A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



Whitaker of Holme. 

 Sable three mascles 

 argent. 



HOLME" became the property of the Whitaker 

 family about the 15th century,"^ and has continued 

 to descend regularly till the present time."' A settle- 

 ment of ten messuages, &c., 

 was made in 1583." William 

 Whitaker died in 1 641 hold- 

 ing the capital messuage called 

 Holme, with 34. acres of land, 

 and other messuages called 

 Thieveley, Grimshaw and 

 Backclough with 42 acres. 

 The whole was held of the 

 king as of his castle of Clith- 

 eroe in socage by a rent of 

 23/. 7J<2'. Thomas ^^'hit.ik£^ 

 son and heir of William was 

 ten years old." Two of the 



family attained distinction. Dr. William Whitaker, 

 a younger son of Thomas Whitaker, who died in 

 159;, was one of the leading Protestant divines in 

 the time of Elizabeth. Through Lord Burghley's 

 influence he became Master of St. John's College, 

 Cambridge, in 15S6, having been Regiu.^ Professor 

 in the university since 1580, and was made canon of 

 Canterbury in 1585, in which year he died. He 

 publishL-J numerous works, including a reply to 

 Bcllarminc, and left others in manuscript ; all are of 

 the extreme Calvinistic school in doctrine, and though 

 he conformed to the queen's authority in matters of 

 ceremonial he was favourable to the Puritans." 

 Dr. Thomas Dunham Whitaker, the often quoted 

 author of the History ofWhalky, has been noticed in 

 the accounts of the churches of Bhckburn and Whal- 

 l.y, of which he was vicar. He died in I 82 I, and 

 was buried in the chapel at Holme." 



The Holme is a picturesque two-story stone- 



built house, with stone-slated roofs, standing amidst 

 beautiful scenery in the vale of Cliviger, facin? 

 south. The plan follows the usual type of central 

 hall and pro;ecting end-wings, but in the course 

 of time and as the result of rebuildings and altera- 

 tions has lost most of its original features, though 

 retaining many of the characteristics of the earlier 

 building. It is said to have been constructed origin- 

 ally of wood, but the middle and east wings appear 

 to have been rebuilt in stone about the year 1603 or 

 before,'^' the west wing, however, which is wider 

 than the other, remaining of wood till I 71 7. The 

 end-wings had originally hipped roofs, but in a later 

 restoration stone gables were substituted and a 

 projecting central one-story porch added. The 

 windows, which are mostly new, are long low 

 mullioned openings without transoms but with 

 hood moulds, those in the west wing having ten lights 

 on each floor and those in the east eight lights each. 

 There is also an upper window often lights in the 

 middle wing over the hall. Some work appears to 

 have been done in 1786, which date is on a spout- 

 head on the east wing, and in 1 854 a north-east wing 

 was added at the back. The interior of the house 

 is almost wholly modernized, but the rooms are low 

 and picturesque and contain some old furniture 

 belonging to Dr. Whitaker. 



BARCROFT was held by a family of that name.'" 

 William Barcroft died in 1525 holding nine mes- 

 suages, 5.:c., in Cliviger and Worsthorne of the king as 

 duke in socage by a rent of 20/. 5</. ; he had another 

 messuage in Cliviger called Hole House. His heir 

 was a son Robert, aged forty or more." A later 

 Robert Barcroft died in 1612 holding various 

 messuages in Cliviger of the king in socage by a rent 

 of 23/. 9/ and other estates in Worsthorne, 



belonging to Richard and Sibyl Taylor 

 (grantor*! mothr) should be charged on a 

 lathe, &c., occupied by William Smith and 

 others ; C S, i }, T I 29. Helen, however, 

 was ihc name of Richard Taylor's widow, 

 and the had some land in 1^04 ; ibid. 

 T 104-5. ^^ '495 Robert son of Adam 

 Ta)lor granted to John Townelcy all his 

 lands in Cliviger ; ibid. T 10-. 



"■^ Hcnr)' dc Lacy in 1302 granted the 

 tenement of Robert de Holme to William 

 de Middlemorc and Margery his wife and 

 to Margery's heirs j Whitaker, op. cit. ii, 

 203. Robert del Holme was perhaps 

 still living, for later in the year he had a 

 messuage in Redicarr from Adam son of 

 Matthew Greetwood of Cliviger ; C 8, 1 3, 

 G <:6, 59. * The new dyke as far as the 

 water of Calder' occurs in the description 

 of bounds. In 1334 Roger de Holme 

 released to Richard de Townelcy all the 

 lands grantor's father had given ; and 

 Henr)* son of Roger de Holme also 

 released the lands given by his grandfather 

 Robert de Holme ; ibid. H257, 219. 



^ Whitaker, op. cit. ii, 203, 205 ; it 

 had been held by Edward de Legh and 

 later (in i -,80) by the heir of Peter de 

 Tattersall. " 



In 1 3 18 Robert de Tattersall obtained 

 an acre in Cliviger field by Hodamlaw 

 from Robert son of Robert de Salterford ; 

 C 8, 15, S loi. Robert de Bodel and 

 Joan his wife in 1 3 "4 claimed dower in 

 three messuages in Cliviger against Henry 

 son of Henrj- de Tattersall ; De Banco R. 

 4^4, m. 312. Roger de Meadowcroft 

 was p'aintitF against Henry son of John 



de Tattersall ; Towneley MS. CC (Chet. 

 Lib.), no. 87 (date uncertain). 



" Pedigree in Whitaker, op. cit. ii, 204. 

 The following is the outline of the descent 

 alleged : Thomas Whitaker (living 143 i) 

 -s. Robert (1480) -s. Thomas, d. 1529 

 -3. Richard (1543) -s. Thomas, d. 1588 

 -i. Robert, d. 1581 -s. Thomas, d. 1631 

 -s. William, d. 1641 -8. Thomas, d. 1712 

 -s. Thomas, d. 1719 -8. Thomas, d. 1752 

 -8. Thomas, d. 1760 -bro. Rev. William, 

 d. I "82 -8. Rev. Thomas Dunham, d, 

 18:1 -s. Rev. Thomas Thoresby, d. 1 8 1 7 

 -s. Thomas Hordern, d. 1889 -dau. Mary 

 Charlotte, who married the Rev. Alfred 

 Master (son of Archdeacon Master of 

 Croston) in 1887. In 1889 he assumed 

 the additional surname of Whitaker. 



'* Pal. of Lane. Feet of F. bdle 45, m. 

 175. The deforciants were Thomas 

 Whitaker the elder, Elizabeth his wife and 

 Thomas Whitaker the younger. 



'^ Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. xxix, no. 

 83. In 1631 William Whitaker had 

 compounded for j^io on declining knight- 

 hood ; Miic. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Chcs.), 

 i, 217. His will, dated and proved 1641, 

 mentions a younger son Robert and 

 daughters Margaret and Anne. Various 

 articles were described as * ancient heir- 

 looms ' at the Holme. 



"^^ Diet. Nat. Biog. 



^^ Ibid. ; see also accounts referred 

 to of the vicars of Blackburn and 

 Whalley. 



^ This appears 'by a date remembered 

 in the plaster of the hall ' ; Whitaker, 

 op. cit. ii, 2c6. 



<" Matthew de Barcroft was a defen- 

 dant in 1341 and 1348 ; Coram Rege R. 

 32;, m. 58 d. ; De Banco R. 354, m. 82. 

 William son of Matthew de Barcroft had 

 land in Stansfield in 1367; C 8, 13, 

 B 255, 271. John de Barcroft and Joan 

 his wife occur the next year ; ibid. B 254. 

 Whitaker gives a pedigree of the family, 

 op. cit. ii, 219, 



" Duchy of Lane. Inq. p.m. vi, no. 39. 

 Another branch of the family had the 

 Lodge in Reedley Hallows, and in 1547 

 Henry Barcroft of this place and William 

 Barcroft of Barcroft became bound to 

 Nicholas Whitaker of Healey ; C 8, 13, 

 B2;2. William Barcroft of Reedley 

 Hallows in 1558 was the husband of 

 Anne base daughter of Richard Townelcy; 

 ibid, B 3 1 2. The will of Henry Barcroft of 

 Burnley, 1576, mentions Isabel his wife, 

 Henry son of William Barcroft of the 

 Lodge and Robert Barcroft of Hole House 

 (an executor). 



Robert Barcroft and Alice his wife were 

 plaintiffs in 1532 ; Ducatut Lane, ii, 38. 

 William Barcroft was buried at Burnley 

 9 Feb. 1581-2 ; Reg. Robert Barcroft 

 of Hole House in Cliviger is named in a 

 deed of 1578; C 8, 13, H 408. A 

 settlement of certain messuages in 

 Cliviger was made by fines in 159^ the 

 parties being Robert Barcroft the elder 

 and Elizabeth his wife on one tide and 

 Robert Barcroft the younger and Lucy 

 his wife on the other ; Pal. of Lane Feet 

 of F. bdle. 54, m. 11;, 18. In 1594 the 

 elder Robert and Elizabeth made a feotf- 

 ment ; ibid. bdle. ;6, m. 1 14. 



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