A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



who probably conveyed to James Scholes, gent., who 

 presented to the vicarage in 1767 and 1784. Scholes 

 sold the advowson in 1785 to Robert Vernon 

 (Gwillym) Atherton, esq., whose eldest daughter and 

 coheir married the Hon. Thomas Powys, 2nd Baron 



Lilford, great-grandfather of John, Lord Lilford, the 

 present patron. 



On the creation of the diocese of Manchester in 

 1847 the parish of Leigh was included in it, though 

 it had belonged to the archdeaconry of Warrington. 



The following is a list of the rectors and 



20 Mar. 1440 

 14 Aug. 1453 

 13 Feb. 1455. 

 12 May, 1456 

 2 Aug. 1483 



James Hall, ch. 19 . . 

 John Bothe, LL.B. . 

 John Deping, ch. 81 

 Thurstan Pcrcivall, ch.* 

 William Urmston, el. 83 



VICA 



Erdbury Priory 



res. J. Hall 

 res. J. Bothe 

 res. J. Deping 

 d. T. Percival 



1 CockertandCbartul. (Chet.Soc.), ii, 614. 

 He was a married man and probably not 

 in holy orders. 



"DeBanc. R. 189, m. 50. 



Ibid. 82, m. 5 d.; Kuerden MSS. (Coll. 

 of Arms), ii, 219, n. 330; Henry the 

 clerk of Leigh was indicted before the jus- 

 tices in eyre at Lancaster in 1246 ; Assist 

 R. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches. xlvii), 119. 



4 In 1275 he sued five of his parish- 

 ioners for damages for entering his park 

 at Westleigh and felling his trees there ; 

 De Bane. R. n, m. 6 d. 



' John, parson of Lek,' in 1276 made 

 an acknowledgement of a debt due to Hugh 

 de Kendal ; Cat. Close R. 1272-9, p. 426. 

 A number of local people made similar 

 acknowledgements. John de Urmston 

 occurs as rector in 1277 ; Dep. Keeper's 

 Rep. xlvi, App. 212. 



6 De Bane R. 233, m. 70. 



7 Ibid. 148, m. 147 ; he was brother 

 of Adam and Richard de Urmston. 



Ibid. 156, m. 30 d. 



' He occurs as defendant in 1 309; Assize 

 R. 423, m. 5 d. \ 424, m. 5. He was 

 reinstated after resignation in 1318 j Lich. 

 Epis. Reg. Langton, i, 85*. 



10 For these rectors see below. Henry 

 de Rixton was ordained priest in Sept. 

 1327 ; Lich. Epis. Reg. i, fol. 152*. 



Ibid. Northburgh, ii, 125*. See also 

 Assize R. 436, m. i. 



12 Lich. Epis. Reg. Stretton, iv, 83. 



! Ibid. 89. He had been rector of 

 Titchmarsh, co. Northants, which he 

 exchanged with Chiselden. 



Ibid. 93*. John de Haverbergh died 

 in a village near London in the autumn of 

 1382. 



Ibid. 94. W. Osgodby exchanged 

 benefices with Mr. Thomas de Dalby, 

 rector of Stretham, co. Camb. Dalby had 

 been rector of Tydd St. Giles and Bark- 

 ing. On leaving Leigh he became rector 

 of Cottenham (1386), and held prebends, 

 &c. He died in 1400, being then arch- 

 deacon of Richmond and prebendary of 

 York ; Ely Dioc. Rememb. 



16 Lich. Epis. Reg. Stretton, vi, 6ii. 

 William de Chiselden no doubt the rector 

 1366-78 was collated to the prebend 

 of Tachbrook in Lichfield Cathedral in 

 1386 (Le Neve, Fasti (ed. 1854), i, 628 ; 

 Cal.Pat. R. 1385-9, 286), in succession 

 to that of Holborn, which he had held 

 since 1374. 



Ibid. Reg. Burghill, vii, 98*. T. Hyne 

 exchanged benefices with R. Repynton, 

 rector of Titchmarsh, co. Northants. 



18 The vicarage was ordained 20 Aug. 

 1448 ; ibid. Bothe, x, 686-72. 



19 He was preferred to the rectory 0- 

 Northenden,which John Booth, cl. resignec 

 on 14 Aug. 1453; 'Wd- Close, xi, 36. Hal: 

 is said to have been instituted to Leigh. 

 20 Mar. 1440 ; Baines, Hist, of Lanes. 

 (Croston's ed.), iv, 317. See Ormerod. 

 Cbes. (ed. Helsby), iii, 614. 



Lich. Epis. Reg. xi, 36*. Warden o 

 the collegiate church of Manchester (q.\\ 

 and archdeacon of Richmond, 1459-65 

 bishop of Exeter 1465-78. He is confusec 

 with William Bothe, archbishop of York, 

 by Stanning, Reg. of Leigh, xv, note. 



21 Lich. Epis. Reg. xi, 38. 



M Ibid. 40*. Percivall had been rectoi 

 of Longford, co. Derby. In 1474, durinf 

 this incumbency, there is a record of the 

 vicar receiving, by virtue of a letter from 

 the dean of Warrington to him directed, 

 in the church of Leigh, before a numbei 

 of the gentry of the neighbourhood whost 

 names are duly recorded, the purgation by 

 oath of one Nicholas del Ryland, that he 

 had never made any feoffment of lands ir 

 Westhoughton, as it had been alleged that 

 he had done. Which proceeding was con 

 eluded by the vicar solemnly cursing thr 

 said Nicholas with bell, book, and candle 

 if he should be guilty in his denial. 

 Local Gleanings, ii, 293-5. 



<B Lich. Epis. Reg. Hales, xii, 116. 



4 l8 



