SALFORD HUNDRED 



BOLTON-LE-MOORS 



The stipend assigned to the vicarage was a liberal 

 one when it was fixed, but as time went on the 

 income from fees and offerings probably became more 

 important. It was contemplated from the first that 

 the vicar should have at least one assistant, and the 

 later foundations of a chantry at Blackrod and of 

 chapels in other parts of the parish assisted in the 

 increase of the staff of resident clergy. In 1541-2, in 

 addition to the vicar, his curate, and the chantry 

 priest, three names appear on the list. 71 Possibly there 

 were others, for in 1548 eight were summoned to the 

 bishop's visitation, and the same number in 15 54. 

 The subsequent religious changes were accompanied 

 by a marked reduction in the staff; in 1563 the 

 vicar was absent, as also was the curate of Rivington, 

 the curate of Turton was decrepit, and the only other 

 name recorded is that of the curate of Walmsley. 

 Two years later the vicar was^assisted by a * reader' ; 

 the curates of Turton and Walmsley are the others 

 named, the former being ill and the latter apparently 

 on the point of leaving. 73 



The extremer forms of Protestantism prevailed very 

 quickly in the parish. 74 In 1592 there was no sur- 

 plice even, but, in obedience to the bishop, one was 

 purchased and worn by the vicar. 75 Ellis Saunderson, 

 vicar from 1598 to 1625, was one of the Puritan 

 ringleaders in the district. 76 He was a preacher him- 

 self, and had the assistance of a lecturer paid by the 

 parishioners, and the chapels at Rivington and Turton 



were both ' well supplied with ministry ' in his time. 77 

 A further improvement in the number of the staff was 

 shown in 1650, when there were not only the vicar 

 and endowed lecturer at the parish church, but 

 ministers at each of the chapels at Turton, Bradshaw, 

 Blackrod, and Rivington, though Walmsley Chapel 

 was vacant. 78 



There was probably a relapse after the ejection of 

 Richard Goodwin in 1662, sequestered ' delinquents' ' 

 estates having ceased to furnish incomes for a large 

 staff of preaching ministers. 79 Nonconformity at the 

 same time made its appearance. 80 In 1 69 1 the vicar, 

 his curate, and the curate of Turton were the only 

 clergy appearing at the visitation ; Rivington about 

 that time seems to have been vacant frequently. 81 

 During the 1 8th century the growth of the population 

 and the augmentation of the benefice appear to have 

 been accompanied by a better and larger staff of 

 clergy, 8 * and in the last century great additions were 

 made to the number of churches and their ministers. 



The ' chapel of our Blessed Lady ' is named in a 

 will dated I539, 83 and the 'chapel of Jesus' in 

 1581 ; M but there was no endowed chantry at the 

 parish church. 



In 1622 a lectureship was partially endowed by 

 the Rev. James Gosnell, who had himself acted as 

 curate or preacher at Bolton for forty years. 85 He 

 was a decided Puritan, and his benefaction was 

 towards the yearly stipend of 30 of ' a preacher, 



7* Clergy List (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and 

 Ches.), 13 ; the three were probably 

 chaplains at Bradshaw, Rivington, and 

 Turton. 



7 s The list of ornaments of the church 

 remaining in 1552, which included five 

 suits of mass vestments, is printed in 

 Cb. Gets. 23. The inscriptions on the 

 old bells are given ; ibid. 25. 



7 s These details are from the Visitation 

 Lists in the Diocesan Registry, Chester. 



7 4 Bolton was one of the places in 

 which John Bradford preached in the time 

 of Edward VI. 



75 W. Fergusson Irvine in Lanes, and 

 Cbet. Antiq. Soc. xiii, 59 ; the only chapel 

 of ease mentioned is Blackrod. 



7' Scholes and Pimblett, op. cit. 253, 

 254 ; he was in 1605 presented for 'not 

 residing in the parish, for not wearing a 

 cloak or cassock, for not going the peram- 

 bulation, and for marrying in private 

 houses.' Four people of the town were 

 at the Visitation of 1623-4 presented for 

 killing flesh and exposing -the same for 

 sale in Lent ; Raines MSS. (Chet. Lib.), 

 xxii, 196. 



77 Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. xiv, App. iv, 1 1. 



? 8 Commonwealth Ch. Surv, 30-6. 



7* The people of the district remained 

 attached to Presbyterianism. In reply to 

 the Bishop of Chester's inquiries in 1665 

 it was stated that the church was in 

 indifferent good repair,' but the chancel 

 was not evenly flagged, and the commu- 

 nion table was not railed about. There 

 was a chalice with covering (the gift of a 

 Londoner), a flagon, and two pewter 

 plates, but more communion plate was 

 required. There was a stone font. The 

 only vestment was 'a surplice, as is 

 required.' The vicarage and churchyard 

 were not in good condition. Interesting 

 are the replies as to the vicar's conduct : 

 'He doth usually every Lord's Day call 

 upon parents to prepare their children and 

 servants and send them to be catechised. 

 He catechised all that will come and would 



prepare them for confirmation if their 

 parents would give way. He laboureth 

 to bring sectaries to the true religion. 

 He is orthodox in doctrine and of a blame- 

 less conversation.' A list of excommuni- 

 cated persons is given,and one of those not 

 attending church. No terrier existed. An 

 account of the charities is given ; Con- 

 sist. Ct. Rec. Chester. 



80 In 1665 it was reported to the Bishop 

 of Chester that Humphrey Jones, clerk, a 

 Nonconformist, prayed at the house of 

 Richard Heywood in Little Lever ; and 

 that Oliver and Nathaniel Heywood, 

 Nonconformist ubiquitaries, preached 

 there ; Visit. P. at Chester. 



In 1666 the Common Prayer Book was 

 stolen from the parish church, torn in 

 pieces, and thrown into the street channel; 

 and a Royalist magistrate like Sir Roger 

 Bradshagh felt it necessary to keep a 

 ' strict eye ' on Bolton, as holding ' the 

 same principles they had in the Rebellion'; 

 Pal. Note Bk. 



81 Stratford's Visitation List. In 1671 

 it was presented at the Visitation that 

 the church windows were defective and 

 the great chancel walls decayed ; there 

 was only one chalice, so that another had 

 to be borrowed every sacrament ; there 

 were wanting a pulpit cloth, a book of 

 canons, and a book for recording the 

 names of ' strange preachers.' 



In 1724 each of the six townships gave 

 a churchwarden to the parish, the consent 

 of the vicar being required in each elec- 

 tion ; Gastrell, Notitia, ii, 1 1. 



82 Among the Chester Consistory Court 

 Records is a return concerning Bolton, 

 made in 1730. The church, churchyard, 

 and vicarage were in good condition ; a 

 true terrier was safely kept. The vicar 

 was resident, but had a living in another 

 diocese. The curate was licensed, and 

 had 30 a year. There was ' no place 

 in our parish where papists resorted to 

 hear mass. Dissenters were very numer- 

 ous, but qualified with a teacher' accord- 



241 



ing to the Toleration Act. There were 

 five consecrated chapels, all supplied by 

 curates : Rivington (patrons, the people), 

 Blackrod (vicar), Walmsley (vicar), Tur- 

 ton (Samuel Chetham), and Bradshaw 

 (Henry Bradshaw). The churchwardens 

 were elected by the joint consent of vicar 

 and parishioners, and made ' due provision 

 for each communion on the first Sunday 

 in every month.' 



88 frills (Chet. Soc. new ser.), i, 221. 

 In 1541 Robert Bolton of Little Bolton 

 and others assembled and broke the chapel 

 of Ralph Ashton in Bolton Church, called 

 Our Lady's Chapel ; Pal. of Lane. Writs 

 of Assize, Lent, 33 Hen. VIII. It was 

 that on the south aisle of the chancel, 

 later known as the Bridgeman or Bradford 

 Chapel. 



** Will* (Chet. Soc. new ser.), i, 85 ; 

 the north chapel, belonging to the owners 

 of Turton Orrell and Chetham. 



84 This account of the lectureship and 

 its founders is taken from Scholes and 

 Pimblett's work, pp. 312-40, where a 

 list of the lecturers is given. Mr. Gos- 

 nell, it appears, though ' persuaded the 

 religion now [1622] established in this 

 kingdom to be, concerning the substance 

 of the articles of the doctrine of faith and 

 sacraments, the only true religion of God 

 by which men shall be saved,' was quite 

 unyielding in 'the matter of formality,' 

 and had consequently been several times 

 censured by the bishop. In a letter 

 written soon after he settled at Bolton he 

 says: 'Here [in Lancashire] are great 

 store of Jesuits, seminaries, masses, and 

 plenty of whoredom. The first sort our 

 sheriff [probably SirE. Traffbrd, 1583-4] 

 courseth pretty well. Other good news 

 is that the Bishop of Canterbury has not 

 yet, God be thanked, stung us with his 

 articles, which in the south parts have so 

 great power that, by report, they have 

 quenched the Lord's lights nearly to the 

 number of 200'; op. cit. 323, 324; 

 Raines in Notitia Cestr. ii, 10. 



3* 



