LEYLAND HUNDRED 



ECCLESTON 



later times the Lathoms of Parbold were considered 

 the patrons.^ This, however, may have been in 

 respect of the chantry founded in the chapel by one 

 Henry Parbold, as it was reported.^ Little is known 

 of its history or chaplains before the Reformation, 

 while afterwards it probably fell out of use for a 

 time, the small endowment having been confiscated 

 and the people to a great extent remaining faithful 

 to the ancient religion.' Bishop Bridgeman, about 

 1620, may be regarded as its restorer,'' and in 1650 

 the Commonwealth surveyors found that some small 

 endowments had been given and that it was in 

 regular use.' Seventy years later, however, the 

 mcome was only ^^ 10, it being at this time ' supplied 

 by the rector of Eccleston or his curate every Sunday 

 except when the sacrament was administered at the 

 mother church.' * A grant was obtained from Queen 

 Anne's Bounty in 1 767.' The building was 

 replaced by the present Christ Church in 1875, and 

 was taken down in 1878. The rector of Eccleston 

 is now the patron. 



The following have been curates and vicars ' : — 



1677 John Leigh 

 :. 1679 Thomas Marsden 



1728 William Dewhurst, B.A." (St. John's Coll., 

 Camb.) 

 Thomas Wadeson 

 Thomas Evans *" 

 William Knowles '^ 

 Thomas Walker '^ 

 1798 John Johnson '^^ 

 1829 John Price ^* 



1 860 William Price, B.A. (Corpus Christi Coll., 

 Camb.) 

 William Coombes 



Henry Powell Owen-Smith, M.A.i' (Mag- 

 dalene Coll., Camb.) 

 1909 Thomas Gleave 

 Parbold Hall was at one time the centre of the 

 Catholic mission,^^ but Wrightington took its place, and 

 the present church of Our Lady and All Saints was 

 not built till 1884. It is served by the Benedictines.^' 



•739 

 1762 

 1766 

 1770 



1874 

 1885 



201. William the Chaplain in 1292 

 has been mentioned above. In 1306 

 the Prior of St. John complained that 

 Richard de Lathom had broken into his 

 chapel at Douglas and carried off his 

 goods ; De Banco R. 158, m. 16 d. ; 163, 

 m. 96. Richard de Stainolf, chaplain of 

 Douglas, occurs in 1378-9; Kuerden 

 MSS. ii, fol. 266. 



In Nov. 1402 William de Derby, 

 the chaplain, gave the lands, &c., per- 

 taining to the chapel of Douglas (Dogo- 

 huUe) to Sir John de Ireland of Hale 

 and others as trustees or lessees ; Hale D. 



It is noteworthy that in 1445 the 

 chapel was said to be * in the parish of 

 Wigan * ; Lich. Epis. Reg. ix, fol. 127^. 



^ Duchy Plead. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and 

 Ches.), i, 147. Hugh Rigby of Parbold, 

 chaplain and incumbent of the chapel of 

 Our Blessed Lady in Parbold alias Douglas , 

 stated that he was presented about 1520 

 by William Lathom, the said William 

 and his ancestors having been * without 

 time of mind ' founders and patrons 

 thereof, and that he had been forcibly 

 expelled. Henry Stananought was alleged 

 to have obtained by craft a new presenta- 

 tion from William Lathom, ' being an 

 old gentleman and blind,* on the assertion 

 that Hugh Rigby was neglecting his 

 duty at Douglas on account of his other 

 benefice in Somerset. 



3 Falor Eccl, {Rc^c. Com.), v, 231. 

 The statement that Henry Parbold was 

 founder is doubtful. Henry Stananought 

 was at that time (1535) chaplain, and 

 the revenue was 6gj. %d, 



Stananought was still incumbent in 

 1547-8 at the Suppression, being fifty-six 

 years of age. The only ornaments were 



n chalice and vestment. The income 

 was derived from lands in Parbold and 

 Dalton. See Raines, Chantries (Chet. 

 Soc), 158-9. 



A bell remained at Douglas Chapel in 

 1552 ; Church Goods (Chet. Soc), 127. 



3 About 1610 it was returned that 

 Douglas Chapel was 'without minister or 

 stipend of late times ' ; Hist. MSS. Com. 

 Rep. xiv, App. iv, 11. 



^ An inscription on a window in the 

 old chapel stated that Bishop Bridgeman 

 caused the windows to be painted in 

 1621 J Trans, Hist. Soc. (new ser.), xi, 

 214. In 1626 Thomas Legh bequeathed 

 j^2o to Douglas Chapel by Parbold ; 

 J^'ills (Rec Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 126. 



* Commoniv. Ch. Surv. (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), 116. The endow- 

 ment consisted of capital sums of ^^20 

 and j^5 for a 'preaching minister' ; and 

 the rector of Eccleston had been ordered 

 to pay j^55 a year to the minister. As 

 early as 1646 a sum of ^30 had been 

 ordered to be paid out of the revenues of 

 the Dean and Chapter of Chester ; Plund. 

 Mins, Accts. (Rec. Soe. Lanes, and Ches.), 

 i, 23 ; see also p. 44. 



William Brownsword signed the 'Har- 

 monious Consent* of 1648 as 'preacher 

 at Douglas,' and was there in 1650 ; see 

 the account of Hoole. Jonathan Sehole- 

 field, who signed the 'Harmonious Con- 

 sent* as minister of Heywood, is said to 

 have been ejected from Douglas Chapel 

 in 1662; Nightingale, Lanes. Nonconf. 

 iv, 23. 



" Gastrcll, Notitia Cestr. (Chet. Soc), 



"' 375-6- , X . o 



7 Trans. Hist. Soc. (new ser.), xi, 228. 



Some further particulars are given. 



s This Imperfect list is taken from the 

 church papers at Chester and from Mr. 

 W. F. Price's in the article just quoted. 



^ Entered St. John's Coll. in 1723 ; 

 R, F. Scott, Admissionsy iii, 38. Buried 

 at Ormskirk 9 Feb. 1733-4. 



^" Buried in 1764. He lived at New- 

 burgh. 



^^ Vicar of Ormskirk, 



^^ Previously rector of Eccleston. 



^^ In a report made to the Bishop ot 

 Chester at his visitation in 1821 it was 

 stated that the incumbent lived at Bre- 

 thcrton, 8 miles off. The usual con- 

 gregation was 200. There was a service 

 with sermon on Sunday morning, also on 

 the great festivals, and the sacrament was 

 administered quarterly. There were many 

 Dissenters and many Roman Catholics. 



^'' He resided at Standish, but towards 

 the close of his life procured the erection 

 of a vicarage house at Parbold. 



^^ Died 19 Feb. 1909, soon after being 

 preferred to the rectory of Brindle. 



^^ The incumbent of Douglas in 1804 

 sent the following report to the Bishop of 

 Chester : 'In the chapelry of Douglas are 

 67 Papists, one person, viz. Thomas 

 Bimson, junr., perverted to Popery by 

 marrying a Papist woman. There are 

 three places where they assemble for 

 worship, viz.: Wrightington Hall, Parbold 

 Hall and Fairhurst Hall j their priests 

 are Mr. Felix Delalond of Wrightington 

 Hall, Mr. Marsh of Parbold Hall, and Mr. 

 Orton of Fairhurst Hall. There is a 

 Popish school kept at Parbold Hall by 

 Mr. Marsh * j Trans, Hist. Soc. (new ser.), 

 xi, 225. The.' Popish school' is now at 

 Amplefcrth ; ibid, xiii, 167. 



^'' Literpool Cath, Annual. 



181 



