A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



Bishop Cotes's time, had thus conformed to the 

 Elizabethan statutes, and continued to hold his bene- 

 fice. In the following year five names appear, two of 

 them being new. In the margin is the record 'They 

 took oath according to the statute,' i.e. acknowledging 

 the queen's supremacy, the formal act of separation 

 from the ancient system. 1 One of the five, John Barber, 

 curate of Rixton, appears to have repented quickly, a 

 note stating that he had 'fled.' In 1565 the rector 

 and two others appeared ; these two were survivors of 

 the 1548 clergy, one being the schoolmaster. 8 



Warrington thus fared better than other parishes in 

 the neighbourhood in maintaining a staff of three 

 clergy, there being only one chapel to serve in addition 

 to the parish church. The school stipend was, of 

 course, a means of supporting one beside the rector. 

 At Hollinfare chapel the new services were probably 

 not kept up regularly. As to the parish church the 

 visitation of 1592 showed that the chancel was ' in 

 great decay '; there were wanting Bible, Communion 

 Book, Jewell's Reply and Apology, a ' comely table 

 covering and table cloth,' and surplice. 3 An improve- 

 ment no doubt took place as time went on, the Stuart 

 bishops and the puritan ministers of the seventeenth 

 century bringing it about. The later rectors, with 

 one or two exceptions, do not call for remark. 4 



There were three chantries established in the parish 

 church, and another at Hollinfare. St. Mary's 

 Chantry was endowed or re-endowed by Sir Thomas 

 Boteler, apparently the Sir Thomas who died in ijza. 5 

 By his will, carried out by his son Sir Thomas, he 

 founded also the grammar school, the master of which 

 was the priest at a second chantry. 6 Richard Delves, 

 rector from 1486 to 1527, founded the chantry at the 

 altar of St. Anne.' The chantries were suppressed in 

 1 548, but the school was preserved. 8 



A house of Austin Friars, the only one in the 

 county, was established near the bridge. 9 Its church, 



the Jesus Church, was probably the popular one, being 

 situated near the centre of the town. The friars had 

 an oratory on the bridge. The property was con- 

 fiscated by Henry VIII and granted to Sir Thomas 

 Holcroft. 10 Nothing now remains of the buildings." 

 It is supposed that the church was used for worship, 

 at least occasionally, down to the Civil Wars." 



The site of the house was partly explored in 1886, 

 and from the remains then found a plan of the 

 church was drawn up by Mr. William Owen." It 

 shows a quire 58ft. long by 24ft. wide, an oblong 

 crossing typical of a friars' church, with screens to 

 east and west, a nave 86ft. by zyft., and a very 

 large north transept 62 ft. by 44 ft. The evidence 

 for some part of the plan is slight, but there seems 

 no doubt that Mr. Owen is correct in his reading 

 of it, which has been confirmed, as to the size of 

 the transept, by recent excavations. The details 

 point to c. 1280 for the earliest work, and the large 

 north transept seems to be little, if at all, later than 

 the rest of the building. The crossing was doubtless 

 surmounted by an octagonal tower as in other friars' 

 houses. Part of the tile pavement of the quire was 

 uncovered, and is illustrated in Mr. Owen's paper, 

 being a very good specimen of its kind, dating prob- 

 ably from the early years of the fourteenth century. 

 The shaped tiles of the central panel are specially 

 interesting, though not so elaborate as those in the 

 well-known Crauden chapel at Ely. Part of this 

 pavement was taken up and is preserved in the War- 

 rington Museum. Of other parts of the friary 

 nothing has been found except the north end of a 

 buttressed building south-east of the church and about 

 i 20 yards distant from it. It is 15 ft. wide, but its 

 length and purpose cannot at present be determined. 

 The principal charity of War- 

 CHARITIES " rington, apart from the grammar 

 school ls and the bluecoat school," 



i It is the only note of this kind in the 

 deanery. 



These details are from the visitation 

 lists preserved in the Chest. Dioc. Reg. 



Trans. Hist. Sac. (New Ser.), x, 191. 

 There had been no perambulations and no 



executors ; also Sir Richard Bold and other 

 feoffees. The schoolmaster-chaplain was 

 Richard Taylor ; of the gross income of 

 12 2s. 9j</. a distribution to the poor 

 of 425. 9 rf. was made on Sir Thomas's 



Great and Little Worley ; Raines, op 

 cit. 63-5. In 1553 Robert Aughton had ; 

 pension of $ ; he died about that time 

 Cb. GJs. 59. For a grant of St. Anne' 

 Chantry see Pat. 3 1 Eliz. pt. vii. 



The Mascy chapel, of unknown foun 



3*4 



