A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



The hall was taken down in i S i 7, but the Litchen 

 prcmlits, stable, l-irp and other outbuildings, together 

 with the tish-pon J, still remain. Baines describes the 

 building as 'a line n.nc gabled eJince,' but beyond 

 this there seems to be no other description or record 

 of its appearance. The kitchen has been made into 

 a farmhouse, and ' one can still see where the roof 

 timbers which connected the place with the demolished 

 hall were sawn asunder.' ^ The site of the hall 

 proper, at a little distance from the highway at the 

 junction of Park and Preston roads, 'is now a grass- 

 gro'.vn piece of land, bearing forest trees planted .itter 

 the hall was destroyed.' - The fish-pond, which lies 

 between the hall and Preston Road, was enlarged to 

 its present size \\ ithin living memory-. 



JSTLET belonged to the Knights Hospit-illers ' 

 and about 1540 was held by Thomas Charncck of 

 Charnock Richard by l zd. rent ; he also held Moor- 

 field of them by another mJ.* The rents are not 

 always stated uniformly ; thus Henr}' Charnock died 

 in 1534 holding messuages in Chorley of the Prior of 

 St. John by a rent of l S j'.,' while his grandson 

 Thomas died in 1 5 7 1 holding messuages, &c., of the 

 queen as of the late priory of St. John by 2/. rent, 

 and others of the Earl of Derby and Lord .Mount- 

 cjj;Ic in socage by a rent of 7/.' The last-named 

 tenement was called Halliwell House in 1616, at the 

 death of Robert Charnock.' 



The connexion of this family with Chorley can be 

 traced back to the time of Henry III,* and from the 

 end of the 1 6th century they and their successors 

 made it their principal residence. .-Xitley descended 

 lik.c their other estates to the late Mr, Tu-.'. nley- 

 Parker of CuerJen,' and is now owned by Mr. R. A. 

 Tatton. 



ASTLEV H.-ILL is situated in a well-wooded park 

 about three-quarters of a mile to the north-west of 

 Chorley, close to the little River Chor, which has 

 been utilized on the east side of the house to form 

 a small lake. This sheet of water, tt'ccthcr with the 

 natural surroundings of the house, makes its situation 

 one of the most charming in the southern part of 

 the county, being still quite unspoiled by the near 

 presence of industry and manufacture. 



The house is built round a centr.il court and 

 appears to be of three main dates, the south uing, 

 except at the rear, being an admirable example of 

 1' nglish Renaissance work, ereeted probably about the 

 middle of the 17th centur\, while the north and 

 west wings, together with the south side of the court- 

 yard, are of earlier date and were probably ercaed in 

 the latter half of the 16th century.'" The ea-t side 



of the courtyard is a late rebuilding in brick, appa- 

 rently in the early part of the List centur}-, but it no 

 doubt replaces an older building on the same site. 

 North of this and somewhat detached from the main 

 structure is a wing which in plan has all the character- 

 istics of a small manor-house with central hall and 

 projecting wings, which m.iy have been the first 

 house on the site. It was so completely restored, 

 however, in 1S75 and its internal arrangements so 

 altered that it is very difficult to say exactly how 

 much may be accounted old work. Its position in 

 relation to the quadrangular house is somewhat diffi- 

 cult to explain unless it be regarded as having been 

 originally a small house of late 15 th or early 16th- 

 century date, which was .illowed to remain alter the 

 l.irger mansion was erected round the courtyard at 

 the close of the 1 6th century. 



The courtyard measures only 3 I ft. by 1 8 ft., and 

 does not appear to have been at any time of much, 

 if an^ , greater extent. The east side and parts of 

 the north and south are now built in brick, but on 

 both north and south much of the old timber \vork 

 rem.iins, and the west side retains all its original 

 timber construction, the date 1600 being carved on 

 one of the window sills. On the south side there is 

 a picturesque timber gable of the same date with 

 carved window sill, and next to it a later brick gable 

 with a large window lighting the landing. The 

 lower part of the wall on the south side of the court 

 has been refaced in brick and otherwise altered, and 

 both the north-cast and south-east corners have been 

 encroached upon with later work. The aspect of 

 the courtyard, vvhich is flagged, is of a rather non- 

 descript character, and long neglect has left a certain 

 air of dilapidation over this portion of the building. 



The original house as completed in 1 600 was of 

 two stories and wis entered through a gateway to the 

 courtyard on the north side. It was a half-timbered 

 mansion with gables and stone-slated roofs with the 

 kitchen and offices in the west wing and the great 

 hall in the south. Must of the original features still 

 remain in the north and west wings, though the 

 north front has been considerably altered in appear- 

 ance by the carrying out of the wall at a later time 

 to the face of the original projecting chimney of what 

 is now the scullery. The old roof, however, still 

 remains behind, and east of the gateway a brick 

 gable, probably of mid-1 7th-century date and origi- 

 nally advanced in front of the main wall, is still in 

 position. The kitchen, which has a flagged floor, 

 is 26 ft. long by 16 ft. 6 in. wide, with a ceiling 

 8 ft. 6 in. high crossed by three oak beams. The 



' Wilsoi, op. cit. 1 Q, from which 

 this account of the house is taken. The 

 author jjvs, * ot the mansion nothing 

 remains beyond three stones, the 

 largest tiTC feet long and two in depth 

 a:'J breadth, near the old bam and close 

 to the tish-pond ; the other two near the 

 gate of the little garden that occ;ipics 

 part of the site,' 



' Ibid. 



' The order ha.J land in Chorley in 

 1292 i Phc. dt £1.. ;/■_• r. (Rec. Com.), 



3,-5- 



< Kucrien MSS. v, fol. S3*. 



* Duchy of Lane Inq. p.m. \ii;, 

 no. 28. 



• lb i. 1 ii, no. 5. A settlement of 

 the Chorley estate was made by Thomas 

 L.^iicuck acd Robert r... son in 15645 



Pa!, of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 28, m. 27 ; 

 see also bdle. 40 (i 578), m. 90. 



' Ld^^a. I1J. p,m. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, 

 and Ches.), ii, ;-. He had free rents 

 trom Thom3i G;..Ibrand, Henry Bawdon, 

 Robert de Burgh and Christopher Wor- 

 thingtoa. 



Thomas Worthington in 1627 held a 

 messuage and lands in Chorley of Thomas 

 Charnock as of his manor of Astlcy ; 

 Towneley MS. C 8, 13 (Chet. Lib), 

 I-9-- 



* Richard dc Charnock occurs in 

 1 246 in a plea cited below. 



Adam s;.n of Henry de Charnock in 

 129; purchased a messuage and land 

 from Hugh dc Asshaw and .Margery his 

 wife ; Final Cone. 1, 178 ; also ii, 1:7. 



Henry dc Charnock in 1356 com- 



U6 



plained that Sir 'I'homas de Arderne, Sir 

 John dc Harrington, Katherine his wife, 

 Alice widow of Sir Robert de Shireburnc, 

 Sir John Tempest, Katherine his wile, 

 Richard Trigg and Robert the Serjeant 

 had unjustly disseised him of his right 

 of pasture in 200 acres of moor and pas- 

 ture, to which he was entitled by a 

 charter granted to his grandfather Henry 

 by Richard de Lothburgh, formerly lord 

 of Ct.o:,^v ; Duchy of Lane. Aisiie R. 5, 

 m. 28. Tlirrr is another Charnock pica 

 ibid. m. 1 7 d. 



* See the account of Cuerden. 



'• Trie date 1600 occurs in two placi-s 

 and may give the year of the first biili ^, 

 but the house probably v.i^ begun before 

 that year. In the grounds is • stone 

 with the initials and date R l.C. 1577. 



