A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



The town contains a Mechanics' Institute, founded 

 in 1845, and possessing a good library. There are 

 also Liberal and Conservative clubs. The Co- 

 operative Society has a large membership. The 

 Victoria Cottage Hospital was founded in 1 897 to 

 commemorate Queen Victoria's jubilee ; there had 

 been a dispensary previously. The Territori.il Army 

 is represented by part of the 5th Battalion of the East 

 Lancashire Regiment. There are three local news- 

 papers, published once or twice a week, the Advertiser, 

 Observer and Gazette. 



William Ryley the elder, herald and archivist, a 

 Parliamentarian, is supposed to have sprung from the 

 Ryleys of Accrington. 



The manor of ACCRINGTON was a 

 MANOR member of the honor of Clitheroe, and 

 was by Henry de Lacy granted to Hugh 

 son of Leofwine together with Altham before I 177.' 

 It must have been surrendered to the grantee or his 

 successor, for Robert de Lacy gave it to the monks of 

 Klrkstall by way of compensation for the grange at 

 Cliviger which had been recovered from them by 

 Richard de Elland.* The gift was confirmed by 

 William son of Hugh de Altham for the love of God 

 and for the salvation of the souls of himself, his wife 

 and kindred.' 



The bounds recited in Robert de Lacy's charter '" 

 show that the whole of New Accrington was granted, 

 and possibly Old Accrington also ; the New may be 

 ' the wood called the hey ' which is mentioned, lor 

 in later times New Accrington was regarded as in 

 the forest, while Old was copyhold land." The 

 monks made a grange there, removing the inhabi- 

 tants to make room for it ; and these, taking it ill, 

 revenged themselves by setting fire to the new 

 building, destroying everything in it and killing 

 the three lay brothers who were in charge. Due 

 punishment was meted out.^^ The monks' tenure 

 was of no long continuance, for in 12S7 the abbot 



resigned his lands to Henry de Lacy, who agreed to 

 p3\ 80 marks a year in return, chargeable upon 

 Accrington, Cliviger, Huncoat and other manors." 

 From that time the manor has remained a purt 

 of the lordship of Clitheroe. It is often called a 

 chase.'* 



The Lacy accounts of 1296'' show that con- 

 siderable amounts of oats, cheese "■ and butter were 

 sold ; linseed is mentioned. Ryley Carr was at farm 

 for 6s. id. ; Broadhead was the free tenement of 

 William de Bradshagh. and 3/. was paid as dower to 

 his widow Mary. The mill and bridges had had 

 something spent upon them. Robert de Ryley had 

 charge of the grange. In the receipts are sums or 

 31/. ^d. from the farm of 52 J acres, 103/. \\d. from 

 three vacc.iries, 36;. %d. from the mill, 34J. for 

 brushwood and ore sold to the forge, and other 

 moneys from the herbage of Brockholehurst (Brockle- 

 hurst), Pesecroft, &c. Of the stock of cattle some 

 had died of murrain and others had been killed by a 

 wolf The officers named are Gilbert son of Michael 

 the Stockkeeper, Macock and William de Antley, 

 Simon the Geldherd and Geoffrey tho Parker. 



• Accrington ' in the accounts extended over Huncoat, 

 Hoddlcsdcn and Cliviger. Further accounts have 

 been printed for 130^," 1311" and 1323-4." 

 No free tenants are named. The Court Rulls fiir 

 1324 have been printed,-" and there are others at 

 Clitheroe C.i^tle and the Record Office. In 1 349 

 the Earl of Lancaster held one plough-land in 

 Accrington by the eighth part of a knight's fee.^' 

 The manor was sold by Charles I,'-^'- and Humphrey 

 Chetham in 1653 purchased it from William Farrcr 

 and others.^' 



The Act of 1609 for confirming the copyholds of 

 Clitheroe applied to Accrington. 2* Tenants of the 



• old hold ' ^^ and the ' new hold ' ^^ appear in 

 pleadings of the time of Elizabeth, but there is little 

 to record of the township till modern times.-' 



' Sec Altham above, 



" Kirkxtall Couch. (Thorcsby Soc), I 96; 

 MtK. (Thorcsby Soc), iv, 184. 



' Whitakcr, yyhalcy, ii, 286, where 

 both charter! are printed ; Ki'htall Couch. 



'97- 



^" On the Huncoat side the bounds 

 Wfut ai far as the brook of Wirmley- 

 clough, by the crest of the hill to Hamble- 

 don, across the moor to Ormstones, 

 thence to \V'armden and to the head of 

 Blackbrook j down the brook to Baxcn- 

 denclough, and so to the head ot Essene- 

 clough to Redlache, Orsett, and by Antley 

 syke to Hyndbum. The northern boun- 

 dary is not described in detail. 



^^ Whitaker, op. ciL i, 292. 



^- A/:;..-. (Thoresby Soc], loc cit. A 

 charter has been preserved by which R, 

 Abbot of Kirkstall gave to Roger son of 

 Richard the lands in Accrington formerly 

 held by Randle son of David ; Kuerden 

 MSS. ii, fol. 24li. Ralph of Newcastle 

 was abbot about 1216. 



The abbot in 1258 prosecuted a number 

 of the inhabitants for having thrown 

 his hedge down. They said the inclosure 

 belonged to their common of pasture, 

 but the jury decided against them ; 

 Whit.iker, op. cit. ii, 2S-. 



William de .\ltham in 1277 renounced 

 all claim to a messuage and plough-land 

 in Accrington, the abbot giving him 80 

 marks of silver ; Final Cone. (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanc3. and Ches.), i, i^^. 



*^ From the king's ratification in Pat. 

 81 (15 Edw. I), m. z, no. 7; of the 

 80 marks, 50 marks was charged on the 

 Lancashire manors. The charters them- 

 selves arc in Duchy of Lane. Anct. D. 

 (LS 34, 199) and Great Couch, i, fol. 73, 

 no. 56. The abbot's rent was the subject 

 of inquiry in 1322; Land. Inq. and 

 Extend (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 

 ii, 4+- 



n Cat. Pal. I 513-17, p. 65. 



'* De Lacy Ccmfoli (Chet. Soc), 1-3, 



J't 37-4°- 



^* The account of stock shows 156 

 cheeses ma!e, sixteen of which were 

 given for tithe and the rest sold j ibid. 2. 



^' The accounts of 1305 give similar 

 information. The wages paid (ibid. 89) 

 included 171. ^d. and ys. for a ploughman 

 in seedtime, who acted as wagoner for 

 the rest of the year j 31. ^d. for wages 

 to a ploughman-harrower at seedtime ; 

 z6s. ()d. formowing ScJ acres of meadowj 

 8j. zd, for reaping, &c., 12 acres of oats ; 

 31. ojc/. for threshing and winnowing 

 41 J qrs. of oats and zi. iid. for making 

 a road through the middle of Accrington 

 Wood. Twelve ashes had been sold for 

 15J. ; ibid. 108. 



^ Land. Inj. and Extents, ii, 8. The 

 profits of the chief messuage, mill, hal- 

 motes. Sec, were estimated at j^5 151. 61^d. 



" I'sid. 193, 198-201. The fenjK- 

 sites of the halmote amounted to u,, 

 and the tines for impounding cattle to 



424 



1 5, zd. There were four vaccarics — 

 Baxcnden, Antley, CowhouscB and Riley 

 or Ryley. The stock, at the last named 

 was recorded by MatthfW de Antley 

 as follows ; i bull, 15 cows, i heifer, 

 8 twinters and 7 calves. 



20 Lancz. Ct. R. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and 

 Ches.), 35-6 ; two halmotes were held. 

 The farmers of the four vaccaries were 

 John de Balshaw 30J., Richard de Antle) 

 30J., William dc Swinethwaite 40.', and 

 Matthew de Antley 261. %d.\ ibid. 72-3. 



Roger Rishton and other tenants arc 

 recorded in 1443 j Farrer, Clitheroe Ct. R. 

 i, 501. 



^^ Lansdowne Feodary in fiaines' 

 Land. (ed. 1870), ii, 693. 



22 Pat. 1 Chas. I, pt. ii ; Hailingdcn 

 was included. 



28 Chet. D. (Chet. Lib.). The vendors 

 were William Farrer, Frances his wife, 

 Richard Sikcs and Elizabeth his wife j 

 see also Whitaker, op. cit. ii, 288 n. 



Accrington is named among the 

 Clitheroe manors in 1699 ; Pal. of 

 Lane. Feet of F. bdlc. 24.3, m. no. 



** Lanes, and Ches. Rec, (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), i, 32 ; ii, 290, 292. 



«5 Ibid. 258. M Ibid. 2+2. 



^ The mill was the subject of disputes 

 in the time of Elizabeth ; Ducaiui Lam. 

 (Rec. Com.), ii, 351 ; iii, 27 ; Lana. and 

 Ches. R.c. ii, 258. 



Hcnr)' Haworth in 1590 claimed 

 against George Haworth a messuage and 



