Victoria County History - Lancaster
A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 5
Salford hundred: The parish of Deane
Pages 1-5
A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 5. Originally published by Victoria County History, London, 1911.
THE HUNDRED OF SALFORD
(Continuation)
Rumworth; Horwich; Heaton; Halliwell; Westhoughton; Hulton, Little; Hulton, Middle; Hulton, Over; Farnworth; Kearsley
This parish, originally the northern half of the parish of Eccles, takes its name from the dean or narrow wooded valley, on the edge of which the church stands. (fn. 1) A little brook runs down the valley northward to the Croal. The whole was held of the lord of Manchester, in part directly and in part under the mesne fee of Barton. (fn. 2) The district measures about 8 miles from north-west to south-east, and has a total area of 20,102 acres. The geological formation consists of the carboniferous rocks, the Coal Measures in the southern and central parts, the Gannister Beds and Millstone Grit in the northern—that is, in Heaton, Horwich and Halliwell. The church stands as near as may be to the centre of its irregularly-shaped district.
Of recent formation the parish has but little record beyond that of industrial progress, being largely influenced by Bolton, within which a large portion of it is now included.
The following is the present apportionment of the agricultural land: Arable land, 2,375 acres; permanent grass, 10,798; woods and plantations, 354. Details are given as follows:—
Arable Grass Woods, &c.
Acres Acres Acres
Deane 2,071 4,093 190
Deane 10 884 —
Horwich 46 1,811 5
Smithills 7 1,104 144
Heaton 2 1,199 15
Farnworth 4 613 —
Kearsley 235 284 —
For assessment purposes it was divided into four quarters—Rumworth, Farnworth, and Kearsley; Heaton, Horwich, and Halliwell; Westhoughton; the three Hultons. Each quarter contributed£ 1 14s. 1½d. to the county lay of 1624, when the hundred had to raise £100. (fn. 3) To the fifteenth Rumworth, together with Lostock in Bolton, paid 14s.; Heaton with Halliwell, 13s.; the three Hultons, 10s.; Westhoughton, 15s. 1d.; Horwich was not reckoned, and Farnworth and Kearsley were included with Barton-onIrwell. (fn. 4)
The church of ST. MARY is picturesquely situated on high ground above a small stream that flows past it on the west, and consists of a chancel 28 ft. long by 19 ft. 6 in. wide, nave 71 ft. 6 in. by 20 ft. 9 in., north aisle 13 ft. wide, with organ chamber at the east and vestry at the west end, south aisle 15 ft. wide, south porch and west tower 9 ft. square; these measurements being all internal. With the exception of the tower the building belongs to different periods of the 15 th and to the beginning of the 16th centuries, with modern additions. The tower is of 14th-century date, and probably belongs to an older church which the 1 5thcentury building replaced.
The church is built of rough wall-stones, and has battlemented parapets to chancel, nave, and aisles, with three crocketed pinnacles on the east end, and leaded roofs. The details are poor, the windows all being late in style, with rounded uncusped heads to the lights, the clearstory consisting of an almost continuous line of square-headed three-light windows.
The church appears to have been originally a small 14th-century building, the nave covering the area now occupied by the two westernmost bays of the present nave, probably without aisles and with a chancel and western tower. Early in the 15 th century the church was extended eastward by the addition of two bays forming a new chancel, probably built round the formerly existing one and taking up the space now occu pied by the third and fourth bays of the nave. The next alteration to this 14th-century church, which had a steep-pitched roof, the line of which was revealed against the east wall of the tower in 1878 and is still preserved in the plastered face, seems to have been the pulling down of the north side of the new chancel in the 15 th century and extending it northward to the width of the present aisle. The two arches on this side are the oldest in the church, and are of different section from the others. Later the chancel and its northward extension were further extended by a bay, and the south side rebuilt with three arches opposite those on the north side. The original 14th-century nave appears to have been standing till the beginning of the 16th century, (fn. 5) when it was pulled down and the present nave arcade constructed and the clearstory added, leaving a small portion of the 14th-century walls on the west end immediately to the east of the tower. The area of the original building and these three extensions now form the extent of the nave and aisles, a later extension of the chancel having apparently taken place shortly afterwards, early in the 16th century. The chancel was lengthened a further 10 ft. in 1884. The organ chamber north of the chancel was added in 1887.
The chancel has a large seven-light pointed window on the east with central transom and plain perpendicular tracery in the head. The lights have rounded heads and are uncusped. On the north side is a modern arch to the organ chamber, and the south wall has a five-light flat-pointed window with double transom and rounded heads to the lights. The chancel is open to the nave, and is only less in width by the projection of the chancel walls in front of the nave piers. Both chancel and nave are under one continuous flat-pitched oak panelled roof of modern construction (1884), but following the old lines.
PARISH of DEANE
The nave has an arcade of five pointed arches resting on octagonal piers, with moulded capitals, the arches of two plain chamfered orders, except to the earlier third and fourth bays on the north side, where the chamfers are hollowed. The second pier on the north side shows the junction of this earlier work with the later 15th-century work of the nave in the clumsy thickening out of the pier and the awkward way in which the western arch springs from it. The capitals of the first pier from the west on the north side and those of the later half of the thickened pier are carved with rude stone heads. The nave is lighted by an almost continuous row of square-headed clearstory windows, each of three lights with rounded heads, The aisles have lean-to roofs and wood and plaster ceilings, lighted by a double row of square-headed windows of three and four lights, the walls apparently having been raised and the upper windows intro duced to light the galleries. The galleries were put up in 1849 and removed in 1884. The aisles extend the length of the nave, but the north aisle now terminates at the east with an open arch to the new organ chamber. There is an ancient piscina in the south-east corner, and a good pointed doorway of 14thcentury date at the west end of the north wall opposite the first bay. This doorway, however, seems to have been originally on the west side of the tower and to have been removed to its present position when the new western tower entrance was constructed. The south aisle has a five-light transomed window under a flat-pointed arch at its east end. The south porch is modern.
The tower, the ground floor of which is used as a vestry, has walls 4 ft. thick and opens to the nave by a pointed arch, above which, within the line of the old roof, is a doorway 4 ft. 6 in. high and 2 ft. wide. The ringing chamber above is gained by a ladder, there being no vice, and the upper part of the arch is filled by a glazed screen. Externally the tower is very plain, with diagonal buttresses and a new west doorway and a window above. There is a clock in the south side, and the upper stage on each face has a square-headed two-light louvred belfry window, the lights with trefoiled heads. The tower finishes with an embattled parapet and angle pinnacles.
The fittings are mostly modern, but there is a good 16th-century black oak pulpit with back and canopy, the renaissance detail of which is rather elaborate. (fn. 6) The interior of the church is plastered and painted, the walls of the chancel and nave having a series of figures of great English churchmen, principally leaders of the Protestant Reformation. In a glass case at the end of the nave are preserved the works of Bishop Jewell and other 16th-century Protestant books.
The churchyard is very extensive and lies on the north, east, and south sides of the building, being entered from the road on the south through a stone lych-gate erected in 1903. It has been extended at different times, the last extensions being in 1876 and 1893. The ancient yew tree on the south side is now dead, but the trunk and branches remain with a picturesque covering of ivy. On the same side is the base of a stone cross which formerly stood in Junction Road, before which it is stated that George Marsh spent a night in prayer before he gave himself up at Smithills. A new shaft has been erected on the old base with an inscription recounting the tradition. (fn. 7) There is also a pedestal sundial on an octagon shaft with the name of the maker (W. Leigh, Newton) and the latitude and longitude. In the churchyard there were formerly effigies of a knight and a lady, but these have disappeared. (fn. 8)
There is a ring of six bells, rehung in 1873.
The plate consists of a chalice of 1607; a chalice of 1655, incribed 'The guift of Mr. John Aynsworth unto the Parish Church of Deane in Lancasheire in the yeare of our Lord, 1655 '; a cover paten of the same year, inscribed 'The guift of Mrs. Judeth Hulton unto the Parish Church of Deane in Lancasheire in the yeare of our Lord, 1655,' and with the arms of Hulton of Hulton; a credence paten of 1729, inscribed 'Ex donatione Annae Kenyon Viduæ Georgii Kenyon, nuper de Peel in Com. Lanc. Armigeri 1729,' with the arms of Kenyon impaling Egerton in a lozenge, and the mark of William Atkinson; two patens of 1782, with the mark of Daniel Smith and Robert Sharpe (fn. 9); two small flagons of 1801, inscribed 'Presented 1st January 1828 to the Parish Church of Dean, by Jane Daughter of Peter Brooke, Esqre. of Mere Hall, Cheshire, and Relict of William Hulton, Esqre. of Hulton Park, who Died 24th June 1800'; a credence paten of 1846, given by the parish in that year; and a paten of 1901, Birmingham make, inscribed 'The gift of Mrs. Elizabeth Marsh unto the Parish Church of Dean, in Lancs., on the Coronation of Ed. VII, June 26, 1902.'
The registers begin in 1637, but there are earlier transcripts at Chester.
Although St. Mary's, Deane, is mentioned in 13th-century deeds, and its chaplain described as 'parson,' (fn. 10) it was not until 1541 that an independent parish was assigned to it. Until that year the chaplain had been nominated by the vicar of Eccles, within whose parish Deane was included, and had received from him £4 a year as stipend. (fn. 11) Henry VIII, having after the suppression of Whalley Abbey constituted Deane a parish by letters patent, assumed the patronage, which till recently remained in the Crown, the vicar being appointed by the Lord Chancellor. The present patrons are Simeon's Trustees, by purchase in 1877. (fn. 12)
Inquiries made in 1546 and 1549 showed that apart from the glebe the vicar had no fixed income beyond the £4 paid by the vicar of Eccles. (fn. 13)
In 1650 the vicar of Deane received, besides an old stipend of £10, (fn. 14) a share of the rectorial tithes, sequestered from a 'delinquent,' Mr. Anderton of Lostock. (fn. 15) Bishop Gastrell recorded the income as £18 19s., of which £5 was from surplice fees and £10 was paid by the impropriator of the tithes; but in 1714 money and lands to the value of £700 were given in augmentation. (fn. 16) The value of the benefice is now stated as £400 a year. (fn. 17)
In 1724 there were eleven churchwardens, each hamlet choosing one by house-row. (fn. 18)
The following is a list of the vicars:—
Institution Name Patron Cause of Vacancy
20 Feb. 1541–2 William Rothwell (fn. 19) King d. last inc.
oc. 1563 Richard Ormishaw (fn. 20) — —
15 Oct. 1575 David Dee, M.A. (fn. 21) Queen d. last inc.
31 Mar. 1593 Lancelot Clegge (fn. 22) — —
—1597 James Pendlebury (fn. 23) — —
1 Mar. 1636–7 Richard Hardy, M.A. (fn. 24) King —
Aug. 1643 John Tilsley, M.A. (fn. 25) — —
19 Nov. 1662 John Angier, M.A. (fn. 26) King —
22 Nov. 1673 Richard Hatton (fn. 27) " —
13 Jan. 1712–3 James Rothwell, B.A. (fn. 28) Queen d. R. Hatton
29 May 1767 Thomas Withnell, M.A. (fn. 29) King d. J. Rothwell
13 June 1776 Robert Lathom, M.A. (fn. 30) " d. last inc.
16 April 1818 Thomas Brocklebank (fn. 31) " d. R. Lathom
6 Feb. 1830 Edward Girdlestone, M.A. (fn. 32) " res. T. Brocklebank
7 April 1855 Francis Henry Thicknesse, D.D. (fn. 33) Queen res. E. Girdlestone
May 1868 William Bashall, M.A. (fn. 34) " res. F. H. Thicknesse
7 April 1877 Henry Sheridan Patterson (fn. 35) Simeon's Trustees. res. W. Bashall
There does not seem to have been any regularly founded chantry at Deane, but in 1522 Richard Heaton stated that he had caused an aisle to be built in the church, which he calls a 'parish church,' and paid most of the charge; and had, in addition, edified a chapel of timber' in the aisle, wherein was an altar, with images of the Holy Trinity and St. Anne. (fn. 36) In 1552 Lambert Heaton claimed a chalice and suit of mass vestments in Deane Church as heirlooms. (fn. 37)
The Clergy List of 1541–2 shows that there were, in addition to the vicar, two priests whose stipends were paid by two of the squires; (fn. 38) there were probably at least two more attached to the chapels at Westhoughton and Horwich, for in 1548 the vicar and six others were recorded in the bishop's visitation list. There is no entry in 1554. The staff had dwindled to three by 1563 (fn. 39) —the vicar and the curates of the two chapels; and two years later one of the curates had gone, the vicar, Richard Ormishaw, and the curate of Horwich, Peter Makinson, being those recorded. (fn. 40) In 1592 it was reported that the curate did not catechize, and that the annual perambulations were neglected. (fn. 41)
In the 17th century some improvement was effected, but the normal staff does not seem to have risen above three, even under the Commonwealth. (fn. 42) From the account of the vicars it will be seen that clergy and people were of the Puritan school, one of the chapels after the Restoration being held by Nonconformists for many years. Here, as elsewhere in South Lancashire, the growth of the population has led in recent times to the erection of many new churches and the subdivision of the parish.
Reports on the charities of Deane have been made in 1828 and 1902. (fn. 43) For the whole parish there is a small endowment supposed to be part of a greater sum; the interest has been added to the church poor's money. (fn. 44) Farnworth shares in several charities. (fn. 45) Kearsley also shares some. (fn. 46) A special benefaction for Little Hulton has been lost. (fn. 47) The poor of Horwich receive £84 from the legacy of Joseph Ridgway, and there are some other charities. (fn. 48) For Westhoughton there are no endowments for the poor. (fn. 49) Middle Hulton has a share in two Worsley gifts. (fn. 50) Rumworth receives £60 a year from a farm given by Ralph and James Crompton. (fn. 51)
1. Rochdale is another parish taking its name from the position of the church; Wilmslow in Cheshire, is another. There are no townships so named, but each of them gives its name to the village around the church.
2. Part at least of Hulton was held in thegnage with Worsley, and the mesne lordship of Barton—and therefore of Manchester—was usually ignored.
3. Gregson, Fragments (ed. Harland), 22; also 15.
4. Ibid. 18.
5. The date 1510 is inscribed on one of the roof timbers; Baines, Lancs.
6. The reredos and organ fronts were designed by the present vicar (Rev. H. S. Patterson), and the screen under the tower arch was made in the vicarage by village talent.
7. a Marsh's known doctrinal standpoint is adverse to the 'tradition.'
8. Glynne, Lancs. Churches, 95–6.
9. a These are not ecclesiastical plate, being really salvers or waiters on threeehaped feet.
10. 'Thomas, persona de la Dene,' attested a Great Lever deed, in favour of Siward son of Robert the chaplain of Deane; Lever Chartul. (Add. MS. 32103), no. 1. Waldeve was another of the early chaplains— 'capellano de valle Sancte Marie'; Hulton Evidences, 3. Thomas de Perpoint granted to the monks of Stanlaw, holders of the church of Eccles, all his land by the chapel of St. Mary, Deane, the boundaries given showing the land to be the glebe land of the church; viz. from the chapel cemetery on the west side as far as the Kirk Brook, then by the Muckle Brook to the ditch, and by a hedge to the east side of the cemetery. This grant was confirmed by Robert Grelley, lord of Manchester, in 1276; Whalley Coucher (Chet. Soc), i, 60–2. Farnworth in the parish of the Deane is so described in a charter of 1292; Lever Chartul. no. 52. Piers Crompton and Thomas Street were 'parish priests' of Deane at different times between 1505 and 1522; Duchy Plead. (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), i, 104, 107.
11. The vicar of Deane in 1544 claimed the pension of £4 a year, which the vicar of Eccles refused to pay on the ground that Deane having been made an independent parish he had no responsibility for it and received no dues from it. The appointment of a separate chaplain for Deane was referred back to an ordinance by the Bishop of Lichfield in 1277. The letters patent of Henry VIII ordered that the vicar of the new parish 'should have the cure of souls, say mass, and administer the sacraments, and bear all the charges belonging to the said vicarage, provided always that the said vicar should not receive of the king any higher stipend than the late chaplain had'; ibid, ii, 197–9.
12. The advowson was sold by the Lord Chancellor under the Act 26 & 27 Vict, cap. 120, known as the Lord Chancellor's Augmentation Act; information of Messrs. Sandilands & Co., solicitors to Simeon's Trustees.
13. Valor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), v, 234. In the inquiry of 1546 the value of the glebe was stated as 13s. 4d., and it was said that the £4 was paid by the farmer of the tithes; this was corrected in the later inquiry.
14. a It does not seem to be known when this £10 was granted by the tithe owner.
15. Commonw. Ch. Surv. (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), 37. The remainder of the parochial tithes was divided among the chapelries. In 1723 Sir Lawrence Anderton sold to Francis Loggin (Colston) the rectory (i.e. the tithes, &c.); Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 289, m. 93. Francis Coulston sold it to James Edge in 1734; Piccope MSS. (Chet. Lib.), iii, 250 (from Roll 5, Geo. II at Preston); and in 1735 Ralph Banks purchased it from James Edge; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 313, m. 39. By 1782 a moiety seems to have been acquired by the Kenyons; Pal. of Lane. Plea R. 635, m. 2.
16. Notitia Cestr. (Chet. Soc.), ii, 37, 38. The augmentation consisted of £107 in money and a house and lands worth £420, held for that or other charitable use at the discretion of the trustees; £200 was added by Queen Anne's Bounty. Giles Marsh, by his will of 1615, left £10 towards the procuring of a yearly stipend for the curate at the Deane Church, for a school; Harl. MS. 2176, fol. 32.
17. Manch. Dioc. Dir.
18. Notitia Cestr. (Chet. Soc.), ii, 39.
19. Act Bks. at Chester. Paid firstfruits 28 June 1542; Lancs. and Ches. Rec. (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), ii, 408. William Rothwell was one of the king's chaplains; Ch. Gds. (Chet. Soc.), 28. He was still vicar in 1552; ibid.
20. Nothing is known of the clergy at Deane between 1552 and 1563, when Richard Ormishaw's name is recorded in the visitation list. A Richard Ormishaw, vicar of Acton in Cheshire, died 1559.
21. The Church P. at Chester Dioc. Reg. begin here. The surname is otherwise given as Dewhurst. He was 'no preacher' in 1590; S.P. Dom. Eliz. xxxi, 47.
22. Church Papers.
23. In 1601 he was charged with drunkenness, fornication, and other offences; he was in addition 'suspected not to be of sound religion'; Visit. P. at Chester. About 1612 he was described as 'a lewd (i.e. unlearned) minister, neither preacher himself, nor will suffer any other to preach'; Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. xiv, App. iv, 12. Nothing is said of any chapelries. He contributed 13s. 4d. to a subsidy in 1622, the lecturer (or curate), Mr. Horrocks, paying £3; Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), i, 66.
24. The institutions from 1636 to 1776 are taken from the Inst. Bks. P.R.O. as printed in Lancs, and Ches. Antiq. Notes. Richard Hardy signed the Protestation early in 1642 but is said to have been expelled as a Royalist.
25. Educated at Edinburgh, laureated 1637; a minister at Deane under Alexander Horrocks of Westhoughton in 1641; married Margaret daughter of Ralph Chetham and niece of Humphrey Chetham; showed himself a zealous and intolerant Presbyterian on the outbreak of the Civil War; promoted to the vicarage of Deane in August 1643; signed the 'Harmonious Consent,' 1648; described as 'a painful, godly, preaching minister' in 1650, about which time he, like many other Presbyterians, refused to take the engagement and suffered a temporary loss of his benefice. He assisted in the formation of the Chetham Library, having been nominated a trustee by the founder. Ejected from the vicarage in 1662, he was allowed to reside in the house, and with the goodwill of the new vicar and the tolerance of Bishop Wilkins afterwards preached in Deane Church, as the 'lecturer,' until Bishop Pearson silenced him in 1673. After this he retired to Manchester, where he died in Dec. 1684. From a full account by J. E. Bailey in Lancs, and Ches. Antiq. Notes, i, 191, 205; ii, 102; see also Dict. Nat. Biog.); will in Wills (Chet. Soc. new ser.), i, 169.
26. Only son of the celebrated John Angier of Denton (see Dict. Nat. Biog.); born 1629; sent to Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and being (as it is supposed) expelled, went to New England, graduating M.A. at Harvard in 1655. Returning to England he was ordained in 1657 and placed at Ringley. Conforming he was made vicar of Deane in 1663, whete it is supposed he stayed till his death; Manch. Classis (Chet. Soc.), 408–10.
27. This vicar seems to have been a Presbyterian at heart; the second institution was necessary because he had not renounced the Covenant. He connived at the occupation of Horwich Chapel by a Nonconformist; Notitia Cestr. (Chet. Soc.) ii, 42, 43; Ch. P. at Chester. He was, of course, 'conformable' in 1689; Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. xiv, App. iv, 229. His will was proved at Chester, 1712.
28. Son of Ralph Rothwell of Bolton; educated at Brasenose College, Oxford; B.A. 1711; Foster, Alumni Oxon. He purchased the advowson of Sefton, to which his son and grandson succeeded. He died 16 May 1766.
29. Educated at Brasenose College, Oxford; M.A. 1755; Foster, Alumni; Manch. Sch. Reg. (Chet. Soc), i, 31. His presentation is dated 2 June 1766.
30. Son of Nicholas Lathom of Wigan; educated at Brasenose College, Oxford; M.A. 1776; Foster, Alumni.
31. He had been curate of Bradshaw.
32. Educated at Balliol College, Oxford; M.A. 1829. In 1854 he was appointed residentiary canon of Bristol, and resigned Deane. He was beneficed in the west of England, and distinguished himself by his interest in the condition of the agricultural labourers. He died at Bristol in 1884; see Dict. Nat. Biog.; Baines, Lancs. (ed. Croston), iii, 131.
33. Educated at Brasenose College, Oxford; M.A. 1854; hon. canon of ManChester 1863; vicar of Brackley 1868; Bishop of Leicester (suffragan of Peterborough), 1888.
34. Educated at St. John's College, Oxford; M.A. 1855 5 left Deane to be curate at St. Barnabas's, Kensington.
35. Educated at the Church Missionary College, Islington, and served in India 1862–6; rector of Bartlow, 1872–7.
36. Duchy Plead. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.) i, III. Certain evildoers had entered the church by night and destroyed the timber work of his chapel. John Hulton of Farnworth in 1486 bequeathed 20 marks to the building of a north aisle, and a missal for the use of the chapel there to be 'bygget'; Wills (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), 23.
37. Ch. Gds. 27.
38. Clergy List (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), 13.
39. John Heaton in 1559 was in danger of losing house and goods for taking away a mass book from the curate of Deane 'since the Queen's Majesty's proceedings'; all the books were burned; Ch. Gds. 30, quoting S.P. Dom. Eliz. x, 286, &c.
40. From the Visit. Lists at Chester. The list of ornaments in Cb. Gds. 26, 27, shows that the church was well supplied, there remaining in 1552 eight sets of vestments; others had disappeared. There were also 'sixteen pieces of old linen used about the sepulchre.'
41. Lancs. and Ches. Antiq. Soc. xix, 60. Sir Gilbert Gerard, farmer of the benefice, did not provide quarterly sermons.
42. The 'lecturer' at Deane was also curate of Westhoughton.
43. For the later inquiry there are two reports—one for the part of the ancient parish now within the borough of Bolton, and the other for the remainder.
44. Deane was entitled to a share of £500 bequeathed by John Guest, for Bury and other places. This is supposed to have been represented by £63, which in 1786 was in the hands of John and James Edge of Moss, who paid £3 3s. as interest. About 1818 payment ceased on the death of the last of that branch of the family, but the vicar of Deane afterwards succeeded in recovering £100 from its representatives for principal and interest. This was invested in a plot of land and a house, the rent of which was for a long time £9 a year. Owing to disputes as to the exact area of the site, and the dilapidation of the building, the income has declined. A sum of money formerly producing £4 a year had been lost before 1828.
45. George Seddon in 1664 left £100 for the poor of Farnworth and Kearsley, to be spent on linen and woollen cloth. The overseers of the townships now receive £2 10s. a year, which is distributed in doles of cloth. Farnworth, Little Hulton, Middle Hulton, and Westhoughton participate in the £1,100 memorial fund raised to commemorate the Hon. Algernon Egerton; the interest is given towards scholarships.
46. See last note. Kearsley also shares in the charities of William Baguley, founded in 1728; the income is distributed in doles of calico, &c. Jonathan Greenhalgh gave £20 to build a culvert, on condition that the township should give £1 a year to the poor in linen cloth. This was still in operation in 1828, but had ceased long before 1862. Anne Cross in 1814 left £200, the interest of which was to be divided yearly among ten aged and infirm poor men and women. The capital is now represented by £193 consols. The interest is distributed according to the testator's wishes.
47. About 1828 there was a rent-charge of £1, which had been paid for forty years at least for the poor from some unknown source. The payment was afterwards discontinued, apparently on the death of a trustee. The trustees of the charity of Adam Mort of Astley used to give 11s. a year to the poor of Little Hulton, but this was judged irregular and discontinued.
48. Joseph Ridgway, by his will of 1841, left about £15,000 for charitable uses in Horwich and a large sum for a school in Bolton. The sum apportioned to the poor is distributed in articles of clothing or bedding, the average value of the dole being 7s. Richard Pilkington in 1786 left £50, and—Morris left £15 for the poor of Horwich. In 1828 it was found that the trustees had built a cottage on Kitfield with the money, and the rent, £5 10s., was distributed in linen cloth. The gross rent is now over £7 a year, and is distributed every few years in doles of calico, &c., preference being given to poor persons attending the New Chapel. Robert Greenhalgh in 1807 left two cottages partly for the minister of this chapel and partly for the poor; the latter portion of the income now amounts to £9 13s. a year, and is distributed periodically in calico, &c. The benefactor desired a preference to be given to those attending the chapel. From the estate of Richard Shaw, who died in 1897, a net sum of £185 has been received by the trustees of Lee Congregational Chapel for the benefit of the poor; the interest is given in food and clothing. In 1802 Thomas Schofield conveyed a piece of land for the benefit of the landowners of the township. He is 'believed to have been a defaulting overseer, and to have given this land in payment of a debt of £79 due to the parish.' The Lee Mill has been built upon the land, for which a rent of £6 2s. 8d. is paid. At one time this money was distributed among the poor; then it was allowed to accumulate for many years, and has been applied to the provision of a free library.
49. In 1828 £3, was paid by the overseers out of the rates, and distributed to the poor in doles of linen cloth, in respect of a gift by Ann Rycroft and — France, which was supposed to have been used for the repair of the workhouse. The workhouse was sold, and the payment of the £3 ceased, there being no proof of the advance of charity money towards it.
50. The Algernon Egerton Memorial Fund has been mentioned. The other is the charity of Dame Dorothy Legh, who in 1656 gave money for the minister of Ellenbrook Chapel and the poor of Worsley and Middle Hulton. A place called Common Head in Tyldesley was purchased, and in 1828, according to old custom, a quarter of the rent was reserved for the poor, one-third of the sum (about £5 10s.) being given to the overseer of Middle Hulton, who distributed it at his discretion. The share for this township is still one-twelfth, but now amounts to £30 a year. Doles of blankets, &c., to the value of 5s. or 10s. are distributed.
51. Ralph Crompton, M.D., by his will of 1623, and James Crompton his brother in 1636 left a sum which with interest amounted to £442 by 1653, chiefly for the school at Deane, but in part for the poor. In 1828 the estate appropriated to the latter service was a copyhold farm (Bannister's) in Tottington Lower End, let at £38 a year, which sum was distributed in gifts of money from 10s. to 20s. each. The rent has increased to £60 a year, and is now distributed in doles of blankets, sheets, and flannel of the value of 7s. each. John Laithwaite in 1728 left £10 for a bread charity. For some time 10s. a year, afterwards increased to 20s., was given in bread out of the rents of the Crompton Charity, it being understood that the capital had been expended in improvements of that estate. The special payments for bread had ceased by 1828, it being thought better to use the rent otherwise.