A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



family and a mural monument to Cuthbert Kcnnett 

 of Coxh( e, Durham (d. 1688). In other parts of 

 the church '" are monuments to members of the 

 families of Halsted of Rowley and Hargreaves of 

 Bank Hall and Ormerod. In the Stansfield chapel 

 is a memorial to General Scarlett, who is buried in 

 Holme. 



There is a ring of eight bells cast by Thomas 

 Mear5 of London in 1 803, one of which was recast in 

 .857."' 



The present silver plate '" consists of a flagon "' of 

 1722, inscribed 'Ex dono Reverendi venerabilis et 

 eruditi Edmundi Townley nuper de Royle armigeri 

 Anno Domini 1722,' with the maker's mark W. D. ; 

 two chalices, a paten, flagon and almsdish of 1857, 

 all inscribed ' The gift of Robert Townley Parker of 

 Cuerden to the parochial church of St. Peter in the 

 chapelry of Burnley A. D. 1857'; and a chalice, paten 

 and two cruets of Birmingham make 1S78-9, given 

 by Canon Parker in memory- of his wife. There are 

 also a plated paten and bread box. 



The registers "* begin in 1562. In 1525 there 

 was a dispute between the ' Kirkmasters,' a local 

 name for the wardens,"" and some of the parishioners 

 as to the assessment for the repair of the church and 

 also as to the apportionment of seats. It was agreed 

 that there should be four 'quarters' of the ]\irish, 

 paying in these proportions : BrierclifFe, Extwist'c, 

 Hurstwood and Wurthome, 12/. ; Burnley, 8/.; 

 Cliviger, 9/. \d. ; and Habergham Eaves, 10/. id. 

 The first two quarters were to have the seats on the 

 nor'h side ' beneath the quire wongh,' Cliviger and 

 Habergham having the south side. The first volume, 

 which finishes in 1652, contains a rough plan of all 

 the pews in the church in 1634 ""'th the names of 

 the respective owners and rude sketches of the 

 ' Pullpitt Staires,' ' St. Anthony's Quier,' '" and ' The 

 Fonte.' The churchivar Jens' accounts begin in 

 172S. 



The church stands close to the river on the north 

 side, the churchyard being principally on the south. 

 The house of the chantry priest formerly stood on the 

 west side and the grammar school occupied the site 

 till 1693. On this building were two shields with 

 the arms of Towneley and Gatcford and the initials 

 J. T. It was pulled down in 18 14 and the site 

 incorporated with the churchyard. The cross stood on 



the south side of the church and ivas approached by 

 three flights of broad steps, but after its destruction 

 the base, which bears an inscription '" and the date 

 1520, was removed in 1789 to the ground* of 

 Towneley Hall. The churchyard was enlarged and 

 properly inclosed in 1 807. The oldest dated grave- 

 stone is 1664. 



The ancient cross at Burnley sug- 

 jiDfOlVSON gests the existence of a church there 

 from an early time '" ; otherwise the 

 first record of one is in the grant of Whalley Church 

 to the monks of Pontefract about i 121, the charter 

 of Hugh de la A'al including with it the ' church ' of 

 Burnley.'" The deans of Whalley probably held it 

 together with the principal church, and in 1296 it 

 was described as a chapel only, its altarage being 

 worth as much as 20 marks a year, and the tithes of 

 its district — Burnley, Cliviger, Worsthorne, Extwistle, 

 BrierclifFe, Habergham and Ightenhill — amounting to 

 49^ marks, or ^^46 6s. 8,/. in all. The land of the 

 demesne of Burnley was worth i mark to the rector.'" 

 The monks of Whalley, on acquiring the rectory, 

 were bound to maintain a chaplain at Burnley and 

 pay him 4 marks, ' according to the custom of the 

 country ' ; this appears to have been increased to £\, 

 the sum given after the Reformation by the Arch- 

 bishops of Canterbury as rectors."" This was increased 

 to /ii 10/. before the Civil War'" ; and the duchy 

 of Lancaster continued to allow ^4 8/. zd. out of the 

 chantry rents."' During the Commonwealth period 

 the curate's stipend was made up to ^^40 out of the 

 Royalist and Church sequestrations."' This addition 

 would cease after the Restoration, and in 171 7 the 

 Certified income was only £23 l6s. 9a'., including 

 the two allowance-; named, various fees and some 

 private benefactions."" In 1 71 6, however, a further 

 augmentation of j^^lz ayearwas secured by giftsofthe 

 people and of the Rev. Edmund Townley, rector of 

 Slaidburn, who thus acquired the advowson.'^' Various 

 lands were purchased, and these became more valuable 

 as the town grew. An Act was passed in 1819 

 allowing leases to be granted.'" The net value of 

 the benefice is now stated as j^ 1,900 a year. It was 

 declared a rectory in 1867.''' 



In a petition of the inhabitants in 1588 it was 

 alleged that the duchy allowance had ceased in i 566, 

 after which, for over twenty years, no minister 



^^'■* In K.ucrdcn MSS. vi, foL 48 and 

 48A, arc notes of arms, Ac, formerly in the 

 church and churchyard. 



'^^ An earlier ring of four was cast by 

 Samuel Smith of York in 1702. When 

 the present ring was placed in the tower 

 the old bells were sold, one going to 

 Liverpool, another to Bolton and a third 

 to Bacup. The remaining one was pur- 

 chased by Mears, the founder of the new 

 penl ; Wii^nson, op. cit. 6l. 



^^' In 1 340 a chalice and a breviary 

 were stolen from Burnley Church ; Assize 

 R. 4;o, m. 12. 



"' One was sold to Richard Hitchen 

 of Sparrhawk in Burnley, and in 1736 

 was used to fill ale in ; Folds MSS. 



^" The first part, 1562-1653, has been 

 printed by the Lane. Par. Reg. Soc. 

 1899. 



'» Add. MS. 52104, no. 1241. 



•" St. Anthony's Quire was the Stans- 

 field chapel, then the pro;ertv of Richard 

 Shutt.eworth, and was separated from the 

 rest of the pews by a screen. This plan 



is printed in Mtmorics of Hunnuoo J {iSSg), 

 and «ith the Parish Register. 



'^' ' Orate pro anima Johannis Foldys, 

 capellani, qui istam crucem fieri fecit, Anno 

 Domini mcccccix.' See Taylor, Ancient 

 Crones and Holy Wells of Lancashire, 112. 



"" 'The tradition of the place is that 

 prior to the foundation of a church at 

 Burnley re.igious rites were celebrated on 

 the site where [the old cross] stands, but 

 that afterwards, upon an attempt being 

 made to erect an oratory upon the place, 

 the materials were nightly transported by 

 invisible agents to the present site ' ; 

 Whicaker, op. cit. ii, 157. 



'-' Dugdale, Mon. v, 121. 



^' Whitaker, op. cit. i, 87. A piece 

 of land was given to the church in 1522 

 by Robert Booth ; Towneley MS. C 8, 13 

 (Chet. Lib.), T 100. There were disputes 

 between the inhabitants and the monks 

 of Whalley as to liability to repair the 

 church ; Duchy of Lane Misc. Bks. iv, 

 foL 45. 



'» Hist. MSS. Com. Refi. xiv, App. iv, i o. 



'^ Gastrell attributes the increment to 

 Archbishop Juxon, but it is already re- 

 corded in 1650 in the Commonwealth Ck. 

 Sur-v. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 166. 

 The inhabitants in 1609 petitioned for 

 an increase of means for a minister ; Note 

 by Towneley. 



'"The net amount received in 171 7 

 was only ^3 i8j. 4^.; G^ilreW, Notitia 

 Cesir. (Chet. Soc), ii, 308. 



'^ An order for ^^24 6s. was made io 

 1648 ; Whitaker, op. cit. i, 221. In i6;o 

 an increment of ^50 was ordered out of 

 the Clifton or other sequestrations ; PlunJ. 

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

 i, 89, 109, 132. This increase was after- 

 wards paid ; ibid. 248. 



'* Gastrell, loc. cit. There were four 

 wardens and four assistants. 



"' Details of Townley's benefactions 

 are given in Whitaker, op. cit. ii, 166-7. 



'" Act 59 Geo. Ill, cap. 6 ; later Acts 

 are 8*9 Vict. cap. 31;, 10 & II 

 Vict. cap. 163. 



'" Loitd. Gax. 4 June 1867. 



