A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



1590 was described as 'no preacher." Mr. Han- 

 kinson, however, is said to have been an excellent 

 one ; he was one of the King's Preachers for the 

 county. 1 There was a ' lecturer ' at Huyton in 

 1622.' 



William Bell is probably the most distinguished of 

 the vicars of Huyton. He was son of William Bell 

 of Manchester, and is described as M.A. of Oxford. 4 

 He was one of the King's Preachers in Lancashire, 

 but willingly conformed to the Presbyterian constitu- 

 tion in 1 646, joining the ' Harmonious Consent ' of 

 1648. The commissioners of 1650 described him 

 as 'a man well qualified for all parts, and a godly, 

 studious preaching minister, who came into that place 

 [the vicarage] by the free election of the people and 

 the approbation of the Parliament.' On his tomb- 

 stone it said that he was vicar ' above twenty years,' 

 but the ' free election of the people ' suggests an 

 appointment later than 1642.* He was ejected in 

 1662, not being able to accept everything in the 

 revised Prayer Book, and retired to Manchester ; after 

 a time he returned to Huyton and opened a meeting- 

 house for Nonconformists (1672), dying there in 

 1683-4, ' n n ' s eightieth year. 6 His will has been 

 printed. 7 



St. Gabriel's chapel of ease at Huyton Quarry was 

 consecrated on i November, i894- s 



Two chantries were founded here at the altar of 

 St. Mary by Richard de Winwick, canon of Lincoln, as 

 brother and heir of John de Winwick, formerly treasurer 

 of the cathedral of York, who was buried in Huyton 

 church. John appears to have procured the rectory 

 of Radcliffe-upon-Soar in Nottinghamshire from the 

 prior of Norton in 1358, with the intention of 

 endowing at Oriel College, Oxford, exhibitions for 

 poor scholars. He died in the following year, and 

 his brother obtained, in 1 38 1, the appropriation of the 

 rectory to the priory of Burscough on the ground of 

 the poverty of the house ; the canons, however, in 

 addition to paying the vicar of Radcliffe, were to pay 

 stipends of I o marks each to two fit secular priests 

 in Huyton church. 9 These cantarists were to say mass, 

 &c., daily for the souls of Edward III, John de Win- 

 wick, and the faithful departed ; and to keep in good 

 repair the chapel on the south side of the church, in 

 which the said John was buried. His obit was also 

 to be solemnly kept in Burscough Priory church. 10 



In accordance with the statutes the Ashtons of 

 Croston afterwards presented. Hugh de Pemberton 

 acted as patron in 1421 and 1423. Sir William 

 Molyneux and Richard Standish presented in 1530, 

 and in the following year Alexander, son and heir of 

 Ralph Standish, and the other feoffees of Thomas 

 Ashton, deceased." 



1 Gibson, Lydiate Hal!, 248. The will 

 of Roger Devias was proved at Chester, 

 1607. 



Kenyan MSS. (Hist. MSS. Com.), 12. 

 Miu. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 



65. 



' He was called vicar in Aug. 1645 ; 

 ee Plund. Mini. Auti. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, 

 and Ches.), i, 9. It is probable that Bell 

 was never legally vicar, as Starkie does 

 not seem to have been disturbed, and 

 did not die till 1653. Starkie must have 

 conformed to the Presbyterian discipline, 

 but may have been practically superseded 



6 Halley, Lanes. Puritanism, ii, 186-7; 

 Ry/aliit Camp. P. i, 173 ; Commonw. Ch. 

 Sur-v. 75 ; see Baines, Lanes, (ed. Croston), 



' ^ Willt (Chet. Soc., New Ser.), ii, 1 1 2 ; 

 ice also 48. 



8 It cost 4,600. Part was defrayed 

 from a bequest by Miss Lucy Ashton (who 

 died in 1889), 2,000 of it being applied 

 to the endowment. She was daughter of 

 a former vicar of Huyton. See End. 

 Char. Rep. (Huyton}, 7. 



The foundation was described as 

 'two chantries, or one chantry with two 

 chaplains.' 



l In 1383 this was ratified by Robert 

 Stretton, bishop of Lichfield, whose suc- 

 cessor sanctioned in 1386 the statutes of 

 the chantry. 



Considering that the said chantry was 

 founded for the honour of God, and the 

 no small increase of divine worship, the 

 bishop ordained that Master Richard de 

 Winwick should be patron whilst he lived, 

 and then Master William de Ashton ; 

 afterwards the heirs of William de Win- 

 wick, father of Richard. On a vacancy 

 a fit and honest priest was to be presented 

 within fifteen days ; if none was presented, 

 the right for that turn devolved on the 

 priory of Burscough for another fifteen 

 days ; after which it lapsed to the bishop 

 of the diocese. 



The two chaplains were to live together 

 in the same house, namely, the manse by 



the churchyard recently built for them, 

 without strife or discord ; but should one 

 of them be quarrelsome or a frequenter 



gressor against good morals, he must be 

 deprived. They were to have a suitable 

 tonsure, and to wear a gown not too 

 short. They were not to be absent longer 

 than twenty days at a time. They were 

 not to hold any benefice which would 

 hinder the performance of their duties. 



ing the devotion of the people and without 



also recite the full office of the dead 

 (Placebo, Dirige, and Commendation) ex- 



divers 'compasses' (Copas') of gold; a 

 beautiful cloth of red satin to hang before 

 the altar, and another to match embroi- 

 dered in gold with the Crucified and Mary 

 and John for ' rierdose ' ; two other suits 

 of vestments, one being for everyday use, 



a 'paxbrede,' a black cloth for covering 

 the tomb, and a box bound with iron. 

 Another set of vestments was worth 4. 

 There was also a great portiforium of 



They were to keep solemn obits 'cum 

 nota' for John de Winwick and certain 

 others. After vespers the two chaplains 

 were to recite the ' De Profundis ' and 

 other suitable prayers at the tomb of 

 John de Winwick, and each of them to 

 say devoutly on bended knees the ' Pater 

 Noster' five times in honour of the five 

 wounds, and the 'Ave Maria' five times 

 in honour of the five joys, for the souls. 



On Sundays and other festivals (and 

 especially on feasts of nine lessons) when 

 divine service was sung in Huyton church, 

 they were to be present at mattins, vespers, 

 and the other hours, and to assist in the 



Moreover, as purity and chastity of life 

 in His ministers is most pleasing to God, 

 a chaplain lapsing a third time must be 

 removed from his office and another fit 

 one appointed. 



They were to preserve and transmit to 



ornaments provided by the founder, or 

 others as good, viz. a good missal, worth 

 5 marks ; a beautiful and heavy chalice, 

 worth i ooi. ; a beautiful and well painted 

 ' Table de Lumbardia ' ; a beautiful vest- 

 ment of red velvet, viz. a chasuble em- 

 broidered with various trees in gold, stole 

 and fanon, alb and amice with apparels to 

 match, and with two fair ' touwailes,' a 

 ' frountell ' of red velvet embroidered with 



10 marks; a great and beautiful psalter 

 was worth 401. 



The chaplains were not only to find 

 their ordinary food from their stipends, 

 but bread, wine, and wax for divine service, 

 ' unless the vicar out of his courtesy should 

 be willing to give these to them.' On 

 their admission they were to take oath to 

 keep all these ordinances. These par- 

 ticulars are from the Burscough Reg.; the 

 bishop's statutes will be found on fol. 94*- 

 98 ; and in the Lich. Epis. Reg. v, fol. 

 7 2A- 75 A. 



11 The following is a list of the priests, 

 with references to the Lichfield Epis. Reg. 



First Chantry (B. V. Mary): 1383, 

 William de Sallowe (iv, 94); 1391, 

 Henry Holbrooke, exchanging the vicar- 

 age of Littlebourne for this with W. 

 de Sallowe (vi, 56) ; 1409, Thomas de 

 Legh, on the death of Holbrooke (Raines) ; 

 1423, Richard Tyrehare, on the death of 

 Legh (ix, 113) ; 1443, John de Kyrkeby 

 (ix, 126*) ; 1486, John Haworth, on the 

 death of Kyrkeby (xii, 121) ;, George 

 Hyll; 1530, Humphrey Hart, on the 

 death of Hyll (xiii-xiv, 6 5 A) ; 1531, 

 Robert Standish, on the death of Hart 

 (xiii-xiv, 68). 



Second Chantry: 1384, Robert de 

 Bolton (iv, 94 A); 1390, John de Wol- 

 leton, in succession to Bolton (vi, 55*) ; 

 he became vicar of Walton 1404 ; 

 1395, William Kane, on death of last 

 chaplain, unnamed (vi, 59*) ; 1417, 

 Thomas Baxter, on the resignation of W. 

 de Cave, i.e. probably the last-named 

 W. Kane (viii, 19) ; -, John Claning ; 

 1421, Thomas Cosyn, on the death of 



I 5 6 



