A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



hood mould. There is a clock on the south side, and 

 on a gargoyle on the same side is a shield with coat 

 of arms, much defaced. 



The fittings are almost entirely modern, but a 

 small four-sided font, dated 1667, yet remains' in 

 addition to a modern octagonal one, and in the 

 chancel windows are some fragments of old glass. 

 In the easternmost window on the north side is the 

 emblem of the Trinity and in the other window are a 

 female head, portions of lettering and other fragments. 

 The weit window on the south side has a small 

 shield with the arms of Fleetwood impaling Legh, 

 with crests above, and belo'.v the inscription, ' Richard 

 Fleetwood and Margery his wife 1595.' In the same 



Fe.nwortham Church from the Solth-v.tst 



window is part of an inscription in black letter in 

 which the words ' Harewood,' ' Botelier ' and ' fieri 

 fecit matris sue ' occur. There are nvo helmets 

 suspended from the chancel roof, one with the 

 Fleetwood crest. 



The organ is in the westernmost bay of the north 

 aisle. In the chancel is a mural monument to Sir 

 Christopher Musgrave, bart., of Edenhall (d. 1735), 

 and there are memorials in the church to members of 

 the Rawstome family. 



In the churchyard north of the chancel is a stone 



slab with a floreated cross within a circle and sword 



on dexter side, and there are a number of i 7th and 



early 18th-century stones with good raised lettering. 



There is a pedestal sundial dated I 845, and an 



oak lych-gate was erected in 1 896. The 



churchyard is surrounded by trees and is very 



picturesquely situated. 



There are six bells cast by Abraham Rudhall 

 in 1712, but the treble seems to h.ive been 

 recast by Taylor of Loughborough in 1858, 

 and again by IMears & Stainbank in 1891, it 

 bearing both names and dates.' 



The plate consists of a chalice, paten, bread- 

 holder and flagon of 1846-7, inscribed 'Pen- 

 wortham Church 1 849,' presented by the Rev. 

 R. A. Rawstome, incumbent. There is also a 

 plated chalice. 



The registers began in 1586, but perished 

 in a fire in 1S56.' The present registers, 

 therefore, do not begin till 1857. 



The church, which was a 

 ADVOH'SO'N parish church, was granted by 

 Warine Bussel, lord of Pen- 

 Hnrtham, to the abbey of Evesham about the 

 year 1140.' The monks on their part under- 

 took to place at Penwortham three of their 

 number, together with a chaplain, for the 

 tenice of God, and thus the cell or priory of 

 Penwortham came into existence.' The 

 church was served by the monks, and thus no 

 jnititutions were necessary, and the successive 

 priors may be regarded as incumbents of the 

 benefice.' On the Dissolution, the Fleetwoods, 

 having obtained possession,' held the tithes as 

 lay rectors, and placed a stipendiary minister 

 in charge, regarding the cure as a donative. 

 Thus there were no institutions and first-fruits 

 were not paid, the curates or ministers being 

 licensed by the bishop. This continued until 

 a century ago, when a grant of ^1,640 from 

 Queen Anne's Bounty having been obtained 

 the benefice became an ordinary perpetual 

 curacy." In the i 8th century the ' advowson ' 

 was sold by the Fleetwood trustees in 1749 to 



* It was removed when the new font 

 was presented, and, after being used as a 

 flower vase at houses in Preston and 

 Ashton-on-Ribble, was restored to the 

 church in November 1906. 



^ The other five bells are inscribed : 

 z. 'God save Queen Anne, a.r. 1-12.* 

 3. 'Prosperity to the Church of England, 

 1712.' 4. \ames of Wardens, 1712. 

 ^. * .\br. Rudhall cast us all Anno Dom. 

 1712." 6. 'Ralph Lomax, minister, .^.k. 

 1712.' 



' Some extracts from them arc 

 printed in Sine. Gen. tl Herald, (new 



ser.), II, 205. There are transcripts at 

 Chester. 



' For the charter of confirmation see 

 Farr;r's Land. Pipe R. 320. 



■■ See y.C.H.Lana. ii, 104 for the history 

 of the priory and list of the priors or 

 cuirJe:, who had charge of the parish also. 

 In 1394 the Prior of Penwortham 

 had licence to celebrate divine service in 

 the parish church, without prejudice to 

 the oratory in his priory; Lich. Epis. 

 Reg. vi, fol. 131*. 



Thomas Somervill was prior in July 

 143' i Shirebume Abstract Bk. 



54 



' See the account of the manor. 



' W. A. Hulton in Penwortham Priory, 

 p. xxxviii. There are added (Ixxi-iv) 

 verses entitled 'The Complaint of the 

 Church of Penwortham," by a Mr. 

 Richardson, 163,-, censuring John Fleet- 

 wood, then proprietor, who had prevented 

 his receiving any recompense for his 

 efforts to propagate the Word of God in 

 the parish, and paid the minister a most 

 wretched stipend. This minister, it 

 appears, sat at table with the servant., 

 not with the patron. 



