A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



driven out by this party. 224 In 1637 Lancashire was 

 reported to Archbishop Laud as an extremely Puritan 

 county ; at Preston and Manchester they called the 

 surplices * the rags of Rome,' and suffered no organs 

 in the churches. 225 At the formation of the Presby- 

 terian classis in 1646 three Preston aldermen became 

 members of it. 226 



There is evidence of a somewhat higher type of church- 

 manship in the town after the Restoration, 227 and in the 

 last century, under modern conditions, a great change 

 has taken place in Preston, as elsewhere, by the pro- 

 vision of new churches and schools and a large staff of 

 clergy, the new movement being due apparently to 

 the Rev. R. C. Wilson, vicar from 18 17 to 1839." 8 



There were two endowed chantries in the parish 

 church, those at the altars of the Rood or Crucifix of 

 Jesus and St. Mary. The former is stated to have 

 been founded by a Sir Richard Hoghton for the souls 



of his ancestors, and in 15 + 7 John Shepherd was the 

 chaplain, and celebrating accordingly. There was no 

 plate belonging to it, and the endowment, producing 

 £$ is. 8.V. yearly, was derived from burgages, lands, 

 &c, in Preston.- 29 In other places William or Richard 

 Whalley is called the founder of the Crucifix chantry. 00 

 After the confiscation there were numerous disputes 

 about the property. 231 The altar of St. Mary is 

 mentioned in 1 349- 232 The chantry thereat was said 

 to have been founded by Ellen widow of Henry 

 Hoghton for a chaplain to celebrate continually for 

 her soul and all Christian souls, and to keep a free 

 grammar school. 233 This chantry can be traced back 

 to 1430, and seems to have been due to contributions 

 from various sources. 234 Nicholas Banaster was the 

 incumbent in 1547, and 'by report of the inhabi- 

 tants ' the ordinances of the foundation had been 

 * well kept and used.' There was no plate, and the 



224 See the accounts of the vicars above. 



Evidence of Puritan feeling is given by 

 the strict prohibition of trading on 'the 

 Sabbath Day,' passed by the guild of 

 1 602. In 1 6 16 the Council ordered house- 

 keepers to keep their street doors shut 

 during service time on Sabbath days and 

 festivals, and to prevent their children 

 playing in the streets or sitting in the 

 street doors on the Sabbath. Ale-houses 

 were regulated, being ordered to close at 

 9 p.m. ; Abram, Memorials of the Guilds, 



36» 37- 



In 1625-8 Henry Banister bequeathed 

 £600 'towards the maintenance and 

 settling of a minister or ministers of God's 

 Word, if (the trustees) should so think 

 fit, to water the dry and barren places in 

 the County of Lancaster, where there 

 should be greatest want of a preaching 

 ministry, to direct the people to the 

 glory of God.' With this and other 

 sums land in Brockholes was purchased, 

 and of the resulting rent-charge of £16 a 

 moiety has since been paid to the vicar of 

 Preston ; End. Char, Rep, 1905, p. 742. 

 The vicar now applies it to the payment 

 of a deaconess and a Church Army 

 evangelist. 



225 Cal. S. P. Dom. 1637, p. 26. 



226 Baines, Lanes, (ed. Harland), i, 228. 



227 See the account of Vicar Birch. 

 The full clerical staff probably consisted 

 of the vicar, his curate and the curate of 

 Broughton. An additional church was 

 built in 1716 at Grimsargh and another 

 in 1723 at Preston. 



328 T. C. Smith, op. cit. 78. 



229 Raines, Chantries (Chet. Soc), 

 202-4; Smith, op. cit. 233. It does 

 not appear which of several Sir Richards 

 founded this chantry ; it may have been 

 the founder of one at Ribchester in 1407. 



In 1487 it was found that Alexander 

 Hoghton and Elizabeth his wife had a 

 chantry in Preston Church, John Trout- 

 beck being chaplain, and they were bound 

 to maintain the fabric and supply book, 

 vestments, &c. ; Raines, loc. cit. 



If this altar were at the end of the 

 south aisle, where the Lea burial-place 

 was, the crucifix was probably some special 

 one, and not the chancel rood. 



230 In 1495 and 1500 the mayor and 

 burgesses, being patrons of the chantry 

 of the Rood of Preston, demised a burgage 

 in Fishergate and an acre of land for forty 

 years, rents of 10s, for each to be paid to 

 the priest who should say mass, according 

 to the intent of Richard Whalley, founder 

 of the same; Kuerden MSS. iv, P 121, 



no. 95, 96. In 1507 Thomas Whalley, 

 chaplain, and another surrendered to the 

 mayor and others certain lands for the 

 enlarging or augmentation of the chantry 

 belonging to the altar before the holy 

 crucifix within the parish church of St. 

 Wilfrid the Bishop in Preston, the priest 

 to pray especially for the soul of William 

 Whalley, priest, late founder of the same; 

 ibid. no. 91, 92. 



From this it appears that Whalley's 

 foundation was intended for an additional 

 priest at the Rood altar. His benefaction 

 seems to have led to disputes with the 

 Hoghtons. Thus in 1498 Sir Alexander 

 Hoghton nominated William Gaiter to 

 celebrate, and in 1500 and 1507 the cor- 

 poration named the same priest ; ibid, 

 lii, H 9 ; and iv, P 121, no. 76, 79, 86. 



The agreement with the corporation 

 was that William Gaiter 'shall say mass 

 afore the rood in Preston Kirk three 

 days in a week, that is to say Sunday, 

 Wednesday and Friday, and he be disposed, 

 and to pray for the souls of Richard 

 Whalley and his wifes (sic) and William 

 Whalley priest his son,' Sec. ; and that * he 

 shall keep and maintain God's service to 

 his power as St. Mary's priest does'; 

 and ' be ready to say mass if the mayor 

 require him'; ibid, iv, Pn. The 

 charters are in Duchy of Lane. Misc. 

 bdle. 2, no. 15. 



Richard Hoghton as feoffee of Richard 

 Whalley nominated James Tarleton to 

 celebrate in the chantry ; Add. MS. 

 32106, no 751. 



In 1527 the chantry before the crucifix 

 was held by Thomas Bostock, who had 

 been appointed about eleven years before ; 

 the Hoghton patronage is admitted ; Duchy 

 of Lane Rentals, bdle. 5, no. 1 5. John 

 Shepherd, named in the text, was the 

 priest in 1535 ; Valor Eccl. v, 263. The 

 incomewas then given as £4 41. lod, clear. 

 281 An account of them is given by 

 T. C. Smith, op. cit. 235. For grants of 

 the chantry lands see Pat. 5 Jas. I, pt. xx, 

 and 7 Jas. I, pt. xxxiv. 



383 In that year Adam de Brockholes 

 gave his lands in Brockholes to William 

 de Elston, charged with a rent of 6s. %d n 

 to continue for a hundred years, for the 

 celebration of masses at the altar of B. 

 Mary in the church of Preston for the 

 souls of Adam and his kindred ; Add. MS. 

 32108, fol. 289. 



283 Raines, op. cit. 205-7 ; Smith, op. 

 cit. 230. Ellen was the wife of Sir 

 Henry Hoghton, who died in 1479 ; she 

 may have augmented an older foundation. 



88 



The altar was probably at the end of 

 the north aisle, afterwards known ai 

 'Wall's chapel.' 



n * In 1430 the feoffees granted to Ellen 

 Young certain property charged with a 

 payment of 131. $d. a year to God and 

 B. Mary of the church of Preston for 1 

 priest celebrating there for the louli of 

 John Young and Maud his wife j Kuer- 

 den MSS. iv, P 121. Again in 1456 John 

 Inglesle of Preston gave two small rent- 

 charges (11. in all) to the wardens (fru- 

 curatoribus) of B. Mary the Virgin of the 

 church of St. Wilfrid of Preston for the 

 souls of himself and Joan his consort ; 

 ibid. no. 73. 



In 1 470 Margaret widow of Sir Richard 

 Hoghton gave burgages on the east side 

 of Friargate towards paying the priest 

 before St. Mary's altar j ibid. no. 37. 



Ralph Hoghton son of Margaret, in 

 accordance with her intention, gave a 

 charge of lid. for the priest singing 

 ' daily afore our Lady,' the whole tene- 

 ment to be so devoted after his wife's 

 death ; ibid. no. 94. 



Another deed attributes the endow- 

 ment in part to Richard Whalley, whose 

 son William, a chaplain, was to hold cer- 

 tain lands for life. After his death they 

 were to remain to Henry Hoghton and 

 other trustees and to the mayor and bur- 

 gesses to maintain a chaplain to celebrate 

 daily (or at least thrice a week) before 

 the image of the B. V. Mary at her altar 

 in Preston Parish Church ; Add. MS. 

 32106, no. 848. 



The mayor, in defending a suit brought 

 by Roger Levens, the chantry priest, about 

 1522 stated that this chantry had been 

 founded by the corporation about 1440 

 for ' a priest continually to sing and pr»y 

 for the souls of the said persons, and for 

 the prosperity and welfare of the mayor 

 and burgesses and other inhabitants of 

 the town, within the church of Preston j 

 and every priest so appointed should keep 

 a free school within the said town to 

 teach the scholars there ' ; Smith, op. cit 

 232 ffrom Duchy of Lane Ptad. 

 Hen. VIII, i, N.D. L 6). It appear, that 

 Levens' predecessor was named George 

 Hale, and had died in 1518. R°g« 

 Levens was in 1519 admitted to the pos- 

 session of copyhold lands ill Walwo-ie- 

 Dale belonging to this chantry ; Kuerden 

 MSS. iv, P120, no. 53. 



Again in 1527 the mayor and burgesies 

 were returned as patrons of our Lady 

 chantry, of which Henry Coventry was 

 chaplain, having held the post about foul 



