A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



who was in possession in 1470." He died in 1504 

 or 1505 holding the manor of Little Alcarley of the 

 Icing as duke by the tenth 

 part of a knight's fee." The 

 manor descended in the male 

 line" until about 1670, and 

 since then by female descents 

 to the late Thomas Preston- 

 Holt of Worston.*' 



LITTLE MEARLEr 

 HALL stands in a pretty 

 situation on the slope of 

 Pendle Hill about half a mile 

 to the north of Mearley Hall 

 on what Dr. Whitaker called 

 a 'lingula of land formed by 

 the rocky channels of t^vo 

 torrents.' " It is now a farm-house, and though 

 much repaired and modernized retains some of its 

 ancient features. The building, which is of stone 

 and of two stories, is 58 ft. in length and 35 ft. 

 wide, the longer sides facing east and west and the 

 south end projecting on the west side 8 ft. as a 

 gabled wing. The east side facing the hill is built 

 of rough stone partly rough-cast and retains for the 

 most part its original low mullioned windows, one of 

 which in the upper floor has round-headed lights. 

 The north end of the house, however, seems to have 



MoRLEY. Sable a 

 UopariTs face or jeisant 

 de lii argent. 



been rebuilt and the windows are modern, and on the 

 east side the roof is covered with modern blue slates, 

 the rest retaining the original ones of stone. The 

 doorway on the east side has a four-centred arch with 

 square hood mould and moulded jambs and head 

 above which is a stone panel dated 1590 with the 

 armsof Nowell quartering Walmesley and the initials 

 of Christopher Nowell and Elizabeth (Walmesley) his 

 wife. The date is probably that of the greater part 

 of the building, though the west side has been 

 refi-onted with large square stones and has square- 

 headed barred sash windows. The gable, however, 

 retains its mullioned windows on each floor. But 

 the most interesting architectural feature of the house 

 is the semi-octagonal bay window at the north end of 

 the west front, which was brought here from Sawley 

 Abbey after the Dissolution." The detail is late and 

 the window belongs probably to the early 16th 

 century, but the tracery has been cut away " and 

 wooden sash frames inserted, the rest of the stone- 

 uork, however, being well preserved. At each angle 

 is a buttress, square below and octagonal above, on 

 two of which are shields, one with a lion rampant 

 and the other a crescent within the horns of which 

 are two smaller crescents addorsed. Another shield 

 held by an angel at the termination of the hood 

 mould at the north end has live fusils on a chief. 

 The richness of the detail of the stonework is in great 



** Letlcrs of fraternity with Walsoitcn 

 Hospital were in 1470-1 granted by the 

 warden, brethren and poor men thereof 

 to Henry Nowell and Joan his wife ; 

 Towneley MS. GG, no. 993. In 1480 

 Henry Nowell gave a moiety of his land 

 in Little Mearley to his son Roger, on 

 his marriage with Ellen daughter of 

 Christopher Lister ; HH, no. 726, 728. 

 In 1486-7, on a partition of messuages and 

 lands in the township, the inheritance of 

 Robert Harris (Heriz) was sought by Henry 

 Nowell, Robert Morley, John Morley 

 and William GazegiU ; Pal. of Lane. 

 Writs Proton. 2 Hen. VII. In 1504-5 

 Sir Richard Shireburne gave to Henry 

 Nowell the elder all the lands in Little 

 Mearley which had lately belonged to 

 William GazegiU ; HH, no. 742. 



"** Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. iv, no. 

 65, 76. Roger the son and heir was 

 forty years old in 1508. Roger died in 

 1530 holding the manor of Little 

 Mearley of the king by the tenth part of 

 a fee and ^\d. rent. His son Christopher, 

 who married Juliana, was forty years of 

 age; ibid, vi, no. 35. In 1513 Joan 

 daughter of Roger Nowell married John 

 son and heir of John Goodday of Aighton ; 

 GG, no. 970. In 1516 William Dinelay 

 of Downham agreed with Roger Nowell, 

 Ellen his wife and Christopher his son 

 respecting the marriage of his daughter 

 Anne with Christopher's son William ; 

 ibid. no. 969. Lawrence Nowell, another 

 son of Roger's, is also named ; ibid. no. 

 980. Roger Nowell held 2 oigangs of 

 land in Worston ; Farrer, Clitheroe Ct. R. 

 i, 78, 90. 



<^ Christopher Nowell died m 1546 

 holding the manor of Little Mearley and 

 Morley Hey in Great Mearley in socage 

 by 9j<i rent. His heir was a son Roger, 

 aged twenty-two, so that William named 

 above must have died. Roger's wife 

 Elizabeth and another son Alexander are 

 named ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. 

 vii, no. 20. Roger Nowell complained of 

 trespass in 1550 ; Ducatus Lane, i, 242. 



A pedigree was recorded in 1567 ; 

 yiiil. (ChcL Soc), 33. Roger Nowell 

 and Elizabeth his wife made a feoffment 

 of the manor, tScc, in 1575 ; Pal. of Lane. 

 Feet of F. bdle. 3-, m. 162. 



Roger's son Christopher was contracted 

 to marry Eleanor daughter of Hugh 

 Shuttleworth, but she died, and Sir 

 Richard Shireburne was arbitrator in 

 later disputes ; GG, no. 937, 949, 977. 

 Christopher was in 1576 engaged to 

 marry Elizabeth daughter of Thomas 

 Walmesley of Showley ; ibid. no. 938, 

 947, 951. Roger's daughter Anne was 

 in 1578 to marry George son of Nicholas 

 Talbot of Carr ; ibid. no. 941-3. 

 Another daughter Mary married William 

 W.ilter ; ibid. no. 976. John Nowell 

 son of Roger is also named ; ibid. no. 



945- 



Roger Nowell died in 1579 holding the 

 manor of Little Mearley by the tenth 

 part of a knight's fee ; also messuages 

 and a mill in Great and Little Mearley. 

 His son Christopher was thirty years of 

 age ; Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xiv, no. 

 79. Soon afterwards Christopher made 

 agreement with Elizabeth Nowell, the 

 widow ; Ducatus Lane, iii, 98 ; GG, no. 

 939 (wrongly dated), 944, The will of 

 Roger Nowell of Mearley (dated 1579 

 and proved 1580) is printed in Willi 

 (Chet. Soc new ser.), i, 71. 



In 1586 Christopher Nowell made an 

 agreement with Richard and Robert 

 Walmesley respecting land in Little 

 Mearley ; PaL of Lane Feet of F. bdle. 

 48, m. 37. Warrant was given to admit 

 him to land called Mearley Bank ; Lanes, 

 and Ches. Rec. (Rec Soc Lanes, and 

 Ches.), ii, 265, 242. A Heed by 

 Christopher Nowell in 1600 mentioned 

 his wife Elizabeth and his children 

 William, Henry, Alexander, Charles, 

 Anne, Sec ; GG, no. 936. Whitaker's 

 pedigree gives two Christophers in 

 succession. 



Christopher died in 1628, and his son 

 William, then forty-nine, died in 1637, 



leaving three sons : Thomas, aged twenty- 

 four, Charles and William ; Duchy of 

 Lane. Inq. p.m. zxvii, no. 60 ; xxix, no. 

 44. In 1631 William Nowell and 

 Thomas his son had granted the capital 

 messuage of Little Mearley to feofices ; 

 GG, no. 973. In 1642 there is mention 

 of John Nowell of Little Mearley and 

 Anne widow of John Nowell of GazegiU 

 in Rimington ; ibid. no. 987. Captain 

 Nowell of Mearley, a Parliamentarian, 

 led several foot companies of Blackburn 

 Hundred at the attack on Preston in 

 1643 ; Ciwl War Traets (Chet. Soc), 

 74. John Nowell of Mearley was in 

 1651 a claimant for the manor of Mellor 

 in right ot his wife Elizabeth daughter 

 and co-heir of Thomas Southworth ; Cal. 

 Com. for Comp. iv, 2621. In 1664 

 John Nowell of Mearley was erroneously 

 said to have married Elizabeth daughter 

 of Richard Walmesley of Showley and 

 granddaughter of Thomas Southworth ; 

 Dugdalc, yiiit. (Chet. Soc), 328 ; Abram, 

 Blaekburn, 662. Allegations and deposi- 

 tions respecting the will of William 

 Nowell of Mearley 1664 are preserved in 

 the Diocesan Registry at Chester. 



" The pedigree in Whitaker {Whalley, 

 ii, 113) is inaccurate for the 17th century. 

 It shows a daughter of the Nowellf to 

 have married William Appleton, leaving 

 a son Nowell Appleton (will, 1698), who 

 left a daughter Margaret Sheppard (will, 

 1757), childless. The inheritance then 

 went to a cousin Anne (daughter of 

 William ton of William) Appleton, wife 

 of Thomas Preston, whose great-grand- 

 son William Preston took in 1840 the 

 additional surname of Holt, and left in 

 1857 a son Thomas Preston-Holt to 

 inherit. See notes ibid. 112. 



Ann Townsend, widow, held the 

 manor in 1794 \ Fresnn Guard. Loc. 

 Sketehei^ no. 1 1 26. 



« Whitaker, fTkalley (ed. 4), ii, 1 1 1. 



** Probably from the abbot's lodgings. 



'" Some of it now forms the window 

 of an outhouse. 



378 



