in 1768 William Shepherd conveyed the close then denominated the Bailiffs' Moor Hey to Henry Lawson, yeoman, of Kirkham, who in the following year being moved by "divers good causes and considerations" sold to the Rev. Charles Buck, vicar of Kirkham, and twelve others, all of Kirkham, gentlemen, for the sum of five shillings, two plots of land in Kirkham township, one of which, called Moorcroft, contained a rood and four perches, and the other, Swarbreck's Old Earth, comprised an acre and an half. The conditions were that all profits or income accruing from the lands should be used for the relief of the poor of the aforesaid township.' On the 1st of December, 1739, a legacy of £40 was bequeathed to trustees by Elizabeth Brown, to be invested, and the interest applied to the relief of the poor and necessitous widows of Kirkham, or the neighbouring townships, at Michaelmas. The sum of £140 was received under the will, dated 1767, of William Harrison of Kirkham, to be invested, and the interest to be expended in Common Prayer books, Bibles, etc., two-thirds of which were to be given to the poor of this town, and the remainder to the poor of Little Eccleston and Larbrick.' In 1816 Mrs. Mary Bradkirk placed £320 in the navy, five per cents. in her own name and that of Zachary Langton, esq., of Bedford Row, London; and subsequently trustees of this fund were appointed, whose duty it was to distribute the interest as follows: That of 100 amongst five necessitous persons in the township of Kirkham for life, and each vacancy to be filled up immediately after the death of the former recipient. That of 20 to Joseph Brewer, then parish clerk of Kirkham, for life, and after his demise to the person filling the office of sexton at the same place. That of 100 to five poor persons of Ribby-with-Wrea, and that of the last 100 to five poor persons of Bryning-withKellamergh, the vacancies to be treated as in those of Kirkham. The only requirement on the part of the pensioners being that they should be members of the Church of England. The income of this charity, which amounts to more than £10 a year, like those of the five preceding it, forms part of the bailiffs' fund. 1. Deed in Bailiff's Chest. 2. Report of Charity Commissioners, 1824. 2A CHAPTER XIII. PARISH OF KIRKHAM. FRECKLETON. N the Domesday Book Freckeltun is stated to contain four carucates of arable soil. During the reign of Henry III. Richard de Freckleton, Allan de Singleton, and Iwan de Freckleton, with three others, held land in Freckleton from the earl of Lincoln. In 1311 the heirs of Adam de Freckleton held Freckleton from Alice, the daughter and heiress of the earl of Lincoln, shortly after which Ralph de Freckleton was lord of the manor. Gilbert de Singleton had a house with 12 acres of land and a mill there in 1325. In 1349 the manor was held under the earl of Lancaster as follows:Robert de Freckleton, I messuage and 3 bovates; Nicholas le Botiler, I messuage and 11 bovates; the heirs of Robert Sherburne, 2 bovates; the heirs of Sir Adam de Banastre, 2 bovates; and Thomas de Singleton, 1 bovate. During the first half of the 16th century the Botilers or Butlers retained property in Freckleton, whilst the Sherburnes held estates there until the early part of the 17th century. Hugh Hilton Hornby, esq., of Ribby Hall, is the largest territorial proprietor at present, but there are several resident yeomen. In 1834 a temporary episcopal chapel was erected, and 5 years later the existing church was built, being a neat brick edifice, with a spire at the west end, and containing an ancient pulpit from Kirkham church. The Rev. G. H. Waterfall, M.A., was the earliest incumbent, and the Rev. Walter Scott, appointed in 1861, is now in charge. In 1718 a Quakers' burial ground was opened, but was closed in 1811. A meeting house was also established by the same sect in 1720, and pulled down after standing nearly a century. A Wesleyan chapel was erected in 1814; and in 1862 the Primitive Methodists opened another. A National school was built in 1839, and is supported mainly by subscriptions. The village is long and irregular, but contains sundry better class houses, and a cotton manufactory, belonging to Mr. Sowerbutts, holding 320 looms. The inhabitants are chiefly employed ployed in making sacking, sailcloth, ropes, etc. There is also a shipbuilding yard, of which Mr. Rawstorne is the proprietor, where vessels, mostly for the coasting trade, are constructed. POPULATION OF FRECKLETON. 701 875 1801. 1811. 1821. 1831. 1841. 1851. 1861. 1871. 561 995 968 879 930 The township comprises 2,659 statute acres. 909 Andrew Freckleton and two more gave, about 1734, certain sums of money for the poor of Freckleton, the interest from which, together with 10s. per annum left by Lawrence Webster for the same object, amounts to £2 5s. a year. The township shares in a bequest of £5, with Clifton and Newton-with-Scales, from Elizabeth Clitherall, of Clifton, for the use of the poor. WARTON. Wartun is entered in the survey of William the Conqueror as comprising four carucates, and later, when in the fee of the earl of Lincoln, the township was held by the manorial lord of Wood Plumpton. During the reign of King John, Thomas de Betham had the third of a knight's fee in Warton. Sir Ralph de Betham held Warton in the time of Edward III., and in 1296 Edmund Crouchback, earl of Lancaster, had a rent charge of 3s. 4d. there. Gilbert de Singleton was possessed of a messuage with six bovates of land in the township about 1325. The manor was held by Johanna Standish and Richard Singleton in 1515. John Talbot Clifton, esq., of Lytham Hall, is now the most extensive owner of the soil. The church of Warton, dedicated to St. Paul, was completed in 1722, but not consecrated until 1725. Within recent years it has been apportioned a distinct parochial district under Lord Blandford's act, Warton school was built many years ago at the cost of the township, and in 1810 the sum of £277 was raised by subscription as an endowment. In 1809, William Dobson, of Liverpool, bequeathed £500 to the trustees, and another sum of £500 was also bequeathed by Mrs. Francis Hickson. In 1821 a new schoolhouse was built. The area of the township contains 3,939 statute acres. BRYNING-WITH-KELLAMERGH. The earliest allusion to this township occurs in 1200-1, when Matilda Stockhord and others held two carucates in Briscath Brunn and one carucate in Kelgmersberg. A few years later Robert de Stockhord had the fourth of a knight's fee there. In 1253 Ralph Betham held Brininge, Kelgermsarche, etc.; and during the reign of Edward III. Sir Ralph de Betham possessed the fourth of a knight's fee in the same places, at which time John de Damport also held an eighth of a carucate. In 1311 John Baskerville had 3 bovates, and Thurstan de Norley 4 bovates, in the hamlet of Kilgremargh. In 1479 Sir Edward and William Betham had land in Bryning and Kellamergh; and two years afterwards half of the manor was granted by Edward IV. to Thomas Molyneux and his heirs. Thomas Middleton held both Bryning and Kellamergh in 1641. The Birley, Langton, Cross, and Smith families are now the chief landowners in the township. Bryning Hall and Leyland House are the only places of interest amongst the scattered habitations. The Hall, now a farm-house, was formerly the seat of the Bradkirks, whilst Leyland House, also converted to farm uses, was the residence of the Leylands, of Kellamergh, during the 17th and part of the 18th centuries.' POPULATION OF BRYNING-WITH-KELLAMERGH. 1801. 1811. 1821. 1831. 1841. 1851. 1861. 1871. The area of the township in statute acres is 1,043. 3 RIBBY-WITH-WREA. In Domesday Book Rigbi, for Ribby, is entered as comprising six carucates. Roger de Poictou gave the tithes of "colts, calves, lambs, kids, pigs, wheat, cheese, and butter of Ríbbi and Singletone" to the priory of Lancaster to serve as food to the monks who celebrated mass in that monastery. This grant was afterwards confirmed by John, earl of Moreton. In 1201 Adam and Gerard de Wra paid two marks to King John in order to gain protection from the sheriff, who, it seems, was in the habit of unjustly molesting them in their tenements. The manors of Preston, Riggeby, and Singleton were presented by Henry III. to Edmund, earl of Lancaster, who in 1286 became engaged in a dispute with the abbot of Vale Royal, which ultimately led to a mandate being issued by Edward I., at Westminster, to the sheriff of Lancaster, commanding him to draw a proper and just boundary line between the lands of the disputants, because the abbot complained that the earl had taken more territory than he was legally entitled to by his fee, thereby encroaching on the conventual possessions in Kirkham parish. In 1297 earl Edmund's rents from Ribby-with-Wrea amounted in all to £19 195.5 per annum. During the life of the first duke of Lancaster, Ribby contained twenty houses, and twenty-one and three-fourths bovates of land held by bondsmen at a rental of £19 16s. 4d.; and at that time there were the following tenants in Ribby and Wrea :—Adam, the son of Richard the clerk, who held five acres, and paid 4d. per annum ; Adam, the son of Jordani, one acre for 12d.; Roger Culbray, three acres for 9d.; Richard de Wra, half a bovate for 5d.; Adam de Kelyrumshagh, half a bovate for 4d.; William de Wogher, six acres for 2d.; John de Bredkyrke, half a bovate for 1. For "Leyland of Leyland House" see Chapter VI. 2. Regist. S. Maria Lanc. MS. fol. Í and 4. 3. Rot. Cancell. 3 John. m. 5. 4. Harl. MSS. No. 2064. 5. Escaet. 25 Edw. I. n. 51. |