The parish of Ribchester

A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 7. Originally published by Victoria County History, London, 1912.

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'The parish of Ribchester', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 7, ed. William Farrer, J Brownbill( London, 1912), British History Online https://prod.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol7/pp36-44 [accessed 8 November 2024].

'The parish of Ribchester', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 7. Edited by William Farrer, J Brownbill( London, 1912), British History Online, accessed November 8, 2024, https://prod.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol7/pp36-44.

"The parish of Ribchester". A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 7. Ed. William Farrer, J Brownbill(London, 1912), , British History Online. Web. 8 November 2024. https://prod.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol7/pp36-44.

In this section

RIBCHESTER

Ribchester; Dilworth; Dutton; Alston with Hothersall

Ribchester proper, together with Dutton and Dilworth, is in the hundred of Blackburn, but the remaining township is in Amounderness. The area of the whole, including Stidd, is 8,437 acres, and the population in 1901 was 5,912.

The history of the town goes back to Roman times, numerous vestiges of its former occupation still remaining. (fn. 1) Camden says that the inhabitants used the following proverb in his time (fn. 2) :—

It is written upon a wall in Rome,
'Ribchester was as rich as any town in Christendom.

Before the Conquest the whole formed part of Earl Tottig's Preston fee, and was within the hundred of Amounderness. During the 12th century one part seems to have been included in the honor of Clitheroe, and thus Ribchester, Dilworth and Dutton became transferred to Blackburn Hundred, the other townships, Alston and Hothersall, remaining in Amounderness. (fn. 3) Ecclesiastically there was no change; the parish was in the diocese of York, archdeaconry of Richmond and deanery of Amounderness.

The mediaeval history is obscure (fn. 4); the resident lords and landowners are scarcely known. Leland about 1540 made the following notes: 'Ribchester is a seven miles above Preston on the further ripe of Ribble as Preston is. Ribchester is now a poor thing; it hath been an ancient town. Great squared stones, vaults, and antique coins be found there: and there is a place where that the people fable that the Jews had a temple.' (fn. 5) The Reformation left traces in the prosecution of recusants, some of the gentry and a large portion of the yeomanry remaining faithful to the Roman Catholic religion. (fn. 6) Thomas Cottam, a native of the parish, was executed for his priesthood in 1582. Though the Civil War passed over with few sequestrations, the Jacobite rising of 1715 received much support. Thomas Hothersall of Hothersall was outlawed for his part in it, as were Robert Daniell and another; while Jonathan Winckley and Thomas Shuttleworth, both of Alston, were executed.

In more recent times the parish has remained comparatively isolated. The manufactures are small; wood-turning, cotton-weaving and quarrying employ the people. The agricultural land is employed almost entirely for pasture, as the following return (fn. 7) shows:—

Arable land ac. Permanent grass ac. Woods and plantations ac.
Ribchester, Dutton, Hothersall 3 4,309½ 340½
Longridge, Alston, Dilworth 36 2,750 82
39 7,059½ 422½

The last perambulation of the parish took place in 1829. (fn. 8)

To the county lay of 1624, founded on the old fifteenth, when Blackburn Hundred paid £100, Ribchester and Dilworth paid £3 14s.4d. and Dutton £1 11s. 10¼d., while Alston and Hothersall in Amounderness paid £1 3s 11½d.—a total of £6 10s. 1¾d. from the whole parish. (fn. 9)

The government was formerly in the hands of 'the gentlemen and Twenty-four,' the records going back to 1638. (fn. 10) At present Ribchester and Dutton have each a parish council; Alston and Dilworth form the urban district of Longridge.

The hearth tax returns of 1666 show that Ribchester and Dilworth together had 124 hearths liable; the largest house was Ellis Cottam's with five hearths, one house had four and three had three. Mr. Richard Townley's house at Dutton had five hearths, another had four, and there was a total of sixty-one in that township. (fn. 11)

Thomas Pennant in his journey to Alston Moor in 1773 visited this place to see the antiquities. He says: ' We crossed the New Bridge, an elegant structure of three elliptical arches. A quarter of a mile beyond stands Ribchester, a poor village, formerly a famous Roman station: on its north-east side it is bounded by a little brook, on the south-east by the River Ribble, both which annually make great encroachments on the place; the last especially, which has crossed from the other side of the vale and threatens ruin by undermining the banks on which the village stands: a row of houses and some gardens have already been swept away.' After describing the Roman remains, and speculating on the possibility of the tide having once ascended as high as Ribchester, Brockholes being at that time its limit, he names some of the old halls of the neighbourhood, remarking that 'they all stand on the edge of the bank, embosomed once by thick woods of oak, which flourished greatly on the steep slope.' (fn. 12)

Church

The church of ST. WILFRID stands on the south side of the town, about 100 yds. from the right bank of the Ribble, which here, taking a big bend, flows south for about half a mile below Ribchester Bridge. The building consists of chancel with small north vestry, nave with south aisle and north chapel, south porch and west tower, and occupies part of the site of the Roman station, the line of the north wall of which passes through the churchyard on the north side.

The building belongs substantially to the 13th century, and has many points of resemblance to the church of Whalley, which was erected about the same time, though the dimensions are smaller and there is no north aisle to the nave. The work would probably be in progress during the middle of the first half of the century, when the building would assume its present shape, with the exception of the north chapel, porch and tower. It probably then terminated with a gable at the west end surmounted by a bell-turret, and so remained till some time in the 14th century, when the chapel and porch were added. Nothing then seems to have been done till the end of the 15 th century, when the west tower was built and the plan assumed its present shape. Considerable changes, however, took place in the appearance of the building during the next century, when the old steep roofs of both chancel and nave were taken down, the chancel walls raised and the present roofs erected. The appearance of the aisle was entirely altered by the insertion of new square-headed windows and the walls probably raised, and it is even possible that the aisle walls were entirely rebuilt at this time, though the rough character of the masonry makes it difficult to be sure of this. The line of the former steep roof to the nave is still clearly distinguishable on the east face of the tower, and its pitch suggests that the original aisle wall must have been considerably lower than at present or that the nave and aisle were under one roof. There seems never to have been a clearstory, the nave originally having enough light in all probability from the west end as well as from the north. There are records of repairs done to the fabric in the 17th and 18th centuries, the two ugly dormer windows on the south side of the nave roof probably belonging to the former period. The chief work of repair was done in 1685–6 and in 1711, when the fabric was twice beautified, (fn. 13) and in 1736 the west gallery was erected. After this little seems to have been done to the building till 1830, when it was repaired and new seats put in. Two windows in the south aisle were renewed some thirty years later, but no real restoration took place till 1881, when the chancel was taken in hand. The rest of the building remains in a more or less neglected condition, the walls being covered with yellow wash, obscuring much of the mediaeval detail, which in other parts is spoilt by paint and varnish.

The chancel, in common with the rest of the church, is faced with rubble masonry, and the north wall was partly rebuilt in the restoration of 1881. Its internal dimensions are 40 ft. in length by 21 ft. in width, and the floor is 6½ in. below that of the nave, the east end of the church thus losing something in dignity when viewed from the west, the sanctuary being raised by only one step, thus bringing it to the general level of the floor of the church. The roof is new with three wood principals, the tie-beam at the east end cutting awkwardly across the top of the window. The east wall is faced on the interior with rough stone, but the other walls are plastered above the string which goes round the chancel at the height of the window sills. The east window is the original 13th-century one of three lancet lights 1 ft. 10 in. in width, splaying out on the inside to 5 ft. There are two original lancet lights also in the south wall 15 in. wide, splaying to 4 ft. on the inside and with a depth of 2 ft. 3 in., and remains of a third may still be seen from the inside. There have been two similar windows at the east end of the north wall, one of which still remains, opening into the vestry, the door to which is cut in the wall through the lower part of the second, the head of which may be seen above. West of these windows the north chancel wall appears to have been always blank as at present, except for a small opening about midway in its length 10 in. wide by l5 in. high with a pointed head, and 3 ft. 6 in from the floor. The outside of the wall having been rebuilt no trace of an opening now appears on the exterior, but the wide splay on the interior seems to show that it answered the purpose of a low side window directed on to the altar. In the 14th century a good deal of alteration appears to have taken place on the south side of the chancel, the sedilia and piscina being of that date, together with two windows; one a wide three-light opening near the east end replaces the second lancet and the other of two-lights at the west end with low transom forming a lychnoscope or low side window. The first of these 14th-century windows, the lights of which were low with cinquefoiled heads under a wide pointed arch with foliated circular tracery, has been entirely renewed, but the original jambs and traceried head of the western two-light window remain, though the mullion and transom are modern. The south doorway is the original 13th-century one with a simple pointed arch with external hood mould springing from moulded imposts slightly above the level of an external string course which goes round the chancel. The sedilia and piscina appear to have been inserted subsequent to the three-light window, if the present stonework of the latter exactly represents that which it displaced, as they break awkwardly in front of the opening. They are, however, of 14th-century date, the sedilia being triple with semicircular heads and a half-semicircular arch at each end dying into a scroll moulding string course which forms a square head to the sedilia and piscina. The piscina has a segmental head and two bowls with floreated sinkings. The 13th-century string which runs the length of the north and east sides is cut away under the first lancet on the south side against the returned 14th-century scroll moulding. In the east wall the string and the sills of the windows have been renewed. To the north of the east window is a semicircular moulded stone corbel 5 ft. above the floor, probably for an image, but now unoccupied and broken at the top, and in the south-west corner is preserved a sepulchral slab 4 ft. 3 in. long, though imperfect at the top, with incised ornament and sword. The chancel arch is pointed and of two chamfered orders, springing from circular moulded imposts and semicircular shafts below with fillet on the face and bases with the water moulding. The bases, however, have been a good deal restored, and rest on a plain chamfered plinth running along the west side of the chancel back to the north and south walls. The small vestry on the north side of the chancel and all the fittings are modern.

Plan of St. Wilfrid's Church, Ribchester

Externally the chancel has a plain chamfered plinth now below the level of the surrounding ground, and flat buttresses of two stages. The heads of the east window are quite plain without hood moulds, and the gable has been repaired at the top and a modern apex cross erected. The roof is covered with stone slates and has overhanging eaves. The raising of the walls has greatly injured the appearance of the chancel on the south side, spoiling the proportions of the windows by reason of the long stretch of blank walling above. The line of the former high-pitched chancel roof, the eaves of which were level with the top of the windows, can still be seen on the east wall of the nave.

The nave is 61 ft. by 24 ft. and consists of four bays, with south arcade of four pointed arches of two chamfered orders, carried on octagonal piers with moulded caps and bases, and similar responds at each end. The floor is flagged and the roof is divided into eight bays by nine oak principals, the two end ones against the walls and the middle one having a tie-beam and short pieces down the walls carried on corbels. The others are merely collars with shaped pieces under, and the roof does not seem to have been at all altered since its erection in the 16th century except by the insertion of the two great dormer windows on the south side which break into it awkwardly, the principals being still in front of each window with a space above the rafters where the line of the roof is raised. A moulded wall plate now whitewashed runs round the building, on a portion of which at the north-west corner is the date 1527 in Gothic characters.

The south aisle is 10 ft. 6 in. wide and has three square-headed windows on the south side, the easternmost of which is modern, a three-light modern pointed window at the east end, (fn. 14) and a small twolight window at the west. The south doorway is in the west bay and is a good piece of 13th-century work, now unfortunately painted and varnished, with pointed arch of two moulded orders, square chamfered inner jamb and outer shafts with moulded capitals and bases. The door is modern, probably of 18thcentury date. The aisle retains its original 16thcentury oak lean-to roof with shaped wind braces, and its east end is occupied by what is known as the 'Hoghton choir' or chapel, inclosed by an oak screen probably of early 16th-century date but much restored. It has eleven openings with traceried heads on the north side and eight on the west, with an embattled cornice. The chapel is now filled with square pews.

The porch has a pointed 14th-century arch of two orders with wave moulding springing from moulded imposts, and with external hood mould and moulded jambs. The gable, however, is quite plain above, and the roof in common with all the roofs of the church has overhanging eaves and is covered with stone slates. The walling is of rough stone with large angle quoins. There is a small window on each side and a wood bench on the west side. In the south-east corner is an altar tomb cut from a solid block of stone with three shields, one of which bears the arms of Hoghton. (fn. 15)

On the north side the nave is open, for something like half its length at the east end, to the north chapel, but west of this is a built-up doorway 3 ft. 6 in. wide. The rest of the wall is blank, except for a square-headed three-light window under the roof inserted in the 16th century when the wall was raised. Externally the north nave wall retains its two original angle buttresses with gabled heads and a portion of the former west wall of the building above the straight joint in the masonry showing where the north wall was raised when the old steeppitched roof was removed.

The north chapel, or 'Dutton choir,' is 34 ft. by 14 ft. and is open to the nave on the south side by an arcade of two pointed arches of two plain chamfered orders with hood moulds on each side, springing from a central pier of three clustered shafts with large circular moulded cap, and from half-round responds at each end with moulded caps and bases. The terminations of the outer chamfer over the pier on both sides are ornamented with roughly carved heads, but the arches and shafts, as well as all the other stonework in the chapel, are much spoiled by repeated coats of whitewash and paint. The chapel has a separate gabled roof, and on the western gable are the remains of a bell-turret. The wall plate on the south side is carried over the tops of the arches by four stone brackets, and there is one rough principal to the roof which is plastered under the spars. At the east and west ends the chapel is lit by two good 14th-century windows with moulded jambs and mullions, traceried heads and external hood moulds. The north wall has a square-headed window of three trefoiled lights and a 13th-century lancet with inner arch on corbels, probably re-erected here from the north wall of the nave when the chapel was built. The piscina which remains at the end of the south wall has a moulded segmental head and jambs.

The west tower is 13 ft. 6 in. square inside and has a projecting vice in the south-east corner. The western buttresses are of seven stages, set square and finishing just above the sill of the belfry windows. The tower is faced with rubble masonry with quoins at the angles and is very plain in character, its stages being externally unmarked. On the north and south sides the walls are blank below the belfry except for a small square-headed window to the bell-ringing stage. The belfry windows are pointed and of three lights with tracery in the head, external hood mould and stone louvres. The walls finish with an embattled parapet and string course, and there is a clock on the east side facing the village. The west door has a pointed arch with continuous moulded jambs and head, and above is a three-light window similar to those in the belfry. The tower arch is of two chamfered orders, the outer one dying into the wall at the springing, but the lower part is now filled by a wooden screen with turned balusters at the top and a modern door. The upper part of the opening is hidden by the organ, which occupies the west gallery. This gallery, which is described in the faculty of 1736 as 'for the use of the Singers of Psalms,' has a plain 18th-century wood front grained and varnished, and is approached by a staircase on the north side within the tower.

The font is of 14th-century date, and stands in its original position near the south door. It is octagonal in plan with straight sides and chamfered angle shafts dying into a splayed plinth, and has a flat wood top. Like the south door it has unfortunately suffered from successive coats of paint.

The pulpit is of oak and octagonal in plan, with pilasters at the angles, richly carved panels and projecting cornice carried by shaped brackets. On the door are the date 1636 and the initials of Christopher Hindle, vicar, and attached to it is an oak readingdesk, probably of equal date, forming a two-decker.

The seating is composed principally of modern straight-backed benches, but some of the 18th-century square pews still remain, two in the nave having the name or initials of Jas. Dewhurst and the date 1761. Another in the north chapel has the initials RCA and the date 1729.

There is a little old stained glass in the head of the east window of the north chapel, but it has been spoiled with paint on the inside. (fn. 16)

There are mural monuments to the Rev. B. T. Haslewood, rector (d. 1876), Jonathan Openshaw of Hothersall (d. 1882) and the Rev. F. E. Perrin, rector (d. 1885).

In the south-east corner of the north chapel is the base of an old cross. In the north chapel also is an ancient tombstone now bearing an inscription dated 1689.

There is a ring of six bells by Mears of Whitechapel, all dated 1821, but hung in the following year. In 1650 the 'curfew' was rung at 4 a.m. and 8 p.m. It is still rung in the evening. (fn. 17)

The plate consists of a chalice of 1777, another of 1815, and a plated flagon and paten made by Richards of Birmingham, 1826.

The registers begin in 1598. The first volume (1598–1694) has been printed by the Lancashire Parish Register Society. (fn. 18) The churchwardens' accounts begin in 1650. (fn. 19) There was formerly a parish library, dating from 1684, but it was dispersed more than fifty years ago. (fn. 20)

The churchyard lies principally on the north, south and west sides of the church, and is entered through gates, near the south-east corner, from the village. It was enlarged in 1870 when the old burial-ground was closed. To the south of the chancel is a stone sundial raised on six square steps, the plate of which is missing, but the shaft, which is probably of 17thcentury date, forms a very picturesque feature in the exterior view of the building. The oldest dated gravestone is 1696.

Advowson

A church has existed here at least from the end of the 12th century. (fn. 21) Like the manor, the advowson belonged to the Lacys, lords of Clitheroe, (fn. 22) and descended to the Earls and Dukes of Lancaster, and so to the Crown. In 1546 the rectory was granted to the newly-created bishopric of Chester, in part exchange for other lands, (fn. 23) and a vicarage was ordained to which the bishop collated. (fn. 24) The rectory is now in the hands of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, and the Bishop of Manchester collates to the vicarage. (fn. 25)

In 1292 the value of the rectory was taxed as £22 a year, (fn. 26) but owing mainly to an incursion of the Scots it decreased within the next thirty years to £12, (fn. 27) at which it remained in 1341. (fn. 28) In 1535 the income was estimated at £39 15s. 6d., including the value of the rectory-house and glebe. (fn. 29) The Parliamentary Commissioners in 1650 found that the Bishop of Chester had leased the tithes to the inhabitants for the nominal value of the rectory, out of which he had paid 20 marks to the vicar. (fn. 30) This stipend was greatly increased soon afterwards, out of the sequestered revenues of the bishopric of Chester, (fn. 31) but after the Restoration the vicar's income would return to its former level. However, about 1718 Bishop Gastrell found that the vicar had nearly £39 a year (fn. 32) and that there was also £5 6s. 8d. reserved 'for a priest serving within the church of Ribchester.' (fn. 33) The vicars have for forty years been styled rectors. (fn. 34) The income is now returned as £242. (fn. 35)

The following have been rectors and vicars:—

Rectors
Instituted Name Patron Cause of Vacancy
c. 1200 Richard (fn. 36)
c. 1240 Drogo (fn. 37)
25 Feb. 1243–4 Guy de Russelon (fn. 38) The King
1 Aug. 1246 Humbert de Ascitiis (fn. 39) The King res. G. de Russelon
c. 1290 Robert de Pocklington (fn. 40)
23 Nov. 1325 Robert de Brustwick (fn. 41) " res. R. de Pocklington
oc. 1333 Thomas Trayley (fn. 42)
10 Nov. 1337 Matthew Palmer (fn. 43) Queen Isabella exch. T. Trayley
Mr. Walter de Woodhouse (fn. 44)
7 Oct. 1343 William de Wakefield (fn. 45) Queen Isabella exch. W. de Woodhouse
5 Feb. 1349–50 William de Hornby (fn. 46) exch. W. de Wakeneld
1 Mar. 1364–5 John de Lincoln (fn. 47)
18 Dec. 1374 John de Yerdeburgh Duke of Lancaster exch. Jo. de Lincoln
21 Jan. 1374–5 Lambert de Thirkingham (fn. 48) " res. Jo. de Yerdeburgh
? William de Bolton (fn. 49) "
8 Nov. 1395 John Farmer (fn. 50) " res. W. de Bolton
oc. 1408 John Moor (fn. 51)
5 Apr. 1419 Richard Coventry (fn. 52) The King d. John Moor
3 Dec. 1419 John Elswick (fn. 53) " res. R. Coventry
14 Dec. 1468 William Talbot, D.Decr. (fn. 54) E. and R. Talbot res. J. Elswick
16 Mar. 1496–7 Robert Crombleholme (fn. 55) The King
31 July 1527 William Clayton, D.Can.L. (fn. 56) res. R. Crombleholme
21 Dec. 1532 Thomas Thirlby, LL.D. (fn. 57) The King d. W. Clayton
9 June 1542 George Wolset, LL.D. (fn. 58) " res. T. Thirlby
Vicars
Instituted Name Patron Cause of Vacancy
oc. 1562 James Lingard (fn. 59)
22 Mar. 1571–2 Christopher Alsop (fn. 60)
9 Mar. 1573–4 Henry Norcross (fn. 61) John Whitaker res. last incumbent
17 Dec. 1616 Richard Learoyd (fn. 62) Bp. of Chester depr. of H. Norcross
5 Feb. 1617–18 Christopher Hindley (fn. 63) " res. R. Learoyd
1656 William Ingham (fn. 64)
6 Oct. 1681 George Ogden, B.D. (fn. 65) Bp. of Chester d. W. Ingham
3 Aug. 1706 Thomas Johnson, B.A. (fn. 66) " d. G. Ogden
26 Feb. 1738–9 John Heber (fn. 67) " d. T. Johnson
29 Aug. 1775 John Griffiths, B.A. Bp. of Chester d. J. Heber
27 July 1776 John Atkinson (fn. 68) "
11 July 1798 Isaac Relph (fn. 69) " d. J. Atkinson
23 Apr. 1800 James Quartley, M.A. (fn. 70) " d. I. Relph
14 Apr. 1829 Boulby Thomas Haslewood, B.A. (fn. 71) " d. J. Quartley
Rectors
Instituted Name Patron Cause of Vacancy
1876 Frederick Eugene Perrin, M.A. (fn. 72) Bp. of Manchester d. B. T. Haslewood
18 Aug. 1885 Francis John Dickson, M.A. (fn. 73) " d. F. E. Perrin
11 May 1892 Evan Harries (fn. 74) "
7 Jan. 1908 John William Brooker " res. E. Harries

The early rectors were often officials of the Earls of Lancaster or the kings, holding Ribchester as one of numerous preferments and resigning it after a brief tenure for some more lucrative benefice. It is unlikely that many of them were resident, and probably for this reason they seldom occur in local deeds. After the rectory came into the possession of the Bishops of Chester the vicars appointed were usually resident, but the stipend was small, and the position of the incumbents was probably no better than that of the former curates of the absentee rectors. Some of the vicars held other preferments. Before the Reformation there were probably three or four resident priests, (fn. 75) the parish church with its chantry and the chapels at Longridge and Stidd having to be served. The visitation list of 1548 gives four names, including the rector's, but Stidd had no doubt ceased to be used. (fn. 76) The church goods taken away by the commissioners of Edward VI in 1552–3 were a pix of silver gilt, a cross, a cope and five vestments. (fn. 77) In 1554, when the Bishop of Chester was rector, only one name appears, (fn. 78) and the same is the case in 1562. (fn. 79) A single minister appears thenceforward to have sufficed for the parish until about 1700, (fn. 80) though during the Commonwealth period there was a second one at Longridge. (fn. 81) Mr. Ogden, vicar at the end of the 17th century, had a resident curate. (fn. 82) In 1731 the churchwardens notified to the Bishop of Chester the existence of Quakers, Popish and Presbyterian Dissenters and Anabaptists. (fn. 83)

The priest of St. Mary in Ribchester Church appears to have been an established institution before 1349, when a rent-charge of 2s. on lands in Dutton was made in his favour by Henry de Clayton. (fn. 84) Ten years later a small sum was left to the priest singing at St. Mary's altar. (fn. 85) This was no doubt the altar on the south side of the church. In 1407 Sir Richard Hoghton obtained the royal licence to refound or at least to endow a chantry at her altar on the north side of the church. (fn. 86) The endowment, derived from lands in Ribchester, Dutton, Chipping and Goosnargh, was unusually liberal, the net income of the chantry priest in 1547 being £10 17s. 4½d. (fn. 87) Robert Whittingham was the first priest, 1409 (fn. 88); Ellis Crombleholme was appointed in 1467 (fn. 89) and was still there in 1496 (fn. 90); James Schlacter, chaplain, held it in 1504 (fn. 91); James Tarleton appears in 1525 (fn. 92) and was still celebrating according to his foundation in 1547, (fn. 93) when the chantry was suppressed. The confiscated estates were in 1550 granted by the Crown to Thomas Reeve and others. (fn. 94)

Land had also been given for the maintenance of a light in the church. (fn. 95)

Cecily the Recluse is mentioned in 1292. (fn. 96).

A school was founded in 1793–7 (fn. 97)

Charities

Apart from the school and religious endowments there are several benefactions for the benefit of the poor. An official inquiry was held in 1898, and the report, printed the following year, contains a reprint of that of 1826. (fn. 98) For the township of Ribchester about £54 is distributed annually in money doles, of which over £42 is derived from a bequest by Mrs. Elizabeth Dewhurst in 1842. (fn. 99) In addition for Ribchester and Stidd is a sum of over £10 yearly, with 'preference for poor Catholics' (fn. 100) and almshouses with an income of £53 11s. 2d. (fn. 101) In Dilworth £12 is given in money doles (fn. 102) and another endowment has been lost. (fn. 103) In Dutton calico is distributed to the value of £7. (fn. 104) For Alston over £16 is available, distributed in gifts of money (fn. 105); and some benefactions for this township (fn. 106) and Hothersall have been lost. (fn. 107)

Footnotes

  • 1. The Chester brook or Castel brook named in some of the local charters probably commemorates the Roman citadel; see V.C.H. Lancs, ii, 519; also Watkin, Roman Lancs.; Shortt in T. C. Smith, Ribchester; Garstang, Roman Ribchester; Trans. Hist. Soc. (new ser.), xvii, 189; xviii, 197; Lancs, and Ches. Antiq. Soc. vii, 229; xvii, 235.
  • 2. Britannia (cd. 1695), 750.
  • 3. About 1350 'the Sigrop clough between Ribchester and Hothersall' was the division between Amoundemess and Blackburnshire'; Farrer, Lancs. Pipe R. 425.
  • 4. In the time of pestilence 1349–50 the Archdeacon of Richmond alleged that 100 men and women had died in the parish of Ribchester, and he was allowed probate dues amounting to 33s. 4d.; Engl. Hist. Rev. v, 529.
  • 5. Itin. iv (1), 22.
  • 6. T. C. Smith, Ribchester, 60–5, gives details and lists of names for the 17th century.
  • 7. a Statistics from Bd. of Agnc. (1905).
  • 8. T. C. Smith, Ribchester, 73.
  • 9. Gregson, Fragments (ed. Harland), 23.
  • 10. Smith, op. cit. 160–73. A petition for exemption from serving on the Twenty-four, sent in by John Ward of Hothersall in 1639, is printed in Pal. Note Bk. iii, 43.
  • 11. Lay Subs. Lancs, bdle. 250, no. 9.
  • 12. Downing to Alston Moor, 92–100.
  • 13. Churchwardens' accounts quoted by T. C. Smith, Hist, of Ribchester, 92–9. '1685. For beautifying the church, £3 10s. 1686. Pd to ye masons for hewne work and for waiting and getting stones, £3 3s. 10d. 1711. For beautifying the church, £3.'
  • 14. These two modern windows had been 'recently erected' in 1869; W. A. Waddington, Sketches on the Calder and Ribble.
  • 15. This stone is mentioned as being in the chancel in 1877 (Dobson's Rambles by the Ribble, ii, 108), but Mr. Smith says that in 1890 it was 'nowhere visible' (Hist, of Ribchester, 205). Canon Raines in 1850 speaks of it as in the north chapel; Notitia Cestr. (Chet. Soc. xxii), 472.
  • 16. In the windows were formerly memorials of John Talbot and Isabel hie wife, and of Thomas Lenox (Lynalx) and Elizabeth his wife, together with the Lynalx arms; Whitaker, Whalley (ed. Nicholls), ii, 459 n.
  • 17. T. C. Smith, Ribchester, 104. The clock was placed in the tower in 1813, but one had been there from 1650 or earlier.
  • 18. Vol. xxvi, 1906. Transcribed and edited by J. Arrowsmith.
  • 19. Many items are extracted by T. C. Smith, Ribchester.
  • 20. Gastrell, Notitia Cestr. (Chet. Soc), ii, 471; Smith, op. cit. 214–19, who states that the founder, Bradley Hayhurst of Dutton, was curate of Macclesfield 1671–82 (Earwaker, East Ches. ii, 505), and died about 1685.
  • 21. In a grant of the moiety of Ribchester made by Robert de Lacy before 1193 the 'gift of the church of the same town' was expressly reserved to the grantor; Final Conc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), ii, 185.
  • 22. See the account of the rectors.
  • 23. Pat. 38 Hen. VIII, pt. v; Ormerod, Ches. (ed. Helsby), i, 97.
  • 24. The vicar's stipend was 20 marks.
  • 25. The patronage was transferred to the Bishop of Manchester in 1859; Lond. Gaz. 5 Aug.
  • 26. Pope Nich. Tax. (Rec. Com.), 307.
  • 27. Ibid. 327.
  • 28. Inq. Nonarum (Rec. Com.), 38. The township of Ribchester contributed £4 16s. 8d., Alston the same, and Dutton £7. 6s. 8d. The apparent decrease of value was attributed in part to the omission of the tithe of hay, &c, and other dues belonging to the altarage of the church, £4 in all, but chiefly to the destruction caused by the Scots, owing to which ten fewer ploughs were used in the parish.
  • 29. Valor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), v, 262. The house and glebe accounted for £8 5s. 10d., the tithes of corn £20, other tithes £2 16s., Easter dues, &c, £8 13s. 8d. The outgoings came to 6s. only, for procurations and synodals.
  • 30. Commanw. Ch. Surv. (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), 168. A detailed survey of the house and glebe lands is printed ibid. 197–202. Some more profitable arrangement seems to have been made, for in 1656 an allowance of £70 a year out of the tithes was ordered to be made to the incumbent; Plund. Mins. Accts. (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), ii, 130, 152, 207.
  • 31. In 1659 it was ordered that £60 should be paid to the vicar out of the tithes; ibid, ii, 288.
  • 32. Notitia Cestr. (Chet. Soc), ii, 471. The sum was made up of the 20 marks paid by the bishop, the Dutton tithes £13, small tithes £9 12s., and surplice fees £3. There were five churchwardens, one chosen by the vicar out of three nominated to him, and the other four by the 'Twenty-four men' of their respective quarters. The clerk was chosen by the heir of Hoghton Tower. A list of Easter dues and surplice fees in 1682 is printed in Smith, op. cit. 90–1. In a lease of the rectory granted by Bishop Gastrell in 1724 it is stated that the tithes of Dutton were reserved towards the maintenance of the vicar of Ribchester; Chester Consistory Ct. Rec
  • 33. Notitia, loc. cit.
  • 34. The benefice was declared a rectory in 1867; Lond. Gaz. 1 Mar. The usual style of the incumbent is 'rector of Ribchester and vicar of Stidd.'
  • 35. Manch. Dioc. Dir.
  • 36. He attested an early grant of part of Hothersall; Add. MS. 32106, no. 19 Hud. Ellis the clerk of Ribchester occurs early in the 13th century; Whalley Couch. (Chet. Soc), iii, 870; Final Conc. i, 51.
  • 37. In 1246 it was recorded that Drogo rector of Ribchester had been drowned from a horse in the Ribble, accidentally, as was supposed. The horse was drowned also, and 18d., the value of its hide, must be paid to the sheriff; Assize R. 404, m. 20. In 1243, perhaps after the death of Drogo, the king (in right of his ward, Edmund de Lacy) claimed the right to present to the church of Ribchester, then vacant, the other claimants being the 'Prior of Dutton' and Walter Moton. The prior, no doubt the master of Stidd, said he claimed nothing in the advowson; Cur. Reg. R. 131, m. 18, 17.
  • 38. Cal. Pat. 1232–47, p. 420. He was a relative of the king's, who presented in right of his ward, and had many preferments; see the account of Preston Church and Cal. Papal Letters, i, 224. He was in minor orders only; ibid. 242.
  • 39. Cal. Pat. 1232–47, p. 484. In 1246 the advowson was in the king's hands by reason of the wardship of Edmund de Lacy, and was worth 40 marks yearly; Assize R. 404, m. 20 d. The rector is named as 'Imbert.' Josce the clerk of Ribchester occurs in 1258–9; Originalia, 43 Hen. III, m. 6. He is several times mentioned in local charters. Hawise, his -widow, claimed an oxgang of land in the vill in 1282; De Banco R. 45, m. 70 d.
  • 40. Robert de Pocklington, parson of the church of Ribchester, claimed land in Dilworth in 1292; Assize R. 408, m. 63, 18 d. Letters of protection were given him in 1294; Cal. Pat. 1292–1301, p. 123. In 1305 he claimed land against Robert Moton; De Banco R. 153, m. 317 d. Robert, rector of the church of Ribchester, attested a local deed; Add. MS. 32106, no. 275.
  • 41. Cal. Pat. 1324–7, p. 204. The name is also spelt Burstwick. The king presented by reason of the forfeiture of Thomas Earl of Lancaster. The new rector was one of the king's clerks. Henry de Haydock, another king's clerk, was picsented in 1331, but Robert de Bmstwick showed that he had been duly presented by Edward II, and was allowed to retain the benefice; ibid. 1330–4, pp. 82, 102.
  • 42. At Michaelmas 1333 Robert de Brustwick, rector of Lamley, claimed a sum of money from Thomas Trayley, rector of Ribchester. The latter was also sued by Simon de Westhalum, chaplain; De Banco R. 296, m. 402 d. There had perhaps been an exchange of benefices. In 1336 Thomas Trayley received pardon for an outlawry, Cal. Pat. 1334–8, p. 197.
  • 43. Ibid. p. 550. The new rector had been rector of Little Canfield (Essex), in the diocese of London, Trayley taking his place there. The lordship of Clitheroe was held by Queen Isabella, and Palmer was one of her clerks. He received in 1333 a papal provision of a canonry and prebend at Bosham; Cal. Papal Letters, ii, 387–8.
  • 44. He was a prebendary of York in 1347–9; Le Neve, Fasti, iii, 217, 192.
  • 45. Cal. Pat. 1343–5, p. 128; the new rector had had Kippax, in the diocese of York, which Woodhouse took. The date given is that of presentation; Wakefield is said to have been instituted on 10 Nov.; Smith, Ribchester, 139. In 1331, at the request of Joan queen of Scotland, whose clerk he was, the pope provided him to a canonry at Lichfield, but he was to resign Kippax. The provision was renewed in 1332; Cal. Papal Letters, ii, 350, 356. As William de Wakefield, rector of the church of Ribchester, he granted to John de Osbaldeston, chaplain, a part of his land in the vill, lying in the lower part of the croft he had received from John Banastre; Add. MS. 32106, no. 261.
  • 46. Cal. Pat. 1348–50, p. 469. The new rector, one of the king's clerks, exchanged the rectory of Wootton, Lincoln diocese, for Ribchester. He was afterwards rector of St. Michael's-on-Wyre, and receiver for the Duke of Lancaster. He occurs as rector of Ribchester down to Jan. 1364–5, so that there is no break in the succession at this point; De Banco R. 419, m. 180.
  • 47. Raines MSS. (Chet. Lib.), xxii, 387. One of this name was prebendary of York and Lincoln later in the century; Le Neve.
  • 48. John de Lincoln in 1374 exchanged Ribchester for Long Leadenham, in Lincoln diocese, with John de Yerdeburgh, who was presented to Ribchester on 18 Dec. 1374; Duchy of Lanc. Misc. Bks. xiii, fol. 47. It is unlikely that he was instituted, for he almost immediately accepted Stoke, in Staffordshire, and Lambert de Thirkingham was presented on 21 Jan. 1374–5; ibid.
  • 49. In Whitaker's Whallty (ii, 462) William de Bolton is said to have been instituted on 27 Feb. 1367, but there must be some mistake in the date.
  • 50. Raines MSS. (Chet. Lib.) xxii, 393; the Archdeacon of Richmond was to have £12 as first-fruits. Henry IV in Dec. 1399 ratified the estate of John Farmer, king's clerk, in the rectory of Ribchester; Cal. Pat. 1399–1401, p. 101. The name is also spelt Fermer. Boniface IX in 1397 appointed John Farmer, rector of Ribchester, to the prebend of Prees, in Lichfield Cathedral, if he should be found fit; Cal. Papal Letters, v, 84. In 1405 Innocent VII extended an indult granted to Rector Farmer the year before; while he should be serving the Bishop of Norwich (whose registrar he was), studying at the university, or residing at the Roman court, he might farm out his benefices, &c.; ibid, vi, 8, 285. John 'Fermer' was prebendary of Wolvey, in Lichfield Cathedral, in 1398, probably in exchange for Prees; Le Neve, Fasti, i, 640.
  • 51. John Moor, rector, was the feoffee of Sibyl widow of Sir Roger de Fulthorp in Aug. 1408; Towneley MS. DD, no. 2025. He seems to have been resident, as he is similarly mentioned several times; e.g. Final Conc. iii, 84; Towneley MS. C 8, 13, p. 602 (1415).
  • 52. Raines MSS. xxii, 395. In 1420 Richard Coventry was rector of Benefield (Northants), in the diocese of Lincoln, and obtained a plenary indulgence; Cal. Papal Letters, vii, 336, 340.
  • 53. Raines MSS. loc. cit. This rector seems to have been resident, as his name frequently occurs in local deeds, &c.; e.g. Final Conc. iii, 112. He and William Clifton in 1429 claimed a debt against Richard Walmsley of Ribchester; Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 2, m. 9b. John Elswick, rector of Ribchester, was a feoffee of lands in Chaigley in Apr. 1468; Add. MS. 32108, T 336.
  • 54. In 1468 there was an inquiry as to the patronage, which was claimed by Edmund and Richard Talbot under a grant from the Crown in reward of services rendered to Richard Earl of Salisbury. The king had presented the last rector, to whom a pension of £20 was allowed on account of his decrepitude; Raines MSS. xxii, 385 (from registers of Archd. of Richmond). In an act of resumption in 1467 the grant to the Talbots was specially reserved; Parl. R. v, 599. William Talbot graduated in the canon law at Cambridge, bachelor in 1470 and doctor in 1475–6; Grace Book A (Luard Mem.), 83, 111. He obtained a prebend at York in 1480 and another at Southwell in 1485; he was buried at the latter church in 1498, his monument still remaining; Le Neve, Fasti, iii, 189, 448.
  • 55. Smith, op. cit. 141. Crombleholme resigned the rectory on a pension, but died soon afterwards, intestate, when his administrators began a suit against the Abbot of Whalley; Duchy Plead. (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), i, 201. The abbot was liable as surety for William Clayton, the succeeding rector, and alleged that the covenants had been fulfilled.
  • 56. The king in 1520 granted the next presentation to John Veysey (Bishop of Exeter) and Sir Edward Belknap; Duchy of Lanc. Misc. Bks. xxii, 229 d. On Crombleholme's resignation the bishop, as surviving trustee, presented one Thomas Brerewood, and complained that William Clayton unjustly hindered his obtaining possession; Pal. of Lanc. Plea R. 142, m. 2 d. The new rector (D. Can. Law, 1528; Foster, Alumni Oxon.) held various benefices and dignities, including Windermere, Doncaster and Bromfield Churches, and canonries at Lichfield and York; Le Neve, Fasti, i, 627; iii, 193; L. and P. Hen. VIII, v, 608, 700. He died 14 Oct. 1532, and it appears that Edmund Bonner was recommended as his successor at Ribchester; ibid, v, 604, 687. A letter from Clayton to Cromwell is at the P.R.O.; ibid, iv, 2248.
  • 57. Thomas Thirlby (Trinity Hall, Cambridge, LL.D. 1528) had many preferments, becoming successively Bishop of Westminster (1540), Norwich (1550) and Ely (1554); Le Neve, Fasti. He had complied with the religious changes of the time, but in 1559 refused to abandon Roman communion and was deprived by Elizabeth. Thenceforward he lived a prisoner with Archbishop Parker, dying at Lambeth in 1570. See Dict. Nat. Biog.; Cooper, Athen. Cantab. i, 287–90. He had a dispute with his lessees of the rectory of Ribchester in 1542; Duchy Plead, ii, 160.
  • 58. Act Bk. at Chester 1502–76, fol. 12b. He was also rector of Chipping. His name is uncertain, being given also as Wolfet or Wolflet. He was educated at Oxford (M.A. 1512, as Welsett or Wylsett; Foster, Alumni), was rector of St. Olave, Hart Street, London, in 1518 to 1528, and became clerk of the king's closet in 1537; he had other benefices and was a canon of Salisbury; see the account by T. C. Smith, Chipping, 85–6. His will, dated 1553, was proved at York in 1554; an abstract is given by Raines, Chantries (Chet. Soc), 195–6. Gilbert Wicks obtained a presentation to the rectory in 1540, but it does not appear to have been acted upon; L. and P. Hen. VIII, xv, g. 1027 (20).
  • 59. No first-fruits were paid by the vicars. James Lingard's name appears in the visitation list of 1562 and again in 1570. He was one of the old clergy, having been ordained in 1546–7; Chester Ordin. Bk. (Rec. Soc. Lancs, and Ches.), 73. 77.
  • 60. Smith, Ribchester, 143. Some later dates are taken from the same work, which contains a full account of the vicars. Alsop's name occurs in Jan. 1573–4; Raines MSS. (Chet. Lib.), xxii, 56.
  • 61. Act Bk. at Chester. The Bishop of Chester had in 1572 granted the next presentation to Bernard Anderton, his servant, and another, who transferred it to John Whitaker. In Raines MSS. xxii, p. 350, will be found a record of the proceedings against Norcross in 1614–15. He was charged with having obtruded himself into the 'parish' of Stidd, and with being a drunkard, ale-house keeper, gambler, &c. He was deprived or degraded, but continued to live at Ribchester, being buried there 14 Aug. 1623. In 1590 he was described as 'no preacher'; S. P. Dom. Eliz. xxxi, 47.
  • 62. Act Bk. at Chester 1579–1676, fol. 64b. He became one of the chaplains or curates at the Collegiate Church, Manchester, and was buried there 22 Aug. 1623. From the presentments at one of the visitations it appears that he was unable to obtain possession of the vicaragehouse at Ribchester.
  • 63. From this time the institutions have been compared with the Institution Books P.R.O. as printed in Lancs, and Ches. Antiq. Notes. Christopher Hindley (or Hindle— Hynde in Act Bk.) was of Cowell or Cowhill in Rishton. At first he 'could not peaceably enjoy the vicarage,' apparently owing to the opposition of Norcross, who also detained a communion cup; Visit. P. of 1619 at Chester Dioc. Reg. Though not a member of the classis, he continued to minister at Ribchester after the establishment of Presbyterianism, until violently ejected from his pulpit in 1649 while denouncing the execution of Charles I. He then retired to Cowhill, where he died in 1657; Loc. Glean. Lancs, and Ches. i, 34, &c. It was probably the execution of Charles I which roused the vicar to resistance, for in 1646 the Parliamentary Committee ordered an increase of £40 in his stipend, and as late as May 1649 directed payment of arrears; but in the following month the increase was suspended on account of accusations of 'notorious misdemeanours'; Plund. Mins. Accts. i, 70, 72. In 1650 it was found that 'the present incumbent, Mr. Christopher Hindley,' had been 'lately suspended by order from the provincial assembly of divines for this county, but for what cause the presenters know not'; Commonw. Ch. Surv. 169. Thus he had not then been deprived.
  • 64. William Ingham, who was considered a 'diligent, painful minister,' occurs at Church (1646), Goosnargh (1650) and Shireshead (1652); Commonw. Ch. Surv. 155; Plund. Mins. Accts. i, 119. He was not recommended as 'settled minister' of Ribchester until 1656, so that the account of his conduct given by his Royalist successor has no doubt been exaggerated; ibid, ii, 151. The first baptism by him was on 23 Nov. 1656; Reg. He seems to have been a Presbyterian and signed the 'Harmonious Consent' in 1648, but conformed at the Restoration, retaining the benefice till his death in 1681. For his will see Smith, op. cit. 150.
  • 65. Educated at Jesus Coll., Camb.; M.A. 1668. His epitaph describes him as 'fellow' of his college and B.D.; the former statement is erroneous. He built a vicarage-house in 1682. He was elected fellow of Manchester in 1681 and retained this with his vicarage till his death in 1706 at Manchester. In 1692 the Bishop of Chester (Stratford) wrote to him asking whether he intended to reside at Ribchester or to resign it; see Loc. Glean. Lancs, and Ches. ii, 4 and the account of him in Raines, Fellows of Manch. (Chet. Soc), 183–8. At Ribchester he collected the antiquities found there.
  • 66. Educated at Brasenose Coll., Oxf.; B.A. 1692; Foster, Alumni. He was non-resident in 1734, but was buried at Ribchester in 1738.
  • 67. Educated at University Coll., Oxf., but did not graduate; Foster, Alumni. He was rector of Marton, a family living, 1728 to 1775, and did not reside at Ribchester; Whitaker, Craver. (ed. Morant), 95. In 1739 the vicar was also 'chaplain to his Majesty's invalids at Portsmouth'; Visit. Returns. Reginald Heber, the poet, was his nephew.
  • 68. –8 He was appointed one of the king's preachers in Lancashire in 1786. He was also curate of Walton-le-Dale, where there is a tablet to his memory.
  • 69. He had been curate of Ribchester for twenty-two years before being appointed vicar. He is said to have been drowned in the Ribble; Smith, op. cit. 156.
  • 70. Baines, Lancs. (ed. Croston), iv, 103.
  • 71. Educated at Peterhouse, Camb.; B.A. 1818. On his appointment, he being 'an Evangelical and active clergyman,' the Congregationalists gave up their services; Nightingale, Lancs. Nonconf. ii, 113. He 'was in many respects a model parson, and was highly esteemed by his parishioners, although it is to be regretted that the old parish library was allowed to become gradually dispersed, and the numerous Roman antiquities discovered during his incumbency to be irrecoverably scattered'; Smith, op. cit. 157.
  • 72. Educated at Trinity Coll., Dublin; M.A. 1848. 'He succeeded in accomplishing many urgently needed reforms'; ibid.
  • 73. Educated at Trinity Coll., Camb.; M.A. 1873. Rector of Bispham 1876–85.
  • 74. Educated at St. Bees. Vicar of Christ Church, Pendlebury, 1881–92.
  • 75. In a purely local deed of 1423 William Wile and Robert Whittingham, chaplains, were trustees, while John Elswick, the rector, and Thomas Sedill, chaplain, were witnesses; Towneley MS. DD, no. 1234.
  • 76. The details given are from the visitation lists at Chester.
  • 77. Augm. Off. Misc. Bks. clxxx, m. 22.
  • 78. James Moor; he had been there in 1548 also.
  • 79. Viz. the vicar's name.
  • 80. There is, for instance, no sign of an assistant—either lecturer or schoolmaster —in the clerical subsidy lists, 1620–39, in Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lancs. and Ches.), i, 55, &c.
  • 81. See the account of Longridge.
  • 82. Ogden himself and several other vicars were non-resident, but from 1682 there seems usually to have been a resident curate at Ribchester and another at Longridge from about 1700. There is a list in Smith, op. cit. 158–9. William Felgate, the curate in 1689, was 'conformable' to the government; Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. xiv, App. iv, 230.
  • 83. Visit. Returns.
  • 84. Add. MS. 32106, no. 175.
  • 85. John del Lee, smith, gave a rent of 6d., charged on his lands, to God, St. Mary of Ribchester and all Saints and to the chaplain perpetually singing at the altar of our said Lady St. Mary in the church of Ribchester. Should the rent fall into arrears the 'governor or parochial chaplain or procurator' of the church might distrain; ibid. no. 317. Among the Shireburne deeds was a bond sealed in 1545 in the parish church of Ribchester before our Lady's altar; Shireburne Abstract Bk.
  • 86. The writ of Inq. a.q.d. was issued in July 1406, but the inquiry did not take place till a year later. It was then reported that it was not to the king's loss that Sir Richard Hoghton should assign to the chaplain of the perpetual chantry in honour of the B. V. Mary in a certain chapel on the north side of the parish church of Ribchester various messuages, lands and rents in Ribchester, Chipping, Goosnargh, Hothersall and Aighton, in part satisfaction of £10 granted by Sir Richard to the chaplain in virtue of the king's licence. In Ribchester nine messuages, 41 acres, &c., were held of Katherine Lynalx by a rent of 17¼d., and 7 acres of pasture were held of Robert Townley by 2s. rent; Inq. a.q.d. file 438, no. 26. The royal licence referred to was given in May 1406; the chaplain was to celebrate for the good estate of the king and Sir Richard Hoghton, for the souls of their ancestors and others (including John de Osbaldeston and William Moton, chaplains); Add. MS. 32106, no. 364. The grant of the lands by Katherine widow of William Lynalx, lady of Ribchester, is in Kuerden's fol. MS. p. 247. The lands of the chantry seem at a little earlier date (1397) to have been held by the above-named William Moton; Add. MS. 32106, no. 455 (fol. 323).
  • 87. Raines, Chantries (Chet. Soc.), 196–9. There was no plate. The field-names recorded include Hichough, Bankheys, Stonyfurlong, Withinlache, Priestmeadow, Orley, Atough, the pasture called Eyerley and Avergate. The quit-rents payable for Ribchester lands were 16d. to Sir Richard Hoghton for Atough and 2s. 6d. to Robert Lynalx for the third part of another tenement. It should be noticed that in 1535 the gross income was returned as £4 13s. 4d. only; 3s. 9d. was due to the king for puture; Valor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), v, 263.
  • 88. Add. MS. 32106, no. 365. Sir Richard Hoghton appointed, and the right of presentation remained with his descendants. The advowson of the chantry of Dutton at Ribchester was one of the rights of Alexander Hoghton in 1498; Duchy of Lanc. Inq. p.m. iii, no. 66. Robert Whittingham was still chaplain in 1443; Add. MS. 32106, no. 341.
  • 89. Raines MSS. xxii, 399; Henry Hoghton presented.
  • 90. In 1487 John son and heir of Thomas Blackburn released to Ellis Crombleholme, chaplain of the perpetual chantry of B. Mary on the north side of Ribchester Church, all right in certain lands, part lying between the house of St. Saviour at Stidd and Chester Brook and part in Ribchester Eyes, called the Crookedroyds; Add. MS. 32106, no. 310. This grant was followed by an arbitration; ibid. no. 419, fol. 316. John Boyes of Ribchester in 1496 granted to the same chantry a part of his land in the corner of the south side of Bernard Park, inclosed by a new ditch; ibid. no. 471, fol. 326.
  • 91. a He was described in 1504 as 'possessor of the chantry of Dutton founded in the church of Ribchester'; Kuerden MSS. iv, P 121, no. 74.
  • 92. In 1527 it was recorded that he had been chantry priest for two years, having been presented by Sir Richard Hoghton. He is again named as priest in 1535; Valor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), v, 263.
  • 93. Raines, Chantries, 194. From a note on p. 195 it seems that the rector (George Wolset) had in 1543 procured the next presentation for himself.
  • 94. Pat. 4 Edw. VI, pt. vii. Part was soon afterwards sold to James son of William Jenkinson, innkeeper of Ribchester, the occupier; Towneley MS. OO, no. 1229–30. The chapel seems to have been acquired by the Townleys of Dutton, but it had previously been known as Dutton chapel. The Hoghton chapel, on the south side of the church, does not seem to have had an endowed chantry.
  • 95. Raines, op. cit. 253; the yearly value was 7s.
  • 96. Assize R. 408, m. 18; there is a further notice of her land in Assize R. 1299, m. 16 d. Diana, the Anker maiden, possibly servant of another recluse, is named in a deed of 1349; Add. MS. 32106, fol. 322.
  • 97. The master began teaching in 1793 and a schoolhouse was erected on the waste in 1797; End. Char. Rep. for Ribchester (1899), 2, 11.
  • 98. The details in the following notes are taken from these reports. In 1624 an inquiry was made as to £50 bequeathed to the parish by Robert Jenkinson, citizen and merchant tailor of London in 1616, the sum being supposed to be in danger; and John Dewhurst and Thomas Waring, executors of Robert Dewhurst, were ordered to pay the £50 to James Norcross, churchwarden, who was to give security for its safe transmission to succeeding wardens; Harl. MS. 2176, fol. 32b 33b. From what follows it appears that the capital sum was divided among the townships, and that all has been lost except the £10 appropriated to Ribchester.
  • 99. This is called the Waterworth Dole. The capital sum is £1,300, invested in Preston Corporation stock. The distribution takes place at Christmas time, there being about 180 recipients. William Norcross left £20 towards binding poor apprentices and Robert Jenkinson £10 for the poor. These sums were in 1732 invested in a house and land, known as Dods Hall. The property was in 1871 sold for £379 and the money invested in consols in the name of the official trustees; the annual income is £11 5s. The portion which should be applied to apprenticing children is £7 10s., but no such use has been made of it for sixty years, the whole income being distributed in small doles (1s. to 2s.) on St. Thomas's Day. Another sum of £40 was lent to the township, as was supposed, but the poor law auditor having disallowed the 36s. formerly paid out of the rates as interest, this charity has been lost. Miss Harriett Jane Quartley in 1878 bequeathed £19 19s. to the vicar of Ribchester for the poor. This is invested in consols and produces an income of 11s., distributed among six poor and aged persons at Christmas.
  • 100. This was founded by James Standford in 1695, he bequeathing £150 for the poor of Stidd, Bailey and Ribchester, and £300 for 'other purposes.' The money was invested in land near Skipton and the gross income is now £41 2s. The net income is paid to the Roman Catholic priest at Stidd, who reserves two-thirds to his own use (for the ' other purposes') and distributes the rest in small money doles, Protestants being among the recipients.
  • 101. These almshouses were founded under the will of John Shireburne of Bailey and Sheffield, who died in 1726, as will be seen in the account of Stidd below. The connexion of the Walmsley family with them seems to have been that of trustees. In 1728 the churchwardens of Ribchester made the following presentment to the Bishop of Chester: 'We have an almshouse erecting, but whether the revenues be according to law we know not'; Visit. Returns. 'Alice Worthington, widow, pauper from the hospital at Stidd,' was buried 24 May 1732; Church Reg. There are six sets of rooms, one of which is occupied by the schoolmistress and the others by the five almswomen who are appointed by the priest. Stidd Manor Farm was in 1867 transferred by Thomas George Walmsley to the use of the Rt. Rev. William Turner, Bishop of Salford, and others as an endowment for the almshouses. The income, after providing for repairs and £10 worth of coals for the inmates, is divided equally among these.
  • 102. Frances Roades in 1696 bequeathed her house and land for the benefit of' poor distressed housekeepers of Dilworth for all eternity.' The yearly rent is now £12, of which between £8 and £10 is distributed annually on St. Thomas's Day in sums of 1s. to 5s.
  • 103. Henry Townley in 1776 left personal estate amounting to £100 for 'poor necessitous persons.' The money was applied in 1824 to the building of a workhouse, interest being paid out of the rates until 1862, when the poor law auditor disallowed it. Bishop Gastrell mentions a gift of £20 by Hugh Shireburne to Ribchester and Dilworth, and another of £10 by Grace Ward to Dilworth; Notitia Cestr. ii, 474.
  • 104. Henry Townley, Ann his wife and their descendants Jennet Ward and Townley Ward between 1747 and 1790 gave sums amounting to £125 to be laid out in cloth. The capital, with accumulations, is now represented by £255 consols, producing £7 a year. The distribution of calico is made about the end of January, some thirty families receiving doles of 7 to 24 yds.
  • 105. Richard Hoghton in 1613 left a close called Wood Crook in Whittingham charged with various sums for the poor, including £1 10s. to be distributed 'at the cross near Longridge Chapel in Alston.' The whole income of the land (now sold) was applied to the charity, and Alston now has £6 11s. 10d. from the endowment. Alston also has a share (a sixth) of the income of the charity founded by Thomas Hoghton of Woodplumpton in 1649; it now amounts to £9 12s.
  • 106. For 'Jenkinson's charity' 8s. a year was paid out of the rates in 1826, but nothing is now known of it. Thomas Gregson in 1742 and Thomas Eccles in 1777 left sums for the poor, but these had been lost before 1826. James Berry of Alston was stated to have given Seth Eccles £200 with a verbal injunction to distribute the interest to the poor. Seth died in 1822, but his son Thomas continued an annual distribution of £8. This gift has, however, long ceased.
  • 107. In 1826 there was paid yearly from the rates 9s. or 10s. for the poor, distributed in small doles about Christmas, the endowment being attributed to Robert Jenkinson. Nothing has been paid for a long time, and the cottages supposed to have been built for the poor are now claimed as private property.