AMOUNDERNESS HUNDRED 



KIRKHAM 



1244 ; Gosanarche, 1251 ; Gosenhar, 1257 ; Gosse- 

 narwe, 1290 ; Gosnargh, 1297. Pronounced Goosnar. 



Trelefelt, Dom. Bk. ; Threlefel, 1 244 ; Threlefal, 

 1257. Neuhuse, Dom. Bk. ; Nusum, 1249 ; Neu- 

 sum, 1251. 



Goosnargh gives its name to a detached chapelry 

 of Kirkham, comprising Goosnargh, Newsham and 

 Whittingham. The first-named portion has of itself 

 a content of 8,324 acres, 1 while Newsham, a detached 

 portion to the west, has 348, so that the whole town- 

 ship measures 8,672 acres. In 1901 it had a popu- 

 lation of 1,09 1 .* Goosnargh proper contains a number 

 of hamlets or farmsteads. The name belongs specially 

 to the lower or south-western part of the township 

 and to the village 3 round the chapel, which stands 

 close to the border of Whittingham. The higher or 

 north-eastern part was known as Threlfall a name 

 no longer in common use and had its chapel, which 

 was called White Chapel. To the north-east of 

 Goosnargh Chapel lies Eaves Green and to the north- 

 west Middleton ; Inglewhite is I miles north of the 

 last-named, and has St. Anne's Well 4 to the south of 

 it and Fairhurst to the north. Beesley is north of 

 Eaves Green, and has Kidsnape to the east and 

 Bulsnape to the north-east, and further to the east, 

 on the border of Chipping, is Loudscales, over- 

 looking the River Loud, there forming the boundary. 

 There were six ancient divisions called tithings 

 Church, Beesley, Kidsnape, Longley, Aspenhurst 

 and Threlfall. 4 - 



The principal feature of the northern end is Beacon 

 Fell, which attains a height of 874 ft. above the sea. 

 From it the ground slopes away in all directions, but 

 more especially to the west and south-west. The 

 3OO-ft. line runs diagonally across the township by 

 Fairhurst, Beesley and Kidsnape, with higher ground 

 to the east and lower to the west. To the north of 

 the Fell are Lickhurst and Broadhead, and further 

 north is the River Brock, forming the boundary on 

 that side. 



The township is crossed by a large number of 

 country roads. Through Newsham passes the London 

 and North-Western Company's main line to the 

 north, with a station called Barton and Broughton. 

 To this station there is a footpath over the fields from 

 Goosnargh village. The Preston and Lancaster Canal 

 crosses Newsham at Hollowforth. 



Newsham was separated from Goosnargh in 1894 

 and annexed to Barton * ; the present reduced town- 

 ship is governed by a parish council.' 



The soil is of every variety, with subsoil of clay. 

 The land is chiefly in grass, being occupied as follows 

 in Goosnargh and Whittingham jointly : Arable, 

 50 acres ; permanent grass, 10,794^ ; and woods and 

 plantations, I97|. 6a The population is now employed 

 solely in agriculture ; formerly there were silk and 

 cotton manufactures. 7 Goosnargh is noted for cheese 

 and butter ; also for a kind of small, sweet cake. 



The Thirlmere pipe line conveys the Manchester 

 water supply through the eastern parts of Goosnargh 

 and Whittingham. 



There is a market cross at Inglewhite Green. 8 

 Here two fairs for cattle and sheep are held on the 

 Tuesday before Ascension Day and on 5 October. A 

 sheep fair is held on 2 5 April. A workhouse formerly 

 stood there. 



There are remains of several ancient crosses, 9 and 

 at Inglewhite was a pit known as ' cuckstool pit.' 10 



Lists of the principal inhabitants at different times 

 in the I7th century have been printed. 11 



Among the burials recorded in the registers for 

 August 1 644 are those of a * soldier found slain ' on 

 the ist and another soldier on the i6th. They may 

 have belonged to the royal troops driven out of 

 Amounderness on 1 8 August. 



The worthies of the chapelry include the Ven. 

 William Marsden and George Beesley, who suffered 

 death during the Elizabethan persecution in 1586 

 and 1591; Alexander Rigby, a noteworthy Parlia- 

 mentarian, baron of the Exchequer, who died in 

 1650 lf ; William Bushell, founder of the hospital at 

 Goosnargh, who was high sheriff in 1733, and died 

 in 1735 u ; Peter Armstrong Whittle, born at Ingle- 

 white in 1789, a miscellaneous writer who published 

 several topographical works, and died in Liverpool in 

 1 866 " ; William Threlfall of Hollowforth, a Wesleyan 

 missionary, killed in Namaqualand in 1825 ; Edward 

 Kirk, journalist and antiquary, 1832 to 1885. 1S 



In 1066 Goosnargh, Threlfall and 

 MANORS Newsham, each assessed as one plough- 

 land, were held by Earl Tostig as members 

 of his lordship of Preston. 16 Afterwards Goosnargh 

 and Threlfall or part of them, viz. a plough-land 

 and a half were granted out in thegnage, being held 

 by the service of 1 2/. a year and 6/. 8^. for a sor 

 goshawk ; and Newsham became part of the barony 

 of Penwortham. 



Bernard son of Ailsi was lord of GOOSNARGH 

 about Ii6o, ir and was succeeded by his son Robert, 

 who about 1 190 gave land to the Hospitallers. 18 He 



1 The Census Rep, of 1901 give* 8,3 29 

 acres, including zz of inland water. 



* Of these 983 belonged to Goosnargh 

 proper and 1 08 to Newsham. The popu- 

 lation of the chapelry was 4,327. 



3 This seems to have been called the 

 ' burgh.' There is no trace of any borough. 

 Cf. Euxton Burgh. 



4 Dr. Leigh about 1700 says of it : 

 ' This springs out of a black bass, which 

 by calcination I found to contain sulphur. 

 The water has a very sulphureous smell as 

 strong as that near Harrogate in York- 

 shire, but contains little or no salt ' ; Nat. 

 Hist, of Lana. bk. i, p. 40. 



<a Notitia Cestr. (Chet. Soc.), ii, 421. 



5 Loc. Govt. Bd. Order 32199. 



6 The older government was by a vestry 

 known as ' the Twenty-four Men ' of 

 Goosnargh and Whittingham. There are 

 extracts from their books, which com- 



mence about 1625, in Col. H. Fishwick's 

 Goosnargh, 51-85. See also Tram. Hist. 

 Soc. (new ser.), xiv, 41-64. 



63 Statistics from Bd. of Agric. (1905). 



7 Fishwick, op. cit. 8 ; Smith, Long- 

 ridge, 220. 



8 Fishwick, op. cit. 8. 



9 Ibid. 199. 



10 Ibid. 198. 



11 Taxation of Goosnargh, 1625 ; ibid. 

 59-68. Of Whittingham, c. 1640 ; ibid. 

 55-6. Heads of families, 1671 ; ibid. 

 20 1 6. 



18 For these three see the accounts of 

 Threlfall and Middleton below. 



13 For an account of this benefactor and 

 his family see Fishwick, op. cit. 120-8, 

 where a pedigree is given. He was grand- 

 son of Dr. Seth Bushell, vicar of Preston 

 1663-82, and of Lancaster 1682-4. 



14 Diet. Nat. Biog. The 'historical' 

 parts of his books are untrustworthy. 



15 Smith, op. cit. 243. 



16 V.C.H. Lanes, i, 28 8a. 



17 This is an inference from the dates 

 recorded of kis son. 



18 See the account of Howath in 

 Barnacre. Robert's wife Hawise and his 

 son Bernard are named. The brethren 

 of St. John Baptist of Howath granted to 

 their ' sister ' Hawise, wife of Robert son 

 of Bernard de Catterall, land in Howath, 

 also Threlfall, with appurtenances, and I 

 oxgang of land in Hutton ; Dods. MSS. 

 liii, fol. 896. 



In 1194-5 Robert son of Bernard, 

 who had joined in the rebellion of Count 

 John, made peace with the king, paying 

 1 5 marks ; Farrer, Lanes. Fife R. 90. 

 There is another reference to Robert, ibid. 

 146. 



