WEST DERBY HUNDRED 



Henry Lathom the younger followed in his father's 

 steps as regards religion, suffering accordingly. 1 He 

 married Frances daughter of Richard Molyneux of 

 Cunscough ; by her he had three sons and several 

 daughters. The eldest son, Thomas, took up arms in 

 the royal cause in the Civil War, and was slain at 

 Newark;' the second, Henry, became a monk at 

 Paris; 5 and the third, William, came into possession 

 of Mossborough. After his death it passed, by his 

 daughter Frances' marriage with Robert Molyneux 

 of Melling, to this family.* Their sons Robert and 

 William in succession followed. 5 The last-named 

 married Anne, daughter of John Harrington of Huy- 

 ton ; and, secondly, Gertrude Frances, daughter of 

 James Gorsuch of Scarisbrick, and on his dying in 1 745, 

 Mossborough passed to Frances his daughter by the 

 second marriage. She married Sir Edward Blount 

 of Sodington in 1 752. Mossborough was sold by 

 the trustees to the earl of Derby in 1786;' his 

 descendant, the present earl, now owns it. 



James Collier of Rainford compounded for his 

 estate in 1649,* and Richard Hilton, as a 'Papist,' 

 registered an estate here and at Westhoughton in 

 >7i7- 9 



Excluding Mossborough Hall, there were in 1666 

 only fifteen houses having three hearths and more. 10 



The improvement of Rainford Moss was begun 

 about 1780 by John Chorley of Prescot." 



In 1785 Mr. Samuel Booth, excise officer, con- 



PRESCOT 



tributed <), the earl of Derby 3 I $!. 6J., and 

 Edward Falkner 1 i8s. yd. towards the sum of 

 43 3/. id. in which the township was assessed to 

 land tax. 



Of the origin of the chapel and its 

 CHURCH ancient dedication no record has been 

 found. In 1541 Lawrence Robe(y) was 

 the curate in charge. 18 Its fate at the Reformation is 

 unknown. In 1 590 it was distinguished by having 

 ' a preacher ' as curate, 13 but in 1592 the curate, having 

 given no monitions, was excommunicated, as were 

 the principal man in the township, Henry Lathom, 

 and his wife Margaret. 14 By 1610 it had sunk to 

 the usual level of chapels of ease, being served by 

 ' a reading minister,' who was ' no preacher.' I6 

 Mr. Cheeseman was curate in l622. 16 The Parliamen- 

 tary Committee, with their usual care for religion, in 

 1645 ordered that ^35 should be paid out of the 

 tithes of Prescot, sequestered from the carl of Derby, 

 towards the maintenance of a minister at Rainford. 17 

 In 1650 Mr. Timothy Smith, 'an orthodox, godly, 

 preaching minister,' was in charge, with a stipend of 

 \Q out of the sequestrations ; in addition there was 

 a capital stock of 60 or more given by various bene- 

 factors for the minister, when there might be one, or 

 for the poor of the township. On the chapel-yard 

 was erected a small building called the chapel chamber, 

 in which the minister had lived in former times, and 

 which had also been used as a schoolroom. In 1650 



