A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



workmen who where engaged in carrying on that 

 W'tIc, and which was begun and finished under his 

 care and sole directim in the year 1776. Further 

 given by the s"" John Turner for perpetual Use of the 

 Communion Service of the Church in Coin 1790.' 

 There is also a paten of Sheffield make 1S53, in- 

 scribed ' Presented by the principal members of the 

 Congregation of the Church of Colne 1S54. John 

 Henderson, incumbent,' and an electro-plated credence 

 paten. 



The registers ' ' begin in 1599, and are continuous 

 to the present time except that the marriage register 

 is wanting from February 1644 to June 1654. The 

 churchwardens' accounts'" begin in 1703. The 

 seating arrangements were settled in 1576 by John 

 Towneley of Towneley, head steward of Blackburnshire, 

 with the consent of the wardens and inhabitants.'"'* 

 Another order was made in 1635 by commissioners 

 appointed by the Bishop of Chester. In ' the rank 

 between mid alley and south alley ' occur allotments 

 of ' the third form adjoining to the pulpit and great 

 pillar,' next ' the double form on the west side of the 

 great pillar and adjoining to the pulpit,' and then 

 'the fifth through next beneath the pulpit.'"' 



The churchyard lies principally on the south side 

 of the building and is partly planted and covered with 

 flat gravestones. Previous to 1H20 it had neither 

 gates nor railings, and was used as the playground ot 

 the tO'.vn, but it is now inclosed by a stone wall with 

 gates at the south and south-east. The oldc-t dated 

 stone is 1606. The cross in the churchyard remained 

 undefaced in 1622, and was finally removed in 1728.'" 



The 'church' of Colne is named 

 .■fDf'OllSOS' in the gift of Whallci to Pontefract 

 Priory about I 1 2 1 by Hugh de 

 Laval' ' By the time the monks of Stanlaw received 

 possession of Whalley Rectory Colne had become a 

 chapel only, and in 1296 the tithes of its chapclry 

 were worth j^20 f};. 4/. a year, the altarage £\o 

 and the land ji. Out of this there was a ciMnm.iry 

 p.iyment of 4 marks to the chaplain."* This stipend 

 seems to have been increased, as in other cajcs, to 

 j^4.'^' This was paid after the Reformation, when 

 the rectory had been transferred to the Archbishop of 

 Canterbury, but was increased to £1 1 10/. In 1650 

 the minister of Colne received this stipend from the 

 farmer of the rectory and j^28 10/. from the Royaliit 

 sequestrations.'" At the end of that ye.ir the allow- 

 ance was increased to ^^50.'" This would cease at 

 the Restoration, but private benefactions and a share 

 of the fees had raised the stipend to ^^30 by 171 7.'" 

 Large additions have been made, and the net value 

 of the benefice, which is styled a rectory,"' is now 

 X42 5ayear.'" 



The vicars of Whalley used to nominate to this as 

 to the other curacies, but the advowson was in 1847 

 acquired by the Hulme Trustees. The following 

 have been incumbents '" : — 



c. 1525 John Hitchen "■'" 



c. I 545 John Fielden '*' 

 1563 Roger Blakey "" 

 oc. I 596 Lawrence Ambler '^' 

 1 599 Richard Brierley "^ 

 1636 Thomas Warriner "" 



'*^ The portion 1599 1653 ha» been 

 printed by the Lanes. Par. Reg. Soc, 

 19C+. 



'^^ A few extracts arc given in Carr, 

 op. c;t. 1+4-5. 



'^ ' }ir.norof Clitheroe ' MS. (Towne- 

 ley). Scats were allotted for Admcrgill 

 in Yorkshire. 



"» Copy by Mr. Waddingtdn. 



1^' CaiT, np. cit. 74, 8;. 



"■ Dugdalr,.t/',-,.v, 121. Thc'church' 

 and 'parish' of Colne arc often named in 

 later documents. 



'« Whitakcr, IVhulUy, i, 8-. The 

 8e\ cral townships were valued thus : Colne 

 with Alkincotc% 8 marks; Fou'.ridge, 

 6 marks ; Femside and Barnsidc, 4 marks ; 

 Marfdcn, 10 marks j Little Marsden, £1. 

 The abbey received £1^1 171. 3^. from 

 the ch^pc! in 1536; ibid. 1 1 6. 



'" }l:s:. MSS. Com. Rif,. xiv, App. iv, 

 10. From a list of rents due, given 

 in the parish register, it appears that 

 £6 1 31. 4</. a year belonged to the 

 chaplain in 1 599. 



An inquiry in 1632 showed that rents 

 of ^15 2j. were due from lands, &c., in 

 Burnley Wood, Colne, Marsden and 

 Blackoc, and an order was made for 

 their payment; A', and Q. (ist ser.), i, 

 16;. 



1* C-rrril-:-.!'. Ch. Sur^: (Rec Soc 

 Lanes, and Chc = .), 164. An augme. na- 

 tion of ^13 loj. was ordered in 1645 by 

 the deputy lieutenants ; Whilaker, op. cit. 

 i, 221. 



"' Plu-J. M,m. Ac:n. (Rec Soc. Lanes, 

 and Ches.), i, 89, 93 ; it was to come 

 from the rectory of Kirkham sequestered 

 from Thomas Clifton of Lytham. The 

 money was paid ; ibid. 2 ; -- 



1 ■ Gastrell, A'o.-nj Carr. (Chet. Soc\ 

 ii, 324. The increase came (rem rent- 

 charges on lands called Hoilingreave, 



Gibhills, Vicpcns, Ac., and from other 

 gifts, including sums for annual funeral 

 sermons. There were then seven wardens 

 and two assistants. 



For a suit as to one of the bequests to 

 curate and school see ibid. 326 n. 



^^^ It was declared a rectory in 1867 ; 

 L,onJ. Gjs. 7 June. 



'"yi/j^M. /Jj:c. Dir. 



'** The names of some earlier priests 

 there are on record, but their position is 

 not known. Thus \Vi,liam Fairbank by 

 his will of 1520 desired to be buried in 

 the chapel of Colne, leaving loj. for the 

 purpose and 61. id. to Robert Blakcy to 

 pray for his soul ; Piccopc's fVills (Chet. 

 Soc.), I, 10. The same Robert Blakey 

 was celebrating at Colne in 1548 and 

 I ?H i Visit. Lists. 



' ■' .-let Bk. of Whalley (Chet. Soc), 2 

 (undated ; cf. 104). 



Hitchen or Iliggin was still curate in 

 1541, being paid by the vicar of Whalley ; 

 Clergy Litr (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 

 18. A subsequent note shows that he 

 had left or died by Mnv 1544. 



"^ Fielden was in 1541 the stipendiary 

 of George Hoghton ; ibid. He had suc- 

 ceeded to the chaplaincy by 1546 ; Duchy 

 Plead. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), ii, 21 3. 



John Fielden, clerk, parson of Graton, 

 Lines., who gave evidence in a Colne case 

 in 1555 or 1556, was obviously the same 

 man, Roger Blakey being then styled 

 ' curate of Colne ' ; Duchy of Lane. Dep. 

 Ixjcvii, B II. Fielden occurs in the visi- 

 tation lists of 1548, 1554, 1562 and 1563, 

 but in the last (being styled curate and 

 dean) he is described as decrepit, and 

 though his name was written in the 1565 

 list it was struck through. 



Lands belonging to the church were in 

 1550 granted for life to John Fielden and 

 Robert (Roger) Blakey, priests there ; 



534 



Clitheroe Ct. R. 4 Edw. VI (Halmotcs of 

 Colne and Ightcnhill). 



'" Roger Blakey occurs in all the visi- 

 tation lists named above, and in 1563 .ind 

 1565 is styled curate. In 1544. he claimed 

 the curacy of the chapel against the vicar 

 of Whalley, alleging that the vicar, in 

 consideration of certain payments, had 

 agreed to appoint him at a stipend of ^4 

 a year. He was still in occupation in 

 1546; Duchy Plead, ii, 223. He, like 

 Fielden, subscribed to the queen's religious 

 supremacy in 1563, and •wa% still curate 

 '" '575» when John Rushworth's will 

 was proved before him ; Ches. Sheaf 

 (Scr. 3), i, 34-5 i Pennant's MS. Acct. Bk. 



Roger Blakcy of Colne, clerk, aged 

 eighty-two, gave evidence as to the 

 boundary of the manor in 1591 ; Duchy 

 of Lane. Special Com., no. 498. 



*^ This name occurs in the Chester 

 records in 1596-7 ; note by Mr. Earwakcr. 

 He seems to have gone to Whitworth, 

 and was in trouble there for refusing to 

 wear the surplice. His wife was buried 

 in Colne Church in 1600 ; Reg. There 

 was a surplice at Cohie in 1599 j ibid. 



'^*' The registers begin in 1599 with a 

 heading by Brierley, and about 1610 he 

 was curate and * well affected ' j Hiit, 

 MSS. Com. Rep. xiv, App. iv, 10. Yet 

 the visitation returns of 1605 give John 

 Walker as curate. This is perhaps the 

 John Walker, *parijh clerk of Colne,' 

 who was buried in 161 3 ; Reg. Richard 

 Brierley's name is given in the visitation 

 returns of 1622, and he continued there 

 till his death. He v.as buried z Feb. 



.635-6. 



'^' There is a note in the regiiter-hook 

 stating that it was delivered to Thomas 

 Warriner, the minister, 13 Apr. 16^6, 

 He was put into the curacy by Archbishop 

 Laud, and in the Civil War time wai 



