A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



armour and a lady, said on the authority of a much 

 more modern inscription to be those of Henry Norris 

 of Speke, 1524, and Clemence his wife. The tower, 

 which was rebuilt in iSio on the old foundations, 

 except that the east wall was set ftirther west, is of 

 little architectural merit. The jambs of the old east 

 arch of the tower remain in a damaged condition, 

 apparently the result of a fire. The font, of red 

 sandstone, is ancient, but completely rechiselled, and 

 appears to have been altered from an octagon to a 

 round. 



The registers begin in 1557, the earlier entries 

 having been copied on parchment about 1597. The 

 first volume contains baptisms, marriages, and burials 

 up to 1 61 3 or 16 14, with a few odd entries up to 

 1650. The next volume begins in 1653, so that there 

 is a break of about forty years ; from this time the 

 series appears to be complete. There is a rude draw- 

 ing of the church on the cover of the second volume. 

 The churchwardens' accounts begin a little before 

 1600. The tithe award and maps are in the 

 vestry. 



The silver communion plate includes a flagon, two 

 chalices, and two patens, 1779.' 



In the church besides the Norris brass,' now hung 

 on the wall, are monuments to Richard Percival of 

 Allerton, who died in i 700, Theophilus Kelsall, for- 

 merly vicar, and others. 



There is a ring of six bells, dating from 1720. 



The priest of the place is men- 

 JDFOWSON tioned in Domesday Book as having 

 half a plough-land in alms.' About 

 1094 Roger of Poitou granted the church of Child- 

 w.ill, among others, to the abbey of St. Martin at 

 Sccz, and thus for a time it became attached to the 

 priory of Lancaster. This grant appears to have been 

 revoked by Henry I on the forfeiture of Roger's 

 possessions, but was confirmed in a charter by John 

 count of Mortain.* The prior)' received an annual 

 pension of 10s. from the holder of the benefice, 

 through a compromise arranged by the abbots of 

 Chester and Stanlaw and the prior of Birkenhead as 

 papal delegates, and confirmed by Geoffrey the bishop 

 of Coventry about 1205.' 



The manor having been granted to the baron of 

 Manchester, he also claimed the patronage of the 

 church, and in 1232 this right was in dispute between 



Thomas Grclley and the prior of Lancaster.* The 

 former was successful, and a Grelley is found among 

 the rectors soon afterwards, while in 1293 and 1299 

 the king presented to Childwalj, because of the 

 minority of Thomas son of Robert Grelley the patron.' 



The rector being anon-resident pluralist, the bishop 

 appears to have thought it proper to establish a vicar- 

 age at Childwall. Accordingly in December, 1307,3 

 vicar was instituted on the presentation of the rector. 

 He was to receive for the maintenance of himself 

 and the ecclesiastical organization of the parish — three 

 chaplains and a deacon are named — all oblations 

 and tenths, Easter dues, tithes of linen, cheese and 

 milk, &c. He (or they) were to have a dwelling 

 place on the land of the church called ' Green land,' 

 near the church, and to satisfy all the ordinary 

 charges.^ 



Only two years after this Sir Robert de Holand 

 presented to the rectory and then assigned it to his 

 college of priests at Upholland.' In i 3 1 1 the rector 

 was presented by the dean of this college. Licence 

 for the alienation had been granted by Edward II in 

 June, I 3 10, after the usual inquiry.'" On the trans- 

 ference of the college to a monastery of Benedictines in 

 1319, the advowson of Childwall was transferred also, 

 with a reservation of the usual ecclesiastical rights and 

 a pension of 40/. a year to the cathedral church of 

 Lichfield. This pension continued to be paid down 

 to the dissolution." The rectory was appropriated, 

 the monks presenting to the vicarage until the sup- 

 pression. 



The rectory with the patronage was granted to 

 augment the endowment of the new see of Chester by 

 Philip and Mary in l557-8,'° and this, after confisca- 

 tion, was renewed by Elizabeth in 1 561," and the 

 later presentations were made by the bishops of 

 Chester until the see of Liverpool was created by Act 

 of Parliament in iK 80, when the patronage was trans- 

 ferred to its bishop. 



The tithes were farmed out " in Elizabeth's reign '^ 

 and later to the Anderton family,'" so the Common- 

 wc.ilth surveyors found. Bishop Bridgeman had in 

 1632 leased the tithes to John Poole and others for 

 three lives for a yearly rent of £57 14/. 4a'.," and the 

 lease was 'lately in the possession of James Anderton, 

 a Papist, and now under sequestration for his de- 

 linquency.' The actual value of the tithes was about 



1 Lanes. Churches, l l 5. 



" Thornely, Brasses, 153. 



^ In 1389-90 the prior of Upholland 

 had one oxgang and 10 ac. of glebe in 

 Childwall, Hale, and Garston, belonging 

 to the rectory ; K-uerden MSS. ii, fol. 



,73*. 



^ Farrer, Lanes, Pipe R. 289—93 and 

 298. 



' Lane. Church (Chet. Soc), i, 119- 

 2 1. 



^ Cal. Pat. 1225-32, p. 512. In the 

 Close Roll of the same year is a royal 

 mandate to the bishop of Lichfield relating 

 to the recovered advowson. In 1261 

 Robert de Lathom as lord of the subordi- 

 nate manor endeavoured to secure the 

 advowson of the church from Thomas 

 Grelley ; Cur. Reg. R. 171, m. 9 d., 81 d. 

 The attempt was renewed in 1 302-7 

 against Thomas, great-grandson of that 

 Thomas Grelley. Year Bxk, 32 Edw. I, 

 + ; De Banc. R. 1++, m. 184^. ; 153, m. 

 'i.^^d. ; 163, m. 1041/. 



' Cal. Pat. 1292-1301, pp. 7, 429 ; De 

 Banc. R. 100, m. 2. Before his death in 



I 262 Thomas Grelley granted the church 

 of Childwall with the chapels of Hale and 

 Garston to his son Peter, but the gift was 

 held to be invalid ; Trans. Hist. Soc. (New 

 Ser.), xvii, 54. 



^ Lich. Epis. Reg. i, fol, 28. 

 ' Ca/. Pat. 1307-13, p. 233. 



1" Ibid. ; Cal. Inq. a.q.d. (Rec. Com.), 

 226. 



^ Mon. Angl. iv, 410-11. Another 

 pension oi ^1 6s. Sd. was payable from 

 Upholland Priory to the Carthusians of 

 Shene, but nothing is said as to the 20s. 

 due to the priory of Lancaster, the 

 possessions of which had in general been 

 transferred to Sion Monastery. 



^2 Pat. Phil, and Mary, pt. lii, m. 14. 



^ Duchy of Lane Rec. class i 2, bdle. 

 19 (Privy Seals Eliz.). An annual rent 

 of j^ii 1 51. 5^f/. was now asked. The 

 grant was confirmed by James I in 

 1608-9 ; *t included Prior's heys in Hale 

 and Garston Hall 5 Pat. 6 Jas. I, pt. 

 xxiii, m. 5. 



^■* In 1556—7 Andrew Vavasor was 

 farmer of the parsonage of Childwall, 



104 



under a grant to John Chatterton from 

 Henry VIII (l 537) for thirty-one years, 

 and he complained that Sir William 

 Norris, knt. and others had by force taken 

 possession of tithe corn in Garston, Oglet 

 and Siche, and Little Woolton. Sir 

 William replied that John Chatterton had 

 demised them to Sir William Leyland, 

 who in turn granted them to the defen- 

 dant. Being reminded that there was a 

 condition attached that ;f 12 a year should 

 be paid to Chatterton at the font stone in 

 St. Paul's Church in London, he replied 

 that his servant Thomas Molyneux waited 

 at the place on the appointed day from 

 three o'clock till sunset, but no one ever 

 came to receive the money. Ducty 

 Plead. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), iii, 

 224-31. 



" Norris D. (B.M.). 



"Afterwards and down to 1854 they 

 were leased to the Gerards of Brynn ; 

 Baines, Lanes, (ed. 1870), ii, 258. 



'' A lease at this rent was granted in 

 1772 to Alexander Osbaldeston of Osbal- 

 deston, and Nicholas Surkie of Preston. 



