58 



A HISTORY OF LONaRIDGE. 



[Ohap. 2. 



A verj- faithful and at the same time a rather racj" account of 

 Longridge Church as he found it in 1872,^ is given by Mr. A. 

 Hewitson, in his work, " Our Country Churches and Chapels." 



" St. Lawrence's Church, stands upon an eminence immediately 

 behind the Duke William Inn." To the right of the Duke William 

 there is a gate leading into the churchyard, which is very irregular in 

 shape, ^ and contains numerous gravestones, the oldest bearing the date 

 1791.' From the j'ard there is a very fine view of the valley of the 

 Eibble and its surroundings. In the churchyard waU, near the porch, 

 there is a square stone, taken out of the debris of the old school, 

 formerly on the south side of the Church, but which was pulled dowu 

 in 1832, bearing the inscription: 'A schrol erected by private 

 contributions for the public good, 1731.'" 



Entering the Chiu-ch Mr. Hewitson continues his description as 

 follows : " Nearly aU the pews on the ground floor are open, sloped at 

 the back, narrow in the seat, and wretchedly bad to sit in.* They are 

 the strangest, the most lumbering, and imcivilized pews we have noticed 

 during the whole of our rambles. We prefer the old boxed-up kind to 

 them. The roof is flat, somewhat low and supported by four cross 

 beams, and ornamented by two heavy-looking circidar ventilators. 

 The side walls are coldl}- prosaic, and the chancel has a calm, white- 

 washed, railway-arch look, with one of the poorest and most unedifying 

 windows in it that can be imagined." Not a poorer chancel is there in 



^ Since 1872 numerous changes have 

 taken place in the neighlxiurhood of the 

 Church, for the olil Duke William Inn 

 was pulled dowii a few years ago, and a 

 fresh Inn erected opposite the Church. 



''The addition of the old Duke 

 William site and other land for burying 

 purposes has altered the shai)e of the 

 churchyard and improved its appearance 

 very much for the better. 



^1781) is the oldest date in the church- 

 yard. 



■*Mr. Hewitson has not overdrawn his 

 picture at all, as the MTiter has known, 

 to his misery, many a long Sunday. 

 And in the galleries, the seats are worse 

 tban downstairs, ns in the front pews 

 you have no room for your legs. 



^'Up to a short time ago (3 years) there 

 used to be about seven or eight panes of 

 " stained glass " in the chancel window. 

 They would cover about 1 square foot 

 altogether. Why they had been put in, 

 and they only, puzzled the writer many 

 a time when attending church, and a 

 puzzle to him they still remain. Some 

 years ago, just after it had been decided 

 not to rebuild the old church, the whole 

 of the east window blew in, a curious 

 instance of one of the proverl)ial " judg- 

 ments of heaven." The panes of 

 coloured glass were removed at this time. 

 The locomotive pews have been replaced 

 by ii.xtures, one of which is at present 

 occupied by Mr. Alfred Ascroft, a son 

 of the late Town Clerk of Preston, Mr. 

 Robert Ascroft. 



