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83 
who had one cannon. The troops assembled in front of the 
tower and summoned the garrison to surrender. Time was given 
for consideration and the garrison of the tower capitulated. 
Captain Starkie and his men marched in, but soon after they had 
got inside the building a great explosion of powder took place, 
and Captain Starkie and a number of his men were killed. The 
explosion was attributed by some to treachery, and by others to 
the carelessness of the troopers in lighting their pipes. 
Some time after, a strange adventure befel the Royalist 
levies assembled at Whalley under Lord Derby. They had been 
successful in their expedition; but a number of shouters from 
Padiham caused such a fearful noise that Lord Derby, Sir Gilbert 
Hoghton and 1700 men fled in a panic down the valley of the 
Ribble ; Lord Derby not drawing rein till he got to Peuwortham. 
The ‘‘ shouters from Padiham ’’ numbered 90. 
The son of Sir Gilbert (Richard) was a staunch supporter of 
Oliver Cromwell. He was one of the members of the Long 
Parliament, and he also occupied a seat in the Barebones Par- 
liament. He was a Presbyterian, and in his time was fought the 
bloody battle at Preston, when Cromwell, commanding troops to 
the number of 8,000, defeated the Duke of Hamilton, who had 
three times as many soldiers under his command, killing 3,000 
Royalists and taking 10,000 men prisoners. The battle raged 
over three days, and the loss of the Parliamentarian troops was 
not more than 100. This took place in 1648. The next pos- 
sessor of the Hoghton estates (Charles) was in Parliament in 
four different reigns. He was succeeded by Sir Henry Hoghton, 
who commanded the Lancashire Militia in the year 1715, fighting 
against the adherents of the Pretender. A contest took place in 
the streets of Preston, which were barricaded, the chief barricade 
being in Church Street. The lecturer said he had recently had. 
the pleasure of procuring for the Preston Museum a medal which 
was struck in honour of this battle. His successor, Sir Henry, 
took great interest in the then new invention of calico printing, 
and even pulled down part of the tower to build a factory. The 
brother of the present owner began to restore the tower some 
years ago. The process of reparation has been very extensive. 
The rock upon which the building stands is of a friable nature, 
and it has been found necessary to underpin the walls in various 
places. Over £50,000 has been spent upon the work of restoration 
by the late and the present baronet. Sir Charles, who is the 10th 
baronet, and second upon the roll of baronets in the United 
Kingdom, is nobly following up the work begun by his brother. 
He is an exceedingly kind-hearted man, and he maintains the 
reputation which the Hoghtons have long held, of being good 
landlords. 
The lecturer concluded by characterising the place, and 
