A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



A local board was constituted for 

 BOROUGH Old and New Accrington by Act of 

 Parliament in 1853,^'' and the town 

 was incorporated in I S78, with mayor, eight aldermen 

 and twenty-four councillors. 

 There were at first four 

 wards,** but in 1901 the 

 borough was divided into the 

 following eight : Central, East, 

 North, South, West, Higher 

 Antley, Peel Park and Spring 

 Hill. A Commission of the 

 Peace was granted in 1880, 

 and a police force was formed 

 in 1882. Gas and water were 

 supplied by a private com- 

 pany,'** but the undertaking 

 was taken over by the Acc- 

 rington District Board, formed 

 in 1894 for Accrington, 

 Clayton - le Moors, Great 

 Harwoodi Rishton, Church, 

 Huncoat andpart of Altham.''" 

 Electric lighting works were 

 opened in 1 900. There is 



also a sewerage board for Accrington and Church.** 

 The town hall,*' built in 1857, was purchased by the 

 local board in 1 864., the market hall was built in 

 1869, the abattoir in 1891, the technical school, 

 recently enlarged, in 1894, and the free library in 

 1908. The corporation have opened baths, two 

 public parks — Milnshaw (1880) and Oak Hill 

 (1893) — and a cemetery (1864); this last is in 

 Huncoat. It has also established an electric tramw.iy 

 service to Church on one side and Rawtenstall on 

 the other. Fairs are held in April and August ^ ; 

 Tuesday and Saturday are the market days. 



It is possible that the monks of Kirk- 

 CHURCH stall during their brief tenure built a 

 small chapel adjacent to their grange " 

 for the convenience of the brethren or officials 

 residing there and their tenants in the township, but 

 nothing is known from the records. At the Reforma- 

 tion the chapel at Accrington, whatever its true 

 origin, was confiscated by the Crown as a chantry,'^ 



BoRODGH OF Accring- 

 ton. Gules on a feise 

 argent a shuttle proper^ 

 in base t^wo rolls of a 

 calico printing machine 

 therefrom issuant a piece 

 of calico proper^ « chief 

 per pale or a lion ram' 

 pant purpure impaling 

 •vert a hart courant 

 proper^ 



but was restored to the inhabitants in 1 5 53 on a pay- 

 ment of 46^. S./." The vicar of Whalley was 

 responsible for the maintenance of divine worship, but 

 the place had usually no minister of its own, being 

 served, when served at all, by the curate of one of 

 the adjacent chapels." Yet about 16 10 Accrington 

 was regarded as ' well afi'ected,' the inhabitants 

 ' maintaining Mr. Marcroft of their voluntary bene- 

 volence.' " Under the Commonwealth also "^ it had 

 in 1650 a minister of its own, Roger Kenyon, 'an 

 able and orthodox divine,' who had £,\o a jear 

 allowed him out of Royalist or ecclesiastical sequestra- 

 tions.'"'' The allowance was increased to j^jo.'''* On 

 the return of the old order at the Restoration it 

 ceased to have a curate,''' and in 171 7 was served by 

 the curate of Church, who preached there once a 

 month*" and then was from 1721 to 1804 united 

 with Altham. The vicar of Whalley nominated the 

 curates until Hulme's Trustees acquired the patronage 

 about 1S40. 



The endowment in l 717 was only 15/. yearly, but 

 subscriptions were raised to the amount of ^^8 12/.," 

 and in 1729 the Rev. Roger K.iy left X'°° °" '^o"" 

 dition that the people raised another j^ioo, so that a 

 grant from Queen Anne's Bounty might be obtained, 

 and this was effected in 1731.*^ Other augmenta- 

 tions have been secured and the net value is now 

 £^(>o a year.*'' A district w.is assigned in 1870.** 

 The registers date from 1754. St. James's Church 

 was built in 1763, replacing the old chapel. 



The following have been curates and vicars : — 



I 804 George Wearing 



1813 Thomas Thoresby Whitaker, M.A.«« (Uni- 

 versity Coll., Oxf ) 



1817 John Hopwood 



1854 George Garbett, M.A. (Brasenose Coll., 

 Oxf) 



I 865 William Kenneth Macrorie, M.A.** (Brase- 

 nose Coll., Oxf) 



I 869 John Rogers, M.A.*' (Brasenose Coll., Oxf) 



1905 Abraham Spencer, M.A.*^ (Brasenose Coll., 

 Oxf.) 



In connexion with St. James's is a school-chapel 

 at Green Haworth. 



ton, Rossendale, Haelingdcn, Musbury, 

 Huncoat, Oswaldtwistlc, y..tc Bsnk and 

 Pickup Bank. 



"Act 16 & 17 Vict. cap. 126. The 

 two townships were united into one 

 called .Accrington simply in 1878 by 

 41 & 4.2 Vict. cap. T14. 



*^ North-east, Xorth-wcst, South-east, 

 South-west. 



" Established in 1840 ; Act 4 & 5 

 Vict. cap. 27. In 1854 power was given 

 to sell or lease to the local board. 



" Act 57 & 58 Vict. cap. 134. 



*' Formed in 1884 j Act 47 & 48 

 Vict. cap. 214. 



^-' It was built as the Peel Institution, 

 for the Mechanics* Institute and Xewa- 

 room. 



^ They were first held about 1833 j 

 Baines, Lar.-s, (ed. 1836), iii, 287. 



" Whitaker, Whalley, ii, 288. The 

 site is within New Accrington, but on 

 the border of Old Accrington. 



*' Raines, Chantries (Chet. Soc), 277. 



" Whitaker, loc cit. 



^ It is not mentioned in the earlier 

 visitation lists. By his will of 1590 



Richard Cunliffe of Accrington left 6j. %d. 

 to the amending of the chapel there ; 

 note by Mr. Earwaker. 



" Hist. MSB. Com. Rep. xiv, App. iv, 

 10. In 1619 the curate's name was 

 Worthington ; in 1622 surpKce, font 

 and communion cup were all lacking ; 

 Visitation Returns at Chester. In 1622 

 Mr. Crompton was ' lecturer ' at Accring- 

 ton ; Misc. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Chcs.}, 

 i, 68. 



" As early as 1645 the Parliamentary 

 Committee allowed ,^40 a year to * an 

 able divine ' at Accrington, and John Bell 

 was approved in 1647 ; Whitaker, op. 

 cit. i, 221. 



*' Commoniv. Ch. Surv, (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), 165. 



^ The increase was made at the end 

 of 165c, the ^50 to be taken from the 

 rectory of Childwall sequestered from 

 Janie5 Anderton, 'delinquent'; Plund. 

 Mms. Accts. (Rec Soc Lanes, and Ches.), 

 i, 87. The money seems to have been 

 paid ; ibid. 235, 248. A Roger Kenyon 

 was afterwards minister of Orton in West- 

 morland, 1662-I704; Burn, WesunU. 



and Cumb. i, 484 ; Trans, Cumb. and 

 Westmld, Antitj. Soc. xi, 263. 



^^ The church papers at Chester begin 

 in 1694 when Christopher Sudell, B.A., 

 was nominated to the chapel of Accring- 

 ton by the vicar of Whalley. In 1700 

 George Rishton, B.A. (T.C.D.), was 

 nominated, and in 1721 Edtvard Kiiiitnts, 

 on resigning, was succeeded by Nicholas 

 Houghton, who held Altham also. Bishop 

 Gastrell gives the name of the curate 

 of Church and Accrington in 1718 as 

 H. Rishton ; Noiiiia Cestr. (Chet Soc), ii, 

 305, 324, The Rishtons were of Antley ; 

 ibid. 305 note. 



6" Ibid. 304. «1 Gastrell, loc cit. 



•' Ibid. 305 note. 



'^ Manch. Dioc. Dir. 



" Land. Gaz. 20 May 1870. 



'''■' Son of the vicar of Whalley ; also 

 curate of Colne 181 1-17. 



"^ Bishop of Maritzburg 1869-92, 

 afterwards Canon of Ely. 



^^ Rector of Habberley 1862-9, Hon. 

 Canon of Manchester 1892. 



^ Vicar of Goodshaw 1882, of Has- 

 lingden 1892, 



426 



