BLACKBURN HUNDRED 



WHALLEY 



that the Nowells of Read'" and other neighbouring 

 landowners had small estates.™ William Hindle died 

 at Church in 1616 holding a messuage, &c., there of 

 the king and another in Over Darwen ; his heir was 

 a nephew John Hindle, aged forty-four, son of 

 William's brother Michael, but he left the messuage 

 in Church to John son of Christopher Duckworth on 

 condition that he married one of the daughters of 

 his eldest brother Thomas Hindle." 



The Subsidy Roll of 1626 shows the landowners 

 contributing to be the heir of Ralph Rishton and 

 William Carus in right of his wife ; Dorothy Rishton 

 and three other women were convicted recusants.'* 

 Only thirty-one hearths were liable to the tax in 

 1666 ; Matthew Tootel had six hearths and Richard 

 Walmesley of Ponthalgh had five.'^ 



From the name of the township it 

 CHURCH might be supposed that the chapel there 

 was of ancient origin and of independent 

 standing. At the first positive record, however, the 

 Survey of 1296, it was no more than a chapel, served 

 by a priest who had 4. marks a year ; the altarage 

 was worth 5 marks, the demesne lands 10/., and the 

 tithes of the chapelry " ^^12. In 1334 the chapel 

 was in such bad condition that the priest could not 

 celebrate mass therein on a rainy day, and the 

 parishioners were ordered to keep in repair the 

 chancel as well as the nave, according to old custom." 

 At the same time they were ordered to find and pay 

 a clerk to serve the priest at mass, for it had sometimes 

 happened that the chaplain had been unable to say 

 mass on Sundays and festivals through the lack of an 

 assistant.'^ 



The church of ST. JAMES stands on high ground 

 to the north-west of the town, and consists of chancel 

 with north organ chamber, nave and western tower, 

 with vestry on the north side. Only the tower is 

 ancient, and belongs probably to the end of the 15 th 

 or begirning of the i6th century, the rest of the 

 church having been puUed down in 180;, in which 

 year the present nave, which is 8 1 ft. 6 in. long by 

 41 ft. wide internally, was erected. A chancel was 

 added in 1870, but was rebuilt on a larger scale in 

 1895. In 1848 the church was re-roofed, and in 

 1 88 1 it underwent a thorough restoration, when the 

 old galleries were taken down and new ones erected, 

 a new chancel arch was built, the floor renewed and 

 new seating inserted. 



The chancel, which measures 30 ft. by 25 ft. 9 in.. 



is in the style of the 14th century, and has a pointed 

 east window of five lights. The nave retains its flat 

 ceiling and has galleries on each side and at the west 

 end. There are two tiers of semicircular-headed 

 windows on each side. The original plain wooden- 

 barred frames, with bars crossing in the heads, were 

 removed in 1881, and modern wood frames with 

 traceried heads substituted. The walls are built in 

 coursed blocks of dressed stone, the whole of the 

 work being of the plainest description. There were 

 originally two doorways on the south side, but when 

 the chancel was built the easternmost one was made 

 into a window. The roofs of both chancel and nave 

 are covered with blue slates and have overhanging 

 eaves. 



The tower, which is at the south-west corner of 

 the nave, measures internally 13 ft. 9 in. by 1 3 ft., 

 the longer length being from east to west, and is of 

 two stages. The vice is in the south-west corner, and 

 there are diagonal angle buttresses of four stages on 

 the west side, stopping below the belfry string. 

 There are also square buttresses north and south on 

 the east side. The detail is poor, the masonry coarse, 

 and the work generally of little architectural merit. 

 The tower was restored in 1 848, when the battle- 

 ments were renewed and the present angle pinnacles 

 erected. The belfry windows are of two lights with 

 straight-sided pointed heads and labels, except on the 

 west side, where there are three lights. The south 

 window is now built up and a clock dial fixed in front. 

 The west doorway has a flat arch with square label, 

 and above is a three-light window similar in detail to 

 those in the belfry. Between the west window and 

 the string above are two small openings, one with 

 rounded head and the other apparently of later date. 

 The tower arch is of two chamfered orders, but is now 

 only visible from the ringing chamber, the west wall 

 of the nave having been built in front of it on the 

 east side. The vestry was built in 1895 and enlarged 

 in 1899. 



The font is octagonal and apparently of the same 

 date as the tower, and has a blank shield on each 

 face. The rest of the fittings are modern, the wood 

 pulpit dating from 1850 and the quire stalls from 

 1895. An organ was first provided in 18 1 5. It 

 was rebuilt and enlarged in 1849 ^°'^ again in 1895. 



Some old stained glass, including a mutilated 

 figure of St. Mary and the arms of the Walmesleys 

 and Petres of Dunkenhalgh and the Whalleys of 



^3 Richard son of Adam Nowell in 1330 

 granted land in Church to Roger son of 

 Adam (wife Cecily) son of Stephen ; RR, 

 no. 432. In 1357 Richard Noweli 

 claimed a messuage and land in Church 

 against Thomas de Altham and against 

 Robert son of Gilbert de Rishton ; Duchy 

 of Lane. Assize R. 5, m. 7, l6 ; 6, m. 

 5 d. At the last reference his pedigree is 

 set out : Richard Fitton -da. Elizabeth, 

 married Roger Nowell -s. Adam -s. 

 Richard (plaintiff) and William (bailiff of 

 the wapentake). 



John Nowell died in 1525 holding 

 land in Church of Ralph Rishton ; Duchy 

 of Lane. Inq. p.m. vi, no. y6, Roger 

 Nowell in 1566 held a little land and 

 i<jd. free rent in Church of Ralph Rishton; 

 ibid, xi, no. 26. His successors held the 

 same, but the tenure is not always re- 

 corded ; in 1624 it was said to be held 

 of Ralph Rishton in socage ; Lanes. Inq. 

 p.m. (Rec. Soc, Lanes, and Ches.), iii, 428. 



'*'* William Baron of Oswaldtwistle died 

 in 161 8 holding two messuages, &c., in 

 Church by tenure unknown ; Lanes, Inq. 

 p.m. (Rec. Soc), ii, 172. James Baron 

 and Anne his wife had disputes with Sir 

 Thomas Langton respecting land in 

 Church about 1550-60; Ducatus Lane. 

 ii, 117; i, 292. 



Thomas Greenwood of Oswaldtwistle 

 died in .1618 holding lands called OUer- 

 trodes. Fleets and Churchfield in Church 

 of the heirs of Ralph Rishton by T,d. 

 rent ; Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc), ii, 

 244. The Greenwood tenement may 

 be traced to the John Greenwood (1506) 

 mentioned above in the account of Catt- 

 low. Richard Greenwood and Thomas 

 his son had land, &c., in Church and 

 Oswaldtwistle in 1577; Pal. of Lane. 

 Feet of F. bdle. 39, m. 116. 



" Lanes. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Soc), ii, ;o. 

 He was perhaps one of the Kindles of 

 CowhIII ; Abram, Blaekburn, 639. 



4°3 



^'^ Lay Subi. Lanes, bdlc. 131, 

 no. 317. 



^^ Ibid. bdle. 250, no. 9. 



^'* Whitalcer, WhalUy^ h'^7 't the tithes 

 of Church were worth 4 marks, Oswald- 

 twistle 6 marks, Duckworth 2 marks, and 

 Huncoat 6 marks. 



The abbey received ^^22 8j. from 

 Church and Altham in 1536 ; the chapel 

 then seems to have been called All 

 Saints' ; ibid. 116. 



The old dedication may have been 

 St. Oswald, for a well of St. Oswald in 

 Church is named in a grant of various 

 lands by Uctred de Church to Richard the 

 alumnus and assignee of Henry the Chap- 

 lain of Rishton ; Towneley MS. HH, 

 no. 59, 26. Adam de Walbank appears 

 to have been the chaplain in 1290 j ibid. 

 no. 28, &c. 



55 Whalhy Couch. (Chet. Soc), i, 236- 

 4.0. 



*^ Ibid. 240-5. 



