A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



Instituted 

 1891 



1 1 Oct. 1 904 



Name 



George Burwell, M.A. 62 . 

 Walter Hudson, M.A. 63 



Patron 

 Bp. of Manchester 



Cause of Vacancy 

 exch. J. B. Jones 

 res. G. Burwell 



A chantry, St. Mary's, was founded by Thomas 

 Mawdesley, rector 1 523~3O, 64 and its priest was Ralph 

 Parker in I535- 68 Its altar was on the north side of 

 the church. 



The free school was established under the will of 

 John Brabin, dated i683. 66 



There does not seem to be any record of the normal 

 staff of clergy in this parish before the Reformation. 67 

 At each of the visitations of 1548 and 1554 two 

 names are given, but probably only one was resident, 

 and he may have been a domestic chaplain. 68 The 

 chantry endowment had perhaps been intended partly 

 to secure at least one resident priest. After the rectory 

 was appropriated to the bishopric it may be presumed 

 that the Bishops of Chester usually took care that their 

 vicar should reside, but there is little on record about 

 the parish. The vicar of the Commonwealth period 

 held the benefice during all the changes ; and another 

 noteworthy incident is the hostile reception accorded 

 by many of the people to Wesley, when John Milner, 

 the vicar, desired him to preach at Chipping. In 

 June 1752 Wesley and his friend the vicar returned 

 to Chipping from an evangelizing tour, and were in- 

 formed that the churchwardens and some others were 

 consulting as to the means of preventing Wesley from 

 preaching. After an interview they were pacified, and 

 Wesley preached in the church without disturbance. 

 Next year, however, several of those present stopped 

 Wesley by force from officiating ; but a large part of 

 the congregation followed him into the vicarage after 

 prayers, and he preached to them. 69 



The churchwardens at the visitation of 1753 pre- 

 sented the vicar ' for disorderly behaviour in the church 

 on Sunday the 4 th of March in the time of divine 

 service ; also for absenting himself on several holydays 

 and at divers times neglecting to read prayers as usual ; 

 likewise for introducing strange and unlicensed preachers 

 into his pulpit, contrary to the canon.' 



62 Educated at St. John's Coll., Camb. ; 

 M.A. 1874. Previously rector of All 

 Saints', Gorton. 



68 Educated at Exeter Coll., Oxf. ; 

 M.A. 1898. Previously rector of St. 

 Cyprian's, Ordsall. 



64 Ducatus Lane. (Rec. Com.), ii, 1 3 1-2. 



65 Valor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), v, 263. 

 The revenue was only 38$. $d. There 

 seem to have been disputes later regard- 

 ing the lands, between Hoghton and Shire- 

 burne ; Ducatus, loc. cit. ; i, 152. This 

 chantry is not mentioned by Raines, 

 who gives Ralph Parker as chantry priest 

 at Singleton Chapel in 1547. 



The lands of the chantry were sold to 

 Sir John Parrott in 1555-6 ; Pat. 2 & 3 

 Phil, and Mary, pt. viii. 



66 End. Char. Rep. (1902). For the 

 founder and his family see Smith, op. cit. 

 140. 'James Remington late school- 

 master at Chipping ' was buried there 

 15 Sept. 1675. 



67 The rector of Chipping was ad- 

 monished for not residing in 1444 ; 

 Raines MSS. xxii, 373, 375. 



68 Visit, returns at Chester. 



69 Wesley's Journal, quoted in Baines' 

 Lanes, (ed. Croston), iv, 80. 



70 Visit. Returns. 



71 It was printed in 1902, the report 

 of 1826 being re-issued with it. The 

 following details are derived from it. 



In 1755 it was stated that there were in the parish 

 136 families of Protestants and 38 of Dissenters. 70 



An inquiry into the charities was 

 CHARITIES made in I9OI. 71 John Brabin, the 

 founder of the schools, also established 

 almshouses, for which there is now an income of 

 ioj 5/., but only part of this is spent upon the six 

 almswomen. 72 Edward Helme in 1691 gave land 

 now producing ^35 a year for the general benefit of 

 the poor. 73 This sum and 16 los. from another 

 foundation 74 are distributed in money doles in the 

 township of Chipping. For Thornley with Wheatley 

 there is an endowment of 9 1 8/. a year, distributed 

 in sheets and flannel and skirts. 76 



CHIPPING 



Chipinden, Dom. Bk. ; Chipping, 1242 ; Chepin, 

 1246 ; Chipindale, 1258 ; Chipin, 1258 ; the final 

 g seldom occurs till xvi cent. Schepin and similar 

 forms are found occasionally, 1292 and later. 



The northern boundary at Fairsnape Fell attains 

 a height of 1,700 ft. ; thence a spur shoots south, 

 terminating in Parlick, 1,416 ft. high. Saddle Fell 

 is a minor eminence to the east. From Parlick the 

 ground slopes rapidly to the east and south, but land 

 over 600 ft. high projects south-east, and on the eastern 

 slope of this, close to the boundary, are Chipping 

 village and church, beside a brook running south to 

 join the sluggish Loud, which rises on Parlick and 

 bounds the township on the west (for part of the 

 way) and south, curling round a hill 500 ft. high, 

 Elmridge. Core is in the north-west corner, and 

 Wolfhall, formerly Wolfhouse, in the north. The 

 area of the township is 5,634 acres, 1 and it had a 

 population of 820 in 1901. 



The principal road is that from Thornley to Chip- 

 ping village, going north. Many smaller roads branch 

 oft" from it, crossing the township in all directions. 



7S John Brabin in 1683 bequeathed to 

 trustees messuages called Goose Lane 

 House and Waller tenement for his 

 charities, and in the following year the 

 trustees bought land called Brow Spring 

 and there built the school and alms- 

 houses. Woodstow House was bought in 

 1686 as part of the endowment and 

 Woodscales in Thornley in 1690. The 

 school was for the poor children of Chip- 

 ping, Thornley and Leagram ; the poor 

 to be assisted from the other funds were 

 those of Chipping, Thornley and Bleas- 

 dale. The present gross income of the 

 combined charities is ,259, but most 

 goes to the school. 



The almshouses consist of a two- 

 storied stone building divided into three 

 tenements, each of which is occupied by 

 two women, appointed by the trustees. 

 Each woman receives 2 8j. a quarter 

 and as much coal as she requires. No 

 doles have recently been given to poor 

 housekeepers. 'The population of Chip- 

 ping is decreasing and there are practically 

 no poor in the township.' 



78 The estate was the messuage and 

 land he had on Helmeridge (Elm- 

 ridge), now known as Richmond's 

 Farm. 



74 Edward Harrison in 1671 left 30, 

 the interest to be distributed to poor 

 people in the parish of Chipping Church 



26 



on 21 December in each year. Richard 

 Lund alias Cragg in 1676 left another 

 30 for like uses, and Henry Barnes in 

 1696 bequeathed the residue of his per- 

 sonal estate (37 5*.) likewise. Lund's 

 gift was for the parish of Chipping, the 

 others for the township only. Thomas 

 Walbanck in 1732 left 10 for an annual 

 sermon at Chipping Church, and 15 

 each for such poor of Chipping and 

 Leagram as should attend the sermon. 

 Marsden's tenement was purchased with 

 the combined fund in 1767. The pro- 

 perty now owned by the charity consists 

 of the Malt-kiln estate, five cottages which 

 used to be the workhouse, and a cottage 

 and smithy; the gross rent is 17. A 

 sum of lOi. is paid to the vicar for the 

 annual sermon, and the rest is distributed 

 in doles of from is. to 25*. 



Alice Webster in 1742 left 18 for 

 poor householders of Chipping and Lea- 

 gram, and her brother James added 2. 

 This was lost between 1826 and 1862, 

 by the bankruptcy of a trustee, as it was 

 supposed. 



75 A fund of 220 existed in 1812, 

 chiefly derived from gifts by William 

 Wright (1711), 160, and Richard Lund 

 (as above), 7 los. The capital is in 

 Lord Derby's hands. 



1 5,631, including 4 of inland water; 

 Census Rep. 1901. 



