A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



then utilized (St. Mary's), and was enlarged in 1 840 ; 

 it nas, however, a great contrast to the squire's splen- 

 did mansion, and a new chapel, St. Elizabeth's, was 

 built on the old site by the marquis de Casteja and 

 opened in 1889 ; the marchioness's remains were 

 brought from Wingerworth to a new vault here in 

 1890.' 



BICKERSTAFFE 



Bikerstat, Bikersteth, Bikerstath, xiii cent. ; Bykyr- 

 stath, 1529 ; Bickerstaffe, xvi cent. 



Bickerstaffe may be described as an unpicturesque 

 open country bare of woodland, with the exception 

 of a few plantations mostly composed of birch trees, 

 characteristic of moss land. Fields, divided by low 

 hawthoi'n hedges, are mostly cultivated. The country 

 is waterless, with the exception of two small streams 

 on the south. The farms and houses are considerably 

 scattered and nowhere can be said to form a settle- 

 ment of any size. The western half of the township 

 consists geologically of the upper mottled sandstone of 

 the bunter series of the new red sandstone. By a 

 fault running due north and south the middle coal 

 measures are thrust up in the eastern half. 



The township lies almost entirely south of the ridge 

 of high land stretching from east to west across the 

 parish, the centre line of this ridge being the northern 

 boundary, except for a small portion in the north-west. 

 The southern portion was anciently occupied by great 

 mosses, now mostly reclaimed, and beyond were the 

 woods of Cunscough and Simonswood. The popula- 

 tion in 1901 was 2,096. Near the centre, on the 

 200 feet level, stands the hall; close by is the modem 

 church. Nearly a mile to the north is Stanley Gate, 

 and about as far to the south is Barrow Nook. The 

 area is 6,44.4.! acres.' 



The principal road is that from St. Helens to 

 Ormskirk, which in one part divides to unite again ; 

 at right angles is the road from Melling to Skelmers- 

 dale. The Liverpool and Bury line of the Lancashire 

 and Yorkshire Company passes through the south- 

 eastern corner of the township. 



The surface consists of clay and sand, with some 

 patches of moss, overlying gravel, clay, and moss. The 

 crops are barley, wheat, oats, and potatoes. Besides 

 agriculture the principal industry is coal mining. The 



following curious entrj- occurs in the Ormskirk Burial 

 Register, 10 December, 1600: 'A stranger slain by 

 one of the glassmen being a Frenchman then working 

 at Bickerstaffe.' 



The township is governed by a parish council. 



In 1066 BICKERSTAFFE, under the 

 MANOR name of Achetun, was one of the manors 

 of Uctred, lord of Roby. Although in the 

 parish of Ormskirk, the old name seems to show that it 

 was originally a portion of Aughton, which adjoins it 

 on the west. The separation must have taken place 

 before the Conquest, as the two manors, though both 

 held by an Uctred — possibly the same person — are 

 quite distinct in the record.' 



After the Conquest it seems to have been early 

 granted in thegnage ; the assessment was half a plough- 

 land, and the service an annual rent of 5/. The 

 earliest known of the lords was Ralph son of Bernulf, 

 who held it in the middle of the twelfth century. He 

 granted Stotfoldshaw to the Hospitallers,' and Holmes 

 also ; these lands were called cultures.' Ralph was 

 succeeded by his son Adam, a benefactor of Cockersand 

 Abbey.* Several early grants 

 were also made to lay holders, 

 probably younger sons or other 

 near relatives, and in 1 2 1 2 

 Henry son of Elias (or Eilsi) ' 

 held an oxgang, i.e. a quarter of 

 the manor, and Adam son of 

 Waltheof held a third of the 



Thus about a third 



in the hands of the 



manor, 

 was left 

 lord. 

 Adam 



BlCKERSTATH Or 



Bickerstaffe. Argent, 

 on a cross patonce sable 

 ji'ue mullets or. 



de Bickerstath was in 

 turn succeeded by his son Ralph, 

 who was holding the manor in 

 1 2 1 2 by the service already 



stated. Ralph also was a benefactor of Cockersand.' 

 The succession for a time is uncertain. In the 

 rental of the county for 1226 Alan son of Bernulf 

 was said to be holding Bickerstaffe, paying the 

 customary 5/.,'° and in 1246 Alan de Bickerstath 

 claimed a third of the manor " against Adam de Bicker- 

 stath, Simon his brother, Gilbert de Rohel, and Roger 

 and Walter de Bickerstath.'^ On this occasion Alan 

 ' withdrew his claim.' Adam de Bickerstath's name 

 frequently appears in charters and other public acts of 



* From the Liverpool Catb. Ann. 

 1892. A good account of the mission 

 will be found in Foley's Rec. S. J. vii, 

 1398 ; it is by W. A. Bulbeck, O.S.B., 

 formerly at Scarisbrick Hall. A list of 

 the missionary priests is given from the 

 books of St, Mary's library, which their 

 bequests gradually built up ; the school, 

 which lasted from about 1628 to 1700, is 

 also described, and many of the scholars' 

 names are recorded. For this see also 

 Pal. JVou-booi, iii, 221. The library is no 

 longer at the hall. 



The Abbe Dorival, a French priest, 

 -was the first in charge of the detached 

 chapel. In 1824 the English Benedictines 

 took charge ; J. Gillow in Trans. Hist. 

 Sic. (New Ser.), xiii, 167. 



In i860 a trust was created, called the 

 Benedictine Trust, for securing certain 

 lands and buildings for the use of a Roman 

 Catholic chapel and burial-ground, to be 

 served by a priest of the Benedictine order 

 and of English birth. An exchange of 

 land was made in 1886 ; End. Char. Rep. 

 1899 (Ormskirk), 71. 



" 6,453 '1 the Census Report of 1901, 

 including 11 acres of inland water. 



' r.C.H. Lanes, i, 2S3A. 



■• Kuerden MSS. ii, 269*, n. 79. 



5 Inij. and Extents (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and 

 Chcs.), 17. 



» Cockersand Chartul. (Chet. Soc), ii, 

 545. Adam's gift, made with the assent of 

 his heirs and of his wife Avice, was 3 J acres 

 near the wood, together with a toft in the 

 vill. 



'' Elias was the uncle of Ralph : see the 

 grant to him in Dods. MSS. cxlii, 252*. 

 Richard son of Roger was a witness. 



8 /uf . and Extents, 1 8. It is supposed 

 that these lands came back eventually to 

 the lord of the manor. In:2i2Hughde 

 Moreton and Margery his wife held the 

 oxgang of Henry son of Elias ; Margery 

 was one of the daughters of Richard 

 son of Roger of Lytham, and dying child- 

 less the portion reverted to Henry, whose 

 title is recognized in one of the Cocker- 

 sand Charters ; Chartul. ii, 547. 



' Ibid. The original deed is at Incc 

 Blundell ; Trans. Hist. Soc. xxxii, 191. 



276 



About the same time Edward son of Robert 

 de Bickerstath granted a portion of his 

 land in Bickerstaffe by Wildmere ford, on 

 both sides of the road and between Wit- 

 lache and Orfelles as far as the cross, in 

 alms. The Cockersand lands here were 

 afterwards held by Simon de Bickerstath 

 and William his son, passing to the Mos- 

 socks ; Kuerden MSS. ii, 231, n. 102. 



^'' Inq. and Extents, 136. This docu- 

 ment was compiled from an earlier one, 

 the phrase 'Son of Bernulf pointing to the 

 time of Hen. II ; possibly ' Ralph son of 

 Bernulf in the original roll was adapted 

 by substituting the Alan of 1226 for 

 Ralph. 



" 'One-third of half a plough-land in 

 Bickerstaffe* is the phrase. 



1" Assize R. 404, m. 3 d. The third part 

 may have descended to Alan from the 

 Adam son of Waltheof of 121 2. About 

 1240-50 Alan and Adam de Bickerstath 

 were witnesses to a charter preserved 

 among the Scarisbrick D. {Trans. Hisi. 

 Soc. New Ser. xii), n. 4 ; to another (u. 6) 

 Adam de Bickerstath and Alan de Renacres 



