The parish of Childwall: Introduction, church and charities

A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 3. Originally published by Victoria County History, London, 1907.

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'The parish of Childwall: Introduction, church and charities', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 3, ed. William Farrer, J Brownbill( London, 1907), British History Online https://prod.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol3/pp102-108 [accessed 25 November 2024].

'The parish of Childwall: Introduction, church and charities', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 3. Edited by William Farrer, J Brownbill( London, 1907), British History Online, accessed November 25, 2024, https://prod.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol3/pp102-108.

"The parish of Childwall: Introduction, church and charities". A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 3. Ed. William Farrer, J Brownbill(London, 1907), , British History Online. Web. 25 November 2024. https://prod.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol3/pp102-108.

In this section

CHILDWALL

CHILDWALL LITTLE WOOLTON SPEKE
WAVERTREE GARSTON HALE
THINGWALL ALLERTON HALEWOOD
MUCH WOOLTON

The ancient parish of Childwall has an area of 16,043 acres, to which 3,252 acres tidal water must be added and about 4,500 acres of foreshore. The principal physical feature is the central ridge, which rises at one point to nearly 300ft. Thus there is a general slope to Childwall Vale to the north-east, and to the Mersey on the south-west and to the southeast. Childwall Heath formerly extended along the boundary between Wavertree and Childwall into Little Woolton.

The parish comprises ten townships, anciently arranged in four 'quarters' thus: (1) Childwall; (2) Wavertree, Thingwall, (fn. 1) Much Woolton, Little Woolton; (3) Garston, Allerton, Speke; (4) Hale, Halewood. To the 'fifteenth' the parish paid £8 11s. 9¼d. out of an assessment of £106 9s. 6d. for the hundred, (fn. 2) while to the county lay it contributed a sixteenth part of the hundred levy, so distributed that when this amounted to £100 the 'quarters' of Childwall paid as follows:—Childwall, 5s.; Hale, 13s. 4d., Halewood, 26s. 8d.—£2; Much Woolton, Little Woolton, Wavertree, 13s. 4d. each—£2; Speke, 20s., Garston, 15s., Allerton, 5s.—£2; the total being £6 5s. (fn. 3)

Henry earl of Derby in 1591 gave his decision in the dispute between the parishioners of Childwall in general and those who lived in the chapelry of Hale, touching the repairs of the parish church. On the Hale side it was urged that they were practically separate for worship and the sacraments, and had never paid to the repair of Childwall church or churchyard. The other side said it was notorious that Hale was part of the parish, and the tithes were collected thence as from other parts of it; further, the vicar of Childwall allowed £4 a year towards the stipend of the curate of Hale; it was proved also that within the previous twenty years a lay had been imposed on the parish for church repairs and that Hale had contributed its share, a third. Accordingly the earl decided that Hale must pay its due proportion. (fn. 4)

Though the market and fair at Hale and the ford across the Mersey at that place must have brought some traffic into the district, the record of the parish has few striking events. The freeholders in 1600 were John Ireland of the Hutt, Edward Norris of Speke, Evan Haughton of Wavertree, William Woodward and Thomas Orme of Woolton, William Brettargh of Aigburth, Hugh Leike of Childwall, Edward Molyneux, David Ford, and William Whitefield of Speke. (fn. 5)

The ecclesiastical changes made by Elizabeth were received with as little favour here as elsewhere in Lancashire. The chapel at Garston had ceased to be used for service and fell into ruin. In 1590 Edward Norris of Speke and George Ireland of the Hutt, both esquires 'of fair and ancient living,' were classed among those 'of some degree of conformity, yet in general note of evil affection in religion, non-communicants'; and the wife of the former was 'a recusant and indicted thereof.' Thomas Molyneux of Speke, one 'of the gentlemen of the better sort,' was a 'comer to church but no communicant.' (fn. 6) One of the Brettarghs of the Holt became a Puritan, and suffered some persecution from his neighbours in consequence. The quarrel between Sir William Norris and Edward Moore indicates the bitterness engendered by the attempts to enforce conformity to the new order. The parish afforded a victim to the laws in the person of John Almond of Speke, executed for his priesthood in 1612.

Other indications of the condition of the parish are afforded by the records of the bishop's visitations. In 1592 two men were excommunicated for piping upon the Sabbath day in the churchyard; others suffered for standing in the churchyard and talking at service and sermon time; William Lathom of Allerton and Thomas Greaves of Wavertree for talking in the church itself at sermon time, but the latter on appearing was excused on making a public confession of his fault; another was sentenced because his children did not come to be catechized. (fn. 7) In 1635 the churchwardens prosecuted certain persons as absenting themselves from church and others as recusants, others for 'usually sleeping' in church during the service. Thomas Mackey of Speke was charged with having 'an ale' and tippling, revelling, and dancing at his house upon the Sunday; and Mary Norris, a widow, for a similar offence. (fn. 8) Next year the churchwardens had to describe the 'uncivil and barbarous manner' in which one Sunday the vicar (Mr. Lewis) had been attached and apprehended; and this at the instigation of one of the chapelwardens of Hale. (fn. 9)

In 1628 the landowners in the parish paying the subsidy were John Pearson in Much Woolton, Nehemiah Brettargh in Little Woolton and Aigburth, Sir William Norris and Edward Tarleton in Speke and Garston, and John Ireland in Hale. (fn. 10)

In the Civil War the two chief families took opposite sides, but while Gilbert Ireland was a vigorous supporter of the Parliamentary cause, the Norrises, except Edward Norris, who died in the midst of the struggle, remained inactive. The parliamentary commissioners found much work in the parish in connexion with the forfeited or sequestered estates of Royalists (fn. 11) and recusants. (fn. 12)

After the Restoration the lists of contributors to the hearth tax provide a basis for judging the condition of the inhabitants. (fn. 13) In Childwall in 1666 only three houses had three hearths or more liable, Gilbert Tarleton's having seven and the vicarage five. In Wavertree William Ellison's of Greenside was the largest, with five hearths. In Much Woolton only two houses had as many as three hearths, but in little Woolton there were nine, including Brettargh Holt with nine hearths. Speke Hall had twenty-one hearths, and Allerton Hall eight. In Garston there were only four houses with three hearths at least. In Hale the great houses of Sir Gilbert Ireland, with seventeen hearths at Hale and twenty-two at the Hutt are prominent.

The growth of Liverpool in more recent times has had its inevitable effect on a large portion of the parish. Wavertree and Garston have become populous urban districts, and were incorporated in the borough of Liverpool in 1895 and 1903 respectively; Childwall, the Wooltons, and Allerton, have also a suburban character, while Speke, Hale, and Halewood still remain agricultural.

The agricultural land in the parish is occupied as follows:—Arable land, 8,934 acres; permanent grass, 2,838; woods and plantations, 337. (fn. 14)

There were races held at Childwall early in the eighteenth century. (fn. 15)

A report on the wasting of the lands by the Mersey was made in 1828. (fn. 16)

In 1804 a company of volunteers was formed from Hale, Halewood, and Garston, under the commandership of John Blackburne of Hale, and with Richard Weston as captain. (fn. 17)

CHURCH

The church of All Saints (fn. 18) is situated on the north-eastward slope of the hill about half-way up. The building has has but little ancient work to show. It consists of chancel with north chapel and vestry, nave with north and south aisles, south chapel and south porch, and west tower and spire.

A few twelfth-century stones have been found in the course of repairs, but nothing in the building appears to be older than the fourteenth century. The north arcade and aisle were rebuilt early in the nineteenth century, and are now again (1906) in process of complete rebuilding. The chancel (fn. 19) has on the south side a square-headed two-light window which may be of fourteenth-century date, while the east window and a north window like that on the south are modern, of fourteenth-century style. The chancel arch of two chamfered orders dies into the walls at the springing. The south arcade of the nave is of fifteenth-century date, with octagonal columns and moulded capitals, and pointed arches of two orders. Originally of five bays, one of its columns has been removed and two of the arches thrown into one, in order to improve the view of the nave from the south nave chapel (the Salisbury chapel), which is an eighteenth-century building with a large round-headed south window.

The south aisle has several fifteenth-century twolight windows, and the embattled south porch is of the same date, while the clearstory over the south arcade has square-headed windows which may be of the sixteenth century. In the south aisle are two arched recesses in the wall, probably sepulchral, and in the same place are preserved the figures of a man in plate armour and a lady, said on the authority of a much more modern inscription to be those of Henry Norris of Speke, 1524, and Clemence his wife. The tower, which was rebuilt in 1810 on the old foundations, except that the east wall was set further west, is of little architectural merit. The jambs of the old east arch of the tower remain in a damaged condition, apparently the result of a fire. The font, of red sandstone, is ancient, but completely rechiselled, and appears to have been altered from an octagon to a round.

The registers begin in 1557, the earlier entries having been copied on parchment about 1597. The first volume contains baptisms, marriages, and burials up to 1613 or 1614, with a few odd entries up to 1650. The next volume begins in 1653, so that there is a break of about forty years; from this time the series appears to be complete. There is a rude drawing of the church on the cover of the second volume. The churchwardens' accounts begin a little before 1600. The tithe award and maps are in the vestry.

The silver communion plate includes a flagon, two chalices, and two patens, 1779. (fn. 20)

In the church besides the Norris brass, (fn. 21) now hung on the wall, are monuments to Richard Percival of Allerton, who died in 1700, Theophilus Kelsall, formerly vicar, and others.

There is a ring of six bells, dating from 1720.

ADVOWSON

The priest of the place is mentioned in Domesday Book as having half a plough-land in alms. (fn. 22) About 1094 Roger of Poitou granted the church of Childwall, among others, to the abbey of St. Martin at Séez, and thus for a time it became attached to the priory of Lancaster. This grant appears to have been revoked by Henry I on the forfeiture of Roger's possessions, but was confirmed in a charter by John count of Mortain. (fn. 23) The priory received an annual pension of 20s. from the holder of the benefice, through a compromise arranged by the abbots of Chester and Stanlaw and the prior of Birkenhead as papal delegates, and confirmed by Geoffrey the bishop of Coventry about 1205. (fn. 24)

The manor having been granted to the baron of Manchester, he also claimed the patronage of the church, and in 1232 this right was in dispute between Thomas Grelley and the prior of Lancaster. (fn. 25) The former was successful, and a Grelley is found among the rectors soon afterwards, while in 1293 and 1299 the king presented to Childwall, because of the minority of Thomas son of Robert Grelley the patron. (fn. 26)

The rector being a non-resident pluralist, the bishop appears to have thought it proper to establish a vicarage at Childwall. Accordingly in December, 1307, a vicar was instituted on the presentation of the rector. He was to receive for the maintenance of himself and the ecclesiastical organization of the parish—three chaplains and a deacon are named—all oblations and tenths, Easter dues, tithes of linen, cheese and milk, &c. He (or they) were to have a dwelling place on the land of the church called 'Green land,' near the church, and to satisfy all the ordinary charges. (fn. 27)

Only two years after this Sir Robert de Holand presented to the rectory and then assigned it to his college of priests at Upholland. (fn. 28) In 1311 the rector was presented by the dean of this college. Licence for the alienation had been granted by Edward II in June, 1310, after the usual inquiry. (fn. 29) On the transference of the college to a monastery of Benedictines in 1319, the advowson of Childwall was transferred also, with a reservation of the usual ecclesiastical rights and a pension of 40s. a year to the cathedral church of Lichfield. This pension continued to be paid down to the dissolution. (fn. 30) The rectory was appropriated, the monks presenting to the vicarage until the suppression.

The rectory with the patronage was granted to augment the endowment of the new see of Chester by Philip and Mary in 1557–8, (fn. 31) and this, after confiscation, was renewed by Elizabeth in 1561, (fn. 32) and the later presentations were made by the bishops of Chester until the see of Liverpool was created by Act of Parliament in 1880, when the patronage was transferred to its bishop.

The tithes were farmed out (fn. 33) in Elizabeth's reign (fn. 34) and later to the Anderton family, (fn. 35) so the Commonwealth surveyors found. Bishop Bridgeman had in 1632 leased the tithes to John Poole and others for three lives for a yearly rent of £57 14s. 4d., (fn. 36) and the lease was 'lately in the possession of James Anderton, a Papist, and now under sequestration for his delinquency.' The actual value of the tithes was about £400. There was no parsonage house certainly known, but the parish had lately bought from the earl of Derby a house for the vicar as well as two acres of land supposed to have belonged to the parsonage. (fn. 37)

In 1291 the rectory was valued at £40, (fn. 38) and in 1535 at £38 13s. 4d., out of which certain fees and pensions had to be paid, the vicarage being worth £6. (fn. 39) Bishop Gastrell about 1720 found the value of the vicarage £58 3s. 10d. (fn. 40) At present the gross value is given as £440, with a vicarage house opposite the church. £4 is paid to Hale chapel.

The vicar of Childwall formerly presented to various churches within the old parish, Wavertree, Woolton, &c., but this patronage has been transferred to the bishop of Liverpool.

The following is a list of the rectors and vicars:—

Rectors
Instituted Name Presented by Cause of Vacancy
oc. 1177–8 Robert (fn. 41)
c. 1190 Robert Fukes (fn. 42) Richard de Lathom
c. 1205 H. (and R.) (fn. 43)
c. 1232–46 John Cotty (fn. 44)
1260 and after Herbert Grelley (fn. 45)
15 Mar. 1292–3 John de Droxford (fn. 46) The King
9 Nov. 1309 Adam de Preston (fn. 47) Sir Robert de Holand res. of J. de Droxford
18 Mar. 1310–11 Henry de Leicester (fn. 48) Dean of Holland res. of A. de Preston
Vicars
17 Dec. 1307 Henry de Wavertree (fn. 49) The Rector
20 Dec. 1338 Richard de Barnby (fn. 50) Holland Priory d. of H. de Wavertree
3 July, 1349 Nicholas de Thorne (fn. 51) " d. of Ric. last vicar
John Dibbleda (fn. 52)
26 Jan. 1353–4 Roger de Poghden (fn. 53) Holland Priory pro. J. Dibbleda
6 Mar. 1386–7 Richard de Moston (fn. 54) " d. of R. de Poghden
oc. 1421 Thomas Caton (fn. 55)
16 Aug. 1426 William Walton (fn. 56) Holland Priory d. of T. Caton
oc. 1430–35 William Mercer (fn. 57)
24 Jan. 1443–4 Christopher Lee (fn. 58) Holland Priory
oc. 1464 Geoffrey Whalley (fn. 59)
16 May, 1473 ? Richard Dey, LL.B. (fn. 60) Holland Priory res. G. Whalley
11 Nov. 1496 John Merton (fn. 61) " d. of Richard Dey
17 Oct. 1514 Robert Greves (fn. 62) " res. last. incum.
10 July, 1546 John Ainsdale (fn. 63) W. J. & R. Ainsdale d. of R. Greves
oc. 1562 William Crosse
12 Jan. 1569–70 David Catton (fn. 64) Bishop of Chester res. W. Crosse
24 Oct. 1588 Lawrence Blackborne (fn. 65) [d. D. Catton]
18 Jan. 1588–9 Thomas Williamson, M.A. (fn. 66) Bishop of Chester
28 June, 1589 Edmund Hopwood (fn. 67)
oc. 1616 William Knowles (fn. 68)
17 April, 1617 Henry Taylor (fn. 69) Bishop of Chester
10 Aug. 1624 James Hyett, B.D. (fn. 70) " dep. or cession of H. Taylor
20 May, 1625 James Critchley " res. Jas. Hyett
7 Dec. 1632 William Lewis, M.A. (fn. 71)
c. 1645 David Ellison (fn. 72) Com. of the County
18 Dec. 1657 John Litherland (fn. 73) Lord Protector
2 Mar. 1661–2 Bishop of Chester
5 Mar. 1663–4 William Thompson (fn. 74) "
15 Oct. 1664 Joshua Ambrose, M.A. (fn. 75) "
18 Feb. 1686–7 Thomas West, M.A. (fn. 76) " res. J. Ambrose
19 June, 1690 Ralph Markland, M.A. (fn. 77) Bishop of Chester res. T. West
12 Jan. 1721–2 Theophilus Kelsall, B.A. (fn. 78) " d. of R. Markland
6 Mar. 1734–5 Roger Barnston, M.A. (fn. 79) " d. T. Kelsall
25 July, 1737 William Ward, B.A. (fn. 80) " res. R. Barnston
18 Sept. 1740 Robert Whiston (fn. 81) " d. W. Ward
29 Jan. 1741–2 Abel Ward, M.A. (fn. 82) " res. R. Whiston
13 Jan. 1745–6 Thomas Tonman, M.A. (fn. 83) " res. Abel Ward
10 Sept. 1778 Matthew Worthington (fn. 84) " res. T. Tonman
24 April, 1797 William Bowe (fn. 85) " d. M. Worthington
10 Feb. 1818 James Thomas Law, M.A. (fn. 86) " res. W. Bowe
15 Oct. 1821 Henry Law, M.A. (fn. 87) " res. J. T. Law
15 May, 1824 Augustus Campbell, M.A. (fn. 88) " res. H. Law
14 Nov. 1829
20 Sept. 1870 George Winter Warr, M.A. (fn. 89) " d. of A. Campbell
14 Jan. 1896 Peter Sorensen Royston, D.D. (fn. 90) Bishop of Liverpool d. G. W. Warr
16 Oct. 1903 Richard Montague Ainslie, M.A. (fn. 91) " res. P. S. Royston

Robert Greves was vicar during the greater part of Henry VIII's reign. In 1541 he paid an assistant named Richard Greves; there were three other priests, (fn. 92) probably serving the chapels at Hale and Garston, and the chantry priest, so that the staff numbered five or six. At the visitation of 1548 the clergy remained the same in number, but at the visitation in 1554, when the Edwardian changes had had effect and the temporary reaction was only beginning, the clergy had been reduced to three. (fn. 93) The services at Garston chapel had probably been discontinued. The vicar had held his place through several changes; it is not known whether he died or resigned before the next, but in January, 1557–8 Bishop Scott gave him leave to agree with Richard Norris, priest, as to his retirement, Norris to pay him a suitable pension. (fn. 94)

William Crosse, the next vicar, was ordained deacon at Chester in 1555, (fn. 95) and as he answered as vicar at the visitations of 1562 and 1565 must be considered a conformist—for the time at least; in 1563 he was absent, 'excused by the bishop,' and in 1569 he resigned. He was the only clergyman who represented Childwall in 1562–3. (fn. 96)

The chantry at the altar of St. Thomas the Martyr was founded in 1484 by Thomas Norris of Speke to celebrate for the souls of himself and his ancestors. (fn. 97)

The church, according to an old rhyme, was famous for 'ringing and singing.' (fn. 98)

CHARITIES

As to the charities of the parish, Bishop Gastrell was in 1718 able to report little in addition to the schools at Much Woolton and Hale. (fn. 99) The commissioners of 1828 gave a much longer list, (fn. 100) but even in 1903 the amount for the parish as a whole was very small; (fn. 101) Hale (fn. 102) and Halewood (fn. 103) had some considerable bequests, but the charity founded recently by Mrs. Mary Jane Cross for the relief of poor residents of Much and Little Woolton suffering from accidents and noninfectious diseases is the most important from its amount. (fn. 104) The other townships have little or no funds of the kind. (fn. 105)

Footnotes

  • 1. Thingwall, in recent times considered extra-parochial, was formerly part of Childwall, as appears by the Inquisitio Nonarum.
  • 2. The details are: Childwall, 6s. 8d.; Wavertree, 10s.; Much Woolton, 15s. 8d.; Little Woolton, 14s. 8d.; Speke, £117s. 4d.; Garston, £1 1s. 4d.; Allerton, 6s. 9¼d.; Hale, £2 19s. 4d.; Gregson's Fragments (ed. Harland), 18.
  • 3. Ibid. 22.
  • 4. Norris D. (B.M.).
  • 5. Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 238, etc.
  • 6. Gibson, Lydiate Hall, 227, 244, 246, 247, quoting S.P. Dom. Eliz. ccxxxv, n. 4, clxxv, n. 21.
  • 7. Trans. Hist. Soc. (New Ser.), x, 184–5.
  • 8. Local Gleanings, Lancs. and Ches. ii, 21.
  • 9. Ches. Consistory Papers. The vicar also made his complaint, and further accused this chapelwarden of not presenting that the wife of George Ireland, of Hale, and Henry Wainwright, of the Hale Bank, were reputed to live together in adultery. It appeared that the man had confessed his fault before the bishop's chancellor; but the woman denied the fact, and purged herself by insufficient compurgators, there having been no publication beforehand in the parish church.
  • 10. Norris D. (B.M.).
  • 11. The Royalists included James, earl of Derby, lord of Childwall, Woolton, and Halewood; Royalist Comp. Papers (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), ii, 225, &c. James Anderton, of Birchley, forfeited the tithes of Childwall; ibid. i, 75–80. William Norris, of Speke, and his son were disaffected, while the late Edward Norris (eldest son) had fought against the Parliament; ibid. iv, 219, 227; i, 175. Edward Norris's lands had been secured on a lease, though 'at the highest rate,' by George Ireland, of Hale, who was 'ever desirous to advance the public benefit'; which lease he in 1653 desired to have confirmed that he might recoup the heavy charge he had been subject to, both for lays and other taxes and for draining and improving the property, it being 'subject to the overflowing of salt water,' and otherwise in decay; ibid. iv, 14. Humbler people suffered. Richard Rose and a number of others describing themselves as labourers, living in Hale and Garston and Speke, complained that their property had been sequestered, not for their own fault, but through the 'delinquency' of others, and they were too poor to take witnesses to London to prove their titles; ibid. iv, 47, 53. The editor says: 'Most of the cases seem to have been disposed of by a marginal note, "Petitioner to enjoy it if not a recusant." '
  • 12. William Ballard, a leaseholder in Speke, had had two-thirds of his estate sequestered for recusancy; Robert Holme, similarly treated, was supposed to be a 'delinquent' also, but this seems not to have been proved; ibid. i, 119; iii, 306. Thomas Molyneux, of Speke, and Thomas Plumb, of Garston, had less rigid convictions, for on finding their property sequestered they took the oath of abjuration, but the officers of the Pipe were not satisfied even with that; ibid. iv. 174; Cal. of Com. for Comp. v, 3228. Edward and other children of Robert Molyneux, of Garston, deceased, 'all of them conformable,' prayed for the recovery of a tenement sublet to Anne Chawner, for whose recusancy it had been sequestered for more than ten years; Royalist Comp. Papers, ii, 33. Margaret Harrison, a widow, of Hale, had had the two-thirds of her estate sequestered for recusancy, and on her death her grandson, Thomas (son of William) Harrison, applied for the removal of the sequestration; there was evidence that he was a good Protestant, 'for he was a constant hearer of the Word of God at the chapel of Hale'; ibid. iii, 165. Thomas Harrison, of Oglet, who was a Protestant and 'ever had been a friend of the Parliament,' prayed for the restitution of the land of his late mother Elizabeth, widow of Richard Harrison, sequestered many years before for her recusancy; ibid. iii, 167. Thomas Lathom of Allerton had had two-thirds of his leasehold estate sequestered for recusancy; but as he died in 1654, and the lease had expired with him, there was no further cause for the sequestration; ibid. iv, 70–1. Elizabeth Fazakerley's estates, similarly sequestered, were likewise released by her death in 1655; Cal. of Com. for Comp. v, 3238. In Woolton a mistake seems to have been made. Cliffe House, in Woolton, which had been sequestered for recusancy, was restored on evidence that the petitioners had for the last three years at least (i.e. 1648–51) been conformable to the doctrine of the Church of England, attending their parish church on Lord's days and days of humiliation and thanksgiving, and had also freely contributed to the Parliament's service; Royalist Comp. Papers (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), iv, 97–100. Richard Quick, of Much Woolton, was another delinquent; Index of Royalists (Index Soc.), 43; Cal. of Com. for Comp. v, 3201.
  • 13. Lay Subsidies Lanc. 250/9; for a brief account of the return of 1662 see Trans. Hist. Soc. (New Ser.), xiv, 33–5.
  • 14. The following are details:—                                           Arable.                             Grass                             Wood, &c.                                              ac.                                   ac.                                     ac. Childwall                              2378                                1752                                        49 Garston                                  489                                 302                                          7 Speke and Hale                     3165                                 493                                      218 Halewood                            2902                                  291                                        63
  • 15. N. Blundell's Diary, 32, 35.
  • 16. Trans. Hist. Soc. xxii, 220–8.
  • 17. Local Gleanings Lancs. and Ches. ii, 206–7.
  • 18. In one of the Norris Deeds (B.M. n. 189) the final remainder is to the work (opus) of St. Peter of Childwall. This was in 1354. There is a view of the building, drawn in 1775, in Gregson's Fragments (ed. Harland), 188, and a description in Glynne's Lancs. Churches (Chet. Soc.), 113. The list of pewholders in 1609 is printed in Trans. Hist. Soc. (New Ser.), vii–viii, 327.
  • 19. Sir S. Glynne (op. et. loc. cit.) notes that the chancel has been shortened.
  • 20. Lancs. Churches, 115.
  • 21. Thornely, Brasses, 153.
  • 22. In 1389–90 the prior of Upholland had one oxgang and 10 ac. of glebe in Childwall, Hale, and Garston, belonging to the rectory; Kuerden MSS. ii, fol. 173 b.
  • 23. Farrer, Lancs. Pipe R. 289–93 and 298.
  • 24. Lanc. Church (Chet. Soc.), i, 119– 21.
  • 25. Cal. Pat. 1225–32, p. 512. In the Close Roll of the same year is a royal mandate to the bishop of Lichfield relating to the recovered advowson. In 1261 Robert de Lathom as lord of the subordinate manor endeavoured to secure the advowson of the church from Thomas Grelley; Cur. Reg. R. 171, m. 9 d., 81 d. The attempt was renewed in 1302–7 against Thomas, great-grandson of that Thomas Grelley. Year Book, 32 Edw. I, 4; De Banc. R. 144, m. 184d.; 153, m. 374d.; 163, m. 104 d.
  • 26. Cal. Pat. 1292–1301, pp. 7, 429; De Banc. R. 100, m. 2. Before his death in 1262 Thomas Grelley granted the church of Childwall with the chapels of Hale and Garston to his son Peter, but the gift was held to be invalid; Trans. Hist. Soc. (New Ser.), xvii, 54.
  • 27. Lich. Epis. Reg. i, fol. 28.
  • 28. Cal. Pat. 1307–13, p. 233.
  • 29. Ibid.; Cal. Inq. a.q.d. (Rec. Com.), 226.
  • 30. Mon. Angl. iv, 410–11. Another pension of £1 6s. 8d. was payable from Upholland Priory to the Carthusians of Shene, but nothing is said as to the 20s. due to the priory of Lancaster, the possessions of which had in general been transferred to Sion Monastery.
  • 31. Pat. Phil. and Mary, pt. xii, m. 14.
  • 32. Duchy of Lanc. Rec. class 12, bdle. 19 (Privy Seals Eliz.). An annual rent of £11 15s. 5½d. was now asked. The grant was confirmed by James I in 1608–9; it included Prior's heys in Hale and Garston Hall; Pat. 6 Jas. I, pt. xxiii, m. 5.
  • 33. In 1556–7 Andrew Vavasor was farmer of the parsonage of Childwall, under a grant to John Chatterton from Henry VIII (1537) for thirty-one years, and he complained that Sir William Norris, knt. and others had by force taken possession of tithe corn in Garston, Oglet and Siche, and Little Woolton. Sir William replied that John Chatterton had demised them to Sir William Leyland, who in turn granted them to the defendant. Being reminded that there was a condition attached that £12 a year should be paid to Chatterton at the font stone in St. Paul's Church in London, he replied that his servant Thomas Molyneux waited at the place on the appointed day from three o'clock till sunset, but no one ever came to receive the money. Duchy Plead. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), iii, 224–31.
  • 34. Norris D. (B.M.).
  • 35. Afterwards and down to 1854 they were leased to the Gerards of Brynn; Baines, Lancs. (ed. 1870), ii, 258.
  • 36. A lease at this rent was granted in 1772 to Alexander Osbaldeston of Osbaldeston, and Nicholas Starkie of Preston.
  • 37. There were three tithe barns—at Garston, Lea and Woolton; a house and acre of glebe at Garston brought in a rent of 13s. 4d., and a close in Hale, called Prior's heys, 1s. 11d. The vicar had all the small tithes except such as paid a composition or 'rate tithe,' viz. Mr. Lathom of Allerton, 10s. for tithe of hemp and flax of Allerton and Garston; Mr. Norris of Speke, 16s. for tithe of pig, goose, hemp and flax in Speke and the Wooltons, and pig and goose in Garston; and Mr. Ireland of the Hutt, £1 5s. for the tithe of pig, goose, hemp and flax in Hale and Halewood (except a few houses), Childwall and Wavertree, also pig and goose in Allerton. The profit of the vicarage was estimated to be about £30 a year, including the small tithes and Easter roll. Commonw. Church Surv. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), 194–5.
  • 38. Pope Nich. Tax. (Rec. Com.), 249. In 1341 the true value of the ninth of the corn, wool and lambs was found to be £40, made up thus: Hale £20, Speke £4 15s., Wavertree £4 13s. 4d., Allerton £1 4s., Woolton £3 6s. 8d., Much Woolton £2 6s. 8d., Garston £2 10s., Childwall 17s. 4d., and Thingwall 7s.; Nonarum Inq. (Rec. Com.), 40.
  • 39. Valor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), v, 222. After the dissolution the value was found to be £56 16s. 4d. This included the tithes of four mills: Halewood, Allerton, Wavertree and Bushel's Mill; Duchy of Lanc. Rentals, &c. 5/12.
  • 40. Notitia Cestr. (Chet. Soc.), ii, 164. A list of benefactions between 1680 and 1705 included a grant of 10s. a year for a preaching minister. A terrier of 1778 among the church papers states that the vicar then had the tithes of cow and calf, &c., 'for every smoke 1d., for every tradesman 4d.'; 16s. and 25s. were paid for the demesnes of Speke and Hale respectively; 10s. came rom an estate in Widnes, 'Lyon's of the Fold'; and 10s. from Hancock's New House in Halewood. The latter rent charges are still paid; see End. Char. Rep. (Childwall), 1904.
  • 41. 'Robert the priest of Childwall' in 1177–8 was fined a mark for some breach of the forest laws; Lancs. Pipe R. 38.
  • 42. De Banco R. 144, m. 184d.; presented in the time of Richard I, according to the plaintiff.
  • 43. At the time of the composition with the prior of Lancaster 'H. the clerk of Childwall' was liable for the pension of 20s. and must therefore have been the rector. Among the witnesses is 'R. the clerk of Childwall'; Lanc. Church, 121.
  • 44. Whalley Coucher, 558, 809.
  • 45. Herbert is named in 1260 in the Cur. Reg. R. 171, m. 32d. and is probably the same as the 'Herbert Grelle quondam rector' of Kuerden; Final Conc. i, 140n. See also Dep. Keeper's Rep. xliv, App. 113, for mention of him in 1275. Herbert, rector of Childwall, was in 1288 guardian of Richard, son and heir of Geoffrey de Casterton; De Banco R. 73, m. 13. He seems to have been rector till about 1290, but 'Richard Chaplain of Childwall' is witness to charters of that period; Norris D. (B.M.), n. 711, 725; also Bold D. Warrington, G. 44.
  • 46. John de Droxford (or Drochenesford) is the most distinguished incumbent of Childwall. There is an account of him in Dict. Nat. Biog. He was one of the king's clerks and keeper of the wardrobe to Edward I. In 1290 he was presented by the king to the church of Monewden (dio. Norwich), and on 15 March, 1293, to Childwall, with all its chapels and appurtenances, followed by Kingsclere in 1296; Cal. Pat. The king presented to Childwall by reason of the minority of Robert Grelley. On 27 Sept. 1298, Boniface VIII granted him at the king's request a dispensation for having while under age obtained first the church of Childwall, then successively those of Hemingburgh, &c., and various canonries and prebends, with leave to retain all those successively held—except Childwall and another, which must be resigned—the cure of souls not being neglected, and a portion of the fruits received being applied to the benefices; Cal. of Pap. Letters, i, 577. The pope at the same time made him one of his chaplains. In accordance with this, Roger de Droxford, his brother, was appointed to Childwall by the king in July, 1299, but for some reason or other the presentation does not seem to have taken effect. John remained rector, and on 1 March, 1308, a further dispensation from Clement V directed him to resign two of his benefices and be ordained priest within two years, he being then only a deacon; ibid: ii, 39. He therefore retained Childwall, probably without visiting it, until the day of his consecration as bishop of Bath and Wells in 1309. He was bishop of this see for twenty years. Roger de Droxford's presentation to Childwall may have been refused by the bishop of Lichfield, for in November, 1299, his brother the papal chaplain obtained from Boniface VIII permission for Roger to hold one benefice in addition to Freshwater, although he was not a priest, and between eighteen and twenty-five years of age; ibid. i, 584.
  • 47. Lich. Epis. Reg. i, 57b; he is described as 'son of Hugh de Preston.' Adam de Preston forfeited lands by adhering to Thomas earl of Lancaster, and recovered them in 1327 on petition to Edward III; Parl. R. (Rec. Com.), ii, 434. He is probably the Adam de Preston mentioned in a Holland family settlement of 1321–2; ibid. vi, 254.
  • 48. Lich. Epis. Reg. i, 59. A Henry de Leicester was one of the king's clerks in 1307; Cal. Pat. 1307–13, p. 8. The rector of Childwall was probably the cofferer to Thomas earl of Lancaster in 1322, whose misfortune is described in Beamont's Halton, 38. He seems to have been appointed rector of Almondsbury by the archbishop of York in 1313, on the deprivation of Boniface di Saluzzo; Cal. of Pap. Letters, ii, 122, 168. It seems clear that the last two rectors were presented merely to hold the rectory until arrangements could be made for its transference to Upholland Priory.
  • 49. Lich. Epis. Reg. i, 28. Dean of Warrington in 1319; see the account of Melling. In 1336 it was reported to the bishop that he was old and weak, and therefore John del Fernes was appointed as his assistant; ibid. ii, fol. 110b.
  • 50. Ibid. fol. 112b.
  • 51. Ibid. fol. 123b.
  • 52. He was made rector of Heysham; Lich. Epis. Reg. ii, fol. 131.
  • 53. Ibid. fol. 131. Roger de Poghden (or Pokeden) is frequently mentioned in local deeds. In 1386 the cemetery of Childwall was suspended at the visitation held at Prescot, on account of the burial therein of a certain Adam de Mossley; the suspension was soon afterwards removed by the assistant bishop of Lichfield on the representation of the Hospitallers, whose privileges were concerned in the matter; Norris D. (B.M.), n. 966.
  • 54. Lich. Epis. Reg. vi, fol. 52b. R. de Moston's name occurs in various deeds down to 1413; see Norris D. (B.M.), Moore charters (n. 742), Kuerden MSS. ii, fol. 230.
  • 55. He occurs as vicar in Jan. 1420–1; Norris D. (B.M.), n. 892.
  • 56. Lich. Epis. Reg. ix, fol. 116.
  • 57. William Mercer, who had been chaplain at Hale, is named as vicar of Childwall in 1429–30 and in Aug. 1435; Blundell of Crosby D. K. 168; Norris D. (B. M.), n. 899, 900.
  • 58. Lich. Epis. Reg. ix, fol. 126b. No reason is assigned for the vacancy.
  • 59. Geoffrey Whalley was vicar in 1464; Norris D. (Rydal Hall), F.a.
  • 60. Lich. Epis Reg. xii, fol. 106b. The registrar has omitted the name of the clerk presented; probably it was Richard Dey, the next vicar known.
  • 61. Ibid. xii, fol. 230b.
  • 62. Ibid. xiii–xiv, fol. 58b.
  • 63. Act Books at Chest.; John Porte, prior, and the convent of Upholland had in 1531 granted the next presentation to Robert Brerewood, Richard Johnson, and Thomas Brerewood (probably of the Chester family), and these in 1540 released their right to William, John, and Richard Ainsdale of Wallasey. Ainsdale paid first-fruits 15 July, 1546; Lancs. and Ches. Rec. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), ii, 408.
  • 64. Act Books at Chest. David Catton was one of the old clergy; ordained priest in 1542. He remained at Childwall till his death, being buried there 25 May, 1588.
  • 65. Act books at Chest.
  • 66. Ibid. Thomas Williamson became vicar of Eccles and fellow of Manch.
  • 67. Ibid. Edmund Hopwood, literate, was licensed to act as 'reader' at Littleborough in June, 1576; he was described as 'no preacher' in 1590, but had become one in 1607. He was in 1615 presented by the earl of Derby to Holy Trinity, Chester. His will was proved in 1630. See Pennant's Acct. Book (MS.); Gibson, Lydiate Hall, 249; Kenyon MSS. (Hist. MSS. Com.), 12; Ormerod, Ches. (ed. Helsby), i, 332.
  • 68. Raines MSS. (Chet. Lib.), xxii, 74. See the account of Ormskirk church.
  • 69. Act Books at Chest. The institutions from this time are printed in Lancs. and Ches. Antiq. Notes from the books at P.R.O.
  • 70. Hyett was promoted to Croston.
  • 71. William Lewis was reported in 1635 to be 'very diligent in his calling'; Contrib. from Clergy (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), 94, 110; but ejected on the outbreak of the Civil War. He was dean of Warrington in 1640. William Lewis, minister, residing at Little Woolton, was buried at Childwall 6 Jan. 1659–60. In 1640 he had trouble with some of his parishioners over a question of pews. He had 'enlarged' the pulpit, which had before been indecent and unseemly, and by this improvement the seat of Henry Ellison and his mother had been removed altogether. In 1636 the bishop had issued a commission 'for the uniforming the seats in the said church and placing the parishioners therein according to their rank and estates'; and it was thought the matter had been settled; Con. Court Rec. at Chest.
  • 72. David Ellison was described by the Parl. Com. in 1650 as 'a painful godly preaching minister, observing the Lord's days, fast days, and days of humiliation appointed'; Commonwealth Church Surv. (Rec. Soc.), 67. It was ordered in Aug. 1645, that £50 should be paid him out of the profits of the rectory, sequestered from James Anderton, recusant convict and delinquent; Plund. Mins. Accts. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 9, 50, 247.
  • 73. John Litherland was admitted on 18 Dec. 1657, to the parish of Childwall on a presentation from the Lord Protector Cromwell; the cause of the vacancy is not stated, but it was probably the death of the previous incumbent, who does not occur in later lists; Plund. Mins. Accts. ii, 209, 300. Litherland was instituted again on the restoration of episcopacy; the Act Books at Chest. give 26 Nov. 1661 as the date of collation.
  • 74. Inst. Books, P.R.O.
  • 75. A Joshua Ambrose was B.A. of Harvard, New England, and was incorporated at Pembroke Coll. Oxf. 1655, becoming M.A. in the following year. He is probably the same as this vicar of Childwall, who had before the Restoration been minister of West Derby; Foster, Alumni Oxon.; Baines, Lancs. (ed. Croston), v, 42, quoting Calamy's Nonconf. Memorial, ii, 3.
  • 76. Thomas West's promotion is recorded by Bishop Cartwright: 'The parishioners of Childwall brought me Mr. Ambrose his resignation, and I promised to present a new vicar before Christmas, and wrote word to my cousin Peter Whalley that I would give it to my cousin Thomas West,' who was accordingly instituted and made a chaplain to the bishop. He resigned at the Revolution, being reckoned as a Jacobite. Thomas, son of William West of Northampton, of Merton College, Oxford, took the M.A. degree in 1684; see Cartwright's Diary (Camd. Soc.), 16, 33; Foster's Alumni; Pal. Note Book, ii, 239.
  • 77. Ralph Markland, of Jesus Coll. Camb. (M.A. 1682), was son of Ralph Markland of Wigan; information of Dr. Morgan, master of the coll. For his family see Dugdale's Visit. (Chet. Soc.), 193. He was the father of Jeremiah Markland.
  • 78. Theophilus Kelsall, previously curate of St. Helens, was educated at Camb.; B.A. 1710. He died Feb. 1734–5; monument in church.
  • 79. Roger Barnston was the second son of Roger Barnston of Churton near Chester. He was educated at Trinity Coll. Camb. (M.A. 1734), and became rector of Condover in Shropshire and a canon of Chester. He was twice married, but died childless in 1782, and was buried at Farndon; Ormerod, Ches. (ed. Helsby), ii, 747.
  • 80. William Ward, son of Francis Ward of Shervill in Devon, was educated at Exeter Coll. Oxf. but graduated from Edmund Hall (B.A. 1728); Foster, Alumni.
  • 81. A Robert Whiston of Shropshire was of Magdalen Hall, Oxf. graduating in 1739; Foster, Alumni.
  • 82. Abel Ward was a Staffordshire man. He entered Queens' Coll. Camb. as a sizar in 1736, and was elected fellow in 1740 soon after taking his B.A. degree; M.A. 1744. He held his fellowship during his vicariate, vacating it by his promotion to a prebendal stall at Chester in 1744. He was a Whig and rose rapidly, resigning Childwall for St. Ann's, Manchester. He died at Neston in 1785. See inscription in Chest. Cath.; Ormerod, Ches. i, 296; Note of Rt. Rev. Dr. Chase, lately President of Queens' Coll.
  • 83. Thomas Tonman was the son of Roger Tonman of New Radnor; educated at Jesus Coll. Oxf.; he graduated M.A. in 1744. He was vicar of Little Budworth in Ches. He died 8 March, 1783, aged 64; there are monuments to him and his wife Dorothy (daughter of Dr. Samuel Peploe) in the Lady Chapel in Chest. Cath.; Foster, Alumni; Ormerod, Ches. i, 296.
  • 84. Matthew Worthington had been curate of Wood Plumpton near Preston for forty-two years. With but a scanty income to supply the wants of a large family, he at last resolved to write to the bishop (Beilby Porteous), stating his case, and asking if his lordship could use any charitable funds at his disposal for their assistance. The bishop, struck by the letter, raised by subscription a sum of money for the writer, and when Childwall fell vacant promoted him to it. See the letter in Baines, Lancs. (ed. Croston), v, 44. Joseph Sharpe, minister (curate) of Childwall, published sermons preached there; Local Gleanings, i, 187, 192.
  • 85. William Bowe was master of the grammar school at Scorton, in the North Riding, and had licence to reside out of the parish.
  • 86. James Thomas Law, eldest son of the then bishop, was a fellow of Christ's Coll. Camb.; M.A. 1815; and became master of St. John's Hospital, Lichfield, and chancellor of the diocese of Lichfield. He died 22 Feb. 1876; Dict. Nat. Biog.
  • 87. Henry Law was' another son of the bishop. He was fellow and tutor of St. John's Coll. Camb.; M.A. 1823. Following his father to the diocese of Bath and Wells, he became canon and archdeacon there, and was afterwards (1862) dean of Gloucester, dying in Nov. 1884; Dict. Nat. Biog.
  • 88. Augustus Campbell was of Trinity Coll. Camb.; M.A. 1812. He was made rector of Wallasey in 1814, and resigned it for Childwall in 1824. To this a mediety of the rectory of Liverpool was added in 1829 (he afterwards became sole rector); this accounts for the double institution at Childwall. He held both preferments till his death at Childwall on 15 May, 1870, in the eighty-fifth year of his age. There is in the church a monument to his son Major P. Campbell, who was wounded at the Alma and afterwards died in the Crimea of fever.
  • 89. George Winter Warr had been the incumbent of St. Saviour's, Liverpool. He was an honorary canon of Chester from 1870 to 1880, when he had the same dignity at Liverpool.
  • 90. Peter Sorensen Royston graduated at Camb. from Trinity Coll.; M.A. 1861, D.D. 1873. He was appointed bishop of the Mauritius in 1872, and after his resignation became assistant to Bishop Ryle of Liverpool, who presented him to Childwall.
  • 91. Richard Montague Ainslie, M.A. Cambridge (1885, Pembroke Coll.), was previously incumbent of St. Saviour's, Liverpool.
  • 92. Clergy List of 1541–2 (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), 16.
  • 93. John Ainsdale the vicar, Thomas Plombe (chantry priest—his occupation gone), marked 'decrepitus,' and James Whitford of Hale.
  • 94. Norris D. (B.M.). For the ornaments in 1552, after some had disappeared, see Ch. Goods (Chet. Soc.), 90, 91. In 1517 three new bells were made for the church by Richard Seliock of Nottingham; the great bell 518 1b., the less bell 417 1b., and Mr. Norris's bell 41 lb.; Norris D. (B.M.).
  • 95. Ordination Book (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), 86.
  • 96. The above particulars are from the visitation lists at Chester.
  • 97. By charters dated 16 Dec. 1484, Thomas Norris of Speke and John his brother gave to Richard Norris and others lands in Halewood, Much Woolton, and Garston; the income arising therefrom to be paid yearly to Humphrey Norris, clerk, to celebrate in the chapel of St. Thomas the Martyr of Childwall, and after his death to the chaplain nominated by Thomas Norris or his heirs for ever. The chapel itself was therefore more ancient than the Norris chantry. In Nov. 1532, Thomas Plombe, then the chaplain, requested the surviving trustees to make a new feoffment, and they accordingly did so; Norris D. (B. M.), n. 219, 223. 'John the chaplain' seems to have been cantarist in 1499; ibid. n. 29. John Day was priest in 1494. Canon Raines gives the names of three others:—Hulme, Henry Hill (instituted on 2 May, 1504), and the above-named Thomas Plombe, who was in charge at the suppression, being then sixty years of age. He had a pension of £3 6s. in 1553, which was about the rental (67s. 3d.) as returned by the commissioners. This income had been derived from houses and lands in Great Woolton (26s. 8d.), Garston (16s.), Halewood (22s. 7d.), and Wavertree (2s.). There was no plate, the priest celebrating with the ornaments of the parish church. See Raines, Chantries (Chet. Soc.), 98. A lease of the chantry lands for twenty years was made to Edward Norris in 1582; he paid £12 and was to render annually £3 7s. 3d. to the crown; and in 1608 Sir William Norris secured a grant of them made by the king two years before, the same annual rent to be paid; Pat. 4 Jas. I, pt. xxiii; Norris D. (B.M.). The inscriptions on the chantry windows are recorded in the Norris Deeds; the account by Ormerod (in the Parentalia) is imperfect. Three others asked prayers for Edmund Crosse and his family; for Thomas Norris of Speke and John his brother, and also for 'Sir John Lathom, formerly lord of Aldford,' who built and founded the chantry; and for William Norris, vicar of some church unnamed, who died 18 Aug. 1460, and Richard his brother. There is an error in the above. Sir John Stanley was lord of Aldford 2 to 16 Edw. IV; John Lathom was rector there 1461–84; Ormerod, Ches. (ed. Helsby), ii, 757, 759.
  • 98. Pal. Note Book, ii, 279.
  • 99. Notitia Cestr. ii, 168, 171.
  • 100. The following notes are from the reports of the Char. Com. of 1828 (xx. 83, &c.) and the End. Char. Report for Childwall issued in 1904. This latter concerns only that portion of the parish outside Liverpool in 1903.
  • 101. The total sum available in 1903 was £504 a year, but more than half of this was the endowment of Gateacre chapel, and £148 of the remainder was Mrs. Cross's newly-founded charity. Henry Watmough by will in 1746 left a rent-charge of £2 10s. on a field in Doe Park for a distribution of bread every Sunday to the poor of the parish. This was in force until 1869, when the land was sold. The purchaser refused to pay, on the ground that the rent-charge was void under the Mortmain Act. It is not known whether the vendors were called upon to provide for the continuance of the benefaction. Edward Almond of Much Woolton about 1836 left a similar charge, void in law, for the same purpose. The devisee of the field paid the charge voluntarily, but his executors refused to continue. These charities are therefore extinct. A sum of £20 having been paid to Rector Campbell in 1848—supposed to represent moneys given early in the eighteenth century—he purchased with it and other money partly contributed by himself £120 railway stock, now yielding £4 16s. 2d. yearly; this is divided according to his instructions, the chief part going to the poor.
  • 102. William Part of Hale by will in 1753 left £100 to found a bread charity at Hale chapel, and another £100 for money or clothes for poor housekeepers and widows. Ellen Halsall by her will of 1734 left a rent-charge of 20s. on a house in Tithebarn Street, Liverpool, to provide 'the most easy, choice, valuable, authentic, approved, and elaborate treatises' on arithmetic and mathematics to be given to boys. These charities are intact, but the bread distribution has been discontinued and the money is otherwise employed, under the authority of the Charity Commissioners. The house in Tithebarn Street having been pulled down for town improvements, the 20s. from it is paid by the corporation of Liverpool, though books have not been provided out of it. Mary Leigh by will in 1856 (proved 1872) left £700 for the repairs of a certain tomb, and then for a distribution to the poor on the anniversary of her death. In 1828 there was an old poor's stock of £13, an annual charge of 13s. being paid from the rates on account of it. This has long been discontinued.
  • 103. Though some benefactions had been lost to Halewood by 1828 three old donations were and are still existing—a rentcharge of 20s. on John Lyon's estate in Upton, another rent-charge of 50s. on Peacock's farm in Halewood, founded by Jane Hey or William Carter, and 10s. interest on £20 bequeathed in 1778 by Thomas Tyldesley. The Rev. Thomas Chambers, lately rector, left the residue of his estate (£850) for the maintenance of the churchyard; and Catherine Henrietta Law French, widow, left £500 for the church bells and other money for the school.
  • 104. The bequest was by her will of 1894, proved in 1902. The net residuary estate was £4,177. The trustees have decided to purchase a house at Woolton for a nurses' home, in connexion with the Convalescent Institution, at a cost of £1,500. The Rev. Joseph Lawton, minister of Gateacre Chapel, left in 1740 a rentcharge of 20s. for a bread charity and teaching poor children.
  • 105. For the township of Childwall, Jane Hey in 1722 bequeathed a rent of 16s. charged on the New House in Halewood —it is now known as Peacock's—to be distributed to the poor on Good Friday. In 1828 it was found to be the practice to add it to the poor rate, but this was corrected, and it is now given to the poor. William Carter left sums of money for the poor, which in 1730 amounted to £49; all had been lost before 1828. For a long time down to 1864 a payment of 3s. 4d., of unknown origin, was made by the owner of Abbey Heys in Little Woolton and applied to parish purposes. Nothing is now known of it. For Garston, sundry donations amounting to £50 for the benefit of poor housekeepers were in 1790 invested in a cottage and garden, producing a rent of 50s. In 1820 two new cottages were built on the old site, and out of the rent 50s. continued in 1828 to be given to the poor in cloth, the remainder of the rent being devoted to paying the cost and interest incurred in building the cottages. For Wavertree, Allerton, and Speke no special charities are recorded.