A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



has another small fund.' At Charnock Richard a 

 revenue of ^^14 4J., derived from sever.il ancient gifts, 

 is distributed in cloth, flannel and blankets at Christ- 

 mas.- Heath Charnock has a small special charity.' 

 At Duxbury £1^ is available from a gift by William 

 Mason in 1638^; there are two smaller charities.^ 

 Shevington has several foundations, amounting in all 

 to about ;^l6, spent chiefly in bread and cloth gifts.* 

 The above benefactions are of ancient date. The 

 principal recent gift is that of almshouses for the 

 ecclesiastical district of Charnock Richard, in memory 

 of Mrs. Frances Darlington. The charity was founded 

 by her husband in 1898-9 ; there are six almshouses, 

 appropriated to members of the Church of England, 

 and the endowment amounts to j^i 18 a year.' 



STANDISH-WITH-LANGTREE 



Stanedis, 1206; Stanediss, 1 2 19; Standissh, 

 Stanedich, Stanedissh, 1292 ; Standisch, 1330. 



Langetre, 1206; Longetre, 1330. 



The two portions of this township — Standish and 

 Langtree — lie respectively in the south and north of 

 the area ; the former measures 1,696 acres, and the 

 latter, which has two detached portions, 1,568, or 

 3,264 acres in all.* They were sometimes regarded 

 as distinct townships. The Douglas forms part of 

 the boundary on the eastern side, and again touches 

 Standish after flowing round Wigan. Ihe remainder 

 of the eastern boundar}' is formed by Bradley Brook, 

 while the western is Mill Brook ; both flow into the 

 Douglas. A ridge of higher land running north and 

 south occupies the centre ; it rises to 370 ft., while 

 on the eastern and western boundaries the surface is 

 from 120 to 160 ft. above sea level. The population 

 in 1 901 numbered 6,303.' 



The village stands on the higher ground near the 

 centre, having grown up along the principal road, 

 that from Wigan to Preston. From this road a 

 branch goes off northward to Chorley. The London 

 and North Western Company's main line to Carlisle 



runs north through the township, near the eastern 

 boundary ; it has stations called Boar's Head and 

 Standish, the latter nearly a mile from the village. 

 From Boar's Head a branch line crosses the Douglas 

 to join the Lancashire Union line, from which in 

 turn a branch turns off to join the first-named near 

 Standish station. There is a mineral railway from 

 coal pits near the village to the main line. An 

 electric tramway service connects the village with 

 Wigan. 



The soil is clay, with subsoil of clay, stone and 

 coal ; wheat and oats are grown. Valuable mines of 

 coal are worked. 



There were as many as 1 74 hearths chargeable 

 to the tax in 1666. The largest houses were the 

 halls of Standish, Langtree and Bradley and the 

 rectory.'" 



About 1 700 it is stated that goods were brought 

 from London in wagons as far north as Standish, and 

 thence distributed by carts.'' 



A local board was formed in 1872,'^ and this was 

 in 1 894 replaced by an urban district council of 

 nine members. 



The market cross is a modern one on the ancient 

 steps ; the stocks and well are adjacent. Sites of 

 three other ancient crosses are known.''' On the 

 northern boundary is a well known as ' Hie Bibi.' 



Henry Finch, the Puritan vicar of Walton, 

 ejected in 1662, was born at Standish in 1633 ; he 

 died in 1704.''' Another distinguished native was 

 Charles Walmesley, younger brother of the John 

 who married the heiress of Ince, near Wigan. He 

 was born at Wigan. Lane House in Langtree in 

 1722, became a Benedictine monk in 1739, and 

 finally Bishop of Rama (1756) and Vicar Apostolic 

 of the Western district 1764 till his death in 1797. 

 He gained a great reputation as a mathematician, 

 publishing astronomical treatises, and being elected 

 member of the Royal Society ; he also wrote an 

 explanation of the Apocalypse under the assumed 

 name of Pastorini." Leonard Calderbank, Vice- 



given to Anderton and two-thirdi to 

 CoppuU ; it is distributed in April or 

 May in money doles. 



^ It is a share of William Frith's 

 Chorley charity, amounting to 1 3*. 4J,, 

 and is distributed by the priest at Weld 

 Bank ; 31. 4i/. is applicable for clothing a 

 poor boy or girl. 



John Abbott in 1 73 i left £$0 in trust, 

 2+j. a year of 50J. interest to be given to 

 poor housekeepers. This ftind has long 

 been lost. 



' From William Frith's charity ^i 

 IB received. Richard Hoghton in 1687 

 left £t for linen cloth, but this had been 

 lost before i8z6. Robert Charnock in 

 1695 left 2 acres (7J yds. to the pole), 

 called Mossy Close, now yielding £y a 

 year, for the purchase of woollen cloth 

 for the poor. For a like purpose Eliza- 

 beth Lathom in 1703 left the residue of 

 her personal estate — one moiety for 

 Charnock Richard and the other for 

 Standish-with-Langtree (now part of the 

 general fund). The Charnock moiety was 

 combined with smaller gifts by Richard 



Rigby (1768) and Chamock(c. 1 800), 



and invested in consols ; 26s. id. is re- 

 ceived yearly. James Chamock's gift of 

 £1 in 1703 now produces ^4. 17J. 4J. 



• An annual sum of lys, id. was 

 iistributed in money doles by Thomjs 



Hollsworth (1703) for cloth and Mr. 

 Haydock. 



Heath Charnock benefits from the 

 Shaw charity, as already stated. 



^ For particulars sec the account of 

 Chorley. The income is distributed in 

 money doles in accordance with a scheme 

 made in 1883. 



* John Charnley in 1 7 12 gave £-^o 

 and Lady Standish in 1780 gave £10 for 

 the poor ; the capital is represented by 

 rent-charges of 30J. and 201. on the Dux- 

 bury Hall estate, and these sums are dis- 

 tributed along with Mason's charity. 



* John Threlfall in 1784 gave j^200, 

 charged on a farm called Sharrock'a in 

 Blackrod, for the benefit of the poor of 

 Standish and Shevington. The capital 

 was afterwards invested in Mersey Dock 

 bonds, and produces ,^8 a year, of which 

 half, the Shevington share, i> distributed 

 in a weekly bread dole at Shevington 

 Church and in cloth distributed with the 

 other charities. 



Edward Aspinall in 1748 bequeathed 

 ,^100 for linen cloth for the poor. The 

 money was invested in closes of land 

 called Crowdhurst and Stony Riding in 

 Eccleston. The gross income is now ^^9. 



Mrs. Jane Holt before 1720 left ,^60 

 (see Gastreli), afterwards increased to 

 yf70, for woollen cloth for the poor. 



192 



The fund is now invested in consols, and 

 produces ^1 131. id. a year. 



An annuity of £j was in 1826 paid 

 from the estate called Crook, but nothing 

 was then known of its origin or obliga- 

 tion, and it has long ceased to be paid. 



As mentioned above, Shevington has 

 a share of Edward Birchall's charity. 



The net income of the various charities 

 is nearly £1^, distributed in doles of 

 cloth in January. 



' See End. Char. Rep. (Standish, 

 '^99)) 40-3 ; the almshouses at that 

 time were not ready for occupation. 



' 3,266, including 18 of inland water; 

 Ctmui Ref>. I 901. » Including Crook. 



'" Subs. R. Lanes, bdle. 250, no. 9. 

 Edward Standish had eighteen hearths, 

 Langtree Hall ten, Bradley Hall, Dr. 

 Brideoak and Thomas Smith eight cjth, 

 Wigan Lane House seven and Thomas 

 Taylor six. 



" W. Stout, Aui'jh'jgrapl^\, 28, 70. 



'" Lond. Gaz. 1 1 Oct. 1872. 



" Land, and Chci. yintiij. Soe. xvii, 18, 

 '9- 



" See Walton-on-the-Hill ; Diet. Nat. 

 Biog. 



" Ibid. ; Cillow, Bibl. Diet, of Engl. 

 Calb. V, 569 ; Preittm Guardian Skeuhei, 

 no. 701 ; Tram. Hiii. Soe. (new aer.), xiii, 

 ■37. 



