A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



This township has an area of 8,694^' acres, with 

 an extreme length of nearly six miles. Two brooks, 

 the Tawd and Eller, flow northward through it to 

 join the Dougl.is which forms part of the boundary. 

 The portion between the brooks contains Lathom 

 House, with its large park, situated about the centre 

 of the township ; in the extreme north is Hoscar 

 Moss, below the 25 ft. level ; in the west are Blythe 

 Hall, and to the south of it. New Park, on the edge 

 of which it is believed was anciently the lord's abode, 

 known as Alton or Olton. To the west of Eller 

 Brook is Wirples Moss, adjoining Hoscar ; while in 

 the south is the hamlet of Westhead, near which is 

 Cross Hall. 



The larger portion of this township consists of 

 a plateau sloping gradually on its southern side, and 

 rather more abruptly to its north-eastern boundary. 

 The country is divided into arable and pasture fields, 

 with small hamlets and farms scattered at intervals. 

 To the west it is flat and uninteresting, but to the 

 east it is undulating, rising to 2 1 5 ft. above sea-level, 

 and pleasantly varied with plantations and farms. 

 Newburgh is an old and picturesque village on the 

 east, near the River Douglas, and contains a village 

 green with a restored cross. To the south the 

 country becomes singularly unpicturesque, with flat, 

 bare fields and stunted hedges, with collieries and 

 their usually unattractive surroundings. 



The geological formation of the western part of 

 the township consists of the upper mottled sandstone 

 beds of the bunter series of the new red sandstone, 

 with overlying beds of lower keuper sandstone, 

 extending for a mile and a half north and south, and 

 hnlf a mile east and west of Cross Hall, and again 

 around New Park. The eastern portion of the 

 township lies wholly upon the middle coal measures 

 and upon the gannister beds of the lower coal 

 measures. 



The principal roads are those crossing the township 

 from west to east, in the northern part from Bur- 

 scough to Newburgh, and in the south from Ormskirk 



to Dalton. There are cross roads leading north from 

 BickerstafTc and Skelmersdale. The Leeds and Liver- 

 pool Canal crosses from Burscough Bridge to Newburgh, 

 and a branch goes north to join the Douglas. The 

 Southport and Wigan line of the Lancashire and 

 Yorkshire Railway runs to the north of the canal, 

 and has a station about the centre called Hoscar. 

 The same company's Liverpool and Preston line is 

 near the western boundary, with a station at Burscough 

 Bridge. The Ormskirk and St. Helens Railway of the 

 London and North- Western Company passes through 

 the southern part of the township. 



The soil is loam, the subsoil being sand and clay. 

 The chief crops are wheat, oats, and potatoes. The 

 collieries are at Blague Gate. 



Lathom adopted the Local Government Act in 1 872,' 

 the local board of eight members becoming an urban 

 district council of fifteen members in 1894. The 

 population in 190 1 was 4,361. 



In Lathom the pedestal of Hob Cross remains, 

 north of the park. The pedestal of the Newburgh 

 cross also remains, at the upper end of the green.' 



In the seventeenth century there was a Spa at 

 Lathom. The site is marked by Spa Farm, near the 

 boundary of the township. The sinking of coal shafts 

 in the neighbourhood caused its disappearance. It is 

 mentioned as late as 1807.* 



At the death of Edward the Confessor 

 MANORS LJTHOM with a berewick was held by 

 Uctred, the assessment area being half a 

 hide and the value 10/. St/, beyond the usual rent. 

 It was within the privileged 3 hides. The wood- 

 land approximated to 720 customary acres. The 

 berewick may have been the half of Martin which 

 had been incorporated with Lathom, or else Ormskirk; 

 the wood was probably Burscough." 



The next lord of Lathom whose name is on record 

 was Siward son of Dunning, who held it in thegnage 

 about the time of Henry II. Siward made a grant 

 of one plough-land here to Gospatrick, probably the 

 lord of Hindley.* Siward's son Henry received from 



discharge of all obligations in respect of 

 this charity. 



For Scaritbruk there are several chari- 

 ties besides the school. Henry Culshaw, 

 by will dated I 76 1, left £%o for an annual 

 gift of cloth to the poor ; Edward Tatlock 

 in 1815 bequeathed ;^200 for the poor, 

 which was utilized in conjunction with the 

 previous bequest ; Robert Watlcinson In 

 1 8 1 6 founded another cloth charity, giving 

 /200, the interest on which was to be 

 shared equally between the hamlet of Snape 

 and the remainder of the township. Snape 

 also benefited by the bequests of William 

 Sutch (see the account of Aughton) and 

 of James Edwardson, who in 1732 left 

 £zo to the poor. The Commissioners in 

 1827 found all the benefactions in opera- 

 tion. Now, however, the Tatlock and 

 Edwardson bequests have been lost ; the 

 capital was spent on the township school, 

 but the payment of interest had been dis- 

 continued before 1859. Elizabeth Wat- 

 kinsoo, by her will of 1743, bequeathed 

 £100 for a flannel charity. This and the 

 other funds above mentioned are still in 

 existence, and additional sums are derived 

 from the foundations of Henry Smith and 

 Catherine Brandreth. The annual re- 

 ceipts are ;^l6 55. and are distributed 

 once a year in doles of flannel, etc. by 

 the churchwardens and overseers of the 

 township. 



For Skelmendale the principal charity is 



the school. One of the benefactors of the 

 school also left land in UphoUand, called 

 Naylor's Hey, the income from which was 

 to be given in bread to the poor of Skel- 

 mersdale. In 1702 Richard Moss gave a 

 piece of land in Dalton, called the Pickles, 

 for binding poor children as apprentices. 

 It was only about an acre of land, but had 

 a house upon it. In 181 8 it was leased 

 to the township of Dalton, and other cot- 

 tages had been built out of the profits of 

 the charity. The commissioners reported 

 in 1828 that these charities were badly 

 managed, and recommended a change. 

 New trustees seem to have been appointed 

 in 185 I, but it was found difficult to spend 

 the whole amount of the income on the 

 objects intended by the original donors, 

 and the working of coal under the land 

 further increased this difficulty. Hence a 

 considerable surplus accumulated, and in 

 1886 a scheme was sanctioned by the 

 Charity Commissioners whereby the en- 

 dowment was vested in the official trus- 

 tees, and the income is disbursed by local 

 trustees. They may use it for the benefit 

 of the poor of the township by subscribing 

 to a cottage hospital or dispensary or 

 provident society, by granting annuities or 

 small payments, or by providing outfit, 

 clothing, or similar objects ; also for educa- 

 tional purposes. The endowment now 

 consists of Naylor's Hey, Pickles, and 

 another piece of land with house and shop ; 



248 



also ^1,190 consols ; the gross income- 

 being ;^6g. By the enclosure award of 

 1781 a claypit in White Moss Road was 

 appropriated to the township. The material 

 has long since been worked out, and the 

 land is now let by the overseers, the 

 rents going in relief of rates. In 189& 

 Richard Jervis, superintendent of police 

 at Ormskirk, gave ^^150 to the district 

 council of Skelmersdale, part of the surpluft 

 of money collected to relieve the sufFercrs 

 by the Tawd Vale Colliery disaster of the 

 previous year, the Income to be disbursed 

 about Christmas to sick and poor persons 

 employed at the coal mines, or their 

 widows and children. 



* 8,695, including 60 of inland water j 

 census of 1901. 



2 Lond. Gaz. 24 Sept. 1872, 



* H. Taylor, in Tram. Lanes, and Ches. 

 Antiq. Soc. xix, 153-7. 



^ Lanes, and Cbes. Hist, and Gen. Notes, 

 ii, 7, 9, 115. It is described as 'a chaly- 

 beate water or spa, called Maudlins Well, 

 which has wrought many remarkable 

 cures.* From the name here given it 

 appears to have been a holy well, dedi- 

 cated to St. Mary Magdalen, to whom, 

 as will have been noticed, one of the 

 chantries in Ormskirk church was dedi- 

 cated. See also H. Taylor, loc. cit. 



6 F.C.H. Lanes, i, 284/.. 



* Lanes. Inquests and Extents {Kcc. Soc 

 Lanes, and Ches.), 16. 



