A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



Institution 

 oc. 1301 . . 



4 May 1301 j 

 23 Oct. 1302 J 



7 Aug. 1316 

 1 1 Dec. 1320. 

 15 Oct. 1332 . 



26 July 1334. 



15 April 1347 

 29 June 1357 

 1362-5 

 13 Sept. 1400 



1 8 Mar. 1401-2 

 28 April 1417 

 12 Dec. 1417 

 1 6 Feb. 1435-6 

 20 Aug. 1445 

 I May 1493 

 4 Sept. 1498 



Rector 

 Mr. Matthew de Sholver 39 



Mr. William de Marklan 40 



Patron 



Adam de Prestwich 



John called Travers 4I . 



Richard de Parr u Sir Ric. de Holland . 



Nicholas de Traffbrd" .... Thos. son of Adam 



Prestwich 



Richard de Warton M Thos. son of Adam 



Prestwich 



Robert de Donington " . . . . Ric. de Radcliffe . . 



John de Radcliffe " 



Richard de Pilkington " . . . . Ric. de Radcliffe, sen. . 



Geoffrey del Fere 48 Rob. de Langley . 



Thurstan de Atherton 4 * . . 



Nicholas de Tyldesley* .... The King . . . . 

 Philip Morgan, J.U.D." .... . . . . 



Thurstan Langley M Robert Langley . . 



Peter Langley w . . 



Ralph Langley M . . 



Ralph Langley, B.Decr." .... 



Thomas Langley ** . l . 



de 

 de 



Cause of Vacancy 



d. W. de Marklan 

 res. John Travers 

 d. R. de Pan- 

 res. N. de Trafford 



d. R. de Warton 

 d. R. de Donington; 



d. R. de Pilkington 



d. T. Langley 

 d. P. Langley 

 d. R. Langley 

 d. R. Langley 



89 In Feb. 1300-1 the bishop granted 

 him leave to take part in the obsequies 

 (stand't in obsequiis) of Roger de Pilkington 

 until the following Pentecost ; Lich. Epis. 

 Reg. i, fol. 23. Long afterwards it was 

 alleged that he had without licence appro- 

 priated to the church of Prestwich a mes- 

 suage called Palden in Oldham, and in 

 1397 and 14.04 his successors were called 

 upon to account for 10.1. rent which should 

 have accrued to the Crown for the same ; 

 L.T.R. Mem. R. 163, xiiij. 



40 On 4 May 1301 the bishop entrusted 

 the church of Prestwich to him for a fort- 

 night ; and again on 23 Oct. 1302 the 

 administrators of the bishopric granted 

 him the custody of Prestwich, revocable at 

 their good pleasure; Lich. Epis. Reg. i, fol. 

 23^, 24. The peculiar licence may have 

 been due to his illegitimate birth see the 

 account of the rectors of Wigan or to 

 his possession of another benefice ; for in 

 1311 Clement V, reciting that William 

 de Marklan had already been dispensed on 

 account of illegitimacy so as to be ordained 

 and hold a benefice, granted him a further 

 dispensation to hold the rectories of Castle 

 Donington and Prestwich and the deanery 

 of Chester in Durham ; Cal. Papal Letters, 

 ii, 82. 



He appears as rector in a suit of 1 304 ; 

 De Banco R. 149, m. 255. 



41 Lich. Epis. Reg. i, fol. 6^b. A John 

 Travers was about the same time rector of 

 Broughton Astley in the diocese of Ely, 

 resigning it in 1322 ; Cal. Pat. 1321-24, 

 pp. 84, 112; the same or another was 

 Canon of York in 1332; Cal. Papal 

 Letters, ii, 358. Another John Travers 

 was a prominent public official ; see Foss, 

 Judges. 



42 Lich. Epis. Reg. i, fol. 87^; the bene- 

 fice had been vacant for a month. The 

 new rector was an acolyte. In 1324 he 

 had permission to let his church to farm 

 for two years ; ibid, ii, fol. jb. He was 

 plaintiff in 1325 ; De Banco R. 258, m. 

 418 d. 



48 Lich. Epis. Reg. ii, fol. io8i ; he 

 was a clerk. 



44 Ibid, ii, fol. 1 09 b ; he was a priest, 

 and had been vicar of Bolton. The 

 name is spelt Wauerton at institution and 

 Wareton at death. He was probably one 

 of the Wartons of Little Hulton, being a 

 trustee for William de Warton in 1335 ; 



Towneley MS. DD, no. 943. Complaint 

 was made in 1346 that he had broken 

 into the close of Henry de Bold at Prest- 

 wich ; De Banco R. 345, m. 113. At 

 the same time he claimed an account from 

 his bailiff William de Parr, who made a 

 counterclaim, for moneys received in 

 Prestwich, Middleton, and Bolton-le- 

 Moors ; ibid. m. 232. 



45 Lich. Epis. Reg. ii, fol. 120. 



46 Ibid, ii, fol. 134; he was a clerk, 

 ordained sub-deacon in 1358, deacon in 

 1360, and priest in 1361; ibid, i, fol. 162; 

 v, fol. 82-3. 



4 " At Michaelmas 1362 Richard son 

 of William de Radcliffe claimed against 

 Richard de Langley the right to present a 

 fit parson to the church of Prestwich, 

 then vacant, but was nonsuited for failing 

 to appear; De Banco R. 411, m. 214 d. 

 On 7 Nov. 1362 the bishop gave leave to 

 Richard de Pilkington, rector of Prest- 

 wich, to be absent for four years attending 

 the studium generate, and dispensed him in 

 the form of the constitution ; Lich. Epis. 

 Reg. v, fol. 7 b. Then on ' 16 KaL Apr. 

 1365.' Richard de Pilkington, priest, was 

 admitted to the rectory, vacant by the re- 

 signation of John de Pilkington, priest ; 

 ibid, iv, fol. 83. The last name is probably 

 an error for John de Radcliffe ; but, if so, 

 the incoming rector had deferred his in- 

 stitution for three or four years. 



He was defendant in a suit for debt at 

 the end of the reign of Edward III ; De 

 Banco R. 456, m. 10, 453 ; R. 457, m. 

 1 86 ; in one place he is called Randle. 

 He was a brother of Sir Roger de Pilking- 

 ton ; ibid. R. 460, m. 361 d. 323 d. 



Richard de Pilkington died in Aug. 

 1400. 



48 Lich. Reg. vii, fol. 87. 



49 Ibid. ; on 24 Jan. 1400-1 the king 

 sent his mandate to the Bishop of Lich- 

 field that Thurstan de Atherton should 

 not be molested in his occupancy of the 

 church of Prestwich until the king's claim 

 to the patronage had been proved by pro- 

 cess of law. From the account of Pendle- 

 bury it will be seen that though Robert 

 de Langley came of age in June 1400 he 

 did not give formal proof of this till 1403, 

 so that though he was patron of the 

 rectory and of age, the presentation was 

 the legal right of the king. 



In the record of a suit as to the right of 



72 



presentation Thurstan is said to have been 

 the nominee of Robert de Langley. The 

 pleading, though of some length, it im- 

 perfect. It gives, but inaccurately, the 

 rectors from 1302 ; Pal. of Lane. Plea 

 R. i, m. 13, 14. 



80 Lich. Epis. Reg. vii, fol. 87^ ,- he was 

 a clerk. For the presentation see Lanes. 

 Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc.), i, 53. 



In 1404 he had to defend a claim made 

 by the Crown to a rent of i oj. from Palden 

 in Oldham, said to have been acquired 

 without licence by Master Matthew, a 

 former rector. Inquiry had been made in 

 1371, and account had been demanded 

 from the executors of Robert de Doning- 

 ton, John de Radcliffe, and Richard de 

 Pilkington ; L.T.R. Mem. R. 163, xiiij 

 (21 Ric. II), and 169, xij (5 Hen. IV). 



61 Again there was a dispute as to the 

 presentation. The king presented first ; 

 Dr. Morgan, one of the royal officials, 

 afterwards Bishop of Worcester (14 19-3 5), 

 being put in for the time ; Lich. Epis. Reg. 

 viii, foL 19. 



53 Ibid ; he was a clerk. 



63 Ibid, ix, fol. 123 ; a clerk. In or 

 about 1448 Katherine, widow of Robert 

 de Langley, and mother of Peter de Lang- 

 ley late rector of Prestwich, as executor 

 of the said Peter's will claimed debts from 

 certain persons ; Pal. of Lane. Writ* of 

 Assize. 



64 Lich. Epis. Reg. ix, foL 127^ ; a clerk. 

 He was also Warden of Manchester from 

 1465 to 1481. He rebuilt the chapel at 

 Oldham. He was brother of the pre- 

 ceding rector ; see Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Chet. 

 Soc.), ii, 147, and the account of Agecroft. 

 His will is in P.C.C. i Vox. 



*.* Lich. Epis. Reg. xiii, fol. 157. In 1497 

 he was one of the visitors appointed to 

 inquire into disorders in the monastery of 

 Upholland ; ibid, xiii, fol. 236^. Ralph 

 Langley graduated at Cambridge in 1490 

 as Bachelor of Decrees (Canon Law) ; he 

 had had five years' study at Oxford and 

 Cambridge ; Grace Bk. B (Luard Mem.), 

 7, 15, 20. 



86 Lich. Epis. Reg. xiii, fol. 23153 clerk. 

 He was ordained priest in 1500 : ibid, 

 fol. 286*. 



It is noticeable that Thomas Langley is 

 called 'late parson of Prestwich,' and 

 William Langley 'now parson,' both being 

 alive, in 1523 ; Raines, Chantries, 43 note. 



