A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



1 898, when the rood was set up over it. It has a wide 

 central opening with double doors, and four openings on 

 each side, with traceried heads, and above are modern 

 canopies with richly carved cornice and cresting. 

 The lower part is filled with panels with carved 

 shields on which are displayed in bad heraldry the 

 arms of the Asshetons and their alliances." The 

 screen formerly extended across the full width of the 

 church, but the parts in front of the two chapels 

 appear to have been demolished when the galleries 

 were erected. These have now been replaced by 

 modern screens in character with the older work. 

 The screen between the chancel and the north chapel 

 (organ chamber) is ancient, and has nine openings 

 with traceried heads and a four-centred arched door- 

 way at the west end with carved spandrels. The 

 cornice is carved with the vine trail, but the cresting 

 is broken and mutilated. The screen opposite, 

 between the chancel and Assheton Chapel, is modern 

 and very plain, but retains a little old work in a leaf- 

 pattern cornice on the chancel side. 



There are four old stalls at each side of the chancel 

 door, the misericordes being very simply carved with 

 leaves, and in the quire are six old bench-ends three 

 on each side, now used as ends to the quire stalls. 

 Otherwise all the fittings, including the font, pulpit, 

 and seating, are modern. The font is at the west end 

 of the south aisle, and was plain till 1 846, when it 

 was carved as at present. There is an old oak alms- 

 box at the east end of the north aisle. 



There are several brasses to the Asshetons within 

 the altar rails, the most interesting being that of Sir 

 Ralph Assheton and his wife Margery (Barton) with 

 seven sons and six daughters, and a shield of Assheton 

 quartering Barton. There is no inscription, but the 

 details point to a date at the end of the I5th century. 

 Other brasses are those of Edmund Assheton, rector, 

 1522, Richard Assheton, 1618, and Ralph Assheton, 

 1650, the Parliamentary General (his monument 

 was removed from the Assheton Chapel in 1889), 

 his sister Alice and her three husbands. 1 * 1 



The east window of the Assheton Chapel contains 

 some fragments of 16th-century glass in the outer 

 lights, including a shield in the west light (i and 4 

 now blank, probably Assheton ; 2 and 3 Middleton 

 quartering Barton) ; and in the south light a fragment 

 with the heads of a bishop and a priest. The three 

 middle lights have each three shields of modern glass 

 with the arms of various families connected with 

 Middleton Church." 5 There is a fragment of ancient 

 glass in the middle window of the south aisle, but the 

 most interesting glass in the church is that known as 

 the Flodden window on the south side of the chancel. 

 Up to 1 8467 this glass was in a three-light window 

 in the north aisle, but was at that time removed to its 

 present position, suffering a good deal in the process. 

 * It contains the figures of some of the principal 

 persons of Middleton and neighbourhood who 



accompanied Sir Richard Assheton to Flodden, and 

 represents first himself and his lady in scarlet, in long 

 garments, with an attendant squire in blue, his 

 chaplain also in blue kneeling before an altar, and 

 seventeen bowmen . . . also in blue with long hair, 

 and the name of each man originally placed over each 

 figure.' 13 In many parts the window is little better 

 than a patchwork of mutilated fragments. The figures 

 of the archers are fairly recognizable, but Sir Richard 

 and Lady Ann are so broken up and mixed with other 

 parts that it is difficult to trace them. 14 Most of the 

 names can still be read,but some have become obliterated. 

 The following can be read : Henricus Taylyer, 

 Richard Kylw , Hughe Chetham, James Gerrarde, 

 John Pylkyngton, Philipe Werburton, William 



[Ste] le, John Scolefede, Wylliam , James Taylier, 



Roger Blomeley, Crystofer Smythe, Henry Whitaker, 

 Robart Prestwyche, Richard Bexwicke. The archers 

 stretch across the upper portion of the two lights, and 

 Sir Richard and other figures are below. These no 

 doubt were originally in a third light, but of the 

 exact disposition of the parts there is unfortunately no 

 record. 15 In 1786 Philip de la Motte visited the 

 church and made an engraving of part of the window, 16 

 which has preserved the names of the archers and the 

 dedicatory inscription as it was in the latter half of 

 the 1 8th century. The inscription, which has since 

 been transposed, is given thus : ' Orate pro bono statu 

 Richard! Assheton et eorum qui hanc fenestra[m] 

 fieri fecerunt quoru[m] no[m]ina et imagines ut supra 

 ostenduntur anno dmi mcccccv.' " 



There is an interesting description of this window 

 in a poem called Iter Lancastrense written by the Rev. 

 Richard James, of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, in 

 1636: 



Now go we to ye church of Middleton 



To find out there summe glorye of our owne. 



At chardge of those good men, whoe went out far 



In suite of our brave Ashton to the warre. 



There stands a painted windowe, where I weene 



The showe of their departure may be scene : 



The Lord and Ladye first in skarlett ; then 



One neere attending of ye chiefest men ; 



Their garments long, his short and bliew, behinde 



The chaplaine of ye warfare you may finde 



In robe of ye same colour, for to say 



Before an altar praiers of ye daye 



On bended knees ; him follow neighbours bould 



Whoe doe bent bowes on their left shoulders hould, 



Their girdle sheaft with arrowes ; as the squire 



So are they all, court mantells in attire 



Of blewe ; like Greeks in Trojan warre, their haire 



In curies long dangling makes ye semblance faire 



And sterne ; each hath his name, and people tell 



That on ye same lands now their children dwell 



As yet so called. 18 



In 1869, during the restoration, a stone coffin con- 

 taining human remains was found in the north side 

 of the nave in the third bay from the west. 19 Part 

 of a stone altar slab was formerly preserved in the 

 church, but has now disappeared. 10 



12 The original panels may have become 

 defaced and been renewed at a later date 

 by someone ignorant of heraldry. See a 

 letter by Rev. E. F. Letts, quoted in 

 Dean's Historic al Middleton, 139, in which 

 the matter is discussed at length. 



lij The brasses are drawn in J. L. 

 Thornely's Brasses of Lanes, and Ches. 



lab These are all given in Dean's 

 Historical Middleton, 134-5. 



18 Corser, note in Iter Lancastrense 

 (Chet. Soc. vii), 38. 



14 Dean, Hist. Middleton, 99. 



15 Full - size drawings of the principal 

 figures were made by James Shaw in 

 1844-5, at tne instance of John Pegge, 

 before the removal of the window from 

 the north aisle, and these are now in the 

 Assheton Chapel. 



16 Motte's original copper-plate, after it 

 had been lost more than a century, was 

 recovered in 1903. 



V The date is wrong if the window 



I 5 6 



really represents the Flodden archers, but 

 it has been suggested that an x or xx has 

 been left out, and that the window was 

 glazed in 1515, or more likely in 1525, 

 during the rebuilding of the church. 



18 The poem was first published in 

 1845 by the Chetham Society, vol. vii. 

 It is illustrated by coloured illustrations of 

 the window from Shaw's drawings. 



19 Hist. Middleton, 131. 

 80 Ibid. 132. 



