. Lay Subs. 50, 51. Roger Banastre claimed lands in Wrightington against Richard de Lathom in 1301–2; Assize R. 1321, m. 10; 418, m. 13. Richard Banastre of Fairhurst attested a charter in 1339; Add. MS. 32104, no. 1327. John Banastre and Roger son of Richard Banastre were defendants in 1348; De Banco R. 356, m. 583. In 1361 Roger Banastre settled his estate in Wrightington, Parbold and Bispham (a hamlet of Chorley), the remainder being to his son Thomas, whose wife was Alice daughter of John de Heaton; Add. MS. 32104, no. 1320. Contemporary was Henry son of John Banastre, who gave Robfield to his son John in 1368, and had another son Robert; Kuerden MSS. iii, W 31; Towneley MS. RR, no. 905. In 1383–4 Almarica widow of Thomas Banastre of Fairhurst granted land in Bispham to Robert Banastre of Wrightington; Towneley MS. DD, no. 376. Then in 1392 Edward de Lathom granted lands near Fairhurst to Robert Banastre; ibid. RR, no. 957. Six years later Robert's feoffees gave lands in Wrightington and Parbold to Geoffrey Banastre; ibid. no. 953. As formerly stated, Richard de Stopford married Alice daughter of Robert Banastre. Robert de Bamford in 1393 granted to Ellis Banastre a stream of water in Wrightington, beginning at the head of Grimscar following a ditch to Dethefield head, so to Newearth head and the pasture of Meanwood; Add. MS. 32104, no. 1357. Gilbert son of Ellis Banastre in 1426 became bound to abide the result of an arbitration in disputes with Richard de Stopford; ibid. no. 1356. The feoffees in 1496 granted Agnes daughter of Award Singleton for life various lands in Wrightington, the remainder being to Richard son and heir of Gilbert Banastre; Dods. MSS. cliii, fol. 73. William son and heir of Richard Banastre died in or before 1534–5 seised of a messuage, to which Richard his son and heir sought admission at the court of St. John of Jerusalem; Kuerden MSS. iii, W 31. Richard Banastre was in 1524 to marry Ellen daughter of John Crane of Bispham; ibid. In 1547 the following fragment of the pedigree was given: Gilbert Banastre of Fairhurst -s. and h. Richard -s. and h. Gilbert; Pal. of Lanc. Writs Proton. Lent 1 Edw. VI. The estate of Banastre of Fairhurst seems to have descended to Richard Banastre, who about 1536–40 mortgaged and sold it to Richard Nelson; Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 163, m. 12; 170, m. 15; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 13, m. 265, 272. See also Ducatus Lanc. i, 179, 291.
  • 61. Kuerden (loc. sup. cit.) states that Rigby had a twelfth and Nelson a twelfth part of the manor. In a deed of 1586 Roger Kirkby, Richard Lathom, Thomas Catterall, William Stopford, Nicholas Rigby and Thomas Nelson, as lords of the manor, made an agreement with John Wrightington as to the wastes; ibid. W 29. Thomas Nelson of Lathom in 1565 complained that Richard (son of Robert) Stopford and others had broken down the hedges of land he had inherited from his father Richard in 'a great waste called Meanwood'; the defence was that it was common land, which plaintiff had inclosed; Duchy of Lanc. Plead. Eliz. lxiv, N 1. In 1578 his son Richard Nelson complained that Thomas Lathom of Parbold had taken possession of part of the Meanwood. The disputed boundaries are thus described: Between Linley clough and Hawks brook in breadth and length, the one head abutting upon Hoghton riding (alias Hoghton lees) and the Rymor's riding (alias Rymor's lees) towards the west, and the other head towards the east to the fields of Wrightington and Parbold; ibid. cviii, N 2. The defence was that the land was in Parbold. The family adhered to Roman Catholicism, for, though Maxie Nelson had in 1628 avoided conviction, his mother and wife were fined as recusants; Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 170, 187. Maxie is said to have been slain at the battle of Marston Moor in 1644, being then a captain of foot in the king's army (Visit.), and the estates of his son Thomas were sequestered and ordered to be sold for treason by the Parliament in 1652–3; Royalist Comp. Papers (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), iv, 212; Index of Royalists (Index Soc.), 43. It appears that he had a capital messuage in Wrightington, a water grist-mill, parcels of meadow, arable and pasture lands in the same township and in Parbold, Bispham and Mawdesley; also in Alston, Dalton and Croston. There was a sum of 21s. payable as quit-rents to various lords of manors. The fine was £699. Several of the Nelsons of Fairhurst became Benedictine monks; Trans. Hist. Soc. (new ser.), xiii, 136–7.
  • 62. Dugdale, Visit. (Chet. Soc.), 216. Maximilian Nelson, aged eight at the visitation, registered his estate in 1717 as a 'Papist,' the value being £100 18s.; Engl. Cath. Non-jurors, 112. He had a son Maximilian, and an only sister Margaret, whose issue failed; Piccope MS. Pedigrees, ii, 288. In a deed of James Nelson Ashton of Fairhurst, 1764, he is described as nephew and devisee under the last will of Maximilian Nelson of Fairhurst, and second son of John Ashton and Elizabeth his wife; Piccope MSS., iii, 380, from deeds at Preston, R. 4 of Geo. III. The estate 'descended to the Riddells and was recently sold to the present occupier'; Baines, Lancs. (ed. 1870), ii, 150. The Fairhurst estate was owned by Hugh Ainscough of Burscough, and now by his executors; information of Mr. James Ainscough of Fairhurst.
  • 63. They are not named in the Hospitallers' Rental, but Peter Worthington in 1577 held messuages in Wrightington as of the late priory by a rent of 12d.; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xii, no. 18, &c.
  • 64. Ralph Standish's 1d. is entered in the above-cited rental, but in the inquisitions his land is stated to have been held of John Wrightington by 1d. rent.; ibid. vii, no. 17; see also Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 190.
  • 65. The name appears in the Hospitallers' Rental as succeeding Dwerryhouse. A number of Dwerryhouse charters are in the Kuerden MSS. vi, fol. 41. By one Robert, Prior of St. John, granted to Adam son of Robert de Dwerryhouse land within bounds beginning at the brook of Dwerryhouse croft, passing beyond Stanneres west to the brook coming from Dwerryhouse wall, following the foot of the Great hill to 'Extremoor cornell' to the Fernyhurst in the south-west, and so ascending beyond the Great Stanere to the Blackbutts, saving the footway to the neighbouring villagers, thence to Whitcar and the starting point. Adam had leave to build a windmill; a rent of 6d. was to be paid. Another is a grant by Robert, chaplain of Eccleston, to Richard the Carpenter of land in Wrightington held by gift of Roger de Ayston (Ashton) to the Hospitallers, together with the service of 3d. a year to Robert son of Adam; a rent of 6d. was due to the Hospital. In 1514 it was agreed that Nicholas son of John Halliwell should marry Jane, a daughter and co-heir of Richard Dwerryhouse; Agnes was another daughter. Kuerden fol. MS. 88. Three years later testimony was given as to the true heir of 'little Henry' Dwerryhouse, Towneley MS. RR, no. 908. Thomas Hesketh in 1516 had given to William Tarleton all his lands called Dwerryhouse lands in Wrightington, Heskin and Eccleston; ibid. no. 972. See also Ducatus Lanc. i, 162; ii, 71. Robert Halliwell of the hall of Tunley was about 1578 concerned in a lease of land made by Roger Kirkby to a certain John Fisher. There were in later years disputes concerning the property between Thomas Fisher son of John and William and Richard Fisher sons and executors of John. See Duchy of Lanc. Plead. Eliz. cxxi, F 7. William Halliwell died in 1609 holding a messuage and land (by descent) of the heirs or assigns of John Butler; also Newfield (by purchase) of Thomas Lathom of Parbold and Richard Nelson of Fairhurst. John, his son and heir, was seventeen years of age; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 140. Lawrence Halliwell died in 1619 holding a messuage, &c., of Edward Mosley, Thomas Lathom, Henry Ashhurst and Maxie Nelson by rents of 8d., 5s. 10d., 9d. and 3s. 4d. respectively; Robert the son and heir was thirty-three years old; ibid. ii, 180. John Halliwell in 1631 paid £10 on refusing knighthood; Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 244. The Halliwells adhered to the Roman Catholic religion.
  • 66. Cockersand Chartul. iii, 1260–1.
  • 67. Henry and William de Tunley contributed to the subsidy in 1332; Exch. Lay Subs. 51.
  • 68. Richard Wilson was a landowner in 1628; Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 169. This Tunley family were Protestants, and Thomas Wilson was a member of the Presbyterian classis of 1646. After the Restoration 'Mr. Wilson of Tunley' gave shelter to Adam Martindale for a time; Autobiog. (Chet. Soc.), 178; see Loc. Gleanings Lancs. and Ches. ii, 247. The Wilsons continued to own Tunley and reside there until 1821, when on the death of the owner, a bachelor, it passed to a relative, a solicitor at Preston, and was let as a farm. It descended to his grandson, the late Edward Wilson of Broughton House, near Preston, who afforded this information.
  • 69. See Trans. Hist. Soc. Lancs. and Ches. (new ser.), xii, 187–90, where a description of the building with illustration is given.
  • 70. See Trans. Hist. Soc. Lancs. and Ches. (new ser.), xv, 210.
  • 71. Subs. R. Lancs. bdle. 130, no. 126.
  • 72. Ibid. bdle. 131, no. 210.
  • 73. Ellen de Torbock in 1283 (? 11 Edw. II, Ambrose de Wrightington being a witness) granted to Thomas son of William de Sutton a piece of the waste near the mill of Welch Whittle called the Bank hey; it was bounded on one side by the Almsland; Agecroft D. no. 353, 354. The same Thomas also acquired in 1326 the right of William son of William Bimmeson in lands in Whittle and Wrightington belonging to the grandfather, 'Bimmeson' being otherwise William the Parson's son; ibid. no. 355. In 1340 he acquired land from Robert son of Warine de Heskin, the bounds touching Rowley syke and Little Shaw; ibid. no. 356. In 1366 the feoffee delivered lands in Whittle, Coppull and Wrightington to Thomas son of William de Sutton, Richard, Thomas and Robert, sons of Thomas, and others; ibid. no. 357. The lands descended to Sutton of Gorsuch in Scarisbrick; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. v, no. 67. They were held (in 1518) of Thomas Wrightington by a rent of 12d. and descended like Gorsuch, being sequestered by the Parliament: S.P. Dom. Interreg. G 58a, fol. 526.
  • 74. The Chisnalls occur as early as 1292; Assize R. 408, m. 30, 41, &c. John Chisnall del Holt and his wife Maud in 1385 had a messuage and lands; Final Conc. iii, 25. The land of John Chisnall in 1528 was held of John Butler by a rent of 6d.; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. vi, no. 66.
  • 75. Thomas Fleetwood of Rossall, &c., who died in 1576; the tenure is not stated; ibid. xii, no. 2.
  • 76. A messuage, &c., was in 1632 held by Richard Lancaster of Edward Wrightington; ibid. xxvii, no. 27.
  • 77. Richard Lassells, who died in 1640, held a messuage, &c., of Richard Lathom, as of his manor of Wrightington, and left a son and heir Richard, aged twentyfour; ibid. xxx, no. 39.
  • 78. Roger Sankey of Ormskirk died in 1613 holding a messuage and lands in Wrightington (in the occupation of Richard Wrennall) of William Ashhurst and Roger Kirkby by rents of 6s. 2d. and 1s. respectively; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 276. Richard the son and heir was then forty years of age; he died in 1634 holding the same tenement of the lords of the manor by a rent of 7s. 2d.; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. xxviii, no. 2. The heir was a granddaughter Clara Sankey (daughter of Richard the younger), born in 1632. There are some Sankey deeds in the Liverpool Free Library.
  • 79. William Hawett held lands in Newburgh, Parbold and Wrightington, the last-named being held of Richard Lathom. William the son and heir was twenty-two years of age; Towneley MS. C 8, 13 (Chet. Lib.), pp. 511–12. From the inquisition last cited it appears that Mary daughter of Richard Sankey the elder married Thomas Hawett.
  • 80. Richard 'German' in 1575 purchased a messuage, &c., in Wrightington from Thomas Langtree and Anne his wife; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 37, m. 74. Robert 'Jarman' died in 1619 holding a similar estate of William Earl of Derby by a rent of 8d. and leaving a son Richard, aged thirty; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), ii, 134.
  • 81. The surname occurs early. In 1374 William Finch confirmed William de Croft and his heirs in a tenement in Wrightington and Parbold; Towneley MS. RR, no. 996. Robert Finch 'of the Hill' was a feoffee of Nicholas Rigby in 1508; ibid. OO, no. 1316. The Ven. John Finch may have belonged to this family. Margaret and Katherine Finch, widows, were recusants in 1628. Arthur Finch died in 1619 at Parbold holding lands in Wrightington, part of which had been purchased from William Ashhurst and Henry his son and heir, and another part had belonged to Cockersand Abbey. Lawrence the son and heir was over fifty; Lancs. Inq. p.m. ii, 179.
  • 82. Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 244–5. Richard Porter had lands in 1564; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 26, m. 142.
  • 83. Two-thirds of the tenement of Thomas Eccleston was sequestered for his recusancy in 1643; he died in 1654, and his son Henry, being 'conformable,' prayed for restitution; Royalist Comp. Papers, ii, 277. John Halliwell had had two-thirds of his estate sequestered for the same reason; ibid. iii, 251. The Nelson case has been recorded above.
  • 84. In addition to Dicconson and Nelson were William Halliwell, gent., George Bannister, William Mawdesley and Seth Woodcock; Engl. Cath. Non-jurors, 109, 110, 125, 129.
  • 85. Land tax returns at Preston.
  • 86. According to the statements recorded above about 1700 Dicconson of Wrightington held a moiety of the manor and Hesketh of Rufford a sixth part—the only 'manors' thenceforward claimed; while other fractions were held by Nelson of Fairhurst, Rigby of Harrock and Towneley of Barnside. But sales and transfers may have been made which have not been traced.
  • 87. Kuerden MSS. vi, fol. 42b.
  • 88. A district was assigned in 1877; Lond. Gaz. 17 July.
  • 89. One in Carrhouse Lane was built in 1831.
  • 90. Nightingale, Lancs. Nonconf. iv, 23–36; a view is given. The chapel is also known as Mossy Lee.
  • 91. See list of recusants in 1628 in Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 187–9. A list forty or fifty years later in date is printed in Misc. (Cath. Rec. Soc.), v, 93–4.