AMOUNDERNESS HUNDRED 



LYTHAM 



Pym of Bombay (d. 1908), who was assistant curate 

 at Lytham. ss The church was reseated in oak in 

 1888. There are several Clifton monuments, in- 

 cluding four 18th-century ones from the old church. 



There is a ring of eight bells, six cast in 1857 by 

 C. & G. Mears, and the treble and tenor in 1874 

 by Mears & Stainbank. 



The plate consists of a chalice of 1844, no longer 

 used ; two chalices, a bread-holder and a flagon 

 presented by Thomas Clifton in 1845 ; a paten of 

 1846 ; a paten of 187 1-2 ; a small silver almsdish 

 of 1874-5 ; and a large repouss6 almsdish of un- 

 burnished silver presented in 1895 by the Rev. 

 Samuel Ashton Thompson Yates. In a case in the 

 vestry are preserved the bowls of two pewter chalices 

 and a pewter flagon, together with the loose foot of 

 one of the chalices, which is inscribed ' The gift of 

 William Hornsby to Lytham Church, 1 8 1 6.' The 

 flagon is 'The gift of William Hornby, Esq., of 

 Kirkham, to Lytham Church.' 



The registers begin in 1679. The first volume, 

 which contains the baptisms and burials from 1679 

 to 1761 and the marriages from 1679 to 1754, has 

 been printed. 40 



On the south side of the church is an undated 

 stone pedestal sundial, the plate bearing the motto 

 ' Dum spectes fugio,' and with the name of 

 Waller, maker. The oldest gravestone is dated 

 1672." 



The earliest record of the church 

 ADVOWSON of Lytham is that contained in 

 Reginald of Durham's book of the 

 miracles of St. Cuthbert. 4 * The grandfather of 

 Richard son of Roger, he tells us, pulled down the 

 ancient wattled church, and built a new one of stone, 

 on an adjacent site, in honour of St. Cuthbert, 

 ' wherein the grace of God on account of the merits 

 of B. Cuthbert wrought many miracles, to be admired 



of all men.' A servant of Richard son of Roger 

 named Uvieth," having committed a secret sin, was 

 smitten in the face by St. Cuthbert and was like to 

 die. Being carried to the church, the faith of his 

 friends was rewarded by a vision of the saint, who 

 healed the man he had punished. Another servant, a 

 youth, walking in the cemetery, saw a young sparrow 

 fly from its nest on the church roof and rest on the 

 remains of the altar of the old church still visible." 

 The youth captured it, not thinking he was breaking 

 ' the peace of the saint,' and was surprised to find 

 that he could not leave the cemetery until he had 

 released his prey. Richard son of Roger himself, 

 being, as it was thought, at the point of death, was 

 carried to the church of St. Cuthbert, ' whom he had 

 always loved,' to die there, and was cured as soon as 

 he entered the building ; afterwards he went to 

 Durham to watch at the shrine tb and return thanks 

 for his cure. His son also, being at the point of 

 death, was restored to health after a night's watching 

 in the church. For testimony of this restoration the 

 father took his son to Durham and offered a gold 

 ring, which was to be fixed on the tomb of St. 

 Cuthbert, at the same time telling the story of all 

 these wonders. 46 



Apart from Reginald's stories the existence of the 

 church before 1190 is proved by the priory charter. 47 

 The church was probably at one time dependent 

 upon Kirkham, but the founder obtained a formal 

 release from the Abbot of Shrewsbury, 48 and the 

 chapter of Lancaster decided that Lytham was a 

 parish church and not a chapel. 49 The church was 

 given absolutely to the monks, and the Prior of 

 Lytham, the nominee or removable deputy of the 

 Prior of Durham, took the position of rector, assisted 

 by one or two other monks and a secular chaplain or 

 more. 50 In 129 1 the value of the church was £4, 

 but after the raid of the Scots in 1322 51 was reduced 



39 The Rev. Walter Ruthven Pym was 

 appointed assistant curate at Lytham in 

 1880 and served till 1882. 



40 Lanes. Parish Reg. Soc. Publ. xxxiii 

 (1908). Transcribed by Henry Brierley. 



41 The terrier of 1778 has a note to 

 this effect : ' The church yard fence is 

 very ordinary, being composed of earth 

 which falls in frequently and is impos- 

 sible to be repaired without loss to the 

 churchyard. There are stones enough 

 left from the rebuilding of the church 

 which would repair the worst of it, but 

 that the parishioners are against it. I 

 mean the Papists and some who are set 

 on by them.' 



42 Be admirandis B. Cuthberti mrtutihu 

 (Surtees Soc. i), 280-4. 



48 A Roger son of Wlfiet occurs in 

 1184-5 i Farrer, Lanes. Pipe R. 56. 



44 This story was written after the 

 foundation of the priory, for the old altar 

 was 'outside the circuit of the new 

 monastery,' yet nothing is said of the gift 

 of the church to Durham. 



45 ' Cum lumine pcrvigil oravit.' 



6 These miracles should be compared 

 with a slightly varied series (ibid. 138- 

 48) said to have happened at ' Lixtune,' 

 a place ' in Coupland ' according to the 

 heading, but ' in the furthest part of 

 Cheshire, on the very edge of the sea- 

 shore,' according to the text. The place 

 had a little church, founded in honour of 

 St, Cuthbert, which though but a mean 

 country chapel was a baptismal church. 



A boy who climbed to the roof, damaging 

 the crazy walls in doing 80, in order to 

 destroy a crows' nest, found his hand 

 clenched so that the nails pierced Lhrough. 

 A great man of the district, whose face 

 was horribly distorted by some illness, on 

 appealing for the saint's help was cured, 

 and in thanksgiving pulled down the old 

 church, vimine fenoque contcctam, rebuilt 

 it of stone, and bountifully endowed it. 

 The onlv son of another great man of the 

 district was carried to the church almost 

 dead and made whole. A wayfarer go^ng 

 into the church to pray first ihrust his 

 spear into the ground of the cemetery, and 

 a thief seizing it could neither move it 

 nor release his hand from it until the 

 owner came. The priest's steward saw 

 a little sparrow fly down from the church 

 roof and caught it, though it took refuge 

 by the church door ; and he wandered 

 about the cemetery all the afternoon 

 unable to get out. These and other 

 stories were told to Reginald by the 

 priest of the place and his neighbours 

 who made a pilgrimage to Durham in 

 1165. 



" Roger deSt. Edmund, Archdeacon of 

 Richmond (c.1200), confirmed to God and 

 St. Cuthbert the grant of the church of 

 Lytham made by Richard son of Roger of 

 good memory ; Lytham D. at Durham, 

 2 a, 4 ae, Ebor. no. 8. Morgan, another 

 archdeacon, also confirmed it ' for the 

 maintenance of their monks dwelling at 

 Lytham ' ; no. 9. 



217 



48 This grant may not have been 

 needed for any supposed dependence on 

 Kirkham ; it appears to be the release of 

 one of the Shrewsbury monks, Robert de 

 Stafford, for whom Richard son of Roger 

 had asked in orde/ to make him head of 

 the monastery he proposed to erect at 

 Lytham ; ibid. no. 11. 



49 Ibid. no. 28. 



60 The Archdeacons of Richmond 

 appear to have made several inquiries as 

 to the position of the removable Prior of 

 Lytham. In 1347 it was formally 

 declared that the priors might, as had 

 been accustomed, by themselves or by 

 secular chaplains hear the confessions of 

 the parishioners, absolve them, minister 

 the sacraments to them, &c, as deputies 

 of the Prior of Durham it would seem ; 

 2 a, 4 ae, Ebor. no. 18. The Priors of 

 Lytham were instituted by the arch- 

 deacons or their deputies just as rectors 

 of the church would have been ; ibid. no. 



39- 



About 1265 the priory had a staff of 

 three, the following attesting a charter : 

 S. the prior ; S. his socius ; and Simon 

 the chaplain ; ibid. 3 a, 2 ae, 4 ae, Ebor. 

 no. 44. 



« Pope Nich. Tax. (Rec. Com.), 309, 

 327. The goods of the Prior of Lytham 

 were valued at £1 1 6s. zd. 



A testimony by Hugh, cantor of York 

 and archdeacon, names the payment of 

 an ancient due of 6d. called chrism pence 

 (denarii crismatis), and says that a further 



28 



