A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



and in 1543 was as'sessed to the subsidy in respect 

 of lands here.'- Richard Cunliffe, gent., was in 

 possession in 1562, and with Anne his wife passed 

 his estate to trustees in 1587,'' by whom it was sold 

 in or before 1 59 1 to Thomas Walmsley, Justice 

 of the Queen's Bench,** who leased it to John 

 Talbot of Whalley, gent. By his will dated in 1594 

 Mr. Talbot assigned to Elizabeth his wife the 'farm- 

 ing houses and grounds ' which he had by lease of 

 Mr. Justice Walmsley in Billington and Wilpshire, late 

 the inheritance of one Richard Cunliffe, together 

 with his lease of the tithe corn of Cunliife. In 1662 

 Cunliffe House paid duty upon four hearths. Since 

 then this estate has passed with the manor. 



DEAN HILL AND TOfFNirORTH.—Tone- 

 worth, 1292. The family of Dean have been 

 associated with lands in this township since the 

 beginning of the 1 3th century. Ranulf living in the 

 time of King John was the father of Elias de 

 Tonworth, also called ' de Dene,' who occurs in 

 1 246.*' Richard the son of Elias held land here of 

 Mabel de Billington, the wife of Oliver de Stansfeld, 

 lord of Worsthorne, whose son William had a grant 

 of a messuage in Tonworth from his father in 1294, 

 and was assessed to the subsidy of 1332 as one of the 

 most substantial householders.*' In 1347 Alexander 

 de le Dene held his lands (of Dean Hill) freely of the 

 Abbot of Whalley for 4/. yearly." Robert Dene, 

 yeoman, was in possession of Dene Hill in 1444, and 

 William Dean of one-half of Townworth in 1487.'' 

 William Dean married Agnes daughter and heir of 

 — Wrightington. Henry their son married Maud 

 daughter of William Ambrose, by whom he had issue 

 John,'' who held Dean Hill, half of Townworth and 

 Hodgehouse of the Abbot of Whalley freely in 

 1538.1"*' He died the same year seised of these and 

 other estates, William being his son and heir.^*" 

 John Dean, son of William, in 1573 passed by fine 

 to John Braddyll, esq., seven messuages in Billington 

 and Townworth,!"' and from that date the greater part 

 of the estate of this family descended with the 

 Braddyll estates. 



The families of Bolton and Chew were ancient 



freeholden in 

 Abram gives 



The hearth 



this township ; 

 some account 



of 



the 

 the 



latter Mr. 

 History of 



tax return of 1 666 records I 1 5 

 hearths in the township. The largest house was that 

 of John Ha} hurst, with eight ; there were two of 

 five, three of four, and four of three hearths. '"^ 



The land tax returns of 1788 show that Lord 

 Petre, Assheton Curzon and J. Braddyll were the 

 chief owners.'**' 



An Inclosure Act for Billington and Wilpshire was 

 passed in 1 784. 



The chapel of ST. LEONARD stands 

 CHURCH on the north side of Langho Green close 

 to the western boundary of the town- 

 ship, and is on plan a plain rectangle 56 ft. long 

 internally by 24 ft. wide, with south porch and 

 north-west vestry. The building is of 1 6th-century 

 date, built of large blocks of gritstone and with a 

 stone slated roof, but having fallen into a state of 

 disrepair was restored in 1879, when the interior 

 was reseated and rearranged, a new east window 

 inserted, the vestry rebuilt on a larger sc.ile, the west 

 wall reconstructed and the wood bell-cote on the 

 west gable replaced by one in stone. A local 

 tradition states that the chapel was built from stones 

 taken from the dismantled abbey at Whalley,'"' and 

 the evidence of the building, in the walls of which 

 there are a great many earlier carved stones, seems in 

 some measure to support the story, though nothing 

 very positive can be stated one way or the other. 

 The large stone blocks of which the walling is 

 constructed are, however, probably in any case of no 

 earlier date than the building of the chapel, but 

 many of the moulded and carved fragments un- 

 doubtedly belong to some older structure, but whether 

 on this site or at Whalley it is impossible to say. 



Before the restoration the chapel was seated with 

 long narrow pews erected towards the end of the 

 I 7th century, with four square ones at the east end, 

 two on each side of the sanctuary north and south of 

 the altar, which had a rail on three sides. The font 

 stood in front of the altar rails, and the pulpit and 



"Whalley Comp. of 1 521 ; Whalliy 

 Couch. 1191 } Lay Sub>. Lanes, bdle. 130, 

 ao. 125. 



S3 Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 24, 

 m. 151 ; bdlc. 49, m. 307. 



« Ibid. bdlc. 53, m. 60. 



" ^ssixc R. (Rec. Soc. Lanci. and 

 Ches. xWii), 20. Elias de Tonworth was 

 disseised by Adam de Billington ; Assize 

 R. 408, m. 43 d. 



»« Ibid.; IThallry Couch. 1065 ; Exch. 

 Lay Subs. (Rec Soc. Lanes, and Ches.', 

 81. In 1281 Agnes de Dene with her 

 four daughters and William son of Adam 

 de Dene impleaded the Earl of Lincoln, 

 Gilbert de Clifton, William son of William 

 de Dene and others for taking away and 

 detaining at a place called Langgale in 

 Billington her chattels ; De Banco R. 42, 

 m. 91, 98 J 38, m. 25-6. 



Adam del Dene had land lying between 

 Langale (Langho) and Dinckley Brook 

 circa 1260 ; fVhalley Couch. 1019. 



*" Ibid. 950. Roger son of William 

 son of Alexander del Dene was presented 

 in 1350 for striking and wounding John 

 Douglas at Billington ; Assize R. 443, 

 m. 5. 



^^ Pal. of Lane. Plea R. 6, m. i. Joan 

 relict of William Dean demanded dower 



in her husband's lands in Billington and 

 Manchester ; P^il. of Lane. Writs Proton. 

 Hen. VII, fol. I & 2. Dower was 

 assigned in half of Townworth by R^-'^'cr 

 Dean, chaplain, Henry Dean and John 

 his son and heir on 27 Mar. 1487 ; Pal. 

 of Lane P.ea R. 64, m. 2. 



Thomas Wadyngton of Bradforth, co, 

 York, was owner of the other half of 

 Townworth. His grandsons Edward and 

 Thomas sold it in 1527 to John Clerk of 

 Warley, near Halifax ; Anct. D. (P.R.O.), 

 A 1404-6, 6060. 



In 1542-3 Thomas Southworth, kt., 

 demised a moiety of Townworth, lately 

 belonging to the monastery of Whalley, 

 to Miles Grenill for a term of years ; 

 Kuerden fol. MS. (Chet. Lib.), fol. 387. 



^ Lansd. MS. 205 cited by Abram, 

 Blackburn^ 445. 



"« fVhallcy Couch. 1 1 91. 



'*** Duchy of Lane Inq. p.m. vii, 12. 

 He had seven messuages in Billington 

 which he held of the king as of his 

 manor of Whalley for js. yearly. 



i"" Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle. 3 ,-, 

 m. 188. Mr. Abram gives some later 

 particulars of the Dean family in Black- 

 burn, 446. 



"» Op. cit. 442. The original feoff- 

 ment of Henry son of Robert de Bolton 

 of lands in Billington by Henry de Laey 

 Earl of Lincoln, circa 1287, for a free 

 rent of 251. 4*^., is preserved in the Coucher 

 of Whalley, p. 945. In 1347 Henry de 

 Bolton held the tenement of the Abbot of 

 Whalley ; ibid. 950. It passed to other 

 hands, but the family continued for many 

 generations at Ashes and Loveley in Sales- 

 bury i Towneley MS. C 8, 13 (Chet. 

 Lib.), B 447-68. 



"" Lay Subs. Lanes, bdle. 150, 

 no. 9. 



"' Returns at Preston. 



^^ The tradition finds place, stated as 

 a fact, on a brass plate below the west 

 window ! 'This church, erected about the 

 year 1557 with materials brought from 

 the dismantled abbey of Whalley, having 

 fallen into decay, was partially rebuilt, 

 and v.as repaired and refitted throughout 

 by William Thomas Carr of the Middle 

 Temple, Barrister-at-law, whose mother 

 and her parents, as well as many of her 

 remoter ancestors, lie buried in its church- 

 yard. A.D. 1879.' Bartholomew Wal- 

 mesley in 1688 asserted that the chapel 

 was built about 1557 by Sir Thooui 

 Holcroft. 



