A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



In 1662 the following were freeholders" : — 

 Richard Cooper, for Showley Fold . . izii. 



Robert Shaw, for Stubhead . . . . ^d. 



John Parker, gent., for Gadshaw . . . ^d. 



George Talbot, gent., for Barker's tenement . I J. 

 For the lands formerly of John Talbot, esq. : — 



Robert Calvert and John Entwisle . . id. 



Robert Catterall id. 



John Ha worth . . . . .id. 



Thomas Lund ..... \d. 



Robert Collinson . . . . \d. 



Robert Bolton and Richard Dewhurst, for 



the Oab \d. 



John Talbot and Thomas Calvert, for 



Clayton Hey . . . . .id. 



Mary Tomson, widow . . . . \J. 



Richard Astley and John Morris, for Dew- 

 hurst's and Moore's . . . . li. 



Richard Cooper of Nooke . . . \d. 



John Hesmenough . . . .id. 



Robert Catterall, for part of Hesmenough's land id. 



In 1666 there were thirty-eight hearths taxed in 

 Clayton-lc-Dale and fourteen in Showley, of which 

 eight belonged to Mr. Walmsley." 



Sir George Warren owned nearly half the township 

 in 1789 and Richard Walmsley more than a fifth 

 part." 



Showley Fold, formerly belonging to the Cowper 

 famih-," was in 1876 the property and residence of 

 Mr. T. S. Ainsworth. 



Harwood Fold took its name from a yeoman 

 family of that name, of whom Mr. John Harwood 

 \vas a governor of Blackburn Grammar School in 1 6S [ , 

 and William his son restored the house as recorded 

 by the initials w." e. ^"'^ ^'^^ "^""^ 1 728 upon a 

 stone built into the walls of the house. 



The estate of the dissolved monastery of Saw ley in 

 this township was in the possession of the Hesmond- 

 halgh family for several generations." 



Clayton Hey, a tenement belonging to the 

 manorial estate, was in the occupation of Hugh and 

 John Clayton in I 5 14 when John Talbot of Salesbury 

 made his will settling it upon his two younger sons 

 Richard and William Talbot for their lives." 



MELLOR 



Meluer, Meluir, Meleire, xii-xv cent. 



Mellor and Eccleshill were rated as a joint town- 

 ship until the end of the 17th century. A specu- 

 latory fort of the Roman period stands upon the 

 summit of Mellor Moor, a hill from which the place 

 derives its name, and from whence the Welsh hills 

 and the Isle of Man are visible in clear weather. 

 From this elevation, which forms the western spur of 

 Ramsgreave Heights and rises 732 ft. above the ord- 



nance datum, the land slopes steeply down to Totter- 

 ing Brook and Showley Brook on the north, where 

 the elev.ition is less than 300 ft., to Mellor Brook on 

 the west and to Arley Brook on the south. Rams- 

 greave lies to the east and Blackburn to the south-cast. 

 Around the hamlet of Mellor and on the south-eastern 

 slopes the subsoil consists of the Millstone Grit ; on the 

 summit of Mellor Moor and over the northern and 

 western part of the township, of the Yoredale rocks. 

 The soil is heavy and of a clayey nature, the land 

 mostly meadow and pasture, the returns showing 

 only 10^ acres of arable land, with 1,565 acres of per- 

 manent grass and 15 of woods and plantations.' 



The modern high road from Preston to Blackburn 

 traverses the township, and the road from Preston to 

 Clitheroe touches the north-eastern corner. From 

 the village of Mellor Brook a road runs through the 

 village of Mellor leading over the Ramsgreave Heights 

 to Whalley. The nearest railway station is at Black- 

 burn, 4 miles distant. The area is 1,743 acres, and 

 in 1 90 1 the population numbered 1,111 persons.' 



As in other places around Blackburn there has been 

 during the hist seventy years a gradual drift of the 

 textile population from the country districts into the 

 town of Blackburn. In 183 I the population of this 

 township was almost double that in 1 90 1. At the 

 present time agriculture is the principal employment. 

 There is a large cotton mill in the village of Mellor 

 and another at Mellor Brook, and stone quarries at 

 Abbott's Delf. A mineral spring at Elswick possesses 

 medicinal properties. 



There is a parish council. 



MELLOR formed a constituent part 

 MJXORS of the knight's fee of which Robert 

 Banastre was enfeoffed by Henry de Lacy 

 about the year 1 165, Walton-le-D.ile being the prin- 

 cipal member, and was held of the lords of that 

 manor, who in turn held of the honor of Clitheroe. 

 The proportionate service for Mellor was the sixteenth 

 part of a knight's fee and Sd. yearly rent, presumably 

 for ward of Lancaster Castle.' Probably before this 

 infeudation the Marseys, lords of Bolton-le-Moors, 

 had acquired rights here and in Lower Darwen and 

 Eccleshill, in respect of which rents were afterwards 

 paid yearly to the bailiff of the hundred of Salford, 

 that from Mellor being 4/. In 1230 Roger son of 

 Ranulf de Marsey sold his rights in these manors 

 and elsewhere in the county to Ranulf Earl of Chester 

 and Lincoln, from whom they passed to William de 

 Ferrers, lord between Ribble and Mersey.* This 

 explains the collection of these rents by the Salfordshire 

 bailiff. 



The Cheshire family of Honford held the manor 

 during the 13 th century by subinfeudation by the 

 Banastres. Richard de Honford occurs about 1220 

 and Henry in 1246.* The latter enfeoffed Henry 



Haworth each on ^5 and 16 other 

 persons on smaller amounts j ibid. 130, 

 no. IZ5, m. 8. 



In 1626 Richard Walmsley, John 

 Clayton, Richard Hesmonhalgh and Roger 

 Dewhurst were assessed on goods ; the 

 wife of Richard Walmsley, Robert Cat- 

 terall and his wife, Richard Osbaldeston, 

 gent., Robert Shawe and his wife and 

 John Dewhurst were non-communicants 

 and paid SJ. each ; ibid. 131/31-. 



^ Surrey of 1662, MS./>m« W. Farrer, 

 II-. 



'^ Subi. R. Lanes, bdle. 250, no. 9. 



Only Robert Catterall (4) and David 

 Sallom (3) had more than two hearths. 



" Land tax returns at Preston. Out of a 

 total of ^19 141. iid. Warren with 26 

 tenements paid ^^9 8j. ^'^d. and Walms- 

 ley with 8 tenements paid £^ os. %d. 



^ Henry Cowper of Showley occurs in 

 1477 with Alice Osbaldeston, relict of 

 Gilbert Cowper ; Towneley MS. DD, 

 no. 106;. 



" John Hesmondhalgh died in 1608 

 holding the property of the king as of his 

 manor of East Greenwich ; Richard his 

 •on was aged seventeen years ; Lanes. Inq. 



260 



p.m. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Chei.), i, 194. 

 John Rodcs held the same property 

 apparently at his death in 1623 ; ibid, ii, 

 217, 361. 



" Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. iv, 67. 



' Statistics from Bd. of Agric. (190;). 



^ There are 2 acres of inland water ; 

 Census Rep. I 90 1 . 



' Lanes. Inij. and Extents (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), ii, 12. 



* Duchy of Lane. Gt. Couch, i, 79 n. 



'■Birch Chapel (Chct. Soc), 231-2; 

 Lanes. Incj. and Extents (Rec. Soc. Lanes, 

 and Ches.), i, 162. 



