WEST DERBY HUNDRED 



PRESCOT 



A public library ' and technical school, built and 

 presented to the town by Sir David Gamble, bart., 

 in 1896, are carried on by the corporation ; the 

 baths also belong to it. The St. Helens Hospital, 

 established in 1873, and the Providence Hospital, 

 opened in 1884 by Cardinal Manning, have been 

 enlarged ; there are also isolation hospitals at Peasley 

 Cross and Haydock for infectious diseases. There are 

 several parks, the principal being Victoria on the 

 north, opened in 1 887, and Taylor on the south- 

 west, opened in 1893.' The cemetery is at Windle- 

 shaw. 



The aspect of the town is uninviting. The 

 Victories rear a forest of tall chimneys, shafts, kilns, 

 and other weird erections on every hand, and the 

 fumes of acids and the smoke of furnaces render the 

 atmosphere almost unbearable to a stranger. The 

 soil is mostly clay, which in the north-westerly part 

 of the district produces crops of wheat, oats, and 

 clover. 



The nature and progress of the trade and manutac- 

 tures have been noticed briefly in the accounts of the 

 component townships. The collieries led the way ; 

 the glass-making, for long the principal trade, began 

 in 1773, and copper-smelting about the same time. 

 The Pilkington works are the largest glass manufactory 

 in the world.' The great chemical works began in 

 1829. An iron foundry was established as early as 

 1798. The breweries can be traced back still further, 

 a malt-kiln at Denton's Green in Windle having 

 existed early in the eighteenth century. There are 

 several potteries. The pill factory is of recent origin. 

 There are two weekly newspapers. 

 The enclosure award with map is preserved at the 

 county council offices, Preston. 



The earliest mention of St. Helen's 

 CHURCH chapel by this name occurs in the inven- 

 tory of church goods made in 1552.' 

 It appears after the Reformation to have remained in 



use for service, with a ' reading minister.' ' In 161 3 

 Katherine Domville, ' patroness of the chapel of St. 

 Helen,' with James her son and heir, delivered the 

 building to certain trustees with power to nominate 

 the minister, appoint seats and forms, Sec." The 

 improvement effected was shown in 1622, when 

 John Burtonwood was ' lecturer ' there.' The Par- 

 liamentary Commissioners in 1650 recommended 

 that it should have a separate parish attached to it. 

 Mr. Richard Mawdesley was ' minister and teacher ' 

 there.' 



After the Restoration no attempt, as far as is known, 

 was made by the vicar of Prescot to recover the chapel, 

 which accordingly remained in the hands of the 

 Presbyterians for another thirty years." The first 

 move was made in 1687, when Bishop Cartwright 

 records that ' Mr. Venables and his brother brought 

 Mr. Byrom of Prescot to me, who desired to have a 

 curate in St. Helen's Chapel, into which the 

 Presbyterians are now intruded, which I promised 

 him — Mr. Dalton.' '" Nothing seems to have been 

 accomplished ; perhaps the political disturbances of 

 the time interfered, but John Byrom persevered, and 

 in April, 1692, its registration as a Presbyterian 

 meeting place was prevented." James Naylor, the 

 existing incumbent, retained his position till his death 

 in 1 710. 



Benefactions were from time to time made for the 

 benefit of the curate," and in 1715a grant was made 

 from Queen Anne's Bounty. 



The chapel was re-built in 1 8 1 6 as St. Mary's. 

 The incumbent is nominated by trustees." A school 

 at Denton's Green is used for services. 



The following have been curates and vicars : 



1 7 10 Theophilus Kelsall, B.A." (Pembroke Col- 

 lege, Cambridge) 



1722 Edward Killner 



1758 Peter Berry 



1786 William Finch 



1 The library was first opened in 1872 

 in the town hall. There are branches at 

 Sutton, Thatto Heath, and Parr. 



*The latter was presented by Mr. 

 Samuel Taylor. Others are Thatto 

 Heath Park, opened 1889 ; Sutton Park, 

 1903 j Queen's and Parr recreation 

 grounds, acquired by public subscription, 

 opened in 1901 and 1900; and Gaskell 

 Park, a small space presented by Dr. 

 Gaskell in 1900. 



° The plate-glass industry started about 

 1787 ; Manch. Guardian N. and Q., n. 849. 



*Chet. Soc. cxiii, p. 81. A doubtful 

 reference (c. 1500) is Kuerden MSS ii, 

 240*. 



Thomas Parr of Parr in 1 558 bequeathed 

 loi. ' to a stock towards finding a priest 

 at St. Helen's Chapel in Hardshaw, and 

 to the maintenance of God's divine 

 service there for ever, if the stock go 

 forward and that the priest do service as 

 is aforesaid' ; Piccope's ^(7/j (Chet. Soc), 

 iii, 120. 



'Gibson, Lydiate Hall, 248 (quoting 

 S.P. Dom. Eliz. ccxxxv, k. 4). In 1592 

 John Rutter was reader there ; he was 

 excommunicated for marrying two persons 

 without banns ; Tram. Hist. Soc. (New 

 Ser.), X, 190. William Fairhurst was 

 •reader' in 1609; Raines MSS. (Chet. 

 Lib.), xjtii, 298. 



' Canon Raines in Gastrell's Natitia 

 (Chet. Soc), 206. Various anomalies 

 are pointed out in the note. 



' Misc. (Rec Soc Lanes, and Ches.), i. 



65 In the visitation report of the same 

 year (Chester Dioc. Reg.) the chapel is 

 described as newly built and not con- 

 secrated. There was no surplice. In 

 the preceding year Mr. Burtonwood was 

 presented for administering the com- 

 munion to those that sat. Edward Moxon 

 was curate in 1628 ; Raines MSS. xxii, 

 70. Mr. Burrowes was curate in 1638. 



** Commonivealtb Ch. Surv. (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), 73. The minister 

 had come in * by the free choice and 

 election of the inhabitants within the 

 chapelry * 5 he had ^^40 out of the 

 sequestrations and ^4 izs. ^d., the 

 interest of various sums given for the 

 maintenance of a minister there. He 

 was a painful man, serving his cure 

 diligently, though he had not observed a 

 fast day recently ordained by Parliament. 

 His name is appended to the ' Harmonious 

 Consent' of 1648. 



' Baptisms are entered in the Prescot 

 registers as having been performed by Mr. 

 Greg (1677) and Mr. Withington (1684), 

 ' nonconformist preachers ' at St. Helen's 

 Chapel. 



1" Cartwright's Diary (Camd. Soc), 77. 

 In 1689 James Naylor of St. Helen's 

 Chapel ' in Makersfield ' was a ' Presby- 

 terian parson' ; Kenyan MSS. 232. His 

 will was proved in 17 11, at Chester. 



I'A motion having been made by 

 Thomas Patten, counsellor at law, for its 

 registration, counsel for Mr. Byrom and 

 others showed that the building was a 



375 



consecrated chapel of ease, * which 

 anciently was and now of right ought to 

 be supplied with a minister of the Church 

 of England ' for the ease of the inhabi- 

 tants of Hardshaw-within-Windle especi- 

 ally. The magistrates, by twenty-six to 

 one, refused the registration ; ibid, 246. 

 This action was confirmed by the judges ; 

 ibid. 269. An inquiry had been made in 

 the previous Sept. ; it was then shown 

 that the chapel, being old and decayed, 

 had been re-built about 1620 on the old 

 site, and that the legally ordained services 

 had been used therein, the sacraments 

 administered, the dead buried, &c. as in 

 the case of a chapel of ease. Thomas 

 Roughley and others, trustees of the 

 small endowment fund mentioned, had 

 *of late' brought in a Presbyterian 

 minister ; ibid. 262. In the legal pro- 

 ceedings the endowment of the school was 

 consumed ; Gastrell, Notitia Cestr, (Chet. 

 Soc), ii, 208. 



12 Before 17 16 the income from en- 

 dowment was ^7 1 35. 6d, \ in the year 

 named Capt. Clayton of Liverpool gave 

 /"lOO, the people j^8o, and the Bounty 

 ^200 5 with this money certain tithes 

 in the parish of Leigh were purchased. 

 In 1736 a further augmentation was 

 made. Gastrell, Notitia, ii, 207, and 

 note. 



13 Ibid, ii, 206 note. For the endow- 

 ments see St. Helens Char. Rep, 1905, 

 p. 24. 



1"* Afterwards vicar of Childwall. 



