ECCLESTON
Eccleston; Heskin; Wrightington; Parbold
The ancient parish of Eccleston is noteworthy as
the only one in the hundred which had no dependence on the barony of Penwortham, for its northern
half was part of the forest fee, while the southern
half belonged to the barony of Manchester. This
detachment may have had an influence in determining or preserving its parochial unity.
The area of the parish is 8,406½ acres, and the
population in 1901 numbered 4,234. To the
ancient fifteenth it paid £3 13s. 8d. when the
hundred paid £30 12s. 8d. (fn. 1) and to the county lay
of 1624 it paid £11 2s. 2½d. when the hundred
gave £100. (fn. 2)
Though at one time the courts for the wapentake
appear to have been kept at Eccleston, (fn. 3) the
history of the place has been quite uneventful,
nor have any families of eminence been seated
there. The manors were much divided among
non-resident lords, and the Lathoms of Parbold
seem to have been the principal residents until
the 17th century. Thus William Lathom was
the chief landowner contributing to the subsidy
of 1525, the others being Gilbert Banastre,
Thomas Wrightington, John Dicconson, Richard
Edmundson, Henry Rawe, William Alanson and
Nicholas Rigby. William Fleetwood also paid,
but not for lands. (fn. 4)
The wake was held on the Sunday next after
8 September. (fn. 5)
In 1836 there were no manufactures in the
parish, except 'hand weaving for the cotton
manufacturers in Preston and Chorley, and a
furniture calico printing work recently established.' The coal-mines and quarries were
worked. (fn. 6) The agricultural land in the parish is
now occupied thus: arable, 2,577 acres; permanent grass, 4,832; woods and plantations,
259. (fn. 7)
Each of the four townships has a parish
council.
The Ven. John Finch was one of the victims of
the Elizabethan persecution, being executed at Lancaster 20 April 1584 for rejecting the queen's religious
supremacy. (fn. 8) Sir William Fleetwood of Heskin,
recorder of London 1569–94, and Edward Dicconson of Wrightington, vicar apostolic of the Northern
district 1740–52, are noticed in the Dictionary of
National Biography.
Church
The church of THE BLESSED
VIRGIN MARY (fn. 9) stands at some
little distance from the village on the
north side in a pleasant situation among flat meadows
on the left or south bank of the Yarrow about 20 yds.
from the stream. The building consists of chancel
30 ft. by 17 ft., with south aisle its full length, and
14 ft. 6 in. wide, nave 51 ft. by 24 ft. 9 in., with
south aisle 10 ft. 6 in. wide, west tower 11 ft. 6 in.
square, and south porch 10 ft. 6 in. square, all these
measurements being internal. There is also a
small modern vestry and hearse-house north of the
chancel.
The building seems to have been erected at two
periods, the south aisles being an addition to an aisleless church consisting of chancel, nave, and west
tower apparently of 14th-century date. Nearly all
the original detail of this period has, however, disappeared in the reconstruction and alterations of the
18th century and the later restoration, but the
chancel and tower arches and the belfry windows are
of 14th-century type, and the two windows on the
north side of the chancel, one of which has been
restored, apparently belonged to the same period. (fn. 10)
The south aisle of the chancel appears to represent
the chantry of the Blessed Virgin, and the south
aisle of the nave may have been built at the same
time. There is evidence also of the nave and aisles
having been erected at different times in the plinth,
which round the nave and chancel has a chamfer 9 in.
deep, whereas that to the aisles, the south walls of which
are continuous, is only 3 in., the projection, however,
being the same. The buttresses at the east end of
the chancel appear to have been rebuilt when the
aisle was added, and have the later plinth. On the
north side the old plinth is almost entirely covered
up by the raising of the level of the soil, and the
plinth round the tower is about 12 in. below the
present ground level on the north side and something
less on the south. It is probable, therefore, that
the present plan without the south aisles is that of
the 14th-century church, and that it obtained all
through the 15th century down to the time of
the foundation of the chantry. A rough plan of the
church and churchyard as they existed in 1716 (fn. 11) shows
the building at that time the same as now, except that
the vestry and hearse-house did not then exist (fn. 12) and
the buttress on the south side of the chancel aisle
was not then built. The 18th century, however,
saw great changes in the structure of the building if
not in its plan, and left it externally pretty much as
it remains at present. In May 1721 the 'taking
down and rebuilding of the parish church' was
resolved upon, and it was agreed that £300 be raised
that year 'towards providing materials and other
common uses relating to the church.' The determination to pull down and rebuild, however, must
have been subsequently modified, as during the next
sixteen years there are almost continuous payments
recorded in the churchwardens' accounts for work
done to the structure, and various sums are agreed
upon from time to time to be levied on the parish
for this purpose. (fn. 13) The payments extend from 1721
to 1737, and in 1743 there are further disbursements for pointing the steeple and for a new
clock face. The work then done seems to have
consisted principally in the raising of the nave walls
all round and the erection of the present roof, which
on the south side consists of one span over nave and
aisle, as well as the reconstruction of the lower roofs
to the chancel and chancel aisle, which were
similarly treated on the south side, producing the
present ugly effect of a wide lop-sided gable at the
east end. The top of the tower was also rebuilt and
the exterior of the church embellished with classical
urn ornaments. The effect is rather incongruous,
but interesting and not a little picturesque.
ECCLESTON PARISH
The building underwent another 'thorough repair' (fn. 14)
in 1828, and in 1868–9 was restored and reseated, (fn. 15)
at which latter date the old 17th-century pews, which
were 'of every shape and size,' (fn. 16) were removed, a
gallery which formerly stood at the west end was
pulled down, the north windows of the nave, which
were described by Glynne in 1859 as 'square-headed
and late,' were replaced by the present ugly pointed
ones, and the old west door of the tower was done
away with and a window inserted in its place. The
north window of the chancel and the east window
of the chancel aisle would also appear to belong to
this date, but the old east window of the chancel
was retained till 1907, when it was replaced by the
present one. The vestry, which is of brick, was
built in 1775, a stone hearse-house being afterwards
added on the east side.
The church is built of red sandstone with grey
slated roofs, and the south side is partly covered with
ivy. The 18th-century work, however, including
the top of the tower, was carried out in grey gritstone from Harrock Hill, which now produces, after
a century and a-half's weathering, a not unpleasing
contrast. The south aisle wall is embattled its full
length, but on the north side the roof overhangs,
and the gables to both nave and chancel finish with
plain copings.
The chancel has a five-light east window with
trefoiled heads under a four-centred arch with
external hood mould, all the work outside being
new, but internally preserving the original moulded
jambs. (fn. 17) Over the window on the outside is an
old sculptured head, probably a fragment of the
earlier building, and the apex of the gable has now
a modern cross, replacing the old 18th-century urn.
The 18th-century ornaments, however, were retained
at the north and south angles of the east end. The
line of the old chancel gable on the south side is still
plainly seen, the wall necessitated by the later wide
roof being simply built against it, the east ends of
the aisle and chancel being flush. On the north
side the chancel had originally two pointed windows
of two lights, the easternmost of which has been
replaced by a modern copy, the old internal segmental arched head alone remaining. The head of
the other window is still visible from the inside, but
the opening has been used as a doorway to the
vestry, the wall being cut out below. The north
wall is plastered, but on the south side the chancel
is open to the aisle, except for 4 ft. of straight wall
at the east end, by an arcade of two pointed arches
12 ft. wide, of two plain chamfered orders springing
from brackets at each end, and a central octagonal
shaft 20 in. in diameter with moulded cap and
base. In the short length of wall to the east of the
arcade is a piscina with semicircular moulded head,
the opening 1 ft. 9 in. wide and 11 in. high. The
front of the bowl formerly projected, but has been
cut away. The floor of the chancel, which, like
the rest of the church, is flagged, is level with that
of the nave, and there is only one step to the altar
pace, 10 ft. from the east wall, the chancel, therefore, losing much of its effect when seen from the
west end of the building. The roof is modern and
boarded. The chancel arch is 12 ft. 6 in. wide,
of two plain chamfered orders of sharply pointed
type struck from centres below the springing. The
imposts are new.
The south chancel aisle has a new three-light
window at the east end and two three-light windows
similar to those in the nave aisle on the south side.
Between the windows is a priest's door 2 ft. 3 in.
wide, with moulded jambs and head. (fn. 18) The
piscina in the east end of the south wall has a
pointed head, with all the outer mouldings cut away,
a hollow chamfer alone remaining. The east end of
the aisle has a raised boarded floor and is seated, the
west end being occupied by the organ. There is a
stone arch of two chamfered orders between the
aisles, and they are now further separated by a solid
modern oak screen inclosing the organ.
The nave arcade consists of four pointed arches of
two plain chamfered orders springing from octagonal
piers with moulded caps and bases and from corbels
at either end. The walls are of dressed stone and on
the north side are three modern two-light windows
with a doorway in the west end, now made up on the
inside, under an external pointed arch, with hollow
chamfered jambs and head and retaining an old oak
nail-studded door. The nave roof is substantially
that erected in 1722, but the timbers were re-cased in
1868–9, an 18th-century plaster ceiling taken down,
and the spaces between newly boarded. Portions
of a 16th-century roof were apparently used up in
the 18th-century reconstruction, one of the beams
having on each side the date 1534. (fn. 19) The roof is
divided into six bays by five main principals and one
at each end against the wall resting on 18th-century
stone corbels. The raising of the nave walls shows
internally, more especially on the south side, over the
arcade where the two new courses of gritstone come
just above the arches, and part of the line of the old
roof shows on the east side of the tower. At the
west end of the nave, as well as from the outside,
part of the south-east buttress of the tower can be
seen, but it has been cut away when the west wall of
the aisle was built. On the north side of the tower
outside the lower slope of the old roof was originally
behind the north-east buttress, but when the wall was
raised and the new roof erected the buttress, which
also formed the west wall of the nave north of the
tower, was left unaltered, the result being that the
new roof showed awkwardly above the slope of the
second stage, and so remains. The aisle has two
windows on the south side with three uncusped
pointed lights under a four-centred head, without
hood moulds, and a similar window at the west end.
The roof is plastered between the spans, and the
principal rafters like those of the nave have been recased. The porch has an outer four-centred low
arch springing from moulded imposts, and a gable
over with flat coping and a small niche. The apex
has a ball ornament but the ends classic urns. The
roof has overhanging eaves and the side walls, which
are without windows, have stone scats. The inner
doorway is pointed with continuous double-sunk
chamfered jambs and head. The door is modern.
Plan of Eccleston Church
The tower is of two stages with diagonal buttresses,
the lower part being quite plain on the north and
south sides. The west window is modern of two
lights, replacing, as already stated, a former door, and
the tower arch, which is filled with a glazed screen,
is, like that of the chancel, a sharply-pointed one
of two chamfered orders running down the jambs
to the ground. The upper or belfry stage sets back
about a foot and has a pointed window with external
hood mould of two trefoiled lights and quatrefoil
above on each face. The walls terminate in a string
course and straight parapet with square angle pinnacles
formerly surmounted by urns and cock vanes. There
were originally also intermediate ornaments on each
side, but only that on the north remains, the others
lying broken on the roof. On the south side of the
parapet is the date 1733, the year of its erection.
There is a clock (fn. 20) on the west side and it also has a
face on the inside to the nave. (fn. 21) There is no staircase in the tower, the upper floor being reached
only by a ladder. The roof was newly leaded in
1884.
The font is octagonal, at the west end of the aisle,
and is probably of late 15th or early 16th-century
date, its sides being panelled and carved with the
emblems of the Passion and the Stanley badge
(eagle's claw) and legs of Man. Preserved in the
chancel is a circular block of stone now in two pieces,
18 in. in diameter and 13 in. deep, ornamented
with the cable moulding and with a small hole
through the centre, which may be part of an ancient
font.
On the south side of the chancel is a late 15thcentury altar tomb, the sides divided into three
panels with trefoiled heads, on which is a small brass
representing a priest in cassock, surplice and cope.
The only part of the marginal inscription remaining is
'. . . alis anno,' and whom the figure represents is not
known. (fn. 22)
A number of carved panels from the old 17thcentury oak seats have been preserved and are introduced into the modern seating, with the coats of
arms, crests and initials of the families of Wrightington, Mawdesley, Rigbye, Rector Pickering and
others, two of which bear the dates 1634 and 1638.
A carved inscription from the churchwardens' pew
dated 1693, with the names of the wardens, has
also been preserved.
No ancient glass remains with the exception of two
diamond quarries now in the vestry which have the
Stanley badge (eagle's claw). Below the altar is an
inscribed stone to the memory of 'Richarde Radclyffe
whoe was a paynefull & profitable teacher att Heskin
schole xi years.' He died in 1623. The stone was
probably placed in its present position at one of the
restorations.
The chancel contains mural monuments to Anne
Rigbye of Harrock (d. 1716); Thomas Crisp of
Parbold (d. 1758), M.P. for Ilcester, Somerset,
'during one of the Parliaments of the late reign'; and
to three former rectors, John Douglas (d. 1766),
Thomas Whitehead (d. 1812), and William Yates
(d. 1851). In the south aisle are tablets to Edmund
Newman Kershaw of Heskin Hall (d. 1810) and to
the Rev. Rigbye Rigbye of Harrock Hall (d. 1827).
On the north wall of the nave is a small brass
to the memory of William Dicconson 'sometime
stewarde over that most honorable householde of the
highe and mightie Princes Anne Duches of Somerset,
1604,' and on the east wall north and south of the
chancel arch are marble tablets to Meliora wife of
William Dicconson of Wrightington (d. 1794) and
Mary Dicconson of Wrightington (d. 1746). There
is also a monument on the north wall of the nave
erected in 1845 to members of the Hawkshead
family which came to Eccleston parish in 1737.
There is a ring of six bells, four (fn. 23) cast by Abraham
Rudhall in 1727, the fifth dated 1802 with the
name of Wm. Breres, churchwarden and initials RB. W.
The sixth bell was given in 1888 in memory of
William Hawkshead Talbot by his widow and is by
Taylor of Loughborough.
The plate consists of a chalice and paten of 1633,
the chalice inscribed 'This Cupe and cover Douth
beelonge to the Parish Church of Eckelston in
Lankicshire,' with the maker's mark [I-B]; a chalice of
1661, inscribed 'This Cupp and Cover (fn. 24) Belongs to
the Parish Church of Eccleston in Lancashire,' with
maker's mark, PP within a heart; a large 17thcentury paten, made at Norwich, with a maker's
mark which occurs elsewhere in 1661, and engraved
with the arms of Ward; a flagon of 1779–80,
'The Gift of Eleanor Rigbye the daughter of
Nicholas Rigbye Esqre of Harrock To the Parish
Church of Eccleston 1780,' with the maker's mark
H B; and an almsdish of 1781 'The Gift of Eleanor
Rigbye of Harrock 1781,' with the same mark.
The registers begin in 1603. The first volume
(1603–94) has been printed by the Lancashire Parish
Register Society. (fn. 25)
The churchwardens' accounts begin in 1712. The
first volume, which ends in 1800, contains many
entries of great interest referring to the 18th-century
restoration, and there are frequent payments for foxheads, magpies, jays and hedgehogs.
The churchyard is of irregular shape, and lay
formerly principally on the north and south sides, the
wall on the west side being only about 16 ft. from
the tower. It was approached from the south by a
field path (fn. 26) from the village green, which is still used,
but since its extension westward in 1891–2 to the high
road and the erection of a lych-gate the principal
approach to the church is now from that side. The
plan of 1716 shows a cross or sundial with stepped base
about 12 ft. from the south aisle wall nearly opposite
the priest's door, but this has now disappeared. There
is, however, a slab with incised calvary cross and
sword on the south side of the building, and at the
east end a 16th-century slab 9 in. thick with two
incised figures and marginal inscription to the memory
of William Stopford (d. 1584). The inscription is
nearly illegible, and the slab was re-used and relettered in 1812.
Advowson
A moiety of the church was in
1094 granted by Roger of Poitou to
the abbey of St. Martin of Sées, (fn. 27)
and the other moiety was about 1240 given to
Lancaster Priory, (fn. 28) so that in times of peace the Priors
of Lancaster presented to the whole. During the
long-continued wars with France, however, the kings
were accustomed to seize the temporalities of alien
monasteries, and thus it often happened that the
rectors of Eccleston were presented by the Crown. (fn. 29)
At length the forfeiture seems to have been considered
absolute, and the king, about 1430, granted the
advowson to Sir Thomas Stanley, (fn. 30) whose successors,
the Earls of Derby, continued to present until 1596,
when Thomas Lathom of Parbold purchased the
patronage from William, sixth earl. (fn. 31) The Lathoms
held it for about a century, (fn. 32) and it has since been
sold several times. The present patron is the rector,
in succession to his father, William Bretherton of
Runshaw.
The value of the rectory in 1291 was £12. (fn. 33)
The ninth of sheaves, wool, &c., in 1341 was worth
13 marks, the diminution of 5 marks being accounted
for by the altarage. (fn. 34) By 1534 the income of the
rector had, as was estimated, risen to the clear value
of £28 16s. (fn. 35) The Parliamentary surveyors of 1650
valued the parsonage house, glebe and mill at £30 a
year and the tithes at £140, but out of this the
rector paid £50 to the curate at Douglas Chapel. (fn. 36)
By 1720 the value had risen to £260, (fn. 37) and it is
now given as £835. (fn. 38)
The following have been rectors:—
|
| Instituted | Name | Patron | Cause of Vacancy |
| c. 1260 | John de Attilgre (fn. 39) | Lancaster Priory | — |
| oc. 1292 | Mr. Richard (fn. 40) | — | — |
| 16 May 1299 | Mr. William de Lancaster (fn. 41) | Lancaster Priory | — |
| 5 Mar. 1310–11 | Mr. Ralph de Tunstall (fn. 42) | " | res. W. de Lancaster |
| 22 Oct. 1319 | Richard de Wamberge (fn. 43) | " | — |
| 22 July 1320 | Nicholas de Sheppey (fn. 44) | " | res. R. de Wamberge |
| 28 May 1321 | John de Ellerker (fn. 45) | " | res. N. de Sheppey |
| 27 June 1322 | John Travers (fn. 46) | " | res. J. de Ellerker |
| 31 Dec. 1334 | Peter Giles (fn. 47) | " | d. J. Travers |
| 8 Oct. 1337 | Henry de Haydock (fn. 48) | The King | d. P. Giles |
| 13 Dec. 1369 | William de Hexham (fn. 49) | " | d. H. de Haydock |
| 3 Aug. 1399 | Thomas de Langton (fn. 50) | The King | — |
| 25 Apr. 1400 |
| 14 June 1401 | Roger Tidiman (fn. 51) | Lancaster Priory | d. T. de Langton |
| 31 Aug. 1403 | John Thoralby (fn. 52) | The King | res. R. Tidiman |
| 19 May 1404 |
| 23 Apr. 1408 | George Radcliffe (fn. 53) | " | res. J. Thoralby |
| 22 June 1430 | John Mapleton (fn. 54) | " | d. W. Radcliffe |
| Aug. 1430 | Hugh Huyton (fn. 55) | Sir T. Stanley | — |
| 4 May 1463 | Edward Mascy (fn. 56) | Lord Stanley | res. Hugh Huyton |
| 28 Mar. 1467 | Mr. Roger Standish (fn. 57) | " | d. E. Mascy |
| 6 July 1478 | Gilbert Shirlacres (fn. 58) | " | d. R. Standish |
| 10 Feb. 1481–2 | James Stanley, jun. (fn. 59) | " | res. G. Shirlacres |
| 12 Aug. 1485 | Ralph Blacklache (fn. 60) | " | res. J. Stanley |
| Aug. 1493 | William Wall (fn. 61) | Earl of Derby | cess. of last incumb. |
| 10 Apr. 1511 | Peter Bradshaw, D. Decr. (fn. 62) | " | d. W. Wall |
| 19 May 1541 | Richard Layton, LL.D. (fn. 63) | Bishop of Durham, &c. | d. P. Bradshaw |
| 10 July 1544 | John Moody (fn. 64) | Earl of Derby | d. R. Layton |
| 1562–3 | Gilbert Towneley (fn. 65) | — | d. J. Moody |
| 15 June 1601 | Adam Rigby, M.A. (fn. 66) | Richard Lathom | d. G. Towneley |
| 21 Nov. 1627 | Edward Brouncker, D.D. (fn. 67) | The King | d. A. Rigby |
| 6 Feb. 1628–9 | Richard Parr, D.D. (fn. 68) | " | res. E. Brouncker |
| 1644 | Edward Gee (fn. 69) | — | — |
| 23 Nov. 1648 |
| 6 Sept. 1660. | Thomas Mallory, D.D. (fn. 70) | The King | d. E. Gee |
| 3 Jan. 1671–2 | Robert Pickering, M.A. (fn. 71) | John Crisp | d. T. Mallory |
| 19 Apr. 1704 | James Egerton, B.C.L. (fn. 72) | William Lathom | d. R. Pickering |
| 23 Nov. 1706 | John Mercer, M.A. (fn. 73) | " | res. J. Egerton |
| 30 Dec. 1736 | John Pearson | Thomas Mercer | d. J. Mercer |
| 17 Mar. 1740–1 | John Douglas, M.A. (fn. 74) | John Douglas | res. J. Pearson |
| 11 June 1766 | Thomas Walker (fn. 75) | Martha Horncastle | d. J. Douglas |
| 19 June 1770 | Thomas Whitehead, M.A. (fn. 76) | Ric. Whitehead | res. T. Walker |
| 17 June 1812 | William Yates, M.A. (fn. 77) | William Yates | d. T. Whitehead |
| 1854 | John Sparling, M.A. (fn. 78) | W. C. Yates | d. W. Yates |
| 1883 | Humphrey William Bretherton, M.A. (fn. 79) | Wm. Bretherton | res. J. Sparling |
The rapid succession of incumbents at several
periods is a noteworthy feature. In many cases the
rectory appears to have been held as a stepping-stone
to further promotion, and often with other benefices.
The most noteworthy names among the pre-Reformation clergy are those of Travers and Mapleton;
Dr. Layton points an aspect of the transition period,
and among the later rectors Bishop Parr and Edward
Gee are most prominent, the last-named, a Puritan
of good type, being the only one of those mentioned
who was intimately associated with the parish.
Before the Reformation, in addition to the rector,
perhaps non-resident, the curate and the chantry
priests at Eccleston and Parbold, there seem to have
been one or two other resident clergy. The list of
1541 records no one but the curate. (fn. 80) The visitation
lists of 1548 and 1554 show five or six names, but
those from 1562 to 1565 contain none but those
of the rector and his curate, William Brindle. (fn. 81) This
was probably considered a sufficient staff under the
new conditions, services at Douglas Chapel being
neglected for a time, (fn. 82) and even in the Commonwealth period the rector and the curate of Douglas
seem to have been the only ministers. (fn. 83)
There was a chantry at the altar of our Lady in
the parish church, founded by the Earl of Derby and
William Wall, rector from 1493 to 1511. Lawrence
Halliwell was the cantarist in 1535 and at the
confiscation in 1548, being at the latter date eighty
years of age; probably therefore he had been the sole
chaplain of the foundation. (fn. 84)
Charities
The parish has a share amounting to £313 a year in the charity
founded by Peter Lathom in 1700. (fn. 85)
The money in the townships of Eccleston and Heskin
is distributed principally in money and school prizes,
in Parbold chiefly in clothing and coal, and in
Wrightington chiefly in clothing, under a scheme of
the Charity Commissioners made in 1879, allowing
great latitude in the application. (fn. 86) Adam Rigby,
rector from 1601 to 1627, charged Bradley Hall and
other lands with £20 a year for the use of 'the most
religious, painful and honest poor inhabitants' of
the parish, half the amount to be spent on 'grey
coats or gowns,' and half on a Sunday distribution
of bread. The rent-charge is still operative, and
the distribution made according to the founder's
wishes; but, while the cloth gift is shared by all
the townships of the ancient parish, the bread is
practically restricted to Eccleston and Heskin, the
distribution being still made only in the porch of
the parish church. (fn. 87)
Apart from these gifts, and some for educational or
ecclesiastical purposes, there are few charitable endowments. The township of Eccleston has a small sum
for clothing (fn. 88) ; the poor's stock of Heskin producing
over £12 a year is applied to the apprenticing and
advancement of children (fn. 89) ; Parbold has £2 18s. 8d.
a year, derived from ancient gifts, and spent every
two years in gifts of calico to poor persons (fn. 90) ;
Wrightington has £1 a year distributed in money
gifts at irregular intervals. (fn. 91)