WEST DERBY HUNDRED 



There is a well, known as St. Thomas's, about 

 three hundred yards from the ruin.' The water was 

 said to be good for sore eyes. An ancient cross 

 on three steps stands beside the chantry ; on it is 

 the date 1627. 



Adjacent is the church of St. Thomas of Canter- 

 bury, built on land given in 1892 by Lord Gerard, 

 a descendant of the founder of the old chantry.* 



PARR 



Par, 1 246 ; Parr and Parre, xvth century. 



Parr is a township unpleasing to the eye, where 

 the natural amenities have been replaced by every- 

 thing unlovely that man could devise. Scarcely a 

 green tree is to be seen, whilst collieries, chemical 

 and iron works, huge banks and heaps of refuse, take 

 the place of woods and fields and green meadows. 

 Clouds of smoke and the fumes of chemical works 

 hang continually over the district. On the south-east 

 some waste mossland still remains, but altogether be- 

 reft of the vegetation which so often lends beauty 

 to these undisturbed tracts. 



The township has an area of 1,633 acres and is 

 divided by the Sankey Brook into two nearly equal 

 portions. It is bounded on the east by the Black 

 Brook, while the moss on the south originally formed 

 a physical division for Sutton, Parr, and Burtonwood. 

 The ground rises gradually north and south of the 

 bisecting brook, attaining nearly one hundred and 

 fifty feet at the northern boundary. With the ex- 

 ception of a small area of lower mottled sandstone 

 of the bunter series (new red sandstone) at Parr 

 Moss, the coal measures are in evidence through- 

 out the township. 



The principal road is that from St. Helens north- 

 eastwardly through Blackbrook to Ashton in Maker- 

 field, the hamlet of Pocket Nook being situated next 

 to St. Helens.' From this point another road takes a 

 winding course to Earlestown in the east ; passing 



PRESCOT 



and Havannah. To the 



Parr Stocks, Broad Oak 

 south is Ashton's Green. 



A branch of the London and North Western Com- 

 pany's system, from St. Helens to Wigan, has a station 

 on the northern boundary, Carr Mill ; and the 

 Great Central's St. Helens and South Lancashire 

 line passes east and west through the township. 

 There are also a number of railways for the service 

 of the collieries, as Parr is a colliery district, the 

 whole township being undermined. The St. Helens 

 Canal crosses, alongside the Sankey Brook. 



A local board was formed in 1865,* but dissolved in 

 1 869 on the absorption of the township into St. Helens. 

 The manor formed part of the Master 

 MJNOR Forester's fee, being held with Whiston 

 by the Gernets, and then by the Dacres, 

 of whom it was held by Travers of Whiston.' Under 

 the latter an inferior or mesne manor was formed, 

 held by the Lathoms ° and Stanleys in succession.' 



In the thirteenth century there appear to have 

 been one or more families here bearing the local 

 name, but the manor was held 

 in moieties before 1290, Alan 

 de Halsall of Parr being then 

 lord of one moiety and Henry 

 de Parr of the other.* Alan 

 was the son of Richard de 

 Halsall by Denise, afterwards 

 the wife of Hugh de Worth- 

 ington,' and it will be con- 

 venient to distinguish the two 

 parts as the Halsall and Parr 

 moieties. 



I. The Halsall moiety was 

 held by Alan until 1301,'° 



about which time probably he died. His son 

 Richard succeeded, and occurs down to 1335 ; he 

 was known as Richard de Parr." His son Alan de 

 Parr was in possession in 1345, but died in or before 

 1367," when his son Robert followed him, and held 



Parr. Argent, 

 bars azure luithin a 

 dure engrailed sable. 



tivo 

 bor~ 



* It ia 9 yds. long by 6 wide. The 

 walls were built up in 1798, the date 

 being inscribed at the head, with the ini- 

 tials ^' for William and Elizabeth Hill. 



w E 



A story is told of its origin to the effect 

 that a priest saying mass in the ruin was 

 discovered and pursued, and his head struck 

 off, the water gushing out where the head 

 fell ; A. Powell, loc. cit. 20, 2 1 . See also 

 H. Taylor in Lanes, and Cbes, Antiq, Soc, 

 xix, 208-XO. 



^ The church was opened in May, 

 1893. Every Friday mass is said for Sir 

 Thomas Gerard and his descendants, for 

 Richard Frodsham, the last chantty priest 

 of the old chapel, and others ; Liverpool 

 Cath. Ann. 1 90 1. 



^ It is said that Pocket Nook derives 

 its name from the immense quantity of 

 material put in here in making the canal, 

 on account of the quicksand in Rainford 

 Brook, known as * Meddling Meg ' ; 

 Brockbank, St. Helens, 21. 



^ Lond. Gass. 9 June, 1865, 



* Lanes. Inq. and Extents (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), 43 ; see also the 

 account of Whiston. 



' The inquisition, taken in 1385, con- 

 cerning the lands of Thomas de Lathom, 

 who died in 1370, states that he was 

 seised of 'the homage and service of 

 Sir John de Parr, of Robert son of Henry 

 de Parr, and of William de Parr, who held 

 their tenements in Parr by knight's ser- 



vice and by rendering yearly 6s. ^d.'^ also 

 of the service of Robert son of Alan de 

 Parr, who held of him tenements in Parr 

 in socage by rendering yearly 35. gd, * ; 

 all which Thomas de Lathom had held 

 of John de Travers of Whiston by id, 

 yearly for all service ; Duchy of Lane. 

 Inq. p. m. ii, n. 7. It will be noticed that 

 the yearly rent amounted to 10s. It is 

 shown in the text that Sir John and 

 Robert de Parr held between them half 

 the manor, for which they would pay 55.; 

 William's part, therefore, belonged to the 

 other half of the manor, but it does not 

 appear why he held it by knight's service 

 and Robert son of Alan the remainder in 

 socage. 



7 Parr is not, however, named in the 

 Derby inquisitions. 



8 Assize R. 1294, m. 8. 



* See the account of Halsall. In 

 1252-3 Geoffrey de Parr complained of 

 an assault by Gilbert de Halsall (father of 

 Richard) and others ; Cur. Reg. R. 148, 

 m. 5 d. 



"Assize R. 1321, m. 81/. In 129; 

 Alan gave his son Richard two oxgangs 

 in Parr ; one of the witnesses was Gilbert 

 de Halsall ; Kuerden MSS. vi, fol. 86, 

 n. 221. Earlier probably was the release 

 by Geoffrey de Parr — named above — to 

 Alan de Halsall of an oxgang in Parr 

 formerly held by Geoffrey's father Richard ; 

 Henry de Parr was a witness ; ibid. n. 252. 

 As 'Alan de Parr' he was a juror in 



377 



1298 ; Lanes. Inq. and Extents (Rec. Soc. 

 Lanes, and Ches.), 284. Adam de Halsall, 

 whose son Richard was a plaintiff in 

 1305, may have been a brother of Alan ; 

 Assize R. 420, m. 8. 



^1 Assize R. 420, m. 5 i/.; R. 424, m. 2, 

 Richard de Parr and Adam his brother, 

 mentioned in the case last cited, were 

 jurors in 1334; Duchy of Lane. Forest 

 Proceedings, 1/17, m. 7. Adam de Halsall 

 of Parr and Robert his son are mentioned 

 as holding land in Haydock in 1332; 

 Final Cone. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches,), 

 ii, 82. Richard de Halsall contributed to 

 the subsidy of 1327 in Parr j Lay Subs. 

 130/5. His wife's name is given as 

 Cecily in Assize R. 1435, m. 47. 



^^ Alan son of Richard de Halsall was 

 plaintiff in 1334 against Alice widow of 

 Robert de Parr ; William son of John de 

 Parr was one of his pledges ; Coram 

 Rege R. 297, m. 11. He may be the 

 Alan de Parr accused of killing the Mill- 

 ward in 1 343 ; he and his brother Richard 

 are mentioned several times in the assize 

 roll of that year (430). 



In 1356 Alice daughter of John de 

 Bolton complained that Alan son of 

 Richard de Parr had deprived her of 20s. 

 rent, which she had had by his grant In 

 1345; she was, however, non-suited; 

 Duchy of Lane Assize R. 5, m. 14 ; 

 R. 6, m. I. He was probably in posses- 

 sion a year earlier, for in 1344 he granted 

 his * elder brother' Richard land newly 



48 



