BLACKBURN HUNDRED 



WHALLEY 



Radcliftes of Todmorden in the township " ; Charles 

 RadclifFe died in 1536 holding lands in Duckworth 

 of the king as duke by knight's service and a rent of 

 I zd'. " ; but though the same statement appears in 

 the inquisition after the death of his son Edward in 

 1557," Edward Radcliffe had in 1546 sold his lands 

 there to Gilbert Holden," and so they became merged 

 in the Holden estate. In 1553 Gilbert Holden was 

 said to hold the ' manor ' of Duckworth of the 

 queen by a rent of zj-.," but this probably refers to 

 the Hospitallers' share. 



Keeping pace with the growth of the population a 

 number of places of worship have been erected during 

 the last century. In connexion with the Church of 

 England, Emmanuel,'" centrally placed on the eastern 

 side of Duckworth, was built in 1837, and a district 

 was then assigned ; it has three chapels of ease : St. 

 Mary's, Cocker Brook ; St. Andrew's, Hippings ; 

 and St. Michael's, Belthorn. The patronage is vested 

 in five trustees. St. Paul's, Foxhill Bank, was built 

 in 1884, and a district was assigned to it in the 

 following year ; in this case also five trustees present 

 to the benefice. St. Oswald's, Knuzden, was built 

 in 1878, a district being assigned to it in 1879*' ; it 

 has a school chapel, St. Matthew's, at Stanhill. The 

 Bishop of Manchester collates to it. 



There is also a Free Church of England called 

 Holy Trinity.'' 



The Wesleyan Methodists have two churches ; 

 that at Mount Pleasant was built in 1845-6. The 

 Primitive Methodists had a chapel at Foxhill Bank as 

 early as 1836, and have now a second one in the 

 township. The Methodist Free Church are also 

 doubly represented. 



The Congregational chapel at the remote hamlet of 

 Belthorn was opened in 1818 and rebuilt in 1848 



and again in 1884- 



In Oswaldtwistle itself 



services were begun from Accrington in 1870 and a 

 church was formed, the chapel in Albert Street being 

 opened in 1877." 



The Baptist chapel in New Lane was opened in 

 l8zo and rebuilt in 1851 ; more recently a mission 

 chapel has been built at Cocker Brook. 



The Swedenborgians or New Church have long 

 been represented. 



For Roman Catholics St. Oswald's school-chapel, 

 served from Accrington, was used till the present 

 church of St. Mary was founded in 1894-8. 



HUNCOAT 



Hunnicot, Dom. Bk. ; Hunecotes, Hunnecotes, 

 IZ41 ; Honkotes, 1311 ; Huntcotes, I3zz ; Hun- 

 cote, I3Z4. 



This township occupies the north-western slope of 

 Great Hameldon Hill, the altitudes ranging from 

 about I, zoo to 450 ft. above sea level. The hamlet 

 of Huncoat lies in the lower land in the northern 

 part of the township. The area is 990 acres,' and in 

 1 90 1 the population numbered 1,281. 



The road from Accrington to Burnley goes north- 

 east through the hamlet of Hillock Vale and the 

 centre of the township, and has a branch north 

 through the hamlet towards Altham. The Accring- 

 ton and Burnley line of the Lancashire and Yorkshire 

 Railway Company crosses the township parallel to the 

 north-west boundary, and has a station called Hun- 

 coat. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal passes through 

 the north end of the township. 



Near the Accrington border are reservoirs for the 

 water supply of that town, also the cemetery. 



The soil is light, overlying rock, and the land is 

 almost entirely in pasture, there being 802 acres in 

 permanent grass ; there is no arable land, but zz acres 

 are devoted to woods and plantations. The cotton 

 manufacture has long been carried on. A colliery is 

 worked and bricks and fire-clay goods are made. 



There is a parish council. 



In 1066 King Edward held two 

 MJNOR plough-lands in T/t/iVCO^r.' The later 

 Huncoat may have been but a part of it, 

 for it was assessed as one plough-land only. It was 

 included in the honor of Clitheroe, and a large 

 part was granted out to free tenants ; these gave part 

 of their holdings to the Abbot of Kirkstall,^ and 

 on his surrendering them to Henry de Lacy in 

 IZ87* only z oxgangs of land remained to the free 

 tenants, who in 1 3 1 1 were John de Shuttleworth 

 and John de Clayton.' The remainder has con- 

 tinued to descend with the honor of Clitheroe." 



's In 1 38 1 William de Radcliffe of 

 Todmorden demised an oxgang of land in 

 Duckworth to Adam de Holden of Has- 

 lingden for nineteen years at a rent of 

 13s. 4<^.; Towneley MS. DD, no. 8io. 



^6 Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. viii, 

 00. 35. 



" Ibid. X, no. 24. 



™ Towneley MS. DD, no. 1546. 



™ Ibid. no. 809. 



^ The name is often spelt Immanuel. 



'^ For district see Lond. Ga-z. 4 Mar. 

 1879. 



s* Licensed for marriages in 1872; 

 ibid. 8 Oct. 



^^ Nightingale, Lanes. Nonconf. ii, 

 120. 



^ Ibid. 138. 



^991 acres, including t8 of inland 

 water ; Cemus Rep, 1901. 



2 V.C.H. Lanes, i, 286*. 



^ In 1 24 1 Adam de Billington acknow- 

 ledged the right of Ellis de Plcasington to 

 2 oxgangs of land in Huncoat, and that 

 of Adam de Pleasington to 2 more ; 

 but at the request of Ellis he gave Adam 

 dc Pleasington's 2 oxgangs to the Abbot 

 of Kirkstall, who was to pay 6d. a year j 



Final Cone. fRec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 

 i, 80. Geoffrey de Whaliey and Avice 

 his wife released to Roger de Witton 

 3 oxgangs of land in Huncoat in exchange 

 for 40 acres in Billington, but Roger then 

 gave the 3 oxgangs to the abbot, who 

 was to render four barbed arrows yearly ; 

 ibid. 87. The land in Billington led 

 to a dispute in 1243 ; ibid. ; Cur, Reg. 

 R. 126, m. 10^ 127, m. 18. The re- 

 maining oxgang in Huncoat was probably 

 held by the lord of Clitheroe. 



Richard de Altham claimed common of 

 pasture in Huncoat, but the Abbot of 

 Kirkstall demurred, seeing that Richard 

 rendered no service for it and that the 

 abbot had no common in his lands. In 

 1256 Richard resigned any right he might 

 have, and the monks received him and his 

 heirs to all the benefits and prayers to be 

 made in the church of Kirkstall. At the 

 same time the rector of Whalley, in 

 respect of his chapel at Altham, put in a 

 claim to common ; Final Cone, i, 1 29. 



* De Lacy Comfoti (Chet. Soc), p. ix. 



* Lanes. Inq. and Extents (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes. anH Ches.), ii, 10. John de 

 * Scholesworth' held 10 acres by a rent 



409 



of zod. and John de Clayton 20 acres by 

 \%d.\ together they contributed 2j. for 

 ward of Lancaster Castle. The tenure 

 was by knight's service, for in 1302 John 

 de Shuttleworth and his partners held the 

 eighth part of a knight's fee in * Hulton ' ; 

 ibid, i, 319. 



^ In 1296 and 1305 the farm of Hun- 

 coat waa j^5 OS. \^d,\ De Lacy Compoti, 

 12, 108. In 131 1 the Earl of Lincoln 

 hid 309 acres, 3^ roods let to tenants 

 at win, who paid at the rate of 4^/. an 

 acre, £<, y, -^d. in all ; Lanes. Inq. and 

 Extents^ ii, 10. In 1323-4 the rent and 

 farm amounted to ^^5 51. ii^d.\ 6 acres 

 of the waste newly approved paid 2.1., and 

 the herbage of Brockholehurst was let to 

 farm for js. Two plots of pasture were 

 untenanted, so that js. was lacking, and 

 theaccountant was liablefor ^^5 ys. iii*/.; 

 ibid. 193. 



In 1355 the Duke of Lancaster held 

 6 oxgangs of land in Huncoat, where 

 64 oxgangs made a knight's fee. Henry 

 de Clayton and John de * Snodesworth ' 

 held 2 oxgangs by a proportionate service, 

 i.e. by the thirty-secondth part of a fee ; 

 Feudal Aidsy iii, 88. A little earlier (about 



52 



