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^|S4ii^^^Si^:liif:;ivills^'; THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES A SHORT HISTORY OF THE TOWNSHIP OF A SHORT HISTORY OF THE TOWNSHIP OF IN THE COUNTY OF LANCASTER WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF THE CI)urcl) anil (grammar ^cl)ool BY WM. FERGUSSON IRVINE PRINTED AT THE BALLANTYNE PRESS, EDINBURGH 1904 57848^ ENGLISH LOCAL •r. •-a uj ^ PA PREFACE intention of this book is not to present the reader THEwith a dry archaeological account of the history of the township. The aim of the writer has been rather to put together a consecutive account of the descent of the Manor and the history of the Church, the old Nonconformist Chapel, and the Grammar School in a popular way, choosing in the main such incidents in the story of Rivington as illus- trate the manners and customs of our forefathers. To some people an account of this kind makes no appeal, but the writer ventures to hope that there are many who, while not attracted by the minutiae of antiquarian research, are sufficiently interested in a general way in the history of their neighbourhood to follow the story with pleasure. The idea of this book originated with Mr. W. H. Lever. When talking over the history of the countryside, Mr. Lever suggested that the scattered facts known about Rivington should be collected into a consecutive story, and this book is the outcome. It is hardly necessary to add how much the writer owes to Mr. Lever for the great interest he has taken in the work as it progressed, and for his constant encouragement and help, especially in giving full access to the Rivington charters and documents, many of which are dated as early as the thirteenth century. The writer is very grateful to the numerous friends who vin PREFACE have so cordially helped in this work, especially to Mr. William Farrer, of Leyburn, for help and advice, and for the loan of his transcripts of the Towneley Manuscripts and other material from his unrivalled collection of Lancashire docu- ments ; to Colonel John Pilkington, of Wavertree, for tran- scripts of Rivington papers and the loan of several blocks and plates for reproduction in the volume ; to the Rev. William Ritson, the Rev. Samuel Thompson, and Mr. Andrews Crompton, for much kindly help and advice and many sug- gestions from their stores of local knowledge. The especial thanks of the writer are due to Mr. Thompson for the loan of the negative of the view from Rivington Pike and for notes on the inscribed stones of the old houses. For valuable suggestions on the subject of Place Names, the writer is indebted to Mr. Henry Harrison, the author of "The Place Names of the Liverpool District," and finally to Mr. J. Paul Rylands for his kindness in drawing the interesting inscribed and dated door-plates, and for constant thoughtful advice and help. J -m Reduced by pcrmiiiron o/ rhi- Ordnance liepartmenl from the ytx-inch Ordnance Survew With addUinm shoivine the pro- MAP OF THE TOWNvSHlP OF RIMNGTON. posed New Public Park and neii' mods. n CONTENTS TACF PREFACE vii INTRODUCTION xiii CHAP. I. HISTORY OF THE MANOR i II. HISTORY OF RIVINGTON CHURCH .... 53 III. HISTORY OF THE NONCONFORMIST CHAPEL. 90 IV. HISTORY OF THE GRAMMAR SCHOOL . .112 V. OLD HOUSES AND FAMILIES 123 VI. PLACE NAMES AND FIELD NAMES . .140 VII. THE RIVINGTON RESERVOIRS 149 APPENDIX 154 INDEX 191 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS VIEW FROM RIVINGTON PIKE . FronHspiece before Preface MAP OF RIVINGTON To face page ix EXTERIOR OF OLD HALL BARN {after restoration) fl II INTERIOR OF OLD HALL BARN (after restoration) II II VIEW OF RIVINGTON PIKE .... NEWHALL FARM COURTYARD OF OLD HALL .... WEST FRONT OF OLD HALL .... LEAD WORK ON SPOUT, OLD HALL . RIVINGTON CHURCH BELL-COTE IN CHURCHYARD PILKINGTON PICTURE BRASS TO MEMORY OF GEORGE SHAW BRASS TO MEMORY OF JOHN SHAW . PILKINGTON ARMS UNITARI.AN CH.^PEL To face page 90 ARMS OF LEVER OF DARCY LEVER AND RIVINGTON On page 111 ILLUSTRATIONS xii LIST OF page 119 ^^T . To face ^ ^ "^ GRAMMAR SCHOOL . On page ^22 SEAL OF RIVINGTON SCHOOL . • To face page ^ 2, INTERIOR OF OLD HALL BARN • • • • GREAT HOUSE FARM „ » " . • •' "^ INTERIOR OF GREAT HOUSE BARN " NEWHALL FARM " ." SCHOOL BROW FARM ..•••••""' On page 139 DOOR-PLATE ON OLD HALL AND,RIVINGTON „ ^8 ARMS OF BRERES OF CHORLEY " '53 CREST OF PILKINGTON OF RIVINGTON . • INTRODUCTION RIVINGTON is an oasis in a desert of rapidly blacken- ing country. The encircling flames of industry are fast licking up all the green and tender things of life, leaving only an arid waste of cinder heaps. The curves of the oak and beech have given way to the straight chimney-shaft, while the farmstead with its quaint gables has been levelled to find space for gaunt factory walls. But at the borders of Rivington all this is stayed. A city thirty miles away must have water free from taint, and so a wide tract of hillside is chosen, and an invisible barrier encircles it, through which no factory may penetrate. Within this oasis stands the Pike, and behind it the still higher crest of Winter hill. Sitting there on a summer day, amid the drowsy hum of the bees, while the call of the moor- cock floats across the heather, it is difficult to believe that below in the plains on the right hand and on the left the great shuttle is clattering to and fro in the roaring loom of life. To the south lies Horwich with its vast engine-works, while to the north are Chorley and Preston, the mills of Belmont are behind, and the pits of Duxbury blacken the ridge to the westward. Still even to these disfigurements distance is kind, and looking down from the Pike one sees only miles of rolling country, while in front the folds smooth out into a velvet plain fringed afar by the white waves of the Irish Sea. But a beautifiil oasis, peopled only by the bees and the xiv INTRODUCTION grouse or at best by a few shepherds, would have been of little service to the great mass of dwellers in the surrounding towns ; and as year by year access to fields and moorland became more restricted, the time seemed near when the green oasis would only be a picture to be gazed at from afar. It was then that Mr. W. H. Lever acquired the Manor of Rivington, together with the greater portion of the township, and decided to set aside the rich meadow lands of the lower slopes as well as the crest of the hill, to be given to the people of Bolton as a park for ever. The extent of this splendid gift will be seen from the map at the beginning of this book, and when the unique character of the upper portion of the land, including the summit of the Pike itself, is considered, it may probably be said without fear of contradiction that as a public park Lever Park has few rivals in Europe. Not the least among the benefits in- cluded in the gift must be reckoned the recently made and finely engineered roads, which render access to the Pike from all points a matter of ease and comfort. How many centuries ago this spot was first seized on by man as a shelter from his enemies in the encircling forest can never be told, but all about us lie traces of remote antiquity. On the surrounding moors are many relics of the early days when, Paynim amid their circles, and the stones They pitch up straight to heaven, our forefathers worshipped the sun and moon. At Noon Hill is still to be seen a tumulus,* which in prehistoric times may ' The diameter of the circle, measured from the crest of the bank, is :8 feet, and the average height of the b.ink above the surrounding land is about 6 feet. A large stone occupies the centre of the circle, and may have supported a central pole if the circle was originally roofed. INTRODUCTION xv have been an outpost in a scheme of defence, of which the Pike was the central hold. The Pike itself, that is, the curious hog-backed mound which crowns the summit of the hill and on which stands the Beacon, shows signs of having been at least shaped by arti- ficial means. No doubt it is mainly a natural feature, but there are distinct traces of its having been trimmed and the approach steepened at several points. The Beacon, built in 1733 as the inscription states, no doubt took the place of an earlier structure, and it is not improbable that the " Standing- Stone," mentioned in the charter quoted on page 8, may have actually occupied this spot. Down below, on the edge of the lake, rises a hillock, now partly covered with trees, known as Coblowe, which may have been an early burial-mound. The word low, from the old English hlaw, meaning a hill, when used in place-names almost invariably points to a barrow or prehistoric burial-place. The name Street, too, as stated later on, takes one's mind back to remote times, nearly two thousand years ago, when the Romans occupied Britain, and sought to restrain by a chain of forts the wild tribes of the land that was one day to be Lancashire. But these are the regions of poetry, where thought may run riot, and we must leave them to descend to the more sober plains, where dull-written records and hard facts curb the mind and clog the pen.

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