RUFFORD
Ruchford, 1212; Rufford, 1285; Roughford,
1318; Rughford, 1332; Roghforth, 1411.
This township was separated from the parish of
Croston in 1793 by an Act of Parliament. (fn. 1) The
church and village lie at the southern end of some
slightly rising ground in the level tract between the
Douglas, flowing north, and the former Martin Mere,
while the hall (1798) and park, the principal features
of the township, occupy the greater part of the
elevation. (fn. 2) Another portion, similarly a little higher
than the general level, lies to the north-west, and is
called Holmes Wood. (fn. 3) The area of the parish is
3,119 acres, (fn. 4) and the population in 1901 numbered
782, mostly employed in agriculture.
The principal road is that leading north from
Ormskirk. It passes through the picturesque village,
and thence along the east side of the park. The Old
Hall lies on the east side of the road, one branch
from which goes eastward past the church and railway
station and crosses the Douglas by White Bridge,
while another branch goes north-west to Holmes
Wood and Crossens. The Lancashire and Yorkshire
Company's railway from Liverpool to Preston passes
through the south-east corner of the township and
has a station by the Douglas. A branch of the Leeds
and Liverpool Canal also goes north, to the east of
the main road.
The village, one of the prettiest in South Lancashire, is much resorted to in the summer by excursionists from the neighbouring towns. Many old
cottages remain, one with a picturesque external
stone staircase being dated 1676. Another bears the
date 1692.
Old Cottage, Rufford
The soil is sand, loam and moss overlying sand.
The land is occupied as follows: Arable, 1,742 acres;
permanent grass, 772; woods and plantations, 257. (fn. 5)
Wheat, oats, rye and potatoes are grown.
A fair is held on 13 May yearly.
The township is governed by a parish council.
Roger Dodsworth, the antiquary, who married
Holcroft daughter of Robert Hesketh, was buried
in the Hesketh chapel at Rufford in 1654.
The remains of the village cross were removed in
1818. (fn. 6) An ancient canoe was found in 1869. (fn. 7) The
village stocks were removed at the same time.
From a plan of part of the south end of the
township in 1763 it appears that a large rounded
field called the Great Croft occupied the centre of
the village; a road went round it, joined by
numerous others at different points. The Cockpit
was to the east of it, the church standing further
to the east. The Whitefields lay to the south of the
church. Three fields were named Guild Heys. (fn. 8)
Manor
The manor was a member of the
Penwortham fee, and Richard Bussel
about 1150–60 gave to St. Werburgh's
Abbey, Chester, one plough-land in RUFFORD in
alms, which the abbot was holding in 1212. (fn. 9)
Somewhat later one Richard Fitton (fn. 10) held it of the
abbot by a rent of 5s., and gave a moiety to his
daughter Maud, who married William de Hesketh. (fn. 11)
The other moiety went to another daughter, Anabil
or Amabel, who married Edmund de Lea, and in
1285 the two daughters and their husbands were in
possession. (fn. 12) The grant to Richard Fitton may have
been for life or a term of years, for in 1292 the
Abbot of St. Werburgh's claimed Rufford, described
now as 4 oxgangs of land, (fn. 13) and in the following
year made a fresh agreement with William and Maud
de Hesketh and Edmund and Anabil de Lea, by
which the annual service was raised to 40s., (fn. 14) at
which it continued down to the Dissolution. (fn. 15) This
rent is now paid by the lord of Rufford to the Dean
and chapter of Chester. (fn. 16) Anabil appears to have
had no issue, and in 1318, as Anabil Fitton, she
settled her moiety of the manor of Rufford upon
John de Hesketh, (fn. 17) who had
inherited the other moiety
from his father, and thus
became sole lord.
Hesketh of Rufford. Argent on a bend sable three garbs or.
William de Hesketh, whose
parentage is unknown, (fn. 18) was
apparently a 'landless man,'
the possessions of the family
in Rufford, Great Harwood
and Tottleworth being acquired from his wife, Maud
Fitton, (fn. 19) or by purchase. He
had two sons, the above-named
John, who succeeded, and
Adam. (fn. 20) The former, in 1323, made a settlement
of the manor of Rafford and two-thirds of the
manor of Harwood, the remainders being to his
children—William, Alice, Katherine and Margaret. (fn. 21)
He is described later as Sir John de Hesketh, (fn. 22)
and was succeeded by his son William, also a
knight. (fn. 23)
In 1339 Sir William obtained the king's charter
for a weekly market and annual fair at Rufford; free
warren also was allowed. (fn. 24) He fought at Crecy in
1346, and for his services in France was exempted
from serving on juries, &c. (fn. 25) He was knight
of the shire in 1360, (fn. 26) and was soon afterwards
followed by a son or grandson Thomas, (fn. 27) and he
by a son Nicholas, (fn. 28) from which time the descent
of the manor is clear. Nicholas died in 1416 holding Rufford of the Abbot and convent of Chester
in socage by a rent of 40s., also the manor of
Harwood and a messuage in Rishton. His son and
heir Thomas was ten years old. (fn. 29)
Thomas Hesketh (fn. 30) died in 1458 holding the same
estate and leaving as heir a son Robert, thirty-one
years of age. (fn. 31) Robert, married to Alice daughter
of Robert Booth in 1454, (fn. 32) died in 1491, (fn. 33) leaving a
son Thomas, who, in default of legitimate issue, (fn. 34)
bequeathed his manors to his natural son Robert, with
remainders to Charles and Ellen, brother and sister
of Robert. (fn. 35) Thomas Hesketh appears to have added
very largely to the hereditary possessions of his family,
and died at Rufford on 14 August 1523. (fn. 36)
Robert Hesketh, afterwards knighted, thus succeeded to Rufford, and, after defeating the claim put
forward by the heirs-at-law, (fn. 37) died in February 1540–1
holding much the same possessions as his father, but
Rufford was now held of the king, 'by reason of the
surrender of the Abbot of Chester,' the ancient rent
of 40s. being payable. The heir was his son Thomas,
then fourteen years old. (fn. 38) Thomas Hesketh was
made a knight at the coronation of Queen Mary in
1553, (fn. 39) and he and his family are stated to have
adhered to the Roman Catholic religion for some
time after the accession of Elizabeth. (fn. 40) He died in
June 1588, leaving a son Robert, then about forty
years old, (fn. 41) who had in 1567 been contracted to
marry Mary daughter of Sir George Stanley of Cross
Hall in Lathom, (fn. 42) and who died in 1620, being
then succeeded by a son Thomas, fifty years of age. (fn. 43)
In the inquisitions for Sir Thomas and Robert the
manor of Rufford was found to be held by a rent
of 5s.
Thomas is stated to have died in 1646 without
issue, and was succeeded by his brother Robert, who,
when about eighty years of age, was threatened with
sequestration by the Parliamentary authorities in
1652, though he protested he had ever been 'a most
perfect and firm assistant to the utmost of his ability
to the Parliament and their just and honourable
undertakings.' (fn. 44) His son Robert had in 1649 asked
leave to compound for his estate, his 'delinquency'
being that he had adhered to the forces raised against
the Parliament. (fn. 45) A pedigree was recorded in 1664,
showing that the younger Robert's son and heir,
Thomas Hesketh, was then seventeen years of age, (fn. 46)
having succeeded to Rufford. The hall in 1666 had
nineteen hearths to be taxed; it was occupied by John
Molyneux. (fn. 47) The manor has since descended regularly
in the male line to Sir Thomas George Fermor Hesketh,
bart., the present lord, who resides at Easton Neston,
Northamptonshire. (fn. 48) The estates have recently been
offered for sale and considerable portions have been
disposed of.
A court baron used to be held annually in October.
RUFFORD OLD HALL is situated on the north
side of the village between the highway on the west
and the canal on the cast. The site was originally
far more sccluded and sheltered than at present, both
the canal and the road being comparatively modern,
dating only from the latter part of the 18th and
beginning of the 19th century. (fn. 49)
The house is usually stated to have been built
round three sides of a quadrangle, the fourth side,
facing north, being open; but the west wing, which
contained the family apartments, has completely
disappeared and a new east wing was built in the
17th century. The great hall, however, which
forms the south wing, remains substantially as
constructed at the end of the 15th or beginning of
the 16th century, and is an admirable specimen of
the timber construction of the period.
No traces remain of the west wing, which is said
to have been burned down, (fn. 50) and its size and extent
can only be conjectured. It is likewise uncertain
whether the east or kitchen wing was of equal size
to the present 17th-century brick building, or was
smaller in extent and only occupied the space now
covered by the rooms immediately to the east of the
great hall, which underwent a very drastic
'restoration,' or were practically rebuilt, in 1821.
It seems most likely that this latter is the correct
reading of the building, which, as originally designed,
would be H-shaped in plan. The great chimney
in what is now the entrance hall of the 17th-century
east wing is sometimes said to be the original kitchen
fireplace, but its position in regard to the doors in
the screens would hardly seem to support this theory,
and externally it bears all the characteristics of the
later work.
The house was probably erected by Thomas
Hesketh, who died in 1523, but the only portion of
the original building now left is the great hall, a fine
apartment 46 ft. 6 in. long by 22 ft. 6 in. wide with
open-timbered roof, the side walls, which are of
timber on a low stone base, measuring 18 ft. to the
wall-plate. The high table was at the west end of
the room, but the floor, which is flagged, is the same
level throughout, the only mark of the dais being a
wood seat attached to the wall between the two
doors which opened into the west wing and the fine
carved canopy above. The canopy projects about
5 ft. and the line of the front is carried up to the
roof, forming a 'secret chamber' behind in the
gable, to which there are now no visible means of
approach. (fn. 51)
The screens occupy the usual position at the east
end, the passage-way being separated from the hall
proper by 'speres' standing out 4 ft. from the walls,
and the space between, 14 ft. in width, occupied by
a movable oak screen 7 ft. wide. There is no
minstrels' gallery, the speres going up to support a
moulded cambered tie-beam. The roof of the hall
between the screen and the canopy is divided into
five equal bays by four hammer-beam roof principals,
the spaces being plastered between the spans and
filled in with shaped wind braces, forming large
quatrefoils. All the timber work in the hall is
richly moulded and carved, or otherwise ornamented,
the hammer-beams terminating in figures of angels
holding shields. The posts forming the speres are
octagonal on plan, standing directly on the floor, and
are apparently cut out of two oak trees of slightly
different girth, one being 24 in. and the other 20 in.
in diameter. They are moulded and panelled their
full height on each face with small trefoil-headed
panels and embattled at the top. The tie-beams
to the roof principals have also embattled mouldings, but the detail is such as might belong to
any period between the end of the 15th and the
middle of the 16th century. In the passage behind the
screen are five doorways originally opening to the
kitchen wing, one only of which is now in use, the
others being made up. The door heads, which are
slightly arched, are elaborately carved with foliage
patterns, and there is a moulded and embattled string
above running the full length of the passage. The
wall over is of timber construction with quatrefoil
panelling. The screen is a very fine and massive
piece of work, panelled on each side, the panels being
elaborately carved with quatrefoils in circles and
with other late Gothic ornament in the cornice and
other parts. On each side at the top is the boldly
projecting figure of an angel holding a shield, that on
the west side bearing the arms of Fitton and that
facing east those of Banastre of Bank. In later times
apparently the upper part of the screen has been
enriched with three tall carved finials of somewhat
bizarre and oriental character, but harmonizing in a
grotesque kind of way with the late Gothic ornament
around them, though altering in a great degree the
general appearance of the whole. Between the posts
and the walls the speres are panelled in oak, the
upper panels having pierced quatrefoils.
Plan of Rufford Old Hall
At the north-west corner of the hall is a bay
window 10 ft. 6 in. wide and 10 ft. in depth immediately to the north of the high table, with nine
square-headed lights divided by a transom, and there
are two square-headed windows, each of four lights,
on the north side placed high in the wall, their sills
being 8 ft. above the floor. The north wall is the
original timber-framed one set on a stone base 2 ft.
high, with plain panels between the wall posts, the
lower portion being entirely of plaster. Above the
windows, however, runs a line of panelling with
arched heads and late Gothic ornament, which,
together with the hammer-beams and the embattled
and moulded wall-plate above, gives a very rich
appearance to the room as the eye travels upward.
This concentration of ornament in the upper part
is indeed one of the reasons for the exceedingly good
architectural effect of Rufford Hall, and it is again
carried out at the west end, where the plain wood
and plaster work behind the high table gives way
first to the square panelling and curve of the canopy,
then to the moulded and embattled tie-beam, and
lastly to the gable above with its elaborate diagonally
set quatrefoils. The door heads, like those in the
screens, are also richly carved, giving the requisite
relief to the otherwise plain lower portion of the wall.
The south side of the hall may have been rebuilt
at a later time, but is of timber construction at each
side of the fireplace, though very much repaired with
deal. (fn. 52) The stone fireplace and chimney would
probably replace an old central brazier, though the
spacing of the roof principals does not actually suggest
a louvre, and the date of the hall is rather late for that
means of heating to have been originally employed.
Externally the chimney is a substantial one of stone
with deeply moulded base and four square stages
diminishing in width above, and the wall is built of
stone some distance on each side. The present
glazed lantern belongs only to the year of restoration
(1821), but that a lantern or louvre formerly
occupied the same position is shown by a roughdrawn view of the hall on an 18th-century map.
Whether this was the original louvre it is, however,
impossible to tell. The determination of the date at
which the hall was built is rendered difficult by the
presence together of a louvre and the crest and
badge of the Stanley family—the eagle and child
carved on the roof, and the legs of Man in one of the
spandrels of the bay window. (fn. 53) The use of the
Stanley crest and badge could hardly have occurred
at Rufford before the marriage of Robert son of
Sir Thomas Hesketh to Mary daughter of Sir George
Stanley of Cross Hall about 1568, which would
place the building of the hall, if the carvings are
contemporary, in the latter half of the 16th century.
They may, however, very well be later ornament
added to the old work, possibly at the time when the
south side was rebuilt and the fireplace added. The
arms of the Earl of Derby surrounded by a garter
and with helm, crest and mantling, are in the glass
of the bay window. In the reconstruction of the south
wall the windows appear to have been lengthened,
the sills being lowered, and the stone base was
apparently raised two courses, increasing its height to
3 ft. 8 in. (fn. 54)
Externally the great hall has been a good deal
restored and the oak pegs made rather conspicuous
against the black timber by being picked out in
white. A plaster cove runs along the north front
under the eaves and round the bay window, which is
hipped back to the main roof. The spaces between the
windows are filled in with quatrefoils and the
principal uprights have shallow wooden buttresses
with sets-off many times repeated. The roof,
together with those of the rest of the house, is covered
with stone slates. The west gable, formerly an
internal feature, is composed of simple uprights and
cross pieces without a barge-board, and though
severely constructional has a good effect. Externally
there is little of the elaborate detail seen inside the
hall, almost the only ornament introduced being in
the spandrels of the door to the screens, which are
carved with grotesque animals. The windows have
diamond quarries, but the general effect of the north
front is somewhat spoiled by the rebuilt gabled wing
at the east end, which was carried out in a style meant
to match that of the hall but at a rather unfortunate
period. The painting of the old work has, moreover,
unfortunately been carried out to harmonize with the
new, in which the windows are large and ugly and
the gable pierced by glazed quatrefoil openings at
each end. On the south and east sides the rebuilt
portion of the house is faced with red brick and has
no particular distinction. In plan and internal
arrangement it is completely modern, though on the
first floor the drawing-room, which runs across the
whole length of the wing with windows north and
south, probably occupies the position of a similar
room in the original building, the open-timber roof
of which has been retained. This room is 44 ft. long
by 17 ft. wide with a bay window at the south end.
The roof is divided into six bays by five principals
with embattled tie-beams which appear to be of
16th-century date, but the moulded wall posts belong
to the early 19th-century rebuilding. The drawingroom contains a number of pieces of 17th-century
oak furniture, some of which, however, have suffered
at the hands of restorers. There are also other pieces
of furniture of the same period in other parts of the
house, which is now occupied by Mr. Robert Rankin.
The north-east 17th-century wing is 52 ft. long
by 28 ft. in width, with a smaller wing running eastward, 40 ft. long by 18 ft. wide, containing the
kitchen and scullery, to the north of which again
larders have been added. The front facing west to
the courtyard is a plain design in brick, with squareheaded casement windows and central doorway with
semi-domed hood. It is of two stories, with an
upper floor in the roof lit on the west side by a series
of four dormer gables. Over the door is a stone with
the initials of Thomas Hesketh and the date 1662.
The front is completely covered with ivy, but at the
back, facing the yard, the original 17th-century brickwork is seen, and the elevation, broken by two
staircase towers and the chimney of the entrance hall,
is exceedingly picturesque. The small 2 in. bricks
have weathered a charming colour and are relieved
by stone quoins, while the original stone mullioned
windows are retained in the tower. The old staircase between the entrance hall and the kitchen is
itself of no particular interest and was superseded by
the modern one built in 1821 in the new part of
the house. Each staircase is marked externally by
an embattled tower, but the modern stairs stop at
the first floor, the tower merely screening a lantern
light. (fn. 55) The great chimney is carried up also in the
form of a higher embattled tower in conjunction
with that of the older staircase, the whole forming
what must be considered one of the most pleasing
examples of brick architecture in this part of the
county.
The house was abandoned as a residence about 1798.
After that date it was 'for a time occupied by a tenant
farmer, and the banqueting hall used as a village
school,' (fn. 56) until it was repaired and refitted in 1821
for the reception of the eldest son of Sir Thomas
Dalrymple Hesketh, who lived there till his succession
to the estates in 1842.
The new hall is a plain two-story brick building
painted white with classic colonnade, erected in the
18th century, some time before 1763, (fn. 57) but very much
enlarged in 1798–9 by the addition on the north side
of what is now the main part of the house, with
classic portico and large entrance hall. Some of the
spout heads bear the initials of Sir Thomas Dalrymple
Hesketh and the date 1811, and one is dated 1822.
Architecturally the building is without interest.
The landowners in 1628 were Thomas Hesketh,
Sir Richard Hoghton, Robert and Cuthbert Hesketh. (fn. 58)
The estates of Richard Salvage of Rufford were confiscated and sold by the Parliament in 1652. (fn. 59)
Church
The church of ST. MARY is situated
on the east side of the village and is a
modern building of red brick and stone
erected in 1869 in the Gothic style of the day,
replacing an older chapel built in 1736, (fn. 60) then
demolished. Of the original and still earlier chapel
which is known to have existed in the 14th century
no traces remain, with the exception, perhaps, of two
moulded capitals, now on either side of the porch,
which may have been the responds of a later chancel
arch built in the 16th century, and the monumental
fragments hereafter mentioned. The form and
appearance of the first building and the position of
the chancel—apparently a private mortuary chapel—
made by Sir Thomas Hesketh in 1588 are unknown. (fn. 61)
The 18th-century chapel was a plain parallelogram
with two tiers of windows and west door, with an
octagonal bell-turret on a square base over the west
gable.
The present building consists of a chancel 29 ft.
by 19 ft. 6 in., with north chapel 13 ft. 6 in. by
10 ft., and south vestry and organ chamber; nave
60 ft. by 23 ft., with north and south aisles 8 ft. 6 in.
wide, west porch and tower with short stone spire at
the west end of the north aisle. The chapel north
of the chancel is called the Hesketh chapel and
contains a recumbent marble figure of Sir Thomas
Hesketh (d. 1872). The Hesketh vault is below
the chancel.
The building having no pretensions to antiquity is
itself uninteresting and architecturally it has little of
the appearance of a village church. It contains,
however, an alabaster slab and other fragments
belonging to the first church and some fittings
from the 18th-century structure. The slab is to
the memory of Thomas Hesketh (d. 1458) and
Margaret his wife and is 6 ft. long by 3 ft. wide and
6 in. thick. It was until lately in the floor of the
nave lying north and south, in four pieces, but was
removed to the Hesketh chapel in 1907. It has
incised on it the figure of a man in armour with his
lady and underneath the figures of eleven children,
together with the coat of arms of Hesketh. The
inscription runs round the slab, 'Domine miserere
animabus Thome Hesketh et Margerie | uxoris ejus
qui quidem Thomas | obijt xviij die mensis Decembris
ao dni mcccclviij: a litera dominicali.' At the
bottom are the names of eleven children—Robert,
William, Margery, Thomas, John, Hugh, William,
Geoffrey, Richard, Henry and Nicholas.
In 1908 two brasses, one with the figure of a
knight, 18 in. high, and the other with an inscription
to the memory of Sir Robert Hesketh (d. 1541) and
Dame Grace his wife (d. 1543), were found in the
new hall and were placed in the church. (fn. 62)
In the Hesketh chapel is preserved an alabaster
dog, lately brought from the Old Hall, no doubt
belonging to a former monument in the original
structure. At the east end of the wall of the
south aisle, low down under a window, is an alabaster
panel, 1 ft. 9 in. square, with moulded border,
containing a shield of arms of twelve quarters, (fn. 63) with
helm, crest (garb) and mantling, a good piece of
heraldic carving of 16th-century date, possibly from
the tomb of Sir Thomas Hesketh in the chancel (1588).
In the north aisle is a marble tablet to Sir Thomas
Hesketh (d. 1778) with a verse by the poet Cowper,
his wife's cousin, and at the east end of the south
aisle a monument by Flaxman to Sophia Hesketh
(d. 1817). In the vestry is preserved the board with
the royal arms, 1763, and a brass chandelier in the
nave is of the same date. The font now in use is a
handsome modern one of red granite, a Masonic gift
in memory of Sir Thomas Hesketh (d. 1872), but the
18th-century hexagonal font is still preserved, with a
wooden canopy, round the bottom of which is the
inscription: 'NI[PS]ON ANOMHMA MH MONAN O[PS]IN.'
In the chancel is the old 18th-century oak
communion table with twisted legs.
There are two bells, the oldest by Luke Ashton
of Wigan, 1746, and the other by Taylor of
Loughborough.
The plate consists of a tulip chalice, paten and
flagon of 1842, given by Mr. L. G. N. Starkie.
The registers begin in 1670.
The churchyard contains a number of 17th-century
gravestones with good lettering, the oldest being
1632. On the south side is the base of an old cross.
Advowson
The origin of the chapel of St.
Mary at Rufford is unknown. As
the manor was granted to a monastery it is possible that an oratory of some kind
existed from early times, tides and floods over the
low-lying land cutting the villagers off from the
rest of the world. (fn. 64) In 1346 Sir William de Hesketh
obtained the king's licence to alienate in mortmain
200 acres of land, &c., in Rufford, Croston and
Mawdesley for the endowment of the chantry in
the chapel. (fn. 65) The founder, according to the report
of 1547, ordained that there should be three priests
there, each having his special lands, to sing, celebrate,
and minister sacraments as need might require. (fn. 66)
Sir William and his descendants were the patrons. (fn. 67)
An indulgence was granted to benefactors in 1352
by Hugh, Archbishop of Damascus, then visiting
Rufford. (fn. 68) and there are some later notices. (fn. 69) In
1547 the commissioners reported that the three
priests resided and celebrated according to their
foundation, and the chapel seems to have been
decently furnished. (fn. 70) In addition Bartholomew
Hesketh had given lands of the value of £10 for the
endowment of a stipendiary priest to say mass and
teach the scholars of the town of Rufford. (fn. 71) The
place was thus well supplied before the confiscation of
the endowments by the Crown. The Heskeths were
buried in the chapel, and one of the tombs is in the
present church. (fn. 72)
The chapel may have continued in use after the
Reformation. About 1610 it had a minister, Mr.
Bradshaw, who was 'a preacher' (fn. 73) ; but in 1650
there was no provision for a minister 'save the
benevolence of his auditory and the inhabitants
there.' (fn. 74) The registers begin in 1670. Bishop
Gastrell about 1720 found that the income was
£22 13s., of which £20 was paid by the rector
of Croston, (fn. 75) who appointed the curate in charge.
The chapel in 1793 became a parish church,
endowed with the tithes of Rufford and Ulnes
Walton, though the latter township remains within
Croston. The rector of Rufford was to pay a fifth
part of the rent of £45 14s. 4d. payable to the
Crown by the rector of Croston. The patronage and
the benefice were given by the Rev. Robert Master,
patron and rector of Croston, to his son Edward,
who in 1818 sold the advowson to the trustees of
Le Gendre Starkie of Huntroyd, (fn. 76) and it has since
descended with this estate, Mr. E. A. Le Gendre
Starkie being the patron.
The following have been among the curates and
rectors:—
|
| oc. 1610–19 | Lawrence Bradshaw (fn. 77) |
| oc. 1632 | Thomas Kirkham (fn. 78) |
| oc. 1650 | —Woods (fn. 79) |
| oc. 1671 | Thomas Thompson (fn. 80) |
| oc. 1674 | James Thompson |
| 1676 | Richard Croston, B.A. (Emmanuel Coll., Camb.) |
| 1684 | Edward Atherton (fn. 81) |
| 1706 | John Wright, B.A. (fn. 82) |
| 1734 | John Gray, B.A. |
| 1752 | Thomas Barker, M.A. (Fellow of Brasenose Coll., Oxf.) |
| 1757 | John Kynaston, M.A. (Fellow of Brasenose Coll., Oxf.) |
| 1758 | Samuel Smith (fn. 83) |
| 1790 | William Ion |
| Rectors |
| 1793 | Robert Master, D.D. (rector of Croston) |
| 1798 | Edward Master, B.A. (fn. 84) (Balliol Coll., Oxf.) |
| 1835 | Edward Moorhouse Hall, M.A. (fn. 85) (Lincoln Coll., Oxf.) |
| 1843 | Thomas Foster Chamberlain, M.A. (fn. 86) (Christ's Coll., Camb.) |
| 1868 | James Frederick Hogg-Goggin (fn. 87) |
| 1905 | William George Procter, B.A. (fn. 88) (Queens' Coll., Camb.); d. 1911. |
The Wesleyan Methodists have had a chapel since
1813. They have also another at Holmes Wood.
The school founded by Thomas Hesketh in 1523
was destroyed with the chantries. Another was
built in 1712. (fn. 89)
Charities
This parish had formerly some
special benefactions, but they have
been lost. (fn. 90) It shares in the Lathom,
Layfield and Crooke and Master charities, accounts
of which are given in the history of Croston. (fn. 91)
A board with a list of benefactors has recently been
found by the rector and again set up. It reads:—
'The names of the several donors, together with
each respective donation to the chapel, school and
the poor of Rufford:—
|
| £ | s. | d. |
| James Hesketh in part of the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and Decalogue, with the King's Arms | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| Oliver Tittrington in part of the Chandelier | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Jennet Hesketh to the Chapel | 8 | 10 | 0 |
| Thos. Baldwin to the School | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| Robert Turner " " | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| Jennet Hesketh " " | 4 | 10 | 0 |
| Thos. Baldwin to the Poor | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| Richard Berrey " " | 20 | 0 | 0' |
As there is a reference to the king's arms (dated
1763) the board cannot have been erected before
that year.