A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



Showing fresh symptoms of decay in the middle of 

 the I gth century, the whole of the building, with the 

 exception of the lower part of the tower, was pulled 

 down in i853, 127 and a new church erected on the 

 old foundations. 



The present building, 128 which was finished in 

 1855, consists of chancel with south chapel, clearstoried 

 nave with north and south aisles and west tower and 

 spire, with north and south entrances in the angles 

 between the tower and aisles. The building is a good 

 example of modern Gothic and is built of Longridge 

 stone. The church was reseated in i867 129 and a 

 new reredos was erected in 1871. In 1885 an 

 organ chamber was built in the north side of the 

 chancel and vestries were added on the south side of 

 the chapel. There are galleries over the north and 

 south aisles and at the west end. 



All the mural tablets and brasses which were in 

 the old church in 1853 have been preserved, but with 

 the exception of the Bushell brass at the west end of 

 the north aisle they are of little interest and of no 

 antiquity. 130 This brass, to the memory of Seth 

 Bushell, a woollen draper who died in 1623, was 

 discovered when the old building was pulled down, 

 and is in two pieces, one bearing a quaintly drawn 

 figure and the other the inscription. Both plates fell 

 into private hands and were not restored to the 

 church till 1900, when they were fixed in their 

 present position. 131 The Hoghton memorials in the 

 quire comprise mural monuments to Sir Henry 

 Hoghton (d. 1768) and his first and third wives, 

 Mary Boughton (d. February 171920) and Susannah 

 Butterworth (d. 1772), and to Ann Boughton, his 

 sister-in-law (d. 171 5), 132 who are all there interred, 

 and there are tablets to the memory of Sir Henry 

 Bold Hoghton (d. 1862), who is buried at Anglesea, 

 near Gosport, and Sir Henry de Hoghton (d. 1876), 

 who is buried in the Bold chapel at Farnworth. 



There is a ring of eight bells cast by T. Mears in 

 1 8 1*}.. 133 The commissioners of Edward VI reported 

 that there were four bells, 134 besides one lent by 

 Sir Richard Hoghton, kt. In 1 7 1 1 an order was 



given to collect in the parish for a new set of eight bells, 

 which were afterwards cast by Rudhall. The fourth 

 bell of an older peal had been recast in 1696, the 

 seventh was recast in 1737. 



The plate 135 consists of a flagon and small paten of 

 1705, both inscribed 'The gift of the Right Hon. 

 John, Lord Gower, Baron of Stitnam, 1705 ' ; a 

 flagon and two large patens of 1708, all inscribed 

 * The gift of Madame Margery Rawstorne, widdow, 

 of Preston, to the Church of Preston, 1 708 ' ; a flagon 

 of 1719, purchased by order of the vestry, inscribed 

 ' Preston Lanc s i7i9 ' and round the bottom ' St. John 

 the Evangelist, Parish of Preston'; a flagon of 1725 pur- 

 chased by subscription, inscribed at the bottom ' Thos. 

 Astley, Robert Walsham, churchwardens, 1725 '; and 

 four chalices, two of 1729 and two of 1785, all 

 without inscriptions. There is also a wine-strainer 

 inscribed 'The Parish Church of Preston, 1819.' 



The early registers have been lost or destroyed. 

 Except for two pages dated 1603 the existing registers 

 begin in October 161 1, and from that date to the end 

 of 1631 have been printed. 136 In 1821 the following 

 books were chained to the pillars of the tower arch- 

 way : The Homilies, Bible, Foxis Martyrs and Synopsis 

 Papismi. 



The churchyard was enlarged in 1804. The 

 oldest dated stone, of 1619, having become indeci- 

 pherable has been replaced by an exact copy of the 

 original. The old churchyard cross is named in a 

 will dated 1 55 1. 138 



It is possible that a church at 

 dDFOWSON Preston was one of those holy places 

 deserted by the British clergy on the 

 approach of the destroying English of Northumbria 

 and about 670 granted with lands by the Ribble and 

 elsewhere to St. Wilfrid. 139 Though its existence may 

 be implied in the reference to churches in Amounder- 

 ness in Domesday Book, 140 the first express record of it 

 is that in the grant of Roger of Poitou to the abbey 

 of Sees in 1094, by which he gave it the church of 

 Preston with the tithe of his demesne and fishery, 

 also 2 oxgangs of land and all the tithes of the 



and partially rebuilt. It has a lofty west 

 tower with crocketed pinnacles, nave, 

 aisles and chancel. The tower and 

 chancel are modern in imitation of Per- 

 pendicular work. The nave and aisles are 

 embattled, the nave divided from each 

 aisle by four lofty pointed arches rising 

 from octagonal columns, the capitals of 

 which are much encroached on by the 

 side galleries. The clerestory windows 

 are square-headed of three lights. Those 

 of the aisles have chiefly depressed arches 

 and tracery of three lights. The chancel 

 is tolerably large but rebuilt in poor style. 

 The interior, though spacious, is as usual 

 encumbered with galleries, and there are 

 some poor modern Gothic fittings. The 

 organ pretty good ' ; Churches of Lanes. 3 8. 

 Hardwick (Hist, of Preston, 462) says : 

 'The pretensions of the old church to 

 architectural beauty or even character 

 were so ambiguous that it was some- 

 times quoted in derision as an excellent 

 specimen of "joiners' Gothic." ' 



187 Plans and elevations of the old 

 church as it existed in 1853 are given in 

 Smith, op. cit. 248-9. 



148 Designed by Edward Hugh Shellard. 



129 There was a rearrangement of seats 

 in the quire in 1885. 



iso The inscriptions are given in full in 



Smith, op. cit. 258-66, and in Fishwick, 

 op. cit. 121-3. 



181 The figure was in the possession of 

 Mr. T. Harrison Myres and the inscrip- 

 tion in that of Mr. F. J. Holland, both of 

 Preston. These gentlemen restored them 

 to the church. The brass is illustrated in 

 Thornely, Brasses of Lanes, and Ches. 272, 

 in Smith, op. cit. 258, and Fishwick, 

 op. cit. 1 20. 



183 There is a small tablet inscribed, 

 'Sir Henry de Hoghton, bart., in his will 

 expressed his desire that no person should 

 be interred under any of the four stones 

 which cover the remains of Dame Mary, 

 his first lady, Miss Ann Boughton, her 

 sister, himself, and Dame Susannah, his 

 last lady.' 



133 The inscriptions (in addition to the 

 weight and name of maker) are as follows : 

 (i) 'Venite exultemus Domino.' (2) '4 

 June 1814, foundation laid by Sir H. P. 

 Hoghton, bait., lay rector and patron.' 

 (3) 'June 4, 54 George III, the king's 

 birthday : Vivat Rex.' (4) ' June 4, 

 1814, account received of the Treaty of 

 Peace.' (5) 'The Rev. James Penny, 

 vicar 5 the Rev. Wm. Towne, curate, 

 1814.' (6) ' Rich. Newsham, esq., mayor, 

 1814.' (7) 'Jno. Green, Jno. Fallow- 

 field, Jno. Grimbaldeston, Hen. Heaton, 



82 



Jas. Middlehurst, Jno. Harrison, church- 

 wardens, 1814.' (8) 'Blessed are the 

 dead that die in the Lord. Resurgant.' 



184 In 1602 Thomas Woodruff was 

 admitted burgess on condition of ringing 

 the day bell and curfew for the summer 

 season during his life ; Preston Guild R. 

 (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 64. The 

 ringing of these bells was maintained till 

 recent times. 



185 The list of church ornaments con- 

 sidered necessary in 1659 is printed by 

 Smith, op. cit. 253. It includes two 

 silver bowls with covers. In 1660 there 

 were five pewter flagons ' to be used at 

 the time of the Sacrament.' 



186 In Smith's Preston Church, 83- 

 224. In this work are also contained 

 extracts from the records of the ' Four 

 and Twenty Gentlemen 'afterwards (1770) 

 known as the Select Vestry who governed 

 the parish. Lists of churchwardens are 

 also given. 



187 T. C. Smith, op. cit. 265. 



138 George Crook desired to be buried 

 'in the south side of the churchyard, nigh 

 unto the cross ' ; cited by Fishwick, Pnston, 

 124. 



189 Hist. Ch. of Tork (Rolls Ser.), i, 

 25. 



" V,C,H, Lanes, i, 288*. 



