The parish of Pennington

A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 8. Originally published by Victoria County History, London, 1914.

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'The parish of Pennington', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 8, ed. William Farrer, J Brownbill( London, 1914), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol8/pp338-342 [accessed 12 December 2024].

'The parish of Pennington', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 8. Edited by William Farrer, J Brownbill( London, 1914), British History Online, accessed December 12, 2024, https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol8/pp338-342.

"The parish of Pennington". A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 8. Ed. William Farrer, J Brownbill(London, 1914), , British History Online. Web. 12 December 2024. https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol8/pp338-342.

In this section

PENNINGTON (fn. 1)

Pennigetun, Dom. Bk.; Penigto a, c. 1160; Peninton, 1186; Peningtun, c. 1190.

The parish and township of Pennington occupy a portion of the more level country of Low Furness, midway between the towns of Ulverston and Dalton, but to the north of the village and church begins a valley between two ranges of bare hills, which rise to 700 ft. to 1,000 ft. above sea level. In the valley a reservoir for the Barrow Waterworks was formed in 1879. There is another reservoir lower down for Ulverston. The area measures 2,845½ acres, (fn. 2) and in 1901 there was a population of 1,510. Part of the village of Lindal extends into the south-west corner of this township, where is the hamlet of Whinfield. In the south-east corner is the village of Swarthmoor.

The principal road goes from Dalton through Lindal towards Ulverston, across the south-east part of the township; while another road between the same places takes a more northerly course to pass by the village through Loppergarth and Beckside. The Furness railway also winds through the south-east of Pennington.

Though there are some ancient remains (fn. 3) to be discerned, the history of the parish has been uneventful. There are no manufactures, and the principal occupation is agriculture, for which the land is occupied thus: arable, 507 acres; permanent grass, 2,016; woods and plantations, 5. (fn. 4) Wheat, barley, oats and turnips are grown. The soil is sandy and marly, with gravel subsoil. There are large iron ore mines in the south-west. Blue slate used to be quarried.

According to the county lay of 1624 this parish should contribute 19s. 0¾d. towards each £100 raised in the hundred of Lonsdale. (fn. 5)

Pennington is now governed by a parish council of seven members.

Manor

In 1066 Earl Tostig held PENNINGTON as a member of the lordship of Hougun; it was assessed as two ploughlands. (fn. 6) It was included in the grant of Furness to the monks on the foundation of the abbey in 1127. A little later it is found to be held of the abbey by knight's service and rent by a family which took its name from this manor. The Penningtons, however, very early (fn. 7) acquired Muncaster in Cumberland, and made it their residence, and there are few traces in the records of their connexion with Furness. No manor-house is known; it is said to have been at Beckside. Gamel de Pennington, whose name occurs on the ancient tympanum at Beckside, is supposed to have been the founder of Conishead Priory in the time of Henry II (fn. 8); he gave it the church of Pennington. (fn. 9) Benedict de Pennington and Alan his son and heir occur in the latter part of the 12th century (fn. 10); in 1202 Alan son of Benedict granted 2 oxgangs of land in Pennington to Hugh son of Edward. (fn. 11) The custody of Alan son and heir of Thomas de Pennington was in dispute in 1250. (fn. 12) The same Alan may still have been in possession in 1292, when there were disputes between Alan de Pennington and the Abbot of Furness and the Prior of Conishead. The abbot, as head of the wapentake of Furness, had made a distraint at Pennington for puture of a servant and 'witnessman,' which Alan regarded as illegal, but he was non-suited. (fn. 13)

Pennington of Pennington. Or five fusils conjoined in fesse azure.

William de Pennington, son of Alan, next appears. (fn. 14) He obtained a grant of free warren in his demesne lands of Pennington in 1301, (fn. 15) and served in the Scotch wars. In 1317 a dispute between him and the Abbot of Furness was tried concerning the services due from the manor. (fn. 16) The abbot had in 1314 at 'Quaildalflat' and the Moor in Pennington seized a number of William's cattle by way of distraint, alleging that the due reaping in autumn and ploughing throughout the year had not been done. (fn. 17) The abbot in 1318 made an agreement about it with Sir William, (fn. 18) but the dispute was renewed, and in 1328 he formally released the ploughing and reaping to John son of William de Pennington, John acknowledging that he held the manor of the abbot and convent by the service of the tenth part of a knight's fee, doing suit at the abbot's court at Dalton from three weeks to three weeks and a rent of 30s. yearly. (fn. 19)

John de Pennington died in or before 1334, when his son William was under age. (fn. 20) William was dead in 1376, and his heirs were under age, the wardship being demanded by the Abbot of Furness against Christopher de Broughton. (fn. 21) The next to appear is Sir Alan Pennington, who died in 1415 holding the manor of the Abbot of Furness by knight's service and 30s. rent; his heir was his son John, aged twenty-two. (fn. 22) This John fought at Agincourt and was afterwards a knight. (fn. 23)

A later Sir John Pennington, grandson of the lastmentioned (whose son was John also), (fn. 24) in 1504 made a settlement of this manor (fn. 25); by his will (1505) he left a third part of his lands in Lancashire, Cumberland and Westmorland to the use of Dame Joan Ogle his wife, with remainders to his sons John (the heir), Alan and William, and in default to the right heirs of his grandfather John Pennington. (fn. 26) The manor passed to a cousin, (fn. 27) and in 1573 William Pennington died in possession. He had in 1562 married Bridget widow of Hugh Askew, and in 1572 had settled the manor of Pennington on their son Joseph, aged eight at the father's death. (fn. 28) The deforciants to fines concerning the manor in 1589 and 1604 were Bridget Pennington, widow, Joseph Pennington, esq., John and William Pennington, gentlemen. (fn. 29) Some later fines are recorded. (fn. 30) William Pennington (the son of Joseph) acquired the manor of Farington in Leyland, and his grandson William was in 1676 made a baronet. (fn. 31) From him has descended the present lord of the manor, Sir Josslyn Francis Lord Muncaster. (fn. 32)

A court baron is held about every three years. The customs of the manor were settled by Joseph Pennington and his tenants, and established by a decree in Chancery in 1654. (fn. 33) Most of them are still in force.

No freeholders were recorded in Pennington in 1600. (fn. 34) In 1631 Thomas Richardson paid £10 for refusing knighthood. (fn. 35) Conishead Priory had land in right of the rectory (fn. 36); Furness Abbey also had some. (fn. 37)

Pennington Moor, some 2,000 acres in extent, was inclosed by an Act of Parliament passed in 1820. (fn. 38)

Church

The church of ST. MICHAEL (fn. 39) stands on rising ground a little to the east of the Castle Hill, (fn. 40) and is a small stone building erected in 1826 on the site of an older church. It is in plan a rectangle 56 ft. 3 in. long by 26 ft. 9 in. wide, with a tower at the west end 10 ft. square, these measurements being internal. There is also a small vestry on the north side of the tower. The demolition of the former church was begun in April 1826, but no trustworthy record seems to have been preserved as to its appearance. Dr. Close, writing in 1805, (fn. 41) speaks of it as 'a small ancient edifice supposed to be the remains of a larger fabric,' and in one of his unpublished MSS., written about 1810, he states that the church of Pennington contained 'remains of a larger fabric, as is evident from several round-topped arches being incorporated in the north side wall. The great doorway on the south is a circular arch with a cheveron or zig-zag moulding.' (fn. 42) Of this ancient building, however, nothing remains in situ, though in the grounds of Fell Mount, now the vicarage, are four stones of transitional character which have formed the capitals of octagonal piers. Each stone is carved at the angles with small human heads, some of which are now broken. (fn. 43) In March 1902 a stone tympanum, apparently of Norman date, but bearing a Runic inscription of Scandinavian type, was discovered at Loppergarth, and is now over the door of an outbuilding at Beckside Farm, to the west of the church. It no doubt belongs to the south doorway of the old church described by Close, though it is not mentioned by him. The tympanum bears the sculptured figure of an angel, and is of red sandstone, 8½ in. thick, 4 ft. long and 2 ft. high. The ornamentation at its base points to its being of 12th-century date. (fn. 44)

The present building is of the plainest description and has no architectural interest. The walls are of limestone rubble and were originally rough-cast. The tower, in the masonry of which some red sandstone is mingled, has diagonal buttresses of three stages, a coarsely embattled parapet and square-headed singlelight windows to the belfry.

A stone inside the tower on the south side is inscribed 'William Bissell, vicar of Pennington, 1784,' and it is possible that the tower may date from that time, though the stone more probably belongs to some part of the former church. There is no vice or staircase, the only access to the belfry being by a trap-door. The roof is slated and there are four plain pointed windows north and south. The east window is of three trefoiled lights, with perpendicular tracery and external hood mould, and seems to be a later insertion. Internally the church has a flat ceiling and retains most of its original fittings, the communion rails being on three sides of the table. The pulpit, however, which stands in the south-east corner, is later and is of wood, in memory of Miss Mary Townson of Whinfield, who died in April 1846, and to whom there is also a brass on the south wall.

The font is a relic of the ancient church now restored after lying for many years at Fell Mount. It has an octagonal bowl of red sandstone, the sides of which, however, except on the east where there is a blank shield, are quite plain, and is probably of 15th-century date. The bowl only is ancient.

A 17th-century carved oak post discovered in 1898 at Fell Mount, somewhat similar in design to those of the Cartmel screen but much smaller, and no doubt belonging to the church, is now in the Barrow-in-Furness Museum. (fn. 45)

There are two bells, one of which is dated 1719 and has the initials R.A. (fn. 46)

The silver plate consists of a chalice of 1617–18 with the maker's mark R.S.; a cup of 1777–8, apparently made for secular purposes, given by the Rev. John Barton at the opening of the present church in 1826 (fn. 47); and a paten or waiter on three feet of 1784–5 with the maker's mark H.B.

The register of burials begins in 1612, that of baptisms in 1613 and that of marriages in 1616. The first two volumes (1612–1702) have been printed. (fn. 48)

Outside the churchyard wall on the south side the stone posts of the stocks remain in position.

Advowson

From the complaints of the monks of Furness it appears that Pennington was originally a chapel under Urswick, (fn. 49) and they accordingly objected to its being granted to the priory of Conishead as a rectory. An agreement was about 1200 made by which the priory secured it, (fn. 50) and the priors accordingly retained the rectory till the Suppression. They probably served the church by one of the canons of the house. (fn. 51) The value of the rectory was £5 6s. 8d. in 1291, but after the destruction wrought by the Scots in 1322 its poverty excused it from taxation. (fn. 52) In 1341 the value of the ninth of sheaves, wool, &c., was 20s. (fn. 53) The rectory was said to be worth £10 a year in 1527, (fn. 54) but in 1535 the tithes were only £5. (fn. 55)

What happened at the destruction of Conishead is not clear. The Crown seized the rectory and a curate was appointed. In 1609 the rectory—i.e. the tithes and other dues—were sold to the parishioners, (fn. 56) and a vicarage appears to have been created to which the Crown in right of the duchy presented. In 1650 the parishioners believed that they had acquired the advowson also, but in fact the Crown by the Chancellor of the duchy always, so far as known, presented the incumbents. The minister received the small tithes, valued at £12 a year, and no other maintenance, 'only what he hath as from the benevolence of the people.' (fn. 57) In 1717 the regular income was £10, but the parishioners had that year made an agreement to raise another £10. (fn. 58) The present net value is stated as £375. (fn. 59) The patronage was in 1872 transferred to the Bishop of Carlisle. (fn. 60)

The following have been curates and vicars:—

oc. 1548 Christopher Powle (fn. 61)
c. 1560 Thomas Fell (fn. 62)
1572 Anthony Knipe (fn. 63)
1582 John Hey (fn. 64)
1623 William Collier, M.A. (fn. 65)
c. 1645 John Crooke (fn. 66)
1680 James Mount (fn. 67)
oc. 1716 John Benson (fn. 68)
oc. 1729 John Stainton (fn. 69)
1767 William Bissell, B.A. (fn. 70) (Brasenose Coll., Oxf.)
1787 John Powell
1816 John Sunderland, M.A. (fn. 71)
1838 Joseph Maxwell
1848 William Jones
1851 Charles Mortlock, M.A. (fn. 72) (Caius Coll., Camb.)
1903 Thomas Edge-Wright (fn. 73)

In 1690 the church was decently furnished. The minister read the Litany on Wednesdays and Fridays, and celebrated the Lord's Supper three times a year. In 1713 the perambulations at Rogationtide were observed. A school was taught in the church in 1736. (fn. 74)

There is a mission chapel at Swarthmoor, opened about 1887.

The Primitive Methodists and Bible Christians have chapels in the parish.

Charities

In 1717 there was a charitable fund of £54, of which £15 was for the vicar; it had been laid out on land. (fn. 75) James Fell in 1743 left £60, half for schooling and books and half for clothing the poor. (fn. 76) By other gifts this was increased to £103. Part of the money was spent on a poor-house and the remainder lent; the last part was lost by bankruptcy. The poor-house was sold in 1866 for £154, invested in consols. (fn. 77) The income of the charity is now £4 12s. 8d., of which one-half, the school being free, is given to poor widows in sums of 3s. 6d. each, and the remainder spent on clothing. Margaret Townson of Whinfield in 1845 left money for the vicar and Elizabeth Ashburner in 1859 for the schoolmaster.

Footnotes

  • 1. For parish map, see Aldingham, ante.
  • 2. a The Census Rep. 1901 gives 2,850 acres, including 37 of inland water. This is said to include Carkettle, Crossamoor, Swarthmoor and Trinkelt.
  • 3. Ellabarrow to the east of the church and Castle Hill to the north-west.
  • 4. a Statistics from Bd. of Agric. (1905).
  • 5. Gregson, Fragments (ed. Harland), 23.
  • 6. V.C.H. Lancs. i, 289b. The assessment was later reduced to one ploughland.
  • 7. The church of Muncaster was given to Conishead Priory by Gamel de Pennington, the first of the family who is known; Dugdale, Mon. vi, 557. In this account of the family use has been made of the privately printed pedigree by Joseph Foster, entitled Penningtoniana (1878). This was compiled from public sources, and the only hiatus in the descent can be supplied from note 12 below.
  • 8. V.C.H. Lancs. ii, 140. In 1292 Alan de Pennington alleged that the site of Conishead Priory was held of him, but the prior said he held it of William de Lancaster; Assize R. 408, m. 94 d. Lord Muncaster's MSS. were reported upon in 1885; Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. x, App. v, 223–98.
  • 9. Farrer, Lancs. Pipe R. 357, 366; it was stated that Roger Archbishop of York (1154–81) had confirmed the gift, which may therefore be dated some years earlier. Swift de Pennington occurs 1157–63; ibid. 311. Meldred brother of Benedict de Pennington also occurs; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxvi, App. 190. He is no doubt the Meldred son of Gamel de Pennington who gave land to Conishead Priory; Dugdale, Mon. vi, 556. Thus Benedict was a son of Gamel. Jocelin de Pennington was Abbot of Furness about 1182.
  • 10. Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxvi, App. 195, where Alan is styled 'heir' only; but Alan son of Benedict occurs in another charter; ibid. 166. In 1186–8 Benedict de Pennington for some default was fined 100s.; Farrer, op. cit. 63, 68.
  • 11. Final Conc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 10. The same Alan agreed with Herbert de Ellel concerning half a plough-land in Thornebuthwait; ibid. 13.
  • 12. Cur. Reg. R. 143, m. 1, 31 d.; 145, m. 2 d.; between Thomas de Multon and John de Lungvilers and Agnes his daughter. It appears that Thomas de Pennington was the son and heir of Alan; the abovenamed Agnes widow of Thomas in 1248 agreed as to the wardship of the heir with the Abbot of Furness, and afterwards married Thomas de Graystock; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxvi, App. 166. Thomas and Agnes de Pennington had land in Birtwisle in Hapton which descended to their son Alan; Towneley MS. C 8, 13 (Chet. Lib.), P 49. Alan seems to have obtained possession by 1269, when he was a defendant in a local plea; Cur. Reg. R. 191, m. 3d.; 192, m. 5; 193, m. 2 d.
  • 13. Assize R. 408, m. 101.
  • 14. According to a deed of 1278 Alan de Pennington agreed that William his son and heir should marry Alice daughter and heir of Robert de Mulcaster; Cal. Doc. rel. to Scotland, ii, 29, 30. Alan was at Roxburgh In 1296; ibid. 189. He is supposed to be the Sir Alan de Pennington 'who coming from the wars beyond seas, died at Canterbury and was buried in the church of the White Friars,' Weever, Fun. Monum. (quoted by Foster). But this may be the later Alan; note 20.
  • 15. Chart. R. 94 (29 Edw. I), m. 1, no. 1.
  • 16. In 1315 William de Pennington complained that while he was engaged on the king's service in Scotland the abbot had entered his land and made distraint; Cal. Pat. 1313–17, pp. 252, 415. In 1318 an agreement was made for the marriage of Sir William's daughter Maud to John son of Richard de Hudleston; Towneley MS. HH, no. 2911.
  • 17. De Banco R. 218, m. 56 d. The result is not recorded.
  • 18. Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxvi, App. 167. Sir William had a dispute with the tenants about an inclosure; Abbrev. Plac. (Rec. Com.), 333. He died about 1323, leaving his son John a minor; Furness Couch. (Chet. Soc), ii, 492. The 'park of the manor 'is mentioned.
  • 19. De Banco R. 273, m. 111 d. The abbot had claimed that the lord of the manor was for each householder bound to find one man to reap the abbot's corn at Lindal one day in autumn, and for each plough owner to provide a plough to plough the land at Lindal one day in Lent. After the abbot had granted the charter he seized four of John de Pennington's horses at Quinfell, alleging that the said services were in arrear. Thereupon John brought his suit. The action was no doubt a friendly one, so that the charter and the terms of tenure might be recorded in court.
  • 20. Ibid. 300, m. 218 d.; Oliver de Wells was custodian of one part of the Lancashire lands of the heir, and the Abbot of Furness of another. Joan widow of John de Pennington was claiming her dower. In 1346 it appeared that the abbot had married William to the daughter and heir of William de Threlkeld, but that without the abbot's consent William had afterwards married the daughter of William de Legh; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxvi, App. 167. William's seal is appended.
  • 21. De Banco R. 462, m. 321. This was probably the William son of John who was living in 1368, but a William son of Roger de Pennington was dead in 1365, when the Abbot of Furness and other executors of his will were plaintiffs; ibid. 419, m. 192. Alan was the son and heir of William, who had made Thomas de Bardsey and others his trustees; Furness Couch. ii, 505. In 1397 the manors of Pennington and Muncaster were granted by the trustee to Elizabeth widow of William de Pennington for life, with remainder to Alan de Pennington, and in 1399 other lands were granted to Sir Alan; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxvi, App. 180; Furness Couch. ii, 507–8. Elizabeth the widow, who had lands at North Givendale in Yorkshire, married Hugh Standish of Duxbury; Dods. MSS. cxxxvi, fol. 95b, 123b.
  • 22. Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc), i, 121. Sir Alan died 27 Sept. 1415, probably in France.
  • 23. a John was in the retinue of Lord Harrington; Nicolas, Agincourt, 341. The cup called the 'Luck of Muncaster' is said to have been given to this John Pennington by Henry VI; Dict. Nat. Biog. It was later at Binchester, Durham. In other documents he is described as a knight. In 1452 a yearly rent—after the death of Sir John Pennington—was settled on John son of John Pennington, esquire, and Isabel his wife, daughter of John Broughton; Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. x, App. iv, 223, 226.
  • 24. Sir John was made a knight in Scotland during the expedition of 1482; Metcalfe, Bk. of Knights, 7. In October 1482 an agreement was made between the parents for the marriage of John son and heir of Sir John Pennington with Mary daughter of Sir John Hudleston, the former Sir John agreeing not to alienate any of the lands descending to him from Sir John Pennington his grandfather; Dame Joan his wife, Elizabeth his mother, Alan and William his sons, had estates for life; Towneley MS. HH, no. 2913.
  • 25. Final Conc. iii, 156.
  • 26. N. and Q. (Ser. 8), i, 450. William son of Sir John Pennington is named in 1492; Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. x, App. iv, 228. John Pennington the heir was dead in 1516, when his nephew John (son of William) became the king's ward; ibid.
  • 27. a The John Pennington son of William died in 1522, 8.p.; Foster, op. cit. (quoting Chan. Inq. p.m. [Ser. 2], xlvi, 93). His heir was Sir William son of William Pennington (see note 21); and Sir William died in 1532, leaving a son William under age; ibid. Frances Pennington widow (of Sir William) in 1533 wrote to the Abbot of Furness touching the marriage of her son William; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxvi, App. 167.
  • 28. Chan. Inq. p.m. (Ser. 2), clxviii, 16; W. and L. Inq. p.m. xiv, 117. The fine accompanying the settlement is in Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 35, m. 165; see also Com. Pleas D. Enr. Mich. 14 & 15 Eliz.
  • 29. Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdles. 51, m. 95; 65, no. 1; two water mills and two dovecotes are mentioned.
  • 30. Ibid. bdles. 88, no. 36 (1615), Joseph Pennington deforciant; 156, m. 56(1654), Joseph Pennington (grandson); 261, m. 4 (1708), Sir William Pennington, bart.; Joseph Pennington, esq., Philip Pennington, gentleman. There is a pedigree in Hutchinson, Cumberland, i, 566. A pedigree was recorded in 1664–5; Dugdale, Visit. (Chet. Soc), 231. The descent was thus given: Joseph Pennington, d. c. 1640 -s. William, d. c. 1652 -s. Joseph, d. 1659 -s. William, aged nine. A Joseph Pennington of Muncaster, a 'delinquent in both wars,' was let off with the small fine of £6 3s. 4d.; Cal. Com. for Comp. iv, 2767. He was 'sensible of his own guilt and of the mercy of Parliament.'
  • 31. G.E.C. Complete Baronetage, iv, 78.
  • 32. G.E.C. Complete Peerage, v, 421. The following is an outline of the descent: William Pennington, bart., 1676, d. 1730 -s. Joseph, d. 1744 -s. John, d. 1768 -bro. Joseph, d. 1793 -s. John, first Lord Muncaster, d. 1813 -bro. Lowther, second lord, d. 1818 -s. Lowther Augustus John, third lord, d. 1838 -s. Gamel Augustus, fourth lord, d. 1862 -bro. Josslyn, fifth lord. There are notices of Sir John and Sir Lowther Pennington, first and second Lords Muncaster, in Dict. Nat. Biog.
  • 33. West, Furness (ed. 1774), 168. The tenant paid sixteen years' quit-rent on admission and six years' at the death of the lord. A running fine or 'town term' was payable every seventh year. The heir, where there was a widow, paid a heriot. A horse load had to be carried once a year to Muncaster and half a load to Lancaster. A tenant had to plant two trees for each that he cut down.
  • 34. The place is seldom mentioned in the records; see Ducatus Lanc. (Rec. Com.), ii, 226; iii, 241.
  • 35. Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 220.
  • 36. Adam son of Gerard, tenant of the Prior of Conishead, in 1292 complained that Alan de Pennington had seized four cows of his in a place called Croftholf, part of the endowment of the church of Pennington. Alan alleged that the prior had failed to provide a passage for himself and his men wishing to cross the Leven; Assize R. 408, m. 94 d. The prior himself complained that in 1291 Alan had seized his beasts in a place called Gillemichael's Croft in Pennington. Alan replied that this was his several pasture, but the jury decided against him, awarding 1 mark damages, because the prior as rector had been accustomed in harvest time to gather tithes there and elsewhere in the parish with wagons and carts; ibid. m. 17. There was a dispute about Channon House, alleged to be part of the glebe, about 1620; Lancs. and Ches. Rec. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), ii, 243.
  • 37. The abbot had right of chase in virtue of his lordship of Furness; Furness Couch. i, 232. There was some disputing as to bounds, the land of 'Ulvedale' being concerned; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxvi, App. 166. In 1409 the abbot paid Sir Alan Pennington £13 10s. for nine years' rent of his messuage of Uldale and common of pasture in Pennington, held on lease; ibid. 167.
  • 38. Priv. Act, 1 Geo. IV, cap. 22.
  • 39. In the will of Richard Fell 1478 the church is called St. Leonard's; Trans. Cumb. and Westmld. Antiq. Soc. (new ser.), iii, 375.
  • 40. The Castle Hill is described V.C.H. Lancs. ii, 555–6, where also a plan and section are given.
  • 41. Supplement to West's Antiq. of Furness, 1813, p. 408.
  • 42. Quoted in Trans. Cumb. and Westmld. Antiq. Soc. (new ser.), iii, 375.
  • 43. The stones are fully described, ibid. 373, where a photograph also is given. They are ot red sandstone.
  • 44. The tympanum is fully described and illustrated ibid. 373–9. The letters of the inscription are incised, but some are obliterated and their interpretation is difficult Professor W. G. Collingwood is of the opinion that they are late Scandinavian runes apparently of genuine antiquity and hazards the reading 'Gamel founded this church. Hubal the mason wrought' (p. 378). See also Proc. Barrow Nat. Field Club, xvii, 214.
  • 45. Trans. Cumb. and Westmld. Antiq. Soc. xv, 312–14.
  • 46. Ibid. xiii, 214. R.A. is probably the mark of Ralph Ashton of Wigan.
  • 47. It is richly chased with vine leaves, grapes and roses and two naked boys gathering the grapes and is inscribed 'In Usum Ecclesiae Penningtoniensis Dono dedit Reverendus Johannis Barton A.B. A.D. 1826.'
  • 48. Lancs. Par. Reg. Soc. xxix (1907). Transcribed by Henry Brierley.
  • 49. Farrer, Lancs. Pipe R. 362–6; Furness Couch. (Chet. Soc), i, 127.
  • 50. Farrer, loc. cit.
  • 51. Close to the church is an old farm called Shannon House or Chanel House, supposed to have been the canons' house or parsonage; Bardsley, Chron. of Ulverston, 39. See note 32 above.
  • 52. Pope Nich. Tax. (Rec. Com.), 328.
  • 53. Inq. Nonarum (Rec. Com.), 36. The glebe was worth 40s. a year; the war of the Scots had caused the remainder of the decrease—46s. 8d.
  • 54. Duchy of Lanc. Rentals and Surv. bdle. 5, no. 15.
  • 55. Valor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), v, 271. The payment for synodals was 3s. 6d.
  • 56. Pat. 7 Jas. I, pt. xxxiv. The nominal purchasers were Francis Morrice and Francis Phelipps. As the benefice was called a 'vicarage' in 1582, the assignment of vicarial tithes must have been made at an earlier time.
  • 57. Commonw. Ch. Surv. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), 133.
  • 58. Gastrell, Notitia Cestr. (Chet. Soc), ii, 532; the levy 'has not been well paid.' It was stated that the parish then chose their own minister. The Crown must have lost the right for a time, recovering it before 1767. There were two churchwardens, one chosen by the minister and the other by the sidesmen. The Dissenters were four Quakers.
  • 59. Carlisle Dioc. Cal.
  • 60. Lond. Gaz. 23 Feb. 1872; by exchange for Rothbury in Northumberland.
  • 61. He was one of the canons of Conishead, and in 1536 had a pension of 37s. 8d.; Duchy of Lanc. Rentals and Surv. bdle. 5, no. 8. His name is given in the visit, lists of 1548, 1554 and 1562, but on the last occasion he did not appear.
  • 62. His name also appears on the lists cited; in 1562 he appeared and subscribed. He may have been confirmed in the curacy at the same time.
  • 63. Ducatus Lanc. (Rec. Com.), iii, 8; styled 'vicar.'
  • 64. Act Bks. at Chester; Hey was nominated by the queen on the resignation of Anthony Knipe.
  • 65. Act Bks. at Chester; presented by the king on the death of Hey. Mr. Collier was the king's preacher for the district, and is mentioned at Cartmel and other places; Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 124 (1639), 69. William Robinson was his curate in 1635; Reg.
  • 66. Commonw. Ch. Surv. 133. Crooke was still there in 1658; Reg.
  • 67. Named as 'curate' in the visit, list of 1691, when he was still acting. The lists of 1674 and 1677 do not record any incumbent at Pennington. James Mount was described as 'clerk' in 1677 and in 1683 as 'of Loppergarth, minister and clerk of Pennington'; Reg. Mr. James Mount and Dorothy Stainton were married at Aldingham in 1675. His will was proved in 1715.
  • 68. Signed the presentments.
  • 69. Ibid.
  • 70. Appointed by the king on the death of John Stainton. He did not reside in the parish, but supplied the church by a curate.
  • 71. Incumbent of Ulverston 1807–34.
  • 72. Vicar of All Saints', Leicester, 1848–51. He resided in London and elsewhere from about 1875 onwards.
  • 73. Curate in charge from 1893. Mr. Edge-Wright, formerly incumbent of Sawrey, Satterthwaite and Rampside, has afforded information to the editors upon several points.
  • 74. These details are from the churchwardens' presentments at the visitations.
  • 75. Gastrell, Notitia, ii, 534.
  • 76. Official inquiries were made in 1820 and 1898. The details in the text are taken from the report of the later one, issued in 1899; this includes a reprint of the 1820 report.
  • 77. The house was at Loppergarth; it has been converted into cottages.