A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



Their property in Westleigh passed to the Sorocolds 

 of Brockhurst in Pennington.' In a lease made in 

 1632 between George Sorocold of Ashton in Maker- 

 field, yeoman, and Geoffrey Mather of Westleigh, 

 yeoman, and his sons Geoffrey and James, it was 

 covenanted that during the continuance of the lease 

 Geoffrey the father and Geoffrey his son would bear, 

 carry, and show one ' muskett peece ' with the furni- 

 ture when George Sorocold or his heirs should be 

 commanded to show a musket for lands sold by the 

 two Mathers to James, father of George Sorocold.' 



The Sorocolds of Barton and Lowton acquired a 

 considerable amount of property in the parish during 

 the first half of the seventeenth century. Thomas, 

 grandson of the James named above, entered his 

 pedigree at the Visitation of 1664-5.' One of the 

 family is mentioned in Roger Lowe's Diary : — 

 'March, 1672-3, 7. Friday night died Capt. John 

 Sorrowcold, an old cannibell that hath orethrowne 

 many families, but he hath now arrived at his owne 

 place, abundance of gold and silver is found under his 

 handes.' * 



The Hcrt family were also long established here as 

 substantial yeomen. In 1448 John, son and heir of 

 Richard Herte of Westleigh, yeoman, was under age 

 and in ward of Agnes, his mother, with a messuage 

 and 16 acres of land held of Gilbert Urmston, esq., 

 in socage by the free rent of 8/., and another messuage 

 and 10 acres of land held of Thomas Culcheth in 

 socage by the free rent of i zd. Agnes Cholle, late of 

 Atherton, widow, and Ralph Herte, late of West- 

 leigh, soutcr, had endeavoured to remove the heir from 

 his mother's custody.'' 



In the reign of Edward I mention occurs of Master 

 Henry de Legh, clerk, whose son Henry held lands 

 herefrom 1300 to 1320. He was suing Siegrith, 

 relict of Richard de Urmston, in the King's Bench in 

 I 305, for the advowson of the church of Leigh.^ He 

 was father of William de Legh, who married Alice, 

 daughter and heir of Richard de Olifordhurst, with 

 whom he had lands in Worsley.' Their son, Thomas 

 de Legh, was living in 1370, when his daughter 

 Alice, at her marriage to Adam, son of Robert de 

 Buckley, was enfeoffed of lands in Worsley and Pen- 

 nington.' Part of the estate was held of the abbot of 

 Cockersand, of whom the heir of Adam Buckley held 

 a tenement at 'Lech-Kyrkestele' in 145 I 'and 1461.'° 

 Alterwards the Athertons of Atherton acquired it. 



The principal landowners here in 1787 were John 

 Walmesley, John Clayton, James Hilton, the execu- 

 tors of Mr. Starky, William Orrelt, Mr. Guest, 

 William Grundy, Mr. Latham, the Rev. Mr. Hartley, 

 and John Leigh. These owned among them more 

 than half the township." 



The church of St. Peter was originally a mission 

 school opened in 1862, and placed under a curate in 

 charge appointed by the vicar of Leigh. A church 

 was erected in 1 881, the entire cost being defrayed 

 by Mrs. Sarah W. Bubb, daughter of the late William 

 Hall of Seven Springs, near Cheltenham, late widow 

 of John Hampson of Ullenwood, near Cheltenham, 

 and now wife of Henry Bubb of Witcombe Court, 

 Gloucester. The structure is of brick, tcrra-cotta, 

 and Runcorn stone, from the designs of Messrs. Palcy 

 and Austin of Lancaster, and consists of chancel, nave, 

 north aisle, south porch, and centr.il tower. The 

 living is a vicarage of the gross yearly value of ;^I75, 

 in the gift of the bishop and chancellor of the diocese 

 and the vicar of Leigh. The church of St. Paul, 

 Westleigh, consecrated in 1 847, was formerly a chapel 

 of ease to the parish church of Leigh. It is a building 

 of stone, consisting of chancel, nave, south aisle, south 

 porch, and a tower on the south side containing one 

 bell. The living is a vicarage, gross yearly value 

 j^i57, in the gift of the vicar of Leigh. 



There are two Roman Catholic school chapels, viz., 

 the Twelve Apostles in Nel Pan Lane, and Our 

 Lady of the Rosary, in Plank Lane, both opened in 

 1879." 



The CHARITIES are few in number. They are 

 now administered mainly for the benefit of Leigh 

 Grammar School." 



PENNINGTON 



Pininton, Pynynton, 1246, 1360 ; Penynton, 

 1305 ; Pynyngton, 1351, 1442 ; Penyngton, 1443. 



There is no village of Pennington ; the whole of 

 the township is now within the town of Leigh. It 

 contains an area of 1,482 acres, much of which does 

 not exceed in elevation 75 ft. above mean sea level, 

 rising somewhat higher to the north of Pennington 

 Brook, which traverses the township from west to 

 east, and reaching an elevation of a little over 1 00 ft. 

 on the south-west near AspuU Common. A con- 

 siderable area of meadow land by the brook is liable 

 to flood. The highroad from Leigh to Newton-in- 

 Makerfield runs by Pennington Hall and Aspull 

 Common. Pennington Station, formerly called 

 Bradshaw Leach Station, on the Bolton, Leigh and 

 Kenyon branch of the London and North-Western 

 Railway, is near the Lowton end of the township, 

 and on the highroad. It is the junction of the 

 Kenyon, Leigh, and Tyldesley branch of the same 

 railway. The duke of Bridgewatcr's, now the 

 Manchester Ship Canal Co.'s, canal traverses the 

 township for a short distance on the south side of 

 Leigh. The geological formation consists entirely of 



1 Ahtractz of fFilh of the Mather 

 Family, 1573-1650, privately printed by 

 Mr. J. P. Rylands, 33. 



* Ibid. 3-, from a deed in the posses- 

 sion of W. Fairer. 



^ Chet. Sk. Izxjcriii, 276 ; Harl. Soc. 

 xvii, 253. 



"• Local GUan. i, igii. 



' PaL of Lane. Plea R. 1 1, m. 23A. 



' De Banc R. 153, m. 315 ; 156, m. 

 30ii. ; 159, m. 184. In 1315 Richard, 

 son of John de Bradshagh, gave to Henry 

 de Legh certain lands in "Westleigh in 

 exchange for land lying between the 

 Stnbbytnedowe and Westleigh Brook ; 

 Dods. MSS. Iviii, 164, n. 7. 



'' Ibid. fi. 2. 



8 Ibid. B. 5. 



^ Cockersand Ckartul. (Chet. Soc), 1 24.6, 



i« Ibid. 



^^ Land-tax returns at Preston. 



^ Liverpool Cath, Ann, 1905. 



^ In 1709 William France gave the 

 yearly income of lands here and in Low- 

 ton, to be laid out in linen or woollen 

 cloth for the use of the poor of West- 

 leigh. George Hampson bequeathed ^^lo 

 in 1666 for the benefit of the poor upon 

 the anniversary of his burial (11 July). 

 Jane Hey wood in 1699, and William Hart 

 in 17 1 6, each bequeathed ,^20, the in- 

 terest to be laid out in linen cloth for 

 distribution to the poor on Candlemas- 

 day. Robert Ashurst made a similar be- 



426 



quest of j^5 in 1726. In 1729 trustees 

 were appointed to administer these chari- 

 ties. Since their foundation they have 

 greatly increased in value, owing to the 

 growth of the district and the seams of 

 coal underlying the lands belonging to 

 them. The property consisted in 1900 of 

 27 acres of land yielding £cjO in rent and 

 ground rents, and ^^2,5 19 capital stock 

 arising from mining rents, producing ,f 69 

 per annum. Under a scheme established 

 in 1900 the greater part of the income of 

 these charities, exclusive of the mining 

 rents, is applied to the maintenance of the 

 Leigh Grammar School, and of exhi- 

 bitions to be held in that school ; End. 

 Char. Lanes. (1901). 



