SALFORD HUNDRED 



ECCLES 



issue,"* the heir being his brother John, who took 

 sides with the king in the Civil War and died in 

 1648,'' leaving by his wife Penelope, a daughter of 

 Sir Cecil TrafFord, two children — Roger, born about 

 the year named, and Penelope."' The son, after a 

 short and dissipated career in London — Lord Roches- 

 ter was one of his companions — died from a wound 

 received in a brawl with the watch,^' and his sister 

 inherited the estate. By her husband Richard Savage, 

 fourth Earl Rivers,'* she had a daughter and heir 

 Elizabeth, who in turn left a daughter and heir 

 Penelope by her husband James Barry, fourth Earl of 

 Barrymore.*' Penelope married General James Chol- 

 mondeley, but was divorced for adultery, and died 

 childless in 1786." Wardley was sold by her in 

 1 760 to Francis Duke of Bridgewater, and now forms 

 part of the Earl of EUesmere's estate in Worsley."" 



Wardley Hall is a quadrangular building of great 

 interest, which, though very much restored, yet pre- 

 serves many of its ancient features and retains to a 



great extent its original arrangement of plan. The 

 house is situated about a mile north of Worsley vil- 

 lage, and stands on high ground at the head of a 

 wooded hollow. Its immediate surroundings are yet 

 of a rural character, though the workings of collieries 

 have entirely changed the aspect of the district 

 around. 



The house was formerly surrounded by a moat, but 

 of this only a portion remains on the west side, where 

 it has been formed into a small lake, adding greatly to 

 the picturesqueness of the building. 



The date of the first house is not known, but the 

 oldest part of the present structure, containing the 

 great hall, may belong to the end of the 15 th or first 

 half of the 1 6th century. The building has been so 

 much altered and restored in the course of the 19th 

 century, however, that it is very difficult to affix a 

 date definitely to any portion of it. At the begin- 

 ning of the last century it was in a very dilapidated 

 condition, and some repairs were effected about 1 8 1 1 . 



Wardley Haix : The Gateway 



Parliaments of 1625 ; Pink and Beaven, 

 op. cit. 224. 



The will of Roger Downes, dated 1637 

 and proved in 1638, mentions his brother 

 Francis as married, his sons Francis and 

 John, and his daughter Jane, then wife of 

 Ralph Sneade ; his cousin Bessie Halli- 

 well ; and John Preston and Arthur 

 Alburgh, who had married his sisters. 



In his later years Roger Downes appears 

 to have been reconciled to the Roman 

 church, and his sons adhered to the same 

 faith. John Downes, the younger son, 

 stayed a week in the English College at 

 Rome in 1638 ; Foley, Ric. SJ. vi, 616. 



88 A settlement by Francis Downes in 

 1 642 is mentioned in £xch. of Pleas, Cal. 

 of D. enrolled, L. 124. 



Francis died $ Mar. 1648, and his wife 

 Elizabeth 9 Mar., John following in May; 

 Tie Month, xcviii, 379, &c. (from informa- 

 tion of Mr. Joseph Gillow). 



The will of Francis Downes, * being 

 a member of the Catholic Church,' dated 

 164Z and proved 1650, is transcribed in 

 Raines MSS. (Chet. Lib.), xxv, 245. His 

 books were to be an heirloom at Wardley 

 according to his father's desire. He de- 

 sired to be buried at Wigan in the burial 

 place belonging to the hall of Worsley (in 

 Pemberton) near his father Roger. He 

 names his brother John and his sister 

 Jane. 



89 Civil War Tractt (Chet. Soc), 51. 



90 Dugdale, Vitit. (Chet. Soc), 100. 



9^ His monument in Wigan Church 

 states that he died 27 June 1676, aged 

 twenty-eight ; Bridgeman, Wigan Ch. 

 (Chet. Soc), 713. The account of his 

 death may be seen in the Hatton Corns. 

 (Camden Soc), ii, 133 (quoted by Mr, 

 W. Axon). 



9^ Forthis dissolute nobleman see G.E.C. 

 Comf. Peerage, vi, 373. He was one of 



the first to join William III on his landing 

 in 1688, and had many public offices and 

 honours. He married Penelope Downes 

 in 1679, and died in 1712. Penelope died 

 before 1688. 



9' Ibid, i, 253, 254 ; Elizabeth was his 

 second wife and died in 17 14. 



9< Ormerod, Ches. (ed. Helsby), iii, 638. 

 The separation was made in the Bishop 

 of London^s court in 1737. In 1741 a 

 fine relating to a settlement of the estates 

 was made, George Lewis Scott being the 

 plaintiff; Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 

 327, m. 80. In 1738 they had been 

 leased to James Earl of Barrymore. 



9''» A HiMry of the hall has been pub- 

 lished by Capt. Hart-Davis and Mr. 

 Strachan Holme. It contains views and 

 plans, including one of part of the estate 

 about 1600 (p. 79), a rental of the estate 

 in 1678 (p. 113), and other documents as 

 well in the text as in the Appendix. 



49 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



