A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



The main road from Blackburn to Bolton, con- 

 structed in 1797, runs along the west side of the 

 river, passing over the watershed below Cranberry 

 Moss. The road from Blackburn to Manchester 

 passes over higher ground to the east, as stated. The 

 Bolton, Blackburn and Hellifield branch of the Lan- 

 cashire and Yorkshire Company's railway traverses 

 the township, with stations at Darwen, opened in 

 1848, and Spring Vale, and passes under the moors 

 on the south-east, through the Sough tunnel, which 

 is 2,000 yards in length. A single line, tivo miles 

 in length, connects the village of Hoddlesden with 

 the main line. 



By the destruction of the banks of the reservoir 

 below Radfield Fold, in 1848, after a great storm of 

 rain on the moors, twelve persons were drowned, ^nd 

 great destruction to property was caused by the 

 ensuing flood.' 



Over Darwen was noted as far back as the 17th 

 century for the weaving by hand-looms of checked 

 cotton cloths and calicoes, the industry being con- 

 ducted in the houses of yeomen and husbandmen. 

 From 1700 to 1720 many natives are described in 

 the parish register as ' webster.' At this time the 

 supply of yarn for weaving and the sale of cotton 

 pieces in various markets was in the hands of resident 

 ' chapmen,' who were generally small freeholders in 

 the township. The prosperity of the hand-loom 

 weaving industry re.iched its height about the begin- 

 ning of the List quarter of the 1 Kth century, when 

 sc\cral block-printing works were established here, the 

 principal works being those established by Mr. James 

 tjreenw.iy at Livcsey Fold, afterwards removed to 

 Dib Meadows. Calico-bleaching works were also 

 estaMished, but have long ceased to exist ; the 

 earliest, before 1 800, by Mr. Richard Hilton and 

 other; ; in i S i 2 by Samuel Crompton, inventor of 

 the spinning mule. Paper-making was introduced 

 by Richard Hilton before 1836, and was carried on 

 in works on the site of one of the existing mills of 

 the Darwen Paper Mill Company. Paper-staining 

 works were established by Charles and Harold 

 Bolter in 1841,' and are still carried on, together 

 with paper-making, by the Wall Paper Manufacturers, 

 Limited. 



Cotton-spinning by machinery was first introduced 

 here about the ycir 1820, by William Ecclcs, at 

 Bowling Green Mill.' Since then cotton-spinning 

 and weaving have become the staple industries of the 

 town. In addition to these there are iron and brass 

 foundries, machine works, sanitary pipe manufac- 

 tories, collieries, flag and stone quarries, glazed and 

 building-brick works, and iron-works. 



The more noteworthy buildings of the place are 



the Theatre Royal in Railway Road and the Hospital 

 at Bull Hill. There are three political clubs. The 

 Darwen Industrial Co-operative Society's Stores, in 

 School Street, erected in 1 866, include two large 

 halls for public meetings. 



Within the township are the hamlets of Sough or 

 Spring \'ale, Grimehills, Blacksnape, Chapels and 

 Earnsdale. 



At Hoddlesden, formerly a separate township, are 

 three cotton factories, a colliery and sanitary pipe and 

 fireclay works. 



Between 1160 and I 177 Henry de 

 MJNOR Lacy gave this vill, with Walton-le-Dale 

 and other manors, to Robert Banastre, 

 baron of Newton in Makerfield,' to hold by knight's 

 service, of which the proportionate share due from 

 this vill was the eighth part of a knight's fee. The 

 subsequent descent of the superior lordship through 

 the barons of Newton is similar to that of the manor 

 of Walton-le-Dale ; the various steps in the descent to 

 the person of Sir James de Hoghton, bart., the present 

 lord, may therefore be traced in the account of that 

 manor.'" 



Early in the 13th century the manor was held in 

 shares by the families of Derwent and Alston. 

 Alexander de Derwent, living in the time of Roger, 

 Constable of Chester (i 194-121 1)," was probably 

 the father of Siward, living in i 209, who had lands 

 in Rainford and Halsnead in right of his wife Juliana, 

 a kinswom.in of William de Rainford." Siward was 

 living in 1246, when he and Adam his son, Richard 

 de Alston and Roger his son, and Henry de Whalley 

 were unsuccessfully sued by Roger de Eccleshill for 

 land alleged to be in Eccleshill." Richard son of 

 Adam was seised of half the manor, but died without 

 male issue ; to whom succeeded Adam his brother, 

 living in 1277." The descent here becomes uncer- 

 tain : possibly Alan succeeded as son and heir of 

 Adam, and was the father of Alice, who married 

 Geoffrey de Cuerdale," for that lady certainly brought 

 to her husband in her own right half of the manor." 

 In 1 3 1 1 Geoffrey de Cuerdale and the heirs of 

 Salmesbury held a plough-land here of the Earl of 

 Lincoln's mesne tenant." From that time one-half 

 of the manor descended in the heirs of Geoffrey with 

 the manor of Cuerdale. 



The other moiety of the manor was vested before 

 1250 in the persons of Richard de Alston and 

 Henry de Whalley son of Geoffrey the elder, Dean 

 of Whalley, as free tenants as to one-fourth part of 

 the manor of William de Samlesbury, and as to the 

 other of the Earl of Lincoln. About that date they 

 respectively granted to Henry de Grimshagh the 

 fourth part of a ridding in Over Darwen called 



* Abram, op. cit. 495. ' Ibid. 490-2. 



® Ibid. 49V Fpr ao account of the 

 district in modern times see J. G. Shaw, 

 DariL-en and its People. 



' r.C.H. Land. \, 318; Whitaker, 

 Whalley (ed. 18-6}, ii, 330. 



'^' See also Abram, B'.:i:kturn^ 7i9' 



" IVhalley Cou^h. (Chet. Soc), i, 2S7. 



'* Final Cone. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and 

 Ches.}, i, 29. 



^ Lanes. Assize R. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, 

 and Ches.), 15, 29, 4-. 



'* In a grant of land in Hodisdene 

 (Hoddlesden) from Henry de Whalley to 

 his Haughtcr Ameria a yearly service of 

 i2i. ii named as due equally to Richard 



de Alston and Richard de Derwent ; 

 Kuerden MSS. (Coll. of Arms), iv, D4. 



In Michaelmas term, 1312, John del 

 Wode and Emma his wife demanded 

 from Geoflrey de Cuerdale half the 

 manor of Over Darwen as the right of 

 Emma and one Alice wife of Jordan le 

 Taillur of the Morehouses. Geoffrey de- 

 manded a view; De Banco R. 195, m. 90. 

 In Hilary term, 13 16, plaintiffs brought 

 the same plea against John son of 

 Geoffrey de Cuerdale. Richard de Der- 

 went, grandfather of Emma and Alice, 

 whose heirs they alleged they were, was 

 formerly seised of half the manor ; ibid. 

 213, m. 51. 



270 



"In Michaelmas term, 1278, Roger 

 son of Matilda de Rowington, who had 

 withdrawn his plea the year previous 

 against Adam son of Adam de Derwent 

 (Assize R. 405, m. 4 d,), demanded from 

 Alan son of Adam de Derwent a mes- 

 suage and an oxgang of land here \ De 

 Banco R. 27, m. 125. 



1' Alice relict of Geoffrey married 

 William Lawrence and had dower in half 

 the manor. See the account of Cuer- 

 dale. 



" Inq. p.m. 4 EJw. II, no. 51. The 

 service was that of the eighth part of a 

 knight and suit to the three weeks court 

 of Clitheroc. 



