A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



to its facing in brick. There may have been a wooden 

 building on the site before, but the timber front to 

 the gatehouse shown in old drawings of Wardley Hall, 

 which was so characteristic a feature of the house 

 in the view from the north, was not timber at all, but 

 only a painted plaster covering in front of the brick- 

 work. The old brick walls have now been restored 

 to their original appearance. The other brick eleva- 

 tions are, perhaps, more rebuildings than restora- 

 tions, and have no special interest. The room east 

 of the gatehouse upstairs is said to have been a chapel, 

 but there appears to be no documentary evidence 

 for this, and the building itself at the present time 

 offers none. The position, however, would be a 

 convenient and likely one for the purpose, and a 

 former tenant of the hall is stated to have said that he 

 formerly saw evidences of the apartment having been 

 a chapel. 98 



In an inventory of goods in Wardley Hall dated 

 10 July 1638, the following rooms and places are 

 mentioned : 98a 



' The little parler, the old yeaman's chamber, newe 

 flored chambers, buttery chamber, maydon's chamber, 

 gatehouse chamb r , mattdd chamber, garden chamber, 

 steare head chamber, yellowe chamber, corner cham- 

 ber, inner corner chamber, chamber over hall, 

 chappell chamber, cookes chamber, masters' cham- 

 ber, inner chamber, chamber over pantry, greate 

 parlor, grounde parlor, the hall, servantes chamb r , 

 oxe house chamber, garner chamb', mylne, stable 

 chamber, brewhouse, back house, dry larder, wett lar- 

 der, dryhouse, cheese chamber, kytchein, Mr. Milling- 

 ton's clossett, storehouse, washe house, buttery and 

 seller, mylne.' 



A peculiar interest has long been attached to the house 

 on account of a human skull being kept there. The 

 superstition is that if the skull is moved from its place 

 great storms will follow, to the damage of the dwelling. 



The skull is in a niche in the wall on the staircase 

 landing, carefully protected by glass and a wooden 

 outer door. Concerning it there are several legends and 

 traditions, but it is now supposed to be that of the 

 Ven. Ambrose Barlow, who served the private chapel 

 at Wardley along with other places in South Lanca- 

 shire, but was arrested on Easter Sunday, 1641, and 

 executed in the September following at Lancaster. 

 After his execution it is thought that his head may 

 have been secured by Mr. Francis Downes, and pre- 

 served by him at Wardley Hall." The story of the 

 skull being that of the last Roger Downes (died 1676) 

 has been disproved. 



The Hollands of Denton held another part of the 

 Hospitallers' lands in Wardley by a rent of 4^.' 



Another ancient estate in Worsley was KEMP- 

 NOUGH, m granted early in the 1 3th century by 

 Richard de Worsley to Roger his brother (or son) at 

 a rent of zs. 103 Richard son of Roger appears fre- 

 quently as a witness to local charters and in other 

 ways during the second part of the i jth century. 105 

 Probably he was the father of Robert the Clerk of 

 Worsley, whose grandson Richard in 1346 made a 

 settlement of his lands in Worsley upon his son 

 Robert, with remainder to his daughter Ellen. 104 The 

 last-named seems to have succeeded. She married 

 Richard de Parr, and in 1408 a further settlement 

 was made, Oliver being their eldest son. 105 Oliver 

 married Emma daughter and heir of Margery, widow 

 of Henry Tootill ; she had lands in Tyldesley, which 

 descended to their son and grandson, each named 

 Richard. 106 The estate descended to John Parr, who 

 in 1560 made a settlement. 107 His heir was his 

 daughter Anne, whose marriage with Nicholas Starkie 

 carried Kempnough into this family, 103 and their 

 descendants, the Starkies of Huntroyde, retained 

 possession until 1876, when it was sold to the Bridge- 

 water trustees. 109 



98 Taylor, op. cit. 68 n. 



8> Printed in H.V. Hart-Davis's Hist, of 

 Wardley Hall, Lancashire (1908), 120-35. 



99 An authoritative account will be 

 found in Hart-Davis's and Holme's Ward- 

 ley Hall, 153. See also Harland and 

 Wilkinson, Lanes. Legends, 65-73 5 Lanes, 

 and Ches. Antiq. Soc. i, 31-8 ; xvi, 143 ; 

 Month, xcviii, 379. 



H Kuerden MSS. v, fol. 84 ; Lanes. Inq. 

 pjn. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), ii, 146. 



101 Kempenhalgh and other variations 

 of spelling occur. 



108 Towneley MS. DD, no. 948. The 

 bounds began at Peverelsgate, went by 

 Haysbrook to Holclough across to 

 Hankechirche, by Hulteley Brook to 

 Millbrook, along this to Scaythelache, 

 and so to the starting point. The grantor 

 must have been Richard son of Elias de 

 Worsley, for Roger de Worsley made a 

 grant of land in Swinton in 1231 ; Elles- 

 mere D. no. 215. 



Richard de Worsley gave to Roger his 

 son an oxgang and a half in Swinton ; 

 Whalley Couch, iii, 904. As ftto im- 

 proves the pedigree, seeing that Roger's 

 son Richard lived till the end of the cen- 

 tury, fratri may be an error in transcrip- 

 tion. Cecily de Rivington was Roger's 

 widow ; ibid. 905. 



108 In 1278 he claimed the common of 

 pasture pertaining to 80 acres of arable 

 land in Worsley against Richard son of 

 Geoffrey de Worsley, Agnes widow of 

 Geoffrey, and many others, in virtue of a 



grant made by plaintiff's ' ancestor," 

 Richard de Worsley, to Roger ; Assize R. 

 1238, m. 34 d. Richard was still living 

 in 1292 ; ibid. 408, m. 32. 



In 1334 Thomas son of Richard son of 

 William de Bowdon claimed a messuage, 

 &c., in Worsley against Richard son of 

 Richard son of Roger de Worsley and 

 Ellen his wife ; De Banco R. 300, m. 244. 



104 Richard son of Robert the Clerk of 

 Worsley gave his lands in Worsley to his 

 son Richard, with remainder to another 

 son Robert ; DD, no. 291. The wit- 

 nesses include Richard lord of Worsley 

 and Alexander his brother. In 1334 

 Richard son of Robert de Worsley claimed 

 common of pasture against Alexander son 

 of Richard de Worsley ; Coram Rege R. 

 297, m. 1 20. Alexander de Worsley 

 attested a grant made in 1345 or 1346 by 

 Richard de Worsley to his father Richard 

 son of Robert the Clerk; DD, no. 950. 

 At the same time or a year later the settle- 

 ment named in the text was made ; DD, 

 no. 952. This Alexander de Worsley 

 may have been the ancestor of the Wors- 

 leys of Pemberton. 



105 Final Cone, iii, 64. In addition to Oli- 

 ver seven sons and a daughter are named. 



106 From an abstract of title, c. 1480 ; 

 DD, no. 959. In 1484 Hugh son and 

 heir of Richard son of Richard Parr was 

 contracted to marry Constance sister of 

 Thomas Tyldesley ; Richard the father 

 had married an Elizabeth, and his father 

 Richard had married Margaret, afterwards 



3 88 



the wife of Henry Undskoles ; Hunt- 

 royde D. T. 8. 



10 ' The pedigree in the Visit, of 1567 

 (Chet. Soc.), 1 20, states that John 

 Parr was the son of Thurstan son of 

 Hugh son of Richard Parr. Anne, the 

 only child of John, was at that time wife 

 of Thurstan Barton of Smithills. See 

 also Topog. and Gen. iii, 359. In the fine 

 of 1560 the estate is described as sixteen 

 messuages, a dovecote, 40 acres of land, 

 &c.; Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 22, 

 m. 73. The family is noticed also in the 

 account of Cleworth in Tyldesley. 



108 In 1578 a further settlement was 

 made of nine messuages, a dovecote, 300 

 acres of land, &c. in Worsley and Tyldes- 

 ley, the deforciants being John Parr, 

 Nicholas Starkie, and Anne his wife ; 

 Nicholas and his wife were sole deforciants 

 five years later ; ibid. bdle. 40, m. 1 1 ; 

 45, m. 61. 



In 1580 Richard Brereton of Worsley 

 stated that he had inherited a parcel of 

 waste called Roe Green, and a parcel of 

 turbary and moss ground called Linny- 

 shaw Moss, but Nicholas Starkie and 

 Anne his wife had made various encroach- 

 ments thereon, besides destroying twenty 

 wagon loads of turf taken from the moss. 

 Starkie replied that he and his wife had 

 entered by inheritance after the death of 

 John Parr, her father ; Duchy of Lane. 

 Plead. Eliz. cxv, B 8. 



109 Information of Mr. Daniel Howsin, 

 of Padiham. 



