BLACKBURN HUNDRED 



WH ALLEY 



or was a little north of the centre : it has been 

 absorbed in the town of Nelson, growing up to the 

 north-west ; Linedred is to the west. Another town 

 is Brierfield in the south-west ; this has Limefield and 

 Chamber Hill to the north and west ; Lane End 

 and Catlow Row to the east, with Scholefield, 

 Marsden Height and Finsley further away. Wal- 

 verden Reservoir has been formed at the junction of 

 Catlow and Walverden Brooks. 



Owing to the progress of the cotton manufacture, 

 Colne has extended itself into the northern part of 

 Marsden, while the new town of Nelson has grown 

 up in the west ; and in 1 894 the old township was 

 dissolved, about 430 acres being added to Colne, and 

 the remainder divided between the new townships of 

 Nelson (3,464 acres) and Brierfield (807 acres).' 

 The population of the former Marsden was 44,045 

 in 1901, including 3,945 in Colne, 32,717 in 

 Nelson, and 7,383 in Brierfield.' 



The principal road is that from Burnley through 

 Brierfield and Nelson to Colne ; from Brierfield a 

 road goes west by Quakers' Bridge into Pendle, and 

 from Nelson one goes north by New Bridge to 

 Barrowford. Other roads go east from the same 

 places. The Accrington and Colne branch of the 

 Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway also passes through 

 Brierfield and Nelson, with stations at these places. 

 The Leeds and Liverpool Canal also winds north 

 through Brierfield and Nelson, passing into Barrow- 

 ford over an aqueduct near Swinden. Tramcars run 

 constantly between Burnley, Nelson and Barrowford ; 

 electric traction was adopted in 1902. 



In addition to the staple manufactures of cotton 

 and worsted goods there are minor industries, such as 

 brewing, quarrying, corn milling, the making of soap, 

 confectionery, bricks and sanitary pipes and iron 

 foundries. A newspaper called the Nelson (or Brier- 

 field) Leader is published weekly. The agricultural 

 land is almost entirely used for pasture, the return 

 showing ^ : 



There were formerly coal mines in the north- 

 east and north of the township at Foxclough and 

 Swinden.' 



The towns of Brierfield and Nelson have grown 

 up near the canal and along the road from Burnley 

 to Colne. Nelson is also on the older road between 

 the same places, and at the place where the north- 



ward road branched off ; it has spread south to 

 include Lomeshaye and east over Bradley. As stated 

 more fully below, it is now a municipal borough. 

 Brierfield, which obtained a local board in 1868,' 

 has been an urban district since 1894, with a council 

 of twelve members chosen equally from the East, 

 West, North and South Wards. 



One of the Pendle witches of 1634, Margaret 

 Johnson, a widow aged sixty, confessed that she first 

 met her 'familiar' in Marsden." There was a cross 

 in Little Marsden ; ' Walton Spire ' is a monolith 

 on Shelfield." 



The Colne sewage works are on the nortli-west 

 border of the township. 



There does not appear to have been any 

 MANORS manor oi MARSDEN,'" Great M.irsdcn 

 being part of Colne, and Little Marsden 

 of Ightenhill, and tenanted by copyholders. The first 

 inhabitants to come into notice are Peter, Richard 

 and Osbert de Marsden, who in l 194-5 were fined 

 for some fault of Uvieth, for whom they were pledges." 

 The value of Great Marsden to the lord of Clitheroe 

 was estimated at ^^5 2J. in 1 24 1, Little Marsden 

 rendering jf 2 lu." In 1251 Marsden was named 

 in the grant of free warren to Edmund de Lacy," 

 and this right was defended in 1292." At the death 

 of Edmund de Lacy in 1258 it was found that there 

 were in Marsden 6 oxgangs of land, each of 9 acres, 

 rendering \d. an acre ; the tenants of each oxgang 

 were bound to plough one perch of land yearly and 

 to reap for three days in autumn, each of these 

 services being valued at \\d. ; the total value was 

 thus 19/. dd. One free tenant is named, Robert de 

 Marsden, who held 3 1 acres of land by charter, each 

 acre being worth 4</.'' In 1296 the farm of Little 

 Marsden was 79/. o\d., and 14a'. was paid for works 

 remitted '* ; a slight increase is shown in the account 

 for 1305." 



The inquest of 1 3 1 1 taken after the death of 

 Henry de Lacy shows that there were 16 oxgangs of 

 land held in bondage in Marsden, 12^ in Great and 

 3 J in Little Marsden by twelve and four customary 

 tenants, and that each oxgang rendered 3^. as in 

 1258. The earl also had 335 acres in Great Marsden 

 let to tenants at will at \d. an acre, and 243^ acres 

 in Little Marsden, let similarly. Cottars held four 

 tofts at will at 6d. each in the former part of the 

 township, and in the latter part two cottars held two 

 cottages at \d. each. The customary tenants paid 

 6/. 3^/. and \\d. respectively for works remitted, and 

 those in Great Marsden paid \o\d. for the fishery 

 there." In a rental of 1527 the rents amount to 



< Local Govt. Bd. Order 31617. 



* Census Rep. igoi, Nehon took in a 

 small part of Barrowford Booth also. In 

 1896 a small part of Wheatley Carr was 

 added to Nelson, and in 1897 a part of 

 Brierfield was added ; Local Govt. Bd. 

 Orders 35027, P 1365. 



^ Statistics from Bd. of Agric. (1905). 



^ In 1465 Lawrence Lister complained 

 against various persons for digging coal in 

 Great Marsden ; Pal. of Lane. Plea R. 

 27, m. 23 ; see also Writs of Assize, 

 bdle. 6 (4 Edw. IV). The coal mines 

 are also named in the time of Elizabeth ; 

 Ducatus Lane. (Rec. Com.), iii, 49, 268, 

 278. For Swinden see ibid, iii, 402,421. 

 James Folds of Lee in Marsden was in 

 1625 working a coal mine by agreement 



with Margaret Hartley of Stork House, 

 Yorks. ; Mr. W. Waddington's notes. 



^ Lond. Gax. 17 Mar. and 29 May 

 1868. 



8 Cal. S. P. Dom. 1634-5, p. 78. 



^ Lanes, and Ches. Antiq. Soe. xviii, 49, 



54- 



^^ Marsden Manor is named in plead- 

 ings of the time of Elizabeth ; Dueatus 

 Lane. (Rec. Com.), iii, 1 14. 



^^ Farrer, Lanes, Pipe R. 90. In the 

 following year Osbert de Marsden owed 

 ^ mark for disseisin ; ibid. 93. 



^^ Lanes. Inq. and Extents (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), i, 156-7. 



'* Cal. Chart. R. 1226 57, p. 357. 



n P/ae.deQuoJVarr. (Rec. Com.), 381. 



^* Lanes. Inq. and Extents, i, 214. The 



537 



remaining 10 oxgangs of land in Marsden 

 are not accounted for. 



"^ De Laey Compoti (Chet. Soc), 9. 



^' Ibid. 104. The farm was now 

 %\s. \\d., the composition for works re- 

 mitted remaining unchanged. There were 

 some losses of rent ; ibid. 117. Robert de 

 Marsden was one of the tenants in Pendle 

 Forest; ibid. 73. Perhaps he was at 

 Roughlee, like Richard de Marsden in 

 1323 ; Lanes. Ct. R. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, 

 and Ches.), 72. 



'■* Lanes. Inq. and Extents, ii, 6. The 

 total for Great Marsden was £y 181. ^^d. 

 and for Little Marsden £^ 13s. 6d. The 

 accounts of 1323 show various losses of 

 rent from lands in Great Marsden for- 

 merly held by Robert Gamcl, Richard 



