A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



to his majesty for their masters' treason, whose goods 

 his lordship ordered to be seized and equally divided 

 among the soldiers.' 60 



Prince Rupert was in the town on 23 June 

 1644," and returned to it about a fortnight later, 

 having been defeated at Marston Moor. He then 

 retreated south to Chester, and from that time the 

 Parliament had command of Preston. 82 The meet- 

 ings of the Sequestration Committee were usually 

 held there, and there was a Presbyterian classis with 

 meetings of the Provincial assembly. 63 The post 

 stages arranged at that time show that starting from 

 London on Saturday morning a dispatch should 

 reach Manchester on Wednesday night and Preston 

 the next day at noon. 54 



After a few years' rest the town had renewed 

 experience of war, for in August 1648 the army of 

 Scotch Covenanters under the Duke of Hamilton in 

 their march southward were joined near Preston by 

 English Cavaliers under Sir Marmaduke Langdale. 

 Religious differences prevented the two bodies acting 

 in harmony, and when Cromwell, hastening unex- 

 pectedly from Yorkshire, attacked them on 1 7 August 

 they were overcome. The field of battle was to the 

 east of the town, from Ribbleton Moor to the river. 

 The duke's forces were partly to the north of the 

 Ribble and partly to the south. Langdale's horse 

 covered their left flank and thus met the first onset 

 of Cromwell's army. It was imagined that this was 

 no more than Colonel Assheton and the Lancashire 

 bands, and so the duke seems to have continued 

 sending his infantry over the river southwards. The 

 weakened force, after a hot fight of some four hours, 

 was driven into Preston itself, where fighting was 

 witnessed, and then scattered to north and to south ; 

 many were slain, numerous prisoners were taken, and 

 the ammunition also. 58 The duke was hotly pursued 

 the next day and finally routed near Winwick. Just 

 three years later, on 14 August 1651, Prince Charles, 

 ' the King of Scots," passed through Preston on his 

 way south, riding through the streets on horseback so 

 that he might be seen by the people. Lord Derby, 

 having there assembled what force he could from 

 the district, followed him to the overthrow at 

 Worcester. 56 



The people seem to have welcomed the Restoration, 

 and the public proclamation of Charles II, on 

 1 1 May 1 660, was made with the usual signs of 



popular approval. 67 William Cole, the vicar, preached 

 a sermon on 24 May, the public thanksgiving day, 

 and it was printed with a dedication to Sir George 

 Booth, the leading Presbyterian Royalist. 68 By a 

 singular decision of the House of Commons in 1 66 1 

 ' all the inhabitants ' of the borough were declared 

 entitled to vote for the members of Parliament ; and 

 though it does not seem to have been acted upon till 

 1768 this democratic suffrage was the law till 

 i832. M The hearth tax return of 1663 * shows 

 that there were 727 hearths taxable in the town ; 

 Alexander Rigby had the largest dwelling, with 

 fifteen hearths. 61 Ribbleton had twenty hearths 

 taxed ; the hall seems to have had six, but was 

 divided into three tenements. Fishwick had twenty- 

 five, four being the largest number to one house. 

 Grimsargh with Brockholes had thirty-six, the 

 principal houses being those of the two squires, each 

 with five hearths. Elston had twenty-eight ; three 

 of the houses had four hearths taxed. Barton had 

 1 02, all in small houses except the hall, which had 

 twenty-two hearths, being the largest house in the 

 parish. Broughton had eighty-two, of which twelve 

 belonged to the Tower. Lea, Ashton and Cottam 

 had forty-nine, thirty-two and twenty-seven re- 

 spectively ; all the houses were small, except Lea 

 Hall, with thirteen hearths. 62 Fulwood had fifty- 

 one ; the largest house had seven hearths. A 

 number of tradesmen's tokens were issued about 

 i666. 63 



From several descriptions of the town about the 

 end of the 1 7th century it seems to have been 

 prosperous. Kuerden has left two descriptions of its 

 state in 1680-90. Crossing the Ribble by the 

 bridge at Walton he entered the town at the Bars. 

 The Pattens' mansion stood on the right, ' a 

 sumptuous house.' Proceeding along Church Street 

 he passed the church and school on the left and 

 ' many stately houses ' on the right, on which side 

 also stood the town hall and shambles. Opposite 

 these last a footpath led down to the Penwortham 

 ferry boat. Going past the cross, leaving Fishergate 

 on the left, with its ' many good houses . . . 

 lately erected,' he went through Cheapside and along 

 Friargate, where were yet more 'good houses.' 

 Passing through the Bars he came to the Moorgate 

 and the common, noticing Alderman Wall's ' fair 

 house' on the left. He then followed the causey 



' Civil War Tracts, 85-6 ; Stanley P. 

 (Chet. Soc.), iii, p. Ixxxiv. 



61 Cal. S. P. Dom. 1644, p. 265. He 

 ii said to have seized the mayor, William 

 Cottam, and the bailiffs and imprisoned 

 them at Slcipton. They were afterwards 

 compensated by the corporation. 



Ibid. 440, 447. 



58 Heywood, Diaries, i, 78. 



S4 The stages were : London to St. 

 Albans, Newport Pagnell, Northampton, 

 Leicester, Nottingham, Derby, Manches- 

 ter, Preston j Cal. S. P. Dam. 1644-5, 

 p. 170. 



Civil War Tracts, 257-68 ; Carlyle, 

 Cromwell's Letters, Ixiii-iv. The victor 

 wrote that same evening : ' We advanced 

 with the whole army, and the enemy 

 being drawn out on a moor betwixt us 

 and the town the armies on both sides 

 engaged ; and after a very sharp dispute, 

 continuing for three or four hours, it 

 pleased God to enable us to give them a 

 defeat. ... By this means the enemy is 



broken.' He wrote more fully three days 

 later, describing how the Royalists were 

 forced back into Preston, 'into which 

 four troops of my own regiment first 

 entered ; and being well seconded by 

 Colonel Harrison's regiment, charged the 

 enemy in the town and cleared the streets.' 

 The Duke of Hamilton and his staff 

 swam the Ribble and so regained the 

 main body of their foot. 



86 Civil War Tracts, 288, 301 ; War 

 in Lanes. (Chet. Soc.), 70, 73-4. 



fi7 Preston Guardian Sketches, no. 344. 

 The Royalist party was weak in the cor- 

 poration, which was 'purged' in 1661 by 

 the expulsion of Edmund Werden and 

 seven others for disloyalty ; while 

 William Banastre (formerly expelled) 

 was restored; Cal. S. P. Dom. 1670, 

 p. 663. Even then there were complaints 

 that the loyal party was too weak ; ibid. 

 1 66 1-2, p. 93, &c. 



^Preston Guardian, 1 1 Mar. 1876. 

 There is a copy in the Bodleian Library, 



76 



The town seems to have maintained 

 the same loyal disposition, for when 

 James II visited Chester in 1687 the cor- 

 poration of Preston sent a deputation 

 with an address ; Cart-wright's Diary 

 (Camd. Soc.), 74. 



69 Hardwick, Preston, 329, &c. In 

 practice ' the right was confined to all the 

 male inhabitants above twenty-one years 

 of age who had resided six months in the 

 town and were untainted with pauperism 

 or crime.' Religious test! excluded 

 Roman Catholics. 



60 Fishwick, op. cit. 432-6. 



M The next houses in size were those 

 of Jane Langton with twelve hearths, 

 William Hodskinson and Joan Banastre 

 eleven each, William Walmesley and 

 William Banastre ten each. There were 

 three of nine, three of eight, four of seven, 

 thirteen of six and the rest smaller. 



M Edmund Wearden at Ashton had 

 six hearths ; Cottam Hall had only four. 



68 Lanes, and Ches. Anrit}. Soc. v, 879. 



