A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



branch of the Gerards, described as ' of Brindle ' 3i ; and 

 probably by sale to the later Gerards of Ince, and has 

 descended with the Westwood property. 86 



Nothing definite can be stated about the descent of 

 BICKERSH4W, formerly called a manor. 17 In the 1 6th 

 century it was owned by the Holcrofts, and sold by 

 them to Richard Ashton in I599-' 8 Ralph Ashton 

 about thirty years later sold it to Frances widow of 

 Robert Dukinfield of Dukinfield near Stockport.* 9 

 It descended in this family until 1760, when it was 

 sold to Richard Clayton of Adlington ; and it was 

 again sold in 1790 to Edward Ackers of Newton, 

 surgeon. The trustees of Abraham Ackers, who died 

 in 1864, are the owners ; it is leased to the Abram 

 Coal Company. 40 



A branch of the Culcheths were long seated in 

 Abram. 41 The inquisition taken after the death of 

 John Culcheth in 1586 shows that he had held lands 

 in Abram of Thomas Abram by a rent of I d., and in 



Hindley of John Culcheth of Culcheth by a rent of 6d. a 

 A pedigree was recorded in i664, 43 but the family 

 afterwards migrated to War- 

 wickshire, and in 1750 sold 

 the property. 44 



Adam Bolton, 44 John Occle- 

 shaw, John South worth, Roger 

 Culcheth, Cecily Ashton, and 

 Nicholas Huyton, were the 

 landowners contributing to a 

 subsidy collected about 1556. 46 

 The Corless, 47 Lithgoe, 48 and 

 Leyland 49 families were long 

 resident here. 



A plot of land in Park Lane, 

 known as the Morris Dancers' 

 ground, is popularly supposed to be held by them on 

 condition that a morris dance be celebrated there 

 once in twenty years.* 



CULCHETH. Urgent 

 an eagle sable preying up- 

 on a child swaddled gules. 



true heir; ibid, iii, 124, 125. At the 

 same time John Ashton and Richard his 

 son alleged their title to Bamfurlong 

 against Richard, Cecily, and Anne Ashton, 

 Roger Anderton, Gilbert Lee, Gilbert 

 Houghton, and Ralph Anderton ; Ducatus 

 Lane. (Rec. Com.), ii, 1 14. 



John Ashton of Bamfurlong, senior, and 

 his son and heir were in 1590 among the 

 'comers to church but no communicants'; 

 Gibson, Lydiate Hall, 246, quoting S.P. 

 Dom.Eliz.ccxxxv, 4. Ini 598 as an avowed 

 recusant he was called upon to pay 10 

 for ' her Majesty's service in Ireland ' ; 

 ibid. 262, from S.P. Dom. Eliz. cclxvi, 80. 



John Ashton, claiming by inheritance 

 from Richard Ashton, deceased, demanded 

 in 1 594 an estate in Bamfurlong, &c., from 

 Adam Hawarden, Margaret Ashton, and 

 Lawrence Bispham ; Duchy Plead, iii, 293. 

 In that year Richard Ashton of Bamfurlong 

 had died holding nothing, as the inquest 

 found, and leaving a son Richard who was 

 but sixteen in 1609 ; Lanes. Inq. p.m. 

 (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 130. At 

 the Visitation in 1613 (Chet. Soc. 17) 

 Richard was said to be twenty years of 

 age ; his father Richard was son of John 

 Ashton of Bamfurlong. John Ashton had 

 died in 1603, being buried on 30 July at 

 Wigan ; Reg. Richard Ashton, being a 

 convicted recusant, paid double to the sub- 

 sidy in 1628 ; Norris D.(B.M.). 



85 This family recorded a pedigree in 

 1664, in which they are already described 

 as 'of Bamfurlong'; Dugdale, Visit. 

 (Chet. Soc.), 1 1 8. It is not clear how 

 they obtained possession. In 1684 John 

 Ashton called for an inquiry as to the 

 title of Henry Gerard, son of Henry 

 Gerard, a solicitor, deceased, to the 

 hall of Bamfurlong, a water corn-mill, and 

 various lands, formerly the property of 

 Richard Ashton and his daughter Mary, 

 deceased ; Exch. Depot. (Rec. Soc.), 65. 

 There is a charge of ' dishonest contri- 

 vances' against the elder Henry. 



86 See Gillow, Bill. Diet, of Engl. Cath. 

 ii, 43 1 ; Leyland, Abram, 1 8, 19. From 

 the latter it seems that Henry Gerard the 

 son in 1681 married Cecily West, who 

 in 1717 (now Cecily Howett) as ' a papist ' 

 registered an annuity of 80 derived from 

 her first husband ; Engl. Catb. Nonjurors, 

 128. Henry's brother Ralph, a priest, 

 served the domestic chapel at Bamfurlong. 



87 Sir Thomas Holcroft held Bickershaw 

 manor of James Browne by a rent of 6J. 

 in 1558 ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. x, no. 

 13. There was a large amount of dis- 



puting about it at the time, as will be 

 seen by a reference to the Ducatus Lane. 

 (Rec. Com.), i, 145, 150; ii, 56, 194. 

 Hugh Bradshaw and Constance his wife 

 were in possession in 1535, but Thomas 

 Holcroft's title was allowed. 



88 William Holcroft and Elizabeth his 

 wife were vendors ; Pal. of Lane. Feet of 

 F. bdle. 61, m. 139. 



89 It was purchased from Edward Bolton 

 in 1671, according to the statement in 

 Leyland's A bram, 20 ; but was acquired by 

 Frances Dukinfield in 1633 or 1634 from 

 Ralph Ashton and Katherine his wife ; 

 Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 124, m. 18. 



The later succession is described in 

 Leyland, 21-8. See also Pal. of Lane. 

 Feet of F. bdle. 362, m. 129. 



40 Leyland, op. cit. 23, 24 ; and infor- 

 mation of the secretary to the company. 

 Nothing of the old house remains. 



41 Some deeds concerning the family have 

 been preserved by Towneley, Add. MS. 

 32105, no. 906-23. The other informa- 

 tion is given in the Culcheth papers publish- 

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



In 1392 John son of Thomas de Cul- 

 cheth had lands in Abram and Hindley ; 

 his son Roger had married Ellen daughter 

 of Henry son of Robert de Blackrod ; Add. 

 MS. 32105, no. 915. 



William Culshaw in 1531 arranged for 

 the marriage of Roger, his son and heir, 

 with Janet daughter of John Richardson ; 

 his own wife was named Margery ; ibid. 

 no. 911, 912,919. The lands in Hindley 

 were called Occleshull and Taleor, and in 

 Abram, Longfield. 



42 Ibid. no. 909. The holding in Abram 

 was two messuages, two tofts, two gardens, 

 two orchards, 40 acres of land, 20 acres 

 of meadow, and 20 acres of pasture. 

 Roger Culcheth was his son and heir, and 

 six years of age. 



48 Dugdale, Visit. (Chet. Soc.), 92. 

 Roger Culcheth was still living, aged eighty- 

 four; his son George recorded the pedigree. 

 His two eldest sons had been slain at 

 Newbury, and a younger son in Wirral in 

 the Civil Wars ; Thomas, the third son, 

 aged forty-four, was the heir. 



44 See Lanes, and Ches. Hist, and Gen. 

 Notes, ii, 228, for a continuation of the 

 pedigree by Mr. J. P. Rylands. Roger 

 Culcheth of Wottenbury in Warwick- 

 shire, by his will of 1701, left his estate 

 in the parish of Wigan to his brother 

 Thomas of Studley in Warwickshire, 

 tanner; ibid. p. 120. This Thomas left 

 a son William, who seems to have been the 



114 



last of the family connected with Abram; 

 ibid, i, 275, 276. See also Payne's Engl. 

 Cath. Rec. 26. Part of their land is now 

 the property of the trustees of Abigail 

 Crook's charities. 



Roger Culcheth of Abram, as a ' papist,' 

 registered his estate in 1717, the value 

 was 64 151. 4</. ; Engl. Cath. Nonjurors, 

 124. The name of the family had 

 constantly appeared on the Recusant Rolls ; 

 Gillow's Bibl. Diet. Engl. Cath. i, 608. 



45 Adam, son and heir-apparent of 

 Robert Bolton, was a surety for William 

 Culcheth in 1531 ; Add. MS. 32105, no. 

 912. The father and son were engaged 

 in numerous disputes as to their property, 

 called Blackfields, Mossheys, Lower House, 

 New Earth, etc. ; see Ducatus Lane. (Rec. 

 Com.), i, 1 66, &c. It appears that Robert 

 Bolton died in 1552 or 1553 ; his wife's 

 name was Elizabeth Holden. Another 

 Robert Bolton is mentioned in 1583 (ibid, 

 iii, 149), and the inquisition after the 

 death of Edward Bolton in 158713 in Duchy 

 of Lane. Inq. p.m. xv, no. 48. The tenure 

 is not recorded ; Edward's heir was his son 

 William, twenty-three years of age. 



William Bolton was a freeholder in 

 1600 and Edward Bolton in 1628 ; Misc. 

 (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 239 ; 

 Norris D. (B.M). This is perhaps the 

 Edward Bolton who sold Bickershaw Hall 

 in 1671. Deeds relating to Bolton House 

 in Abram and other properties of the family 

 are printed in Lanes, and Ches. Hist, and 

 Gen. Notes, ii, 39, 47. 



46 Mascy of Rixton D. 



47 Richard Corless as a landowner con- 

 tributed to the subsidy of 1628 ; Norris D. 

 (B.M.). 



48 Nicholas Huyton of Blackrod in 1528 

 held lands in Abram of the heirs of John 

 Abram by a rent of 51. ; Duchy of Lane. 

 Inq. p.m. vi, no. 53. In 1628 John Lith- 

 goe contributed to the subsidy 'for Huy- 

 ton's lands ' ; Norris D. (B.M.). 



49 William Leyland was a trustee in 

 1626 ; Add. MS. 32105, no. 906. Their 

 connexion with the township ceased about 

 1 780; but John Leyland of Cheetham 

 House (afterwards called the Grange) in 

 Hindley represented them down to his 

 death in 1883 ; his accounts of Hindley 

 and Abram, published in 1873 and 1881,. 

 have been used in these notes. A grant 

 of arms was made to him in 1863 ; Lanes, 

 and Cbes. Hist, and Gen. Notes, iii, 34. 



50 Leyland, op. cit. 1 14 ; the custom 

 was observed in 1880. Mr. William Vali- 

 ant informs us that this is still kept up. 



