A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



their surnames from the Twiss,'" the Hurst,"' the 

 Shaw,"' and Kinknall.™ 



In 1600 the freeholders not already named were 

 William Lewis and Thomas 

 Richardson."' Those who paid 

 to the subsidy in 1628 were 

 John Calveley, John Culcheth, 

 Geoffrey Holcroft, Richard 

 Risley, Richard Thomasson, 

 and Richard Urmston ; of these 

 the last, as a convicted recu- 

 sant, paid double.'" Besides 

 Thomas Culcheth, Robert 

 Guest of Culcheth in 1653 

 petitioned to compound for 

 two-thirds of his estate, se- 

 questered for recusancy."' In 



addition to the Culcheths, a considerable number 

 of persons, as ' papists,' registered estates in 1 7 1 7."^ 



A number of extracts from the Culcheth town 

 books of the 17th and i8th centuries have been 

 printed."' 



The land tax returns of 1787 show the principal 

 proprietors at that date to have been John Black- 

 burne. Sir Frank Standish, John TrafFord, and Samuel 



Urmston. Sable a 

 che-veron hetiucen three 

 spear-heads argent. 



Pool, these contributing about two-thirds of the total 

 sum levied."* 



Before the Reformation there was at 

 CHURCH Culcheth a chapel of ease known as 

 Trinity Church."' It was perhaps not 

 then very old, and the name NEWCHURCH has re- 

 mained attached to it till the present time. After the 

 changes of the reigns of Edward VI and Mary, the 

 building probably ceased to be used for a time at 

 Culcheth on Elizabeth's revival of the Edwardine 

 services. "° Sir John Holcroft by his will of 1559 

 left his chain of gold or _£io towards the payment of 

 a priest and clerk if the other inhabitants of the 

 township could be induced to subscribe."' The ser- 

 vice was probably read occasionally, but in 1592 there 

 was neither surplice nor 'table cloth.'"' In 161 2 

 this chapel had ' seldom a curate,' "' but ten years 

 later there was one who contributed £l to the 

 subsidy."" 



The Commonwealth Surveyors in 1650 recom- 

 mended that Newchurch should be made into a 

 parish ; the endowment was less than ^4 a year, but 

 ^10 was added by the rector of Winwick, and £/^o 

 out of the sequestered property of Royalists.'*' After 

 the Restoration, with some exceptions, there was no 



106 Roger del Twiss complained of 

 trespasses on his lands at Culcheth by 

 Hugh de Hindley and others in 1258 ; 

 Cur. Reg. R. 160, m. 6. Richard and 

 Roger del Twiss have been mentioned 

 already as concerned in the suits of 

 1277-8 J the former held his land under 

 Richard de Culcheth ; Assize R. 1238, 

 m. 34 d. 



Hugh del Twiss in 1314 secured three 

 messuages and land from Thomas de Hol- 

 croft and Joan his wife ; Final Cone, ii, 



«9- 



Gilbert de Culcheth in 1339 leased to 

 Richard del Twiss and his daughters 

 Margery and Godith a plat of land near 

 the boundary of Kenyon ; Harl. MS. 

 21 12, fol. i58/>/i94i, Alan son of 

 Richard del Twiss in 1338 released all 

 his lands in Tumours carr to Gilbert de 

 Culcheth the elder ; Culcheth D. no. 49. 

 These deeds contain many other references 

 to the family. Matthew son of Gilbert 

 del Twiss in 1361 claimed certain lands 

 which had been taken into the Duke of 

 Lancaster's hands because his father's 

 widow, Godith, had granted them to 

 Adam de Tyldesley, who had been out- 

 lawed for fe!on/ ; Gilbert was son of Alan 

 son of Richard del Twiss, who had 

 formerly held the lands ; Dep. Keeper^ s 

 Rep. xxxii, App. 347. 



John Culcheth, who died in 1640, 

 bought the Twiss from Thomas Holcroft 

 of Hurst ; Lanes, and Cbes, Hist, and 

 Gen. Notes, i, 374. 



The Paris family also occurs in the 

 Culcheth Deeds, no. 15, 16 ; Robert de 

 Paris and Henry his eldest son. Thomas 

 son of Robert de Paris was a plaintiff in 

 1294; Assize R. 1299, m. 16 ; also R. 

 408, m. II, which shows that Robert was 

 still living in 1292. 



1°* In 1275 Roger son of Richard del 

 Hurst granted to Robert de Hindley a 

 rent of 2s. formerly paid by Norman son 

 of Robert de North Meols ; and at the 

 same time Gilbert the Tailor, son of 

 Thurstan del Hurst, granted to Robert 

 de Hindley the rent of 3</., which Richard 

 son of Richard de Martinscroft formerly 

 paid for land of Norman ton of Robert 



de North Meols, in the Hurst ; Hale D. 

 The rent of 2s. named seems to be that 

 still paid for Hurst in 1591. 



Mabel widow of Adam son of Simon del 

 Hurst sought dower in 1292 ; Assize R. 

 408, m. 27. Richard son of Norman del 

 Hurst had a grant of lands in 1310; 

 Culcheth D, no. 36, Adam son of 

 Richard del Hurst complained that 

 Thomas de Holcroft and others had dis- 

 seised him of his tenement in 1313-14 ; 

 Assize R. 424, m. 4. 



1^7 Hugh son of John de Haydock 

 granted land in the Shaw to Robert de 

 Risley and Ellen his wife ; Hale D. In 

 1310 John del Shaw released certain rights 

 to Gilbert de Culcheth ; and in 1326 he 

 surrendered all his title in the Shaw to 

 Margaret daughter of Gilbert ; Culcheth 

 D. no. 35, 44. 



Adam son of Hugh del Shaw in 1360 

 granted lands by Westwood to Thomas 

 son of Hugh del Hurst ; this was next 

 year resold to Robert de Southworth j 

 Kuerden fol. MS. 387, S ; Towneley MS. 

 HH, no. 1980; GG, no. 1031, 1049; 

 also Dods. MSS. liii, fol. i84. 



Giles de Penketh granted to John son 

 of Robert de AUerton of Selby all his 

 land in Culcheth, with remainder to 

 John's sister Alice ; Kuerden fol. MS. 

 314, no. 351. Agnes widow of Giles de 

 Penketh released to Robert de AUerton 

 all her right to dower in the Shaw in 

 Culcheth in 1335 ; Dods. MSS. liii, fol. 

 24A. In 145 1-2 Gilbert AUerton sold 

 his landi and rents in Culcheth to Henry 

 Southworth of Middleton in Winwick ; 

 Kuerden fol. MS. 37, no. 104 ; 39, no. 

 701. 



1™ Robert de KinknaU granted land in 

 KinknaU to William de Sankey ; Hale D. 



In 13 1 1 and 13 14 Adam de KinknaU 

 obtained lands in Culcheth from William 

 de Radcliffe and Thomas de Holcroft ; 

 Final Cone, ii, 12, 21. 



In 1347 Thomas son of Adam de 

 KinknaU had a grant from Adam de 

 Kenyon; Harl. MS. 2112, fol. 154*/ 

 190A, 1554/191^. 



^° '399 John de KinknaU released to 

 his brother Peter all his right to lands in 



164 



Culcheth, and next year Emma widow of 

 Adam de KinknaU gave to a trustee land 

 called Hannecroft ; Towneley MS. GG, 

 no. 2674, 2225, &c. 



i«9 Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 

 i, 238-43. 



"» Norris D. (B.M.). 



'11 Cal. of Com, for Compoundingj iv, 

 3176. The Guestfamily were of long con- 

 tinuance in the township ; possibly they 

 were connected with the Guest House 

 and mill leased by John Culcheth in 

 1601 ; Culcheth D. no. 191. About 

 the same time Thomas Holcroft claimed 

 Guests House or Farm from Gregory 

 Holcroft and others ; Ducatus (Rec. Com.), 

 iii, 440, 482. John Guest of Abram 

 built the schoolhouse on Twiss Green, 

 Culcheth. 



'12 They were Thomas Guest, senr., 

 John Guest, senr. and junr. ; Mary Eur- 

 chall, Jane Gregory, Thomas Hey, Eliza- 

 beth Litherland, Roger Richardson, Ralph 

 Sanderson, John Speakman, and Sarah 

 Yeates ; Estcourt and Payne, Engl. Cath, 

 Nonjurors, 116, 117, 



"^ Lanes, and Ches, Antiq, Notes, i, 10, 

 &c. ; ii, 20, 161. Lists of constables, 

 churchwardens, &c., are given, 



'i'* Returns at Preston. 



"5 Three sets of vestments belonged 

 to it in 1552 and several beUs, but 

 nothing is said of plate ; Ci, Gds. (Chet. 

 Soc), 63, with the accompanying note ; 

 Ducatus Lane, (Rec. Com.), ii, 368. 



"' See the account of Winwick Church. 



"? Piccope, mils (Chet. Soc), i, 153. 

 He wished the tenants of Culcheth to buy 

 lands of the annual value of £6 1 31. 41/. 

 for the wages of priest and clerk, the latter 

 to have £1, 



"' Trans, Hist, Soc, (new ser.), jt, 190. 

 There was 'no preacher" in 1590; 

 Lydiate Hall, 248. 



"» Hist. MSS, Com. Rep, xiv, App. iv, 

 '3- 



"1 Mise, (Rec Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 

 i, 55. At this time the chapel was in 

 bad condition ; Raines MSS. (Chet. Lib.), 

 xxii, 188. ' 



'2' Common-wealth Ck. Surv. (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), 50. 



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