BLACKBURN HUNDRED 



WHALLEY 



16+5 John Horrocks, M.A. "^ 



1669 James Hargreaves, B.A."' 



1 694 Thomas Tatham "° 



1706 John Barlow, B.A.''' 



1727 Henry Smalley, B.A. 



1732 William Norcross '" 



1741 George White '" 



1751 Roger Wilson, LL.B.'" 



1789 John Hartley, B.A.'" 



i8n Thomas Thoresby Whitaker, M.A.'"* 



(University Coll., Oxf.) 

 18 1 7 Philip Abbott '" 

 1 82 1 John Henderson ''* 

 1876 William Clifford, M.A. (Brasenose Coll., 



Oxf.) 

 1908 Stephen Peachey Duval, M.A.'" (Brasenose 



Coll., Oxf.) 



Though there were two side chapels to the quire — 

 that on the north belonging to the Banastres of Park 

 Hill and that of St. Sithe '*" on the south to the Town- 

 leys of Barnside '*' — there was no endowed chantry, 

 but the Edwardine commissioners seized bells and 

 'ornaments' worth 27/. 6a'."' The visitation list of 

 1 548 shows five priests resident at Colne ; there were 

 four in 1554, and two, Fielden and Blakey, in 1562 

 and 1563."* The latter then remained sok curate, 

 and one minister was thenceforward considered suffi- 

 cient for the chapelry till recent times. The careers 

 of some of the incumbents have details of interest, 

 such as those of Warriner and Horrocks in the Civil 

 War period. The visitation returns also give some 

 particulars,'" particularly as to the recusants and Non- 

 conformists in the chapelry. At the beginning of the 

 1 8th century service was performed every Sunday twice 

 a day, except one afternoon in the month, when the 

 curate officiated at Marsden.'*' The most exciting 

 episodes in the religious history of the town relate to 

 the opposition to Methodism about 1748."* Wesley 



wrote in 1752 : 'There have been no tumults since 

 Mr. White was removed. He was for some years a 

 Popish priest. Then he called himself a Protestant 

 and had the living of Colne. It was his manner first 

 to hire, then to head the mob, when he and they were 

 tolerably drunk. But he drank himself, first into gaol 

 and then into his grave.' "' A great contrast to this 

 man was the first rector, the Rev. J. Henderson, who 

 held the benefice for fifty-five years, and retired amid 

 the respect of all classes, the Nonconformists included. 

 An additional church was built in his time in the 

 eastern part of the township in 1836 ; it is called 

 Christ Church,"* and the Hulme Trustees have the 

 patronage. The school at Laneshaw Bridge is also 

 used for service. 



As above stated Methodism early made its appear- 

 ance in Colne. The first chapel was built in Colne 

 Lane in 1777, and Wesley preached there soon after 

 it was opened.'™ A famous preacher of later times 

 was William Dawson, a Yorkshire man, who died at 

 Colne in 1841.'™ Chapels were afterwards built at 

 Laneshaw Bridge, 1822-58 ; Burnley Road (Albert 

 Road), 1825 ; Collingwood Street, 1882, and Black 

 Lane End ; and there is a mission room at Stone 

 Bridge. The Primitive Methodists have two chapels ; 

 one of them, named Ebenezer, was built by the New 

 Connexion in 181 1. The Methodist Free Church 

 also has a chapel, called Mount Zion. 



The Inghamites or Old Independents appeared 

 about 1743 ; they have now two chapels in the 

 town."' 



The Congregationalists began services in 1 807, and 

 used the Cloth Hall till a chapel was built in 1 8 1 1.''' 

 This chapel was used till 1879 ; it has since been 

 pulled down. The present church was built 1877-9 

 and renovated in 1901. 



The Baptists had been known in the town from 

 the beginning of the 1 8th century."^ The history of 

 Zion Chapel begins in 1769 ; the founder, John 



dragged out of the church hy two Parlia- 

 mentary soldiers, who had intended to kill 

 him, but were prevented by the people ; 

 Walker, quoted by Carr, op. cit. 151. 



*^ He was approved by the Committee 

 of Divines i Apr. 1645 i Whitaker, op. 

 cit. i, 221. Whitaker, however, inter- 

 polates one Thomas Whalley at this 

 point (ii, 248), apparently in error. John 

 Horrocks was in 1650 called *a very able 

 divine,* and his epitaph describes him as 

 a Barnabas to the good and a Boanerges 

 to the wicked ; but the whole inscription 

 is characterized by Dr. Whitaker as 'one 

 of the most extravagant pieces of bombast 

 he ever met with' ; op, cit. ii, 255. 

 Horrocks conformed at the Restoration, 

 and died in possession 7 Sept. 1669. 



1*' Schoolmaster of Colne. 



^^^ The church papers at Chester Dioc. 

 Reg. begin here. Tatham was afterwards 

 vicar of Almondbury. 



^^^ He had been curate of Harwood and 

 Langho. Whitaker states that he was 

 succeeded by his son Thomas Barlow, 

 but the church papers do not support it. 



''" He became involved in debt and 

 died in the Fleet prison. He was objec- 

 tionable to the bishop on account of his 

 politics and to th^ people for his litigious- 

 ness ; Carr, op cit. 156. 



*^^ He was a Roman Catholic priest, 

 educated at Douay, but becoming a Pro- 

 testant was recommended by Archbishop 

 Potter for the curacy of Colne. He was 



a man of some learning and ability, but 

 grossly neglected his duty at Colne and 

 was of low morals. On the appearance 

 of Methodism he opposed it by speech 

 and by appealing to the mob, for which 

 he was denounced both by John Wesley 

 (as below) and Grimshaw of Haworth ; 

 ibid. 156-63. For his works see Loc, 

 Glean. Lanes, and Ckes. i, 79 ; ii, 223. 



^^'* He was vicar of St. Mary Magdalen, 

 Wiggenhall, and served Colne by curates, 

 one of whom was so immoral that the 

 inhabitants petitioned against him in 

 1782 ; Carr, op. cit. 164. 



^^^ He resided at Colne and gained the 

 respect of the parishioners. 



1™ Eldest son of Dr. Whitaker, the 

 historian of Whalley. He did not reside 

 at Colne. 



^" He was afterwards head master of 

 Clitheroe Grammar School and incum- 

 bent of Downham. 



178 For a notice of him see Carr, op. 

 cit. 168-73, 



179 Previously vicar of Newchurch in 

 Pendle. 



'*> St. Osyth of Essex or St. Zi ta of Lucca 

 ^®^ The Townley ' pew or kneeling 

 place' was set up about 1500, and in 

 1546 was in dispute between Lawrence 

 Townley and George Hoghton. John 

 Fielden the chaplain and others were 

 alleged to have entered the church at 

 night and broken down the pew and 

 earned it away; Duckv Plead, ii 213-14, 



535 



1S2 Raines, Chantries (Chet, Soc), 266, 

 277. 



188 Visit. Lists at Chester Dioc. Reg. 



1^^ In 1 60 1 a sermon was expected 

 once a quarter, and complaint was made 

 that the vicar of Whalley had not done 

 his duty in this matter. In 1605 there 

 were sixteen recusants and a number of 

 non-communicants. 



'S^ Gastrell, Notitia^ ii, 325. 



^^^ George White, then vicar, sum- 

 moned his assistants to meet at the Cross, 

 'where each man shall have a pint of 

 ale in advance, and all other proper 

 encouragement.' A * drunken rabble ' 

 assembled accordingly ; Wesley himself 

 was assaulted, and he and his com- 

 panions were grievously ill-treated and in 

 some peril of life ; Carr, op. cit. 157-9, 

 quoting Wesley's letter (1748). 



'^' Loc. Gleaij. Lanes, and Ch.s, i, 88, 

 from Wesley's yournal. 



1^^ A district wa. assigned to it la 

 1818. 



*8^ An accident spoiled the occasion, 

 for a gallery gave way and several persons 

 were injured. 



I'J'J There is a notice of him in Diet. 

 Nat. Bug. 



1''^ Carr, op. cit. 84. 



1^'^ Nightingale, Lanes. Nonconf, ii, 

 176-9. 



193 There were five Anabaptist families 

 known in Colne chapelry in 1717 } 

 Gastrell, op. cit. ii, 324. 



