A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



Apart from these gifts, and some for educational or 

 ecclesiastical purposes, there are few charitable endow- 

 ments. The township of Eccleston has a small sum 

 for clothing ' ; the poor's stock of Hesicin producing 

 over £\z ^ year is applied to the apprenticing and 

 advancement of children ^ ; Parbold has £z I 8/. Bd. 

 a year, derived from ancient gifts, and spent every 

 two years in gifts of calico to poor persons ' ; 

 Wrightington has £l a year distributed in money 

 gifts at irregular intervals.'' 



ECCLESTON 



Hecleston, 



Eiceleston, IZ03 ; Ecliston, 1252 , 

 1284; Eccleston, 1301. 



The township of Eccleston is divided into two 

 parts by the Ri\ er Yarrow, which flows through it 

 westward to join the Douglas. The parish church, 

 with the vilLige, stands near the centre, on the 

 southern banic of the river ; in the northern half are 

 Tingreave and Sarscow, while in the southern is 

 Bradley Hall. The hamlet of Eccleston Green is 

 near the border of Heskin. The surface rises from 

 the Yarrow to the north-east and the south-east, 

 retching about 1 60 ft. above the ordnance datum in 

 the south-east corner. The area is 2,089^ acres,' 

 and the population in 1 90 1 was 1,249. 



The principal ro.id is one between VVigan and 

 Preston, passing north-west through the Green and 

 the village to the church, where it crosses the rl\ er 

 by a bridge, the mill being adjacent. After\vards it 

 divides ; the main branch goes north to Preston, 

 while the other goes north-we^t to join the road to 

 Brctherton. From the village a road goes south- 

 wc^t to .Mawdesley. 



The hearth tax return of 1666 shows that there 

 were then ninety-five hearths liable ; the principal 



houses were those of Thomas Abbott with nine 

 hearths, John Todd and Edward Parr six each.' 

 Parr Hall is a three-story brick house with stone 

 quoins and blue-slated roof, without architectural 

 distinction except for the doorway, which has a good 

 semi-domed hood on brackets, and a stone panel with 



p 



the date 172 1 and initials e i. 



There are several collieries, quarries and a cotton 

 mill. Some hand-loom weaving also is carried on. 



The soil is loamy, the subsoil clay. Wheat and 

 oats are grown. 



The manor of ECCLESTON, in 

 MANORS which Heskin was long included, was 

 from an early period held in moieties. 

 This appears from the grant of a moiety of the church 

 by Roger of Poitou in 1094, the other moiety being 

 probably held by the predecessor of the Walton 

 family.'' No detailed account is given in the survey 

 of 12 1 2, when Eccleston and Heskin were no doubt 

 included in the knight's fee held by Roger Gemet 

 by the office of forester ** ; but forty years later it was 

 found that Roger Gemet had held of William Earl 

 of Ferrers two plough-lands in Eccleston by service 

 of the forest and to find a judge at the county court 

 and a suitor at the earl's court. One plough-land 

 was in demesne, and the other was held of Roger by 

 Warinc de Walton by the service of 4/. yearly.^ 

 Together with Halton and other members of the 

 forester's fee this moiety of Eccleston, apparently 

 known as the Manor of BRADLEV, descended to 

 the Dacre family,'" and after the temporary forfeiture " 

 and partition in the time of Edward IV was by the 

 king in 1473 assigned, together with Fishwick, to 

 Sir Richard Fiennes and Joan his wife, the grand- 

 daughter and heir of Thomas Lord Dacre, who died 

 in I458.'2 



Wrightington seven each, and to Heskin 

 and Parbold three each. It is * the pre- 

 vailing practice to send children to receive 

 tJic bread.' 



' Hugh Dicconson in 1683 left ,^50 

 for lix coats of blue cloth, with H. D. on 

 the sleeve, to be distributed every 

 Michaelmas. The capital is now in- 

 vested in consols in the name of the 

 official trustees and the income is spent 

 on blue linsey cloth given to five poor 

 women. 



* The stock of about ^^30 arose from 

 a number of small donations from 1691 

 onwards. There is now invested in 

 consols £^i) iji. ^d^ the interest being 

 allowed to accumulate ; two cottages 

 yield a gross rent of £ji, spent from 

 time to time in apprenticing children, 

 but the demand is infrequent. 



■* The stock consisted of two sums of 

 j^io each from Thomas Lathom and 

 James Bradshaw and ;^ioo from Jona- 

 than Gillibrand — the last-named sum for 

 linen and woollen cloth. By the failure 

 of a trustee nearly a centary ago the 

 capital was much reduced and is now 

 represented by jQ'ioj consols, 



■* Nicholas Hawet in 1772 left ^40 

 for the poor, and so founded this charity. 



^ The Census Rep. 1901 gives 2,092 

 acro=, including 16 of inland water. 



* Subs. R, Lanes, bdle. 250, no. 9. 

 " See the account of the advowson. 



In 1103 William son of Edith remitted 

 to Benedict Gernet one plough-land in 

 Eccleston, retaining a sixth part, his 



nauther's land, at a rent of \6d. ; Final 

 Co'.c. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 12. 

 This wai, perhaps, the plough-land after- 

 wards held in demesne by Roger Gemet. 



" Lj'us. Inq. and Extents (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), i, 43. 



Robert the Forester of Eccleston seems 

 to have held an oxgang of land there, 

 perhaps as baililT or serjeant of the 

 Dacres ; Piccopc MSS. (Chcl, Lib.), iii, 

 p. 3. 



' Land. Inj. and Extentij i, 188 ; the 

 plough-land in demesne was worth 171. a 

 year. 



'* Eccleston was included in a Dacre 

 settlement in 1311 ; Final Cone, ii, 7. 



Joan widow ef William de Dacre 

 in 1324-5 held 4 oxgangs of land in 

 Eccleston, the tenants rendering 51. a year 

 for each j also a messuage, the moiety of 

 a water-mill and various lands, the total 

 value being %%s. 6d. a year ; Inq. p.m. 

 18 Edw. II, no. 4 1. 



In 1338 Randle de Dacre obtained the 

 royal licence to impark his wood at 

 Eccleston, if it were not within the 

 metes of the forest; Cal. Pat. 1338-40, 

 p. 105. 



In 1362 it was recorded that the Dacre 

 moiety of Eccleston was held of the 

 lords of Leylandshire by homage and 

 performing suit at the said wapentake 

 from three weeks to three weeks j the 

 capital messuage was decayed, and there 

 were 60 acres of land in dem^^sne, each 

 worth i6d. a year, two parts being fit for 

 sowing each year while the third lay 



162 



fallow ; Inq. p.m. 36 Edw. Ill, pt. i, 

 no. 62. 



Sir Hugh de Dacre and William his 

 son about 1379 gave to Robert de 

 Pleaslngton and Agnes his wife the 

 manor of Eccleston ; Close, 3 Ric. II, 

 m. 14 d. 



Sir Thomas Dacre died in 1458, having 

 made a settlement of his manors of Fish- 

 wick and Bradley and certain lands in 

 Eccleston, which were to descend to his 

 son Humphrey for life, then to the heirs 

 male of Sir Thomas, and in default to 

 Thomas Clifford son of Joan daughter of 

 Sir Thomas Dacre, then to the heirs of 

 Randle Dacre and of Humphrey his 

 brother ; Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Chet. Soc), 

 ii, 65. 



^' The brothers Randle and Humphrey 

 Dacre fought on the Lancastrian side at 

 Towton in 1461 ; the former was killed 

 and the estates and honours of both were 

 forfeited. Sec G.E.C. Complete Peerage^ 

 iii, 7. 



^^ In 1462 and 1466 a considerable 

 part of the Dacre estates, including Eccles- 

 ton, seems to have been allowed to Sir 

 Richard and Joan, but after Humphrey 

 Dacre had made peace with the king 

 he put forward his claims as heir male j 

 and the decision of 1+73 left only Fish- 

 wick and Eccleston to the Fiennes family ; 

 CaL Pat. 1461-7, pp. 140, 534 ; Pari R. 

 vi, 43, 44 ; G.E.C. loc. cit, 



Richard Fenys or Fiennes Lord Dacre 

 died in i486 holding the nttanor of Fi'h- 

 wick and the moiety of the manor of 



