Townships: Much Hoole

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: Much Hoole', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 6, ed. William Farrer, J Brownbill( London, 1911), British History Online https://prod.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol6/pp149-153 [accessed 9 November 2024].

'Townships: Much Hoole', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 6. Edited by William Farrer, J Brownbill( London, 1911), British History Online, accessed November 9, 2024, https://prod.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol6/pp149-153.

"Townships: Much Hoole". A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 6. Ed. William Farrer, J Brownbill(London, 1911), , British History Online. Web. 9 November 2024. https://prod.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol6/pp149-153.

In this section

MUCH HOOLE

Hole, 1212 and usually; Holes, 1223; Hoole, 1320; Grett Wholle, 1551.

The township of Much Hoole has an area of 1,776 acres, (fn. 1) and the population numbered 624 in 1901. The Douglas or Asland River forms the boundary on the west, and the surface rises slightly from west to east, about 70 ft. above the ordnance datum being reached on the boundary of Leyland. In the south the township is bounded mainly by Carr Brook.

The principal road is that from Ormskirk to Preston, which goes north-east through the township, passing Mill Hill on the left or west, the church on the right and the village; Goose Green and Mosshouses are hamlets to the east. The West Lancashire portion of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway from Preston to Southport crosses the north-west corner, and passes into Hesketh by a bridge over the Douglas.

The township is governed by a parish council. The district is supplied with water by the Preston Corporation.

The soil is marl, with subsoil various. The chief crops are wheat, oats and potatoes. There are some market gardens.

Manor

The 'land of HOOLE' was a member of the barony of Warrington; by Pain de Vilers it was given to Thomas de Vilers, and in 1212 seems to have been held by Robert and William de Vilers. (fn. 2) As in the case of Halsall and Windle, the descent is in one part uncertain. In 1242 the Earl of Ferrers was holding Hoole, or a portion of it, of the heir of Amery le Boteler, (fn. 3) and a century later Otes de Halsall and the heirs of Windle were returned as tenants. (fn. 4) In 1223 Robert de Vilers gave an oxgang of land in Hoole to Walter de Hoole and Beatrice his wife, a rent of 2s. being payable. (fn. 5) This seems to be the land which Adam de Walton held of the Earl of Ferrers in 1288 by the same rent. (fn. 6) Before 1260, however, the whole had been given to the Cistercian Abbey of Merivale, (fn. 7) probably by the Earl of Ferrers (fn. 8) and through his influence, and by the monks it was granted to the Walton family (fn. 9) of Ulnes Walton. After the partition of their estates it was held by the Leghs (fn. 10) and the Radcliffes of Smithills, (fn. 11) and so descended for several centuries.

The subsequent story is obscure. The Legh moiety appears to be that now held by Lord Lilford, (fn. 12) while the other was sold to Andrew Stones in 1638, (fn. 13) and was afterwards acquired by the Crook family, (fn. 14) and may be that now held by Mr. Richard Rainshaw Rothwell of Sharples. (fn. 15) Courts are held annually in June by the joint lords. (fn. 16)

A resident family or families took their surname from the place, but few notices of them occur (fn. 17); some charters relating to their estate at Mosshouses are in the British Museum. (fn. 18) Among the other landowners recorded are Aughton, (fn. 19) followed by Bold (fn. 20); Banastre (fn. 21); Beconsaw, (fn. 22) succeeded by Hesketh (fn. 23); Boteler of Rawcliffe, (fn. 24) by Walton (fn. 25); Shireburne, (fn. 26) Shuttleworth, (fn. 27) and Waleys. (fn. 28)

Powys, Lord Lilford. Or a lion's jamb erased in bend between two crosslets fitchy gules.

Warinede Vilers and Robert son of Richard le Waleys gave land in Much Hoole to Cockersand Abbey. (fn. 29)

Peter Martindale in 1649 desired to compound for his small estate, sequestered by the Parliament for 'delinquency.' (fn. 30) Edward and Henry Stananought, as 'Papists,' registered their estates in 1717. (fn. 31)

The land tax return of 1783 shows that the ownership was greatly subdivided; the principal names were those of Peter Legh and Thomas Stananought. (fn. 32)

Among the leaseholders in 1717 and later were the family of Buck, who afterwards succeeded to Agecroft in Pendlebury. (fn. 33)

Church

The church of ST. MICHAEL is situated close to the road at the south end of the village, and consists of chancel, nave, south porch and west tower. It is a small building of red brick on a low stone base, erected in 1628—replacing, it is said, an older structure which stood on another site (fn. 34) —but added to subsequently at different periods. The original building forms the present nave, and was a simple parallelogram about 55 ft. long by 21 ft. 6 in. wide inside. In 1720 a tower was erected at the west end and the west wall rebuilt, and in 1824 a small chancel was built. In 1857, however, as the result of an appeal to commemorate the name of Jeremiah Horrocks, the chancel appears to have been taken down and an extension of the church made eastward, known as the Horrocks chapel, beyond which the chancel was rebuilt with a small vestry on the south side. The internal dimensions are: chancel, 10 ft. by 6 ft. 6 in.; Horrocks chapel, 11 ft. by 21 ft. 6 in.; nave, 55 ft. by 21 ft. 6 in.; and tower (at clock stage), 6 ft. 9 in. by 7 ft. 9 in., the longer dimension being from north to south. The brick walls of the older part of the building were relieved by blue diaper patterns, as in other brick buildings of the period in the district; but lately the whole of the exterior brickwork has been painted red all over, and the old distinction temporarily lost. A portion of the south nave wall at the east end seems to have been rebuilt at the time that the Horrocks chapel was erected, but the window is the original 17thcentury one. The extension of 1859 is in the same style as the original building, and the roof, which is covered with green slates, is merely carried eastward without a break. The general appearance of the building outside is therefore, with the exception of the tower, very uniform.

The chancel, the roof of which is lower than that of the rest of the building, has a three-light pointed window, and is separated from the Horrocks chapel by a pointed arch 8 ft. wide. The chapel is practically part of the chancel, though not so styled, and has a three-light square-headed window with roundheaded lights on each side. The floor is level with that of the nave, from which the chapel is separated by a pointed arch 8 ft. 6 in. wide, the centre line of which, like that to the chancel, is 2 ft. north of the axis of the nave, so as to allow for the small entrance vestry south of the chancel. The nave, which is flagged, has four windows on each side, each of four round-headed lights under a square head, with a doorway in both north and south walls, and one at the west end under the tower. The roof is ceiled with a segmental plaster vault erected in 1812. There is a wide organ gallery at the west end, and a narrower one containing square pews along the south side, carried on iron columns, and gained by a staircase at the west end. The north doorway, which externally shows the same detail as that on the south porch, is now made up. The south doorway bears the date 1628 on the stone head, and the door itself is the original oak nail-studded one. The porch has an open outer doorway under a segmental arch, with moulded jambs and square head and label over. Over the label is a modern panel with text, and the wall finishes in a brick gable with stone coping with urn ornaments. On one of the arch stones are cut the initials P. H.

The tower is built of stone and stands inside the building, carried by semicircular arches on Tuscan columns 1 ft. 9 in. diameter with pedestals 4 ft. high. It is of a somewhat nondescript architectural character, the upper stages being in a pseudo-Gothic style, with a two-light stone-louvred window on each face and embattled parapet with angle pinnacles. The west arch is filled in, and the wall pierced with a square-headed door with circular window over. Above the keystone of the arch and below the belfry window is a two-light square-headed Gothic window to the ringing chamber. The whole of the west wall of the building was apparently rebuilt in stone when the tower was erected, and has the characteristic 18th-century urn ornament at the angles. On the south side of the tower, under a square string below the belfry window, is a painted sundial with the inscription, 'Sine sole sileo,' and on the north a clock, (fn. 35) round which is cut in the stone, 'In memoriam Horrockii, 1639–1859. Ut hora, sic vita.'

The font, which is of stone and octagonal, was the gift of John Stones of Carr House, and bears the inscription, 'Deo Donum Johanis Stones An. Dom. 1633.' For a long time it was painted, but has now been cleaned.

In the north-east corner of the nave is a twodecker oak pulpit and reading desk with rich carving and octagonal canopy over. On the canopy is the date 1695, with the names of the minister and chapel-wardens. (fn. 36) The pulpit has been tampered with in the early years of the 19th century, when small Gothic panels were introduced. The back and canopy, which are the original 17th-century work, were taken down and cleaned in 1859. The front of the desk has good carving with 18th-century top. Two bench ends at the west end of the nave bear respectively the initials R. O. and F. O., but to whom they refer is not known. There are two old square pews at the west end of the north side under the gallery and two at the east end of the south side, but the rest of the seating is modern.

At the east end of the nave, in front of the Horrocks chapel, is a stone, with inscription, marking the burial-place of the Rev. Thomas Leigh, rector (d. 1703), and on the north wall of the nave is a marble tablet to the memory of Horrocks, erected in 1859, with a long inscription, and a brass in the Horrocks chapel states that the chapel was 'erected by subscriptions from Lancashire, Oxford, and Cambridge.' The chancel window is also a memorial to Horrocks, the centre light containing at the top the symbol of Venus, and at the bottom the figure of the astronomer observing the transit, with his own words, 'Ecce gratissimum spectaculum ut tot votorum materiem.' In the window by the pulpit is an allusive figure representing a Bible and telescope, with the motto, 'The word of God shall stand for ever. 1639. Religion and science in fellowship. 1874.'

On the north wall is a hatchment with the arms of James Rothwell of Moss House (d. 1825).

There is one bell, by John Rudhall, 1813.

The plate consists of a chalice inscribed, 'The gifte of Margaret Warner, the wife of John Warner, 1629'; another chalice, 'The gifte of Elizabeth Wheat, the wife of William Wheat, 1629'; both chalices have inscribed on foot, 'Belonging to the Chappell in Hoole in ye parish of Croston, Lancashire'; and a breadholder, 'The gift of Katherine Stones, ye wife of Andrew Stones.'

The registers begin in 1676.

Advowson

The earliest reference to a chapel is a grant about 1280 by Amery de Hoole to God and St. Mary of an acre in Much Hoole for the maintenance of the lights in the chapel of Little Hoole. (fn. 37) What became of it is unknown; it is not noticed at the time of the spoliation of such chapels by Henry VIII and Edward VI, and by that time, therefore, had probably fallen into decay, the endowment, if there had been any, having been lost. (fn. 38) About 1628 a chapel was built in Much Hoole by Thomas Stones of London, and in 1641–2 it was made a parish church, (fn. 39) the townships of Much and Little Hoole, with a messuage called the Carr House in Bretherton, being assigned to it. The patronage was vested in the builder, and a seventh part of the rent of £53 6s. 8d. due to the Crown from the rectory of Croston was to be paid by the rector of Hoole. (fn. 40) The advowson has frequently changed hands, and the present patron is Mrs. Mary Dunne. The income is £169.

The following have been rectors (fn. 41) :—

1641 Robert Fogg (fn. 42)
1647 Samuel Jones (fn. 43)
c. 1654–8 William Brownsword, M.A. (fn. 44) (Emmanuel Coll., Camb.)
1660 Robert Browne, M.A. (fn. 45)
oc. 1676 Samuel Barton (fn. 46)
1686 Richard Foxcroft, B.A. (fn. 47) (Christ's Coll., Camb.)
1701 Thomas Leigh, B.A. (fn. 48)
1704 James Whitaker (fn. 49)
1732 Thomas Ellison, LL.B. (fn. 50)
1763 John Lowe, B.A. (fn. 51)
1783 Roger Barton, B.A. (fn. 52) (Brasenose Coll., Oxf.)
1799 Thomas Shutt, M.A. (Queen's Coll., Oxf.)
1803 Richard Rowe
1805 Robert Harris, B.D. (fn. 53)
1812 Miles Barton (fn. 54)
1848 Robert Brickel, B.A. (fn. 55) (T.C.D.)
1881 Edmund Neal Dunne, B.A. (T.C.D.)

There is a Wesleyan Methodist church, built in 1848.

A school seems to have been founded at the same time as the church, but it had disappeared by 1720. (fn. 56) Another was built in 1774.

Charities

Apart from £24 for education the only charitable endowments (fn. 57) are 9s. 8d. a year for prayer-books (fn. 58) for the poor and £1 distributed in clothing. (fn. 59)

Footnotes

  • 1. The Census Report of 1901 gives 1,757 acres. There are besides 10 acres of tidal water and 7 of foreshore.
  • 2. Lancs. Inq. and Extents (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 7. It is stated that Robert de Vilers held Hoole and the Warrington moiety of Cropwell, but that William de Vilers held one plough-land of the same.
  • 3. Lancs. Inq. and Extents (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 147; probably the earl had Robert de Vilers' share of Hoole. Hoole, like Hesketh, was held by Robert de Hephale in 1324; Dods. MSS. cxxxi, fol. 44.
  • 4. Feud. Aids, iii, 89.
  • 5. Final Conc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 44. Robert granted to them and the heirs of Beatrice common of pasture for their beasts, wherever the beasts of the free men of the town depastured, but reserved the right to break up a portion of the pasture, between the water of Ascalon (Asland) and 'la onisse,' for the improvement of the manor of Hoole.
  • 6. Inq. and Extents, i, 269; it was only 'a part of the vill of Much Hoole.' The 2s. rent satisfied for all services except puture of the serjeants. Nothing is said of the lordship of the abbey of Merivale. William de Ferrers had in 1278 ordered Thomas Banastre his bailiff to put Master Adam de Walton in seisin of the homages, &c., of William's free men in Much Hoole; but John the Judge was to do the suit he owed to the earl's court, and castle ward, &c., were to be rendered by the tenants. See Dods. MSS. cxlix, fol. 5b.
  • 7. Final Conc. i, 132; a quitclaim from Robert de Vilers to the Abbot of Merivale of all his interest in three ploughlands in Much Hoole. The abbot and his tenant Adam de Walton gave Robert 100 marks of silver. Among the Croxteth D. are a few relating to this manor. Robert de Vilers gave to Ralph son of Henry de Hoole 20 acres which Robert's father had granted to Henry for life, at a rent of 12d.; Ralph gave the land to the monks of Merivale, and his daughter Lettice, in her widowhood, released her right in the same. The charter of Ralph son of Henry Uvioth of Much Hoole was of land 'up to four-score acres' at the abbot's choice, reserving land of John de la Mare, rights of way, common pasture ('when corn and hay have been removed'), &c. The monks might make a mill and mill-pool, but should they lead the mill stream through Ralph's land they were to make a reasonable exchange for what they might take for the purpose. Confirmatory grants were made by Beatrice de Hoole, daughter of Warine de Vilers, in her widowhood (see fine quoted in a former note), Richard the son and Richard the brother of Robert le Waleys. These deeds may be dated between 1232 and 1237. There is little to record of the abbey's connexion with Hoole. Probably this was regarded as an appurtenance of their manor of Altcar, as Hoole is not named either in the Taxation of 1291 or the Valor of 1535.
  • 8. Agnes, wife of William de Ferrers Earl of Derby, confirmed the gift of the manor of Much Hoole made by her husband; Kuerden's fol. MS. p. 130.
  • 9. Final Conc. i, 132. Master Adam de Walton in 1294 granted the manor to Adam de Walton, clerk, and his issue, with remainder to Master Adam and his heirs; ibid. i, 178. The latter Adam in 1301 was described as 'of Much Hoole,' so that probably he resided there. John de Croft and Emma his wife, widow of Adam de Walton, claimed dower in a messuage in Hoole in 1320; De Banco R. 235, m. 131 d. In the following year also there was a dispute between Northlegh and Croft as to Emma's dower in the manor of Much Hoole; ibid. 238, m. 53. William le Boteler of Warrington in 1325 claimed a third part of the manor against Thurstan de Northlegh and Margery his wife; ibid. 257, m. 83. Margery was sister and heir of Adam de Walton, apparently the nephew of the Adam of Hoole. In 1346 William Abbot of Merivale claimed the manor of Much Hoole against Margery widow of Thurstan de Northlegh (two-thirds) and John de Croft and Emma his wife (one-third in dower), alleging that Robert de Okethorp, formerly abbot, had demised them to Master Adam de Walton without the assent and will of his chapter; De Banco R. 348, m. 324 d. A year later the charter granted to Master Adam, son of Warine de Walton, was produced and the abbot's claim failed; ibid. 351, m. 84. An exception was made as to 2½ oxgangs of land and 72 acres; these Margery said were not part of the grant by the abbot, and they may have been the part of the manor held in 1288 of William de Ferrers. In 1445–6 Sir Ralph Radcliffe and Peter Legh held in Hoole two ploughlands, the relief being 20s.; Duchy of Lanc. Knights' Fees, bdle. 2, no. 20.
  • 10. Sir Peter Legh of Bradley and Lyme, who died in 1527, held land in Hoole of the king as of his duchy of Lancaster; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. vi, no. 63. His son Peter is stated to have held it by the sixtieth part of a knight's fee; ibid. viii, no. 10. It was held by Peter Legh, who died a minor in 1642; ibid. xxix, no. 16. Its history from this point is unknown. Mr. Beamont cites the following letter from the steward among the Legh MSS.: '17 June 1646. The town of Hoole hath been much impoverished and until Lathom House was delivered I could not with safety send thither: so that the poorness of the people [and] neglect of calling upon them for their rents, together with these times of liberty and distraction, rendered them of that place incredibly forgetful, and many would deny to pay any rent.' See War in Lancs. (Chet. Soc.), p. 131.
  • 11. Ralph Radcliffe, who died in 1485, held the lands in Much Hoole, but the tenure was unknown; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. iii, no. 12, 97. Andrew Barton died in 1549 holding 'the manor' of Hoole, 5s. 11d. rent, twenty-six messuages, water-mill, &c., in Hoole, of Lord Mounteagle in socage, by a rent of 6d. for all services; ibid. ix, no. 27. His son Robert held 'half the manor,' with messuages, windmill, &c., of Sir Richard Shireburne, by a rent of 6d.; ibid. xiv, no. 24; so also in xvii, no. 50. The rent named may be part of the 2s. due from Adam de Walton in 1288 to the predecessor of Shireburne in the lordship of the wapentake. The manor was included in Barton settlements of 1610 and later; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdles. 75, no. 47; 111, no. 24.
  • 12. Canon Raines affirmed in 1849 that no manorial rights then existed and that no courts were held; Notitia Cestr. (Chet. Soc.), ii, 377.
  • 13. Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 133, no. 31. The deforciants were Henry son of Thomas Lord Fauconberg and Grace (Barton) his wife, who had received them from Sir Thomas Barton. From deeds in the possession of W. Farrer it appears that Andrew Stones settled the manor in 1647, with remainders to Mary his wife (for life), John Owen and issue by Mary his wife, and Andrew Stones (son of Henry brother of Andrew). Andrew died before 1653, when his widow Mary was the wife of Theophilus Haworth of Manchester, and they released the manor to John Owen, citizen and grocer of London. Seisin was given 'by the delivery of the ring of the door of the capital messuage and tenement and one clod of earth.'
  • 14. See the account of Abram. By fine in 1664 Thomas Crook obtained the manor of Much Hoole from John Owen and Mary his wife; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 172, m. 55. He also bought the interest of Andrew and Mary, children of Henry Stones. The purchase does not seem to have been completed till 1697, when Richard Crook son of Thomas was in possession. In 1729 Thomas Yates and Lydia his wife had a fifth part of the church of Hoole; ibid. bdle. 303. Two years later a moiety of the manor and advowson was held by Thomas Yates, Lydia his wife; Thomas Clayton, Abigail his wife; John Andrews, Abigail his wife; Thomas Summers, Margaret his wife; Thomas Heys and Isabel his wife; ibid. bdle. 308, m. 86. Mosshouse was part of the estate.
  • 15. The founder of the family was the Rev. James Rothwell, vicar of Deane from 1712 to 1767, who amassed a large fortune. His son the Rev. Richard Rothwell, rector of Sefton from 1763 to 1801, had by his second wife Mary, daughter of Roger Brantwood of Bolton, a son James born in 1765. He became lord of Much Hoole as well as owner of Sharples Hall, near Bolton, and died in 1824. He had a son Richard Rainshaw Rothwell (d. 1890), created Marquis de Rothwell of the kingdom of Italy in 1860 for gifts to charities and to the revolutionists; and Ralph, whose son Richard Rainshaw Rothwell succeeded his uncle. For pedigree see Newton Chapelry (Chet. Soc., new ser.), ii, 224.
  • 16. Information of Mr. John B. Selby, agent to Lord Lilford, who states: 'Lord Lilford's predecessor, Mr. Keck, and the late Mr. Rothwell held a manorial court at least as far back as 1858. This annual court ceased to be held about 1866, but was revived in 1895 at the wish of both Lord Lilford's and Mr. Rothwell's tenants, to ensure the proper cleansing of the main watercourses through the township.'
  • 17. Some mention of them has been made in a preceding note. In 1324 William son of Richard son of William de Hoole did not prosecute his claim against Thurstan de Northlegh and others regarding a tenement in Much Hoole; Assize R. 426, m. 9. In 1331, however, he recovered a messuage and land; ibid. 1404, m. 25a. Margery widow of Thurstan in 1346 complained that John and William sons of William de Hoole had broken her close at Much Hoole; De Banco R. 349, m. 280 d. Again four years later Richard de Legh made a like complaint against William son of William son of Richard de Hoole and others; ibid. 362, m. 14 d.
  • 18. The following are notes of these charters: (i) Richard son of Roger in 1296 released to Adam de Walton, clerk, lord of Much Hoole, all right in a house and land at the Mosshouses; B.M. Add. Chart., no. 26026. (ii) John the Judge of Much Hoole gave two selions in the place to John de Burscough in 1303; ibid. no. 26028. (iii) William brother of Isoude de Longton and Maud daughter of Richard son of Ralph of Much Hoole his wife granted John de Burscough 31 roodfalls next the Outelm at the Mosshouses; ibid. no. 26031. A proviso was added that should Maud claim the tenement after William's death the chief lord should have 20s. and the lord of Leylandshire 20s. out of the goods and chattels. (iv) John son of Richard son of Ralph granted a building at the Mosshouses to John de Burscough in 1315; ibid. no. 26036. (v) Agnes daughter of John de Bretherton and widow of Benet son of Richard son of Ralph of Much Hoole in 1316 granted to John de Burscough a messuage at the Mosshouses formerly belonging to Benet and an acre of land, of which two selions lay in Longacre field between land of the lord of Hoole and of John the Demand; ibid. no. 26035. (vi) In 1336 John de Burscough son of Benet the Clerk of Leyland gave to John his son by Margaret daughter of Richard son of William of Much Hoole all his lands, &c., in Much Hoole; ibid. no. 26041.
  • 19. Sir Richard Aughton died in 1543 holding half an acre in Much Hoole of Peter Legh and Andrew Barton in socage; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. viii, no. 3. Similar statements are made in other inquisitions. In 1550 a rent of 12d. was stated to be due; ibid. ix, no. 4.
  • 20. Ibid. xviii, no. 43; Lancs. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 254.
  • 21. Henry son of Wen gave the Great Holme of Much Hoole to Thomas Banastre in free marriage with his daughter Agnes; Dods. MSS. cxlix, fol. 46. In 1348 John Trussell of Cublesden and Pernell his wife claimed dower in three messuages, land and rent in Much Hoole, held by John son of John Banastre; and the tenant called upon Sir Adam de Hoghton to warrant him, as guardian of the body and lands of Thomas son and heir of Adam Banastre; De Banco R. 354, m. 232. This property is not named in the inquisitions of Banastre of Bank.
  • 22. Edward Beconsaw in 1534 held four messuages, 60 acres of land, &c., in Much Hoole of the heirs of Maurice son of Robert le Waleys by a rent of 1d.; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. viii, no. 30.
  • 23. The land, &c., in Hoole was included in the purchase (1555–61) by Sir Thomas Hesketh from the heirs of Beconsaw; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdles. 16, m. 173; 23, m. 189.
  • 24. James Butler died in 1504 holding lands in Much Hoole of the king by services unknown; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. iii, no. 109. The manor of Little Hoole, as will be seen, is in one instance called a moiety of Much Hoole.
  • 25. John and Henry Walton in 1591 purchased messuages, &c., in Much Hoole from Henry Butler of Rawcliffe, Anne his wife, William his son and heir and Elizabeth his wife; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 53, m. 201. A Christopher Walton had lands in Much Hoole in 1481; Mr. Dalton's deeds. Another appears in 1534 and 1548 as a tenant in Little Hoole; Duchy Plead. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), ii, 49; Ducatus Lanc. (Rec. Com.), ii, 98. 'Mr. Walton, that dwelt about Hoole chapel,' is said to have raised a company of soldiers to fight for the Parliament in 1643; War in Lancs. (Chet. Soc.), 43. Margaret Walton, 1776, was a benefactor.
  • 26. Sir Robert Shireburne in 1338 gave his lands in Much Hoole and Formby to his son John; Kuerden MSS. ii, fol. 260. Richard Shireburne died in 1513 holding lands of Sir Peter Legh and John Barton in socage; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. iv, no. 46. Lands in Much Hoole were included in a feoffment by Richard Shireburne in 1645; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 145, m. 4.
  • 27. In 1588 Thomas Shuttleworth claimed a rent of £20 in Hoole against Richard Shuttleworth, serjeant-at-law, and Margery his wife; ibid. bdle. 50, m. 181. Messuages and lands demised to John Woodroff by Richard Shuttleworth were the subject of a suit in 1583; Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 252, m. 30 d.
  • 28. Their holding has been noticed above in the grants to Merivale and the Beconsaw estate. In 1324–5 Richard son of Alan son of Richard le Waleys was nonsuited in a claim for lands in Much Hoole against William son of Richard de Hoole and Thomas Stone of Walton; Assize R. 426, m. 9.
  • 29. Cockersand Chartul. (Chet. Soc.), ii, 457–8.
  • 30. Royalist Comp. Papers (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), iv, 120.
  • 31. Estcourt and Payne, Engl. Cath. Nonjurors, 109.
  • 32. Land tax returns at Preston.
  • 33. From deeds at Agecroft it appears that Christopher Buck of Tarleton had a lease of a messuage in Much Hoole from Richard Crook. His son Robert Buck succeeded in or before 1731, when the lease was renewed by Thomas Yates of Whitchurch, Lydia his wife and other heirs. He died in 1736, leaving 'natural sons' Christopher and Richard. The former was an apothecary and surgeon in Liverpool and Upholland; the latter lived in Hoole. By Christopher's will, 1763, he left his estate to his wife Alice, with remainder to his two sons Robert and Richard equally; his wife's brother Richard Hull, apothecary, of Chorley, was to be executor. Alice Buck, widow, was living at Poulton in 1789. In 1796 Robert Buck of—and Richard Buck of Magdalene Coll., Camb., demised a messuage in Much Hoole to Hugh Norris.
  • 34. This popular opinion may preserve a tradition of the Little Hoole chapel recorded below.
  • 35. The clock was given by parishioners in memory of Horrocks in 1859. The mottoes 'Sine sole sileo' and 'Ut hora, sic vita' are said to have been inscribed by Horrocks on the old church clock and sundial; Rev. A. B. Whatton, Memoir of the Rev. Jeremiah Horrox (1859), 79.
  • 36. 'Ano. D. 1695. Richerd Foxcroft, Minerst. Jams Idon, William Wilding, Ch. Wardans.'
  • 37. Dods. MSS. liii, fol. 94b.
  • 38. Hoole is not named in the list of chapels compiled about 1610 and printed in Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. xiv, App. iv, 11.
  • 39. –4 Private Act of 16 Chas. I, cap. 6.
  • 40. Bishop Gastrell calls the church St. Michael's, and states that it was consecrated in 1629; Notitia Cestr. (Chet. Soc.), ii, 376. It is sometimes called Holy Trinity.
  • 41. The rectors of 1641 and 1686 onwards have been taken from the records in the diocesan registry at Chester.
  • 42. He had been curate in 1632 and 1639; Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 94, 123. Jeremiah Horrocks, the astronomer, was acting for him in 1639. Robert Fogg was an active and zealous Puritan, and in 1646 placed in Bangor Isycoed rectory on the expulsion of the Royalist Henry Bridgeman; this he lost on the Restoration in 1660, and was silenced for Nonconformity. He afterwards lived at Nantwich, and was buried at Acton in 1676. See Baines' Lancs. (ed. Croston), iv, 138.
  • 43. He was a son of John Jones, vicar of Eccles; Foster, Alumni Oxon. He signed the 'Harmonious Consent' of 1648 as 'pastor of Hoole.' In 1650 he was described as 'a godly, painful, preaching minister.' He had the tithes of Much and Little Hoole, excepting the rent of £7 13s. to the duchy and £10 to the school, the net value being about £42; Commonw. Ch. Surv. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), 115.
  • 44. N. and Q. (Ser. 3), iii, 68; (Ser. 6), ii, 22–4, with reference to Newcome's Autobiog. Brownsword had been curate of Douglas in Bispham in 1648, and afterwards became vicar of Kendal 1658–72. For a time (1655–7) he acted at Preston. He published a thanksgiving sermon on the restoration of Charles II, and a book against the Quakers, called The QuakerJesuit, 1660.
  • 45. Presented by Martha Porter of Lamberhurst in Kent; Inst. Bks. (P.R.O.) (printed in Lancs. and Ches. Antiq. Notes). Bishop Gastrell calls her Maria widow of Richard Porter. Browne was of Emmanuel Coll., Camb.; M.A. 1667, and had been incumbent of Salford; Manch. Classis (Chet. Soc.), 421. He was rector to about 1677; Visit. Lists.
  • 46. Note by Mr. Earwaker.
  • 47. Presented by James II (by lapse); also curate of Sefton from 1688; Visit. List at Chester. He and his curate, John Battersby, were 'conformable' in 1689; Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. xiv, App. iv, 229.
  • 48. Presented by Sir Thomas Wheate, bt.
  • 49. Presented by Elizabeth Hamby, widow. At that time Mrs. Hamby and Mr. Crook of Abram were patrons in turn. The income of the rector was £46 3s. There were two churchwardens, one for each township, serving for four years; every fifth year Much Hoole elected both wardens. Assessments were made in Much Hoole by the acre and in Little Hoole by a fifteen. See Gastrell, op. cit.
  • 50. Presented by John Skerrett. He was also curate of Chorley. In the charity report William Ellison is stated to have been rector in 1738.
  • 51. Presented by Henry Hesketh, patron for that turn. James Hodgson was 'minister of Hoole' in 1765.
  • 52. Presented by Miles Barton, who presented also in 1799, 1803 and 1805. He was the son of Henry Barton, an Ormskirk surgeon, and succeeded his father. He gave its name to Southport. Roger Barton, the vicar, was a son.
  • 53. Also incumbent of St. George's, Preston.
  • 54. Patron of Hoole; son of a preceding rector. The replies to the Bishop of Chester's inquiries in 1821 show that there were prayers morning and afternoon on Sundays, with a sermon in the morning, but an afternoon sermon was promised. The sacrament was administered four times a year. There was no parsonage house, but the rector lived in Much Hoole.
  • 55. Presented by James Greaves Barton, son of the last rector; he afterwards sold the advowson. The Rev. F. H. Sewell, vicar of Cockerham, was patron in 1849, and Thomas Batty Addison in 1870. Mr. Brickel, an admirer of Horrocks, wrote an essay on the transit of Venus, and procured the enlargement of the church as a memorial of his predecessor. In 1884 was published a volume entitled Memorials of the Rev. Robert Brickel, edited by Rev. W. Miles Myres.
  • 56. Gastrell, op. cit. ii, 378. In the present school are a library of 600 books and a small natural history museum.
  • 57. An official inquiry was made in 1898. The report includes a reprint of that of 1826.
  • 58. Ralph Leyland in 1709 left £6 for this purpose; a small piece of land, purchased with that sum, was sold in 1854 for about £20, invested in consols.
  • 59. Margaret Walton in 1776 bequeathed £30 for clothing for the poor of Hoole. Henry Hunt, nephew and executor of the benefactor, appears to have spent the capital for this purpose, but on representations being made his family paid the £30. It is now invested in consols.
PreviousTable of contentsNext