A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



in 1903 50 far as concerns the eight townships con- 

 tributing to the repair of the parish church. The 

 educational endowments amount to ^^ 160 a year and 

 All Saints', Pendleton, has ;^i82. Apart from these 

 the following are the only charities existing : — 



For the eight townships a fund long accumulating 

 amounted to ^^441 by 1 771," when it was applied to 

 purchase land in Great Harwood. Part of the capital 

 was for the school, and other parts were intended for 

 apprenticing children of Whalley township and for 

 the purchase of blue cloth for the poor. The land 

 was sold in 1895 for ^1,000. Thomas Braddyll in 

 1776 gave an annuity of ;£io for apprenticing poor 

 children of Whalley township. These charities are 

 administered together. By a scheme of the Charity 

 Commissioners made in 1886 the apprenticing chari- 

 ties were added to the endowment of the grammar 

 school. For the general charities known as Chewe's 

 dole, &c., a capital of £\11 consols remains, pro- 

 ducing j^i3 2/. a year. Of this ^^i 4J. is distributed 

 in doles by the vicar as Kenyon's charity ; j^i 8/. 

 each is sent to Read and Wiswell, and is distributed 

 in doles of money or goods ; and the remainder is 

 given to poor persons in the township of Whalley in 

 doles of cloth. The other five townships now 

 receive no share. 



Sir Ralph Assheton of Downham in 1679 left 

 money to 'gratify two able and orthodox ministers' 

 who were to preach two sermons each at Whalley 

 and Downham, and a further sum for the poor of 

 the same places, particularly those who were ' con- 

 tant comers to church.' This endowment is repre- 

 sented by a rent-charge of ^^8 on the Starkie estate in 

 Pendleton, [^\ going to Whalley and ^^4 to Down- 

 ham. At the former place £^r is paid to a special 

 preacher on 5 February and the rest in gifts of 5/. to 

 eight poor women. 



Adam Cottam in 1835 gave land at the Grange in 

 Whalley and bequeathed about j^ I, Soo for almshouses 

 for poor persons of Whalley township. Some addi- 

 tional gifts were made by Miss Isabella Riley (1855) 

 and George Haworth (1896), and the gross income 

 is ;^84 IS. There are six almshouses in one building, 

 each having living room and bedroom and a plot of 

 land. Women to occupy them are nominated by 

 the trustees, and each has 18/. a month and a small 

 coal allowance. 



There was an old almshouse in Pendleton of 



unknown origin." The building fell into ruin before 

 1850 and the land is now unoccupied. 



LITTLE MITTON, HENTHORN AND 

 COLDCOATS 



Mitton, 1241. Hennethyrn, 1258 ; Hennethorn, 

 131 I. Caldecotes, 1241. 



Little Mitton and Henthorn occupy the southern 

 and northern parts of a strip of land sloping down to 

 the Ribble, which forms the western boundary, and 

 receives the Calder at the southern boundary. On the 

 other side of the Ribble, in Yorkshire, is Mitton 

 proper, or Great Mitton. Coldcoats is a detached 

 portion of the township lying to the east on the slopes 

 of Pendle. The total area is 87 3 J acres,' and in 1901 

 the population was 86. 



There is a road from Whalley through Little 

 Mitton, crossing the Ribble by a bridge just below 

 Great Mitton Church. A road from Whalley to 

 Pendleton along the side of the hill passes through 

 Coldcoats. There is a footpath from Little Mitton 

 to Clitheroe. 



There is a parish meeting. 



The soil is clay, overlying gravel ; the land is 

 chiefly in pasture. 



The picturesque scenery of the Ribble and Hodder 

 attracts visitors to the district, and these rivers afford 

 some fishing. 



The manor of LITTLE MITTON 

 MANORS was held of the lord of Clitheroe by 

 knight's service. There are traces of a 

 family bearing the local name,^ but in 1242 John de 

 Pontchardon held the twelfth part of a knight's fee 

 there ; the place belonged to the dower of the 

 Countess of Lincoln.' He granted 3 oxgangs of land 

 in Little Mitton to Margaret daughter of William 

 son of Orme at a rent of i 2J.^ He was followed by 

 Richard de Pontchardon hisson,^ who married Beatrice 

 daughter of Adam de Blackburn,' and in 1283 claimed 

 a messuage and an oxgang of land in the township 

 tenanted by Richard the clerk of Rimington and 

 Margery his wife.' In i 309 he granted the manor 

 of Little Mitton to Adam de Catterall and Lora his 

 wife, the grantor's daughter ; a rent of 10 marks was 

 during his life to be paid to him at Welwyn in Hert- 

 fordshire.' This was confirmed by a similar grant in 

 1313.9 



^' The list of benefactors includes John 

 Chewe (before 1629), ^^63; Richard 

 Waddington, ^^50 ; Sir Edmund Assheton, 

 j^ioo ; and Robert Edwards, j^8o. 



^2 In 1826 the two almspcople lived in 

 a house d^ted 1672. 



^ Composed thus : Little Mitton, 507 

 acres ; Henthom, 204J j Coldcoats, 162. 

 The Census Rep. 1 90 1 gives the town- 

 ship 875 acres, including 30 of inland 

 water. 



* They were, perhaps, minor freeholders. 

 Robert son of Henry de Little Mitton 

 was plaintiff in 1278 against Roger de 

 Whalley respecting half an oxgang of land ; 

 De Banco R. 2-, m. 54 d. Roger son of 

 Henry de Whalley gave an oxgang of land 

 in Little Mitton to Adam son of Stephen 

 de Little Mitton ; Dods. MSS. xci, fol. 

 159. Among the witnesses were Sir 

 Robert de Chester and Sir Ralph de 

 Mitton. 



In 1404 Richard Mitton granted all his 

 ia..ds in Little Mitton to Robert son of 



Henry Shuttleworth ; ibid, cxxxix, fol. 

 141A. He made a similar grant to Richard 

 Catterall; Towneley MS. DD, no. 18. 

 Robert Shuttleworth cousin and heir of 

 the above Robert in 1468 released his 

 claim in Little Mitton to Richard 

 Catterall ; Dods. MSS. xci, fol. 159^. 



' Lanes. Inq. and Extents (Rec, Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), i, 150, 148. 



^ Towneley MSS. DD, no. 17. 



* In 1278 Adam son of Stephen de 

 Mitton made a claim for land in Little 

 Mitton against John de Pontchardon ; 

 Assize R. 1238, m. 35. The claim was 

 continued in 1288 against Richard de 

 Pontchardon son of John and others ; 

 Richard was lord of the whole town ; 

 ibid. 1277, m. 32*1. 



6 ^VhalUy Couch. (CheU Soc.), tv, 

 964-5. 



^ De Banco R. 48, m. 32 ; Final Cone. 

 (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), J, 161. 

 Richard de Pontchardon obtained in all 

 3 oxgangs of land in Little Mitton from 



388 



Roger de Whalley. One of them was 

 held in demesne and the others in service 

 by rents of 41. each by Adam son of 

 Stephen and by Richard de Rimington 

 and Margaret his wife. A rent of 121. 

 was due to the chief lord and Jt/. to the 

 grantor; DD, no. 33. Alice widow of 

 Roger de Whalley released her right in 

 1 oxgang in 1293 ; ibid, no. 34. 



« Dods. MSS. xci, fol. 159. The seal 

 shows a quarterly coat of arms debniiicd 

 by a bend sinister \ the legend is ■. 

 RiCAEDi DK PONTCARDON. The charter 

 appears to be the same as that given at 

 length in Towneley MS. DD, no. i, the 

 witnesses being the same though the date 

 is at Lancaster in 1313- ButDD,no.2, 

 is a grant by Richard to Alan and Lora in 

 1309 of all his goods and chattels in the 

 manor of Little Mitton on the day they 

 should take possession according to the 

 charter they had from him. 



^ See last note. 



