A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



Philip Langton of Lowe, Robert Pinnington, and 

 Peter Harrison of Hindley, occur among the free- 

 holders of 1600.** In 1628 Abraham Langton and 

 Christopher Stananought were the freeholders contri- 

 buting to the subsidy. 84 Nicholas Ranicars of Hindley 

 had his estate sequestered by the Parliament in 1650 

 * for delinquency in the late wars,' and was allowed to 

 compound. 36 A family named Marsh resided here.* 7 



A decree concerning the boundaries between 

 Hindley and Ince, and the division of the wastes, was 

 made in the time of Charles I. 88 



Before the Reformation there was a chapel at Lowe 

 in Hindley ; but the Langtons probably claimed it as 

 private property, and then allowed it to decay , 39 



The next church in Hindley was erected in 1641 

 on land given by George Green, 40 subscriptions 

 being collected for the building from the inhabitants. 

 It was built with the approbation of the rector of 

 Wigan, then Bishop Bridgeman ; there was a chancel 

 at the east end, and the Established services were 

 adhered to, one of the Wigan curates officiating. 41 

 The place was, as early as 1643, regarded as Puritan, 41 * 

 and its first regular minister, Thomas Tonge, con- 

 formed readily to the Presbyterian discipline estab- 

 lished a few years later. 41 He was succeeded by 

 William Williamson, 48 and he by James Bradshaw, 

 ejected in 1662 for nonconformity. 44 The chapel 

 seems to have remained unused for six years, and 



then a succession of curates followed ; some of the 

 feoffees were Nonconformists or sympathizers, and 

 thus conforming ministers had probably an uneasy 

 time. 45 In 1690 a determined attempt was made to 

 secure the chapel for the Dissenters, their worship 

 now being tolerated, by the appointment of Thomas 

 Whalley, an open Nonconformist. 46 The matter was 

 finally taken into the Duchy Court ; after a long trial 

 the chapel was secured for the Establishment and con- 

 secrated in 1698 on All Saints' Day. 47 It was rebuilt 

 in I766, 48 and with some alterations remains in use. 

 It is now known as All Saints' Church. The church 

 property is still in the hands of trustees, but the 

 curates and vicars since 1708 have been appointed by 

 the rectors of Wigan. 49 There is a mission chapel 

 called St. Augustine's. 



St. Peter's, Hindley, was consecrated in 1866, the 

 patronage being vested in trustees. 50 To the recent 

 churches of St. Nathaniel, Platt Bridge (1905), and 

 St. John the Evangelist, Hindley Green (1903), the 

 Bishop of Liverpool collates. 51 



The Wesleyan Methodists acquired land in 1846, 

 and built a chapel in 1851. Another chapel was 

 built in 1869 in Walthew Lane, Platt Bridge." The 

 United Methodist Free Church have two chapels at 

 Hindley Green Brunswick Chapel, built in 1855, 

 and another in I866. 53 The Primitive Methodists 

 have one at Castle Hill, built in 1856, and another at 



1462 ; Trans. Hist. Sac. (new sen), iv, 

 161 ; the purchaser had a son Richard, 

 who in 1430 made a settlement of his 

 lands ; OO, no. 1459. The ancestor of 

 this branch of the Hindley family was 

 perhaps the Richard son of Beatrice who 

 had a grant from Robert Banastre, lord of 

 Makeriield ; the rent was to be 41. a 

 year ; no. 1471. 



A grant of Burghurst in Hindley by 

 Hugh de Thursaker is printed in Pal. 

 Note Bk. iv, 150. 



84 Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 

 i, 238, 243, 251. 



In the Hindley D. printed in Local 

 Glean. Lanes, and Ches. ii, 167, are some 

 referring to the Harrisons of Hindley ; 

 Peter Harrison, living in 1637 and 1651, 

 had a son and heir John, who in the 

 latter year was rector of Ashton under 

 Lyne, and has found a place in Diet. Nat. 

 Biog. 



Peter Harrison, 'late solicitor to the 

 County Committee,' had in 1651 joined 

 the Earl of Derby, but being angry with 

 him for plundering, recalled his two sons ; 

 Cal. of Com. for Compounding, iv, 2955. 

 These sons are called Captain Jeremiah 

 and Lieutenant Nathaniel Harrison in 

 1652 ; Cal, of Com. for Advancing Money, 

 iii, 1445. 



Richard Wood of Hindley died 12 Jan. 

 1612-13 seised of a messuage and lands 

 in Hindley held of the king, as of his 

 manor of Enfield by a rent of 31. 4^. ; 

 Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and 

 Ches.), i, 262. 



86 Norris D. (B.M.). Christopher Stana- 

 nought was son and heir of William, 

 living in 1602 ; Hindley D. no. 10. 



86 Cal. of Com. for Compounding, iv, 

 2519. John Ranicars was not allowed 

 to compound for a messuage and lands 

 purchased from Nicholas. 



8 ? Wills of John and James Marsh, of 

 1670 and 1687 respectively, are printed in 

 Lanes, and Ches. Hist, and Gen. Notes, 

 ii, 44, 80. See also Gillow, Bibl. Diet, 

 of Engl. Cath. iv, 467-70. 



88 Lanes, and Cbes. Recs. ii, 278. 



89 It is mentioned in one of the 

 Culcheth deeds dated 1517 ; as an an- 

 nuity was to be paid there it must have 

 been open to the people of the district ; 

 Lanes, and Ches. Hist, and Gen. Notes, 



', ij. 



40 This account is derived from Canon 

 Bridgeman's Wigan, 757-80, in which are 

 reprinted a number of the Hindley D. 

 from Local Glean. Lanes, and Ches. ; John 

 Leyland, Mem. of Hindley, 1873 ; the 

 Kenyon MSS. (Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. xiv, 

 App. iv) ; Lanes, and Cbes. Hist, and 

 Gen. Notes, i, 12, &c. In Leyland's 

 book are given extracts from the wardens' 

 accounts and many personal reminiscences. 

 In the Liverpool Dioc. Gay,, for Oct. 1905 

 will be found a further account, the 

 object being to show that this was not a 

 Puritan effort ; special stress is laid upon 

 the almost perfect orientation. 



A contributor was Chisenhall Bret- 

 targh, who died before 1652. In October 

 that year a settlement was made of 

 disputes between Alice Brettargh the 

 widow and Edward son of Edward Chisen- 

 hall, the former surrendering the lease of 

 her house on receiving ,260. Chisenhall 

 Brettargh was a captain at the defence of 

 Lathom House, and otherwise took part 

 in the wars on behalf of Charles I ; he was 

 buried at Wigan 12 Dec. 1645, being 

 described as ' Captain Chisnall Bretter de 

 Hindley'; he left children: Edward, 

 Jonathan (died in 1664), Frances, and 

 Elizabeth. From j. P. Earwaker's MSS. 



41 Leyland, Hindley, 21, from the 

 petition for consecration in 1698. The 

 statement that the ' prayers of the 

 Church' had been duly said from 1641 to 

 1669 requires to be corrected by the re- 

 membrance that at least the period 1645 

 to 1668 was an exception. Part of the 

 endowment was given in 1655 by John 

 Ranicars. 



41a For the Cavaliers' behaviour in 

 Hindley (Henden) Chapel see Ormerod, 

 Civil War Tracts (Chet. Soc.), 63. 



IIO 



4a Thomas Tonge was in 1646 a mem- 

 ber of the fourth Presbyterian Classis ; 

 Baines, Lanes, (ed. 1870), i, 227. 



48 William Williamson was minister in 

 1650, 'an able, godly, and painful 

 minister," the Parliamentary Commis- 

 sioners described him, 'of good life and 

 conversation ' ; Commonto. Cb. Surv. 

 (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 61. He 

 died 9 Feb. 1656-7 ; Plund. Mins. Accts. 

 (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), ii, 181. 



44 Bridgeman, op. cit. 758-60 ; he 

 afterwards ministered at Rainford Chapel. 

 Another James Bradshaw had been acting 

 rector of Wigan, 1643-53. 



45 Ibid. 779, 762. 



46 Bridgeman, op. cit. 763, 765-7. 



John Green in 1690 tendered a certifi- 

 cate to the justices at Lancaster, so that 

 the chapel might be recorded as ' a place 

 appointed to dissenting Protestants for 

 their religious worship ' ; but the court, 

 on the opposition of the Bishop of 

 Chester, refused ; Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. 

 xiv, App. iv, 245, 246 ; see also 270, 

 where the quarrels of the Dissenters are 

 noticed ; and 415. 



4 ? Bridgeman, op. cit. 769-72. In this 

 document it is not called All Saints' 

 Church. 



48 A brief was issued in 1763 on behalf 

 of the rebuilding. 



49 Bridgeman, op. cit. 602-5. See 

 Lend. Gax. 2 July 1878 for the formation 

 of the present chapelry. 



John Croudson, incumbent from 1789- 

 1811, was also head master of Wigan 

 Grammar School ; he visited the village 

 one day in each week ; Leyland, op. cit. 

 29. 



80 Land. Gaa. 14 May 1867, 26 Mar. 

 1875, &c. See Bridgeman, op. cit. 780 ; 

 Leyland, Hindley, 57, 58. 



61 Leyland, op. cit. 75-7 ; Nightingale, 

 Lanes. Nonconf. iv, 13. 



52 Leyland, op. cit. 78, 79 ; Nightingale, 

 op. cit. iv, 21. The chapel was practically 

 unused from 1862-82. 



58 Leyland, op. cit. 79. 



