Townships: Broughton

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

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'Townships: Broughton ', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 8, ed. William Farrer, J Brownbill( London, 1914), British History Online https://prod.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol8/pp400-406 [accessed 25 November 2024].

'Townships: Broughton ', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 8. Edited by William Farrer, J Brownbill( London, 1914), British History Online, accessed November 25, 2024, https://prod.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol8/pp400-406.

"Townships: Broughton ". A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 8. Ed. William Farrer, J Brownbill(London, 1914), , British History Online. Web. 25 November 2024. https://prod.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol8/pp400-406.

In this section

BROUGHTON

Borch, Dom. Bk.; Broctun, c. 1140; Barton, c. 1160; Brocton, 1196.

To distinguish this township from others of the like name it is usually called Broughton-in-Furness, or sometimes West Broughton. It has an area of 7,297½ acres, (fn. 1) extending north-east along a hilly ridge between the level open valleys of Steers Pool and the Lickle, streams flowing into the Duddon. The height of the ridge gradually increases, till at Lag Bank over 1,250 ft. above the sea is attained, and a little further north, on the border of Seathwaite and Torver, about 1,800 ft. There are numerous bits of woodland, but of no great area on the whole. The population numbered 1,117 in 1901.

The chief place is the little town of Broughton, situated on the southern slope of the ridge named, from 50 to 100 ft. above the sea and looking southwest over Duddon Sands. To the north of the main road through it is the square, with an obelisk in the centre (fn. 2); from the upper side ascends the drive to Broughton Tower, the ancient seat of the lords of the manor. About a mile south of the town is Eccle Riggs, the seat of Viscount Cross. There are a few small outlying hamlets, as Duddon Bridge (fn. 3) to the west, Greenslack and Greedy Gate by the sands to the south, Aulthurstside, Rosthwaite and Borderriggs to the east. Bleansley and Broughton Mills are on the Lickle; Hawthwaite, Wallenrigg and Appletreeworth are to the north-east of the town. In the vale to the south-east is White Moss.

The principal road is that from Dalton and Barrow into Cumberland, crossing the township from southeast to north-west, passing through the town and going over High Cross Brow to descend into the Duddon Valley, crossing the bridges over the Lickle and Duddon and then turning south to Millom. This road is crossed by two which begin at the Duddon shore and ascend the valleys at each side of the ridge, the more southerly going by Torver to Coniston and the more northerly by Broughton Mills into the hills of Dunnerdale and Seathwaite. The main line of the Furness railway enters the township at the southern corner and runs towards the shore for a mile and a half to Foxfield; here it turns west to cross the Duddon estuary. From the same point a single-line branch goes northeast to Coniston. There are three stations: Foxfield Junction, Broughton, and Woodland. The line was opened as far as Broughton in 1848.

The Square, Broughton-in-Furness

Fr. West's description of the town in 1774 is of interest:—

This place is so much improved by the late lord and the inhabitants that it has the appearance of a new town. It has a weekly market on Friday and a fair for all sorts of merchandise on the 1st day of August. The principal commodities are woollen yarn spun by the country people and brought to the market, always open to receive any quantity. The annual return on this article is upwards of £4,000 per annum. Blue slate is another important article, of which 2,000 ton is exported per annum. Sheep, short wool, and black cattle of the longhorned kind are the produce of this district. The country is mountainous and contains in its bowels minerals, slate, copper, &c. The quantity of arable land is but small in proportion to the wastes and commons in this manor; yet the examples of improvements given in the environs of Broughton are more attended to than in Low Furness, where the materials of cultivation are much easier come at. The town is situated on ground sloping to the south; the plan of it is a regular square; the houses are all built of stone, neat, commodious, and covered with slate, which makes a good appearance. Broughton Tower stands on the summit of the hill, above the town, and has a commanding view of the estuary of Duddon. (fn. 4)

Broughton at one time consisted of a series of hamlets, viz. Kepplewray, Church Town, Sykehouse, &c. Church Town comprised the street now known as Old Street or Church Street, together with the Kirkhouse, now known as the "Old King's Head." These were all situate in the Rectory lands, a portion of the original endowment of the church.' (fn. 5)

The little town was of some importance in the coaching days, and still has its weekly market on Wednesday and three fairs. There was also a shipping place on the Duddon for the mineral products of the district.

The August fair mentioned is of some standing, but its origin is unknown. Probably it arose after the fall of the abbey and before the Civil War, i.e. 1540–1640. The proclamation is annually made by the steward of the lord of the manor, ordering all to keep the peace, to bear no 'bill, battleaxe or other prohibited weapons,' to buy and sell in the open market and not in 'corners, back sides, or hidden places,' and to use lawful measures. (fn. 6)

Making brush stocks and wooden hoops has long been the chief trade. There are also slate and stone quarries. The soil is gravel with subsoil of slate, and the land is mostly in pasture.

There is a parish council of seven members. Water is supplied by a local company.

In addition to Lord Cross the town has had a resident of distinction in another way, the artist D. A. Williamson having spent the latter part of his life there, from 1864 to 1903. A politician and temperance reformer connected with it was the late William Sproston Caine, M.P. for Barrow 1886–90, who died in 1903.

Manor

In 1066 Earl Tostig held 'Borch' as part of his lordship of Hougun; it was assessed as six plough-lands. (fn. 7) It is possible that BROUGHTON preserves the name, but the later manor of Broughton seems to have been in the Fells, for it was held of the Lancaster family as a member of their barony of Ulverston. Probably it became attached to this lordship after the partition of Furness Fells about 1160, William de Lancaster choosing the western moiety, which would include Broughton and Dunnerdale. (fn. 8) It must therefore have been this William de Lancaster who gave or confirmed Broughton to one Ailward de Broughton to hold of him by knight's service. (fn. 9) From his surname it may be assumed that Ailward was already in possession of some estate there. (fn. 10)

The story of the Broughton family is very imperfectly known. Their evidences appear to have been lost, and their names occur but seldom in the records. Ailward's son may have been the Ulf son of ' Afward ' who about 1180 granted 4 oxgangs of land in Urswick to Roger son of Augustine de Heaton, (fn. 11) but the next certain lord of Broughton to occur is Simon de Broughton towards the end of the 12th century. (fn. 12) Then comes Simon son of Matthew, who in 1235 agreed with Alan de Kirkby about his land in Angerton Moss. (fn. 13) He is called Sir Simon about 1250, (fn. 14) and had a son Richard, (fn. 15) likewise styled a knight about 1280. (fn. 16) Sir Richard was followed by a son John, soon succeeded by a brother Richard. (fn. 17) Richard son of Richard de Broughton in 1292 appeared to warrant Thomas Skilhare in the possession of land in Angerton Moss, and had in consequence of a claim by Adam de Kirkby to find him equivalent land elsewhere. (fn. 18) Being of full age that year, he claimed the third part of the manor of Broughton against Philippa widow of Roger de Lancaster, for she had no entry except through Roger, who had had custody during Richard's minority. He was non-suited. (fn. 19)

Nicholas de Broughton was in possession by 1299, (fn. 20) but his relationship to Richard does not appear. About 1326, for the souls of himself, Christiana his wife, his parents and others, he confirmed a further gift in Angerton Moss to Furness Abbey. (fn. 21) He was still living in 1340, (fn. 22) but by 1346 had been succeeded by Christopher de Broughton, summoned to show why he had not received knighthood, his lands being returned as worth over £40 a year. He replied that his lands were not so valuable; he held two plough-lands at Broughton, a hamlet of the vill of Ulverston, also 20 acres of meadow and 20 marks of rent; from Subberthwaite, another hamlet of Ulverston, he had 6 marks rent. An inquiry held in 1349 showed that he had lands and rents in Broughton, Subberthwaite and Urswick, the total value being £37 1s. a year. This being under the £40, he was allowed to go free, (fn. 23) but in the same year he is found described as a knight. (fn. 24) Thomas de Shelton and Joan his wife in 1358 complained that Sir Christopher de Broughton and others had abducted Christopher the son and heir of Joan and a minor. Sir Christopher said that John, the father of the heir, had held an oxgang of land of him by knight's service, so that when John died at Broughton he became seised of the wardship of the heir. (fn. 25) Another Christopher, not a knight, succeeded by 1378, when he recovered the manor of Broughton and lands and rents there and in Ulverston and Little Urswick. (fn. 26) He occurs in 1404–5.

Broughton of Broughton. Argent two bars and a canton gules.

John Broughton and Margaret his wife in 1432 made a feoffment of the manor of Bolton Adgarley. (fn. 27) Ten years later he had some quarrel with Sir John Pennington, (fn. 28) but it appears to have been amicably settled, for in 1452 his daughter Isabel was contracted to marry John son of John Pennington. (fn. 29) Then follows the Sir Thomas Broughton with whom the line ends. (fn. 30) He was a staunch Yorkist, and on the landing of Lambert Simnel's force at Piel in 1487 he and his brother John joined them, taking part in the battle of Stoke and enduring the consequent attainder and forfeiture. (fn. 31) A local tradition averred that Sir Thomas escaped alive from the field of battle and lived in obscurity at Witherslack, which had been one of his manors. (fn. 32)

His forfeited estates were granted to the Earl of Derby, (fn. 33) and descended like Knowsley (fn. 34) until the losses of the family in the Civil War compelled the eighth earl to sell the castle and manor of Broughton, together with the bailiwick of Lonsdale Hundred, to Edward Lee (or Leigh) in 1653–4. (fn. 35) His son the ninth earl afterwards endeavoured to recover it, but the sale was confirmed or held to be valid. (fn. 36) In 1658 Edward Lee and Mary his wife sold the estate to Roger Sawrey, (fn. 37) a Parliamentarian in politics and a zealous Anabaptist in religion. (fn. 38)

Roger Sawrey (fn. 39) was succeeded by a son Jeremiah, who by his wife Anne daughter of Richard Gilpin (fn. 40) left a son and heir Richard Gilpin Sawrey. (fn. 41) He died without issue in 1755, having bequeathed his estate to a cousin, John Gilpin, who took the name of Sawrey and was the author of the improvements in the town recorded in 1774. He died in 1773, (fn. 42) leaving a son and five daughters. The son, John Cookson Gilpin Sawrey, died without issue in 1799, and the manor passed to his sister Sarah, who in 1787 married John Bertrand Baubec de Brouguens (fn. 43); their second son John assumed the name of Sawrey on succeeding. He died in 1881, and by bequest his estate went to a kinsman James Cookson of Neasham Hall, Durham, who assumed the additional name of Sawrey. (fn. 44) He died in 1888, and his widow Mrs. Georgina Margaret Sawrey-Cooksor. is now lady of the manor. (fn. 45)

BROUGHTON TOWER stands on high ground at the north side of the town, and is approached by a fine avenue of trees. (fn. 46) It consists of what appears to be a 14th-century keep, or tower-house, incorporated into a modern mansion, but except for the external walls very little of the original structure remains, nearly all its distinguishing architectural features having been lost in successive alterations and rebuildings. The tower is rectangular in plan, measuring internally 42 ft. 6 in. by 32 ft., the greater length being from north to south, with walls varying in thickness from 5 ft. to 7 ft., constructed of rubble masonry with red sandstone quoins, and terminating in an embattled parapet. The keep consists of a basement and three upper stories, but externally it is only visible its full height of about 60 ft. on the north side, where it remains, with the exception of the windows, substantially unaltered. On the south side the top of the tower only, with a new parapet, is seen behind the modern buildings which have been erected in front of it and which now form the greater part of the house. There were additions to the tower before the present modern buildings were erected, but when the first of these was made it is impossible to say. When Roger Sawrey came into possession he found ' barns and other necessary outhouses attached to it.' These he repaired, and he is said to have erected a 'parlour and chamber over it.' It does not appear, however, that the additions made by him were very extensive, and they seem to have been superseded by later work, the effect of which has been to convert the building into a modern residence. These were chiefly made at two periods, the first by the Gilpin Sawreys in the 18th century, and the second by Mr. Sawrey-Cookson shortly after 1881.

The basement of the tower has a barrel vault, but all the windows have been built up and it has been otherwise altered. The hall was on the ground floor, the chamber above, and the second floor was probably occupied by sleeping apartments, all approached by a vice in the thickness of the wall at the south-east corner. The vice yet remains, but all its openings, both doors and loophole windows, have been built up, and it now gives access to the roof only from the basement, from which level it is approached by a passage in the east wall, in which there remains a pointed outer doorway with hollow chamfered jambs and head, now opening into the later 18th-century building. An inner pointed doorway gives direct access to the basement room, which commonly goes by the name of the 'dungeon.' The whole of the interior of the ancient part of the house has been modernized, and the windows are all 18th-century insertions with pointed heads. The original leaded roof has been replaced by a gabled one of slate. On the middle merlon of the old embattled parapet on the north side is carved a shield with the arms of Broughton, and above the first-floor window on the same side are the remains of a square hood mould. The 18th-century additions, which include the middle part of the south or principal front, and the east and west wings adjoining the tower on the north side, appear to have been erected about the middle of the century, the date 1744 being on a spout-head at the back. (fn. 47) The south front, which is two stories in height above a lofty basement, has ogee-headed sash windows and an embattled parapet—a rather early example of the characteristic ' Gothic' architecture of the period. Over the west wing at the back is a bell-turret containing a bell dated 1747; and two spout-heads, one on each wing, at the back, have the date 1777 and the initials E. S. On either side of the 18th-century south front are the projecting wings in the form of towers, and in a similar style of architecture, added by Mr. Sawrey-Cookson, that on the east being wider than the other and having a small round tower on the east side.

The services of the tenants were in 1774 described as 'few and reasonable.' On admission a fine of 20d. was paid to the lord; there was an ancient annual rent with suit and service of court. The tenant could alienate or mortgage any part of his estate, as he desired, upon paying 10s. to the lord. The woods were free. (fn. 48) These customs are still maintained. The manor courts are regularly held about 23 April each year. The court rolls go back to the 16th century. (fn. 49)

TROUGHTON HALL, at the north end of the township, probably commemorates a family once seated in Broughton. (fn. 50) Richard Fleming purchased a messuage from John Troughton in 1573, (fn. 51) and sold it to Ralph Latus in 1597. (fn. 52) Edward Rigby of Burgh in Duxbury died in 1627 holding a messuage called Troughton Hall in Broughton, a garden, &c, and common of pasture for all cattle in the wastes of Broughton. (fn. 53) The Rigbys appear later in Furness, (fn. 54) fighting on the king's side in the Civil War. Their estate here may explain how it came about that Troughton Hall was in 1625 subject to a rent-charge of £18 for the benefit of Standish Grammar School, the trustees of which afterwards obtained possession and still own the estate. (fn. 55)

From its position to the west of the Lickle BLEANSLEY should have been included in the grant of Dunnerdale to the Kirkby family, but it is probable that the lords of Broughton had an earlier title to it, and so it was retained in this township. In 1292 Richard son of Richard de Broughton was non-suited in a claim against Robert son of John de Kirkby for a tenement in Bleansley by right of inheritance. (fn. 56) In the 16th century a family called Ellison or Elletson lived at Bleansley, (fn. 57) and may have been the ancestors of Robert Elletson of Broughton who in 1631 compounded for refusing knighthood by a fine of £10. (fn. 58) He was, perhaps, the same Robert whose estate stood sequestered by the Commonwealth authorities in 1650. (fn. 59) James Towers had been treated similarly. (fn. 60)

There are but few references to Broughton in the records. (fn. 61) In 1552 the Earl of Derby complained that various persons had been hunting in Broughton Park near Hangman's Oak and killed three 'tegges.' (fn. 62)

An inclosure award was made in 1847.

Church

The church of ST. MARY MAGDALENE (fn. 63) stands on an elevated site on the south-west side of the town, and consists of a chancel 29 ft. 9 in. by 24 ft. 6 in., nave 67 ft. by 24 ft. 6 in., south aisle 78 ft. 3 in. by 18 ft. 6 in., south porch and west tower at the end of the aisle 17 ft. 6 in. by 16 ft. 3 in., all these measurements being internal. The east and west walls and portions of the south wall at each end of the aisle are old, but all the rest of the building is modern, the chancel and nave having been erected in 1873 and the tower in 1900. The evolution of the present plan, however, is interesting. Previous to 1873 the church consisted of a chancel and nave under one roof, 78 ft. 3 in. by 18 ft. 6 in., with north and south aisles separated from the nave by arcades of four arches, the north aisle being 45 ft. by 12ft. and that on the south 39 ft. by 13 ft. 6 in., and a west tower 10 ft. 6 in. square. Of this church, however, only the nave and chancel were of any antiquity, the former being part of the original 12th-century church, and the chancel, then filled with seats, a 16th-century extension. To this original rectangular plan a north aisle was added in 1738 and a south aisle in 1758, (fn. 64) necessitating the almost total destruction of the north and south walls. (fn. 65) The tower was erected in 1782, and at various times during the century the seats were raised and backed and made into pews, the floor flagged, a west gallery erected and a ceiling inserted. (fn. 66) In the rebuilding of 1873 both the 18th-century aisles were pulled down and a new chancel and nave were built on the north side of the old one, which then became an aisle, its south wall being rebuilt and a porch added. The old tower was left standing till 1900.

The new building is plain and massive in character, the windows being all round-headed of a modernized Norman type. The walls are of rubble with red sandstone dressings, and the roofs, which have overhanging eaves, are covered with slates. The chancel and nave are under one continuous roof without structural distinction inside, but externally the chancel is differentiated by half-round buttresses between the windows on the north side. The arcade is a modern one of six pointed arches on circular piers with moulded capitals and bases. At the west end of the aisle the original 12th-century masonry has been preserved, though the window between the tower and the south doorway is a modern restoration. The walling, which is 3 ft. 6 in. thick, is built of large boulders, (fn. 67) widely jointed, with sandstone quoins at the angle, the top stone of which is carved with a small grotesque head.

The 12th-century doorway, which is 4 ft. 2 in. in width, is of red sandstone with a semicircular arch of two moulded orders and label, springing from moulded imposts. The inner jambs are moulded, but the outer ones are square inclosing shafts with moulded bases and scalloped capitals. The shafts, however, are gone, the capitals and bases alone remaining, all in a good state of preservation, with the exception of the base on the east side, which has been defaced; the impost on the south side has also been partly cut away. East of the doorway the wall is new for a distance of 42 ft., the total length of the building prior to the 16th century, when it was extended 18 ft. to the east, having been about 60 ft. The east window of the aisle, formerly the chancel window, has a pointed head and three trefoiled lights with perpendicular tracery and external label, and on the south side are a restored three-light square-headed window and a square-headed priest's door with chamfered jambs and head. A floreated piscina bowl, which was found doing duty as a window lintel, was placed below the south window within a modern round-headed recess at the time of the rebuilding. The font is octagonal on plan, similar in shape to those at Dalton and Urswick, the sides curving in, each having a blank shield, and may be of late 15th, but more probably of early 16th-century date. (fn. 68) The porch is of wood on dwarf stone walls.

The tower is 50 ft. high to the top of the square parapet and has a saddle-back slated roof with stone gables facing east and west, with a vice in the northwest corner. The ground floor is used as a vestry. Before the erection of the former tower in 1782 there appears to have been a bell-turret on the west gable, the stones of which were built into the old tower and are now in the wall above the vestry door.

There is a ring of eight bells, seven by Taylor of Loughborough, 1900, and one by John Warner & Sons, 1869. The 15th-century bell, which formerly hung in the tower, inscribed 'johannes est nomen mevm ' is now at Eccle Riggs. (fn. 69)

The communion plate now in use consists of a set of plated vessels, comprising two cups, two patens and a flagon presented in 1850. Two silver cups and a flagon mentioned in a terrier of 1778 were then (1850) given to the donors in exchange. (fn. 70) One of the 'cups' was returned in 1898, (fn. 71) but the others are still missing. The 'cup,' which is really a bowl 4 in. in diameter and 3¼ in. high, with two handles, has the maker's mark of Joyce Issod, (fn. 72) but the date letter is indecipherable. There are also two pewter flagons and two pewter plates, the smaller of which is stamped with the name of George Simson, Dublin.

The registers begin in 1662, but the year 1681 is missing. (fn. 73)

On the south side of the churchyard is an undated pedestal sundial with octagonal stone shaft.

Advowson

Though it is clear that a church has existed here from an early time, no written record of it has been preserved earlier than 1547, when by a commission from the Bishop of Chester the chapel and yard were consecrated for a burial-place for the people of Broughton, Seathwaite, Dunnerdale and Woodland. (fn. 74) Broughton, unlike Kirkby, was subject to the Bishop of Chester. The curate appears to have been entitled to the small tithes and Easter dues, (fn. 75) and service was probably maintained here after the Reformation with some regularity, for the chapel is mentioned in the list of 1610. (fn. 76) In 1650 the curate had the small tithes, with £10 a year, and an augmentation of £40 out of the Earl of Derby's sequestered estates (fn. 77); but in 1717 the certified income was only £7 10s. 11d. (fn. 78) At that time three chapelwardens were chosen, being one each for Broughton North, Broughton South and Dunnerdale. The net value is now stated as £243. (fn. 79) The advowson, formerly appurtenant to the manor, is at present in the hands of five trustees, Mrs. Sawrey-Cookson being one. It was proposed in 1658 to make Broughton a separate parish, (fn. 80) but no change has ever been made.

The following have been perpetual curates and vicars:—

oc. 1623 James Skellding (fn. 81)
oc. 1650 Thomas Rigby, M.A. (fn. 82) (St. John's Coll., Camb.)
oc. 1663 Thomas Inman (fn. 83)
oc. 1664 Anthony Turner
oc. 1668 George Wainhouse (fn. 84)
1684 George Sedgwick, B.A. (fn. 85) (St. John's Coll., Camb.)
oc. 1696 Joseph Taylor
1698 John Wright
1739 Isaac Walker
1749 Timothy Cooperson (fn. 86)
1777 Jeremiah Gilpin, M.A. (fn. 87) (St. John's Coll., Camb.)
1793 William Pearson
1844 John Robinson, M.A. (St. Catherine's Coll., Camb.)
1870 Frederick Amadeus Malleson, M.A. (fn. 88) (T.C.D.)
1897 James Cropper, B.A. (fn. 89) (Trinity Coll., Camb.)
1905 Thomas Pateshall Monnington, M.A. (fn. 90) (Corpus Christi Coll., Oxf.)

There is a chapel of ease in Dunnerdale.

Information as to the condition of the church and parish in the early part of the 18th century is afforded by the chapelwardens' replies to the visitation inquiries. In 1712 the chapel was in good repair and properly furnished, the plate including two chalices or communion cups and two flagons; a decent surplice was provided by the parish. William Woods was curate. The congregation was reported to Bishop Gastrell as very numerous, though there were many Dissenters; Presbyterians, Baptists and Independents are named in 1722. The minister in 1729 was accustomed to read 'the prayers of our Church' on Sundays, holy days and fast days, administering the holy sacrament of the Lord's Supper in September, at Christmas, on Good Friday and twice on Easter Day; he preached 'to encourage an auditory.'

A funeral custom, said to have been general at one time in Cumberland and Westmorland, was still observed at Broughton in 1880; the principal mourners kept their hats on at the church and graveside, and on attending the next Sunday service remained seated and covered all through the service. (fn. 91)

The Wesleyan Methodists built a chapel at Broughton in 1837 (fn. 92); the present one was built in 1875.

The Baptists had a chapel at Scroggs, built by Roger Sawrey of the Tower, but little is known of it, and it became an outbuilding. (fn. 93) Scroggs is near Hawthwaite, about a mile north of the town.

There are two endowed schools, at Broughton and at Aulthurstside. Both existed in 1724, but the date of foundation is unknown. (fn. 94)

Footnotes

  • 1. The Census Rep. of 1901 gives 6,943 acres, including 21 of inland water; there are also 37 acres of tidal water and 67 of foreshore.
  • 2. This was erected in 1810, the Jubilee of George III.
  • 3. At Duddon Bridge are the ruins of an old smithy on the Lancashire side; on the Cumberland side stand the decaying works of Duddon Forge, which once (1736–1867) held an important place in the iron industry of the district; A. Fell, Early Iron Industry of Furness, 215–16, 224.
  • 4. West, Furness (ed. 1774), 212. He adds: 'The bread here, as in all High Furness, is the thin oat cake . . . Tea, with itself, has introduced wheaten bread.'
  • 5. Proc. Barrow Nat. Field Club, xvii, 125.
  • 6. The proclamation, which resembles the Dalton one, is printed in N. and Q. (Ser. 6), x, 186. Mr. Butler, the steward of the manor, has an ancient copy, made when the Earl of Derby held the manor. West gives the market day as Friday in 1774; no market day is named in a list of 1792, but in 1825 again it was given as Friday.
  • 7. V.C.H. Lancs, i, 289b. See Kirkby above.
  • 8. Farrer, Lancs. Pipe R. 311.
  • 9. Furness Couch. (Chet. Soc), ii, 351. The compiler identifies the grantor with the third William de Lancaster, who died in 1246, but calls it a confirmation only. Ailward de Broughton was living a century earlier than that.
  • 10. Ailward de ' Bartona' was one of the jurors who denned the bounds about 1160; Farrer, loc. cit. Ailward de 'Broctuna' attested a grant to Furness somewhat earlier; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxvi, App. 178.
  • 11. Farrer, op. cit. 437. Ulf son of Eward, however, attested a charter to which Simon de Broughton was a witness; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxvi, App. 166.
  • 12. Ibid. 167–8. Adam son of Simon de Broughton also occurs; ibid. 174. Gilbert de Broughton attested a charter c 1210; ibid. 162.
  • 13. Final Conc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), i, 60.
  • 14. Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxvi, App. 178.
  • 15. He made a grant of Angerton Moss to Thomas Skilhare; Furness Couch, ii, 325.
  • 16. Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxvi, App. 168, 169, 178. Sir Richard had a brother John (ibid. 169), perhaps the John de Broughton the elder of 1301; ibid. 177. Sir Richard de Broughton and Matthew his brother attested a Kirkby charter; Kuerden MSS. ii, fol. 211b.
  • 17. Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxvi, App. 169; confirmation of Angerton Moss.
  • 18. Furness Couch, ii, 327.
  • 19. Assize R. 4.08, m. 5 d. A Ralph de Broughton was at the same time plaintiff in an Ulverston case; ibid. m. 46.
  • 20. Lancs. Inq. and Extents (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 302.
  • 21. Furness Couch, ii, 341. In 1311 Nicholas de Broughton made a claim against Thomas de Bigthwaite respecting nativity, but the matter was deferred; De Banco R. 184, m. 5 d.
  • 22. He is mentioned as lord of the manor in 1330; Lancs. Inq. and Extents, ii, 234. He attested a number of Kirkby deeds in the time of Edward II and Edward III, the latest dates being 1339 and 1340; Kuerden MSS. ii, fol. 211; iii, K 6.
  • 23. Q.R. Memo. R. 122, m. 89 d.
  • 24. Furness Couch, ii, 316. So also in 1358; ibid. 279. Adam de Broughton was defendant in 1352; Assize R. 434, m. 5.
  • 25. De Banco R. 395, m. 171. The surname of the heir's father is not given. Sir Christopher attested a Kirkby charter in 1362; Kuerden MSS. ii, fol. 211 b.
  • 26. Final Conc, iii, 6; the deforciants (perhaps trustees) were Sir John de Hudleston and Katherine his wife. In 1392 Christopher de Broughton purchased messuages, &c, in Ulverston; ibid. 41. He is named again in 1404; Furness Couch, ii, 351. A little later he and his wife Elizabeth occur; Final Conc. iii, 67.
  • 27. Ibid, iii, 97. Margaret was daughter and co-heir of Alan Copeland of Urswick, according to a claim drawn up about 1550. Her first husband was Roland Kirkby, from whom descended the Roland mentioned later. By John Broughton, her second husband, she had a son Thomas —whose heir was a daughter Elizabeth (Thornburgh)—and eight daughters; Kuerden MSS. iii, K 9b. John Broughton was a plaintiff in 1442; Pal. of Lane. Plea R. 4, m. 11.
  • 28. Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. x, App. iv, 226.
  • 29. Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. x, App. iv, 226.
  • 30. In 1469 Sir Thomas Broughton and Roland Kirkby became bound to accept the arbitration of Sir Edward Beetham and others as to lands in dispute; Anct. D. (P.R.O.), A 8794. Sir Thomas is named again in 1477; Cal. Pat. 1476– 85, p. 27. He was made a banneret at Hutton Field near Berwick in 1482 by the Duke of Gloucester; Metcalfe, Bk. of Knights, 7.
  • 31. West, Furness (ed. 1774), 210. The facts are set out in the act of attainder; Parl. R. vi, 397. Inquiry as to his estates was ordered; Dep. Keeper's Rep. xl, App. 542.
  • 32. West, loc. cit. A modern ballad on the story is printed by J. Richardson, Furness Past and Present, i, 163.
  • 33. Pat. 4 Hen. VII; Broughton in Furness, Bolton in Furness (Adgarley), Subberthwaite, Elslake (? Ashlack), Urswick, Ulverston, Marton, Bretby and Cartmel. All were to be held of the king.
  • 34. Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. v, no. 68; the tenures are not described. In 1564 the earl addressed the Crown for an inquiry into the services by which Broughton was held, and in 1591 the attorney-general demanded arrears of rent due from the earl for the manor; Ducatus Lanc. (Rec. Com.), ii, 323; iii, 267. In 1632 Broughton was included in a feoffment by William Earl of Derby; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 118, no. 1.
  • 35. Ibid. 153, m. 84; Charles Earl of Derby and Dorothea Helena his wife were deforciants.
  • 36. The royal assent was refused to a bill for the restitution of the manor promoted in 1682, and another bill was introduced in 1685; Hist. MSS. Com. Rep, xi, App. ii, 285–6. Another bill was promoted after the Revolution in 1691, when it was noted that the earl and Col. Sawrey had come to an agreement with respect to it; ibid, xiii, App. v, 450, 453. Yet again in 1695 the earl endeavoured to recover the manor by an action at law, which if successful would have led to a number of ejectments in Bury and Pilkington, where various tenements had been sold by his father in the same way; ibid, xiv, App. iv, 382; Exch. of Pleas (Calendar), under Kirkby Ireleth, Hil. 7 Will. III, m. 36.
  • 37. Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 162, m. 188.
  • 38. He was ' an old Cromwellian soldier, who was present at the formation of the [Baptist] Church at Tottlebank. He was called "praying Sawrey," and in the Cockermouth Church Book are numerous references to him, which show that he was a gifted and godly man'; Nightingale, Lancs. Nonconf. i, 255 n. He is mentioned twice in Lewis, Congre. Ch. Cockermouth, in 1671 and 1679 (pp. 47, 67); note by Mr. Gaythorpe.
  • 39. The descent has been compiled from the accounts in West's Furness (ed. 1774), 212; Richardson, Furness Past and Present, i, 174 (inaccurate), and the Gilpin Pedigree.
  • 40. Richard Gilpin, intruding Commonwealth rector of Graystock, purchased Scaleby Castle from the Musgraves, who had suffered greatly for their loyalty to Charles I; Hutchinson, Cumberland, ii, 573. He died at Newcastle in 1700 and his younger son John (1670–1732) was father of Robert (1702–55) father of the John Gilpin (1738–73) who succeeded to Broughton. He married Esther, daughter and heir of John Cookson of London; Gilpin Pedigree.
  • 41. In 1722 Richard Gilpin Sawrey and William Sawrey, M.D., made a feoffment of the manor of Broughton, the Tower, two mills, &c, and the bailiwick of Lonsdale; Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 287, m. 26. William Sawrey, who died in 1724, was a younger brother.
  • 42. A settlement of the castle of Broughton, the manors of Broughton alias Broughton Tower and Subberthwaite, the advowson of the curacy of Broughton, the hundred and bailiwick of Lonsdale, &c., was made in 1772 by John Gilpin Sawrey and Esther his wife; Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 384, m. 56.
  • 43. He died in 1839 and his wife Sarah in 1842.
  • 44. Mr. Fox-Davies (Armorial Families) notes that the royal licence gave permission for Cookson-Sawrey, but Sawrey-Cookson is used.
  • 45. Rurke, Landed Gentry.
  • 46. There is a well-illustrated article on Broughton Tower in the North Lonsd. Mag. i, 107 (1894), of which use has been made in the text.
  • 47. The head also bears the initials S R G F. Two later heads in the north wall of the ancient tower are dated 1837 and have the initials 1. S.
  • 48. West, op. cit. 213. The freedom of the woods was secured in 1731 by an agreement between the lord and the tenants; End. Char. Rep. 1903.
  • 49. Information of Mr. Wilson Butler.
  • 50. Beck, Annales Furnes. 295.
  • 51. Pal. of Lanc. Feet of F. bdle. 35, m. 172.
  • 52. Ibid. 58, m. 368.
  • 53. Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xxvi, no. 5.
  • 54. Alexander son of Alexander Rigby of Broughton-in-Furness was baptized at Cartmel in 1624; Reg.
  • 55. Standish End. Char. Rep. 1899.
  • 56. Assize R. 408, m. 42; the name is spelt Blengeslit, and the place is said to be in Ulverston.
  • 57. The inventory of Robert Ellason of Bleansley, 1570, was recorded at Richmond; and the will of another Robert Ellatson in 1593.
  • 58. Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), i, 220.
  • 59. Cal. Com. for Comp. iv, 2502. Three sons of a Robert Elletson (of Broughton or Furness Fell) entered at Cambridge, 1661–4; Admissions to St. John's Coll. i, 149, 162.
  • 60. Cal. Com. for Comp. iv, 2506. This family also seems to have been of Bleansley, the will of James Towers of that hamlet being proved at Richmond in 1592.
  • 61. In 1353 John Thwaites and Joan his wife made a claim against William de Aldarous and Christiana his wife respecting a tenement in Broughton; Assize R. 435, m. 22. Thomas Asburner in 1576 claimed a messuage called Barstall (? Baskell) and Harry Howe against Roger Askew (holding of the Earl of Derby); Ducatus Lanc, iii, 52.
  • 62. Ibid, i, 252. Printed in Proc. Barrow Nat. Field Club, xvii, 135. The marauders came from Thwaites in Cumberland.
  • 63. Though known as St. Mary Magdalene's, West in 1774 calls it Holy Trinity.
  • 64. The aisles were erected at the private expense of several persons, who completed them in a handsome manner, with ceilings over the same. See Malleson, Hist, of the Ch. and Benefice of Broughton-inFurness (1887).
  • 65. Whitaker (Richmondshire, ii, 407), writing about 1820, says that 'the ancient Norman cylindrical columns' had been reduced to slender shafts; but this seems to have been an error, though repeated by Baines (Hist, of Lancs.). Malleson (op. cit. 10, note) says: 'They were in reality mere patchwork pillars covered with plaster and whitewash, with sham round arches built in 1738 and 1758 respectively to support the roof when the old walls were pulled down.'
  • 66. Malleson, op. cit. Pews and flagging, 1753; gallery, 1754; ceiling, 1778. Before 1753 it is recorded that the church had seats without backs, that the floor was made of earth covered with rushes and that there was no ceiling, the building being open to the roof, ' resembling an old barn rather than a place of worship.'
  • 67. The stones are supposed to be from the bed of the Duddon or picked from the fields; ibid. The character of the walling was only discovered in 1873 when the exterior plaster-work was removed. The sandstone is probably from St. Bees.
  • 68. Before the rebuilding the font stood half buried in the wall opposite the south door, encrusted with many coats of paint.
  • 69. For a description of the old bell see Trans. Cumb. and Westmld. Antiq. Soc. (new ser.), ii, 295–301, where there are illustrations of both bell (p. 298) and inscription (p. 299). The inscriptions on the present bells are: (Treble) 'To the Glory of God and as a Thanks offering to Him for recovered health this bell is presented to St. Mary Magdalene Church by E. Haynes 1900'; (2) 'Presented by John Clark, Churchwarden, 1900'; (3) 'St. Mary Magdalene, Broughton - in Furness. My lips shall praise Thee, John Garner gave me, When he was churchwarden here, In the Nineteen Hundredth Year'; (4) 'Te Deum Laudamus'; (5) 'Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam. In Memory of William Henry Cross, Died 1892'; (6) 'Presented by T. Butler'; (7) ' Venite Exultemus Domino'; (8) 'John Warner & Sons, 1869.'
  • 70. Old Church Plate in the Dioc. of Carlisle (1882), 269–70.
  • 71. Ibid. 1908, Suppl.
  • 72. Ibid.
  • 73. There are two earlier baptismal entries—5 July 1634 and 1 Dec. 1659.
  • 74. Gastrell, Notitia Cestr. (Chet. Soc), ii, 527.
  • 75. Ibid. The inhabitants who were housekeepers paid at Easter 5½d. if married, 4½d. if unmarried; for a swarm of bees, 1d.; for a flock of geese, one goose or 6d.; a sow, one pig or 1s. 6d.; hemp and hay, ¼d. each for every estate.
  • 76. Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. xiv, App. iv, 7.
  • 77. Commonw. Ch. Surv. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), 136. In 1651 the order was made that £50 should be paid out of the sequestered estates of Thomas Clifton of Lytham, the curate having only a stipend of £6 a year; Plund. Mins. Accts. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 95.
  • 78. Gastrell, loc. cit.; from the Easter dues, as above; other dues in Broughton and Dunnerdale, £4 19s. 5d., and in Seathwaite 14s. 6d.; surplice fees, 15s., and voluntary contributions, 15s. The glebe, 1½ acres, was worth 22s. Leonard Towers of Mile End, Stepney (1657), left £15 for 'two eminent divines' to preach two sermons in the chapel yearly.
  • 79. Carlisle Dioc. Cal. Augmentations were obtained from Queen Anne's Bounty, in response to local contributions.
  • 80. Plund. Mins. Accts. ii, 236.
  • 81. Visitation records at Chester Dioc. Reg.
  • 82. Commonw. Ch. Surv. 136; Plund. Mins. Accts. i, 236. He became vicar of Poulton-le-Fylde in or before 1653.
  • 83. The names in this list are in the main derived from that in Richardson's Furness Past and Present, i, 172. Inman and Turner occur at Urswick and Dalton.
  • 84. He is named in the Visit. List of 1674. According to Bp. Gastrell, he went to Kirkby Ireleth.
  • 85. Visit. List of 1691. 'Conformable ' in 1689; Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. xiv, App. iv, 228.
  • 86. He married (1756) Ruth widow of Robert Gilpin and mother of the lord of the manor.
  • 87. He was a younger brother of John Gilpin Sawrey and was vicar of Bolton-leMoors 1789–93.
  • 88. Published many works as author, editor or translator. He also issued a pamphlet (cited above) giving the history of the church and benefice.
  • 89. Previously vicar of Holy Trinity, West Seaton, 1893. Vicar of Penrith 1905.
  • 90. Hon. Canon of Carlisle 1894; vicar of Penrith 1888.
  • 91. N. and Q. (Ser. 6), i, 192, 521.
  • 92. F. Evans, Furness, 78.
  • 93. Ibid.
  • 94. Bp. Gastrell (Notitia, ii, 529) calls them private schools, but the masters were nominated by minister, trustees and sidesmen, and they had a small endowment. See also End. Char. Rep. for Kirkby Ireleth, 1903.