A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



and judge, 1828-82 ; and Sir William Hardman, 

 1828-90, sometime Recorder of Kingston and editor 

 of the Morning Post. Lives of most of them will be 

 found in the Dictionary of National Biography. Others 

 are noticed in the different townships. 



The church of ST*. MART stands in 

 CHURCH the centre of the town, to the north of 

 the market-place, on an ancient site, but 

 is itself a modern building erected entirely in the 

 I gth century. A church is said to have been built 

 here in the 1 3th century, and restored or rebuilt 

 about 1535; but it had fallen into a state of decay 

 by the middle of the i8th century, and in the year 

 1773 was taken down, with the exception of the tower, 

 and a new building erected between the years 1773 

 and 1780. Old prints show this church to have been 

 rectangular in plan, with a square projecting chancel, 

 built in pseudo-Gothic style, with two tiers of pointed 

 windows, straight parapets, and drafted angle quoins. 

 The tower, which is described in 1829 as an 'old 

 small semi-spire steeple ' detracting from the appear- 

 ance of the church," having been damaged in 1839, 

 was taken down four years later, and the present 

 tower and broach spire built in 18445. The i8th- 

 century church stood till 1870, when the chancel 

 was taken down and the present one begun ; but in 

 the course of reconstruction the whole of the old 

 building was declared to be unsafe, and was pulled 

 down in 1872. The present handsome church was 

 erected between 1870 and 1876, Mr. F. S. Crowther 

 being the architect, and consists of an apsidal chancel 

 56 ft. 6 in. long by 27 ft. 8 in. wide, with south chapel 

 and north vestry, nave 84ft. 6 in. long by 3 oft. wide, 

 with north and south aisles and south porch. The 

 tower of 1 845 was retained at the west end, and is 

 joined on to the new church by a wide narthex ex- 

 tending the whole width of the nave and aisles, to 

 which it is open by three arches. The building is of 

 stone, in the style of the I4th century, with lofty 

 clearstory and roof, quite overshadowing the tower 

 and spire, which, though too big for the church as it 

 was before 1870, is now too small. The interior is 

 partly lined with bricks, and is a fine example of 

 modern Gothic work. The height of the chancel is 



Institution 



oc. 1189 . . 

 bef. 1226 . 



Name 



Peter the Chaplain * 

 Henry" .... 



63 ft., and that of the nave 76ft. The fittings, like 

 the structure, are all modern, and there is nothing 

 about the building of antiquarian interest. 



The churchyard was enlarged in 1843, and closed 

 for interments in 1855. It is paved with headstones 

 laid flat, and has an 18th-century pedestal sundial on 

 the north side. 



There is a ring of eight bells, six by A. Rudhall of 

 Gloucester, 1722, recast by Mears & Stainbank, and 

 the two trebles by Taylor & Co., of Loughborough, 

 1892."* 



The plate is all modern, and consists of two chalices 

 of 1 8 60- 1, two patens of the same date, and a silver 

 bread-box given by Archdeacon Blackburne. One of 

 the patens is inscribed ' The gift of Elizabeth Plant, 

 relict of Thomas Plant, to the church of Bury,' and 

 the other * The gift of Mary Hutchinson, relict of 

 William Hutchinson, to the church of Bury.' There 

 are also two large plated flagons given by the Rev. 

 James Bankes (rector 171043), and a plated paten. 



The registers date from 1590 (baptisms 1590, 

 marriages and burials 1591), and have been printed, up 

 to 1698, by the Lancashire Parish Register Society." 



There is a clock and chimes in the tower, given in 

 1903 by Mr. Henry Whitehead, High Sheriff of 

 Lancashire. 



The church of Bury is known to 

 ADVQWSQN have existed at the end of the I2th 

 century. The patronage has always 

 descended with the lordship of the manor, 13 the Earl 

 of Derby now having the right of presentation. In 

 1291 the income was taxed at 20 marks, 14 but fifty 

 years later the ninth of sheaves, wool, &c., was only 

 worth half that sum, Bury proper contributing 

 IO2/. 2^., and the moiety of Tottington 3 1/. 2<^. 15 

 The gross value of the rectory in 1534 was returned 

 as 30 6s. 8</. 16 Nearly two centuries later it was 

 given as about 250.^ A large amount of the glebe 

 lying in the town of Bury, the rector was empowered 

 in 1764 to grant building leases for ninety-nine 

 years. 18 This greatly enhanced the rector's income, 

 which in 1834 was nearly 2,000, and afterwards 

 increased. It is now given as 2,000. 19 



The following is a list of the rectors : 



Patron 



Cause of Vacancy 



11 Jas. Butterworth, Bury, 1829. 



The church of 1775 was thus described 

 in 1824 : 'The new building is spacious 

 and handsome, but the old small half- 

 spire steeple detracts from its appearance 

 and ought to have shared the fate of the 

 body of the church ; ' Baines, Lanes. Dir. 

 i, 577. Canon Raines on the other hand 

 says : 'In 1773 the nave of the church 

 was rebuilt in a debased style, and in 

 1843 the fine old tower and spire were 

 with difficulty razed and rebuilt ; ' Notitia 

 Cestr. (Chet. Soc.), ii, 28. 



An organ was first placed in the church 

 in 1752 5 Barton, Bury, 298. This work 

 has a view of the church of 1775 as 

 frontispiece. 



1] These are recastings of two bells 

 added to the original ring of six in 1843. 

 The sixth and seventh bells are inscribed 

 with the initials of A. Rudhall, the 

 date 1722, and the names of the church- 

 wardens of that year. 



12 Vols. i, x, and xxiv, transcribed 

 by Rev. W. J. LOwenberg and Henry 



Brierley, the third vol. by Archibald 

 Sparke. 



18 It was so in 1287 ; De Banco R. 

 67, m. 56. Sir Roger de Pilkington 

 claimed the presentation in 1367, Henry 

 son of Margery de Radclift'e being defen- 

 dant ; De Banco R. 429, m. 127 d. 



14 Pope Nick. Tax. (Rec. Com.), 249. 



15 Inq. Non. (Rec. Com.), 39. The 

 other half of Tottington paid to Prestwich. 



" Valor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), v, 226. 

 The glebe lands returned 481. \d. ; tithe 

 of grain and hay, 15 ; of lambs and 

 wool, 4 ; of calves, &c., 20*.; Easter 

 roll, offerings, &c., 7 us. 8<; mor- 

 tuaries, 6s. %d. The Archdeacon of 

 Chester received 151. ^d. for synodals and 

 procurations. 



V Bishop Gastrell, Notitia Cestr. (Chet. 

 Soc.), ii, 27, 28. In 1673 there were 

 five wardens and five assistants ; about 

 1718 there were six churchwardens, viz. 

 one for Bury, chosen by the rector ; one 

 each for Heap, Walmersley, and Elton, 

 chosen by the rector out of three pre- 



124 



sented for each of these hamlets ; and 

 two named by Tottington. In 1552 

 there were four churchwardens for Bury, 

 and a warden for each of the three 

 chapels-of-ease ; in 1850 it was the cus- 

 tom for the rector to nominate a warden 

 and sidesman without any parish meeting, 

 the other townships sending in three 

 names, of which the rector chose two ; 

 Cb. Gds. (Chet. Soc.), 45, 47. 



18 Raines, op. cit. ii, 28 ; the Act is 

 printed in Barton, Bury, 149. In 1824 

 half the town was said to be glebe, the 

 other half being the Earl of Derby's 

 leasehold. 



19 Mancb. Dioc. Dir. 1910. 



20 He was one of the witnesses to the 

 foundation charter of Burscough Priory ; 

 as his name stands third, after the Arch- 

 deacon and the Prior of Norton, he could 

 not have been a mere stipendiary chap- 

 lain ; Farrer, Lanes. Pipe .8.350. 



91 Henry, parson of Bury, attested a 

 grant by Roger de Montbegon before 

 1226 ; Hopwood D. 



