A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



the property of the trustees of the late Charles Scaris- 

 brick.' 



Westhead was apparently occupied by small free- 

 holders from early times.' A grant made by Robert 

 de Lathom in 1292—3 to Robert, his tailor, probably 

 refers to land here.' 



The lands of several persons in Lathom were con- 

 fiscated and sold by the Parliament in 1652 : John 

 Wainwright, John Gregson, Richard Moss (a skinner), 

 George Rigmaiden, and William Speakman.* John 

 Speakman of Scarisbrick, as a ' Papist,' registered an 

 estate here and at Ormskirk in 1717 ; and John 

 Stock one here and at Newburgh.^ 



In 1792 the principal contributor to the land tax 

 was R. Wilbraham Bootle ; the others included 

 T. Stanley of Cross Hall, W. Hill of Blythe Hall, 

 Mr. Ashton's heirs and W. Johnson's heirs. 



An Enclosure Act for Lathom and Skelmersdale was 

 passed in 1778.° 



NEPf^BURGH village is on elevated ground, sloping 



Lathom Chapel 



1500 I I modern 



to north and east down to the Douglas ; on the south 

 the ground rises gently. The annual cattle fair, held 

 on 20 June and made free in 1853, has lost much of 

 its old prestige, but it is still celebrated with a great 

 ingathering of the country-side for the amusements 



provided. The stalls and booths are erected on the 

 village green, on a little knoll where are some remains 

 of the ancient cross. ' Fairing cakes,' like Ecclcs 

 cakes, are made and sent to friends. The weekly 

 market has been discontinued. The old schoolhousc, 

 built in I 7 14, stands at the west end of the village.' 

 A court-leet is still held.* 



A mock corporation — probably a relic of the 

 ancient borough— once held its meetings here. The 

 custom was for the villagers to assemble annually round 

 the village cross and elect a new mayor. The last 

 minute book, 1827-32, is extant. 



A century ago the best cheese in the country was 

 made here and at Leigh. There seems also to have 

 been a small pottery.' 



The name indicates that a borough had been 

 formed. In 1385, Isabel, widow of Thomas de 

 Lathom, had a rent of 8 marks of the freeholders of 

 Newburgh as part of her dower right.'" The accounts 

 of the Derby estates during the minority of Edward, 

 third earl of Derby, show that the ancient 

 burgage rent was u." 



The manor became distinct from Lathom 

 and has remained with the earls of Derby 

 to the present time. 



The school at Newburgh was founded in 

 I 7 1 4. b)- the Rev. Thomas Crane. 



LATHOM CHAPEL is a picturesque 

 little building of c. 1500, in plan a plain 

 rectangle 20 ft. wide internally by 61 ft. long. 

 The east gable and five-light window remain 

 unaltered, but the north and south walls are 

 hidden by a coating of modern cement, and 

 the windows arc all modernized, with wooden 

 mullions and plain four-centred heads. The 

 west wall is partly hidden by the almshouse 

 — ri buildings, and is surmounted by an octagonal 

 I. bell-turret with embattled cornice and short 

 octagonal spirelet, capped by a stone ball in 

 place of its original finial. The internal fittings of 

 the church are modern, of the style of the early 

 Gothic revival, with pulpit, reading-desk, and lectern 

 to the west of a chancel screen with two rows of 

 plain stalls, and at the west end an organ gallery 



' In 1278 Robert de Lathom, lent., re- 

 leased John of the Cross and his heirs from 

 the obligatory office of receiver, reeve, and 

 warrener at his manor of Lathom, ac- 

 cording to the custom of the manor there- 

 tofore used ; and about the same time 

 granted to him land in Lathom which 

 Simon of the Cross had formerly held, 

 being half the land within bounds begin- 

 ning on the eastern side of the well by 

 the moss, following the brook to ' Ic 

 Clowe,' which was the boundary against 

 the land of Robert le Waleys, thence by 

 ' Ic Clogh ' to ' le Hacchys,' and by the 

 same to the ditches and to Depedale, follow- 

 ing Depedale along the moss to the first- 

 named boundary', for 6d. yearly rent, with 

 common rights, and mastfall for his swine 

 except in Burscough Park. 



In 1 567 William of the Cross of Lathom 

 settled his estates in Lathom upon himself 

 for life, with remainder to his son Thomas 

 and his issue by his wife Agnes, daughter 

 of Alan de Fourokeshagh. Agnes was 

 living a widow in 1410, when Peter 

 CoUay, in right of his wife Margery, was 

 entitled to the estates. In 1440 Ellen 

 relict of Richard Wodward of Shcvington 

 released in her son Alexander Wcdward 



the messuage called Cross Place in West- 

 head, Margery relict of Peter CoUay 

 joining in the release. In 1468 the feof- 

 fees of John Wodward delivered the estate 

 to Ralph Wodward for life, with remain- 

 der to his heirs. To this deed Oskell 

 Lathom, chaplain, and Thomas Lathom 

 his brother are witnesses ; D. in poss. of 

 Scarisbrick Trs. Ralph Woodward, gent, 

 held this estate at his death in 1623 of 

 William earl of Derby, in socage for 6d. 

 yearly ; Inq. p. m. (Rcc. Soc), iii, 347. 

 Ralph Woodward, grandson of the above, 

 entered his pedigree in the Visit, of 

 1664-5 ) Chet. Soc. Ixxxviii, 336 



' The roll of contributors to the stipend 

 of a chaplain at Ormskirk in 1366 con- 

 tains nearly a hundred names of those 

 living in ' Westhead and Lathom ' ; among 

 them being Hubert, Robert, and John del 

 Westhead ; Exch. Lay Subs. 118. 



' The boundaries began at the Castle- 

 gate siche on the west, then by the field of 

 Ameria del Marhalge to Stephen Long- 

 wood's land, and by other fields and 

 ditches to the Kirkgate, by which the 

 starting point was reached. This Robert 

 may be the Robert del Westhead who in 

 T313 made a settlement upon his daughter 

 256 



Cecily, wife of Richard son of John 

 Wilkemogh of Skelmersdale ; Final Cone. 

 ii, 15. 



■• Index of Royalists (Index Soc), 41-4. 



' Eng. Calh. Non-jurors, 148, 108. 



" The award, made in 1781, is preserved 

 at Preston. 



' Inside the building is a brass plate 

 with inscription commemorating the 

 founder. 



* Twelve members are elected every 

 seven years, including an ale-taster and 

 window-looker. Court Rolls are pre- 

 served at Knowsley. 



' The above account is taken from 

 W. F. Price, ' Notes on the Places, &c. 

 of the Douglas Valley,' in Trans. Hist. 

 Soc. (New Ser.), xv, 193-8. 



'" Duchy of Lane. Cal. of Chan. R. 

 n. 3 § 103. As this rent included the 

 issues of numerous small holdings in 

 addition to the burgages it is not possible 

 to determine the number of the latter. 



>' Duchy Compotus R. of 13-14 

 Hen. VIII. The rent of burgages in 

 Newburgh, payable at St. Barnabas', 

 amounted to f6 oj. zd. It has been 

 stated above that Lathom fair was held 

 at Newburgh on St. Barnabas'* day. 



