A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



there is evidence.' In I 5 17 William Walton, priet, 

 founded a chantry therein, and provided for a school, 

 the origin of the present grammar school of Penwor- 

 tham. He seems to have been the first priest there, 

 and by will appointed John Walton to serve until 

 Robert son of Richard Farington should come of age 

 (about 1533).^ The lands of the foundation appear 

 to have escaped confiscation by Henry Vlll and 

 Edward \'I,^ and to have come into the possession 

 of Christopher Walton, his heir, who used them to 

 found the grammar school in 1552. Ralph Garstang 

 was appointed to the chantry before 1548, and in 

 1555 sought for restitution of the chantry lands. '' He 

 continued at Longton till about I 563,* after which 

 the chapel probably ceased to be used regularly, the 

 incumbent of Penwortham being the only minister 

 in the parish. The chapel is not named at all in the 

 list of 1 6 10,° but in 1622 a Mr. Barker was 

 'lecturer' there.' In 1650 the Parliamentary sur- 

 veyors recommended that it should be made parochia', 

 though there was no endowment and at that time no 

 incumbent.' Later £^0 was given by one W. 

 Loxham, and the lords of the manor having given 

 lands to the value of £iS°>^ •' grant from Queen 

 Anne's Bounty was secured in 17 19, apart from 

 which the income was about £1^.^" The income is 

 noWj^ig^. The old chapel was rebuilt in 1770" 

 and again in 1887, the present dedication being 

 The registers begin in 18 13. 

 descended with that of the 

 Lawrence Rawstorne being tl 



The following have been perpetual curates 



13 . 



St Andrew, 

 patronage has 

 church,'- Mr. 

 s:nt patron. 



The 

 parish 

 e pre- 



J.imcs Threlfall 



John Harrison 



Timothy Corless" 



William Smith, B.A." (Emmanuel Coll.. 



Camb.) 

 William Loxham 



Peter Berry, B.A."= (Brasenose Coll., Oxf) 

 Lawrence Bateman 

 William Loxham, M.A.'' (Brasenose Coll., 



Oxf) 

 James John Hornby 

 Robert Tonge ^^ 

 Ralph Barker, B.A. 

 Robert Atherton Rawstorne, M.A." 



(Brasenose Coll., Oxf) 

 Lawrence Preston, M.A. (Queens' Coll., 



Camb.) 

 Charles John Astbury, M.A.-" (Brasenose 



Coll., Oxf) 

 John Johnson, B.A. (Queens' Coll., Camb.) 

 William Henry Norris, B.A.^' (St. John's 

 Coll., Camb.) 

 There is a mission-room at New Longton served 

 by the clergy of Penwortham Church. 



A Wesleyan chapel was built in 1807 and 

 enlarged in 1833"-; the present was built in 1872, 

 and the Primitive Methodists have two chapels — at 

 Longton (1837) and Whitestake. The Congrega- 

 tion.ilists had a licensed meeting-room in 1821.-^ 



The Roman Catholic school-chapel of St. Oswald 

 was opened in I 894. 



1852 



1869 



1S73 

 1905 



Ches.), i, 56 ; Lanes, and Cheu Anti:^. Soc, 

 vi, I 20. 



' Eafward, priest of Longton, is named 

 about 1 1 50 ; Penwortham Priory^ 4, 41. 



^ His will, dated 1528, is printed in 

 Piccopc's n^ilh (Chct. Soc), i, 33-5. To 

 Longton Chapel he left a mass-book, 

 clialice and other * ornaments ' for the 

 celebration of mass. The chantry priest 

 was not to cause any prejudice to the 

 church of Penwortham by withdrawing 

 any of the customary dues. He was to 

 keep the buildings, &c., belonging to the 

 endowment in proper condition. Thomas 

 Walton, the son of Kathcrinc Milner, 

 was made executor and chief legatee. 



From a will of Thomas Hesketh of 

 RuflFord, dated 1521, it appears that he 

 had a share in founding the chantr)', and 

 the patronage was afterwards exercised by 

 Sir Thomas Hesketh ; Towneley MS. 

 HE (Hen. VIII, no. 9) ; Duchy PUad, 

 (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), iii, 189-191. 



^ The chapel appears to have been but 

 scantily furnished in 1552 ; Church Goods 

 (Chet. Soc), 132. 



■• See Duchy Plead, loc. cit. There 

 were renewed disputes in 1598; Exch. 

 Dep. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 10. 



* See the account of Penwortham 

 Church. 



fi Hilt. MSS. Com. Rep. xiv, App. iv, 



" M'.sc. (Rec. Soc. Lanc3. and Ches.), 

 i, 6-. The schoolmaster's name was 

 Mawdesley. 



8 Common'U'. Ch, Surf. (Rcc. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), 106. In 1646 the 

 Parliamentary authorities had assigned 

 ;^30 a year (afterwards increased) out of 

 the sequestered estates of John Fleetwood 

 and others for the maintenance of a curate 

 at Longton, and in 1648—52 Richard 

 Briggs, * a godly and orthodox divine,' 

 was minister ; Plund. Mins. Accts, (Rec. 

 Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 40, 66, 68, 246. 

 John Cowdray, a Longton yeoman, was a 

 member of the classis in 1646. 



^ A petition addressed to the Bishop 

 of Chester states : *The chapel of Long- 

 ton is very ancient and has been supplied 

 with prayers and preaching once a month 

 by the neighbouring clergy. Upon the 

 inclosure of Longton Common the lords 

 and charterers set apart 20 acres for the 

 use of the chapel and school of Longton. 

 These 20 acres were inclosed and about 

 two years ago sold and by part of the 

 money thereby arising the queen's bounty 

 is obtained for the chapel, and the ^400 

 not yet being laid out the interest Is duly 

 paid to Mr. Timothy Corles, who officiates 

 at the chapel, though he is not licensed 

 and is not in priest's orders * j Dloc, Reg, 

 Chester. 



10 Gastrell, Notitia Cestr. ii, 388-9. 



^' A circular marble font was given by 

 H. Fleetwood, 1725. 



^- The advowsons of Penwortham and 

 Longton were held by John Aspinall and 

 Ciiroline his wife in 1752 ; Pal. of Lane. 

 Feet of F. bdlc. 349, m. 98. 



" From papers at the Diocesan 

 Registry, Cheater. 



^^ Note by Mr. Earwakcr. Corles or 

 Corless had been schoolmaster there 

 since 1701. 



'^ Presented by Rev. Edward Martin 

 of Penwortham. 



I*' Presented by James Barton, 



'' Also rector of Belhnal Green. He 

 was buried at Penwortham in 1809, aged 

 85. He was a son of William Loxham 

 of Longton ; Foster, Alumni Oxon. 



'^ He resided in Longton. In 1821 

 there were services on Sunday morning 

 and afternoon, with sermon each time, 

 also on Christmas Day, Good Friday and 

 public fasts. The sacrament was ad- 

 ministered four times a year. There was 

 a surplice ; the plate consisted of a silver 

 flagon, cup and plate. 



'^ Also incumbent of Penwortham. 



^^ He published A Continental Tour^ Sec. 



^* Vicar of Loddington 1900-5. 



2^ Hewitson, Our Country Churches, 269. 

 The same writer (p. 271) says: * We 

 ought to observe that Longton was in 

 1840 one of the grand hot-beds of Mor- 

 monism. Brigham Young once preached 

 at Longton ; Longton contributed ;^ioo 

 towards the first printing press of the 

 Mormons ; many Longton people emi- 

 grated to the Salt Lake j and during the 

 crusade both the Protestant church and 

 Wesleyan chapel of the village were fur a 

 time rather seriously shattered.' 



^ Visitation return. 



74 



