A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



The registers begin in 1639, but are imperfect up 

 to 1675. 



In the churchyard to the south of the tower is a 

 circular stone shafted sundial on two circular steps, 

 the plate of which is dated July 1746 and bears the 

 name of the Rev. C. Swainson. Further east is the 

 socketed base of a churchyard cross. The oldest dated 

 gravestone is 1668. 



The patronage is vested in the Dean and Chapter 

 of Christ Church, Oxford. The following have 

 been curates and vicars : 



oc. 1330 William Cortays 186 . 



oc. 1342 Thomas [de Rawcliffe] 187 

 oc. 1368 Richard de Sunderland 188 

 oc. 1508-35 Christopher Parkinson 189 

 oc. 1547-53 Ralph Parker 190 

 oc. 1552 Lawrence Gaiter 191 

 oc. 1562 Lawrence Kemp 19 * 

 oc. 1583 John Helme' 93 

 oc. 1605 William Duxbury 194 

 1641 Edmund Shaw 18S 

 1 646 Thomas Cranage 1M 

 1648 William Ingham 19 ' 



Richard Harrison, B.A. 198 (Brasenose 



Coll., Oxf.) 

 c. 1675 James Butterworth, M. A. 199 (Brasenose 



Coll., Oxf.) 



1692 William Bushell, B.A. 100 

 1735 William Whitehead, B.A. (St. John's 



Coll., Camb.) 

 1740 Christopher Swainson, B.A. 801 (Univ. 



Coll., Oxf.) 

 1770 Christopher Hull, B.D. (St. John's 



Coll., Camb.) 



1 790 Charles Buck, M. A. (St. John's Coll., 

 Camb.) 



1 790 Joshua Southward <a 



1815 Robinson Shuttleworth Barton, B.D. 

 (Camb.) 



1822 Robert Studholme 



1867 William Shillito, B.A. (Univ. Coll., 

 Oxf.) 



1883 Charles Osborne Gordon, M.A. 

 (Exeter Coll., Oxf.) 



1892 Edmund Dawson Banister, B.A. 

 (Magdalen Hall, Oxf.) 



1 899 James Thomas Kerby, M.A. (Dur.) 



1911 Thos. Bingley Boss, M.A. (Lond.) 

 WH1TECHAPEL, as the oratory in Threlfall 

 was called, existed before the Reformation, as the 

 pedestal of a cross in the churchyard gives testimony ; 

 it belonged to the inhabitants, who had at one time 

 used it for divine service, but long before 1581 it 

 had been left alone, the chapel bell being then given 

 to Alexander Hoghton of Lea until such time as it 

 might again be wanted. 104 In the Commonwealth 

 time it was again used, an allowance of 50 being 

 made out of Royalist sequestrations.* 05 This probably 

 did not long continue. 206 About 1717 it was re- 

 corded that the chapel had no endowment, and that 

 it was ' served now and then only, out of charity at 

 the request of the people.' M7 A bequest of 60 in 

 1713 led to the schoolmaster becoming also the 

 minister of the chapel, and other sums being given 

 about 1720, augmented out of Queen Anne's 

 Bounty, lands of .430 value were purchased for 

 securing a minister's salary. A further 400 was 

 given in I756. 108 The income is now 20%.** 



The church having become ruinous was rebuilt 

 in 1738 and again in 1891. It is known as 

 St. James's. 210 There is a sundial (l 745) in the church- 

 yard. 111 In 1846 Whitechapel became an indepen- 



186 Ormerod, loc. cit Biographical 

 notices of the later curates will be found 

 in Fishwick, op. cit. 



187 In 1342 Roger son of William de 

 Whittingham enfeoffed Thomas, parish 

 chaplain of Goosnargh, of all his lands ; 

 Townelcy MS. DD, no. 1800. This is 

 probably the Thomas de Rawcliffe, chap- 

 lain, to whom in 1361 Henry son of 

 Henry de Whittingham granted all his 

 lands; ibid. no. 1782. 



188 Ibid. no. 1776. John de Furnes, 

 chaplain, occurs in similar feoffments, 

 1 3 6970, and was probably in charge of 

 Goosnargh. Later were William de 

 Bispham (1384), Thomas de Mawdesley 

 (1396-9), and Robert Brownall (1413). 

 They are not formally ityled 'chaplains 

 of Goosnargh.' 



188 He is named in the deed of Roger 

 Singleton in 1508, and in the Valor Eccl. 

 loc. cit. 



190 Raines, Chantries, 242. He was 

 forty-two years of age in 1 548, and had 

 a pension of 4 from the chantry in 1553. 

 He appeared at the bishop's visitation in 

 1554 at least his name is in the list 

 but not in 1562. He seems to have left 

 to act as Thomas Leyland's private chap- 

 lain, being undoubtedly the Ralph Parkin- 

 son of the story in Foxe's Acts and Monu- 

 ments (ed. Cattley), viii, 563-4. He was 

 called his ' servant and executor ' in 

 Leyland's will, and had an annuity of 5 ; 

 Piccope, Wills (Chet. Soc.), i, 163. He 

 was buried at Leigh in 1564 ; Reg. 



191 His name occurs as 'parish priest' 

 in the inventory of church goods in 1552 ; 

 Chet. Misc. (Chet. Soc., new sen), i, 5. 



He attended the visitations of 1 548 and 



1554- 



192 He appeared, but did not subscribe, 

 at the visitation of 1562. He was 

 ordained acolyte in 1555, but there is 

 no record that he proceeded further ; 

 Chest. Ordination Bk. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, 

 and Ches.), 85. 



193 In the Chester Consistory Court 

 Records is preserved a letter certifying 

 that Mr. Arthur Hoghton of Broughton 

 and Goosnargh had received 'the holy 

 communion at Easter last in the church 

 of Goosnargh according to the laws of 

 this our English Church.' The letter 

 was addressed to the vicar of Preston 

 by his ' assured friend and fellow servant 

 in Christ's affairs ever to command, Sir 

 John Helme, the under curate of 

 Goosnargh.' 



John Helme, clerk, purchased 3 acres 

 in Whittingham in 1579 ; Pal. of Lane. 

 Feet of F. bdle. 41, m. 130. 



194 In 1605 it was presented that he 

 stood excommunicate for anything the 

 churchwardens knew, and that he was 

 ' nothing diligent in attending the church' ; 

 Visit. P. at Chester Dioc. Reg. He was 

 'no preacher' ; Hist. MSS. Com. Ref. 

 xiv, App. iv, 9. 



195 He signed the Protestation as curate 

 of Goosnargh ; and was buried in the 

 chancel 29 May 1645. 



196 Plund. Mint. Accts. i, 265. He 

 moved to Brindle in 1647 ; ibid. 46. 

 The Goosnargh members of the classis 

 of 1646 were T. Cranage, Alexander 

 Rigby and Edmund Turner ; Baines, 

 Lanes, (ed. 1868), i, 228. 



2O4 



197 ' A diligent painful minister ' in 

 1650; he became incumbent of Rib- 

 chester in 1656. 



198 Afterwards vicar of Poulton. 



199 He was 'conformable' in 1689; 

 Hist. MSS. Com. Ref. xiv, App. iv, 229. 

 He appeared at the visitation of 1691, 

 showing letters of orders 'as in 1677 

 &c." He had been appointed school- 

 master in 1686. 



200 Also rector of Heysham ; his son 

 was the founder of the hospital. The 

 Goosnargh Church papers in Chester 

 Diocesan Registry begin at this time. 



801 In 1743 there were prayers and 

 sermon every Sunday in the year and 

 prayers on all holy days ; Visit, returns. 

 In 1755 the families were classified 

 thus : Protestants 230, Papists 96, and 

 Protestant Dissenters 2. 



202 Rector of Heysham. 



803 A letter of his touching his burial fees 

 is printed in Gillow's Haydock Papers, 75. 



304 Fishwick, op. cit. 39 ; there is a 

 view of the present building, ibid. 46. 



205 Comman-w. Ch. Sari/. 155. Roger 

 Shireburne was the minister at that time, 

 1650-52 ; Plund. Mini. Accts. i, 235, 

 244. An allowance of 40 had been 

 voted as early as 1646 ; ibid. 101, 42. 



406 Threlfall was merged in Goosnargh 

 in 1658, on the formation of an inde- 

 pendent parish there ; ibid, ii, 265, 272. 



207 Gastrell, Notifia, ii, 427. 



108 For details see Fishwick, op. cit. 

 41-7. >09 Manck. Dioc. Dir. 



310 Sentence of consecration was given 

 9 July 1818. 



211 Fishwick, op. cit. 47. 



