A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



of the Trinity \ms founded, probably about i 5 30, by 

 Katherine Tarleton, \vido\\, for a priest to celebrate 

 for the souls of herself and her ancestors. The 

 income was only 59/. SJ., derived from lands in 

 Thornton in the Fylde.' The chantry at the Rood 

 altar, or altar of the Crucifix, was founded before 

 1527 by Christopher Walton for a celebrant for the 

 souls of the founder and all Christian souls. The 

 endowment of 6 is. \d. a year was derived from lands 

 in Hoole, Howick and Mawdesley.' None of the 

 chantries had any plate of their own. There was 

 also a Becconsall chapel.' The chapels were about a 

 century ago purchased from Sir T. D. Hesketh by 

 the rector of Croston.' 



The charitable endowments for the 



CHARITIES parish of Croston have an income of 



over _£i,ooo a year, but nearly half 



is applicable to education only.' The benefaction 



of Dr. L.iyfield, formerly rector, produces ^27 I S/. \il. 

 for the poor of the whole parish." The charity 

 founded by Peter Lathom of Bispham, by his will of 

 1 700,' now has over _£3 80 a year for the townships 

 of Croston, M.iwJesle)', Bispham and Ulnes Walton. 

 In accordance with a scheme made by the Charity 

 Commissioners in 1879 the trustees are authorized to 

 distribute the income in a great variety of \v.iy3, in- 

 cluding subscriptions to cottage hospitals or dispen- 

 saries, or to the funds of provident clubs or friendly 

 societies, gifts of money, clothe-, bedding, tools, food, 

 medical aid, &c., and also fees and prizes for educa- 

 tion, and the provision of school libraries and evening 

 classes.* In the township of Croston there are 

 funds for almshouses,' and about ^^94 a year for the 

 poor derived from the old Poor's Stock, a gift by 

 Thomas Norris in 1852, and other sources; it is 

 distributed in kind.'" Mawdcsley has some small 



CroBton Church; Towneley MS. HE 

 (9 Hen. VIH). Smith was still the priest 

 in 1547 and was sixty years of age. He 

 had a pension of^^ in i^^j. 



The lands of this chantry were in 1590 

 granted to Edmund Downing and others ; 

 I'jt. 12 ZWl. 



* Raines, op. cit. 167. Richard 

 Clarke was the chaplain in 153^ {I'alor 

 Ei^l.) and also in 1^4-, when he was 

 seventy-four years of age, and had another 

 benelice. He had a pension in 1553* 



' Raines, op. cit. 169 ; Crjckcnand 

 Cbartul. iii, IC85. John Walton was the 

 chaplain in 1535 [I'jlor Eccl.) and in 

 I 1J4-, when he was about eighty years old. 

 In the \'isitation List of 1548 the word 

 rrt^rruui is placed against his name, so 

 that he probably died about that time. 



This chantry also is named in tlie will 

 of Thomas Hesketh above quoted, so 

 that it existed as early as 1521. 



A rent of j[i 21. iJ. was paid to the 

 Crown for the lands of this chantry in 

 1858 by Mes'.rs. Pollard and Tyrer. 



^ Anthony Browne having sold to 

 Sir Thomas Hesketh the manor of 

 Becconsall, also transferred to him 3 

 * chapel standing in the churchyard of 

 Croston, called by the name of Beccon- 

 sall chapel,' and formerly used by the 

 lords of that manor ; Towncley MS, 

 C8, 13,8309. 



* Raines in Notiria Cestr. ii, 3^5. 



* An inquiry as to the charitici was 

 made in 1898, and the report, issued the 

 I'ollowing year, includes a reprint of that 

 made in 1826. The following notes are 

 derived from it. Bishop Gastrcll's account 

 of the charities existing about 1-20 is 

 printed in A\-//r/j Cesfr. ii, 360-1. 



^ By his will of 1710 he left the 

 fourth part of his residuary estate for the 

 poor of Winchester, Chilbolton, Wrotham, 

 Croston and Tewin. In 1761 the estate 

 called Sumner's of the Fold in Ulnes 

 \^'2lton was purchased from Margaret 

 Thornton for;^47ofor the charity. This 

 was much more than the share of the 

 Layfield estate, but the balance was pro- 

 cured by loan and repaid out of rent. 

 The rent now amounts to ^40 loj, SJ., 

 and this sum is distributed among the 

 townships which constituted the parish in 

 1710 according to a scheme made in 

 1S97; it is usually spent on clothing, 

 bedding, &c^ for the poor. 



The Rev. Streynsham Master, formerly 

 rector, and his wife gave ;^2oo for books 

 of devotion for the poor and other uses. 

 Samuel Crookc in 1770 gave two cottagc$ 



(sold for ;^i6o), also for books of devo- 

 tion, and the two benefactions have been 

 combined, the interest (^^i i i gs. lOii.) 

 being spent on such books for the chil- 

 dren of the National schools. Each 

 tu'Anship in the old parish shares in rota- 

 lion. 



^ He is supposed to have been a 

 descendant of the Lathoms of ParboUl 

 and to have lived by begging, the town- 

 ships benefiting by his gifts being those 

 in which he had made liis rounds. Tliey 

 arc Bispham, •Mawdesley, Ornibkirk, 

 •Nc, burgh, Bur8cough,*D-ilton, Rurt'ord, 

 •Wrightington, •Parbold, Ulnes Walton, 

 Croston, Welch Whittle, Scarisbrick, 

 •Skelmeradale, Bickerstaffe, Ecck-ilun and 

 "Heskin. *Lathom has since been added 

 to the townships participating. The 

 lands of the charity are in tlic townships 

 marked with an attcrisk. In 1828 the 

 rental amounted to ;^339 loi. and there 

 was also money in the bank, but the 

 development of coal mines on the estate, 

 especially during the last forty years, has 

 caused a vast increase in the sum avail- 

 able, the income being about ^^1,500 in 



1897. 



The founder directed his trustees to 

 give the income to the poor in gifts of 

 cloth (linen or wnollcn), corn, if it should 

 be dear, or such like charitable acts, but 

 no public officer or ovLrseer of the poor 

 was to be employed in the distribution, 

 A gift was also to be made to poor 

 prisoners of Lancaster Castle. 



® For full details see the report 

 quoted, pp. 40-8. The charitable ex- 

 penditure In 1897 was: — To Lancaster 

 Castle prison charities, £6 ; various hos- 

 pitals, £2$ 4J. ; poor of eighteen town- 

 ships, ^^1^409 5j. yJ. In Croston, out of 

 about £j^ received, ^^49 was given in 

 money doles, the reit chic6y in medical 

 aid, school prizes and gifts of coal. In 

 Mawdesley about ,^48 was given in bed- 

 ding and clothing, £4 to a poor man 

 towards buying a pony, and the rest to 

 the school children. In Bispham the 

 chief expenditure was on clothing, bed- 

 ding and coal. In Ulnes Walton ^60 was 

 given in food and clothing and ^20 In 

 school prizes (part of a previous balance 

 being spent). 



® Henry Croston founded this charity 

 in 1693 by giving land and three houses, 

 with a rent-charge of £j loj. a year for 

 expenses and gifts to the Inmates. Each 

 of the three was to have yearly a brown 

 cloth gown or coat, with the letters H.C. 

 in red cloth on the right arm. Henry 



90 



Wilson, surgeon, in 1797 left ;f20, the 

 interest to be given to the most aged 

 person in the houses. Changes were 

 made in the lands held for the charity, 

 and the annual income is now ^^14 i2j. zJ. 

 There are three Inmates, all women, and 

 each receives ^^4 Jr. at Christmas. In 

 case of a vacancy candidates must be 

 residents in Croston township. The 

 brown gown Is not now worn. 



On a tablet is the inscription : * These 

 almshouses erected by Henry and Isabel 

 Croston, An. Do. 1692.* 



The Jubilee Almshouses were founded 

 in 1809 to commemorate the fiftieth 

 year of the reign of George III, a legacy 

 of ;^200 by Mrs. Elizabeth Master and 

 subscriptions being used to bttild a house 

 w Ith accommodation for four poor persons. 

 Other gifts have been added, and about 

 1870 rooms for three more beneficiaries 

 were added by the late Thomas Norris. 

 The endowment now amounts to about 

 ^440, and the interest is applied to pro- 

 viding the inmates with coals and main- 

 taining the buildings. Candidates for a 

 vacancy must be sixty years of age and 

 inhabitants of the township. 



^^ William Dandy in 1663 bequeathed 

 ^50 towards buying clothes for indigent 

 persons of the township, who had no 

 other provision for their relief. The 

 rector was always to be one of the trus- 

 tees. A rent-charge of £2 i os, was 

 accordingly purchased in 1668, and it 

 continues to be paid, being now (1898) 

 received from the executors of Miss 

 Farlngton of Worden, 



The Poor's Stock, the accumulation of 

 a number of gifts, can be traced back to 

 1681, when it amounted to £'^2 ics. 

 Soon afterwards it was augmented by a 

 gift from William Hesketh, shoemaktr — 

 £i7^y according to Bishop Gastrell — and 

 otherwise increased, and land was pur- 

 chased by the trustees of this and other 

 charities, the rents amounting to ^41 loj, 

 in 1828. The net income is now a little 

 less than this. 



John Hoiifeh In 1721 left £$2 for a 

 dole of bread every Lord's day at the 

 parish church of Cro.ton, to poor persons 

 (Protestants), decayed housekeepers, &c. 

 George Norris in 1740 gave ^26 for a 

 bread dole to poor persons of Croston 

 attending divine service. These capital 

 sums were united with the Poor's Stock, 

 and allowances are accordingly made from 

 the rent of the land in respect of them, 

 £4. los. \od. a year being now reserved 

 for bread dinributed in church eveiy 



