A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



who probably conveyed to James Scholcs, gent., who 

 presented to the vicarage in 1767 and 1784. Scholes 

 sold the advowson in 1785 to Robert Vernon 

 (Gwillym) Atherton, esq., whose eldest daughter and 

 coheir married the Hon. Thomas Powys, 2nd Baron 



LilforJ, great-grandfather of John, Lord Lilford, the 

 present patron. 



On the creation of the diocese of Manchester in 

 1847 the parish of Leigh was included in it, though 

 it had belonged to the archdeaconry of Warrington. 



The following is a list of the rectors and vicars : — 



Rectors 



Presented Name Pat"" Vacant br 



temp. Richard I . John, parson of Westleigh ' . . . 



/m/. John . . Robert Coucy' Richard de Westleigh . 



f. 1240-70 . . Henry de Ulveston ' Isolda.prioressofWallmgwells 



1275 .... Nicholas de Wigan ' 



oc. 1276 . . . John de Urmston ' 



iemp. Edw. I . . William de Urmston * 



i. 1 304 . . . John de Urmston ' 



— 1305 . . . William Banastre' 



oc. 1309 . . • l lohnde Urmston, pr.' Sir Robert de Holand, knt. res. said John 



8 July, 1318 . . J-* "^ J T J rr 



20 Sept. 1326 . Henr>' de Rixton, cl.'° William de Urmston . . d. J. de Urmston 



5 Jan. 1327. . John de Blebury, cl Edward III rem. H. de Rixton 



20 Dec. M 30 . John de Holand, cl Sir Robt. de Holand, knt. d. J. de Blebury 



^ ^ , . Jd. J. de Holand 



4 May, 1346 . Thomas de Tansouere, chaplam . . | 5 April 1346 



I c Dec. 1 349. . Peter de Wigan, cl." The bishop by lapse . . 



(A "P A TX/' 



23 May, 1366 . Willlamde Chiselden, pr.'* . . . Sir Robert de Holand.knt. | ' 'y^ J^l^ 



II Apr. 1378 . John de Haverbergh " exch. benefice 



9 Nov. 1382 . William Osgodby, pr." .... Sir John Lovel, knt. . . d. John de Haverbergh 



30 Aug. 1383 . Thomas de Dalby '* exch. benefice 



? 1386 .... William de Chiselden 



18 Sept. 1396 . Thomas Hyne, pr.*® John,Lord Lovel and Holand d. W. de Chiselden 



31 Mar. 14.10 . Ralph Repington '' exch. benefice 



Vicars'^ 



20 Mar. 1440 . James Hall, ch.'* 



14 Aug. 1453 . John Bothe, LL.B." Erdbury Priory . . . res. J. Hall 



13 Feb. 1455. . John Doping, ch." „ ... res. J. Bothe 



12 May, 1456 . Thurstan Percivall, ch." .... „ ... res. J. Deping 



2 Aug. 1483 . William Urmston, cl." .... „ . . . d. T. Percivall 



* CockertandCbartul, (Chet-Soc), ii, 614. 

 He was a married man and probably not 

 in holy orders. 



" De Banc. R. i8g, m. 50. 



» Ibid. 82, m. 5 d.; Kuerdcn MSS. (Coll. 

 of Arms), ii, 219, n. 330; Henry the 

 clerk of Leigh was indicted before thejus- 

 tices in eyre at Lancaster in 1246 ; .iiu^e 

 R. (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches. Jtlvii), 119. 



* In 1275 he sued five of his parish- 

 ioners for damages for entering his park, 

 at Westleigh and felling his trees there ; 

 De Banc R. 1 1, m. 6 </. 



* John, parson of* Lek,' in i 276 made 

 an acknowledgement of a debt due to Hugh 

 <lc Kendal ; Cal. Close R. 1272-9, p. 426. 

 A number of local people made similar 

 .acknowledgements. John de Urmston 

 occurs as rector in 1277; Dep. Keeper' i 

 Ret. xlvi, App. 212. 



^ De Banc R. 233, m. 70. 



" Ibid. 148, m. 147 ; he was brother 

 of Adam and Richard de Urmston. 



8 Ibid. 156, m. 30(/. 



' He occurs as defendant in 1 309; Assize 

 R. 423, m. ^d.\ 424, m. 5. He was 

 reinstated after resignation in 1 3 1 8 ; Lich. 

 Epis, Reg. Langton, i, 85A. 



^^ For these rectors see below. Henry 

 <ie Rixton was ordained priest in Sept. 

 1327; Lich. Epii. Reg, i, foL 152^^ 



"^^ Ibid. Northburgh, ii, 125A. See also 

 Assize R. 436, m. i. 



^^ Lich. Epis. Reg. Stretton, iv, 83. 



^^ Ibid. 89. He had been rector of 

 Titchmarsh, co. Northants, which he 

 exchanged with Chiselden. 



^■' Ibid. 93/". John de Haverbergh died 

 in a village near London in the autumn of 

 1382. 



^ Ibid. 94. W. Osgodby exchanged 

 benefices with Mr. Thomas de Dalby, 

 rector of Stretham, co. Camb. Dalby had 

 been rector of Tydd St. Giles and Bark- 

 ing. On leaving Leigh he became rector 

 of Cottenham (1386), and held prebends, 

 &c He died in 1400, being then arch- 

 deacon of Richmond and prebendary of 

 York ; Ely Dioc. Rememb, 



^s Lich. Epis. Reg. Stretton, vi, 6ib. 

 William de Chiselden — no doubt the rector 

 1366—78 — was collated to the prebend 

 of Tachbrook in Lichfield Cathedral in 

 1386 (Le Neve, Fasti (ed. 1854), i, 628 j 

 Cal. Pat, R, 1385-9, 286), in succession 

 to that of Holbora, which he had held 

 since 1374- 



" Ibid. Reg. Burghill, vii, 98A. T. Hyne 

 exchanged benefices with R. Repynton, 

 rector of Titchmarsh, co. Northants. 



^ The vicarage was ordained 20 Aug. 

 1448 5 ibid. Bothe, x, 68^-72. 



418 



^^ He was preferred to the rectory of 

 Northenden, which John Booth, cL resigned 

 on 14 Aug. 1453; ibid. Close, xi, 36. Hall 

 is said to have been instituted to Leigh, 

 20 Mar. 1440 J Baines, Hist, of Lanes. 

 (Croston's ed.), iv, 317. Sec Ormcrod, 

 Ches. (ed. Helsby), iii, 614. 



20 Lich. Epis. Reg. xi, 36^. Warden of 

 the collegiate church of Manchester (q-v.) 

 and archdeacon of Richmond, 1459-65 ; 

 bishop of Exeter 1465-78. He is confused 

 with William Bothe, archbishop of York, 

 by Stanning, Reg. of Leigh, xv, note. 



21 Lich. Epis. Reg, xi, 38. 



^ Ibid. 40^. Percivall had been rector 

 of Longford, co. Derby. In 1474, during 

 this incumbency, there is a record of the 

 vicar receiving, by virtue of a letter from 

 the dean of Warrington to him directed, 

 in the church of Leigh, before a number 

 of the gentry of the neighbourhood whose 

 names are duly recorded, the purgation by 

 oath of one Nicholas del Ryland, that he 

 had never made any feoffment of lands in 

 Westhoughton, as it had been alleged that 

 he had done. Which proceeding was con- 

 cluded by the vicar solemnly cursing the 

 said Nicholas with bell, book, and candle 

 if he should be guilty in his denial; 

 Local Gleanings, ii, 293-5. 



^ Lich. Epis. Reg. Hales, xii, 116. 



