A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



in lieu of having two-thirds oi' his estate sequestered 

 for recusancy." 



Common' rights were in the time of Elizabeth 

 disputed between the tenants of Cliviger and those 

 of Accrington '^ ; also between the freeholders and 

 copyholders in Cliviger itself." The coal mines are 

 mentioned about the same time." Some parts of 

 the Crown lands in Cliviger were sold in the time of 

 James I." 



'By a survey made in 1602 it appears that the 

 inclosed grounds within Cliviger amounted to 9^2 

 acre; : in the year 173+ they were increased by 

 inclosure; to 1,324, partly including and partly 

 excluding 300 acres decreed to be inclosed in 161 ii ; 

 and, in 1795, a grant was made to the several 

 freeholders of 300 acres more, all of S yards to the 

 perch ; the remainder was granted out for inclosure 

 in 1809.'" 



Thomas Whitaker and John Ormerod were the 

 landowners who contributed to the subsidy of 

 1524."' Thomas Whitaker of Holme and the 

 widow of John Thompson paid in 1543" John 

 Towneley, John HolLcr, Thomas Whitaker and 

 William Barcroft paid for lands to the subsidy 

 of I 564 " ; and Thomas Whitaker and Robert 

 Barcroft to that of 1597" The same names occur 

 in the 1626 lijt, in whi^h Thomas Hurdu^ and his 

 wife were entered as convicted recusanti.' 



In Cliviger freehold in 1666 there were 110 

 hearths liable to the tax. The largest hou^e was 

 that of Mr. Thomas liarcruft of Barcroft with six 

 hearths ; two others had five, those of Peter Ormerod 

 of Ormerod and Thomas Whit.iker of Holme." 



The chapel at HOLME'' was pro- 

 CHIRCH b.ibly built in the time of Henry VIII, 

 and at the Reformation fell into disuse, 

 being considered the property of the Whitaker 

 family." What endowment had belonged to it was 

 confiscated by Edward V'l and the chapel remained 

 without a minister,'' except under the Common- 

 wealth,'' for nearly 200 years, though about 1 7 17 

 Bishop Gastrell recorded that the curate of Burnley 

 preached there once a quarter." A curate was 

 licensed in 1742 and by the gifts of various 

 benefactors, including Dr. Whitaker, the historian, 

 sometime incumbent of this family chapel, an 

 endowment was provided, and the net value is now 

 ^£263 a ye.ir. 



The old chapel" which stood near the road at the 

 lower end of the graveyard w.is pulled down in 1 788, 

 and the present church of St. John the Divine erected 

 in the same year on higher ground and consecrated 

 in 1 794. It is a plain stone structure, in plan a 

 rectangle 62 ft. 6 in. long internally by 28 ft. wide, 

 built of rough square chiselled stones with dressed 

 quoins at the angles. At the west end is an 

 octagonal stone cupola springing from a square base ; 

 and the west elevation has some architectural merit, 

 the doorway being flanked by Tuscan columns 

 supporting a pedimented head, the whole under a 

 lofty semicircular arch. The windows are round- 

 headed and at the west end in two tiers, the upper 

 ones lighting a west gallery. 



The old east window was of three lights divided 

 by two columns carrying architrave, frieze and 

 cornice over the side lights, and with a semicircular 

 head springing from the level of the cornice over the 

 central wider light, but this window was removed in 

 1897, when a new chancel 25 ft. by 19 ft. with 

 vestry on the north side was added, and the columns 

 are now at each side of a gate at the west end of 

 the building. 



The original plan comprised a chancel arrange- 

 ment at the east end formed by two wide piers 

 placed about 8 ft. from the wall carrying an arcade 

 of three semicircular arches, the middle recessed space 

 of which was the sanctuary proper, while north and 

 south were private pews, that on the south belonging 

 to the Whitaker family and the other to the 

 Ormerods. At the west end there is a somewhat 

 similar arrangement with three semicircular arches 

 below and above in front of the gallery, the central 

 space being occupied by the entrance porch, while that 

 on the north is the baptistery and on the south a stone 

 staircase leads to the gallery. The floor space, or 

 nave proper, is therefore reduced to about 44 ft. in 

 length, and is lit by three lofty semicircular-headed 

 windows on each side. In the external south-east 

 corner facing east is a shield with the arms and 

 initials of the Rev. T. D. Whitaker and the date 

 1788, while a spout head on the south side has the 

 initials and date T.W. 1797. The roof is new and 

 of plain king-post type and the floor is flagged. The 

 building underwent a restoration when the new 

 chancel was added, an old three-decker pulpit, a 

 very fine example of its kind which stood against the 



*^ Tram, Hist. Soc. (new scr.), xxiv, 178. 

 ^ Ducatus Lane. (Rcc. Com.), ii, 



** Icid. iii, 71. For decrees sec Lanes, 

 and Cheu Rec. (Rcc. Soc. Lanes, and 

 Chcs.), ii, 2-g. 



^ Ducatui Lane, in, 4^ In a deed of 

 1589 it was recorded that the queen had 

 in 158S demised to her principal surgeon, 

 Robert Balthroppe, a coal mine in 

 Cliviger for the term of forty years at 

 5j. a year. This was transferred to John 

 Towneley of London, grocer, who gave 

 to John Towneley of Towneley ; Add. 

 MS. 32104, no. 471. 



** Gumples in Cliviger to William 

 Wade in 1604; Pat. 2 Jas. I, pt. *. 

 See also Pat. 8 Jaa. I, pt, xrvii. 



^' Whitaker, op. cit. ii, 216 note. 



*^ Subs. R. Lanes, ijdle. 130, no. 82. 



^'> Iria. no. 125. 



'^ Ibid, bdle. 131, no. 212. 



"^ Ibid. no. 274. 



■M:„J. no. 317. 



'3 Irid. bdlc. 250, no. 9. 



''^ It is possible that the chapel served 

 by Walter the Chaplain of Towneley in 

 the time of Henry III was at Holme ; 

 Whitaker, TVhalUJ, ii, 198. 



'* Ibid. 206-9 » views of the old 

 chapel and its pulpit are given. Hugh 

 Watmough was a priest paid by Richard 

 Whitaker in i ^41 and served this chapel ; 

 Clergy List (Rec. Soc, Lanes, and Chcs.), 

 18. He afterwards obtained a chantry 

 at Burnley, but in 1551 received for life, 

 as late incumbent of the chapel of Cliviger, 

 certain lands called Stypdync, &c.; Court 

 K. at Clitheroe Castle, 4 & 5 Edw. VI. 

 An inquiry concerning * concealed lands* 

 in 1562 showed that three houses and 6 

 acres of land had belonged to the chapel, 

 also a silver chalice and two vestments ; 

 Augm. Off. Misc. Bks. clxx, m. z, 3. 

 Land called the Ham and a cottage 

 formerly belonging to the stipend of the 

 curate of Holme were sold by the Crown 

 in 1613 ; Pat. 10 Jas. I, pt. xxii. 



^^ In 1 6 10 it had 'a simple reader, 

 one Mr. Townley, maintained by the 

 inhabitants' ; Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. xiv, 

 App. iv, 10. The chapel is not men- 

 tioned in the visitation lists of the time 

 and in 1650 had *no maintenance for a 

 minister,' though the people wished it 

 to be made a parish church j CommonzLi. 

 Ch. Survey (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 



.67. 



''In 1651 an allowance of ^50 a 

 year out of the sequestered estates of 

 certain * delinquents ' was made to 

 Thomas White, who had been * settled 

 minister' of Holme ; Plumi. Afim. Accn. 

 (Rcc. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), i, 104, 



138. 



^» Noiitia Ceitr. (Chct. Soc), u, 



33+- 



''■' 'The old building wai of mauive 

 character, having only six courses of 

 masonry from base to roof, but was so 

 lov that one could touch the roof inside' ; 

 T. Ormerod, Caliier djlr^ 1500. 



486 



