A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



Public declarations were made upon oath in the 

 church in 1430 and 1435 as to the title to lands in 

 the neighbourhood ; and in 1474 an instance of 

 ' cursing by bell, book, and candle ' occurred. 1 



The Atherton chapel occupied the eastern end of 

 the south aisle from a little south door eastward, and 

 measured 7 yards each way. It was in a ruinous state, 

 the windows and roof decayed, in the time of John 

 Bridgeman, bishop of Chester (1619-52), who 

 threatened to lay it to the body of the church unless 

 the lord of Atherton repaired it. In 1654 John 

 Atherton was alleged to have set up a new screen en- 

 closing some yards of the south aisle additional to that 

 occupied by the old chapel, and enclosing the place 

 where the pews and burial places of Roger Bradshaw, 

 Henry Travis, gents., Mr. Shuttleworth, Mr. Thomas 

 Sergeant, George Starkey, Gilbert Smith, Ralph 

 Smith, and others had formerly been. In 1664 the 

 title to part of the south aisle thus alleged to have 

 been encroached upon was the subject of proceedings 

 in the Consistory Court at Chester, brought by Law- 

 rence Rawstorne, esq., as trustee for Atherton, against 

 Sir Henry Slater, knt., Richard Bradshaw, esq., and 

 Frances Bradshaw, otherwise Shuttleworth, widow. 8 



The chantry chapel of St. Nicholas, called the 

 Tyldesley chapel, is believed to have been erected 

 about the end of the fifteenth century. The roof is 

 all that remains of the building. Sir Thomas Tyldes- 

 ley the cavalier, who was slain at the skirmish of 

 Wigan Lane in 1651, lies buried here. A modern 

 brass has lately been placed to his memory. 3 



The history of the advowson of 

 ADVOWSON the church before the end of the 

 thirteenth century is obscure, but 

 may be conjectured with some degree of probability. 

 The priory of Marsey, Nottinghamshire, was founded 

 before 1192 by Roger son of Ranulf de Marsey, 4 who 

 in addition to his fee between Ribble and Mersey, 

 to which reference is made below, held three knights' 

 fees in Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire of the honour 

 of Lancaster. 6 During the reign of Henry III the 

 priory acquired by purchase 1 1 oxgangs of land in 

 Marsey, in the honour of Lancaster, and in the time 

 of Edward I half the advowson of the church of 

 Marsey with four solidates of rent by purchase from 

 the nuns of Wallingwells. 6 It is possible that the 

 founder gave to Marsey his rights in the church of 

 Leigh, parcel of his fee in Westleigh, and that the 

 priory subsequently exchanged these rights with 

 Wallingwells for lands held by the latter in Marsey. 

 At the same time a gift of the church to Wallingwells 

 by Richard de Westleigh in the time of John is not 

 less probable, for the prioress of that house was 

 engaged in 1238 in litigation with Adam de West- 



leigh touching the presentation to half the church of 

 Leigh, which Adam was claiming from her. 7 The 

 result of the plea was apparently in favour of the 

 prioress, but the right of her priory does not appear 

 to have been thoroughly established, for in 1 290, 

 Margery, then prioress, was suing Richard de Urmston 

 and Siegrith his wife for the church and advowson, 

 alleging in evidence of her right the presentation of 

 Henry de Ulveston to the church, presumably in 

 1238, by her predecessor Isolda. 8 The suit was ter- 

 minated two years later by the prioress conveying 

 to Richard and Siegrith in consideration of 20 

 the advowson of the church of ' Westlay in Legh,' 

 respecting which a recognition of grand assize had 

 been summoned between the parties. 9 These pro- 

 ceedings are fully referred to in the account of 

 Westleigh, where reference will be found to the 

 mansion and glebe of the early parsons of Leigh. 



A reference to John the parson of Westleigh, in a 

 grant made in the early part of the thirteenth century, 

 as the father of the grantor '" carries back the period 

 of his career to the reign of Richard I, proving that 

 a church then existed here, and affording a reasonable 

 supposition that a church had existed here at the 

 Conquest. There are references to the church in the 

 time of John, 11 again in 1238, and in 1264, when 

 Roger bishop of Lichfield petitioned the king for aid 

 against certain persons who had seized the churches 

 of Leigh, Bury, and Winwick. 18 The church was 

 valued at $ in Pope Nicholas's taxation completed in 

 1292." 



In 1318 Richard de Urmston, son of Richard and 

 Siegrith, sold the advowson with one acre of land 

 appurtenant thereto in Westleigh to Robert de 

 Holand, knt., for 50 marks sterling. 14 Excepting for a 

 brief period after the attainder and death of Thomas 

 earl of Lancaster, in I32Z, 15 the advowson descended 

 in the Holand family and so by marriage to the 

 Levels. 16 In 1365 Robert de Holand, chr., obtained 

 licence to alienate the advowson in mortmain to the 

 prior and convent of Upholland, but he did not do 

 so. It was at this time held of John duke of Lancas- 

 ter, and Blanche his wife, for a rose at Midsummer 

 for all service. 17 In 1445 the Augustinian canons of 

 Erdbury in Warwickshire obtained licence to acquire 

 lands to the value of 100 marks yearly, 18 and there- 

 upon obtained a grant of this advowson from William 

 Lord Lovel, and the year following had letters patent 

 for the appropriation of the rectory. 19 In 1448, at 

 Westleigh, the church was duly appropriated to the 

 prior and convent of Erdbury, of which William Lord 

 Lovel, Burnel and Holand, knt., and Ralph Botiler, knt., 

 lord of Sudeley, were founders. A vicarage of 

 1 6 marks yearly with a tenement was ordained, 10 



1 Hist, and Gen. Notes, i, 148-5 1 ; ii, 

 59-61. See below. 



2 Consistory Ct. Rec. ; Lanes. Chant. 

 (Chet. Soc. Ix), 272. 



8 Lanes, and Cbes. Antitj. Soc. vii, 295-9. 

 For other remains, possibly heraldic, noted 

 before the destruction of the old church in 

 1873, see Hist, and Gen. Notes, ii, 65. On 

 the south-west buttress of the tower are 

 two shields bearing (i) a hammer, nails, 

 and pincers j and (2) a horseshoe. 



* Hund. R. (Rec. Com.), ii, 304. 



* V.C.H. Lanes, i, 297. 



6 Hund. R. ii, 304. 



7 Assize R. (Rec. Soc. xlix), 221. 

 8 De Bane. R. 82, m. 5 d. 



9 Final Cone. (Rec. Soc.), i, 169 ; As- 



size R. 408, m. id. John de Byron, 

 Henry de Kighley, Richard de Bradshagh 

 and Henry de Tyldesley were pledges for 

 payment of the purchase money. 



10 Cockcrsand Chartul. (Chet. Soc., New 

 Ser., xliii), 614. 



11 De Bane. R. 189, m. 50. 



i Def. Keeper's Ref. v, App. ii, 66. 



Tax. Eccl. (Rec. Com.), 249. 



Hist, and Gen. Notes, ii, 184. In 

 1314 there had been a claim to the ad- 

 vowson by John son of Nigel son of 

 Roger de Urmston, against Siegrith widow 

 of Richard de Urmston ; De Bane. R. 

 207, m. 256^. 



Hilt, and Gen. Notes, iii, IOI. 



16 In 1341 the church was valued at 

 4 l6 



12 marks, the ninth of sheaves, calves and 

 lambs of the parish amounting to^i 2 i. 

 answered for by Atherton 561. 8J., Bedford 

 56.. M., Pennington, 23,. 4 </, West- 

 leigh, 241. 4 </., Tyldesley, 435. 4 </., and 

 Astley, 361. 8</.; Ina. Nonarum (Rec. 

 Com.), 40. 



" Hist, and Gen. Notes, iii, 31. In 1 3 50 

 Robert dc Holand, chr. recovered hi. 

 presentation to this church against Gilbert 

 de Urmston. Chan. Inq. p.m. 23 Edw. Ill, 

 1 80. 



18 Pat. R. 23 Hen. VI, pt. ii, m. 21. 



19 Ibid. 24 Hen. VI, pt. i, m. 27, where 

 it is called the church of Legh. 



20 Lich. Epis. Reg. Booth, x, 68^-72 ; 

 Aug. Off. Misc. Chart. E. b. 37. 



