The church stands wthin ye Courts belonging to the Hal (steeple added to it since it was built); Whitmore Mont and all y Floor of ye Body of ye Church to ye Chancell Door. No one beside ye Family can prescribe to Bury there, to whom every foot of ye L'ds'p belongs; from whence it seems plain yt ye Body of ye Church was formerly a Chappell to ye Hall. The Glebe lyes in ye midst of Mr. Whitmore's demesne, who prescribes to pay 4d p[er] an[num] in lieu of White Tyths, Small Tyths, and Easter Dues. There are outlands w'ch lye in another Parish that pay Tyths to this Church, wch 'tis presumed belonged to ye Family at ye Hall, and were given to [the] Mon[astery] wth ye Church and Glebe and other Tyths.1 A narrow lane leading to the Hall stables now separates them, and church and churchyard are separately walled in. The frequent contiguity of church and hall must have been noticed even by the most casual observer. Mr. Addy2 has shown that anciently both were often surrounded by moats, earthworks or other defences, and that early churches were often in close proximity to large mounds, some of which are known to have been burial mounds. Speaking of these earthworks and remains he remarks that one feature is common to many of them, and that is the conical mound which, as a rule, stands west or northwest, of the church. Within the hall grounds, roughly north of Thurstaston church and abutting on the road to the railway station, is a mound which the writer has frequently regarded with suspicion. It is surmounted by a sun-dial, and though its summit is flat this may be owing to human agency or the result of time. On the other hand the land hereabouts is rolling and the mound may be natural. DEDICATION OF THE CHURCH. Other The church is dedicated to St. Bartholomew. local churches are dedicated to him, but it is doubtful if more than one or two are very ancient-Runcorn, Wilms 1 Gastrell's Notitia, i, 174, citing it as "Mr. Whitmore's Acct. anno 1724." 2 Church and Manor, by Sidney Oldall Addy (191 3), p. 105 et. seq. A critique on this work appeared in the Athenæum, Feb. 8th, 1913. 3 Bacon's Liber Regis. low, Church Minshull, and Barrow, in Cheshire, and Radcliffe in Lancashire.1 THE CHURCH PLATE. While Henry VIII sacrilegiously robbed the monasteries and cathedrals of their treasures, the seizure of parish church plate was not decided on until the last year of the reign of Edward VI, and some was left untouched till the days of the Protestant reaction which marked the accession of Elizabeth. But the parochial authorities, taking the alarm at the misfortunes befalling their more powerful neighbours the monasteries, guilds and fraternities, took advantage of the excuse afforded by the necessity of altering their churches and adapting them to the new and simple ritual and of repairing the damage done by the destruction of painted glass, images and all that could come under the denomination of monuments of superstition," to dispose of a portion of their more valuable property by way of meeting these extraordinary expenses. A little later we find an instance of just such a sale in the adjoining parish of Woodchurch, where it appears from certain depositions taken in 1566 that about two years previously "Robert Lenott [Lennard] and John Coventry, being churchwardens of the said parish, sold the chalice, vestment, albe and cope" to John Hocknell for 40s. In 1549 Woodchurch possessed "iii chales," one more than any church in the Hundred, but the writ is not quoted and we cannot safely infer that the other two chalices had already been sold from the use of the word "the" in the Deposition, although, as the present chalice is dated 1625,5 it seems probable that they had been. 3 1 Ancient Church Dedications, by J. Brownbill (Trans. Hist. Soc., Lanc. & Ches. LIV, 37, 41). 2 cf. Old English Plate, by W. J. Cripps (1894), 32, 176-7. 3 The Cheshire Sheaf, 3 Series, 1, p. 6; from Exchequer Depositions, Chester, 8 Eliz. Easter, No. 2. 4 Ibid. 3 Series, 11, p. 85. 5 Hist. Soc. Lanc. & Ches. liii, p. 166. In 1548 Thurstaston was returned by the sheriffs as having "one chales" and "ii belles." Some time after 1671 the church plate at Thurstaston would appear to have suffered a similar fate to that of Woodchurch. On January 26th of that year Thomas Younge and John Johnson, churchwardens, certify the bishop of Chester that "wee also have the Parish Register together with the plate and the Church-cloth's at our disposing when necessary. ניי The plate at present consists of: I. A flagon, with a hinged lid surmounted by a cross moline, by Elkington & Co., without marks or inscription; height 9 inches, width at base 5 inches, at top 3 inches. 2. A chalice 5 inches high, 24 inches wide at base, and 3 inches at top; bearing the following inscription: Presented by Mrs. Browne2 of Thurstaston Hall, to the Parish of Thurstaston. The marks on the chalice are: A. J. H. in script, the maker's name, which it does not appear possible to trace. B. The lion passant. C. The leopard's (more properly the lion's), head, which being after 1823 is uncrowned.3 The above two marks are the London assay marks; the leopard's head was first established by statute in 1300 and the lion passant was first adopted at Goldsmiths' Hall in 1544-5, probably to show that notwithstanding the degradation of the standard of silver coinage, the standard for wrought plate was maintained to the old "sterling" quality.* D. The date letter [1], 1826-7. E. Bust to sinister, George IV. 1 Ibid. LXIV, p. 60. 2 The grand-daughter of Joseph Whitmore and last representative of the Whitmores of Thurstaston. 3 Old English Plate, by W. J. Cripps. 4 English Goldsmiths and their Marks, by C. J. Jackson (1905). Under the base of the chalice in old figures is the date 1706, so that it may have been re-modelled. 3. A paten, with the same inscription and marks, and the figures or date, 1707, separate from the marks. 4. Another paten, modern and without inscription. THE CHURCH BELLS. The church bells are five in number, modern or recast by Taylor of Loughborough; they bear no inscription.1 THE CHURCHWARDENS' ACCOUNTS. It is to be regretted no old accounts are extant, but the names of some of the wardens may be gathered from the register extracts and presentments in the Consistory Court. INSCRIPTIONS IN THE CHURCH. From the Harleian MS. No. 2151, f. 153d, we gather2 four inscriptions at Thurstaston church; 1668. On seu'all graue stones in the church John Whitmore Junior buried aug. ye 7th 1661. Richard Lockier buried decemb. 15, 1665.3 Here lyeth the body of Margrett Yonge buried aug 7th 1668.4 The Owen MSS. give only three extant inscriptions.5 The following are all of the monumental inscriptions now (1921) in the church, taken by the writer and the late J. P. Rylands, F.S.A. Over the arch, inside the porch, in one straight line, in capital letters: 1 Information of Mr. Steven of Irby. 2 Rotographs of Wirral M.I.s penes me; the last inscription is not quite correctly given in Ches. Sheaf, 3s., iii, p. 29. 3 Transcript for the year lacking. Register begins 1706. SAT. |