Hessam, Dom. Bk.; Hessein, 1194; Hessem,
Hissein, 1200; Hesham, 1208 and common;
Heshem, 1209; Hesaim, 1212; Heesam, 1246;
Heesham, 1291; Hegsham, 1292; Hesam, 1297.
The local pronunciation is Hee-sham.
The seaside parish of Heysham contains but a
single township, which has from ancient times contained the two hamlets or manors of Higher and
Lower Heysham. These hamlets are situated on the
rocky hill which was probably in former times the only
habitable part of the parish, being mostly over 50 ft.
above sea level and rising at several points to 100 ft.
The place must have been almost isolated. To north,
east and south the surface falls away to the low-lying
lands of Poulton, Heaton and Middleton, much of
this tract being moss, described as 'a spongy flat' in
1820. (fn. 1a)
On the west the hill-side, here well covered with
trees, falls sharply from one of its highest points down
to the Irish Sea. On the edge of the cliff, some
40 or 50 ft. above sea level, at a point where the
coast line makes a sharp turn to the east for a little
space, stand the ruins of ST. PATRICK'S CHAPEL.
It is an undivided rectangular building, (fn. 2) of early preConquest date, 27 ft. 6 in. long inside by 9 ft. wide,
with walls 2 ft. 6 in. thick, constructed of irregularlycoursed rubble masonry. The greater part of the south
wall, the whole of the east wall (where the gable remains
about 12 ft. in height) and a portion of the north
wall, 11 ft. 6 in. in length from the east end, are still
standing; but the west wall and the western part of
the north wall are razed to the foundations, and
there is a gap in the south-east corner. The north
and south walls are
about 9 ft. high. There
is no east window, nor
any opening in the north
wall so far as it remains,
but at the east end of
the south wall there are
the west jamb of a window splayed on the inside, and towards the
west a doorway 2 ft.
7 in. wide and 7 ft. 6 in.
in height. The jambs consist of upright slabs going
through the whole thickness of the wall alternating
with smaller slabs laid horizontally, and the head is
a semicircle of rather irregular shape cut out of one
stone. On the outside the door-head is scored round
with three hollows or flutes, the ridges between
which stand out slightly beyond the face of the stone.
A rebate to fit a door to the inner side of the doorway has been formed at a later time. The building
is unlike the usual Saxon type of church both in plan
and detail, and suggests a Celtic influence in keeping
with its traditional dedication, but no suggestion as
to the exact date of its erection can be offered. In
1903 the foundations of the chapel were strengthened,
a coping of old flagstones was laid on the top of the
walls, and the joints repaired with cement.
Plan of St. Patrick's Chapel, Heysham
To the west of the chapel are six rock-hewn
graves, (fn. 3) varying in size, but all in the form of a body,
and on the eastern side of the hill are two smaller
ones.
A little to the east of the chapel, on a somewhat
lower level, is the parish church; by it, or beneath
it, in a little clough, lies the hamlet of Lower
Heysham. The churches, cross and other carved
stones make this spot one of the most interesting
in the country from the archaeological point of view. (fn. 4)
The coast line then turns north again, and there is a
footpath along it as far as Morecambe. Higher
Heysham lies nearly a mile south-east of the church,
on the southern slope of the hill. Whittam lies in
the north-east corner. Sandylands, on the border of
Morecambe, is a residential district. Bronneberh or
Bruneberh was a rock. The area is 1,774 acres, (fn. 5)
and in 1901 there was a population of 3,381.
The principal road leads south from Morecambe
through Higher Heysham—with branches west to
the church and east to Oxcliffe—towards Middleton
and Overton. The tramway from Morecambe is
laid along it for more than a mile. The Midland
Railway Company's line from Lancaster to Heysham
Harbour goes round the hill on the east and south.
The new harbour, with its railway station and docks,
begun in 1896, is at Near Naze, about a mile and a
half south-south-west of the church. The company
use the dock for the regular Belfast service and other
services to Londonderry and Dublin, also for summer
passenger steamers to the Isle of Man. The railway
is now worked by electric traction. The harbour
was opened in 1904.
The history of this small solitary place has been
quite uneventful. At the time of the Pilgrimage of
Grace it was reported that some of the people had
gone to join the 'pilgrims.' (fn. 6) Under Elizabeth one
of the rectors resigned, unable, apparently, to conform
any longer to the new ordinances; but the rector of
the Civil War period kept his benefice all through,
and only two or three of the residents suffered sequestration. To the county lay of 1624, based on the
old fifteenth, Heysham had to raise £2 2s. 9¾d. when
£100 was required from Lonsdale Hundred. (fn. 7) The
manor was forfeited for participation in the Jacobite
rising of 1715, (fn. 8) but otherwise there is no sign that
the people were affected by the Revolution and its
sequels. The inhabitants earned their living by
fishing and agriculture. Dr. Whitaker wrote thus
about 1820:—
Of this parish it is remarkable that there is in it no market,
no shop, and till the last year no butcher; no medical practitioner, no attorney, no endowed school, no sea boat, and thanks
to the want of water no manufactory. To these negations,
some of good and some of evil, is to be added one of the latter
kind; namely, that in the whole parish there is not a spring of
clear and tasteless water, the wells being mere puddles, and
those too rendered brackish by some secret communication with
the sea through crevices in the rocks. Two or three gentlemen's families reside here, to the great advantage of the poor,
for the salubrity of the air. The rest of the population it
divided between a race of old yeomanry, tenants at rack rents,
and poor families earning a wretched subsistence by unskilful
fishing. (fn. 9) [Mussels formed a] considerable part of the tillage
used in husbandry. (fn. 10) Above the rectory begins a line of perpendicular rock, which shelters both that and the village at
once from the sun and the storms; but notwithstanding this
partial disadvantage, fruit trees and garden vegetables are seen
to thrive on platforms won out of the rock. (fn. 11)
There were two holy wells in Lower Heysham, one
by the church and another called the Sainty Well. (fn. 12)
Lower Heysham, in spite of recent changes,
remains a picturesque village, with many quaint
houses; one, with half a dozen rude steps leading up
to it, and therefore known as the Greese House, is
said to have been the ancient rectory.
In recent times the healthiness of the place has
attracted residents and summer visitors, so that even
in 1826 Heysham was a 'fashionable resort for sea
bathing.' (fn. 13) The ancient churches are visited by
great numbers of those who spend their summer
holidays in Morecambe and its neighbourhood. The
establishment of the railway harbour may lead to
other commercial enterprises.
The soil is a light loam over millstone grit; wheat,
oats and barley are grown, as well as potatoes, but
much of the land is in pasture. The arable land now
occupies 425 acres, while there are 792 acres in
permanent grass.
The township is governed by an urban district
council of twelve members, formed in 1899 in place
of the then existing parish council. Gas is supplied
by the Corporation of Morecambe, and water is
derived from the Lancaster Corporation works. (fn. 14)
Manor
Earl Tostig held HEYSHAM in 1066,
it being a member of his fee of Halton;
at that time it was assessed as four ploughlands, (fn. 15) but later apparently as three, of which the.
Prior of Lancaster held one in free alms by grant of
Count Roger of Poitou. (fn. 16) This was Lower Heysham.
The other two-thirds, or Upper Heysham, was afterwards held by serjeanty, the tenant being bound to
sound his horn against the coming of the lord of
Lancaster into the county, to meet him at the
boundary with horn and staff, accompany him and
conduct him back again. (fn. 17)
Adam Gernet held it at the end of the 12th
century, and, meeting a violent death about 1200, (fn. 18)
was succeeded by his son Thomas, (fn. 19) who in 1212
held two plough-lands in Heysham 'by venery—that
is, by his horn.' (fn. 20) He had two plough-lands in
Caton also, held in thegnage. (fn. 21) He died in 1221, (fn. 22)
and his son and heir Vivian in 1246. (fn. 23) Roger, the
son and successor of Vivian, (fn. 24) sold the manor to
Randle de Dacre and Joan his wife. (fn. 25) Joan, a widow
in 1290, held Over Kellet, Bare and Heysham in
1297. (fn. 26) Their successor, Edmund de Dacre, (fn. 27) in
1309 obtained a charter of free warren in his
demesne lands in Heysham. (fn. 28) He died before 1341, (fn. 29)
and his son Thomas de Dacre in 1346 held the two
plough-lands in Upper Heysham by the old serjeanty,
paying 3s. 4d., doing suit to county and wapentake
and providing puture. (fn. 30) He was succeeded by his
son Edmund (fn. 31) and grandson
Thomas; the latter, dying
1 December 1419, left a
daughter and heir Elizabeth,
under age, (fn. 32) who carried the
manor to her husband Sir
Thomas Harrington. With
the other Hornby manors it
came into the possession of
the Lords Mounteagle. (fn. 33)
Dacre. Gules three escallops argent.
Harrington. Sable fretty argent, a label or.
In 1597 William Parker
Lord Mounteagle and Elizabeth his wife sold the manor,
with messuages, lands, rents,
water mill, windmill, dovecote, willow grove, salt and
fresh marshes, free warren,
free fishery, wreck of sea, view
of frankpledge and all appurtenances, to John Bradley (fn. 34)
of Thornley, whose daughter and co-heir Jane carried
it to the Leyburnes, (fn. 35) and it was forfeited, like Nateby,
in 1715. (fn. 36) The manor is not named again until 1724,
when the Corporation of Lancaster were empowered
to buy it. (fn. 37) They sold it again in 1766 for £672,
and in 1836 it was held in sixteen shares by twelve
proprietors. (fn. 38)
Parker, Lord Mounteagle. Argent between two bars sable charged with three bezants a lion passant gules, in chief three bucks' heads caboshed of the second.
The present proprietors are eleven in number, and
hold the manor in nineteen unequal shares. They
no longer claim any exclusive right of fishery. (fn. 39) As
owners of the foreshore they have recently sold considerable portions of their property to the Midland
Railway Company for the construction of the new
docks. No manor courts have been held for a very
long time. (fn. 40)
Heysham Old Hall: South-east Front
Heysham Old Hall, a picturesque late 16th-century
two-story house with mullioned and transomed
windows and gables, is situated in Higher Heysham,
standing back some distance from the road, from
which it is separated by a well-kept garden and high
fence wall. (fn. 41) The building, which is now a farmhouse, is constructed of dressed masonry in coursed
blocks, and the roofs are covered with stone slates.
The front faces south-east, and the plan follows the
usual type with central hall and projecting end gabled
wings 19 ft. wide, with a porch going up the full
height and terminating in a smaller gable within the
angle formed by the west wing. The hall measures
18 ft. by 16 ft. 6 in. and is lighted on the south side
by a window of six lights. The ceiling is crossed
by two heavy moulded beams, and the fireplace opening, which has a four-centred arch, is 6 ft. 9 in. wide.
All the other windows in the front elevation are of
five lights except in the gables, where there are low
openings of three lights to the attics, and all have
external hood moulds and retain their diamond glazing.
The doorway has a low four-centred arched head
under a square hood mould, and the gables have all
stone finials. In the apex of the east gable is a stone
panel on which are carved what were probably the
initials of the owner, now almost obliterated, but
which look like P.E., R.E., together with a Tudor
rose and the date 1598 set within a geometrical
pattern. In the west wing on the ground floor is
an oak-panelled room, and the east wing has a small
parlour in front, with kitchen and offices behind, the
kitchen retaining its ancient fireplace opening 9 ft.
wide, into which a modern range has been inserted.
The building was restored about 1880, when
the floors were renewed and a 'secret chamber'
opened out in the south-west chimney stack. (fn. 42)
The house contains a quantity of good oak
furniture.
Of the Prior of Lancaster's third part a large share
at least was applied to the endowment of the rectory, (fn. 43)
and in 1593 the rector was recognized as one of the
lords of the place. (fn. 44) The remainder was included
in the sale of Bulk and Aldcliffe to Robert Dalton
of Thurnham. (fn. 45) Furness Abbey also had land in
Heysham. (fn. 46)
Several minor estates appear in the records, including
those of Heysham, (fn. 47) Lawrence, (fn. 48) Travers, (fn. 49) Ward, (fn. 50)
Waleys, (fn. 51) and Washington. (fn. 52) In more recent times
Richard Shireburne acquired lands, (fn. 53) and his son
Thomas died in 1635 holding of the heirs of John
Bradley as of his manor of Heysham. Richard, his
brother and heir, was forty years of age. (fn. 54) The estate
passed later to Edmondson and West. (fn. 55) Thomas Clarkson died in 1640 holding a messuage of the king as of
his duchy of Lancaster (fn. 56) ; his son Thomas, a Royalist,
had his estate sequeitered by the Parliament. (fn. 57)
Church
The church of ST. PETER is situated
in Lower Heysham at the north-west
of the village, close to the sea, and consists of a chancel 23 ft. 6 in. by 1 5 ft. 6 in., with
north vestry and organ chamber and south aisle
10 ft. wide, nave 30 ft. by 15 ft. 6 in., with north
and south aisles, south porch, and bell-cote over the
west gable, all the measurements being internal. The
church is of very ancient date and has a good deal
of Saxon work remaining in the west end of the nave,
and there was more on the north side till it was
pulled down at the time of the addition of the north
aisle. The Saxon church was no doubt of the usual
type, consisting of a nave and small presbytery, the
nave being the same in extent as the present one.
The west door is still standing under the modern
west window, but is now blocked up, and another
door on the north wall, 5 ft. from the north-west
angle, was taken down with the wall and set up as a
quasi-ruin on the south-west side of the churchyard. (fn. 58)
As the approach must always have been principally
from the south, there was probably a door on that
side also, and there is a tradition, without evidence
to support it, that there was formerly a west tower. (fn. 59)
The walling is perfectly plain, and there is no detail
to suggest its date, but the absence of long and short
work suggests an early building. (fn. 60) The chancel is
of 14th-century date, and the south aisle of the nave,
which is 9 ft. 9 in. wide, about a century later,
though it may be a rebuilding of an earlier aisle
erected about the same time as or earlier than the
chancel. The windows, however, do not suggest anything earlier than the 15th or even early 16th century.
The south aisle, which originally extended only the
length of the nave, was restored in the 17th century,
when it was extended a bay eastward and a south
porch built. (fn. 61) The aisle was further extended in
the first half of the last century flush with the east
wall of the chancel, and the north-east vestry belongs
to the same period. The north aisle, which is
11 ft. 6 in. wide, was added in 1864, when the
church was restored, the whitewash removed from
the walls, and the old square pews and two galleries
which had been erected on the north wall as private
pews taken down.
The older walling is of gritstone rubble, and the
roofs are covered with stone slabs and have overhanging eaves. The chancel and its aisles are under
three separate gabled roofs, and the nave and aisles
under a higher single roof of wide span. The
chancel has a three-light pointed window with trefoiled lights and quatrefoil tracery, and has wavemoulded jambs and head but no hood mould; and
on the south side is a two-light pointed window with a
quatrefoil in the head, now opening into the extended
south aisle. The chancel floor is tiled and level with
that of the nave, the sanctuary being raised only two
steps, and there is a 13-ft. length of wall on each
side from the east, beyond which the chancel is open
to the aisles by segmental arches of a single chamfered
order, that on the south being of 17th-century date
and the north one modern. The arches are of
slightly different shape and height and the openings
are filled with modern oak screens.
Heysham Church: Saxon Doorway
Plan of Heysham Church
The existing roof, which is of recent construction,
has been plastered between the spars, and the walls
here and throughout the building show the original
rubble masonry. The chancel arch is 12 ft. high and
semicircular in form, springing from cable-moulded
imposts on chamfered responds, and is 2 ft. 3 in.
thick, of a single order chamfered on the angles.
The imposts may be Saxon work and the wall above
is probably Saxon masonry, but the arch itself appears
to be of 17th-century date, inserted in the wall at
the same time the south aisle arch was built in the
chancel (as well as that dividing the south nave and
chancel aisles), taking the place of an older and very
likely Saxon one, and the cable ornament may even
be a 17th-century reproduction of older work. The
original arch was no doubt a tall and narrow opening
of the usual type. The oak screen which now stands
below the arch within the opening was formerly wider
by two bays, and was originally placed within the
chancel to the east of the arch. It is of 15th-century
date and 7 ft. in height, with four openings with
traceried heads on each side of the central doorway.
It has been restored and the uprights renewed.
The chancel fittings, together with the pulpit and
screens to the organ chamber and south aisle, are
modern. Formerly there was a high churchwardens'
pew of carved oak on the north side near the site of
the present pulpit, the old pulpit, reading desk and
clerk's seat being on the south.
The nave has two pointed arches on each side
springing from an octagonal pier and responds. The
arches on the south side are probably of 15th-century
date, cut through the older Saxon wall, and are of a
single order chamfered at the angles and of red
stone; the north arcade is modern. The upper part
of the walling on either side may be Saxon work,
and is certainly of very ancient date, though patched
up and repaired at various times subsequently. The
nave roof is modern and 26 ft. in height to the ridge,
and the floor is flagged. At the west end, under a
modern two-light window, is the built-up Saxon doorway already mentioned, 3 ft. 2 in. wide, showing on
the inside a slightly pointed arch, probably a later
reconstruction, 5 ft. 6 in. in height, and on the outside
a plain round-headed opening. The south aisle of
the nave is lit by two square-headed windows, each
of two lights, the easternmost one with trefoiled
lights, the other later like that in the 17th-century
extension eastward, and perhaps of the same date, and
at the west end is a small single-light window placed
high up in the wall. The porch, which is 7 ft. 9 in.
by 5 ft. 6 in., has a pointed inner door, with plain
chamfered jambs and head, and a round-headed outer
doorway of two orders, the jambs of which appear
to be constructed of older stones, now very much
worn.
The font is of red sandstone, octagonal in shape,
2 ft. 4 in. in diameter and quite plain, and may
be of 15th-century date or later. The cover is
modern, in the Jacobean style.
At the west end of the north aisle is a sepulchral
slab 6 ft. 8 in. in length with floreated cross and
sword, and in the south chancel aisle are two 17thcentury gravestones with good raised lettering; and
another to William Ward, 'pastor of this church'
(d. 1670), in the chancel. During some recent
alterations a stone coffin was found under the south
window of the chancel containing the remains of a
body and a portion of a small chalice. The coffin
is now in the churchyard, but the chalice is preserved
in a glazed niche in the wall. In the north wall of
the vestry is built a stone with the initials T. L. and
the date 1688.
The churchyard lies chiefly on the south side of
the building, but has recently been extended on the
north. On the west it rises abruptly to the
higher rocky headland on which St. Patrick's Chapel
is situated. In taking down the boundary wall on
the north side several sepulchral slabs were found,
and other discoveries of ancient stones, one probably
the bottom of a pre-Conquest cross, have been made. (fn. 62)
The chief interest of the churchyard lies in the hogback stone and the sculptured cross shaft, which have
been already described. (fn. 63) There is also a stone pillar
sundial dated 1696, which preserves its dial, but the
gnomon is missing.
There are two bells, dated respectively 1723 and
1724.
The plate consists of a 17th-century chalice made
at York, with the maker's mark of Robert Williamson;
a chalice of 1788 without inscription; a paten of
Sheffield make, 1867; and a flagon of 1896, given
in that year in memory of Thomas and Sarah
Tomlinson by their children.
The registers begin in 1658.
Advowson
The church of Heysham was granted
to the abbey of St. Martin, Sées, in
1094, (fn. 64) but was never appropriated,
the rector paying 6s. 8d. a year to the Prior of
Lancaster. (fn. 65) With the other possessions of the priory
the church went to Syon Abbey. (fn. 66) After the Dissolution the advowson was sold to Thomas Fleetwood
in 1554, (fn. 67) and after passing through many hands (fn. 68)
was in 1844 acquired by Clement Royds, from whom
it has come to the present patron, Mr. John Fletcher
Twemlow Royds of Sandbach. (fn. 69)
In 1291 Heysham rectory was taxed at £10, but
this was reduced after the Scottish raid of 1322 to
£5, (fn. 70) which was the value in 1341. (fn. 71) The income
was estimated at £10 in 1527, (fn. 72) and eight years later
the clear value was returned as £8 9s. 2d. (fn. 73) This
was probably much below the receipts, for in 1650
the profits of the rectory were about £100 a year. (fn. 74)
In 1717, however, the certified value was only
£70 9s. 6d. (fn. 75) At present the net value is stated to
be £570. (fn. 76) The glebe consists of 90 acres.
It is noteworthy that Heysham was formerly in the
deanery of Kendal, though physically detached
from it.
The following have been rectors:—
|
| Instituted | Name | Patron | Cause of Vacancy |
|---|
| c. 1190 | Ralph (fn. 77) | — | — |
| c. 1250 | Roger (fn. 78) | — | — |
| oc. 1335–44 | Mr. Thomas de Gaylesthorpe (fn. 79) | — | — |
| 12 June 1349 | Thomas de la More (fn. 80) | The King | — |
| 11 Nov. 1352 | John de Hornby (fn. 81) | " | — |
| 17 Jan. 1353–4 | John Dibbleda (fn. 82) | — | — |
| 19 Dec. 1369 | Robert de Farington (fn. 83) | The King | — |
| 29 Mar. 1370 | Roger de Farington (fn. 84) | " | res.Rt. de Farington |
| 10 Apr. 1383 | Mr. John Coly (fn. 85) | " | — |
| 8 June 1387 | Ralph Gentyl (fn. 86) | " | exch. with J. Coly |
| 14 Feb. 1394–5 | Robert Brownfleet (fn. 87) | " | — |
| 29 Mar. 1396 | Thomas Greenwood (fn. 88) | " | — |
| 8 Feb. 1409–10 | Robert Bolt (fn. 89) | — | — |
| 20 Jan. 1410–11 | Thomas Whitacre (fn. 90) | — | — |
| 7 Oct. 1434 | Henry Highfield (fn. 91) | Abbess of Syon | — |
| 1488 | Philip Halstead (fn. 92) | — | — |
| oc. 1517 | John Waller (fn. 93) | — | — |
| c. 1522 | John Singleton (fn. 94) | Abbess of Syon. | — |
| oc. 1535 | Roger Bradshaw (fn. 95) | — | — |
| June 1568 | Edward Croft, M.A. (fn. 96) | Gabriel Croft | d. R. Bradshaw |
| 16 Aug. 1583 | William Thorpe, M.A. (fn. 97) | " | res. E. Croft |
| 29 Dec. 1591 | Matthew Kitchen (fn. 98) | — | — |
| 23 Oct. 1606 | Thomas Calvert, M.A. (fn. 99) | The King | — |
| Sept. 1638 | William Ward, M.A. (fn. 100) | Chr. Philipson, &c. | d. T. Calvert |
| 15 Nov. 1671 | John Briggs (fn. 101) | Thomas Mather | d. W. Ward |
| 27 June 1674 | Richard Taylor, M.A. (fn. 102) | The King | — |
| 12 Jan. 1698–9 | William Bushell, M.A. (fn. 103) | William Werden | d. R. Taylor |
| 13 Aug. 1735 | Thomas Clarkson, M.A. (fn. 104) | T. Clarkson | d. W. Bushell |
| 17 June 1738 | James Fenton, D.C.L. (fn. 105) | J. Fenton | — |
| 18 May 1756 | Thomas Clarkson, B.A. (fn. 106) | T. Clarkson | res. J. Fenton |
| 22 July 1789 | Charles Buck, M.A. (fn. 107) | Bishop of Chester | — |
| 1 Mar. 1791 | John Widditt (fn. 108) | T. Clarkson | res. C. Buck |
| 22 Sept. 1794 | Thomas Clarkson, B.A. (fn. 109) | " | res. J. Widditt |
| 13 May 1800 |
| 14 Jan. 1813 | Thomas Dunham Whitaker, LL.D. (fn. 110) | " | d. T. Clarkson |
| 19 Apr. 1819 | Thomas Clarkson, B.A. (fn. 111) | " | res. T. D. Whitaker |
| 24 Sept. 1824 | Thomas Yates Ridley, M.A. (fn. 112) | Jane Clarkson | d. T. Clarkson |
| 23 July 1838 | Robinson Shuttleworth Barton (fn. 113) | Jane Ridley, &c. | d. T. Y. Ridley |
| 1858 | John Royds, M.A. (fn. 114) | Clement Royds | d. R. S. Barton |
| 1865 | Charles Twemlow Royds, M.A. (fn. 115) | Charles Smith Royds | d. J. Royds |
| Oct. 1900 | Stirling Cookesley Voules, M.A. (fn. 116) | J. F. T. Royds | d. C. T. Royds |
| 1908 | Charles Chadock Twemlow Royds, M.A. (fn. 117) | " | res. S. C. Voules |
There was no endowed chantry, and the rector or his
deputy appears to have been alone in the little parish.
The benefice being of small value, the changes are
numerous, but the list, though lengthy, does not contain
many names of importance. The growth of the hamlet
of Sandylands, on the border of Morecambe, has led to
the erection there of a chapel of ease, St. John's, 1901.
The Wesleyan Methodists have a chapel at Heysham, while at Sandylands are chapels of the United
Methodist Free Church and of the Congregationalists.
A school was built in 1769. (fn. 118)
Charities
The commissioners of 1826 found
nothing to report upon except the
school. At the inquiry in 1898 it
was recorded that Jane Humberston of Kirkdale,
widow, had in 1859 left £500 to the rector and
churchwardens for the benefit of the poor of the
parish. This is invested in consols, and produces
£15 12s. 4d. a year, which is distributed chiefly in
clothing.