LEYLAND HUNDRED 



CHORLEY 



The Wastley family ' was of old standing in tlie 

 township. Richard and Thomas Wastley occur in 

 the time of James 1/ The latter of them died in 

 1640 holding two messuages of the king, and leaving 

 as heir his son Thomas, aged forty-one.' 



Trigg Hall, preserving the name of an old family,* 

 was held by the Haydocks ' and Chorleys." From 

 an inquisition of 1617 it appears that Richard Hay- 

 dock died in 1609 holding lands of the lords of 

 Chorley, viz. Greenfields by a rent of 5/. to Richard 

 Shireburne, and Trigg Hall by a rent of p. 4^/. to 

 Shireburne and EdwaTd Rigby.' 



Some minor owners occur,' and others of the 

 neighbouring landowners had estates in this town- 

 ship ' ; the usual tenure, when recorded at all, was 

 ' of the lords of Leylandshire.' '" 



Three of the residents compounded in 1628 for 

 the two-thirds of their estates liable to sequestration 

 for recusancy." Several also suffered sequestration 

 or even confiscation of their properties under the 

 Commonwealth for their ' delinquency ' or recu- 

 sancy." A number of ' Papists ' registered estates in 

 171 7." The principal landowners in 1783 were 

 Thomas Gillibr.and, Thomas Weld and E. Chadwick, 

 all assessed double for their religion ; Peter Brooke 

 for Astley, Thomas Crosse for Crosse Hall, Abraham 

 Crompton for Chorlev Hall, and Samuel Crooke. 

 These together paid over three-fourths of the land 

 tax." 



As will have been noticed from 



BOROUGH various allusions in the foregoing 



account of the manor, a borough 



existed at Chorley in the 13 th century. It was 



perhaps created by William de Ferrers soon after 

 1250. In 1257, while his manors were in the 

 hands of Prince Edward, the bailiff rendered account 

 of the assized rent of ' the borough of Chorley,' 

 48;. 5a'." Each burgage rendered 12a'. a year to 

 the lord,'" and probably had some small piece of 

 land attached to it, as in other places. The borough, 

 however, does not seem to have made any advance 

 towards independence, though the lordship of the 

 manor was divided and the lords absentees. Burgages 

 continue to be mentioned down to the i6th 

 century," after which the use of the term died out. 



The grant of a market and fair does not seem to 

 have been preserved, but in 1498 Lord Strange and 

 Joan his wife, Sir Edward Stanley and Sir Richard 

 Shireburne were summoned to show by what right 

 they claimed a market every Tuesd-iy and a fair 

 on the vigil, feast and morrow of St. Lawrence 

 (9 to II August).'" 



With the progress of manufactures in the 1 8 th 

 century Chorley began to grow in importance and 

 population. Though it became an independent 

 parish in 1 793, the old-fashioned government by a 

 constable and assistants" continued until 1853, 

 when a Board of Improvement Commissioners was 

 formed.*" As already stated, they purchased the 

 manor in 1 874. The next forward step was in 

 1 88 1, when a charter of incorporation" was 

 obtained. The town is now governed by a mayor 

 and council of eight aldermen and twenty-four 

 councillors, chosen equally from four wards — North, 

 East, South and West. The first town hall was built 

 in 1802 by John HoUinshead, a benefactor to the 



^ The name is also spelt Wasley and 

 Westleigh. 



' Misc. (Rec. Soc Lanes, and Ches.), 

 i, 186, 245 ; Lanes. Iti^. p.m. (Rec. Soc. 

 Laucs. and Ches.), i, 156, &c. 



* Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xxx, no, 

 50. 



* See the account of Healey. Richard 

 Trigg purchased lands in Eavesfield from 

 Amery widow of William son of Adam 

 the Woodward in or before 1343; 

 Towneley MS. GG, no. 2564. 



* Chorley Surv. 21, 22. From the 

 deeds quoted it appears that in 1525 

 Richard Standish of Standish and Alex- 

 ander his son granted a moiety of Trigg 

 Hall to Richard Haydock and in 1550 

 Haydock gave to James, his younger son, 

 all hia lands in Heapey and Chorley, 

 together with the Greenfields which he 

 had acquired from Richard Green in 1527. 



With respect to Green's lands Richard 

 Haydock had a dispute with Lord Mount- 

 eagle, who claimed them as an escheat ; 

 Duchy Plead, iii, 204-8. 



^ Chorley Surv. loc. cit. 



' Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, 

 and Chc3.), ii, 65 j Roger the son and 

 heir of Richard Haydock was twenty- 

 seven years of age. In 1626—9 ^^ 5°^^ 

 his estate to William Chorley, becoming 

 a leaseholder ; Chorley Surir. 



8 John de Adlington in 1331 cLiimed 

 land against Hugh son of William Annot- 

 son ; De Banco R. 288, m. 163 d. 

 Amery daughter of William Annotson in 

 1343 claimed the same against Thomas 

 de Adlington the younger; ibid. 335, 

 m. 221 d. The Annotsons occur in other 

 pleas of the time of Edward HI ; ibid. 

 324, m. 536d. ; 325, m. 131 d. 



Hugh Adlington died in 1525 holding 



a burgage, &c., in Chorley of the Earl of 

 Derby, Lord Mounteagle, and Hugh 

 Shireburne in free burgage and by zs. 

 rent ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. vi, no. 



73- 



Charles Shuttleworth in 1550 obtained 



ten messuages, &c., in Chorley for life 



from Sir Richard Shireburne ; Pal. of 



Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 14, m. 333. 



John son of Robert and Isabel Legh (or 

 Lee) in 15 50 obtained a third part of two 

 messuages and various lands in Chorley 

 and Duxbury ; ibid. m. 297. This estate 

 seems to be that held in 161 8 by John 

 Leigh of Westhoughton ; Lanes. Inq. p.m. 

 (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), ii, 133. 



^ Roger Asshaw of the Hill died in 

 1540 holding a messuage, &c., of the 

 Earl of Derby and Thomas Shireburne by 

 a rent of 6s. id. ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. 

 p.m. viii, no. 11. Adam son of Hugh de 

 Asshaw had claimed lands against Mar- 

 garet widow of Adam Banastre as early 

 as 13 1 7 ; De Banco R. 220, m. 446. 



^^ See, for example, Lanes, Inq, p.m. 

 (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 114; iii, 

 347, where the partition of the rent is 

 given. 



" Thomas Gillibrand, ^^20 ; William 

 Tootell, £6 ; Henry Waring, £z. A 

 number of Tootells and Warlngs occur in 

 the recusant list of 1628 ; Misc. (Rec. 

 Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 185. 



^^ The following are in addition to 

 the cases of Chorley, Gillibrand and 

 Tootell. 



James Cooling, mercer, holding a shop 

 of Hesketh of Rufford ; and Thurstan 

 Cowling, holding lands of Shireburne of 

 Stonyhurst, had * adhered to the forces 

 raised against the Parliament in the first 

 war only,' and were fined £g and 



1 4-1 



;^io 13J. 4.d. respectively ; Royalist Comp. 

 Papers, ii, j6y 85. 



On William Melling, for assisting the 

 forces raised against the Parliament, was 

 levied a fine (reduced) of ^34 ; he held 

 a lease from Shireburne and Rigby ; ibid. 

 iv, 128. Afterwards his lands were 

 ordered to be sold j Index of Royalists, 41. 

 The lands of Robert Waring were also 

 ordered for sale ; ibid. 44. 



John Sompner was discharged fiDm 

 composition on account of his poverty ; 

 Cal. Com. for Comp. iii, 1739. 



^^ In addition to Gillibrand were : 

 Richard Blackburne, apothecary ; William 

 Cowling, yeoman ; Janet Guest and 

 Elizabeth Lea, widows ; Peter Peers, 

 gardener j Estcourt and Payne, Engl, 

 Cath. Non-jurors, 128-30. 



^* Land tax returns at Preston. 



^^ Lanes. Inq. and Extents, 1, 207 j the 

 other receipts were from farm of the 

 mill, 6s, Sd. ; perquisites of the vill, 

 25. 8f/. ; winter agistment of the demesne 

 wood, 5j, 6^d, ; and perquisites of vert 

 and escapes, ys. id. ^^ Ibid, i, 271. 



i' Examples have been given in the 

 inquisitions cited above. 



^s Pal, of Lane. Writs Proton. 1 3 

 Hen. VII. View of frankpledge and 

 infangenthef were also claimed, 



^^ Baines, Lanes, (ed. 1836), iii, 421 : 

 *The local government is confided to a 

 chief and deputy constables, with assist- 

 ants ; and a weekly petit sessions is held 

 before the neighbouring magistrates.* 



20 Act of 16 & 17 Vict. cap. 181. 

 The Local Government Act of 1858 and 

 other Acts were adopted by Commissioners 

 of 1863 and later; Lond. Gaa. 6 Nov. 

 1863 ; 4 Jan., 1 1 June 1867. 



^1 Dated 17 June 1881. 



