A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



Wilson,' and Woodcock.' William Cl.iUon and 

 John Hilton were freeholders in 1600.' The heir 

 of John Clayton ii named in 1628.' Under the 

 Commonwealth the estate of Hugh Tootell was 

 confiscated for treason and ordered for sale ' ; but 

 Tootell was afterward; allowed to compound for part 

 at least.' James Crook, Ralph Davenport, Peter 

 Hcatley and Richard Wilson, as 'Papists' in 1 71 7 

 registered estates in Whittle." In 17S9 the chief 

 landowners were Sir Frank Standish of Du.xburv, 

 Samuel Crook of Old Crook, Thomas Crosse of Shaw 

 Hill, Thomas Townley Parker, Dr. Lowe and 

 John Threlfall.^ 



The Shaw Hill estate, now the most prominent in 

 the township, is said to be the result of a number of 

 small purchases, added to lands inherited from Sarah 

 daughter and heir of Robert Ashburner of Preston, 

 who married Thomas Crosse 

 of Cross Hall in Chorley in 



The Knights Hospitallers 

 held lands in Whittle from 

 early in the 13th century; 

 the Mol\ncux family were 

 tcn.inti in later times. '•" 



For the members of the 

 Church of F.ngland St. John's 

 was built in |S',o and rebuilt 

 in 1SS2. The patron.iec i. 

 vested in the vicar of Lc\- 

 land." 



.\ school \\3i founded in 

 1769." 



The Wcslcyan .Methodists had a chapel 

 1839, now replaced by one built in 1897. 



The Roman Catholic church of St. Chad, South 

 Hill, represents a mission known to have existed in the 

 adjacent p.iri.h of Brindle in the 17th centur^■." 

 The fir^t fixed place of worship was the upper room 

 of a house at Slatedclph in Wheelton, secured from 

 William Blacklidgc and Henry his son in 1729." It 

 remained in charge of the Jesuits " till the death of 



CuniEf. of Shaw Hill, 

 Quarfet.'v gulet and or, 

 in the Jirit and f'jurth 

 quarceii a cr',11 p^itcnr 

 argftir. 



built in 



Fr. George Clarkson in 1S13 ; he was a native rf 

 the place and built a new church at South Hill in 

 1791,'^ This was rebuilt in 1896, It is in the 

 hands of the secular clergy." 



HOGHTON 



Hocton, 1204.; Hoghton, 1290 and usual; 

 Hoghtone, 1306, 



The River Darwen, flowing north and west, forms 

 part of the eastern boundary of this township. Near 

 the centre of the northern portion of the area is 

 the steep hill on which is perched Hoghton Tower, 

 556 ft, above sea level. To the north-east is the 

 hamlet called Hoghton Bottoms, being on the lower 

 ground by the riverside, and to the scuth-west is 

 Riley Green ; Brimmicroft lies to the south. Further 

 south again the surface rises in one place to 600 ft. 

 The area is 2,232 acres." In 1901 the population 

 numbered 940. 



The principal road is that on the westerly side of 

 the township, from Bolton-le-Moors to Preston, and 

 is Joined at Riley Green by the road coming westward 

 from Blackburn. The Lancashire and Yorkshire 

 Company's railway from Preston to Blackburn crosses 

 the northern part of the township, and has a station 

 called Hoghton about a mile west of the Tower. 

 The Leeds and Liverpool Canal passes through 

 Brimmicroft. 



The most notable event in the history of the town- 

 ship appears to be the visit of James I to Hoghton 

 Tower in 1617. He stayed there three d.iys, 15-18 

 -August, hunting and feasting, and is said there to 

 have rcolved upon the proclamation as to Sunday 

 sports which gave so much offence to the Puritans. 

 The mock knighting of 'Sir Loin' is also associated 

 I'ith the visit." In February 1642-3 the Parlia- 

 mentarians sent 300 men to take Hoghton Tower, 

 which was ' fortified with three great pieces of ordnance, 

 and some say with betwixt thirty and forty musquc- 

 teers and some say more.' After half an hour's 

 consideration the place was surrendered upon quarter, 



' Richard Wilson owned a messuage, 

 A ., in 1593 ; Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. 

 bdle. ^;, m. 206. 



' They held i ihird of the tlihe barn 

 and the tithes of corn, i^.c., of the king ; 



Duch 



of Lane. In-,, p.m. xxijc, no. 63, 



,U, r, (Rec. Sec. Lanc>. and Chef, 



2+^ 



' Ibid, i, it;. 



* /.;.ff.v -f R--w::sls (Index S.x.i, +4. 



« Cut. Co-:.f:r Conp. iv, 3103. 



' Estcourt and Payne, £"ir/. Cjt. 

 .V:--^-;-!, 129, 13;. ■ 



^ Land tax returns at Preston. 



' For the Ashburaers see .\'. and Q. 

 (Ser. +\ vi, +13. An account of the 

 Crosse l.imily is given under the town- 

 ships of Wig.in and Chorley ; see also 

 Foster, tj-.rr. PeJ. 



■■» Sir Richard Molyncux in 1569 held 

 lands in Whittle of the queen as of the 

 late prior)- of St. John of Jerusalem ; 

 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. liii, no. t;. 



These lands of the H-ipitallers in 

 Whittle are named in 1292; Pla;. de 

 0.-.: II irr. (Rec. Com.), -73. They 

 probibly included (or consisted of) a :;rant 

 of land at the head of .Mcneridin::, made 

 about 122; by Wi,..,m son of Edith for 

 the so'jis of h.'s parents and of Sir 



Roger de Lacy ; Dads. MSS. liii, fol. 93. 

 Another grant v. n made by Henry son 

 of Gilbert de Whittle ; Kucrden MSS. iii, 

 W 22. The lands were not included in 

 the 1340 rental (Kuerden MSS. v, foL 

 8;), being apparently regarded as part of 

 the Euxlon estate. 



'" The former church wa? built prin- 

 cipally out of a parliamentary grant. A 

 district was formed for it in 18+2 : Lond 

 Cjz. •, May. 



1' £•-/. Chjr. R,f,. (Leyland), 22, 62. 

 The school was built on part of the 

 waste called Waterhousc Green. 



" The list of recusants in 1628 is 

 printed in MUc. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and 

 Ches.!, i, 181. It includes Hugh Tootell 

 and his wife. 



" Foley, Rec. S. J. v, 338. An amus- 

 ing account is given of the defeat of the 

 enterprise of a gang of priest-catchers 

 about 1-30, the priest's gentle speech 

 making them ashamed of their enter- 

 prise. 



For the Eiacklidge fa mi I v see A. 

 Hcwitson, Our Country Cliurciie:, p. 568. 

 He states: '.Mr. Robert Blacklidge, of 

 Highfield Ho.is.-, Brindle ... has now 

 [C 1870 in his possession several vcr\' 

 ancient Catholic vestment', the hinor^' 

 of which cannot be made out, but which 



z(> 



were probably used in a private chapel 

 connected with some of his ancestors. 

 . . . Mr. Blacklidge has also in his 

 possession a pewter chalice and paten j 

 but they are of more recent make and 

 tally in style with those in use about 150 

 years ago, when a close eye was kept 

 upon valuable Catholic church property, 

 and when, by way of keeping "hands 

 off," it was necessary to make sacred 

 vessels of common metal.' 



An old vestment from Brindle is now 

 at Stonyhurst, also a pewter chalice. 



" In 1750 Fr. William Gillibrand (of 

 Chorley) had a stipend of ^50. In 1784. 

 the number of communicants was 260, 

 and 68 persons were confirmed ; in 1793 

 the numbers were 2+0 and no. See 

 Foley, op. cit. v, 321-5. 



'• Ibid, vii, 136. 



'•• Lizerfool Callwlic Annual. 



' 2,223 acres, including 32 of inland 

 water; Ctnjui Rep. ,90,. a s.mali part 

 of Hoghton was transferred to Withnell 

 in 1877 ; Loc. Govt. Bd. Order 7119. 



" See Baines- /.a,m. (ed. 1870), ii, ,42; 

 .^. Aishetons Diary (Chet. Soc), 38-4.6. 

 with full notes by Canon Raines. 



For some heraldic glass at Causeway 

 Fjrm (1616), see Lane, and Chei. Amr, 

 Ai/c, 1,223. 



