A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



share in the benefits of Gooinargh Hospital in Kirkham. 

 At Cuerden £j 6s. 8/ is distributed in money.' For 

 Clayton-le- Woods the benefaction of Jolin Cl.iyton 

 produces /l 6 I 8/. 8^., applicable to the general benefit 

 of the poor under a scheme made by the Charity Com- 

 missioners in 1887.' There is another small fund.' 

 A trifling money distribution is made at Wheelton * ; 

 and for Whittle-le- Woods there are an almshouse and 

 an income of about j^io, partly for the occupant of 

 the house, but chiefly given to the poor in kind." 



An apprenticing fund given by Samuel Crooke in 

 1770 for the townships of Leyland, Euxton and 

 Clayton, Cuerden and Whittle-le- Woods is now' 

 given to the poor.' 



LEYLAND 



Lailand, Dom. Bk. ; Leiland, 1 2 1 2 ; Leylond, 

 1256 ; Leylaund, 1259. 



This township consists of two portions. The 

 main part, that to the east of the River Lostock, here 

 flowing south to join the Yarrow, has an undulating 

 surface rising gradually from 50 ft. above sea level to 

 over 200 ft. at the eastern border. Leyland Moss, 

 the smaller part, to the west of the river, is fiat and 

 docs not rise much above the 50 ft. level. The 

 village or small town of Lejiand lies in the centre of 

 the township, with the hamlets of Turpin Green in 

 the north-east and Earnshaw Bridge and Straits in 

 the north-west. To the south of the village lies 

 Worden, with its park of 300 acres. There are al;o 

 hamlets at the Moss and Midge Hall to the west of 

 the Lostock. The township measures 3,725-1 acres,' 

 and in 1901 had a population of 6,865. 



Three principal roads go through the township 

 from south to north. Of these the central one passes 

 Worden and winding through the village of Lejland 

 by the church goes north-east and north to Farington 

 and Preston. To the east is part of the road from 

 Wigan to Preston. To the west another road, lined 

 with dwellings, goes from south to north near the 



Lostock, crossing this stream at E.irnihaw Bridge. 

 Two other roads cross from east to we^t ; of these 

 the southern one p.i' cs through Leyland village by 

 the church, and goes through the Moss to Cocker 

 Bar ; while the northern one goes through Turpin 

 Green and Earnshaw Bridge to Midge Hall. The 

 London and North Western Company's main line 

 from London to Scotland runs through the eastern 

 side of the township, and has a station named Leyland, 

 a mile or more to the north-east of the parish church. 

 On the west side the Lancashire and Yorkshire 

 Company's line from Liverpool to Preston passe? 

 through, with a station at Midge Hall. 



The ancient village cross was restored in 1887 as a 

 Jubilee Memorial,' and a drinking fountain was 

 erected. 



The Roman road from Wigan to Walton-lc-Da!e 

 went north through Euxton and Leyland,' and coins, 

 &c., have been found.'" 



The hearth tax of 1666 records a total of 218 

 hearths ; the principal houses were those of Wilham 

 Farington, with 23, and of Roger Charnock, 

 with 9." 



A local board was formed in 1 863 " ; this has now 

 become an urban district council of twelve members 

 chosen by four wards — St. Andrew's, St. Ambrose's, 

 St. James's, and St. John's. The place is supplied 

 with water from Clayton Green, and with gas by a 

 private company. There is a public hall in Towngate. 



The soil is sandy, overlying gravel and clay ; wheat, 

 oats, beans, barley and potatoes are grown. The 

 cotton manufacture was introduced about 1830, and 

 there are now several mills and bleach works. There 

 are also gold thread works and a large indiarubber 

 manufactory. Fairs are held on 24 March and 26 

 October. 



King Edward held Leyland in 1066." 

 Mi4N0RS The whole of the township appears to 

 have been assessed anciently as three 

 plough-lands, and was soon after the Conquest in- 

 cluded within the fee or barony of Penwortham." 



of the townships, but no such charge was 

 named in the title deeds, and he therefore 

 considered the payments to be voluntary. 

 The property was sold soon afterwards 

 and payments ceased. 



Henry Oakenshaw in 1 744 left money 

 for a bread charity, sixpenny loaves being 

 distributed on St. Thomas's Day. This 

 was in existence in 1826, but has since 

 been lost. 



* Reynold and Peter Burscough (will, 

 1623), two brothers, owning the great 

 tithes of Cuerden and Whittle-le-Woods, 

 left charges on them for the benefit of 

 the poor of the townships, ;^8 a year to 

 Whittle, and ^5 6s. 8</. to Cuerden. The 

 tithes were in 1899 the property of Mr. 

 Townley - Parker of Cuerden, and the 

 charges are still paid. At Cuerden the 

 money is divided equally among the 

 recipients, who number eight or nine. 



2 John Clayton, by will in 1721, gave 

 the rents of two closes in Clayton — then 

 known as the Moorhey and the Intack — 

 to trustees for the poor, to be employed 

 as they should think fit. The income has 

 usually been spent in doles of money, but 

 other uses are allowed by the scheme. 



3 A share of the Frith charity, amount- 

 ing to 131. 41/. a year. See a subsequent 

 note. 



< John Simpson in 1750 gave l2°> 



the interest to be apphed for the benefit 

 of poor housekeepers. The capital sum 

 is intact, and the interest (91. to 131.) is 

 distributed accordingly. 



^ The charity of Reynold and Peter 

 Burscough has been mentioned in a pre- 

 ceding note. The ^8 for Whittle is dis- 

 tributed in gifts of food, clothing, &c., 

 among about twenty-five aged poor per- 

 sons. To it is added 51. 4</., interest of 

 a gift by Richard Pincock before 1762. 



William Frith in 1667 left money for 

 building 'a bay of housing of stone for 

 two or three poor women to dwell in, 

 which should have two rooms, one over 

 the other, with fireplaces in them j and 

 that they should have that house, and 

 either of them a garden therein, with 

 six loads of turves every year . . if they 

 would be at the charges of getting them.' 

 He also left loj. for two or three waist- 

 coats of cloth, and this sum is still paid. 

 See the account 0/ Chorley charities. 



•■ The income of the Crooke charity 

 (for Leyland parish) now amounts to 

 f^S 1 71., but /'20 is applicable to educa- 

 tion. Of the rest the benefactor intended 

 ,^15 to be applied annually for appren- 

 ticing, each of the three 'quarters ' named 

 having that sum every third year. The 

 apprenticing ceased in 1805, the trustees 

 finding the administration of the fund to 



10 



be very difiicult ; and the whole lum ii 

 given to a poor person in one of the 

 ' quarters ' named, according to rota- 

 tion, but it ii sometimes impossible to 

 find a suitable recipient. The trustcci' 

 dinner and school children's treat, on 

 I May, consumes about ,£'7 of the surplus, 

 and £iS 8s. is paid to the rector of Croston 

 for distribution in that parish. 



' Including 1 2 acres of inland water. 



* For this cross, and others in the 

 neighbourhood, see Lane:, and Ches. Antip 

 Soc. xvii, 24-7. Views of the ancient croti 

 and well and of the new one are given. 

 For an alleged custom in the village, see 

 N. and Q. (Ser. 4), vii, 107, 175. 



9 Watkin, Ram. Lanes. 68. 



" Lanes, and Ches. Antij. Notes, i, 1 17 i 

 Watkin, op. cit. 236, 229. 



" Subsidy R. 250, no. 9. The following 

 had six hearths taxed : Roger Crook, 

 Thomas Eaves, Paul Morac, William 

 Sumner of Lostock, and the wife of 

 Edward Whaley. 



"ZoW. Gax. 3 July 1863. 



" r.C.H. Lanes, i, 287*. See the ac- 

 count of the hundred. 



'* Lanes. Inj. and Extents (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), i, 32-4. The plough- 

 land held in 1212 by Robert Hikeling'i 

 heir may have been in LeylanJ ; ibid, i, 

 3'- 



