A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



to the abbey before 1300, and that the monks had 

 demised it to Gilbert de Legh, ancestor of the 

 Towneley family. In 1446 it was returned that 

 John Parker of Monk Hall and Richard Touneley 

 held the tenth part of a knight's fee in Extwistle, 

 Parker declaring that h- held by feoffment." The 

 later history does not afford much light on the matter, 

 for though the Towneleys had the mill with its 

 right?," the Parkers claimed the manor. On the 

 suppression of the monasteries the Neivbo part of 

 Extwistle was sold by the Crown to \^'iUiam Rams- 

 den,*^ who then sold to Rob.rt Parker." A rent of 

 8/. reserved to the Crown was aftcnvards remitted.*' 



Before that time, however, John Parker, who died 

 in 1507, held a capital messuage called Monk Hall 

 with other messuages and lands in Extwistle and 

 BrierclifFe. The Extwistle lands were held of the 

 king as of his duchy of Lancaster by the tenth part 

 of a knight's fee, the ancient service for the whole of 

 the manor." His son John Parker, aged forty-eight 

 in 1529, succeeded, and was followed by his son 

 Robert and grandson John.** The last-named John 

 died in 1635 holding Extwistle Hall, Monk Hall, 

 Nethenvood, and various lands, &c., in the township 

 as before, by the tenth part of a knight's fee." His 

 son John, then fifty years old, had a son Robert, who 

 died in 1636, leaving a son John, aged two years.*" 

 The grandfather was a member of the Presb) terian 

 Classis established in 1646, and acted as high sheriff 

 in 1653," but does not appear to have taken any 

 active share in the C'"-' War. Ths grandson, who 

 recorded a pedigree m 1664,'' had a son Robert, 

 high sheriff in 1710," who married a co-heir of 

 Christopher Banastre of Bank, and acquired the manor 

 of Cuerden thereby. The more recent descent has 



been given in the account of Cuerden ; later marriages 

 brought the estates of Rmie and Astley in Chorley 

 into the family. Extwistle is no longer reputed a 

 manor, and no courts are held. The present owner 

 is Mr. Reginald Arthur Tatton of Cuerden, a younger 

 son of T. W. Tatton of Wythenshawe Hall, Cheshire, 

 by his wife Harriet Susan, sister of the late Thomas 

 Townley Parker." Mr. Tatton is the owner of the 

 principal part of the township ; Mr. Wilkinson Parker 

 is the owner of Holden. 



EXTlf7STLE Hj4LL, now a farm-house, stands on 

 a high ridge of land between the valleys of the Don 

 and Swinden Water in a bleak and commanding situa- 

 tion, and is a lofty three-story building with end gables 

 and mullioned \vlndows, said to have been erected by 

 John Parker in the latter half of the i6th century. 

 The principal front faces north, and the fall of the 

 ground southwards allowing of a basement makes the 

 house one of four stories on that side, where the 

 chief feature is the massive chimney of the hall, 

 which projects 5 ft. and has a width of i 5 ft. The 

 house, which is built of local gritstone with stone- 

 slated roofs, consists of a rectangular block 34 ft. by 

 27 ft. 6 in. externally, and a north-west wing 19 ft. 

 by 14 ft. 6 in., with a lower two-story building 

 with plain gabled roofs on the east end. A former 

 wing on the west side, however, fell down some time 

 during the first half of the 19th century, destroying 

 what is said to have been one of the best apartments 

 and others known as the ladies' rooms." In front 

 of the house is a small flagged courtyard 43 ft. long 

 by 33 ft. in width, partly inclosed on the west side 

 by the north-west wing, and on the east by the 

 lower buildings. The north side has a high fence 

 wall with moulded coping and balled gale-piers 



" Duchy of Lane. Kts.' Fees, bdlc. i, 

 no. 20. 



'• Extwistle Mill was held by Gilbert 

 son of John de Legh in 1 371 ; Towneley 

 MS. C 8, M, L192. In later times 

 lands in Eitwiuic are named in 

 Towneley inquisitions, &c., but no 

 manor is claimed, and the tenure of the 

 lands is not recorded separately, except 

 that in 1400 John Towneley was found 

 to have held land in Extwistle of 

 Gilbert son of Lawrence de Legh in 

 socage by a rent of 61. id. ; Lanes. Inq. 

 p.m. (Chet. Soc), i, 157. In 1608 the 

 tenure of the Towneley lands in Extwistle 

 was described as socage ; Lane:. Inq. p.m. 

 (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 96. 



Sir Richard Towneley had the mill in 

 Extwistle in 1531 ; ibid. (Chet. Soc), ii, 

 1 5-. This mill was the subject of com- 

 plaint by Sir William Radcliffe and Anne 

 his wife in 1550 ; Ducaius Lane. (Rec. 

 Com.), i, 244. 



An agreement aa to milling rights 

 was made in 1610 between Richard 

 Towneley of Towneley and John Parker 

 of Extwistle, after an arbitration. It 

 was acknowledged that the Towneleys 

 had the ancient mill, to which the 

 Parkers had formerly done suit, but 

 lately John Parker had built a new milL 

 This was allowed to stand, but was to 

 be used only for com grown on the land 

 owned by Parker. No other mill was to 

 be built ; Towneley MS. 8, 13, T 232. 

 In 1554 an exchange of lands in Over 

 Townfield was made by Sir Richard 

 Towneley and Robert Parker ; ibid. T 

 .58. 

 ^ Pat. 36 Hen. VIII (20 Sept.) ; 



* the manor of Brerecliffe and Extwistle.' 

 The abbey received yearly £^ from 

 Brocklehurst and Extwistle, with u. as 

 the (estimated) perquisites of the courts ; 

 /V/or EccL (Rec. Com.), iv, iii. 



* Brokehurst ' in Extwistle is named 

 in 1442, Lawrence de Legh and Robert 

 his son living there ; Pal. of Lane. Plea 

 R. 4, m. I ih. 



" Whitaker, fFAalUj; ii, 227, note I ; 

 Land, and Ches. Recs. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, 

 and Ches.), ii, ^81. 



>« Pat. 38 Hen. VIII, pt. ix. 

 " Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. vi, no. 

 37. The intermediate lordships of Kirk- 

 stall and Newbo are not noticed. 



The pedigree of the family is in 

 another inquisition (ibid, iii, no. 5) traced 

 back to William the Parker of Monk 

 Hall, who in 1403 gave part of his lands 

 in Extwistle, by the name of messuages 

 called Holden and Leghland, to his son 

 Richard and heirs, with remainders to 

 other sons Nicholas and Edmund. A 

 rent of 4j. was to be paid. His eldest 

 son was Lawrence Parker, who had a son 

 John and a grandson John (living 1530) ; 

 but a generation may have been omitted. 

 William's younger son Richard is stated 

 to have had sons Lawrence and Miles ; 

 Lawrence had a son Edward, whose son 

 Edmund died without issue in 1528, 

 whereupon his cousin Edward Parker 

 as son of Thomas son of Miles claimed 

 his estate. This was described as a 

 messuage and 40 acres in Extwistle, held 

 of the king as duke by knight's service ; 

 ibid, vi, no. 33. The tenure was, how- 

 ever, in 1541 stated to be of Sir John 

 Towneley (and then of his son Richard) 



472 



as of his manor of ClivJgcr by a rent of 

 2s. 6d., and Edward Parker was placed 

 in possession j PaL of Lane. Plea R. 

 173, m. 10. 



^8 This is the statement of the 

 pedigrees, but there may be an omission 

 between John and Robert. There arc 

 no inquisitions. 



** Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xxrii, 

 no. 4. There is recited a settlement 

 made in 1628 on the marriage of Robert 

 Parker (son of John son of John) with 

 Mary eldest daughter of Nicholas (son of 

 Peter) Scarbrough of Glusburn, Yorks. 

 Various estates in Yorkshire arc named 

 in the inquisition. John Parker in 1631 

 paid j^i5 as composition on refusing 

 knighthood ; Mhc. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and 

 Ches.), i, 217. 



^** Duchy of Lane. Inq, p.m. xxvii, 

 no. 53. This refers chiefly to the York- 

 shire lands. Christopher Towneley addt 

 a note that Mary, Robert's widow, after- 

 wards married Thomas Barcroft of Bar- 

 croft. In his will (dated and proved 

 1636) Robert Parker is described as *of 

 Netherwood.' 



61 P.R.O. List^ 73. 



62 Dugdale, yisit. (Chet. Soc.), 228. 

 No arms were recorded. The descent is 

 thus given : Robert Parker— s. John, d. 

 1635-8. John, d. 1655-S. Robert, d. 

 1636-8. John, aged 30—*. Robert, 

 aged I. w p.R.o. L«r, 74. 



^ See the accounts of Cuerden and 

 Chorley. There arc pedigrees in Whit- 

 aker, op. cit. ii, 226, and Foster, Lancu 

 Peds. 



6* Note by T. T. Wilkinson in Whit- 

 akcr'i fVkalley (cd, 4), ii, 225, 



